//------------------------------// // Preparations // Story: Thicker than Water // by FoggyHunter //------------------------------// Chapter 6: Preparation Trevor awoke from his sleep feeling quite refreshed, if a little sore. Celestia's morning sun brought warming light through the windows of the library. This, however, could not brighten his mood any as what Khaine had said troubled him greatly. The shard of a once powerful god that resided in his mind had said that there would be blood spilt, but failed to mention when. The Traveler had faced threats like this before, and thus focused on how he was to prepare for the coming battle. The main thing that worried Trevor was not knowing who his enemies would be when the battle happens. A great deal of information was needed in order to prepare properly. 'Any idea who I will be fighting, or a when?' Trevor thought towards his mind companion. 'Nope, just that you will be,' replied Khaine. 'Well that's helpful,' Trevor thought sarcastically. Trevor did not have much to go on and he knew it. He knew how to fight; the fact that he was still alive proved that much. What came to Trevor's mind, however, was concern for his gracious hostesses. As far as he could tell, most if not all of ponykind had never known of any battles or major fights that resulted in killing. Trevor remembered a certain event from Fluttershy's memory that he had happen to brush by. It was a fight that the pegasus had been witness to between some frontier ponies and the native buffalo. It was, interesting to say the least. Neither side took any casualties, or injuries for that matter. This may have been because the ponies were fighting with pies, fricken pies. The fight ended when a piece of said pies landed in the buffalo chief's mouth. The chief liked the pie so much that he came to a compromise with the pony sheriff right then and there. That little event would literally look like a picnic in comparison to what Trevor knew was to come. Another thing that worried Trevor was how was he supposed to break the news to the ponies. Would they even believe him? To warn them would also ultimately lead to him revealing his mind companion, which he knew the ponies would not take well. The shard of a war god is something most sentient beings wouldn't want to hang around, especially when that shard is sentient itself. Trevor was still sitting in bed, wracking his mind for a solution when Twilight stirred from her own sleep. The unicorn yawned deeply as she got herself up into a sitting position and rubbed her eyes with her front hooves (which would seem painful to the Traveler's point of view). Trevor stifled a chuckle when he saw the bed-head that Twilight had achieved; the unicorn's usually straight, magenta streaked main was a complete mess. The unicorn in turn opened her eyes slowly, noticed the Traveler, and smiled. "Good morning, Trevor," Twilight said pleasantly. "Good morning," Trevor replied while giving off another one of his trademark smiles. "Did you sleep well?" Twilight asked next as she exited the bed. "Yes, very well," Trevor replied. It was not a totally honest answer, but then it wasn't a total lie, either. "Good, what would you like for breakfast?" "Um, what is there?" "Well, I could go out and get some apple scones if you like?" "Really?" Trevor said with a hint of surprise. "You'd go out of you way just for me?" "Of course," Twilight replied in a matter-of-fact manner. "You're my guest, so I should do what I can to keep you comfortable." "Thank you, scones would be fine." "Sure, just give me a second," Twilight said as she headed for the wash room of the library. The washroom was just that, a washroom with a tub, sink, and mirror which also doubled as a medicine cabinet; nothing exciting or impressive, which was just fine for Twilight. The unicorn took one look in the mirror and then blushed with embarrassment. Her mane was a total mess and she hadn't even noticed during her conversation with the Traveler. It embarrassed her that Trevor saw her like this; she didn't know why, it just did. Twilight telekinetically opened the medicine cabinet, pulled out a brush, and began to work her mane into a more orderly fashion. When her mane was back to its natural straight state, Twilight exited the wash room and headed down the steps and towards the kitchen. In the kitchen, Twilight picked up one of her saddle bags, which also resembled a shopping basket, and then proceeded to trot towards the door. Upon reaching the door, Twilight stopped and called up to the Traveler. "I'm going now, be back in a bit." "Ok," she heard Trevor answer from the upper level of the library. With that, the unicorn exited the library and trotted off towards the Sugarcube Corner Bakery. ----------------------------- Trevor saw her go through one of the library windows. It was then that he actually noticed the town. During his trip here with Fluttershy, he hadn't really stopped to look at the scenery. Now that he had time, he could see that the town definitely had a heavy Medieval feel to it. The architecture and streets all had an old-fashion look to them. This actually made the town seem even more humble. 'So, you gonna tell her?' Trevor heard Khaine say. '… No.' 'No?' 'No, this place is too peaceful for them to worry over something that has never happened here before. Besides, there is no definite fact that says the fight will involve them.' 'That's a false way to think and you know it.' 'Either way, I would rather not worry them.' 'It will only be worse for them when it happens.' 'Then I will deal with it when that time comes. Until then, we must prepare.' Trevor went to the washroom himself and was pleasantly surprised to see that ponies did indeed use toilets. After relieving himself and washing his hands, Trevor went down stairs to see if there were any interesting books that could increase his knowledge of the world he was on. While going towards one of the many bookcases, Trevor noticed an open letter on Twilight's writing desk. Curiosity overcame the Traveler as he approached the desk and picked up the letter. It read as thus: 'Dear Twilight Sparkle, I have received your letter telling of this Traveler. You know that I always trust you judgment, however I must express caution in this situation. While what you have told me of the Traveler is very interesting, it is also very worrying. The ability to use magic is something alone that could be used to do harm, but this "Warp", as you call it, also sounds dangerous. It is a power that not even I am familiar with and yet from what you have told me, this Traveler uses it on a daily basis. The implications of this could range from helpful to harmful. I cannot express the importance that caution is used in dealing with this Traveler until I am sure he is of good nature. Unfortunately, politics within Canterlot and a new parasprite infestation in Staliongrad means that I myself will not be able to meet him for some time. As such, I am sending my sister Luna to meet him in my stead. She will arrive at Ponyville after she has taken care of a few other matters herself, which will be in about two days. Stay safe, Twilight. I do not want to lose my favored pupil. Sincerely, Your loving mentor, Princess Celestia' After Trevor put the letter back to where it had been he merely muttered, "Huh." 'Well, look at that; our "gracious hostess" just so happens to be pen pals with the local monarch,' Khaine said with a hint of irritation. 'A wise monarch, at that,' Trevor responded. 'She did tell us that she was the Princess's pupil yesterday, remember. What I want to know is how the heck was Twilight able to contact the Princess and then be contacted back through just letters in one night?" 'My guess would be magic.' 'Oh,' thought Trevor sheepishly, 'right.' As Trevor continued his search for a good history book, he began to think more on the implications of magic, specifically how fast letters were delivered. 'Hey, that letter had to be teleported in order for it to reach Twilight so fast, right?' 'Well, I suppose so, unless the Princess lives right next door,' Khaine replied 'Was that your attempt at making a funny? Because it fell right on its face.' 'Yes, ya killjoy, it had to be teleported.' 'So magic can teleport other objects besides living creatures, we could use such a technique.' 'And how is that?' 'Well, we currently don't have any weapons to fight the battle that will come, and I don't think these ponies have any either. Maybe we could teleport some weapons from past worlds we've been to.' 'That… might not be such a bad idea. We've never done anything like it though. All we've done teleportation wise is use the Warp to jump ourselves.' 'Then all we need to do is combine our experience with the Warp and the teleportation techniques of magic.' 'That seems overly complicated.' 'Maybe, but do you have a better idea?' 'We could just use what we know now and crush the minds of whoever is foolish enough to cross us.' 'That tactic is one that can be easily thwarted by just a simple spell, or another psyker.' 'How do you know we will have to fight someone with those capabilities?' 'How do you know we won't?' 'Fine, we'll do things your way.' Trevor had not survived for as long as he has traveling without picking up a few good habits. One of these habits was having at least a little Warp-enhanced mental awareness of his surroundings at all times. At this point, his "mind sonar", as Trevor sometimes thinks of it, was detecting another mind in the room that was just now becoming active from slumber. ------------------------------------------ Spike awoke from his sleep as he did every day: slowly and unwillingly. However, this day Spike noticed a few things different when he opened his eyes. The first thing he noticed was that he was downstairs now. This struck the baby dragon as odd as he always slept in Twilight's room. This oddity, however, was overshadowed when he noticed the giant creature that was standing in the room with its back to him. To Spike's credit, he didn't faint this time as he had seen this creature twice before, each seeming like a dream when he remembered it. However, Spike could not stop himself from shaking with fear, hoping that the creature had not noticed him. "You've done well not to pass out this time, Spike; I wouldn't want to have to catch you again." Spike's jaw dropped in shock at what he heard. The creature talked, spoke his language, and even knew his name. But what did it mean by "catch you again"? Spikes young mind began to race as he began wondering where Twilight was at a time like this. "W-what are you?" Spike said in a shaky voice. "How do you know my name? Where's Twilight? What have you done with Twilight?" Spike's confidence began to return slowly with each question. "Twilight just left to get us breakfast," answered the creature as if he was talking to an old friend. This only confused Spike. "What do you mean get us breakfast?" "I mean exactly what I said. She is a very kind soul, and also quite fond of you." By now the creature had turned to face Spike. To the baby dragon, the creature looked stranger from the front than the back, but then he saw the creature's eyes. The kindness that was held in those emerald eyes was not lost upon the baby dragon and Spike felt his fear ebb away. "My name is Trevor," the creature continued, "and I am currently using this library as temporary living quarters under the permission of Twilight." Spike gave him a puzzled look and said, "What?" Trevor chuckled before saying, "Twilight's letting me live here for a bit." "Oh…" Spike responded. "Until Twilight gets back, I was hoping that I could find a history book of some kind." Spike perked up immediately. "Well, I know something like that, hold on a sec." With that, Spike exited his bed and walked over to a ladder that happened to be leaning on one of the book cases. Trevor himself wondered why he hadn't noticed it before. The small purple and green reptile then slid the ladder to a certain book case where he proceeded to climb it. Once about past half way up the ladder Spike reached out and grabbed a brown book with a golden spine. After removing the book from the bookcase, he threw the book with surprising strength for such a small being straight towards Trevor who in turn caught the flying bundle of paper with both hands. "Try that one. It was once considered a fairy tale until Twilight proved it to be true history." Intrigued, Trevor looked down at the book that was in his hands and found that the cover had what looked like a golden unicorn with turquoise eyes inscribed upon it. Trevor thanked spike for his help, took a seat on the couch, and opened the book. The only thing to be read on the front page was "Once upon a time". 'Seriously?' Trevor heard from the back of his mind. 'This is a children's book.' 'With how much we know of this land we may as well be children,' Trevor replied through thought as he flipped to the next page and began reading. ------------------------------------------- 'Once upon a time, in the magical land of Equestria, there were two regal sisters who ruled together and created harmony for all the land. To do this, the eldest used her unicorn powers to raise the sun at dawn. The younger brought out the moon to begin the night. Thus the two sisters maintained balance for their kingdom and their subjects; all the different types of ponies. But as time went on, the younger sister became resentful. The ponies relished and played in the day her elder sister brought forth, but shunned and slept through her beautiful night. One fateful day, the younger unicorn refused to lower the moon to make way for the dawn. The elder sister tried to reason with her, but the bitterness in the young one's heart had transformed her into a wicked mare of darkness: Nightmare Moon. She vowed that she would shroud the land into eternal night. Reluctantly, the younger sister harnessed the most powerful magic known to ponykind: the Elements of Harmony. Using the magic of the Elements of Harmony, she defeated her younger sister and banished her permanently into the moon. The elder sister took on responsibility of both sun and moon, and harmony has been maintained in Equestria for generations since.' --------------------------------- The book itself was actually a picture book, which explained why it was so short. The information it held, however, was intriguing to the Traveler. "You say that this was considered a fairytale until Twilight proved it true?" Trevor asked Spike. "Yep," Spike replied with pride. "And how did she prove it?" Spike thought for a moment before answering, "Well, Nightmare Moon came back after being trapped on the moon for a thousand years. When she did, Twilight along with the rest of our friends went out to try and find the Elements of Harmony. I stayed here when they did, so I don't really know what exactly went down, but they found them and defeated Nightmare Moon with them. After that, Nightmare Moon turned back into Princess Luna and Princess Celestia took her back in. Did I mention that this all happened only two years ago?" Trevor looked with amazement at this information and merely said, "Wow." "Yea I know," Spike replied with laughter in his words, "And get this, Twilight had to do the same thing again a year later to stop Discord, the Spirit of Disharmony, from turning Ponyville into the capitol of Chaos." Unbeknownst to Spike, Trevor suppressed a shiver from running down his spine when the word "Chaos" was mentioned. He really hoped that the names were only coincidences. For now, Trevor continued with his questioning. "What did Twilight do with the Elements of Harmony?" "Hmm... I think Princess Celestia kept them." 'Well… I would not expect the unicorn to hold a power like that," commented Khaine within the Traveler's mind 'This only proves my point to make allies. Our hostess is not only a good acquaintance of the local monarch, but is also the wielder of the most powerful energy source this world knows of. I don't think it requires repeating but… You. Do. Not. Fuck. With unicorns.' 'Point taken.' "So, why would Twilight go out to get breakfast?" Trevor heard Spike ask, "We have plenty of food here." "You do?" "Yea, we got plenty of grass and dandelions." "Uh… I can't really eat any of that." Spike looked at Trevor with confusion before coming to a realization. "Oh, right; ponies eat that, and you're not a pony." Then Spike came to another realization. "Hey, you're not a pony. So what are you?" "A human." "Um, I've never heard of a human before." "Well, that's because I'm not from this world, or this galaxy, for that matter." "Whoa, so you're, like, an alien?" Trevor got a feeling of de ja vu from that question. "Yea, something like that." "Wait, you're an alien, does that mean there's going to be an alien invasion from a mother ship that looks like a flying saucer and you're going to suck out all our brains through bendy straw?" Spike's voice increased with worry over the course of his accusation. He also happened to be chewing on his claws by the end of it. "Heh, you have a very vivid imagination, but no. I'm the only human here." Spike let out a sigh of relief. 'If Twilight has this power about her,' Trevor thought again, 'maybe she would be a useful ally when your fight comes.' 'You sure? She may be powerful, but I doubt she's willing to kill,' Khaine replied. 'We may not have to kill.' 'Uh, hello? What part of "blood will be spilt here" do you not understand?' 'Alright, alright,' Trevor thought grudgingly. "So, what do humans eat?" Once again, Trevor was jolted back to reality by the voice of the small green and purple reptile. "Well, a lot of things. Fruit, nuts,…meat." "Meat? What kind of meat?" "Any that humans can digest." "Would…pony or…dragon meat count?" Spike asked with renewed worry. "I won't lie; it is a possibility, though I myself have never had it. And before you ask, no, I am not going to go around eating ponies…or dragons for that matter." "Phew," Spike said while seeming to swipe some invisible sweat from his brow. "Actually, I'm a meat eater myself, though it's just usually grubs that Fluttershy collects for me." "Yea, I think I'll stick with fruit," said Trevor, not wanting to think about the last time he had to eat insect larva. It was not a pleasant experience. For the next fifteen minutes, the two bipeds talked about their similarities and differences while Trevor at the same time brought Spike up to date on the information he had given to Twilight and the rest of her friends. Spike was intrigued by the Traveler's story while Trevor himself tried to guess on the nutritional value gems had for dragons, which he had learned where considered candy to dragons. Spike had just finished telling Trevor about how great Rarity is (Trevor assumed the young dragon had a thing for the white unicorn, which was a correct assumption) when Twilight returned with saddle-baskets full of delicious smelling baked goods. "Oh," Twilight exclaimed in surprise at seeing her assistant conversing with the Traveler, "I'm so sorry I forgot to introduce you two." "That's alright, we are already fairly well acquainted now." "Yea," Spike spoke up, "what he said." Twilight smiled before saying, "Well I'm glad you're getting along. Anyway, I have breakfast for you." Trevor inhaled the aroma deeply before saying, "Smells delicious, whatever it is." "Apple scones, just like I said I would get." "Ah… right," Trevor replied sheepishly. Twilight set the basket down near the couch while saying, "Here, help yourself. Would you like anything to drink?" "Water would be fine," Trevor replied as he picked up one of the scones. It took only a moment for Trevor to realize the searing pain coming from his fingers. With a yelp, Trevor dropped the still piping hot scone back into the basket while shaking his hand. Spike found this funny as he tried to hide a chuckle. Twilight on the other hand winced slightly at the Traveler's obvious show of pain. "Sorry," Twilight said, "They're a fresh batch; just out of the oven. I didn't realize that they were that hot or I would have warned you." "It's alright," Trevor replied, feeling the sensation in his fingers return to normal. "Right, well… I'll just get you some water." With that, Twilight went to the kitchen. Shortly after she returned while magically carrying a glass of ice water and handed it to the Traveler. "Thank you," Trevor said as he took the glass. Twilight merely nodded back as she herself took a scone (telekinetically, of course) and began to blow on it. Trevor decided to do the same, telekinesis included. Twilight still found it hard to believe that the Traveler could use telekinesis without magic, even when seeing it in front of her eyes. Despite this, she did not comment on it as she took a bite out of the pastry as Trevor did the same. Trevor had a look of content on his face as he slowly chewed the sweet and warming food. "I got to say," Trevor spoke in between bites, "this world has by far the best food that I have ever eaten. I got to remember to come back to this place sometime." Spike spoke up then, "Wait, your leaving?" "Not for a while," Trevor replied before taking a sip of ice water. The water was crystal clear and tasted even clearer. "You know, I actually envy you in a way. This place is nothing less than a paradise." "Really," Twilight replied, "I guess it could be called that, though it's not perfect." "Well that's good, perfection would be boring." Twilight giggled slightly at this, which gained a funny look from her baby dragon assistant. It was at this point that Trevor decided to confront Twilight about a little something. "So, does the Princess always reply to your letters so quickly?" Trevor asked, pointing to the letter on Twilight's writing desk with his thumb. "Oh, that. That's just… uh… well you see… eh…." Twilight said desperately trying to think up an explanation for the letter. She was afraid that the Traveler might take offence from it, but forgot to hide it somewhere. Twilight was almost to the point of hitting herself for her slip up when Trevor spoke up. "I know what it is and what it says, so there's no need for an explanation. I fully understand." "Y-you do?" Twilight asked worriedly, fearing she may have just lost a potential friend in just one day. "Yes, and I don't blame the Princess for her words. In fact it is very wise to approach new things with some caution…. So you can stop holding your breath now." Twilight hadn't even realized that she was holding her breath until Trevor had mentioned it. With a very noticeable sigh of relief, Twilight released her breath before saying, "So, you're not upset?" Trevor merely shook his head, another one of his trademark smiles on his lips. "I assume you received that letter through some sort of teleportation magic?" Trevor inquired. "That's correct." "And how does that work?" "Well, it works with a spell that Celestia herself casted on Spike that makes whatever he sets on fire with his dragon breath to teleport straight to her." "What if you want him to set something on fire besides what you want sent." "Why would I need to do that?" Spike piped up. "I don't know, maybe to help start a campfire or something." "Nothing like that has been needed yet," spoke Twilight, "though I'm sure there is a spell that can counteract the Princess's spell; with her permission, of course." Trevor thought for a moment before saying, "How does the Princess send letters back? Does she have a dragon of her own?" "Well… I'm not sure. The only pet she has that I know of is her phoenix, Philomena. Maybe she just sends it with a spell herself instead of using a dragon." 'Huh, so she has a pet that lives as long as she does. Smart.' Trevor heard Khaine say. They knew that the local monarch was immortal thanks to Trevor's mind scan of Fluttershy. "Is it possible to construct new spells; spells that have never been seen before?" Trevor asked next. Twilight was surprised by this question, though she didn't show it. "It is possible, but from what I know it is extremely difficult to create a spell from scratch." "What if someone was to use another spell as a template?" Once again, Twilight was surprised by the Trevor's question. She also realized that her respect for this human was increasing with each inquiry as she could tell that he, too, was a philomath (which means lover of learning for all you with limited vocabulary). "I'm not entirely sure. I have never heard of such a thing done before." Spike by now had lost the conversation entirely, and so decided to pick up the books that were still scattered from Trevor's failed attempt at a spell in order to keep himself busy (although Spike didn't know Trevor was the cause of the mess). "Do you know how spells are created in the first place?" "Not… entirely; I do know that most spells have you create a picture of what you want accomplished in your mind, but that's all I know about their creation." "If just imagining something being altered with magic gets the job done, then why have spells at all?" "Because using magic without a definite spell can have various results, most of which can be negative." Twilight answered, using her own experience this time. Looking back during the parasprite epidemic in Ponyville, that was exactly what happened when Twilight tried to use magic to stop the cute little bugs from eating all the food. The result was that the parasprites stopped eating the food, and began eating everything else. It was also at this point that Twilight realized she was teaching magic; no longer just learning or studying, but actually teaching. It was, to say the least, quite a thrill for the unicorn. The two continued as such, Trevor asking questions about magic and Twilight answering to the best of her abilities, for several minutes until they heard a knocking on the library door. "Uh oh," Trevor said, knowing he would have to hide again. "Don't worry," Twilight replied, "it's probably just Rarity." True to her word, when Twilight opened the door there stood the white unicorn with a small (but of course, elegant) shoulder bag hanging at her side. "Hello, Twilight. Is Trevor still here?" Rarity asked "Yes, he's right over there," Twilight answered, indicating where the Traveler was currently seated with a nod of her head. "Morning, Rarity," Trevor greeted the dress maker as she entered the library. "Good morning, Trevor. Did you sleep well for you first night in Equestria?" "As a matter of fact, I did." "Hi Rarity," Spike sighed with a love struck look on his face. Twilight rolled her eyes at her assistant's behavior. It was obvious to all of Ponyville that Spike had a crush on Rarity, except for Rarity herself as it seemed the white unicorn was completely oblivious to Spikes attention. "Hello, Spike. Now then, Trevor, could you be dear and stand up, please?" Rarity requested as she began to rummage through her shoulder bag. "Uh, sure," Trevor replied as he did what he was asked. He saw Rarity pull out of her bag what looked like a pair of orange rimmed reading glasses attached to a small chain that Trevor assumed was for a last resort should the glasses accidently fall. Along with the glasses, Rarity also pulled out a roll of yellow measuring tape most commonly used by tailors, a note pad, and a pencil. "Now then, could you kindly remove your clothing," Rarity said, gaining a shocked look from both Trevor and Twilight. Spike was too busy staring at Rarity with his love struck expression to even pay attention to what was happening around him. "What," Rarity said defensively after seeing their reaction, "you don't expect me to take your measurements while you're still in those rags now do you?" "Well, no… you're just a little too forward for comfort with this," Trevor responded. "Am I?" Rarity asked with surprise, looking over towards Twilight. Twilight responded with a simple nod. "Oh…. Well I suppose I am a little…over eager about this. But with the prospect of such revolutionary designs coming into being for an alien species, how could one not be eager? Just think of it, interspecies clothing designs." Rarity's voice grew higher pitched with excitement by the end of her statement. After seeing the seamstress so enthusiastic about her job, Trevor decided to oblige as he removed his shirt first and then began to work on his boots. As the Traveler undressed, Twilight realized she had not taken any real time to study the anatomy of this alien species. As such, she decided to pay close attention to the human and even brought out a paper and quill from her writing desk to take notes with. The first thing she noticed was that underneath the clothing the Traveler did indeed have hair, just much finer than the fur of a pony. The hair was most visible around the chest area and on the underside of where the arms met the torso. The second thing she noticed was that the Traveler was indeed well muscled. She could have seen this with his shirt on but with it off, the fact was much more pronounced as his well toned muscles were clearly visible beneath his lightly tanned skin. The third thing she noticed was that covering the Traveler's body were several pale marks; some circular, some linear. Twilight realized with a gasp that these were actually scars. Trevor had just removed his boots and socks when Rarity took notice of the scars as well. "Oh my stars… how on Equestria did you receive these?" Rarity asked, indicating the scars that littered Trevor's figure. Trevor shrugged before saying, "Traveling can have its ups and downs at times. I can tell you now that each one of these has a story behind it." With that, Trevor removed his jeans and sat them down on the couch along with his shirt. The Traveler then stood there in nothing more than his boxers while Twilight continued to scribble down notes. "Ahem…" Rarity coughed into one of her hooves. "Hm?" "I need you to remove all your clothing if I am to take accurate measurements." Trevor reacted to this by crossing his arms over his chest and giving the white unicorn a surprisingly stern look. "With all due respect, madam, for the sake of whatever sliver of dignity I have left, these stay on." Both Rarity and Twilight were taken aback by this response. However Rarity regained her composure first and said, "Very well, so be it." With that, Rarity began to take Trevor's various measurements by magically stretching and wrapping the measuring tape around different parts of the Traveler. After each measurement, Rarity would stop to quickly write on her note pad before continuing. This continued as such until Rarity had all the acquired measurements. "There, all done," Rarity said as she packed up her supplies. "I should have your new outfit done in no time. It's going to look absolutely marvelous." "Thank you," Trevor said as he redressed, "but unfortunately, I don't have any real way of repaying you." "Oh, that won't be necessary," Rarity replied with a wave of her hoof, dismissing the notion. "Just the experience of creating such exotic finery will be payment enough. Well, I'm off to head back to my shop, farewell." "Bye Rarity," Spike drooled, having kept his love-struck mannerism during the entire event. Spike sighed as the door to the library closed behind Rarity. "Isn't she amazing?" Spike asked. Trevor shrugged as Twilight rolled her eyes again. By now, Trevor was back in his clothes and ready to continue with the magic lessons. "So, we were discussing spells?" "Ah, yes," Twilight responded, and with that, they continued their discussion. ---------------------------------------- As the conversation continued for several hours, Twilight came to a realization that teaching was actually easier than she thought, especially with such a willing student. Trevor would usually just ask questions and Twilight would answer them to the best of her abilities while also elaborating on past points. It also occurred to Twilight that this human was the only one she knew that had the same genuine interest in magic as her, beside's Princess Celestia herself. All her other friends had interests of their own, but none that she could truly relate to. As fun and supportive as they were none of them gave her the satisfaction of a good conversation like Trevor. After stopping the lessons and heading into the kitchen to have some lunch, the two intellectuals and young assistant were visited quite suddenly by a certain pink pony. "Hiya, Mr. Alien!" Trevor gave a "gah" of surprise when said pink pony suddenly appeared right in front of him from underneath the kitchen table he had been sitting at, thus separating him from the salad he was about to dig in to. Twilight, who was currently sitting across from Trevor, was not nearly as surprised as the Traveler for Pinkie Pie's sudden appearance as she had the tendency to do that quite often. "Uh, how did you get in here?" Trevor asked after his initial shock. "Through the door, silly, how else would I get here?" "Then why were you underneath the table?" "I don't know," Pinkie Pie answered, her smile never leaving her face. "Don't worry about it too much, Trevor," Twilight put in. "She's just being Pinkie Pie." "Uh huh," "Yep," Pinkie Pie stated. "So what have you two been doing, huh? Any secrety type stuff. It's not good to keep secrets you know. Oh but if you do that's ok cause friends can always keep secrets cause friends trust each other and losing a friend's trust is the quickest way to lose a friend FOREVER!" The pink pony's neck seemed to stretch as she emphasized the last word a great deal. "Uh huh," Trevor merely repeated, not sure how to handle or even react to Pinkie Pie. Said pony was still inches away from his face and was leaning on his lap, which didn't help the situation for Trevor one bit. What really sent a chill down his spine, however, was that he had not sensed the pink pony's entrance. He could sense her now, which crossed out the possibility that she was a "blank" or someone who has no warp presence. Thus either this pink creature is fast as hell, or can teleport for no reason what so ever…or maybe even both. "Well it's nothing… secrety," Twilight stated, seeing Trevor's awkward look, "I was just teaching him a bit about magic." "OOOH, that sounds neat," Pinkie pie responded, moving around the table (to Trevor's relief) to sit by Twilight, "so can he do magic now? I wanna see, I wanna see. Come on, Mr. Alien, do some magic." Trevor's relief was short lived due to this new request. His last attempt at magic didn't end too well. Thankfully, Twilight saved him the trouble of explaining. "Sorry, Pinkie, but Trevor hasn't had enough time to practice in order to show off just yet." Pinkie, looking a tiny bit let down as she said, "Oh, ok," but immediately brightened back up as she exclaimed, "So when does he practice, huh? I wanna see Mr. Alien practice!" "Well, we haven't really set any date to practice. Besides, we should wait until the town gets to know Trevor before we start practicing any form of magic." Twilight, too, remembered the Traveler's first attempt at magic, and judged it would be better for him to only use magic outside for the time being, as well as away from anypony's property. During the two ponies' conversation, Trevor decided to take a little peek into Pinkie Pies mind just to get a few answers about the strange equine. Trevor reached out with his mind and, very cautiously, began to probe around Pinkie Pie's. It only took one second of probing for Trevor to retch back into his own mind, somewhat shaken. 'Well isn't this interesting,' spoke Khaine, 'I mean, who knew? Deep below all that cheer and smiling and bubblynes, lays a very, very demented creature. I like her already. She's a deadly sociopathic monster just waiting to pop.' Khaine then gave a sinister chuckle, and seeing as Trevor was still a bit shocked from his probing, the shard of a god continued. 'Now at least we know, right? Now we know how she does all her little tricks with the appearing out of nowhere and the precognition; she just doesn't give a flying fuck about the laws of physics. That, right there, is impressive.' 'And worrisome,' replied Trevor, now out of his initial shock. But then the gears started to turn in the Traveler's head, possibly aided by his mind companion, and Trevor came up with an idea; an idea that may help him come the day of the foretold fight. "Trevor, are you ok?" Trevor was brought back from the recesses of his mind by, once again, the voice of Twilight. "Huh," Trevor replied out of instinct. "Are you ok?" Twilight repeated, looking somewhat worried, "You seem a little out of it." "Uh, yea. I'm fine." "You sure, Mr. Alien?" Pinkie Pie piped up, appearing next to the Traveler with a worried look replacing her usual smile. "You're not getting sick, are you? I hope you didn't catch anything while you're here. (Gasp) What if you have hay fever?" Pinkie Pie ran to Twilight, grabbed her by the shoulder, and began to shake her quite violently. "Twilight, Mr. Alien has hay fever! Call a doctor! Call the Princess! Call SOMEPONY!" Trevor could tell that his mind companion found the pony's behavior quite amusing. "Calm down, Pinkie Pie; I'm not sick," Trevor said, desperate to get the situation, and the pink pony, under control. "Oh," Pinkie Pie responded, releasing a very dazed Twilight. "Well why didn't you say so, silly?" Trevor didn't know quite how to respond, so opted not to. Spike, who had been quietly sitting at one end of the table with a small bowl of gems in front of him the entire time, just watched and listened as he munched on the gems. Trevor took note that this small reptile must have an impressive bite to chew on solid gems as if they were potato chips. By now, Twilight had overcome her daze and decided to inquire on the reason Pinkie Pie had stopped by. "So," Twilight spoke to the pink pony, "what brings you to the library?" "Oh right, I totally forgot," Pinkie Pie gasped, "I came here to talk to you about Princess Luna's vis-" The pink ponie abruptly clomped both of her front hooves to her mouth. Twilight was looking rather shocked at this slip of information. Trevor knew what this was about, and so decided to make it clear. "I already knew of the Princess's visit to meet me, so there's no need to try and make it a surprise." Twilight looked away and scratched the back of her neck sheepishly as she remembered the letter that Trevor had already seen. Pinkie Pie on the other hand looked crestfallen. "Ah, so does that mean he knows about the- hmmf!" Pinkie Pie didn't have time to finish before Twilights hoof was plopped on her mouth. "Oh silly Pinkie Pie," Twilight said with a nervous laugh, "of course he knows about the fact that it's going to be a formal meeting." Trevor knew there was more to this meeting, however decided to just go along with it as trying to scan Twilight's brain would lead to serious discomfort for the unicorn and it is never a good idea to scan a mind that is not entirely sane. "Excuse us Trevor, we need to talk about some things regarding the meeting," Twilight spoke while at the same time practically dragging the pink pony out of the kitchen. "So… does this type of thing happen often?" Trevor asked Spike. The baby dragon merely replied, "You have no idea." With that, both bipeds continued to eat their lunch in silence. -------------------------------- The two days before Princess Luna's visit passed without any headache. For the most part, anyways. Trevor continued to spend his time in the library and be taught magic by Twilight. The Traveler had yet to actually practice the art of magic since his first attempt, but was still gaining valuable information on its basic fundamentals and uses. He had seen Rarity once more during the two days when she came to the library to "inform" Trevor that his outfit would take more time to complete than she usually took. Trevor understood and told her that she didn't have to rush (even though she was practically begging for his forgiveness). Trevor kept himself clean using the library's bathroom and always kept himself shaved except for the one patch of hair on his chin. When Twilight asked about it, Trevor merely stated that he "liked the look of it" and kept it at that. Twilight eventually found out about Trevor being omnivorous due to a slip of the tongue from Spike, but it blew over rather quickly as Trevor assured her that he was not into the consumption of other intelligent species. Thus far, Twilight and her friends had been able to keep Trevor's existence a secret from the rest of the town, and the rest of ponykind for that matter. On the day of Luna's visit, that would change. Trevor, however, did not realize in what fashion it would change, nor how drastically. ---------------------------------------- On the third morning since his arrival, Trevor awoke to a soon-to-be familiar sight. The sun was rising high into the sky and the light through the window was warming to both the body and the soul. However, Trevor's mind continued to be cold as he knew what was to happen this day. Although he had gone through such events before, it did not help to quell the anxiety that was building within him. Despite all of the ponies he has met thus far being of kind and peaceful nature, he had no idea what type of person, or pony, one of the rulers was. The fact that this ruler also tried to start a coupe against her own sister did not help the Traveler's anxiety any. Trevor could tell that Khaine, on the other hand, had a sense of enthusiastic expectation for the meeting. As Trevor exited the enlarged pony bed, it was clear that he was not the only one suffering from anxiety. Downstairs, Trevor could faintly here his hostess, Twilight, talking to no one in particular with worry rife in her voice, pacing as well, no doubt. Trevor made his way to the edge of the upper level of the library and looked down to see that his assumption was correct; Twilight was indeed pacing around the library, asking herself a lot of "what if" questions "What if she doesn't like the decorations? What if the banners are off? What if the punch is too sweet, or not sweet enough? What if the pastries are over baked? What if not everypony shows up and she has her feelings hurt? What if they still hold a grudge against her because she was once Nightmare Moon? Aaaaahh, this waiting is infuriating!" "You think it's infuriating? I'm the one that's going to get psychoanalyzed by her." Twilight gave a jump of surprise as she turned to look at Trevor, who happened to still be standing at the edge of the upper level in nothing but his shirt and boxers. Twilight set her rump down and gave a sheepish look towards nowhere in particular for being caught during her little raving. "Yea, I guess that's true. But I don't really see any reason why she wouldn't like you." "Uh huh," Trevor merely replied. After using the bathroom to wash up and redressing, Trevor returned downstairs to see Twilight keeping herself busy by reading one of the books in the library. Whatever reason Twilight would need to know "Insects and Their Brethren" was beyond Trevor. Despite her head being buried in the book, Trevor could still sense the feeling of anxiety from the purple unicorn. "So," Trevor began, earning Twilight's attention. "What's the Princess like?" Twilight thought for a moment before replying, "Well, she certainly has a good heart. She tries her best to be kind, but a thousand years on the moon has made her a bit... socially awkward, I guess you could say. Last I heard, though, Princess Celestia has been helping her open up more." "Hmm," Trevor responded, taking a seat on the library couch. "Anything I should keep in mind during our meeting?" "Well, she is royalty, so please be respectful." "I'll do that, anything else?" "That's… all I can think of at the moment. I really wish I knew what the real preparations are going to be like but I'm not the one overseeing it, mayor Mare is." Trevor did his best not to smirk at the obvious pun. "When's the meeting going to take place, and where?" "It'll be at the town hall, at sundown." "And everypony is going to be there?" Twilight looked somewhat surprised that Trevor knew that before remembering that she had mentioned it during her little raving not too long ago. "Yes," Twilight replied after overcoming her surprised, "the entire town will be there." "Do they know why Luna is visiting?" "No, not even mayor Mare knows why she's visiting; only that she is and that they must prepare for it." "Is Pinkie Pie helping with it?" Twilight was hesitant to answer before saying, "Yes." Trevor gave a heavy sigh and rested his head back before saying, "So it's going to be a surprise party for everyone there." Now Twilight was definitely surprised. "But, how did you..." "I'm not that stupid, I know how to put two and two together. My only concern is if a 'surprise' is really such a good idea to introduce an entirely new intelligent species?" Before Twilight could respond, a knock came from the library door. Twilight got herself back on her hooves and went to the door to reveal Rarity standing on the other side. The unicorn seamstress had two very stuffed saddlebags hanging over her back and a large smile on her face. "Oh, hi Rarity," Twilight greeted her friend. "I've done it, Twilight," Rarity exclaimed in excitement. "I've really done it! I have done what no other dress maker has ever done in the history of Equestria! I have completed a new outfit for an alien species!" Rarity gave an excited squeal of delight at her accomplishment. "That's great, Rarity, but could you come inside so that you don't attract too much attention." "Oh," Rarity said with a hint of embarrassment, then regaining her composure said, "of course darling." With that, the white unicorn entered the library and the purple unicorn closed the door behind her. "Good morning, Trevor," Rarity greeted the Traveler. "Good morning," Trevor responded. "Well, I am happy to inform you that your new outfit is finished and absolutely marvelous, if I do say so myself. I have it here with me and would be honored to present them to you." Before Trevor could say anything, Rarity used her magic to pull out the contents of her saddle bag and presented them in the air just above her for Trevor to see. Trevor was somewhat worried about what the outfit would turn out like before this moment. Now, he was able to breathe a sigh of relief knowing the outfit did not look overly girlish or horrendous. As a matter of fact, it was actually impressive considering that it was made by someone who had no past experience with human clothing. The top of the outfit was what looked like a vintage Victorian era captains coat dyed a shade of green not unlike the color of Trevor's emerald eyes with a plain silk undershirt that had a small frill at the collar. The cuffs were of about medium size with the ends of them coming up to about the middle of the lower arm and lined with a golden lace and several buttons. The collar of the coat came down to the middle of the torso to reveal the undershirt and extended past the shoulders to right under where the ears would be. The collar, like the cuffs, was also lined with golden lace and buttons; these buttons, however, were made of solid darkened resin. The top of the sleeves of the coat, along with its sides and pockets, were lined with strips of white fabric, also to imitate Trevor's unique eyes. The coat also sported a tail of such, though it looked more like a trench coat with its front cut open and away at the waist and only came down to about where the knees would be. The pants that accompanied the top were made in a similar fashion. They were made of the same fabric with the same green dye with the same white strips lining the outer and inner sides of the pants. A belt was also present at the waist of the pants made of a much thicker fabric (but not leather) with a shining silver buckle. To top it all off, a pair of brown, buckled down boots that came about have way up the shins (also not made from leather) was also present. To sum it all up for Trevor, it looked pretty damn cool. "Wow," Trevor said with genuine awe. "Do you like it?" Rarity asked, eyes filled with hope. "Yea, of course I do." "Oh good, I was afraid I had gotten the style wrong. Of course it will all be for not if it doesn't fit." Rarity practically thrusted the outfit at Trevor who hardly had time to catch it. "Now be a dear and go try it on please." "Uh, sure," Trevor replied as he climbed the stairs, arms still full of the clothing. After a few minutes, Trevor returned downstairs, this time donned with the new outfit. Two things surprised Trevor about the outfit. One, it was a perfect fit, and two, it was very comfy. When Trevor reached the bottom step, he saw a tear of pride fall from Rarity's eye. "You look… absolutely dashing," Rarity breathed with heavy emotion. "I have to say," Trevor said as he looked down at the suite, "this is very impressive." "Thank you, it was actually quite difficult to get the shape and style down, but it all came together in the end. In truth I was worried that the measurements were off." "You shouldn't be so modest. It takes a great deal of skill to craft something like this." Rarity blushed at the compliment only just now taking the time to wipe away her tears. "Wow, Rarity," Twilight spoke next, unable to take her eyes off of the Traveler's knew suit, "You really outdid yourself. I thought the dresses you made for us were amazing, but this… I can't even begin to describe how incredible it is." Rarity blushed even harder as she responded, "Oh, you two are just too much." After a little more small talk and more thanks, Rarity left to help prepare for the arrival of Princess Luna. With several hours left to burn, Twilight and Trevor decided to get back to magic studying. -------------------------------------- When the sun began to get close to the horizon, both knew it was time to go. For the first time in two days, Trevor left the library. One look at Twilight told Trevor that she was just as nervous as he was. The first thing that Trevor noticed on their way to the town hall was that the streets were completely devoid of life. All ponies in the town had no doubt already commuted to the town hall. The second thing Trevor noticed was that all of the roads were rather wide, well worn yet unpaved, save for one that ran the length of the town. Trevor soon discovered that this road eventually lead straight to the town hall doors, which was a somewhat large circular building with a large patio running along the bottom floor. Trevor could already guess that the inside was larger than it looked, considering the other buildings he had already entered. As they approached the town hall, they were greeted by a certain blue pegasus that had just dropped out of the sky. "Hey, guys," Rainbow Dash greeted as she hit the ground. "Whoa, cool looking getup there, Trevor. Let me guess, Rarity made it, right?" Both Trevor and Twilight nodded in response. "Geez, how does she do it?" Rainbow Dash said next to no one in particular. She then gave a look as if she had just remembered something. "Oh yea. Twilight, Pinkie Pie told me to tell you that you need to bring Trevor through the back." "What? Why?" Twilight asked. "Don't know, supposed to be part of the 'presentation'. At least that's what she said." Twilight and Trevor shared a look, both of their nervous unease increasing twofold. "Uh, ok, we'll do that." Trevor responded first. "Great, see you guys inside." And with that the pegasus was off into the air and back towards the town hall. With one more worried glance between the two, Twilight and Trevor headed for the back of the town hall. 'This is going to get very awkward, isn't it?' Khaine asked. 'Yep,' Trevor mentally replied. 'Well when we get turned into another planet's freak show, remember that it was you that got us here.' 'I'll keep that in mind.' After coming to the back of the town hall, the two were greeted by the pink pony herself. "There you two are. The preparations are almost set, I just need you, (pointing at Trevor) to head upstairs and wait there, ok?" "Um, ok." With that, Trevor separated from Twilight and went through the back door of the town hall and ascended the stairs he saw to his right. Already he could sense the minds of the entire town within the building. Some were unicorns, some were pegasus. However the majority of the building's occupants were normal earth ponies. All of them had a mixture of confusion, anxiety, and excitement going through their minds. However, there was one presence that stood out from the rest. The presence overshadowed the rest in the entire building. It was so powerful that Trevor could not detect any emotion from the being as its warp presence overshadowed anything else. Trevor knew, without a doubt, that this presence was the Princess. When Trevor reached the top of the stairs, he saw a large curtain in front of him. From beyond it he could hear the cacophony of the ponies' many conversations. Already his nervousness had increased by tenfold since he had left the library. It was almost strange to him; he had traveled for so many years, experiencing and learning so much. And yet here was, as nervous as a toddler going to his first day of pre-school. 'We can still jump out of here, you know,' Khaine said. 'No,' Trevor replied, shoving away his nervousness with sheer determination, 'You said yourself that blood was going to be spilt here, so I'm going to stick around and do what I can.' 'As you wish, just remember that what happens to you happens to me.' As if Trevor would ever forget. A few minutes of waiting later, Trevor heard the cacophony of voices dyeing down to a hush as a new voice was heard above the rest, no doubt aided by a megaphone or a spell of similar quality. "Mares and stallions, may I have your attention please," it was not a voice that Trevor recognized, however it was definitely female and sounded somewhat aged. "Tonight, you have been all called for a special occasion, our beloved creator of the stars has come to grace us with her presence," In response to this statement, Trevor was surprised to sense much apprehension from the crowd. Memories that were not his flashed through his mind. Something about an event called Nightmare Night... "So let's give our best Ponyville welcome to Princess Luna." Despite their apprehension, the crowd still applauded and cheered as it was the expected thing to do. That, and none of them were willing to inquire the wrath of royalty. When the cheering died down, a new voice was heard. This voice too was female, but held a great deal of authority and power. The Princess, unsurprisingly, spoke as one would expect from such a powerful figure. Despite this, Trevor could barely hear a hint of restraint in her voice. What, exactly, the Princess was restraining was beyond him at that moment. "Thank you, citizens of Ponyville, for your gracious acceptance. It brings me great joy to walk among you once again, the festivities of Nightmare Night still a cherished memory of mine. Despite my... history, I assure you that I will do everything I can to help my sister with her rule. Again, I thank you. However, there is other business that I have come here for." "That's right," perked up the voice of none other than Pinkie Pie, "you're her to meet him!" There was a great deal of confusion coming from the crowd by now. "Well, yes-" "Great, cause we all get to meet him now. Well except for me, since I already met him." It was clear by the next statements that the pink pony had now gotten her hoof on the megaphone, or a volume spell. "Mares and stallions, I would like to now direct your attention to the top balcony, cause I have a little surprise for all of you. He's traveled across many lands on distant worlds in distant galaxies. He's the super-duper-magic-using alien that will blow your socks off from just looking at him. Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you, TREVOR THE TRAVELER!" As the curtains parted, only one thought went through the Traveler's mind, which was also shared by his mind companion 'Ah shit.' There were no spotlights of any kind that could blind Trevor, so he could see everything the moment the curtains parted. What he saw didn't surprise him in the least. The buildings 16th century type architecture was mostly hidden by a great number of banners, ribbons, streamers, balloons, and other decorations of all types of color. The color of the decorations, however, could not nearly match the pallet of color that came from the town's residents. The amount and diversity of bright colored equines was almost blinding. Almost every color of and in between the rainbow was present, each as bright as the others. Some were hovering in place with light wings, the rest were standing at the bottom floor. All of them were looking at the Traveler with wide eyes and loose jaws. Many were the reactions that Trevor could sense. Some were amazed, others shocked, some were scared, and a handful were actually disgusted. However, in all this color, one pony stood out. She had the color of deep, dark blue, and her mane was a mixture of dark and pale blue that sparkled like the night sky. Upon her flank was what looked like a picture of a night sky with a crescent moon, no doubt her cutie mark. The same picture was replicated on a small breastplate she wore just below her shoulders. She also were crystal slippers that seemed to wrap around her hooves She had both pegasus wings and a unicorn horn, making her an alicorn, one of two alicorns in existence. Just behind her horn sat a dark jeweled tiara. This was Princess Luna, and she stood tall with the authority that was expected of royalty. She was taller than the ponies that surrounded her by a good head. Trevor could see by her eyes that she looked upon him with much the same reaction as the rest of her subjects, only hidden by a mask of indifference. On either side of her were two black male pegasi, both adorned by some sort of obsidian colored centurion armor; royal guard, Trevor assumed. Trevor made a slight realization that he had yet to see a male pony up to this point. They were somewhat larger than females and also had slightly thicker muzzles. Several seconds of awkward silence had passed during Trevor's observations. The awkwardness of the situation grew with each second, so Trevor decided to try and break it as best he could. "Well," Trevor started, receiving several gasps from the crowd, "I suppose I should give some sort of speech, or something. In all honesty I was not really prepared for… this. So I'll just say the first thing that comes to mind. As cliché as it may sound…I come in peace." Trevor ended his "speech" with his signature smile. Trevor was relieved to sense, and even hear, a few light hearted chuckles and snickers towards his poor joke. It definitely eased the tension in the large hall. "I guess I should tell you some things about myself. Hmm…. Well, I am capable of using magic. I'm from a species called humans. I get around long distance with teleportation. Um, I'm a pretty nice guy, so you don't have to worry about any real ruckus coming from me. Oh, and I am a meat eater, but I don't eat other intelligent life forms, which includes all of you, so don't worry about that…. Well that's all I got." There was a few more seconds of silence before Pinkie Pie started up again. "WOOHOO! ALRIGHT TREVOR, THAT'S HOW YOU DO IT!" (Trevor was rather confused now of what it was that he did) "Now that that's outa' the way, LET THE PARTY BEGIN!" With that, the hall was filled with music. The music did wonders for the tension that had developed during Trevor's little "about me" speech, and was greatly appreciated by the Traveler himself. It was simple music, enjoyable, and about as bright as the rest of the scenery. Soon the ponies had gotten somewhat used to his presence and began enjoying themselves by either dancing, eating, or participating in the various party games that Pinkie Pie had set up. "Hey Trevor, why don't you join the party?" Pinkie Pie called up. 'I'd rather not,' Khaine began. 'Too late,' Trevor replied. And it was true too, as he was already descending towards the bottom floor. By leaping off the balcony he had been previously occupying. Many were the shocked outcries and expressions that came as a result of this stunt. Those that found themselves below the Traveler rushed to get out of the way of the falling biped. Trevor, on the other hand, merely landed as light as a filled balloon, much to the astonishment of those who witnessed it, which was everpony in the building. After casually making sure his suit was straight and wrinkle free, Trevor made his way through the crowd towards the Princess. This was easily done as anypony that found themselves in the way of Trevor's immediate path soon scrambled to not be so. It took only a second for the entire crowd to part, leaving the Princess and her guards looking at Trevor down a perpetual hallway of colorful, wide-eyed pony faces. As Trevor approached, the guards tensed. Trevor could sense their distrust mixed with their sense of duty making them keen to act should he make any wrong move. Trevor understood this, and vowed not to do anything that would upset them; to the best of his ability, at least. The Princess, whom the guards were now ready to protect with their lives, reacted with only a slightly raised eyebrow. "Greetings, your highness," Trevor said with a formally respectable bow. "Greetings," Luna replied. "That was an interesting stunt you did there." Trevor could tell that she was trying her damndest to keep herself a respectable air of authority, even though Trevor was quite taller than her. Trevor decided to get down on one knee so that the Princess did not have to keep looking up at him in such an un-royal manner. "Well, I do try my best to impress," Trevor said with a smile. This in turn caused an amused smile to spread across the Princesses face. "I am to understand that you can use magic," Luna stated, the power in her voice never wavering. "That is correct." "How much magic do you know?" "Not that much at the moment; only fundamentals and basic principles. Your sister's student, Twilight, has been teaching me thus far." Luna was surprised by this information. "Has she now, and why would she do that?" "Probably because I'm such a good student." Luna gave a "hmm" of amusement before continuing. "So what makes you so interested in magic?" "Well, magic allows a person, or pony, to do practically anything and solve just about any problem. It appeals to me as I like to consider myself an advent problem solver." "Your use of what you call 'the Warp' wouldn't by chance have an influence on your interest with magic?" "Heh, I would be lying if I said it didn't." The sincerity in both the Traveler's words and eyes were not lost upon the Princess. She could already tell that this 'human' was a kind soul, not unlike many of the world's residents. However, she of all ponies knew that everypony has their secrets. "I was told that you can use the Warp to delve into other creatures' minds. Is this ture?" "It is." "Are you looking into my mind right now?" "Hohoho no, your mind is much too powerful for me to try and enter." Luna was not sure if she should feel relieved or worried about this answer. "Besides," Trevor continued, "a mind is the most sacred part of any sentient being." This helped Luna decide that relieved was the better feeling for this. There was no lying that she could detect from the Traveler, and his almost unnaturally calming presence helped convince the Princess that this 'human' was indeed trustworthy. As the party progressed, both Trevor and Luna began relating stories to each other about some of their past experiences, the good ones and the bad ones. Luna was starting to like this 'human' as he was the only one thus far that treated her with respect without having to constantly grovel. It was a different experience for her. Normally she would have scoffed at the idea of somepony treating her as anything other than a ruler. However, the two were speaking as almost equals, and Luna found it rather refreshing. The party lasted for hours as Pinkie Pie, interrupting Trevor and Luna's conversation in her own Pinkie Pie way, introduced the Traveler to everypony in the town hall, as there was nopony in Ponyville that the pink pony didn't know by name. Despite that little annoyance, Trevor had a good time. The food was as good as ever, the music was pleasant, and the Princess's company was highly enjoyable. It was as if the two, over the course of the party, had found a kind of kinship with each other. Both were not perfect and both knew that, yet both were content with imperfection, for as Trevor said, "Perfection would be boring." Most importantly, however, both were perpetual strangers in this world. Trevor was an alien and Luna had only come back two years ago after being in solitary confinement for a thousand years. It was a kinship born from difference. However, all good things must come to an end. By the sixth or seventh hour, the residents began to take their leave. The party began to slowly dwindle at first, but soon the ponies were leaving in the dozens. By the eighth hour, only Twilight, her friends, Trevor, and Luna along with her guards were left. It was then that Luna took her leave. After saying her goodbyes and thankyou's , Luna exited the Town hall to embark on what looked like a black, bat-winged chariot, which the pegasus guards had now strapped themselves into and took off. Even though the Princess did have wings, being carried in a pimped out flying chariot was just another perk of being royalty. After that, one by one of Twilights friends left as well to get some shut eye, as it was very late. When Twilight finally left for the library, the Traveler found himself alone with Pinkie Pie. It was at this time that Trevor decided to get himself a wild card. "Hey Pinkie Pie, you good with secrets, right?" "Yep," Pinkie Pie replied as she finished off any treats that had survived the initial party. "Good, cause I have a little secret that I'd like you to help me with." "Really, what kind of secret?" Asked the pink pony, who now had given Trevor her undivided attention (easily done when one suddenly appears directly in front of said attention grabber). "It's a very important secret, a secret that could save your friends lives." Now Trevor really had her attention. "What do you mean, what kind of secret could it be?" "First you have to swear that you will never tell anyone else about this." "Sure! Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye." As strange as this swear was, Trevor confirmed that she would not go back on her word with a quick peek into the secretly demented pony's mind. 'Alright, here goes,' though Trevor. And with that, the Traveler began to speak. ------------------------------------------------- Three weeks. It took three weeks for the Diamond Dogs to prepare for their glorious campaign. They are the Diamond Dogs no longer. Now they are the Hell Hounds, obedient worshipers of Khornes name. Three weeks of smelting, forging, and recruiting, but now they were ready. The dogs had replaced their pitiful armaments with more appropriate war gear. Three painfully long weeks of waiting for her revenge. But now it was all coming into fruition. Bloodmane looked out upon the gathered masses of canine warriors that were her Hell Hounds. Littered amongst them were other recruits that had come seeking power from serving Lord Khorne. They had come together within a large meeting hall that had been built within their tunnels for this very occasion. Above the masses, upon a stone balcony, stood Bloodmane. To her, the weeks of preparation had passed painstakingly slow, however she could not deny that her power grew with each passing day. She wore armored barding consisting of interlocking steel plates of deep red. Marks of both Chaos and Khorne littered the red steel she wore, which only left her head, mane, and tale bare. During the first few days, Bloodmane had come to find her horn as an annoying reminder of her weak past; a reminder that she had rid herself of only two weeks ago. "Loyal warriors of Khorne," Bloodmane's voice came out like thunder within the hall, "for so long, you have lived under the hooves of Equestria, left to rot within your own perpetual graves while the rest of the world ignored your existence! But tomorrow night, you will be ignored no longer!" Bloodmane was rewarded for this statement by a mighty cheer. "Tomorrow night, you shall rise from your holes and take what should have been rightfully yours! Tomorrow night, you shall please our great master, Lord Khorne, by spilling the blood of those self righteous Equestrians! Tomorrow night, you shall have your VENGEANCE!" Another cheer arose. "It is time, my fellow followers of Khorne. Time for us to make our mark upon this pathetic world! It is time, FOR WAR! BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD!" The response came unanimously as it thundered through the hall and tunnels. "SKULLS FOR THE SKULL THRONE!" At was at this point that Bloodmane could not stop a sinister smirk that slowly crawled up her muzzle. Lord Khorne would be pleased, and she would finally get her revenge.