//------------------------------//
// Loose Ends & Chaos 
// Story: Still Horsing Around 
// by Darkness Shade 
//------------------------------//

Ryan slowly opened his eyes, groaning as the view outside his window showed the sun had just begun to rise over the horizon. Not wasting a moment, he carefully slipped free of the mares that had been snuggling him all night and got dressed before heading down into the basement of their house. Checking that he had what he needed, he opened up a recently installed door and stepped through...only to end up in a very large, grassy plain. Not missing a beat, Darkness Shade appeared before Ryan and smirked before finally speaking.
“Hitting it early again, eh? Not that I’m against training but don’t you think we’ve hit things a bit hard since we got back from seeing Mallie-kun and them again?”
Dashing towards his brother—and returning the smirk when he blocked it effortlessly—Ryan struggled against him before answering.
“You heard what he said, Dark. About how he was holding back during our rematch...but it’s more than that.” Ryan batted away Dark’s arms and grabbed him around the waist, intending to piledrive him. “Ah know he’s hurting and Ah know he wants our help, but he’s being...stubborn? Overly protective? Whatever it is, if we ain’t strong enough to stand up to them next time, we ain't gonna be able to help them.”
Dark wiggled to try and break free but was unable to as Ryan bent over hoping to plant him into the ground...but Dark caught himself, hooking his legs under Ryan’s arms and using the momentum to send him flying away. Laughing as his brother righted himself, he nodded. “I know that...but it’s been three weeks man. It’s already Novembrr. It’s time for celebrating...ya know? Hearth's Warming Eve is just around the corner.”
Ryan simply looked at the ground, his hands balled up. “Ah know that...and we’ve been working on fixing up the wedding plans and a whole buncha other things. It’s just...he’s mah friend, dammit! Ah never wanna see a friend feeling like that and the fact that Ah can’t do anything to help is killing me.”
Shouting loudly, Ryan’s body was encased in ice...a move that Dark copied, surrounding his in lightning. With that they resumed their sparring, fist meeting fist as ice and lightning clashed sending specks of snow everywhere. In no time at all they were going at such a frenzy it appeared to be snowing around them as they moved across their training grounds.
“Heh...you really do have a kind heart, Ry.” Dark laughed softly. “Then again, so do I. He might be a bit of a butt, but Mallie is my bestest buddy and not being able to help him or have fun with him again doesn’t sit well with me.”
“Then you understand why Ah have to keep going.”
“There’s more though, isn’t there?” Dark launched an assault at Ryan as they both flared their magic and powered up to their Elemental Sync Mk.II states.
“...yes. The things he told us about...about what is to come...about who is going to show up...if the differences between our worlds is anything to go by, he is going to be much stronger and much more of a foe than he was for Deej.” Ryan roared as he unleashed icy strike after strike before finally landing a blow on Dark, sending him careening into the ground.”...you okay, Partner?”
From deep in the hole, Ryan could hear a bit of groaning followed by a “yes” before Dark slowly floated back out of it. “Damn, Ry, this really does have you worked up, doesn’t it?”
“Quite.” He replied, landing next to his brother. “Between those things and not being able to tell the girls so time doesn’t get all fucked up, it’s kinda stressful. Ah’m not even sure what kind of signs we’ll get that we’re on the right track with that goofy box we’ve got now. We just know we need keys...from somewhere. And that it’s kinda important before the new big bad shows back up.”
Powering down, Dark tossed his brother a bottle of water before pondering something. “Ya know, you never did fully tell me why we don’t just hunt this motherbucker down and stop him before he becomes a problem.”
“Causality, mostly. We’ve already kinda screwed with the timeline of this reality by mah being here. Add in that those forms we saw seem kinda important to have and Ah don’t wanna disrupt things more than mah being here normally would do.” Ryan sighed, letting out a huff. “...”
Dark eyed his brother oddly, realizing there was more he wasn’t adding. “...you really need to chill, Ry. This stress can’t be good for you...and training will only burn off so much of it.”
“Ah know.” Ryan plopped down, sighing as he ran his hand through his quite shaggy hair. “But ain’t much Ah can do besides that to distract mahself...well, there's that one thing T-Sparks and Ah have been working on for Lunes at yer request.”
“Oh yeah. That project. Any progress?”
“We’re close. Can’t imagine it’ll be too long before it’s ready. T-Sparks has the spell pretty much nailed down, we just need to stabilize its effects on the real world and we should be good to go. Ah bet yer night mare will be quite happy given how intensely she took to video games.”
“Haha, ain’t that the truth. Hmmm...what day is it?”
“Hmmm...Wednesday, Ah think. Doesn’t Spike usually join us by now?”
Hearing a slight noise like the opening of a door, in walked said dragon carrying a bag and something else.
“Heh, speak of the devil.”


“Hey guys! Sorry I’m late. Figured you’d want a snack before we got to sparring and…” Spike looked about at the potmarked battlefield. “Good heavens, you guys were going at it hard this morning. Haven’t seen this place as damaged since you first put it in.”
Taking a fritter and some milk from his little brother, Ryan chuckled as a slight blush made its way across his face. “Yeah...might’ve been a bit aggressive this morning. Too much shit on mah mind.”
“DJ?”
“Yeah…”
“It’ll be fine. I told you, big bro, he’s one of the Beings. He’ll find a way through it and then we can all meet up again and have more awesome shenanigans.”
“...yeah, yer probably right. Anyway, you ready for some more training?”
“You bet!” Spike pulled out his gauntlets and threw a few punches to warm up. “I really want to learn to master that form I stumbled on back when we fought that vampire pony. If only I had more control of it when we went to DJ’s world, maybe then I could’ve helped out more.”
“To be honest, Ah’m not sure even that would’ve helped keep things from going the way they did. Speaking of that form, any luck on deciphering that name, partner?”
Dark simply shrugged. “Sorta...it’s in some pretty old Equestrian so the most we’ve translated would be the word Wrath...assuming we’re even right. But there’s no need to worry about that right now...if I’m not mistaken, little bro has something he’d like to try today.”
“Oh?” Ryan smirked. “So, what might that be, Spike?”
“Well, I thought some two on one might be good practice for you.”
“Ah see, so you and Dark against me, huh?” Ryan nodded before grinning. “Sure! Sounds like a fun time. Ah could use some practice against an unfair fight anyway, so with that said…”
“Right!” Spike made sure his gauntlets were on snug before striking his fighting stance. “Dark said he won’t power up, so if you want to go Elemental Sync feel free to.”
“Oh did he now?” Ryan laughed. “How generous of him, but for now Ah’ll stay base state. Let’s see what you two have got!”
With that said, Spike and Dark launched towards him, throwing punches that he managed to block and repel before moving to sweep their legs. Spike managed to jump high enough, but Dark was a bit slow and got clipped, falling forward and getting Ryan’s fist to the gut for his troubles. Quickly recovering, Dark dodged a blast to the face and drew Ryan’s attention long enough for Spike to come dive bombing in and delivering a kick right to his chest. Ryan grunted in pain and surprise as he went skidding back. Undeterred, he dashed forward and grabbed Spike by his tail, spinning him around and around before letting him fly...right towards Dark!
“I gotcha!” Dark shouted, catching his little bro and slowing him down. “Heh...he’s doing pretty good with this...better make it more challenging.”
Spike watched as with a roar Dark unleashed his Elemental Sync, a move that Ryan matched with a laugh.
“Heh, knew you wouldn’t let it be too easy.” Ryan remarked, taking flight and zooming towards the two of them. Not wanting to let him get too close, Spike unleashed a blast of flames that made the human slow down in order to avoid being hit...which was just enough for Dark to come flying in and smack him with a fist wrapped in lightning. Groaning, Ryan took the hit but matched it with one of his own, leaving an imprint of ice on Dark’s cheek. The two then began to exchange blows in midair, neither one willing to back down. It wasn’t until Spike joined the fray that Ryan began to have some difficulties, dodging and countering most of their punches but taking more lumps than he wished he was. Eventually having enough of this, he screamed loudly as his body was surrounded by ice that soon exploded away, knocking back Dark and Spike and showing Ryan’s upper body now partially covered in ice, his Elemental Sync Mk.II in full action.
Landing, Dark let out a quiet laugh before looking up at him. “Well well, Ryan, you certainly are faring pretty well with this and seem eager to let off some steam...but before we do that.”
Dropping down and standing opposite of him and Spike, Ryan seemed a bit puzzled. “Hmm?”
“...Do you want to see something cool?”
Cracking his knuckles and watching the snow particles fly everywhere, Ryan smirked. “Ya see, Ah know yer trying to play me...but yeah, Ah do.”
Spike and Dark both laughed ominously at that before they stood side by side...in a pose Ryan recognized right away.
“What?”
“Soul…”
“No….”
“Synchronization!”
Shielding his eyes at the intense blast of wind that rocketed past him, Ryan lowered his arm and stared wide-eyed at the new fighter in front of him. Rocking Dark’s hairstyle with a line of scaly spikes going down his back, a weird pair of feathery, leathery wings flapping slowly, and fire and lightning itself seeming to pulse through his leather jacket, this newcomer was quite a sight to behold. Swiping his clawed hands to no doubt test their weight, Ryan soon found the blazing, bright green eyes of his new opponent shining through his shades...and they were focused squarely on him. With a smirk, the figure posed before asking one question. 
“Surprised, bro?”
“That doesn’t begin to cut it...how the hell did you two do that? Ah thought the only one you could Synchronize with was me because of our connection?”
“See, that’s what we thought too, till good ol’ Darky did a bit more digging and found some curious additional research Master Swirly had done. Apparently, with him being a soul being, it affords him a more...extended influence with that move.”
“In other words...he can fuse with someone besides me.”
“Correct. However, it can’t just be anyone willy-nilly.” The fighter let out a puff of flames and smoke before stretching. “It has to be someone that has a fighting spirit, and is capable of aligning that with the one wishing to Synchronize.”
“Alrighty, fair enough. Though Ah suppose if Ah’m to be pummeling you, Ah would like to know your name.” Ryan took his fighting pose before smirking. “So, newcomer, what do Ah call you?”
The fighter laughed. “Us? Haha, you may call us SPARK!”
Ryan faltered for a moment before looking aside and grumbling. “Damn that’s a good one. Probably thought on it for a while.”
“Indeed we did...now then! Let us continue the match!”
With that the newly named Spark charged forward, lighting and fire left in his wake as he unleashed a multitude of punches at Ryan. To his credit, he blocked and dodged them as best he could, though the weight of each attack was certainly felt as he was pushed back. Roaring, he flipped back before surging forward, surrounded by an aura of ice. Sliding under a punch, Ryan wound back and unleashed a powerful kick right into Spark’s gut, causing the human/dragon fusion to grunt.
“Heh...not bad, bro.”
Ryan huffed slightly. “Not bad yerselves. Ah wonder if this is what it’s like to fight Kouki?”
“Probably.” Spark growled before unleashing a massive burst of lightning wrapped fire, his wings now glowing the same color as his eyes. “This form is still new and can’t last terribly long, but yer about to feel the full force of it, Ry!”
Powering up as much as he could, Ryan couldn’t help but smirk. “That so? Well then, Ah won’t hold back either! Let’s go!”
With that their little pocket dimension shook with each hit they landed, the landscape potmarked in scorch marks and patches of ice as their strikes sparked fiercely. Eventually both fighters were quite worn out and knew they had just one last push left.
“Haha...this has been just too fun, but it’s time to finish it, bros.”
“We agree.” Spark put his hands together before drawing them back. “And what better way than with a bang?!”
“Haha...Rrrrraaaaaw! MAGIC!” Ryan shouted, the symbol of said Element appearing on his hands. “Ultra Fighting Miracle!”
Spark could only laugh as lighting and fire began to swirl into a dark ball where their hands met.“Unyielding Flame of Darkness!”
Ryan thrusted his hands forward, just as Spark did as they both shouted loudly.
“HARMONIZED JUSTICE CANNON!”
“INFERNO ERASER!”
The swirling masses of energy streaked towards each other before clashing with a massive bang as they struggled to overpower one another. Neither combatant let up, pouring all they could into this last push but it soon became apparent that the new fusion was indeed losing steam. Spark grunted as he felt himself sliding back as his attack was being overwhelmed.
“Damn. Oh well...guess it was fun while it lasted.” With that Spark smirked and split back into Dark and Spike who dashed out of the way of the blast. No longer impeded by an equal attack, Ryan’s Justice Cannon streaked off into the distance before exploding as it impacted with a far off mountain.
“Gotcha!” Ryan shouted, ricocheting off of Dark before striking Spike, sending the two to the ground with a final pant. “Damn….huff….that was something you two.”
Dark and Spike slowly picked themselves up before laughing. “Not bad, bro. Guess we’ve got to work on that form some more, eh?”
“Heh, that we do, Dark.” Spike grinned before feeling his stomach growl. “Man, I’m starved now! That form really works up an appetite.”
“Now that doesn’t surprise me. After all, Kouki does the same thing to Darkness and Ah.” Ryan laughed before sighing. “Well, we’d better go get cleaned up before the girls get up...assuming all that racket didn’t somehow rouse them.”
“...I thought you said this room shouldn’t be able to influence the outside world?”
“Well, it shouldn’t.” Dark paused before glancing over his shoulder at Spike. “But then again, I don’t think my master ever took a level beyond a Mk.II nor our Synchronized forms into consideration when he created this spell.”
“Eh, Ah’m sure we’ll be alright...now come on, you two, we’ve gotta get moving. After all, the girls are supposed to be heading off tomorrow so gotta spend some time with them till then.”


After waving them farewell as they headed off to Manehattan for Rarity’s fashion show, Ryan and Dark were just goofing around at home, killing time till their little sisters got off from school.
“Kinda sucks that Ah forgot Spike was going with them, huh?”
“Yeah, but at least we get to have the company of our sweet little sis trio this weekend.” Dark grinned. “Those little fillies are just too cute.”
“Quite...but they also cause quite the commotion. Let’s just make sure to limit the sugar we give them, okay?”
Dark waved his hand dismissively and grinned. “Yeah, yeah. They’re hyper enough as is...actually, it is kinda sweet of ya to offer ta look after them so Granny and Mac can have a break for once.”
“Eh, it’s no big deal, Partner. Besides, like ya said, our little sisters are just too cute and it’s been quite some time since we’ve gotten to just goof around with them. Speaking of…” Ryan glanced at the clock and noted the time. “We should get moving since Ah wanna pick them up from school and go do a bit of shopping for the weekend with them. And, if we end up getting a snack along the way, that will just have to be a risk we will take.”
Simply laughing in reply, Dark got up and followed Ryan as they headed into town. Noting that they were a bit early as they could see Cheerilee still giving a lesson, they plopped down on a seesaw and idly popped up and down to pass the time.
“Man, Ah haven’t done this since…”
“Ryan?”
“Heh, sorry Dark. It just dawned on me that the last time Ah was even on a seesaw like this was back on mah world...when Ah was still dating her…”
“Oh.” Dark grimaced a bit. “Sorry bro…”
“Naw, it’s okay. Shouldn’t let old memories keep me from having some simple fun.” Ryan perked up a bit when he heard the school bell chime and saw the door open. “Well, there’s our cue. Let’s go find those little goobers and go get ready for a fun weekend.”
Dark nodded, but his smile at all the younguns running passed began to falter as it seemed there was one missing. “Hey, Ryan...doesn’t it seem like somepony is missing?”
Tilting his head, Ryan gave Dark a puzzled look before looking over all the little fillies and colts. “Well, other than our little sisters, Ah don’t see DT. Ah mean, she could be with them but…”
“Why wouldn’t Silvy be with them as well?” Dark motioned to Silver Spoon off by herself, looking at the sky almost listlessly. “...that’s weird.”
“...Ah wonder.” Ryan started to ponder before he heard his and Dark’s name shouted before the two of them got flying hug-tackled by Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo. “Whoa there, little ones! Hahaha, trying to knock us over?”
“Maybe.” Apple Bloom giggled. “We’re so excited we get to spend all weekend with you and Dark.”
“That’s right! We’re gonna have so much fun!”
“Uh-huh, uh-huh!” Scootaloo nuzzled Dark’s chest as he hugged her tight. “Right, big bro?”
“You bet your cute little nose, Scooty.” He gave her a boop, laughing softly at her reaction. “But first, we’ve gotta go get some supplies for the weekend. You three up for a shopping trip?”
“Yes!” They all replied in unison.
“And yer gonna be good, right? After all, if yer good we’ve got all the more reason ta spoil y’all rotten, ya know…”
At that the CMC’s gasped before putting on their brightest smiles. “We promise!”
With that they made their way into town, stopping off at the market to get a few food stuffs with which to cook some amazing meals, before making their way to Bonnie’s sweet shop.
“Yay! Candy!” The trio of fillies shouted as they made their way in, Ryan and Dark following behind them and shaking their heads.
“Well hello there, you three. And hello to you and Dark as well, Ryan. Treating your sisters to something sweet today, eh?”
“Heh, well yeah, but we’re actually keeping an eye on them all weekend what with the gals off in Manehattan.”
“Oh right, right. Lyra said something about going there with them and how you’d be staying here to watch them. With how busy it’s been this week, I totally forgot.” Bon Bon turned to the three excited youngsters and smiled. “So, what can I get for ya?”


After allowing them to pick out some treats, the group returned home. As the girls got set up in the living room—insisting they make the pillow fort of all pillow forts, which Dark was more than happy to oblige with—Ryan was hard at work whipping up something delicious for dinner.
“Of course, Ah’d have some more help with that if, ya know, mah other half would lend me a hand instead of helping fill our living room with downy softness. Totally would be done by now.”
Dark, poking his head out of the fridge because why not, smirked. “You’re just upset because you wanna help too.”
“Hmmm….just leave me some fun with them, okay?” With that he finished up the dish before placing it in the oven. “Okay. Food’s cooking, tea and juice has been made and is chilling, and dessert is setting. With that said.”
And as Ryan walked into the living room, he noted that nearly all available real estate in there had been turned into a legitimate fort made of pillows and sheets that surrounded the normal decor of the room. Approaching the “gate”, he gave it a knock before seeing the three fillies pop up and look down upon him.
“Who goes there?”
“Uhm, it’s me, Ryan.”
“Ryan? Do we know a Ryan?”
Scootaloo stuck her tongue out in thought before nodding. “I think so. But how can we know it’s truly him?”
“And not a swallow?”
Ryan rolled his eyes. “Really? Ah’m not even carrying coconuts.”
“He does have a point.”
“You should give him a test. Ask him if a watery tart tossed a sword at him.”
“Dark, you hush. Come on girls, lemme in. Ah wanna have some fun before dinner is ready too, ya know?”
“Hmmmm….” The three fillies gathered together and discussed this in hushed tones while Ryan watched on. “On one condition.”
Ryan’s eyebrow raised but he shrugged. “Okay. What would that be?”
“The one thing you excel at: tummy rubs.”
Ryan sighed, facepalming at how that seemed as if it would never leave him. “Curse my masterful hand skills. Very well! If scritch-scratching tummies is the toll, then Ah shall pay! Now hurry. We have maybe 20 minutes till dinner is ready!”
With that the mattress drawbridge lowered and in Ryan walked...before he began to fall.
“Well...should’ve seen this coming.” He remarked, watching as he passed by all manner of throw and couch pillows. “Dark, have you been dabbling with the chaos again?”
“Maaaaybe.” He remarked, appearing as a grin before the rest of him formed next to his falling brother. “How else were we going to send you to the snuggle dungeon?”
Ryan facepalmed even harder, his hand slowly sliding down as he sighed. “A snuggle dungeon? That sounds like something Lunes would have. Anyway, we gonna hit bottom any time soon? Dinner has about five minutes left at this point, and would prefer it not to burn.”
“Oh, we can always order pizza if that happens.”
“No we can’t.” Ryan turned and poked his brother in the stomach. “We’ve had pizza way too much the last few weeks, and even with all our training Ah can tell you put on a little weight.”
Dark gasped, slapping away Ryan’s hand. “How dare you!? I am a fine, handsome, perfectly weighted specimen of humankind. Oh...we’re here.”
“What? UGH!” Ryan grunted, landing on a cushy mattress...which would have been fine were it not for one Darkness Shade landing on top of him. “Bro...why?”
“Hmmm...guess I misjudged the spatial warping. Gonna have to ask Cordy about that when he gets back from his trip.”
“Finally! Y’all sure did take yer time getting here!” AppleBloom and her friends came running up to greet them. “Awww, ya started without us.”
“Well we’ll just have to fix that! Hyah!” Scootaloo shouted, launching herself at Ryan and Dark before snuggling up against them. “Yeah! Double big bro snuggles are the best!”
“...somehow Ah should’ve known Disky was involved in this, even if it is indirectly.” Ryan shrugged before the other two fillies hopped up and joined them. “Well, Ah guess this is nice...even if yer being a weirdo, Dark.”
“Hey! You heard Scooty, double big bro snuggles are indeed best.”
Rolling his eyes, Ryan sighed but enjoyed the bonding moment...at least till dinner was done anyway.


After having their delicious dinner, Ryan and Dark noted that before they had any nighttime fun the three needed to get cleaned up and ready for bed. This led the trio to complain they didn’t need to, thus inciting a series of Benny Hill-esque hijinx as the big bros tried to get the little sisters to take a bath, chasing them through the whole house before they finally all tripped and rolled in a big katamari ball of humans and ponies right into the large tub, water splashing everywhere. Spitting out some water, Ryan sighed before shaking his head free of water.
“Tarnation, gals! Why did ya have to make this so hard?”
“Well, cause if we had to take a bath, we’d lose out on time with the two of you.” Applebloom pouted before taking some shampoo and rinsing her hair. “But it all worked out!”
“Mmmhmmm! Now we don’t have to be away from you, and you get us to clean ourselves up.” Scootloo hummed as she ducked down under the waters to blow bubbles.
“If anything, you’ve got to give it to the kiddos for not wanting to miss out any time with us.” Dark chuckled, “Now then, let’s make sure we get behind those ears!”
After everyone was dried and clean, the girls hopped up on the couch around their big brothers eager for them to play the game they’d chosen.
“...Are you gals sure ya want us to play this game?” Ryan asked, looking at the cover as he booted up the system. “Ah remember the normal version of this one from mah world and...it was pretty intense even for the twentyish years old version of mahself.”
“Oh come on, big bro! Alone, on a spaceship, your crew taken apart by some alien menace, left to slowly creep around while the sounds of the damned wail around you and wait for one moment of dropped guard to pounce and eviscerate you!” AppleBloom shouted excitedly...at least till Scootaloo motioned for her to dial it back.
“Actually, I think what she means is that the tense atmosphere and creepy ambiance leads to a rather enjoyable watch. Especially if our two awesomely skilled big brothers are the ones playing.”
Dark looked at Scoots and laughed. “Quite the way to put it, but from what Ryan’s memories have shown, this game does look pretty legit. And bonus for Ryan as it’s technically a different game since it’s been ponelated into a different version of itself.”
“‘Ponelated’”? Ryan raised an eyebrow, shifting through the menus to set the mood just right before making a motion with his hand to dim the lights. “Is that Darkese for translated into a pony version?”
“Yes!”
“...Ah should’ve expected as much. Well then...let’s start!”
“Issac, it’s me...I wish I could talk to you. I’m sorry. I’m sorry about everything…”


“Shoot it, big bro! Shoot it!”
“Ah’m trying, Bloomie, but you gotta loosen that grip on mah neck!”
“Hahaha! This is delightful!” Dark cackled in glee as Scootaloo had hidden herself in his jacket, her head poking out as she watched Ryan’s panicked attempts to shoot the Necromorph hordes. Sweetie Belle was nestled between the two humans, a blanket wrapped tightly around her. “Isaac has got himself some sweet hardware! I wonder if I can get Eclipsis to transform into a Line Gun?”
“Behind you!”
“Wha? Oh shit!” Ryan shouted, watching as poor Isaac pony went flying from a hit by a giant brute of a Necromorph. “Crap, crap, crap, crap! Need the Contact Beam!”
Flipping through his inventory, Ryan pulled up said weapon and quickly whirled around, charging it and preparing to unleash it on the charging monster.
“Ryan! Fire!”
“Not yet! It’s not close enough!”
“Big bro!”
“...now!” Ryan released the shot, watching as it passed through its target and knocked it for a loop before it wobbled and fell down. “Suck it, bitch!”
“Well then, that was simply fantastic, bro!” Dark laughed and clapped before finally noting the mood. “Uhm...are you guys okay? It wasn’t that tense, was it?”
“...well...Ah think that’s enough of this for tonight.” Ryan made his way to the nearest save terminal before turning off the system. “Besides, it’s getting late, and if we’re gonna go have fun tomorrow we need to get our sleep.”
“You expect us to sleep after seeing all that?!”
Ryan blinked at the filly all up in his face before gently taking her in his arms. “Now come on, Bloomie, yer the one that said y’all would be okay with this.”
“Yeah, I mean...it seemed like it…”
“Right! Let’s go then.” With that Ryan scooped them up before heading upstairs to the guest room to help tuck them in for the night. “Make sure you brush yer teeth well, lest you have to make an even more terrifying visit to...Colgate!”
“Spoopy.”
“...okay, big bro.” The three fillies replied, getting ready for bed and then hopping in as Ryan and Dark tucked them in. Giving each of them a kiss on the forehead, they smiled before pausing at the doorway.
“Goodnight little sisters. See ya in the morning, sleep tight.” With that Dark flipped off the switch, the nightlight flickering on in the dark as he and Ryan headed down the hall to go to bed themselves.
“...anyone else feel on edge?”
“A little, Applebloom. It’s just a game, though. It’s not real.”
“We know that Scootaloo, but it’s just…”
“Still spooky?”
“Yeah. Well, we aren’t alone and Ah guess if all else fails we can go bunk with our big bros.”
With that the three nervous fillies did their best to fall asleep…


‘...something’s not right.’
Ryan grumbled, shaking his head and opening his eyes...only to see they weren’t exactly in their bedroom.
“...we’re dreaming, aren’t we?”
“Right on the money, partner.” Dark appeared next to him, noting the abstract but otherwise normal space of their dreams. “Our dream seems to be fine, but I sense someone else’s is not good.”
Ryan tapped his foot in thought for a moment before he nodded. “Our little sisters are having a nightmare because of that game, aren’t they?”
“It would indeed seem so, Ryan.”
Dark and Ryan looked to see Luna coming in for a landing in front of them.
“Woona.”
“Those three are having quite a rough time. Pray tell, my dear humans, what game did you play with them?”
“Dead Space.”
Luna blinked a few moments before frowning. “That game is just a bit violent for ones such as them, do you not think so?”
“Well, they assured us they could handle it...but Ah guess it was too much for them after all.”
“Indeed. With that said, you two shall assist me in helping them. Not that you weren’t going to anyway, haha.”
Ryan smirked. “You know us too well.”
“That I do. Now hold on tight, we know not what to expect, but we will not be defenseless in there.”
In a blast of midnight blue magic, the two humans and alicorn were transported from one dream plane and into another. This one, in contrast to Ryan and Dark’s rather peaceful dream, was dark and dreary, with the stench of blood and rot quite prominent.
“...we’re on the Ishimura, aren’t we?”
As if to answer his question, a very creepy song began to play over the intercom speakers. All three felt a chill go up their spine at the eeriness of the moment before trying to steel themselves.
“...I’d say that’s a yes, Ry.”
“Fear not my humans, we are not powerless here.” Luna concentrated slightly before a light began to overtake the three of them. When it disappeared, Ryan smirked to see he was now donning quite the outfit, a dark obsidian color with a dark blue glow emanating from the faceplate. As for Dark, he had quite the curious ensemble, looking like a more slap-dash and hodge-podge version of Ryan’s getup with a separate jacket and pants combo.
“Aw yeah, the Obsidian suit. How’d you know, Lunes?” Ryan reached to his side, pulling away a very familiar weapon. “And a fully upgraded Plasma Cutter? You shouldn’t have.”
“Heh, hell yeah! I get to test out one of these bad boys!” Dark hefted out a rather large device that seemed like a steroid-enhanced version of Ryan’s gun. “Line Gun ready to roll! And the Hacker outfit is a perfect touch. So then, the girls are in here somewhere, aren't they?”
“Indeed.” Luna replied, her own armor a bright red, the helmet shining just as red in the semi-darkness. Hefting up an Assault Rifle, she nodded before pointing down the hall. “I can sense those three in this direction. Keep your wits about you, Ryan and Darkness, and watch your fire. We may be in a dream, but I can assure you friendly fire will still hurt painfully so.”
“Noted.” Ryan and Dark replied, their helmets reforming over their heads as they raised their weapons and began trudging forward.

The spooky ambience of the derelict spacecraft did little to calm the nerves of the two humans and alicorn as they pressed on, puzzled by the lack of contact with, well, anything. No necromorphs, no other ponies...and as for their little sisters, the CMC were nowhere to be found. They could sense that they were going in the right direction, but the fact they had found nothing seemed off.
“This is most concerning.” Ryan shone the light from his weapon around, but only saw smudges of blood or sparking wires no matter where he looked. “The girls should be somewhere around here, right? And no necromorphs? This is far too quiet for mah liking.”
“I agree.” Dark nodded as the continued on before they heard some quiet sobbing. “Wait. It’s faint, but I think it’s coming from this direction.”
“Perhaps it is the three little ones. Quickly, dear humans!”
With that they picked it up double time, hurriedly stomping towards the source of the sound they had heard. It grew louder as they went, assuring them they were going the right way, until they finally came upon a locked door.
“Bloomie? Sweets? Scoots? Are y’all in there?”
Ryan waited for a moment as he noted the sobbing slow until…
“Big bro?”
“We found them, thank goodness!” Dark let out a sigh before trying to open the door. “Girls, we’ll get ya out of there somehow.”
“Don’t!”
“Why not, Scootie?”
“There was a really big monster, Dark. It was chasing us, but gave up when we locked ourselves in here. There aren’t any vents or anything they can use to get to us, so it’s safe here.”
“Be that as it may, children, we cannot rescue you if you do not come with us.”
“Lunes has a point, you three. Besides, we haven’t seen any sign of any monsters this whole time. It’s quiet, almost deathly so.”
“Ryan, better wording please.”
“Sorry, Partner. Regardless, come on out so we can get you out of this nightmare.”
“No way! You can’t hear it but we know it’s still out there.”
“Listen girls…” Dark’s eyes widened as a loud, piercing scream rang out from down the hall. “Oh shit…”
“It’s back!” Scootaloo whimpered, a noise on the other side of the door noting the three were huddling up away from the door.
Ryan cracked his neck, popping his helmet back into place before bringing his Plasma Cutter to the ready. Dark and Luna did the same as they watched and waited...and then it appeared down the hall: a hulking, massive, beastly necromorph that seemed somewhat different from the normal ones they were familiar with.
Waiting till it was closer, the three unloaded on it, severing its limbs and watching as if flopped to the ground.
“...that seemed way too easy.” Dark muttered, his unease flaring up at how quickly they’d taken down their foe.
“Maybe we’ve just gotten a lucky break for once?”
Of course, Ryan should’ve known better as the creature began to spasm and shake before it’s limbs began to regrow and it once more started making its way towards them.
“Oh fuck. Of course it’s the regenerating one. Ah bet that asshole scientist that made it is nearby as well.” Ryan grumbled, shooting off one of its legs to slow it down as the three began making their way forward. “Little sisters! Hang tight! We’ll be back for ya once we handle this bastard!”
“Okay, so obvious question: How did Isaac stop this thing exactly?” Dark fired off a stasis blast to slow it down while they turned a corner and dashed through a doorway before taking a levpad up with the others.
“It has been some time since I have played this particular series, but did he not freeze it? Or did he burn it up?”
“He did both, actually.” Ryan remarked, pulling up the hud on his suit to figure out where exactly they were. “Looks like we’re nearest the Executive Shuttle Hangar Bay, so burning this mofo it is. Not usually mah style, but if it worked for Isaac, it’s good enough for me.”
Hearing an ungodly roar, the trio looked at each other and nodded, taking off down the scaffolding and finally coming upon the shuttle itself.
“Perfect, now we just need to get it into position and blam! His ass is gonna be ash.” Dark nodded before having a thought. “So...who’s gonna lure it into position?”


“For the record, I have no one to blame but myself for this.” Dark sighed, glancing over to Luna and Ryan waiting by the controls to test fire the shuttle engines while he paced around the scaffolding to draw it out. “Okay, this is nothing for the great Darkness Shade. I’ve faced worst, after all. Now then, show yourself you son of a bitch!”
Hearing a smashing sound and then watching a vent go flying by, Dark balked as the massive necromorph jumped forth and roared at him.
“There you are, ugly! Come at me, bro!” Dark let loose with multiple shots, getting its attention and then booking it as fast as he could. The beast was more than angered by the annoying blasts and gave chase, intent of running our hero through with it’s claws. Dark wasn’t too keen on letting that happen, and dodged this way and that while getting off the shots needed to take care of it before giving it a blast of stasis to make sure it stayed in place.
“Ryan! Now!” Dark shouted, dashing out of the way while his brother flipped the switch and brought the engines online. The flames burned brightly as the creature was engulfed in them, a monstrous roar of pain emanating forth as it was slowly, but surely, reduced to nothingness in the white-hot flames.
Our heroes sighed in relief, having taken care of what was undoubtedly the cause of this nightmare, but did not notice a streak of inky black dissipating from where the creature once stood. Feeling as if the day/night/whatever was saved, they headed back to the CMC eager to get out of this dream and start getting some decent sleep.
“Despite all the terror, this wasn’t exactly unenjoyable.” Dark remarked. “Playing out a videogame for real is pretty neat.”
“Verily, my Darkness. Were it not for the threat on our lives, this could be seen as fun.” Luna chuckled softly. “I do wonder what that may say about us, however.”
“Eh.” Ryan shrugged. “It’s no more dangerous than half the stuff we’ve dealt with in the real world, so Ah think we’re okay. Now then, let’s get the little ones and head back to the normal dream state, Ah’m exhausted and we’ve got a full day of fun with them coming up tomorrow.”
With that the dream was saved, the three little fillies were overjoyed to be rescued, and they all returned with Princess Luna back to the collective dream world before heading off to their own respective mind doors. Watching the last of them leave, Luna gave pause as she glanced down the seemingly endless hallway, her eyes showing she was thinking of something.
“...something about that dream, that nightmare...I said nothing to the others so they would not worry, but I had the strangest sensation of familiarity in the air.” Luna frowned slightly, unsure as to what that feeling was or meant. “I can only hope it is nothing and not an omen…”


Ryan—and Dark by proxy—yawned as the sun slowly shone through the blinds. He went to move, but oddly felt warmth despite his herd being off in Manehattan. Opening his eyes, he wasn’t too surprised to see the forms of Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo curled around him.
“Well, given the dream we had, Ah guess it’s understandable they didn’t wanna sleep alone.” Ryan softly spoke before nudging them. “Okay little ones, time to wake up. We’ve got a fun day planned but we can’t start till we get ready and have some breakfast.”
“Can we have waffles, big bro?”
“Sure thing. Ah’m pretty sure we’ve got all the fixings for them so Ah’ll get to cooking while y’all wake up.”
Having done just that, the girls had made short work of the stack of waffles he’d created and were just about ready to head off for a day of fun and adventure with their big brothers.
‘Or two of them anyway.’ Dark chuckled as Ryan made sure they all had their bags on tight. ‘So any particular reason we’re teleporting so far away?’
“Well, we did want to check out a rockin’ arcade, and the west coast of Equestria apparently has some of the best.” Ryan turned to the three fillies. “Okay! Y’all ready to go?”
“You bet!” Scootaloo ran in place, a huge grin on her face. “I heard they might have some kind of really cool skateboarding game, so let’s hope the rumors are true.”
“You and your extreme sports love, haha. Okay. Hold tight. It’s gonna be a quick trip, but probably just a bit bumpy. Haven’t really tried this on mah own too many times.”
With that, Ryan held on to them tight as he focused on their destination and with a poof they were gone.


Several ponies were standing around a rather beautiful park, going about their day before feeling something was off. Without warning, Ryan and the others poofed into existence, scaring the daylights out of two of them that were far closer than was for comfort.
“Heh, oops.” Ryan laughed softly. “Sorry ta scare y’all like that. Guess Ah missed the teleportation zone by a few blocks. Y’all okay?”
The two ponies were still a bit too stunned to offer anything but a nod in reply. Ryan, sensing they should probably move on, sat the girls down before motioning to his right. Getting their bearings, they could see they were close to their main destination and so quickly made their way there before pausing at the massive neon sign they saw outside the building.
‘Oh hell yeah! They’ve got a wicked 80’s motif going on! This is going to be awesome!’
Pretty much agreeing with Dark’s assessment, they stepped in and observed the perfect gaming environment: black light lamps graced the ceiling, giving just enough illumination to make the games glow, neon designs in the carpeting popped brilliantly in such light, and a veritable treasure trove of games both new and retro were ripe for the playing.
“Little ones, Ah think we found heaven.”
Wasting no time in acquiring the cards used by this arcade, Ryan watched the girls run off to have some fun while he took the time to slowly look over the games until one in particular caught his eye. Stopping in front of it, his face twisted up in thought a bit as he seemed to recognize this one.
“...it certainly looks a lot like it, anyway.” He quietly mumbled to himself, placing his hands over the large buttons that were arranged four on top, five on bottom. “Name is different, no surprise there. Ah suppose if DDR has an analog here, it shouldn’t come as a surprise if the other rhythm games might as well. Well then, let’s see how Pone ‘N Music compares to its other-dimensional counterpart.”
Some time later…
“Woohoo! We got ourselves of mess of them non-tangible ticket thingies, girls!”
“I know, Applebloom! Big Bro is gonna be blown away with how well we played!”
Sweetie Belle nodded in agreement before looking around. “Speaking of, where is he? We kind of wandered off on our own and he never crossed paths with us again.”
Scootaloo waved a hoof before smirking. “This place is like heaven for big bro, he probably got caught up in some kinda gaming bliss and has been kicking all sorts of flank.”
“Maybe…” Applebloom tapped her hoof for a moment before seeing a crowd of ponies clumping together near one of the machines. “What in the world is going on there?”
“What’s going on? That tan, hornless, short minotaur dude is all but setting that game on fire.” A random pony replied, watching in awe as the sound of something slapping plastic was heard in rapid succession.
“Dude.” His friend replied before rolling his eyes. “I keep telling you he’s not a minotaur. He’s one of them...what’s the word? That species that’s all the way out there in the Ponyville/Canterlot area...man, not remembering that word is gonna bother me now…”
“Tan? Short? Hornless Minotaur? Ponyville?” The CMC questioned before a thought dawned. “Wait a minute.”
Pushing their way through the crowd, they heard the digital cheering sounds before finally seeing that—as they had deduced—said “minotaur” was actually their big brother. Scootaloo went to grab his attention before AppleBloom stopped him.
“Hold up. He still has his final stage to play, best not to interrupt him.” Bloom smirked. “‘Sides, Ah wanna see just what all the fuss is about.”
His hands flying about the buttons, Ryan selected a few options before finally deciding on a song to finish it on. Cracking his knuckles and grinning, Ryan smashed the Start button as his chosen stage loaded.
“Are you ready?” Asked a very cheerful set of voices before the show began. With that Ryan’s hands were a flurry of movement, the colorful buttons being hit in time to the music, laying out a beautiful piano rhythm. AppleBloom and her friends could only watch in surprise at how fluid his movements were and try to keep up with the speed of the notes. Really getting into it, Ryan’s body began bobbing and moving as he pounded the buttons with style all while maintaining a rather decent rhythm. Eventually he finally reached the end of the song and with one last flourish, cleared it cleanly.
“Ugh...man, slapping them Pop-kun’s hurts something fierce.” Ryan grunted, shaking his hands in an effort to get the blood flowing faster. “Heh, nice to see mah skills in that haven’t deteriorated too much since ending up here. Still, boggles mah mind how our world’s seem to have so many similarities...or maybe not given what Ah know. Now then, maybe we should…”
And that’s when he finally turned around to notice the rather large crowd he’d drawn, all staring at him in various different ways.
“Uhm...hi?” Ryan gave a small wave before laughing nervously. “Hmm...tough crowd. Oh! Did you guys want to play? Ah didn’t mean to hog the machine like that, Ah just was really getting into the rhythm, haha.”
“Are you for real, dude?”
Ryan looked at the pony asking said question oddly before nodding slowly. “Last time Ah checked Ah was real. Anyway, like Ah said, sorry for hogging the machine. Y’all can have yer turn now, Ah got to rest mah hands.”
“Uhm, big bro?”
“Oh! Hey! There you three are! Did ya have fun while Ah was distracted?”
“Mmmhmm! We sure did!” Scootaloo nodded furiously. “Got a lot of tickets too, but how did you get so good at that game?”
Parting the sea of ponies that still were staring at him, Ryan led the three towards the Redemption Room. “Short answer, it’s a rhythm game, and Ah’ve always had a knack for those. Longer answer, it’s actually similar to a game Ah played back home, mostly right after Ah moved out on mah own. Given all we’ve found out about how the worlds are connected, things like this really shouldn’t surprise me anymore, and yet somehow they do. Anyway, if y’all are done, let’s total them tickets and see what sweet prizes yer able to get!”
With a hearty ‘Huzzah!’ as a reply, the three fillies began looking around at all the various prizes available before finally choosing what they each wanted. With that they headed out, noting that it was actually almost dinner time.
“So, Ah probably know the answer, but what would you three like for dinner?”
His three little sisters looked at him before talking amongst themselves briefly. Having come to a conclusion, they grinned widely before saying one thing.
“PIZZA!”
“Heh, okay. That was easy enough, but…” Ryan looked around and frowned. “Not really sure where the nearest pizza joint would be. Hmm…”
Pausing a moment, Ryan walked up to a nearby mare to ask if she knew where the nearest pizzeria was.
“The nearest pizza place? Oh why that’s easy, dear. If you just…” She turned around and was slightly startled at seeing Ryan. “Oh my! Oh! How rude of me to act like that. I’ve just never seen someone like you before...though…”
“Hmmm?” Ryan seemed a bit puzzled. “Ma’am?”
The mare shook her head. “It’s nothing. Now then, you wanted to know where the nearest pizza place was. It’s not far, so if you’d like I could show you and your…”
“Little sisters.”
“Haha, of course. I could show you four if you’d like.”
“Well that’d be downright kind of ya, ma’am.”
“Oh! But first we need to wait for my daughter. She should be done any minute.”
‘Daughter? Wait...this mare looks oddly familiar for some reason.’
“Okay, mother, I’m finally done. They had to go to the back to find what we were looking for and...Ryan?”
“DT?”
“...you know this man? You know my daughter?”
“Of course I know Ryan. He’s from Ponyville. Oh, and you’re here with the others too. It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”
“Diamond! You’ve been gone for a while. Silver Spoon seemed so worried and she wouldn’t tell us where you went.” AppleBloom hesitated for a moment before hugging her. “What happened?”
“...some things. Mother, we haven’t had dinner yet so would it be okay if I invited them somewhere?”
“Well, I don’t see why not. As it turns out they were looking for a pizzeria, so how does that sound?”
“Sounds good! I know just which one to go to as well, so follow me!”
With that the group walked along to their destination, all while Dark began putting together the dots.
‘Huh. Guess that explains why she looked so familiar...but then...if she’s out here...why is she out here? What happened to her dad? Come to think of it, we haven’t heard from Mr. Rich in some time...not since that party...hmmm.’


“Okay! Got yer order in and we’ll get that out to youse super quick!”
As the waiter headed off, Ryan asked if they could finally explain DT’s absence.
“Oh my, where do I begin? Do you remember that fit that daddy threw back at that holiday party?”
“Oh yeah we do.” Ryan narrowed his eyes and sighed. “The one where he flipped out and then threw a chair at me.”
“Indeed.” Diamond sighed before continuing. “The princesses were quite thorough in making it clear his type of behavior was not tolerated. While they did not punish him with traditional methods, he certainly received punishment enough.”
“Uhm...what’s that supposed to mean?” Scootaloo scratched her head, trying to understand.
“What my daughter means is that her father was asked to, not officially step down, but to back out of the limelight with his business dealings for a time. No specific time frame was given, just that it was in the best interest of his company’s image if he took a “break” as it were.”
“I see. Can’t imagine he took that well?”
“You would be correct, AppleBloom. Daddy...was not thrilled. He blamed Ryan and was always so...angry. It’s like he wasn’t even himself. While Daddy could be a bit passionate at times and have that fiery attitude, it wasn’t like this.” Diamond looked up to see their pizza had been brought out before she stared at it. “It was like...he wasn’t himself. He just felt so angry, so...dark. I tried to stay to help but even I had to get out of there.”
“And so that’s when you left? Which is when we noticed ya weren’t there and Silver Spoon started to worry.”
“Sweetie is correct. I came out here to live with my mother who runs her own branch of Daddy’s business. I..must admit I did so secretly, so as to not let Daddy know where I had gone. That had the sad side effect of making my friends worry, it would seem.”
‘Hmmm…’
“What was that?!”
“It’s okay, mother, that would just be Darkness Shade. He’s a human from long ago that kinda lives in Ryan’s mind.”
“Oh, I see. Well I do remember hearing such things from my husband’s communications. Something about a bizarre creature with split personalities. Heh, never would have guessed he was talking about a human that was carrying two souls, haha.”
‘Sounds about right. But the way your father was acting, from what I gather he wasn’t always that way?’
“Yes...Dark, what are you getting at?”
‘Nothing too much, but I have this feeling we need to pay Filthy Rich a visit when we return home. Such a change like that seems...off.’
“Hmmm.” Diamond took a bite of her pizza and frowned. “If you feel it is worth looking into, I won’t stop you but please...do be careful.”
“Heh, it’s us. You know we’ll be careful.”
Diamond simply giggled at that before nodding. “How could I forget? Although, if you could help Daddy, it would be nice. Both for his sake, and so I can return home.”
“Haha, okay, okay. Enough heavy stuff! The pizza is getting cold, guys.” Ryan remarked, grabbing a still hot slice and taking a big bite. “Delicious!”


Having spent some more time with Diamond and her mother before finally mentioning they had to go, Ryan, Dark, and their little sisters teleported back home. While the CMC got ready for bed, Ryan and Dark began contemplating what to do about Filthy.
‘So...now that we’re back and in the know of what went down, you can sense it, right?’
“That vaguely, very low level, and clearly trying hard to hide itself creepy energy?”
‘Eyup. And guess where it’s coming from?’
“Ah feel like Ah needn’t need to guess. Interesting that it was able to hide so well until we became aware of what it was doing.”
‘...it?’
“Yes. Ah have this bad feeling Ah know what might be going on based on things we’ve found out recently. Ah truly hope Ah’m wrong, but if Ah’m not...we better be ready for quite the fight.”
With that said, the two headed to bed as well knowing full well that the next day might prove to be quite a challenge…
As the sun rose on this new day, Ryan and Dark were already up and focusing as they waited for their backup. Said backup gracefully teleported in with a matching pair of white and dark blue lights.
“Ladies. Thanks for showing up.”
“When you made mention that a past threat may have returned, and the way you alluded to this threat, we knew time was of the essence.” Celestia nodded, a determined look on her face. “Do you truly think it is...that?”
“It’s possible.” Dark appeared in his physical form before continuing. “From what Diamond told us and that weird low level magic we can sense, I am not certain we can leave it to chance. If it's not it precisely, some bad mojo has latched onto her father and, despite how he may have acted, we can’t just leave him to whatever it is.”
“Partner’s right, Ah might not have liked how he acted towards us, but we can’t rightly leave someone suffering to whatever we’re going to find.”
“And what of Twilight Sparkle and the others?”
“We filled them in as best we could once they got back. It seemed as if they had something to tell us as well, but once Ah mentioned what might be going down, they said they’d explain later. Kinda curious what happened on their trip, but they’re ready as backup. Without the Elements at their disposal, though, Ah’d rather they not be fully on the front line. They’ve discreetly evacuated the town, so if bad shit does go down, we can at least minimize any collateral damage.” Ryan frowned. “Ah’m getting so many cases of the willies right now, but we need to confront whatever is in that house.”
“Then let us be off, my little humans.”


“It looks normal enough.” Ryan remarked, looking over Filthy’s sizeable estate. “Typical mansion most super rich businessmen might have, but yet…”
“Yes. Now that we are closer, the sensation has increased in strength.”
Dark scrunched his face in thought before staring at the front door. “So do we just go in and see what’s up? Direct approach? Stealthy?”
Luna grimaced but shook her head. “I do not believe that stealth will be necessary. Regardless of how hard we might try to suppress our presence, being this close leaves me no doubt it knows we are on to it.”
“...but then why has it not tried to escape?”
“...I fear I may know why, Ryan.”
“Cellie?”
“...it wants a stronger host.”
“...oh. Oh. Well then, let’s not let that happen.”
“...Woona.”
“Heh, do not worry, my Darkness. I am not the same young mare I was all those years ago. The tricks that may come into play have no hold on me anymore.”
“Well then, what are we waiting for?” Dark led the charge, walking up to the door and kicking it open. “Honey! I’m home!”
The echoing noise of the door landing was all they heard in the incredibly bleak looking darkness inside the mansion. Even though the sun had risen and there should be some amount of light shining in, somehow the sun outside cast no light through the windows. This set off a few alarms in our heroes minds, as well as unsettled them slightly.
“Huh...well, willing to bet our thoughts are on target. That does not sit well with me.” Dark adopted a more ready stance, hand on his sword as he led the quartet slowly into the house. The darkness permeated every inch inside the house, and even Celestia’s spell casting forth from her horn only barely held it back. While this meant they could see a few feet in front of them, it also meant they could only see a few feet in front of them.
“...We’re getting closer.” Ryan whispered, motioning ahead and upstairs. “Methinks it’s hiding in the master bedroom, no doubt wanting to be all theatrical.”
“Seems about right from what we’ve been told.” Dark slowly led the way upwards, following the ever growing presence of malice to its source. “...”
The others knew without him saying anything, they had found the right room. With a nod, swords and horns were readied before Dark blew the door away and they stormed in.
“Vile creature! You shall relinquish your hold on the pony you inhabit and surrender yourself!” Luna bellowed at the form sitting across from them.
There was no response for a time, until a deep, sinister laugh began to emanate from the body of what definitely seemed to be a pony. Slowly, two eerie, glowing points appeared, no doubt the eyes of this possessed creature that bored into their very souls.
“Hahahah. Well well, so you finally found me out at last. Amusing. So much for being such grand heroes when someone like me could hide under your noses for so very long.” The creature clapped sarcastically. “If only this pathetic pony had been something more, I would not have had to bide my time in order to deceive one of you enough to take you as my own. But what fortuitous luck I must have, for you four have come to me. Mmmm, I see you’ve taken good care of that body for me, Luna.”
Luna cringed a bit, especially at what seemed to be the entity running its tongue over it’s lips in the dim light of the room. “My body is my own, foul beast, and you shall not be having it again.”
“Heh, how sad. I truly thought we did such fine work together. But if you won’t have me, I’m quite sure the other three will do just as well. In all my travels, I’ve never had a human before...it could prove to be quite...exciting.”
“...man, this thing is creepy as fuck in addition ta being evil.”
“From my viewpoint, you’re the evil one, but alas, that will simply make it more delightful when I eventually possess one of you.”
“Like hell you will!” Dark growled. “Yer reign of sorrow ends here. We won’t let you harm anyone else.”
“Oh really?” The creature grinned, sharp, shiny teeth reflecting in the light from Celestia’s horn. “And how might you do that? After all, as I hear, you don’t have those pretty gems to help you this time. And if you attack me too much, that poor, pathetic pony that is my host will die. After all, his strength is nothing compared to an Alicorn, and you know I’ll make him feel the pain if you try.”
“...is this thing bluffing, Woona?” Dark whispered, hoping it was just a ploy to slow them.
Woona grimaced before shaking her head. “No...I can attest to that all too well.”
“So it would seem we’ve got a bit of a standoff here...allow me to fix that.” With that the creature moved inhumanly fast, getting right up in their faces and causing them to slight recoil at the twisted, vile visage of a corrupted Filthy Rich. “How dare you bring light into my lair! Now you must die!”
Celestia gasped, throwing up a shield to block the darkness flung at her by this apparent Nightmare Rich creature. While not as strong as the attacks from long ago, it still packed quite a wallop.
Ryan roared as he charged the creature, hoping to land an attack to incapacitate it, but it simply faded into mist causing him to go right through, slamming into the wall. “Guh! Cheating asshole.”
“Now now, temper, human. Wouldn’t want to feed the flames, yes?” Nightmare Rich laughed a deep, evil laugh...and then groaned as Dark planted his foot into its back. “You insolent fool! A dirty, filthy monkey like you needs to learn your place.”
With that Dark felt something grab his legs—looking down revealed it was a purplish tendril of some kind—before he was knocked against the floor multiple times before being flung towards Luna.
“Darkness!” Luna caught him best she could, managing to hold her stance and keep them both upright. “You monster!”
“Oh my! Yes! There’s that passion, that anger, that unbridled rage that was just oh so...yummy. Come now, Luna, put aside all this nonsense of being “reformed” and your “true” self again and rejoin me.” The entity smirked before staring maliciously at the midnight alicorn. “After all, without me, you’ll always be runner up to your sister and that damn sun of hers.”
Luna stood there for a few moments until she began to laugh softly. “Oh how foolish you truly are. To think one such as you ever took over my body. It will be enjoyable finally stamping out your foul presence once and for all. Now then, have at you!”
With that she charged in, firing all sorts of magic blasts and delivering some serious kicks when she got in close, all of which left the Nightmareified Rich’s body looking a bit worse for wear. It coughed violently for a brief moment before smirking.
“And what exactly are you so pleased for? You are beaten and with the four of us here you shall not escape.”
“Oh, dear, sweet, gullible Woona. Who said that I was ever going to try and escape? If anything, my trap worked rather well and led you fools right where I wanted you.”
“What?” Ryan seemed puzzled before he felt something shake the house...and then suddenly they were no longer there but in a very dark, desolate looking void. “...what did you do?!”
“Why, I did what any good host would do: I invited you into my home. Now then.” With a quick flick of a hoof, our heroes found themselves held in place, a dark spell latched over the alicorns’ horns and humans hands. “First someone familiar, and then once I’ve ground down any resistance, I’ll finally get to see what human tastes like.”
Dark tried to break free, especially as the creature made its way towards his Woona. He growled and struggled with all his might, before roaring as he unleashed the full might of his Elemental Sync and busted free. “WOONA!”
As the entity dove out of Filthy Rich with the intent to possess Luna, it suddenly found Darkness in its path. Colliding with Dark, the human groaned as he felt it ooze and spread over his body, trying his best to fight its influence until…
“Well, guess I get to sate my taste buds early then. How predictable of him. Well then, foolish mortals, bow down and shiver in terror at the might of Nightmare Shade!!”
“We will never bow to such a horrid creature.” Celestia grunted, struggling against her bonds.
“Oh, we’ll see about that...after I break you in maybe you’ll do well as my servants. After all, every king needs a few fools to amuse him.”
“Sorry, that’s not in the plans, bro.”
“What?” Shade grunted, Ryan’s fist connecting and sending him flying across the vast nothingness.
With a quick swipe of his sword, Ryan banished the spell over Cellie and Lunes’ horns before glancing in the direction he’d knocked Dark’s possessed self. “Ladies, check on Mr.Rich and make sure he’s not too banged up.”
“What about you? Won’t you need our help?”
“Maybe. Probably...but something tells me that there’s more than that creature that wants to see Darkness and Ah finally have a true showdown.” Ryan seemed oddly serious, before smirking. “Besides, Ah know Dark is fighting on the inside to break free from that thing, and it seems pretty focused on the whole human aspect. That makes me a better distraction. Just find a way for us to get out of here once Ah do whatever Ah’m planning ta do.”
“Heh, the same for you, my little human.” Celestia let out a quick laugh before nodding. “Do take care.”
“Hey, it’s me. Don’t Ah always?”
And with that, he dashed off towards the direction he’d sent Darkness flying…


“I suppose it doesn’t do much to mention that was a cheap shot.”
“Sorry, Shade, but considering what you’ve done, Ah’m not keen on taking any chances with you.”
“Haha, well, well. Here we are, Mr.Ryder. You and I, face to face, and ready to fight in a battle that no doubt has been wanted.”
“...stop using his voice. You have no right to say that as him.”
“So touchy. But then again, that emotion of yours has always helped you, hasn’t it? We’ve been through so much, dear brother, that it’s only fitting I be the one to end this once and for all.”
To that Ryan said nothing, his eyes closed as he focused. In his mind, he could feel the moment building, and then he knew, it was time to end this.
“Don’t hold back, because I certainly won’t be!” Shade shouted, running at Ryan and throwing a punch. Ryan matched it with one of his own as the two traded blows over and over, each punch connecting with the other and neither really making any ground over the other. Soon kicks were added to it, and the two humans were like whirling tops with how they flew over the eerie black battleground.
“Grah!” Pulling out a very distorted form of Eclipsis, Shade sliced at Ryan who leapt back just in time.
“Sheesh. Any slower and more than mah shirt would’ve been thrashed. Ya wanna play that way, fine!” Ryan pulled out Malus Domestica before taking a stance. “Come on! Ah know ya can hear me in there, Dark! Fight that asshole! It’s yer body, not its!”
“Do shut up!”
Ryan gasped, holding back the attack as sparks flew. Their blades clashed over and over, lighting the battlefield and making impressive imagery in time with the music, each clash syncing perfectly as neither one showed any sign of backing down.
“Enough!” Ryan roared, flaring his Elemental Sync and going straight into his Mk.II form. “Come on, Darkness! You know this isn’t how it should be! You can’t let everything we’ve worked so hard for come apart because of some hellish abomination from beyond!”
“Such hurtful words!” Shade growled, matching Ryan’s form and smirking. “No matter how hard you try, you will not reach him. I’ve made sure of that.”


“So, how do you think that thing is able to latch on to people like it does?”
“...I’m not sure, Ryan. Perhaps it finds weakness or fear in a person’s heart. Some form of doubt that it can feed.”
“...So, their darkness?”
“Maybe, but as we’ve said before, light and dark are neither good nor evil. They only get that way from how people use it.”
“Hmmm...it seems kinda sad if ya think about it.”
“How so?”
“Well that thing only ever deals with negative emotions. It doesn’t know joy or happiness or...what it means to have friendship.”
Dark looked at his brother for a moment before laughing softly. “Only you would look at it in such a way. Not that it’s bad that yer like that. All that light in your heart...as long as you never lose that, I don’t think we’ll have to worry. Now come on, the girls are expecting us for dinner.”


“Dark…” Ryan paused, something about the void they were in triggering his memories. “I won’t ever give up on my friends! You hear me!”
Shade chuckled before grimacing. “What…? Impossible. Behave! This body is mine now! Now die!”
Barely blocking, Ryan felt himself skidding backwards at the weight of Shade’s attack. Gritting his teeth he roared and flared his magic, pushing back and kneeing his opponent in the gut. Seeing that this staggered him, he took the initiative and knocked his sword away before grabbing Shade and tossing him upwards.
“Hold on tight, Partner! This one is gonna hurt!” Ryan flew after him in a flash, grabbing on tight before spinning around and plummeting towards the ground. “Insane Kamikaze Attack! DARKNESS SHADEBOMB!”
With that a massive explosion echoed through the void, leaving a huge cloud of what appeared to be particles of darkness floating in the air. As it cleared, Ryan appeared to be rather well off and the being known as Shade was halfway buried in the midnight ground. Ryan panted, catching his breath as he stared at the nonmoving form of his body.


“Ryan, I know you want to believe in the best of everyone, but I know you know that with some we can’t. With them, we can’t hesitate to pull the trigger. Otherwise…”


In that moment, Ryan quickly teleported away, the spot he’d been occupying filled with razor sharp tendrils of darkness. Grimacing, he stood stoically as Shade launched himself free of the ground to glare at the human.
“Hahaha, should’ve seen that one coming. Impressive human, but you’re at yer limit.”
“Yer a fool if you think I’d ever give up. I won’t ever turn mah back on Darkness! There’s so much we’ve been through to just stand down! So much I still have to make happen! Ah’ve already almost got him his body back, and soon he’ll be able to have his life back! Ah promised him Ah’d make it happen and Ah won’t let some two-bit piece of shit like you steal that way from him again! RAWR!”
With an ungodly roar, Ryan’s Elemental Sync flared wildly, specks of white flickering in and out for the briefest of moments as he charged at Shade. Fists and kicks met once again, and, to its surprise, Nightmare Shade seemed to be...losing?
“How?! How is this possible?”
“Because I won’t give up on my friends! I don’t care who I have to face, even if it’s mah friends themselves…”


“If you return without my say-so, I will kill you. I will not put this world at risk just because you have some sensation that you have to protect me. So do you get that?! I. Will. Kill. You!”


Shaking off that memory, Ryan kept laying on the pressure, smacking away every attack sent his direction before he finally got in close and grabbed Shade by the throat. In that moment, his other hand charging a powerful blast of magic to end this, his mind wandered through his memories with Dark: from his first arrival here, to the Justice Blitz, to getting Dark his own body, and then to the last memory, their arms crossed in camaraderie. Just as he was about to unleash his attack, he quickly pointed away and fired it harmlessly to their side. “No!”
“Yes!” Shade grunted, breaking free of Ryan and unleashing a devastating punch to his gut. “Haha, so weak. Even when you had the shot, you couldn’t harm your dear brother.”
“Huff...nothing...nothing weak about that. Ah can still fight, so come on you asshole.” Ryan raised up Malus Domestica before running towards him. “Let’s end this!”
“My thoughts exactly!” Shade replied, running towards Ryan with Eclipsis drawn. The two came closer and closer until finally...KASWING!
Ryan and Shade’s forms stood still for a moment or two, until Ryan groaned and fell to the ground holding his right arm.
“In the end, you just couldn’t beat me, bro.” Shade slowly marched over towards Ryan, casually knocking aside the shots Celestia and Luna had fired at him. Hunching down over Ryan’s prone form, he smiled darkly. “So...any last words?”
“Yeah...just two.” Ryan lunged with his right arm, embedding his hand inside Shade’s chest. “Soul Separation!”


With that almighty yell, Ryan focused and struggled before finally pulling his hand free. Wrapped around said hand was a very strange, very inky black mass that seemed to pulsate as if alive. Quickly scooting back so as not to have Dark’s body fall on him, Ryan stood up and stared at the goop on his right hand and lower right arm before frowning.
“Okay, so mah plan worked to this point...now what?” Ryan shook his arm vigorously, but could not remove the goop from his body. “Well. This is unfortunate. This thing is pretty stubborn.”
“Ryan! We saw Darkness fall and thought to...what in the name of Faust is that on your arm!?”
“Uh...the true form of this thing, Lunes. And it’s pretty sticky. Kinda gross too…” Ryan’s eyes widened when he saw it start to creep up along his body. “Oh that’s bad….so bad...ew! Get off, get off, get off, get off!”
“Ryan…”
“No, stay back!” Ryan quickly summoned his sword to his side, splitting it into its three forms. “Bloom! Arbor Pomifera!”
“Ryan!”
“Cellie! This thing...it’s trying to do what it did to Dark to me...can’t let it hurt you guys...Malus Domestica….keep yer owner locked up...protect our friends…” Ryan groaned, frozen in place now as it began to cover the right half of his body. “...don’t...let...me...free….”
Ryan slowly came too, unsure as to just where he was exactly. Unlike the void where he and his friends had been whisked away by the entity they were fighting, this place was...bright. And warm.
“No grass, so this ain’t the afterlife. And yet, it feels so..familiar here. Like it’s connected to me.” Ryan looked around for any kind of landmark, but saw none around. “Well, this direction is good as any to head, so let’s get moving.”


“...it just seems to keep going.” Ryan slowed his running before crossing his arms and tapping his foot. “Could this...could this be inside mah soul/heart? Is that why it’s only me here?”
“Oh you dear, silly boy. You are far from alone here.”
Ryan gasped, barely jumping back and away from the mass of black that had struck at where he had been standing.
“Sheesh. That was too close. So...is that what you actually look like? Some super edgy, runny silly putty looking garbage heap?”
“Tsk, tsk...doing such things to me and then making fun of how I am not fully myself. Heh…”
Ryan grimaced as he felt the air change and watched as the goopy black being began to twist and writhe about until it began to take a more definitive shape. Humanoid, and...female?
“Damn, and she’s kinda cute ta boot.” Ryan grumbled. “Cute, but evil. Man, that sucks.”
“Haha, problem Mr. Ryder?” The now female being of darkness smirked. “Just be a good boy and come here, so that we can become one and show your pesky friends true despair. I can sense you want the power I can give you, all to help your little friend from another world. It’s so adorable, if a bit foolish.”
“...there’s nothing foolish about wanting to help a friend. And how do you know about that?”
“Easy. When I take over someone, I gain access to their memories. No matter how strong their mind is, it’s always the same inevitable outcome. I’ve lost count really, of how many people I’ve been inside by this point.”
“That’s disturbing.” Ryan shook his head. “Then if you know what you say you do, you know that Ah’d never accept an offer from someone like you.”
“Quite...however.” The shadowy female smirked, outstretching her hands and firing off a very goopy, inky black attack at Ryan. He groaned, trying to dodge it and failing, his body latched on tight by the strange tendrils.
“Oh yes, do struggle. That makes it more fun for me. Hee, after all you’ve fought against, all you’ve done to protect that family of yours, that you would be the one to end their lives and fulfill my desires. Oh my…” The creepy humanoid grinned, licking her lips and moaning slightly. “I haven’t been this excited in ages.”
“No...dammit…” Ryan struggled, feeling the darkness slowly overtaking him. “Dammit...Ah...won’t...give….up….”
Slowly Ryan’s body was covered up by the dark sludge, causing the dastardly villain to laugh maniacally.
“Well then...let’s go ahead and take this body for a test spin, shall w—what?”
Ryan’s covered body began to shake slightly, then more and more and more, until finally with an almighty explosion, the darkness was shattered by an intensely bright light.
“WHAT?!”
Ryan stood there, an intense white aura emanating from his entire being. It appeared as if he was in his Elemental Sync, but instead of ice it seemed as if the light itself was one with him.
“Rawr! This is mah body! This is mah soul! And Ah will never let someone as despicable as you hurt others with it! Now get out!”
Ryan took a step towards her, a shockwave firing forth that unbalanced the night time denizen.
“What? What is this light? How?! How can it be so strong?! No one’s heart is this bright!”
“Heh, Ah don’t get it mahself, but Ah think someone knew about this if Ah know mah time traveling goofballs. Now then, like Ah said. Get. Out. Of. My. Soul!” Ryan accentuated each word with another stomp towards the now scared entity. Raising his hand up he narrowed his eyes and unleashed a powerful blast of light right at her. “BEGONE THOT!”
“What? Impossible!!!!” The being was enveloped by the light before fading away.
Ryan blinked for a moment or two before turning towards you. “Hmm, Ah think Ah got a bit too caught up in the moment. Do...do you think Ah maybe went a bit too far with that one?”


Outside, the others had watched the shining walls of Malus Domestica rise up, enclosing Ryan’s motionless body that had almost been fully overtaken by the strange, goopy darkness of their foe. Celestia was at a loss, unsure what exactly to do to stop this thing from taking out another loved one. Meanwhile, Luna had helped heal Darkness and he was currently on his feet, though leaning against her side.
“Dammit, Ryan.” Dark growled slightly. “Why did you have to go and do something crazy like that?”
“...because he cares about us, my Darkness. You are his brother, and as you recall, I did the same back then to protect Tia.”
“Maybe, Woona, but still...hold on.” Dark paused, staring as Ryan’s body began to vibrate violently. “Tia! Something is about to happen! Get back!”
Eyes wide, Celestia flapped her wings and shifted back just as a bright light burst forth, disengaging Malus Domestica and blinding them momentarily. As the light settled, they saw a strange female humanoid that they quickly surmised was their foe given her dark aura, but as for the source of the light.
“...it cannot be.” Celestia quietly mumbled to herself. “...that light.”
“Rawr! You done goofed now, ya crazy chick!” Ryan roared, his light sparking ferociously as he stared down his foe. “You have no hope of winning this, so it’s time to finish ya and send you back to the nothingness that birthed you!”
“Guh…” The shadowy woman grabbed her shoulder and snarled. “You think some stupid light can stop me? I’ve been fighting the light and outwitting it for millenia, there’s no way I would fall to some young punk of a...BAH!”
Ryan had enough of her ranting and had instantly covered the distance between them, landing his elbow upside her head. The shadow recovered after rolling around on the ground and growled. “Hey! You aren’t supposed to hit a lady like that.”
“You’re right, you aren’t.” Ryan narrowed his eyes. “But you ain’t exactly a lady, “lady”. Now then, Ah think it’s time we all ended this forever. Cellie, Lunes, Dark! Ah know you can feel this light, too! She’s on the ropes, so now is our chance!”
The others nodded, sensing their ties of friendship with Ryan filling them with the same warmth he no doubt felt. As Ryan pummeled their foe into position, they took their spots behind him as they focused on their enemy.
“For all the countless beings you’ve no doubt harmed, all the lives you’ve ruined, and all the sadness you’ve brought about, you’ll finally feel the wrath of Justice at last.” Ryan held out his hands, gathering the light from not only himself but his friends as he began to glow insanely bright. “Feel the intensity of a light greater than a thousand suns and vanish from this world! FINAL SOLAR FLARE!!!!!!!!!”
With that roar from all four of them, the intense burst of light honed in on the shadow, engulfing it and slowly eating away at it.
“No! This can’t be!” She roared, trying in vain to escape this attack but failing.” No! My...nightmares...can never...be….stooooooped…”
As her last words faded on the breeze and the attack lifted, there was no sign of their foe left. In fact, it would seem that her destruction lifted them from the weird darkness they’d been trapped in and left them back in Filthy Rich’s house, his unconscious body crumpled where it had been discarded.
“...ugh…” Ryan fell to his knees, face twisting in pain as he finally returned to normal. “What...what the hell was that…?”
“I will explain later, my little human.” Celestia nuzzle his cheek, “But first we must attend to those less rugged than we.”
“Right…” Ryan used her to slowly get to his feet. “Ah’m okay...just...a bit tired. That was certainly new...but first, is Mr. Rich okay?”
Luna looked him over and smiled. “Yes. Though he was possessed for quite some time, it seems he is himself. We should get him to the hospital, however, as his body needs to recover from being inhabited. Unlike myself with my alicorn physiology, being an Earth pony means he is less able to just bounce back.”
“Heh, well, that and he didn’t get purified by the Elements like you did. Ah imagine those things probably helped heal whatever injuries that thing left when it possessed you.” Ryan carefully picked up Filthy’s limp body, grunting a bit. “Ah’m okay, Ah’m okay...he’s just heavier than he looks. Come on, let’s get him to Red Heart and the others.”


“Ryan!”
Ryan turned to see a young filly running towards him, her mother walking up behind her.
“Heh, hey DT.” Ryan crouched down to scoop her up in a hug. “Glad y’all finally got here.”
“Is it true…? Did you...did you manage to save daddy?”
“Ah told ya Ah would, didn’t Ah?” Ryan gave her head a pat before setting her down. “That thing had a tight hold on him, but we wouldn’t let it win. He should wake up soon, thanks to Luna’s experience with that thing aiding Redheart and the others in their treatments.”
“Thank you again, young man, for risking your lives to save my husband.”
“Oh come on, yer gonna make me blush.” Ryan chuckled, rubbing the back of his head and doing just that. “Besides, being the hero is kinda our thing, ya know? Always up for helping out others.”
As it was, Redheart had come to let them know they could see him now. Filthy was still not awake when they entered, which did make both his wife and daughter frown, but they didn’t let it dishearten them.
“He looks to be okay. No doubt your doing as to free him without hurting him.”
“Well, ma’am, it was tricky, and a bit risky, but somehow we pulled it off. Given how that thing works, Luna said he may or may not remember what happened while possessed. They only know how it affected an alicorn being possessed, so a normal pony is unknown territory.”
“I see...well, let us hope that whatever happens, his mind hasn’t been harmed.”
With that they sat, until two hours later they heard a rasping groan and saw Filthy trying to sit up.
“Daddy!” DT leapt out of Ryan’s lap and ran over to his bed. “You’re awake!”
“...Princess?” Filthy croaked out, his throat dry. “Water?”
“Right here, dear.”
“...Spoiled? What are you…” Filthy took a drink before his memories finally caught up with him. “...oh my. Some very bad things happened, didn’t they?”
“Well, Mr. Rich, they could have...but the Princesses and mahself, along with Dark, made sure they didn’t.”
“...Mr.Ryder...heh, given how I treated you in the past, I’m surprised you’d come to my rescue, let alone be there for my family.”
“Heh, well, Ah’m not one to leave someone to stay possessed by an ancient evil of pure darkness...even if said person took exception to what Ah am.”
“Hmm…” Filthy wasn’t sure what to say to that. He looked at the covers for a moment before glancing up at Ryan. “That thing had quite a hold on me for some time...not too long after you had appeared in our town, I had gone on a business trip overseas. During that time, I had gotten lost on my way back to the hotel and ended up in a strange alleyway. It’s very fuzzy, the details that is, but something whispered to me from that alley. I tried to fight it, but whatever it was wouldn’t take no for an answer.”
“Ah see...so those comments, and then the winter party last year…”
“Yes...it was my negative emotions and knowledge being used by...that thing.” Filthy seemed ashamed, looking away from him at that point. “Though it did those things with my body, those thoughts had to come from somewhere for it to act on them. It would appear that my own fear of a human showing up left me vulnerable to being tainted by that darkness.”
“It would seem that way.”
“Ryan…” DT quietly stated, frowning slightly.
“But, it’s not like you were probably the only one with those thoughts. While not the majority feeling during my initial arrival here, Ah’m fairly certain you weren’t the only one either confused, scared, or both at who and what Ah was. That’s the thing with what we were dealing with, it takes any little weakness, any little darkness in our hearts, and uses that against you. It uses it to take over you and make you it’s puppet.” Ryan flashed him a grin. “So with that said, there ain’t any hard feelings towards ya, since you seemed to suffer enough watching as that thing did what it wanted with your body.”
“Haha, I don’t really deserve your forgiveness, but thank you. My business partners on the other hoof, they might not be as forgiving.”
“Yeah, see, Ah thought about that after we brought ya here and might know something we can do to fix that. Once yer healthy, we can talk about that.”
“...heh, very well, Mr.Ryder.”
“Come on, just call me Ryan like everyone else does.”
“As you wish, Ryan. So, with that, could you ring the nurse and see about getting me some food? After all that, I’d really like to enjoy a nice...lunch?”
“Yes, dear, it is still around lunch time.”
“Good. I’d like to enjoy a nice lunch with my family again.”
“Ah’ll go flag down Redheart. She’ll wanna give you the once over anyway, now that yer up.”


“So y’all had quite the time in Manehattan as well, did ya?”
“Indeed, darling. Even though everything worked out, I still do feel quite dreadful over letting myself become so obsessed.”
‘Eh, we all have our moments like that, Rares. As long as y’all made up, then I don’t see any need to keep beating yourself up over it.’
“You are quite right, Darkness. Despite your antics, it does seem like you’re capable of having sound thoughts every once and awhile.”
Dark nodded in Ryan’s mental scape. ‘Exactly. See, I...hey, wait a minute!’
Rarity couldn’t help a giggle escape as Dark caught on to her teasing words. “Oh relax, Darkness. A lady can be allowed to be mischievous from time to time, can’t she?”
Dark grumbled for a moment before smirking. ‘Yer lucky you’re so darn cute, and handy with thread.’
“Sorry ta break up the flirting you two, but didn’t ya say something about a thread Miss...Pommel gave you?”
“Oh yes!” Rarity reached into her bag and pulled it out. “With the quick manner in which we had to assist as soon as we got back, I hadn’t even unpacked it yet. Isn’t it beautiful?”
Ryan looked it over and had to admit it was quite unlike anything he’d seen before. “Hmm...curious.”
“What is, darling?”
Ryan shook his head before handing it back to her. “Nothing, mah marshmallow. Ah thought Ah saw something for the briefest of moments, but Ah must still be worn out after our fight.”
“Well then, Rysy-Wysy, it sounds like you could use a little more R&R with your herd. And I’m the pony to make that happen.”
Ryan didn’t even bother trying to fight against Pinkie grabbing him and dragging him off into another room of their house. “Well, Pinks, if anyone knows how to make the stress disappear, it’s you.”
“Quite! Now then, you get on that bed and let us snuggle all that awful stress right out of ya!”
‘Ho, ho. I like a mare that can take charge!’
“Ugh, must you, Dark?” Ryan rolled his eyes before flopping onto the bed...and then getting buried in pleasant pony warmth. “...”
‘...Ryan?’
‘Ah’m just thinking about some things, Partner. Like is that thing truly gone? We didn’t see any sign of it left, but…’
‘Yeah, I know. We can only hope it is, and just keep vigilant for any signs if it isn’t.’ Dark paused a moment, smirking as Rainbow nuzzled her head into Ryan’s palm. ‘You’re also wondering about that strange form you took, I take it?’
‘Bingo.’ Ryan scratched AppleJack’s belly and laughed softly at the silly face she made. ‘Cellie seemed to recognize it, but Ah never got a chance to ask her. Ah also have a feeling yer mentor may have an idea, hell, maybe this is what Deej hinted at when he used to make remarks about the light in mah heart. Ah can’t seem to sense it anymore, not really, but hopefully that’s not a problem.’
‘Hopefully, since I can only deduce that it came about in reaction to that thing trying to possess you.’ Dark frowned before shrugging. ‘Man, and with all this that went on we never even got to tell Cordy the news we found out.’
‘Yeah…’ Ryan closed his eyes, the warmth from his beloved mares beginning to make him drowsy. ‘If those leads are right...then we know what our next mission is. Ah can only hope that finding them will lead us to her.’
‘Won’t know till we try, Ry. But hey, rest up for now. Between that and helping Twi with that new magitech she’s been working on, we’ll have our hands busy.’
‘Don’t Ah know it…’ Ryan yawned before getting settled in. ‘Goodnight, Dark.’
‘Goodnight, Ryan.’
And with that, our heroes got a well earned rest, wondering what twists life would throw at them next.


‘A concert?’
“Yeah, apparently they’re having a pleasant little symphony in Canterlot and Octavia had these tickets sent so we could unwind after all that nasty business with saving Mr. Rich from that damnable shadow thing.” Ryan frowned. “Ah’m still worried it survived somehow.”
‘You literally used the light from our hearts as an energy bomb, Ry. I’m pretty confident it got obliterated. Now stop fretting on that and focus on what kinda outfit we’re gonna have our Rara make for us to look oh so stylish at the concert in a few days.’
“Ah suppose yer right…” Ryan knocked on the door to the boutique before walking in. “Hey hon, got yer message about meeting you here and...Rare-bear?”
His confused tone was at how there was a handful of new dresses already made, and one very curious outfit behind them that, were he not mistaken, seemed to be staring at him.
“...odd. Hey! Mah marshmallow! Where ya at?”
“Oh darling! I’ve told you not to say that nickname too loud!” Rarity sighed as she came downstairs. “Sorry, hon, but I simply had to wash up after finishing those outfits.”
“Ah can imagine so, since it looks like you’ve been busy. Did you even sleep last night?” Ryan glanced at the dresses, but that one outfit—that upon further observation seemed to resemble the outfit of a schoolgirl from Japan but in black with red accents—kept grabbing his attention.
“So, uhm, Rares, what’s with this one in the back here?”
“Oh! That one! Well, the other night, the one after we all snuggled the stress out of you, I was observing the sky after working late on some dresses. I was about to lock up and head home when I saw something shining in the sky. It was glowing the most unusual color and kept getting closer.” Rarity walked over to the outfit and adjusted a few things to make it look better on the mannequin. “It landed in the park, but oddly made no sound when it hit the ground. Seeing as no one was around, I wen to check it out. Curiosity had the strangest pull on me that night, and when I finally found the impact zone there was just a few strands of the strangest material. It was threads of string unlike any I had seen, sparkling red in the moonlight and brimming with...something. I couldn’t quite deduce what, but I soon found myself almost possessed by an idea of how to use this thread.”
“Hence the outfit Ah see here.” Ryan glanced over the outfit again, especially noting that it seemed like the designs in the shoulders resembled eyes. “...Rares, is this outfit alive?”
“Living clothing? Haha, you dear man, that’s quite the imaginative idea.” Rarity paused, tapping her chin. “A novel idea, but I feel that magical, animated clothing might be problematic for some reason. Although…”
‘Although?’
“Although, it is an unusual design, is it not? I’ve never seen such a type of outfit, and yet I knew exactly how to mold those threads into it. Very strange…” Rarity paused a moment before clapping her forehooves together. “But enough about that, if you follow me, I must take some new measurements so that we can make a fine suit for our concert date.”
With that Rarity walked off, leaving Ryan to continue staring at the yellow eye-like designs on the shoulders. Seconds ticked by, and both human and human spirit alike knew something was off with this outfit...especially since it seemed like it started to sweat nervously, somehow.
Ryan gave a sigh and then smiled. “Look, Ah’m not sure what’s going on here, but you do look kinda familiar for some reason. Whatever is going on here with you, as long as ya ain’t out to cause trouble, then you’ve nothing to worry about.”
Giving the outfit a pat on the back, he grinned. “And treat Rares right. She’s a heck of a seamstress and any clothing in her hooves is sure to get the star treatment. Ain’t sure if you got a name, but Ah’m Ryan and…”
‘The lovely voice you’re hearing now belongs to Darkness Shade. I’m human too, but don’t have a permanent physical body. Hence my occupying Ryan’s mind.’
The two didn’t hear any reply, but they felt as if they weren’t just crazy and talking to a plain outfit. Almost like something subconscious told them that the message had been received.
“Oh darling! It’s not proper to leave a lady waiting~”
“Coming, Rarebear!” With that Ryan gave a wave, leaving the outfit to just continue resting on the mannequin, but with something new to think about.


“Hmmm, what a pleasant night it is. The weather is getting to my preferred temperatures, Ah’ve got mah lovely ladies all decked out in beautiful dresses, and we’re all to enjoy a pleasant respite courtesy of dear Tavi.” Ryan’s grin was beaming at this point. “Heck yeah this is gonna be a great night!”
‘Canterlot always did look even more charming this time of year, the snow gently coating the city and making it shine in the moonlight.’ Dark chuckled softly to himself. ‘Reminds me of good times.’
“Darky-Warky, I know you’ve got all those old memories, but don’t forget about the new memories with us, okay?”
‘Haha, I don’t think I could if I tried, Ponk. So, do you think there’s anything special about this concert? Tavi did seem pretty insistent on us coming to this specific performance.’
“Oh Darkness, why must there be some ulterior motive? She is a friend, after all, and she no doubt would have heard about the troubles we’ve been facing and therefore would want to do something to help us relax.”
Ryan smirked. “Gee, Ah wonder where Ah heard that before, Partner?”
Dark narrowed his eyes before rolling them. ‘Yeah, yeah...just keep moving so we aren’t late.’
A short while later, the group had made it to the concert hall, entered, had a brief chat with Octavia as well as Vinyl before making their way to their box seats.
“What a nice view. You can see the whole orchestra from here.”
“Ya sure can, Flutters. It’s been some time since Ah went to this kind of concert, but it will be nice to hear some more classical sounds for a change.” Ryan closed his eyes, taking in the sounds of the orchestra warming up along with the background chatter of all the ponies in the audience. “It’s quite calming…”
Not long after that, the concert began, with the ponies of the orchestra playing a very catchy, speedy piece that set the mood well before moving into more relaxed, almost moody pieces. Some songs Ryan recognized as twists on the more classical pieces that had followed him to this world, while others felt familiar but he was rather certain they were Equestrian in origin. Before they knew it, almost two hours—with an intermission, of course— had passed and they had just finished their current song before a round of applause. It was then that the conductor gave a wave and made way for...Octavia?!
“Now, as a special treat for those of you here, I wish to conduct a special piece that was written specifically for this concert. The song you are about to hear was a challenge to adapt to the more classical format I am well versed in, but considering its origins I felt it was well worth the attempt.” Tavi shifted to look up towards Ryan and his herd. “And to our special guest, I can only hope that I have done Amuro justice.”
Rainbow seemed rather puzzled by that, watching as Octavia took her place at the podium, glancing over the orchestra...and smirking as she waited for Vinyl to give her the okay from her location in the back.
“Rys, who or what is Amuro?”
“Amuro?” Ryan scrunched his face in thought. “Well, Ah know of Amuro from the Gundam series, but Ah highly doubt she means that. That said, the only other Amuro Ah can think of is—!”
The performance’s opening caused Ryan to jump slightly in shock, the song sounding incredibly familiar for many reasons.
“It...it can’t be…” But as the music began to rise, he knew it was. “It’s…Double Ace.”
“What’s AA?” Pinkie asked, noting the strange look in her human’s eyes.
“It’s a song from another game in that same series as the one Ah said was like Hoof Hoof Revolution. Beatmania IIDX. It’s a song from so long ago that has a very strong meaning to me. A memory of an old friend from a bygone time. The one that got me into the game in the first place. And the struggle we both had to conquer it’s challenge.” Ryan smiled as the music really kicked in, the bits of piano and Vinyl’s contribution to the song meshing well. And when the horns added their melody as well, he could feel the memories rushing back to him.
“It was a long time ago, somewhere around the year 2006 in my world. IIDX had a resurgence in popularity, so home versions were being released once more. And with that, the 11th version was released, IIDX RED. My friend and Ah were so excited when it came out, as it was the first of the new generation of Beatmania to come to home systems. And this song, AA, was such a monumental challenge. It was one of the hardest songs yet, but the melody of it, and sublime arrangement of the notes drove us to push on towards clearing it. And so we pushed to the limit, our hands aching, knuckles swelling, until finally one day we did it. That day, at his house, when we finally achieved that glowing clear indicator on this song...it’s always stuck with me, and always comes to mind when this song plays.” Ryan sighed, a sad smile on his face. “It wasn’t too long after that something happened, and we no longer were friends. Sometimes Ah wonder what he’s up to, and if things could’ve gone differently, but Ah then realize that kind of thinking doesn’t do any good.”
As the song’s tone shifted, Ryan couldn’t help but laugh sadly. “Funny enough, not a few years down the road, DDR got this song as well. While tough, it wasn’t the same challenge, and it always served as a reminder of what Ah no longer had. But, when Ah had a need for a friend during those years, Ah had him. And those memories of what we did, despite causing me aches, will always be treasured no matter what.”
Ryan focused on the performance and grinned. “So now, Tavi, show me a finale worthy of DJ AMURO.”
As the tempo began to build more and more, Ryan watched in silence with his herd, but they could tell his mind was racing as fast as the song was. His eyes gave it away, the far off look they took and how they began to shine as a dampness formed from said memories.
Memory after memory sprang forth from his mind, the song triggering flashes of them faster than he could think: countless days of DDR, of clearing this song to their trips for music games, the in-jokes, shenanigans, and then—sadly—as the music reached its final peak, that cold winter night when their friendship was no more.
“Bemani, and the Goober Union forever, old friend…” Ryan choked out, tears finally flowing as his emotions became too hard to keep under control anymore. His herd looked on, unsure of what action was best to do, when he stood up and began applauding loudly, giving a cheer at such an amazing rendition of AA. Soon, all those there joined in as well, the thundering applause drowned out Ryan’s initial approval, but from the way she was bowing, he could tell Tavi knew she’d done well.


Later, Ryan and his herd headed backstage to meet up with Octavia and Vinyl.
“So, Ryan, I don’t feel like I need to ask, but did you enjoy my rendition of that song?”
Ryan laughed softly. “You have no idea, Tavi. DJ Amuro would certainly have approved. It easily brought up some old memories that had been buried for some time. They almost feel like a lifetime ago with all that’s happened.”
“See? What did I tell ya, Tavi-baby?” Vinyl smirked before throwing a foreleg around her. “You were worried about keeping the more modern touch mixed in with the classical feel, but the original was all about that. We just gave it our special touch of style.”
Octavia sighed and shook her head, smirking at her marefriend. “I suppose for once, you were right.”
“Hey!”
“Haha, I do hope you all enjoyed tonight. From what I’ve heard you certainly seemed to need it.”
“Yeah, that whole situation was pretty bonkers.” Ryan sighed, looking at his hands. “Still not sure what the heck happened to me, but at least it all turned out alright in the end.”
“Well, no need to worry about that party ponies...uh, and human. It’s almost the sweetness that is Hearth’s Warming, so let’s get ready for that holiday fun!”
‘...Pon3? Have you been drinking?’
“...maybe just one shot of Spectrum. Come on! We rocked that song so why can’t I celebrate?”
‘Fair enough. Had I known you wanted to party some, I’d have brought some of the true Rainbow Party Brew.’
“...what?” Vinyl lowered her shades. “What are you talking about?”
“Oh yeah, you weren’t really there, were you? When we had that whole thing with Deej...the first time, when he came here.” Ryan smiled initially as he thought of his interdimensional friend, but the smile faltered as thoughts of their last meeting came to the forefront. “Turns out Lunes had a bottle of the original version of that and boy, it had been aging for a long time. Next time yer free, we’ll have a real nice get together and see what you think of it.”
“Sounds like a plan, number one human.” Vinyl smirked before nodding. “However, if you’ll excuse us, Tavi and I are ready for some rest but hey, we’ll definitely make sure to meet up before Hearth’s Warming.”


Celestia awoke only to find, with some amusement, that she was once again part of what a certain human always referred to as a “cuddle puddle” after he and his herd had come to spend the night after “partaking in some culture”—his words, not hers. Although, something seemed amiss in the dim light. She could hear the wind quietly whistling outside, no doubt part of the very light snowfall that had continued on through the evening, but a quick headcount showed that someone important was missing.
‘...where has our little human gotten off to?’ she wondered, noting his absence. Closing her eyes, she tried to feel where he might be and felt what seemed like his magical signature...outside? Carefully extracting herself from the others—and cursing how difficult that had been no thanks to the small, small, very small, nigh infinitesimal amount of weight she’d put on from extra holiday cake indulgence—the Princess of the Sun began walking towards wherever Ryan had gone. She soon found herself exiting into the gardens and then paused as she saw him there, sitting and looking up at the moon as the snow slowly fell around and on him.
‘At least he had the good sense to put some warm clothing on before he came out here to think.’ Celestia laughed softly to herself. ‘But what has him out here so late anyway?’
Shrugging, she figured that he wouldn’t mind some company and so walked over towards him.
“Well, well, and what might you be doing up at this hour, Cellie?”
Celestia sat down next to him and smirked. “I could say the same to you, my little human.”
“...fair enough.” Ryan glanced at her slightly before looking back at the moon. “...thinking.”
“Hmmm?”
“Ah’m just thinking about stuff...though it was beautifully done and Ah’m very grateful for it, the song that Tavi conducted at the concert tonight dredged up more memories from the past than Ah originally thought.” Ryan heaved a quiet sigh. “Add in it being almost Christmas...sorry, Hearth’s Warming Eve again, and well Ah lost the battle to mah thoughts pretty fast, haha.”
Unfolding a wing and wrapping it around him, Celestia smiled before nodding. “I can understand, Ryan. After all, I’ve had over a thousand years to collect those kinds of thoughts...but I’ve also had a thousand years to learn how to fight them...let’s say more efficiently.”
“Ah can’t even imagine having that many years to gather memories, haha. My thirty something has already had so many, and this last year and a half alone was packed full of them.” Ryan leaned against Celestia, closing his eyes. “Ah guess the most surprising thing was how it still hurt so much even after so many years.”
“No matter how much time passes, Ryan, the heart never forgets. It only dulls the pain, but that pain is important. Because it shows just how important the memory and those connected to it are.” Celestia nuzzled his head. “Of course, that doesn’t make it suck any less.”
Ryan snickered before breaking into full laughter. Catching his breath he sighed before smiling. “Ah think that’s the first time Ah’ve ever heard you say that word. It just sounds so...naughty for a princess to say something like the word ‘suck’.”
‘...is that my cue?’ Dark snickered. ‘Sorry to intrude, but I woke up at just the right moment and couldn’t resist, Partner.’
“You would make such a remark, Darkness.” Celestia shook her head and smiled. “Some things never change. Now come on, it’s late. We should get back to bed.”
“Right, right...after all, tomorrow’s a brand new day and who knows what it will bring.”