//------------------------------// // Chapter 8 - The Sun Shines Brightly And A New Ally Is Made // Story: A New Wheel // by Northern Desert //------------------------------// “So---Xerneas,” I laughed nervously, trying to strike a conversation with the Life Pokemon. After the party was finished, Arceus asked Xerneas to take me somewhere and give me some more information on my new job.  She did her part on taking me somewhere, not so much the talking.  Being in her presence had been awkward due to her strange aggression towards me. Something I had tried to understand ever since I met her.  The other Legendaries avoided answering the question, and Arceus said it was complicated.  How can I work with someone who clearly dislikes me? “You want to give me some info on the job?” I asked.  As we continued walking, we entered a forest of some kind.  The flowers glowed bright colors and the plants around us bloomed.  Xerneas was truly a being of life and beauty.  “Maybe tell me who we’re working for, what I’m going to do….” “You’ll get to know the boss tomorrow,” She replied, giving a small smile at the thought of me meeting her boss.  That didn’t bode well for me.  “As for what our job is, it’s slightly  complicated.” I looked around as the forest seemed to part around her, allowing her to take me to my unknown destination.  However, I noticed the life in the forest decay as I walked along the path.  Each time something died, Xerneas flinched. This might be why she hates me, I make her glorious work perish.  Is this the curse that we must bear?  That we must be two entities who work together and yet be on the complete opposite side of the scale of life? “Give me the basic jist of it,” I told her.  We had reached a large river, our only way across would be hopping from the stones.  Or me carrying her into the air. “Wh--what are you doing?!” She growled as my talons wrapped around her antlers.  I flapped my wings and carried her up into the air.  She wiggled in my grasp, but I held her as I glided over to the other side of the river bank. I dropped the distressed deer and she turned around and glared daggers at me.  “Don’t do that again,” she snarled.  I backed away from her, surprised at her aggressive reaction. Wait...fuck that!  I totally expected this kind of reaction from her. She snorted and turned away, continuing on the path.  I was starting to get nettled at her attitude.  Being a complete bitch to a stranger wasn’t really appropriate behavior for a Life God.  I begrudgingly followed her down the path.   “What the hell is your deal with me?” I asked her.  She kept on walking, ignoring my question.  Okay, now this was getting ridiculous.  She had to be at least 2879 years old if what the other Legendary Pokemon said to me was correct. All I could see was a stubborn child.  Her unexplained hatred towards me was ridiculous and her refusal to inform me of her reasons is childish.   I’ll have to think this one through and try to get on her good side.  Which will be hard with my sarcastic attitude, but I think I can manage not being a jackass… “We’re here,” She huffed, stopping ahead of me.  I stopped my mental rambling and looked over her, seeing an endless pit before us.  This made no sense, why would there be just and empty space in this dimension and why did we come here? “And where is this ‘here’ exactly?” I questioned, walking next to her to get a better view.  I glanced down to see and endless void, only small lights filled the pure blackness of the space. “This is where our dimension drops to the other Multiverses,” She answered, scooting away from me.  I thought her movement as another on of her antics, so I ignored it.  “We can enter into the void and appear in another multiverse, with certain paths set to get us there safely of course.” “Safely?” I asked hesitantly.  Passing through the void sounded dangerous, but how dangerous it was is a mystery to me.  “What can go wrong if we don’t stick to the path?”  It was a stupid question, but I wanted to know what to expect. “World devourer's and eldritch beings, those kinds of things,” She answered nonchalantly.  I gave her my best ‘O’rly look’ and shook my head.   “Sounds like a real shit show to me,” I laughed.  I can already imagine what fucked up abominations roamed my little universe, I just can’t wait for them to rear their ugly heads.  “So, on a scale from one to ‘Dear God, someone gouge my eyes out’ how bad is the trip down?” Xerneas laughed at the question.  That’s good, it’s a sign that she isn’t completely hopeless and I might be able to not get killed by her...how would that work anyway?  If she’s the Pokemon of Life and I’m the Pokemon of Death, then would she using her life powers to kill me? Forget it, I can ask Arceus later.  He might be willing to add his advice on how I can avoid dying. “Was that a laugh I just heard,” I sang, looking over my colleague.  “And here I thought you couldn't break a smile!” She gave me a devious grin before responding.  “While you do have a way with words,” She replied, still having a plotting smirk plastered on her face.  “I think the best way to answer your question is to experience it first hand…” I gave her a skeptical look before looking back into the void.  I heard her shuffle behind me.  Usually I would ignore it and think she was just fidgeting, but the way she said I should experience the trip first hand made me skeptical. Then I realized the probably outcome.  One that I would not enjoy... “You’re going to kick me down there, aren't you?” I asked, not bothering to turn around.  This was going to hurt... “Eeyup!” She sang, giving another devious gigil.  I let out a gulp as I imagined her bucking me into this pit of darkness… THWACK “God damnit, not againnnnnnn---” I screamed as I was knocked off the cliff, plummeting to my my apparent doom. “Don’t stray off the predetermined course sweetie, and we might just meet up again tomorrow!” Xerneas shouted after me. And thus began my short journey through the void… My path of descent was straight.  No change in direction, no blockades to force me to pull any free fall bullshit.  Just straight.  It wasn’t bad, and the view was...nice, fantastic even.  What I once thought was pure darkness turned out to be filled with light, thousands of what seemed to be universes. I tilted my head in curiousity, considering moving off my set path just for a second so I could get a better look.  The lights were alluring and I wanted to see more...but if what Xerneas said was true about the Void, then steering off the path might not be the wisest move. My train of thought was interrupted when I caught a glimpse at one of the many abominations that roamed through the void.  I couldn’t believe my eyes, it was so...horrifying that if one were to explain it, they would go mad.  It slowly turned its head towards me as I cantered down past it, leaving me with an image that would scar the mind of even the most darkest of monsters.  It’s like the illegitimate love child of Cthulhu and Medusa with the dropping of Yogg Saron sprinkled all over it. “JESUS CHRIST ON A BICYCLE, KILL IT KILL IT KILL IT!” I screamed at the terrifying sight.  The monster merely waved at me before vanishing. By the time it had gone, I had fainted.  My body continued its unknown path through the cosmos as I slipped into an unconscious state, changing the direction to one of the many universes that filled the void. “Oh dear God,” I shouted, tumbling out of my bed.  My body was wrapped in my bed sheets and I attempted to untangle myself.  I looked around to see myself the bedroom I’ve been sleeping in since I came here. I contemplated what had transpired during my dreams, wondering if what I had experienced was real or not.  The searing pain in my back told me that I had indeed been to that strange dimension, but my body still felt rested.  Maybe I was warped on a spiritual level while my body stayed on these plain of existence. “Ohhhh,” I groaned, finally picking myself up and unwrapping myself from the covers.  My eyes darted to a coffee machine and I chose to make a cup for myself.  This world’s technology was strange.  They carried spears and used ships one would see in colonial times, but they had coffee machines and other machinery that we use in the 21st century. The device was quick with its work and I have an authentic cup of Ashen Claw coffee.  As I took a sip, I realized that I was the first of my kind to live in such a society.  I was the first human to enter this reality, this world!  It truly was an amazing position that I was in. Well, besides being kidnapped and almost offing one of the royals from another kingdom.  But those were little things. My thoughts trailed to our foreign guests.  While I had little to worry about them causing any more trouble, I was still concerned about Princess Luna and Celestia.  They were big players on the world stage, and had enough influence to possible wipe out our little city.  Of course, this was not even taking the nobles of Ashen Claw into account.  They were an issue that would have to be dealt with.  For now, my spies will keep a careful eye on them, should they choose to make any moves against me. My stomach gave off a gurgled noise, signifying that I was hungry.  I took the bandanna that Coral Tuft had made, tying it around my neck.  This world never ceased to surprise me with its kindness.  Even those who I had considered enemies were now in my home with a care in the world.  These ponies were something else...I’m just happy some cold hearted bastard didn’t get shipped to this world of friendship and smiles.  Who knows what kind of psychopathic things one of those stains on humanity would do to this world. As I made my way down the stairs, carefully since I still had my coffee in one of my wings, I heard noise coming from the dining room.  It sounded like there were more voices than before, but that might be due to the number of Equestrians that were here--- “Would you quit it, Discord!” I heard a familiar squeaky voice shout.  Discord...where had I heard that name before? Finally walking of the last step, I heard what seemed to be...a train making a commotion from within the dining room.  The audible ‘choo choo’ deterred me from entering.   But as I heard the cries of annoyance continue, it was clear that something either really asinine or hilarious was going on behind those doors. “Here we go again,” I mumbled to myself, kicking open the doors.  I was confident that whatever was beyond the doors, I had faced weirder things and that I was prepared. I realized that Illidan was most likely right.  I was truly not prepared. CHOO CHOO My eyes widen in pure shock as a train made out of pancakes went right by me.  Conducting the pancake vehicle was some kind of chimera.  Said chimera was having the time of his life, using an assortment of food items from strawberries to chocolate to have his made machine travel across the dining room. Those at the table were in equal shock, save for a white alicorn sitting in amusement and the chimera enjoying his ride on the breakfast express, at my entry.  Parcel Dove looked embarrassed at the fact that she had allowed such events to transpire in a place where royalty ate.  Though I couldn’t blame her, the one causing it looked to be uncontrollable. Bulkwater and Thorn Brush attempted to speak, to inform me of the events that were occurring, but they couldn’t manage the words out of their mouths. “Okay,” I said in hesitation, looking to see that I had four new guest in our midst.  Three alicorn mares, white, blue, and pink were accompanied by the insane chimera and a unicorn that both seemed to be male. “I’ll bite,” I said to no one in particular.  “Who are these people,” I said, waving my free wing over to my new guests. “And what the hell is this guy doing?” I questioned.  The white alicorn gave me a big smile, seemingly please on my arrival. “Ah, King Philip,” The majestic alicorn said, waving her hoof for me to approach her.  Her mane was a rainbow color and seemed to be constantly floating, the blue ones mane also seemed to levitate, and her height was impressively tall compared to others of her species.  “I am Princess Celestia, co-ruler of Equestria, and I wish to speak with you on matters of gre---” “Nope,” I said, cutting her off.  Everyone, even the chimera that I now knew was Discord, stared at me in surprise.  My mind went back to what I heard about Princess Celestia, and the fact that she was the one who trained Twilight.  She also probably taught the purple mare on the proper ways of kidnapping foreign powers. I was said that there use to to be a minotaur kingdom that dwelled in Equestria’s lands.  It was also said that the kingdom was turned into a smoking crater once the minotaur's ruler executed ponies from a local town. And I had nearly drained the life from here prized student, one that she might see as a daughter of some kind. That and she was a walking nuclear reactor that could melt everything in this room if she wanted to.   So her appearing out of the blue and wanting to talk to me was the last thing I wanted.  Probably planned to melt me faster that I could scream ‘Ice Cream’.  And that’s pretty damn fast... It was then that I performed one of my most amazing feats, one that would be recorded down in the passages of history.  I proceeded to hop backwards. “Nope nope nope nope nope nope….” I continued to say that one word, my voice fading away as I got further from the room. I flawlessly executed hops backwards, not even looking behind me as I made my way up the staircase.  They all looked up in awe as I made my way to the top of the staircase, not moving my head an inch as I hopped to an unknown place. Discord took pictures of my actions, snickering in amusement.  Princess Luna shook, trying to stop her laughter from pouring out.  Celestia fared no better, taking deep breathes as she tried to calm herself from the same desires as her sister.  The nine Equestrians looked at me, jaws unhinged as I performed such a rude act towards their ruler. Parcel Dove looked like she was about to die from embarrassment due to her king’s antics. Thorn Brush and Bulkwater on the other hand gave signs of curiosity on how one of my size could be so well balanced. Unfortunately, this was all in vain when Princess Celestia teleported me back into the dining room.  I was willing to enact the performance again, anything to distance myself for the Sun Goddess, but Celestia grabbed me in her magical aura and sat me down. While I highly doubted she could kill me, I felt like whatever she could do would hurt like hell. “King Philip,” Celestia said calmly, in hopes to clear any worry from my mind.  “I assure that my coming here was for peaceful terms, no violent acts will be committed from any of my ponies or myself.” She used her magic aura to hand me a cup of juice.  I gave her a skeptical look, sniffing the beverage for any...unsavory contents.  I hesitantly took a sip, hoping that there would be no foul play at work. “Excuse me for my immediate distrust, Princess Celestia,” I retorted.  It seemed that she would not give me the mercy of poison, truly she had far crueler plans for me.  “But one such as yourself gains much if I were to meet an unfortunate end.” Some of the ponies gasped in shock at my accusation.  It was not normal for one to partake in the acts of murder, at least not in this time.  Luna continued to look at me with great curiosity, scanning my body language in hopes of understanding me. “As I said before, King Philip,” Celestia smiled, taking a sip of her own drink.  “I came here for matters of peace, not usurpation.” I clicked my tongue as I heard her words, trying to nitpick any lies that I might hear or see.  While I saw none present, I was still suspicions, if not curious, on her reasons for being here. “Matters of peace?” I asked, she nodded in agreement.  “Am I to assume that you see me as a...fellow ruler?”  She nodded once again to show that I was correct. “If I am not mistaken,” She said, using her magic to conjure a piece of parchment.   “Not only have you liberated this island from a tyrannical ruler, but have managed to settle the war between those of the city and the natives of this land.” She looked over to Bulkwater for confirmation.  “That is true, your majesty!” Bulkwater said, Celestia giving him a warm smile as he reinforced the information given to her. “As such, I can not in good will remove you from a position that you have clearly earned,” Celestia mused.  I blinked in surprise, taken back by the Princess’s kind words.  Then again, what else was I to expect from the leader of the most peaceful nation on this world. “Well, thanks,” I replied, tilting my head as a thought came to mind.  “But you surely have come here for something to do with the leadership of Ashen Claw, it was one of your colonies afterall?”  “That is true,” Celestia said, giving me a slight look of concern.  “I feel that you are somewhat lacking in the knowledge of the political landscape.  Even with Miss. Parcel Dove’s help, I cannot in good conscious allow you to run around blindly through the ocean that is our worlds bureaucracy.” “There are also threats that will be directed towards this kingdom,” The blue alicorn, the one that I realized must be Princess Luna, added.  “Your sudden takeover presents opportunities to not only the pirate lords who rove these seas, but your fellow City States as well.” I glanced over to see that most of the ponies around me were lost at what I and the two princesses were discussing.  Even Twilight looked perplexed, the idea of violent pirates and power hungry warlords seemed foreign to her. “You’re worried that others might try to take advantage of me, that I can’t handle things myself?” I asked, giving them a hurt look.  I was a prideful person, so two pony princesses informing me that I was too incompetent to handle the situations at hand was a real ego killer. “We only want to provided the services you need in order to help Ashen Claw grow,” The pink alicorn responded quickly. “I’m sorry, I only know your colleagues names,” I chuckled in embarrassment, rubbing the back of my head.  “What do I call the both of you, if you don’t mind?” I asked, hoping that I didn’t offend him. “Oh, sorry,” The pink alicorn giggled as she apologized.  “My name is Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, but you can just call me Cadence!” “And my name is Shining Armor,” The stallion added in as well.  “Both Cadence and I rule the Crystal Empire.” “He also happens to be my brother,” Twilight butted in.  I raised an eyebrow at her comment.  I was compiling a list of all those who had any influence on Twilight’s life.  That way I can properly plan revenge on all of them due to Twilight’s little snatching session with me. Clearly they’re to blame for my injured pride.  That and it would be amusing to see how they would react to a true prank master at work. “So, which one of you taught her how to drug someone with the proper dose and sneak her victim out of a guarded city?” I asked my equine guests.  Twilight went further back in her chair, her face flushed red due to my question. “Oh, well I guess my lessons in villanry sorta paid off,” Discord commented offhandedly, now wearing a general’s uniform.  He had stopped his pancake train shenanigans and instead used his powers to create a mini breakfast war.  Different types breakfast foods battled it out to become the supreme meal choice. And there goes the waffle federation...I will mourn this world’s great loss later. I let out a sigh of annoyance, pinching the bridge of my nose.  I wasn’t a politician, nor was I some great  leader.  What I am is a humanitarian.  This island was bogged down by a tyrannical asshole, one the Celestia did nothing to stop.  Right now, she was making circles around me.   Discord was a clear show of power, whether he knows it or not, and this ‘We want to help you!’ crap was a clear indication that they didn’t mean giving me a life supply of girl scout cookies.  No, they wanted something from me.  Celestia has ruled for a thousand years, so she clearly thought her way was the best way. “What do you want?” I challenged, looking straight into Celestia’s magenta eyes.  She simply tilted her head in feigned innocence. “Whatever do you mean, Lord Philip?” She asked, keeping a neutral tone as she responded to my question.  “Equestria has only one goal, the spread of friendship and peace throughout the world.” “And why the hell would you go out of your way to do that?” I retorted, hackles raised and my chest puffed out.  Damn natural bird instincts at its work.  “Are you telling me that you will go out of your way, no matter the cost, to help someone else outside of your kingdom?  No cost for those who gain your grace, just you working hard to make the world a better place?” “Yes,” Celestia responded.  I gave a quick scan around the room, looking at the others in the room and seeing how they react.  The Equestrians looked miffed at my questions other than Discord and Luna.  Bulkwater fidgeted in his seat, clearly unnerved that I was playing with fire. My mind raced for any possible answers.  What could she gain from helping me?  Control over Ashen Claw, control over me?  She had everything, so what more could she want.  As much as I tried to comprehend her with all the knowledge I had gained on her, I couldn’t read her motives. “Why?” I questioned, my voice somewhat quivering.  These kinds of acts were rare on earth, at least from those in power.  Was such a world that achieved stability through universal friendship even possible? “In my youth, all creatures sought control through brute force,” Celestia sighed, thinking back on certain moments in her life.  “This would come at the cost of the innocents that lived in the world.  When one loses everything, they will lose themselves over time…” Celestia got out of her chair and walked over towards me.  I slumped back, trying to not show concern at her approach.  She was an intimidating force, stories told to me by Groudon praised her power.  Said power matching his own in many regards. “I got tired of the unnecessary pain and lose,” She said, now standing right next to me.  I chose to look at the food before me, contemplating her words.  “So, I chose a new route.  This route would lead to the world we have today, one where all creatures live side by side.” “How did you manage that?” I asked thoughtfully.  Humanity itself had only achieved mutual peace when we created weapons that would end our world.  “Surely you had to fight those who opposed such a philosophy?” “Yes,” She mused, sitting down next to my chair.  The others at the dining table watched our conversation with both interest and confusion, even Discord stopped his shenanigans.  “But not through the sword, but with words.  Many others were tired of the fighting, for not many of us even remembered what we were fight about…” “And what happens when friendship and words don’t stop a catastrophe?” I demanded, looking at the alicorn’s face.  “Who will stop the dangers that lurk in the shadows!?  Dangers you have chosen to ignore!” “Then the friendship of others shall stand up to such dangers,” She answered calmly, shooting a glance towards Twilight.  “Such evils that refuse to listen to reason must be stopped, but not at the cost of our own morals.” “Then you’re better than me,” I laughed bitterly, looking down at her.  “Compared to your ponies, to anyone else here, I am much more vicious than any ‘villain’ you’ve encountered.” “But are you a villain?” She questioned, giving me a smile.  “You have yet to proven that you deserve such a title.”  I went silent at that statement.  If humans were truly evil, then why would good even exist.  One is not born evil, nor are they born good. “Because I choose to not go down that path…” I grumbled, annoyed by her words.  “But I would make one badass baddie!” I said quickly, giving her a toothy grin. “Yes,” She chuckled, still keeping her warm and jovial tone as she spoke.  “But you are also right about one thing, sometimes my ideals do not work---” “And now we get to where I fit in,” I interrupted, raising an eyebrow at the suggestion she was about to make. “Okay, am I the only one who’s confused here?” Rainbow Dash asked loudly.  “No offense dude--” “--That usually indicates that one is about to offend the person they’re apologizing to…” I deadpanned.  She gave a small snort of annoyance at my interruption before continuing,. “But what could the Princess need from you?” She said, getting nods of agreement from the others. “Thes islands are troubled, Lady Dash,” Luna answered.  “The tyrant Coal Patch was just one of the many problems that scourged these kingdoms, there is much work that still needs to be done---” “Work that could be achieve the best way through King Philip,” Celestia finished, the two sisters seemingly knowing what the other was thinking.  “My hope that through him, these islands could achieve unity and peace that has not been seen since Ashen Wing’s rule.” “What kind of troubles are we talking about,” Thorn Brush asked out of the blue.  I swear, he and everyone else have been quiet for the entire conversation.   “Pirates, other leaders of Ashen Veil that will want my head, cultist, griffon’s and dragons, superpowered artifacts that could level a mountain, and all of the other awful trails that await us,” I listed offhandedly.  Thorn Brush glared at me with skepticism before looking at Celestia for confirmation. “While Philip speaks the facts as though the task is impossible--” Celestia said, trying to ease everyone in the room. “Oh no, we’re screwed!” I laughed wholeheartedly.  “A quantum computer calculating for a million years couldn’t calculate a high enough number to give us an estimate on how screwed we are---” “I think that what Lord Yve---” Luna tried to interject my disheartening words. “Only a complete bumbling buffoon with good advice, God like capabilities, and sheer luck could hope to achieve such a task,” I ranted, playing with my fork.  Luna groaned in annoyance and Celestia shot daggers at me.   “But don’t you you meet each one of those criterias?” Twilight questioned, a smirk on her face.  Shining Armor looked ready to rebut her for that comment, but I interfered. “Fortunately, that is correct!” I chuckled, glancing at everyone in the room.  “So, I guess I’m your ma---bird!  Where do I sign up?”  Celestia looked at me, gobsmacked at my little speech. “You’re willing to do this?” The sun goddess question.  She was clearly worried that I wasn’t up for the task, I knew I sure wasn’t.  “Even after all you said?  Great danger lurks within these islands, danger that has had a thousand years to grow…” I looked at her dead in the eyes, my eyes glowing purple and the room becoming colder.  Her gaze never wavered from mine, and I gave her my answer. “I’ve lived my whole life sitting in the bleachers,” I affirmed, pushing my chair back and getting up to face her.  “All I ever wanted to do was live a normal life, to not give a care in the world.  I was a nobody.  Someone who was so sure that they could do nothing, that they didn’t even try.” I towered over the leader of the alicorns, still looking down at her.  “I’m no glorious leader that will lead my people into a new age,” I ranted, my body giving off a faint light.  My subjects...no, my friends looked at me in surprise.  “Nor am I some pure saint that seeks to fill this world with joy and happiness,” My head swiveled over to the Mane Six, looking deeply into each one of their big bambi eyes.  My determined gaze them went back to Celestia’s, her eyes filled with doubt...and yet there was also hope.   “But if I can do something, anything, to help these people,” I spread my wing to Parcel Dove, Thorn Brush, Bulkwater, and Coral Tuft.  “Then goddammit, I’m in!” “..............” The entire room was filled with silence.  Each one who was present pondered over my words.  It was a sappy speech, and it didn’t provide and confidence that I was capable for the job.  But then the room was filled with clapping.  I looked over to see a smiling Draconequus, clearly pleased with my answer. “Well, what are you waiting for?” Discord chuckled, disappearing in a flash of light only to be next to Celestia and I.  He put his arm around our necks and pulled us into a hug.  “Sign this little ball of chaos up!” He laughed, snapping his claws to make a pencil and what seemed to be a contract appear in Celestia’s hooves. “Y--you support this, Discord?” Luna asked in surprise.  From his attitude it seemed it was not often that the Draconequus would fool around when such serious circumstances were being discussed.  And yet here was the Spirit of Chaos, supporting something that was ensure order. Go figure... “Oh don’t you worry, Luna,” He said, giving the mare of the night a toothy grin as if he read both of our thoughts.  “There will be plenty of chaos about once our friend here takes over.”  I saw a couple of faces pale, even my own subjects had known of what the Draconequus considered chaos. “Oh calm down will you,” He snorted in annoyance as they looked as if they would be sick.  “Not all chaos involves anarchy or reality breaking shenanigans.  He then looked at Celestia, still in his iron grip.  “So, are you two lovers gonna look deep into each other’s eyes, or are you going to get down to this boring political process?” Both Celestia’s and my face became red as he spoke.  I mumbled incoherently and Celestia whack the jester upside the head.   “Well,” Cadence coughed, gaining everyone’s attention.  “If it’s agreed, then I think it would be best if King Philip would sign the official documents for his crown?” I let out a groan.  With my luck, here bureaucracy would weigh me down all day! “Yes!” Luna said in excitement, practically jumping out of her seat.  “While we’re at it, we should discuss with thee on the events of this island’s Nightmare Night!” “Nightmare what?” I asked in confusion, a certain pink pony let out an audible gasp. “You’ve never heard of Nightmare Night!?” She screamed, suddenly appearing in front of me.  “But that means you’ve missed the candy and the pranks and the--” “You mean Halloween?” I asked, my inner child bursting with excitement.  “When, I demand you give me an answer!” I cried with joy, grabbing Pinkie Pie and shaking the poor mare like a child shakes his piggy bag for spare money. “T---h--re---e--d--ays!” She said with excitement, her answer being somewhat cut off since I was shaking her. Wait...three days!? That means that if my math was right, and that Equus followed the same dating system as Earth, that today was my birthday!  Which means that I’m now an adult!  And since I’m in a different dimension, that means I don’t have to pay any insurance or tax burdens that come with my age! But I also can’t celebrate my eighteenth birthday with my family, my friends. Feeling dejected at the realization, I dropped the party pony.  She gave me a curious look, trying to understand my sudden change in mood.  Before I could mope, a small portal opened above us. “Well, that’s new…” Discord said at the spectacle.  The portal was a dark purple, slowly spiraling as it grew bigger and bigger. “Should we...should we be worried?” Luna asked the draconequus while still keeping full attention on the swirling mass.   “Well, I’m no---GET DOWN!” The Spirit of Chaos shouted, teleporting use out of the way as a giant scythe came flying out of the portal.  The strange weapon obliterated a portion of the dining table, sending splinters flying everywhere. We all got stiffened and prepared for more stuff to fly out from the portal, even the carefree draconequus seemed on edge as he wrapped himself around Fluttershy. “Oh, sorry!” A metallic voice echoed from the portal.  “Dang portal isn’t the best form of delivery, I can barely see anything in this universe through it, let alone wherever you are, Philly!” “Philly?” I muttered in confusion.  I haven’t been called by anyone besides my bro--no….. “Adam, did you almost drop the hunk of metal on me!” I shouted at the disembodied voice.  Slightly frustrated that my brother almost squashed me, and yet relieved that I was now talking to him. Which meant that he was also in Equestria...da fuq? “Yeah, seems like I’m in the same predicament as you,” He said, somehow knowing what I was thinking.  “What are we called, Displaced?” “That creepy salesman got you as well?” I asked, leaving the others around me in a state of confusion.   “Well, turns out that this ‘Merchant’ that we encountered is really a God-like Draconequus that wanted to mess around with her powers.  That and bring some kind of change into her universe…” The metallic voice of Adam answered.  So, the whole Merchant thing was a hoax for some Draconequus? “Yup!”  Adam said somewhat cheerfully.  Hold the phone, how did he know what I was thinking?  “I’m reading you mind and everyone else's.  But enough with that, I made you a gift!  Happy birthday kiddo.” I hesitantly walked over to the scythe and picked it up.  The metal was nothing I had ever seen before, and it clearly wasn’t anything one would find at a normal smithy. “I’ve gotta go before Arceus or Faust finds out that I’m here, they would not be happy that someone’s messing with reality here without their permission,”   The portal slowly closed, along with what presence I had of my brother.  He seemed somewhat off, but he was an odd guy.  A spear shot out of the portal, this time the object was aimed with care to not hit me.  On the spear was black cloth with a red crest emblazed in the center, signifying it as a banner.   “There’s my token,” Adam said, his voice fading as the portal closed.  “I can’t come right now, but if you ever need help just call on me!” The portal dissipated, leaving me and everyone else in complete shock. “Crazy?” Bulkwater added helpfully.  His comment brought a smile to my face, and the Equestrians seemed to have settled down.  They had probably experience weirder things. I touched the totem, and Adam’s metallic voice rang out into the room.  Static could be heard as the message was played “̸I̷̧͘ ͜͏à̕m̶͠ h̢͜e͜ ̶́w̷̕ḩ́͝o̕͠ ͜͞d͏͜w͠el̸̛͜l̸̷̢s í͘͘n̸̴̢ ́t̛h̵͠e҉͢ ̴̧́d͞ar̴̕k̵͘n͟e̢͜s̶̛s͏.͜͞ ̀Ev̨il̴ ͢an̛͘d͟ ̡͏͏G͜͞o̴͘o̶d͏͢ ̴͠a̸̧r͘͠ȩ̨́ ̶̧m̡̛͘er̵̕͜ȩ͞l̀͡y͡ ti҉t̷͟l͡ès̢͘͟ ̧͡t̡͟͜ha҉͘t̢͜ ͢͢à̴̶ŕ̶͜e ̧͜͠ù͡s̴̕e̴̢͡d͢͡ ̸̀t҉͘͡o͡ l͢͞ab̷͡e̢͞l̵͡҉ ò̕n̴͜ę’́͜s̶̵ ̵̛e̴ne̷͞m҉̕i̸e҉ś͠ ̵a̴͝n̸̵d ̶m̕e̛͜a̸̵n͢ ͜͟͢li̛͜t̶͜tl̕é͘ ͡t͟o ̛m͠e͠.̀͜ ҉ ̛I̕͢f ̢҉yo҉͘u̴̴͢ śee̛k̕͡ ͜͝a͡i̸͜d,̴̧ ̵s̨͠ec͏̸u҉̵r̡ìt͢y͡͠͠, ̸͠th͡͡e͢ c͏a̧͟l͟l̨ ̸̧u̷҉p͞òn ͡m̴͡e̸ ̷͜͢a̵n̸d̨͠ ̷҉I͠ ̶̧͟s̡h̛a̕l͘l̶ ̧s͘͢ḩ̨r̷͡͝o̢̧u͞d̕͢͝ y̶o͜͞u ͝͝fr̷̵om͟ ̷y̧͝o̷ur͡͏ ͏f̧͝o̴͘e̸҉s̛.̵ ̡̀ ̷I҉̢҉ a͜͟m̴̴ ̷҉n̨o̧t̸͞h͘i͞n̸̡g̷̶͜.͟͡.̧͘.͞I͏ ̨a̢͠m͢ M͢a̵k̨͏u̢͠t̨̡a ͘T͏e̵͝r͡id̷͟à̛҉x!͟”͠ Well...that’s a mindfuck if I’ve ever heard one before. I looked up to see the ponies in somewhat of a panic, clearly confused on what had transpired. It also seemed as though they didn't hear the message Adam's token had given, which meant that it must have been a mental message. Pinkie Pie seemed unnaturally quiet as both my friends and the Equestrians frantically talked about the event that had just occurred. “Wait...it’s your birthday?” Pinkie Pie asked quietly.  I could hear the Mane Six express great worry at the pink ponies words.  Before I could even act, she grabbed my head and brought it down to her face.  “WENEEDTOHAVEAPARTY!”  She shook me so much that my body was levitating off the ground as is wobbled.  “Oh god, make it stop!!!!” I cried, causing the eccentric pony to drop me. “I need to go, there are somethings I need to get!” She declared, getting up and bolting out of the room to an unknown destination. “Would you like us to discuss the terms of our agreement now, or later?” Celestia asked, bring us back to the subject at hand.  “Luna and I would be happy to take this to a place of privacy so that we can plan for the future…”   “Yeah,” I groaned, getting up from the ground.  “Parcel Dove, you come with us as well…” I said to my advisor.  Parcel Dove nodded her head and went to collect some papers and pens. I then turned to the others.  “Bulkwater, Thorn Brush, take the rest of our guests on a tour of the city, maybe the Red Spear tribe.”  Both of my military leaders have a quick nodded and began to escort the other ponies besides Luna and Celestia outside the palace. “Oh, and Thorn Brush!” I called out to the departing captain. “Yes your majesty,” He asked as Bulkwater lead the Equestrians outside. “Try to see if you can find Miss. Pie while you’re out,” I added, slight concern in my voice.  “Arceus knows what she’ doing out there...just make sure there’s no property damage created by her or Discord.”  His mouth formed a small smile at my request.  “I’ll try my best, but no promises.” He replied, taking off to regroup with the tour.  I gave a small wave at their departure and then turned around to the Celestial Sisters. “Alright,” I said, taking a serious tone.  “Let’s get one thing straight.  I am not your errand boy, nor am I some puppet king that acts on your orders.  I am king of Ashen Claw, a fellow ruler, that seeks to work with you, not for you.”  Celestia and Luna raised an eyebrow at my demands, but nevertheless seemed to have no ill intention for me. “That is something that both my sister and I,” Luna replied, using her hoof to point at herself and Celestia.  “Are hoping for.  Whether you succeed is your choice and your choice alone, we are merely here to assist you.” With that said, the three of us casually walked out of the room and up the staircase.  Parcel Dove appeared behind us with ink and parchment in her magical aura.  While I now trusted the two sisters, I did not let the delusion of our new friendship cloud my paranoia. If I was a threat to their subjects and loved ones, then they would not hesitate for a moment to end my existence.  My attitude is the same way, and if they prove to be a threat against me or the people of Ashen Claw...I will do everything in my power to stop them. That is the price of leadership.  One must throw away all friendships if it endangers the lives of their subjects.  It is never an easy choice and I will most likely face this issue down the road, but I am determined to ensure the survival of my kingdom. Because it’s all I have left...