//------------------------------// // Episode 3: Fresh Start of a Nightmare - Part Five // Story: All is for my Princess // by Hoppa_21 //------------------------------// After we have met Rose, we were led to the next station on our tour. We were in the same big room as we walked around the diamond Jason had created and neared a large archway, so it was a rather short walk. Said archway led to a room. Medical equipment, medicine cabinets, surgery tables, with things like bone saws, syringes and pills. The room was brightly lit and was an immaculate white. It was the true allegory of sterile. And in all that stood a woman. She was a bit above average height and possessed a rather voluptuous body with a most generous bust size which ranged from about E to F. A pair of round glasses was on her muzzle and her body was looking like it was sewn together. Her fur was a sickly blue, while she had a long dark red mane, as well as a mismatched pair of wings and horn, giving her an almost Alicornlike appearance. The wings were both white, just as the horn. She was clothed in a sewn together doctors scrubs, with a thick dark red sweater and black pants beneath her scrubs. She was a truly bizarre creature. “Welcome to the Equestrian Hospital,” the mare simply greeted with a friendly as well as slightly shy smile, ignoring the worried look Fluttershy was shooting at her. Jason raised his eyebrow, looking her over. “I’m getting Midnight Sparkle flashbacks here...” “She’s like Frankenstein,” Morpheus spoke up, gazing up at her. “Quite the good pair of eyes young Prince, as to be expected,” I praised him, “This is interestingly enough even her name. She is Dr. Franzine Stein, leading head of the medical department.” Dr. Stein nodded with a smile as she said softly, “Yes, I’m responsible for your health. So if any of you is feeling not well, like a missing limb, or a large gash, I can fix you up.” A sigh escaped my lips, “Unfortunately you might not see it at first, but Dr. Stein has some major flaws in her character as well.” “I wouldn’t say flaw…” Dr. Stein tried to weakly protest, but I wouldn’t have any of it. “Just die,” I said to her coldly and she reeled back as if struck. I could already feel the rather aghast and surprised looks on me, but I kept my gaze at Stein, who was quivering in place with her head held low. Fluttershy was immediately at her side, trying to comfort her and sending me a rather fierce glare for a moment, making me shudder, before turning back to Dr. Stein. Some sound then started to emanate from her, making Fluttershy listen to her closer as the sound got louder. She first thought it to be the noises of crying, but soon could recognize it as something different... “Kukukukukuku,” Dr. Stein got louder and loud until she cackled madly, as a delightful smile spread across her face and she blushed a deep shade of red while her arms were wrapped around her chest, “Oh Fenrich! You are always so hard to me!” I then turned to the others, “See what I mean? Strong masochistic tendencies.” “Weird.” Jason shrugged. “You learn to put up with her. Especially since she is the best demon around for the job of this medical station. I once saw her sew a turtle together in ten seconds flat. And she was slobbering all over the turtles intestines while doing it in the delirious masochistic trance she always gets during her work as she imagined herself in the turtles place.” “You realize there's a kid here right?” Bartz asked, having covered Morpheus’s ears. I simply shrugged it off, “I have heard worse in childs stories like Hänsel & Gretel, or in the few cartoons I saw in my childhood. Or even the Nightmare tales of the Princess gobbling foals up. A turtle seems to fit right in with that in comparison. And Morpheus as the son of Nightmare Moon I imagine to be quite brave, considering the being that he calls mother is of a rather fearful appearance for other children.” “She also has as much backbone as Fluttershy,” Bartz reminded. “So, that was never an issue.” “True,” I said, before I noticed Fluttershy getting interested in the conversation. “Turtle?” she asked with interest, making me nod in remembrance. “Yes. Said turtle was ripped apart by some wolves. You could even see the beating heart as it was all turned inside out. But she still managed to save that turtles life and even kept her as a pet. Like I said, she does have quite the admirable abilities, despite her less than admirable attitude.” Franzine nodded fervently as she took the took said turtle from behind one of the curtains of a wall of lined beds and set her on her shoulder. It had the same scars like her, but still looked quite healthy. “This is Rippie, the ripped apart turtle!” she rather happily exclaimed. “It’s so cute!” Fluttershy cooed, as she got right next to it, petting the reptile. “Hi Rippie,” Morpheus waved cheerily, and the turtle shot him a smile as it jumped down in front of her. She went back into her shell on impact and quickly got out to walk rather fast towards Morpheus to nuzzle his leg. “I upgraded Rippie as I sewed her back together,” Franzine said with a fond smile as she reminisced it, which led to her softly blushing again, “It was a beautiful day for me. Especially since Fenrich found me back then and forced me to come with him to do labor for him. Since then I always get to treat the worst and most fatal of injuries.” “We don’t really rely on surgeon's any more,” Bartz begin, looking around the room. “Since Jay introduced healing spells, we only need them for corrective surgeries.” “Franzine is well-trained in the use of spells like Omega Heal as well, but even such spells that summon gods here in this world have their limits. The spells aid the body by increasing their natural healing capabilities with unnatural speed one could say. Surgeries are still needed for conditions, and more complicated injuries that the body alone can’t take care of. Though Omega Heal can more than just heal, for the most critical of conditions you can not only summon the healing god for a simple spell, but also to aid in the healing process during surgery as well. Franzine here is rather good friends with her. And did you know that said Disgaea 4 Omega spell gods are anime characters?” Jason shrugged his shoulders. “I never played. Wasn’t my thing. If I needed wacky Japanese rpgs, I’d just play Persona or Final Fantasy 5.” I could only nod in agreement, “Yes, those are some good titles as well. If I’m honest, I still miss them a little. Though this life here has quite a few advantages. Alone the strength I gained, or the ambitions I set for myself were making it well worth it for me.” “So... what are we doing now?” I pondered this with a paw to my chin, “Well, after meeting with the Castle Healer, it is now time for the Gate Keeper. This would help us establish a connection between our worlds. Something I’m sure Rose would like. Not to mention that it can also be used from our side to send an item out as an anchor to maybe gain new allies.” “Ah well, I could do that for ya,” Jason offered. “The portal thing at least. We have some experience with it.” “That’s good to hear. Though you should also be clear on the fact that we are talking about demon portals. I’m not sure how close our demonic magic is to the portals you have. Though, they are quite simple for the most part and easily enough to explain. The main focus on such portals are anchors. For it to really work a magical signature has to be used on the point the portal should lead. Your token might be perfect for the connection to your world for example. It is important to have such an anchor. It has only to be placed correctly. I assume if we use your token now it would lead us to the point the portal opened in your world when you came here.” Jason rolled his eyes. “Okay, that's way to overly complicated. Just build a quartz arch and we’ll have Rainbow blast through it.” “I personally would prefer to stay with the demon portals, since we have people here that are experienced with them. The Gate Keeper will surely help us in our endeavors and set up a connection to your home dimension if I give him the token and tell him to analyze the magical signature. I bet he could even manage to combine our both portal magics and connect with your portal with some work.” “I don’t think that would be an idea. Bifrost doesn’t really need any arguments.” “When we are at an impasse, since I don’t like the idea of having every displaced crossing through a portal we have no working knowledge of.” At that exact moment the Princess stepped in, “How about a compromise then? Thou will create this quartz portal to thine world, while all the other displaced, we believe was the term, will be connected with the demonic portal.” Jason nodded. “Works for me. Less hassle on my end.” “I can also agree on this. It seems like a good solution. The rest we will figure out together with the Gate Keeper. Aurora lead the way.” Aurora saluted, “Aye! Then let’s go!” With that we marched forward. The Gate Keeper would be near so it was at least something that can be taken care of rather quickly. At least I hope it would go as quickly as with Franzine. But one does never know, so I’m not going to jinx it. We then turned a corner, and could from there on already see the light of a blue and slightly white swirling portal where we would meet up with the Gate Keeper. However, what we witnessed was more than any of us bargained for. We all saw a wood golem that was wearing… Bikini Armor? Our group stopped and all was silent for a moment. “Well… she did say a wood golem could fit it on with the size enchantment,” Aurora commented with obvious mirth in her voice. I however was of course in a state of panic. “Don’t look, Prince Morpheus!” I said while standing on both my hindpaws and concealing with outstretched paws his view of this truly traumatizing sight. Jason stared for a while, before shrugging. “Weird just sorta happens. It’s fine.” “It most certainly is not fine! Such is a sight no young prince should ever have to endure!” I then pondered for a moment, “Now that I think about it, it is a sight no one should have to endure, besides the Sun Witch maybe. She can endure it.” “I have to agree here with fluffy,” Aurora intercepted as she pointed an accusing finger at the Gate Keeper, “You are always complaining when I decide to wear a short skirt, but you yourself suddenly don such a bikini? What exactly is fair about this?!” The offended Gate Keeper stepped a step back. “Well, I never! As a true noble demon like me I can’t just let another being live in poverty so I had to buy it! And as a noble mare of your status it is of course required of you to wear something appropriate!” At the mention of Aurora being a noble mare a batpony started to chuckle, drawing the ire of her as she glared at him and he quickly walked away. She then turned her glare back to the Gate Keeper. But before this childish argument could go on I decided to step in with a question I just had to ask. “Say, how much did you pay for this Bikini Armor?” The Gate Keeper stuck its wooden muscular chest out, “100,000 bits! Rose first wanted to give me a discount and have 90,000 bits for it, but I couldn’t let that stand! If the poor thing needs money, then I shall pay the full price and with that obliterate her poverty! It’s something a true noble demon would do!” “I understand,” I said before looking over to Jason again, “And you are still sure you can handle Rose? Like you can see she is… a rather peculiar businesswoman.” Jason looked rather amused. “I have a draconequus living in my head, I can handle an eccentric businesswoman.” I shrugged, “I’m just making sure. But I suppose we probably should get back to the business at hand. I believe you remember this demon Princess.” The Princess walked forward with a smile, “Indeed. Tis a great pleasure to see thou once again after such a long time.” The Gate Keeper just smiled, “I can certainly say it is a pleasure to meet such a noble Princess once again,” he then took notice of Jason, “And what do we have here? Another lycanthrope? Which joy! I certainly am glad that Fenrich found a relative! He is avoiding company far too often, so it is a true relieve you found each other!” “Sorry, but, I’m actually a jotunn. I’m just not old enough to be huge yet.” “Jotunn? I haven’t heard of that kind of demon before. Though from your looks I would assume it is rather close to Fenrich Mister… We skipped introductions, didn’t we? Ah, how rude of me! Allow me to introduce myself,”  he said with a polite bow, “My name is Sir Alexander Woods. Gentletree, Justice Warrior, member of the elite troop the Lunar Demons and my newest occupation Gate Keeper and Guardian of this very castle.” “Alexander here was once a demon rebel,“ I added, “He was fighting for equal treatment of all demon races amongst the ponies. But after we beat him the Princess offered him in her overwhelming kindness a place among her troops so that he could change the system from within and create a paradise as he likes to call it for all noble beings alike. We found him to be rather useful when it came to fights, but also anchoring portal destinations and portal maintenance.” “Nice to meet you.” Jason held his hand out. “But no, Jotun aren’t demons. We’re giants, and the first race to exist in some places.” “Giants you say? Very interesting. The way we wood golems tower over the ponies we got called that too sometimes. Not to mention that my kind was also equally one of the first demons to exist back in the Netherworld where I hailed from. Never would I have thought back in my youth that I would once find myself in a different place like this. But,” he said before he flexed his wooden muscles, “It certainly didn’t harm my workout and goals! I simply had to adjust and this world is in dire need of some forward thinking demons.” “Right.” Jason nodded. “Bet your ancestors body wasn’t used to create seven full universes.” “Maybe not. But it doesn’t matter what you can create. It only matters what you do with the abilities that are in your skillset. No matter how small the change. A change is a change and we all should try to contribute to it.” Jason rubbed the back of his neck. “Er, Ymir didn’t make them. He was murdered in his sleep and three guys created everything from his body.” “Your world certainly sounds interesting. I can also recall quite a few tragedies from my own world. We for example were ruled by the Tyrant Overlord Baal. A title that was not just for show. Back then Baal tried to take over all of Equus with a portal that led from our Netherworld to here. That is also how I ended up here. All races were really lucky that Baal was stopped by a brave mare and sealed away. Sadly she didn’t survive said heroic deed,” Alexander said with his head lowered, clearly reminiscing the past. Not that I could take part in it, considering my own arrival occurred later. “Yeah,” Jason scoffed bitterly, “I know something about tyrants.” I took this moment to step in, seeing as we were getting rather off-track. “Tyrants are something that occur far too often, though I suppose that we should get back to why we came here.” “That’s good and all Fenrich, but where is the timid one? I somehow lost sight of her,” Aurora suddenly asked as she looked around. I of course instinctively took a sniff. After locating her scent I turned my head towards Alexander. Fluttershy was already all over him, a child-like grin on her face that seemed uncharacteristic for the mare. “I always wanted to meet a tree like you!” she let out a squee as she started touching his bark-like arms, making Alexander’s chest puff out with pride as he started to flex his muscles for her, as no sight of his previous sadness could be detected. “I’m quite honored to hear this from a maiden such as you! Feel free to examine me all you want!” he said in a booming voice as he continued to strike pose after pose making Fluttershy let out a big ‘oh’ of wonder. I then noticed Pinkie flexing her muscles in a silly fashion alongside him, making Alexander laugh heartily. “That’s the spirit!” he cheered, while I facepalmed with my paw. After a sigh escaped my lips I tried to bring everything back on track yet again, “We probably should slowly start to work on the portals now. I would say that we try to get your portal set first,” I mentioned as I turned to look at Jason who was eyeing the spectacle in amusement together with the two young Princes, “First off we should determine exactly where to put it…” “It should probably get it’s own exclusive area,” Jason suggested. I nodded, “That logic is sound. Now where to-” I started to say but was rudely interrupted. “Hold your horses! I know exactly where to put it!” a feminine voice exclaimed. As I turned I saw it to be none other than Rose. She stood there excited with a mischievous glint in her eyes. A glint I didn’t like. “You do?” I asked with a raised eyebrow as she happily nodded at me. “Yes!” She said before leaping in front of Jason with a bright smile, ”Follow me!” She then proceeded to grab his hand and pull the poor sap along. The rest of us quickly followed this mare who all too eagerly let Jason back to where she set up shop. She then proceeded to lead him behind the counter and through the door that was placed there. It let us through a storage room that then again led us to a rather luxurious looking bedroom. Said room had a four poster bed. which was made out of pure gold and had rubies embedded in it. Red silk sheets adorned said bed. An expensive looking desk, wardrobe, two bookshelves and a mirror could also be seen. All of these furniture made of pure gold and decorated with gems. An ornate looking door led probably to an equally luxurious bathroom I would guess. A chandelier made out of gold and rubies also dangled from the ceiling. It was quite clear who this room belonged to. “Wait… Are you trying to get this portal of Jason’s world set up in your bedroom?” I asked Rose rather incredulous. “...Maybe?” she said slightly sheepish, “I mean, not every demon around here should have access to it! I could be the Gate Keeper! Old Alex here has enough to do with one portal, so why should he guard two? I am fairly strong after all and could easily take this job!” “Only that you never would volunteer to work without getting paid. You always say that you are not a charity organization, so I assume your motives are far less noble,” I pointed out, making her pout as she turned her face away and crossed her arms. “Fine then. So what? I’m the one who will mainly use the portal anyway. So why do you care?” she said to me with a glare, before she looked over to Jason with big hopeful eyes, “You don’t mind, do you?” Jason shrugged. “I mean, it’s fine. If you think your room can survive a sonic rainboom.” “YES!” Rose fistbumped the air in thriumph before turning to him, “And don’t worry about my room, I have a geo block with ‘Invincible’ effect. It not only makes people invincible to any and all attacks, but also objects. I just have to set it down in here and activate the integrated ground panels and woosh! Bam! Kazaam! Indestructible room!” she said while striking a pose with one hand on her hip, while her other was giving him a thumbs up and a winning smile. “Right.” Jason nodded, clearly not understanding what she was talking about. “First, we need a quartz arch.” “Ooh! I have a fresh delivery of quartz right here back in the storage room if that helps!” Rose said all too eagerly, quite happy to provide the portal that would connect their dimensions. She quickly run out and jumped on one of the shelves she remembered the quartz being held. She then took the crate and with a strength you normally wouldn’t expect from such a flat-, uh, fragile looking thestral lifted it directly into the room before setting it down in front of Jason. “I hope that is enough,” she said with a proud smile. Jason looked at the crate, pulling a sword hilt from his pocket. He flicked his wrist, the blade extending into a long sword. Rose all too eagerly watched him, and Alexander also was quite interested in gaining new knowledge of portals. I of course also kept an eye on him together with Luna. One might never know after all. Maybe I could learn a new Special with careful observation. Then again, I’m more into fist-type weapons, so a sword move might not be all too interesting for me. Of course the most interesting thing about his blade was still the magic it gave off. It saturated the air thickly with it. Alexander seemed to bathe into said saturation, as he absorbed slight amounts naturally through his body. A body which started to grow leaves frantically as well as bark as his mass seemed to grow from the magical intake. “Omnitrix, XLR-8.” Jason transformed into a vaguely raptor shaped creature, clad in a black and white jumpsuit. He became a blur, zipping around the quartz, positioning and sculpting it into shape. The Princess and I could certainly appreciate the high SPD he showed, considering it was a stat we ourselves had rather leveled. Rose herself was giddily clapping her hands together at this spectacle, a clear excitement over his versatile abilities as she saw him finish the arc that would connect our both worlds. Jason skidded to a stop, reverting back to normal. He tapped at his watch, making a screen appear over it. “Hey, Dash, you there?” A few beats passed before the mare in question responded. “Whaddya want, Jay?” Rose eagerly stepped forward wrapping her hand around the device and inspecting it, “Eureka! That’s interesting,” she said excitedly, before straightening out and gaining a formal composure before talking into the device, “Aye, are you the headmare? I want to formally introduce myself. I’m Rosen Queen, short Rose. And I’m an official applicant for your and Jason’s herd!” After she said that her cheeks started glowing with a blush as she made a step back giggling like a schoolgirl with a crush and took said cheeks in her hands rubbing them excitedly, “Gyah! I can’t believe I just did it! I applied for a herd!” Dash was silent before speaking up again. “You’ve been gone for like five minutes, Jay.” Jason rubbed his neck. “Yeah well, just get your ass over here will ya?” “A-A MEETING?!” Rose said in a stuttering panic, “Oh! I n-need something nice to wear,” she said rushing to her dresser and opening it, revealing an assortment of dresses, “Too casual,” she said discarding them, before looking at another, “Is that too formal?” she asked to one in particular as she was holding a long red gown in her hands. She suddenly seemed a tad nervous among her excitement. “Fine, fine,” Dash sighed. “I’ll be over.” Jason closed the screen, petting his hand on Rose’s shoulder. “Dash isn’t in my herd, Rose.” Rose instantly stopped, “She isn’t?” Jason shook his head. Rose herself tossed her arms in the air, “By Luna’s teats! And here I thought I finally had applied to a herd!” She then deflated, her cheeks puffing out in a cute pout. “Relax.” Jason pet her head. “It’ll be fine.” Rose looked at him hopefully, “You think so?” “I do,” he said rubbing her head some more reassuringly and making the mare smile. With a quick happy pounce forward she wrapped her arms around Jason while cuddling her head into his chest. “That’s all good and well, but don’t we need to prepare for the arrival of this mare?” I questioned. Rose perked instantly up and let go of Jason, “Right! I need to secure my room for the explosion!” The thestral mare quickly stepped to her bed before leaning down and pulling a lever. Instantly the ground started to glow with golden geo panels, encompassing the whole room as well as a golden geo block that also showed up from under her bed. She then summoned her bow before aiming it directly at me… Jason frowned, looking between us. “What's with the arrow?” Rose instantly stopped her tomfoolery as she flinched a bit at his disapproving look, “I-I just wanted to test the Invincible effect really quick,” she said a bit sheepishly, “I mean, the effect is on if you believe the menu, but I just wanted to make sure. And if anything went wrong Franzine would have been ecstatic. So...win win?” she asked looking up at Jason a bit nervously. Jason leaned on the wall. “Most people don’t try to kill their friends.” Rose took a step back, looking as if she was just hit, “But we were just having a scuffle! Demons always scuffle with axes, spears and the like! We do it all the time! I mean as demons we are a lot more resilient than the average pony! He couldn’t die from such a simple arrow! Fainting at most!” Jason out his hands up. “Sorry, didn’t mean to insult you.” Rose rubbed the back of her head sheepishly, “Aye. I’m sorry too,” she said while both her hands were now wringing her dress, “I just panicked a bit now. You know, being nervous about this whole dating shebang? Being accused of attempted murder could have put a damper on that chance of romance in my life,” she said the last bit with a slightly amused smile. Jason rolled his eyes. “You really need to relax. Like seriously.” “Yeah, yeah. I know,” she said with a small smile, before her eyes lit up and she snipped her fingers, “Eureka! Maybe I should simply channel my inner businesswoman for this! I mean, I am never nervous during business deals! I’m a genius!” she exclaimed haughtily as she brushed one of her pigtails with the back of her hand in a princess-like manner. Smugness was positively radiating off from her. “Then let’s start the first step of our business deal!” she said while pointing to the quartz portal enthusiastically. “Just waiting on Dash,” Jason reminded. A loud boom filled the air as a speeding object ripped a hole in reality. The quartz glowed, entrapping the portal inside of it. Dash hovered in the air, giving us a good look at her. Like Morpheous, she was quadrupedal, with wings as large as Luna’s. I also noted that most of her forelegs had been replaced by mechanical griffon talons. It was a sight I certainly couldn’t help but comment. “You certainly look stronger than your counterpart here,” I noted in interest. Sure, her being a quadruped was also quite a noticeable difference, but the fighting power was even more so. I could definitely tell that she would at least hold herself in a fight. Other than the version here. “Huh...” Dash looked up at Luna. “This is one of those ‘anthro’ places? That's just weird.” I harrumphed at how she disrespected the Princess of the Night, “I could say the same to you. Though it seems you do have more in common with your counterpart then I thought as you are just as annoying.” Dash laughed, rolling her eyes. “For your information, wolfie, the default for Equestria is four hooves.” “I am a demon. My default is that the stronger party is always right. That is why I’m standing on the side of her majesty Princess Luna. She is strong in more ways than one.” An annoyed sigh escaped Dash. “Whatever you say. Anyway, I’m gonna head back, Jay. You have fun with your new weirdo friends.” Dash said dismissively as she tried to fly back, only to have an anthro thestral mare blocking her way and eyeing her curiously. Especially her claws. She quickly took one of the claws in her hand, studying the design and already making plans for a fist-type weapon just after this image. “This might work out,” she muttered as she poked and prodded said appendages. “Stop that!” Dash swatted at her hands. “These aren’t so you can poke at them!” Rose huffed, “You almost sound like Jason as I inspected his hair. Besides, a mare like me certainly likes her toys, so why can’t she inspect the toys of others! I’m a businesswoman and need to seize the opportunity that is given to me!” she said with confidence. Dash was about to retort, before Rose cut in again a bit sheepishly, “Anyway. I honestly...how can I say this… I’m interested in some information. Can you tell me a bit about Jason’s leadmare? I need to prepare. I mean, a good businesswoman doesn’t go into a deal without all the information.” “Leadmare?” Dash tilted her head. “That's... not really a thing where we’re from.” Rose blinked, “So no dominant female partner that is reigning supreme? Hm… I’m not sure if this will make it easier or not. I mean, if there was a leadmare, I could have simply focused on her more, but now? Should I focus to get all the mares approval in equal parts?” she mused. Dash shrugged. “I mean, you could just go talk to them. Rarity and Chrysalis aren’t that bad.” “I could,” Rose said with a thinking face, “I probably will have to rethink my strategy to complete this business deal of love.” She nodded determined to herself, “Thanks for the advice!” she said, and was just about to say her goodbyes when her eyes twinkled mischievously and she wrapped an arm around Dash’s shoulder. “Oh Dash. I just know what I can to repay such a pal like you! I mean, I couldn’t help but notice that you poor gal can’t even afford proper clothing, not to mention armor! So I have a rather striking business deal just for you! Fresh armor! Delivered just this morning. And it would suit you so well~” Dash stared at her, before busting out laughing. She pulled away, clutching her sides. Rose, being the experienced businesswoman she was simply kept her cool, as she waited for her customer to calm down. After all a happy customer was a paying customer! “Oh that's rich!” Dash calmed herself, wearing a big smile. “The only clothes I ever wear are for big stuff.” Rose nodded approvingly, “Oh, I can see that! You certainly are the adventurous type! And clothes would only wear you down. However, a light set of armor would not only enhance your heroic performance, but also can help protect you when you really need it. Don’t say anything, I know you are thinking that you don’t need the protection. But your friends might need it. To protect the ones you hold dear you need to be well equipped! And like I said, wouldn’t you like to enhance your look further? These claws are simply awesome, but just think about how you could get even more awesome with some light armor?” “Eh, I already got armor,” Dash replied. “Dwarven made too, so ya know it’s gonna last for like, ever.” “It’s armor from another dimension. From a demon company no less. I don’t think the awesomeness factor of dwarves stands a candle against it. Besides Jason here bought a set too. So, if it is good enough for Jason, than it is something that is good enough for you. A girl needs to pamper herself every now and then, don’t you think?” Dash stared at her. “You realize that armor is made out of Fenrir’s fangs and the world serpents scales right?” Rose grinned mischievously, “You realize you shouldn’t underestimate a demoness that has set herself a goal, right?” She then run back outside to come back with a crate and slamming it down directly in front of her. “And now, prepare to be awed! For this will be your new favorite armor! BIKINI ARMOR!” she jovially and loudly exclaimed before showing said bikini armor off to the cyan pegasus. Dash looked at it, tilting her head. “The hells a bikini?” That actually made Rose, reel. But just a tad, “Normally it is worn during bathing activities at the beach. It covers both private areas. You see here, these panties like armor?” she asked rhetorically, “I mean you have at least panties I hope. If not, let me tell you, you would probably be a real trendsetter. And the other part is for your breasts. I mean, you have ones do you?” she asked once again before she simply decided to crouch down and look for them under her barrel instead, “Yup, there they are.” “Oi!” Dash growled, slapping Rose across the face. “Don’t ogle my teats you freakin’ weirdo!” Rose rubbed her cheeks a bit before huffing, “Sheesh! It’s not my fault you let them hang around freely for everyone to ogle! That is why you should cover them to remain decent! That is why you could use the bikini armor!” she said in a miffed tone of voice as she started to pout at her in earnest. “How about you respect my personal space!?” “I didn’t know perverts like you have personal space! Just clothe yourself decently with my armor!” Rose screamed back as she lost her patience with her. “Ponies don’t wear clothes!” Dash snapped, getting in her face. “I AM A PONY! Perverts don’t wear clothes!” she said equally heated getting in her face as well. Both their foreheads were pressed tightly against each other and one could swear that sparks were coming from their gazes as both were glaring at each other with full force. “Alright.” Jason grabbed Dash’s tail, yanking her back. “Knock it off. For your information Rose, four legged ponies don’t normally wear clothes. Those that do are the exception. They normally only wear them for important events.” I myself and Luna were also slowly getting Rose away from Dash. Rose herself was still burning with anger at the cyan pegasus, but at least tried to somehow contain it. “Fine! If you excuse me, I will go on a killing spree in the Item World,” she said offhandedly before correcting herself, “Well, not really killing considering the demons there are not alive but only husks, but you get what I mean.” She then stomped out of the room. Though if one only looked near enough they could see an undertone of pain in her eyes. I couldn’t help but sigh at this, “She certainly can be quite...passionate,” I commented, “Though I honestly just assume you said something that has rubbed her the wrong way. Seeing as you seem to be fond of calling new acquaintances weirdos and such I don’t imagine you make new allies too often. No offense of course.” Jason clamped his hand over Dash’s mouth. “I think, what just happened was a culture clash. My ponies don’t wear clothes but, that doesn’t mean they like having their personal space violated like Rose just did.” I hummed in thought, “True enough. The concept of walking around naked and still talking about personal space does seem quite alien. Even to someone like me.” Jason shrugged, letting Dash go. “It’s just how things are.” “Things certainly went quite interesting. Though I still am wondering about the claws, considering no one asked about them until now,” Alexander said, making us turn our head to him where we noticed...something. It seems Alexander has grown twice his size and was now rather cramped in the room as the ceiling simply wasn’t high enough for him. “Huh,” I stated, “Wonder why we didn’t notice that sooner.” “Look.” Dash looked down at me. “If you want to ask about the claws, just ask. Don’t just stare at them.” “Oh, excuse me my lady!” Alexander said while bowing, or at least trying to considering he was already bowing from the low ceiling, “I didn’t mean to stare. But yes. I certainly am always interested to learn something new or hear interesting stories.” Dash looked at her claws, letting out a long sigh. “I lost my front hooves in the Forever Knight rebellion.” “Doesn’t seem like such a bad trade considering you can grip better with claws,” I commented offhandedly before the Princess lightly smacked me at the back of my head. “Excuse him,” she said sheepishly, “Fenrich isn’t the most… empathic being.” Dash glared. “Do you want to hear the story or not?” While Fenrich huffed, Luna gave Dash an apologetic smile, “Go ahead.” “Right.” Dash landed, tapping a talon against the floor. “About seventeen years ago, Equestria was taken over by a bunch of assholes called the Forever Knights. They forced every non-pony to leave and... killed any of them that didn’t, including ponies that tried to protect them.” “Excuse my interruption. But I’m wondering what exactly the Sun Witch-” “Celestia,” corrected Luna with a roll of her eyes. “-did during this severe time of need. As I’m understanding this there has to be a version of her as well, correct?” Dash shook her head. “That... Bitch Blueblood,” Dash sneered with utter hate in her voice. “Betrayed us. Turned Luna to stone. The Forever King threatened to shatter her unless Celestia surrendered.” I couldn’t help but growl fiercely. The thought about Luna being used in such a way… I don’t think I could live with the shame if something like that happened to her here. “I certainly agree with your sentiment. I’m a schemer myself, but can still feel the bile rise in my throat just thinking about such a cheap and dirty trick!” “We managed to get everyone free but...” she held her talons up. “The King was going to hurt Jay and I took the hit for him.” My eyes widened slightly at that. A sacrifice she has made for him. It reminded me. Reminded me about how my life was saved by the Princess. How she would step in. Taking the hit for me. Shielding me. Despite how I at first betrayed her. And later then how my plan failed… She always took the hit. And then, as the Elements were going for her and I tried the same… I failed. It was a noticeable pang. And the Princess seemed to notice too as she all too subtly wrapped a wing around my wolfish form. In any case I calmed quickly enough and couldn’t help but feel at least a tad respect for that mare. Despite her behavior she at least seemed reliable enough. Of course it made me wonder if that bragard counterpart of hers here was the same. But then again it was hard to tell with the different dimension this one came from. So I will have to simply wait in case the cyan mare on my side shows some usefulness like that as well. “But, Jay and Twilight made this for me.” She flexed her talons. “Gilda really likes them, if you know what I mean.” Dash waggled her eyebrows. I couldn’t help but groan, “Don’t. Just don’t remind me of her. It is hard enough that her father always tries to set me up with her. It actually makes me glad that I’m not in Griffonstone now. Griffonesses are way too forward and aggressive for my taste.” Dash laughed. “Don’t talk to me about griffons. You don’t have to rule over them.” I gave Dash my best deadpan, “In fact I’m the leader of the demon settlement there. So this settlement being in their land means I have plenty of interactions with them. Not to mention like I said that the leader of the griffons wants me to marry his daughter.” Jason cleared his throat. “Our Griffonstone was in abject poverty and squalor for the last few hundred years. They lived in anarchy until I found the idol of borealis and gave it to Gilda, who became the new empress. From there, she talked with Celestia, and Griffonstone was absorbed into Equestria.” “Luckily Griffonstone on this side did never fall to poverty. So I’m confident that we also don’t have to be ‘absorbed’ here. Though it really is interesting to see what would have happened if my demons and I didn’t take care of that thieving beast back then.” Jason scratched his cheek. “Then, a year after that, Spike became dragonlord and the Dragonlands were absorbed...” Now I couldn’t help but give Jason a deadpan stare, “So, do you plan on ‘absorbing’ ‘unintentionally’ every country in your world?” Jason glared back at me. “Are you implying something?” “Just noticing a pattern. Can you really blame me for making conclusions? It is not like I’m accusing you of warmongering to absorb countries.” “Yeah... anyway.” Dash cleared her throat. “I’m gonna take off Jay, I promised Beowulf I’d go watch one of those air force shows with him.” Jay nodded. “Have fun.” Dash grinned, flying back through the portal, which closed behind her. It made me rub my fluffy chin with my equally fluffy paw, “So. Anything we have to know when it comes to activating this portal?” Jason shook his head. “Just pump magic into it, it’ll be fine.” “That sounds just like with our portals, albeit we have different kinds of magic. Like Mana that can be used for the portal, or SP that is used for spells and other special moves,” I explained, before looking back over to Aurora, “I think it is time we got back to our tour.” The mare nodded diligently, “Sure. The next stop are the training grounds. If you would follow me.” It was just as we wanted to leave Rose’s room that we noticed the still rather largely grown Wood Golem. He certainly doesn’t fit through the door with that height. Alexander simply waved us off, “Don’t worry. I will use a portal to get back to my post.” An easy enough solution, I assume. It certainly won’t do if Alexander destroys the wall and gets into conflict with Rose. Of course he still needs to shrink back to navigate every part of the castle, but with how adept he is with mana I was sure he would find a way on his own. After everything was done, we quickly got back to the large room, before walking down another hallway and to our next destination. Soon enough we then walked out into a large oval yard in the middle of the castle. Training equipment was already being placed around and lines were drawn in a track. It made me sigh wistfully as I reminisced past days. The Thestrals all around were doing a rather magnificent job as they set everything up. I eyed one punching bag (a real one and not the pony) thinking about training maybe later with it. I then also noticed Punching Bag (the pony) approaching. He looked happy with the progress. “Everything is going well,” he said, “Progress is made and the training with the temporary equipment for the guard can immediately get started tomorrow. Not to mention the recruitments of new recruits for the guard if suitable candidates are to be found.” “Very good,” I complimented with a nod of my head, making him smile proudly. I then turned my head back to the training grounds and couldn’t help but smile, “I remember this place well and I will admit that I missed it. It was a real shame it fell into disrepair for so long,” I then eyed one of the punching bags, before slightly grinning to Punching Bag, “Though I also find the new tradition that developed of hanging you up as a punching bag also to be quite amusing.” “Wait a freaking moment!” Aurora swore as she glared at Punching Bag, “I thought they wouldn’t do that anymore?!” Punching Bag looked away shyly, “I-I’m just helping the others with their training…” “Bull! And how often have I told you that you should come to me if some jerks do that with you! Seriously!” she frowned at Punching Bag before facepalming and sighing annoyedly. I just shook my head at them, “Be that as it may, the geo effects for it still have to be put in place before we can start to use this area seriously. After that you two can still discuss if that tradition is either broken or not.” The Princess perked up at that, “Ah. The ‘Invincible’ Geo Block we take it?” I nodded, “Just like with Rose. Rather rare to get them by. But they are rather useful, don’t you agree?” I asked turning to Jason, “After all a punching bag that can’t be harmed no matter how hard you hit, or if you unleash an attack that would make the entire world tremble…or split in two. Then again, I don’t know how your training regime looks like, so I don’t know if you have an equivalent.” “I don’t normally work out.” Jason shrugged. “When I had to, I did a lot of high gravity training.” He eyed the punching bag. “Side’s, that wouldn’t last long anyway.” “Normally not. But like I said if it is combined with the ‘Invincible’ Effect of a geo block it can even survive the attack of the most strongest Overlord’s. But I guess this gaming system is probably new to you. So it might be a bit hard to grasp the different effects and the usage of said geo blocks. I probably might be troubled as well if I had to deal with your game mechanics.” Jason rolled his eyes, taking a sword hilt from his pocket. With a flick of his wrist, he extended it into a full blade and proceeded to slice the punching bag apart. “Oh well. Like I said. No ‘Invincible’ effect is on it now. It decreases all damage to zero points. So without it it’s of no surprise a blade can cut right through them. Though I certainly hope it will get done by tomorrow like Punching Bag suggested. It wouldn’t do for the Guard to erase one punching bag after another like that,” I stated as I neared another punching bag, before getting an idea, “Then again, your behavior is giving me an idea. I mean I can probably still already test the punching bags out. Sure, they are vulnerable without the block, but with my momentary form I probably, or sadly, won’t be able to damage them all too badly. Not to mention that I could use the exercise.” With that said I jumped in the air and towards the back, using my front paws to give it some strong punches. The chain on top of the back rattled as it swung from my strong jabs. Well, strong in a sense compared to normal ponies, but rather weak compared to what I could usually do in my strong form. I continued the assault on the poor unsuspecting punching bag. There is also the possibility that I was taking out a bit of my earlier frustration on it. What happened today was weighing down on me like lead, so it felt rather good to imagine a few disrespecting ponies instead of the punching bag. Punch after punch landed heavily, before I finally threw my fluffy paw out for one final attack. With one last mighty punch the chain broke and the punching bag rocketed off into the distance, before I heard a loud smack. I heard some shocked gasps as my gaze followed the trajectory of the punching bag. Back at the entrance to the yard stood none other than Celestia, which was followed by the mares Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Rarity. Though I only recognized the Sun Witch by her limbs and foul smell alone as now a punching bag rested over most of her body, specifically her face as her horn was impaled on the upper part of it. An awkward silence stretched out as none of the present dared to say something. Her eye twitched. I could tell that from her twitching body, despite the punching bag now adorning her muzzle. ...I couldn’t hold back a small chuckle.