• Published 12th Jun 2015
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I Am Not a Charlatan! I Am Mysterio, Master of the Arcane Arts! - The Quidam



Ethan Mcintyre had dreams to become an actor, magician, and/or special effects artist. So who else should he go to a convention as, but the supervillain, Mysterio! How could things have ended with him in a magical world due to a mysterious figure?

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Issue 5-Smoke and Mirrors vs. Smoke and Fire [Part 2]

[}0{]

So far the plan was going well. While the explosive gas did some serious damage onto the dragon, it was nothing close to being fatal. While it did harm the drake, which broke a bit of the unspoken rules he gave to Tsavorite, he didn't see it as a failure on his part. Rather, he viewed it as a good sign in how was able to rattle the supposedly sturdy creature into acknowledging his capabilities as a fighter. That and the fact that he somehow took the entire hoard away in such a limited amount of time clearly shattered whatever confidence the drake had at his own competence.

“Now I have gotten what I came for, so you may as well be on your way.” Mysterio nonchalantly shooed at him like you would a cat to get away from your doorstep. “A big strong Drake like yourself is sure to find more treasure elsewhere. At the very least, you won’t starve without it like poor Tsavorite seemed to when you wrongfully claimed it.”

“Give it back!” The Red Drake demanded with gnashing teeth. “Give it back or I will burn you and everything that is set around here!”

“I will not! I have taken it and thus am entitled to it, as said by someone quite recently, I’m sure.” He then flicked his cloak back as he threw a pointed finger towards the exit. “Now be gone before you rile my wrath against you further!”

The drake let loose a mighty roar. Mysterio only took that to mean ‘No’.

“Have it your way then!” Mysterio curled his cape tightly around himself as his visage glowed with a green light for a moment. “My second spell will be a warning shot so you can understand my capabilities.”

‘Now to show off just what kind of mind-screws I can throw your way!’ He thought as he fully prepared his latest ‘spell’.

He threw open the cloak and revealed that something was taking the place of his right hand. No longer was it the yellow-green gauntlet with a rectangular wrist portion with intricately etched symbols on its faces. It was no longer even the hand of a man like himself but the…living and breathing maw of…The Red Drake!?

“What-” The drake was interrupted by the maw unleashing a torrent of flames upon him that were enhanced in their intensity by the yellow mist that once again suddenly surrounded him. He didn’t have time to question where the mist came from because of their end result being truly painful.

The flames set him ablaze! Were he not a fire drake, they would have severely wound him. Even still, as durable as he was due to his alignment they worsened his disoriented condition with their concussive burst and searing capability.

“As a sorcerer of my capabilities, it is mere child’s play to reconstruct the attack of a drake such as you.” Mysterio stated eagerly as he held out his dragon for a hand like a cannon. It roared jeeringly at the being it mirrored. Mysterio stroked it like a feline as he continued his lecture. “But allow me to show you what I can do with a little bit more…imagination. You’ve wasted enough of my time, and I would like to settle this matter today. So I hope you’ll enjoy watching my final spell in action. Watch as we begin with the first part.”

The drake head on his arm closed its maw to give off a malicious smile. Before The Red Drake could dwell on seeing himself look so viciously…at himself, it began to bubble and stretch until it clearly settled into a complete metamorphosis. The scales were no longer red, but were transmuting into a violet hue. There were no longer extensive spines, but greenish ridges along the neck and atop the head. Great horns crowned this new monstrosity as it was clearly the head of a greater drake than even he ever hoped to become.

But what frightened him more was how this drake opened its mighty jaws and behind rows of teeth, a bright light could be seen emitting from the back of its throat. It was a very intensely white light that was blinding to see.

“That’s-!” The Red Drake was frightened at the visage for he recognized this mighty violet Drake among drakes and the charging shot it was readying.

“You know it? Good!” as he outstretched his left hand next to the glowing violet head of the dragon. “Then I don’t have to explain the basis to get you to understand how I contributed to this wonderful attack for now you shall witness the next part.”

Another violet dragon’s head merged out of the previous one and onto Mysterio’s other hand. It was already charging up with its own power that it clearly desired to unleash. The two of them were like a pair of conjoined draconic twins that dared to hold a pair of stars in their maws like jawbreakers.

As Mysterio readied the salvos, he recalled how he came up with this step of the plan.

[}0{]

After easing Tsavorite about the tale of the Mysterio against the unbeatable warrior, Ethan found himself in the library, asking the dragoness about any information about dragons that could be useful. He had already gone over insults (definitely planning on using ‘smokepot’), but now it was time to ask more about dragonfire and the like. The plan depended heavily on this information in order to be successful.

“Now we get to the climax of the plan. When I asked you about dragons breathing fire, you said that there are many different types of fumes and flames a dragon can unleash. Even those that breathe something like fire can have different colors. So which one is the most deadly and the most feared?”

Tsavorite pondered this carefully, for the answer of this question was similar to explaining which type of gemstone was the most nutritious to her; it was difficult to explain if you weren’t a dragon to understand it. “I would have to say it depends on the dragon. Most follow the general rule that the dragon with the hottest breath give the brightest attack. Therefore, they would only back off if they feel their own attack would not outshine the others so to speak.”

“But which is that type that drives all the others away?” Ethan emphasized. “Which one is the type that the moment you see the dragon rearing its head back, you start running for your very life? I get the impression that there is at least one type that every dragon stays as far away from as they can.”

So that was what he wished to know. Tsavorite knew now what he wanted to hear. The dragoness took a breath as she gave the answer to that and tried not to shudder at the possible implications as to why he wanted that information.

“Every dragon, from hatchling to elder knows of one type to flee from. Those that are targeted are vaporized nearly instantly. Not even ashes remain. It’s said to be hot enough to burn even the Sun Goddess herself. No lie, I know historically she was hit with it once and the fact that she survived was only due to being magically tied to the sun. Even with her godly nature, she still suffered burns that made her bleached whiter than her natural fur as the tale goes.” She shuddered as she imagined the type of breath that all dragons feared. “The attack comes from the jaws of the High King Violetmaw himself! The moment that he opens those large fangs and a light glimmers from the back of his throat, everyone in the vicinity starts fleeing to avoid a searing end! For no one would be foolish enough to stay still to the attack known to many as ‘The Vanishing Flare’!”

[}0{]

“Now you have a choice, Red Drake: either take your divine punishment like a proper dragon and be decimated by me, or flee like the yellow-bellied lizard you are.” The Dragon heads opened their maws wider as the searing light built up in their throats. “I highly suggest you do the latter because I won’t have a thing left to remember you by when these two attacks go off.”

‘Flee! Flee! Flee! Flee! FLEE!! FLEE FOR YOUR LIFE!!! The thought shouted in the Red Drake’s mind. It snapped him out of his frozen stupor as he turned to the entryway of the cave. Like a minor prey to an apex predator, he decided to not take the risk of attempting to face this attack head on.

Oh by Celestia, did the Red Drake fled! He didn’t give a DAMN how the sorcerer was conjuring it, but he wasn’t going to take the full impact of TWO salvos worth of ‘The Vanishing Flare’!

Still, despite the drake clearly running for it, Mysterio still motioned to unleash this attack upon his opponent.

Dou-ble…Van-ish-ing…FLARE!!” He shouted as the two beams flowed out from the gaping maws.

The Red drake heard this and took to the sky as fast as his wings could carry him. He nearly broke them trying to raise him up with such speed, but was almost glad as he saw the beams missing his clawed feet by mere inches. He just barely avoided death! To think that the sorcerer was capable of not just copying the signature attack of the Dragon High King himself, but to double it was immensely horrifying!

Thus, the Red Drake just kept flying as far as his wings could carry him! All that ran through his mind was how close his hundred year nap came to becoming the final sleep.

His departure was witnessed by a few individuals. One of which was a green dragoness who used to live in that cave.

Tsavorite just stood by with her widely surprised expression. She looked towards the caves’ entrance and back at the Red Drake flying away in the distance as if one of the sovereigns was on his tail. To think, from her hiding place all she saw was Mysterio mutter a few words as he conjured that mist around him. She noted how he threw something into the cave-probably a rock-and past the drake before luring him inside. She heard great shouts, but could not make them out beyond what sounded like Mysterio’s laughter and the Red Drake’s distress.

And yet he not only got the Red Drake to fight him, but he did something even more unthinkable. Judging by the torrents of bright light that the drake flew away from, Mysterio somehow conjured not one, but two instances of the great attack of Violetmaw himself!

“You can come in here now Tsavorite! I doubt he’ll be back anytime soon by the speed he’s flying out of here!” Mysterio’s voice echoed from the cave. She hurried to meet him inside to be certain that he was alright from this clash.

Inside she found nothing more than the cavern walls and piles of rocks and stalagmites. There was nothing in there except the lone Lord of Wonder Castle himself. Mysterio was just standing in the center of the cave with cloak wrapped around him as if expecting to be attacked again.

“Over here.” said a voice behind her. Tsavorite immediately turned to face it, and was surprised to see Mysterio already behind her leaning against the wall with his arms crossed in nonchalance. She turned back to see the one she saw in the center, but he wasn’t there. Were her eyes playing tricks on her?

“Are you alright Tsavorite? You looked surprised to see me alive and well.” He held a hand in front of his ‘mouth’ in mock surprise as he asked, “Did you doubt my ability to keep my promise to you?”

“No, but that didn’t mean I wasn’t worried that the Red Drake wouldn’t wound you in some way. I am amazed that you not only drove him away, but did it in such a way that I am not sure how to describe it.” She was just too dumbfounded for words to display how amazed she was at the way things turned out. Yet one thing still bothered her that she knew she had to ask. “But how did you take away all the treasure?”

Mysterio gave out a laugh as he readied to reveal a magician’s secret to his subordinate.

“It was very simple. I didn’t.” He snapped his fingers. “Revealous!”

The cavern was no longer empty, but instead was filled with the piles of treasure it previously displayed. Scrooge McDuck himself would hand over his nephews for a chance to swim in these piles of gold, jewels, and other such wonderful pieces of splendor. Tsavorite had to rub her eyes at the sight of it all to be certain that she wasn’t imagining it all being in front of her.

“I simply cast an illusion on him to make him believe he was facing me in epic combat while ultimately hurting only himself. As for the cavern, I placed a spell that would only allow those to see the cavern and not the treasure.” Mysterio sounded smug as he tilted his head a bit in satisfaction of his actions. “What do you know? It only took two spells for me to reclaim your horde! Do you doubt my level of sorcery now, Lady Tsavorite-?”

Mysterio found himself off his feet and in the embrace of a most grateful damsel who was no longer in distress. “Thank you, Master Mysterio!”

Mysterio could only coyly show nonchalance at the praise. “You’re welcome. But how many times must I tell you I don’t own-”

He stopped his thought as he could clearing hear a clopping sound in the distance that was drawing nearer to the cavern’s entrance. Tsavorite let him go so that he could get a closer look at whoever was coming before they entered.

What he discovered shook up a few things that he considered factual about this world. Unknowingly, he was also glimpsing a few individuals who would forever change his life as he knew it, even as it was now.

There were six individuals, all female by their features, and each one was more unique looking and colorful than the next. They were all humanoid equines (equinoids?...humaniquines?...Ponies!) While he recalled some features being similar to those he noticed in Zecora, there were some clear differences that went beyond how they each looked a bit younger than she.

The first had purple fur. She had long hair with bangs, or a mane, that was dark violet with a pink stripe and a purple stripe. She was dressed in a business casual outfit that consisted of a blue buttoned up blouse with a red bow, and a purple skirt that had an emblazoned logo of a pink star with tiny white ones surrounding it. It seemed to be the same symbol that matched the tattoo like marks in her thighs. Overall, she certainly had a studious vibe about her.

The next one was pink furred with a pink and poofy mane. It reminded him of cotton candy. She was dressed up in a small blue sweater, a white shirt with a heart, and a long pink skirt with a yellow and two blue balloons on the side. She too had a similar mark on both of her thighs. She had a bubbly and excitable energy that emitted from her.

The third one was a sky blue furred equine character that had a shortcut main of rainbow colors. She was dressed in a dark blue track outfit that had a short top that showed off her hard earned abs and a pair of shorts. The markings on her thighs-for Mysterio was beginning to notice a pattern-was a cloud with a primary colored lightning bolt. She seemed more hotheaded and prone to fighting if how she kept shadowboxing the air was any indication.

If anything, the more intimidating one might have been the cowgirl dressed one arguing a bit with her. Her clothing was a simple red plaid shirt and jean shorts. She had orange fur and a straw yellow mane with a brown Stetson on her head. The mark on her legs was a trio of apples. She was clearly the more strength oriented one of the bunch with her musculature that was even thicker than the blue one.

This next one was definitely a model of elegance. She had white fur with a purple curled and stylized mane. If she didn’t dress somewhat casual with a long sleeved white shirt and black skirt with trio of diamonds on her thighs, he would have sworn he was looking at one of them of noble upbringing. That and she seemed uncomfortable with the idea of having to sit on the dirt covered rocks.

Still, she seemed to be trying to comfort the last member of the party. It was a yellow furred one with a long pink mane. She shyly sunk her head into her long sleeved yellow sweater. She also wore a green with butterflies that he assumed would match a mark on her thighs were her skirt not covering a good deal of her legs. This one seemed to be frightened at her own shadow by how skittish she moved as she sat.

The features that stood out to Mysterio were that the purple and the white one had spiraled horns on their foreheads while the yellow and the blue ones had wings. He knew Zecora explained that Unicorns and Pegasi existed, but he didn’t think he would encounter them out of the blue like this.

Mysterio found himself disturbed by a number of reasons. Not only did they exhibit colors that in no way would he associate with horses, but they were dressed in clothing that was so…modern! He had expected to be in a world in which the inhabitants lived in villages and had tribal upbringings. Yet already he saw a few dressed up no differently than any young woman he would encounter back home. Just what kind of world did he find himself in and how diverse and widespread was it?

Tsavorite interrupted his thoughts as she had to ask why the spell caster was so quiet. “Who is coming?”

“It looks like six of those…ponies that Zecora mentioned. Two unicorns, two pegasi, and two…earth ponies. They seem like a colorful bunch, but harmless enough.” He stepped back towards her as he continued reporting his findings. “They looked like they were appreciating how the sky was clearing up, so maybe they were just here to negotiate with the Red Drake to stop emitting the black smoke?”

“If they were, then that means they aren’t going to be much trouble.” She sighed out with a hint of relief. “Ponies and Dragons are currently in a type of agreement of non-violence. As far as I know, so long as they don’t fight dragons, dragons won’t fight them and vice versa.”

Ah! So in a sense, they had the advantage here. This gave Mysterio an idea.

“Listen, Tsavorite, it’s probably best if I don’t reveal myself to them just yet. I’ll disapperate myself and retrieve a method to move this treasure back to the castle. Can you handle things here until I return?” He clasped his hands together hopingly.

“I believe so.” She nodded her head. Then she realized what he just said. “But what-”

“Good. I’ll be back.” He said, before fading out of existence. Tsavorite had to rub her eyes again at that to make sure her Master had not just been a figment of her imagination or something else of the sort.

“Oh, good, you're awake.” said a voice of a figure entering the cave. The green dragoness turned to see an approaching purple Unicorn mare addressing her. She gave a bow as she used her magi to set up a presentation behind her, and began by first introducing herself.

“Please allow me to introduce myself. My name is Twilight Sparkle, and my friends and I are residents here in Equestria. Ponyville, to be exact. We've come here to ask that you find another spot to take your nap. It's just that you seem to be doing an awful lot of snoring, and every time you do you send out a terrible cloud of smoke. Equestria simply can't survive a hundred years in a dark haze. You understand, don't you?” She reasoned, hoping the dragoness would be amenable to the request. She’d hate to have Rainbow Dash try her attempt next, and more than likely start up a war in the process.

“Of course.” Twilight’s ears perked up at Tsavorite’s nod in agreement. “It would be best if I do it posthaste before that no good thief comes back!”

Now this was certainly news to the young mare. “Thief? Was this lair stolen?”

“Yes, you see, this was my home, until a few days ago a no good crimson thief came and cast me out. He wished to take my hoard for his own and take a century nap on top of it. Seems that he was also uncaring enough to allow his smoke to spread through the sky in a way that would make the nearby land only suitable for himself.” She hugged herself as she thought of the one responsible for getting it back. “Were it not for the help of my master he would still be here, causing problems for us both.”

“Master?” Twilight asked, honestly curious.

“Yes. My master. A sorcerer of incredible power and ability.” She affirmed with a slight smile. “He was more than capable of taking care of that robber and driving him far away.”

Twilight was surprised at his new information. She had never heard of a dragon taking to serving a master before. Even Spike, her number one assistant, saw her more as a family member to help out than some leading individual to follow. From the way this sounded, this dragoness willingly chose to serve this being. As for this character, they must have been a powerful unicorn to take on a full grown drake like Celestia’s letter suggested.

“Hey Twilight! Are you ok in there?” A voice shouted into the cave. “If you’re not being eaten, or a pile of ash, give us a shout! I’m going in there and kicking the first dragon flank I see!”

“Dagnabit, Dash! Just hold on a second!” Another voice sounded off. This one seemed as if it was straining to hold something back. “We don’t want ya to go startin’ up a war like Twilight said!”

Seeing the green dragoness perk up at the threat of incoming violence, Twilight’s ears drooped in embarrassment. Leave it to Dash to assume diplomacy would be the first option to fail.

“You don’t mind if my friends come inside, do you?” She nervously asked. “They mean well. It’s just that well we spent this whole journey expecting…well…”

“Believe me; if you arrived a few minutes earlier, they would have seen something to be afraid of.” Tsavorite nodded in understanding. “You may as well let them in. I’d rather they not think I am enjoying some fresh fried unicorn.”

“Thank you.” She bowed her head, before calling her friends over. “I’m ok girls! We’re just talking. You don’t have to worry; she’s a really nice dragoness!”

That seemed to get all the voices to calm down. The five remaining ponies cautiously stepped into the cave, their faces lighting up at the fact their friend was safe (or in the white one’s case, at the sight of so much treasure!).

“Dragoness?” The Blue one asked. “I thought we were supposed to face a big, red, mean, fire breathing dragon!”

“You just missed him, Rainbow Dash.” Twilight answered. “Apparently someone else got to him first.”

“Darn!” Rainbow Dash punched her fists together in frustration. “Now how can I prove how awesome I am?”

“Never mind that, Dash. Instead, why don’t ya tell us whose this here dragon that’s next to ya then if the red one’s gone an’ skedaddled.” The orange mare in the Stetson hat asked.

“Oh this is…” Twilight started, before she realized she never asked her what her name was. She would have started freaking out then, if the dragoness didn’t introduce herself.

“Tsavorite. I am the dragon who lived here before I was driven out by that Red Drake.”

“Oh, that’s so sad!” Said a soft and nervous voice. Tsavorite noticed that it came from the yellow pegasus mare that was shyly peeking out from behind the blue pegasus. “Are you still hurt, Miss Tsavorite?”

“Not as much as I was before I was able to find help. I was much worse off then to be certain. Thankfully I found someone who was willing to help me recover from the near death state I was in. Not only was he willing to offer me a place stay, but he was willing to put himself on the line to reclaim my hoard. For that, I am willingly able to I owe him my life.”

Before she could go on further, Tsavorite then found her vision blocked by something pink and hyperactive. Somehow the pink mare had gotten on her shoulders and was looking at her eye-to-eye upside-down. She felt her checks get smooshed by the mare’s hands as she was given one of the most enthusiastic greetings in her life.

“Hi! I’m Pinkie Pie! I like your name! Tsavorite is such a pretty gem! At least I think it is! I only saw it so many times, growing up on a rock farm! I tend to get it mixed up with Peridot! Which is funny because Tsavorite is a type of Garnet, and you wouldn’t get those two confused with each other, especially when you see how one is an alien scientist, while the other is a fusion fighter! Still, I have to say I think I prefer Rose Quartz! –Deep Gasp!- I hope that doesn’t hurt your feelings because I think you still have a pretty name that is perfect for a dragoness, although being that you are the first I have met-Deeper gasp!-This calls for a ‘You just met a Dragoness for the first time, didn’t get charred to a crisp, and made friends with her’ Party. I should get onto setting that up! Be right back!”

The Pink blur was gone leaving a shaking Tsavorite, who noticed somehow she had an invitation in her had for a ‘You just met a Dragoness for the first time, didn’t get charred to a crisp, and made friends with her-Party’ with her name on it and the words ‘Super-Duper Guest of Honor’ highlighted and underlined with a star next to it. “Umm…thank you?”

“Don’t worry about anything she said too much, Darling. That’s just Pinkie Pie being Pinkie Pie.” The white one calmly stated as she introduced herself. “As for more, I am Rarity, fashionista extraordinaire and owner of Ponyville’s Carousel Boutique. I must say, I am not one for the color green, but you certain make it work for you with your different shades of scales. And that outfit! Why it’s intricately artistic design is marvelous! Why it truly reflects the yellowish shine of your eyes!”

“That’s very nice of you-”

“Don’t fall so easily to her compliments, Miss Tsavorite!” The orange mare said as she nudged the white unicorn aside a bit. “I reckon she’s just trying to butter you up like a flapjack at sunup!”

The white unicorn places a hand to her breast aghast at the accusation. “I beg your pardon Applejack, but I would never-”

“I seem to recall a certain somepony saying that the way to a dragon’s treasure is through flattery and hollering!” She got up in her face and pointed accusingly. “Maybe if we were still dealing with this no good Red Drake, I’d let him get his comeuppance. Seeing as this dragon looks skinnier than an apple sapling in winter, I won’t let ya do such a low and dishonest thing on my watch!”

“Well, I certainly wouldn’t resort to such a thing just to take advantage of our host. That would be most inappropriate as a guest!” Rarity angrily retorted while absentmindedly rolled one of her curling strands of mane with a finger as she then muttered. “Besides, I said ‘pony charm’. To be ‘hollering’ is to be uncouth!”

Twilight just sighed at the sight of another argument about to spark from those two. Honestly, one day she was going to figure a way to get them to become better friends, if it meant to do something like keep them looked up in the same spot for a night. But that was a matter for another time. She had a dragoness in need of relocation to deal with right now. “So I’m not sure how familiar you are with the territory rules regarding dragons in Equestria, but I’m afraid to inform you that this mountain is too risky of a place for a dragon to be, especially since the chance you may…smoke, means it would pollute our sky in a wide radius for a possible century. So I’m afraid on behalf of Princess Celestia, I must ask for you to find another place to dwell in for the sake of the other inhabitants nearby. If you could pack your things, we could help you find a new location to suit your needs.”

Tsavorite didn’t even hesitate, for she knew how to answer the suggestion.

“That won’t be necessary. I already know a decent place in mind. Of course, being that it will hold my treasure, you understand why I won’t allow you to come along. If you could just provide carts, then I’m sure he would take care of the rest when he returns.” Her arms crossed as she also raised her eye ridge and sternly added, “I will even pay you for your services so you don’t have to sneak away gems that you think you can get away with.”

They all turned to look at Rarity who sheepishly placed the diamonds she was taking back into the pile.

She immediately gave a curtsy as she frantically began apologizing to their host. “I’m deeply sorry! That was very unbecoming for someone like me-”

The dragoness held out a hand to ease her. “It’s fine! Just be warned to never steal from a dragon. You may not like the consequences.”

“Consequences?” Rarity nervously swallowed air. “Like what?”

“Let’s just say, that the only things that can be daring enough to wrongfully take a dragon’s hoard, are other dragons.” Tsavorite grimaced as she looked to the cavern’s entrance, hoping her master would return soon.

[}0{]

Elsewhere, Ethan was traveling with great speed to a source of manual labor that he knew off the back of his hand. Another time, he would be amazed at seeing the other things he was discovering that he could do as Mysterio. Heck, he should be more impressed at how with but a few of the tools of the villain’s collection of tricks he was able to get a dragon of all things to flee for his life. Instead, his mind kept focusing on the different implications that were brought to him with just the sight of those six young mares.

‘So if they have the mindset to dress in such a manner, then they may be much further in their technological level…which could mean…!’

Before he could complete that thought, he found himself at his destination. To be within its boundary would require him to keep his wits about him, so he stowed those thoughts away for later. Right now he had a labor force to recruit. Fortunately they were one he knew how to bribe…and ensnare!

The Manticore Pride looked up at the strange figure that calmly walked up to their lair. The males growled threateningly while the females stuck close to their cubs at the ready. Each alone was a threat in themselves without the added incentive of keeping their pride mates safe.

Yet Mysterio had no fear towards them. He knew how deal with these felines after all.

“Well, hello there.” Mysterio folded his arms behind his back. “Would you like some fish?”

A deep green smoke started to roll in from behind him. The Manticores could do nothing but breathe it in and find themselves hanging onto every word the apparent sorcerer had to say.

Good kitties get fish!” He clapped his hands together in a gleeful manner as he spoke as calm and enchantingly as a TV Host. “Now I have a job for you kitties, so be good!

[}0{]

As Mysterio was gathering up his workers, Tsavorite was doing her best to lead the efforts to pack up her hoard into something more manageable. Normally, this would be considered an impossible undertaking. Fortunately, there were a number of advantages in the group that was there.

You had Applejack, one of the strongest earthpony mares in Ponyville. She bucks the majority of an apple orchid of trees every day as the sun is sure to rise. Moving piles of treasure was not that different from moving bushels of her family’s money crop. If anything, the most noticeable difference to her was that she got to carry the bushels of her harvest in gilded jars covered in jewelry. Gaudy as they may be, she was definitely asking to keep them when they were done with this task. That and she thought they would be perfect for her strength training!

Her willingness to work the problem with a show of strength was met with another who wanted to show off her capabilities in speed. The pegasus who claimed to be able to clear the skies around her hometown in ten seconds flat, decided that this was another competition with her athletic rival. Rainbow Dash flew diligently like a blur moving gems with such a pace that she may as well be causing it to rain treasure into manageable piles.

Behind her as if she could match her speed was Pinkie Pie catching whatever valuables Rainbow Dash missed or dropped, and tossing them into a great big pink wheelbarrow. Apparently this task of moving heavy material and managing it was nothing new to her after growing up on a rock farm. Still, one had to wonder just how she packed a wheelbarrow for ‘wheelbarrow emergencies’ all the way up here?

Still it seemed the others were too preoccupied to concern themselves with the question. Such was Rarity, who was gleefully enjoying being one of those in charge of managing the treasure. As much as Rarity liked to praise gems, she knew how to appraise them. With a speed that would make her athletic compatriots impressed, she categorized the treasures based on quality and type. Yet she still took Tsavorite’s warning to heart. Sure it would be easy to separate a few more gems into the pile meant for the ponies, but she fought off the temptation to take more than their fair share of the treasure albeit with some sorrow.

As for her fellow unicorn, Twilight Sparkle found herself enjoying greatly this wonderful motivation that needed her skills in planning, organization, and execution. After sending word to her assistant in Ponyville, to get some carts and leave them at the base of the mountain-Tsavorite was insistent that they were dropped off there and no further-Twilight was doing her best at utilizing her special talent: Magic. While Rarity was seamless her he applications of magic related to gems and jewelry as clearly shown in how she not only organized and appraised the treasure while simultaneously shining and polishing them, Twilight spent a great deal of her life studying up on every spell she could. Here was the perfect situation to test out some of spells she had previously little reason to utilize before. Such spells she used included ways of making the bigger and heavier pieces as light as a feather, to magically magnetizing them so that they could clump together, to even shrinking the piles for an impermanent amount of time to better transport them. Twilight felt good knowing that spells she’d thought would never get to employ beyond her days learning them with Celestia’s supervision. May she be proud of her student!

That left a yellow Pegasus seemingly without much to do. She wasn’t among the strongest or fastest of her friends, nor was she capable of magic so there was not much she thought she could do to help them with their efforts. Yet she wasn’t entirely discouraged by the thought, for she knew how to use her own strengths to contribute to the situation like her ability to make friends with other animals. Fortunately, they were coming in handy with helping out the dragoness herself, for it seemed she was taking her time to rest up and eat some gems of her reclaimed treasure.

“So, Fluttershy, you seemed to still be a bit nervous to be here.” Tsavorite ate a few more rubies before continuing. “Am I that imposing of a creature to you still?”

“Well, no, but I was worried you would be big, scary, and mean –eep! Sorry!” Fluttershy quickly withdrew into her sweater in a manner similar to a turtle.

“I understand.” Tsavorite tried to reassure her. “We dragons tend to have quite the reputation for being such creatures.”

Fluttershy peeked out a bit. “So you’re not like that?”

“Not now at least.” She then exaggeratedly puffed her cheeks and spread her wings out as she spoke in a deeper tone of voice. “Maybe after I put on a few dozen more pounds. I’ll be back to the ‘big’ for sure, but we’ll have to see if I’ll even be in the mood to be ‘scary’ or ‘mean’.”

The yellow Pegasus giggled a bit at that. “I hope not. You seem too nice to be that kind of dragon.”

Tsavorite felt glad that she got the young mare to feel easier around her. “Well, I certainly try.”

“Welp! That there should do it!” Applejack smacked her hands together as she let the last bit of treasure drop into a pile. “Course, I coulda had done it before sundown. There was no need for you and Rarity ta rush the process with your magic, Twilight.”

“Now Applejack, these are not your apples, which you always emphasize on their natural quality and how not one bit of magic goes into their production or harvest.” Rarity chided before Twilight could say a word. “Besides, as much as I’m sure you and Rainbow Dash would love to continue your little contest further, we have to be sure that we are prepared to introduce ourselves to our host’s special guest who will be transporting all this treasure.”

The girls almost forgot about that. In their effort to gather the treasure into manageable piles, it seemed to slip their minds that the reason why they were even able to do so was because of the valiant efforts of Tsavorite’s master.

“Rarity’s right! We shouldn’t be arguing about this.” Twilight reasoned. “I for one would like to learn more from this sorcerer. He must be quite accomplished and knowledgeable to be able to drive an adult dragon away from a hoard like this.”

“Right! This apparent ‘sorcery guy’. Who was somehow able to get a dragon to just leave. And not end up a burnt crisp. ”Rainbow Dash asked with finger quotes. “So Tsavory, anything we should know about this ‘master’ of yours?”

Tsavorite tilted her head a bit. “Just that he may look…rather strange.”

“How so?” Applejack asked.

“Well, he’s not a pony, which is probably why the ceasefire is not in danger of being broken.”

“Really?” Twilight’s eyes widened at that, as did the others’. “Then what is he? What is he like?”

The dragoness scratched her check as she pondered where to begin. “Well to start…he has the most unusual looking face.”

Huh?” They all asked aloud.

[}0{]

While the girls were learning more of the one that Tsavorite called her master, elsewhere was another figure heading towards the mountain. He was a tall and buff stallion with crimson fur and long blonde locks for his mane. He was dressed in a simple set of overalls that seemed just big enough for a towering and muscular fellow like himself. Sewn onto the main pocket near his pecs was a patch of a green apple cut in half with the seeds on display. This pinnacle of stallions was Big Macintosh, of the Apple Family, and older brother of Applejack.

Overall, the day was going pretty well for him. The sky was clearing up again, which eased his mind in how the danger his sister and her friends ran straight towards seemed to pass. When young Spike came to him about a letter he received via dragonfire-still had to get used to that form of mail delivery-he found himself having to get five carts together from whoever could spare them and deliver them to the mountain because apparently they needed help moving the dragon’s treasure trove somewhere else.

Now ordinarily, a strong stallion would be able to successfully pull a cart, let alone five good sized ones like he was doing. It certainly helped that they were empty, and not loaded with anything more than a few empty baskets, rope, and some tarp. Still, it certainly gave an illusion of being much stronger than he looked to the love-struck mares in town, and having that fellow Snowflake (or Bulk Biceps as he was known on the stage) declare them rivals in might again!

“Pardon me, my good sir!” a deep voice interrupted his line of thought.

“Eeyup?” Big Macintosh stopped to turn to see who was addressing him. He nearly dropped his wheat when he glimpsed who was talking.

The figure was wrapped up in a purple cloak. Within it, he could see the hints of an outfit with green armor by the looks of it. His gauntlets were a more yellowish green than the rest of him and were covered in all manner of symbols that he couldn’t make sense of. The oddest part about him was his face, or rather lack of due to him having a shining reflective sphere where his head should evidently have been. It was like a crystal ball, or some sort of glassy globe that couldn’t be seen into.

To make it even stranger, he was leading what looked to be an entire pride of manticores, one of which he was standing proudly upon its back.

“Are those carts to be used for a certain purpose?” The mysterious figure asked in an echoing tone of voice.

“Eeyup.” Big Mac curtly answered.

The figure tilted his ‘head’ a bit as he asked, “Might I know it?”

The red stallion just pointed towards the mountain. That seemed to be enough to get his reason across to the orb-faced person.

“I see. So you were just going to leave the carts there, correct?”

“Eeyup.” Big Mac nodded. Seeing as how this character seemed to know the specific instructions he was given, the stallion could only assume that this was the odd sorcerer that Twilight’s letter seemed to suggest keeping an eye out for if he came across him.

“Good fellow! I’ll take them from here. You best be on your way back home then.” The distinct being then declared as he reached into his cloak and pulled out a sizable sack, “Here’s some coin for your trouble. Keep the change!”

The Red Stallion caught the bag as it was thrown at him, and gave a peek into the contents. What he found was a number of coins that at first appeared to be bits. After giving one a good bite, he found that they were all of high quality gold. His eyes widened at this as he looked to see that the figure was already on his way to the mountain with the carts being drawn by a few members of the beasts he was escorted by.

Ordinarily Big Macintosh would probably follow the apparent fishbowl headed figure that was leading a pride of Manticores to a place that his sister and her friends were currently adventuring at.

“EeNope!”

But he turned around, deciding that whatever was happening was certainly not worth the headache. It was bad enough that his old pal Shining sent a letter trying to convince him to keep an eye on his sister (boy did he still have that sister complex!) and to go take out the dragon on his own before they packed up and left for the mountain he lived on. Strong as he was, his muscles had nothing on being set ablaze! Besides, he had a very good teacher who taught him that sometimes it was better ‘to trust a hunch and to avoid a bad crunch’ as she would say. And his instincts seemed to be pointing to get back home as far as he was concerned.

Besides, he was certain that Applejack and her friends could handle it. This fellow couldn’t be worse than Nightmare Moon, so how much trouble could he be?

[}0{]

His introduction was certainly one to stick out in the memories of the six element bearers. Granted, they were not sure what they were expecting when they knew a bit more about this sorcerer who went by the name Mysterio.

It certainly wasn’t a whole pride of Manticores climbing up the mountainside while the unusual figure of Tsavorite’s description sat on top of the one in the lead.

“Hear me! I am Mysterio! A Master of the Arcane Arts!” He proclaimed with his arms outstretching his cape. “All should take heed for even the deadliest of beasts are but subjects to my will!”

They starred him down in their own ways. Some were worried. One was intrigued. The last two were stern faced, and moved towards him in a scrutinizing manner.

Mysterio was expecting the blue Pegasus with the rainbow mane to perhaps be one to confront him. He was also expecting the Stetson wearing one to be alongside her, but she appeared to stick protectively close to the worried looking yellow pegasus and the white unicorn. Instead, the one trotting alongside her was the pink mare with the cotton candy-like mane.

While Mysterio showed no reaction to the two staring mares that were now a few feet away from him, Ethan felt a bit anxious under his helmet. He felt a strong sense of uneasiness at how serious they looked. That is, until their stern expressions were broken by their sudden surges of laughter.

“Hee-hee-hee-hah! His face does look –hee-hee-! Like a giant pearl! –Snort!-”Pinkie Pie giggled.

“No way!” Rainbow disagreed with a guffaw. “His head looks more like…-heh-…a fishbowl!!”

Rainbow and Pinkie broke down into rolling laughter. While this coused their friends to sigh out at their antics, this was not as well received by the one who they were in hysterics over.

“Fishbowl?!” Mysterio bellowed at the most irksome insult to ever infuriate him. It was a crystal ball for crying out loud! “I am a great and powerful sorcerer! A lord of a castle! I demand respect for my station!”

That pronouncement seemed to dim the mood as Rainbow Dash and Pinkie slowly settled into a less frenetic state of being.

“Oh great, it’s another blowhard like Trixie.” Rainbow Dash huffed out.

He seemed to give them a long look before replying to that comment. Or at least as long of a look he could convey due to his lack of features.

“I know not who this ‘Trixie’ is, but I assure you, I am no mere ‘blowhard’.” He vehemently affirmed as he got off the manticore. He wrapped his cloak around him as he decided it was better to show them. If one were to look closely he was tapping his fingers alongside his wrist before starting his scene. “I find it most irksome to be greeted with such a response! And to not even be graced the names of those who find my appearance so humorous! For shame!”

He raised a hand to where his forehead could have been as he seemed to get into a most artistic lament. Around him, it seemed that everyone suddenly found themselves in the audience of a theater stage. There, Mysterio was giving a soliloquy like a thespian.

“Alas we find ourselves among fellow strangers to these parts. We hope to find companionship, but instead daggers to our hearts!” It seemed as though a spotlight suddenly feel upon him as he fell to his knees on a dark stage. The next instant everything returned as it was, leaving a whole cast of characters wondering just what happened.

“Oh I’m so sorry Mr. Eeyo!” Fluttershy came to the side of Mysterio to rest a hand on the downtrodden spellcaster. “I’m sure Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie didn’t mean to poke fun of your face. It looks rather nice and…um…shiny.”

‘My face…?’ He discreetly gave a look in Tsavorite’s direction that was hidden undernearth his helmet. She seemed to be hiding a slight grin of her own at that tidbit. ‘Oh! I see!’

“Well, I suppose that is alright. I shall let it pass (this time!). Still IT is most inconsiderate to refer to my countenance as a ‘fishbowl’.” He stated as he picked himself up. “Also, my name is pronounced Mysterio, as in ‘Mysterious’, not ‘Mr.’ like ‘Mister’ followed by an ‘Eeyo’. I take no offense to that mistake knowing that my name must be much stranger than yours…umm…”

“Fluttershy.” She whispered most shyly. It was barely enough of a decibel that he was able to catch it, but he did.

Seeing how their friend introduced herself, the others quickly gave their names.

“Twilight Sparkle.”

"Rainbow Dash."

"Applejack Apple!"

"Rarity Belle."

"Pinkie Pie, Hee-hee!"

“Err…yes! Those!” Mysterio tried to not sound too perturbed at that, so he quickly sped up to get to his point. “So with that matter out of the way I would like to say that it is a pleasure to meet you all, but alas, I must insist we set up to make our departure posthaste.”

“Oh must you go? We haven’t even had our ‘You just met a Dragoness for the first time, didn’t get charred to a crisp, and made friends with her-Party’! You got an invite to it and it even has a gold star! Lucky!”

Lo and Behold! There in his hand was an invitation to a ‘You just met a Dragoness for the first time, didn’t get charred to a crisp, and made friends with her-Party’ for Tsavorite, and it was address to Mysterio.

“Well! I am…Errrrrr….” The lack of logic due to all kinds of rules being broken was making Ethan under that mantel of Mysterio dizzy.

“I believe my master is right. It is best we get going.” “That and I am sure that the Manticores wouldn’t want to leave their mates and cubs waiting all night for their return.”

“Errrr…Yes! Of Course! We wouldn’t want to do that!” Finally Ethan’s wits were quickly returning to him. “They are a…motivated volunteer task force, but they have to return once their task is done. The sooner the better!”

“Well, I suppose that makes sense. Earlier I sent a letter to my assistant to have the mayor arrange for some carts to be brought to the mountain.” Twilight replied, before noticing them already hitched to go. “And I see you found them. I certainly wasn’t expecting the way they would be brought here.”

“Indeed I have. It was certainly a very nice gesture.” Mysterio answered before quickly redirecting the conversation to address the next thing that stood out to him. “I also see you’ve reorganized the treasure. Although I could have sworn the cave was full of it when I last gazed upon it.”

“Well, there still is! You see, using our combined teamwork, we not only moved the treasure into more organized sections, but using some of Star Swirl’s principles of gem resonance we were able to alter it in ways that would make it easier to carry.”

“I see.” Mysterio sounded impressed at seeing the results of their efforts. Judging from what he could see there was some interesting making at work. From the knight’s helmet that was the size of a pencil top, to the gold statuettes that were not being crushed under what should be heavier stones, there were certainly some magical alterations that made these much smaller piles. “That would certainly make it much easier to load up the carts and carry them to our location.”

“Yessiree!” Applejack bellowed. “Now we’d best be moving if you-”

A green mist suddenly poured in, breaking whatever train of thought she had going.

Now, ladies, would you kindly start loading up the treasure into the carts?” Mysterio asked with such benevolence. “I would appreciate it, and I’m certain my dear subordinate Tsavorite would as well-l-l-l-!

Surely it wouldn’t hurt to help them load the treasures into the carts. After all, it never hurts to help!

“Never hurts to help.” Twilight mumbled as she and the others started to get to work on loading the carts.

“Mysterio! What are you doing?”

“I’m doing what I must! I’m making sure that we can leave this encounter all behind us!”

[}0{]

“But you said-!”

“I know what I said! I’m not doing this to harm them, but to protect them!” Oh did he ever wish he could still rub his eyebrows with his helmet on! The gesture as it was looked ridiculous with Mysterio doing it as he was. “Believe me, trust me, and remember I’m not the type that would do something despicable just to get what I want. I’m only doing this for the good of everyone involved.”

“Fine.” Tsavorite relented after a long while of thinking quietly. She choose to serve this man, so surely she could put her trust into his decisions no matter how harsh they seemed. They surely must have a well-meaning intention for him to do so. “But just so you know, I also promised them that they could keep some treasure for their trouble.”

Mysterio just placed his hands across his back as he walked towards the wagons being loaded up to oversee their progress. “A surprisingly munificent offer to make. The other member of your species did not appear to be that giving. In fact, I believe he would kill me if I so much as asked for one mere coin at the time.”

The dragoness merely shrugged as she followed him. “I am not like him. My disposition is more attuned to being a waster, not a hoarder.”

“I see.” He gave a nod before pointing exuberantly at her. “Well, I am but a man of my word, and thus have kept my promise to return your horde to you. It is your choice to do with it as you wish, but remember, I have your oath!”

Tsavorite thought long and hard at that. There was much that this man had done for her in the short time they knew each other. He had not only saved her life, but placed his own on the line for her. So she only had one answer to that pronouncement.

“You certainly earned it, Master.”

“Umm...excuse me.”

Mysterio immediately turned to face the shy speaking mare. Unlike her friends who were busy at work loading up the carts, she nervously stood there as if contemplating what she should do.

‘Interesting. She wasn’t affected by the suggestive chemicals.’ He pondered as he kept a steady gaze at her reaction.

“Ummm…Mr. Eeyoo-I mean Mysterio! Umm…What did you do to my friends?” She rang her hands together as she withdrew into her sweater a bit. “They seem very…dedicated to the task-Not that it’s a bad thing! It’s just rather…weird to see them act like this.”

Oh, if Ethan was in a better situation, he would have not had to resort to such trickery. Yet he could not rescind his actions; only try to improve the situation he was now stuck in with more trickery. In this case, it was to talk his way into making things not seem as dastardly as they appeared to be.

“My dear, I was merely trying to help your friends.” He emphasized with a congenial tone of voice. “With this suggestive spell, they will not only be able to work faster and longer without much need to rest, but they will also have the benefit to forget meeting me.”

“Why would you want us to forget meeting you?” The yellow pegasus shivered. “Is it for a…terrible reason?”

“OH nothing malicious! Just that…I’m very worried about making a first impression!” He countered as quickly as his mind could come up with it. “If I am to formally introduce myself to your species, I would want to do it in a way that I can be sure to make a good impression on them.”

Fluttershy peeked out a bit further from her sweater at that reason. “A good impression?”

“Of course! Think about it! I’m a power master of magic who just drove a dragon away, and here I am after the battle being practically ambushed by a group of your species as I am leading a manticore pride to pick up the hoard of another dragon that serves me and appearing as if I am heading to battle. Does that sound like the type of person you want to walk to your house?”

“I suppose not-” Before she could finish, Mysterio was already patting her on the back (making sure to avoid her wings) like a reassuring salesman.

“Then there you go! As long as you permit me to influence your friends so that they will not remember me, I will ensure no harm will befall them on my part.” He then quickly made the gestures of one of the most well-known oath that humans tended to make. “Cross my heart. Hope to Die! Stick a needle in my eye!”

Fluttershy gasped at that promise. “You would really do that if you broke your promise?”

“Well…I shouldn’t have to if I keep my word. So please feel at ease knowing that I will not harm your friends.” He continued his walk to the rest of the mares who were surprisingly finishing loading up all of the treasure to take it away.

“Umm, o-kay. I trust you.”

“Good! Now there’s just one more thing I need to ask you before we head on our way.” Mysterio confidently got upon the back of his Manticore mount. Like a classic magician, he pulled out a long red strip of cloth from his gauntlet. “I’ll need you to wear this.”

[}0{]

Much later when it was nearing sundown, the outskirts of the Everfree Forest were the sight of a most intriguing gathering. Six mares (five under some magical ensnarement while the sixth had on a red blindfold) and a pride of Manticores were gathered around an orb-headed figure with a dragness by his side giving them thanks for all the work they did today.

“Now remember, only good kitties get fish when I have some to spare.” Mysterio shouted to the Manticore pride. “Now go home and enjoy the rewards of such good work!”

The Manticores left with little noise and strolled into the treeline. It seems they left steadily, but quickly to probably hurry home and enjoy the baskets of fish they were carrying.

“As for you six.” Mysterio addressed the mane six. “Thank you for help. I’m sure your parents will be proud of such wonderful daughters they raised!”

They gave no true response to that. For six of them it was because of their state of ensnarement. For the sixth, it was due to her being nervous of the blindfold she was wearing blocking what was going on.

“Umm, Mysterio. Could I take the Blindfold off now? It’s been so long and I would really like it off, if that’s ok?”

“Of course! You were such a good sport today, and I thank you for that Miss Fluttershy. In fact, you all were! Why don’t you all just go home, hug your loved ones if you got them, and then sleep in tomorrow for a job well done!” He then clapped his hands into applause as gave his final instructions. “Make sure you go home safe, quick and avoid any danger that comes your way until you get to your front door. Return those cart and put the treasure you earned in a safe place, and the moment you awake you’ll be back to your normal selves with no memory of Mysterio and his secret lair.”

‘Go home, hug loved ones if you got them…sleep in tomorrow for a job well done…go home safe, quick …avoid danger until you get to your front door…return carts...put treasure in a safe place…forget Mysterio and his lair…’

The entranced mares moved in a swift and orderly fashion as they too began their journey home. Applejack was pulling a train of shrunken down cars behind her. Fluttershy removed her blindfold, to find that she was not that far from the route to her own cottage. Before she could take off, the sorcerer had one more thing to say to her.

“As for you, Miss Fluttershy. Remember to tell them tomorrow what I told you to say.” Mysterio said as he started walking into the Everfree. “And make sure they are safe!”

Fluttershy waved goodbye as she flew to hurry after her friends. “I’ll be sure to tell them. Goodbye Mysterio. Goodbye Miss Tsavorite!”

“Take care!” He shouted as a mist enveloped himself and his scaly fellow. Slowly it enshrouded the scenery until only the light from Mysterio’s face could be seen. When the mist finally dissipated, there was no sign of them whatsoever.

[}0{]

When evening conclusively hit, there were two individuals feeling elated at their new fortune.

“So now we wait and see what happens.” Ethan said as he gazed at his helmet that he took off. He was currently in what would now be known as ‘The Treasure Room’, which was previously a large chamber that was barren with a high ceiling that existed under the castle.

“I’m surprised she took your deed as well as she did. She and her friends showed such spirit and integrity I was certain they would become fine allies for you.” Tsavorite remarked as she ate a few gems. She was lying on a great big pile of them, curled up in a near feline manner. She was elated to be surrounded by such goodies once more. Still, there was one thing that was bothering her and she had to ask, “So what was the true reason you wanted them to forget you and this place, master?”

Ethan carefully considered his words. Initially, he wanted to talk to them and to ask them all sorts of questions. When he first heard of the pony races, he thought for certain that they would help him in so many ways. But considering the cultural tells that he noted of Tsavorite and Zecora at the time, he thought that they would be too primitive to have what he needed.

But the way they were dressed…it changed a lot of things he thought he knew about this world! And that in many ways terrified him!

What was their society like now? It was clear the library he had access to was a few cultural renaissances out of date. Not to mention he clearly had little idea of their capabilities. Their magic capabilities and feats of strength made it possible to carry all this treasure that he thought would be a couple weeks’ worth of work in less than a day. For crying out loud, this bunch looked like civilians yet from what Tsavorite told him of the time she spent with them they were sent to deal with the Red Drake.

“I guess I simply desired to meet them in a more prepared setting.” He said with conviction as he placed his helmet back on. His voice deepened once again as he decreed, “In any case, we’ll certainly have to prepare ourselves to be in a first-rate condition to greet the pony race. Only then could we be assured of being taken seriously when they know of us.”

“By your will then, Mysterio. You’ve shown that you can keep your word by your actions.” She nestled a bit deeper into her pile of delicious jewelry. Sleepiness was catching up to her and her dragon instincts were telling her that her hoard was safe again for her to find rest in. “I can only –yawn- place my trust in you further. After all, my life is yours to do with…as you will.”

Ethan wanted to argue against that point again, but felt that the dragonesses could use her rest, so instead began to look positively towards their newly earned wealth.

“I suppose. Still, can you see it, Tsavorite?” He extended his hand towards the chamber as if mapping out the constellations. “All this treasure and with it the beginning of a great number of wonderful things to come!”

“Yes, and with you –yawn- needing it as a resource to accomplish your goals I’ll be sure…to make my hoard last us the month.”

“Well, I’ll be certain to not abuse the privilege considering…” He stopped raving as the dragoness’ words finally reached him. “I’m sorry, did you say a month?”

“Well, I can eat a great deal of gems per day. So at most what we have is about enough for me to eat in about a month. Two if I don’t snack in between meals.” She smiled assuredly with her eyes closed. As Tsavorite opened her eyes to bid her master good night she noticed that Ethan started to sway side-to-side uncontrollably. “Master?”

Ethan fell back into the gold pile, and was motionless.

“Master!” Tsavorite exclaimed as she rushed to his side. Was it something she said?

[}0{]

<Congratulations on your victory. You found a way to win without going the truly easy way about it.>

Ethan felt as if he was weightless, but the feeling quickly passed as he became aware of the sensation of something…comfortable. He was in a grand armchair. Where that was placed was another story. It was a grand library that had shelves that reached great heights. They were filled with all manners of books. Each shelf meet into a ceiling that seemed to depict a night sky that was depicted well enough to suggest that perhaps one were gazing at the true constellations. And yet, all of it, had a tinge of a lunar green light was covering everything in color.

<So it looks like you’ve done well for yourself.> The voice continued. <But what will you do next I wonder?>

“Who are you?” Ethan asked. He was concerned with a number of things: Where was he? How did he get here? Why was he here? Yet the most prevalent question in his mind seemed to be this:

Who was this figure that was talking to him despite not even having a head, let alone a mouth with which to speak? He wore a large coat of blended colors and looked as if he stepped out of a painting. He sat across from him at a grand and round table in which an opulent tea set, snack dishes, and other baubles were elaborately set between them.

<You may call me…The Quidam.> The headless entity replied in that oddly mellow tone of voice. <Now, I suggest you take some tea. We have much to discuss about our arrangement and only so long to go over it.>

[TO BE CONTINUED…]

Author's Note:

Well this chapter most definitely missed my personal deadline AND my monthly one. This last month in particular was filled with a lot of things I have to deal with so apologies for that but as I've stated before: My Real life takes priority. Let's just say, when it rains, it pours, and when it rains stones, it hurts! I'm sure you all understand.

In any case, this was a chapter that I mentioned before had started to stretch out to be much longer than I anticipated. I split it down the middle as cleanly as I could, because I found that the second part needed more time to work, and the least I could do is give you this first part to read in the meantime. This second part however with what limited time I had to devote to it (again, real life!) still needed a lot of editing. So I hope you enjoy some things I put in it, but let me know if it has any problems because I had to scrap it once and rewrite it another when my Dropbox made the wrong save.

I hope you all enjoy it, because I tried to make sure it had some more interesting things to build into for my story such as:

1. What is Mysterio's special technique?

2. What is the secret to the tricks he can keep up his sleeves?

3. Who are these six figures coming up the hill?

4.What kind of party do you have when it turns out the dragon is friendly?

5. How is Mysterio going to react when he realizes he's not in a Anthro-Pony Savage Land?

and More!

So I hope you all yet enjoy another chapter of this story. Please like it if you enjoy it so far. Also comment on any questions or concerns you have and edits I need to make note of especially because this one I went over a lot and I still feel a bit unsure about it. I always try to proofread my work before posting, but sometimes I miss a thing or two. That and I always appreciate construction criticism so long as it remains polite!
Also, as of this moment, my story has over 100 LIKES!! HOORAY!!
Thanks for that, and stay tuned for the next chapter!