//------------------------------//
// A Bunch of Bull 
// Story: The Substitute Demon 
// by Reykan 
//------------------------------//

	Cimmerian slowed in his journey. The dream realm was...wrong here, for lack of a better way of saying it. The 'air' was thicker, like he was moving through sludge. He found the dream eventually, but even that was difficult, the dreamer having an odd protection around it, one that he felt brushing against him even as he entered.

The dream itself was simple. An open field, tall grass stretching for as far as he could see. The dreamer much less so. The minotaur was large, a towering creature that would have stood over any thing from griffons to ponies to changelings, even most gnolls. As it was, the creature was just a head taller than Cimmerian was. The bull blinked in confusion for a moment as he took in the surrounding area before focusing on the alicorn standing before him.

"Alicorns. I grow tired of your kind," the minotaur grumbled. "It matters not to me. The time of your kind and those that follow you is coming to an end. Once we push back the pony queen and her hordes, your capital will belong to us."

Cimmerian bit back a retort at the large beings insulting words. "Cairne, correct? Leader of the minotaurs? I am-"

"I do not care who you are. You have no power here, no right to be in my dream. Our ancestors provided a way to fight the dream-walker and it will protect us from your attacks. Now be gone!"
With that, the minotaur lashed out with his fist, punching Cimmerian right in the muzzle. The alicorn was thrown from the dream in both pain and shock.

"Is this guy serious? Does he really think he can just throw me around like that?" Cimmerian muttered to himself. There was no way he  was letting that one slide. Pushing back into the sludge-like area of the dream realm, Cimmerian felt a push against him. It was odd, but the source of the force seemed to also be the source of whatever was mucking with the dream realm in this area.
'With Cairne declaring me unwelcome, whatever's messing with the dream realm here has decided I'm unwelcome as well. We'll see about that.'

Cimmerian returned to his body, carefully extracting himself from the dozing queens. He quickly found the Nightmare armor back in the ritual room and slid it on, mentally chuckling at the fact that the armor once more expanded to fit his ever-increasing size.
'That should slow down soon though. I think this is about how big Luna was.'

"Cimmerian? What happened?" Din asked, trotting into the room. "Did the minotaur do something? You're upset."

"He punched me before I could even say who I was or why I was there. He wants to play this game, I'll play. I'll kick his ass at it too. Dreams are part of my domain, where I rule. That son of a bitch thinks he's hot stuff, but he's got another thing coming."

"If he doesn't want to help us, that's fine. We'll deal with it later," Din said in an attempt to calm him.

"I'm not waiting, Din," the dark stallion replied. "We weren't sure what he was doing with the ponies that fled over the border that way, but with his attitude I'd bet slavery at best, death at worst for the refugees. He wants to throw his weight around, he's going to learn there are some out there who are bigger than he is. He's going to talk to me, and he's going to tell me what I want to know. That, or he'll tell me who can give me the information."

The queen uneasily followed him back to his own room this time. Knowing she was likely tasting his anger and worried it would only get worse, he turned to address her.
"I'll be done in a bit, Din. You and Zelus relax in your own room. I don't want you getting burned by my anger and frustration with this. I'll try to keep myself calm during this as well, but this may turn for the worst. If it really goes south, I'll head out on a flight so you guys don't have to deal with it, okay?"

"I will only accept if you allow Zelus to go with you," Pandinus countered. "She can hold her own, and if you'd like I'm certain you two could spar to burn off your anger."

Cimmerian chewed his lip in thought before nodding.
"Fine. Warn her that she'll need to shut me out for the duration or she may get sick. I'll let you all know what I learn later."

Closing the door on the worried queen, Cimmerian went back to the realm of dreams, this time equipped with the Nightmare armor and the increase in power it provided. The sludge-like effect was still there, but much less noticeable this time. Once more Cimmerian entered the minotaur's dream and once more the minotaur, after recovering from the shock of seeing him return, attempted to attack him. Cimmerian was not going to let that happen. With a flap of his wings, the bull was thrown back across the field. A flash of dark power followed, ensuring the dreamer wouldn't wake up until Cimmerian allowed it.
"We're going to have a chat, you and I. I have questions, Cairne, and I will have my answers. I tried asking nicely and introducing myself, but now we do this your way."

The dream twisted, an empty parking lot and desert surrounding the two. Blurry bipedal shadows stood nearby, some holding weapons in their hands, items the minotaur wouldn't likely be able to identify other than the fact that they may have been weapons. With a final flourish, Cimmerian shifted to his winged human form.

"I said before that my name is Cimmerian. I was brought here by the first Nightmare's escape. I was human and now I'm an alicorn. I want to know what you did with-"

The cross-breed's demands were cut off as the bull made a bellowing charge across the field. With a quick flap of his wings, Cimmerian was airborne, while all six of the shadowy guards he'd summoned raised their weapons and fired.

"Rock salt. Doesn't feel very nice does it? It should also prove to you that I'm not fucking around, cow. You want to act like a spoiled child, I'm going to run you over."
Landing and grabbing the minotaur by the chest hair, he lifted the male into the air and shouted in the bulls face.
"What are you doing with the refugees?"

Cimmerian flinched back a second time, barely dodging a clobbering blow from the bulls fist.
"I said your time is over, freak! Not only are you one of them, you claim to be one of the demons of old? I will not be swayed by one wearing the skin of the deceivers!"

"I'll have my answers, worm, even if I have to drag them from your mindless body," Theodore said dangerously.

He squared off against the minotaur, taking a step back when the minotaur drew a large axe from the ether.
"I rule my dream, monster. You are under the effect of my tribes Dreamcatcher. There will be no escape this time."

"Is that what's tainting this part of the dream realm?" the winged man asked curiously. "I'll have to fix that."

His face gaining a small smile, Ted drew a weapon of his own; a small metal cylinder. The large bull bellowed a laugh before charging forward, swinging the axe in a cleave that was meant to overpower his opponent.

Ted spun away from the blow and to the left, bringing his weapon to bear with a snap-hiss that brought a child-like grin to his face even as the minotaur slowed in his charge to stare at the smoking remains of his axe. A moment later and he realized that one of his hands was missing as well.

"What kind of idiot charges a stranger with a strange weapon?" the ruler of Kharazi jungles muttered to himself even as the bull stared at the smoking stump in shock. Under normal circumstances, the minotaur would have woken up at the loss but Cimmerian wasn't letting him off that easily.
"I'm not wasting time with you, Cairne. You're supposed to be the leader of the minotaurs, a warrior and a role model. Xenophobia does not work in a world of so many species.
"I came for answers. You will give them to me, or tell me who I can get them from. Am I clear?"

"I will...never bow to your kind, monster. Neither those you serve nor your own kind, who look like minotaurs but are an unholy mockery of our form!" Cairne shouted, staggering back from Theodore.

"What did you do with the refugees, you son of a bitch? The last I've heard from the griffons they were headed out of Equestria in any direction they could manage. That includes through the plains. What did you do with the ponies fleeing through your territory?" Ted demanded once more.

Cairne snorted in rage.
"Those ponies are paying back what's owed to the minotaur people. Their own pride and ignorance led to their downfall and now the minotaur are left to clean up. We will take back what was once ours, then move onto your lands. I will see my people ruling this world!"

"Slavery is your answer?" Cimmerian asked in disgust. "Slavery and conquest? Haven't you had enough of that from the Nightmare's campaign? Blood begets blood, Cairne. If you were a true leader, you'd know that. Instead you seek to prolong the conflict. Let the blood on the soil dry before you begin another, for pity's sake."

"You and yours are weak! You have no stomach for what must be done. My father thought peace was possible between the races and lies dead because of his foolishness."
The minotaur spat on the ground in contempt. "I will triumph where he failed. I will lead the minotaurs to an age of victory!"

'Somebody has daddy issues...' Cimmerian thought to himself.
To the human/alicorn male's surprise, Cairne didn't immediately throw himself back into the fight. Instead, he took a kneeling position, bowing down on one knee and muttering with his remaining fist over his chest. Cimmerian fought to keep his feet as the dream buckled, the shadows he had created being ripped out of the dream easily. Theodore wouldn't be so easily overcome though.

Bracing himself, the winged man watched as the sky behind the bull slowly came apart, revealing an artifact that resembled a dream catcher. At the sight, Cimmerian actually started laughing. That was Cairne's secret weapon against him? An artifact Luna had given them a thousand years ago as a peace-offering?

The minotaur's triumphant grin slowly fell even as he continued his chanting. Cimmerian just shook his head, the smile still on his face. As the artifact was constructed before the Nightmare separated itself from Luna, its construction was included in the memories. It was a broken memory, a patchwork mess like everything else he'd received from his unwilling benefactors that was missing important chunks that would allow him to recreate it, but he didn't need to know how to make one. He just had to unmake one.

"That's your secret weapon against dream-walkers? An artifact Luna made for your people in years gone by as a peace offering?" the hybrid scoffed. At the minotaur's confused expression, his irritation shifted to mirth.
"You didn't even know, did you? You didn't even know that the artifact you were relying on was made by an alicorn! Oh, this is rich! You know what the best part is though?"

When Cairne failed to reply, Cimmerian moved. Thrusting his hands forward, he surged his power into the artifact, pushing more power through the object than it was ever meant to channel. It began to spark wildly as it overloaded, the ancient spell-work unraveling quickly under his assault. It didn't take much in all truth, as the dream-ward was only ever meant to stop creatures based in the dream-realm.

"What is this? What are you doing?" Cairne asked in panic as the dream-ward began to fall apart. With a final echoing shatter, the artifact and the effect it had left on the dream shattered into so many shards.

"It was only ever made to ensure nothing that lives on the dream-plane enters the dreams  of your people, not stop an alicorn from entering. Add to that the fact that it felt like it hadn't been properly cared for in ages, the thing stood no chance."
Cimmerian stepped back from the minotaur, fading from visibility in the dream. He was done fighting with the chieftain for now, but he still needed a name at the very least. Preferably someone who was high-ranked in the minotaur tribe, like a healer or something. Those usually were fairly benign, right? At the very least they might be more willing to talk to him. So he set the minotaur up with a dream based on the camp. He made certain to keep as much detail as possible, listening to the bull as he rushed through the camp. He'd get the name, and then he'd give the fool a good scare for his trouble.







Cairne rushed through the camp, desperately looking for the tribe's seer. The old crone was the last person on his list of people he trusted but only she would know the meaning of the two-formed alicorn. Pushing into her tent, he bowled over the bull that was already in the tent working on some pointless task for the cow. He approached her and roughly grabbed her by the shoulder.
"Crone Ravendraft, I have need of your-"

Cairne stumbled back in shock from the face of the female, terror filling his mind. For the crone's eyes were blazing white voids that seemed to reach for his very soul. He stumbled back, bumping into the bull he'd shoved earlier only to feel the minotaur grab his shoulder. Looking back at the second occupant of the tent, he heard it speak before it lunged.

"Make us whole!"







"Crone Ravendraft huh. I'll likely have to speak with her tomorrow, seeing as the artifact being destroyed likely woke her up," Cimmerian muttered as he floated in the dream-realm. Sure she'd likely be pissed he broke the dream catcher, but from what he could tell it wasn't a tough fix.
He'd allowed the dream to collapse after the jump-scare to keep it from getting to be too much but he still wanted to give the bull a full piece of his mind. Strange as it was he didn't feel particularly angry anymore, just irritated. Cairne was a glory-seeking whelp that wasn't ready for leadership.
'Too bad he's like that. At this rate we're going to be butting heads. Too bad for him mine has a built-in pike.'

He almost took off for the Temple once again but stopped short, remembering Heart had been working to free many of those who had been forcefully inducted into the Nightmare Hive. Seeing as he was in the 'area' and the re-developing queen should be sleeping, he decided to stop by.

The dream hive was different now. Whether it was because she had so many ponies in her hive at the moment or because she had to rebuild her own mind with the help of those around her, the dream-hive was more of an open field than a cave now. Trees dotted the landscape and a throne that likely housed the queen could be seen in the distance. As he made his way through the fields he suppressed a shudder. It wasn't just soldiers here anymore. Stallions, mares, foals, even a few griffons and a minotaur were scattered throughout the dream. The number of changelings he saw in the dream could be counted on his hooves though. From what he saw, there were only two beside Heart.
'Could just be that most changelings get night shift though. Would make sense.'
"Good evening, Heart. How are things going for you and yours?"

The developing queen, about half again the size she'd been when he'd first seen her and now about the size of a grown mare, raised her head from the throne and gazed at him curiously.
"What are you doing here? Is there something that you need?"

"I was attempting to talk to the minotaurs to find out what was happening out there," Cimmerian explained with a frown. "Unfortunately, they don't seem to be very kind at this time. I'll try contacting someone else tomorrow, but for now it seems that Cairne is looking to either kill or enslave any ponies he comes across. Pass it on to the griffons, would you? I'm not certain what Cairne's stance on them will be once he learns we're working so closely together. As for my first question. How are you and those you've freed? No big issues?"

"No, none that I can think of. It's a bit hard remembering how to do this, but it's been nice hearing others again. It was always so quiet in the castle. The drones were mostly hibernating to save energy and Spike slept most of the time. He's doing better as well. The Zebra has given him something that she says may allow him to regrow his eye in a few years."
The queen's muzzle twisted into a tired smile at that thought.
"He has been recovering as well. I believe he enjoys being around others again as much as I enjoy having a hive to oversee. I will ask that you send any and all food you can manage to go without though. Supplies are hard to come by here, and right now the size of our town is passing the population of a city."

"I'll see what I can manage. It's getting a bit cooler, but the farmers are certain we can keep going throughout the winter season as well. Any word on the Nightmare?" the alicorn asked.

"She's not been seen in public, but that can be attributed to the fact that anything that comes near Canterlot is over-run by berserkers. The array's were meant to be used to keep changelings in line, and our species was already capable of being suppressed. The drones were, at least. Ponies are too different, and it's causing trouble with the control arrays. they aren't capable of running anything more advanced than patrols or attack groups.
"Oh, she did manage to patch the control crystals ignoring ponies that were wearing the array on their armor. Three guards had to be restrained for a moment before I was able to disconnect them and take them into my own hive," Heart explained.

"So you don't need anything for the changelings? No love, or other emotions?"

"No, the changeling population here is fine. Between the goodwill from the ponies and griffons we're helping and my own connection with spike, I think we'll be just fine," the growing queen answered, a goofy smile on her muzzle.

At Cimmerian's quirked eyebrow Heart giggled before opening a small dream-window next to herself. It was the view of a changeling that was currently awake and the alicorn burst into laughter at the image that was displayed. The mare was currently barely visible, safely tucked away in the dragon's grip as he slept soundly.

The stallion chuckled at the sight.
"Ah, so that's how it's going to be huh? Well let him know I talked to Twilight Sparkle, the real one, and she's still alive in there. That mare may yet walk away from this with her life."

"I will tell him, sir. And thank you for helping us. All of us." Heart said, making a sweeping gesture with her foreleg to the gathered hive-mates.

"It's no problem, Heart. All you guys needed was some help. I'm happy I was able to provide that help, and I'll be happy to keep helping till everything's settled again. After that you guys get to help me though, got it? I've got my own projects I'd like to work on once the worlds no longer in danger."

"I'm certain you will find no shortage of volunteers for whatever project you may pursue. Go with the shadows, friend."

It took a good portion of Cimmerians willpower to not snark "I am the shadows" as he walked away.



<-(0)->



"You broke their artifact?" Celestia asked in shock as the group ate dinner in the war room. All the usual suspects were gathered to help take on the monster of a mess that had built up over the last month.

Cimmerian was strangely calm as he partook of his meal. He figured he'd be angry at the minotaur for what was implied, but all he felt was irritation.
"I did. He seemed to think it was part of his 'My ancestors support me!' campaign, so I smashed it. I ga- Luna gave it to them years ago, and now he's going to use it against me? I don't think so. Luna and I can rebuild it after this war. In fact I may look into getting those things installed all over the place or maybe even making one to cover the entire planet. Those may be capable of keeping Nightmares away before they even take root. The dream catchers were actually a thing back home, you see. They kept nightmares and evil spirits away. In a world of magic, I would bet my wings the things would do a measurable job of such things, whereas back home we had to just guess as to whether or not the things actually worked. That or have faith. You'd be surprised what could be done with nothing more than a little faith and some hope."

Celestia tittered at that.
"A year ago I'd be asking for examples. Now I have one right before me, Cimmerian. You've given us an opportunity I didn't think possible. You said Heart reported the Nightmare is running into trouble with the control arrays?"

"Yea, they were never intended to hold down the will of hundreds of ponies. The experiments the Nightmare conducted on slaving ponies to them were done after the control crystals were created. Like some of the computer programs back home, sometimes new software just isn't compatible with old hardware. She'd have to re-create the crystals. With how complex they are, possibly from scratch. I don't know if she has the time or the resources. Hearth's Warming is next week, right? We'll do all of our holidays, then I'll likely be going back to Equestria. I'd like to see this end as soon as possible. The faster we can get everyone back to their homes and their lives, the faster the world will stabilize again. I'll also have to be there for Cairne's assault, as even if we take out the Nightmare and her hordes of drones the minotaurs are going to attack Canterlot."

"I see. Cairne's father was a respected stallion. It's sad to know his son hasn't followed in his hoofsteps."
The white mare nodded once more before excusing herself, claiming to be late for a game she was setting up for the various children in the nursery.

"He called you a demon? What's that?" Pandinus asked him, pressed firmly against his side.

"Demons are usually malevolent spirits that either trick mortals into doing evil, or lead them to their death. It's actually kind of surprising to hear they have some mythology on humans. It's even funnier when you know that humans have their own mythos on minotaurs.
"I have to wonder what he'd think of my own species thoughts his people," the alicorn chuckled to himself. "What was the creation story of the minotaur of the maze? A woman having sex with a bull? I think it was something along the lines of a female human going through this long plan to mate with what for our world is a beast. I'm sure mentioning that would go over well. Have to wonder what their legends say about us though to have him call humans demons, though. Damn, now I'm curious."

"I'm certain you will have plenty of time to pick the brains of the minotaurs once they've been pacified," Zelus interrupted, "but for now we still have work to do. While I'm glad you're no longer leaking rage, I'd like to finish this up as soon as possible. Cadance is offering to teach me a few things about pony mating rituals and I hope to find my own source of love, since you find our arrangement uncomfortable."

Cimmerian looked to the armored queen in surprise.
"I appreciate that Zelus, but what brought this about?"

"I, I may have enjoyed my own time with a stallion a bit more than I realized," the mare answered sheepishly. "I'd like to have my own source without straining our most potent source of love as well. That means finding love elsewhere. It also helps that I'm finally mostly clean of whatever it was that I pulled from you earlier. That was...both unpleasant and dangerous. it will definitely cause our idea of the hive-father to be re-defined. I do hope you will still be willing to supply the hatchlings with love though."

"I don't mind doing that, Zel. It's just, you guys were asking to share a little too much. I understand it's a different social concept, but I just can't wrap myself around it."

"You didn't have to, you know," Din responded with a smile. "All you had to do was let us wrap ourselves around you."

Cadance giggled at the remark even as Gleam rolled her eyes.

"At least wait until you get back to your room before you begin molesting him this time, Pandinus," the pink unicorn muttered as she checked off another report on the mine while a sandwich floating in her aura.

"He's my mate, Gleam," Din answered quickly. "It's not molesting; it's foreplay."

"Have you tried those things I taught you, Din?" Cadance said with a dirty grin.

"I want to, but he doesn't like an audience. I can't get him to have fun when Zelus is there and with her addiction, she's been around almost constantly."
Seeing Zelus slump at the accusation, Din gave the other queen a nudge over the link.
"You know as well as I that the addiction incident was an accident. We've never had the opportunity to do this, so we both know this has never come up before."

"Doesn't make me feel better knowing I'm interfering with a good portion of the hives most potent love," the larger queen muttered.

"Actually, from what I've been hearing that may not be holding true for much longer. A few of the herds were looking at accepting a changeling into the group. I can think of at least three that were talking about it.
I'm kind of curious to see what a full herd will supply a changeling with," Gleam said as she tapped a hoof against her chin. "It's just so strange thinking of something like love being a resource."

"Speaking of love..." Cadance said leadingly, her eyes motioning to the unicorn stallion.

"Leave it be, mare," Shadow weaver growled. "I'll not have you jump on this as well. Bad enough I have the queens over there pestering me about my feelings."

Cimmerian shook his head as Cadance practically squee'd at the idea of another couple in the Temple.

Tackling the paper-monster was definitely preferable to being stuck listening to Cadance and her ideas for 'improving one's experience in the bedroom'.