//------------------------------// // Game mechanics // Story: Equestria Girls: Symbol Of Undying Love // by vortex123 //------------------------------// 3rd POV They both just sit there in silence, taking in the others appearance. Manny goes to scratch an itch on his head, but jumps a little in shock when he hits one of his new horns. Noticing his confusion and distraction, Sunset slowly and quietly snuck away. By the time Manny noticed, she was already out of sight. Not caring about the strange girl, he looked for the nearest reflective object. Noticing a powered down computer on a nearby table, he walks over and looks at his reflection in the dark screen. And low and behold, he saw the small goat horns. "…That's all of the changes? He made it sound like I wouldn't look remotely close to how I did in that void. This, I can work with, just need something to cover them." Manny said with a smile and putting his hands in his pockets. He then noticed his hand hit something in his pocket. Taking whatever it was out of his pocket, he saw it was a letter. Dear Manny As I'm sure you've noticed, your appearance barely changed at all. That's because I decided that keeping your appearance as close to human as possible would allow you to adjust easier to that world. That being said, it might change over time, depending on what you do. As for your new magic. It's simple in concept, but hard in practice. You see, your SOUL is located in your chest. Try to feel it, the very culmination of your being. Feel it resonate with your will, but don't force it. Let it guide your magic into the proper form, it knows you better than you know yourself. Every Monster has an affinity for certain types of magic. You may be able to use forms of magic that you don't have an affinity for, but it's best to consult the SOUL on which path is the best starting point for you. ☝︎♋︎⬧︎⧫︎♏︎❒︎ '…I'm flattered that he thinks I'm smart enough to actually understand any of this, shame that's not the case. Oh well, I think I can do this without understanding this. I mean, how hard could it actually be to use your SOUL?' I think with a shrug, pocketing the piece of paper. 'But how to do it? Maybe if I stretch out my hand and picture something?' I bring my left open hand to my right shoulder, then quickly swing it to my left in a dramatic fashion. All that motion resulted in…nothing happening, not even a spark or flash. "…Ok…I guess it's not that easy, because of course not." I moan with a face palm. Sunset was watching him from the shadows, trying to find an escape route. As she watched Manny, she tilted her head in confusion. "What is he doing? Is that some kinda human dance?" She wondered aloud before realizing her mistake, and quickly covered her mouth. Manny's head then shot to her direction, causing Sunset's heart to start pounding in panic. Manny then started walking in the direction he heard Sunset in, the girl in question quietly snuck away in hopes that he wouldn't find her. After about five minutes of playing hide and seek, Manny made his exasperation known. "Can you come out already? I'm not going to hurt you, I just want to talk." He said, looking around. He got no response, much to his displeasure. He was about to call for her again when he heard another noise, it came from behind him, specifically from behind a bookshelf. Slowly walking towards it so to not scare her, he checked behind the bookshelf and found a yellow walkie-talkie with strange red symbols and markings on it. While he was distracted, Sunset snuck onto the top floor. Her heart was pounding because of the stunt she pulled, it didn't help that she accidentally dropped the walkie-talkie. She was fortunate that the stranger didn't rush to her old location, she doesn't even wanna think about what would have happened if he chose to run. Especially since her magic doesn't seem to be working right now, this would be so much easier if it was. Once she felt like she got far enough into the second floor area, she used the device. *What do you want?* She asked, quietly enough to not give away her position. *Well, I was hoping we could talk face to face.* He answered with a smile. *Let me tell you something someone told me once. "It's fine to have hope, but sometimes you need to face reality". Basically, no, that's not happening.* she stated firmly. *Well you're just a bundle of sunshine, aren't you?* He asked with an eye roll. *Why not?* *…Do I seriously need to sit here and explain to you why I don't think it would be a smart move to show myself to a stranger, especially since it's night and we're in an empty library with no witnesses!?* She asked in bewilderment. *………Fair point.* He groaned in acceptance, unable to think of a sound counter argument. *so?* She asked, expectantly. *Right-right, back to the topic. What would it take for you to trust me?* He asked. *I want to know who you are and what you are. Because I didn't feel a pulse or any bones when you were sleeping, so I know you're not a human.* She stated with an unseen glare. *…You found a person in a library that you thought was dead, and instead of notifying an adult, you chose to lay on the corpse!? And before you try to deny it, I felt you laying on me when I woke up.* He said with a shocked expression, she went wide eyed when he said that. *H-h-hey don't get the wrong idea, I didn't think you were a corpse, I thought you were a plushy! I mean, you didn't have a pulse or any bones and you didn't smell like something died!* She said frantically, he rolls his eyes at her. *Anyway, to answer your questions. My name is Manny, though I doubt you'll believe what I am, it's pretty out there.* He stated. *Try me.* She urged, crossing her arms. *I'm a Monster, a creature made mostly out of magic and some mass.* he answers with a face palm. 'She's going to think I'm crazy.' He thought with a sigh. *…What were the names of the King and Queen of Monsters?* She suddenly asked, he blinked at that. *…Asgore and Toriel Dreemurr?* He guesses, it's a different universe, so its possible that those two weren't the rulers. *…Well you got the Dreemurr part right, and it doesn't say that name in any of the books I've read here. Alright, we can talk face to face. Don't do anything stupid alright? I'll buck you into next week if you do!* She threatened with a growl. *I'm sorry, did you say you'll buck me into next week?* I question with a raised eyebrow. "Yes, I'll explain why when I feel like I can truly trust you enough to actually tell you." She said, coming out of hiding. She still kept some distance between them, she was even holding a metal pipe. 'If this turns ugly, I can always use my makeshift smoke bomb to get away, after landing a few hits of course.' She thinks, mentally chuckling. She had a few at the ready in her back pocket. 'If her noodle arms are anything to go by, I doubt she'll put up much of a fight if things go south. Plus she said "buck" and let it slip that that's not the norm here, so she's probably hiding something pretty important to her.' He thinks, trying to figure her out. As the two sized each other up, something strange to Sunset, but familiar to Manny, happened. The area around them darkened, in fact everything, save for them, faded into a black void. All the colors faded from them both, leaving them black and white. Just then a red heart that was glowing cyan suddenly appeared in front of Sunset, and a large white square suddenly spawned around them. Then two screens suddenly appeared in front of them, their respective screens showing different texts. Ex Solar Prodigy Sunset Shimmer blocks your path. Manny Osric blocks your path.