> The Smokeless Flame
>  by BIGBLACKINTOSH
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> The Break In (Face, meet Tree)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

You ever had a weird night? Try hearing a noise in the middle of the night, moving to the noise with deadly intent, only to see a creepy dude in red that says, "I am the god you've been waiting for."

Yeah, you thought you've had weird nights.

We were standing in my kitchen. He didn't look hostile, so I did what everybody should do when someone breaks into their house, I grabbed a beer out of the fridge behind me and popped it open. “So you're a god, huh?” I asked the man, sipping my beer. I couldn't remember what brand and didn't care, considering there was dude in front of me that somehow broke into my third floor apartment.
 
The man was dressed in a red suit and was six feet tall, muscular, bald, and had caramel-brown skin. He basically looked like a middle eastern businessman. This still didn't explain why the hell he was standing in my kitchen.

“Why yes, my dear. my name is Burijas, and I’m here to to make you an offer,” he replied in a middle eastern accent, smiling.

I took another sip. “Uh-huh, Burijas. Cool story, now care to tell me this offer before I carve you up like a turkey?” I said angrily, placing my left hand on a sharpened knife that I practically slept with.

He chuckled. “That would be fun. I haven't met blade fighter such as you since before you were born. Unfortunately, I would destroy you, but let me cut to the chase...” he cleared his throat with a disgusting cough and continued. “I need you to be my representative in a game of sorts...”

I pulled out my knife and pointed the blade at him, taking (yet another) sip. The blade was a inch away from his nose.

“You didn't let me finish,” he said, calmly staring at the blade. “A game of sorts where you would be able to bring your brother back to life.” That got my attention and my anger. 

My brother was killed in action a year ago. Bring big brother back from the dead? Sure, that sounded well and good, but the thing is, his death was never announced publicly.

“How the hell do you know about my brother, you creep?!” I shouted at him, not lowering the blade for second. He chuckled again, now starting to piss me off.

“As I told you my dear, I’m a god. I know many things. And I for one, know that you want nothing more than to bring your brother back, and I’m offering a chance for you to get him back yourself,” he answered smugly. 

I lowered my knife, only slightly. “So...what is this game?” I asked curiously.

He didn't let up on his smile. “Its very simple. I change you into a creature of my choosing, send you to the battlefield, and you figure out on your own how to revive your brother yourself,” he explained casually.

Well...I’ve got nothing better to do, I thought as I lowered my blade. 

“Ok, I’m game. So, where’s this thing going to be at anyway?” I asked casually.

Burijas’s smile somehow grew wider and creeped me out even more. “I knew I made the right choice,” he said excitedly. “To answer your question, the game shall be taking place in a land you know quite well: Equestria...the land of ponies,” Burijas said dramatically. That made me start laughing uncontrollably, almost dropping my knife. 

“You break into my house, tell me I can bring my brother back to life, and say you're sending me to the fucking MLP universe?!” I asked laughing. Burijas frowned.

“Look, I didn't make up the rules. Do you agree or not?” he asked annoyed.

I stopped laughing abruptly, my face going slack. “Fuck yeah, I agree. Do you have any idea how badly I’ve wanted my bro to come back home? Plus going to Equestria to do it? I’m definitely in,” I replied coldly. 

Burijas’s creepy smile returned. “Well then my girl, the deal is struck. I’ll be there to give you your equipment. I have a great feeling you’ll make a good fire Djinn.” Burias snapped his fingers and I raised an eyebrow.

“Wait, a what-?” I asked, blacking out.
*                                                *                                                *

When I woke up, I was laying on my back, and all I could see was swirling red and yellow. ‘Why the hell am I laying down?’ I thought annoyed. I also noticed that I couldn't breath.

 Panicking, I sat up, flailing my arms. Well...I didn't start really panicking until I looked down and saw that I was sitting in lava.

“WHAT THE FUCK!?” I yelled hopping up and running to the nearby black shore. I was shaking, completely scared shitless that I was napping in a lava pool.

Above the pool I came out of, was the wall of a mountain that reached up to only-god-knows-how high. I turned around to see that I was standing on a cliff overlooking an ash covered forest. The air slightly smelled like smoke and the blackened trees would sway, letting white- grey ash flow through the wind. The forest floor was also coated in the snow-like material, making me question how an ecosystem could function covered in ash.

I started to do a evaluation of my new body. My arms looked like cooled volcanic rock, black and crusty just like the mineral. My hand had only three fingers, plus my thumbs. I also noticed that there were swirling, pulsating amber-colored runes etched into them as well, running up to my shoulders. The runes seemed to outline my muscle tone, practically highlighting my slim, toned arms. My body was the same way. My legs were double-kneed like a cat’s and my feet were also clawed. I was still wearing my black short-shorts that somehow survived the lava bath, along with my red T-shirt.

“Liking your new form my girl?” a voice said from behind me, making me jump a little bit.

 I turned to the god and scowled. “You scared the living FUCK out of me!” I yelled at the god, who was still in his fancy wear.

“I apologize my girl, but it is time that you learn what you are and who I  am. I am Burijas, Persian god of war,” he said dramatically, pulling a hand-mirror out of nowhere. 

I looked into the mirror and saw that my face was still the same just...blacker than I was used to. My face was just as runed as my body, the amber runes running up my cheeks to my forehead and swirling to the back of my head. My long hair was literally on fire, flowing with the slight wind around us. I gave the mirror a smile to see that all my teeth were long and jagged, like shark teeth. It also looked like my insides were still flesh.

“And you are a fire Djinn,” he said smugly.

“Cooool,” I said amazed. Burijas nonchalantly threw the mirror behind him, into the lava pool I had come out of.

“Now, I don't have a lot of time, so heres what equipment I can give you,” Burijas said reaching behind him, pulling out a long, black duster. My black duster.
 
He tossed it to me and I caught it. It was a simple black duster that you’d probably seen in western movies or ‘The Dresden File’ covers. It was also one of the last things that my brother bought for me before leaving. 

I looked down at it disappointed. “Of all the things you could have given me from my closet, you gave me my duster? GENIUS!” I yelled at him, insultingly. 

Burijas smirked. “You think I would drop one of my soldiers without proper protection? Well... you're half right. That coat is just one out of a few ‘presents’ I have have in store for you. The rest of your equipment, you’ll find in your travels. All of them modified beyond your comprehension. That coat however, is just a coat that's immune to you're hot nature,” he explained.

I eyed him at that last part. “What do you mean by, ‘hot?’” I asked him suspiciously. 

His smirk turned into a full-blown smile. He was starting to piss me off with that smile. “You’ll figure it out. For now, ta-ta!” he said snapping his fingers and he started to disappear. I was going to just wave it off but then I remembered...

 “WAIT! How do I find my brother?!” I yelled to the spot Burijas had been standing seconds ago. Damnit! I thought to myself before turning and seeing a small village in the distance.The only detail I could make from such a distance was the black coloration of the houses.

  I contemplated finding a path off the mountain, but decided that that plan had too much walking involved. I looked off the side of the cliff to see that it was curved, and snow-like ash had accumulated on it. I could probably make it, I thought as I placed both of my clawed feet on the ash covered side of the mountain and started to slide down it...

Until I tripped on a rock...

"CRAAAAP!" I yelled midair. My attempt to fly quickly turned into a tumble down the mountain. 

Ok so trying to slide down the side of a mountain wasn't the best idea. Big whoop, wanna fight about it? 

So after sliding two feet, I tripped on a rock and started rolling down the mountain. Did you ever roll down a hill as a kid? Well imagine doing that for an hour, and you’ll know how I know it feels to roll down an ash covered mountain side.

Which is to say that it hurt...alot.

Don't ask me what I saw going down because I had my eyes closed. So how did I know when the fantastic ride was over? By slamming face-first into a mound of grey ash of course.

That just so happened to be in front of a tree. 

I had only one word to say about that impact. “Owww,” I groaned under a mound of ash. I raised  my right arm and slammed my claws onto the black tree and used that hand-hold to pull myself out of the ash mound and on my feet. 

“Well, I’m not doing that ever again,” I said as held my head in my claws. The pain was...moderate. Sure I just rolled down a mountain, headfirst into a tree, but I only had a considerably minor headache.

I would have stood there all day thinking of theories of my new skin, but however light the headache, it hurt to think. “Again, owwww,” I groaned rubbing my forehead.

I was standing in what was simply, a black forest. The trees looked like burned pine trees and looked healthy too, as if they had grown in the environment. The possibility of that confusing conclusion made my head hurt even more. What was once a minor headache turned into full-blown head pain.

And when I’m in pain, I get angry.

I punched the black tree that had so viciously assaulted my face, and my fist made a deep dent. A burning, deep dent. I stared at my fist and then at the fist-shaped dent in the tree. Huh...should have expected that considering he called me a fire...whatever he said. Now lets head east,  I thought as I began walk in that direction. Only to trip over my new legs. 

This is starting to get really old, really fast. I thought as I, once again, picked myself up off the forest floor. Apparently walking on on cat feet was more difficult than I thought. So like all of us when we were rug-rats, I started with slow baby-step. After an hour of walking through the creepy, black forest, I took off in a sprint east.

The forest, as I said before, was dark and creepy. Though my run to town was uninterrupted, I began to get paranoid at the shape of the shadows the trees made. All of them looking like they wanted to grab my feet and...Considering night was falling, it was probably a bad time to be afraid of the dark.

Yes, I know, a 21 year-old girl, afraid of the dark. Big whoop, wanna fight about it?

Anyway, as I ran, I tried to push my nyctophobia aside and focus on the fact that I had been running in an intense sprint for at least 20 minutes and I wasn’t even tired. Wow, even when I did track in highschool, I never had this much endurance. I thought as I skidded to a stop in a clearing in front of my destination.

From where I was standing, I could only see a couple of buildings. To my left was a low, wooden building that could have been a sheriff’s office from an old western. To my right and in front of the sheriff’s office was a saloon straight out of Red Dead: Redemption. 

The building had two floors; the top floor had a large balcony with several windows, along with a set of double-doors leading out to the balcony.The bottom floor had only two windows and a smaller set a double-doors. I considered going to the sheriff’s office but then remembered the number one fact of adventuring...

Drunks are the best informants.

On my way to the saloon, I noticed severe lack of townspeople. Hell, I even saw a tumbleweed pass by me on the saloon’s porch. Where the hell are all the ponies? Wait is that music? I thought, pushing in the saloon doors.

The inside of the bar was what you’d expect; shabby tables and chairs, oak top bar with a wide array of poisons (alcohol) behind it. An old piano in the back with someone, or in this case somepony, playing it. Mares of various colors wearing what I could only assume were call-girl outfits, serving drinks to patrons. What I did not expect was the entire population of the town in the bar. It wasn't much, but there were at least 30 ponies, in that bar. 

On my way over to the bar itself, I kept getting weird looks. Not weird as in, what is this new creature? No, weird looks as in the many technicolor stallions ogling me. Some of them gave me the new creature stare, but others kept oddly staring at my legs. 

Even in pony bars, I get looks. I don't know whether thats good or bad. I thought as I sat on a stool in front of the bar and closed my eyes. I tried to listen in on the many discussions going on in the room in search of information Altair style. 

Unfortunately, it isn't as easy as Assassin’s Creed makes it out to be. There were too many voices and I quickly learned that, 1. I couldn't listen to them all. 2. Most of them were about enlisting some of the many call-mares in the room ‘services.’ 

I sighed in defeat and opened my eyes. The barkeep stood in front of me waiting. She was peach-colored unicorn, with big blue eyes, a curly black mane, and a call-girl outfit to match her coat. “Well hello there honey. My name is Cougarayne. Excuse me for being rude, but what are you?” she asked curiously. 

I shrugged. “I don't really know. Hell I don't even know where I am,” I replied.

The Cougarayne smiled. “Why, you my friend are in Ashville. The most well hidden town you’ll find in the Volcanicwastes,” she said proudly. “Now, what can I get you?”

I took a look at all the various bottles behind her and almost told her to give me a hard apple cider. But then I remembered I had no money. “Well, damn. I guess nothing, I’m broke,” I deadpanned.

Cougarayne frowned, looked to my right and smile again. “Maybe you could ask those fine gentelcolts to buy you a drink,” she suggested and winked. I looked to my right to see a brown pony and a black griffon, arguing. I turned back to the mare, nodded, and moved closer to the guys.

The pony was a brown unicorn with a buzz-cut mane and a U.S. style cavalry sword strapped to his side. His cutiemark was a red negative zero.The griffon was completely black, his head to his tail. The only thing that wasn't black was his beak, the war axe on his back, and the steel armor that him and his pony companion were wearing.

“For the last damn time, you can't kill a tank!” the griffon yelled to the pony next to him. 

Wait what did he say? I thought, moving closer to them. Now I was only two stools away from them and neither noticed me.

“Of course you can! All you have to do is blow it up,” the unicorn replied stupidly at the griffon. The griffon face-clawed. 

I swear I’ve heard this argument before- NO FREAKING WAY! I practically yelled in my head. I recognized these guys, reason why I stayed out of the argument to watch the fun.

“You can't kill something that isn't alive! And why the hell are we even talking about this? Look at where we are! I’m pretty damn sure we won't find tanks here!” the griffon yelled at the unicorn. 

The unicorn levitated a square shaped bottle to his muzzle and took a swig. I kid you not, the bottle was AppleJack Daniels. “Because I’m drunk, that's why,” the unicorn slurred. “And I wanted to argue about it because I’m definitely not going to remember this when I wake up,” he slurred again, leaning out of his stool.

The unicorn didn't so much as fall out of his seat, as he did flopped out of it. He laid completely still, but his chest was rising and falling, so he was still alive. Other bar patrons paid him no mind and stepped over him when they passed.

The griffon looked down at him and sighed. “Why, even in an alternate dimension, do I continue to hang out with you Michael? he asked the unconscious unicorn. He looked up and finally noticed me, his eyes growing to the size of dinner plates.

Ok, to tell you the truth, that really creeped me out.

“Idilah?!” he yelled running to me, hopping over Mitchael.

“Nathan! What the hell are you doing here?” I asked, wrapping my arm around his neck, giving him a quick, tight hug. 

Nathan and Michael were friends from college. Almost every time I walked in on them talking on Xbox or studying, they would be arguing over that same, very stupid, discussion about Battlefield 3 tanks. That didn't explain why they were in Equestria as a freaking griffon and a unicorn. 

He pulled away from the hug and stared at me. “Me? What about you? I.D., you’ve been missing for a month! At least before we came here,” he said astonished. 

Wait, a month? What dafaq? “Wait what do you mean?” I asked curiously. 

Nathan smiled and turned to the Cougarayne. “Yo, barkeep! Can I get two beers? I’ve got a story to tell my friend here,” he yelled to her. The unicorn levitated two beers in front of us and Nathan me what happened...
 






> Well This Escalated Quickly
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

According to Nathan before he appeared in EQ with Mitchel, I had been; 1.Missing for a month. 2. Our other friend had gone missing. 3. The same thing had been happening to people all over the world. I sat there sipping the bottle Rayne had served us. Turns out it wasn’t beer, it was some kind of apple ale. Figures, I thought disappointed.

After he finished his explanation, I told Nathan how I had come to be here. Needless to say, he was surprise at what Burijas had offered me. Nathan and Mitchel didn’t know my brother much, but they had been there for me when I had to bury him.

At some point of my explanation, Mitchel had picked himself off the floor and into a stool next to Nathan. Rayne had the sense to cut him off, for which I was thankful. Mitchel was more of a alcoholic than I was. Which is saying alot considering how much I drink on regular basis. How do you think I got here?

I finished my story and ale and placed the empty bottle on the counter and looked to Nathan with confusion. “Wait, so how did you guys get here?” I asked the pair. Mitchel began to slur something, but Nathan slapped his claw over his mouth before he said anything. “From what you told me, it was the same guy. Except he wasn’t as nice with us,” Nathan replied with a little anger in his voice.

I raised an eyebrow at this. “What do ya mean?”

Nathan lowered his claw enough for Mitchel to speak. “Red-man pimp-smacked us,” he slurred.

I threw my head back and laughed so hard my stomach hurt. “What?!” I asked still laughing.

Nathan completely released Mitchel and face-clawed. “We were walking to the guy's dorm and he came literally out of nowhere and said “have a nice trip!” Then he smacked us both in one swing. When we woke up, we had all this stuff on us,” he waved a claw at his very impressive looking steel armor. “And after about an hour of screaming our heads off and figuring out how to walk, we kind of just wandered in town.”

So it was Burijas who sent them here. I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised, I thought. The question is, now what should we do? 

Nathan looked at me sympathetically. “I know that look Idilah, you're stumped,”  he said.

I sighed. “Well, its just we’re in a new place, looking for my brother, with no clue where to start,” I said mournfully.

“RRRRRHHHGG!” Something screamed from outside.

Everypony in the bar stopped dead in their tracks. Nopony moved a muscle.

“RRRRRHHHGG!”

Everypony scrambled behind the bar, knocking over tables and chairs trying to get behind cover. Nathan, Mitchel and I looked back at Rayne, who was trying to keep all her alcohol from falling. 

“Um, what the hell was that?” I asked her. 

She stared at me, her muzzle agaped. “You must really new to Equestria. You don't know the sound of a dragon when ya hear it?” 

“RRRRRHHHGG” The dragon screamed again, followed by the sound of breaking glass. Despite the fact that ponies were cowering behind the bar, pissing themselves in fear, Nathan and Mitchel were eerily calm. In fact, Mitchel looked like he had instantly sobered up; he was sitting up straight and looked ready for a fight. Nathan was the same, on edge but completely confident.

I stared at them curiously. “How can you guys be so calm?” 

Nathan looked at Mitchel and back to me with a small smirk. “Walking’s not the only thing we found out we could do,” he said ominously. Mitchel nodded. 

I stared at them both impressed, but then looked at their weapons and frowned. There was another roar from outside but I ignored it and groaned. “This is just great! A dragon’s outside that needs killing and I got nothing to-” A sharp pain erupted in my stomach, and a bar of my volcanic skin bursted out of my belly button.

Thats when that pain turned into full-blown agony.

I collapsed on the floor, screaming, clutching that little bar coming out of my stomach. Nathan and Mitchel hovered over me, they looked like they were yelling, but I couldn't hear them over the ringing in my ears. For some reason, I kept pulling at the bar, tugging and tugging until finally I plucked it from my body to see...

My teddy-knife, but now, the blade was pure, shiny obsidian.

“Bad...ass,” I rasped, still in pain.

Nathan offered me a claw and I grabbed it with my free hand, letting him pull me up to my feet. Both Nathan and Mitchel looked at me warily, their eyes drifting to my new and improved knife. 

I returned their looks with a smile. “So...who's ready for a fight?” I asked them both, excited.


*                                                *                                                *        

The dragon was deep blue, almost sapphire. Its eyes were ruby red, full of intelligence. Its claws were short but insanely sharp. It had already destroyed several buildings, the remains of the ruble at its feet...

Did I mention that this thing was 10 feet tall? 

Oh, this is going to be B-E-A-U-tiful, I thought standing in front of the saloon. Nathan and Mitchel were beside me, smiling. We were all excited, but I was mostly anxious to see what I could do.”So, we got a plan or is it just normal formation?” asked Nathan.

Mitchel raised an eyebrow at him. "Formation? Don't we normally bullrush everything and use me as bait?” he asked.

Nathan and I stared at him expectantly.

Mitchel groaned. “Fiiiine. But you guys owe me a drink after this,” he demanded, walking up to the dragon, with us behind him. Nathan and I took cover behind buildings on opposite sides of the street. 

The dragon stomped down another building and started searching for another target. What it found was Mitchel in a confident stance, sword in hand. Well, mouth, whatever. Mitchel angled his head and stabbed his cavalry sword into  the ground. “HEY, OVERGROWN SALAMANDER! I BET YOU CAN'T HIT ME!” he yelled at the dragon. The dragon roared and charged him, wildly slashing it’s claws. Mitchel picked up his sword and stood there, waiting. The dragon was nearly on him and right before its claw met him, he yelled, “Gh0sting!” The dragon’s claws connected with the image of Mitchel, but that was just it, an image. Its claws passed right through it.

The dragon stared at Mitchel’s image, confused. It kept slashing and slashing in search of blood. It was distracted. The perfect time for a cheap-shot if I saw any.“CHARGE!!” I yelled to Nathan, and we took off weapons in hand. The dragon was still occupied while we came up behind it’s tail. Nathan stood up on his hind legs and brought down his axe on the tail, almost taking it off in one slash. While at the same time, I stabbed the dragon’s back, embedding the blade and gaining a grip on the dragon just in time for it turn around, roaring, dragging me off the ground.

The dragon turned so fast, that the remains of the tail slapped Nathan, knocking him on his back and ripping out the strand of tendons. I was hanging onto my knife for dear life as the dragon turned to Nathan and brought down its claws to strike, only to dodge it. Then he did something I didn't expect...

“KAAAAAW!!” Nathan screeched.

To say that it  was loud would be an understatement. Imagine hearing a crows caw, but then amplify it ten fold, and echoing. Only then, will you begin to understand how freaking loud that was. However, it served it purpose.The dragon staggered, allowing Nathan to quickly recover his axe and get out of the dragon’s path.

The dragon let out a pained roar and started to twist its body and scratch at its head as if it was trying to grab something. That something was Mitchel. He had somehow made his way the top of the dragon’s head without being noticed. He was putting that fact to good use by slashing at the dragon’s head. Before the dragon could do any harm to Mitchel, Nathan got behind the dragon’s legs and started hacking away at the back of its knees.

The dragon crumbled on top of a recently demolished building, belly down, with me still on its back. I finally dug out my knife and stood on top of its back. Mitchel and Nathan were to my right, both breathing hard.For some reason, I felt worse. Even though I was probably the least contributing in the fight, I felt all the fatigue of fighting.  “That... was a good fight,” said a almost feminine voice coming from the dragon.

“Hory shet!” Yelled Mitchel, almost jumping away from the dragon. Nathan didn't move, but only stared at the dragon. Despite my fatigue, I ran up the dragons back,  jumping of its head and onto the ground in front of it. The look in the dragon’s eyes were of sadness and pride. I could hear its breathing and it sounded like it was on a respirator. “What did you say?” I asked it.

“I said...that was a good fight. Entertaining almost....Definitely nothing I would expected while looking for my,” she took a shaky breath, and exhaled smoke, “fucking idiot of a son,” she said with malice in her tone. 

“Wait, you were just looking for your son? You tore half the town!” Nathan yelled at her.

“Yes...I had to find him...he is an abomination of our kind,” she took another shaky breath and turned her eyes on me. “Which is why, I leave everything I own to the wielder of that black blade.I leave you...my riches...my body...and  my mistake...my horrible mistake, in hopes that he curses you...just as he cursed me!” She yelled and took one last breath and roared so loud, it nearly took me off my feet.

“Dafaq just happened?” Asked Mitchel to no one in particular.

“I don't have a clue,” I replied as I turned to them, ”What I do know is that I have a fucking idiot to find,” I said neutrally.

“That idiot would be me,” said a voice from behind us. We all turned around, weapons in hand to see...possibly the most disturbing thing I’ve seen in the 20 minutes of being in this place. 

What was in front of us was what I can only describe as a anthro pony-dragon hybrid. He stood on hind pony legs, somehow balancing himself on hooves. His fur was a blue so dark, it looked black, just like the female dragon behind us. Everything above his belt-line was just...weird. He had a jet-black scaled belly and chest, while the rest of his torso was colored like his legs. His head was that of a dragon, but he had a spiky, emerald green mane to match his swishing tail. His eyes were that of a pony’s but the pupils were a creepy deep green. He casually took out a cigarette from the back pocket of the raggedy black shorts he wore. Seriously, they looked like they were sewn together with random scrap cloth. He breathed a small bit of fire onto the cancer stick and placed it on his lips, leaving it to hang from his mouth.

“So,” he said, managing to not drop his cancer-stick, “you killed ‘dear old mom,’” he said with malice in his voice. He eerily sounded like Kaiden from Mass Effect.

I lowered my knife and exhaled. “No choice, she was kind of tearing the town apart to find you,” I said neutrally. 

He shrugged and chuckled, still managing not to drop the cigarrete. “You sneak out for ten minutes just to get some ciggs and mama somehow manages to to take it out of proportion. You know she wasn't looking for me out of my health right?” he asked.

Nathan put away his axe. “We figured that from the messed up verbal will she gave us. Why did she hate you so much?” he asked.

The pony-dragon shrugged. “Maybe it was because I snuck out and got her killed. Maybe it was because she hated the fact that I’m the result of the worst one-night stand she ever had. Or maybe it was because I smoked so much in the DAMN CAVE!” He yelled, but then started chuckling. “ Doesn't really matter. The lizard bitch is dead and I’m free. Free to smoke whenever I want to. Free to go where I want to go. Free to do whatever the fuck fancies me at the time. I’M FUCKING FREE!! WOHOOO!” He yelled running in circles. Me and the boys just stared as he did cart-wheels and back-flips, all without dropping that damn cigarette.

When he finally stopped, he stared at us with the widest smile on his face. “And I have you three to thank for it!” 

I thought back to what Mama dragon had said, my body and my riches? I get the riches part, a dragon having a hoard is a part of the legend right? But her body...that was something I needed to ask him about.

“So what's you're name, Mr.Free-man?” I asked the pony-dragon-THING. 

He snorted. “The name’s Nightheart, and I know you don't give a fuck about my freedom. But that's A-Okay! You want to know where the “family hoard” is. Well, I can show it to ya, but you need to promise me one thing.”

I groaned, placing a hand on my hips. “What would that condition be exactly?” 

His smile somehow deepened. “Take me with you, wherever you go and we kill as many dragons as fucking possible.”
*                                                *                                                *

“So why did we just up and leave?” asked Nathan as we walked through the black forest.

“Because man, I didn't want to go back to the bar just to hear “thank you” when there's a treasure trove entitled to us waiting,” I responded.

After Nightheart named his price, we immediately left town. Taking off on a dark night was...not my best idea but I really wanted to see this hoard and returning back to the bar could wait. Nightheart was in front front of us, almost skipping with excitement. I had already told him about my quest and that somehow got him even more excited.  Instead of using a lantern, he had coughed up a fire-ball that floated in front of us to lead the way. Apparently, even though he had no horn, he commanded a certain degree of magic.


“Oh man, this is going to great! Traveling the country, fighting! I never even dreamed stuff like this could happen,” he said excitedly. He turned back to me and the boys, walking backwards. “So what's the plan cap-i-tan?” he asked me sarcastically.

I tapped my chin in thought. I hadn't really planned this far ahead. Of course finding big bro was the goal, but lets face it, I knew diddly about this place. I had no information to go on and no clue how to get said information.

I shrugged. “No clue. How about we start by asking you what the hell you are.”

Nightheart took out another cancer-stick and lit it up. We’d been walking through the forest for half an hour and he’d gone through at least three of those things. “Now thats a question mom would constantly ask. See, I’m a pony-dragon; the result of male or female of each species getting horny. I walk like a dragon, look like a dragon, but I don't fly like a dragon,” he said dejectedly, pointing to his bare back. “Which is the reason why my mom hated me and kept me around so other dragons couldn't see me.The fucking bitch!” he stopped and yelled, dropping his cigarette. The boys and I stopped and stared at him. 

Nightheart was breathing hard, his hands curled into fists, shaking. He took a deep breath and started walking again. He took out yet another cigarette. “You can see why I run out of these so fast. Anyway, lets hurry up and get to the damn cave. I want to get my stuff and blow up the entrance as soon as possible,” he said back to us, walking faster.

The cave was, to say the least, friggin huge! The huge hole in the mountain was big enough to fit at least three Mama-dragons. Nightheart stood in emance entrance as the boys and I gawked at the sheer size of it. He snapped his fingers impatiently. “Yo lets go! I want to get my shit before sun-up!” he yelled walking into the cave.

The inside of the cave had a domed ceiling made of glass smooth rock. The walls were the same way. The floor however was anything but. Covering most of the floor was a mix of random animal skins and hay, lots of hay. On one side of the cavern, was a little alcove filled with pine needles and a lone, tiny fox hide. That must be his part the room, I thought.

Nightheart led us to a particularly big bear pelt at the center of the cavern. He looked at the pelt with scorn. I looked at him sympathetically. “You really did hate your mom didn't you?” I asked him.

He chuckled and spat out his spent cigarette but. “You had no idea what it was like Idilah. You had no idea what it was like to have the person who bore you, hate you just for being alive. For that person not kill you just to pass the damn time!” he yelled and turned to me. “That bitch kept me around just to see if I could burn. Day after day, she would blow fire at me, knowing it wouldn't burn me. But it did hurt Idilah, it hurt in more ways than one.”

I looked back down at the bear pelt. “I wouldn't know, my moms dead.” I said, not meeting his eyes. He was probably staring at me for an explanation, so I gave him one. “She died giving birth to me. So no, I don't know what its like to have your mom want you dead. What I do know, is I have to start my search and this money is going to pave the way if only a little bit,” I said confidently, looking at him. I didn't know what to make of his smile, but I do know is a little bit of understanding passed between us. We stayed like that for several minutes, just staring at each other.

Mitchel decided to ruin that moment. “Um...guys! Hello? Treasure?” he yelled at us. Nightheart turned back to the pelt. Was he blushing? He was blushing! Wow, I managed to make a guy blush, scary. Anyway, he grabbed the pelt and in one movement, flipped the giant pelt and threw it at the wall to his left.

Under the pelt was...how do you describe thousands of gold coins, jewels and weapons? Oh yeah, loot. My mouth was salivating at the glimmer of coins and jewels. Nathan and Mitchel were gawking at the three weapons on top of the pile.

On top of the pile of bits, were a medieval claymore, a naginata, and a krogan warhammer. Thats right, a krogan flippin warhammer. Theres no other way to describe it. It was metal, it was blocky and it was huge. 

I immediately went for the naginata, but Mitchel got to it first. He unstrapped the U.S. cavalry sword from it’s leather scabbard and replaced it with the bad-ass naginata I wanted. I then went for the claymore, but was beaten to the punch by Nathan, who also switched out his weapon for the new one. 

I was going to go for warhammer, but stopped and looked at Nightheart. He caught my stare and rubbed the back of his head, embarrassed. “Um...thats kind of my hammer,” he explained. I stared at him, waiting. “I’ll explain later, but lets just say that I found it and the bitch was keeping it in her hoard when I thought she threw it away.”

I sighed. “Fine. This just means I get more of the gold!” I yelled, grabbing handfuls of gold and stuffing them into my pockets. My duster had multiple pockets in and outside of the coat, so I just went to town on the gold.

Then, I saw a golden brown handle sticking out of the pile. The moment I saw it, I stopped digging out gold and stared at it. There was something familiar about that handle and I immediately went to pull it out. It was...a revolver, and not just any revolver. It was a 45. cal revolver with an extended barrel, a barrel weight and an extended rotator. There was an inscription on the side of the barrel that said, Duty.

This was my brother’s modded service revolver. I held it tight in my hand and stared at it. This was another thing buried at the bottom of my closet. 

As tightened my grip on it, it began to change. From the end of the barrel to the hammer, the once steel metal turned black. The grip’s polished wood, turned red. The words Duty became bejeweled with red rubies. I watched the gun’s transformation and thought, yup this is officially my fetish.

“Idilah, COME ON!” yelled Mitchel from behind me, taking me out of trance.

We were under attack.

In my trance, diamond dogs had snuck into the cave and started attacking us. There were a dozen of them with spears and knives and they were not letting up. There were two struggling with Nathan, trying to get under his guard. Mitchel was doing his vanishing trick and side-swiping dogs left and right. Nightheart was destroying the dogs with blows charged with some sort of green energy.

The dog’s strikes and dodges were precise, they didn't waste any energy with any movement. It didn't take a girl taught by a Ranger to tell these dogs had been trained.

Too bad training, no matter how extensive, prepares you for a super-sonic caw.

Nathan’s caw staggered everyone in the cave except for the other boys, which was weird. It also gave me the chance to test out my new revolver on the dogs that were charging Nightheart. By all accounts, a revolver like this could have taken my hand off. Hell, it could have taken even a trained soldier’s hand off. Despite that, I held it up with one hand and pulled back the hammer. Then I shot at the dog nearest to Nightheart and...well two thing happened...

1. No sound emitted from the gun.

2.The dog’s head simply exploded.

I stared at the gun, my mouth agaped. “Okay, this is my fetish!” I yelled, taking another shot at another...then another...then another...

Before I knew it, I had killed all the dogs in the cave.

“Aw, what the fuck, you stole my kill!” yelled Nightheart. 

Nathan raised an eyebrow at him. “Oh boohoo. If you didn't notice, someone just tried to take your home!” he yelled at him.

“Whatever. I wanted to test my magic hammer on at least two more diamond heads,” Nightheart retorted.

“Um guys, I think you better come see this!” yelled Mitchel, standing over a diamond dog.

I wasn't too proud where my bullet had landed. The shot had completely taken off most of his leg. He was shaking, most likely from shock. “ Is pony going to kill dog?” it asked in a shaky voice. 

Mitchel shook his head. “Nope, not up to me,” he replied, nodding his head to me. I nealed to the dog, pressing gun on his stub of a leg.

“I bet this leg hurts a lot huh?” I asked, applying more pressure to the leg. The dog whimpered. “Yeah, it hurts. Now, I’m going to ask you some questions and you're going to answer them, and I’ll make that leg not hurt anymore okay?” He nodded, I smiled.

“Okay, first, who sent you?”

The dog was breathing heavily. “Pony named Jill! Pony hire all the kings out of Dustown to work for her!”

I tilted my head curiously. “And who are the kings?” I asked.

“Kings are my clan! We beat up whatever pony with money wants beat up!” he yelled quickly.

“Mercenaries. So where and who is your leader?” Nathan asked.

“Dog don't know. Dog just beat up ponies and get stuff pony wants!”

“Why did this pony send you here?” asked Nightheart.

The dog shook his head. “Pony only said she wanted key. Pony didn't say what key look like. Can someone fix dog’s leg now?!” he yelled at me. 

“So a merc group, hired by a pony named Jill, sent a squad to this cave in search of a key. Interesting. Thank you, you’ve been a big help. Find peace in the afterlife friend.” I said quickly, covering his eyes and pulling the trigger over his temple.. This time there was only a small spat of blood and the dog went limp.

“That was kind of cold I.D,” said Nathan.

“I thought it was awesome! You totally should have said...whatever Ezio says whenever he kills someone,” Mitchel said excitedly.

Nightheart rolled his eyes. “Whatever the case, a group of D-dogs just tried to assault my former home. What are we gonna do?” he asked me.

I tapped my chin, thinking but then saw the night sky and yawned. “What we need to do first is get some sleep. Nightheart, is there anyway you can cover up that hole?” I asked him.

He reluctantly nodded. “Yeah, I always use a illusion spell to cover up the cave, I got it,” he said, walking to the entrance. Nightheart spread his hands and the cave entrance was lit with green fire. He turned to us, looking agitated. “There ya go. I was hoping to get a move on tonight, but I guess I could stay in my bed one more night,” he said sarcastically, walking to his alcove.

I got up and stopped him faster than I thought I could move, holding my arm in front of him. “Oh no big boy. You're sleeping on the big mat tonight.” I said.

Nightheart stared at me like I had seven heads, but look back at the bear pelt and smiled. “Well, I always wondered what was the big deal with sleeping on your hoard.” he said.

I shook my head. “Our hoard remember? You're apart of a family now Nightheart. Now lets go to bed.” 

He smiled and blushed, then walked over to the bear pelt and dropped on it, and immediately started snoring. Nathan and Mitchel were already passed out on separate pelts, snoring peacefully. I looked down at the fluffy pelt below me and suddenly felt the weariness of battle take over me. Then, I saw nothing but the darkness of sleep.
> Getting on the road
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Fog, fog, fog, and look more dull grey fog. I stood alone in the thickest fog that was so thick, I struggled to look at my own hand. I stared at the thick, endless fog with disdain and boredom.

“Damn, this is getting boring. Normally my dreams are filled with harems of shirtless boys feeding me candied grapes while I play Assassin’s Creed on a golden throne,” I said to the fog.

Thats when the fog began to move, shifting and turning until it snapped into the image of my favorite war god, Burijas. He was still dressed in his red suit and that really creepy smile on his face. “So, how was your first day in Equestria?” he asked smugly.

I was about to smack off his shit-eating grin but then remembered that he was a god and a goddamn war god at that. He’d probably catch my hit and send me flying. So I opted for being a snarky bitch instead.

I smiled. “Oh you know. Nearly died twice. Met some college buddies. Killed a dragon. Met a really cute boy. What didn't I do today?” I asked myself tapping my chin, “Oh yeah, FIND MY FREAKING BROTHER, YOU VAGUE PRICK!” I shouted at him. His shit-eating grin did not waver and that made me angry.Burijas dissipated out of sight. The next second, I felt a familiar, agonizing pain coming out of my back. I crumbled to my knees and heard a click behind my head.  

“I believe you know what I have to you're head child,” said Burijas, smugly. I nodded. “Do you know why I would leave such a powerful weapon for you?”

“Because you said you would?” I replied. His answer was to pistolwhip the back of my head. “OW!”

“Of course I said I would, but why?” 

While I nurse the back of my head, I thought about it, why would he give me anything at all? A memory of a conversation I had with my brother came to mind...



“So what does a arms master do exactly Asad?” I asked my brother. We were sitting on a park table in front of a food truck. One of the first things he demanded we do when he got home was get a “wholesome american” cheese burger. My brother was a very big man. He had wide shoulders and massive arms that I would normally challenge to hang from and his chest was something that could challenge superman. If you really needed an image of him, I’d say he looked like James Vega. Like mine, his skin was caramel brown, his eyes were pure amber, and what was left of his hair was jet black.


He lowered the burger he was eating and looked to sky in thought. He shrugged. “Its sort of like being a store clerk I guess. I make sure my squad has what they need before a assignment. Basically its my job to make sure everyone has the tools they need to do their jobs,” he explained. 


“Huh,” I said as I took another swig of my milkshake. We spent the rest of that  afternoon doing random things. Movies, arcades, and other fun stuff that we’d not be able to do soon. But just before the day was done, we hit our town mall and decided to split up and surprise each other with a gift. 


We met in the food court to do the exchange. He was sitting at a table holding a large box. I sat down and smiled at him. “So what's in the box?” I asked playfully. He placed the box on the table and held his hand over the top. “Nope, guy who gets shot at goes first,” he replied.


I frowned and suddenly smiled as I shoved a plastic bag over the table. He opened the bag and brought out a gold chain with a RainbowDash pendant on it. He stared at the chain with silent awe in his eyes. Asad was a recently turned brony. During his off-time overseas, I had convinced him to watch the show. He fell in love with it immediately and within a day, had named RD as his best pony.


We exchanged a stare that said ‘thank you’ as we did when we were kids. Knowing his thick neck wouldn't hold the tiny necklace, he wrapped it around his wrist, letting the pendant hang. He pushed the box across the table and smiled. “Your turn,” he said.


I quickly opened the box to see a black western duster that you’d probably see in movies. I jumped out of my seat, taking the duster with me. I loved dusters and long coats. As a kid, seeing characters like Alucard and Dante made me want to always buy one someday. I slipped on the coat and smiled back at Asad. “You know you're the best right?” I asked him. He chuckled. “I know I  am, and don't you forget it,” he replied, pointing a single finger at me.





I came back from the memory, still at the end of a revolver to the back of my head. Burijas was dropping off equipment to get me ready for something. Whether or not it had something to do with finding Asad, I didn't know. What I did know there was a god was pointing an incredibly strong gun at my head.

“You're getting me ready for something, aren't you?” I asked. Burijas chuckled. “Took you long enough. Now get up and retrieve your weapon, we have much to discuss. I got to my knees and turned around, only to have the god shove the revolver onto my chest. “Do not question me again. I have brought you here to reawaken your sibling and if you want to live to see that day, you will be quiet and you will listen.” he said firmly.

“Fine, what do you have to say?” I snarled. Burijas lifted his hand and turned it into the same fog that surrounded us. “You are Djinn,” he started. “You are a being of spirit. That means you can transform you body to anything you desire; from smoke, to another mortal, you can change into and sound like anything,” he explained. 

I pondered this for a moment, and stared down at my feet. They were still cat-like but I really didn't like that. Cats annoyed the hell out of me and being half of one didn't sit right with me. So, I closed my eyes and pictured a type of creature I missed seeing. Dogs, no. Human, boring. Aha! I thought as I focused on the memory of the creature. There was a shift in my stomach, and I couldn't feel my hands or feet for second, only to feel them again, but changed.

I opened my eyes and lifted my hands to see that I had lost a finger and was replaced with two talon-like claws and a talon-like thumb. The fingers were wide, definatly wide enough to hold my gun. I looked down to my feet to see that my legs changed back into something almost  human but still just...strangely bent. My feet however were turned into something like my hands. There were only two claw-like appendages on each of the feet and a short talon on the back of the foot.

I had turned my hands and feet into that of a turian’s.

“This is so cool!” I shouted. “What else can I do?”

Burijas shook his head. “I’ll tell you in time. For now, you need to know two things; 1: Your weapons feed off of your energy 2: You're about to wake up .”

“Um..what-?” I managed to say before waking up.


 

When I woke up, I smelled the one thing I thought I never smell again. Meat. Not just meat, cooked meat. The first thing I did every morning back on earth, was fry up ham, bacon, eggs, etcetera.You know, what would be considered a man’s breakfast. My ass. I was about to run up towards the smell but stopped when I heard Nightheart ask a particular question...

“So why do you guys follow her? Idilah I mean,” he asked.

 I could hear Nathan’s eye brow furrowing in confusion. “I don't know. Why do you ask?” he replied taking a bite of meat. (Yes, I know when someones eating meat just from hearing it.)

I could hear hay moving from where Nightheart’s voice was coming from. “I mean, I want to follow her because she killed my tormentor from birth, and I owe her a lot, but you guys...I can't figure out what you guys see in her.” he said.

There was another bite of meat and Mitchel joined the conversation, surprising me. Not because he was talking in complete sentences, but that he was eating meat. “Well, for starters, she’s the most bad-ass girl I’ve ever met. I mean, she beat two dudes up, the first day I met her,” he explained. Nightheart said nothing.

Nathan snorted. “Oh yeah, it was the first time I met her too. See where we’re from, when theres a party, someone brings a giant barrel of beer. People are held over the barrel, upside down and try to see how much they can drink before they either pass out or piss themselves,” he explained. “Mitchel was the first one up and only survived for two minutes before passing out, but Idilah here,” he paused and chuckled. “She was held up on thing for half an hour.” 

I remember that party. It was the first party I ever went to and I managed to get a reputation. Everyone on campus started calling me I.D. card after that. God only knows why.

“Anyway,” Nathan continued. “After that, Mitchel and I just stared at her the rest of party. I mean, who drinks nearly a gallon of alcohol and still walks?! Well, as it turns out, we weren't the only ones watching, cause a couple guys walked up to her and started chatting her up, thinking a drunk girl would be easy bait. We couldn't hear what they were saying to her but whatever it was, she got pissed. Tell him Mitchel,” he said to the pony.

“She flipped one over her shoulder and broke the other one’s arm. Both of them were in the hospital for a week. After she beat two guys, drunk, we had to talk to her,” Mitchel explained.

“And thats how we became friends, but why do we follow her?” Nathan continued. “1. She’s the strongest woman we’ve ever seen. 2. She’s the only person we know thats here. And 3. Why the fuck not?” he said casually.

I arose from my sleep and gave Nathan a tight hug. He gasped for breath as I squeezed tighter and tighter. “Hey, gotta breathe!” he rasped still in my grip. I released him and turned to the pile of scorched meat that everyone was eating. I stared at it with disgust and hunger. “Um, what is this?” I asked no one in particular. It had been a day since I had anything to eat, but  I had to set some standards

Nightheart sat in front of me and Nathan, while Mitchel was alone to the left. Nightheart lifted a scorched black deer leg and took a huge bite out of it. “Fresh ash doe venison,” answered Nightheart. He pointed to particularly big piece in the pile. “That one’s for you,” he said shyly. 

I lifted the piece and stared at it for only a second before I tore into it. Within seconds, the meat was gone and all that remained were scorched crumbs.The guys stared at me, amazed. I then burped so loud it could have contested Nathan’s caw. I stared back at them. “What?,” I said defensively. 

Nathan loudly coughed. “Anyway...We made new names!” he announced. 

I stared at him expectantly. He had better have a damned good reason for ruining my moment. “You know, with it being a new day and all, I thought it would be a good time to make up new names, you start,” he explained, waving to Mitchel.

Mitchel dramatically cleared his throat. “From henceforth, my new name shall be Gh0st!” Someone who was formerly Mitchel announced. 

“And I will henceforth be known as Crow!” Nathan chimed in.

I stared at them both blankly.

And then started laughing uncontrollably.

I threw my head back, tipping over and laying flat on my back. Nightheart joined in on the laugh and hugged his belly. Nathan (Crow) and Mitchel(Gh0st) stared at us both, confused.

“What?” asked Gh0st. 

I sat back up a wiped a tear out of my eye. “Oh, nothing. I just love having adorkable friends,” said dreamily. I then noticed a distinct lack of deadly objects and a bad-ass coat that belonged to me. “Hey, wheres my stuff?” I asked the boys. They all looked at each other worriedly. I rose an eyebrow. “What? What happened?” I asked them.

Crow shook his head. “We don't know, but when we got back from hunting you were changing and you're stuff kinda just...went into you,” he explained. He pointed to where I  was sleeping and I saw my duster splayed on the pelt. “However, you're coat just fell off of you when you attacked me,” he said firmly. I gave him a nervous smile. “Sorry. So, Nightheart, where and what is Dustown?” I asked the dragon-pony. 

He finished the last piece of his slice of venison and burped. “Ah. Dustown is a airship port on the side of the mountain. I rarely ever went there, considering the fact that there’s a roost on the way there and Mama bitch would burn me if I went beyond the cave and got sighted. That reminds me, Idilah, are you gonna go back for my moms body?” he asked.

“Um why would I go back for your moms body?” I asked curiously. 

He shook his head. “Because, dragon bone is the strongest thing on the planet. Not to mention the worth of the stuff,” he explained.

My eyes went wide and I stared at Gh0st and Crow angrily. “And why didn't you tell me this earlier?!” I asked them. 

They both shook their heads. “We didn't know!” they said at the same time. I face-palmed. 

“Great, now we have to backtrack and find a way to get at least a leg of her-Oh, wait,” I turned to Crow, with a prideful smile on my face. “You already cut off her tail and leg already. All we need to do is go and grab them and bring them...ugh! We can't just lug around dragon parts all over the mountain!” I shouted to the glass domed ceiling. 

Nightheart clapped his hand on my shoulder, looking at me reassuring me. “Don't worry, I’ll grab and carry my mom’s leg. Then we head east, toward the side of the mountain. Thats where Dustown’s gonna be.”

I smiled at him. “Only a day and you're already offering to carry my stuff. Alright boys, lets pack up and head back,” I ordered them. They all nodded and started packing up what stuff they had. I decided to carry around 15000 bits on me; 5000 to help the town get back on its feet and 10000 for us. While Gh0st and Crow were busy retrieving their weapons, I spotted Nightheart strapping his krogan warhammer to a leather scabbard. I stared at it intently, thinking. Where the hell did something like that come from?

 I asked Nightheart this and he chuckled, looking up to the domed ceiling. “One night when I was a kid, a giant light flashed in the night sky and a crater exploded in front of me. And at the bottom of that crater, was this giant hammer,” he explained, pointing a thumb at the hammer on his back. “When I finally dragged it back home, mama was furious. She took it from me and told me to go to bed. I never saw it again and just thought she threw away. But no, apparently she had it under her damn pelt along with her hoard,” he explained with disdain.

After he told his story, we headed back for Ashville. It was an uneventful walk. Gh0st eventually got bored and started to ‘mouth’ dubstep. The very oddering of wubs made me want to put a bullet in his head. The thought of which, made my gun appear in my hand. When I say appear,of course I mean the gun literally grew out of my palm, causing me to almost crumble on the ground. After getting over the pain, we walked the rest of the way to the town without issue.

When we got there, the people were in rush, picking up debri from the destruction. I sent the boys to collect the body parts while I went to go find the mayor. Turns out that the mayor was none other than Rayne herself. When she saw me, she showered me with “thank you’s” and promised me a house in town when it could be built. “When we get this town back on its feet, you’ll most definitely be considered a resident. And after killing the dragon, we can start trading again!” she shouted over the construction. I lifted a coin purse with the 5000 I separated for the town and handed it to her.She grabbed it with her magic and stared at the pounch.  “Consider this my deposit and good luck,” I said walking away as she jumped with joy.

I met up with the boys and saw Nightheart with a dark-blue scaled severed leg over his shoulder. He had the weirdest smug smile on his face as we trudged through the black forest, toward the town of dust.










> Kings of Dustown
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

We had left Ashville only a couple hours and had started walking along an unbeaten trail toward the edge of the mountain. While we were walking, I kept spawning my weapons and recalling them back into my body. The point was to get used to the pain so I wouldn't collapse during a fight. Each of the weapons spawn with the corresponding thoughts; If I wanted to draw my gun, I’d think about shooting someone. If I wanted to pull out my knife, I’d think of cutting meat.

 The black forest was creepy as it was empty. Nothing came in our path and the only things we’d seen so far were woodland critters. Tiny black squirrels, black deer and black rabbits avoided our path. Within another hour, we had entered a clearing in the forest to see a wide view of world below us. We all stood stunned at the view of the land that went on farther than we could see.

Directly below however, was a expanse of dull brown and black land. We couldn't make out any details, but that didn't stop us from enjoying view. Nightheart finally broke the silence,lighting a cigarette and let it hang out of his mouth. “So, are we going to Dustown or what?” he asked me. Gh0st and Crow broke from their reverie and started walking without me. I took one last look at the view of Equestria before catching up with the boys. After another hour of walking, we finally hit Dustown. 

The moment we entered the town, I already had one word for it... Dusty. Everything was covered in a thin layer of black dust. Hell, I could feel it accumulating beneath the stone-magma plates that made up my skin. Despite its semi-lively atmosphere, it felt like a ghost town. Very similar to Ashville when I thought about it. The layout was similar to a western town, a large main street with branching side-streets and alleys surrounding a weblike tangle of one or two story buildings. Some of the windows were busted, the glass hanging limply from the frames. In all, the town was a mishmash of contradictions. It felt deserted, but the streets were somewhat crowded. It looked like a dump, but money was clearly being spent in large amounts (If the shiny glints of equestrian bits were anything to go by). It was a weird town.

On the main street, we could see vendors hawking their wares, shouting about the small crowds walking the street.Some were selling something called “ash apples” and “ash ale”. Yuck. What was a common theme for all the stalls, each stall had a diamond dog, a griffon, or a minotaur standing guard to the side of each stall, all were wearing a yellow vest with a crown as its crest. The racial curve of the guards caught my attention. If these were just store guards, what would their boss be? 

“What's the plan I.D.?” asked Crow.

I turned to him with a clever grin. “We do what all adventurers do when in a hub, search for better weapons and armor and collect information,” I explained, passing a purse of gold to Gh0st. I nodded to Nightheart and he draped the dragon leg on Gh0st’s back. “You two are going to be in charge of shopping. Buy anything medical and something to carry all that and some food,”I ordered while he stared at the purse, almost entranced with the very weight of the gold. Crow saw the look too and grabbed the purse out Gh0st’s grip. “I’ll be in charge of holding the money, thank you. What are you guys going to be doing?” Crow asked me. I responded with the same clever grin. “I’m gonna go get a drink,” I said ominously.

*                                                *                                                *
Crow’s POV

So after walking all the way the town to get answers, I get sent to shop for groceries? Whatever. After an hour of picking groceries, Gh0st finally suggested we find a clinic to get some medical supplies. 

“This sucks. I mean, why can't we go to extort a crime boss for information?” Mitchel complained as we walked the dusty market. Oh, excuse me, Gh0st. Why he chose that name is still a mystery to me. What's an even bigger mystery is why Burijas or whoever the hell that guy was, chose him, out of all my friends, to come to Equestria with me. Which is nothing like I thought it would be by the way. For christ’s sake, within a few days of just being here, I had fought and killed a dragon. A freaking dragon. Let me repeat that, I killed a freaking dragon. 

Then theres Idilah. 

The one thing I didn't expect when coming to the land of friendship and rainbows, was my college buddy showing up as a lava wraith, or whatever the hell she was. That was a mystery in itself. She can spawn weapons, change shape and do all other kinds of shit that could only exist in games? I really don't know what she is, but I know I never want to piss her off.

“Because Gh0st, I don't want to piss off the girl with a knife and her dragon-pony boyfriend. So shut up and move. I think thats the clinic over there,” I said quickly, pointing to a short building with a caduceus on it’s broken window pane. 

The inside of the building was like a mexican doctor’s office. Which is to say it was dirty, unsanitized and seedy. The walls were wooden and bare, and the only pieces of furniture was a single dirty sitting pillow and a desk. The doc behind the desk was stark white with a grey, balding mane. “What can I do you colts for?” he drawled.

Gh0st and I stepped up to the counter. “We need some medical things for on the go. Bandages, aesthetic, stuff like that,” I requested. 

“Also, we need to find the blacksmith. Know where he is?” asked Gh0st.

The stallion rubbed his chin, thinking. “Well, I can sell you colts some bandages and some painkillers, but thats pretty much it,” he replied rummaging under the desk. “The blacksmith however, I can say won't be of much help. The feather-brain doesn't even know how to make nails right,” he drawled, lifting rolls of gauze in his mouth, along with a corked glass bottle. He placed them on the desk and pulled a calculator out of thin air. Okay, Pinkie doing it was one thing, but he just pulled it out of thin friggin air. “However if you need someone to fix something right quick, he’s you're griffon. He’s on the east side of town,” He said, punching numbers into the calculator. 

So a bad blacksmith that can fix things? That makes sense. Not, I thought as he told us the amount due. I gave him the exact amount and thanked him for his time. I wrapped the dragon leg in a sling of gauze and draped it on Gh0st’s back. We came out of the clinic to see Idilah and Nightheart along with a strange looking diamond dog following them. Nightheart had scowl on his face and was bleeding out of his shoulder. Idilah had a dark but noticeable blood trail coming out of her nose. Idilah regarded us and waved a claw to the gold haired diamond dog behind her. “Boys, meet Mastodon. The leader of the kings,” she announced excitedly.

*                                                *                                        *

 A few minutes before rendezvous...


After a couple of hours asking unforthcoming ponies and griffons, someone finally told me that the bar was next to the airship dock. I got few stares, along with Nightheart, but whoever was staring would just as quickly move about their business when they saw the business end of Nightheart’s hammer. On the way to the bar, I caught a glimpse of the airships docked at the edge of town. Most were small frigates, but what amazed me was the fact that they were all being held up by freaking balloons. How the hell does that work?

 Ignoring the laws of physics for a second, I noticed a small building across from the dock called “The Dusty Mug.” I looked at Nightheart questioningly and he shrugged. As we walked through the large oak doors of the bar, a pony leading a group of yellow-wearing diamond dogs pushed passed us, forcing us to the side to let them by. The pegasus had dark-blue feathers and dark yellow fur. Her mane looked almost solidified version of Rarity’s and her eyes were sparkling blue, and had a certain glint that spoke of insanity. 

We let the group go by and I was about to suggest we follow them, but I heard the most peculiar noise...

“COME BACK TO ME, MY SEMI-LOYAL SUBJECTS!” yelled a diamond dog from the oak counter. To me, he looked almost like a Skyrim werewolf that had starved himself. He had the same long legs and arms with long claws. But unlike the game model, his head was small, and he was really scrawny. His fur was bleached blond and the hair on his head was short and wavy.  He was wearing some sort of sleeveless carapace armor that had one shoulder pad bigger than the other and showed off a crown emblem. That same arm looked completely made of metal, along with the gauntlet that covered the other arm’s wrist. 

The wolf-dog was leaning onto the counter on a stool in front of what looked like a mountain of  black ale bottles. He downed another one as we walked up behind him. Other griffons and ponies shook their heads, wordlessly advising us to leave him alone. Screw that noise, I thought as I tapped the wolf on his shoulder. In one quick yet sluggish movement, he turned to me and I finally got a good look at his face.The left half of his face was scarred with a huge blackened gash across his eye. The eye itself was a blinding bright blue, while the right eye was sea-green. 

“What do you want?” he slurred. “For that matter, why do you speak to the king?! Guards!” he called. I got in a low stance and brought out my knife and Nightheart, his hammer. Nobody in the bar moved. “Oh...Right....Well fuck,” he said, grabbing another black ale bottle and downing the contents. Nightheart and I shared a confused look and put our weapons away. This was the King of Dustown? 

We sheifed our weapons, confused. “Um, excuse me? We need to ask you some questions,” I said, grabbing his shoulder again. He turned around again, this time bringing up his gauntlet arm. Wings sprung from the gauntlet and a single metal bolt came out of the center, pointing straight at me. 

Did he just pull a crossbow on me?

The King let a bolt fly. Sensing this faster than I did, Nightheart pushed me out of the way, taking the bolt in the shoulder, falling on top of me. For some really weird reason I can't figure out, my nose started bleeding when I stared into his dark-green eyes. He stared at The King, with a murderous glint in those same beautiful eyes. I snapped back into reality, (if you could call it that in a place like this) and stared daggers at The King.

“You just pulled a freaking crossbow on me!” I yelled from under Nightheart. He groaned in pain and ripped the bolt out of his shoulder. He stared at me questioningly, bordering on angry. “And you shot my guy friend!” The King sluggishly got out of his stool and smiled.

“Yes...Now...You...Know...Of..The...King’s...Bye bye,” he slurred before he fell out of his stool and onto the floor. Nightheart and I shared another look and stared at The fallen King. Everybody in the bar just stared at The King, stunned. 

I suddenly realized that I had a teenage hybrid on top of me and tapped his shoulder. “Um...could you get off of me?” I asked flatly. Nightheart finally figured out where he was and blushed. We got back on our feet and brushed the dust off our clothes, trying not to meet each other’s eyes.

Wanting to move on from what just happened, I grabbed The King by his enlarged shoulder plate and held his ear close...“WAKE THE FUCK UP!!” I yelled into his ear and shook his shoulder.

He shook his head and clapped his maw open and shut, like he had just gotten out of bed. “I don't want to wake up mommy,” he said before he opened his eyes to see a very pissed off Idilah and dragon-pony. 

He frowned. “Oh...Damn. Before you shower me with questions, could I ask who you are?” 

I grinned “I’m Idilah Blood and your people tried to steal something from my friend over there,” I shook my chin to Nightheart, who cracked his knuckles for effect. The King gulped. “And he’s the dude you shot. As you can see, he’s very pissed. Now if I were you, I’d start sharing,” I said, lifting him to his feet.

The King brushed off his armor and  sat in a stool. “Alright then, see it wasn't I that sent the dogs at you. It was that witch pony that sent them,” he said with disdain, his face scrunching up like he smelled something foul. “She single handedly bought most of dogs, saying that she needed them all for a project. Her first order was for them to retrieve an item of some sorts and bring it back before she left, And no, I don't know where she’s going, or what's she’s doing,” he cradled his head in his hands, as if in agony. “By Celestia’s flank, how could he let her buy us out like that?” he asked himself. “She got almost all of my dogs, not to mention most of my “special orders”, “ he explained using air quotes.

“Who let you get bought out?” Nightheart asked the dog. “And who are these special orders?”

He frowned. “Vito Blumefeather,” he said, venom lacing his voice. “He was my partner in crime. We started the Kings together and he’s now gone from greedy bastard to a greedy snake,” he explained. He smiled brightly with realization. “He’s going to be the one to talk to about that pony, Jill.”

“Where can we find him?” I asked. 

King leaned back against the bar. “Probably in his mountainside house, west of town,” he responded.

I stared at him expectantly. He caught my look and continued. “Oh, the special orders are really special creatures of all the races in equestria that we bought off a satisfied client. They’re all extremely talented but mentally unstable. Reason why I got them so easily,” he explained looking at ground.

“How many are there?” 

He shrugged. “I forget. Four I think, I hardly ever sent them out on contracts, unless a lot of things needed die’n,” he said nonchalantly. “And Vito keeps one as his personal bodyguard, but I don't know if he let her off the leash too,” he said with uncertainty.

Great now we have four psychos to worry about. This just keeps getting better and better, I thought. But one thing keeps bugging me...

“Hey, if she knows the dogs didn't come back, why did she leave already?” I asked him. He looked to the ceiling in thought but then cradled his head again. 

“Funny thing that, even in my drunken state, I asked her that and she said she didn't need it anymore, just troops,” he said curiously.

At least now we knew where to get our info. I looked to Nightheart and nodded. We turned around to leave but was stopped by a mechanical paw on my shoulder. I turned around to see a grinning mercenary. “Oh, I’m not going to miss the chance to kill that double crossing bastard. Let me go pick up my equipment and I’ll lead you to Blumefeather,” he suggested excitedly. “The name’s Mastodon by the way.”
*                                                *                                                *
We left the bar and met up with Gh0st and Crow in the marketplace. They had somehow managed to buy supplies without trouble. The dragon leg was now in a sling of cloth, hanging off of Gh0st’s back. Crow had saddlebags on his back filled with bandages, maps, food, and other things we would need for future travels. I introduced Mastodon and they both warily regarded him. They then both stared at me and Nightheart and I finally realized that my face was still covered in blood, along with Nightheart’s shoulder. I laughed nervously, wiping a bit of dry blood off my lip. “We got into a...Situation. Anyway, Mastodon's going to lead us to our next target. Isn't that right wolfy?” I playfully asked Mastodon. 

He snorted. “Sure. Right after I go see my friend the blacksmith. Come on,” he said, walking away and we quickly followed. Crow jogged beside me with a curious look on his face. “Hey, I don't mean to doubt your judge of character, but how you know this guy isn't about to jump us?” he asked quickly. 

“I agree. He just attacked us Idilah, how can we be sure he isn't going to do it again?” Nightheart joined in. 

I groaned. “I going to be honest, I don't fucking know. What I do know is Vito’s our only bet on finding out what that pony wanted and why,” I replied to them harshly. 

“I can hear you guys, you know that right?” Mastodon asked.

“We don't care!” Crow shouted playfully.

Eventually, we came up to a building that was slightly taller than most of the buildings in town. The windows weren't broken, and even had a fresh coat of black paint. On the first floor, there was large porch mostly cluttered with a blacksmith’s forge and anvil, along with a crap-ton of scrap metal everywhere. A griffon was leaning over a workbench, mumbling. The griffon had a slate grey coat and wings. The feathers on his head were chocolate brown.

“Nonono, too much iron. Need to use steel wires to increase tension. Yes, should do nicely,” he muttered to himself faster than I track. 

Mastodon clapped his metal arm on the griffon’s shoulder, breaking the griffon’s solitude and making him jump. “Got anything good for me Herpy?” Mastodon asked him. 

The griffon, Herpy, turned around faster than I expected him to and smiled. What surprised me was his eyes. He was clearly cross-eyed but the color...

His eyes were honey yellow...

 “Ah Mastodon. What's up? Had a good meeting?” he asked back. 

Mastodon sighed. “No, not at all. Vito sold out most of the kings and now I’m going to help a new acquaintance put him in the ground. You done with that blade yet?” 

Herpy beamed. “Yes! Just got done improving the pulley system. Should work a lot faster now,” he replied quickly. He turned back to the table and pulled out a silver looking mechanical arm almost exactly like Mastodon’s, only this one looked as if it had a bit more bits and bobs in it, making it look bigger than it was.

Mastodon grabbed his mech arm with his other hand and twisted. The arm disconnected from a socket in his shoulder and he set it on the workbench. Herpy then took the new, shiny arm and shoved it into the socket, twisting the arm in place. Mastodon’s face was full of pain the whole time. When the arm was in place, his pained expression released and he flexed his new arm. The boys and I stared at him in silent awe. 

Mastodon then flex his wrist and a small blade popped out. The blade was five inches of what looked like pure silver. Mastodon smiled. “This absolutely perfect Herpy!” he yelled, flexing the blade repeatedly. 

Herpy smiled, full of pride. “Thats what you pay me for. That’ll be about 150,000 bits,” he said flatly.

Mastodon’s smile dropped along with his ears. He patted areas of his armor, in search of jingling, but found none. “Um...Heh heh...” Herpy tapped his claw repeatedly. “Okay, so I don't have the money!” Mastodon shouted, holding up his arms defensively. Herpy moved in to unhook the arm but Mastodon backed up. “But Vito does!” he said quickly.

Herpy considered this, tapping his beak. “Hmm...What’s to say that Vito won’t kill you?” he asked.

Mastodon smiled confidently, waving a mechanical claw to us. “My new crew over there. I’ve seen them in action, they’re a force to be sure,” he lied. Herpy frowned and looked at us. “Hmm. Alright, but I want it in full. I mean it Mastodon,” he said firmly and held out his claw. Mastodon shook it and Herpy went back to the workbench, mumbling more plans. 

Mastodon wiped a sweat off his brow and exhaled. “Oh spirits, we need to get to Vito’s now,” he said to us firmly.

“Why the hell are you so afraid of him?” I asked, curiously.

Mastodon shook his head. “I’m not afraid of him, I’m afraid of what he makes. It might take him a few tries, but when Herpy wants you dead, he’ll make something that can do it faster than you can say “oops”,” he explained.

I rolled my eyes, but was significantly impressed. If we could get someone like him on our side, we could be set. Which reminded me, we had dragon leg and nothing to do with it. I went beside Gh0st and pulled the leg out of its sling, surprising him. I walked up to Herpy, who was still analyzing some sort of blueprint. I tapped him on his shoulder and he turned to me, calmly. “Well hello there! I don't think I’ve seen something like you in Equestria. And trust me, I’ve been all over,” he said fast, but calmly enough for me to understand him. 

I smiled, showing off my teeth. “Well, you're right I am new here. And I’m looking for something to do this dragon leg,” I said, holding it up. Herpy’s eyes straightened, went wide and and his arms twitched as if he wanted to grab the leg from my hands. He cleared his throat, composing himself. “Well that is...a fine sample you have there. And you say you wanted to know what you could do with it?” he asked.

“Yes,” I replied.

Herpy smiled deviously, creeping me out a bit. “There two things you could do with just this leg alone; you can use the scales to strengthen armor. And also (most importantly); the bone itself, if tempered right, can become an extremely powerful weapon,” he explained.

With that explanation, I had only one question... “Can you do it?” 

Herpy started laughing so hard he nearly made me drop the leg. “Oh, are you kidding? I could barely make that broke bastard’s arm! I only do prosthetics but theres a pony in Trottingham I know, who could help you out,” he replied.

I sighed, disappointed. “Oh well,” I turned to the guys with a frown on my face. “You ready to go Mastodon?”

He smiled ear to ear. “Is Celestia’s flank white? Lets go put that bastard six feet under!”



> Hax! (The Asad Tamir Safeena)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Vito’s house was a mile away from Dustown, on the west side of the mountain. We walked a dirt road that was exposed to open mountainside. Though nothing happened on the walk there, aside from the sun going down, the view of the world below was still astonishing. I wouldn't call Vito’s house a house per say, more like a roman villa compound. The building had two wings, separated by a huge courtyard. The grass was black and dry, like all plant life I’ve seen here.

We all stood in the courtyard, looking around. I was mostly admiring the architecture, while everyone else were looking out for surprises. None of the boys trusted Mastodon yet, and I didn't either. But one thing Asad taught me when faced with a possible enemy, never show fear and be ready for anything to happen. Mastodon didn't help our anxiety.  All throughout the walk here, he was nervous. Every step was tentative, and he kept looking to sky as if something might drop on us. 


I stared at him, curiously. “What’s wrong with you? You're acting more paranoid than I was when my ex was stalking me,” I asked him.

Mastodon shook his head, uncertain. “Vito is paranoid as he is greedy. Theres supposed to be at least a dozen traps on the way here. Not to mention he never lets his dogs or the special orders on contracts without him. To say this is unusual is to say my metal  arm isn't a part of my body,” he joked nervously. He scanned the left and right balconies of the villa, searching for any movement “I’d advise we start by banging on the front door,” he suggested casually.

We started moving into the courtyard; weapons out and slowly. I had my revolver and ospian knife out, keeping the barrel trained at the door. We were halfway through the yard when a bit of movement caught Gh0st’s attention.

“What the hell was that?” he asked, whispering. 

I looked at the spot that he was looking at. There was no movement, not even a shadow. Crow stared at Gh0st angrily. “Theres nothing there, lets move,” Crow ordered. Gh0st took one more look at the spot he was looking at before catching up to us at the door. 

“Everyone take cover on either sides of the door, then I’ll kick it down,” I ordered.

Mastodon gave me a sceptical look. “Why would we do that?” he asked confused.

I shook my head and groaned. “Don't you know how to breach a door? Just do it,” I ordered, annoyed.

We separated in front of the door, The boys taking positions on either side of the door. “I’m going to blow the door open, be ready,” I whispered to them. They all nodded and tensed up, getting ready for anything inside. I held my knife under my revolver and took aim at the lock. I fired and kicked in the door, hard enough to knock it off it’s hinges and onto the floor. “Go! Go! Go!” I yelled softly, going in first. The boys moved in one by one behind me, with Gh0st covering the rear.The inside was decorated Roman style like the outside. Low couches and tables filled the room, illuminated by a huge window to the right of the room and the ceiling. 

Mastodon flexed his arm and called back his blade, looking around the room nervously. “This is definitely not right. Theres at least 10 guards on post in this room alone. Vito’s definitely a greedy bastard but he’d never sacrifice his safety. And where in Tartarus is his bodyguard?!” he shouted.

He got his answer.

There was a creepy disembodied giggle that came from somewhere in the room. We all went on the alert and started scanning the room. The giggle sounded again, this time close enough that it sounded almost next to me. I put my back to the wall next to the door and almost shot Crow when he bumped into me. Next came a flop and a crash made us turn all our heads to the center of the room. 

The center table was covered in a mass of white feathers and blood. I moved closer to the broken table, slowly. In one dramatic movement, the feathers lifted to reveal...

A cat with wings?

I lowered my gun and took a line from the Gh0st handbook and said, “Dafaq is dis shit?”

The cat was 4 foot nothing with black fur. Her eyes were dark pink and had pink fur lining her eyes to match the pink sundress she was wearing. She was emitting a purring noise as she stretched, flicking the broken glass off her body. At that point I realized her body was an udder cluster-fuck of parts.

Her left arm was that of a dragon and her right leg looked like a cheetah's. Her left leg was that of a lion, while her right arm seemed like the only thing that was naturally a part of her, as it was black like the fur on her head. She was also wearing something that resembled a square animal tag on her ear, but it was gold.

She gave me a warm smile and said, “Hiiiii! I’m Kitty Kat, what's your name?”

I looked around the room to see the boys looked just as confused as I was. Well, Ghost and Crow looked confused, Mastodon looked scared shittless. I leaned over to Mastodon. “Um is that Vito’s body guard?” I asked him. He nervously nodded.

I gave my attention back to Kitty. “Um...Well, my name is Idilah Blood and-,” I was interrupted by Kitty’s very loud gasp. 

“Oh my gosh! You're not supposed to be here!” She shouted spreading her wings. At that point noticed that both her wings had pink feathers at the end of them. “I’m really sorry, but you're gonna have to die!” I shouted taking flight. Faster than any of us could track her, she flew up to the ceiling and started shedding feathers. Well, more like she started shooting feathers. At me.

“Shit!” I yelled instinctively, running to my right. I took cover behind a couch, which wasn't really helping since it was lower than my waist. The feathers were like tiny, sharp ku-knifes and were tearing up my cover. I couldn't see the others but I did know that the moment Kitty took off, they scattered. Kitty kept pouring on the feather fire not giving me a chance to move. “Gh0st! Little help!!” I yelled. 

“Oh. Sorry!” Gh0st shouted. “Hey, little furball! Over here!” he yelled. There was a sound like water being splashed that let me know Gh0st cloaked.

“Oh, why thank you! I’ll make your death quick and painless for being so nice!” she cutely yelled back. 

There was a break in the sound of feather fire and I got up from behind cover. Quickly taking aim, I started taking shots in Kitty’s general direction, hoping to get a lock on her. Kitty quickly recovered from the dIstraction, putting all her attention back to me. Before I could get back in cover, a feather embedded itself in my gun-hand. It had somehow cut straight through my plate skin and started digging into my flesh.

 The hand immediately went limp and I couldn't feel anything in the arm in general. I dropped the gun and just as quickly dropped back into cover, clutching my arm. “Dammit, I’m down! We need to get out of here, we don't have the weapons to take her out!” I yelled. 

I heard Mastodon chuckle. “Speak for yourself!,” he shouted camly. There were two plucking noises and a loud shriek. I tried to get up without the use of my left arm (which is very hard to do by the way) and see what had happened to Kitty but kept falling back down..

Mastodon ran up to me, still looking worried. “I got her arm and wing, but she’s not going to stay down. She a tough kitten,” he said before lifting me with his mech arm and over his shoulder. Crow and Nightheart were right behind us, but I couldn't see Gh0st. Mastodon started running towards the door, making me bounce on his shoulder. 

We exited the house, still running when. A shriek sounded from the building along with the sound of broken glass. I looked up to see Kitty flying down at us in a spinning nose dive. Crow dived behind a bush to avoid fire, while Mastodon and Nightheart kept running.

“We need to get in cover! Now!” I yelled, Kitty was closing in.

Kitty pulled up at the last second, releasing a torrent of feathers on her way up. Mastodon jumped, dodging most of the feathers, but only one single feather got him in the leg and he tripped, sending me flying. 

I landed on the grass, hard and looked up to see Kitty hovering in the air, smiling. “This has been sooo fun! But now, you're gonna have to die,” she said, bending her wing for another wave. 

“NOPE!” yelled Gh0st, who had somehow made his way to the balcony. In one jump, he cleared the gap between him and Kitty, holding his sword at the perfect angle to Kitty’s neck, and sliced her head clean off. Her body dropped to the ground, her head landing on her back, with a blissful smile on her face. 

I leaned on my right arm, trying to look for Crow. Gh0st dropped from the balcony with the smuggest look on his face. “Oh yeah! Who just saved your asses?! Me!” he cheered while doing some sort of victory dance on his hind legs. 

 Crow came out of his bush, searching any signs of Kitty and noticed her on the ground. He breathed a sigh of relief. “Glad thats over,” he said smiling.

Gh0st turned to him, still looking smug. “And nice moves bird. Why didn't you fly up and attack her?” he asked.

Crow pawed the ground nervously. “Um..-” 

“Hey, in case you guys didn't notice, Idilah’s paralyzed,” Nightheart interrupted flatly.

“Me too!” Mastodon chimed in, his face to grass.

Nightheart and Gh0st ran to our sides, Gh0st helping Mastodon up, letting him lean on him and Nightheart gave me a hand to get me on my feet. I walked over to Kitty’s body and took a minute to examine it. 

What was weird about Kitty wasn't the fact that she was a cat with wings or her mich-match body parts, it was the fact that all of them looked as if they were sewn together. At each joint of every limb, there would be a black stitch circling the joint. Then there was the animal tag on her ear. After Gh0st sliced off her head, the tag started sparking. I ripped it of her ear and turned it around in my fingers to see a small ruby embedded in the gold. The ruby looked strange though, almost cloudy and corrupted.

I handed looked over to Crow and tossed the tag over to him, surprising him as he caught it. “Could you take out that ruby for me?” I asked him. 

He nodded and extended his eagle claws and started digging out the ruby. “Damn this thing is in there. Why do you want this again?” he asked, struggling. 

“Its a ruby. That means it’s money. I want least something to go back to town with,” I said, annoyed. We had come out here looking Vito and ended up getting two of us paralyzed. Needless to say, I was pissed. Damn, I feel like Bad Luck Brian. Went to friends house, got paralyzed, I thought.

 Crow finally worked out the ruby, tossing it in the air in victory. He caught it and noticed a fine detail about Kitty that we all neglected...

“Um, why isn't her neck bleeding?” he asked.

 He too, got his answer.

Kitty’s body started moving, getting to it’s feet and started stretching in one swift movement. We all jumped back. Well, Gh0st couldn't because of Mastodon trying to keep balance. Kitty’s body brushed off her dress and picked up her head, twisting it back on her shoulders like a screw. She opened her eyes and yawned. 

“Oh wow, I haven't been beheaded in a long time,” she said casually. She looked around at us and stared straight at Gh0st. She smiled warmly and started purring. “Thank you mister nice pony! That tag was kind of messing with my head,” she explained.

Gh0st chuckled nervously. “Heh, no problem,” he said.

Nightheart was about to club her, but she somehow sensed the hit coming and caught the hammer mid-swing. She then swung the hammer (along with Nightheart) and threw it into the west wing wall. Nightheart went through clear through the wall and got buried under debris. Kitty gasped and held her hands over her mouth in shock. “Oh I’m sorry Mr. Dragon. That was on instinct, I promise!” she shouted to him.

Nightheart punched a piece of wall from on top of him and sat up, his face red with rage. “I’m gonna kill that cat!” she shouted, running at her at top speed. Just before he was about to hit her, I pulled on the faulty cloth he called shorts. He immediately stopped knowing that they were going to rip if stretched. Kitty stayed calm the entire time, not even moving a muscle. She giggled almost as cutely as Pinkie does. “You sound like my friend Gatuar. He-,” she gasped. “Where is everybody?!” she yelled in a high-pitched voice, looking left and right in a vain attempt to find her friends. 

I looked over to Mastodon and he shrugged. “I think she’s talking about the other special orders. They’re a close nit group and Vito never let them go on contracts without his supervision,” he explained.

Kitty gasped deeper, making me finally wonder how the hell she was alive. “Where’s Mr.Vito?! Oh, he never lets me go off alone. What if he’s hurt? What if my friends are hurt? What if-” I interrupted her, placing my palm over her mouth. Which didn't do anything as she continued to talk into my hand. 

I sighed. “Thats why we’re here Kitty. We’re looking for Vito and wanted to talk to him. Do you know where he was before someone put that tag on you?,” I asked. Well I technically wasn't lying. I just wanted to know what Vito knows, Mastodon wanted to kill him. 

Kitty looked as if she calmed  down and I lowered my hand. She started tapping her nose and tapping her foot, thinking. Mastodon was still paralyzed and I still had a messed up arm. Crow was taking the initiative to look in the demolished room Nightheart got thrown into, while he was still staring at Kitty murderously.

Kitty’s face lit up with a smile and she snapped her fingers. “Oh yeah, Mr.Vito was in his cellar talking to his new friend Ms. Jill. They were arguing and there was a crash and-,” she groaned, holding her head. “I think thats when I got the tag put on me. I can't remember anything past that,” she said sadly. 

Mastodon groaned and shifted his foot. “You got the antidote for that poison of yours?” he asked firmly. Kitty pulled out a vial from behind her and tossed it to Mastodon. 

“Drink that, Mr.Vito made me make a antitoxin after I pricked him so many times,” she joked.

Mastodon downed the vial and passed it to me. I downed the last of the drink immediately felt better. Aside from the taste of what I could only describe as pure ass, my arm could move again. Mastodon backed off Gh0st and stretched his leg. Gh0st twisted his back, trying to shake off being used as a table. 

“Everyone! I think I found something!” Crow yelled from the room. We all looked in the room to see a cellar door on the floor. 

*                                                *                                        *

After retrieving my gun, we descended down the latter, one by one, with Crow climbing down last. The latter led down to a large hallway lit up by torches on the walls. Kitty led the group with me right behind her, Nightheart behind me, with Gh0st and Mastodon in front of Crow. While we walking, Kitty kept alternating between hovering and skipping. I walked right next to her and grabbed her shoulder, urging her to calm down. I kept staring at her, trying to figure out how the hell they almost killed me. “Kitty, I have two questions; 1. What are you? And 2. How are you still alive?” I asked curiously. 

Kitty beamed. “Oh I’m an Abomination silly! I have a my own nervous system in my head so if it ever got cut off, I could stay alive until my body can find me,” she explained casually before gasping and running ahead of us. In front of us, acloves of wine were filled right to left, along with a griffon speared to the wall. The griffon was white feathered, with blue fur and crest.  The spear was in his stomach, connecting Vito to the wall. “VITO!” Mastodon yelled, rushing past us.

Vito groaned in acknowledgment. Mastodon stood next to Vito, while Kitty was next to him, crying. “Hey...what’s wrong Kitten?” he asked weakly. 

Kitty sobbed. “Mr.Vito you're hurt,” she replied softly.

Vito looked down at the spear in his gut and smiled. “Oh this? Tis but a flesh wound,” he said casually. 

“Hey Mastodon, do you think you could patch this up?” Vito asked.

Gh0st moved closer with bandages in his mouth but Mastodon blocked him. 

“You are going to tell me why you sold us out or you're not getting a damn band aid,” he hissed.

Vito sighed painfully and stared at Mastodon in confusion. “What are you on about?” he asked.

Mastodon’s temper flared and he stepped to Vito’s face. “I’m talking about how you sold out all of our dogs and some of the powerful beings on the planet for some pony!” he yelled.

“Hey!” Gh0st  shouted, offended.

Vito shifted on the spear again. Blood was pooling on the floor from the wound. How he didn't bleed out yet was beyond me. His face went from confusion to surprise. “That...Bitch. She showed you a contract yes?” he asked. Mastodon nodded. “She must have used Kitty to forge my signature. You know I wouldn't do that Mastodon. I’m greedy but I’m not a traitor,” Vito said firmly.

Mastodon shook his head in disbelief. He let out a frustrated yell before he punched the wall next to Vito. He took a breath and looked at Gh0st. “Patch him up,” he ordered before he walked away to a corner.

Kitty put her hands on the spear in Vito gut and stared into his eyes. “Mr.Vito, this gonna hurt,” she said.

Vito smiled weakly. “Better out than in kitten, just do it slowly,” he replied.

Kitty nodded and started pulling on the spear, trying to work it out in one clean pull. Her efforts were almost undone when she flinched at Vito’s screams. After two tugs, she finally worked out the spear, clean of any organs. Gh0st moved in with his bandages and quickly wrapped up Vito’s stomach using his magic.

Vito hugged his new bandage with a smile on his face. “Thanks friend. Now, how about we get introductions out of the way,” he said looking at me. We got all the introductions out of the way and Vito explained what happened. 

Turns out that Vito’s way of recruitment was based off contracts. Every dog, griffon, or minitaur, (and rarely, pony) signs a contract to join the gang. Jill wanted all the contracts for every dog in the group. Figuring she just wanted dumb muscle, Vito said no. Jill was not happy with that answer and had one of her bodyguard impale Vito to the wall and incapacitate Kitty with an animal tag specially made for her and the other Abominations. They were made in place of contracts because they were erratic. Jill programmed Kitty to do guard duty until Vito came out of the cellar. 

We all stood in the cellar listening intently to Vito’s explanation. Mastodon had calmed down and was leaning against the wall. Kitty was at Vito’s side, sitting with her legs crossed while Vito patted her head. 

I stretched my recently unparalyzed arm, spawning my gun repeatedly as I spoke. “So thats all well and good but, what was Jill doing here in the first place?” I asked.

Vito smiled and got up, disappointing Kitty. “The reason, is the fact that Jill is looking for the Asad Tamir Safeena, the lost ship of Obar,” he replied.

My ears perked up. For some reason, just by uttering those words, every part of me, for the first time, felt on fire. I somehow knew that he was talking about my brother.  “What did you say?” I asked quickly. 

Vito chuckled, holding his bandage in pain. “I wouldn't expect everyone to know SaddleArabic. See, Omar was an ancient SaddleArabic city. History lesson time!” he announced dramatically. “Way back when, the SaddleArabians wanted to invade Equestria because the former main city of SaddleArabia, Omar, had dried up its water source. Long story short, they lost. BUT, not before leaving a few goodies if they wanted to reattempt taking over again. A certain goody, was the Asad Tamir Safeena. Thats a mouthful, I’m gonna just call it the ATS.”

“Anyway, the ATS was hidden somewhere in this mountain and guess who knows where it is?” Vito asked obviously. 

Gh0st raised his hoof. “Is it you you?” he asked flatly.

Crow snickered. “No, its the other asshole with a house on the mountainside,” he retorted.

Vito smiled and turned around to the wall behind him and pressed a tile on the wall. The wall slid to the side to reveal a small rectangular room. What made the room so special was the huge golden wall. We all entered and stared at the wall, every single one of our mouths agape. I walked right up to the wall and put my hand on the door. I felt oddly drawn to this door, bound to it even. I turned to Vito. “What is this?” I asked him.

Vito regarded the wall with a smile. “This, is the door to the ATS. I’ve been trying to open this thing since I had this place built. Explosives, magic, explosive magic. No matter what I do, the damn thing won’t open,” he said, frustrated before punching the wall of gold. He shook the pain off his hand and turned back to me. “Thats honestly why I didn't let Jill know where it is. After a certain amount of time, she would have killed me just to let out some frustration,” he explained.

I kept running my hand over the cool gold wall until I saw a small symbol. The symbol was like a triangle, but each point were separated. The moment I saw it, I put my hand to it and was forced into a memory....
*                                                *                                                *
I sat in a classroom full of rowdy students, all of them throwing paper balls and otherwise being a bunch of loud twats. I looked down to my arms to see I had my human skin back but was still in my PJ’s. The teacher finally stepped in and everybody in the room stopped dead in their tracks. No one moved a muscle. The teacher was none other than Burijas himself, standing proudly in a red double-breasted coat with a turtleneck sweater, along with a pair of horn-rimmed glasses.

He stood in front of the class behind a desk. He turned around and a chalkboard suddenly appeared on the wall. He picked up a piece of chalk and drew the same symbol that was on the ATS door. He turned around to the class and smiled. “Now class, todays lesson will be on Signs. Can anyone tell me what Signs are?” he asked the class. 

Considering the fact that everyone was frozen, no one answered. I just didn't know the answer, so I stayed quiet. Burijas shook his head and sighed. “Alright then, Signs are the ancient symbols of power that were once used in magic by the Saudi Arabians. But, because of “culture clash”,” he explained using air quotes. “The europeans stole the Signs and implanted them into their own lore,” he explained sadly.

He pointed straight at me with his chalk. I shrunk in my chair nervously. I hated being called on during high school. “What do you think this sign is, Ms. Blood?” he asked me.

I regained my courage and sat back up in my seat. I shrugged. “I don't know. Care to tell me, Mr.Burijas?” I retorted.

Burijas smirked and turned back to the board. “Very well. This symbol is that of fire,” he explained, writing the word, “fire”, under the faux triangle. He turned back to the class, this time, holding up his hand, showing me his palm. “In order to call upon the Signs, ancient Arab magicians would form different signs with their hands,” he continued, doing “devil horns” with his fingers. 

I chuckled, but was now interested. “What other signs are there Mr.Burjas?” I asked curiously.

Burijas turned back to the board and drew 4 more Signs. Most of them were triangles, but with each new Sign, he would write a different word under it. Force, trap, shield, and hex. He explained all of their uses and showed me each of their handSigns. While he explained them, I practiced them in my seat. None of the effects happend, but I could feel myself getting weaker.

“I.D.!” a disembodied voice said.

I scanned the room in search of the source, but Burijas clapped his hands to  get my attention. “That concludes the lesson children. Remember, I want a full report by tomorrow!” he shouted before my vision blurred.
*                                                *                                *

I opened my eyes to see a worried Crow standing over me. I was laying on my back, uncomfortably remembering how I woke up in this fine land. I got to my feet and immediately put my hand on the golden wall. I suddenly remembered that I had changed my hands into that of a turian’s, and promptly changed my left hand back to five fingers. I smirked and looked back at the worried faces behind me. “Prepare for awesomeness people,” I declared before forming “devil horns” on the wall.

My hand lit up with fire on the symbol on the wall and lines of power spread from the Sign. The lines spread throughout the wall, covering it in the same style my runes were. The wall disintegrated to reveal a dark room only illuminated by the faint glow off my body.

“Someone get a torch, we’ll need-,” I got cut off by Kitty passing me a torch. I stared at Kitty, utterly confused. Yup, not even going to question that, I thought, moving into the dark room. I couldn't tell any details from the room but the glint on the far side of the room that looked like glass. 

Vito appeared next to me, complete wonderment painting his face. “This is amazing! A room on the Tamir Safeena! This is a dream come true. How did you do that? he asked. 

I rubbed the back of my head nervously. “Well, about that-” I was interrupted yet again by rumbling. The whole room started shaking, almost making me lose my footing. Everybody in the vault was busy examining the new room before the rumbling started and were flopping all over the place in order to stay still. That was the moment I noticed that the room that we were just in, the walls were cracking. 

That was also the moment I realized we were moving away from the room.

“What the hell is going on!?” shouted Gh0st.

Vito gave him a shaking smile. “Can't you see it?! The Safeena is awakening!” he announced before possibly the loudest cracking sound in the history of man sounded and there was finally light in the room. Light coming from a sunset in a window on the far side of the now evidently large room.

I ran to the window, well, we all ran to the small window, pressing our noses and beaks it. We were staring at the now destroyed villa, 1000 feet in the air.



> I'm On a Boat!
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Vito’s house was completely, and utterly destroyed. The ship had popped out of the mountain, through Vito’s house and had reduced it to a pile of collapsing ruble.What was left of the house was sinking into the hole the Safeena came from. We  stared at the once beautiful home in awe, while Vito was staring at it like a grave.

“My home...,” he said sadly. 

Kitty came up behind him and nearly crushed his neck with a hug. “Thats enough Kitty!” he gargled. 

 Kitty let go of his neck and smiled. “It's okay Mr.Vito. We’ll find a new home. Oh! How about we ask Ms. Idilah to stay on the ship!” she shouted.

Vito stared at her skeptically. “I certainly hope so, considering she just destroyed my home to get it,” he said, looking at me.

It was my turn to stare at him skeptically, crossing my arms. “Oh, so its my fault you decided to build a mansion on top of a big ass warship?” I asked, annoyed.

Vito waved his claw nonchalantly. “Details, details. Anyway, you're going to need me,” he said confidently.

I raised my eyebrow in curiosity. “Am I?” I asked coyly.

Vito gave me a cocky smile. “You definitely are. I know you must be hunting the lost city of Omar and you're not going to find it unless you find the Relics. And aside from Jill, no one knows where they are,” he said proudly.

I sighed, exasperated. “Man, I don't even want to know what the hell you're talking about.”

At that point, Vito lost his thunder and looked completely confused. “You mean...You're not looking the treasure of Omar?”

I waved my hand dismissively. “The only thing I’m looking for is my brother. And as much fun as an ancient treasure most likely filled with traps is, reviving my former womb-mate is more important,” I replied flatly.

Vito shook his head in disbelief. “so you're going to tell me,” he said. “That you aren't going to look for the biggest treasure trove in history, just because you're trying to bring someone back to life?” he asked, confused.

“Yep,” I replied using the same tone.

Vito bursted out laughing, falling on his back and hugging his bandage. Crow ran into the wide doorway, panting. “Idilah! You have to see this!” he shouted.

I sighed. “Yes Crow, the kitchen is amazing. Now if you don't mind, I’m in the middle of-”

Crow shook his head. “Not that! I’m talking about the top deck, come on!” yelled before running back down the hall. I groaned and walked out the door, Kitty and Vito following me.

After realizing that we were on the Safeena, everyone had spit up to explore the ship. After a couple of hours, we had discovered that the ship was huge. The ship consisted of four decks, excluding the bridge, all connected by three separate white polls of magic that took you to whatever deck you asked for. 

Deck one was the combat deck, which consisted of two rooms; the main deck, which was filled with a dozen mounted ballistae on each side of the deck pointing outside and two more in front of the deck, next to a long map table. The other room looked more of a closet than anything, considering it was to the side of the stairwells. But what it lacked in size, it made up for in usefulness.

The other room was basically a mini armory. The walls held rows of ancient scimitars that almost covered the room. There were also a bunch of ponyquins covered in leather armor. Along with all of that was the main attraction; the blacksmith’s forge. It was as you’d expect it to be, a cold pit of coals and a chute to influence the heat of them. As cool as the room was, I couldn't help but feel like I had stepped into the Tardis, because the room looked twice as big as it looked from the outside. In fact, the same could be said about the rest of the ship.

Deck two was the crew quarters/ mess hall/ med bay. This deck consisted of 5 rooms, all separated by the huge mess hall and kitchen. Three large rooms filled wall to wall with wooden bunk beds were to the left of the mess, while the med bay was to the right.

The mess hall was a long room that was filled with long rows of tables and chairs, much like a cafeteria at a school. A wide array of stoves, fridges, and sinks were lined up behind a counter running along the far wall allowing meals to be stored and cooked on board.  How the hell ancient ponies knew about fridges is a mystery. The med-bay was a single room close to the stairs, containing 5 beds and enough space and cabinets to store a pharmacy.

 A single room that was at the back of the deck was small compared to the other rooms but had  probably one of the largest beds I’ve ever seen. The sheets were black and looked like pure silk. What made it even better was the wide window that gave a view to the world and it was right behind the bed. Yup, thats mine.


Deck three was the engine room. What exactly powers a giant ancient warship and keeps it in the air? A giant ball of freaking heat of course. Seriously, there was only one room in the deck and and it was mostly taken by a ball of red hot heat the size of a boulder. The ball took up most of the floor but didn't radiate heat from the observation platform at the entrance of the room. Yeah don't know how that works and I’m not going to ask.

Deck four was the cargo bay. Which, because of the fact that this ship hasn’t been used in over 2000 years, was empty. What was amazing though was the doors on the floor of the bay, which was opened by a steam powered hydraulics system that lowers two giant doors on the bottom of the ship. Again, not even going to ask.

Crow led us to the bridge, which I had yet to see. The bridge or top deck, was almost half the size of Dustown and the mast was twice the size of Nightheart’s mother. Despite the fact that we're on a floating airship, it was directed by a sail. Like the combat deck, it had a dozen cannons on each side. Crow was leading us to the helm of the ship and I finally got to see the figurehead.

Considering the ship’s name was, The Lion Tamer’s Ship (horrible name by the way), the fact that the figurehead was a giant lion head was not surprising. What was surprising, was the fact that it was rubbernecking its head around, talking to Gh0st and Nightheart. What. The. Fuck.

My mouth hung open loosely.

“Ah. Finally come to see me Jann,” the lion head said, annoyed. The head was made of pure gold but somehow, its long hair swayed with the wind. Its eyes were blood red and it had a slightly feminine voice.

Everybody on the deck was speechless and didn't move. Nightheart was the first to move, walking closer to the figure head. “What are you?” he asked lamely.

A loud sound that resembled a groan sounded from the figurehead. “Why, oh why would you awaken me without knowing my name?” it asked, clearly annoyed. “But the griffon and Jann know. Oh yes, the Jann knows everything,” she continued sarcastically.

I shook my head and looked at Vito. He looked just as confused as me, but we knew the answer to at least one thing. I stepped up to the figurehead tentatively. “Your name is Safeena, right?” Vito asked.

The entire ship rumbled with laughter, almost knocking us off our feet. “Oh how I hate that name. Burijas might be a god of war, but he does retain a sense of humor. No, my name is not that ridiculous pet title. No, a name is what you are, your existence put into simple letters. And I am not some circus ship. I am Sheytan! The Sheytan,” she said proudly.

My head started throbbing and I clutched my it in pain. Everyone gathered around me and I had to almost fight the urge to fall to my knees. Random images that I couldn't make out started appearing in my head. I remembered working on a religion project for foreign studies back in highschool and got assigned Saudi Arabia. I spent almost three days learning about the various djinns of the Quron. Janns, sheytans, afrits. All a part of the djinn hierarchy and all considered chaotic in different ways. Sheytans were a djinn high up in the food chain. Very powerful. Which really doesn't explain how the hell one was the figurehead to a warship.

I lowered my hands and looked around to see everyone's worried faces. I smiled and looked at Sheytan, who was still waiting on my answer. “Your a Sheytan. A djinn high up in Burijas’s legion. A spirit of destruction capable of destroying whole cities without even thinking about it. A good question is, why are you a head of a ship?” I asked.

Sheytan chuckled. “That is something I ask myself many times while being stuck in that infernal mountain. Burijas put me is that prison because I disobeyed him and ruined his favorite town,” she replied.

Nightheart shook his head in disbelief. “And this somehow justified turning you into a ship and putting you in a mountain?” he asked.

“They had the best curry in this dimension,” she said flatly.

It was my turn to shake my head in disbelief. A Sheytan spirit. Bound to a warship...In Equestria...

I rubbed my temples in frustration. Oh, I can just tell nothings’ going to get normal around me anytime soon, I thought. Well, we now have two veterans, a stitched up cat and a talking ship. What to do next...

“Uh, guys...I think you need to come see this. Like, now!” yelled Gh0st from the port side of the ship. I ran over to him to see what he was looking at and saw a billow of smoke coming from Dustown’s direction. 

“Um, Vito...Where exactly did you tell Jill to go when she was looking for the ship?” I asked, not taking my eyes off the pillar of smoke.

“Oh shit.”  he replied in a low voice. “I may be said to look in a dragon’s den not far from here,” he said in one breath. Nightheart glared at him. “Not your den! Another den! One, with a very angry dragon that I hoped would kill her,” he said nervously.

I facepalmed and turned to Sheytan. “We need to go to the smoke, are you willing to get us there?” I asked the figurehead. 

Sheytan started to make a purring sound that vibrates the whole deck. “But of course Jann.Whatever you need Jann. Please let something kill me so I may get a chance to negotiate with Burijas about my punishment,” she said dejectedly before leaning her head to the right, along with the entire ship. We all grabbed  onto the railing and held on as Sheytan took us to the burning Dustown.
*                                                *                                *
Let me be blunt, everything was on fire. The whole town was engulfed in flames, griffons, ponies, and D-dogs running in random directions in a panic and I couldn't see any signs of what was left of the kings forces. Most of the airships that were once docked were gone, all except a single small ship. It looked like a wooden house boat but was tricked out with metal bits that sort of looked like thrusters. A roar beckoned me to looked towards the center of town and the biggest dragon I’ve ever seen. The dragon was black, had eyes redder than the sun and its body was as wide as Sheytan. It stood on all fours, smashing buildings and burning anyone dumb enough come into his vision. 

Sheytan parked herself next to the port and we all stood on port-side, staring at the destruction and mostly at the huge dragon causing it. I stared at the dragon with a smile on my face thinking, I’m going to name you Steven. 

“Okay, heres the plan,” I started. “Gh0st and Crow, you're on crowd control. Get anyone in the city out. If they’re anywhere near the ship-,” Sheytan groaned, interrupting me. “I’m sorry. Anywhere near Sheytan, grab them and get them on board,” I ordered. 

I turned to Mastodon, Vito, Kitty and Nightheart. Vito and Mastodon looked horrified. Mastodon kept muttering under his breath, while Vito and Kitty couldn't take their eyes off the fire. I couldn't even begin to know what they're going through. From how much protection was put into just the marketplace, I could tell that they cared for this town.

Nightheart on the other hand looked so excited, he was almost bouncing with a wide smile on his face. I ignored his eagerness and continued to give out orders. “Nightheart, Vito, you two are with me, along with Kitty. Mastodon, go with the boys and find Herpy. I know we’re going to need him,” I ordered.

Mastodon looked almost relieved. “Herpy probably still hasn't left the house yet. He’s been itching to test the fireproofing agent he’s been working on,” he said, still staring at the burning town.

I turned my head to the Sheytan, who was staring at the fires with curiosity. Considering the fact that she’s been underground for X amount of years, I’d think she consider grass interesting. “She, you feel up to the fight?” I asked.

Sheytan chuckled. “I am a warship made to fight other ships. What makes you think I can or want to fight?” she asked.

“Because you are a sheytan; a force of nature, a creature more chaotic than the air itself. A demon so high up in the eternal legion, Burijas personally imprisoned you for another purpose. I know he wouldn't leave you without something that could help. Thats not what generals do,” I replied, giving her a clever smirk.

She chuckled again, this time flexing her jaw. “I think I may have something, but I need time.”

I smiled and turned back to the group. “Alright boys, and cat. Objective is to kill that dragon and evac civilians! LET’S MOVE!” 

> Ewww...
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mastodon’s POV

My morning started great. Woke up, snapped on arm, made breakfast, went to work. Got swindled out of dozens of my supposed friends and teammates, found my best friend nailed to a wall, also found out he had been sitting on a damn treasure for almost a year and oh yeah, find my apartment (along with the town it was in) on fucking fire. 

“I hate my life,” I said to myself, flatly as we ran through the burning streets.

“What you say dude?” asked that damned pony, Gh0st. 

I shook my head. “Nothing, lets keep moving,” I replied, rushing ahead.

What was once a manageably filthy town was now in flames. Every corner I turned, I was met with a familiar, yet frightening sight. Market stalls where I always got my fruit? Burned to ashes. Doctors office where I got my painkillers? Currently in the process of burning down. 

One thing that was new, other than the fact that everything was on fire, were a few citizens I never seen in town before. There were four of them; two pegasi, a griffon, and a minotaur. The minotaur's legs were trapped under a burning beam and the pegasi were trying to put out the fire with their wings, while the griffon was trying to lift up the beam.

The pegasi were both red and had green manes. One was a stallion that had a mohawk and a egg-timer cutiemark, while the other was a mare had a really short mane that was shaved on one side and had a ball of flames for a cutiemark. The griffon was had green fur and red feathers. The minotaur was black and had white dreadlocks tied in a ponytail. I also noticed that he was slightly more portly than the average minotaur as I could barely see the beam that was on his legs.

The pegasi were working hard to blow out the flames on the beam. The was griffon holding onto the beam, flying up in an effort to lift it, but didn't have the strength. They needed help and I’d be damned if I was going to ignore them.  “Herpy’s going to have to wait,” I said, running towards the trapped group, leaving the griffon and pony to follow.

“Wait up man! We don't know where we’re going!” shouted the pony. I heard the griffon groan shortly after. 

We came up behind the pegasi hard at work. They hadn't noticed us, putting all their attention on the trapped minotaur. The griffon lifted once more, groaning in effort. “Almost got it amigo!” The colorful griffon strained. The fatty minotaur put an effort into pushing off the beam but didn't have the strength either. “Ain't no use bredren. Just put out de fire and go on ahead,” he said, pained.

The fire was finally out, and the pegasus mare shook her head. “No, no,no!” she urged simply. 

I stepped in, pushing past the pegasi forcefully. “How about I settle this argument?” I suggested suavely. I placed my mechanical hand on the beam and got a grip so tight, I made indents on the wood. In one movement, I lifted the beam and flipped it into the burning building we were next to.

The fatty minotaur rubbed his legs, trying to knead out the pain in his aching muscles. The griffon offered a hand and helped him up, the whole group smiling at me gratefully. It was then the wall of a burning building fell to bring me back to the situation at hand. 

“Look, if you're feeling grateful, head to the docks and hop on the ship with lion figurehead. I know it sounds crazy, but the figurehead will tell you how to work the weapons. When someone calls for the ship, be ready,” I explained and ordered quickly. The group looked at each other, nodded, and ran past us, towards the docks.

“Come on man, lets move!” The pony shouted. 

I nodded and rushed past him, leading the way to Herpy’s forge. Contrary to what I thought earlier, my building wasn't on fire. Turns out sharing a building with a mad scientist had its benefits, as it  was completely untouched by the dragons flames. Not one board was even scorched. 

“Huh, well I guess there was nothing to worry about. Lets hurry up and-,” the black griffon started saying to me but was interrupted by the front door to the building exploding in a puff of splinters as a pony flew out of the building and landed in front of us.

“Well that escalated quickly,” the griffon finished flatly.

 The pony was a stark white unicorn with a blood red wavy mane. From the way her body was curved, I could tell it was a mare. She got to her hooves and shook her head. Her eyes were as red as her hair, irises and all and it was at that point I noticed stitches encompassing her eye lids. There was also a gold square hanging on her ear.

She was another Abomination.

I couldn't remember her name, but from the weird stitches, I recognized her as one of the Abominations from Kitty’s group. I was about to put a bolt on her face, but was beat to the punch when a even longer bolt appeared in her chest. She cried out in pain but held her ground, standing straight up.

Herpy appeared in the shattered door way, looking furious with some sort of upside down crossbow hooked to his undercarriage. “And you can tell Jill thats my counter offer!” he yelled to the mare.

The mare bared her teeth and the bolt in her chest lit up with a red glow, slowly pulling itself out. When the bolt was fully out, the wound started gushing with blood, but that didn't last long. The blood started to harden around the wound, crystallizing. I looked to the pony and griffon standing next to me and their mouths hung open in awe. Oh please, they should have seen the installation of my arm, I thought.

The super dried blood fell chipped off the mare, leaving nothing but new white fur. The mare silently ran past us, catching me off guard. I drew my bow and fired two quick bolts at her, but she was gone in the burning streets. 

Herpy breath a sigh of relief and finally noticed us. “Oh, hello Mastodon. Here to pay me back?” he asked coyly. 

I shook my head in disbelief. “About that... We’ll discuss it after we deal with this dragon,” I said. “After that we’re leaving, I’m going on a trip with that thing you saw earlier. I’m gonna need someone else I can trust and she needs a blacksmith. What do ya say Herpy?” I asked offering my hand.

Herpy tapped his beak in thought and shrugged. “I say we discuss my pay after I get my boat,” he replied. 

That was when we heard a earth shattering roar in the distance.

“That can't be good,” said the pony.
*                                        *                                        *

Idilah’s pov

Okay, so stabbing the dragon in the snout wasn't a good idea.

As soon as the dragon started blowing fire again, Vito took flight and took Kitty with him, while Nightheart leaped incredibly high and both of them landed on a relatively stable looking building. Considering I woke up in a damn pool of lava, I didn't move. All three of them stared at me in a mix a scold and awe. 

“That was your plan?!” They all yelled at the same time as the dragon curiosity breathed more fire at me. I smiled and dodged the flames, doing a barrel roll to get out of the way. I honestly had no idea how I was going to kill the thing. Like, at all. From the pot shots I took at it earlier, the scales were hard as hell. It also kept its eyes in narrow slits, so its eyes were out of the question. The only target would be its mouth but it only shot fire when it knew it would hit.

I need something to weaken this thing and fast, I thought. 

I might be able to help with that, a thought that was not mine popped in my head. 

I narrowly avoided a claw swipe, the dragon almost taking some of my duster with it. Um, who the hell is this?, I asked in my head. 

The voice chuckled. One of your betters and your apparent warship. There are more creatures here to man the weapons and I have something to help with that lizard. Just get close to the docks and I’ll handle it from there, Sheytan explained.

I shook my head dumbfounded and got slapped by a claw, into a burning building. At that moment I was extremely grateful for my hardened skin as I quickly got up from the rubble and ran back into the middle of the street. Conveniently, my team was on top of the building I just crawled out of. “Come on! We have to get to the docks! Now!” I shouted to them. They quickly nodded and dodged a fireball.  The dragon did another earth shattering roar from what I suspected was because of the lack of attention. 

We ran down the main street, Nightheart was jumping building to building like a damn shinobi, while Vito carried Kitty like the freaking Stork as he flew. The dragon kept up our pace as it kept roaring and tearing through any building we passed.

We stopped running at the docks, but there was no sight of She. Nightheart and company landed next to me and all frowned. “Well we’re screwed,” he said flatly.

The damn dragon knocking down a building behind us, making us turn around to see its piercing red eyes, its claws getting ready to strike us.

“Well...At least I say I can say, I’ll see you soon bro,” I whispered to myself weakly.

And that was when more hell broke loose.

Sheytan roose from out from under the docks and opened her mouth to reveal a giant green ball of magic. MOVE! she yelled at me telepathically. 

I repeated the order to the others and we dived in opposite direction. The dragon looked absolutely dumbfounded, raising what would be his eyebrows in confusion. The ball of heat in Sheytans mouth launched and hit the dragon square in the forehead, making it shuffle backwards. The blast left no marks, at all. The scales were still intact and it looked pissed.

I turned to the warship and bared my teeth. “What the fuck was that?! It did nothing!” I yelled at her. 

She telepathically chuckled. Ask you're hybrid mate to hit it now, she mused.

Well if we're dying, we might as well die kicking and screaming, I thought, turning to Nightheart. “Nighty, smash that thing before it gets organized!” I ordered.

Fortunately, Nightheart lepted after the dragon the moment I said smash. He launched into the air and held his hammer in both hands. “THIS IS FOR GETTING ME BURNED YOU BASTARD! AHHH!” he yelled at the top of his lungs as he came down. 

The dragon didn't even get a chance to look up. 

The hammer connected with the dragons face and hard.The hammer went through the scales like soft butter and connected with the softer flesh of the dragon’s grey matter. The dragon’s head exploded and scattered all over the place, coating all of us on the platform with brains.

Vito started to immediately shake the flesh off. “Disgusting!” he yelled.

Kitty started to dance in what was basically a puddle of brains. “Yay! Its braining! Its pouring!” she sang.

I stood there completely still, udderly, silently, disgusted. All I could think was, I really need some new clothes. 

Nightheart stepped out of the dragon’s nearly empty head cavity. “Ah, I’ve always wanted to do that. So satisfying,” he said with a sigh.

Sheytan docked and laughed hysterically. “You should have seen your face Jann. I haven't seen such a look since last I killed a family in front of a child!” she yelled, laughing.

I frowned. “You're a sick bitch, you know that?”

“Well that was a short adventure. I was hoping I’d be shooting more,” said a hispanic sounding voice coming from behind a cannon. 

“No boom boom?” asked another.

“I feel ya bredren. I was hoping to show me new teeth,” said a deep voice.

A few new creatures showed themselves as the gangplank lowered to the dock. There was a set of twin pegasi, a brightly colored griffon, and a chubby minotaur.

I pinched the bridge of my nose. “As I said before, my life isn't going to get any simpler is it?” I asked myself.

Gh0st and Crow jumped off the gangplank, getting ahead of the new guys. 
“Oh my gosh that was so awesome! She just went ‘boom!’ and then Nightheart-” Gh0st was interrupted by Crow covering his mouth.

“Please shut up. I.D. we saw one of the Abominations at Herpy’s,” Crow said hurriedly.

Kitty appeared next to Crow, making him jump in surprise. “Who was it?! Was it Gatuar? Was it Mimi? Was it-” Kitty, like Gh0st, got a claw on her mouth. 

“Thank you. Now who was she and where was she going?” I asked the strained griffon.

Crow was now standing on his hind legs, trying to keep his balance. “I don't know. You can ask Mastodon, he’s in the forge with Herpy talking shop,” he replied in a strained voice. 

Finally the two annoying maws were too much and Crow collapsed, exhausted. The pair of idiots kept moving their mouths with their eyes closed, completely oblivious to Crow’s hand not being there.

I left that mess to Crow and moved on to the new guys. All four them kept staring at me, not taking thier eyes off my face. I audibly cleared my throat. “Alright, who are you guys?” I asked.

They all looked at each other and nodded. The pegasus colt spoke first. “The names Tick-tick honey and this,” he said pointing to his twin. “Is Boom-bewn.”

“Boom!” she yelled, jumping in the air. 

The minotaur spoke next, flexing what I could have been his muscles at one point. “Name be Ule rude girl,” he said proudly.

The griffon stretched his arm, flexing his fingers. “My names Terk, nice to meet ya amigo,” his said suavely.

I shook my head and remembered that we had a pony to follow. “Alrighty then people and ponies, I have a ship that needs a crew and you clearly need a place to stay. What do ya say?” I asked. 

The group huddled together and started whispering. All I could hear was Boom saying ‘boom’ all the damn time. I can tell thats going to be annoying really fast, I thought as they came out of their huddle. 

“Eh, we got nothing better to do,” said the pony twin.

“Boom, boom!” You know who said that by now.

“I got no problems with it, tequila,” said the colorful griffon.

“Oh, I’ll join ye little boat, but on one condition,” said Ule.

I shrugged. “Okay what is it, we’re kind of on the clock,” I replied.

“We got ta rescue me village. They were taken to a rasclot diamond den in de north and need saving,” he said sadly.

I raised my eyebrow at this and Vito came up behind me, smiling. “This is perfect! We’ll talk payment on the way there!” he suggested. 

I about to protest, but he started pushing me to the gangplank, making me drag my feet. I turned around and stared at him. “What the hell are you doing?” I asked, angrily. 

Vito smiled wider and rubbed his claws together. “Don't you see? This our chance to replenish my numbers!” My threatening stare hardened. “I mean our numbers,” he corrected.

I sighed. “Alright, this can't be that bad. Lets do it,” I said walking up the gangplank, turning around at the top. “Alright people, Dustown’s done. Lets salvage what scales we can off that dragon and set sail! We got a tribe to free and a mystery to solve!” I yelled at the top of my lungs. Everybody oddly cheered and went to work on breaking down the debrained dragon corpse. 

And Asad said I could never be a leader, I thought to myself.

> Fight!
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It had been a whole three days since we left the remnants of Dustown. We were only able salvage a little bit of dragon’s scales. Thanks to the spell Sheytan pulled off, there was almost nothing left. Ten scales. Thats all that we could recover from that damn thing. 

We were halfway to our destination, Dekand hollow, a diamond dog den north of Ule’s village just barely in the southern rainforest. According to Ule, his village and the den had always had a good relationship. In fact, the village and den have worked in harmony ever since he was a calf. But when he was there last with his motley crew, the small town was nearly destroyed and his family nowhere to be found. 

Ule had said they would have tried attacking the den then and there but Tick-tick and Terk had  reminded him taking on half army wouldn't be a good idea. After traveling up Blackrock mountain, (the mountain we were coming from) they had planned to enlist the Kings to help. Well...At least they’re getting a lot more than they bargained for. After getting the details from Ule, I started making my way to Herpy in the forge. 

Herpy was hunched over a workbench he had brought on board, examining a blueprint for a tricked out boat. I snuck up behind him and tapped his shoulder, making him jump in surprise. He turned around, scowling. “Gods dammit, what have I told you people about bothering me when I work?” he asked angrily, faster than the speed of light.

I smirked in amusement. “Oh, I know. Its just too damn funny not to,” I replied laughing. 

Herpy rolled his eyes. “Okay, so you’ve succeeded in scaring the crap out me. What do you want?”

I leaned against the wall, crossing my arms. “What happened at your place before we got there?” I asked.

Herpy stared at the ceiling in thought. He shrugged. “Heres the short version. After you left, Jill came back to town looking for me. She wanted me to make this “key” as she called it,” he said using air quotes.

“What did it look like?” I asked curiously. Herpy wordlessly took out a pen and paper and started started drawing on the workbench. When he was finished, I nearly fell to floor laughing. The blueprint like drawing was that of a key-blade.

I held a fist over my mouth, trying to block my laughing. “So, what happened next?” I asked.

Herpy put away the drawing and continued. “When she asked me to make it, I of course said that I don't do forgeries, though I did recommend another blacksmith to her. Her reaction was to thank me for my time and send that regenerating freak to my door!” he shouted, offended. 

I chuckled and got off the wall. “Don't worry, we’ll make her pay. Hows the plans for the boat coming along?” 

Herpy beamed, but quickly scowled. “That boat is called The Falcon! And its upgrades are coming along nicely,” he replied going back to his blueprints. The boat we saw docked before going to fight the dragon was Herpy’s baby project, The Falcon. He had been working on it for about two years and was insistent that we take it with us. In fact, his only condition of his joining was that we help complete it as much as we possibly can. I came out of the forge room to hear Tick-tick and Boom-bewn messing around with a balista. 

The balliste on the ship were kind of different from most you read about. These ballistae on the combat deck were what I like to call anti-shp guns. Like an AA gun, the shooter would sit in a chair attached to the ballista’s swivel. allowing he or she to look in the same direction as the bolt. Oh yeah, the bolts were huge. Each one was about big as my arm and each tip was a massive cone of steel. 

Boom was sitting in the driver’s seat while Tick-tick was pulling a lever to pull back the launch string. Boom-bewn was clapped her hooves with glee as a bolt appeared in front of the launch string. Boom giddily grabbed and pushed the lever, launching the bolt out of what I’m just going to call a window.

I wondered why the ship had so many windows, considering they’re structural weaknesses. Sheytan said had explained when the battles start, she lays down sheet of armor to protect the spot using a hydraulics system similar to one in the cargo bay. 

The bolt launched into the open air and suddenly caught fire, and landed in the lake below. The moment it hit the water however, it exploded into fiery shrapnel. Boom clapped again, almost jumping in the seat. Tick-tick started laughing and suddenly stopped when he saw me watching. 

“Oh hey, sup cap,” he greeted, loading another bolt.

“Hi!” Boom shouted, launching the bolt again. “Yay!” she shouted, clapping.

I stared at her curiously. Ever since we picked up the group, Boom had been going ot of her way to make an explosive from anything. The only thing that quells her pyro streak is to let her on one of the ballistas. Tick-tick must have been keeping her busy for the day. I wondered if she was always like this, but then again her cutiemark is a explosion.

“So I’ve been meaning to ask you something,” I began.

T.T. loaded another bolt nonchalantly and turned to me,  raising his eyebrow curiously. “Well, ask.”

“What's the deal with Boom? Why does she talk like that?” I asked bluntly. 

Boom launched another bolt, clapping giddly. Tick-tick stared proudly at her, smiling. “Now thats a story. See, when we were little, growing up in Bitsburg, the only thing we had to do to pass the time was putting stuff together. One day, Boom decided to mix some powder she found with a sparkler stick and put them in a tin can. Long story short, it blew up in her face and we had to take her to the hospital. Doc said she had some minor brain damage and was lucky to even have her face. Oh, I may had gotten a wipping from dad that night, but, as soon as Boom got home and saw her cutie mark, she started repeating her new favorite word,”

Boom launched another bolt and watched it explode. “Boom!” she giggled.

“That was a long time ago though. She can in fact speak normally, its just simpler to speak like this. That and she can't get enough of saying it,” he explained.

“Damn right. I mean uh, boom!” she said nervously.

“So how did you get yours? I asked looking at his egg-timer adorned flank.

He looked back at it himself and smiled. “Oh. See, after I saw Boom do it, I decided, why not do myself, but better! So I did the same thing she did and made a powder bomb but, unlike Boomy here, I made a makeshift primer pin and hooked the whole thing to a egg-timer. Again, blew up in my face, but that was because I cooked it too long. Papa Shortfuse was not happy to bring me to the hospital, but changed his tune when he saw my emblem,” he explained, proudly. 

I stared at the twins, dumbfounded and a bit surprised. I hadn't known these two for at least two days and he just told me their cutiemark story. That was something I had been wondering about. All these people (creatures, whatever its my story) I’ve barely known for even a day trusted me with their lives. Even when I didn't tell them I didn't have so much as a plan, Vito followed me to face a black dragon. Which I know now to be one of the toughest dragons on Equestria. 

Some would consider this cool, having such power over people. My brother would, he always talked about having his own squad and how he would be a great leader. Me, after hearing Tick-tick spill everything on how they got their cutiemarks, got weirded out at the fact he shared it with me so easily. 

I thanked him for sharing and went down to the crew deck, planning to sleep away the rest of trip. Instead, on my way to my room I heard a whispering argument. The voices were in low tones, but I could somehow still hear. I leaned against the wall separating the mess hall and the elevator lines, pressing my ear to the wall to listen in.

“What are you talking about?” said a voice I couldn't place a finger on. 

“I’m saying, we need to consider our options,” said another.
“NO, you're saying that we should-” the opposing voice shushed him.

“Did you hear that?” he asked. “Someones just came onto the deck. We’ll talk later,” he said hurriedly and walked away. The sound of footsteps ran through the deck but were drowned out by the sound of, “CHINGAO!” someone yelled.

I finally had enough and emerged from behind the wall and looked right and left. In front of me was a long banquet table. To the left side of the room was the door to my extravagant bedroom. To the right side was the cooking stations, where Terk was burning something. Terk stood over a burning pan. I got closer to the griffon, making sure not to let him see me. As he tried fanning the flames coming from the pan.  I suddenly placed my hand on his shoulder, smiling in anticipation. 

I was not disappointed.

Terk let out a very un-manly scream and span around, almost smacking me with his wing. I ducked and rolled on the floor laughing my ass off. Crow scanned the room for his assailant and looked down, scowling. “Dude...Que demonios, you sneaky fucker?!” he shouted to me.

I wiped a tear and pointed to the smoke behind him. “Your whatevers still burning,” I said flatly.

“Shitshitshit!” he swore under his breath and went back to fanning the flames. I got off the floor and observed Terk’s fruitless efforts. The flames weren't dying out, threatening to light the ceiling ablaze. Luckily, I had a new spell to test out. 

Ever since we left, I had been looking deeper into my magic. Like most RPGs and Harry Potter bull would have people believe, magic was powered from words. I could make simple fire and elements with just Signs. But, after flexing what little Arabic I knew, I discovered my magic could be amped with the correct words. After burning my some of my claimed sheets and walls, I had made up some new phrases.

I raised my hand and hovered it directly over the flames, earning a wide-eyed stare from Terk. “Ma-khud nur,” I whispered into the smoke. The smoke and fire immediately reacted and started curling around my arm, somehow being absorbed by the plates and into my body. I had never tried something like this, and almost recoiled at the sight of my arm absorbing the smoke.

Terk however, just backed away with a horrified look on his face. 

I stared at my hand, amazed and smiling. “Oh, this is so going on my fetish list,” I said to myself, turning to Terk. “Before I forget, did you hear two guys talking a few minutes ago?” I asked. 

Terk shook his head. “Na, I’ve been trying to cook for the past half-hour. Haven't heard a soul on this deck,” he replied, confused.

“Damn,” I swore under my breath, yawning. “Thanks. I’m going to take a nap,” I said, turning towards my room. “Oh and if anyone tries to wake me up, I’ll cut their balls off,” I warned, walking to my room.

“Whatever you say. De miedo chica,” I heard him say as walked across the room.
                                                ***

I flopped onto my slightly scorched bed, sinking myself into the dark sheets. It was fairly late in the morning, approaching noon. I didn't care though, that phrase I made up took a lot out me and according to Sheytan, we’d be at Dekand hollow in a few more hours. I closed my eyes, waiting for the bliss of sleep.

Thats when the ship started tipping, nearly sending me over the edge of my bed.

“Thats it, somebody’s balls are mine!” I yelled at the ceiling.

Gh0st ran barged into my room just in time for the room to slant, resulting in him being launched at me. “Whoashit!” he yelled before giving me the most forceful hug of my life. When the ship  realigned, he was laying next to me, smiling nervously. “Um, yeah. Somethings wrong with She,” he said bluntly.

I almost ignored what he said and kicked him out of the bed. He landed with a loud thud and quickly ran out of the door. I facepalmed and tried talking to She telepathically like she did at Dustown. It was really difficult to concentrate on one person when my environment kept moving so damn much, but I did. 

She? Sheytan! What the hell is going on? I yelled at her in my mind.

I’m...Trying...To keep us afloat...So to speak, she strained. Every word she thought sounded strained, as if she was lifting something heavy and talking at the same time.

What's wrong? I asked.

The magic...I pulled at...That town...Drained most of my reserves, she strained.

Reserves? What, do you run off batteries or something?

Do...I really...Need to point out...The ball of magic below you?

I quickly jumped out of my bed and hopped on an elevator line down to the core level. Apparently a lot of people had the some thought and decided to check it out too. Crow and Vito stood on the balcony overlooking what used to  be a huge ball of magic.The was now small insignificant blue ball no bigger than my head.

“She, what can we do to get this thing back to full size?” I asked the ship.

You...need to...get...Lapis lazuli...This is...What sustains me, she thought to me.

Seriously...Lapis?, I thought back, a confused look spreading across my face.

There is also...Conflict, she strained.

Conflict?

Fighting...Us of the Legion feed off it... Its what sustains our power...You do too Jann. As weak as you are, you too can feed off this.

Crow started looking worried and Vito couldn't take his eyes off the small magic ball.

“What's going on and why the hell did that ball shrink?” he asked me frantically.

I rolled my neck and sighed. “Apparently, Sheytan’s running low on batteries. She needs lapis for some reason to get back to full strength,” I explained, though I’m pretty sure he stopped listening after I said lapis.

Crow’s eyes went wide as saucers and turned a weird navy blue. “Did you just say lapis?!” he asked frantically, getting in my face. 

I calmly place a single finger on his beak and pushed him away. “Moving on. Anyway, we’re not going to find any in time to get us to Dekand Hollow,” I started.

Crow went back to normal and hung his head while Vito pushed past him to get my attention. “So  what are we going to do? We’re still at least a day away from the den.”

I rolled my neck and walked over to the elevator lines. “Tell everyone to go to the training room ASAP,” I ordered before hopping on a line going up.
                                                ***
“Okay people. As you felt before, She’s having a tough time flying. Now, from what I’m told she can basically feed off the energy that comes from fighting. So, in order to keep her in the air long enough to get us to our destination, we're going to need to spar. So, anyone who wants to, stay. Everyone else, get started on lunch,” I announced.

Everyone who didn't want to fight left with no argument. Only ones who stayed were Ule, Nightheart, Gh0st  and Crow. 

“So, how we doing dis?” Ule asked.

I rubbed my hands together, giggling. “My dear minotaur, that is simple. All of you will fight until submission using whatever weapons you wish so long as you don't cause any permanent damage,” I explained. “Now everyone pair up. Last creature standing, fights me.”

“Crow and Nightheart, go!” i shouted.

Everyone separated, giving space to the combatants. Crow and Nightheart backed away from each other, drawing their weapons. Crow with his claymore and Nightheart with his krogan warhammer.

“Alright bird, you ready?” he asked, raising his hammer.

“Bring it, furry!” he shouted, taking a bipedal stance.

They both the ran head on to each other head-on, yelling at the top of their lungs. Their weapons met and a small bubble of energy formed at the meeting point, earning a wide eyed stare from both combatants. The bubble exploded and a wave spread across the room. As powerful as it seemed, it didn't do much but stager Nightheart and Crow.

Crow shook his head. “Well...I don't know what that was, but it was awesome,” he stated before ducking under Nightheart’s hammer. 

“Your forgetting where you are, lets go!” he shouted, raising the hammer over his head. Crow intercepted the blow, using both claws to hold up the strike. “You asked for it!” Crow replied, pushing Night away. And so they fought.

The fight went on for an hour, giving me time to analyze both of their fighting styles. Which is to say they had none at all. The basic principle for both of them was to keep swinging until the other stopped moving. Neither had any restraint, no control. Luckily, both of their strengths seemed to match. The fight finally ended when Nightheart landed a lucky strike on Crow’s hilt, sending the sword to the floor. 

Crow held up his claws in surrender. “Dammit! Nice hit man,” he said disappointed.

Nightheart took out a cigarette stopping to say, “Dito,” before putting it in his mouth. Before he walked over to a wall to lean on, he gave me a quick glare. I wondered for a second what that glare was for, but then remembered I had another fight to spectate.

“Alright, Ule, Gh0st. You guys are up next!” I announced.
Both of them stepped into the middle of the room. Gh0st took out his naginata, twirling it in the air before grabbing it with his teeth. Ule simply cracked his fingers, getting in a low stance.

Gh0st put down his weapon, confused. “Um, isn’t this a bit unfair?” he asked, uncertain.

Ule punched the ground, steam puffing from out of his nose. “Me don't need teeth to chew you out lickle one!” he retorted. 

Gh0st shrugged and just like last time, charged head on. Same with Ule. When they met, Gh0st with his naginata and Ule with a double haymaker, another bubble formed at the meeting point. From it, there was another staggering explosion, along with another shockwave. Ule fought like a brute, taking wide swipes in order to trip up his opponent. Gh0st was surprisingly nimble and would jump and flip over Ule strikes. The fight ended when Ule finally caught Gh0st mid-flip and held him upside down by his rear hooves.

Gh0st flailed in Ule grip before surrendering. “Alright you got me. Now put me down!” he demanded.

Ule wordless smiled and put Gh0st down. Gh0st picked up his weapon and stomped into a corner, grumbling. Ule stepped back into the center of the room, getting back into his stance. Nightheart however, came out of his corner running, hammer in hand. He jumped, bringing the hammer down first. Instead of another energy bubble, a green wave of energy came from the impact, taking Ule off his hooves. Ule floated in the air a few seconds before Nightheart brought down his hammer again. This time, the minotaur slammed on the ground. Ule was effectively, out.

Everybody stared at Nightheart, jaws hanging. 

He chuckled and nonchalantly lit another cigarette, leaning on his hammer. “Does this count as a win?” he asked coyly.

My eyebrow twitched and I smiled. “Oh definitely. Crow, Gh0st take Ule down to the sick bay. We may not have a doctor, but he’s going to definitely need aspirin. Nighty, you get ready,” I ordered.

The boys obeyed and dragged Ule out of the room. “Um, how are going to get this guy down the shaft?” Gh0st asked Crow, curiously.

“Don’t question it. Lets get out of here before they start fighting,” Crow replied quickly.

They left the room, leaving me and Nightheart alone. For a good minute, we just stood there giving eachother a look bordering on a death-glare. For some reason, his eyes were filled with anger. I recognized the glare, it was the same one he had when he staring at his mother’s bed. It was somewhat lighter than it was back then, but it was the same one.

I took out my knife and split my focus to my left hand, preparing a low power spell. “Okay, you are going to tell me what is wrong with you,” I demanded.

He smiled, amused. “Not before you come at with all you got!” he shouted brandishing his hammer. 

I sighed exasperated. “Alright then, ladies first,” I said before charging at him. He did the same. Right before our weapons met, I shouted, “Dohkaar!” Turning myself into a puff of smoke. I had learned this trick accidentally when I was experimenting how far I could push my shapeshifting powers. Long story short, I screwed up and ended up learning how to do this at will at the loss of my stamina

Being a puff of smoke was like not being there at all. Nightheart passed right through me, his angry glare turning to confusion. It was a bit difficult, but I stopped and turned around. “Islaah!” I shouted, turning back to normal, quickly taking out my knife. I wrapped my arm around his throat and pushed the blade against his adam’s apple.

He gulped nervously. “Well, that was a bit anticlimactic.” he said, scared.

I kicked in the back of his legs, sending him to his knees. “Now tell me what the hell is going on,” I demanded.

“You nearly got me burned you idiot!”

I raised an eyebrow curiously. “Okay, you are going to explain to me how you get burned. You're a freaking dragon. Or at least half of one. You need to explain this to me. Now.”

Nightheart's glare softened. “You can't see them can you? Of course not. I guess I cut the fur too well didn't I?” he asked himself. He placed a claw on his chest, ruffling what I thought were black scales. “The black on my chest isn't scales, its burned fur. Under the fur, I’m still fireproof. Despite that though, I can feel the pain of being burned.When heat hits me, its as if my entire body is ready to turn to ash, but won't. It drove me to the brink of fucking insanity. I cut my burned fur in this shape to seem more natural, ya know. Not much of point when I don't get out, right?” 

“If thats the case, then why do you have a problem with me?” I asked.

“Because I knew this. Mom never let me forget that I’m not fireproof. Yet, I followed you into the maw of a black dragon. You, someone who I barely know. You, who somehow got me to follow you after not even a day! I don't know why I did that stuff, I really don't. That's why I wanted to beat the tar out you. To beat the reason out,” he explained.

What kind mother does that! Not even dad was that much of an asshole. Actually...let me take that back, I thought, recalling a bad memory.This is the reason I felt so weird about this stuff. I’m...I’m controlling them. Making them forget their limits, I thought.

I took my blade off his throat and gave him a hand up. He stared at my eyes curiously, as if trying to read them. I hugged him tight, surprising him. “I’m sorry. I’m just...New to this. Leading. I’ve never had so many people listen to me before. I promise, I will never put you in a situation like that again,” I said, hugging tighter.

Nightheart hesitantly hugged back. “It’s...Okay. I’m sorry for acting like that. It won't happen again Idilah,” he apologized.

Although he couldn't see it, I was smiling. But not a heartwarming smile, acknowledging the fact that I was hugging a boy. No, it a cold knowing grin, thinking of the new possibilities of my powers...
> Because fuck pacing...
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“DYNAMIC ENTRY BITCH!” I yelled while kicking a monster in the face. Did I mention I did this while dropping out of the freaking air? The monster was a mix of an alligator and a minotaur. He had a long snout and green scales like Gummy but had the bipedal body of a minotaur.   He wore ragged shorts similar to Nightheart’s and was also was taller than Ule. But that didn't help him when I jumped from a ship 500 feet in the air, only to land directly on his head. This monstrosity was named Gataur and just air-drop kicked him.

Okay recap time. After fighting to recharge She, we immediately found the den entrance under attack by former Kings now being used as foot soldiers by Jill. So after much debate, in order to protect possible civilians, we decided to let me be a distraction so I can lure the remaining opposition so Boom and Tick can do their thing.. Well, more like I wanted to be a distraction. I seriously needed to test a power I came up with so I volunteered. In short, I literally jumped into the middle of a war. The battle was at its climax as the diamond dogs were getting their asses kicked by a dozen Kings with Gatuar leading the charge. 

The battlefield was simple; being composed of mostly barren ground with the entrance of the mine facing south. What used to be battlements littered the field, destroyed by the overwhelming force of the trained mercenaries and the hybrid leader.

Back to my situation. After yelling my profanity, I backflipped off Gatuar’s head and landed behind him. “Damned annoyances! Show yourself so I may break your spine!” he yelled, looking right to left. Or at least thats what I thought I heard, I was too busy pulling out my revolver to care.

“Yeah, how about no and you take this bullet,” I replied flatly and took aim.

The moment I spoke Gatuar whipped around and tried hitting me with a double haymaker. I backflipped out of the way and put a good 2 yards between us. Gotta stop doing that. This is the exact reason I quit gymnastics! I thought rubbing my back.

While I was doing that, Gataur did the smart thing and pressed on the attack, coming at me with claw swipes and punches. His movements had a certain logic to them, as he would not put as much power into an attack as he thought needed to reach me. Of course I was still faster than him, but he managed to keep me on my toes. 

I punch nearly hit me and would have put a dent in my face. Sensing the hit, I smoked myself and backed away from the hybrid. Jebus, that was close, I thought as I materialized a few more feet away from him.

Gatuar looked amused, his snout growing a smirk. “That was an impressive trick. It must have taken some effort. Tell me, would you be able to do it again?” he asked running at me with more speed than I thought he had. 

I avoided another blow and smoked away again. How did he know that? I must have looked more pained than I thought, I thought, avoiding another hit. Each smoke-dodge I did was rapidly draining me. I knew that he was too strong to get close but that wasn't what I was there for. What even furthered my goal was the fact that the attacking King dogs had decided it was necessary to come and help Gatuar by throwing spears at me. Meaning, while I was dodging Gataur’s blows I was also dodging spears. 

I made one last smoke dodge into a clearing in the forest and fell to my knees. My newfound ability was taking the life out of me. Even if I went on the offensive, I would have been too tired to do any real damage. Damnit Connor, how did you do it? I thought to myself, chuckling.

A dozen dogs surrounded me, each having retrieved their spear. Gataur crossed his arms, looking pleased. “Well, it seems we ran out of juice. Tell me, what were you doing here? This den was far too well hidden for you to have been here on coincidence,” he mused, arching an alligator eyebrow. “Also, forgive me for being rude on you're execution day, but what in tartarus are you?” he asked.

There was a sudden whooshing sound above and I smiled . “You're going to have to figure that out on your way to hell,” I replied, cheesing.

Suddenly, Sheytan came into view, whipping around to her side to reveal a firing line of ballistae manned by my crew....
---
On the ship

“Do you see Idilah there?” asked Gh0st, wondering how the hell Tick tick was holding a set of binoculars.

Tick tick stared out of a set of binoculars, and shook his head. “Nope we are free to fire-” he replied, being interrupted by Ule and Boom yelling. “LETS LIGHT ‘EM UP!” They yelled, firing their shots. The rest of the crew did the same and launch their bolts, all of them hitting the spot where the dogs and hybrid once were.

“Big motherfuck’n boom!” yelled Boom-bewn, flailing her hooves with glee..

“Hell yes, now lets go rescue me family,” said Ule, confidently.

“Tsk, tsk, tsk,” Vito chimed, waving a single claw.

Kitty was poking her head out of a ballista firing window, giggling. “Silly ponies! You can't kill Gatuar with fire!” she giggled, smiling at the black patch of land.
---

The ballistae strike worked its magic alright. The clearing and what little forest was left near the  strike zone, was nothing but a scorched crisp. The entire bit of land was blackened with soot and smoke. All the dogs were nothing but scorched bone and remnants of meat. The only thing alive was me and the giant pissed alligator.

He rose to his feet, shaking his head. His body had barely taken any damage and the only noticeable change was that he was now covered in soot. He wiped some soot out of his eyes and looked around, disappointed at the carnage. “Well, this is unfortunate,” he said.

I stood up and rolled my neck casually, dusting off my coat. “Why is that?”

He chuckled in response. “Because I hate wasting free toys,” he said, his voice changing to something oddly feminine.

I stared at him, bewildered at his change in tone. “Um, what the hell happened to your voice?” I asked, confused.

“Oh, just finally getting this damn speaker to work. You got no idea how hard it is to get this thing to match my voice. Now answer my question, what the hell are you doing here? You come out of absolutely nowhere and kill all my free soldiers. You have any idea how much its going to cost me to replace these retards?!” He/she drabbled on, waving at the carnage.

Okay, aside from the fact that this guy just survived a goddamn mortar strike, someone’s using Gatuar here as a radio. I thought. “Why did you attack this place?” I asked.

Jill (yes, I figured that much out) stopped dead in her rant and stared at me suspiciously. Then, out of nowhere, she started laughing. I cringed because it was creepily close to The Jokers laugh.

She came down from the laugh, Gatuar’s eyes leaking crocodile tears. “Oh thats cute. You're after the SaddleArabian treasure too! I mean, you must be. Why else would openly attack me and follow me to a den?” She asked rhetorically.

I rose an annoyed eyebrow at her statement. “First off, I never said anything about some damn treasure. Second, the only reason  I’m here is to help an acquaintance. Third, Considering the fact that you cheated two people out of a small army, I’d say theres more to worry about than some other treasure hunt-” I said before Gataur moved toward me with unnatural speed and wrapped a huge hand around my neck, almost crushing my plate-like skin in. 

I grabbed at his fingers around my neck, trying to find more air. All I could do was stare into Gataur’s eyes and see the sadness in them. She was controlling him somehow and I’m pretty sure he wanted no part in what was happening, but was powerless to stop it. I tried looking somewhere else and switched my view to his knuckles. On a single scaly finger had a huge ring with a pinkish ruby in it. 
Bingo...

“Don’t lie to me,” Jill said, murderously. “I remember what you are and I know what you're after now. So let me give you a fair warning; if you follow me, I will end you in the one way I know is painful for your kind.” I rose an eyebrow confused and about to pass out. “Oh, you think I don't know about you're kind? I know more than any other pony that isn't from SaddleArabia. From the way you dress, you're not a true Jann. No, you must have been cursed or something. Oh, if thats the case, I can just imagine how confusing this is right now,” she continued.

“So let me give you fair warning; if you try to follow me, I will end you in the worst way possible,” Gatuar’s head jerked to the left suddenly. “You done yet?! Woah, what are you trying to do, wake that thing?! Hurry up!” she yelled and turned back to me. “Well, that’s my que. I hope we never have to see eachother again. I might just have fun. Also, keep this pile of scales, he’s useless to me now anyway,” Jill said, her voice fading and being replaced by the raspy, masculine voice from before.

“BLITZKRIEG!!” I heard someone yell before something exploded on Gataur’s head. The hybrid finally let go of my neck, dropping to the ground. All I could hear was fighting, my entire attention pointed at the scorched earth. I began coughing in fit, trying to regulate my intake of presious air. Next time I see that red douchbag, we are having a serious discussion on my skin. I thought.

“Idilah. Idilah!” someone yelled. “Come on, we need your help taking down this thing!”

My eyes shot open and I ignored my pain and got right up to assess the situation. The beast was currently fighting Crow, Mastodon,and Vito were fighting against the thing. Gatuar was obviously stronger than all of them, but like me they were all swifter than him. What was surprising to me was the fact that Vito was using some set of knuckle-dusters to fight. He moved like Crow was doing his screech and strike maneuver and managed to stun the monster, making him stager back. Crow moved in from behind, while  Mastodon and Vito jumped into the air and unveiled his blade.

 Everyone went in for a combined attack.  

And failed horribly.

With only one arm,Gataur swiped all of them out of the air sending them sprawling. I honestly didn't know what I could do. Right before decided to take out gun and start shooting, Kitty swooped from out of nowhere and landed on Gatuar’s head. “Hiii!” she yelled before punching a single scale on his back. 

The hybrid’s entire body went slack and he dropped to the ground.

Everybody stomped on the ground and yelled “ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!” 
Kitty immediately went to Gatuar’s hand and ripped off his huge ring. I started to Kitty with curious rage. “How the hell did you do that?” I asked.

She giggled. “Its simple silly, all us Abominations are very special but we all have one failing that makes us vulnerable,” she explained.

“Very well said Kitty, almost as well as I explained it,”said Gatuar.

Everyone got back in a defensive stance, ready to fight again. Gatuar got back on his feet and groaned. “Don't worry everyone. I no longer mean you harm. But if you desire to catch Jill, I suggest you hurry back to the mine before she-” he about to say before there was a whooshing sound. Suddenly, an airship lifted off in the distance.

“Leaves.”

“Dammit!” I shouted, stomping. “Great, now we have no clue where she went or what she wanted with this place.”

I would not say that yet my friend. Come, let us release the prisoners and then we shall talk,” he suggested, smiling. I looked to the everyone else but all I got was shrugging in response.

“Alright, lets go get Ule first. They’re not going anywhere,” I respond.

After an hour, Sheytan found a landing zone close to the mine. After another hour, everyone rendezvoused on the former battlefield, that of which was still covered in bodies. Everyone stepped over the bodies and waited my orders. “Okay, Ule, Gatuar, and Crow, you're with me. Lets get down there and see what we’re working with. Everyone else, pick this place clean. Mine crew lets go,” I ordered sternly.

“Sure, Miss Idilah, but please, call me Arige,” Gatuar responded. 

Everyone else started picking through the bodies and the remains of the battlements and we started our descent into the underground.
---

“Wow...this is simple,” I started, staring at the large but incredibly simple room. After making a decent down a well used tunnel, we entered a very large room that was lit up by torches and only had a few features. On the opposite side of the room was another tunnel that I suspected led to the actual mine. To the far left of the room was another tunnel, but this one looked brand new. However, my interest in it was lost when I saw Ule running to what was in the wooden cages right next to it...

Zebras...Over two dozen zebras were cower or sleeping in a set of wooden pens...

Ule ripped the doors off of both cages without a second thought and grabbed a zebra with wispy white hair and embraced her in a hug. After two minutes of hugging, the zebra pushed him off and started bonking him over the head.

“Well this makes sense,” thought aloud. I directed everyone else to examine the freshly made hole and let Ule have his moment. We walked towards the hole and peeked inside, seeing nothing but darkness. “Crow, grab a torch and head inside,” I ordered.

Crow sighed. “Why is it the black guy that gets sent in first? No, you couldn't get the blond dog, you had to get the black griffin to inspect the mysterious hole in the wall,” he complained, grabbing a nearby torch off the wall, returning with an annoyed look on his face.

I sighed. “Dude, last time I checked, you were white back on earth. Just shut up and check the thing.” He groaned in response and went inside, with me and Arige following. The hole led to an even bigger room that was barely illuminated by our torch. I looked to Arige who was rubbing his chin. 

“So what was she after here?” I asked him.

“Two things,” he answered back. “The ore here and a dragon. This was the chamber she had me smash me into. Immediately, whatever dragon it was killed off most of her guard-”

“Wait, hold up. When I drop kicked you, you already were in the middle of attacking the den. How did you guys get inside already?” 

Arige chuckled. “Oh no. What you saw was the clean up. We had already taken over before you came,” he explained, amused. “Anyway, Jill used some kind of powder she had even before she stole us Abominations to subdue the beast. Then, she had me and some of the kings load the beast onto her ship. The odd thing is how she acted. She made me take special care to not hurt it. As if it was a priceless vase.”

He was about to continue but was interrupted by Crow screaming. Well, screaming would be doing the noise justice. What came out of Crow’s beak was something closer to the noise when an anime fangirl sees her favorite character on screen.

“Idilah! Idilah! Idilah!” he called in quick succession. Arige and I ran over to him to see Crow hugging a small blue boulder. “Isn't she beautiful?” she asked dreamily.

Arige stared at him and then me wordlessly. I rubbed the back of my neck, nervously. “Yeah, he...Has problems,” I said not looking away from the spectacle.
---
When we came above ground we walked into another party of reunions in front of the mine’s entrance. While there were nothing but reunions around, Ule was being cussed out by who I could only assume was his mother. “What the hell were you THINKING! You knew we needed you. You knew the only reason why they weren't attacking was because of you! And what did you do?!” she yelled at him.

“Leave,”  he answered in shame, abandoning his accent.

“You left! You left your family and you're home. And for what?!” she asked.

“Come on ma. I felt like the town scarecrow. I-” he was interrupted by a smack on the head. “Ow!” he wailed.

“That was your duty. Hell, you chose that duty. It was your responsibility and you abandoned it just to leave. Now lets go thank your former captain and get started on moving the town here,” she ordered with more authority than I could ever muster. She somehow took grabbed one of Ule’s ears and pulled him along as she started walking towards me.

When she stood in front of me, she put on possibly the most fakest smiles I’d ever seen. “Thank you so much for saving us. My son has told me you are the one reponsible for bringing him home. Is there anyway I can repay you?” she asked.

I respectfully returned the smile. “Don't worry about it. I just need to know if you heard anything that pony that stormed in said.”

She made a sour face. “Oh, that bitch. She stormed right in and refused to set us free! She said something about going to Trotland. Didn't hear much more than that but if you plan on kill’n her, its going to be rough. She took that dragon they had with her,” she warned.

“I already know. Take care of yourselves and keep that boy close,” said walking past her. 

She tugged his ear tighter, making him wince. “Oh, I will.”
---

As soon as the reunions started, everyone had got back onto the ship. I turned to Arige, concerned. “You don't have to come with us if you don't want to. The zebras are building a new town and I don't think Ule’s mom wasn't too mad at you,” I suggested. 

Arige held up his claw defensively. “I don't belong here, that I know for sure. What I want is to return to The Professor. Me and my fellow Abominations need to go back there. If we can get to her lab, I’m sure she’d know more about what Jill seeks. Her lab is in the Froke Mountains, a few miles from Germane,” he explained.

I nodded and notice Crow coming on board with a wheelbarrow full of blue rocks. I sighed. “Crow, what are you doing?” I asked.

Crow smiled wickedly. “Feeding my addiction and getting us fuel. I’ll take half for projects and Sheytan can have the rest!” he suggested.

I shook my head and noticed a small group of zebras walking onto the gangplank. There were 5 of them, none of them were really different from the other. One of them walked up to me nervously scratching his hooves. “Um, we’re here to join up?” he said, nervously.

“Wait what?”. I thought.

Vito came out of absolutely nowhere and shook the hooves of all the zebras with an insane grin on his face. “Hello, new recruits! So you took me up on my offer. Lets get you settled downstairs,” he announced cheerfully. 

“Wait, what?!” I said again.

As he ushered the zebras past me, he whispered in my ear, “Started a recruiting campaign while you were underground. Don't worry they're adults and they’ll make perfect interns,” he said quickly.

I was absolutely speechless. Damn he works fast.

I shook my head and telepathically connected to Sheytan. So, the fat oaf is off my vessel. Good. Now, where to next Jann? she asked.

I turned to terk, who was checking the top deck ballistas. “Terk! Go down below and plot a course to Germane. We have a doctor to visit,” I yelled.

Lets see what kind of trouble we can make along the way...



> Nightmare Part 1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

After two days of sailing, with absolutely nothing happening, I was bored. In fact, everyone was bored. With Sheytan sailing in a straight  line again and everything on the ship finished with their duties, everyone was bored. So, to kill time, I started chatting with Sheytan about my Djinn abilities. Turns out my skin wasn't really magma plates, but in fact a self modifying armor. The way Sheytan explained it, my skin was kind of like Spawn’s. In fact, most of my powers sounded like Spawn. Every Djinn, even Sheytan, could create objects using our Essence. Essence was something like chakra. Every Djinn had a set amount of chakra and the only way to extend our chakra was to absorb another Djinn’s. 

“So.” I started. “The rule of the Djinn is, there can be only one?” I asked playfully, sitting on her head. 

I could practically hear Sheytan’s brow furrowing.

As I was saying, not only can we absorb other Djinn, we can also absorb minor creatures. The only thing that matters is whether or not the creature is of this domain. What is also important is you know how far you're shapeshifting powers go. You changed some of your limbs to a what was it? A turian? Try going a bit further. Try changing to that half-breed examining the ballista, she ordered.

I swiveled myself around and stared at Nightheart who was looking at a mounted ballista. After staring at him for a few minutes, he noticed my stare and nervously waved at me, blushing.

Oh, he’s gonna be  freaked out after this, I thought. I closed my eyes and started imagining in detail, his features. His blue fur, his green, his wide pony legs, his toned body- woah! I opened my eyes feeling the blush on my face but wasn't compared to Nightheart’s expression looking at me. 

I made a confused face right back at him. “What?” I asked, clamping my hands around my mouth at the sound that came out. My voice had become extremely masculine. in other words, like Nightheart’s. I looked down to see two scaled hands but unlike Nighthearts, were blood red.

I was sure my blush wasn't showing but I could still feel it. Turnbackturnbackturnback! I thought frantically, changing back to my humanoid demon form.

Sheytan’s laughter rumbled my mind and by the time I had turned back around, Nightheart was gone. I hate you, I thought at the Djinn figurehead.
---
Later on the crew deck, I spotted something I hadn't seen before, a new room. This room was covered wall to wall in blue. From the wide blue bedspread to the navy blue dressers, I could already tell who had claimed this new room. The question was, where did it come from.

You know what? Screw this. I’m done trying to make sense of things. From now on, every explanation shall be labeled magic. Or, it could just be Sheytan creating rooms for people. Which would make even less sense, I thought, moving along the crew deck.

I moved toward the training room, listening to the sounds of someone beating the straw out of dummies. I looked inside to see Vito going to town on a stuffed dummy. His punches were almost lightning fast and every single one of them were controlled enough to force power into the hit and bring it right back to his stance. There was no particular style to his move set aside from striking vital areas. It was obvious that he had taught himself this fighting style and had been practicing ever since.

He finished another combo with a punch to the heart area. He let out a deep breath, wiping his feathered brow. “30 seconds, 32 hits. A new personal best,” he said to himself.

I leaned against the doorframe, crossing my arms. “What is that?”

Vito jumped, reaching behind him and pulling out the set of knuckle dusters I saw him with in the  last fight with Arige. He turned around and softened his stance the moment he saw me. “Oh, its you,” he said calmly, putting away the brass knuckles.

I chuckled. “What the hell was that?”

Vito frowned. “That my dear, is the reason why most creatures call me the paranoid hurricane,” he responded coolly.

I let out another laugh at his demeanor. “So, I've got questions,” I said casually.

Vito groaned. “How many?” he asked impatiently.

“Just two,” I started. “And you can answer them all at once. 1. Where did you learn that fighting style? 2. To put it simply, how did you start mercenary thing?”

He walked past me and sat down at the banquet table. I followed and sat across from him. “To answer the fighting style, if you want to call it that, it's something I taught myself very early in life. See, Mastodon and I grew up in a slave mine. Just to clear it up, most mines are different. Some are lead by griffons, others by dogs, but a rare gem is a mine run by ponies. Our mine was run by a real dick of a earth pony. His name was Blue Eye and he ran his mine like a run down castle. I was born into the miner’s life and I was forced to work at the age of four. I did not take to that as a cub, so I fought against the guards when they pissed me off. Oh, I got my ass kicked alot, but I started noticing as I got older, if I hit certain places, ponies go down faster. So, I started paying more attention to the bodies of ponies and other people. And what do you know? If you hit someone with enough force somewhere, they stay down."

“So when I’m doing my rounds around the caves, I notice these guard laying into a small dog. So, I kick their asses and the dog thanks me and starts following me around. That, is when I met Mastodon. So, I get to thinking, if I do favors for other people, they’ll follow me. Thats how I got the idea on how to take over the mine. Longer story short, with the help of two dozen or so dogs and griffonsand Mastodon as my lieutenant, I took over an entire slave mine and gained quite the reputation on the way. That, my girl is how you mercenary” he explained. “You prove you can lead and make a name for yourself out of the blue. That way, you’ll have you're men’s respect and more people will come to you for help.”

I kept making grunts and nods throughout the story, completely at attention. When he was done, I gave him another acknowledging nod. “Another thing, why are you on the ship? I mean, yeah, you're town and house are burned to the ground, but that doesn't explain why a former mercenary leader like you is taking my orders.”

Vito chuckled. “Babe, there are two things I believe in this rotten world; revenge and destiny. That deadbeat pony owes me my army and for making them turn on me. That and well the lost city of Omar is told to have hidden treasures beyond comprehension. And...I guess its an aura about you. I can tell when theres going to be a wild ride and I want to be on that ride, from start to finish.” And with that he went back in the training room.

I was going to leave it at that, but remembered someone else who was on board. “Wait! Wheres Arige?  
---
Arige stood on the observatory deck, staring at the full-sized ball of energy that floated in the center of the room. He seemed mesmerized by it, not ever taking his eyes off of it.

I walked up behind him, slowly. “Hey,” I greeted simply. Arige didn't react. “SO...What's so special about this place that we’re going to?”

That caught his attention. He turned his head to me and smiled, “Ah, Miss Idilah, you have no idea. The lab is where I was created. And the mountains around the laboratory are simply amazing. It sits on top of the mountain, directly overlooking the town of Frosmonth. Its a small town famous for its hot springs. You can say that it is like ponyville in a way-” I stopped his story with an audible gasp.

“You’ve been to ponyville?” I asked in disbelief.

Arige chuckled. “Yes, I was there with the professor when she was visiting her friend Twilight Sparkle. The Professor and her went to Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns together. Best of friends. As I was saying, Frostmonth is a lot like ponyville because of...Well the strange occurrences that happen there. But unlike ponyville, most of them are...accidents caused by the Professor. She likes to  help ponies, but also loves experimenting on things. You’ll see when we get there,” he explained ominously. 

I stared at him curiously for a second, extremely interested in what he said. Unfortunately, an announcement on the intercom (AkA a tube that ran from the combat deck all the way to the cargo bay) saved Arige from my questions.

“Um, ‘Dila...We um, got some news you need to hear. Come to the crew deck when you can,” Terk announced.

I groaned. “I’ll barrage you with questions later,” I said, walking to the elevator lines.
---
“WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU MEAN WE’RE OUT OF FOOD?!” I yelled in Terk’s face.

Terk calmly wiped a few drops of spittle off his beak and flicked them to the ground. I quickly apologized and calmed down. Apparently, even the stores of dried meat and veggies we’d collected over the last few days were gone. I suspected Mastodon, since he had been on board, I’ve spotted him in the fridge a half a dozen times and each time I’d have to swat his nose just to get him away from the damn kitchen.

He immediately admitted he hadn't done it and along with everybody else on the ship.We had a strict eating schedule ever since Terk nearly burned down the kitchen. (Yes I know you can't ‘burn down’ anything on boat, but believe me, its relevant) It didn't make any sense why we ran out of food.

I groaned and turned to the waiting crowd sitting at the banquet table. I rubbed the back of my neck nervously. “Um...Yeah. So, we’re out of food. Um....” I had literally no idea to say. 

Vito saved me from embarrassment. “How about we just land and hunt. Worked out before,” he suggested slyly.

Crow frowned at the suggestion. “Dude, we have no idea what's in the forest down there. We’re passing over the Black Marsh right now. Now, from experience, anything with a ‘marsh’ in it dangerous,” he said, nervously.

Terk snorted. “Papi please. Them ain't nothing but stories. We got bellies to feed and from some stories I hear, the Marsh is teeming with exotic game,” he explained excited.

“Another suggestion. The Marshes are also home to some ancient pony ruins. If we touch down anywhere close to the north Marshes, we’ll hit a SaddleArabian ruin. The closer to Gallopoli the better,” suggested Herpy, which surprised me.

I rubbed my chin in thought considering our options. I snapped my fingers and made a decision. “Alright, let’s head towards the edge of the rainforest. We land in the river and dismark from there. Terk, Tick-Tick. Boom, you guys hunt as many animals as you can. If it breathes, it gets cooked. Crow, Gh0st, Nightheart and I will search for some ruins. Both groups will have 10 hours to bring back anything we find. Sound fair?” I asked.
Everyone at the table nodded.

I grinded. “Sheytan you heard me. Change course and speed it up. The rest of you, bedtime.”
---

After another foodless day, Sheytan had brought us to the Black Marsh border. Here, was the river that made the dividing line between the Black Marsh and Equestria. As I looked over the railing, I could almost see the change in the river. While the side of the river that closer to the black marsh was dark and murky, the side closer to the equestrian mainland was clear and alive.

On our descent I spotted a small building made of stone. It sort of looked like a small scale ziggurat, which, given our search, was a beautiful sight. We touched down on the river and lowered the gangplank. Crow, Nightheart and Gh0st gathered around me, while Terk, Tick-tick and Boom strapped on their saddle bags and hunt gear. Thought I was a bit worried about Boom’s hunting gear as her bag was filled to the brim with nothing but homemade grenades.

I stepped onto the gangplank and loudly cleared my throat, getting everyone's attention. “Okay, our objectives are simple; my group will search the nearby ruins and Tick-tick’s group will hunt and bring back as much meat as they can. Allons Y!” 
---

“I’m just gonna say it, this sucks,” complained Gh0st, earning a groan from Nightheart. 

Nightheart made a grunt and lit another cigarette which was starting to freak me out considering we hadn't been in a town for almost a week! Remember Idilah, magic...

Walking sucks. Walking through a marshy forest was even worse. We had been walking for at least 3 hours and the forest humidity was unforgiving. Well, for my teammates of course. All through the walk, the sounds of the jungle kept us on edge. Chips, chirps and the occasional growl kept us on our toes. We passed by some huge looking flowers that kind of looked like tulips but had a sort of sickly black tint to them. They clung to two large trees in a cluster overhead, just looking menacing.

And Gh0st decided to touch them.

He walked up to it, a blank look in his eye, creeping me out and making Crow forcefully turn him around. “What the hell are you doing?!” he asked.

Gh0st snorted. “What? Its just a flower?”

Crow faceclawed. “Dude we are in a place called a The Black Marsh, looking for ancient ruin. Did I mention the fact that everything is magic?” he asked Gh0st angrily.

Gh0st pushed off Crow and snorted. “Man, its just a plant! What's the worst that can-,” he replied touching a tulip petal. The entire cluster of tulips started spewing thick purple gas, encasing us in a bog. The moment that it connected to our noses we all went down, clutching our throats.

Right before he blacked out Crow uttered, “Mitchell, you idiot!”
---
When I came to, I felt...not right. Everything about my body was...Different. The first difference was that my face felt hot and in pain, as if I got smacked with a blunt object. I rubbed my cheek and realized why I felt so weird.

My hand was wet. My skin was covered in blood. I was human again and I was covered in fucking blood!.

“What the fuck?!” I shouted while feeling my face and arms. I was in a panic. I hated my human body. I hated it with a burning passion. I felt a pain in my arms and noticed cuts and scrapes appearing on my arms, forcing me to scream at the top of my lungs.

I hugged myself, trying to come to terms with the pain but heard a voice that I never thought I’d hear again...

“Idilah come on, you have to help me move this!” said my brother’s voice from behind me. I turned around ready to tackle him in a hug but stopped as soon as I saw him.

He stood over me, standing at about 6 feet tall. His formerly brown skin was a pale grey. His eyes were completely  blank as if he were blind. He was wearing his camo jumpsuit but it was riddled with bullet holes with blood pouring out of them.

“Get your ass over here! We need to get him in the backyard, come on!” Asad yelled at me standing in front of a body.

The body on the ground was a middle aged man. His skin was grey and lifeless like Asad’s. He was wearing blue jeans and a wife beater that was torn to pieces, his blood pooling on the floor. His head turned to me, his eyes opening to reveal empty sockets. “You heard the boy Qaby, come clean up this mess!” his voice sounded high-pitched and hollow. 

I was nearly ready to crap my pants at the sight of the creatures in front of me. I realized who the man on the ground and curled into a fetal position, rocking myself. The man on the ground was my father. The blood on my hands was his...

This was the night I killed him...



> Nightmare part 2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

I woke up, expecting to see the muddy dirt my face fell in. No. what I saw, was darkness. An endless void that Sithis would probably be proud of. The darkness was like oil on water, murky and constantly shifting. My forehead throbbed with pain. I tried rubbing my forehead, but noticed my arm couldn't move. In Fact, my entire body couldn't move.  The moment I realized this, I opened my eyes and saw that my arm was caught on some white sticky material. The substance stuck to my arm and kept it in place. Another realization, I was in a web...

And I started to freak the fuck out...

“WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS?! WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS?!”  I screamed, desperately thrashing in my bonds..

I looked down to see my legs, also caught in a web and more oppressive darkness below. It was as if I was caught in a web in the middle of space, just floating there. I slumped my head against the web, surprised I could still fully move it. Welp, you dun fucked up this time Mitchell. You didn't listen and now you're trapped in a web in the middle of nowhere, I thought to myself. Thats when the clicking started.

A rapid clicking went off above my head. Immediately, I thought it was a bomb of some kind. But no, it was a sort of organic clicking, As if someone was doing it with their tongue. However organic it was, it sounded like it was creeping closer to me. I started thrashing at my bonds again, desperate not to see what ever was coming from above me. 

But it was too late. 

The clicking was close now, right above my head. I tried not to look up, I truly did, but what it was put a gnarly, furry hand over my face and forced it to look up. All I could see was eight pulsating purple humanlike eyes. “Welcome to my home and you're grave,” it said, laughing. Its voice was high-pitched and hollow. 

I screamed.
----

I woke up to the sound of beautiful music Must have left my xbox on last night, I thought. As the wonderful song carried on, I sat up to examine myself. Flexing my fingers, I came to the conclusion that I turned back into a human, Which didn't surprise me. Had to wake up at some point. Oh well. Let me turn off my xbox before-, my thought process was cut off when I noticed that I wasn't on my basement couch where I normally pass out. I was sitting in a patch of grass in the middle of a room made out of yellow stone. Though there was a straight path of grey stone that led to something even more beautiful than the music...

“Lapis! Real lapis! I knew you cared lord Kathulu!” I yelled running towards a pile of floating cubes of my favorite mineral. I picked up the pile of blue cubes, hugging them close to my chest, not even questioning my situation. 

Thats when the growling started. Behind me came a rumbling sound that shook the ground below me. The roof above opened to an endless void that looked like a starless space. As much as I didn't want to turn around, curiosity got the better of me. I turned around to see...My dog? 

“Maddie?”

My golden retriever, Maddie, stood three feet taller than me. Her fur, or what used to be her fur, was black scales. Spines extended from the top of her head and her eyes glowing red. She growled again, this time escalating into a dragon’s roar. The moment she opened her mouth, a small fire ball shot out. Reacting faster than I thought I could, I rolled out of the way of the fire. 

I got back on one knee and quickly remembered my surroundings.Yellow stone arena, random lapis, giant dragon trying to kill me...

“Aww, fuck my life. I’m in the fucking Ender!” And my temperamental dog was the damn Ender-Dragon.
---
The dome of the cave laid an oppressive darkness over my head. The softness of animal pelts surrounded my hooves. Dammit. I’m back in the cave, I thought, spitting on a pelt. I hated and will forever hate my birthplace. I was born here by a shitty parent and raised by a shitty parent here. Just being back here made my blood boil. 

 Over my head I felt a familiar presence. A presence filled with anger, resentment and .worst of all, judgement. The same presence that has been a part of me for my entire life. “Turn to me half-bred welp.” my mother commanded, using her normal greeting that always angered me to no fair extent.

I turned around to respond and immediately slapped across the room by her tail. I landed on the wall with a thud, the impact knocking the air out of me. I layed there, face down in a pelt groaning in annoyance. This wasn't the first time she sent me flying but with her death I thought it would be her last.

“So *cough* What's up ma?” 

Her face scrunched up into a scowl. She was the same as she was when she died; her left leg was gone, the stump still bleeding. Her face was still bleeding from Gh0st’s assault too, making me giggle just looking at her.

“You disgust me,” she said lamely. I snorted, almost laughing. “You watched my murder. You watched as those buffoons and that slut kill me! You watch your own mother get murdered! You think I was a monster? I raised you! I birthed you! And. You. Just. Watched.” With each word she edged closer to me. Well, more like crawled. As she edged closer, her new smell hit me. as expected, she reeked of decay. And after almost a week, the stink was settling in.

I really didn't know what to say to my mother’s walking corpse. The same dragoness who beat me for being alive. The same one who, every day, would  almost push me to suicide. The same one who would berate me delaying it by smoking. The same one who lit me on fire knowing it would hurt me Burn me for exploring. Burn me for being seen. Burn me for being alive...

For being alive...

I started laughing hysterically, earning a glare from my mother. “You think I actually care what you think? I just went into town to feed an addiction that you caused! And what was your reaction to that? You go tear a town apart! You never even cared  about me neither, you just cared about your non-existent image. And fire! You knew I’m not a full dragon. You knew I would be in pain. So much pain for days at a time! And you just did it anyway. Why? Because you were bored! Well guess what ma? I was bored of your shit. So when one of the most beautiful beings decided to stand up to you, I sat back, stole some popcorn and watched. And you know what ma? I loved every. Single. Second of it.” I said, slowly. Seriously. Watching Mother die was the most satisfying thing I ever seen. Though she couldn't be burned as I was, seeing her suffer the same way I punished myself was even sweeter.

Mother snorted, amused. “So you consider a crumbling pile of rock beauty. And the fact that she’s made of thing you fear disgusts me even more. You claim to had hate me and loath our living space for much, when running to the dock was always an option. You could have stowed away on a ship, got away from me. But you stayed. You stayed because you were afraid. You like being afraid.”

“Shut up.”

“You want to be by this abomination, to follow her to the ends of Equis, because you're afraid of her.”

“Shut up!”


That did it. That brought out my anger. That was what made me use my magic. My magic was something that stumped me when ever I thought about it. Whenever something made me so angry, my body starts glowing with green magic. What I could do was very limited; sometimes I could do some illusions. Other times I do something that scared me, throw fire. 

I was in the mood for my own fire.

I built up all my frustration, all my anger into my hands. They lit up in a horrifying green flame that tingled my skin.  Mother’s decrepit face turned from smugness to fear. 
---
“Come in Idilah! Help me move him,” Asad ordered me, trying to pick up my father's body by the crooks of his shoulders. The room we were in had changed. We were now in our bathroom. Dim light filled the room, barely illuminating the large blood trail in front of me. I was still a corner in fetal position. Asad had dragged the body to the bathtub. The air was thick with the smelled of chemicals. Every breath was like trying to breathe in molasses. 

I couldn't move, I couldn't breathe. I could only stay in my ball. My safe ball where  I couldn't hear-

My undead looking brother smacked me with a decrepit hand. I rubbed my cheek and got to my feet, ready to return the blow, but choked up when I saw his dead, deceased face. I saw him in the casket dammit! I buried him! And here he was, helping me bury our father...Again.

Asad stared me with a disapproving glare. “You need to get your shit together. You did this and you are to help me get him in the back yard,” he commanded.

My father laughed like a hyena, his voice like wood on sandpaper. “You really think you can just bury me and be done with it? Come on boy, you're the son for fucks sakes! I thought you'd have better brains than that!” he yelled, giggling. Thats what made all of this worse. 

Dad never stopped talking. 

He continued to berate and talk down to me, even while blood crept out of his mouth. Even in death, he never stopped. Even as Asad chopped him up, he never stopped. Thats when I started paying attention. Asad had let go of me and went back chopping dad into pieces. The chemicals from all the cleaners in the bathtub had made dad’s body weak. Weak enough to chop to pieces. As Asad used a hatchet to chop off dad’s arms and legs, blood spilled everywhere, some getting on me. I closed my eyes tight and started screaming non-stop.
---
On the other side of the forest...

BOOM! went a spot in the marshy jungle, making a new clearing. Boom giggled and yelled, “Boom goes the weasel!" she squealed from on a tree branch.

“Another critter in the pot,” said Tick as he picked up an animal carcass that resembled a rabbit. Except this rabbit had horns and teeth big enough to nearly bite Terk’s arm off. Much to his annoyance when he had to knock it off his arm earlier.

“Little diablo. So what's the haul Tick?” he asked the punk pony.

Tick brushed off his muzzle, realizing he just had a dead animal in it. He took off his saddlebag just as Boom jumped out of her tree next to him, checking her bag as well. Inside the bags were bundles and bundles of meat and small animals. Most had extra limbs but looked good to eat to the rest of the hunting party.

Terk triumphantly took out a multi-tailed weasel and laughed. “I told him that we’d find some good eats! Alright, lets get back to the ship,” he suggested.

Tick shook his head. “Not yet. We might have enough for a week, maybe for the carnivores, but we need to find some plants for us ponies,” Tick said rubbing his chin.

Terk groaned in annoyance. “Alright, considering the fact that this place is teeming with flowers and such, you guys are set. We have to find something bigger to eat.”

“Uh, guys?” Boom said nervously.

Tick snorted. “We don't even know what some of these plants can do and you're suggesting we eat them?”

“Guys?”

“Well since you guys eat everything else green, I figured-”

“Guys!” Boom shouted desperately.

A growl came from behind them and both guys froze. “Uh, Boom...What’s behind us?” Tick asked nervously. Boom squeaked. “Well that says a lot doesn't it?” he said sarcastically. 

Terk chuckled nervously. “Oh come on, it can't be that-” he started as he turned around to see a chimera.

And not just any chimera...

“CHINGAO! GRAND CHIMERA!! INTO THE CLOUDS! ANDELE! ANDELE!” he yelled to the twins. They wordlessly complied and flew directly up, avoiding a fireball from the goats head. Grand Chimeras were a rare sight in Equestria. Unlike the chimeras of the Everfree, Grand Chimeras have a level of untamed magical talent, allowing them to the most basic but most devastating of spells. Such as the lightning bolt it shot at Boom.

The chimera’s goat head shot a bolt of pure energy at the trio, just grazing Boom’s wing. The wing went numb and Boom went down screaming. 

“Boom!” Tick screamed, tucking his wing and diving after his sister.
 
“Coja mi vida,” Terk groaned diving after them.

Boom was screaming her head off, trying to straighten out her wing. Tick came up on her right side and hugged her close, opening his wings. The force of the sudden turbulence forced Boom’s saddle bag to fall off. Terk flew past them and went after the bag, remembering the explosives Boom had tucked away. He stretched out his arm and grabbed the back strap, and flew straight up, searching for the Grand Chimera. 

He found it when a fireball flew right past him, completely missing him and letting him know where it was. He quickly rummaged through the bag and ripped the pin off a tin can grenade tossing it back in the bag full of over a dozen more grenades. Terk smiled and underhanded the bag watching the confused face of the Chimera staring at the small yet significant object.

What followed was an explosion that could be heard around the world.

After doing a victory dance, on the air no less, he noticed Tick and Boom were nowhere in sight. He scanned the ground, passed the scorched ground full of meat and to the patch of bright pink flowers. Out in the blindingly bright pink field was the twin ponies, tending each other's wounds. As soon as Terk was positive it was them and not some other two ponies in the middle of a jungle and dived towards them.

Little did Terk know...
---
I tried to struggle against the webs again, this time putting all my energy in my arms. The spider didn't like that. It made a tsk tsk tsk noise and dug its fangs into my shoulder. The pain started but then suddenly stopped. I noticed that I couldn't move my arm anymore. I tried to scream but couldn't even move my jaw. That bitch just paralyzed me! I thought staring at my captor. It stared back with blank yet intelligent eyes. “Oh my. Look at the meat try to struggle. Look at it trying to live. Meat shouldn't struggle. Meat should just stay dead. Stay dead and be more delicious!” It said, its voice becoming more ragged as it went on.

Its fangs edged closer to my jugular, taking its sweet time. Why should it have to hurry when its got me where it wants? I had lost all hope the moment I lost all the feeling in my arms. I was just meat on a webby slap now, just waiting to get devoured by a predator. I used all my energy left in me to shut my eyes, waiting for the end.

That is, until a giant ass explosion from hell ruptured my ear drums.

The spider staggered, groaning in annoyance. I looked at the spider’s hairy face and realized...I fucking kill spiders. When ever I would see one as a kid, sure I would be afraid of them but the moment I noticed a weight difference, I squashed that thing with the might of a vengeful god.

As the memory hit me, all the feeling in my arms came back again and I ripped them from my bonds. The room we were in suddenly became bright green and yellow. Below my feet was fresh grass and in the sky was a bright gleaming sun. To my right a dozen meters away was a wooden mansion big enough to make Hugh Hefner jealous. This was my first minecraft house that I had worked on for nearly two weeks.

The moment I saw that house I jumped off the web, hitting the ground running.

“Get back meat! Delicious meat!” The spider yelled at me, most likely scuttling after me. Considering the fact that I was hauling ass to the mansion, I couldn't see. Well, that and the fact he wasn't burning in the sunlight was scaring the crap out of me. Remember Mitchell, might of a vengeful god. 

I stopped at a steel door and frantically searched for the open switch. I remembered where it was and smiled as I punch the wall to my right, revealing the switch. I quickly pressed it and got inside. I leaned against the door sighing in relief. That is until teeth and mandibles started chewing through the door. Shit, shit, shit! Got to get to the armory! I thought running through the house.

Being that it was the first house I made, the layout was very simple. On the this wing, there were only two rooms; a freaking huge bedroom and an underground room where I stored all my made stuff. AKA the armory. I sprinted to a door on my right, bashing through the door. Inside the room on the right side was my first bed, a workbench and an oven. What really surprised me was the fact that all the items in the room looked like what they were supposed to be; a velvet double bed, a table with tools on it and a square oven. Wow, this looks realistic. Huh, I wonder if the nether is-

“MEAT!”

Armory, right. I quickly thought. Running towards the velvet bed. It was big enough to fit two people in and was now realistically proportioned to real people. In normal circumstances, this would be a hindrance, considering this is my happy place, moving this thing is as easy as kicking it to fucking dust and descending down a set of stone stairs. Down the stairs was a torch lit basement filled with chests. All of them were filled with weapons and tools that I could use to defend myself, but the one I wanted was on the far side of the room, which I gladly sprinted to. I rummaged through piles of seeds dirt and white dust that I was sure was sugar but called it cocaine to see the fruits of my loins and labors. It might have looked a little- scratch that, A LOT different, but my well made enchanted diamond armor gleamed.

The spider busted through the doorway, blowing away about five feet of wall with it. Its eyes bored into me, letting me know its hunger and hatred towards me. Or at least thats what I thought it was doing, my back was to him. “Oh beautiful meat. Are you ready for dinner?” It asked.

I turned around, fully adorned in my diamond armor, holding the helmet in my hands. I smiled at the spider. “First off; I’m not fucking meat. Second, you're about to get your ass kicked,” I said harshly, putting on my helmet and brandishing my diamond sword.

The spider let out a screech that could shatter glass and charged at me, I charged right back, gripping the diamond sword in one hand. Must hero guys make some one liner during moments like these. Me, I decided to name this moment...

“BLITZKREIG!” I shouted, stabbing my sword right between the spider’s eyes.

The spider made a gurgling noise, most likely about me being meat. I giggled in amusement “Bitch please, get off my sword,” I said calmly, kicking the spider off my blade. The sword had gone hilt deep into its face. The moment the spider fell to the ground, its body started to dissolve into a purple mist. I dismissed that thought and went back to the fact that I was wearing a somewhat realistic version of my diamond armor. This is awesome! Its a shame that I can't use it for real. I thought solemnly. Yeah I figured out this was a dream, wasn't hard. One of my greatest fears was spiders and something was using it against me. 

But was worrying me was the fact that I was just with three other people with way weirder fears than me. My fear nearly killed me and if weren't for that explosion, I’d definitely be meat. Guys I hope you can figure it out soon. Because we’re fucked if you don't.

Then my world went white...
---
“Shitshitshitshitshit!” I yelled while running away from Maddie the fucking Ender dragon. I dodged another fireball, it landing a few feet from me. Holy shit she’s getting accurate! I got to get to cover! I thought desperately. But there was none to found. All the walls that had been there when I woke up were gone. I was defenceless and I had nowhere to go. I threw up my arms in frustration, screaming. Maddie was getting closer, I could see the fireballs flying past me getting more accurate. I stood there just...Confused. Really? This is how I die? Honestly I expected my little brother being the end of me. I thought disappointingly.

Thats when the loudest fucking noise I ever heard reached my ears. 

The mere size of the sound knocked me off my feet. Along with staggering Maddie, giving a chance to figure out what the hell happened. “What the hell was that? Sounded like something I could pull off if I actually used my powers,” I thought, agitated. As I got to my feet, I suddenly remembered with perfect clarity...I didn't come here alone. That was one rule in the Ender, you didn't go alone. No matter what, you never went into the ender alone. 

As the memory of that rule went through my head, someone tapped me on the shoulder. I jerked my body around to see one of my friends Tyler. Tyler was a fairly chubby kid, about five foot eight and looked like he had lost weight recently. His short black hair was burned on one side, as if one of the fireballs clipped him.

Though most of the fat in his cheeks hadn't gone away so seeing him in diamond armor was chuckle inducing. “Dude, what the hell are you doing?” he asked agitated. I rose an eyebrow and open my mouth to say something but he cut me off. “Doesn't matter. Mitchells got the distraction down. Get suited up and get back in the fight!” he shouted, running past me. Suddenly the whole island we were on changed. Instead of the dead stone that was there before, the floor suddenly lit up like the friggin sun and purple-blue mist surrounded me. 

Suddenly the lapis shard in my pocket floated out and landed on my wrist. Faster than I could react the lapis started encasing me in more lapis, spreading across my body. I’m going to be honest, I nearly flipped shit when it started doing that. But as soon as it was done spreading, it began to smooth out, taking shape into something that I could only describe as awesome. The lapis on my wrists became circular gauntlets, the lapis on my feet taking the shape of boots and the lapis on my body became some sort of chest piece I never seen before.

“Hell the fuck yes! This is my fetish!” I shouted in astonishment. I didn't know how that happened, I didn't care. I had armor made out of something people perceived to be useless. And that made me want to kick the shit out of the Ender dragon. 

“Hey if you're done jacking off to your armor, we could could use some help!” Tyler yelled, dodging a fireball and throwing a grenade, trying to get closer to the dragon. I saw Mitchell attacking it too but kept getting swiped by the dragon’s tail.  Mitchell was a bit chubby but not as much as Tyler. He was about five foot six and wore glasses. His blond-ish hair was currently on fire, which I gladly pointed out and laughed. He playfully scowled at me, patting out the flames. “Haha funnyballs. Why don't you be usefully and use that power you've been bragging non-stop about,” he ordered.

That made me raise a brow in confusion. “What the hell are you talking about?”

Tyler was thrown back and landed next to us. He shook his head and got to his feet. “Don’t you remember? Its that enchantment you put on the gauntlets,” he said as if I knew what the hell he was talking about.

Thats when my hand started tingling, making me raise my arm. The right gauntlet was glowing a bright blue that nearly blinded me. For some reason I can't explain, I felt the need to raise my hand into the air. What happened next would give me the chills for the rest of my life.

A burst of energy shot out of my gauntlet and into the endless expanse of space that surrounded the Ender island. Suddenly a valley of clouds appeared above us and the Ender dragon. I smiled and walked up to the Ender dragon. Or Maddie. Or whatever the hell my mind was thinking of because this attack is definitely something I created...

“Lapis Rain!” I shouted, bring my arm down as if giving the order to fire. Shard upon shards of lapis literally rained from the makeshift sky and onto the Ender Maddie. Shard after shard pierced her hide, pinning her to the ground. When the rain was over, she looked like a lapis porcupine.

I fistpumped into the air. “Hell yeah! Taste the tears of the gods, bitch!” I shouted.

And then disappointingly, my vision went white
---

Okay, so trying to go head to head with my mom wasn't the best idea.

As soon as I shot fire out of my hands, he countered by releasing her own fire. Our flames met and it was as if a wall had come between them. For a second, our flames were perfectly even. A meeting of power. But the second that I thought I had her on the ropes, she upped the power of her flames. Mine were getting pushed back, getting closer and closer to me. Not again! If there is any god out there, please don't let this hit me! I thought frantically.

But nothing came. Nothing stopped her flames from overcoming mine. Nothing gave me anymore strength that I so desperately needed. All that happened was my mother’s flames covering my body and engulfing me in the infinite sea of pain that I experience so many times in my life.

Being that I had been in this situation a dozen times before, you’d think that I would get used to it. But heres a fact, you can't get used to fire. My skin under my misleading fur had been too damaged that I could barely feel pain under normal circumstances. I could be stabbed, cut, maimed and I wouldn't even feel it. But when I get so much as near fire, my nerves come back to me and I can't help but feel the flames. Thats what happened when I used my own fire and its getting magnified by a hundred fold all over my body.

I closed my eyes as I always did and curled into a ball. I stopped begging after the third time it happened when I was kid. I knew she would never stop. After all, why would you stop doing something fun, something that made you feel powerful. So I just stayed in my ball knowing I’d be there, in the most agonizing amount of pain for a long time.

A noise that I would forever thank knocked me out of that attitude.

My mother for the first time, stopped for a minute. For one precious minute and my anger starting building again. Of course when she would stop from exhaustion in the past, I would be angry. I would be angry that I was punished for something I knew was stupid. For being born, being alive, for surviving and something that always confused me, for being a hybrid in general.

Once, after my biweekly burning, she called me something...

“You insignificant half-ling!” shouted, tired from breathing so much fire. “You brought that on yourself!” After that I pretty much blocked out everything else. A half-ling? How could I be half of anything? As far I knew back then and know now, I was nothing. I sure as shit wasn't a pony but the way she said it, I wasn't a dragon. After she said that, something grew in my gut, something primal, something I couldn't hold back. That was the first time I ever coughed up real dragonfire. 

Don't get it confused. What came out of hands before was fire, but what I coughed up long ago was true dragonfire, the fire that had just bathed me in pain. I remembered that moment. The primal feeling I couldn't hold back. It was pride. She had insulted my pride and that couldn't stand. That would not stand...

I got to my hooves and felt my dragonpride rush through my body. “I. AM. DRAGON!” I yelled, my voice turning deeper and more ragged. After saying that, I opened my muzzle wide and shot out pure green flames. Well more like I screamed pure green flames.

“AAAAHHHHH!” I screamed for what seemed like forever. First off, I didn't feel pain. It was weird, instead feeling the agonizing pain from the inside, all I felt was the need to cough. I resisted the urge and continued my assault. Mother for the first time screamed in pain. She screamed in pain. For once in my life, I was giving the pain. I was causing her agony. I didn't want to stop. In fact, I didn't. I couldn't. I couldn't stop giving her what she gave me for all these years. My hatred. That was what was coming out of my mouth, my pure hatred for the decease dragoness.

I couldn't see past the gout of hellfire I was shooting, but I saw a glimpse of what looked like a pile of ashes in the shape of a body. I finally stopped and clutched my throat. I hadn't drunk anything recently and was more parched than ever.

Oh and I kinda passed out from pure exhaustion a second later...
---
“Dig.” Asad said flatly, passing me a shovel.

Tears streamed down my face as I started to dig a hole in the ground. We were in our backyard now. It was relatively small yard, empty save for the one lawn chair against the back of the house. As I dug the hole, I couldn't help but feel as if something was wrong. Yes it was a fact that I was burying my chemically deformed father (who was leaking out of the bag) but I guess I sensed something was wrong where I was.

“Keep digging Idilah!” Asad yelled at me but I ignored him. This isn't right. I know for a fact this isn't right. I wasn't here. I thought leaning on the shovel. Asad put his service revolver to my head. “Idilah, if you don't start digging, you will join him! Dig!” he shouted in my ear. 

Ignoring him and going back to that day, I remembered more of what happened rather than what was said. One afternoon, I came home from school and Dad, after consuming a fair amount of alcohol that day, decided to sling another barrage of insults at me. Which was a regular thing as even while growing up, dad liked to remind me that I looked like my mother and my birth was the reason she died. 

That was the day he was laying into me, calling me an ugly skank, whore, antichrist, the regular stuff. But out of all the typical bullshit he said, there was one thing that set me off..,

“Why don’t you just kill yourself? I wouldn't” he shouted in the middle of of his sentence, it was the .

When he said that, I think my eye twitched.

Everything that’d he said before that was just white noise at that point. What he said made me think... Why don't you die? Why do I have to deal with you dad? Why do I have to constantly deal with never being able to change how I was born? Change my face that looks so much like some woman I never met and could less about? Why don't you die dad? Why don't I kill you?!

This all came out of my mouth and in response he decked me in the jaw, sending me to the ground. That hit was what really did it. He had bruised my face. My o so apparently ugly face. He made me even more ugly. He made me feel ugly. Right then, I wanted to make him ugly.

Before I knew what was happening, I was standing over his body. His face and chest were bloody and I was clutching Asad’s knife. He had left it to me when he shipped out. A farewell present. There was a rapid knock at the door. “Idilah, Dad! Guess whos home?!”

And what laid at my feet was one hell of a welcome present.

What was really wrong with the situation I was in now, was the fact that I was digging the hole and crying over dad being dead. That day, I was the one chopping up the body. I was the one telling Asad to get his shit together. I was the one holding the gun-, well, I had wished it was a gun at the time, the knife to his head. Me, it was me.

The moment I remembered this, the loudest explosion noise made the Faux Asad stumble, forcing him fall to the ground but barely bothering me. Why? Because I too busy laughing. I was too busy relentlessly bashing Asad’s face in with the shovel. I was too busy remembering who I was before all this pony shit. I remembered who I really was and what I called myself after getting away with murder.

As the fake Asad put his hand up in surrender, I raised the shovel again and angled it at his neck. “I am Jann. And you. Are. Not. My. Brother!” I snarled, stabbing down the shovel into his neck with each word. The head rolled into the small hole I had started and for shits and giggles, I made the sky start raining.

“Hehehe. Hahahaheh. HAHAHAHEHA!” I cackled before my world went white.

> Nightmare part 3 (End of ark)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

What was once white quickly became black. I somehow managed to land on my ass on the ground again and groaned. “Dammit, I just killed a giant fucking spider, I don't need this shit,” I shouted  into the unlimited darkness that surrounded me. I quickly took the diamond sword off my back and got into a defensive stance. Last time I was in a place as dark as this, I almost got eaten and I was determined to not let that happen again. As I held the sword, I quickly thought, wait I don't have a sheaf, where the hell did this come from?

My train of thought was interrupted when Nathan suddenly appeared next to me. Nathan was, to be blunt, tall as fuck. Compared to me anyway. He stood at six foot even and had short black hair that flowed in the non-existent wind (which was pissing me off). He was wearing some kind of blue armor that I will admit looked kind of badass. Though what really caught my eye was the gauntlet on his left hand that glowed like an azure flashlight.

Nathan must of been asked confused as me because the moment he saw me, he jumped nearly a foot away. He calmed down and scowled when I started laughing hysterically. “What the hell are wearing?” I asked still laughing.

Nathan looked down at his armor and crossed his arms. He looked me up and down and made a sour face. “Says the one wearing gold armor,” he replied smugly. Gold was not something you’d be caught dead in when playing minecraft. Because you’d be dead.

I scoffed at the insult and stuck up my nose. “Its not gold, its diamond!” I retorted.

Nathan chuckled and looked around, as if searching for something. “Wheres Idilah and Nightheart?” 

“Whoashit!” Nightheart yelled as he landed on the ground between us.

“Well that answers half the question.”

Nightheart uneasily got to his feet (hooves if you want to fight about it) and rubbed his throat. “Dammit this hurts,” he said to himself, his voice very hoarse (heh heh, hoarse). Nightheart had somehow changed the color of his fur during his stay here. Instead of the normal mix of blue and black, he was just plain old black. He suddenly noticed us and raised an eyebrow. I thought for sure he’d looked confused at our forms, but no he just sized us up.

He took long look at me, then at Nathan, He sighed coughing a bit. “Gh0st,” he stated pointing at me. He then turned to Nathan. “Crow?,” pointing at him. We both nodded. He nodded back and smiled. “Whatever you guys are, I’m glad to see a friendly face. What hell did you have to go through?” He asked, relieved.

“Well, I just killed a giant freakin spider of my nightmares. What did you do today?” I said smugly, dusting off my knuckles against my chest. What? Wouldn't you be smug if you faced your fear and stabbed it in the the face?

Nightheart chuckled, giving me his own smug grin. “Oh you know, just reduced my undead mom to ash,” he replied casually, taking out a box of cigarettes from his back pocket. He lit one, took a long drag and exhaled. “Have you guys seen Idilah yet?” Out of nowhere an arm came from behind him and grabbed his cigarette pack. 

Nathan and I went into a defensive stance, me bringing out my diamond sword (which for some reason looked like a bastard sword) and Nathan brung up his open hand, which confused the hell out me until that azure light became brighter and a spike of blue rock wrapped around his hand.

Nightheart calmly stepped to the side to reveal a human girl. She had long, wet, black hair that stuck to her face and went down to her shoulders. Her skin was caramel brown and her face had hard, slim features and a scar adorned her chin along with a long on her right eye. She was wearing a long black jacket and a red shirt with writing I couldn't see. She also wore jeans that were sliced up at the thighs, as if someone had took a knife to them. She was about a head shorter than me and I would have laughed at that one fact if not for freaking terrifying look in her eyes.

Both of eyes peeked through her hair, as if under a veil and I got a look at pure horrifying terror. The right eye was completely calm, void of any feeling or emotion. It was just there to observe, nothing more. The left one however made me want to go back to the spiderweb and wrap myself into a MRE for the spider. There were three emotions that I could literally see; anger, resentment and torment. All those delightful qualities were focused on three points in that amber eye, as if they were three extra pupils.

The girl took the cigarette and held it expectantly in front of Nightheart’s face. “Light please?” she asked impatiently. Nightheart (you know what? I’m just going to call him Night) snorted absently in response, releasing a short torrent of flames. The cancer stick lit and the girl dropped it in her mouth, catching it by the filter. She happily breathed in half of the cigarette and picked it off of her black lipstick stained lips. While I was doing my examination, Night was conducting his own. Especially on her chest. 

Yeah, he was not being subtle about that.

Wait...Black makeup, scars, eye that makes we want to curl up in a ball more than  my greatest fear...

I put away my sword and stared at her, speechless. “Idilah?” I asked.


Nathan lowered his hands and the azure light disappeared. He smiled nervously. “Oh yeah. I forgot how scary you were,” he said casually.

The thing is, Idilah had always been scary. After the party where we both met her, we had stuck to each other like glue. Or as Idilah would constantly put it, “two midgets in a fat guys rib-cage.” But, as the first year in college went on, she just became more...Scary. It was the only way to describe it. Whenever we would all hang out together, she would fuss about herself for almost hours at a time, just trying to hide her scars. She told me about them once...

After threatening to cut my balls off if I didn't stop asking...

She finished the cigarette in another puff and threw it to her right. “Well, that was refreshing. So, what have you guys been up to in this fine hellhole?” she asked smiling.

“Killed the Enderdragon with lapis.”

“Stabbed a super sized spider in the face.”

“Um, da uh, um,”  Night stuttered, still staring at her. At least he raised his gaze to her face.

She smirked and hid her face behind her hair bringing up her hand to his face. She then poked him right between his eyes, knocking him out of his stupor. He shook his head and looked back at her with an annoyed look on his face.

“Its nice to see you too dragon-boy. But lets get out of here first, then you can gawk at me,” she said winking her weird eye.

All of a sudden, the sky started rumbling, almost knocking us all down.

We all stumbled, desperately trying to stay on our feet. Nathan had no problem staying up, I however fell right on my ass. Idilah nearly fell too, but landed quite conveniently in Night’s arms. They were about to share one of those, “romantic stares” but then a voice boomed in the sky.

“You worthless nibblets! You could not have just stayed in you're dreams and be good little cattle. No, you rejected the fear I gave you and are now up and about, giving the trouble of working for my meal! But oh my little cattle, I assure you, I won’t starve!” the voice yelled. The voice was the same as the spider. It had the same voice that sounded like sharp nails on steel. Scratch that, going through steel. Slowly.

Thats about when our nightmares showed up for a visit.

Out of nowhere, four things came into view a few mater. My favorite arachnid that nearly killed me. A large black dragon as wide as a school bus and covered in black scales, most likely the Enderdragon. The third was something that only Deadspace would throw up if Deadspace visited a middle eastern country. The zombie-necromorph-THING, was dressed in a bullet hole riddled u.s. army jumpsuit holding two blood covered scimitars. The weird thing was the fact that I recognized him. His body was bulging with muscles that only a soldier would have. Also, his eyes the same color as Idilah’s eyes but were glowing like flashlights. The fourth was Nightheart’s mother but minus an arm, a leg and most of her face-scales, leaving nothing but scorched flesh. Ugh, I’m off meat for weeks when we get out of here, thought, readying my sword.

Wait, I thought. Who do I know that was a marine? And had Idilah’s eye color-Oh my god. That must be Idilah’s brother! She must have had to fight him to get here, I thought turning my gaze to Idilah, who was looking like a mix of murderous and absolutely excited. She was smiling  wide, showing off her shark-like teeth, holding in her hand the ospian knife I seen her with her no matter where we went. 

She licked her lips with anticipation. “So, what's the plan boys? Anime style smash up?” she asked, her voice nearly crackling with excitement. 

“What do mean by that?” I asked, kind of confused.

“I mean we dream up a badass battlefield, get some good music playing and slice these pussies into niblets!” she shouted at me.

“Fine with me. Lets go with a city. I want to test an idea I’ve had since conjuring up this,” Nathan suggested, gesturing his lapis gauntlet.

“Can I pick the battlefield?” I asked eagerly. Whenever we would play fighting games I barely ever got to pick the field.

Nathan groaned. “Fine, but Idilah gets to pick the music,” Nathan tried to compromise.

I mimicked his groan. “But Idilah always ends up  picking some japanese band we never heard of or screamo crap!” I complained.

“Um guys, I think we should pay attention to the army of fucking nightmares coming at us!” yelled Night, pointing at said nightmares running at us, screaming stuff we were too far to hear.. 

I quickly started thinking of places to fight. From the plentiful of games I’ve played and the few beautiful places I’ve been back on earth, there was only one place I could think of that would be perfect for battle.

I stabbed my sword into the unseen metal under my feet and rubbed my temples in faux intense thought as the world around us began to come into view. The dark but solid void under us became grey metal-like tile, almost digitizing its way into our reality. Within seconds, we on top of a flat-top building, air conditioners and vents popping up, along with a few wrecked grey buildings in the background. Each had a huge burning hole on the top or side of the building, looking similar to a cracked egg.

In other words, we were on firebase Vancouver, Canada.

Nathan scowled at me and flipped the bird. I smiled under my helmet, chuckling at his anger and at the fact the things we were supposed to be fighting had been blocked by a huge air conditioning unit, comically imprinting their angry faces into the metal. I’m loving this dream world.
The monsters quickly caught on and Night’s mother smacked the unit aside. Necro-Asad came charging for Idilah, flailing his swords around, screaming bloody murder. Night raised his hand into the air and his warhammer dropped into his claw as his limped very quickly towards him. Surprisingly, the Enderdragon took to the skies and started raining fireballs at Nathan. The spider however, jumped into the air and fire a large, organic ball of web at me.

Idilah started made a laugh that sound similar to the joker’s and slashed her knife to the side and the blade suddenly grew twice its size and turned into a  of her own. She blocked Necro-Asad’s manic slashes and kicked him in the chest, sending flying into another air-conditioning unit. “Now this is a real fucking fight!” she laughed, raising her sword into the air.

Nathan quickly threw up his gauntlet and somehow a shield (made of what I suspected was more lapis) appeared and blocked the flames. He smiled and clenched his fist tightly and a dark-blue cloud appeared in the sky. The dragon dodged a barrage of lapis spikes, twisting and barrel-rolling out the way, only to crash into a slightly more intact building. Nathan fist pumped into the air, almost jumping. 

Night screamed at his mother and unleashed a torrent of green flames that reminded me of descriptions of greek fire. His mother also released her own torrent of flames but was cut off by Night smacking her in the snout. Hard. When their flames met, Night was already advancing and caught her by surprise. Flesh went everywhere and Night turned up the pressure with his hammer, never stopping once with his swings.

Me? I simply sliced the ball of web in half, only to have the spider land right on my face. The moment he landed, I dropped my sword and started screaming. The spider started trying to get a good grip on me, biting at me with dripping fangs. “Get this thing off of me!” I screamed at the top of my lungs. Suddenly, there was a flash and the spider stopped moving. Then he exploded in half, raining purple goo on me. “Bleh,” I said in disgust.

I looked up to see Idilah standing over me with a manic grin on her face. “Having trouble?” I was about to respond but she cut me off. “Well tough titties! Now get your ass up and help me with this necro-fuck,” she ordered, dodging another swing from Necro-Asad and returned with a swift swing to his face. He leaned back and took another swing at her, this time blocked by quick thinking and my broadsword. “Okay we are having a serious conversation when we get out of here,” I said, kicking him in the chest sending him back a few feet.

Necro-Asad screamed horribly and threw one of his sword at me. I ducked and realized that Idilah was still behind me. I turned to see Idilah holding the sword’s blade in her hand. Blood started dripping from her hand and her grin turned into a straight up frown and I saw why.

The end of the blade was right in front of her cheek...

“I’m,” she said. “Getting really tired of no one reading the fucking shirt!” she yelled opening her duster. Now that I could the writing on the shirt, I wanted to laugh and curl into a ball at the same time. Printed in ragged letters was the message, BITCH I EAT PEOPLE!

Idilah’s crazy grin came back and noticed that her skin was broken, fractured like loosely connected pieces of paper Her eyes glowed bright yellow and her jacket flew off  behind her, forming leathery wings. She started hovering at least two feet above the ground, a dark aura surrounding her bare feet. She then let out a terrible scream and pure metal started playing from what seemed like the air. “Lets fucking go, fake!” she yelled, her voice turning something close to demonic.

She took both of her scimitars and crossed them over her chest, closed her eyes tight and returned them to her sides. “Barq Sayf...” she shouted, the scimitars lighting up with a crackling energy. I knew what was coming next and ducked behind a air conditioner, still watching the battle. “LIGHTNING BLADE!” She yelled, slashing both swords. Arcs of light and energy launched at the Necro-Asad, crossing in a X formation.

The zombie separated into four grizzly pieces of green, brown and purple flesh.

As all four pieces fell to the ground, Idilah laughed maniacally and dropped back down to the ground. I came from behind my cover and took off my helmet. “Idilah, what is wrong with you?” I asked concerned.

She ignored me and pointed to the Enderdragon raining fireballs onto Nathan and Night’s  mother was doing the same to him. She turned back to me with determined look on her face. “We need to get out of here. I’ll tell you about my baggage later, but for right now, I need to get my frustrations out, Alright?” 

I noticed her left eye was hidden behind her hair again, she also looked like she had calmed down. Nathan was having a hard time with Night’s mother and Night was definitely not used to an airborne opponent. I slipped back on my helmet and rested my sword on my shoulder. “Lets get crack’n.” Idilah smiled and revealed her right eye again, but this time she remained calm, the normal Idilah (or semi-normal) girl I’m used to. Then a wild, pained scream came from Night’s direction.

And her smile came back.
***
“Lucky shot!” I shouted from behind a convenient large white metal box. These things had saved my hide twice today, but now it seems I’m in the same position I as I am always...

Hiding from my mother...

“Come and face your punishment halfling!’ she yelled, successfully pissing me off again. 

I wanted to returned the insult  but hugged my arm in pain.  The bitch had clipped my swinging arm and now I couldn't even swing a stick, much less a hammer. Speaking of which, was embedded in what I could call a sink in what used to be an office a few yards in front of me. When I got hit, the hammer flew from my hand, went through a window and into the sink. It would have been pretty cool if not for the undead dragoness behind me.

She was about to yell another insult when a cracking noise interrupted her, followed by the crash of a demolished walls. “STAY AWAY FROM HIM YOU BITCH!” yelled a loosely familiar voice. 

“That can't be,” I said to myself, getting up. I got to my hooves and turned around, clutching my arm to see two beautiful things; my mother’s head in pieces...

And the demonic looking girl currently slashing said mother’s body apart like butter...

I stared in awe as she cut the body to pieces using two electrified swords and kicked apart the nibblets with her bare feet. By the time I limped to her, the dragoness’s head was a few yards to the right and the rest of her body was in a cleanly cut bloody pile.

“You okay?” Idilah asked plainly.

I jumped at her sound of her voice. It was at least a few decibels lower than I was used to and had a hollowness to it that scared the tartarus out of me. My knees started shaking and I swear I would have been sweating if my pours hadn't been destroyed by years of fire abuse. I couldn't figure out why I got like this when she was around. It annoyed me to no end but at the same time it let me know that my “attraction” to her as it were wasn't fear, it was...I don't know.

All of this ran through my head as continued to stare directly at Idilah’s weird but pretty eyes.

Her face turned a shade of red and she hid her face behind her hair. “W-What are you looking at?” she asked nervously.

I was about to reply but was interrupted by Crow. “I know you guys are trying to have your moment, but can you guys give us FUCKING HAND FIRST!” he yelled, throwing another blue spike at the dragon that looked even more terrifying than my mother. This dragon strafed across the skies and fired a volley of fire balls at Crow, him countering with blue spikes every time one came close to him. When each spike met a ball, they both shattered into nothing. One managed to get past him, missing Gh0st by an inch at the most. “You know it just occured to meet that I could be invisible right now,” he said, face-clawing.

Crow groaned. “Dammit! We need to-” he stubbled  of his feet as the sky rumbled and turned a dark purple.

“Perhaps I’ve been a bit too lenient on you misbehavior. Perhaps its time I deal with you all myself. Prepare yourselves cattle, now I can show you TRUE FEAR!” The voice in the sky screamed.

Thats when the dragon stopped. Just, stopped mid air, completely still. Then pieces of meat started flying at the dragon from behind us, splatting against it like paint on a canvas. The entire being shrank into a small black ball.

We stared at the ball. completely confused about what it was supposed to be. “Well that was anti-” Crow started but was interrupted by the black ball exploding, forming a purple cloud. Two large clawed hands stretched out of the cloud, followed by long grey arms with strangely clawed elbows. What came out next, words couldn't even describe.

“HA HA HA HEHA! NOW YOU FACE ME! NOW I WILL DEVOUR YOUR SOULS AND-” he stopped yammering his purple darkness filled mouth when he saw our agitated looks. “WHY DO YOU NOT COWER IN FEAR?! WHY AREN'T YOU FEEDING ME?!”

Idilah coughed loudly and grossly cleared her throat, putting her claws over her mouth. “BECAUSE SOME ASSHOLE IS YELLING AT US IN THE ROYAL CANTERLOT VOICE AND WE’RE SICK OF HIS SHIT!” She yelled back, earning a chuckle from the rest of us. The creature continued to shout obscenities but we honestly just ignored him.

“So how are we gonna do this?” asked Crow, still staring at the...thing.

Suddenly, Idilah’s coat was gone and black leathery wings sprouted from her back. I stared at them with a mix of awe and envy. Ever since I was a little, I wanted a pair of wings. It was the main reason why my mom hated me so much back then up until her death. Back then I would have wanted wings to please her, but now I wanted a pair because they looked awesome. “Everyone imagine up a ride, we’re gonna bash this thing’s face in!”

Gh0st and Crow looked at each other and nodded. There was a flash and was appeared under them would weird me out until the end of my days. Gh0st and Crow were both seated on top of two pony size pigs with pegasus wings. With that image burned into my mind, I tried to imagine something to get me in the air. Duh! I thought to myself and I suddenly felt something growing out of my back. I looked behind me to see a leathery black appendage and attached to it, blue flaps. I had my wings

“WOHO!”

“FUCK YEAH!”

“WHOOT!”

“LETS DO THIS!” We shouted as we all jumped off the edge.

Flying was...Surprisingly not difficult. The moment I jumped off the edge, my back muscles started moving on their own, as if the my body was already made to have wings. If that was the case, then I was extremely glad for once I was dragon. Gh0st, Crow and Idilah were ahead of me, screaming battle cries as we all charged the...Thing. I pondered what I could call it and caught up with Idilah. She had manic smile that matched her wildly flowing hair. I almost wondered what her species might be but a bellow from the thing reminded me why I was so close to her right now. 

“So what do we call this thing?” I shouted at her.

She looked back and me and replied. “Steven,” she said plainly but  loud enough for me to hear. 

Steven?

I shook my head in confusion and nearly got knocked out of the sky by a lightning bolt. I looked ahead to see the thing-I mean, Steven, throwing lightning bolt, balls of fire and brimstone and bolts of pure purple colored energy at us. In fact, it seemed the entire sky was raining projectiles at us at random. I narrowly dodged another bolt and a block of brimstone and looked back to Gh0st and Crow to see that they were still alive. Apparently, pigs maneuvered as well as pegasi.

I looked ahead and immediately stopped, along with the others. We were now about 20 yards away from Steven’s face. He bellowed and shouted at us, nearly blowing out my ears. Despite that, we ignored him and huddled up. 

“Um, how do we plan on taking this thing out?” I asked.

Idilah smiled manically. “Nathan, Mitchell...You guys remember the song of awesomeness?” she asked in an accent I didn't recognize.

Crow and Gh0st looked at eachother for a moment, as if pondering what she was talking about. Then they both smiled as bad as Idilah. “Oh, we remember. Just give us a stage,” Crow replied, excited.

“Wait, what's “the song of battle?” I asked, confused.

They ignored me and turned back to the ugly thing Idilah called steven. They circled around him, Crow and Gh0st out of sight and Idilah practically in front of the thing’s nose. “Hey Steven!” she yelled.

Steven flailed his arms in anger, nearly hitting Crow and Gh0st. “I KNOW NO STEVEN INKLING! NOW PREPARE FOR YOUR-”

“Do you like my sword?” she asked holding up her knife-sword.

Crow and Gh0st suddenly appeared at her side. “Do you like my sword sword, my diamond sword sword?”

A awesome music riff that I never heard started playing. “You can not aford-ford my diamond sword sword!”  they all sang in unity, pointing at Steven. Steven leaned back in surprise. I’m sure he was like me at the moment...

Haven't a clue what the tartarus is going on...

They all moved closer to him, their swords pointed at either sides of his bony cheeks. “Even if you could-could, I have a patent!” they sang, stabbing said cheeks. Purple anchor leaked from out of the small wounds. I’m sure Steven felt them, but was like me, entranced by the song.

“No one else can make a sword exactly in this manner-manna!” They sang, practically gouging out his cheeks. “Welcome to my manna-manna! But I can-canna-canna, Swing-Swing-Swing my sword-sword. Whenever I get bored-bored, I can swing my sword sword! I can swing my sword!” And sure enough they did, wildly, managing to tear each side of the creature’s face to shreds. 

Steven didn't react, he only listened...

Idilah got back in center of vision again, staring at him provocatively, her weird eye sparkling. “Please do not ignore. Do you like my sword?” She asked slicing across his face. “Ha! That was rhetorical. You know I am the oracle. I know you like my sword. Its made of freakin diamond!”

“I can swing my sword-sword!” yelled Gh0st, literally slicing through Steven’s jawline.

“Because I am the lord-lord!” Crow yelled from his side. 

Idilah raised her sword high, as if worshiping it. “Lord of Diamond sword!” at that point, Steven’s jaw had been completely sawed off and had fell into the dark abyss below. Idilah’s manic smile came back and she charged straight at Steven’s forehead, embedding her sword right between his eyes. Steven screamed but Idilah’s sword suddenly glowing bright red...

And then everything went black...
***
At some point in time...

“So what's the plan amigo?” asked Terk.

Terk and the twins, were still resting in a pink grove of flowers. Boom was in too much pain to move and her wing wasn't the only thing that got hit by the magic bolt. Her entire first side, from her wings to her forehooves were completely numb. At first glance, it would seem like she was shivering from being cold, but it was really because her muscles were spasming without her knowledge. 

Tick held his sister tight. “I don't know. I don't know if we should move her or not, but we need to get these supplies back to the ship. Did you get some of the chimera meat?” he asked, worried.

Terk held up the meat sack they had been using. “I got it and an idea. I grab all our food, take it back to the ship and force Herpy to bring out that special boat he’s been working on,” he suggested.

Tick looked back at his shivering sister, trying to think of a better plan. If Terk left, that would leave him and his crippled sister vulnerable for any big creature in the shadows to pounce on them. That and Herpy was extremely protective of his project. On the other hoof, with Boom unable to move, they would need something to transport them.

Tick grit his teeth. “Alright go, but hurry up! Boom needs a doctor. Soon,” he ordered.

Terk nodded and flew off into the sky. Tick looked back to his twin. Her shivering had stopped but he was in no doubt she was still in pain. Don't worry Boomy, your gonna be fine, he thought. After an hour of waiting later Tick heard a rumbling under his hooves. He stayed prone and looked up in the sky to see it had blackened in a perfect circle over a spot a mile away from where he and his twin were. Thunder and lightning laced through that single spot Wait, isn't that the direction where Idilah’s group went? he thought to himself.

A black speck in the clear part of the sky pulled his attention away. The black spec tuned out to be a boat, a boat that Tick and Boom got into trouble for asking about and eventually trouble for touching. The boat was blue, the sides painted in feathered pattern and at the nose of it was the yellow beak of a griffon. Ballists were attached to the sides and wierd metal tubes came out the back of the boat, glowing red. 

Tick had asked what or who the Falcon was once. Herpy had angrily told me that the Falcon was once a griffon who had tried to bring order to the Dominion. Unfortunately,  he hadn't really thought it out, as his brilliant plan for that was to punch everyone in the face. Very short story short, Falcon was eaten by a dragon a day after he announce to the world that he was going bring back honor to the Dominion. Herpy admired the Falcon, or at least what he tried to do, poorly and wanted to immortalize him someway. 

The Falcon lowered into the pink flower bed behind Tick, crushing what could have been a wonderful snack and revealing the cockpit of the air-boat. The controls and passenger seats were all covered by a red metal roof, the front windshield fashioned to look like a set of eyes.

Terk crawled out of the cockpit though the back of the boat. He stretches his wings, clearly flustered. “Chingao dude! You gotta make a bigger cockpit, my wing hurt,” he complained.

Herpy got out of the boat too, flicking his right temple to straighten his eye and look at Terk sternly. “I would be more worried about Idilah’s group. That phenomenon just a mile away is where Idilah and her group went,” he said five times fast.

Terk raised an eyebrow. “How can you be sure? Dude, you weren't even sure where to go, how do you know that she’s even there?” he asked skeptically.

Boom shivered again, reminding Tick of more pressing matters. “Whatever the deal with Idilah is, Boom needs to get looked at. Lets get her on the ship and in the med bay, then we can go check out that inkblot in the sky,” he suggested forcefully. 

Terk and Herpy looked at each other and nodded. Within an hour, they had loaded Boom onto the Falcon and back to the Sheytan. There, Tick made sure that she was tucked in a hospital bed with as much painkillers she was allowed to have.

Tick took an elevator line to the forge room and found Herpy and Terk strapping on Herpy’s body mounted crossbows. Once Tick thought about it, the ship’s crossbows looked a lot like Herpy’s. He asked Herpy about that as he strapped his on. Herpy hurriedly replied he had gotten the idea from the Roamane kingdom, just as the SaddleArabians did this ship. After arming up, they piled into the Falcon and rushed toward the strange phenomenon.

As they approached the ziggurat (as Herpy called it), they noticed the streaks of lightning that were arking though the sky were different colors. A streak of blood red arched over a streak of plum purple. Herpy narrowly avoided a streak of lightning, gazing at them in wonderment. Terk slapped the back of his head and Herpy descended to the stairs of the ancient building.

The trio galloped through hallway after hallway in search of their captain. Though that could be said for only Terk and Tick, Herpy was behind them yelling at them to slow down. “We don't know what's in here! Slow-”

Terk was about to interrupt him but stepped on a pressure plate, stopping immediately. The ginat tile that would have been his next step opened up to reveal a pit of spikes. The ceiling over the same spot opened and more spikes extended into the pit. After that, even more spikes came down further down the hallway. Both traps closed and Terk turned to Herpy, embarrassed. Herpy slapped him on his temple. “Thats what happens when you don't listen to the genius. Now, lets figure out how to get past these traps-” Herpy was interrupted by Tick throwing one of Boom’s can grenades past his head. The grenade landed on the tile, activating the traps. When the pit opened and the spikes went down, the grenade exploded, destroying all the the spikes. The tile went back to position, creaking.

Tick trotted past the stunned griffons with a smug smile. Past the splintered remains of spikes, stairs descended down, the walls glowing with blood red and purple runes as the lightning in the sky outside. As the trio descended down, Herpy noticed the runes were almost like Idilah’s except these looked more focused on images fear and despair. At the bottom of the stairs, another hallway extended into a chamber. The hall glowed with more runes and the next room was flashing red and purple. Terk, Tick and Herpy exchanged nervous looks. They had no idea what was making those flashes nor a plan. 

Terk screamed in exasperation. “Screw it!” Terk yelled, rushing into the room.

Tick facehoofed and trotted after him. “Dammit Terk, haven't we been over this?!”

“He doesn't learn quickly does he?” Herpy yelled, chasing after them both.

In the chamber, beyond the flashing light was four figures. Nightheart, Ghost and Crow were tied to the walls at the waist. Each one was fully awake and struggling agaist their bonds as they watch Idilah and another beast clash in power. The red energy was coming from Idilah’s intense flames going agaist a sketington like creature that resembled diamond dog who was shooting purple lightning. What managed to freak Tick out was the fact that this thing’s body was extending from a cloud! Both energies met each other the form of a wall. 

Idilah looked strained, just holding her power at that point was taking all her concentration and even that was failing. Diamond dog cloud thing cackled in victory. “Did you really think you could defeat me? I have lived for centuries! I have corrupted and devoured the souls of thousands! All of them puny insignificant humans like you!” he continued to berate as his lighting started to push back Idilah’s wall of fire. 

Nightheart looked over the trio  of rescuers, anger and desperation on his face. “What the tartarus are you idiots waiting for?!”

Tick, Herpy and Terk shook their heads out of their collective shock.and readied their crossbows. Each one of them simultaneously fired a volley of bolts at the strange creature,not doing much damage but breaking his focus. The creature’s light stopped for only one second and Idilah took her chance and poured on the fire, engulfing the creature in blood red flames. 

The creature wailed in pain, flailing its arms as Idilah closed the gap between them. She smiled wickedly, showing off her terrifying teeth. “You what makes all that bullshit invalid buddy? Friends with crossbows,” she said proudly, looking at Tick as he and the rescue team cut down her friends. Idilah’s fire started to intensify, the creature now practically drowning in it. It started to slowly recede into the cloud its body was coming from. 

The bony creature cackled. “Fine then Jann, if I must submit my power, then I will give them to you, with interest!” he laughed, completely receding into its black cloud. After finishing its speech, the cloud immediately threw itself at Idilah with amazing speed. Idilah stopped her onslaught of flames and stared at the incoming ball of darkness, completely stunned and unmoving.

Without saying a word, Nightheart ran faster he thought possible and jumped to tackle Idilah out of the way. As he practically speared Idilah at the waist, the ball of darkness collided with them both, spreading across their bodies. By the time both of them had hit the ground, they were both encased in a dark goo-like substance. Everyone in the chamber watched as the red and purple runes that covered the walls start to fade and dim, resulting in most of the light left in the room coming from Idilah and Nightheart. Idilah was covered in more intricate purple-black runes than before, glowing bright enough to give light to the whole chamber. Nightheart was covered in dimly lit red runes. His runes looked conflicted, almost a jumbled mix of the runes that were a part of Idilah’s body.

As everyone stared in awe at the pair, a rumbling began above their heads, loud enough to shake them out of their stupor. As soon as he heard the rumbling Crow ran for Nightheart and slumped his unconscious body onto his back. “Mitchell! grab I.D and drape her over our backs. We have to get the fuck out of here! NOW!” he shouted at his friend.

Gh0st immediately went for Idilah unconscious form and did as Crow said. Together, they held the two extremely tall unconscious beings on their backs. Terk and Herpy were already galloping up the stairs before Crow finished his sentence. Tick stayed behind and made sure that the ones carrying the captain and her mate were steady and ready to go. As they galloped up the stairs and to the outside, the whole structure began collapsing, chunks and ancient brick rained behind them,  encouraging their escape.

Tick turned around just in time to see Ghost and Crow collapse on the top of the ziggurat's stairs. Both were exhausted from carrying the two bodies. Ghost huffed. “These guys need to lose some damn weight,” he wheezed out.

Crow sighed. “Too tired to even make a comment-” The entrance to the ancient building collapse right behind them, showering them with more ruble. Crow strained to get up with the bodies on his back, along with Ghost doing the same. “Tick...Please tell me we have a ride?” Crow weazed.

Tick was about to reply but the loud humming behind him let him know he didn't need to. Herpy lowered the Falcon onto the platform and Terk poked his beak from out the back, staring back at Crow and Ghost’s stunned faces. Terk groaned. “Come on, we got two unconscious idiots who need a doctor, what are ya waiting for?! Andele, andele!’ he ordered.

Crow and Ghost quickly loaded Nightheart and Idilah onto the seats of the boat, making them lay close to each other. Crow and Ghost jumped in the air-boat followed by Tick. With a nervous claw, Herpy raised the Falcon and sped across the skies toward the ship, shaken by what he saw, along with everyone else on the airboat. 














> Meeting the doctor 
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Nothing. Thats all I saw. Nothing, blank, nada, zip. Every term for nothing you can think of. This was actually pretty regular since my first night in Equestria. Well, not counting the briefings from Burijas. Every night after that was this same void where I just...Didn't think. I didn't dream either, I just...Waited. But after a certain amount of time, I noticed something different. It was a figure in the void. It was tall and didn't have any features. It just stood there, not looking at me. My void or dream self of whatever you want to call it, turned to investigate the figure, but was cut off by a familiar annoying voice.

“Dil-la. Yo-hoo, Idilah?” Wakey wakey, eggs and ‘mera bakey!”Ghost shouted in my ear.

My reaction was swift and simple....

I grabbed him by the throat, earning a “Gurk!” from him before I threw him directly up, lodging his head in the ceiling. “So I guess you don't like chimera bacon?” he asked flatly.

I sat up and looked around, seeing that I was in the med bay. A welcome sight because my head started throbbing. “Urgh. Where are the painkillers?” I asked Ghost, who was struggling to get himself out of the ceiling. He flailed his hooves, trying to push himself out. After a few more seconds he gave up and sighed. “I’ll tell you when you get me out here,” he said, defeated. I threw my legs over the bed and slowly got to my soft feet, attempting to stand up straight.

Wait a minute...Soft feet?

I looked down to see two caramel colored human feet. I raised my arms to my face to see cream colored palms and black polished nails. I was missing my duster which escalated even further. I started breathing frantically, touching, almost smacking my face. “What the hell!” I shouted, frantically looking around the room for a mirror, reflective surface, anything to confirm what I didn't want to be.

Ghost groaned. “Before you have a breakdown, could you get me the hell out of here?! And quick because I think I see-ROLLY POLLIE! ROLLY POLLIE!” he shouted as if he saw a spider.

I shook my head out of my hysteria and pulled Ghost out the ceiling. I pulled for only a few seconds before the section of ceiling that Ghost was in cracked even more and collapsed. Well, at least I still have my strength. Ghost landed with a grunt. The dust-brown pony shook the debri out of his short green mane and stared at me angry curiosity. “Okay...Lets pretend that didn't happen,” he said, annoyed.

His eyes bored into me and I veiled my face in my hair, embarrassed. Ghost realizing his gaze, turned away. This was a regular thing back on earth when I didn't have time to cover my scars in makeup.Ghost, or Mitchell knew that I got extremely angry when people stared too long.
 
He coughed awkwardly. “Um, you're probably wondering why you look like that,” he said nervously.

I nodded silently. “Do you know?” 

He shook his head. “After you forced that thing into submission, you and Night got covered in some magic casing. After a few hours, you came out of it looking like that. To be honest though, you don't look all that different. You still have all those glyphs or whatever you call them, all over your body. Or at least as much as I could see,” he said pointing at my forearm.


I stared down at it to see that he was right. My body was still covered in Signs and runes, except they had adopted a blood-red version of red. I also noticed that my skin looked segmented, as if it was loosely put together. Another thing I noticed was that I wasn't wearing my duster.

Ghost saw my  “Also,” he continued. “Nights not looking so good. He hasn't come out of his goo yet-”

“Wait what?!” I asked, worried.

Ghost solemnly pointed his hoof at a bed two beds away from mine. In it was the Nightheart ir at least what I thought was Nightheart. He was encased in a black organic goo that was covered in runes similar to mine but were purple. Nightheart’s head twisted in his sleep in a way I recognized...As if he was having a nightmare.

On earth nightmares were a regular thing for me. They weren't usually about what happened with dad- oh no, those would be close to wet dreams. My nightmares would be about Asad dying in the horrifying ways you normally see in movies. Ever since being being offered to come here though, I haven't had a single nightmare, not a one. Steven got me by surprise with that shift in that role reversal but that in general was easy to maneuver out of. 

But now Nightheart was in his own world and if I remeber right, under some magic I had no idea how to counter. Nightheart twitched again, causing another pang of guilt. Though, the guilt itself was misplaced. I looked to Ghost and once again held him at the throat.

He squirmed and tapped at my clenched hand. “What did I do?” he gargled.

A single tear ran down my face. “This is your fault!” I shouted. “This is because of you touching shit!”

Ghost tried taking a breath. “Dila...We were heading into that thing anyway! We...Would have...had to fight it...No matter how we got in!” he tried shouting.



“If you ever put any of us in danger again, you can be damn sure you’ll get more than that,” I said, no even looking at him. 

Ghost coughed up bit of backed up saliva and spat it on the floor. “Whatever, I don't need this. I’ll be in my room. Booms in here too if you want to not stare at your boyfriend forever,” he said walking out of the room.

I took my eyes off of Nightheart for a second and looked around. Boom was in another bed close to a cabinet, her brother at her side. Boom looked as if she was in tough shape. Bandages were mummified around her right wing, her red fur was dark-pink compared to her usual hot-red. She was tucked under a blanket, with Tick stood right next to her, holding her hoof. The whole scene reminded me of when Asad had sprained his ankle when he was on the soccer team in high school. I almost never left his side, mostly just to berate him for messing up, but the love was there.

Tick patted her head and turned to see me, no doubt startled at what my form. I honestly wasn't planning on telling anyone that I was originally human. Mostly because it would stir up more questions than I cared to answer. Then there were the matter of my scars...

Tick coughed and got me out of my deep train of thought. “Hey cap. Um, you alright?” he asked nervously. 

I rolled my neck, careful not to let my veil slip. “Yeah...Just fine. How's your sister?” 

He shook his head solemnly. “Not good. Or at least I think not good. I’m no doctor and no one else on this vessel is either. We need to get to that doctor soon. Arige says she should be able to fix just about any ailment but I still think its rubbish. I don't care who, but I need a pro to look at my sister,” he explained staring at the ground, fighting back tears.

I placed a hand on his shoulder, not meeting his eyes. “I’m sorry I sent you guys out there. Its my fault-” he shoved my hand away.

“No it is not!” he shouted. “Don't start the “everypony is responsibility” card. Its that damn chimera’s fault. And guess what? Crow just made bacon out of it. I don't blame you and I won't let somepony beat themselves up for no reason. We’ll...We’ll deal with when we get somewhere with a doctor,” he said, putting his hoof on my shoulder, surprising me. “I don't know what species you are or why I trust you this much, but let me worry about my sister. I’m gonna hang out here for a bit.”

He took his hoof off of me and went back to Boom’s side, leaving me completely stunned.
---
Arige and Kitty were on the crew deck, eating. Along with everyone else. Everyone was chowing down on what I suspected was the chimera that Tick mentioned. Aside from Arige and Kitty, Herpy and Vito were discussing something, the zebra crewmates (didn't bother to learn their names because I really don't care about them) were sitting together, just eating some exotic looking plants. Crow and Terk were busy at the cooking station, frying more meat. I didn't know where Mastodon was but then again he always did his own thing.

 I took a deep breath and veiled my face, carefully concealing my scars. Wait, what about my eye? I thought to myself. My extremely strange eye was another thing heretically past to me by my long dead mother. I never bothered asking dad about it, never cared too much until some people started being non-verbally afraid of me when I so much as looked at them. Well, some people. Others just got bold and came right up to me as if they got a nerve or instinct to talk to me,. This normally resulted in some people become non-enemies or one of us getting hurt. 

I gritted my teeth and switched my hair veil to the left side of my face. As much as I hate my human form in general, I don't want to scare the people that trust me. Considering my position, would it be the same thing? Its already been proven that just being around me has an effect on people. I need to test this stuff out one day. For now, I’ll just keep this thing hidden and if anyone asks about my scars, I’ll give them the Coleman treatment. I thought as I walked around the wall that separated the crew deck to the rest of the crew deck. This place is way too much like the Normandy.

The moment I came from behind the wall, all eyes went on me. Some were stunned, others looked afraid, most though just gave me a concerned nod. I nodded back to each one with look of surprise myself. Wow...No gasps, no wild questions...This is new. I went up to the cooking station and patted Crow accidentally on his wing. The midnight griffon cringed and quickly turned around, earning a chuckle from Terk. 

Crow angrily turned to Terk, looking as if he was about to slap the mexican griffon. “Shut up Pavo! You know how sensitive wings are!” 

Terk or Pavo, instantly stopped laughing. “Yo don't say my slave name man!” 

Crow’s angry look quickly turned to guilt. “Okay I’m sorry, but you know how sensitive these things are! Anyway,” he said turning to me, concern replacing the guilt on his face with concern. “Glad your up, can I talk to you in the bunk room for a second?”

I nodded and the both of us started walking over to the left side of the deck. The bunk room where most of the crew slept looked more lived in. Allot of the beds were a mix of made and unmade, though I did miss some personal belongings that were here last time I walked through.

Crow stood on his hind legs and leaned against a bunk, crossing his arms. “You okay?” he asked, worried.

My face went slack with disappointment. “Nathan, I’m human again, what the fuck do you think?” I asked, quickly regretting it. I sighed. “Dammit...I’m sorry. I’ve been acting like a bitch since I got up. Mitchel got the blunt end of the fit.”

Crow stood calmly shook his head. “I don't get it. When we first saw you in Ashville, you still looked human, you just had some new skin. Well, and super magical powers.”

I groaned. “Thats the point, I had armor! Not this fleshy, soft...bag. When I took Burijas’s offer to come here, I didn't think he would change me that much. Thats why I was....Contempt, Calm, not the usual nervous wreck I was,” I explained,looking down at my glyph ingrained hands.

Crow just shook his head. “Is that why you drank so much?” He asked. I nodded, not meeting his eyes. He sighed. “Have you tried shape shifting yet?”

That struck a nerve.

My eyes opened wide and instead of answering his question, I started focusing all my will into my left hand. I thought about how I looked in the mirror only a day ago. Dark chitinous plates with lava-like flesh underneath. I focused that image onto just my hand and watched as my palm turned blood red, black plates seemingly growing from the center of my palm shortly after. I didn't know how long I was staring at my hand, but eventually I had a piece of my djinn form back.

Though, it was just my hand that went through the transformation, I felt as if I was coming down from a caffeinated sugar high, hard. I would had fell to the ground if Crow didn't catch me. “Whoa girl are you okay? You zoned out for a minute there.” he said, helping me up.

I smirked and brought my hand up to his beak. “I’ll be okay once I know how much power I have. Anyway, wheres Arige?”
***
Sheytan had been busy.

When we had first found the ship, the core deck was nothing but a room with a magic floating ball in it. Now, there was two rooms: one to the left of the core chamber and one to the right. The right room’s door had a slight japanese feel to it, while the one to the left looked more like a curtain than anything. I had distinct feeling who owned which one.

Because I didn't want to deal with the cluster-fuck, Pinkie-esc experiance of Kitty after coming back from a nap, I immediately started for the japanese door. As I pushed what I thought was Arige’s door, I was met with the subtle smell of jasmine. The smell was coming from an incense stick on top of a thin stone spire in the middle a pool of white sand the size of a small swimming pool. There was nothing else in the room other than a window on the far side of the room and the black tile that surrounded the pool. I scratch my head, confused at the storage room. I was about to ask aloud “where is he,” but was startled to see two blue reptilian eyes poke through the surface of the sand. Two scale covered claws surfaced shortly after, pulling up a broad, muscular body that reminded me of my brother’s physique. Within a minute, a large, green, anthropomorphic alligator standing over me.  

A small smile grew on his scaly muzzle, his eyes showing a softness that surprised me the first time I saw it. “Hello there Ms.Idilah, I trust your nap was pleasant?” he asked coyly. I don't know why, but Arige’s voice reminded me of Bane from the Christopher Nolan films. 

A nervous smile of my own. “Considering I possibly almost died yeah,” I almost laughed.

Arige chuckled as well. “So what brings you to my territory?” he asked, examining me closely. As inquisitive as I thought he was, Arige didn't seem that curious about my human body.

I rubbed my chin in thought, looking around the strange room. “How about you explain how the hell this room came to be. Last time I was down here, there definitely was not a sand swimming pool,”

Arige looked puzzled at my question, as if he was thinking of a explanation himself. “Well...To be simple, it just appeared. While you were in the face of danger, I was examining the core. I made a idle complaint that there wasn't many places for me to warm up and an hour later, this place appeared,” he explained.

I pinched the bridge of my nose and sighed. “Gonna have to talk to She about this. Anyway, thats not what I came here for,” I said changing the subject.

“So why are you here?”

“Tell me everything about Mt. Frostmonth,” I asked simply. “This has to be the third stop we’ve made and every stop I’ve been to since I got here has been a death trap.”

Arige sighed happily and sat down on the white sand, the white grain almost solidifying under his weight. He patted the sand next to him invitingly. “Then I suggest you come and sit my friend. We have much to discuss. Mt Frostmonth has been in establishment for many years-,”

I groaned and pinched the bridge of my nose. “I just want the cliff-notes Arige,” I demanded, interrupting him. “Docking information, whether or not we can just land on top of her lab. If not, will we have to fight angry villagers? Or, even better information would be if her lab is surrounded and/or filled with more you’s?” I asked, annoyed.

Arige made sour face, almost disappointed even. “You take all the fun out of mystery you know that right?” he asked.

I shrugged. “I would apologize, but everypony's getting hit by the bitch train today. Now about the important parts of the mountain...”
***
After a thankfully short explanation from Arige, I had a pretty idea of what to do when we got there. And with that in mind, I flew up an elevator line back to the crew deck. First priority was evaluating my powers. Wait a minute...She! Sheytan! Goddammit, Sheytan answer me! I thought very loudly, standing in front of the elevator lines. After ten agonizing minutes of waiting and awkwardly letting people by, I gave up and headed for the training room, confused. Where the hell is She? Why the hell am I even asking that, she’s bound to the ship. Must be ignoring me, I thought as I headed for my room. 

I opened my room door to see my huge family sized bed. I yearned to jump into the ospian black linens but closed the door and looked down at my hands. Time to see what I can do, I thought as I focus all my thought into making a small flame in my palms. What happened was gouts of blood red flames erupted from my hands, straight at my face. I threw back my head in surprise, closing my hands. “What the shit?!” I shouted, staring at my hands. 

I calmly shook my hands noticed some dirt, or what I thought was dirt, drop from my fingers. Curiously, I smelled my palms and reeled back at the stench. “Oh...Lawd, that stinks a stench. But I can't shake the feeling I’ve seen this stuff before,” I thought outloud. I snapped my fingers in realization. “Aha! Napalm! Wait...My hands just made friggin napalm!” I yelled, staring at my palms. I smiled and clenched my fists. “Time to test something out.”

I clapped my hands together, cupping a pocket of air. I muttered a few magically imbued words into my cupped hands and the Sign for fire appeared on the back them. Well thats new, I thought as a very potent flame erupted from the small pocket I made. I focused on the flame, imagining it as a ball. Eventually, after about twenty minutes of intense focus, grains of I was sure was napalm started dropping from my ball of flame.

Pressure was beginning to build in the small chamber I made with my hands. I focused the shape of the fire even harder and doubled my force on my hands. Finally, I couldn't the pressure and threw the half made ball of fire into the window behind my bed, making a small hole that didn't so much shatter, but melted through like butter. Though some would view the damage as a show of failure but I was beaming at the damage. I looked down at my left hand and clenched it. “Well, that was awesome,” I said proudly. 

Just as I was about to attempt another one, a knock and an intrusive slam of the door sounded behind me. I turned around to see a tall, scrawny, wolf-like diamond dog. He quickly sized me up and let out a impressed whistle. “Whoa. Even without fangs, you kind of look like a diamond dog. Oh yeah, we’re approaching Mt. Frostmonth. Vito said to let you know we’re gathering in the mess hall.”

Time to face the music, I thought, taking a deep breath. “Tell everyone I’m on way,” I ordered.

Mastodon smiled and mock saluted. “Yes ma'am lady Beta!” he said sarcastically before running off. 

I face-palmed and tried to figure out what he just said. Before going out, I moved to the door on the right side of my bed, opening to see my black duster. Wondering who put it there, I slipped it on and marched out of the door.
---
“Okay, so you all must be non-verbally asking what exactly am I,” I said, standing in front of the massive dinner table. Everyone or everyone that could make it, was staring at me with a contempt stare. “To put it simply, I am human. Thats all you need to know about what I am. What you need to know is that if you ever ask what is wrong with my face...You’ll get hurt,” I said with a scary amount of assertiveness.

Everyone grimace and I continued. “Onto the plan. From what Arige has told me, the doctor’s compound does not have any type of air-ship port. But, there are clearings for us to land. Plus  with Arige and Kitty leading the way, we should find a pathway used by one of the professor’s assistants,” I explained.

Crow leaned forward on the table in curiosity. “What kind of obstacles can we expect?” he asked nervously. I felt his unwillingness, considering the last time we went into an area we didn't know much about, we almost became food. 

I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose. “Unfortunately, from what Arige told me, the entire way is littered with sentries. And before you ask, Arige said they’re rotated around so he can't be sure what would be blocking our way. Although, considering you and Kitty something the professor made, can't you guys take point and escort us up?” I asked the Abominations.

Both of them shook their heads and Arige answered. “Well, I can't be sure. The others and I have been a part of Vito’s outfit for almost two years. It might be a...Stretch that any of the sentinels would remember our scent,” he explained.

I groaned with annoyance. “Alright, so you all know the risks. Who’s coming with for this one. Arige’s claw went up immediately, so did Kitty’s. Who’s claw that surprised me was Mastodon’s.

Mastodon caught my surprise or as much of a look I could give behind a veil of hair. “What? As much as I’ve loved sleeping for the past few days, I need some target practice,” he said confidently, flexing his crossbow arm. 

I looked over at Vito who was nervously tapping at the table. “Not going with him?” I asked, confused. Though I never seen them off the ship, whenever I saw one, the other wouldn't be far behind. Vito stopped tapping the table and looked somewhere behind me nervously, heeding my warning. “Well...-,”

“Come on ya igit!” interrupted Mastodon. “What are you afraid of?” 

Fear grew on Vito’s face. “You do NOT know Professor Flan. I’ll come with but only to see your face when you meet her,” he said snidely, making me nervous.

Herpy raised his hand and I nodded to him. “Why not take the Falcon to the facility? Bypass all the sentinels?” he suggested, earning a stare from everyone at the table. “What? Its finished. I have no problem showing off finished work,” he said proudly.I face-palmed and realized I had forgotten about Herpy’s boat that saved my life. 

“Alrighty then,” I said. “Someone tell me how far we are from mt. Frostmonth,” I ordered.

“We’re right over the town,” Tick answered. “Did some scouting to clear my head. By now, we should be right over the town called-,”

“Doesn't matter. We already know where we’re going. We wasted enough time on scavenging and still have no idea if this doc even has any information on Jill or what's shes after. So screw the town. We keep Sheytan in the air and take the Falcon to the professor’s facility. We have a max of a few hours there at the most, then we move to Trotland to investigate where she would go,” I declared, everyone nodding back in approval. “Everyone who’s coming grab your gear and lets move. Herpy, your driving.”

Herpy snorted. “Would anyone else?”
***
I sat on the boat seat, leaning forward. Vito was next to me talking about Professor Flan, but I wasn't listening. I was too busy staring at Arige’s worried expression. He did say that there were sentries but he would mention if any of them could fly. Right? 

Kitty was bouncing on the seat next to  with barely contained excitement, much to Herpy’s annoyance. “Dammit, I told you to sit down girl! Do you have any idea how much time it took to make chimera leather? A damn long time!” he yelled at the excited abomination as he maneuvered the air-boat, drifting down to what looked like a hidden facility. 

“I’m sorry!” Kitty apologized loudly. “I’m just so excited! I haven't seen the professor in a long time. I wonder what kinds of brothers and sisters shes made,” Kitty pondered aloud, tapping her dragon claw against her chin.

The building look almost like a school, with red brick walls, two floors and two wings coming from a long central building, making a T in a well sized clearing. The center of building had a flat top that looked like it was made for a small airship. Though it couldn't possibly hold the weight of Sheytan, the fact that the landing pad existed made me a touch annoyed.
“Land on the roof,” I ordered Herpy. “Lets meet the doctor.”

We slowly descended to the landing pad gracefully, got out and was greeted by black clothed figure that was definitely not there before. It was obviously a filly, standing on four snow white hooves that each had a suspicious black line of stitching just above the hoof and three across her muzzle, forming a V shape. She was wearing a black tattered cloak that attempted to hide her stitches and a black fedora that completely hid her muzzle. She raised her head to reveal her glowing red eyes. “Leave now! You are not welcome here,” she warned darkly.

I was about to reply with an angry comment but Arige cut me off. “I am a child of Professor Flan and demand to see her at once,” he said with authority.

The pony shook her head. “No you are not. You must have left this place a long time ago. Otherwise, I don't recognize you.”

Arige rolled his eyes. “Thats probably because your new,” he said, sounding annoyed. “I was born and constructed here by Professor Flan. I was only leased to this griffon,” he said pointing to Vito, who was next to him. Vito nervously waved to the cloaked filly. “He has released me from my contract and I would like to see the professor.

The filly scoffed mockingly. “If you were from here, you’d know that Flan isn't the professor. I don't know who you are but you aren't-,” the filly was interrupted by the door behind her suddenly slamming open, taking her with it in the process.

What stood in the doorway was possibly the most gorgeous zombie unicorn I’ve ever seen.

The zombie had pale blue coat and blonde hair. Not just her mane, her tail too. Large metal bolts jutted from each side of her head. She also had stitches too; one right above her right eye and one that went across her face, forming a creepy smile. She actually did smile and made me cridge. She gasped. “My babies!” She yelled at the abominations in next to me. 

Kitty gasped louder and flew straight at the zombie mare and embraced her in a back-breaking hug. Arige calmly walked up from the hug fest and joined in. Vito, Mastodon and I just stared at the spectacle, completely confused.

The mare gently pushed them away, like a mother shooing away clinging children. “Now, what about our guests,” she mused. She first greeted Vito and Mastodon with businesslike smile. “Ah, Vito. Mastodon. How have you been?” she asked them both.

Vito nervously rubbed the back of his head. “Not sooo great. We had...Some issues,” he started.

Mastodon sigh loudly. “He means our entire operation has gone to shite,” Mastodon finished. “Look, we need your help.”

Flan considered him for a minute but switched her attention to me. “That can wait my wolfish friend,” she said staring quizzically at me. I was already behind my hair veil but the look that Flan was giving me was like a cat that had found a new toy to play with. She approached me with paced excitement and lifted a hoof to greet me. “We have definitely not met before. I am Doctor Flankentstein, but I prefer Flan,” she greeted gently. 

I took her hoof and shook it firmly. “I’m Idilah Blood and before you ask, I’m human,” I replied.

Flan gasped in surprise. “Oh my, thats what you are. You must let me examine you! I could make an entire report to the professor! I could, I could-,” I stopped her with a raised hand.

“I’m sorry but any other time, I’d let you. But right now, I need to ask you something,” I began but was interrupted by the filly from earlier slammed the door back, urgency on her muzzle. “Flan, we don't have time for this! There another wave coming!” she yelled at the doctor.

Flan blushed and looked back to me, embarrassed. “I’m sorry, but we’ve recently ran into some problems with some dogs,” she said to me.

Vito’s expression became serious. “Flan, do these dogs wear anything? Vest perhaps?”

Flan tapped her chin. “I don't know. Velcro,” she said, looking at the filly. “Did you see any of them wearing clothing?”

The filly, Velcro, turned to the roof ledge. “Here comes another wave, why don't you see for yourself?” she asked Vito sarcastically. 

Vito, Mastodon and I came up beside Velcro, peering over the side. In the distance, we could see several yellow flashes moving between trees. There were about 20 of them, each one carrying either a gem spear or a crossbow. They all looked they were covered in blood of various sources.

Arige appeared next to me, looking at the approaching dogs worriedly. “Well, that explains what happened to the sentries,” he said darkly.

Velcro nodded. “They started attacking last night. Suspiciously right after that mad-mare Jill left.”

My ears perked at that. “Wait, Jill was here?” I asked urgently.

Velcro nodded again. “Yes and Flan will tell you about it later. Alligator thing, you go with Flan and protector at all costs. The new guys and I are going to have a party with the fleabags,” she ordered, smiling at Arige. Mastodon groaned. “No offense.”

I turned to Vito, who was slipping some bladed knuckles onto his claws. He looked worried, almost hesitant. I clapped a hand on his shoulder. “Are you going to be able to do this?” I asked.

Vito snorted. “Yeah, yeah I am. But after all this is over, you have to let me retrieve those vests. Commissioning those things took forever and I hate wasting money,” retorted, looking at me with resolve.

I took my hand off his shoulder and got out my revolver, that of which was in my duster for reasons unknown. “Alright then,” I said cocking the hammer. “Lets give ‘em hell. And nothing else,” I declared, taking aim.








> Um...I got nothing...
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Vito and Mastodon immediately jumped off the roof and into the fight, screaming at the top of their lungs. Both landed with a roll and separated, Vito going right and Mastodon going left. A dog with a gem spear lunged at Mastodon with controlled fury, making sure not waste energy with each strike. Mastodon dodged each strike and grabbed the spear with his furry arm and quickly stabbed the dog in his chest with his hidden blade. The dog went down, but three more were closing in behind him. I saw Mastodon’s cocky smile before he switched his mechanical arm to crossbow mode and turned to his opponents. He fired three bolts and all of them nailed all three dogs in the head, nailing one to the tree by his eye socket.

Vito was putting his own silly nickname to shame as he tore through a group of dogs. Two came at him with spears but he just dodged them, disarmed them both and started laying down hits. Using his amazing speed, he landed a dozen punches on each of the dogs before they could react, every hit landing on their throats, eyes and chins. Both dogs went down, clutching their throats, gasping for air.

The attacking squad’s archers had wisely chosen to stay back and shoot crossbows at me and Velcro. A volley of bolts launch from the back of the forest in a perfect arch for the roof. I quickly counted about fifteen arrows and I somehow managed to shoot six right out of the air without straining my eyes to aim. I wrote that off as strange and tried to go for the other ones but found my gun empty. What the hell?! This thing doesn't run out of ammo! I thought frantically as I watched the remaining arrows fall towards Flan and her creations. 

Arige quickly grabbed Velcro, Kitty and Flan and covered them with his body, facing his back towards the arrows. Each arrow landed on the croc’s back and snapped against the iron hard scales. I let out a sigh of relief, focusing on where the enemy fire came from. All right then furry fuckers, lets see how you like napalm. I thought as I brought my hands together for a grenade. It took a minute, but the grenade was made. Unfortunately, by the time I had completed the grenade, another volley was being launched at us. 

Just before the volley reached its arch, I threw the grenade at the arrows. The ball of chemical fire exploded into a giant ball of flame, destroying the rest of the arrows. My shoulders slouched and I felt a ton of weariness fall upon them. Damn, I can't afford to do another one, I might not be able to stand up next time. Those archers needed to be taken out, fast. “We need to take out those-,” I began to say, but stopped when I saw Velcro jump over my shoulder and into the enemy filled forest.

 I was going yell at her to stop, but cut off by the sound of ripping flesh and the whimpers of desperate dogs. For a maximum of twenty seconds, those sounds filled the forest and made me cringe a bit. Flan tapped me on my shoulder and smiled apologetically. “Sorry about Velcro, she can get quite energetic when it comes to my safety,” She laughed nervously.

Mastodon appeared behind me, breathing heavily. “All contacts down and I found no trace of Jill,” he reported. 

“Damn,” I cursed. This was the second time Jill had been ahead of us. This was starting to get annoying, she’s beaten me to the punch twice and nearly choked me to death. I decided right then that when I saw her, I was going to shove my knife in a very sensitive place. I looked back to Flan, who was giving Arige another hug and breathed a sigh of relief, she was still alive and that meant she was still useful.

“Alight Flan,” I announced, interrupting her hug. “I need some info on Jill. One big question being, why the hell would she send an entire hit squad after you?” I asked with authority.

Velcro suddenly appeared over my shoulder and then by Flan’s side, covered in blood and staring at me. “Oh no. The last time Flan showed her projects to someone, this happened!” Velcro yelled defensively, pointing at the mangled body of a former King dog. 

Flan waved her hoof dismissively. “Nonsense sister! These very talented brutes just saved our lives. The least we could do is give them a little information,” she suggested cheerfully. Velcro snorted, but otherwise didn't resist when we Flan led us in her compound.

Skipping some useless details, the compound was like the Sheytan, BIG. The only difference was the fact that the compound as a whole was dedicated to some the most advance science and medical procedures I ever seen. I’m talking  more advance than the human race. Muscle enlargements, bone reinforcing. Hell, Flan even said she could perform brain transplants.

“Which brings us to why we are here,” she announced, grabbing my attention away from a brain tank. The room Flan had led us to was stark white, like a medical lab, which it was. She was standing in front of a grey door with several locks on it. “So, what's the big secret? And why is it so secret that you needed to separate me from my team?” I asked crossing my arms. Flan had separated me from Vito and Mastodon by having Arige give them a “tour” of the compound.

 Though they had been here before, Vito still wanted to see all the amazing stuff in the compound again and Mastodon just wanted to be by Vito if anything happened. The wolf talked a good game, but I highly doubt he would separate from Vito even if he were forced to.

Flan nervously looked behind me and went back to locked door, levitating a single key from a fleshy pocket in her neck. “Despite what Velcro thinks, I learn from my mistakes. Its all a part of being a surgeon and what's in her could change the medical world,” she replied, almost whispered.

I groaned in annoyance. I hated cloak and dagger. “Alright I Pinkie Promise that I won't tell anyone and show anyone what's behind the door. Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye,” I repeated the lines, even going as far to nearly poke out my normal eye. 

Flan looked confused but proceeded to open the door. Inside was cold as an industrial freezer. I hadn't really been anywhere cold since coming to Equestria, but this felt like standing in the middle of a blizzard in the middle of Antarctica. Flan strode to a nearby table in the dark room and lifted what looked like a long cover cover for a bread box. Under it was a well lit row of unicorn horns. There were twenty in all, each one grey and had an eerie white fog drifting from the bottom of them.

Oh my god, I just walked into a Pinkemena kill-room! I started to back away from Flan very slowly. “Um Flan, what is this?” I asked nervously.

Flan gave me the trademarked Pinkimena smile before going back to normal and picking up a horn with her magic. “Have no fear my friend. For these are my greatest inventions,” she replied excitedly.

I stopped moving towards the door and stared at the horn genuine interest. “What is it?”

Flan tapped her chin with her hoof, pondering how to answer me. “Think of it... As a matrix. This horn can store magic energy and disperse it at the will of the user,” she explained. As she continued, Flan idly moved around the room, making hoof gestures like a professional speaker, sort of like Iron Will.. “The best thing about this is anypony can use it. From the lowest farm pony to the dumbest of minotaurs. Anyone could have access to magic and it would only take a mere thought to do it!” she exclaimed proudly. 

During the explanation, I had taken a seat on the empty space on the table and kept my eyes on her the whole time. “How long have you been working on this?”

Flan gestured for me to get up and placed the horn back in its place. “Twenty years. I’m actually older than I look,” she replied proudly.

That forced me to raise an eyebrow. “Just how old are then?” I asked.

Flan ignored the question completely and turned back to me, worried. “I suspect this is why Jill sent that force against me. The operation she had was expensive and selling one of these would instantly make up for what she paid for.”

This beckoned a eyebrow to be raised. “What kind of operation?”

“Facial reconstruction. She wanted to have smaller eyes so I complety reconstructed her skull and gave her some eyes from a minotaur I had laying around,,” Flan confessed smiling.

The eyebrow did not lower. “Why the hell would she need smaller eye socket?”

Flan was going to gladly answer but stopped when Velcro slammed open the door. She was breathing heavily, her hat gone from her head, revealing a really stitched dome with only some hair to the sides of her head. “Flan! We’re under attack... Again.”.

“By who?” Flan ask, annoyed.

“This must happen often,” I muttered idly.

“Its the blood mare!” she replied to Flan.

Flans eyes grew to the size of saucers. “What blood mare?”

Velcro reached behind her and pulled out another hat. “Oh, the one that passes out flowers-THE ONE THAT FIRES FUCKING IRON BLOOD YOU IDIOT!”

Flan started frantically running back and forth around the room, panicking. On her second lap, Velcro and I managed to hold her by her shoulders. “Whoa, whoa, whoa!” I shouted. “What's so bad about this one?” I asked. Flan shook her head with worry and an boom sounded from the inside of the compound. Flan shrieked. “Mimi, the bloodmage. You can say she was... An accident,” she explained nervously, clopping her hooves together like a guilty child.

Velcro shook her head. “By accident, she means she saw a mare taking a nap and thought she was dead,” she groaned. 

“How was I supposed to know?!” Flan shouted, holding her hooves up defensively.

Velcro facehoofed. “By checking her pulse first!”she yelled into her hoof.

There was another boom somewhere in the compound, shortly after Vito and Mastodon rushed through the door.“That mare from Dustown is cutting a swath through the lab,” Vito reported.

“What do you mean a “swath”?” asked Flan.

Mastodon rolled his eyes. “He means that the mares tearing up the place. She mostly targeting the lab equipment and heading this way.”

Flan’s expression became very angry, electricity arched from the nails in her neck and a sort of loop. In her eyes was a fierce intensity that told me she did not like to this mare wrecking her work. Flan marched through the duo, with me and the rest of us with her. “Flan wait!” Velcro protested.

Flan turned back to her sharply, a determined look in her eye. “I will not! There is an angry mare wrecking equipment and killing my babies. I will not stand by and watch!” She declared before taking off.

We ran after her, quickly approaching the sounds of chaos and angry yelling.  I took out my revolver as I ran and checked the cylinder. Still empty. Dammit, I’m going into battle with no teeth. Where the hell did my bullets go? I didn't have any bullets, which meant if this fight got close, I’d have to go toe to hoof with an enemy with no armor. Dammit it all! I hate being human.

We made a sharp turn and entered a large arena like room. Goo tubes took up most of the room, along with some operation tables. A bunch of the tubes had been broken open, spilling green medical goo on the floor. The culprit was standing in the middle of the room, screaming her head off. Her fur would have been white if not for all the bloody cuts covering her body. Her mane was (as expected) blood red with white bangs. Her hair had a liquid like fluidity, as if was actually made of blood. What surprised me the most was her cutie mark, being that it was a paintbrush on a canvas. She continued her animalistic scream as she smashed another medical tank..

Flan stepped right up to the mare without fear, a look of scolding anger on her muzzle. “Mimi, I demand you stop this chaos at once!” she shouted at the mare.

Mimi stopped screaming immediately and switch her gaze onto Flan. “Stop? Stop?! You want me to stop destroying these travesties! These abominations?! These things that helped you turn me into a monster?!” She yelled, shaking a bloodied hoof. Blood was constantly streaming from what looked like self inflicted wounds. “And even worse you made it impossible to take my own life. But that was all a part of the experiment wasn't it? Create an undying bloodmage with no limits? Wasn't that what you said?!” she asked the scientist.

Mimi’s wounds all over her body were swelling with blood, forming rows of red spikes. “Let me make that wish... A reality,” Mimi said blankly before the spikes exploded out of her wounds.

Just before any spikes could reach Flan, Velcro seemingly appeared in front of her with amazing speed. Two spikes had punctured her side and were in deep. Despite this, Velcro was standing firm, and her scowl unwavering. “ No one... Touches... My sister!” she shouted, the spike her side shattering like glass.





> The Doctor part 3
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Duck!” I yelled to my companions. Some blood needles had completely missed Flan and Velcro and were unintentionally about to hit us. Mastodon and Vito had ducked to the right, I went left, all of us hitting the ground with bellies to the floor. Mastodon was the first to get up. “You got a plan boss?” he asked, keeping himself pinned to the ground.

For a second I thought he was talking to me, but Vito got up and responded, “I have bloody no clue what to do,” he admitted. Well that was insulting and disappointing. Flan retreated back to me and got on her belly too covering her head. “Well, I suppose I had that coming,” she said to herself.

“How is your sister going to fight?” I asked.

Flan grinned at me and turned back to her sister. “Just watch.”

Velcro rushed in and went straight after Mimi, charging headfirst. Mimi smiled and let loose another volley of needles, this time focused on no one but the little filly. As soon she launched them, Velcro jumped straight up and dodged the entire volley. As she came back down, Velcro somehow pulled off her right hoof and instead of blood pouring out, an array of blades, swords, knifes and morning stars slashed out. “Aaaahhh!” she yelled as her fist of blades came down on Mimi’s surprised face.

Mimi jumped back to avoid getting beheaded, but wasn't fast enough  to avoid Velcro impaling her arm, pinning it to the ground. Velcro balanced herself and smirked at the mare. “Now you're mine!” she shouted before revealing an axe in her other arm. 

Mimi smiled and just as easy as ripping off a band-aid, she pulled away from Velcro and ripped her arm off. A river of blood exploded from the wound and quickly took form of another hoof. “You won't kill me that easily. Now DIE!” Her newly formed hoof, shaped itself into what looked to be a drill-like spear.

“Oh crap!” yelped Velcro as she pushed herself into the air, avoiding Mimi’s strike. Retracting her axe, she back-flipped back onto the floor and retrieved her hoof, which I noticed had a black fuzzy looking ring around the joint. Oh, Velcro. I get it. Mimi reformed her hoof and started to circle around Velcro, herself copying the action. Both stared at each other, trying to anticipate each others movements, never taking their eyes off one another.

“Screw this,” Mastodon groaned, taking out his crossbow and taking a shot at Mimi’s head. The bolt struck home and pierced right in the back of Mimi’s head, causing a gush of blood to spurt out before she collapsed to the floor. Mastodon got to his feet with a smug smile. “And that takes care of that.”

Flan frantically waved her hoof for him to get back down. “Get down, you imbecile! She’s not-” Flan began to yell but not before a blood needle embedded itself in Mastodon’s chest, cutting right through his armor.

Mastodon stared at the hardened shard that pierced his chest in stunned silence before slumping to the ground. Vito crawled to his friend with tears in his eyes. “Shit, shit, shit, shit,” he frantically shouted as he pulled out the shard and applied pressure to the wound. “Please don't die on me Digger. Keep breathing you son of a bitch!”

While Vito was tending to his partner, we didn't notice Mimi get up, Mastodon's bolt missing from her head. “As I told the little one, you will kill me so easily,” she reminded snidely. Mastodon's breathing had stopped and Vito’s claws along with it. A shadow fell on Vito’s face as he calmly got up from his friend. Without so much as a battlecry, he charged at Mimi with unbelievable speed.

Mimi’s snide smile became a scowl as her horn lit up with a red glow and spread across the floor. All throughout the fight none of her self inflicted wounds on her body had closed and had made puddles of blood wherever she stopped. Her horn’s glow enveloped the puddle under her and stretched out spikes. This didn't stop Vito as he grabbed a spike as it formed and vaulted over it. Midair, he used his wing to turn in a spin and slashed his claws over Mimi’s eyes. She screamed in pain and couldn't see see Velcro coming from her right, with an axe in hoof. Utilizing her chance, she brought down her axe on Mimi’s neck and cut it clean off her shoulders in one strike.

Mimi’s head bounced on the floor, her body along with her. 

As soon as Mimi’s head stopped moving, Flan rushed over to Mastodon’s body, myself included. She started looking over the wound that killed him, whispering temperatures and measurements to herself. 

“What are you doing?” I asked.

“Straight through the heart and out the lung. Hmm” she whispered, ignoring me. She ordered Velcro to wheel over a hospital bed and gleefully smiled at Vito. “Fixable.”

A single tear fell from Vito’s face as he stared at the doctor. “What do mean fixable? I felt his heart stop,” he asked, struggling to get the words out.

Flan smiled as she enveloped Mastodon in a silver glow and lifted him to the hospital bed. “If Mimi didn't kill many personnel, I can definitely find my organ donor before Mastodon grows cold.”

Just as I was going to ask how that would work, there was a wet swishing behind us. We all turned to see a severed pony head riding a wave of blood. I groaned and stomped the floor in frustration. “Oh come the fuck on!”  I yelled.

Mimi smiled as her body formed from the red liquid around her. “Oh, but I couldn't die yet! I have yet to show you my art! Its nothing special really,” she admitted mockingly. The corpse that had once been her body got on it’s hooves and a ball of blood gathered on its shoulders. The ball glowed and took the shape of Mimi’s head, even copying her smug smile. Both of the mares leaned against each other in a pose. It would have been something as cute as in the show, but was ruined with how much both of them were covered in blood and itching to kill us.

“Well fuck,” Vito huffed. “Flan, take Don and fix him up however way you can. Idilah and I will hold off this thing,” He ordered, nodding to the Mimi’s with great disdain. Flan looked unsure but complied, ordering Velcro to stay and help. 

I looked over to the artificial twins. They were both mimicking each-others movements and expressions. Or more like one expression, boredom.The kind of boredom you’d see on a child getting sick of his toy. Unfortunately, this was a vengeful blood mage with an even deadlier twin to boot.

 How the fuck am I going to beat this thing? I have no ammo and if try to do another grenade or fireball, I’m going to pass out. I pondered using word based magic but that would just tire me even more. I was out of options. Vito was going to have to fight alone.

That is until Arige Kool-aid maned through the right side wall with Kitty riding his back.

I would have thought the alligator was a crocodile with the smug smile he was giving us. “I believe this is what you call a “dynamic entry,” yes?” he asked me.

Kity jumped of his back and hovered over us, smiling wickedly. “I haven't gotten any action since we fought, lets do this!” she yelled excitedly.

The Mimi on the right stared between our two groups and smiled. “Oh my, now I’ll be able to crush four cockroaches today. This going to be fun!”

I smiled at Kitty’s excitement but remembered that Mimi’s magic wouldn't allow them to hit her. God dammit! Think Idilah, think! I thought frantically. Arige and Kitty being here would be null and void if we didn't think of a way to take Mimi out. Dammit Idilah think, your friends about to die, fucking think! I screamed in my mind. 

I suddenly got the most painful headache I ever had. My vision went fuzzy and my eyes wouldn't blink. Words echoed through my head like a fractured recording. Alright, listen carefully. We’re going to use this lighter to cauterize the wound. This will seal off the wound and destroy the injected issue. Just keep the heat over the wound and it should close.“What the hell was that?” I whispered to myself quietly. Where the hell did that memory come from? And why does my head hurt so much thinking about it? No one had moved since my mini freakout. Everybody’s eyes were on the Mimi twins, staring at their morbid dance in an accumulating puddle of blood. Flan had made it out, along with Velcro and Don, so that was a plus. “Alright, time to end this madness,” I announced to my group.

Vito shook his head and looked at me expectantly. “What do you have in mind?” 

I smiled devilishly and I clap my hands together holding them to my chest. “Arige and Kitty are going to distract Mimi and I’m going to try something new. When I say so, you're going to bring me closer to Mimi before she has a chance to react," I proposed. The gryphon slowly nodded in agreement, along with Arige and Kitty. 

"Just one question, which ones the real one?” Arige asked curiously.

SHIT


“Um...Just distract them. Whoever protects their head the most is the one we’re looking for,” I guessed.

Arige cracked his double dolphin-sized neck. “This is a horrible idea,” he omitted flatly.

My cheeks puffed in frustration. “Do you have a better ideas?"

Vito face-clawed and ordered Kitty to take flight. “Kitty’s feathers paralyze ponies remember? She goes after both and whichever goes down is the right one,” Vito deduced smugly.

I groaned and kept concentrating on my hands. “That's it, your the official strategist from now on.” A blood spear rushed past my head and rightly remembered where we were.

"I grow tired of waiting!" Mimi shouted. "The only one I want is Flan, just let me through and no one else has to die," she offered.

I chuckled at the offer. "How about no and Arige and Kitty kick the shit out of you," I suggested. Just as I finished talking, Kitty unleashed a wave of feathers from above. Both of the Mimi’s scoffed at the action and raised a wall of the accumulated blood on the floor a shield. That is until Arige kool-aid manned that too, letting Kitty get in closer with another barrage of poison feathers.

Too stunned to react, both Mimi’s were pelted with knife-like feathers. Mimi to the left was completely unaffected, casually shrugging off the feathers. Mimi on the right on the other hand was completely still. The blood clone stared at her controller and scowled, showing her teeth. “I going to enjoy draining the blood from your body Kitty!” she yelled at the mutant.

Kitty let out a cute giggle. “I wouldn't worry about me if I were you,” she hinted. 

Mimi gave Kitty a confused look and slowly turned her head to see me riding Vito’s back and my hands on fire. “Surprise motherfucker!” I yelled. Mimi tried to raise a wave of spikes but in her desperation, forgot about Vito’s agility. Vito once again vaulted over the wave of shards. Only this time, I launched off his back, holding my fire encased hand to my side. 

As I flew straight towards Blood Clone Mimi, I swung my arm out, aiming for her neck. My inflamed hand passed through the blood clone like butter, crystallizing the heat sensitive liquid on contact. Nothing broke my stride as my hand did the same to the paralyzed Mimi, only this time, cutting off her horn. I smiled wickedly at my feat but failed to remember where I was going to land. “Sh-i-i-i-t!” I shouted as I slid through the waterslide of accumulated blood, straight into the opposite wall.

“Dammit,” I groaned into the wall.

                                                ***

After grabbing Mimi’s severed head, we rushed into the operating room next door. Mastodon was on an operating table, Flan and a creature covered head to toe in bandages standing next to her. The thing looked like a diamond dog but had the subtle curves to be a female one. Flan had removed Don’s armor and opened his chest, revealing his fleshy innards. 

 “Zip! Heart, lung, now!” Flan ordered the dog. The dog flinched and opened her bandages around her chest. Just when I think she  was just flashing Flan, I saw line of segmented metal on her fur. Zip, true to her name, unzipped the pocket in her chest and reveal a mess of organs you’d probably find in your chest. Zip gently grabbed a heart and two lungs and carefully held them out for Flan to grab with her magic.

Flan smiled devilishly and slipped on a surgeon's mask. “Alright then! Two ruptured lungs and a pierced heart! BEGIN THE OPERATION!” she announced, surgical tools and new organs in her magical grasp. I stared in complete astonishment as I saw Flan operate on Don as if she was surgical god. Blood vessels cut and reconnected, organs taken out with ease and replaced within seconds. 

Vito and I stood close to the operating table, far enough to not impede Flan in any way. “You told me she was good. Arige told me she was good. I didn't think you meant this good,” I said Vito quietly.

Vito shook his head. “I’ve seen her close up impossible wounds, I never thought she could bring people back from the bloody dead,” he replied breathlessly.

I drifted my gaze over to him. Ever since I met him, Vito and Mastodon had never separated, even before that, when Vito was being interrogated while impaled to a wall, they right back into being friends again. Either these guys were two of the closest friends ever, or they were both so deep in the closet that I’d have to pull them out. “Think she’d be willing to join the crew?”

Vito shook his head. “Don't know love. It takes Flan financial encouragement to get out of bed in the morning.”

I sighed. I was going to have to consult Crow about our finances. I swear, by the time we find these relics, we’re gonna be broke. “That reminds me. Do you think Jill’s still looking for those relics? You know, to get into Omar?” I asked him.

Vito tapped his chin. “I don't think so. To tell you the truth, I would have thought she’d found them by now.”

“What do you think she’s doing?”

“I think...,” he paused. “I think she might just be going straight after Omar. But that doesn't make any sense.”

“Is there any way to get in without them?”

Vito shook his head again. “No way. She’s have to have the key for one thing, The Sheytan for sure and another item I never could find more info about.”

This was getting ridiculous. We had came her looking for answers, but so far only got that Jill got some surgery and she was looking to get rid of a trail, attempting to make some profit out of it too. Flan obviously didn't know anything more than that, or else she would have told me in the horn room. I sighed in frustration. “I guess theres not much to do then see if Flan wants to join the voyage,” I thought aloud.

Mastodon suddenly sat straight up with a deep breath. He looked at the masked Flan and then to a distraught Vito. “What the hell happened?!” he yelled jerking his head back and forth.

Vito walked up to him and set a claw on his shoulder, casually saying. “Nothing important. You just died.”

“Operation success!” Flan shouted, her excitement on the same level of Pinkie Pie. She slipped off her surgical mask with a  wave of magic and threw it into a nearby trashbin. “And considering the injury was of your stupidity, no charge.”

Mastodon the back of his head. “Thanks. I think,” he replied, not knowing how to take that statement.

“So wheres Velcro?” I asked Flan.

Flan shook her head, disappointed. “Cleaning the grounds, making sure theres no more dogs waiting outside. Oi, today has been an ordeal,” she sighed.

I planned on making Flan an offer that would put even the most savvy merchant to shame. An entire speech that would make any fresh faced civilian join an army. It actually came out like, “Hey, wanna join a treasure hunting crew?”

Flan Pinkie level smile held the answer.

                                                  ***

On my way to my room, I stopped by the med bay to check on Nightheart. Flan was currently loading her gear onto the ship. Considering she said she was going to be continuing and expanding her research, she was bringing a lot of stuff with her. It was going to be a while, so I figured I get in a visit before the floor got cluttered with science equipment. As I turned a corner to the med bay, I heard something I thought I’d never hear again... Phil Collins.

Well you can tell ev'ryone I'm a damn disgrace
Drag my name all over the place.
I don't scare anymore.
You can tell ev'rybody 'bout the state I'm in
You won't catch me crying 'cos I just can't win.
I don't scare anymore I don't scare anymore

I stopped dead in my tracks. “What The. Fuck?” 

I rushed into the infirmary expecting to see Nightheart, what I saw was... Different. The creature in the room was tall like Nightheart but had nothing similar to the hybrid. Long midnight-black arms sporting sharply clawed hands swung to an unheard beat. The same color covered its body, somehow shining in the dim room light. His whole body was moving to the beat, its purple webbed wings flapping occasionally. 

I won't be there anymore
Get out of my way
Let me by
I got better things to do with my time
I don't scare anymore I don't scare anymore
I don't scare anymore I don't scare anymore

“Who the fuck are you, where the fuck is Nightheart and how the hell do you know Phil Follins?!” I asked the dancing creature. 

The creature suddenly stopped dancing and slowly turned around, finally letting me get a good look at its radioactive green hair and eyes. 

“Oh...Uh, hi Idilah. Sup?” 



> The Blacksheep part 1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Trotland reminded me a lot of Skyrim; great green plains with a whole lot of nothing in them. Sure they were beautiful, but we had yet to see what could lead us to Jill and this “treasure”, that of which I had money on it being my brother. Hopefully alive. I leaned against the turning wheel on the top deck, bored out of my mind. Everyone was passing the time in their own way. The zebra recruits were checking all the weapons on deck just like Vito told them. Arige was meditating on the Sheytan’s head. Kitty and Nightheart were teaching Crow how to fly (yeah that surprised me too). Tick and Boom were seeing how long it would take to cook their grenades before tossing them over the railing.

I heard the scared screeching of an eagle and looked up just in time to see Crow land in a safety net Nightheart had made. Crow bounced off the net and hit the deck, laying flat on his stomach. “Fuck flying,” he groaned into the floor.

I snickered. “Oh come on Crow,” I encouraged. “Just keep trying. Besides theres not much to do, so make the most of it,” I complained, vexed at the situation.

Crow got to his paws and brushed himself off and looked over the railing. “Where are we going anyway?” 

I shrugged. “I honestly don't know. Ule’s mom said Trotland and here we are. I'm honestly waiting for a big ass explosion or something. Seems to be the only sign that Jill's been in the area,” I groaned.

The sound of a loud explosion sounded in the horizon. Everyone on deck rushed to the right of the ship. Across the plains of green was a dark black plume of smoke arising from a small collection of buildings. “Well I'll be fucked,” I said to myself, astonished. 

***

Surprisingly enough, the village wasn't on fire. The town was what you'd expect from a scottish background. Cobblestone streets and brick layered houses lined the streets of the town. Every single one of the buildings had hay domed roofs with iron chimneys protuding out of them. A bigger building the size of a bunker was on fire, explaining the smoke.

What was freaking me out was the fact the entire town was populated by sheep.

Tick, Boom, Crow and I stared at the inhabitants from the Falcon. “What the fuck?” We all whispered.“Take us down Herpy. Lets see what's going on here.” I ordered. Herpy complied with a nod and brought us down to town. 

We landed on some barren land close to town, only to be greeted by a welcome party. A crowd of six sheep people approached us, all looking none too pleased. I hopped off the Falcon before it could reach the ground, hair behind my ears. I decided that trust was more important than personal feelings. If they were already angry, I couldn't risk them being even more suspicious of someone hiding their face.

I strolled to the crowd, with my head held high. “Hello citizens! We’re looking for-,”

“Get the fuck out of here!” 

I stared at the crowd sheep. “Um, what?”

A sheep bigger than the others stepped forward. His wool was fluffy and he wore a hat that you’d probably find in an amish town. “I said ye need to leave now,” he repeated sternly.

Crow stood beside me and snorted. “And why the hell should we?” 

Before anyone could react, the head sheep slapped Crow on the forehead with a shillelagh. Crow went down with a cry and I quickly noticed how opposable the sheep’s hooves were. The head sheep never took his eyes off me. “That's why, ya fooking hamshank!” he yelled with glee. “Ye need to get moving before another twister of trouble hits this rotten place,” he warned.

“What kind of trouble?” Tick chimed in.

Head Sheep shook his head. “What shite isn't heading our way?” He asked himself, pacing back and forth. “We got dragon troubles, our blacksmith nearly blew the town to bloody bits and now we got a madmare running around chasing a legend.”

“Well don't look anywhere else,” I boasted. “We’re some problem solvers.”

He stared at me skeptically. “What cha be, huh? Sellswords? Well I can tell ya right now we aint got no money for ye streetmeats. I suggest ya move on to the next town to start beg’n,” he suggested. This guy was seriously worried for us or himself. So was the rest of the sheep with him. they all wore a look of desperation on their faces, all of them pleading him to let us in.

We were here to investigate so it wasn't like we were giving them charity. “What did this mare look like?” I asked.

The sheep tapped his chin. “Piss yellow fur, blue hair with too much spray jizz in it?”

I almost nodded but then remember that I had only seen my nemesis once in my life. “Yeah, I’m pretty sure thats her,” I answered.

“Then I guess ye be looking for what she was then,” he turned back and nodded to the other sheep, signaling them to disperse. “Come with me and only you,” he ordered sternly.

I turned back to my companions, all of them looking worried. “What's the plan boss?” Crow asked.


I scratched my head. “I’ll follow him I guess. You guys go see what that explosion was and get some supplies while you're at it. I’m pretty sure we’re running low on food.” Tick and Boom shuttered. I've seen them down meat like the rest of the crew but they were obviously uncomfortable.

Crow shrugged. “I’ll stay close by you in case he does anything. He doesn't seem on the up and up to me.”

I would have agreed with him, but something in the old sheeps eyes told me he was hoping I would listen to him. Nodded to my crew members, them getting the message to carry on with their assignments.

***
“We’re going to see the boom! The boomy wizard of BOOM!” Boom sang, skipping through the streets.

The mare was my sister and I loved her, but I swear I wanted to smother her right there. We were wandering through the marketplace of the town in search of the building made the explosion from earlier. Not too hard, considering the fact that the fucker was still smoking.

Going from store to store was starting to get awkward. All the sheep were making glaces at us, muttering words like Sasanach and Wanker, familiar insults for my Trottingham accent. Damn blighters, I thought bitterly.

We were in front of the bunker-like shanty when Boom franticaly rapped her hoof on the door. I facehoofed and an other sheep opened the door. The sheep was completely blue and put my mohawk to shame by shaving all of his wool off on each side of  him, turning his entire body into a bloody mohawk. I whistled, impressed. “Dude, nice ‘hawk. Do it yourself?” I asked.

The bald sheep chuckled and took off his soot covered goggles. “Aye and it was a pain in the arse,” he replied, revealing his red eyes. “So what can I do ye for, I'm kind of busy at the moment.”

I nodded. “Yeah, we’re here about that. Your mayor or whatever said, you needed some assistance with defense?”

The blue sheep blinked. “Mayor Shepherd sent ye did he?” he asked, astonished. We both nodded. “Well, come on in then, mind your step. Name’s Big Blue by the way,” he introduced himself, ushering us in.

The inside of the building looked like the Herpy’s workshop on the ship, only difference being the metal pressing machines scattered across the room. One of them was smoking too so theres that. Big Blue led us to the press that was on fire, stopping us before we got too close. “Now, how much do ya know about firearms?” He asked.

Boom and I looked at each other. Honestly, the only time we ever saw a gun was when Idilah used hers. I told the big sheep accordingly and he smiled. “Well as ye don't know, the projectile needs to be ignited to be fired. I’m currently working on a new blasting powder found in common cannon balls, but thats gone to shite. Then I started putting more minerals into the mix and methinks I added just a bit too much,” he admitted with a blush. “Here, let me show ye.”

He guided us over to his workbench, showing us possibly the most beautiful array powders and minerals. Glitterstone, red sand, toniam! All of them volatile and extremely dangerous minerals that if brushed together wrong, could bring the entire village to ashes. 

Our mouths watered at the prospect. 

I closed my mouth and forcibly closed Boom’s wrapping her drool off my hoof. “By the celestia's wide asscheeks! Where did you get these?”

Big Blue blushed. “Picked it all fresh a few days ago. Been collecting the stuff more frequently since the dragon attacks. We needed something to give us an edge. So I started making guns.”

“Dude, with all this shit here, you could blow the foundations to freaking Canterlot!” Boom chimed in. “Oh, I’m gushing! The things I could do with this stuff!”

I quickly shut my sister's mouth. “I think we could handle the powder. You got a apparatus for us to test the mixes on?”

Blue nodded and dug into a nearby desk. He brought out a black flintlock pistol. The wood on the pistol was polished recently, weathered from age. Compared to the metal though, looked way worse. The metal over the wood was marked with what looked like a knife. Five marks, five kills.

Blue stared at the pistol nostalgically before tossing the pistol to me. “Here, you can use this old thing. Fucker could survive any explosion. Just like the dobber who built it,” he groaned, growing angry.

I caught the pistol in my mouth and put it on the workbench, FAR from the explosives. “Why’d you look at it like that?”

Blue looked sadly down to the floor, as if the question pained him. “Have ya lot ever heard of...”

***
“Who the fuck is the Black Sheep?” I nearly shouted. We were sitting in possibly the most comfy room ever. We were both we sitting in huge cushy chairs right in front of a fireplace. The big sheep, which I now know to be Sheperd (which I find completely friggin hilarious) was smoking a pipe.

He glared at me before blowing a big puff of smoke in my face. “Da Black Sheep, ya mink cunt, is a local legend. He was once a sheep that made iron for a town. Simple stuff; fittings, fashionings for doors and the like for houses. Then he started to make bigger things. Swords, knives, weapons. Claimed it was for the good of the people,” he explained bitterly.

“They turned out to be fooking nightmare! Sheep started killing eachother left and right for “leadership” or some shite! And when he started adding magic to the bloody things, the sheep had enough. They drove him out, kicked his arse to the curb and away from their town to live in peace.”

“Only its not legend is it?” I asked. “Jill doesn't chase after legends unless their true.”

Shepard couldn't meet my eyes. He stared at the fireplace, sadness in his eyes. “No. That “legend” is my son. My idiot, idiot son,” he chanted, rocking back and forth. “He be a brilliant fucker if not so damn arrogant. He and his brothers practically built this town from the brick up. But I warned him not to make the swords, Then I told him not to make the guns. And then fuckers started getting big heads! Want to shoot me out of office just because they could. And when he started lacing magic to the things, I drew the line,” he continued, nearly sobbing.

“He’s an arrogant fuckwit. But I think what sweetmeat might have done to ‘em. The dobber was looking for em and now I keep seeing smoke in the distance. I know thats where me boy went. The little tagger never went far from home.”

Leaned back in the chair, skeptical. “That sounds pretty personal. I’m more worried about these dragon attacks I’ve been hearing about.”

“That be the kicker lass,” he said, wiping his tears. “That dragon makes a run every few days. And when he does come, me boys place goes in smoke.”

“How long has this been going on?”

“A week or so ago. Ever since that piss yellow sweetmeat came look’n for em.”

I got up and brushed off my coat. “I’ve heard enough. I’ll check on your son. But I’m going to need whatever weapons he left behind. I’m a bit naked at the moment,” I admitted, embarrassed.

Shepard’s face didn't change. “Check with my boy in the smok’n building. Blue always admired his brothers inventions,” he said wistfully.

A father worried about his child. And I didn't even need to pay money to see it. I thought walking  out the door. Crow was leaning against the house, ear to the wall. “So we’re on another search and rescue quest?” he asked skeptically.

I sighed. “Yeah I guess. Lets get this over with. Herpy’s probably getting-” I was interrupted by another loud bang coming from  the same building from earlier. Smoke rose from the same the same spot and the town’s sheep didn't even bat an eye. I sighed again. “Lets go see if they killed anybody yet,” I ordered, waving Crow to follow.
***
“Hey wingmeat! need a cozy for that beak?” hawked a vendor.

I ignored her and heard Idilah giggle. “I think she was telling you to shut up,” she laughed.

I glared back at the vender. “Now that sounds a lot like censorship. Even though I didn't say anything,” I grumbled.

“Oh don't get too offended man. I heard scottish on earth were this rude.”

I snorted. “Like you would know,” I quipped.

“Oh I would. Or I think I would. Dammit,” she swore, stopping and gripping her temples.

I planted a claw on her shoulder, concerned. “You okay?”

She shook her head and kept walking. “Yeah, just my damn head,” she groaned.

It had been a week since picking up Flan, who totally freaked me out. Ever since waking up human again, Idilah had been getting worse. She started slouching more, her eye looking more tired by the day. Whatever kind of magic Nightheart had, he was trying to help her by getting deeper into her head. Every time they experimented though, it always ended with Idilah getting knock-out level headaches. They started carrying over to normal things too, which was starting to worry me.

She always put on a brave face though. Never complained outside her room and the only time she passive aggressively bitched at everyone was when she beat on Ghost, who was always unhappy to oblige. Hopefully this quest for... Her brother’s corpse was going to end soon. Otherwise I didn't think she was going to last long.

We finnaly made it to the bunker building, only to see a new hole appear in the wall in front of me. I ducked and avoided whatever the hell it was that nearly killed me. “Uh,what the fuck was that?”

Idilah calmly knocked and opened the door, ignoring the answer she would had received. Inside Tick, Boom and  a punk looking sheep were huddled around a press machine. Inside its grip was a black flintlock pistol pointed in the spot where I nearly got shot. 

“Big BOOM!” Boom shouted, clapping her hooves with glee.

Tick saw the annoyed look on my face and glared at his sister. “I told you, we should have waited for them to come in. You nearly shot him!” he shouted at her.

Idilah went straight up to the big blue sheep and glared angrily at him. “You Shepard’s kid?” She asked quickly.

The blue sheep nodded. “Name’s Big Blue lass, what's it to ya?” 

Idilah’s glare at him never wavered. Her headache must have come back. “Your father said you could hook me up with some heat?”

Blue stared at her questioningly for a second and then grabbed the flintlock from the machine’s grip. “Here. Its the only thing I have to share that isn't going to blow up. This isnt a gift though. I want it back when you're done with whatever the old sheep gave you to do,” he said sternly. 

Idilah ignored him and admired the gun. She twirled the thing in her fingers, smiling. Idilah hadn't had a gun in her hand for days, she was definitely excited. “Anything special about this thing?” She asked.

“Well with the powder we made it should be able to punch through most things. Oh yeah, heres some loaders too,” said quickly, tossing her several packages the looked liked blunts. “Did he just toss you dubies?” I sputtered.

She gave me a flat look. “No, you idiot, they’re powder loaders. Civil war soldiers used them to load their guns faster,” she explain, annoyed at my ignorance.

She slipped them into her pocket and looked back at Tick and Boom, who were busy trying to steal more powder. “Lets go guys. I don't want to be here any longer than we need to,” she ordered bordering no argument.

***

Within an hour we were back on the ship. I had a new gun in my hand and I was happy. Kind of disappointed that it was a single shot though. That was something to get used to.I leaned my back against the railing, admiring the fine piece of work.

Nightheart landed next to me with a suave spin and lit up a cigarette. Where the fuck was he getting those? “Cool piece, who’s is it?” He asked.

I stuck out my tongue and twirled it in my hand. “Sheep blacksmith's Brother. Same one we’re about to go interrogate. Should know some juicy stuff about Jill and should have some fancy things to loot.”

Nightheart stared at me, his eyes full of concern. “You sure you're up for it?” he asked

I shrugged and felt a cough in my throat. “Yeah why?”

“Well...Have you seen yourself? You look sick.”

I shook my head. “I’m fine. You get friendship points for worrying though,” I teased.

Nightheart shrugged flexed his wings. Whatever Steven had done to him, Nightheart was a full blooded dragon now. Flying, breathing fire, going into a male version of heat. The whole nine yards. He smirked coyly “Just friendship points huh?”

I chuckled a bit. “Look at you being bold! Lets finish this quest and we can talk about that situation. Right now I’m sitting on another headache,” I complained, rubbing my temples.

The smirk slowly changed back into a concerned frown. “Did our diggin sessions do that?”

“Yeah... I think so. I can't remember shit, but I know something isn't right in my head. Something deep and my head doesn't want me to get it. Nothing to worry about now. Lets get some food or what's left,” I suggested. With a wave of the hands, Nightheart followed and within a few minutes, we were on the crew deck.

Nobody was in the kitchen area and I could here the rough sounds of sparring in the training room. Vito and Mastodon no doubt. I made my way to the fridge, only to see the remainder of chimera meat. I frowned and noticed the large amount of pink flowers we had left. “Hey Nighty, want some flowers? Its all we got left to eat!” I shouted over my shoulder.

“No need to yell, I’m right behind you,” he replied. His shoulders slouched. “Is that seriously all we got left?”

I nodded, even though he couldn't see it. “Yup. Lets just have this pink stuff salad, leave the meat for everyone else,” I suggested, grabbing two handfuls of pink foliage. 

“Aye, aye, captain,” Nighty complied, saluting. He grabbed a stack a plates from a nearby counter and set them on the table. I split the share of veggies and dug a fork in the pile of pink.

The moment the plant touched my lips, I started smelling colors. “Um...,” I uttered, swaying in my chair. “You seeing what I’m seeing man?” I asked Nightheart. 

He was in the same way. “Um... What the fuck is going on?” He asked, his voice fluctuating. 

We started feeling the air around us. I started to feel the dull colors of room. I could feel the curves of my clothes. I was getting hot! I threw off my coat and watched it catch on fire. “How the hell does that even happen?!” I yelled to Nightheart, who was rolling all over the floor.

With his shorts off.

Yeah...Did not want to see that. But that looked soo fun! I started doing it too and the moment my back touched the floor, I felt the polished wood turn into hard stone. I immediately got back up and stared at the stone floor. “Where the fuck am I?” I asked.

“Idilah!” Yelled Ghost from behind me. I turned around to see Ghost, Nightheart and Crow starring at me with pure awe.

“What?” I asked drunkenly, gripping my head. And nearly smacked myself with the gun I got today, that was fun.

“Idilah, look at what you did!” Crow shouted, pointed behind me. I turned around to see a cave of utter devastation behind me. We were in a cave, a really big cavern. Runic symbols covered the walls, even going as far as covering the ceiling. What really surprised me were the piles of rock covering the ground. I was about to ask what Crow was talking about but then noticed some of the rocks had human features such as abs and muscle definitions to them. Bigger rocks that had chest muscle definitions had holes in them the went clean through.

I stared at the dozens of rock looking bodies and then at the gun in my hand. Did this one little thing done all thing do all this? Did I? I smiled devilishly. “Damn, I’m a badass!” I cheered, jumping. I then noticed two things on my chest jumping with me. I looked down to see my uncovered caramel skin, dozens of pinkish spots almost covering my chest. I covered my shame and turned back to the crowd that was staring at me with bloody noses. “WHY THE BLOODY FUCK AM I NAKED?!?!”

"Oi! Who the fook are you?!" Yelled  a voice behind me. I turned around to see a pony with ram horns. His hair was in long dreadlocks tied together behind his head. His flank or I should say his entire leg held runic symbols similar to the ones all over the walls. His eyes were a deep furious red that held a certain pride and demanded a level of respect that I felt strangely familiar with.

"AND WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU?!" I yelled at him, still trying to cover myself.

He snorted as if I had somehow insulted him. "Who am I whure? I'm Big-fooking-Blackintosh! And who the fook are yu?!"


> The Black Sheep part 2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------





Our opening song (Yes we have one now)





“So your telling me that I took down a dozen rock golems with ten bullets?” I asked in disbelief.

Blackintosh took another sip of tea from his cup. “Saw it with me own eyes! Ye eye peepers were pink as a minge and ye were stumbling around like ye had a few too many, yet you shot em all like you popped out do’n it!” He went on.

Black and I were sitting in a small homey wooden cabin the the huge cave we were in. The walls were lined with cooking utensils, a small black stove sat in a corner and a covard stood on the opposite side. 

Black and I were sitting at a small wooden table, sipping at some the best coffee I've ever had. Though introductions had been awkward at best, Black had been gracious host. I hugged at the puffy coat he had given me. Though I did NOT want to know where it had came from, I was grateful for the warmth. Black stared at me hugging the coat, raising an eyebrow.

I blushed and rubbed the back of head. "Thanks for the coat by the way," I thanked him awkwardly.

Black took another swig of his coffee. "No problem lass. Need to use the weekly fall somehow," he suggested casually.

It took me a second but I got the jist of his suggestion and almost threw off the possibly pube coat.

Black started laughing furiously. "I'm just pullin ye minge lass! Oh gosh that was gold!"

I gave him a flat look. "Yeah. Possibly being covered in pubes is hilarious," I said without emotion.

Black stopped laughing slowly got serious again, his red eyes burrowing into mine. "So my question still stands lass, what ye be doing here?" He asked seriously and quietly.

I took a sip from my coffee. "As I said, your dad said you were in trouble. He semi hired us to look into you," I explained, lying a bit.

Black shook his head. "Naw, dat ain't me old man. Me old man don't give a damn bout me unless he want to arm himself," he doubted bitterly.

Curiouser and curiouser. "So your dads armed? He said he and the town don't fight until they’ve been forced to." 

Black chuckled a bit sputtering on his coffee. "And you believed him? That old goat is packing more heat than the fooking sun!" He shouted, out raged. “Rules over everyone with that shilielegh I made for ‘em. Fucker probably told you that bogus story about me didn't he?”

I finished my coffee and stared at him curiously. "So wait, if he's armed...That means he lied to me," I whispered. I shook the surprise out of my head. "That doesn't matter. What I want to know about a mare you may have serviced a few days ago," I inquired.

"Oh that broad?" He laughed. " Came in here about a week ago offering a trade. Had me make her some key looking thing. It was the easiest thing I made in my life. And in return I got myself a dragon," he boasted.

My eyebrow raised immediately. "Wait she had you make a key? Did it look kinda like a sword?” I asked frantically.

Black chuckled and waved his cloven hoof dismissively. “Oh yeah. Made it sharp as a miser's touge too. Beautiful thing. Anyway, I got myself a dragon to heat me forge. Thing burns twice as bright and makes guns somethin fierce. Tagger’s a bit nutty though, keeps shouting something about a satan feller.”

I ignored the last statement and quickly got to my feet. “Well that explains why she came here,” I sighed. Jill was going to bypass some of the treasure’s defences or at least thats what I thought. I wanted not to care about the treasure, but I had gut feeling I’d find answers there. “Thanks Black. Hey while I’m waiting for my friends, could you show me this dragon of yours? If you don't know, its been attacking the town whenever you let it out,” I explained. 

“So thats where he’s been going!” He shouted, surprised. “I been wonderin where that sweatmeat goes when I let him gets some air. A’ight, let me get the figurine,” he huffed, getting out of his chair and reaching for the mantle over the fireplace. Black grabbed something off the mantle I didn't notice until now. He took it and turned to the door to the right, I myself getting up with him. He suddenly stopped and stared at me intently. 

“What?” I asked. I then noticed that he was staring straight at my chest. I covered myself with th wool coat he gave me and blushed. “What are you staring at you perv?!”

He ignored the question and pushed aside bit of the coat. I was about to beat him to death when I noticed what he was staring at. Two runes I hadn't noticed before were on my chest. One had an intricate design that looked like fire and the other looked like a huge lock. Why haven't I ever noticed these before? 

“Ah, thats what I sensed! Amaz’n!” he shouted excitedly.

I pushed him back with a single finger. “What are you talking about?” I asked, annoyed.

Black smiled coyly. “See missy, my special talent is runes. I can make ‘em, I can put em on stuff and I can sense them. The moment you walked in here I sensed you were lying about those “tattoos”. You be a demon and a fallen one at that,” he observed still staring at the runes.

He gave a tentative touch and my body went crazy. My neck started twitching and my head was going haywire with pain. I quickly backed away from Black glaring at him. “What the fuck was that you son of bitch?” I asked, my voice shaky.

Black grinned and turned his body, showing off his crazy glowing emblem. “That lass,was resonance! I knew you were some’n special when I saw ye!” He shouted giddily.

“I reiterate, what the hell was that?!”

“Simple lass, my mark itself is a rune. Runes have to resonate to work. If two runes resonate, they can work well together. You may be a demon or some’n, but this the first time my rune has  resonated with anything! Do you know what this means lass?!”

I crossed my arms angrily. “Does it mean I get answers?”

“Lass, it means I can finally leave this place,” replied wistfully.

This raised an eyebrow. “Wait, you’ve been waiting here?”

He nodded. “Aye. I ran away from home when I grew tired of me dad. He didn't tell you the whole story lass,” he said sitting back down in his chair. I mimicked him and sat back down, urging him to continue. “See, when I was I just a wee lad, I was the apprentice for the town’s blacksmith. Our town had been plagued by diamond dogs in the red sand mines a few miles from me town. They attacked every so often and being sheep, we couldn't do much. Some of us would go missing in the night and everyone was fooking fine with it.”

“I wasn't though. Me teacher had just named me a journeymen and I didn't want to spend my life as some fleebag’s pick-maker! So I riled up the town, getting me brothers Blue and White to help me make weapons. Our pa though,” he chuckled shaking his head. “He wanted to just bow down. Stay mindless and let the fleebags breed us just to replace the ones who died in the mines. My brother and me stormed the mines and shut’em down like the hamshanks they were,” he went on, abruptly staring at the ground. 

“Not before losing White though. Fucker got nicked by the lead dog, Carver. Sick fleabag loved to carve his name into his slaves. Almost did the same to White if Blue didn't pomel him. I got the finishing blow though. Got the fucker with his own sword.”

“Could you get to the point please? We’re kinda short on time,” I complained.

Black glared at me and continued. “Blah, blah, daddy issues this, he wanted guns that. Anyway, after I got kicked out because of the rebellion, White came to me in a dream and told me to come to the this cave. In the back of me house, theres a pool of lava I used to make a a anvil out of Carver’s sword, thus giving me my emblem. I got told to wait here until me rune resonated with someone special and then I could leave,” he finally finished.

I might have sound cold or unfeeling but I was naked need some freaking clothes. “So what does this mean Black?” 

Black grinned devilishly. “It means I have to go with you. But first we need to get that lock off ye soul,” he said casually, jumping out of his seat and trotting out the cabin.

“Wait what?” I asked going after him.

“I just need to get some iron and we’ll be-” he stopped abruptly.

“What is it-,” I stopped when I saw what he was looking at.

Nightheart, the punk twins, Crow, Paco, and Kitty were tied up on the ground in a line. Vito and Mastodon tied back to back to each other. "You know its a kind of a blessing when you don't know when something's coming," said Jill in her piss yellow glory. She looked...Well, kind of like me at the moment, shit. Her over hairsprayed hair looked frayed and distended, her eyes five times smaller than the normal pony’s. She cruelly smiled at me. “You get to learn how to deal with the surprise.”

A dozen or so dogs and a single minotaur stood behind her, weapon’s ready. “I’m going to make this simple my little Janny. I want you,” she demanded bluntly. “You, I can tell, don't want to see your crew die slowly in front of you,” she laughed.

I almost lunged at the bitch and the battalion behind her raised their spears. Black caught held me back and pulled my ear down to his level. “Go with em lass,” he whispered.

I nearly punched his lights out right there but stopped when he continued. “Just go with em for now. I got a way for me and ye friends to find ya later. But for now, do what she says,” he suggested. 

I’d known this bastard for a grand total of twenty minutes (which begs the question of how long it took for Jill to take my ship) and I couldn't disagree with him. I hung my head and turned back to the waiting crowd. “Fine, I’ll go,” I said grudgingly. I slowly marched over to the waiting lunatics. Jill waved a hoof and I was struck on the back of neck, so hard I fell to my knees. 

Jill laughed maniacally and I felt myself being lifted at the pits. “Oh we are going to have fun! Get that bitch in the med bay ready. I want this done immediately! On the fucking double! We sail for Saddle Arabia tonight!” I heard her shout.

Right before I lost conscious, I made a quick glance back at Nightheart, who was struggling so hard against his bonds. The desperateness in his eyes were the last thing I saw before closing mine.


> What a twist!
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------








When I came to, I quickly found that I was strapped tight to a hospital bed. Where the fuck am I? I asked myself, trying to be calm. I was in the med bay, I was still naked, and I was captured... On my own ship...Great. I also noted that there were a bunch of male animal creatures on said ship when I was knocked out. “If any of you did anything to me, I will hang your balls on my mantle!” I yelled to ceiling. 

I heard a chuckle and some hoof steps coming my way. “Oh don't flatter yourself. Even dogs wouldn't look at a fat ape like yourself,” I heard Jill say. Her ugly mug loomed over my face, smiling like the freaking joker. “Lets get down to business shall we? What do you know about your existance?”

“Um...What?”

She went out of my vision and I heard the crashing sounds of a tantrum before coming back into view. “How you were born you ignorant thing! How you came to be!”

“I was born from the wicked womb of the White Bitch. Sprung from the loins of the Black Devil,” I laughed.

She banged her hoof next to my head. “Don't laugh at me!” she shrieked.

“What do you want me to fucking say?” I laughed. “That I was born a demon or something?”

“I want you to figure out why you're here. For fucks sake, I want you to figure out why your left eye is the way it is,”she whispered even quieter. I stayed quiet and let her continue. “Oh you better listen. I've been a devout follower of Burijas for years. I know  you were chosen to be cursed with these marks,” she explained, running her hoof over my arm. “For the express reason of being here. To become a part of a grand prophecy. One so grand in scope -,”

“Wait, wait. Stop, stop, stop, stop,” I urged. “You know, I could follow that you were some Handsome Jack knock-off was just looking for treasure. But if you seriously sit there and tell me that you're some god-no-one-cares-about worshiping fuck with another prophecy, I’m seriously going to lose my shit,” I said harshly. 

Jill almost smacked me but her face softened, as if she was calm. “Thats alright,” she whispered. “Thats all fine my little Janny friend. Because even if you don't believe, I know what you are.”

“And what am I?”

“You're just a scared little ape with so much power in you and not one clue how to unlock it. Or at least thats what you were. Whatever thing you ran into put a lock on all your powers and memories I suspect. Or, some of them at least,” she hinted. 

I raised an eyebrow curiously. “What do you mean?”



I stared at the bottle, almost drawn to its existence. “And what is that going to do?”

She popped the cork with her magic. “Come here Flan and do your job!” She called behind her, Flan nervously coming into vision. She looked awful, covered in bruises and cuts. Jill brought her eyes back onto me with a smile. “This is going to make this little operation a whole lot easier,” she laughed. Flan floated a menacing spinning spoon as she poured the dream essence on my face. Flan shivered as she brought the spoon looking tool down on my right eye. “Enjoy the dreamland I’m about to send you to. I hope what you find is at least enlightening before you die,” Jill laughed wickedly.

Just before I could start screaming, my consciousness slipped into the darkness known as my mind.

===

“Gods above fucking dammit!” I shouted out of the cave opening. I frantically paced back and forth, swinging angrily at the air. “She just stormed the fucking ship like it was fucking nothing. And we fucking let her!” 

“Night,” someone said behind me. Whoever it was, I did not give a shit at the moment.

“And she just took her like it was fucking nothing! What the fuck is wrong with us!? We’ve fought fucking dragons! Monsters! And we let a little unicorn take her away?!”

“Dude shut the fuck up and listen for ounce!” 

I turned to Crow scowling face and snarled. I never really liked Crow, but right now, I felt like killing him. “Our captain and friend just got taken and your calm?!” I shouted, getting in his face.

Crow calmly placed a finger on my nose and pushed me out of his face. “Dude you need to calm the hell down.”

I huffed and back away before I could lose my temper. This was a damn disaster. We were looking for Idilah’s clothes on the sails (how she got up there, I’ll never know) and Jill blindsided us. Velcro was beheaded and separated from her body within seconds. Arige and Kitty were tazed (still trying to figure out what that means)  by Jill. And then everyone else got captured in other embarrassing ways because my author doesn't want to explain them. 

Fourth wall destroyed. Memory erased. Resuming function.

I shook my head and look at my surroundings, trying to figure out where I was. That was weird “What was I doing again?” I asked myself, staring at a wall.

“You were going to get over here before we leave ye behind!” I heard Black yell to me. I turned around, only to scream at the sight of a giant black dragon. It’s body was huge, almost taking up most of the cave entrance. “Where the fuck did that thing come from?!” I stuttered.

Everybody was on its back as if this wasn't a big fucking deal. “Come on man we got to rescue I.D.!” Crow shouted. 

“Umm.... Okay,” I muttered nervously as I climbed onto the creature’s back. Not to comfortable that it’s a black fucking dragon but since everybody else was doing it. I climbed on onto the back of the monstrous dragon sitting down behind Black.  “So um, what was the plan again?” I asked nervously.

Black let out a clever chuckle and patted his cutiemark. “Simple lad; we use me bum to track the lass. Should be able get er trail as soon as we take off,” he explained.

I gave the dragon I was sitting on a nervous look. “And who’s our ride?”

“This,” Black said,patting his huge scales. “Be Picante. Got him from that trade with Jill. But I honestly wouldn't had if I’d known how much of cunt she was. Anyway, Hotsauce is going to be out transport and our weapon. Aint that right Pic?”

The giant dragon huffed happily and yelled. “Hail satan!” 

Black nervously chuckled. “Yeah, he says that a lot. Alright, everybody strapped in?” he shouted behind us. Everyone held a expression of reasonable concern. Well, all except Kitty who bounced on the dragons back. “Come on, come on! Bidded time is wasted time! Lets get moving!” 

Vito, who was behind her nodded. “No one steals from us twice. Right Don?” he asked the wolf-dog beside him. 

Mastadon howled. “Been looking for some pay back!”

“I swear I’m going to stick this grenade up her ass when I find her!” Shouted Boom, who surprised everyone into an awkward silence.

Black shrugged and tapped on Picante’s back twice. “You heard the lass, lets get a move on before I lose ‘er.”

Picante slowly stepped out of the opening, careful of our presence on his back. The moment I could see the sun, Picante’s giant wings came up from both sides of his body, threatening to knock us off if we any closer to them. In a single beat, we were in the clouds on our way to our captured ship, to rescue my crush. Inyuasha go fuck yourself. I let that thought linger in my head before noticing we were missing some people. “Hey, wheres Ghost?”
---
“So what boss mare do with little pony?” Asked a hulking bulldog looking diamond dog to another smaller one.

The small chiwawa shrugged. “Think she put her in bottom deck. Said she dropping all things she don't need.”

The bigger dog grunted and turned around to Herpy, who was tied to a chair. His right eye was bruised badly and his left wing was bent at a weird angle. They were all in the smithing room. Jill had ordered the dogs to gut the room for anything they couldn't use. The bigger dog grabbed a design blueprint off the table next to Herpy and stared at it curiously. “What be this?” He asked the gryphon.

Herpy muffled something under his gag. The dog grunted, annoyed and ripped off the gag only to hear Herpy laugh. “Something that about to kill you in a second,” he chuckled. 

Both dogs laughed as if he told a joke. “Who kill us? You little birdy?” The big one asked.

Herpy’s eyes quickly looked away from them and he smiled even harder. “No, but he is.”

The dogs stared at eachother before my blade went through both of their necks, both of their confused expressions still on their faces as their bodies dropped to the floor. I dropped my cloak and went behind Herpy. “You could have waited a bit longer before letting them know,” I told him with false annoyance.

Herpy got out of the chair and immediately fell. I caught him before he could hit the floor and heard him chuckle. “You know me by now friend. I take pride when something of mine is about to be used. Especially when it saves my life,” he vaguely thanked me, as I say him up straight. He looked me up and down, examining me. “You weren't captured,” he deduced.

I rubbed the back of head. “I kind of hid in the vents when they boarded,” I admitted, embarrassed. When Jill and her dogs had boarded, I was in the kitchen making lunch. When I heard screams and blows I scrambled into the vent above the stove.

Herpy eyebrows went straight up. “We have vents?” 

I turned around and pointed up to the vent above his forge, which almost burned my ass getting in here. Theres a network of vents that go through the ship. Followed the smoke here.”

Herpy nodded. “So where are the others?”

I shrugged. “I think they might have been left behind. You know Arige would have fucked up everything by now.”

“Then who’s left besides us?”

I looked down to the dead dogs. Damn that swords sharp. Uneven, but freaking sharp. “Those guys said Velcro was in the bottom deck. We’re going to need her if were going to strike back.” 

“Then get down to there and get her. I’m going to finish a project,” he grunted, struggling to his workbench. 

I stared at him skeptically. “We’re under attack and-”

“Trust me,” he assured me. “Just go. I’ll be fine,” he said as he took some tools from under the table, assembling something I never seen before. I couldn't make it out, but he was working faster than I’d ever seen him.

I nodded to him and got a running jump up to the vent above the forge. Thank god he wasn't using it. I quickly started crawling through the vent used to the heat again. “Now I know what a- No Mitchel! You're not that cliche!” I whispered to myself, trying hard not to quote Diehard.

I came to a crossroads in the system and huffed. “Great now where to go-” 

“I’m not a fucking hacky sack you fucking fleabags! Attach me to my body so I can rip you to shreds!” yelled a filly.

It was coming from the right vent, so immediately shuffled to it. I regretted that decision the moment I saw the drop down. 

“Shiiiiiit!” I yelled as I fell down the shaft, face first.

My very short ride ended as soon as my face connected to a grate. The grate quickly gave way and landed on skinny diamond dog, smashing his head on the floor. I shook my head and quickly recovered from my fall. “Thats the last time I use the express elevator,” I chuckled, opening my eyes to see two big angry diamond dogs. One looked like a rottweiler, while the other looked like a golden retriever. The golden retriever looked vaguely female, what with the yellow gang vest covering where her breasts would be.

The rottweiler was holding Velcro’s head. She chomped at the dog’s legs and snarled. “I swear you fleabags are gonna-” she hissed before the dog holding her threw her on a pile of junk on the floor. The stuff was from Nathan’s room. A bunch of his lapis lazuli trinkets and samples were in the pile along with everyone else’s personal effects. Nathan is not going to be happy. On top of the pile was Nightheart’s mom’s  leg, which had started to rot and stink. Thank goodness it was down here. Also there in the junk pile was Velcro’s body, which she desperately tried rolling to.

The rottweiler growled and picked his spear off the ground and charge at me without warning. He thrust his spear into my confused face, surely ending my life. Well, he would have, if I hadn't cloned and cloaked myself a second before he charged. His spear went right through my face as if it wasn't there. He stared at my hollowgram, confused. “Where pony go?” he asked before I stabbed my sword into his back, right though his heart.

He gurgled a bit of blood before falling flat on the ground. I shifted my sword and laughed. “Right here!” I turned around to the golden retriever and gave her my best growl. “You want some too?”

The bitch (yes thats appropriate) dropped her spear and raised her hands. “My give up! I give up!” she stuttered over her words.

“Yeah better give up. Velcro, you good?” 

Velcro finally got her head on her shoulders and suavely slipped on her hat. “Yeah I’m fine wheres Flan?” 

I shook my head. “Don't know, but I think the last of the dogs are on the top deck with the zebras.”

“Don't they have names?”

I sighed. “Even if they do, do you really care? Like really?”

Velcro shook her head. “Then why are even bothering to rescue them?”

I couldn't see a reachable vent anywhere, so I just went straight toward the elevator lines. “Because someone has to clean up our messes. Now come on, lets-” A huge crash above interrupted me, shaking the entire ship.

Velcro barely wobbled. “What the hell was that?”

I hooked a hoof onto an elevator line and waved the other. “Come on, lets go see.”

Velcro trotted over to the magic rope next to me and we both zipped straight up. Halfway to the top deck, I spotted smoke coming out of the crew deck. “Hold on!” I shouted, squeezing the rope a bit harder, forcing it to stop. Velcro and I hopped off the line to ogle at the sight before us. The banquet table was in pieces. Idilah Blood, surrounded by dead dogs, naked, holding a diamond dog by his snapped neck, laughing. Oh yeah, he was on fucking fire too.

“Hmm, if only my dad was Michael Vick. This would make a lot more sense than it does,” she chuckled, dropping the dog’s corpse on the broken remains of the banquet table. 

“Whoa Idilah...Why are you still na- Sweet jesus, what the hell happened to your face?!” I shrieked as she turned to face us. The entire left side of her body had turned black and ragged like brimstone. The runic symbols that cover her body glowed dark red. Her left eye was closed tight, constantly leaking blood down the charred half of her body. 

She laughed wickedly as she slowly and casually strolled up to me. She got in my face and gave me a creepy smile. “Oh, silly Mitchiel. I’ve always been like this. Just took a really vague and distanced enemy to make me see it. Lets go deal with said enemy shall we?” She suggested, walking away from us, going toward her room..

Velcro stared at the demonized girl, completely stunned. “Wh-what is she?” she stuttered.

I calmed myself from the chilling display and took a breath. “This is what 'Dila looked like when she got here,” I answered as Idilah came out of her room wearing the same boyshorts and tank top she's had on for the last two weeks. 

“Ugh, I need new clothes. I’ve made sure to wash this stuff and it still stinks,” she muttered, disgusted. She rushed over to the elevator lines and jumped onto one, completely ignoring us. Idilah grabbed a line and waved her hand invitingly. “Come on lets go kill this bitch.”

Velcro gulped and joined us before we started zipping straight up. I looked over to Idiah, automatically facing her re-charred side. “So what happened?”

Idilah stayed quiet and smiled all the way through the ride, ignoring my question. 

We reached our floor of the top deck and were treated to the sight of over forty former diamond dog mercenaries (where the fuck was she getting all these idiots?) surrounded around something. They were all staring at it with rapt attention, trying to get even closer when it started glowing. I stepped forward and cloaked but Idilah blocked me, smiling at the spectacle. “Wait for it,” she whispered excitedly.

Suddenly whatever the dogs were staring at exploded in a flash of light. The explosion caused a shockwave, pushing the surrounding dogs on their backs. In the center of the confused ring was Jill, radiating power like a Glowing One. “Yes!” She shouted her voice spilt as if two people were talking through her. Her right eye’s pupil was in the same weird formation that Idilah’s was- Oh...So thats why her right eye’s closed  “Finally, the vessel arrives. Now that my strength has returned, I may now take whats-”

“Oh shut the fuck up Sheytan!” Idilah shouted at her, her smile fading. “You couldn't have fucking asked for a body? We totally didn't have like three useless crewmembers that you ‘o so conveniently tossed overboard.”

The ring of dogs that surrounded Sheytan/Jill got back up rubbing their heads. Jill pushed pass a confused dog, giving Idilah a wicked smile. “That’s why I have such a disliking for you Jann. You don't know the rules. You see destiny as this creature does!” She shouted back. She stood proudly in front of the small army behind her, the diamond dog soldiers starting to form ranks behind her. “And that is why you die here today. Another stepping stone in the staircase to power. Why are you laughing?” She asked raising an eyebrow.

She was right, Idilah was cackling, staring right at the sky. “Because, you talk all this smack as if I give a shit,” she laughed. “You act as if I care theres some prophecy I don't know about. You act as if I care that you're betraying me. And the funniest thing is, you don't see the gigantic dragon over our heads.”

Everyone looked up to see what she was talking about and saw a huge fucking dragon over  our heads. The thing was almost the size of the ship easily. And by the time Jill and everyone looked up it was gone. “You cannot hope to trick-”

Nightheart, Crow and the rest of the crew dropped down in flurry of screeches, yells and feathers. Nightheart cracked his knuckles and rolled his neck, smiling. “You were saying?”

Idilah strolled beside him and elbowed him and elbowed his side. “Show off,” she playfully huffed.

Nightheart blushed, not taking his glared off Sheytan. “Not my fault. Our crew want blood,” he laughed, turning to the rest of the grinning calvary. 

There was a whipping and static noise behind us and two diamond dogs on either side of Sheytan clutched their stomachs and go down. We turned around to see Flan and Herpy sporting some new gear. Herpy was standing on his hind legs, sporting a badass compound crossbow, grinning like a madman. Flan had a mass of four artificial unicorn horns on her back, radiating electricity, arcing between the horns and the bolts in her neck. “Are we late to ze party?” 

“I’ve been itching to test this,” Herpy said. “And what better target than a psychopath?” He boasted, loading another bolt.

“Well then...” Idilah muttered rubbing her fists. Her hands suddenly caught fire, along with the entire left side of her body. Her skin turned back to it’s normal terrifying brimstone black, her red runes flaring intensely. The only part of her body that wasn't back to normal was the rest of her face. She smiled devilishly. “Lets gets busy!”

 

> The Royal Rumble
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------





“CAAW!” Crow screeched stunning most of the dogs and started the battle. “I forgot I could do that,” he sighed happily before charging the crowd of D-dogs.

“Somebody check that clock, cause I think its GO TIME!” Black yelled, brandishing a forge hammer. He was the first to strike. Holding his hammer by his dextrous hooves, Black charged at the line of D-dogs and slammed his entire body onto one of them, bringing him to the ground. Before anyone could jump into that pile, Herpy put another bolt between another dog’s eyes.

“Another one down!” Herpy shouted and loaded another bolt.

Tick grabbed a grenade out of his sister’s saddle bag and lit it with a swipe on the floor. “See you in Tartarus fleabags!” He taunted before tossing it into the crowd. The grenade exploded and sent over a dozen of them overboard. Idilah and Sheytan charged at each other with a battlecry from both of them. Just before they could collide, Shetan turned on her hooves and bucked Idilah square in the chest, sending her sailing across the deck and out of sight. The glowing one went after her in a leap, cackling as she sailed through the air. Ghost had disappeared from sight and just before he reappeared, two dogs were missing their heads. 

A dozen dogs finally got their bearings and decided to charge us. Vito and Mastodon were immediately on them and let out battle cries before meeting the dog’s charge. Vito dodged a spear jab and grabbed the spear, got on his hind legs and used his knee to break it in half. The opposing dog howled as Vito drove the pointed gem into his throat, going down clutching the wound. Like a true badass, Vito then swepted the feet from under two dogs charging at him with the pole of the spear, driving the jagged end into a dog’s heart while Mastodon stabbed the other with his hidden blade. The blond dog howled. “Damn I missed this!” he shouted as he stabbed another D-dog in his chest.

Why the hell am I just standing here? I got to test some dragon magic! I shouted in my head before charging into the fray myself. Two ready D-dogs charged at me and both of them met a snowball to the throat, dropping to the ground clutching the ice. The snowballs being my fists. I rose up and decked another dog hard enough to send him to the ground. And then another. And then another...

“Keep lining up so I can put you down!” I shouted to the quickly dying crowd of former soldiers. 

A six or so dogs got launched into the air, courtesy of Arige. He looked down to his fists and sighed happily. “Oh it feels so good to let go!” He shouted before picking up a still conscious dog and slamming its back into his knee Bane style.

Terk was jumping, flipping, and otherwise being a pain for anyone trying to aim at him. He launched into the air, only to come down on a poor dog’s collarbone. He smiled before he kicked the dog from under him landed on his hind legs. “Damn Vito. You ever think of running a school This weak point crap is awesome!” He asked the vet before pummeling another D-dog’s chest.

Vito snapped another dog’s leg at the knee and stomped in his throat. “School? I wouldn't know what to call it,” he said before disarming another dog and driving the pole into his attacker's crotch.  

Terk dodged a spear strike and broke the spear in a chop. Taking example from Vito, he killed the opposing dog with it and uses the other end for a nearby enemy. “I don't know...Wing style?” He suggested as he got on his hind legs and span, adding power to a punch sent at a D-dog behind him.

Vito grabbed another enemy in a headlock and quickly snapped it’s neck. He tapped his beak briefly before shrugging. “It could work.”

“Um guys? Can we talk about this after we don't have spears at our throats?” I suggested, narrowly dodging another strike and sending a snow filled punch at the attacker.  The two gryphons nodded and continued to just kick ass.

The battle became a blur. A mess of feathers, cries and, smoke. Nothing could counter Arige’s strength. No one fast was enough to dodge Kitty’s feathers. Vito and Mastodon were back to back ripping D-dogs apart. Tick and Boom were dismantling the D-dogs offence with their grenades. Terk’s speed was distracting any dog going for our blindsides. This was one of the biggest fights I’d ever seen and I was a part of it. After finishing choking a dog out, I snapped my head behind me to see a D-dog stop mid strike. He looked so terrified, I thought he'd piss himself. I was going to charge at him, but he immediately dropped his gem-spear. “Thats it, me done!” he shouted backing up with his paws raised.

Another D-dog saw him and turn back to see Arige “Bane” someone. “Nope!” she said, dropping her weapon. More and more D-dogs surrendered. Considering what they saw us do to their friends, I would too. Before anyone could celebrate, Idilah went over our heads and back first into the mast. My heart nearly dropped at the sight of her struggling to get up. But instead of my heart dropping, it filled with anger. 

Too bad that anger got replaced by fear when I saw what she was fighting.

Something flew over our heads and landed in a crouch. What used to be Jill the villain we never saw, was now a mess of bone and flesh. It’s limbs loosely resembled feline parts, if I had to guess, a lion’s. The head was a mass of spiky bone, almost like a lion’s mane. It was as if someone had mixed a lion and pony and then turned it inside out.

“You thought you were so clever,” It said, its voice barely even Equis. “You thought you would march up to this world and take what you wanted.”

Idillah sat up against the mast, grinning. “That was sort of the deal,” she croaked. “I get Asad back, you immortal guys fuck off, and we live happily ever after.”

Sheytan let out a disgusting rasping noise that might had been a laugh. “Oh silly child, you were to be my vessel. My key into this disgusting world of colors.My proxy. And then Burjias had to have that Ifrit put a lock on your soul,” She hissed. “I could not do anything with you then. But thank goodness for this follower of his. This...Fanatic I inhabit. She followed my instructions to the letter,” she said, pointing to her strange eye. “Now all I need is you and your companions gone,” she muttered sinisterly back at us. 

Within a second of the threat, her fleshy face was in mine.Suddenly, I no longer felt the floor under me and a weight on my throat. I tried to make an ice ball but couldn't concentrate enough will. I clutched at the bitch’s fleshy arm in hopes that I could crush the bone within, only succeeding in pissing her off. Ghost tried to strike her from behind but quickly found the spiked end of Sheytan’s bone tail. His saucer sized eyes stared at the appendage in his chest before Sheytan threw him off to the side. 

“Mitchel!” Crow shouted before preparing preparing another Caw. He failed miserably and started coughing up blood.

“All of you miserable excuses for minions. You are nothing to me!” She growled, squeezing my throat tighten. At that point, I couldn't breathe. It would be seconds before my vision faded, but not before seeing the barrel of a gun brush against the back Sheytan’s head. 

“Did everyone forget I have gun?” Idilah asked no one in particular before pulling the trigger. 

Sheytan’s grip didn't waver and the same tail that stabbed Ghost whipped at Idilah going straight for her heart. In a flash of metal, the tail was pinned to the ground by a familiar knife. “Nope,” Idilah taunted, pulling the trigger again. 

This time Sheytan let go, only to take a swipe at Idilah. The human ducked and giggled as Sheytan tried again. “Why wont you die!?”  

Idilah dodged every attack, giggling like a maniac. “I don't know what's funnier; a demon who had to possess a pony to kill me or the fact that you seriously are that afraid of me?” 

With an outraged shout, Sheytan put all of her weight into a punch. Just when I thought she was done for, Idilah caught it and held Sheytan’s fleshy claw in place. Sheytan tried to bring back her hand, but Idilah wasn't letting go. She pulled and pulled and Idilah only smiled. “How’s that plan working out for ya?” She taunted as Sheytan struggled. “I thought I was the weakling here? I thought I was the insignificant Jann of this food chain?” She said, her grip on Sheytan’s hand tightening. I could hear the sound of bones being crushed as Sheytan almost bowed in front of Idilah. “I only wanted one thing and you fuckers roped me into all this extra shit! Sky-ships exploding out of mountains, armies of surprisingly smart diamond dogs, a crazy ass idiot whip I can't properly call a villain, and oh yeah, you and and that dumbass called Burijas! I’m going to love talking with him again.” While she was ranting, Idilah continued to twist Sheytan’s arm until her shoulder was on the ground.

The former demon wailed and squirmed under Idilah’s grip, constantly tapping on the ground in submission. “You win,” she groaned. “I submit!”

Idilah squeezed tighter, calmly smiling as she finally ripped off Sheytan’s arm. The monster screamed and grabbed at where her arm used to be while Idilah stood there laughing. “Oh stop being a bitch and stay still,” she ordered as she grabbed Sheytan’s head, bringing her to her eye level. She stared into Sheytan’s bright eyes, paying more attention to the star iris one that used to be hers. “Sheytan?” She grunted in response. “You lost,” Sheytan grunted sadly. “I need to know why you needed my eye,” Sheytan grunted happily, as if that info would be an issue. “By burning you to ashes,” Sheytan grunted frantically. Suddenly the air around us grew cold, Idilah’s hands lit ablaze, surrounding Sheytan’s head. Soon the rest of the vessel that used to be Jill lit was covered in blood red flames. 

Everyone stared as Sheytan burned to ashes, the blood red flames turning bright yellow. What was truly disturbing was the fact that no smoke emitted from the flames. “What is she?” Flan asked as she bandaged my neck. 

“A beutiful monster,” I croaked, staring at the blazing demon in front of us.

As Sheytan ashes began to drift in the wind, I.D. rolled her neck and turned to the dogs that had surrendered. “What do you plan to do now? Your contracts were with Jill and she’s very,” she stared down at the ashes at her feet. “Very dead.”

The D-dogs lowered their paws and began to talk amongst themselves. “Oh hell no!” Vito shouted, pushing his way to the chattering group. “You assholes sat and watched as that bitch stuck a spear in my gut. I don't care if you were just following orders, I don't care if it was following the contract, if you don't pledge your allegiance to me and this monster, I’m going to have Boom shove a timed charge in your gut and watch the bits fly out!” He screamed, rushing towards the biggest dog. This diamond dog stood above Vito and yet he still looked terrified of the gryphon.

Idilah pulled Vito away from the scared dog and patted him on his wings, earning a glare from him. “Don't worry Vito, of course they're going to work for us!” she cheered. “Cause if they don't, I’ll just stick my hand down their throats, one by one and make their bodies light up like hot coals,” she threatened in the most happiest tone. “And the first thing they can do is clean all the bodies and make sure were ready to sail!”

The D-dogs scrambled to pick up and throw the bodies of their brethren overboard. I chuckled and felt a huge hand lift me onto my hooves. “Nightheart, why do you not stand in victory? We’ve won!” Arige said, patting my shoulder. I wanted to agree with him but had the faintest feeling we were forgetting something...

“Um, guys. Dying teammate over here!” Crow shouted, applying pressure to Ghost’s wound. The dirt stallion had stopped breathing. His eyes glazed over and his chest was still gushing with blood.

“Scheiße(Shit)!” Flan cursed in german. “I got him!” Flan pushed Crow away and started to inspect Ghost’s wound. “Punctured heart, blood vessels destroyed. Zip!” She called. Sure enough, the bandaged Diamond dog pushed past me and kneeled opposite to Flan. How she stayed hidden is beyond me.

“Going to have do this on-site, we can't afford to move him. Zip, Now!” She ordered. Zip flinched at Flan’s voice and opened up the bandages on her chest. Inside was the standard three or so hearts, all of them beating through confusing and fucked up means. “Begin the operation!” 

I felt a hand plant itself on my shoulder, and turned around to see Idilah’s smug face. “Well we’ve had an eventful day,” she said nonchalantly.

I shook my head. “Our day cannot be complete without someone dying. Are you okay?” I asked, my voice coming out hoarsely.

Idilah stared at her stone chitin hand and smiled smugly. Before she could say anything, I brushed away a bit of her hair to get a better look at her eye. She kept it completely shut and blood was still running down her face as if she was crying. She softly took my hand, squeezing it tight. “I’m fine now. Its just going to take a while to fix this.”

“So,” I said, slowly putting down my arm. “What's our next move?”

Idilah’s eyes or eye brightener. “We regroup. We set a course back to Black’s town and just...Take a break I guess,” she said, uncertain.

“What about Asad?” 

“Now that Jill and Sheytan are out of the way, there's no one to race to Omar. That, and with some of Sheytan’s unwilling information, I know for a fact where he is. Plus I want to discuss some things. But not now.”

“Alright th- Wait, wheres the key Jill had made?” 

“Oddly enough, the dumbass put the thing in my room. Bitch must of thought she’d take the ship,” she giggled. "I’m going to fly the ship. You get some sleep, I’ll tell you everything when we get there, okay,” she assured me before walking past to get to the turning wheel.

“No.”

She stopped and looked back at me. 

“You have only one eye, can't have you steering the ship into a mountain."

“So are you guys gonna fuck or what!?” Ghost yelled, sporting his new bandages.

Godammit Ghost...






> Attack of the Filler: Pure Romance
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

With gleeful smile, Kitty bent down to pick a flower from a garden. It was actually a weed, but she still looked hella cute doing it. We had been stuck here in Black’s old town on what I.D. calls a furlough. Didn't know what that was, but one things for sure; it was boring. See, with the shit that went down on the ship, we needed to solve our navigation issue. With no demon with ulterior motives steering the ship, the Sheytan needed a serious tune-up. To that end, Black had dry docked us in his hometown, to the annoyance of his dad, Shepard. I didn't know what was going on between those two, and I didn't care. All I knew was, Boom and I were bored as hell.

With this being such a small village, there wasn't any expendable property. Meaning, we had a new blast powder mix and nothing to test it on. So, that being said, Boom did what she always did when she got bored; drink her brains out. Me, I prefer to keep a clear head at all times. Someones got to watch her when waving around explosives while plastered. Last night had been a particularly good night for her, meaning she was fast asleep in the small shack we were given for the period of our stay, with a sheep she picked up. Gross. 

Not wanting to deal with the smell of sex, I ran out as soon I woke up. Hey, when you grow up around a girl who likes to make explosions, you become a heavy sleeper out of necessity! So when I barged out and left the door open. You know, to let the love birds get a breath of fresh air... Or catch a cold.

But the moment I came out, I spotted the cutest sight ever. Kitty, being as bored as we were, was going around the gardens in front of houses, picking flower at random. She had hit six houses, and most of the sheep were none too happy. I just...Couldn't stop staring at her. It was weird, up until this point we just never really had any time to notice, what with all the fighting we get into. 

I was so into my creepy staring that I didn't even feel Boom tapping my shoulder the first time. Instead of tapping me again, she punched my neck. I screamed and turned to see an angry Boom. Her formerly spiky hair was matted down to her head by sweat. “Mornin’ wanker. Ya trying to give me cold? Leaving the door open like that,” she whined, rubbing her eye.

I snorted and turned back to Kitty to find her gone. “Dammit Boom, you made me lose her,” I groaned.

Boom sniffed. “Lose who?” She asked, her nose already getting stuffy.

“Er, um. No one,” I replied quickly.

Boom looked at me skeptically and didn't notice when Kitty slammed next to her. That didn't surprise me. What was surprising was the fact that she had landed on her head and had snapped her neck. Her ear was to the ground and the rest of her body stood stiff as if she was fresh vegetable ready to be picked. Celestia, that sounded creepy.


Her left eye stared up at me and she started giggling like a little filly. “You both look so funny,” she said still giggling. 

I bent down and took her head in my hooves and chuckled. “You look funnier.”

AND THEN THEY FUCKED. 

THE END.

“What the fuck just happened?” Boom asked to seemingly no one as she heard the ball slapping sex happening behind her.


> Our Journey begins...Again
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Port side at the ready!” I shouted to the top deck. Diamond dogs and sheep alike scrambled to the left side of the deck. Separating from the group, one of each race manned a mounted ballista. In the time of the break, Black had worked his ass off upgrading our defenses. The ballistae had been outfitted with 360 degree swivels, a new bolt feeding system similar to clips (my idea), and all of them had a cannon set in the base.  There was an opening about the size of a pony’s fist. The diamond dog grabbed a bullet-shaped cannon ball and shoved it in the opening, a series of clicks confirming it was in place. The sheep paired with him took a cylinder and snapped it on the side of the ballista, attaching it with the flick of a switch. A small door opened on the cylinder and loaded a bolt.

Mitchell was towering over me with his freakish height, and would have been damn intimidating if not for the fact that he was wearing wooly pajamas and a tank top.  He yawned and ran his fingers through his chocolate colored hair. Couldn't blame him, it was five in the morning. “You ever consider doing your soldier thing in the afternoon?” He drawled.

I snorted. “Would it matter? You sleep ‘till dinner,” I quipped.

Mitchell blew a raspberry at me. “Bite me, I’m on vacation.”

I sighed, quickly losing my patience. “Dude I've got to train these farmers in a few minutes. What's the damage?”

Mitchell tilted his head, making a satisfying crack. “Just messin’ with you. Decided to get up today and see what all the noise was about,” he said, stepping past me. Mitchell leaned on the deck railing and watched as diamond dogs and sheep worked together to do their chores. “How’d you manage to get them to work together? Figured there’d be bad blood.”

I rested my arms on the railing and smiled. “There was. You were probably asleep, but there was an issue with one of D-dog crew members in town last week.”

“What happened?” He asked without looking at me.

“Dirt. You know, the really big one? Saggy face? Anyway, he went into town to get some groceries and got jumped by some drunks. No one pitched in until Black got there to break it up,” I explained. I spotted a sheep tripping his d-dog partner coming off the gangplank. “Hey, I saw that, motherfucker! Spade,” The d-dog getting up looked at me. “You get one free punch on Rand, use it when you feel like it, and Rand and everyone else can't say anything about it. Unless, they want to settle things with me?” I threatened with toothy smile.

Rand quickly got Spade to his feet and frantically tried to shake his head. Before Rand could say anything, Spade socked him in the jaw. Rand went face first into the grass and stayed there while everyone else walked over him. I smiled, proud of myself. “Since there was a lot to do and a lot of guys wanted to join in on the adventure, I was appointed mediator. Well, Black was, but he told me I was still captain.”

“That’s pretty impressive,” Mitchell said with a smirk.

“Yeah, my diplomacy skills are legendary,” I confessed with a self-satisfactory sigh.

“No, its impressive how you’ve managed to scare these two groups shitless,” he deadpanned. I punched his arm, hard, sending him flying into the port side railing. He sat up and gave me a weak smile as a bit of blood trickled from the corner of his mouth. “Love you too, I.D.”

“Whatever, Mitchell,” I hissed, smirking. “I got to go see Flan. You should see her when I’m done.”

“Yeah, I’ll do that. Right after this nap,” Mitchell muttered before slumping to the ground.

I hopped on an elevator line and went down to the crew deck. The floor was bustling with hooping and hollering, making me think another fight had broken out. I pushed past the small crowd of sheep and d-dogs to see that they were spectating a interesting fight in the training room.

Shaking his head from side to side, Vito stepped onto the mat in the center of the room. He was shirtless, wearing nothing but a pair of ragged shorts, and had his wings tucked tightly against his back. He was circling the mat, raising his arms like a boxer in a prime time match. His slick black hair glistened with sweat, showing that this had been going on for while. 

Across the mat was his best friend and current opponent, Mastodon, or Don. He was resting his meaty arms on his knees in a crouch, being much more calm than I had ever seen him. His normally wavy blonde hair was matted to his head. Just like Vito, Don was shirtless, showing off the tattoo on his neck that said ‘No mercy’. His fluffy yellow tail stayed tucked against his waist, like a belt.

Don suddenly grunted and got to his feet, rising to his full height of two metres. Vito stopped his showboating and got into a ready stance; one foot in front of the other, and his arms to his sides. The two vets started to circle each other, both starting at every movement. With the look in both of their eyes, I couldn't tell if they were anxious or excited. 

“Patea su culo Vito!” Someone shouted next to my ear.

I turned to deck the loudmouth, but hesitated when I saw that it was just Terk being himself. Terk was a bit taller than me, not at Don or Mitchell’s height, but still decent at 182 centimeters. His skin was coffee brown, marred by the sheer amount of tattoos he had. Said tattoos were on his right arm, an entire sleeve of broken chains running down to his wrist, ending in a lock. The tank top and green track pants he was wearing hung loosely on his body, making me seriously doubt his ability to fly. For the sake of the guys behind him, his red wings were tucked tightly to his back.

“Yo, Boss! Whatsup?” He practically shouted in my face.

I glared at him sharply and turned back to the fight. “Is there a reason why there’s a prize fight on my ship?” I asked flatly.

Terk chuckled. “Come on, boss, you know them; one guy says something stupid and then they have to settle it in the ring. Hell, I don't even know what they were even fighting about.”

Vito threw the first punch, the sound of the hit could be heard across the deck. He had impacted on Don’s shoulder, leaving himself open for Don to return the favor. With his normal arm, Don jabbed at Vito’s ribs. The moment Don’s thick fist connected, Vito skirted away, using the momentum of Don’s hit. Vito leaned over his right side, “Fuck!” He grunted, breathing harshly. Both of them were covered in bruises, both winded.


Don came at Vito like a freight train, winding up his mechanical arm for a big strike. Vito smirked, rolled under Don’s punch and popped up behind his exposed back. Vito must have been faking his injury, because the moment he got to his feet, he unleashed a fury of punches on Don’s back. Two hits, four hits, eight, none of it mattered, because Don thrust his elbow into Vito’s forehead. Vito didn't expect that, and clutched his forehead. “Goddam-,” He barely said, before Don delivered a wind knocking blow to Vito’s stomach, knocking him off his feet. Vito groaned and hugged his stomach tightly, trying to breathe in all he could from the ground. 

“Is anyone going to tell me how the hell this happened?!” I shouted, finally. The show was awesome, but enough was enough.

Don let a rolling laugh, his gravely voice threatening to shake the room. “Oh, shit. I forgot what the hell this was even about. I guess it must have slipped my mind. You remember, Vito?” Vito shuddered and kept his nose to the floor. “Ah, he’ll remember.”

I rubbed the bridge of my nose and took a deep breath. “Alright, well... Get him ready. There’s going to be a big meeting in an hour. Everyone is in attendance,” I said just loud enough for everyone to hear. Everyone cleared the room in a rush. Paco caught one of the d-dogs and made a “gimme” gesture with his hand, his palm held flat. The d-dog growled and dropped a handful of random gems (unrefined diamonds, imperfect rubies, that junk) into his hand.

Don grabbed Vito by the waist strap on his shorts and hefted him onto his shoulder. “So, what's the deal, I.D.? We leaving this grass pit?” He asked, trying to balance Vito on his shoulder. 

Paco counted out his winnings. “Dammit, that dude was, like, two rocks short. Yeah, boss, when we getting out of here? This place has been nothing but boring, and I’m running out of chumps. Pretty sure I’ve cleaned out most of the new crew.”

I shrugged. “Black and Herpy said they managed to get the ship where it needed to be, but they needed to speak to me before we take off.”

“Okay, when did they tell you that?” Paco asked.

I rubbed my index fingers together. “About two weeks ago,” I chuckled nervously.

Both of their jaws dropped to the floor. Literally, I’ll never get used to that.

“We’ve been stuck here for almost another month because...Why!?” Don begged, almost dropping Vito in surprise.

“Seriously, what the hell, ‘Dilla?” Paco chided.

“Okay, one: if you call me ‘Dilla’ again the whole ship is going to be eating turkey tonight. Two: I’ve kinda been busy trying to get this thing called a “relationship” squared away.” Both of them groaned. “What?! I’m trying to get my relationship with my friend beyond semi-romantic bullshit.” Seriously, the Twilight ‘staring into each others eyes’ thing does not work. I really don’t like ignoring someone who took a magic missile for me.

“So, while you two have been fucking like bunnies, we’ve had to deal with construction, mining and this racist grass pit called a town?” Don demanded.

I couldn't tell them what Sheytan’s death had done to my brain. What her powers made me remember. During all that time, I had been absorbing information, trying to figure out how to explain to them the path ahead. That would have to wait for the meeting tonight. “Yes, and it's been wonderful. I’m about to go see them now, so don't get your panties in a bunch. And FYI, we haven't fucked yet, so get your facts straight!” I shouted on my way out the door.

Ah, the infirmary. The moment I stepped through the door I was greeted with the scent of antiseptic and alcohol. Rows of beds lined each side of the huge room, a set of large cabinets stood to my right, along with a wooden desk. The smells of the hospital-like room brought a subconscious memory. I couldn't remember why, but I was absolutely thrilled and in a lot of pain. My euphoria was broken when I realized that one of the beds were occupied. What had caught my attention was the new sound of moaning and ruffling feathers. 

Two grey wings stood stiff as the guy they were attached to was tongue wrestling someone pinned beneath him. I had to lead in to see his face, and couldn't help but question why he was here. “Herpy?” 

Herpy’s head jerked up to meet my eye. His yellow eyes stared at me with surprise, his left eye drifting to his right. Herpy’s wings flapped once in an attempt to jump to his feet, but failed when his bare feet caught the end of the bed, resulting in him slamming himself onto the floor. 

“Mein God! Are you okay?! His female companion shouted, jumping to his aid. Dr. Flankinstein (Flan preferred) quickly gave Herpy a once over, trying to assess the damage of his head and going as far as lifting him by the cheeks. Flan was about my height, 178 centimeters. Her long blond hair trumped mine, flowing down her back. Two huge nails jutted from either side of her neck, stitches ran around her neck, wrists and stomach as if they were seams. She was in nothing but a bra and khakis, and currently making Herpy’s nose bleed like fountain.

“You smothering him!” I struggled to say as I laughed hysterically.

“Don't laugh! Help me, he’s getting blood everywhere!”

After taking a few minutes to clean up the mess, Flan got Herpy into a bed with a fresh blood IV. Flan had clad herself in her usual lab coat, clasping all the buttons up to her neck. “You have impeccable timing, you know that?” she grumbled as she flopped in her chair.

I finished laughing and wiped a tear. “Only for moments like these, girl. So, what is it, you needed to see me?” I asked as I plopped on a chair in front of her desk.

She growled and dug out a small stack of papers from her desk. “I needed to see you two weeks ago!” 

I held up my hands. “What? Romance takes time,” I retorted defensively. “Besides, looks like you guys were enjoying the downtime,” I nodded at Herpy.

Flan’s frown turned into a grin. She giggled and hugged herself, a deep red blush appearing on her cheeks. “I’ll admit, I would never had known Herpy was so interested if we didn't have so much time on the project,” she squealed. Flan’s happiness suddenly drained from her face and was replaced by a menacing stare. “Despite that, I think it would be in your best interest not to ignore my checkups in the future,” she said very calmly.

Well, that’s not fucking scary at all. “Okay,” I shuddered. “I promise not to miss any more appointments.”

Her smile returned, and Flan jumped to her feet. “Great! Now to business. Strip.” She ordered flatly.

“And then what? Bend over? Fuck you.”

Flan sighed. “I am trying to do a physical here. If you don't get undressed, I’m going to have to rip them off myself.”

“What is this, some kind of fucked up foreplay?” I asked as got up from the chair. I started taking of my clothes, warily staring at Flan, who started jotting down notes. “What are you writing?” I asked, slipping off my shirt.

Flan started quickly looking up and back down to her notepad. “Changes I’ve observed since I joined you. It’s very fascinating.” She said, slowly circling around me. I was down to my bra and briefs, so Flan could see all I had to give and was eagerly taking notes like a certain princess. “Your runes have changed; while the ones on your torso and groin have stayed the same, your arms and legs have ‘mutated’ drastically.”

“Um, what do you mean by ‘changes’?”

Flan looked to the ceiling, biting her lip. “I say mutate, but what I really mean is grow. Have you noticed how many tattoos you have on your arms?”

Now that she mentioned it, the runes on my arms had gotten thicker all over my body. “That’s  weird. How have I not noticed this?” I muttered, staring at my arms.

“Ah, the power of mild suggestion, lass,” I heard a heavy voice drawl behind me. I turned around to see a towering man about Mitchell’s height. Puffy black hair surrounded his ram’s horns, and long black runic marks ran up his back and neck, showing his hybrid origin. Slitted yellow eyes bored into mine as Big Black leaned against the door to the infirmary. “Nice knickers, by the way.”

I crossed my arms and couldn't help but smile. “You know, I’d be a lot more self conscious if I wasn't wearing briefs.”

“Now, don't get ya knickers in a twist, I’ve already seen ya naked, now lets down to business.” He said, coming closer to me. “First off, have you been practicing, like I told you?”

I stared at him for a second, and remembered what he was talking about. I raised my arms and poised my hands so my palms were facing away from me. At that moment I blocked everything out, Black and Flan weren’t there, I wasn't in the ship, I was standing alone in the fog of my mind. It had cleared up a bit since I had slept, but heavy fog still rose to my waist. I kept my pose, bringing up all the reasons I was here. Burijas and his game, my brother and his decision, but most importantly, myself. Recently, it has occurred to me what choices I could have made; I could have helped Asad with his mental issues, hell, I could told Burijas to fuck off. It doesn't matter, decisions were made, and whenever I think about them, it gets me pissed. Calling up all these buried thoughts, the fog below my feet glowed red, and just before I came back to reality, I felt a hard hand wrapping around my ankles.

When I opened my eyes, my arms had been covered in the lava rock-like chitin I appeared in this land coated in.

“Nice job,” Big Black said. “What was your memory?” He asked curiously.

I glared at him. “Nothing important. How long was I out?”

He chuckled a bit and started circling me. “Ah, it was something strong. Djinni magic is mainly controlled by emotions. Emotions help drive the purpose of magic and can even shape it.” He explained. “You were standing there for about...” he checked his watch. “Eight minutes.”

I stared down at my rock-encased arms, flexing my fingers. “That long?” I asked, mostly to myself. If it took me that long to change, I would consider just leaving myself in rock. But with certain… Emotional obligations, I didn't want to go through that headache. 

“Whatever it was you did, keep it in your forethought, it’ll help you change faster. And practicing wouldn’t hurt either.” He suggested, rummaging through the bag he had over his shoulder.

I scanned the room for Flan, and couldn't find the zombie. “Where’d the doc go?”

“Carried Herp to his workshop. As short a time as I’ve known him, I’ve never seen him more grumpy than when he’s slept on a soft bed,” he said, pulling a small onyx ball out of the leather bag.

I eyed it suspiciously. It was a small ball, no bigger than a baseball. “What's that?”

He ignored me and put the onyx ball next to my left eye. “Damn. Gonna have to shave it down.” He muttered. Black was now very aware of my flaming eyebrows and smiled. “This,” he said, shaking the ball. “Is your new eye and power matrix.”

“My new what?” I said, staring at it.

Black walked around and sat in Flan’s chair. “This is going to be your new eye,” he explained.

I sat down in the opposite chair and curiously leaned forward.”Okay, how is it going to do that?”

Black calmly put the ball on the desk and span it between his fingers. “Well, that part is easy. The energy, or smoke, as I like to call it, you got from both Sheytan and... what did you call the other one?”

“Steven.” I giggled.

Black laughed with me. “Steven, is what's going to power it. I’m going to etch some runes for containing and sight into this here bit of onyx and put into your head. Using the power of both the demons, it’s going give you new eyesight.”

I gently prodded at the socket I kept closed, my plating making it almost like I never had an eye to begin with. “Alright, that’s cool. When is it going be finished?” 

Big Black stared at the ball in his hands, rubbing his chin in thought. “Give me an hour,” he shrugged. 

“Perfect, that’s when the crew meeting is going to be,” I said excitedly. 

Black leaned back two legs, the chair creaking and groaning under his weight. Flan was not going to be happy. “You ever gonna tell us what Sheytan wanted with you?”

I smiled bleakly. I couldn't meet his eyes. I had kept everyone in the dark for the longest time. I was honestly surprised everyone had stayed with me so long… But that was going to change tonight. “Just come to the meeting. Along with our departure, I’ll be explaining everything.” I raised my head and looked him in the eye. “With all that’s coming, no one can afford to be in the dark. I also got another project for you,”

Black stared at me curiously. “What did you have in mind?”

I opened my fist, and felt something stretching out of a chink in my palm. The slim handle of a knife slid out of my hand, and for a second I felt at ease knowing I could do this again. I took the blade out with my other hand, taking a second to admire the darkness of the blade before stabbing it into the desk. “Use that creativity of yours to make something out this. And,” I continued, picking up my coat and drawing out my revolver. “Study this. I know you know how to work with flintlock, but I need this whole crew armed fast.” I ordered, laying the gun next to the knife.

Black stared at both items with glee. “Oh, no worries, lass. After this eye is done, I’m going to have a field day with these,” He muttered giddily.

Hopefully, he won’t get too carried away with that. I grabbed my coat and pants and trailed leather out of the room. As I went around the corner, I bumped into someone. I looked up to the offender, about to tear him a new one, but my breath caught when I looked up to see Nightheart’s big green eyes.

Nightheart’s hybrid origin shows in his eyes (among other places). Equis eyes are big, along with the iris. Night’s eyes were just as big, but the iris were slim slits, like a lizard. His long black hair was pulled behind his ears and over his shoulders, each side of his head framed by neon green highlights. Anyone who hasn't seen him fight would laugh when they saw Nightheart’s scrawny arms holding up his warhammer. Red marks crawled from behind his back and over his shoulders, a memento from his mother. He was wearing a white tank top, showing off the scars on his back. On his legs were jet black cotton pants. I teased him once or twice about wearing his PJ’s everywhere. The fact that his nose crunches every time he gets mad makes me want to poke at him every hour of the day. 

Nightheart waved his hand in front of my face, taking me out of my daydream. “Um, hello? It’s nice to see you, too,” he said, scratching his head.

I scampered over my words, trying to find something to say that wasn't anywhere close to ‘your fierce eyes make me tremble.’

I got my composure, straightened myself and glared at him, the flames over my eyebrows amplifying my illusion of anger. “Watch where you’re going, string bean,” I spat.

Night’s eyebrows rose in surprise, but he wisened up quickly and grinned. “Only if you look up, Miss Barbeque,” he retorted, pointing at the flames over my eyes.

I jabbed his arm, not enough to hurt, but just to push him a little bit. “You should be a lot more careful with who you talk to like that. Especially when they just learned how to turn their powers on.” I threatened. 

Night brushed off the hit and stepped back in place. “Well, good,” he muttered, his face meeting mine. “Now I don't have to kiss a statue,” he whispered, pecking my nose.

If I still had skin, I would be blushing. I had noticed how bold Nightheart has become since I’d finally given him a chance. Maybe it was the dragon pride creeping out, or maybe he finally grew some balls. Regardless of the reason, I returned the kiss and wrapped my arms around his neck. “You’re lucky I like you, pasty face.”

“Lucky, huh?” He chuckled. He looked me up and down, surprised by my form. “You look different, somehow,” he pondered.

“I think the word you're looking for is lithe.” I scoffed.

“Um,” he muttered shyly. This had been our relationship for the past month; insults, violence and just plain shyness. Honestly, it’s an improvement from first and only relationship. “Don't know what to say to that,” he muttered nervously.

“Don't say anything. And in the case that no one told you, there’s going to be a meeting before we take off. You ready to go?”

“Are you kidding?” He said in disbelief. “I’ve been ready to go since we got here!”


After taking a nap and losing track of time, I heard the bustle and crashing of plates outside my door. It was dinner time. “I’ve got to get a better room,” I muttered. My armor was gone, which was a good thing. Holding the armor was exhausting, and it seemed stamina was key to my magic. After spending so much time with my ‘Smoke’, as I had started calling it after seeing it come off Sheytan, I’ve noticed that the longer I hold the armor, the more tired I get. This included every other bit magic I threw around, hell, even using my weapons. Using all this stuff weakened me, forcing me to take naps throughout the day to avoid exhaustion. All this because I didn't want to be seen in my human form, ashamed at my old image. 

But that was then, and this is now. Now I have a real crew, a boyfriend that likes me the way I am, and friends that I’ve hidden things from for too long. I thought of all this as I washed my face in my bathroom. As pond water ran off my hands, I pulled back my hair and touched the scars over my left eye socket. I ran my hand over the deep healed tissue.  I remembered what had caused it, the pain I felt that day, and the agony I felt a day later.

“I failed you that day, Saddie, but I’m not going to this time,” I whispered to myself. “I’m coming for you, brother.”

I strolled out of my room, duster trailing behind me. I passed by everyone as they devoured their meals. I spotted Arige, the two meter tall alligator man trying to grip his fork with his huge meaty hands. Kitty was giving the punk twins Tick and Boom a hard time, pulling at their piercings and smearing Boom’s stolen makeup on Tick’s cheeks. Everyone was, in general, having a good time. But it all stopped the moment I stepped up to the head of the table. Nightheart was leaning against the fridge behind the table, Vito and Don sitting on either side of me.

I cleared my throat loudly. “Hello, everyone. I’d like to start off by thanking those of you who helped with the construction of the ship. You guys are making our departure tonight possible,” I announced. The table erupted with chatter, but stopped the moment I started talking again. “Yeah, that right, we’re leaving tonight. It’s time that we start our journey. Dumar and its treasure waits for no one, and the only ones that can even reach it is us,” I said, excitedly. “What's going to happen is this; we’re going to fly to Saddle Arabia, we’re going to find Dumar, and then use our various talents to break open its doors. That’s what the battle some of you heard of was about. Sheytan needed a piece of me in order to get into Dumar. Now I’m back in fighting condition, we can get back on track. Big Black!” I shouted. Black rounded a corner, a small metal box in his hands. “This new eye our master blacksmith has made for me will focus the power inside me so we can get past the traps in store for us once we find the city.”

As he got to me, a huge smile spread across his face as he opened the box. Inside was the same ball of onyx I saw earlier, only smaller and etched with luminescent runes. My eyes met Black’s and he nodded. I took the ball out of the box and held it in my hands. ”But before I do this, I want to come clean about myself. To all of you,” I said depressingly. I took a deep breath and looked to my friends in the crowd, everyone leaning toward me in curiousity. I sighed. “You’ve most likely heard my name during your time here. If not, most know me as Idilah Blood. In truth, this is a name I gave myself.” Mitchell and Nathan, who had been sitting together, looked at each other in confusion. “I know, shocking,” I said sarcastically.

“In reality, I changed the name long before I came here. I changed it in spite of my father, a jackass from before my birth. I resented my chosen name and so I changed it to something better. ‘Idilah’” I said with finger quotes. “Equal, in my ancestor’s tongue. I wanted to respect where my blood came from, and make myself feel adequate.” I looked to my feet and back to the crowd. “But that isn't the case anymore. I want you all to be able to trust me, so I can trust you in the days to come. So, I’ll tell you this; my true name is Jann De’nem, and real reason I’m here is find my brother.” I confessed. My friends looked confused, and so did the rest of the crew. I sighed harshly. “It’s Demon Blood, you idiots, that’s what I was called from birth.”

 “But, whatever. I got that off my chest.” I said, relieved. “This, my friends, marks the beginning of a new day. The day that you put your faith in me, or more importantly, the promises I make. Today, I promise to take you on a violence-filled ride of adventure and riches. I promise you, after this journey, you will be rich men and women. So long as you are loyal to me, you will have your share, and should you not make it, your families will.” I brought the ball to my eye and hesitated for second before shoving it into my empty socket.

It felt weird. Foreign. As if a seed was rooting itself into the socket. Heat spread across my face and suddenly, I could see my left side again. Having sight return was invigorating. I breathed in new air and lowered my hand. Everyone at the table just stared at me as I continued. “Today marks a new day in your lives, gentlemen. In all our lives. Today is your new life in... The Pride.”

> The Artificer
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“The Pride?” Vito slurred, slamming his mug on the table. “Seriously?” 

We were in the war room, drinking some ale some of the ram guys “secured” before we left. Surrounding the map table, we sat in chairs, sipping at our mugs. Don was busy trying to balance his mug on his forehead. “I think its an okay name,” he muttered, trying to not spill his drink.

Vito  scoffed at him and mercilessly tipped the mug off his nose. “The Kings was a far better name for a contract group. It was at least poetic,” he slurred.

 “I don't know where you're from, but calling yourself a “king” would get you institutionalized in my country,” Crow drawled.

“Meh, I always thought it was kind of cheesy,” Nightheart confessed. 

Vito glared at Night hard. “Yeah, and what would you know you cave dwelling lizard.”



“Geez guys, take it outside. You’re ruining my buzz.” Mitchel cut in. 

“He’s right, cut the crap before I put both of you in the hospital,” I said flatly. Both men grudgingly sat back down. “Alright so why are we here?” I asked Black, who was sitting across the table from me, already examining my knife with a magnifying glass. 

He looked back up from the bladed confused, as if he forgot where he was. “Oh. Shit, sorry. But yeah, I called ye all hear to tell ya theres no way ya going to arm all these people,” said casually.

Mitchel chuckled. “Thats one way of breaking news.”

I laced my fingers together and leaned on the table. “What do you mean? I thought you and the dogs mined up plenty of ore back in town?”

“Oh, you mean the ore that currently shielding this ship right now?” He said, not looking up from the knife.

Dammit, he had a point. “Alright, so thats a problem. Do you know where we could get some ore?”

Black chuckled as he lifted a small hand torch from under the table. Squeezing the handle on the tiny blowtorch, he gently hovered the flame of the gem powered torched over my knife. The flames didn't so much as dissipate but was absorbed into the blade. Black stared at his drained torch and then at the offending blade. “Theres isnt a town I know of until we hit Arabian clouds. And theres only one person I could trust in Saddle Arabia.”

Crow stared at him curiously. “Your old teacher?”

Black nodded, reaching in his bag again. “That guy was my only friend as a kid. Taught me everything about spirit-forging. I havent got a letter from him in a few months, but he wasn't much for communication. He did tell me when I got tired of waiting in that cave I could come to his place in Domond.”

I leaned back in my chair, tiredly pressing my eyelids. Damn I’m tired. “So why don't you set a course and we can head there stright off. Friends in unknown territory would be awesome,” I yawned.

“Which reminds me,” Nathan cut in. “What's our plan for when we get there? You still haven't told us what we’re looking or what you found in Sheytan’s head. Why did she need your eye and what was she planning on doing with it?” Nathan demanded.

I was surprised by Nathan’s outburst. I I was pretty much used to authority at that point. Everyone’s loyalty to me was solidified by now, in part by fear but mostly due to their motivations. Vito wanted to rebuild his company, Black was following through a “prophecy” he heard from his brother, Herpy and Flan were still here mostly out of curiosity and Mitchell? Well he was bored with his life before he was born. 

Nathan was different; he only pursued things that were of interest to him. He’s stayed for this long because he sees a true adventure to be had. But, that didn't mean he was the type to follow blindly. I sighed. “Alright, I think its about time anyway,” I confessed. “What we’re doing is heist of the century. Dumar was cursed by a demon Sheytan knew. It had been centuries since they had seen each other, but she knew it was his work. The city had been cursed with a drought that killed everyone in the city. This was before Discord so we’re talking thousands of years. Not only that, but the has been entombed behind a sky reaching sandstorm, and a ravenous beast, and towering gates,” I explained, my face grim.

“Jaysus,” Mitchell swore. “How the hell are we getting past all that?”

“Well, we already have most of what we need, which is me. My eyes, well eye, can lead us through the sandstorm. Not only that, but the keyblade Jill had Herpy made should get us past the gate.”

“What about the “ravenous beast?”” Vito inquired.

“That...Wasn't explained. What I just told you is as much as I know, well, what Sheytan knew. She was planning on killing us all off eventually, but Jill had caught us a lot sooner than she expected,” I explained rubbing my eyes. “There is so much I’m missing here. Shey didn’t know how Jill knew about Dumar and thats a question I’d like answered,” I groaned.

Mitchel yawned obnoxiously loud. “Well, its about nap time. Let me know when we hit land yeah?” He requested getting out of his seat. 

Nathan laxily got out of his seat. “Yeah its late,” He yawned. Black got up and gathered his things without saying a word, obviously frustrated with my blade. Night however stayed in his chair, his eyes shifting from me to his empty ale bottle. A curious smile spread across my face. “Something you want to talk about?” I asked him.

He shifted in his seat, trying to meet my eyes but couldn't. “I, um. Well.” He stuttered.

“Come on, spit it out.” I chuckled. “You’d think someone so affectionate earlier wouldn't have a problem talking.”

Night blushed so furiously, his face looked like a cherry for a second. “Its a sensitive subject alright! Or I think it is. Did I mention I lived in a cave most of my life?” He said so fast he needed to take a breath. I waited patiently for him to gain his composure. This was so unlike him. Night sighed, finally calming himself. “Okay. So I had reading some books while we were on break and I saw that some couples like to... Sleep together. And I was wanted to ask you,” he said finally meeting my eyes. “If we could too.”

“So you just spent the last ten minutes asking if we could spoon?” I laughed. 

I didn't know it was possible, but Night blushed even harder. “Its not funny dammit!”

“I’m, I’m, sorry! But that just made my day.” I said wiping a tear. Nighty tried to stay angry, he really did, but then slowly cracked a smile and started cracking up with me. We both sat there, laughing. It was something I hadn't done in a while. Or at least not laughing until I ran out of air. Our laughter slowly died down, both us sharing a look until we stopped. I broke eye contact first. “Enough of that before this turns into twilight.” I ordered.

Night scratched the back of head, confused. “I don't know what that is, but it sounds boring.” That alone almost made me go into another laughing fit. “So,” he cut in. “How about it?” He stared at his fingers, not wanting to hear the answer.

I honestly didn't know what to say. I was very used to sleeping alone, and to be honest, I was not excited to start sharing a bed again. I snapped my fingers, reaching a compromise. “How about this; let me have this last night by myself, and we can try sleeping together tomorrow.” To say Night looked disappointed would be a understatement. “Come on. This moving a bit faster than I expected but,” I said slowly cupping his face in my hands. “How could I say no to those pouty eyes?” I planted a kiss on his forehead and got out of my seat. “Goodnight.” And I left him there, cherry red and dumbfounded.

Barging into my room, I didn't even bother to undress before slumping into the satin black sheets of my bed. “Gonna be a long trip. Gotta find something to do tomorrow,” I grumbled into my pillow. According to Black it was going to be only three days to get to Saddle Arabia thanks to the improvements to the ship. That gives me a short time to re-learn my abilities. No biggie. Thanks to an excessive amount of downtime, I was way out of practice. I could barely remember how to absorb smoke much less make a fireball. This made me worry, especially since we’re going into way unknown territory. But all of it slipped to the back of my mind as I let myself be absorbed by the satin black sheets.

And for the first time since I left home, my dreams found me.
~transition~
I stood in complete darkness the only thing I could hear were my shallow breaths. I looked down to see that I was wearing modern military gear; a beige flak-jacket and padded fatigues, complete with combat boots. 

My old uniform.

“No, no, no,” I whispered, my breathing elevating.

I suddenly felt as if someone was pressing a burning hot stick against my back. I collapsed on my knees in pain, hugging my chest, begging in my mind for the pain to stop. The pain was going deeper than just my skin I felt it in my soul. 

“Useless.”

I frantically searched for the voice but only saw void surrounding me.

“Murderer.”

And that when I heard the bang of a gun, the sound reverberating repeatedly in my mind. I looked down again only to watch the blood gush out of my chest. It pour out of me like a waterfall, pooling around my knees surrounding me a circle, filling up around me.

“Monster.”

I screamed at the top of my lungs, splashing the shallow water I was laying in. I struggled to breathe, huffing to get air in. I looked at my surroundings to see that I was in my personal bathroom. I don't like to call it a bathroom, it was more like a walk-in water closet with a big shower. I looked down at the shallow pool I was sitting in and noticed the shower head tickling water on my head. I wrapped my arms around tightly  around my knees. “What the fuck was that? What the fuck was that? What the fuck was that?” I repeated in mantra, rocking myself. My sleep adled mind somehow had striped myself and managed to leave on my boxer-briefs. 

I slowly got up and dragged myself to bed. Even in my soft sheets, the thought of possibly going back to that dream made me stare into the darkness of my room. I want to say that I was using this time to process my nightmare, but the only thing I could think over was, “what the fuck was that?”
~transition~ 
“You look like death girl,” Vito said flatly, sipping from a bottle of milk. The caf was bustling with activity, the entire crew struggling to find and get food. Hell, people sitting at the sides of the large table were struggling to eat their food in the chaos. I woken up like this for the last three days. Honestly the only eventful thing that happened was my nightmares. I could never remember them, but they had been making me sleep walk around my room. Every night I would wake up in a weirder place. I had postponed my sleepover with Nighty, telling him the time was just not right (or safe) to be sharing a bed at the moment.

I glared at Vito and smiled. “And you look like you got nailed by a mastiff last night,” I shouted over the noise of the kitchen. 

Vito raised a confused eyebrow. “I’m not even going to question what that is,” he stuttered, his fluffy ended tail standing stiff behind him. 

I groaned. “I couldn't get any sleep last night.”

“Bad dreams?” Vito asked, munching on a strip of bacon.

“I think so. Can't remember most of it though, just the feeling of drowning.” I croaked. I had no recollection of the dream. Or I should say night terror. 

Vito got up and added his plate to the growing pile of dishes behind us. After adding his dish to the mess, he clapped his hand over my shoulder. “What you need my friend is some fresh air. And maybe after that we can spar again. A good fight always gets me out of a funk.” He suggested.

I looked up at the older gryphon and lifted my head off the table. It was hard to take him seriously, considering  “I’ll meet you in twenty minutes okay?” I said getting up. 

Vito nodded. “See you there. And Jann,” He looked into my eyes, his eyes serious. “We just got back on our feet. Don't lose your nerve now,” He said grimly.

“Spfft,” I sputtered. “I just lost some sleep, nothing to worry about.”

Vito shrugged. “Whatever you say kiddo,” as I headed for the elevator lines.
~character switch (Crow)~
“No way,” Nightheart said in denial. 

I raised my hands defensively. “I’m telling you man, theres this little flat tablet that plays any music you can think of. We call it an mp3 and-,” I was cut off by sound of boots hitting the ground behind us. Night and I turned around to see nothing but the stern rails, but a second later watched as Mitchel AKA Ghost appear out of thin air. “Am I interrupting some gossip girls?” He chided, his arm spread wide.

I ignored his joke and glared at him. “Where the hell have you been? We’ve been busting our asses all morning.”

“Spfft,” Mitchel sputtered. “I hardly call standing next to Nightheart, gabbing about ipods “work.”” He quoted, wrapping his brown maned tail around his leg.

“It is when he’s my, what's the word you used Crow?” Night cut in.

“Navigator, I’m the navigator Nighty,” I answered flatly.

“You don't even have a map,” Mitchel objected.

“Not true! Big Black drew one for me this morning,” I said snidely, reaching for my back pocket. I brought forth a piece of slightly ripped paper with a poorly drawn ship. A long arrow pointing north west, “go this way idiots,” written on the line. I smiled proudly at the poorly drawn map. “Perfection.”

“We’re lost aren't we?” Mitchel asked flatly.

“We’re not lost. We just don't know what direction we’re going at the moment,” I said, crumbling the crappy map and tossing overboard. “Blacks going to be up here to test experiments at any moment anyway. He’ll know the way. Besides, I’d expect this kind of micro management from Vito. Or me for that matter. What's got you uppity?”

Mitchel turned around and leaned against the railing. “Arent you just a bit weirded out by the fact that we’re just learning Idilah real name?”

“Not a problem with. Never really believed “Idilah” was a real name anyway,” I said, uncaring. Honestly being buds with Jann had always been a blind run, but it never stopped me from being curious. Always hiding behind her hair, drinking a lot for reasons unknown. Her having a second name didn't really surprise me.

Mitchel scoffed at me. “And what about you Nightly? Your recently declared girlfriend was hiding her real name from you and it seriously doesn't bother you?”

“Nope,” he answered flatly.

“No?” 

Nightheart shook his head. “After taking my mom’s abuse for so long, any out would have sufficed. The day you guys showed up I was planning on doing something drastic just to get away from her. You guys saved me that day, so as far as I’m concerned, nothing can make me judge any of you.”

Mitchel and I stared at Nightheart and tried to understand what his words meant. Honestly I had forgotten how our adventure started. Within the first hour of being on Equis, we had slayed a dragoness and freed Nightheart from her control. He’s felt in debt to us since we left Black Mountain, trusting us with his life in every fight we’ve fought. I don't think he’d give a damn if Jann’s real name was Steve.

“Wow Nighty, thanks.” Mitchel said graciously.

A sudden force rocked the entire top deck, sending everyone on deck into a sprawl. I quickly got back on my feet with a beat of my wings and helped Mitchel and Nightheart up. Nightheart shook the confusion out of his head. “What in tartarus just happened?”

“Oh shit, yeah. Object spotted off the starboard bow.” Mitchel quickly informed us.

“Oh for fucks sake Mitchel!” I screamed.

“What the hell is going on up here?!” Jann shouted brushing off her legs.

All three of us stood at attention, Mitchel explaining the situation. “Something just hit us. I spotted something that looked sorta like a serpent a few minutes ago.”

Jann stared at him blankly. “And you didn't think to tell anyone?” She asked in a steady tone.

Mitchel stayed quiet, and so did I. Now wasn't the time to go into trivial crap.

“Whatever. Nighty take the wheel, I’ve got the controls,” she said, grabbing the altitude contol levers next to the wheel. Everyone else!” She shouted to the crew awaiting her orders. “Battle stations!” 

Dogs and ram alike moved in a practiced rush. Within seconds every cross-cannon station was manned and ready to fire and I’d wager some of the ballistas were ready to go too. All it done with trained ease, as if these once farmers and soldiers did this all their lives. 

Without a word, Nightheart took the wheel again, looking at me to do my job. I nodded at him and peered of the right bow, searching for what Mitchel described; a serpent in the clouds.

Only in Equis.

After several minutes, I spotted it. What could only be described as a gray scaley tube that showed its back as it went back under the clouds. The way it moved, it reminded me of a desert snake burrowing its body in sand. “Object spotted! Looks like a giant scally worm." I shputed without taking my eyes off the thing.

"Whats it doing?" Jann asked.

"Looks like its going back under the clouds. Maybe your “commander’s voice” spooked it?” I jested.

“Oh shut it and keep watch. We know for a fact that it rammed us. Theres no telling when-,” Jann was cut off by another ramming. The worm had struck us again from portside, anyone who didn't hang on tight to the railing went over the edge. Two guys, a ram and a D-dog, went over and screamed as they fell through the thick cloud sea below. With a beat of my wings and no forethought, I jumped over the edge.

Going through clouds was kind of like diving into the deep end of the pool face first. For several seconds I could only see a grey sea of dense water. I  thought I would have drowned if I had not resurfaced on the other side of the cloud a second later. I immediately spotted the men who had fell. Both were flailing like mad, not even thinking about the free fall training we tried a whiles back. Trying to yell at them in winds like this useless, I thought to myself. Gonna have to try and grab them in one go. I beat my wings as hard as I could and rushed towards the first guy I saw. 

This one was a D-dog, I vaguely remember his name being Dirt. He was screaming his head off and flailing in panic. I hesitated to grab him, thinking I’d just get hit. He’s going to end up smacking us both out of the sky at this rate! I waited for and opening and grabbed him by the collar of his tunic. Before I could go after the sheep, I noticed I couldn't hear his scream anymore. I looked down and saw that he was nothing but a small dot in the distance below. 

I... Couldn't get to him fast enough. I hovered in the air for a minute before realizing the dog’s shirt collar was ripping. I flapped my wings once and flew back up to the ship. On my second trip through the clouds, a large dark figure was coming torwards us. Luckily, we surfaced topside before the cloud worm could chomp us. I tossed Dirt on the deck as “gently” as I could and landed on the deck in roll. 

“Holy shit, Nathan!” Jan bent down to eye level with me. “I thought you guys were gonners.” She looked at Dirt and noticed I was missing a ram. “Wheres the other guy?”

I stuttered to answer her before someone behind me asked, “Didn't Randy go overboard too?” I didn't take me eyes off the wooden deck. “By the Copia... Randy’s gone.” Someone said somberly.

The ship rocked again and sent more people to the ground. Jann quickly stood back up and growled like a hound. “You can murn later! We still got a worm to kill!”

Everyone got back on their feet, Jann and I went back to Nightheart’s side as fast as we could. “We need to draw it out somehow,” she suggested.

“Got any ideas?” Nightheart asked no one in particular.

“I got one!” I heard Big Black’s voice shout. He clambered up the steps to the wheel with us. “Cloud worms,” he huffed. “Are sensitive to sound. If ye, by the corn I’m out of breath. If ye let off some cannon fire, it’ll go to the opposite side. It won’t give up on trying to get us, but at least we’ll know where its at,” Black theorized.

“And then we can send it to hell. Last time it hit us, it was on the portside side.” Jann muttered. “Portside fire!” She shouted to the right side of the deck. Every man on the right side readied their ballistae and cannons, letting loose a fury of thick bolts and lead. The volley  disappeared  into the thin clouds that surrounded the ship like fog. I heard a loud roar of pain in the distance.

“Did we get him?” Nightheart whispered.

A pillar of grey rigid scales rose from the left side of the ship, hunching over us to show us a large mouth with rows and rows of teeth. The worm’s face had no eyes, and on its back was a series of ragged wings. It also had half a dozen bolts and black spots near it mouth.

Yeah, it was not happy.

“Thats a fucking no!” I shouted as it roared on us.

“What the fuck are you idiots waiting for?!” Jann yelled at the port side gunners, waving her arms. “Fire! Fucking fire!”

Everyone portside panickedly fired their guns into the belly, or what I assumed to be the belly, of the worm. The worm roared and lunged down to snap at a gun station. Men scrambled as the worm came down, one unfortunate D-dog not fast enough to get out of the gunner seat. The worm snatched up the finely crafted weapon and soldier in one bite and lifted its head to swallow.

“Holy shit!” I shouted. “Uh, now would be good time to armor up Janny!”

Jann stared at me. “What the hell do you expect me to do to that thing? Last time I fought something this big, it was in a dream!”

Before the pillar of grey could come down for another bire it roared in pain. Green lights blazed on its back and it took me a second to realize the lights were green flames. The worm went down like the tower of piza and reveled the ship behind it. Fly along side us was a skooner sized ship with a large balloon keeping it afloat the clouds, a red intriqately drawn fireball head blazened across it. 

Large cannister looking guns alined the side of the vessal, each one being manned by six weird looking creatures. They were humanoid, their arms and legs being covered in a chitinus shell of varying colors. Their eyes were snake-like, vertical slits glaring at us. All of them wore a mix of rags and leather armor, a set of smitatars and dirks on their waists. A bug man with rags covering his head raised something resembling a bull horn and spoke with a rough accent. “Lower your weapons!”

Jann pushed past me to get to the railing. “What?!”

“Unman your guns or we will open fire!” Copper man yelled back.

“Do as he says lass.” Black said, placing his hand on Jann’s shoulder.

“Black what the hell is going on here?” She asked harshly.

“I know that mark on their balloon. Its my teacher’s signature, I used to see it on all his work. I think these might be the friends he said he made in his last letter.” Black explained.

Janned looked at the ground for moment before ordering the remaining gunners off their stations. “If this is a trap, its on you,” she sighed at Black.

Copper dude watched everyone who got off their guns intently and smiled. “Good! Follow us and stay close!” He shouted before taking the wheel of his small ship.

We followed close, making sure not to break line of sight with the ship. Jann had ordered the men to go below deck. A ram guy took a swing at me, accusing me of getting Rand killed. Black had to hold him back but he went below deck with the rest of the crew. I stayed above deck with Nightheart, Jann and Big Black. Mitchel had disappeared, I assumed he was hiding somewhere close just in case something didn't seem right.

Our escort had suddenly stopped, one of the bug guys, who I now suspected to be changlings, dropped a small ball onto the clouds below. The clouds opened up in a perfect circle, creating a portal to the world below. I stared in awe at the hole. “I thought only Avians could control the clouds?”

Black rubbed his beard in thought. “Must be some kind alchemic reagent. I have no idea how they made it, but thats bloody brilliant,” he praised.

The schooner lowered into the hole, Nightheart following suit.  “Question,” Jann said, seemingly to no one. “Couldn't we had just lowered ourselves into the clouds? I mean, we shouldn't need a special ball to go down, you did design the propellers to go down right Black?” she joked.

Black took the question as an insult, his cheeks puffing up. “Of course I did you daft git! I have a feeling these guys might have these clouds warded with a device my teacher was working on. It was designed to- Of course!” He shouted. “He finally perfected it. There are wards in the clouds made by a device. The ball they threw was a “cancel ball”. Its a compound designed to cancel magic, you clever fuck!”

The moment we went below, I we were greeted with the sight of a sea of tents. Over a hundred large tents were arranged around a even bigger tent the size of a garage. The schooner flew over the ragged city and over a dune to reveal a small fleet of schooners and brigs. A mix changelings and epui were working on ships; repairing the damaged and outfitting others with the flame throwers we saw earlier.

The schooner who brought us in landed in a clear spot, us following suit. It was a tight fit,  we had to squeeze between our escort and nearby sand dune. Nighty, Jann and I had to coordinate our movements to avoid crushing our propellers. After parking we lowered the gangplank and were greeted by the changeling guy and his entourage of armed friends. “The lieutenant would like to speak to you, the ram especially,” he said sternly.

We all looked to Black and our glares with a nervous laugh. “Maybe he can clear this up,” he said shrugging as he walked down the gangplank, us following behind him.

“I still haven't heard who “he” is,” Jann said as we weaved around ships. We were given sharp looks from equi and changelings both as we made our way through the ship yard. I ignored them, but Jann glared back, showing off her abnormally sharp teeth. I however took the time to notice that all the changelings didn't have any wings. Big Black was quiet until we got to the tents. “His name is Addar, he’s been my best friend since I was ten. Back then he was old but but now he’d be at least a hundred and fifty.”

“Sweet Jesus, a hundred and fifty?” I gasped. I had to see this old geezer who made freaking cloud wards. 

Our escorts stopped in front of the flap of the larger tent we saw earlier. The head changeling who had shouted us down went inside the tent and his two comrades, one desert brown and the other jet black, stood in front of the tent. We stood there waiting for what seemed like an hour. The sun was bearing down on my head, for a while I thought of snatching the water skin hanging off jet black’s sword belt. Jann looked absolutely fine, but Nightheart was heaving like a dog stuck in the car. Before I could go for Jet’s water, the head guy, who I now noticed looked exactly like Jet black except his reptilian eyes were lime green and Jet’s was blood red, came out of tent and waved us in. 

We piled into the tent and saw that is was way bigger on the inside, the inside being the size of two garages. The floor was covered in a once fine sea green rug, now covered in oil and dirt. Several workbenches sat against the walls of the tent, all of them covered in what seemed like scrap metal, for I knew it could be another grand invention. In the center of the room was a war table, riddled with various pins in strategic places. At the back was a large bed with what looked like three bodies packed under a blanket. Jet black (with green eyes) coughed awkwardly. The blankets stopped moving and someone got out of the bed. A slim but muscular man stood, his blood red hair dropped down to his shoulders, his eyes were emerald green and shined just like the jewel. “Holy shit, is that little Black?” He almost shouted, his scottish accent still thick. “Come and give uncle Addar a hug!” He said spreading his arms.

He was also not wearing any pants.

All our eyes except Jann’s went to different directions, Black facepalming. “How do you stand with that thing?” She asked tilting her head. 

This is the type of crap I kick myself on. I cant decide if he's shy or outgoing. Bold or reclusive. I could blame it on his mixed blood, but that would be lazy. The truth is I have no idea what I'm doing and if you or anyone is confused, I apologize.

> What is a chapter title?
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“So, a rebellion?” Tosh asked curiously, sipping on Addar’s  homemade tea. The smell of ginseng and something akin to gasoline somehow rose from my cup, making my nose scrunch in disgust.

I gulp and chug down my cup, shaking my head to fight back the urge to spit it out. The “tea” burned like straight whiskey. “The fuckin hell is in this stuff,” Nathan choked between coughs.

Addar bursted into laughter and clapped his clawed hand on BB’s back. “Your feathered friend can’t even handle a drink lad. Priceless!” He chortled for a good minute while everyone else gulped down the drink making awkward glances at the guards around us.

“Oh man. But yes! A rebellion! Saddle Arabia is in the middle of a civil war. Well, they call it a civil war, I call it aggressive whining.The Sons of Sand are a band of miscreants aim to rid the country of the royalty and nobility,” the dragon chuckled and poured another cup of his brew. “But really, they’re a large group of upstarts. Blowing up transports, causing hell for the people of the land. A right band of bastards they are,” he huffed, gulping down another cup.

“But Master, how’d you end up fighting for royalty of all things. You told me yourself that you hated conflict,” Black said with a tinge of aggression in his voice.

Addar shrugged. “It wasn’t my fight lad. The dogs kept their distance and didn’t bother me. These fuckos on the other hand bombed my bloody den!” The ornery dragon settled back down and took another swig of tea. “So I decided to make a house somewhere else. Should see it, its a masterpiece of scrap-iron lad, with some rebel bodies hanging on the porch to boot. Anyway, apparently I was on Saddle Arabian military property and one of the generals noticed that; A. I was talented and B. I hated the rebels. So, in exchange of a harem and even more land, I’m working on more inventions and warmachines for the army.”

“Warmachines?” I blurted.

“Those fire spitting canons on the ships you saw. Pegisian fire! A mix of the native oils and peppers in the area. Burns through almost anything and keeps it burning,” Addar chuckled, getting out of his seat and walking over to a workbench with a unassembled fire-spitter. There was something about his chortling that just felt...Sinister.

Nathan nodded. “So what's with the changelings? They all missing their wings.” Glad someone picked up on that.

Adar took another swig and refilled his cup. “Birth defects. See, in this land of sand, there lives a queen of changelings. As the lads tell me and the Saddle Arabian government, their queen is very picky with her children. Every batch of kids, she has them inspected. Any birth defects and they’re casted out, forced to wander from the day they’re born. Eventually all the adult outcasts got together and made a small town underground, a colony of misfits. The queen regularly sends squads in attempts to wipe out her mistakes. Eventually some, and by some I mean a bunch, got the idea to approach the saddle arabian government for citizenship. A much safer place than the underground where they can be found. All the changelings you see are fighting for their right to gain entry in the gated country,” Adar explained solemny.  “Anyway,” the dragon perked up. “Didn’t see you as an adventure type Tosh-boy. From your tales it sounds its been quite the ride. What kind of lot have you fallen into lad?” 

Black chuckled leaned forward in his smiled. “A band of incredibly insane and dangerous individuals. Not much unlike yourself Master,” the wooly pony chuckled. “Thought it was time to leave. Was get’n lonely in your old cave, and me pa was still blaming me for White, even after all these years. I had to leave. So when my cutiemark starting humming around this demon right here,” he laughed, pointing to me. I shrugged, reclining and propping my boots on the table. “I had to leave. Time for an adventure ya know?”

“Heh, and this adventure includes asking me to help arm your buddies,” Addar chuckled. “Well, I’m due to make a new armor design for the army. Materials should be here within a day or two. Tell you what old boy, I’ll give you lot a new design. A brand new one design thats easy to make and strong as a soul. Ya just gotta help us a bit,” he said as he twirled a bolt in his fingers. 

“Help how exactly?” Nathan asked, choking down another gulp of drink. 

“Lots of ways. Theres to be a raid on a nearby rebel occupied village soon. Lots of things go wrong on these runs, I need some of you experienced lads to go with the raiding squad,” he said, never taking his eyes off the bolt. “Going to send some scouts to get a feel for their numbers. You would be perfect for that bird boy,” he chuckled nodding his head to Nathan. “Meet with my scout on the east side of camp, his name is Pell, he’s to be leading the scouting party. Tell your friends it's alright to wander the camp until our business is finished too. Now get! My mares  and I have some unfinished business,” he chuckled, returning to his waiting girls.

We left his tent with more or less an idea on what to do next. From what BB had told us and from what we’d seen, Addar was a talented smith and even better inventor. A schematic from him could set us up could set us up for the rest of this adventure and for the future. “You cool with this?” I asked Nathan, he himself looking uncertain.

“Hmm? Oh yeah I’m fine with it. Just a bit worried. I mean, we’re technically getting involved with a war guys. We still have some money left, we could just head into the city and find someone to do a big order,’ he suggested.

Night laughed. “Seriously? Come on man, we handle some jackasses and we get-” Nightheart stopped the moment he heard the explosion. We looked at each other and ran toward the smoke, brushing past panicked changelings to find a firefight raging at the edge of the camp. The perimeter had been broken and people I assumed were the Sons of Sand were attacking. There were at least eight of them, dressed in dirty white garb similar to sand people from star wars. Even the long barreled rifles they shot at defenders was similar. All that was missing was the freaking masks, but their chitinus faces were already enough.

The sand people shot at the few defenders from sand dunes that they seemed to make themselves. An attacker took two rounds and dropped to his knees, throwing up his arm in a raising gestsure and a chest high wall of hard sand rose with it, giving him some strong temporary cover. Two shots from a proper weapon should have killed him outright. These  so called soldiers here either have bad aim or shitty equipment. 

These guys were going to lose more people before the battle started if we didn’t act. I called up my will, my anger, and my long barreled revolver slipped out of my palm and into my hand, giving it a cowboy’s spin on my finger before taking aim, not even bothering with taking cover. I took aim and started firing at the invaders, the magically charged rounds sailed through the dusty air flew through a Son’s chest, making big holes where meat used to be. He fell to the sandy floor and his brother in arms next to him screamed as he focused all his fire on me. Suddenly I felt three thumps against my heart and looked down just in time to see the faulty handmade lead balls fall, along with the volcanic rock-like armor that blocked the shot. Calling up pieces of my armor was a piece of cake now and much more convenient than walking around covered in the stuff. 

That Son’s error was made evident when Nathan swooped from the sky and scooped him up, quickly taking him up into the clouds kicking and screaming. Next I saw the poor sod, he was unconscious falling from the sky and into the hard packed sand below. Night decided to join the fight too, what little magic he was learning on his own was showing as he brought up his fists in a fighting stance and ice formed on his knuckles. With a powerful swing, his frozen fist flew through the air, smacking into a attacker in the jaw, sending him to the ground. One of the five attackers left threw what looked like a grenade at my feet and grabbed his comrade, throwing up a sand shield, shouting, “Dirty bomb!” Before the sand double closed shut. Oh crud.


“Shit!” I managed to say before it exploded, my armor immediately shielding me from the blast. A powerful explosion of glass, fire and sand engulfed me, the mix of power and shrapnel nearly punching through my armor. The sheer force of the explosion sent me several feet and knocked me on my ass. I sat up and shook off what little of my armor that survived. “Well that was close,” I grunted and jumped to my feet. My friends were okay, well, they’re badasses, but the troops around us? The ones that stayed to fight were attending to the injured and gathering the injured and fragging the few that didn't survive the fight. 

The black changeling that had led us into camp was on the ground, clutching down on his side, most likely compressing a bullet wound. “God damn, Queen! I didn't get hatched for this shit!” He shouted, catching himself mid grunt. The hell? I didn’t have time to question it before Addar stomped out of his tent to investigate the commotion. The dragon man looked at the chaos and stomped over to the injured back changeling. “I thought the perimeter was secure?! Now you’ve embarrassed me in front of my guests! Get your ass up, get these layabouts on their feet and secure this fucking place!” Adar shouted in one breath, stomping down next to the injured lieutenant's head.

Adar swiveled his head back to us, a truly furious expression and violent glint in his reptilian eyes. “Help my men get ready for the raid. As you can see they’re a fucking mess. Dumb bugs can barely operate a fire spitter. Surprised they didn’t light up your ship,” he grunted, taking a deep breath. “Just help get them ready. Tosh my boy! We have to discuss the schematics, I want your opinion,” he shouted to our armourer. BB went along with his old friend and we were left with a mess of army. 

“You thinking what I’m thinking guys?” I asked with wiggle of my eyebrow.

“Training montage?” Nathan said.

“Training montage,” Night echoed, producing a boombox seemingly out of thin air and pushing a button, blasting “I’ll make a man out of you.”
> Filler: Guilt
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The breeze passed over the saddle arabian sand, carrying cigarette smoke with it. I stood facing the seemingly endless desert, Luna’s moon shining on the dunes. I took another long drag and heard near silent footsteps behind me. Only indication that it was my friend of the nest  “Didn’t know you smoked Crow.”Sand crunched next to me and Ghost, Mitchel, was there standing with me, staring at the land with the most bored gaze in eyes. He wouldn’t be out here if he wasn’t concerned about me. I wasn’t surprised, I had been acting “strange” since we started training the defective changelings. Six long weeks of training and I spent a good bit of it flying or being overly careful with trainees. 

“Yeah, anxiety tends to form new habits.” The sigh escaped my lips in a puff of smoke, dragging Mitchel into a coughing fit. I couldn’t help but laugh.

“Ass.” He huffed dryly. “Though, thats not really new. You may think you’re slick, but I’ve saw you back home too. Waiting for the entry test results, dog going into the vet. Caught you a few times when we were flying. Mp3’s weren't the only thing on you and Night’s mind that day were they?” He asked, his tone feigning boredom, but he was searching, waiting for my answer. 

Smoke escaped my nostrils this time, my annoyance steadily becoming more apparent. “And when did you start caring so much?”

The man simply shrugged, taking several long minutes before speaking again, almost startling me when he did. “I’m an asshole, I know that much. I’ve been one since we’ve met, as you’ve been to me. But the thing is, I give a shit,” He said harshly, looking to me sharply. “If only a little. I’m a shitty friend, but I’m still your friend and I know something’s wrong when you start smoking again. You know I don’t give a shit that you do, but its normally a sign,” he glared at the glowing cancer stick in my clawed fingers like an annoying alert light.

I didn’t respond for a while, my only sign that I was listening was looking at him when he spoke, looking up to the sky when he was done. We stood there, under Luna’s bright white moon, the occasional gust of wind blowing a bit of sand over us. Suddenly, Mitchel wasn’t there any more, leaving nothing but boot prints in the sand. For a moment I thought he had come to his senses and gone to bed, but no, he came back, carrying a pair of chairs and two bottles of Addar’s “tea” in tow. He gave the back of my knees a kick and fell into the chair, fumbling to recover my fallen cigarette. “Ass.”

I couldn’t drink, I wanted to be clear headed for what I wanted to say. “Rand. Randy.” I said simply, almost expecting Mitchel to remember who that was. He didn’t react, but his blank gaze said he didn't remember the name. “One of the guys we lost on the way here. Went overboard and I tried to save him.” The legs of my chair sunk deeper into the sand as I slumped into it, entertaining the thought of the earth itself wanting to swallow me for my mistake. “I jumped to save him and, I guess I wasn’t fast enough.” 

To his credit, Mitchel didn’t say anything, he just listened. “Back when we had the zebra boys, the boys from that village, I didn’t think twice of them, no one did and those guys were pretty much used as... I don’t even know how to describe that fight, could you? Anyway, they were out of any of our hands, no one could have gotten to them in time, they’re nothing on my mind.” I flicked away my cigarette and looked at the hand that did it, staring at its fingers. “But that ram. Randy was so close. He was only an inch away from hand. Only an inch away from life. And I," I choked, tripping over my words. "He’s gone. A grease stain on some part of the ocean.” I said, flatly, with no tone. Someone’s life was within my hands and I failed to grab them. 

Again, Mitchel didn’t say anything, what could he say? He knew the normal consolation didn’t apply here. There was nothing to say to bring back the man we lost. So he just remained quiet. The quiet was enough. I didn’t reach for another cigarette, didn’t see the point. Didn’t join him in drinking the dragonoid’s fire water. The winds had calmed a bit more, only the most gentle of breezes drifting past me. I would have fell asleep there in the raggedy chair, if I didn’t fall out of it first. I brushed the sand off my face with a groan. With a smile I had realized the reason why Mitchel hadn’t been talking. The lightest of snores escaped him. Being the best friend that I am, I kicked the of his chair, sending into the sand gracefully. Before I headed toward the ship for my bunk, I gave him a thankful look, not looking back again as I headed for the ship, yearning for some sleep.