After they ventured through seemingly endless tunnels for a few minutes, the only source of light being little holes in the ceiling in random intervals, Sephiroth whispered to Max. “I get that you said they were supposed to be a race from a video game. But what are they doing in Equestria? Are they a common existence, the similarities being coincidental, or what?”

“No. This is the first I’ve heard of them being in an Equestria,” Max whispered back, continuing to hum some sort of song.

She hadn’t really anything to say so she just listened to the somewhat familiar song. It irked her memories but wasn’t enough to bring to mind where she heard the tune before. But for some reason it reminded her of her time with Nightmare. Which caused her to frown and lower her gaze to the ground in front of her. Nightmare was still with her possessed sister. Could she really just build a home and lay low while her former best friend was likely being brainwashed again?

So lost in her thoughts she didn’t really notice that the tunnel had widened significantly and that they had come across a few smaller ones that branched off. In addition to the holes in the ceiling, which actually had grids in them now, there were now torches on the walls.

“Dangit, now I have that song stuck in my head,” Max said, pulling out a phone and some headphones.

Sephiroth didn’t notice until one of the guards raised his glaive in alarm to point it at the man. “What is that?!” This caused her to look over and frown even more. Something told her that she should know what the things were that Max had in his hands but she just couldn’t draw it from her memories.

“Just something from my universe that plays music,” Max explained, tapping something and a song started playing.

The guard looked surprised but pulled his glaive back in a kind of ready stance before simply ignoring the two beings again. The woman of the two directed her gaze back to the front and examined the leader of the group. And for the third time she had this feeling that she should be familiar, but again she drew a blank.

“Wait, Freya is their leader?” Max whispered to her.

The woman stared uncomprehendingly at the other human and whispered back. “How do you know her name? I don’t recall her introducing herself.”

“Video game. She joins the player’s party in Final Fantasy nine.”

Sephiroth looked to the leader and then back again. “So she looks like this Freya character. But that doesn’t have to mean that she really is her.”

“There’s one way we can find out.” Max raised his voice and asked, “Is your name Freya, by any chance?”

As one the whole group of rats froze. For a few moments none of them did so much as twitch until the female in front of their group slowly turned around, her expression unreadable. “How can you know of that name?”

“It’s a name from a story where I am from. The character that was described sounds like how someone would describe you.”

Surprisingly a bright blush covered the leader’s face and she averted her gaze. “Flattery won’t help you. But I must admit that I was not aware of the fact that her legends spread beyond our borders.” She took a minute to calm herself and then continued. “Freya is the patroness of all dragon knights and said to be the very origin of our profession. The history of our kind states that she was one of the first of us in this world.”

Sephiroth nodded and tried to pry a little more information out of the rat. “So you designed your armor with hers in mind?”

“That is true, yes. Now stop stalling.” The leader turned around again and they began to walk again.

Max leaned over to Sephiroth and whispered, “I think if we get out of this I’m gonna show her a good time.”

In response the woman just groaned and slapped a palm to her forehead.

“Oh come on, you know I’m a horndog. I haven’t had any in a month and before you summoned me I watched my fiance dominate an alternate of my previous wife! My mind has been in the gutter this entire time and I have kept a lot from leaving my mouth.”

“Look. Do whatever you want, but do you have to tell me every single time? In case you didn’t notice. I’m not comfortable with this topic!” A slight blush had crept on her face despite her attempts to prevent it and she groaned again. “Thanks for the mental images by the way!” She spat with enough sarcasm to draw the attention of several rats.

“At least you know why my pants have been tented all this time.”

“What are you talking ab-” She couldn’t avoid lowering her gaze when he had said it and jumped back so forcefully that she accidently slammed one of the guards into the wall. “What the FUCK?!”

The guard who was launched into the wall just slumped on the spot, out like a light, while the others sprang to action raising their weapons again.

“I’m just glad I was downwind from you when I was a gryphon.”

Completely ignoring the rat’s angry glare, Sephiroth fixed one of her own at the man. “Seriously?! The whole time?! Even when I tried to comfort you?! Oh gosh, I embraced you like this?!”

“No. In fact it came back during the fight with the guard when I glanced your way.”

Her glare grew fierce before devolving into a sick expression. “You get turned on by me?! You call me your sister and get. Turned. On?!”

He raised his hands defensively. “Hey, whoa. It was the guard you had just put to sleep, not you. He was completely ripped, but didn’t have too much muscle.”

With a sigh, half born out of exasperation and half from relief, she lifted her hand in the direction of the unconscious guard and wrapped him in the green aura of her healing spell. That caused the other rats to attack. At least six glaives hissed through the air to stop the woman. But all they hit was air after she began to glow red and vanished.

What she didn’t anticipate was the cold steel she felt against her neck when she appeared in front of the guard on the floor. The leader had moved almost as fast and had awaited her approach. “If I were you, I would think my next action through very carefully.”

Sephiroth locked her gaze with the leader and slowly lifted an eyebrow. “I admit I’m impressed. But all I wanted was to heal him in case I somehow managed to hurt him.”

The eyes that were staring into her own were sharp and intelligent and seemed to judge her. After a few tense moments the blade of the axe part of the halbert withdrew from her throat. “You are the Angel, are you not? The one the ponies call Angel of Destruction.”

After making sure that the guard on the ground wasn’t hurt Sephiroth just turned around and took her place in the middle of the group again, not answering the leader.

At first the leader seemed like she would demand an answer, but then she just picked up the guard herself and slung him over her back, piggyback style. His weapon was collected by another guard and soon they were walking again.

From there it didn’t take them long before the tunnel gave way to a gigantic cavern which actually contained what looked to be a whole city in it. Complete with distinct buildings of varying sizes and shapes, all stretching out from a huge one in the center that was unmistakably the castle. As they neared the outer limits of the city they could see that the buildings were out of plain, beige stone, which was smoothed to an extent that the individual pieces weren’t visible until you looked for them. Almost too normal sounds for a city reached them and they could even see a few more rat people on the flat land surrounding it.

“Wow. You’re like this universe’s version of dwarves,” Max commented, nodding in approval.

The rats just kept to their pace and didn’t react to Max. As they closed the distance to the city, most of the people that noticed their group either scurried away or gave them a wide berth. Those that stayed behind openly stared at the hairless beings that were escorted into their city.

The leader of their group didn’t take kindly to being slowed down by the gapers and any rat, that hadn’t thought of clearing their path before, certainly did after being subjected to her glare. Murmurs and pieces of conversations flowed around them but not enough to make out anything in particular. As they advanced further there was a noticeable change in regards of clothing. While the rats in the outskirts barely wore enough to be considered decent, the more they neared the castle, that changed to real clothes at first and to fine attire later on.

At the castle itself the most prominent wear was armor worn by a multitude of guards, most of them armed with glaives and standing around… guarding. Whereas a few single individuals possessed an obviously custom-made armor, strangely all of them having halberds as weapons, seemingly marking them as some kind of elite.

They only stopped once they passed a building on the castle ground where the leader of their group handed the guard on her back over to some unarmored rats, which proceeded to carry him into said building. The infirmary, if Sephiroth guessed right. After that they continued on through a big gate leading them into the castle itself and into a rather plain entrance hall. No expensive decorations, not even carpets on the ground. The single prominent feature were two statues that stretched all the way to the ceiling. The one on the right looked a lot like their current leader, which made Sephiroth believe that this was Freya. The one on the right was clad in a similar attire but instead of it being coat like, it kept more to the form of the one who was wearing it and was completed by leg guards in form of trousers. Both of them hefting two gigantic halberds which doubled as pillars for the ceiling.

She would have liked to stay and examine the statues further but their escort kept pushing forward. They paused at two big doors of the same plain stone like the buildings of this city, their entourage standing at attention while the leader of their group talked to a guard next to the door. The woman noticed that this guard too held a halberd at his side. It made sense that the throne room was guarded by the elite, but what did strike her as odd was that only one guard stood before the door.

A minute later the doors opened and they were ushered in by their escort, but stopped again right as they passed the threshold. The throne room followed the very spartan theme in interior design and as such only contained a few featureless columns and a raised dais which held the throne. The only sign of luxury was the red carpet covering only the stairs in front of the throne itself, not even stretching any further than the dais. The throne was as plain as the rest of the castle and - to Sephiroth’s aggravation - empty.

She almost growled but then she noticed movement in front of her. At the foot of the dais stood a rather studious looking rat, compete with thick glasses and a clipboard, well without an actual clip on it. This was where the leader of their group headed to and another hushed conversation took place before the rat with glasses nodded and left through a door on the right of the throne. Then there was silence.

Over the course of the next ten minutes Sephiroth grew more and more annoyed. She crossed her arms in front of her chest and tapped her foot on the ground impatiently.

“I like this guy’s style! yeah, it makes him seem a bit more important than he really is, but us waiting here means that he’s more informal than what I thought,” Max whispered as he leaned over. “Not to mention he doesn’t bother with ostentatious decorations.”

Through clenched teeth the woman answered. “I never was very patient. And it seems I have grown used to people not making me wait.” She sighed, annoyed. “Am I that stuck-up that I can’t even wait for a few minutes anymore?”

“It’s just that you would rather be doing something other than waiting. I’m the same way, so I’m trying to wade through part of Equestria’s budget while I wait.”

“I just feel so arrogant for being affronted by waiting.” Her fists rhythmically clenched and relaxed again, making the leather of her gloves groan. “I’m almost inclined to ask for a little sparring while we wait. But I think they wouldn’t take too kindly if we would begin to fight in their throne room.”

“Well, you could pretend I said something that angered you and I could use that to turn it into a training session,” He offered, still whispering. “You’d be able to hit me.”

Sephiroth really considered his offer but the decision was taken from her when the door to the right of the throne opened again, revealing a rat not clad in what she would have expected from a king, but a simple armor. The only thing depicting him as the king was that he wore a simple crown in place of a helmet. He looked more like a fierce warrior than a noble and was even missing half of one ear. Scars littered what was visible of his hide beneath his armor, which creaked with the flexing of the bulk of his muscles under it. With no sign of hesitation or a limp he headed for the throne but didn’t take place in it. Instead he opted to stay in front of it and examined the newcomers as if awaiting something.

As if taking that as his cue, Max walked forward out of the circle of guards and bowed. “It is an honor to meet you. I am Max Caulfield a visitor from a different universe, much like how your race isn’t native to this planet.”

Sephiroth hesitated for a moment but swallowed her pride and followed Max’s example. “And I am Sephiroth. But I fear that I don’t have to say anything else for myself.”

The king, on his part, continued to examine the two, but a little smile on his face showed that he was pleased by their greeting. When he spoke, the depth of his voice surprised the woman. “I am Fratley. Leader of my kind but you already knew that.” His gaze fixed the silver haired human first. “If I’m not mistaken, you wear a few titles, but as you refrained from naming a single one of them I take it that you don’t want them. Angel of Destruction, Whore of Chaos-”

“Insult my sister again and I will slap you. Those were bestowed on her by the creature possessing Celestia,” Max warned, snapping his gaze up to lock on the king’s.

He bellowed with laughter for a moment before he continued. “Bane of the Sun and Companion of the Moon, Conqueror of Dragons and - my favorite title, I must admit - Godmother of all Children.” Sephiroth’s eyes widened at the last one, completely caught off guard and unable to say something to that.

“Heh, wasn’t expecting that last one, I must say.” Max stood up fully and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

Again the king’s laughter bellowed through the room. “I take it that she herself didn’t know of this title. It’s one rarely used in these days and nearly unknown to the ponies, due to the efforts of the sun. It was chaos himself that created it before he decided to follow his love. Every race knows of it but last I heard we burmecians are the only ones directly using it. So, in a way, she is the godmother of every living burmecian.”

Floored was a way too weak word to describe how Sephiroth felt right now. Still too shocked to do anything but stare at the king.

“Well, it seems I overestimated how formal you were even after I lowered my expectations. You see, I call a different Equestria my home and have... basically been railroaded into being the sole ruler.” Max sighed and continued, “I kinda wish you were in my universe, now.”

“We burmecians tend to be straightforward but a lot of us can be very thick headed. Just ask the Sun. We refused to die for almost a thousand years now. Honor and a strong arm are what we value the most. But enough of that. What brings you to my lands?”

“We were trying to find a place for Sephiroth to build a home, maybe even a town of those who don’t like Celestia. In my universe, the valley above this city is untouched by everything but squirrels and other woodland critters.”

The king clapped his hands in front of himself. “I already stated that she is considered the godmother of all burmecians, so she will be welcome to stay. Maybe we even could begin to expand to the surface with her being here. The stories tell of her strength and that she could rival the Sun. So we won’t have to fear her anymore.” A sad sigh escaped the great warrior. “You have to understand that we weren’t meant to life underground. But we were forced to in order to hide from the Sun’s watchful eye.”

Sephiroth finally managed to gather her thoughts for a whisper. “Discord… did this? He…” She couldn’t begin to describe or even understand what she felt in this moment. The one she thought betrayed her, the one she hated for all those years in stone, the one she was dead set to kill... the one she found she still loved. Had tried to redeem her name and took his life to follow her into whatever afterlife they believed in here. She felt an overwhelming urge to cry, to scream to the heavens until her voice gave out, anything to somehow create an outlet for the pain that overtook her, that burned her insides to ashes.

Max glanced at her and stepped a bit closer, putting his arm around her shoulder as he whispered, “Don’t bottle it up. No one here will judge you for showing emotion or crying because Discord gave you one last gift before he died. I’ll even put shields around us if you want.”

Slowly Sephiroth shook her head. Her voice still not more than a whisper. “C-can we just… leave for a while? I… can’t in here.”

Max nodded and turned back to the king, raising his voice to normal levels, “I’m sorry, but would Sephiroth and I be able to leave to somewhere private?”

A trace of confusion entered the king’s features. “You are free to come and go as you please. But I admit that I don’t understand. Over eight centuries have passed since then. I can not say that I know what it is like to be immortal but wouldn’t that be enough time to move on?”

“She learned of his death only within the last day. The fact that he did any of this is a huge shock.”

Sadness entered his eyes and he waved them off with his hands. “Then go. I’ll make sure that you will be welcomed here when you return. I would offer a room at the castle but I have a hunch that she won’t want anyone around.”

Max nodded and lit his hand, letting Sephiroth close her eyes before he teleported them to the plateau where Canterlot should have been.

Sephiroth didn’t move for a few moments and even when she did it was just to whisper again. “Max? Could it track us if it were present when you teleport?”

“If it was conscious when I teleported, yes. But with that hit, the only one who could’ve stayed conscious would be you or Discord.”

The following nod was barely recognizable as such. “Then we may have to knock it out again… I would ask you to leave, but you’ve already shown me that I’m not able to hurt you. But maybe… you should be prepared.”

“That’s why I’m suppressing my magical signature with my powers and limiting how much I use magic.”

A single tear ran down the side of her face and instantly the air cried with power. Visible in a display of frozen drops that fell out of thin air. Her face contorted in agony and something seemed to build deep within her. Something that could level the mountain they were standing on and was growing still.

Max wrapped both arms around her and let her cry, not paying attention to the stones that fell on him as he tried to comfort her.

Cracks began to form over the side of the mountain as more tears spilled from her eyes. She lifted her gaze to the sky and in one great wail of despair let it all burst from within her. Her power easily pulverising everything around them, grinding it into nothingness.

“Let it out. I’ll still be here when you’re done. Just let it all out,” Max whispered in her ear.

With a second wail, they were swallowed in a blinding sphere of power that strained against an unseen force to break loose.

For the better part of an hour the sphere shone from the mountain, not once wavering, until it eventually began to dim, then flicker and ultimately fade away. Revealing two figures, only one of which was upright figure and the other one, the taller of the two, hanging limply on his shoulders.

“Shh, there you go. Let it out,” Max whispered again.

Sephiroth’s face was hidden behind her hair but her soft sobbing told enough. Unfortunately her assumption was right as they found themselves surrounded by hundreds of armored pegasi, commandeered by none other than Celestia herself. This time she was covered in a thick, golden armor and hefted a ridiculously huge warhammer in her magic.

“You, any of you. Do you really think that this is what an evil creature looks like?” Max asked, looking around at the individual ponies. “What do you see? A monster with no heart, or a mare that had her heart ripped out by a monster?”

The pegasi showed no sign that they even heard Max at all and Celestia just grinned. “Do you really think that I would allow my little pawns being turned against me?” In a more serious tone she yelled. “The demon is weakened. Seize her!”

A harmless shock wave of white magic raced outwards from Max and he gained a ball of magic around him, releasing a fraction of his full might for everyone to see. He turned his rage-filled gaze to her and the sphere of power grew to consume the tips of the spears held by the pegasi. “She may be, but I am still at my full potential, Daymare Flare. I want nothing more than to rip you out of Celestia’s body and consume your essence. But. I will leave you for my sister to take care of.” He turned back to focus on the pegasi again. “Stay out of this fight among gods, or you will be caught in the crossfire. Only fools think themselves able to best beings of our caliber.”

A manic laugh rang through the area. “You just don’t get it. Speak all you want, they will engage you anyways. If you don’t want to kill them all, then you will have to surrender.”

Another wave burst forth from Max, this time disorienting most of the guards and making them look around in confusion. “Your princess doubts your loyalty. Enough that she would rather bend you to her will with Black Magic, than let you think for yourself! I ask you once more to look at this woman and think: is this a monster, or just someone wanting to be left alone?”

Despite her shattered control over the guards, the princess continued to grin. She didn’t even have to say something as shouts rose from the ranks of the pegasi. “Lies!” “Blasphemy!”

Celestia donned a mask of concern. “Troops, retreat. They won’t hesitate to end your lives.”

“Listen to her, then. Follow that parasite blindly and close your eyes and ears to what happens around you. But know this: we will show you only mercy.”

Cries of outrage were his answer but they followed the order to retreat, leaving the three alone. Celestia smirked at Max. “Well played. But eventually I will get her.” Without waiting for an answer, she teleported away.

Max glanced down at Sephiroth and noticed that she was unconscious. He sighed and said, “You might transfer to Sephiroth, but as long as she thinks of me as her sister, you will never win.” Tightening his grip on the woman and resting his chin on her head, he set them down on the side of the mountain. “Sleep and dream of wondrous things, sis. I’ll remain here to fend off your bad dreams until you awaken. ....After I get another outfit on.”