Thicker than Water

by FoggyHunter

Rating: teen
Tags: Trixie, Adventure, Princess Celestia, Crossover, Human, Main 6, Princess Luna, Gore, Original Character, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Dark, Comedy
Length: 31836

Khorne, Chaos god of Bloodshed and Slaughter, sets his sights on Equestria.

Equestria is a world free of hardship and worries and almost completely untouched by war. Khorne, Chaos god of Bloodshed and Slaughter, disapproves with the peace of this world and decides to do some "divine intervention". With the (unwanted) aid of Tzeentch, Chaos god of Change and Sorcery, Khorne will bring the horrors of war to Equestria. Can a newcomer save this world and the many souls that inhabit it, or will it become yet another casualty to the Dark Gods?

Authors Note: Betcha you guys didn't see this one coming, didja? (cackles evilly)
Although I originaly wrote this fanfic for fanfiction.net half a year ago, I decided to revise it and then "attempt" to post it here. I should also note that this is my FIRST fanfic, so please, please, please, PLEASE tell me how I can possibly improve on this. Updates will take time, unfortunately, but I do plan to finish this, for better or worse. I don't try to think myself as good a writer as kkat (who wrote Fallout: Equestria) but I do hope to improve myself to be at least half as good as him. First chapter is way short but second one is much longer. Also, a message to Roadpony the Loud: I in no way, shape, or form, wished to steal your idea. Great minds just think alike, I guess. Personally, I think you tell the story better than I do.

Published 2012-01-04 18:46:39 UTC
Last updated 2012-01-04 18:46:39 UTC

The Destroyers

Chapter 1: The Destroyers

Khorne, Chaos god of bloodshed and slaughter, sat upon his Skull Throne within the ever changing realm of the Warp in deep thought. Something was troubling him, which was odd for a god of his power. He disregarded the two Bloodthirsters who were dueling for his admiration at the base of his mountainous throne and continued to ponder over a particular planet in a particular universe. What he saw disgusted him. This planet was devoid of any glorious bloodshed; it was an embodiment of peace and tranquility as the creatures of the world lived in harmony with each other. Had he not been a god, Khorne would have surely vomited from even looking towards such a weak planet.

"How very odd of you to be in such deep thoughts, oh destroyer of sensibility."

Khorne turned towards the mocking voice, which seemed to have no distinct pitch or tone of its own as the voice constantly changed between each syllable, and looked with deep annoyance at the deity who so happened to be shifting between different alien forms at a blinding rate.

"DON'T YOU HAVE SOME MAD SCHEME TO SEE TO INSTEAD OF PESTERING ME!" Khorne bellowed in his deep, haunting voice that could cause entire armies to soil themselves.

Tzeentch, Chaos god of change and trickery, merely grinned with whatever mouth he happened to have at that moment in by far the most insidious way imaginable, and then some.

"Oh come now, how is that any way to treat someone who is almost a brother to you?"

At this Khorne turned back to what it was he was studying with a growl, his grip on the large demonic blade he kept by his side tightening.

"IF YOU DO NOT HAVE ANY BUSINESS HERE OTHER THAN TO ANOY ME THEN GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY SIGHT!" Khorne roared with frustration, his already short temper wearing thin. Tzeentch chuckled lightly as he saw his companion's outburst caused the two dueling Bloodthirsters to lose both their balance and their hearing. He then proceeded to float up to the top of the skull throne to look over the blood god's shoulder at whatever it was that had the lord of carnage so occupied in thought, completely unfazed by the enormous blade Khorne kept close which could split entire realities with one swing.

"Intriguing," breathed the changer of ways, "it would seem that this world holds everything you hate."

Khorne merely growled his confirmation as he continued to study the world that he would love nothing more than to plunge it into bloody chaos.

As if reading the god's ever violent mind Tzeentch inquired, "No doubt you will try to destroy this world to the greatest of you ability."

Again, Khorne growled/grunted his confirmation while giving his companion a look that said, "No shit, Sherlock."

Tzeentch continued his inquires with the most civilized voice he could muster, "And how exactly do you plan on destroying this world?"

"HOW! HOW THE FUCK DO YOU THINK I'M GOING TO DO!" bellowed the master of slaughter, his temper near breaking point, "I'M GOING TO RIP THIS PATHETIC WORLD A NEW ONE AS MY DEMONIC SERVANTS BASK IN THE GLORIOUS SLAUGHTER THAT THEY WILL UNLEASH!"

The Changer of Ways merely sighed at this response as he knew it would be the exact thing his violent companion would say.

"Have you ever considered using subtlety in you tactics?"

Khorne turned again towards his companion, but this time with a look of bewilderment. Subtlety was not a concept that the blood god grasped well.

"As thinking seems to be a new hobby for you," Tzeentch continued, gaining another look of annoyed rage from the blood god, "why not think about this for a moment: would it not increase the glory of the slaughter if it was carried out by new worshipers of your name instead of the servants you already have?"

Khorne looked at his shape shifting companion with deep suspicion, but said nothing. Seeing this as having the lord of slaughter's attention, Tzeentch continued with his proposition. "Why not have the locals of that dreadfully peaceful planet bring about their own slaughter while your servants find more worthy foes?"

Khorne pondered this for a moment before saying, "I SUPPOSE THEY ARE … WEAK AFTER ALL. AND YOU WISH TO HAVE A HAND IN THIS, I TAKE IT?"

Tzeentch once again put one of his insidious smirks. "My, you are getting smarter from all you 'thinking'. Yes, I wish to take part in your little upheaval as changing these peaceful creatures into bloodthirsty monsters would be quite an achievements in my eyes."

The Blood God ignored the insult and once again took a moment to think this new proposition over before finally saying, "FINE, BUT ONLY AS LONG AS THE BLOOD FLOWS ON THIS PITIFUL WORLD."

The Changer of Ways' insidious smirk seemed to widen as he cooed, "Oh it will, Khorne, you can be sure of that." And with that, the two Chaos gods began their unholy schemes for the world known as Equestria.

The Traveler

Chapter 2: The Traveler

The sun shone brightly over the green fields and trees as a small yellow pegasus with a light pink mane and tail walked quietly through the grass towards the edge of a very dense forest. The pegasus had what looked like a tattoo of sorts of three pink butterflies on either side of her hind quarters. Fluttershy was humming to herself in her usual soft voice as she came to her destination. On the outskirts of the Everfree Forest grew some wild herbs that if used correctly had several medical applications. Fluttershy, being the master of healing according to her friends, knew very well how to use such herbs correctly. The yellow pegasus continued to hum to herself as she began to delicately pick the needed herbs and store them in the saddlebag she happened to be wearing. As she finished her errand she turned to head back when she suddenly felt something that made the hair of her coat stand on end. It felt almost like a side effect of some of Twilight's spells but somehow different. Fluttershy slowly turned her head to the direction of where she believed the feeling was coming from, only to see nothing there but the forest itself.

'hmm, maybe I'm coming down with someth-' Before she could finish her thought a blinding white light suddenly appeared out of thin air, startling the timid pegasus pony as she gave a high piched "EEP" in surprise. The crackling of energy could be heard as the light grew even brighter and even overpowered the light of the sun itself. Had Flutershy not been so busy protecting her eyes from the literally blinding light show, she would have noticed that the light was coming from what would have seemed like a dome forming on the ground several pony-lengths in front of her. After about only four or so seconds after the lights appearance, it vanished completely, leaving Fluttershy very disoriented and very, very scared.

As the kind hearted pegasus's eyes began to come back into focus, she saw that the place that was once grass, where she suspected the light came from, was now just a ring of scorched earth. What really caught Fluttershy's attention, however, was the thing that lay in the middle of the scorched ring. She had never seen anything like it before in her life. She knew that it had to be a living creature by how its chest, at least she thought it was the creature's chest, rose and fell at a steady rate, signaling that the thing did breath. Her curiosity and concern for all living things soon took over her fear as she inched closer to the creature.

Upon closer inspection the pegasus found that the creature, although much bigger than her, did have legs like she did, only that the two lower ones ended in rather strange leathery appendages, nothing like hooves, and the upper ones ended in the hooves having five smaller appendages on each. They reminded her of the paws of a monkey she once took care of. After looking even closer (somewhat too close for the cautious side of Fluttershy) she notices that the lower hooves had a resemblance to a pair of Applejack's boots, but black. She also noticed that the creature wore what seemed like clothing over a mostly hairless, and lightly tanned, skin. The only hair that was apparent on the creature was the somewhat short, curly brown hair it had on top of its head and on its chin. Its face, Fluttershy realized, also resembled that of a pony, but only flatter, and it looked like it was asleep. The curious pony would have continued her inspection had the creature not started to stir.

He felt like shit. This was nothing new to him since he did this a lot, but yet that didn't change the fact that he still felt like shit. The light of day hurt his eyes even through his eyelids, his head and muscles ached with every heartbeat, and his mouth tasted like a mixture of sewage and vomit. All in all, it felt like the worst hangover of his life …again. As he groaned out his discomfort to whatever world he had landed on, he heard what sounded like a small 'eep' coming from somewhere nearby. He didn't really care where it came from or who it belonged to; he knew it would be a while before he got over feeling like shit and didn't really want to do anything until then. Not even a meteor shower headed right for his position could make him get up and move.

As his mind began to clear he focused on his surroundings and sent his mind on a wide sweep of the immediate area. In an instant he knew that he was in some form of grass field right next to a somewhat hostile forest. He also became aware in that instant that he was not alone. A small equine creature with wings on its back was currently hiding behind one of the trees in said forest, eyeing him with a mixture of awe, curiosity, and fear. Mostly fear. He was used to this type of first impressions and began his routine of first-day-survival. Without moving a muscle he plunged into the creatures mind without the creatures notice and gathered only the necessities that he had to learn: language, location, culture, level of sentience, and motive.

He made a mental sigh of relieve upon learning that the creature, or pony as its kind called themselves, did not plan to attack him. As a matter of fact the pony was much too terrified to even move. Minuets went by with neither one of them making a single move whatsoever. After several more minutes of just laying around, he decided that now was probably a good time to get up and introduce himself to the timid pony. With a groan he lifted himself into a sitting position and opened his eyes for the first time since arriving in this world. What he saw didn't exactly stun him, but he knew how to appreciate simple beauty. The grass he saw was a healthy green as it swayed lazily in the light breeze. The sky was a perfect light blue without a cloud in the sky, the sun warm on his back. 'A place untouched by hardship,' he thought, 'let's hope it stays that way.'

He then turned towards the pony that was still watching him from behind a nearby tree. The pony in question gave another small "eep" and hid even farther behind the tree. He felt a small pang of guilt for scarring the timid creature but knew that he really couldn't do anything about it until he tried to initiate contact, which he then did.

Fluttershy was, for lack of a better term, scared manure-les. A creature the likes of which she had never seen or even heard of before was now sitting in a charred ring looking in her direction. All Fluttershy could think of at that moment was 'pleasedonteatme-pleasedonteatme-pleasedonteatme'.

"You have nothing to fear, Fluttershy. I'm not going to hurt you."

Fluttershy blinked in surprised shock. Did this creature just talk to her? How? More importantly was how did it know her name?

"Please, Fluttershy, there is no need to hide."

It spoke again, but now she noticed that its voice sounded male in a way and … kind? This entire situation was becoming difficult to grasp for the pegasus pony. Fluttershy peaked out from behind her hiding spot ever so slowly to see that the creature was looking towards her… and smiling. It was a friendly smile from what Fluttershy could tell, and the creature looked to have an almost laid back posture. Had it not been for the still sizzling ring of burnt earth she could have sworn the creature was relaxing.

"Hello," it spoke again, its smile never fading.

"H-hello," whispered Fluttershy in her quiet and timid voice. She managed to gather enough courage to say, "H-how do y-you know my n-name?" Although she wasn't hiding behind the tree anymore, she still unconsciously tried her best to hide behind her pink mane.

"I know many things, young one. I am known mostly as the Traveler, but you can simply call me Trevor, if you want."

Fluttershy was taken aback by this statement. The creatu- no, the Traveler, was indeed intelligent, but she did not expect him (she now concluded that he was indeed male) to speak with such confident wisdom. It reminded her of Equestria's ruler. It was at that moment that she noticed his eyes. Though smaller than a pony's eyes they were nonetheless breathtaking. The irises were pale emerald in color, with small streaks of white around the pupil. They shined with the light of one who had seen many things, both good and bad, in his lifetime. Those eyes reminded Fluttershy so much of the eyes of her current ruler, Princess Celestia; so full of wisdom and kindness. It was because of this that Fluttershy began to feel her fears melting away by the presence of this Traveler. She may even dare to say that she felt safe when close to him.

"P-Pleased to meet you, Trevor. My name is Fluttersh- oh, well, I g-guess you already know that." The pegasus blushed slightly from the last part of her statement. Trevor's smile merely grew wider.

"May I ask you a question," Fluttershy continued, "if that's ok with you?"

Trevor let out a light, happy chuckle before saying, "I would be surprised if you didn't have questions. Ask away."

"Ok, well… um… not to be rude or anything, but …um… what are you?"

Again, Trevor chuckled (causing another blush from the yellow pegasus) before answering, "I am many things. If you are talking about what my species is than I suppose the correct answer would be 'human'."

This did not help Fluttershy much since she had never heard of a "human" before, but she then thought it unwise to inquire further. Instead she changed the subject: "um… where did you come from."

"Oh, nowhere in particular. I am, after all, a travelor."

"So, um…you… you don't have a home?" Fluttershy asked, somewhat shocked by his response.

"Nope," was all he replied, almost as if he was proud of it. Fluttershy could hardly comprehend this information. 'A living creature without a home, how can that be?' Fluttershy thought, an unchecked feeling of pity building up in the kind-hearted pegasus. This she could not stand for.

"Well, um… if you want… you could come stay at my home. That is if you want to, of course."Fluttershy blushed deeply as it dawned upon her what it was exactly she was asking.

Trevor smiled his signature smile as he said, "You are very kind, Fluttershy. I accept." With that, the Traveler rose to stand on his back hooves(? Fluttershy really didn't know what to call them). It was only then that Fluttershy noticed just how much taller the newcomer was than her, maybe even taller than Princess Celestia herself. Not only that, but the Traveler also only stood on two legs instead of four like most of the creatures she knew of. This, surprisingly, did not startle her as the newcomer's aura-like presence kept her with a deep feeling of safety.

"So, shall we go?"

Fluttershy jumped slightly from the question before saying, "Oh… yes, of course. Just, um, follow me please." With that, Fluttershy lead him across the grassy fields towards her tree cottage, Trevor following close behind with his long strides. 'I wonder what Twilight and the others are going to think when they find out about this?' thought the young pegasus pony. Meanwhile, Trevor had only one thought that crossed his mind: 'This should be interesting.'

In the Castle of Canterlot, within the royal bedchamber, slept the Co-Ruler of Equestria herself: Princess Celestia. Being a goddess, the Princess didn't necessarily need sleep, but though she had the soul of a goddess, her body was, more or less, just as mortal as her subjects. She could use her powers to counteract this fact if she wished, but refrained from it as sleep gave the overworked goddess a reprieve from the constant political nightmare of ruling a country which spanned the entire planet. In this case, the Princess was merely taking what some would call a 'power nap'.

However, during this power nap, the Princess was visited by a dream for the first time since Nightmare Moon's banishment. She found herself sitting in a large room. From the tapestries and stained glass windows, Celestia knew that this was her thrown room and she was currently resting on her throne. She also noticed that she was alone, save for one pony standing at the foot of the stairs that lead to her ascended throne. This pony was hidden in a dark purple cloak that had a large eye imprinted on the hood which was covering the ponies muzzle. No part of the pony could be seen past the cloak it wore, but somehow Celestia sensed that what stood before her was not a real pony. Taking the initiative, Celestia spoke.

"Who are you?" she asked in her strong, motherly yet authoritative voice.

"To answer that would mean the listing of countless names," answered the mysterious pony. Its voice sounded so other-worldly to the Princess. It was not exactly male, yet not exactly female, either. Even with all her years of ruling Equetria, Celestia could not describe the strangely soothing voice coming from the cloaked figure. Then a realization hit her.

"This is no dream," Celestia said, her ancient mind reeling with what was occurring in her own mind.

"In a sense, you are correct."

The monarch considered her next question carefully before finally asking, "What is you purpose here?" She could have sworn that the eye imprinted on the mysterious pony's head actually smiled at this question.

"I am here to make you a proposition, your highness." Had Celestia not know better, she would have thought there was a mocking tone to the last part of that statement.

"If you have countless names as you say, then which one should I know you by?" Celestia didn't bother to hide the suspicious tone that was used in her question.

The cloaked pony stood there without a sound for several seconds before finally answering, "If it would please you highness to be given a name, then you may call me … Tzeentch."

Introductions

Chapter 3: Introductions

The trip to Fluttershy's home was peaceful, if mostly uneventful. Fluttershy flew low to the ground at a slow, steady pace, humming to herself again, while her newest guest followed closely behind. 'This is kind of odd,' Fluttershy thought to herself, 'here I am, leading an almost complete stranger back to my own home who isn't even a pony, or any other creature that I have ever met before. Not only that, but he seems to know my name for apparently no reason whatsoever.' The thought of doubt, however, was swept aside as she turned to see those wise, emerald eyes of his. As he noticed her looking his way, he gave her that genuinely kind smile of his. It was that smile and those eyes that made Fluttershy feel so safe around the 'human'. Fluttershy (with a slight blush on her face now) turned her sights back towards home as it began to come into view.

Trevor was genuinely surprised when he saw the young pegasus' home. It was as if some cosmic being took a simple cottage and a hill and smooshed them together into a coherent structure. Think hobbit hole. It was, for lack of a better term, impressive. It also gave Trevor an almost humble feeling. 'Ah, to be able to live a life so peacefully,' Trevor thought.

'Looks flammable,' said a dark voice from the back of Trevor's mind.

'Quiet, you,' the Traveler thought back. At times, this voice can be an annoyance, but Trevor knew that the owner of the voice was a necessity. The voice grumbled something unintelligible, probably some form of insult, but Trevor ignored it as he came upon the entrance to the yellow pegasus' humble abode.

After opening the door to her cottage, Fluttershy turned again towards the Traveler while making a slight gesture with her hoof towards the inside of her home and said, "Well, th-this is it, home sweet home. Please try to make yourself comfortable while I put away these herbs." The yellow pegasus indicated the saddle bag she still had on before heading deeper into her home. She would have added, 'if you want to, of course' to the ended of that, but didn't have the chance before Trevor just smiled and nodded. Trevor had to stoop low in order to enter through the pony-sized doorway before he took a look at the interior of the cottage. It was … interesting to say the least. The floor was a green hard wood with a pink rug in the middle. Throughout the cottage there was furniture with decorations and paintings of nature in bright colors. The most interesting part of the home, however, was the many mini staircases and walkways that ran along the walls and roof. Each one of these staircases/walkways led to a little hole or entrance of some kind of mini-home for smaller creatures. There was also an abundance of birdhouses hanging from the ceiling. A quick psykic scan of the room told him that the tiny homes were occupied, albeit with very scared residents, save for one rabbit who was currently eyeing the traveler suspiciously.

"Quite the animal lover," Trevor thought aloud. Of course he somewhat already knew that from his little mind probe of the feathered equine, but he didn't quite expect it to be so… pronounced. The Traveler spotted what looked like a green couch and decided to take a seat. For a couch that was not designed for human behinds, it was quite comfortable nonetheless.

'Explain to me again, why are we here?' the voice asked.

'We need to establish good relations with the locals or else things can get unpleasant,' Trevor mentally replied. Before the voice could continue, Fluttershy's voice could be heard from the kitchen (at least Trevor assumed it was the kitchen), "Would you like anything to drink, Mr. Traveler? I have some tea, if you like."

"I would love some tea." Trevor replied. He still had that damnable hangover taste in his mouth.

'That's not what I meant,' the voice continued, 'why are we on this world?'

'You know damn well as much as I do that the jumps are always random' Trevor replied, starting to get annoyed by his permanent companion's bickering.

'But it doesn't have to be, I could always direct the jump.'

'Just to land us in some hostile territory where you get to take control most of the time? No thanks. You know I don't like getting into unnecessary fights.'

'And that's why you're no fun'

Trevor smiled slightly at this. The smile grew when he saw Fluttershy enter the room, a large plate with steaming tea cups held in her teeth. When she put the plate on the ground Trevor said his thanks, picked up the cup closest to him and took a sip. His eyes bulged.

"Um, is something wrong?" Fluttershy asked, worried by her guest's reaction.

Trevor was able to pry the tea cup from his lips, which looked like it took some effort, and said, "Not at all. In fact, this is by far the best tea I have ever had." It was true; the tea was at a perfect temperature, tasted of honey and blue berries, and warmed every inch of the body. The damn hangover taste didn't stand a chance against this new onslaught of delicious flavors.

Fluttershy blushed at the compliment. "Oh, well, it's j-just an old recipe I had for a while now, I'm g-glad you like."

'And who was it that didn't want to be here?' Trevor thought mockingly towards the voice in his head while taking another sip. The voice merely grumbled something unintelligible in response.

"Um, Mr. Traveler," Trevor's attention was brought back to the yellow pegasus, "I was wondering… if it's not too much trouble … if you could, um, come meet a friend of mine… not that you have to or anything. It's just… I'm sure she would want to meet you…if that's ok with you."

'More hindrances?' cried out the voice in the back of Trevor's head.

'Shut up, I'm sure it took quite a bit of courage to ask that question.'

'COURAGE? THIS PATHETIC FEATHERY SACK OF SHI-'

'SHUT! UP!' Trevor yelled mentally. Insults to himself he can handle, but he would not stand any insults towards the soul who was kind enough to invite him to her own home and treat them to drinks, even if the insults were coming from someone that was technically a part of him. That, and the tea was pretty dam good.

"I guess you don't feel like going. That's ok, I understand." Trevor was once again brought back to reality by the soft voice of his hostess. Fluttershy had noticed his little internal conflict from a few twitches he had on his face and took this as a negative towards her proposal.

"Actually, I would love to meet this friend of yours."

Fluttershy looked back in surprise from this sudden acceptance. Only two seconds ago it had seemed that he was reluctant. 'Maybe I mistook his reaction,' thought Fluttershy, 'he is, after all, not exactly a pony.'

"Oh, um… ok, I'm sure she'll be pleasant to talk to."

"When can I meet her?"

Again, Fluttershy was surprised by the Traveler's forwardness. Such a contrast to the peguses' own character.

"Well, we… uh…we could go see her now, if you want."

"Sounds good," Trevor replied as he got to his feat, another of his signature smiles plastered on his face. "Of course, I am going to need a guide. I'm not really familiar with this area."

"Oh, of course, just let me, um, put away the tea." It was right then and there that Trevor noticed that the pegasus could pick things up without fingers. It was as if her hoof touched something she wanted to pick up and it just stuck. 'Meh,' thought Trevor (to himself this time), 'seen weirder thing in my time.'

As the yellow pegasus was putting the tea set away, Trevor stepped outside to enjoy the sun and peaceful atmosphere some more. After Fluttershy finished, she was about to join him when she was stopped by a white rabbit who was currently standing between her and the front door.

"Oh, hello Angel. Are you hungry," Fluttershy said, recognizing the rabbit immediately.

Said rabbit continued to stand there with his arms crossed and a look of worry on his tiny face.

"What's the matter?" Fluttershy asked.

Angel pointed out the door towards the traveler, his worried expression increasing.

Fluttershy soon got the gist of the message and said, "Oh, don't worry. I know he looks kind of strange, but he seems really nice."

Angel gave his owner/food dispenser a look that clearly portrayed his skepticism.

"Don't worry, Angel," Fluttershy continued, "I'll be fine. I'll be gone for only a little bit and then I'll come right back. I promise."

Angel didn't seem entirely convinced, but with a sigh he relented and allowed the yellow pegasus to pass.

After Fluttershy left her cottage and closed the door, she looked towards Trevor who gave her another smile.

"Shall we?" Trevor said, indicating the road that lead to Fluttershy's home. With a nod from the pegasus, the two left towards Ponyville.

Khorne was busy contemplating plans for other planets that had caught his interest (which was really just decided which part of the planet was to be destroyed first) when his shape shifting comrade (a loosely used term within the warp) arrived.

"WHAT TOOK YOU SO LONG?" The blood god demanded.

"Just setting our plans into their first stages." Tzeentch coolly replied in his ever-changing voice.

"THEN THE FALSE GODDESS IS OURS?"

"No. Not yet, anyways. Though she does not hold a candle to us, she is still strong willed for a demigoddess such as her. However, the seed has been placed. All we must do now is see to it that it takes root properly."

"AND HOW DO WE DO THAT?" Khorne inquired.

"We must simply provoke her to take up the proposition that I had introduced to her."

The lord of slaughter gave the Great Deceiver a puzzled look that said, 'Wot does all dem big words mean?'

Tzeentch sighed at his companions short intelligence span before explaining (in simpler terms, mind you), "We need to force the princess to accept the power that I had offered her. Once she does, she's as good as ours."

"PRINCESS, HAH! WHY COULDN'T SHE TAKE ON A MORE INTIMIDATING TITLE LIKE EMPRESS, OR MISTRESS?"

"Please try to refrain from letting you violent mind run off course," Tzeentch mock-pleaded.

"HMPH, WELL I THINK I KNOW A WAY WE CAN FORCE HER."

"You do?" Tzeentch asked in surprise.

"YES, THERE IS A CERTAIN SOUL ON THAT WORLD THAT MAY NOT BE AS WEAK AS I HAD THOUGHT. DEEP WITHIN HER SHE HARBORS FEAR, SADNESS, BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY: HATE; HATE FOR ANOTHER SOUL ON THAT PITIFUL WORLD; HATE THAT I CAN MAGNIFY; HATE SO DEEP THAT WHEN I COME TO HER OFFERING POWER, IT WILL BE IMPOSSIBLE FOR HER TO REFUSE."

"Interesting," rasped the Great Deceiver, "once she gains power and followers, her rampage to destroy the one she hates will force the demigoddess to accept my offer in order to stop her."

"EXACTLY!" the lord of slaughter exclaimed proudly.

"I must say, Khorne, I am impressed. You should try using manipulation a lot more often. What does this soul call herself?"

The blood god made a disgusted look as he said, "IT IS A WEAK AND PITIFUL NAME FOR ONE WITH SUCH BLOODY POTENTIALL, WE WILL DEFINETLY HAVE TO CHANGE IT." Khorne's disgusted scowl grew. "SHE CALLS HERSELF… 'TRIXIE'."

Learning

Chapter 4: Learning

Twilight Sparkle was having an ok day, in comparison to other days she's had. The purple unicorn with the magenta streak in her mane was spending her day researching some odd thing or another, which would come as no surprise to those who knew her. Spike, Twilights baby dragon assistant and close friend, was busy napping in his bed on the upper level of the tree library, which Twilight used as her home. Twilight could still hear the green and purple reptile softly snoring as she telekinetically flipped the page of the book she happened to be reading at that time, her purple horn and the page glowing slightly. It was a lazy afternoon outside and the sunlight leaked through the windows to reveal the dust that hung in the air. To Twilight, it was the perfect setting for a good study. It was, until she heard a light clop on her door.

Twilight sighed as she marked her place and closed the book. 'Ah well,' she thought, 'the book isn't going anywhere.' Somehow this didn't comfort her as much as she wanted as she trotted to the tree library door. As she opened the door, she was surprised to see a familiar yellow pegasus, who rarely visited the library.

"Oh, hi Fluttershy, how are you doing?"

"I'm fine thank you," Fluttershy replied, but then said nothing else as she stood there quietly, darting her eyes nervously back and forth. This behavior had Twilight, for lack of a better term, very creeped out.

After a few awkward seconds Twilight then inquired, "Uh, do you need help with anything?"

"Oh no, it's just… there's somepony I want you to meet," Fluttershy answered, unable to conceal the amount of effort it took to say that one sentence.

Twilight was immediately overcome with worry for her friend. "Fluttershy, is something wrong? Who is this pony? Where is this pony? Did this pony do something to you?"

Fluttershy was taken aback by the sudden barrage of questions coming from the purple unicorn. "Oh no Twilight, it's nothing like that. Everything's fine. Oh! That's right! I still need to introduce him to you. He's right h…" Fluttershy turned to see her companion but was surprised to find nopony behind her.

"Wha?" was all Fluttershy could say at that moment, overcome with confusion.

Now Twilight was really worried. "Fluttershy, are you sure you're ok? It's not like you to pull pranks." Twilights eyes widened and then narrowed with suspicion. "Did Pinkie Pie set you up to this?" It was not uncommon for the said hyperactive pink pony to pull a prank or two.

"What?" Fluttershy asked, still confused as ever, and then said in a pleading voice, "No, it's not like that. He was right here just a minute ago, where could he have gone?" This time it was Fluttershy's words that were tinge with worry.

"Over here," Twilight heard an unfamiliar male voice, from inside the library. Both pegasus and unicorn looked back into the tree/library with surprise. What Twilight saw was something that she had never seen before in her wildest dreams. She then proceeded to scream her head off.

Trevor had to put some serious effort in order to not face palm at that exact moment. Meanwhile, the voice in the back of his head was laughing its ass off, if it had an ass.

'Look at her face!' it yelled between guffaws, 'Fucken priceless!'

The purple unicorn tried to find some way in her delirium to escape this new found horror, but only managed to gallop headfirst into the wall next to the door, knocking her out cold.

"Twilight, what's wrong? What's going on?" Trevor heard a young and worried voice from upstairs as a short, purple and green reptile came running downstairs on two hind legs. The reptile took one look at Trevor with its green reptilian eyes, and passed out. The voice in the Traveler's mind proceeded to laugh even harder.

Fluttershy was already bending over Twilight's unconscious form with worry. Her experience with injuries and how to treat them took over as she discovered with great relief that her friend was not seriously injured; just a large bump on the side of her head where it connected with the inner wall of the tree.

"I suppose that could have gone better," Trevor said aloud, "Is she alright?"

"Yes, she's fine. She's just going to be a little sore when she wakes up." The yellow pegasus then looked at the human with a confused look and asked, "H-how did you do that?"

"I suppose you could say that becoming unnoticeable is but one of my many talents," Trevor replied as he looked about the inside of the tree while also unconsciously scratching the small patch of hair on his chin. He saw from the outside that this tree also doubled as a usable building due to the many windows and balconies that were carved onto the trees large trunk. With a look inside the library, Trevor could see that the wood had a pink hue to it as well as many bookcases carved into the wood surrounding him. There were stairs carved into the side of one wall that lead to an upper level of the library which was clearly visible from the bottom floor. It was also quite roomy within the tree/library.

Fluttershy was not quite sure what he meant by 'unnoticeable'. After all, how could anypony not notice some…thing like Trevor? However, the whole otherworldly aspect of the Traveler made her decide not to question it.

"How's Spike?" Trevor asked. Fluttershy was surprised that the Traveler knew the young dragon's name, but then remembered that he also knew her name as well for what seemed like no particular reason. She was going to ask about that but decided to focus on Spike instead.

"He's fine, too; just a little shocked. I'll take him back upstairs so he can rest in his own bed." With that, Fluttershy delicately wrapped her for hooves around the unconscious reptile and lifted him up as she took to the air. While holding the baby dragon as one would hold... well a baby, the pegasus flew upstairs and gently placed him in his small, dog-like bed. Meanwhile, Trevor, with as much gentleness as Fluttershy, picked up the purple unicorn and carried her in his arms towards a nearby couch. To the Traveler's surprise, the unicorn was much lighter than he expected. He laid her on the couch with the unicorn lying on her left side, her legs pointing out towards the middle of the room. Had it not been for the rather large bump on the side of her head, one would have thought she was peacefully sleeping.

'She probably will think this is just a dream,' thought Trevor.

'Heh, she's gonna be in for a real surprise then,' said the voice.

'That was extremely mean, you know; jumping us short range like that.'

'It was worth it. I wish we had a camera right then. That picture would have kept me laughing for weeks.'

'It was also careless, what if that young dragon wasn't so young?'

'Come on, you know I'm good with fire.'

'There are more ways to be killed by a dragon than with just fire.'

The voice was about to make another retort but was interrupted when Trevor turned his attention towards the many books that were littered throughout the bookshelves and floor.

'You know, we could make great use out of the local power that flows through this world,' Trevor thought as he picked up one of the books that read 'Beginning Spells' on the cover. 'I believe the locals call it "magic".'

'Seems like a waste of time,' retorted the voice, 'I already have enough power for the two of us.'

'But we have limited ways of tapping into that power. I think expanding our repertoire wouldn't be such a bad idea. We could even gain teachers here.'

'And what makes you think any one of these… things will be willing to teach you?' the voice said with annoyance. 'The only ones that can use this power, from what I can see, are the ones with the horns. What worries me most about them is that they are very strong of mind, which means they would be dangerous enemies.'

'All the more reason to befriend them,' Trevor thought plainly, carelessly flipping through the contents of the book he held. Most of the 'spells' listed were for either entertainment, or trivial problems that could be solved easily without magic.

'Light Flare,' Trevor read, 'Dancing Sparks, Low Level Telekinesis, Stain-b-Gone?'

'Useless, every one of them,' spat the voice.

'You have to start somewhere,' Trevor coolly replied.

"Oh, you can read too?"

Trevor looked over towards the source of the soft voice to see Fluttershy standing a few feet away, her wings folded to her sides. It took a second for the pegasus to realize the implications of her statement. When she did, she blushed deeply while unconsciously trying to hide behind her mane.

"S-sorry, that was rude of me."

"Not at all," said Trevor, another one of his signature smiles spread across his face, "I am still in many ways a stranger to you. I do not blame you for being surprised of my abilities."

'Heh, if she only knew,' spoke the voice.

It was at that moment that Twilight stirred slightly.

"Maybe I should find someplace to hide so that you can ease in our introduction. The last thing I think she would want is a second bump on her head." Fluttershy merely nodded her affirmation. With that, Trevor wandered into another room of the tree, which looked like a kitchen from what the Traveler could tell. He decided to wait there.

Twilight's nice day of study was long gone. In its place was confusion and pain; lots of pain. The purple unicorn awoke to find herself on her downstairs couch and an excruciatingly painful pounding in her skull.

"Ugh," Twilight gave a groan of pain, "My head… what happened?"

"You galloped full speed into a wall, Twilight."

Twilight swiveled her head (causing another shot of pain) to see her friend, Fluttershy, sitting close by, looking worried.

"What? Why would I…" the memories before her blackout suddenly came back as her eyes just as suddenly widened.

"Fluttershy, it's not safe here! We have to go! That thing may still be here!" Twilight was about to get up but winced when the pain in her head brought her back down on her rump.

Fluttershy tried her best to soothe the pained unicorn. "It's alright, there's no danger. Your head must hurt a lot. Give me a second and I'll get something for you. Where did you put the medicine kit I gave you?"

"It's (wince), it's in the kitchen, first upper cabinet to your left." Twilight responded through gritted teeth. When Fluttershy said there was no danger, the purple unicorn assumed that the creature had left. While the yellow pegasus flew into the kitchen in order to fetch the needed items, Twilight tried to rake her still beating mind over what had just occurred.

'What was that thing? Did it actually speak? Not only that, but it actually spoke our language. How is that possible? This may mean it is intelligent, but where did it come from? It may have come from the Everfree Forest, but then why are there no previous records of it that I have seen. I have never seen anything like it in any records that I have read. I'm going to have to research this and contact Princess Celestia (wince). Once my head stops hurting, that is.'

As Fluttershy trotted back into the room, a white box with a red cross on it in her mouth, Twilight suddenly remembered something.

"Spike! Where's Spike! Is he alright!"

Fluttershy put the box down in order to say, "Yes, he's fine. He's upstairs tucked in his bed, still sleeping."

Twilight breathed a sigh of relief, but then winced again as another shot of pain arched through her skull. After opening the box, Fluttershy used her hooves and teeth to open one of the small bottles that were in the first aid kit. She then brought up a small spoon that she had held in her wing and with one hoof poured the medicine carefully into the spoon that she held with the other.

"Here," She said in her soft voice, "take this, it will help."

Twilight took the spoonful gratefully, but soon regretted it as the medicine was extremely bitter.

Noticing her friends rather sudden spluttering and coughing fit, Fluttershy brought out another bottle with a little bee printed on it and said, "Oh, sorry, I forgot to warn you. Here, this will help with the taste."

Twilight swiped the honey bottle from Fluttershy's hoof, opened it quickly, and then drank the entirety of the bottles contents with relish.

"Ah…" Twilight sighed with relief as both the pain in her skull and the bitter taste in her mouth was swept away. "That's much better."

"I'm sorry about him scarring you so much, Twilight. I guess I didn't really think what your reaction to him would be."

Twilight looked at her friend right then with a look of absolute shock and confusion.

"Are you… talking about that thing that was just here?"

Fluttershy then took on an uncharacteristically serious look as she said, "I don't think he would like being called a thing. He's actually very kind and I thought you would like to meet him." Fluttershy then returned to her shy self as she said, "I suppose I thought wrong, sorry Twilight."

'Great,' thought Twilight, 'now I feel guilty. How do I go about this?' This new predicament was completely out of Twilight's range of experience. Then, sighing in defeat, Twilight said, "Ok, I guess I can still meet it- I mean him."

Fluttershy immediately brightened up and said, "Oh good." She then turned towards the kitchen. "Ok, you can come out now."

If ponies could pale, Twilight would be ghost white right now.

'It's. Still. HERE!?'

The purple unicorn found herself taking in a sudden intake of breath as the thing ducked through the archway that lead to the kitchen. Mind you that the archway is about one and three-quarter times taller than a normal pony, if not more, and yet this creature still had to duck in order to pass through it. Twilight felt her gut clench up in instinctual fear as the creature rose to its full height and she tried her best to take in its appearance. First from the long hind legs that it stood on that could out stride any pony, to the large chest and forearms that (according to Twilight's first paranoid observations) could crush any unlucky pony that got too close. The fact that the creature wore clothing completely escaped her during her fearful examination of the newcomer.

Then she saw its eyes; those kind, emerald, white flecked eyes, and it was as if all of her fears just melted away. In place of her fear, Twilight now held only curiosity for the newcomer.

"Twilight," Fluttershy said, "I would like to introduce you to Trevor the Traveler."

Trevor and Fluttershy both winced slightly at the sudden barrage of incomprehensible questions that flew from the unicorn who had just jumped to her hooves. Trevor also heard a groan of annoyance from the back of his mind. The seemingly unending barrage of questions only stopped when Twilight was forced to take a breath. Trevor took this opportunity to stop the purple unicorn from unleashing any more unintelligible questions.

"I can understand that you have a lot of question, but at the rate you're going, I can't understand a single one. Please slow down a bit."

Twilight was about to protest when Fluttershy lightly pressed her hoof to the unicorn's mouth.

"Please, Twilight," said Fluttershy, "if you continue like this you'll have trouble breathing and that wouldn't be good for your health."

The pegasus removed her hoof from Twilight's mouth who then proceeded to take a deep breath.

"Alright," Twilight began, "I'm calm now. But I still have questions for you." The unicorn indicated the Travelor with one of her front hooves. "The main ones being: who are you? What are you? Where did you come from, and why are you here?"

The newcomer gave her a kind grin as he said, "I do believe Fluttershy here has already told you who I am. My name is Trevor, though I have been known as the Traveler in many places. As for what I am, my species call ourselves humans. I would rather hold off from answering the rest of your questions until those you trust most are brought here. It's a long story and I'd rather not have to tell it more than necessary."

Twilight was frustrated with this answer as it actually told her nothing of this new intelligent species that has appeared in her home.

"I understand." said Fluttershy. Then she turned to Twilight and said, "Does that sound reasonable enough to you?"

"I suppose…" gritted Twilight, still feeling resentment for not getting a full answer upfront.

"Great, I'll go get the others." Before Twilight could protest, Fluttershy had flown out the door and was already away.

Now here she was, stuck in her own home with a complete stranger that had refused to answer her questions without her best friends' audience. Yep, that perfect study day she had just five or so minuets ago was definitely out the window.

"So, who are these others?" Trevor asked.

'Great,' Twilight thought with a sigh, 'now he's asking questions.' "They are close friends of ours. Ponies I would trust my life to, so don't think about doing anything that would hurt them, or you will have me to deal with."

'Heh, oh how intimidating coming from a purple unicorn that's half our size,' Trevor heard a mocking voice from the back of his head.

Trevor merely gave his trademark smile while saying, "I wouldn't dream of it." With that Trevor took a seat on the couch that Twilight had jumped from and continued to look over the book he still had in his hands.

"H-hey, that's my book!" Twilight blurted out. Trevor took one look at her and she instantly wish she hadn't. To Twilights credit, however, she did stand her ground.

"Forgive me; I was under the impression that this was a library."

Twilight was surprised by this response. It held no mocking tone or sarcasm; it was completely sincere from what she could tell. Twilight felt sheepish right then.

"Well… it is. It's just that, well, that book was a gift from my parents, when I first began to study magic." 'Wait,' thought Twilight, 'is he even capable of understanding the concept of sentimental value?'

"I see," said the Traveler, "I apologize; I did not realize it was that important to you." He then held out the book towards Twilight in an offering manner.

"Oh no, it's ok, really. You can read it if you want." It was at that moment that Twilight noticed how the Traveler held the book. At the end of his arm where a hoof would normally be for a pony, he had instead a fleshy stump with five appendages that grew out parallel to each other. It reminded her of Spike's claws, which is why she instantly understood how they worked.

"Thank you," said the human as he returned to reading the book over. There was silence for a time as Twilight had set her rump down in order to wait for Fluttershy to get back before Trevor spoke up.

"Twilight, are you familiar with magic?"

Twilight instantly perked up at the sound of her favorite word. "Of course, I have studied magic since I was a little foal, and I am even the prized pupil of Princess Celestia herself," the unicorn said with pride. It never occurred to her that this newcomer may have never heard of Princess Celestia.

"I see," Trevor said in deep thought before continuing, "has there been record of anyone that could utilize magic without the aid of a horn?"

Twilight looked with puzzlement at the newcomer as she did not expect this question what so ever. "Um, not that I know of; the only creatures capable of using magic in all of history are unicorns, besides the Princesses themselves."

"And I suppose they have horns, too?"

Twilight nodded.

"Hhhhmmmm… I'm still not clear on what magic is, exactly. Could you please explain it to me?"

"Certainly," Said Twilight cheerily. This newcomer was turning out to be good company after all. The unicorn cleared her throat and began.

"Equestria is infused with an energy that flows through every living being on the planet. Each living creature adds to this energy simply by living. The older the creature is, the more energy it may receive or give off. However, only unicorns are capable of consciously detecting this energy and are thus the only creatures that can tap into the energy. Both the energy itself and the process of taping into that energy is called magic. The Princesses where the first to discover magic and thus were the first to unlock its secrets. Also, because they are the oldest among us in Equestria, they are the most powerful."

Trevor digested this information before asking, "I noticed that Fluttershy was able to hold objects in her hooves without the aid of gripping appendages." Trevor held up his hand for an example. "How does that relate?"

"That is due to a universal spell that was cast by the Princesses during our first creation. Every pony that is born in Equestria, whether unicorn, pegasus, or earth pony, is instantly granted the power of close range telekinesis."

"You say that only unicorns are capable of detecting magic?"

"Correct"

"Well, that may have been true before I came here."

Twilight gave the Traveler a confused look while saying, "What do you mean?"

Trevor looked the purple unicorn straight in the eyes and said, "I can feel the energy you have just mentioned flowing around us."

Twilight looked shocked and voiced her apprehension. "What, how can that be? Only creatures with magic-infused horns can detect the magical energy, and the only creatures with those are unicorns and the Princesses themselves."

Trevor merely shrugged before saying, "what can I say? I can definitely feel the energy around me, but it doesn't seem to want to go through me. It's difficult to explain."

The unicorn looked at Trevor with suspicion before saying, "Prove it."

"Hm?"

"Prove that you can feel the magic by using it."

"Ah, but you see, that's the thing a wish to learn: how to use all this energy." Trevor spread his arms wide to indicate the invisible force that flowed around them.

"Use the book then." Twilight indicated the book the human still held in his hand with a hoof. "It was designed to teach spells to foals, I'm sure you can handle it. If, that is, your claim is true."

'Sounds like a challenge,' Trevor heard the voice from deep within his mind.

'I can feel the magic, but I have no idea how to focus it,' thought back Trevor as he read from the book to find a suitable spell. He decided to go with the basic illumination spell. 'The fact that it says a horn is required to channel the energy may be an issue as well.'

'It says that only because the locals have never heard of anyone else using magic. It wouldn't be the first rule we've proved wrong. This energy, however, is disturbingly similar to the warp.'

This bit of information also troubled Trevor. However, an idea struck him. 'If it's so similar, maybe you can focus the energy while I try to use the spell.'

There was silence for a moment before the voice answered, 'that might work, let's try it.'

Twilight was feeling triumphant as the Traveler had yet to show any magic prowess for the past two minutes. She was about to voice her triumph when Trevor casually raised his right hand, palm almost parallel to the ceiling. To Twilights amazement and disbelief, the hand began to glow much like a unicorn horn. The glow had an almost red tinge to it as a small ball of golden light began to form right above the Traveler's palm. Trevor's eyes, which were previously glued to the book, now looked at the phenomenon that was occurring right above his own hand. Trevor gave a proud smile at what he had just accomplish~

BOOM!!

The ball burst into pure energy with a bang, sending Trevor, the couch, and a few books that were lying around flying.

Twilight gave a yelp of surprised as she jumped back instinctively from the blast. Trevor landed on his back just a few feet from where he was sitting.

"Ow," Trevor muttered as he brought himself back into a sitting position.

"Oh my gosh, are you alright?" Twilight exclaimed worriedly.

"Yea, I'm fine, just a bruised back and a bruised pride," Trevor responded flatly.

Twilight sighed with relief, and then realized that she was genuinely concerned for the human. Why? She pushed the question aside knowing that concern was just her nature, along with most of ponykind.

"Well if it helps in any way that was magic you performed, just not quite the way one would normally perform it. I assume you were attempting an illumination spell?"

"Yea," replied Trevor, "how did you know?"

"Magic is my specialty; I would hope that I am capable of recognizing simple beginner spells. I think you focused too much energy into it. That would explain why it, you know…"

"Exploded in my face," Trevor finished as he sent a mental jab towards his mind companion.

'Well how was I supposed to know there was a limit to how much energy you should use?' retorted the voice.

"Twilight, what was that?" called a worried (and yet somewhat familiar) voice from upstairs.

Spike looked at the carnage from his perch on the upper level of the tree/library. Books that had been neatly piled were now scattered about the room and the couch was lying tipped over some feet away from its usual spot.

"Holy guacamole," exclaimed Spike, "what happened?"

Before anyone could answer, Spike noticed the Traveler. He then passed out, again. Only this time he was now plummeting from the upper level of the library towards the lower, head first.

Twilight screamed in dismay as her best friend fell to a most certain bone crushing end. Her mind locked up, unable to take any command to save her precious baby dragon, but Trevor reacted faster. The Traveler outstretched his hand towards Spike and the baby dragon in turn slowed its decent to a stop right above the hardwood floor of the library.

Twilight had used telekinesis enough to know what was going on, but her mind still reeled from what was happening. There was no magic glow surrounding Spike or the Traveler's hand to indicate magic was being used, and yet there her baby dragon was, floating in midair as if something was holding him up from below. Spike was delicately laid on the floor as Trevor's arm lowered. Now there was no doubt in Twilight's mind that the Traveler was responsible for this miracle, but she still had questions.

"How?" Twilight first muttered.

"Hm?"

"How did you do that? I know it was you, because it certainly wasn't me. You didn't use any magic from what I could tell, so how did you do that?"

Trevor gave his trademark smile before saying, "Another one of my many talents. There are more ways of doing things than with just magic. I'll have to explain it when everybody gets here."

Again Twilight felt a hint of irritation for not being given a straight answer, but then realized that this newcomer had just saved her most trusted assistant and best friend's life. Twilight trotted over to the resting baby dragon to check that he was not hurt in any way. When Twilight made sure that Spike didn't have even a single bruise she said, "Well, I don't know how you did it, but thank you. I'm not quite sure how I would have gone on without Spike."

"My pleasure," Trevor responded.

'Well that's certainly one way to gain someone's trust,' said the voice.

'Definitely not the way I would have wanted,' replied Trevor. He then got up and walked towards the couch. With a huff, he lifted the couch and brought it back to its rightful position.

"You know, you should consider installing some railing up there. I'm surprised something like this hasn't already happened," said the Traveler as he sat back down.

"You're right," Twilight replied while telekinetically bringing Spikes bed down from upstairs, "I just never thought about it since the only time Spike is asleep is either in his bed or on my back."

Trevor chuckled lightly at the thought of the baby dragon riding Twilight like a warhorse. Though she was horse like, if somewhat smaller, she was definitely not suited for war. Looking back at his mind scan of Fluttershy, the ponies had no concept of war. In a way, he envied them for their peaceful ignorance.

Twilights had laid the small bed in a corner of the room and was now telekinetically lifting Spike towards it.

"The young one certainly can sleep," Trevor thought aloud.

"He has to," returned Twilight as she tucked Spike into bed, "He is still a baby. He will need the sleep if he is to grow into a strong dragon."

"And when he does, what then?"

Twilight looked back at the Traveler as sadness began to form on her face. "I never really thought about that. Dragons take decades to fully mature, I'm not entirely sure I will still be around when that time comes."

Trevor noticed the unicorns sadden mood and tried to comfort her as best he could. "Seems to me that you still have plenty of time to enjoy life as is."

Trevor's statement was rewarded with a weak smile.

"I suppose your right," Twilight said with a nod.

Trevor knew it would be better to change the subject, so he did.

"If you don't mind me asking, what's with the tattoo-like mark on your… hind quarters? I noticed Fluttershy had something like that too."

Twilight looked towards her flank and the purple six pointed star with surrounding sparkles that rested there.

"Oh, this? This is called a cutie mark. All of pony kind get one when they discover what it is they wish to do for the rest of their lives."

"I don't suppose the mark represents what it is you do."

"That's right, mine represents my love for magic."

Then there was the sound of a very large growl which surprised both Trevor and Twilight. It took a moment for the Traveler to realize that the growl had come from his own stomach. For the first time since she had met him, Twilight actually saw Trevor blush, if only slightly.

"Heh," spoke Trevor sheepishly, "I guess I haven't eaten in a while."

"And from the sound of that growl I can assume you are quite hungry, one second." Twilight trotted towards the kitchen but then stopped right at the archway. She turned her head back towards the Traveler and asked, "Uh, what does your kind eat, exactly."

"Oh, this and that. Fruit would be fine," answered Trevor, a little hesitant to tell the pony that his kind also ate meat.

Twilight put a hoof to her chin in an inquisitive manner. "Fruit, hm. Ok I think I have something." With that, she disappeared into the kitchen.

Trevor sat back down as he watched Spike sleep peacefully, completely unaware of the danger he had just gone through.

'It was funny the first time, but it's gonna get annoying real quick if the little guy keeps feinting whenever he sees you,' commented the voice.

'Remember that he is still a baby. He hasn't exactly experienced as much as the others.' Trevor thought back. 'At least, I don't think he has.'

'Uh huh, and what, exactly, is there to experience in this boring place. This place is nothing but peace and sunshine. It makes me sick.'

'Well I think a little peace and sunshine is a nice change of pace.'

Trevor tilted his head back while breathing a content sigh. 'By the way,' thought the Traveler, 'we are going to have to practice magic outside from now on.'

'Ah, what da matter, afraid you're going to damage something?' said the voice in a mocking manner.

'I can tell that Twilight is the type to get attached to books. That was evident enough just from the book I was holding. I personally don't want to do anything that would piss her off. It's as you said, unicorns would make dangerous enemies.'

'So you're going to start kissing her little horse-ass just so you don't have to put up a fight. Dam you're pathetic.'

Trevor merely sighed again and replied, 'Think of it as you will.'

Twilight returned from the kitchen while a levitating a small basket. When she put the basket down, Trevor saw, to his delighted surprise, that it was full of ripe, red apples.

"Here you go," said the unicorn, "will these do?"

"Well now," said Trevor as he picked one of the apple up, "I haven't had one of these in a while."

Twilights eyes went wide with surprise. "Oh, you have apples where you come from?"

"In some places, yes," Trevor answered before taking a bite from the ripe, juicy fruit. When he did it was pure bliss. He savored every part of the sweet, delicious fruit with each bite.

Twilight saw the satisfied look in Trevor's face and knew she had made the right choice of food.

"I take it you like it?" asked the unicorn.

"Yes, definitely," replied the Traveler before taking another bite. He swallowed that mouthful and said, "I'll be honest with you, this is the best apple I have ever eaten."

"Really, then you should thank Applejack when she gets here. She and her family grew every apple in Ponyville."

"So that's what this town's called. Huh, I never thought to ask."

Twilight took an inquisitive look towards the Traveler before saying, "you really are a strange one."

"I would think my looks would tell you that," replied Trevor as he finished the apple he had in his hand and picked up another one.

Twilight noticed that the apple he had finished still wasn't completely gone.

"You don't eat the core?" Twilight asked.

"You do?" Trevor asked back

"Well of course, why wouldn't I?"

Trevor shrugged, "It was always too tough for my taste."

Again Twilight gave him an inquisitive look, but this time with a smile. "You really are a strange one."

Trevor merely replied, "Yep."

It was at that moment that Fluttershy swooped through the door, surprising both of the residents.

"Hello, are you two getting along?"

Both Trevor and Twilight gave Fluttershy a smile.

"Yes, we have been getting along just fine. In fact, Twilight here was just teaching me a bit about magic."

"Really," said a surprised Fluttershy, "can you use magic?"

"I think he can," entered Twilight, "but his first attempt at it didn't end too well."

Trevor chuckled sheepishly as Fluttershy's eyes suddenly widened.

"Oh right, I almost forgot to warn you. The girls are on their way and I think you should hide so that you don't startle them. Oh, well not that your scary or anything, it's just… uh…"

"I understand," Trevor said, saving the yellow pegasus from having to scrounge up an excuse for her statement. "I do believe enough peop- I mean ponies have gone unconscious for one day."

Twilight found herself blushing with embarrassment when she looked back at her failed escape. Trevor got up and began to return towards the kitchen when Twilight stopped him.

"I don't think the kitchen is the best place to hide when there are more ponies coming. Why don't you try the basement?"

Trevor shrugged his shoulders and said, "Sure."

Twilight lead the Traveler through the kitchen and to a door that was on the far side of the room. She opened the door with her magic to reveal a stairway that went down quite a ways. Without a second thought, Trevor bent through the door way and began to descend as Twilight closed the door behind him.

The basement, according to Trevor's observations, had to easily be just as large as the library above. Like above, book cases lined the circular wall, but carved from stone this time instead of wood. Large roots could be seen running through the walls in between the bookcases. The staircase ran along the wall and lead towards the bottom. There was plenty of illumination from crystals above that seemed to have their own light source. Trevor also couldn't help but notice that the staircase, like above, had no railing of any kind.

'These ponies sure don't have any concern with basic household safety,' thought Trevor.

As he reached the bottom of the basement, he noticed that it resembled some sort of mad laboratory. Different machines with random buttons and lights filled the bottom floor, and there even was a large tank filled with some green liquid.

'A unicorn that practices both science and magic,' said the voice in Trevor's head, 'who would have guessed?'

'The two subjects have been known to contradict each other in many other worlds. Perhaps to the inhabitants of this world, magic is a science.'

'I still don't like how this magic energy feels so much like warp energy," said the voice, a slight tinge of worry quite evident.

'Let's just hope that's a coincidence,' thought back Trevor. Yet somehow, deep in his gut, he knew it wasn't.

Meanwhile, upstairs, Fluttershy and Twilight were just greeting their friends. First to come in the door was a tan earth pony with a blonde mane and Stetson hat named Applejack. Her cutie consisted of three red apples in a pyramid like pattern. Next to arrive was a white unicorn with her lavender mane and tail set in a fancy twirl and having a layer of mascara around her deep blue eyes . Rarity's cutie mark consisted of three light blue diamonds. Then the last two came dashing into the library at roughly the same time. One stopped to a rigid standstill while the other, that happened to be flying in above the first, came crashing into a pile of books as the rest of the ponies cringed at the site. The pony that came to a standstill was the pink earth pony that Twilight had suspected of pulling a prank earlier that day. Pinkie Pie did not stay still for long as she began to hop around the library in excitement. Her mane and tail were in their usual poofy style while her cutie mark consisted of three party balloons, one yellow and the other two blue. The pony that had flown (crashed) in dug herself out of the books to reveal a sky blue pegasus with her ragged, rainbow colored mane and tail. Rainbow Dash's cutie mark consisted of a white cloud emitting a rainbow colored lightning bolt.

"Fluttershy-said-this-was-important-how-important-is-it-important-enough-to-have-a-party?" Pinkie Pie said in her hyperactive, high-pitched voice.

"Calm down now, suga'cube. I dun think it calls for anythin' like that," Applejack said in her deep southern accent.

"Twilight, darling, what is this all about? Fluttershy refused to answer any of my inquiries before going off to find the rest of our compatriots," Rarity stated in her more posh and regal tone of voice.

"Yea, Twi," piped up Rainbow Dash in her slightly hoarse (no pun intended), tomboyish voice, "what's this all about?"

"Now calm down, girls," Twilight said pleadingly, unable to fully cope with the questions being thrown at her. Now she understood what Trevor felt like when she first talked to him. "Did Fluttershy explain to any of you why this meeting was called?"

They all shook their heads.

"Sorry, Twilight," came Fluttershy's soft voice, "I didn't think I had time to give them the details."

"It's alright, Fluttershy, I'll just have to do it."

Then Pinkie Pie began to shake violently and uncontrollably. Her friends instantly recognized it as another one of her precognitive twitches.

When the shaking stopped Pinkie Pie gasped and said, "That's the same twitch I got that predicted that Twilight would accept my twitches without knowing how they worked; another doozy. Something really-eally big is going to happen, something nopony would ever expect in a million-cabillion years!"

"That may have to do with why I called this meeting."

Everypony looked at Twilight with surprise, all except Fluttershy.

"What do ya mean, Twi?" asked Applejack.

"Well, there's somepony I would like you all to meet, the only thing is that he's actually…well… not a real pony."

Again, everypony except Fluttershy looked at Twilight with surprise and confusion.

Rainbow Dash spoke next. "Whoa, hold on a sec. If he's not a real pony, then what the heck is he?"

"Well, I know it may not help much, but he calls himself a human."

The ponies' confusion only deepened.

"And what, in Equestria, is a 'human'?" Rarity asked.

"Well, it's hard to describe, but that's what he is. I think it would be easier if you saw him then me trying to describe him. The main thing that I can describe him as is big, almost as big as a manticore."

This brought a gasp of fear from many of the ponies in the room.

"But not nearly as ferocious, of course." Twilight blurted, trying to ease the worry she had just mistakenly caused.

"If it helps in any way," piped in Fluttershy, "he is actually very kind."

"I concur with Fluttershy," Twilight said next, "once you get past his…otherworldly looks, you will discover that he is very friendly. I personally believe this is a great discovery as he is a completely new intelligent species never before encountered by ponykind."

"OOH, so he's, like, an alien?" Pinkie Pie asked excitedly.

"I suppose, yes."

"WOW, that sounds COOL! WHERE-IS-HE-WHERE-IS-HE-WHERE-IS-HE-"

"He's in the basement," Twilight said, unable to take any more of the hyperactive pink pony's chanting. "But I think it would be better if he came up here."

"Twilight, dear, are you sure this is safe? Is this 'human'…civilized?" Rarity inquired nervously

"From what I can tell, yes. He can even speak our language, perfectly."

"And how is that, exactly?" Applejack asked next.

Twilight's eyes widened then as she realized she never thought to ask.

"Honestly, I don't know, but he said he would explain everything once you all got here."

"Well what are we waiting for," exclaimed Rainbow Dash, ever the pegasus to look for a challenge, "bring him up here."

"Alright," Twilight said hesitantly, "but prepare yourselves, girls, for you are about to witness a being the like of which you have never seen in your wildest dreams."

They all nodded.

"Alright, Fluttershy, call him up."

Fluttershy nodded and flew over to the kitchen where she opened the basement door and called down: "Ok, Mister Traveler, we are ready to see you know."

Trevor prepared himself for the absolute freak-out that was undoubtedly to come as he ascended the stairs. As he reached the kitchen, he saw Fluttershy nod to someone in the main room before hearing Twilights voice.

"Ladies, I present to you Trevor the Traveler."

'Great,' thought the voice, 'now we're a circus act.'

Trevor ignored the voice as he picked up another apple from a nearby basket, and entered the main room.

Somewhere, many miles into the forest known as Everfree, wandered a scared and lonely deep blue unicorn with a silvery white mane and tail. On her flank showed a star wand with a stream of blue, sparkling magic emitting from its tip. Trixie had been wandering through the Everfree forest for several months now, which was actually quite a feat for any pony considering how dangerous the forest was. This didn't matter to Trixie as she was cold, scared, lost, and alone. She had managed to survive thus far by the off chance of finding berries that weren't poisonous. She had thus far fended off predators using her show magic that was based primarily on illusions. But now she was at the end of her rope. Exhausted, she collapsed in a heap, not caring any more what would find her and end her miserable existence.

What found her, however, was not there to end her.

Trixie felt a presence, a very strong presence. She looked around as best as her tired eyes could, but saw nothing but the damned, murky trees.

'Young one,' she heard a deep voice in her head, yet it sounded far away.

'Young one,' she heard the voice again, only this time closer.

'YOUNG ONE!'

Trixie jumped to her hooves, despite her exhaustion, as this time the voice sounded like it was being yelled right into her face. She looked about franticly, but found no pony.

"Wh-who's there," Trixie called out timidly.

"I AM HERE," answered the voice, 'AND I HAVE COME TO OFFER YOU POWER'

"Why?" shouted the frantic unicorn, "Who are you? What are you?"

'I AM A BEING BEYOND YOUR GREATEST FANTASIES, AND YOUR GREATEST NIGHTMARES.'

Trixie felt completely powerless in the presence of this voice. It intimidated her to no end.

"Wh-what do you want with me?"

'YOU WERE ONCE CALLED THE GREAT AND POWERFUL. I AM HERE TO HELP YOU REGAIN THAT TITLE. SAY THE OATH, AND YOU WILL BE GIVEN POWER BEYOND YOUR WILDEST IMAGINATION.'

"What," Trixie exclaimed in confusion, "what oath? I don't know any…"

Trixie stopped as somehow she now knew the oath the voice spoke of, as if she had known it all her life. It appalled her. It sounded so vulgar, so barbaric.

'THERE IS ONE WHO HURT YOU, WHO HUMILIATED YOU, WHO STRIPED YOU OF ALL THAT YOUR LIFE WAS WORTH.'

Trixies eyes widened, then narrowed with hate as she gritted her teeth. She knew all too well who he spoke of.

"Twilight," Trixie muttered through her teeth as if the very name held the plague itself.

'DO YOU WISH FOR VENGEANCE AGAINST THE ONES WHO HAVE WRONGED YOU?'

"Yes," spoke Trixie.

'DO YOU WISH FOR RESPECT?'

"Yes!"

'DO YOU WISH FOR POWER?'

"YES!"

"THEN SPEAK THE OATH!'

Trixie raised herself onto her hind legs, threw her front hooves towards the sky, and screamed:

"BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD!"

Then everything began to change.

And Trixie, smiled.

Calm... Sort Of.

Chapter 5: Calm… Sort Of

Thanks to Twilight's warning, nopony was left unconscious by Trevor's entrance. That's not to say, however, that nopony freaked out.

Trevor could sense a tinge of amusement from his mind companion as each pony handled his entrance in their own way.

The blue pegasus, Rainbow Dash was it, had shot straight for the ceiling screaming and ended up clinging like a cat there, despite the fact that the pony had no claws.

Trevor could tell that the white one, Rarity, was using every ounce of her will not to scream as she stared at him wide-eyed.

The tan earth pony with the hat, Applejack, was now taking what seemed to Trevor like a fighting stance; head and front lowered, hind quarters raised. She looked determined; scared, but determined. Trevor's mind companion seemed impressed by this act of defiant courage, though there wasn't really anything to defy just yet.

The pink one, however, did something that Trevor never expected. After staring at him for a few seconds, as Trevor thought they all would, the hyperactive pony had suddenly bounded straight towards him. With a cry of surprise, Trevor found himself laid out on his back with the pony, Pinkie Pie if he remembered correctly, standing on his chest. When he looked up, all he saw was the large, sky blue eyes of the pink pony, full of wonder.

"Wow, you look really-ealy cool. Are you an alien? I hope you're an alien and not a monster; aliens are sooooooo much cooler than monsters. I wish I had known you were coming so I could have given you a super-duper alien party. There would have been UFO balloons, and stuffed little-green-ponies, and- Oh! Can I call you Mr. Alien?"

Somewhere very far away a young man by the name of Hibiki sneezed.

All the other ponies, including Twilight and Fluttershy, were holding their breaths from the moment Pinkie Pie had tackled the Traveler, fearing that the larger being would tear their dear friend apart in a fit of rage.

However, the opposite happened.

Trevor laughed.

"Well, aren't you the energetic one?" Trevor said as he playfully ruffled the pink pony's poofy mane.

"Yep, that's me. My name's Pinkie Pie." By now, everypony else had released their breaths with sighs of relief. Rainbow Dash even got the courage to leave her perch on the ceiling and glide back down to sit with the rest of her friends.

"I'm sure you will have a better time looking me over if you could let me get up," Trevor said, his smile never leaving his face.

"Oops! Heehee, sorry, silly me," Pinkie Pie said with a giggle as she stepped (hopped?) down from the Traveler's chest. Trevor in turn brought himself back to his feet, reminding the guests of just how much taller he was than them.

Twilight took it upon herself to introduce the rest of her friends to the Traveler.

Twilight cleared her throat to gain everybody's attention before saying, "Trevor, I would like you to meet Applejack, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and you just met Pinkie Pie."

Trevor already knew their names thanks to his mind scan of Fluttershy, but he knew it would be rude to interrupt the purple unicorn.

"It is a pleasure to meet all of you," Trevor responded in turn. He then focused his attention towards the tan earth pony with the Stetson hat.

"I am told you are the pony responsible for growing this town's main food source," Trevor said, more in an inquiry tone than a statement. He held up the apple he still had in his hand for an example.

"Uh, well, ah wouldn' say it's tha town's main food source, but ah do tend to tha apple grove, if that's what ya'll mean," replied Applejack, a little nervous talking to the stranger.

"It is, and I would like to say you do an excellent job. These are by far the best apples I have ever had the pleasure of eating."

Applejack was taken aback by the compliment, not quite sure how she should feel about this situation.

"Uh, thank you kindly."

During Trevor's engagement with Applejack, Rarity went over to Twilight after she saw something that was a little out of place, besides the Traveler himself.

"Twilight, darling, why is Spike's bed on the bottom floor? Didn't he always sleep with you in your room?"

"Oh, that," Twilight replied, "it was in my room, but… how should I say this… a serious accident almost happened."

"Serious accident? Whatever do you mean?"

Twilight could see Rainbow Dash talking (more like gloating) to Trevor about how it was the pegasi's job to keep the weather in control, which had the Traveler quite interested. Twilight, however, brought her attention back to Rarity in order to answer her question.

"Well, you see, when Spike first saw Trevor, he didn't take it as well as you did."

"Well I can fully understand that he would be terrified, but what did he do?"

"…He feinted."

"Well I am certain that couldn't cause too-"

"At that very spot," Twilight pointed her hoof at the edge of the upper level of the library.

Rarity's eyes widened as she came to a realization.

"Oh, I see. Yes that would be dangerous if he fell."

"He did."

The white unicorn's eyes widened even more with shock.

"What? But how can that be. Spike is sleeping soundly right there in his bed… unless…"

Rarity couldn't bear to finish. Twilight realized what Rarity was thinking and immediately spoke up.

"Oh, no, he is sleeping. He's not… you know…"

Rarity breathed a sigh of relief before saying, "Oh thank goodness, so you were able to catch him in time."

"Actually, I didn't. Trevor did."

"Trevor?" Rarity exclaimed with surprise.

Twilight nodded.

"Well, so long as the little squire is safe and sound," Rarity said, still looking at the Traveler with suspicion.

Twilight's revisit of that moment brought a concern back to her mind.

"The thing is," Twilight continued, "the way that he caught Spike was so… weird."

"How so?" Asked Rarity, intrigued now.

"Well, it was like he used magical telekinesis, but without magic."

Rarity gave Twilight a look of confusion before saying, "Is that even possible?"

"Honestly, I don't know. But whatever it is he did, he saved Spike's life with it. Oh, by the way, it's common knowledge that only unicorns can use magic, besides the Princesses, right?"

"I assume that is a rhetorical question," Rarity replied with a 'are you really asking this?' look.

"It is, but Trevor there has just proved that knowledge wrong."

Now Rarity was really shocked. "Wait, are you implying that… he can use magic?"

"Exactly, I saw it with my own eyes."

"And you are absolutely positive that he didn't use magic to save Spike?"

"Absolutely; there was no use of magic what so ever."

Rarity was dumbfounded by the entire situation. "This…he…everything is just so strange."

Twilight giggled lightly remembering what she had said to the Traveler not so long ago.

"Yes it is. He said that he would explain it all once everypony got here. I should probably remind him."

With that, both unicorns trotted back towards the center of the action. Trevor had taken a seat at the couch and was getting a rundown of the Apple family tree from Applejack when Twilight interrupted.

"Sorry Applejack, but Trevor here has promised me that he would explain a few things once you all got here, and I for one am very anxious to have a few answers."

Both Trevor and Applejack turned towards the two unicorns. It was at that moment that Rarity noticed something about the Traveler that she hadn't previously.

"Oh my…" breathed Rarity as she stepped closer. "Your eyes are absolutely breathtaking. Such divine elegance in such little space. Oh, but your current apparel just does not match your eyes in the least."

Trevor looked down at his modest belongings which consisted of blue work jeans, black industry boots and a white t-shirt, all of which looked worn from travel.

"I simply must craft you something that's as elegant as your eyes," Rarity continued.

"That's not really nece-" Trevor began but was interrupted by Rainbow Dash

"Wait, that's clothing, I thought that it was just part of you"

Trevor shrugged while everypony else, save Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie, rolled their eyes.

"Rarity, I'm sure that you can make him something but right now I would really like some answers," Twilight said with a hint of irritation.

"Oh, of course darling," Rarity replied.

"Alright, everypony get comfortable, this is going to take a while." Everyone did as Twilight said.

"Ok," Twilight began, "first things first, where are you from?"

Trevor took a little time to think before answering, "A long ways from here; most likely a completely different galaxy. If memory serves me right, the galaxy I am from was once known as the Milky Way."

"Well that thar be an odd name for a galexy," commented Applejack.

"I suppose so. Anyway, it's not called that anymore."

"Then what's it called?" asked Twilight.

"Hard to say, it's broken up now. Most of it is called the Imperium of Man, another part of it is called the Tau Empire, and there are some parts of it with names I don't understand."

"Imperium? Could you please elaborate?" Rarity asked next.

"Well, let me think... The Imperium of Man is a large empire that spans a great deal of the galaxy and is made up primarily, if not completely, by humans like me."

Pinky pie seemed to get excited by this bit of information.

"Wow, so there's, like, a ca-jillion of you guys across an entire galaxy? That's so neat!"

"As interesting as that sounds," Twilight said, "I still have more questions that need answering. For instance, how did you get here if you live in another galaxy?"

"Through something called the Warp."

This gained the Traveler many confused looks as Twilight asked, "Explain, please."

"Well, the Warp is also called the immaterium. It's an alternate reality that borders our own. The Imperium uses the Warp to travel great distances in little time. Warp travel, in a way, is the only reason that the Imperium still holds together. I myself use the warp to do what I call a 'jump' between vast distances. The farther the jump, however, the harder the toll on the body. It will be sometime before I will be able to do a jump like I did to get here again."

"So, you basically used teleportation. Amazing." Twilight concluded.

"I'm sorry, but for once I'm having trouble keeping up," blurted Rainbow Dash.

"I'll have ta agree with yah thar," commented Appljack.

Rarity tried her best to explain it to them so that the two athletes could understand.

"Basicly, he uses a different plain of reality to teleport himself."

"Whatever ya say, surga'cube," said Applejack, not feeling any less perplexed.

"So, how do you use this Warp? Is there a type of devise you have?" Twilight asked next.

"Well, normally a large engine would be required to use the Warp. However, I am anything but normal, and the only engine I need is my mind. My mind is developed to the point where I can interact with my environment freely. Other humans where I come from would call me a psyker."

"Interesting. In what ways do you 'interact' with your environment?"

"Well, you witnessed it yourself when I caught Spike there when he fell." Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy's eyes went wide with surprise as they had not known of this event.

"So that's why… but still, how is that possible without magic?" Twilight asked, "There had to be some power source you used."

"There was, and it was the Warp itself. My mind affects my environment because I can access the Warp. The Warp itself, in a way, is pure energy. Your magic is actually very similar to warp energy, which may explain why I can use magic."

"You can do magic, too?" exclaimed Pinkie Pie. "That's so AUSOME."

"By Celestia," breathed Twilight, her mind whirling, "an alternate power source other than magic… the implication are just, immense."

"I happen to have a question, now," spoke Rarity. "How is it that you can speak our language?"

The other ponies nodded in agreement to the question.

"Well, this is where I have to make a confession. You see, my mind can not only interact with my environment, but also with other minds. Fluttershy was the first sentient being I met when I came here, so I looked into her mind in order to learn your language and customs."

Many jaws would have hit the floor had they not been attached to their respective owners' skulls. Fluttershy's face in particular was turning bright red as she began to contemplate what the Traveler could have found within the recesses of her mind.

"That also explains why I knew your name, Fluttershy," Trevor continued. "However, I only accessed your most basic knowledge. Whatever secrets you hold are still with you. Either way, I apologize; the mind is the most sacred part of any living creature."

Fluttershy let out a sigh of relief while Twilight's mind was theoretically bouncing about in her skull.

"Wait; hold on for just a second, I need to process this."

"So, uh, are you reading our minds now?" asked a very worried Rainbow Dash.

"No, there is no need," answered Trevor. "I should note, however, that the minds of unicorns are much stronger than the rest of pony kind. As such, it is much more difficult to use my powers on them without being detected."

"Well that's a relief… I suppose," commented Rarity.

'You seem to be omitting one important detail,' Trevor heard in the back of his mind.

'And what might that be?' Trevor thought back.

'ME!'

'I really don't think that their questions require you as an answer.'

'And yet I am the main reason you can use you powers without the threat of demonic possession.'

'Seems to me that I am already possessed.'

'That's beside the point, why aren't you telling them about me?'

'You're my ace in the hole, remember. If things go bad I need a secret weapon.'

'Huh, always leave it to you to think tactically.'

Trevor was brought back to reality by the voice of Twilight.

"Trevor?"

"Hm?"

"I was asking you something."

"Sorry, could you repeat it."

Twilight sighed before continuing, "Is it possible for any other humans to come to Equestria?"

"Well, I suppose it is possible, though they would have to know of this place first. Most humans don't like using the warp without a specific destination in mind."

"So did you know of Equestria before coming here?"

"Honestly, no. I use warp travel at random. It keeps things interesting."

"Not to butt in or anythang, but aint that a mite dangerous?" asked Applejack, now starting to grasp the conversation.

Trevor merely replied, "Sometimes."

"Why would that be dangerous?" asked Pinkie Pie, who had been surprisingly sitting still the entire time.

"Cause if he teleports wrong, he could find 'imself in tha middle of a manticore pit," Applejack answered.

'Wouldn't be the first time it happened,' commented the voice.

"Oh," both Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash said.

"Another question," Twilight went on, "when you use the warp, what repercussions do you go through?"

"I would think it would be the same as your magic; it takes a little toll on both the body and mind as the body has to supply the mind with the required sustenance in order to function."

'Heh, that's only part of it and you know it,' said the voice within Trevor's mind.

'They don't need to know that,'

It was at that moment that Trevor actually noticed how tired he was. With all the new sights he had been seeing and this land's peaceful nature, he forgot it had only been a mere few hours since his long range jump, which as he had said takes a huge toll on the body. He decided to let his exhaustion be known.

Trevor yawned, surprising the ponies, before saying, "Sorry, I'm just a little tired from the jump that got me here."

"Ah, I see," said Twilight, seeing that the sun was getting low through one of the library windows, "Well, you've answered the most important questions that I had. Now all we need to do is decide you sleeping arrangements. Does anypony have any suggestions?"

"Hey, can humans walk on clouds?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Uh, no."

"Then my place is out of the question."

"I could take him in," Rarity said next, "I do have an extra room in my shop that he could use."

"That would be fine, but how far is you shop?" Trevor asked.

"Oh, it's just down the main road a ways," Rarity answered.

"Well with all due respect, I would rather not leave this tree while there are still other ponies active in town. I'm a little concerned on how they would react to me."

"Oh… well that's perfectly understandable of course."

Twilight saw the disappointment in her friend and knew why she had volunteered.

"Don't worry," Twilight said in as comforting a tone as she could, "you can take Trevor's measurements tomorrow after he's gotten some sleep."

Twilight looked over towards the Traveler.

"In the mean time, you can stay here. I do have an extra bed in my room."

"Thank you. That would be fine."

"Um, Twilight…"

"Yes, Fluttershy?"

"I need to go home and make sure that all the animals are fed."

"Sure Fluttershy, go on ahead."

Fluttershy then gave her farewells before flying through the library door and off in the direction of her cottage.

"Twilight," Rarity spoke next, "do you have any extra scrolls I could use?"

"Sure, Rarity, just a minute."

Twilight trotted over to her writing desk where she telekinetically pulled out a sheet of paper from underneath it. Rarity took the paper with her own telekinesis, placed the paper on the desk, and then used the quill and ink that was lying on the desk to start drawing while occasionally looking at Trevor. Twilight could see over Rarity's shoulder that she was in fact trying to draw an outline of the Traveler's figure to the best of her ability, which was actually pretty good.

After Rarity finished her drawing, she rolled it up and held on to it through her telekinesis.

"There." she said, "Well I'm off to my shop to see if I can put down some designs for Trevor's new outfit, farewell."

"Ok, but nothing too frilly," Trevor spoke up.

"Of course not, I understand that you wish to keep your masculine features," Rarity said as she exited the library.

"Is she always like that?" Trevor asked when the white unicorn was out of earshot.

"Yep, that's Rarity for ya," answered Rainbow Dash, "Always wanting an excuse to make some new clothes. She is a dress maker, you know."

"Really, I would have never guessed," spoke Trevor, doing quite well in hiding his sarcasm.

"Well," began Applejack, "when ah came here, I left Bic Mac wid some of tha apple hauling. Ah bettah go back to tha orchard and help him wrap it up."

"Ok dokie lokie," said Pinky Pie as she waved goodbye to the tan earth pony. Then she perked up.

"Oh, you know what I should do? I should go back to Shugarcube Corner and make plans for a huge party so that all of Ponyville can get to know you. It's going to be so fun!"

Before Trevor could protest, the pony was out the door in a pink flash.

"Uhg, I can never get over just how fast Pinkie Pie can move when she wants to," groaned Rainbow Dash.

"Actually," Twilight said after seeing Trevor's worried face, "that might not be such a bad idea. It would give us a chance to introduce you to the town in one go. That way we don't have to hide you in secret all the time."

"If you say so…" replied Trevor, the picture of a mob of ponies with torches and pitchforks still strong in his mind. It would not be the first time something like that happened.

"Anyway," Rainbow Dash said with a stretch, "I better hit the sack early if I want to get my training in tomorrow."

"Training for what?" Trevor asked.

"For the day I join the Wonderbolts, of course. They're the best fliers in all of Equestria and I, being the best flier in Equestria, plan on joining them."

"Uh huh, well good luck with that."

"Please, a pegasus of my skill doesn't need luck. See ya." And with that, the blue pegasus was out the door leaving behind a lingering stream of rainbow which took a few seconds to fade out.

"Huh, quite an interesting group you have," commented Trevor to Twilight.

"Yea, I thought the same thing when I first came here, but you get use to it."

"How long have you been here?"

"About a two years or so."

Trevor took another look at Spike and thought, 'How can anyone sleep like that?'

"Anyway, you probably want to get some sleep," Twilight said.

As if on cue, Trevor yawned before saying, "Yea."

"Alright, then follow me please."

Twilight led the Traveler upstairs to the upper part of the tree-library where he could see a bed with a star covered blanket, presumably Twilight's, and a second, much simpler bed across from the first. Unsurprisingly, this area also had several bookcases carved into the walls. When the two of them approached the spare bed, they immediately noticed a problem.

"It's a bit… small," Trevor pointed out.

"Heh, right," Twilight said as she realized that the bed was designed for a maximum of two ponies, not a human.

Trevor thought for a moment when an idea struck him.

"Hey, what can you do with the magic that you have now?"

"Well, any number of things. Why do you a-" Twilight stopped mid question as she started to catch on to the Traveler's thought process.

"You want me to make it bigger with magic?" Twilight asked.

"If that's at all possible." Trevor replied.

"Of course it is, I just need to use one of the enlargement spells I saw a while back."

'If I was any more immature, I would have found that statement funny,' Trevor heard in the back of his mind.

Trevor ignored the voice as he watched Twilight do what she did best: use magic. Twilight shut her eyes in concentration as her horn began to glow a purple hue. In seconds the bed took on a similar glow. Shortly thereafter the bed began to grow with what sounded like the creaking of wood.

'Huh, magic may not seem as powerful as warp energy, but is capable of doing things that warp energy could never accomplish,' thought Trevor. 'Now do you see why learning magic could be beneficial to us?'

'Ok, so it may give us a few tricks up our sleeves, big woop.'

'A "few tricks" can sometimes be the deciding factor between life and death.'

When the creaking sound had stopped, the bed was three times its normal size, which was perfect for the Traveler. Trevor looked over towards Twilight who looked like she had just taken a brisk morning jog. She looked a little more tired than before, but not by much.

"Thank you, Twilight, now I am very interested in magic. Is there any way you could possibly teach me about it?"

Twilight looked at the Traveler with a surprised look on her face.

"Me, teach? I don't know, I never taught anything to anypony before."

"I'm sure you would be a natural at it."

Twilight blushed slightly at the compliment.

"Well, I guess it wouldn't hurt to try…"

"Excellent, could we start tomorrow?"

"So soon? I, uh, suppose we could."

"Great," said Trevor as he sat on the bed and began to unlace his boots.

"By the way," Twilight said next "what do you call those?"

"What these," Trevor held up one of his hands.

"Yea, I forgot to ask."

"They're called hands"

"Hands…" Twilight muttered as she played the alien word over in her mind. "Interesting."

Trevor by now had finished untying his boot and was now taking them off. He decided to keep his socks on, as well as the rest of his clothes, as he scooted himself further onto the bed.

"Well, Twilight, it has been a most interesting afternoon."

"Yes it has," Twilight agreed.

"I have to say that I am very grateful for your hospitality."

"Oh, it was my pleasure."

"Well then, good night."

"Good night," Twilight replied.

Within seconds of his head hitting the pillow, exhaustion overtook Trevor as he slept silently.

Twilight watched as the Traveler slept for a few minutes thinking how, dare she think it, cute he looked when he slept, like a puppy in her mind.

Twilight shook her head of those thought as more important business had to be done. The purple unicorn trotted back down stairs and approached her writing desk. When she did, she took out a blank scroll, sat it on the desk, took her quill from its ink pot, and began writing.

'Dear Princess Celestia,

Today I have made a very exciting discovery. There is intelligent life beyond our world, and I have met one. He calls himself the Traveler but prefers to be called Trevor. He is part of a species that call themselves 'humans' and says he came from a completely different galaxy. But the discoveries don't stop there. I have discovered that he is capable of using magic and he has even requested that I teach him. I am very excited as this could be the start of a new friendship and I will have a pupil of my own. Not only that, but he is also what his species calls a psyker, which means he can use telekinesis and look into other creatures minds without magic. He has also told me about something called the Warp, an alternate reality that borders on our own. He says that it is the Warp is what supplies him with the power to use his abilities and is also how he was able to transport himself across entire galaxies. Though he is much bigger than the rest of us, he is very kind. I hope you may have a chance to meet him. I am including a diagram of him so that you may know what he looks like.

Sincerely

Your most faithful pupil,

Twilight Sparkle'

After Twilight had set the quill back in its pot, she began to concentrate her magic as she etched a picture of the Traveler into the paper from her very memory. After that, she added a picture of herself as to show the size difference between her kind and his. Once that was done, she rolled up the scroll and sealed it with a red wax seal. She was about to put it aside for Spike to send it when he woke up, but then an idea struck her. She picked up the quill again and with the scroll still in tow, she trotted over to the sleeping baby dragon.

Luckily for her, Spike happened to be sleeping mostly face up. Twilight used the quill's feather area to delicately tickle the young reptile's nose. Spike's face instinctively scrunched up as he began to inhale.

"Ah… Ah…Ah…"

Twilight then put the scroll in front of the baby dragon's now open mouth.

"AHCHU!" Spike sneezed in his sleep, sending a blast of green fire from his nose. The fire immediately ate the scroll in a matter of seconds and the ashes, mixed with a few magic sparkles, flew out a nearby window. Spike merely sniffed and continued his unabated slumber.

Twilight new the message would reach the Princess, as it had always done so countless times before.

With that done, Twilight returned to the book that she had been studying before this entire event had occurred. She thought she should get some more reading done before she went to bed herself.

Trevor opened his eyes to see pitch black. At first he was confused, but only a moment later did he realize what was happening, and groaned in irritation.

"You can bitch all you want, but we need to talk," said an all too familiar voice.

Trevor turned around to see a familiar being, one he had seen many time before during his sleep.

The being looked a lot like him and could have been an exact replica, had it not been on fire.

The being had its arms crossed and was looking at Trevor intently with eyes red as fire and alight with pure energy. It wore no clothes which only revealed a body made of a fiery alloy as red molten metal seethed and flowed through visible crevices within the alloy itself. From the being's left hand dripped an unending flow of simmering blood.

"I hope there is a good reason for this little counsel," said Trevor, letting his irritation be known.

"When the hell has there not been?," replied the being.

Trevor sighed and nodded his head in agreement.

"Whatever it is you want to say, best say it now so that I can sleep in peace."

"Listen, we have been doing this for a long time now, and have gone through some serious shit along the way, but what you're doing now is just downright embarrassing."

"And why is that?"

"Because your stooping down to the level of a bunch of four legged, brightly colored mini faggots!"

Trevor let out a sigh of frustration at his companion's unneeded hate.

"They are kind, intelligent beings who deserve just as much as we do."

"Hah, yea right, we could crush every one of them if we wanted to, magic or no magic."

"You may want to, but I don't, and I have the final decision."

The being growled at this, but then said in defeat, "Fine! Do what you want with them! But that's not the only thing I have you here to discuss."

"Oh?"

"There's a shit storm coming, I can feel it. One of the biggest fights we have ever had is approaching."

"How is that possible, this place is the most peaceful we have ever come to. The only fight I could see happening is if you decide to cause mayhem."

"Oh it won't be me causing the mayhem, believe me. I can smell it: murderous intent is on the wind, and it is focusing towards this location. Something out there does not share your views of these ponies, and it is coming with the intent to kill."

This bit of news had the Traveler worried more than usual during his little "chats" with the being that resided within the back of his mind.

"Are you sure?"

"I am positive," said the being, raising its bloody fist above its head, "Blood will be spilt here or my name isn't Kaela Mensha Khain!"

Somewhere to the east of the Everfree Forest lied a plain of badlands; desolate and seemingly uninhabitable. Yet beneath this seemingly deserted land thrived the Diamond Dogs. The Diamond Dogs are a race of intelligent canines gifted with opposable front paws. Though their large forearms in comparison to their shorter back legs give them a very ape-like appearance, they still hold the main features that make them dogs: large ears, muzzle, whiskers, fur, tail, and many with the trade make drooping upper lip that most canines share.

The Diamond Dogs call themselves thus because of their constant instinctual hunger to hoard rare gems. It is because of this that the Diamond Dogs live primarily underground, though they still require light to see. Within their homes the Diamond Dogs have constructed a complex series of tunnels and mines that only they would know how to navigate. During their evolutionary process, the Diamond Dogs learned not only how to construct these tunnels, but also how to collect, smelt, and forge metals such as iron. Soon after, they discovered how to create steel, which they now use on a daily basis. The Diamond Dogs used the metal to create mine carts, support beams, and even armor and weapons such as spears.

Because the Diamond Dogs live underground in such a desolate location, they have no real contact with the rest of Equestrian society. As such, most ponies of Equestria are completely unaware of the Diamond Dog's existence. It would have stayed that way, had a certain newly converted unicorn not paid them a visit.

Rex, alpha of the Diamond Dogs, was busy checking the income of gems by their main stock pile, and was disappointed by what he saw. The mine carts that arrived where hardly even a third full, and most of the gems they contained were small, dinky even. These gems didn't even deserve to be added to his already gem encrusted collar. Rex was not the strongest Diamond Dog, but he was by far the cleverest, and it was for this reason that he was alpha. His fur was dark grey and his over bite hid most of his upper lip. Rex also had the strange mutation of having almost reptilian like eyes. His cropped ears stood upright from his head and he wore a leather vest, also encrusted with a few gems here and there.

Rex used the light from the many torches that hung on the walls to check the contents of each mine cart that entered the gem stockpile, each as disappointing as the first.

"This is ridiculous," commented Rex in his raspy, goblinish voice as he turned towards a work dog that had brought in one of the mine carts. "Why are we getting so little gems?"

The work dog shrugged while saying, "We just aint finding them like we used to."

Rex sighed in frustration while he rubbed his eyelids with one of his large paws. It had been like this for quite some time now, ever since they tried to get the "cooperation" of that white unicorn that was an expert gem finder. Rex shuddered as he remembered the horror that unicorn unleashed on him and his kind. All the talking and the complaining and the whining and the noises, it gave Rex a headache just remembering it.

Then Rex heard different noises. They sounded like one sided arguments coming from some of his guard dogs, only for the speakers to suddenly go silent. Rex exited the gem stockpile and headed through the tunnels towards the sounds to see what all the hubbub was about. What he saw both surprised and horrified him.

Several of his guard dogs, all equipped with armor, helms and spears, laid in a broken mess, unconscious. Several were bleeding from the nose or mouth while others were missing teeth, all of which had large dents in their armor or helms. What shocked Rex the most, however, was in the middle of this carnage stood a unicorn, her mane was darkened silver, her coat a dark blood red and her eyes even more so. Her cutie mark looked like a warped and twisted stick with an eight pointed star at the end. Her very presence seemed to reek with awe inspiring fear.

"Ah, are you the alpha of this little pack?" she spoke, her voice sounding like a sugarcoated blade.

"M-maybe, who's asking?" Rex replied, trying to keep some form of dignity as others of his pack where watching.

"Somepony who wishes to give you a generous offer," She replied coolly.

"Offer, what are you talking about?"

"Don't you feel somewhat… unaccomplished down here, stuck with digging in the dirt beneath the hooves of Equestria?

"Uh…"

"While the world up there lives on, completely oblivious to your existence, you rot down here, trying to scrounge whatever pretty pieces of rock you can."

Rex was starting to get angry at the unicorn for her bantering.

"Wouldn't you like to change that?" the unicorn asked next.

"Wha-"

"Why not face the light of the sun for a change? Why break your backs digging for gems, when you can simply take them from those who have no use for them?"

Rex stopped and began to think on this before saying, "If we do, we will be hunted as thieves by the ponies."

"Ah, but what if you were the hunters?"

"Huh?" Rex replied with a look of confusion.

"You can be the hunters for once. You can show Equestria that you do not fear them. Through Khorne's favor you can become powerful."

"Khorne, who the heck is that?"

The unicorn chuckled a very dark, crazed chuckle before saying, "Khorne is a true god, not like the week Princesses that the rest of ponykind worship. Khorne is the master of strength and most powerful of the Chaos gods. He is ever seeking new warrior to share his gifts with, new warriors to amass glory in his name. He can give you the power to put those self righteous Equestrians in their place."

Rex began to like the sound of this, but was not ready to give in just yet.

"How are we supposed to believe you?"

"Well, I suppose a demonstration is in order," the unicorn said with a sinister smile. She then went over to a nearby boulder that the Diamond Dogs had had difficulty removing for some time. The boulder itself was roughly four times the size of the unicorn that approached it. Said unicorn merely put one hoof under it, and then lifted the boulder from the ground as if it was paper.

The Diamond Dogs that were witness to this were completely awestruck by this show of strength, including Rex. Rex knew about the magic of unicorns, but did not witness any such thing from this unicorn; neither her horn nor the boulder glowed with the tell tale signs of magic.

"This is the power granted by Lord Khorne!" the unicorn proclaimed. Then she did the impossible. The unicorn brought the large rock forcefully down on her horn, and shattered the boulder into gravel.

After shaking her main free of rubble, the unicorn than said, "My name is Bloodmane, and through me, you too can step into Lord Khorne's good graces! You too can wield this power! Do you wish for the power to bring your hated enemies to their knees!"

A large cheer arose from the Diamond Dogs that had gathered there, after the cheer subsided, Rex stepped forward and said,

"I think I can speak for everyone here when I say that, yes, we too want this power."

"Then all you have to do," said the unicorn that was once Trixie as she stepped closer to the alpha until their muzzles were almost touching, "is speak the oath."

Preparations

Chapter 6: Preparation

Trevor awoke from his sleep feeling quite refreshed, if a little sore. Celestia's morning sun brought warming light through the windows of the library. This, however, could not brighten his mood any as what Khaine had said troubled him greatly. The shard of a once powerful god that resided in his mind had said that there would be blood spilt, but failed to mention when. The Traveler had faced threats like this before, and thus focused on how he was to prepare for the coming battle. The main thing that worried Trevor was not knowing who his enemies would be when the battle happens. A great deal of information was needed in order to prepare properly.

'Any idea who I will be fighting, or a when?' Trevor thought towards his mind companion.

'Nope, just that you will be,' replied Khaine.

'Well that's helpful,' Trevor thought sarcastically.

Trevor did not have much to go on and he knew it. He knew how to fight; the fact that he was still alive proved that much. What came to Trevor's mind, however, was concern for his gracious hostesses. As far as he could tell, most if not all of ponykind had never known of any battles or major fights that resulted in killing. Trevor remembered a certain event from Fluttershy's memory that he had happen to brush by. It was a fight that the pegasus had been witness to between some frontier ponies and the native buffalo. It was, interesting to say the least. Neither side took any casualties, or injuries for that matter. This may have been because the ponies were fighting with pies, fricken pies. The fight ended when a piece of said pies landed in the buffalo chief's mouth. The chief liked the pie so much that he came to a compromise with the pony sheriff right then and there.

That little event would literally look like a picnic in comparison to what Trevor knew was to come. Another thing that worried Trevor was how was he supposed to break the news to the ponies. Would they even believe him? To warn them would also ultimately lead to him revealing his mind companion, which he knew the ponies would not take well. The shard of a war god is something most sentient beings wouldn't want to hang around, especially when that shard is sentient itself.

Trevor was still sitting in bed, wracking his mind for a solution when Twilight stirred from her own sleep. The unicorn yawned deeply as she got herself up into a sitting position and rubbed her eyes with her front hooves (which would seem painful to the Traveler's point of view). Trevor stifled a chuckle when he saw the bed-head that Twilight had achieved; the unicorn's usually straight, magenta streaked main was a complete mess. The unicorn in turn opened her eyes slowly, noticed the Traveler, and smiled.

"Good morning, Trevor," Twilight said pleasantly.

"Good morning," Trevor replied while giving off another one of his trademark smiles.

"Did you sleep well?" Twilight asked next as she exited the bed.

"Yes, very well," Trevor replied. It was not a totally honest answer, but then it wasn't a total lie, either.

"Good, what would you like for breakfast?"

"Um, what is there?"

"Well, I could go out and get some apple scones if you like?"

"Really?" Trevor said with a hint of surprise. "You'd go out of you way just for me?"

"Of course," Twilight replied in a matter-of-fact manner. "You're my guest, so I should do what I can to keep you comfortable."

"Thank you, scones would be fine."

"Sure, just give me a second," Twilight said as she headed for the wash room of the library. The washroom was just that, a washroom with a tub, sink, and mirror which also doubled as a medicine cabinet; nothing exciting or impressive, which was just fine for Twilight. The unicorn took one look in the mirror and then blushed with embarrassment. Her mane was a total mess and she hadn't even noticed during her conversation with the Traveler. It embarrassed her that Trevor saw her like this; she didn't know why, it just did.

Twilight telekinetically opened the medicine cabinet, pulled out a brush, and began to work her mane into a more orderly fashion. When her mane was back to its natural straight state, Twilight exited the wash room and headed down the steps and towards the kitchen. In the kitchen, Twilight picked up one of her saddle bags, which also resembled a shopping basket, and then proceeded to trot towards the door. Upon reaching the door, Twilight stopped and called up to the Traveler.

"I'm going now, be back in a bit."

"Ok," she heard Trevor answer from the upper level of the library. With that, the unicorn exited the library and trotted off towards the Sugarcube Corner Bakery.

Trevor saw her go through one of the library windows. It was then that he actually noticed the town. During his trip here with Fluttershy, he hadn't really stopped to look at the scenery. Now that he had time, he could see that the town definitely had a heavy Medieval feel to it. The architecture and streets all had an old-fashion look to them. This actually made the town seem even more humble.

'So, you gonna tell her?' Trevor heard Khaine say.

'… No.'

'No?'

'No, this place is too peaceful for them to worry over something that has never happened here before. Besides, there is no definite fact that says the fight will involve them.'

'That's a false way to think and you know it.'

'Either way, I would rather not worry them.'

'It will only be worse for them when it happens.'

'Then I will deal with it when that time comes. Until then, we must prepare.'

Trevor went to the washroom himself and was pleasantly surprised to see that ponies did indeed use toilets. After relieving himself and washing his hands, Trevor went down stairs to see if there were any interesting books that could increase his knowledge of the world he was on. While going towards one of the many bookcases, Trevor noticed an open letter on Twilight's writing desk. Curiosity overcame the Traveler as he approached the desk and picked up the letter. It read as thus:

'Dear Twilight Sparkle,

I have received your letter telling of this Traveler. You know that I always trust you judgment, however I must express caution in this situation. While what you have told me of the Traveler is very interesting, it is also very worrying. The ability to use magic is something alone that could be used to do harm, but this "Warp", as you call it, also sounds dangerous. It is a power that not even I am familiar with and yet from what you have told me, this Traveler uses it on a daily basis. The implications of this could range from helpful to harmful. I cannot express the importance that caution is used in dealing with this Traveler until I am sure he is of good nature. Unfortunately, politics within Canterlot and a new parasprite infestation in Staliongrad means that I myself will not be able to meet him for some time. As such, I am sending my sister Luna to meet him in my stead. She will arrive at Ponyville after she has taken care of a few other matters herself, which will be in about two days. Stay safe, Twilight. I do not want to lose my favored pupil.

Sincerely,

Your loving mentor,

Princess Celestia'

After Trevor put the letter back to where it had been he merely muttered, "Huh."

'Well, look at that; our "gracious hostess" just so happens to be pen pals with the local monarch,' Khaine said with a hint of irritation.

'A wise monarch, at that,' Trevor responded. 'She did tell us that she was the Princess's pupil yesterday, remember. What I want to know is how the heck was Twilight able to contact the Princess and then be contacted back through just letters in one night?"

'My guess would be magic.'

'Oh,' thought Trevor sheepishly, 'right.'

As Trevor continued his search for a good history book, he began to think more on the implications of magic, specifically how fast letters were delivered.

'Hey, that letter had to be teleported in order for it to reach Twilight so fast, right?'

'Well, I suppose so, unless the Princess lives right next door,' Khaine replied

'Was that your attempt at making a funny? Because it fell right on its face.'

'Yes, ya killjoy, it had to be teleported.'

'So magic can teleport other objects besides living creatures, we could use such a technique.'

'And how is that?'

'Well, we currently don't have any weapons to fight the battle that will come, and I don't think these ponies have any either. Maybe we could teleport some weapons from past worlds we've been to.'

'That… might not be such a bad idea. We've never done anything like it though. All we've done teleportation wise is use the Warp to jump ourselves.'

'Then all we need to do is combine our experience with the Warp and the teleportation techniques of magic.'

'That seems overly complicated.'

'Maybe, but do you have a better idea?'

'We could just use what we know now and crush the minds of whoever is foolish enough to cross us.'

'That tactic is one that can be easily thwarted by just a simple spell, or another psyker.'

'How do you know we will have to fight someone with those capabilities?'

'How do you know we won't?'

'Fine, we'll do things your way.'

Trevor had not survived for as long as he has traveling without picking up a few good habits. One of these habits was having at least a little Warp-enhanced mental awareness of his surroundings at all times. At this point, his "mind sonar", as Trevor sometimes thinks of it, was detecting another mind in the room that was just now becoming active from slumber.

Spike awoke from his sleep as he did every day: slowly and unwillingly. However, this day Spike noticed a few things different when he opened his eyes. The first thing he noticed was that he was downstairs now. This struck the baby dragon as odd as he always slept in Twilight's room. This oddity, however, was overshadowed when he noticed the giant creature that was standing in the room with its back to him. To Spike's credit, he didn't faint this time as he had seen this creature twice before, each seeming like a dream when he remembered it. However, Spike could not stop himself from shaking with fear, hoping that the creature had not noticed him.

"You've done well not to pass out this time, Spike; I wouldn't want to have to catch you again."

Spike's jaw dropped in shock at what he heard. The creature talked, spoke his language, and even knew his name. But what did it mean by "catch you again"? Spikes young mind began to race as he began wondering where Twilight was at a time like this.

"W-what are you?" Spike said in a shaky voice. "How do you know my name? Where's Twilight? What have you done with Twilight?" Spike's confidence began to return slowly with each question.

"Twilight just left to get us breakfast," answered the creature as if he was talking to an old friend. This only confused Spike.

"What do you mean get us breakfast?"

"I mean exactly what I said. She is a very kind soul, and also quite fond of you."

By now the creature had turned to face Spike. To the baby dragon, the creature looked stranger from the front than the back, but then he saw the creature's eyes. The kindness that was held in those emerald eyes was not lost upon the baby dragon and Spike felt his fear ebb away.

"My name is Trevor," the creature continued, "and I am currently using this library as temporary living quarters under the permission of Twilight."

Spike gave him a puzzled look and said, "What?"

Trevor chuckled before saying, "Twilight's letting me live here for a bit."

"Oh…" Spike responded.

"Until Twilight gets back, I was hoping that I could find a history book of some kind."

Spike perked up immediately.

"Well, I know something like that, hold on a sec." With that, Spike exited his bed and walked over to a ladder that happened to be leaning on one of the book cases. Trevor himself wondered why he hadn't noticed it before. The small purple and green reptile then slid the ladder to a certain book case where he proceeded to climb it. Once about past half way up the ladder Spike reached out and grabbed a brown book with a golden spine. After removing the book from the bookcase, he threw the book with surprising strength for such a small being straight towards Trevor who in turn caught the flying bundle of paper with both hands.

"Try that one. It was once considered a fairy tale until Twilight proved it to be true history."

Intrigued, Trevor looked down at the book that was in his hands and found that the cover had what looked like a golden unicorn with turquoise eyes inscribed upon it. Trevor thanked spike for his help, took a seat on the couch, and opened the book. The only thing to be read on the front page was "Once upon a time".

'Seriously?' Trevor heard from the back of his mind. 'This is a children's book.'

'With how much we know of this land we may as well be children,' Trevor replied through thought as he flipped to the next page and began reading.

'Once upon a time, in the magical land of Equestria, there were two regal sisters who ruled together and created harmony for all the land. To do this, the eldest used her unicorn powers to raise the sun at dawn. The younger brought out the moon to begin the night. Thus the two sisters maintained balance for their kingdom and their subjects; all the different types of ponies.

But as time went on, the younger sister became resentful. The ponies relished and played in the day her elder sister brought forth, but shunned and slept through her beautiful night. One fateful day, the younger unicorn refused to lower the moon to make way for the dawn. The elder sister tried to reason with her, but the bitterness in the young one's heart had transformed her into a wicked mare of darkness: Nightmare Moon. She vowed that she would shroud the land into eternal night. Reluctantly, the younger sister harnessed the most powerful magic known to ponykind: the Elements of Harmony.

Using the magic of the Elements of Harmony, she defeated her younger sister and banished her permanently into the moon. The elder sister took on responsibility of both sun and moon, and harmony has been maintained in Equestria for generations since.'

The book itself was actually a picture book, which explained why it was so short. The information it held, however, was intriguing to the Traveler.

"You say that this was considered a fairytale until Twilight proved it true?" Trevor asked Spike.

"Yep," Spike replied with pride.

"And how did she prove it?"

Spike thought for a moment before answering, "Well, Nightmare Moon came back after being trapped on the moon for a thousand years. When she did, Twilight along with the rest of our friends went out to try and find the Elements of Harmony. I stayed here when they did, so I don't really know what exactly went down, but they found them and defeated Nightmare Moon with them. After that, Nightmare Moon turned back into Princess Luna and Princess Celestia took her back in. Did I mention that this all happened only two years ago?"

Trevor looked with amazement at this information and merely said, "Wow."

"Yea I know," Spike replied with laughter in his words, "And get this, Twilight had to do the same thing again a year later to stop Discord, the Spirit of Disharmony, from turning Ponyville into the capitol of Chaos."

Unbeknownst to Spike, Trevor suppressed a shiver from running down his spine when the word "Chaos" was mentioned. He really hoped that the names were only coincidences. For now, Trevor continued with his questioning.

"What did Twilight do with the Elements of Harmony?"

"Hmm... I think Princess Celestia kept them."

'Well… I would not expect the unicorn to hold a power like that," commented Khaine within the Traveler's mind

'This only proves my point to make allies. Our hostess is not only a good acquaintance of the local monarch, but is also the wielder of the most powerful energy source this world knows of. I don't think it requires repeating but… You. Do. Not. Fuck. With unicorns.'

'Point taken.'

"So, why would Twilight go out to get breakfast?" Trevor heard Spike ask, "We have plenty of food here."

"You do?"

"Yea, we got plenty of grass and dandelions."

"Uh… I can't really eat any of that."

Spike looked at Trevor with confusion before coming to a realization.

"Oh, right; ponies eat that, and you're not a pony."

Then Spike came to another realization.

"Hey, you're not a pony. So what are you?"

"A human."

"Um, I've never heard of a human before."

"Well, that's because I'm not from this world, or this galaxy, for that matter."

"Whoa, so you're, like, an alien?"

Trevor got a feeling of de ja vu from that question.

"Yea, something like that."

"Wait, you're an alien, does that mean there's going to be an alien invasion from a mother ship that looks like a flying saucer and you're going to suck out all our brains through bendy straw?" Spike's voice increased with worry over the course of his accusation. He also happened to be chewing on his claws by the end of it.

"Heh, you have a very vivid imagination, but no. I'm the only human here."

Spike let out a sigh of relief.

'If Twilight has this power about her,' Trevor thought again, 'maybe she would be a useful ally when your fight comes.'

'You sure? She may be powerful, but I doubt she's willing to kill,' Khaine replied.

'We may not have to kill.'

'Uh, hello? What part of "blood will be spilt here" do you not understand?'

'Alright, alright,' Trevor thought grudgingly.

"So, what do humans eat?"

Once again, Trevor was jolted back to reality by the voice of the small green and purple reptile.

"Well, a lot of things. Fruit, nuts,…meat."

"Meat? What kind of meat?"

"Any that humans can digest."

"Would…pony or…dragon meat count?" Spike asked with renewed worry.

"I won't lie; it is a possibility, though I myself have never had it. And before you ask, no, I am not going to go around eating ponies…or dragons for that matter."

"Phew," Spike said while seeming to swipe some invisible sweat from his brow. "Actually, I'm a meat eater myself, though it's just usually grubs that Fluttershy collects for me."

"Yea, I think I'll stick with fruit," said Trevor, not wanting to think about the last time he had to eat insect larva. It was not a pleasant experience.

For the next fifteen minutes, the two bipeds talked about their similarities and differences while Trevor at the same time brought Spike up to date on the information he had given to Twilight and the rest of her friends. Spike was intrigued by the Traveler's story while Trevor himself tried to guess on the nutritional value gems had for dragons, which he had learned where considered candy to dragons. Spike had just finished telling Trevor about how great Rarity is (Trevor assumed the young dragon had a thing for the white unicorn, which was a correct assumption) when Twilight returned with saddle-baskets full of delicious smelling baked goods.

"Oh," Twilight exclaimed in surprise at seeing her assistant conversing with the Traveler, "I'm so sorry I forgot to introduce you two."

"That's alright, we are already fairly well acquainted now."

"Yea," Spike spoke up, "what he said."

Twilight smiled before saying, "Well I'm glad you're getting along. Anyway, I have breakfast for you."

Trevor inhaled the aroma deeply before saying, "Smells delicious, whatever it is."

"Apple scones, just like I said I would get."

"Ah… right," Trevor replied sheepishly.

Twilight set the basket down near the couch while saying, "Here, help yourself. Would you like anything to drink?"

"Water would be fine," Trevor replied as he picked up one of the scones. It took only a moment for Trevor to realize the searing pain coming from his fingers. With a yelp, Trevor dropped the still piping hot scone back into the basket while shaking his hand. Spike found this funny as he tried to hide a chuckle. Twilight on the other hand winced slightly at the Traveler's obvious show of pain.

"Sorry," Twilight said, "They're a fresh batch; just out of the oven. I didn't realize that they were that hot or I would have warned you."

"It's alright," Trevor replied, feeling the sensation in his fingers return to normal.

"Right, well… I'll just get you some water." With that, Twilight went to the kitchen. Shortly after she returned while magically carrying a glass of ice water and handed it to the Traveler.

"Thank you," Trevor said as he took the glass. Twilight merely nodded back as she herself took a scone (telekinetically, of course) and began to blow on it. Trevor decided to do the same, telekinesis included.

Twilight still found it hard to believe that the Traveler could use telekinesis without magic, even when seeing it in front of her eyes. Despite this, she did not comment on it as she took a bite out of the pastry as Trevor did the same. Trevor had a look of content on his face as he slowly chewed the sweet and warming food.

"I got to say," Trevor spoke in between bites, "this world has by far the best food that I have ever eaten. I got to remember to come back to this place sometime."

Spike spoke up then, "Wait, your leaving?"

"Not for a while," Trevor replied before taking a sip of ice water. The water was crystal clear and tasted even clearer.

"You know, I actually envy you in a way. This place is nothing less than a paradise."

"Really," Twilight replied, "I guess it could be called that, though it's not perfect."

"Well that's good, perfection would be boring."

Twilight giggled slightly at this, which gained a funny look from her baby dragon assistant.

It was at this point that Trevor decided to confront Twilight about a little something.

"So, does the Princess always reply to your letters so quickly?" Trevor asked, pointing to the letter on Twilight's writing desk with his thumb.

"Oh, that. That's just… uh… well you see… eh…." Twilight said desperately trying to think up an explanation for the letter. She was afraid that the Traveler might take offence from it, but forgot to hide it somewhere. Twilight was almost to the point of hitting herself for her slip up when Trevor spoke up.

"I know what it is and what it says, so there's no need for an explanation. I fully understand."

"Y-you do?" Twilight asked worriedly, fearing she may have just lost a potential friend in just one day.

"Yes, and I don't blame the Princess for her words. In fact it is very wise to approach new things with some caution…. So you can stop holding your breath now."

Twilight hadn't even realized that she was holding her breath until Trevor had mentioned it. With a very noticeable sigh of relief, Twilight released her breath before saying, "So, you're not upset?"

Trevor merely shook his head, another one of his trademark smiles on his lips.

"I assume you received that letter through some sort of teleportation magic?" Trevor inquired.

"That's correct."

"And how does that work?"

"Well, it works with a spell that Celestia herself casted on Spike that makes whatever he sets on fire with his dragon breath to teleport straight to her."

"What if you want him to set something on fire besides what you want sent."

"Why would I need to do that?" Spike piped up.

"I don't know, maybe to help start a campfire or something."

"Nothing like that has been needed yet," spoke Twilight, "though I'm sure there is a spell that can counteract the Princess's spell; with her permission, of course."

Trevor thought for a moment before saying, "How does the Princess send letters back? Does she have a dragon of her own?"

"Well… I'm not sure. The only pet she has that I know of is her phoenix, Philomena. Maybe she just sends it with a spell herself instead of using a dragon."

'Huh, so she has a pet that lives as long as she does. Smart.' Trevor heard Khaine say. They knew that the local monarch was immortal thanks to Trevor's mind scan of Fluttershy.

"Is it possible to construct new spells; spells that have never been seen before?" Trevor asked next.

Twilight was surprised by this question, though she didn't show it.

"It is possible, but from what I know it is extremely difficult to create a spell from scratch."

"What if someone was to use another spell as a template?"

Once again, Twilight was surprised by the Trevor's question. She also realized that her respect for this human was increasing with each inquiry as she could tell that he, too, was a philomath (which means lover of learning for all you with limited vocabulary).

"I'm not entirely sure. I have never heard of such a thing done before."

Spike by now had lost the conversation entirely, and so decided to pick up the books that were still scattered from Trevor's failed attempt at a spell in order to keep himself busy (although Spike didn't know Trevor was the cause of the mess).

"Do you know how spells are created in the first place?"

"Not… entirely; I do know that most spells have you create a picture of what you want accomplished in your mind, but that's all I know about their creation."

"If just imagining something being altered with magic gets the job done, then why have spells at all?"

"Because using magic without a definite spell can have various results, most of which can be negative." Twilight answered, using her own experience this time. Looking back during the parasprite epidemic in Ponyville, that was exactly what happened when Twilight tried to use magic to stop the cute little bugs from eating all the food. The result was that the parasprites stopped eating the food, and began eating everything else.

It was also at this point that Twilight realized she was teaching magic; no longer just learning or studying, but actually teaching. It was, to say the least, quite a thrill for the unicorn. The two continued as such, Trevor asking questions about magic and Twilight answering to the best of her abilities, for several minutes until they heard a knocking on the library door.

"Uh oh," Trevor said, knowing he would have to hide again.

"Don't worry," Twilight replied, "it's probably just Rarity."

True to her word, when Twilight opened the door there stood the white unicorn with a small (but of course, elegant) shoulder bag hanging at her side.

"Hello, Twilight. Is Trevor still here?" Rarity asked

"Yes, he's right over there," Twilight answered, indicating where the Traveler was currently seated with a nod of her head.

"Morning, Rarity," Trevor greeted the dress maker as she entered the library.

"Good morning, Trevor. Did you sleep well for you first night in Equestria?"

"As a matter of fact, I did."

"Hi Rarity," Spike sighed with a love struck look on his face. Twilight rolled her eyes at her assistant's behavior. It was obvious to all of Ponyville that Spike had a crush on Rarity, except for Rarity herself as it seemed the white unicorn was completely oblivious to Spikes attention.

"Hello, Spike. Now then, Trevor, could you be dear and stand up, please?" Rarity requested as she began to rummage through her shoulder bag.

"Uh, sure," Trevor replied as he did what he was asked. He saw Rarity pull out of her bag what looked like a pair of orange rimmed reading glasses attached to a small chain that Trevor assumed was for a last resort should the glasses accidently fall. Along with the glasses, Rarity also pulled out a roll of yellow measuring tape most commonly used by tailors, a note pad, and a pencil.

"Now then, could you kindly remove your clothing," Rarity said, gaining a shocked look from both Trevor and Twilight. Spike was too busy staring at Rarity with his love struck expression to even pay attention to what was happening around him.

"What," Rarity said defensively after seeing their reaction, "you don't expect me to take your measurements while you're still in those rags now do you?"

"Well, no… you're just a little too forward for comfort with this," Trevor responded.

"Am I?" Rarity asked with surprise, looking over towards Twilight. Twilight responded with a simple nod.

"Oh…. Well I suppose I am a little…over eager about this. But with the prospect of such revolutionary designs coming into being for an alien species, how could one not be eager? Just think of it, interspecies clothing designs." Rarity's voice grew higher pitched with excitement by the end of her statement.

After seeing the seamstress so enthusiastic about her job, Trevor decided to oblige as he removed his shirt first and then began to work on his boots. As the Traveler undressed, Twilight realized she had not taken any real time to study the anatomy of this alien species. As such, she decided to pay close attention to the human and even brought out a paper and quill from her writing desk to take notes with.

The first thing she noticed was that underneath the clothing the Traveler did indeed have hair, just much finer than the fur of a pony. The hair was most visible around the chest area and on the underside of where the arms met the torso. The second thing she noticed was that the Traveler was indeed well muscled. She could have seen this with his shirt on but with it off, the fact was much more pronounced as his well toned muscles were clearly visible beneath his lightly tanned skin. The third thing she noticed was that covering the Traveler's body were several pale marks; some circular, some linear. Twilight realized with a gasp that these were actually scars.

Trevor had just removed his boots and socks when Rarity took notice of the scars as well.

"Oh my stars… how on Equestria did you receive these?" Rarity asked, indicating the scars that littered Trevor's figure.

Trevor shrugged before saying, "Traveling can have its ups and downs at times. I can tell you now that each one of these has a story behind it." With that, Trevor removed his jeans and sat them down on the couch along with his shirt. The Traveler then stood there in nothing more than his boxers while Twilight continued to scribble down notes.

"Ahem…" Rarity coughed into one of her hooves.

"Hm?"

"I need you to remove all your clothing if I am to take accurate measurements."

Trevor reacted to this by crossing his arms over his chest and giving the white unicorn a surprisingly stern look.

"With all due respect, madam, for the sake of whatever sliver of dignity I have left, these stay on."

Both Rarity and Twilight were taken aback by this response. However Rarity regained her composure first and said, "Very well, so be it."

With that, Rarity began to take Trevor's various measurements by magically stretching and wrapping the measuring tape around different parts of the Traveler. After each measurement, Rarity would stop to quickly write on her note pad before continuing. This continued as such until Rarity had all the acquired measurements.

"There, all done," Rarity said as she packed up her supplies. "I should have your new outfit done in no time. It's going to look absolutely marvelous."

"Thank you," Trevor said as he redressed, "but unfortunately, I don't have any real way of repaying you."

"Oh, that won't be necessary," Rarity replied with a wave of her hoof, dismissing the notion. "Just the experience of creating such exotic finery will be payment enough. Well, I'm off to head back to my shop, farewell."

"Bye Rarity," Spike drooled, having kept his love-struck mannerism during the entire event. Spike sighed as the door to the library closed behind Rarity.

"Isn't she amazing?" Spike asked. Trevor shrugged as Twilight rolled her eyes again. By now, Trevor was back in his clothes and ready to continue with the magic lessons.

"So, we were discussing spells?"

"Ah, yes," Twilight responded, and with that, they continued their discussion.

As the conversation continued for several hours, Twilight came to a realization that teaching was actually easier than she thought, especially with such a willing student. Trevor would usually just ask questions and Twilight would answer them to the best of her abilities while also elaborating on past points. It also occurred to Twilight that this human was the only one she knew that had the same genuine interest in magic as her, beside's Princess Celestia herself. All her other friends had interests of their own, but none that she could truly relate to. As fun and supportive as they were none of them gave her the satisfaction of a good conversation like Trevor.

After stopping the lessons and heading into the kitchen to have some lunch, the two intellectuals and young assistant were visited quite suddenly by a certain pink pony.

"Hiya, Mr. Alien!"

Trevor gave a "gah" of surprise when said pink pony suddenly appeared right in front of him from underneath the kitchen table he had been sitting at, thus separating him from the salad he was about to dig in to. Twilight, who was currently sitting across from Trevor, was not nearly as surprised as the Traveler for Pinkie Pie's sudden appearance as she had the tendency to do that quite often.

"Uh, how did you get in here?" Trevor asked after his initial shock.

"Through the door, silly, how else would I get here?"

"Then why were you underneath the table?"

"I don't know," Pinkie Pie answered, her smile never leaving her face.

"Don't worry about it too much, Trevor," Twilight put in. "She's just being Pinkie Pie."

"Uh huh,"

"Yep," Pinkie Pie stated. "So what have you two been doing, huh? Any secrety type stuff. It's not good to keep secrets you know. Oh but if you do that's ok cause friends can always keep secrets cause friends trust each other and losing a friend's trust is the quickest way to lose a friend FOREVER!" The pink pony's neck seemed to stretch as she emphasized the last word a great deal.

"Uh huh," Trevor merely repeated, not sure how to handle or even react to Pinkie Pie. Said pony was still inches away from his face and was leaning on his lap, which didn't help the situation for Trevor one bit. What really sent a chill down his spine, however, was that he had not sensed the pink pony's entrance. He could sense her now, which crossed out the possibility that she was a "blank" or someone who has no warp presence. Thus either this pink creature is fast as hell, or can teleport for no reason what so ever…or maybe even both.

"Well it's nothing… secrety," Twilight stated, seeing Trevor's awkward look, "I was just teaching him a bit about magic."

"OOOH, that sounds neat," Pinkie pie responded, moving around the table (to Trevor's relief) to sit by Twilight, "so can he do magic now? I wanna see, I wanna see. Come on, Mr. Alien, do some magic."

Trevor's relief was short lived due to this new request. His last attempt at magic didn't end too well. Thankfully, Twilight saved him the trouble of explaining.

"Sorry, Pinkie, but Trevor hasn't had enough time to practice in order to show off just yet."

Pinkie, looking a tiny bit let down as she said, "Oh, ok," but immediately brightened back up as she exclaimed, "So when does he practice, huh? I wanna see Mr. Alien practice!"

"Well, we haven't really set any date to practice. Besides, we should wait until the town gets to know Trevor before we start practicing any form of magic." Twilight, too, remembered the Traveler's first attempt at magic, and judged it would be better for him to only use magic outside for the time being, as well as away from anypony's property.

During the two ponies' conversation, Trevor decided to take a little peek into Pinkie Pies mind just to get a few answers about the strange equine. Trevor reached out with his mind and, very cautiously, began to probe around Pinkie Pie's. It only took one second of probing for Trevor to retch back into his own mind, somewhat shaken.

'Well isn't this interesting,' spoke Khaine, 'I mean, who knew? Deep below all that cheer and smiling and bubblynes, lays a very, very demented creature. I like her already. She's a deadly sociopathic monster just waiting to pop.' Khaine then gave a sinister chuckle, and seeing as Trevor was still a bit shocked from his probing, the shard of a god continued.

'Now at least we know, right? Now we know how she does all her little tricks with the appearing out of nowhere and the precognition; she just doesn't give a flying fuck about the laws of physics. That, right there, is impressive.'

'And worrisome,' replied Trevor, now out of his initial shock. But then the gears started to turn in the Traveler's head, possibly aided by his mind companion, and Trevor came up with an idea; an idea that may help him come the day of the foretold fight.

"Trevor, are you ok?"

Trevor was brought back from the recesses of his mind by, once again, the voice of Twilight.

"Huh," Trevor replied out of instinct.

"Are you ok?" Twilight repeated, looking somewhat worried, "You seem a little out of it."

"Uh, yea. I'm fine."

"You sure, Mr. Alien?" Pinkie Pie piped up, appearing next to the Traveler with a worried look replacing her usual smile. "You're not getting sick, are you? I hope you didn't catch anything while you're here. (Gasp) What if you have hay fever?"

Pinkie Pie ran to Twilight, grabbed her by the shoulder, and began to shake her quite violently.

"Twilight, Mr. Alien has hay fever! Call a doctor! Call the Princess! Call SOMEPONY!"

Trevor could tell that his mind companion found the pony's behavior quite amusing.

"Calm down, Pinkie Pie; I'm not sick," Trevor said, desperate to get the situation, and the pink pony, under control.

"Oh," Pinkie Pie responded, releasing a very dazed Twilight. "Well why didn't you say so, silly?"

Trevor didn't know quite how to respond, so opted not to.

Spike, who had been quietly sitting at one end of the table with a small bowl of gems in front of him the entire time, just watched and listened as he munched on the gems. Trevor took note that this small reptile must have an impressive bite to chew on solid gems as if they were potato chips.

By now, Twilight had overcome her daze and decided to inquire on the reason Pinkie Pie had stopped by.

"So," Twilight spoke to the pink pony, "what brings you to the library?"

"Oh right, I totally forgot," Pinkie Pie gasped, "I came here to talk to you about Princess Luna's vis-" The pink ponie abruptly clomped both of her front hooves to her mouth. Twilight was looking rather shocked at this slip of information.

Trevor knew what this was about, and so decided to make it clear.

"I already knew of the Princess's visit to meet me, so there's no need to try and make it a surprise."

Twilight looked away and scratched the back of her neck sheepishly as she remembered the letter that Trevor had already seen. Pinkie Pie on the other hand looked crestfallen.

"Ah, so does that mean he knows about the- hmmf!" Pinkie Pie didn't have time to finish before Twilights hoof was plopped on her mouth.

"Oh silly Pinkie Pie," Twilight said with a nervous laugh, "of course he knows about the fact that it's going to be a formal meeting."

Trevor knew there was more to this meeting, however decided to just go along with it as trying to scan Twilight's brain would lead to serious discomfort for the unicorn and it is never a good idea to scan a mind that is not entirely sane.

"Excuse us Trevor, we need to talk about some things regarding the meeting," Twilight spoke while at the same time practically dragging the pink pony out of the kitchen.

"So… does this type of thing happen often?" Trevor asked Spike.

The baby dragon merely replied, "You have no idea." With that, both bipeds continued to eat their lunch in silence.

The two days before Princess Luna's visit passed without any headache. For the most part, anyways. Trevor continued to spend his time in the library and be taught magic by Twilight. The Traveler had yet to actually practice the art of magic since his first attempt, but was still gaining valuable information on its basic fundamentals and uses. He had seen Rarity once more during the two days when she came to the library to "inform" Trevor that his outfit would take more time to complete than she usually took. Trevor understood and told her that she didn't have to rush (even though she was practically begging for his forgiveness). Trevor kept himself clean using the library's bathroom and always kept himself shaved except for the one patch of hair on his chin. When Twilight asked about it, Trevor merely stated that he "liked the look of it" and kept it at that. Twilight eventually found out about Trevor being omnivorous due to a slip of the tongue from Spike, but it blew over rather quickly as Trevor assured her that he was not into the consumption of other intelligent species.

Thus far, Twilight and her friends had been able to keep Trevor's existence a secret from the rest of the town, and the rest of ponykind for that matter. On the day of Luna's visit, that would change. Trevor, however, did not realize in what fashion it would change, nor how drastically.

On the third morning since his arrival, Trevor awoke to a soon-to-be familiar sight. The sun was rising high into the sky and the light through the window was warming to both the body and the soul. However, Trevor's mind continued to be cold as he knew what was to happen this day. Although he had gone through such events before, it did not help to quell the anxiety that was building within him. Despite all of the ponies he has met thus far being of kind and peaceful nature, he had no idea what type of person, or pony, one of the rulers was. The fact that this ruler also tried to start a coupe against her own sister did not help the Traveler's anxiety any. Trevor could tell that Khaine, on the other hand, had a sense of enthusiastic expectation for the meeting.

As Trevor exited the enlarged pony bed, it was clear that he was not the only one suffering from anxiety. Downstairs, Trevor could faintly here his hostess, Twilight, talking to no one in particular with worry rife in her voice, pacing as well, no doubt. Trevor made his way to the edge of the upper level of the library and looked down to see that his assumption was correct; Twilight was indeed pacing around the library, asking herself a lot of "what if" questions

"What if she doesn't like the decorations? What if the banners are off? What if the punch is too sweet, or not sweet enough? What if the pastries are over baked? What if not everypony shows up and she has her feelings hurt? What if they still hold a grudge against her because she was once Nightmare Moon? Aaaaahh, this waiting is infuriating!"

"You think it's infuriating? I'm the one that's going to get psychoanalyzed by her."

Twilight gave a jump of surprise as she turned to look at Trevor, who happened to still be standing at the edge of the upper level in nothing but his shirt and boxers. Twilight set her rump down and gave a sheepish look towards nowhere in particular for being caught during her little raving.

"Yea, I guess that's true. But I don't really see any reason why she wouldn't like you."

"Uh huh," Trevor merely replied.

After using the bathroom to wash up and redressing, Trevor returned downstairs to see Twilight keeping herself busy by reading one of the books in the library. Whatever reason Twilight would need to know "Insects and Their Brethren" was beyond Trevor. Despite her head being buried in the book, Trevor could still sense the feeling of anxiety from the purple unicorn.

"So," Trevor began, earning Twilight's attention. "What's the Princess like?"

Twilight thought for a moment before replying, "Well, she certainly has a good heart. She tries her best to be kind, but a thousand years on the moon has made her a bit... socially awkward, I guess you could say. Last I heard, though, Princess Celestia has been helping her open up more."

"Hmm," Trevor responded, taking a seat on the library couch. "Anything I should keep in mind during our meeting?"

"Well, she is royalty, so please be respectful."

"I'll do that, anything else?"

"That's… all I can think of at the moment. I really wish I knew what the real preparations are going to be like but I'm not the one overseeing it, mayor Mare is."

Trevor did his best not to smirk at the obvious pun.

"When's the meeting going to take place, and where?"

"It'll be at the town hall, at sundown."

"And everypony is going to be there?"

Twilight looked somewhat surprised that Trevor knew that before remembering that she had mentioned it during her little raving not too long ago.

"Yes," Twilight replied after overcoming her surprised, "the entire town will be there."

"Do they know why Luna is visiting?"

"No, not even mayor Mare knows why she's visiting; only that she is and that they must prepare for it."

"Is Pinkie Pie helping with it?"

Twilight was hesitant to answer before saying, "Yes."

Trevor gave a heavy sigh and rested his head back before saying, "So it's going to be a surprise party for everyone there."

Now Twilight was definitely surprised.

"But, how did you..."

"I'm not that stupid, I know how to put two and two together. My only concern is if a 'surprise' is really such a good idea to introduce an entirely new intelligent species?"

Before Twilight could respond, a knock came from the library door. Twilight got herself back on her hooves and went to the door to reveal Rarity standing on the other side. The unicorn seamstress had two very stuffed saddlebags hanging over her back and a large smile on her face.

"Oh, hi Rarity," Twilight greeted her friend.

"I've done it, Twilight," Rarity exclaimed in excitement. "I've really done it! I have done what no other dress maker has ever done in the history of Equestria! I have completed a new outfit for an alien species!" Rarity gave an excited squeal of delight at her accomplishment.

"That's great, Rarity, but could you come inside so that you don't attract too much attention."

"Oh," Rarity said with a hint of embarrassment, then regaining her composure said, "of course darling." With that, the white unicorn entered the library and the purple unicorn closed the door behind her.

"Good morning, Trevor," Rarity greeted the Traveler.

"Good morning," Trevor responded.

"Well, I am happy to inform you that your new outfit is finished and absolutely marvelous, if I do say so myself. I have it here with me and would be honored to present them to you."

Before Trevor could say anything, Rarity used her magic to pull out the contents of her saddle bag and presented them in the air just above her for Trevor to see.

Trevor was somewhat worried about what the outfit would turn out like before this moment. Now, he was able to breathe a sigh of relief knowing the outfit did not look overly girlish or horrendous. As a matter of fact, it was actually impressive considering that it was made by someone who had no past experience with human clothing.

The top of the outfit was what looked like a vintage Victorian era captains coat dyed a shade of green not unlike the color of Trevor's emerald eyes with a plain silk undershirt that had a small frill at the collar. The cuffs were of about medium size with the ends of them coming up to about the middle of the lower arm and lined with a golden lace and several buttons. The collar of the coat came down to the middle of the torso to reveal the undershirt and extended past the shoulders to right under where the ears would be. The collar, like the cuffs, was also lined with golden lace and buttons; these buttons, however, were made of solid darkened resin. The top of the sleeves of the coat, along with its sides and pockets, were lined with strips of white fabric, also to imitate Trevor's unique eyes. The coat also sported a tail of such, though it looked more like a trench coat with its front cut open and away at the waist and only came down to about where the knees would be. The pants that accompanied the top were made in a similar fashion. They were made of the same fabric with the same green dye with the same white strips lining the outer and inner sides of the pants. A belt was also present at the waist of the pants made of a much thicker fabric (but not leather) with a shining silver buckle. To top it all off, a pair of brown, buckled down boots that came about have way up the shins (also not made from leather) was also present.

To sum it all up for Trevor, it looked pretty damn cool.

"Wow," Trevor said with genuine awe.

"Do you like it?" Rarity asked, eyes filled with hope.

"Yea, of course I do."

"Oh good, I was afraid I had gotten the style wrong. Of course it will all be for not if it doesn't fit."

Rarity practically thrusted the outfit at Trevor who hardly had time to catch it.

"Now be a dear and go try it on please."

"Uh, sure," Trevor replied as he climbed the stairs, arms still full of the clothing. After a few minutes, Trevor returned downstairs, this time donned with the new outfit.

Two things surprised Trevor about the outfit. One, it was a perfect fit, and two, it was very comfy. When Trevor reached the bottom step, he saw a tear of pride fall from Rarity's eye.

"You look… absolutely dashing," Rarity breathed with heavy emotion.

"I have to say," Trevor said as he looked down at the suite, "this is very impressive."

"Thank you, it was actually quite difficult to get the shape and style down, but it all came together in the end. In truth I was worried that the measurements were off."

"You shouldn't be so modest. It takes a great deal of skill to craft something like this."

Rarity blushed at the compliment only just now taking the time to wipe away her tears.

"Wow, Rarity," Twilight spoke next, unable to take her eyes off of the Traveler's knew suit, "You really outdid yourself. I thought the dresses you made for us were amazing, but this… I can't even begin to describe how incredible it is."

Rarity blushed even harder as she responded, "Oh, you two are just too much."

After a little more small talk and more thanks, Rarity left to help prepare for the arrival of Princess Luna. With several hours left to burn, Twilight and Trevor decided to get back to magic studying.

When the sun began to get close to the horizon, both knew it was time to go. For the first time in two days, Trevor left the library. One look at Twilight told Trevor that she was just as nervous as he was.

The first thing that Trevor noticed on their way to the town hall was that the streets were completely devoid of life. All ponies in the town had no doubt already commuted to the town hall. The second thing Trevor noticed was that all of the roads were rather wide, well worn yet unpaved, save for one that ran the length of the town. Trevor soon discovered that this road eventually lead straight to the town hall doors, which was a somewhat large circular building with a large patio running along the bottom floor. Trevor could already guess that the inside was larger than it looked, considering the other buildings he had already entered.

As they approached the town hall, they were greeted by a certain blue pegasus that had just dropped out of the sky.

"Hey, guys," Rainbow Dash greeted as she hit the ground. "Whoa, cool looking getup there, Trevor. Let me guess, Rarity made it, right?"

Both Trevor and Twilight nodded in response.

"Geez, how does she do it?" Rainbow Dash said next to no one in particular. She then gave a look as if she had just remembered something. "Oh yea. Twilight, Pinkie Pie told me to tell you that you need to bring Trevor through the back."

"What? Why?" Twilight asked.

"Don't know, supposed to be part of the 'presentation'. At least that's what she said."

Twilight and Trevor shared a look, both of their nervous unease increasing twofold.

"Uh, ok, we'll do that." Trevor responded first.

"Great, see you guys inside." And with that the pegasus was off into the air and back towards the town hall.

With one more worried glance between the two, Twilight and Trevor headed for the back of the town hall.

'This is going to get very awkward, isn't it?' Khaine asked.

'Yep,' Trevor mentally replied.

'Well when we get turned into another planet's freak show, remember that it was you that got us here.'

'I'll keep that in mind.'

After coming to the back of the town hall, the two were greeted by the pink pony herself.

"There you two are. The preparations are almost set, I just need you, (pointing at Trevor) to head upstairs and wait there, ok?"

"Um, ok." With that, Trevor separated from Twilight and went through the back door of the town hall and ascended the stairs he saw to his right. Already he could sense the minds of the entire town within the building. Some were unicorns, some were pegasus. However the majority of the building's occupants were normal earth ponies. All of them had a mixture of confusion, anxiety, and excitement going through their minds.

However, there was one presence that stood out from the rest. The presence overshadowed the rest in the entire building. It was so powerful that Trevor could not detect any emotion from the being as its warp presence overshadowed anything else. Trevor knew, without a doubt, that this presence was the Princess.

When Trevor reached the top of the stairs, he saw a large curtain in front of him. From beyond it he could hear the cacophony of the ponies' many conversations. Already his nervousness had increased by tenfold since he had left the library. It was almost strange to him; he had traveled for so many years, experiencing and learning so much. And yet here was, as nervous as a toddler going to his first day of pre-school.

'We can still jump out of here, you know,' Khaine said.

'No,' Trevor replied, shoving away his nervousness with sheer determination, 'You said yourself that blood was going to be spilt here, so I'm going to stick around and do what I can.'

'As you wish, just remember that what happens to you happens to me.'

As if Trevor would ever forget.

A few minutes of waiting later, Trevor heard the cacophony of voices dyeing down to a hush as a new voice was heard above the rest, no doubt aided by a megaphone or a spell of similar quality.

"Mares and stallions, may I have your attention please," it was not a voice that Trevor recognized, however it was definitely female and sounded somewhat aged.

"Tonight, you have been all called for a special occasion, our beloved creator of the stars has come to grace us with her presence," In response to this statement, Trevor was surprised to sense much apprehension from the crowd. Memories that were not his flashed through his mind. Something about an event called Nightmare Night...

"So let's give our best Ponyville welcome to Princess Luna."

Despite their apprehension, the crowd still applauded and cheered as it was the expected thing to do. That, and none of them were willing to inquire the wrath of royalty. When the cheering died down, a new voice was heard. This voice too was female, but held a great deal of authority and power. The Princess, unsurprisingly, spoke as one would expect from such a powerful figure. Despite this, Trevor could barely hear a hint of restraint in her voice. What, exactly, the Princess was restraining was beyond him at that moment.

"Thank you, citizens of Ponyville, for your gracious acceptance. It brings me great joy to walk among you once again, the festivities of Nightmare Night still a cherished memory of mine. Despite my... history, I assure you that I will do everything I can to help my sister with her rule. Again, I thank you. However, there is other business that I have come here for."

"That's right," perked up the voice of none other than Pinkie Pie, "you're her to meet him!"

There was a great deal of confusion coming from the crowd by now.

"Well, yes-"

"Great, cause we all get to meet him now. Well except for me, since I already met him."

It was clear by the next statements that the pink pony had now gotten her hoof on the megaphone, or a volume spell.

"Mares and stallions, I would like to now direct your attention to the top balcony, cause I have a little surprise for all of you. He's traveled across many lands on distant worlds in distant galaxies. He's the super-duper-magic-using alien that will blow your socks off from just looking at him. Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you, TREVOR THE TRAVELER!"

As the curtains parted, only one thought went through the Traveler's mind, which was also shared by his mind companion

'Ah shit.'

There were no spotlights of any kind that could blind Trevor, so he could see everything the moment the curtains parted. What he saw didn't surprise him in the least. The buildings 16th century type architecture was mostly hidden by a great number of banners, ribbons, streamers, balloons, and other decorations of all types of color. The color of the decorations, however, could not nearly match the pallet of color that came from the town's residents. The amount and diversity of bright colored equines was almost blinding. Almost every color of and in between the rainbow was present, each as bright as the others. Some were hovering in place with light wings, the rest were standing at the bottom floor. All of them were looking at the Traveler with wide eyes and loose jaws. Many were the reactions that Trevor could sense. Some were amazed, others shocked, some were scared, and a handful were actually disgusted.

However, in all this color, one pony stood out. She had the color of deep, dark blue, and her mane was a mixture of dark and pale blue that sparkled like the night sky. Upon her flank was what looked like a picture of a night sky with a crescent moon, no doubt her cutie mark. The same picture was replicated on a small breastplate she wore just below her shoulders. She also were crystal slippers that seemed to wrap around her hooves She had both pegasus wings and a unicorn horn, making her an alicorn, one of two alicorns in existence. Just behind her horn sat a dark jeweled tiara. This was Princess Luna, and she stood tall with the authority that was expected of royalty. She was taller than the ponies that surrounded her by a good head. Trevor could see by her eyes that she looked upon him with much the same reaction as the rest of her subjects, only hidden by a mask of indifference. On either side of her were two black male pegasi, both adorned by some sort of obsidian colored centurion armor; royal guard, Trevor assumed. Trevor made a slight realization that he had yet to see a male pony up to this point. They were somewhat larger than females and also had slightly thicker muzzles.

Several seconds of awkward silence had passed during Trevor's observations. The awkwardness of the situation grew with each second, so Trevor decided to try and break it as best he could.

"Well," Trevor started, receiving several gasps from the crowd, "I suppose I should give some sort of speech, or something. In all honesty I was not really prepared for… this. So I'll just say the first thing that comes to mind. As cliché as it may sound…I come in peace." Trevor ended his "speech" with his signature smile.

Trevor was relieved to sense, and even hear, a few light hearted chuckles and snickers towards his poor joke. It definitely eased the tension in the large hall.

"I guess I should tell you some things about myself. Hmm…. Well, I am capable of using magic. I'm from a species called humans. I get around long distance with teleportation. Um, I'm a pretty nice guy, so you don't have to worry about any real ruckus coming from me. Oh, and I am a meat eater, but I don't eat other intelligent life forms, which includes all of you, so don't worry about that…. Well that's all I got."

There was a few more seconds of silence before Pinkie Pie started up again.

"WOOHOO! ALRIGHT TREVOR, THAT'S HOW YOU DO IT!" (Trevor was rather confused now of what it was that he did) "Now that that's outa' the way, LET THE PARTY BEGIN!" With that, the hall was filled with music. The music did wonders for the tension that had developed during Trevor's little "about me" speech, and was greatly appreciated by the Traveler himself. It was simple music, enjoyable, and about as bright as the rest of the scenery. Soon the ponies had gotten somewhat used to his presence and began enjoying themselves by either dancing, eating, or participating in the various party games that Pinkie Pie had set up.

"Hey Trevor, why don't you join the party?" Pinkie Pie called up.

'I'd rather not,' Khaine began.

'Too late,' Trevor replied. And it was true too, as he was already descending towards the bottom floor.

By leaping off the balcony he had been previously occupying.

Many were the shocked outcries and expressions that came as a result of this stunt. Those that found themselves below the Traveler rushed to get out of the way of the falling biped. Trevor, on the other hand, merely landed as light as a filled balloon, much to the astonishment of those who witnessed it, which was everpony in the building. After casually making sure his suit was straight and wrinkle free, Trevor made his way through the crowd towards the Princess. This was easily done as anypony that found themselves in the way of Trevor's immediate path soon scrambled to not be so. It took only a second for the entire crowd to part, leaving the Princess and her guards looking at Trevor down a perpetual hallway of colorful, wide-eyed pony faces. As Trevor approached, the guards tensed. Trevor could sense their distrust mixed with their sense of duty making them keen to act should he make any wrong move. Trevor understood this, and vowed not to do anything that would upset them; to the best of his ability, at least.

The Princess, whom the guards were now ready to protect with their lives, reacted with only a slightly raised eyebrow.

"Greetings, your highness," Trevor said with a formally respectable bow.

"Greetings," Luna replied. "That was an interesting stunt you did there."

Trevor could tell that she was trying her damndest to keep herself a respectable air of authority, even though Trevor was quite taller than her. Trevor decided to get down on one knee so that the Princess did not have to keep looking up at him in such an un-royal manner.

"Well, I do try my best to impress," Trevor said with a smile. This in turn caused an amused smile to spread across the Princesses face.

"I am to understand that you can use magic," Luna stated, the power in her voice never wavering.

"That is correct."

"How much magic do you know?"

"Not that much at the moment; only fundamentals and basic principles. Your sister's student, Twilight, has been teaching me thus far."

Luna was surprised by this information. "Has she now, and why would she do that?"

"Probably because I'm such a good student."

Luna gave a "hmm" of amusement before continuing. "So what makes you so interested in magic?"

"Well, magic allows a person, or pony, to do practically anything and solve just about any problem. It appeals to me as I like to consider myself an advent problem solver."

"Your use of what you call 'the Warp' wouldn't by chance have an influence on your interest with magic?"

"Heh, I would be lying if I said it didn't."

The sincerity in both the Traveler's words and eyes were not lost upon the Princess. She could already tell that this 'human' was a kind soul, not unlike many of the world's residents. However, she of all ponies knew that everypony has their secrets.

"I was told that you can use the Warp to delve into other creatures' minds. Is this ture?"

"It is."

"Are you looking into my mind right now?"

"Hohoho no, your mind is much too powerful for me to try and enter."

Luna was not sure if she should feel relieved or worried about this answer.

"Besides," Trevor continued, "a mind is the most sacred part of any sentient being."

This helped Luna decide that relieved was the better feeling for this. There was no lying that she could detect from the Traveler, and his almost unnaturally calming presence helped convince the Princess that this 'human' was indeed trustworthy.

As the party progressed, both Trevor and Luna began relating stories to each other about some of their past experiences, the good ones and the bad ones. Luna was starting to like this 'human' as he was the only one thus far that treated her with respect without having to constantly grovel. It was a different experience for her. Normally she would have scoffed at the idea of somepony treating her as anything other than a ruler. However, the two were speaking as almost equals, and Luna found it rather refreshing. The party lasted for hours as Pinkie Pie, interrupting Trevor and Luna's conversation in her own Pinkie Pie way, introduced the Traveler to everypony in the town hall, as there was nopony in Ponyville that the pink pony didn't know by name. Despite that little annoyance, Trevor had a good time. The food was as good as ever, the music was pleasant, and the Princess's company was highly enjoyable. It was as if the two, over the course of the party, had found a kind of kinship with each other. Both were not perfect and both knew that, yet both were content with imperfection, for as Trevor said, "Perfection would be boring." Most importantly, however, both were perpetual strangers in this world. Trevor was an alien and Luna had only come back two years ago after being in solitary confinement for a thousand years. It was a kinship born from difference.

However, all good things must come to an end. By the sixth or seventh hour, the residents began to take their leave. The party began to slowly dwindle at first, but soon the ponies were leaving in the dozens. By the eighth hour, only Twilight, her friends, Trevor, and Luna along with her guards were left. It was then that Luna took her leave. After saying her goodbyes and thankyou's , Luna exited the Town hall to embark on what looked like a black, bat-winged chariot, which the pegasus guards had now strapped themselves into and took off. Even though the Princess did have wings, being carried in a pimped out flying chariot was just another perk of being royalty. After that, one by one of Twilights friends left as well to get some shut eye, as it was very late.

When Twilight finally left for the library, the Traveler found himself alone with Pinkie Pie. It was at this time that Trevor decided to get himself a wild card.

"Hey Pinkie Pie, you good with secrets, right?"

"Yep," Pinkie Pie replied as she finished off any treats that had survived the initial party.

"Good, cause I have a little secret that I'd like you to help me with."

"Really, what kind of secret?" Asked the pink pony, who now had given Trevor her undivided attention (easily done when one suddenly appears directly in front of said attention grabber).

"It's a very important secret, a secret that could save your friends lives."

Now Trevor really had her attention.

"What do you mean, what kind of secret could it be?"

"First you have to swear that you will never tell anyone else about this."

"Sure! Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye."

As strange as this swear was, Trevor confirmed that she would not go back on her word with a quick peek into the secretly demented pony's mind.

'Alright, here goes,' though Trevor. And with that, the Traveler began to speak.

Three weeks. It took three weeks for the Diamond Dogs to prepare for their glorious campaign. They are the Diamond Dogs no longer. Now they are the Hell Hounds, obedient worshipers of Khornes name. Three weeks of smelting, forging, and recruiting, but now they were ready. The dogs had replaced their pitiful armaments with more appropriate war gear. Three painfully long weeks of waiting for her revenge. But now it was all coming into fruition.

Bloodmane looked out upon the gathered masses of canine warriors that were her Hell Hounds. Littered amongst them were other recruits that had come seeking power from serving Lord Khorne. They had come together within a large meeting hall that had been built within their tunnels for this very occasion. Above the masses, upon a stone balcony, stood Bloodmane. To her, the weeks of preparation had passed painstakingly slow, however she could not deny that her power grew with each passing day. She wore armored barding consisting of interlocking steel plates of deep red. Marks of both Chaos and Khorne littered the red steel she wore, which only left her head, mane, and tale bare. During the first few days, Bloodmane had come to find her horn as an annoying reminder of her weak past; a reminder that she had rid herself of only two weeks ago.

"Loyal warriors of Khorne," Bloodmane's voice came out like thunder within the hall, "for so long, you have lived under the hooves of Equestria, left to rot within your own perpetual graves while the rest of the world ignored your existence! But tomorrow night, you will be ignored no longer!" Bloodmane was rewarded for this statement by a mighty cheer. "Tomorrow night, you shall rise from your holes and take what should have been rightfully yours! Tomorrow night, you shall please our great master, Lord Khorne, by spilling the blood of those self righteous Equestrians! Tomorrow night, you shall have your VENGEANCE!" Another cheer arose.

"It is time, my fellow followers of Khorne. Time for us to make our mark upon this pathetic world! It is time, FOR WAR! BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD!"

The response came unanimously as it thundered through the hall and tunnels.

"SKULLS FOR THE SKULL THRONE!"

At was at this point that Bloodmane could not stop a sinister smirk that slowly crawled up her muzzle. Lord Khorne would be pleased, and she would finally get her revenge.