//------------------------------// // Of Men And Horrible Tentacle Monsters part 2 // Story: And Then There Were 10...Er...67 // by Grey Ghost //------------------------------// “So... what do we do now?” Jason asked, pulling on a new pair of pants, courtesy of Applejack. “I mean you're not all... tentacley anymore.” He got out of the hospital bed, cracking various joints. “Tentacley? Heh, that’s new.” Nemesis pulled on one of Jason’s extra shirts, luckily they were about the same size in human proportions. “Well I certainly can’t go back to my universe like... this.” Nemesis gestured to himself. “Which, by the way, brings up a question. Am I gonna be stuck like this?” “Honestly? I have no idea dude,” Jason said, rubbing the back of his head, “I didn’t know that that would happen at all.” Nemesis looked thoughtful for a moment. “Well, I’m not complaining, it feels awesome to be able to smell things again.” He took a deep whiff, then froze as his eyes widened. “Do you smell that...?” “Smell what?” Without another word, Nemesis suddenly bolted out of the room. In the meantime, a certain purple princess was making her way towards Jason’s room, some gifts levitated in her magical grasp. He’d been indisposed for a few days, and she and her friends had prepared a ‘get well’ cake for him. “YOUUUU!” Twilight stopped, eyes widened in terror as she saw a human, one who clearly wasn’t Jason, bolting down the hall towards her. “AAAAHHH!” She screamed in abject horror as she tried to escape, however her pathetic pony speed was no match for the seasoned human’s sprinting skills. She only took a step before the human suddenly leaped at her, grabbing the box from her magical grip. The human quickly tore away the box’s wrappings, staring at the delicious cake inside with wide eyes. “This...” He held it up in the air...then quickly dunked his face into it and began to eat ravenously. “What are you doing?!” Twilight asked, watching in horror. “That cake is not for you!” “Umm what’s going on?” Jason asked walking out of his room, eyebrow cocked up. “You look like a crackhead Nemm, seriously.” Nemesis turned from the cake to glare at Jason and Twilight, though the menacing glare was put off by the fact he had pink icing dripping from his mouth. “You try going for over a thousand years without taste buds or a sense of smell and see how YOU react! Besides, I’ll make you another one.” Nemesis licked his lips, then frowned. “A better one at that.” “WE put a lot of effort into that cake!” Twilight protested, a pout on her muzzle. “And you just ate it!” “Twi,” Jason said, walking up to the irate alicorn and giving her a hug. “Thanks for making me a cake, I bet it was delicious,” Twilight just sighed, returning his hug, “You’re welcome Jason... I just wish you had been able to eat it...” Nemesis frowned, then placed the box closer to Twilight. “Okay look, that was...” Nemesis looked thoughtful for a moment. “...a dick move, on my part. I’m not really used to interacting with people... or ponies. For the record though, it was really good. Honestly.” Nemesis stroked his chin for a moment. “We will make him another, no, a better one! In fact...” Nemesis grinned. “We’ll make a meal fit for a king! I wasn’t the co-head chef of a five star restaurant back home for nothing!” “Wait what?” Jason asked blinking,” You’ve got to be pulling my leg on that.” “I’m many things, but not a liar.” Nemesis crossed his arms. “I’d show you my certification but... well, I didn’t exactly bring it with me when I went to that con.” “Heh... well you were better off than I was,” Jason said, standing up. “Though, things are a lot better here,” he said, smiling at Chrysalis as she joined them. “Eh, job or not I was still a huge nerd.” Nemesis grinned. “And you’re not the first Displaced I’ve met who preferred Equestria over their actual home. A lot of us are happier here, in fact.” “Alternate Equestrias?!” Twilight asked, suddenly materializing a notepad and a pen in front of her with a flash of magic. “I have to know, what’s your Equestria like?” “Welp, you’ve gone and put her into brainiac mode,” Jason said, putting his arm around Chrysalis, who gave a laugh. “That,” Nemesis replied, pointing down at Twilight. “is a question that shall go unanswered. For now, at least. I need to get to work.” Nemesis started to jog down the hallway, but stopped suddenly and made his way back to them. “One last thing though,” he leaned down towards Twilight, extended a finger, then poked her directly on the nose. “Boop!” Then he ran down the hallway, cackling like a madman. Twilight, on the other hoof, scrunched up her muzzle, flicked her ears a few times, then gritted her teeth. “We’re not done yet!” she declared as she chased after him. “Now that... that is settled, shall we proceed with moving your things to the hive?” Chrysalis asked, planting a kiss on Jason’s cheek. “Yeah but let me tell Applejack, she might react better if I tell her,” he explained walking down the hallway. “Hey, wait for us!” Driba squeaked, he and Blukic frantically flying after them. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ It was a typical bustling and busy day at Sugarcube Corner. The booths were lined with customers, and Pinkie was darting to and from the kitchen and the counter to take and deliver ponies’ orders. That typical day was interrupted when the doors to Sugarcube Corner suddenly burst open with a ferocity unlike anypony had ever seen. A bipedal figure stood in the doorway, his blue eyes reflecting determination as he spoke, “Pinkie Pie!” Pinkie froze, staring directly at the mysterious figure. The figure only grinned. “We have some cooking to do.” The pink party pony’s grin could not possibly stretch any wider. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Twilight!” Spike shouted, running downstairs. “Princess Celestia sent you a letter!” he huffed, holding it out to her. “Oh, I wasn’t expecting a letter,” she frowned, taking it from him. “What if something's wrong? What if some horrible monster escaped Tartarus and is wreaking havoc!?” “Twilight, calm down,” Spike said, giving her an annoyed look. “Maybe you should read it first before you start freaking out?” “You’re... right Spike,” Twilight said and cleared her throat, “Let’s see what the Princess wants,” she unfurled the scroll, running her eyes over it. “It looks like she’s going to come down and thank Nemesis for helping Jason...” she said, her eyes going wide. “Oh Faust, I wasn’t able to find out anything about him!” She started to do a little panicky dance, her mane frizzing out. “What’s the big deal, Twi?” Spike crossed his arms. “It’s not like she’s gonna require a report from you or anything, you’re not her student anymore remember?” Twilight stopped. “Big deal?” she asked, suddenly teleporting a few feet in front of Spike’s face, who jumped backwards in surprise. “BIG DEAL?! Just because I’m not a student anymore doesn’t mean I shouldn’t be prepared for anything!” “And that anything involves tests?” Spike rolled his eyes. “Anything.” Twilight replied, eyes narrowed, as she began darting to and fro to grab paper and books in her magical grasp. “Wait, where are you going?!” “To Sugarcube Corner! I need to learn as much as I possibly can about him before Princess Celestia arrives!” “Twilight, you really need to just calm down!” Spike said in exasperation, “You're freaking out over nothing!” Twilight obviously didn’t hear him, as she quickly darted for the door. “Tell the girls and Jason I’ll meet them at Sugarcube Corner laterrr!” She slammed the door shut behind her, and Spike just sighed. Twilight quickly galloped down the streets of Ponyville, slowing as she reached Sugarcube Corner. She frowned when she saw the ‘CLOSED’ sign hanging on the front door, and went around to the back to see if the back door was open. She could hear voices inside. “Pinkie, you got the batter right?” “Yepperooni Nemmy! Lemmie just pour a bit into here...” “WAIT! NOT THAT MUCH!” *BOOM* Twilight flinched as the door bent under the force of a blast, black smoke pouring through the sides and the chimney, followed by the sound of coughing. “Hehehe! Silly me, that was the gunpowder, not the batter!” “Wha...? Gunpowder? Why even...?!” “For my party cannon, silly!” “...Let’s just move on...” Twilight carefully approached the door before tapping on it with her hoof. “Hello? Nemesis? I need to talk to you about something.” All sound in the kitchen immediately stopped, followed by the sound of hushed whispers. “We can’t let her in! She’ll ruin the surprise!” “Then go answer the door!” “No, you!” “No, you!” “I can hear you both.” Twilight deadpanned. After a moment of more hushed arguing sounds the door squeaked open a crack, and a large, blue eye peeked through. “Oh, hi Twilight! Fancy meeting you here!” “Pinkie, I don’t have time for this.” Twilight stamped a hoof. “I need to talk to Nemesis, it’s urgent.” “Nemmy can’t... well... he can’t talk right now. We’re kind of in the middle of something, actually...” “If he won’t come out, then I’m coming in!” She strode purposefully towards the door, but was blocked by Pinkie once more. “You can’t!” she insisted, looking panicked. “It’s... um... a top secret project, mare you wouldn’t want to see the stuff we’ve made in here!” Silence. Pinkie frowned. “I said, you wouldn’t want to see some of the stuff we’re making in here!” This was followed by a very elaborate and drawn out roaring sound. “It’s a kitchen,” Twilight pointed out, frowning. “You’re making food.” “Very delicate food. Really, it’s very touchy.” Twilight facehoofed. “Okay look, I don’t have time for this, I’m coming—” The door slammed in her face. “Sorry!” Pinkie’s voice was heard on the other side. Twilight blinked a few times, before her wings flared out and she ground her hoof into the floor. “I am a Princess of Equestria, and I demand that you open this door and come talk to me about your universe, Nemesis! That’s a royal order!” Several hushed whispers could be heard inside before Pinkie spoke again. “Uhm, Nemesis says he’s not an Equestrian citizen, so he doesn’t have to listen to you!” Twilight began to grind her teeth. Twilight threw her head back, letting out a shout of rage that shook even Zecora’s hut. **** “You hear something?” Jason asked, looking at Chrysalis, feeling the ground vibrate slightly. “I think you’re imagining things, Jason,” Chrysalis said, walking out of the hive. The castle was in much better shape than it had been several weeks ago, with most of the broken sections being replaced by changeling building material. Jason didn’t want to admit it, but it reminded him of Aliens even more than the old hive. “I suppose you're right,” he said with a shrug, before something caught his eye. Off in the distance he could see a very angry Twilight rising above the horizon, her eyes glowing white and mane whirling around in some unseen arcane wind. “We’d best go stop her from vaporizing someone,” he said, sighing a bit. “Omnitrix, Siegfried.” He was soon replaced by a rather well built griffon. “Shall we?” “Yes, we shall,” Chrysalis said, the two of them taking off to the sky. *** Meanwhile at Sugarcube corner, Nemesis and Pinkie, completely unaware of the terrible fate that was about to befall them at the hooves of a certain angry princess, flitted from table to table, shoving a few away and bringing a few together until there was a large, ornate table in the center of the restaurant. “Time?” Nemesis asked as he began to lay out the dishes. “Ten minutes left and counting!” Pinkie replied as she adjusted her crayon watch with a grin. “Good, and you told them at exactly six PM right?” “Eeyup!” Pinkie responded, dashing back to the kitchen as she helped Nemesis lay the dishes out. “Good, let’s start getting the food and then we have less than... about thirty seconds to teach you how to be a fancy waiter. Think you can do it?” “I’ll do anything for my friends!” Pinkie replied as she shot out of the kitchen, this time in a fancy waiter getup and a mustache. “Where did you...? Nevermind, let’s just finish this up!” Back outside, Twilight looked about ready to rain down holy wrath upon Sugarcube Corner. “Twilight what are you doing?” Jason asked, landing behind her, Chrysalis following behind. “You look like you're about to smite someone.” Twilight blinked, looking down below at Jason as he spoke. “Oh... I uh...” Before she could get a reply out however, the doors to Sugarcube Corner slowly creaked open, and Pinkie Pie trotted out. Her mane was combed to perfection, not a single lock out of place. She wore a black apron, with a fancy white getup underneath. She was also wearing a mustache. “Gentleman, Mademoiselles,” Pinkie spoke, clearing her throat. “Your feast, awaits.” She stepped to the side to allow them room to enter. “Well thats not something you see everyday,” the still transformed Jason said, turning to his two companions. “Well, better get inside,” he said, giving Pinkie a smile as he passed her. Pinkie flashed him a grin with an accompanying ‘squee’ before she returned right back to her regal expression as Twilight and Chrysalis passed her. Inside, Sugarcube Corner looked completely different. Only one large table remained on the floor, and this was laid over with a thick, white cloth. Decorative tapestries hung from the ceiling, and somewhere nearby classical music could be heard playing. On the table, there was food. Lots, and lots of food. The food ranged from ornate looking pasta dishes to small bowls of potato soup, some sort of casserole filled with flowers, and several fancy looking hay sandwiches. Twilight’s mouth was hanging open as she observed all these changes, her eye twitching slightly. “How did... Sugarcube Corner doesn’t have... wha...?” “You're overanalyzing this Twi, you really are,” Jason said, looking over the food, “And I just had to turn into a griffon,” he said with a shake of his head. “Omnitrix, Slipstream,” he commanded, shifting into his pegasus form. Pinkie trotted past them at a brisk pace, pulling several chairs out from the table. “Ze chef, will be joining us shortly. In the meantime, would you care for some, how you say, appetizers?” “Would I?” Jason asked, taking a seat. “Whatcha got for us Pinks?” Pinkie sat Twilight and Chrysalis before she returned, and cleared her throat again. “Today we have only ze finest dishes, daffodil guacamole with only ze finest srtips of hay, ground down and together until it is in its purest form, zen sauteed in a fine herbal rich sauce until it is just right for ze eating.” She laid out several menus as she spoke. As she finished telling them about the appetizers, the back doors to the kitchen opened and Nemesis walked in, wheeling a tray in front of him. “Ah! Ze chef!” Pinkie proclaimed with a bad italian accent. “Don’t fill up on all that food, make sure you save some room for this,” Nemesis proclaimed as he lifted the lid off of the tray to reveal several cakes. “Ohmygosh, Nemmy is sooo good at making cakes you guys!” Pinkie exclaimed suddenly, completely forgetting her role. “He made chocolate cake,” she pointed to it ecstatically, “vanilla cake,” she pointed to the next one, raising her eyebrows with a smile, “and even cheesecake! I didn’t even know there was cheesecake!” “Pinkie!” Nemesis called out, glaring at her. “Etiquette!” Pinkie blinked before shooting back to Jason’s side, clearing her throat again. “My apologies, sire.” “I have to say, Nemesis,” Twilight spoke, placing her menu on the table. “I definitely wasn’t expecting all of...” she gestured to the room with her hoof. “...this.” “Hey, I told you I’d make it up to you didn’t I?” Nemesis grinned again before he laid out the rest of the food on the table, then took a seat opposite from Jason and Chrysalis. “I had to improvise kinda since I’m not one hundred percent certain on pony food, and I’m not sure if changelings can eat regular food,” he glanced at Chrysalis, “but I hope you enjoy it all the same.” “Well I will certainly will try it,” Chrysalis said, giving him a smile. “Now let’s dig in,” she said, levitating a sandwich into her her mouth.” Hmmm... most excellent.” “Good, good,” Nemesis spoke as he took a bite of his own food. “So Twilight, what was it that you were so eager to talk to me about?” “Oh... oh yes!” She materialised the notepad and pencil in front of her again with a grin. Nemesis, however, frowned. “Princess Celestia is coming to visit! I’d like to be able to tell her a bit about where you come from before she actually meets you, so if you could tell me a bit about where you come from...?” “That actually brings up something I wanted to ask.” Nemesis spoke as he turned to face Chrysalis and Jason. He wasn’t smiling anymore, his face was very serious. “Chrysalis, can I ask you an important question?” “You may,” she said, nodding her head. “In the universe that I come from, I believe we’re a bit behind. For instance,” he gestured to Twilight. “She most certainly isn’t a princess. And I haven’t heard anything yet in Equestria about changelings, except for what little I saw of them before I was first imprisoned.” Nemesis folded his hands together. “I have a vague idea of what’s going to happen, thanks to Gilgamesh. He filled me in on some things that I wasn’t aware of. I want you to think hard about what I’m about to ask you, because it could mean saving a lot of pony and changeling lives.” He blinked once. “If there’s something, anything that you could say to your old self, before you invaded Canterlot, to convince yourself to not invade, what would that be?” “Thats a rather hard question to answer,” she said, looking down at her plate. “You do realize that I and the Chrysalis from your universe are two separate beings, yes?” “I’m aware,” Nemesis said, his frown still present. “However, if what I’ve seen of you so far is true, I believe that you, both of you, still hold the well being and safety of your hive, and your family, above all else. If... if that invasion goes through in my universe...” Nemesis sighed. “A lot of changelings and ponies could die... or worse.” “Worse?” Twilight asked next to him, her voice quiet. Nemesis didn’t respond. Chrysalis sighed, looking up at him. “If she is anything like me, she will put the safety of her hive above even her own. Appeal to that, make her see that pursuing peace with Equestria is better than losing drones in a doomed invasion.” Nemesis smiled and nodded. “If you think that’ll work, I’ll believe you. I’m sorry to bring up such memories again by the way, I know it must hurt to think about past mistakes.” “It’s alright, it’s better that I remember than make the same mistake again,” she smiled at him, giving Jason a nuzzle. “Besides, I have all the love I’d ever need now,” “I’ve been meaning to ask,” Nemesis began. “How long has—” The sound of a trumpet outside interrupted him, and Twilight immediately scrambled out of her seat. “Ooooh! The Princess is here!” “Greetings everypony,” Celestia trotted into the shop, a serene smile on her face. “I see you have created a most excellent feast.” Nemesis cast a glance over to the doors, then leaned back into his chair as he crossed his arms, trying not to look directly at Celestia. Twilight, on the other hoof, quickly dashed forward, a smile plastered on her face. “Princess Celestia, I didn’t know you were coming so soon! I— I mean we, we didn’t...” she ended her stuttering mess of a sentence with a smile accompanied with a squeeing noise. “Please relax yourself Twilight, just take a deep breath and let it out slowly,” Celestia instrusted, never losing her smile. “R-right...” Twilight did as he mentor instructed, following along with what Cadence had taught her how to do. “Good, feeling better?” Twilight opened her eyes, and blinked a few times. “Yeah, much better. I should’ve done that from the start, hehe...” She chuckled nervously. “Good, now, where is this Nemesis?” she asked, peering about the room. “I was to thank him in person for coming to Jason’s aid.” Nemesis said nothing for a moment, but then he raised his hand, turned, and stood up. “Present, your majesty.” She stared at him for a few moments, raising an eyebrow. “I was told you had a more... whats the word?” she asked, scrunching her muzzle up slightly. “Tentacles?” Nemesis offered. “Well, in any case,” she began, composing herself. “I extend my deepest gratitude for protecting the life of one of Equestria’s royals,” she said bowing her head,” We are in your debt.” Nemesis looked uncomfortable for a moment before he spoke. “There’s no reason to thank me Princess, Jason’s a cool guy and he saved my butt as much as I saved his.” He flashed a grin back at Jason as he said this. “I’m used to going without thanks anyways, it was really no big deal.” “I would like to award you with the Equestrian Medal of Honor,” she said, conjuring up a rather intricately carved medal. “Oh! Er...” Nemesis rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. “Right, about that.” He reached behind himself, pulling a medal that looked exactly the same off his neck and showing it to Celestia. “I may, already have one. Ehehehe...” “Then now you will have two,” she said, placing it around his neck,”There,” she smiled,”Now, let us enjoy this feast!” “Heh, thanks Princess. By the way, did you see all the amazing cake we had over here...?” As the group enjoyed their feast, something far outside of Ponyville stirred. Miles away, the air shimmered. Then, a sound akin to shattering glass could be heard. A vaguely humanoid shape fell through a newly made portal, tall, skinny, and colored a dull green color. Long and disproportionate arms and a narrow, snake like head made it appear incredibly alien to anything that might witness it. Slowly, the figure stood, a single red eye glaring out from the darkness covering its face. It scanned the immediate area. “Target location: unknown. Scanning.” “Hey!” The tall figure didn’t respond to the voice, preferring to prioritize its scans over meaningless interaction. “You land on our cart, and scatter all our gems!” A diamond dog who had been pulling the cart stomped towards the tall figure. “You work to pay us back, or—” The figure twitched. That was it, just a small twitch. The next instant however, the diamond dog’s head did a full 360 degree twist, accompanied with a sickening crunching sound. The two dogs who were prepared to gang up on the newcomer gaped in abject horror at the scene before them, then the figure turned towards them. “Interference will not be tolerated.” It spoke in an eerily robotic tone, before it appeared inches from their faces. The following screams were cut off with the sound of gurgling.