As I opened my eyes and looked around my surrounding, I was plastered with confusion at the sight of my surrounding. All I saw was white, a room or an area that was a simple and blinding white. "What is this place, I remember being in my room sleeping with Rarity. How did I get here?" I wondered as I continued my search for anything useful, different, or something to help ease my confusion. In time I was growing uncomfortable, and my instincts felt defensive and to take up guard.

"You should try loosening up kid. It ain't helpful if you're all tensed up." A gruff voice resounded in the room I was in, making me feel even more uncomfortable. Being watched unbeknownst to me doesn't sit right with me. I looked all around, tempting to find the source of the voice, but to no avail.

"Who is there, and what is this place? Show yourself!" I shouted out so the mysterious being may possibly hear me, wherever he may be.

"Chill kid, you don't have to shout, I hear ya. Just give me a sec, will ya." After hearing the reply, I merely stood there patiently for him, but yet still on guard for any unknown intention seeking to act in aggression towards me.

After a moment has passed, I hear the soft thud of footsteps approaching behind me followed by the clinging of chains. I turned around to face a tall bulky figure staring at me with piercing red eyes with a smirk on his face. Seeing me so defensive and ready to strike further widens his grin.

"So we finally get to meet face to face. How're you holdin' up kid?" The man asked in the same gruff, but yet genuine tone. I was thrown by slight surprise at his approach, seeing him act so…concerned was not what I expected from someone like him.

"Um…I'm fine I suppose. But…Still wondering where I am…and who you are?" I asked in an attempt to regain my composure. The man gave a slight chuckle as he placed his hand on his hip and closed his eyes, keeping his amusement to himself. I felt slightly offended, thinking he was sizing me as an imbecile, but then brushed that aside for the matter at hand. He looked at me once more as he began to answer my question.

"You're in your own subconscious, or you're Mindscape. As to who I am, the name is Davian." When his name reached my ears, I was immediately in a fit of anger. I pointed my finger at him objectively as I almost shouted.

"You!? You're Davian!?"

"The one and only, kid." He beamed, with a boastful grin plastered on his face as he took a bow. I was brimming with rage at this point and found myself dashing his way and rearing to strike him in the face with my fist. But just as I threw my fist towards his face, I felt myself freeze in place, unable to move whatsoever. I blinked in confusion and tried moving and thrusting my fist further, but I remained like a statue with my fist inches away from Davian's face.

"What the hell? Why can't I move?" I huffed in agitation.

"Simple. I have you in the hold of my magic." Davian explained.

"Bullshit, I've seen some magic, and there's usually some magical residue or aura, and I don't see any on me at all."

"Oh really? Well 'Mister Magic-expert', why don't you have a look at your feet?" In a state of confusion, I looked down and didn't see anything out of the ordinary. But when I looked a little closer, I noticed something strange about my shadow. It stretched out in a bold line and connected itself into Davian's own shadow. "Are you serious? Some Shikamaru rip-off?" I directed my attention back to Davian as he faced me with a smug smile on his face.

"Okay, so you're controlling me with your shadow? But you probably can't do more than that." I provoked. Davian merely faces downwards with eyes closed, shaking his head disapprovingly.

"I'm not your enemy kid. I know of the ordeals you had to face back in your world, and I wanna help ya out." Davian stated, raising my eyebrows from his surprising statement. Having an ally like Davian would be beneficial, but who's to say he won't betray me and take matters in his own hands. "He wants to help me out? But why would he want to do that? He must have some other motive to his offer. I mean he doesn't strike me as a generous guy who help's whoever, whenever."

"How can you possibly know what I have been through? We have only just met and you're acting like you know everything about me." I shouted with a heated temper. Burying my darted gaze into Davian's, he merely sighs and returns a straight and simple expression.

"Because I dwell within your Mindscape. In here lies what you see, what you hear, all past memories as well as present." Davian explains.

"HOW DARE YOU!" I furiously shouted, earning raised eyebrows from a surprised being. He clearly looked at me in confusion, wondering on where he has wronged me in his explanation.

"Um…excuse me? Am I missing something here?" He asked still confused as hell.

"Are you fucking KIDDING ME?! You're invading my privacy, YOU ASSHOLE!" I fumed out, growing more frustrated from his ignorance.

"Well my bad, shit. Don't have to be a dick about it. I've only been here a day and didn't think about it…wait a minute, I DIDN'T EVEN DO SHIT!" Davian corrected, growing agitated as he began to slowly loosen the hold of his shadow bind.

"Bullshit, then how do you know this place has my memories, hmm? It could be somebody else's for all you know." I questioned. After finally gaining control of my body once more, Davian bumps his head against my head, pushing forward as he continues to drill his logic into me.

"Who else would it be? I am in YOUR BODY, not someone else's." I pushed my head back towards him in retaliation as we resumed our bickering.

"So you don't deny it huh? And why are you in my body in the first place?"

"You broke the seal you dumbass! If you didn't want this to happen, you shouldn't have released me in the first place."

"I didn't even know you were in the shard. All I knew was that there was power inside."

"Damn right there's power. MY POWER, and if you want to learn to use it, you're gonna have to show a little more respect."

"Wait…I can use your power?"I blinked out of surprise of this new discovery, hoping the answer is 'yes'.

"Well no shit. Since you're sharing your body, I'm sharing my powers. Think of it like 'rent payment'." I settled down and took a moment to think it over. Weighing out my options, having the ability to use his power may help tremendously, especially if I intend to fight against the Netherlings as well as Trick. Also means I don't have to rely on releasing this guy if I ever got in a pinch. Finally making my decision, I crossed my arms and stated.

"This doesn't change anything between us, I still don't trust you, even if you're helping me out." Davian only shrugs while shaking his head.

"Doesn't matter at the moment, what does matter is that you want to make a difference, you need to train, and I'm the one who's gonna train ya'. When you're here in the Mindscape, I'll show you some tricks, but in the real world you need to build your strength. The stronger your body is, the stronger your magic is." I nodded in understanding. Also since I'm gonna be working with AJ, I can look at that as more training while being paid for it.

"Also it would be great to find someone to teach you Natural magic, so ask around." Davian added.

"Wait, Natural magic? I thought you were gonna teach me magic." I asked quite sternly.

"I am, but what I'm showing you isn't Natural magic."

"Then what kind of magic ARE you teaching me?"

"Nether magic." I stared at Davian incredulously. My mind was officially blown with all the questions and possibilities racing my mind.

"Seriously?! That's awesome. But how do you know Nether magic?" I asked in curiosity, growing more suspicious towards Davian.

"Does it matter? Seriously, do you want to learn or not?"

"No, no, I want to learn." Davian smiles at my response.

"Good, we'll start tomorrow the next time we meet." He turns around as he begins to walk away.

"Hey wait a sec, how do I come back to this…Mindscape?" I quickly asked before he left. He turns back facing me as he answers.

"It's easy, just go to sleep and let your mind relax."

"Do I have to sleep to come here?"

"Not really, but it's the simplest method." I thought it over and shrugged my shoulders.

"Sounds easy enough." I could feel myself slowly drifting to consciousness.

"See ya later furry lover." Davian teased as he starts laughing. I only flipped him the bird as I cursed.

"FUCK YOU BITCH!" But my words never reach his ears as I came to reality, waking up as I slowly opened my eyes.

As I awakened and took to my surrounding, I looked over to Rarity who was sound asleep, snuggled against me with her head resting on the right side of my chest. It felt nice having somepony to wake up seeing and being able to cuddle with. It made me feel special, like feeling like I really mattered and wanted.

I reached out with my left hand and softly caressed Rarity's cheeks, earning a smile as she sighs in content, tightening her grip around me. She really was a sight to behold, but I was uncertain about how I felt towards her. "I like her as a friend of course, but I think it's too soon to be asking to be her boyfriend and all. I think I should get to know her more. But what about the other girls? How would they feel about all of this? Well I suppose just take it slow and just go with it as just good friends, and if I start developing feelings, then I'll go from there." After mentally consulting to myself about this whole relationship thing, I thought of the comment that Davian made before leaving the Mindscape. "That bastard, where does he get off calling me a furry lover? Does he know about what happened last night? That son of a bitch! He did say the Mindscape was where my memory and experiences lie, including what I see or do. Fuck that prick. I need to calm down and start my morning routine." Carefully, I tried to free myself from Rarity's grasp without waking her up. I reached over and delicately grabbed her hand and slowly lifted it. As I held her hand over my body, I slipped myself out of her grasp, dragging my pillow down and resting it between her arms as she closed her hold and reels it closer to her.

I chuckled at the adorable sight of her snuggling onto the makeshift 'Vincent pillow' as I slipped out of bed and stretched, feeling relieved as my body began snapping into place. I retrieved my pants, began to put them on, and then walked around the bed and placed a small peck on Rarity's cheek, seeing a smile spread across her muzzle as she nuzzles her head into the pillow.

I first went to the bathroom to handle my…'business'. But after I finished and began to make my way out, I noticed something as I passed by the mirror over the sink. My wound had completely healed. The only thing that remained was a scar on my backside. "Well this is fantastic. Either I now have fast healing powers, or when Davian became a part of me, my body was 'renewed'. But now I don't have to worry about my wound and just cut loose." I was glad to see I have made a full recovery, and so with this in mind, I decided to go do my normal workout routine. I made my way out of my room and into the hallway and looked around my surrounding. The only thing in sight was the guard posted by the staircase. I don't like being spectated by people while I workout, it makes me uncomfortable, like I am being judge from a simple workout. I turned towards the balcony and made my way outside, and began mentally planning and organizing my workout routine.

"Let's see here, three reps of push-ups alternating from diamond, to fingered, and then knuckled, about forty sets per rep. Next, I'll do a hundred sets of hangman sit-ups. Finally I'll end my routine with a hundred sets of simple pull-ups. Sounds like a simple plan, now let's do this." I took position at the center of the balcony. My body was straight as a plank with my arm supporting me up from the floor at an acute angle with my thumbs and forefingers making contact with one another in a diamond push-up. I took a deep breath and began my workout, feeling my body slowly losing its grogginess after hitting the thirty mark. Once finished, I repeated the same process with my arms shoulder-length apart, holding me up with no palm and just my fingertips, and then finishing my third rep with my hands in a fist, supporting my body with the knuckles. After holding my final set and lifting my body back up and resting on my knees, I could feel the burning sensation in my biceps and forearms. I took a couple deep breaths before coming to my feet and walked to the railing.

I turned around, hoisted myself over the railing and latched my feet between the bars and let my body slowly sag upside-down with my back resting on the outside of the railing. Placing my hands against my chest and crossing my arms, I lifted my body to the point my nose and chin almost touched my knees. I repeated the process until I met my quota, deeply breathing through my nose and now sweating from the exertion.

Finally finishing, I lifted myself off the railing and back on my feet and approached the doorway. I noticed that the door was still opened and I closed it to secure my privacy and looked at the ground, taking smooth, relaxing breaths. My body was sweating bullets and I was glad I wasn't wearing my shirt, otherwise it would reek of my stench. I looked up and grabbed the frame of the door with my fingertips and locked its grip before I raised my legs, leaving me to dangle from the frame. I began lifting myself and repeating the motion until I did a hundred sets.

Once I was done, I let my feet drop to the floor and panted a bit as I collected myself, sighing in relief from my accomplishment. Then I felt a cold chill touch my back, sending a shiver to run through my body and quickly turned to see what it was, as I was met with Applejack holding a water bottle with a smirk on her face.

"Applejack?! How long were you here?" I asked, as my face was growing hot from sheer embarrassment, possibly already knowing the answer to said question.

"Since ya'll were hangin' on the rail there." She replied while pointing towards the balcony railing.

"Ah'm surprised ya'll didn't see me, and was startin to think ya were givin me a show." She added with a wink. "She wants to play that game? Alright then AJ, game on!" A gave AJ a devious smile and slowly approached her with a pronounced gait to the steps I made.

"You know AJ, if you really wanted a show, you could have just asked." I said in a smooth, deep tone. Seeing the look on AJ's face was pure gold, her eyes were wide and cheeks were burning red as she took tiny steps back, bumping her rear into the railing and looking behind herself, seeing she couldn't move any further. I came upon her and placed my hands beside her on the railing, gaining her attention as she gazed into my eyes with mouth agape. She noticed just how close I was, and inhaled my scent, leaving her gripping the water bottle with both hands between her legs with a dreamy expression plastered on her face.

"I mean after all, I'd do anything for a friend." I added almost to a whisper.

"Anything?" She asked with a lazy shutter.

"Anything." I replied, slowly leaning my face to hers. She merely closed her eyes with her lips slightly opened, slowly leaning herself towards me. Then she gave a lout "EEP!" as her body jolted backward and almost lifted her off the ground.

"Wha' in tarnation?" She question hysterically from the sudden cold contact on her neck. I was laughing so hard from her reaction before she realized I had taken the water bottle from her and got her back with it. She punched me in the shoulder as she scrounged her face.

"Ya' little snake. Ah' oughta give ya a good one for rilin' me up like that." She stated while shaking her fist in the air in front of me, as I was rubbing my shoulder that she punched. My only response was a smile before I playfully stuck my tongue out at her. She crossed her arms and scrounged her face once more.

"It ain't funny Vincent. Tuggin' at a mare's heart like that just ain't right." I became a little more serious and felt bad that I might have offended her. "Maybe I took my joke a little too far."

"Hey I'm sorry Applejack, I didn't mean no harm out of it. I was just playing with you, that's all." I apologized sincerely to her. She only held her arms together and raises one eyebrow at me.

"It's okay sugarcube, I'll just wait til we get back to the farm." She stated with a devious smile of her own. I merely gulped, not exactly sure if I should take that message as a reminder or a warning. I held the water bottle out to her with a nervous smile.

"Truce?" Her expression remained unchanged or unaltered as she takes the bottle from my hand, opens it, and drinks a small quantity before returning it to me with a satisfied grin.

"Here sugarcube, ya'll gonna need it more than me." She offered genuinely to me. I gladly took her offer and drank a good portion of its content while tasting a slight apple flavor on the bottle. As she made her way to the double doors, she turned around and said.

"By the way, ah' came out here to tell ya that everypony is gonna meet up downstairs for breakfast. So ah'll see ya then." She gave me a smile before she left the balcony, leaving me by myself. I followed suit to my room after a moment outside while enjoying my refreshing beverage.

I entered my room and found nopony inside the main room or sleeping on the bed. "Guess Rarity is up and about, maybe with the others." I figured as much and resumed to prepare to dine with everypony downstairs. I began searching my room for my shirts to only find nothing.

"…the hell? Where did my shirts go?" I retraced last night's event, from the time I came back from meeting Luna, entering my room and spending some 'quality time' with Rarity, and then going to bed.

"Hmm…they should be right here. But they're not." After consulting with myself, I hear a door click open, turning around to the source and spotting Rarity stepping out of the bathroom draped with a large towel around her body with her dripping wet mane, unstyled and unkept as it draped down her neck, back and shoulders. If retracing last night's moment didn't set me off, this sure as hell did. She sighed in relief and opened her eyes and saw me gaping at her and slightly shocked as she took a step back before realizing it was only me.

"Oh darling, you startled me for a moment there. Don't you know it's rude to surprise a lady as such?" She teased as she approached me and was ready to hug me before I stopped her in place. She looked at me in surprise and disappointment before I stated.

"I'm sorry milady for frightening you, but I should warn you that I'm a little…unsanitary at the moment." She blinked in confusion and then took a sniff of my bodies scent as she detected the scent of my hot sweat running off my body. She didn't grimace like I expected her to, but merely put a hand on her chin as if in thought.

"Well even though you have a strong odor and the like, there is strangely a scent of…pleasantry to it. I can't quite put my finger on it but it's somehow…bearable." This earned a shocked expression to spread on my face. I never would have expected those words from her. "My man odor smells pleasant to her? Well I suppose it's fine if she is okay with it." I ended in thought, seeing Rarity slightly spacing out as I leaned forward and kissed her cheek and approached the bathroom as Rarity held her cheek in her hand as I said.

"I'm gonna take a shower real quick, oh also…"I turned around to face Rarity as I resumed, "Have you seen my shirts by chance Rarity? I looked all over and can't find them." Rarity turned to face me with red cheeks as she replied.

"I'm having them washed as we speak. They should be done by the time you are out of the shower. I'll have them sent in here once they are done. Now go, in the shower you go darling~." She urged me in with a slight nudge of her soft hands on my chest. I chuckled and turned around while still facing her as I said.

"Alright, alright, I'm going. I'll see you once I'm done." I fully turned and entered the bathroom, closing the door behind me. As I entered the bathroom, I took noticed of the appliance and the setting of the room, there was a sink with a cupboard to my left with a large single mirror, a cabinet under the sink, and a toilet next to the sink with a decent sized tub with what looked like a Jacuzzi settings inside and a detachable shower head hanging above it. I went to turn on the shower and set it to a nice warm temperature, looked around for a towel, which I found in a cupboard, and finally got undressed and stepped into the shower and let the water wash over me, losing tension as my sweat and grime just rolled off along with my troubles for the moment. It felt relaxing to just let go, and the water felt so nice I could drift away if I wasn't standing.

After I washed myself off and got cleaned with some herbal fragrant soap and shampoo, I stepped out and wipe the steamed mirror with my towel and noticed I had a five o' clock fuzz going on. I need to buy myself some hygienic supplies before this gets out of hand." I dried myself off and slicked my hair back with my hand as my hair just waved back to its natural place. I stepped out with my pants on and towel on my shoulder as I noticed Rainbow Dash as she set something down on the foot of the bed. She turned to face me and gave me a grin.

"Sup Vincent, had a good workout?"

"Wait, how did you know I was working out?" I asked in clear confusion.

"I usually have morning workouts myself. I was flying around and stretching my wings as I saw ya doing some hangman's off the balcony. Though I never see anypony try it off a balcony but I figured you knew what you were doing. I brought your clothes by the way." She stated and then gestured to my bed where I saw my shirts neatly folded.

"There you are you bastards." I joked playfully as I reached out, grabbed my clothes and threw them on.

"That is more like it. Thanks Dash."

"No sweat dude. C'mon lets head downstairs. Everypony is waiting for us." I nodded in reply as we made our way out.

"So Vincent…" Dash started as we were on our way down the hall with a sly smile spreading across her face.

"How did you and Rarity sleep last night?"

"It was nice, it's been a while since I slept with…well, with anybody in general." I replied casually.

"I bet, after all the screaming and thumping you two were making. Hahaha." Dash busted in a teasing fit of laughter. I was beet red and glanced at Dash.

"Wait, you heard?" I asked in shock.

"Ha, I wouldn't be surprised if the whole castle heard her screaming. Colt you must have given her a night to remember you dog." She teased, nudging my arm with her elbow.

"Oh shit, well this isn't going to bode well."

"So you two tied the knot huh?" I shook my head blushing like hell.

"It's not like that, we're just friends. Honestly I would rather get to know somepony better before I rush to a relationship. Ya know?"

"Yeah, I feel ya. You don't wanna break a heart if things don't go right. But next time, ya better invite me you beast, hehe." She replied with a devious grin. Her response threw me off and I almost fell down the stairs we were descending.

"WH-WH-WHAT?!"

"Bwahahaha, I'm just messin with you. But hey, in all seriousness. I know you mean well, and you're a good guy and all, but don't hurt our friends. Okay?"

"Don't worry. I don't intend to do that. You girls mean a lot to me."

"Come on, no need to get sappy on me." Dash grinned.

"Well with that said, you have my promise." I raised my fist as she looked at me and we bumped fist.

We finally made our way downstairs and in the dining hall. Everypony was seated down including Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, who was sitting across from one another. All the girls turned to face us as they waved their hands and Celestia beckoned us to join and take a seat. Rainbow Dash flew and sit between Fluttershy and Rarity, respectively from left to right. I took the empty seat in front of Rarity, beside Celestia and Twilight.

"Good Morning Vincent, I hope the castle's rooms were comfortable and accommodating. How did you sleep?" Celestia asked after sipping on some tea.

"The room was fantastic, and you have a beautiful city as well." I replied.

"Oh? I take it you were sight-seeing then. I'm glad you enjoyed Canterlot's sight. Have you met my sister? Luna this is…"

"Vincent. Tis a pleasure to meet thou once more." Luna finished with her head resting gracefully on the back of her hands.

"The pleasure is all mine to meet you again Luna." I replied with a bow of my head.

"I see you two have already met then?" Celestia assumed with a smile.

"Indeed, we have taketh to the sky to enjoy our evening. As we watched our city, we were beckoned to thy castle by Vincent's wondrous singing voice." Luna stated with a growing smile. I saw the beaming expressions of everyponies face, and my face was red from all the attention that was soon to follow.

"Vincent, you sing?" Fluttershy asked with great interest.

"Well, from time to time. I usually sing to myself as a habit." I replied while slowly sinking to my chair.

"Oh oh oh, can we hear you sing Vivi? Pretty pretty pretty please." Pinkie Pie asked while bouncing on her chair.

"Pinkie Pie, settle down dear. We are at the table." Rarity scolded.

"Hehe, sorry about that." Pinkie apologized with a sheepish grin.

~SQUEE~

I looked all around me for that same noise I heard before.

"Okay seriously, can nopony hear that?" I asked.

"Hear what Vincent?" Twilight asked in confusion.

"That…That..." I sighed and merely gave up as I resumed, "never mind. Must be my imagination." After a moment, a waiter approached and placed a dish in front of me. It was pancakes with diced apple chunks on top with syrup with a side bowl of assorted fruits and a plate of golden-browned…hay? The waiter left as I looked around questioningly.

"Um…Is this hay by chance?" I asked all around.

"Of course it is silly." Pinkie replied after diving back into her plate.

"I don't think I can eat this." I stated.

"Have you ever had hay before?" Twilight asked. I shook my head in response. She merely reaches for a fork, took a small sample and held it towards me.

"Here, try it. It's pretty good." She urged. I looked at her in question, attempting to reject the offer.

"How do you know you don't like it if you've never tried it? Now open wide. Ahh." Twilight lectured as she was motioning the fork back and forth like a train.

"Twilight please, I'm not a chimmmg…" I was interrupted as she inserted the food within my mouth.

"Twihright wrat the hre…" I spoke in between chews and noticed the taste of the hay per bite.

~CRUNCH…CRUNCH…CRUNCH…CRUNCH~

I swallowed the substance and was surprised as hell by its taste.

"That was actually…not bad. Delicious actually." I complimented from my forced meal, and somehow not regretting it.

"See? Was that so hard?" Twilight teased with a knowing smile.

"I appreciate it Twilight, but what I was trying to say was in my world. Humans don't eat hay because it's not within our 'diet'. Think of it like eating paper or maybe pet food."

"Really? I didn't even consider that. If I knew that was the case I wouldn't have pushed it on to you." She said looking guilty from her previous action.

"It's okay Twilight, no harm no foul. In the end I actually enjoyed it. But just for future reference, maybe you should let me take it at my own pace, okay?" I assured her as I placed my hand on her shoulder to comfort her. She looked back at me and smiled.

"Thanks Vincent, next time I'll be more considerate." We then resumed with eating our meals as we made small talk.

"So Vincent, can you tell us about yourself?" Celestia asked with earnest interest.

"Sure thing. What would you like to know?" I replied.

"Anything you feel comfortable with. Let's start with your home. Where did you come from exactly?" She suggested.

"Well, I came from a planet called Earth, or more specifically I was from a city called Long Beach, which is in the State of California. It's not exactly the best, but it's sure as hell better than other places I've been through. The only thing that made it feel like home was my family. I am an only child who lived with only my mother."

"And what of thou father?" Luna asked.

"I never met him." I replied, earning a gasp from everypony.

"I don't even know if he is alive, or if he is okay or not. But after everything that has happened, I learned to push those thoughts aside to prepare for the future and walk in the present."

"Do you have any friends that you miss?" Pinkie asked.

"Only one and I considered him more as a brother than just a friend. His name is Shonato. Cool guy and all, and like me, he was missing something in his family. He lived with only his father, and when our families met, we ended up feeling like a single true family, even to the point he called my mom, 'mom', and I called his dad, 'dad'."

"That is simply beautiful." Rarity complimented.

"But how did you ever get involved with those uh…'Netherlings'? I mean, it sounds like you were building a steady life." Twilight asked.

"Well once those creatures arrived, things didn't turn so steady. In fact it took a complete turn for the worst."

"Dude, that movie was pretty sick! What did you think about it?" I asked my friend Shonato as we were walking back to my place from downtown. He shrugged his shoulders as he replied.

"It was a'ight. I mean I didn't expect to see a sequel, but hey it had Mickey Rourke so...yea, it was a good change of pace I guess." He opened a bottle of orange soda and started chugging it down. I swear, I think I'm regretting introducing the stuff to him, it was bad enough whenever he came over to raid my refrigerator for a bottle to himself. So now my mom, or our mom now, buys an extra one just for him for when he comes over. He's a pretty big dude, more built than me that's for sure, a little shorter than me though. He has a messy hairstyle that was brownish-red, brown eyes, caramel skin tone, wearing a dark crimson shirt and brown leather pants with a brown leather turncoat draping over his attire, his hands covered with dark crimson gloves with black tribal tattoos running up his arms, and sporting a black belt and black shoes.

He is one of my best bro's I know, even though he is quite the troublemaker, he is a pretty cool guy that means well, we just understand one another, and always got each others backs. After walking and talking, we finally came to my place, lucky it's close to downtown area.

"So I'll catch ya later man." Shonato bids.

"Alright, hey if you come over, be sure to bring your bass so we can jam out." I added as we stood at the front of my place.

"Alright man, sounds good. I'll be sure to bring it." He stated as we fist bumped and I turned to enter my place. I opened my gate and walked down the stoned walkway to the front patio, reached for my key in my pocket and opened the front door. I walked in and turned to close the door as I called out.

"Mom, I'm home. Sorry it took a while I…" I turned around to see the most bizarre sight in my life. A creature covered with ragged black stones towered before me. With yellow glowing eyes and shimmering purple crystals outlining its body in tiny shards, its head just barely touching the ceiling and I set my gaze down to see its bloodied stone claws that was dripping from its sharp tips. Then as my eyes saw where the blood came from, I felt sick to my stomach. I saw my own mother laying on her back in a pool of blood, her golden brown hair now tainted in her own blood, eyes faded to an empty and hollow blue hue and her body losing its lively tone as her life is no more. The only color on her poor decrepit form was the red of her blood spewing from her opened gashes, running from chest to gut, revealing her innards as she laid there with eyes wide open with her mouth gaping open as a streak of blood ran through the side of her lips and down her cheeks to the floor. I shuddered at the sight as my world shattered before me, leaving me in the shadows that reality casts over me. I cried as I stared into my mother's faded eyes in disbelief that this is now my reality.

"NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! YOU CAN'T BE DEAD!" I shouted in disbelief, refusing to come to terms and accepting what lied before front of me.

"MOTHER!" I cried out. As the creature gave a bellowing roar I heard the sound of my door behind me kicked open as Shonato rushed passed me, drawing his brass knuckles and without hesitation, he made a swift hook with a blinding trail of light that followed towards the creature.

~CRACK~

The giant whimpered in pain as its jaw was dislocated, leaving it hanging at an askew angle as Shonato delivered a flurry of golden punches to its gut, creating a divot that caved and cracked deeper per impact. The giant sprayed dust and rock particles from its dangling mouth before Shonato took a step forward to deliver the final blow. An uppercut that connected under its dislocated chin with a heavy ~clank~ before its head was ripped from its body and hit the ceiling before crashing back down on the carpet.

I looked at my friend who saved me, and noticed his brass knuckles changed to gauntlets that took shape of the upper part of a bear's maw on his left hand, and the lower part on his right hand. He didn't seem to care or take notice as they returned back to normal as he fluidly placed them back in their holster before walking to the kitchen as the creature fell backwards and began to crumble to small debris. On the bridge of pure astonishment and horror, gravity seemed to take over and pulled me back with my ass hitting the ground.

My mind drifted off as I continued to stare at my mother's corpse, nothing else matter nor deemed important to me as I grieved for the loss of one of my family that I had left in this world.

"VINCENT!" Shonato shouted in front of my face. I only looked at him without a response, or rather unable to respond.

"We need to get the hell outta here. Where is mom at?" My gaze fell to the ground, afraid to answer that question and admitting to reality of the event being true.

"Dude where is mom?" Shonato repeated, raising his tone in agitation. I only raised my hand slowly and pointed toward her lifeless form. His eyes followed my hand passed the mound of what remains from the rock giant and his eyes grew wide as he sees my mother.

"Oh shit." He said in a murmur. My eyes were fixed to the ground as we hear sirens from a great distance. Then I felt myself being picked up and urged out the door.

"We have to get out. We'll figure this out later. The sooner we are away from here the better." We made our way out and on the way to Shonato's placed as a question arose.

"Hey Shonato, how did you know I needed help?"

"I didn't." I was confused by his response.

"So why did you come back then?" He only raised a bottle of orange soda in response. I only shook my head in annoyance.

"You can be a dick sometimes, ya know that."

"And then some." He smirked. I couldn't find it in me to be humorous at the moment. He seemed to have picked it up as he placed a hand on my shoulder.

"Hey, I'm sorry about what happened to mom. I know it's tough for you right now man. But just know I'm here for ya man. You're not alone." I nodded, feeling only a little better, but was still hurting inside and knew this is going to take time to heal.

"Thanks bro." I said as we resumed our way back to Shonato's place. We finally arrived at our destination, and as we entered we were greeted by a brawny older man, wearing a plaid collared t-shirt, khaki pants with a brown leather belt and construction boots. He had shaggy brown/gray hair that met his neck and a rugged beard. He was incredibly built and stood at the passage of the entry with an adamant posture.

"Shonato Conners what took you so long? Your ETA was over half an hour ago. Where were you?" The older man questioned with an assertive tone. Shonato remained unfazed by his reprimanding as he casually replied.

"We had some trouble at Vincent's, dad." The man, whom was Shonato's father, looked at me and he grew a more concerned look as he asked.

"Is Vincent alright, what happened?" Shonato shook his head as he replied.

"He's pretty messed up right now dad. It's better to explain inside."

"Alright, come in you two. I have dinner ready so we can talk while we eat." He replied as he led us inside the house. The T.V. was on to the news channel as they displayed the incident that took place at my house, where the victim's body endured bizarre lacerations from an irregular sized claw. I only cringed at the sight and the thought of my mother and hearing her screams and pleas racing through my mind. I fell to my knees and cried as I pound the floor, wallowing in my own despair. Shonato walked with his dad away to the kitchen and explained what has happened. After a moment, all I heard was a shout from dad.

"THOSE SONS OF BITCHES!"

"Yo, keep it down dad. Anyways…" I couldn't hear any further from that point, and I honestly didn't care. I was trying to deal with my own problems. My mother was gone, and it was those Netherlings doing, and as far as I know... I'm not the only one. There may be others who are suffering and losing their loved ones as well.

"I swear to you mom, I'll get those bastards back, I swear it. For you and everyone out there who suffered like you have." I swore to myself as I was sobbing on the floor.

"And how far are you willing to go to keep that promise?" Dad asked from above me. I sat up and looked at him as I was now fueled with anger.

"As far as possible. I'll do whatever I can to help stop this, and make them all pay for what they have done." He merely looked at me before he shook his head.

"And how do you intend to accomplish this? You couldn't even fend off against one, and if you rush out to fight off an army of these things, it'll be nothing more than you rushing to your death."

"Then I'll train myself. No matter what, I will kill them all and they will suffer like they made my mother suffer. I swear it." We stared at one another, never faltering in our gaze as Shonato smiled and nodded in agreement. Then dad smiled and crossed his arms.

"Alright then. You want to start making a difference, then we'll help you, starting tomorrow early in the morning you will join Shonato and I in training. It'll be rigorous and relentless, so get your fill of peace for tonight. Because tomorrow marks the day you stepped up and took on responsibility." I nodded in response as he bid us to join for dinner before we called it a night to prepare for the days to come.

Author's Notes:

I would like to thank and give credit to a friend of mine who gave me special permission to use his character, Shonato, in my story. Truly an awesome character and an awesome friend both in and out of story, thanks dude. So now Vincent and Davian got to meet each other and came off to a rather rough start, but who knows where it will lead. And now we end this chapter in learning more in-depth about Vincent's past, his motive towards facing off the Netherlings, and the steps he takes to where he finally acquires the vial and leading us to this present time and point. Stay tuned everypony until next chapter, for there is more to come. Remember please R&R and let me know what you think so far on how this is all coming along. This is Swiftriff signing out. Keep it Jammin'.