> An offer you can't refuse...
>  by The Psychopath
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> The Bertaglis family
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The year is 1972. The same old cars ran across the heated asphalt of the streets to and fro in the big city of Los Angeles. Taxis everywhere, wide open crashes everywhere else. People rode casually on their bikes to get to one place as there was too much traffic today. The vacation season had started, and businesses were climbing up the profit ladder. The city was as lively as ever and many new things were happening, besides graduations and whatnot. Despite the occasional robbery and police cars going to the scene, there was a brown Van slowly going to a stop in front of a large shop. The men in the car wore brown tuxedoes and other formal attire. The doors clapped shut, and they were out, their faces showing utmost seriousness as they analyzed their surroundings before entering the shop. Despite their attire, everyone around ignored them and continued with their shopping. These six then entered a room with a sign on it spelling:

"Only authorized personnel are permitted entry."

They ignored this and passed aside the employees working at their desks. Instead of trying to stop them, the employees began to stress and kept to themselves. Apparently, they were well known, and they slammed the door at the end of this miniature working area. Fallen from his chair was a scrawny man wearing a simple black cap. His plaid shirt was in shambles and the amount of paperwork all over this office showed that he was trying to get something done before these men arrived. One of these six people wore a fedora, and he seemed to be giving orders to the others, gesturing two of them to guard the door while the other three took out a bat, a golf club, and a crow bar.

"C-c-c-come on, man." The scrawny owner was hyperventilating and gulping at the same time."Things have been r-r-rough. I can't pay you the protection money."

The fedora wearer sniffed a bit and lit a cigarette taken from his coat pocket. A small tuft of smoke left his nostrils as he glared at the poor shop owner crawling on the ground.

"You said that twice already. How bad IS your commerce? I beleive that your investments in the stock markets is where our due has gone, no?"

"Wh-what? N-no! I wwould never! I respect the family! I would never betray you in any such way!"

"Can it."

"Yes sir."

"Based upon your daily revenue, we have only asked for monthly revenues of two thousand bucks. This is not an excessive amount to pay...And our members at Wall Street have indeed confirmed that there have been investments, under your name,"he said as he pointed towards the owner with his cigarette and ever widening eyes."no less. I think you have been trying to deal with the Bertaglis as your investments have been directed towards their owned companies."

"N-never!"

"It is too late for that. We already have someone to replace you."

"P-please! I'm not married! I have a perfect and happy life."

The six men stared at him in confusion for a moment, completely confounded at what he just said.

"You have been watching too much television."

The Fedora man pulled a gun out from his left pocket, a .357 magnum, and placed it directly at the forehead of the owner, who had completely frozen up and wasn't making a word. The man pulled in another tuft of smoke.

"Accetti le miei piu profonde condoglianze."




Near the suburbs stood a huge house but with only one floor. It looked like a depot, but protected with old, beige brick walls and two large gates with the symbol of a howling wolf on them. Two guards were watching the front as the occasional brown car came by to enter. The yard itself was mostly made of bricked passageways, but the leftern side and the backyard of this property were of a beautiful emerald green, and the bushes were perfectly trimmed, so much so that the gardeners were coming back and forth to perfect what they had done to the yard. People of the family were all around and talking, so were the henchmen. Within the building, near the backyard, stood a finely cleaned room. A black leather couch sat strongly against the wall which was itself covered in gold, striped wall paper. A little stool with a lamp sat in the corner further away from it, and, near two of the three windows, was a desk made of fine, Italian wood. A little lamp and some papers were its only companions when the owner wasn't present.

Sitting on the big chair behind the desk was a man with average length hair of a swampy-brown shade. His almost-black eyes looked with utter boredom at his entourage. While he himself preferred formal attire, like the brown tuxedo suit that his thugs would wear, these three men were rather varied. One wore typical clothing, nothing too fancy, but, despite his balding, this gray haired man seemed quite content with his situation in the family. Another wore a green worker suit with some cloth pants of a matching color along with basic leather shoes. He was a "persuader" in the family, and atleast he had hair, though he needed a bath. Another, and this one was not of the family, wore a green tweed suit and similar pants with green dyed, leather shoes. He was of the Bertaglis family, and his own fedora with a bent flap on the side hid his hair.

Perhaps explaining things rather than using the egregarious task of narratin would be more helpful? I am Adone Federo, of the Federo family who can trace its origins back to Italy during the Roman age of power. My great-grandfather was one of the pioneers to come to this country, hoping to make a living as a farmer,but found better profits in businesses and corporations. He moved to the long-gone Belly Gulch and set up a tailor buisness there. A few decades later, and my grand-father was in New York, making a name for our family both in that state and in Florida. Things became hot, making my grand-mother and father move to Los Angeles, where my father grew up and met his own "century charm", as he calls it. The family, by now, was extremely powerful, both in wealth and in influence, Unfortunately, he was ratted out, and our lawyers weren't capable of protecting him, so now he's in prison for life...atleast until we can figure out how to get him out. This meant that, not only because I am his only son that I must take his place, but that I can no longer be what I wanted to be. It's best I don't speak of it.. 
For now, I must deal with an envoy of our rival family, the Bertaglis, and this snake was the one who ratted out my father. 

"So, Federo, what do you think about my proposal? A fifteen percent income of our business goes to you, and you supply us in arms traded from the port."

"I'm sorry, Lorenzo, but I cannot do that, and you know why. Your ties to the family were broken when you ratted out my father."

"Yeah.*gulp* Who do you think you are?!"

I face palmed."Oh god. He's drunk again. Take our soaked friend out, Alfred."

"Yes, Don."

The two soldiers of the family left our room, but my nephew, Alessandro, ran inside to greet me with joy.

"Hi, Zio Federo. Are you going to be able to play with me today?" he was bouncing with excitement. Lorenzo just looked at him with disgust as his crossed arms prevented any proper movement.

His mother came running in, fear painted across her face. She grabbed his son in a crouched position and began to back away while apologizing:

"I am sorry, Don. I do not know why my son has--"

"That's okay. He is still a child. Innocence runs powerfully through his veins. Let him enjoy the things in his life now that he won't later on." I had interrupted her with a lifted hand and leaned over the desk."I'm sorry, Alessandro, but I'm very busy at the moment. We'll have to play later. How about baseball?"

"Alright! See you later."

His mother showed surprise as she turned with her son to leave the room. It goes to show that, despite me being thirty-five, I still know what it was like to be a child.

"Hm..."the rat hummed with intrigue."You seem quite merciful. That is a sign of weakness in a don."

"That is where you're wrong. When it is your family, you must be kind, but also know when to tell things directly at them."

"Huh. I suppose there is no way to persuade you into accepting our agreement, then?"

"No."

He tipped his hat."Then I'll be seeing you. A presto." He gave an undertone which I didn't appreciate. He was hiding something.

Finally, the door shut, and I let out a sigh of comfort.

"It's good when I can act myself again. Pffff. I hate being a don. So much evil done. Heheh. Done Don. Close enough. Hmm. I wonder if there'll be a full moon tonight? It's so comforting to look at the stars at night, but not here. That light pollution ruins every pleasure to be had. I'll have to go later to the woods. Let's see. Alessandro is waiting for me, but I still have these documents to sign. Hmmm. Perhap the park would be a nice place for baseball."




It was sunset, and the sand-filled park was practically empty. My nephew and I finished tossing a few final balls, and we both left the park, laughing, tired, and smelly.

"How about we stop at the local ice cream parlor? Get you some strawberry?"

"That'd be great! Thanks alot, Zio."

"Ha! Hmmm. Where are our...buddies?"

"I don't know. They were here earlier. Maybe they had to go to the potty?"

"I doubt it. Hmphgh!"

I was suddenly gagged with a piece of cloth and held in a headlock. My nephew tried to intervene, but he was caught by another, bulkier man. It's no matter. He wouldn't have helped anyways. And, of course, the one behind this was Lorenzo the rat.

"Well, if it isn't the rat."

"Heheh. So feisty despite his predicament. Don't think that I'm doing this just because you're the don of an enemy family."

"Well then, do it away from my nephew."

He looked a few moments at my angry nephew then looked back at me."No can do."he took out a Walther and prepped its barrel."It's a few in your family that have decided that you weren't fit for being a don. Amazing how such small things can turn into enormous events. I'll be seeing you."

"NOT IN FRONT OF--"

*bang*

I feel myself falling flatly onto the ground, no sensation besides a slight touching left. Nothing left. The world is becoming blurred. I can see my nephew looking at the scene in pure shock, horror as well as the breaking of his innocence right there and then. I can see a red puddle forming in front of my face. I was shot in the head, and I can only hear these final words:

"Che la morte ti dia la pace che cercavi. Requiescat in Pace."

Nothing but cold and darkness envelops me as I feel myself falling downwards.




I can feel nothing, and I feel as if I have been falling for over a thousand years. What a way for a family associated with wolves to die. I hope someone more competent takes my place. However, I suddenly feel myself warming, and a great light begins to envelop the surrounding area. I look down, and what I see is pure beauty. An enormous city of shining gold right below. I thought I was falling downwards? As I float even lower, like a sky-diver, I can see an angel sitting at her own desk...in the sky, and I stop short of it. She looks at my tiny, naked stature and huffs. Her blonde hair reflected just as beautifully as the city.

"A don, eh? Oh. I know you. Your father was imprisoned, and you were forced to take lead."

I stayed silent.

"Of course, normally, I would let this slide, but you seem to have still commited some heinous acts." she looked at me while her head still pointed at her sheet of paper."I can't let you go to Heaven, as you haven't saved as many souls as those you have killed."

"But, I didn't want to--"

"Then why do it? You knew the implications."

"...It was for my family. If I didn't step in, they would have all begun to claw at eachother for power. I didn't want anybody to die."

"A noble cause indeed. You also seem to have a bizarre thought pattern, much more different from the others of your 'age'."

"I didn't really have a childhood. It's just mounting up against me. I also neeed to know. Where am I? In hell?"

"No. You're in purgatory."

"What?"

"In the rebirth section to be exact."

"In the rebirth...Why?"

"You've been given a second chance, but it'll be a bit special. You can no longer go to your own world seeing as you'll be allowed to remember everything."

"...Okay. If I can fulfill my dreams and not have to worry about them...or that 'tradition' I hated so. I wasn't even born in Italy! Just because my family went to live there all the time didn't mean that I needed to fulfill their needs."

"That's nice. In the meantime, I found you a perfect new world."

"How is it l--"

"Down you go." she said, resting on her arm as she pulled a string hanging from nowhere with the other. I fell through a hole that suddenly appeared below me. I spun and flipped in the air as I screamed like a little girl, and as I could feel myself being chained to another body, I suddenly remembered.

"What's going to happen to Alessandro?!"

She poked her head out of the hole."Extinction of rivalry with red smoke." she gave an evil smile then waved me goodbye.

I understood immediately what she meant. I fear for his ascendance.




There was a terrible storm right above Canterlot. Thunder and rain blocked the starry sky that Luna was hoping to see once more. It was normally dusk, but the sky was so dark it seemed like midnight. Right above the trembling city, there was a small pegasi town that moved occassionally along the currents, and just so happened to find itself right above Canterlot. The clouds the town was on was somehow lower than the stormclouds, but had no rain falling on it. Near the edge stood three pegasi. One was scrawny looking, brown, with a scraggly gray mane and tail, and was holing something wrapped up in his arms. The other two were draped in some type of cloak, but it was obvious that they were of a high-standing in society.

"Just dispose of that horror."

"Why? M'am, it's still just a stillborn. Why not bury it?"

"And have it linked to our family? Not only is it a repulsive color, like that dreadful alicorn, but it isn't even a pegasus!"

"Nyes. It cannot be linked to our family. We would be forever shamed upon by the whole pegasus society." the male responded, his haughty tone pricking at the ears of the scrawny pegasus.

"Are you sure."

"Yes. Now find any way to dispose of it."

"...Okay." the scrawny pegasus shrugged and casually tossed the package over the edge of the clouds, and saluted the two pegasi as he simply returned home with no care.

The hooded couple leaned over the edge to see the package slowly shrink into nothing as it fell downwards.

"Good riddance."

"Quite."

"Back to our home for some...hors-d'oeuvre."




Meanwhile, the small package flung through the raindrop ridden air, the intensity of the fall being lethal for whatever could have been in there. It was going for a straight line to the solid ground, ready to splatter everywhere like a baloon, but fate gave the middle finger to death and decided otherwise. The brown package bounced off a flock of storks going through this torrent of water, and rolled off one's wing to start falling diagonally towards the castle. It still continued to bounce off of everything in the air, such as the air, which modified its trajectory to tumble towards the enormous trees in the castle yards in an angle that proved non-lethal to it, and allowed the package to roll off some branches towards the lower trees before being flung through a window onto Luna's bed, allowing the wind to blast the shards everywhere, and to throw gallons of water everywhere as well. The princess, on the other hoof, was still in the throne room. Nopony was coming tonight, so she had no need to stay in it.

"Guard."

"Yes, your highness?"

"I think I will take a little stroll through the castle, perhaps, even have a bit of time to reflect upon myself in my room. Alert me if anything important happens."

"Yes, m'am."
> My mind adrift
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

My head hurts. I don't know what happened. Was all that a dream? Maybe I was lucky enough that the bullet missed any vital areas in my brain. Yes. As rare as that may be, it happens. Either way, my whole body shouldn't be aching like I was compressed by a steam-roller. I feel like my heart had stopped for several weeks, and, just now, started up again, coughing up dust and backed-up steam. Blech. I can't see shit either, and I can't move. Whatever I'm on feels comfortable, smushy even. I try to wriggle my legs out of this predicament, but it doesn't work. I can't seem to be able to do anything at all. I even feel so weird, like I shrunk or something. Oh? Something picked me up. It feels like whoever did that is panicking. They must be a giant if they could lift me up so easily. I haven't been watching my weight lately...damn lovehandles. I can hear them saying something like "Where's the princess?" or "Has anypony seen where this came from?". "Princess"? "Anypony"? oh great. I landed in hell. Ow! Hey! Watch it up there. I may be in hell but you'll still feel my fists.

My aching body continues to bounce around everywhere until I feel myself cradled by something. Whatever demon it is, it certainly is enormous. Whatever those damned beasts are saying, it's too muffled to hear properly. There's too much noise around, kinda like a brouhaha. They sound all panicky...if that's even a word, and I can hear some heavy metal clinking and clanking with conviction. They come to a sudden halt, suggesting that they want to take me. Whatever. I'll pay for the sins of my family if they do not have to suffer their own. Suddenly, I'm blinded by some sort of light. I literally feel my body heating up almost immediately. I didn't notice it, but I was freezing and soaking wet. As I put my hands in front of my face, I realize that I'm missing my fingers, and this doesn't help when something pushes my arms away. I continue to shy away from the light, but my eyes gradually adjust, and I find myself face to face with some big nosed, white creature with really long, pastel-colored hair. My poor eyes widen in shock.

"It is a child." she says. It's apparently a woman with...purple eyes."How did it come here? Did anypony see it being taken to the castle?"

There's a pause. I can't move my head...so...

"I see." She looks back at me."Look at you. You're just precious. Goochycoo." She starts to poke at me with her hoo...did she just say "child"?

"Lady, get off. You don't know who you're dealing with."I warn her, but my jaw drops. I babbled strange words. I sounded like a baby!

"Awww. He's so cute!" she squeaks, breaking my ears.

"Princess, perhaps it's best that you give the child to us? Your sister is ready to return to her own quarters. If you are given treatment of this child, it will not help your work today. You have a meeting with envoys of the Minotaur tribes."

She frowned and looked very disappointed. "Lemme go already! I can already feel my mind drifting into something naive. Lemme go!" I waddle my arms everywhere and begin to cry involuntarily.

"Ohhh. Shhh. Shh shh shh shhhhh. Calm down. It's okay." she said as she...nuzzled me. That actually feels...good...

"Guard." she says with conviction.

"Yes, Princess?"

"Begin searching for this foal's parents. It seems to be a newborn. Check for anypony who came to the castle during the storm. Afterwards, we'll try more...useful methods."

"Yes, M'am." he says, and I can hear him running away.

The "princess" looks back at me, and I look back at her, snirfling and with watery eyes. Another tear drips from my right eye and I'm partially blinded by a small spark of light. She seemed to have flinched as well.

"Hmmm. You seem linked to the stars. These yellow lines across your fur and mane could mean something as well."

She starts to think, but so do I. Fur? Mane. I'm a horse now?! This has to be a dream.

"Perhaps you would be better off with Luna."

"With who now?"

"But Princess, your sister seemed pretty furious once we showed her the damage that little thing did to her room."

"I know, but this will be a great oppurtunity to give her a better image to the general public and give her a sense of responsability."

"Is that why you let the foal pee on you?"

"Huh?"

"...I must say that this was unexpected. I thought I was going to lose bladder control when I reached my fifties."

She looked at the yellow puddle at her feet than back at me in horror.

"Ah. Somepony come clean this up while I go do some personal grooming. This little one also needs cleaning. It certainly needs some cleaning as well. I'll...take him with me. He needs to be presentable to my sister."

"Yes m'am." whoever said that...said...

She then began to walk, her hooves(if I understood this correctly) were making lots of noise on what I assumed was a floor with white tiles. I couldn't see anything but her face and that irritating smile on it. What has happened to me? What will happen to my family? She started to hum a tune that, with her voice, seemed very soothing and was making me very drowzy. I yawned a bit, which she seemed to find cute because she made a kissy face and did the "My pwecious!" thing. All I know after I fell asleep, in my own urine no less, was me being awoken in a hard panic after being dipped into hot water of a shallow level. 

"Gah! It's so hot! It's too deep! I thought it was shallow. Gotta get out and figure out what's going...on...My hands..."

It seems that I'm now a horse, or a pony, whatever these things call themselves. My fur is now a night blue but with a lighter tone, and looking into the mirror far away, right behind that gargantuan, I could see that my hair was now a mane, and it was a cobalt colored-hue, and there were these strange yellow lines glowing on my face and across my hair. A bad feeling began to creep into my stomach, and I turned around to see a tail, occasionally flopping in the water on its own. I was lifted back into the air by unknown means, like if I was in space. The princess moved towards the faucets and opened the valves to put in some more water, along with her pouring some bubbly soap in there as well.

The princess sighed in satisfaction as she slipped into that gigantic tub. I had paid no attention to the fact that my dirty...wrapper had disappeared after she took it off me and placed it on what look like a gray stone stool next to the brown door. Paying closer attention to the scenery as I was being lowered into the foam, I took the advantage of the disbelief of the situation I still had in order to scan my surroundings. The room itself was enormous, and the tub I was in looked more like an enormous round hot tub. A few sinks surrounding by a horrid pink velvet fabric twisted into...roses. I HATE roses!

"Now, into the water little one."

"Brrrah! It's hot!" I squeaked. I swallowed some of the water and coughed a bit.

"How pwecious! Now then, let's rub this soap behind your ears. Stop struggling. There we go. Oh! Come to think of it, I haven't checked whether you're a boy or a girl."

She actually levitated me higher just to see my gender?! Crazy horse.

"Ah! A colt. Hmmm. Luna has always been somewhat of a tomcolt..." she said as she put a hoof to her chin.

"Still more to clean. We need you to be nice and proper to present you to my sister." she said with a smile before lifting me with her forelegs and doing that smooshy crap I've seen so far.



(Narrator transition)

The once feared don was now being carried to Luna's room at the highest floor of Canterlot castle on the back of the sun princess. Even though he tried squirming his way out of his predicament, he could not, as he was held down by a great force that he still couldn't figure out. He felt like he was going to hurl as he bounced up and down on the princess' back. Nothing but white brick walls, and a few decorative ornements such as armor and stained glass graced his eyes during this traverse. Finally, with a huff, they both stopped in front of a blue colored door with a crescent moon carved into it. The princess knocked on it and pushed the door open.

"Luna?"

"Yes, Celestia? What is it?"

(Adone transition)

Despite the immensity of this pony's rear, I managed to turn myself around to see that this room was actually pretty nice. However, the pony right in front of this white one seemed furious of my prescence here as it seemed that she was starting to bare her teeth at me.

"Is that what destroyed my room?!"

"Luna. Hold on."

"No! I won't have it here!"

"Come with me outside of the room. We need to talk."

"Why?!"

"NOW!" she shouted as she stomped her hoof onto the ground. I could've sworn the tiles cracked underneath the pressure. 

Anyways, they both left the room, and the one called Luna slammed it after glaring at me. Welp, I'm on a huge comfy bed that's blue and looks like it's covered in stars. This room was freakin' dark too! I could barely see the walls themselves, but I was already certain that they were all covered in tapestries demonstrating the constellations in the sky. There were even a few telescopes and other astral instruments on the opposite side of the room. Now that I think about it, I'm all alone, despite the YELLING those two were making. I start to panic and begin tapping my forehaa...hooves against eachother as my situation begins to seep in. The walls begin to smash themselves around me, and I back up against the mass of pillows at the end of the bed as I start to shake like a glass of milk on a fist-slammed table.

"Calm down, Adone. You're linked to wolves. You shouldn't be afraid. Ohhh. But I'm a pony now! How?! Why?! I have hooves! I don't know how to walk anymore! I'm a baby too, and I feel siiiiick. What am I going to do?! How am I going to reach my family?"

"You needn't worry about that any longer little colt." a familiar bellowed through the room, and it put emphasis on 'colt' as it chuckled.

"What did you do to me, demon?!"

"I'm not a demon. Hell, I ain't even an angel! I'm a Fae that works as the transitioner of the rebirth portion of Purgatory."

"I thought you were going to return me to my world and allow me to comfort my nephew after what he saw."

"Oh. Your nephew is dead. Sorry." she finishes in a mocking tone.

I feel anger and sadness well up inside me."TEll me what has happened to him, or else..."

"Watch the tone there, buddy. Hold your horses? Pffpbth. Let's say that I omitted something important about rebirth. Obviously, you're sent into another world, but it requires a hundred and ten years to happen. Your nephew is dead."

"Wh-what? He isn't in--"

"Yup. He's...currently being raped by a demon. Ewww. Awwww. Whoops. I shouldn't have said that. Silly me. Too bad. You couldn't save him. Big whoop. Have fun with your new life and do whatever don things you do...I don't know. I don't give a shit. Back to my FUN job."

It was so casual. She literally did not care. Everyone I knew as now dead, and my nephew...he was damned because of what he saw. I am...a damned creature of the devil. I drag everyone around me to hell, yet I remain. Nobody left...nobody...

(Narrator transition)

The two sisters returned inside the room, both still bickering about what Luna would have to undergo. All these rantings were stopped firm as a loud crying noise slammed both mares' in the ears. The little colt had broken out in tears. Luna could somehow sense his pain. Solitude, anguish, the feeling of helplessness, and, most importantly, the feeling of losing something so dear to you that the world could fall apart at any moment. Luna looked shocked and cringed as if hit by something. She looked at a sad Celestia who gestured towards the baby. A little gulp, and the princess was off.

"Come on. It's...it's going to be alright. No need to worry. Ummmm." she looked back at her sister who shook her head."Uhhh. Come...hither?"

Luna picked up the colt by going under his forelegs, but he wouldn't stop crying. The princess looked back again at Celestia who showed a hugging movement. Luna sighed and remorsefully hugged the colt who placed his forelegs over her shoulder. He slowly started calm down, but continued to sniffle, and his eyes were as big as saucers. The colt was taken away from his resting spot in order to come face to face with Luna.

"It's okay now. I'm here. You needn't worry about anything anymore. I'll find you a perfect name, and I'll take good care of you. You'll see."

Celestia silently awwed as the colt showed a discreet micro-smile. Luna corrected this by hugging him even harder, and the foal reacted by resting his head on her shoulder, showing a puffy face that had just transitioned from sad to slightly happy. 




The Fae watched from atop her desk and readjusted her newspaper as she placed her feet on the desk.

"Hmmm. 'Satan loses American Football match against God. Gets bitch slapped numerous times by the victor'...seems accurate. Huh? What is it now?"

"Am I in hell?" a male voice answered.

The Fae lowered her newspaper and looked at this man more accurately with anger and frustration, then she suddenly flipped her mood upside down.

"Ah! You?! I have the perfect place for you."
> Deep depression
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

After realizing the time, Luna really wanted to go to bed, but she had to tend to this little colt, as per her sister's sugg...no...orders. Luna had to learn a few important responsibilities, and what else was better to up her public image by showing that she could take good care of a little foal? While the day rose, the little colt seemed to have been becoming more and more depressed as time flew. It felt as though his very soul was blowing away on the wind, eroding like a stone. The Moon Princess thought long, and believed that a name would be much easier for her and it could perhaps help the little pony get his mood up. She simply couldn't figure out what was wrong with him, and mind reading spells would be of no use here, seeing as his tiny foal mind would be too immature to read. Well, that, and he seemed to have a strange magic on his head. It was like he passed through a river head first, and the streams just connected to his noggin'.

"Hmmm." Luna thought as she put a hoof to her mouth."How about Velus Aretror? It was the name of a powerful warrior in my time."

(Adone transition)

A warrior? More blood shed on my account. Looking at my hooves, I could see that they were still usable for killing. I sighed a bit, letting out more of my depressive energies. She won't let me die, and this...Luna, certainly won't let me kill myself. I just look up at her with heavy eyes, and her smile gradually fades away into her own frown. I hope she understands.

"Maybe that isn't the best for you. I can see that you do not like fighting. Perhaps..." She tapped her chin several times with her hoof. A weird sight."Maybe...Aurora Borealis? It is a beautiful sight to behold during the night. A mixture of the stars and the sun when you think about it."

She leaned towards me with a hoping smile. I felt horrible to do it, but I had to. I sighed and slouched slowly onto the bed before finally plopping onto the covers. It felt like I was sinking into quick sand, but the amount of cares I gave went below zero. Yes. I can give negative cares. Wait...I'm starting to lose my ability to even think of cursing. What? Anyways, this "Luna" character began to frown again and looked pensive.

"Gah! Why is it so hard to find a name?!" She yelled before dropping her head onto her pillows."I'm so tired...but I'm supposed to take care of you."

There was a moment of silence until some red pony with a green costume barged in and yelled at Luna.

"Princess. Come quick! There are wolves in the yard."

"So? Send our royal guards to take care of this. It shouldn't be bothering us."

"Us?" the stallion, I presume, looked perplexed, until he saw me, which widened his eyes."I..."

"Why is it so important that you must interrupt me in my train of thoughts?" she asked. Her heightening stature was imposing itself upon the uninvited guest. "I'm about to rest for the day to tend to matters at night. This better be important."

"Oh. It is. These wolves seem a bit...green...and their ribs are poking out...and..."

Both Luna and I were both confused and surprised at what we heard. What were these? Zombie wolves? This wasn't helping the fact that this guy had been jittering around like he had to pee. Upon closer inspection, he appeared to have a monocle on his left eye that seemed to be sliding out of place too. The winged...horned...pony got out from her spot on the bed and turned to me. She was dead serious about this.

"You stay here. I don't want harm to come to you...as much as I'd prefer not to have to deal with you." She rolled her eyes and talked to Santa Claus."What is my sister doing?"

"Princess Celestia is keeping those creatures out of the castle with her magic, but they keep coming incessantly despite the thousands that the guards have already destroyed. We thought--"

"That because I am linked to the night that I would be capable of excluding them from the castle premises?"

"Y...yes." he looked down in shame.

"Then let us go. Let the little one sleep."

Those were the last things I heard before the door was shut slowly by that other guy. Luna had simply looked at me with the corner of her eyes and ran off. Hmph. Who does that white one think she is? Giving me an adoptive mother. I was tired, but I had to do something else rather than stay on my butt. I needed to get adjusted to this new body and find a way to save the souls of my old family members. It was very VERY important. With a firm "heave ho", I lift myself onto my wobbly legs and fell right back down, cursing under my breath. I try again and again, but it's no use, and the only time I stood more than five seconds, I slapped myself with my tail. 

"Awwwwooh. I hate this. Why couldn't I be reincarnated as a human child?"

"I can hear you bitching from up here."that fae said. 

I looked up."I thought you couldn't talk to me anymore, and how come you keep cursing? I thought you weren't allowed that."

"I'm a fae, not an angel, and this is purgatory. I do whatever I damn well please. Hey, here's a future hint: You'll meet someone you hate but know, and this will provide me with quite a show."

I stared at the ceiling with a shocked expression."Who are you? The Riddler? Should I put on my cape and say in a deep, rusty voice: 'I'm Batman'?...Hello? Oh great. She left. Well, let's try and get a hang of this again."

Out of nowhere, I heard a loud explosion that rocked the castle, tossing some of Luna's vases or whatever was precious to her against the floor. I also fell on the floor, but my butt decided to stay in the air for fun. A sigh, and I was back on my...hooves, wobbling towards the door. I fell forward but managed to push myself against the door, huffing heavily. It was pretty hard to walk on your hands in a ninety degree angle, let alone doing it permanently. As I managed to regain my foothold, I looked up tiredly at the suddenly immense door and screamed in anger. The handle was too high! I kept jumping, trying to catch it, nearly falling back down on my stomach every time, but I didn't give up. How silly I must have looked. By my old viewpoint, I must've looked like some sort of cat attacking a toy. Frustration overtook me, so I began banging my hooves against the door in a black fury. A few minutes must have passed because I was already tired. Damn this tiny body. I finally started to slouch back onto the floor until the door swung open, nearly smashing me against the wall. In the door stood a pearly white mare with pink, curled hair. Her equally pink eyes showed a strong sense of absence in her mind as she looked around almost semi-conciously before zoning out completely, giving me ample time to sneak away.

I looked behind me to see that she was STILL staring in Luna's room. What's she even doing in a castle? Besides that, I decided to follow the sounds of snarling and exploding echoing and scratching on the castle walls. This place was still as plain as I remembered, besides the few added banners. I still had trouble walking, so running was out of the question. It felt as though I hadn't walked in weeks. I walked carefully towards the stairs, then gently put each leg on each step, before missing one and bouncing down the steps like a slinky.

"Owwww. Everyone loves a slinky my rear." my head was throbbing as I held it. "How sturdy are little foal bodies? Brrr. Cold wind. Must be coming from over there." I said to myself. 

Before I took a step, some pony with golden armor was flung across a far portion of the hallway adjacent to this one, flying further down said hallway. I couldn't see anything, but I heard the sound of metal slamming together, so I assumed he hit pots and pans or one of those suits of armor standing still.

"Hm. Football. Tackling? Let's go see."

Carefully crawling through the strong winds blowing away everything in the hallways, especially those tacky banners, I turned around the corner to see a sight I hadn't seen since I was promoted Don. There were two fam...two sides fighting eachother, but this wasn't shooting and banging either. No. It was destroying and punching and so much other forms of destruction that I could only call "magic". Apparently, that barrier broke apart in several places, and these zombie wolves had placed themselves in the holes to keep them open. Wow. I didn't know I was starring in a movie. 

"Walk forward or go back to boredom. Such a tough choice." I told myself sarcastically.

This yard was pretty huge, although the few bits of grass and bushes compared to what looked like a maze and some statues far over there seemed to be enough. Despite the sun shining, these fights weren't ending, and the old style "zombie burns in sunlight" doesn't work here. Then again, it doesn't work anymore at all. Iy was fun to crawl through here, occasionally hiding behind pillars, I could see groups flying overhead or smashing into the ground, just like war!

"My mind is drifting again."I thought as I whimpered behind my pillar.

I felt so cold and so sick at the same time. I also felt fear when one of those zombie wolves slammed through the pillar and called his buddies to come encircle me. I tried fleeing left, but there was nothing. I tried fleeing right, but there was nothing...nothing but wolves. I could see Luna from afar fighting off her own problems. I might have been a Don, but this no longer applies here. I tried calling out to her, but my mouth just exhaled. I tried pushing harder and harder, until, finally, when these beasts were centimeters away from my face, I screamed as loud as I could. Everyone turned around to face me, and I could see that bluish pony's face paling as the wolves pounced on me. Everything went extremely slow. It was as if I could leave my spot right now, but I was going at the same speed, and so was that female pony who tried flapping her wings as fast as she could to reach me. I covered my face. Silence ensued.

"Huh?"I wondered."Why aren't they attacking me? And why can I hear some sort of heart beat?"

Looking around, I could see that the wolves had sat down and were all looking at me. I looked back in disbelief and confusion, my eyes darting from wolf to wolf. They wouldn't move, even when the others would walk past them. I found that this was the best moment to take advantage of, so I stood up and gestured them to leave the premises. They bowed their heads and calmly left through the holes, the only sound being made were their rotted paws disturbing the grass below them. I smirked and brushed my shoulders as I realized that I was superior to these wolves. Luna walked up towards me, and I could feel something that made me huddle down as I looked at her from a very low stand point. She was staring at me with wide eyes in a way that said, in Nicholas Cage's voice:

"I'm gonna gut you, then I'm going to wear your remains like a christmas ornament."

It was scary, especially with that incessant heart pounding noise. That female put a hoof in the air, and when I expected to be pummeled into submission, she simply cupped me in her foreleg and looked at me with no emotion. I looked back at her eyes, and I saw something in them. There was a spark, but of what?

"LUNA!" yelled a familiar voice. It was the white mare flying down from whatever perch she was at. She looked worried."What happened? The creatures simply fled...what in Equestria?"her eyes widened as she looked at me. What was wrong?

"It was this little foal that drove them off. Barely a few hours that we have known him, and he has already accomplished something strange and uncommon."

"I'll say. What did he do?"

"He simply gestured them to leave. These marks on his head are also strange. I believe they are linked to--"

"Star magic." they both said at once.

"Yes. Luna, I think he is perfect for you."

"Ew. Pedophile much?"

"He is linked to the stars you labored so hard to make, and he can control wolves in some manner or form. I have yet to understand. The important part is that wolves are connected to your moon." Celestia was smiling freakishly as she began to tickle me.

"Ahaha! Ahaha! STOP IT YOU HARLEQUIN!"I yelled, only making baby noises. Stupid gurgles. She took it as a sign of affection and puffed up her face more. Mommy envy? I THINK SO!

"Well...if I am to be his mother, I need to give him a name..."

I pushed Celestia's hooves away and looked at them both in quick succession with horror."MY WHAT?!"

"Did you find one?"

"Yes. Just now. I believe a name from an ancient culture should be perfect. He is now part of nobility, and he can direct wolves, no matter how bizarre they are. I will name his Aethelwulf Lyall, or Aethel for short."she looked at me and gave that creepy 'I feel motherhood coming along' face. The horror.THE HORROR!

"Yes. Yes! It is perfect! However, it would be a good idea to take him to our Mages to study his strange magic and see if it has any repercussions on his body."

"Later."Luna waved her free foreleg at the white one as she looked at me with a smile. 

Staying on your back with only your legs to cover your belly and having big, adorable eyes isn't really the best way to drag away attention from yourself.

"I want to learn how to take care of him first. It's very important."

(narrator transition)

As the moon princess returned within the castle, everypony just stared at the now empty doorway with indescribable faces. One of the guards asked Celestia:

"What happened here?"

"I honestly do not know, but I believe that my sister is finding a purpose in her life other than being frightening to the populace and trying too hard to be recognized."

"That's kinda mean."

Celestia shrugged and smiled at the same time.
> Eviiiiiillll!
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Unhand me vile women!"

"Look how cute he is."

"Who is a pwecious wittle thing?"

"I will have your skin for this! I'll wear your skin as coats!"

"He's got a little head with big eyes."

"They are evil! EVILLLLLLLL!"

I was being hugged and pinched by every single female around. Luna went to each and every single pony here who was apparently a mother to get tips and information from. There was one who looked like she was ninety-seven, what with her white hair knotted in a ball, and her darker gray coat. Another was the weird, absent-minded pony who seemed to stay quiet on her place on one of these ten yellow couches covered with...fishes. What's wrong with these people? If I got Al-Bojur to teach them the finer works of decorating and fashion...That mare was so creepy. Another one of these females had a ragged olive-green coat with a strange motif of mane style. The hell was that? It looked like half a saw blade used in saw mills.

This room was a wide open area on the second floor. Those window-door things were wide open, letting in lots of fresh air and sun. Luna looked awful. What is she? A bat?

"What's with these lines on his head? Do they mean anything?"

"I honestly don't know. He seemed to have some form of control over the wolves that attacked yesterday."

"Yes. Yesterday. One thing not to do when you are tiny is trying to overpower a giant with extremely heavy armor. I hate policemen, let alone armored guards. Always corrupt. I'm pretty sure I'll find some here too eventually."

"What have you decided to call him?" that gray one asked, her hindlegs bouncing up and down in eagerness.

"Aethelwulf Lyall, or Aethel for short."Luna replied with a grin.

They all looked at her as if she was some otherworld creature.

"What language does that come from?"

"I believe Gaulish and Stallo-Saxon."

"Those are really old. No wonder I didn't recognize it."one laughed.

I was getting tired of being hugged and pinched.

"So you want some help on being a mother, my dear?"an elder asked. She was like, older than the other old hag.

"Yes. If it does not bother you too much." she did a sad face. Even I'd cringe for that puffy lower lip.

"Not at all. The first thing you need is discipline, but not too much! If he does something bad, then you have to either tell them they're doing something wrong, or spank them. If spanking doesn't work, then grounding them or taking away their toys is another course of action." she said as she sipped her glass of tea."HOWEVER!" the green elder interjected." They shouldn't be treated like such when they're barely a few days old like this little one."

"True. Also, you should breast feed them so they get their needed nutrients and anti-bodies."

While Luna choked on her tea, I choked on my spit. We both gave off a strange face of disgust, which the invited crowd seemed to find auusing due to the similarities.

"Awww. You really are mother and son."

"What do you mean?" Luna asked, retaining her impending vomit of doooooooom.

"You both act the same, look the same, and seem the same all around."

I crossed my forelegs in anger. Those were all lies.

"LIES! LIES AND SLANDER!" I yell, sticking my foreleg outwards in anger. 

Luna just levitated me in front of her and onto a pillow right in front of her. How do they do...oh right. Unicorn horns. I was furious, and this mare knew it, so she tried to hold me down onto the pillow. She couldn't dare to hurt me, and she knew it, but still. She was really tough.

"What's wrong with him?! Hrngh." she stresses herself to say as I struggle even more to free myself and try to flee.

"I...I'm not familiar with this way of acting." a blue mare says as her body shakes even more.

As Luna tries to keep me held down, that absent minded bizarro approached me and stared at me for a second. I stopped moving as I stared into those empty voids that were supposed to be eyes. So empty and cold.

(Narrator transition)

Aethul just stared at this mare who stared back with no apparent signs of intelligence on her planet whatsoever. Everypony in the room, even Luna, just stared at her as she slowly extended her right foreleg towards the foal's back, then began to scratch it. She even started to hum a tune that was so soothing that, despite the protests of the colt, he couldn't help but  fall asleep, his mumbling slowing down to a calm rythm of slumber. The absent minded mare slowly stopped and stared at the sleeping foal, then left the room before she could be thanked. Luna just stared at Aethulwulf for a short while then asked the others:

"Who is she?"

"Oh. She's Rose Milk. She WAS a mother." the gray mare set her cup down and a look of sadness overtook her face.

"What happened?"

"Nopony knows."

"One day, she left with her colt. It was her day off from the castle. The next thing we knew, she came back looking like that. It's like she's looking for her foal as if he had completely disappeared from the world."

Luna looked perplexed and saddened suddenly as well."She seems very effective."

"Oh yes. She was a nurse here as well. A type of foalsitter for the castle's workers' children."

"Hmmm. She still foalsits them?"

"No. Not anymore. She tends to the gardens. Your sister had to do that, because everytime she went to take care of the children, she broke out in tears. Now she just seems like an empty husk. Losing a child is difficult. Yes. But we still don't know how she became as she is now."

"I see. As for food?" 

"Mashed foods are best for the little ones. They don't have teeth, so they can't chew their vegetables."the old mare gestured to her own teeth.

"You also need to keep a diaper on them. You know. They aren't potty trained."

"They aren't? But he goes to the bathroom on his own."

"W-what?" the gray mare chuckled, looked around, then looked back at the princess.

"You joke?"

"No. He really does go to the bathroom on his own."

There was a long silence while Luna became pensive, until she realized:

"It's noon, is it not?"

"Yes...OH MY! It's feeding time. Thank you for reminding us, Princess Luna."

"My pleasure."

"Have a good day." the mares all said as they left the room.

"Uff. Now I can stop this 'extremely kind and gentle' thing. What am I going to do with you?!" she asked with exhasperation as she held Aethulwulf up in her arms. He was sleeping like a rock.

"*sigh* Let's see if I can't ask the cooks to make you some purée. Little foals are such a hard thing to take care of. I suppose this is what my sister wanted me to do. Well, let us do it."

A quick trip to the kitchen's doors had an enjoyable ending to it. In three days it would be "Pumpkin's Dining", a celebration held in Canterlot where everything is decorated like a pumpkin, and the main dishes are made from pumpkins. Pumpkins. Luna just drooled at the thought of eating some sweet pumpkin pie. It was something celebrated after Nightmare night, usually. Sometimes it was before. Either way, Luna was eager to try the new pies. The doors to the kitchen were very big and made of a fine wood carved out to look like an assortment of fruits and vegetables. Simply opening this great carving drowned Luna's nose in a hefty richness of sweet. She began to drool without knowing, even Aethul started to squirm on her back.

"Princess Luna. What brings you to meh cooking house?"

"You mean the kitchen?"

"Ya."

The cook in question was a weird looking griffin. He had dreadlocks made from twisting several of his head feathers together, but how he made them long enough to reach the wings on his back was anypony's guess. He didn't wear the chef's hat, thinking it would "Ruffle up his style", and even went so far as to color his lion half green and red, as to represent his tribe's colors. In the kitchen, he would dance around to a beat he would make himself and cook at his own rythm.

"What you be needin' my princess?"he asked with a wide smile as his green eyes reflected the broccoli he was preparing with some garlic and a type of white cream.

This kitchen was pretty cramped. Several ovens and counters were slammed together into a silvery furniture gathering. Pots, pans, and cooking utensils hung from hooks on the walls, and the other cooks were hard at work. It's best not to describe everything they were doing.

"I need some mashed food for the little one on my back."

"Oh? You're a mother now?" he continued to smile as he mixed up his concotion in a bowl and tilted to the side to see the tiny ball snuggling between Luna's wings.

"Sorry ta trouble ya, but da foals be needin' milk from their mother. You should be breastin' him. Aha!"

Luna's right eye twitched.

"Aha! Ya don't like the thought? Ha! Don't worry, princess. Wet nurses are at your disposition in the nursery nearby. I don't know why we have one in the castle but we do." he shrugged."Besides, I don't think it would look right on you. I shudder at the thought."

"What does that mean? That I can't be a good mother?"

"No." the cook turned his back and looked completely casual to his surroundings.

"And where is this nursery?"

"Third floor. Take the steps near the entrance, and when you reach the top, go left. One of the doors is pink with a pacifier on it. That should be the nursery. The head nurse should be there to greet you."

"Thank you, Green Pepper."

"All a good day."he said, almost making no sense.

Luna almost slammed the doors shut in fury, but managed to withhold herself and gently closed them, keeping the elegance a princess should have. She would have continued her conversation about her being a bad mother, but she had a rather short temper when it came to her own self. Just as she started to leave, a furiously loud beat ran throughout the veins of the castle, literally making every nook and cranny shake viciously, making some dust fall off the walls in the process.

"Some funky beats to the cooking always put someone in rythm! Nahnahnah!"
(Aethul transition)

I woke up with a tired yawn as I heard that blasted music booming everywhere and destroying my ears.

"The hell is that? Disco music?! Wait, how did I get on her back, and why am I curled into a ball?Wh...what are you looking at?" 

Luna was looking at me with big eyes indicating cuteness overload. I felt my ears floop down. A Don having become an adorable little thing is enough for me to want to kill myself.

"Aww. That wittle yawn was so cute! Ahem. Erm." 

She readjusted her posture, and I just looked at her with a 'seriously?' look.

"I'm going to get you some food, because I'm sure you're hungry. I know that you haven't eaten since you crashed and destroyed my room."she snorted."So I'm going to take you to where there is food."

My stomach growled and I licked my lips in eagerness."Meat? I'm going to get a nice juicy steak with garlic sauce?"

I "purred" as I landed on Luna's neck with a smiling, open mouth and wagging my tail. I actually had no idea how it was moving.

"Yes. You'll get some milk."

"Milk?"my head twisted in confusion.

"There are some wet nurses on the third floor, although I doubt you know-WHERE ARE YOU GOING?!"

"Wet nurses? BITCH YOU CRAZEH! I must flee to Valhalla lest I fall in Helheim."

I had jumped off her back and ran as far away from her as I could, avoiding every single one of those weird magical projectiles I could. Damn bullets exist here too. Luna even went to call those weird guard guys from before. I didn't escape my bullies by being slow. The first guard, apparently with wings, flew directly at me. I just slid under a stool and watched him smack into it and tumble onto the ground. The second somehow teleported in front of me, but I've dealt with this by way of oncoming cars; by jumping on the hood and sliding away, the hood being his nose. He seemed stunned for a moment, allowing me to escape towards the door open further away. I let a smile rip on my face as I reached the end, until I smashed into another foal of my stature, causing us both to tumble further into the garden. I heard a womanly scream, suggesting that I either hit him hard in the stars or his mother just yelled.

Regaining my senses, I realized this guy had a brownish coat that was extremely rough, and a black mane and tail that seemed to out grow themselves, although his fluffy tail seemed to have been going pink at the end.

"Watch it!" he said.

"Well sorry! I didn't...I know that voice." my eyes began to fill with fury and my heart with bloodlust. His began to narrow and he actually became paler.

"A-A-A-A-Adone?!" he yelped, his voice stuttering like clanking cans.

"THE RAT!"
> Freezing walks
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The two foals rolled around everywhere in the yard, the sounds of screaming crawling along the walls of the castle. Luna had helped the guards back to their senses, but she wasn't prepared for what she was going to see. Two tiny foals actually fighting...well...it seemed more likely that Aethul wanted the other dead, and if the princess didn't know any better, she was sure that her little colt was crying as he punched the other.

"By the Creator, stop that demon foal!" the mother cried out. 

She was rather scrawny in appearance and, opposed to her son's rat-esque appearance, still looked rather elegant with her cyan colored body and green eyes accompanied by a fading red mane and tail.

"Demon foal?!" Luna shouted in horror."That 'demon foal' is my son!" she stared down the mare who stared back, sourly.

"I don't c-care, princess."her anger and conviction were there, but their foundations were beginning to crumble through fear."He's hurting my little Scabby."

The guards snorted in humor, and the mother jolted her glare at them.

"I will stop this. Hold on."

Luna walked towards the dust pile and lit her horn, surrounding it in the soothing aura of the stars. However, as soon as she approched Aethulwulf, she could feel something strange coming from him. A feeling that shouldn't be coming from a foal his age, nor from a foal of the other's age either.

"Because of you, my whole family was destroyed and my nephew was sent to hell! Why didn't you listen to me when I told you not to do it in front of him?!"

"Because you think you're the only one who had problems? I was stuck in the mafia business because my family was held hostage. It was to keep me in the ranks instead of getting out and giving the chance for me to reveal everything we had done. I hold my word, but they didn't believe me, even after all I did for them."

"What?!"Aethul kept his right forehoof in the air, as if holding back another punch.

Scabby was severely brutalized, and his mother was about to faint, if it weren't for a guard slapping her awake. 

"Enough! Aethul, what is the meaning of this?!" Luna literally stomped near the foals with such strength that she created a small earthquake in the yard. Her anger was unmatched, and it showed on her face.

The others around her just stared in disbelief. Didn't she know it was just a foal? One guard stepped forward and tried to dissuade the princess from persisting with this nonsense.

"Princess, it is just a foal. It doesn't know any better."

"Yes he does. I can sense something. He isn't what he seems." Luna glared at Aethul who just stared at the ground after recovering from the tremor.

"Answer me, Aethulwulf Lyall."

Scabby galopped back towards his mother who began to coo him in an annoying and ear-destroying manner. A long silence continued throughout the castle grounds as Luna stared at a teary Aethul. Did he answer? No. He just passed Luna with his head down and headed back towards her room. Luna's anger soon made way for pity and confusion as she saw the tiny foal simply move away without a word, silence being his companion.



It was night now, and the little foal had yet to eat anything. He was simply sleeping on Luna's bed, as sleep always frees one from the hazards of life. Luna's guards were on duty now, and only those half-way to death knew how dangerous, vigilant, and reactive these ones were. Aethul awoke on Luna's bed with an adorable, high pitched yawn. He wanted to get out and walk around for awhile just to have some time to think. This time, however, he knew how to open a door, and moved some boxes up to eachother to ensure his proper reaching of the handle. A quiet creak, a hanging on, and the job was done.
(Aethul transition)

It was really dark tonight. I don't recall ever leaving that room for the few days that I've been here. The moonlight going through the row of windows at the top of the wall really gave beautiful rays in these halls like pathways to Heaven. Though, I'm not here to appreciate the moonlight. I just need to...walk around. Doing so while avoiding those creepy guards wit' their bat wings was hard. I nearly got caught while wandering around near the stairs. I managed to hide in a suit of armor in time, and the weird stallion just walked around it, eyed it up and down, then did the same with the other, and finally gave up to walk into the corridor left of me. Perhaps this is just the rush I needed. I wonder if this is what my men had to do when they were sent for jobs. Come to think of it, they had families too. God only knows how much pain I endured when they died. I wonder why I was spared and they weren't.

These corridors felt really enormous, especially for my small stature. The mind of a child is easy to influence. My only comfort is that my soul is still the same. Soured, but still the same. The calm winds of the night rubbed against the walls outside, giving an eerie feeling akin to that of evil spirits following me. I was in a slightly wider corridor than the rest. It seemed to be filled with crystals and weird skeletons everywhere. One could say it looked "wizardesque", if that's even a word. Suddenly, everything went quiet. Literally. Not even the wind blew, nor did my breathing create enough sounds to roughle the water. I felt a cold chill run from the base of my spine to my head. With a gulp, I turned around to see some sort of ethereal white cloth swaying in front of me. I lift my eyes to see some sort of horrifying spirit. It was a banshee. 

If I remembered correctly, these face-stretched cloth wearers were women who committed atrocities during their living and feared judgement after their deaths, so they remained in the ethereal plane.

"I hate foals."

I forgot that it looked more like those stupid ponies than a human. I simply frowned and brushed it off. As I flicked my hoof at its nose, it bared its teeth then let out an ear-destroying howl that broke apart all the windows around. The longer she screamed, the higher the pitch became. I clenched my ears in pain and slammed myself on the ground until I saw a bone roll across me. I assume that it broke off from one of the nearby skeletons. I took the chance of letting my ears resist the screams of this psycho-bitch and tossed it at her. I don't know how, but it seemed to destabilize her as it passed through. Heck, I even saw a bit of her get absorbed into it. I took this chance to flee in the opposite direction and ran right once out of this corridor. I had to get to the throne room where Luna was. I heard some armor clinking and rushing towards where the banshee was. I may have been hopping off the steps, but I turned around fast enough to hear another scream and watched three of the guards fly away. Man, these guys sucked.

Then that bitch rushed me. I was grabbed and thrown down the stairs, slamming hard onto the floor. I'm pretty sure she broke a bone or two because I couldn't move, but I couldn't feel anything. I just struggled to get closer towards Luna's spot. I was close, as the portrait depicting a stallion in an emerald armor was right on the wall in front of me. Even as I tried, I couldn't move. I was just grabbed and lifted in the air by this creature, who, despite being a horse-like creature, still had those bony, freezing cold hands. She laughed, her chilling breathe causing my breath to turn into mist as I breathed myself. Finally, I was face-to-face with her white, dead eyes, and I was shivering from lack of heat. Her voice felt like a blizzard's voice as it blew during the winter, and it sounded like wind too.

"I hate foals. Always whining and crying. Never amounting to anything. If I freeze you, then there'll be no difficulty in shattering your body afterwards. Eheheheh. NOW FREEZE TO DEATH!" she shouted as she clamped both hands around me.

I tried to struggle, but it was no use. I began to freeze indeed, ice coming from my belly and working its way around my body. What I didn't know, was that those weird yellow lines on my face began to flicker and glow brightly. The banshee loosened her grip on me as her face began to twist in confusion.

"What are you doing?"

The howls of wolves caused the castle to vibrate, and two wolves similar in appearance to the banshee blasted out from two windows above, raining sharp doom upon me, but I wasn't harmed. One of them protected me while the other snapped at the spirit's neck and shook her around like a toy. The one who protected me layed me gently on the ground and licked me a bit. It was ticklish, but disgustingly, it was warm. It began to snarl and bark all the same, its mist-like body flowing all ovver the floor. Both walked slowly as they growled, trying to encircle the evil spirit.

"Grmph. I don't know what you are, but you can't beat me!" she roared, her scream making the wolves clamp onto the ground with their claws and have their ears do the same on the sides of their head.

As the scream began to cause the stones to crack and destabilize, another howl, but much louder, made the castle shake even more, and this time, I heard many doors through the castle open up in quick succession, each slamming against the bricks behind them. The banshee found a massive hook clamped into her neck. I'm not sure if I saw this right, but what looked like an enormous tribal wolf, a werewolf, some would say, drag the spirit towards it. I couldn't distinguish its body aside from it being enormously bulky and its eyes glowing a bright, pearly white.

It dragged the the banshee towards it and, as she began to choke, crushed her neck, making her spirit explode and, as frightening as it may seem, some type of orange glow with the same misty-appearance started to glow underneath her, and like skinny arms grabbed her and dragged her into he pits where she belonged. The wolves reunited and stared at me, unable to intervene any longer. I felt cold, but I guess that's what happens when you're attacked by a banshee who tries to freeze you. The last thing I saw was that absent mare who stared at me, and the wolves having disappeared shortly before her arrival. Lights out.



(Narrator transition)
Rose Milk stared at the foal, then let her eyes stare upwards without moving her head. The werewolf's eyes stared back in return, and seemed to squint in order to indicate that it was watching her and warning her.

"Well, it seems we now know what you're magic is all about. It seems you have guardians. We'll keep this a secret between us." she told the unconcious stallion as she heaved him onto her back.

Everypony, including a tired Celestia who found herself tumble and roll to Rose's hooves, had arrived.

"Ow. I do not like to wake up so suddenly."Celestia moaned as she was hoisted back onto her hooves by Luna's night guards.

"Yeah. What be happenin' 'round here? I was dreamin' bout me home in the tropics 'n I was woken by some freaky screamin' 'mon. Sounded like me motha' when she ate too much sugah." Green Pepper complained while he wore his weird pyjamas of green, black, and yellow. Nopony knew what it represented.

"Where is Aethul?!" Luna shouted.

She KNEW he was in danger. She just didn't know how she knew, and this perplexed everypony around her. She gasped in horror at the sight.

"What happened?"

"He was attacked by a banshee." Rose answered almost inaudibly.

"Bring him to the medical wing immediately!"a guard shouted.

Luna began to interrogate Rose Milk on everything she knew. It wasn't normal, and even less possible, that a banshee manage to pass through the words placed everywhere in and around the castle. Investigations were needed.




It was day again, and Aethul was lying down in a white bed that smelled of medication. Around him there was a metal hangar where a cloth would be dragged to hide his bed, but it wasn't hear. Two windows on the wall let in all that beatiful light. Everything was white in this room, even the furniture and tiles on the wall, floor, and the ceiling?! He had stitches on his body, said parts of his body which were shaved. He was drowzy, and the sun light blinding him wasn't helping either. Luna had passed out from exhaustion and was sleeping at the foot of his bed, which had brought endearment from Celestia when she saw how devouted her sister was becoming. Even Luna's image was beginning to change. The words were slow and confusing, but they were taking effect. 

As Lyall twisted himself to the right, he came face to face with the rat, and frowned in anger. The rat looked at him with conviction and said:

"I think it's time we discussed things together."
> Truce
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Why should I listen to you?" Aethul snapped.

"Because I was forced into a predicament I told you about yesterday."

"You think I'll believe you?"

"No, but it was worth a shot. Could you atleast listen to what I have to say?"

"...Fine."Aethul crossed his forelegs.

"I already know that you'll never forgive me, but I have to explain myself. You aren't the only one who lost everything."

Aethul's anger began to subside, but just long enough for him to look back at Scabby without any needs to kill him. Luna was still sound asleep, her gentle breathing barely noticeable.

"You lost your family, and your nephew is in hell, but let me tell you what happened after you died. First, however, don't you want to know who asked for your death?"

"A rival family?"

"No. Your own family. I don't know who, but I suspect that he died in the earlier conflicts. That person had locked away my family in an unknown location and, if I didn't comply, he would've killed them. Please understand that I cared about my family as much as you did. I was leaving the mafia business for an honest life, but then that person took my family away." Scabby snarled and stomped his hoof, disturbing Luna ever-so slightly.

Aethul looked to the side, then began to nod gently before doing it correctly."If you had told me, I would have found them."

"No you wouldn't. I know how you operated, and you wouldn't have managed to find them. You were naught but the glue used to keep the members together."

Aethul felt insulted, but he knew this to be the truth.

"It goes like this:

When you died, the news through your family very quickly. So quickly, in-fact, that they all behan to kill eachother for power. A few months later and your father was found dead in his cell. Your nephew broke off and founded his own family. Did he try to rally the old? No. He crushed everyone and established his dominance in the city. It was brutal. Of course, I was still alive after all those years, but my family had been killed in the internal dispute of your family..."he began to trail off and started to have those little hiccups kids have when they begin to cry.

"Your nephew still had a grudge against me. You know how he killed me?"

"He--"

"He strapped me to a rock, then threw acid at me every day, making sure I stayed alive as long as possible during the trip."

"What trip?"

"To Hawaii. As bizarre as it may seem, he managed to sneak me to the top of a volcano there. Yeah. I was strapped to a rock in a boat, then I was taken off of it and dragged to the top of a volcano. He gouged out my eyes, poured more acid into my bloody sockets, then kicked me into the lava. He wasn't called the green thumb for his gardening skills."

Scabby held himself and started to shiver on the spot, his tiny body beginning to puff up. Lyall took it into himself to force his body off the bed and comfort the rat. Had he known why he was like that, then he wouldn't have held such anger towards him. One thing puzzled Aetulwulf, however.

"How did you get her?"

"Some fae bitch sent me down here saying that I would be a present to someone I knew."

"Hmph. What a bitch."

"Heheh. Yeah. I'm still not used to this situation. I can walk, but barely, and I'm--"

"So tiny it horrifies you?" Aethul answered blandly.

"Y-yeah. You too?"

"You guessed it."

"Will you forgive me for what I have done?"

"Seeing how my nephew tortured you before killing you, I should say more than pardoned. You literally went to hell then came back. I wouldn't hold a grudge against anyone if they had to deal with such pains. Your torture was just worse than most. Usually it's only physical or psyhological. Yours was both."

Scabby shook off his cold shivering and nodded at Aethul before beginning to stand up little by little. Luna had actually been spying on them. She was already awoken earlier, but when Scabby got inside, she wanted to see what would happen. Her magic was enough to give a good view of the room using a sight spell. She was smiling as she looked down at Aethul and Scabby.
(Aethul transition)
'Mom' was looking at us both with a smile. If I didn't know any better, I'd say that would be a rape face. Instead, she picked me up with her telekinesis thing and hugged me strongly before giving me a kiss on the forehead. I was confused at first.

"I'm proud of you two." she told me."You've managed to take care of whatever differences were troubling you. I'll give you both a gift after, but I must take Aethul to the doctor to check on his stitches and see if everything is okay."

Scabby nodded and galopped out of the room with haste. His mother didn't know that he had left, and he wanted to make sure that this new life wouldn't go to waste, as I've understood. Luna suddenly looked confused, then face-hoofed.

"I meant to say that I needed to get the doctor to Aethul. Wait right here."

"Well duh. Where the hell am I supposed to go like this?"

I just frowned and waited a bit, tapping my forehooves on the floor until a gigantic stallion wearing a white suit blasted indoors, grabbed me, and threw me on the bed. He came in with such speed that I didn't have time to see what he looked like, and he threw me so hard against the bed that I actually passed out for a few minutes, and I heard some type of deep laughter, then I saw some type of horror with such a frightening voice and appearance that I'm pretty sure I wet myself. I woke up quickly to see that the doctor had already left and Luna was the one holding a bottle of waking salts, whatever they're called. It stunk like mad.

"There you go. Dr. Pain is always a bit rough. He said that you could walk around now. I know it's barely been a few days since I became your mother, and that you've been here, but my sister insisted on bringing you to the Mage's Wing."

I looked at her with a cocked eyebrow.

"The place you were last night."

"Oh ok. Wait, WHAT?!"

It was too late. I was already on her back. Eh. Normally, I would jump, but it was a bit elevated here, especially with such a young and fragile body. How I envy the strength of a full grown man. Evidently enough, the nurses in the reception room, hiding behind their counters and plants, waved goodbye. Moaning and huffing as I couldn't move from her back, and she just LOVES to put me here, I waited until I noticed we were returning to that place where the banshee was. This time, though, there were plenty of ponies wearing weird white suits and another with green and pink hair so freaky it looked like a flurry of fire. He wore a white coat, and his normal coat was a verdoyant red-orange.

"Solar."Luna called out.

My eyes nearly jumped out of their sockets to flee when he turned around. The whole right side of this smiling stallion's face had been torn and clawed at, and in the place of his eye, there was some weird gray thing sticking out. It had a red eye. I started to scream and try to jump off of Luna's back. She just grabbed me in her left foreleg and started to coo me. Being rocked and hearing such a...a soothing voice...is tiring...damn you baby brain...

"Shh shhhhh. There you go. Calm down."

"Little baby? Who is father?" he spoke in an accent that I just abhorred.

"Wh-what? N-no. I never did that. I adopted him."

He opened his mouth and nodded, showing that he didn't believe her."Okay. What do you want? How may be of service?"

He rolls tongue and speak avoiding conjugation? Nooo. He couldn't be.

"It's to know what these markings on him are. They glowed, and he somehow managed to control the undead wolves who attacked the castle. My sister and I believe that he has been infused with a rare form of lunar magic, but we are not sure."

"Lunar magic? Pfff. No such thing." he puffed as he waved a hoof."I see you seem stumped. Lunar magic not real. What he has is rare, yes, but it linked to stars, not moon. In Stalliongrad, we were told of ancient magic long gone with strange abilities. It was linked to wolves, some say. No matter what they were, if ther were wolves, they were under influence."

"Stalliongrad? Oh God. It's a fucking Ruskie. Damn those communist dogs. They've even gotten over here. Don't listen to him! He'll take away our freedom and supplant it with a slavery disguised as help towards the people."" I say, tugging on Luna's foreleg. She just giggled and smiled at me.

"Stalliongrad's stories have always intrigued me. Could you take a look to confirm these suspicions?" she asked with a gentle tone. She knows NOTHING!

That Ruskie got closer to me, then grabbed my head and began eyeing me with his left eye.

"Go around and look at foal's body." he said...to who knows.

Oh God! That thing that was his eye was actually a creature! It climbed out and extended its tiny legs before jumping on me. Ewwww. It had a tiny body but a very long neck. This thing walked all over me and plucked out a few hairs for some reason. The little crawled back into Solar's socket and tucked itself deep inside.

"Hmmmm. Vadivitch tells me that he has a bizarre magical composition along with what has been confirmed as Star Lining, also known as 'Volf Magic'."

"What kind of bizarre magic?"

"He does not know. It is unknown to him. He says it feel like a punishment to have. I do not understand. I will extract some of his blood to test for any mutations caused by the unknown magic. Also, there is one more thing you should know, Princess."

"What?"

"One is not simply born with Volf Magic. It is not something that one is born with. It is learned after years of practice. I believe he has genetic mutation, which could explain weakness in his body."

"I thought that his thiness was due to him lacking any form of correct nutrition."

"That could also be the cause. I do think--"

While they blabbered on, I felt something prick me in the rear. It hurt so bad that I actually began to tear up and cry. Luna hugged me tightly again. Why do these hugs feel so comfortable? And why am I holding onto her chest?

"Good Vadicitch. Thank you. I shall run tests to see. I suggest you take him to nursery. If he doesn't meet other foals his age, he will grow up into a troublesome foal."

"I'll take that into that. Goodbye."

"Have nice day."

Luna turned her back to the Ruskie, but as I squinted at his turned back as well, I saw that fucking worm thing poke its head out and stare at me in the same manner. Oh. It's on. I DID hear something coming from the guards and scientists that were talking about what was apparently the Mage's Wing.

"This isn't the first time something like this has happened." a guard said.

"Perhaps, but it's just recently that they've begun. I have a hunch that we've disturbed the spirits or something."

"Ugh."another guard smacked his helmet in annoyance."First Nightmare, then Discord, then Changelings, and now the undead? Bring the changelings any day. I'd prefer them!"

"So you'd prefer to have a changeling-esque spirit? Come to think of it, there IS one spirit like that."the scientist gave an evil grin, but the guard shot his look from both of his eyes in an erratic fashion as he backed up.

"Wh-wh-what do you mean? *gasp* NO! Not that! There couldn't be any Drewcifiers around here."

"Oh. Who knows?" the scientist taunted. 

The next thing I knew, that guard was running for the hills screaming like a little girl. Both Luna and I looked at eachother with questioning faces. Instead of scolding the two who were laughing their asses off, she just smirked and shook her head. 

"Ahah. Ha. Atleast it wasn't a Ghajit, or we'd all be screwed over." the guard said, a tear to his eye.

Suddenly, the entire place went quiet and everybody just stared at him with completely terrified expressions. Why? The hell is a Ghajit? Sounds like some food from the middle-east.

"GUARD! You will no longer speak of that horror unless you which to spend three weeks in the lowest levels of the dungeon." Luna growled. She was fucking terrifying.

That guard scampered up like crazy and began to shake like a leaf in a tornado.

"Y-yes m'am."

Luna turned back around and placed me back on her back. I looked around to see all the damage that banshee had done was being fixed. Ha! Fixing everything is quit alot of fun to watch. She went downstairs to reach this nursery. Wasn't there one upstairs? I'm so confused. Either way, we passed a few doors, saw a pegasus crash land. That was funny. Next thing I know, we're passing through a pink door and into a playground with a mare keeping watch. THe payground was like every kindergarden thing ever. Those weird foam puzzlepieces on the floor, plastic playgrounds with those tiny slides and whatnot. Balls, dolls, and stalls for the special time. They all wore diapers. I was thrilled to know that I'd spend a day in a place that smelt of shit and medication. It's similar to a retirement home, minus the smell of soap and decay. What a wonderful mother.

"Hello, Mrs. Berryngton."

"Princess."

This mare was white with a long, vanilla cream mane overlapping her face. Both her mane and tail seemed frizzled, so I assumed she was a teenager who married a bit too early.

"You still aren't used to having a foal it seems."

"Errr...no."

"It's okay. Just get your things ready for the future. You can't bring a foal this young to the daycare every day, okay?"

"I know. I am simply not used to these responsibilities that my sister has thrust upon me."

"Of course."

"I shall leave now. I must prepare for my taking care of Aethulwulf."

"Of course."

What's with her and these of courses? Luna dropped me on the floor gently, and I already saw that this woman thought I was a brain dead cabbage with legs like those other things. I just stood up and glared at her. She took it as a cute thing, like usual, so I frowned when she grabbed me, wrapped her arms around my stomach and hugged me hard while rubbing her face against my own. Being a unicorn, she was close to impaling my eyes. Her 'so cuuuuute' voice was hurting. Frowning and staring at Luna, I shook my right forehoof to show her that the next time she did something like this, I killl her!
> The smell of despair...and diapers
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

This mare seemed to be trying to befriend me as she kept speaking in weird "booboo" mannerisms. She tried to shove a plushy of Celestia at me, because, as I look at the surrounding foals, I could see that they were all hugging, playing, or...eating...a stuffed version of Celestia. I swatted it away and puffed up my face to show my disregard to such things. Berryngton jolted back in horror that I would swat away their "beloved" Celestia. I simply hid an evil smirk. She just stared at the pushie and tried levitating it towards me again. I'll never get used to that. As it floated in front of me, with that demonic smile, I turned my back and walked away. She seem flabbergasted. Instead, I grabbed an abandoned plushie of Luna with...my mouth, and walked back towards her with it. This thing was underneath one of the plastic play sets, in the hollow area.
Berryngton scratched the back of her head and shrugged.

"Ooookaaaay. Be...nice now."

Yeah. I scared her. Heh heh.

"Well, well. You were put here too?"a voiced asked behind me.

"The rat?"

"I'd prefer if you called me Scabby instead. Not the best of names, but, then again, my new mom is a complete and utter dumbass. Who is yours in this new life?"

"You didn't hear her?"

"No. Who?"

"Princess Luna is my mother."

His jaw dropped."Then who fornicated with that?"

"Noone. Apparently, I just flew into her room through the window."

His gaze set to a more serious wavelength."Ah. You were abandoned. Seeing how you flew through a window, I'm assuming that your parents were pegasi. Hmmm."

"Yes...well...I don't do too well with this whole thing."

"I'm doing perfectly fine. Apparently, my new father is a guard of your 'mother'."

"You mean those creepy bat guys that I always see snooping about."

Scabby's ears lowered in shame."Yes..."
(Narrator transition)

Berryngton had a hard time understanding the two foals. They were actually conversing with eachother. How? They were both barely a few days old. Not only that, but they displayed emotional spectrums normally unreachable by minds of that age. The most bizarre thing that she noticed was that they went to the bathroom by themselves. They didn't need to wear diapers. Scabby's mother simply saw this as a sign that her son was simply a gifted, super intelligent colt. Princess Luna, on the other hoof, simply considered it a source of her influence, despite him only being with her for, what...A few hours per day?

Then there was that situation she had heard about. They were already fighting when they met eachother, then they became best friends. That would require mature minds. She didn't know what was going on, but she had ears everywhere. Rose Milk had an idea of what was going on, but Berryngton didn't know what she was doing today. After all, Rose was randomly given tasks to do, tasks which she performed without end. Another superviser of the children, a black stallion with black eye-liner and anything gothic etched on him, walked into the entrance of the playground.

"Ah. Sunsu, how are you?" Berryngton asked, a smile carved on her face.

Sunsu's face was ever-frowning and unhappy, but this is what he showed to everypony that wasn't a foal. "Fine. I guess." he shrugged, his white lipstick cracking.

"Mmmm. I need to take over for a second. I have some information to obtain." Berryngton hopped off her chair and went halfway through the door.

"What kind of information?"

"Important information. Don't mind the two without diapers. They are...special." and with that, she was gone.

"Special?" Sunsu thought to himself.

The stallion's eye widened in horror as he looked at the scene. The two without diapers had reached the top of the biggest plastic playground and were shoving off all the others and boasting in victory. They did it in a manner that the ones who fell weren't hurt, but a few cried anyways.

"Just the day I chose to work at the castle's nursery."




Berryngton had run around everywhere, but she just couldn't find the silent mare. She stopped in the halls for a quick breather and some deep thinking. When a guard passed by, she put her thoughts into action.

"Excuse me. Guard?"

"Yes?"

"Do you know where Rose Milk is?"

"Yes. She has been tasked with cleaning the royal grave chambers."

Berryngton shivered."Wonderful. Thank you. I'll...I'll hurry up then."

The guard nodded and continued his patrol through the castle. The mare galopped quickly through the castle, down the stairs, then through the entrance, nearly knocking over a few invitees. Berryngton continued her rampage until she slid to a halt right in front of a gray dome of ancient architecture. It seemed Romanesque in appearance, but it had damaged gargoyles on the edges of the square the round dome rested upon. Berry took a deep gulp, opened the door, then went inside and closed the door right behind her. It was very dark, but a single weak source of blue light was coming from the ceiling. It was a used up Blom crystal, and it hung from a chandelier. Berryngton began to shake tremendously and looked around quickly and nervously. 

"R-R-Rose? Where are you?"

As the scared pony walked around, her tiny hoof-steps causing the loudest noise ever in such a confined room, two, evily glowing pink eyes appeared on the ceiling. It gently hovered to the ground and quietly approached Berry from behind. When the mare turned around to see where that noise came from, the eyes moved as well. This continued for a few seconds until the creature slammed onto Berryngtom, making her scream like crazy and light her horn. She hadn't thought of that because of her fears. In front of her was a changeling baring its teeth and drooling slightly. The frightened mare was still trembling and seeing what caused her fright After awhile, Berryngton frowned and lashed at the changeling:

"This isn't funny, Rose."

"Heh. Atleast let me be happy for awhile. I've been stuck here for a few hours and cleaning this place isn't easy."

"Yeahhhhh. Listen. I know you know something about those two weird foals, especially the one Princess Luna has adopted."

"You're right, in one way. I only know about her son, but I think she already learned about his Volf Magic."

"Volf Magic?"

"Yes."

"What's that?"

"Not important."

"I see...Look, I know you KNOW something."

"Maybe. Maybe I know that they have a powerful magic lock on their souls that is cleansing them."

"Already, the lock is confusing enough, but cleansing their souls? Of what?"

"Of their memories. They don't know it yet, but when it is finished picking away, and breaks, their minds will be lost as well."

"Oh no." Berryngton's rear fell to the ground."How awful."

"There IS something strange going on, however."

Berry's ears perked up."Strange how?"

"Well, seeing how powerful such a thing is, they should have both lost their memories already, especially Luna's foal. I think that Volf Magic has something to do with it."

"What about it?

"I don't know! It's not because I spend my days reading in the restricted library that I can know everything about unknown magics. "

"Okay. Just keep out of sight when you're yourself."

"I know. I know."

Berryngton walked slowly towards the door, but put her hoof to her chin.

"You've never told any of us what happened to your child, and you've never told me  how you got it in the first place."

"...That's for me to know only."

"Suit yourself."

As the visiting mare left, Rose Milk became more depressed than usualy, but continued on with her important task.



Celestia, while checking her calender, realized a small error she had committed.

"Oops. I mistakenly thought that there were two more days until Pumpkin's Dining. I best tell Luna so she can prepare in advance." Celestia thought aloud with a DIABOLICAL smile. Simply. Diabolical.
> Tribal dancing
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The night had fallen, and both Scabby and Aethulwulf had found themselves back in the arms of their mothers. Scabby's mother was still...specially minded. Being overprotective was a very bad thing. Luna had hugged Aethul dearly and crushed him against her rubbing face. His efforts to punch her away just seemed to be like a kitten pushing away a person's face with their fluffy paws. Luna had just learned that her sister had played a trick on her, and now she had to think of a costume, and quickly. The Pumpkin's Feast was like Nightmare Night, only, a more lighter version for Luna. Not many outside of Canterlot Castle celebrated it, however. Luna was now in the costume room. This place was a massive area with several open floors showing all the costumes possible. Directly forward, and at the second floor's level sat a huge window, through which one could see the moon and the thin trees swaying with the night breeze. The floors themselves were just open closets full of a wide variety of colorful garments for anypony to wear.
(Aethul transition)

Luna was panicking horribly. I dunno why. Was there something special going on today? She kept flying from one shelf to another, hoping to find something for me to wear first. She already her own costume, as I assumed from what looked like a dress hanging from the ledge.

"How about this one?" she suddenly asked me after teleporting right there.

I jumped back a few feet in fear and horror. What was she holding? Such a wretched costume! It looked like those things those idiots wore during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Even the beak mask was present! I showed that I hated it by oing "blech!" in front of her. She frowned, scratched the back of her head, then somehow did a double aerial back-flip onto the ledge behind her, then swung back down with another costume. It looked like a little prince's costume, what with the golden braids and royal blue sown into the silk, but it was still panzy-like. A frowned and harumphed. Luna seemed even more distraught than before. While we waited a bit longer, the crystals providing light to the room began to flicker on and off, and the wind outside began to intensify. "Mother" took note of this and scanned the area with her eyes. It was very dark, but the moonlight was more than capable of brightening up the room. My mother finally flew down and blocked me with her left wing.

"Careful, Aethul. I think something is coming. Stay behind me."

"So protective. I'll have you know that I bested the city boxing champ on my own."

A screeching yell that seemed so familiar literally caused the ground to erupt beneath us, but Luna was smart enough to use her wing to flip me on her back and fly quickly up into the air. On the ground, though, we both saw a creature phasing in and out of existence, its body existence flickering every time it appeared. It seemed to be a skeleton with bits and pieces of rotten flesh on it, and it was looking straight at us. It suddenly phased right in front of Luna and took a swipe, missing me narrowly. My new mother somehow created a laser and threw it at the creature, which had no effect as it phased through. I thought lasers were science fiction?

The creature then slammed into Luna and I fell downwards towards the exit. I fell very hard too. Looking up, I could see that there were more bizarreties happening, if that's even a word. Guards were flying and running everywhere. What the hell is the purpose of all this security if they're always attacked every single fuckin' day?! Either way, I had best get out of here quickly unless I get steamrolled by more of these evil creatures. I tried to turn left, but I was et by another of these phasing ghosts. It didn't look too happy, so I decided to calmly whistle to myself and gently walk away...until some sort of samurai armor wearing ghost came through the wall after beheading a few statues. Its eyes burned a hellish red. I was trapped. Instead, while that phaser kept inching towards me, the samurai turned its head and blasted another hole through the walls, only to get tackled by what looked like a heavy armor wearing behemoth.

The flicker continued to etch towards me, so I did what any sane man would do; run like hell! I ran through the hole going to the yard, and the creature followed. Bizarrely, it seemed that only the inside of the castle was being affected. It needed an exorcist, badly. I kept on running until I heard some sort of tribal music beating violently through the air. That thing stopped in its tracks and vanished into mist. Still panicking, I decided to run into the bushes a bit further. Seeing my small stature, I could definately hide in them. What I didn't know was whta was about to happen. I somehow fell through a hole in front of the bushes, but it was like a door. Its sides were flowing like water.
(narrator transition)

The little colt found himself tumbling along a muddy ground and off of tree roots as he entered this new, bizarre world. It seemed to be a thick rainforest, but with palmtrees added in the mix. The skies were a mixture of dark purple and funnels of pink clouds. These were a type of horizontal tornado of an extreme rarity, so what were they doing here? Finally, Aethul was flung up a final time by a strong root and sent tumbling down a steep fall into more mud.

"Pblah! Gross! Ewww. Awww. All this goop. The horror."Aethul cursed as he dragged himself out of the puddle. 

His ears perked up as he heard something entrancing him to get closer. He was about to do so, until somepony else came tumbling on top of him.

"Woo! That was close. I almost fell in the mud."Scabby smiled in satisfaction."Hmm?"

"Mph! Mpfpmphh!"

"Huh? Where's that coming from?"

"GET OFF!"

"YAH!"

Aethul had kicked Scabby into the mud pile and seemed pretty angry as well.

"Hey. You didn't need to kick me in there, you know. That isn't fun."

"Whatever. I...Isn't fun? Are you okay?"

"I...ah..."Scabby held his head. It suddenly felt like it was throbbing painfully."I can feel mself...disappearing...Adone. Something is chewing at my memories."

"As much as I still hate you, losing your memories is something I won't tolerate. Come on. There might be someone over there beyond the bushes that we can ask for help."

"Okay."

Aethul grabbed Scabby's foreleg and swung it over his neck to keep his company steady.

"What were you doing following me anyways? I don't even know how I ended up here anyways."

"I thought this was a secret hideout of yours. After all, you did have them when you were a Don."

"Hm. True. This still doesn't explain where we are. It feels wierd too. Like we're--"

"Dead? Again?"

"Yeah."

Lyall placed his friend gently on the floor and quietly spread the branches of the thick shrubbery out of the way. What his saw was of great confusion. The creatures on the other side seemed tribal. Their bodies were like those of gray werewolves, yet their heads, hands, and feet were nothing but bone. This tribe lived against a cliff, and several fires were crackling and sparkling in the night. Many pounded on drums while others danced around a wooden totem which looked like even more wolves. They all sung an ominous sounding beat, that was all too similar to that Aethul had heard in the yard.

"What are they?" Scabby whispered.

"I dunno. Like the others?"

"Not at all." said a deep voice behind them.




A tribeswolf wakled into the pack with two colts in his hand. One seemed to struggled while the other glowed a bright yellow. Instead of cooking them, as Scabby expected, they were placed in front of a wolf with a similar color scheme on his face, but with red instead of yellow. His red yeyes glowed in their empty sockets, seemingly coming from the shadows, and he stomped his hands onto the foals and placed them onto half a log for them to sit on. Scabby started to shake like crazy, but Aethul didn't react. Instead, he cocked an eyebrow.

"What is this?" he asked.

"Little one, you do not know?"

"About what? You?"

"No. About your gift. What you are yourself."

"A pony with Vulf Magic."

"Vulf Magic?" the entire tribe burst into laughter. "Nonsense! He told you this?"

"A commie." he growled.

"...I never heard of this creature. However, I have omitted introductions. I am the chief of this tribe, and that is all you need to know."

"Yes. I DO hear a distinct Native American accent."

"I don't see the correlation."

"It's nothing. I am Aethulwulf Lyall, and this is Scabby. You need to help him."

"The fae magic is affecting him quicker hm?"

"What? How do you--"

"Where do you think you are? Another dimension? Has it not come as a strange thing that your new center of living is being acted by spectres. Beings who shouldn't be in the living realm."

"Of cour...This is a joke, right?"

"No. Shaman. Take this colt to the purity hut. He must be cleansed of the impure fae magic and revitalized."

A werewolf wearing the skin of a giant bird dragged the agonizing foal into a nearby hut, which was covered in sewn leather. Two guards blocked the entrance.

"What is he going to do to him?"

"Give him medicine and such. Thing of this place as a type of purgatory, but you would know that, wouldn't you, Adone Federo."

The colt stared at this creature with a wide mouth. He wanted to speak, but only air came out.

"You wonder how? Anyone can be manipulated. In reality, you were supposed to be reborn as a simply country pony WITHOUT their memories, contrary to what she told you."

"She lied?!"

"Yes. We learned of your actions through demonic whispers. You were corrupted, but not corrupted enough to enter hell. They were drawing you down even steeper paths. Luckily for you, your friend killed you and allowed your rebirth. The bad side is what happened to your cousin. I am deeply sorry for this. We CAN perform a ceremony that will allow the great Creator to hear our plea and, perhaps, allow him to live with you in your future as one of your own kin."

"As my child?!" Aethulwulf put a hoof in front of his mouth.

"It's either that or he burns forever in the Abyss."

"I...agree...It's the least I can do."

"Then it will be done. As for what we are and what that magic is, let us explain."

The Chief went silent and the others came forward to speak.

"We are Lycris. Ancient spirits having chosen to watch the paths of the spirit world and the living world."

"Your new mother has been expanding her domain."

"Which threatens the balance as it breaks the barrier between worlds with their magic shields."

"We created you to help us stop this expanion and solidify the barriers."

"As you have been infused with the power of a Wolf Kin. You control all wolves of any sort, be they undead or living."

"We will obey your every command."

"Just don't exaggerate when you give them."

"Your birth was not from the right parents."

"Who considered you as garbage."

"But your new mother is developping a great love for you, to which you should pander."

"It can aid you both that you act as a young foal."

"And it can help her develop a mature and loving form of mind."

"The fae's spell on your mind will never break through because of the Wolf Kin, but your friend was only resistant this long because of what you do."

"Stop the expansion and close the gates. Only then shall your new mother become attentive to what she is becoming."

"Now leave. The kin of your soul are watching."

"What about Scabby?"

"Lorenzo is back in the arms of his mother, and you should as well."

The chief stepped forward and placed a hand on Aethul's head. The other Lycris backed away.

"You are our creation, but your will is your own. Save both worlds from destruction, or you might lose your chances for redemption, and the chances to redeem your nephew, and be sent to hell with him. One soul has no greater or lesseer value than another. If you do this task, then you will have saved billions of lives, guaranteeing your redemption. Off you go."

The chief pushed Aethul away, and he began to float slowly away from the tribe who waved him goodbye. He started to gain some velocity, and more ghost wolves appeared on the nearby branches tackling any malevolent spirits coming closer to him. As he began to fly towards the hole, a wolf was thrown aside, and a massive evil spirit came from below Lyall and almost grabbed him. Unfortunately, he was accelerated through the whole after a wolf grabbed him and threw him. The next thing he knew, he was shaking his head in the halls of the castle, hearing Luna shouting out for him, a cringe in her voice indicating a possible moment of crying. 

The little colt rounded a corner and toppled over. Luna cried out in joy and galopped to his aid. She grabbed him and rubbed her face all over his as tears of joy began to steak along her cheeks. The colt started to think to himself if he really shouldn't listen to what those creatures told him. After all, he DID have a mother who actually cared for him. Something he never really had being a human. Perhaps he should cherish this new gift? Firth things first, though. He had to find a way to contact the princesses despite being a foal a few days old. How would he?

"I'll never let you out of my sight again. I'm going to keep you with me at all times. I'll teach you how to be a proper prince. If I am to be your mother, I must ensure your security and see that you are properly loved."
> Forcing the lock
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Luna's usual time slate of slumber had been interrupted by this new furball into her life, and, once again, she found herself denied of proper slumber. However, she pressed on with the help of a good ol' cup of joe. Early in the morning, she woke up Aethul and sent him to the bathroom for his morning needs. Next thing to do on the list was to clean him up. She actually hummed as she cleaned up the foal in the tub with foal-appropriate shampoo, what with their delicate skin compared to that of a rugged stallion. Aethul coughed and spat as he tried to swipe away what was forcing him to take a bath. Luna would have none of that, so she scrubbed harder.

"Stop. Struggling. I'm only trying to clean you. You came back filthy last night, and I don't want you to fall sick."

Aethul continued to struggle.

"If you don't stop struggling, I won't let you go outside."

The foal immediately stopped and looked like he was cursing about something. Luna smirked and managed to get in his ears, making Aethul squirm like mad. Eventually, he was levitated into the air, his little body shaking like a leaf and his fur somehow melded onto his skin. Luna awwed at this and wrapped him around in a dry towel after drying him off with another.

"There you go, Aethul. You'll stay right here in my arms until you're all better."

"Why do they taunt me so? I have to show her how to close that damn breach. But how? Hmmm. When I get free, and if I'm lucky, when she meets up with Celestia, I'll bail for the yard and show them the hole...if nothing gets in my way..."

"Wait...I have spell to heat you up immediately. I am feeling rather tired."

Luna's horn lit up like a firefly, and was lowered to touch Aethul gently on the head, to which he immediately flew out of the towel and galopped around as if on fire.

"Too strong perhaps?"

"Too strong?! I'll kill you. That's what's too strong!" Aethul shouted as his entire body smoked like a sausage.

"It's okay. Come here. There you go. What did Celestia do when I was little?...hmmmm...Ah!"

Luna gave the foal a little kiss on the forehead, then backed up and smiled. Aethul stared at her. His face semi-disturbed and intrigued at the same time. He felt a smile trying to mine through the stone placed on the sides of his lips, but, so far, it was too much to remove, so they remained lowered.

"How about we go see Aunt Celestia?"

Aethul nodded, and was slowly levitated back to the ground. With surprise, he was allowed to walk alongside his new mother, slowly cursing what the werewolves had told him.

"Uhhh. Testing. One. Two...what comes after two?"came a voice from nowhere.

"What-guh-I can't belie-GIMME THAT! Geez. Some chief you are." ordered a more irritated voice.

"Well excuse me for not knowing this new type of magic."

"Is that the bitch fae playing a trick on me again?" Aethul thought angrily.

"No. It's us. The Lycris. There's a problem. You won't have several hours to stop the widening of the barrier."

"Why?

There was more noise on whatever the Lycris were talking with. Aethul stopped for a minute and looked concerned. Luna stopped and turned to look at him with concern of her own.

"Are you alright, Prince Aethuwulfl?" Luna taunted.

Lyall's eyes lit right up and he ran back to her side, pride in his march.

"It would appear that a Ghajit is causing a forced solar eclipse."

"How come Luna, who apparently controls the moon, doesn't notice?"

"When a creature is so evil and powerful that it's considered a demon by ancient cultures, you have a habit of not noticing all the tricks it can pull. We don't have much time. Drag your mother and aunt and find the breach by whatever means necessary."

"What?! Oh shit! Maybe I should tug on Luna...I got it!"

Aethul actually forced on a smile and tempted Luna to make this walk go faster. It took awhile, but the princess finally understood what Aethul was trying to do.

"Okay, Aethul. We'll teleport to Celestia's throne. Come here."

Luna wrapped her wing around the foal, and with a flash, both suddenly appeared right in front of Celestia's throne's circular staircase. Celestia actually looked surprised at the sudden appearance, and even more when Aethul jumped up to her. The sun princess picked up Aethul and hugged him powerfully before beginning to pinch his cheeks like an old lady.

"I hate my life."Lyall thought to himself.

"So, Luna. Tell me. How are you with Aethulwulf?"

"I'm more concerned about all these spirits roaming the castle grounds and attacking us. I think we'll have to postpone the celebration."

"We brought exorcists to determine where they are coming from. They are very good at what they do as well. By the way. You still haven't answered my question." Celestia leaned forward with a smirk on her face as Aethul began to climb her back.

"Well...I've been doing better...But I really need my sleep. I'm exhausted."

"I can tell that. We need to have his sleep cycle tuned to the day like yours is. That way, you won't be needing to sleep during the night anymore."

"I would be grateful for that spell."

"No. Luna. It isn't a spell. You just have to force him to stay aawake during the night and to sleep during the day."

"But that--"

"Is the only way."

Luna cursed under her breath and stomped the ground. She was mad.

"Fine. I'll try tod--"

Aethul yoinked Celestia's crown in his mouth and scaled down his aunt to begin hopping off the stairs and running through the castle. Celestia tapped her head in surprise and decided:

"Hmm. He certainly wants to play."

"Or he's trying to show you two something." a voice echoed.

"Who is there? Show yourself!" Luna roared, her voice vibrating within the throne room.

"Nopony of importance. You best hurry to your child as he'll show you something incredible. Best hurry now. THe eclipse is starting."

"What eclipse? I haven't planned anything like that!"

"Luna. Look outside."Celestia urged her sister as she pointed to the upper windows.

An eclipse was indeed going on, and it wouldn't be a pretty sight.

"I hadn't planned such a thing."

"Then you two best hurry. It is coming."

"What is it?"

"It starts with 'G'."

The two princesses' eyes lit up and they both hurried outside of the throne room to find Aethul. Once the doors clapped shut, a gray, stony figure dropped from the ceiling, the sound of its wings similar to that of a cicada. It gently touched the ground, and, while its body details were not visible from whatever distance, its eyes lit up a bright pink.

"Perhaps communicating with the spirits of the dead actually has its advantages." Rose chuckled in the end.




The sun was starting to blot out, and everypony was just continuing their work as if nothing special was happening. The princesses were making sure to avoid any gazes. Any signs of the princesses panicking would make everypony panic. Stealth was key here. Using methods they had learnt as foals, such as using their magic to hide in nearby armor, the two sisters reached the yard outside, and searched frantically for the foal, who was waiting for them right in front of a wavy piece of air.

"What is that?" Luna gasped.

"I think he found the source of the spirits haunting us. QUICKLY! We must seal it away!"

"Right." Luna nodded.

Aethul was tossed to the side, gently, to allow the sisters to perform their magic. Both horns lit up like a firecracker and magic surrounded the portal, which began to close little by little, until the sun became blotted out, allowing a gigantic beast to burst forth from the hole and slap the two sisters aside.
(Aethul transition)

"Good god. What the hell is that thing?" I thought to myself.

My new mother and my new aunt had started to fight it on their own. This thing was gigantic, and any guards who started to pop up were pushed back by Celestia. Its face looked twisted, as if its face was sinking into some sort of whirlpool. Its body was malformed with pieces missing and others bursting outwards like a misshapen bone. It even had extremely long, scrawny arms which ended in equally long and scrawny fingers. The problem was that it was halfway through the hole. It didn't seem to be able to get through.  I tried to run towards Luna, to help, but she pushed me away, telling me that this was no place for a foal. I couldn't do anything. However, as I just watched blast after blast tear away at the creature which reformed its missing parts, I witnessed its fingers reach out and grab both my mother and aunt. Whatever was holding me in place was now gone, and I rushed towards the beast to try and distract it or pain it, however I could.

"NO!"

I stopped.

"Don't. I won't let my foal get hurt. I'm responsible for you, so I won't permit you to be wounded." Luna shouted as she tried to free herself.

I heard deep laughter, and the beast leaned towards me. I don't know how, but it begant o talk to me in my head.

"So you're the one those wolves helped. Don't worry. I'm just one of the higher spirits to be taking advantage of this hole. I DID create the eclipse, but that's besides the point."

"Get outta my head!"

"Why would I? I can sense so much evil rooted in you. Just imagine what would happen if I clawed it all out to the surface? First. However, is the matter of killing these two."

"NO! I won't let another die because of me. I won't let another die because I couldn't do anything to save them. I have a new life, and the promise of giving my cousin a new life in the future! I won't let you destroy that!"
(Narrator transition)

Both Celestia and Luna were choking on their screams as they were squeezed harder and harder. They were about to "pop". Aethulwulf, on the other hand, was glowing brightly, yet nothing came. However, the lines on his face began to lift themselves and concentrated on his forehead, slowly turning around to form what looked like a unicorn horn. He continued to concentrate as hard as he could, and several wolf howls were heard. Hundreds of timberwolves came running from the bushes and jumped onto the Ghajit to tear it apart. The spirit only yelled in pain and let the two princesses go, allowing their bodies to slam powerfully against the ground. 

Lyall ran over to his mother and tried to wake her up by nudging her. When that didn't work, he slapped her several times, making her moan and slowly open her eyes. He did the same with Celestia, who reacted a bit more violently.

"Aethul...you have a horn?" Luna gasped.

"No. It's the Vulf Magic doing that, yet. I have never seen it do something like that."

Aethul grunted and hopped as he pointed to the Ghajit being attacked by the timber wolves.

"Oh! Celestia. Stand back. I'll take care of this."

Both Aethul and Celestia did as told, and, somehow, the wolves knew as well and hopped off the demonic spirit. As Luna concentrated, so did the light of the moon, glowing ever brighter. Suddenly, the princess began to float into the air, and opened her eyes, revealing them to be a bright, pure white. As they began to glow even brighter, a massive ray of light came from the moon, bearing down on the creature. It struggled and roared, but its body began to desintegrate upwards as the ray roared like an army of soldiers and shook the castle's being. Bit by bit, it evaporated, and, finally, the beam shone upon the opening to the other world, sealing it shut with ancient, arcane lunar magics. 

It was finally over, announced by Luna slowly levitating back to the floor as the old location of the portal sealed itself with flashes of blue lightning and distortions. The moon princess heaved for air while Aethul's horn slowly receded back to its original form. The barrier keeping the guards died down, allowing emergency crews to reach the spot quickly and without delay.

"Well, Luna. You've surprised me. I'm quite proud of you. Not only do you take good care of your son, but you even saved Equestria from a spiritual invasion."

"Lucky me."

Aethul pushed on the tired princess' leg, showing that he was worried.

"It's alright, Aethul. Mommy is okay."

The foal actually gave her a real smile, a faint one at best, but still a start.

"We should get you to the medical wing." Celestia suggested as she held up her sister from an eventual fall.

"I've gone through worse, don't forget. A good rest and I should be okay. Now then. We must reassure the workers in the castle that everything is alright and that we'll continue the Pumpkin's Feast as planned."

"If you believe yourself to be okay."

"Yes."

Both princess slowly walked towards the emergency crews galopping towards them as Aethul looked at the timber wolves running off the cliff.

"Well...if I am to have a new life, it would be best to start things on a normal basis. I hope I don't have to deal with something so movemented like this again. I guess that I can accept my new mother."

"Aethul!" Luna cried out for her son, who scampered back to her in delight, surprisingly. 

The group was accompanied back inside the castle, while only one sad looking little pony stayed outside, her smile faint and unnoticeable. It was Rose Milk.

"Your magic won't have one usage, Aethulwulf Lyall. I am proof of that. Oh, my little Daisy Drop. I which you were still here to see this world and how it was shaping up. If only I...But the past is the past. I'll watch over Aethul and the spirits watching him. Have fun with your new mother. I must clean the graves now. It is my duty." the mare thought as she walked away, the moon following.

It was a new beginning for both the feared "Nightmare Moon" and a feared Mafia Don. Good could only come in waves.