The Awakening of a Tactician

by Mountainmanmad

Chapter 21 - New Magic, New Cloths, And New... Issues

Author's Note:

Yes, it's another large chapter. I tried to brake it up, but I couldn't find a good spot to do so without harming the story.

With that done, enjoy the chapter.

I awaken from my well needed sleep to find that it was early the next day. Today would be my sixth day here in Wade's world which left me only two days left to train him. Remembering the tussle I had with the guards yesterday I took time to scan my room for any spells that may be in use. I had first hand proof that Celestia didn’t trust me and was willing to go as far at to spy on me. Finding no alien magic within my room I walked out my door and made my way to Wade's room. As I expected, the two guards from yesterday were gone and not a trace of them, or any other soldier, could be found.

Yesterday's confrontation required me to reconsider some things. With everything that has happened, it might be in my best interest to leave early. While I planned on staying for a full seven days, I may only stay for six nights now. The sooner I got away from Celestia the better, I didn’t need her breathing down my neck any more than she already was.

I walked inside Wade's room and found him slumped over his desk. Needless to say I was surprised, Wade didn't seem like the kind to willingly study unless a fire was lit under his ass. I walked over to him and saw that he had numerous sheets of paper lying around with writing on them, all in the ancient language.

I smiled in triumph as I read over the pages, recognizing the words for the tome Nosferatu. It seemed that Wade had finally reached the next rank within the Dark arts. I was about to wake him up and congratulate him when I saw something that worried me. Wade's right arm was cut open, the blood having congealed together by now.

I turned on the light to the room to inspect his arm, but what I noticed instead caused some bile to rise in my throat. The ink Wade had used to write was red.

Blood Red.

I began to shake his shoulder violently as I cursed under my breath. Wade may be able to heal from any injury, but even his body has limits without constant morphing. Writing roughly fifteen pages of blood for ink can't be too good for the health.

I watched as he opened his eyes, but made little effort to speak. Taking a closer look I noticed his eyes were slightly glazed over as well. Shaking him was hardly going to do him any good at this point. I am unaware as to how much blood the human body can afford to lose, but I made it this far assuming the worst.

And right now I need to assume that Wade is on the verge of death.

I quickly withdrew Nosferatu and began sapping my own life energy. Taking more than enough, I directed the flow into Wade. I watched as his skin began to scab over, that too eventually healing. The blood he had lost began to reproduce itself exponentially. Or, at least in theory anyway.

I checked his eyes once more and noticed the glazed over look was replaced by one of confusion. I breathed out a sigh of relief, knowing he would be fine. And now that he's fine, I can lay into him about this.

"Wade... Do you mind telling what the fuck you were thinking? You could have killed yourself if you pushed your luck any further!"

He pushed my hand away, wincing and holding his head in his other hand.

"The hell is your problem?" He asked, rubbing his brow as he enacted a morph. He turned into a… pink fetus creature. Wait a moment, wasn’t that a Mew!? "Honestly, I preferred the water. Fast shock, a couple choice curse words, and that's it. What's with the yelling? If you actually thought it might be better than the other way, I have to say I don't appreciate it."

I blinked in surprise and shook my head, now was not the time for this. I scowled and waved a hand at the desk in front of me. "My problem is that I find you slumped over your desk half dead after using your own blood to write out the next spell. Was it really so hard to search around for some ink?"

"What? Blood? Last thing I remember I was in the training hall, next thing I know I'm getting a drill camp wake up."

"Instead of arguing with me, how about you actually look a bit closer at the papers in front of you?"

I watched as he turned towards the desk, looking positively shocked that he couldn’t see the top of it. Was he really so out of it that he didn’t even know what he morphed into? It seemed to be that way since he was looking at his own body in confusion. Light pink fur, high pitched voice and a long thin tail with a bulbous tip and two oversized feet.

I watched as he began to rise off the chair, floating lazily above the desk as he inspected the papers.

"By the long of the wave, arrange to the side of the corneal nerve grouping." He kept on reading, switching between papers until he was done. "Nosferatu?" He asked, "So the base of the spell redistributes the physical, mental and spiritual energy of the caster?"

I sighed as my eyes drifted between the paper and his body. I’ll admit, I’ve played my share of Pokemon in the past and being presented with a live specimen was just too good of a chance to pass. I gently poked the side of his body as I responded to his question, "Close. The spell, like every other, is a weapon used in battle. It summons a black miasma which encircles your foe and slowly drains the life force of the individual. During that time, any life you manage to steal will be transferred into yourself allowing you to heal in the midst of battle. Think of it like a healing spell, but transformed into a weapon. If you're skilled enough at wielding it, you should be able to absorb the life from any biological organism. You should also be able to take your own life force and give it to another individual. If you do that and place the life into a dead body, you'll create a zombie, one that will follow your every command."

I ended my miniature lecture as I focused on his tail. I firmly grasped it between my thumb and index finger as I began to trace the vertebrae. Fascinating, joints were allocated at systematic intervals allowing the tail to perform great feats of flexibility, while still allowing it to hang free.

"Uh... I don't wanna make this an awkward moment, but that might very well be my junk you're playing with," Wade chastised. He tweaked the end out of my grasp and curled it around his midsection.

Well, that just made everything incredibly awkward.

I quickly pulled my hand away and held it close. "Right, sorry about that. Was just curious about your anatomy. Looking at a living breathing Mew isn't exactly a common occurrence in my daily life."

"I have to agree with that," Wade said, while he prodded at his now pudgy little stomach. I could hear him mumbling to himself for a few seconds, "-not like I could just teleport it out… can I even eat? I have saliva, so I have to assume I can. Maybe it's like morphing, and everything in my stomach just immediately becomes energy? What if I ate too much, would I just explode due to the energy build up?"

He whipped his gaze back up to look me in the eye. "Wait, back up, whatever you do, please don't tell Twilight about this. She'll want in on the experimentation process, and I'll probably NEVER get her to calm down."

He floated up to the ceiling, swaying gently in an invisible breeze. "She's already bugging me to spend more time with other people. I think she's worried that I don't get out all that often. I don't see what the big deal is, I play chess with Sweetie Belle... almost every few days."

He dropped back down to settle on the floor, "Still haven't won a single game against the pint sized terror."

I smiled as I watched him float around. "Chess... I haven't played that game in a very long time." I shook my head to clear my mind. The hell am I doing, how did Wade of all people manage to get me off topic!? "As fun as this has been, we very quickly got off topic. As disturbing as it was to find you half dead over your desk, you still managed to reach the next rank within the dark arts. I want you to bind the pages together and find a cover for it. While I have never individually written separate parts for a spell it should still work when put together. It doesn't even matter what material you use for the cover as the magic will fix it up for you. Once you complete that, we can begin your training on the spell."

He floated over to the pages, looking them over, "Wait, what? The hell is this about me being half dead?" He asked thickly, "You're saying these are mine? Are you sure, I don't remember writing them..."

I huffed and gathered the pages together, organizing them in the correct order. "Yes, they are yours. I can also confidently say that you used your blood because when I found you your arm was cut open and scabbed over."

"Damn," He puffed, somehow grabbing the papers from me with levitation. "I don't remember any of that. Is that going to happen every time I... uh... 'unlock' a new spell?" He asked, his concern leaching into his diminutive voice.

I shook my head. "Honestly, this shouldn't have happened in the first place. I can understand a major headache, yes, but what you did was something rather concerning. I'm going to make the assumption that the first time for you is going to be the roughest. This could be because of your translation spell. I would be surprised if something like this happened to you again."

"Well, I hope you're right," he agreed. "If what you're saying is true I might have been in some real trouble if I was on my own. So what are we going to do today?" He asked, floating overhead once again.

"Practice the new spell, just as soon as you string the pages together and connect it to a cover of some sort. Of course, you could simply rewrite the spell if you want, Luna provided us with plenty of black books and I'm sure you can find some ink around here."

"I kinda like the idea of a 'binder-book'. You said it'll still work, so I'll not let it go to waste. Especially seeing as I apparently almost died or whatever. And If I write anything else I am going to use a pen or a pencil. No more unconscious blood writing. And I personally hate quills, they always spill ink all over the place, I really can't get the hang of them," He looked closer at the page on top of the stack, peering at the flowing script. "Although apparently I'm really good at it when I'm not trying."

I chuckled and made my way to another seat in the room, leaning back comfortably. "The magic of the Ancient Language is known to work in mysterious ways. Try recalling the words needed to write the spell without looking at the pages you already wrote."

He furrowed his brow as he did what I asked of him. "Can I try something?" He asked me. I raised an eyebrow and cocked my head in confusion. Before I could react he wrapped his hands around my wrist and gave me a rather uncomfortable Indian rug burn.

I recoiled my arm and gave Wade a menacing glare. He ignored my discomfort and looked at the pages. "Nosferatu~" He intoned, using the spell to push some of his own energy into myself. "Did that work?" He asked.

You have got to be kidding me. The first time he uses the spell and he manages to direct energy from himself into me!? It took me almost a week to get that down and he does it in second!?!?

Before I could answer Wade placed his stubby little limbs to his temples, massaging them.

That’s what you get for rushing things. Honestly, it’s almost as if he enjoys pain.

I smiled as I inspected my arm, the burn having vanished and the red mark replaced with healthy skin once more. I chuckled as I watched him trying to alleviate the headache he was no doubt experiencing. "I'm impressed, it took me a while to learn how to transfer my own life energy. You truly have a gift for learning new techniques. As for the pain you're most likely feeling, it'll go away. That will always happen when you sacrifice some of your energy. After all, you're literally ripping a spiritual piece of yourself from your body. You'll get used to the feeling in due time."

"Nuuuuu," He moaned, "So this is gonna happen every time I do this? And I'm supposed to practice with it like it doesn't bother me?" He slowly morphed back to normal. "Aaaagh, why does my head still hurt?" He inquired. "I morphed back, so it should be gone, right?"

Did he not listen to a single thing I said?

"It'll only happen when you give up some of your own energy. If you're taking some in, it'll have the opposite effect of what you're feeling now. As far as your morph not working... that's not very surprising. You said that it heals and regenerates your body. What you lost, however, is something much deeper than that. You gave away one of the base building blocks of your very being. One way to look at it is like this; you just took a knife and cut a piece of your soul off. No amount of morphing will be able to heal that, only time will."

"Wait..." He said, contemplating my words. "So it's like soulfire, from the dresden series? I can shave pieces off, and they'll heal in time, but in the end I AM shaving off something that isn't readily restored?"

I looked at him in confusion. "Soulfire? I've heard of the dresden series, but never got around to reading them. Besides, you're not actually tampering with your soul, I just used it as an example. You can drain as much as you want, so long as you don't completely empty yourself. If you do, you die, otherwise it'll slowly refill over time."

"So I could actually die if I overextend myself? I guess that anything one can do can end in death, if they aren't careful..."

"It's a powerful spell and has many uses. Even though you don't need to use the tomes, I still want you to bind it together. Next time, just make sure you write a spell in a journal or empty book. There's no need to go through this extra step."

"K," he acquiesced. "Where am I going to find a cover though? Should I just take one from another book?"

I shrugged. "Sure, go ahead." I suddenly broke out into laughter as I considered a rather humorous confrontation. "Just make sure Twilight doesn't know about it."

"W... why not?" He asked, realization spiking as he said this, "Oh... ooooooh. Because she'll flay me alive for ripping the cover off a book, got it."

I leaned back into my chair, giving him a smile. "Indeed. Now, the faster you get done, the faster we can practice the magic. It's my last day here and I'd like to make the most of it."

"Seriously?" He asked, "It's already been seven days? I could have sworn we had a couple more to go..."

He returned my smile, giving it a determined twist. "Well then, what are we doing sitting around here? Let's get back to it, and make it worth it!"

He opened his door, and nearly tripped over a package outside of it.

Watching him stumble, I rose from my seat and walked to the door, looking at the package. I glanced up and down the hall, noticing a similar box in front of my own door. I stepped over Wade’s package and hurried over to my own. I bent down and opened the box, taking out a silver medallion. The moment I made contact with the metal my eyes widened in surprise. Magic: pure, raw and untampered magic. I could feel it flowing from the metal and into my body. I don’t know how, but this beautiful medallion was somehow amplifying my base magic. I didn’t even think such a thing was possible, a boost such as this was only obtainable through my own training.

I looked over to Wade to see that he had received a new watch.

"Uh, think you might look at this before I try and put on something that might very well be something like a bomb?" Wade asked, holding it out to me.

I rolled my eyes and placed the medallion within my robe. I took the watch and held it close, closing my eyes in concentration. After several minutes of thoroughly searching the device, I handed it back to him. "Its clean, can't find anything out of the ordinary."

"Awesome," he said, circling the watch around his wrist. "~Eximpe~" He uttered, waiting for it to lock into place. The watch didn’t react in the slightest. "~Eximpe~?" He repeated tentatively, holding the tips together. Nothing happened. "So... I guess it has a different password? Well that doesn't help me," He muttered, sliding it into his pocket. He pulled out a piece of paper from the box.

I snorted as I looked over his shoulder at the mess of characters. As childish as it may sound, I almost preferred pictures. At least then I would get an idea as to who it was from. I started to make my way towards the training room, glancing back at Wade one last time. "Well, we don't have a lot of time, might as well get started. I'll meet you in the training room, I have some... testing to do with this medallion."

He acknowledged me with a wave as he retreated into his own room. I took a closer look at the medallion, appraising its design. It practically screamed Luna, what with the silver and the detailed crescent moon in the middle.

I entered the training room and placed it within my robe. I could still feel the magic amplifying my own, but by how much?

I focused on the weakest target, eying it curiously. I wonder, could I turn my base magic into a weapon? I’ll admit, I never considered it before. I've used it to toss things around, but never more than that.

I stretched out both my hands, palms facing each other and my fingers slightly curled. I focused on the head of the dummy as I tried to replicate a technique I had seen once before. I began to channel my magic, directing it at my target. Once the magic had significantly built, I scowled and clapped my hands together.

The result was near instantaneous. The dummy’s head caved in on itself from all sides, reminding me of what a can would do when squeezed. I could only imagine what would happen if I did such a thing to a living creature.

A small tune played above me, but I paid it little notice as I inspected my new toy. This medallion… I could accomplish quite a bit with this new ‘power up’.

I was distracted from my thoughts as I heard footsteps coming from the hall.

I placed the medallion inside my robe as Wade came rushing in. "So Wade, do you have the spell ready?"

He held up a bundle of pages. "Just gonna use one of the books here, they're blank anyway so even if Twilight finds out, she can't raise too big of a stink, right?"

I shrugged and pointed at the neatly stacked pile of perfectly blank books he could have used. "Go ahead, they're here for our benefit, may as well make use of them."

He picked up one of the blanks, summoning a knife to cut out the unused pages. Once done, he fit his pages inside, trying to get them to fit. They stuck out awkwardly, the book he had picked smaller than the pages themselves.

"Okay, so I just need something for adhesive, right?" he asked, turning to me. I merely smiled knowingly as the book in his grasp lit up with a bright light.

The book glowed brightly before dimming into a dark sickly purple. When the brightness had dimmed the book's cover had changed, becoming much, much thicker than it was previously. Not only that, but the color of the book was a dark purple and sported a sinister emblem on the cover. The grooves of the insignia still glowed faintly before that too dimmed away. The previous problem with the pages was fixed, as the book and pages seemed to come to an agreement.

"The books... change?" He asked, flipping through it.

I laughed, watching him intently. "They do. The text comes to terms with it's host and together it forms a mutual bond. Thus, the change in appearance to fit the spell it represents. Every spell will have a different symbol on the cover. You can also tell which spell type is which by looking at the color. Purple for Dark, red for Fire, yellow for Thunder, green for Wind and light blue for Ice."

"Well I guess it's good for someone like me that they come color coordinated. Wait... I may not have played the games in detail, but I thought Ice was green as well, a subcategory of Wind?"

"Ice is a subcategory of Wind, but the covers are still blue. To be fair, a lot of the covers changed over the course of the games. For now though, Ice has it's own cover, but is still considered Wind magic."

"Oh, I guess that makes sense. What’s the sigil on the cover mean?" He asked, pointing at the cover, "Or does it just mean 'darkness' or something?"

I shrugged, looking at the symbol. Yet more questions I could not answer. "I honestly don't know. The knowledge of the Ancient Language and its symbols have been lost even by the game's standards."

"Imma just say it says darkness then... I wonder if Rarity would would be willing to make me a new shirt with a decal like this?" He mused, taking his off. "Man, she is gonna be steamed when she finds out she didn't have enough time to make you anything. Speaking of, did Twilight say what her progress with your keychains was?"

I shook my head. "I haven't heard anything from her. My guess is I won't get the completed keychains, especially after the incident at dinner last night. I'm honestly surprised she hasn't tried to evict me from the castle herself," I ended positively.

"C'mon, she wouldn't renege on a deal, and she didn't look all that mad with you... just kinda sad, you know?"

"... I see. Well, until she shows up, we'll have to wait and see. For now, however, I want you to practice that spell on me. Try draining my life energy for starters. Just make sure you do it slowly!"

Wade followed the script of the spellwork, designating myself as the 'target' of the spell. The black mist that was the spell began to circle around me, and I could begin to feel my energy being sapped.

I remained motionless, my arms crossed behind my back as I watched him. "Good, I can feel the drain. This was the original intent of this spell, to steal the life of others. Of course, there's more than one way to utilize it. I only wish we had a body to practice on or something that recently died..."

Wade stopped the spell, wiping a slick of sweat from his brow. Strange, he shouldn’t be feeling tired after the first cast. If anything, he should feel invigorated, not the other way around.

"Well you heard Twilight, they cremate their dead," He posited, "Unless Nosferatu can bypass that, it's really a moot point. Speaking of, have you ever tried doing that on cremated remains? Could be the kind of necromancy they're used to dealing with is a different flavor..."

I shook my head, considering how such a thing could even work. "You need a host and a pile of ash is hardly going to constitute as a suitable subject."

"Well I guess that makes sense... how little of a 'host' is required for 'reanimation', do you figure?"

I chewed on the inside of my cheek in thought. "Well... I only rose a few and all of them were... fresh. One subject had their leg removed and the dark magic sped up the recovery rate. In less than a minute it had its leg back. I'm going to assume it at least needs a head and a body, but I don't know for certain. Let me start from the beginning for you. When enough life energy is pushed into a corpse, the body will be reanimated. Although the energy is pure life force, it's still tainted by dark energy. The two forces mix together and create an artificial soul to replace the the previous one. This is both good and bad."

I may as well sit down for this, we have a lot to cover now that Wade is capable of creating zombies. The last thing I need is for him to screw that up.

"You see, because the corpse has a soul, artificial or not, it's tethered to it and more in-tune with the life that gave it birth. I'm sure you've seen plenty comical situations back home where a zombie loses a head and the body just walks over and re-connects it. It's not so simple. In fact, it would be best if I back up a bit."

"Should you ever decide to reanimate a corpse know that it's impossible to fully revive the deceased. Once a body's soul is gone, it's gone for good. Now, when the undead is created, it's not actually a zombie, but something different. You'll create, strait from the games, a phantom. This is not a ghost, but much more advanced than a zombie. A zombie can take much more damage than a phantom and they are much harder to kill. However, a phantom has something that a zombie doesn't, and that's intelligence. A phantom may be easier to kill, but it can learn from observation. If the phantom manages to stay alive for a long period of time, it might achieve the level of intelligence a young child possesses. When I brought a mare back to life, she actually managed to speak in broken sentences at one point."

"Now for the last part, which is the physical capabilities of a phantom. A phantom is created for the purpose of war. The Dark magic infuses with the muscles of the host giving the phantom great strength. The more powerful the individual was in life, the more powerful he'll be in death. Let me give you an example; The longest phantom I had was actually my first. It was a young mare that had recently passed away due to some illness. Anyway, one day I sent her out to look around my home for intruders. Later she dragged back a full grown manticore by the tail after apparently beating it into submission... she wanted to call it kitty. So, that's really the basics of understanding what a phantom is; any questions?"

I must have really caught his interest because he practically jumped at the chance to ask a question.

"Manticore? I've heard of them, but that's all. Was it really that big of an achievement?" He asked.

I raised an eyebrow at him. "They're about twice the size of you, can climb trees, can fly short distances and are the primary predators of the Everfree forest. They are vicious creatures, capable of killing a pony, or us, in a single swipe. The phantom mare I created made it break down in tears."

"But... but... have you ever met Fluttershy? She's afraid of her own shadow, and she described manticore as being misunderstood pushovers. Could it just be she's only met a runt or something?" He mused, trailing off at the end.

I merely rolled my eyes and snorted. "I have met her, of course, she never spoke to me. You need to remember that Fluttershy is exceptional with animals. She would probably tell you a poisonous spider is 'cute' and 'misunderstood'. Of course, she is terrified of dragons."

"Really? She never seems to have any problems with Spike... he is kinda on the 'not scary' side of things though... full size dragons are pretty damn scary."

I shrugged impassively, I’ve yet to meet one personally. "They shouldn't be too much of a problem if you know how to deal with them. I should be able to deal with one easy enough on my own using Thunder magic. The magic has a unique property against dragons that it pierces their scales. Power up the spell, aim for the head."

"Not the base of the spine?" he asked, pointing at the back of his head. "I can understand how pretty much everything is vulnerable to electric shock, especially if focused on the nervous system. Are there only 'dragon' dragons though? Nothing elementally based, like an ice dragon or even a lightning dragon?"

"That would work, yes. Of course, being crippled for life sounds to be a punishment worse than death. As far as elemental dragons... I have no idea. I honestly don't know much about this world's geography or wonders. I've lived in the Everfree forest my entire life. I've managed to 'acquire' a few books here and there, but nothing special."

"I'd say raid the castle library, it isn't like sunbutt is going to get any madder at you. Buuuuuut it wouldn't do ya any good. Nothing here is in English. If you wanna take a few and try to puzzle out the chicken scratch I'd be more than willing to go and 'borrow a few books..."

Hmm… while I may not be able to raid this castle, I may get lucky with the one in the Everfree. Perhaps once I return to my universe I’ll have a quick look through the old place.

I watched in amusement as I saw Twilight and Rarity enter the training room. Rarity was nervously looking at Twilight and I could see why. The mare was glaring daggers into the back of Wade’s head, no doubt about his suggestion to steal from the library.

I gave Twilight a subtle motion of my hand, asking her to calm down. She noticed and took in deep breaths, steadying herself. Once she had sufficiently calmed down enough she gave me a smile. I returned it as Twilight summoned a small table along with cups and a pot of tea.

I didn’t mind the fact that they were listening in on us. So long as they stayed quiet I wouldn’t have any complaints.

"There's not much point to it. While the challenge interests me, in the long run it wouldn't do me any good."

"Oohoohoo~" he heckled, "Don't let Twilight hear you say something like that, she'd be liable to exhaust the local air supply telling you why reading wouldn't be a waste of time," he joked, activating the spell again. Once more I felt my energy being drained.

"And what if you found a book of spells that let you boost your own spells effectiveness? I'm not saying you would," He choked out, struggling for a few moments to control the spell, "I'm just arguing for the sake of arguing, that you don't really seem like the kind of guy to blanket dismiss an option 'just because', or anything like that."

"There is a suitable answer to every reason, even if that answer is so farfetched it must be false. Simply saying 'that's the way it is' or 'because magic' is so... pathetic. I find little point in studying a language that I won't have any use for. Even if I do find something similar to what you say, I don't think I could actually use it. I'm incapable of utilizing unicorn magic in the form of spells. I have, however, been able to simulate some spells, but they are few and far between."

I took out the medallion I had received and showed it to Wade. "This wonderful little trinket I received actually boosts my magic. It's incredible really, I didn't know such a thing was possible for me. I've been testing its limits while you binding the tome and I must say, it works wonderfully."

"Cool," He spouted, adjusting his standing position. "Seems she really took a liking to you in the short time you've been here. Does the Luna in your world share the same opinion?"

I laughed. "She tried to invade my dreams and destroy me from the inside out. Back in my universe, the princesses hate me. I used to be considered a threat to the country."

I probably still am.

Twilight and rarity were giving me cautious looks. I believe this is the first time they became aware of my predicament.

"Oh. Well that sounds like it sucks, honestly. Must be weird to see a version of her that actually likes you then, huh?"

"Indeed. But enough about that, how does the spell feel?"

"It feels..." He trailed off, looking rather ill. "I feel kinda sick. Like I just chugged an entire 2 liter soda. And yes, I have done that before, on a dare. Besides that... I can't really put it to words. It's not exactly a bad feeling... but it’s weird."

I nodded my head. The answer still didn’t make much sense, but given Wade’s unique abilities, I’ll assume they are the cause. "It's something you'll get use to with practice. It's most likely your body trying to adapt to the overflowing amount of life force that just entered your system. When the feeling wears off, you should find yourself feeling better than when you first started."

"Is there anything I can specifically do with this energy? Besides hold it and use it to heal and stuff? There has to be something I can do with it besides just greedily swallow it..."

"it's how the spell was originally designed. When you have the chance, try taking some of your own and pushing it into another being or a corpse," I said.

He took what I said to heart, slowly returning the life energy he had taken from me. "Am I going too fast? Is there a designated 'safe' speed for this kind of thing?" he asked.

I closed my eyes and breathed in deeply, feeling my spiritual energy begin to refill. "Not really. Just try not to drain yourself too fast. Taking in life is always a plus, but losing it too fast could cause problems."

"Sounds like a statement that can be applied in any number of situations," Twilight finally said. I’m surprised she lasted as long as she did.

Wade turned towards the voice, utterly confused and surprised to find the two ponies behind him.

"How... how the heck long have they been here?" He hissed at me.

"Right around the point where you suggested stealing from the library," Twilight stated with acid in her voice.

"You should have seen Twilight's face," Rarity said with a chuckle. "She was so red I almost mistook her for Big Macintosh for a few seconds!~"

"H... hey," Twilight said, her cheeks slightly reddening. "Don't let us intrude, just carry on with your lesson, okay?"

I rolled my eyes before smiling. I looked over at Twilight and asked her, "How would you like to help with Wade's training, Twilight? Not only will you get a first... hoof experience of the magic, I can promise that no harm will come to you."

Twilight grinned widely, nodding in rapid succession. I nodded at Wade, telling him to go ahead.

He siphoned off a chunk of energy from myself, slowly feeding it into Twilight. She went ramrod stiff, quivering in place.

"That, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that, that-" Twilight kept on stammering, till she finally let out, "-THAT! What is that? How are you doing that? Where is it coming from? Is it similar to Martyrs Touch? It feels similar to Martyrs Touch. This is better, though! I feel... I feel... I feel alive!" she shouted happily, dancing in place.

I chuckled, watching her antics. "That, Twilight, was pure life energy. Not sure what a Martyrs touch is, however."

"It felt like coffee, injected straight into my brain, undiluted by various subsidiaries. I feel like running around! I could stay awake and study for days!" her smile suddenly fell, and she settled back down with a series of owlish blinking. "It's... gone? I could have sworn..." Twilight sat back on her rump, still blinking erratically.

Oh, this is just too good of a chance to pass up. Let’s see if I can have a little fun with her. "Indeed. A being can only have so much life energy, and the body regulates that. Unless you have a constant flow, it'll just... fade away. Still, it's amusing to see what a bit of my life inside of you does."

"That was from you?" Twilight let out with a surprised burst of air. "It was... more pleasant than I would have expected from you?" she let out hesitantly.

I deadpanned and turned towards Wade. "I may be a bookworm as well, but even I'm not that bad!"

"I dunno, I mean you sure didn't taste all that sweet," He started, causing me to facepalm. Thankfully, or not so thankfully, a disembodied voice interrupted him before he could continue. I felt my blood ran cold as I realized the voice belonged to none other than Discord.

"Phrasing!" his voice echoed around us, yet he didn't show himself.

"Go die in a hole!" Wade called back, to no response.

I groaned and rubbed my face. "Oh god, anyone but him."

Discord didn't respond, leaving us in silence. After a while, Wade decided to instigate him further. "Jerk has probably been watching us all week. Freaking peeping tom."

Still nothing from Discord. So long as I don’t have to deal with his antics, I can deal with his spying. Besides, it’s not like I can chase him away.

"Well let him watch if he wants to. I only have a problem if he decides to annoy us with his..." Rarity paused, raising her hooves to punch out the air quotations, " 'Oh so brilliant', 'jokes'. Enough about him, if you two are taking a break then allow me to show off the little something I managed to finish for Robin!~"

I raised an eyebrow and removed myself from the floor, making my way towards Rarity. "Honestly Rarity, you didn't have to go through the trouble of making something for me."

"Oh but of course I had to!" Rarity retorted, swinging a gigantic rectangular case into an upright position. "Looking at your outfit, why, it'd be a sin if I hadn't!"

She pulled one outfit out and held it up in front of me. "For the first one, I thought a more vibrant color might highlight the color of your eyes!"

I blinked a few times, taking in the blood red color of the cloak. I smiled and reached forward to feel the fabric, surprised to find it so soft. "It's incredibly soft. What material did you use?"

Rarity gave a wide smile, "I made the coat was a specially prepared fabric called flannel, it's made from cotton, and the softness comes from way the cotton is loosely bundled together during its preparation. The pants are also cotton, but densely woven together. I got the idea from Wade’s pants, I believe he called the effect, 'denim'? He seems to find the material easy enough move around in. I wanted to also construct a new pair of boots," Rarity trailed off, and her expression contemplative. "Oh, I just didn't have any more time. Especially after the other sets I made."

My hand twitched ever so slightly. "Other sets? Honestly Rarity, this is already too much. Still, it's a beautiful piece of work and I'll be sure to wear it on special occasions."

"Why thank you darling, I started off with that one... honestly because I'm fairly certain you won't like this next one. The name 'Robin' just inspired this certain color scheme with me... I ran with it... but I'm not sure how I feel about it." She pulled out another bundle and I heard Wade struggling to contain his mirth. As for myself, I wanted to murder something.

It was mostly a bright red, but the sleeves and tunic were green, aside from a few touches of white trim. The pants were at least a single, stable color. White. They might be good on their own, but in my opinion the coat was a bust.

[Twitter page of Masahiro Sakurai]

"See? I was fervently hoping it might all come together and be accentuated by your eyes... it appears I was wrong... You can still use it in the privacy of your own home... perhaps for cleaning... or painting... or sleeping?"

"Well, y-yes, I'm sure I can find a proper use for it. Thank you Rarity, I only wish I had something I could give to you in return. I wasn't expecting such... generosity."

"Thank you for taking it... I don't think I could stand it being anywhere in my boutique," she added in a barely audible whisper. "Now that we've gotten that.. yes, that out of the way, we can move on to the last three. I actually made this one first," She pulled out a coat that looked identical to my own, aside from the color.

"to experiment with the sizes, make sure I had the right measurements. You are a very light sleeper, by the way. You should see a doctor about that once you have the time. You might have a minor case of apnea, or something even worse if you're unlucky." At this point I wanted to ring Rarity's neck as I noticed both Wade and Twilight looking at Rarity in confusion.

Rarity had payed me a visit the first night we arrived at Canterlot. She thought it would be a good idea to sneak into my room while I was sleeping and try to take my measurements. She wasn't as quite as she thought she was and I had woken up before she even got next to my bed. I didn't know it was her at the time, and my time in the Everfree had made me paranoid. The moment she was beside my bed I grabbed her horn, drew my sword, and placed it at her neck.

From there is was just confusion and annoyance as Rarity tried to explain to me all she wanted was my measurements. I allowed her to take them, but I refused to strip and I only gave her a limited amount of time. When I asked her why she didn't simply ask me during the day she said that I was usually busy with Wade and she didn't want to interrupt.

She also said I wasn't the most approachable individual.

"This next one," she pulled out another coat.

[Kiarou: Deviantart (right image)]

It was again red, but of a deeper, richer hue. The trim was light yellow, and accentuated with black. It had a slightly more... militaristic look, almost like armor. As was evidenced by the half pauldrons worked into the outfit itself.

"I heard from Twilight how you use mostly... hmm... combat related spells, so I put a fair bit of customization into this design. The coat itself is made from spun changeling silk, for its magical retentive and conductive qualities. Nestled within the pauldrons themselves are a ruby on each side, each with an affinity for absorbing any spell you may find flung your way. The coat has runes stitched into the underside of it to reinforce the stability of the fabric, making it almost completely impervious to wear and tear. Well, do you like them?" she asked hopefully, her trepidation clear on her face.

I eyed the last piece of clothing with barely contained joy. If the robe was capable of everything she said it was, than I could become so much more powerful. If the rubies truly absorb hostile magic, than I could basically ‘tank’ a unicorn. Not only that, but if it retains the magic, I could use them as storage for desperate situations.

"I do like them Rarity, and I can see each of them having different uses. The last one, I must say, is truly marvelous. With its added enchantments it makes it suitable for battle. I'm certainly not a fashion forward individual. I pick and choose based on utility and usefulness. With this robe I'll be much more protected during battle, and for that I thank you." I gave her a genuine smile. "The incredible design just makes this piece all the better."

Rarity absorbed the praise like a sponge, almost glowing by the end of my statement. "And the last one," she started, hovering the last bundle out of her case, "I thought, since you only seem to have the one coat, why not set you up with a spare?"

As it unfolded, it became clear that... it looked exactly like the one I was already wearing. Except... "Aside from some minor alterations from the base design, it should be exactly like what you have already. Stitched and spelled to be wear resistant, of course. I also added some ruby dust into the mixture of the material, for better magic usage. As per your instruction I also did away with that positively ghastly design on the sleeve, and instead went with something to reflect your taste in... accessories."

Indeed, all down each sleeve was a zigzagging lightning bolt, akin to the Levin blade itself. It angled erratically, mimicking an actual lightning bolt in its appearance.

I raised an eyebrow as I looked over the design. "It's incredible, really. It looks almost exact to my original, save the few design choices."

"Well, again to reiterate, I thought you might be able to make due with a spare, Celestia knows I'd go stark raving mad if I was forced to wear the same old thing, day in, day out." Rarity gave a little huff, as if the very idea was something to turn her nose up at.

"And I appreciate the gesture. I'll have to find a suitable spot for them back home."

"Is it my turn?" Twilight asked playfully. When I turned my gaze on her she half turned away, embarrassment tinging her cheeks.

I raised an eyebrow at her, confused by her actions. "Yes, I suppose it is."

Twilight levitated her briefcase over to me, letting it hover. I grabbed it out of the air, releasing the clasps to flip it open. There were twelve metallic charms, all in their own little depressions.

"Cool, so you actually finished those?" Wade said, watching as she mimicked Rarity's earlier pose, basking in the praise. "There's a lot of them, I thought you were just going to make three?" He prompted.

"Well, initially I made the prototype for Robin," she started, a wide smile on her face, "One form, one gender. The problem with these is that they require a wielder of significant strength to maintain them. I'd mass produce them, but the fact is that normal ponies wouldn't be able to use them. Maybe for a half hour at a time, with an experienced unicorn activating the charms to start, but otherwise they're relatively useless to the general public."

Twilight walked up to me, creating an arrow of lavender energy appear to point out each individual charm, "These six here on the left of the case, these are the pony forms. Unicorn, Pegasus, and Earth Pony," she cleared her throat, the arrow pointing upwards at nothing. "There's a charm for both male and female forms, and if you want to affect the age or size just think about it while you're activating them. Unfortunately, you'll have to make due with the color scheme of the prototype form. I sort of got carried away with the other forms..."

I frowned, looking over the charms. "A color scheme like that won't look very well on a stallion. Even then, using the same color scheme constantly may give myself away if I wish to remain inconspicuous. Is there no way to get around that?"

"I included a manuscript for each step I took while making these," Twilight started, flipping up a semi-hidden compartment that revealed a thick sheaf of papers. "If you follow the directions, you should be able to make alterations. The color manipulations is actually rather simple, they're just aesthetic in the end, and don't affect the actual form of the transformation. I would have given them each different different colors... but the only one I made any variation on was the female griffon form," her arrow pointed to the two in the second row on the right.

"I actually based it off of a rather popular design I saw while in the human world, while I was using the enternet."

"Internet," Wade corrected.

"Yes, that. I will admit I got a little caught up in getting the design on that one as close as I could remember. Rather foolish, I know. I just wanted to see if it was possible."

Twilight snapped out of her mental daze, pointing her arrow to the last two sets. "This one is for minotaurs, and the last one is for seaponies. You know, if you have to get over a large body of water or something," she ended with a short laugh.

I grabbed the top piece of paper, looking at it in silence. It was incredibly complicated in design, but actually using it was simple. It relied on a mental image and allowed the user to create any desired design based off of the original body structure. Placing the paper back into the compartment, I closed the case and held it under my arm. I smiled down at Twilight. "Thank you Twilight, this should prove most useful. Being the only human in the world can cause you to stick out like a sore thumb. Being unable to utilize any unicorn spells, transformation has been impossible. With this, however, you may have just saved me from some grief in the future."

Twilight was silent for a bit, before she let out a cough. She steadied herself, locking eyes with me. "Robin... I want you to know... I don't agree with Celestia." Her cheeks burned crimson, and she looked off to the side. "I'm sure she has her reasons for feeling the way she does... but I can't get behind the idea of ostracizing you, simply because you resemble those that came before you. That's basic tribalism, at its core. I have to assume your Celestia is also like this," Twilight's voice fell to barely a whisper, "I can't support somepony like that." Her head rose, and her voice became more confident, "But... I think I can support somepony like you."

I blinked in surprise. Did Twilight just abandon Celestia and her beliefs? I’m not sure If I should be amazed or terrified. I need to approach this issue carefully.

I took a moment to gather myself before speaking, "I disagree. Don't dismiss Celestia altogether, she does care for her subjects and she does her best to do what she believes is right. Is she perfect? No, but neither am I. In all honesty, I want little to do with others. If I could live the rest of my life in solitude, I think I'd be happy. Granted, life doesn't quite work like that." I chuckled and rested a hand on her shoulder, "There are many ideals in this world Twilight, and a leader such as yourself needs to take them all with a grain of salt. The most evil of ideals can have some truth in them, while the most brilliant of lights are nothing but lies. In the end, the one you should support Twilight, is yourself.

Twilight thought over my words, then broke out in a wide smile. "Thank you Robin, you've certainly given me food for thought. I hope at the very least these trinkets will help you promote harmony in your own Equestria. Show Celestia there's more to you than what she wants to see."

I nodded, "I can certainly try."

"Well," Twilight cleared her throat again, "Now that we managed to get these to you before your vague as all get out departure time, I need to go get Spike. He's been loafing around all week, and as much good a vacation has been doing him he needs to go out on a walk."

"And as much fun as this has been," Rarity said, turning towards the door, "I've been neglecting any potential customers in Ponyville, I really must get going. I thought I would just say my own goodbyes before I go."

"It's been nice meeting you both. I hope things stay relatively peaceful around Ponyville."

"Do be a dear and stop by if you ever want another coat, darling," with a short bow Rarity turned and left.

Twilight watched Rarity leave, then turned back to me. "I know I'm more than likely going to be here when you do leave, but if I'm not..." she stood up and gave me a short hug, before trotting out of the room. "Thank you for looking after Wade!" she called out over her shoulder.

"Well..." Wade started, "Seems she doesn't exactly hate you. Thank goodness for the small things?"

I chuckled, turning back towards Wade. "Indeed. However, we still have plenty of light to kill and It is going to be my last day here. Tell me, Is there anything you want to know before I leave?"

"Well... I have been meaning to ask, if you wanted to you could pretty much destroy every single freaking dummy in this room in one go, right? I mean, if you put your mind to it. With your tomes you have almost unlimited powers, right?"

I raised an eyebrow and looked over the dummies. "Unlimited power, no. However, I do have spells in my arsenal that could destroy most of this castle, let alone the dummies. I don't have anything like that with me now, but any spell could be enhanced by using all of the magic within the tome at once."

As much fun as it would be to destroy the castle and run, I may need to return here in the future. No need to give Celestia a real reason to kill me.

"Oh." Wade wracked his brain to think up another question. "What’s the worst thing you've ever had to face?"

That’s a rather broad question.

"Worst thing? Possibly coming to terms with the fact that I will forever be alone in a world populated by talking ponies and mythological creatures. Other than that, not much. Sure, Celestia threw a small army at me, but they were rather pathetic."

Wade stood silent for a few moments before speaking again, "I... kinda meant like a horrific monster you had faced, but a small army doesn't sound that half assed. Was it really that little of a deal?"

“It was maybe a hundred soldiers or so. Defeated them all single-handedly either through swordplay or use of magic. I wasn't exaggerating when I said this magic is powerful. Hell, I'm confident enough in my own abilities to take down a dragon or two. Would need to prepare beforehand though."

"Damn, you really sound like an end game boss," He joked, "Foolish princess, I have defeated your entire army without breaking a sweat! I could even take on a dragon if I had to! Mwahahaha! Truly, I am unstoppable!" He stopped, his laughter still echoing around the hall, "Of course, if we go down that route then Murphy's Law would inevitably rub something in your face. Something really stupid that shouldn't screw you over, but ends up defeating you utterly and allowing the protagonist to prevail. Like a peanut allergy. Or, whoops, why wasn't this catwalk wider I regret my liiiiiiiiiiiiife," He ended by allowing his voice to fall to a whisper, emulating someone falling from a great height.

I snorted and leaned against the wall of the room. "One problem with that, I have no intention of getting overconfident. I may be powerful, but I'm not indestructible. Those who believe themselves to be Gods are the ones who live short lives." I paused and looked up at the ceiling, averting Wade’s gaze, "I'm curious Wade. You've told me how you'll try to get back home, so long as there is a chance. But... I've never gotten the impression from you that you'll stop at nothing from achieving that goal."

"That's because I won't!" He replied. "There are things I won't do, like kill someone just because it might be easier on me in the long run. At most, I might be willing to cripple them so they wouldn't be able to do much, but I'm just going off of a Batman/Joker idea. The thing is, I'm not going to compromise my morals just to get my way. That's the beauty of my main ability, transformation is at it's core a subversion ability. The whole point of it is to work around a situation in a new way, which is why it fits me perfectly." He took a moment to process his thoughts into words.

"So in short, I will continue to work towards my ends, but there are things I won't stoop to. I... I guess in the end I just don't have the conviction some people do."

I nodded slowly. His morals were good, but from his response… I hate to think what he’ll have to go through later. "Everyone has their limits, but at one point in our lives, we're going to have to face them. One day you'll have to make a decision Wade, and there won't be a happy ending to it. Mark my words."

"Well I'll just have to think up something when I get to that point. For the meantime, I can still keep my relative innocence. It's not like it's doing any harm at the moment, right?"

"Of course not, but don't let that innocence be your downfall."

He charged up the spell again, drawing from my energy and instead targeting a stone on the floor between us to receive it. "I know. I don't intend to let my hubris 'sweep me low'. Bubris? That's the right word, right?"

I chuckled and nodded, "Yes, hubris is the right word."

I remained silent as I watched my life energy splash against the rock, dissipating into the surrounding air. Wade turned back to me in question, "is it supposed to do that? If I don't give it a target it can actually attach to it just just disappears?"

"That's correct, you can only direct the flow into objects that have or had a pre-existent life pool. Otherwise, the energy just dissipates into the atmosphere."

"That seems like a waste," He complained, trying to recapture the energy he had splashed across the ground, "So there's no way to get it back? It's just gone?"

Yet more questions I can’t answer. "To be honest, I don't know. While I have tried to recollect the wasted energy, I could never do so successfully. However, it simply isn't 'gone'. Energy, no matter the type, doesn't work like that. If someone says to you 'because magic' then they simply don't know the answer. Magic, like every other force, follows a set of laws. My theory is that the energy is either being absorbed by the planet or the atmosphere."

"Question!" He yelped, thrusting his hand upwards. "I remember Twilight mentioning something that never really got resolved. Apparently chaos magic seeps through the temporary passages I make whenever I travel... elsewhere. It just gets sucked up and absorbed into the Void. Pisses off Discord like you wouldn't believe."

This again, I had almost forgotten it with all the excitement. "Well... I haven't spent much time experimenting with the Void. I did, however, notice that my own magic was heavily subdued, if not negated entirely. Perhaps... it acts as a defense mechanism. It absorbs all forms of energy and destroys or disperses it in the process. This prevents any cataclysmic events from spreading from one universe to the next... it prevents a domino effect from occurring. In fact, the Void is similar to a black hole... it's one of those phenomenons that defies all laws of energy, matter and time."

"What really pisses them off," Wade started, motioning with his hands, "Is that it only does it to chaos magic. Any other type of magic used in the area is left alone, but chaos magic is slurped up like a bowl of noodles. Neither Twilight or Discord can figure out why, and Pinkie just says 'That's how it is,' no further explanation. Which means she does know what's happening, but she won't tell them for some reason. Can you think of any reason why it would eat one energy, but leave the rest?"

I hummed as I thought of a plausible answer. "One possibility comes to mind. It's possible that the magic or energy that makes up the Void is the rival of chaos magic. Fire beats leaf, leaf beats water and water beats fire; that sort of thing. It's quite possible that the Void beats chaos. That would explain why other magics are more or less left alone unless directly used within the Void. If that's true, then it's highly likely there's a separate force out there that disrupts the power of the Void."

"Makes sense, so does that make the Void order? Or... absolution?" He pinched the bridge of his nose in thought. "There was this one book I read a while ago, Villains by Necessity. It started off with the fact that the good guys had already won. They destroyed every dungeon they came across the land, and slowly but surely those that had used to be evil were converted to the 'side of light'. It turned out they were actually on a path to destroy the world, that in the end the balance would be destroyed and absolution would come across the land. Everything would cease to exist in the unending light."

He looked up at me apologetically. "Of course, the parallels aren't exactly equal. One can only draw so much similarity from a fictional source."

I snorted and looked around. "Ironic isn't it? Attempting to compare one fictional source to another and coming up with a non-fictional answer. In any case, I would think that the Void could be either order or absolution. However, there isn't enough research to come up with a logical conclusion. The quickest way to finding one would be to test how the Void reacts to chaos under different circumstances."

"How would we actually do that though?" He asked, a smile alighting upon his face, "Ooh! Could we throw Discord in the Void, see if he floats?"

Didn’t he get anything from the conversation? That would simply be cruel. "That could end rather horribly. If the Void actually destroys chaos magic, than a being such a Discord would be heavily affected. If Discord's being is made up of chaos magic than he could actually die should he directly enter the Void."

"Okay, fine, fiiiine, No wishing death on Discord. Maybe just figure out a way to nullify his powers? Or just overall figure out how to make it so he isn't such a dick?" He joked.

I chuckled. "If you find any of the answers to those let me know. I'll be glad to learn of them."

"Will do. Although I'm pretty sure nothing can change Discord," He stopped, thinking on what he had said. "Which in itself is bound to be an annoying constant for him. The 'Lord' of change, forever unchanging in his actions. Heh."

I wonder if Discord is still listening in. I wouldn’t be surprised since we’re talking about him. Maybe this could turn out to be rather fun.

"I wouldn't put it past him to spend a day actually helping others just to confuse them. Chaos is both unpredictable and a driving force of change."

"If we keep complimenting him he's likely to take offense," Wade joked.

I smirked. "He shouldn't. By complimenting him, something most don't do, we're being different, which in essence is chaotic."

"Aaaaagh, by the Sun and the Moon, staaahp, you're making my head hurt!" Discord’s voice rang out through the room, "You two are so boring and dry, I'm going to go back to Fluttershy's, at least she serves tea," his voice petered out, leaving us once more in silence.

I winked at Wade. "And that's how you deal with Discord."

"Of course the jerkbag was watching," Wade muttered, "Not like he had anything better to do."

"Forget about him. Continue practicing the magic."

"K k," He responded, once again drawing from my life pool. I watched in interest as he took his watch out and began pushing some of the life energy into it.

"Well... I guess that worked?" He mused.

I raised an eyebrow. "What worked?"

"I... pushed it into the watch? I think?" He said, scratching his head with a free hand.

"Impossible. You should only be able to push life into objects that have or had a life pool. What could possibly be living inside of your watch?"

I walked over to him and grabbed his watch. Once more I delved into the inner workings of the device, this time searching for the missing life energy. What I found utterly baffled me, the life energy was being held within the diamond used to power the watch. I let go, scratching my head and asked, "Wade, do you know if there are any rock golems or something similar existing in this world?"

"Never heard of any," he admitted. "I once met a displaced Charmcaster who summoned rock golems, but the way she explained it was they came from the pre established dimension of pure magic, from the show. Guess it was connected to her world or something."

"Well this is an interesting development. It seems that the rock used to power the watch is actually... alive, albeit, in a comatose state. That's how you were able to infuse the watch with the energy. The pool isn't terribly large, but it's a decent enough to store some life in case of emergencies."

"Comotose?" He asked, "So... I shouldn't feel bad about wearing it around as a watch? I mean... Luna did make it knowing this, right? There’s no way she could have without knowing. Right?"

“I would think so, but it’s possible she didn’t know. It’s an interesting development. The rock is alive… but not really.”

I'm not sure if I should be excited by the prospect of learning new tricks or annoyed that new conundrums keep popping up.

"Alive, but not really," He echoed. "How much do you figure we could stuff into this thing? And how useful could it be, anyway?"

"Well... I'd say a decent amount of energy could be poured into it. As for uses, you could use it to heal wounds without having to morph. Would be helpful in the middle of a battle or if you're unable to morph for some reason."

"Those... are both very appealing options," he admitted.

"Indeed. I suggest storing as much life as you can over time. That way you'll have a full source to dip into when needed. I would also suggest only using it during emergencies."

"Life energy is life energy, right?" He asked, putting the watch back in his pocket. "I can just mix and match, and it'll all be good?"

I nodded. "That's correct. Life energy is an unchanging force. We all have the same base life, which is why you were able to direct the flow from myself to twilight earlier."

Wade suddenly pointed upwards at his left eye, "Can life energy permanently alter you if you suck up too much of it? I realize the type of energy might not be the same, but when I slurped up Crystals sword and the Alicorn Amulet they each changed the color of one of my eyes." He pointed first to his acidic green eye on the left, then to his neon red one on the right, "Am I correct in assuming that isn't normal?"

I could feel my eye twitching as I considered his words. "... You ate a sword and thee alicorn amulet?"

He summoned his emerald sword to his hand, holding it out so I could inspect it. "Remember the dagger, and the lightning needle? Same deal. Didn't seem to get any alterations from them, though." I took the sword, appraising the intricate design. As I did so, Wade summoned a gauntlet, only to fall over as the weight of the thing dragged him to the floor.

"The... frrrrr-glfd," He choked out, lying on the ground. I stood over him, giving him a quizzical stare. "What? they were a lot lighter last time!" He tried to reason.

"I see... just how heavy are they? Also, you said they were lighter last time. Did you morph into a different entity before wielding them?"

He tried to move the glove, barely managing to shift it. "Last time... they were like weighted boxing gloves," He started, making way to his feet as he healed his shoulder via morphing. He set his feet wide apart, straining as he struggled to even lift the piece off the ground.

"I have no idea how heavy they actually are, but this feels like WAY more than eighty pounds, and yeah, the last time I tried these I was morphed as Dante. Do you know the Devil May Cry games? I met a Displaced of the original Dante, and got a form off of him that looks more like the new version," He explained, huffing and straining against the metal around his hand.

"I've heard of the games, but never actually played them. I know enough, however, that the protagonist is a demon of some sort. You said you morphed into him last time you wielded these, correct? Try to do a partial morph, focusing on the hands, arms and muscles within your back and legs."

I believe that should be enough. If anything this will give Wade the chance to practice his morphing abilities.

He seemed successful with such as he began to lift the gauntlet from the floor. It was only a few centimeters high when the sickening snap of bones filled the room.

"NYAAAGFGHFGAHGAGHGFFFFFFFFFFFF!" Wade practically screamed out, His body collapsing to the floor. He quickly morphed, converting his form completely to that of Pinkie Pie's. His entire face was white and sweat dripped off his fur.

I bent down and placed a hand upon his wither, looking at him in concern. "Are you alright?"

"Just... a bit of a shock, that was," he said, his breathing returning to normal. "I've certainly been in a lot of pain over the last few days... but nothing as intense as that."

I chewed the inside of my cheek as I considered his words. I really had been pushing him a bit far, haven’t I? Training is important, but I don’t want to kill him. "Do you want to take it slow for the rest of the day? You've made remarkable progress as it is."

"I can keep going," He assured me, "I just... give me a minute or two to sort my thoughts."

After that scare, we abandoned magic for the remainder of the day. I refrained from pushing any new information into him and instead sought to reinforce the basics Wade had already managed to get down. A few hours into the lessons and we were greeted by a familiar visitor.

"Magus Robin! Acolyte Wade! Salutations this fine day!" Luna called out from the doorway.

I greeted Luna with a smile as she entered the training hall. Wade, lying on the floor from exhaustion, managed little more than a wave.

“Greetings to you too, Luna. What brings you here?”

Luna’s smile seemed to grow at the question. “I was most curious to know if you and thine apprentice have considered taking a rest?”

I tilted my head in thought, giving Wade a side glance. I sighed and rolled my eyes as he looked up at me with hope. "Well... Wade here has been working rather hard. I don't see anything wrong with taking a decent break."

"Wonderful!" she cheered, tilting her head slightly. "Would you fine gentlemane do me the honor of accompanying me to the courtyard? Seeing as it is enclosed within the grounds we shouldn't have to worry about prying eyes. It is indeed a fine day, and I have had a few select clouds placed in position above us in anticipation of your acceptance~" She turned and left the hall, waiting for us to follow.

I shrugged and began to walk towards Luna, making sure to grab my books and beckoning for Wade to get off the ground. Once I had everything, I asked her, "Who in this castle actually knows about our existence? I know about the staff from dinner last night and some of the guard. Anyone else?"

"My sister and I, for starters," she chuckled, "Although all you just mentioned is pretty much those that know. Except for Muramasa." She turned and gave me an apologetic glance. "I don't know how or when he figured it out, but apparently as he put it, 'It twas obvious.'," she raised her voice to mimic the forge keepers own, " 'Nay pony dun walk like that', he said, 'and nay wee pone d'ever choose a blade o' tha' length, wi' tha' hand guard. Ahd say minotaur, bu' then why all the secrecy?' Honestly, with as few precautions as we've taken... we really should have put more into place. We'll do better next time, I swear!"

I chuckled, thinking back to the high pitched blacksmith. "I knew I liked that blacksmith, he's an odd one to be sure. Still, he would prove to be a valuable ally to Wade here. Something tells me he knows how to wield a blade just as well as he can forge one." I gave Wade a glance, "He could be a sparring partner for you. He'd certainly push you harder than most of the guards here."

"That one guy the size of a house?" He asked, "He'd flatten me if he so much as sneezed in my direction! And I don't think he liked me very much… his eyes lit up whenever he looked at you," He gestured a hand towards myself, "But whenever he looked back at me he was frowning."

"Most likely he doesn't know about the talent you posses. You have the uncanny ability to learn at an exponential rate, leaving all others in the dust. You latch onto studies and soak in the information like a sponge. What you've accomplished in less than a week Wade, took me several months to master."

"Forsooth, truly Robin?" Luna asked, craning her neck to look back at us as we walked. Her eyes dragged over to Wade. "Tis truly a boon, too be quick to the study. You should hear mine sister when she's up late at night. Her most recent foray has been an attempt at learning a new language. A dialect from the deserts. She raaaages at her walls at the myriad of similar words. She's even broken her mute spells a couple times now. Even caused the floor to crack. There's times when she'll never wrap her head around the fact that 'most', 'post', 'roast,' 'boast'. 'host', 'toast', 'ghost', 'letter' 'pooch', and 'gravity' could all sound almost exactly the same."

Luna let out a peal of laughter, stopping to lean on the wall.

This is Wade’s translation spell working in the background, isn’t it?

"Yes, I would like to make a pooch!" another buffet of laughter. "Would you mind if I wrote you a ghost? Oh, I like this flavor of cake the gravity!" she shuddered, her laughter traveling into the inaudible range as she shook with her mirth. "And the worst part is?" she turned to me, trying to catch her breath, "I went into the dreams of the Saddle Arabian Diplomat, and learned the language in a single night! Ooooh, Tia was absolutely livid when she found out!"

Play along and act like you understand.

I chuckled and patted Luna's sides. "Well, when you have a boon, you may as well use it." My smile vanished as I looked ahead, "Have you talked to her as of late?"

"She has been... reclusive since the dinner," Luna replied. "She does not let it show to our ponies, but to myself she is... quieter. She does not want to talk of what has transpired, and I am not cruel enough to force it upon her. She was always vocal about her distrust of our new-found neighbors, but in times gone by she at the very least seemed keen to attempt friendly accord. I never would have guessed she would have grown such ire in my absence. But... we will work through this!" Luna declared, her smile regained, "I'm sure all she needs is a little time to let everything sink in. It's not like Wade's going anywhere, and even in her cruelest she would never think of driving him off. I mean, after all the trouble she went to getting him settled in, you'd think she'd have softened to the idea a little bit."

"You would think so. Still, I wouldn't put it off for too long. Such things need to be talked about before they have time to simmer. But, enough about that. What do you have planned for us today Luna?"

"Me? Planned?" Luna tittered out with a barely restrained chuckle, "Noooooooooooo. Naaaaaaaaaaaaaawww. Little ol me have something planned? Pshaw. What would ever make you think something like that?"

I stopped walking and stared at Luna with a raised eyebrow, refraining from speaking. Luna’s behavior is enough to have me worried, the last thing I need is a surprise from her.

One would have thought that a thousand year old dignitary would have developed a better poker face. As it was, she was locking my stare with her own, various facial twitches racing across her face as I continued to stare at her with a look that wouldn't have been out of place on a rock.

She finally broke down, panting and averting her gaze. Why she thought holding her breath would help I’ll never know. "Fiiiiiiiiiine. Spoil the surprise. I made us a picnic lunch! All by myself! I had initially invited Lady Rarity and Princess Twilight Sparkle as well, but they assured me they had previous engagements."

I shook my head and chuckled. "Sorry about that, I'm not very good with surprises. I always go into something knowing what's waiting for me at the end. Still, I am pleasantly surprised with this bit of information. I'll admit, I don't see you being graceful in the kitchen."

"One should always learn how to care for oneself!" she huffed, walking ahead of us.

She led outside, to a grassy area where a blanket had already been lain out. On top of it lay a gargantuan wicker basket, its contents concealed by its cover.

"I pray you do not mind sitting among nature for the duration of your meal?" she asked hopefully, shooting a glance at myself.

I laughed. "Luna, I live in a cabin, in the Everfree forest. I have no problem spending some time upon the earth."

"The Everfree? Oh, do be careful, ever since Discord escaped the first time it hasn't been quite right. There's all sorts of hazardous plants and creatures that would love nothing more than to harm an innocent pony."

I waved off her concerns. "I've lived there for years now, the creatures of the forest know better than to come near my home. I've also made some plans to clear out portions of the forest to create paths. Might connect my home to Zecora's and Ponyville. Would make traveling much easier than trekking through the growth."

Wade sat himself upon the large blanket, waiting for Luna and myself to do the same. Much to my surprise, Luna seemed to wait for me to sit first. If anything, I expected her to take the first seat.

With little thought on the matter I sat myself upon the ground, pulling aside my robe so I didn't sit on it. I stretched my back, a grin on my face as I enjoyed the sunny day. "It's certainly a nice day for a picnic. So Luna, what's for lunch."

Luna sat down next to me, her horn alighting with an azure glow. "Well, to start, I made some cole slaw, cobb salad, tuna twist," she levitated a dish out each time, the pile growing around us by the second. "But then I thought you might get bored with just salad, so I started making sandwiches. BLT, chicken, pulled pork, layered, roasted vegetable, chicken salad pitas, shrimp salad wraps... I will admit I made a lot. I wasn't at all sure what you would like." I found myself growing cramped as Luna continued to pull food from the seemingly infinite wicker basket, "And then I got thinking that, well of course there should be some kind of refreshment!" she started bringing out large pitchers of liquid. Reminds me of Starswirl’s tent. "I made lemonade, gooseberry wine -418 AN- from the cellar, water, and what I personally believe to be the best all around drink on the face of this planet. Peach. Melba. Cooler. Tia can keep her tea, this is where it's at."

I scanned the mound carefully, deciding on what I wanted and what would keep me from being buried in food. I carefully pulled a plate from the leaning tower causing it to sway ever so slightly. After a few heart stopping moments the food steadied. I breathed a sigh of relief as I took a bite of the sandwich: pulled pork with what tasted to be BBQ sauce. Luna leaned in, looking hopeful.

I grinned. "It's delicious."

Luna clapped her hooves happily, hovering a sandwich over to her own mouth. Wade looked around the pile, searching for a sandwich that caught his eye. He picked one up, careful to avoid knocking over any piles as he bit into it.

I sighed happily and looked out over the garden. Much to my displeasure, darker times began to resurface. "It's frightening how familiar the gardens are for me, even in another Universe."

"It truly is a lovely sight, is it not?" Luna cooed back, pouring her a glass of her melba. She seemed unaware of my change in mood.

Lovely… it was only as such when I started to fall into madness. If I hadn’t perfected my mental barriers…

I pushed the disturbing thoughts from my mind and forced a smile. "Yes, it is."

"I will say this for the Blueblood line, they have exceptional gardeners working for them. Not so much their maids, but when you only hire your interior staff based on looks..." Luna mused, sucking a shrimp out of a pita. "Still. It is a display of beauty, nature in its primal form. Fettered by our hooves, I'll admit," Luna let out a low sigh, "But one can not have the finer things in life without tantamount sacrifice. Can you imagine the nobles faces, if we made it the law to allow all greenery to grow as to its want, to let no hoof prune even a simple shrub?" Luna rocked back and forth on her hooves, shaking with restrained laughter.

I shot Wade a look as Luna laughed. How could this be considered natural? I chuckled and shook my head. "It's beautiful, but it's far from nature in its 'primal form'. Just look at the Everfree forest for example. It's wild, unpredictable and dangerous. It's beautiful in its own right."

Luna's laughter died down, and she looked thoughtful at my words. "Indeed. While there is an efficiency with our weather practices, there are times when I look towards that mass of growth and wish all of Equestria had weather that moved itself to its own whims. A dance of violent passion, constrained by the very borders of itself," she added sadly.

"Why not give back to nature in that regard? Let it control the weather like it was meant to. Should there ever be any droughts or severe storms you could always intervene."

Luna let out a quiet laugh, "I know not of your Equestria, but ours does not have such an option. If we and ours did not intervene, the lands would stagnate and die. Our little ponies would be lost within the generation. If only we could find a way to release the Everfree... although I am certain not all of our subjects would see the situation in the same light. They are content to continue on as they have been... Not all are open to change."

I took another bite of my sandwich, thinking over her words. "Sometimes it's needed though. Without change, life becomes stagnate and bland. There needs to be an equal balance between the constant and the unpredictable."

Luna let loose a melodic giggle, "Indeed. I agree with you full-heartedly, but unless there is a tumultuous up-heaving that change rarely comes. And such a tremor rarely arrives without damage. I do not wish such pain on mine, even when the outcome would more than likely be for the best."

I nodded once more and took another bite of my sandwich. Would there be a way to extend the influence of the Everfree? While the ability to manipulate the weather is extraordinary, it is unnatural. Other races most likely rely on the unpredictability of nature. Should Equestria be allowed to change the law of nature, regardless if they have the capacity to do so?

"Sooo..." Wade started, nibbling on his own sandwich. "You're leaving sometime today or tomorrow?" he asked me, breaking me from my thoughts.

"I plan on leaving sometime tomorrow around noon. After recent events I think it would be best if I cut my visit here short."

Luna looked saddened by the news, "So soon? Tis sad, it seems like only last night you arrived."

"Time flies by when you're not looking. I must return home though and see to my affairs. Trixie is still waiting for me and I need to deal with other issues concerning my own universe’s Celestia."

"Ah, yes. Young Lulamoon. I am loathe to have rendered her without mentor for so long, but I will also be saddened by your absence. Equestria needs more humans like you, so my sister will get over her silly phobia."

"Perhaps, but she wasn't wrong about everything in regards to humans. I think it would be best for now to speak to your sister in regards to human influence and ideals. After that, I would look to Wade for views and opinions."

"Ah yes, acolyte Wade," she said, addressing Wade for the first time. Strange, now that I think about it. "How has your training progressed?" she asked.

"Uh... pretty good, if Robin’s telling the truth. Honestly it's mostly been me getting hit by him, and exhausting myself trying to destroy those stupid dummies."

"Any progress is progress well achieved!" Luna declared. "Robin, would you say acolyte Wade has made good progress?"

I nodded. "He's made outstanding progress given the short amount of time available. He can utilize all the base spells of each field and is able to control the amount of magic he uses. Not only that, but he's already progressed in the Dark field, unlocking the next spell. His magic has gotten stronger and he has a better grasp on it. Of course, that's just his progress in magic. He's getting better at swordplay and has gotten faster and stronger since when we first started, even if he doesn't believe it."

I took a sip of water, shooting Wade a grin in the process.

"If by 'better at swordplay' you mean I've become a better pincushion, then yes. I have mastered the ability of being stuck through the chest with pointy objects," Wade joked.

Luna and I laughed at his own expense. "And despite all that you still pushed yourself to learn."

"I have heard tales from the guards as to a certain mare with un-counterable skills with the blade," Luna playfully suggested, "Who in the recent week has not only impressed the entire guard, but sent a suspected… 'bully', packing with his... without one of his horns...~"

My eyes glinted mischievously. "Is that so? Well, it's good to hear that some order is being restored among the guard at the very least. I hope that mare makes good use of the horn as well."

"Oooh, phrasing so scandalous!~" Luna cooed, sipping at her glass.

Needless to say I wasn’t expecting such a remark. What made it worse was that I was in the middle of sipping my own drink. I was reduced to a fit of coughing as I attempted to regain control of my body. The images that Luna had given me certainly didn’t help my situation.

Apparently Luna found my predicament humorous, her piercing peals of laughter filling the garden. After nearly a minute, I managed to calm myself, as did she.

Luna let out a low sigh, "My apologies. I did not mean to to utter such a vulgarity. Twas most uncouth of me," she said.

I tried to laugh, but it came out as an awkward chuckle. "It's alright, just didn't expect that is all. I would very much like to not travel down that train of thought, however."

"Apologies once again," Luna said with repentance. "I had not meant to imply such an act. And I certainly didn't mean to imply that you would take party in such activity. I mean, whomever that mare was. Her. Yes." Luna tried to distract herself with a bowl of porridge.

I rolled my eyes and directed my attention to Wade, leaving Luna inspecting a none too exciting bowl of food. "So Wade, after I leave what plans do you have? I remember you mentioning the merchant's trials, but you never did say how they come about. Any leads as to where you need to go next."

"Not... really? My main routine has been wake up, sit around until I get a summons, pop over and ask if they know anything, came back and try to live. The mirrors have been the best thing Twilight's been able to come up with, and she's the smartest pony in Ponyville, So there's not really much point to going around town and asking 'hey, you wouldn't happen to have a magic portal in your basement back to a world of bipedal creatures that look kinda like minotaurs, but not?', it wouldn't bear much fruit."

He scratched at the bridge of his nose, trying to think. "I guess... I'll work on my magic and swordplay now, reinforce what lessons you've given me. If I can get semi competent I could feasibly take on more summoning requests. I might be able to become a bit lenient on how many I refuse in a day."

"I see... well, if you ever need any help, just let me know. I'd be more than willing to lend a hand or offer some advice,” I offered.

"Will do." He replied, going silent.

Luna let out an annoyed sigh, "My apologies for my swift departure, but I just received a summons from my sister. Normally I would be content to allow her to sit and stew in her own feathers, but with recent events... it would be best to see to her post haste." She lit up her horn, dragging random things into the basket in a method that made it look like it had been choreographed. Soon, there was only four things left out. Two plates of the sandwich I held in my hand, two plates of the sandwich Wade held in his, the water pitcher, and the pitcher of her melba.

"I would not want to saddle you with the clean up," She levitated the basket over to my side," Please, take this with you on your travels. No food within it will ever perish, and as you can see it fits far more than seems possible." Luna looked shy all of a sudden, like a cat trying to get up the nerve to pounce on a ball.

I watched her curiously as she made her way towards me. Before I could do anything, she embraced me and… kissed me on the lips. Any higher cognitive thought immediately shut down as she continued to make out with me, the taste of peach invading my taste buds. It didn’t help that I felt Luna’s tongue enter my mouth, easily overpowering my own, smaller one. I could feel her trace my canines and watched as she shivered in pleasure. The kiss lasted for a full twelve seconds, after which she retreated bashfully.

"Do not be a stranger, Arch Magus Robin," she said, sweeping her wings downward in a powerful burst. In an instant she was gone, we both found ourselves on our feet, and the blanket had somehow been folded into a neat little square.

I heard Wade mutter something, but I didn’t pay him much attention. I was much too focused on the fact that I just got tongue action from the Princess of the Night.

I felt strangely violated, all things considering.

Eventually I managed to turn towards Wade. "What?" I asked, my voice cracking under the stress.

"I mean," He started, "I just thought you and her had gotten fairly friendly in the past week. Nothing you told me implied you were on first base relationship basis with her. And to get that far in only a week," He gave a low whistle, "You gotta tell me what your secret is."

I shook my head vehemently, trying to regain control of the situation. "No, no no no, that is not what's happening here. I'm not the one to get into relationships with given my history and current issues. To expand on that, Luna isn't even from the same universe as me. I have no idea where that came from, but it can't continue."

"Well she seems to think something's there. If what I'm pretty sure was tongue wrangling was anything to go by. I mean, I had a girlfriend for over a year, and she still wouldn't go for tongue. I was thinking it was something wrong with me, but maybe it was my technique. Should start emulating you once I get back home, be the lone solitary guy who always knows everything, but guides others to figure it out on their own. Girls love a man of mystery," He joked.

This can’t be happening to me…

"And yeah, I can see the other universe thing as a bit of a problem. But that kinda sounds weird," He stressed, looking at myself in appraisement, "Why would you jump straight to 'Oooh, long distance relationship' baaaad. Usually that only gets brought up right away when the guy doesn't find the girl attractive. And I highly doubt a guy as highly analytical as you spent time with her, and DIDN'T notice anything. C'mon man, I'm not going to judge, it's because she's... not of our species, right?"

Suppress murderous urges. Must suppress murderous urges.

Before Wade had even finished speaking I was glaring at him fiercely, hoping that would have been enough to shut him up. "While the difference in species may be initially awkward, that is not the reason for my displeasure. These ponies, and every other race on this planet, are intellectually advanced. Just as much so as the human race. Thinking of them as anything less would be an insult to their intelligence based on such racist ideals. My problem is the fact that a Princess of Equestria just french kissed me and almost pushed her tongue down my throat," I finished with a shiver.

"Don't equines have longer tongues? Like a giraffe?" Wade asked, trying to mask his laughter seeping through. "Sorry, that was mean. But still, you're the one who spent time with her, are you seriously telling me she went from 'how ya doing' to 'mmmmm your saliva tastes wonderful', without giving you some kind of signal? And are you sure you didn't accidentally give her a signal back?"

"It started out as a friendly conversation! I knew she had been acting strange lately, but I didn't think it had gone this far out of control! I'm going to have to say something to her before I leave..." I looked at Wade in a new light, getting a rather wonderful idea, "... then again... maybe I don't have to be the one to do so."

"Oooooho no. You might be able to leave before this all blows up in your face," He pointed both of his index fingers at his chest, "But I have live here," he pointed at the ground. "I might be able to take vaca elsewhere," he pointed off in two different directions. "But in the end, I have to come back, here." once more he pointed back at the ground. "If you want to break the poor girl's heart, leave me out of it. She's your unwittingly begotten girlfriend, not mine."

"So what, just sweep it under the rug and pretend like it never happened? Even you must have enough foresight to see how terrible of an idea that is!" I snapped.

I held my head in my hands as I massaged my temples before speaking to Wade any further, "Alright... I'm going to have to play this one by ear. I have no intention of becoming romantically involved with any individual at the moment, but I also would rather her not despise me after the hospitality she has offered. With any luck, I can leave tomorrow without confronting her. I mentioned I'm leaving around noon to her, so I'll simply leave a few hours earlier."

I pointed a finger at Wade threateningly. "And you better not mention a word about my early departure to anyone or else, and I swear to whatever God you believe in, I will drag you down with me."

"Even with all the shit I've seen, I will admit to still only believing in the one true God. And I can't say for certain as to the contents of the bible, but I'm sure there's a passage or two in there about not being a dumbass and putting your neck in the guillotine stock willingly. Paraphrasing, of course. I won't go out of my way to tell anyone. The only people here that will talk to us aren't exactly the kind that pass on secrets. But perhaps," He picked up the plate which still had three sandwiches on it, "We shouldn't be yammering on about this out in the open. Luna said we were on our own, but I wouldn't put it past Celestia to try and post a couple guards on us or something, maybe under magic camo or something. Can you do any spells that would let us know?"

I shook my head. "No, I can only sense those types of spells, and they need to be relatively close for me to 'feel' them. Still, I think I may retire to my room, unless you wish to continue training."

"I think I'm going to try to write down a couple more spells. I only need two more before I have all my starters. You going to take those?" He asked, pointing at the other plates and the basket. "I rather think she'd take offense if you didn't take her cooking with you at the very least. And you said you had that one girl... Trixie with you back home, so you could definitely use a shit-ton of food that won't go bad, right? Do you even have a refrigerator out in your woods bound cabin? I know you're probably a bit wary accepting gifts in this situation, but no sense letting something like that go to waste, huh?"

I sighed and picked up the wicker basket. "I suppose it would be wasteful otherwise. I'm sure I can find a use for it." I began to make my way back into the castle, glancing back at Wade one more time. "If you need anything I'll be in my room."

"Laters!" He called out.

Comments

[KiaraGate]

I hope at some point in the story, Robin calls someone a dastard.

Oh well, on to the newest chapter!

[Zero of Nine]

That ship. It has to continue. His Universes Luna has to have a "Hidden" crush on him for being able to resist her and her loving "Strong" stallions. It would continue the awkwardness and i could happily watch the ship continue. Luna is the best tho.

[Captain Douchebag]

..................................................................
I DID NOT!!!!! SEE THAT COMING!!!! wow, just..... wow. i dont even know what to say anymore. GC

[Flutters Is Shy]

you're the one who spent time with her, are you seriously telling me she went from 'how ya doing' to 'mmmmm your saliva tastes wonderful', without giving you some kind of signal?

That had to be one of my favorite things to write in this crossover.

[Codyray1]

Pfffffff. Ooohoohoohooo gotta love the "wait what" moments.

[Moongaze14]

Man, I really laughed my ass off with the ending of the picnic. Thanks for this amazing chapter.

[Ace Rimmer]

THE SHIP THAT SAILS ITSELF!

[Skalula7]

img4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20130310140723/tumblopedia/images/5/5c/This_ship_sails_itself.gif

[SoleReclaimer]

I have to say that I love your Luna. Most fics tend to write out her playfulness too much or ignore It all together. Personally I believe this would be her general behavior for when she has a crush. I did see it a mile away and her sudden brashness was gold. Keep it up can't wait to see what happens next.

[zooba]

18 thousand words...

haveforkwilleat.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/homer-simpson-drooling-a-887x1024.jpg

As a side note, I have actually read Villains by Necessity. A pretty decent and interesting read for a semi-mainstream anti-hero/villain fantasy.

[Flutters Is Shy]

6278702
My Luna!
Wades Luna, I should say. Robins Luna is a bitch, it's true.

[honeyhoneyhoney]

Yay! Luna!

Luna is the one rare reason why ah still read this alternate universe thingie. That and sword fights.
Wade and Celestia are meh.

Still, huzzah, the story will actually take place in its own universe! Huzzah!

[LostFaith]

O...kay then.

[KiaraGate]

Well that escalated quickly.

[YoungQuillMaster]

6278724 It has a subscription to Hammer Space Unlimited. Order now and get a twenty dollar discount on your first purchase.

[SilentMech]

6278353 Um... Diaries of a Madman shows what may happen quite well with Luna and "strong" stallions. Here's a hint, he kept dreaming of a certain horn and gallons of blood. He never actually recovered from that mental experience.

[candyman20XX]

Kinda curious what exactly Trixie has been doing with Robin gone. She seemed really eager for him to leave.

Is he going to return to find her passed out on a couch covered in cookie crumbs? Or perhaps she advanced into some dangerous areas and set forth a questionable scheme? (personally think the first would be utterly hilarious)

[shinigamisparda]

I had an inkling, but I certainly didn't see that actually coming! If Robin has any sense he'll tell her "it's not that I don't like you, I'm just not looking for anyone right now."

Also, if Gilgamesh finds out about this, he will never let it go.

[RealityDowngrade]

It turned out they were actually on a path to destroy the world, that in the end the balance would be destroyed and absolution would come across the land. Everything would cease to exist in the unending light.

You know, I was just about to go on about the ying-yang logical-fallacy, but then I realized you went out of your way to say light rather than good even though you clearly said evil in the other instance. Nicely done, not many people would otherwise make that distinction.

[Zero of Nine]

6279546 *Sigh* Way to pop my mental bubble and ruin it. People can dream damnit and atleast leave me my dreams!

[SilentMech]

6281423 I recommend checking it out actually. That incident happens near the end of their relationship. Leading up to that is a lot of fun little relationship things, like Luna trying to impress him and them going hunting together.

[Zero of Nine]

6281439 131 chapters....... Wow..... Ill need some alot of time for that one. But ill keep this story in the foreground for updates, as i currently do not know what to expect from the story. (Also i really like how Robin's character is build up)

[SilentMech]

6281466 Agreed. Should be interesting if the ship does continue at least. After all, they are approaching similar levels of strength, both magically and physically. In fact, the only difference between them is where they were imprisoned, and the probable willingness to trade their locations for the others. Then again, if they did, what would the trigger be for the rest of events to occur? Okay, at the very least if they start actually talking to each other, they will probably wind up friends.

[AlouetteSK]

No one else worried that Wade's done something without consciously knowing and almost killed himself?
Anyone?
*shrugs*

Kinda agree with Wade that he hasn't really learned how to fight. Just get chopped up a lot. Also, kinda in the opinion that he's being given too many skills to work with for mastery, though I'm trying to figure out why he wants to work with Dark so much. Learn the skills, yeah, he's picking them up like a dry sponge to water, but to utilize the abilities? He's gonna need a lot more time for mastery.

Also, Luna. Don't think that Gilgy would be mad at her being infatuated with Robin, but definitely angry if Robin decides to leave it at that and run. So-so on breaking her heart though.

[GuardianofRoin]

"I dunno, I mean you sure didn't taste all that sweet," He started, causing me to facepalm. Thankfully, or not so thankfully, a disembodied voice interrupted him before he could continue. I felt my blood ran cold as I realized the voice belonged to none other than Discord.
"Phrasing!" his voice echoed around us, yet he didn't show himself.

My eyes glinted mischievously. "Is that so? Well, it's good to hear that some order is being restored among the guard at the very least. I hope that mare makes good use of the horn as well."
"Oooh, phrasing so scandalous!~" Luna cooed, sipping at her glass.

i.imgur.com/Lffqx89.png

[sorenxoras]

6278414
......FIDGET!!!!!
mlpforums.com/uploads/monthly_08_2014/post-26796-0-26530200-1409219140.png

[Draskos]

You should only be able to push life into objects that have or had a life pool.

Might be nerding out a bit, but the gem IS a diamond. They're essentially compressed carbon, and most, if not all lifeforms are carbon based. That diamond was probably once one or several creatures, thus once having a life pool. And, if their world is a parallel of our own, then there are tiny bacteria and such all over the ground, in the water, and in the air.

[Zemez]

'hey, you wouldn't happen to have a magic portal in your basement back to a world of bipedal creatures that look kinda like minotaurs, but not?'

Just see Lyra, I wouldn't be surprised if she had an exact copy of the mirror. It's not a stretch to think she has some weird magical item that allows her to view humans.

[Black Ash]

Robin, you lucky dog! Don't be complaining so much!

[Titan Commander Sebaste]

Well... this is awkward....

[Zoomwar]

I watched her curiously as she made her way towards me. Before I could do anything, she embraced me and… kissed me on the lips.

Someone pick-up the phone, because I flipping called it.

[Gizmo Gear]

7365633 I had ideas, being a romantic type of guy, but up till that point, I was like "is she..? Naaaaah!"