Fear the old blood

Chapters

Prologue: the rise and fall of the first vicar
Epilogue: Oh venator
Chapter 1: omnes cavette sanguine est nectaresis de blasphemia
Chapter 2: Respice intra mysterium te respice intra es bestia
Chapter 3: quam vis credo possumus
Chapter 4: Timere
Chapter 5: esti omnes ca vette sanguine sanctum.
Chapter 6: intra respice mysterium
Chapter 7: Quam vis credo possumus
Chapter 8: Si discite Tibi vis sacramentum
Chapter 9: Erit praemium sanguine sanctum
Chapter 10: Per Venio humanitas, splendor pendere
Chapter 11: venator, praedator, sanguine in lunae
Chapter 12: nuptias sanguinis
Chapter 13: Laurence, Primus Vicarius

Prologue: the rise and fall of the first vicar

Yharnam. What was once a beautiful city, now ravaged by beasts and bloodlust. For many years ago, deep underneath the city, a promising student at the prestigious college of byrgenwyrth made a discovery.

Laurence had studied at byrgenwyrth for years, and quickly became one of the top students. One day, he had managed to discover the entrance to ancient ruins beneath Yharnam, and within them, he had discovered a red liquid, viscous and slightly warm. After finding it, He would find his way out of the catacombs, and bring the blood back to study it under his teacher, master Whillem.

For days on end they studied it, testing various samples in different ways, from seeing how it reacts to changes of tempurature, to studying the chemical makeup. However, the most important test was when they tested it upon a wounded rat. The rat was miraculously healed, with no observable side effects.

Laurence was ecstatic, as he believed that this so called old blood could be the next step in human evolution, making disease a thing of the past. But master Whillem disagreed, as they didn’t know anything else about it, including possible long term side effects.

Their disagreement caused their relationship to fracture, and for the college to split. Half chose to stay, searching for a different way to evolve humanity, while the other half took the old blood and traveled to Yharnam, in hope of sharing the holy blood with everyone. Soon, everyone within Yharnam had heard of it, and began to heavily use it. After all, it was the blood of the gods.

However, soon it would be known that not all was well with the blood, as people began to go missing, and strange wolf-like beasts began to stalk the streets. Upon these reports, Laurence would employ the help of an old friend from byrgenwyrth, Gehrman. He would go out under the cover of night and slay the beasts, quickly and quietly as to not scare the townsfolk.

As Gehrman hunts in the night, the demand for blood rose in the day, and more and more expeditions had to be sent into the old catacombs to find more. It was observed that the blood had an addicting effect, but none were concerned, as they believed it would ascend humanity.

As more and more blood began to be used, beast sightings became more and more common, to the point where Gehrman had to train new hunters. Laurence began to notice, and began to worry that the blood might not be as pure as he thought. He however dashed those worries aside, as for ascension to be successful, it had to be perfect, and the only way for it to be perfect is through trial and error.

As beasts became larger, weapons became more brutal. As weapons became more brutal, hunters needed less training to be effective. As hunters needed less training, Gehrman, once the best and most respected hunter was no longer needed, and disappeared one day. With less training needed, they could have more hunters, and more hunters means more people to test out more brutal weapons. But eventually, things took a turn for the worse.

One day, with no warning, a hunter began to attack his fellows and anyone else around. Many hunters died trying to put him down, and when they finally did, they discovered something. He had become drunk on bloodlust, and began to transform. What many feared had now been confirmed: the blood was the cause of the beasts.

The healing church covered it up, explaining that foreign blood mix with Yharnam blood, corrupting it. It kept the masses satisfied, but Laurence was terrified. He had just handed out a ticking time bomb to the people of Yharnam, and everyday, it ticked closer to its detonation. He began to ramp up studies, in hopes of evolving before the blood could consume them all, and he prayed that he would be forgiven for what he might cause.

Day after day, more beasts were sighted, and more hunters went mad, and the time bomb that was Yharnam came closer and closer to the end of its fuse. Then, one day, the bomb detonated. The moon glowed a crimson red, and the cries of madness and pain began to echo throughout the city. Whatever this red moon was, it caused the process of beastification to progress rapidly, to the point that the entirety of the old Yharnam district was infested, and had to be burned. Laurence, seeing what is work had caused, felt nothing but guilt. He had caused this. In his hubris to help humanity, he had doomed it. As the guilt burned his soul, he felt his flesh begin to tear.

His limbs began to extend, and his head began to deform. Horns burst out from his head, as he desperately jabbed anything around him into his leg, hoping that they could dull the pain. His skin began to peel off and crack, and his organs began to rot. Fur began to grow upon his body, and his head grew a bony plate.Soon, his mind was gone. He had evolved, just not in the way he had hoped. He had became the first cleric beast.

When the hunters, His hunters found him, they pelted him with Molotovs, burning his flesh, just like the people of old Yharnam. He screamed and screeched as the hunters tore into him with their weapons, until he stopped moving. After all, he was no longer their leader, he was just another beast, and had to be dealt as such. And then, his body disappeared. He had been whisked away, to a place similar his cathedral. But it was no longer his cathedral. He had been transported to a nightmare.

The hunters nightmare, a place where hunters drunk on blood are brought to as a punishment for the sins of their forefathers. So it only makes sense for Laurence, the one who discovered the Old blood, and inadvertently causing all of this to happen would find himself within its grasp. He had lost his way, and eventually lost himself. He had realized the side effects of the blood too late. Those who were unworthy of the power of the gods would be corrupted, driven only by their thirst for more of what they should never have had.

For so long, Laurence sat within that nightmare cathedral, eternally burning from shame, hoping that one day, someone would find him, and put an end to his misery. And one day, it did. A lone hunter, whom had only begun that day, found his way into the nightmare, sanity intact. He went throughout the nightmare, finding out secrets of the hunters and discovering the crimes of the healing church. But above all else, he put the blood drunk out of their misery. Even the most powerful hunters and beasts fell before him, and soon, all that was left was Laurence.

Laurence would awaken, seeing the intruder. As he no longer had control, all he could do was hope that this hunter had what it took to finally end his misery. He screeched, and lunged forward, ready to cleave the hunter in 2. But the hunter was skilled, and managed to dodge, while cutting into him with his weapon. Laurence tried over and over to swipe at him, but he was too nimble, as if he had fought him before, and memorized his every move. Soon, the hunter would cleave into his back, and cut the vicar in half.

The vicar lost half of his body, but he was not done yet. Still swiping, and clawing, he continued to try and kill this hunter, but like a fly hopped up on coffee, he dodged in between every blow. Finally, Laurence resorted to his last resort, expelling his molten blood upon the floor of the cathedral, but even that was not enough. The hunter, using every ounce of strength he had left, cleaved Laurence’s head clean off, ending the pained story of the vicar. Or so he thought.

For at that moment, something was watching. A great one, so powerful that it couldn’t have a physical form: Odeon. It took pity upon the vicar, as he had done everything in the name of his people. And so, Odeon collected the vicar’s soul, and began to work. It found a new realm, and began to craft him a new body. It then nudged open the barriers of reality, and placed the vicar and his new body within, before sealing the rift back up. Odeon hoped that this new, friendlier, more magical world would help the vicar forgive himself.

As Odeon was doing this, however, before it could close the dimension back up, something slipped in. Something that didn’t belong. And it’s presence could doom this world to repeat the mistakes of the last.

Author's Note

Hello! This is my first attempt at writing a story, so any tips or criticism is appreciated

Epilogue: Oh venator

As the sun sets upon Equestria, within the badlands, deep underground, lies a nest. This nest is home to the changelings, whom had just returned after the defeat in Canterlot. The furious queen retreated to her chambers, wishing for some way to beat the ponies, and the horrendous beast that had slain 30 of her best warriors, and many more lesser. Little did she know, a strange presence was watching her.

Deep within the frozen north, there was nothing but snow as far as the eye could see. Within a small outpost in the middle of this horrid place, a single pony observed, looking for signs of something to come. unbeknownst to them, a slight shimmer began to form in the air, and a dark cloud began to thaw out from the ice.

Deep within the evergreen forest, as the moon rose to its apex, a strange tear appeared. Just as quickly, it disappeared, leaving behind a strange pony, with 2 claws instead of hooves on his front feet. Upon his back, a strange blade rested upon his back. When the moonlight hit it, it shown a brilliant green.

Within the abyss between dimensions, Odeon watched. Its plans were set into motion, and while the presence would pose a threat to its idea, it would make sure she did not succeed. After all, its next step had begun. Now, all it needed was to find that old soul, and its final chess piece would be on the board. Soon, he would rejoin the hunt.

Chapter 1: omnes cavette sanguine est nectaresis de blasphemia

Dark. That is all I can see, and all I feel, as if I had become one with the void. Is this what death truly is: and endless torture through non-existence? Or is this a punishment delivered upon me, for my transgressions against the gods, and my sins against humanity? However, throughout the darkness, slowly, I notice something: a small, speck of light, barely the size of a pea. Even though it is so small, its presence warms me, and I feel an odd calmness wash over me. As the light grows closer, I feel as if I am made of fabric, being carefully stitched together to make a tapestry. I feel bones begin to form, and organs begin to solidify out of the void. I can hear as my ears begin to take shape, and muscles begin to stretch themselves into place. Slowly, I feel myself be rebuilt piece by piece, and confusion rises within me. As the light grows ever closer, I begin to notice a voice. Not in a normal way, such as hearing. Instead, the voice resonated within my mind, as if the voice transcended hearing.

“Laurence”

Is it… calling out my name? I try to reply, but I cannot. As my body is rebuilt, I notice how strange I look. It is as if I was a more quadrupedal version of… the beast.

“Laurence”

The light draws ever closer, and my heart is pumping. What is this voice? Why am I still a beast? I finally find my voice, and before my brain can register it, I blurt out. “Hello? Who is there?”

“Be not afraid Laurence. Your kind has many names for me.”

“What are they? Your names?”

“ Some call me the formless one. Some call me the order. But your people called me… Odeon.”

I cannot move yet, but if I could, it would look as if I was a rickety shack in the middle of a tornado from how bad I would be shaking. Odeon: the most powerful of the great ones, ascending so high as to have shed a form at all. While all great ones were powerful, they still had forms in one way or another, and thus could be killed, even if only temporarily. Odeon had shed a form, becoming one with the void beyond reality.

“ You yet still fear me. Interesting. I have come to communicate with you, vicar Laurence of the healing church. Your actions have caused much devastation.”

I shiver slightly, in fear of what would happen to me. “Great Odeon, please forgive me. I only wished to he-“

“ SILENCE. I know what thou hast done. You have used the blood of my kin to attempt to ascend. However, you were not ready, so your bodies were transformed, and minds broken. ”

“ I am greatly shamed for what I have done. I wanted to save my people from death and disease, and instead, doomed them to it. I shall accept any punishment you wish, as it is what I deserve. But please, help them. Don’t leave them to suffer from my mistakes.”

“ hmm, Strange. Most mortals seek to defend themselves, yet you fully accept your punishment, and beg for them to be helped.”

I involuntarily gulp, confused and nervous at to what the god is pondering. “ Yes I do. I know I have caused much pain, and am willing to endure whatever I put others through to ensure that they do not suffer any longer.”

“ silence. You are not being punished. In fact, your response has doubled my resolve. Laurence, while you have made a mistake, you did it in the name of saving your species. Your goal, although flawed, was noble, and even though much pain was caused, it also brought joy, giving many a second chances to those damned to death, and giving families more time to be together. Your soul, while blemished, can still be redeemed. This, you shall be granted a new life.”

I am left speechless. A second chance? A new life? I do not deserve it, but who am I to deny a being so powerful it cannot manifest into a physical for, lest it be not able to contain his power? “ my lord, I’m confused. Why? What could bring you to give a lowly mortal who has unintentionally doomed his people a second chance?”

“for the same reason that I let the moon presence take Gehrman. Even the most damaged souls can be saved, if they recognize their mistakes. Grant you, the moon presence is doing things a little differently, and is borderline torturing the poor old hunter.”

“I… um, what?” Gehrman?! He was alive?! And.. being held by a different great one? One causing him unimaginable suffering?

“ Never mind that. You may have hurt many, but you did it for the sake of saving them. You then realized your folly after the fact, and are willing to pay the price in order to save whatever is left. Your soul is noble, seeking to do good, in any way. This, you deserve a second chance. ”

My jaw has completely dropped, as if it were no longer attached to my skull. Odeon thinks that despite my sins, despite my failures, I still deserve a chance at redemption because I had meant well? I stutter, trying to find words, but am unable to do so.

“ You shall be sent to another realm, untouched by the taint of the great ones. A land full of magic, and a land of friendship and happiness. There, you shall be given a second chance. But be warned, do not make the same mistakes there as you did in Yharnam. For even though there is no corruption from my kin, there are powerful forces at work there. Should you wish to study them, to possibly right the wrongs you had before, you must be cautious while working on them. For who knows what terror they could cause if mishandled . And should you fall again, and remake your mistakes, there will be no more chances. You shall suffer, for all of eternity.”

I involuntarily swallow, and nod. “Yes lord Odeon. I shall not make you regret your decision.”

“we shall see.”
Those words repeat, slowly getting quieter as the light begins to shrink and fade. Soon, what looks to be a tear in the void begins to form, with a sweet smelling wind blowing through the gash. I take a deep breath, and enter the tear while reciting my old masters adage, as to never repeat the mistakes I made again.

”We are borne of the blood. Made men by the blood. Undone by the blood. Our eyes are yet to open. Fear, the old blood.”
And this time, I intend to adhere to the adage. I will never cause that much suffering again.

Author's Note

The first chapter of fear the old blood is complete. I hope you enjoy it! Leave any feedback you have.

Chapter 2: Respice intra mysterium te respice intra es bestia

As I step through the portal, I immediately hear the chirping of birds, and the skittering of woodland creatures. Well, this isn’t good. A forest, while beautiful, is not as good of a starting spot as, let’s say a town. I have to hope that there is a town nearby at least, otherwise I might be doomed to wander until my second chance is over. Before I get going, however, I want to take a look over myself to see what my new body looks like. I luckily seem to have landed by a lake, so I try to meander over, but fall over in the process. Great, I can’t walk on 2 legs.

On my next attempt, I use all of my limbs to walk over to the water, which is not only easier, but much more comfortable. As I gaze into the crystal waters, I look into the water to see exactly what I look like, face and all. Keeping in line with my earlier observations in the void, I bear a striking resemblance to how I looked when I first transformed into that strange beast. My back legs end in hooves, and my front legs, thankfully end in clawed hands. That will make life much easier, as I know how to use them and can grab and use items.

My face, however, is where my biggest surprise is. My head, while still incredibly deer- like, has actual flesh on it, instead of the bony plates my beastly self did. I even had 2, working sanguine red eyes. My teeth, however are relatively carnivorous, unlike a deer’s teeth should be. Guess the powerful formless god isn’t as creative as I thought he would be. After all, he practically copied my beast form, shrunk it, and made it look more alive. Well, before I start bad talking the formless entity that gave me a second chance, I better start trying to find something that can lead me to civilization.

I begin to walk through the dense trees, stepping over twigs and rocks to try and find a road, or maybe even a shack. Anything that could point me in the direction of sentient life. While I don’t mind taking a beautiful little stroll through the forest, I would much rather be able to find out where I am and what kind of species populate this world. However, the farther I walk, the more confusing it gets. The trees begin to grow thin, and then suddenly grow thick again. Rain randomly begins, and just as abruptly ends. And the noises of the forest slowly become quieter. Do they fear me? Or is there a bigger predator lurking within the shadows, waiting to pounce? As I ponder this, a trio of screams interrupts my thoughts.

As I hear the screams, I whip around into that direction, and begin to sprint. I don’t know what is happening, or where it’s happening, but I know I have to help. I leap over logs, weave in between trees, and break through vines, all to hopefully reach the screaming in time. And thankfully I did. I manage to enter a clearing, in which a massive creature, which appears to be a lion with dragon wings and a scorpion tail has something cornered. In order to buy the cornered creature a chance, I screech at the creature, hoping to get its attention. This works almost instantly, as it whips its head around to face me, its face showing its confusion. It turns around and begins to come towards me, accepting my challenge and allowing me to see the creature for the first time. Or more accurately, creatures.

It appears to be 3… miniature… horses? One has a white coat, light purple mane, and a small little horn in its head, another has a pale yellow coat, a red mane, and a big pink bow (for some reason) and the final one had a purple mane, orange coat, and 2 very small wings. I nod my head, trying to signal for them to run, which they thankfully notice and begin to do. Just in time too, as the creature decided to finally lunge.

The creature lunges for me, aiming to tear out my throat, which I easily dodge. I then claw at its face, trying to blind it. It doesn’t work, and it bites down upon my wrist, and throws me into a tree. I recover just in time to dodge another lunge, and this time, try to use my horns to hurt it. This thankfully works much better, as my horns pierce its flesh easily, which makes it roar.

I quickly dislodge them, and dodge a swipe from its paws, but jump straight into the path of the creatures stinger. It’s grazes me slightly, stinging as it leaves a slight gash in my skin. I decide that the tail is a big threat, and grab it keeping it still. Using both of my hands, I keep it steady and begin to bite into its, hoping to disable the limb. The carapace around the tail cracks and breaks, and the creature roars, trying to get me off. It doesn’t work, and I bite through the bone in the center of the tail, and rip the limb clean off.

With its major advantage mute, it’s time to end this. I quickly jump on top of the creature, and try to bite into the back of its neck. However, it knocks me off, and proceeds to try and maim me. I block with my arm, feeling the flesh being torn and the bones cracking. Using my hind legs, I kick the creatures stomach, flinging it onto its back. It continues to claw and bite at me, messing me up pretty badly, but it is I who get the last laugh.

As it lies on its back, I take my good arm and tear into its soft underbelly, ripping open the skin and exposing his vital organs. I then begin to rip them out, one by one, as it screeches in pain, trying desperately to get me off. As I rip out its hearts, it attacks me one final time, hitting me straight in the chest. I can feel my ribs crack, and bone fragments puncture my lungs, but I continue, until there is nothing left. Finding myself victorious, I look into the sky, and screech. Now, I need to go the way those small horses went.

I begin to limp my way in the direction they went, as it is likely that they came from a nearby town, and that was the fastest route. I just hope they have a medical center. As I travel I begin to wonder. What was that beast I fought? Why were those horses so colorful? And where did the scream come from. Hopefully, when I get into town, I could find out. As I make my way along, I begin to feel more sluggish, as the adrenaline of the fight wears off. I can feel my lungs slowly begin to fill with blood, and my arm screams at me. The pain is too much, and I begin to see black spots swimming in my vision.

But I can’t give up, I can’t die yet. I was just given my second chance, I’m not going to waste it by dying a day after I get reborn. Another few minutes go by, and I can feel myself failing. I take one more step before I collapse to the ground. I try to keep crawling, but it’s no use. I only have one working arm. I realize I’m likely going to die, and that this was all for nothing.

I silently thank Odeon for giving me a second chance, and apologize for wasting it. As my vision fades, I can see 9 shadows begin to come into view, with what sounds to be voices filled with worry and fear. But before I could see who these people were, or ask them for help, my mind shuts off, and I fall into unconsciousness.

Chapter 3: quam vis credo possumus

Unconsciousness tends to lead to many things. A lack of movement, a period of recovery, and most importantly, a period for your brain to reflect on events through dreams. For me, dreams always meant remembering every mistake I made, and every death I inadvertently caused. Normally, I could avoid dreaming through meditation or supplements in order to rest. But, I had no such chance before falling into unconsciousness. Thus, the nightmares began.

Within my nightmare, I relived the fishing hamlet. The straw that broke the camels back, so to say. Master Wilhem told us that the corpse of a great one had washed ashore, and that strange creatures had begun to appear to defend it, terrorizing the fishing hamlet it resides in. We were told to kill every single one we found, and to search their cranial cavity for eyes, to see if that was an indicator for ascension. It was only after the fact that we discovered that those creatures were people, still completely sane, just changed so to the presence of the great one. What’s more disturbing is what happened once we found the corpse.

From within the bloated form, a figure emerged. We believed it to be one of the creatures feeding off the body, so we killed it. Only it wasn’t a creature: It was the great one’s child. It had sacrificed its life in order for its child to survive, and we butchered it in cold blood. My eyes filled with tears, and all I could think was why? Why did master Wilhem, a man I looked up to, would want us to massacre these innocent people? As the sun began to set upon the ruined fishing hamlet, I screamed.

I awoke screeching at the top of my lungs. I could feel tears stinging the corners of my eyes, and the sheets I had rested upon were tangled in my frenzy to get up. However, it was much harder due to the cast upon my arm. Wait… why was I in a bed? How did I get a cast upon my arm? I realized right then and there that something had happened. Had I been rescued? Or had I been captured to study? Maybe I had been arrested for how brutally I killed that strange creature?

As I calmed down and began to ask myself questions, I heard what sounded like footsteps, and heard the door handle to the room I was in begin to jiggle. I quickly looked around the room, and found an armoire. I quickly crammed myself within, hoping it would be enough to hide from what ever was coming through the door.
*click*.

The door opened and in rushed whatever was making the noise. For some reason, now that I could hear it clearer, it sounded like little claws clacking across the floor. “Is everything alright? I heard a commotion in here.” it spoke. I remained within my hiding place, keeping as quiet as possible as it questioned itself as to what was going on.
“wait, where did it go?It couldn’t have disappeared, so where is it? It didn’t jump out the window, there would be glass everywhere if it did, and it definitely didn’t come out the door. Is it hiding? Or can it teleport? Twilight needs to know about this. HEY TWILIGHT!” For such a small creature, it sure had a set of lungs on it. My ears are ringing louder than the bells of the loudest clocktower. Wait, I hear more movement. This time it sounds like hooves.

“Is everything ok spike? ”
“not really, the creature is missing.”
“What?! How?! It couldn’t have gotten out of the window, as there is no glass broken, and it could have gotten out the door, it was locked! ”
“Maybe it’s hiding? It sounded scared when I heard it. Or maybe it can teleport?”
“You’re right. This could still be bad though. I’ll stay here, see if I can find it, you go get the girls. Tell them it’s awake.”

“You can count on me Twi. After all, I’m your number one assistant!” I can hear the smugness in his voice through the armoire, as it’s little claws begin to scurry away, and out the door. After the smaller creature is gone, the larger one begins to search, seeing if I left any clues behind, indicating as to where I went. As it nears the armoire, I prepare to jump out.

As it gets ready to open the armoire, I burst out, catching it by surprise. I stumble over it, careful not to hurt it and sprint out the door. I then slam it behind me and use the key they left in it (very foolishly) to lock it. As I hear shouts of surprise and protest from behind the door, I scurry down the stairs, and into… a library? No no, there is no time for curiosity, only escape. I see the exit and burst through it, into the busy streets filled with… more colorful small horses?! Are there no people in this world?!

Nevermind that, I need to get out of here. I turn around and see the building I just escaped from is a tree. You know what, I’m not even going to question it, I’m just going to run. As I sprint through the streets, weaving in between the horses, I hear many cries of shock and anger, but not a single cry of fear. This world is truly strange. I’m almost out of the town until I hear a southern drawl.

“Hold it right there ya varmint!”
“stop trying to run so we can kick your butt!”
“Um, dashie, I don’t think we should hurt it. The poor thing is probably just scared out of its poor mind.””I agree darling, violence should never be a first resort.”
“Yeah! Especially if we wanna befriend it and through it a party and give it lots of sweets and make it happy and-”
“ok, I get it girls, talk first, kick weird deer monster but later”
Great. More of them. “Please, I just want to-“
As I speak, their eyes widen, telling me they didn’t expect me to be literate.

“WOWIE! It can talk! Now we can ask it questions like when it’s birthday is or what it’s favorite sweet is or what video game it’s a reference to!”
“Yes I ca- wait what?”
“Huh. Guess no butt kicking after all.”
“Girls, I got back to the library, and twilight was locked in the room! I got her out, but now it’s free and we need to find it! Wait. Oh, you found it.”
“And I’m glad they did. Now that we know you can talk, I want to ask you some questions. Please, we aren’t going to hurt you. Just follow me back to my library, and we can talk like civilized creatures.”

I sigh, wincing as I put too much pressure on my bad leg. “Ok. I’m sorry.” As they begin to walk towards the tree, I follow, being tailed by the blue winged horse. I just hope I won’t regret this decision.

Author's Note

Let me know if you have any complaints about this story.

FYI, this story takes place pre- alicornification.

Chapter 4: Timere

As I am lead back to the library, I can’t help but to look around. The colorful horses that we pass look at me with concern and confusion, but once again I am unable to sense fear. The horses in the front are all conversing, and from what I pick up they are theorizing what I am. In honesty, that is a question that even I can’t answer.

After a few minutes, we make it back to the library, and I am led into a lounge of some sort, in which they all take seats. I remain standing for now, as I had not been invited to sit.
“You don’t have to keep standing up, you can sit anywhere you want to.”
I nod, uttering a quick thank you as I take a seat in the corner. The purple one seems exited, and I assume her to be a scholar of some kind. After all, she’s acting just like I did whenever I began a new experiment or started studying an interest.

“Ok spike, make sure to write down everything. This is interview 1 with an unknown Cervidae species, fully capable of speech. For my first question, what’s your name? We can’t just keep calling you creature.”
“A wise first question when considering first contact. My name is Laurence. Might I inquire yours?”
“Of course! My name is Twilight Sparkle, and the drake writing down this interview is Spike. ”
“Sup.”
“the girls that found you are my friends. Meet Applejack.”
“Howdy.”
“Fluttershy.”
”Oh, uhm… hi.”
“Rarity.”
“A pleasure darling.”
“Pinkie Pie.”
“Hiya! I can’t wait to be your friend! Oh I just can’t wait to through you a welcome party!”
“Easy there Pinkie. And finally, Rainbow dash.””Hi.”
The blue one, rainbow dash, looks unamused. I wonder if I upset her somehow. “The pleasure is all mine.”

“Now that we’re all introduced, let’s start the interview proper. First major question, what exactly are you?”
I had hoped this question would not get asked. I sigh, and give my answer. “To be honest, I do not know. To my knowledge, I am the only of my kind in this world.”

Rainbow dash snorts, not believing what I say, until Applejack speaks up.
“He’s tellin the truth. A deppresin truth but the truth nonetheless ”
Rainbow dash shifts back and lightly blushes, embarrassed by her little show.

“Second question. What did you do before we found you? We have to know because if you did something bad, we could all be in danger.”
Another question I had hoped to avoid. “ I was a scholar at a prestigious college before a falling out with my master caused me to continue my research solo. It didn’t go that well, and my research hurt some people dear to me.” The Twilight Sparkles eye’s light up as I spoke, obviously exited to have another intellectual around, but then dimmed as I spoke about what had happened after going solo.
“Yer not tellin the whole story, but what yer sayin is true.”
Damn she’s good. She must be a natural lie detector.

“Ok, question number 3. What do you plan to do now?”
Finally, a question I feel completely comfortable answering. ” I plan on researching different topics. Seeing as what happened last time, if I continued my current research, I could very well hurt more people, and I do not want to do that. I do what I do to help us evolve and grow as a society. Besides, I lost all of my previous notes.”

“Eyyup, that’s the truth.”
“Thats good to here. Ok, question 4, how did you arrive in the everfree forest?”
“Once more, I do not know. I awoke there without a clue as to where I was, or where the closest town was. I was lucky to have found those 3 little ones. If I hadn’t, they would be dead and I would still be lost.”
All of there faces paled upon the mention of death, but they kept strong. Applejack just nodded to Twilight, indicating I was being truthful.

“ok, well… question 4! How did you survive your fight with a manticore?! They are an incredibly dangerous species.”
“That answer has a simple answer. The one with the faster claws and stronger jaw wins. I just so happened to have that.”

If their faces were pale before, they were ghostlike now.
“You… you killed a manticore?”
Fluttershy’s eyes are welling up with tears. I can tell she’s an animal lover.She would not like my previous diet.
“Heck yeah, that’s sick! It must have been a wicked fight, when we got there, you were almost dead!”
“I can assure you, it ended up much worse than me.”

“Did, did you have to kill it? Couldn’t you have just subdued it, or knocked it out, or… I don’t know, something else?!”
“I did not want to take any chances. I had never seen one before, so rather than risking to attempt to knock out a creature that I know nothing about, and potentially getting my calculations wrong, I went with the option that guaranteed those 3 could get away without it tracking them down.”
“But don’t you know violence is never the answer?!? DONT YOU?!?!”
Pinkie pie has somehow managed to grab me using hooves and is shaking me around.

“Sometimes the only way to guarantee someone’s survival is to use violence. After all, a wolf cannot eat a herd of doe, if the buck gets it first.”
“Yeah, what he said! Come on girls, the big cat was gonna hurt the cutie mark crusaders! They may get into trouble a lot, but none of us wanted to see them become kitty chow.”
“I mean, I guess you’re right, but please, try to refrain from violence in the future. We ponies try to do things peacefully.”
I nod in understandment.

“I think that’s all the main questions I had. I’ll have spike make a copy of the interview and send it to the princess, and while we wait for a reply, could you please stay with us, as to not cause a panic? ” I chuckle. “ Of course I will. Fear causes panic, and panic causes chaos, which nobody likes. But always remember, without fear, we are little more than beasts. Sometimes it’s good to be afraid, as that means you are still you.” They look at me confused, wondering just what the hell I meant. “Never mind, it’s just an old proverb.” They nod in pretend understanding.

“ well this has been interesting. Spike, have you copied it yet?”
“Yep!”
“Good, you can send it to the princess.”
He nods, and then sets the scroll on fire.
“Why would you do that? Weren’t you supposed to send that to someone?”
“Yeah, I just did. That’s how I send letters. Magical dragon fire.”
Magic? So Odeon wasn’t being metaphorical. “I’ve never seen magic before.”

“Well you better get used to it, because I’m the princesses personal student, and the element of magic.”
I may have no idea what an element of magic is, but I assume that it helps her with her abilities. “Could you show me please?”
I have a good feeling about this.

Chapter 5: esti omnes ca vette sanguine sanctum.

After the letter was sent, and her friends said their goodbyes, Twilight was generous enough to show me her magic and how it worked. She channeled the magical energy within her body through her horn, allowing her to mold it into what ever way she needs. It might be worthwhile to see if I can do similar later. But for now, I shall enjoy being in the presence of another intellectual. It has been too long since I was able to have a conversation about theory’s and equations with someone who knows what they are talking about.

“ According to star swirls theory or mana capabilities of other species, every creature has magic within them, but only some are able to utilize it, such as those with horns or antlers.”
“Interesting. Does this apply to creatures with wings as well? Because according to aerodynamics, most pegasi wings are much too small to lift them off of the ground.”

“ As a matter of fact, yes! The wings are capable of utilizing the mana to create more or less draft than they would normally produce. The more magic within a Pegasus, the stronger their aero-manipulation abilities. ”
“ Interesting. As for earth ponies, I assume due to their name that their abilities lie in the ability to use their mana to influence agricultural growth as well as soil composition.”
“Yep!”

“Amazing. With magic so much is able to be done. But what about technology? Since you have all of these advantages due to the supernatural capabilities of natural mana, does technology that could possibly even further assist get left behind? Or is it improved in tandem with magical insight?”
“Well, magic does make it not as big a priority, but technology is always improving anyways. So I say a little bit of both.”
“This is all so fascinating.”

“I know! Could I perhaps ask to know a bit about what you know?”
I know the dangers of letting too much get out, but I believe I can control the flow of information. “ Of course. It begins with the theory of evolution.”

“ So according to this theory of evolution, due to genetic and sometimes physical similarities you found, you came to the conclusion that over time species change into different species entirely to survive more efficiently?”
“Yes. As you know, sometimes when a birth occurs, the child has defects. Sometimes, those defects help it to survive better, and will be more likely passed down due to survival of the fittest. This causes the next generation to have an increase of those defects, and the next, and so on and so forth until the entire species has changed just enough to be considered different. And sometimes, the original species remains as well, causing 2 branching evolutionary paths.”

“ This could change so much! It explains why zebras are so similar to us, yet different. It also explains why griffons and hippogriffs are different as well!”
This world never heard of the theory of evolution before? Strange. Wait, what the hell are hippogriffs?! And is she talking about GRIFFON griffons, the one’s from ancient mythology?! This world is stranger than I initially thought.

“And that’s only the first major point of my studies. This leads into something even more theoretical, evolution of the mind. It is believed that there are 2 different evolutions; one affects the body, making survival easier, and reproducing more advantageous. The other affects the mind, allowing capabilities of deeper thought and reasoning. It’s why some animals are smarter than others, their minds evolved to be able to better understand the world around them. This leads to my next point. The theory of ascension.”

“So let me get this straight. Your teacher believed that if the mind were to evolve far enough, it could leave behind its physical body?! ”
“Yes, but it must occur naturally. Try to force it, and well…” As I am about to say what will happen, my breath hitches in my throat. I begin to remember. The pain, the suffering. The bloodlust.

“…That’s what happened, isn’t it? Your teacher and you tried to force that ascension, and it backfired. Someone you loved for hurt in the process.”
I could feel my eyes begin to burn. I had let slip too much, but I do not care. I needed to get this off of my chest.
“…yes. We tried to ascend our kind to help end our suffering. And it ended, just not in the way we had hoped. And now, here I am. The only of my kind. Body changed into something unrecognizable, yet unlike the others, my mind remains. Burning eternally with guilt. That is why I didn’t tell you the full story when your friends were around. When I saw that manticore, it reminded me of what my people had become. And when I saw those 3 fillies, cowering in fear, about to be eaten, it reminded me of the ones that my forced evolution killed. And so I made a vow. To never let the mistakes of those who delve too deep harm the innocent. Whether it be others mistakes… or mine. To atone for the blood I spilt.”

I can feel my face grow moist, as tears begin to freely flow. “I understand if you hate me now, or wish to kick me out, but I must thank you for your hosp-“
I am unable to finish my sentence as I am wrapped in a hug.
“But… but why? My actions have hurt so many.”
“Because you didn’t mean too. You wanted to help, to save your people, and so in desperation, you turned to forcing change. And you promised to never make the same mistakes. Heck, you vowed to protect ponies from others Doing the same thing! You don’t deserve to hate yourself over a mistake. Even a big one like that. I forgive you.”

She… forgives me? Even after I told her about what I had done? After all the bloodshed, all the suffering, all of the death? I begin to sob as I bury my head into her shoulder. Maybe with time, I can learn to forgive myself like she has.

“Thank you.”
“you’re welcome.”
“ not just for the hug. For sharing your information with me. For listening to my information. For forgiving me. For… being the first friend I have had in years.”
She smiles.
And thank you for sharing with me. I know it must have been hard to talked about these things, so I’m glad you’re willing to share them with me. I’m glad to call you my friend as well.”

For the first time in years, I feel as if things are going to get better. That maybe, just maybe, that my suffering was over. Then I heard the flap of many wings, and the sound of what seems to be a chariot touching the ground.
“Oh, the princess is here! I’ll bet she’ll be glad to meet you.”
As the door opens, I feel a force grip my throat.
“You should not have come here, beast.”

Author's Note

I’m feeling extremely proud about this chapter! Please leave a comment if there are any improvements you wish to see.

Chapter 6: intra respice mysterium

Her magic is like a python around my neck, slowly tightening as if to make this last longer. I try to claw at the force crushing my windpipe, but as it is magical in nature, It is useless. Twilight, who has stood still in either shock or fear, finally comes to her senses and starts to panic.
“Princess Celestia, what are you doing?! He hasn’t done anything!”
“Twilight, my faithful student, you must understand. This.. beast should be dead. He and his kind have caused nothing but pain.”
Does she know? How could she possibly know?!

“What are you talking about princess?”
“This creature is called a moonlight beast. They were created to terrorize my ponies during the era of…during the rift between me and Luna.”

Well, she didn’t know where I was from at least, but who is Luna? And how did she manage to create beasts like me? As I continue to gasp for air, I can feel myself start to black out. As I begin to panic, I make one last feeble attempt to get her to stop. I wheeze, using the last breath in my lungs, a single word: ”please.”

The look of pure shock upon her face as she heard me utter this single word could rival the look on my face when Pinkie managed to guess my origins.
“h…how… how can you speak?! Your kind weren’t able to speak!”
“Princess, I’m sure he wants to explain, but he can’t when your crushing his windpipe.”

With this, she loosens the grip, but still keeps me elevated. She then speaks, uttering a command with so much power in only one word.
“Speak.”

As I take breath after fresh breath of air into my lungs, I clear my throat. “Well then, now that I am no longer being suffocated, hello your majesty, a pleasure. My name is Laurence, a scholar who was once a different species, but due to… an accident, I was transformed into this.”
She grunts and lightly chuckles, as if I told her a humorous joke.
“Funny. You think you can lie to me.”
“No he’s not, we had Applejack here to make sure we knew if he was. He’s being serious.”

“Hmph. Ok, so he isn’t lying. That still doesn’t excuse him for what he will do if unchecked?”
“What do you mean princess?””Moonlight beasts were designed to sow fear. They had no mind, they could only follow orders. After nightmare moon was banished, without orders, they began to go from town to town, killing and eating my little ponies, leaving no survivors. Not even children. So we had to hunt them all down. And now somehow, a random scholar acidentally turns himself into one of the most dangerous, mindless creatures in Equestrian.”

Of course the form Odeon gave me is from a genocidal mindless race.
“Well princess, those were mindless creatures. Designed to operate only on orders. Once orders were no longer received, their brains would fail, unable to handle the strain, causing them to go savage. But what if they had a brain that could think? A brain designed to have thoughts, not follow orders? Would they still devolve into savage beasts, or would they integrate with society, or maybe even form their own?”
“ What is your point, beast.”

My eye twitched, as I begin to see red enter my vision. I was done dealing with this. “First of all, my name is Laurence, and you will address me as such. I do not care if you are royalty, you have NO excuse to treat me as rudely as you have been. Secondly, my point is that they were weapons, with brains that could only function as that. I am the same, with a brain that can handle far more. So maybe you should fear me, but not for the same reasons.”

“You have no idea what I have seen, and the person I am. Twilight knows more than you, but even she has barely scratched the surface. I have communed with the gods and learned their secrets. I have seen my entire town overtaken by sickness, only to be transformed into mindless beasts hellbent of spilling blood. I have seen my friends, ripped to shreds and beset by madness from the horrors we had to witness. Yet I am still here, and I am still sane. So I will not take any of this disrespect. I will not take this barely veiled disgust, and I certainly will not take it kindly if you continue calling me a beast.”

Both of their faces were pale, as if seeing death itself. I am confused, I thought Twilight would be pale, and Celestia would be brimming with rage. Then I noticed: I was on fire.

“Oh not again.”
“not again? NOT AGAIN?! YOU MEAN TO TELL ME YOU’VE BEEN ON FIRE BEFORE?!?”
“Yes. Last time though it was because of a Molotov my former colleagues threw at me. This time it doesn’t hurt for some reason.”
By now, the princess has recovered, but instead of rage, I saw regret.
“You’re right. I let my past cloud my judgement, and I almost killed you for something you never even did, all because you look like the beasts from oh so long ago. I do not know what you have seen, who you’ve communed with, or who Odeon is, but I am sorry you went through what you did. Please do not let this affect how you see my country or my ponies. Please forgive me.”

I am shocked. A ruler who is humble when others are angered by them. We could have used more people like her back in my world.
“ I accept. I am sorry for yelling at you, as it was uncalled and rude as well. I hope this will not affect our images of each-other.”

“I am a tad confused though. You are regal and polite, as if you grew up or trained to deal with royalty. You are also able of self combustion, in which very few creatures have, and fewer survive. As well as this, when I pushed you too far, your eyes went red, and you then ranted as if you had to on a daily basis. A scholar, able to commune with gods and somehow acidentally change his species, speak with royalty as if it was second nature, self combust without harming yourself and rant with the anger and passion of a preacher. Who are you, Laurence? ”

She is truly clever. Able to pull so much from me from such a small amount of time.
“ you truly are as wise as twilight claimed. Very well. I shall reveal a little more about myself to you too. To twilight, because I trust her, and to you, because you wish to earn my trust.”
Twilight excitedly grabs her notepad and quill, getting ready to write down everything I say. I just hope she can handle this.

“I am a scholar, first and foremost, doing everything I do to further my people along. Secondly, I was a leader to my people, helping negotiate with the nearby areas to keep us out of harms way. And finally, I was the head of a church, designed by me to continue our studies while saving the people of Yharnam from disease and injury. I had never wanted to do anything other than study, but to save my home, I had to step up. But I’m doing so, I caused the downfall I so desperately tried to avoid. I am Laurence, the first vicar of the Yharnam church of healing. And I am the last survivor of the fall of Yharnam.”

Author's Note

Once again, if you have any complaints or suggestions, leave a comment. Thank you!

Chapter 7: Quam vis credo possumus

Silence. Silence is the complete lack of any sounds, yet at the same time, it can be more deafening than an explosion. Such a natural concept, yet so paradoxical. This anomaly is what occurred for the next 30 seconds after my revelation. Eventually my eyes began to moisten again, as the pain once more assaulted me. The roar of nothing was interrupted by me suddenly being embraced. Not by Twilight, but by the princess.

The ruler embraced me, much like Twilight had. As she hugged me, she spoke to me.
“It will be ok. I’m sorry.”
I was somewhat surprised. After all, not 10 minutes ago she tried to execute me for my resemblance to these moonlight beasts, and now she was here, comforting me. Despite the strangeness of being hugged by someone who just tried to kill you, it felt nice.
I embraced her back, and whispered a thank you. Soon after, Twilight joined in the hug, and I began to feel a little claustrophobic, but I could live with it. Another 10 seconds of hugging had passed before they let go of me, and began to ask questions again.

“I know it must be painful to relive, but I must know more. I’m positive Twilight is just as curious as I am too. ”
“Of course, ask away. Best way to ease tensions and forge friendships is to know more about the other, so I hope you don’t mind if I ask a few myself.”
“Of course. First of all, what was it that you were trying to do that led to this downfall? ”

“My people were on the verge of collapsing. War and disease ravaged us, and corruption in our government bled us dry. That’s when we discovered the blood of the great ones. Being’s who evolved to the point of ascending to a higher plane. We figured that if we could figure out how to do that with our kind, war would no longer be needed, disease would vanish, and governments would be irrelevant, so corruption would no longer be a problem. So we began to experiment.”

“ However, it backfired. While for a time our research blossomed, and we found a possible lead. The blood they left behind. While for a time it worked, eliminating disease and war, it would come back and bite us. The blood would cause a user to become addicted, requiring more and more. Eventually they would become drunk with bloodlust, and lose their humanity, transforming into beasts. We went to war, trying to stop the spread, but it was too late. Everyone was starting to become blood drunk. What is worse, my church had began to corrupt, authorizing inhumane experiments without my knowledge, and covering up the scourge of beasts. Eventually, it led to the city falling to chaos, and finally being destroyed. There were no survivors.”

Celestial looked at me with pity, like she knew what it was like to fail as badly as I did. “Anyways, I think I get to ask a question. Who is Luna, and what happened to cause the moonlight beasts?” Celestial sighs, and begins to recount.
“Luna is my sister. Many years ago, we had to fight many powerful beings to help protect our home. First was discord, spirit of chaos. Defeating him earned us a position as the duel rulers of Equestria. Next was a centaur, hellbent on stealing the magic from every pony. Then came the unicorn, corrupted by dark magic. And while we were doing that, we had to come back every so often and rule. I would deal with the more political side, while Luna would deal with the more militaristic side. That eventually lead to people adoring me, and fearing her. They saw me as their leader, making their lives better, and her as the warrior destroying our enemies and any creature that stood in her way. As time progressed, more and more began to prefer me over her, leading to resentment and jealousy. I was unable to see her pain, being blinded by their adoration. During that time, a powerful demon made itself known to her, and began to try to convince her to betray me. She refused, but every day her patience grew thinner. ”

“ Eventually she snapped, after some ponies began to make attempts on her life, to ensure that I was the only ruler. When she brought it up to me, I made the mistake of brushing it off, as she had brought it up during a very important meeting with some nobles. This caused her to snap, stating that if the ponies wanted to fear her, than she will give them what they want. In her moment of passion, she her defenses were let down, and seeing an opportunity, the demon managed to possessed her, transforming into a dark warrior known as nightmare moon. She rose the moon into the sky, blocking the sun, and rallied her most loyal warriors under her. She took any local fauna and used her magic to corrupt them into loyal, bloodthirsty followers: one of the most dangerous of which being the moonlight beasts. And she declared war. For 10 days we fought, until it ended with a duel at our castle. I did not want to hurt her, but she did not have the same qualm, and began to win. In desperation, I grabbed 6 powerful artifacts that we had used to defeat many of our previous foes: the element s of harmony. Using them, I banished her to the moon, saving the world, but condemning my sister. I promised that one day, I would get her back, no matter the cost, and I would never ignore her again. ”

“Then, 1000 years later, she came back. Even more bitter, she defeated me and trapped me within the moon. It was only thanks to Twilight and her friends finding the elements, and purifying my sister from the demon controlling her that I was able to escape, and finally reunite with my sister. I promised her, I would never abandon her again. I am beginning to reintroduce her to the diarchy, and we have been spending more time together in the past month than we ever did before the nightmare. In fact, tomorrow we go bowling.”

As she finished the story, I was shocked. She went through so much. She really did understand the pain of my failures. And what’s more, she has shown that she has learned from her mistakes. Just as I have. “ thank you princess. I have no more questions, so feel free to ask me as many as you want.”
“I don’t have any off the top of my head. Do you Twilight?”
I feel bad, as I had almost forgot Twilight was in the room with us.

“Nope! I mean, no princess Celestia.”
Celestia rolls her eyes and chuckles a bit, before looking between us.
“I do have one favor though. I would like you to come to canterlot for a bit. This way we have better equipment to run a few tests, and possibly introduce you to the world at large. Twilight, you and your friends can come along as well if you would like to.”

As Twilight nods her head excitedly, I chuckle. “Of course your majesty. It would be my honor.”
“Oh, no need for that Laurence. We’re friends now, just call me Celestia.”
“Of course.”
“I’ll go tell my friends about it and see if they wanna come. I’ll be back in a minute.”
As twilight leaves, I can’t help but feel exitment, as well as a bit of anxiousness. But whatever happens, I will be ready for it. After all, how much can go wrong in a capital city, run by 2 godlike beings?

Author's Note

I put a bit of a twist on the nightmare moon story, hope you all enjoy. Leave any criticism or suggestions in the comments! :twilightsmile:

Chapter 8: Si discite Tibi vis sacramentum

When Twilight returned, she told us that her friends would be a while, as they needed to pack. So while we waited, we sat down and continued to talk.

“So, Laurence, other than these great ones, what did you study at this college?”
“ I studied quite a few things. Some as simple as literature and mathematics, to more advanced topics such as chemistry and pharmacology.”
“That is quite impressive. How long did you study there?”
“ I studied there for about 5 years, taking only a year for each subject.”
“Really? Only 5 years, with one year per subject? What degrees did you get?”
“ I got a doctorate in chemistry and pharmacology, and a masters in mathematics. I also had a bachelor’s in literature. Couldn’t get a degree in biology in old ones, otherwise I would have a doctorate in that as well.” Twilight’s jaw hit the floor.

“Wow! Even I don’t have that many degrees! ”
“Yes, there was a reason I was the personal protege for master Wihlem, the founder of the college. Speaking of degrees, what do you have Twilight? And you as well Celestia?”
“I have a doctorate in magic and magical research, and a masters in literature and chemistry.”
“Its been so long I forgot what degrees I have. I do remember my doctorate in magic and magical research, like my dear student Twilight.”

“Well, that is impressive! Most people I met at byrgenwyrth only had one or 2 degrees, and most of the time their highest was a masters.”
Twilight blushes at that comment, while Celestia chuckles. I get the feeling that she has more degree than she is letting on, but I don’t care. I have found fellow intellectuals at my level!

As we continue to converse, I notice the sound of the door opening. The first of Twilight’s friends has arrived. The orange earth pony, applejack.
“Well howdy there Twi. Good to see ya! And it’s an honor as usual to see ya princess Celestia. And howdy to ya as well Laurence.”
“Hey AJ!”
“Hello applejack.”
“ A pleasure, Miss Applejack.” She only had her hat and her saddlebags. Glad she packs light, because I imagine how much a nightmare some of the others might be.

The next to arrive was Rainbow dash, who was upset to see Applejack got here before her. Then was Pinkie Pie, who somehow hopped out of a book labeled ‘wormholes and you’. I’m not even going to question it. Flutter shy arrived shortly thereafter, carrying saddlebags, as well as luggage that looked a little too ornate for the shy ones taste. I was confused, until the next 2 arrived.

Next to enter was spike, but he was barely recognizable under the amount of luggage he was carrying. He looked like some sort of purple and gold trimmed turtle. Finally was Rarity, carrying her saddlebags, as well as some more luggage. It seems that Fluttershy and the young drake decided to volunteer to help her carry her obscene amount of luggage. For which I might add, was most likely going to be no more than a few days for them.

“Rarity, did you need to bring so much?”
“A lady must always be prepared, darling.”
“For what? Are you going to scale mount canterlot by hoof?”
“Oh! That sounds like fun! And while we do it we can camp, have a fire, make s’mores, tell spooky stories, get scared by Laurence’s stories due to the terrifying nature of the place he came from and the indescribable beings that resided there, go to sleep, die of hypothermia mere feet away from salvation!.Let’s do it!” As everyone just stared at her, I couldn’t help but wonder just what the hell this pink one actually was. Maybe she had some relation to a great one.

After that… interesting exchange, we helped Rarity get her luggage loaded, before boarding the chariots. I feel bad for the poor saps pulling Rarity and her luggage, best hope they had a light breakfast. As everyone sat down, Princess celestial leaned into my ear.
“You might want to hold on. Everyone’s first flight can be a little… hectic for them.”
As I grip my seat, curious as to how bad it could be, we took off.

If I could describe the flight, I would say as if I was in a small shack that had been lost in a sea of beasts, all banging at the walls to try to get into the shack to get at the tasty prize inside. Several times I had to grip down on the seats harder. Every time, the seat creaked a bit more than the last, until shattering into splinters in my hand. As I begin to pick them out, we hit a bout of rough weather, and I go flying across the interior, to the amusement of the other occupants.

As soon as we landed, I hopped out, and quickly lost my breakfast. As I asked Celestia if one of her servants could bring me a mop, a trash bin, and a bucket, she giggles, before teleporting it away. As I watch her teleport it away, I hear a splat and muffled shouting. Celestia looks mortified, and I in turn, begin to giggle.

After that incident, we enter the castle. Twilight leads her friends to the guest rooms, as I am led to the throne room. There, we meet a pony, with a blond mane and white hair, wearing a suit and having a compass on his rear. He takes one look at me, scoffs, turns to Celestial and begins to complain.

“Auntie, why did you bring back this strange mangy creature? It looks feral.”
“That, Blueblood, is Laurence, the last member of his kind.”
“Well if they all looked like him, no wonder they’re all gone.”
And with that remark, I could feel myself ignite.

“ For your information, I was turned into this against my will. I was once a proud scholar, the leader of a sprawling city, and the vicar of a church, meant to heal the sick. And from what I gather from you, you appear to be a distant descendant of Celestia, who is so inbred you can barely count to 2, and likely hasn’t influenced a dignitary to try a different food for breakfast. I on the other hand, forged alliances with nations, saved thousands of lives, and helped pioneer research into a never before discovered study. So before you go insulting me for how I look, to better have some real accomplishments.”

As these words came out my mouth, he began to slowly shrink. After I was done, he nodded, turned around, and began to run away, crying. I, looked to the princess, expecting her to be mad, but she was laughing her ass off, to the point of tears. I guess he was a nuisance to her, and seeing him be put in his place made her day.

After that happened, Celestia took me out in the garden for a walk. She said that it was her favorite place, as it helped calm her nerves after a very stressful situation, and she believed that I could use a little breather after that noble snob had been put in his place. As we were walking by a strangely serpentine statue with a deer head, I noticed the statue had begun to slightly crack.

Author's Note

Thank you to Fxcf for the suggestion of breaking up the text a bit more to help the flow! You have earned the title of honorary hunter!

Chapter 9: Erit praemium sanguine sanctum

After our walk in the garden, Celestia led me down into a deeper part of the castle. We then stepped onto what seemed to be a railway, growing my confusion. Within the next few minutes, neither of us said a word as we went deeper into the tunnels. By this point, we should be in the mountain itself. Then, the cart stopped. Just as suddenly, the cart started to sink into the floor. Just where were we going?

Finally, the cart stopped, and we stepped out into one of the largest laboratories I have ever seen. It was as if I had made it into my own personal heaven, as experiments of all kind were being performed. I even saw some of them mixing what appears to be sulfur, charcoal and potassium nitrate. Seeing them experimenting with the ingredients to gunpowder made me begin to worry though. Was this a royal laboratory, or a weapons laboratory? If it was the latter, things did not look good.

As the princess led me through the lab, we passed by many scientists and what appeared to be mages, before finally getting to a room. When we entered, Celestial gestured me to sit.
“Sorry for taking you so far, we just didn’t want people to discover you and freak out. So, what’s a better location to gather some samples than the royal laboratory and arcane observatory! ”
Well that was good, it wasn’t a weapons lab. That did little to quell my fear though, as samples tended to include blood.

The first sample she collected was hair, which was simple enough. Then she shaved off some of my antler into a petri dish. As those were handed off to scientists, I spoke up.
“ When you say samples, do you include a blood sample.”
According to procedure, we must collect that, along with hair, skin and horn samples from new species. And since no moonlight beasts lived long enough for us to collect their samples, we have to get them from you.
As she says this, my face pales.

“non potes accipere meum sanguine.”
“Im sorry, what did you say?”
“non potes accipere meum sanguine! You cannot take my blood! I WILL NOT ALLOW YOU TO TAKE IT!”
“Calm down Laurence, why can I not take a blood sample?”
“My blood is tainted by the blood of the gods. If you take it, there is a chance it could contaminate someone, causing another plague of beasts. So I will not allow you to take my blood! For your sake.”

“I understand. I shall still take a skin sample, and I will let the scientists know I cannot take a blood sample due to your blood being impure, and a health hazard.”
“Thank you. I do not enjoy yelling at people, especially my friends, but the blood is a serious matter. Millions died because of it, and I will not let anyplace else be corrupted by its influence. Even if I have to kill or die to ensure it.”

After the samples were collected, we headed back up to the surface. Celestial showed me around the rest of the castle, before showing me to my room.
“Now if you’ll excuse me, a school has a field trip in the gardens, and I want to make sure they’re doing all right.”
“Alright. I just have one question. What is that strange chimeric statue in the gardens?”
Celestial flinches before answering.
“That is discord, the chaos spirit I was talking about earlier.”
“Right, so I take it it’s bad that his statue has begun to crack?”

If Celestia was white before, she somehow managed to transcend into ultra white.
“what.”
Her pupils were smaller than pinpricks, and she was shaking like a leaf on a windy day. This was obviously incredibly bad.
“Is there anything we can do to keep him sealed aw-“
*crack*

As soon as she heard the cracking of stone, Celestia was running out of my room faster than a quicksilver bullet that has been treated with bone ash. She was yelling out orders all the while, as the confused guard quickly got ready for something they had no idea about. Whoever this Discord creature is, he is obviously not to be messed with, if the controller of the sun was afraid of him.
*snap*

As I heard the sound of a snap, I slowly turned around. Standing behind me was the creature in all of its strange, mismatched glory.
“What have we here? A dog, left alone by its master?”
As it looks at me, all I can do is stare.
“Whats the matter, cat got your tongue?”
As he says this, he pulls out a… bear cub with a tongue in its mouth.
“Oops, wrong tongue. And wrong species.” As he chuckles, I wonder just what I got myself into.

The creature is still in front of me, somehow summoning a glass of brown liquid, before eating the glass, then throwing the brown liquid into the mirror, in which his reflection catches it in its mouth.
“Anyways, what are you? Your energy feels familiar, yet not. You from the void? Rick, is that you? I thought you were in the lands between! Wait, no, you’re not Rick. And this is a Bloodborne story, not Elden Ring.”
“I- uh…what?!”

“Thats not for you to get. Anyways, you have the blood of the moon presence within you, the energies of Odeon swirling around you, and the smell of fish on you.”
This creature… how does it know all of this?! What is happening?!?! And what does he mean I smell of fish???
“They never invite me to bingo anymore. That’s a shame, the bingo chips go great with a nice glass of Chardonnay. Oh, I keep getting off track. Hello, I am discord, spirit of chaos! And you will be my latest victim. Isn’t that wonderful?”

“Whatever you are, I will not be your victim. How do you know of the great ones?”
“Ugh, those stuffy old fools. Get one species to call you ‘great ones’, and they get all high and mighty, as if they were superior. Start making rules about not intervening with mortals, then ignoring them and interfering with mortals. Me, I’m a free spirit. As soon as none of them weren’t looking, I snuck out, and found myself here!”

“You’re a great one.” I snarl out, as my fur begins to ignite with my building rage.
Yep! Though I can’t tell how you got here. Did Odeon give you a second chance? Good for you! Although kinda wish he picked a different dimension. This place is kinda my deal.”
I can feel my fur burning hotter and hotter, as my teeth grind. It feels as if my skin is shrinking, and then growing rapidly, as I feel my blood begin to boil.
I do not care how you got here, or why. All I know is that I will not let you harm any innocents. And I especially will not lose another home you the meddling of YOUR kind.”

“MY kind? Buddy, your the one who experimented with the blood.”
“AFTER I began to have visions about it. I may have made the mess, but it was one of you that caused the dominoes to begin falling. And I will not let the same happen here.”
“Ugh. That was definitely the work of the moon presence. She only ever does things through dreams, and has an unhealthy interest in violence. Not me though. I may cause chaos, but I’ll never kill. I have some standards.”

“That does not matter. I will not let any harm come to any of the creatures of this world, physically or mentally.”
“Thats too bad, because YOU are gonna be the one helping me!”
As he says that, he touches my forehead while a smirk envelops his mouth My mind begins to go blank, as fog envelops my brain. It tells me to hunt, to kill. To make blood spill.

I grip my head, as the pain of my mind being invaded is unbearable. It’s at this point I can feel my body begin to grow, but I continue to fight. I will NEVER turn back into a beast. At this point, discords smile begins to vanish, and a look of confusion and concern replaces it. Wasn’t this what he wanted? As my mind fights the fog, I can hear the door open, and I see 7 figures in the door. It’s Twilight and her friends.I can’t hurt them. Using as much willpower as I can, I utter one word.
“run.”
“Laurence, what’s happening, is that disc-”
“RUN!”

As twilight and her friends just stand there, I can feel myself begin to lose the fight. My horns grow more disheveled, as a bony armor covers my face. Once more, I weakly tell them to run, and thankfully, they do. Now that I am alone, I don’t have to worry about collateral damage anymore, so I can redouble my efforts to retake control. Slowly, but surely, I begin to push back the fog of bloodlust, until he speaks.”I would have thought something would have happened by now. Unless… you used the blood. You were corrupted. Well now I just feel bad. Welp, better stop this. Other wise, you might turn into a beast.” he begins to reach for my forehead again, but by now, the fog has come back. I have become a beast, once more.

As he tries to touch my forehead, I am helpless to watch myself grab his arm and yank. He lets out a blood curdling scream as his arm is ripped free. That is not an exaggeration, as his blood literally begins to curdle as it leaves his body. He shuffles back, before snapping his fingers.
“Oh no. What have I done.” As I hold his severed arm, I begin to rip into it, enjoying the bitter iron taste as the crimson fluid of life hits my tongue. Not just any blood. The blood of a great one. Sanguine sanctum.

I let out a screech that pierced the heavens, reveling in the holy blood that I eagerly lap up. I can feel myself grow stronger, both physically, and mentally. I might be able to fight against the fog again soon, but I have to wait for the right opportunity. Then, as if things couldn’t get worse, the 7 return, with the princess in tow.

“What… what did you do to him discord?!”
“I made the biggest mistake I could have. I tried to alter a brain that has been corrupted once before. I just reverted him to a beast. And now… he’s going to destroy everything. I just wanted some harmless chaos, some good old fun. And now… I’ve doomed this world.”
“Laurence… no.”
“Laurence, if you are still in there, please, you have to fight it.”
But there is nothing I can do, as I lunge for Princess Celestia.

Just as I’m about to land on her, I am enveloped in a blue magic field. As my claws graze her, I shift my head to a sudden intrusion, and the cause for my floating. The other princess has arrived.
“What hast thou done sister! You brought a moonlight beast into the castle!?! No wonder discord got free!”
“Luna, he’s not a moonlight beast. He was turned into one by a failed experiment, and now discord’s mind manipulation has made him go feral.”
The lunar princess rolls her eyes, before speaking again.
“Fine, we shall see if we can help him.Sister, hold him while I go into his mind.”
And with that, I see no more than a white void.

“Where… where am I?”
“we are within your mind. Thou are trapped within thy own subconscious.”
“I have to get out. I can’t hurt them. Not after getting a second chance. Not after all I went through! I can’t hurt them! Not again! Please… help me.”
As I begin to cry, the night princess looks at me with pity, before shaking her head.
“We shall grant thee the strength to fight off the mind manipulation. No more than enough.”
“Thank you.”

As I feel the strength begin to flow through me, I focus my mind on the cloud. Slowly, I push it back, inch my inch, until it is almost gone. Then, a finger lands on my forehead, and the rest of the fog disappears. Suddenly I am thrust out of the void, and back into reality. Discord stands before me, looking downtrodden, as I am embraced by Twilight, Celestia, and Twilights friends. As they hold me, I begin to tear up once more. I had almost hurt them. As I begin to bawl my eyes out, discord walks up to me.

“I… can’t believe I am about to say this, but… I’m sorry. I didn’t know what they put you through back in Yharnam. If I knew, I wouldn’t have tried to manipulate your mind. I was hoping to make you support me, but because your mind has been twisted by the blood… I almost caused a lot of pain. I shall take any punishment you deliver upon to me.”
Everyone in the room looked up in surprise, even Celestia. That’s when she said something that would shock us all, and change everything that would happen after this.

“I forgive you.”
Three simple words shocked us more than discord’s apology. She then even further surprised us.”You could have hurt many people, that is true. But Laurence could have too. In fact, from what he said, he did hurt some people. But he never meant to. He just wanted to help. And you know what. I forgave him. You had only wanted to have fun, even if it was at the expense of others. It would be hypocritical for me to forgive Laurence and then ignore you.”

“So for your punishment, I will request you go to Ponyville, with my student Twilight and her friends, to learn the magic of friendship. For with friends, you can have fun, and not harm others.” The room was deafeningly silent. Until, Discord hugged Celestia.
“Thank you. And you, Laurence.”
He then Hugged me. A great one, one of the most powerful beings in all of existence, who can create pocket dimensions with ease and create life itself, was hugging me, to apologize for almost hurting me.

As I am left speechless, Discord then claps his hands.
“Alright, now that thats over, time to be assigned a parole officer.”
He snaps his fingers, and he is now in a black and white prison outfit, with a ball and chain around one of his feet. He points to Fluttershy.
“You look nice. How do you feel about reforming a god of chaos?”
She helps in surprise, before blushing and nodding her head.

“Well then, now that this is over, Luna, let me introduce you to Laurence.”
“A pleasure your highness.”
Greetings. We shall talk tonight, within your dreams. We wish to see what happened to you that was so bad, that the lord of chaos apologized for messing with you.”
I sigh, before beginning to walk out of the room.
“It will not be pretty.”
“We shall be fine, we have seen many things.”
I nod, before leaving the room to go to the dining room. All of this has left a bad taste in my mouth, literally. The blood of the gods does not taste very good.

As I sit down with a tray of fettuccine with a shrimp Alfredo sauce, Celestia enters the dining hall. She grabs a salad, before sitting across from me.
“Are you okay?”
“No. I turned into a mindless beast, for a second time, and almost hurt you. I am sorry. If it wasn’t for your sister, I might have done worse.”
“But you didn’t, and that’s what matters. What really matters is that you were saved, and we managed to begin reforming discord.”
I chuckle lightly, before taking a bite.
“I’m glad, I would be devastated if I hurt anyone, but you and Twilight… I wouldn’t be able to live with myself.”
“Oh? And why is that?”
“Twilight and you were my first friends in years. Centuries even. After getting a second chance, Twilight is the one who saved my life. And you, you were willing to put aside your pain you felt to listen to me. And then, you were willing to share your pain with me, someone you had just met. I trust you two with my life.”

“I am glad to hear that. Laurence, could I ask you a favor? I would like you to stay in Canterlot for a while. I want to make sure you recover well, and keep you away from discord for a bit. Is that alright with you?”
“ yes princess. I’m actually glad you offered that.” After that, we continued to eat. And for once, the silence that followed was peaceful.

Author's Note

My longest chapter yet! Please leave any criticism or predictions in the comments.

Chapter 10: Per Venio humanitas, splendor pendere

I awoke with a jolt, sitting up in bed. I grab my head, as a headache took over me. The dream I just had seemed too … real. It was if I actually had somehow managed to be teleported to a world of technicolor horses. As my body wakes up, I begin to arise from my bed to get dressed. After all, Master Wilhem said that today’s expedition would finally prove his theory of ascension.

“ah, Laurence. Look who finally decided to regain consciousness.I was worried I had hit you over the head to hard when you refused to go rest.”
I chuckle at master Wilhem’s jape.
“What can I say. I can hardly put down a good book.”
As the other students begin to arrive, I notice something strange. Many of them had some sort of gardening tool, or weapon. I understood Gehrman, since he did lawn keeping after lectures,but the other students made no sense. For some reason Micolash brought what appeared to be a metal laundry hamper. After quickly shushing them, master Wilhem began his lecture.

“Students of byrgenwyrth. By now, you are all wondering why I have gathered you, and why I told you to bring these strange objects. I can see that some of you decided to bring, let’s just say…unique equipment for today. And there is a good reason. For just yesterday, we have evidence that a great one has washed up on the shore of a local fishing hamlet. Or at least, it’s corpse. After washing up, however, things started to go wrong.”

“ Strange beasts have appeared along side the corpse, and it is believed that they slaughtered the townsfolk. This is the reason you brought these tools. To fend for yourself. However, I will also be ensuring that you are not unprotected, as I am also sending the tomb prospectors with you. As you know, the tombs are dangerous, and thus, the tomb prospectors have been trained in combat. They will be ensuring your protection while you search for evidence of ascension. Search the cranial cavities of the creatures for eyes, and make sure that you alway have at least one tomb prospector nearby. I do not want any innocent humans getting hurt.”

It was a nightmare. The hamlet was in flames, and the smell of burning corpses filled my nose. Most of the students look on in disgust as the tomb prospectors killed the creatures in ways so brutal, that the Spanish Inquisition seemed to be a group of gentle masseuses. They tore open their heads, and stuck their hands into the grey matter, seeing if they could find any eyes. Even Gehrman, who I know for a fact had to slaughter animals on his parents farm, looked on in horror. Even if they were mindless monsters, did they deserve to be violated in such a way?

After the village came the shoreline, in which a creature that had resided within the corpse was slain. It had looked so scared, as if it wasn’t a monster. As if… it had just been born.
“what have you done!”
We all turned around, surprised to see one of the creatures. Had it just spoke?!” We have done nothing, and yet you burn our homes, kill us, defile our bodies, and then kill the poor, orphaned child of the great one we worshipped?! You shall know the pain we have suffered, one way or another. Curse you fiends, your children too. AND YOUR CHILDREN, FOREVER TRUE! A BOTTOMLESS CURSE, A BOTTOMLESS SEA, PUNISHING ALL THOSE THAT ARE, AND WILL BE!”

I awoke with a start. I had been dreaming about the hamlet again. As I get out of bed, one of the stewards opened the door.
“Vicar Laurence, are you alright?”
As I catch my breath, I look to the young boy.
“Yes my child, just a nightmare. Thank you for checking up on me, may the good blood guide you.”
As he shuts the door, I sigh, and get dressed. I shall start my duties early today.

As the day progresses, nothing of not happened. A ceremony here, a blood transfusion there, and a bit of politics sprinkled in. However, as the sun set, things changed.
“The moon is red? What tidings does this bring?”
“Sir!”
A hunter, Valtr the constable, master of the league, enters my office. He is one of the few higher ranks in the church I trust.
“Is everything alright, confederate Valtr?”
“No, it is not! In fact, EVERYTHING is wrong!”

“Calm down, old friend what is happening?”
“Beast activity has skyrocketed. Not only that, but many seem to be infested with vermin, making them more aggressive. We have lost all contact with the holy blades as well.”
My eyes shrunk at the news. The holy blades were another group of hunters, much like the confederates, and the best in the church. Their leader was another person I trusted, so I began to worry.

“What of Ludwig? Surely no beast could take him down, with him having the holy moonlight blade and all?”
“Thats just the thing. They found what was left of his horse, and an immense amount of blood.His backup blade and a piece of his cloak were found nearby We fear the worst. ”
I sit down in my chair, reeling in this news. Ludwig, the best hunter since the disappearance of Gehrman, and one of my best friends, was believed dead. Just what the hell is this blood moon?

After the news, Valtr escorts me to the grand cathedral, where many high ranking healing church members have decided to call an emergency meeting. As I arrive, many look worried, and even scared. Micolash is nowhere to be found, as usual, as well as the choir’s representative.
“I want to know everything that is happening out there, stat!”
“First off sir, it appears that this blood moon is speeding up the transformation process, and increasing their aggression. The people have began to show signs as well, becoming much more violent and snapping at anything they see.”

“This is dire news. What of the hunters?”
“The holy blades have gone completely missing, as well as many of the older hunters. The powder kegs were sent down to old Yharnam, and the black church hunters were sent to central Yharnam. The Madaras twins sealed off the forbidden woods, and the Yahargul hunters seem to be abducting yharnamites.”

“What about mensis, or the choir? Any words from them?”
“The choir has completely locked their doors, and the only word we have from mensis is a single letter saying that they succeeded.”
“Of course Micolash would be behind everything going to shit. Anything else I should know about?”
*bang*
The doors fly open, and a single, heavily wounded powder keg limps in.

“there were too many of them. Couldn’t do anything. Old Yharnam has fallen.”
Silence fills the air. Old Yharnam is where many of my friends lived, and is where I grew up. How could this happen?
“So what your saying is that not only have many good hunters, including my friend have gone missing, but my home town is now burning, my people are going mad, and half of my church has either abandoned trying to help, or are the reason this even happened?”

“Thats not all. We tried to use the water from the river down there to put out some of the fires, and get a drink, but we discovered something. There was a substance contaminating the water, making it flammable and extremely toxic. The river was poisoned.”
“Who would poison the river of old Yharnam?” That’s when it hit me. The ashen blood ailment. It all made sense now. Why nothing could cure it, and how it came out of nowhere. The church. My own damn church went behind my back, poisoned my homes water supply, and then sold them the solution, to help push the usage of the old blood. Ever since the beginning, my own church has been going behind my back.

Shortly after, another hunter runs in.
“Sir, why did you shut the gates to the cathedral ward? We can’t provide backup to the city!”
I was fuming.“WHO AUTHORIZED THE GATES BEING SHUT?!”
I could feel myself slipping. No matter what I did, the church always went against my wishes. Human experimentation, expelling my most trusted advisors to replace them with these corrupt fools, and now the abandonment of my people and the burning of my home town. What was the point of being the head of this church if no one obeyed me?

I had lost everything in one night. My friends, my people, my home, and my dream. With nothing left, I began to laugh. As others looked on in confusion and fear, my laughter became more deranged. My mind had snapped, and I had finally lost my humanity. That’s when the pain started. I could feel my flesh rip, and my bone break and regrow. My nails extended, and my skull burst open, allowing two antler to poke out. All the while, my mind slipped further and further away, until I was left as a passenger in my own body. But right before I began to tear into the terrified heads of the church, I heard a shout.
“ENOUGH! BEGONE NIGHTMARE, FROM THIS CREATURES MIND!”

I was now standing in a white void, confused. What had just happened? Where am I?
“I must apologize, Vicar Laurence. We did not know thy shared our pain.”
“The pain of not being respected. Of being a leader, but no one trusting you due to their own interests. The pain of being used by those you thought you could trust.”
“ The pain of finally letting go, and giving in to the darkness. And the pain of being forced to hurt others.”
“I guess we are kindred spirits, you and I. We have both made mistakes, and hurt others.”
And now, we must make up for it. Come, new friend. Let us take this journey of redemption together.”

As Luna held out her hoof, I gripped it, and brought her into a hug, which she gladly reciprocated. As the night went on, we continued to talk. I may have had another nightmare, and I may have a long way to go yet. But I know one thing. Even after the darkest of nights, the sun always rises. And I promise myself to cherish these new friends I have made, and the second chance I was given. For what makes us human is our ability to cherish others, and I will never make the mistake of throwing it away again.

Chapter 11: venator, praedator, sanguine in lunae

After my nightmare and encounter with Luna, I returned to my slumber, hoping to get a peaceful night of rest. Oh, I should have known that would never happen to me. For now, something else wished to speak.

“Laurence.”
Once more, I found myself in the void. However, this time something was different. The void was ever slightly aglow, with a pale, bluish-green light. Now was not the time for admiring Odeon’s redesign though, as I still needed to know how I got here, and why.

“Odeon! Why am I here?!”
“I am impressed Laurence. You have quickly adapted to this new world, and have even rescued some of them. Not to mention, you somehow managed to find one of the great ones, long thought to have been lost to the void.”
“ While I am glad to impress you, and show you that I am deserving of this second chance, that does not answer my question.”

“Your success has made me wonder though. Who else from your crumbling town deserves the chance to be redeemed once more? I then realized that you once had a good friend. One who had stood by you until his disappearance that fateful night. One who’s devotion to saving lives was second only to you.”
“Are you saying…”
“Yes, young Laurence. The holy blade shall arise once more.”

With that I awoke suddenly. The shock from his words still echoing through my mind. Ludwig, the holy blade, one of the best hunters to ever live, and my best friend after Gehrman disappeared, was returning. I had to speak with Celestia. As I exit my room, I notice that the sun had just started to rise, indicating the time to be around 6 in the morning. That means that within the next few minutes, she will most likely either head to the dining room, or to her throne.

I decide to check the dining room first, as I believe that raising the sun must make one famished. I was rather hungry myself, so it wouldn’t hurt to go there, even if she isn’t there. As I walk to the dining chamber, I notice that several guards give me nods, or waves. I of course reciprocate this, and am glad to know I have landed in such an open place. In Yharnam, most people would just grunt at each other on the street. After another minute of walking, I finally arrive.

I open the doors, and a delightful aroma hits my nose. I smell sweet syrup, the greasy salty smell of bacon, and can hear what sounds to be eggs cooking on the griddle. Celestia is sitting at one of the tables with her sister, Twilight, and a strange pink pony I have never met before, sitting next to a white one with a blue mane. I quickly grab some breakfast and head over, as Celestia waves me over.

“Good morning my friends, how are you all doing?”
Celestia, Twilight, Luna and the mysterious pair all offer the same answer, saying they are good.
“Who might you two be? Friends of Celestia?”
“I guess you could say that. My name is Mi amore Cadenza, but I prefer Cadence. And this is my beloved, shining armor. “
“ A pleasure. ”
“And Celestia is my aunt. Who might you be?”

“My name is Laurence, and the pleasure is all mine. “
After we introduce ourselves to each other, we begin to eat, making various small talk. From this I learn that not only is Shining Armor Twilight’s brother, but Cadence is her old sitter! I also learn that Shining Armor is the captain of the royal guard, and that he is extremely talented at not only combat, but defensive spells and tactics. After this enlightenment, Luna looks at me.

“Laurence, might we inquire how thou art doing after your nightmare last night?”
“I’m Doing rather well. I have grown rather used to the nightmares at this point.”
A sad look appears on Luna’s face, before quickly being replaced by a determined look.
“Well you won’t have to worry anymore. As the princess of the night, it is our duty to ensure our subjects have pleasant dreams. And thou art no exception.”

I smile, thanking her again for helping me.
After breakfast, a request to speak with the princess’s for a minute more, to which they agree.
“Thank you princesses. I wish to do two things. One, I wish to request a chance at joining your research teams. Not as a director or supervisor, or anything like that, but as a researcher.My purpose in life has always been to the pursuit of knowledge to benefit everyone, and I would like to achieve that here.”
“We do have some researcher positions available. It will be hard, seeing as there are no records of your credentials in equestrian, but I believe you and will see what I can do. What else did you wish to speak about?”
“Someone else is coming.”

“After Luna helped me with my nightmare, I had a vision. I was in a void, bathed in a blue-green light. A formless voice called out, and began to converse with me. He spoke of how it was now going to give a second chance to someone else. Someone I knew. Someone I trusted.”
“Is it this Valtr we saw in your dream? Or maybe that Gehrman fellow?”
“No, it is someon else. One of the best warriors from my home, and a scholar that I taught myself. One of my best friends, Ludwig, the holy blade.”

“This is concerning news.”
“What do you mean sister? Should we not be glad to meet yet another from Laurence’s home?”
“Yes, but it also means that this formless creature has access to creatures minds, and can speak directly to them, bypassing dreams altogether. You will not be able to stop it if it decides to attempt to corrupt our ponies.”
“True, but from what Laurence has said, this creature only wishes to give second chances to those that deserve them.”
“Yes, but what if it’s lying? What if it’s making an excuse just to open up a door into our world, letting untold nightmares in? ”

“You are right sister. From what I have seen in Laurence’s dreams, the creatures from that world make a manticore seem like a large kitten. But, if we are careful, we won’t have to worry. Besides, Laurence’s friend is a warrior, like us! With his help, We should be able to easily kill any beasts that manage to escape.”
“I hope you’re right Luna.”
And quietly, I hope as well.

After our brief conversation, I walk out, and notice a what appears to be a black pony enveloped in a sudden flash. I smell a burnt odor, as if a bug had been caught of fire, and It looks as if the air was distorted from a sudden shift in temperature. And the color of the flash was noteworthy as well. It was a bright green. Something was spying on us, but what?

Author's Note

Happy Easter! I hope you all enjoy this chapter, as well as exited for what is gonna happen next! Leave your criticisms and thoughts in the comments.

Chapter 12: nuptias sanguinis

For the next few weeks, every day I had the chance I would go out into those accursed woods and search, seeing if he had arrived yet, to no avail. But As I searched, things got more Mysterious in the castle. Servants would disappear and reappear, forgetting memories, and even completely change personalities. What even stranger to me was the smell.

Over this period of time, the castle began to smell strange. What was weirder was that I was the only one to notice. I assume this is because of my heightened senses due to my beast-hood, which raises even more questions. Why was this scent so powerful, yet no one could detect it, except for me? And why did so many of the staff and guards reek of this odor? Slowly, the number of staff that had the scent grew, and less and less staff were willing to speak to me. Even some of those who I had befriended before began to act as if they didn’t know me.

Something is amiss, and I will find out what. The first stop on my investigation was the servants quarters. When I arrived, I was expecting them to be full of the night staff, sleeping the day away. But what I found was a total lack of creatures. Even the mice were silent. Unnerved, I moved to my second stop, the guard training grounds. Normally, there would be guards everywhere, either keeping in shape, practicing their skills or just socializing. Yet, today there was almost no one there. I asked some of the guards, and they were wondering as well. I had to speak to the princesses.

It took me a while to find Celestia, but when I did, I remained quiet. She was having a conversation with her niece, but something was off. Cadence now reeked of the odor as well. She seemed strangely aggressive, as if someone had just made a passive aggressive comment about her that she overheard. I knew now that whatever was happening, even the princesses could be affected,l. I decided to speak with them, but to steer clear of mentioning the what was happening, as to not draw any suspicion that I was on to this mystery.

“Good evening Celestia, and good evening Cadence. How are you both doing today?”
“Thats princess cadence to you.”
“Now that’s no way to talk to Laurence, even if you are stressed out.” “Oh? Is everything ok princess?”
“Oh, nothing. It’s just my wedding. It’s not like a princess getting married is a big deal or anything.”
“Cadence, don’t be so rude. He was just wondering if you were ok.”
“Oh no, it’s fine Celestia. I know how stressful weddings are. Trust me, when I was a vicar, I had to deal with a few weddings, and I know how stressful it is for both the bride, and the groom. Congratulations, by the way.”

“Anyways, I just wished to check up on you two. I have some things I need to do, so I will see you both later.”
As I began to walk away, I looked back, and noticed that Cadence’s pupils turned green for the slightest second. Something sinister was happening, and whether it is possession of or replacing ponies, I will stop it. I just hope I can save those affected, unlike in Yharnam.

A few more days go by, with no leads to follow. However, I discovered that Twilight and her friends were invited to the wedding. If anyone could help me solve this, it would be Twilight. Apparently, though, discord and Fluttershy were not coming, with Fluttershy being too nervous, and discord, quote” not wanting to spoil the fun.” With that, I had all the confirmation I needed that something was going on, and knew that I had to ramp up my search.

Before they arrived, however, a letter was discovered, planted directly on the throne. A warning, that something would happen during the wedding. To ensure nothing goes wrong, guard patrols were upped and Shining Armor powered a shield spell to surround the city. However, this was most likely a ruse, to spread their forces too thin and to weaken the best shield mage in the guard. If only Ludwig were here by now, I wouldn’t be as worried that the ponies were falling for the trap.

As the train containing Twilight and her friends arrived, we greeted them at the station. Everyone went their separate ways to help prepare. I, however, decided to continue my investigation. I first noticed that almost every guard had the scent on them. The first clue that something big was about to happen. The next strange occurrence was the complete lack of ambience. No ponies chattering while preparing, no clattering of dishes, and most eerily, no hoof steps. It was as if the castle was completely empty.

For a while, I discovered nothing else. Until I stepped in something. I sighed, thinking the janitor forgot to clean up a spill, and looked down, only to freeze. I had stepped in a strange green goo. As I leaned down to inspect it, I noticed how fast it was drying. It had been placed recently. I quickly look up, expecting an ambush to drop from the sealing, only for nothing to happen. Now on edge, I continued my search, well into the night. As I came near the rehearsal, I heard a commotion. It seems that Twilight was suspicious as well. What bothered me though, was that none of her friends believed her. What they did next, broke my heart: they practically disowned her. Even Celestia, someone that Twilight had looked up to.

I quietly slink into the corner, so no one leaving could notice me, before slipping into the room where Twilight still was. She was hysterical, sobbing uncontrollably. As I approach her, she suddenly jerks up and notices me.
“L- Laurence! What are you doing here?”
“I’m here to console a friend that needs it.”
“why? Don’t you know what I tried to do?”
“Yes. You raised a valid point as to why the bride was not who she said she was, and they ignored the evidence.”
“Wait… you believe me?”

“Yes. You see, I’ve had some suspicions myself. Lately, staff and guards have been going missing, and their personalities have done complete 180’s. Not only that, but the servants quarters and guards barracks have become barren. Some ponies also have this strange scent to them, that only I seem to notice. This includes Cadence. And finally, even though a wedding is about to happen, it has been eerily silent. Have you heard any conversations, or the hoof steps of people hurrying about?”
“Now that you mention it, it has been eerily quiet. What do you think happened?”

“I have two theories. One, a mass possession, and a potential demon outbreak will occur during the reception. The second, a group of shapeshifters have infiltrated the castle, and plan to take over during the wedding. That is why they sent the note, to spread thin the guards and weaken any chance of a proper defense due to Shining armor being exhausted.”
“So what do we do?”
“For now, we can do nothing, but try and investigate further. Be careful Twilight, and ensure that no one knows what you do. Not even the princess, as I suspect that she is being manipulated as well.”

She nods, and leaves the room, leaving me alone. I begin to ponder, before I hear a yelp, lightly muffled. I quickly and quietly go to investigate, only to find a Cadence has knocked Twilight out. I remain quiet, hoping to not be found long enough for me to follow them. As she picks Twilight up in her magic and take her away, I tail them at a distance. Eventually, Cadence takes her into a part of the castle I’ve been in once before: The crystal caves. Cadence sets her down, and Twilight begins to wake up. Cadence gloat about their victory a bit to a groggy twilight, before leaving, somehow failing to notice me. Why did they bring her down here? That’s when I notice the strange green cocoons adorning the wall.

I go up to one, and begin to observe it, when a movement inside the pod startled me. Inside the pod, is a pony. A guard, in fact. Slowly, the puzzle pieces begin to piece together. These black ponies have been kidnapping the staff and guards, replacing them. Whatever that scent is must be their way of distinguishing each other. By the time I look away, Twilight is gone. I know I should find her, but I need to ensure that nothing goes wrong at the wedding. I quickly slip out, and past the somehow oblivious guards before returning to my room. I go to sleep, praying to the great ones that Luna checks up on me tonight.

Another night, another nightmare, and thankfully, another rescue by Luna.
“Thank you again Luna. Before you leave, I need to speak with you.”
“Oh? Is everything alright?”
“ I know what the threat tomorrow is going to be.”
She raises her eyebrows, before asking how I know this. I tell her everything I found, and everything that twilight found, as well as my conclusion.”
“This is troubling indeed. It sounds as if it is the work of changelings.”
“What are they? And how do we stop them?”
“Changelings are parasitic shapeshifters, that feed off of the emotions of creatures. As for how to deal with them, normally you just need an army, but seeing how my sister’s guards are incompetent, it will once again fall to me and my night guard. We are glad that we decided to base our guard outside the castle. ”

“Good. Tomorrow morning, mobilize the guard. I will make sure the wedding is an… interesting one.”
“I will. Good luck, friend Laurence. Changelings are tricky adversaries, so be on guard at all times.”
“Don’t worry Luna, I have plenty of experience with two faced liars, as well as sudden transformations.”
And with that, I wake up to the sound of church bells.

As I get dressed into a garb that Rarity had custom made for me, I begin to reminisce. This robe is an almost perfect recreation of my vicar garb, but much more durable and comfortable. I must thank her later, after I reprimand her for how she treated Twilight. As I enter the halls of the royal chapel, I can’t help but draw comparisons to the grand cathedral. I sit down, and soon, many others do as well. Twilight is nowhere to be seen, and her friends look as if they couldn’t care less that they had hurt her so. I quickly bring my rage under control, before I start a fire, just as Celestia gets behind the pew.

The groom enters and gets into position, and everyone begins to quiet down. The flower girls quickly get into place, and soon, the bride appears. The ceremony goes well, and the vows seem a little off, but nothing of note happens, other than Shining armor looking exhausted. Then, Celestia says the line I was waiting for.
“Speak now or forever hold your piece.”
I quickly raise a claw, and begin to talk.
“ I have nothing against this union, I just have a few questions that just can’t wait.”

Celestia looks shocked as I speak up, while Cadence looks furious.
“ My first question, is about what if found in the crystal caverns. Strange green cocoons were stored within. Not only that, but I saw some pony being dragged off towards them, by you, princess cadence. Would you care to explain?”
Everyone looks shocked by the question, either from fury or confusion.
“My next question is about the staff and the guards. Lately their personalities have been changing, and have forgotten memories and ponies. And finally, how has no creature NOTICED HER MAGIC IS GREEN FOR FUCKS SAKE?!”

The “cadence” begins to shout at me, fury in her eyes.”HOW DARE YOU ACCUSE ME LIKE THIS ON MY SPECIAL DAY, YOU FREAK?!! ”
“This isn’t true… right Cadence?”
“OF COURSE IT ISN’T! Dont tell me you trust this… thing more than your own niece, right?” it looks as if she’s about to answer, before a voice rings out.
“I don’t know about the princess, but I trust him!”

Just then, Twilight bursts in, with the real Cadence, as well as some very slimy castle staff. The Fake looks furious, before being engulfed in a green fire.”
You think you’re so clever, figuring me out. But it’s too late. My swarm is here, and soon, the shield will be taken down, allowing my children to feed. You lose!”
Just as she says this, the shield falls, and many black specks litter the horizon. Panic ensues, and many of the guards and staff are engulfed in green flames, as they turn into their true forms.

Celestia is finally shaken out of her shock, and challenges the queen, only to lose. The swarm has arrived, and it looks as if all hope is lost. That is, until a dark blue blur tackles an armored changeling, before throwing a spear impaling another on the wall. Multiple dark blurs dart across the sky, and begin to collide with the changelings, telling me all that I needed to know. Luna has finally arrived.
“Thou art wrong about it being too late. Laurence had warned us about you during the night, giving us enough time to get ready and mobilize our guard. You’ll find them to be a greater threat than our sister’s guards.”
Luna quickly grabbed her sister, and evacuated her along with the rest of those still within the chapel to safety. If the bug looked furious before, she looked feral now. She lunged at me, ready to tear out my throat, but I reacted just in time, and slash at her.

She teleports away before my slash hits her, and her horn begins to glow. Just then, about 30 armored changeling surround me. One makes a move, aiming to impale me with its spear, but I grab the spear, and pull him towards me, before bisecting him with my claws. As it attempts to scoop his intestines back into his upper half, the others look on at me with horror and fury. Two changelings attack next, one going low, and the other going high. I quickly jump up, barely dodging the second one, before punching my fist through the first one’s heart, killing it instantly, before kicking my hoof directly into and through the second one’s brain. After that, they all attack me at once.

The next few minutes were a blur to me. I remember impaling one with its own spear, and decapitating another with its Friends severed leg. I feel the slash of a blade upon my skin, doing almost nothing due to how thick beast hide truly is. I rip out another one’s stomach, before making a slight cut in it and throwing the acid filled bag at another, melting its face almost instantly. another one hits me with a fire spell, which does nothing except cause me to ignite. One spears me, piercing me deep, before I retaliate by ripping his foreleg off and beating him with it.

After that, three more attack me with their swords, this time thrusting instead of slicing, causing me great deals of pain. But it’s not like I notice, as I have fallen deep into my bestial nature, and began to embrace the bloodlust. In one swipe of my claws, I cripple two of them, and ignite the third one, causing it to run away, screaming in agony. A changeling with a battle axe Burt’s it deep in my shoulder, expecting it to be a debilitating wound. Instead, I pull it out, and split his head in two using it, before throwing it at one attempting to sneak up on me, burning itself deep in its heart.

As the fight goes on, I am wounded more and more. Three more spears pierce my hide, and another battle axe almost cleaves my already wounded arm off. One of them manages to gut me using their sword, before being engulfed by the lava that poured from the wound. But even as the injuries pile on, I continue to fight. Now though, I was slower, but had the ability to once again use my lava vomit. I proceed to spray another 5 with the molten rock, melting them instantly, before ripping another one if half, and unsung it’s body as a blunt object to smash into its allies. One by one, I fell the changelings, until only 4 were left. Before I could deal with them, however, I felt a sharp object pierce the back of my heart.

I fall over, somehow still alive, and slowly turn around to see what killed me.it was the fake cadence. The coward had used its soldiers to distract me, before attacking me when I had no chance to defend myself. She began to raise the blade she had stabbed me with, trying to lop off my head. But just before she could, a sudden wall of pink launched her away from the city, along with any of the remaining changelings. We had won.

As I lie there, dying, I hear the sound of several sets of hooves approaching me.
“Laurence, no!!”
I hear sobbing, but I can’t tell who it’s from.
“What did they do to you?!”
“You have done well Laurence. You saved many lives.”
“Thank you. You saved me. You saved all of us.”
I cough, blood and lava leaking out of my mouth.
I look over, seeing Twilight’s former friends and princess Celestia. Or at least I think it’s them, as my vision has begun to fade.

“I… I don’t think I am going to live. *cough cough* All of you, please… learn from this. Do not make the same mistakes again. You could lose everything… like I did. I didn’t listen to my master, and I lost my friends, my home, and my life. You didn’t listen to twilight, and you almost lost everything I once did. Please… learn from them. Listen to those you care about… even if it sounds ridiculous, at least hear them out…*cough cough cough* I am glad… to know… that this time… I die… for a purpose. I die… to protect… those I… care about.” As my vision fades, I see the serpentine form of the Draconequus come into view.

Chapter 13: Laurence, Primus Vicarius

The inky black void of nothingness has greeted my eyes once again. This time, I felt as if I would be here for a much longer time. After all, I had died once more. For years, I had done everything to help my people avoid this fate, only to usher it directly unto them. Perhaps I deserve to be trapped within the void.

Suddenly, I began to watch my life play out in front of me, as if I was in a theater. Every introduction, every lesson, every report, and every funeral. My falling out with Master Wilhem, the founding of the church, the first beasts, Gehrman’s disappearance, meeting Ludwig, and the night of my fall were all there. Every moment was accompanied by the somber music, retelling my folly to trust the blood. Eventually, it ended with my burning carcass, stuck in the nightmare, finally being freed by the strange hunter, before fading to black.

Then, the music changed, as the screen returned into that strange forest I had woken up within. It showed me the moment I saved those 3 fillies, and the moment that Twilight and her friends saved me. I watched as Twilight and her friends calmed me down, and managed to take me back to the library. I watched as I sobbed into Twilights shoulder, finally letting all of the pain I felt be released. I saw my meeting with Celestia, and her slow and gradual growth to not only accepting me, but befriending me.

I saw Discord twist my mind, before returning it to normal and apologizing. I witnessed Luna comforting me after the nightmare tormented me with my failures. I relived my meeting with Cadence and her beloved. I saw my treks through the forest, searching for a friend, long lost. And finally, I watch my sacrifice, as a blade pierced my heart from behind. I witnessed my friends crowd around me, crying, and begging me not to go. The music slowly fades, and the screen goes black, as tears begin to fill my eyes.

“Such an eventful life. No matter where you were, or what you were dealing with, you always did your best to save others.”
As I hear that voice, I quickly turn around, surprised to see the great one within this place.
“Oh, Don’t be too surprised. You meet Odeon here all the time! Why can’t I use it to give a little gift?”
“A… gift? What do you mean?” “I’m saving your life, dummy! And here I thought you were supposed to be smart.”
“But why? After everything I caused, all the pain I inflicted. Even here, I have cause so much pain, including to you. So why, why save me?”

He chuckles lightly before responding.
“*sigh* You still haven’t forgiven yourself. The reason I give you a second chance, just as Odeon did before me, is because despite your misgivings, and the pain caused by your actions, you are a good soul at heart. Everything you did, you did trying to save lives. When those you worked with valued their research over human life, you cut ties with them. Despite what you think of yourself Laurence, It was not you who truly caused the beasts. It was your fellow men.”

“Their greed and gluttony caused them to seek out more blood, even after they had been cured. Their bloodlust caused them to seek to shed their humanity. Their pride made them refuse that anything was wrong. Their sloth did nothing as the city burned to the ground. Their envy caused them to seek the blood, to become as strong as the hunters fighting the beasts. And their wrath caused them to harm anyone they saw as outsiders, labeling them as the reason the blood was tainted. Yharnam represented the seven sins, and that is why the city fell. Not you.”

“But not every soul within the city was as corrupt as most. Valtr, Ludwig, Gehrman, you, and many others before and after held on to their humanity, seeking to save as many as they could. While Yharnam was falling to its cancerous self, you and the few others like you were fighting a losing battle, trying to save those who did not deserve to be saved. All the while, the gods watched. While some didn’t care, some like Odeon did all they could to help.”

“And that’s why I saved you. Because I see within you the same thing that Odeon saw within you. Something that Yharnam threw away as soon as they got a taste of true power. Compassion. While fear makes you human, compassion makes you more than human. Even when you threw away your humanity, you held onto your compassion, hoping that someone would kill you, and save the people from your rampage. And when you turned again, for which I am sorry about, your first instinct was to tell your friends to run, as you didn’t wish to hurt them. You yet live, because you care.”

As he stopped, all that he had said finished sinking in. This entire time, I thought it was all my fault, that if I hadn’t found the blood, this would have never happened. But from what he said, my discovery had only sped up the inevitable. And the more I thought, the more it made sense. The choir and the school of mensis and their secret projects, the blood brothels, the sudden hate towards outsiders, the dependence on blood, he’ll even the blood cocktails, it was all signs showing that Yharnam was too far gone. But, it had still been my discovery that catapulted the city into the chaos as quick as it did.

“But my discovery still caused the fall to speed up. If I hadn’t discovered the blood, maybe the fall would have taken longer, and less would fall victim to their loved ones tearing each other apart.”
“And that, ladies and gentlemen, is reason number 2! Even when you’re faced with the truth, instead of being completely relieved, you are still willing to accept your part within the fall.”
“And why is this so important.
“Ugh, so impatient! Where’s your sense of mystery? Don’t you enjoy a good story? The reason this is so important is that good ol’ Od want to see if your worthy!”

“Worthy? Worthy of what?!”
“Only time will tell. Looks like it’s about time for you to wake up, so don’t worry! You’ll get more exposition in the sequel!”
And with that, he bursts into what appears to be an explosion of cake. Of course, he leaves me absolutely confused before completely vanishing. Just after he vanished, though, the black void begins to lighten, and the nonexistent ground begins to shake. I hear the slow beeps of a heart machine, before every thing goes white.

As my eyes slowly open and get adjusted to the light, I notice something. This is the first time I’ve been in an Equestrian hospital, and let me tell you, their equipment was much more advanced than Yharnams. Which confuses me as to why they still use bows, but that doesn’t matter right now. What matters is the pink blue that is upon me as soon as I awaken.

“GASP! IKNEWYIUWOULDWAKEUPI’MSOGLADYOURUPNOWIGETTOPLANALAURENCEISALIVEPARTYAND *inhale*SHOWEVERYONETHATWE’RESOSORRYANDGLADYOURALIVEANDTHATTHISWILLNEVERHAPPENAGAIN!” Of course the first one to find me would be the pink reality warper.
“Oh silly! I do more than warp reality! Uncle Odeon says I could do a lot if I just tried to figure out what I could do instead of party all the time! ”
“I… what?”
“Oops! Sorry! Didn’t mean to say that! Let me just… there! Now there’s a spoiler warning!”
I went from one absolutely insane creature to another. Thankfully, I hear someone else coming, hopefully they can balance out the insanity.

“LAURENCE!”
I recognize Twilights voice as she runs up to me, crushing me in a hug.
“We were all so worried! I so glad you’re alive! When we saw your wounds, we thought … Don’t ever do that again … Please.”
“I won’t Twilight, I promise.”
“But will ya pinkie promise?!”
“Umm… no. If I ever have to put my own life on the line to save my friends, I’d much rather be able to keep the friendship afterwards.”
“Aww, ok.”

Slowly, more and more trickle into the room. Applejack is next, and after greeting me and saying she was worried, she apologized toTwilight for the way she acted during the wedding. Next was Rarity, and she was the same way. Rainbow Dash was, as always, Rainbow Dash, and didn’t apologize until Applejack nudged her. Finally in came Fluttershy, who apologized for being absent from the wedding, while also stating how glad she was that we were all alive. Then, the princess came in.

“I am glad to see you alive Laurence. We were all so worried about you.”
“I’m glad to be here as well, but I think that someone owes someone an apology.
She flinched, before sighing.
“You’re right. Twilight, my faithful student. I should have listened. I should have saw the signs, and noticed what was happening, but I was so happy that Cadence was getting married, I was oblivious. And when you pointed them out, instead of listening, I shunned you, saying you had a lot to think about. When it was I who had a lot to think about. I am sorry my student. Could you ever forgive me?” The sudden hug wrapping around her neck was all the answer she needed, before she lightly sobbed, embracing Twilight back.

After more guests arrived to thank me, eventually Cadence and shining arrived. They thanked me for helping to save the wedding, and were glad to have me as a friend. Slowly, most of the guests left, except for Twilight, Celestia, Cadence and Shining armor. Eventually though, Twilight left with Cadence and Armor to go have dinner with their parents, leaving me and Celestial in the room.
“Laurence, I cannot express how happy I am that you were there during the wedding. Thanks to your actions, not a single pony died during the invasion. And no researchers did either, though one came really close.”

“They’re our newest one, too. Would have been a shame if they died.”
“Really? Who?”
You.
I was speechless. She had actually gotten me a research assignment. I hugged her.
“Thank you. For everything.”
I noticed a light blush on her face form, but ignored it as she began to speak.
“No, thank you.”
As Celestia began to set the sun, I thanked Odeon for the second chance.

I am Laurence, the first Vicar. I lost everything trying to save humanity, only to speed up their downfall. I am a scholar, a leader, a man of the gods, and most importantly, friend to Twilight, Celestia, Luna, Cadence, discord, and many others. After all I have been through, all the nightmares I have seen, i know the future will be rough. I know there will be challenges, and more blood must be spilt. But I also know one important thing: that my friendships will get me through it all.

Author's Note

The final chapter of my first story! Only the epilogue remains.