A swirling red portal tore into existence again, Kat rushing through. The mare looked around, trying to find her friend. “Sephy! Where are you?!” Kat groaned, rubbing both hooves on her head. “I was so stupid. She was acting way too weird to be normal. And Sephiroth would never kiss me… though she is rather good at it.” She slapped herself. “No, bad Kat, this is not the time for that.”

Kat found herself in a dark and humid catacomb with cells on one side of the hallway, closed off with heavy iron bars, but what was the most disturbing was the smell that hit her full on. A smell she knew more than she’d liked and this place was practically overflowing with it. The metallic smell of blood. When she whirled around to find the source, her eyes fell on one cell a little down the hall, widening in shock. The floor in front of the cell was crimson with the same fluid she smelled.

“Oh mon Dieu, Sephy please don’t you die on me,” she pleaded to herself and gallopped down the hallway only slowing down when she threatened to slip. She came to a halt in front of the cell and the sight took her breath away.

The whole cell was painted red, fresh blood still dripping from the ceiling. In the back there was a figure, chained to a bar on the wall that was so heavily enchanted that it glowed through several layers of fluid and already hardened life essence. The figure itself was dripping with blood, too. Limply hanging from the bar, crimson stained hair hiding her face.

“Sephy,” Kat said with pure shock and fear on her face. “Dear dieu what did they do to you?” She ripped the cell door off its hinges and raced into the cell. “Just hold on, I’ll get you out of here.”

The woman on the wall didn’t respond, the only sign that she had to be alive a barely noticeable sway of the hair in front of her face, showing that she was breathing, albeit shallowly.

Kat flicked her hoof, severing the chains the held the bar up. Sephiroth’s body crashed to the floor, save for her upper body which Kat caught deftly. “Oh Sephy, I’m so sorry,” Kat said, fighting back tears.

Hanging limply in the ponies forehooves, the only movement that could be noticed was that, the moment Kat had touched her, her lips had started moving, if barely. Her voice seemingly lost long ago.

“Come on,” Kat groaned, dragging the woman out of the cell gently. “Let’s get you out of here and get you healed.”

The ghost of a whisper reached Kat’s ears, barely even recognizable as words. But it seemed to repeat itself over and over again, so she was able to piece together what was being said with some difficulties. It sounded more like a broken record then anywhere near the boastful and strong voice she knew.

“Please… don’t touch me… leave me alone… please…”

“Not until you’re safe,” Kat said after piecing together what Sephiroth was saying. “I failed you once, I won’t let it happen again.”

Regardless of what Kat said, the woman on her back just kept on whispering her plea. She sounded so hollow, almost dead in its own way. Kat shook her head, walking down the dark, dank corridor. “There has to be some place around here I can get you patched up safely.”

They came to the end of the corridor, barred with what would be more fitting in a high security bank. A giant, heavy door of a tresor, glowing with its own set of heavy enchantments.

Kat sighed. “Of course. Enchanted door.” She gently put her hoof against the door and pushed. “Hmm…” Her hoof pulled away and she placed Sephiroth on the floor gently. She stood up on two legs and got into a stance, pulling back a foreleg. With a grunt, she shot the hoof forward, slamming into the door. There was silence… then the door deftly fell back, slamming loudly against the floor. “And that’s that.”

The woman had stopped her whispering when she was laid down but did not move in the slightest, not to protect herself, nor to cover her more intimate parts. When the door crashed to the ground it caused the floor to tremor under its weight and it wasn’t long after that that shouts could be heard echoing through the dungeon.

Kat set back down on all fours, levitating Sephiroth onto her back again and trotted off.

A few moments later they came across some more normal looking doors, heavy dungeon doors, but still simple doors rather than giant tresors. While the shouting in the distance had ceased, and the woman had begun to whisper again.

“Geeze, how many doors are in this place?” Kat muttered to herself. She flicked her hoof to the side, causing the doors to slam open.

It took three more doors of varying thickness until the hallway turned into a bigger room. By the looks a gateway, connecting the dungeons with the castle itself. There were three more cells on one side of it, likely for drying-out or some troublemakers in bars, and a desk on the other. A desk currently occupied by a smirking changeling king. “Ahh, Miss Shifter. Welcome back to this humble abode.” He sat there and just grinned at the mare, leaning back in the chair as if he had not a single care to give. Then he tsk’ed. “I fear I can not allow you to take my little plaything with you. We were having so~ much fun.” His grin widened even further.

Kat didn’t even pay him any mind. She just began walking by, not even looking at him. Though she did tighten her telepathic grip on Sephiroth.

The king followed them with his eyes, chuckling darkly, before, with a flash, Kat’s hooves became one with the ground up to her middle joint. “Now, now. That’s just rude, ignoring me.”

“If you want to live, then you will undo my legs and leave,” she said simply.

“Oh, you can leave anytime you want. I won’t dream of standing in the way of gravity.” Suddenly the whole room turned upside down with him standing on the former ceiling. “Whoops. My bad. But I was serious you know? I just can not allow you to take your cargo with you.”

“I don’t care if you’re serious or not, you Discord knock off,” Kat said with no emotion in her voice. “If you dare try to take her, then I will destroy you.”

The god of chaos laughed loudly. “‘Discord knock off’? Well you might be right there.” He then licked his chops. “His heart certainly was quite the taste. And imagine the little playthings face when she thought he was the one to betray her! Priceless!”

Before the changeling could react, Kat grabbed his left arm and tore it right off his body, a horrifying ripping sound echoing down the hall.

The changelings grin was back in full force. “Oh, ouch. What will I do? The horror.” He chuckled crazily and waved the stump where his arm has been only for a new one to pop into existence. “Come on. I’m chaos. I’m beyond the physical plane.”

“You’re also a pathetic waste of space that isn’t even worth my time with your exceptionally weak powers. You’ll never be as great as Discord, that much is obvious. Now, out of my way before you join the rest of your kind I’ve killed.”

The room turned right side up again and the king stood in front of Kat, almost lovingly stroking her cheek. “If you kill me, and that’s a big if, you’d upset the balance of this world leading to its ultimate demise. So I would advise against it. But who am I to tell the great gravity queen what she should or should not do. Go ahead. I don’t fear death.”

“This wouldn’t be the first world I’ve destroyed, nor will it be the last,” she told the chaos lord, looking at him completely serious. “I have no problem dooming it and it’s citizens to an untimely end. I would rather not, but if it comes to that then so be it. Now, out. Of. My. Way.”

For the first time the grin on the face of the king vanished. “You’re serious, aren’t you?” Only to return with a vengeance. “As much as I’d love to see that, it isn’t worth it for a simple little plaything. Celestia be damned.” With another flash, Kat’s legs were free again. “But still, I would advise against going through the castle. Not that I think anything can stop you and I certainly would enjoy the view, but for besting me without a fight, I’ll bring you everywhere you want to be.”

“You want to reward me? Fine, you stay away from Sephiroth for the rest of your existence and you never go near her again. This is not negotiable.” With that said, she started walking into the castle.

The changeling sighed in exasperation. “Give them a little and they try to take it all. Nope, no deal.” He clapped his hooves together and the floor under Kat’s hooves reached up to swallow them whole, only for them to appear in a large, and seemingly fresh, crater on the side of a mountain, which Kat recognized as where Canterlot should be.

Kat was visibly shaking now, but not from the sudden transportation. She gently set Sephiroth down and then reverted to her human form. “You wanna play games with me, changeling?” she asked to the open air, burning energy forming around her. “Fine then, let’s play.”

In an instant, Kat reappeared in the air above Everfree City. She took a deep breath and bellowed in the Royal Canterlot Voice, “CELESTIA!! GET YOUR FAT FLANK OUT HERE WITH YOUR ANNOYING PET!”

Predictably this caused a huge panic in the city below her. But before any other thing could happen the air in front of Kat began literally frowning, as two serpentine eyes and a mouth appeared out of nowhere. “I take offence to that. Here I try being nice and you start shouting. Fine, I’ll give you this, too.” Between them a full and new outfit just like Sephiroth’s original one appeared. “Take it and leave. I’m getting tired of your face.”

Kat stared at the being for a moment before lifting up her hand. In it, an orb of red energy built up, glowing brightly. Before he could question it, she flung the orb into the city below, exploding on contact with the ground. The blast took up several city blocks, leaving a giant, smoking crater with the ponies screaming in terror. Kat’s eye bore into the chaotic being, showing rage and power.

“I said it was nonnegotiable, as in you don’t get a choice in the matter.” She floated slowly towards the being. “Your kind think you’re invincible when I have proven that incorrect time and time again. You have no power over me, you are weaker than me, and you will fall before me if you continue along this path. I will rip your power from you and crush you underneath my boot. If you think any of this is a farce then I dare you to strike me down.” With every word she had spoken, cracks grew larger and larger before, making it seem as if the entire city were breaking apart.

“Killing innocents now to convince me?” The disembodied frown turned to a grin. “You know that their lives couldn’t concern me less, do you? In addition to that I already told you that I do not fear death. Quite the contrary. I lived far too long.” Slowly a body faded into existence to match the grin. “So go ahead, kill me. Take my powers or just keep on killing those dainties down there.” Finally the grin vanished again like a crumbling mask, revealing a tired look in the green eyes. “I stopped caring centuries ago.”

“Then you will receive a punishment worse than death.” She instantly stabbed two fingers directly into his skull and poured her own energy in. “I place a curse upon you that I learned long ago. Your powers will never be at full strength again, your mind will never allow you to feel enjoyment again, and your life will live on until this planet is dead gone and even beyond.” She yanked her fingers back, wiping the blood off. “And as for those innocents, you can go explain to them how the successor to the ‘hero’ of Equestria allowed them all to die when it should have been him.”

Terrified the king reared back with wide eyes. “No! NO! You can’t do this to me! I’m Chaos, I don’t follow rules by nature! YOU. CAN. NOT. CONTROL. CHAOS!” With that he tried to rip reality apart around the human in front of him.

“And I am she who controls one of the very forces that allow you to exist.” She poured energy into her fist and socked him right in the jaw, causing him to plummet into the city below. “When you mess with people’s lives, you will have to face the consequences. Now ‘enjoy’ your life, you connard!”

The city under her was barely recognizable as one anymore. Thick plumes of smoke rose from where the cracks had caused fires to break out. Shouts of terror and despair filled the air while a completely overwhelmed guard tried to evacuate the citizens and rescue their fellow ponies out of collapsed houses. For them it was like the world was ending for no reason.

Kat looked down upon the utter destruction, her cold eyes glaring without any remorse. She slowly turned away from it all, finding herself back upon the mountain where Sephiroth lay. She gently landed on the destroyed rock and walked over to her friend. Kat noticed that she was still awake, yet muttered to herself.

“Shh, sleep now,” she said softly, gripping Sephiroth’s shoulder tightly. The other woman flinched, but was out cold the next second. Kat took out a green crystal and broke it over her friend, the shards healing all of the physical wounds. Looking up at the dreary sky above, Kat made the decision to hide Sephiroth in one of the nearby caves, starting a fire within to keep the other woman warm.

As the fire grew, Kat began scratching out a letter on a piece of parchment that she had on her. Once it was written, she left it and the fresh set of clothes near Sephiroth and started for the cave exit. She stopped there, looking back for a moment with tired eyes.

“Maybe one day, one day we can see each other again. But I know it won’t be any time soon.” Another portal appeared, Kat stepping through and disappearing entirely from the world.

Awaking was not really a big affair. One second she was enveloped in darkness the next she was awake, staring into what seemed to be a dying campfire. Confused she blinked. When did she go camping? She had to forfeit finding an answer to that question when she shivered suddenly, just now realizing that she was cold. Casting her gaze around she found her trusty old outfit and a note, but ignored the latter for now. She was about to put her clothes on when she noticed that she was covered in blood, hardened long ago. Disgusted she scrunched up her face and laid down the outfit again to go to a free place in the cave. She reached her hand up, summoning a block of ice out of thin air, only to encase it in a ring of fire, which made it melt and created a makeshift shower. Sure, the water was cold, but it did its job and she scrubbed herself clean. She couldn’t remember where the blood had come from, but she really hoped that it was not any pony’s. Had she gone berserk or something? That would explain why she didn’t remember anything.

Being done with the shower left her an even stronger shivering mess, but she could do something against it. Focusing her magic she let herself be swallowed by a pillar of fire only for her to come out of it completely unharmed. Not even a single singed hair, but completely dry. Going over to her clothes again, she lifted them only for something to fall out of the leather. Curiously she reached a hand to the hilt of a sheathed dagger, glinting in the twilight of the cave, but stopped right before she could touch it. It was his token, she realized and flinched back, almost making it a full jump.

Her heart was racing and panic clawed at her very being, while she found herself shivering for an entirely different reason. Confused as to why, she shook the feeling away and opted to get dressed instead.

Finally not being naked anymore, she sighed in relief. She was always wary of being nude but now that it was gone, she noticed that she had felt absolute terror at being exposed. Flexing her hands a little bit left her confused again. The gloves, the whole outfit for that matter, felt new. The leather stiff and not broken in anymore. Could… could everything have been a bad dream?

That was when her eyes landed on the dagger and note again. No, it was no dream. Then the token wouldn’t be here. Stalling her time she looked around the cave. That’s right. She was in the castle with… Kat.

“Kat?” She waited for a minute before calling out again. “Kat, are you there?” When she didn’t receive an answer for several more minutes she tried to recall what had happened, only to be met with a flood of pain and utter fear. She gripped her head in a vain attempt to lessen the agony shooting through her very essence. An ear splitting scream tore itself from her throat and she collapsed onto her knees, bending over to make herself as small as possible.

The attack lasted for what felt like an eternity before finally subsiding. Slowly she managed to stand up again, shaking like a leaf. “What the…?” Her cheek felt damp and wiping at it with her hand revealed tears. “Why… was I crying?”

The note came to mind again and she finally took it. Maybe it could explain what had happened. Wiping at her eyes again to clear her vision she began to read.

‘Dear Sephy,

By the time you read this, I will already have been long gone. I know you’ll be wondering why I left, but… you’ll find out soon enough. I did something terrible, much more so than I had ever intended. I know you’ll hate me for it; for leaving so soon and for doing such terrible things. You’ll probably never want to see me again when you find out and I couldn’t blame you for it.

This is not the first terrible thing I’ve done, nor will it be the last. It would be safer for you to stay away from me from now on, for your own safety as well as my own if you saw what I do on a daily basis. I want you to know that no matter how much you despise me, I will always consider you my friend. Please, live a long and fulfilled life, that’s all I ask of you.

With love, your friend,
Kat Shifter

P.s. I left some instructions for you on the back of this note so you can fight that Nightmare or whatever that’s affecting Max. It should be thorough enough you should have no problem getting through the Void.’

Sephiroth stared at the lines as if they were the greatest riddle in the world. Turning the note around she tried to find some kind of answer, but found none. “That’s it?” Confused she read the note again but found nothing more than in her first try. “She couldn’t even write what she has done? She… wouldn’t even stay to take responsibility?” The woman hesitated and looked to the entrance of the cave. What could have been so terrible?

Almost in trance she went to exit the cave, leaving the dagger behind. She recognized the crater that was in front of the cave and instantly knew where she was. Then she noticed the smoke over the Everfree forest. Dread filled her as she neared the edge of the platform she was standing on staring down upon the still smoldering remains of Everfree City.

“No.” She shook her head in denial. “No. That’s-” Hastily she rose the note again to read it. Her hands began to shake and she clenched her teeth in rage, her frame enveloped in a bright red aura, as was the wing that sprouted out of her back hard enough to actually knock some feathers loose, which ignited and burned away the moment they left her wing. “You won’t just get away with this.”

She launched herself with enough force to cause the piece of the platform she was standing on to explode. She flew with a speed suffice to break the sound barrier several times but instead of causing a loud boom the air in front of herself just burned away, letting her slice through a vacuum left behind. Her entire purpose was to reach the burmecian castle and find the gem embedded into the wall of one of its rooms. She roared soundlessly in rage, there being no air to carry her voice.

It took her a little time to find the valley again and she did a little math from where she had fallen into their tunnels to where they had taken her. Instead of entering the tunnels again she burst directly for the mountain where she thought the cavern would be and slammed into the ground at full speed. Not a second later she emerged into the cavern of the burmecian city, descending on it like a meteor. The gates to the castle were, lucky for them, open and she didn’t care that she scared the shit out of the guards. Touching down she opted to run instead, moving faster than the rats could follow, breaking several doors in the process until she finally found the room with the cracked and blackened wall.

She didn’t notice in this moment that there was a familiar dagger on the bed, she just rushed over to the wall and punched her fist in the hole she had created enclosing her prize in her fist, ripping a good portion of the wall with it when she withdrew it.

“KAT! ANSWER FOR YOUR DEEDS!”

“The number you have reached is temporarily unavailable. Please leave a message after the beep.” The first part sounded strangely like Kat’s voice.

Nothing. It was so surreal that she actually dropped the diamond in shock, staring at the all but destroyed wall. She was at a total loss. And it took long enough to restart her thought process that she hadn’t noticed the other being entering until much later. Her eyes were still widened in shock when she turned and found a very unamused looking Fratley staring back at her. The moment he opened his mouth, probably to ask what was going on, she silenced him with a motion of her hand. “Don’t. Ask. I’ll explain later.”

A very large part of her had strongly suggested ripping the rat’s king apart, but she managed to crush those feelings. “Leave.”

The rat stayed, obviously considering something, before he shook his head and left. Fixating her glare towards the token she reached down to pick it up, debating with herself if she should try to send one of her more destructive spells through it like she had seemingly done with the lighting when she first summoned Kat. But she let the thought fall almost instantly. She wouldn’t be able to hurt Kat and even worse could maybe hurt someone in close proximity.

After several minutes of just staring at the diamond Sephiroth sighed and sat down on the edge of the bed. Channeling her energy into the fist, holding the diamond she started again. It had said something about leaving a message, after all. Not knowing how exactly this would work she tried to pour the feelings of hurt and disappointment into it.

“Kat-” She hesitated, trying to come up with the right words but ultimately failed to do so. Instead she went with what she felt she had to say. “I can’t find words for how disappointed and angry I am. I saw what you did and I-” She paused again swallowing. “I can’t begin to describe how much I’d like to make you pay right now. The events after we headed into the castle are lost to me and when I try to remember them I feel nothing but intense pain and fear. Whatever happened you obviously dragged me out of there and for that, I will try to overcome my anger to hear your side of the story. Until then…” Her voice grew cold and distant. “I can not call you friend.”

Sephiroth cut the flow of power to the diamond, not even knowing if Kat would get this message or if it was too long and she got only the first part. After staring at the black gem a little longer she sighed and let herself fall backwards on the bed, noticing the dagger in the process.

Only thinking about taking it and going through with using it to see… Max again instilled a primal fear in her heart. But she had to do this. She wouldn’t just run away like Kat did.

The gem glowed lightly in her hand. Kat’s voice poured out. “A great man once said, ‘the needs of the many, outweigh the needs of the few’.” There was a long pause. “I chose the need of a friend.” The light cut out.

Following an impulse she sent another wave of power into the diamond. “You are a fool if you really think this way. The greatest saint can not help anyone if he can’t help himself, first.”

This only reinforced her decision and she grabbed the dagger firmly. She would help herself overcome this unfounded fear. And in the same time she would help one she cared about. Belatedly she realized that her answer to Kat’s words could be misunderstood greatly. But she couldn’t take them back anymore. Instead she extended a metaphorical olive branch. “I’ll carry your token close to my heart and I would be proud if I could call you friend someday again.” With that she cut off her power. She didn’t really expect another answer so she put the diamond in one of her pockets. She would see to finding a goldsmith later to make it into a necklace. After all, she had promised to keep it close to heart and she would keep her promises.

Author's Notes:

That ends the crossover with Kat.
Details about what happened to Seph in the dungeons will be revealed in Moon_Fire's next chapter.
I'll add the link here when he published it.

And here it is:
Chapter 38 - Unexpected Visitors
And the next one:
Chapter 39 - Mending a broken Bond (There will be Sex in here. Ye be warned)
Next:
Chapter 40 - Revelations and Giving a Hoof
Another one:
Send offs and Pirates and sex - OH MYYYYY~! (Sex duh!)