Fiend Shifter

by Xinrick


Chapter 6

“Alright so uh…” I started. “I’m still panicking...what the fuck was with that minotaur?”

"So he just… killed himself in front of you?" Tommy asked.

Today was my day off and Tommy didn't have school just yet so we were spending time together. We were in the park, sitting on a bench drinking some lemonade I bought.

“Yes, he did...and he sounded like I was some savior while doing it.” I said worriedly.

"So, your basic crazy cultist? Well, alright, maybe not so basic. Still crazy though."

“Beyond crazy…” I said worriedly. “And what’s worse is that...I absorbed his soul, his Pyreflies...this world doesn’t have Pyreflies from what I’ve read up so...how the heck does that work?”

"Don't ask me, you're the soul eater here."

“So how has your time been here while I was gone?” I asked, wanting to try and get my mind off of that...horrifying thing.

"Eh. School isn't that bad, most everything they teach is at least more practical than school back home."

"That's good." I nodded. "Glad it's going well for ya."

"There is this one brat. Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon her little lackey. Do me a favor, if the school gets attacked, don't save them."

"Why is that?" I asked innocently, having actually met those two's parents a month back as part of Pinkie's overdo 'welcome to ponyville' party.

"Tiara is a bitch, Silver just does whatever Tiara says, no brain of her own." Tommy sighed. "Guess even in a world like this there's always the rotten bunch."

“I would give those two a chance honestly.” I said honestly. “Look past the pretty rich girl crap...I haven’t met the kids and I’ve only briefly met the parents...Diamond’s mother is terrible, and I only met her for like….twenty minutes in a party?”

"So she's basically as bad as her mom then?*

“Oh god no.” I said honestly. “Diamond is a petty bully, her mother is an abusive bitch that probably does worse things to her...sadly…”

"Eh. I'll believe it when I see it."

“I’m sure you’ll figure it out sooner or later.” I shrugged. “Anything else happening?”

"No, not really. It's pretty normal all things considered. Though the fact they still do recess at this age is kinda weird."

“Gotta have some fun in between all the boring work right?” I shrugged.

"I guess, still. So, you're dating a crossdresser then?"

I blushed brightly. “Oi, I never said that, and I never said they were a crossdresser...please keep it a massive secret please.”

"Maybe if you didn't mutter it in your sleep I wouldn't know about it." Tommy shrugged as they drank their lemonade.

“Crap…” I muttered. “Please don’t tell anyone...I don’t want Gilda in any worse situations please...he’s been through a lot.”

"I know, you talk a lot in your sleep. Relax, I haven't told anyone. So, how are you gonna help them?"

“However I can…” I sighed out. “My first chance is to get Gilda to talk to Dash about this crap…”

"How?"

“Today is an off day for me, Gilda and Dash, so I’ll help her get to Dash so they can finally talk it out, stopping anyone from getting in the way."

"Good luck with that then." Tommy said as he finished his lemonade and checked his watch. "I gotta get to school. Good luck with your day." Tommy ran off and I headed for Gilda's place.

“Hopefully this won’t be a nightmare…” I muttered to myself, getting closer to Gilda’s place and already trying to think of how to get Gilda to Dash.

I knocked on their door, Gilda opening it up. "Hey." They said with a wave.

“How are you doing Gilda?” I asked politely.

"Making breakfast, want some? I got bacon and egg cheese stuffed omelets."

I actually drooled a little hearing the sweet words of bacon and eggs. “Uh...yes please.”

"Heh, come in." Gilda said. The scent of bacon, eggs and cheese filled my nose instantly as Gilda quickly finished one omelet and began making another. "So, how's your morning?"

“Oh you know...panicking still about what happened back in that prison with the minotaur…”

"I heard. That's fucking nuts."

“I have no idea why that happened...I don’t know why he did that...and it’s still very worrying.” I said nervously.

"It does raise a question though… can you shift into a Minotaur now?"

“Oh god why did you have to say that…” I muttered to myself. “But...maybe? I haven’t tried and I’m honestly worried about doing it…”

"Well, are you expecting something different from shifting into a Minotaur over actual monsters?"

“I don’t know...it’s literally the first person’s soul I absorbed and...it’s worrying that it could happen to begin with.”

"Well… can't know for sure if it's bad or not unless you try."

“Yeah...I’m gonna have to try sooner or later…” I sighed out. “But after food, the smell of eggs and bacon is distracting me too much.”

"Heh, sure thing omnivore." 

I had to admit, Gilda was a good cook. Sadly the meal didn't last and I was now to stave that test off. I am gonna try and get Gilda and Dash talking.

“And how do you plan on doing that?” Gilda asked as we walked through town. “Dash doesn’t even talk to me in training, you can forget in public.”

“Then it won’t be in public if you want. And we just need enough time for you to just tell her what you need. Besides, she’ll trust me when I say ‘it’s really important’ right?”

“You don’t know how stubborn she can be, do you?” Gilda asked with a raised brow. “Trust me, if Dash doesn’t wanna deal with something she bolts, and if you chase her she will fight you. But… I might know some pony’s who can help keep her still. I trust them about as much as you or Dash so worth a shot.”

“Alright, so time to start looking for those people to tie her down...that came out wrong.” I said nervously.

“Heh, yeah but we’ll have to fly over to them.” Gilda said, pointing a talon up to the sky and I looked at where we had to go. Cloudsdale. “She might not listen to me, but she will listen to her parents.”

“Oh boy, if they don’t stop her, nothing will.” I chuckled. “So what are her parents like before I meet them?”

“Hmm… Imagine the hyperactive overkill of Pinkie Pie with Fluttershy’s caring and loving personality. They idolize Rainbow, probably a little unhealthily but I didn’t even have caring parents so I can’t make comparisons on what is a healthy degree or not.”

“Oh boy, this is gonna be interesting.” I chuckled. “But uh...how the hell am I going to walk on clouds?”

“With this.” Gilda said, dropping a small gold and silver ring into my hand with a shining blue gemstone in it. “Enchanted ring with a cloud walking spell. Mimics Griffon, Pegasi, any race that can walk on clouds this ring mimics the passive magic for non winged races. Took it from the supply at work a few days ago.”

“Thank you.” I nodded while putting on the ring. “Looks fancy.”

“That’s Equestrian design for ya. Always fancy. Come on, shift into something that can fly and let’s get going.” Gilda said, opening their wings wide and taking a jump and flap up as they were now airborne and gaining speed and height.

I shifted into an Evil Eye and followed after Gilda quickly.

The fly to Cloudsdale was short and quick, the two of us arriving at the cloud city a short walk from the residential district. I noticed that the cloud walking spell was really cool, but I was quite disappointed to feel the clouds felt like normal dirt under my feet.

“I expected clouds to feel soft and fluffy...not like dirt.” I pouted.

Gilda snorted. "Every earth bound race does. It's a common misconception. These clouds are built into a city, so they are denser. Ones for houses and such are sturdy like wood."

"I still wanted to feel the fluffiness of clouds though…" I pouted.

We headed up to a fair sized, two story cloud house where I saw an older, well built stallion with a coat shade a bit darker than Rainbow Dash's and a mane that was spot on. "Hey there Bow." Gilda said to the stallion with a wave.

The stallion looked over at Gilda, and smiled. "Gilda! It's been forever, how ya been?" He is a very… loud stallion.

"I actually need to talk with you and Windy about something. Privately."

"Oh sure! Who's your friend?"

"This is Anna." Gilda said, introducing me to Dash's dad.

“Hello, I’m a friend of your daughter… kinda.” I said sheepishly. “I’m the one that shapeshifts if Rainbow said anything about me to you.”

"Shapeshifter? Nope, Dashie never mentioned you, then again she doesn't visit or talk much to us these days. Though I saw you on the news."

“The news?” I asked curiously. “And also that’s a little weird, why wouldn’t she keep in contact with her parents?”

"Oh yeah, you Guardians of Equis have been making regular rounds on TV, Radio, Newspapers. And yeah, but we don't ask, we just figure Dashie wants privacy."

“And how long has she...not talked to you?” I asked curiously. “Also didn’t know that there was news about us yet...besides that photo shoot…”

"She stops by once a month or so but usually we just eat and catch her up on what's going on here in Cloudsdale." Bow said as he let us inside his home. It looked nice, kinda reminds me of my old home on earth. "Honey, we have guests! Gilda and a friend of his!"

"Oh joy!" Came an equally energetic voice from upstairs. Flying down was a mare whose coat was an exact match for Rainbow Dash, but her mane was a two tones stripes of orange. "It's good to see you again Gilda. How have you been?" The mare asked as she took a hand of Gilda's.

"I've been good, Windy. Well… maybe not good but, well that's what I wanna talk to you and Bow about. You two and Dash have always treated me fairly, so I need your help to make up and talk to Dash."

"Of course, you know we're here for you. You're like the second child we always wanted." Windy said, giving Gilda a hug they returned.

I couldn’t help but smile softly at how these two acted with Gilda, treating them with love and affection that he rightfully deserved. “So I heard that Dash is stubborn when it comes to certain things...how stubborn?”

"Oh, Dashie has the hard head of a mule, takes an awful lot to get to her to deal with something she doesn't want to deal with." Bow said.

“Oh boy...so how good are you two with rope and tying her down to a chair? Cause I’m pretty sure we’re going to have to do that.” I said honestly.

"We can figure that out in a bit… right now…" Gilda said, taking a deep breath and shaking a bit. "I uh… need to tell you three something…"

“And what’s that thing?” I asked innocently.

"You know what Anna…" Gilda sighed as I stood next to them.

"What's wrong Gilda?" Windy asked, her face now covered in concern.

"Honey, maybe you should make some tea, I'll take Gilda and Abby to the living room." Bow said, looking at Gilda with sorrow and a sense of understanding.

Windy headed for the kitchen and Bow led Gilda and I to the living room. Once there Bow sat on the large type of chair that screamed 'dad's chair' as Gilda and I sat on the adjacent couch. There was science for a while before Bow spoke. "How long ago?"

"... Three years ago." Gilda said with a sigh, eyes looking down at the floor, and looking… hollow. "About a month or so before Dash and I got Into our fight. I came to Ponyville to tell her… but Pinkie Pie just… it was too fresh in my mind and…"

"It's alright." Bow said. Windy arrived with tea for all and sat next to Bow on his chair. "Did you know them?"

"Yeah… a few old bullies, their boss… and Gunther…"

Windy looked sick, and so did Bow at hearing that name. "He… how could he?" Windy said quietly from shock.

"He… was part of that gang so… I guess if he didn't he might have ended up joining but… I still hate him…" Gilda said, tears starting to fall now. "No such thing as family in the griffon kingdom…"

“But right now...you're not in the griffon kingdom.” I said gently. “Your in Equestria, where family does exist...and you have a family here from what Windy and Bow have been saying.”

"Anna…" Bow started, taking a deep breath. "Gunther… he is Gilda's family… his brother."

I blinked, not sure if I heard that right. “Oh...oh no…” I started, starting to clench my fists as I tried my best to contain my rage towards these bastards.

"His real name is Gilder." Windy said, looking too shocked to cry. "We… he was here a lot with Gilda when they were in Flight Camp. Their parents sometimes took weeks or months to finally pick them up so we looked after them til they did."

"He joined one of the bigger griffon gangs and I hardly saw him… til…" Gilda said, starting to shake again. "It was just supposed to be a simple job, drop off the package and take the money… it just had to be those assholes when I arrived…"

"How… how many?" Bow finally asked.

"... Including Gilder… twelve." 

“Jesus hell…” I muttered.

"What happened… after?" Windy asked. "Did they let you go or did you run?"

"I… I managed to get away. They were all drunk and high so it was kinda easy once they were…. All done…"

"Do you… need help at all?" Bow asked.

"I need to tell Dash this… it's why I came here. I was hoping you two could help me tell her."

"Of course." Windy said. 

"You take a rest first." Bow said. "You look stressed and… Windy and I need to process this…" With that, Bow and Windy got up, leaving Gilda and I alone.

“I...didn’t know it was that bad…” I muttered sadly.

"My story is a dime a dozen in the griffon kingdom." Gilda sighed. "Doesn't make it any easier to deal with… the only reason mine is unique is because of what happened after."

“And what happened after?” I asked. “Besides escaping and heading here?”

"Before I escaped, after all those hours those bastards… they were drunk, high and out cold. When I could finally stand I dug my talons into all of their necks. Each time I dropped one it became easier… became fun… til I got to Gilder. They had to get him drunk and high before he joined in… by then I had already cut his throat open like the rest… he woke up just in time to see me standing over him… then the lights started." Gilda said, looking over at me. "I've seen you absorb enough of them to know what they are now."

“Uh...two things…” I started. “One, I’m a little sad that I won’t get to murder the people that hurt you like that...and two...how many bodies spawned Pyreflies?”

"Anna, the Pyreflies healed the wounds, then they got back up. Most were still too high and drunk to move. Some got a second wind after those Pyreflies healed them. Gilder did. He grabbed me and threw me out the nearest open window… and that's how I escaped. I don't know if they were like that already or if me killing them did that, all I know is they are just like that Minotaur. Maybe not exactly the same. They were smuggling drugs, and he was a cultist."

“Jesus christ it’s even worse than I thought…” I sighed out. “Well looks like I’m going to get the chance of murdering those bastards for ya Gilda, and this time for good.”

"Yeah…" Gilda said, looking back down at the floor. "I can't forgive him… but I can't hate him, but I do and… I just want my brother back."

“I…” I sighed out. “I wish things could work like that...if there’s a way I can save your brother...I promise I’ll find one.”

Gilda didn't say anything, just nodded as I gave them a hug, and finally they started crying.


When Dash arrived it started off hectic til Bow and Windy started telling Dash what Gilda told us… about all that happened, and when Dash was calmed enough to listen, Bow and Windy giving us Privacy, Gilda told her everything, and when it was all said and done Dash looked worse than her mother when she heard. 

“So...what’s everyone’s comfort food? Cause I think we’re going to need…a lot of it.” I said nervously.

"Think we'll need something harder than the usual." Gilda said.

"Y...yeah." Dash said, sighing. "Maybe… Rum Floats?" Dash asked, giving Gilda a weak smile.

Gilda returned it. "That would be perfect."

“I’ll be the designated ‘sober person’ if your parents don’t have a hidden stockpile of Rum Dash.” I said honestly. “Unless...your parents do have a hidden stockpile of good booze here…”

“What parents would we be if we didn’t have our children’s favorite stocked up for emergencies?” Windy asked like it was something every parent does.

“Uh...what?” I blinked.

"Heh, when Dash and Gilda were old enough the two of them went out on a few binge nights at bars." Bow said, walking in with a platter filled with five mugs filled with something foamy and sweet smelling. "Their favorite was Sugar Cube Corners Rum Floats. Basically a root beer float with way more than just a spike of rum mixed in."

“Sounds about right.” I nodded. “So...I’ve never actually had a rum float...is it good?”

“The perfect mix between drowning your sorrows and eating them away.” Gilda said as he took his mug, Dash hers, Bow and Windy and finally I took mine as they all began drinking.

I shrugged, taking a sip and… wow… that’s so sweet… There was a burn in the aftertaste that the sweetness strengthened and made me feel all warm and I felt it melt away my stress, anger, fears and worries. “Stars, I needed that.” Dash said with a sigh.

“This is actually pretty good.” I said honestly. “Especially after...a lot of things I’ve been learning so far.”

“Work needs a bar.” Gilda said.

“Or at least one close by.” Bow said with a nod.

“So… what will happen next, does… Do the bosses know this?” Dash asked.

“I’ll have to tell him. I won’t tell them all the details, doubt Blueblood would care and Shining, well I'd rather not know what he will put me through. Probably therapy and some other stuff like that.”

“To be honest you kind of need therapy.” I said honestly. “And it’s also true that Blueblood wouldn’t give a shit cause he’s a bastard who really needs to get put down a peg or twenty.”

“I’m with Anna.” Dash said. “You need more help than just good friends and better booze to really move on from that…”

“Agh, Talking about my life and shit to a stranger… yay…” Gilda huffed.

“What if they aren’t a stranger?” Bow asked.

“Hm?”

“Well, remember my sister?”

“Aunt Paper Book?” Dash asked.

“Yeah, she works in a mares shelter helping abused and hurt mares… I know Gilda isn’t a girl, but the same therapy is used for both, or so she tells me.”

“I think I remember her… Didn’t she get wasted and try and pole dance on your ceiling fan once?” Gilda asked.

“And she’s been sober since.” Windy said with a laugh.

“Okay, I kind of need to know the context on that whole thing. Pole dancing on your ceiling fan? That must have been one hell of a binge.”

"She was having a bit of a midlife crisis, just showed up wasted beyond possibility and just started making a mess of the place." Bow said with a laugh. "To this day she still apologies for it whenever she visits or whenever we meet up."

“Must have been one hell of a crisis if that’s what happened.” I chuckled.

"Well, being in your mid fifties with no kids, husband or even love interest did make her think… hard about her life at that point." Windy said with a sigh. "Course at least one good thing came out of that event."

“She got a date?” I guessed.

"Close." Bow said. "She got a daughter."

"Not in the way you're thinking." Rainbow said before I could speak. "My Cousin Blitz Strike was apparently adopted by my drunk aunt. How I have no idea but she's really nice and aunt Paper Book took to her really quick, especially after her two day long hangover was gone."

"She's such a sweet girl. There were only four at the time." Windy said with a smile. "She's working in the weather factory right now, Snowflakes department."

“That’s good.” I nodded. “Glad things can work out for her.”

"So you think she can help me?" Gilda asked.

"She knows you enough and her work basically has her helping those who went through what you did. She'll be more than willing." Windy said.

"Well… guess it can't hurt…" Gilda said with a sigh.

“It’s better than bottling it up more and more.” I shrugged.

"So, wanna find a means of getting more of this and our minds off all the shit?" Dash asked.

"Yeah. What you thinking about?" Gilda asked.

"A night out in Cloudsdale after hours."

"Sounds fun. I'll leave you two to it cause this seems more of a 'old friend hang out' thing." I said honestly.

"Hell no." Both said in unison. 

"You are tagging with." Dash said.

"Cause remember, I ain't a girl, look aside, so this isn't some get drunk and party girls night." Gilda added.

"Well I'm still gonna be the designated sober person here just in case."

"That might actually help you given where we'll be going." Dash said with a smile Gilda matched.

"And where are we going?" I inquired.“And where will we be going?” I asked curiously.


My mind was blown. We were in what is basically the cloud version of a Blitzball Stadium, but there was no water, just strong high speed winds that can make even the wingless fly like their winged siblings. The ball was a ball of cloud filled with lightning, keep it too long and it goes off, an instant loss for the team who's member let it go off. Painful too.

They called this game, Shock Value.

"Cause of course it needed to be a pun…" I chuckled.

We sat in the stadium seats, food and drinks in hand as we watched the game. And there was booze. Ice cold beer. "Been a while since I've been to a game." Dash said.

"Same." Gilda added. "The service sure got better." He added, chugging a can of beer before calling for another that appeared in their grip magically. 

"So...glad to know there's a flying version of Blitzball." I said honestly, enjoying some great popcorn.rn.

"Local teams and such compete here all the time." Dash said. "The only off season is Winter."

"Yeah." Gilda said with a shrug. "This game isn't as popular as the Wonderbolts shows or Hoof Ball, but it's got a good following."

“I mean...comparing a sport to what’s effectively a gymnastics demonstration with literal soldiers isn’t really a good thing.” I said honestly. “Also hoofball?”

"Later." Dash said as the game continued.

The game was pretty cool. Seeing that kinda game playing in a full stadium with a full set of teams.

While I was drunk I couldn't... could fly? Fuck heh, too drunk to tell.

Gilda and I crashed at Rainbow's parents place, her too I think, I don't remember much when I hit the couch. Don't drink and fly kids…

I woke up with a hangover again. It wasn't horrible but it sucked. No dry vomit, drool or any of that. Good so far.

“I said...I would be sober...damn it…” I muttered, still in pain because of this crap.

I got up, rubbing my head for a while and giving a long yawn. I shook myself til my hangover was a bit of a lighter headache than before. I looked up, seeing and smelling that lovely black brew held before me. "Had fun?" Bow asked as he sat next to my on the couch with his own coffee.

“Didn’t want to get drunk but...yes, and thank you sweet merciful lord for coffee…” I said while carefully taking the cup. “Uh...I hope we didn’t do anything stupid…”

"Heh, no. Dash crashed in her old room and Gilda made it halfway upstairs before Windy and I had to lift them over to the guest bed. Those two will probably still be out for another hour or two."

“Alright.” I nodded while taking a sip of the blessed drink. “Oh so good…”

"Heh. Glad you like it. I hope when you run into Gilder and that gang… that everything works out." Bow said with a sigh. "Windy and I tried to get those kids to move in with us so many times, but despite the hell, that place is still their home. You can try but you can't ever really abandon your home."

“I know...but I’m pretty sure I’m going to murder Gilder and all his ‘buddies’ when we meet...or they’ll do something worse to themselves.” I said while taking another sip of my coffee. “Cause no one hurts Gilda like that.”

"I know… just, be careful. The gang Gilder is a part of isn't some random group of punks. It's the Bloodline Gang. Griffon Kingdoms oldest gang, they aren't amateurs, or pushovers. Their kingdom is pretty much run by them."

“And considering what they are…” I muttered. “I think just me being there will end the Bloodline Gang...or somehow make me it’s boss if they act like that Minotaur did…”

"Doubtful." Bow said, taking a long sip of his coffee. "The Bloodline Gang are an interesting bunch. Back in the old days, about… seven hundred years ago I think, the King of the Griffons had three sons. One left and founded Griffonstone, where Gilda is from. The other traveled, set to inherit the throne he wanted to grow his knowledge and wisdom… the third son, however, wanted fortune and power. He journeyed, stealing and plundering from anyone in his path. Disgusted by his son's greed he outcast him from the kingdom, disowning them and banishing them. But sadly the third prince didn't just pack up and leave, he swore someday the kingdom would be his, if not his descendents. Today, his descendents run the Bloodline Gang, running the kingdom in the shadows and keeping the actual royalty in a choke hold for the last two hundred years or so. "

“And here I am...believing that the Third Prince is still alive due to that damned death cult…” I growled, taking a long sip of coffee myself.

"Heh, if he is I doubt he'd be lurking in the shadows. But who knows, there's a lot going mad in the world these days, not like there's many around anymore who can tell what really happened back in those days."

“The Minotaurs for starters.” I sighed out. “You’ve heard of the Minotaurs primary religion right? Yevon and all that?”

"Heh, that's a common misconception. They worship Braska, the star that saved them. He told them to follow and worship Yevon, his God, but they've always worshiped Braska. Trust me, History Professor." He said with a pat to his chest. "Heh, well retired, but still.”

“Good, then you’ll love to hear that the more radical of the defector’s figured out one of the tricks Yevon teaches their own...let me ask, who’s the current ‘Pope’ of that religion, and how long have they been going?”

"Pope huh? Well, their religious figure head is called the Star Watcher, and I believe the current one has been doing the job for about… six years or so?"

“How long was the previous one?” I asked curiously. “Sorry for asking these weird questions just...it’s important with what I know.”

"Well, typically they do it for about ten or twelve years before they step down, assuming in that time they don't die. They make a huge fuss about it when they die before the ten or twelve years are up."

“And how many of them are still alive?” I asked. “I might as well know as much as I can before heading there sooner or later right?”

"Prior ones? About six if I recall. But that was five years ago, last I heard anything."

“Alright, just making sure.” I nodded. “Cause...there’s sadly a connection between Yevon and...the Unsent that are now cropping up…”

"Huh. Well, I'm gonna help Windy in the kitchen. Be back with breakfast in a bit." With that, Bow downed the rest of his coffee and got up, leaving me to sip mine in thought.

”I shouldn’t be thinking too much of this…” I thought to myself while drinking some more of my coffee, looking around the room and spotting...a save sphere? “Uh...did either of you notice the Sphere in here?” I called out carefully, not wanting to spike my headache.

"Save what?" Windy asked as she entered. She spotted the Save Sphere in the corner of the room. "Huh. Well that wasn't there last night."

“Huh...that’s odd.” I said while getting up and shuffling to the save point, not wanting to agitate my headache with fast movements either as I went to save and check why the hell this is here.

Status: Saved
Location: 44 Breeze Way, Cloudsdale.
Profile: Anna.

“Thank you lord it works…” I sighed out thankfully.

"What's it do?" Windy asked as she poked the sphere. 

New Signature Obtained.
Name: Windy Whistle
Race: Pegasus
Gender: Female
Generating Profile… Profile Generated
Status: Saved
Location: 44 Breeze Way, Cloudsdale.
Profile: Windy Whistle.

Wait… this shit works for everyone?!

“Uh...okay so you just showed me something I didn’t think would happen…” I said nervously. “Uh...you basically bookmarked your progress in life...I thought only me and maybe a few others could do that but...apparently anyone can…"

"So it's like a diary?"

“Except it’s so secret, it can technically bring you back from the dead.” I said honestly. “Like when you forget what page your on and the bookmark isn’t visible, you can still find something there to go back to.”

"That's amazing. Though I doubt I should just let myself fall off the clouds with my wings tied." Windy said with a look of weary. "Do Dash and Gilda have their own bookmarks?"

“Not that I know of...and also I think it’s more of a ‘Groundhogs day’ kind of bookmark, where you remember everything but you restart when you saved.”

"Groundhog day?" Windy asked. Right, other world. Either that movie never existed here or has a different name.

“Ever heard a movie where a guy relives the same day over and over again because of some weird holiday?” I asked. “Or story...cause I don’t know if you have movies here…”

"Hmm there is a play like that. The Dead Stallions Torment, where a pony who died went to Tartarus and had to relive the day they died for all eternity, and every time the pony tried to do something different to avoid death as he was told that was how to escape, but it never happened."

“That’s...a lot grimmer than what I’ve seen.” I said nervously.

"Eh, it's not for everyone but it is a classic."

“Sounds about right.” I nodded. “So when’s breakfast going to be done? It smells great.”

"Just need to get the waffle iron heated."

“Cool.” I nodded. “Might as well check something while I’m at it…” I muttered while walking over and sitting back on the couch and pulling out my Menu sphere, checking if anything changed with me that I didn’t notice.

I appointed spheres onto my sphere grid I needed to place and also noticed Gilda added to my party. Huh, I can put points for them too and help them get stronger? Neat.

“Alright...how many spheres do I have and how many levels does Gilda have?” I wondered to myself while checking that as well.

With a sigh I quickly scanned through Gilda’s stuff. Unlike mine theirs seemed more… race/personality based. Huh… Flying speed increased. Endurance increased by 2, Claws Damage increased by 3. Huh, these are really neat. HP increased by two hundred. Wow… Is this considered an invasion of privacy or… huh. Not really sure.

“I’m sure he’d be okay with getting stronger…” I muttered while seeing how many levels Gilda had.

Fourteen… Huh. More than I expected. I’ll talk to them about it when they wake up. Huh, Dash has some too. Twenty five?! How?!

“Alrighty then…” I muttered. “This is all good to know.”

Dash and Gilda both woke up looking pretty worse for wear. "Fuck, why does booze taste good but hurt so much?" Dash groaned.

"Moderation cupcake." Bow said, handing Dash and Gilda their own coffees. "Still, nowhere near as bad as your twenty second birthday."

"Don't remind me." Dash sighed, drinking the liquid.

"Heh, at least you managed to keep your liver and both kidneys." Gilda said, giving a chuckle that quickly turned into a groan as they rubbed their head.

“Uh…” I blinked. “What?”

"Don't ask…" Dash grumbled as she sat down next to me. "So, what's today's job?"

"I believe Anna and I have Patrol duty around the town limits in Ponyville…" Gilda said as they drank more coffee and rubbed their forehead. "I think you are scouting the Everfree…? I don't remember." 

"Ugh…"

“Let’s at least get sober first before that…” I groaned while drinking more of my coffee.

"Think you'll need Granny Sky Falls Hangover cure?" Bow asked, both Dash and Gilda giving one another questioning looks filled with panic. They then winced as their migraines hit before sluggishly nodding. "Heh, how about you Anna?"

“I’m scared because they both looked like they were about to panic…” I said worriedly.

"That's a yes then, be right back." Bow left and Dash and Gilda both slumped back, looking worried but clearly having accepted a terrible fate.

“Should we start running?” I asked worriedly.

"With these migraines we'd not even make it to the corner of the room." Gilda groaned.

"And forget flying…" Dash added.

About seven minutes later Bow entered again carrying three shot glasses filled with… something and topped with an egg yoke on top of each. Dash and Gilda sighed, taking theirs as I took mine. It smelled… sour. Spicy? Sweet? Lemon…. The fuck is in this? "Chug it fast." Bow said.

I did such…


Here Lies Anna's Taste Buds. Killed in the consumption of a Hangover Cure. It worked, but at a great cost. They will be missed.

I scrawled out on paper from my place on the couch and put the note over my lips. Granny Sky Fall was a hard core sadistic bitch for inventing that.

“Hey God...if you can hear me…” I started. “Tell Sky Fall to go fuck herself…” I cried at the loss of my taste buds. “Uh...no offense…”

"None taken." Bow said. "Mom was… heh, she was my mom. That's about all I care to really say."

“So…” I started. “We good?” I asked, hoping Dash and Gilda were okay after that horror show.

"Way better." Gilda said with a small smile and shaking his head. "Just need to get the flavor out."

"That's the hard part." Dash sighed.

“I don’t think I can taste anymore...my taste buds were murdered…” I said sadly.

"They'll be fine. Trust me, the first time always sucks, but after getting the aftertaste out and the four to six hours of nothing tasting quite right is the hard part." Bow chuckled. "Food should be done. I'll be back with the plates." 

“You say that like it’s a guarantee…” I complained, comical anime tears still flowing down my face as I missed my taste buds.

"It is. Trust me." With that Bow left the room.

"He's right. It's on the dot." Gilda chuckled. "No idea how."

"Bet Grandma was secretly an alchemist." Dash laughed.

“Only reason how she could concoct something so foul but workable.” I sighed out.

"Heh. Who knows."


Bored.

Fwoosh.

Bang.

Pop.

Bored.

"So you just shoot the disk mid air for target practice?" Gilda asked, tossing another large rock I shot as it flew across the air.

 I have to admit, Patrol duty is… boring.

“Yeah, that’s basically Skeet Shooting.” I said while firing at the large rock and hitting it with my magi-rifle. “Also holy damn am I bored…”

"Heh, yup." Gilda said, hitting the ground and yawning. "We drank that sludge for this?"

“And I regret it massively…” I sighed out. “Oh, I forgot to bring this up, but you have a Sphere Grid for leveling your abilities.”

"A what with what for what?"

“Here, let me show you.” I said while putting my rifle down and bringing out my Menu Sphere to show him. “Can you see in the sphere?”

"Yeah… woah, so all those little circles around my face are… what?"

“All these are little nodes that can increase your abilities and stats, like how much damage your claws do, increase your flight speed, or give you new abilities that might be further down the line for you.” I explained.

"And… how many can you unlock for me?"

“As many as I have the sphere’s for, and how many times you can move around the Sphere Grid.” I said honestly.

"And you can get more? How?"

I shrugged. “The only way I know for right now is killing Fiends, I don’t know if doing quests in general would give experience but either way.”

"Huh… that's… wow. So that thing can basically let you give me superpowers?"

“I guess?” I said, a little uncertain on the ‘superpowers’ definition. “If you mean have super strength, speed, and endurance then in a sense yes.”

"Then fuck, what can I get better at right now?" Gilda said as they tried to look over the options.

“As many things as I can put in for fourteen movements on a sphere grid.” I said honestly. “Should have mentioned this to Rainbow, but she has twenty movements, or levels, on the board as well.”

"What? How?"

“She’s probably been in more fights than you.” I shrugged. “With me, I was at...seventy levels? Or more because I keep forgetting to level.”

"Heh. So let's see how strong this can make us." Gilda said as I was helping them select options.

“Alright, so let’s start with your defenses, cause your stats show you’re pretty strong, but you can’t really take a hit…” I said while starting to increase his flight speed, hp and defensive stats, Gilda having noticed from my explanation that his stat screen did show he was physically strong, but defensive wise he was kind of lacking.

When all was said and done Gilda definitely flew faster, and took more hits than before when we had a quick spar. And lastly I was actually able to give them magic spell on the last level movement. Fire… Claws.

"This is awesome!" Gilda cheered as they flew around, claws aflame as he broke apart makeshift targets and set them on fire on impact.

“Good job Gilda.” I clapped my hands, glad to see him enjoying himself with his new powers.

"I don't know how this is possible and I kinda don't care." Gilda smiled as he extinguished his fire Claws. 

“That’s how leveling works.” I said honestly. “Like how me leveling could tell me that something’s approaching.” I said simply, the both of us hearing a branch cracking behind us.

I reacted, turning and aiming my gun and just as quickly dropped it. What I saw was… it was a Klikk, that was clear enough, but where it's middle back section was merged a… Minotaur from the mid torso up. "What the fuck…?" Gilda spokey mind as the… thing walked up to us. 

“No...no what the fuck…” I muttered, taking a step back as I saw Pyreflies floating around the thing, not like a phantom but more like it was trying to keep itself together. “No...how the hell…”

“There you are…” The minotaur part said as they looked at me. “Right where Father said you’d be.”

“Oh the hell you don’t.” I said while bringing up my gun and firing at them.

The bullet passed through them, the hole rather than blood leaked Pyreflies as the orbs tried and half succeeded in flowing back inside. “Come now, there’s no need to struggle.”

“Fight now, scream later?” Gilda asked as they activated their flaming claws.

“Be...very careful.” I started as I shifted into my Solar Armor, raising up and readying my Molten Axe powered by the Sun, which was also good that it was still in the middle of the day.

“... When the fuck did you get that?!” Gilda shrieked as he looked me over in pure awe. 

“It was when I saved my brother and Pip.” I said while raising my two handed axe and dashed towards the bastard and swung the axe.

The creature lunged, meeting my attack with the weight of it’s own body and we knocked each other back hard, Gilda catching me and putting me down before dashing off and stealing a swipe across the thing’s face. It’s face was missing the eyes entirely from the head and to my surprise he didn’t react. “Now why are you so scared?” They asked. 

“So it can’t feel pain… great…” Gilda huffed.

“This isn’t right.” I said while shifting to my Lunar armor, dashing forward and thrusting my lunar lance at the damned thing.

I pierced it through it’s main body and cut a leg off, the thing didn’t fall over but was unbalanced. “Please, This is all unnecessary. Father has me bringing gifts.” The thing said, holding hands out as magic began flowing out from the thing. “All will be one with our Father.”

“Oh hell no.” I said while shifting into my Chimera Form, it being ever so slightly tankier than my Armored Forms and ramming into it with my Goat head hard enough to send it flying into a Tree.

The magic didn’t stop though, in fact it’s broken body and wounds seemed to add to the flow as soon it all swirled around into a form. A box, small and a bright blue. “Father looks forward to the day you two can… meet.” The thing said as its body cracked, shifting to floating Pyreflies and dust as it fell apart til all that was left was the dust and Pyreflies.

“What...the absolute hell…” I muttered, shifting back into my human form and looking at the Pyreflies, wondering why they didn’t immediately rush into me.

I tried touching one, and yelped as it burned me, the Pyrefly then promptly exploded. Not a massive one more like… those pop bags you throw at the ground. All of the ones still floating did the same soon after as the faint smell of ozone now filled the air. “That was… weird…” Gilda said as they picked up the small box the thing made. “Gonna open it?”

“Those...weren’t Pyreflies…” I said worriedly. “But...might as well.” I said while taking the box for myself and opening it, not wanting Gilda to get hurt if it was a trap.

Inside was… a ring? Huh… wait a minute… I pulled out my phone, looking through photos and found a picture of me wearing this same ring two years ago back on earth. I lost this ring forever ago… I did lose it right… “Huh.” Gilda said, looking the metal hoop over. “It’s just a ring made from cheap metal.”

“That’s...my ring…” I said, gently taking the ring. “I lost it two years ago back in my home world...but...how the hell did it get here? And why did that guy have it?”

“So… He’s also a stalker then?”

“No...he couldn’t have found this ring because this was on a completely different planet first of all...and secondly...their Father…” I started. “This is the second Minotaur that’s talked about ‘Father’ and how I share something with him...the Minotaurs respect Braska as their Saint of Yevon...but that squid bastard shouldn’t be here…” I said worriedly. “It’s probably just a coincidence right?”

“I highly doubt that.”

“It has to be though right?” I asked, Gilda seeing this weird glazed look in my eyes before I put the ring back on. “Well, that was an...interesting event right?” I asked simply.

“Yeah… ugh, we gotta report this don’t we?”

“Yes we do...which is gonna be a bitch…” I groaned, Gilda seeing my eyes go back to normal as the thought of doing paperwork was evil. “This was just freaky as hell...like how the hell did they make those Pyreflies?”

"Pretty sure that's above our paygrade." Gilda sighed.


The paperwork on that thing was immediately followed by a memory copying spell to record that memory from Gilda and I. It thankfully didn't hurt or even leave a migraine but was different. From there I had to train one on one with those four agents. First up was Sweetie Drops.

Crack!

"Sweet holy Jesus!"

That's about all I care to recall about her strength training exercises…

Next up was Mole, who was thankfully teaching me the importance of tactical trench building, the fastest methods to build them and what tools to use and which of my current fiend forms could build one out fastest.

“This is a lot better than Sweetie’s training…” I sighed out.

"Heh, yes. Miss Drops has always been hard on the newbies." Mole said as we were digging trenches out in a field outside of Sweet Apple Acres. "Even harder on herself."

“Why harder on herself?” I asked carefully.

"She hates being born an Earth Pony." Mole said simply, lifting and tossing a large rock before continuing digging. "She was born to Unicorn parents, up in Canterlot. Was a surprise to the family. They loved her still but she was always outcasted for not having a horn to perform magic. She resented herself and even spent years working towards somehow gaining a horn. Then one day in her studies she read up upon earth ponies from far across in other kingdoms who could perform Magic in other ways, Zebras and their unique abilities and potions. She traveled for years across the world and learned so much. Still though she hated never being able to reach the potential of her family with their spellcraft, so she began working her magic the way only an Earth Pony can. At full effort I once saw her kill an Ursa Major in one punch. Broke every bone in her arm and the next day she was doing push ups on it." Mole said with a laugh. "She couldn't become a Warlock like her family, so she would become the greatest warrior and has died trying several times."

“Sounds rough.” I said nervously.

"That's what made her who she is now. We all have our reasons for being as we are. Take me for instance. I used to be a Pegasus." I looked over at Mole, who lifted the back of their shirt and showed me two nasty old scars where wings would be. "Lost them in a mining accident. Despite everyone else mourning the loss of my wings, I didn't care. I was born on the ground, not up in the sky, I like to dig into the dirt and rocks of the world, not fly high above it like the others. I can still walk on and move clouds but they are so simple to move and form. The souls of the earth are tricky, a bad tunnel, one unfortified support beam, one shovel full in the wrong spot and squash! Buried alive! Any Pegasus can build a house or a city of clouds, but it takes a skilled genius to make a city under the soil."”

“If you ever need help going to the sky...I can try to figure something out.” I said honestly. “Even if your okay with digging...the feeling of flight must still be there right?”

"Hmm. Nope." They laughed. "I put the sky to my back long before my wings were gone. I have no regrets."

“Alright alright.” I nodded. “So how’s my digging so far?”

"Hmm. Not bad but you left several weak spots. Like here." Mole stated, simply putting the tip of their shovel into my wall and it collapsed, burying me up to my knees. "When dealing with softer soils like this, you'll need the larger rocks we have been gathering and mud to enforce it."

“Sounds about right.” I said while starting to dig myself out of the knee deep soil.

After Mole I was now training with Set Charge Began.

I sat at a table with various cups with bits of either liquid, powder, some dough looking stuff and a few books in front of me. "Lesson one." Set Charge said, picking up a cup with some powder in it. "Learning your explosive compounds."

“Okay so...are you sure you're not teaching me something really illegal with stuff that’s highly illegal?” I asked nervously.

"Maybe." He said with a smile before giving me the cup of powder. "That's your basic gunpowder. Simple and effective, aside from the look its smell and taste are also pretty distinct. Memorize all three."

“Should...should I?” I asked carefully, at least sniffing the gunpowder to see how it smelt since I’ve never known how it smelt.

It was… kinda reminded me of fireworks. "Yes. Some assholes cast sense nullification spells on their bombs and if you can't tell what it is from one of the three then you have to rely on the other two, that enchantment typically only works on smell but it can be used to block both taste and smell of it so you best hope to the stars above what you're looking it is what you think it is, cause then you can use a simple compound to make it just powder without explosive properties. And if you're wrong that compound likely will set off the thing you're trying to not explode. Explosives and their counter compounds are funny like that."

“Uh...yeah…” I said nervously. “So...I won’t have to taste half of this stuff right? And I won’t die because their stupid poisonous right?”

"Maybe." He said, still smiling.


Oddly enough… my tongue felt worse off after this morning's hangover cure. Though I was washing my mouth out like crazy before arriving at Sharp Cut's lab. Here I was seated across from him, our table holding the corpse of an elderly unicorn stallion. "First lesson. The anatomy of your patients."

“Okay, are you sure we’re not doing anything illegal here?” I asked. “Pyro back there said ‘maybe’ with his crap...this feels concerning and illegal.”

"Well, maybe. The body was obtained legally at least." Sharp said with a shrug as they then pulled a dagger out and jabbed the corpse with it. I promptly felt my breakfast making its way back up. 

He sliced the torso open, and I saw the rib cage, organs and such of this person. Huh, nearly identical to humans. Nearly. Their hearts are much larger, and the muscles are also thicker. Bones look the same though. "Now then, in healing your magic is used in various ways to stitch up wounds, restart a heart, null pain and if you are skilled enough, perform an operation."

“I’ve...mostly seen the type of magic just instantly heal people...or bring them back from the dead…”

"Healing magic and Necromancy are two sides of the same coin. One keeps the body alive and repairs the damage, the other keeps the body working even after decay and rot set in. Both can heal but in different ways. For example, healing magic can not affect a corpse no matter how fresh, but Necromancy." Sharp showed me as he made a cut along the cadavers throat, then traced I along it with a finger as their horn glowed with dark magic, the injury vanishing but leaving a noticeable scar. "It can force the dead cells to work and act as they did when alive through powerful magics. With a proper magical core placed in, this stallion can walk again but their cells and body would still be dead, and continue to decay and rot til the bones are left, and in some cases they will keep rotting as bones til they erode away to ashes and dust."

“Sounds...really creepy.” I said honestly.

"That is dark magic. The opposite of natural magic. Everything exists in pairs at the core, they can fracture, split and divide, creating various other forms of what they are but they all have their roots in one or the other. Two sides of the same coin, often unaware of each other or constantly conflicting and harming the other. It is just how the world is, even when there is one, there is always two.".”

“Sounds...about right.” I said, thinking about all the few things those Minotaurs told me and fearing there was something about his words that might have something to do with it.

With my lessons done I went home and fell fast asleep, arriving in Zanarkand and seeing Tidus sitting across from me. "Hey, did you… kill someone?" 

“No I didn’t.” I stated quickly. “Why do you ask?”

"It's something that appeared. Come on." Tidus said, the both of us getting up as I followed him.

We arrived at a building I haven't been in yet. Large, tall, all stone building with no windows. Inside were several isles with thick walls dividing them and on each wall evenly spaced were blank metal plates, each going across the aisle and four up on the wall. "This is the cemetery. The Dead are cremated and their remains placed here along with a few of their important valuables. They've been blank forever… til now." Tidus pointed to the metal slate to his right.

Hugo
Race: Minotaur
May he rest in peace.

"That was there the other day. It wasn't before.".”

“That’s...no that can’t be…” I said worriedly. “So uh...Unsent are a thing in Equestria...and I...absorbed this guy after he killed himself...calling me ‘Mother’ for some reason…”

Tidus's eyes went wide. "Tha… huh, that was not what I was expecting to hear. Unsent… how many?"

“No idea, all I know is that there’s a Cult of them, and right now from what I’ve heard there’s like...six more or so? I don’t know how many else and...what’s worse...they can replicate pyreflies and tried forcing one of their own into a fiend hybrid…” I said, looking at my ring and wondering how in the name of hell they got it.

"... Suddenly the shit I went through in Spira was so much easier."

“I know I’m dumping a lot on ya...but something is horribly wrong here…” I said, gently putting a hand on the gravestone. “What the hell is going on here?”

"Wish I knew." Tidus sighed. "Feels like those early days when I ended up in Spira. More questions than answers, and when I got answers I regretted hearing them."

“Yeah...I know I’m going to regret hearing a lot of these answers…” I sighed out. “So how have you and Jecht been doing?” I asked, wanting to change the subject on this worrying topic.

"Dad's showing off his MK 1 and 2 Jecht Shots." Tidus huffed, kicking a blank slate of metal on the wall. "Damn show off. So, what's been up with you in Equis? Fiend crap aside?"

“My taste buds died, I learned a lot more about Gilda, helped them through some emotional baggage with Rainbow Dash, met Rainbow’s Parents, and my taste buds were murdered by some psycho’s idea of a ‘hangover remedy’.” I sighed out.

"You said your taste buds died twice." Tidus pointed out.

“That’s how bad it was.” I replied with a shiver. “Literally tasting explosive materials left my taste buds in a better condition than that…’hangover remedy’.”

"Okay… what the heck are you learning in that organization?"

“Oh you know, the basics. How to build tunnels, necromancy, the smell and taste of explosive materials...my spine damn near breaking in half because someone needs to take a fucking chill pill about not being a pretty unicorn.” I frowned.

"Heh. You got some teachers huh?"

“Yeah, they are all good at their jobs and care enough about it.”

"Heh. So, that just leaves the museum then."

“Yeah...whatever the hell’s going to be in there.” I said honestly.

"Normally just history about Zanarkand, but now there is something new." Tidus said, taking leave as I followed.

“Something new?” I asked curiously.

I followed Tidus to the museum, and once there he showed me an elevator. "This. It was not here before, at least not in my Zanarkand."

“Wonder why there’s this elevator?” I wondered, moving over and pressing the button to call the elevator.

It opened in and inside was two buttons. Well, there was more but those were blank. The two labeled buttons were simply labeled Z and E. According to this we were on Floor Z… E… Equis? I pressed it. The doors closed and we went down. After a minute or so we exited, finding ourselves in the same museum layout as before… except it was empty, save for one area where a statue and display of Minotaurs were. Their history seems to modern Equis times… huh.

“Uh...I’ve never been to the Minotaur lands, why is that here?” I asked nervously.

"Maybe it's based on that Hugo guy's memories?" Tidus pondered.

“Well...let’s go check.” I said while moving towards the exhibit, hoping it was more than the memories of that dead cultist.

There was, infact, a lot about Minotaur history. Their origins being children of a god and an animal, born something between. The rise of their tribes, their warfare for glory, the star that cursed them, their years of famine and drought, Braska the star saving them, their unification into a single tribe, the split of the Uor.

“Damn…” I blinked. “This...is weirdly a lot like X-2’s history lesson on Zanarkand and Yevon…”

"X what?" Tidus asked.

“Remember when I talked about Yuna with a Gun?” I asked.

"I thought you were making a joke…"

“I wasn’t.” I started. “It’s was a serious thing.” I chuckled. “But it’s either that, or the whole Al bhed thing…”

"Huh… yeah I think I'd rather not know." Tidus said as they looked at the exhibits end. "Huh." He said, walking over where there was just a podium with a button in it. "That's random."

“Why is there a button?” I asked worriedly.

"You really need to stop asking me things like I know the answers." Tidus quipped as they walked over to it, looking it and the podium over. "So, should we push it?"

“You live here, so you might actually know things.” I said.

"Like it's fun going to all these places when it's empty and quiet? This place creeps me out. Dad and I only ever go out on the off chance something changed."

“That’s...interesting.” I said honestly while moving over and pressing the button, knowing we won’t learn anything unless I press it.

Everything went white for me for a quick second but I was still standing over the button. Huh, did it even do anything?

"Holy… oh!" I turned and saw Tidus turned around, hands over their face.

“Uh...what happened?” I asked worriedly.

"Uh, two things. First off, you're a Minotaur now." My eyes widened, looking at my arms, feeling my head now more like that of an ox with horns to boot. "Secondly… you're naked."

I looked down and I was indeed very naked. Birthday suit naked… damn this body looks good. I need a mirror. I headed off and found the bathrooms of this museum and entered the women's bathroom. Once in I got a good look at this body. My hair color was normal and so was my eye color. My coat color was a dirty blond that looked so pretty. I was only maybe a foot and a half taller, two if you include my slender, small horns that looked too danty to be a weapon. I had hooves for feet and… yet, these bad girls up top and that ass down bottom look way bigger than my human ones. Daw, my tail is cute, kinda small.

“Good lord do I look amazing.” I said, loving my new look. “Wonder how strong I am in this form?”

"Get some clothes on first!" I heard Tidus yell from outside the bathroom.

“Do you think I have clothes for this form?” I frowned. “Even if it’s a dream, I can’t just magic up clothes.”

"Then call Luna or something! That train can bring her here, why not someone else?" That… makes sense. Maybe she can get Rarity here to make me some clothes.

“Alright, I’ll try to give that a try.” I said, wondering for a bit as I tried to mentally call to Luna, hoping that would help.

After a good few minutes Luna entered the bathroom. "I received your message Anna, I must say I am quite surprised you could… contact… me…" She stopped, finally looking at my still nude minotaur body. "Anna…?"

“Hi Luna.” I said sheepishly, using one arm and my tail to cover my naughty bits. “Uh...mind helping a girl out with some clothes here? Just learned I can now shapeshift into a Minotaur after some...exploring, and I ended up naked.”

“...Huh…” Luna said, raising her hands as she snapped her fingers. I felt something suddenly drape my body and found myself in a lovely blue and pink sundress. “Mind explaining it to me? Blueblood’s report has yet to arrive regarding the recent missions.”

“So we have Unsent Death Cultists like I’ve been talking about.” I sighed out. “When me and Blueblood went to the Prison with that one terrorist Minotaur...he claimed I was ‘Mother’ and killed himself...and he spawned Pyreflies that I absorbed.” I explained. “And then...well the recently worrying thing involves what I can only guess are Artificial Pyreflies morphing a Minotaur partly into a Fiend...and he also wanted me to meet ‘Father’ and gave me this…” I said while showing Luna my ring. “I lost this back on earth years ago...but how he got it I have no idea.”

"Oh. Well then… this is more worrying that I first thought. I must speak to Tia about this and take faster action. If worst comes to worst this could be a war unlike anything Equis has ever seen."

“I hope to god it doesn’t go towards that…” I sighed out. “I’m also sorry for...being weirdly related to this Cult from what those Minotaurs said.”

"It makes sense given your abilities. But that does raise the question, this Father they speak of… is it possible they possess the same abilities as you do?"

“That’s what they said.” I shrugged helplessly. “But it doesn’t help that I have no idea who or what is able to shapeshift into Fiends…”

"Hmm… this is indeed something that requires a drastic act before it is too late."

“We really should.” I nodded. “I’ve been wanting to go to the Minotaur Lands for a while, but things kept cropping up that stopped me...oh, also, do either you or Celestia know who’s the oldest person in the Minotaur Lands that...kind of shouldn’t be alive?”

"Hm? Do you mean in terms of age? Well, I guess that would be Grimth, but he is half dragon so him being able to live two thousand years isn't that surprising."

“Alright, cause I’m just making sure if there wasn’t any suspicious people that have lived a little too long.” I sighed out.

"Not to my knowledge. Tia would know better though. With luck I can get us all in a meeting tomorrow hopefully."

“Hopefully.” I nodded. “Wonder what everyone will think when I show them this form.” I said honestly.

"Hmm… can make stealth easier for you."

“If I’m going to the Minotaur Kingdom soon then yeah, it would be good stealth.” I nodded in agreement.

"Depends. Tia wants to avoid a war, sadly Blueblood and I agree it is likely inevitable. It's why we are working on an agreement involving the Uor who made the weapons for us. As well as other warfare profiteers."”

“It’s sadly going to happen...and the Minotaurs are going to be the linchpin in all of this, I just know it…” I sighed out. “God damn it Braska…”

"There is a lot ahead of us. Hopefully, things will go well."


The next day I woke up to the save sphere in my room kinda… is that glitching or dancing? "Is it broken?" Tommy asked as he poked it.

“What did you do?” I asked worriedly. “Cause it’s not supposed to do that.”

"I didn't do anything. I woke up and saw it doing that just like you." Tommy replied.

The save sphere then did… a backflip, then displayed text on the wall behind it like a projector. 

To save David, you must end the Shadow plaguing the North.

"David… that's dad's name…" Tommy said simply, looking shocked.

“That means we’re going to be saving dad next.” I said. “Now the main problem...the hell is this ‘Shadow plaguing the North’?”

"Wish I knew."

We sat there thinking for a while til a rapid hard pounding at our window broke us back to reality. Walking over to it and opening it I saw Gilda flying outside the window.

I went over and opened the window. “No need to break my window my furry feathered friend.” I started. “What’s up?”

"No time for pleasant banter Anna. Shining and Blueblood called all hands on deck. Another Sombra fiend surfaced. Whitetail Woods. The Deer Kingdom."

“Shit…” I muttered. “Sorry bro, it’s an emergency.” I said quickly, giving him a quick hug. “I’ll be back, I promise.”

"Go kick some ass." He replied as I shifted into an Evil Eye and flew off with Gilda back to HQ. Once there we got armored up and Blueblood began briefing us on the situation. 

"So far the Sombra Fiend has already cleaved and butchered his way to the castle. Unlike the one of the Crystal Empire this one is fighting with weapons crafted from his own Necromancy rather than using fiends."

"So he's alone?" Sweetie Drops asked.

"No. That's where Anna comes in. Our scouts reported that he has an army, two hundred. A mix of Minotaurs, Ponies, Griffons, and most surprising of all, Yaks. All their reports say the same, they die, then get back up." Blueblood said as he eyed me. "Anna can make them stay dead. Consider this a chance to see how big her range of effect on these undead are."

“It’s even worse than I thought.” I rubbed my temples. “We have even less time, and all these cultists...oh god damn it…” I groaned while hitting my head against the meeting room table. “I’m gonna beat Sombra...then there’s going to be two hundred people following me and I don’t like it…” I whined.

"What makes you think they will?" Sharp Cut asked.

“Because it can’t be a coincidence…” I sighed out. “Two minotaurs believe I’m some ‘Mother’ figure in their cult, and now two hundred Unsent are following Sombra? And considering the first time I fought one of his pieces he was commanding Fiends, I’m pretty sure the Unsent believe he’s either a high ranking Cultist, or a piece of their ‘Father’.” I sighed out. “I’m just guessing here, I have no idea what the hell is going on, and I know more about the finer details than most of you…”

"Whatever the case, I expect you to execute every. Last. One." Blueblood said. "That is an order."

“Just...don’t act all weird when they start murdering themselves out of nowhere.” I sighed out. “So where near the Deer Kingdom is Whitetail Woods? I think I have a teleport spot the last time we were there.”

"The Deer Kingdom is inside the Whitetail Woods, right at the heart of the forest." Set Charge said. "If you can teleport us, how many at once?"

"We need more up to date data." Cut said. "We don't want to teleport right into an ambush."

“That depends on where Sombra’s forces are, because I have that warp point at the Capital, most likely the prison since that’s where I saved last.” I explained. “If your wondering what those blue sphere things that keep popping up everywhere are.”

"I have a spell that can aid in that." Sharp Cut said as their horn glowed and their eyes followed, glowing a sickly green and pale white. "Let's see… well now, this is quite the scene."

"How bad?" Blueblood asked.

"As far as I can tell this appears to be mindless carnage. Guards and civilians alike are dead in the streets. How pointless."

“Then we better hurry!” I snapped while getting up. “Instead of just sitting here claiming how it’s ‘pointless’ that innocent civilians are getting slaughtered.”

"It's pointless as in it makes no sense." Cut said, the spell disbanding as their normal dead looking eyes returned. "Why slaughter so many with no goal in mind?"

"... Two reasons." Blueblood said in thought. "Display of power… or a distraction. Anna, take Gilda, Set Charge, and Sharp Cut to Whitetail, gather all you'll need. Now."

We did as told and I gathered everyone around the sphere and we warped.

The dungeon looked incinerated, corpses of guards and prisoners alike sat and stood where the fires consumed them, flesh turned to charcoal and the scent of ashes filled the air heavily. "Stars above…" Gilda muttered.red.

I stared at all the death and destruction, reminded so much of back home...when the world was going to hell...when my family was hurt...when I was killed…”No…” I started, walking forward. “No no no…” I growled as I shifted into my Chimera form. “NO!” I roared as I charged ahead blindly, not caring if I got hurt, only knowing that I needed to stop these bastards from killing more.

The first thing I saw was a Pegasus mare. Her mane was an amber orange, coat Violet purple, eyes a deep great. Her left arm, right leg and stomach all glowed as Pyreflies leaked out that were slowly moving back inside her as she removed her spear tip from a maid's skull.

I rammed right into her at full speed, crushing her against a wall as as her Pyreflies began to flow into me. "Father… she has arrived…" She whimpered with a smile as the last of the Pyreflies left her and her body faded away.

Manic laughter suddenly seemed to fill the whole kingdom. I turned, seeing Minotaur, Pony, Yak, Griffon and even a few undead deer… no…

I looked down in horror as every dead deer around me began absorbing Pryeflies, and began moving again. "Father…" They began saying as they rose back to life. They weren't killing mindlessly… they were growing their numbers.

“No...no that’s impossible!” All four of my heads shouted in panic. “How the hell is this happening!? This shouldn’t be happening!?”

I felt something grab my leg, looking down I saw that maid that was speared through the head look up at me, her wound filled with Pyreflies as she smiled sickly at me. "Play with us Mother." She said, the whole of the room now chanting.

"Play. Play. Play." They said, a chorus of voices chanting that single word as the newly undead picked up whatever as a weapon and all walked towards me.

"Anna!" Gilda yelled, flying up to me in a blur and impaling the maid yet again in the head, her Pyreflies flowing into me as well. "The hell is happening?!"

I backed away, changing back into my human form as I backed up into one of the Unsent. “Play with us Mother.” A child said innocently.

“What the actual fuck!?” I jumped away, bringing out my Lunar Armor and impaling the child in fear. “This isn’t right...this isn’t right…” I muttered, my own fear and panic rising higher and higher. “We need to find Sombra, fast…” I panted, trying to calm myself down so I don’t have a full blown panic attack.

Smack!

Ouch! I rubbed my cheek from the slap Gilda gave me. "Better?" They asked, deflecting a strike from a griffon undead and then impaling them too, their Pyreflies all flowing into me. 

“Not really...but thanks.” I sighed out. “But this is not right, Unsent are beings who will themselves to stay alive, not from this.” I said worriedly. “What the actual hell is going on?”

"Clearly, something fucked." They said, grabbing me by my arms and flying us out the broken roof. Now in the sky I saw how bad it just was. Hell has emerged, and the Whitetail Woods are burning in the hellfire that escaped. "Hopefully the evacuation is going well. Sharp Cut left to go check on that. Set Charge is dropping bombs on the Unsent in the streets, now where the hell is that Sombra Fiend?"

“No….why…” I muttered sadly. “Why is this happening again…”

"Keep it together Anna." Gilda grumbled. "Where is that asshole…"

After a while of flying, Gilda dodged an Unsent Griffon that did a flyby claw swipe at us. "Hey there crossdresser." I could feel Gilda freeze as he slowly turned us towards that Unsent Griffon.

He was larger, easily two feet taller than Gilda, well built and had a black and white feathers pattern with violet purple eyes. "Zer…" Gilda growled, they shook and their grip on me began to hurt as they squeezed harder… this is…

"Come all this way for another ass fuck? Ya know it's a shame you left. Was gonna give you that last surgery to make you a proper Griffoness."

I pulled out my gun and fired at the bastard, a large icicle spear rushing towards the griffon. “Just the asshole I wanted to find.”

With their claws they broke it before it touched them. "Ah yes, you're that bitch the boss is obsessed with. So, like his present?" Zer asked as he stretched his arms wide. "Boss man did all this for you. You're greatest wish he's trying to grant."

"Piss off! Like Anna would ever have wanted this massacre!" Gilda snapped.

"I'm just saying what I heard the boss say bubble butt. Boss promised this cunt a kingdom and I'm just one of the pawns working to deliver it. Course I can still get my piece of the pie." Suddenly, Zer was in front of us, Grabbing Gilda by the chin. He froze, wing flying only out of instinct. "I've met some wild people, and we can make you the woman you should have been born as."


Zer felt a spear in his gut as I shifted into my Lunar armor. “Don’t. You. Dare. Touch him!” I snapped, breaking out of Gilda’s hold and slamming the bastard griffon away from us.

He laughed, pulling the spear out and threw it back to me. I caught it and thanked God I could fly in this armor. "Neat trick, here's mine!" Their claws became cloaked in lightning as they circled me, their speed making a cyclone around us that spun me around as they slashed at me, their lightning shocking me but their claws couldn't peirce or cut the armor thankfully. They then tackled me as he fell for a but before he opened his wings, breaking our fall as he held me by the neck. "You think you're the only one to figure out those save spheres? Or the level grid?" He asked as he let go of me and did a rapid backflip he used to kick me away twenty feet before I caught myself.

“Who the hell is this ‘Father’ you keep blathering about?” I growled while raising my Lance. “Watera!” I shouted, a sphere of water rushing around the electrified griffon as I thanked the lord this armor let me use the second tier of spells.

He flew around it. "Not sure, but he's definitely got the hots for you. Anna this, Anna that. Never met him in person, just his lackey Seymour."

“Oh are you fucking kidding me?” I whined. “Why does that prick have to be here?” I whined as I switched to my Solar Armor and raised it into the air, a beam of sunlight shooting down towards the griffon.

Rapidly he dashed to the side, avoiding it. "So you do know him. Heh, sure sounded like he knew you."

“I know Seymour, Seymour is a dipshit.” I frowned. “Like seriously, have you heard him talk about his goals?” I said while bolting forward and swinging with my molten axe.

He spun right as I swung down, and gave me a hard elbow that sent me back some feet. "Not really. All I hear him talking about is what the boss orders. Eh, still. Immortality is always a good gig."

“Sounds about right.” I said. “Now where’s Sombra?” I started, going back to smack him as I prepared to transform if he dodged.

"Around." He said, take a quick jerk to the right as I transformed into my Chimera form, grabbing him by the wings and keeping him under me as we hit the ground.

“Gotcha bitch!” I shouted. “Now you're going to pay for what you did to Gilda!” I shouted as my falcon head used a more focused Aqua Breath straight into the bastards head.

"Heh. Nice hit. Here's mine." He said, somehow picking himself up from under my Chimera form's weight and knocking me off him. "You think I'm the same as these garden variety mindless fucks? Heh, not even close." Zer said with a crack to their neck. As I was about to charge him I stopped as a black bolt zipped passed me. Turning I saw the Sombra Fiend, holding a bow made from pure dark magic. "Guess that's my cue." Zer said as he flew off.

“Oh no you don’t!” I snapped while lashing my Snake tail out at the Griffon to keep him here as I threw a Megado Flame at the Sombra Fiend.

The Sombra friends bow shifted to a sheild, the Sheild reflecting my own magic back towards me as flocks of flying unsent got between my snake half and Zer. Fucking!

I turned to the Sombra Fiend, tanking the reflected hit as it swapped it's sheild for a sword.

“Okay you know what!?” I snapped. “I am sick of this bullshit! I wanted to live a new life with my family where I could escape the dangers of some assholes who think they can just kill people for fun! But no, that’s not what I’m gonna get!” I snapped, the Unsent shivering around me in my rage. “Now if you believe I’m your Lord and Savior, bring me that Zer and Sombra’s heads!” I commanded as hard as I could, hoping this would work on these bastards that believed I was their ‘Mother’ or some crap. “I just...want my family back…” I growled, tears falling from all four of my heads as I dug into the ground and charged at Sombra, the smell of burned bodies, the sight of death, all of this just getting too much as I just wanted to end this and get home and hide.

There was a long pause on the airs the lesser unsent all seemed to… process what I said. About half went back to trying to attack me. Others seemed to clench their heads as their eyes glowed brighter with Pyreflies that left and re entered their bodies rapidly, and the rest did chase after Zer and try and attack Sombra. Okay, progress… sorta.“Alright.” I nodded while fighting against the unsent that are still after me. “God, I wish Gilda was here...or at least someone was here to back me up.” I said while doing my best to deal with the hoard of Unsent here.

My prayers were answered… as myself and chunks of now blown up unsent were sent flying into the nearby building. I shifted back to human form. Pyreflies flowing around and into me like Minecraft exp orbs. Once my daze was over I saw Set Charge holding out a hand. "Survivors are clear." He said, pulling me back up. "Sorry for the blast off."

“It’s alright.” I nodded while getting up, feeling energized by more and more Pyreflies rushing into me. “Where’s Gilda?”

"I thought they were with you?"

“We met one of his rapists.” I started. “And you decided to not take stock as to where all your party members are in this clusterfuck are you kidding me?”

"I was a bit busy making sure getting the survivors out of this mess was done while Cut captured a few of these Unsent's for research."

“God damn it…” I grumbled. “Alright, so I’ll deal with Sombra, you handle all the Unsent that aren’t fighting or helping us.” I said while charging back towards Sombra.

I shifted into my Dingo form and Sombra promptly produced a whip he slashed my muzzle with… ouch, that's gonna leave a mark.

I then transformed into my Dark Crystal Dingo form and barked crystals towards the bastard and rushed towards him again.

His whip rapidly shifted into a short sword he used to deflect or break my crystal barks at him and when I got close enough I managed to bark a crystal projectile right into his torso, stunning him long enough for me to bark another off in his head before I shifted to the solar armor and brought down the axe through him.

His Pyreflies flowed into me and soon that one familiar black orb followed. I felt that same sickening, horrid feeling just like the first time. Thankfully this time I stayed conscience and shook it off. Now, where is Gilda… where's Zer… shit!

I transformed into my Evil Eye form and started to fly around the place, hoping to find Gilda or Zer. ”Damn it, I forgot to make sure where they were...please Gilda, please be okay…” I thought to myself worriedly.

As I flew around rapidly I found them… and my blood both ran cold and boiling all at once. Zer stood behind Gilda, one arm wrapped around his torso, another grouping their breast. Gilda looked hollow, shut down as Zer nuzzled their neck.

I flew right at them, Zer looking an eye over at me and smiling as I shifted to my Lunar armor form and was ready to impale them on impact. Right as I got closer they let Gilda go, still smiling at me as they took one step back, and vanished in a flash of magic. Teleportation.

I rammed my Halibird right where he was standing, roaring in rage as I kept stabbing at where he was. 

“GOD DAMN IT!” I roared in rage. “That bastard! I’ll make him regret he was ever fucking born!”

After what felt like an eternity I finally calmed enough to check on Gilda. He was on his knees and hands, breathing slowly and looking like they were countless miles away. Carefully I touched them. No reaction. They were completely shut down mentally. I started to tear up as I kneeled down and hugged Gilda. “I’m sorry Gilda…” I cried, hating myself how I couldn’t have kept my best friend safe from that horrible bastard.

Some time later Set Charge found and got us out of there. The Whitetail Woods and therefore the Deer Kingdom was lost.
 


Gilda was admitted to the ER. No physical injuries aside from those got while fighting, mostly small cuts and bruises. Mentally though the doctors said it would take time for him to come out of his own mind. 

Whatever Zer did to them, just his touch made Gilda shut down, and the nurses all said that they must have given him way more mental damage than I initially thought.

"I figured." Dr. Horse said looking over a full body X-ray of Gilda.

“What did you figure?” I asked nervously.

"Why Gilda most likely shuts down like this at his touch." He sighed. "Griffons are notorious for receiving injuries to their body and breaking bones either in fights or crash landings, but this… nine, no, twelve points of impact to the head that each cracked and spiderwebs out, minor spinal damage, every rib broken and reset, arms and legs too all in multiple places. Pelvis bone cracked along the… oh, well, you get it. Even the wing bones. Every time Gilda moves must be agony. Don't even know how they manage flight with wing damage this bad. Whatever these gang members and this Zer did to him, it left Gilda literally an inch from death."

“Jesus fuck…” I muttered. “Is...is there any way to help them? I know mentally it’ll take forever but...at least physically just to make sure they don’t suffer like that…”

"The fact they can move and fly means either they are muscling through the pain and are numb to it, which might be the minor spinal injuries doing. The only bright side to that event. In fact… yes, Gilda should have died but the skull and cracked bones all show signs of magical healing. A potion likely. The improper healing on Gilda's spine from the potion does seem to have made it possible for them to move but likely dulled their physical senses. We can repair all of this, but it will take a lot of time and work."

“I don’t care how long it takes.” I told the doctor. “Just please...please help Gilda…” I said, feeling massively responsible for him even though a lot of their trauma happened way before I even got here.

"Hmm." He hummed, looking over the X-ray again. "Spinal damage will have to be last, keeps them off painkillers longer and reduces dependency while under. Before we can even start though Gilda needs to come out of their own mind first and agree to the surgery."

“I...hope I can help them come back…” I said worriedly. “I’m their best friend...it’s the least I can do….”

"You can try. Sometimes a friendly voice or object can bring them out of it."

“Hopefully…” I sighed out. “Let’s hope for the best I suppose.” I started while heading off to see Gilda in their hospital room.

They were laid in a basic hospital bed, no machines or anything hooked up to them aside from a wrist strapped heartbeat monitor. I sighed as I sat in the chair next to their bed. Gilda's eyes were still so distant and away. Vacant and hollow like a doll's.

“Hey Gilda, it’s me.” I said gently to the griffon, taking a seat next to him. “It’s been awhile since we last talked…”

No response. Carefully I took hold of their hand. It was so different. Not like birds yet a lot like them. Thicker skin, rough palms and finger sections for holding onto places to perch on, fingers that ended in claws that extended from fingernail like spots. They were so sharp, just tracing my finger along it gave me a small cut.

“Still sharp as ever…” I muttered. “Gilda please...I’m here for you, don’t give up hope…” I said softly, not knowing what to say to him but thinking just saying something, anything, was better than just doing nothing.

“Quite the little trick is it?” I looked up, seeing Sombra, likely only I could see him, standing over Gilda. He had more of his face and body now, but still parts were missing. “To escape true horror and terror, your mind can literally trap itself within the depths that the consciousness should not be able to reach into. Both a salvation and a prison. Ironic really.”

“If you're going to tell me how to bring Gilda back, tell me now or figure out how to get me in his head.” I frowned. “I’m not in the mood right now for cryptic crap Sombra…”

"Straight to the point today. No fun but fine. That train Luna rides to get into your head does work two ways. Simply rest next to Gilda here and when you leave your Zanarkand for the dream realm their door should be next to yours. But without Luna's help you'll have to take the long way to Gilda's mental safehouse."

“Then I’ll go find Luna and go after Gilda...I can’t lose him…” I said, softly holding his rough talon.

"And do you have time to wait for her to finish whatever royal duties she has?"

“Then fuck it.” I said. “I don’t have time for Luna to get here...I need to hurry and get Gilda back before things start going to hell…”

"That's what I wanted to hear." Sombra said, taking my hand and placing it atop Gilda's head. I felt a sudden pulse of magic from me and Gilda fell asleep immediately. "You will need my help there." He said as I took my hand back.

“Alright...now to knock myself out...you know, I thought I would have done this with booze first before knocking myself out…” I chuckled.

"Sleeping spells are just as effective."

“Plus it saves the hangover.” I said honestly. “So...let’s get this over with.”


Once in Zanarkand I opened up Sombra's cell...cage… display? Whatever it was I opened it and a quick train ride out of Zanarkand we were in front of Gilda’s dream door. Funny, never imagined it looking so… sad. There were many doors around us, all kinds and types, and here Gilda’s was… basic wood, just two by fours nailed together to form a door. I mean, hell my way to Zanarkand is a freaking portal looking thing.

“Alright, first time entering someone else’s dreams...this is gonna be a little weird.” I said while trying to open the door.

It opened easily enough and inside we were met with a pitch black void all around us. Soon though, as we walked light began making shapes, sounds. Soon, we were in the Deer Kingdom Again. I looked around, seeing the fighting and seeing Zer kick off an unsent before landing in front of Gilda. “Quite the friend you have there, doll.” Zer said, his voice taking on a completely different tone as he spoke to Gilda, no longer snarky, proud or confident… more like when speaking to an idol. 

Gilda, raised his sword up. “Don’t fucking call me that.”

“Most recent memories.” Sombra explained, waving a hand through Zer like he was a ghost. “Can’t interact with anything on this level.”

“I still want to murder him, and watch as he regrets his life.” I growled.

“Just watch and learn.” Sombra said.

“But Gilda, baby, you can’t hate me that much can you? After all after the boys had their fun I was the one who gave you that potion.”

“And you were also the one who kept smashing my head in everytime I so much as twitched wrong!” Gilda roared, flying fast and impaling Zer. He didn’t react. “You know my spine didn’t heal right… I can barely feel whatever touches me.”

“And yet.” Zer said, taking Gilda by the wrist and Gilda immediately froze. “You can always tell when I’m the one to touch you, love.”

Gilda was frozen for a bit, but wanked their arm free and backed away, their sword still in Zer’s chest. “I am not your love. I don’t fucking love you. I am not into guy’s you fucking retard!”

“Coming from you, that's hypocrisy. I know how often you flirted your way out of trouble with guys, passing for a girl, your adventure with Anna and that Top Hat guy proved you still got it. Loved that dress by the way.”

“You… you’re still stalking me!? I figured after I cut your head off you’d get the message!”

“Yeah, that was a new one.” Zer said, pulling out Gilda’s sword and tossing it aside. “Were you surprised?”

“That you let someone turn you into an undead freak? Sadly not.”

“I got the power I need to claim the Griffon Kingdom back for my family Gilda. My ancestral right will be within my claws in a few short months. And when that happens I want you there with me Gilda. You’ll be my queen.”

Gilda roared, charging at Zer. “I. AM. NOT. A. CHICK!”

As Gilda got within punching distance of him, Zer vanished, appearing behind Gilda and grabbing an arm around their Torso and another on a breast. Gilda immediately froze, and turned a bright red. “But you want me to. I’ve watched you our whole lives Gilda. Your looks, walk, attitude, the way you always buy womens clothes. You WANT to be female. You had the change for surgery, and rather than look more make, you got these.” Zer stated, squeezing a breast of Gilda’s as their eyes began to sink. 

“I… I just wanted to-”

“Be told you’re beautiful. Be admired, be loved.” Zer cooed, now nuzzling Gilda’s neck. “And I do, Gilda. I love you like no one else in this world can. When I take the crown, I’ll find you again. Some of these Unsent used to be great Zebra shamans. Their skills in potions can make you the woman you always should have been, the woman you want to be… When you become my bride, my wife, you can become a real woman, and have my children.”

Gilda’s eyes went like how I saw them when I arrived, the quietest question escaping their mouth. “... Promise?”

Zer looked up, seeing me as I began to rush in. “Promise.”

With that, everything went back to that empty void again.

I stared blankly into the empty void, my fists clenched tightly. “GILDA!” I shouted into the empty void. “You better get your furry ass out here and explain yourself!” I barked while running off anywhere in his dream, tears streaming down my face as I weirdly felt...betrayed by Gilda believing this asshole, ready and willing to just accept what he says. “I’m going to find Zer, and I’m going to make him BEG FOR DEATH!” I roared. 

Sombra saw a strange outline around me, like waves of grey that looked like the shape of whale fins around my arms.

“Gilda!? Where are you?” I called out, my mind at war between absolute bloodthirsty rage towards Zer, and honest to god fear and worry for my best friend, even if my heart ached when thinking that we were only friends for some reason.

Light, sounds, images. I was in a warehouse. It was dark as hell here. There was a flash of lightning and I fell on my knees. Gilda looked… They looked like they got hit by a truck, blood and… other liquids oozed from their beak and dripped through their shorts that were once pants but were cut up into revealing shorts. Shirt was gone entirely and they looked dead already. The only sign he was alive was a slow, uneven breathing.

“Jesus christ…” I muttered.

For what felt like forever til I heard footsteps. Looking I grit my teeth and fists as Zer walked over to them. He sighed as he kneeled down over Gilda, taking out a small glowing purple vial from his pocket. “It didn’t have to be this way babe. We could have been like we were before.” He said, actually crying as he popped the bottles lid open and had Gilda carefully drink from it.

I tried to take a swing at the memory of Zer, knowing it won’t do anything but just hating him so much. “I will find you and fucking murder you Zer.”

Zer simply nursed the potion down Gilda’s throat. Once it was gone he waited til his breathing was more deep and regular. He let out a long sigh and carefully laid their head back down and got up. “Soon Gilda… everything will be perfect.”

The Void again. I began running again into the next memory.

This was a nicer looking building of… no, this is an apartment. The decor was basic, and the building was made from wood and clay.

“I’m not going to feel sympathy for Zer Gilda.” I frowned, looking around the apartment for where I’m supposed to go next.

I wandered around until I spotted Gilda at a dinner table and… woah! They were much younger here. Maybe a teenager even… and flat chested! So this is before that then. His head feathers were way shorter, likely an attempt to look more male… it wasn’t working, they looked so… cute!

“Fucking hangovers.” They muttered, drinking some coffee.

“I know this probably won’t help...but I’m gonna tease the shit out of Gilda when they wake up about how adorable they looked as a teen.” I chuckled.

“You know you’re working today.” A male voice spoke. For a moment I huffed, then realized that wasn’t Zer’s voice.

Entering the kitchen/dinning room. He was a well built male griffon easily twice Gilda’s size, and had all the same colors. “It helps me cope, Gilder.” Gilda huffed. “I hate my fucking job… and for Zer! For fucks sake can I just not have that guy in my life for ten minutes!”

“He practically runs all the media in Highstone, so no.” Gilder replied, taking a seat across from Gilda with his own coffee.

So this is Gilder...

“Where did you go wrong I wonder…” I started. “Cause...Gilder is someone I might want to save but...all things considered he didn’t help Gilda until after he was killed…”

“So what’s the boss man got you doing today?” Gilder asked as he sipped his drink.

“You know what. More photos with that outfit… Why is it so popular!?” Gilder just chuckled. “Shut up!”

“I didn’t say anything.” Gilder said with a chuckle. He looked at a wall clock and quickly downed his coffee. “Come on bro, we gotta go.”

“Do I have to?”

“You like getting paid and eating, paying rent, drinking water and booze? Then yes.”

“Fuck…” Gilda signed as they chugged their coffee and headed out.

I followed the two through this place. Highstone, hmm… This must be the capital of the griffon territories. We headed off into a larger metal building. I followed Gilda into a… dressing room… no way.

I watched as Gilda put on… no way no way no way!

“I hate this outfit…” Gilda growled as they finished adorning a pair of cat ears on their head, the fluffy lion paw gloves covering their claws and a poofy short skirt dress, cat tail and lace stockings in high heels.

“Oh my god…” I blinked. “That’s adorable as hell...and I’m hating Zer more because he’s forcing Gilda into a brothel situation…”

Gilda gave out a long, pissed off sigh before heading out. Once outside he stood in front of… This is a photo shoot? “You ready Gilda?” The camera griffon asked.

“No but I gotta do it anyway.” They sighed, taking a long deep breath and then- Ach! My heart!

Gilda gave the largest pair of puppy dog eyes, holding their paw gloved up to their face while looking adorably lovingly at the camera, all while giving the cutest smile!

Gilda… the hell were you… I walked over to where I spotted several magazines. Griffon Style Monthly, Pop Idol Weekly, Sexy Felines Monthly… all had Gilda on the cover in various outfits ranging from adorable like his current one to making me drool like when we went undercover. Gilda was a model… and very, very popular.

“Jesus lord Gilda…” I muttered. “Why must you be so sexy?”

I watched while holding my chest at the display of complete and total cuteness before me that seemed to last a few hours. “And that’s it. See you tomorrow then Gilda.” The Camera Griffon said.

“Regretfully.” Gilda sighed, rubbing their cheeks. “All that smiling fucking hurts.” They huffed as I followed them to their dressing room and of course there’s Zer.

“Bravo, Bravo! These new issues will fly like dead leaves in a hurricane Gilda.”

“Bite me.” Gilda huffed at them.

“Well, If I remember…” Zer started with a smile and received a cat paw glove thrown at their head. “Hey, hey, no need to hate on remembering old times.”

“Key words being old times, as in the past, as in leave it there perv.”

“More reasons to hate Zer.” I growled. “He kept ruining my time enjoying how adorable Gilda is.”

“It wasn’t that long ago Gilda love.” Zer said simply.

“Not your love, whatever… that was, was a mistake, got it.” Gilda snapped.

“You did enjoy it though, right?”

“Piss off, I have another shitty shoot tomorrow and another outfit I am positive you hand picked.”

“Guilty as charged.” Zer said with a laugh.

“Physically, emotionally, and sexually abusing him till he became so numb that he could only agree...even this long ago…” I muttered.

The void came back and I immediately walked into the next memory. I was in a warehouse, an area built to be more of a living space than storage or machine work… and I just stood staring at what I saw… Zer… and Gilda… Spooning in a bed… and Gilda was the little spoon…

“Only I can spoon Gilda damn it.” I frowned, blinking as I felt my cheeks heat up. “Why did I say that…”

After a moment Gilda began to stir, yawning as they got up, only stopping because Zer’s arm’s didn’t let go. “Zer, let go of my ass.”

“Noooo~ It’s so squishy.” Zer laughed as Gilda blushed and ripped his hands off. “Hey, it’s a complement.”

“I know… still…” Gilda looked… conflicted. He looked both genuinely happy… and conflicted and confused. “So, what’s today’s schedule?”

Zer yawned, getting up. “For me, gotta meet with my supplier coming over from the Zebra lands, and you are meeting with that photographer I set up for you.”

“I don’t wanna model…”

“You have the bod for it, dick or not.” Again, Zer got a blush from Gilda and I kept trying to strangle his neck. Curse you inability to interact with memories! 

“Fair enough but still. Will I always be wearing womens clothes?”

“Probably, but so what? You look good in them, plus they don’t make men’s pants in your ass size.” Gilda whacked Zer’s head. “Ow!”

“Jerk…” Gilda sighed. “I’m just so over people seeing me as either gay, crossdresser…”

“And us and your wardrobe are…?”

“I know, I know I just…”

“Hey, you are a guy, so what if you dress and look like a woman. You know what’s in your pants, so do I, who cares what the others all think?”

“So what? Embrace my body but keep my genitals?”

“Sure, and besides, if you ever wanna try out the full female experience the sex shops do sell those gender swap potions.”

Gilda laughed. “Yeah, I remember…” Gilda said, looking hollow again for a moment before shaking it off. “Guess I better start heading out then.”

“Gilda.” Zer said.

“Hm- hm?!” Gilda asked, turning and getting a kiss on the beak from Zer. 

Zer smiled looking at Gilda’s blushing red face. “Love you.” He cooed.

“Heh, yeah…” Gilda said, standing up and trying to leave, tripped, hit the floor, then got up quickly and ran off.

The void again now… 

“I’m going to fucking Murder Zer.” I growled.

“Careful.” Sombra said, has he just been waiting here in this void the whole time? “You’re getting close, just remember once you reach the mental bunker, you could be trapped too.”

“As long as I’m with Gilda...as long as I can help them through this, I don’t care.” I said while continuing forward. “Gilda shouldn’t have to go through this….not alone at least…”

I walked into the next memory. I was in… a house. It was shabby, unkept and disgusting.

“Worthless!” I turned, seeing an older female griffon kick a younger child griffon into the nearby wall. “Twenty bits won’t buy shit Gilda.”

My eyes widened, looking at the small child… Gilda.

The young Gilda winced in pain as they stood up, holding their stomach where that woman kicked them. “That’s all they paid me mom.” They cried.

Mom… this bitch is Gilda’s mom?!

“You can’t steal for shit Gilda.” She huffed, grabbing Gilda by the chin hard. “But you got a face that perverts would love to pay for.”

Both Gilda and my own eyes went wide. “W-what are you gonna do?”

“You got a cute face Gilda, you have a face that screams female and I imagine when you grow up you’ll have a body to match.” She said, taking out a bottle with a pink liquid that had two opposit pointing crossed arrows on it. “This will just be temporary, but the perverted fucks will pay top bit for you when you have the parts they want.”

“P-Parts?”

I was shaking. The void was around me again and… Not even his… His own mother…

I couldn't believe any of this...I truly couldn't…so I kept moving forward, knowing Gilda needed me more than ever. "I'm coming for you Gilda…"”

Light, sounds, shapes, and… Rainbow Dash’s house… The one place Gilda felt safe. Where he belonged… Gilda’s here!

"Gilda!" I called out, rushing towards the house, hoping they were there.

I about knocked the door down entering, hearing crying upstairs. I ran up and inside the guest Bedroom I finally found him. Gilda was laid belly down on the bed, cries of a life of pain and suffering was the only sound that could be heard.

“Gilda…” I started, softly moving over to Gilda’s crying form. “Gilda it’s me, Anna.”

They didn’t answer, just kept crying. I sighed, sitting next to them on the bed.

“So…” I started, not entirely sure what to say right now, but knowing I had to say something drastic enough to get them to notice me. “You did modeling?” I asked, hoping that would have surprised Gilda enough to notice me.

“I… Did everything…” Gilda whimpered. “Everything in my life I’ve done, I did because my body was useful. Nobody ever cared about me, just my ass…”

“I care about you.” I told him. “And not because of your ass, but because your a wonderful person.”

“Says the girl who eyes it about as much as my chest.” I blushed a bit… yeah I could have been way more subtle about that…

“I will...admit I do stare a bit…” I sighed. “But that doesn’t stop me from liking you for you. You’re my best friend, someone I want to protect, and keep away from that dip shit Zer.”

“Zer…” Gilda said sadly, shifting on the bed a bit. “My whole life… He genuinely loved me. He’s cruel, twisted, but he loves me…” Gilda said, sounding hollow in his voice as I noticed outside was getting… darker. “I was a real girl once…” I jumped, the window cracking. “Mom said the potion would last a day, and I made her so much money that day. It was the first time she smiled and said she was proud of me.” The window shattered as outside became pitch black, the paint looking more dull by the second. “Two days and I was still a girl. I cried to her and she knew the issue. She had me lay down on the floor and relax as she stomped on my stomach. Said she had to abort that baby for me to change back.” The ceiling cracked open, debris and dust falling on us. “And It kept happening for years. Each time I was a day over, another punch or kick to turn me back… At least with Zer I can keep them…”

“He doesn’t fucking love you!” I snapped. “He is a manipulative, sadistic waste of life! No amount of ‘true love’ can excuse all the physical, mental, and sexual abuse and literal fucking torture he puts you through!” I snapped. “I love you! I don’t care about what you look like! I don’t care if you want to be a woman! I care about you Gilda! The one that’s had my back since I started being a hero! If you want to have a kid, have one with me! Have a child with someone that actually gives a shit about you as a person instead of as a piece of fucking meat!” I shouted as I grabbed Gilda’s shoulders. “Please…” I cried. “I don’t want to lose you…”

Gilda held me tight, about as tight as I was holding them. “I just want to be loved… I just want to be worth something to someone…” They cried into my neck.

“You’re worth something to me.” I said softly. “You’re worth a whole lot of something to me. You’re very important to me Gilda.” I cried. “I love you.”

“How… Why?”

“How? Because you’re an amazing person that...kind of checks off several of my ‘must date’ boxes...and why? Because you’re my best friend that I’ve fought and trained with for months… you’re amazing Gilda.”

“How can you like someone like me? I’m so… feminine.”

“And?” I asked. “You’ve proven to me that I don’t have to care about you being ‘feminine’, cause you’re amazing my man. Also...seriously, have you looked down there? I’d say that’s anything but feminine.” I blushed brightly. “Sorry, I shouldn’t think about that right now. Cause your actions speak a lot louder than your looks.”

“Heh… I just… can’t see anyone in a relationship with me where I’m the guy…”

“Not even me?” I asked. “Cause I’m pretty sure I’d make a wonderful girlfriend...even if I’ve never been on a date.” I blushed.

“You’ve never been on a date?” Gilda said with a chuckle, it turned into laughter as I blushed but joined in. The place became more… safe looking again. “Well, so long as you weren’t me. The few relationships I have been in I was the girlfriend, I wouldn’t even know how to be the man in the relationship.”

“Just be you, you adorable dork.” I giggled. “And just so you know...I have so much teasing material on you now.” I said with a sly grin.

“Ugh… If you ever find those photos I will kill you.”


“I didn’t know anything about photos, but I do know about the magazines.” I teased. “And I’m sure Rarity would just love to have a known professional model for her outfits.”

Gilda blushed, but grew his own sly smile and hugged me tight from my waist, making me blush. “Only if my mate is there to dress up next to me~” Gilda teased. “I still have that dress from our undercover night out.”


“Well...it was interesting to wear a dress…” I said sheepishly. “But you’re more pretty, and just want to point out that lion costume you had was just being adorable.”

“Heh, it was a cat outfit.” Gilda laughed. “Some weird thing the more eastern kingdoms are into.”

“It was just plain adorable.” I chuckled. “But...just know that your not alone, Gilda...not anymore.” I said gently. “If you want to talk about anything, your…” I blinked. “Wait, did you just call me your mate? What about being boyfriend girlfriend thing first?” I asked quickly, my face as red as a tomato as that finally processed in my brain.

Gilda blushed also. “Heh, well… I mean, there’s not really dating in the Griffon culture, just mostly… selection and approval… and you did say that you… wanted kids… with me...”

“It’s better than letting that bastard Zer have kids with you.” I said. “Cause if anyone’s going to call you bubble butt, it’s me.” I said protectively.

“If you’re calling me Bubble Butt then I’m calling you Milk Tank.”

Tommy you ass! That was one time on a dare!

“It was one time, and it was a dare.” I frowned. “Damn it Tommy…” I grumbled.

“I still don’t get it all, just that a pet monster you had couldn’t beat some other guy’s monster cow thing?”

“Okay so basically I bet someone I could beat my brother in a game called ‘Pokemon’, and his strongest pokemon was a Miltank, and like an idiot I forgot that it was still early in the game and...well I lost the bet and had to dress up as...a more ‘humanized’ version of it at a convention...it was embarrassing as hell…” I blushed in embarrassment at remembering that horrible time.

“So… like a minotaur then?”

“… Huh, sorta, less furry and more sexy but kinda.” I said with some thought.

“Heh… So, is this the part where I wake up… and if so how?”

“I don’t know actually, we’re kind of inside your ‘mental bunker’ as it were.” I said honestly.

“Huh… and how do we get out then? Will I just wake up or something?”

“Well we can either do two cheesy things, walk out the front door hand in hand as we both wake up...or have a ‘true love's kiss’ and wake up.” I blushed.

“Probably hold hands… cause how are we gonna kiss? I have a beak and you got those… lips.”

“I...don’t know, and that sucks.” I huffed. “I want to kiss you damn it...but beaks are not good for kissing.” I pouted.

“Well a griffon can kiss another griffon it’s just more of a keep the beaks open and use tongue over how you just press lips together.”

“Alright.” I nodded. “Well, let’s get going my mate.” I said while kissing his beak lovingly.

“Let’s, mate.” Gilda said, taking my hand as we got off that bed and walked down the stairs, and out the door.

To be continued...