Unknown
I look at my surroundings to find that I'm....I'm.....where the hell am I? All I could see was nothing but white, its kind of like that Spongebob episode when Squidward was in that time machine. I take a step as I take a step only to trip on my feet and fall on my face....wait feet!? I quickly look at my self to find that I was a human again! More specifically I was wearing the same thing when I went to Comic-Con, when I met the-
"I'm sure you have some questions." said a sudden disembodied voice making me on edge as I knew the voice all to well, "I assume you know who I am?"
"I have a few yes!" I exclaim standing to my feet, "You're that Merchant asshole that sent me to Equestria!"
"I know you must confused on why you have your own body again, and why I sent you to Equestria."
"Those aren't all the questions but they are the main ones."
"Well for the first one, I needed you to be in a familiar state when I talked to you again. So I predicted that your human body would be a better match. As to why I brought you to Equestria....there is something wrong with this world...."
To be honest I was still kind of pissed at this Merchant bringing me in the first place, but thanks to him I was able to meet the girls, Bolt, the crusaders, Spike, Sam and the other dragons.....That's when it all came back to me. The Crystal Empire. Me and Malefor fusing. Our fight with Nightmare Moon, Discord,and Solar Flare. Me and Luna sacrificing ourselves. Were the others ok!? Did me and Luna's death do them any good?
"Wait before we continue, are the others ok!?" I ask suddenly cutting him off.
"They are in no harm." said the Merchant's voice making me sigh in relief, "As I was saying this Equestria is part of many Equestrias that I created, but I sensed....something wrong with this one and I needed someone to investigate it."
"So you sent me? Why?"
"Believe it or not James, I know all about you and have been watching you for some time while in the human world or Earth as you like to call your planet. It was then only a matter of meeting you at that Comic Convention where I made my move."
"You made multiple Equestrias? In that case are there other people like me in those Equestrias?"
Even though I couldn't see the Merchant I could tell they were nodding, "Precisely, each person I sent to Equestria has a specific purpose there. Whether it be good, bad, or even both they are sent to a specific Equestria of my choosing for the greater good. "
"But you said that his Equestria had something different then the others."
"Exactly, it turns out someone else was sent to this Equestria without my doing and I think you know her all to well."
"You're talking about Sam, are you? That's why you wanted me, because you knew I was close to her."
"Indeed, I was hoping you could arrive in Equestria and get some answers out of her, but as suspected there was complications standing in your way."
"So that person who visited Sam in her hospital room wasn't you?"
"I'm afraid not, but who ever sent her to this Equestria is here as well. James I sensed this person's intentions and they are not righteous.He or she has plans for Sam and I believed you are the only one that could save her."
"What about Malefor? Where does he play in all of this?"
"The red crystal that yo got from me containing Malefor is what you could say a piece of yourself. I knew you were going to have trouble doing this alone so Malefor or your darker half was born to aid you. However you do know the draw back of any of you dying correct?"
I nod.
"Good, I'm afraid that's all I can say for right now."
It was then that I noticed everything cracking around me like glass. I look around in panic trying to look away for an escape but couldn't, "Wait! I never got your real name!" I ask. The Merchant could try to disguise as much as they wanted but I knew the voice was female. There was a pause before she started talking again.
"You and Malefor's job in Equestria is not finished yet James. You two still have a job to do so I can't allow you to die yet. Also....my name....is Faust."
Crystal Palace; Medical Center
I opened my eyes slowly only to shut them again from the intense glare from the sun. My head was throbbing like some had just hit with a mallet. Trying again to open my eyes I had more success everything was still a blur but I could manage it for now. I felt my surroundings and noticed that I was laying....wait have we been here before? Oh yeah this what I felt when I first came into Equestria. I manage to grip what I was laying and noticed it was a bed of some sort. I look down at myself and noticed that I was once again Spyro, but I noticed that I reverted back to the purple scales which meant that me and Malefor were split again. I groaned in pain as I then noticed the multiple bandages wrapped around me.
"I-I'm alive...." I say in a strained voice as I look at my surroundings.
Judging from the crystal walls, I was still in the Crystal Empire. Probably in some kind of room in the palace. I notice the other bed to the right of me and I could see the sleeping form of Malefor wrapped in the same bandages as myself. I noticed a blue mare resting her head on the bed next him, Trixie I think her name was. I chuckled and tried to sit up only to see that the bandages weren't the only thing restricting my movements. Sleeping on my chest were two bundles of white and grey, which I quickly concluded were Sweetie and Dinky. Four familiar girls were resting on my bed as well like Trixie. Fluttershy and Dinky on my right while Twilight and Sam were on my left. I could even make out Bolt laying down at the foot of the bed.
It seemed my shuffling around woke the two fillies on top of me as their cute orbs slowly opened. Both of their eyes widened as i could only chuckle nervously and flash them a small grin. I could see the tears beginning to surface in their eyes as they called out my name and embrace my neck. The two fillies' outburst managed to wake everyone else in the room including Malefor.
"James!" screamed the other girls besides Trixie as they joined in the group hug. To be honest due to the injuries I had this was not helping heal....like at all. I flinched but I manged to suck it up for them. I look over to Trixie hugging Malefor as me and my darker self make eye contact. I send him a wink as I only got a roll of his eyes in response.
"U-Uhh, girls" I manage to squeeze out,"I know this is touching.....b-but I'm kind of loosing a-air."
The girls let go with sheepish smiles on their faces.
"S-Sorry." they all say.
"That's alright," I smile, "So...what happened? I thought me and Malefor blew ourselves up with Luna?"
"I would like to hear an explanation as well." grunted Malefor from the other bed.
Sam was the first one to speak, "Well, its true that you and Malefor.....sacrificed yourselves but if it wasn't for Shenron and Porunga you two would've been...."
"Wait," cut off Malefor, "Shenron and Porunga? As in...you know."
She nods, "Yeah, but it turns out that they are like the Celestia and Luna for dragons."
"Huh....That's interesting."
"Th-they were pretty scary..." squeaked Fluttershy as a rubbed her head in comfort making her smile.
"I thought they were cool!" added Sweetie Belle.
"Yeah!" added Dinky.
"However the two dragons did want Trixie and the others to inform them when you two woke up." stated Trixie and Malefor put on a weird expression.
"And why the hell do they want to see us?" my darker self says as he was bopped on the head by the blue show-mare.
"What do you think you big lug! It is obvious that these two dragons want to congratulate you on your bravery."
The rest of us laugh at the Trixie and Malefor as the two both started to argue. It was clearly obvious that the two had an attraction one another but both just didn't want to admit it first. It was literally a relationship between two tsunderes which meant that one of us, probably Rarity, will have to play match maker. I turn back to the girls as they were all staring at me, which was starting to make me a little uncomfortable.
"Uhhh...girls?" I say snapping them out of their trance.
"U-Um, Dinky and Sweetie. Can you two wait outside for a second?" asked Derpy as the two fillies nodded and jumped off the bed and out of the room. Besides Trixie and Malefor, leaving me and the four other girls in the room. I could tell by their expressions what they wanted to talk about. I did somehow to survive which mean that I owed them a straight answer,
"James," started Sam, "I think it's time to...you know."
I could only nod at my long time friend. To be honest out of all the decisions I had to make while this whole situation took place this would probably have to be the hardest. First was Sam, my best friend from Earth and former girlfriend. She was outgoing, stubborn, and is determined to achieve what she wants. I was devastated when I witnessed her supposed death back on Earth and was relieved to find out that she was alive as the dragon Cynder. To be honest if it wasn't for his feelings for the other three then he would've went back to her in a heartbeat.
Then there was Fluttershy. The yellow pegasus that nursed me back to health when I first arrived here in Equestria after a run in with some timberwolves. She was the one that stood up for me and protected me when the rest of her friends thought I was their to hurt her and the one that faced her fear of dragons for my own well being. She was always worried about me and gave me a place to stay when I needed it. Her company made my chest feel warm and fuzzy. Her soft voice was soothing and comforting. Just being around her kind nature toward living things it was surprise that I started to develop feelings for her.
Next was the grey mail mare herself, Derpy. Her bubbly attitude always brought a smile to my face every time she would come around. Not to mention that dinky was always a bundle of joy to play with as well. She kind of reminded me of myself when I was a kid. Always having a positive attitude, a little clumsy, and having a huge love for different kinds of muffins. During my stay in my house, even though I lived there for a week before all this started, she would always stop by my place in the morning and drop off a basket of muffins and we would talk with out even knowing the time passing by. Sometimes Dinky would be with her and would pester me to play with her. It was only a matter of time before my feelings became strong for the grey mail mare.
Lastly was the princess of friendship herself, Twilight Sparkle. To be honest I was kind of afraid of the purple alicorn when we first met, probably due to the fact that she was literally shooting lasers at me when we first met. However when she had interviewed me I could tell that she was actually interested in who I was and where I came from. It even progressed to us talking about our past experiences and like Derpy we would lose track of time when we talked. We both were anti-social people before we met our friends and would sometimes have a dorky personality. Even though she was way smarter than me she never really bragged about it. Not to mention it was cute every time she would catch her self from rambling on one subject and before I knew it she had made her way into my heart.
And now these four mares wanted me to choose one of them-
"We want to share you."
What.
"What?" was all I can say at their straightforward answer. So you're telling me I went through all that thinking for nothing! No there had to be more than that, "I-I'm sorry but you girls are going to have to be more specific."
"Well, while you and Malefor were unconscious we decided to form a herd." said Fluttershy.
Derpy nodded, "We all knew that you had feelings for all of us."
"And it wouldn't be fair to force you to choose when you can't decide." added Twilight.
"I wasn't too big on the idea at first," said Sam with a noticeable blush on her cheeks, "But I thought that I could give it a go."
They all looked at me with hopeful expressions as their four pairs of beautiful eyes literally tore through my heart. I couldn't even break eye contact form those adorable faces. I didn't expect them to make a compromise this quickly, I could hear Trixie and Malefor chuckling at my torture as I silently flipped them off. I sigh and give them a warm smile.
"I....would love to be in herd with you four." I answer as before I knew it I was once again embraced by the four. My eyes widened when Sa m was the first one to place her lips on top of mine. She pulled away and was replaced by Twilight, then Derpy and finally Fluttershy. I felt my cheeks heating up as they all giggled at my reaction.
"So," suddenly said Malefor gaining or attention, "Should we go see these dragons or are we going to be sappy all day."
Crystal Palace; Throne Room
The doors to the throne room opened revealing James, being supported by Sam and Fluttershy while Twilight and Derpy followed behind, as Malefor was being supported by Trixie. The group walked in and noticed the two familiar dragon rulers of Thedas but they seemed....smaller. Shenron and Porunga was talking to an injured Celestia, Luna, and Discord, as Cadance, Shining, Rarity, Applejack, the four fillies, Spike, Bolt, Rainbow, Pinkie, Bash, Flashwing, and Drobot. Our presence seemed to stop all activity as we made our way.
"Ah, it seemed that our two guest of honor have finally awakened." said Porunga with a surprisingly normal voice due to his size change.
"I am pleased to know that you are all safe and recovering well." added Celestia, "And....I deeply apologize for our actions against you James."
"You don't have to apologize," started the purple dragon, "You weren't in control of your actions."
"Even though that is true, I should've noticed when the situation got out of hand and I almost lost my sister and a dear friend in the process."
"I would have to agree with James sister," stepped in Luna, "It was eye who took things to far with thee dragons and as a result I managed to let Nightmare Moon influence me once again."
"I would also like to...how do you say? Apologize?" started Discord, "But to be fair it was mostly Lulu's and Celly's fault."
James put on a weird look as the two princess glared at the spirit of chaos, "Didn't you almost cause me and Malefor to be executed?"
Malefor chuckled and whispered to Trixie, "Celly and Lulu? I'm going to have to remember that."
"Oh, hush and pay attention." whispered back Trixie as the darker version of James only rolled his eyes in response.
"We all take responsibility for our actions," stated Luna, "including I, and I will understand your grudges against me."
James could only look at the lunar princess with pity. Too be honest he was still pretty salty about her trying to kill him and Malefor and turning a whole entire country against them. However it was because of a bad experience that scarred her and she didn't want her subjects to go through the same thing she did. Malefor would have not even cared when he first arrived, but to be honest after meeting Trixie,making amends for his mistakes, and becoming king of the changelings he could understand why rulers would make these kinds of decisions to protect their subjects.
"You don't have to worry, Princess Luna," said James, "We completely understand."
"You were just trying to protect the ones you cared for. No one is faulting you for that." added Malefor.
"Speaking of faulting." stepped in Porunga, "Malefor."
"Oh shit..."
"When you first arrived here you cause an amount of trouble. you attacked three of the princesses with out reason and some innocent ponies lost their lives."
Malefor could only nod and keep his head high. James and Trixie could tell by the look in his eyes that he actually felt guilt or at the very least a little bit of shame."I know what i did," he said, "And I do not deny it. When I first came here the only thing I cared for was myself, but after I met the changelings....it changed my way of thinking."
"Mrs. Lulamoon had told us of you meeting the changelings and how you were their only hope of surviving." stated Cadance.
Malefor looked at Trixie who had a light blush and back to the literal deities in front of him, "Yes, after the death of Queen Chrysalis she appointed me the one to protect her hive." he then looked toward Cadance and Shining Armor, "I was then tasked to travel here to the Crystal Empire to talk to you two about making a compromise on having the changelings live here close to the artifact known as the Crystal Heart so they can survive. I also know that you might have a grudge against these changelings but you have to understand that they were only trying to survive and they are running out of options."
Shining and Cadance looked at each other before nodding, "Malefor you have committed a lot of crimes," started Shining, "but me and my wife can tell you are trying your best to make amends. We still have our concerns about the changeling race but we still can't turn a blind eye in there time of need."
"We will make arrangements for them to have a place for them to stay here in the Crystal Empire,"added Cadance with a smile, "They will have their own district in the city and will be able to converse and interact with the rest of the Crystal ponies."
Trixie caught the dark dragon as she squealed in joy and wrapped her forearms around his neck, "We did it!"
Malefor could only blush and turn his head away as Trixie puffed her cheeks, "Oh, come on you could be a little happy."
"I am," said Malefor, "But they aren't letting them in for free am I right?"
Cadance solemnly nodded, "In return of them staying in the empire, the changelings will have to be watched at all times and you would have to serve out your sentence before you would have the right to rule them over."
"And what is this sentence I have to serve?"
"The rest of us talked about it," stated Shining Armor, "And we decided to have you stay in Ponyville and be taught about friendship by James. And judging by your relationship with Mrs. Lulamoon it shouldn't be a problem."
"As for you James," stated Celestia, "Your actions were clearly out of self defense and even though some guards were hurt. None of the guards reported you using any lethal attacks. However innocent ponies were put in danger."
The purple dragon nodded nodded, "I understand."
"So as a result, your punishment will be the same as Malefor's."
"Now on to the 'other' part of the discussion." stated Shenron.
Celestia nodded, "Would the rest of you leave the dragons and us. There is something we must speak in private."
They all nodded and headed toward the door. Fluttershy stayed behind and looked at James with a pleading look making him smile. "I'll be fine Flutters. My wounds aren't bothering me that much." he said making her sigh.
"Alright," she says softly, "But I'll still be checking on you."
James smiled and nodded as the yellow mar gave him a peck on this cheek and turning to Sam, "Make sure he doesn't work himself to much." she said to the purple dragoness.
"Don't worry I'll keep my eye on him." winked the dragoness as Fluttershy left the room leaving only the dragons, three alicorns, Shining, and the Spirit of Chaos. James and Malefor instantly realized the tone shift in the room and their expressions became stern.
"What's going on?" asked James.
Shenron started, "As you all know, Luna here was possessed by the entity called Nightmare Moon, and managed to also take control of Celestia and Discord."
"Don't remind me." interrupted Discord with an annoyed expression.
"But Nightmare moon is gone isn't she?" questioned Malefor.
"Yes this is true," answered Luna, "But my counter part was not acting alone. Someone was pulling her strings ans she was me."
"Do you have any idea who did this?" asked Sam.
"We do," started Porunga, "It is some one I thought me and my brother defeated long ago."
Bash's, Flashwing's, Drobot's, and Sam's eyes widened, "You don't mean him! Do you?" asked Bash.
"That's highly unlikely, he is supposed to be imprisoned with no way to use his magic." added Drobot.
Flashwing shook her head, "Unless the seals are starting to fail."
"Wait, wait, wait.....what is going on?" asked Malefor, "Who the hell are you guys talking about?"
"Long ago," started Porunga, "Me, my brother and Celestia and Luna banded together to stop a great evil form plaguing this world. It took almost all of our magic power to seal him away and it cost the lives of many. Even almost turning everything into nothing but a apocalyptic wasteland of fire and death."
James listened carefully. This guy could be the danger that the Faust lady was telling him about. Why she sent him and Malefor here in the first place. Which meant that who ever this was had brought Sam here when she.....
"So you're afraid he might break out again?" concluded Malefor.
"Yes," said Celestia, "The seals won't last forever. If he is able to make contact with Nightmare Moon form his prison tan that means only two things. He is either getting stronger or the seals are failing over time."
"So how many seal are there?" stepped in Cadance.
"There are six seals that are in protected by each race in Equestria," stepped in Discord, "They all reside with the ponies, dragons, minotaurs, griffins, yaks, and the zebras. Each ruler swearing to keep these seals a secret from those who would to free that evil entity again. So from that time this only degraded to be only in legend and only a fairy tale."
"Where were you in all of this Discord?" asked Shining.
"I was neutral at the time. I know its surprising that there are opponents that even I won't tangle with."
"The strange thing however," stated Luna, "Is that seals looked perfectly fine throughout this whole situation."
"None of them, seemed off?" asked Flashwing.
"No." answered Shenron,"Nothing had changed with the seals ever since they were crafted."
"So who is this asshole anyway?" asked Malefor.
"His name," started Porunga, "Is Acnologia, and he is not to be underestimated."
The group was silent as Sam, Malefor, and James could only widened their eyes. The others didn't know it but the three knew exactly who Acnologia was. One of the main villains from another they used to watch on Earth that was shown to be almost literally unstoppable. It was unfortunate that they never finished the show to find out how he was defeated....if he was ever defeated in the first pace. There was a long silent pause between the group until James finally broke the silence.
"So what now?" he asked.
"It would take a lot of magic power to free Acnologia. Something he doesn't have, so it would take some time until he breaks free." said Celestia.
"As of right now, the only ones who knows the truth of Acnologia's existence are everyone in this room and the rulers of the other four races." added Luna.
"There is nothing to worry as of yet, but it does mean that we should keep a closer eye on the seals." said Shenron, "In the meantime James and Malefor will stay in Equestria until further notice. You two will not mention what we talked about to any one unless they are us."
James and Malefor nodded, "Wait what about Sam and the others?" asked James looking at the other dragons int he room.
"Like we said," answered Porunga, "Acnologia didn't act alone. He had orc and goblin followers and we need Sam and the others to investigate. The orcs and goblins are usually secluded from the rest of us since we sealed Acnologia but there are ruins of their fortresses around the world."
"But..."
Sam put a claw on his shoulder, "I'll be fine, " she said with a smile, "This is what I did before you came here."
"Yeah, no need to worry about us," said Bash, "We aren't special forces for no reason."
James nodded.
"I believe we are done," said Porunga, "Me and Shenron will return to Thedas awaiting for your return."
Sam and the other dragons nodded and bowed respectively.
"James and Malefor," said Luna gaining the two dragons attention, "Even though you are in Equestria, Acnologia may still have followers everywhere. So be careful."
The two dragons nodded, "Don't worry if Acnologia ever shows his face," started Malefor
"We'll make sure beat his ass." finished James with a determined expression.