Intro

...what’s going on…

I was floating in darkness, feeling nothing, only existing.

...can’t...move...

I was here for a reason… something I couldn’t control.

...wait…there’s...something here…

The new voice sounded like my own thoughts, but had a darker undertone to it as if someone else was speaking in tandem.

I…WILL...NOT...ALLOW...THIS…

Suddenly my dark realm of existence began to shutter. I heard the sounds of earth breaking as a strange feeling came over me. It was if ice water were flowing through my very bones.

As the quakes began to subside, I tried to move, to break free of whatever was holding me, but before I could make any progress I felt my eyes grow heavy.

Sleeeeeeeep…

* * *

I awoke again to darkness, only this time my other senses were working to some degree. Whatever I was laying on was hard and cold. There was something stabbed into my chest and it was pouring burning liquid into my veins. I could smell a mixture of pungent odors and I could hear the sound of multiple clawed feet moving across the stone floor.

Suddenly the object in my chest was wrenched out as I struggled to hear someone speak. “...solute morons! You… enough venom to…” The voice was gravelly yet not low pitched. Whoever it was sounded incredibly angered.

Now a lot of people would be extremely freaked out by this combination of events, and inside I was completely losing it. The only reason I hadn’t jumped up and made a break for it was because I still couldn’t see.

Something began to shake my arm until the same voice spoke up. “Don’t you dare… burn your… touch…”. After the voice had finished what I assumed to be scolding, the sound of clawed feet against stone began to slowly quiet down as whatever had been assembled around me left.

Once they were gone I tried moving my arms and found them to be weak but capable. I first brought a hand to my chest to search for a wound but found none.

I must be hallucinating or something… maybe I had too much to drink?

Next I moved my hand to my eyes but instead of skin I found cloth.

A blindfold? No wonder I can’t see. Must have been a crazy night.

I pulled it off and blinked a few times so I could adjust to the light. All I could see was a stone ceiling and cobwebs. A quick glance at my hand revealed that the blindfold was tattered and covered in an impressive amount of dust. The fact it had completely blinded me in its condition was amazing. On top of that my arm was covered in spider webs.

Okay, if this wasn’t weird before, than now it is.

I began to slowly sit up, taking a look at the surroundings as I did so. The disgusting scent I had noted before was quickly identified to be rotten corpses. Bodies lined the walls on both sides the room, all of which were lying within slots made to fit them. On the opposite side of the room from the stone block I was currently on was a stairway leading up somewhere.

I’m getting a ‘Skyrim-y’ kind of feel to this place. Hopefully the corpses aren’t the same as in the game.

Noticing I was naked, I decided it would be best to get up before some poisonous bug bit me somewhere no man wants to be bit. I swung my legs over the side of my stone bed and slowly put my weight on my feet. Once I was balanced, I cleaned myself of cobwebs and began salvaging clothes from the corpses. Before long I had some baggy clothing on full of holes.

Damn, this stuff has seen better days. I really hope I can find my clothes… what was I wearing?

Alot of people would scold me for stealing from the dead, but to me their possessions are of no use down here. Now that I had covered myself I decided it was best to head straight for the exit. Unfortunately I could not find any shoes and had to be careful. It didn’t take long though before I was climbing up the stairs.

As I stepped outside I held a hand up to block the light shining in my eyes. I was in the center of a small clearing in a thick forest. The canopy above prevented little sunlight from getting through so my eyes adjusted quickly. The crypt I had stepped out of was only a ruin overgrown with vines.

Before I could question where I was, the earth began to quake causing me the fall to my knees. As the land shook the entrance to the crypt began to crumble. Just as quickly as the earthquake had come it was gone. The only thing left of the crypt above ground was a pile of rock.

Oh man, I could have died if I had been just a few seconds late.

Once my heart stopped beating so quickly, I picked myself up.

Let’s see, I have no idea where I am, how I got here, or how to get home…wait…

What IS home?!?

This realization was the final thing to break my calm demeanor. I began to panic and hyperventilate as I tried to remember anything about my life but came up with nothing every time.

No name, no home, no friends or family, just nothing...

Part of me wanted to curl up on the ground and cry, but what pride I had pushed those ideas away. Instead I began to call out, hoping someone, anyone would hear.

“Hello? Is anyone around? Please help me!” I continued for hours, not daring to leave the small clearing I was in. I yelled and yelled until my throat was raw.

Unable to scream anymore, I sat down and held my knees against my chest.

What am I going to do?!? I can’t survive out here. I don’t how to find food. I don’t know how to make a shelter. I don’t even know what this forest holds beside a death trap of a crypt!

As I tried to figure things out -emphasis on tried-, I didn’t notice some of the bushes at the edge of the clearing being parted until the cause let out a huge gasp. Looking toward the noise, I found myself looking into the eyes of a small purple unicorn.

Wait...what?

We stood there staring for a good thirty seconds. As we did, the unicorn seemed to go through a number of facial expressions all conveying some form of confusion. I hardly cared though since I was bit tied up at the moment with determining my own mental health.

Okay, in front of me right now is a creature that should not exist. What does that mean? I could be on drugs. Lack of water after a night of alcohol could be causing hallucinations. Or I’m just completely insane.

“H-hello there” the purple figment of my imagination spoke.

And it talks! Now I’m for sure psychotic!

Finally making sense of the situation, I did the only thing that seemed reasonable- fall on my back, close my eyes and wait for my head trip to end.

Just calm down. Count to three. When you open your eyes there will be no somewhat-adorable purple unicorn...

1...

2...

3...

After a deep breath I opened my eyes to the forest canopy above, only instead of seeing leaves my vision was filled with purple eyes and muzzle.

“Are you okay?” the unicorn asked.

Nice try, but this little illusion isn’t going to fool me!

Before the unicorn could react, I brought my hand up and threw an open palm right at her muzzle. Imagine my surprise when my hand found resistance to pushing through the apparition.

The unicorn responded to my blunt strike by stumbling back onto her rump and holding her nose with her hooves. I was about to give an apology but before I could get a word out, my vision turned purple and I began floating in the air. My body was then flipped upside down so that I was face to slightly-bruised muzzle with the unicorn.

“What the heck was that for?” she definitely sounded mad, or at least I thought it was a she. As far as I could remember I had never worked with animals.

I assumed that whatever was holding me at the moment was in her control so I was quick to clear my throat and speak. “Sorry! I was pretty sure you were some sort of hallucination. I figured my hand would pass through you and that you would disappear.”

This shoddy, though truthful, excuse didn’t seem to win me any points with her. “Why in Equestria would you assume I was a hallucination?”

“Well, you’re a small purple unicorn with tattoos on your flanks. What part of that doesn’t sound crazy?”

Despite my ‘charming’ choice of words she gave me a glare I could only assume was one of hatred though it was hard to tell because she was just too disgustingly cute. Once she was done she opened her mouth to speak but I interrupted her.

“Look, I’d love to continue floating here in the middle of a crazy forest while the blood rushes to my head and play twenty questions with you, but so far everything since I’ve woken up has made no sense so I’d love it if I could get somewhere safe and with water before we continue this conversation.”

Despite the harshness of my words, she seemed to soften up a bit. “Alright, but I’m going to need you to stay here for a moment. Although we are only a few minutes from the edge, the Everfree Forest is dangerous and considering your lack of natural armor, magic or any sort of defense mechanism, the chances of you being able to fight anything are extremely low. I’m going to clear the path ahead of us and then I’ll be right back.”

“Wait, if this forest is dangerous shouldn’t I stay with you?”

“Normally yes. However this clearing has some sort of magic that’s keeping the animals away. I came out here to check it out but instead I found a hairless ape.”

“Hairless ape? Where did you- oh. Hey! I’m not-” it was then that the little purple demon decided to drop me on my head.

…*grumble*...

As I heard this sound I thought for a moment the earth was beginning to shake again.

Damn, she dropped me on my head pretty hard.

Once I was right side up, I watched the unicorn approach the edge of the clearing from which she came from.

“Now stay here. I should be back in a minute or so.” And with that she jumped between the bushes and out of sight. With nothing better to do I decided to wander around but before I could even stand I heard something on the other side of the clearing. For a moment I began to panic but I then remembered what the unicorn had told me.

Calm down. She said no animals could get in because of magic. As crazy as that sounds, who am I to question a unicorn with fucking telekinesis?

What entered the clearing was definitely not an animal.

The first thing I saw was a gray imp-like creature wearing a cloak that made his hunched back seem even bigger. In his claws was a rusty syringe filled with something I could only assume to be acid by the way it was bubbling. But the thing that attracted my attention was his eyes which glowed a dull yellow. Overall I got the idea that he was really old.

What followed were about three creatures that looked similar to the first except instead of gray these were brown. They wore only loincloths and each were carrying a club. Also unlike the first these seemed much more physically capable but also incredibly stupid.

I prepared myself for a fight. Thankfully the old one was distracted with yelling at the others and quickly turned his back to me as the group came into view.

“If you idiots had filled the syringe the whole way the first time, we wouldn’t have had to make this second trip.”

Wait a minute, he sounds just like the guy in the crypt!

It was at this moment the three brown imps noticed me and started trying to get the old one’s attention but he continued his rant unimpeded.

“I swear if the Master doesn’t tan all your hides for this nonsense, I may just do it myself! Now let’s just- What is it now you… you…” he turned his head to see me still ready for an attack.

“Master! You’re awake. I should have known that it would take only half a dose of manticore venom to revive you.”

Okay, purple magical unicorns AND imps that pumped me full of venom. Now I’ve seen everything.

“I don’t know who this master of yours is, but I’m definitely not him. I’ve never even seen… whatever-you-are before in my life.”

At this, the grey imp brought a claw to his chin. “Hmm, we knew Faust had gone to great lengths to seal you away, but to go so far as to remove your memory. If I didn’t know better I would say she was the evil one.

“Never mind that though. Evil always finds a way. Now hurry Master, we must-”

“Hey, the coast is clear! Come on.”

Upon hearing the unicorn calling for me, two of the brown imps freaked out and ran in circles until they crashed into each other while the third began to bite on his claws nervously. The grey one was the only one who remained calm.

“Would you three stop it? We don’t have much time.” He then looked to me. “Master, there is much to be done, but it seems in our absence you were found by a pony. This is an opportunity for you to slip in and learn about your enemy. You know what they say, keep your friends close and your enemies closer.”

“Well, I guess, but how is-”

“No time! Quickly, give me your left hand.” Now in most cases you would think ‘Creepy imp wants me to give him my hand. That sounds like a terrible idea.’ However my reasoning was still shot to hell from the whole telekinetic talking horse thing so I obeyed.

I kneeled down before him and showed him my hand palm down. As soon as it was in reach, he dropped the syringe and grabbed my wrist in one claw. He then held the other claw up to his eyes and began to speak in some strange language. A dark voice echoed his words.

“Abu shal tranil setro bathazal. Yeulopiba vanquilza…”

Abu shal tranil setro bathazal. Yeulopiba vanquilza…

His claw began to glow a dark orange and before I could even flinch he stabbed it into my hand. It went numb as the energy surged beneath my skin before finally forming a symbol on the back of my hand. Once the mark was complete, leather began to materialize in a way that I could only describe as a piece of paper burning away in reverse.

When I could finally feel my hand again it had been covered by a leather gauntlet, the symbol still glowing like fire. It wasn’t long though before it faded away, leaving nothing but the gauntlet.

At this point there was a million things running through my head. What is this glove? What are these creatures? Where am I? Why am I master? What happened to my memory?

I would have been spewing questions like a hose if the gray imp hadn’t started speaking first. “We must hide for now Master. We cannot risk being seen, but know this: My name is Gnarl, in another age I was your advisor, and you cannot tell the ponies anything about us. If they figure out who you are they might trap you in stone or send you to the moon. They might even decide to just kill you without a thought. You cannot trust them.” A rustling from the bushes was all the warning the brown imps needed to start running.

“I will contact you later Master. Remember what I said.” And with that he disappeared into the forest. It didn’t take long for the unicorn to enter the clearing.

“Hey, didn’t you hear me? We should get going monkey.”

IF I HAD THE POWER RIGHT NOW, I WOULD DESTROY YOU FOR SUCH INSOLENCE!

A voice that felt like it came from the darkest parts of my soul echoed in my mind, clouding my thoughts with many gruesome and creative ideas of how to kill the unicorn. Once I had pushed away the plans to rip her horn off and use it to gouge her eyes out, I turned toward her and gave her the coldest glare I could.

“I am not a monkey.”

She flinched as she looked into my eyes but then seemed to realize how rude she had been. Her ears drooped as her eyes quickly found interest in the grass. “I… I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to offend you. What should I call you?”

That’s a good question. Without any memory of who I was before the crypt, I couldn’t give her my name. I guess I’ll have to make one up. I thought about it for a few moments, coming up with a few terrible names and I was about to give her one when the voice spoke again.

...Dominus…

“Dominus. My name is Dominus, but you can call me Don for short.”

“Alright then Don. My name is Twilight Sparkle. Shall we leave before a manticore tries to inject venom into our bloodstream?”

Way ahead of you.

By this point the overwhelming anger I had for Ms. Sparkle had worn off. I was honestly surprised by how short a temper I seemed to have. “Sounds good to me. But I have a question: What’s a manticore?”

Welcome to Ponyville

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Ms. Sparkle and I spent the first minutes of our trip in silence as we trecked through the forest. Honestly though I didn’t mind. It gave me time to collect my thoughts and figure out just what was going on. So much had been thrown at me in a short time and there was sure to be more once we were out of the woods.

Alright, what was I told? According to Gnarl and those other… imps, they kind of look like imps, I was revived by the venom of a manticore, which if is anything like how Ms. Sparkle described it then I better hope I never meet one. They also said that I was their master and that my memory had been altered by someone named Faust. Of course that’s an easy excuse for the whole ‘have no idea what the fuck is going on’ theme my life has taken.

Now, what for sure do I know? I know that so far despite being a bit of a bitch Ms. Sparkle has been rather kind to me. I know that back on Earth, or at least I don’t think this is Earth, humans can’t be revived, especially with venom. I know that I woke up in a tomb covered in cobwebs and dust, which makes little sense considering it would have taken at least a century to build up that much and I’m only… Dammit! Can’t even remember my own age!

Well let’s see, if I had to guess I was around six feet tall. I seem to be growing a bit of facial hair and despite having all memories of my life removed, I still seem to have a decent knowledge of Earth. Overall if I had to guess I’m in my early twenties, so let’s just go with twenty two for now.

Back to what I know. I know that Gnarl gave me this weird gauntlet with what seemed to be magic and that Ms. Sparkle seems to have telekinesis.

“Hey Don.”

Despite all this evidence, I’m still not a hundred percent convinced that magic is real.

“Don?”

After all, people on Earth had made some rather impressive-

“Don!”

Ms. Sparkle’s words finally broke my concentration, however it didn’t stop me from tripping on a rock and falling flat on my face.

“Oh my gosh! Are you alright?”

I turned my face up so I could see her while I enjoyed the taste of grass. “Ya, I’m fine. I was just deep in thought.” As I moved to stand back up, my vision went purple once again only this time my landing was rather softly on my feet.

“Thank you Ms. Sparkle.” Ms. Sparkle absolutely beamed at my apology despite how lacking I had made it sound.

“It’s the least I can do after being so rude when I first met you. And please just call me Twilight.” She turned around and began to walk as she continued. “I was just under some stress. You see, my mentor, Princess Celestia, sent me to investigate the fluctuations of magic in the Everfree Forest and this was my first real assignment after she told me to study the magic of friendship so I was really worried that if I failed she would send me back to magic kindergarten!”

As she spoke, her words picked up speed and a few hairs curled out of her… mane? That’s what a horse has on their head right?

If I don’t stop her now she might go full on crazy. Or worse!

I quickly grabbed Twilight by her horn and turned her so we were face to face. “Calm down Twilight. I don’t know who this Princess of yours is but I’m sure if she sent you here she must have had a good reason.” This seemed to calm her down somewhat so I let go. She still had a worried look on her face though.

“B-but I never recorded the cross waves of the site, or discovered why the magical amplitude was causing such a disturbance, or what about-”

“Twilight! I have no idea what any of that is. I don’t know what world this is, but where I’m from magic isn’t a real thing. It’s only gags used at parties for entertainment.”

She gasped (and rather loudly at that). “What?!? How could anyone live in a world without magic? How do you travel far distances or send messages or do anything?”

Despite borderline insulting the human race, I answered her calmly. “We make up for it with technology. We build machines to help us do things we ourselves are unable to.”

A quill and piece of paper materialized in the air and Twilight got about as close as anyone could get to my face without touching me. Her eyes were also wide open and she had the biggest grin I’d ever seen. “Do you think you could explain to me how to create these machines?”

GRRR… ANNOYING CREATURE...

Can’t argue with that.

“No I can’t. I was never an expert on any machines. I know what they are and what they are expected to do, but as far as how they work you’re out of luck. Besides, by the sounds of things you guys don’t have much in the way of technology so you’d have to make the tools to make the tools to make the tools to make anything we had.” Twilight deflated a bit as her plans to industrialize the world were destroyed. The quill and paper disappeared just as quickly as they had arrived and we began down the dirt path once more.

It wasn’t long before Twilight started speaking again. “So what makes you think you’re on another world?”

“The fact I’m talking to a unicorn. Back where I’m from unicorns only exist in mythology. They also aren’t purple and have tattoos on their butt.”

“They aren’t tattoos. Those are my cutie mark.”

Really? Cutie mark? If things continue like this I might just throw up from all of the adorableness.

“Alright, whatever you want to call them.” We walked on for a few seconds.

“Don’t you want to know what a cutie mark is?”

“Not really.” A few more seconds of blissful silence.

“A cutie mark is something everypony gets during adolescence. It’s a mark of what the pony is truly good at and gives the pony their purpose in life.”

Even though I could care less what magical butt tattoos mean, it did bring up something interesting. “And ponies are just fine with having their destinies predetermined like that?”

“Well ya, why wouldn’t they?”

Now a part of me wanted to start a debate with her, but I realized no matter what I could have said I doubt I would have come out on top against this crazy pony. Instead I settled for saying: “I don’t know.”

As we continued to walk a town began to make peek itself out of the hill in front of us. From what I could tell it was a medieval-style town although a few strange things stuck out including a carousel, a bright red schoolhouse, what seemed to be a large hospital, and a train station. Glancing up I could see a castle sitting on the edge of a mountain.

If they don’t have technology, why do they have a train station? We didn’t have proper railways until around two hundred years ago. Plus, how the hell is that castle not sliding down the mountain?

“Welcome to Ponyville Don!”

Nope, I’m done. Fuck magical cute pony land.

Despite my disgust with how ridiculous everything was, I managed to put on a fake smile. “It looks like a lovely little town.”

Now it should be noted that I’m a terrible liar so the fact that Twilight bought it was either amazing luck (which considering where I was I highly doubted), or that Twilight was all book smarts.

More likely the latter. I better be careful in town. Most likely the other ponies aren’t as stupid.

And just a bit of a spoiler, I was wrong.

* * *

From where we were on the hill we had about twenty minutes of walking before we made it to the town. As we walked, Twilight told me about her friends who lived there but I was only half listening. All I really got from the one-sided conversation was that her friends were the most random assortment of personalities you had ever seen come together. She also said something about how they had all met due to the world nearly being taken over by some crazy chick who really liked nighttime.

Just another thing to add to my list of ‘What the fuck?’

As we neared the town I was shaken out my deep thoughts by something blocking the road.

Are those cows?

Turns out it was. A whole herd of them were in the process of heading somewhere and had decided that crossing the path here was best.

“Damn cows.” Twilight looked shocked by what I had said and I was about to ask why when suddenly one of the cows broke off and started insulting me.

“Well excuuuuuuse me monkey-boy, but you’re just going to have to wait for us to get by. Don’t be so impatient!”

THIS LESSER BEAST DARES TO SPEAK TO ME IN SUCH A WAY? I WILL TURN HER FAMILY INTO BEEF AND FORCE HER TO EAT IT!

Normally I would have been fighting off the urge to make that threat a reality but at the moment I was just too shocked by the fact the cow had spoken to even notice the darker voice.

“Ah- Wha- Bu- You can talk?!?”

This made the cow scowl even more. “Well of course I can talk. You think I’m some sort of an idiot?”

Way to go Don! That’s two species you’ve insulted so far.

Thankfully Twilight was there to save me before I could put together another incoherent string of words. “Sorry about that miss. My friend isn’t from around here and doesn’t know how to be polite.”

The cow continued to look at me with disdain but at least she didn’t look like she was ready to run me over. “Well alright. But you better watch him until he learns better. I’m much more forgiving than some people.”

“Yes! Of course. We’ll be careful.” As the cow walked away to continue with the flow of cows, Twilight turned and glared at me. “What was that about?”

Probably not the best idea to tell her about how animals are all dumb as dirt where I’m from.

“Uh, well I’m not sure.” Of course that excuse wasn’t enough for Twilight. Thankfully she was interrupted by an orange pony with a cowboy hat.

“Well howdy there Twilight! How did that job of yours go?”

And she has a southern twang in her voice. Oh the stereotypes!

Then she took a look at me. “What the heck is this thang?”

I WILL TIE EACH OF HER LIMBS TO A COW AND HAVE THEM ALL CHARGE IN DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS UNTIL SHE IS NAUGHT BUT A TORSO AND HEAD!

That’s an image I did not need.

As I struggled with… whatever this thing was Twilight was happy to speak for me. “I found him at the site Princess Celestia sent me to check. He needed help so I decided I would bring him back to Ponyville.”

“Neat. Does the critter speak?”

By now the voice had had been dulled to a low rumbling so I spoke up. “Yes I can talk.”

“Whoops. Sorry about that big guy. Ain’t never seen anything like you before. The name’s Applejack. Pleasure to meet ya.” She held a hoof out in a manner that I assumed meant she wanted me to shake it. After a moment of thought I kneeled down and grasped her hoof with my left hand.

Although she couldn’t actually grip my hand, she made up for it by putting a good amount of force behind her handshake. “I’m Don. Nice to meet you too.”

“Nice horseshoe you got on. Feels tough but not hard like steel you know? What’s it made of?”

Horseshoe? What is she talking about?

“You mean my glove?” I held my hand up to make sure she knew what I was talking about.

“Ya, that thing. Wasn’t sure what else I could call it.”

“It’s fine. Not like you guys have hands anyway. As for what it’s made of…”

‘You cannot tell the ponies anything about us’

“... I’m not sure. I have a bit of a memory issue at the moment.”

Technically neither statement is a lie.

Thankfully the two ponies bought it. “You can’t remember? That there is strange. Hopefully Twi here can help you get your memories back. Anyway, looks like I gotta catch up with the cows. See ya later!”

As Applejack ran off, Twilight was looking rather confused. “What do you mean you have memory issues? You just told me all these things about where you’re from.”

“Ya, I can remember general information but as far as things about myself I have no clue. The only thing I could remember was my name.”

“Strange… perhaps I could send a message to the princess. She might be able to help.”

“If you’re going to ask royalty for help you might as well just send your message to the king or queen.”

“Equestria doesn’t have a king or queen. Just two princesses.”

“Two princesses? Why hasn’t one of them taken the title of queen?”

Twilight opened her mouth to speak but then stopped and pondered my question. “I’m not sure actually. I never really questioned it.”

Of course you didn’t.

* * *

Soon Twilight and I had entered the town. As we walked down the street any ponies that caught a glimpse of me would do one of three things: run, hide, or both. This was rather confusing on my part since Applejack didn’t seem afraid of me.

Maybe having Twilight with me isn’t so bad after all.

Despite how unwelcome the townies were I was glad to be in civilization again. Especially for my poor feet that had spent the entire trip here uncovered.

Hope there’s a tailor or something in town.

Twilight on the other hand seemed rather shocked at the town’s reaction to me. “Why are they running? You’re not scary. Plus the fact I’m with you should have made it easier.”

I shrugged in response. I honestly wasn’t worried about what the town thought. Since as far as I could tell I was going to be here for awhile, I figured they would just have to get used to me.

At least that’s what I thought until a rainbow blur slammed into my chest and sent me a good twenty yards. When I could finally see straight again I was lying on my back. As I moved to stand up the rainbow blur returned, diving straight at the ground toward me.

Move!

I rolled to the side as the blur slammed into the ground where I once was. Soon I was back on my feet and I saw that my attacker was actually a pony.

Some have wings? And what is up with that rainbow hair?

IT DOESN’T MATTER. IF SHE CHOOSES TO FIGHT ME THEN SHE CHOOSES DEATH!

The pony seemed rather confused by my epic dodge. This didn’t seem to discourage her though as a smirk appeared on her face. “I thought this was gonna be easy, but I’m glad you’re putting up at least a bit of a challenge.”

She’s brash. Most likely she will charge straight at me. When she does, step to the side and break her wing.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Twilight yelling at the pony but I couldn’t hear her over the sound of blood pumping in my ears. Strangely enough combat felt… right. The feeling of adrenaline, the slight pain I felt from the initial blow, my breath as I calmed my nerves. All of it had a rhythm to it that I could see, that I could feel.

Just as I… no, just as the other voice predicted, the pegasus charged at me. And just as it had said, I stepped to the side and brought my arm up to strike. Just as we were about to clash I felt the all-too-familiar feeling of being held in Twilight’s purple energy. This time however I wasn’t alone as my opponent had been caught as well.

“Would both of you stop it? Neither of you should be fighting.”

The pegasus spoke up, clearly angry about being interrupted. “What are you talking about Twilight? This thing was scaring all the ponies in town!”

I rolled my eyes at her excuse. “Oh please! The ponies in this town are so skittish I bet a rabbit could scare them.”

“Don! You’re not helping!” Using my peripheral vision I could see Twilight’s hair beginning to uncurl.

I better shut up before the crazy unicorn crushes me.

My brash friend however wasn’t so smart. “Twilight, just look at him! He’s looks freakier than Nightmare Moon.”

I don’t know if that’s really an insult considering a demon horse could look pretty badass.

Twilight facehoofed as she continued. “I’m not going to argue about this. He has been nothing but polite to me since I found him. Sure he looks different, but that doesn’t automatically make him evil.”

If only you knew…

Wait, what?

Suddenly I was free to move again, but the pegasus was not so lucky. For a moment I thought I was in the clear, but a quick look at Twilight proved me wrong.

“Go ahead Don. Show her you mean no harm.” The way she said that I knew one step out of line and… well I actually had no idea what she intended but considering what I’ve seen her do so far, I didn’t want to figure it out.

I turned back to the pegasus as she glared daggers at me.

Alright, easy enough. Just introduce yourself and act nice. That shouldn’t be hard.

HERE IS MY CHANCE! I WILL RIP HER APART!

I kneeled down in front of her so that we were at eye level, although it was more because the inside my head felt like a warzone.

SNAP HER NECK!

I rose a hand up hoping for another handshake but quickly realized it wouldn’t be a good idea to wrap my hand around any part of her body so instead clenched it into a fist.

BEAT HER BLOODY!

I took a deep breath and said “We got off on the wrong foot, er I mean hoof.”

A HOOF I’D GLADLY TEAR OFF!

“You were crazy fast there and that was pretty awesome in my book.”

RIP HER FEATHERS OUT ONE BY ONE!

“I think… we could be… friends… if you’re willing.”

TURN THAT RAINBOW MANE OF HER’S RED!

“My name… is Don… What’s yours?

Now you can imagine with the way I seemed to be struggling that the pegasus would think something is wrong. However the gullibility of these ponies continued to amaze me.

With my apology made, the purple aura disappeared. For a moment the only thing that spoke was the horrible voice in my head as it continued to ramble about torture methods. Finally, the pony picked up a hoof and hit it against my hand in some cross-species form of a fist bump.

“Rainbow Dash. And if you thought that was awesome you ain’t seen nothing yet!” I couldn’t help but smile a bit despite the pressure I felt on my mind. Before I could say another word, my vision went red as the sound of the dark voice filled my ears. My body clenched up and I felt myself hit the dirt.

RAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!! I AM THE OVERLORD!!! I WILL NOT STAND FOR THIS!!!

My vision then went black, and I heard nothing more.

Hostile Takeover

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Well this is trippy.

I was in what seemed to be a throne room of sorts. Suits of spiked armor stood ready on either side of the rug leading to the end of the room. The banners and rug all were the same blood red color with black accents, however the banners had the addition of having a symbol as well. Overall the light in the room was lacking having only torches hung on the walls.

At least this beats the magical horse land. That place looks like a five-year old colored it.

The throne itself seemed to represent how the rest of the room made you feel. It was made of black stone and carved jagged. The back of the throne extended up in multiple spikes. Lines that had been carved into it pulsed with red energy.

Oh, and did I forget to mention the man in armor sitting in it.

Hello Dominus

Oh shit.

As soon as I recognized his voice I felt the need to run. I would have followed that instinct too but one look at the set of glowing eyes in the shadows of his helmet and I found myself unable to move.

You are pathetic. How you’ve managed to fight me off so long will forever be a mystery.

“F-fight you? What are you talking about?”

Ah yes. I had nearly forgotten you lack any knowledge of my time in this world. Not like it matters.

For the first time since I had arrived the armored man (if you can call it a man) moved, lifting his hand from the armrest of his throne. Once his arm was extended, a great sword appeared in front of him. He then took the giant blade and threw it as if it weighed nothing. The point of the blade embedded itself in the ground between my feet, shaking me free of whatever he had done to paralyze me as I jumped back.

All that matters is that I can send you home.

“H-home?”

Yes, home. All you need to do is take that sword and plunge it into your chest.

I was beginning to shake my fear of this entity. “You want me to stab myself?”

The blade is magic. It will send you home and you can live out your life.

I couldn’t believe it. I could get out of this place of magic and crazy rainbow colored nonsense and go back to Earth. For a moment I couldn’t believe how much my luck had turned around. Soon I would be back home with… with...

With who? I still don’t remember anything.

“Sorry, but I’m going to have to decline. Living in- what did Twilight call it- Equestria, despite how annoying the locals have been so far, still beats going back to Earth with no memory of who I was.”

I’ll admit, I may have jumped a bit when the man slammed his fist into his throne. After which he was silent for a few moments.

It seems that mere tricks won’t work on you than. Perhaps an explanation will suffice.

The room around me began to be ripped apart as if a tornado had touched down on top of us. As stone broke away, so too did the armored man piece by piece until I found myself standing at the top of a hill.

Ages ago, in a time that the ponies believe to be nothing but a fairytale, I came into the world from the realm you know as Earth. I was made Overlord to a race of creatures, and I used them to destroy anything I saw fit. As they grew in power, so did I, learning powerful magics and fighting skills.

As he spoke, down in the valley below I watched as two armies emerged from the woods on either side.

There eventually came a time where I even rivaled Faust herself. She was the most powerful of magic users and queen of the ponies.

Looking more closely, I could see that the two armies were completely different in species. On the left was an army of the creatures Gnarl had been with, except there were many different variants of them. Amongst the ranks I could see imps riding various creatures such as wolves made of sticks and giant spiders. There were even these giant hairy creatures being ridden by the imps, and at the front of it all stood the armored man, the Overlord.

On the right I had an even harder time picking out species. I saw ponies of all the varying kinds, but there were also large muscular creatures with cow heads. I watched as black chitinous creatures changed in a flash of green fire to a variety of forms, from multi-headed lizards to something that looked like a goat, tiger, and snake had gone in the blender together. I even saw a few dragons and gryphons flying above. Leading this side was a pony who had both wings and a horn, and while looking at the Overlord made me feel the need to cower away, looking at her seemed to have a calming effect.

Despite the lack of variety in the Overlord’s army his forces were easily ten times the size of the army I assumed belonged to Faust. It definitely looked like things were rather one sided.

Yet, despite overwhelming odds, I lost. For Faust did the one thing I did not anticipate.

Suddenly I was in the center of a war. The armies I had seen before clashed all around me as I watched the Overlord and Faust. It looked as if they had been fighting for a long time as both of their armors were battered and broken. Faust laid on the ground with one of her legs mangled as the Overlord lifted his blade to deliver the finishing blow. Faust closed her eyes as if to resign to her fate.

When she opened them again they glowed with white power. The Overlord was pushed back as wind began to kick up around Faust. Her body slowly ascended until she was above all the fighting, the glowing continuing to grow brighter with every second. Just as the light was about to become too strong to see her, the power shot out in six balls of energy, each going in a different direction. Once the magic was gone, her body simply faded away into nothingness.

The Overlord lifted his blade and let out a shout of victory, but as he did I noticed six of Faust’s army break through the chaos. Each held a small trinket that seemed to glow with the same power Faust had. As they got closer, the Overlord simply laughed at them.

“Fools! I have defeated your last hope. You are nothing without Faust!” As he continued to gloat his victory, he failed to notice as a rainbow extended between each of them forming a circle. They began to float off the ground and spin around the Overlord.

As soon as he saw this, the Overlord struck at the group with sword and magic but nothing seemed to work. It wasn’t long before the six of them were going so fast they were only a blur. It was then that the entire area they encompassed was filled with the same rainbow energy reaching all the way into the sky.

Despite how silly rainbow magic looked in the middle of all the bloodshed that was going on, the Overlord seemed to be in a lot of pain. What remained of his armor tore away from him piece by piece until all that remained was…

Hang on a second. Is that me?

The Overlord looked almost exactly like me except for being taller and more muscular. He also had a buzz cut instead of the haircut I had now but the resemblance was still creeping me out.

Once he was stripped of all possessions, the ground below the Overlord gave way and he fell out of sight as it closed back up.

In a final act of defiance to my rule, she released her power in the form of six artifacts and gave them to her generals. They used them to seal me away deep beneath the earth, and Faust, now ascended to godhood, stripped away my power and my memories of this world and my life. She couldn’t destroy me though.

As he spoke the throne room rose up from the ground and built itself around me. When it was done the Overlord appeared and took his seat at the throne.

The parts she removed became what I am before you. Ever since that day I have searched for my body, during which I slowly lost power. Finally I found it and using most of what I had left I rose it to the surface and called out to my minions. They heeded my call and revived my body, only I was not in control.

In my absence, the parts of my mind that had not been removed, my knowledge of Earth, had formed its own consciousness. And that is you.

You are nothing but my lesser half, a soul formed from scraps of my own. You should not even exist let alone inhabit my body. If I am to retake control you must rejoin my being.

Now pick up the blade and pierce your heart.

At this point my mind was working in overdrive trying to figure things out.

I’m a part of him. No wait, he said I formed from scraps. That means I’m still a whole person right? But what does that mean will happen if I do as he says? Will I cease to exist? Actually, if he is so desperate to take over, why didn’t he just stab me himself? Is it possible he’s so weak he needs me to hand him control?

Suddenly I got an idea. A risky plan that had little chance of working but it was so devious that I had to admit it would make sense if I was once part of the Overlord’s mind.

I reached down and attempted to pick up the sword.

“Urgh… It’s too heavy. How about you come down here and do it?”

I doubt someone as skittish as you would be able to stand still long enough for me to kill you.

“Well we aren’t getting anywhere since I can’t pick it up.”

Ugh… fine!

The Overlord slowly pushed himself up from his throne and made his way toward me. Each step of his took so long I really doubted he was just taking his time.

Wow, he really is weak.

As he finally stopped before the sword, he knelt down and picked it up with ease. Standing once more he brought the blade to my neck.

Any last words?

“Yes actually. Since I have your knowledge of earth, I assume you don’t remember what ‘sike’ means?”

Before he could answer I ducked down and brought my left shoulder into his stomach. The armor was all I could feel as I pushed him back.

Damn, I’m going to be feeling that for a few days.

The Overlord fell on his back as his sword clattered against the stone floor, but I wasn’t done yet. I quickly grabbed the hilt of the blade and picked it up above my head. I saw the Overlord’s eyes go wide as I held the sword pointed down with two hands on the handle.

But you said-

“Oh ya. I lied. That’s what sike means.” And then I brought the blade down, piercing his chest plate.

The Overlord cried out in agony as dark energy coursed out of the wound, along the blade and into my hands. As the magic entered my body it felt like I had the energy to anything. It was as if I had taken twenty espresso shots at once.

Pieces of armor from the Overlord began to fade away as my leather gauntlet seemed to spread across my body, forming more armor. Soon all that remained of the Overlord was the same version of myself I had seen in the story and that too began being absorbed by the blade. Before he was completely destroyed, I pulled the blade out of him and then took a moment to look at what had changed about me.

I now wore a set of light leather armor that was similar in design to the Overlord’s. Red was used frequently throughout it, and a hood and mask were used to hide everything except my eyes as a replacement for the helmet. I imagined if I could see myself they would be glowing. The sword had changed as well from a hulking claymore to a short sword.

I looked down at what remained of the Overlord as he began to speak. No longer did his voice boom throughout my thoughts. Now it was more of a dark whisper. “What have you done?”

I began to walk around him as I spoke. “It was obvious to me you were not fit to be Overlord in this modern era. Ever since I had woken up you have been trying to get me to kill everything in sight. The thing is you can’t do that and expect to get away with it while we are so weak.”

“You are the weak one! What have you done since waking up? Making friends? Having lovely conversations? Evil is supposed to destroy, not play nice!”

“Wow, you really are old fashion. Evil isn’t just destruction, it’s manipulative, corrupting. True evil can turn even the greatest of hero’s into a cowardly fool or even an ally. You don’t seem to understand this. Despite having only a few minions at our command, despite having no magic, despite our mortal enemy being a fucking god you want us to go on a rampage! Are you trying to get sealed away for another couple of millenia?”

I approached the throne as he struggled to speak. “I… am the Overlord… I will not… stand for this…”

“Wrong.” I took a seat in the throne. “I am the Overlord now. You are nothing but a memory of an age that has long been forgotten.”

“Then why... don’t you finish it?”

“Because I don’t want to risk taking on your barbaric personality. I much rather wait and find a way to destroy you instead of absorbing you and gaining your quick temper.”

“You’re… too… soft… You could… never… kill me.”

I shrugged. “Hey, whatever you want to believe. Won’t matter in a few seconds.”

“And… why… is… that?”

“Because it’s time to wake up.” The world then faded away around me until there was nothing but darkness.

Let's get down to business

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I woke up on wood flooring with a pillow beneath my head and a blanket covering me from my shoulders to my knees. Out of the corners of my eyes I could see bookshelves lining the walls. Judging by how many there were it looked like I was in a library.

Weird. Not exactly the first place I would take someone if they suddenly dropped unconscious.

I started to get up but winced as I felt pain in my abdomin. I lifted the blanket to reveal my clothes had been removed and that I had been bandaged up around my stomach.

Damn, Rainbow Dash must have hit me harder than I thought.

As I continued to sit up I heard a gasp and it wasn’t long before I found the source: a yellow pegasus with long pink hair. I couldn’t even get a word in before she rushed over and started fussing over me.

“Oh my, are you alright? You aren’t hurt anywhere else are you? Twilight said you had suddenly dropped unconscious. Is your head okay?” Despite having known her for a total of five seconds, she seemed to be truly worried about me.

Wow, how kind of her. Also incredibly foolish, but kind. “I’m fine I think. My chest hurts a bit but it doesn’t feel too bad. If you don’t mind me asking though where am I? And who are you?”

“Oh, I’m sorry. You must be so confused right now you poor thing. My name’s Fluttershy and this is Twilight’s home.”

Wow, she lives in a library? No wonder she’s crazy! “Alright Fluttershy, I’m Don. I assume I have you to thanks for bandaging me up?”

“It was nothing, Twilight didn’t think a pony doctor could help you so she called me because I’m good with animals.”

Twilight thinks I’m an animal. Great. “Well thank you for helping me.” I moved to get up but Fluttershy, well, fluttered in front of me and pushed me back gently with her hooves.

“I’m sorry, but you shouldn’t be getting up right now. You bruised a few ribs when Rainbow Dash hit you.”

“Fluttershy, I’m fine. I don’t need to-”

“Listen mister!” Suddenly her kind eyes had changed into a glare. You would think a pony glaring would be more adorable than scary, but for some reason the way this pegasus was staring into me made me regret everything wrong I had ever done in my life. “You are not going anywhere until those bruises are gone. Now what are you going to do?”

“Lie down and rest.”

“That’s right.” And just as quickly as it had come the stare disappeared. “Now you wait there and I’ll get you some water.” As she walked out of the room I fell back onto the pillow in defeat.

Maybe she should be the Overlord instead of me. That stare of hers could probably stop an army.

Fluttershy came back with a glass of water as I was picturing her in the Overlord armor and silently snickering to myself. As I started drinking I heard a door on the other side of the room open up and heard Twilight walk in.

“Oh thank Celestia you’re awake. Rainbow Dash and I were so worried.”

“I’m fine thanks to Fluttershy here. Where is Rainbow anyway?” As I spoke she walked around so she was in front of me.

“She headed home once we brought Fluttershy here to help you, but she apologized about a hundred times for hitting you so hard. She’ll probably want to apologize to you herself once she knows you’re awake.” She then faced Fluttershy. “Thanks for the help Fluttershy. I’m sure you’ve got a lot to do though so you’re free to go whenever you want.”

“Oh my, you’re right. I completely forgot I need to make Angel’s dinner. I better get going.” As she was heading for the door she turned back around to face me. “Um, it was nice meeting you Don.”

“Nice meeting you too Fluttershy. Take care.” She smiled as she turned and left the library.

I really hope I don’t see her again. I don’t think I can take another one of those stares.

“Excuse me Don, do you mind if I ask you something?”

I took another sip of my water before answering. “Sure, go ahead.”

As she spoke a book pulled itself off one of the shelves and landed in front of Twilight open. “I was wondering about your glove. Where did you get it?”

Shit, shit, shit! Think of something fast! “I… can’t remember. I woke up with it.” Worst lie ever!

“That’s odd. You see, we were trying to get it off when we were checking for wounds and we couldn’t so I did some tests and it seems to be magically adhered to your hand.”

Wish Gnarl had told me that. Would have given me time to make up an excuse. “I really have no clue Twilight. Like I said I don’t know anything about magic. Did you find out anything else about it?”

“No, it seems harmless, though I don’t want to risk trying to remove it without checking with the princess first. I’ll send her a letter later today when Spike gets back.”

“Spike?”

“Oh ya, you haven’t met him. He’s a baby dragon and my personal assistant.”

Okay, Twilight just got a little more scarier. “What happened to the mother?”

“I don’t know. I hatched him when I was a foal and I’ve been taking care of him ever since.”

Nevermind “Well don’t worry about removing it if you don’t want to bother the princess. It feels rather natural on my hand and like you said it’s harmless.” At least as harmless as a gauntlet given to you by an evil imp can be.

“Alright, but I still need to send a message to the princess about you. I went back to check the site where I found you while you were here resting and I couldn’t find any trace of it. No magic, no clearing, no anything. Without that site you’re all I’ve got to show to her.”

So what, I’m a science experiment now? I sighed. “Well if you need to then go ahead. I just don’t think you should bother the ruler of your country with something like this.”

“Up to you. If you like you can write her something.”

Make friends with the ruler of the country? Couldn’t hurt. “Sure, but I don’t really have much to say.” Twilight floated me over a piece of paper, a quill and an inkpot. Though it took some getting used to such a primitive way of writing I did manage write out a letter. I won’t bother telling you what it was word for word though because it mainly amounted to “Hi, your ponies are nice.”

Once I was done I handed it to Twilight. “By the way, where are my clothes? My race isn’t really comfortable naked.”

Twilight seemed perplexed by this. “Why aren’t you? Ponies are just fine with it.”

“As far as I can remember our race started wearing them because we didn’t have much to protect us from the elements. After a while though it just became a normal thing to wear clothes. The only time we don’t wear clothes now is when we’re cleaning ourselves or when we’re having… relations with another person.”

That brought a blush to Twilight’s face. “O-oh. Well, sorry but I gave them to my friend Rarity when I saw how mangled they were. Where did you get them anyway?”

Do I really want to tell her I got them off of corpses?

…

Nope

“I don’t know. Memory issues remember?”

“Right. Of course, sorry.”

That’s becoming a really good excuse.

“Anyway, Rarity is a tailor and a rather good one at that so I’m sure she’ll be done-”

Just then the door swung open and the most pompous sounding pony I’ve ever heard stepped in. “Twilight, darling, I fixed up those clothes just like you asked. It was a bit of a challenge considering their condition and the fact they aren’t for ponies but I managed.” She then saw me and her face turned to disgust. “Goodness, Twilight, what is that thing?”

I think I’m beginning see why the old Overlord developed such a temper.

“Rarity, this is my friend, Don. He’s the owner of the clothes I asked you to fix.”

“Oh my, how terribly unladylike of me. I am so sorry for what I said Mr. Don.”

Sure you are, and your fake accent doesn’t make me want to strangle you! “It’s fine. Rainbow kicked me in the ribs when she first saw me so you’re definitely doing better. And you can just call me Don.”

And just like that she was happy again. “Oh thank goodness. A bad first impression is always difficult to overcome. But enough about that, I have your clothes all ready to go.”

Please don’t be bright pink. Or any bright color for that matter! Thankfully they were not. The clothes she pulled from her bag had just been patched up and cleaned, though they still looked like I had got them from a crypt. It seemed like Rarity agreed with me on that one.

“Honestly the colors on these are just so bleeaagh I’m surprised you wore anything at all!”

I managed a fake chuckle. “These are pretty gross but like I just told Twilight my kind don’t like being naked so anything is better than nothing.” I grabbed the clothes as they were floated over to me and put the pants on underneath the blanket while Rarity continued speaking.

“If you’d like I can make you some new outfits. I’d love the chance to work with a new body shape. It would certainly be an interesting challenge for my talents.”

Somebody’s generous. I may exploit that later if I’m not avoiding her completely. “Sure, but if I might make a request could it not stand out too much? For the most part it just needs to fit well and survive day to day life.”

“Ugh, you sound just like Applejack. I can do that but I’ll need to get your measurements sometime tomorrow. And are you sure you don’t want a suit or something?”

A suit? I guess it couldn’t hurt, especially considering my possible meeting with a princess. That and I’m pretty sure this pony won’t leave until I agree.

I put my shirt over my head. “Alright, a suit would be nice. But I need the casual clothes first.”

“Oh, this going to be great! I can’t wait to get started. Can you come by my boutique around 9:00 or so?”

“I dunno. Am I doing anything Twilight?”

That confused Twilight a bit. “Why would I know?”

“Because you’re the one who found me in the clearing. I wasn’t sure if you had anything planned like tests or some other weird magical thing.”

“No, all the tests I had planned I did while you were unconscious.” That’s not creepy. “Unless the princess thinks you should go see her at Canterlot immediately you shouldn’t have any problem.”

“Great, looks I’m free. I’ll see you then Miss Rarity.”

She blushed a bit when I called her ‘miss’ but she quickly shook it off. “Of course, I’ll see you then.” And then she was gone.

Figured she would like to be called miss. A lot of people, and by extension ponies, who act like that often enjoy it when people take notice of them.

Now fully clothed, I got up with a bit of pain and started looking at the books. Thankfully just as ponies speak the same language I do, so too do they read the same language.

Twilight looked up from her book and noticed me searching the shelves. “Can I help you find something?”

Yep, she’s definitely a librarian. “I was just wondering if you had any history books. I figure if I’m going to be here awhile I might as well learn about the place.”

Twilight beamed at the idea of me learning. “Of course! What kind of history are you looking for?” She then started naming off categories as books began to pull themselves off the shelves and stack themselves in a big pile on the desk in the center of the room. Soon the stack of books was getting dangerously high.

“Twilight! Slow down there.” I let her put down the books she had before I continued. “I just need a general history book of Equestria. I’m not looking to get a degree.”

She looked away with a sheepish grin on her face. “Oh, right. Sorry about that. Here.” A book pulled itself out of the center of the stack and floated in front of me so I could grab it. The rest quickly reshelved themselves and it wasn’t long before it looked as if nothing had happened.

Damn magic telekinesis. I could really use that. Maybe I’ll ask Gnarl next time I see him.

As I went to get comfortable with the book, the door opened up and a stack of paper with legs walked in.

Doesn’t even surprise me anymore.

Twilight on the other hand seemed glad to see the walking stationary. “Oh, there you are Spike! Here, let me help you with that.” The paper floated away to reveal a small purple and green lizard walking on two legs.

Okay maybe just a little surprising.

“Oh Spike, before you freak out or anything, let me introduce you. This is Don.” She waved a hoof in my direction as I put on a smile.

Notably Spike seemed as interested in meeting me as I was in him. “Oooookay, what are you supposed to be?”

“Human. What are you supposed to be?”

“A dragon.”

So this is the dragon Twilight was talking about. I was expecting something… bigger. “Cool. Do you breathe fire?”

“Well duh. What dragon doesn’t?” He then showed off his skill as he spat out some green fire. “Are you a guy?”

I wonder how much I can take before I turn into the bloodthirsty murderer the last Overlord was. I tried not to grit my teeth as I answered. “Yes, I’m a guy.”

The simple question got Spike more excited then I expected. “Awesome! The only guy I’ve met in Ponyville so far is Big Mac and he’s always too busy with farm work to hang out.”

Farm work? Wonder if he’s related to Applejack. I hope the country stereotype ends at the accent and hat. “Well Spike, if I ain’t busy then I’ll hang out with you.” He’s a fucking dragon. Definitely can’t hurt to make friends.

“Great! Well it was nice meeting you Don but I’m going to bed.” And with a yawn he went upstairs.

Sleep already? It isn’t that late is it? I double checked out the window to find the sun still well above the horizon. I guess if he is a baby. But wait, if Twilight hatched him when she was a foal, then wouldn’t he not be a baby anymore. Unless Twilight is a lot younger then I thought. Or maybe… Gah! This is too confusing.

I gave up on figuring out pony/dragon growth rates and decided to focus on my book as I got comfortable against the wall.

* * *

A few hours later the sun had set. Twilight and I had not moved much since we began reading, only leaving to get a drink or use the bathroom before quickly returning to our books. Despite going through the entire history book I could not find what I was looking for.

I closed the book and leaned my head back for a moment. This book doesn’t even mention Faust! If I can’t find out where those artifacts went I’m just going to end up getting destroyed like the last Overlord. And I refuse to let my demise be by rainbows!

A sudden yawn made me realize how tired I was. I guess I’ve had a busy day. Woke up in a crypt, walked around for a good hour without shoes- damn it! I forgot to ask Rarity for shoes. I’ll just have to ask tomorrow. Anyway, got yelled at by a cow, bucked by a pony in mid-flight, had a battle for mental supremacy, then there was that stare. I shuddered a bit at that memory. And then ended the day reading a book as I tried to figure out how not to die. If this is what Equestria has got for me then I don’t think I’ll ever be bored even when I take over.

I got up and stretched before looking over at what had been my makeshift bed. “Do you have somewhere I could sleep?”

Twilight looked away from her book as she willed it to return to the shelf along with the history book. “There’s a guest bedroom, but the bed’s pony sized. When we brought you in earlier we thought you might not fit in it.”

“Well it can’t hurt to try.” I walked over and picked up the pillow and blanket from the floor. “Mind showing me where?”

“Sure.” Turns out the doors were just a little short for me so I had to duck a bit to get through. The bed, as Twilight had said, was the same so I instead pulled the mattress onto the floor and just let my feet stick out.

“I’m sure if you end up staying here we can get something custom-made.”

These ponies are just way too nice for their own good! “I already am staying here for free. I couldn’t ask you to do that.”

“It’s fine. Besides, I’m sure I could find some work for you in town. Applejack could always use a hand down at Sweet Apple Acres.”

The Harbinger of Doom goes to work on a farm. Sounds like a bad children’s book. “Works for me. Good night Twilight.”

“Good night”

* * *

As soon as I closed my eyes I found myself sitting in the same throne room as before except there were a few differences. The first was that all of the ornamentation of the first was gone. Second was that it looked the place had been hit by an earthquake. And the third difference was that instead of a violent copy of myself, Gnarl was here.

“Ah Master, there you are. We were worried when we could not get a hold of you.”

“You were trying to contact me? How?”

“Ah yes. Your memory, my apologies. Allow me to explain. This is your fortress sire, or what’s left of it after you disappeared. In your absence no one could reach this place so it was left to fall apart. However now that you have returned, us minions can find our way back.”

I placed a hand on my chin. “My own fortress huh? I already had a few ideas for one but this place sounds much better. Now what does this have to do with contacting me?”

“Well sire, the throne you are sitting on has a rather interesting spell worked into it. It allows your mind to manifest itself into a physical form here while you slumber. It only works though if you have the gauntlet I gave you.”

“The gauntlet? Some unicorn was checking it for magic earlier but all she found was something to keep it on my hand.”

“That is the beauty behind this spell Master. The magic that brings you here isn’t within the gauntlet, rather it is here in the throne. All the throne needs is a specific object to lock onto and it’s set.”

“Neat. I’ll assume that’s rather difficult to do by the way you’re speaking of it. However, if it only works when I’m asleep then why were you having issues contacting me?”

“It isn’t just when you sleep Master. Anytime you are unconscious you will be brought here. Earlier today it appeared that the throne was trying to bring you but was being blocked. We feared the worst.”

Blocked? I wonder if that contributed to the old Overlord’s sluggish pace. Speaking of…

“Gnarl, I should be honest with you if you are to be my advisor. I’m not the same Overlord from the past. That Overlord tried to retake this body but I defeated him and drained his power.”

Gnarl cackled a bit before speaking. “I had a feeling you weren’t the same when we met. The Overlord I once served wouldn’t have endured dealing with the ponies for this long. But you are still evil, I can feel it! You just have a different way of going about it, and if I may be honest sire, I prefer it this way.”

I raised an eyebrow at that. “Really?”

“Yes, what you probably don’t know of the old Overlord was that he had such a short temper he wouldn’t bother with resources and tactics. Every battle was a blind charge. Things like armor and weapons went to waste as he burned everything in his path. He never even had the greens use their natural stealth.”

“Greens? What is that?”

“Nothing to worry about right now sire. There is too much to be done for you to worry about something we cannot achieve until further down the road. You must focus on gaining power so we can begin spreading evil once more!”

“I’m ready when you are Gnarl.”

* * *

Now Gnarl, he’s the kind of organized you can’t help but like. He knows what you need and how to get you there in a timely manner. Apparently he had recorded all the times the previous Overlord had been here while asleep and used them to get a rough idea of how long we should spend so that my body would still get a decent amount of sleep. He then divided up the time between everything I needed to learn so that nothing was forgotten.

First came swordplay. Since my previous combat skills had come from the predecessor feeding me information, we quickly found I had no skill whatsoever. Thankfully being a physical manifestation of my mind meant that any bruises I got now would be gone when I woke up. The minion who trained me was a fairly good teacher named Clobber (not even joking). I was surprised by how knowledgeable he was considering how the last ones I had met seemed borderline retarded.

We had just finished and were heading to magic training. “So minions can do magic?”

“Well, yes and no sire. There are minions that can do magic, but similar to having different races of ponies we have different races of minions.”

“Please don’t tell me it’s a minion with a horn.”

Gnarl cackled in response. “No sire. It is not something so ridiculous. You will see when we get there.”

“Oh, and I forgot to ask. Can I use telekinesis?”

“But of course, though how well you will be at it I’m not sure. The last Overlord didn’t care much for it. He only used spells like fireball for the most part.”

After a few more minutes of walking we entered a room with the sound of running water in it. The source of the noise was quickly determined to be a pool only a few inches deep that made up the entire floor except for a small pathway. Spouts of water poured out of the walls. There were also a few lilypads and mosses growing in the water.

Wow, I’m surprised a place like this exists here, especially considering the previous owner.

At the end of the path an imp sat in the water, although the similarities to the other minions ended there. Rather than brown or even grey like Gnarl, this minion was blue. Fins filled the places where the others had pointy ears while his hands and feet were webbed.

As we approached the minion he spoke in a tone of voice that was much less scratchy than the others I’ve met. “Ah Master. I am honored to be the one teaching you magic.”

“Gnarl, when you said greens earlier, were you talking about a minion race?”

“Yes Master, but there are no greens here otherwise I would have just shown you. The only minions that are at the fortress right now are a handful of browns, myself, and old Phlgem here.”

“You said we could spawn minions. Why don’t we do that?”

“That would require the nests, and when you disappeared the minions took them to the most dangerous places in Equestria in hopes that no one would come looking for them. If we are going to get them back you are going to need your skills in both combat and magic.”

So for the next few hours I sat at the edge of the water and attempted magic. Despite what Twilight had made it sound like it wasn’t that difficult to learn the basics. By the end of our practice session I had managed some rather shaky telekinesis.

Phlgem seemed proud of me. “You are learning this much faster than the last time I taught you. I think it took you a week to even get this far.”

“Well hopefully this steep learning curve continues. Having magic when no one thinks I know anything about it will be a rather useful ace in the hole.”

“I agree. The power that comes with magic can be devastating to those who are not prepared. I might even be able to teach you a few spells you can use without anyone even knowing it’s you.”

“Well I’m not sure how your curriculum looks but if possible move up any spells I can use in stealth situations. Telekinesis is a good start though.”

We said our goodbyes and then Gnarl and I were once again navigating the halls of the fortress.

“There is one last thing I would like to discuss with you before morning. We can do so in the throne room.”

Once there I took my seat on the throne though I didn’t bother sitting up.

“Before you leave I would like to see how much you know of your predecessor. That way I’ll know what I can teach you of our history when you return.”

So I told him the battle I had been shown, including the artifacts that had been the key in defeating the previous Overlord. Throughout it all Gnarl simply kept a claw on his chin and nodded.

“These artifacts will be a problem.”

“Don’t worry Gnarl, I am already looking into where they went though I seemed to have hit a snag. The battle doesn’t seem to be mentioned in the history book I found despite it being a major war.”

“Ah, that is because Faust is no longer considered history. After all, a story where a mighty being gives up her power and ascends would be rather difficult to take as the truth even in a magic-based world as this. When you return I suggest you check for fairy tales and other such stories.”

“I’ll see what I can find. Either way, we can’t risk exposing ourselves until they are found and neutralized. They are an achilles heel I much rather have cut off.”

“Of course sire, but I must warn you that we are not the only beings who remember that era. There are two others though they were only toddlers when the battle took place.”

Others? Damn. Things are never easy are they?

“Who are they? We must make sure that if I am to come in contact with them that I be able to keep all evidence of who I am hidden.”

“It’s those damn princesses sire. Celestia and Luna.”

Of course. And I just happen to be the one thing Twilight wants to show her mentor. “Is there anyway for them to detect who I am? There is a good chance of me meeting one if not both of them very soon.”

“You shouldn’t have any trouble as long as you don’t attempt magic. A being such as yourself cannot be shown magically capable unless you channel magic while someone else casts the proper spell.”

“Alright. Out of curiosity, how have they been alive so long? I thought that battle was millennia ago.”

“About 3 millennia to be exact. And they are alive because they are the daughters of Faust. Her damned immortal blood runs through their veins.”

Great, so not only are these princesses the only beings in the world with a chance of detecting who I am, but they also have a good reason to want to rip me apart. I sighed as I rubbed my forehead with my hand. “This just got a lot more complicated.”

“Things never go as they are expected to sire. What shows you are capable is the ability to adapt to the situation.”

Easy for you to say. I’m the one actually doing shit!

“Anyway, it seems about time for you to go. You wouldn’t want to be late for your appointment, would you?”

My frown turned into a scowl as my thoughts turned to Rarity. “Trust me, I’d rather be anywhere except there. That pony is the most prissy thing I’ve ever seen.”

Gnarl cackled as he spoke. “If you don’t like prissy, then you definitely won’t like Canterlot. Entire city is full of the like.”

Note to self: Burn down Canterlot

“Alright Gnarl. I’ll see you later.” My body began to fade as I felt my mind drawn back to my body. I heard Gnarl say farewell as the throne room disappeared.

“Goodbye Master.”

Settling In

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I yawned as I entered the main room of the library. I could hear the sounds of something being made in the kitchen and judging from the smell it was something good. Twilight was sitting by the table yet again with a book in front of her. She looked up with a smile as I entered the room.

“Good morning!”

Great, she’s a morning person. I, on the other hand, was not. “What’s so good about it?”

“Well somepony is grumpy. Are you feeling alright?”

I waved off her concern as I shuffled toward the kitchen. “I’m fine. Mornings just aren’t for me.” Honestly, I wasn’t sure how I was going to feel in the morning. Now that I knew it wasn’t that I had lost my memory but rather I never had any memories to begin with, everything was sort of a new experience.

I heard Twilight say something else but my sleep-addled brain just couldn’t put together what she said so I ignored it. Whatever it is, it can wait until I wake up. Standing at the entrance to the kitchen I found both a savior for my drowsy state and a somewhat disturbing image making pancakes.

Ponies have coffee? Thank Faust! At least she isn’t sadistic towards me. As I went to grab a mug I tried to ignore the other thing I was seeing. There’s no way that’s actually happening. After all, he is a guy right? No guy would be caught dead with that!

“Oh, hey Don. You don’t look so good.” said a frilly-pink-apron-wearing Spike. As I took a sip of the amazing life giving liquid as I turned to confront this beast.

“Morning’s just aren’t my thing. More importantly, why are you wearing that?”

Spike looked down at his chest for a moment before answering. “What? It’s just an apron.”

“Yes, but it’s a pink apron with frills. You are a guy, correct?”

“Duh, of course I am. This is just the only apron we have.”

I started turning back toward the library. “Then I’ll have to ask Rarity to make something when I see her today. There is no way in hell I’m letting you continue wearing that.”

He almost fell off the stool he was standing on. “R-rarity!? Why are you going to see her?”

“She’s making me some clothes and needs my measurements. She seems real nice so I’m sure she wouldn’t mind adding a baby dragon sized apron to that.”

“Ya, she’s so generous. But don’t you get any ideas!”

Looks like someone has a crush, though he could probably do a lot better. I put on a sly smile as I headed for the door. “Don’t worry Spike. She’s all yours.”

“Ya, she- W-wait! I didn’t-”

“Relax man. Your secret’s safe with me.” That seemed to calm him down enough as I stepped back into the library. Twilight was still at the table reading a book, only from this angle I could see a cup of coffee sitting next to her.

Aha! I knew it. No person, human or pony, could be that cheery in the morning. As I walked over to the table Twilight took notice of my return.

“I see you found the coffee. Good thing I made extra.”

“Thanks Twilight. What have you been reading?”

She looked back at her book as she spoke. “I’ve been trying to see if there is any mention of a ‘human’ in any history books but it doesn’t look like they show up anywhere. It just makes no sense!”

I better hide the book that mentions the old Overlord when I find it. Can’t have Twilight start making up theories. “Well I did assume I was from another world. If that’s true then there wouldn’t be any mention of humans because they wouldn’t have existed here until yesterday.”

Twilight sighed. “I guess that’s the best we’ve got right now. Oh, by the way, the princess replied to your letter.” As she said this a scroll with a sun seal on it floated over to me. “I haven’t opened it yet.”

I grabbed the scroll out of the air and opened it. Definitely the handwriting of a three thousand year old princess.

Dear Don,

I am so glad that my little ponies are treating you so well. I know that sometimes they can be rather skittish but it is good to see my student, Twilight Sparkle, could see past how you appear on the outside.

She has informed me in her letter that you appeared at the strange magic site I had sent her to investigate and that now the site is gone. Stranger still is that you have claimed to have no magical knowledge whatsoever, as well as no memory of your previous life. I cannot say for sure what brought you here but I assure you that I am looking into the matter.

If it is not too much trouble, I would like you and Twilight to come visit me in Canterlot at the end of the week. I have enclosed two train tickets with this letter.

I look forward to meeting you,

Princess Celestia

Well I had expected her to want to meet me, but this part about her ‘looking into the matter’ worries me a bit. I put the letter down for a moment before turning to Twilight. “Looks like we need to go to Canterlot at the end of the week.”

This sent Twilight into hyper crazy mode without warning. “What!? The end of the week? But I have yet to even send her a single report on the magic of friendship!? How can I-”

I can’t believe this. I grabbed Twilight by the horn just like before. “Calm down Twilight. I imagine the only reason she wants you to come with me is because she doesn’t want anything like Rainbow Dash to happen. Besides, you told me you already had done all of your tests on me so you should be fine.”

Twilight’s breathing slowed as her pupils grew back to their normal size. “Right, of course. The princess just doesn’t want you getting hurt. Ya. Ya, that’s it.” I wonder if Equestria has any mental facilities. Just in case.

I let go of her horn as Spike, without his apron, picked the opportune time to walk in. “Pancakes are done.”

* * *

Once we had finished breakfast, Twilight and I headed out to Rarity’s place. Spike practically begged to come with us but Twilight insisted he stay home and finish his chores. Instead of fleeing like they had the previous day, most ponies would just cower on the spot. I think I saw one or two of them faint. I am plotting to be an evil Overlord. Might as well get used to it.

During the walk I got the strangest feeling I was being followed. It didn’t help that every time I turned my head I saw a pink blur disappear behind a corner or duck behind a market stand or just flat out vanish. Eventually we stopped in front of the carousel I had seen from a distance, although it turns out that it wasn’t a carnival ride but just the top of a building.

Wait, please don’t tell me…

“Here we are, Carousel Boutique.”

Damn it!

As Twilight and I walked in a bell hung above the door announced our arrival. The inside of the building was just as colorful and fancy as I had expected. Drapes with frills, mirrors lined with gold, intricate framework. Overall it looked less like a boutique and more like a princess’ dressing room, and every bit of it made me want to gag.

We heard Rarity call out from somewhere outside the room. “Oh, is that you Don? Give me a moment would you?” With nothing better to do Twilight and I sat down in the chairs by the door. It wasn’t long before Rarity walked out wearing a pair of red glasses with a measuring tape floating next to her.

“Good day Don. And Twilight, you’re here as well! I wasn’t expecting you to visit.”

Twilight got up from her chair as she spoke. “We weren’t sure how the rest of the town would react to Don considering what happened yesterday, so I came along just to make sure.”

“Oh my, how awful! Don’t you worry Don, I’m sure within a week Ponyville will see you as just another pony.”

And then I get to show them that they were all right to fear me. “Well if you and the rest of Twilight’s friends are any indication, I’m sure you're right. But enough about that, shall we get started?” Let’s get this over with.

“Of course, just come stand over here and I can get your measurements.” She waved a hoof at a small pedestal that had three mirrors at different angles next to it. I did as she asked and soon she was wrapping measuring tape around every part of my body. Since I was facing away at the moment Rarity started a conversation with Twilight.

“Tell me dear, have you seen Applejack recently?”

“Don and I saw her on the way into town yesterday. Why do you ask?”

“You haven’t been living here that long Twilight, so you should know that applebuck season is next week. It’s the busiest time of year for the Apple Family so I’m a bit worried she might overwork herself.”

“Well it’s a good thing Don and I are going to get him a job at Sweet Apple Acres after this. Maybe with him there things won’t be so bad.”

“Oh I’m sure that would help lighten the load a bit. Still it’s a lot of work. Alright Don, you’re all done. I should have everything done before the weekend.”

I stepped down from the pedestal eager to leave. “Thanks Rarity. I’ll definitely need that suit now since I have to go see the princess.”

“Oh my! A meeting with the princess. What an honor! I will have to make sure this is my best work yet.”

I really hope that doesn’t translate into ‘make it as terrible as this room is’ “I’m sure whatever it is it will look great. Oh, and I have two things I need to ask you. First, do you know what shoes are?"

"I know what horseshoes are. I assume they are something similar."

"Sort of. They are basically coverings for my feet. I don't have a hard hoof like you ponies have so I need something to keep from getting cut up."

"Really? Well then I'll make sure to make something for you. And what was the second thing you needed?"

"I need you to make an apron for Spike.”

The look of confusion on Twilight’s face was one I was starting to get used to. “Spike already has an apron Don. Didn’t you see it this morning?”

“Well ya, but the thing is pink and frilly. Heck, it has a heart on the front of it. Spike’s a guy and unless things are a lot more different here then I thought then he shouldn’t be wearing something like that.” I then turned to Rarity. “I’ll pay for the apron once I get some money from my job.”

Rarity waved a hoof at me as she headed toward her stairs. “Oh sure, that will be fine. Now if you’ll excuse me my head is just bursting with ideas right now!”

* * *

Twilight and I were back on the road again as we headed out to find Applejack. Although a job would take up a lot of time I could spend finding the artifacts, any of my night training would only help my mind. I would need some muscle if I was going to properly heft a sword and I figured a job on a farm would help with just that.

Just as our trip to the boutique, something pink followed us. Eventually I couldn’t help but ask Twilight. “Have you noticed we are being followed?”

Twilight looked behind us. “I don’t see anyone. Who did it look like?”

“I don’t know, all I see is a pink blob before it disappears.”

Twilight snorted in laughter as I feared for my life. What have you brought upon me? “That’s probably just Pinkie Pie. She’s silly like that, though I’m not sure why she is hiding from you. Probably just some game of her’s.”

Soon we made it to the market square where we found Applejack selling apples. Once she had finished with her customer we walked over.

“Howdy there Twilight, Don. How’s it going?”

Twilight, as usual, spoke first. “Hey Applejack. We were wondering if you were looking to hire any help for the farm? Don could use a job.”

“Well sure! An extra set of hooves, or hands for that matter, couldn’t hurt. Especially with applebuck season coming up. You free to work tomorrow morning?”

I nodded. “That sounds good, although I’m going to be out of town this weekend. The princess apparently wants Twilight and I to visit her.”

Applejack let out a low whistle. “Darn tootin’! Hope everything goes swell with your trip then. Now I don’ wanna cut this short but it looks like I got another customer. I’ll see tomorrow bright an’ early.”

* * *

It was around noon when we got back to the library, which I forgot to mention was in a giant tree. I know, ponies apparently like to live in the strangest things. Anyway, just as Twilight was about to open the door she stopped just shy of touching it.

“How about you open it?” I was a bit confused by this but I honestly didn’t care enough to ask. All I wanted to do was find a book and start searching. So I reached down, opened the door and…

Walked inside the library while Twilight stood by the door in shock. She walked in and started looking around for something and it wasn’t long before I had to ask. “What are you looking for?”

She pulled her head out from underneath the table to speak. “I was expecting one of Pinkie Pie's surprise party. She loves throwing parties when someone new comes to town. I figured if she was following us she must have been doing it to make sure we didn’t come home before the party was ready.”

I just shrugged and turned back to the bookshelf I had been searching. I wasn’t really interested in a party to be honest. Especially one made by some crazy pink stalker horse. Twilight on the other hand wasn’t going to let this down.

“I’m going to go see if I can find her. Maybe she just hasn’t finished planning it.” Before I could say anything she was out the door and I was alone in the library.

Or at least I thought I was alone.

Lets see… Dragons… Duels… Everfree… Ah, here we are! The Mortal Life of the Goddess Faust. Hopefully this will…

I turned to find a pink pony standing across the room from me. Her hair was an absolute mess of tangles and poofiness. Combine that with the glare she was giving me and I couldn’t help but chuckle a bit.

“Well hello there. Twilight’s not here at the moment so if you’re looking for a book-”

“Don’t play dumb with me mister!”

“I don’t know what-”

The pony began walking around the room toward me as she spoke. “You may have fooled Twilight into thinking you’re some weak creature who doesn’t know what he’s doing here. You may have the rest of my friends thinking you’re just some nice guy who can’t remember his old life. But I know just what you are! My twitchy tail never lies!”

Wait, WHAT?!?!? “I’m sure you must have me mistaken for someone else.”

“Oh no. My Pinkie sense is spot on. Somewhere behind that nice guy act is something evil. I can feel it! And I will find a way to prove it. Mark my words, I, Pinkamena Diane Pie, will find out the truth! And when you are sent to the darkest pits of Tartarus, you will rue the day you tried to mess with my friends.”

Wha- but how did- this makes no sense! I was completely speechless as Pinkamena slowly backed away toward the door never taking her eyes off of me. Once she was gone my back hit the wall behind me and I slid down to the floor.

How did she find out! I have been so careful. It couldn’t have been the fight with Rainbow, could it? Or maybe she was in the forest and saw Gnarl and me talking. Wait. She said her tail never lies and something about a Pinkie Sense. Could she be psychic? I guess it could be possible in this world.

Around this point Twilight came back, interrupting my mental breakdown. “Pinkie wasn’t where she works. I hope nothing happened to her.”

I managed to find my voice around that time. “About Pinkie, is she a pink pony with poofy hair and balloons for a cutie mark?”

“Yes, that’s her. Did you see her?”

“She came in here yelling about something. She seemed kind of…” Crazy, insane, possibly even psychotic. “nuts.”

“That’s weird. Pinkie usually doesn’t get so riled up. I wonder what got into her.” Twilight shook her head before looking to me with a warm smile. “Don’t worry Don. She really is a nice pony. I’ll go have a chat with her tomorrow while you’re at work.” And with that we both settled into our usual reading places.

* * *

Later that afternoon I was still looking through the book making sure I got any and all information on the artifacts when all of a sudden a familiar rainbow blur flew through the window and pinned me to the wall.

“Don! You’re alright. Thank Celestia.”

I won’t be if you keep doing this. I grabbed the hooves she was using to hold my chest and pulled them off gently. “I’m fine Rainbow. Just a few bruised ribs. I’ll live.”

“Rainbow!” Twilight walked over from where she had been reading her book. “You can’t just come barreling in here like that. Somepony is going to get hurt.”

Or some person. Rainbow didn’t seem to hear her. “Dude, I’m so sorry I hit you so hard. I understand if you hate me for it.”

Wow, someone’s taking it a little hard. “Really Rainbow, there’s no need for that. I’m still alive and you’re not trying to change that so there is really no reason for any of this.”

Rainbow seemed to relax a bit. “Oh, by the way, I’m about to go practice my flight routine if you want to watch.”

I looked down at the book I had been searching through. I guess I could use a break. Plus if I do this there’s a good chance she won’t bother me later. “Sure, sounds like fun. Mind if Twilight comes?”

“Sure. I think everypony else is meeting up on the hill to watch. Pinkie wanted to have a picnic and figured this was a good opportunity.”

If Pinkie’s gonna be there then I better be careful where I step. I can’t give her any reason to continue her suspicions.

Twilight picked up the books and put them back where they belonged on the shelves. “Let me grab Spike and then we will be ready to go.”

* * *

Most of the picnic past by in a blur. I wasn’t interested in talking much to the six ponies or Spike, and I was more concerned with making sure that I don’t do anything to attract Pinkie’s attention. Not that I had to do anything as it seemed like she spent the entire time watching me when she wasn’t talking to the others.

Rainbow Dash’s routine on the other hand was amazing. I didn’t think that something with such small wings would be able to pull off such feats of aerobatics. I figured magic had something to do with it but that didn’t take away from how awesome it was.

After the show Twilight and I headed back home and after a quick look at everything the story had about the artifacts, I went to bed. Just as before I woke up sitting in my throne with Gnarl waiting patiently.

“Good evening Master. You are here early.”

I smiled a bit as I stood up. “I’ve got to be at work in the morning. Figured I should get here so that we still had enough time to do everything we need to.”

“Ah yes, well than let us not delay.”

We began walking to where Clobber held his training sessions. Along the way we discussed what I had learned.

“So Master, did you figure anything else out about Faust’s artifacts?”

“I know that they were a last resort that Faust had planned. She released her power in the form of six objects and gave them to her generals. They then used them to seal away my predecessor deep underground. After the battle they buried them, and from that spot came a tree shimmering like crystal. The story fails to mention where this tree is though.”

Gnarl sneered. “Of course. I’m afraid until we find a new lead we can’t risk having the minions leave the fortress. They will be a sure sign of your return if the princesses find them. And if you can’t bring the minions I’m afraid you’re going to need to be at nearly full strength before you go after any of the nests.”

“What if I got help elsewhere?”

“Elsewhere? Who do you know that is willing to help an evil Overlord take over?”

“No one yet, but I doubt everyone in this world is happy with how it is. I’m sure I can eventually find someone that would be willing to help.”

Gnarl put a claw to his chin as he grinned. “Oh yes. That could work. They would be able to move around much more freely than the minions. But you would need some way of… ah! I’ve got it! Master, may I see the gauntlet for a second. There is something I must show you.”

A Trip to Canterlot

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The next few days consisted of a lot of sweat inducing work as well as a great deal of searching through the library. Nights were spent training and learning more about being the Overlord. The day before my trip to Canterlot was the only break from the routine as that was the day I went to get my clothes from Rarity.

By that point I had stopped bringing Twilight with me for protection and ponies had stopped peeing themselves in my presence. The most I got now were just stares and a few mutterings. When I got to Carousel Boutique, Rarity insisted that she see me in the suit to make sure everything was right.

The suit she made for me looked like a normal suit for the most part. White dress shirt, black slacks, a black bowtie. I didn’t have dress shoes but that was easy to ignore. The only thing that stood out was the jacket. I don’t know if Pinkie came by and started telling her things but something had possessed her to make the suit jacket a dark red, the very same shade that the Overlord armor used. It was a strange choice, but I had to admit it looked pretty damn good.

The rest of my clothes were simple like I asked. They were all single color t-shirts or sweaters with sweat pants to match them. She even made me something that resembled shoes. They basically were pads that had straps on them. The tops were made of something like sponge while the bottom was just rough stone.

I also got that apron I asked her to make for Spike. Only costed me a few bits too. I still find it odd that the pony currency is gold. Back on Earth my daily salary would sustain me for a year.

That night I stayed up until Twilight went to bed and then grabbed Spike from his pet bed. We took his old apron and burned it outside. Even cooked marshmallows over it.

The next day Twilight and I got on the train to Canterlot. Both Twilight and I had brought saddlebags for the trip: mine was extra clothes, while Twilight’s was full of, you guessed it, books.

When we finally stopped at our destination sometime that afternoon, I threw my bags over my shoulder and stepped outside. We didn’t go far before a group of ponies in gold armor came up to us. Seriously? Do these ponies just shit this stuff out?

“Twilight Sparkle?”

Twilight stepped around in front of me. “That’s me.”

“We have orders to take you and your… friend to the castle. If you would follow me.”

Canterlot was much less glamorous than I had expected. For the most part it was like Ponyville with a castle and a different choice in building style. There were a few other buildings you would expect to find in a city but nothing out of the ordinary.

The only real difference were the ponies. Where Ponyville ponies were scared shitless of me, these ponies had their noses so high in the clouds they didn’t even take notice of me. I wasn’t sure if I should be glad I wasn’t attracting attention or if I should start culling the herd. I bet I would be praised for getting rid of them.

Soon we reached the castle, without bloodshed I might add. I did kind of wish one of those Scrouges had tried to start something. Would have given me a reason to fight them. Anyway, the guards led us inside and up to a large set of double doors. One of them darted inside for a minute before swinging the door wide and waving us in.

Inside sat the princess, sitting in a throne room that was rather the opposite of my own. Instead of darkness and pillars this one was wide open space and stained glass windows. Her throne though definitely put mine to shame in its current state. And I thought sitting in my broken throne made me feel too high and mighty. Her throne’s pedestal is on a pedestal!

Looking at the princess herself I could see how she was Faust’s daughter. Despite how close I could have been to death just looking at her gave me a sense of calm. She gave us a small smile as we approached the throne.

“Ah, Twilight Sparkle. It is good to see you my faithful student.” Twilight dropped all manner of formality as she ran up to her teacher. They shared a brief nuzzle before Celestia looked up to address me. “And you must be Don. A pleasure to meet you at last.”

I gave a small bow as I stopped in front of the sun diarch. “The pleasure is all mine. After all it’s not everyday you meet with royalty.”

“Well aren’t you quite the charmer. I can see why my Twilight was so quick to make friends.”

“Well, to be honest, when we first met I sorta hit her on the nose. Not my best moment.” This didn’t seem to dissuade her from her happy mood.

“I’m sure you didn’t mean it. From what Twilight has told me you were rather disoriented when she first found you.”

“Ya, the thing is-”

“Pardon me sister, but we-” Our polite conversation was interrupted as another alicorn entered the room. This one seemed to be the opposite of her sister in color scheme and spoke in what I could tell was an old english accent. She seemed rather shocked by me as she had completely stopped what she was saying to stare.

Deciding it was about time to break the awkward silence, I tried introducing myself. “Uh, hello there. I guess you are Princess Celestia’s sister right?” Our one-sided staring contest continued for a few more seconds before she turned to Celestia.

“Sister, we must talk.”

“Luna, this isn’t a good-”

“Now! This is urgent.”

Celestia sighed in resignation. “Fine, but let us speak elsewhere. Twilight, how about you go show Don the gardens?” Twilight was more than happy to oblige as she hopped up from her spot next to the princess. Soon Twilight and I were heading down one of the massive hallways, Celestia and Luna going the other way.

Once outside Twilight began telling some story about her brother but I lost interest as I looked around the gardens. Soon my eyes were drawn to the castle towers as I looked over their intricate design.

After what felt like only a moment of silent contemplating, I looked around to see Twilight had sat down by a small lake. As I walked over to join her she seemed surprised to see me. “Oh, I didn’t know you were done.”

“Done with what?”

“You seemed to be in deep thought like you usually get so I didn’t want to disturb you.” Does she actually expect that of me now?

I brought my legs up to my chest and wrapped my arms around them. “I was just thinking about what happened in the throne room. Luna seemed to be rather upset by me.”

Twilight looked down at the water rather glumly. “Ya, I know. I’m not sure why though. Maybe she knows something about humans.”

“That’s possible. If it got under her skin like that though I don’t think I want to find out.”

“Really? But what if it was something that could help you figure out who you are?”

I can already guess. “Like I said, if it really is that bad I’d rather never remember. As far as I’m concerned this is who I am now.”

What I said seemed to work as it brought a smile back to Twilight’s face. We sat there in silence for a few minutes before Celestia flew down and landed next to us.

“Ah, there you two are. This is a lovely spot to relax isn’t it.”

“Sure is.” Celestia joined us in relaxation for a good hour or so before something interrupted us. And that something was my growling stomach.

Twilight giggled as Celestia made my embarrassment clear. “Oh my, sounds like someone is hungry.” She stood up and spread her wings in a pony version of stretching. “How about we head to the dining hall to eat?”

Dinner was amazing though it wasn’t the feast you would expect of royalty. Only what was needed was cooked up. Throughout most of the meal Twilight told Celestia everything about Ponyville and then eventually went into talking about what she found out about me. I still wasn’t a magical genius like Twilight but I knew enough by that point to summarize what she said: Human ain’t magical.

Soon all that remained of our meals were empty plates and Twilight had finally finished with her report. I was about to excuse myself when Celestia spoke up. “Excuse me Don, but I was wondering if you could answer a question for me?”

“Sure.”

“I was just curious about your home. What’s it like?”

“Well Twilight already described it to you in great detail. I don’t think I can add much more.”

Celestia rose an eyebrow at this. “So you’re saying your home is Ponyville? Why?”

“I can’t remember what my actual home is back on Earth, and what I do remember of that world is pretty terrible. War, famine, genocide, people there just take advantage of everyone they can. There’s so little good in the world it can’t stand up to all the hatred and greed.”

Celestia seemed rather surprised by my answer but it didn’t take long for her to recover. “Does that mean that if I were to give you the option to return home, would you not take it?”

“I wouldn’t leave Equestria even if you paid me.” This brought back Celestia’s warm smile in a heartbeat.

We had a bit more light conversation and then headed off to our rooms. Celestia had prepared a guest room for each of us so we didn’t have to share. After getting into my pajamas, which were actually the crypt clothes (shut up, they make great pajamas), I slipped into bed. Thankfully it fit my long body so I could get comfortable. Once I was ready I put a hand underneath my pillow and it wasn’t long before I had drifted to sleep.

* * *

It was a sunny day in Ponyville. The kind of day no one could spend inside. That’s just how I was spending it, and who better to spend it with than with my friends.

Rainbow Dash flew up above making loops while Pinkie Pie cheered her on from the ground. Rarity and Fluttershy gossiped as they normally did. Applejack and Twilight went about setting up a picnic nearby. And through it all I sat in a tree just looking over the fields below us with Spike on my shoulders. It truly was a great-

“Oh my. This was not what we were expecting.” I turned my head slowly, so as to not shake Spike off, to see who had decided to join in on the fun. Turns out it was Princess Luna!

“Hey Princess. Beautiful day ain’t it?” Despite how wonderful everything was she seemed rather confused by it all.

“We suppose this is rather nice, but we shan’t let this continue. We must speak to you.” As she said this the entire world began to shimmer and fade. Before long the hill and all of my friends were gone, lost to an endless void of stars.

“What’s going on? Where did everyone go?” My voice seemed to echo in the bleakness of space despite there being nothing for the sound to travel through.

“This is a dream Don. As princess of the night we can enter the dreams of ponies and people alike to speak with them and aid them if need be.”

“Aid them? Am I in some sort of trouble?”

“No Don, rather we believed you to be trouble. For you see, we feared you were a creature we had seen long ago come back to haunt us. However, we are now certain that is not the case as your dreams have shown us you have a kind soul. So for suspecting such an evil thing of you, we- no, I am sorry.”

Seeing Luna so down, I decided the best thing would be to give her a hug. “It’s alright Luna. You were only doing what you thought was right. I can’t hate you for that.”

“Thank you Don. It fills me with joy to know you are so forgiving. Now I have a job I must fulfill so I will let you get back to your dream. Good night Don.” And with that she disappeared. Once I was sure she was gone I looked around the dreamscape as I let a wicked smile begin to form on my face. I didn’t care if anyone heard now as I shouted out to the void.

“Gnarl, you’re a fucking mad genius!”

* * *

Perhaps this warrants a bit of an explanation. I imagine a lot of you were thinking that maybe I had gone soft after my little chat with Twilight? The truth is I played Celestia and Luna like a violin. I had them so fooled I doubt they will ever attempt any of their ‘tests’ ever again.

So yes, I, an entity that has technically been alive for less than a week fooled two three thousand year old princesses into thinking I’m the nicest guy to ever exist. Now the smarter of you probably see the fault in this. How is that possible? How could someone who is a sub-par liar and has no experience in such tricks defeat Celestia and Luna in a game of wits? Well the answer is quite simple really.

Gnarl.

The night after I got the invitation to Canterlot, Gnarl began teaching me everything I would need to get by Celestia and Luna. He knew that Luna had once been Nightmare Moon and that, as a result of a one thousand year banishment, was out of place with the world. As such she was more likely to recognize what I was and would be the one to want my swift execution with little evidence as that was how things worked back then.

Celestia on the other hand would not stand for such an act. She would want to test me, to make sure I wasn’t just faking it and to please her sister’s suspicions. Gnarl was on top of things here as well. He planned for multiple possible tests based on how he had seen Celestia run things and had me learn how to see them and dance my way around them.

For instance, did you know that her sitting by the water with Twilight and I was a test? She knew my old self was ruthless and wouldn’t have just relaxed for so long. How about the questions at dinner? The whole time she had a lie detector spell going so I made sure to say just enough to get her to believe I meant no harm. After all, the only home I technically have is Ponyville. Plus, why would I want to leave Equestria? I’ve got an evil empire to build and there is no way in hell you can make me give that up.

Finally there was Luna entering my dream. Gnarl made sure I was well aware of the dream walker before I left for Canterlot and prepared me for it. I couldn’t go to the fortress as usual because I don’t dream and that would have been a dead giveaway that something was up. Instead Gnarl taught me how to lucid dream and just before bed I pulled my glove off underneath my pillow. Once asleep I made the ‘perfect dream’ and just waited until Luna decided to step in.

Even if I hadn’t had all of Gnarl’s warnings, I still would have known the princesses were going to test me. A little bit of magic and a good eye saw to that. Celestia should think about changing where she has her sisterly talks to somewhere other than a balcony over the gardens. Made it easy prey to the second spell Phglem had taught me. Essentially it allows me to hear something far away. Useful when some of your mortal enemies are plotting against you.

Back in the garden… *

Checking to make sure Twilight was still somewhere close by, I began to force the flow of magic to move through my body as I attempted to direct it into a spell. I slowly shaped the magic as I had been taught, making sure not to make a mistake and lose my progress. Once it was done the sound of birds chirping went silent and was replaced by the Celestia’s voice.

“Luna, I assure you, it isn’t as bad as you believe.”

“And what are we to believe sister? That you haven’t brought the thing that killed our mother into our home? That you haven’t allowed it to walk about free for nearly a week? You know what it is capable of if it is allowed to regain its power.”

“Luna, you have no proof that this is the same creature from when we were kids. Sure it is of similar body shape but that is all that ties him to that demon.”

“Then we find proof. Search his mind for this proof you require and let us be done with him.”

“I will not force my way into what little memories he seems to have just to satisfy your paranoia, sister. That may be how we did things in the past but now we stand by a code when it comes to law. ‘Innocent until proven guilty’.

“So you are willing to put the lives of your ponies at risk just because there is a chance tis naught but an innocent?”

“Luna!” The warm tone of Celestia’s voice had vanished. “I am well aware of the danger, but so far he has been nothing but kind. The monster from our youth would have killed everything in its path the moment it returned. Instead this one has been trying to fit in, to make friends. I will not charge anyone, pony or otherwise, with a crime they have not been proven to have committed. That is final.”

There were a few moments of silence before Luna spoke. “I suppose you are right sister. I am not adjusted to the new customs of this era and it seems I still have far to go. Just… promise me you will watch him. At least for a time just to make sure.”

“I will Luna. Part of me bringing him here was to make sure he isn’t what you fear him to be. Unless we find any evidence I ask that you treat him as a guest.” I heard the sound of hooves slowly fading and I ended the spell.

Now don’t mistake this as me being smarter than the princesses. I’m sure if I didn’t have Gnarl I would be a bloodstain on the wall right now. This just happened to be a situation in which what they expected wasn’t even close to what was actually there. Celestia and Luna tested me, expecting a brute that was just barely hiding under the radar. Instead they went up against someone who knows what they are doing and gets pretty good advice too.

Anyway, that about sums it up. Back to the story.

* * *

I broke myself away from the dreamscape just so I could replace the gauntlet, then I quickly made my way to the fortress. I wasn’t surprised to not find Gnarl waiting for me. I had told him not to wait as usual since I had to deal with Luna. The night was only half over though so I figured at the least I could give the old imp a pat on the back for a job well done.

I got up from my throne and stretched a bit before putting my hands to my mouth. “Hey Gnarl! Come out here you horrid, disgusting abomination.” It wasn’t long before I heard him shuffling towards me and only a few seconds more before he was visible.

“Ah Master! I trust things went well with the princesses?”

“Well? They went amazingly! They didn’t suspect a thing. Somehow you managed to get me through the black hole that was this trip alive. If there’s some position above the one you’ve got right now, considered yourself promoted!”

“Oh, well thank you Master. I do pride myself on a job well done, and tricking those princesses was a pleasure in itself. Oh how I wish I could have seen their smiling faces as you pulled the wool over their eyes!”

“You worked a miracle today, no doubt about that. Now then, you want to see if Clobber is awake?”

“If he’s not I’ll make sure that whatever dream he’s having becomes a nightmare.”

Now that put a real smile on my face. “What would I do without you, Gnarl?”

Antics and Arrangements

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As we were leaving the next day, Celestia gave Twilight and I tickets to some ball that was happening in a few months. She even made sure Twilight had enough for all her friends to come with her, including Spike. I wasn’t sure what was so amazing about the Grand Galloping Gala but Twilight didn’t stop bouncing in glee until we were on the train.

Once back in Ponyville we learned that Big Mac, who I did confirm to be Applejack’s brother, had pulled a few muscles trying to lug a cart with too much in it. As such he couldn’t help with the harvest that was only days away. Twilight and the others wanted to help but Applejack was rather stubborn about it. Didn’t stop them from trying to convince me to talk to her about it though. Whenever they did my only response was “Applejack’s family owns the farm. I’m not going to question her judgement.”

Thankfully we ended up not needing their help. We got through applebuck season in record time in fact and that might have been due to me using magic to make lifting things easier.

Once that was done things went back to their normal routine of work in the morning, searching for anything about a crystal tree in the evening, and then training at night. Once in awhile I was forced to hang out with the ponies. Usually consisted of me just going through the motions and avoiding Pinkie Pie. The only person I actually enjoyed being around was Spike.

I don’t know how but Spike and I became bros pretty quickly. Maybe it was just because the male to female ratio in this town seriously favored the latter. Whenever the both of us had enough of the girls we would go have some man time, just the two of us. This more often than not consisted of us doing the things Twilight normally wouldn’t allow us to do, which I think made it all the sweeter. To be honest, if he didn’t obviously care for Twilight so much I would have offered him a position in my evil empire.

Anyway, things followed this pattern for about a week and a half before something different happened. It started as a fairly normal day. I had just finished work and was heading back to the library when I heard thunder. First I looked up but didn’t see any storm. With that not being a possibility I looked around until I found Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash talking with Spike by the town hall. From what I could tell they had scared him using a cloud.

Oh ya, by the way, pegasi can manipulate the weather. No questions, just roll with it.

Soon the two ponies had left to go scare some other poor sap I assumed. I decided to go over and help Spike pick up the scrolls he hadn’t burned away with his fiery hiccups.

“Hey Spike, need a hand?”

“Oh” *hic* “hey Don” *hic* “sure” I grabbed the remaining scrolls as Spike attempted to control himself but to no avail. I then got a nasty idea and quickly feigned terror.

“S-spike. W-what is th-th-that?” I pointed somewhere behind him as the ignorant dragon turned around.

“What is it?” *hic” “It isn’t a” *hic* “m-monster is it?” With him facing away I didn’t need to hide my evil grin as I crept up behind him.

“Boo!” That made him jump about twice his height into the air. Once he had landed he turned himself around.

“Hey! What did you do that for?”

“To get rid of your hiccups. They’re gone now, see?” That and I just wanted to scare you. It took him a few seconds to realize this but once he did he wasn’t mad anymore.

“Oh ya! Thanks Don.” I handed him the scrolls and we both started heading to the library. As we stepped inside Twilight was hard at work mixing chemicals or something like that.

“Hey Twilight, whatcha working on?” Her only response was to shush me as she wrote something down on her easel. As she turned to mix the chemicals I noticed the ink disappear from the paper.

“Um Twilight, I think-”

“Not now Don!” She watched as the mixture turned purple, but when she turned to look at her notes she noticed the same thing I had. She began to freak out as she looked between the paper and the bubbling mixture before it finally exploded in a puff of smoke.

Right after we began to hear giggling from outside the window. We all looked to see Pinkie and Rainbow laughing up a storm. Twilight simply smiled and went to get another ink bottle to replace the one they had sabotaged while I watched the two of them run off.

Pranking huh? Better stay inside where it’s safe. Something tells me Pinkie would use this as a chance to ‘accidentally’ put me in the hospital.

“Oh no, looks like I’m out of ink. Don, would you mind going out and getting some more?”

Damn you Faust! You did that on purpose. “I dunno Twilight. With those two on patrol I’m not feeling up for walking around.”

“Oh don’t be silly. They’re just harmless pranks. What’s the worst that could happen?”

Of course she says that. Doesn’t she know the probability of something bad happening skyrockets when you say that? “Fine.”

I made my way toward the market as quickly as I could without looking like a murderer was after me, which there might as well have been. It wasn’t until on the way back that something happened. I was walking along a road that went by a steep hill when I heard a pink poofy demon shout “FIRE!”

I turned around fast to find myself looking down the barrel of a cannon! Where the hell did she get that!? Before I could even react a clump of confetti, streamers, and other party goods hit me dead center and sent me airborne. Didn’t take long for me to hit the ground only I wasn’t on the road anymore, I was sliding down the hill.

Having been blinded by colorful paper I quickly began pulling at my face. Once I could see I found I was only about three seconds from going face first into a nasty looking bramble. Thankfully my training took over from there. I lifted my hands and used them as a physical medium to focus my magic. I then pushed off the ground with all my might both magical and physical and soon I was airborne once again. This time however when I landed I started to tumble until finally...

*SPLASH*

I landed in a shallow river on my ass. All the paper party favors clung to me as they became as soaked as I was. Overall I was not happy, and I imagine Fluttershy could tell that as she approached me rather sheepishly.

“Um, Don? Are you okay?” I didn’t answer as I knew if I said or did anything right now I was very likely to kill something. I resigned to just sitting there and taking deep breaths in an attempt to calm down before-

“Hiya Don! That looked like fun. You wanna go again?” Pinkie Pie was bouncing around as happy as can be as she secretly antagonized me which did nothing good for my mood. I thankfully found enough self control to stand up and walk over to the side of the river Fluttershy was standing on before saying anything.

“I really need to get back to the library. Twilight needs her ink.” For the most part my voice sounded rather strained. Thankfully Fluttershy was more worried about my condition then how I was acting. Wasn’t long before a giggling Rainbow Dash came down the hill with a cloud holding the cannon.

“That was awesome! We got you good Don.” By now my anger was all directed at Pinkie so I managed a smile.

“Ya, you got me. You two are definitely the pranking champs around here. Now I really need to head back. I don’t want Twilight to freak out or anything.”

Pinkie Pie jumped across the river and held out a set of saddlebags I quickly identified to be mine. “Here Don. You dropped this.”

For a moment I was hesitant to touch them as I expected them to explode as soon as I did. Before any of the others could get suspicious though I grabbed them and started walking down the river toward the bridge that would lead back into town.

Once I was well away from anyone I found myself a small clearing to hide in while I worked. First I took on the task of removing all the party junk from me. A bit of magic telekinesis helped speed this up but it was still tedious as hell. I also couldn’t do anything about being wet unfortunately.

With the pile of paper next to me I took on my next task of making sure whatever trap Pinkie had set in my bags would not get the better of me. I levitated them out about ten feet before gently opening one of the bags. Nothing happened with the first, however the second one shot out another salvo of confetti and streamers. These seemed to have the added bonus of glue as I watched it all stick to the side of a tree.

Nice try! I couldn’t help but smile at my small victory. I made double sure that nothing else had been booby trapped before returning the bag to my hand and throwing it over my shoulder. By the time I got back to the library I had dried off so it seemed like nothing had happened.

Twilight on the other hand was rather annoyed by my tardiness. “What took you so long?”

I pulled a bottle of ink out of the bag and held it out for her magic to grasp. “Pinkie and Rainbow happened. I ended up having to pick wet confetti off of me for about half an hour.”

“I suppose that sounds rather annoying but still harmless. I told you you were acting silly.” She took the cap off the ink once it was at her side and started writing. She wrote out her notes as before, and just as before it disappeared.

As Twilight stared at the paper in shock I could feel my eye twitching. My anger finally boiled over as I raised my fists to the air and yelled at the top of my lungs.

“PINKIE PIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!”

* * *

I spent the rest of the day inside to keep myself from killing anyone. In the state I was in I was a bomb waiting to go off. Fortunately a night of evil training and plotting was all I needed to feel right as rain. Not so fortunately my work for the following day consisted mostly of cleaning paint off of apples. Guess who was responsible for that?

Work aside, my day did turn out a bit better when Pinkie suddenly fell from the sky with some popped balloons. It was rather hilarious to see her land on her head like that. She didn’t even notice me as she quickly recovered and ran off. A few seconds later I saw her flying above in this thing that looked like the cross between a bicycle and a helicopter.

How in the world does she make this stuff? I shrugged and continued walking but it wasn’t long before she came back down, her contraption shattering as it spun out of control. This time I couldn’t help but laugh as loud as I could.

This got her attention real quick. “Shut up you! This is no time for laughing.”

I wiped away a tear as I tried to compose myself enough to speak. “F-from where I’m standing this is a perfect time to laugh.”

She huffed and started heading toward town. “I don’t have to deal with you right now. There’s some mean ol’ griffon here that claims to be Dashie’s friend but she’s nothing but a bully. She broke my Ppafbr!”

A griffon that Pinkie doesn’t like AND broke one her silly contraptions? Sounds my kind of gryphon. “Alright have fun.” I started heading toward town trailing behind Pinkie.

It wasn’t long before she just had to talk again. “Stop following me!”

“I’m not following you. We’re going to the same place.”

“Ya right. Next you’re gonna say you are going to Twilight’s too.”

“Actually I am. I do live there after all.”

“A likely story. What evidence do you have to support these claims?”

I can’t believe this. “How about the fact that I sleep there, I eat a good amount of my meals there, and, this might be a stretch, but how about you just ask any of your friends where I live?”

“I’ll be sure to.” Okay, at this point she’s just trying to annoy me.

Soon we were both at the library. Pinkie actually did ask Twilight if I lived here which, after some confusion, she did testify to the fact. I didn’t stay to hear whatever it was she wanted to talk to Twilight about as I had something else to do rather than my normal studying.

I think it’s about time I made a real friend, and it sounds like this griffon and I have a lot in common.

* * *

I spent the afternoon searching for Rainbow Dash and the griffon in hopes that I could meet her but had no such luck. Since Pinkie had gone to such degrees earlier to reach them in the sky I assumed they were still up there. With nothing better to do I decided to walk around town until they returned to earth.

As I was walking about I spied Pinkie Pie only she wasn’t happy and this time it wasn’t because she saw me. She sat outside Sugarcube Corner drinking a milkshake looking glum. Suddenly she stopped and dropped down, nearly knocking her milkshake off the table. I followed her eyes to see Rainbow Dash and who I assumed to be the griffon coming in for a landing.

Perfect. I walked over and leaned against a building while I cast my hearing spell on the griffon. Soon my hearing had been replaced with the sound of a conversation being had over wind currents. Rainbow Dash’s voice was the first one I heard.

“I gotta take care of a few weather jobs around here. Shouldn’t take long. Just hang out in town and I’ll come find ya.”

The two of them landed as the griffon spoke. “That’s cool I guess. I’m gonna go chow down!” Rainbow Dash flew off as I watched the griffon look around with a cocky smirk on her face before spying Granny Smith, one of the apple family, making her way toward a vegetable stand.

As Granny went to sniff the produce to see if they were fresh, the griffon used her tail to scare Granny into thinking there was a snake. Soon she was freaking out and running just a tad faster than her usual snail pace.

Enjoys picking on those weaker than her. So far so good.

As she left the stand she gave the pony running it a comment about how fresh her tomatoes were. Afterward she walked by a fruit stand, and as the ponies were all distracted she used her tail to swipe an apple and eat it in one bite.

Feels no remorse toward stealing. Not bad, not bad.

Taking a quick glance at Pinkie I noticed she had failed to see me yet but she seemed to have noticed everything I had about the griffon. As I looked back I saw what was about to happen and couldn’t help but grin. Alright, let’s see what you can do.

Fluttershy was leading a group of ducklings down the road and didn’t notice as she backed into the griffon. Even with my spell cast I could barely hear Fluttershy.

“Please excuse me.”

The griffon on the other hand was not so polite. “Hey! I’m walking here.”

Fluttershy began to slowly back away from the griffon. “Oh, oh, I’m sorry, I just, um-”

“Oh I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” The griffon said in a mocking impression of Fluttershy’s voice before returning to her own. “Why don’t you just watch where you’re going doofus?” She didn't let Fluttershy get away as she walked forward, sending the family of ducks scattering.

“But, bu- bu-, I…”

Then the best thing I could have hoped for happened. The griffon took in a deep breath and then let out a lion’s roar right in Fluttershy’s face. It took her a total of two seconds to start running away, tears flowing from her face.

While the rest of the town was watching in shock I was just trying to hide my smile. I couldn’t have imagined a better way for that to have gone! I want- no, I need this gryphon as one of my servants!

As the gryphon looked around she blatantly told the town “All these lame ponies are driving me buggy. I gotta bail.” And with that she flew off. I took this moment to end the spell and look at Pinkie Pie who seemed to be having some kind of internal struggle. I wonder… I walked up to her and as I did I could hear her speaking.

“Nobody makes Fluttershy cry. This calls for extreme measures, Pinkie Pie style!”

I figured as much, but this might be the opportunity I need. “Hey Pinkie. Want some help with taking care of her?”

Pinkie turned and glared at me. “Why would I want your help?”

“Because I want that griffon out of this town just a badly as you do. Come on Pinkie. Can’t we have a truce just for one day?” I held out my hand as Pinkie continued to glare. She held a hoof up as if to think about it but then firmly placed it in my hand and we shook.

“Alright, for now. But you do as I say. Understand?”

“Crystal clear.” This at least stopped Pinkie from glaring at me. “So what’s the plan?”

“First we need to find Rainbow Dash.”

* * *

The plan was pretty simple, though for Pinkie Pie levels of intelligence it was pretty good. Basically we convinced Rainbow Dash to prepare a bunch of pranks for the gryphon, named Gilda, at a party Pinkie set up. What we hoped to happen was that eventually she would get so mad she would blow her cover in front of Rainbow. Basically it’s what she’s been trying to do to me ever since I got here.

Once the party was set up I told Pinkie good luck and waited outside. There I ran into Gilda and Rainbow just before they entered.

“Hey Rainbow. I assume this is the guest of honor?”

“Yep. Don, this is Gilda. She’s an old friend from flight school. Gilda, this is Don. He’s a…”

“Human.”

“Right. He’s a human Twilight found in the Everfree Forest.”

This fact seemed to peak her interest. “The Everfree Forest? What were doing out there?”

I shrugged. “Not sure, I’ve got little memory of anything beforehand. Twilight and I think I’m from some other world or something.”

“Well you certainly look like an alien. I’ll see you inside Dash.” Gilda walked in while Rainbow and I continued are chat.

“It’s great to see that you and Pinkie Pie are starting to become friends.”

“I wouldn’t go so far as to say that. It is good to know we can put our differences aside for a day to help a friend.”

“Well either way I appreciate it. I’m gonna head inside now. You coming?”

“Nah. Parties aren’t really my thing. Plus I’m pretty tired from setting up. We can’t all run on sugar like Pinkie Pie.”

That got a chuckle out of Rainbow. “Ya, that’s true. See ya later.” Once she was inside I let my kind smile shift to a devilish grin as I took a seat at one of the tables outside Sugarcube Corner.

Now all I need to do is wait.

And it took a lot less time than I had predicted. After about an hour I heard a familiar lion roar come from the bake shop. The sun was close to setting by this point and I had taken to watching it up to now. I only had to wait another minute before Gilda came storming out, slamming the door behind her.

“I can’t believe Rainbow Dash! How dare she choose those lame-os over me! And Pinkie Pie! Oh, if I had the chance I would-”

Looks like that’s my cue. “I do love watching a bit of rage. You never know what someone might do!” Gilda turned looking about ready to kill me but I didn’t move from my seat.

“What’s it to you pal!? You think this is some sort of a show?” She pounced onto the table in front of me snapping it in half. Still I did not move.

“A show? No, not really. I see this more as a business opportunity. One that both of us could benefit from.”

“And why would I want to listen to anything you have to say?”

I let my grin fall as I took on a more sinister tone of voice. “Because just like you I despise these ponies. Everyday their annoying antics drive me to the brink of madness, and unlike you I can’t just leave town.”

My show of anger seemed to calm her down. “I don’t get it. What’s keeping you from leaving?”

“Let’s just say there are very powerful individuals that would find my disappearance… unsettling.” I brought back my smile. “But I wasn’t sitting here waiting just because I want to talk about myself. No, I want to talk about you.”

“Ya? You said something about an opportunity. Well what could you give me that I don’t have?”

“How about the chance for revenge? Wouldn’t you love to just grind Pinkie Pie’s nose into the dirt? Or how about Rainbow Dash? Or the rest of the ponies who laughed at you and mocked you?”

She was surprised for a moment by what I was saying but seemed to understand it. “Who are you? You don’t seem like the friendly guy I met earlier.”

“The person you met before is a ruse, a mask that I wear. My name is Dominus, Don for short. As for anything beyond that…” I stood and started walking. “You’re going to have to follow me if you want to find out. I should warn you though, what I am about to offer isn’t for the weak.”

This brought back Gilda’s brash attitude. “Weak? Please, I ain’t no pony.”

And that was the day Gilda the griffon disappeared off the face of Equestria.

My Worst Nightmare

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Little happened for the next few weeks, at least little that mattered as far as being the Overlord. First some prideful magic mare came into town claiming she could beat an Ursa Major, which is some gigantic star bear. I was somewhat impressed and thought about inviting her to join me but that idea quickly got swept aside when an Ursa Minor, a cub, got dragged into town by a couple of idiots. The first thing that “Great and Powerful” mare did was run for the hills and Twilight was the one who ended up getting rid of it.

Next a dragon took up residence nearby, and I’m not talking about Spike. This dragon was huge, and was spewing smoke everywhere. Apparently the smoke was more a threat to Equestria than the dragon itself so we all had to climb up the mountain it was sleeping on so that each of the ponies could try to get him to leave. I even got a shot at it though I wasn’t really trying. It was all over when Fluttershy finally ponied up and used that freaky stare of hers.

Finally, Applejack and Rarity came over for a sleepover during a storm. Thankfully once I’m at the fortress it takes a lot more than some mares having a fight to wake me up.

Now in the latest of incidents to come to Ponyville, I found myself sitting in Sugarcube Corner with all the lights off while everyone around me freaks out.

“I still don’t understand why we’re all sitting here in the dark.” The only response I continued to get from any of the ponies was “shush.”

I swear if I don’t get an answer soon I’m going to blow the door down!

Applejack stood by the front window looking for something. “I don’t see her, do you Rainbow?”

Rainbow was acting as lookout on the other side. “Nothing yet. Oh wait! Twilight and Spike are here!”

Rarity gasped. “Oh no, we must warn them!” Pinkie swung the top half of the door open and started waving frantically.

“Psst! Twilight! Spike! Come here! Come! Here! Hurry! Before she gets you!” Soon Twilight and Spike jumped into the room. While Spike freaked out Twilight started asking the same questions I had been for the past half an hour only with actual results.

Turns out everyone in town, except Twilight and I, were afraid of some supposedly evil zebra named Zecora. Funny thing is their only evidence to prove this was that she lived in the Everfree Forest. Even Applebloom, Applejack’s little sister, could tell everyone was acting like a bunch of idiots, but whenever she tried to speak up about it Applejack wouldn’t let her.

Twilight vocalized exactly what I was thinking. “Wait, so you’re afraid of her because she looks different and she comes from the Everfree Forest? You do know Don fits that description too, right?”

“Well darling, Don doesn’t have those horrid stripes!” I think Twilight and both rolled our eyes in tandem. While she continued arguing how ridiculous everyone else was acting I managed to catch Applebloom slipping out of the building.

My, my, what do we have here? Looks like somepony doesn’t want to listen to their sister. I looked around real fast to make sure everyone was focused on Twilight while I casted my newest spell on myself. Before going anywhere I tested it by slamming my hand against the floor. No sound was made. Perfect.

I made my way outside and saw Applebloom darting in and out of cover as she followed Zecora out of town. I started to follow as well and it wasn’t long before we made it to the edge of the Everfree. As Applebloom reached the edge of the forest she stopped and looked up at the trees in fear.

I walked up behind her and removed my sound canceling spell so I could speak. “Come on Applebloom. You ain’t scared, are you?”

“Wah! Don, howja-” I didn’t stop walking after Zecora as I scooped Applebloom up and placed her on my shoulders.

“Don’t you want to show your sister what a big pony you are?” She seemed to think about what I was saying for a moment as she wrapped her hooves around my forehead.

“Ya! Zecora ain’t that scary. You came from the forest and you’re not scary.”

Ah, the ignorance of youth. Who am I kidding, this kid is smarter than most of the population of Ponyville! “Well then let’s show them you’re right.” The forest wasn’t as bad as the ponies would lead you to believe. It looked dark and spooky but that’s about all it had going for it.

We were about to get close enough to speak with Zecora when suddenly a very angry older sister yelled out behind us. “Applebloom! You get back here right now!” Before I could react Applejack kicked me aside and caught her sister in midair. I ended up face first in a field of blue flowers.

As I tried to figure out which way was up I heard a tribal sounding voice but could not figure out what was being said. The ponies seemed to ignore whatever it was as they yelled back at who I assumed to be Zecora. By the time I had sat up, Twilight had just finished explaining how curses were fake. Applejack took this moment to walk over and scold me.

“What were you thinking bringing ma sister in here? She could have been cursed by that creepy witch Zecora!”

As I rubbed my back in an attempt to alleviate the pain, I tried my best not to let my anger get the better of me. “I was thinking you were all acting crazier than usual. You still have no proof that Zecora is this evil enchantress. Oh, and by the way, thanks for the kick to the back.”

She just shook her head and started walking away. “Well you deserved it. Bringing a foal in here, I can’t believe it.” Twilight walked over and helped me up.

“You alright Don? Don’t worry about Applejack. She’ll be back to her normal self tomorrow.”

“Ya, I’m fine. I just feel sorry for Applebloom.” Though the way Applejack treats her gives me an idea.

“The Apple Family can be a bit protective of their kin, but we have more important things to worry about now. We need to figure out how were going to get everypony to stop being so afraid of Zecora.”

“Sounds good to me. I don’t want to risk another applebucking.”

* * *

After a normal night in the fortress, I woke up feeling even worse than I usually did. The first thing I noticed was that I seemed to be having trouble grabbing the blanket. Ugh, why are mornings so difficult? Finally I just groaned and rolled over to get it off.

Next I noticed something in my field of vision that when I reached up it turned out to be my nose. I guess I hit the ground harder than I thought yesterday. Looks like my nose swelled up pretty bad.

The final thing that tipped me off to something being wrong was that when I tried to stand up I fell right back down again. I managed to catch myself but when I did my hands didn’t look right.

Is… is that a hoof? Wow, how tired am I? I looked around and found my mirror. After a few seconds of squinting I managed to see a pony standing in it. Haha Pinkie. I get it. Day after the whole ‘zebra curse’ thing you put a picture of some pony over my mirror just to scare me. And just to prove my point I waved at the mirror because if it was a joke there’s no way it would… wave… back…

It waved back. IT WAVED BACK?!?!?

Suddenly I was wide awake as I started looking over my body. I’m a pony! Why am I a pony!? Let’s see, brown coat, Overlord red hair, seems my gauntlet has changed to a bracer. I don’t have an evil Overlord cutie mark thankfully and… wings? Yep, those are wings. I’m going to freak out now.

And I did.

After I finally screamed my head off, Twilight rushed into my room. “Don, what’s going-” She saw me and I saw her horn covered in polka dots and flopping around like something that children shouldn’t know about. I also noticed a strange smell start to fill the room.

“Um, Twilight, there’s something-”

“Don!? You’re a pony? How? Why? When? This doesn’t make any sense!”

“Then this is probably a bad time to tell you your horn is… limp.” The smell was getting stronger and I was now finding it more difficult to think straight.

“Limp?” She turned to look in the mirror. “What are you- DAAAAAAAH!” She then broke down into short utterances as she attempted to keep what little sanity she had. Unfortunately I had no hands to do my usual thing to calm her down and since I was having trouble getting on my hooves (shut up, it’s hard to walk on four limbs after living a life on two) I was instead forced to yell.

“Twilight! You need to calm down if we’re going to figure this out! Just take some deep breaths or something while I try to figure out how to walk.” And as I said this I fell on my face- or muzzle I suppose- leaving my rump in the air. Twilight took my advice and started breathing. By the time she was as calm as she was going to get I had managed to stand up on wobbly hooves. It was all I could concentrate on as the odor continued to assail my mental functions.

“Alright. We need to find a cure. After all, curses aren’t real, right Don?” I couldn’t see straight by this point as I felt some sort of primal urge start to take over. I could hear Twilight speaking but couldn’t make out any of it. I just had one thing on my mind and that was-

Suddenly the cloud in my mind was gone as I fell forward. I glanced up to see Twilight standing over me with a worried look on her face. I could also see something sticking out of my nostrils.

My voice sounded nasally with my nose clogged. “Ugh, what… what happened? All I could think about was...” I let it end there as my face went red.

“Are you okay? I’m so sorry! I should have realized that you wouldn’t have had a built up immunity to my hormones.”

I managed to stand back up on my hooves but walking still wasn’t going to happen. “Wait a minute, hormones? What the hell are you talking about? What did you do to me?”

Twilight was rather embarrassed by whatever had happened but spoke anyway. “Well, pony mares go into heat once a month. When they do they release hormones to attract males. Most stallions build up an immunity while growing up so they never have to worry but you just became a full grown stallion today. Your body couldn’t handle it so it tried to… well…”

And I hit the floor once again. “WHAT!? I nearly- and you- but I- we- that-” I continued having my own version of a Twilight mental breakdown until I managed a question. “So… why am I not… ‘trying’ anymore? I doubt you can just turn your heat off.”

“That’s why I plugged your nostrils. That scent you smelled was the hormones. Now we need to find a cure. I’m sure it’s in one of the books we have in the library.”

“Alright… alright… that’s good. Just one problem.”

“What?”

“I can’t walk.”

* * *

After promising never to speak about our near love affair again and about a good half an hour of trying to help me walk, I had managed to learn and get into the library proper. When Spike first saw me he thought Twilight had finally gotten a coltfriend but I was quick to bash him upside the head. We then spent the next few hours trying to figure out what had happened. During that time I found that not only was I almost completely incapable of doing anything physical but I also had lost the ability to do any spells.

I could have been a unicorn but nooooooo. I hadn’t figured out how to move my wings so they just stuck out of my sides awkwardly. This made it even harder when it came to walking as they made balancing difficult. As such I resigned to just sitting in a corner as Spike passed me books to look through.

Our search was suddenly interrupted by a Pinkie Pie with an inflated tongue. Oh sweet Faust that’s funny. I managed to keep myself from laughing though as Twilight tried to decipher what she was saying. Soon everyone else had arrived each with a hilarious issue and I was having a harder and harder time trying not to laugh. By the time Fluttershy had come in speaking at a level of voice that would put Big Mac to shame I couldn’t hold it in anymore. Thankfully Spike agreed with me though his laughter didn’t end up with him hitting the floor.

“This is hilarious. Look at all of you. We got Harity, Rainbow Crash, Spitty Pie, Appleteenie, Flutterguy, and… I got nothing for you Twilight. But Don here is the best of all of you. Got turned into a pony that can barely walk!”

I suddenly realized that every mare in the room except Applebloom was giving me a weird look. “What? You all look like you haven’t seen a stallion tripping over his own hooves before.”

As I slowly stood back up Twilight got close so she could whisper. “Um, Don? Remember when I said that mares go into heat once a month?”

“Um, ya?”

“Well, when mares live with each other, like for instance Ponyville, their heat cycles… sync up.”

I suddenly felt closer to death then when I went to visit the princesses. “So… you mean…”

“About 90% of the female population of Ponyville is right now in heat.” And with that my head hit the floor, only this time I did it on purpose. That’s it! You win Faust! Just turn me back now and I’ll promise to dedicate my life to being good and peaceful and all that junk. Don’t subject me to this hell!

With my prayer apparently unheard, Rarity tried to speak between spitting out hair. “It’s not all bad Don. You’re actually a rather handsome stallion.” I only groaned in response. Don’t start hitting on me now Rarity! It didn’t take long before an argument had started once again over Zecora. As I got back up Applebloom walked over to me.

“Oh Don, this is all my fault. If I had never followed Zecora in the first place none of this would have happened.”

I sat down so I could put a hoof on her shoulder. “This isn’t your fault. Whatever is going on we can figure it out.” Looking back at the arguing mares I suddenly got an idea. “Hey, I bet Zecora might know what did this to us. If we want her help though we’re going to need to get there before this angry mob.”

“That’s a great idea! But how are we going to do that? You can’t walk that good.”

“Just help me push my wings in so they are folded. That will make it a lot easier.” A few moments later they had been roughly tucked against my sides. “Alright, let’s go.”

Thankfully fillies don’t have the stride a full grown stallion does so I managed to keep up despite Applebloom running full speed the entire time. As we entered the forest we were stopped by a tiny voice.

Suddenly Appleteenie had dug her way out of Applebloom’s mane. “Stop right there. Both of you better turn around right now!” Applebloom and I both looked at each other before sharing a smirk as we spoke in sync.

“No.”

“No? Whadaya mean no?” Applebloom tossed her ‘little’ sister into her mouth and placed her on a tree branch.

“Sorry Applejack, but I’m the big sister now.” As Applebloom walked away Applejack turned to me.

“Don, you better not do this or I might just have to break those wings of yours before you get a chance to use them!”

“I couldn’t stop Applebloom if I tried. After all, I’ve only been a pony for a few hours. See ya!” I ran off to catch up with Applebloom as Applejack yelled at me. It wasn’t long before we made it to Zecora’s place. With the way it was decorated I wasn’t surprised the ponies had mistook her for an evil enchantress. I might have to get some design tips for the fortress once we start rebuilding. She certainly seems to know how to get that creepy feel.

As we walked up Applebloom knocked on the door. Zecora was quick to answer. “I see that two ponies are here to converse. Is this about your friends’ so-called curse?”

“Ya, they’re on there way here ‘cause they think you made them all silly.”

“Ah, it is a good thing I am preparing the cure. But I do not remember you I am sure.” she pointed to me as she finished her rhyme.

Man, she would make one hell of a rapper. “Well I wasn’t a pony yesterday.”

“Where there was once one human now there is none? How strange, of all changes I have not seen this one.”

“But you have the cure, right?”

“Yes, but I am still missing a few things. Without it you will be stuck with your wings.”

Applebloom spoke up before I could. “I’ll get it for you! Besides, Don here can barely walk.”

“Hey!”

Zecora put a hoof to her chin. “I suppose this will have to do. Let me give you a list so what you find is true.” She went inside for a few moment before returning with a piece of paper.

“Now go find where these plants hide while your friend stays with me inside.”

Applebloom turned and gave me a look filled with confidence. “Don’t worry Don, I’ll find this stuff and be right back.”

What have I got to lose? “Alright, just be careful Bloom.” And then she was off to parts unknown.

“Come along Don. I’m sure the fun has only begun.”

* * *

The inside of her house matched the exterior for the most part. Tribal masks, bottles of who-knows-what, she even had a big cauldron in the middle of it all. It’s like she’s trying to scare ponies away. I resigned to sitting near the wall while Zecora watched the brew. I finally decided to break the silence.

“So Zecora, why do you talk in rhyme?”

“Ah, it’s hard to believe but curses are real, and one forces me to speak with such zeal.”

“Actually I believe it. After some of the things I’ve seen living in Ponyville I’m pretty sure anything is possible.”

“So you haven’t had much time to sit still since you arrived in Ponyville?”

“Actually things are pretty calm there most of the time, although there have been a few crazy happenings.”

“I suppose that is an excuse, but I wasn’t talking about your ruse.”

“I’m afraid I don’t-”

“I have been across this land, and I know the stories of where you began. It was once something very few could afford to be in the presence of the Overlord.” As soon as I realized my cover was blown I took up my combat stance. Thing is I forgot I was a pony and fell on my back a second later.

“You have nothing to fear from me, for without my help, here you would not be.”

I managed to roll over but my wings were now sticking out again which took away from the glare I gave Zecora. “What do you mean?”

“Did you ever wonder where your advisor got the venom to fuel your fire? Twas I who gave them what they needed, including the portal to which I heeded.”

“The portal? What are you talking about?”

“Your mighty fortress, tall and proud, is not just some place underground. It stands in a world all its own, and only if I allow it will the gate be shown.”

“Hang on, I remember now. Gnarl told me all about you. You’re a Gatekeeper.”

“Aye, a Gatekeeper is what I am, and I have served faithfully since your rule began.”

“Well this is a lovely coincidence. You see, there’s something I-” I was interrupted by the sound of Twilight and the others approaching.

“We will have to speak another time. For the cure I will need more than rhyme. In my mind there is no doubt that you should tell those ponies to cut it out.”

“Right, I’ll try but those mares are all nuts and in heat. I might not be able to talk them down.”

“I wish you good luck. Try not to fall in the muck.” As I walked out the door I suddenly realized something. Hey, they were actually right about Zecora! I guess they can’t get everything wrong.

Rarity, Pinkie, Twilight, and Fluttershy poked their heads out of a nearby bush. Once they saw me walking towards them they seemed to calm down a bit but it wasn’t long before accusations were being made.

“Fle’s been plobbesed!” A large amount of spit sprayed on me as Pinkie tried to speak.

Rarity of course took the mess of a sentence her own way. “Well of course he’s underdressed Pinkie. He isn’t wearing any outfit.”

Fluttershy’s guy voice still made me crack a smile. “I think she said possessed.” Pinkie nodded her head vigorously which only served to get more spit on everyone.

Twilight was thankfully still the voice of reason. “He’s not possessed! Don, did you figure out what’s really happening?”

“Zecora isn’t to blame for your ‘curses’. She is actually trying to make a cure right now. You all just need to calm down so she can- wait a minute. Where’s Rainbow?”

My question soon answered itself as an upside down Rainbow Crash came flying in with Appleteenie riding on her belly. The two of them slammed through Zecora’s front door and from inside came a lot of sounds often associated with breaking things.

“Oh no!” I ran to the door but once I had seen what was inside my worry quickly became anger. The cauldron that once held the cure was spilled all over the ground surrounded by destruction. Rainbow Dash had somehow managed to get enough control to stand still while Applejack was having a wrestling match with Zecora’s ear.

“That’s it! I’ve had enough of this shit!” I stormed over to Zecora and pried Applejack off of her with my teeth because I wasn’t sure how else to do it with fucking hooves. I turned back around to see the rest of the ponies had entered to see what was happening.

I pointed at Zecora. “You!” I then waved my hoof over the five ponies. “Explain what the fuck is happening to these ones. I’m gonna go outside and talk to this one.” I made sure to shake Applejack a bit as I said this. I didn’t give anyone a chance to say anything to me as I stomped outside. The entire way Applejack made her displeasure clear.

“Put me down! I’ve gotta save my sister before that nasty witch boils her into a stew.” As she said this Applebloom stepped out of the woods with a saddlebag full of plants.

“Don? Why do you have Applejack in your mouth?”

I’m really glad she’s too young to realize how dirty what she just said sounds. “Go inside Applebloom. I need to talk with your sister alone.” She obliged, which I was glad for since I was about to do a lot of cursing. I may be evil but I’m not gonna be the one to introduce that kind of language to a kid.

Once I had stepped a good distance away from the hut I dropped Applejack unceremoniously on her ass. Her tiny stature didn’t stop her from starting the impending argument.

“What the hay are you doing? You just sent my sister to get turned into soup!”

“Your sister is not getting turned into soup! Whatever dumbass gave you the idea that zebras eat meat is stupider than you are right now!”

“Ya, well she still put these curses on us, and I’m gonna make her take them off.” She tried to walk around me but I brought a hoof down in her path. I leaned down so that I was close as I could get.

“First off, this isn’t a curse. If you seriously don’t believe Twilight, who’s special fucking talent is magic, that curses do not exist, then you have a lot less faith in your friends then you let on.”

“Hey, don’t you-”

“Second thing, Zecora isn’t responsible for what happened to us. If you want to blame something blame this forest because it was a plant that made us this way.”

“Ya, well she-”

“Finally, Zecora was working on a cure for us. She knew that this was going to happen and has been trying to help but you decided you had to be a god damn hero and fly in there. That cauldron you knocked over was the cure and now she has to start all over which means you’re going to spend an even longer time as a shrimp and I’m stuck in this fucking pony body! So congratulations! You successfully fucked everything up because you were being too much of a stubborn ass to see what was actually going on!”

By the end of my rant I was breathing heavily. Applejack on the other hand didn’t make a sound. We stood there for what felt like an hour before she spoke up.

“I, uh, I guess I really screwed up huh?”

I was no longer steaming but I still was plenty mad. “Yep, you sure did.”

“Worst part was how I treated Applebloom.”

Not so fast. “I wouldn’t say that. You were just trying to protect her.”

“But she isn’t a baby anymore. I can’t keep treating her like one.”

Normally I wouldn’t care, but I need her to continue pushing Applebloom. “Applejack, without parents you’re the only one who can really watch out for her. Yes, there will come a time when Applebloom doesn’t need you anymore. Eventually she will learn how dangerous the world can be. Until that day though you have to be there to tell her how bad things are, to guide her. Without you, Applebloom won’t be able to realize her potential.”

For a moment Applejack thought about what I had said before looking up at me with a smile. “I think I get what you’re saying. And sorry about everything. I was being a bit of an ass wasn’t I?”

I smirked before saying “I wouldn’t say just a bit.”

“Don’t push it. I may be small but I bet if I buck one of your legs you’ll be on your face faster than you can say timber.”

We both laughed for a bit before I picked Applejack up and put her on my back. “Let’s head back inside. I’m sure by now everyone else has been caught up by Zecora.”

* * *

Since the first batch of cure had been ruined we had to wait another day before we could be changed back. During that time we introduced Zecora to the town so that they wouldn’t freak out anymore. Good thing too because having a Gatekeeper nearby is incredibly useful, especially since they can open the way to my fortress anywhere I chose.

The next day everyone met at the spa to be cured. Despite how much I hated being a pony I let everyone else take a dip first. As Twilight climbed out she called me over.

“Alright Don, your turn.” I walked over to the edge of the pool and looked at my reflection in the water. Before I could dive in though apparently everyone wanted to try and convince me not to.

First, Rarity. “Are you sure Don? I’m sure I could make you some wonderful suits if you stayed a pony.”

Then Fluttershy. “Plus the town would be more accepting of you.”

Rainbow Dash flew in and poked one of my wings. Whatever she did cause it to unfurl completely. “And look at those wings! I’m sure I could have you soaring across the sky in a week.”

Applejack had finally gotten the bucket off her flank. “You’d be able to buck apple trees. That would make work go a heck of a lot faster.”

Pinkie Pie actually didn’t say anything for once. I know, crazy right? Twilight was the last to speak. “And what Rarity said back in the library was true. You are rather… good-looking as far as stallions go.”

Hmm… should I?

Who am I kidding? I wouldn’t stay in this body even if I had to sacrifice the town to change back! I jumped into the air and shouted “CANNONBALL!!!” Once in the water I simply floated for a bit so the cure could take effect before kicking back towards the edge. As I broke the surface I put my hooves on solid ground.

Wait… hooves!?

I picked up one of the disgusting appendages and simply stared at it as I attempted to retain my quickly deteriorating sanity. And when that didn’t work I screamed.

“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!”

Forced to Adjust

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“Don, would you quit sulking already?”

How would you like if suddenly all of your evil plans fell through? Since the day I DIDN’T turn back into a human, my schedule has been completely filled by looking for a way to fix it and ignoring everyone as they tried to get me to enjoy being a pony. I didn’t even go to work since Applejack gave me time off ‘to adjust’, but why waste time adjusting to something that isn’t going to stay.

“Come on Don! Being a pony isn’t that bad.”

Twilight had run some tests and sent the results to Celestia. Her reply could be narrowed down to “I’ll work on it. Have fun!” Celestia is such a troll. I had talked to Gnarl and Zecora about it as well and neither knew of a way to fix it, only how it happened.

“You have to come out of there sometime you know?”

Apparently all the crazy plants and animals in the Everfree Forest is a result of the battle that happened centuries ago. During it my predecessor let loose a lot of magic that warped everything into what it is now. Since poison joke uses the same magic I do, it can feed off of me to keep the joke going despite Zecora’s remedy.

“Don! Open the door right now!”

I spent the next week going through every book looking for a way to fix it, also checking for the crystal tree because I’m still the Overlord, just a furrier, weaker version. I found nothing on either topic unfortunately so I settled for sealing myself in my room until-

“That’s it.” Until Twilight finally decided to rip the door off its hinges and drag me outside.

“Twilight, let go of me!” I paddled against her magic in a useless attempt at escape.

“I’m not going to let you sit around and sulk over such a small inconvenience. If anything you should be trying to enjoy this.”

Twilight headed out the door to the library with me in tow. From what I could tell she was heading to Sugarcube Corner. “This isn’t a small inconvenience. This is a huge pain in the ass! Being in this body just feels wrong.” It also removes any hope of me finding the nests. Fighting as a pony is impossible!

“That’s probably because you haven’t bothered to try. All you learned to do so far is walk.”

I pouted upside down. “Not true. I also learned what time of the month I have to stuff my nostrils to prevent your crazy hormones from getting to me!”

“I... suppose that counts, but there’s still so much you could learn. And you do know I could just cast a spell to prevent you from being affected, right?”

“Ya, well considering a bunch of you went nuts and thought some zebra was evil, I’d rather not use something under your control.”

Twilight sighed. “I guess that’s fair.” When we finally made it to Sugarcube Corner, Twilight put me down. I thought about making a break for it but since I still stumbled now and again on my hooves, I was pretty sure any chance of escape would be slim.

Maybe I’ll learn to fly just to avoid Twilight. I don’t want to be anywhere near her when the next heat cycle comes around.

As we entered the bakery we found Pinkie Pie was on the register for today. Ever since we found out I was stuck as a pony she has been much happier around me and I haven't figured out why.

“Hiya Twilight! Finally got Don outside huh?” I just groaned while Twilight ordered some food before it was my turn. I didn’t want to give Twilight the satisfaction of seeing me actually do something as a pony but I was pretty hungry so I got a bagel.

As we sat down and started eating, Twilight couldn’t help but continue to debate why I should adapt to my pony body. I managed to stay strong until we had both finished eating but damn that mare knows how to work my last nerve.

“Alright! I’ll learn how to fly or applebuck or something! Just please stop!” I let my chin hit the table as Twilight looked smug. She left to throw away our trash leaving me alone at the table. That lasted about two seconds before Pinkie Pie showed up.

“Aw come on Don! At least you can’t do anything bad while you’re like this.” Aha! That’s why she’s so happy. I made sure to check that Twilight was still gone before putting on my evil grin, which probably wasn’t as effective when done with a muzzle.

“That’s what you think.” That got rid of Pinkie’s smile quick. I rather have her think I’m still capable of something then for her to think I’m weak.

Pinkie looked like she had more to say but Twilight interrupted her. “So Don, what are you going to do today?”

“Pinkie and I were actually talking about it. I’m going to go see if Rainbow’s free and learn how to fly.” I almost laughed as Pinkie strained a smile for Twilight.

“Yep! I was just telling Don how busy she is with weather duty.”

Twilight looked confused. “But Pinkie, Rainbow usually is finished with her weather duty by now.”

I could see the sweat on Pinkie’s brow as she spat out words as quickly as possible. “Oh, is it that late already? I guess I lost track of time. I better go. Bye!” Pinkie dashed off leaving a pony shaped puff of dust behind her that dispersed quickly. It may be easy to mess with her but it is so much fun!

“Well that was odd, but I guess that’s Pinkie. Anyway Don, I think I saw Rainbow heading toward Sweet Apple Acres earlier. You want to go now?”

Let’s just get this over with. “Sure thing Twilight.”

* * *

The walk to Sweet Apple Acres was a quiet one at least on my part. Twilight continued going on and on about pony biology and what not. I found it to be somewhat of a blessing when as soon as we got there Applebloom found us.

“Hey Don! You stop being all moody?”

I tussled her mane a bit as I spoke. “Nope, Twilight just forced me to be moody in other places. Have you seen Rainbow?”

She didn’t speak until she had fixed her mane. “She was here awhile ago. I think she said she’d be back later.”

I sat on my rump. “Well than I guess I’ll wait. I have nothing better to do.”

“Applebloom! Where are ya?”

Applebloom groaned. “Oh boy. I’m outside Applejack!”

Applejack stepped outside of the farmhouse. “Well howdy Twilight, Don. You finally decide to come back to work?”

“I can come by tomorrow if you need me but today I’m here looking for Rainbow Dash and according to Bloom she’ll be back later.” As I spoke Applebloom started craning her neck like she was looking at something behind me.

“Well if you’re feeling up to it then you can come by tomorrow. I’m sure we can find something for-”

Applebloom suddenly jumped up. “You don’t have a cutie mark!”

“Applebloom, it ain’t polite to interrupt somepony.”

Applebloom looked at the ground looking sad but I could tell by her tone of voice she was more annoyed. “Sorry Applejack.”

Looks like everything is going along perfectly here. “Don’t worry Applejack. She’s just surprised is all. And she is right, I don’t have a cutie mark.”

“Don’t you want it? You’re older than I am and I can’t wait till I have mine.”

“I don’t think it will matter since I don’t plan on being a pony forever.” This seemed to sour Applebloom’s mood even more. “But I’d be willing to help you get yours if you want.”

And that perked her right back up. “Really? You think I could get it before Diamond Tiara’s cute-ceañera?”

“Umm… sure? I’m not sure what that has to do with a cutie mark though.”

Thankfully Twilight was there to explain. “A cute-ceañera is a party given to a filly when they get their cutie mark.”

So a cutie mark is a big deal. I bet those who don’t have one get ridiculed by those who do. I scooped Applebloom up and plopped her onto my back. “Then it looks like I’m not learning how to fly today. Instead I’m helping you find your cutie mark.” I turned and ran off toward the gate while Applejack yelled after us.

“Don’t you do anything stupid Applebloom!” I could hear Applebloom groaning despite the sounds my hooves were making. Once we were out of sight I slowed to a trot.

“So what do you want to try first?”

* * *

Applebloom hit the ground with a thud. “Oh it’s hopeless. We tried everything.”

I looked over the list of what we had done as I tried to think of something new. “This is going to be tougher than I thought.”

“Maybe I could hide my flank with a dress or something? Or maybe Twilight has some magic that can help? Or what about-”

“You know Bloom, you don’t have to go to this party if you don’t want to.”

I watched as Applebloom’s smile grew. “That’s a great idea! But what will I tell them if they ask what I was doing?”

“Just tell them you were helping me adjust to being a pony. The whole town knows about me so this Diamond Tiara should know what you’re talking about.”

“Ya, that could work. But what about my sister?”

“What about her?”

“Well, I dunno if you noticed but she’s been treating me even more like a baby than before. She’s going to be at the party so if I don’t show up she’ll know.”

“Then I’ll just tell her I lost track of time. Don’t worry about it Bloom.” She relaxed for the first time today. “Now then, do you know anywhere we can hide out until the party is over?”

She thought for a moment before jumping in the air. “Oh, there’s an old tree house in the apple orchard we can use.”

Oh ya. I remember that thing. It’s an absolute dump but it will do. “Sounds like that will work. Let’s go.” We got up and started walking down the road.

“So Don, was what you said about not wanting your cutie mark true?”

“Yes it was true. But it wasn’t my real reason for not wanting it.”

“Then what’s your reason?”

“Let’s just say I have a pretty good idea what it is and I don’t want that on my flanks.”

“You know what it is? What is it than? Maybe I have a cutie mark for the same thing!”

A filly getting a ‘I want to take over Equestria’ cutie mark. Surprisingly that’s not the strangest thing I’ve heard of. “That’s a big secret Bloom. I might tell you some other time if you promise not to tell anyone what my real reason for not wanting a cutie mark is. Can I trust you?”

Applebloom thought about it for a second before looking up with a childish grin. “I promise!”

* * *

We spent the rest of the day by that old treehouse. When the sun was about to set we headed back to the house where we ran into Applejack and Twilight.

“There you are! Where were you Applebloom? You shouldn’t be hidin’ just ‘cause you don’t have your cutie mark.”

I waved a hoof between the two of them to get her attention. “Actually Applejack, it’s my fault. I lost track of time while we were trying out various things to get Applebloom’s cutie mark. By the time I realized what time it was it was too late.”

My excuse seemed to calm Applejack down a bit but she was still mad. “Come on Applebloom. Almost time for bed and you’ve got school tomorrow.” The two of them headed into the house while Twilight walked over.

Well what do you know. I managed to do something productive in this damn pony form after all. Guess I don’t have an excuse to sit around anymore.

“So how was your day with Applebloom?”

“Good. I don’t think I’ll be spending anymore days locked in my room if that’s what you’re really wondering.”

“Well I’m glad. By the way, I ran into Rainbow Dash today. She said she could start teaching you how to fly tomorrow after you've both finished with work.”

“Awesome. Now if you don’t mind…” I yawned. “I think we should head home. Spending the day trying to find someone’s cutie mark is tiring.”

“Are you ever going to try and find yours?”

“Nope. I’m not much of a tattoo person anyway.” I started walking away with a grin while Twilight groaned.

“It’s not a tattoo!”

* * *

“It is good to see you back at it, Master. For awhile I thought we were going to be on an indefinite hold.” I sat awkwardly in my throne as Gnarl spoke. The chair was definitely not made for a pony.

“I have to admit I thought so too and we still are for the most part. I can’t go after the nests until I’m back to normal. I can’t train my swordplay or magic. I checked every book in the library for that crystal tree and found nothing. The only thing I can do at this point is to learn what I can and maybe find more servants.”

“Speaking of servants, are you sure about that griffon? She does seem capable but I doubt she will respect your rule as the minions do.”

“I never demanded respect from her, only that she follow my commands. I can assure you that her craving for revenge will outshine her pride if they ever conflict. As such, I wouldn’t suggest trying to order her around like a minion. I’d hate to return and find you’ve become a scratching post.”

“I will be careful Master. I wish to continue being of service to you and being mutilated will certainly ruin that. If you don’t mind however, I have another question.”

“Gnarl, I prefer that as my advisor you speak your mind. What you don’t say will more likely upset me than what you do.

“Of course, my apologies sire. I was wondering why you sound so sure that you will turn back to normal?”

“Because Celestia is working on a way to fix it, although I’m pretty sure she exaggerated how long it’s going to take because she wants me to find some reason to stay a pony. Either that or she knows of her student's little crush on me. Not like it matters. She said it should be ready sometime before that gala in the spring.”

“Ah, excellent. We will hole up for the winter and once the snow is gone we will begin in earnest!”

* * *

The next morning, work was… embarrassing to say the least. First I tried bucking apple trees and found I couldn’t get a single apple to fall. Then I tried to carry the buckets of apples but I still hadn’t figured out how to move my wings so they got in the way. Finally I just ended up pulling the cart between the house and the orchard while Applejack and Big Mac collected the apples.

It was now the middle of fall and it was rather cool outside so Rainbow and I met up at the park in town. As she started going over basic thing like preening the rest of the ponies showed up.

“Why are you all here? Don’t tell me you all just want to watch me crash?”

Rarity put on her usual show of shock. “Why Don, how could you think such a thing?” As she said this I watched Pinkie and Applejack placing bets behind her.

Pinkie probably bet I would hit the dirt, not that she wouldn’t get any pleasure from that. “Fine, I guess it doesn’t matter if you watch. Sorry Rainbow, you were saying?”

“I was saying that if you’re going to fly you need to fix your feathers. I’m guessing you haven’t preened them since you got them?”

“I can’t even get them to move, so no.”

“Wait, you can’t move your wings? Are they broken?” Suddenly Rainbow was very concerned and I think I could hear a few gasps from the peanut gallery.

“No, they aren’t broken as far as I can tell. I’ve just never had extra appendages before so my brain doesn’t really acknowledge they exist. At least that’s what I’m assuming. I haven’t been able to feel anything from them since I became a pony.”

“Really? So you can’t feel this?” She took a hoof a placed it on my closed wing.

“Nope. I can feel the wing pushing into my side but not the wing.”

She used her hoof to unfold the wing moving out of my field of vision. “You can’t feel this either?”

“I can’t see or feel what you are doing.”

“Alright, so what about…” Suddenly I felt a pinch somewhere not on my body. I flared my wing as I jumped around.

“Ouch! What the heck was that?” I saw that Rainbow was now holding a brown feather with the same red as my hair at the tip. One of my feathers. She spat it out before talking.

“That was one of your primary feathers you screwed up when you folded your wings wrong. They are also the most painful to pull out so remember that once we’re done fixing it. Seems that it did the job though.”

Wait, what? I turned to look at the wing. I reached out mentally to where I had felt the pinch and realized that it was the wing. I then tried thinking about moving it and it started to angle itself down. Holy shit! This is actually really cool!

I continued watching my wing go up and down slowly until Rainbow Dash cleared her throat. “You know you can do more with those wings than just watch them move right?

Oh ya. Flying. “Sorry about that. It’s just… imagine you had spent your whole life without a leg and then suddenly you had one. That’s what this is like right now. So how do we fly?”

“Ya, well remember when I said your primaries hurt the most to pull out? Well by the looks of it we got about 5 or 6 more of those to pull out and most of the others need to be worked on. After that we’ll need to fix your secondaries and from where I’m standing it looks like a lot of them will come out as well. You won’t be flying today.”

Damn it! I find the one thing really cool about being a pony and it bites me in the ass. I sighed. “Well then, let’s get started.”

After about an hour of feeling like a chicken being plucked I was deemed ready to go. Pinkie and Applejack had left a little after they heard I wasn’t going to fly. “The feathers will grow in overnight as long as your body works like a normal pegasus. Tomorrow we can start on learning how to glide.”

“Only glide? What about flying?”

“You’ll get there. I told you I’d get you flying in a week and I’m not about to let you down!”

“Alright, thanks Rainbow. Now if you don’t mind I’m just going to sit down for a while. My wings hurt like hell right now.”

“Trust me, I know. Even as a natural-born pegasus the first preening is never the easiest. Eventually you’ll learn how to not damage your wings doing everyday things. Oh, that reminds me, I need to show you how to fold them properly.”

I looked back to see that my tattered wings were still completely extended. “That might be a good idea.” Folding them correctly turned out to be a rather extensive process, but that might have just been my inexperience with them. Plus this way was much better as far as balance and size were concerned.

Once we were done Rainbow said her goodbyes and sped off while I walked up to the remaining three ponies. Rarity, as usual, was the first to gasp when they got a closer look the state of my wings. “Oh my, are you alright Don?”

“They hurt but it had to happen. Apparently spending a week or so not taking care of your wings is a painful thing to rectify.”

“Well if you’re done, perhaps you’d like to come by the boutique? We do need to make you a new suit for the gala.”

These damn ponies think I’m going to stay like this just because I can fly? Maybe next I’ll become a clown and entertain terminally ill children. “Why would I need a new suit? I’ll be human by then and I still have my old suit you made for my first visit with the princess.” The ponies seemed to be saddened by this but none let it show too much. Rarity on the other hand was still trying to get her hooves on me.

“But… since you are going to be a pony through the winter, don’t you think you should get some winter clothes?”

God damn it she won’t take a hint! “It’s cool. Apparently pegasi are rather resistant to the cold since they fly so much.” That stopped her. Oddly enough that seemed to brighten Twilight’s mood a bit. Rainbow better deliver on her promise. I don’t think I’ll be able to stand being around these unicorns in a few weeks.

I heard Fluttershy say something but I couldn’t hear it. “I’m sorry Fluttershy, did you say something?”

“Eep!” She hid behind her hair before peaking out again. “I was just… wondering... if you wanted... to meet some of my animal friends?”

Hmm… I could do this, but I’d be incredibly bored throughout it. Although it would lower the chances of me ever seeing that stare again. Plus I’d learn where to find some meat. I wonder if ponies can eat meat…

I realized that I had been staring off into space and it was starting to look strange. “Sure. Sounds like fun.” That got her out of hiding real quick and soured the mood of the other two mares. Forget a few weeks. I might not make it until the end of this week! I followed Fluttershy to her home which was apparently right next to the Everfree Forest. During the walk I made plans to run to Zecora’s if I ever had to escape crazy mares.

As we walked up to the place it seemed like animals were coming out of every crevice. At first I thought they were avoiding me but I brushed that off as a coincidence since they were flocking to Fluttershy at the moment. It wasn’t till we were inside that I was sure that something was up. There seemed to be a circle around me that animals wouldn’t dare cross. Not even the grizzly bear (yes, she has a grizzly bear in her house) would come near me.

“Oh my, they seem to be afraid of you.” She turned to the animals as she put on a motherly tone of voice. “Don’t you worry, Don’s a friend. He wouldn’t hurt any of you.” This calmed them down but didn’t shrink my sphere of influence. “I know. I’ll get some food and you can feed them. That will show that you aren’t going to harm them.” Before I could say anything she had flown into another part of her house.

Looking back at the animals I decided to just ignore it and take a seat on the couch. As I settled in a rabbit jumped up and stood in front of me, clearly showing courage the others lacked. Since these animals seemed to be partly sentient I figured I would attempt to talk to the little guy. “Well I’ll give you props for having the guts to approach me but it will take more than that to impress.”

The rabbit just hopped closer never breaking eye contact. It wasn’t until we were nearly touching noses that I saw something behind the rabbit’s eyes. Something that I had only seen twice before: From the previous Overlord and Gnarl.

“Oh, I get it. You’re an evil little bunny aren’t you?” Despite the lack of sarcasm I had put into it the rabbit wasn’t happy about what I had said.

“Alright, alright. You’re an evil rabbit. Happy?” The rabbit nodded. I can’t believe this. I’m talking to a rabbit, an evil rabbit.

“So what gives? Do you want a carrot or something?” He started pointing frantically at a pad of paper, quill, and ink bottle on the stand. I just shrugged and handed it to him. He then started drawing vigorously until he had made a picture of a pony with birds around it.

I put a hoof to my chin as I tried to decipher the picture. “Is it Fluttershy?” He nodded. “What do you want with her?”

He took the quill and drew an X right over the drawing. “You want her gone?” He shook his head and then pointed at me. “You want me to get rid of her?” He shook his head and then brought a paw across his throat. “You want me to kill her?” He nodded. “Why don’t you do it? You seem to be a pretty smart rabbit.”

He ripped the page out of the pad and started drawing tally marks on a clean sheet. When he was done there were seventeen. “Is this how many times you’ve tried?” He nodded. “Wow, that’s kind of sad dude.” He threw the quill down in anger and pouted. “Hey, no need to be like that. I’m sure you’ve done as much as you can considering your position.”

He picked up the picture of Fluttershy and tore it apart in fury. “Woah there little guy. I think I see your problem and lucky for you I know how to fix it.” He hugged my hoof and looked up at me with puppy dog eyes. “Ya, those don’t work on me anymore. I’ve been living in cute pony world for about 2 months now. Don’t worry though, I’m still going to help you.” He jumped for joy, which for a rabbit is pretty high.

“Alright, so just to make sure I’m reading this right, you’ve tried seventeen times and failed?” He nodded. “How long did you plan each of these attempts?” He counted out on his paw until he had five toes showing. “Five days?” He shook his head. “Less?” He nodded. “Hours?” He shook his head. “Minutes?” He nodded.

“Now there’s your problem. Allow me to let you in on a little secret.” I leaned down so I could whisper into the rabbit’s ear. “The best thing you can have when plotting something like murder is patience. You need to slowly prepare the perfect plan, letting it come together piece by piece. If done right no one will know it was you so not only do you succeed but you won’t have to hide for the rest of your life. Hell, I bet a smart rabbit like you could even push Fluttershy to commit suicide with enough time.” As I spoke the rabbit’s ears began to straighten more and more as he grinned about as maniacally as a rabbit is capable of.

Fluttershy walked back in carrying a tray of various foods as I sat back up. I felt the rabbit climb up my back and sit on my head. This surprised Fluttershy. “I’ve never seen Angel be so friendly with somepony before! He must really like you.”

Angel? Wow, that’s ironic. I tried not to snicker at the demon bunny’s name as I spoke. “I guess we just have something in common.”

Fluttershy grabbed a carrot off the tray with one of her wings- Wait a minute, they can use those as hands!? Screw flying, I need that! Anyway, she took the carrot and placed it on the couch next to me. “Here, you can feed him this while I feed the rest of the animals.” She went to do her work while the rabbit crawled down me and approached the carrot. He sniffed it before sticking his tongue out in disgust.

I double checked to make sure Fluttershy was busy before leaning over and whispering. “I never said the evil life was an easy one buddy, but trust me. It’s very satisfying.” He seemed to ponder my words for a moment before picking up the carrot and nibbling on it. After that he climbed back onto my head, carrot in tow, and continued to eat.

I bet no one has ever thought this before, and I doubt anyone will ever again, but I just made friends with an evil rabbit.

Diamonds in the Rock

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I looked down the strip of road as I tried to relax my breathing. My wings were extended out on either side of me and I could feel the wind blowing through my feathers. As I started to focus I tuned out the group of cheering ponies instead allowing my thoughts to take precedence.

Alright, just like Rainbow taught you. Relax, figure out where the wind is coming from. I angled my wings slightly so that the air flowed around them more smoothly. Now I just need to run, build up momentum and flap my wings rhythmically, not rapidly. I leaned back into my rear hooves glaring at the road as if it were my worst enemy, and it had been for the past two days.

You’re not beating me this time! I dashed forward, making small adjustments to my wings without thought. As soon as I had gained enough speed I began to beat my wings. I began to feel my hooves come off the ground but I knew it wasn’t over yet. Just a little higher…

After what felt like an eternity I stopped my ascent and fell into the relaxed posture I had practiced. The strain on my wings lessened as they no longer fought to defy gravity, only negate it. I looked to the ground to see I was around twenty feet in the air.

Wow, I’m flying! I’m actually doing it!

“Ya, way to go Don!” Rainbow’s voice managed to break through my concentration as she flew over to me. “You’re past the hardest part. Now that you can get off the ground without a cliff, all you’ve got to do is fly more and more to increase your endurance, and once flying feels natural I can teach you how to really fly!”

I glanced down at the other ponies who had been cheering. Twilight was there as usual. She had been coming to every one of my flight practices. The only one who could come close to matching that level of stalker was Rarity but she wasn’t here today. Fluttershy had shown up as well and she brought Angel with her. When no one was looking he slipped me a wink and then went back to his innocent bunny routine. Applejack and Pinkie Pie were also there, though it seems Pinkie Pie had lost a few bits to Applejack.

“Thanks Rainbow. Now if you don’t mind I’m going to go fly around for a bit. This feels amazing!”

“Don’t I know it! Once you’ve flown you’ll always crave the open air.” She looked about ready to zoom off herself when she turned around. “Oh, by the way, have you seen Gilda since the day she came to visit?”

“Nope. Why do you ask?”

“I got a letter yesterday from her folks in Griffus. Apparently she never made it back home. No one knows where she’s gone.”

I figured someone would worry about her. “Maybe she just went off somewhere to blow some steam. You did tell me that things between you ended rough.”

“Ya, that’s probably it. I’m still worried though.” With that she zoomed off, her trademark rainbow streak behind her. I glanced down at the ponies below and waved before flying off toward town.

Seeing the town from this angle was definitely a different experience. Where down below houses tower above you and crowds of ponies blocked the roads, up here none of it mattered. I could get anywhere I wanted without worry, I could probably even make it to Zecora’s without much hassle. It also made it easier to find ponies and-

Spike?

Down below I could see him running toward the library as fast as his little legs could take him. What’s got him in a hurry? I angled myself down so that I could lightly land in front of him. My landing wasn’t a Rainbow Dash landing mind you but at least I didn’t hit the ground face first.

Once my hooves hit the dirt, I turned to see Spike out of breath and trying to speak. “Rarity… gems… dogs… ground…”

I patted him on the back. “Slow down there Spike. Wait until you catch your breath before you speak.” He only nodded in reply as he panted. After about ten seconds he tried again.

“Rarity and I were out digging for gems when these dogs came out of the ground and took her away. We need to go save her!”

Huh, I guess that explains why she wasn’t creeping on me today. “Wait a minute Spike. Dogs? What kind of dogs are these?”

“Diamond dogs! They really liked how Rarity was able to find gems so they took her. Come on, we need to find the others!”

I couldn’t care less what they do to her but Spike is my only bro in this place. “Screw the others Spike, we need to go right now. Who knows what they might be doing to her?”

“Just us? But what can we do?”

Hopefully break your stupid crush on her. “We can sneak inside and free Rarity. I just figured out flying today so it shouldn’t be too hard. Besides, don’t you want to be the one to save her?”

He looked at the ground in thought for a few seconds before looking back up with determination in his eyes. “Ya! Let’s go Don!” He climbed up on my back and after a rough takeoff we were airborne.

Spike pointed me to a dirt field a little ways from town. It looked like some moles had taken up residence there but when I got a closer look I found that the mole holes were closer to mountains. I landed next to one of the holes and looked in.

“This where they took her Spike?”

“Ya, are you going to be able to fly in there?”

“Depends on how big these tunnels are. Either way we should be careful.” I dived in flaring my wings to keep our descent slow. It took a lot longer then I had expected to reach the bottom. About five or six different tunnels branched out from where we were standing. Just as I thought things couldn’t get worse I heard something scurry in one of the tunnels. This scared Spike instantly.

“What was that?” I shushed him so that I could try to figure out where it had come from. I heard the sound again, this time coming from a tunnel on our right. Before I could head down it another sound came from a tunnel behind us, and then another from the right.

Damn it, why am I reminded of Aliens in this place? Next thing we know we’re going to find ponies with holes in their chests. Another sound from a tunnel caused both our heads to turn. Spike was shaking on my back and although I had been trained in fighting, the similarity to a certain set of sci-fi horror movies was racking my nerves. The sounds became more and more frequent coming from a different tunnel each time. I braced myself for something but nothing ever came.

Suddenly everything was quiet but for some reason that made me more uneasy than the noise. I started backing up slowly towards a tunnel when my back suddenly made contact with something. Please no xenomorph! Please no xenomorph! I slowly turned my head to see a dog on two legs standing over me. He seemed to have a lot of muscle and was about as tall as I was when I had been human. Before anything could be said some drool dripped from his jowls and fell on my nose.

Okay, not as terrible as a xeno, but still just as gross. Spike however disagreed. “Run!” I was happy to oblige on that as I darted into one of the tunnels. I could hear the beast behind me as I desperately looked for a place to escape. After a lengthy chase my pleads were answered in the form of a hole in the floor. Unfortunately I didn’t notice it until we were already falling in.

Spike and I slid down the dirt equivalent of a water slide for a good minute, during which he fell off my back. He used his claws to slow his descent while I couldn’t open my wings fully so when the tunnel finally ended I was sent flying head first into a pillar of stone. Before I could figure out what was happening I had jumped out of my throne at the fortress screaming.

“Master? Why are you here? Has something happened?” Once I realized where I was I calmed down.

“I’m not sure Gnarl. I was helping Spike with a diamond dog problem but I must have hit my head.”

“Diamond dogs? Those disgusting creatures are too stupid to be of any real harm. What did they do to force your hand- or hoof that is?”

“They didn’t do anything to me, but they did capture that mare I despise, you know the one who makes clothes. Spike has some sort of infatuation with her and since I’m hoping that one day he will make a useful ally I told him I would help.”

“I see, but why didn’t you get her friends to help you?”

“Because the less ponies that are around when I try to take care of things my way the better.”

* * *

I woke up with a ringing in my ears and a massive headache. As such I let my vision return before attempting to move. It seems I was in a cell with dirt floors and stone walls. The door was the classic iron barred door you would see in movies. What light I had was coming from somewhere outside the cage but in my current state I couldn’t find the source.

I attempted to stand but quickly found my head disagreed with that idea. Fuck! I wonder if this is what a hangover feels like? As I pondered never trying alcohol the ringing in my ears died down just enough to hear an iron door open and shut. A set of heavy footsteps got louder while I heard a familiar whine.

“You brutes! How dare you treat us like this! Not only did you drag me down here to find your gems, but you hurt my friends and captured them too.”

The rough voice that responded was what I assumed to be a diamond dog. My blurred vision revealed little more than a blob of grey and brown. “We do nothing to those two. They hurt themselves. They trespassers!”

“The only reason they are here is because you took me! And these aren’t the only ponies that will come here. I’m sure my friends will be coming soon and they will show you what for!”

“Let puny ponies come. They end up like these only this time we will make them like that.” I heard metal jangling for a moment and then another iron door before all was silent. With the guard no longer here I attempted to stand once more only to fall over onto my other side. I let out a grunt as I hit the floor.

I heard Spike just above the low hum in my ears that still remained. “Don, are you okay in there? Say something!”

“I feel like shit.” Despite the truth behind the statement I heard him chuckle a bit. Rarity on the other hand did not find it so funny.

“Spike, that is not something to laugh about. He could be seriously hurt!”

“Rarity…”

“What if he has a concussion?”

“Rarity.”

“What if he has brain damage!?”

“RARITY!” I let the silence settle before speaking again. “I’m not fucking dying, I just feel how one would expect to after hitting a stone wall head first. I just need some peace and quiet until I can stand up straight.”

“Oh sorry.” Now that things were quiet I continued to- “I was really worried about you Don.” Never mind.

“If you want to worry about someone, worry about Spike. He’s the one who got me to come down here.” I scooted around on the floor to get comfortable while the two of them started talking. Damn this floor. I’m probably going to be picking dirt out my wings for an hour. Wait… dirt!

I interrupted whatever conversation was being had. “Spike, you use your claws to dig up gems, right?”

“Um, ya?”

“So why don’t you dig a hole underneath the cage door?” There was a moment of silence before I heard the sound of a scaled face palm followed by digging. It wasn’t long before the sound had stopped and a purple and green blur was standing outside the door.

“Woah Don! You don’t look so good.”

I gave him my best shit-eating grin as I spoke. “Bet I’m still better looking than you.”

That got a laugh out of him. “Don’t worry, we’ll be out soon.” I heard a few different sounds come from outside the cell which finally ended with the same metal rattling I had heard before. After that was a kerchunk and the sound of something swinging on unoiled hinges followed by Rarity’s voice.

“Great job Spike, now all we need to do is-” A sharp snap rang out and something hit the floor with a thud. That can’t be good. “Oh no, oh no, oh no! The key! It…. it…”

Spike finished what she said. “Broke. How are we going to get Don out now?”

Though this isn’t an ideal situation this does give me a chance. “Both of you need to get out. Once you are free, find help and come back. I’m sure all of you can take on these dogs no problem.”

Of course Rarity had a problem with it. Though her face was still blurry I could still make out that stupid look of shock. “We can’t leave you! There’s no telling what those mongrels might do to you in your state.”

“Well do you have a better plan? They aren’t exactly smart but I’m pretty sure even they can see a broken lock and a hole underneath the door. The longer you stay here the more likely you are to be caught so you need to leave now!”

Things were quiet for a moment before Spike spoke up. “He’s right Rarity. We need to get help if we’re going to get Don out.” A moment more and then I heard footsteps followed by a door swinging open and close. I was alone.

Finally! Now let’s see if I can get this to work.

* * *

I was curled up facing the wall when I heard a door open and a bark of what I assumed was surprise. After that was rattling and another door opened. I could feel the dog’s footsteps in the cell.

“Pony, where others go?” I didn’t move. “Pony! Speak now!” I didn’t. I heard a growl and felt a paw try to grab my wing. Before he could get a grip I rolled over and struck him with my hoof covered in dark red lightning. The dog’s metal armor was quick to transfer the electricity across his body. After a few seconds the charge stopped and the dog fell to the ground smoking.

Who knew pegasus magic could be so lethal? I smirked as I got up on my hooves. As I headed toward the door I stumbled as one of my legs gave way beneath me. Damn it. That used up more power than I thought it would. Looks like my original plan to murder everything in my path isn’t going to work now.

I continued toward the door, my nose scrunching up a bit as I passed the corpse. And I thought wet dog smelled bad! Walking outside I saw that there was a desk with an open drawer and a candle. A piece of metal stuck out of the lock on one of the doors with what remained of the key on the ground beneath it. I guess that explains what I heard earlier.

Outside of the small prison was a intersection similar to the one Spike and I had entered into. With absolutely no way of telling which direction to take I turned down a random tunnel, taking my time so as to not alert anymore dogs.

After awhile I was starting to think I was completely lost but I soon heard two dogs speaking with each other as they walked by the tunnel I was hiding in.

“Ugh! I not believe you make us late to ritual. If I get in trouble, you going to pay!”

“Hey, how I know my shortcut collapse? Besides, dark earth lord will not care for few minutes.”

Ritual? Dark earth lord? I watched them continue to argue as they passed. Well… I guess Twilight and the others are on the way. If I get caught I doubt these things will kill me. Deciding sating my curiosity was more important I slipped behind the two oblivious dogs. It took about a minute for the two of them to reach their destination.

I peeked into the room to see what couldn’t have been less than two hundred diamond dogs assembled. They all stood in rows with an aisle down the center and at the front of the room was a pedestal and another dog who was speaking to the others. In front of each dog in the audience was a bowl of some black substance that they had their claws dipped in. With the intricate carvings in the wall I was getting a cult kind-of vibe from the place but the strangest part was what sat upon the pedestal. It appeared to be a helmet rusted far beyond use though it seemed completely intact. I couldn’t itch the feeling that it was familiar but my train of thought was interrupted by the dog presiding over the congregation. Thankfully this one seemed to pass elementary english class.

“We are here to remind us why we dig. Gems are shiny and they are useful to get the tools we need, but they are not why we toil away underground. We dig because we know that somewhere our lord resides, trapped beneath the earth for ages. The diamond dogs did not serve him when he walked among us, rather we only found of his power later in our race’s existence, but from what we have found he is a force of nature. He has stood up to a pony goddess and won!

“So what is the reason we dig? We dig because you and I know that we are nothing to a pony goddess, but now that there are three we will need our lord more than ever. He will bring us out of this dark age oppressed by ponies but first he must be free!” With his speech over the whole room began to cheer but their sounds felt far away to me. My eyes locked onto the helmet as I felt something stirring within it…

...get...it…

I need to… wait, why do I want that piece of junk?

“Hey! What this pony doing here?” I shook the fog from my mind to see I had walked into the room. “Get the pony!” As every diamond dog near me leapt into the air it felt like time slowed down. I pushed off the ground with everything I had, barely slipping between the pile of dogs. Once airborne I turned to leave.

...no...need…

That helmet, it’s- I felt a dog’s claw scrape one of my hind legs, jolting me out of whatever trance I was in. Not more important than my life! I zoomed out of the room as fast as my wings could take me. Once in the tunnels my only focus was not crashing as I darted through the maze. It took a surprisingly short amount of time to find the exit though the dogs had managed to keep up.

I angled myself to ascend the shaft when I felt another claw dig into my left wing. This forced me to not only work through the pain but also to use what little pegasus magic I had left to keep my speed up. When I reached the surface I was completely spent and flopped to the ground. I didn’t even look back at the hole before running as fast as a four-legged creature with a limp can go. I’m not sure how far I went but I seemed to have zoned out because before I knew it I was along the path back to town and Rainbow Dash had landed in front of me.

“Don! Oh my gosh, are you okay? We were just on our way to save you. How did you get away from the diamond dogs?” I guess the adrenaline in my system wore off because I noticed the stinging pain coming from my wounds at just that time. Out of magic, adrenaline, and breath, I fell forward as my body finally gave out. It wasn’t until the rest of the girls and Spike had shown up that I managed to find my voice.

“The guard came in to check on me after Rarity and Spike disappeared and left the door open. I sneaked out but along the way got discovered. I still managed to make it out though I got scratched up and overexerted myself.” I made sure to omit the part about the diamond dog cult of evil.

Up to this point Rainbow Dash had been examining my wing intensively to make sure it wasn’t too bad. She made sure to cover up her worry with her usual brashness. “Hah, I should have known you would have outsmarted those dogs. Takes more than a few muts to get the better of you.”

Rarity was being overdramatic, but at this point I was having trouble finding a moment when she wasn’t. “Well I was worried! I mean, Spike and I left you there, all alone. You valiantly sacrificed yourself to save us.”

“I didn’t save you. The key broke and I couldn’t get up so I faced facts and told you to get. That’s not bravery.” This got a huff out of her. Hopefully she starts to realize I’m not her knight in shining armor. “Anyway, all I need is a couple of bandages and some rest and I’ll be fine. Although Rainbow and I will have to postpone stunt flying until my magic is back.”

“Aw man! I wanted to show you the Sky Top Maneuver!” Fluttershy had brought a first aid box and Twilight, deciding she needed to do something to help me, used her magic to levitate me so that Fluttershy wouldn’t have to move my leg. Not that it made a difference when I had to walk on it right after. Once I was clear to go we started moving and Applejack walked up next to me.

“You better take the next day or two off until you’re back to your normal self. Don’t want you agrivatin’ nothin’.” Though I wanted to object since work was one of the few places I didn’t have to worry about the crazy unicorns, I was feeling more tired by the second. I simply nodded in response as I mind began to drift.

Need to sleep… so tired…

...need...

I felt a claw nudge my side as I woke up from my bout of sleepwalking. Finding that we had already entered Ponyville, I looked down to see Spike giving our special signal we had made up (the trick was we could only do it because we had fingers). The girls continued to chat about what had happened with Rarity while I picked up Spike and slipped onto one of the side roads for a guy chat.

“Let me get this straight. We went in there and you nearly got a concussion, but then you the dog ‘happens’ to leave the door open and you slip out with a few cuts? I’m not buying it dude.”

“Ya, I guess it doesn’t make sense if you really think about it, but it was a good enough excuse for the others.”

“So what did happen down there?”

“I can’t say right now Spike. It has to do with a secret of mine, one that I can’t reveal to you yet. One day I will tell you. I’ll tell you everything. Until then though you’re just going to have to trust me when I say you don’t want to go back there.”

“Well alright. I guess I can trust you, but you need to do something for me.”

“And that would be?”

“You need to tell me how you got Rarity to like you.”

Should have seen this coming. “Spike, if I had any idea how that happened I would have told you. Hell, I would have done the reverse if it meant getting her off my back. I still don’t see how you like her so much.”

“She’s just so generous and beautiful. What more can you ask for?”

“How about some brain? I have been dropping a lot of hints telling her to back off and she hasn’t taken any of them. Also dude, and I’m only saying this since you’re my bro and I’m looking out for you, but you’ve been trying to get her attention for months now and your hints have been a lot less subtle than mine. I think it might be time to cut your losses.”

“Are-are you sure? Maybe if I-”

“Spike.” I spoke as sternly as I could. Facing those diamond dogs would have been easier than this. “You need to face facts. Rarity just sees you as a kid with a crush and I doubt she’ll ever see you as much more. Time to let go.” I felt him slouch against my neck and I could hear a bit of sobbing. I quickly looked around for someplace to let him vent and found an alleyway. Once there I put him down in front of me.

“Spike, come on. You’re not looking at this the right way. Sure, you got friendzoned, but that means you’re now free to look elsewhere and, unlike myself, you have the option of not only ponies but your own kind as well.” This slowed his sobbing a bit but it wasn’t over yet.

“Tell you what. I heard that the great dragon migration is coming up next spring. How about when it happens, you and I follow them and see what we can figure out about your heritage.”

Spike finally seemed done crying but was still shaking a bit. “B-but what about Twilight? There’s no way she’ll let us do that.”

“What Twilight doesn’t know won’t hurt her. We’ll just say we’re going on a camping trip. Since I’ll be human again by that time I’ll be more than capable of taking care of the both of us.” Spike thought about it for a moment before his smile slowly returned.

“Alright, but I’m holding you to that promise even if you stay a pony.”

I picked him up and started walking again. “Spike, don’t even joke about that. The only thing I’ve actually enjoyed about this so far is flying. Everything else just sucks, especially those damn hormones the mares get every month.”

“Hor-moans? What are those? I don’t think Twilight gets that.”

“Are you telling me Twilight has never explained this stuff to you? I get that you’re a baby dragon but you must be like, what, thirteen, fourteen years old?”

“I’m fourteen in pony years, but that’s still baby age for dragons. Twilight said the easiest way to figure it out while we’re still growing is to divide my age in pony years by ten.”

“That doesn’t excuse Twilight from explaining this stuff to you, especially since you’re smart enough. Back on my world you’re at just the age to start learning about this kind of thing. For as long as you have lived with her, you haven’t noticed that Twilight acts a little more crazy than normal once a month?”

“Well ya, but she says it’s because every month she needs to make a special report to Celestia and that it stresses her out. She also wears this strange perfume during that week.”

Oh dear Faust. Looks like I’m explaining this to him. “That strange perfume is her hormones and she isn’t wearing it. Her body creates it.”

“I don’t get it. Why would her body make perfume for a week?”

Winter Wrap Up

View Online

I get that this is important, but why does Gnarl have to present it in such a boring fashion. Months later I was sitting in my still-awkward-for-a-pony throne as Gnarl went over the history of the Overlord. Thing is, there has only been two overlords so far. As such Gnarl decided that I might as well learn every detail of my predecessor’s rise to power.

“...and it was here in the Firewater Swamps that your predecessor found the first-”

“Don! Don! Wake up!”

What? Twilight?

“Master, are you paying at-”

“Don! Hurry! It’s Winter Wrap Up Day!” My eyes shot open to see Twilight standing over me with a grin that just screamed rape. I’ll take a lesson on the history of evil over crazy pony sex. I tried to ignore her and get back to the fortress but Twilight wasn’t having any of it.

“Don, get up! I’m not letting you sleep in on one of the best days of the year.” I felt the bed fall away beneath me only to be replaced by hard wood a few seconds later. Fucking unicorns and their telekinesis.

I grumbled as I stood on my hooves. “What’s the big deal Twilight? It’s just a day for changing the season. I still don’t get how that works by the way.”

“What about it is confusing? The seasons aren’t going to change themselves.”

“Well, let’s say hypothetically that I came from an alternate dimension in which the seasons do change on their own. Explain to me how one ‘wraps up winter’.” I followed her out into the main room of the library. A quick glance up confirmed that Spike wasn’t enjoying the morning either. Twilight started putting on boots, a saddle, and a scarf in her own dorky way as she spoke.

“Well, we need to clear the sky of clouds so that the sun can warm things up. There’s also waking up animals from hibernation, clearing the snow, helping the birds migrate back home. There’s just so much to do it would be impossible for it all to just happen on its own.”

Best not argue with Twilight logic. “Alright, I get it. Does the transition to spring at least allow a cup of coffee?” By this point Twilight had finished getting dressed and with a flash of her horn a coffee mug floated before me. I used one of my wings to grab it and knocked back a few swigs before looking back at Twilight.

“Now come on Don! We need to get their bright and early.” As she said this she opened the door to show it was still about an hour before sunrise and the festivities didn’t start for an hour or two after that. “We may be a little too early.”

I glanced back up at Spike before heading toward the kitchen. “I’m awake now, and since Spike obviously isn’t moving I guess I’ll make breakfast.”

* * *

Twilight, Spike, and I left the tree at the correct time and headed toward town hall. The entire time Twilight spent it talking about how there are different teams and whatnot while always trying to walk closer to me. Eventually I had no choice but to practically walk shoulder to shoulder with the mare. Once we were there Mayor Mare announced how things work and then everypony started singing.

Not joking…

I’m serious…

Like a full out musical number with choreography and everything…

Seems whatever had gotten into everyone hadn’t affected me for some reason. Thank Faust! What was even stranger was that right after everyone just went about what they were doing as if nothing had happened.

Anyway, ignore the spontaneous pony choir for now.

Twilight, despite being one of the smartest ponies I now, decided that she should try asking Rainbow Dash if she could help with the weather team. A team comprised solely of pegasi. Awkward moment aside, when Rainbow saw me she perked up.

“Hey Don, Twilight here can’t help with the weather team but you can. How 'bout it?”

I shrugged. “Sure, I’ll try it. I have no idea how to clear up clouds though. All I’ve used them for so far is napping.”

“They do make great beds. I can show you how to get rid of them though, come on!” She zoomed up and landed on a cloud above.

“See ya Twilight!” I pushed off the ground before she could respond and within seconds I was up on the cloud with Rainbow.

“Alright Don, first let’s see what you can do. Hit that cloud over there as hard as you can.” She waved her hoof at a cloud the size of three ponies put together. I made my way leisurely over to it before turning and trying an applebuck mid-air style. I hit the cloud but my hooves just went through it. In the end all I had to show for my work was a ten yard drop I had taken.

Judging by Rainbow’s face my performance was even worse than I thought. “That was… good. Here let me show you how to do it.” She flew over to the cloud in one swift move bucked it, reducing it to nothing. I just continued to look dumbfounded.

“Here, I’ll help you this time.” She grabbed one of my hooves (still not sure how they do that) and dragged be over to another cloud. Before I could say anything she started positioning my body in a pre-buck position.

“You want to keep your back arched,” Damn it, she's touching me again! “your stomach loose,” Getting a little close there Dash. “Your wings unfurled,” Oh come on, you taught me those were erogenous areas! “And finally you need to keep your flanks firm.”

At that point I had enough. I quickly turned around and spat out words before she could put her hooves on me again. “Well this seems rather complicated and I don’t want to slow down your work so I’m just going to see what Twilight is doing. Sound good? Awesome. See ya!” And I zoomed off. Took me about a minute to find Twilight with Rarity.

“Hey Don. What happened to helping with the weather team?”

I shuddered a bit as I was reminded of what had just happened. “I don’t think I’m right for the weather team. What’s going on here?”

Rarity was the one to explain. “We are making nests for the birds. They need good homes for when the weather team brings them back.”

“Wait, the weather team gets the birds? Why doesn’t the animal team deal with that?” Rarity and Twilight looked at each other before turning back with a look of confusion. Ponies, the one creature in existence where making less sense seems to make more.

“Perhaps you would like to try making one Don? I’m sure you could make a fabulous home for the birds.”

“Sure, thankfully being able to use wings as hands shouldn’t make it too hard.” I walked up to the table and started working. After about fifteen minutes Twilight and I had both finished our nests.

“Very good Don. Twilight though… not so much. Here let me help you.” She walked around the table to stand in front of the nest. As she did so she positioned her flank so that it was plain for me to see. She even seemed to wiggle it a bit as she worked to fix Twilight’s nest.

Is this what my day is going to be like? Looking away I could see Twilight sneaking off and decided it would be best to follow suit.

“Was my nest really that bad?” Spike and I looked at each other as we both tried to find an answer to that loaded question. It ended up being me who had to answer though I was more afraid of whatever magical fallout was to befall me than hurting her feelings.

“Well, it was a bird nest, that much I could tell.” That didn’t seem to satisfy her though and she was going to ask again. Instead we were interrupted by the voice of a pony I never thought I would be glad to hear.

“Wooooooo! Hiya Twilight. You here to ice skate?” Pinkie Pie was skating across a lake of ice doing maneuvers I didn’t even think would be possible for a pony. Twilight seemed to agree.

“Wow Pinkie, you’re a really good ice skater.”

“Thanks Twilight! I’ve been doing this since I was an itty bitty, little wittle, Twinkie Pinkie. Just comes natural. You and Don want to help me cut the lake for the weather team?”

“Would I!” Twilight practically bounced toward the extra pairs of skates while I remained ever skeptical. After all, this is Pinkie we are talking about. Nevertheless I put on the skates and got out on the ice while Twilight was having troubles of her own. I found out fast that ice skating is hard, especially for equines.

I was slowly stumbling across the ice when I finally found my balance. Unfortunately I came to a stop right in front of a smug looking Pinkie. Despite every fiber of my being telling me not to, I asked. “What did you do?”

She pointed down at the ice to show that I was standing at an eight way intersection with a circle around me all cut by Pinkie’s skates. As I tried to get clear I ended up setting off the trap, causing the ice below me to break and for me to fall through into the absolute zero water.

Once I had abandoned the skates to the icy depths and flown out I was met with a snow totem pole that turned out to be Twilight, Pinkie, and Spike all stacked on top of each other. After the two ponies had a little heart to heart, which I ignored in favor of warming myself up, we headed off to find another job.

The next pony we ran into happened to be Fluttershy ringing a bell. As we approached a couple of squirrels climbed out of a hole in the hill. They took a moment to stretch before they noticed me and ran as fast as possible.

“Looks like the animals haven’t changed over the winter.”

“Oh, I bet they’re just shy. Are you and Twilight here to help?”

“I guess, though I don’t think I can help here.”

“I’m sure you’ll do fine. Here, You and Twilight both get a bell. Just ring it by the homes to wake them up.” I grabbed one of the bells with my wings while Twilight grabbed the other in her teeth. The animal reacted just about how I expected. Wakes up, sticks head out, runs for the hills.

I couldn't care less about the animals but I was willing to find any excuse to get away and hide till spring came. “Fluttershy, I really don’t think this is a good idea for me to keep doing this.”

“Oh, um, maybe you should try again?”

“No, I think I should just-”

“How about you help with the ones who don’t want to leave their holes?” As she said this she got right up in my face rather un-Fluttershy-like.

Jeez, what is with everyone today. First Dash, then Rarity, and now Flutters? It was around this time that some deity decided to grant me a boon in the form of Twilight dropping a beehive on her head and then running into a pit of skunks.

I was sure Twilight was fine but I was still looking for that excuse. “Oh no, I better go check on her and make sure she isn’t hurt. See ya!” I ran after her with a wing blocking my nose, leaving Fluttershy to keep the skunks from freaking out and spraying stink everywhere.

* * *

Back in the library Twilight was getting a bath in tomato paste and bee sting ointment from Spike. I stood on the opposite side of the room so I didn’t have to smell her, although this did give me an idea for the next time she's in heat.

“I still don’t get why you don’t use magic.”

“Ponyville has never needed magic to wrap up winter before and they don't need it now.”

“But I thought pegasi and earth ponies all use magic in their own way as well?"

"I meant unicorn magic. Like I told you, Ponyville was found by earth ponies so it's tradition to not use spells."

"I guess there is no arguing with tradition, especially with ponies like Applejack around.”

“Speaking of Applejack, after I’ve cleaned up we’re going there next to see if we can help plow the snow.”

“No offense, but you’re not really that strong. Plus that just sounds like what I normally do when I’m working for her.”

Twilight jumped up a bit, splashing tomato paste on Spike. “Come on Don! Everypony needs to do their part.”

“Every ’pony’ needs to. I’m not a pony technically.” How blunt I was seemed to hit her hard.

“Don, even if you aren’t a natural pony, you still are one to me and the girls.”

Yes, I am very aware how much you all like my pony form. “Doesn’t mean I’m not one Twilight. I’m supposed to be human and as soon as the princess figures out how to change me back, that’s what I’ll be.”

“Are you sure? I mean, have you really thought about it? You wouldn’t be able to fly, your human body can’t handle the amount of sugar you’ve been eating-”

“And you would lose your chance with me?”

She seemed genuinely surprised by this. “What, Don I’m not-”

I got up and headed for the door. “I don’t want to hear it Twilight. You and most of the others have made it blatantly obvious what you think of my pony body.” I opened the door as I said. “I’m going flying for a bit.”

“Wait, Don! This isn’t-” I closed the door, cutting her off. A lot of people would think I’m being harsh but you haven’t lived with four ponies constantly trying to get with you. I was lucky that Applejack hadn’t been harassing me at work, and Pinkie still hated me. Plus I still got stares from some of the other mares in town when they all went into heat.

I felt my stomach start to ache as if someone was twisting it. I guess I didn’t cook my eggs right this morning. I ignored the pain and took to the sky, making sure to avoid the weather team as they worked.

God damn mares. I can’t believe they are so blatantly stupid. Tell them to back off and they get closer. Tell them to not bother me and they insist on keeping me company. It’s a good thing I’m planning on leaving to find the nests or I might start contemplating suicide.

Can’t wait until I see their faces when I tell them. It will be so priceless. Rarity might actually faint instead of faking it. Oh, they will try to convince me not to leave but my ‘wanderlust’ will just be too strong. Good thing I’ve already discussed it with Celestia. Until I get those nests I can’t face her.

I glanced around looking for somewhere to go. Let’s see, Twilight is eventually going by Applejack’s so I can’t hang out there. Rainbow will find me anywhere amongst the clouds. Rarity and Fluttershy will be around the forests. Unfortunately that really only leaves one place to hide out.

I touched down and began clearing a small space in the snow to lie down. As I was doing this my worst nightmare bounced her way over to me.

“What are you doing here?” I looked up from my work to see Pinkie had dropped her normal happy routine and her tail was twitching violently as it usually did. Once I made sure we were alone I spoke.

“Your friends all are desperate to get laid so I’m avoiding them. This was the only place I could think they wouldn’t show up for awhile and you are surprisingly less annoying than them.”

I sat down in the spot I made on the grass as Pinkie continued giving me the stink eye. “What do you mean by ‘laid’?

“Really? That slang doesn’t exist here? Weird, but I guess this entire place seems like a kids show. Anyway, laid means sex.” Once she put the two together it seemed to dawn on her what I was saying.

“My friends don’t like you like that!”

“Poor naive Pinkie. Don’t worry though, I have time and it’s not like any of the ponies believe what you say about me anyway. I might as well explain this to you. Where to start?” I made a show of putting a hoof to my chin before beginning.

“First let’s start with Rarity. The mare has been trying to get me to come in to her boutique so she can make me pony clothes when they aren’t even necessary so she must just want to get her hooves on me. On top of that she hasn’t stopped talking about the whole diamond dog incident and she still claims I ‘valiantly sacrificed myself’ or whatever bullshit is spewing from her mouth.

“Second there’s Rainbow. Though I am glad she taught me to fly, ever since she has been trying to get me to stunt fly more with her to a point where I can actually predict when and where she is going to ask me. Whenever we do go fly around she always uses it as an excuse to put her hooves on me and I’m not going to be felt up like that.

“Third is Fluttershy. I went to her home and found that almost all animals are afraid of me. I figure it’s because of what you already know about me. Whatever the case Fluttershy has been very un-shy about her wishes for her animals and I to become friends. I’ve never seen her so forceful about anything except when I was hurt the day I got here.

“And finally, Twilight. Ever since I became a pony she has insisted on coming with me everywhere. I’ve literally had to sneak out of the library to get any alone time or to hang out with Spike. Not only that, but I’ve found pages upon pages of things about me she has observed. It’s incredibly creepy and I almost burned them on the spot but then I remembered the whole living in a tree thing.”

Things were quiet for a few moments while Pinkie seemed to absorb what I had said. Despite looking relaxed I made sure to be ready with a taser hoof in case she-Wait, is she snickering?

She seemed to be trying to hold back laughter and even went so far as to puff her cheeks out but it was hopeless as she fell on the floor in hysteria. This made me mad, and why wouldn’t I be? I just explained the hell I had been in for the past few months and she goes and starts laughing about it! I didn’t even think Pinkie could be that cruel.

“It’s not funny!” She continued to laugh. “Cut it out!” That seemed to get her attention but she was still giggling when she got up.

“For as evil as you are you aren’t very bright Don.” Okay, now she’s just trying to piss me off. “My friends weren’t hitting on you.”

“What!? Explain!”

“Alright!” She started to bounce around me happily as she spoke. “Rarity told me that you could be a famous model being the pony you are. As such, she has been trying to get you to come in so she can try some clothes on you. She also talks about the diamond dog thing because what you did was really brave and she wants to thank you for it.” I felt the knot in my stomach return, causing me to grimace slightly.

“With Rainbow you’re just not understanding her teaching style. She’s a hooves on kind of mare and isn’t comfortable just explaining something and watching you try. Fluttershy’s talent is animals and it’s the only thing she is really confident about. That’s why she doesn’t act like her normal self when she talks about them.” Two more stomach cramps came with each explanation.

“And then Twilight, she’s the reason all of them have been around you so much. She got us all together to try and make you feel at home being a pony. She follows you around because she wants to make sure things go as planned. And the notes are just that silly, notes! On making you happier!” And finally what felt like a kick to the gut. By this point I had to lay down so as not to show my pain.

Once my stomach had settled I looked up to see Pinkie giving me the first genuine smile I had ever seen when looking at me. “You see now? They aren’t trying to get with you, they just want you to smile!”

“I… well… bu…” I was currently going through my memory trying to find evidence against her claims but everything I found either fit with what she had said or could very easily have been an accident. Fuck, she’s right! I completely misread the situation. My stomach accented that point with another twist. Damn it, what is wrong with me? Is… is this guilt? I quickly shook my head of that thought. No, of course not! I’m the Overlord, I don’t feel remorse. I live to cause pain, and exist to spread evil! I’m the embodiment of darkness itself!

I glanced at Pinkie who still stood there smiling. Her tail seemed to be twitching less than before though I wasn’t sure. I’m just sick or something. Maybe this pony body is affecting me. Ya, that’s it. I got up and started stretching my wings. “Either you’re very good at making stuff up or you're right, and since I’m pretty sure a made-up story by you would include cupcakes somewhere you must be speaking the truth.”

“Oh, cupcakes sound good right now. Darn it Don, now I’m hungry!”

I couldn’t help but laugh a bit. “What can I say, I am evil.” I began to take off but Pinkie grabbed my tail. I stopped so she could spit it out and speak.

“You should talk to them all later once Winter Wrap Up is done. Until then I’ll hide you here and you can help me cut the ice.”

“Why would I want to talk with everyone? And you know I suck at ice skating.”

“Just trust me on this one. My Pinkie Sense doesn’t lie.” I had already experienced everything the Pinkie Sense was capable of first hand when Twilight tried to figure it out scientifically. Even I believe it to a degree after everything that happened.

“Alright, but that doesn’t change the fact I can’t skate.”

Pinkie put a hoof behind her head as she looked around sheepishly. “I might have sabotaged your skates so that they were extra wobbly.”

I gave her a deadpan stare as I dropped back down. “I hate you.”

Pinkie still spoke cheerfully despite my comment. “Same goes to you Don!” She bounced off toward the lake as I followed her. Turns out ice skating wasn’t so hard. If anything being a quadruped made it easier.

I spent that day and the next helping Pinkie cut the ice, during which whatever had burrowed its way into my body continued to make my life miserable. Twilight eventually figured out her place in Winter Wrap Up was to boss everyone else around. I didn’t complain though since things went a lot faster with her in charge.

Once everything was done Pinkie dragged me over to Sugarcube Corner where all of her friends were enjoying lunch in the spring sunshine. Twilight spoke as my stomach pains started back up in earnest.

“Oh Don, I’m sorry if we made you uncomfortable.” Ugh, this pony body must be rejecting me or something. “You just seemed so distraught when you became a pony.” Oh jeez, I think I’m going to puke. “None of us had any intention of-” Fuck, here it comes.

Instead of stomach bile I puked up words. “No, I’m sorry. I completely took your kindness the wrong way. All you were trying to do was make me feel better after getting stuck like this and I took it as you trying to make a move. If I had really thought about it I would have realized how stupid I was being.” Why the fuck did I just say that?

Despite how rapid and strained I had sounded, Twilight had a warm smile on her face. "It's alright Don." I felt the tension in my stomach release a bit. The others were all quick to accept my apology as well.

"Quite alright Don. We were acting a bit overbearing."

"Plus I'm too busy trying to get into the Wonderbolts to get into anything serious."

"I suppose it will just take time for my animals to like you as Angel does."

With the apologies out of the way, the pain I had dealt with for the past two days was finally gone and I let out a sigh of relief. Twilight waved Pinkie and I to join everyone at the table

“If you don’t mind me asking though, why are you so keen on turning back into a human?”

“This body just doesn’t feel right. It’s like pushing a square peg in a round hole. Sure, with enough force you can get it in but it still isn’t meant to be there.”

“Well if that’s the case we’ll back off, though that doesn’t mean you get to sit around sulking again.” That's all it took to get you off my back?This brought a smile to my face until Rainbow spoke up.

“If we’re in heat though all bets are off.” My glare was enough of a response for her. “What? You try thinking straight when you’re constantly horny.”

I couldn’t help but laugh at how ridiculous this was. Thankfully everyone else seemed to find it funny as well.

* * *

I was lying down on a table in the medical room of the fortress. A glowing crystal floated above me scanning my body with a white light while Gnarl simply watched from the side. After what felt like hours of just sitting still the light went out and the crystal landed in Gnarl’s claws.

“So what does it say?” Gnarl looked into the crystal for a few moments before grinning.

“If anything Master you are the picture of health, even for a pony. I can’t find anything to link these 'cramps' to a medical issue.”

I sighed. I had hoped the issue had been a worm or something that was eating a hole in my stomach. At least that can be fixed. “Well let’s hope once I’m back to normal this goes away with it.”

“Ah yes. Just a few more weeks. You said you already discussed your ‘reasons’ for leaving with Celestia?”

I hopped up off the table and motioned for Gnarl to follow me down the hall. “I told her in a letter that despite how many friends I have made in Ponyville, I have been feeling a need to explore ever since I got here. Zecora offered to take me on a trip she is taking soon and I couldn't pass up the opportunity.”

“Perfect excuse sire. It even allows for you to bring your Gatekeeper so you have access to everything.”

“That was the idea. I already discussed it with her so that her story and mine line up. We’ll be leaving around the middle of spring after the dragon migration.”

“I am confused why you are staying for it.”

“I told Spike I would take him to speak with the dragons. Plus if I can find a way to get them on my side, that’s one less race fighting against me.”

“Excellent Master. I did not even think to try making allies with the races that fought your predecessor. That will leave Celestia with less strength should she try to amass an army.” We entered the throne room and I took my seat while Gnarl took his spot.

“Now, to continue with the lesson.” My groans were ignored as he began.

Chick Magnet

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I slowly creaked open the door to my room and double checked the hall. Looks like the coast is clear. I made each step with extreme care, flinching slightly whenever a floorboard creaked. It took awhile but I made it to the main room of the library. So far so good.

Once I made sure my saddlebags were still on tight I headed toward the front door. All I need to do is survive today. The princesses will be here tomorrow to turn me back to a human and then I’ll never have to worry about-

“Oh Don, where are you going?” I froze in terror as I heard Twilight call out in a sing-songy voice. I didn’t dare turn around as I spoke.

“Nowhere, I just…” Need an excuse! ”...wanted to go flying for a bit. Ya, that’s it.” I could feel sweat pouring down my brow as I made sure the nose plugs I had made were in correctly.

“Really? I thought you were just trying to get away from me.” She sounded hurt by such a thought but the playfulness from before was still there.

I can’t tell her the truth or she might go even more crazy! “Come on Twilight. What sort of friend would I be if I avoided you because of something you can’t control.” I started walking toward the door as natural as possible.

“Your right, you are a good friend.” Phew! I reached a wing toward the door handle. “But you know what would make you a great friend?”

I froze an inch away freedom. “W-what’s that?” Before I could react my vision went purple as the familiar sensation of being picked up with magic covered my body. Soon I was nose to nose with Twilight who looked like she had just gotten out of bed. She also was giving me this look that was half sultry, half crazy!

“A great friend would stay and help their friend in their time of need, and what I need is for you to rut me!”

Shit! Think of something, THINK OF SOMETHING!!! “T-twilight, I don’t think this is a good idea. After all I’m not actually a pony, and because of my amnesia I don’t have any memory of how good I am at that. For all you know I’m terrible.”

Twilight giggled in a way that just made her seem more crazy. “Oh Don, you don’t have to be embarrassed. I’ve got a book on the subject so we’ll know exactly how to do this. Besides, you should enjoy being a pony since it’s your last day.”

Damn it, I guess I have to go to plan B. I had really hoped I could save this for Rarity though. I sighed in defeat. “Fine, I guess I’m not getting out of this. Just put me down so I can take off my saddlebags.” Twilight squeed in delight at her victory. Once I was on the ground I quickly used a wing to grab my secret weapon out of my bag before removing them.

“By the way Twilight, I got something for you since you’ve been such a great friend.” For a moment it looked like normal Twilight broke through before her ‘sexy’ stare returned.

“And what’s that?” She walked toward me never breaking eye contact. Closer, closer… Now! I threw my wing at her head, slipping the ring it held over her horn. As soon as I heard it lock in place I jumped into the air.

Twilight saw me escaping and in her attempt to stop me figured out what my gift was. “A magic suppressor? Where did you get this?”

“Turns out the Quills and Sofas shop also sells some magic stuff on the side.” I turned and headed for a window as Twilight screamed after me.

“DON!!!” Of course I didn’t stop and soon I was free to the open air. For a moment I allowed myself to enjoy flight as this would be the last day I could. The sun was just barely peeking over the horizon and the town was still quiet, leaving me with a feeling of calm. Unfortunately that moment was ruined as I saw a rainbow streak soaring across the sky.

Shit! Where to hide? I quickly turned my head side to side as I searched and found a cloud. I sped as fast as I could toward it and dived inside. My vision was filled with white puffiness as I heard a pegasus zoom by. I’ll just wait to make sure she’s gone and then I’ll make a break for it. I slowly counted to ten but just as I hit nine a voice from outside interrupted me.

“Don, you know your tail is sticking out right?” I pushed my head out of the cloud to see Rainbow Dash next to me, and just like she said my red tail was there. I managed to strain a smile as I spoke.

“Whoops, you found me. Well I guess it’s your turn to hide. You better hurry because I’m going to start counting.” I pushed my wings out and covered my eyes. “One, two, three, fou-”

“Don, you know why I’m here.” I let my wings droop from my eyes.

“Oh come on!” I watched as she took on the same sultry look Twilight had as she landed on the cloud.

“Don’t worry, this is the only thing I don’t do fast.” Before she could get any closer I squirmed out of the cloud and sped off. It only took Rainbow a few seconds to catch up and cut me off. I tried again and again to get away but Rainbow was just too fast.

“Come on Don, there’s no way you can go faster than me. You might as well just give up.” I was almost ready to take extreme measures and taze her when I got an idea.

“You want to prove that you’re faster than me? How about we have a race?” Rainbow Dash’s competitive spirit broke through almost immediately.

“A race? Oh you are so on! Where to?” I looked around for a suitable place.

“To the Everfree Forest and back. If I win you leave me alone, if you win you get what you want.” These terms excited Rainbow even further as she geared up to race.

“Alright than, you ready?” I nodded as I turned toward the forest. “Three, two, one, go!” And off Rainbow went toward the forest while I simply watched. That was easier than I expected, though I definitely don’t want to be here when she gets back. With that in mind I flew in the opposite direction toward Sweet Apple Acres and took residence in a tree. Once I was sure no one was following me I loosened my bracer and hung it on a tree branch. Might as well take a nap since I didn’t get much sleep last night.

Once I was settled in it wasn’t long before I had fallen asleep.

* * *

Before I could figure out what was going on my head hit the ground. With the combination of ringing in my ears and drowsiness I could barely make out a voice with a southern accent speaking to me.

“Don? Why were you up in a tree?” Once I had gotten up I turned to see Applejack.

“I was taking a nap while hiding from Rainbow and Twilight.”

“So they finally let the heat get to their heads, did they? Figures.” Even though I knew Applejack had more self control than the others with this I could still see her looking me up and down.

“Ya, anyway I think it’s about time I-” I turned around to see Fluttershy standing there. She squeaked and hid behind her mane as she usually does when I noticed her. Please don’t tell me.

“Um, Don, I was wondering if… if you…” she took a big breath before ‘yelling’ what she wanted to say. “If you would help me with my heat by rutting me!”

Avoid looking at her eyes. Avoid the stare! “Sorry Fluttershy. We’re friends and all but I’m not interested in ponies like that.”

“Oh, um… well than… I’m sorry.”

“Sorry about what?” Suddenly a roar came from my left. Charging out from between the row of apples trees was the grizzly bear that I had seen at Fluttershy’s cottage. Whatever Fluttershy had done to it had riled it up enough to ignore it’s usual fear of me as it lunged. I narrowly dodged the beast by launching into the air.

“A bear!? You don’t think having a bear attack me is a little extreme!?”

“Oh, he isn’t attacking. He’s just going to pin you down so you can help me.”

“Well unless he grows wings he isn’t going to catch me anytime soon.” Just as I had finished speaking a lasso wrapped itself around my midsection, forcing my wings shut and grounding me. I didn’t even have to look to know where it came from.

“Applejack! I thought you had better control of this than the others.”

She spat out the lasso before speaking. “Sorry Don, this heat’s a doozy and a gal’s got her needs.” Before I could say anything the bear made another attempt at tackling me which I avoided with a roll. I then did the one thing a man in my position could do.

Run as fast as possible.

I sprinted down the line of apple trees as the bear bounded after me. The two mares followed right behind. I desperately tried to remove the rope around my wings but AJ knows her knots. Thankfully I knew one person who knew them better and this pony was a guy. As soon as the farmhouse was in sight I ran through the front door and slammed it behind me. I pushed a couch in front of the door to barricade it and had begun pushing a cabinet when Big Mac walked in.

“What’s this?”

I was completely out of breath at this point. “Mares… heat… bear… crazy…”

Big Mac nodded knowingly. “My sister and Miss Fluttershy are in heat and trying to get you to rut them and Fluttershy’s got a bear?” I just nodded as I continued catching my breath. Mac gave a hearty laugh before speaking again. “Damn Don, you know how many stallions would kill to be you right now?”

“Well any of them are free to take my spot. All I want is to survive the day with my virginity intact.” The bear was now attempting to smash down the door and I knew it was only a matter of time. “Big Mac, you gotta get this rope off me. It’s not just those two, there’s Rainbow and Twilight too, and I bet Rarity is in on it as well.”

Big Mac seemed to think about it for a moment before speaking. “Alright, but you owe me later.”

“I’ll give you whatever you want once I’m human again.” He nodded and in one tug of the rope I was free. “That’s it? Why couldn’t I do that?”

Big Mac shrugged. “I’d suggest heading out the back way. I can keep AJ and Miss Fluttershy busy for awhile.” I flared my wings as I darted toward the back.

“Thanks Mac! You’re a life saver.” Once out the back door I flew close to the ground in the direction of town. As I got closer I slowed down. Good thing too because just as I was about to reach town I saw Twilight looking for me, and she looked pissed with her magic suppressor. With little options I ducked into the first building I could find. I glanced out the door as Twilight walked by me.

“Don? Why are you here?” I jumped around to see that the pony who had spoken was Cherilee. Turns out the building I had hid in was the schoolhouse and I was right now in the middle of class. I looked over the group of kids as I tried to find a way to explain the situation to Cherilee.

“Uhhh, well, it has to do with the heat if you know what I mean.” Thankfully she did understand based on her face but a question from the children was inevitable.

“What do you mean? It’s not hot out today.” I can’t really tell them, can I? I looked over at Cherilee for an excuse. Thankfully she’s a teacher so she knows how to handle this.

“You all know that Don isn’t a pony naturally. Since humans aren’t covered in hair the heat feels worse for him. Right Don?”

“Um, ya, that’s it.” I breathed a sigh of relief before the next kid spoke.

“Can you tell us more about humans?” I looked to Cherilee again but this time she wasn’t going to help me.

“I think that would be a great idea. Besides, you need to stay inside for awhile to keep out of the heat, right?” I got her meaning but I still didn’t want to do this. Alright, I just need to make sure I don’t mention all the wars and bombs and stuff. That shouldn’t be hard, right?

“Alright, I guess I can answer some questions. Who’s first?” I saw a few hooves be raised so I picked one at random.

* * *

After the spontaneous lesson the children’s school day was over. As they all ran out to head home I stepped outside with Cherilee.

“That was really good Don. Are you sure you weren’t a teacher before you came to Equestria?”

I chuckled a bit. “I could have been. Things did seem to go well and I can’t thank you enough for hiding me.”

“It was no trouble at all. You are lucky though that us older mares are better at controlling ourselves. If you like you can come by next month and give another lesson.”

“I’ll be human again tomorrow so I won’t have to worry, but I have to admit I had fun so I’ll come by sometime before I leave.”

“You’re leaving? It’s not because of those mares, is it?”

Yes. “No, I just have a bit of wanderlust is all. I’ll be back eventually though. I haven’t told anyone yet so I’d appreciate it if you don’t say anything.”

“Don’t worry, I won’t tell. I do hope you take care of yourself though. Some places in Equestria can be dangerous.”

And I’ll be heading to the most dangerous of them all. “I’ll take care of myself. Zecora will be with me too so she’ll be watching my back. I better get going though, who knows where those mares will show up next.”

“Alright, goodbye Don!” With that out of the way I started walking toward town. Despite my initial dislike toward being a teacher, I had to admit I did enjoy it. I guess even evil masterminds can have fun with children.

Do not take that the wrong way.

Suddenly a filly ran up to me with a smile on my face. I remember her name being Sweetie Belle. “Hey Don. My sister wanted to meet you, is that okay?”

I guess there is no harm. I could use another excuse to keep away from the mares too. “Sure, where is she?”

She pointed behind me. “Here she comes now.” I turned around and immediately lost my smile when I saw who it was.

“Rarity!?”

“Hello Don.” She said nothing else but the look she was giving me told me everything I needed to know. I shot into the air as I tried to escape but was quickly enveloped in a blue aura. “Now Don, don’t rush off so quickly. I want to thank you for being so kind to my sister and her class.”

I continued paddling against the magic as I tried to talk my way out of the situation. “Oh it’s fine. Teaching children has its own rewards. You don’t need to do anything.”

“Nonsense, now come along. I’m sure I can figure out some way to thank you.” I continued paddling against the air for about half the trip much to Sweetie Belle’s enjoyment. This is it. I’m losing my virginity to a horse. The worst part about it is I’m sure Rarity is the dominatrix type. I cringed at the idea. I really hope whip marks won’t transfer over once I turn back.

It wasn’t long before we made it to the boutique. As we entered, Rarity looked at herself in one of the mirrors she had on the wall. “Oh my, it looks like I need a bit of a touch up.” She headed up the stairs leaving me floating in the air with Sweetie Belle just watching on from the side. Once I was sure Rarity was out of earshot I waved Sweetie over.

“Sweetie Belle, come here. Hurry!”

“What is it?”

“I need you to use your horn to disrupt your sister’s magic.”

“Why? She just wants to do something nice for you.”

“Trust me when I say what she wants to do for me is not something I want.”

“You know? What is she going to do?”

Why does it seem like I’m the only one here that has kids asking me about sex?

“Is she going to heat you up? That doesn’t sound very nice. You’d get all sweaty and smell bad.”

Oh Faust, if I didn’t know better. “That’s exactly what she’s going to do. Now hurry up and help me.”

“I don’t know. Rarity might get mad if I do that.”

“Maybe, but if Rarity gets her way I won’t be able to come back and teach again.”

“What? Why?”

“It’s a human tradition. It would take too long to explain it though. Please Sweetie Belle!” She bit her lip as her eyes darted from me to the stairs and back again.

“Alright, but you need to help me hide from Rarity until she stops being mad.”

“Deal.” She grabbed a stool and used it to reach me. Once her horn touched the magic there was a spark and after a few seconds I was dropped on the floor. I could hear Rarity gasp as she felt her spell break.

“Alright, time to go.” I leapt into the air and made a pass to grab Sweetie Belle in my hooves. We were out the door as Rarity called out behind us.

“DON!!! SWEETIE BELLE!!!” I felt the corner of my mouth turn up as we sped away from the crazy mare. Once I was sure we were out of range I tossed Sweetie Belle up and caught her on my back.

“Looks like you’re staying with me for a while Sweetie. Anywhere specific you want to go?.”

“Can we go to Sugarcube Corner and get something to eat? I really want something sweet.”

For a moment I thought about Pinkie Pie but I figured even she in heat wouldn’t touch me. “Alright, I suppose I owe you that much for getting you in trouble.” I glided over to the bakery taking extra care to look out for the now five mares that were hunting me. Once there I put Sweetie down and we went in. Pinkie was there and still smiling. Ever since Winter Wrap Up she had been oddly happy though she still seemed to watch me carefully.

“Hiya Don! Twilight came in earlier looking for you. It wasn’t really nice to put that magic thing on her.”

“Well what she was trying to do to me wasn’t nice either so I guess we’re even.” She opened her mouth to speak but I interrupted her. “And no, I’m not going to take it off. Not until tomorrow.”

She pouted. “You aren’t suppose to treat friends like that Don.”

“Friends don’t try to do what Twilight and everyone else has today. Anyway, I’m not here to argue with you. I owe Sweetie here a treat after I got her in trouble with her sister.”

“You are such a bad influence.”

“Hey, she saved me from Rarity. If it wasn’t for her I…” I looked down at Sweetie before covering her ears with my wings. “I would probably be in her sex dungeon right now.” I took my wings off. She just humphed and looked to Sweetie Belle with a smile.

“So what can I get you?” Sweetie ran up to the display and started looking over the sweets while I decided to check out the door. I felt my heart stop as I saw all of the mares minus Fluttershy gathering outside. Okay, I could take one, maybe two of them, but all four? Even they can’t really think I can go that long. Despite the absurdity of the idea they seemed to believe just that as they teamed up and started heading toward the bakery.

I slammed the door and ran up to the counter. “Get Sweetie whatever she wants for ten bits or less. Also Rarity and all your friends are about to come in the store so unless you want Sweetie here to get in trouble for doing a good thing I’d suggest you hide her.” Before either of them could speak I darted into the kitchen and out the back. Wasn’t long before I was back to flying as I tried to figure out where to go next.

--------------------Read here--------------------

I need more than just a place none of them will normally go. I need a place where no pony would willingly go unless they were desperate. I flew about trying to figure something out before my eyes locked on the Everfree in the distance. Hmm… that should work, and since my magic is the same as everything there the creatures shouldn’t notice me.

It took about fifteen minutes for me to reach the forest and another five to find a nice tree to land in. I thought about going to Zecora’s but I figured the mares were crazy enough to go there before so why wouldn’t they now. Once I was settled I quickly found sleep as I was eager to get to the fortress.

Instead however I found myself in the starry expanse of the dreamscape back in my human form. I looked around for a moment in confusion before face palming. I left my bracer back at Sweet Apple Acres. I’m going to need that before I change back. For now I decided to just enjoy the fact I could still lucid dream. First I created a picture perfect valley with mountains and pine forests. There I stood on a cliff above it all as I added a cool breeze along with a few clouds dotting the moonlit sky.

With the scenery done I sprouted my pegasus wings only on a much larger scale. I easily had a wingspan of eight feet and I used this to gently glide about the valley. Though the land I had created was beautiful to look at from above what I truly enjoyed was the feeling of flight. I had to admit out of all the things that had happened while I was a pony, being able to fly with my own wings was one of the few good things. The way the air flowed across my feathers as the wind whistled in my ears was an experience all on its own. Combine that with how useful it is for many situations as well as what an aerial point of view gives you and flying ended up being the one thing that actually tempted me to stay a pony.

I lost track of how long I had been dreaming but a new voice gave me an idea of how long it had been. “This is a lovely night sky you have made Don.” I opened my eyes to see that Luna had joined in on my dream. I simply smiled as we continued to soar.

“Though daytime has its purpose, you have to admit that you can’t exactly look up at it like one does the moon. Plus I’ve always prefered night. The cool air, the stars, how quiet it is. It has its own kind of magic to it.”

“You do not seem too surprised by me. Was my presence expected?”

“No, I’m just aware this is a dream. I figured that out when not only was I human but I had wings. You being here just confirms that.”

“Do you truly love flight so much that you dream of it? If so, why do you insist on changing back?”

“Flying is amazing. However it’s probably the one thing I’m going to actually miss about being a pony. Everything else has sucked for the most part.”

“Oh? How so?”

“Let’s see. Hooves are really awkward. Up till learning how to use my wings like hands I couldn’t really do anything. As a pony I constantly crave sugar since you all seem to live off the stuff. Thing is, I’ve never been that much of a fan of things like cupcakes and pie. There’s also how mares have… issues every month and since I never grew up with that stuff I need to plug my nose for a week.”

Luna blushed at my final reason. “I suppose with such reasons like that, being a pony would seem unappealing.” We let the conversation drop for awhile as we both enjoyed the flight, but eventually Luna spoke again. “Have you been dreaming alright since your visit to Canterlot?”

Has she noticed my lack of dreams? “I think so. I never remember dreaming anything though.”

“Strange. This is the first dream you can recall having since then?” I nodded. “Than it is as I feared. Thankfully we have seen this before.”

“Seen this before? What are you talking about?”

“We believe your connection to the dreamscape may be in jeopardy. I have a spell that should repair any damage. Once cast you should dream every night like you do now.”

That means I’ll have to stop going to the fortress every night instead of truly sleeping. I’ll have to figure out a new schedule with Gnarl. “If it’s that important that it be fixed then sure. I just don’t see how not dreaming can cause issues.”

“It starts as not dreaming normally but can slowly degrade other processes of the brain. If not treated you could end up a vegetable.”

“Damn, well it’s a good thing you’re coming to town in the morning. By the way, when is that? I want to get changed back before Twilight and her friends find me.”

“I will assume your desire to be changed before you see them is linked to one of your reasons for not wanting to stay as you are. My sister and I should be arriving by train an hour after sunrise.”

“Awesome. If there’s nothing else than I’m just going to keep flying.”

Luna’s voice echoed as she faded away. “Very well. We shall see you soon.” As soon as I was sure she had left I let my anger about the situation show as the forest below me burst into flames and the mountains exploded with magma.

Damn it! I’ll have to figure out a time where I can go to the fortress via Zecora. On top of that I need an excuse for why I’m going to Zecora’s so much and even if I find time the maximum I’ll get is two to three hours! That’s barely enough to get me back into fighting condition before the trip, but until than I’ll be disgustingly underpowered. I slammed into the ground as summoned up some random ponies into my dream and disposed of each one in a gruesome way. One I roasted on a stick, another torn apart by wolves, another had a plant grow in its stomach till the vines clogged her throat and tore through her intestines. Each one a different death, each one horrifying in its own way.

After about fifty dream ponies had met their untimely demise I felt at ease. Perhaps I will tell them about the trip and that I will be spending time with Zecora to prepare. I sighed as I walked amongst the burning trees that were now little more than ash. I guess that’s the best I’ve got on such short notice. I would kill to have Gnarl here to help me figure something out. As I thought that I spawned another pony and quickly ended him with a hundred or so arrows. I have to admit my predecessor was right. Bloodshed is fun! I put on my best evil grin as I continued the killing spree for another hour or so before deciding it was about time to wake up.

Once awake I took a few moments to reorient myself to my pony body before taking off. The sun was just starting to peek above the sky and the weather in Ponyville was cloudy. I used this to my advantage as I made my way toward the train station. Unfortunately the girls were one step ahead of me.

Damn they are persistent. I wonder if they even slept last night. From my perch on a cloud I could see down the rails for miles. In the distance I spied the train that would be carrying the princesses and decided that I might as well meet them early. I flew toward the train, taking my time to be stealthy until I was outside town. Once there I landed between the cars and opened the door. I was surprised to find the princesses sitting in the cart on cushions without guards though I suppose they don’t really need them. That was proven when as soon as the door was open Luna grabbed me in her telekinesis and pinned me to the wall, shutting the door afterward.

“Why are you here? Are you attempting to assassinate my sister and I?”

Once her grip on me loosened enough for me to speak I did so. “Me? Assassinate you two? I wouldn’t be able to do that even if I was human again.” It took Luna a few seconds but it finally dawned on her who I was.

“Don? Is that you?” She realized I was still held in her magic and let me go. “I do apologize for that. We did not expect for you to meet us halfway.”

Celestia up till this moment had been happily sipping tea. “Yes, why did you intercept the train? Could you not wait to be changed back into a human?”

I rubbed the back of my head to alleviate the pain as I spoke. “I would have waited but the girls are in heat right now so they are kind of hunting me down.”

“Did they harm you at all? Even if they are not themselves that is no excuse to push you to do anything you don’t want.”

“No, they didn’t hurt me. Despite their best efforts I managed to escape from them. However they are all waiting by the train station right now so I wouldn’t mind if when we arrive I wasn’t a pony.”

“Don’t worry Don. This shouldn’t take long and after Luna helps you with your dream issue you’ll be able to continue your life.” She put her tea cup down on its plate and put both aside. “Now I ask that you hold still. This will feel rather strange.” I watched as she charged up her horn before my own vision blurred. Suddenly it felt like my entire body had become putty and was being shaped. Fingers and toes sprouted from my hooves as my wings sunk into my back. I felt myself gain height as I shifted back onto my feet. Even the pajamas I had been wearing the night I turned into a pony came back as they seemed to sprout from my form.

Once I felt my body was solid again I brought a hand up and wiggled the fingers. Oh how good it feels to have fingers again! I checked over my entire body to make sure everything was still in place before looking back at Celestia.

“Looks good. I can’t thank you enough princess.”

Though she seemed tired from casting the spell she still put on her motherly smile. “It was no trouble at all Don. I would not want you to live your life in a form you do not enjoy. Now I believe my sister has something she must do.” With that said Luna got up from where she had been sitting and walked over to me. The shorter alicorn was just about my height not including her horn.

“This spell should fix any damage from what ails you without altering any parts of your brain that are healthy.” Her horn glowed and she tapped it against my forehead. For a moment I felt the magic travel through my brains natural impulses before it all took the same trip backwards.

“There, you should start dreaming again though I would like to check in on you to make sure everything is doing alright. This condition can easily return at anytime if not watched carefully.”

Great, so it looks like using my sleep for Overlord stuff is on permanent hold. “Alright princess, I trust you since I’ve never heard of this disease before.”

“It is a rare disease for ponies to get anymore as most fillies and colts get shots for it. You however have never gotten any. I would suggest changing that before you leave on your trip.” I nodded as that wasn’t actually a bad idea. There were ways to make me immune to disease using my magic but to constantly use it with my current level of power just wasn’t possible.

As the train pulled into Ponyville I stepped off first just to see the look of surprise on everyone, and I’ll let you know it was worth it. Especially when I pulled out those infernal nose plugs and took a whiff of fresh air. I could still smell the fragrance they were emitting but without pony instincts all it served as was weird perfume.

Applejack insisted that since I was normal again that I should go straight to work though I think she was just a little mad about pony me being gone forever. As we approached the farm Big Mac came up to me.

“So you back to normal, huh?”

“Yep. Don’t worry though, I still owe you for helping me out.” I could see Applejack glaring at the both of us as she headed off toward the barn.

“About that, I’m taking the favor now. I need ya to take over my chores for the day.”

What!? That will take me all day! “Can I at least know what you will be doing with all this free time?”

“Nope.”

I sighed. “Fine.” I might be an evil Overlord but I’m still a man of my word.

The Best Night Ever

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As expected everything went back to normal once the heat was over. The girls all apologized for their actions which I accepted just to get them off my back. Over the course of the next two weeks the girls did little but talk about the Grand Galloping Gala. Even Spike seemed excited for it much to my chagrin. Thankfully there was one event that happened to break up the monotony.

It was a normal day which Ponyville gets too few of. I had finally found my bracer after searching for days at work. Since I hadn’t been wearing it when I changed back it was still pony sized. As such I decided the best thing to do with it would be to toss it into the Everfree and hope that something tears it apart.

I was walking through town to do just that when Applejack ran over to me looking more scared than I ever thought possible from her. “Don! Please tell me you have seen Applebloom?”

“Nope. She wasn’t at school?”

“That’s just it. Cherilee told me that she ran off during recess. No one has seen her since.” She seemed on the verge of crying. “I need to find her.”

Ran off during recess huh? Sounds like the bullies and AJ’s babying have finally done their work. “Alright Applejack. I was heading to Zecora’s to talk to her about something. I’ll check the forest while I’m there.”

“Thank you Don. I… I just need to find her.” With that she sprinted off. I continued walking to the forest hoping that my reasoning was sound. Applebloom’s smart. If she felt hurt she would want to find someone to talk to. I doubt she would risk going to the library to see me so that should leave Zecora. I didn’t stop my relaxed pace as I entered the Everfree. Once I was a good ten minutes down the trail I picked up the bracer in my telekinesis and tossed it as hard as I could between the tree line.

I made it to Zecora’s and knocked on the door. Zecora only opened the door a crack at first but once she saw me she swung it wide open. Behind her I could see Applebloom sobbing.

“I can guess why you are here. I assume there is nothing to fear?”

“Your right Zecora, I’m here for Applebloom. I’m not going to take her back to Applejack though.”

Zecora’s eyes lit up as I spoke. “I see, if you propose what I think, then be sure her wants and yours are in sync.”

“Don’t worry Zecora, I’ve done this before.” She nodded and stepped aside to let me in. As soon as I sat down beside Applebloom she leapt on me, burying her muzzle in my chest. I waited until her crying had died down to hiccuping and sniffles before speaking.

“How are you feeling Bloom?” She sniffled a bit before looking up from my tear soaked shirt.

“Don, everything is terrible. I keep getting bullied worse and worse at school. Applejack won’t let me do anything on my own. It’s all just... bad.” She sobbed a bit more into my shirt as I spoke.

“Bloom, if you had a chance to get back at those bullies would you take it?”

Her sobbing stopped before she turned her head up. Through the tears I could see fire in her eyes, a fire that wanted to burn everything it could get its hands on. “Yes. If I could I would have beaten Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon weeks ago. I’d kick em and kick em until they could do no more!”

“What about Applejack? Would you do the same to her and your family for how they treated you.”

I watched the fire in her eyes dim a bit at the thought but after she contemplated it she looked back up. The flames were even brighter. “Yes. I would.”

I just gave her a nice smile in response as a thought crossed my mind. Am I really going to do this? My smile went away as I smothered the stray thought before it could take hold. Of course I am. This is why I convinced Applejack to baby her. This is why I had her stay away from the party. I will not drop my plan now!

“Bloom, you remember that secret I told you about when we were talking about what my cutie mark could have been?” Applebloom thought about it for a moment before giving me her most childish grin.

“Ya. Does that mean you’re going to tell me it now?”

“How about instead I show you.” I placed Applebloom on the ground next to me and stood up. “Zecora, if you would?”

Zecora nodded and closed her eyes. When she opened them again they were pure black. The jewelry she wore began to glow as a red glowing crack formed in the air. The crack grew larger and larger until finally Zecora reared up and the crack tore open with the sound of thunder. Inside all that could be seen was dark clouds and red electricity bouncing between them.

Applebloom was scared by this turn of events but I picked her up and put her on my shoulders to comfort her. She immediately took to grabbing my head. How relaxed her grip was told me she was ready.

“Come on Bloom. I think I know just how to fulfill your desire.”

* * *

Later that day I led Applejack and the other Apples to a spot in the forest. As we entered the clearing they gasped at what they saw. Applejack wretched while Granny Smith fainted at the sight before them.

The entire clearing was covered in blood. It was splattered on the trees and the bushes. You couldn’t tell if the grass was ever green with the amount that had dried on them. In the center of it all was a bow, its normally pink color stained with blotches of red.

It took awhile but the Apples managed to pull themselves together. Despite the horrible scene Applejack insisted on searching more. She did so for about three days before even she gave up. A week after that they held a funeral. Everyone in Ponyville as well as a great deal of the Apple family was in attendance.

I continued working for the family in the days up to the Grand Galloping Gala. They were all very solemn at work not that I wanted to talk to them. Applejack had even gone mute, only nodding or shaking her head in response to whatever was said.

* * *

“Come now Applejack, you need to get ready for the Gala.” The girls were all at the boutique getting beautified up. At first Spike and I weren’t allowed in the room but once I reminded Rarity that they don’t normally wear clothes we were let in. Not that it made a difference to me as I just sat against the wall. Seems that no matter what universe you’re in girls take hours to get ready while a guy can be done in fifteen minutes tops.

Applejack only shook her head and looked to the ground. Rarity however wasn’t going to quit.

“Applejack. Come now, do you honestly believe that Applebloom would want you sitting around and sulking like this?” Applejack seemed to think about it for a moment before shaking her head. “That’s right! Now I don’t want to see you continue acting like this any longer. The Applejack I know wouldn’t let this stop her. She would keep Applebloom’s spirit alive by continuing to work hard and being the good pony we all know you are.”

Applejack thought about it and I was sure she was just going to continue sulking but after a minute or so she looked up at Rarity with a small smile and hugged her.

“It’s going to be alright Applejack. Now let’s get you ready. I’m sure all that farm work of yours hasn’t done wonders for your hooves.” They went off to do whatever to their hooves while Spike and I continued to sit there. After a while Spike broke the silence between us.

“So what are you doing at the gala Don?”

I shrugged. “I have no clue. The only reason I’m going is to be polite to the princesses for inviting me. I wouldn’t be caught dead at one of these things otherwise.”

Spike’s eyes lit up at this. “Do you want to hang out then? I was hoping to do the same with the girls but it seems they all have their own ideas.”

“Sure, I should be able to hang out. I’m not sure what will happen once we get there though.” Despite how I had not given any guarantee Spike still seemed excited. After a few more minutes I decided to leave and find something else to do.

Wandering around Ponyville I found myself getting stared at by those I passed. As a pony I had gotten a break from such a thing but as soon as I was turned back ponies went back to freaking out. I simply shrugged it off as I continued. Unfortunately it was ignoring the ponies that nearly got me killed.

I had just taken a turn onto a busy street as I pondered the upcoming events when suddenly there was a flash of magic. One moment I had been outside in the sunshine and the next I was in a dark building. The only light came from a few windows but enough was visible for me to determine I was in a small warehouse of some kind. Around me stood four ponies, each standing at a cardinal point. All of them wore brown cloaks that hid everything but their hooves, muzzles, and, for one, wings.

I felt my training kick in as I planned for the worst. One on the right is a pegasus, the rest are earth ponies. With their strength they won’t need weapons but the pegasus probably has a hidden weapon somewhere. No sign of the unicorn that brought me here.

The pony took a step forward and spoke. “Ah, there you are. We have been expecting your return. You were a fool to think you could hide amongst the ponies.”

No sign of a seal of either princess. Must be some rogue faction. I put on my best smile as I spoke. “I doubt the princesses will be happy when they hear that her ponies kidnapped their human friend.”

I had expected him to get angry at what I had said but instead he grinned in response. “The princesses are mere foals compared to who we serve.” I heard metal being drawn from a sheath. As I predicted, the pegasus had drawn a dagger in his mouth and his wings were ready for flight. “Now, in the name of Faust you will die dark one!”

The pegasus leapt at me but I anticipated the attack. I leaned back just enough to avoid the dagger but close enough that grabbing him was easy. Thanks to my knowledge of flying I knew the best place to snap his wing. He dropped the dagger as he yelled out in pain.

I felt the head of the pony behind me slam into my lower back, forcing me to drop his friend. I fell forward and before I could get up his front hooves pinned me down. Just out of the corner of my eye I could see the dagger. I used magic to bring the dagger to my hand and in one swift motion I slashed his forehooves. As soon as there was less weight on me I rolled, tossing the pony aside.

I was now standing, dagger at the ready, as the four ponies attempted to corner me against some crates. The one who I assumed to be their leader spoke again. “You are doing better than we expected, but your death is still inevitable.” With his taunting done, the pony who had done nothing so far charged at me while the pegasus used his good wing to leap above him.

I stepped to the side as I called upon my magic. My hand lit up with fire which I was quick to throw at the pegasus. With his lunge thrown off course he landed on his friend, disrupting his charge and tossing the pegasus into the crates. The fire quickly spread to the wooden boxes but I didn’t take time to enjoy his screams of pain as I rushed the downed earth pony and stabbed him in the back of the neck.

Before I could pull the dagger back out the leader slammed into me. I rolled with the hit but I wasn’t given a break as the other pony charged me. His blow wasn’t as strong having been handicapped by my slash earlier so I took it head on. As soon as we had both stopped I used the trick I had learned while being a pegasus and charged him full of electricity. It took only about two seconds to end his life though it left me rather tired magically.

The leader saw this and used the opportunity to attack me, this time spinning around to buck me with his back hooves. I barely managed to dodge but I stumbled in the process and fell backwards. The pony pressed his advantage and leapt, intending to break a few ribs with his earth pony strength.

Just before he was about to land I brought my feet up and slammed them into his exposed stomach. The air left his lungs and before he could react I grabbed his front hooves and pulled them until I heard his arm pop from its socket. I let him fall limp to the side so I could get up. After brushing myself off a bit I walked over and put a foot on his throat.

“So just who are you guys? You mentioned Faust but as far as I know everyone thinks Faust’s story was fake.”

He gritted his teeth at me; whether it was in anger or pain I couldn’t tell. “You will get nothing from me. I will stay strong until the end!”

Oh, so it’s a cult huh? I thought about just killing him now but the sound of the door opening interrupted that. In walked a blue unicorn with hair that was lighter blue and darker blue respectively. Looking at her hourglass cutie mark I remembered who she was: Colgate, the town dentist. She turned around to close the door without noticing what was happening.

“So what’s the plan for the body? It’ll be hard to…” She looked at the scene with utter shock, her eyes darting between each body in the room. She turned to make a break for it but I was faster. I pulled a stack of crates down with magic to block her exit and then bolted toward her. Along the way I ripped the dagger out of the body it had been left in using telekinesis. Just as Colgate turned around and lit up her horn I lashed out, imbedding the blade just below her horn. I watched the magic around her horn fade with the life in her eyes just before she fell limp.

Once I made sure she was dead I walked back over to the pony I had left alive. His eyes no longer showed the same confidence they had. Rather they were filled with fear. Deciding to use that to my advantage I put on my best Joker grin as I placed the dagger gently behind his ear.

“Now, where were we? Ah yes, you were just about to tell me what this cult of yours is. Be careful about how you answer though. We wouldn’t want me to accidentally slip now would we?”

His pupils became even more dilated as I spoke. “I… strong… praise F-f-faust…”

“Tsk tsk, that doesn’t sound like an answer.” I pressed the blade slowly into the back of his ear, stopping after about half an inch. “Would you like to try again?”

“I… I’m part of the Evermore! All of us are!”

Evermore? I guess I’m not the only fairy tale to actually exist. I had read a small bit on the Evermore. Supposedly they were a cult of extremist ponies that based themselves in the Everfree Forest. There is no evidence to support any of their appearances in history though so everyone assumes it was a myth, especially since no one has heard anything about them for over two thousand years.

“The Evermore? That’s interesting. How many are in this group of yours?”

“I… I don’t know the exact number.”

“Well take a guess based on what you know.”

He thought about it for a moment, sweat dripping down his muzzle. “A couple thousand?”

“Wow. You must have an amazing base of operations to deal with that many ponies. Speaking of that, you wouldn’t happen to know where your base is, would you?”

“The Everfree Forest!”

I sighed and dug the blade in a little deeper. I made sure he could hear me over his own screams. “Don’t lie to me. I’ve been inside the Everfree Forest probably a hundred times now. There are no signs of anyone living there except a zebra and I know for a fact she has nothing to do with you. So I’ll ask again. Where is the base?”

“I… I… I’ll never tell! Praise Faust! May the stars themselves come down upon you!” He continued rambling something religious based while I just rolled my eyes. Looks like I’m not going to get anything else out of this guy. Seems I have a new enemy and this one isn’t afraid to get its hooves dirty like the princesses. When I had finally had enough I brought the blade swiftly across his throat. I thought about leaving the dagger for a second but then decided against it. If a strong enough magic user finds it they will be able to trace it to me.

After taking a moment to clear the door I piled the unburnt bodies in the center along with enough wood to burn the entire building down. With a snap of my finger a spark flew out and ignited the effigy. I made sure to close the door tight behind me so that the fire wouldn’t be noticed until the evidence was too burnt to be of use. Outside I could see that the building was on the outskirts of town and as such was unlikely to burn down any other buildings. Once I was sure the blade was well hidden I made my way back to the library.

I had just finished hiding the dagger in my room and getting dressed in my suit when I heard Spike call out. “Don, you in there? It’s time to go to the Gala. All the girls and I are waiting on you!” I stood up slowly as to not aggravate any of my new bruises and went out to see everyone.

Twilight had enchanted an apple into a carriage and it was being pulled by two stallions, though her original intention had been for enchanted mice to pull it.

No, they don’t have the story of Cinderella in pony world. Not even a ponified version of it. Trust me, that’s what I thought at first too.

The ride to Canterlot was nice to say the least. I sat up front with Spike and the girls took the inside of the carriage. I was glad that whatever Twilight had done to the apple had made it pretty much soundproof so we didn’t have to listen to their gossip. Spike spent the entire time telling me about some of the various attractions around Canterlot that he wanted us to go see. Most of it sounded like dull tourist traps but I figured anything is better than having to deal with the noble snobs they have in Canterlot.

Time passed quickly and soon we were at Canterlot. Upon arrival all of the girls broke into song about what they wanted to do at the Gala, except for Applejack. She still wasn’t speaking though she did do the choreography with everyone. I just plugged my ears until the entire thing was over.

As soon as it was over the girls all bolted in different directions leaving Spike, Applejack and I just standing there. Spike didn’t seem to mind their sudden abandonment though.

“Come on Don! Let’s go check out the crown jewels.” I was about to oblige but when I turned my head to speak I saw Applejack. Her sad face, though only slight, spoke volumes to what she was feeling right now. Despite telling myself that it didn’t matter how she felt, I found myself not able to look away for a few seconds as my stomach pains returned in full force.

Damn it! This again? I was sure that it was gone. I knew that I couldn’t let this get in my way, so I decided to do my best to keep her out of my sight. “Spike, how about you take Applejack instead? Looks like she could use a friend right now.” Spike seemed shocked by the suggestion but one look at Applejack changed his mood.

“Sure, but what are you going to do?”

“I’ll figure out some way to entertain myself. Maybe I’ll have a chat with one of the princesses or something.” Spike gave me a firm nod and went over to speak with Applejack. Despite my reasonings for doing this being selfish, my guilt seemed satisfied by the gesture. Looks like I’m going to need to push up the date of the trip. I can’t take the chance of this getting any worse.

As the two of them left I entered the gala. The first thing I saw was Celestia standing at the top of a flight of stairs with Twilight looking all too eager to stand next to her. Since I was the only human here it didn’t take long for them to see my approach.

“Hello Don. Welcome to Canterlot. I do hope you enjoy the gala despite your distrust of such events.”

“How did you know I didn’t like these kinds of things?”

“Twilight told me. When I saw all of her friends and not you here I wondered where you were.”

“Well she isn’t wrong. I’ve never been a fan of dances of any kind. Plus some of the ponies here are a bit…” I glanced around to make sure no nobles were within earshot. “Snoody.”

She giggled a bit. “I suppose some are, though I can tell you there are those who are quite the opposite. Perhaps I can introduce you later.”

Have the princess watching over me the entire time? No thanks. “Sure, but don’t quit your job here on account of me. I can get by just fine.” With that out of the way I left to see the gala floor itself. From there I could see the four other girls trying to make their dreams come true. I thought about sabotaging their plans but I had a strange feeling something bad was going to happen so I decided against it.

Instead I decided to take up a spot against the wall and listen to the classical group play. For once I was grateful to be surrounded by posh ponies as no one would even look at me for awhile. It wasn’t until some pony with a monopoly guy mustache came up to me that I realized how long I had been lost in listening to the music.

“Pardon me, but are you a foreign ambassador of some sorts?”

I decided to humor the noble in hopes that he would go away quickly. “I suppose, considering I’m the only of my kind in existence.” He seemed oddly interested in this fact.

“The only of your kind you say? Is your species extinct? I’d certainly love to have one of your kind around.”

Wait, is he trying to buy me? I glanced at his cutie mark for a moment and saw that it was a piece of animal hide stretched out on a drying rack. Some kind of rare animal collector.

I made sure what I said next was as blunt as possible. “I’m not for sale, and I’m not going to be part of some kind of collection.”

He was surprised I had caught on to his scheme so quickly. “I-I have no idea what you mean! I was only going to suggest-”

“I don’t care what you ‘suggest’. I’m not spending my life as a trophy. Now get lost.”

His shock quickly changed to anger. “How dare you speak to me that way! Do you know who I am?”

By now our little conversation had gathered a few others’ attentions. “I don’t know who you are, but I do know that behind all that money and fame you are still a pony.”

“So?”

“So,” I kneeled down and gritted my teeth so that my canines were showing. “Ponies bleed.” I watched the noble’s pupils shrink in a nanosecond before he ran for the door. As I got back up the others who had been watching were still just standing there. “Well?”

Suddenly they all seemed to remember they had somewhere else to be and left. For a second I worried about Celestia getting mad at me but I figured I could blame it on being stressed about Applebloom’s ‘death’. Plus I doubt she would look fondly on that pony once I told her what he wanted.

I would have gone back to listening to the music but Pinkie Pie was interrupting them for some reason. With my instincts still telling me something was going to happen I decided to look over the room and see what everyone else was doing. Fluttershy was no where to be seen, I saw a bit of rainbow mane in the VIP section, and Rarity was over at a table with some guy who was making it rather obvious that he was not interested.

Oddly enough this last thing was what caught my attention the most. The guy was clearly a noble, possibly even the most snobbish of all the nobles. But what was strange about him was that despite his face being one of boredom, his eyes were focused on something with intensity. I followed his gaze as best as I could until I found what he was staring at.

Luna? Why is he so interested in her? Luna had just arrived and was already swamped by nobles. I imagine they were all trying to make a power play and unfortunately that put her in a political mine field of sorts. The noble who had been staring at her continued to do so, but there was something about his eyes that made it seem different. He wasn’t looking at her as a meal ticket or even as a stallion would normally look at an attractive mare. He was looking at her with envy.

I found the closest pony to me and grabbed him by the shoulder. “Hey, who is that?”

This surprised the stallion but he answered none the less. “That is Prince Blueblood. How could you not know?”

“Not from around here. Thanks for the info.” I walked away before he could say anything else. A prince? I haven’t heard of such a thing. Is it possible that he hates Luna for being so easily let back into her position as princess? I glanced back at him, his glare still unwavering. Or perhaps it is not political power he craves. I took a chair nearby waiting for my chance to test my theory. Thankfully it was only a few minutes before he excused himself to the restroom.

I got up as he passed the table I was sitting at and bumped into him. As I did so I let a small amount of dark power pass from my arm to his horn. The sudden charge of magic caused him a short headache and by the time he had gotten up to chase me I was exiting the ballroom.

I walked down the halls, taking multiple turns and going up a few flights of stairs. During the entire walk I always made sure Blueblood would see me before I disappear down another corridor. After awhile I finally reached a small balcony and waited for him with my back turned. Once I heard his hoofsteps change from the carpet of the inner castle to the stone of the balcony I casted my sound dampening spell in a ten foot radius sphere around me.

“I’m surprised my prince! I figured most nobles would only crave new land or a more extravagant portrait of themselves. You however want something different.”

“And what do you believe I want?”

I turned toward him and gave him a small but sinister smile. “Power, and I’m not talking about higher status. You crave the power of the alicorns.”

Despite how easily I had figured him out he didn’t seem surprised. “So what? I have always done Princess Celestia proud. I wouldn’t be a prince otherwise. Why should I not wish to be true royalty?”

“Sure, you can make excuses all you want, but how about instead we cut right to the chase? So, I’m going to guess something about you and all you have to do is tell me if I’ve hit the nail on the head. Sound good?” I took his silence as his answer and began.

“You say you’ve done the princess proud. I can just imagine everything you have done to get to where you are now, but it still isn’t enough is it? You know what you want, Celestia knows what you want yet despite everything you do she still won’t give it to you. Every time you were denied what you truly deserve you told yourself ‘I just have to try harder’ and for a time this was all you believed.

“That is until Luna came back.” I saw him flinch slightly as I hit the correct nerve. “How could this be? This mare who had attempted to take over Equestria twice was just let back into her position as princess with no issue whatsoever. She nearly doomed the world to eternal night and she is now your superior. I can only imagine how that makes you feel. To have all the work you have been doing till this point be stomped on with one simple act.

“Am I getting this about right?” With all of his inner thoughts laid out before him he did what comes naturally in such a situation and resort to anger.

“I’m not here to talk of my life worm! I want to know what you did to me back in the ballroom.”

“Come now Blueblood-”

“Prince Blueblood”

“You’re no prince of mine, Blueblood. Anyway, you know what I did. You can feel it, can’t you? The potential that power has. I can make your dream a reality, just think about it. The Alicorn Prince of Canterlot. No Luna, no Celestia.”

“Are you suggesting treason? I ought to call the guards on you!”

“If you are going to do that then I’ll just take back what I gave you.” I extended my arm toward his horn. Black smoke poured out of it and entered my palm. When it was done I waited for Blueblood’s reaction.

“I… I feel… so weak.”

“That’s because you’re just a unicorn, and not even one with a talent in magic. The power I gave you is less than one percent of what you could have if you were to agree to my terms.”

He looked down the corridor for a moment and I feared he would run but he turned back holding his head high. “What are these terms?”

“The first term will be I can’t give you this power right away. For you to even survive having this power you must undergo a change of sorts. This change takes time and getting used to it afterward takes even longer. Even when you have finally adjusted to it you won’t be able to return to your old life as you will no longer look like Blueblood. I can’t have a prince disappearing and the princesses getting suspicious.” He looked about ready to scream for the guards before I added. “But I can give you that small amount now. Consider it a promise of what’s to come.” He thought for a moment before simply nodding.

“Good. Second is that you will serve me. Do this and I promise you will one day rule Canterlot as the alicorn prince you dream of. Betray me and your power goes away, and your new body won’t be able to survive without it. Don’t worry though, I won’t force you to do any servant work. I already have a legion of mindless minions in the works. What I need is people who are smart, commanders of a sorts.” He seemed to like this idea as a small smile came to his face.

“Finally, you will not speak of what I truly am or anything related to it. As far as the princesses are concerned I am harmless and here to make friends. As a matter of fact, one of your tasks while here is to make sure no information about what I truly am gets to the princesses. Can you do that?”

“Easily. The public isn’t aware of this but I’m actually the chief intelligence officer for the princesses. Anything they know about Equestria goes through me first.”

“Perfect. That will make my job a lot easier when I start making my move. Another task I will give you right now is to deal with a certain noble. I didn’t get his name but he had a curly mustache, grey coat, and a taxidermy cutie mark.”

“I know exactly who that is. Lord Varian is his name. What did he do to deserve your ire?”

“He tried to make me part of his collection of rare creatures. I want you to make sure he doesn’t get the chance to try and take me by force. You can kill him if need be but make sure you aren’t tied to the act. At the least I want his assets gone.”

“That should be simple enough. I can have an endangered creature place amongst his stuffed collection of creatures and that will put a fire under his ass. From there it will be child’s play to ruin him.”

“Excellent. Do these things for me and you’ve earned your wings and more.” I held my hand out low. “Do we have a deal?” Blueblood’s face went neutral as he stared at my hand. He took a good minute or so pondering this before he placed his hoof in mine. I let loose a surge of magic as we shook on it. He didn’t even flinch this time.

“I can’t wait to see where this deal takes us.” I glanced up from where we were standing to see Rarity heading this way.

“Don’t look now but that mare that was annoying you before is back.” He only groaned in response as I let down the magic that had kept our conversation private.

“Don? Why are you shaking hooves with the prince?”

I instantly turned on my good guy smile. “The prince and I were just making bets on the next Wonderbolts race. I’m sure Soarin is going to take it this time.”

Blueblood was a perfect mirror image of my own rouse. “Oh please. Misty Fly is on a winning streak. She has no reason to lose now.” Rarity was quick to get the prince around her hoof again.

“Come along, my prince. We should head back. The night is only half way done.” I watched Blueblood glance back at me with a look that said ‘put me out of my misery’. All I could do was hold back my laughter as they took the corner and disappeared.

Well that went better than I expected. He must be really desperate. If it had taken any longer I would have had to drop the spell. I turned around and looked up at the night sky. I still can’t shake the feeling something is going to go wrong though. I just shrugged it off and headed back inside.

Maybe I’m just being paranoid.

* * *

The five girls who had been at the gala during the disaster looked awful. Their dresses were torn, hair was a mess, and dirt stains were all over them. Overall it looked like they had gone through an earthquake, and they might as well had considering the chain reaction that had been caused by them.

Spike, Applejack, and I all sat on the other side of the table. After I had walked in on the disaster zone I decided it would be best to find Spike and act like I hadn’t seen anything. After a bit of wandering I found him and AJ at the donut shop we were at now. For some reason seeing her smiling again made me feel like a fire had been lit in my gut, though she still remained mute.

I just sat there enjoying my jelly donut while the girls learned some lesson from Celestia about how friends make bad times good or something like that. Ever since I had found out about Twilight’s friendship reports I had learned to tune them out like a lot of things she says. I think Celestia noticed this though and decided to put me on the spot.

“Don, I believe this would be a good time to tell everyone what you are planning.” I looked up to see everyone staring at me.

“Oh, are you talking about the trip I’m taking?” Celestia nodded. “Alright, I suppose this is a good time since I’m leaving right after the dragon migration in two weeks.” I stood up from my chair and started before anyone could ask questions.

“You’ve all been great friends to me. You helped me when I had nothing, no memory, no life, nothing to return to. You opened your doors and your hearts to me and helped through the tough time I had when I was stuck as a pony. So far I’ve really enjoyed my time with all of you and I’m sure I won’t forget any of you.” I looked around to see everyone smiling.

“I am sad to say that I will be leaving right after the dragon migration to go with Zecora on a trip around Equestria. Ponyville will always be my home but ever since I have arrived I’ve been learning about the world I am now a part of. As I’ve read about the various cities and places and creatures that inhabit this world I have been fighting an urge to go out and see these things for myself. When Zecora told me about this trip she had planned I couldn’t help but accept her generous offer for me to come with her.” A few ponies had tears in their eyes but not a single smile had gone away.

“So I hope you all aren’t mad at me for this being so sudden but I needed to make sure everything was set with Zecora before I could tell you.” I waited to see who would speak first. Turns out it was Twilight.

“Don, I think I speak for everypony here that you will always be welcome back home. You have all been such a kind friend to us. We couldn’t hate you for wanting to go exploring.” I gave her a smile as I sat back down. “Just… be careful while you’re out there. Some places in Equestria aren’t as nice as Ponyville.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll be fine.” Nice speech right? I had been planning that for weeks now. Just the perfect amount of sappiness. Not too little to sound dull, not too much to sound cheesy. Unfortunately what came next ruined the moment as Pinkie cried.

“Group hug!”

Curse these ponies, but damn it they are soft!

Spicy Scheming

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Once Spike gave me the all clear that Twilight was asleep we started packing. I hadn’t been spending a lot of the money I made working for the Apples so I had plenty to prepare for this. Combine that with the dagger which was now clean and given its own sheathe and I was ready for the wilderness. Spike however didn’t seem to get the memo as his camping supplies consisted of a sandwich and the cloth he had used to wrap it up and tie it to a stick.

“Is that really all you are going to bring?”

“It isn’t that far, is it?” Rolling my eyes at his ignorance I pulled out a map of Equestria.

“Ponyville is here, and the dormant volcano that the dragons stay at during their migration is here.” I pointed to each place respectively.

“See? That’s really close.” He stretched between the two points on the map with his pointer finger and thumb.

“Ya, if we took a train maybe. Thing is we are walking. A walk that long will take a few days. Thankfully I planned a route that keeps us out of the most dangerous terrain like this snowy mountain here.” Spike looked at his small bag with embarrassment.

“Guess I better pack some more sandwiches.” He went off to find a larger bag while I waited by the door. After a few moments of hearing nothing but Twilight’s snoring I realized I still needed to write her a note. I went over to the desk she usually uses for studying and jotted out everything she needed to know.

Dear Twilight,

I promised Spike we would go camping before I left as sort of a guys hanging out thing. Don’t worry about him. He is quite capable of taking care of himself and I’ll be there to keep him safe as well. We’ll be back in about a week.

Don

Once the note was done I pinned it to the front door. I turned back around to see Spike with a modified saddlebag on his back.

“Ready?” He nodded. “Let’s go.”

* * *

The whole next day we headed out in the direction the dragons had gone that morning. Thankfully dragons have natural endurance even at Spike’s age and my time at Sweet Apple Acres had done wonders for my own physicality. We finally stopped in a small forest as the sun was setting. While Spike took out one of his sandwiches I set up the tent. As I finished, I noticed something moved out of the corner of my eye. Some bushes in that direction were rustling and that was all it took to scare Spike.

“M-m-monster!” He darted behind me and began shaking like a leaf. I just shook my head at how he was apparently some scary firebreathing beast and went to check on the supposed monster.. Turned out to just be a chicken. Or at least I thought it was a chicken at first but I’m pretty sure chickens don’t have bodies covered in scales.

“Cockatrice! Don’t look at its eyes.” Of course I had already done just that but I wasn’t worried. Part of how I spent my night training as a pony was learning about every hostile creature in Equestria and even a few beyond. Turns out there was a real easy way to prevent you from turning to stone.

I continued having a staring contest with it as it gave what I could only assume was a smug smirk with its beak. My feet had already gone numb when I drew my dagger and sliced its head off. The body ran around like… well, like a chicken with its head cut off before finally keeling over. As soon as it was completely dead the stone that had climbed up to my knees broke and I was free to move.

“You killed it.” I turned to Spike to see that he was much more disturbed by this then you would think a dragon would be. I took out a cloth and began wiping the blade while I spoke to him.

“Ya. If I didn’t I would be stone right now. Not only that but I can eat him for dinner instead of the disgusting fake meat I’ve had for the past year.” I bit my tongue as I thought about the terrible concoction. When I had told Twilight I was an omnivore she immediately made me Pinkie Promise I wouldn’t bring any meat into Ponyville. She then introduced me to the pony alternative to meat. Somehow it has all the nutrients meat does but is made of hay, which I don’t even have to tell you tastes awful.

“You don’t like hay burgers and stuff like that? I think they are pretty good.”

“That’s because you have nothing to compare it to. I guarantee if you try some actual meat you’ll never go back to that stuff. Plus you’re a dragon. Isn’t meat part of a healthy diet with you guys?”

“It is but… Twilight told me-”

“Spike, Twilight isn’t here. I know she practically raised you but that doesn’t make you a pony. Besides, that’s the whole reason we are on this trip isn’t it? So you can find out how to be a real dragon?”

Spike stared off into the forest while I started a fire. By the time he spoke again I had already scraped off all the scales and feathers from the body and was beginning on the meat.

“I guess that is the reason I’m here. It also wouldn’t hurt to have some.” I just smirked and nodded as I continued to slice meat and place it on the hot stones by the fire. In the end I had wasted a good amount of what was edible with bad cuts but for my first time doing something I had only read about I’d say it went rather well.

My first bite was absolutely amazing. You never know how much you really love meat until you’re thrown into a pony world and forced to eat hay as a replacement. From what I could tell Spike was thinking the exact same thing as he nearly swallowed his slice whole. I’m going to have to take advantage of being out in the wild like this.

We finished off the meat in a blink of an eye. Turns out despite how the body looks nothing like a chicken it still tastes like one. I headed to my tent but Spike stopped me just before I got in.

“Um… if you happen to… find something else… could you share that meat too?” I knew it! Suck on that Twilight! Perfect meat substitute my ass. Though I was cheering like mad internally I only smiled on the outside.

“Sure Spike. I think after how good that was I’m going to try hunting a bit as we travel. If I find anything you’re welcome to some.” Spike jumped for joy at the promise of more delicious meat as I went to sleep.

* * *

The next two days played out rather similarly. The only difference was when we stopped so I could hunt a deer. Without a gun or even a bow I was forced to jump the thing with my dagger but I still had my more subtle magic to help. That night we ate about half the thing and I did a slightly better job skinning it. The rest I dried out on the hot rocks left by the campfire so that in the morning we had jerky to snack on.

We finally made it to where the dragons were staying, and it was more awesome than the fact Rainbow can break the sound barrier (but only because it creates a rainbow when she does). All above this massive rock formation dragons soared through the sky, some just gliding about while others waged battle against one another. There were many others sitting on the lip of the dead volcano as well but the best part was the inside. Gems and other treasures were stacked high in piles and multiple tunnels in the sides allowed access to the caves below.

Spike and I sat at the top of the lip looking over it all. For awhile it seemed like Spike wasn’t going to move as he gazed over it all in awe. Once he put himself together he started making his way over to a group of dragons that looked about my height. I took one look at the group and realized Spike shouldn’t be anywhere near them. I caught up and grabbed him by the head before he could get too close.

“I don’t think you want to talk to those dragons.”

“Why not? They’re smaller than the others so they’re probably closer to my age.”

“That may be true, but they’re also teenagers. Not only that but they seem to be the bullying kind and with someone as small as you they could do a lot.” Spike turned back toward them and yelped before I noticed a shadow standing over me. I looked up to see that one of the teenage dragons had come over.

“Hey look. The kid here has got a big stuffed monkey to play with.” He said that with as much sneering as possible and the others ate it up. I on the other hand was trying to get Spike away before I did something I’d regret.

Regret because I would expose myself to Spike, not because I would disembowel this prick.

“Come on Spike. Let’s find some older dragon that’d be willing to teach you.” Spike nodded and we turned to leave only to be blocked by another teenager.

“We’ve got plenty we can teach you. Lesson one: Everything you have belongs to us now.” He held out his claw and waited but the only thing I gave him was a glare as I picked up Spike and placed him on my backpack.

Once he was close enough to whisper I told him “If we have to fight let me handle it.” Another dragon dropped from the sky and landed next to his friend.

“Hey, do you not speak our language or something? Here, let me translate.” He made a bunch of monkey noises accompanied by pit scratching and jumping around as his friends laughed it up.

His act went on while Spike whispered back. “You’re going to fight them? But you’ve never fought anything before!” I didn’t respond. Instead I laughed as loud as I could. This stopped the dragon’s monkey business fast.

“What’s so funny?”

“You are. You make such a great ape I wouldn’t doubt if someone glued those scales on your fur.”

That pissed off the dragons fast. “You trying to say I look like a monkey?”

“Well I’m not saying your mother does, although it would explain where you got your monkey genes from.”

And that pushed them over the edge. “How dare you!” The dragon I insulted launched himself at me. It was immediately obvious how little he actually knew about fighting something that wasn’t covered in heavy scales as I ducked with relative ease. This sent him flying into the dragon behind me. I took that split second to toss the bag aside with Spike on board.

“Why you!” The dragon in front of me was smart enough to not try the same move his friend had. That didn’t help him though as he tried to slash at me with his claws. His scales did nothing for his speed as I deftly dodged every swipe before finding an opening and pulling his leg out from underneath him.

One of the others had gotten back up and finally remembered they have the advantage of flight. He dived at me a few times with no luck until one of his friends came up from behind and held me in a chokehold.

“Hit him now Scale!” The flying one, now determined to be named Scale, dived right at the two of us. I couldn’t get myself free with my strength alone so I resorted to magic to make up the difference. A bit of telekinesis lightened my captor while I grabbed the arm around my neck. Just before Scale was about to hit I bent forward, using his friend to protect my back. I heard the dragon roar in pain before his grip loosened and he slid off.

With one of their friends on the ground the other two stopped, showing a bit of fear. I ignored them and walked over to Spike. He handed me my bag as he spoke.

“Don, that was amazing! Where did you learn to do that?”

I need a lie that won’t bite me in the ass later. “Well before I-”

“Hang on there!” I turned around to see the dragons looking madder than ever. “You think you can just insult us like that and leave?”

I spoke bluntly. “Yep. I obviously have the advantage over you, even with it being three to one.”

Scale just grinned at me as his two friends took a few steps to either side. “That may be true, but we have something you don’t.”

“And what’s that?”

“Fire.” In unison the three dragons breathed cones of flame. I didn’t think about my actions as I extended my arms out on either side of me. As the three streams combined I used magic to force the fire to swirl around me, creating a dome with Spike on the outside. I then began to syphon it, strands of liquid flame extending from the barrier around me. Each strand connected itself to one of my outstretched fingers or entered my nose and mouth as I used everything I could to absorb the magical fire.

When the dragons stopped I could see pure terror in their eyes as they looked upon me. Magical energy radiated from my being due to the overload of power. I could feel magic leaking from my eyes causing them to glow orange. With all the power I had absorbed I was in immense pain but it was only a second before I released it all in a mock dragon breath that engulfed all three of them.

When I was done the three of them looked rather burnt despite their scales. I took one step toward them and they fled toward the nearest tunnel. It wasn’t until Spike spoke up that I realized what I had just done.

“Don, how did you do that?”

“Spike, you can’t tell anyone what happened today.”

“But how in the-”

“You can’t. Tell. Anyone. I’ll explain it on the trip back but for now you should focus on learning about being a dragon.”

It was then that I heard something incredibly large land behind me, and judging from Spike’s expression I knew exactly what it was. “You mean a dragon like that?”

And what do you know it was a dragon, and not a small one by any standard. I’m pretty sure that this one could have eaten most if not all of me in a single bite. His green scales made his yellow eyes seem to glow and his breath made it feel twenty degrees hotter outside.

If this is how I die, then I’m not doing it scared shitless. With a smug grin I turned to Spike and said “Yep, exactly like that.” The dragon growled in such a way that it felt like an earthquake was happening. Everyone’s a critic.

“How did such a squishy creature such as you defeat our younglings? And choose your words carefully.” He accented this point with another growl. I just continued to be an ass.

“It was easy really. Your scales make you rather slow and magical firebreath can be easily manipulated if you know what you’re doing. Just be lucky they were smart enough to run.” I guess the dragon didn’t like my answer assuming his roar didn’t mean ‘good job setting them straight’. I still couldn’t give a fuck.

“You insult us by not only coming here and defeating our hatchlings in such a pitiful display, but you also bring a hatchling slave! Tell me why I shouldn’t crush you right now.”

“Slave? Are you talking about Spike here? He’s not a slave, at least not to me. I brought him here because he’s been raised by ponies his whole life and doesn’t understand shit about being a dragon. Ponies don’t have much on the subject since they tend to piss themselves around you.” That got a bit of a chuckle out of the dragon.

“Yes, they are rather squeamish. You however show a courage they lack. Either that or insanity.”

“Probably a little of both. Anyway, you think you could teach Spike here some things? We can only stay for a day but whatever you can teach him will be worth the trip.”

“Only a day? And will he return back to his life with the ponies after?”

“That’s his decision, not mine. I honestly think more time amongst dragons would do him some good but I didn’t want to risk anymore time since the pony who has been raising him is a bit high strung.”

He blew out some smoke from his nostrils. “I understand, but it is not my place to say what will happen.” He walked toward the opposite side of the crater, his huge steps putting him yards ahead of us in a few seconds. “Follow.” Spike and I looked at each other for a moment before I picked him up and ran after our guide.

Our walk across the volcano and into the caverns below was not met without some stares. I was used to ponies staring at me but when those eyes are now slitted and filled with the intent to kill even I felt uncomfortable. Thankfully whoever our new friend was seemed to be well known as no one made a move.

Eventually we got to a point where dragons no longer were standing idly around and instead seemed to be posted as guards. I also realized that we had been constantly descending and that it was getting warmer with every foot we did so. It got so hot that by the time we had arrived at our destination I was forced to use magic to turn my sweat into ice crystals just to keep cool.

The door we stood before was large enough that even if our friend was twice his height he wouldn’t need to duck. Two dragons stood on either side, each looking exactly like the other. Our guide spoke in some tongue I couldn’t understand to the two of them before turning to us.

“You will enter first. I will stay here with the hatchling.” I shrugged and took off my backpack along with Spike. I placed both in his outstretched claw and he gently took them over to one side of the tunnel. Before I could ask what was going to happen the doors began to slowly open as the guards turned cranks with their tails.

Inside I figured out why it was so hot. Turns out this volcano was still plenty active as I now stood in a room that hung on chains above a lava ocean. There was only one entrance and one path to reach the center of the room. There three dragons stood watching me approach. From left to right they were as follows: a purple scaled dragon with eyes that seemed to change color depending on the angle, an orange dragon with long spines and horns that curved wickedly, and a black dragon who had a scar across a white eye. I tried reading what they were thinking but with so little experience with dragons all I could get was that the two on the left were serious and the one on the right just realized something. The center dragon’s voice boomed in the echo chamber of a room.

“You creature stand before the elders of this dragon brood. Know that this is a rare honor for those that are not dragons and those who are given it don’t normally survive.”

The purple one spoke with a feminine voice much to my surprise. “You stand accused of attacking our hatchlings without provocation. How do you plead?”

“Not guilty. They mocked me and my friend, the hatchling I brought, and then tried to rob me. After I refused I insulted them and they attacked.”

The two who had spoken looked to each other as if to convey a message before the girl dragon returned her gaze to me. “Our hatchlings tell a much different story. They claim you were trying to steal from our hordes and that the hatchling was a slave. On top of that they gave you a chance to run and in response you attacked.”

“Are you really going to believe some bullshit a couple of teens made up to keep out of trouble? Besides, if I had attempted to steal anything wouldn’t there be gems in my bag instead of jerky?”

The orange one laughed for some reason. “Jerky? You mean meat? You don’t look like any carnivore I’ve ever seen.”

“Well I’m not, I’m an omnivore. Means I need both greens and meat in my diet.”

This brought the orange dragon pause. “I see… what of you Atrezal? You are the eldest yet you have yet to say a word.” Everyone turned to look at the black dragon on the right. His one working eye was locked on me, and for a moment I thought I had misread his emotions but there was no doubt about it. He’s terrified by me?

“The Destroyer… you returned… I… you will not take our lives without a fight!” The giant dragon leaned forward as he tried to crush me with one claw. I rolled but as soon as I was up again his other claw came down and I barely dived out of the way. Now with myself lying between both his claws he took his chance and grabbed me. Everything went dark as he held me in his hands but I had no time to adjust my eyes as I felt myself be lifted into the air.

“Burn in lava for your crimes you demon!” Oh hell no! That’s not happening! I placed my hands on his palms and let loose electricity. Though it was only a small shock to him it was enough to loosen his grip so I could climb out. Once out I ran up his arm toward his head. He desperately spat fire at me but his lack of focus made it easy to redirect or absorb the small projectiles. With one magically enhanced jump I leapt from his upper arm to his snout and shocked him again. He reeled in pain but I held on to his spines until he swung his head low, allowing me to roll to the ground with only a few bruises for my trouble.

Atrezal looked ready to go for round two until his orange companion yelled so loud I thought the volcano might erupt. “Enough! Atrezal, this is not how our system of justice works. You know this!”

“You don’t understand Halvium. This is the Destroyer. The one from the old tales of when dragons aided the other races to defeat a being who spent years using dragons like slaves.”
I facepalmed as I remembered that very same detail of the last Overlord’s history myself. Looks like your lessons didn’t stick too well Gnarl, not that I’m going to tell you that. Suffering through it a second time would be even worse.

The two other dragons went from stoic and proud to shocked beyond belief. “This is him? How can that be? The stories speak of one whose eyes glowed with power, one who lead an army of creatures breed to serve his will, one who could slay the mightiest of dragons in one on one combat. There is no way this soft thing is him.”

“But it is him! I have only ever seen one creature that could instill uncertainty and fear in my heart just upon looking at him and this is it. This is the one who took my eye in the war so long ago!”

I cleared my throat which surprisingly got their attention. “Sorry to disappoint but I’m not him, at least not in mind. My predecessor, as I now refer him to, is now locked away in my mind. I am still the Overlord, or the Destroyer to you, but I’m no longer the bloodthirsty savage I once was.”

This seemed to calm them down but they still were on edge. The girl dragon spoke before her companions. “Then why are you here? What do you intend for the dragons?”

“I’m here because I have a dragon I’m friends with that doesn’t act like a dragon. The damn ponies have been teaching him to be soft and cuddly. The kid actually used to wear a frilly apron and have a crush on a posh pony before I came along.

“As for what I intend for the dragons, as of right now nothing. My biggest threat is the princesses and the artifacts that were used to defeat my predecessor. If anything I would be willing to discuss a truce between us.”

Atrezal was still fanatical. “Don’t listen to him Zerana. He only aims to lead us on the path to death. We must-”

“Atrezal! Silence!" Halvium’s booming voice silenced the older dragon instantly. “You may be the eldest but that does not mean you represent all of us. This matter will be decided by all three elders as is tradition. I will not remind you of this again.” Atrezal nodded in response as Zerana continued.

“What do you expect to gain from this truce?”

“Not repeating history would be nice. During the war in which the last Overlord was defeated he easily had ten minions for every creature on Faust’s side. Out of all of these the most formidable was obviously the dragons. Without you helping Equestria it will be much easier to take over.”

“I see, and what would we gain of this truce?”

“How about I let you out from underneath the strong hoof that is Celestia?”

Halvium growled. “What do you imply Destroyer? Are you saying we live under the rule of ponies?”

“They don’t rule you per say, but they do limit you. I imagine there was a time before the alicorns when you used to run free, feasting upon anything you see fit. Now you must be careful in pony lands because if you happen to harm any of Celestia’s precious ponies…” I ran a finger across my throat.

“You think we fear the princess? Ha, if I wanted I could take her with one claw tied behind my back.”

“Nice bluff, but you aren’t fooling me. After all, you were the one who led the dragons in the Dragon Wars about eight hundred years ago. Despite pony books lacking information about what dragons can do they certainly don’t miss the details when it comes to one of the bloodiest battles Equestria has remaining in its history.” Halvium was completely speechless by what I knew. Since Atrezal had taken to glaring with his one eye it was Zerana that spoke.

“You claim that you can defeat Celestia, but what about the fact her sister has returned?”

“A small issue. I still have the element of surprise and that is all the advantage I need.”

“And what of that which sealed your predecessor away the first time?”

I gritted my teeth as I thought of how long I had been searching. “I can’t find out where they are. Everything I know points to a tree that grew from the place the artifacts were buried but no one seems to know where it is.”

Zerena grinned. “Then it seems we have one more thing we can offer you in exchange for you promising to leave the dragons alone. The location of the tree.”

“What?!”

Halvium spoke up next. “Yes, Atrezal here has mentioned this tree to us and we all know the location. In exchange for your vow to not attack the dragons without provocation we will tell you where your greatest threat lies.”

I can’t believe this! I CAN’T FUCKING BELIEVE THIS! Inside I was doing the happy dance to literally end all happy dances. Finally, the bane of my evil existence could be removed! “Deal. I will not bring any harm to the dragons and once the princesses are dead and burning on a stake you are free to do as you wish. In exchange you will not fight against me and you will give me what I need to finally assure victory.”

“I believe it is time we brought this to a vote. I for one believe this is an excellent idea. It removes not only our current problem with the Destroyer’s return but also gets rid of the princesses. I vote yes.”

Atrezal spoke next. “You are both insane! As soon as he gets the chance he will kill us all. I vote no and demand that he be executed immediately.”

Zerana just shook her head with a grin. “Sorry Atrezal, but you know how this works and my vote is yes. Two to one means the motion passes and the agreement is now law. And may I remind you that even you are not above the law.” Atrezal seemed absolutely furious at this development but managed to keep a lid on it. Halvium called out to the guards outside.

“Send in the hatchling.” I watched the huge doors open once again and Spike walked in. Once he was standing with me Halvium spoke once more. “Your friend here says you know next to nothing about what you are. Is this true?”

“Y-ya. I was hatched by a pony and since then I have lived with them.”

“Then while you are here we will teach you as best we can. Should you wish to stay with us instead of returning to the ponies you are more than welcome. The charges against your friend have also been dropped and he is welcome to stay with the brood for as long as he wishes.” The dragons all got up at once. Zerana kneeled down to Spike so he could climb on.

“Come along hatchling. I will be the one to teach you.” Spike looked at me for an answer and I just waved him off. Once I did his face lit up with joy and he hopped on top of Zerana’s head. Right behind her was Atrezal who didn’t take his eye off me until he was at the door. Once the two were gone Halvium bent down to my level while I asked him something.

“Atrezal isn’t going to be a problem is he? Though I’d hate to admit it if you hadn’t intervened I would be dead right now.”

“Yes, I could sense your power during the fight which was why I was so skeptical of what you are. I still have doubts but very few know of the old stories who were not there themselves and that is enough proof for me. As for Atrezal, I wouldn’t put it past the old bat to try something even if it meant banishment or even death. I believe it would be best for you to stay with me while you are with us.”

“Fine by me. We have some things to discuss anyway.” With that I leapt onto his head. I was disoriented a bit as he rose back up to his full height but once things leveled out I was fine. It wasn’t until we were out of range of the guards that Halvium began speaking.

“I have another proposition for you, one that my fellow elders would no doubt be against but part of it will be asking for your silence. Before we speak of that though I must give you what you were promised in council.”

“So where is the tree? I’m going to take pleasure in uprooting it.”

“Tell me, do you know where that battle took place? The one in which your predecessor was sealed away.”

“It’s the Everfree Forest right? That’s why the plants and animals there are all different from the rest of Equestria.”

“So you do know, though no dragon knows it as this ‘Everfree Forest’. Here we call it The Land That Never Dies. This is because when it first came to exist after the war the dragons attempted to burn it away. Not only did this not work but the forest itself seemed to come alive and drag a few of our own into the depths. We have never found their corpses to this day.”

“Interesting story and all, but what does this have to do with the tree?”

“The artifacts, as a symbolic gesture, were planted in a small cavern in the middle of the battlefield. At the time the forest did not exist so they believed it would be a safe place for them to be stored. Years later when the area was overgrown and filled with dangerous wildlife they attempted to collect the artifacts so they could be moved only they disappear within, never to return.”

The battlefield? So that means… FUCK! “Wait a minute. So you’re telling me I’ve been living next to the artifacts for nearly a year!?”

Halvium let out a hearty chuckle. “So it seems, though it makes some sense. Even though the forest is made by your power it has its own spirit now. The tree lies in the center, and no one of any race has ever returned from entering the core of that land.” What he said did make some sense to me. Sometimes when I went for a walk through the forest I would get the feeling I shouldn’t go a certain direction or that I should turn around. I never bothered to go against that instinct as there was never a reason to.

“Are you saying the forest is actually alive? Like it’s sentient?”

“It seems so. What goes on with that forest simply does not make sense anywhere else in the world and that is the only explanation I have been able to come up with.” We finally stopped our trek through the caverns as we came out of a cave on top of the volcano. I could see the bully dragons were back out though they avoided eye contact with me as much as possible. “Would you mind if we flew for a bit? I must admit it has been awhile since I have stretched my wings.”

Flying? Oh sweet Faust’s godly ass I could kiss this dragon! I’d hate to admit it but ever since I turned back into a human it’s been really hard not being able to fly. Some days I would step outside and instinctively try to spread my wings only to be harshly reminded I have none. Whenever I watched Rainbow Dash or even Fluttershy I would get an itch where the wings once connected with my spine and no amount of scratching would satisfy it.

“Halvium, I'd be more upset if you didn't take me flying.” That brought a chuckle out of the dragon as he opened his massive wings. In a single flap he was airborne with me hanging on to one of the spines that lined his head. Once we were high enough he leveled off and I no longer needed the support. I closed my eyes and let myself take in the feeling of weightlessness as Halvium spoke over the wind.

“I’m surprised you were so willing to fly. Most ground creatures are too afraid of gravity to enjoy the skies.”

“I was stuck as a pegasus for awhile. Though everything about it was as terrible as you can imagine, flying was absolutely amazing.”

“Ah, so you’ve got the flyers envy now. I believe you will be most interested in my proposal than.”

Wait, is he saying he can give me wings? “And this proposal is what exactly? You said the other elders wouldn’t approve but that was about it.”

“Yes, they wouldn’t approve because it would go against what is normally allowed. We have deemed in the past that dragons such as your friend have the right to live as they want. No brood ties them to his fellow kind. As such, dragons like him tend to become more… soft for lack of a better word.”

“Hang on. There are other dragons like Spike?”

“A few. I know of one such dragon in service to Celestia though he is used more as an easy way of sending letters then as a guard. There are others who were hatched one way or another and they have all become aliens to us. Though I know it is their choice, I can tell, just like your friend, that what they are doing makes them weak and I will not stand for it.

“So what I propose from you is this: Convince the hatchling to stay with us. I don’t care what you have to do. Use diplomacy, use deception, or even kill the ponies that watch over him. Whatever it takes I want him here.”

I thought about it for a moment before speaking. “That all sounds good and all but you haven’t mentioned what I get from this.”

“In exchange for the hatchling staying with us our truce becomes an alliance. I will speak with Zerana about it and get her to agree so that when it is voted upon it will pass. With an alliance we will not only remain peaceful with you, but you may call upon us to help in your fight.”

A dragon army! Or better yet a dragon to fly around on! “That sounds like a fair deal though I don’t think I will be able to convince him in the one day we will be here. If he returns later will that work?”

“That is fine but you will not get your alliance until then. Now enough of politics. I would like to hear how- hang on. What is that?” I looked over the side to see a bunch of dragons gathering around what looked like a bunch of ponies and a torn up horrible costume. Please don’t be who I think it is.

When we got closer it was made obvious by the rainbow mane on one of them that it was three of the ponies from home. When Halvium landed the crowd parted for him to walk forward. He then leaned down so he was right in their faces. Before he could say anything though they noticed me riding up top.

“Don!? Why are you on a dragon? We need to get out of here!”

I just sighed and facepalmed before sliding off Halvium. I walked around in front of him so he could see me. “I’ll take care of this. Just tell the dragons to back off for now and if you can go find Zerana and Spike.” Though he seemed hesitant at first he nodded. While he spoke to the dragons, I turned toward Twilight who looked somewhere between incredibly mad and absolutely scared out of her mind. “What are you all doing here?”

“Us? We’re here to get you and Spike! You had no right to take him without my permission.”

“And you have no right to keep him away from what he is. What if I decided to never remove that anti-magic ring I put on you? How would it feel to remove the one thing that makes you a unicorn?”

“That’s different. I never took away what makes Spike who he is!”

“No, you just never gave him the chance to have it in the first place.” The two other ponies just watched in shock as we argued. I think both of them had seen us get mad a total of four times and never at the same time or at each other.

“Don, this isn’t up for debate. I’m the one who is responsible for him so I will decide what is best.”

“He isn’t a pony no matter how much you want him to be one. You all like having your destinies predetermined, to have your lives set out in front of you. The other beings of this world are different though. We like the idea of being free, to do as we wish, to dream about doing anything we want. If anyone here, including myself, was ever given a choice to have my life set in stone by a butt tattoo, they wouldn't take it.” I watched Twilight’s horn began to glow but she stopped when a dragon came up behind me. Looking up I saw Zerana slowly bending down. Spike jumped off her head as soon as she was low enough.

“Spike!” She ran over to him and nuzzled him more than was necessary. “Oh I was so worried. You are never going anywhere like that again. Now come on, we have a long trip home.” She started walking away until she realized Spike wasn’t following and turned around. “Spike? Come on.” He seemed conflicted at what was happening and unfortunately that meant he looked to me for an answer.

“I can’t choose this for you Spike. This is your decision alone.” That just made him freak out even more as he looked between the Zerana and Twilight.

“Spike, we need to get going. The trip back to Ponyville is long enough without you standing here.”

Zerana blew out some steam from her nostrils. “Is this pony forcing you to leave hatchling? If so, I’d suggest she change her tone.”

Rainbow being all about loyalty wasn’t going to take that threat. “You better back off or I’ll sock you right in the nose!”

I can already see where this is going. “Rainbow, if you think Zerana or any of these dragons wouldn’t torch you where you stand then you better realize that quick.”

Rarity, despite how rustic the trip here was, still looked like she had spent hours doing her mane. “Don, why are you siding with those ruffians?”

“Because I made a promise to a friend. That promise was to help him figure out his heritage and what being a dragon is about. If you honestly believe that dragging Spike out of here will magically make everything return to normal then you have another thing coming.” I turned to Spike. “Like I said, it’s your choice. Whatever you want to do I’ll follow you.” That seemed to calm Spike down for a bit as he looked at the ground.

“I… I want to stay and learn. At least for a day like we originally planned.”

“Then that’s what we’ll do.” I turned to Twilight to see she was absolutely shocked by this. Spike saw this as well.

“Twilight, don’t worry. I’m still coming back home and I’ll still be Spike. I just want to figure out what I am.” Though there were tears in her eyes she nodded and then slowly turned away. As she passed by the other two they turned to follow. It wasn’t until they were out of sight that the dragons went about their business. Spike went back to what he was doing with Zerana while I walked over to Halvium.

“I thought for sure I would have to fry that pony when she insisted the hatchling come with her. It seems that you not only got rid of them but you also forced the hatchling to make the decision. Now he is closer to staying with us.”

“That was the plan. The only real tie he has to the ponies is with that mare. She’s practically his mother though it seems like he takes care of her more than the other way around. The more independent he becomes, the less he will feel obligated to stay. However I’m hoping that he will make the decision without any further influence as I have something I must do after this trip is over.”

“Very well. You seem to understand the situation better than I.” He rose his head a bit and sniffed the air. “It seems it is almost time to feast. Would you care to join us?”

“Depends. Is it crystals or meat?”

“Both, though you more than welcome to your share of either.”

“Sounds good to me. Have I told you about the hay substitute ponies use to replace meat?”

“No but already I feel the need to gag.”

“Well let me tell you how right you are.”

What does Evil fear?

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The rest of our stay with the dragons was pretty boring to be honest. We had dinner, I flew around with Halvium some more, and Spike spent all his time with Zerana. You’d think the land of dragons would be filled with excitement but after everything that had already happened it seems that most dragons wanted to avoid me. It wasn’t fear that drove their actions though. It was more likely that the truce prevented them from stomping me flat and they didn’t want to take the chance I’d make them mad enough to break it. After all, I had already torched three of their hatchlings and gotten in a fight with the oldest of their brood.

I was waiting for Spike the next day on the lip of the volcano while watching the forest for any signs of an animal I could kill. Instead I found a curly purple tail sticking out from behind a bush. I only know one tail that can be that curled in the middle of a forest and I was sure that two more ponies waited nearby. I get that Twilight would have invisibility or something, but Rainbow is as colorful as they get! Where could something like that hide? I double checked the sky but still found nothing. Whatever. We’ll just have to find a way around them. I need to speak with Spike about what he saw before he talks to Twilight.

I slid back down the inside of the volcano to where Halvium had been sitting. He had been rather insistent on making sure I be watched. Whether this was because he didn’t trust me or because he didn’t want me to die I didn’t really care since his presence still helped with the latter.

“Seems the ponies are still here. I imagine they are waiting so that they can walk home with us but I need to talk with Spike alone. You have a way of getting around them?”

Halvium put a claw to his chin in thought. “I could fly you two past them though the pegasus you mentioned might be trouble.”

I shook my head. “More than just trouble. With her here it makes it practically impossible to leave by air. We also can’t stay longer since I have no doubt that Twilight will send a message to Celestia as soon as she thinks something is wrong.”

“Ah, yes. The faithful student. Her presence here complicates things as well. Bah! Is there really any need for this?”

“There is if you don’t want me banished for another few centuries. Unless I explain to Spike exactly why he can’t say anything he is bound to let it slip and as soon as he does it will be only a few minutes before the princesses know what’s up.”

We both returned to thinking until Spike and Zerana showed up. Spike was positively beaming to a point where my dark heart couldn’t take it. He better not be like that the entire way home. I don’t think I could stand it for longer than a day. While Spike ran up to me and started telling me about what he learned I saw Halvium mutter something to Zerana. All she gave in response was “Really? That’s it?” and sighed. She dipped her head toward me as her tail came around to meet it. “I believe this belonged to you once and may very well solve your current problem.”

Spike, ever ignorant, said “Problem? What problem?”

“Nothing you need to worry about hatchling. How about you say goodbye to Halvium while I talk with Don?” He nodded. With him finally gone I looked at what Zerana was holding in her tail. It appeared to be a piece of armor, though it had definitely seen better days. It consisted of a belt with the Overlord’s mark in the center as well as a bandolier. Both were made of leather and decorated with plates of rusted steel. It was underwhelming to say the least.

“So I suppose I should first ask why you have this?”

“It was one of the few pieces of your armor that remained. When we first found it we attempted everything we could to destroy it but eventually gave up. We instead decided to keep it as a reminder of the past. Recently however it changed. Before it had been a chestplate with a tattered red cloak and a sword sling on the back. I assume it was because of your attitude change that it is now this.”

“Makes about as much sense as everything else that has happened.” I took it from her and put it on. It fit well though now that I felt it I could tell the metal was even flimsier than it appeared. “So how is this going to help?”

“When it changed, I tried to figure out why it did this. As I examined it I found that not only had the shape changed but its enchantments as well. One of these allows for the wearer to teleport short distances when fed magic.”

That’s amazing! Teleporting had been an issue in my studies, though to explain why would take explaining a bunch of other magic stuff to you as well. Just know that teleporting is impossible unless you have a lot of power, which I won’t until I find a nest or two, or if you are capable of working out quantum physics mixed with magical cross-dimension relativity for your current situation all within a few seconds.

“This is perfect! I can get Spike and I past the ponies and then some. After we’re long gone you can just tell them that we left early this morning.”

“Precisely.” Spike came back over, his bag filled with gems that were no doubt given to him as a treat.

“Can we go now Don? I don’t want to give Twilight a reason to call the guards or something like that.”

At least we feel the same about that. “Sure thing. Just hop on my backpack and we’ll go.” He did just that. Once we were at the edge of the volcano I peeked over so I could get sight of where I was teleporting. Rarity’s still there. Twilight must be nearby. Is it possible Rainbow left? It wouldn’t exactly go against her loyal nature to leave when Spike very clearly wanted to be here.

I found a good spot well past Rarity’s curly tail to try out my new toy. I started out slow as I extended my magic to the belt. As soon as I made contact the enchantment took over, sucking greedily from my magic reserves. This left me feeling light headed just as the spell activated. For a moment it felt like I was being shoved into a small space before suddenly being released right into a tree. Okay. I’m going to need to learn how to properly use this before I try that again.

“Don! Are you okay?” I pried my face off the tree before answering.

“Ya, I think so. That was definitely a learning experience.” Once we were sure everything was in one piece I looked back toward the dragon den. I couldn’t even see it between the trees. Looks like I went a little further than I meant to. I definitely shouldn’t try anything larger than that until I get used to it. I turned back around and we started walking toward Ponyville.

“So you can teleport too? What other magic do you have?”

I decided to humor the little guy and listed off a few that wouldn’t cause too much trouble if someone found out. “Well, other than obviously faulty teleporting I can also use telekinesis and make fire.”

“Cool! Can you show me? Huh? Can ya?”

“I wish I could, but that teleport took more out of me than I was expecting. Maybe when we stop for the night I’ll be able to show you a bit of fire.” Though he looked a bit disappointed that disappeared as soon as we ran into a cockatrice. Both of us looked at each other with a grin before leaping at it, claws and dagger drawn.

* * *

That night we were finishing off the cockatrice when Spike finally asked the big question. “So why haven’t you told anyone you can do magic? I figure Twilight and maybe even Rarity could teach you a lot if they knew.”

I sighed as I put down the leg bone I had been gnawing on. “It’s a long story Spike, but you deserve to know. First off, do you know the story of Faust’s ascension?”

“You mean that old fairy tale about how she defeated a great evil? I’ve heard of it but I’ve never read it myself. I do remember Twilight freaking out about it being missing from the library though since so few places actually have that book anymore.”

“Well the missing book was me. I fed it to a manticore because if anyone read it they might figure out what I am, or was rather. You see, in the story Faust fought a bipedal creature that, despite being from another world, was capable of destructive power that no one had ever seen. It was eventually sealed away but it took Faust sacrificing herself to do so.”

“What does this have to do with you doing magic?”

“I’m getting there. Now where was I? Oh ya. There are a few things not mentioned in the story. First is that Faust is actually the mother of Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. Second is that the Everfree Forest was the site of the final battle between the goddess and the destructive being.”

“Alright, so what?”

I sighed. “You don’t get it yet? Bipedal creature from another world, can use magic despite not being a magical being, and was sealed away in the Everfree Forest. Who does that sound like?”

To my surprise Spike actually had to sit there and think for about ten seconds before finally gasping. “You? You’re the one from the story?”

“Yep, or at least I was. Thing is, I’m not nearly as violent as I was in the story. That’s the only reason why I managed to get by the princesses when they asked for me to come to Canterlot the first week I was here. Good thing too because if they figured out what I was I’d be dead right now, or worse.”

“The princesses wouldn’t do that! They’re really nice. I’m sure they can see that you’re a good person.”

Good. He’s taking this the way I planned for him to. “Oh really? Than why did I overhear them arguing about how to deal with me? Luna wanted my head on a pike. The only reason Celestia didn’t agree was because she wanted proof. I’m sure as soon as I reveal my magic to them or anyone close to them I’d be done for.”

“I dunno. That still doesn’t sound like the princesses to me.”

“Think about it like this Spike. Some monster is responsible for your mother’s death. You think he’s been locked away forever but suddenly he returns. What would your first reaction be? Invite the monster over for a cup of tea?”

“I guess not, though I still think you’re being a little paranoid about this.”

“Paranoia isn’t a bad thing Spike. Paranoia is that voice in your head that tells you it’s not a good idea to wear a metal hat during a thunderstorm. Paranoia is what keeps you from getting mugged by strangers. Paranoia is the only reason I’m still living in Equestria and not a statue or on the moon.” Spike thought about what I said for a long time. It wasn’t till the fire had dimmed to glowing embers that I spoke again.

“Do you see why I said you couldn’t tell anyone what you saw? You can bet your scaley behind that as soon as Twilight hears I can do magic she’ll send a letter to the princess. The next thing you know the entire Equestrian military will be after me along with two really pissed off princesses.”

“I understand. I just wish there was some way you didn’t have to hide.”

I smiled and pat Spike on the back. “Don’t worry about it Spike. I’ve been doing this for almost a year now. How do you think I got away from the diamond dogs?”

He looked up. The sadness that had filled his eyes was now replaced by curiosity. “That’s how you did that? But you were a pegasus. How did you do magic?”

“I couldn’t do any of my normal spells but using what I knew I figured out pegasus magic and used it to create electricity. Zapped the guard when he came into my cell to check on me.”

“That’s awesome! Have you done anything else?”

“Well other than the fight with those dragons you saw, I also got into a fight with one of the dragon elders.”

“No way! You gotta tell me about that one.”

“Alright. I entered the room. The three of them were already standing ready to judge me…”

* * *

The remainder of the trip went by pretty quickly. A few times I would have Spike climb on my back so I could work on teleporting. I managed to get a feel for the magic to distance ratio after awhile though it wasn’t without a few more incidents. When we got back to town we headed straight to the library to hide a few things. I let Spike have all of the jerky we made since I knew going back to hay was going to be hard.

Once the meat and Spike’s gems were hidden away underneath the floorboards of my room (I wasn’t going to need it soon) I put away my camping supplies. I made sure to latch my dagger to my new belt and throw them both in my saddlebags before heading out to Zecora’s. Along the way I ran into Fluttershy who was heading to town.

“Oh Don, you’re back. Does that mean Twilight and everyone else is too?”

“Spike and I are back but I haven’t seen Twilight since she showed up demanding that Spike return home. We thought they left before us but we must have passed them somehow on the way back.”

“Well I’m glad nothing happened with the-” she gulped “-dragons. I’m also glad Spike finally got to learn a few things about himself.”

“Wait. How did you know we went to see the dragons? I thought Twilight just tracked us with magic or something.”

“She did, but she could tell that you were heading in the same direction the dragons did. She asked all of us to come but only Rainbow and Rarity agreed.”

“So you actually were okay with Spike figuring this stuff out?”

“Of course. No two creatures are the same. I can’t expect Spike to act like he’s a pony when he isn’t.”

“I imagine Applejack and Pinkie feel the same way since they didn’t follow Twilight?”

“I suppose so, though I don’t think it is for the same reason.” Fluttershy looked up at the sky for a moment before making a gasp so small and adorable I wanted to burn a building down. “Oh look at the time. I need to get going. It was nice seeing you Don.” We both started heading our separate ways before Fluttershy called me back.

“Oh, wait Don. I nearly forgot. Pinkie is throwing you a going away party tomorrow. It’s at noon over at Sugarcube Corner.”

Hang on a bone pickin minute! “Pinkie Pie is throwing a party.” She nodded. “For me.” She nodded again. “Are you absolutely sure of this?”

“Yep. I was just as surprised as you since you two never seemed to get along that much. Maybe she’s trying to make up for it.”

Or maybe she’s making one last assassination attempt. “Well I hope it isn’t a big party. Pinkie knows I’m not really into that kind of thing.”

“Don’t worry. She said it was just the girls and a few of their family members. Nothing big.”

“Alright. I’ll be there Fluttershy.” I waved goodbye before continuing down the path. Note to self: Bring dagger in case Pinkie tries something. I’ve been carefully watching her ever since that one time she almost went complete psychopath just because she thought her friends hated her parties. There was just something about the way she looks when her mane straightens that made me think she wouldn’t hesitate to stab someone.

The walk to Zecora’s took about as long as expected. She was there and seemed to be in the middle of packing. “You have come very early, we’re not leaving now surely.”

“Nope. I’m here because I know where the crystal tree is and I want your help since you know the forest better than anyone.”

“If what you seek is within the forest, then perhaps I need an optometrist.”

“Your eyesight is fine, it’s just in the one place no one has returned from in over three centuries.” Zecora’s eyes went wide as she heard this. After the shock had worn off she silently walked over to a set of bottles filled with various liquids. She thought for a moment before grabbing one with her teeth and handing it to me.

“If you’re going there take this brew. It will hide you from creatures that want to harm you.”

“You’re not coming?”

“No, there is still packing to be done. I know every place in this forest except one.”

I sighed as I looked down at the bottle of bluish green liquid. “So what do I do with this?”

“Drink it when you feel uneasy, then run fast! Don’t frolic like a breezie.”

“Got it. I’ll be back as soon as the tree is smashed and the relics with it.” I pulled my bandoleer and belt out of the bag and put them on. Once I had secured the bottle in one of the chest pouches I tossed my bag inside Zecora’s hut.

I had been inside the forest many times by this point so I had a basic idea of where I needed to go. I felt the forest’s warning as I began to get closer. It was as if something was amplifying my fight or flight response and with no threat in sight my instincts were leaning toward the latter. Despite this I pressed forward, knowing that I would have more reasons to be afraid if I didn’t take care of this.

It wasn’t until the warning suddenly stopped that I did as well. Knowing a bad sign when I see it I pulled the bottle out and chugged it. The strange liquid tasted like someone had mixed blueberries and onions together and left a terrible aftertaste. I didn’t feel any different but I had seen Zecora do crazier with her potions so I was sure that it was doing its job.

I put the bottle back in its place before making a mad dash through the forest. There were a few instances where the terrain sunk and became a marsh or where the earth fell away all together to create a ravine. With no time to spare finding alternative routes I utilized my new ability to warp across these obstacles.

I had been running for nearly fifteen minutes and I was starting to wonder how deep the forest goes when I came across a huge ravine. I was about to teleport across and keep going when I saw something glittering out of the corner of my eye. The ravine lead up to a cave and from this angle I could see a small amount of crystal peeking out.

Bingo! I ignored the stairs that had been carved into the rock and teleported down instantly. My grin grew as I looked upon the shining tree. Flames danced across my arms as I readied to collapse the place but I stopped. My magic dissipated as my expression fell. This tree is made of crystal, but the magic it has is nothing compared to what I expected. This thing couldn’t seal me away for one year let alone three thousand!

I growled in anger. “Is there another tree? No, that would be ridiculous. But then why is the tree so weak!? The artifacts were made from Faust’s spirit and as such are self-sustaining. This tree isn’t gaining any new magic though! In a couple of years this thing will be dry. Did the artifacts break down or-” I paused as something caught my eye. “Those branches each have that small indent.” I glanced at each one of these seemingly worthless features. One, two, three, four, five… My eyes landed on the star on the trunk. Six. The artifacts may still be here physically but their magic has been transferred to something else. And it seems their replacements are no longer here.

I clenched my fists as I held back to wave of anger and rage that was building within me. I came all this way for nothing! Well this tree may not be made of wood, but I’m going to burn it anyway! Flames sprung to life on my arms once again but I was stopped when I heard the sound of something slithering behind me. In no mood to be snuck up on I turned and let loose a wave of fire, incinerating what looked like black vines covered in blue thorns. As the vines turned to ashes a hissing voice spoke. I could feel the sound reverberating in the stone as the trees above swayed in tandem as if something was holding them by the root.

“You are a fool have entered into my realm. I have consumed the mightiest of warriors from minotaurs to dragons to ponies. You are nothing compared to them and they were child’s play.” More vines replaced the ones I destroyed. “Any last words, hero?”

“I’m not a hero. I’m the thing that created you after all.” Despite how calm I appeared on the outside, inside I was afraid. Of what I couldn’t figure out. This thing is powerful but it certainly isn’t the princesses’ level of power. So where is this fear coming from?

“This means nothing! You may have planted the seeds but I’ve outgrown you.”

“Well then I guess it’s about time I trimmed the weeds.” With that last line I charged at the vines. They did the same but just as we were about to clash I teleported to the top of the ridge. The forest screamed out but I didn’t let it stop me as I ran for it.

“You will not escape! Two escaped before but no more! NO MORE!!!” Trees around me began to uproot themselves as their branches swiped at me. Giant cragadiles surfaced from the marshes and snapped at me. The entire forest seemed to lurch and turn as I felt powerful magic begin to fill the air around me. Literally everything wanted me dead and would get its chance had I not been running at full speed.

“No, no, no, NO! I cannot allow it! You must die for your crimes! Your body will decompose and become food for my roots! My teeth will snap your bones!” The threats went on and on as I continued my mad dash. My vision began to blur from the overexertion of my body and the raw power that still covered me like a cloud.

Need to keep going...

I don’t know how long I ran. I must have gotten lost. Despite how the trees moved the forest canopy above left the ground just as dark as it always had, taking away my only clue as to how much time passed. The only thing that drove me to keep moving was knowing that stopping was death. Eventually that was all I had to think of as exhaustion sapped my strength.

Need to keep going, need to keep going…

The voice never stopped. It spoke from everywhere at once, always speaking of crimes and punishment. I tried to ignore it, to cut off my sense of hearing, though the voice only seemed to get louder and closer. It cut through my thoughts, leaving me with only the instinct to survive pushing me forward.

Run. Don’t stop. Run...

Eventually the voice died down and the plants stopped moving but I did not stop running. I didn’t even notice the difference. Its intent had been clear and though its ultimate goal had failed it still had succeeded on all the steps prior. Thinking rationally was beyond me. Conscious thought seemed to be only a distant memory.

Don’t stop. Stopping is death.

When I saw a familiar hut adorned with tribal decor my memories snapped back into place. With it came the realization of how horrible I felt. I only managed a few more shaky steps before finally falling forward.

Zecora must have heard me slam into her front step as she was there a few seconds later. “What happened out there? Did you get attacked by a bear?”

I gasped for air as I tried to speak. “Just… help me.” Zecora was quick to obey my order as she grabbed the collar of my shirt and pulled me inside. Once I was propped up against a wall she ran over to her cupboards and pulled out bandages as well as some kind of salve she made. Thankfully none of my wounds were serious, only scratches and bruises where some trees caught me off guard. If a cragadile had gotten to me I wouldn’t have made it without a missing limb.

“You best stay here and rest, so the ponies are not distressed.”

I managed to speak though my mind was still in turmoil from my ordeal. “How are they not?”

“I’m afraid I do not understand. Nothing has happened since off you ran. Is there reason for us to fear, or are the ponies in the clear?”

I managed to find a small part of my mind not falling apart; the eye of the storm so to speak. She heard none of what happened. I glanced at a calendar she had, a rather out of place piece in the jungle hut though it wasn’t in good condition. It’s the same day. That’s not possible! I must have been in there for at least forty-eight hours.

That realization used up what little will I had left. My body cried out for sleep and I could not ignore it anymore. I heard Zecora say something else but couldn’t make it out beyond muffled mutterings.

For the first time in many months I dreamt something that was not under my control. A nightmare of a hissing voice speaking through an eternal forest. I have never felt so weak and afraid.

Home is for the weak... right?

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I woke up feeling terrible the next day though the more noticeable of my wounds had disappeared. My restless sleep had been more in part due to my experience in the woods as it seemed to haunt me. I was awake however and too tired to care about it consciously.

Zecora explained to me things from her side. Apparently nothing had happened other than me disappearing for an hour before suddenly showing up on her doorstep a disheveled wreck. This did nothing to help the innate fear I seemed to have of the thing. The only explanation I could come up with was that it had somehow put me in some kind of endless time loop in the hopes that I would eventually collapse before it grew tired.

It said two others had escaped. Most likely they took the new artifacts. Now the question is who would be capable of such a feat. Part of me already knew the answer but I dreaded such a thing as it meant no amount of simple manipulation on my part and breaking into the castle to find these ultimate weapons would be impossible. As such I clung onto the idea that somewhere in the world there were two other beings that could survive such horrors and they had them now.

After some time packing up my gear and pulling my bandages off I headed back to town. When I stepped out of the forest I was greeted by the night sky above me. A waning moon left little light for the walk but this allowed for more stars to be seen. At least that’s what I assumed since in this world the night sky is supposedly controlled by Luna. I still don’t believe that one pony can control not only the moon but the stars as well. She must be bending their light or something like that.

By the time I was back to town the sky had turned purple as sunlight peeked above the horizon. A few ponies could be seen out enjoying the morning despite my presence normally spooking them. I didn’t even see any heads turn my way as I headed toward the library. I opened the door to find Twilight sitting at the table reading a book with her coffee as she did every morning. When she looked at me I was surprised to find no hatred behind her eyes.

“Where were you last night? Some of us thought you had already left especially since Fluttershy saw you were heading to Zecora’s.”

I yawned. “Sorry. I went out to talk with her about preparations and such. Ended up spending the night. I’m surprised you were worried at all after the rant you gave me.”

“Well you shouldn’t have taken Spike out without my permission, but ever since we got back he seems… I don’t know, more confident? He seems to stand up straighter as well as more happy in general. I may not have liked what you did, I still don’t, but whatever he learned while out there brought a smile to his face. That’s all that really matters to me.”

“Good to know I’m not being turned into a toad anytime soon. Now if you don’t mind I really need some coffee. I did not sleep well at all last night.” I tossed my bag full of equipment in my room and then headed to the kitchen. When I got there Twilight and Spike were already sitting down for breakfast. Once I grabbed my mug I took a seat so I could enjoy my own serving of pancakes. Spike was busy telling Twilight all about the things he learned with the dragons so I busied my mind with making sure I had everything I needed for the trip. A weapon, a guide on edible plants, winter weather clothing, a tent. I probably don’t need to worry about first aid with Zecora around but it wouldn’t hurt to pack some gauze. There’s also-

“Right Don?” Spike’s voice broke my concentration as I glanced up to see the two of them looking at me for an answer. I swallowed the bite of food I had in my mouth before speaking.

“Sorry, I zoned out a bit there. What did you say?”

“I was telling Twilight that without you I wouldn’t have learned what I did since those jerks would have just spent the day messing with me.”

Judging by how Twilight wasn’t giving me any funny looks I assumed Spike had left out the part about me kicking their asses. “Well, ya, I guess. I’m sure one of the adult dragons would have done something eventually even if I wasn’t there.” After that Spike continued his story while I returned to my mental checklist.

By the way, the whole checklist thing was something Twilight had drilled into me after living with her for a year. In return she had picked up a few curses she still claims to this day to have never said. It is some strange kind of cute to see a purple pony pop the F word.

Soon breakfast was over and everything was put away. I intended to buy a few things I still needed. When I opened the door to leave I found Rarity standing there with a hoof ready to knock. She was levitating something next to her but before I could get a good look she moved it behind her back. She had a strained smile on as sweat began to roll down her forehead.

“Oh Don, you’re here. Is Twilight home?” Before I could say anything I was picked up by a familiar purple aura and put down on the grass outside. I looked to see Rarity slip inside while Twilight gave me an even more strained smile.

“Sorry Don but we have to… talk about mare things! Ya, that’s it. You should go!” Now in a normal situation a guy would give girls their privacy. However I was not normal as I had gone through multiple instances of heat as a pony so there was very little ‘mare things’ I hadn’t seen. Unfortunately I had nothing to counteract her claims so I had to let them have their little secret for now.

“Fine, I’ll just see you at the party than.” With that she shut the door. As if she had read my mind I watched the window curtains drop in unison. Damn it. What are they up to? I entertained the idea they might have figured out my true intentions only for a moment before throwing it away. If that were the case Twilight would have been trying to hide something the moment I walked in the door. It was only when Rarity showed up that she started freaking out.

Part of me wanted to try finding a way back inside but explaining how I got in if I were to be caught would be impossible. You win this round ponies. I began to walk away from the tree-brary and headed toward the market but facepalmed and ran back to the door as I realized something.

“Twilight? I need my bag. Can I come in?” I heard some mutterings behind the door before it was shushed. The door opened about a few inches and my saddlebags flew out before the door shut again. Crazy ponies. I just sighed and threw the bags over my shoulder, the weight of what was inside reminding me that I had yet to empty it from yesterday’s adventure. Oh well. At least if I end up being attacked by Evermore again I’ll be prepared.

* * *

I was leaving the last store on my list when I heard Rainbow call out above me. “Hey Don. What are you up to?” I looked up to see her sitting on a cloud about twenty feet in the air.

“Just buying a few last minute things for my trip. What are you doing?” She leapt from the cloud and glided down. All the while I felt the center of my spine twitch as I watched the wind flow through the feathers of her wings. I need to figure out a way to get wings before I kill myself.

“I was just hanging out when I saw you and decided to say hi. I figured you’d spend your last day reading or something.”

“Well Twilight and Rarity kicked me out for some reason so I can’t do that.” As soon as I said that Rainbow went from calm to silently freaking out in two seconds flat.

“R-really? I wonder what that’s about?” So Rainbow knows too. I thought about coaxing the secret out of her but I was feeling particularly lazy today and shrugged it off.

“Who knows? Anyway, you busy? I don’t have anything to do until noon and I rather not sit around bored.”

Rainbow’s bravado returned as quickly as it had gone. “Sure, I’ve got an idea.” She flew back up to the cloud she had been sitting on and pulled it down. “Let’s see if Twilight isn’t too busy to cast a cloudwalking spell.” I just shrugged and followed her back to the library. Once we were in view I saw Twilight and Rarity stepping outside. Rarity’s aura began to peek itself out from behind the door frame, no doubt their little secret held within. I would have seen more had my vision not been clouded by, well, a cloud.

For about ten seconds I stumbled around trying to get the cloud off but it seemed to follow me wherever I went. It wasn’t until my foot caught a rock that I managed to free myself from the beast. Looking around I saw that Rarity was gone having run off during the obvious distraction.

Twilight ran up to me. “Don, are you okay?”

“Ya. What the hell was that Rainbow?”

“It… well… I lost control of it. Ya, that’s it.” What is with everyone today? Can’t they make up better excuses? Losing control of weather was one thing but having a cloud attach itself to someone’s head makes no sense. Plus Rainbow is a seasoned weather mare. Losing control of a cloud the size of a car is practically impossible with her experience

I just got up and brushed myself off while Twilight asked “What are you doing here with a cloud anyway?”

“I want you to cast that cloudwalking spell on Don so I can take him flying for a bit.”

Twilight put a hoof to her chin for a moment before saying “Alright, I can do that.” Twilight’s horn glowed for a second before she tapped it against my side. The spell wrapped itself around my body, my skin prickling at the touch of strong magic other than my own. It’s rather difficult to explain how one being's magic feels to another, but if I had to try I would say Twilight’s magic felt like water while mine felt like electricity. Or maybe more like leaves being blown in your face on a windy day. Ugh, this is like trying to explain what blue looks like to a blind person.

I jumped onto the cloud that was now at knee level and put my bags on the side so I could sit down. “Thanks Twilight. Rainbow and I will make sure to be back around the time the party starts.” Twilight just nodded with a smile. As she turned toward the road that led to Sugarcube Corner the ground suddenly realized my evil intentions and fled. Or maybe it was Rainbow pushing the cloud, who knows?

“Hey Rainbow! Slow down a bit would ya? I can’t take changes in altitude like I did as a pegasus.” Our speed was halved as I heard her huff in annoyance for having to slow down. I could have used magic to ward off the change in air pressure but some magic doesn’t mix well together. For all I know adding a spell on top of Twilight’s could cause them to violently explode. Plus there’s always the chance Rainbow is more observant than normal.

Soon we were at a height that nothing would get in our way and Rainbow Dash was quick to use that new freedom. We soared above Ponyville at about the average speed for a pegasus. The feeling of air whistling by me combined with the sensation of weightlessness soothed my not-wing itch.

After a while of just wordlessly flying around we stopped above Sweet Apple Acres and Rainbow took a seat on my side that wasn’t filled by my bags. From where we were we could see the apple trees stretch over the gentle hills painting a lovely picture. It left a light feeling in my heart that I didn’t understand but it felt good all the same.

“Thanks for taking me flying Rainbow.”

“Don’t worry about it. Besides it was starting to get painful watching you twitch every time you saw a pegasus.”

I felt my cheeks heat up a bit. “Twitch? I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Dude, whenever I see you, you do this thing with your back like this.” She leaned slightly to her left while twisting the opposite direction. She added a strained face with her tongue sticking out just for good measure. “I thought you had fleas or something but the only hair you have is on your head.”

“Alright, you caught me. I guess it’s hard going back to not having wings, at least with how my brain works. Even looking at birds I get this itch where the wings were and I can barely stand it.”

“I figured as much when you came down on a dragon and you didn’t do the twitch like usual.” The conversation stopped for a bit before Rainbow jumped up. “Hey! I bet Twilight could find a way to give you wings. She did have that spell she used on Rarity.”

I shivered at the thought of having butterfly wings. Although it would incredibly hilarious. The Overlord, master of all butterflies! I put my plans for domination of all the flower fields on hold so I could respond. “Unless she finds one that isn't ridiculous looking I’ll live with an itchy back.”

“Suit yourself. I think you would look good with-” she snorted “butterfly wings.” She snickered and would have probably continued into full out laughter had I not pushed her off the cloud. A few seconds later she flew back up, reclaiming her seat and giving me a friendly punch in the arm.

“What? I knew you would catch yourself.” Dash just rolled her eyes with a smile while I rubbed the sore spot. Despite how soft the rest of the pony body is the hoof is about as hard as it gets. How they managed hooficures without an electric sander is beyond me.

The rest of our time up there was spent in silence. Try as I might to focus on my plans for the future I could not as memories of the past year I had spent in Ponyville seemed to surface. Events I regarded as annoyances went by without a single feeling of hatred toward what happened. Eventually I couldn’t take it anymore and was given sweet mercy when someone called out from below.

“Hey you two!” Dash and I both peeked our heads off the cloud to see Big Mac out with the rest of the remaining Apple family. All of them were looking up at us. “Party’s soon. Best get your head out of the clouds.”

Dash and I ignored the pun and instead began our descent. When we reached the ground we all said our hello’s to each other. Big Mac just gave his infamous “Yep” while Applejack nodded. It was only Granny Smith that decided to give a long greeting.

“Well hello there you two. What were you doing sitting up there?”

“Just letting the time pass. I didn’t even notice how much time had passed until Big Mac called us down.”

“Well we can’t have ya be late to yur own party, can’t we?” With that the five of us headed down the road toward town. Rainbow had a rather one sided conversation with Applejack, though she gave nods and shakes of her head amongst a variety of facial expression. She had a small smile on through most of it though and that was all it took to tell my guilt to shut the fuck up. Granny and Big Mac discussed business on the farm. Working for them over the past year had taught me everything I needed to follow the conversation but I chose not to.

Instead I continued my attempts to focus my thoughts but found it just as impossible as it had been up on the cloud. It was as if I had some sort of nostalgia which was ridiculous when it has to do with Ponyville. The town was hit by some kind of disaster practically every week either caused by Twilight and her friends or by some random stranger running into town. Even holidays seemed to have a way of making life insanity for the residents of Ponyville. Not to mention being turned into a pony, having to deal with some green mare with a thing for humans (despite them never existing until I showed up), insane magical mishaps from living with Twilight. The list goes on into Canterlot and doesn’t stop until it reaches Celestia’s ridiculously pompous throne.

Yet at the same time I could not deny that I felt something for this place beyond that of an Overlord. Underneath my despise and hatred for the town was something more. And no, I’m not talking about the feelings of immense gratification that comes from imagining Ponyville going up in flames. This, unlike my darker thoughts, felt light, almost as if it was dancing on air. First guilt now this? I really hope we meet a brain surgeon on the trip that I can ‘convince’ to rip out whatever part of my brain this is coming from. Feelings like these are unnatural for the Overlord.

We finally made it to Sugarcube Corner. I opened the door to find it pitch black inside. This has ‘Kill the human’ written all over it. I walked slowly into the building as I put a hand inside my bag, feeling for the dagger. I had just managed to find it with a single finger when I was blinded by the lights turning on. The darkness had hidden a large group of ponies but before I could strike at the assassins they yelled

“Surprise!”

I let my heart slow down as I let out a breath I didn’t even know I was holding. Little did the cheery ponies around me know I was less than a second away from drawing my blade and setting fire to the place. I slid my hand out of my bag as Pinkie Pie bounced over to me looking all too pleased.

“Were you surprised? Were you? Huh? It wouldn’t be a surprise party if it wasn’t a surprise.”

I gave her a deadpan look. “It wasn’t a surprise. Fluttershy told me yesterday about the party. No one else has been keeping it a secret.”

“But you were surprised by everypony jumping out and yelling surprise, riiiight?” She accented her last word by leaping up on a nearby table and leaning forward so our noses met. Just smile and nod Don. Smile and nod.

“I guess I wasn’t expecting that so yea, I was surprised.” With her question finally answered she bounced away humming a happy tune. That only served to feed my growing paranoia. Is she going to poison me? Part of the ceiling dropping on my head? Cannons?

None of this happened as the party went about like a normal party. I talked with the various ponies I had been around the past year as they all wished me good luck and good health. Some asked about where I intended to go and since I hadn’t actually been told where the nests are yet I could safely say “Not sure but once we’re on the road I’m sure we’ll figure things out.” Pinkie had even made my favorite flavor of cake which I had kept hidden from her since the moment I found out she was a baker.

That’s Pinkie Pie for ya. I caught myself snickering at how much I had adapted to life in Ponyville and quickly stopped. Why am I acting like this today? I shook my head as I tried to put Overlord thoughts at the forefront of my mind. Get the nests, get power, destroy the princesses, destroy the artifacts, destroy ANYTHING that stands in my way. I wandered over to the punch bowl and chugged down a drink as I continued pushing back the infectious silliness. I had nearly won the battle when the girls walked over, though I didn’t actually notice them until Twilight poked me with her hoof.

“Don, we have something for your trip.” Out from behind them floated a box. It was about the size and dimensions that would fit a large picture frame. Assuming that immediately and thinking myself so smart for figuring it out I was completely taken by what was actually inside.

Folded up neatly was a piece of brown fabric. Unassuming to the normal eye but to the magical eye as soon as I took the lid off it looked like it was glowing. I pulled it out to get a better look, unfolding it to find the cloth was actually a cloak with a hood. It was brown as I said before but on the back was a small inlaid pattern that fringed the bottom of it. This pattern resembled how feathers looked folded over one another and were sown out in the same red I had grown used to seeing.

The most shocking part of this was what had been added to the neck. Attached to where the cloak would clip around the neck were two feathers, each a slightly lighter shade of brown with red on the tips. These were my feathers from when I was a pegasus and the more I looked at the rest of the cloak the more I realized what had inspired the design.

They… they made me a cloak that resembles my wings. I was speechless. Yes, the Overlord, made speechless by such a simple gift. All the work I had made dominating my mind with darker thoughts was for naught as the light as air emotions blew in with renewed strength. I felt happiness, sadness, amazement, reassurement. This all filled me in a second, leaving me feeling more confused than anything else. The corner of my vision blurred but when I went to rub my eye all I found was water. Tears?

Finally someone, or rather some purple pony, spoke up. “This is what we've been hiding from you all day. Rainbow Dash told us you had been having trouble since you lost your wings so we all pitched in to make this.”

Each pony went in turn explaining their role in creating this… I don’t even know what to call it. Just calling a cloak felt wrong as if the word didn’t carry the weight of what was actually in front of me. First was Fluttershy as she seemed to have taken my ability to speak. “I helped with the wing design. We wanted to make sure it was just right.”

Rainbow was next. “I added the feathers to it. I forgot to mention this when you were a pony but it’s sort of a tradition for pegasi to keep the feathers from their first preening. It’s in case you ever have an accident and need a replacement. Since you obviously didn’t know this I kept them for you.”

Rarity started her part with a whip of her mane. “I made the cloak of course. Applejack was the one who kept me grounded when I wanted to add more pizzazz to it.” With her contribution counted for, Applejack nodded with a smile.

And it ended with Twilight. “I added enchantments to it. With what I added it should be as strong as steel and be immune to most forms of magic and weather. I also gave it a little something to keep you from feeling that itch.”

I spat out words without really thinking since that wasn’t my strong suit at the moment. “What about Pinkie?”

The party mare jumped for joy as she spoke. “I threw the party silly! That’s an important job.” I just looked over the six of them as my once logical thoughts ran wild. It was as if they were high off the emotions that had been thrown upon me and I would have been lying if I said I wasn’t feeling it a bit myself. I must have stood silent for too long as Twilight suddenly got this nervous look and asked. “Do you like it?”

Try as I might, I found myself a slave to my current state of mind. “I… I…” The ponies all looked like they were going to faint from my response. “No words can describe what I think about this gift. Thank you. All of you.”

With the tension gone they all let out a sigh of relief. As I roughly folded the cloak back into the box Pinkie jumped forward with just one word to say. “Hug?”

Ponies are soft and cuddly! My drugged brain thought. This was all it took to convince the rest of me of what I had to do. Before the pink mare could react I picked her up and gave her a squeeze which she returned wholeheartedly. I felt the rest of the mares gather around and join in on the love as we made a huge cuddle pile.

After a few moments of loving we all let go so I could say my final goodbyes. Twilight and Spike walked me back to the library so I could finish packing what I had gotten that day. As I did so the air seemed to feel heavy. My feelings of happiness had suddenly changed to gloom as I prepared to leave the town.

My home. I had begun to recover from whatever had hit me so I tossed such a notion aside. I still felt it drifting behind the forefront of my thoughts though. With everything packed and my unexplainable gear hidden from view I pulled the cloak around myself. It was a perfect fit though I should have expected no less from Rarity. Next came my bag, the same I had used when Spike and I had gone to see the dragons. It easily held everything I needed with room to spare.

I stepped out into the library to see Zecora had joined my two soon-to-be former roommates. My friends… cut it out! I shook my head once more but felt that thought join its friend before it, silently poking me with the friendship stick. Twilight saying her goodbyes was a welcome distraction.

"I don't know if I'll ever get used to you not being here."

I kneeled down so that I was at eye level with her. "I'm sure you'll find someone else to take that extra room within the week." I said sarcastically.

Twilight went along with my act. "Oh please, with that human size bed you have, there's no room for anything else." She looked at me with a smile though her eyes were filled with sadness. Before I could react she wrapped her hooves around me. "You'll always have a home here Don." My body returned the hug despite the protests of my mind. Still can't get rid of this feeling!

After the hug Spike came over. We didn't have to say anything, instead letting a fist bump speak for us. As I got up I ruffled the spines on his head a bit and than headed for the door. Zecora was right behind me as we walked through town.

We reached the top of a hill on the outside of town after a half an hour. I took that moment to stop and put on my gear. As I clipped on the bandolier and made sure it was snug my eyes gravitated toward the town behind me. Memories passed by again, each one ridiculous yet each brought a smile to my face somehow. Working on the farm, hanging with Spike, teaching a class on humans. This continued for I don’t even know how long but it was Zecora’s words that broke through.

“Is there something you need from the town that you heed?” I snapped out of my trance and turned around quick. Enough of this! I will not let myself be controlled by such frivolous emotions! I am the Overlord, and I am meant to rain destruction upon this place. I let all of my hatred and anger bubble up from the recesses of my mind, drowning the happy memories and emotions in a sea of darkness. These thoughts made themselves physical by charging electricity in a single hand and letting it loose on a nearby tree. It tore a hole clean through the bark, burning the inside as well as the tree behind it.

“That... felt… good.” I said with no small amount of evil behind my voice. Back in control, and this time there won’t be any ponies preaching friendship to change that. I looked to see Zecora cowering, having been rather scared at my outburst.

“I’m not sure what you did, but please don’t hit me instead.” I chuckled a bit at her fear before reassuring her though the malice in my voice did not leave.

“Relax. I just needed to clear my head. Now that I’m thinking clearly we should not delay.” Her fear disappeared as she nodded. I pulled the cloak over my gear and brought the hood over my face. Once my bag was strapped to my back we walked down the path. I didn’t look back as I made sure whatever weak notions of peace were purged from my thoughts.

I am the Overlord. I exist to bring this world to its knees. Nothing can stop what is coming. Not even my own conscience.

Sinking in the Swamps

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It has been a few weeks of incredibly boring traveling since Zecora and I left Ponyville. Literally nothing but grass and other plants for miles around the road. Most days I would spend training in the fortress rather than walking absentmindedly. Though I was rather tempted, we hadn’t taken a train since I didn’t want an official record of where we had gone. Sure, Blueblood could keep it from getting to the princesses but I hadn’t survived this long without listening to my old friend paranoia.

So ya, boring road trip overall. We ran into one or two ponies along the way but we never said anything to each other. There were no caravans or anything since no trader worth their time would walk instead of take the train. No one attacked us or caused a scene or did something else crazy. It got to a point where I almost missed the disaster zone that is Ponyville.

Almost.

Luna showed up in my dreams twice during the trip, each time asking some questions about my ‘condition’. The second time she also got into talking about my nightmares but I just told her I had no idea what it was about. Besides, once she was sure my mind wasn’t slowly dripping from my ears she would usually excuse herself, saying that she had work to do. I guess being princess of dreams is a busy job and since my nightmares are rather minor it wasn’t that big of a deal. I’m sure she had some filly wetting herself about the Headless Horse or whatever.

Anyway, we were heading to a small town in the Hayseed Swamps in search of the brown nest. Apparently it’s hard to keep track of four magical objects over three thousand years so Gnarl didn’t know exactly where each nest was. He did have a general idea of where to start looking and thanks to a certain gryphon we had managed to narrow down the location of the first.

This town, called Murky Bottom, has an unusual problem. The only reason the princesses had not heard about it was because the town was rather remote compared to most of Equestria. Unicorns in town have been having strange magic fluctuations. Somedays they are ridiculously strong while other days they have no magic at all. Some left when this started happening but most of them are stubborn and refuse to leave.

The other kinds of ponies haven’t felt anything so that meant whatever it was had to do with their horn. I thought there might be a magic source nearby that is being absorbed by their sensitive magic appendages but that didn’t explain why some days they had no power.

This strange occurrence pales in comparison to some of the things I’d seen happen. What made this interesting is that this didn’t start happening until about a year ago; right when I arrived in Equestria.

After days of walking through marshes and swamps we made it. The town was about half the size of Ponyville and stood entirely on wooden platforms. It was built to survive in a swamp filled with magical creatures so making things pink and pretty wasn’t really an option. Same deal came with the ponies as the difficulties of living there had made them naturally tougher. Cutie marks here were a lot different from the rest of Equestria as well. Instead of flowers and butterflies these ponies had poker chips and alligator skins. A few of these not-so-cute ponies glanced my way as we walked in but none so much as gave me a second thought.

I had hoped that as soon as I was here I would be able to sense the magical disturbance and trace it but that plan fell flat on its face. Whatever was going on in the town, it definitely wasn’t ambient magic in the air. Great, my one lead on the nest turns out to just be pony rumor mill. I wanted to leave immediately but my legs were heavy with dried mud and ached from days of work. All it took was passing by a tavern to convince me I should rest.

“I don’t know about you Zecora but I really could use a drink.” She just nodded and followed me inside. The room I entered was what you would expect from a tavern. There was a few tables and chairs set up for patrons to enjoy their food and drink. A counter in the back was manned by a pony, a few stools standing next to it. A hallway on the side led off to the rooms. It felt like I was in the bad start of some D&D campaign. You all meet in a tavern by chance. Suddenly a dragon descends on the town.

Thankfully that didn’t happen. Instead my first encounter seemed to be a few ponies sitting at one of the tables. Unlike the others in the bar who were focused on their poker game, these ponies took an interest in me as I took a stool by the counter. Zecora hopped up next to me while the bartender came over.

“What can I do you for?”

I put a handful of bits on the counter. “A room for the night and whatever drink you recommend.” The coins floated off the counter and were replaced with a key attached to a wooden tag. Engraved into the tag was what I could only assume was the room number. As I stuffed it into one of my bandoleer pockets a glass of ale was placed in front of me. The bartender tipped his hat and then turned to serve Zecora while I took a few gulps.

“Well what do we have here?” I turned my head just enough to see that the group had moved from the table and was now standing behind me. The pegasus mare who had spoken had a mane that would make Rarity faint while her two friends were no better looking. “You certainly took your sweet time getting out here. Faust teaches patience but you take it to a whole new level.”

Evermore already? Here I thought it would take a little longer for them to find me. And what does she mean I took my time getting here? I turned back around and took another drink as the mare scoffed at me.

“Hey! Don’t ignore us.” By now the bartender could see something was about to go down and was beginning to shrink behind the counter. Zecora on the other hand just sipped her drink, her eyes closed calmly. When she was done she put the glass back down on the counter. Her eyes snapped open, the normal friendliness behind them replaced with cold reasoning.

“You may deal with them as you wish, or would you prefer I gut these fish?” A nod from me was all she needed before she leapt up and out of sight. I continued drinking my ale as the sounds of a brawl happened behind me. All in all it took about thirty seconds before the sounds died down and Zecora returned to her drink.

Probably forgot to mention that zebras outside of their homeland are all trained in some crazy martial arts style. Basically it was kung fu for horses and Zecora was a black belt. I challenged her once on the way here out of boredom and she wiped the floor with my inexperienced ass.

After I finished my drink I turned to look at the damage. Only one table had been broken in the brawl and the pony that was responsible was lying in the center of the wreckage. Another pony had half its body through the door, his hooves hanging about a foot above the floor. I assumed the last was somewhere outside the broken window. The group that had been playing poker was unphased, either too focused on their card game or just didn’t care about a bar brawl.

I turned back around and put another handful of bits on the counter. “We’ll take care of the ponies as long as you don’t say anything about this.” The bartender, now poking his head out from behind the counter, looked at the bits and then at the damage done. After a moment he got up and nodded as he took the bribe.

“Zecora, fetch the one outside for me while I grab the other two.” She nodded and walked off to the door. Without missing a step she opened it with the pony still hanging through the newly made hole. I threw the unicorn that had been tabled over my shoulder and then grabbed the other one by the back of his neck. Both were still alive, just unconscious after the ordeal Zecora had put them through.

Wasn’t long before I was sitting in the room I had rented for the night with the two ponies lying on the floor nearby. My backpack was lying in the small closet on the side and I had made sure to lock the window. There was no bathroom so I assumed they used outhouses here. I had been using trees for the past month so an outhouse could only be an improvement.

I tied together the hooves of my prisoners along with using the magic suppressor I had bought to combat in-heat mares. Odd. This group is even smaller than the one they sent after me the first time. Must be a scouting party that got too cocky. It would make sense that they would have one of each race than.

The bed in the room was too small for me so I let my legs hang off the end while I thought. That pegasus spoke as if they had been waiting for me. How would they know I’d come to this town though? I was interrupted by a knock at the door. Taking no chances, I drew my dagger and opened the door. Only about an inch of space could be made due to the small chain that attached the door to its frame. Turned out to be Zecora and oddly enough she was empty hooved.

I closed the door to remove the chain and then let her in. As I re-latched the door I asked her the obvious question “Where is the third pony?”

“Sorry to ruin your fun, but it seems the mare has run.” I just nodded in response and returned to the bed. “I doubt these two will awake without a terrible headache. You will have to wait till then if you have some sort of plan.”

I sighed. Great. Looks like we’re going to be here awhile. It was the middle of the afternoon so with nothing better to do I got up and headed for the door. Once I reached it I tossed the key onto the bed. “Watch those two for me. I don’t want to take the chance they have another unicorn that can track them. Also don’t open this door unless you hear me say ‘Faust has a lovely ass’.” Zecora nodded at my strange choice in password before taking a spot on the bed.

Once I was outside I dropped my hood. No sense in hiding now. I had hoped that with my hood on I would look like a small minotaur or diamond dog. However now that I knew my enemy was lying in wait for me it didn’t matter. If they are here then there is something in this town that either I want or they want. Until those two wake up I’ll just have to look for leads myself.

I walked down the street a bit before I found a unicorn I could question. I changed my accent a bit to make it sound as if I was from Canterlot. “Pardon me ma'am, I’m an investigator with Princess Celestia. I’m here about the strange magical occurrences that have been happening over the past year. Could you tell me what you know about them?”

Her voice had a slight twang to it. “I suppose, but I hardly use my magic so there ain’t much to tell. Some days lifting stuff is easy but then a day or two later I can barely lift a spoon.”

“Is that pattern consistent? A day or two of super-charged magic and then almost nothing?”

“Yep. Same thing every time though when it happens there’s no telling. Folks around here have actually gotten used to it for the most part.”

“Alright, thank you for your time.” She continued on her way while I searched for another unicorn. Wasn’t long before I found two having a chat outside a home. “Excuse me, I’m here investigating the magical disturbances under the orders of the princess. Is there anything you two could tell me about this?”

The first to speak was a grey stallion with a growling voice. “Not much. A day or two of feeling like you can take on the world then poof, it’s gone.”

The other guy had a rust red coat and spoke much clearer. “No one knows what triggers it really. We thought that maybe there was a bug or something but that turned out wrong.”

“What makes you say that?”

“If there are a few unicorns together when one gets his boost, all the unicorns get it. It even seems to be more common when unicorns are grouped together.”

“I see, is there anything else about this you two know?” Both shook their heads after a moment of thought. “Then I’ll take my leave. Good day.” I walked off in search of more ponies to question. As I continued questioning those unicorns I found I began putting together what I knew.

These magic surges happen at random, though unicorns in groups seem to have them more frequently. Those affected gain a boost of power for about thirty-six hours before all their power is drained, leaving them with almost nothing. Within the next few days their magic normally replenishes itself and they continue about their lives.

It almost sounds like something is releasing large amounts of magic for unicorns to absorb only to drain those afflicted later. The question now is why. Any physical being, whether it be magical or non-magical, has the capability to absorb magic and change it so that it can use it themselves. You wouldn’t gain more magic by supercharging the unicorn before taking it all away.

With the sun hanging low in the sky I returned to the tavern only to find the door to my room had been blown off. What remained of the charred wood was in a pile on the opposite side of the hall. I couldn’t hear any ponies talking inside so I assumed whoever had done this was gone. Being careful never got one killed though so I drew my dagger and peeked inside. Despite the mess everything inside appeared just as I had left it minus the fact the magic suppressor was now smoking and its wearer awake.

“What the hell happened here?” Zecora leapt up ready to attack me. “And Faust has a lovely ass.” She calmed down at my ridiculous password. With no danger in sight I put the dagger away and went to work piecing together what remained of the door using magic. Thankfully the door had been separated into four or five chunks so it made repairs easy for me.

“It seems the strange rumors are true, unicorns gain power out of the blue. It would have broken the ring, if I hadn’t removed the thing.”

“And when you removed it all the magic shot out at once and hit the door?” She nodded. “Strange. The ponies I talked to all said that the power they gain would never do something like this. Usually all they would notice is increased telekinesis as well as a boost to any other spells they use. On top of that the magic would stay for a day or so before disappearing and it looks like our friend here is already tapped out.” With the door done, though still burned, I squatted down next to the unicorn. “So why are you here?”

Just like my previous interrogation the cultist started out strong in her conviction. “I come here to do Faust’s work, you vile creature. I noticed that our third member is missing so it’s only a matter of time before she returns with reinforcements.”

I put on a simple smile as I made a show of twirling my dagger between my fingers. “And you are so sure that your friend got away? Did you not think for a second that, as we speak, her body is sinking in the muck.” She flinched slightly at this though she did her best to hide it.

“Even still it is a matter of time. When our report doesn’t come in for the week they will assume the worst and come here to destroy you!”

“Hmmm… what’s going on?” Both of us looked to see the earth pony stallion stirring. I glanced back at the mare and grinned at what I found behind her eyes. Caring and compassion, more commonly known as love. A strong emotion that I could manipulate. I walked over to the stallion as he woke up, making sure to cast my sound muffling spell on the room as this was about to get messy.

After a moment of thinking I decided to go with the Joker impersonation again. “Well, well, well. So glad you could join us for our little chat. We were actually just discussing what it is you two were doing here. I’ve tried to keep up a polite conversation but your marefriend here isn’t much for it.” Both of the ponies flinched at the word marefriend. Got you right where I want you.

“She… she’s not my marefriend.” As he said this he looked the mare right in the eyes, not helping his case one bit.

I grabbed the stallion by the chin and turned him so he was looking at me. “Oh don’t be so modest. She’s a real looker and how feisty! I bet she’s real mean under the sheets.” The two of them blushed at this while I continued. “You know though, this doesn’t really look like the kind of place a man would take his girl out to. Begs the question why you two are really here.”

“We-” Seems my fake mannerisms threw him off as he almost spilled the beans. “I’m not telling you anything monster!”

“Ouch. What did I do to deserve such hatred and spite? My companion and I walk into town, tired and in need of rest. We find the nearest tavern and sit down for a drink after traveling for a month by foot. And what do you do? You attack us, forcing us to defend ourselves. We bring you up to our room to keep you safe but instead of showing gratitude you spit at us. Your actions would drive a normal person to take revenge.” As I ended my little rant I looked at my reflection in my dagger. I stood there for a few seconds to let the silence soak in before taking the blade and poking the stallion just below the chin. I could hear the mare’s breathing quicken as I lightly dragged the tip along his jaw.

“All you need to do to make it up to me is tell me why you’re here. After all, we wouldn’t want an accident to separate such a lovely couple.” Though the stallion held his breath steady, the mare was rather the opposite. Her breathing was becoming more erratic as I assumed she was starting to cry. Based on the stallion’s reaction I hit the nail on the head.

“Cloe, don’t say anything.”

The mare spoke between small sobs. “But… but he…”

“Don’t do it! We swore to never betray our brethren.” I just sat there and waited as my actions undid what conviction the mare had left. It was only a matter of time until…

“The Evermore knows that one of your creature spawners is here. We also have a few other possible locations being watched so that we could get the drop on you, but our leaders are certain one is somewhere nearby.”

I displayed a large grin though the stallion was the only one who could see it from where I was standing. “Thank you my dear. That will be all.” Before anyone could react I stuck the dagger into the left side of the stallion’s throat and pulled right until it was free. From where the mare laid all she could see was my back and a bloody dagger. That is until her partner dropped to the ground just within her field of vision.

I stood up and walked over to my bag so I could wipe the blade clean. The mare on the other hand was scooting over to the body as fast as her tied up hooves could move her. Once there she cried out, though whispers could be heard between each sob. “This isn’t happening, this isn’t happening, this isn’t happening…”

Eventually my blade was pristine once more and I had grown tired of the mare’s ranting. “Gatekeeper, could you tie the mare to her coltfriend? No sense in breaking them apart.” Zecora did as she was asked, the mare giving no struggle as she held the head of the stallion underneath her own. “Good, now take the lovely couple out back and toss them in the swamp. My spell should keep anyone from hearing any disturbances.”

Zecora followed her orders silently, throwing the two of them on her back. The mare seemed completely out of it at this point as she gripped the body, his blood staining her coat. The body would serve as weight to pull her underwater, drowning her. It was almost poetic in a deliciously evil kind of way. Killed by the corpse of her lover.

Zecora returned having washed the blood from her coat. I had done the same with the floorboards with a bit of telekinesis. Once I was sure she had sunk like a stone I released the spell. It would be days before rigor mortis caused the bodies to rise to the surface and by then I would be long gone.

“If what those two cultists said is true, than perhaps the strange things happening here are too.”

I nodded. “From what I could gather from the town these magical outbursts are being controlled. If the entire area was covered in ambient magic this would be normal but instead it seems something is letting loose concentrated bursts of magic for unicorns to absorb. After a day or two whatever it is comes back and drains them of the magic.”

“Why would anyone play such a trick of the hat? They aren’t gaining power draining unicorns like that.”

“I know. It still doesn’t make sense to me either but what happened in here makes me think it is more likely. Whatever is doing this didn’t like that I had put that magic suppressor on the unicorn so it tried overloading it.”

“Unless this thing is made of shadow, your amazing theory is rather shallow.

I just sighed and placed a hand against my temples. I’m way too tired to deal with this right now. As I walked over to the closet I removed my cloak, after which came my gear and weapon. All of it was wrapped up together and stowed behind my backpack so that any thieves that dared to come in wouldn’t see it. Since the bed was too small for me I grabbed my sleeping bag and tossed it on the ground. The bundled cloth unrolled itself and I was quick to get comfortable.

“Let’s deal with this tomorrow. I’m too tired to plot and there’s still the chance Evermore comes back with more bodies. We’ll need to be ready.” I heard Zecora jump on the bed. It wasn’t long before I was fast asleep. Good thing too because Zecora snores. Loudly.

* * *

I jolted into an upright position, my heart threatening to explode from my chest. I took a few much needed gasps of air waiting for my head to stop spinning. Okay, minor nightmares are one thing, but that… that was something else. As I tried to push the bad dream from my thoughts something moved out of the corner of my eye, though all I saw when I turned was darkness.

I’m just jumping at shadows. I need to calm down. I got up and paced around the room a bit until a faint voice seemed to whisper from nowhere, just barely audible over Zecora’s snoring. Whatever words had been spoken weren’t articulate enough to understand, making it seem as nothing but wind to the untrained ear. While my back was turned something passed by the window, blocking the only source of light for the room for a split second and causing me to turn.

Okay, I’m not completely crazy. I did a quick pinch test just to make sure I wasn’t still dreaming. Painful as normal. Not a dream. I glanced out the window in search of whatever was sneaking its way around. At night the swamp took on an eery look, the town’s moss-speckled wood structures only adding to this. A light fog had begun to seep in from the swamp though it did little to impede my eyesight.

After a few seconds I was about to give up when I saw it. A dark form had been peaking around the corner of one of the buildings. It seemed to have noticed me however as it disappeared just as I looked its way. Either this is an Evermore spy or whatever is causing the strange occurrences here. Better find out which it is now rather than later. I headed out the door, grabbing my gear and key from where they were using telekinesis. By the time I was out the door I was wrapping the cloak around me with everything else already in its place.

I went to where I saw the thing and looked over it. Nothing remarkable was there physically though there was some magic mixed in with the air. There was no trail leading down the street so with no other clue I stuck a hand into the cloud. Such a small amount of magic took no time to absorb. This magic… it’s my own! That means this thing must know where the nest is.

A sound echoed through the fog that was growing denser by the minute. The sound was something made of wood snapping under pressure. Well I’m not going to figure this out by sitting here. I headed down the street making sure each step I took was on something solid. The fog made judging sound difficult so I was forced to use my other senses.

After about a minute, in which I had gone about fifty yards, I found the source of the previous sound. A plank, part of the road, was snapped in two. One piece hung loosely by one of its horribly bent nails while the other I assumed was in the bog below. I hardly took notice of this as the fog was now thick enough that I couldn’t see the tavern behind me.

I turned slowly as I tried to spot anything out of the ordinary. I controlled my heart rate and breathing as my body worked like a machine. My eyes scanned what I could see of the town while I made sure that I was ready to leap at a moment’s notice. One hand hovered around my dagger while the other was extended in front of me, ready to release a spell on command.

When I had come a full 360 degrees I was greeted with a silhouette in the fog. It didn’t seem to have a set shape as it writhed around before fading away into the mist. I walked briskly after it, holding myself back from a full sprint as adrenaline pumped through me faster than my magic. The wooden platforms soon gave way to soft soil as I stepped beyond the boundaries of the town.

My body locked up as the same windy voice began to echo around me from no clear direction. As I looked around for the source I realized how thick the fog had gotten as I no longer could see the town. I felt as magic began to prickle in the air but it was not my magic from before. This felt like smoke, light and free yet at the same time suffocating. It was right then and there I realized something.

It’s been leading me away from town!

I didn’t get a chance to revel in how amazingly smart I had been as a circle of dark blue flames sprung to life around me. My feet sunk into the ground as if it were molasses. I tried pulling them out with my legs but it only served to speed up the process. Now up to my waist in liquid dirt, I flung spells at the circle in a mad attempt at escape. This didn’t stop until my arms were also trapped beneath the earth. The last thing I thought before I was swallowed whole was-

Why didn’t I wake Zecora up?

Nightmare

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Next thing I knew I was slowly waking up in some cave. Glowing moss grew out of the walls providing some light in the darkness. Water dripped from the ceiling and collected in small puddles, one of which I was now lying in. Fucking great. I couldn’t find anything else in my vicinity so I got up, making sure not to make too much noise.

“Ah good. Thou art awake.” I jumped at the feminine voice, instinctively going for my dagger only to find it was gone. Not only that but the rest of my gear seemed to have disappeared. “Your petty trinkets were barely worth the effort removing them.”

“Where are you?” I called out as my eyes searched the room I was in. An evilly playful chuckle echoed amongst the stone.

“My my, straight to the matter at hand. Thou art a stallion of action.” I heard a sound over the dripping of water. A pebble clacking against the ground. I spun around and threw fire at everything in the sound’s direction, only to be disappointed when the voice returned afterward.

“But an easily startled one. Dos thou jump at every noise in the dark?” I knew exactly what she was trying to do. She was getting under my skin, hoping that I’ll slip up in my rage. Not that it wasn’t working but I was in no mood to play her games.

“What are you waiting for? You could have killed me but you didn’t. That must mean you want something from me.”

“Observant as well. Perhaps one such as you would serve his queen.”

“Queen? Equestria has no queen as far as I know.”

The shadows around me seemed to grow darker as the voice growled. “That is because some commoners defeated us before our rule was complete, banishing us from our host body.”

“If you’re some kind of parasite than don’t think you can munch on me.”

“Thou dares to call us a parasite!?” The cave shook a bit as she screamed. “For a moment we contemplated mercy for thou but now thou shalt see none!” The shadows began to shift and stir gathering slowly into a solid mass in front of me. As more was added to the growing thing it began to take shape. Hooves sprouted from it along with a head on a long neck, its eyes slitted like a snake. Midnight blue armor created itself along the creature’s black body wrapping around its horn and wings. The remaining shadows became her mane and tail, ever flowing like every other alicorn.

“Since thou hast a mind unfit to serve, we shall use the body in its stead.” The alicorn look-alike leapt at me, tackling me before I could cast a spell. I felt something crawling under my skin as the creature’s eyes locked with mine.

“Sleep now. It shall be over soon enough.” My eyes suddenly felt heavy. Before I could even think to resist it I was gone.

* * *

I was running. From what I wasn’t sure. All I knew was I had to get out of the forest. Had to get away. The forest itself disapproved such an idea and struck out at me whenever it got the chance. Creatures of all kinds attacked, the earth quaked, and plants uprooted themselves just so they could attempt to crush me.

Get away. Keep running. Stopping is death. I kept running. I knew no other emotion but fear. Fear drove me to keep going, to stay alive. Fear told me to duck under branches and avoid the snapping jaws of a hydra. Fear was all I could listen to as what voices whispered through the forest would only distract.

Can’t stop. Can’t stop. Can’t… hang on a second. I stopped running for a moment in the middle of a clearing. The trees around me began to uproot themselves, using them as feet. I didn’t move though because I could tell something wasn’t right. Did the trees always have faces?

Each tree, for some ridiculous reason, had been given a face. I guess it would have been scary if I was nine years old or something but to me they just looked stupid. Wonder who thought that was scary? By now the trees were surrounding me and the creatures had caught up. The fear I had felt before was practically begging me to keep going but I could tell this entire situation was off somehow.

How did I get here? I’ve already been here once and found nothing. Suddenly a dragon dropped out of the sky, but not just any dragon. It was none other than Atrezal, the crazy one-eyed dragon who wanted nothing more than to spill my guts. Alright. Now I’m sure something isn’t right here.

Atrezal roared at me and then reeled back to breathe flame. I continued standing there as I shook my head of whatever haze seemed to be clouding my thoughts. I was looking for a nest, got in a bar fight, questioned some locals. How would I end up here? Just as Atrezal let loose his attack everything froze. The fire stopped in mid air just a few feet from my face.

I chuckled a bit as I walked around the jet of fire. Once I was at Atrezal’s leg I gave it a swift kick and he shattered like glass. The rest of the world soon followed as I began to feel like I was falling to my side.

What I hit when I landed was definitely not grass and dirt. Looking around at my new surroundings I was now in a prison. One side was a stone wall while the rest of the cage was made up of iron bars. Far below the cage was a pool of lava, the floor having been built to drop away at the pull of a lever.

“So you finally woke up huh?” I turned to the cage next to mine to see a figure I remember all too well sitting against the stone wall. He still looked just like I would if I decided to shave all my hair, only this time he was wearing rags instead of full plate armor. He gave me a glare that showed how pleased he was with the situation. “By the way, you are doing a great job being the Overlord. Getting possessed by another tattered spirit really shows commitment.”

I turned away and began pouring fire into the lock on my door. With no better way to pass the time I asked “Tattered spirit?”

“It’s what you are, and what she is. Incomplete souls. And don’t bother with the locks. You made them so that I couldn’t get out so there’s no way you can.”

I stopped my attempts at lock picking but grinned all the same. “So this is my mind.”

“Well of course it is. Why do you think I’m here?”

I ignored him as I began to focus. If this is my mind than I should be able to... I closed my eyes and breathed slowly. When I opened them I was back in my pegasus body. I hate this body but at least that confirms it.

“Ha. I should have known you were getting soft. You like being a pony don’t you?

I gave him a shit-eating grin as I said “Yep. Just love it. You want to know why?” How positive I was seemed to throw off my darker persona as his smile went away. With no answer and no care to continue our little conversation I told him. “Wings.”

With one buck I broke the latch that had been keeping the floor from dropping me to a fiery death. I had wings though so I came nowhere close to such a fate. Instead I flew up and around the fortress that represented my mind. It wasn’t long before I was at the entrance to the throne room, and you can guess who was sitting in my chair.

I changed back and donned the weapon and armor I had the last time I was here. The alicorn didn’t notice me as she was right now using my body, her senses focused outward instead of inward. Not wanting to give her another second of having such a handsome face I grabbed her by the neck and tossed her off the throne.

She shook her head as she got up from the floor. “How didst thou escape? Our nightmare was perfect.”

“Ya, for a child maybe. Anyone with brains could have told you it was a dream with all the impossibilities.”

She growled in frustration. “First thou hast called us a parasite, now you mock our craft? Thou art nothing more than a nuisance! The monkey body thou hast tis only but a tool in our reascension! We will plunge thou into such a dream that thou shalt beg for mercy at the hooves of your queen. Our will shall be done and this world will be plunged into-”

“Enough of this.” I pulled a dagger from my belt and threw it at her. She didn’t even have time to react, she was so enthralled in her speech. It sliced against her side, not cutting deep but enough to cause some blood to begin dripping out. She gasped at the wound and then glared at me.

“You dare!”

I grinned. “Bring it on your majesty. I’ve dealt with beings more evil and more prissy than you. On top of that I intend to destroy the princesses and have been training to fight alicorns ever since I returned to this world. What do you got other than some shitty nightmares and shadow tricks?”

She was absolutely shocked by what I said. “Thou wishes to kill those false rulers? How dost thou even expect to survive such a confrontation?”

“Don’t talk like you can do better. I can feel your power and it’s severely lacking for what one would expect from a queen.”

This seemed to hit her hard as she took a step back. “We… we don’t know what thou talks about.” Hang on. Pony without a body. Unicorns being drained of magic. I grinned once more as I put things together in my head. Now it all makes sense.

“I see what you’ve been up to. You found my nest didn’t you? You’ve been using it to keep yourself alive by feeding its magic to unicorns. Once it was magic you understood, you could drain it from them despite your lack of a physical form.”

She growled at me before firing a magic blast. I was too quick however as I dodged and returned the favor. A bolt of lightning sprung loose from my fingers and hit her dead center, sending her sliding across the floor. When she stopped she tried to get up but fell back over.

Well that was easy. Guess taking over my body took more out of her than I thought. I walked over slowly, electricity dancing across my arms as I readied to finish it until something hit my ears. Is she crying? She was curled up and turned away from me but from the sounds she was indeed sobbing.

“Damn it all. Why can’t we win? If we had the chance we would crush Luna for abandoning us but no. That whorse gets to live on while we are killed by some beast.” I felt my eye twitch at being called a beast but I held back my fury. This may be my stupidest idea yet but if it works… I cut off my magic and walked around to her front. She immediately tried to hide her crying behind bravado.

“Well creature? Finish it. If thou shalt not kill us than we will only take over again! Thou will never be safe.”

I looked down at her, my expression as blank as my tone of voice. “What did Luna do to you?”

She sniffed before speaking. “We were once with her in mind. She felt such malice and hatred toward the ponies for not appreciating the night. So strong were her feelings that they became us. We were defeated once and sealed away but Luna did not hate us for our failure. It wasn’t until we were purged from her that she abandoned us. We have heard what has become of her, how she has returned to her life with no problems. While us, a tattered soul, are left to rot. No being can understand what we are.”

“I’m a tattered soul as well.” While she looked at me in shock I began walking toward my throne. “If you had a body would you eventually regain power that can rival an alicorn?”

“We suppose. Our power was great before our fall. We aimed to regain it using thou and the magic object hidden beneath the town.”

“Do you want your body back?”

I heard her growl as she began to stand up. “No. We would much rather see Luna destroyed with it than to just seal her away.”

As I took my seat I allowed a toothy grin to form on my face. “Then I think you and I can come to an understanding.”

“What do you mean?”

“It’s simple really. I need power to rival two alicorns. I defeated one a couple thousand years ago but two might be too much for me even with my full power. I’ll need an ace in the hole, so to speak. That’s you.”

She looked at the ground for a second before glancing back up. “Why art thou offering this to us? We could just try and take back your body later once we have regained power.”

“You could, but you wouldn’t be able to use my magic as I’m not naturally magical. With your power alone I’m sure you can’t defeat both sisters as you will inevitably have to. The only way either of us is going to get what we want is to work together.”

“Fine, but we are queen so we will be in control.”

“I’m afraid that won’t work either. You see, I have minions that follow my command and I’m sure they will be able to tell the difference. My advisor could tell how different I acted compared to the previous Overlord within the minute or so we first met.”

“We refuse to sit in your mind like a dog waiting to be called!”

“Than you’ll watch things through my eyes and ears and give me advice. You’ll allow me access to your magic and you will teach me how to use it. I might even allow you control of my body at times depending on the situation. You’ll have a very active role in what I do and I have no doubt your presence will keep me alive longer.”

She looked rather shocked at this proposal. “Dost thou understand what you suggest? Thou art allowing us full access to your mind.”

“If it ends with the princesses dead I don’t care. Just don’t try to redecorate the place and you’ll be fine.”

She glared at me as if she were looking for something before speaking again. “Very well. We accept these terms.” As she finished speaking my vision quickly blurred into darkness.

* * *

I woke up with a sense of deja vu as I was once again lying in a puddle in the cave, though my gear having been returned. Ugh, again?

“Well it wasn’t like we had time to take a seat when thou interrupted.” I heard the mare speak in my head. Going to have to get used to that. I heard what I assumed was a huff as I looked around at my new surroundings. I was in a different, much bigger room of the cave. This one had a lot more glowing moss, bathing the entire room in a neon light. In the center of this room was a large chunk of rock that glowed a faint yellowish orange. Erected on the sides of it were chunks of metal and wood as if someone had tried to build off of it. Without magic to sense its power one would think this is just a piece of junk.

I have to admit, I was expecting something a little more evil looking.

“And just what would an evil nest look like?”

I thought about it for a moment before responding. Huh, you got me there voice in my head.

“We are Nightmare Moon, not just some mere voice.”

Nightmare Moon? Where have I heard that before?

“Twas from that mare thou met when thou first arrived in this world.”

Twilight? Oh ya, she said she and her friends kicked your ass. Wait a minute, how did you know that?

“We warned that thou would give access of the mind to us. That includes memory.”

So you can help me recall anything I forget? That’s really useful.

I suddenly felt like I had been slapped across the face. “We are not here to keep thou head on straight. We will aid thou when needed but do not expect such menial tasks from us. Besides, we have no wish to look through the memory of such a creature.”

Alright, I get it. Just don’t hit me or whatever you just did. Her response after that was just evil giggling. I rolled my eyes and looked around the cave. So how do we get out of here?

“Dost thou not want your object? Is it not why thou are here?”

Well ya but I can’t carry it. I need to go find Zecora and get her to open a portal. Besides, you and I can both agree that heavy lifting is for minions, not Overlords.

“True. There is an exit down that tunnel on the left but it has been blocked off. Thou will have to clear it as we never had to bother as a spirit.”

Easy enough.

* * *

I managed to get back to town just as Zecora was beginning to freak out about my disappearance. Apparently losing track of your dark master is a pretty big deal. When she questioned me about what happened I just told her “I found the nest. Let’s go.”

“Why does thou not tell the zebra about us? I sense no fear of thine so thou must have strong reasoning.”

I’m being careful. I don’t want your existence to get out somehow. The element of surprise is my greatest strength right now and it applies for you as well.

“We suppose that is reason enough. If Luna were to hear of our survival we have no doubt she would scour Equestria to find us.” It was a short walk back to the cave. One portal and a couple minions later the nest was heading down to the spawning pits. Gnarl looked absolutely giddy.

“Oh excellent, master! Now that we have a nest, we can begin spawning minions and clean the place up. It will take some time but this fortress will become a proper hub of evil just as it was in the old days.”

“I trust you can take it from here than?”

“But of course sire, and do not worry about the cost of repairs. All the materials we need can be found here.” I nodded and stepped back through the portal. Half an hour later we were leaving the tavern all packed up. We had no clue where the next nest was but who knows how quickly Evermore was going to react. Unless I wanted some real carnage, and a small part of me did, we would have to get going.

* * *

“Everyone fan out and search the town. Do not attempt to fight the thing on your own.” A chorus of confirmations came from the thirty ponies under the command of Snowflake Bastion. They all wore armor of the royal guards, stolen from the barracks in Canterlot so that they would have no trouble from the locals.

It had only been two days since one member of their scouting team in town had reported in and giving them the news Bastion had been waiting for. The dark one, a being that once held incredible power and was the opposite of the Faust they prayed to, was sighted in the town of Murky Bottom. Though the scout had done her job she had still been reprimanded for attempting to fight the creature with only three of them. This information would have gotten to them much sooner if their team hadn’t gotten cocky.

Despite it being late, the news still put a grin on Bastion’s face. Ever since the Evermore, the true followers of Faust, had gotten word of the dark one’s return she had been itching to take it down. Striking down such a beast, even in the weak state it was in, would be no small show of faith. Praying to the goddess was one thing but fighting was her talent, as shown by the crossed swords and shield that adorned her flank.

The stallions and mares she had sent off to search the town began returning in groups of three. “Report!”

“Nothing yet.”

“No sign of them.”

“He isn’t here.” Each group came back with similar news as Bastion’s grin became a scowl. By the time a group had returned dragging a unicorn with them she was in no mood for any games.

“What is this? Report!”

“This is the bartender of the tavern our scout mentioned. He claims he never saw anyone but I can tell he’s lying.” Bastion rose an eyebrow at this before turning to the pony held by magic. He was sweating profusely as she stared him down.

“Well? Talk.”

The bartender gulped before shakily replying “I-I-I don’t know w-w-what you mean. I-I’m just a bu-bu-business-stallion, noth-thing more.”

“A business stallion huh?” He nodded rapidly causing sweat to be flung around. Bastion just grimaced as she walked over to the doors of the tavern. “So this is your business. Seems you just had some repairs done. A shame considering what happened today. Ember Glow!” The unicorn stepped forward. “Burn it to the ground.” The unicorn only nodded before angling his horn toward the doors. Small balls of flame shot out, breaking through the windows and setting the wood aflame.

Bastion turned back toward the bartender, his gaze locked on the bonfire that was his tavern. “Now, would you like to suffer the same fate your business has or are you going to tell us what we want to know?”

Just a bit of evil

View Online

Gnarl and I wandered the halls of the fortress as the sounds of construction echoed around us. Often we would have to step to one side to avoid scaffolding or minions carrying things to their destination. Despite not being the brightest of creatures they seemed to take to tasks rather quickly.

“I must say Master, it has been a blessing that no minion has taken the position of jester. They always tend to be rather… annoying.”

I rolled my eyes with a smile as another group of minions ran by carrying a chunk of pillar. “I can only imagine.”

We entered the throne room from the far entrance and made our way down the hall. “His role was more of a punching bag anyway. I’m sure you can find another minion to pound should you ever feel inclined.”

“Lookout!” A minion cried from above as the sound of stone falling apart warned of what was to come. I leapt back, making sure to grab Gnarl by the back of his cloak, just as a pile of rock landed where I once stood. Once I had placed Gnarl back on his feet I looked up at the new skylight with a scowl. The minion standing on the nearby scaffolding took one look at me before falling over himself, landing on the pile of stone.

With more minions about I had discovered that I could tell the name of a minion just by looking at them. Not sure why that matters but I suppose it helps when they all look the same. “Grubby! You worthless pile of shit!” The minion shook with fear as I grabbed him by the neck. “Clean this up before I dismember you and feed what’s left to the wolves.” I didn’t give him a chance to respond as I threw him on the ground. Gnarl and I walked around the obstruction while Nightmare Moon chuckled at the display.

“It has been too long since we- or rather, I have seen such an act of brutality. Even in the swamps the residents were rather kind toward each other.”

What’s the point of being Overlord if you can’t enjoy it? Also, what’s with the change in dialogue?

“I figured I should adapt to the new era and have been using your memories to do so. I even amazed myself with how quickly I took to the modern dialect.”

Didn’t you say something about not wanting to look through the memories of a beast like myself? I could tell Nightmare was flushing with embarrassment and anger despite not seeing her myself. It had been a week since I had allowed her to stay in my mind. Since then I had found that I could ‘sense’ her emotions when strong enough. Sometimes I would just know how she felt at the moment while other times I would be given a mental picture of her.

I took her silence as an end to the conversation as I sat down in my throne. Thankfully one of the first tasks that had been done was to fix up the throne so it no longer was a broken stone chair. Now it at least looked regal having been cleaned up as well as adding dark red cushions trimmed with silver to the back and seat of the throne. It’s certainly a lot better but it still needs improving.

“So Gnarl. Where is the next nest?”

“Apologies sire, but we have yet to find out where any of the other nests are hidden. The red nest once rested within a rather fiery part of Equestria but a couple hundred years ago the environment changed. We don’t know where they could have gone now. The greens are rather troublesome as well being that they resided in the hills to the northwest. Add that they are naturally stealthy and finding them is nearly impossible. And the blues just seemed to have disappeared. We know they went far north but beyond that who’s to say?”

I sighed, allowing the side of my head to rest against my hand. “So we’re stuck. Again.”

“For being the Overlord, you aren’t very good at this are ya?” That sneer came from a gryphon as she stepped out from a stairwell between the pillars of the room. The fur that adorned the lion part of her body was dark brown while her front talons and wings seemed to be made of silver and adorned with wicked barbs. The end of her tail was a curved blade made of the same material. The faint coloring around her eyes and at the end of her gray feathers was blood red, giving her yellow eyes an unnatural glow.

I shrugged. “I’ve only been at this for a little over a year. Besides, you’re the one who’s suppose to be out there finding the nests Gilda.”

She growled. “Don’t call me that.”

“Do you seriously want for our sire to call you by that stupid name you made up?” The new voice was that of a sultry female with a slight country twang. I looked to my right to see that a dark yellow mare had walked up next to me. From what I had learned about what constituted as beautiful with ponies, I knew this mare would be getting looks from every stallion she passed. Her cutie mark depicted a pony with a large thorny rose piercing its heart. Her long red mane had been braided simply, tied off at the end with a dark pink bow.

“It’s not stupid! Besides, it makes sense to lose our old names since we aren’t those people anymore.”

The mare rolled her eyes. “Please. You’re just the same as you were before you joined. Takes more than some shiny new claws to be different.”

“You want to see what these claws will do to that pretty face of yours?!”

“Bring it bird brain!”

“Ladies! Please, your both terrors waiting to be unleashed on the world.” My joke seemed to calm the two down for now. “So what’s this new name you want to be called by?”

“Silvertalon.” I sat there waiting for her to say it was a joke but the mare next to me spoke instead.

“See? I told you it was stupid.”

“I must agree. That title is rather bland.” Nightmare Moon chimed in.

I just shook my head as I waved my hand. “Fine, but I’m calling you Talon for short. There’s no way in hell I’m saying that mouthful every time.” The now-named Talon grumbled a bit but otherwise accepted the nickname. “While we’re on the subject, do you want to change your name Bloom?”

The adult Applebloom put a hoof to her chin in thought. “Now that you mention it, I think the name Rosebloom would suit me better now. ‘Specially since my talent has nothing to do with apples.”

“Great, so I just keep calling you Bloom. Makes life easy for me. Now is there a reason you two are here and not out looking for the nests?”

Bloom answered just as Talon was about to. “We’ve been searching around for leads on any strange happenings dating back a year ago but ponies aren’t the best recordkeepers. So far we’ve checked most small towns and we’ll soon be searching cities but those’ll take a while.”

“Anything on our enemies?”

Talon made sure to speak before Bloom this time. “A squadron of royal guards showed up in Murky Bottom a day after you left. They interrogated the ponies there on your whereabouts and set fire to a local tavern. Either Celestia knows more about you than you realized or it was the Evermore in disguise.”

“More likely the latter. I doubt Celestia would authorize such methods of force even if it was to track me down.” I adjusted myself in my seat so that I was leaning back. “It seems the cult is more extremist than I originally thought. Faust’s teachings must not have held up too well after three thousand years.”

“You want me to take care of them?”

I held out a hand. “Don’t bother. They may know about Zecora now but that still is little to go on. She looks like a pony when wearing her cloak so they’ll be looking for me since I stand out.” I stood up and headed toward one of the curving stairways on either side of the throne. “Rest assured, the Evermore are a small nuisance compared to our other threats. What information you find on them will be useful but don’t go out of your way to get it.”

I yawned. “Anyways, I’m getting tired and I have yet to see my newly renovated quarters. I expect you two to be out there searching before I wake up.”

“Yes sire.” They chanted in unison. I grinned a bit as I walked up the stairs. It’s good to be the Overlord.

* * *

I was sitting in the center of Ponyville on the edge of a fountain. It was the middle of the night as a crescent moon sat in the center of a sea of stars. Not a single soul could be seen or heard as if all other life had disappeared. All of this combined made it pretty easy to figure out I was dreaming. Especially when she approached.

“You don’t seem disoriented at all, though I suppose I should expect no less.” I turned to see who it was only to have my jaw drop. It was a human woman and a breathtaking one at that. She had an amazing body; average sized breasts, beautiful curves, stunning blue eyes that glowed in the moonlight. Her tan skin was covered by a dress made of ocean blue that hugged her body perfectly. Her hair, along with her wings, were midnight black and seemed to blow on a wind that did not exist.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” I was unable to respond as my brain was still trying to comprehend this black winged angel. After a few seconds I managed to find my voice.

“N-Nightmare? Why are you…”

Nightmare Moon looked down at herself before addressing the elephant in the room. “Oh this? I figured if I was going to be in a human body I might as well get used to it. I put together some traits of my own form with what I managed to gather about human females from your mind. Is there something the matter with it?”

Before I could speak I felt a small buzzing in the back of my head. I realized what it was but I was too late to react as Nightmare slapped me so hard I hit the ground. When I looked back up her eyes had become the slits I was used to seeing.

“What the hell were you thinking that for?! That’s indecent and wrong and… argh!” She turned around in a huff, her face red with anger. Over the past week, Nightmare had shown to be rather controlling, though she hasn’t crossed any lines yet so I allowed her to have her fun. This was one of those cases where I didn’t feel any need to push back so I picked myself up before trying to explain.

“Honestly you should have expected a reaction like that. I’ve been in pony world for over a year with no human women in sight. Then you walk in looking drop dead gorgeous and not expect me to think a few dirty thoughts?”

I stood there ready to be struck again but instead Nightmare calmed down. “I suppose you are not entirely at fault. I am stunning in every form I take.” She turned back around and put a hand on her hip. “Besides, this is distracting from my reason for bringing you here. This is a dream I created so that we can train.”

I glanced around at the town before looking back at her. “You chose Ponyville?”

“I figured it would be fun destroying this town in the inevitable crossfire. Besides, I-” Suddenly Nightmare stopped and glanced up at the sky. Before I could say anything her body turned into shadow and melded with my own.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m not here!” She hissed. I raised an eyebrow at this strange behavior before looking up at the sky. It was hard to spot against the night sky but a familiar alicorn princess was flying towards me. Within a few moments Luna landed without making a sound.

“Hello Don. How has your dreaming been?”

Well that explains it. “Good. The nightmares are going away and there’s no sign of that disease returning.”

“Excellent. I trust your judgement is sound. My sister wonders how your trip goes so far?”

“So far it’s been a real eye opener to how vast Equestria really is, though all that’s succeeded in doing is making me want to explore it further.”

She regarded me with a smile. “I can imagine. Well I wish I could stay longer and chat but my duty calls. I will check in on you again some other night.” With that she flew off. Once it had been a minute or so I watched my shadow split into two as Nightmare returned to a physical form.

“What did she mean by disease? She wasn’t talking about Star Rot, was she?”

“Yes, but it’s all a misunderstanding. I once had an armband that would replace my dreaming with access to the fortress so I could train my martial and magic skills. Unfortunately Luna mistook this for a symptom of the disease so I had to stop to make it seem like the cure was working.”

“Well that makes sense, though I suppose that doesn’t matter with me in your mind. Unlike normal dreams that are limited only by your imagination, I can limit you to your natural abilities and skills. This way you can get experience fighting and I can teach you how to use my magic.”

“What about Luna though? Her visits don’t have any pattern to them so she could drop in at anytime.”

“I will be able to sense her before she enters the dream. By the time she actually makes it I will have changed the scenery and disappeared.”

“Well than what are we waiting for?”

She crossed her arms and pouted a bit. “I’m waiting for you to stop thinking those thoughts.”

“Then we’re going to be here all night.” I chuckled.

And then I got slapped. Again.

When Worlds Collide

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A few days passed with nothing interesting happening. Talon and Bloom had gone off to search like I demanded. The fortress continued to be renovated. Nightmare and I trained while I slept, which by the way is grueling. She holds nothing back when we fight, and her teaching methods boil down to “everything must be perfect.” You’d think such a control freak wouldn’t have been so easily defeated by a couple of mares.

Anyway, I had grown bored with watching over the rebuilding and decided it was time I fixed a major flaw in the design of my fortress. You see, at the moment there is only one way to get between the two worlds and that was through gatekeepers like Zecora. I myself had no power to cross the void, which might seem to be a strange design choice but it seems my predecessor, though violent, had a paranoid side to him, which was evident considering how paranoid I was. If he could access the fortress on his own, someone could manage to get a good reading on his magic and in theory create the portal with enough experimenting. Having it tied to other beings meant that he could pillage to his heart’s content without fear that some hero managed to slip in while he was away.

Of course, one could do the same with a gatekeeper but the idea behind them was that no one knew they existed. Most wouldn’t believe that the Overlord would trust the security of his fortress to one of the creatures native to the world he was destroying. Especially since without gatekeepers the Overlord would be unable to get back.

This was the flaw I was trying to fix right now. At the moment Zecora and I were deep in a cave we had found far off the path. The way in was so small a filly would have trouble squeezing through so I was sure that this would be safe, especially considering how far down we had gone. I had spent days carving into the wall an archway that would serve as a backup portal. Granted my rune work wasn’t great but Nightmare didn’t hesitate to speak up when I was wrong, which was almost too often.

“No, no, you made the tether line too long now. Do you want to inadvertently collapse the fortress into this world?” I sighed, far beyond giving a creative response after how many hours I had put into this.

“Now it is too short. Just let me handle this since it seems you are incapable of fine rune work.” I lost control of my arms as Nightmare pushed her way in control. In any other case I would have thrown her against the walls of my mind but I didn’t want to screw up anything should my body spasm in response. Once she seemed happy with the result I mentally shoved her, wiggling my fingers as I took them back.

You know I hate that.

“Why should that matter? I kept you from wasting both our time attempting to do something you are clearly inept at.” I only sighed again since an argument with Nightmare usually got nowhere for either side.

I looked over the intricately marked stone looking for any flaws. I could sense pride coming from Nightmare that mirrored my own. “Looks like that will do it. Zecora.” At my call the zebra got up from her spot and stood next to me. I plucked a hair from her mohawk of a mane before waving my hand for her to step back.

If everything the two of us know about magic is correct, this should create a portal to the fortress using the connection Zecora has. Nightmare only nodded in response as I felt her ready to jump start the magical construct.

Placing the hair along one of the carvings “woke it up” so to speak as the runes began to glow a dull red. Black smoke crept down my arm, pouring into the archway and causing the light to slowly grow brighter with every second. Soon I couldn’t look directly at the archway as a tear seemed to form in the air itself.

“Something isn’t right! Stop it now!” At Nightmare’s words I pulled at my arm only to find my hand refused to detach from the stone. Power began to fill the air sending jolts of magic along the cave.

Stop feeding it magic! At this rate, it’s likely to- A deafening rip interrupted my thoughts as I was thrown back, slamming my head into the cave wall behind me. For awhile I struggled to get up and clear my head.

“Get up you fool! Something came through the rift we made.” I felt the pain in my skull disappear within seconds as my vision cleared. Once I got up I looked toward the rift and couldn’t believe what I was seeing.

That’s… impossible!

“Oh come on,” a young man groaned out as he was spit out onto the cave floor. “I really don’t need this....” he got to his feet, rubbing his head. Taking the time to look him over, it looked like he hadn’t gotten a lot of sleep, with dark rings under his eyes, which had a bit of an unfocused look to them. Or at least that’s what Nightmare told me. I was still trying to figure out how the hell a human was here other than myself.

How badly did the portal fuck up? Glancing at what remained of the archway, it was clear I wasn’t going to be using it again. I then looked back at the man. Well, might as well introduce myself, I guess.

“Well… hello there. My name is Don. Who are you?”

“I’m Jason,” he said looking around, “Can you send me back? I was working on something important.”

“Working on something? You get pulled from wherever you are from to here and your first reaction is that? From what I recall humans don’t have magic and stuff like that.”

“Yeah you’d think that...” he said, shrugging. “I’m not exactly a normal human anymore.”

“Judging by how he has yet to react to Zecora, he might have come from a place where that is common. Another Equestria, so to speak.” I only nodded in response to Nightmare as I analyzed the situation. We should probably get out of here before something detects all the magic we just let off.

“You want to discuss this elsewhere? I’m afraid if we stay here things might get… violent.”

“Violent how?”

“Let’s just say a lot of ponies would prefer I was dead. Their sanity tends to vary though. If it’s the cult then they’ll probably want to kill you too just because you look like me.”

“Give me a second here... “ he said, fiddling with a strange device on his arm. He popped up the dial, bringing his hand down on it. There was a bright green flash as he was replaced by a strange creature that looked like it was stitched together from other animals.

“Discord!” Nightmare practically screamed in my head as the human took the form of the Frankenstein monster from the pet graveyard.

“Nah, I’m Hodgepodge” he said, speaking a strange accent. “Discord’s back home,”

“That doesn’t make your kind any less- wait, you can hear me?!” I was just as surprised as Nightmare was. Just what can this thing do?

“Of course!” he shouted, his voice changing, somehow wearing a bright red hat and jacket.

Where did that come from? I just shook it off rather than try to figure it out. A year of Pinkie shenanigans had done it’s work. “So, why did you shapeshift? I was just going to get Zecora to open a portal.”

“Cause I can do this!” he shouted, snapping his fingers, teleporting us all to an old castle.

“Uh… where are we?”

“I dunno,” Hodgepodge said, shrugging his shoulders. “Some old castle thing, Lulu and Tia used to live here or whatever,”

I walked over to a window to find we were in the middle of a dense forest I knew all too well. The Everfree! Well, at least it’s far away from that… thing. I glanced toward the center of the forest, a shiver going up my spine, before turning back to Jason, or whatever he was calling himself.

“Alright. So you didn’t react to my friend here,” I waved my hand toward Zecora “Add to that the fact you know where this place was and that you look like a creature Nightmare knows of. Are you from another Equestria or something?”

He nodded his head, crossing his arms over his chest.

“This sounds similar to a theory one of the royal mages concocted before I was sealed on the moon. Something about how for every action you commit, a new universe is created in which a different action was done in that exact moment.” I listened to Nightmare’s explanation intently. This went from “boring day making a failsafe” to “interesting magical nonsense” in no time at all.

“Thats cute, but it’s wrong!” Hodgepodge shouted, his voice shaking the castle.

“Oh? Is that so?” Nightmare sneered. It was obvious she did not like whatever this guy was.

“Yup. Universes are created, maintained and destroyed by the admins,” he started, floating around the room boredly. “Faust herself created the Equestrian template,”

That surprised me but I didn’t let it show. How the hell is that possible? Unless there’s a different Faust then the one who fought the Overlord a few millenia ago. “Alright, so somehow I ended up pulling you from another Equestria. So why don’t you leave? You certainly seem to have the power and knowledge to do so.”

“Trying to get rid of me aaye?” he asked, floating over to me, grabbing me around the shoulder. “Now if I did that, all of our readers would be disappointed. “

“Our what?”

“Our readers,” he repeated,” See, out there beyond the fourth wall, our lives are stories, read on the internet by a bunch of dudes who watch a show about ponies.” he said moving his hand in a broad gesture, ”It stills astounds me that LOHAV banned Displaced stories, talk about biting the hand that feeds you. That’s something I’d expect from Axl Rose,”

I just looked at him like he was speaking a different language. I guess I’ll just file that all with the Pinkie crap that was never explained. I put a hand to my temples. “Enough of this nonsense. You should just leave. You’re giving me a headache.”

“I can’t leave yet, we haven’t finished the crossover!”

I groaned in response. “The sooner we accomplish whatever he wants the sooner he’ll leave.” Nightmare commented.

Fine. Let’s get this over with. “So what do we have to do to finish… whatever the hell it is you want?”

There was a loud beeping sound, followed by a red flash. When it cleared, Jason was human again. He was currently holding his head with a groan.

“Did you hear me over your crazy watch alarm?”

“Yeah... I hear ya..”

I stood there and waited for him to explain how I was going to get him his ticket out of here but he said nothing. Which only served to make me more frustrated. Is it so difficult to get rid of someone? “Look, I’ve got things to do, plans to wrought, and possible ponies to kill. You want to get home sooner rather than later?”

“Wait, what was that about killing ponies?”

So the man has a conscience. Good to know. “Remember the cult I mentioned earlier? They attack me, I end them. It’s what I’ve done with the last two attempts.”

“No, theres more to it than that,” he said moving closer to me.

“Oh dear. It seems we might have a hero on our hands.” Nightmare spoke. “Do you want to try corrupting him or just getting rid of him?”

Preferably I just want him gone. He’s obviously rather set morally and will take longer than I have to twist to the dark side. If he figures things out though… I gave the man my “nice guy” grin as he approached. “Oh? And just what do you mean?”

“I think I should go have a chat with this world’s princesses.”

I could feel Nightmare begin to shift the shadows behind the man as I continued my good guy routine. Not until we’re sure that’s the only option. “I’m sure they’re rather busy. Besides, they trust me enough to deal with something like this.”

“Yeah, I’m gonna go do that now,” he said, starting to walk away.

Nightmare was practically growling with anticipation. “Now?”

I shut my eyes and pulled the hood on my cloak over my head, allowing my magic to flow and creating the glowing eye effect the Overlord was known for when I opened them again. “Now.” The shadows in the room sprang up, the ends of them forming swords and flying at the man.

He rolled out of the way, narrowing his eyes. “You really don’t want to do this Don,”

I chuckled darkly. “And what are my other options? Sealed away or death? No, I think I’ll take my chances with killing you.” I drew my dagger in my left hand as one of the swords Nightmare created flew into my right. “Now, here are your options: Leave this world or I’ll kill you and incinerate what’s left.”

“Lets see you try,” he said cracking his neck, ”Omnitrix, NRG,” another burst of light and he was now encased in a hulking suit of armor, with three glowing eye slits.

Hmm, interesting. I grinned underneath the darkness of my hood. “So you’ve become a tin can? That’s threatening.” I said sarcastically.

“Thats what you say now,” Jason rumbled, his voice now heavily accented. Unfortunately, his lack of peripheral vision lead to a hoof slamming him across the side of the head.

“I will break your bones like plaster, should you try to harm my master.” Zecora rhymed as she bounded off of him, taking up her fighting pose.

“I doubt that. This armor is harder than diamond. Only Taydenite can damage it and I doubt you have any of that,”

“Enough talk!” I let loose a gout of fire, melting the stone beneath his feet. His weight handled the rest as the ancient floor fell apart beneath him. I walked over to the edge of the new hole with Zecora to see him on his back like a turtle. “You’re going to have to pick a form that’s more mobile than that if you want to kill me.” I laughed.

“You mean like this?” he asked, flying out of the armor. His form was pure energy, barely contained by the green suit it wore. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you,” he thrust his hands forward, sending a beam of energy at the two of us.

Zecora dodged to the side, and I intended to do the same if not for the fact that half my body seemed to want to go in the opposite direction. The blast hit me dead on, slamming me into a wall behind me. I heard the snap of metal as my dagger hit the ground at an off angle and broke. I picked up what remained of the hilt, glaring at it with anger before putting it in it’s sheath.

What the hell was that Nightmare?!

“I was trying to keep you from getting hit. You’re the one who went in the wrong direction.” I grumbled and stood back up, the blast having scorched me a bit but my cloak took most the blow. Twilight knows her stuff, I’ll give her that.

“Alright, I’ll admit you’ve got some skill. Don’t think that you getting a hit means this will be easy.”

“Fine then, don’t blame me if you can’t have kids later,” Jason shouted, firing another, stronger blast.

Just let me handle this one! I hissed in my mind as I waved my now empty right hand in front of me. The energy arced around behind me and was thrown back at Jason. He just absorbed it, a smirk on his face.

“He’s obviously made of the energy.” Nightmare sneered. Shut up! In my anger my arms coated themselves in flame which I quickly engulfed my foe in.

“Why thank you, I hadn’t eaten all day,” Jason said with a grin, growing larger as he fed on the flames.

“When you are done helping our enemy instead of harming him, perhaps we should try this my way?” I grumbled but let her take control, taking a back seat to the outside world. I watched as she called forth a couple of shadow spears and threw each one at Jason.

He fired another beam, dissipating most of them. “Come on, you can do better than that, can’t you?”

I figured that would piss Nightmare off, but she seemed oddly happy. She chuckled darkly through my body, giving my voice a creepy effect. The next thing I knew the ceiling collapsed on Jason, sending him back down to his armor.

“See? That’s how you deal with someone like that.” She spoke out loud. I just grumbled mentally, not wanting to give her the satisfaction.

“I wouldn’t say you dealt with me exactly,” Jason said as he phased through the rubble, now in the form of a strange ghost-like creature.

Alright, shapeshifting just isn’t fair. Nightmare muttered an agreement as we switched places once again. “You aren’t really taking this seriously, are you?”

“Should I be?”

“Well considering the fate you are threatening me with right now, yes. You should.” I didn’t wait for a response before throwing a lightning bolt at him, hoping his intangibility would take a moment to activate.

It went right through him, “Well, that was a strange feeling,” he looked at the windows, his eye taking on a sinister grin. “How about we make this place a little darker?”

“Is he really suggesting giving me more shadows to use?” It did seem odd but I just shrugged.

“There’s always the basement I knocked you into twice already.”

“Lets use that,” he said, sinking into the floor.

I walked over to the previously-made hole. “Zecora, despite how good you are in physical combat, I don’t think that will help in this case. Inform Gnarl what is happening.” She nodded and ran off, leaving me to leap into the darkness below.

Other than the light coming from the hole, it was practically pitch black. “I really can’t believe you let me come down here,” Jason called out.

“I can’t believe you suggested it.” Nightmare spoke through me. As she said this, shadows began to bend around me, ready to deflect whatever attack may come.

“Here in the darkness, I can use my true power,” he called, cackling. “Lets do this!”

Nightmare pulled a spear from the shadows surrounding her. “Lets.”

There was a sickening crack, followed by a series of meaty sounds. “Are you ready?”

Wow, dramatic much? Nightmare said nothing though, continuing to scan the darkness around her.

“Boo,” came his voice from right over my shoulder. Nightmare reacted, lashing out with tendrils of shadow as she turned and swung her spear.

He caught it, looking at me. His body had changed significantly. His hands were now clawed, tentacles hung from his chest, he glared at his with his single eye, set into an upside down skull. He smirked before backhanding me across the face.

He just slapped a bitch technically. Unfortunately for him, Nightmare was less than amused. Her spear exploded with spikes in Jason’s hand, piercing his claws. She then proceeded to use the shadows around her to stab at him while she jumped back into the darkness.

“Neat little trick you have there,” Jason said, melting into the shadows as well. For a minute nothing seemed to happen, the air thick with tension before I finally had enough.

Are you going to do something or are you just going to stand there and wait for him to attack?

“A good defense is better than a great offense.”

I beg to differ. I retook control, the shadows dropping around me as my body was lit up by flames. “Come out, come out wherever you are!”

“Gah!” Jason shrieked in pain, moving away from the light.

“How ironic!” I laughed. “The hero can’t stand being in the light!” I pressed my advantage, changing to electricity and blasting holes in the ceiling to let in the sun.

Jason quickly changed forms, now a large ugly green thing with a cage on his head. He slowly moved toward me, the cage starting to open up, filling the air with an eerie creaking.

Seeing as he was fine with whatever level light there was in the room, I changed my attack target to him before freezing when I caught sight of his face. I could feel Nightmare disconnect from my eyesight immediately as I covered my eyes as it felt like they were on fire.

“Holy shit man! Why the hell would you even… That’s just…” I felt about ready to puke on the floor as I bent over on my hands and knees. Nightmare, please please tell me you can remove the memory of… that?!

I was suddenly grabbed and slammed into a wall. Jason had become a four armed red creature, using the upper two to pin my arms to the wall, while he proceeded to slam his lower fists into my stomach repeatedly.

By the time he stopped Nightmare had wiped my memory of… whatever that was. I couldn’t remember anyways. I was definitely not in good condition and with my arms pinned, that left me little options. Despite the blood I could taste on my tongue I smirked at Jason. “You think… I can’t take a little beating?”

“You are holding up like a champ,” he said, moving back before shoulder ramming me through the wall. Alright… that hurt a bit.

“I’m trying to cut off the signals your nerves are sending but this isn’t easy.” Nightmare said, though I could barely hear her through the ringing in my ears.

“Had enough?” Jason asked, peering into the hole. I barely managed to put my arms underneath me so I could glare at him.

“I’m not… letting you… seal me away. I’d rather die first!”

“Really?” he asked, raising an eyebrow. I was about to answer when suddenly a small dusting of rocks dropped on his head, causing him to look up. I could hear the sound of stone cracking just barely over my pain. That pain was only multiplied when it suddenly felt like my right leg had been crushed.

“Damn it!” he shouted, moving to my right. I saw a few rocks fly into sight but otherwise couldn’t really tell what was happening. I just felt so tired…

“Wake up damn it! You’ll die with your injuries if you fall asleep now!” With Nightmare’s declaration came boost of adrenaline, giving me the energy to put my left leg underneath me though my right seemed to ignore my commands. Fuck. What is wrong with me?

“Hey don’t die,” Jason said, tossing one last rock in view. Why the hell is he throwing rocks?

“Fuck...”Jason said shaking his head. He shifted into a large black insect, spitting something on my leg. “That should keep you from bleeding out,”

“Get away from me!” I growled, trying to push myself away only to succeed in throwing myself on my back. That’s when I finally got a real good look at my right leg, which essentially looked like a mass of Jason’s green gunk and blood. The combination did not smell pleasant.

“This is your fault,” Jason said, looking at me with a pity that only disgusted me further. A low rumble began as tremors shook through the ground.

“We should get out of here,” he said, with a frown. I would have just cursed at him further but a chunk of stone landing a few feet away changed my mood just a little.

“... Fine.” He grabbed me with his magic, flying through a hole in the ceiling before the basement collapsed. We landed just outside castle as the sounds of destruction ceased.

“Well... I suppose I should take you to a hospital,” he said, looking at my leg.

“If he does that, we might as well be dead.” I silently agreed with Nightmare while I considered my choice in actions. Jason began looking around, supposedly to find where civilization is, and I used this to my advantage to grab the green medal attached to his chest.

“Let go of that!” he shouted, his eyes wide. Unfortunately for him it was too late as I grinned evilly. I let loose all the electricity I could in my state, causing the medal to change to a yellow color. “You idiot!” he shouted as the medal built up energy.

All of a sudden, my bandoleer began to react with the energy in the medal, the transfer of power seeming to cause some kind of feedback effect. Before either of us could do anything the massive reservoir that was building up was released and the forest around us seemed to melt away. The medallion was ripped from my hand as the two of us were picked up by whatever magic was happening, and the next thing I knew I slammed into a brick wall.

My vision was so blurred I could only see a mesh of colors, my ears were filled with ringing that even Nightmare couldn’t speak over, and my body was too weak to try and move. Damn… that bastard… I will remember this… Jason… That was my last thought before I was plunged into cold darkness.

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I floated amongst an abyss without a clue as to how I got there. Recalling memories just didn’t seem worth it at the time. I was enjoying the feeling of nothingness as it embraced me, not caring for the life I had before. I closed my eyes as I felt myself slipping away.

“..ke up..”

I pressed my eyes further shut as I tried to keep the noise out. Whatever it was couldn’t have been important.

“...ctures, leg has...do you make..”

Why did this noise insist on interrupting? Who were they do disturb me? After all, I was… who was I?

“...putate, hook him… damn piece of…” Wait… what was I doing? I had some purpose… a title that ponies feared… why is it so hard to remember?!

“...Don…ke up…”

I am… the Overlord.

* * *

“Don! Wake up!” My eyes snapped open as Nightmare’s voice pierced through the fog in my head. With what I could see without turning my head I must have been inside of a warehouse, though not like any I had seen in Ponyville. This one seemed more industrious, having been built larger and out of sturdier material than the wood and straw most of the towns buildings were made of. The lights weren’t the usual torches or magical crystals, instead appearing to be electrically powered. There also seemed to be various machine parts strewn about the place though it seemed rather out of place considering the magical nature of this world.

It was then that I noticed just how much pain I was in, though I imagine it could have been a lot worse if Nightmare wasn’t helping. My entire body felt like it had been flattened by a steam roller. Ugh, did someone get the number of that freak who hit me?

“I will take your sarcasm as a sign that you are feeling better.”

This is better? How bad was I before?

“You might as well have been dead. Your soul was ready to leave this world for the next.”

Bet you would have been happy about that.

“Hardly. I would be left without a working body or a way of defeating the sisters. Do remember that I need you as much as you need me.”

Ya, right. Any idea how we got here?

“None. Your body was in too critical a state for me to figure out anything. Besides, keeping you alive after your stupid decisions took all of my effort.”

My stupid decisions? You were the one who got us hit by that energy blast!

“It is not my fault if you could not adapt. You should have been ready for such a thing.”

I had enough problems externally at the time. There was no way for me to deal with the internal problems you were creating. Before Nightmare could continue we were interrupted by the sound of a door opening and closing. I turned my head with no small amount of pain to see two cream colored ponies with red hair. Each was wearing a matching outfit that I could only imagine someone singing barbershop in. They must have been twins as the only difference between the two was that one sported a handlebar mustache.

“Would you look at this, brother of mine. He’s already awake.” said the one without the mustache.

“By jove, you’re right brother. Why I’d say he should be up and at’em in half the time we estimated.”

My first attempt at speaking was only a grunt as my throat was dry from disuse. Thankfully the second try came out as actual words. “I assume you two are the ones who fixed me up?”

The mustached pony tipped his hat in my direction. “That we are, my dear friend. Allow us to introduce ourselves. This is Flim.” He waved at his companion.

“And this is Flam.”

“And we’re the Flim Flam Brothers.” They finished in unison.

I had a feeling Nightmare and I were both giving them the same flat look. “Are these two for real?”

Seems so. This little act they are putting on is leading up to something. Not only that, but instead of taking us to a hospital they fixed us up themselves. Be ready.

Flim continued talking once he saw the glare I was giving him. “I suppose you are wondering why you are here. You see, my brother and I found you out behind our workshop, which you are in now.”

Flam continued the tale without pause. “You were quite a sight when we first found you. Luckily my brother and I here have learned many things in our travels and with the many mishaps we’ve had with our marvelous machines.”

“So we brought you in and put you together the best we could.” His tone dropped a bit though the sing-song-y quality to it didn’t fade. “Unfortunately we could do nothing to save your right leg. The bone was just in too many pieces and the muscles were torn to shreds. We were forced to amputate it.” Hearing this made me jump up immediately. Seems he spoke the truth as my right leg as now nothing more than a stump ending halfway up my thigh.

I felt my heartbeat begin to rise drastically before a cooling feeling washed over me. Nightmare grumbled as I fell back. “Must you overreact? I’m still inexperienced in manipulating your bodies natural responses. If I make a mistake you could lose another limb or worse.”

Flam made his way around the table I was laying on. “It is a shame, but it was necessary. Unfortunately, due to your bipedal nature- you are bipedal, correct?” I nodded. “We figured as much. Due to your bipedal nature this will make getting around rather difficult for you.”

“But,” Flim walked up onto the other side. “We could remedy that problem.”

And there’s the kicker. They fixed me up half of the way and in order to do the other half they need money.

“Quite.” Nightmare stated with much less anger than I anticipated. “Though I must admit it was a rather well thought plan. Not only that but their knowledge in the fields of medicine and these ‘machines’ seems to be great.”

Are you kidding? I bet my leg could have been saved if we were in an actual hospital.

“No, it wouldn’t have. Though I could not figure out what was going on outside of your body, what was happening within was completely clear to me. Your leg was destroyed, the bones closer to dust than anything. It would have taken nothing short of Celestia’s intervention to save it and then you would have been left to explain how you got your wounds.”

I sighed as I realized Flim and Flam were still talking. It was all nonsense about how they wanted to help me when really they only wanted to help themselves so I tuned them out. So you say they seem pretty smart, not only as medics, but they also are good with machines, something very few ponies in Equestria even have access to, let alone know how to build.

“A great boon no matter which way you look at it. I do hope you are at least considering the thought of recruiting them.”

I’m doing more than consider. Once the brothers were done talking I gave them the best smile I could without causing too much pain. “I think we can come up with some kind of deal.”

The brothers were both ecstatic. “Great!” Flim said as his brother walked off to some part of the warehouse. “Now, how will you be paying for this? After all, it is no small number of bits.”

“How about straight from the royal treasury? As a matter of fact, I’ll give you whatever you want from it.”

Seems I shook Flim up a bit. Either his first thought was that I was some foreign dignitary or he was surprised at the sheer number of bits I just threw his way. “P-pardon, what do you mean ‘the royal treasury’?”

I chuckled a bit before sitting up slightly. “Well you see, very few are aware that I am planning a hostile takeover of sorts. When all is said and done I will rule Equestria, and those that follow me will be well rewarded. None of my followers so far have laid claims to the immeasurable wealth within the treasury. It could be yours if you chose to work for me.”

Flim seemed at lost for words as he stared at me with his mouth hung open. After a few moments he rushed off toward his brother and began speaking to him in hushed tones.

I don’t like this. Any ideas incase they betray us?

“Destroy the lights. I will handle the rest.” Before I could demand an explanation the brothers returned. Both seemed to be back to their greedily grinning selves.

“My brother and I have talked about it and we’ve decided that such a change would be bad for business. After all, where would we continue to sell our fantastic creations should you take over Equestria.”

“Plus,” Flam added. “We have no doubt the princess will reward us handsomely for your capture, and since you are in no state to fight, this seems like the safest idea.”

I made sure my change in face was gradual so as to put the brothers on edge. The color of my eyes began to glow orange as I spoke. “You have no idea how dangerous an idea that is.” Before the two could react I reached out with a hand toward one of the lights before letting off a lightning bolt. Thankfully how they looked wasn’t just a ruse as the lightning danced along the wires connecting them, blowing out each bulb in succession until the entire warehouse was cloaked in shadows.

“Ah yes. This will do quite nicely.” Nightmare chortled darkly. Flim and Flam’s horns lit up with green light but was quickly snuffed out as living shadow seemed to wrap itself around the two. I made sure to keep up my glowing eye trick as I swung my legs (or rather leg) over the side of the table with no small amount of pain coming from the action. I made sure not to let it ruin my performance.

“Now than,” I stated simply as the two writhed against their bonds. “I thought my offer was rather fair. I’d even say it was heavily weighed in your favor. Perhaps I should make it clearer what you are getting out of this. You are getting one of the few spots I am opening to the denizens of Equestria. As one of these chosen few you will not be subject to the same laws as your fellow pony. Instead, you will be living above them, free to do as you wish, whether it be tinkering with your machines or simply enjoying your wealth. You’ll be given near unlimited resources to do the jobs I give you, jobs that I guarantee will use the skills you are so proud of. You’ll be given power, not just socially or politically, but real magical power. Your abilities will be equal to some of the most powerful unicorns in Equestria.

“In short, you have the chance to get everything you could ever ask for. All you have to do in exchange is serve me. Is that a chance really worth throwing out?” The two brothers stopped squirming for a moment before glancing at each other.

I think we got the message across Nightmare. The two were slowly placed on the floor and unraveled, the shadows reforming with the floor. I simply waited for a response, never taking my glowing eyes off of them as they whispered to each other.

Finally, Flim spoke up, though fear still laced his voice. “It seems we underestimated you. We figured you were way over your head but it’s obvious by the way you hold yourself now that you can back up your claim.”

Flam showed no fear, instead speaking as if it were just another deal. “And after you explained out your contract to us in clearer terms, we believe we would have to be crazy not to accept such generosity.”

Rarity eat your heart out. Nightmare snickered while I only wore a simple smile. “Excellent. I’m glad you could see things my way. Now, let me give you the first part of our deal and then we can get to work.” I waved them closer so that I could touch their horns and transferred my dark magic into them. For a moment they scrunched their faces in pain, but soon after came a look of shock.

“This is.. amazing! Such power, and you said this only the beginning?”

I chuckled at Flim’s excitement over the situation. “Yes, that’s not even close to what you will gain when this is all over. Now, you said there was a way you can help with my leg.”

“Ah yes. Flam, why don’t you go grab what we were working on?” As Flam rushed out of sight, Flim kept talking. “We figured that a bipedal like you would pay anything to get your leg back so we began working on it right away. Of course it still needs work, and there will be some surgery involved, but the replacement will work just as well if not better than your old leg.”

“Good.” My eyes were beginning to feel heavy as fatigue set in. That lightning bolt had taken almost everything I had left but I refused to rest until I saw their prototype.

It wasn’t long until Flam came back with what looked like the bone structure of a human leg made of steel. It floated in front of him in his magical aura, the color a shade darker than it was earlier.

“We’ll be using a combination of magic, machine, and medicine to put this together. And now that we know what your plans are, we can build a leg meant for combat. I already have a few ideas on ways to turn the loss of your leg into a secret weapon that your enemies will never see coming.”

“I’ll take your word for it. Now, I’m still not feeling a hundred percent so I’m going to get some rest.” As I began to get comfortable my vision was suddenly filled with green and I felt the all too familiar sensation of being levitated.

“We can’t allow you to sleep on that table. It is unfitting of the soon-to-be king of Equestria.”

As Flim floated me to what I assumed was a bedroom, Nightmare couldn’t help but laugh. “Oh, I can get used to this.”

Well don’t. The last thing I need is favoritism amongst my servants. With the way some of them are wired they’ll likely kill each other if they thought it would earn my favor.

“There is nothing wrong with someone, as they say, “kissing up”. Besides, with Zecora still being our only way of getting back to the fortress, these two are your only minions for awhile.”

I sighed. Your right. And we still have no idea where we ended up or what sort of hellhole we opened back there.

“The fact that we opened a portal into this ‘multiverse’ is a feat in itself.”

You sound as if people have tried this before.

“They have. Many attempts at traveling through the void beyond our world were made back before I was sealed away. If any ever succeeded, then they must have been stranded wherever they landed.”

But I managed to open a portal. Wonder if I could do it again?

“It’s possible. A lot of this is theory, as studying a new branch of magic tends to be, but considering the memories you do have of the world you come from it is highly possible you are from another universe. If that is the case, you may not have what ever normally ties one to this universe, allowing you to travel much easier than the average person.”

So basically, I’ve stretched the string between my original universe and I so much that it has gone slack, allowing me to travel without hindrance.

“As far as I can tell that is correct. But yet again, I must make it clear that this is all theoretical. We have next to no knowledge of how any of this works and there is a chance you just got lucky rather that you happen to be the perfect situation. Sending yourself through the portal may be a death sentence.”

I pondered the implications of this discovery as I realized that Flim was putting me in a bed. It definitely wasn’t Overlord’s chambers quality of comfort but it certainly beat the table. Flim said something along the lines of “get well” but I was too deep in thought to give a response.

What if I sent something ahead of me? A token of some sorts. If it is destroyed in the void than no problems for me. If it makes it somewhere though, I can use it as a guiding point for my portal.

Nightmare hummed in thought. “I suppose that could work. However, whatever you send would have to be powered on the other side for it to properly guide you.”

Than it will act as an invitation of sorts. If there are heroes as powerful as the one we just fought, than logic dictates that there would be those with less reputable goals. Having allies would be useful should… Jason ever return.

"Return? How do you know he isn't still in our universe?"

The energy that went off felt similar to that which was pouring out of the rift that brought him here in the first place. Though we are still new to this whole thing, I would say the lack of reaction from Flim and Flam would mean that the guard aren't hunting for me yet.

“Hmm, good point. Back to finding allies however, we will have to be careful about who we teleport to. There's a good chance there are also other heroes, one that might be less caring about ending your life.”

We’ll just need to be prepared wherever we end up. I looked around to find my bags were next to me. After a few moments of excruciating pain I managed to find what remained of the my dagger. The handle was chipped and worn out but would serve its purpose none the less.

My hand began to charge the object with power as I spoke. “Seems you’ve found my token. My name is Don, and should you need an ally, you are free to try calling upon me.” The handle let off one more pulse of red energy before stopping. Sure, it was a simple message, but that was the idea. If whoever recieved this thought I was neutral, then there was less of a chance of me being called into a trap.

For the next hour or so I attempted to recreate what I did down in the caverns before figuring out how to at least open a tear large enough to toss my message into. I made sure I hadn't inadvertently caused the collapse of reality before lying back on the stiff pony-sized mattress.

Now we wait and see what happens.

* * *

“Angel, where are you?” Fluttershy floated about her home searching for the darling little bunny she took care of day after day. She had looked away for a few minutes to answer the door, but when she turned around all that remained was carrot crumbs.

Speaking of, she had just found a few more by the back door. She looked around her backyard, becoming more desperate as her search went on though her voice never rose above her usual mutterings.

“Oh dear, where could he have gone? He knows it’s bath day.” Finally she found something! Over by the fence gate was the end of the carrot. Orange crumbs led off toward the Everfree Forest. Just looking at the trees sent shivers down Fluttershy’s spine. Her fear was replaced with worry in a second as her imagination ran wild.

“What if Angel gets attacked by a hydra, or a cockatrice, or a manticore, or… or…” Fluttershy hyperventilated before getting a hold of herself. “Come on Fluttershy, you can do this. For Angel!”

With that she entered the forest tentatively, following the carrot crumb trail into the darkness.

Learning to walk several times over

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Snowflake Bastion stood outside a large set of double doors. On each side was a guard, dressed head to toe in white armor with gold inlays so that no part of the ponies’ bodies could be seen. Bastion herself wore similar armor, though with silver instead of gold. She had also removed her helm. Because of this the worry on her face was clear as her wings twitch with anticipation.

Finally the doors in front of her opened, a calm voice somehow managing to be heard over the sound of hinges that really needed oiling. “Come in.”

Bastion took a deep breath before walking in. The room was completely different from the bland hallway she had been in. The entire room was a spring of sorts, with water so clear you could see everything that lived below the surface. On top of a wide assortment of fish there were various colors of birds flying around, using the trees that had grown out of the stone as perches. There was only one pathway that wound its way to the center of the spring and there sat an earth pony whose coat was white as marble. His back was turned to Bastion as she made her way through the misty spring toward her.

“I trust you know why you are here Snowflake.”

Despite everything Bastion told herself she could not shake her fear of the stallion in front of her. “I do not know your excellence, and this is my fault.”

The stallion sighed a moment before getting up and turning, showing his most obvious feature: his eyes were as white as his coat. “No Snowflake. The mistake you made is your fault. Not being able to realize that mistake as your teacher is my burden to bear. Allow me to open your eyes so that you may be put on the true path once more.”

The stallion began walking around Bastion slowly. “What you did in Murky Bottom goes against the tenants you were taught. I know that your talent is combat, but seeking it out is the road to damnation.” Though he said this with no amount of force, Bastion still winced at that last word. “Instead, you must learn to temper yourself. It is why I have endeavored to teach you because I knew that your path would not be easy. To have a mark rooted in violence but be expected to act peacefully is no small feat. I felt you were quite capable of accomplishing this but it seems you have not mastered your pride in the talent Faust has given you.” The stallion ended up sitting in front Bastion once more as she found interest in the floor. “Think on what I’ve said in your free time. Now, tell me what you’ve learned on the dark one.”

This perked Bastion right up. “Of course, your excellence. My troops and I managed to figure out what happened based on the words of a few of the locals. It seems the creature entered the town around mid morning. After entering the inn and defeating the scouting team, he walked about the town asking the ponies questions under the guise of an investigator for the royal guard. The locals believed him without much of a second thought, and a day later he left. As he left so too did the magical anomalies the town had been experiencing confirming our fears.”

The stallion nodded at this. “So it’s true. He has the first nest. We will have to double our efforts to locate the others before he does.”

“Pardon me, your excellence, but if I may ask, why haven’t we been keeping track of these things since the creature was sealed away?”

“That is our ancestors’ faults unfortunately. After a thousand years or so they stopped caring, believing that the dark one was gone forever. It wasn’t until I was shown that vision a year ago that we began to search once more.” The stallion pondered this with eyes shut for a few moments. “Snowflake, I want you to go out and locate the dark one. Should I get word that we found another nest I will send for you but until than we can not sit idly. Even with only one of his artifacts he is still a force of corruption on the world. When you find him, do not attack him up front. Do not give him the honorable death you would give another. He must be put down before the world is unbalanced any further.”

Bastion bowed. “Yes, your excellence.”

“Good. Now, go and begin your search. You will not have troops to aid you in the search but you will have them available wherever you should need them to defeat the dark one. Our hearts go with you Snowflake.” With a final nod Bastion turned and left. Though her pace was deliberate she was giddy with anticipation inside.

Yes. A chance to show my worth to the faith! There is a lot to prepare for. I’ll need supplies so that I can live out in the wilderness. I will need to make sure that the branch of Evermore in the region I’m searching is ready to give troops should I locate the creature. Bastion shook her head before flashing a cocky grin. No, I don’t need other troops. As a matter of fact, I don’t even need to use tricks to defeat it. I will find it, I will face it head on, and I will be victorious!

* * *

The following month or so can be described in two words.

So… boring…

I couldn’t do anything in my state without causing myself some amount of discomfort. At the same time I wouldn’t have been able to go anywhere with only one leg. Most of my time awake was just spent opening small holes in the multiverse for practice. Just hours and hours of open, close, open, close, open, close. The only thing that broke the monotony was how every once and awhile something would fall out of it. A few were similar to the same object I sent out in that they could be used to call people across the multiverse. Other than that there was some weird junk that I wasn’t really sure what it was for. I just had one of the brothers throw it out whenever I got something of that nature.

Anytime I slept I spent the time training with Nightmare, though things weren’t as brutal as they were originally. I wasn’t sure if I was getting faster or if Nightmare was taking it easy on me (not likely) but my movements in battle were beginning to become instinctual rather than requiring conscious thought. I certainly felt more capable of fighting off any would be attackers and I even got something of a compliment from her which was a first.

Anyway, at the end of the month I was for the most part capable of moving around with ease, though I still had a missing leg. A month’s worth of objects from the portals I’ve been opening now sat in my bag. I only had a few bandages remaining, primarily around my leg stump. Flim and Flam came in to the room, interrupting the rhythm I had going with the the portals.

“Well, now that you’re feeling better, we think this would be the perfect time to commence with the surgery for your new leg. Don’t you agree m’lord?”

I shrugged. “If you think so. I’ll just be glad to get out of here before I go stir crazy.” I was picked up in Flam’s magic and brought back out to the table I had woken up on originally. As Flim began setting things up, Flam went about explaining it.

“In order for you to move this leg in a similar fashion to the one you lost we will need to build a dock of sorts for it to mount to. This dock will be directly connected to the nerves in your leg, and magic will translate the signals it receives as motion. It will take some getting used to but this way we can replace your leg easily should it ever be damaged or we build something better.” Flim came back in sight, the sound of a unoiled cart following him.

“Now, this is quite painful as we will be essentially sticking needles into each of the nerves in the stump so it would be best if you were put under some anesthesia for the time.”

“Don’t.” I stated as bluntly as possible. “I can handle the pain.” The brothers both looked at each other with shock and doubt before preparing the procedure.

Nightmare, I need you to dull as much pain as possible.

“If you didn’t want to feel pain you should have been put under.”

Do you want to be put into a forced sleep with no way to wake us up forcefully? Nightmare didn’t answer. That’s what I thought. Besides, I trust you are capable of keeping the pain back for as long as possible. You have gotten notably better over the past month so you should have no problems with this.

“Alright, lets begin.”

* * *

“Now m’lord,” Flim instructed “It will take you some time to get used to the new leg. We predict it will take you about a week or so but until than you shouldn’t push yourself.”

I nodded as I sat on the edge of the table, Flam working intently on attaching the leg to the dock they had just so painfully added. My new leg was shaped similarly to the old one, just it was made of metal plating instead of flesh. To anyone else it would just appear as if I was wearing armor on that one leg as weird as that would seem.

Once he was done I felt a magical shock go through my nervous system. I assumed that was a sign that the leg was now moveable and decided to tested it. I told my leg to extend fully, only to have it not move.

Come on you piece of junk!

Nothing happened.

“Perhaps you should try putting weight on it?” With nothing else to go on I pushed myself off the table, only to fall flat on my face when the leg slipped out from under me.

I swear, if I ever find that watch-wielding bastard, I’ll destroy him!

“You won’t be doing any destroying until you get that leg working properly.” I groaned in response as I felt myself be picked up by magic.

“This is going to take a while.” I heard one of the brothers mutter. As they righted me back up I tried standing again, only to be met with similar results.

Nightmare, keep track of how many times I fall.

“Why?”

Because for every time I fall, Jason is going to watch someone he loves die. And if I run out of people to kill before that happens then I’ll just start chopping off his limbs. Nightmare didn’t respond, though I did feel her give a toothy grin at the thought.

Now, let’s try this again.

* * *

It took about a week like the brothers said to adjust to the leg. The to-be-killed count ended up being twenty-six.

I do hope Jason is having a peaceful time back in his world. It’ll be such a lovely contrast for what is to come.

Vendettas aside, I was now mobile so my first mission was the figure out “Just where are we exactly?” Flim walked over to the door of the warehouse and opened it for me as I walked through, the sunlight blinding me until I had managed to blink it away. Outside was a city on the scale of something I never thought would exist in a magical world like Equestria. Though there were still some differences, such as the lack of electrical lighting and the use of carriages instead of cars.

“Welcome to Manehattan m’lord.” My eye twitched a bit as I heard the ridiculous pun of a name. Nightmare, please add this city to my list of “towns to burn down because their names are horrible puns”.

“At this rate there won’t be any towns left to rule over.” I pulled my hood over my head as I realized I was beginning to get a few stares. Being the only one of your species in existence tends to do that. Thankfully the city seemed to get its share of visitors other than ponies so it was easy to fake being some other bipedal creature.

“What do think m’lord?” I looked down to see Flam with a big smile on his face.

“It’s a nice city to say the least. I’m going to walk around the block, stretch my legs a bit after being stuck inside for over a month. For now I have nothing for you to do so feel free to spend your time however you see fit.” The brothers watched me as I walked down the street and turned the corner. Once out of sight I brought up the real reason for wanting to walk.

Nightmare, we have a problem we need to deal with.

“We have many problems at the moment. Care to narrow it down?”

I’m talking about the fight. We were fighting as two separate people despite being in one body and that got us nearly killed. Next time we might not be so lucky as to be taken in by ponies who were more focused on greed than helping people.

“As I said, you should have been able to adapt to my fighting style.”

It’s not all about you Nightmare! Maybe if you realized that we wouldn’t have lost a leg. We both need to compromise if we are to ever win against the sisters and that means meeting in the middle.

Nightmare was silent until I had rounded another corner. “I suppose you are right. I thought that things would be similar to the way Luna and I had done it but I forgot that we are not simply two halves of the same being. We have different experiences and both must be brought into consideration.”

I’m glad you realized this. Now than, do you have any ideas on how we should learn to sync our movements?

“Perhaps we should start as an infant does learning to walk. Hold still for a moment.” I stopped and leaned against the wall of a building so as to keep out of the way of the pushy denizens of the city. After a moment I felt myself lose control of one of my legs. “There, I will control one, you will control the other. We will learn to walk together, than we will learn to run. Only than will we learn to fight.”

I suppose that will do for the physical aspect. I still feel we should address the mental one.

“Than perhaps we should spend some of our time in the dreamscape learning about one another. This will gives each of us an understanding of how we think and react.”

Haven’t you already been scanning my memories to adapt to the modern world?

“Searching through memory for information and experiencing it are two separate things. The latter will obviously take much more time than the former but I believe it will be crucial if we are to fight as one.”

Alright than. Let’s at least try to get back to the warehouse. Walking with only one leg to control was awkward to say the least. There was always a pause between each step, turning what would have normally been fluid walking into a rather rigid experience. Still, there was some kind of progress overall. It was obvious we had a long way to go.

Gotta love the smell of evil!

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“But sister, tis not fair!” Luna cried. She and Celestia were sitting in a small office so that Celestia could fill out the paperwork that came with being a princess. While she sat behind the desk, Luna sat in front of it, bags under her eyes that could have only come from days of unrest.

“We can not allow such a thing Luna. Discord still lingers in the back of our ponies’ minds. If we were to change the day/night cycle they may panic.”

“It would only last but a day. The ponies should know to appreciate the night just as much as the day.”

“We are sorry sister, but this notion can not pass. Nothing good can come of it.”

Luna’s face seemed to slowly go from saddened to furious. “You mean nothing good for you.” With that she stormed off, not even stopping as her sister tried to call her back. She didn’t stop until she was back in her room where she finally let out the emotions she was holding in, crying into her pillow. It took a few minutes but eventually her sobbing slowed.

“Why?” She muttered to herself. “Why is that she gets all the praise but we see none? Our little ponies adore Celestia, creating works of art and dedicating things in her name. But no one thinks of the night, of the one who protects them from that which lies in the dark.”

“No. It isn’t fair.” Luna head shot up as she heard a voice echo through her room. When nopony was in sight she called out.

“Who is there? Show yourself!”

“We are here Luna. With you. Inside your mind.”

“In-inside our mind? How did you get there?”

“We don’t know. These are the first conscious thoughts we have made. We don’t even have a name.”

“No name? Would… would you like one?”

“We suppose it would be a good idea to not just be called the voice in your head. Any suggestions?”

“Hmm… how about Astra?”

“Astra… that will do. Now enough banter. We wish to hear more about what troubles you.”

Luna began going into detail about the many problems she had with her sister while Nightmare Moon and I watched from the side, practically invisible as we watched the memory unfold. After awhile I couldn’t help but snicker.

“Astra? Really?”

Nightmare blushed. “I had just been born for all intensive purposes. Though I had the memories and experiences Luna did I had no real understanding of them. The name seemed good at the time.”

“I suppose I can relate with that one, although my memory has holes in it unlike yours. Seems key pieces of information were lost in translation when I was divided from the old Overlord.” As I spoke my memory of waking up in a crypt played in front of us. After meeting Twilight, much to Nightmare’s displeasure, the memory fast forwarded to when I beat the old Overlord within my mind. As it faded Nightmare hummed as she took in what she had seen.

“It seems we are truly from two separate paths. It is good that we realized this before we went up against Celestia and Luna.”

“Ya. I can already imagine that wouldn’t have ended well.” I got up and stretched as the scenery around us changed to our usual training grounds. “Well than, shall we get to the more exciting portion of our night?” As I said this a short sword and dagger appeared in my hands and I took my ready stance. Nightmare grinned as she did the same only with a spear and shield.

* * *

The next day I went out around noon for lunch, though my real reason was getting sick and tired of Flim and Flam’s constant groveling. The two brothers were constantly bothering me, trying to help me with every little thing I do. I suppose it didn’t particularly help that I was a more hands-on Overlord than the last one. Thankfully they were quick to obey so I didn’t have to make some reason why I wanted to go alone.

I found a small deli place run by gryphons after a while and was enjoying my sandwich when Nightmare started up the conversation. “So how do you plan on finding Zecora?”

Not sure. Being the only human makes things difficult. Even with Blueblood keeping Celestia off my trail I can’t just expose myself.

“Why not? It is not like Celestia wouldn’t be willing to help you.”

Do you have a good excuse as to how we ended up miles away from the zebra we were supposed to be following? Cause I’m terrible at lying and I can’t figure out a way to bend the truth about “I tore open a hole in the fabric of reality and some crazy guy with a watch came through and nearly killed me.”

“Hmm… perhaps if we-” suddenly my ears seemed to cut out for a moment as they began to ring before returning just the same. “-you alright? Don!”

I blinked for a moment as Nightmare’s tone of voice had change instantly. I’m fine. What are you freaking out about?

“You just froze for about a minute. Do you not remember?”

I sat up a bit in shock. No. To me it was as if I blinked, lost hearing for a moment, and then you changed from telling me your idea to freaking out. Any idea what just happened?

“No clue. I tried looking over your mental state to see if you perhaps got a concussion during the fight but I found nothing. It was as if you just stopped for a minute.”

I sighed. Well if we have no clue what happened than let’s not worry about it right now. We’ve got more important things to do. I finished my meal and started walking no where in particular. I wanted to get a good look at what the city had to offer, plus it gave Nightmare and I more time to talk and a chance to continue working on syncing our movements. Before Nightmare could comment however, four carriages screeched around the corner at full speed. I watched them until they went around another corner, wondering what was happening but not curious enough to bother following.

“This is important Don. What would happen if you froze like that in the middle of a fight?”

Then you would take over since we are going to be working together. I’m not saying that this isn’t something that we shouldn’t address but you have no clue what caused it and I have practically zero knowledge on how the mind works.

“Than we should find someone who does know, or research it. Ignoring it can only make things worse.”

We can do a proper medical check when we figure out a way back to the fortress. We can even have Flim and Flam look over me if it bothers you that much. Nightmare grumbled something about me being foolish as I decided it was time to head back.

Don’t worry about something we can’t do much about right now. Besides, you’re the last person I expected to actually worry about me. Strangely enough Nightmare was quiet from then on so I focused on our walking exercise. By the time we reached the warehouse we had gotten it to a point where we could at least walk slowly without looking so awkward.

Once inside, I turned around and locked the door behind me. Turning back around, I realized something was very wrong. As in the only thing in the warehouse, which had once been filled with machine parts, was Flim and Flam tied up in the middle of the floor.

Of course things get worse. After a minute or so of undoing the brothers’ bonds, I put them back on their hooves and asked “What the hell happened?”

“The mafia happened m’lord. They came and took everything!”

I raised an eyebrow. “There’s a mafia?”

“Yes. They usually only attack big businesses but I guess they heard about everything we had here and decided to take it for themselves.”

“So you didn’t have a debt with them or anything?”

“Not that we’re aware of. They had never bothered with us until now.”

Well this is a mess.

Nightmare agreed before adding “Do you suppose those carriages we saw earlier was them?”

I sighed. Of course. Just my luck. “Do you two know where they would take your things?”

The brothers looked at each other. “Probably the docks. There isn’t much of a market for parts like that here in the city.” I turned around and headed for the door. “M’lord? Where are you going?”

“I’m going to go slaughter the entire mafia and get your things back.” I said as if I was just going for a stroll in the park.

“B-but m’lord! Won’t that expose you?”

I turned my head and gave the brothers a toothy grin. “Not if I kill all the witnesses.”

* * *

I waited until night had fallen before getting within sight of the docks. It turned out to be rather easy finding the mafia since the ponies guarding the building they were in were dressed rather stereotypically. The only thing they were missing were pony-sized tommy guns, something that I was both glad and miffed about.

How is it that Celestia hasn’t noticed organized crime in her kingdom?

“The nobles, at least before I was put on the moon, would often busy us with their idiotic attempts to gain power. I can’t tell you how many times Luna rejected the ‘legalize slavery’ bill.”

I can see that happening, especially if most of them are like that lord that tried to turn me into one of his trophies.

“You will have to show me that memory once we are done here. I often fantasized what I would do to the nobles if given the chance.” That done, I turned my attention to the building in front of us. It was a simple building like the ten others that made up the docks. There was only one large set of large doors on the land side, while on the sea side there was room for boats to enter and dock. The windows on the sides of the buildings were placed close to the roof, making it a not-so-ideal way of getting in.

Any suggestions on how to handle this?

Nightmare aimed my eyes as she spoke. “There are four guards at the door, half unicorns, half earth ponies. They are spread far enough apart that hitting all at once is nearly impossible without making a lot of noise. There are also pegasi flying about above, meaning even if we could take all of them out at once that wouldn’t stop them from raising the alarm.”

Does it matter? We’re going to have to kill them all anyway.

“That’s true, but doing so loudly will only give them more of an opportunity to escape. Not only that but you have no weapon and I would not suggest using one of theirs. Using a weapon you are not used to should be a last resort.”

I sighed. Let me guess. We’re going for a swim.

“It seems so.” I made my way around the building, using whatever cover I could find to keep out of sight of the guards. Once at the water I took one look down before diving in. I hugged the dock as I swam beneath the surface, using any handholds I could find to propel me further. Eventually I made it to where the wall turned inward. A boat sat in the pony-made inlet so I used it as cover as I breached the surface.

Once my ears were not being clogged with water, I heard a conversation happening above. It was between one particularly squeaky sounding pony and another who sounded like your typical mobster.

“B-but boss, why did we-”

“I told you to can it! Them Faust-lovin who-ha’s are paying good for this information. Add to that the bonus we’ll get from this junk and we’ll be living good for quite sometime.”

The Evermore! They know I’m in Manehatten.

“Hang on. By the sounds of it they have yet to give them your location.” Nightmare said. “They must have taken the parts prior so that the Evermore wouldn’t get the chance to.”

Well their greed is about to get them killed. I glanced up at the rafters and in an instant I had teleported on top of them. From this perspective it was easy to pick out where all the ponies were. A unicorn was packaging the machine parts into crates, another was taking said crates and loading them onto the boat. The voices I heard earlier were two earth ponies who continued to argue on the front end of the ship.

Nightmare turned my head as she spoke. “Make a sound over there. Most likely the leader will send that squirrely one to check it out.” After a few moments I found something. Some sort of piping had been stacked up in a pyramid. All it took was pulling away one of the blocks that kept the stack from rolling to send it all crashing down.

“What in Tartarus was that? Ey, quit sitting around and check it out.” And just like Nightmare predicted, the squeaky pony made his way off the boat and over to the pipes, his companions already not paying him any mind.

One sound muffling spell later and I had dropped behind the pony. A taser strike to the back of the head ended his life quickly. I was quick to grab the dagger he had on him, but unlike the last dagger I had this one was poorly made and not taken care of. It had obviously been more for show than use as an actual weapon.

“Ey, what’s taking you so long runt?” I heard the mobster call out. Before he could be bothered to check on his now-dead friend I threw the dagger with deadly accuracy at the unicorn packing parts. It embedded itself in the unicorn’s throat, causing him to drop what he was levitating as he quickly died.

“Now what’s going on?” The earth pony sneered. I couldn’t help but chuckle a bit at what was sure to come. I teleported onto the boat, the pony now facing away from me as he tried to determine what happened to the first unicorn. The other noticed me however and yelled out.

“Look out boss!” The earth pony dubbed “boss” turned but it was too late. I grabbed him by the throat and lifted him up, taking in his fear as he looked back at me.

“I believe you have something of mine.” I spoke darkly. He looked about to respond had the unicorn not tried to send his blade at me. Nightmare was quicker to react than I, moving my arm just enough so that the earth pony took the sword through his back. I added to this by quickly throwing the fresh corpse at the unicorn, breaking his concentration and allowing me to end him with a quick bolt of lightning to the face.

“That was a satisfying test of our new way of fighting.”

I agree. Our being in sync continued to benefit us as the doors to the warehouse were pulled open and we quickly teleported back into the rafters above.

“Hey, you hear that?” One of the ponies spoke as they entered. She was a unicorn while the stallion behind her was a pegasus.

“Heard some crashes, but other than that nothing. What, you scared?” The mare bashed him on the back of the head as he started snickering.

“Shut up and search the place. Something don’t feel right here.” The group of ponies, two of each race, began to spread out and search the warehouse. With how each body had fallen, they would need to be halfway into the warehouse before realizing what was going on.

“And by then it will be too late.” Nightmare chuckled. The obvious first choice to take out were the unicorns. I set my sights on the mare who had been speaking earlier as she neared the body of the first unicorn I had slewn.

“Hey! We got a body he-hrrrk!” She was cut off as her own shadow stretched out from underneath her, piercing her chest but missing anything vital. I was quick to correct that by driving one of the sharper pieces of metal lying about into her skull with a bit of creative telekinesis.

“Fruity? What’s going on?” the pegasus spoke. All the other ponies were now on edge, readying weapons where they had them.

I think it’s time we finished our little show, don’t you agree? I held out my hands to either side of me as the flames from the many candles dotting the room began to flicker. All at once they went out just as Nightmare slammed the doors shut with a flick of the newly created shadows.

“W-w-what’s going on ‘ere? S-someone trying to pull a fast one on us? You don’t know who youse messing with, see?”

“Let’s save that one for last. He’ll be the easiest to interrogate from the looks of it.”

That and it’ll be fun to see him piss himself. We did just that, killing off each of his friends in some creative way as we relaxed, hidden in the rafters. Each death shook up our target a little more as we made sure they were on full display. What really got him though was when he watched the other pegasus be tacked against the wall like a butterfly in a bug collection. Overall it was a nice change of pace after having been beaten close to death by some hero with a fancy watch and spending about a month and a half recuperating.

The last guy was a whimpering mess by the time we finished our game. I dropped down behind him silently before grabbing one of his wings and snapping it at the base. With nowhere to run and nowhere to hide, he began to grovel, begging for his life.

“P-p-please, I-I’ll do anything fo’ ya! I d-don’t wanna die like this!” He couldn’t see my grin from the darkness beneath my hood, leaving his only judge of my mood to be my glowing eyes.

“Answer my questions.” He nodded briskly, waiting for my every word. Gnarl’s right. You’ve got to love the smell of blood, carnage, and urine. It’s the sign of a good job.

“First, what do you have to do with the Evermore?”

“Them weirdos? They gave us an offer to find ya’s, a big bounty for just a little information. We thought they were crazy to offer so much but we weren’t about to say no to that kind of money.”

“Seems our enemies have more resources than we gave them credit for.” Nightmare noted. I nodded and continued.

“Second, what do you know of me and the Flim Flam brothers?”

“Nothing really. Just the bounty on ya and that they like tinkering with… what’re they called… I dunno, the metal things with moving parts.”

I nodded again. “Alright, final question. Has anyone in the Mafia been told about them or me?”

“The boss wanted us to keep quiet. Said the cuts would be bigger if we kept it to ourselves.”

I let out a low grumble as I considered everything he told me. So these ponies were essentially acting on their own. That makes my life easier.

“Indeed. Hiding a dock massacre in this city should be easy enough for Blueblood.”

I nodded before regarding the still whimpering pile-of-filth before me. “You will aid me in bringing all these parts back to the warehouse you stole them from.”

The pony looked hopeful as I gave him my command. “Y-you got it! You the boss now.” He moved over to the carriages resting against the wall while I levitated the parts. Soon, all the carriages were loaded and tied end to end, barring the front which was to be pulled by the lone pegasus, who just barely managing to do so. Once he was out of the way I set fire to the crates and boat inside before sealing the doors.

Deja vu. Once clear of the docks I halted the flow of magic, making my face visible once more. Thankfully the city streets were pretty empty so no one noticed the human and the pegasus totting four carriages at once.

About half way there I felt a slight tremor. Not a physical one mind you, but a magical one. It felt familiar, and warm. No, not warm, hot. Very hot. I quickly told the pegasus to halt as I investigated.

The tremor had come through an alleyway, and on the other side was a factory. What it made was made clear by the giant loaf of bread that hung above the entrance to the facility. Underneath it read “Wheat Thin’s Bread & Co.”

A bread factory? Why would you need a factory to make bread?

“Perhaps bread and other grains are eaten much more than in Equestria than we gave it credit for.”

I suppose Twilight enjoys her daisy sandwiches, but a building of this size could probably serve all of Equestria. Ponyville has it’s own grain and bread makers, as too does Canterlot. Overall, this just seems excessive. I continued to look over the building that shouldn’t have made sense before another tremor went through me. It felt almost just like…

A nest!

“A nest!”

But of course this just left more questions. Why the hell is a nest in a factory? What could they possibly be doing with it?

“I don’t know. The energy they put off could be useful, and if you are only getting small pulses, that must mean the rest is going somewhere.” I would have continued analyzing the situation if a certain pony on death row hadn’t spoken up.

“Uh… boss? Can we go now?” I turned around and glared at him before grumbling and waving at him to keep moving. I glanced back at the factory, memorizing the location before following after him.

That bit of exercise earlier was nice, but breaking into that factory will be the real test.

Burnt Bread and Foolish Friends

View Online

We returned to the brother’s workshop in due time, making sure to give the coward under my command as much heavy work as possible. I used this time to begin pondering just how I was going to get my nest out of the factory without tearing the place down.

Thing is, I got nowhere with that. The fact remained I had little to no information of the place. I would need the layout of the building, an idea on their guard patrols, possibly a look at the sewer system of the city to check if there were any useable tunnels running nearby…

“Uh, hey boss? Job’s done.” I looked up from my where I was seated to see that he was speaking the truth. Everything was just as it had been not a day earlier, plus one trembling stallion. “So… can I go now?”

I gave him a blank look before throwing my head back and laughing heartly. When I looked at him again his eyes were filled with confusion and fear. And then they were filled with surprise as the shadows in the room stabbed him through his back and lifted him off the ground.

“When did I ever say I would let you live?” And then his eyes were filled with nothing. Nightmare tossed him in the direction of the brothers while I told them “Clean this up, will you? I’m sure two genius brothers like yourselves can figure out a way so that no one ever finds this body.”

The two were quick to obey, invigorated by my sparse compliment. That just left me with my thoughts once more as I thought on what needed to be done. And I thought taking the brown nest from you was difficult.

“True, but you did not have to worry about getting caught in the act. That was my fault for taking you somewhere secluded.”

We’ll need to break into city hall probably. Get the plans for the building and the sewer systems. Perhaps have the brothers trade off watching the guard patrols so we can get an idea of what we’re dealing with. The slaughtering of a dozen criminals in this city won’t be hard for Blueblood but setting off the alarm at a company that big will give him trouble.

Nightmare sighed. “Dancing around in the shadows like this is beginning to become annoying.”

You don’t know the half of it.

* * *

Luna was bored, if you wanted to put it lightly. After all, hearing nobles pathetic attempts at gaining power for hours on end wasn’t exactly her definition of fun. Fun was shaping the night sky as her canvas, spending time to make sure each star and nebula glittered beautifully. Oh how light her heart felt as she-

“What do you believe is the best course of action Luna?”

“Hmm… huh?” She blinked and looked around to see her sister and the nobleman staring at her, though the latter had a grin that she would have loved to have just smacked right off his muzzle.

“Don’t tell me you dozed off again sister?” Luna was about ready to admit it, but suddenly found her mouth was not her own.

“We believe it would be foolish to act so immediately on what little information has been presented.” Too dazed at what was happening, Luna did not notice her sister’s look of surprise as well as the slump the noble now had.

Why did I say that?

“Tis I Luna.” Luna jolted a bit as she was reminded of the other voice’s presence.

Astra? You can control my body?

“Indeed, though I did not mean to alarm. We didn’t want you to look foolish in front of your sister. She already has enough reason to keep the spotlight for herself.” She growled that last statement.

You… thank you Astra. You are turning out to be a wonderful friend already.

“Thank you Luna. Now we best pay attention. Seems this one with the horrible facial hair believes he can so easily slip by us. We will have to show him what happens to those who exhibit such greed.”

Luna looked to see the next stallion indeed had horrible facial hair. The kind that nearly made her giggle at how ridiculously pointed it was. We shall show him what for indeed.

* * *

The next morning, after cursing the mattress I had been sleeping on for the hundredth time, I left the building before the brothers could start pandering to me and headed straight to the factory. I slowly walked around the outside fence, keeping an eye out for anything I can use.

Not many guards outside, but no telling what’s inside. All the entrances are guarded.

My eyes angled up a bit. “Along the roof as well. Lack of pegasi so that might be an option if we can take them out silently.”

I hummed as we turned around a corner, continuing to follow the fence. Even then though, we still have too little information. There’s too much of a risk of exposure to go in with no idea what to expect.

“There’s no real way to get that information though unless you can get in there in the first place. Guard patrols and such aren’t going to be noted in the blueprints.”

I grumbled, the fence coming to an end as it turned to follow the factory. I kept walking in the same direction though, having seen everything I needed to. We both walked down the street for a few blocks, pondering our predicament before I had an idea.

What if we get some help?

“From where? We already established we have no way to contact Zecora or the fortress.”

Not from this world Nightmare. From another. As I thought this, I rounded the corner into an alleyway and pulled my backpack off so I could look through it. As I did this, I passed by a mugging in progress, though I gave it none of my attention despite the mare’s plea for help.

“Please! Call the police! Or something! Anything!” The mugger, a minotaur, gave me a weird look that I noticed out of the corner of my eye. Yet again, I ignored it in favor of looking through my backpack as I turned into a dead end.

“Are you sure this is a good idea? The last thing that came here from another world left you minus one leg.”

That’s because he was both morally straight and smart enough to tell when someone is avoiding facts. What we need is either someone who doesn’t care about what our real goal is, or someone stupid enough to believe we are the good guys.

“And who is going to believe that?” I shrugged and continued routing through my bag before pulling out a diamond. A few moments after I let the light hit it, a feminine yet strong sounding voice echoed through my mind.

“I am the protector of the innocent, warrior of the weak, call upon me for assistance and I shall come. Call for the Gravity Shifter and I will make those who harm others beg for mercy as they are crushed at my feet. Hold this gem close to thine heart and I shall be at your side as a fellow warrior!”

Okay… not that one. Definitely way too much good in that girl. Nightmare nodded in agreement as I stuffed the diamond to the bottom of my bag of junk and continued searching. Next thing I pulled out was a set of gloves, written on them “Burn me”.

“Well that’s not suspicious.” Nightmare remarked sarcastically. Back in the bag they went as next I pulled out a… human skull?

Apparently I missed this one. I thought as another message echoed through my mind.

"This token belongs to the Lich King and his brother Zero. Should any of you mortals need assistance from the Lord of Death or the Master Strategist, simply whisper the words 'Arthas, my son' and we shall come to your aid. Or smash it for instant results.”

“That sounds like a possible good one.” I only sighed before sending Nightmare what I knew of the Lich King from video games. “... or not.”

Ya, subtly isn’t his strong suit. Besides, having an armored, undead behemoth walking around is bound to attract some attention. I put the skull back in my bag, making sure it was reachable in case of an emergency before continuing until I found a soda can with a familiar green pattern.

This reminds me of- The message interrupted my train of thought as Jason’s voice filled my mind.

“I am the changer of shape, seeking to understand the many forms of life. Call for the man of many shapes during your hour of need and I will come, a one man army. Activate the cylinder and in a flash I’ll be ready to clash.”

I was about ready to crush the damn thing and could feel the metal bend slightly in my grasp. Nightmare stopped me before I could do any real damage to it though. “Now hang on Don. Do you really think destroying this is the best option?”

It would make me feel better.

“For about two seconds. Why not use it to get a lock on Jason’s world?”

I opened my eyes in shock for a second before laughing at how close I was at throwing away the chance I was given. Good thing you are here Night. At least one of us can think straight. I felt her glow with pride as I began to fill the token with my own energy, corrupting its original purpose for my own uses. Now, if this thing is meant to bring Jason to it, that means it must have some sort of connection to him. All I need to do is find that connection and…

Suddenly the green pattern on the can changed to red as a hole tore itself in the wall.

The scene before us was something rather interesting. Three unicorns, two in full armor, were standing around a table that had what looked like a pony shaped insect on it, similar to the form Jason had taken to spray green gunk all over my leg.

“Shock him back, double the voltage,” the unarmored pony, a sickly yellow stallion with a metal horned ordered, his eyes hidden by red tinted goggles. He watched impassively as the others delivered another round of lightning spells on the bug.

You know… I honestly thought we would see Ponyville with a rainbow over it or something… but this is way better.

“Blegh!” Nightmare scoffed. “Disgusting creatures, changelings are. All they do is feed off the emotions of others and hide.”

You mean the bug thing? Huh, here I thought that was some kind of lost pony race.

“Hardly.”

“What is this?” the stallion asked, having noticed the hole. “A tear in space, fascinating.”

Why do I get a creepy Twilight feeling from this guy? I waved the hand not holding the red, sparking soda can. “Hey there. Any of you seen a guy named Jason?”

“That ape creature?” the stallion asked, looking at me. “The last I heard, he was in a coma.”

I deflated a bit. “Really? Damn it, I was so looking forward to torturing his ass.”

“You best get in line, the king plans on having him executed.”

I grumbled. “Ugh, fine. But if he does one of those “hero pulls something out of his ass at the last minute” things, I want dibs. So, is his execution beheading or something more gruesome?”

“I don’t know, nor do I care, all I want is that device on his wrist.”

“You want that piece of crap? I could just give you this thing.” I held up the red, sparking soda can. “It looks like it has something to do with it. Though I’d need a new way to find this world.”

“That device holds the blueprints to over a million creatures in it. With that I could create the ultimate organism!” he said with a slightly deranged smirk.

I raised an eyebrow skeptically. “Really? This piece of junk holds the DNA of a million creatures? Here I thought it was a soda can. Why the hell would Jason send this thing out into the multiverse?”

“I was talking about the device on his arm, not that thing.” the stallion shook his head. “From the notes I took from his workshop, that only holds one sample.”

“Huh. Wonder what that sample is?” I glanced at the can, still spewing magic before shrugging. “Eh, whatever was in it is probably fried now.”

“If I had to guess, it would be his own.” As soon as he said that, I extended my arm as far as possible, looking at the can in disgust. Okay… gross.

“Not that kind of sample you fool!” the stallion berated.

I rolled my eyes. Not even going to try arguing with him. Probably works as well as arguing with Rarity. “Anyway, would you guys mind if I gave you something to contact me just in case Jason gets loose?”

“You may give it to me, I am Dr. Animo,” the stallion said, a hint of pride in his voice.

“Don the Overlord.” My other hand sparked with the same red energy until a copy of the broken dagger appeared. I tossed it at the pony, him catching it in his own aura. “The enemy of my enemy is my friend they say.”

“I will keep that in mind.” he said, placing it in his belt. “Now it you excuse me, I have secrets to pry.” he turned away, back toward the changeling.

“Tell them to try prying the chitin off and burning the flesh underneath. It’s rather sensitive.” Nightmare said with a hint of joy.

“Uh… hey. Try prying his armor off and hit him with a hot iron.”

“Hex wants him alive, though I will keep that in mind for later,” he said nodding. With that, I let the hole close, the can ceasing to spark but retaining its new red color. With a shrug, I stuffed it back in my backpack and resumed my search.

I was about to give up on finding anyone that could aid me when I found deep at the bottom of the bag a metal cube. Holding it in my hand allowed the message to be muttered subconsciously. And I mean muttered, as the guy sounded like he wasn’t sure of anything he was doing.

“Uhh. This is the...Animorph...Wade. Call me...if you need any help?”

Nightmare literally burst out laughing as I tried my best to hold back my own, though I did snicker quite a bit. “This man… is he serious?”

I think he is. Seems we’ve found our guy. I closed my hand around the cube before speaking clearly. “Wade, I require your aid in a possibly world changing matter. Will you help?”

Suddenly a man dressed in blue fell next to me, his face hitting the concrete. I held back a snicker as he got up and brushed himself off, making sure the strange stick on his belt was secure. Once he seemed oriented I introduced myself. “Good, you came. I wasn’t sure if you were going to heed my call. My name is Don. A pleasure to meet you.” I held out a hand, which he was took and shook.

“Pleasure is all mine. You wouldn't believe some of the nutjobs that are out there. It's always nice to get a call from someone relatively normal. So whats up? You said you needed some help on something?”

"Ah yes.” I nodded. “It turns out that a nearby facility is holding something that belongs to me. I already know they would refuse to acknowledge my ownership over it. After all, it has been about three thousand years. That's why I need someone to help me break in. I figure an animorph such as yourself would be perfect for the job of slipping inside and getting the information I need to break in without anyone knowing it was me. Plus, as you already stated, there aren’t many displaced out there who are a bit mental."

“I’m sure you fall under his definition of nutjob.” NIghtmare giggled.

Quiet you. Having multiple personalities doesn’t mean each one is crazy. Besides, you’re one of those personalities so really you are just insulting yourself.

Wade cocked his head. "So you need me to just walk in and ask some questions, make mental notes of skylights and other spy things for you? Do you have any way to bypass any magical based securities? Cause Equestrians may not be big on locks -kinda pointless with unicorns- but they're pretty gung-ho on magic tripwires. I won't be able to spot any of those. Just saying, right off the bat. But I can get information pretty dang easily. Quick question though, whats your Equestria's stance on changelings?"

Changelings? He means that thing we saw being tortured?

“I guess so. Things probably haven’t changed in the past thousand years and you already know my take on the abominations.”

“Changelings aren’t exactly… accepted in this Equestria.” I started. “I haven’t even seen any in my own version, just in others. I suppose that would go against their point though. As for magical alarms, you shouldn’t have to worry. The doors are protected, but there are other ways a man of your talents could get in. Tell me, do you have any forms like a rat or other rodent?”

Before Wade could answer, a loud shout came from the entrance to the alleyway. “Hey you, give me what you- wait, there’s two of you now?!” I turned to see the minotaur who had been mugging the pony earlier standing there. He shook his head before snorting. “Don’t matter. Just means you both need to give me what you got!”

I sighed. “Sorry about this Wade. The princesses of my world are far too busy dealing with nobles to try and deal with the crime rate in cities like this one.”

“And just how are we going to get rid of him?” Nightmare quipped. “It’s not like we can just murder him in front of our new… friend.”

Just knock his head against the wall hard enough to knock him out. We can deal with him after Wade has left. Nightmare did just that, the shadows in the alleyway wrapping around the minotaur’s torso before throwing him into the wall. He dropped like a rock as I made a small show of walking over to him to check his pulse.

“Good, he’s still alive.” I turned back and gave Wade a smile. “I really do apologize for this, but I would be lying if I said this wasn’t the first time I had to deal with the princess’ mistakes.”

Wade shrugged in response surprisingly. "I've been to a bunch of worlds, and they do have a tendency to screw things up. It's like we're all main characters and they just throw away all common sense to become a dramatic antagonist. Even my own versions are kinda... hard to get a bead on. Give me a second." He stooped down to place a hand on the unconscious minotaur’s head. "No sense in letting this opportunity go to waste."

The minotaur stiffened on the ground, before returning to his relaxed slump.

Ah, so that’s how he gains new forms. Interesting.

"In answer to your question however, I do not have any 'animal' morphs," he added air quotes with his fingers just accent his point. "I have a female Big Macintosh, Twilight, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Flutterbat, Sweetiebelle, a random crystal Empire guy, Spike, a black dragon named Onyx and a couple changeling morphs. In addition to altered forms of Dante from Devil May Cry, and Pearl from Steven Universe. If you know any of those people. I haven't really gotten any animals...well..." He seemed at a loss for words for a moment.

"Have you ever tried to catch a squirrel or a bird?" He asked jokingly. "They're darned fast. There’s apparently some sort of crazy big crocodiles or something in the kill-you-dead forest, but I'd prefer to get my morphs from things and or people that aren't trying to eat me. Where are we, by the way? If this is some kind of crappy version of Ponyville, there should be a version of Fluttershy walking around too. If yours is anything like mine, she should have a shitton of animals I could acquire. I just never had a chance because we're keeping the existence of humans a secret."

He paused for a few more seconds before adding. "And I honestly forgot to ask. I might just be horribly lazy on the subject."

I began walking about the alleyway in search of something he could use, speaking as I did so. “Humans aren’t a secret in this world, though having another one appear may set off the princesses further than they already have been. Once you leave the alleyway, I’d suggest changing your appearance. As for where we are, we are in Manehatten.” I rolled my eyes. “And yes, I know the pun of a name is cringe worthy. Ponyville is rather far away and I have no good way of getting us there just to get you a small animal morph. Considering this is a city though…”

Right on cue, a rat slowly peeked his head from a nearby sewer grate. Nightmare was quick to grab the vermin with some shadows before holding it in front of Wade. “Consider this a gift. Even an Overlord needs friends and you seem like a man with a good head on your shoulders. Much unlike the first one to appear in my world.”

"So you're an overlord too?" he asked as he poked the rat, though he seemed hesitant to do so with the condition of its coat. "A little while ago, I met 'The Overlady'.”

I could feel Nightmare snicker at the thought of me being a woman. A thought I was quick to ignore.

“You look a lot more human than she did though. She had black skin, like the ironskin form Greed had in FMA. If you know that series. Was she just special, or do you look abnormal for an overlord?”

Black skin? Well that’s a bit different. I just rose an eyebrow at him.

“Sorry if thats a bit rude, I'm just trying to pass time while I- AGH SON OF A BASTARD, YOU LITTLE SHIT!" he screamed out as the rat bit him, apparently having taken a liking to human flesh.

He took a step back, watching as the rat struggled in the shadow glove. With no further use for the thing, I flung the rat off down alley, it quickly ducking back into the sewer it called home.

"Gah! Little shitstain. I got the morph, though." I watched as he began to morph. His ears grew and slid upwards as coarse thick brown fur sprouted all over his body, his clothes seemingly being absorbed by his skin. The strange stick on his belt merged with his leg, the metal surface becoming just another stretch of flesh. His teeth lengthened, becoming sharpened points as his body shrunk.

Once he was completely rat, he looked up at me and squeaked before I could suddenly hear his voice in my head. <Dammit, stupid rat mouth. Pick me up Don, I don’t want you to spaz out if I try to climb up your leg.>

Woah, that was not what I was expecting.

“I do hope it doesn’t go both ways.” Nightmare muttered as I leaned down and held out my hand. Once he had crawled into my hand, I stood back up.

"I'm guessing you want me to take you to the factory I told you about, right?" I asked the rat sitting in my hand.

Last thing I expected to do is become Fluttershy.

He wriggled around in my hand before climbing up my arm, settling into the folds of cloth near my hood. I guess he was trying to get out of sight.

<You said it was a factory?> he asked, as I moved out of the alleyway and started off toward the factory. As we walked, I stowed the cube that was his token in my pocket. <Are there just going to be workers milling around? Seems kinda a weird of a place to be keeping a supposed artifact of The Overlord...although having said that, that sounds exactly like something the princesses would do. Hide stuff in places no one would expect, I mean.>

“That may have been the idea.” I shrugged. “I’m not sure if it was the princesses who put it in this factory in the first place though. It’s possible some greedy ass hole found the thing and decided to use it for his own purposes.” I turned a street corner, the factory’s chain link fence coming into view.

“In either case you should be alright. If you’ve met an Overlord before, most likely you know what minions look like. If there are any inside, they will be red. Either find them or find the nest, which will probably seem rather out of place in a factory. I’m not sure what it looks like myself, but they tend to be designed based on the minions they spawn. So basically, look for a giant rock that’s on fire.”

I kneeled down next to the fence, feigning my shoe falling off so that I didn’t look too suspicious. This allowed the man turned rat to run down my arm and up to the fence. “Good luck. Just approach the fence when you are done. I’ll be somewhere nearby where I can see you.”

As Wade scurried off into the factory, I made my way back to the alleyway to deal with the minotaur permanently. After all, I couldn't have anyone going around saying a human used magic as that would ruin my cover. I came back just in time to see him pulling himself off the ground.

“Hello there.” I spoke darkly, my face already covered in shadows. I made a fireball in my left hand of which I tossed up and down for show while I also casted my sound dampening spell on the area. “Looks like you’ll have to die my friend. After all, you know too much.”

“H-hey man. I can keep quiet. Ain’t no one need to know abo-” I let the fireball fly, striking him in the muzzle. I rolled around, screaming in pain as he gripped his face. I sucked in air before letting loose a torrent of flame from my mouth, roasting him until I no longer heard him scream. I turned around and halted all my magics, grimacing at the taste the firebreath left in my mouth.

Ugh. Why does fire breath always leave my mouth tasting like ash?

“Not like you needed to use it. Regular fire from your hands would have done.”

Ya, but I was feeling particularly menacing today. I guess tricking some sap into doing our dirty work has got me on a bit of a high.

“I can see why.” Nightmare chuckled. We made our way back to the fence, finding a nearby by building that I could sit around in yet still look out for Wade. After awhile he appeared and I stepped out, kneeling down and pretending to fiddle with my backpack as he spoke.

<Alright, take this as a proximation of the building,> he started, drawing a large rectangle in the dust on the ground, <keeping in mind its parallel to the building itself. Here, along the side that’s closest to us, is a large room where a shitton of minions are being used as day labor. They all have magic collars on, which shock the crap out of them whenever the guards feel like it. The one minion I talked to claimed the Nest was in the center of the building. That being said, he was only sure on the direction, and hadn't actually seen it in 'cycles'. Also, what’s with gryphons, are they like your worlds version of slavers?>

“Not that I know of.” I muttered, extending an arm so that he could climb up onto my shoulder. “I do have one in my service however and she’s rather… violent. I could see gryphons becoming slavers.” I got up and began walking to no place in particular, pondering options. “Now that I know where the minions are, it shouldn’t be hard to find the nest. The problem still lies in me getting to them and the nest without being spotted.”

“Perhaps if we had some kind of distraction.” I hummed in thought at what Nightmare said. “Though what could distract an entire complex of guards and then disappear is beyond me.”

I thought about it for a moment before a grin came to my face, a plan coming together in my mind.

* * *

The plan turned out to be rather simple. Wade would distract the guards from the opposite side of the building using one of his many forms while I slipped in and freed my minions. From there, it would be child’s play to find the nest, the little pyromaniacs leading me right to it. And if anyone was still left on my side of the factory, well… let’s just say the minions weren’t the only one feeling pyromaniacal.

I watched by the fence as a guard ran up to the ones by the fence and said something to them before they all ran off. Perfect. He’s doing his job well, I must admit.

“For the moment. Who knows how long he can keep it up. We should move.” I nodded before heading to the fence. I double checked the darkened streets around me for any people only to find none. I placed a hand against the fence and the metal began to glow as I heated it. Wasn’t long before I had melted a hole large enough for me to step through.

As I walked up to the door, I let loose a fireball, exploding the door and its magical tripwires. Well they know we are here now.

“Couldn’t be avoided.”

True. Anyway, let’s find those minions. I walked casually through the halls of the factory, finding no one at all to oppose me until I reached the room where my red minions were being kept. I blasted open that door as well to find two gryphons standing there, gawking at my entrance. I smirked under the shadows of my hood as I walked toward them.

“I believe you have something that belongs to me.” I stated darkly. One gryphon looked about ready to run (not that he would get far) but the other managed to stand defiant.

“Belong to you? Ya right. These things are property of Wheat Thin. You better scram before-hrk!” He was quickly shut up as a clawed hand made of shadows grabbed him, squeezing him before tossing him head first into the wall. There was a sickening crack as he landed and he moved no more.

The other gryphon saw this and flew for it to the nearest door but soon found his wings to be lacking feathers as I burned them off. He fell to the ground, writhing in agony before I walked over and put my foot on the back of his throat. A bolt of lightning to the back of the head and he was done for.

“Woo hoo! Kill! Burn! All hail the Overlord!” The minions cheered as I stepped over to them. Night was quick to rip the harnesses on them off, and with that I had about two dozen minions under my command.

“Bring me to the nest.” I commanded, and they were quick to obey, heading toward a door in a wave of little terror.

* * *

Silver Stream, a guard for the factory, had heard the commotion on the opposite side of the factory but had seen many of his fellow workers heading there so he decided it would be best to continue his own patrol pattern. After all, what if there was another intruder?

Turns out his intuition was right as the gem strapped to his belt suddenly pulsed red, indicating someone else had set of a magical tripwire. He ran toward the direction of the new intruder, his gem pulsing every once in awhile to alert him where he had moved to. It had seem the intruder had passed through the creature holding cell, and now was moving toward the heart of the factory.

He moved to cut off the intruder on a hallway he was sure the intruder would come down. Just as he made it, he saw the creatures moving down said hall, free and chanting. Silver Stream was about to move to recapture them when something else came down the hall. It stood tall like a minotaur, only its body wasn’t so top heavy and without horns. It covered itself in a cloak, the hood hiding its face. Its glowing orange eyes turned to look at Silver Stream, who stood there agape in fear.

The new creature just stood there, staring at the pegasus before pointing a hand at him, glowing with magic. Silver Stream quickly turned to run, needing to warn the others. It was too late though as the entire hall he was in was suddenly engulfed in flame. And Silver Stream was no more.

* * *

As I wandered the halls after the minions, we came across a few guards who had apparently decided Wade wasn’t worth running after. I promptly torched them all. And the funny thing was, I didn’t even feel tired from all the magic I just let off.

“The red nest must be rather powerful if you are capable of such things before even claiming it.”

Well it is the fire nest. According to Gnarl, that property makes it the one with the most energy. I torched another guard who tried to attack me, the flesh on his body melting under the extreme heat. If this is what I get from being near it, I can’t wait to see what happens when I connect it to the fortress’ heart.

A large door soon stood in our way, an easy thing to remedy. Fire solves many problems after all. The room we entered was large, the nest standing on some kind of strange pedestal in the center. I could see it syphoning magic from the nest and growled.

“Get that thing off of there.” I commanded, the minions quick to obey as they picked up the nest. I heard the door opposite of the one I had blasted slide open and close. Turned out to be a female dragon, who seemed to be trying her best to keep the door shut by welding it with her fire breath. She turned and looked at my minions and I before saying “Oh… hi. Rather hostile employee dissertation, wouldn’t you say?” alluding to it being our shapeshifting ally.

“He… I mean she… that lead the guards here. We don’t have much time.” Nightmare stated as I moved toward one side of the room while waving Wade over.

“Glad you are here. We have the nest and the minions, but now comes the escape. There’s a sewer line running underneath this place.” Nightmare lifted me off the ground using shadows as I let loose a powerful blast of fire straight into the ground below me. The result was the beginnings of a tunnel wide enough for the nest to be dropped into. “We just need to reach it.”

"Got it," he said, making his way to the hole. He quickly tore at the sides of the hole, widening it past its original width. Once it was about twice as big, he climbed back up the newly made tunnel and made his way over to the nest the minions were currently holding. "Move it small fry, I can carry it faster than you," Wade jibed, the minions not taking too kindly to the insult and refusing to move.

“You heard him.” I commanded. “Let him carry it out. All of you should get down the tunnel immediately.” The minions were quick to obey, dropping the nest and leaping down the hole, some doing flips as they cheered. I glanced up at the welded door to see the metal stretching under the force of the guards behind it.

“Come on Wade. We need to move!”

He hoisted the nest onto his back, staggering somewhat before I turned and leapt down the hole. I looked up to see Wade jump in after me as he let loose a gout of fire upon the ceiling above. I rolled to the side so that he had a clear landing site, a loud crash echoing from above. He readjusted the nest on his back before turning to me. "Let’s see them do some dirty work for themselves for once, huh? If they want this so badly, they can very well dig for it."

I nodded with a smile before waving my hand over my minions, the gesture immediately gathering their attentions before I pointed down the sewer tunnel. Once they were grouped up and marching ahead, Wade and I walked after them.

* * *

Zecora approached the outskirts of the city before stopping and reaching into her cloak. She pulled out a gem filled with black energy and held it out. Soon the gem picked itself up out of her hoof, spinning in the air like a compass needle before resting in a direction to Zecora’s immediate right.

She looked that way to see sewage being poured into the water below from large tunnels. She quickly stowed away the gem before walking toward the place.

“You there! Halt!” Zecora stopped, glancing toward the sound just enough so she could see out of the hood. A dozen ponies stood there, some wielding weapons while others just snarled. The stallion at the front took a step forward. “You, servant of the dark one, shall go no further. You may not be able to control your own actions, but that does not mean we will allow them to continue.”

“You assume my mind is weak. You would do well to not misspeak. I serve my master because he is strong, so at his side is where I belong. Attempt to stand within my path, and you will surely incur my wrath.”

The stallion staggered back at this admission before growling. “You serve him by choice?! What sort of monster are you?”

Zecora chuckled darkly, turning toward the group of ponies. “A monster, a nightmare, a fright am I. A children’s tale that makes them cry. But unlike some stories, this one is true.” Before the stallion could react, Zecora was right in front of him, her hoof inside his chest as blood dribbled down the corner of his mouth. “A shame my story just happened to include you.” The stallion’s eyes faltered before he fell to the side, dead. The other ponies gawked at Zecora as she casually wiped the blood from her hoof on the dead pony’s coat.

“Kill her!” One of the mob called out. They all leapt at her, some yelling out a battle cry. Zecora looked up at the approaching group before widening her stance and jumping into the fray.

* * *

It took a decent amount of walking but we managed to finally find the exit to the place. I took a breath of fresh air as we stepped outside, grateful to be out of that disgusting tunnel.

Good thing we got the reds now.

“Oh? And why is that?”

Means I can have them burn these clothes later. I turned to Wade and watched as he let down the nest, letting out a huff of exhaustion. “You’ve done me a great service my friend. Should you need some help in your own world, I’ll be glad to assist you.”

"Have to say, I'm glad I finally found another guy who's actually normal. It'll be nice to have someone new I can rely on. Do you have a token yet?" Out of nowhere my broken dagger appeared, slamming into Wade’s face, even managing to scrape off a few scales. Nightmare chuckled at his bad luck as I heard a few voices call from the side.

“Milord!”

“Master!”

I turned to see the Flim Flam brothers and Zecora of all ponies running up to us. “Wow.” Nightmare stated shockingly. “You couldn’t write better timing than that for your gatekeeper to show up.”

Hey, if anything the multiverse owes me some luck after sending that fucker Jason here.

“OH GOD PLEASE DON’T RAPE ME!” Came from Wade as he suddenly cowered behind me. You could practically feel everyone, even the minions, giving him a strange look.

Nightmare sighed. “How did this even manage to not screw up the plan?”

The world may never know. “Wade, relax. These are a couple ponies who serve me. Well, one’s a zebra but close enough.”

He stared long and hard at Zecora before speaking. "I...sorry...I've just had...a really bad experience with an anthro version of her from a world where everyone is in heat, all the time. Even the males. That being said, watch out for a token that looks like a golden banana, and be wary of any Displaced trying to summon you that sounds like a stereotypical surfer guy. Trust me, you don't want to be in this guys world, he basically has Discord’s powers. Then there’s the matter of-NYEAGH," He yelped at Zecora as she took a step forward. "Stop that, please. I know you aren't her...but..." he trailed off, apparently out of things to say.

A world where they are in perma-heat?! I felt a shiver go down my spine just thinking about it. “Okay, ya. I can see where you are coming from there. Let’s just say being a stallion with no pheromone tolerance sucks.” I looked at Zecora as I pointed a thumb behind me. “Go open a portal and get the nest where it needs to go. Just… go around Wade.” She nodded before walking around us, giving Wade a wide berth. He breathed a sigh of relief once she was out of sight.

"Can you...apologize to her once I'm gone? Cause I don't think I can honestly speak towards her without squeaking in fear." He leaned in close, and whispered, "I know she's probably evil, given your title, but if she's not a raging bitch I'd still like her to know that I am actually sorry for my behavior," he leaned back, speaking once more at a normal level. "It isn't her fault another version of her left a bad impression on me. But enough about her, please do introduce me to your friends," he motioned to the brothers.

“Oh, those two are Flim and Flam. They make machines which is kind of rare at least in this Equestria. They also are the ones who made sure I didn’t completely die when the first, what did you call them? Displaced, ya that’s it, when the first Displaced I encountered showed up and tried to kill me.”

He leaned in close again, lowering his voice to a whisper once more. "Lemme guess, the asshat found out you weren't actually evil, and took offense to the fact that you didn't follow his ideals," I returned to a normal tone of voice before looking at the brothers. "But you obviously kicked his ass and sent him packing, I mean, you are the one standing here, letting the world know you're an unbeatable badass, right?"

“Quite the opposite.” Nightmare giggled.

Hey! Jason’s getting what’s coming to him! We’re just gonna gut the princesses first.

“More like he threatened to tell the princesses on me, which in my current state would have most likely gotten me killed or made into a statue. I told him to leave or I would have to kill him. He chose to fight me and the place we were in fell apart on my leg.” I shifted my weight onto my right leg, the metal creaking somewhat as I did. “After that I tried to grab his shapeshifting device, which was some kind of weird watch, before a flash of energy caused me to end up in this city. I can only assume Jason got sent back home.”

I quickly added. “Also, there’s a fair warning for you. If you find a totem that looks like a soda can with green circuit lines on it, don’t touch it.” I then muttered. “Seeks to understand all forms of life my ass.”

"Did his watch have...what looked like an hourglass insignia on it?" he asked.

Huh, I guess it did. Wait… how does he know that?! I turned and glared at him only to see him flinch under my gaze.

“Hang on Don.” Nightmare held me back. “It seems these Displaced all gain powers from forms of media from your world. Isn’t it reasonable to suggest he might have just heard about wherever Jason’s watch came from rather than he actually knows him? After all, he did already say he was friends with another Overlord, or rather Overlady.”

I thought about it for a moment before speaking. "Why...yes. I would have to say it did," I grumbled. He stared at me for a couple seconds, before speaking again.

"Great. There’s a Ben Ten Displaced out there, who's apparently an utter ponce. Wonderful. As if our life wasn't hard enough. Why not make it so everyone has Discord's powers?" He asked apparently no one as he yelled at the sky with his claws thrown in the air. "Maybe make it so everyone is just a copy of Celestia's ass while you're at it. That at least would piss me off slightly less."

I snickered at the thought. “So have everyone be literally a horse’s ass? Guess it can’t get much worse than Celestia’s pasty white behind.” I glanced behind me to see the minions moving the nest into a portal Zecora was maintaining. “Well it looks like we’re just about done here. Best you leave before they figure out how we escaped. Don’t hesitate to call me up though if you need it.”

"I...uh...don't really control when I return," he said sheepishly, returning to his normal human self. "I just sorta rubber band back whenever the-" Suddenly the ground seemed to devour him, leaving me standing there somewhat shocked at his sudden departure. I shook my head before turning to the portal, darkly chuckling.

“What a complete and utter moron.”

And... back to waiting

View Online

Luna walked down the hall of Canterlot Castle, humming to herself as she smiled. Things had been going great with Astra in her head. The other mind helped her greatly in all things and more often than not was more organized than she was.

“Ah, there you are Luna.” A low voice spoke as Luna passed an intersection. From her left came Baron Jafar Macaw, one of the many leaders of the land collectively called Saddle Arabia. He, along with the other kings, barons, and dictators were here discussing peace with Celestia as a moderator for the discussion.

Astra had taken no pleasure in dealing with them during the first meeting today, declaring them all to be “selfish, arrogant bastards with no care for the ponies they ruled.” Luna rather agreed, though not as strongly. She decided it would be quicker to just deal with the stallion and whatever he sought to gain before heading to sleep for the night.

“What is it Baron?”

He chuckled. “Now now, I thought we were beyond simple titles. Please just call me Jafar.”

“This stallion is just asking for a hoof to his manhood.” Astra hissed within Luna’s mind.

“I will keep to calling you Baron for now. I prefer to be professional with foreign diplomats.”

“Well I’m not here to be ‘professional’. I believe the only ones who make what I am suggesting a profession are whores.”

Luna took a step back in shock as Astra practically boiled over in rage. “HE DARES?!?!”

“I… er, I must decline your offer.” Luna awkwardly spoke. Jafar quickly went from suave to creepy as a ring dropped down on Luna’s horn. She gasped as she felt her magic being cut off.

“I wasn’t offering.” He spoke, his magic wrapping around her ankles as she was forced to the ground. He walked around Luna, his eyes taking in her body. Luna felt him lean on her back, something pressing against her nethers.

Than… she snapped, along with the ring as Astra fueled their combined actions with rage and fury. The shadows that filled the halls at this time of night writhed and twisted, wrapping around Jafar’s neck and slamming him against the wall. Luna’s fur seemed to darken as her eyes became sapphire slits. She turned to glare at the stallion, his suave, dominant personality now in shambles as he looked into the eyes of a nightmare.

“You dared to try to take what isn’t yours?” Luna and Astra both spoke in tandem, their minds synced by their hatred for the Baron. “How weak did you believe I was?”

“I… can’t…” He gasped, the tendrils tightening around his neck.

“Aww, can’t breathe?” She chuckled darkly. “Perhaps we should show you just what punishment your crimes deserve!” Four more tendrils wrapped around each of his legs before he began to be pulled in all directions. The combined mares just watched with a sharp toothed grin as his limbs and head were torn off, blood coating the floors and walls.

Luna suddenly seemed to realize what had just happened and froze, agape at the bloodshed she had just committed. “I… w-we…” Luna ran off, more afraid of what else she might do than getting caught.

* * *

The remainder of fall and on into winter turned out to be a sort of hibernation for me. Only time I really stepped out was when that Dr. Animo called from Jason’s world. Jason had escaped (of course) but apparently had brutally murdered someone. That meant he had a weakness, one that I could exploit when the time came. Of course, first I needed to deal with the princesses. After all, I should have everything secure back home before I look out to other places.

With no news on the remaining nests and nothing better to do, I spent all my time in the nether world. During that time, Flim and Flam’s “rebirth” was done. I headed down to meet them as they were just pulling themselves shakily from the vats of ooze I had left them in.

Flim and Flam continued to look rather similar, their coat and mane colors darkening a few shades. Their cutie marks were replaced as well. Instead of two parts of a whole apple they each had a picture of half a diseased heart, the other half replaced by some sort of machinery. Each of their cutie marks were opposite in that Flim’s left half was the actual heart, while Flam’s right half was the same.

“Ah good. Neither of you died due to the rebirth.” They all noticed me standing there and did a quick bow before continuing to clean themselves off. “Any complaints?”

“Of course not sire.” Flim shmoozed as his brother added, “Any gift of yours would be perfect in every aspect.”

I rolled my eyes before continuing. “I’ve given you a space to live in and have already had all of your machines moved there. Your first job,” I pulled out a shard of metal armor I had found while in Jason’s world on some corpse“is to figure out what kind of metal this is and how to replicate it.” The shard left my hand as it was picked up in a sickly green aura that was Flim’s magic.

“We’ll get right on it sire.” He bowed.

“Good. Also, if you feel a renaming of yourself is in order then go ahead. The other two lieutenants have done so, feeling that a new life and body demanded it.”

The brothers murmured to each other before looking back. Flim put a hoof to his chest. “Arzu.”

Flam did the same. “And Azizos.”

“At your service, milord.” They both bowed.

“Well at least their names are actually creative.” Nightmare spoke.

“Very well. Arzu, Azizos, get to work in your lab on the bottom floor.” The brothers gave me a bow before hurrying off.

“We’ve gathered quite the group of misfits, haven’t we?”

Indeed. Let’s hope that doesn’t cause any sort of problems.

“With the way you have… oh, what’s the word you used… programmed! The way you programmed their minds should make it that you can settle any disputes easily.”

True, but that doesn’t exactly solve the problems between the lieutenants. Just gets them to stop acting like spoiled brats.

“Well that’s inevitable with the kind of people you are taking into your ranks.” I just sighed before teleporting to a cave in the stone walls surrounding the fortress. I had made the incredibly warm alcove into a hatchery of sorts for Animo’s gift: changeling eggs modified so that they serve whoever hatches them. They also were asexual, using stingers to implant eggs in their victims. Useful if not a tad disgusting, but a welcome payment for what I left him with nonetheless.

The eggs had already hatched, and the changelings that came out completely loyal to me. At the moment they were nothing more than foals but they were growing quickly. When they saw me, they all came running up, eager to start another “lesson”.

I reached out my hand as I focused on what I wanted transferred into their minds. Combat skills, magical ability, even how to shapeshift thanks to Nightmare’s knowledge of the bug ponies. I had been doing this ever since they hatched and so far it was showing promise. The changelings would often fight each other in their spare time, using the skills I had implanted into them.

Once I was done I pulled my hand away, their eyes opening once again. The only side effect of what I had been doing to them was a change in the coloration of their magic and eyes. They were now a dull red, giving them an obvious distinction from other changelings. I watched as they tested the new knowledge I gave them, shapeshifting into a few forms in a flurry of red fire, before I teleported back to my quarters.

Nightmare and I pulled my armor off and stowed it, a habit we had formed after having spent so long here. Once I had changed into a long sleeve shirt and pants, I transported down to the forge. I let out a relaxing sigh before I began blacksmithing. It had become something of a relaxation hobby for me ever since Gnarl had taught me the basics. It was kind of nice to just forget about the whole “take over Equestria” thing for a few hours and just hammer away at something, slowly crafting what was no more than molten slag into something useful.

Nightmare’s giggling interrupted my train of thought. When no one else was around, I had gotten used to just speaking to her out loud. “And what’s so funny?”

“I just found it humorous that of all the people in Equestria to enjoy a relaxing day at home with a nice hobby, the last person I would imagine it being would be you.”

I shrugged before continuing to work. “Ya, well I guess I’m not your typical Overlord. I’ve known that for awhile.”

“And just what makes you so different, hm?”

“Well, most Overlords, at least according to Gnarl, were the definition of lazy bastards. They let their minions do just about everything for them, themselves learning only basic combat and magic. They were nothing more than a commander and a giant, psychopath of a guy in lots of armor.”

“I see… and they never changed their approach until you?”

“There were differences in armor design, where they held their dark domain, the source of their magical spells, things like that, but it was always some guy in armor throwing minions at all of his problems.”

“I can see why you chose not to take that approach. Celestia would have surely flattened you.”

“You’ve got that right. Where the other Overlord would have murdered and pillaged right off the bat, I knew that adaptation was the key to not dying, or at the very least not becoming a statue in the royal gardens. I made myself more powerful since I couldn’t have a wall of minions blocking my enemies. I chose a different fighting style, one that I could use even if I was caught without my armor. I kept all of my assets here, in the one place the princesses can not reach, allowing them to grow until the time comes to take them down.”

“Wasn’t the other Overlord successful though, despite their lack of subtlety?”

“Ya, but that was because the situation he was in fit his murderous style. Equestria was at a time of peace unlike any other. There was literally no war, no need for armies, and the ones they had were inexperienced and poorly commanded. They couldn’t hold up to his forces.”

Nightmare hummed in thought, the sound of metal clangs being the only thing heard as I continued to work.

* * *

Snowflake Bastion stood in front of the gate to a factory in Manehatten. The doors to said factory were right now covered in police tape, guard ponies milling about as they surveyed the scene. She knew they wouldn’t find anything though. The dark one had proven to be harder to track than originally thought.

She had been tracking the creature and the zebra under his thrall for a few weeks before the trail went cold in a cave system. There was evidence of an attempted portal but otherwise nothing. It was as if the dark one had teleported far beyond what he should have been capable of.

Wasn’t long though before she came across a new rumor: sounds like explosions and battle being heard within the Everfree. She was quick to jump on this possible lead, ignoring the natural fear the forest seemed to cast on all who looked upon it. She found an old castle with signs of new damage, half of the building completely collapsed. Amongst the rubble she had found blood stains and nearby signs of a massive amount of energy being released but nothing to point her to the Overlord.

That is, until she saw the single set of hoof tracks walking away from the rubble.

She followed them over who knows how many miles, tracking the pony’s movements to the far northeast. Eventually Bastion reached Manehatten, and though the trail ran cold once more, it seems the dark one had been busy in the city.

That was why she now stood in front of this disgusting place. A monument to those who would do anything to fulfill their greed. She scowled as she saw the owner of the factory yelling at the guard.

“And I don’t care how long it takes! I want you to find whoever was responsible for this and put them away for the rest of their lives. The artifact they stole has personal value to me and I will see it returned!”

The guard quickly darted off, no doubt to relay what the stallion said. Said pony turned to see Bastion, putting on what she knew was an awful stallion’s ‘sexy face’ as he walked up.

“Well hello there beautiful. You don’t need to worry about the criminals. Wheat Thin’s got the guard on the case. Course, until they find them you are welcome to sleep with me so you feel secure.”

Bastion just stared at him blankly. “Are you aware just what your actions may have done to influence the good ponies of Equestria?”

He rubbed a hoof against his chest. “Oh I know, but when you are a saint like me you gotta spread it around.” Bastion growled, one of her wings flaring out. A set of blades folded out along the leading edge of said wing, which she quickly pressed the tip of against Wheat Thin’s throat.

“Because you hid the artifact that was stolen, you may have doomed all of Equestria to an evil the likes we have not seen in thousands of years. And for what? Money? Was all that money you were making worth the lives of every pony that was lost in the attack on your factory? What about the many more that will surely follow?”

Wheat Thin stood there agape. Whether it was due to the metal pressed against his neck or what Bastion had just told him it didn’t matter to her. “In recompense of such sinful actions, I demand that you allow me to examine the scene for traces of where my prey has gone. And do think carefully. Any sort of disagreement with such terms may cause me such shock as to slip my blade deeper into your neck.”

Wheat Thin gulped, visibly sweating. “S-sure thing sweetheart. Whatever you want.” Bastion humphed in reply, pulling her wing back as the blades slid back in between her feathers. It was as if nothing was there. She walked past the still shaking stallion, heading toward the crime scene with determination in her eyes.

* * *

Spring had just arrived, not that it made much of a difference in the nether world. Here it was always warm since lava was a common thing.

My changelings had grown to the size of full grown ponies in a matter of weeks. They were agile, deadly, and had little thought other than serving me. They were definitely a cut above regular minions as far as skill, though their method of reproduction certainly did not make them a more viable option for an army. I instead settled to make them an elite guard of sorts, their shapeshifting abilities making it that I could even bring them into the field.

So far there had been no word from my lieutenants out in the field. Arzu and Azizos had done little but tinker the entire time, though they had called me down today to show me something. I was now in the brother’s lab as they worked to attach a new version of my leg.

“So what’s so different about this one? All I can tell is the metal is slightly darker.”

“This leg,” Arzu started “Is a new kind of metal we created while studying the shard you gave us. It isn’t a replica, but we managed to create an alloy that matches it in strength and durability. Also, we’ve added something into it we think you’ll like, given your stealthy nature sire.” He took a step back, allowing me to stand back up. I gave the leg an experimental bending, making sure it worked just like the old one.

“The first thing we added are these runes you see here.” Azizos waved a hoof over the inner calf of the leg. “These have a simple enchantment in them that will make your leg appear as a mirror of the other one. We imagine it would be rather difficult to explain to those you know how you lost a leg.” I nodded before sending a small spark of magic to the runes, causing my leg to phase out before looking like flesh again. Another spark and the leg changed back.

“Our second modification is that we’ve placed a spring launcher in the ankle. Here, you can store your dagger and should anytime you need it, just give it a bit of magic and it will launch itself within reach.” I did just that, watching the plates on my outer ankle open up before my dagger shot out, ceasing accent right around my torso. I grabbed it out of the air before looking over the blade for any signs of damage the brother’s mechanism might have caused. Surprisingly, there was none.

“These two have impressed me.” Nightmare complimented. “They have turned what would have been a crippling blow to any normal warrior and made it a huge boon for us.”

I nodded before opening the ankle slot back up and sliding the dagger in, a faint click being heard as it held inside. The plate closed, the small seams being the only indication that there was anything there. I turned to the brothers who seemed to be somewhere between scared and excited.

“Very nice work.” The two seemed ecstatic as such a simple compliment. Thankfully, any more ass kissing was interrupted as Talon flew in.

“Hey boss. We think we’ve figured out where the next nest is. Thing is, you aren’t going to like it.”

I saw the Bride naked

View Online

Zecora and I stood at the edge of Canterlot, two guards standing before us as they checked us for… something. All I know is that there was a threat against the city and now they had a giant purple shield surrounding the entire thing. Whatever the guards were looking for they didn’t find, taping on the shield with a hoof before an opening was created.

“Watch out for any trouble you two.” The guard said as we entered. Course, the only reason I chose to enter the legit way was because suddenly appearing in Celestia and Luna’s domain would have been suspicious. I did however send my new elite guard to go through the caverns below Canterlot mountain and find a way inside.

I bet you are all wondering just how crazy I was to enter Canterlot, and you’d be right to say I was. Thing is, when Talon said the green nest was somewhere I wouldn’t like, she meant it. Turns out Celestia had found it decades ago and stored it in her vault, probably the most difficult place in existence to break into discreetly.

“And here we are, trying to do just that.” Nightmare muttered. I had to admit, I was skeptical of how I was going to get it out myself, especially while Canterlot is under high alert. I honestly thought it couldn’t get worse.

Of course things then got worse as a pink ball of fur suddenly filled my face.

“Donny! It’s you! Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, I’m so happy!” Pinkie Pie chanted as she held onto my face.

Can’t… breathe… Thankfully a light blue aura was quick to pull Pinkie off before I lost consciousness.

“Pinkie! We’re all happy to see him, but you should be careful!” Rarity chided the energetic mare. Course, just as she said this another speeding object came at me, spinning around with a rainbow trail and throwing me off balance. I found myself landing on a strong back of an earth pony.

“Thanks Applejack.” She nodded in return, raising a hoof up to me that I met with a fist. Once I was up and off of her, Rainbow slowed down enough to greet me.

“Don! Why the heck are you in Canterlot? Don’t tell me you actually came for the wedding?”

“Wedding? Nah, Zecora and I were just visiting. This was along the way to our actual destination and we decided to stop and say hi.” I could feel Nightmare begin to grumble.

“The element bearers.” She growled. “If we were not in a place that I’m sure their deaths would go noticed, they wouldn’t be standing right now!”

Good to know. Don’t meet Twilight and her friends in a dark alley. I gave the group of mares a smile, brushing the dust off my nice guy act. “Hey everyone? Where’s Twilight and Fluttershy?”

The mares seemed to flinch at the names of their friends but Rainbow Dash spoke up. “Well Twilight I think went to talk to her brother about not telling her he was engaged. Fluttershy though…” The mares turned back toward the train station they had come out of as the mare in question walked out, Big Mac right next to her. I barely noticed the big guy’s presence though as I rubbed my eyes, trying to make sure what I was seeing was true.

Fluttershy’s wings were gone.

Well, I say gone, but really what was left could not be counted as wings. They were nothing but stubs, alluding to just what the pegasus’ saddened mood was about. I could feel that small part of me I had buried in Ponyville long ago return, twisting my stomach.

“Wha… what happened?” I managed while I felt Nightmare giving me the mental equivalent of a strange look.

“She-” Rainbow was interrupted by Rarity raising a hoof.

“Now is not the time. We can inform Don on what happened later. For now we should head to the castle.” I noticed Big Mac give Fluttershy a small nuzzle, another mystery suddenly solved. Wait… is that why Fluttershy stopped chasing me that last heat day?! And then the day after, Big Mac had me do his chores so he could go off and… I facepalmed. Wow, I am blind as a bat.

“Come along everypony.” Rarity called out as they gathered their bags. “We shant keep the princesses waiting.” I watched as they headed toward the castle.

You know, despite now having to dance around these mares with my nice guy routine, they might be just what we need to get into the castle.

“What?! Are you mad?”

Just think about it. If we go with them, the princesses will likely set us up with a room along with them so that we can catch up. That’s just the kind of ponies they are: too nice for their own good.

“Hmmm…. good point, though I still don’t like having be around those usurpers.”

You learn to deal with them after a year or so. I walked after the ponies, Zecora right behind me as we all headed to the castle.

* * *

Just as I had predicted, the princesses couldn’t help but be happy at my appearance and gave Zecora and I rooms along with the other ponies. I was left with little to do at that point as I wandered the castle. Eventually though I ran into something interesting. A pink alicorn with a crystal heart on her butt.

So this is the third alicorn I’ve heard of. Doesn’t seem to scale up to the other two, does she?

“No. In case you have forgotten Gnarl’s lessons once again, this is Cadence, the alicorn of love.”

Love? Sweet Faust, she sounds like some kind of horrible children’s toy. I sighed before giving the alicorn a small smile. “Hello there. I don’t believe we’ve met. I’m Don.” The alicorn looked over me with a gaze that screamed pompous before putting her nose in the air and walking off.

If she’s the princess of love, than I bet the princess of hatred is just a joy to be around.

“Odd. One would think she would act her part like the element bearers do.”

Eh, whatever. She doesn’t seem nearly as powerful as Celestia and Luna. If she gets in the way, she’ll be wiped out. And thus my bored walk continued until I came upon the gardens. There I found Fluttershy and Big Mac, sitting together on a bench. Big Mac noticed my approach and got up to meet me, saying something to Fluttershy before doing so. I gave Mac a hoof bump similar to her sister before grinning.

“So… you and Fluttershy huh? If you wanted to get out of chores to go on a date with her, all you had to do was ask.”

Big Mac blushed before shaking his head. “I just didn’t want you thinking the two of us did anything the day before.”

“Hey, what you do with her is your business, not mine. I just want to know what happened with… you know.” Big Mac quickly took on a sad look before glancing back at Fluttershy. She seemed to be content talking with a few birds that had sat down next to her. Big Mac nodded toward another part of the gardens away from Fluttershy and the two of us began walking.

“From what we can tell, it all started with Fluttershy’s little bunny friend. You remember him?”

Ah yes. The evil rabbit of destruction. Still sounds like a tv gag. “Ya. What does he got to do with…” I suddenly realized what happened and it felt like a punch in the gut. Big Mac didn’t seem to notice though as he gave me the details.

“The little feller for some reason ran off into the Everfree, right into a cragidile as a matter of fact. Never stood a chance. Thing is, Fluttershy ran in after him, and the same beast got a good clamp down on her wings. She managed to get away just the same though.” He looked down at the ground. “I found her first and… the look on her face along with the way here wings were… I don’t think I’ll ever get it out of my head.”

Nightmare hummed in thought. “So wait. That means that because you taught the rabbit the meaning of preparation, not only did you cripple Kindness, but you also got him killed?” I just nodded, not really sure what to say.

Good… such bloodshed, such pain...

I shook my head, a feeling of nausea coming over me as those thoughts rang out through my head. I felt a nudge from Nightmare. “Don, what’s wrong? You are acting rather strange and I can not determine the source.”

It’s nothing. I took a deep breath. I just… need some air.

“But we are outside.”

I ignored her, giving Big Mac a wave as I walked away. “Thanks for telling me, but I think I need to be alone with my thoughts for a bit.” He didn’t respond in any way from what I could tell. Before I made it back inside, I felt the tug of my own magic.

That’s coming from my elite guard. Just what could they want? I moved to the side, finding a secluded area in the gardens before transporting. I soon found myself in a cavern filled with crystals. In front of me were the six changelings, all of them bowing in sync as I appeared.

“My liege.” A changeling took a step forward. “We found an exit to the caves within Canterlot just as you asked.”

I grumbled. “So why have you summoned me then?”

“We found something else as well. A pony, an alicorn nonetheless. It seems she has been trapped down here for days.” I rose an eyebrow at this before motioning for them to lead the way.

“Did she see you?” I asked as we walked.

“Yes, and we were about to kill her as per your orders, but she didn’t seem surprised that she saw changelings in the caves. She demanded for us to release her, claiming that ‘our queen’ would not succeed in her plan.”

“Your queen? You mean there are other changelings here?”

“That is a likely possibility. It would perhaps be most useful if you made yourself appear as one of us before we see her.” I nodded as Nightmare pulled the shadows around us, creating an illusion of another changeling where I was standing. We turned the corner to reveal Princess Cadence behind a crystal wall, only she was nowhere close to the same one I had seen. This one looked like a wreck, her mane and fur matted and stained. The sound of her stomach growling could be heard from where I stood.

Cadence looked up at us before snarling. “Why did you come back, you fiends? Hasn’t your queen done enough?”

So it’s true.

“Either that or she is lying.”

In her condition, what does she have to gain with lies? I looked her over before turning around and leaving, the others following right behind. Nightmare released the illusion as I thought.

So, let’s assume she is telling the truth. That would mean a changeling queen locked her away in here, all the while another Cadence is up above acting rather unlike a princess of love.

“She could just be nervous about the wedding.”

Nervous is one thing, but she was an absolute bitch. Now, if we are assuming that the changeling queen is disguised as Cadence, than the threat against Canterlot suddenly makes sense.

“And that would mean the guards were checking to see if we were changelings in disguise.”

Exactly. The queen’s here for an invasion, and she’s sitting in the perfect place to change things behind the scenes.

“Perhaps her position and intentions can be used to our advantage.”

Hmm… you have a point. During an invasion, things will be chaotic, Celestia too distracted to check on the vault. If we can convince the queen to attack the vault, perhaps even join us…

“Though you know my stance on changelings is clear, using them as pawns is something I am fine with allowing.”

Glad to know you won’t be swinging a giant fly swatter everytime I speak to one. Anyway, even if we can’t convince her, an invasion may prove to be the perfect time to have Blueblood disappear.

“Ah yes. Only the changelings will be to blame.”

I grinned as the plan slowly fell into place. I looked at the six changelings, standing tall and awaiting my word. “Get into Canterlot and disguise yourself amongst the populace. If possible, find a way into the wedding. Chances are the queen will choose than to strike.”

“My liege.” The changelings spoke and bowed in unison before flying off. I teleported back to the gardens and walked inside the castle, a grin still plastered to my face.

Now, shall we give a second introduction to the fair Princess Cadence?

* * *

I made my way to the ‘princess’’ room before knocking on the door. It was answered by a pony with an odd blank look to him. “The princess does not want to be disturbed. Please come again another time.”

Alright, we do this the hard way. I cast my sound dampening spell on the area before sticking my foot in the door. I quickly threw the door back, slamming the forehead of the pony as I walked in. I shut the door behind me just as I felt magic shot at me, a barrier of shadows flying up to meet it. I looked through the translucent barrier to see the pony on the floor, the princess’ horn glowing green as she stood ready to fight on the bed.

“I’ll have you know that attempted assassination of a princess is a crime I will not let go unpunished.” She growled.

I just chuckled before replying. “In there lies the problem though. You see, I’m not attempting to assassinate anyone. Also, you aren’t a princess, but a queen.” She looked at me in shock before growling and firing off a wave of bolts. Each one slammed into my shield with little done, though Nightmare grunted under each one’s force.

“Would you kindly hurry up with the diplomacy?”

“Now now,” I started. “There is no reason for such violence. I’m here to give you an offer that I believe you will be rather interested in.”

She rose an eyebrow at me before turning to the pony. “Close the blinds.” The pony got up and did as he was asked, though with magic an earth pony like himself should not be able to use. Once the room was dark, the pony disappeared in a flash of green, revealing a changeling. Cadence did the same, becoming a changeling that could rival Celestia in height. I noticed neither of them had stingers like the changelings I had, alluding to the differences in the two worlds. “There. We have removed our masks. I assume you will remove yours?”

“But of course.” The shield dropped as my leg revealed its true form. I allowed my magic to flow through my body, my eyes beginning to glow as I did. “In case it was not obvious, I am not the weak, pathetic human you might have heard of. I am Dominus the Overlord.”

“I am Queen Chrysalis, ruler of all the changelings.” She looked over me with a curious gaze before asking “You are not the same Overlord that fought the races of this world three thousand years ago, are you?”

I rose an eyebrow. “You know the old story?”

She chuckled. “Know the old story. Ha! I lived it. I was one of many queens back then who sent warriors to fight against you. Now I am the only one left, thanks to the ponies.”

“Let me guess. They didn’t exactly like the whole ‘love eating’ thing.”

She growled. “They nearly wiped us out. My hive is the only one remaining as far as I know, and that is only due to its remote location in the Badlands.”

I grinned. “Well than it is a good thing I am here. I can help you return your race to its former glory if you let me in on your plans.”

“And just what would you do, hm? We are all prepared to invade this place. As soon the groom says ‘I do’, this city will be mine!”

“Yes, with about a couple thousand ponies with little love to give. Did you forget that war tends to sour one’s mood?” Chrysalis seemed honestly surprised, realizing this obvious flaw before shaking her head.

“No need! We have other ways to get love from the ponies.”

“Oh? And just what’s that? Love potions, or rather poisons, are perversions on the idea of love. They simulate it, not create it. Putting subjects to sleep wouldn’t work as well, at least nowhere as good as getting it straight up would. You take over Canterlot, and you lose out on a big payout.”

Chrysalis growled at me for a moment before putting on a pondering face. Before I could react, her horn lit up and I felt her magic prod at my memories. Nightmare quickly pushed her out but Chrysalis seemed pleased nonetheless as her form changed to that of a very busty human woman. Her hair and insect wings remained but the rest of her was human, and without clothing at that.

“Well perhaps,” she slurred, getting off the bed and walking toward me. “We can come to some sort of agreement then?” I would have told her to fuck off, and not in the way you are thinking you dirty minded bastards, but I felt my thoughts being clouded. I found it somewhat difficult to breathe, taking in what air I could as Chrysalis ran a hand beneath my chin. She tilted my head up so I was looking into her eyes.

“Now then, shall we see just what this body can do for you?” She purred. I was still finding it hard to breathe, the air smelling like… wait a minute!

Nightmare… scent… off… Nightmare seemed to get what I meant as I suddenly found the sweet smell in the air to vanish. My thoughts cleared rather quickly as I grabbed Chrysalis’ wrist and pulled it away harshly. I glared at the woman as she looked at me surprised.

“So she can release pheromones similar to a mare in heat only it affects all species. Interesting.” Nightmare analyzed.

Didn’t you say you knew things about changelings?

“I do, just not queens. They were a rarity to find, and much smarter than the common drone.”

I gave Chrysalis a wicked grin. “I’ll admit you’ve got a nice body, but I’m here on business. Pleasure can come later.” I tossed her back as she landed on the bed and shifted back.

“How did you resist me?” She said, still in shock.

“I know a lot of things. One of those is what being a stallion around in heat mares feels like. You’re little pheromone trick is rather similar.” She seemed disappointed before making herself comfortable on the bed once more.

“Very well. What do you want?”

“I want you to send troops to two separate places when you invade. The room of Prince Blueblood, and Celestia’s vault.”

“Why would I invade now? Did you not just get done telling me the plan is useless?”

“For you perhaps. With me here though it allows for many… opportunities that I wasn’t sure I’d get until much later. Opportunities that will benefit you as well should you choose to aid me.”

Chrysalis hummed in thought. “And just what do I get out of this exactly?”

“Power, of both the political and magical variety. Resources, the kind of which would allow you to find an easier method to feed your kind. Revenge, on the ponies who drove the changelings to near extinction. Honestly, there isn’t much I’m not offering that you don’t want.”

“Do you think I would just obey you?” She growled. “I am a queen, not an underling.”

“You will still rule the changelings and I will not interfere in your works regarding such things. What I will ask for though is fealty of a sorts. You won’t try to usurp, seduce, or control me, and I won’t try to wipe you off the face of Equestria.”

Chrysalis thought about this long and hard before nodding. “Very well. Though if you do change your mind about the seduction,” She changed back into the human form. “I’m always ready for a good time.”

“This woman is the queen of whores more like it.” Nightmare stated flatly.

No kidding. I just waved a hand. “Whatever you say Chryssy. Now, can you handle sending troops to take over those two places?”

“Easily.” She stated casually, though she didn’t stop making a show of the human body. “Though what is it you intend to do there?”

“Prince Blueblood is another ally of mine, and I promised him I would give him a reward for his hard work in time. That time will be now. As for the vault, Celestia has something that belongs to me but I can’t let her know I have returned.”

“Don,” Nightmare spoke up “I believe I just realized a problem with this plan.”

Oh?

“You need two portals in two different places. Zecora can only be in one place at a time.” I groaned and facepalmed as I realized that mistake as well. Chrysalis gave me a questioning look.

“What is it?”

I sighed. “I need two gatekeepers to pull this off and I only have one. Without a second person to open a portal, something is being left behind.”

Chrysalis pondered for a moment before pointing to the other changeling in the room. “Could a changeling be one of these ‘gatekeepers’?”

“Hmm…” I walked over to the drone and kneeled down, placing a hand on its horn. Nightmare extended into its mind before returning.

“Just as I thought. The individual mind of this changeling is too stupid to pull off such a complicated ritual.”

Damn. I assume there isn’t a way to make him smarter?

“No. Technically your changelings aren’t any smarter than these, just bred with a purpose that you have been feeding them since birth.”

I see… I pondered for a moment before snapping my fingers. Hang on, I’ve got an idea.

“What are you doing?” Chrysalis asked, a bit of worry on her face oddly enough.

“I was testing to see if this changeling was smart enough to pull off opening a portal. Long story short, he’s not. But I might have a way to get around that if you let me access the hive mind for a bit.”

Chrysalis seemed ready to yell at me before grimacing. “And just what do you intend to do?”

“Yes, I would like to know this as well.” Nightmare added. I just smiled.

“You wouldn’t happen to have about nine thousand, nine hundred and ninety nine other changeling drones you wouldn’t mind losing, would you?”

Chrysalis seemed to ponder my words. “There are changelings in the hive mind without bodies, and a lot of them at that.”

“Perfect.” I grabbed the changeling’s horn once again before letting my magic flow into him. Soon my mind was amongst a million others, all connected in some crazy web with Chrysalis at the source.

Nightmare, help me grab enough changeling minds for this. She was still confused from what I could tell but she did as I asked. Soon what was one drone was actually ten thousand drones, all wrapped up in one body. Of course it was absolute chaos at the moment, but I was quick to organize the simple consciences. Soon they were all set up in such a way that one would speak for the entire group, and all would contribute to decide the actions of the body in a vote. Course, this all happened practically instantaneously, as did the sharing of knowledge between all these different minds.

“Oh, I understand.” Nightmare spoke next to me in the mindscape. “Instead of increasing the intelligence of one drone, you tied it together with that of others to increase this single body’s brain weight so to speak.”

Yep, and now that he’s smart... I opened my eyes back in the real world, Chrysalis gawking at me with what I had just done. I smirked at her before place a palm on the changelings forehead. Lightning coursed through my arm, causing the changeling to twitch. Before long it was done and I removed my hand, the mark of the Overlord now branded to his forehead. The changeling’s eyes fluttered open for a moment before looking around him.

“This is… strange.” He spoke with little emotion. “One would think so many voices speaking at once would be chaotic, only we feel we are seeing things more clearly than ever before.”

“What have you done?!” Chrysalis growled. She was back in her changeling form and looking beyond pissed.

“I just made him smart enough to use the power I gave him. He’s still loyal to you above all others.”

“Overlord Dominus is correct, our queen.” The changeling spoke in a robotic tone. “Though we must admit the change was sudden and at first disorienting, we are at a 98% consensus that we continue to serve you first and foremost.” That seemed to calm Chrysalis down, though she still seemed confused by the changelings words.

“Alright, so do you have a name changeling?” I facepalmed. “Oh wait. There’s more than one of you in there.”

“Correct, though none of us had names prior to your modifications. Is a name necessary?”

“It is to me. You aren’t the common drone anymore and my gatekeeper.” I began to think. Let’s see. He’s technically a lot of minds in one body. Haven’t I heard this before? I snapped my fingers. “Got it! I dub thee Legion.”

The changelings eyes seemed to shift slightly as he thought. “Legion. A word meaning a unit of troops comprised of about three thousand to six thousand. Also a reference to the demon Legion, a part of the Faust worship, gospel of Clover the Clever, 5:9. This will suffice for a title. We are Legion.”

Sweet Faust, he’s like the namesake more than he realizes. I chuckled, earning a strange look from the two changelings. “Don’t worry about it. Human joke. Anyway, Legion. When the invasion occurs, meet me down in the vault. You’ll help me get the green nest to the nether world while Zecora goes to get Blueblood.”

“Acknowledged. We shall await until the invasion or until our queen gives conflicting orders.” I got up and glanced over at Chrysalis.

“So, any complaints?”

“None for now. As long as you can return on what you promised, I will allow this.” With a nod I left, removing the sound dampening spell as I walked down the hall.

Well that went better than expected. Plus, I got to make a new changeling.

“You just stuck a bunch of changelings together. And did you have to give him a name from one of these ‘video games’ from back in your world?”

Hey, it was a great set of games. Well… except for the ending on the third one but still! Nightmare just sighed as we headed back to our room, needing to tell Zecora of what was about to transpire.

A Battle on All Fronts

View Online

Nightmare returned to her back seat body watching as Don slipped into what he called his “good guy routine.” Though at the beginning of their agreement she thought the free time to be a waste, she soon found ways to fill her time. Analyzing Don’s senses for things he might miss, altering his body’s various functions to work at greater rates, and her latest project, trying to figure out where these strange emotional responses were coming from.

And speak of the devil, there it was again. Don had run into Applejack and was supposedly feigning a nice conversation with the mute. Nightmare had already seen his memories on what he did with the mare’s sister but that was not what interested her right now. It was the strange feeling of guilt and empathy he seemed to have, emanating from somewhere deep within him.

Just what is this? Nightmare thought. Perhaps he was right that something bled over from his time as a pony. Don did not break away from the conversation, giving Nightmare the time she needed to find the source of the strange emotion. On she walked through the halls of the fortress that represented Don’s mind, turning this way and that until she finally came upon a set of double doors. Unlike the rest of the building, these doors were strangely ornate, fine wood with inlay gold contrasting against the dark stone bricks and poor lighting of the rest of the fortress.

This seems out of place, yet at the same time… it feels like it should be there. A quick glance at the lock on the door showed another strange thing. Entangled around the doorknobs was a snake, scales of black and red making it stand out against the bright door. That, however, feels like it was made by someone else. The crack of the door leaked light, the strange emotions with it.

Is it possible… She reached for the handle, the snake simply sitting there hissing. The instant her hand touched the door though, it snapped, biting her hand. The world around her began to blur as something overcame her.

"Wha... what is this?" She muttered, looking around weakly at the now blurred landscape.

"Why are you even bothering trying to help this fool?" Nightmare turned and gasped to see an exact copy of herself, only this one looked gray and her eyes were pure, glowing red.

"What do you mean?" Nightmare questioned her clone. She chuckled darkly before sauntering her way toward her.

"Why are you trying to help that weak excuse of a man? You know you don't need him. After all, who will show the ponies the beauty of the night with you taking a back seat like this?"

Nightmare opened her mouth to speak only to find her seriously considering her words. Why do I feel like I need Don? The dark Nightmare stalked around her other self, her grin only growing.

"Get rid of him."

Yes... I should.

"Show the world the majesty of your night."

Yes, I will show them it's beauty!

"And... kill anyone who dares to deny you."

"Yes, I..." Nightmare's words faltered. Wait... no! I want to show the ponies the night in all its splendor. Not kill them!

"Why do you falter?" Her clone questioned. "The ponies must be shown how foolish they are! And if they can not see that, then we should remove them. Permanently."

Nightmare gripped her head as her clone seemed to hiss in annoyance. "We... no, I don't even know what you are."

The clone chuckled. "I am you. A mirror image. Don't act like you weren't aware. Your bloodlust against those who wronged you is rather clear."

Bloodlust? No... it's justice... right? Nightmare shook her head, her head spinning as she considered the others words. I hated Celestia because of how she outshone Luna, but... without her I have no reason. Luna abandoned me... but does she even know I still live?

"Why do you question your true nature?" The clone hissed. "You were created from jealousy and spite, and that is what you will always be. Embrace it. Embrace what we are!"

I... I was made from anger. For a moment, the image of Don, battered and broken after his fight with Jason flashed through her mind. "But... that isn't all I'm capable of feeling."

"What?" Her clone spat as she stood up straight, glaring.

"I may have formed out of anger, but that does not define me. I am not just Luna’s rage, and I am not you."

"Bitch!" Her copy screamed. "You dare defy me?!"

Despite how her clone raged, Nightmare only smirked in return. "Oh please. If you had any control over me, you wouldn't have bothered speaking." The clone took a step back, growling in anger. "Now begone evil spirit! You may have tried to push me further into darkness, but you have only made me realize how far I have fallen."

The copy screamed in fury before disappearing in a puff of smoke and Nightmare found herself back in the throne room. For a moment she looked around confused before taking a seat, taking a few calming breaths.

I... I have allowed my anger to blind me. She shivered somewhat at the thought of the clone, her eyes shining like the blood of those she so carelessly murdered. I... became a monster claiming to be spreading joy.

She shook her head, her gaze now firm. I will have time to more heavily weigh my actions later. That... thing is manipulating Don. It's suppressing his conscience all while feeding him this bloodlust.

A hissing whisper echoed from the hall that had lead to the door. "He is beyond saving. Why do you care?" Nightmare paid the voice no thought, though she responded anyway.

"Don is... my friend. My only friend right now. If he is being manipulated, I will make sure to remove this."

As Nightmare walked toward the throne, the voice hissed back. "You will fail." This didn't stop Nightmare though as she tapped back into Don's senses.

"Don. We need to talk. This is urgent."

* * *

Well you couldn't have picked a worse time. The wedding is starting. Night had been oddly quiet for the past day or so since my meeting with Chrysalis. Though I was curious why what she found was so urgent, if it wasn't immediately life threatening it would have to wait.

"It is? How long was I... look, nevermind. There is something going on."

Is it going to kill me in the next twenty four hours?

"Well no, but-"

It can wait. This is the one chance we will likely get to take the green nest.

I could feel Nightmare's worry before she sighed. "Very well. But this can wait no longer than that." I gave a small nod before returning to the task at hand.

Everything was set. Blueblood had been informed of the plan. Legion, disguised as a pony, Zecora, and myself waited in the audience of the wedding for the moment of truth. I could feel the presence of my own changelings, scattered throughout the crowd. They were to turn into Chrysalis’ changelings before picking up Zecora and I in a fake abduction. Once out the door, they would take us to where we needed to go, Legion following my group. After all, no one is going to suspect someone being carried away by changelings is actually in on the plan.

Before Chrysalis could begin the invasion herself though, something interesting happened. Suddenly the doors of the chapel slammed open and in walked the ragged looking Cadence from the caves along with Twilight who I had not seen since coming to the castle. So that’s where she’s been. Figures she would be smart enough to tell the difference between a fake princess of love and the real one.

Chrysalis was quick to adjust her plans though, chuckling evilly before dramatically shifting to her real form. The shield outside fell as changelings swarmed into Canterlot. While Chrysalis clashed with Celestia, a set of holed hooves picked me up and carried me out of the chapel. I made a small show of ‘struggling’ against my ‘captors’ until we were out of sight.

I cast my sound dampening spell around myself and the four changelings as Legion floated up next to me. “Overlord Dominus. Our queen’s forces have already overwhelmed the soldiers guarding the vault. By the time we reach it you will be free to move about without fear of your true self being revealed.”

“Good. Also, unless Chrysalis asks specifically who these changelings are,” I nodded at my guards who were carrying me “Don’t say anything.”

“Acknowledged.”

As we passed through the halls of the castle, we came across a few instances of ponies either running for their lives from changelings or trying to fight them off. No one gave us a second glance as we made our way down to the vault. At the entrance, the two guards that had been guarding it were already encased in a green slime. Gross.

“Yet effective.” Nightmare quipped. “They are asleep inside of those pods.”

I just shook my head as my guards put me down. The other three came down the opposite hallway, apparently having already dropped Zecora off at Blueblood’s. We all walked in through the vault’s blown apart doors, glancing around inside as we could see changelings scurrying about. Sitting in the center of the room was the green nest, emitting green gases that stunk worse than dragon dung.

“Eugh!” Nightmare cringed. “Why does that thing smell so horrible?!”

That’s the green minions for ya. They just love their stink. I held a hand to my nose as I turned to Legion. “Alright, do your thing.”

Legion stood there, practically frozen as black energy began to charge around his horn. Once he had gathered enough of it, he aimed toward a spot on the ground nearby, a portal opening up. A bunch of brown minions waited on the other side, ready to grab the nest. Wasn’t long before the nest was gone, off to the spawning pits with the rest of them.

Easy enough. “Alright Legion, that’ll do. Now let’s-” Suddenly a loud boom of magic shook the entire castle before a wall of purple slammed into all of us, sending us careening out of the room. The magic burned into my left side as I gritted my teeth in pain before suddenly all that was left was a dull ache and the sound of wind whistling in my ears.

I looked around to see we were flying through the air, changelings of all varieties flipping head over tail around me. I made the mistake of looking down, seeing the landscape of Equestria quickly moving far below us.

What the hell just happened?!

“I believe the guard captain managed to get the shield back up somehow.” Nightmare stated calmly yet quickly. “It sent everything that was not a pony sky rocketing toward the badlands by the looks of it.” I managed to stop myself from turning so much as we sailed into some land that looked like it had been dead for years.

I can see why they call it the badlands. Any ideas how not to be crushed upon impact?!

“I’m thinking!” Nightmare snapped. “No shadows to manipulate up here… shapeshifting won’t work with your body… most of the changelings, including your own, seem to have been knocked out… that leaves little choice unfortunately.”

When does our job ever do?

Nightmare chuckled dryly. “We’ll have to let out a huge blast of magic right before we hit the ground. I’d suggest using your left arm for this since it has already been damaged and there’s no sense in crippling both.”

I pulled my arm from where I had been keeping it attached to my side, the movement causing the burning sensation to return temporarily. I could see the skin had been blackened lightly by the shield. Damn. I do not react to pony magic well.

“I believe the added damage is due to the nature of the magic. It was being powered by love, as cliche as that sounds.”

So what? I’ve got an allergy to love energy?

“That’s a way of putting it. I’d explain it in better detail but we’ve got more important things to deal with.”

Right. I began charging everything I had into my left hand, Nightmare doing the same as our energies combined into a swirling cloud of purple that coated my entire arm. Once we were all charged up, we held back waiting for the right moment.

“Hold…” The ground was coming up fast. “Hold…” I could already imagine the sound of all my bones breaking at once. “Now!” I threw my left arm at the ground, a magical explosion going off. I was both blinded and deafened by the blast, completely disoriented to everything except the pain I felt in my left side. I felt myself hit the ground before I blinked away the spots in my eyes and rolled over, groaning.

Well… I’m alive.

“Your left arm has severe magical burns, along with your left leg though it isn’t as bad. We are both completely dry on magical energy and we are in the middle of nowhere.”

Hey, try to look at the positives. I pushed myself up onto my feet, though I leaned heavily on my right. I took a glance around to find I was in the center of a massive crater. Looks like we made quite the mess.

“Yes, but what else is new?” I chuckled out loud, perhaps feeling a little loopy from all the energy I just let off. I limped my way out of the crater, holding my left arm to my side so as to not agitate it further. All around me were changeling bodies, some picking themselves up while most didn’t move. Three of my own changelings quickly found me before bowing.

“My liege, numbers two, five and six are with heavy injuries. What are your orders?” I glanced about, watching as the other changelings all headed in a single direction, deeper in the badlands.

Chrysalis did mention her nest was here. Perhaps she’s calling them all home. I looked at my own changelings. “Will they survive without some kind of medical attention?”

“No, my liege. They can’t even move on their own right now.”

“Than leave them. We have more important things to do. Besides, more can be created.” They bowed before taking up positions surrounding me, all of us beginning our slow walk toward the changeling nest. At our speed it took about an hour but we found it, a cave lined with black chitin-like plating and covered in the green slime I saw earlier. Chrysalis was at the front, watching over all of the changelings. When she saw me she rose an eyebrow before approaching.

“And here I thought you were still back in Canterlot, all snug.” She looked over my guards, a hint of disgust forming in her eyes. “And just what are these?”

“These are my elite guard. Modified changelings given to me by a friend of mine in another dimension.” She gave me a ‘you must be crazy’ look that I was quick to ignore. “As for being safe in Canterlot, looks like that shield of theirs is smarter than they are.”

She opened her mouth and said something else but whatever it was it sounded muffled. I noticed that wasn’t the only sound dying off as my vision began to blur. Nightmare called out, but I was already falling forward. I was unconscious before I hit the ground.

Breakdown

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“Oh Don…” I heard a sultry voice call out, stirring me from the blackness that was unconsciousness. “Don… relax. You’re safe.” Oddly enough, the voice seemed to calm me down, the gentle tone washing over me like a cool wave of water. “That’s it. Nothing will hurt you while I’m-” Suddenly the voice and the calming feeling was cut off as another took its place.

“Don, wake the fuck up right now!” My eyes jolted open to find I was in my castle mindscape, Nightmare standing over me. She seemed to have erected some sort of barrier around us, giving me enough to assume something was wrong.

“What’s going on?” I quickly sat up.

“You were nearly made into a toy by Chrysalis.” She nodded to something outside the barrier, and when I looked it was Chrysalis in the human form she had taken before when she was trying to seduce me.

“Oh I wasn’t going to make him completely brain dead. That would defeat the point.” She said flatly as if it was no big deal. “Besides, you tried to take over his body before and he still keeps your flat-chested ass around.”

Hang on… did I just wake up in the middle of a cat fight… that is going on between a ghost pony inhabiting my body and the bug queen of whores?

“Flat-chested?! What does that have to do with anything?!” Nightmare’s tone of voice revealed her to be much more annoyed about Chrysalis’ taunting than she was clearly trying to let on.

“Are you telling me the two of you haven’t done any dirty thinking since joining up? Seems like an ample opportunity. After all, it’s just all in Don’s head really.”

“I am not some slut like you! I actually aid him in ways that don’t require having a large bust.”

“ENOUGH!!!” I shouted out, the castle rattling somewhat with my anger. Both girls quickly shut up. “Nightmare drop this barrier.” She did as I asked while I stood up, glaring at Chrysalis. “I have no need for someone who whores themselves out to me. I need warriors, tacticians, people who can actually be of use outside the bedroom. Understand that well and know that if all you are going to offer is sex, you will soon find yourself without my support.”

Chrysalis sighed. “Oh fine. You’re probably no fu-” She suddenly stopped, staring off into space. “What the hell? Some pony has entered the nest and is coming straight for us!”

I rose an eyebrow at this. “Your guards can’t stop one pony?”

“This pony is clearly skilled, plus I am lacking in able guards since returning from Canterlot.” She gave me a serious look. “If I am to be of any use to you, than I ask you to rid me of this intruder. She seems to be after you anyways. She’s flying through the nest screaming ‘Where are you keeping him?’”

I put a hand to my chin. “Someone who is after me. Perhaps the Evermore finally sent someone who isn’t a grunt to try and do me in.”

“Either way we should be able to take them on.” Nightmare nodded. “We’ve had ample time to recover our magic stores, though your body still has some wounds.”

“Wounds that I have tended to.” Chrysalis chimed in. “They aren’t traditional bandages but trust me when I say they do a far better job. You shouldn’t feel much pain or have any trouble moving like normal.”

“Good. Have your changelings get out of the way. Let the intruder come through. I will than deal with them.” With that, my mindscape blurred away as I woke up. I was in a strange cave-like room, the walls coated in a black chitin with green fluorescent orbs imbedded in it for light. A quick check of my body showed that my wounds had been treated with some sort of green sludge, and that the material was sticky and rather stretchable, giving me my full range of motion like Chrysalis said.

“Where is the Dark One?!” I heard a pony scream out from outside the room. Sounds like a mare. Chrysalis mentioned flying so it must be a pegasus. Whatever level of skill she may have, she clearly lacks the element of surprise. I stood up before walking out of the room into what was a huge cave with dozens of offshoots similar to the one I had just stepped out of. In the center of the ceiling was a huge hole with sunlight streaming in. I saw a pegasus against the light, flying around as changelings fled into the various tunnels.

I lack my armor so I’ll have to rely on my agility to avoid taking damage. It wasn’t long until the pegasus saw me and flew over, landing in front of me.

“Ah, so you finally come out of your hole. Here I thought I would have had to tear the entire nest apart only to find you had escaped yet again.” Now that she was closer, I could see she was white with ice blue hair. Her cutie mark was two swords crossing over a shield. The edges of her wings were coated in sharpened steel, her weapon I assumed.

I gave my opponent a small smile. “Hide? I wasn’t even aware you were looking for me.”

“Well you’re going to quickly wish you had.” She flared her wings. “I am Snowflake Bastion of the Evermore. I am quite possibly the greatest fighter in our ranks and I have been sent to end your reign of evil.”

I chuckled. My, somepony is full of themselves.

“She does seem to take pride in her abilities. She wouldn’t have come charging in here if she didn’t.” Nightmare chimed in.

Indeed. She tossed aside many advantages to pull off this little stunt. “Well than, by all means try to stop me.” I said, mockingly putting my hands behind my back. This struck just the right chord, her air of superiority quickly dropping to rage.

“Do not underestimate me!” She screamed as she leapt toward me, slashing at me with her wings. I was quick however, stepping back with each slash and avoiding them. Despite her anger, she was still rather skilled, her attacks not giving me any room to counter.

Nightmare, shield. As I thought this, a shield made of shadows formed against my arm and I blocked one of her strikes before pivoting around to her back. In one swift motion I slammed the shield against her back, throwing her away from me though she quickly recovered.

“You are clearly quite the fighter. I find it hard to believe the Evermore trained a fighter of your caliber in the little time they have known I was active.”

“I have been a member for years prior to your return, ever since I was a foal.” She said with a grin.

“I see. Than I have to wonder just what were you doing the entire time I was still sitting in the ground. I can’t imagine someone who enjoys fighting like you would settle for a peaceful life style.”

I struck another blow with my words, her grin faltering once more. “I do not enjoy fighting. It is only something that is necessary in the face of true evil such as yourself.”

“Then why were you smiling so widely when you were attacking me? Even when I blocked your strike and countered you still seemed to be enjoying yourself.” That set her off as she jumped again, only this time I didn’t back away. I instead blocked the strike before quickly kneeing her in the stomach. I then grabbed her mane and threw her aside. All the while I could tell she was still enjoying the fight.

“You lie to yourself about your true nature. Why? You clearly have the talent to be a great warrior, the drive to become stronger, yet you hold yourself back with this talk of peace.”

“I… my want to fight is the evil within me. I must conquer it if I wish to ever be pure.”

“Oh please. Pure is an ideal that can not be achieved. To be pure is to have no desire, no passion. Purity is just a nice way of saying dull.”

“Shut up!” She leapt again, her strikes becoming desperate. I leapt back only for her to jump at me while I was still in air, tackling me and sending the both of us into the wall. She leapt back into the air as I slid down the side of the cave, my insides on fire.

Fuck! I really haven’t recovered enough for this shit. The pain died down after a few moments, moments that were oddly without further attack from my opponent. I looked up to see Bastion standing ready, as if this was some sort of honor bound duel. Oh, now I understand.

“You are trying to prove something, aren’t you?” I said while standing up slowly so as to not upset any more wounds. “You come in here screaming, ruining the element of surprise. You attack the front, never the back. You don’t strike me while I’m down.” I looked at her with a wicked grin. “You’re so prideful of your talent that you have to limit yourself in order to prove you are better.”

“I,” she started speaking strong but quickly stumbled, her words becoming mutterings. “I’m not. I can’t be. But… my excellence did say to use every advantage and I ignored him. I should have… no, that would prove nothing though. Any coward assassin can poison a drink.”

“Don’t be so confused about your pride. Embrace it. It is a part of you after all. You wouldn’t be where you are today without that drive to be the best.” The room seemed to darken slightly as I continued to walk forward. “And if those at Evermore can’t agree with that, than perhaps you should find someone who can properly give you use for your talents.”

“What do you mean?” Bastion asked, her voice somewhat shaky.

“I always have need for great warriors, and unlike Evermore, I actually reward those who work for me. You can have anything your heart desires if you are willing.”

Bastion seemed about ready to strike me down before she stopped and actually pondered it. It was after a good while that she spoke up again. “I want to be the strongest, and to be able to prove that I am to everyone.”

Too heavy for a drone. Must be Chrysalis. “Get Legion here for me. Both you and Bastion here have to undergo a sort of… initiation.”

“And just what initiation is this?” Chrysalis asked as I turned to face her.

“It’s giving you all the power you could ever want.” I grinned.

“Don.” Nightmare said flatly, pulling my attention away from what was happening. “We need to talk.”

Can it wa-

“No. You told me to wait before but now things have quieted down. This can not wait any longer.”

I felt the overwhelming urge to continue arguing against this before a brief moment of calming thought broke through. Very well. If this is really that important I can indulge you. This seemed to calm Nightmare down as I turned back to Chrysalis. “Get Legion here and have him open the portal. When he does, there will be a gray minion on the other side named Gnarl. Tell him you and Bastion are to undergo the rite by my command. He’ll lead you from there.”

I walked off before she could reply, heading down one of the tunnels before finding a small, dark corner I could shove myself into while Nightmare and I talked.

Alright, what is it?

* * *

“Alright, what is it?” I said as I found myself in my mind once again. Nightmare stood there, looking a strange combination of fearful and serious.

“Don, there is something wrong here. I don’t think- look out!” I looked to my side just in time to see one of the ten foot tall minion statues standing by my throne come to life and swing at me with its stone sword. I quickly rolled away from the throne, standing back up as I watched the its twin on the opposite side follow suit.

“What is going on here? This is my mind so they should not be doing this.” When one of the minions charged us, I rose my hand to destroy it with a fireball only to find I was without my powers. “What the?!” Thankfully, Nightmare wasn’t affected by whatever was going on, her shadows wrapping around me as the two of us were pulled to the ceiling.

“That’s just it Don. I don’t think this is your mind like you thought. Rather it is the mind of that thing you’ve sealed away and he’s been manipulating you through it.”

“So sad that it took your little friend to figure it out, ‘Overlord’”. A booming voice spoke out, a mirror of my own but much more sinister sounding.

“Hang on, if this is his mind, then where is my mind?” Before Night could answer she threw us both to the side, avoiding another attack from the statues. She quickly called forth a flurry of shadow spears to tear them apart before speaking.

“I think I found it before, though it is guarded by some kind of strange creature. Its venom made me face my own evils and I nearly succumbed to them.”

“You can not escape. Both of you will fall and the true Overlord will rule once more!”

“Then let’s get going. Sooner we are out of here the sooner we can stop listening to this bastard.” Nightmare nodded before putting the two of us down on the ground and running into the halls of the castle, myself right on her heals. As we ran, the walls themselves threatened to destroy us, bricks and spiked ornaments throwing themselves at us as we weaved our way through the maze of tunnels. Oddly enough, the further we went, the more I felt… I dunno, weightless? Like I was taking in a breath of fresh air for the first time in forever.

“Here we are.” Nightmare said as she stopped in front of a massive set of doors. Strange light seemed to pour out from between them as a serpent sat there, wrapped around the door handle. The serpent poked its head up, the dark voice of my other self booming from it.

“You are hopeless. You are weak. What is behind this door only proves that without me you have no strength.”

I smirked. “If that was the case, you wouldn’t be so protective of it. After all, you want to take back our body so really me being weak is a good thing.” The serpent hissed at my logic, only confirming things. “Right, Nightmare, if you could remove that thing?” She nodded before holding her hand out only for the entire hall to disappear into darkness, leaving only the door, the serpent, and ourselves standing in a black expanse. The serpent then leapt at me, biting my arm and wrapping itself around it.

“Agh! What the-” Suddenly my head was filled with whispering voices, taunting me with the voices of the ponies back in Ponyville yet speaking foul words.

“You are horrible.”

“You are evil.”

“You are an abomination.”

“You can’t be anything else.”

“It’s impossible.”

“Too far.”

“You’ve gone too far.”

“You will always be in darkness.”

“Why bother?”

“Just give up.”

“Accept it.”

“Evil finds a way.”

“It always finds a way.”

“With or without you.”

“Your death means nothing.”

“Nor does your life.”

“You are insignificant.”

“Just disappear.”

I grabbed my head, the voices causing a pain like no other to seep into me. I barely even noticed as Nightmare ripped the serpent off me before picking me up off the ground. Wait, what? When did I fall? I felt her put one of my arms around her shoulders before she dragged me toward the door. Was that door important? Was I important? Why can’t I remember things.

Just as the voices reached their maximum volume, Nightmare pulled open the door and the light streamed through. The voices screamed in agony as I squinted against the light. Everything seemed to fall away before light dimmed and we found ourselves standing in a rather dead looking garden. Bushes and trees were nothing but husks, not even grass grew in the soil. The garden made a perfect circle around a stone pool, empty of any water. Beyond this garden was nothing but a starry expanse, as if the garden sat somewhere in the universe.

“What… what is this?” I breathed, still woozy from whatever that serpent had done to me.

“This is your mind. It… isn’t in the best of shapes I’ll admit but now that you’re here it should come back to life slowly.”

A garden? That’s my mind? I walked around it, trying to understand the significance of the place. I must admit, this place makes me feel… calmer. Though I don’t understand why. Suddenly we both turned at the sound of rushing water to see the pool in the center filling from an unknown source. I walked over warily, all my warning signs going off in my head as I looked into the water.

Once I saw what was there though, I immediately collapsed, dry heaving as my stomach threatened to empty itself. That… that can’t be… I looked at my hands, shaking uncontrollably as I tried to get a hold of myself. What have I done… these hands… they are clean but all I see is blood!

“Don!” Nightmare ran over to me, kneeling down to help me only to stop. “Don… are you crying?” I quickly checked, rubbing my face to find it covered in tears. I felt a small voice whisper in my head as I tried to pull myself together.

“Pathetic… what sort of Overlord are you?” I quickly shook the thought away though.

I don’t care. This… this isn’t what I wanted to become. I shakily stood up, Nightmare helping me as I did before taking another long look at the water. In it was an image of me, only this time I wasn’t seeing myself through the blood tinted lenses of my other half. I was covered in blood, grinning like a mad man and with eyes to match. A few more parts of my body had been replaced by parts similar to my leg. Scars adorned much of my body, and overall I looked like a monster. I am a monster. This… this thing is what I was striving to be. I wanted to kill and maim for no other reason than because I could.

As I continue to stare into the pool, I was faced with my past sins. It showed me how I took advantage of Gilda’s anger to turn her into a creature that felt nothing but rage. It showed how I twisted Applebloom’s desire to be treated like an adult into a desire to aid me in my mission. It showed how easily I had taken Blueblood’s envy of Princess Luna and turned it into a craving for power. It showed how I tempted Flim and Flam with riches beyond measure before having to sink to threats just to convince them. It showed me Chrysalis and her immense hunger, and just how easy it was to tempt her with the apple that was satisfying it. Finally, it showed just how far I had fallen, being able to twist the loyalties of Snowflake Bastion even as she attacked me.

It showed me the ponies I killed in the warehouse back in town. The pegasus burning in the crates, the pressure of the blade I pressed against the remaining survivor as I interrogated him, the life slowly fading from Colgate’s eyes when I stabbed her. It showed the two ponies we captured in Murky Bottom, how I used their affection for one another as a tool to get what I wanted before having one be drowned by the corpse of the other. I called the act poetic at the time, and just that alone seems to have stained the very word in my mind. It showed me how carelessly I butchered the mafia in Manehatten, driving pipes through their bodies, plastering them against the walls, making examples of them so that I could use the sole survivor’s fear for information and labor. It showed me how easily I tricked Wade with a few choices words into helping me take the red nest, and how exhilarated I was when I roasted the guards alive. The feeling of power at the time was overwhelming, but now it just left me feeling hollow.

It showed the ponies I had met back in Ponyville. How they cared and trusted me. How they always simply wanted to help and make me feel comfortable. Twilight taking me into her home, Rarity making clothes for me, Applejack giving me work, Fluttershy always being so kind, Rainbow, who was definitely the most helpful when it came to my pony transformation. And Pinkie, the mare who saw through my disguise, who despised me at the start but slowly showed signs of caring. Is it possible she saw this place deep within my heart before even I did?

It showed me Spike, who looked up to me almost like an older brother and how I took advantage of that position. How I used the excuse of helping him learn what he is to go meet the dragons and get them to follow me. How I made him hold secrets from everyone else, even Twilight who was like a mother to him. It showed me Applejack after she went mute from her sister’s faked death, how the look of sadness in her eyes despite her smile never truly went away. It showed me much of the same from Fluttershy, her removed wings serving to only increase the already raging storm of guilt that was washing over me.

Finally, it showed myself once more, only this time it showed the true difference between myself and my other half. Faust was wise, but couldn’t believe that the Overlord had any amount of caring, conscience, or fear in him. So when she tore the Overlord from his body, these things were left behind and formed their own mind. Me. I was not evil. I was not rage and craving for blood. I was nothing that makes up an Overlord, and only existed as small emotional responses on earth. I was guilt, I was fear, I was love. And now that I was truly free of my other half, the things I had done hit me as they should have when I committed those actions. It was horrible, like my soul was being torn apart.

“N-night… w-what have I done?” I said, leaning against the rim of the pool as I shook. Her only response was to wrap her arms around me as I continued to mutter the same line over and over.

Nearby, unbeknownst to me at the time, one of the trees began to grow small buds along its branches.

The Strange Shopkeep

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I’m not sure for how long we stood there, myself just trying to come to terms with what I had done. Eventually though I managed to stop muttering to myself, pushing out of Night’s arms. “Fuck… what am I supposed to do now?”

Night looked around for a moment before speaking. “Perhaps we can try asking the princesses for forgiveness?”

I toyed with the idea for just a second before remembering just how badly they wanted to stick me in the ground, alive or otherwise. “No, no, no, no, NO.” I shook my head, stepping away from Night. “We can’t do that. I can’t stand being sealed away again if they decide to do that. I don’t think what little I have left holding together my mind can take it! I just can’t-”

Night cut in. “Don. It’s alright. I understand you are afraid.” Those words calmed me down from my bout of hysteria. “Perhaps you can just head back to Ponyville and be with your friends? Pretend this never happened.”

Though it was a tempting idea, I shook my head again before sitting back against a dead tree, my face buried in my hands. “I don’t think I could just pretend. Not when I see Applejack or Fluttershy almost every day and know that I’m the one who did that to them. Plus it’s still possible Jason is out there, planning to return here to kill me. Eventually either he will return to kill me or the princesses will figure out what I actually am, and as it stands right now, either way I am dead or as good as. I can’t even just hide in the fortress, as I have no doubt Gnarl will pick out that I am not exactly myself after long.”

Night sighed before walking over and sitting next to me. Silence fell between as I simply looked at my lap, trying to figure out just what to do. Every option I can see has too high of a chance that I’ll end up dead or worse.

“You’ve gone too far.” I jolted up as I heard the whispering snake voice again, Night taking notice of my sudden movement with a worried expression.

“Don?” I turned to her before shaking my head and going back to staring at my lap. I have gone too far. I don’t have the option to just forgive and forget and this point. I don’t deserve it. I would say that I should just accept my fate and let it happen but… I wrapped my arms around my legs, tightly holding them against my chest. I’m too afraid. I’m not some hero in a story that can sacrifice himself for the greater good. Nor am I villain who can carelessly murder as I have been. I’m just… me.

“We can’t go back.” I said, the first stern words I had spoken ever since my revelation. “I’ve stepped too far into darkness. My only options now are either to continue and survive or don’t and die.”

Night seemed to look me up and down, as if she was seeing me for the first time, before leaning on my shoulder. “If that is what you wish, we can continue, but… I don’t know if I can stand more killing.”

I shook my head. “I can’t either. If we must fight, we do so mercifully and with speed. Quick and painless. At least we can give them that much.”

Night nodded before the two of us stood up, walking over to the pool. I looked around the garden once more before looking into the water. It no longer showed me any image but what my body saw. “I don’t know why, but I feel like I’ve seen this place before.”

Night nodded. “One’s mind tends to take the form of someplace that is dear to them. Those with more experience can change the setting, but I believe in your case it would be best to leave it as is.”

“Wish I could remember what this place was then.” I sighed before looking deeper into the pool, feeling it draw me in before my eyes snapped open and I was back in my body.

I looked over my body, feeling out of place in my own skin after everything that had occurred. The weight of everything I’d done made my limbs feel heavy. I took a glance at the cloak and felt the pain in my stomach return, it reminding me of those I have betrayed. I can’t stand this. I need to move. As I got up, I noticed that the three guards I had remaining were nearby, all standing ready despite their wounds.

Just as mindlessly loyal as ever… nothing should live like that. Night...

“Of course.” In a moment the shadows came to life and quickly pierced their hearts, killing them quickly. Despite the merciful death, I still could barely stand to watch. Better for them to be dead than for them to have to continue suffering.

“Indeed.” I called upon my power, finding that I still had my Overlord magic and immolating the corpses. The fire burned my hand as is shot out, causing me to flinch back. “Don, what’s wrong?”

I… I’m scared.

“Scared?”

I don’t know what this magic could be doing to me. I’m afraid it might turn me back into… that.

“I don’t think you need to worry Don.”

“Well that’s what I thought before!” I shouted. “But then I found out that all my motivation to do what I was doing was a lie!” I grabbed my head, a splitting headache forming as I shook. “Just how far did I fall into my other half’s habits. Is it possible that since I arrived I hadn’t been myself? Just who am I really?!”

“Don! Calm down!” I felt a cooling wave go through my body at Night’s words. “Don, you have to be careful. Your heart and mind can’t take this stress.”

“I… I’m sorry.” I panted. “Just… how am I supposed to know who I am?”

“We figure it out. One step at a time.” As she said this, she took control of one of my legs and took a step forward in the same way we would when we trained to work together mentally. The gesture calmed me down, allowing me to take a breath before we stepped out into the hive. The place was rather active oddly enough. Drones flew through the air, some carrying things while others just buzzing about. The amount of activity going on didn’t help my nerves and I soon found myself needing to get out.

“I can’t handle this.” I growled under my breath. “I need some air.” As I moved through the hive at a near running pace, Nightmare spoke her concerns.

“Are you sure that you should be going outside? What if someone followed Bastion? You are in no state to fight.”

“Bastion’s crazy though. No one’s going to enter the Badlands right after the changeling’s invaded.” A few more moments and I was exposed to the arid air of the Badlands. The air wasn’t exactly any easier to breathe but the quiet helped calm my nerves. I pulled my hood up and stepped away from the entrance before sighing.

Peace and quiet.

“Nǐ hǎo ma!? Qǐng dòng nǐ dà pìgu!”

I have no idea what that meant, but at the moment I was so on edge it didn’t matter. I quickly turned in the direction of the sound, Nightmare calling for a sword and dagger for me to wield out of shadows as I faced the new foe.

The foe turned out to be a stereotypically looking asian man pulling a rickshaw. Just before he reached me, his rickshaw pulled out in front of him in a perfectly circular arc. As the dust settled, the rickshaw exploded into a small hut with a large, colorful sign above the door, with strange symbols drawn onto it.

“黑白影的商场的一切”

I didn’t move, still ready for something to attack me. This was all too strange for my nerves and I could feel my heart slamming in my chest. As I stood there, the strange man walked out from behind the hut, striking an odd pose before spinning around in what looked like martial arts, ending with him drawing a sign from nowhere and slamming it into the ground. I gave this sign a quick glance to find it was in english.

“Yo! Welcome to Aaron Heibai’s Emporium of Everything and Anything Your Mind Can or Can’t Imagine! Good evening valued customer, how are you today?” As I finished reading it, a strange harp like sound played out. It would have been rather soothing had I not been ready to fight.

“Is this for real?” Night questioned.

Oh good. So I’m not seeing things in my fractured state of mind.

“My name is Aaron Heibai, what’s yours?” A kindly grin stretched out Aaron’s face, one far wider and creepier than it had any right to be. His braid that went down to his feet flowed in a wind that did not exist, reminding me all too much of a certain princess.

“Don, just tell him your name.” Night spoke.

What?! Why should I? He could be an assassin sent by the princesses!

“The princesses don’t know of any other humans but you.”

Well… it could be Jason!

“Maybe, but I doubt an assassin would have landed in front of you with such a strange display.” I was about to argue further when she cut me off. “There’s no harm in telling him your name if he is an assassin. After all, he’d already know who you are.” I finally conceded to her logic and spoke.

“Don.”

“Mhmm. Thank you sir.” Aaron suddenly pulled out a long scroll from nowhere, quickly writing something with a flourish before it disappeared once again. I swear if he has some power that uses my name against me- “Would you like to step inside my little shop of horrors?”

The door creaked open ominously, exposing an interior full of shadows. Aaron’s grin only seemed to get wider as my caution heightened.

“Do you take me for some kind of- ack!” A quick jab of pain, much like if someone elbowed you, went through my head.

“Don’t anger him without good reason.” Night chided before taking control, her voice overlapping my own as she did. “I suppose, but I will be wary.”

“Oh ho~ I see you’ve got a headmate! Come come, the both of you! Let’s see what Uncle Aaron can find for you, yes?” Before I could retake control and tell him to fuck off, he got behind us and lightly shoved until we were inside.

What was a tiny hut on the outside though turned out to be massive on the inside. It looked even bigger than my fortress, and the entire space seemed just dedicated to being a store. Holy shit, you can fit everything in the world in here!

“Well, what do you think?” Aaron had disappeared from behind us, now sitting at a counter that had not been in front of me two seconds ago.

As I regained control of my body from Night, I shook my head, causing my hood to fall off. “It’s… big? Look, what do you want? I’m in no mood to deal with some hero from the multiverse attacking me because I’m darkness incarnate or whatever bullshit they pull out of their asses at this point.”

“Me? I just want you to buy something. I’m no hero, kiddo. Just a madman in a really well disguised shop.” Aaron chuckled, “Well, not just a madman, actually, but that’s semantics. You’ll find a directory to your left, the elevators are directly behind it, make sure you follow the navigational devices, blah blah blah. Have fun~”

For a moment I toyed with the idea of just what I could get in this place when a realization made me deadpan. “I’m broke.”

“Not a problem! Just use whatever has any sort of value to you. You even get First Timer Discounts and the Flat Broke Discount!” More creepy grinning. Yeesh, has he stopped grinning since he showed up?

“Pretty sure the only thing I actually value at this point is what little sanity I still have.” I muttered before pondering my options. Lets see. I have a set of armor and weapons but they’re back in the fortress and I definitely don’t want to go there with Gnarl around. The changelings don’t have anything to give in the state they are in. Hell, the only thing I’m really overflowing in is minions. I blinked for a moment. Wait a minute…

“They are rather advanced magical constructs.” Night confirmed my thinking. “Perhaps they are some worth to this man?”

I nodded. “I have these… creatures I can spawn with magic, and a lot of them. Can I trade them?”

Aaron tapped his chin, “Do they have souls? I trade in souls, but not really all that often. I mean, usually when I mention the soul thing, people try to chase me out of town with Bibles and Crucifixes. Well, that, or they start sacrificing goats….” He looked a bit disturbed at the sacrificing goats part.

Didn’t think that would unnerve him. I rose an eyebrow at this behavior before shaking my head. “Oooookay? You can probably guess by now that I’m not exactly the holiest of knights. And yes, they have souls. They aren’t very bright though.”

“Intelligence doesn’t exactly have anything to do with soul quality. Mind if I take a look at one of these creatures?”

I reached my hand out to summon a few minions before stopping, my heart beating in my ears as I just stared at my hand.

“Don!” My eyes shot open as the beating subsided somewhat. “Relax. I promise you, even if using this power starts to turn you again, I will bring you back.” For some reason, knowing Night was my lifeline helped calm my nerves and I charged my hand full of magic, opening a portal. A brown, red, and green minion fell out of it in a pile, grunting and growling at each other. Aaron appeared next to them in an instant, examining all three minions with a magnifying glass he got from who knows where.

“Hmm… Well, judging by the quality of their souls, I’d say each one is worth…. one single Equestrian bit. Not bad, really. I’ve seen souls only worth a single shard of iron pyrite, so these are definitely good.”

“Those things are worth that much?” Nightmare questioned. “I’m actually surprised.”

“So... “ I looked around, suddenly realizing I had no clue what I could actually get to help me in my current situation. “I really have no idea what I could need here. My problems aren’t something you can put an ointment on.”

Aaron snickered, “Oh please, some of the ointments I have can melt through gods… besides, ointments aren’t even half of what I’ve got in this shop. I have armor, weapons, power up items, slaves (Not recommended unless you’re a sick fucker), sex slaves (Totally different, also usually only if you’re a sick (though slightly less… maybe) fucker), magical weapons, spell tomes, magical weapons, toys, collectibles, cookware, novelty items, perfume, clothing, magical clothing, Void items, tokens, Displaced catalogues, personalized reincarnations, standardized reincarnation packages, adult items, really fucked up adult items, books, magazines, comics, magical, prefabricated magical spells… etc etc.”

I thought about it for a moment and decided it was best to see if there was something to deal with my physical problems, i.e. those who want to destroy me. “Um… got something that can help me defeat two alicorns and a guy with a shapeshifting watch?”

“Hmmm… try…. well, I got demonic weaponry on the fifth floor if that’s your style. That usually works against Celly. Nuclear tech is on the eighth floor, but make sure to wear the radiation suits if you ever want to live past your next morning. Laser weapons are seventeenth floor, but make sure not to aim at the mirrors. Or the prisms. If you’re fighting Jason, try the heat weapons on the fourth floor and the anti-Nordic weapons on the eightieth floor. If it’s Ben, try the ninetieth floor with the Anti-Reality Warper tech and the seven hundredth floor with the Instant Hostage tech… actually, I don’t think Ben’d like that. Don’t try the seven hundredth floor.”

“There’s a second guy with that watch?” I groaned before facepalming. One of those fuckers is bad enough! “And you know Jason?”

“Of course I do. Sold him a Power Morpher and some other stuff. Good kid, sorta an asshole, but I think that of everyone I meet, usually.” Aaron shrugged, “Hey, I’m just a neutral party, man. I don’t give a damn if you try to kill Jason or not, I just care that I have enough business to make it through the fiscal quarter, y’know?”

I decided for my crumbling sanity that I should just ignore the implications of some sort of multiversal market and just walked off, glancing over the shelves.

Holy shit, I could get lost in here.

“Indeed.” Night confirmed. “This is place is beyond massive. Though I have to ask why we are even bothering. I doubt there is something in here that can just make all of our problems go away… and if there is something like that, I have to question the ethics of a shop like this.”

It’s less I need something to fix our physical problems and more I’m looking for something to help with the mental ones.

“I don’t quite understand.”

Right now I’m having a hard time drawing the line between myself and the Overlord. It’s why I’m so worried using his power will corrupt me, cause I’m still not sure where I end and he begins. Plus if I keep hesitating whenever I use magic I will get killed.

“So… you’re looking for your own power to use?”

Basically. I just… need something to differentiate me from the Overlord. Something that is mine and mine alone. I can rely on my own martial skills but that will only get me so far in this world of magic. Just as I finished saying this to Night, I turned and found something strange sitting on the shelf. It was a purple, glowing ring, though it seems to have been broken. Wonder if the damage will mean it costs less? I joked as I picked it up and turned it in my hand.

“What in hell is this thing? It feels… weird.”

Aaron’s voice rang out, causing me to jump as I turned to see a speaker hanging on the wall. “Ah, I see you’ve found the Broken Halo of Lucifer. Would you like to read the item stats?”

So it’s literally from hell. Ironic. I couldn’t help but smirk a bit before turning to the speaker. “Sure, but I’d rather not talk to you over a machine. I never truly lived on Earth you know.”

“If that’s truly what you prefer, the customer is always right, I suppose.” I jumped as his voice was once again behind me. I reacted, fire shooting from my hand and burning my fingers at my shaky control. The fireball went sailing toward Aaron before quickly turning around and being absorbed into the halo I was still holding in my other hand.

I took a few calming breaths, letting my racing heart slow down to a more reasonable pace as I felt Night begin to work on the burns that now covered my fingers. “Okay… well that just saved you third degree burns.”

“Heh, as if third degree burns are the worst thing I’ve faced. So, is that your choice? I mean, you can have more, but it doesn’t look like you’ve picked up anything else… so…”

“Well… what does this thing do?” Suddenly a holographic screen appeared above the item, listing out its abilities like so.

Powers:

Stygian Cold Fire

Super Strength

Super Speed (with a fire trail behind you as you sprint)

Petrification Magic

Magic Absorption (as you already saw)

Force Stomp (basically a big explosion that sends people flying)

Life Drain

and last but not least, Fallen Angel Wings

Aaron waved his hand at it, saying “It does that,” as if the screen had always been there. I took a moment to go over the list before reaching the bottom.

“Hold on. Wings? This thing lets me fly?”

“‘Bout as well as most of the things in here, I suppose. Better than a jetpack, that’s for sure.” Aaron was now hovering upside down and playing with a yoyo… also upside down.

What the hell is he… you know what, at this point I’m just going to accept he is beyond strange. Focus on the halo. This thing can make me fly!

“You do seem to enjoy the experience.” Night chuckled as I rolled my eyes at her comment.

“How much?”

Aaron pointed to a price tag off the side of the halo, again, one that hadn’t been there before.

666 souls. Because cliché symbolism.

“This guy’s worse than you are with his references to Earth media.” Nightmare groaned, this time my turn to laugh a bit.

“I’ll take it.” I held out my hand, hesitant once more before drawing the amount of minion souls from the netherworld into it. “Six hundred and sixty six souls.” I confirmed more for myself than Aaron as he grasped my hand and shook, the souls quickly being sucked away from me.

A receipt slid out of Aaron’s now shadowy face, coming from a glowing white slot just below his eyespots. “Danke Schon, my good man. Would you like your receipt?”

The insanity never ends. “Uh… no. I’m good.”

“Alright then.” The receipt burst into flames and disappeared. After which his entire body turned to shadows. Suddenly I hear a door slam behind me, and when I turned I was back in the badlands. Okay, the random crap behind me thing is getting kind of old.

Aaron appeared from behind the hut just as before, picking up the whole thing and folding it up as if it was made of cardboard. With a flick of his shoulder he then took the bundled up hut and tossed it onto a suddenly appearing rickshaw. He was also back to looking stereotypically asian instead of the eerie shadow form he had taken before.

“Satisfied?” He grinned some more, though this one was less intense. Still pretty creepy though.

"I... guess?" Did that all just really happen? I glanced down at my hand, the halo still there as I did my best not to let myself think too hard about what happened.

“Then my job here is done. Farewell, Don, I must go. My people need me! AWAAAAAAAAAAY!” Aaron darted away with the rickshaw, entering a portal and then disappearing. The only thing left after he was gone was a scorch mark on the sand and some strange smell of incense.

I wriggled my nose at the smell before fanning the halo in front of my face. “Alright, I just want to confirm one last time. That did all just happen, right?” Night gave me a mental nod. “Good, than you’re my witness if we ever have to explain what happened here today. I don’t think anyone would believe me alone if I tried to tell them all that.”

“I wouldn’t believe you either if I didn’t see it for myself. Now, what are we going to do with this?” She pointed my eyes at the halo.

“Uh… not sure. I’m not sure how to activate it. In hindsight, we should have asked for instructions.” I turned it around a few times, looking along the halo for a button or something. When that didn’t help I held it above my head, wondering if the sun would reveal anything.

As I did this though, the halo began to glow brighter before it seemed to start falling apart into strands of glowing magic. These strands then worked their way to my arm, running down it all the way past my shoulder. They felt like they were made of liquid fire, burning my arm without actually damaging it. When it was finally done, I gasped for air. The lines were now embedded into my arm, still glowing with power. A quick check under my shirt showed that they stopped just before reaching my neck, and only barely reached the center of my chest and back.

“Guess that looks pretty cool.” I shrugged. “Weird glowing tattoos are cool, right?”

“Sure they are Don.” Night said sarcastically. I just rolled my eyes.

“Well who cares if it hurt or if it looks weird. Let’s see if this works.” I thought about summoning the supposed wings that this came with and it turned out be easier than expected. Suddenly I had two large white feathered wings sticking out of my back, though said feathers looked covered in ash and the tips were glowing like fire. I gave them an experimental flap and found them more than capable of lifting me off the ground.

“Alright, this is great!” I flew into the air, just enjoying the feeling as I could feel Night watching with a smile. I guess with everything that was going on, she was content to give me this brief moment of happiness. Soaring across the badlands though made me quickly realize something.

“Hang on.” I pulled back, hovering in mid-air. “We’re still gonna need the last nest to have the power to beat Celestia and Luna.”

“Yes?” Night questioned.

“But we have no idea where it is, we can’t just go back to the fortress cause Gnarl will figure out something is up, and we can’t just go searching for it cause the only human on this world suddenly reappearing after disappearing from the changeling invasion is going to look fishy as fuck.”

Night hummed. “You have a point.” The two of us continued to discuss this as we headed back to hive. We made sure to stop flying far outside of it’s line of sight so as to not arouse suspicion of where I got these new abilities. When we reached the nest though, we were met by Snowflake Bastion. She looked only slightly different from before I… let’s not get into that. Her hair had a new streak of color in it and her eyes, though they had the determination of before, also seemed to have a strange killing intent. It was overall rather unnerving to look at her.

“Master, there you are. It has been days since you showed me the truth. Where have you been?”

Days? It’s been days?

“Yes, the mental battle we had with your other half took much more time than it may have appeared to. Thankfully the spot you choose to rest your body was not discovered.”

I sighed before doing my best to put on a stern face. “I’ve been busy. Is there a reason you were looking for me?”

“Ah, yes. I wanted to tell you that my former allies, the Evermore, have your blue nest. They had discovered it and were beginning preparations to move it to a more secure location just before they sent me on that fool’s errand to hunt you.”

“I see… and where is this secure location?”

“Likely the main Evermore base. It is located near the mountains to the north. If you like I can show you to it and we can both revel in the bloodshed.” The grin she gave when she said that sent a shiver down my spine.

“No.” I spat out before I could properly think. Thankfully Night was there to help me and quickly took over. “I will deal with it myself. Give me a map and instructions detailing the location and tell Zecora to make her way there. By the time she arrives, I will have the nest.”

Bastion seemed disappointed by this but bowed. “As you wish Master.” She pulled out a piece of paper and quill and began working. Meanwhile Night and I had a chat.

“What are we going to do when we get there?”

I could feel my hands shaking at the thought of what might happen, a bead of sweat running down my brow. We try to find a way to take it without killing.

“And if that’s impossible?”

Then we tell them to run.

“I highly doubt any of them will run just because we tell them to.”

I gritted my teeth, my frustration at the situation clear. I don’t want to kill anymore than you do, but we need that nest or we are toast. Celestia and Luna will figure us out eventually. And if not them, Jason will come back. It’s them, or us.

Night was just as hesitant as I was, not speaking until Bastion was done writing out her map. “Very well, but we give them every opportunity to flee.”

We will give them every chance to keep their lives. These are religious zealots though. Many will be willing to die for the cause they see as just.

“Does that mean you see what we are doing as right?”

I looked over the map before stowing it and walking toward the north. No. I’m not a hero. I’m just a man who wants to live. Circumstances have just forced me to take drastic actions to achieve that. I closed my eyes, a brief flash of all the death and pain I’ve caused running before my eyes. Heroes are not often haunted by those they kill in the name of good, nor are villains so easily shaken by the evils they commit. Those in the middle though can see every drop of blood that stains their hands. I glanced back to see Bastion was back inside the changeling hive, so I took that as my cue to start flying once more. We can only hope to not add to what is already there.

Author's Notes:

So... hi there.

It's been awhile since I've made some kind of post, or really any sort of update on this story. And considering what these past two chapters did, I imagine a few people might be rather miffed. After all, this story appeared to be a normal, blood thirsty villain story and there's nothing wrong with wanting that.

I just wanted to say that the choice to take Don's character in the direction it is going was not something I pulled out of my hat cause I was bored with the story or something. It was a conscious decision I had made since the start to not have this just be another psychotic villain story (which there is nothing wrong with, I just felt like there were a lot of those kinds of villain displaced and felt like challenging myself to do something a bit different). Nor will this be a villain redemption story though, that much I will say.

So ya, sorry about the inactivity. I've sort of found my golden goose with writing in the form of "keep far far away from the computer that has all my games on it and use my shitty laptop" so hopefully we should be seeing all three of my stories start back up.

P.S. Nearly forgot to mention. This was a crossover with the lovely Jsyrin who is a fun guy to write with and is also responsible for the cover art for this story so go shower him in love.

P.S.S. It's the broken halo from Saints Row: Gat out of Hell.

Evil Always Finds A Way

by TrombonePlayingPony

Intro

Welcome to Ponyville

Hostile Takeover

Let's get down to business

Settling In

A Trip to Canterlot

Antics and Arrangements

My Worst Nightmare

Forced to Adjust

Diamonds in the Rock

Winter Wrap Up

Chick Magnet

The Best Night Ever

Spicy Scheming

What does Evil fear?

Home is for the weak... right?

Sinking in the Swamps

Nightmare

Just a bit of evil

When Worlds Collide

The Entrepreneurs

Learning to walk several times over

Gotta love the smell of evil!

Burnt Bread and Foolish Friends

And... back to waiting

I saw the Bride naked

A Battle on All Fronts

Breakdown

The Strange Shopkeep