The True Me

by lightningman

Chapter 52 - Continuing the Tour

"And 5 was whittled down to 4." I turn to them "continue the tour?"

"(Beep) it, why not?" Sage and Alex said at the same time.

"Dew please," Sage said. Alex breathed a fiery middle finger in response.

"Sorry, but I'm the one with the fire right now," Alex said.

"Mm. Sorry, last I checked, some of the Spirit Energy I have belongs to a fire spirit." Sage said. "Let's shut up before we start trying to one-up each other and end up fighting. Besides, we have a tour to get to."

"Fine."

"Oh right." the author said. there were a few clicks. "your powers are restored, you were trustworthy through all this. I don't see anything that would make you turn against, so you're fine." his voice then hardened. "but I swear you this, you turn against us, I will completely wipe away your powers instead of locking them up." The SAO fragments float back together to form the skull from earlier

"So, where to next?" Asked Nathan.

"Carousel Boutique, then finally Fluttershy's Cottage."

"Alright, let's a go!" Said Nathan.

I place my hands on their shoulders and with a crack, we reappear inside carousel boutique. "here we are. Sweetie Belle! you here?" there's a tromping down the stairs as three fillies and Silent come to see us.

"I just realized, don't think I ever meet my CMC... Well, either way, it's nice to meet you three." Said Nathan.

"You too, Mr clank." sweetie belle said as she banged on the metal of his leg. Silent laughed. "you've been spending too much time with me."

"Actually, my name's Barricade or Nathan if you prefer." Said Nathan.

Sweetie looked at him. "So.... ratchet then?"

"No, that's a friend of mine." Said Nathan.

Sweetie Belle tilted her head and looked at her friends before taking some of her knowledge from button mash and said this. "Ratchet and Barricade... I'd ship it."

"Well, I already have a girlfriend, so..." Said Nathan.

"So?" she tilted her head. "there are such things as herds."

"Not where I come from." Said Nathan.

She blinked a few times. "and were the ones in school?" Silent was struggling to keep himself from choking on air while he was laughing.

"I don't know how to respond to that." Said Nathan.

"Would you like a shovel to help dig that hole your making for yourself?" I said

"No, I think six feet is deep enough." Said Nathan.

"Anyway." I laugh. "I think we're done here. Fluttershy's?

"I'm down." Said Nathan. "How about you guys?" He asked looking at Sage and Alex.

"Hold on," Alex said, bursting into black smoke and reappearing as a black wolf with a red, fire-like underside. "Ready."

"Hold up," Sage said before collapsing into a blob of black and neon red flesh, his clothes shattering like items in SAO, then reforming as an orange, nine-tailed fox with black lips and fur going from his eyes to the tips of his ears. His eyes were also a dark red and slit-like cat eyes. He rose to just above Alex's height as a wolf and had hands instead of paws attached to his forelegs. "K, let's get haulin'," Sage said, his voice deeper and scratchy.

Alex (minus armor):

Masaru:

"Your trying to make Fluttershy more comfortable with you by making yourselves into animals?" I blink a few times and smile. "Wish I thought of that." I apparate us in front of Fluttershy's cottage. I knock on her door. "Fluttershy? You in there?"

"I'm gonna be the odd Bot out here, aren't I?" Asked Nathan.

"technically, your another species instead of being human or equestrian."

"Fair point." Said Nathan.

Fluttershy opened the door and looked at us. She then saw the two new animals and her jaw dropped.
"Who are these cuties?" She flew over and began to pet them

"I'm Alex, but the form I'm in right now is called Shade. I'm a Fire Wolf and God." Alex said.

"And I'm Masaru Ametsuchi, but I perfer to be called Sage. The owner of the form I'm in right now is the Nine-tailed Demon Fox, Kurama. He's been with me practically since I was born." Sage said. "I'm also an Incarnation and far stronger than Shade at full output, but I'm barely scratching the surface of my power currently. The rest is sealed."

"Same here, but mine is limited by a gem called a Rage Ruby."

"They talk?" Fluttershy smiled. "That's wonderful. Come in. Come in." She flies inside

"Not even gonna question the giant robot." Said Nathan as he transformed and his holoform gets out of his alt mode following the others inside.

"You're with me. Fluttershy trusts me. It's that simple."

"Fair enough." Said Nathan.

"I'm surprised she hasn't freaked out about a God being near her. Then again, I don't exactly have an intimidating or divine presence." Alex said.

"That's because she trusts us, just as lightningman said." Sage replied.

"Yeah. She is my marefriend after all." I kiss her head.

"You go man" said Nathan.

Sage smiled slightly. "Anyway, there's definitely a lot of nature energy here. It might be enough for Sage mode, but that's a test for another time." He said.

"This place does have a peaceful and relaxing atmosphere. Can we chill here for a bit? This place has put me in the mood for a nap." Alex asked, moving to lay down by the couch.

"Now that you mention it, I'm also getting sleepy." Sage yawned, heading towards the space just under the window next to the door to the backyard and laying down, resting his tails next to his body.

"Sure. Fluttershy won't mind." I point outside to a shady tree. "Try there. That's a good place to nap."

"Sweet." They said, jogging to the tree and settling in for a nap.

"I think it's time I left man." Said Nathan. "Give me your card and I'll be on my way." He said.

"Ok." I conjure three new copies of 'Unknown Shores' "Give one of these to Thomas. The Second one is a spare just in case somebody else needs my help occasionally. You remember your dimensional coordinates right?"

"Yep, EQG-TF1876." Said Nathan as a portal opened. "It was nice meeting you dude, tell next time." He said walking through the portal.