Reaper found himself standing, arms crossed, on a large circular table inside the throne room of a crystal castle owned by one Twilight Sparkle, Princess of Friendship. Seated around the table were Daring Do, seven other multi-colored ponies, and one baby dragon. Any and all doubts that he was no longer on the Earth he knew had vanished.
This is so surreal, Reyes’ voice commented. It’s like we’ve been sucked into some sort of adorable but complex children’s cartoon. Just look at that purple one with the wings and the horn! That’s Princess Twilight Sparkle, right? How can something so cute be one of the rulers of a sovereign nation? And she has a dragon! An actual dragon! Reinhardt would lose his mind!
Reaper ignored the voice in his head and focused on the conversation around him.
Pinkie Pie slammed a hoof on the table. “So lemme get this straight,” she said, her expression serious. She took a deep breath and then rapidly spoke. “Ahuizotl stole a powerful ancient artifact called the Soul of the Wind from the Dragon Lord’s horde, and then tried to use it in some kooky ritual to summon the spirits of two ancient dragon lords so that he could gain their super special wind dragon spirit magic, BUUUT the ritual didn’t work like he wanted it to and even though Daring Do wasn’t able to stop him, the dragon lords didn’t show up and there was a HUGE BANG and then the Soul of the Wind disappeared and then this little guy appeared and then he attacked Ahuizotl and then you rescued him and now you told us about it and you want to know where the Soul of the Wind might be and what we should do about this guy and whether or not he’s from another world or if maybe he’s just really really confused and a little cranky and needs a party to cheer him up, which I said I am totally up for because he’s new and needs welcoming and everyone knows that totally calls for a welcome party and -”
“PINKIE!” Twilight interrupted.
“Yes, Twilight?” Pinkie asked, both her face and tone the picture of innocence.
“We’ve just finished going through all of that. There’s no need to repeat it all again,” Twilight said politely.
Pinkie giggled. “I know that, silly! But the reader didn’t!”
“Uh, what are you talking about?” Rainbow Dash asked.
Applejack chuckled. “Y’all oughta know better than to question Pinkie Pie by now.”
“Quite,” Rarity said. She turned to Starlight Glimmer. “Starlight, darling, you were saying?”
Starlight blinked. “Oh, right. Well I was about to ask Daring Do - I still can’t believe you’re actually real, by the way! Love your books. - why she came here for help. Not that I don’t want to help! It’s just that I’m surprised Ponyville was your first choice. Unless...this is a common thing? I’m sorry. Still pretty new at all this.”
“There’s no need to apologize, Starlight,” Fluttershy said. “Daring Do coming here is pretty surprising. We’ve only really helped her with her quest once before, and that was more of an accident than anything else.”
“Hey, don’t sell us short!” Rainbow Dash said. “We were awesome! Don’t you remember how we swooped in at the last minute, saved Daring Do, stopped Ahuizotl, and learned a valuable lesson about friendship? That wasn’t an accident, that was one hundred percent action hero awesome! I’m sure Daring Do came to us because she figured our unique expertise was exactly what she needed.”
“Well, she’s not wrong,” Daring Do said.
Rainbow visibly swelled with pride, but Applejack spoke up before she could say anything more. “Now hold on there. What kinda expertise are we talkin’ ‘bout here? ‘Cause as much as I wanna help you out, Ms. Do, we ain’t exactly been discussing apple farming.”
Rarity nodded. “It’s true that each of us is an expert in our own particular fields, but I don’t think we’re the ones to consult with regarding ancient dragon magic. No offense, Spikey-Wikey.”
“None taken,” Spike said with a shrug. “I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t know all that much about dragon culture.”
“If this was just about the Soul of the Wind, I wouldn’t have come here,” Daring Do said. “But it isn’t. It’s about our potentially world-crossing friend over there. And while I know a few ponies with theories on interdimensional travel, Princess Twilight’s the only one I know with both the knowledge and the practical experience.”
Twilight was surprised by this. “Wait, how do you know I’ve travelled to another world?”
“Uhh,” Rainbow Dash began while scratching the back of her head. “I kinda sorta mighta mentioned it in one of my letters…”
Daring Do’s mouth curled into a mischievous grin. “She recommended I break into your castle and go through your portal. Said it would make a good adventure. Even thought up the title: Daring Do and the Magic Mirror.”
Twilight glared at Rainbow Dash. “Rainbow! You can’t just start telling ponies to break into my house! Or that I have a portal to another world in my library!”
“I know! I’m sorry!” Rainbow Dash said. “Daring’s the only one I told it to, promise! Besides, that was such a cool title idea. How could I not want it to be an official Daring Do book?”
“So you keep the ‘secret’ mirror to another world in your library?” Daring Do asked incredulously.
“It’s powered by a book!” Twilight said, her voice rising. “Where else would you keep a book?”
Sensing this was not an argument she could win, Daring backed down. “Okay, moving on…do you have any way to tell if this guy’s from another world or not? And if he is, could your mirror send him back to wherever he’s from?”
For the first time since the meeting started, Reaper spoke. “I can tell you now that this is not my world.”
Probably, Reyes’ voice added.
“Wow, is that really your voice?” Pinkie commented. “It’s so dark and gravelly! It doesn’t match at all with your itty bitty chibi body!”
Rarity quickly interjected. “What my friend means, Mr. Reaper, is that you sound much more masculine than one would expect, not just of you, but of anypony really. Although given the air of mystery about you, I must say it’s quite fitting.”
Spike spoke, suddenly excited. “It just hit me! With that voice and that outfit, you’re totally like a tiny Darth Neighder from Star Mares! Just, you know, without all the heavy breathing. Could you do some heavy breathing?”
In Reaper’s head, Reyes’ voice burst out laughing. Darth Neighder? Star Mares? Okay, that's it. Alternate reality confirmed. C’mon, let’s do some Vader breathing for the kid!
Reaper scowled and his annoyance crept into his voice. “I don’t breathe. At all.”
Not true, buzzkill, Reyes’ voice accused.
Applejack let out a low whistle. “I don’t rightly know how that works, but I’ll wager not needing to breathe is useful for a lotta things. Can y’all imagine never running outta breath? I’ll bet you could run for hours!”
Rainbow Dash was even more excited than Spike. “I know, right? And that’s just for starters! I’ll bet he really could survive outer space! This little guy is so cool! And that epic voice! Quick, say something else!”
“No,” Reaper growled, his tone laced with the threat of death.
Rainbow didn’t notice. “So. Awesome.”
Fluttershy, however, did notice. “Um, everypony? Could we get back on track? I think we’re making Mr. Reaper a bit uncomfortable.”
“Right. Thank you, Fluttershy,” Twilight said, once more taking charge of the conversation. “I apologize if my friends upset you, Mr. Reaper. They mean well.”
“Yeah, sorry for bringing it up,” Spike said, contrite. “It wasn’t really the time, and I guess you wouldn’t know what I was talking about anyway. Maybe later I can show you what I meant to make up for it.”
Hell yes, Reyes’ voice said. Pony Star Wars. This we’ve got to see.
“Shoot, I guess I got a bit caught up in it too, didn’t I?” Applejack said. “Mighty sorry ‘bout that. We didn’t mean to make fun of ya or anything. We were just impressed is all.”
“By how awesome you are!” Rainbow Dash said.
Applejack gave Rainbow a stern look.
“Okay! Okay! I’m sorry too,” Rainbow Dash added. “You’re just so...cool. I couldn’t help it.”
Reaper noticed a blur of pink movement. He looked over to Pinkie Pie to see that she was smiling widely at him. She glanced down at his feet than back up to his face. He looked down to see that there was now a cupcake by his feet with a tiny paper flag sticking out of the icing. The flag had “Sorry, Reaper!” written on it in glitter ink with each letter in a different color.
Wait...what? How? Reyes’ voice asked.
Twilight cleared her throat. “Let’s get back on topic. Now that Reaper’s confirmed that he’s from another world, the question that remains is whether or not the mirror can send him back there. The answer to that is...maybe.”
“That doesn’t really clear anything up,” Daring Do said.
“Are you saying we should just throw Reaper through the mirror and see what happens?” Starlight asked.
“No, that’s not what I meant,” Twilight said, shaking her head. “The mirror creates a stable portal to another world based on how its magic is calibrated. Right now, that magic is being focused through Sunset Shimmer’s journal to create a stable link to the world of Canterlot High, but that’s not the only world the mirror could connect to. Hypothetically, the mirror could connect to any number of other unknown worlds given the right circumstances. The problem lies in finding the specific circumstances that would allows us to create and maintain a connection to a particular world.”
“Couldn’t this ‘Canterlot High’ be Reaper’s home world?” Daring asked.
“Doubtful,” Twilight said. “Reaper looks similar to the humans in that world, if a lot smaller, but there are also a lot of differences. Of course, I could be wrong. I’m hardly an expert on human physiology. Reaper, have you ever heard of a school called Canterlot High? Maybe Crystal Prep Academy?”
“No,” Reaper answered.
“Then could you describe the creatures that inhabit your world? Are they like you at all?” Twilight asked.
“My world has humans, among other things. I am...different,” Reaper said. “This isn’t what I normally look like, but describing myself will get us nowhere.”
Way to dodge the fact that we know next to nothing about how our mutated body works even under normal circumstances, Reyes’ voice said.
“I have a better question,” Reaper continued. “Does the world with Canterlot High have omnics?”
“Omnics?” Twilight asked.
“Sentient machines created by the Omnica Corporation,” Reaper clarified. “They live among the humans of my world.”
Not going to tell them about the Omnic Crisis? About Overwatch? Reyes’ voice asked. How about asking about the great war hero, Strike Commander Jack Morrison? Everybody knows him.
Reaper could feel his anger rising at the mere thought of Overwatch and its leader. Painful memories of the things he had been made to endure as the commander of Overwatch’s black ops division, Blackwatch, came flooding back to him...along with how, no matter how much he struggled, how much he sacrificed, his friend Jack, the people’s champion, always managed to come out smelling like roses. To Jack Morrison went the glory. To Gabriel Reyes went the blame.
Reaper’s hands twitched, and he instinctively scanned the room for something to kill. His gaze fell upon the apology cupcake near his feet.
We’re not hungry, Reyes’ voice said casually.
Reaper’s hands stilled at the reminder. No, he wasn’t hungry. He didn’t need to kill. That voice had left him when he entered this world. Reaper’s anger faded, and he trembled slightly as he realized how much the hunger had changed him.
Doesn’t mean a little feeding won’t do us some good, though, Reyes’ voice added.
Reaper picked up the cupcake, which was nearly as big as his head, and scooped a bit of frosting into his mask’s mouth. He nearly dropped the pastry as he tasted the sweetness.
“I had forgotten...” Reaper mumbled. He began to tear into the rest of the cupcake with gusto.
While Reaper overcame his anger with the glories of baked goods, Twilight had continued the conversation. “No, they definitely don’t have anything like that over in Canterlot High’s world, so that means we can rule that one out.”
“So how are we supposed to connect the portal to Reaper’s home world?” Starlight asked.
“If all we had to go on was the fact that Reaper is from some other world, I’d say it was impossible, but fortunately for us, we have a little bit more than that,” Twilight replied with a grin. “Daring, the legend of the Soul of the Wind says that the Dragon of the South Wind disappeared after finding the jade orb housing his defeated brother’s soul, right?”
“That’s right,” Daring confirmed. “After winning the war and earning the right to call himself the one true Dragon Lord, the Dragon of the South Wind fell into depression because of his regret over what he’d done. He spent the few years of his reign scouring the land for mementos of his brother, and was said to have cried tears of joy upon finding the Soul of the Wind. He raised the orb up with his claws and declared to the other dragons that his brother yet lived before disappearing into thin air, never to be seen again.”
That sounds a lot like that hand-soap fellow’s family legend, Reyes’ voice said. Speaking of soap, when was the last time we washed these hands we’re licking?
Reaper swallowed the mouthful of cupcake he was chewing and said, “I’ve heard a similar legend in my world.”
Twilight’s smile grew wider. “Excellent. We also know that Reaper appeared after Ahuizotl performed a ritual trying to bring back the Dragon Lords, or at least their power, using the Soul of the Wind. That leads me to believe that the Soul of the Wind is actually some sort of portal device that connects to another world, the same world that the Dragon Lords of old disappeared to, Reaper’s world.”
Starlight perked up. “Oh, I get it now! If we can calibrate the mirror using the Soul of the Wind instead of Sunset’s journal, we could create a stable portal back to Reaper’s home world!”
“Exactly!” Twilight said.
“One problem,” Daring Do said. “The Soul of the Wind disappeared the moment Ahuizotl completed the ritual.”
“Oh, I don’t think it disappeared at all,” Twilight said. “Reaper, do you mind if I cast a quick scanning spell on you? It’ll just take a second, and I promise that you won’t even feel it.”
Reaper finished off the last of his cupcake and turned to Twilight. “One more pastry and you have a deal, Sparkle.”
There was another pink blur of motion and a blueberry muffin appeared in Reaper’s hands. This one had a paper flag with a smiley face on it. Reaper began eating it immediately.
That was right into our hands, and we didn’t even - ah, nevermind. Feed away, Reyes voice said.
“Shoot,” Reaper said between mouthfuls of muffin.
Twilight’s horn glowed purple and a translucent box of the same color appeared around Reaper. The box rotated a few times before winking out of existence just as quickly as it had appeared.
Twilight’s smile turned smug. “As I suspected, the Soul of the Wind isn’t gone, it’s inside Reaper.”
That made Reaper pause.
“What?” he said in chorus with everyone else.
“He ate a magic orb?!” Pinkie exclaimed. “What did it taste like?”
“He didn’t eat it, Pinkie,” Twilight said. “It fused with his body during the transfer. My guess is that’s why his body changed too. Something must have gone wrong with the transfer process. It could have been something interfering from Reaper’s world or it could have been a mistake with the ritual, but there’s no way to know for sure. The point is that something went wrong and the magic from the Soul of the Wind tried to compensate for it, fusing itself into Reaper until the mistake could be corrected.”
“Corrected how?” Daring asked.
“That’s what I plan to find out,” Twilight said. “But it could take a while, and it’s probably a good idea to have Reaper nearby in case there’s anything else I need to find out. Reaper, would you mind staying with us here in the castle until we can figure this thing out?”
Reaper finished his muffin and dusted off the crumbs from his hands and robes. “Not like I have much of a choice.”
C’mon, admit it. We wanna stay here, Reyes’ voice teased.
“I’ll take that as a yes,” Twilight said. She turned to Daring Do. “Daring, you don’t mind, do you?”
“Not at all,” Daring said. “I was actually hoping you’d take him off my hooves anyway. There are other things I need to attend to, and dragging the little guy around with me would just make things more complicated.”
Twilight smiled. “Great! It’s settled, then. Starlight, could you -”
“Keep him?” Starlight said, beaming. “Can I keep him? I’m the only one here that doesn’t have a pet yet, and I can’t think of anything I’d want more than whatever the hay Reaper is.”
Unnoticed by Starlight, Fluttershy pouted. All those little animals were going to be so disappointed when she broke the news to them.
“Starlight, you can’t keep Reaper as a pet!” Twilight said. “He’s not an animal that needs a new home!”
Fluttershy perked up. The critters still had a chance after all!
“So not as my pet then, as my assistant! Like you with Spike!” Starlight said.
Spike frowned. “Hey, I don’t think I like how fast your mind jumped from pet to -”
“Starlight, Reaper is a guest,” Twilight said. “We’re here to help him get back to his own world, not keep him around forever. Besides, Spike’s here for both of us, and no one could ever take his place. Isn’t that right, Spike?”
Spike chuckled as Twilight playfully ruffled his spines. “Yeah, yeah. I’m the number one assistant.”
“And always will be,” Twilight said fondly.
Pretty sweet dynamic they’ve got going here, Reyes’ voice said. And we’re gonna be part of it! Ain’t that just heartwarming?
Reaper let out a tired groan. He almost wished that the hunger was back, just so that there would be something else drowning out Reyes’ annoying commentary. Almost.
Pinkie Pie heard Reaper’s groan. Unfortunately for him, she thought it was adorable. “Awww! That was so cute! Is the widdle guy tired? Does he need a nap?”
*BANG*
Before he could stop himself, Reaper had materialized a shotgun and fired at Pinkie Pie. To his surprise, a purple shield blocked the shot before it could connect with its target. He glanced to Twilight Sparkle and saw that her horn was glowing and her expression was serious.
That’s one hell of a reaction time, Reyes’ voice said in disbelief.
Reaper looked around and saw that everyone around the table looked ready to fight at the drop of a hat, with the exceptions of Daring Do and Pinkie Pie, who both looked amused. He realized that the others were waiting for either confirmation that their friend was hurt, or a command to attack from Twilight Sparkle.
Definitely more to these ponies than meets the eye, Reyes’ voice said.
Reaper’s gaze met Daring Do’s, and her grin got wider as she noticed his disbelief. “It’s alright, everypony,” Daring said. “He just does that when he’s cranky. It sounds impressive, but it doesn’t really do much. I got hit by one of those right in the muzzle at close range yesterday, and it barely hurt. Your average household kitty’s more dangerous than this guy.”
Reaper scowled at the comparison to a kitten, but the mood around the table nonetheless shifted back to friendly almost immediately. The shield in front of Pinkie Pie disappeared and she giggled, apparently amused by his attempt on her life. Twilight and Starlight, however, were both frowning at Reaper.
Twilight’s eyes bore into Reaper like those of a stern teacher. “Even if it is mostly harmless, I’d appreciate it if you’d refrain from attacking my friends, Reaper. We’re only trying to help you, after all.”
“I get having anger issues and wanting to lash out at ponies that annoy you. Really, I do,” Starlight added with the tone of a disappointed mother. “But that doesn’t excuse what you did. We’ve got to work on your attitude, mister.”
Starlight’s horn glowed and Reaper felt himself surrounded by a magical grip. He struggled to move, but to his horror, he was rendered completely immobile by the spell. In his mind, Reyes’ voice was laughing.
Starlight floated Reaper in front of Pinkie Pie, who was still smiling. “Now, apologize to Pinkie Pie!” Starlight commanded.
Reyes’ voice was losing it. She’s like - haha! - she’s like our mom or something! Giving us a scolding! Hahahaha! Oh, if Ana could see us now!
Reaper struggled harder against the magic holding him down. He tried to fire the gun still in his hand. He tried to summon a new shotgun. Nothing worked.
“Reaper,” Starlight said, the warning implied by her tone.
With a huff, Reaper gave in. “Fine! I’m...sorry,” he spat.
“It’s okie dokie lokie, Reapie!” Pinkie Pie said cheerfully. “Everypony loses their cool sometimes!”
Starlight was still frowning, but she put Reaper down on the table again. “That wasn’t a very sincere apology, but since Pinkie Pie doesn’t seem to mind, I’ll let it go this time,” she told him. “But I expect better of you, mister!”
“While I’m not sure how appropriate Starlight’s method was, she’s right,” Twilight said. “I know that this must all be pretty jarring to you, but please consider how your actions will affect those around you. Not everypony’s going to be as forgiving as Pinkie Pie, and the last thing I want is for you or anypony else to get hurt.”
Reaper almost pulled out his shotguns and attacked them all right then and there, but he stopped himself. There was no point. In his current form, he was powerless against these ponies, and though he was loath to admit it, Starlight and Twilight were right. They were being nothing but helpful, absurdly helpful by human standards, and he wasn’t appreciating their efforts. And he knew a thing or two about being unappreciated.
With a sigh and a shake of his head, Reaper resigned himself to the situation. “I’m sorry,” he said again. This time, his apology was much softer, but it was also sincere. Based on Twilight and Starlight’s smiles, they still heard him.
That was actually sincere, Reyes’ voice said. A pair of magical multi-colored ponies has actually managed to scold a sincere apology out of an international terrorist slash genocidal murderer.
Oh this just keeps getting better and better.