The Shadow of a King
The Enemy of my Enemy is my Friend
Author: Draconis187

Dash couldn’t move any part of her body. She tried to open her eyes but the only image she could see was a massive blur made up of various shades of white, green and grey. Her pain was excruciating, both physically and mentally. Nevan’s dying cry still echoed in her mind, scarring her as she felt the Devil Arm die in her attacker’s hands.

Dash’s pain was similar to the pain Gilda and Adam Jensen were in as the three of them lay on different operating tables in the same room. Gilda’s wounds were just as severe: her wing bones were shattered to the point where they would never completely heal. The bullet the leaner attacker shot at her pierced her right eye while her beak was also fractured and bordered on breaking apart at a moment’s notice. Her tail was hanging on by the sinew and would have to be amputated.

Three teams of doctors, surgeons, veterinarians and augmentation scientists stood at the ready, awaiting the order from the head of Sarif Industries, David Sarif. The mid 50 year old man gave the trio one last look and nodded his head for the teams to begin the biggest augmentation attempt in Sarif Industries history.

Three hours earlier…

David Sarif was shocked as he found Adam Jensen’s destroyed body lying in a pile of shattered glass. Adam was still bleeding, indicating he still lived but he was teetering on the edge.

“Adam! Adam! Say something God dammit!” He shouted as he attempted to get a response from the broken man.

“Mr. Sarif, I don-” One of the surviving security guards was cut off as Sarif gave him a look that would kill a man at twenty paces.

“Get him prepped for surgery right now! I am not losing him like this!” He ordered.

The guard nodded his head as paramedics arrived on the scene, “Of course sir,” The guard turned his attention to Gilda and Dash, “What about them, sir?”

“We take them into surgery as well,” Sarif replied, “They could be valuable assets.”

**** **** **** ****

Commander Sheppard along with the two humans and Pinkie Pie were chasing after Saren Arterius, a Turian Spectre. He killed another Spectre by the name of Nihlus Kryik who was supposed to be evaluating Sheppard’s performance so that he may be accepted into joining the most elite unit in the galaxy.

Along the way they encountered a vast assortment of hostile Geth but the group’s firepower – coupled with Pinkie’s Party Cannon that seemed to always appear from the strangest locations – sent the Geth packing.

“To the tram platform!” Sheppard called out, firing at the Geth with his Mantis sniper rifle.

The group fired and cleaved a path through the Geth, arriving at the tram platform with hardly any scratches to speak of. Pinkie’s mane took a few scorches but all she did to fix it was shove her head in her Party Cannon and fire it. After that, it looked good as new. The humans stopped asking questions the moment she first pulled out the Party Cannon.

As the group arrived at the other end of the tramline the Geth had finished setting up explosive charges to cover their tracks and were waiting for the group to arrive. This was all per Saren’s orders.

“Everyone, disarm those bombs!” Sheppard ordered as the group got off the tram and stepped into a hail of laser fire.

The group hid behind various containers and boxes as the Geth walked closer, firing as they went. Sheppard placed his rifle on his back and took out his pistol. A blue energy surrounded his body as he used Shockwave to clear a path to the first bomb.

**** **** **** ****

Rainbow could feel movement in her legs again. She opened her eyes and found she was in a bed in a hospital ward. Memories of the last time she visited the hospital as a patient flooded back, causing her cheeks to heat up with embarrassment. In hindsight, that trip was better than her current situation.

She looked around and found the curtains around her bed were fully drawn. Dash could hear and feel that something was not right with her body but she couldn’t place it. Her breathing was normal and she could feel every part of her body, even her wings.

Dash groaned as she tried to get up, “Ugh, my head.”

As she placed her hoof on her head, she felt cold. Normally her fetlock was warm, not cold like steel. She brought her hoof around into her peripheral vision and shrieked like a little filly.

Instead of her normal cyan hoof, a metallic grey one was in its place, reaching all the way to her shoulder. The alien appendage was the source of the earlier, strange sound as it whirred and moaned due to the motors inside it. She turned around and saw both of her wings were missing.

In their place was some strange, metal contraption that opened up and closed like her old wings. It somewhat resembled her old wings. In the middle – where the independently variable blade-like ‘feathers’ met – was an enclosed rotor, creating a form of fantail design to her wings.

“W-wha-what?!” She finally managed to exclaim, using the single word to sum up her situation rather perfectly.

“Dash, that you?” Gilda’s voice asked. Dash heard it coming from her right.

“Yeah, G. What happened?” Dash asked, turning her head but still saw nothing except for the curtain.

“I dunno. I can’t see,” Gilda replied.

“What!?” Dash shouted loud enough to wake the dead.

“Keep your voice down,” A new, annoyed voice said, “Your shouting doesn’t help.”

“Who are you?” Dash asked.

“I’m the guy you tried to save. A lot of good it did you since we all wound up here regardless,” The voice replied, “Name’s Adam Jensen.”

**** **** **** ****

“Cover me!” Alenko shouted as the Geth kept firing on his position as he tried to diffuse the last bomb. The timer had only a few precious seconds left before it erased everything within several miles.

“Oki Doki Loki!” Pinkie replied cheerfully as she used Kalina Ann’s Hysteric attack. The small mini-missiles attacked the Geth hiding behind cover, sending metal shards all over the floor.

As a Geth Trooper turned came out of cover to fire, it met a pink, talkative blob attached to its upper body, staring into its visual sensors.

“Are you having a party? Why wasn’t I invited?!” Pinkie shouted, violently shaking the Geth with her hooves, “Tellmetellmetellmetellmetellme!”

“Error, error,” The Geth replied as its head exploded.

“And… got it!” Alenko shouted triumphantly as he cut a yellow wire, “People always think it’s the red wire. I blame holovid movies.”

“That’s nice… now get your ass in gear!” Williams shouted as she moved up with Sheppard, clearing the last two Geth, “We still have to find that bastard Saren.”

As they came around a corner, they found their primary target: the Prothean beacon. The obsidian monolith emanated a green glow around it which Pinkie found as fascinating as a bug would find a bug zapper’s light fascinating.

“Ooh, pretty,” She said as she seemed hypnotised by the beacon as she walked closer towards it.

“Pinkie! Get away from that thing!” Sheppard shouted as he grabbed Pinkie and threw her to Alenko who caught her with his biotics.

“Sheppard!” Williams shouted as Sheppard was picked up by the beacon.

Sheppard saw flashes of blurred images as they were burned into his mind, overloading it. He felt pain, suffering, hopelessness and death as he soon lost consciousness and the beacon exploded.

**** **** **** ****

“I’m sorry, Adam but they managed to take Megan,” David said apologetically as he fidgeted with his right, prosthetic arm, “I found a loophole in your employment contract that allowed us to perform the surgery necessary to save you.”

“What about us?!” Dash exclaimed, lifting her augmented hooves in the air for emphasis.

“You tried to save Adam and that was enough for me,” Sarif replied, “That and I believe you may be very valuable to the company and may get us on the press’ good side after the fiasco that started all this.”

“So, what now?” Adam asked.

“For now, Adam I suggest you all rest up and get used to the augs,” Sarif replied matter-of-factly, “We need the three of you to stay as close as possible so I suggest the two of you stay at Adam’s apartment until further notice.”

“Who gave you the authority to order us around?!” Gilda snapped, her metal wings flaring upwards in a reaction to her anger and nerve signals.

Gilda’s wings were similar to Dash’s but they were more jet propelled than fantail in design. The jets were state-of-the-art, cool, quiet and fast but her ‘feathers’ were not able to change orientation independently to one another. Gilda’s tail was replaced with an augmented one as well, the tip ending in three metal spikes.

Her face had been almost completely reconstructed with technology. The parts of her beak that were shattered or cracked had been covered by metal. Her right eye had been replaced by a completely cybernetic one. While her original eye was amber, her new right eye tried to mimic the colouration but was a few shades darker. The surgeons even replaced Gilda’s claws with augmented versions but they sadly retained her old arms’ original strength.

“G, we wound up in a world we don’t know. I doubt we can go home at the drop of a hat,” Rainbow Dash reasoned.

Gilda sighed, “Yeah I know. I just didn’t expect to turn into an egghead’s experiment.”

“That ‘egghead experiment’ as you call it cost billions of dollars in tech and medicine,” David replied, annoyed at Gilda’s lack of appreciation, “I was lucky to get the best veterinarians in the country on such short notice and I was even luckier when they agreed to help after seeing what you were.

They were in uncharted waters with you two. Griffons and Pegasi are the stuff of stories and myths for Christ’s sake! I was surprised when they actually agreed to help. So I suggest you stop your complaining unless you would have preferred us leaving you broken and bleeding on company property.”

Gilda growled and muttered something incoherently but seemed to be appeased enough to not snap back.

**** **** **** ****

Sheppard awoke to find himself in the medical bay of the SR-1 Normandy. His head felt hurt badly as if a cruiser collided with it. As he got up, he saw Dr. Chakwas staring at him intently. She was an elderly woman with expertise in the medical field that was unmatched by most humans. She looked at him as he gave a short groan.

“Glad to see you awake, Commander,” She said, “How do you feel?”

“Like the day after shore leave,” Sheppard replied flatly, “How long was I out?”

“Fifteen hours and I noticed some increased rapid eye movement indicative of physiological trauma,” Chakwas replied, “Can you recall anything?”

“Just images, blurs really. What’s important is that we know who’s behind the attack,” Sheppard said.

“Who may that be?” Captain Anderson asked as he entered the medical bay.

Captain David Edward Anderson was a decorated veteran of the Earth Alliance. A dark skinned man who was not afraid to voice his thoughts, even to superiors but he knew the importance of keeping certain comments under the table.

“It was Saren Arterius. He killed Nihlus and was the mastermind behind the Geth attack,” Sheppard replied as he got to his feet.

“Saren? Oh, boy that put us in a tight spot,” Anderson replied, placing his hand on his forehead as he shook his head, “He’s the Council’s top Spectre. I doubt they’ll listen to us waltz in and slander his reputation.”

“What can we do?” Sheppard asked.

“Well, we’ll need proof for starters. I hope we got enough from you to make a case against him but first I want your field reprt to be done ASAP,” Anderson replied.

The med bay doors opened as Pinkie Pie and Ashley Williams entered. Pinkie’s mane had fallen flat but the moment she saw Sheppard was alright, it literally inflated like a balloon and she hugged Sheppard tightly.

“I’m sososososososo sorry!” Pinkie cried as she refused to let go of Sheppard’s torso.

“Uh, it’s alright Pinkie. I’m still alive,” Sheppard said as he tried to comfort the sobbing mare, “But I might not be if you grip any tighter.”

Pinkie immediately let go of Sheppard and forced a smile, “S-sorry. I’ll try to keep my curiosity to a minimum.”

“Thank you,” Sheppard replied with a sigh, “What about you Williams?”

“I’ve reassigned Ms. Williams to your unit,” Anderson said.

“We could always use another experienced soldier. Welcome aboard then Ms. Williams,” Sheppard said, saluting her.

Williams saluted back, “It’s an honour sir.”

“Can I stay too?” Pinkie asked. Her large eyes were even bigger as she asked.

“Yes, you may stay,” Sheppard replied, not wanting to make the mare cry any more than she has.

“Yay! You know what this calls for right?” No one responded to Pinkie’s outburst. Pinkie rolled her eyes, “A party!”

Pinkie burst out of the med bay and ran upstairs, screaming for joy as she went.

**** **** **** ****

Jensen’s apartment still had several unpacked boxes strewn around the floor. A large flat screen TV hid his personal safe, containing a weapon or two as well as some credits and the odd item.

A resounding crash echoed through Jensen’s apartment, the source of which came from the bathroom. Gilda and Dash rushed over and fell over each other as Gilda’s jets misfired and caused her to fly into Dash. Thankfully due to the same augmentations, they weren’t injured.

“You alright?” Dash asked.

“I’m fine,” Jensen replied coldly.

The mirror in front of Jensen had been broken. His right arm was still balled in a fist with small glass shards sticking out of it and lying on the floor. He looked at his reflection in the broken mirror and sighed heavily. Adam Jensen was anything but fine as his augmentations reminded him of why he had them in the first place.

**** **** **** ****

Spike was getting worried as night fell on Equestria. Twilight had been gone for several hours and the studious mare had always left a note if she was going to be late, even in a hurry she always found time to write something down for Spike.

“Where is she?” He said softly as he paced the ground floor of the library, “That’s it, I’m looking for her.”

After getting himself a scarf to keep warm in the chilly night air, Spike locked the library and went off in search of Twilight. Spike’s first port of call was Sugarcube Corner. If Twilight wasn’t there, Pinkie should know where she went.

“Sorry dear but I haven’t seen Twilight,” Mrs. Cake said, looking rather worried, “I haven’t seen Pinkie after she vanished into her room earlier today. Nothing but party supplies all over the floor and some odd message written on a piece of paper and folded into a plane but it made no sense.”

“Alright. Thanks anyway, Mrs. Cake,” Spike said. He was starting to get very worried as he made his way to Sweet Apple Acres.

The chilly night air was not helping soothe his nerves. He clung onto his scarf tightly as Sweet Apple Acres rolled into view. The farmhouse still had a few lights on as the Apple family were worried as Applejack had not returned from the orchards. Clunker was still in the same orchards she vanished from, searching frantically for Applejack.

Spike knocked on the door and was taken aback by the sheer force the door was opened with. He was first greeted by happy expressions that soon fell into sorrowful ones.

“Hey there Spike,” Applebloom said, as she wiped away a few tears from her face, “Whatcha need?”

“I’m looking for Twilight. Have any of you seen her or Pinkie Pie?” Spike asked.

“’Fraid not Spike,” Applebloom replied, “We’ve been looking fer Applejack all day. We can’t seem ta find her.”

“This is bad,” Spike said as his worry gave way to fear.

**** **** **** ****

“I still don’t see why we should be going to some Lut Gholein with this old man,” Trixie complained as she walked behind a man named Warriv while the ‘old man’ Deckard Cain walked behind them.

“Quit yer yappin’,” Applejack replied, “We was lucky that those folks didn’t try ta skewer us. Pardon us Mister but can ya tell us where exactly we’re heading off to?”

Deckard Cain smiled lightly as he looked at the two mares, “We are heading to the port city Lut Gholein. It is within a vast desert miles from here. It is a very long journey I’m afraid.”

Trixie rolled her eyes, “Well, at least I’m no stranger to long trips while carrying heavy objects. I’m surprised you didn’t freak out like all the others did when we appeared in that Rogue Encampment.”

“There have been stranger monster sightings around the Rogue Pass than you two. The dead walk amongst the living once more, grotesque creatures roam the lands and even the demons of Hell are threatening our very existence,” Cain replied.

“Demons?” Trixie repeated, slightly worried as she turned to Applejack who mouthed the same word at her.

“Correct. Demons most foul and in league with the Three,” Cain said. The old man didn’t hide his disdain and worry as he spoke.

“Well ya’ll can stop yer worryin’,” Applejack said proudly, “We got a knack fer gettin’ rid of demons and monsters.”

Deckard Cain raised his eyebrows in surprise and disbelief. Trixie cleared her throat, “Yes quite. We both have such experience with dispatching a variety of monsters.”

“I am certain then that your arrival was not mere coincidence,” Cain said as he began to feel more at ease, “Maybe Heaven sent you to deliver us from these dark times.”

Trixie laughed, “Don’t confuse your assumptions old man. We are not from your ‘Heaven’. We come from a land known as E-”

Trixie was cut off as a large number of noises came from a small distance away and getting closer with each passing second. Their attackers comprised of several little red men with yellow horns sticking out of their heads. They brandished swords and shields while some carried a flag with a skull on top.

“This is what scares you so?” Trixie scoffed as she pulled Cerberus out from under her cape, “We won’t be long.”

Applejack took Volendrung out of Warriv’s caravan and joined at Trixie’s side. Trixie slammed the Devil Arm into the ground, creating a path of ice spikes to blast out of the ground and impale the Fallen through various spots on their bodies.

Volendrung came down to the ground with bone-crushing force and rending the ground in front of her asunder. The Fallen were blown off their feet as Trixie twirled around in the air, firing off a barrage of ice shards and impaling the Fallen.

As the mares looked upon the battlefield, the Shaman raised his staff into the air and the Fallen that had not been frozen were resurrected. The two mares looked at each other for a second before smiling at their opponents and charging again.

**** **** **** ****

Fluttershy looked on as the blue metal monster and the red monster collided once again. Their fighting broke apart buildings, destroyed roads and a school bus found its way into the bay nearby. The city was slowly being turned into a graveyard of concrete and steel.

“If this keeps up, they’ll destroy the entire city,” Fluttershy muttered to herself, “Somepony has got to stop them.”

Fluttershy sifted through her coat and pulled out Pandora, “I hope I still remember how this thing works. I barely used it.”

Taking a deep breath, Fluttershy brought the briefcase over her right shoulder. The case glowed briefly before expanding outward, turning into a large tri-barrelled bazooka with the word ‘Hatred’ etched into the side.

Fluttershy took aim at the red beast and pulled Hatred’s trigger. Three large missiles flew from the barrels and collided with the side of the beast’s face, causing it to stumble and search for the source.

Inside the robot, a rotund man sitting in the muscle car cockpit gazed at the sight of the unexpected explosion with wide eyes. The man wore a red flannel shirt with the sleeves torn with a white t-shirt with a number 12 inside a shield outline underneath it. He had his blonde hair styled as a short, blown back crew-cut and his chin was a carefully shorn chin strap.

He turned to his friends to his right, a woman with red/orange hair and clad mostly in white with long, blue sleeves and pale blue shoulder pads and leg-guards. The other passenger in the car was a far skinnier guy with black hair and a blue beanie on his head. He wore a pair of tight, blue jeans, a black leather jacket and a green hoodie underneath it.

“Uh, that wasn’t me was it?” The rotund man asked, rather confused.

“No, Coop. Whatever it was, it just stopped the beast from damaging one of MEGAS’ critical systems,” The woman replied.

“Ah come on, Kiva. Coop had that thing on the ropes!” The skinnier man retorted.

“I don’t see how being thrown around the city like a plaything constitutes having it ‘on the ropes’, Jamie,” Kiva replied back coolly.

As the two were about to break into another argument, Fluttershy made her presence known as she assaulted the larger red monster with Agni and Rudra in her hooves, slicing into the air in a flurry of fire and wind with an airborne Tempest attack. As she collided with the beast, the force was enough to make it stumble once more.

“Is it me or are we getting up staged by a brightly coloured horse?” Jamie asked incredulously.

“Strange,” Kiva said, “It appears to have some combat experience and it doesn’t seem to fear that monster despite its greater size.”

Coop smiled and leaned back in his seat, “I say we kick back and watch where this is going.”

Fluttershy dodged the monster’s attacks by barrel-rolling in the air and using Whirlwind Sprint when it was getting too close for comfort. Fluttershy landed on the bridge of the creature’s nose and pulled out Pandora once more. As the Devil Arm almost touched the creature’s nose, it changed form. Fluttershy stood behind the large, round laser cannon with the word ‘Revenge’ glowing faintly on the side.

As the creature’s arms came towards Fluttershy to crush her, Revenge fired off a searing energy blast. The beast screamed loudly as Fluttershy jumped off and flew out of the way as the creature’s hands collided with its face. This aggravated Revenge’s attack, causing the creature even more pain. Fluttershy flew up to the creature’s face once more and hovered. She twirled her Amulet of Talos in her hoof and took a deep breath.

“FUS RO DAH!!” She Shouted.

The beast was blown backwards by the unexpected, instant blast of Unrelenting Force’s power coming from the yellow mare’s mouth. It fell backwards onto the ground with a crash, cracking what remained of the ground with its body. Fluttershy flew up higher into the air and Beowulf appeared on her hooves, ready for the finisher.

“SU GRAH DUN!!” She Shouted once more before coming down at the beast before her like a light covered comet, aiming for the head with her right hind hoof in a Bee Sting attack.

The moment Fluttershy impacted with the beast, a huge pillar of light burst from the point of impact and causing the three humans in MEGAS to avert their eyes. Coop shouted in agony as the light hurt his eyes despite being shut, Jamie screamed like a little girl while Kiva merely grunted.

**** **** **** ****

Deckard Cain was impressed as the Fallen lay dead, shattered or running scared as the two technicolored mares chased them down with deadly proficiency. As they returned to the caravan, they each wore a proud smile on their faces.

“Told you we could deal with a few demons,” Trixie said proudly as she dusted her self off and tucked Cerberus away under her cape.

“I see,” Deckard Cain replied, “Shall we continue?”

As the mares continued to journey with the caravan, they came across a giant building that would impress even the artisans of Canterlot. The building was almost entirely made of white marble while the gardens alone stretched almost forever. The stained glass windows reminded the pair of the windows in Canterlot, depicting the Elements of Harmony’s achievements.

The mares wandered with the caravan in awe of building but their wonder soon gave way to suspicion as the building seemed abandoned the more they ventured further. As they continued walking through, they found mangled, broken and torn corpses of men and women strewn across the floor, blood smeared on the walls and the ceiling. Some corpses were missing organs, some were found crushed a short distance away while others were unaccounted for. The caravan halted as a cathedral loomed before them.

“I fear whatever has slain these poor souls awaits us inside,” Deckard Cain said solemnly.

“Quit yer worrying,” Applejack said, “Trix and ah will be in an’ out licketysplit.”

Trixie rolled her eyes and followed Applejack into the building. Just as the passages and rooms before, these were also covered in mangled body parts and internal organs in various states of decay. Trixie felt like she was about to throw up but managed to stop herself.

The mares found no exit to the cathedral but found a door leading downstairs. They felt as if the darkness was taunting them, daring them to traverse into the depths below.

“Ah have a bad feeling about this, Trix,” Applejack said as they ventured downwards.

“I agree but we hardly have much choice in the matter since the caravan has to go through this area,” Trixie responded flatly.

“Alright but this place rustles my jimmies,” Applejack said as she held onto Volendrung tightly.

**** **** **** ****

As the light dissipated, Fluttershy was left standing while the beast she attacked was no longer breathing. The mare dusted herself off and flew towards MEGAS, ready to make a repeat performance.

“Uh-oh,” Jamie said with increasing fear, “That thing is coming for us!”

As soon as Jamie finished speaking, Fluttershy landed on the car’s hood and pointed her pistols at the windscreen. She glared at the glass with The Stare. Jamie cowered in an upright foetal position, holding his head and mumbling incoherently. Fluttershy noticed the humans and began to speak slowly and as threatening as possible.

“Get… out… now… slowly,” She said, motioning to the left with Pity in her left hoof.

The three complied, Kiva scrutinised the mare as she got out. She stood up to her abdomen, ‘How could such a small pony take down a monster as big as MEGAS with such surprising ease?’

“Who are you?” Fluttershy asked, her pistols still pointing towards them.

Coop rubbed the back of his neck as he replied, “Er, I’m Coop. That there is Kiva and over there is my best friend Jamie.”

“Leave me out of this!” Jamie shouted, trying to stay as far away from Fluttershy as she allowed him to be.

Fluttershy kept a cold expression on her face as she turned her attention to MEGAS, “And this thing?”

“Coop, don’t say anything about the robot,” Kiva warned.

A gunshot rang out, cutting a lock of Kiva’s hair as a result and making Jamie shriek, “You are in no position to tell him what he can or can not tell me.”

“She’s right,” Coop said, “Look, it’s called MEGAS. I found it in a junkyard and fixed it up. Kiva came and tried to take it back but my mods were too awesome for her to be able to handle so I still pilot it.”

Fluttershy nodded her head in understanding and turned to the dead monster, “And that monster?”

Kiva saw this as an opportunity to attack the mare and pounced. Fluttershy jumped forward to avoid Kiva’s spinning heel kick and took out Pandora. As Kiva changed tactics and brought her fist forward, Fluttershy activated the briefcase.

Kiva’s fist collided with Pandora number 340: Retribution. The large wall absorbed the kinetic energy from Kiva’s attack and fired it back at her at twice the strength. Kiva flew backwards and almost fell off MEGAS.

“You done?” Fluttershy asked coldly as Pandora reverted to its original form.

**** **** **** ****

“Ya sure ya wanna head on back all on yer lonesome?” Granny Smith asked.

Spike nodded his head, “Yeah, I need to be at the library in case Twilight or one of the others gets back. I just hope nothing is wrong.”

“Take care Spike,” Applebloom said with a sad smile. Her sister was never known for just up and vanishing without a word. Usually half of Ponyville knew where she went.

“Thanks,” Spike replied as he left the farmhouse.

As he journeyed back to Ponyville, he saw Clunker was still searching tirelessly. The faithful Kyklops demon had found his way into the town and continued his search there. He may not have been able to speak like the others but Spike understood his pain.

What Spike failed to see was a figure heading quietly towards Fluttershy’s cottage. Spike would’ve recognised Vergil just by the blue coat he wore or the blade Yamato in its scabbard in his left hand.

Vergil ignored the cold and carried on until he reached the cottage but something was amiss. The cottage was missing but it did not leave a hole in its place. The ground where the cottage once stood appeared untouched as if the cottage never existed to begin with. The various pens and cages behind the cottage remained, causing some confusion amongst the animals as they had also noticed the missing cottage.

Vergil observed the area around him with cold, calculating eyes. He searched for any sign of the cottage or what could have removed it from existence. He lowered himself down onto his haunches and gazed at the ground intensely.

“This is futile,” He muttered to himself, “Whatever this was… it was powerful to remove both Fluttershy and her abode from this plane with surprising efficiency and it left little trace. I still remember her so whatever force did this was not strong enough remove all traces. This is most infuriating.”

Vergil rose from the ground and unsheathed Yamato in a single, lightning fast movement. The blade slashed into the air as Vergil’s amulet glowed brightly, the two forces combined to slice a pathway to Vergil’s home which he shared with Dante: the Devil May Cry shop. He walked into the portal he made, closing it behind him.

**** **** **** ****

Sven’s car trudged along the dirt road. The car seemed to be purposefully hitting every bump and ditch the road had which was annoying Sven since Twilight and Nyx were still asleep.

The sun shone rather brightly onto Twilight’s rump, causing her a little discomfort. She shifted herself a little as Eve sat on the right hand side of the car’s back seat with Nyx snoozing on her lap.

The filly was a little too big for the young girl to have on her lap but Eve felt a strange sensation with every breath Nyx took. Alastor clung onto Nyx’s side, refusing to move whenever Eve or Sven tried to remove it to look at it properly. At one point it shocked Sven in retaliation to their attempts.

As the car hit a much larger ditch in the road, Twilight stirred again. Twilight’s senses decided to inform her that she was laid down and in motion. Still half asleep, she slowly raised her head.

“Ugh, Nyx? You there?” Twilight asked.

Sven turned around to smile at Eve, “So you decided to name them? Which one is Nyx? What is a Nyx anyway?”

Eve shook her head a few times before responding slowly, “It was not me who spoke. It was her.”

Eve pointed to Twilight who turned her head and looked into Sven’s one eye.

“Oh, so she’s the one who spoke,” Sven said as he returned his focus to the road once more, “Wait, what?!”

Sven slammed hard on the brakes, causing Twilight to slide straight off the seat and unceremoniously collide with the hard floor.

“Ow!” Twilight exclaimed as she fully woke up and saw Eve’s stoic expression looking at her curiously, “Uh… where am I?”

Sven looked at Twilight in utter bewilderment, “So not only does she have some horn sticking out of her head but she speaks as well?!”

Twilight looked at Sven and gave him a hard stare, “’She’ happens to have a name.”

“Uh, sorry?” Sven replied, looking rather confused.

Twilight simply smiled at him, “My name is Twilight Sparkle… and yours?”

Sven cleared his throat, “I’m Sven Vollfied and that there is Eve.”

Eve said nothing. She just stared at Twilight with masked wonderment. Sven looked at the two of them and gave a small chuckle.

“Go on, Eve. Say hi,” Sven encouraged.

“Hello,” Eve said flatly.

“Wow, you really have some personality there,” Twilight stated.

“There’s a really long story about that but let’s first get home,” Sven said as the car began to accelerate down the road once more, “It’s definitely going to be another one of those days.”

**** **** **** ****

Siegfried kept Requiem raised as he stared at Joystick and Rarity. The two unicorns shifted uncomfortably under his stone cold gaze. The tension between them could have been cleaved with a sword. A poor analogy given the fact one carried a large blade.

“Tell me what you are!” Siegfried commanded loudly. Joystick and Rarity’s ears fell flat against their heads from his shout.

“W-we’re unicorns,” Joystick stuttered slightly, “I-I’m Joystick a-”

Rarity scoffed and took a step forward, making Siegfried tighten his grip, “No need to be so on edge, dear knight. I am Rarity, fashionista extraordinaire and you are?”

Siegfried was taken slightly aback by Rarity’s forwardness but grunted his reply. Joystick’s eyes wouldn’t leave Requiem as it looked as if it could slice through both Rarity and himself without too much effort on Siegfried’s part.

Rarity tilted her head and frowned, “My dear knight. We have both graciously informed you of our names. The least you can do is reciprocate.”

“Siegfried,” He replied, his stance unwavering.

“What an absolutely divine name!” Rarity exclaimed, “It certainly matches your demeanour as well as your outfit and choice of protection. And those dashing looks, you must have the ladies eating out of those hands of yours.”

Siegfried’s blade faltered slightly, Rarity was striking at a nerve, “And that scar certainly draws attention, giving you that air of ruggedness that everypony must simply adore.”

“What are you doing in this forest?” Siegfried asked.

“To be honest dear, I haven’t the slightest clue as to why we’re in a dark forest,” Rarity replied, looking down at the dirt under her hooves with disdain, “I guess right now we’re looking for right now is somewhere safe so we can figure out what caused this rather unfortunate predicament.”

Joystick nodded his head in agreement. As Siegfried considered what Rarity said the sound of footsteps could be heard closing in on their location.

“Get down!” He said as he sheathed Requiem away and snuck toward the source.

Rarity and Joystick kept a short distance away from Siegfried, following as carefully as possible before hiding behind some bushes.

“You sure the source is reliable?” A voice said.

“Of course. Nightmare is here somewhere,” Another voice responded, sounding annoyed.

Rarity and Joystick looked at each other with confused looks. The only Nightmare they knew was Luna’s old alter-ego Nightmare Moon and that was never returning due to the Elements of Harmony restoring Luna to her current self.

Siegfried sighed. More people were looking for the monster he once was, seeking revenge or fame. That part of his life refused to leave him alone, haunting his every waking moment with self hate and loathing.

As Siegfried tried to double back, his foot hit the ground a little too hard and causing the armour to clatter audibly.

“What was that?” The first voice said, “It came from over there.”

“Well, what are you waiting for? An engraved invitation?!” The second voice shouted, “Go look!”

A lean man wearing a black bandanna walked over to Siegfried’s location. He wore a pair of black slacks and a pale green shirt underneath a few pieces of khaki coloured amour covering his shoulders, knees and chest. He carried a long sabre on his side.

His companion was more heavily armoured, covered head to toe in steel armour. On the woman’s back was a lance as long as she was tall, ending in an arrow-like tip.

Siegfried stopped dead in his tracks and turned around, coming face-to-face with the leaner man, blade drawn.

“I found you!” He shouted as he swung his sabre down hard.

Siegfried parried the attack with Requiem, forcing the attack to swing to the left and collide with the ground. Siegfried used the momentum from the parry to bring Requiem down towards the man.

The man dodged back and swung horizontally to the right. Sadly he didn’t fully anticipate his blade’s reach as it came up short to Requiem’s retaliation. The swordsman tried to block the attack but the force behind Siegfried’s attack shattered the blade and Requiem found the ground. Before the man could react, Siegfried kicked him in the abdomen and sent him flying back.

“Watch out!” Rarity shouted as the lancer appeared and attempted to ram her lance into his heart.

**** **** **** ****

The four arrived at a wooden house in the middle of a forest, far away from civilisation. Sven parked the car and exited with Eve not far behind. He took out the groceries and walked over to the back of the car and looked at Twilight.

“So, you coming in or are you going to stay there?” Sven asked Twilight.

Twilight tentatively got out of the car with Nyx still asleep on her back. Sven’s hideout had only the basic necessities such as a stove, oven, fridge, shower and small pieces of furniture. Although given the fact that he has been a little hard on his luck on his Sweeper jobs and still managed to provide for Eve proved he was at least making ends meet.

“Make yourself at home,” Sven said as he placed the groceries on the table and began sorting them out, “I have a guest room the pair of you can share if you’d like.”

“Thank you,” Twilight said with a smile, “But why are you helping us?”

“A gentleman always tries to help out whenever possible especially when it’s a lady,” Sven replied as he placed a few bottles of milk into the fridge, “Even if you aren’t from here.”

“Thank you again, Mr. Vollfied. Which way was that room?” Twilight asked.

“I will show you. Follow me,” Eve said as she walked down the small hallway.

Twilight soon followed, leaving Sven to his thoughts, ‘I wonder if they’re some escaped genetic experiment. Better call Annette or Rinslet just to be safe.’

“This is the room,” Eve said slowly as she opened the door.

The room was mostly bare except for a small coffee table, a television set in the corner, a shelf attached to the wall and the bed on the far side of the room. Twilight picked Nyx up with her magic and picked up the covers as she laid Nyx down before tucking her in. Twilight then took Alastor off Nyx and placed it under her pillow as she was still weary of Sven and Eve despite her slight disdain for Nyx carrying the Devil Arm.

“How did you do that?” Eve asked.

“It’s just basic levitation magic,” Twilight replied, “Thank you.”

“For what?” Eve asked, confused.

“I’m guessing by your father’s reaction you were the one who found us,” Twilight said.

“She’s not my daughter!” Sven shouted.

“Oh, sorry,” Twilight said, “Wait, how did he hear that?”

“The acoustics in this cabin are pretty impressive,” Sven replied from outside the room, “That and I was already walking here when I heard you.”

Sven came around the corner and grimaced, “So have you figured out what your next move is yet?”

Twilight hung her head, “No, I haven’t. I don’t know this place or anywhere around here for that matter.”

“You can stay with us,” Eve said with a very slight smile.

“Yeah, I guess it would be alright as long as you help out,” Sven said, placing his arms behind his head as he spoke.

Twilight smiled, “That’s alright with me.”

“Now that is out of the way,” Sven said as he looked at Nyx’s still sleeping form and then to Alastor, “What is up with the two of you and that sword?”

**** **** **** ****

Siegfried was engaged in battle between the lancer and the swordsman as the latter took out a dagger and attacked again. Rarity and Joystick looked on as the knight kept the pair of them at bay with Requiem’s long reach.

“That’s all I can stand for now, Joystick,” Rarity said through clenched teeth, “We must help him.”

Joystick nodded his head and took out Blue Rose, “Ready when you are.”

The two ponies burst out of the bushes, a battlecry issuing from their lips. Lucifer’s blades collided with the lancer’s armour, detonating and taking it apart. The shockwave from multiple blasts sent the lancer flying backwards into the ground.

A resounding bang fired from Blue Rose, knocking the swordsman’s dagger out of his hand. The dagger fell into a patch of soft earth a short distance away.

“One more move and your life shall be considerably shorter,” Joystick warned.

The swordsman took a few steps back before the flat side of Requiem met his face, knocking him unconscious. The lancer was trying to hit Rarity with her lance, sweeping the ground but Lucifer was as much a ranged weapon as it was possible to use it for melee.

“Keep still, agent of Nightmare!” She cried out as she missed once more.

Rarity was evading the attacks as if it were a choreographed dance routine. Every swipe missed her, she dodged every kick with flawless execution and every movement was as beautiful as a painted picture.

“Damn you!” The frustrated lancer shouted as her attack missed once more.

Sadly she failed to notice Siegfried bringing down Requiem on her lance as it swung in a wide sweeping arc. The two weapons collided with the latter of the two weapons breaking like a twig. As the woman wheeled around to see Siegfried’s gauntlet meeting her face with force. In the end only the knight and the two ponies were still conscious.

“Why did you help me?” Siegfried asked as he tried to put as much distance between himself and the scene of the battle.

“Well dear it was a rather unfair matchup to be fighting two against one so we decided to even the odds a little,” Rarity explained.

“Yeah and you didn’t kill us so that shows you aren’t some mindless murderer with a big sword,” Joystick said.

“A… mindless… murderer…” Siegfried muttered as the three continued to walk off into the distance.

**** **** **** ****

The air was cold as Soarin trudged along a barren landscape. While the air was cool, the ground beneath his hooves was warm. He saw out of the corner of his eye that he was beginning to draw an inquisitive crowd of dragons.

They were of many shapes, sizes and colourations but they kept their distance from Soarin as he approached the largest dragon stood by the mouth of a large cave.

The beast had three long, swept back steel grey horns atop his skull. His lime green scales shone in the moonlight as his yellow eyes centred on Soarin’s form. His face bore many scars, as did much of his body. They ranged from minor abrasions to near fatal gouges.

“I see you are keeping well, Fafnir,” Soarin said with a grin as the colossal dragon walked up to him, “And you’ve gained a few more scars as well.”

“If you think these look bad, you should see the other dragon,” Fafnir chuckled.

“Right. Look I am not here for a social visit,” Soarin replied callously, “What you dragons do to assert your positions is of little consequence to me as long as I get my support.”

Fafnir rolled his eyes, “Right, your support.”

“Correct, the time has come for you to reclaim the territory your kind lost over the past number of centuries,” Soarin said with a grin.

“Finally, I was beginning to think you were nothing but hollow words,” Fafnir remarked, “Are the two Princesses dealt with?”

“They will no longer be a problem by the time your forces attack Canterlot,” Soarin replied.

“Good, we shall march by sunset tomorrow,” Fafnir said with an evil grin.

Soarin did not reply as he turned around and walked away, ‘Everything is going according to plan.’

Author's Notes:

Welp, here's the next bit. The story will be basically be following this kind of format. Two crossovers then to Equestria so it doesn't look like a hash job. And we're back to showing lovable Fluttershy as the OP one mare army of Dovashy May Cry.