> Nisarga
>  by RhetCon
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Chapter 1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 1
As I remember, it started about 15,000 years ago, back when humans still walked the Earth.The message was clear in my head even back then: survival’s a hard thing to do .
My... eating habits started with a drunk man who stumbled home from a bar just to pass out on his bed later. I couldn’t remember anything before that, but instinct still led me to be able to feed myself. I leaned down to his corpse and put my hand on his back. After a few seconds of quiet, my mind and body were re-invigorated, and my strength grew. I felt as if a small person was attached to me, not literally, but figuratively.
At this time, humans still walked the Earth. A war for natural resources killed most of them off, and the others left the planet as it became severely radioactive. Other life forms started to develop in their place, one of them was what I was now. 
My skin, which was now covered in fur, was cobalt blue with yellow stripes crossing it every now and again. My hair was an electric yellow similar to my stripe color, and my eyes were a blue similar to my coat. I had hands, but no feet, replaced by hooves. On the middle of my forehead there was a horn. 
As of now, I resided on the streets of a city. The residents, although they might look like it, don’t refer to themselves as humans, and I was sure they didn’t know that they used to exist. They were ponies, and there was no convincing them otherwise.	 
As for the city, it was called Ponyville, one of the many pony themed names of the land they inhabit, Equestria.The highlight of this town was a massive crystal castle in the city. I heard it belonged to a princess, but I’ve never been there myself to confirm it. The reason I ended up in this city was because of it’s population of ponies. 
This particular day, I was at a cafe drinking a cappuccino. Three girls walked in, one of them with a white coat who caught my eye. They all walked to the register where they ordered three drinks. They decided to sit at my table, taking the last three chairs that completed it.
I took a sip of my drink just as the last one sat down. This girl had a orange coat of fur, a purple mane and an eye color to match. She was the one to look in my direction first. 
“You know,” said the purple maned girl. “It’s nice to have a cup of coffee with you girls. It’s been too long.” she picked up her cup and slightly sipped the cup, her wings fluttering afterwards. “This is really good!”
“Yeah, I know.” said the girl next to her and across from me in a southern-like accent. She had a coat akin to the inside of an apple, a red mane, and brown eyes. “Y’all should come over to Ponyville more often.”
“I would Applebloom, but I’m kind of a big deal up in Cloudsdale. If I don’t keep the Rainbow Factory open, the skies won’t look as cool as they do now.” She took a slightly bigger sip than last time. “Work has completely taken over our old personalities, hasn’t it?”
“Definitely,” said the last girl, talking for the first time. Her coat was a bright white, her hair was pink and purple, and her eyes were a bright green. “I certainly thought I’d be with you girls all my life, but  apparently not.” Her cup was surrounded by a green aura and lifted to her mouth, where she took a long swig unlike her friends. “Speaking of which, how long are you here for Scootaloo?” At that name, the orange maned one looked towards the ceiling and put on a face of thought. 
“I’m not sure. I think about 2 more weeks.” She rubbed the back of her head. “I’m sure Dashie told me something like that.” The pony next to her laughed.
“Ah’m sure that if I missed something Applejack told me to do, ah’d be scolded for a whole week.” She gulp her drink down in one shot,sitting back in her chair afterwards. “But enough talking about responsibilities. Let’s go do sumthin’ fun!” The white coat mare cleared her throat and gained her friends attention.
“You know my policies,” she finished off her drink next, placing it right in front of me. “Nothing that will inebriate me, okay? I may be taking vacation, but I’d like to know what I’ve done over it.”
“Yeah yeah, I promise that you won’t get fatally drunk, Sweetie Belle.” she finished off her drink next and ascended from her chair. “Anyway, lets go. We’ve got a lot ahead of us.”
“Looks like that’s my cue as well,” I said arising from my chair. “I hope you enjoy yourself, Ms. Belle.” I got up and drank the last of the cappuccino. Putting the cup in the trash, I proceeded out the door and into the light of the day, as early as can be. “Looks like I’ll need to do something while I wait.” I looked towards the center of town where the markets were. Seeing nothing else better to do, I went to over to the markets to spend the rest of my day.

Other than a few signs advertising an eating contest, some really fashionable clothes, and a cider stand, nothing really caught my eye. I tried a few things to eat and, although they were delicious, they weren’t enough to fill me up like a soul would. 
It was far past 3 o'clock when Sweetie Belle walked back into her home, a large building called the Carousel Boutique, probably exhausted from her day out on the town. When she walked into her house, I was having tea in the kitchen just outside the foyer. She walked past me, her steps heavy and loud as they echoed through her house. She was dissuaded from taking a shower and probably thought it best to push it to tomorrow, unaware that she wouldn’t have that much time. 
She walked into her room and left the door open behind her. She slowly undressed until she was in nothing but a bra and a pair of frilly white panties. She put on a pair of pajama pants and a t-shirt and plopped down onto her bed. I walked into the door she’d unconsciously left open, and knelt next to her bed. Before I got down to business, I observed the room she had. It was plain aside from the light blue wall color, a few bits of furniture here and there including a desk littered with papers, and a bed of course. 
She looked directly at me before turning over and turning off the light, shrouding the room in darkness. Without any further ado, I placed my hand gently on her back. I concentrated for a few seconds before feeling the normal re-invigoration I always felt when I ate. After opening my eyes, I found that I’d successfully taken her soul.	
“Great,” I said to myself. “So, I hear that Manehattan is chock full of ponies.” I got up from my knee and started heading to the door. “Maybe I’ll hide there for a couple of-”
Suddenly, I fell to my knees, unable to gather the strength to stand. I couldn’t tell what was happening until I felt something rise from my insides. I started to gag and finally coughed up a green wisp of light. Without pause, it flew behind me and returned to its original body, the shock enough to wake her from her sleep.
“What the-” she said before going silent. I couldn’t see her face, as I was sweating and gagging on the floor. “Who are you?” 
Too many things started happening at once. Soul after soul started pouring from my body, each one forcefully ripping itself from my body. A few seconds later, a loud voices started playing in my head, some screams and some legitimate speech. Some of them I recognized as last words. Finally, after it was all over, I lay face down on the wood floor of the room, sweating profoundly and my mind eerily clear.
I stayed where I was, unable to offer even the smallest explanation of what just happened. A few seconds later, a voice popped into my head.
“What to do, what to do?”  it said followed by a pacing. “What is he even doing in here, anyway?!”
“Am I losing my mind?” I asked aloud. “What am I hearing?!” The voice popped up in my head again.
“What’s with this guy? Is he actually losing his mind?!” this voice came with a sigh. “I-I guess I have to go talk to this guy sooner or later.” I felt a hand touch my shoulder and startled at it’s touch. This time, she actually used her words.
“Are you alright? How did you get in here?” My breath increased rapidly and I tried to stand. My body was not so compliant and made me collapse on the floor. After a bit of elbow grease, she got me into a sitting position. “Can you talk?” My eyes got heavy with the sleep that once plagued Ms. Belle, and it became impossible to stay awake. I closed my eyes for what I think was the best night sleep I ever had.

My day was going pretty well. I got to spend some time with my friends, I got to eat some good food, have a great time…
Then someone collapsed in my room.
His entrance surprised me. When I woke, all I heard was gagging and the sound of wind rushing past me. Then I felt something in my chest similar to getting pelted with rocks. The worst part was the silence afterwards. Afterwards, my chest felt like it was stuffed with wet towels, there was an eerie silence. The only sound to assure myself I didn’t go deaf was a heavy breathing right in front of me.
The first thing that came to me was a question. What was he doing here and why? I did my signature “mental pacing” to help calm my mind. 
“Am I losing my mind? What am I hearing?” he said aloud. My next thought was that he was insane. I’d definitely not heard any other noise in the house. I sighed, knowing that sooner or later I'd need to confront him. I walked over to him and put my hand on his shoulder gently.
"Are you alright? How did you get in here?" He didn't respond and instead tried to get up. Before being able to, he collapsed onto the floor. After trying my hardest to lift him, I finally got him to sit upright on the wall. 
"Can you talk?" I asked, confused  with his silence. He started to breath normally, his eyes slowly closing. After only a few seconds, he was completely asleep. The room fell silent. I did the only thing I thought was appropriate in that situation.
“What to do, what to do…” I said pondering the situation. Every time I closed my eyes, I thought of the same image in my head. It was a… thing that looked like a spirit with a white wispy tail for legs, ghostly white “skin” and radiant baby blue eyes. 
Soon, I couldn’t take it anymore and said “I can’t think!” Then, the image in my head started to talk.
“Uh… hello?” he said, his eyes focusing in on me. “I’m so sorry, are you okay?” His words may have been calm, but I definitely wasn’t.
“Am I okay?! No, frankly, I am as far away from ‘okay’ as physically possible!” His eyes darted to the floor. “Who, or what, are you?!”  A nervous silence reigned in my room once again. I took a deep and shaky breath. “Sorry. Just start with telling me your name.”
“M-my name is Bumi… a-and yours? I mean, I already know but I um… uh-”
“It’s fine, just tell me,” I said  . “What were you doing in my room?”
“I was…” he paused, probably uncertain of what to say next. “I was... I was about to… eat your soul.” before I could even react, he stopped me. “I’m sorry and I completely understand if you want to freak out-”
“You were about to do what?!” I yelled, half furiously, half fearfully. “You were going to kill me! Is this some kind of sick joke?!”
“Ms. Belle, please calm down-”
No! I will not calm down!” I was getting more and more angry and scared by the second. “Think about my situation! I want to go to sleep but no, some guy just passes out on my floor and sends some kinda magic into me, making me talk to him-”
“Actually, I didn’t make you talk-”
“And then, when I see what you actually look like, I see a freaking ghost?! No, no, do not talk to me about being calm, Bumi, because if you were in my shoes, I’d bet you’d need a change of underwear before long!” Just then, a loud voice saying my name echoed close to me, enough to make me open my eyes in shock.
The stallion was awake and had one of his hands on my shoulder and the other over my mouth.
"Sorry to be so physical, Ms. Belle," he said softly. "But if you continue to yell, you'll wake up the whole neighborhood." He removed his hands and backed up, allowing for a better view of himself.
His coat was an interesting blend of blue and yellow, his hair was yellow and his eyes were blue. He looked down on me as if he was counting on me to say something. I could only think about the events that happened.
"Um..." he said calling attention to himself. "I guess I'll be going then."
"Wait a second," I said without thinking. I was terrified of this man and even more terrified of what associating with him could do to me. Although all of these things weighed down my decision, I looked him in the eye and said, “It’s obvious we now have some sort of connection o-or something. I’ll need you to stay around until I find out exactly what it was.”
“Are you positive, Ms. Belle? Are you not still angry at me?” he said, his words very soft and innocent. Reminding me of myself when I was younger, I stood up to meet face to face with him.
“I wasn’t really angry, just scared. Now that I’ve gotten a little used to the situation, I’m ready to talk to you like a normal pony, er... ghost?” I walked in front of him and towards my dresser. “I’m not going back to sleep now. Might as well stay up.”
“I’m sorry to have bothered you Ms. Belle,” he said bowing his head towards me. “I don’t mean to mess up your night.”
“Oh don’t worry about it,” I said pulling off my pajamas and pulling up a skirt. “And if you’re going to be staying, call me Sweetie Belle.” I kept on my t-shirt and looked at the clock. It was 4:25 in the morning and there was nothing else I thought to do in my house, so I opened the door to my room and motioned towards the man in my there, Bumi. “Well? Are you coming or not?”
“Uh, yes Ms. Be- I mean Sweetie Belle,” he said as he scurried towards me and the door. I took my key of of the table and closed the door behind us.
	
	
> Chapter 2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chapter 2

Sweetie Belle was a lot more intimidating than she originally let on. At first, I thought that she was a professional, but all around classy woman. But after her rage-filled rant about her morning, I found that staying on her good side should be one of my top priorities.
After leaving her room, and eventually the house, we walked the streets of Ponyville in the peaceful dawnlight. After walking around the town for about 10 minutes, I got up enough courage to ask the question that I wanted to since we left.
“Um… Sweetie Belle?” I asked quietly, as if just my words could wake up the city. “Where exactly are we going?”
“We’re going to wait for a friend of mine,” she said, stopping in the middle of a large plaza. She pointed towards a lone mare pushing a cart slowly towards us. When we approached her, she looked up and smiled in our direction.
“What are ya doin’ out here, Sweetie Belle?” asked the mare. “Shouldn’t ya be passed out by now?”
“Well, someone woke me up,” she said as her eyes moved to me. “And I couldn’t fall back asleep, so I decided to stay up and help you.”
“That’s mighty kind of you, Sweetie Belle.” Her eyes finally fell on me. “Mind introducing me to your friend?”
“Oh, sure,” she said, as if we were old friends. “This is Bumi. He’s a little new in town and found himself at the boutique a little later than our closing hours.” Her friend apparently believed the bluff and put out her hand.
“Nice to meet’cha. My name’s Applebloom.” I took her hand and proceeded to be shaken vigorously. “What brings you tah Ponyville?”
“Uh… family problems?” I said, more as a question than a statement. “Sorry, I’m just a little tired…”
“I look forward to knowing ya better, but I’ve got tah do a bit of work first.” She kept pushing her cart past us. “I’ll see ya later Sweetie Belle.”
“Wait a second, Applebloom,” she said. “I came here to help.” She blinked a few times and smiled.
Okay then.” A long yawn escaped her. “All ah need help with right now is staying awake. Nobody’s gonna be up this early except fer me and AJ.” 
As if on cue, a mare walked by wearing a long coat, only revealing a lock of green hair as she scuttled by. We all watched her disappear around a corner before snapping back to our own conversation.
“Oookay, anyways,” said Sweetie Belle. “Bumi, could you get us some coffee? There’s a shop not to far from here.”
“I know the shop,” I admitted. “But will the really be open this time of morning?”
“Don’t worry,” she assured me as she handed me a bag of bits. “They have some sort of window for small orders. Check around the back for it.”
“O-okay, I guess.” I started walking in the direction of the coffee place I first met Sweetie Belle. Walking around the back, I saw a man with jet black skin and bright white hair sat on a chair behind the wall, clicking away on his phone. As he saw me approach, he put away the phone.
“Hi, what would you like?” His name tag said his name was Silver Rift, a name I couldn’t exactly remember, but definitely knew.
“I’ll have two coffees one with two sugars and a cream, one straight.” I said, remembering their orders from earlier. “Oh, and a caramel cappuccino please.”
“Coming right up,” he said, leaving the chair and my line of sight. 
For a while, nothing even stirred my attention from that window. Then, a can was knocked over behind me, making me turn around. Nothing was there except for a broken street lamp. I then turned back to the window. I could hear the pouring of presumably fresh coffee into a cup, so I thought it wasn’t going to take long.
Another rattling caught my ear, but I didn’t think much of it, and shrugged it off. Again, something behind me rattled, this time it was louder and more profound. I tried to ignore it, but the rattling sounded as if it was right behind me, prompting me to look back. What I saw what both scary and thrilling at the same time. 
The mare from earlier appeared before me for a second. Under the hood, I could see bright yellow eyes, green skin, and wispy hands. She passed through me, leaving a chill in my spine. I spun around and looked  towards the window only to find  the person sitting there with the drinks.
“Are you okay?” he asked holding out the drinks. “That’ll be 30 bits.” I emptied out the bag she gave me and gave him the bits. He counted them again and nodded in my direction. “You stay safe out there.”
“Thanks, you too,” I said half walking, half running back from the shop. I looked around for the mare that “attacked” me, but I couldn’t find her. Finally making it back to the cart, I found that  Applebloom had nodded off, and that Sweetie Belle wasn’t doing much better. I put the coffee next to Applebloom and tapped Sweetie Belle on the shoulder.
“Hmm…?” she said, realizing she fell asleep. “Oh man, looks like I was tired after all.”
“I’ll help out Applebloom. You can go back to your house.”
“Yeah, like I’m leaving one of my best friends with some guy that tried to eat my soul.” she rubbed her eyes. “I’m completely fine.”
“Than take her with you,” I suggested. “Just make sure you get some sleep, okay?”
“Why should I trust you? How do I know you won’t just steal the cart and disappear?”I laughed at her comment.
“What use would I have for regular food? If I eat it, it wouldn’t fill me up.” I could see her eyes falling and yawns escape her left and right. “Plus, I don’t need to sleep.”
“Fine,” she said. “But If I come back and you’re gone, if I ever find you-” apparently she was too tired to come up with the rest of the threat. 
“I-I think I get it,” I said, a smile crossing my face. “Just get some sleep.” She laid Applebloom over her shoulder, looked at me one more time and then disappeared in a flash of green light. I turned towards the cart and pushed it into the empty plaza, waiting for the day to pick up.


When I woke up, I was a little dazed and tired. I didn’t know the time, but I could see the sun, so I assumed that it was about 8 o’clock. Applebloom was still passed out next to me from yesterday, but I could look over her to glance at the time, my heart skipping a beat when I saw it. 
“Applebloom, wake up! It’s almost 6 o’clock!” she grunted and rolled over.
“So? I can sleep till’ at least 8,” she said groggily. I shook her and tried to get her to wake up.
“No, you don’t get it! It’s almost 6 in the afternoon!” At that, she sprang up, eyes wide in terror. “We have to get to the cart, now!”
We both got dressed as fast as we could and started heading out of the door. I threw open my drawer and found myself some pants. Throwing Applebloom a pair of jeans, I looked at my bathroom, realizing that this would probably be the first day I could remember in which I didn’t take a shower. Applebloom shook me out of my daze.
“C’mon, teleport us there!” I nodded my head and concentrated. Instead of teleporting like I usually did, a familiar voice popped in my head.
“Man. what a day,” it said.echoing through my head. “I wonder if they slept all day.” the laugh told me that it was Bumi who was thinking about all of this. “That’d be embarrassing.”
“Oh yeah?” I said aloud. “Well, let me come down there and see how much progress you made!” I opened my eyes to see a confused Applebloom. I blushed and closed my eyes again. This time, I felt the familiar pressure of a teleport and the wind start to rush pass. After I opened my eyes, I found myself looking directly at Bumi. Applebloom reacted much faster than I did.
“Give me the apron, quickly!” She grabbed the apron’s strap off of his neck and put it on her own. “Ah, appreciate this, but ya’ll have to act as if I was here the whole time, understand?”
“Uh, yeah,” said Bumi, leaving the stand. “Just a random customer.”
“So, I heard you badmouthing me earlier,” I said to Bumi. “Did you find something funny?” He put up his hands in defense.
“Ahaha, so you heard that…” he said quietly. “I don’t know if that’s bad mouthing, but-” 
“Hey guys,” said a voice from behind me. As I turned, I found out Scootaloo was standing behind me. “Hey Bumi.”
“So you guys already know each other?” I asked. She nodded her head .
“Yeah. When I saw that he was taking Applebloom’s place, I had to ask why he was here and who he was.” She crossed her hands and raised an eyebrow. “I thought we told each other everything, Sweetie Belle.”
“Sorry, it’s just that everything happened so fast, and I never had the time to tell you-”
“Ooooh, okay.” she said. “You were just going through a heat cycle-”
“Wait, what!” I yelled. “What did he tell you?!”
“Well, he said that he met you early this morning, that you guys made some kind of connection, and that you know each other better than ever now.” She tapped her foot on the ground. “I think that’s enough to say you’ve got a new special somepony, and I didn’t know about it.” With that, my face flushed red.
“T-that’s not what he meant, trust me,” I said flashing him an angry glare. “What he really meant was a different type of connection.”
“Then what type of connection did you make?” asked Scootaloo as she badgered me for information. 
“It’s… complicated to tell, but I’m sure someone like Zecora knows.” I shook my head. “No, she’s out of town for at least another moon…”
“Well,” said Bumi, calling attention to himself. “I think I know a little of what happened.” he cleared his throat. “So, the real reason I went into Sweetie Belle’s room this morning was to-”
“Wait,” I said to him through my thoughts. “Are you sure we should tell people about this?”
“I thought they were your best friends and that you told them everything.” What he said was true, but I wasn’t sure yet.
“I don’t know…” I thought unconsciously. “Maybe Bumi has a point, and I should tell them. One the other hand, Scootaloo’s mouth can run at 100 miles an hour, so I’m not exactly thrilled to tell her....”
“Uh, Sweetie Belle?” said Bumi interrupting my thoughts. “I think they’re starting to get impatient.” I actually sighed. opening my eyes again.
“Go on,” I said out loud.
“Well, I went to Sweetie Belle’s room to… eat her soul-”
“And before you freak out, I’m completely fine.” I said to ease the explanation.
“-but after I finished, her soul wormed it’s way through me and broke free, releasing all the other souls in the process. With no other body to go to, they all burrowed in Sweetie Belle.” There was a stifling silence for a bit before Applebloom broke it again.
“A-ah don’t understand,” stuttered Applebloom. “W-what exactly are you?”
“Not a pony, that’s for sure,” he said, startling them even further. “But don’t worry. For some reason, after all of my souls were extracted from me, I still feel full.”
“What do you mean ‘full’?” asked Scootaloo. “You eat souls?”
“Sorry if that scares you guys. I swear I didn’t mean it.”
“I have a question for you,” I said speaking up. “Why did you choose my soul out of everyone in Ponyville?”
“You were the first pony I saw yesterday morning,” he admitted. “I saw you three enter that coffee shop. You even sat at my table.”
“But the table was empty when we sat at it,” I remarked. “Do you have the ability to become invisible?”
“It’s a lot more complicated than that.” he said. “I don’t know what happened to it, but I used to be able to unconsciously alter perception. Basically, if you stared at that chair really hard for a couple of minutes, I’d slowly start to appear.”
All of us were silent for a moment. From Bumi’s revelation to his perception thing, everyone had something new they learned. It was Bumi who finally broke the silence in my head. 
“So,” he started. “Everything alright? It’s a little creepy to be standing like this in the middle of the street.”
“Just give them a little time. they’ll come around eventu-”
“So, let me get all my facts straight,” said Scootaloo. “You’re a soul eating thing that goes around taking the souls of random ponies?”
“Yeah…” he replied slowly.
“And Sweetie Belle was your last target before this happened right?”
“Yes, go on.” She was quiet for a few seconds until a small smile appeared on her face.
“I’ve got to hand it to you. For a soul eating killer, from what I’ve seen, you’re a pretty nice guy.” she looked at Applebloom. “I’m sure you agree, right Applebloom?”
“Ah’m a little confused,” Applebloom admitted. “Ya can’t eat regular food, like hotdogs or apples?”
“Well, of course I could,” Bumi said putting my hands up. “But it would take almost all of this world’s food supply to fill me up the way a soul does.” Scootaloo’s face lit up and a sound similar to a small mouse mouse escaped her.
“What was that?” I asked. 
“I have an idea!” she said excitedly. “Say Bumi,” she said putting her hands on her hips. “How do you like hotdogs?”
	
	
	
	
	
> Chapter 3
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Chapter 3
“W-why do I have to do this again?” I asked Scootaloo as she fastened the apron around my neck. “Isn’t this cheating?”
“It isn’t cheating if you don’t get found out, now be quiet and eat.” She clapped her hands together and smiled. “There. Make sure you eat up.” She skipped away, Applebloom behind her praising her for her “ingenious” plan.
Their plan was to get me to win a hotdog eating contest. After just barely making it, and having to pay an extra fee, I was given a number, 77, and a spot. The point wasn’t to eat as fast as you could, but to just eat as much as you could without giving up.
It was only five minutes before someone threw up all over the floor. After that sight, most people would get up and follow suit. Good thing that’s what about three other people did. The chain stopped there, as the other contestants were ready to eat as much as they could.
It took another hour or so for another person to be eliminated. About 10 people put up the signal to quit, putting their hands together, and were escorted to the booths to watch. Although I wasn’t full, I was getting quite tired of the taste. 
After the last twenty people were decided, and I finished what seemed to be my 7th plate of hotdogs, I saw something that caught my eye. The mare wearing the hood from this morning was sitting a few seats in front of me, engaging in another new plate of hot dogs. After her attack, I was convinced that something was off with her, and I was determined to find out.
It would be another 2 hours, at 9:30, that the last three people were decided. Me, my cloaked friend, and a large stallion apparently going by the name War. He had a good run, but by the time his 15th plate came round, he could take anymore and threw up all over his table. I called for my fifteenth plate, but the waiter was hesitant. He walked up to the announcer and whispered something in his ear. The announcer tapped the mic and began to speak.
“Unfortunately, we’ve… run out of hotdogs. Sorry folks, but this is draw!” In accordance to the announcement, there were uncertain whispers. “So, we will split the 500 bit prize money between our two front runners!” There was an applause as I stood up and stretched and as my cloaked friend left her seat. We both approached the announcer and accepted the large sacks full of golden coins. We both stood waved to the crowd, walking our separate ways at the end. After leaving the tables, I ran into Sweetie Belle, Applebloom, and Scootaloo. 	
“Sorry about that,” I said rubbing my stomach. “I guess the competition was a little… tough.” Scootaloo waved her hand in a dismissive manner. 
"It wasn't your fault. Who knew that there was someone able to match an infinite stomach."
"Its not infinite," I said shaking my head. "Just vast. That and sick of hotdogs."
"Whatever the case, I've gotta get back and count these bits," she said as she hauled the bag over her shoulder. "Applebloom, Sweetie Belle?"
"Ah have no problem. It is my house we're countin' at." Sweetie Belle shook her head at the offer.
"Sorry girls," she said apologetically. "But this day has gone all over the place. So much so that I haven't taken a shower today. And you girls both know that I need to take my showers."Both of the girls nodded their heads in agreement.
"Okay then," said Applebloom. "Ah guess ah'll see ya later." Her eyes flickered towards Scootaloo for a second who nodded with a devilish smile. As they turned and walked away, I could only guess what they were signaling to each other. I turned back towards Sweetie Belle to find the hooded woman heading in our direction. Curious to know who or what she was, I walked towards her as well.
“Bumi?” called Sweetie Belle as I walked past her. “Where are you…” She fell quiet as she saw who I was approaching. 
“So, who exactly are-” I started before getting cut off. She gently rested her wispy hands on my shoulders and pulled me towards her, locking her lips with mine. As quickly as it happened, it finished, the mare moving a few feet away from me.
“So you really don’t remember me…” She said looking upwards. “What exactly happened since I left?”
“I-I don’t know,” I said, the red on my cheeks more apparent that the red of an apple. “Who you are or what you’re doing here?”
“I… I guess I’ll have to introduce myself again.” She unbuttoned her cloak  and took it off, revealing herself to be a mare with the upper body of a normal mare and the lower body of a ghost, with a flickering tail to match. Other than the aforementioned cloak and a large sweater to cover the top half of her body, she was relatively naked. “My name’s Venera, the spirit of the planet Venus,” she said. “I am also your sister.”
“You’re my sister?” I said, trying to remember who she was. “But… but then why did you kiss me so… frivolously?”
“Oh, that’s just one of my abilities,” she said putting her hands behind her back. “Everytime I kiss someone, I can alter their memories.”
“That’s a pretty cool ability,” remarked Sweetie Belle. “I don’t know what I would do if someone could use that against me.”
“It works for everyone, babe,” she said sassily. “Would you like to test it?”
“Um, no thanks,” she said shyly.
“So, what are you doing here?” I asked. “I assume that if you’re coming from a different planet, you’re not here for tea and crumpets.”
“Well, not exactly,” she replied. “I’m here for a different reason, but, as you could guess, here is not a place I’d like to discuss that. We should go indoors.”
“I have no problem with you two going to my house,” said Sweetie Belle. “Just as long as I can take my shower in peace.”
“Sure thing, babe. We won’t peek,” she said glancing over at me. “Or at least he won’t.”
“O-okay then,” she said turning around. “To my house it is.”
We walked to Sweetie Belle’s house, the darkness of the night settling in fast. Finally reaching the house, Sweetie Belle walked inside and disappeared up a flight of stairs, going to what I thought was her room. I sat down in the kitchen and beckoned for Venera to do the same. After she sat, I crossed my feet, ready to listen to what she had to say.
“So, if any of this is to make any sense to you, you’ll need to lean forwards,” she started. I did as I was told and was granted a kiss, making all sorts of images flash across my vision. After the show was done, my head was filled with all sorts of memories. “Some of them may seem blurry to you, but after thinking about it hard enough, it should come back to you.”
“So, why did I need all of this?” I asked, still a little dazed from the influx of information. 
“What you really need to focus on is the memories of your other siblings. Especially the ones named Sani, spirit of the planet Saturn and Dias, spirit of the planet Jupiter.” I flipped through my memories until two pictures popped up in my vision. One of a female with orangish skin, dark brown hair, and eyes matching her hair color. The other was of a male, With light brown skin along with sandy blond hair and eyes. 
“Yeah, I-I remember them,” I said confusedly. “But what about them should I focus on?”
“The past millennia have been hell for these two,” she explained. “They’ve been in a war because of something that they’re both too prideful to admit they had a hand in.”
“I…” I started. “I just barely can’t remember. Something was… destroyed?”
“It was our birthplace,” she explained. “ The planet that was called Yeri. It was destroyed somehow, and neither will stop blaming the other.”
“I see…” I said. “So, what is it you want me to do?” She sighed and looked away from me like she was coming to the worst part.
“I’m too weak to stop them from fighting each other, but you,” she said grabbing my hands. “You aren’t. You may not know it yet, but if this continues, they’ll end up killing  each other, and… and I know you can’t live with that.” I closed my eyes and concentrated. 
“Hey, Sweetie Belle,” I asked in my head. “I have a very important question to ask you.” I heard her jump inside of my head.
“C-couldn’t it have waited until I was out of the shower?” she asked trying to cover herself up. “What is it?”
“I know it sounds like a big responsibility,” I started. “But I need you to help me do something big.”
“What do you mean?” she asked. “Did Venera tell you something important?”
“There’s an intergalactic fight going on somewhere in space right now, and I need you help to stop it,” I explained. “If I don’t help these people solve their problems, It could cause widespread devastation and destruction, killing countless people.”
“Wait, what do you mean? Who’s in war?”
“Two of my siblings,” I said. “I don’t know how or when we’re going to stop them, but I can’t if you don’t help me.”
“I- I don’t know what to say,” she said. “I’m not a fighter, I’m a dress designer! How am I supposed to stop intergalactic war?”
“I… don’t know. But if I was to have anyone by my side helping me do it, I’d like for it to be you.” She rubbed her temples and made  few grunting noises before settling on her decision.
“Fine! I’ll help you,” she said. “I just… really hope I get back here in one piece.” I extended my pinkie in her direction.
“I promise,” I said as I opened my eyes. “Okay, I just had a talk with Sweetie Belle-”
“In the shower?” asked Venera. As I nodded a small smile appeared on her face. “Looks like I underestimated your powers of perversion.” My face became red.
“Not because of that!” I exclaimed. “We both agree to help you stop this war.” She smiled wide and gave me a hug in appreciation. 
“Okay then,” she said. “If we are really to stop this war, we’ll need to do some.. preparation first.”

After talking to Bumi, a flurry of questions flew around in my mind. Who were his siblings, What war was he talking about, and best of all, where did I fit into this? I told him I was only a dressmaker, yet he seemed to be intent on having me as his traveling partner. The flattery made me smile, but the danger was a rising threat.
I left the shower and went into my room. Resting the towel on the bed, I proceeded to stretch across the bed, taking in this moment of comfort before it was gone. I looked up at the ceiling in the near silence of the night, my thoughts running wild in my head. I was too tired to focus on any one of them, this lack of concentration the reason I was able to fall asleep as easily as I did.
Uncharacteristically, my dreams gave me no comfort. Usually, I’d dream of things that happened during the day. Interesting points of interest like making a really great dress, or meeting up with the girls and having a great time. Today, I had a dream about someone I’d never seen before. 
It looked like a woman, but she was made up of a dark void. The only thing able to differentiate her from it was few stars that dotted her figure. Her eyes were pure white, no pupils to be found, and her hair was long, flowing all the way to her knees and the same color as her body. For a moment she just stared at me, no sense of emotion on her face, but after a few minutes, her mouth opened, her very voice enough to send chills down my spine.
“Who watches me?” she asked, pointing in my direction. “Show yourself. Now.” I gulped, unsure of what she meant. Her eyes narrowed and she reached out in my direction, pulling me further into this void. Once I was completely pulled out, her eyes locked with mine, a confused look on her face. “Why won’t you answer me?” If I hadn’t already been sleeping, I would’ve passed out from the pressure. Eventually, after a few seconds of trying to swallow, I finally got my name out.
“S-S-Sweetie Belle,” I choked out. “W-who are y-you?” Her eyes narrowed.
“After being so rude, you demand my name?” she asked, her eyes boring hoes into me. “I wonder what stops me from killing you this instant.” Unable to say anything in my defense, she let me drop to the floor of the void. Only then could I see how big she was, standing at at least 7 feet tall. This only made me more intimidated as I struggled to swallow.
“Sweetie Belle!” screamed someone behind me. Before turning around to see who it was, I was swept off of my feet and sent flying through the air. All too suddenly, I landed, almost stopping my heart. Looking up to see who it was, I saw that it was a woman I’d never seen before. “Oh my god, what were you doing there?”
“Doing where? Who are you?” I asked, my fear rescinding very slowly. “What is happening!?”
“Are you pulling blanks now?” she asked with a worried look on her soft brown face. “It’s me, Merkur!”
“Mer...ker?” I asked. “I.. I don’t know a Merkur.” She sighed and put me down on the ground. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. I’ll have Venera finaggle with your memories after this. But for now,” both of her hands were surrounded with an orange aura before catching on fire. “Keep away from her. Far away, got it!?” her shout made me flinch a bit, but I nodded in agreement. Just as she jumped towards the larger woman, my dream faded into nothingness, another replacing it.
This time, I stood in a very bright place. Almost everything around me was bright yellow, almost white. Although it was hot, it wasn’t uncomfortable, rather, it felt as if my bones had been frozen and I was sitting in front of a radiant fire. As I surveyed the place in front of me, someone tapped me on the shoulder, making me jump. Turning around, I found that the tap came from a woman. Her skin was pale, not far from my own skin. Her hair seemed to be made of flickering flames and her eyes the same color. 
“Hello, Sweetie Belle,” said this woman. “I assume you’ve just returned from a bad dream, yes?”
“I… I don’t know if it was a dream,” I responded. “She acted as if I was actually there. She actually touched me.”
“Well, bad dream or no, it’s over,” she said, a pair of chairs and a small table appearing in the yellow void. She took a seat and beckoned for me to follow her. I hesitated for a second, my sight switching between her and the chair, but I eventually took a seat. “My name is Sonne, spirit of the sun. I’m the mother of all other spirits.”
“The mother of all spirits?” I asked confusedly. “You’re the mother of Bumi and Venera?”
“Yes, actually. They are the closest of the siblings, but there are still others besides them.” She gestured to her left, a model of a few spherical bodies were present, none of which I recognized. “The one you inhabit, since long before you, has been called Earth. The one closest and the most resemblant of the Earth is Venus, it’s sister planet.”
“I don’t remember learning anything about this in school…” I remarked. “These things are called planets, right?” I asked pointing to the spheres. “They’re all brothers and sisters?”
“Yes,” answered Sonne. “In total, there are eight, Plura being a… special occasion,” she said, looking away from me with a slight smirk on her face. “Anyway, there is a reason I’m telling you all this.”
“Oh, okay then,” I said. “What is it?”
“You don’t know how it is to be a mother yet, so I don’t think you’d understand completely, but whenever my children get into serious conflict, I can’t help but cry.” She looked at me, her facial expression completely changed. “Recently, a huge fight broke out between two of my children because of the destruction of a planet special to all of us. It’s name was Yeri, and I was the one who made it. It was basically the birthplace of all of the spirits.
“But due to a misunderstanding, the planet was destroyed. Two spirits are in the middle of a war, one that could possibly kill all involved if someone doesn’t step in and stop it.” My eyes widened, as I remember Bumi talking about something similar. “I know that Bumi asked for your help, but I understand you aren’t prepared to take on such a task.”
“You’re going to help me?” I asked. She shook her head.
“I can’t help you directly, but I have a special ability that allows me to do something from beyond,” she said, holding out her hand, a golden light enveloping it. “I can heal any ailment, or simply resurrect those who are dead. But everything comes at a price.”
“What do you have to pay to heal someone like that?”
“I am forced to age, depending on the severity of the wound.” She closed her eyes. “A minor headache, probably a few weeks in your time. A game over wound could cost me up to 500 years. Whenever I resurrect someone… I’m lucky to get away with 2,000 years…”
“I see…” I said, looking down. “If it makes you feel any better, you don’t look a day over 21.” I could see her smile at my remark.
“Thank you, Sweetie Belle,” she said , her body glowing a golden light. “Unfortunately though, It’s time for you to wake up,” she said, the room filling with the golden light that nearly blinded me. “Always remember, no matter where you are, I will always be watching and protecting you.” The light started to fade as I opened my eyes, finding that the sun had risen and was shining in my face. I yawned and stretched, bathing in the light, ready to go and start my day with a new protector watching my back.