A/N: Woot! A not so agony chapter! Gets kinda sad but fluffy towards the end, plus a lot of Germany...crack. There's really no other word for it.

Oh, and I just now realized; even though the summary says that Fluttershy and Canada are the two main ones, its really about everyone. So...I should fix that at some point. Yawn...

Some more references here. A lot, actually. Like I said earlier, if you can name every reference Germany makes, you get a shout out! :D

Oh, and while I'm at it...I posted some art of the Allies as ponies on my Deviantart account, PandaInABowTie. Go find them XD and tell me if you want more pictures of pony-fied nations, plz!

Okay, enough talking from me. Here you go.

Disclaimer: Derp derp, I own nothing used in this fanfic, herpy derp.

---

Alfred growled under his breath, actually pinpointing the split-second when Dmitri's eyes lit up with bloodlust. The thing hurting him now wasn't that he'd have to knock out one of his best friends; it was that Dmitri gave up fighting so easily. He was so willing to let the monster take over. Was he in that much pain, that he knew there was no way for him to win against it? Or was he just that heartless, and didn't care about hurting his friends?

Either way, Alfred, still butt-naked, took on a defensive stance, training his gaze on Dmitri and focusing on nothing else. He hated fighting without his glasses on; he couldn't see anything. Dmitri slowly uncurled himself, raising himself into a standing position, the mad grin still on his face. Alfred thought that Dmitri would wait for his 'meal' to come to him; that Alfred would have to make the first move. No such luck on his part.

Without warning, Dmitri was centimeters away, his fingernails grown into razor sharp claws and his mouth wide open, ready for the bite. Alfred barely had enough time to dodge. As it was, Dmitri's claws caught Alfred's shoulder, spilling more red and spurring Dmitri on even more. That's when Alfred realized something.

Dmitri was going to suck him dry if he lost, without remorse. Sure, they were friends the day before, but all that remained now was the beast. If Alfred kept bleeding, Dmitri was only going to get faster and more dangerous.

Alfred grit his teeth, rolling to the side to dodge once more. He was going to have to be completely long range in this fight. Getting close to Dmitri was a death wish. His eyes lit up as he figured out the weapon to use.

His favorite shield appeared over his right arm; his iconic red, white, and blue shield that one of his favorite superheroes uses. He wouldn't need any of Captain America's other powers, since he was strong enough with the power of his own burning rage. The shield, though, was necessary.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a blur, and raised his shield just in time. Dmitri slammed into it, not expecting the giant disc of metal. Alfred smirked and thrust the shield back, hitting Dmitri in the head and sending him flying. They continued this pattern for a while, with Alfred blocking and tossing Dmitri back, and Dmitri flying straight back, even madder than before.

Alfred once again barely blocked an oncoming rush from Dmitri, clenching his teeth and digging his heels into the ground. Dmitri's glowing, crimson eyes glared at him from over the top of the shield, and Alfred glared right back, red vs blue. Dmitri saw Alfred's glare, coupled with his confident smirk, and snapped. Well…even more.

He was sick of this damn shield. It was so annoying! He just wanted his food, dammit! He roared like an animal, opening his mouth and clamping his fangs….down on the shield.

Alfred gasped in shock and actually took a step back. His eyes were locked on Dmitri, and the only sound he could hear was his own ragged breathing, his heartbeat pounding in his ears, and the terrible sound of screeching metal. Dmitri…bit his shield! Alfred's heart dropped down into his stomach, and he began to stammer.

"D-D-Dmitri! You…" He couldn't finish, because Dmitri bit down harder, and began to shake his head back and forth like a dog. Alfred's heart ached as he heard the metal twist and bend, screaming in his ears.

Then Alfred's eyes began to glow neon blue, his rage burning more intensely than ever before. Nobody effs with his Captain America shield. And how the hell did Dmitri bite so easily through solid steel? Were his fangs made of diamond, or something?!

Alfred made yet another split-second decision. If Dmitri could crush steel in his jaws, then there was no way for Alfred to win alone. He was gonna need help.

His body lit up bright blue with energy, and he channeled it upwards, building it up and building it until he couldn't hold it anymore. When he felt like he was going to explode from the sheer, pure energy pent up inside him, he slowly raised his hand, and pointed upwards.

The energy shot straight out of him, and straight through the ceiling with the loudest BANG, blowing a hole clear through, and covering Alfred and Dmitri in dust/debris. The ball of energy exploded in the air, whistling and screeching like fireworks. Alfred smirked, knowing that he'd get help very soon.

---

"What was that?" Twilight asked as a huge explosion rocked the entire castle. The ponies who had been at the earlier conference, including the princesses, had been down in the sparring hall, watching Alistair and Arthur have a very impressive magic duel. Their magical prowess was outstanding, even by Celestia's standards. But then the explosion came, and both Alistair's and Arthur spells at the time shot off randomly, hitting poor bystanding countries.

"The hell, you guys?!" Mathias (Denmark) screamed, looking down at his new body. Arthur grinned sheepishly. His spell had been the one to hit Mathias, even though it was aimed for Alistair. So now, Mathias had been unwillingly turned into a duck.

Alistair's spell, however, hit Sadiq (Turkey) square in the head. This particular spell was the same one Arthur had accidentally used while drunk once; the one that turned them all into girls. And needless to say, Sadiq was not amused.

"I am going to kill you all." She snarled, hearing Heracles' snickering. Mathias, however, didn't really seem to mind being a duck, even though Lukas and Emil were dying of laughter nearby.

"Sorry guys," Alistair said casually, not even glancing back at the two victimized ponies behind him. "But Twilight has a very good point. The hell was that?" He asked, his gaze travelling upwards to stare at the ceiling.

"I bet it was Poland freaking out again…" Ludwig sighed, and then Arthur shook his head.

"No, it sounded more like fireworks. We should head outside and check it out." He noted, his horn lighting up as he prepared to teleport them all outside.

Once outside, everypony's head looked upwards, staring at the bright blue ball of energy that was hovering above the castle. It was so huge, it made the very air outside vibrate and hum from its sheer power.

"What is that?" Applejack asked, pointing a curious hoof at it. But her answer was a very shocked gasp from Arthur. She turned her head back around to stare at him instead, seeing him stare at the blue ball with eyes as wide as dinner plates and his jaw on the floor.

"T-That's what we call a 'flare'. It's a technique us countries can use as a cry for help, like in battle. Each country has a specific color…and that's Alfred's!" Arthur shouted, the biggest smile anypony had ever seen bursting onto his face. "That means he's awake! He's alive! Bloody hell, he's alive!" He yelled, jumping into the air in pure joy.

"Yes, that's great and all, but he might not be if we don't get there soon." Kiku said solemnly. Arthur deflated a little, but kept his smile.

"Then we should hurry." Francis said, and Arthur nodded, ready to teleport them all again. He knew that even if he was awake, Alfred wouldn't be able to get very far with his injuries, so he was most likely still in the infirmary. So that's where they were headed.

---

The sight that met their eyes when they arrived in the infirmary was just about the weirdest thing anypony had ever seen.

A bizarre, pink/fleshy-toned creature was holding a large shield, fending off another weird animal like it. Only, one of them was wearing pants. And the other was not. The attacking animal had bitten off a hunk of metal from the shield with its huge fangs, its red eyes glowing menacingly.

The ponies all took a few steps back, trying to blatantly ignore the nakedness of the one creature, and yet trying not to look at the evil one. The countries, however, knew these two well and didn't freak out quite so much. But they still panicked.

"ALFRED WHAT THE BLOODY HELL PUT ON SOME PANTS YOU WANKER!" Arthur screamed, his face bright red as he stared at Alfred. Alfred looked back at him, grinning widely.

"Hey Artie! Could use a little help!" He yelled right back, slamming his shield into Dmitri and sending him flying back into the wall once more.

"That's Alfred? That creature?" Princess Cadence asked in realization, and Yao nodded.

"Yes, aru. That's what we usually look like, although we normally wear clothes. Alfred –and if I'm right, Dmitri- have somehow turned back into humans, aru." He explained, then his eyes narrowed. "But, those two are friends, right Opium? So why are they fighting, aru?" He asked suspiciously, and Alfred took the liberty of answering for him.

"Dude, Dmitri's gone totally insane! He frickin' tried to eat me and drank Latvia's blood!" Alfred shouted, trying to block Dmitri once more. Everypony gasped, and that's when Mathieu spotted Raivis' unconscious body, which was still slowly dripping blood.

"There!" He pointed, and Francis immediately moved into action, taking all of his vital signs and making sure the magenta pony was not injured too badly.

"He's still alive." He announced, and everypony sighed in temporary relief. Rarity also knew what she had to do, and set herself the task of using her magic to make bandages out of the destroyed infirmary beds. Though of course, she was a fashion designer, she did have some experience working in the medical field, seeing as how needles can be a hazard to the careless seamstress.

"Here you go dear." She said happily, levitating the strips of cloth over to Francis, who smiled kindly at her. He began to quickly wrap Raivis' neck, and Rarity swooned behind him. He was just so focused on his work, it was so admirable! The way he cared for others….his hooves were so gentle. Rarity smiled to herself, feeling triumphant. There was no way her dearest Francis was the one who was in her nightmare. He was far too gentle and kind than that brute.

"Yeah, he's alive! Congratulations! Need help!" Alfred shouted, interrupting their moment. Arthur jumped right into the fight, a determined glare on his face. He just got his little brother back. He was not going to lose him again!

"Stupefy!" He yelled, a blast of red light shooting out of his horn and straight into Dmitri. Dead on center, the spell still had no effect. If anything, it seemed to make Dmitri even more pissed. "What's wrong with him, Alfred?! Did he say anything to you?!" Arthur shouted as he dodged out of the way of Dmitri, who had charged him.

"Nuh-uh!" Alfred said back, throwing his shield like a frisbee in an attempt to hit Dmitri. Though it hit him right on the back of the head with a painful thunk, Dmitri didn't fall unconscious like he'd hoped. He seemed completely impervious to their attacks. "He just said that his throat was burning and that he was really, really thirsty! Then he went ballistic!"

"You said that he was thirsty, and he drank blood?" Arthur asked, once again hitting Dmitri with a Stupefy. Alfred nodded frantically, still freaking out at the memory as he and Arthur continued to hit Dmitri, who still wasn't reacting to any attack.

"Yeah! He bit himself too, and it looked like it distracted him for a while, but then he lost it again!" He replied, and Arthur frowned. True, everyone assumed that Dmitri was a vampire because of the way he looked, but they had all soon learned that he wasn't. Arthur had even gone to the trouble of casting a couple spells to see if Dmitri wasn't hiding his true nature with a spell, but no. Dmitri was a normal person, at least by country standards.

So…that meant that he was being controlled somehow, or manipulated into this way of thinking. Because sure, Dmitri's primary way of attacking was his fangs, but yet he'd never just hurt someone like this. Besides, there was even more evidence that this was unprovoked, seeing as how Raivis would never hurt anyone, especially not someone as scary-looking as Dmitri.

Alfred said that blood was what he was after. So they'd just have to show him blood. But not theirs. So how…?

Arthur's eyes lit up excitedly when he thought about the spell he'd need to use. Then, they dimmed right back down again. It was true, he hated using this particular spell, but Dmitri was going to hurt everypony if he kept this up. And since Stunning spells weren't even affecting Dmitri, there was no other option, really.

"Stand back!" Arthur shouted, and Alfred nodded without question, returning his shield back onto his arm and jumping away from the fight. Dmitri stopped too, and glared fiercely at Arthur. Arthur stared back coolly, mentally apologizing for what he was about to do. "Dmitri, I don't know if you can understand me right now, but I'm sorry."

As the two stared each other down, Arthur noticed Dmitri trembling hard, but staring intently at him, as though trying to will him into something. Arthur looked into Dmitri's eyes, and he nearly stopped his spell.

Behind the hunger, and the rage, was something he never expected to see in a monster's eyes.

Understanding.

Dmitri was holding himself back right now so that Arthur could hit him.

Arthur blinked in surprise, his face morphing into an expression of respect and awe. Dmitri, right now, was the most amazing person in the world. He was actually making himself into a target, not even trying to fight back, because he knew that he had to be stopped!

Arthur took aim, his spell ready. Before he cast, he lowered his head in respect, bowing slightly. As his spell shot into the air, a shot of dark blue energy zoomed past his shoulder, aiming straight for Dmitri as well. His eyes widened. A second spell? Who cast it? What would it do when combined with his?!

Too late. Arthur's spell took effect first.

Sectumsempra hit dead on, and Dmitri screamed in pain, falling over and scrabbling frantically at his chest as several slashes, as though from an invisible sword, appeared all over his body. He fell to his knees, blood splashing everywhere as he continued to shriek and howl. Then, the other spell began to take effect.

Dmitri's body began to morph and shift. Skin split, and bones grew with the most grotesque sight. Several of the Mane Six turned away and closed their eyes, and Mathieu and Francis were covering Fluttershy and Rarity's eyes so that they could be spared the memory. Either way, the sound alone was terrible. Screaming and begging and cracking and splashing.

Finally, it stopped. Twilight cautiously looked at Dmitri, her eyes wide with terror.

He had been transformed, somehow, into a huge, bat-like creature. His wings had to be at least sixteen feet across from tip to tip, and his talons and fangs looked razor sharp. He was lying spread-eagled on the ground, whimpering in pain with his eyes shut tight.

His eyelids weakly fluttered open after a few moments of tense silence, and he struggled to sit upright. It was too much for him, and he fell to the floor once more. He howled in frustration and rolled onto his stomach, pushing himself up with his arms.

Then, with everypony watching, he began to lap up his own blood like a dog. Arthur sighed and shook his head, seeing one of his good friends reduced to nothing more than an animal.

"That's just pitiful, Dmitri. What have they done to you?" He murmured, and Dmitri's new, large and triangular ears perked up, and his head followed to look Arthur square in the eye. Arthur was once again shocked.

This time, Dmitri's glowing red eyes were filled with shame. He was confused. Frustrated. Scared. And humiliated. But all those emotions were only there for a second, before they were suddenly replaced by a steely glare. Dmitri stood, spreading his wings powerfully and roaring his emotions out at them. Almost everypony backed away in fright, but Arthur stayed calm, staring coolly back at Dmitri.

Dmitri suddenly turned and sprinted straight out the infirmary window, shattering glass and sending shards flying everywhere. Arthur walked over and looked, seeing Dmitri's silhouette shrink away into the sky, leaving nothing more than a lingering howl of shame behind.

Nopony said anything. I don't think anypony even breathed for a good five minutes after that. Then, Alfred stumbled and fell to his knees, coughing violently.

"Alfred!" Arthur shouted, running back over to him and not even caring about the glass shards pricking his hooves. Alfred grinned weakly back up at him, ignoring the couple of embers that fell out of his mouth as he coughed. "Are you alright? What's wrong?"

"I'm…fine." Alfred said hoarsely, waving Arthur off. "Just shouldn't have fought so hard right after…" He didn't need to finish, coughing into his hand. Arthur visibly melted in relief, then his eyes hardened to the point of steel.

Then, he slapped Alfred across the cheek. Hard.

"Ow!" Alfred shouted, holding the cheek that Arthur had hit, and staring up at him, confused. "What the hell was that for?!" He yelled, and Arthur glared.

"You wanker! I thought you were going to die!" He shouted, and Alfred was horrified to see tears falling from Arthur's eyes, which were slowly softening.

"M-Me? Die? Nah, man. Heroes never die, right?" Alfred joked, trying to lighten the mood, and Arthur chuckled a bit.

"I'd hug you if you were dressed…" He said, and Alfred suddenly yelped, blushing violently. He tried his best to cover himself up with his hands, then just decided to place his shield in front of himself. Once he was sure that nopony could see anything, he turned back to Arthur.

"Okay, I need clothes, and a shovel." He said, a bit somberly, and Arthur saw his sky-blue eyes darken with sadness. As such, he softened his voice.

"What do you need a shovel for?" He asked quietly, and Alfred's determined eyes stared back at him.

"Wyoming, Colorado, Nebraska, and Kansas are dead, Arthur." He said, clenching his fists. Arthur nodded and used his magic to levitate a sheet from one of the destroyed beds, wrapping it around Alfred's shoulders. He should have known that some states wouldn't survive Yellowstone. Four, though? He never knew Alfred's states that well, but he still loved them like family. They were like his grandkids, almost.

"Who are they?" Princess Celestia asked. "Other countries?"

Alfred snorted, standing up and tying the sheet around his waist like it was a towel. He turned back to her, his face grim.

"No. They were my kids." He said shortly, before walking out swiftly and leaving them all in the infirmary. There was another silence, then Rainbow Dash broke it.

"He has kids?!" She yelled, jumping into the air in shock. Arthur nodded a bit sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head.

"Yes, he does. Everyone's always surprised, but I guess that's justified. He doesn't seem like the fatherly type." He grinned, and everypony nodded, still a bit surprised.

"What about Dmitri? Will he be alright?" Fluttershy asked quietly, and Princess Luna nodded solemnly, turning her gaze towards the shattered window Dmitri had flown out of.

"He shall be fine. We only used a spell that would show what was in his heart." She said stoically. Celestia nodded, and Alistair spoke up.

"We should probably leave Alfred alone for now. He needs some time to himself." He said, and Arthur nodded in agreement. Celestia took her turn to speak.

"We should introduce you all to the citizens of Equestria soon. Tomorrow, if possible. My knowledge and instinct is telling me that the one known as Xear was the one who caused Dmitri's strange behavior. We should act as soon as possible." She said, and Alistair agreed wholeheartedly.

"I can cast a spell that makes those who don't know what we are see Alfred as a normal Pegasus, as an illusion. We need to set up a system of government, though." He thought aloud, thinking over this hard.

"How about…since Alistair is the 'prince', the World 8 –plus Mathieu, Gilbert, and Lovino- act as lords? Like a group of lesser nobility." Arthur suggested, but right at that moment, Antonio walked in, wiping his eyes with a hoof, his eyes glaring at everypony and everything. He was holding something in his tail, but they couldn't see what it was.

"Lovino's dead." He growled, staring at his hooves. "Suicide." He finished shortly, and Feliciano's eyes shot open wide in horror.

"L-Lovi?! Dead? Dici sul serio?!" He yelled, and Antonio nodded, bringing the object in his tail forward, and showing what it was. A little white, red, and green ball of light, no bigger than a baseball. Feliciano's eyes widened even more, then slowly began to fill with tears. "F-Fratello…!" He sobbed, and Antonio wrapped his hoof around Italy's shoulders, he too crying.

"W-Why would he do that?" Francis asked, horrified. Antonio snorted in response.

"Because we ignored him. We were all too stupid to see how much we hurt him, how much he wanted to be loved. He didn't even want to be Lovino anymore. He just up and…" Antonio trailed off. Mathieu lowered his gaze a bit in shame. He'd done it too, though he always came back soon. The worst part was, even though he had killed himself, no one even noticed that he was missing.

"But…you guys are countries, right? How do you kill a nation?" Twilight, terrified and confused at the same time. Arthur sighed once more, ready to explain.

"Well, we're not entirely nation. We are more or less human, but with our countries bound to our souls. That's why we have our human names and country names. If we're attacking each other, like in war, we have to aim our attacks toward the country side of our enemies. Attacking the human side hurts our nation, but we recover very quickly. Understand?" He finished, and everypony shook their head no.

"In other words, you have to mean it. Earlier, Dmitri was attacking Alfred, the human, because he only meant to harm Alfred. If he wanted to hurt 'America', he could have, but he went for 'Alfred' because he wanted blood." Alistair explained shortly. Twilight frowned. That kinda sorta made sense…

"We need a party." Pinkie Pie suddenly said out of the blue, and everypony stared at her like she was crazy.

"What for?! Five people are dead." Ludwig asked incredulously. She nodded frantically, throwing her arms in the air.

"Exactly! We need to cheer up and focus on happier things!" She exclaimed, and Francis smiled tiredly, nodding in agreement.

"She is right. Focusing on the bad things will only bring more bad things." He said sagely, and everypony let his words seep in, realizing how true they were. Finally, Alistair, being the one in charge and seeing that everypony was looking at him expectantly, caved.

"Fine! But this better be a good party!" He growled, flicking his tail irritably. Everypony cheered, and Pinkie hopped to her feet.

"Give me until tonight! It'll be my biggest party ever!" She squealed, then zoomed away faster than anypony had seen her go.

"Right…I'm going to go and bubbles." Ludwig said, making everypony snort in surprise and look at him questioningly. He just said what? He must have realized what he said too, because he suddenly stopped and covered his mouth with his hoof, blushing slightly. "Sorry…I don't know what I just turtled."

"What?" Rainbow Dash snickered, and he glared at her.

"This isn't YOLO! I can't control my pickled sea shrimps!" He said, and Rainbow Dash fell out of the air, she was laughing so hard. Even the upset Feliciano was giggling a bit. Ludwig stomped his hoof in frustration, still blushing. Alistair smirked.

"Looks like you've got a tornado, Ludwig. Might as well get it over with." He laughed, clapping Ludwig on the shoulder.

"A tornado? What does that do to countries?" Celestia asked, trying not to laugh for image's sake, though she was still smiling a bit. Arthur laughed.

"It's like a tornado of the mind for us. Thoughts go flying right out the window, and we can't control what we say or do. It lasts for only a half-hour, normally. Alfred usually has the most tornadoes out of us, so it doesn't really make a difference when it happens to him." He sniggered, and Ludwig's eyes spiraled out of control in response.

"Help! I can't internet!" He shouted, and then he began to chase his own tail, around and around in circles uncontrollably. Everypony but the princesses started to laugh, and Alistair recovered first.

"Sorry, Ludwig. You know we can't really help that. It's better to just let it all out, you know." He teased. Ludwig sighed, his eyes widening in shock.

"Ah! KIRA!" He screamed, running out of the room as fast as he could go. "Don't let him give me sunburn!"

"Just like you couldn't help Alfred with his volcano, you cannot help Ludwig with a tornado?" Celestia asked, and Alistair shook his head, still grinning.

"Nah. That's beyond our control; mum takes care of that." He explained, and Celestia raised her eyebrows. Their mother and father…that was the one thing she forgot to ask about during their conference. Who exactly were they?

"Who are your mother and father, exactly?" She asked curiously, and Alistair laughed.

"It should be obvious really. Mother Nature, and Father Time."

---

"Looks like they're plannin' a party." A voice, one with a New York accent laughed, leaning over the pool. Reflected on the water's surface was the scene before us, with everypony laughing at Ludwig's plight. The Pegasus that was watching it was a rather odd one.

He was dark red in color, with a dark brown mane and tail. He wore dark sunglasses, plus dogtags. This was 2p America. He was laying casually on a ledge that jutted out from the cliff face, looking down into the water below him.

"What does it matter, Allen?" Another Pegasus asked. This one was 2p Canada. He too wore sunglasses, but had his mane longer than normal Canada's, and it was tied back in a short ponytail. 2p America looked up at the mention of his name, and he shrugged.

"I dunno, James. It just feels like we should bust in and crash it!" He said loudly, standing up and swinging his nail-studded baseball bat around wildly, making sound effects as he imagined bashing in everypony's heads. James -2p Canada- snorted, but chose not to comment on his brother's idiocy.

"Both of you be quiet. You don't want to wake your mother." 2p Francis glared, his cigarette illuminating the damp cave around him. Allen immediately shut up and laid back down, not daring to wake up 2p England. That was a death wish in itself. 2p China rolled his eyes, not even bothering to look up from polishing his sword. 2p Russia watched it all with a deadly glint to his eyes, looming over everypony.

Near the back of the cave, Xear sat on his throne, thinking. They had mentioned their mother and father. If he could somehow bring their power under his control…

His face split into a wide grin as he relished the thought. He would be unstoppable with that kind of power.

"Ponies?" He called, and everypony stopped what they were doing and looked up at him. "Who exactly are your parents? And how do you control them?" He asked, and 2p Italy scoffed.

"Didn't you hear Alistair? Mother is Nature, and Father is Time. You really can't control them." He said simply, turning back to picking at his hooves with his knives. Xear frowned; that wasn't a good answer, and Italy knew it. Ah well.

"I'll just have to find a way, then." He decided, and Allen looked up.

"Yo man, dat's not a good idea. You don't mess with ma and pops; it's just not right." He protested, shifting uncomfortably under Xear's blind gaze. Xear's grin seemed to grow even wider, his soulless, black eyes beginning to leak blood from atop his throne.

"And what part, dare I ask, about this whole thing is right?" He asked, and Allen shrunk back a bit. He wasn't brave, like his counterpart. Xear spread his dragon wings and flew down as silently as a shadow, landing in front of Allen, who cowered back a bit but tried to stand his ground.

"Not to worry~ If I can't have your parent's power, I still have you!" He said cheerfully, taking Allen's face in his hooves and gazing at him fondly. Allen shivered unconsciously, trying to look Xear in the eye. He could see all the other 2ps smirking at his cowardice, and he tried to prove he could do this. He hardened his gaze and glared angrily at Xear, trying to hide how much he was trembling.

"Yes, I still have you, my little Elements of Being…" He smirked, his dead eyes full of lust and want, making the Pegasus swallow a gag. He let go of Allen abruptly, who stumbled away, his legs feeling like jelly to him from sheer relief. Xear turned his head a bit, to 2p Russia. "Despair, go crush Hope. Be ready to go tomorrow." He commanded, and 2p Russia nodded silently, hefting his pipe over his shoulder.

---

"Bruder~! You. Me. Dance off!"

"Ludwig. Stop."

"Nein, bruder! In order to save the Digital World from the Fire Nation, we must become Soul Reapers, wielding the power of Death Notes, which have been passed down the Beilschmidt line for GENERATIONS!" *sparkle sparkle*

"…What?!"

Everypony was on the floor, laughing uncontrollably as they watched the tornado-fied Ludwig run around in circles, running into walls repeatedly. The tornado was at the peak of it's power, and Ludwig was suffering for it. It was awesome and kinda sad at the same time. One person, and one pony didn't see this.

Alfred was outside, sitting cross-legged in front of the grave he built, his head bowed and eyes closed peacefully. He had chosen somewhere quiet and open for their grave, with the best view he could find of the field they were in. They'd always loved wide, open fields, stretching as far as they could see. Blue and gold.

He smiled a bit, remembering them. As he did, he twirled a flower around in his hands, one of the best ones he could find in this field. A shimmering white color, it danced happily in the wind and in his hands, its beauty immeasurable.

Rainbow Dash was sitting just as peacefully on the castle roof, staring down at him. She wanted to go down and comfort him, but she didn't really know how. How was she supposed to comfort a father whose children had been murdered?

It was still really hard to imagine Alfred as a dad. He didn't look like he could handle an adult, much less a baby. But then, he did manage an entire country. Maybe it was possible. But who was the mom? Everypony else was inside, watching Ludwig struggle to deal with his tornado. Nopony was out here trying to comfort him! Didn't they know how much he has to be hurting right now?

Or maybe, Alfred did need sometime alone, like they said. She knew that ponies all handle things differently than others, so maybe Alfred just wanted to mourn in silence? Either way, Rainbow Dash wasn't going to leave him all by himself out here, especially since Xear could attack whenever he wanted! Somepony had to watch over him.

As she watched him, he softly placed the flower he had on the flat stone he had engraved his children's name into. Then, as he retracted his hand, an item materialized out of the air. Rainbow Dash jumped to her feet; it could be a weapon! She had to protect him!

But Alfred was taking it into his hands, and then Rainbow Dash saw that it was a book. Though the cover and binding looked fairly new, the pages were worn and yellow. She continued to watch carefully, seeing him open it up to the very last page, and begin to write in it with a pen that had also materialized from nowhere.

He wrote slowly, taking his time. Rainbow Dash had to admit her curiosity was peaked; where did he get that book from? What was it, anyways? She spread her wings and flew down, landing quietly behind him.

"Hey, what's that?" She asked, being blunt and straight to the point. Alfred looked up at her, and she pointed with a hoof at the book in his hands.

"This? This is a book us countries keep. We take turns writing down important events in history. Wanna read it?" He asked, his voice quiet. Dash nodded, looking at it carefully. Alfred set it down on the grass in front of him, then he closed his eyes and bowed his head again, leaving the two in silence. As we all know Rainbow Dash doesn't really do well with silence. She shuffled around awkwardly behind him, scuffing at the grass idly while he sat there.

"So…" She began, trying to start a conversation. "You said they were your kids? Who's their mom?" She asked, and he looked up, a smile tugging at his lips.

"They're not really my children, per say. They're more like half-siblings, but they all call me dad. Us countries don't actually have parents. We're born when our nation is, so we're kinda…thought children." He explained, and she blinked at him, confused. He smiled a bit, then picked another flower randomly, holding it up close to his face.

"Dashie, did you know that back home, people called me America the Beautiful?" He asked suddenly, and she jumped a bit, startled by the sudden change in topic.

"No…I didn't." She said truthfully, eyeing him in a new light. She'd never seen a human before, and he was silly-looking, actually. Humans are really weird looking, now that she thought about it. He didn't really look beautiful to her. But maybe…just maybe…if you squinted a bit...he could be beautiful. He was still only wearing the sheet, after all.

Without warning, Alfred covered his face with his hands, his shoulders beginning to tremble. The flower floated gently to the ground and lay there, forgotten, as Alfred began to cry. Dash's eyes widened. The heck was she supposed to do here? Crying was totally not cool!

"Hey man, don't cry. Heroes don't cry, right?" She asked, trying to sound cool about the whole situation. She walked over and placed her hoof on his shoulder, trying to be comforting. At her words, Alfred sniffed and laughed bitterly.

"No…Heroes always cry. They cry for the people they couldn't save." He said, gripping at his hair with his hands, head bowed. Rainbow Dash thought this over for a while, then decided on the best course of action. She slowly clambered into his lap, only now noticing how very big humans were. And Alfred noticed how small ponies were.

She awkwardly wrapped her arms around him, trying to convince herself that it was totally cool to help friends when they're feeling down. Even if hugging was lame. Alfred shakily hugged her back, laughing breathlessly.

"Dash…thanks." He said quietly, smiling a bit into her shoulder. She was only about the size of a dog compared to him, but she was warm and comforting. And the one of the best damn friends he had. Rainbow Dash nodded, blushing a bit and looking at anything but him as he began to openly sob into her shoulder.

"Y-Yeah. Whatever…"

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A/N: Done~

If you wouldn't mind reviewing, my dear readers? Please? I dunno if this is just me being petty, but I'm always disappointed when I go to my Gmail and see that there's no new reviews...so please? I love you all!

Don't worry though. Lovino will be coming back, and stuff will happen. Yeah...I'm tired and need to go to bed. BTW, next chapter will be a song-fic again, with a maybe fight scene?

Hasta la Pasta~!