SymbioPony

by Colombiaguy

First published 14th of April, 2015

So, ever been told you were living the wrong life? No? Well...let me tell you a thing! More like a story than a thing but regardless! It started when I died, and then things just got crazy from there.

So, ever been told you were living the wrong life? No? Well...let me tell you a thing! More like a story than a thing but regardless! It started when I died, then I got into a political debacle, prevented an assassination, then things just got really interesting.

Proofreader/Editor Jcc10 for chapters 19-21
Proofreader/Editor - Aburi
Proofreader/Editor- Appletank
Cover Art Drako (Check out their stuff below!)
http://askdrakomod.tumblr.com/

Chapter 1- Ejected with Predjudice

You know, life has a seriously twisted sense of humor. Wanna know how I know that? Because when life says, "Hey your life isn't going according to specifications soooooo here's your boulder to the face and we'll be moving you to the afterlife....now" you've pissed SOMETHING off. This was the situation I was dealing with. I was just on my way to work, average day. Except, as I pulled into my usual workplace, I noted a particularly large and imposing space boulder coming at me. Now, I had all of 30 seconds to come to grips with inevitable death and surprisingly, you can get a lot of thought done in 30 seconds. I went over my life, reviewed my regrets, and appreciated all the awesome things I did in... SHIT! I never got to bungee jump! It's all the fun of jumping off a bridge...without the death...but I'm boned anyway, so the point is kind moot.

Interestingly enough, when you get crushed to death it only hurts for a few seconds, it's like if you felt all the pain in one quick blast and then poof, dead. Oh and that whole "light at the end of the tunnel" thing is TOTAL BULLSHIT! There is no light, it's more like a just pop into this reception area where Death/Grim Reaper in a stereotypical black robe is going through your life which is, in fact, an open book to him. So here I am...in Death's waiting room, while he reads my life. I'm fairly certain this constitutes a new level of awkward.

After some time he let out a sigh. "Whelp, this is embarrassing," the reaper said as he closed the book of my life.

I chuckle nervously, "Which part? The part where you just went through my life in under thirty minutes or the fact you know how much porn I've seen?" Should I have admitted that? What if he is judging me? Oh, crap. I hope I didn't just secure a ticket to Hell.

Now, I'm not sure if a skeleton can raise an eyebrow but Death can. After destroying my perception of how anatomy works, he elaborated, "The latter is nothing new. Everyone looks at porn...seriously everyone! But that's not the embarrassing part."

Somehow, I should have seen that coming but now was the time for me to use my eyebrows because they are actually there and adhere to the rules of anatomy like true law abiding citizens of my face. "Oooookay? So what makes Death embarrassed?" Wow, that's a weird thought.

Death looked at me... I think? Hard to tell if someone is looking at you when they don't have eyes, but when a skull is turned in your direction you can make that assumption. Anyway, Death looked at me and told me, "You were living the wrong life."

I... what? I don't... Dante.exe has stopped working due to an existential statement, rebooting... ... ... ... ... Reboot successful.

Re-assessing life...

"Uh, so...would you mind elaborating on that, Mr. Death... , Sir... Please?" I did my best to be courteous, but how do you respond to something like that?! Oh, sorry you were meant to be in line 4-A, not 4-B, so you've lived the wrong life and everything you did was pointless. Sorry! Oh, no big deal! Just wasted twenty-three years doing what I thought were helpful and learning things that are now useless.

Death shook his head, "Sorry, Dante Morelo. But you're already behind and we need to fast track you to where you need to be." The minute he finished, his boney hand rose and pointed at me. Then with a snap of his skeletal fingers, the room disappeared and gravity took over sending me plummeting into the void.

Whoa! WHOA WHOA!.....WEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! Wait, no! Bad, this is bad! I might die from... oh yeah... meh. WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

So after falling for about a minute, I'm fairly positive I hit warp ten because the blackness gave way to what looked like shooting stars racing past me. Soon the stars gave way to a planet. Wait, Earth? No, can't be Earth the continents are in the wrong places... whoa, did death send me into the past!? Might explain the continent placements. Well, going to find out soon that planet, Earth or not was getting closer. Okay suddenly, I have an appreciation for exactly how fast I'm moving because, when I hit the atmosphere I saw the vapor circles from my sonic entry. Jesus, I am booking!

Now, a new sensation! Although I have a passion for going fast and doing particularly dangerous stunts for the adrenaline...this is too fast , I can't slow down; worse I have no control! Seriously, I tried flailing, attempting to deviate my course, and yelling every expletive I could think of. Okay, that last one was mostly to deal with my annoyance of the situation, but I was moving at Mach three and couldn't control anything. At least I could voice my frustration.

Oh hey, yet another sensation, fear. Why? Because there's a mountain coming up fast and again can't control shit. Hang on, is that a castle on the side of the mountain? Who builds a castle on the side of a mount....wait, I've seen this castle before. But from where? Before I can attempt to determine this castles familiarity, I pass straight through a glass window of the castle, hit something else, then I collided with a wall with some extreme force. Oh, hello, Pain my old friend! How's the wife, Suffering? Oh, she's in my everything? Fantastic. How about your son, Agony? Taking up residence on my left side for a few weeks? Glorious.Considering I hit a wall going mach three, I was surprised that I didn't black out. Upside? I was in pain. Pain means I'm not dead anymore. Woo!... ow.

"Princess! Are you okay!?" I heard someone yell.

Oh crap, did my entry hurt someone? Oh man, they said, "Princes" oh man, don't tell me I hit royalty. Well, I can feel guilt and it was back with a vengeance. I was moving really fast, maybe I just winged someone. Please let it be I winged someone. Going that fast, full contact meant they were... ok, guilt compels me to get up off the cold ground and try to apologize, assuming that's an option. It felt like I was on my right side, so I placed my arm underneath me and rolling onto all fours. Weird I must be numb, I can't feel my hands, but I can feel my legs and arms. Ok, don't freak out. There's someone possibly hurt or dead. Help now, freak out later.

"Princess Celestia, stop! You were tossed into a wall! You might have internal damage!" the same voice said.

Celestia? Wait, the castle from before...oooooh shit. I need confirmation right now! I willed my eyes open and after the initial blurriness faded, I see two forms before me...equine forms. Ok, getting harder not to panic. I check myself, from my perspective I can see two legs in front of me with pure alabaster white fur and two hooves. Well, explains not feeling my hands. Out of my peripheral, I can see something flowing off the side of my head. It looked like a flowing green, pink, and blue hair. Oh, panic intensifying, maintain cool, Dante, maintain cool. I needed one final check to confirm my suspicions. I turn my gaze above my nose/muzzle until I'm nearly cross-eyed and spotted a long spiraling horn protruding from my skull...well, my host's skull. A little exploration of the nervous system and I can feel two more legs behind me along with a tail...OOOOH TAIL! Up yours, evolution! Then I feel...two more arms? No, wait this is different. I glance to my left so the hair hides where I'm looking and spot a wing responding to my commands and a little further past that I can see a bright yellow and orange sun on the white canvas of my host's flanks. OoOoOk, hehe he...he...fuck. I'm in control of Princess Celestia of Equestria. Hmm, what time is it? Panic-o-clock? Sounds about right.

Oh, wondering how I happen to know the name of the individual I seem to be occupying at the moment? Well, if you happen to not be net savvy or don't watch Fox News. There are a group of individuals (a very large group) who watch a certain show. This show is called My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. Now if your next thought is, "Wow that sounds like a show for little girls." Congratulations! You found the TARGETED demographic, however; the vast majority who ACTUALLY watch this show are (drum roll) MEN. These men are bronies (Bro+pony= brony) Clever, right? Again, let's assume I'm psych and the next thing you're thinking is, "Why would men watch a show for little girls?" Answer: It was written so adults could enjoy it with their kids. Simple and sweet. There are adult jokes that only adults can get, the characters have some depth and aren't some nimrod put on screen to keep a three-year-old occupied, if not preemptively rot their minds. And to top it off, it's funny and had it taught things kids should learn! So if you're new "Hi, welcome, have some cookies and milk. Enjoy the fun!" If you are a brony yourself... yo.

But back to my crisis, where my panic is now at a level, I've only heard of trauma victims suffering. This is not my body, worse this was royalty and the RULER OF A FREAKING NATION! So yeah, lots things that could go badly. Need to calm down, breath, and focus. Breath and focus...focus.......shit. I'm too jazzed , I can't calm down! I look to the two equine forms both stallions, the one on the left looked like an aged butler. He had a monocle on his right eye (classy) and had his pure white mane slicked back and was wearing a very fancy suit with complimentary blues that went with his yellow fur color. His flanks had a picture of a serving platter with a cup of tea and cookies on the platter. The other reminded me of a businessman, he had a jet black mane and dark gray fur. He was wearing a business suit with a handkerchief in the coat pocket (meh not as good as a monocle) and the mark on his rear was a stack of coins. Both had looks of concern on their faces. What do I do?! I need to time to think...wait. Ok, time to see how good my acting is. I turned to face the two stallions, "I...uh... I'm ok. Just a ...just a bit frazzled." I realize I shouldn't be surprised my voice didn't sound out, but it's super weird to hear my normally low voice replaced with a feminine one. I continued in Celestia's voice, " I'd like to ask that you please excuse me, gentleme-colts. I need to recover and determine what has assaulted me." I attempted to maintain the best poker face I could muster.

The two looked at each other. The business pony looked back to me/Celestia still wearing a concerned look, "But of course, Princess. We can discuss my proposal when you have recovered." With that, he bowed to me and left. The butler pony didn't leave but approached instead. I assumed he must be one of the servants of the castle. "Your highness, do you want me to escort you back to your chambers?", the butler asked. Perfect! Considering I haven't a clue about the layout of this castle it'd look weird to see the ruler wandering aimless and confused around her own castle. Well, lady luck has dealt me a good hand better cash in while I can. "Yes, yes. Thank you." He bows to me as well and starts to lead me out of the throne room. We are about to leave and I take note of where I was. I saw where I had apparently "thrown" Celestia into the wall. The wall had an impact crater. Jesus, no wonder they looked worried. Then a thought hit me.

"Oh, can you do me one more favor?"

The butler stopped and turn to me/Celestia again. "Of course, Princess. What can I do for you?"

So far, so good. "Could you have Luna meet me in my chambers? I know she is still sleeping but...I'd like her input on this." The butler actually looked...shocked? Oh please tell me I didn't just blow it.

"P-p-p-princess Luna? A-a-are you certain, your highness?" I might be mistaken but...he sounded scared. Come on, recover. Think, Dante, think! Ok, time to take a gamble.

"Yes, please. I believe her input will be able to help greatly." Please let Luna be here! PLEASE!

The butler looked scared still but he nodded, "I'll take you to your quarters and I'll...fetch Princess Luna."

And jackpot! Best cash out before I push it too far. I stayed silent as we walked to Celestia's chambers. It was a bit tricky at first trying to walk on all fours, but I was able to wave it off as the effects of being flung into a wall. Thank goodness for small favors. When we arrived, I couldn't imagine how I could have missed this room. The doors were enormous wood doors. The borders had some kind of script along the edges and there was a large sun in the center of the two doors. If anything screamed "Here is where Princess Sunbutt sleeps" this was it. There were two guards outside the room each holding a spear, they had on golden armor with a sun crest on the breastplate, the hoof guards were the same golden, but the helms reminded me of old Roman legionnaire armor with a sort of mohawk plum that ran from the snout to the back of the head. Their expressions were the best military poker faces I've ever seen. At least, until they saw Celestia/me. In the span of about two seconds, they went from surprised, concerned, then back to stoic. After that expression shift , they both saluted and help their spears tighter to their bodies.

Ok, stay in character. You're almost in the clear! "At easy, my little ponies. I just need to rest from an... unexpected event." Ugh, I called them "My little ponies" Suddenly, I feel like I just kicked my masculinity right in the no-no zone. I mean yeah, I watch a show for little girls, so you'd think my masculinity was already in bad shape, but a little dubstep, rock, and working out a bit. I feel as good as can be...hey, just because I'm not in front of you doesn't mean I can't feel you silently judging me. Stop it!

The guards flipped back to concerned again. They shot each other a look then both looked at me.
I wasn't sure what my expression was. Honestly, I was beginning to feel the impact from earlier. With the excitement and the fact that I DIED earlier today I must have been running on adrenaline or Celestia was. At this point, it was hard to tell, but I was definitely feeling some pain in the left wing. I waved them off with a hoof and entered Celestia's chambers.

Despite wanting to come here to try and think, rest was starting to seem like a good idea. It'd have to wait until I got my mind straight, and hopefully convince Luna to help me. That or she'd flip out and accuse me of trying to usurp Celestia's through possession.... THE HELL, BRAIN?! I'm trying to stay positive! Ok , that might actually happen but I need to try and stay positive. Can't break down now. After shaking my mind of any more pessimistic ideas, I took in Celestia's room. It was very large, I spotted a fireplace along the right side of the wall and a circular bed in the center that was calling to me. It almost looked like an over-sized pillow but I could tell by looking...it would be damn comfy. There was also a doorway that led to a balcony that overlooked the land outside. I took a quick peek outside, the sun looked like it was still arching towards the horizon. So must be around evening. Damn, I was hoping maybe it was noon so I wouldn't have to lower the sun the rest of the way. Oh yeah, Celestia can do that. She can raise the sun and lower it. Giant flaming ball in the sky and Celestia can push it around like a magnet on a refrigerator... except I was now Celestia and I don't know jack about using magic. I mean I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to try. It's magic! REAL MAGIC! Or some really, really advanced telekinesis that hadn't been explained yet. Either way, would love to do magic but not at the risk of possibly dropping the sun onto a planet.

I re-entered the room and spotted a vanity desk with a large oval mirror. Might be time to take stock. I approached the desk and Celestia's image reflected in the mirror. Ok, this is surreal. I'm looking in a mirror but I don't see a twenty-three-year-old male, but a thousand-year-old ruler of a nation with near god like power...and I was in the driver seat. I shuddered. This wasn't my body, I was an invader. Worse, I was beginning to wonder if I might have shoved Celestia out. Oh God please tell me that's not how this works! Of all the things I did not want on my life resume was killing royalty. I let out a sigh, best to deal with that bridge when we cross it. I looked back at the mirror, Celestia's face matched my current state, sad and sullen. Somehow it made me feel worse. I saw the wings on my backdrop. With a bit of concentration, I brought them back to an appropriately folded position. Now my ears perked. I was interested in messing with these just a little bit. How often do you get a set of wings? Some more concentrating and I managed to spread the left wing outward . Before it reached full spread I felt a twinge of pain. Gah, still sore I guessed.

"Ah, ow."

What? Did I say that?

"Who's there?"

“Could it be? Princess Celestia? Please tell me that's you," I called out hopefully

Ye-yes. Where are you? Wait, why can't I move? What's going on here!? Celestia exclaimed in clear shock and surprise.

Oh, look, someone put all the shit in a catapult, and they were kind enough to point it at the world's largest industrial fan...Whelp, best I pull the cord before someone else does.

Author's Notes:

Hey hey, welcome to chapter 1. Hope ya'll like it. Criticism always welcomed. See ya in chapter 2!

Chapter 2- Meeting the Sister

So, wanna know what is really, really difficult to do? Trying to convince the owner of a body that you, an invader and subsequent temporary controller of said body, are not enacting some kind of plot to take over the throne. Want to know why it’s hard? Because no matter what you say or how much you try to convince the person you mean no ill will, all present evidence likes to say otherwise. My experience in this particular situation went as follows. Also, keep in mind this happens inside Celestia’s head (which is under temporary ownership of yours truly).

"Princess Celestia, please calm down. I know this seems bad-" I attempted to calm down Celestia but given the circumstances, she was less than willing to listen.

"What did you do?! Why can’t I move my body?! WHAT DID YOU DO?!" I heard Celestia yell in my thoughts

"I...I don’t know I swear! I didn’t want this! I didn’t ask for this!" I retorted aloud.

"Why should I trust you? You’re in my body and as far as I know you threw me into the wall!" She returned with a hard to debate comeback.

"Uh....ok, that last part, yes. That was my fault. I will accept any punishment you deem worthy, but believe me I did not intend to crash into you! I was falling and I was just...it was just my trajectory I couldn’t stop or shift or anything!" I pleaded. Yeah, I was being stupidly submissive, but I wasn't going to pull anything either.

Celestia was silent for a bit, and for some reason the back of my head was really itchy.

"I believe you, for now," she said in a cool manner that calmed me a bit.

"Really? Can I ask what changed your mind?" I inquired.

"Your memories," she replied with a bluntness that could knock anyone out cold.

"Uh...m-m-my memories? You read my mind?" Suddenly, feeling the privacy of my mind was not so private.

"Technically, it’s my mind and you are occupying it. It makes it a lot easier to get information when the information you are seeking is already within your head. Also, what are you?"Fair question. Also, kinda weird.

"Oh, that...makes sense, I guess. I’m human... was human. Not sure what I am now. How much did you see?" I asked a bit worried she may have seen a bit too much of my past.

"Mostly your recent memories... I’m very sorry." I could feel the remorse in her non-audible words.

"Sorry? You haven’t done anything. I’ve thrown you into a wall and taken over your body. I should be prostrating myself for your forgiveness...by the way have I mentioned how sorry I am for that?" Yeah I’m overly apologetic, but you’d be on your hands and knees too if a deity with the power of the sun was judging you

"Yes, you have, but I’m sorry for your death. The reason you are here is because you died according to your memories," Celestia was very sincere with her response and I could almost feel the empathy in her words.

Honestly, with everything happening, I had completely forgotten that... I’m...I died. My parents, my friends, my family. I can’t go back. You can’t come back from a meteor crushing you! Oh God no. No no no no no!

"Dante?"

Even if Celestia has incredible power, I can’t go back to something that’s impossible to salvage! Mom’s going to be distraught! I was all she had! Now, I probably look like mangled road kill! I don’t want her to see me like that! OH GOD, DAD! He won’t even be able to comfort her until he gets stateside. They’re going to bury me. They get to say their goodbyes......I..I can’t even-

DANTE!

I let out a shallow gasp, as I caught a glimpse at the mirror on the vanity desk. I was crying and shaking involuntarily. I'd never seen Celestia look like this, but in truth, this was me crying, not her.

"T-t-thank you. I’m sorry."

'Why are you apologizing?' Celestia inquired in concern.

"I don’t know. Felt like I should."

"I saw your family. When you were remembering, I saw their faces. You held them very dear to you. I can understand wanting closure. I’ve had to say goodbye to many, many friends. Your emotions match your memories. Again, I’m very sorry, Dante," she sounded like a mother comforting a child... Hell from the tears, I might as well have been. This was something new and none of it was good.

I was about to thank Celestia for her consideration when a knock came from the chamber doors. Suddenly, I remembered that I had invited a certain sister to try and help with our predicament. I wiped the tears away from Celestia's face and worked to get control of myself.

"Who is that?" Celestia asked in my head.

“Must be Princess Luna, I asked her to come here. I figured she might be able to help”, I whispered.

"Ah, good thinking!"

“I was thinking it’s what you would do...plus I feel like she deserves to know.” Then I cringed as my mind went to back to that dark corner of every bad thing Luna might do when she learned what I had inadvertently done. Damn it, Brain, GO TO THE CLOSET AND THINK ABOUT HOW YOU'RE NOT HELPING!

Well, no reason to stall. Either this can solve our problems...or kill me again. Time to flip the coin. “Come in, Luna.” I said in my best Celestia voice.

The door opened to reveal a slightly smaller alicorn princess. Her fur was midnight blue with a small black splotch on her flank where a crescent moon hung. Her mane was a much lighter blue and was short barely making it the nap of her neck and falling just a bit over her brow. She was also wearing her royal regalia but it looked like she put it on in a hurry. Her piercing blue-green eyes were half drooped and slightly bloodshot. Guess my hunch that she was sleeping was spot on.

‘Good *yawn* evening, dear sister. Thou requested our presence?” Luna asked placing a hoof to her mouth to cover a yawn.

“Any suggestions on how to break this to your sister?”, I ask Celestia mentally.

Celestia came back with seemed like the obvious answer, but not exactly the one I wanted to hear. "Tell her the truth."

I cringed, but summoned what courage I muster and choose my words very, VERY carefully.

“Luna, I would like to discuss something with you. If you could do me a favor, close the door and soundproof the room, please,” I said in the calmest voice I could muster.

Luna gave me a confused look, but obliged anyway. Her horn glowed in a blue aura that matched her coat, then entire chamber flashed the same color. It looked like she barely had any trouble with it. If I manage to live through this I’m learning some damn magic.

“The deed is done, what is it thou wished to discuss with us, sister?” Luna asked still looking a bit confused, no doubt wondering why her sister didn’t use her magic to soundproof the room.

I let out a long sigh and I looked Luna straight in the eye. “Luna, I need your help. I have been thrust into Celestia’s body and I need help getting her back in control”

Luna’s facial expression did the fastest change I’ve ever seen. First her expression jumped to shocked, then back to confused, then finally skeptical. She was looking right at me and when I say that, it felt like she was looking DIRECTLY at me, not Celestia. Celestia’s body was reacting in tune with my emotions. I was nervous, and I’m certain I was sure I was sweating. I needed to keep pressing forward. Another deep breath and I pressed forward.

“I realized this sounds a bit out there, but I’m very serious, Luna. I’m not from this land. I died and for some reason my... essence? Being? I don’t know, it got thrown into Celestia’s body and now I have control of her body. We both need your help to-”

Suddenly Luna was right in front of me. I hadn’t seen her move, but within a blink of an eye she was inches from my face... Wow, her eyes are pretty.....NO! BAD, libido, BAD!

"Are you having lewd thoughts about my sister?" I heard Celestia chime in.

“Ah um, uuuh. I swear I’m trying not to!” I rebuttled mentally, attempting to defend myself.

“What kind of joke dost thou think thou are playing with us?” Luna asked.

“Luna, I swear on your sister, this isn’t a joke! I need you to believe me. I-I-I don’t know how to prove it to you. I don’t...wait. Can you read minds?” Come on, this just might work!

Luna was still in my face but her appraising look did not shift. There was a pause for a few seconds. Those were some really uncomfortable seconds. Then a blessing, Luna said that she could.

I was pleased...for a second before I began to wonder if she read my mind if somehow she might pick up Celestia’s by chance...DAMN IT, BRAIN STOP IT!

"You always this harsh on yourself? Your idea has some merit." Celestia popped in again.

“Only when my mind conspires against me. He is an unruly beast that must be put in the corner so that it may learn not to be a pessimist! I try to be a fair leader in Optimist land, but I cannot allow the Realist rebellion to take over!”

Celestia giggled at that one. {Achievement unlocked: Got Princess to giggle at a stupid joke} Yes!

I looked to Luna and asked her to check my most recent memories and then I mentally crossed my nonexistent fingers that this might convince her. She touched her horn to Celestia’s and the back of her head started to itch again. Brain probing is really itchy, and FYI hooves are horrible at removing annoying itches. I’m missing fingers already. God I hope Celestia doesn’t get an itchy muzzle...GAH DAMN IT I JINXED IT!!!

After the itching stopped, Luna backed away from me and was looking way more shocked. It worked?

“You’re not Celestia!” She proclaimed with a hoof pointed at me.

Hey, it worked! Wow, I’m on a roll today! (Remember a few lines ago when I jinxed the muzzle? Yeah, I’m not a fast learner)

The next thing I know, a blue blur slams me in the chest and pins me to the ground.

“YOU WILL RELEASE OUR SISTER THIS INSTANT VILLAIN!” She yelled in the Royal Canterlot Voice. Which at point blank range leaves a ringing in your ear. I had to shake it out of my head because my forelegs were now pined to my side.

" I don't know how! That's why I asked you!" I attempted to reason. Note, I say "attempted", because after I got the "I don't know how" out she straight bitched slapped me.

OW! "OW!" Celestia and I both felt that apparently. Wait, we share sensations? Ok, this could get bad if Luna doesn't calm down. Need to be more convincing.

"Luna, I'm being serious I don't- *SLAP* Stop it!" Seriously, why go for the face! It's not even mine and I can say that unnecessary...that and she popped me right on the snout! That freaking hurts! No wonder dogs hate it.

"Agh, why isn't she listening?!"

"Hell if I know!"

I looked back at Luna, I was starting to get a bit pissed but then I noticed something I missed before. She was on the verge of tears.

"We lost our sister because of our foolishness before, thou SHAN'T TAKE HER FROM US AGAIN!" Aw, she cares, which is good, but reasoning is falling. Shit shit shit! What do I do?!

Celestia had definitely slipped into leader mode. Her tone alone would have made armies snap to attention.Dante! She's hysterical. We need to get her to calm down.

"How? Every time I try to say something she slaps us! And good Lord does she have a wicked back hand." Seriously, her back hand strike would be the envy of every tennis players ever.

"I hate to say this, but you need to overpower her and get her to focus."

"Uh...don't take this the wrong way but I'd really rather not. I kinda got a whole avoid violence if possible thing going on."

Now is NOT the time for that! Either you get her to focus or she called the guards, locks us up, and tries to remove you from me in every and any way she can think of! Who knows what she might try!

In all honestly I really like violent movies, video games, and anything involving hand-to-hand combat, but I feel really guilty when I hurt someone... I have a guilty conscious, okay? Whelp, I'm gonna hate myself for this later, but thumbs up from the princess, LET'S DO THIS! DAAAAAAANTEEEEE MORREEEEEEEELO!

I curled my back legs in and loaded them to shove just under Luna's midsection. With a curl of the back and a shove of the legs Luna was tossed off of me and I was able to scramble to a standing position. I was hoping that might buy me a second to close the distance between Luna and me but she just rolled mid air and landed square on all fours. Ever get the sensation you just hit a hornet's nest with a baseball bat? Well I do, and I was quickly questioning how good an idea this was.

"So thou show thine true colors! Very well then! Have at thee!"

Oh crap, she's coming back! Uh, Uh, What to do, what to do?! Shit! Use Flail! *WHACK* I smacked her straight across the face as she was charging me, and I think I stunned her. Woot! Super effective! Wait, she's stunned I need to act now! I pressed the advantage. I plow into Luna and knock her onto her back. After pinning her to the ground ,which she did not like at all, and receiving some soon to be bruises to my inner back thighs. I was starting to get a pissed again. I kept trying to get her attention but she just kept thrashing, and it was getting harder and harder to hold her down....I pretty much snapped after that.

"GOD DAMN IT LUNA CUT IT OUT! YOU'RE HURTING CELESTIA AND ME! CALM DOWN, NOW!"

Did...did I just use the Royal Canterlot Voice? I mean the whole room just shook! Well, it got Luna to stop and look at me. At first, she was shocked, but now she looked scared. As long as I have her attention. "Luna, I want to get Celestia back in control of her body. I don't know a thing about magic and I desperately need your help! Please."

She still looked spooked. Did I really rattle her that much?

"Eyes," She squeaked.

"Eyes? What about eyes? Is that how we fix this?'

"No, what's wrong with THINE eyes?!"

Ok, this can't be good. I turned to face the vanity deck again. Now it was my turn to be shocked. I saw Celestia but her eyes were way different. Her violet iris were swimming in a dark void. They were piercing, disturbing, and above all, too freaky for me!

Celestia was the first to say something, Wha-What's happening to my eyes? What is this?

I couldn't even form a thought. This never came up in the show! Am I doing this!? Am I corrupting Celestia? I would have voiced these concerns but this was the final straw my system could handle and I blacked out.

Author's Notes:

Woo Chapter 2! Hope you like it! Next chapter should be interesting! Please let me know what you think in the comments! I appreciate any and all criticism.

Chapter 3- Explaining Weird Stuff

Aaaah, sleep is niiiiiice. Well, not sure if a system shock blackout counts as sleep. I can’t recall if I dreamed or not. Either way, when I came back to the land of the waking I was walking down a hall and....wait, I was walking? Do I sleep walk? Hold up, time to take stock.

Leg check...unresponsive

Wing check...unresponsive

Eye check... (if you haven’t figured it out yet)

Ok, not in control any more. Guess I’m riding shotgun for now. Best see what mood the driver is in. “Celestia? Are you back at the helm?” I probed.

My host stopped their stroll and looked about for a second. Then I could feel a small smile come across her face.Then Celestia responded in that tone that sounded like a mother talking to a child,“Dante. I’m glad to you are awake. How are you feeling?”

“Honestly, a bit better now that I’m not bogarding your body from you. Seriously, I’m not sure if there is anything I can do to apologize properly to you.”

Celestia let a chuckle escape, “You really have a guilty conscious don’t you? I know you didn’t intend it on purpose. You don’t have to keep apologizing.”

Despite the sweet tone and the calming quality to her voice, I still felt like an intrusive ass.

“Ok, I’ll lay off the apologies.” Then the really important question popped into my mind, “Wait, did Luna figure out how to put you back in control?”

Celestia shook her head, “She didn’t have to. The second you passed out, I was able to gain control. I was honestly concerned what had happened to you. You were very quiet of a long time, Dante. However, we did learn something.” That last part got my attention.

“Okay, color me intrigued. What did you learn?” I inquired. Any new info might help me figure out what was going on with my current existence.

“I know where you are.”

“...”

“What?”

“Not to be rude, but I’m pretty we established I was in your head...somehow.”

I couldn’t see it but I could feel the all-knowing smirk cross Celestia’s face. “Can you see what I see right now?”, she asked.

“Yeeeeeah? Why?” I didn’t quite understand where this was going but she said she knew where I was. Maybe I had did have a form in Equestria but I was just separated from my physical body? All things considered it couldn’t be THAT far fetched... right?

Without another word, Celestia turned her head so I could see the right side of her body. Then she lifted her wing and I saw something really out of place. And when I say “out of place” I don’t mean a few errant feathers or a tattoo someone would only get in a drunken blitz. It was a black splotch on the canvas of white that was Celestia’s fur. The hell is that? A bruise? No, bruises aren’t tar black. What could...wait, she knew where I...Oh. No. Freakin. Way.

“Please tell me that spot is some sort of minimalist tattoo you got when you were younger.” I pleaded.

“I’m afraid not. When I regained control, I decided to do a scan to see if you were alright. The scan lead to this spot.” She motions to the spot. “As far as I can tell. This spot is you.”

I’m a black spot...Some how I felt like some kind of social commentary. I’m the black spot on the side of Royalty. Ugh.

“Uh excuse my skepticism (which is actually denial) how certain that that is me?”

Again, without another word she poked the spot and I giggled...crap.

“ I didn't feel that; and did that tickle?” Celestia asked curiously.

Oh no, I can feel her thoughts switching. Need to shut this down.

“What? Nooo nooo. Course not, I uh...just thought of something funny is all.”

She wasn’t buying it. She poked it again.

*Snnnnck* I tried to stifle the giggle.

Then I got this feeling, coming from Celestia. A dark feeling, a malicious feeling. The kind of feeling that could end empires should it be applied to any unfortunate soul in her path. Then I felt it culminate into a single solitary horrifying action....she smirked. Dear God no.

*Poke*
*snerk*
*Poke*
*heee*
“...”

“...” Uh oh

*Poke**Poke**Poke**Poke**Poke**Poke**Poke**Poke**Poke**Poke**Poke**Poke**Poke**Poke**Poke**Poke*

I was in uncontrollable laughter and each laugh caused another poke.

“Celes *hahaha* Celestia *Bwahaha* Stop! *Hehe* Please *AAAHAHAHAHA*!”

“So it does tickle?” Trollestia was in full force, the pokes did not cease.

“Yes! *ahahaha* It tickles, Good LORD IT TICKLES! *HAHAHAHA*”

Then she stopped and allowed me time to regain myself. I didn’t have to breath since Celestia was in charge but the sensation from the pokes took a few seconds to subside.

“That...was cruel...and you know it!” If I had fingers, or hooves. or anything capable of pointing I’d had been pointing it right at Celestia.

I could feel that smirk turn into a smile as she turned to face down the hall again and started moving forward, “I haven’t a clue what you mean. I was just investigating your response to physical stimuli.” She said with that smile still plastered on her face.

Vengeance shall come, one day, and it shall be like ice cream, cold and sweet!

With my plans for vengeance stored away for a later date. I came back to the realization that I was still some kind of blob on the side of Sun Princess. “So, am I...stuck to you? I still don’t get what I am now.”

Celestia shifted and was contemplative for a second. She was going through how to explain my current form. Then she broke it to me in a solemn tone, “I don’t know what you are now.”

Well, that doesn’t help much.

“However.”

Oh, "However” could change things.
“You seem to be linked with my nervous system, which could explain how we both were able to experience the same pain before, and also how you were able to control my body in my mental absence. Not to mention I can sense your essence throughout me.”

Huh, sounded like I had attached myself to Celestia in every sense of the word. Was this permanent? Was I going to forever be this “thing” on the side of Celestia? Did I even serve a purpose?...Wait, a damn second.

“Celestia...am I a parasite?”

“I don’t think so. Actually,my scan said you've been helping a bit.”

Did I miss something?

“Uh, did I clean the castle while I was blacked out? How have I helped?”

“You’re actively accelerating my healing.”

And straight out of left field comes a strange power that I had no clue about.

“Wait, so I’m giving you an accelerated healing ? How? I wasn’t even aware I was doing that!”

Celestia took a second and collected her thoughts, “You appear to coercing my natural healing into an advanced form of cellular regeneration.” She rounded a corner and we were in the throne room from yesterday. She trotted into the throne room and made her way to royal seat on top of a golden platform. I never really got to check out this room, but it was impressive. The room was at least half a football field long and had several beautiful stain glassed windows depicting different moments in Equestria’s history. The sun must have just been coming up as the western side of room had multiple hues of colors flowing over the ground. It was astonishing.

Celestia snapped me out of my admiration of the room when she reached the top of her throne and turned her gaze to her left. I could see the impact crater I had caused. Oh guilt, back for another visit? Why, you look like you gained some weight since yesterday. Oh you’re here to crush me? Please, go ahead.

Celestia turned her gaze back to the front. “That impact should have broken most of the bones on my left side and left me with some kind of internal damage, Dante.” The tone she chose to say this in was very serious and didn’t help my guilt.

“Should have. Yet, I walked you out of here with only a few fumbles and a bit of soreness.” Thinking back on it, I had always thought alicorns were tough based on them being so powerful. To hear that they could take damage just like any other creature shifted my perspective of them. They were just ponies like any other who could get hurt like any other...but also had the power of the Sun and Moon at their disposal.

“The soreness seemed to be the main by product, but it is definitely coming from you. Despite your small size you are exuding a decent amount of magic which seems to be-”

I stopped paying attention. Did she say I’m using magic? Passive magic apparently, but hey I have magic! If I could do that without trying, I wonder if there are other things I might be capable of doing. Wait, she’s still talking. Act like you are listening still!
“- and with that type of potential you might be capable of incredible feats.”

DAMN IT! I missed something important....okay, okay, I can recover uh...play dumb!

“So...could you maybe explain that to someone who doesn’t quite get magic.” Come on luck don’t fail me now! You don’t want to admit to Celestia that you let your mind wander during a very important lecture.

“Oh sorry, I tend to ramble when it comes to new interesting things.”

YES! Dodged the bullet!

“Yeah, its cool. I guess that’s where Twilight gets it from.”

Celestia suddenly stiffened and was quiet, really quiet. Her mind on the other hand was not, “How do you know about my student?”

FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU! I slipped! Quick make an excuse!...Wait, I can’t. She knows I’m human and not from here. AAaaugh...this is going to suck donkey balls.

“I...I...I’ve seen her and her friends. What they’ve done. I’ve uh...wow, I need a word better than ‘watched’ right now.”

Celestia was getting mad, I didn't even have to see her face. I could feel it.

“Ok, remember when you saw my memories?”

Celestia didn't say a word. Why was this worse than had she said something.

“Right, on my world there’s this show....and this show just so happens to revolve around your student, Twilight Sparkle, and her friends. Me and thousands of others have know about them. They’re...interesting.” Ok I was nervous and couldn't think of anything better. I dun goofed and had the power of the sun about to bear down on me if I didn't explain my sudden knowledge of someone whom I had not met. Lying was definitely not going to help and I needed her to trust me. Especially, if I wanted her to help me determine what else I was besides a black spot.

“Interesting, how?” Celestia asked darkly. Jesus she was scary when she was serious.

“Just interesting, we watched them to see what kind of adventures they went on, how they interacted with each other, what they learned from each other. They inspired us to be better people, to be creative, to..to...Honestly, I could hardly believe it when I was in control of your body. My mind was burning a mile a minute trying to determine if this was even real. But it had to be. I felt pain, guilt, worry. I...I just want to try and exist without causing too much trouble. I swear I mean no ill will. This world is so different, cool, and interesting. I want to see it and learn about it and I really want to know what I am now.”

I finished my spiel and it was quiet. I felt Celestia’s mind consuming what I had said. She was working out what to do with me. Her wings twitched and ruffled a bit. Must have been a bad thought. We were both silent for what felt like hours. Then Celestia spoke, “While you were out, I sent Twilight a letter describing what happened last night.”

Oh, that could be bad or good.

“I ,also, asked her to do some research to see if anything like this has happened before. She will be coming to Canterlot when she has found something. In my long reign I can’t recall anything like this ever occurring. I would like to know what you are as well, Dante.”

Yay, progress!

“But”

Shit.

“You need to tell me everything you know about Equestria and my subjects.”

“How much time do you have?”

“I have an hour before my first hearing. Get through as much as you can.”

For the next hour, I went through the majority of season one of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. I told her what I knew about Nightmare Moon and the discovery of the Elements of Harmony. I went through the various lessons Twilight learned. I did stop a few times when Celestia asked for clarification on things that Twilight left out of her reports. Apparently, Twilight never mentioned the hydra in Feeling Pinkie Keen. She wasn't too happy about that. Then I got to the end of season 1 and the events of the gala. Celestia giggled at some of the antics the bearers got into while she was dealing with greetings. Then I went on to season 2, describing the return of Discord (which apparently I just missed. DAMN IT!) I was about to start on another episode when the guard announced the first hearing on the day. It was a dignitary from the Griffin Kingdom. COOL! We can pick this up later, if you want I told Celestia as the guards let the griffin in.

Oh God they're just talking politics! It's like CSPAN live! Ugh, I wish I had my own head so I could beat it against a wall!

"Shush, you are distracting me" Celestia said, trying to silence my mental complaints.

"Mmmmph, fiiiiiiiine" I kept my thoughts as non-distracting as possible. I decided to look over this griffin dignitary. I guessed he must have been a bit older based on how faded his gray coat was. That and his face looked old, worn, and just plain tired. The feathers on his face were pretty droopy too. Kinda felt sorry for the guy. He could definitely use a vacation to a tropical island where all the drinks were served in coconuts, that and a few young griffin girls to keep him company....What? I can't try to make an old man happy in his twilight years? You cruel unfeeling, bastards.

Anyway, I felt bad for the guy. He even had this weird twitch going on. It kept coming on every few second and his wings kept...wait. Something is off here. I kept closer focus on his wings. Those twitches had some kind of pattern going on. Left twitch, Left twitch, Right twitch, Right twitch. He kept doing this with a few variations. The hell was he doing? Then I had a feeling. The kind of feeling when you feel like someone you can't see is watching you. "Celestia, sorry to bug ya, but can you look to your right, near the ceiling?"

"Why?" She asked with understandable confusion.

"Might be nothing...but I think something is watching us."

"How certain of this are you?"

"It's just a feeling. A bit paranoid, like I said I'm sure it's nothing. Just like to put it to rest, ya know?"

She still felt unsure but she obliged me anyway.

Ever been glad, you trusted your internal intuition? I might not be psychic but I was damn happy Celestia indulged my paranoia. There was a unicorn perched high in the rafters holding a crossbow, and that crossbow was pointed directly at Celestia! ASSASSIN!

The unicorn looked startled that Celestia had looked their way, but that didn't persuade them from magically pulling the trigger. The bolt flew from the crossbow and was on its path to end a life. Time slowed, I felt Celestia's magic spring forward and reach out to grab the bolt and stop its flight. Except something was off about this bolt as it seemed to completely resist Celestia's magic completely! What the, actual, fuck?! Spell resistant bolts?! Oh God, she's going to die! I need to do something! DYING SUCKS! I tried to act, force her out of the way, will her body to move, SOMETHING! The bolt was within inches of ending Celestia's life. Celestia closed her eyes and waited she was going to die.

NO!

Celestia opened her eyes and I got a glimpse of what lay before her, a pitch black hand griping the shaft of the bolt that was centimeters from penetrating her skull. Yeah, it was that close that I had to swap to metrics! But what caught her interest was the source of this new appendage. She followed the arm to find it leading under her right wing to where I resided...I just saved the life of Princess Celestia and had no idea how I had done it.

Author's Notes:

Chapter 3 WOOOT!....I'm very tired. TOTALLY WORTH IT!

Chapter 4- Wooo hands!

Ok, more new powers, and I managed to stop an assassin’s bolt. I’m a freaking lucky S.O.B. But I can marvel at my blind luck later. There was still a unicorn with a crossbow looking to kill Celestia. Through the use of Celestia’s eyes I could still see the unicorn, except now they looked stupefied at the intervening hand holding their bolt. I decided that since I had an arm and hand now within my control it was time to do something with it. I threw the bolt on the ground and freed my hand. Now I mentioned before that I’m not one to be violent, but this bitch here was about to get the royal smackdown!

Shifting my attention to Celestia who seemed to be balking at my newly formed appendage. I got her to snap out of it when I pointed to the would-be assassin then to the ground. Celestia seemed to have picked up what I wanted to put down, and cast her magic to the unicorn above and yanked them from their perch. The unicorn yelled as they fell and was about to hit the ground when I put my...void hand? Death hand?....I snached the unicorn by their neck and pinned them to the ground. I’ll figure out a name for this thing later. With the assassin subdued, Celestia called for the guards and they burst onto the scene within seconds. When they saw my hand holding the unicorn, she was a mare now that Celestia and I got a good look at her, they were hesitant to approach. It didn’t help that I could see that Celestia’s eye had gained that black void in the whites of her eyes again. I could see her reflection in the floor (yeah the floors are that clean) She was able to quell their fears saying she would explain it to them later, and they moved to restrain the mare. I relinquished my grip of the mare’s throat and let my hand come to rest near Celestia’s wing. I could have let it go all the way until it was absorbed into the spot, but hey, I had a hand and fingers again. I was going to keep it around for as long as possible.

The mare was taken away, without much of a fight...I think I might have choked her out...ooops. Wait, where’d the griffin go? “Celestia, that griffin from before. Where did he go? I think he was signaling the assassin!”

That statement was enough to get her to shift her gaze back to where the griffin had once been. He didn’t leave a trace of evidence he had ever been in the room. He was long gone.

“Curses! He’s gone! Are you sure he was involved?” Celestia asked with a bit of agitation.

“I think so, he was doing some kind of weird twitch pattern with his wing tips while you two were talking.”

Celestia was mulling the information over. A thought came to her mind, but she seemed to dismiss it. “Hmmm, I will have to interrogate that mare when she regains consciousness. She has to know who is attempting to kill me.”

Hearing the word “kill” coming from the leader of colorful ponies felt really out of place. Kind of like if I openly swore, which I was being very mindful NOT to do that. I decided to prod, “Has this happened before?” I was actually able to accentuate this question with a shrugging arm. Yes, I had my arm back and I was going to use it until I lost it.

Celestia was looking at the arm like it was me. Kinda weird looking at yourself (or what was essentially you) through the eyes of another. She let out a sigh and nodded. I didn’t press it further. Celestia’s gaze then fell on the bolt that had nearly killed her. She made her way towards the bolt that laying in the corner of the throne room. She was staring at it scrying for some information. “Dante, can you pick that up for me?” She asked calmly.

I didn’t respond as not interrupt what her train of thought. I hover my pitch black hand over the bolt and picked it up and held it in front of Celestia with an open palm. Her eyes ran up and down the bolt inspecting every inch of it for some kind of clue. I noticed her eyes stop at the head of the bolt, it was a basic triangle shape head, but there were two things that stood out. One, there was some writing along the metal of the head. I couldn’t make heads or tails of what it said, but I could tell somepony did. Time to get educated.

“You know what this writing is.”

“Yes, it is old. But what concerns me, is this is Griffin rune writings.” Her words were heavy with concern, but also confusion. Hmm, better press this a bit more.

“Is that why you couldn’t grab it with magic?”

“Yes, these particular runes here” She pointed to the runes with a hoof. “are made to prevent any kind of magic from interfering with the bolt’s course.”

Yikes, someone was not happy with Celestia. Which was further proven by the fact that the head was broad closest to the shaft. Had this penetrated it would have yanked everything out with it. This was bordering on sadistic!

“Celestia, I’m feel like my next question has an obvious answer, but who did you you piss off to want to do this?”

“There are quite a few ,unfortunately. Years ago, war and death were not so uncommon, but this is unheard of in recent years! Worse is the level of brutality. I don’t know what to make of this. I need more information and more evidence.” Celestia went quiet again, but her mind was anything but. It was burning through information at a speed I thought only computers could do. I tried to keep track of anything she was thinking of, but she was on another level.

“Hey Celestia?”

She didn’t respond, her mind wasn’t slowing at all.
“Celestia?”

Still nothing. Ok, I can already tell this wasn’t going to stop, she was feeding back into past thoughts and memories. Time for a cliche! I dropped the bolt and lined up my shot. This was going to hurt both of us, but Celestia need this more than me. Here’s the windup aaaaaaand.

*SLAP*

Ooooh that was smarts, but it had the desired effect. Celestia’s speeding brain hit the brakes and came back to reality. She nursed the pink mark on the side of her face.

“Sorry, but it felt like you were going to burn out. I know you want to know who did this. So do I, but we both know we can’t do anything until we have more info. There’s no point in stressing out about it, until then we have that info.” I said with as much calm and sincerity as I could muster.

Celestia was silent for a bit more then she looked at my “hand” with an incredulous look, “That was bold of you, to strike the ruler of Equestria in the face.”

It was in that moment, I knew. I had dun goofed. My “hand” matched my new revelation and flinched away.

“Uh..I uh..was just...uh.....” I had hit her to snap her out of a mental feedback loop, but she wouldn’t do anything drastic....right?

Celestia was eyeing my appendage without so much as a hint of readable emotion (Note to self: Never play poker with Celestia).

Then I felt the return of that smirk. The Trollestia smirk. Oh no, not the pokes! Not again.

My hand was still near her face. Then she kissed it. It tickled a bit but honestly that just caught me off guard completely. My loss of concentration seemed to have an effect on me as the hand lurched and retracted under Celestia's wing.

"Thank you for saving my life and for making me see reason.” Her voice was smooth and compassionate. Then she added, “Are you blushing? Its getting warm under my wing.”

I attempted to reply to that statement, but what came out was the equivalent of baby babble. Celestia giggled, then suggested an early lunch. With the commotion of the assassination attempt the guards were on high alert and all hearing for the day were canceled while the grounds were searched and ponies were questioned.

I was silent as for most of the trip to the kitchen. I was embarrassed, but for the life of me I couldn’t tell you why. I understand that the kiss was a sign of gratitude but that was the last thing I had expected. I figured it was just a kind gesture, and didn’t think much more of it.

We arrived at the kitchen and I was thankful the demon eyes I gave Celestia had long since worn off during our walk. That would have been weird to explain to the staff.
There were no less than eight chefs present all of them were working on several different dishes. My guess is they were catering to the guests still under questioning. The minute Celestia entered though, every head snapped straight to her. Looks of surprise were painted on each chefs face, except for one. This exception seemed the least surprised and was even wearing a small smile. He barked for the chefs to return to their respective dishes before he approached Celestia.

The chef pony had an orange coat with blonde mane that had a fairly fancy split that slightly came over the front of his face. He had on the traditional chefs’ buttoned vest with part of the top flap hanging slightly. His cutie mark seemed to resemble food being tossed in a wrought iron skillet. When he spoke there was a noticeable accent that was undoubtable British, “Ah, Princess Celestia. A pleasure to see you.”

Celestia gave him a courteous nod and a smile. “Good to see you as well, Chef Ramsneigh. How are things in the kitchen today?”

Ramsneigh? That name sounded familiar for some reason.

Chef Ramsneigh still held his smile and replied, “We’ve been busy that’s for sure, but everypony is doing fantastic. We are just under fifteen minutes per dish.”

I felt Celestia surge with pride over that statement. “I’m glad the culinary students I sent you are proving themselves. I’m sure you help keep them in line as well.”

The chef gave a prideful smile, “Narry a pot out of place, Princess.” He then shift his stance so that he almost looked like the guards when they were at attention. “Was there anything I could make for you while you're here, Princess?”

Celestia noded in confirmation, “Yes, if you send up a fruit salad with that lovely dressing you made last week, I’d be greatly appreciative.”

The chef was beaming at this point. He gave a simple nod and immediately got to work.

Celestia turned to leave, but added, “Oh, and could you have it brought to my chambers? I’d like to go over a few things and would prefer to have my meal there.”

“But, of course.”

Celestia gave a final nod and proceeded to her chambers.

We got to her chambers after a short walk. Celestia promptly went to the center of her room and took a seat on the large pillow bed I had spotted the night before. Boy was I right this thing is DAMN comfy. She got into a comfortable position and let her wings spread. After she had stretched her wings she let the left side fold back, but left the right side unfurled, exposing me.

“Guessing you want to talk about before?”

Celestia noded, “Indeed, I’m very curious about what you did before. You were able to produce an arm and hand but where did all of that mass come from?”

Now that she mentioned it I was getting a bit curious too. I was a spot the width of a child’s hat but I produced an arm and hand nearly double that. Did I have some sort of amorphous quality? I can see why Celestia was interested, I was just as curious now that I gave it some thought.

“Do you think you could do it again?” She inquired.

“I’m always willing to give it a shot.”

I put some concentration into forming a hand again. I noticed that the black spot warbled a bit at my coercion but did not form the hand. I tried few more times but only managed to make the spot wiggle a bit more. “I’ve got nothing. I think I’m close but all I’m doing is making it wiggle.”

Celestia looked pensive for a moment but perked up when she had an idea. “Perhaps it’s a reaction?”

“A reaction?”

“Yes, perhaps it’s similar to when the body reacts to something more out of instinct than thought?” Without so much as a hint I see a book flying at Celestia's face! She is throwing books at herself to encourage a reaction, that’s dedication. I didn’t think about making the hands, I just moved to stop the book and sure enough a hand snagged the book. Alright, hypothesis confirmed.

"Ok, now that we've confirmed that suspicion. Let's see how far we can push it." Celestia said with a twinge of excitement.

Again before I can register her words two books come at us. The book I was holding dropped and I grabbed one of the books with relative ease but the other was still coming. As if by instinct, I felt myself reaching for the second book and a second hand materialized to grab it. I was dumbfounded. Did she know that would work? Then my curiosity compelled me to ask," Celestia, check under your wing again."

Without a word she glanced back to her still out stretched wing, and there was something different. The spot now had a line that looped around her wing and streaked across her back. Celestia swapped her gaze to the other side and lifted her left wing. The line looped around the wing same as before and linked to a similar disk that was now the base for the second arm. "Amazing!" Was all Celestia could say.

I was about to add my own comments when a knock came from the chamber door. Must be Celestia's salad.

Sure enough it was. I let my arms retract and Celestia went to answer the door.
A young pegasus mare was on the other side of the door with a plate balanced on her back between her wings. She had a beautiful crimson red mane that flowed down the back of her neck and was clipped to the left side of her head. Her coat was a light shade of yellow from what I could see. She was also wearing a maid outfit (no, not french maid, perverts) that covered her flanks. I could see her tail poking out the back it was pretty long and as straight as her main, what got my attention were her eyes. They were this brilliant blue that reminded me of the blue of tropical waters. I had to admit, she was cute.

I felt Celestia raise an eyebrow, I think she caught that. Celestia let the mare in with a greeting, “Good afternoon, Firefly.” Firefly entered the room carrying the salad on her back. She left the salad on a nearby table, bowed to Celestia and left. I was still fascinated by the mare that Celestia had to snap me out of my stupor. “Dante, if I didn’t know better I’d say you were having thoughts about Firefly just now.” She said with that all-knowing, motherly smile.

I knew she knew...I wasn’t exactly subtle in hiding my thoughts from her. Matter of fact, I had yet to discover a way TO hide my thoughts from her. “What? She was...pretty cute.” I was sure that I was blushing again.

For the next hour Celestia munched on her salad and I discovered that I could taste what she ate. Speaking of which, we are doing agriculture ALL WRONG! This was the best fruit salad I’ve ever had (vicariously). I shared this new info with Celestia, who was just as interested as I was. I felt she was making a mental list of my capabilities. When she finished I noted she was feeling fairly full, and for some reason I did too...was I also piggybacking her stomach too? Hmmm, I wonder. “Celestia, I think I think I have an idea of how our relationship works.”
Ok, I could have worded that better but this was a revelation that I had to share.

Celestia was confused at first before she caught on to what I was trying to say before motioning me to continue.

“It’s a symbiotic relationship. I’m not sure how, but I think I’m making the host, you, better through my attachement. Then in return, I guess I’m borrowing.....something from you?” I faltered at the end. I wasn’t entirely sure where I was going with this. I knew I wasn’t wrong, but I couldn’t point to what proved me right.

Celestia was contemplating this for a bit, she seemed at a loss as well. “I think you are on the right track. You might be gaining some kind of nourishment from me. What that nourishment is, I am not sure. Hopefully it is nothing detrimental. With hope Twilight will-”

*FOOOOM*

As if on cue a bound scroll appeared in front of Celestia and fell to the ground.

“Well, perhaps this can shed some light on what you are and what you can do.”

She unfurled the scroll and we both read its contents.
_________________________________________________________________________

Dear Princess Celestia,
After receiving your letter, I began researching this strange condition.
I managed to come across a few books that make reference to “dark-eyed warriors”.
According to the book’s author, “dark-eyed warriors were a rare breed of warriors that seemed to have super-natural abilities such as : Advanced healing, super equine strength, incredible endurance, and the ability to manipulate object through the use of dark tendrils. The main distinguishing characteristic of these warriors was that the whites of their eyes were encased in darkness.” What strikes me as odd is the book that references this condition is a book of Old Equestrian Mythology. I have attempted to find anything else referencing these warrior and what could give them these abilities. So far I’ve only come across a very obscure reference to something called a Symbio. Supposedly, they could merge with any race and grant them the same abilities, but nothing else is mentioned about them. I’m very sorry, but this is all I can find at the moment. I promise to have more information by the end of the week.

Your Faithful Student,
Twilight Sparkle
_________________________________________________________________________

Well now! This changes things! I had a species now, Symbio. Heh, kind reinforces that whole symbiotic idea. Well, hell this might actually get interesting.

Celestia seemed to share my sentiments, but something in her mind shifted. Her mind was suddenly split between two thoughts. One involving me, and the other involving this morning’s assassination attempt. She seemed to weighing her options until she had an idea, two actually.

“Dante, I’d like to ask a favor of you.”

“Sure, don’t know how much I can do while stuck to you but sure!”

Then she seemed to get a bit nervous. Nervous? Oh uh.

“That’s part of what I want to ask you. I want to send you to Twilight so she can study you more thoroughly.”

“...”

“...”

“You want me to be Twilight’s science project?”

“In a ...manner of speaking. I want to disconnect you from me and send you to Twilight so that she may study you directly. Based on her letter she’s chasing an old pony’s tale. If I send you to her, she can get live data and perhaps learn about you faster. I realize it sounds bad, but I want to do this to help you.”

Hmmm, time to play pros and cons.

Pros: Meet Twilight Sparkle, learn what the hell I am and what I can do, possibly meet rest of main six.

Con: Twilight is going to go nuts testing on me, it might kill me/ be painful to be removed from Celestia.

Eeeeeeh. Ok she’s asking me to trust her and to have faith in her. This is going to suck.

“Ok, I trust you Celestia. How do you want to do this?”

Author's Notes:

Aw yeah chapter 4! Loving all the support ya'll been giving me. chapter 5 shall be out Tomorrow!

Chapter 5- Meeting the Student

So, I learned something new about myself. I have the tenacity of bubble gum stuck to the pavement and the elasticity of a rubber band. Celestia had explain, she wanted to send me to Twilight for in-depth observation. She said she'd had wanted to assist with helping me understand my current form, but with the assassination attempt she had to shift her priorities. She apologized, but asked that I collaborate with Twilight as much as possible. She also said she had a side project she had to work on. When she mentioned the side project she had this smirk on like she was planning something.

So back to the Dante-ectomy. The first initial moments weren't so bad. I was able to practice a bit more with forming my newly dubbed "tendrils". Yeah they looked like hands but tendrils has that sort of evil sound that gave it more appeal. So I used my tendrils to grab onto a bar that Celestia had magically formed and she began to pull. The first thing we learned was my tendrils had some serious stretch to them. I managed to stretched to nearly the other end of the room before I started getting a strange sensation. It felt like when you have a band aid on your arm and you start to remove it. It that that sensation of the adhesive slowly relinquishing its grasp on on your skin. Then I felt the last piece of resistance give, and I learned another new thing. The thing I learned was what its like to hit a wall at high speed. Now this would have been a painful experience, except I was Gak. The minute I made contact with the wall my entire form spread out and distributed the force. I still felt the impact (damn you physics!) but I wasn't in pain...I was definitely seeing stars though. This was immediately made worse when gravity decided to be a dick (FAKA YOU, NEWTON!) and force me to the ground, further deafening my senses.

I heard a voice call to me, “Dante?”

I just shuddered, this was a bad idea. I couldn’t feel anything. I had no concept of self. I wasn't sure what was my head, body, or anything.

“Dante,are you okay?” the voice was full of concern. I knew who it was, I just couldn’t respond. Not like, “Oh, I’m in such pain. So I won’t speak” No, I had no mouth and I could not speak. I could see...kinda. Things were really trippy. Everything had this sort of ethereal flow. It was like seeing the wind (if the wind was this whitish-blue). I could see Celestia looking at me, but It was like I could only see this aura that was her. To me she was just this glowing outline of golden energy. She was practically a walking sun with a pony shape!

“Can you hear me?” She was sounding more concerned now. I’d better try to respond somehow. I did some experimenting and tried to find some sort of sensation of an appendage or something that would respond to commands. I looked up at Celestia and I tried to will myself to move towards her with little success. Ugh, I need to think of something. Ok, Celestia said the tendrils appeared when I reacted out of instinct. Hmmm, you don’t walk out of instinct, you had to send a signal to your legs to get the muscles to move. Except, I don’t have legs...so maybe my body was just one large amorphous being. Wait, that might be it. I adapted my thinking and shifted to moving more like a snake. I was moving. BOO-YA! Oddly, enough my body seemed to apply itself to my new form of locomotion. I felt myself elongate to allow for my slithering movements to work. I was able to make it to what I assumed was Celestia’s right foreleg and I craned what I assumed was now my head up at her. I was starting to realize I was now very, very small. I did not like it.

Celestia took pity on my new diminutive size and lowered her body until she was laying flat on the ground. She was now at eye level with me. Did I even have eyes? “Dante, I want to make sure you are alright before I send you to Twilight. Can you answer a few questions for me? They’ll be ‘yes or no’ questions.”

I felt compelled to try and answer verbally, but all that was audible was this high pitch squeak sound. I couldn’t make out Celestia’s expression but based on how fast her hooves reached her muzzle, she was either holding back laughter or containing a squee.

She regained herself and apologized. “Sorry, but...that was adorable.” Adorable? Ow...my man pride. I attempted to give an annoyed look, but again I couldn’t gauge her reaction due to how I saw things now. “Anyway, are you feeling, okay?” Well, I had regained some feeling in my body. I felt some soreness from my recent encounter with Newton’s law of physics; otherwise, not bad. I nodded in response.

Celestia nodded, “Good, are you able to see?” Considering I was looking at a talking sun aura, that had to count. I nodded. “Ok, last question. I have to put you into a container in order to get you to Twilight via dragon fire. Are you claustrophobic?” I thought back to many of my trips on airplanes due to my dad’s military career, and that one time I got to try out a g-force centrifuge. Both had their own variation of cramped but it never scared me. I shake my head.

With a nod, I saw her aura start to glow brighter around her horn and I saw the aura shoot across the room and grab a square shaped object. If I had to take a guess this was my “carriage” for this evening. Celesia took the box and placed it in front of me. Based on its size it could be a jewelry box. I looked at the box then up at Celestia. She motioned for me to get in the box. I was never sure how snakes climbed things, and this was shown no better than my many failed attempts to slither into this box. Celestia didn’t notice (thankfully), as she was at her desk writing something down. I ended up hooking my head on to the side of the box and just hefting my body into the box. The inside was cushioned and was actually pretty comfy. Oooh. Was that velvet I felt? Swanky. I felt my body adjust to the box. I think I was spherical now. Hmmmm, I got all the right curves in all the right places.

Celestia finished her letter and grabbed a bottle of swirling green from a nearby rack. Her aura glowed again and her aura shot to the box I was resting in. The box rose from the ground and came to rest on Celestia’s desk. I looked to her, she was looking down on me. “I’ve written a letter for Twilight. I’m going to send it through with you. I’m not sure what the journey will be like for you, but I wish you luck.” She put the letter down next to the box. “And one last thing.” I shifted my view back to Celestia. “I realize that you know a lot about our world as far as recent events. I would appreciate it if you did not mention these events to my student or my subjects.” I could see the logic in that. Too many questions and problems. Best to keep the inner fanboy in the closet. I gave her a final nod, and Celestia closed the lid of the box. I heard a latch click on the box. Whelp, best buckle up. God knows what this is going to feel like.
__________________________________________________________________________

Dragon fire teleportation is AWESOME! It’s like being spun in a centrifuge before being hucked like a rock in a sling shot! My entry into Equestia was more like me speeding out of control to where ever I might land. This felt was more controlled and directed. I felt some slight shifts in direction along the way. Then suddenly, someone hit the air brakes...hard. I went from lightspeed to deadstop in a second. I felt myself splat to the front of the box but like before gravity pulled me to the bottom of the box.

I heard sound of a least a 7.7 belch (out of the 10 point scale) followed by my container hitting the ground. Thanks to the cushions in the box I hardly felt anything. I was regaining my senses when I noticed that there were two new auras outside of the box. One of the aura was a swirling green and the other was a vibrant violet.

“Whoa! That was way deeper than I expected” I heard a young voice say. “What’s the letter say, Twilight?”

“Hmmm, apparently Princess Celestia has sent us something to help with our research. I wonder what it is.” I heard a feminine voice say.

I’d heard enough to know who these two auras belonged to. This could be none other than Twilight Sparkle and her faithful assistant Spike the dragon. Hmmm, they want to know what’s in the box....my inner troll demands homage. A little shimmy, shimmy and the box gave a satisfyingly curious shake.

I saw both the auras flinch. Yes, minions. Right where I want you.

“Did...did that just move?” I heard Spike ask.

“I..I’m not sure.” Twilight replied.

The purple aura of Twilight was the first to approach. I saw her lower her head in front of the box. I suspected she was inspecting my container, and she was mighty close. I think it’s time for a little forward shove. Twilight backed off pretty fast. Hehehe, ok I’ve had my fun. I want out. Time to pull out the universal greeting.

Knock, knock-knock-knock, knock.

Twilight looked at Spike and he returned the look. Then he looked to my box and I saw Spike reach a claw toward the ground and he replied.

Knock, knock.

Mah dragon! With pleasantries out of the way, I guessed the two were a bit more at ease. Spike started approaching the box but Twilight cut him off, “Wait, Spike. Let me open it. We don’t know what this is.” Ooooh you do. You’ve just haven’t seen it yet.

I saw her aura reach out to the latch and unlock it. The box top flew open and I was there presented in my ....gaky glory. I wasn’t sure but from Twilight and Spike’s cocked heads they were confused.

“What is it?”

“I don’t know, Spike. I can’t tell what it is.”

I decide now is a good time to get another reaction. I reach my head out of the box and slither out. Twilight screamed and immediately started backpedaling. “SNAKE!!!”

I started laughing my ass off at this. Well, squeaking my ass off, but you get the point. Twilight was not assumed. She already had her back to the wall and was not happy with my current shape. So I relaxed and let my form turn more blob like. I saw Spike was approaching and I shifted my body to face him.

“Hey, it’s kinda cute.” Spike said as he reached out to touch me.

Twilight tried to protest but he already had his hand on me. I felt myself attach to him slightly and for a second I heard his thoughts, “Huh, slimey.” Well, that was news to me. Better take advantage of this momentary link. “Hi, Spike!”

His claw immediately retracted and my connection with Spike snapped. He pointed an accusing talon at me and said,“T-T-T-Twilight! It spoke to me!!!”

Twilight’s fear must have subsided as her aura was approaching me now. I turned to her and she stopped for a moment before hesitantly taking a few more steps toward me. She extended a hoof toward me and held it there “Hu-Hu-Hello, my name is Twilight Sparkle. Who are you?”

I slipped forward until I made contact with her hoof, “Hello, Twilight Sparkle. I’m Dante Morelo, and I’m a Symbio.”

I don’t know what her face looked like, but based on how she was prancing about screeching “Omigosh” over and over again, she was over the hill. Spike on the other hand, was standing to the side with his head cocked to the side again. “What did it say? How does it know my name?”

Best thing about mental conversations? They’re two-way with no possibility of eavesdropping.

After Twilight finished proclaiming her happiness to Gosh, Twilight zipped back in front of me and started releasing rapid fire questions about what I could do, where I was from, and how I was able to communicate telepathically. I could hardly keep up so I decided to do the one thing I could think of that would answer most of her questions. I motioned for her to come closer. She seemed to get the idea. With her hoof extended I decided to make my move. I spiraled my way up her forehoof and nestled myself between the follicles of her mane. She freaked out and started yelling.

I was already nestled in and I started connecting to her nervous system. I felt her heart beating away at a rapid pace. Her eyes were checking herself for me. Her mind was racing trying to determine what I had just done, and her legs were shaking like mad. She was scared, probably best to try and calm her.
“Twilight, I need you to calm down. I’m currently on the back of your neck. I’m not going to hurt you.”

“What did you do?! How are you doing that?” she replied out loud still scared out of her mind.

“See what you’re doing right now? That’s not calming down. I can tell. I’m connected to your nervous system, I can feel what you feel and hear your thoughts. Now, seriously, calm down!”

Twilight was still hysterical. “You’re connected to my nervous system?! What? How?! That doesn’t make sense!”

I could see Spike was starting to look concerned. I decided it was going to have to get drastic, “Twilight” I mentally told her in my most serious tone. “I need you to calm down or I’m going to have to do something that’s really going to spook Spike.”

That got her to stop. She was still breathing heavily, but her heart rate was beginning to come back to normal range. “Ok, now we are getting somewhere. Sorry for springing that on you but it’s a bit easier to get information across when I’m attached.” Her eyes were starting to focus more, I could actually see the Golden Oaks Library now. Aura vision is cool and all but it leaves out a lot of details. The library was just as big as depicted in the show. Wall to wall was lined with books of every genre and every topic one could imagine. Twilight and I seemed to be at the central table in the middle of the room while Spike was standing near the staircase that lead to their rooms. Spike still looked worried.

“Just a suggestion, but Spike looks a bit concerned. You might want to let him know you’re ok.”

Twilight finally came back to Equestia and shook herself back to focus. She looked to Spike to confirm what I said. Guilt crept into her mind before it shifted to mild anger. “He wouldn’t be worried if you hadn’t startled me.” She scolded mentally.

“Yes, I know. I’m sorry, but it’s kind of hard to explain things when you don’t have a mouth. Take care of Spike and I’ll answer as much as I can. Promise.”

Twilight seemed to accept this and began to move towards Spike. “Spike, I’m ok I just-” She didn’t finish that sentence. Her legs were still shaken up from my performance a second ago and tripped over them. She fell face forward and connected with the ground pretty hard. It must have knocked her out, because she went limp. Shit. I remembered what Celestia had told me about control in the absence of consciousness. I was still up and running, although I felt the start of a wicked headache. I gave an experimental twitch of the front foreleg. I got a reaction. Whelp, better finished what was started. I opened Twilight’s eyes to see Spike kneeled next to me calling for Twilight. I slowly got onto all fours and nursed the sore spot on Twilight’s head. That should probably be a knot from the swelling alone. Guess that's the healing ability at work.

I turned to look at Spike who was still worried. Well, here we go!

“Hey, Spike...uh, Twilight kinda got knocked out. So I’m going to be in control for a while....Name’s Dante.” I held out Twilight’s hoof. “No hard feelings?”

Author's Notes:

Well, this just got interesting.

Also! Wanted to thank everyone for reading my story. I've been reading the comment and suggestions ya'll have been giving me. I'm extremely grateful and I appreciate it. I hope to keep this running for a bit. I hope you continue to enjoy!

Chapter 6- First Impressions are Important.

Having control of a body again felt like a double edge sword. On one hand (or now hoof) I felt like I existed. I wasn't just a thing anymore. I was physical, solid, alive. Then on the other hand/hoof, I was suddenly an intruder again. That trumped all the good that came with being in control again.

Spike was looking at me with contempt in his eyes. He was not happy with me. Well...he had a good reason. I still had Twilight’s hoof out, I decided to put it down. Twilight’s ears were splayed back against her head. The ground was looking mighty interesting right now. Anywhere that wasn't in Spike’s direction seemed pretty good right now.

“What do you want?” I heard Spike asked the hate in his voice was intense.

I felt Twilight’s ears snap to attention and my gaze shifted back to Spike, “What?”

“What. Do. You. Want?” he repeated deliberately.

They felt like a blade to the heart with each word. “I’m sorry, Spike. Really. Twilight will be back in control the second I fall asleep. I acted rashly and it scared Twilight and you. I am truly sorry.” I replied with Twilight’s voice. I was being honest, even if it wasn't on purpose, I was still at fault.

The room was quiet for a bit, you could hear a pin drop...from two miles away. Then I heard Spike let out a long sigh, “Ok, I forgive you, just so long as nothing bad happens to Twilight.”

I finally met Spikes gaze. I was dumbfounded. I mean yeah they were understanding and compassionate on the show, but this took it to another level. I just took over his surrogate sister and he forgave me. I couldn't help it. I hugged him, “Dude! Thank you! I promise I’ll make this up to you.”

Spike was resistant at first but just let the hug happen before adding, “Yeah, no problem. Can I mention how weird it is to hear Twilight say ‘dude’?”

I put the baby dragon down while letting out a chuckle. “Yeah, it is a bit weird.”

So yeah a bit of forgiveness. Feeling a bit better. I was preparing to ask Spike a question about Twilight’s research when I heard somepony yelling at the top of their lungs.

“TWIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIILIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGHT!!!!!”

*WHAM*

A bright pink pony with equally pink poofy mane and tail had just slammed the library door open. She was looking around the room until she set her focus on me. This was none other than the Party Princess Pony, Pinkamena Diane Pie. Pinkie was shifting her gaze between me and different locations around the library. “Twilight, I need your help! There’s a new pony here somewhere and my Pinkie Sense is telling me that that somepony is here! Have you seen him?” She asked. Wow, the Pinkie sense has some amazing reaction times. I’ve barely been here ten minutes and Pinkie has already pinpointed my location. Regardless of the almighty power of the Pinkie Location System, this could be bad. Pinkie’s abilities are a rogue element. If she found out what I did she might get mad....and I did not want a pissed off Pinkie Pie after me...Nuewp! Do not want!

Ok I need information on how best to deal with this. I looked at Pinkie and spoke in my best Twilight voice, “I think I might Pinkie, but can I talk to Spike about something first? It’s kind of important.”

Pinkie sat down on her haunches and gave a smile and a nod, “Sure, Twilight! I’ll keep looking! I know that new pony is ‘round here somewhere!” Her head was swiveling to different parts of the library and she was checking under errant objects.

I smiled and turned to Spike and motioned him to follow me to the kitchen. The kitchen was fairly simple and had all the amenities one could want. I had a simple stove with oven attached. There was a decent sized refrigerator and a simple sink with in the middle. Oddly enough, the cabinets looked like they were more a part of the library rather than objects that were brought in and attached. I held the kitchen door open for him and let it close behind him. Pinkie was checking inside books looking for me. I looked to Spike, he still had an unamused face but it wasn’t as bad as before. “What did you want to talk about?” Spike inquired with his arms crossed.

I leveled with him, “I need to know how to break this to Pinkie.”

Spike arched a brow. “Just tell her.” ...Blunt, Spike, very blunt.

“Well, yeah, but what if she reacts badly to all this? What if she doesn't even believe me? I really don’t want Twilight’s friends to hate me.”

Spike’s brow furrowed this time, “How do you know Pinkie is Twilight’s friend? Better yet, how’d you know my name before?”

Ok, I actually have a valid excuse this time and a way to avoid exposing they were characters in a TV show. “Celestia gave me the rundown of Twilight, you, and her friends. I’m...kinda alone here. I think she figured if I knew about you, Twilight, and her friends ya’ll might...help.” I was half lying. Celestia hadn’t told me about them, I already knew about them. The being alone part was all truth. I could use some friends.

Spike’s expression softened a bit. “You..don’t have anyone? You don’t have any friends?”
I shook Twilight’s head.

“Family?”

I shook Twilight’s head again.

“Wow...” was all Spike said.

“Yeah, I’m sorry for taking over Twilight but-”

“WHAT!?”, a new but not unfamiliar said from nowhere.

Suddenly, Pinkie exploded out of the oven. Ok, I knew she was random...but seriously? How did she go from the main library to the oven without Spike or me noticing?

“What did you just say?” Pinkie said near inches from Twilight’s face.

Spike and I were both equally startled. I had felt Twilight’s ears shoot to full attention. I was still dumbfounded by Pinkie’s spontaneous teleportation. “Uh...duh...what?”, was about all I got out.

Pinkie was eyeing me with suspicion. I mentally snapped myself out of it and decided that there was no way to predict where this would go. Best keep it short, sweet, and truthful (to a degree). “Pinkie, you know that new pony you were looking for?”

Pinkie nodded still holding a suspicious look.

I took Twilight’s hoof and I used it to pull away part of her mane on the back of her neck, where I was. “Do you see that spot? That’s me. My name is Dante.”

I watched Pinkie out of Twilight’s peripheral, she was staring at me. Then she raised a hoof and...oh no.

*Poke*

I giggled. Twilight’s hooves shot to her mouth. Oh God, tell me she didn’t hear that.

She looked to me again. Her eyes narrowed and she moved to poke me again.

I whipped around and backed away.

“Twilight isn't ticklish there.” Pinkie stated.

“I am. Please don’t do that.” I requested.

*GASP* “You ARE the new pony. But not a pony! You’re some kind of black Gak thingie! Oh, Oh I should throw a welcome party after we get you off of Twilight. *Gasp* I should get the girls!” She said out loud, before she was moving toward the kitchen door. Uh oh, going down hill fast. She was about to zip out of the kitchen when I reached out and grabbed Pinkie by the tail with a tendril. I heard Spike gasp, and Pinkie soon shared the sentiment when she investigated what had stopped her.

“I know it’s freaky. I know both you are concerned for Twilight. I know I’m making her look kind of evil right now. Just please, hear me out before you go for the cavalry.” I begged of Pinkie. Her eyes were glued to Twilight’s. I let my hand tendril retract and Twilight’s eyes return to normal. Pinkie still looked surprised and Spike was sharing the expression. I couldn't read past the surprise, I need to humble myself a bit more. “Look if you don’t believe me when I’m done. You can take me off of Twilight. I won’t resist.” I meant it...it was gonna suck, but it would show my sincerity.

Pinkie looked at Spike and he looked at her. Spike made his way next to Pinkie and took a seat, Pinkie mirrored him. “Okie-doki-loki, but I’m still going to get the girls after this. They deserve to know.” Pinkie informed me still suspicious. I didn't protest. I spent the next few minutes going through the events of the last day. I told Pinkie and Spike about my death, my entry into Equestia, and what happened after I linked with Celestia. I left out the part about the assassination attempt. Of all things, to make them worry about that wasn't one they needed. Celestia had it under control....I hoped.

Neither one of them interrupted me. I finished and awaited judgement. It was silent for a moment. I looked up to gauge their reactions. Pinkie looked pensive like she was trying to determine how to feel. Spike was looking empathetic. Guess he felt sorry for me, I had told him about me being alone, but I never told him I had died. Pinkie chimed in, the bubbliness of her voice had given way to a sort of monotone pitch. “I’m...I’m going to go get the girls. I’ll be back in a bit.” I just nodded and walked Pinkie to the door. She made her way into Ponyville. She didn't say a word as she left. As she was leaving I could see several ponies going about their business. Some stopped and waved at Twilight wishing her a good day. I gave them a courteous wave and closed the door. I turned to see Spike in the center of the library, waiting for me. I let out a sigh and I approached Spike. I had to make this right. “Spike, we need to wake up Twilight.”

Spike looked at me with a confused look. “How do we do that?”

I had to think on it. I could just slap her face until she woke up, but that might not be enough. I needed something that would shock her straight to consciousness. Hmmmmmm. OH! Time for another cliche!!

“Spike, do you have any ice?”

“In the freezer. But why do you need ice?”

I gave a bit of a devious smile. “I’m gonna add water and apply to it directly to Twilight.”

Spike lit up like a Christmas tree. “YES! I’ve always wanted to do this!” He was a giddy as a kid in a candy store. I couldn't help by chuckle. It didn't take long to find a bucket and fill it with ice and water. Spike led me to the bathroom, and I made my way into the tub. Hi, I’m Donte Morelo and this is my contribution to the Ice Bucket Challenge! I gave Spike a nod and with gusto he dumped the contents onto Twilight’s head. The reaction was instantaneous, Twilight’s body tensed up and I heard a voice screech in the back of Twilight’s head. “KYAAAAAAAAAAA!”

Well, what do you know. Cliches work! We were both drenched and cold, but the desired effect was obtained. I informed Spike of Twilight’s regained consciousness. “Welcome back” I said mentally. I felt Twilight’s mind attempting to recap what had happened. She seemed to have gotten as far as when I had arrived and when she fell, then reached a blank. “What happened?...Why can’t I move!?” Deja freaking Vu. “You tripped and knocked yourself out. Spike helped wake you up. We’re going to disconnect me from you before your friends get here.”

Twilight’s mind did a back flip. She was must have thought I was just taking over. The fact I was willingly removing myself seemed to put her at ease.

“Spike, I’m gonna need a towel and something to grab onto.” I said out loud. Spike gave a salute and took off to get the requested items. Twilight was balking at her voice being used without her say so. “How are you doing that?” She asked.

“When you are asleep or unconscious I can take over. Once I’m removed or I lose consciousness you will take over. I was overzealous to try and do something without letting you know first. I hope you can forgive me.” Twilight was processing what I had told her. I let her think. Spike returned with a towel and a broom stick.. I used Twilight’s hooves to cradle the towel and rub it against her magenta fur and purple mane until both were no longer drenched. The cold we had been feeling before was subsiding and a natural warmth was beginning to take over.I gave the towel back to Spike and I motioned for him to follow me again. We made our way back to the center of the library. I explained what I wanted Spike to do with the broom stick and he nodded that he understood. Twilight finally came off her train of thought. “You said your name was Dante, right?”She asked mentally. I nodded.

“I’m not sure if I can trust you completely, but I want you to explain everything to my friends. If they are willing to trust and forgive you. I will do the same.”

“I understand. I’ll need to be in contact with you or somepony else so that I can communicate. Is it okay if I just stay on your back so you can relay my words for me?”

“Yes, that will be fine....also, I keep getting these thoughts. They’re not not mine, are they coming from you?”

“They’re probably mine. Celestia and I figured that when I’m attached everything must be shared. So, I can feel what you feel and I can understand your thoughts. We’re essentially synced.”

Twilight’s mind went to determining how that was possible but ended up filing it away for study later. Twilight gave me the go ahead to remove myself. I told Spike to ready the broom and get ready to pull. He readied the stick and I used my tendril hand to grab on. Spike began pulling and I tried to relax myself in the hopes that I’ve come off a little easier than before. It seemed to help out a bit. Poor Spike was straining himself to yank me off. He gave a final yank and I came loose...right into Spike’s face. I heard him yell out loud and mentally. I on the other hand was plastered all over his face and was feeling that numbness from before. Eventually, I felt a purple aura wrap around me and I was removed from Spike’s face and placed on the back of the glowing purple aura that was Twilight. “Uugh, that still sucks.”

I was able to link with Twilight a little. I felt a part of me wanting to connect with her completely but I was able to resist. “Are you okay?” Twilight asked mentally. “Yeah, just I think getting disconnected drains me a bit. That and of the two times I’ve been pull off somepony and immediately hit something.”

“What did you hit last time?”

“A wall.”

I wasn’t fully connected but I was still able to see her stifle a giggle. “Not cool, Twilight.”

She didn’t say anything, she just rolled her eyes. Um, rude!

“Well, I’m not sure how long until Pinkie gets back with the others. So, I’ll tell you what I told Spike and Pinkie in the mean time.”
_________________________________________________________________________

It was a few minutes before Pinkie returned with the remainder of the Main Six.Thankfully, I was able to get through what had happened in the last day up until today.They were all wearing looks of concern and asking if Twilight was ok. Apparently, Pinkie hadn’t given many details; only that they needed to come to the library. Twilight explained what had happened going over the assignment Celestia had tasked her with in regards to a strange condition and how it had lead to something called Symbios who might be the cause of the condition. Rainbow Dash was the first to make a comment. “Whoa, whoa, wait a second. You’re telling me there might be a thing out there that can make a pony into some kind of awesome warrior?”

“If what I’ve found is to be believed then, yes.” Twilight responded.

“That’s. so. AWESOME!” Should have seen that one coming.

Fluttershy didn’t seem to think so and Rarity shared her sentiments. “Well, surely a creature such of that must be truly quiet the brute.” Gee, want to check your privilege there, Rarity?

Twilight caught that last thought. “Relax, they don’t know you yet. Let me finish and you can voice your concerns.”

I wasn’t happy with that. Not having a mouth sucked! I resigned myself to staying on Twilight’s back as she continued. She went on to explain how Celestia had sent her a box that contained something to assist with her research of the Symbios. She then went through what had transpired that led up to Pinkie going to collect them. There were mixed reactions from each pony: Rarity looked abashed, Rainbow Dash looked angry, Fluttershy was covering her mouth with her hooves, Applejack was probably the most stoic seeming to just let the information sink in and mull it over. Pinkie was looking over Twilight’s shoulder at me and back to her friends. I still couldn’t tell what she thought of me.

Rainbow was again the first to speak up, “Well, what happened to that ungrateful little freak!? I’ll make it pay for taking over your body when you were just trying to help!” I shrank...not liking where this was going. I saw Fluttershy trying to say something but I couldn’t hear it. Applejack moved toward Rainbow Dash who was hovering in the air. “Take it easy there, Sugar Cube. We ain’t heard its side of the yet. It may have had a good reason doing what it did.” Her down to Earth country accent gave a calming tone to her words. Gotta love the voice of reason.

Applejack’s statement seemed to quell Rainbow’s anger a bit, “Ok, fine. But if it’s not, that thing is in a world of hurt!” Ok, that’s four times I’ve been referred to an “it”. I happen to have a...wait...do I?....DAMN IT!! I don’t know if I even have a gender anymore!

Twilight turned and nudged me. It got my attention and snapped me out of the thought I probably was going to be getting any for a long while. I looked up at her and she motioned to her friends, guess it was time for introductions.

“Girls, I know that this might be odd, but I want to introduce you to someone” said Twilight.

All the ponies present looked at Twilight as I craned my body around her side so I could be seen. Rarity and Fluttershy gasped, while Rainbow and AJ just looked stunned.

“This is Dante, he’s the Symbio I mentioned before.” Twilight held her hoof under me and I let myself fall onto it. She took the extended hoof and presented me to the others...and suddenly it was really quiet.

“Uuuh, Twilight...this is a new level of awkward silence.”

“Just give them a second. Remember, as far as anypony knows you’re the only one of your kind.”

“Somehow that doesn’t help much.” I thought solemnly. I was going to say something else when I felt warm air touching Twilight and me. Twilight looked up from me and saw Fluttershy was a few inches away from me. When had she approached? Fluttershy was just staring at me. Her light green eyes were looking over every inch of me. Twilight looked at the others who hadn't moved an inch.

“Can...can he talk?” Fluttershy inquired. She didn’t seem as timid as she was in the show, but it could be she saw me as more as an animal than a thinking creature.

Twilight nodded, “He can but you have to make physical contact. He communicates telepathically”

Fluttershy was hesitant for a second, but eventually she raised a hoof and make contact with me. I felt the connection with her and with Twilight. Ok, this was weird. I could hear both of their thoughts. Too weird.

“Uh, Twilight, can you put me down? I’m hearing two sets of thoughts at once. It’s weirding me out.”

Fluttershy must have heard that as she retracted her hoof. Twilight seemed to understand and put me on the ground. I lost her sight and swapped to aura sight. I still saw her aura but when I turned around I could see the auras of the other five. Fluttershy’s aura was a light yellow that seemed to flow off her like a waterfall. Rainbow’s aura was cyan but her aura looked buffeted. Each time she beat her wings her aura was forced down to the ground. Rarity’s aura was more of of a vibrant white with a blue underlay that started from her center and radiated out. Then there was Applejack and Pinkie’s aura. Their auras were different, it was like their auras were flowing out of the ground and building within them. I think I should remember this, Twilight might be able to make something out of this.

I saw Fluttershy approach me again. Her hoof was extended again. I moved up and made contact. “Hello, Fluttershy.”

The small amount of contact was enough for me to see through her eyes...wow, I was small. Fluttershy was surprised but also interested,“Oh um, hello. My, this is different. I’ve always been able to understand animals, but never like this!” She stated out loud. I felt her getting more excited, she put both hooves on my and I felt myself being lifted. I wasn’t expecting this and I freaked out a bit. My body reacted before my mind and it started to curl around her leg. I wasn’t linked with her yet, but the urge was getting really strong.

“Fluttershy..I-I need you to put me down, please.” I pleaded. It was starting to get harder to resist linking with her, and if I did I might freak her out. Good Lord, I could only imagine the rage of the bronies back on Earth if I traumatized Fluttershy.

Fluttershy was too enthralled by the prospect of a new creature to learn about that my thoughts didn’t reach her. The urge was getting unbearable. I just...needed to...not....
I saw myself in Fluttershy’s eyes. My whole body was spazzing! I had to act or the urge was going to overtake me. Then I did something that I still regret...don’t hate me....I yelled at Fluttershy.

“PUT ME DOWN NOW!!!”

That got her attention. She immediately relinquished me and I was airborne for a few seconds. I saw myself before she let me go. I felt that I had spooked her. Boy, my guilt was done crushing me. Now it was just content putting me in front of the firing squad and just shooting me until I was torn apart. Then I felt something new grab me. The connection let me see myself again but I was still in the air. I felt a strong urge to protect and anger that was directed at me. Who ever had me was about to toss me out the window, when the urge took over. I snaked up the arm of my soon to be host and found myself nestled in their mane.

“What the!?” I heard my host yell as I fully linked with them. Heart rate was up, muscles were tense, and wings were beating hard. Ok, Fluttershy tossed me, and there was only one other pegasus present. I was linked to Rainbow Dash.

Author's Notes:

Decided to try something new with the mental talking. Might keep it might not. Let me know what ya'll think. May or may not post another chapter tomorrow. There will definitely be one Monday. Ya'll are awesome. Later!

Chapter 7- Making Friends

Ok, not feeling good. My body had attached to Rainbow Dash without my say so. I had yelled at Fluttershy, and I’m pretty sure I just blew any chance of gaining their trust. DAMN IT!

“Hey! Little loud!” I heard my host say. “Also, GET THE BUCK OFF OF ME!”

Yeeeeeah and Rainbow was supremely pissed with me right now. I would have done what she said but that spaz attack from earlier had me rattled and I didn’t want to leave my host.

“R-r-rainbow Dash...Please...I...feel wrong....Please let me stay.” I pleaded, sounding pretty pathetic.

“No way! Get off me or I’m going to yank you off!”

We were still hovering near the library window. Rainbow was shouting her responses, while I was confined to telepathy. The others were listening to a one sided conversation. I tried to beg Rainbow to let me stay when I was suddenly feeling really tired. I felt myself losing consciousness. “Rain..bow...wrong...me...help....please” I managed to squeak out that last sentence out before I blacked out.

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Next thing I could remember I outside my house. My house on Earth. I..I was home? I felt a rush of excitement, I was home! I could tell my parents I wasn’t dead, I could hang with my friends, I could actually continue my life! I ran for the front door, bounding over the front lawn. I reached the front door and threw it open. “MOM, DAD!” I yelled. I looked around the house. It was the house I grew up in most of my life. I could walk it blindfolded. I didn’t see my parents. Maybe they were in their rooms. I went to check. The master bed room door was closed. In my excitement I threw the door open. My heart lept, inside were my parents and my best friends. I saw my mother, a short woman with short curly hair that was greying but still had remnants of her natural black hair. She was in her early 50’s but was still in good shape from all her running. She’d taken care of me for most of my life while my dad had been gone. She had taught me everything (Moral and educational) My dad was right next to her. He was slightly taller than my mom and had long since shaved his hair off once he had started balding. He was well built and still had the posture of a man in the military. He was in his early 50’s like my mom but he could still go kick ass if he wanted. He was a strong man but knew how to have a good time. I had always aspired to be like him. I had long since adopted his “why not” attitude. If there was something dangerous and thrill worthy, neither of us would hesitate to do it.

In the room with them were my five best friends. There was Aaron Abbott, probably the first friend I had ever made when my family had settled down after my dad’s retirement from the military. He was a bit of a ditz and was a hopeless romantic, but if you ever needed a pick-me up, he was the guy.
Next to him was Jorge Cabinillas, I met him in high school. I used to find ways to ninja my way behind him and scare the ever living crap out of him. He hated it but he’d always find a way to get back at me some how. Jorge was also an amazing artist, but he’d never admit it. He was also the one who got me into My Little Pony. I had been so resistant to it at first, but then I watched the first episode, then the second, then the third, and I was hooked. But Jorge didn’t know that...so I pretended for a week that I hadn’t watched it just to mess with him. He was so pissed when I told him I had watched the whole first season.

Next to him were the Phoenix brothers. They were near identical brothers but were two different ages. The older Phoenix brother, Myles, was an aspiring Navy candidate and was probably the most charismatic guy I’d ever met. If he had something on he’d say it with no filter. He wasn’t a brony but he was ok with the rest of us. Myles and I used to have “man offs” and who was the most “‘Merican” contests. (I’ll admit he was pretty ‘Merican, he beat me when a bald eagle started roosting outside his house. YOU CAN’T OUT ‘MERICA THAT!”

His brother, Conor, was a brony but he was a bit more reserved. He was pretty quiet at times but would make himself known if he needed. He was also a notorious shipper. He pretty much invented a new rule of the internet (If there are two people in a series, they will be shipped) He also came up with a good amount of our crazy ideas. One year he had compiled a list of “out of context” lines and put them on shirts. There were many confused people that day.

Then, there was George Lumi. George was the Barney of my friends. He had loads of girl friends. I attributed it to his good looks, blonde hair, and short stature. He was a bit more religious than the rest of us, but he was still an awesome guy. He was also a pretty impressive actor and singer. I was always jealous of that. I have a singing voice that breaks windows and makes cats screech. It didn’t matter. He was always fun to hang out with.

This was perfect! Everyone I was missing was here! “Guys! I’m here! I’m not dead!” I shouted in excitement....nothing. “Mom? Dad? Dudes? Can you hear me?” I was getting worried. Why weren’t they responding? “Come on, ya’ll. You’re freaking me out.” I walked up to each of my friends. I tried to get them to acknowledge me. Nothing was working. I couldn’t even touch them. I was a ghost. I didn’t exist. I saw them crying. I wanted to do something, anything to make them see me. Let them know I was okay. Let them know I wasn’t dead. I felt like crying. I couldn’t stand seeing my family like this, seeing my friends crying for me. It hurt so much. I just wanted to let them know I wasn’t dead. That I still existed.
__________________________________________________________________________

I awoke to the sound of of someone eating. I had to focus to see again. There was a table in front of me along with a bowl of cereal. I could hear munching sounds in my ears..no not my ears. I was still piggy backing on somepony. I saw a cyan hoof come up and wipe her eyes. I guess I was still on Rainbow Dash. Well...maybe she was a bit calmer now.

“Uh...hi.”

“Huh? Oh, your awake. *Sniff* That’s good. How, uh, how ya feeling?” Why did she sound like she’d been crying?

“I feel a bit better now. Guess I pushed myself a bit too much yesterday.”

She chuckled, “Heh, yeah I know that feeling.” She took another bite of her cereal. I decided to let her finish eating before continuing. I noticed her thoughts were focusing on me for some reason. She was somewhere between wanting to hate me and feeling sorry for me. Where did that come from? Had she seen my dream?

She finished the last of her cereal and drank what was left of the milk before placing her bowl in a nearby sink. Now that I could see again, I noticed that the whole house had a very Roman style build to it. There were columns that accented the doorways and I could swear the floors were marble. The tops of the walls had some fancy accents to them as well. I had to admit was pretty swanky. I finished admiring Rainbow’s home and noticed we were heading out of the kitchen and into the foyer. She made her way to the front door and opened it. Before us was the morning sky. The sun had just broken over the horizon and was painting the sky in a fiery-red and orange. Rainbow looked down and I noted exactly how far from the ground we were. Then I got a familiar feeling. It’s that feeling you get when you are on the edge of a precarious perch and you know that all you have to do is take a single step forward. Just a single step and you’d die. I LOVED THAT FEELING! It was the same feeling I got when I went skydiving!

“Hey Rainbow, when you leave your house do you just fly off, or you dive into it?”

I felt Rainbow wanting to pull a prank. “What’s wrong scared of heights?”

“Hehe, nope. But it’d be a hell of a thrill to skydive again.”

Rainbow was a bit disappointed at not being able to prank me but she was suddenly interested, “Skydiving, huh? So, you like that sort of stuff?”

“Heh I’ll try anything stupid once. Twice, if I really like it.”

I felt Rainbow smirk and she let herself fall off the front of her porch. This was a familiar sensation. Gravity was pulling both of us down to the ground and the only sound that could be heard was the sound of the wind rushing past Rainbow’s ears. “THIS IS AWESOME!”

Rainbow’s heart was perfectly calm and her mind hardly wandered. My mind on the other hand was enjoying the ride. We had fallen for about a minute, we were now under the clouds. I noticed Rainbow wasn’t making any attempt to veer off course or halt her descent in any way. I guess she was just milking it for effect. The ground was getting pretty close though. “Hey, uh Rainbow Dash. Might want to pull up now.” I thought with a bit of worry. Rainbow didn’t say anything. She was in the lounging position as we continued to plummet. She’s playing chicken with me. Hmmm, this could be interesting. Let’s see how far she’d push this.

“Ya know, I bet you’ll break off long before you come close to the ground.” I goaded her.

That got her attention. She said something, but the wind was whipping too hard for me to hear with her ears. “Think what you just said. I can’t hear you.”

“You’re gonna to lose that bet!”

With that she shot herself down towards the ground. WOOOOOO! We were mere feet from the ground when Rainbow pulled up at the last second caused a shockwave to blow underneath us. I was whooping like crazy and loving the feeling of gravitational forces pressing against us.

“NUEW MAH GAWD! THAT WAS AWESOME!”

“Damn straight! Now you owe me!”

“Ah ha ha, oooooh. Ok, that was worth it. What do I owe you?”

We regained altitude and were cruising just below the clouds.

“Hmm, I don’t know yet. I’ll just hold onto it for later.”

I would have protested but the ride was too much fun. “I’m ok with this. So, where are we heading anyway?”

“We’re heading to Twilight’s. She wanted to make sure you were okay when you woke up. That and she wanted to do some egghead stuff.”

“‘Egghead’ stuff? Like experiments?

I felt her roll her eyes. “Yeah, egghead stuff.”

After that, it was quiet for a while. I couldn’t think of anything to talk about. I decided to play a tune in my mind. It was good enough that I could put my focus into something to make time pass by faster, but I was noticing that Rainbow Dash was bob her head to the beat. I let the song play out. Could she actually hear the song?When I came to the end of the tune I heard Rainbow chime in, “What was that? It sounded like something DJ Pon3 would play.”

“It’s something I heard before.” I had to admit this was interesting. I knew when I was attached that I shared thoughts with my host, but I assumed it was how I interpreted theirs. I could get a vague idea of what they were thinking of but nothing concrete. But Rainbow made it sound like she heard the song clearly. Maybe it was because my focus was on the song. Maybe it’s similar to when I talk telepathically, I had to keep my focus on what I wanted to say for it to be heard. Hmmm, maybe I could share thoughts if I put my focus on them? Better log that away for later. But since I thought of that, I need to confirm something else.

“Rainbow, can I ask you something?”

“Don’t see why not. But if it’s to ditch out on that one you owe me, forget it.”

I chuckled at that, I had no problems owing Rainbow Dash a favor. Yeah it might come back to bite me in the ass, but with recent events I’d take it. “Nah, nothing like that.” I shifted to sounding a more serious. “Earlier before, when I woke up...were you crying?”

That got her to stop flying all together and come to a hover. I felt her wanting to avoid the question. “Look if you were, I won’t say a word to anypony. I just wanted to make sure you were ok.” That last part wasn’t entirely true. I had a feeling she was crying because of something she saw. Something I had unwittingly shared with her.

Rainbow didn’t respond at first. Instead, she opted seek out a nearby cloud and land on it. Dude clouds are like a bean bag mixed with a memory foam mattress. No wonder Rainbow sleeps on them! “Yeah, I’m fine...just I uh....I kinda..er..saw your dream or nightmare.....You really miss your friends and family, don’t you?”

Well, I was right. Felt bad that I was right, and now I felt embarrassed. I inadvertently just dumped my emotional baggage on Rainbow Dash. DAMN IT, SUBCONCIOUS! Be a little respectful! “Uh...yeah. I honestly don’t have anything I can call family or friends here. I mean I think Celestia might count. She seemed to treat me like a friend.” Wow, bold statement. Oh yeah, my only friend is the Princess of the Sun. No biggie. I really need to filter myself.

“Wow. That’s kinda cool. I mean Celestia cares for every pony. But I guess you’ve been a bit closer to her than most other ponies.”

Understatement of the century.

“I can kinda understand what you’re going through. Fluttershy was like that for a while.”

What? Fluttershy was alone? The show never mentioned this. I wanted to hear more about this. “What do you mean?”

I could feel Rainbow’s mind slip into a sad corner of her mind. I caught some glimpses of a younger Fluttershy crying, a younger Rainbow Dash trying to comfort her, and the two sharing a hard cry. Whoa, what caused this?

“When Fluttershy and me were just fillies, her parents were attacked by a rogue dragon. Fluttershy saw the whole thing. She was a wreck for the longest time. I was her only friend at the time.”

Dude....

I didn’t say anything, I couldn't. I was processing that new info. It explained a lot. Fluttershy’s fear of dragons. Why she was good friends with Rainbow Dash. But watching your parents die? Suddenly, the happy world of Equestria was beginning to get a bit grimmer. When I finally had the ability to say something I just asked if we could continue to Twilight’s place. Rainbow said it was fine and we moved on.

“Say uh...Dante, right?”

“Yeah, Rainbow?”

“Uh..I’d be happy to...be your friend and stuff.”

“Re-really? Even after yesterday?”

“Well, you’ll need to make it up to me later, but no pony deserves to be without a few good friends.”

Confound these ponies, they drive me to feel!

“Thanks, Rainbow Dash. I-I really appreciate it.”

__________________________________________________________________________

We arrived at Twilight’s after a while and we made our way inside. What I saw had me concerned. I saw everything that would be present at a mad scientist’s laboratory. Beakers, vial, various chemicals, and some machines I couldn’t begin to determine the functions of. To quote a famous Youtuber, “I don’t like where this is goin’”. Twilight was in the back prepping some equipment and I felt this might be my only chance to make an escape. Buuut science and knowledge does not come to those who don’t dare.

“Well, shall we do a Science?”

“Ugh, don’t go egghead on me now.”

“Hey, science can be cool. Plus I need some answers about what I am. And as a bonus, you can see what I can do.”

Rainbow was interested in that. I hadn’t shown my abilities to the others outside of Pinkie and Spike. Which gave me an idea. “Hey, Rainbow. Want to see Twilight freak out?”

Rainbow was intrigued, “What did you have in mind?”

I layed it out to Rainbow and she approved. We snuck up to Twilight and I let my tendrils come out. I gave Rainbow the go ahead and she announced our arrival.

Twilight began to turn around, “Oh, hi Rainbow! Glad you could maaaaaaAAAAAAAH!” Twilight’s eyes went to pinpricks, part of her mane stood on end, and I swear she got at least four feet of air. Rainbow Dash and I commenced with laughing our collective asses off. Rainbow Dash was holding her sides and I was using my tendrils to smack the ground. That look on Twilight’s face....Priceless.

“Rainbow Dash! That wasn’t funny! You look like a demon pony!” Twilight chided.

Neither of us cared, it was still funny. Rainbow finished laughing and I let my tendrils relax, but not retract. Rainbow took the initiative, “Hahaha, aaaah. Sorry, Twilight. But it was too perfect.” Then she paused for a second. “Wait, what do I look like?”

Twilight had recovered and levitated a same hand/hoof mirror in front of Rainbow Dash. Her magenta irises were swimming in black giving her the aforementioned “demon” look. With a slight shift of the mirror two lines could be seen running down her back from her mane. The two lines curved down and ended at two black disks that rested on her shoulders. From those disks were my tendrils.

Rainbow inspected her eyes first then began to inspect the lines from her mane to her shoulders. I felt her heart start to race. Uh oh, was she freaking out? I couldn’t get a grip on her thoughts. Then I felt something start to build in her throat. Was she about to scream?

“This. Is. So. COOOL!”

“Huh?!” I heard Twilight state, and I had to admit I shared the sentiment.

“I look like I could kick so much tail! What else can you do?” Rainbow’s mind was dancing with all sorts of possibilities. “I don’t know, but I really want to find out. Care to help?” I asked my new friend.

“ Aw yeah!”

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

With that we began experimenting. Twilight put me through a battery of tests. She took some samples from me, tested the capabilities of my tendrils, and hypothesised about my relationship with my hosts based on details I told her. Rainbow watched and looked to be mildly interested. She watched with her newly acquired “demon pony” eyes and seemed to be a bit curious herself. Eventually we got through most of the test and decided to take a break for lunch. I let my arms retract and Rainbow’s eyes return to normal.

Rainbow Dash and I were heading to a local restaurant along with Twilight. I was able to finally get a good look at Ponyville. It was exactly like the show. The buildings all seemed to follow a basic victorian design, but were mostly wooden with straw roofs. The only deviations I could see where the different shops we passed. The shops were differently colored and tended to have signs proclaiming their wares. What got me as giddy as a schoolgirl was all the other ponies that were going about their business. Most of them I didn’t recognize, but I saw a few that would have made me squee had I had a mouth. When we arrived at the restaurant I realized that something was a little off. Like something was missing...OH! A particular assistant was missing.

“Rainbow, can you ask Twilight where Spike is? I didn’t see him back at the library.”

“Oh yeah, sure.”

Twilight had just started to sit down when Rainbow asked, “Hey Twilight, Dante wanted to know where Spike is.”

“Oh, he’s helping Rarity at the boutique today. I don’t think I’ll need him for most of these experiments.” Twilight replied. Then she seemed to consider something, then asked, “Rainbow Dash, I’d like to talk to Dante about a few things, but I feel like it’d be better to talk to him directly rather than through somepony else. I also, want him to talk to the others about last night. Is it ok if I put you to sleep for a bit so I can talk to him?”

“What? Why do you need to put me to sleep to talk to Dante?”

“The night before he explained to me that he can only take direct control if his host is unconscious. I think it’s some kind of safety mechanism Symbios have. That way if their host is knocked out they can act to keep them safe.” Wow, that makes loads of sense. A back up personality to protect the main personality. Neat! “I’ll use a simple sleep spell, you’ll go to sleep and we’ll wake you up and do the same to Dante so you can take over again.”

Rainbow was hesitant to the idea for a bit, but gave a shrug. “Ok, fine. I could use a nap away.”

Twilight prepped the spell and hit Rainbow with it. She immediately started to doze off.

“Talk to ya when you wake up.”

“Yeah...I’ll see...ya...later.”
Rainbow went to sleep and was about to topple over but I managed to stop her body’s decent. I did a quick check to make sure I had full control. Wings-check, tail-check, Ear (fwip, fwip)- check! Alrighty, then.

I raised Rainbow’s head to look at Twilight. I began to speak with Rainbow’s voice, “Hi, Twilight. What did you want to talk about?”

Twilight looked a bit hesitant. “I’d like to...I’d like you to meet with some of my friends. I explained what happened yesterday to them, but not all of them are okay with you just yet.”

Well, after first impressions like that I’m not surprised...I really needed to apologize to Fluttershy before the bronies back home figured out how to make an inter-dimensional cannon and blasted me for my insolence.

“Yeah, I don’t blame them. I made a pretty poor impression.” I said with remorse, I felt Rainbow’s ears splay against her head. “I want to know more about myself, but I’d feel better it if I could try to make amends.”

Twilight smiled and agreed. “We’ll have some lunch and you can apologize. Rarity and Pinkie are the only ones who weren't too happy with you.”

Pinkie and Rarity I can understand. But Fluttershy wasn’t mad? Knowing her, she might be blaming herself somehow.

“Is it ok if we stop by Fluttershy’s as well? I sort of yelled at her yesterday. I’d like to apologize to her as well.”

Twilight held her smile and nodded “Of course, so what do you want to eat?”

I’d almost forgotten we had come here to eat, Twilight’s comment and an angry growl from Rainbow’s stomach reminded me. I checked the menu, albeit clumsily, but I managed to prop it up enough for me to read it. Seriously, either ponies had magic magnet hooves or there was a secret I didn't know about.
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Twilight and I finished our meals. I had a dandelion sandwich, it was actually better than I had expected. It had the texture of lettuce but had this lovely flavor that I couldn’t compare to. Twilight was kind enough to pay. Our first stop was Sugar Cube Corner. It was a bit of a walk so we talked on the way. I told Twilight about what I had observed the night before regarding the auras. She seemed interested and came up with a hypothesis. She hypothesized that what I was seeing was the flow of magic and that how each flowed was how their magic was applied. She also said she’d like to find a way to replicate my aura sight some how. I said I’d help where possible so long as nothing sharp was involved. Sorry, don’t like needles or scalpels. Ain’t happenin’. She accepted my terms saying she could figure out a way to do it magically. She then went into full on lecture mode and I got left in the dirt. I was a level one noob attempting to understand level three hundred MLG pro. I ended up having to stop her because I just didn’t get it. When I explained I didn’t know a thing about magic, Twilight got this glint in her eye and I sensed a lesson/experiment in my future. Hey, I’d learn magic, I wasn’t going to complain.

We made it to Sugar Cube Corner, and I could see through the window that Pinkie was helping run the front, while talking to Applejack. I noticed an extremely pregnant mare was in the back baking. Whoa, that must be Mrs. Cake. Guess she hadn’t had the foals yet. Pinkie was just finishing up with Applejack, when she spotted Twilight and me/Rainbow outside. She immediately jumped into the air and zipped outside in just under three seconds. Lord, she made the Road Runner look slow.

“Hi Twilight! Hi Dashie! How are ya?” Pinkie greeted us. Applejack also spotted us and trotted out to meet us.

“Heya Twi, Dash. What brings ya’ll ‘round here?”

“Well, Rainbow, Dante, and I were experimenting and we decided to break for lunch. Dante is currently in control of Rainbow while she takes a nap. He’d like to talk to the both of you.” With that out of the way she motioned for me to go ahead.

Applejack’s expression looked questioning and Pinkie’s happy-go-lucky demeanor was now very stern and slightly miffed.

I stepped forward, I felt Rainbow’s ears fold again. “I uh...I wanted to apologize for last night. I did some rash things without thinking and caused ya to worry. I’m really sorry.”

Applejack was looking directly at me. Her vibrant green eyes were drilling into me looking for a hint of insincerity. Finally, she smirked and extended a hoof. “Sa’ll water under the bridge partner. Pleasure to make yer acquaintance properly. I’m Applejack.”

Rainbow’s ears unfolded and I brought her hoof to meet Applejack’s. She hooked hers around Rainbow and we shook on it. “I appreciate it, Applejack. I’m Dante Morelo. You can just call me Dante.” I couldn’t help but smile. This was going pretty good for now. Let’s see what Pinkie-

“Uh, where’s Pinkie?” I asked looking around for the party pony. Twilight and Applejack looked equally as confused. Had she not accepted my apology? Well, maybe I could try and make things better later. “Guess she’s still not okay with it.”

Applejack threw a hoof over Rainbow’s shoulder. “Don’t worry bout it, sugar cube. Pinkie’s not a pony ta hold a grudge. She’ll come ‘round eventually.”

She had a good point. I knew Pinkie would get angry but she never hated anyone...then again political assassinations were a thing, along with Batman-esque family murders. Well, I’d find a way to make it up to her.
__________________________________________________________________________

Twilight and I parted ways with Applejack, who said she had to head back to the farm to take care of some more chores. Twilight and I made our way to Carousel Boutique to make amends with Rarity. Thankfully, it was a very short walk from Sugar Cube Corner. The boutique was much like all the other stores in Ponyville, except it was more independent from the others. It was right in the center of an opening that was pretty close to the park. It was essentially a two story spire that you couldn’t miss. It was painted with vibrant pinks and blues and was adorned with frills around the edges of the roof.

Twilight and I made our way inside. Our entrance was announced by the ringing of a bell. “Welcome to Carousel Boutique where everything is chic, sleek, and magnifique!” We heard a voice call from across the shop. The voice came from Spike while he was carrying bolts of cloth fabric. He peeked around the bolts to spot us. “Oh hey, Twilight. Hey Rainbow Dash. How’s Dante doing?”

“I’m doing okay, Spike. Rainbow let me have the reins while she takes a nap.” I replied.

Spike put the bolts down and looked at me, “So I guess you were able to apologize with Rainbow Dash?”

I nodded Rainbow’s head, “Yeah, we talked it out this morning. We pretty much cemented with a pretty good prank.”

I could feel Twilight scowling at me. Again, TOTALLY WORTH IT!

“Aw, wish I could have seen that.” Spike then turned towards a side room and called for Rarity.

“I’ll be there in just a moment, Spikey-wikey.” Sure enough within a few seconds Rarity came out from a the room Spike had turned to. She was wearing a pair of red plastic glasses and had a measuring tape draped around her neck. She saw us and seemed mildly surprised, “Oh, Twilight. Rainbow Dash. What can I do for you today?”

“Actually, that’s Dante. Rainbow is taking a nap so he’s controlling her” Spike corrected.

Rarity turned to look at me. She didn’t seem too happy with my current control of her friend. Better get going before her opinion of me gets worse. I extended Rainbow’s hoof.

“Hi, Rarity. I wanted to apologize for my behavior. I realize I didn’t make a much of a good impression. I was hoping we could try again, and start off on the right foo-hoof.”

Rarity’s expression softened slightly but she still looked displeased,“Is she aware you are controlling her?” Rarity inquired.

“Yes, Twilight made sure it was ok with her before I took over.”

Rarity looked like she was mulling over my response, her hoof taping her chin in thought. Then she leveled her gaze with me. “Have you apologized to the others?”

Twilight chimed in for this part, “He’s already apologized to Rainbow Dash, Applejack and Pinkie Pie. We were planning to head to Fluttershy’s cottage before we continue our experiments.”

Rarity looked at Twilight, “Experiments?”

Twilight explained, “Dante, as far as anypony knows, is the only known Symbio in Equestria. Combined that with how little is recorded about them and their abilities, Princess Celestia asked me to record as much about him as we can get.”

Rarity looked from Twilight to me then back to Twilight, she looked conflicted. “The only one of his kind? Where did he come from then?”

I did my best to explain my situation,“I...well....I came from...*sigh* It’s hard to explain, to put it simply I died on my world and was told by Death that I was living the wrong life. Then he sent me here in my...new state. I know as much about my self as you.”

Rarity snapped back to me, “What?!” She shrieked. “You died? How?”

“I was squashed by a meteor.” I may have said that a little too bluntly.

Rarity, Twilight and Spike looked dumbstruck, “Yeah, that’s about how I felt. Who would have thought that’s how’d I go.” Levity is my coping mechanism, it leads to awkward moments...just like the one after I said that.

Rarity, thankfully, broke the awkward silence, “If I may be so bold. What is it you can do?”

“Well, Rainbow was okay with how she looked so, I’ll show you.” I put my focus into my tendrils and let them form. Rarity was stunned and wide eyed. Twilight got that glint in her eye again, and Spike was looking less spooked from last night.

Rarity, again, broke the silence with a single word sung over a few seconds, “IDEEEEEAAAAA!” Then with that she snagged Spike with her magic and ran off with him into what I assumed was Rarity’s idea room. I wasn’t sure how to take that. She didn’t panic and she didn’t look scared. Yet, she got a random spark of inspiration, and ran off. Guess this was another one I’d have to figure out later.

Twilight was a bit easier to read. She was excited and I got just as excited when she explained WHY she was excited. “I KNOW HOW YOU WORK!”

Author's Notes:

Quote source

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zEtgRBjEZp0

WOW that was long. I could have ended the chapter a few times, but none of them felt right. I'm gonna start really kicking the story into gear. Also, thanks for all the support ya'll! See you in the next chapter!

Chapter 8- Learning a Thing

It is amazing how a single sentence can perk you up. Twilight just spoke that particular sentence. Finally, I could get some legitimate answers.

I was at full attention. “Really!?” I exclaimed in Rainbow Dash’s voice. Twilight was as excited as I was. “Yes! I figured it out when you used your abilities just now.” I was still riding the excitement high, when my tendril reached out and shook Twilight vigorously, “WELL, OUT WITH IT WOMAN!”

Twilight was a bit thrown by the shaking (I was excited, okay?) but she regained herself and said she’d explain on our way to Fluttershy’s cottage. I was so ready for some answers.
__________________________________________________________________________

Twilight explained her theory on our way to Fluttershy’s place. She said that when I used my abilities that there was a blackness that flowed into my host’s eyes . This suggests that I was somehow allowing something into my host’s blood that allowed me to use my abilities and might also explain the powers of the Dark-eyed Warriors. She told me she’d like to do some field tests with Rainbow Dash later to confirm. I was more than happy to assist, assuming Rainbow Dash was up for it. (More than likely she’d jump right out of her feathers at the prospect of being more awesome.)

We soon arrived at Fluttershy’s Cottage and I’d like to point something out. This was not a cottage. This was a miniature zoo. Seriously, Noah would have come to this house to get two of whatever he needed!...and I loved it! There were bears, bunnies, and birds of so many varieties I lost count. I was so enthralled by all the critters that I nearly missed the cottage. It reminded me of a Hobbit hole. The top of the cottage appeared to be made of living tree branches and the base looked like wood...was her house literally alive?

Disregarding the living house, Twilight and I approached the front of the house. The top part of the double swing- in- door was open. From my position I could see a modest bit of furniture and a small fireplace adjacent a large love seat. There appeared to be a few curio cabinets and a small bookshelf. There appeared to be a staircase that lead to the second floor and there appeared to be small alcove to the right, presumably the kitchen. All in all, quite a cozy little home.

We knocked and called for Fluttershy. A sweet, melodic voice came from inside, “Just one moment.” After a few seconds, Fluttershy came around the corner from the alcove with a small yet colorful bird perched on her back. The bird must be have been here to get treated, as one of its wings was bound. Poor thing. Fluttershy spotted the two of us and gave us a quick wave. “Hi, Twilight. Hi, Rainbow Dash.”

Twilight returned the wave. I was starting to feel nervous, Rainbow’s ears laying flat on her head further confirmed it. Fluttershy’s voice always had this calm, submissive tone. Hell, I don’t recall many episodes where her voice went above normal tones. Plus her attitude was always so kind and considerate. Now knowing she had such a traumatic childhood and that she still had the heart to care for others, made me feel like a royal asshole for having yelled at her. The only thing saving me from feeling any more guilty was the fact that I hadn’t assaulted her during my spaz out. Might as had just offed myself at that point, that’s the kind of guilt that doesn’t go away easily.

I snapped myself out of self-loathing. Despite my new form, every atom of my body was still forged in a star. Time to stop being a pussy! “Uh, Hi, Fluttershy.” I replied. “Can-can we talk?”

Fluttershy gave me a friendly smile. (Hnnnng, that smile...it’s too sweet....Diabetus!) “Of course, Rainbow Dash.”

I turned to Twilight before entering, “I’ll just be a moment, Twilight. Once I finish we can wake Rainbow and test your theory.”

Twilight nodded understandingly and I swear, as I entered, I heard her release a *Squeee*. Despite how cute that sounded...I had a bad feeling. I continued into the cottage and met Fluttershy in the foyer. “What did you want to talk about?” Fluttershy asked.

That nervousness came back again, but I beat it with a stick and threw it in a ditch. “Fluttershy, I...I wanted to talk to you about last night.” Fluttershy suddenly seemed a bit uneasy about that statement. Ugh, I must have spooked her. “I...wanted to apologize for what I did.”

Fluttershy immediately interjected, “Oh no, it was my fault. I should have known better than to pick Dante up without permission.” She...blamed herself?...Of course, she did. God, I need to fix this. Her blaming herself is making me feel worse.

“No, Fluttershy, it is not your fault. It’s mine. I got this weird feeling when you were holding me and I was worried I was going to attack or latch onto you or...I don’t know. I’m sorry I yelled at you.”

Fluttershy was looking at me funny. Had I missed something?...Oh yeah, the major detail, that I had explained twice today. I’m not a clever man..blob...Symbio...I’m just not clever. “Sorry, Rainbow let me control her for a bit so I could talk with Twilight directly. I probably should have started off with that.” I used Rainbow’s hoof to run the back of her neck..shouldn’t have done that. I rubbed myself by accident, and sent goosebumps through Rainbow’s body. Ok, learned a new thing. Poke=tickle, Rub=goosebumps. I realize that’s pretty stupid thing to note, but when your body is this unfamiliar to you, it helps to learn what you can.

Fluttershy’s demeanor got more apologetic, “Oh my! I’m so sorry Mr. Dante! I was just so curious about you and I got excited. I should have asked your permission. I’m so sorry!”

Oh dear Lord. Every syllable is like a nail into my conscious. Somehow her submissiveness makes it feel worse. “Fluttershy, no. Stop that ,right now. You’ve done nothing wrong and I will not allow you to blame yourself. And honestly, I doubt my conscious could handle it.”

Flutters quickly looked guilty......I’m going to have a heart attack. This pony is going to give me a diabetic heart attack. Seriously, this level of cute/adorable is lethal! Especially when she squeaked, “I’m sorry” If words could kill.

I had to slow Rainbow’s heart. I was in control, so if she had a diabetes heart attack because of me I’d feel pretty bad. “It’s cool, Fluttershy.” I patted her on the shoulder and gave her a smile, hopefully that’d be reassuring. She...blushed. I don’t know how to take that. Was she blushing that I did it? That technically Rainbow’s body did it?...Ok, debate this later. Time to get to know myself. “Hey, we’re gonna wake up Rainbow to do some experiments regarding my abilities. Did you want to watch?” Fluttershy broke her blush and nodded.
__________________________________________________________________________

It was a bit of a project swapping body control between Rainbow Dash and me. We all agreed that a new method would need to be developed, there are only so many times you can wake someone up with cold water before it starts getting annoying. Really annoying. Anyway, I spent the rest of the day riding shotgun. We tested Twilight’s theory about me releasing something into my host...admittedly it took a while....I don’t like needles, okay? After Rainbow kept me from using my tendrils to keep Twilight at bay, she got a blood sample. She stored it for study, and we commenced with more physical tests. It started with confirming some of the information stated about the Dark-eyed Warriors. Twilight asked me to try and “boost” Rainbow Dash, while she teleported back to the library to get parchment, quills,ink and do a preliminary examination of Rainbow’s blood.

“What does that mean? I know she said, the warriors had incredible strength but how do you do that?” I asked Dash.

“You think I know? It’s your body. Don’t you have an idea on how it works?”

“I honestly wish I did. Ask Twilight how she thinks it works when she gets back, maybe it’ll give me an idea.”

“You know she’s gonna go the full egghead, right?”

“Yeeeeah...but I need something to go off of....even if it’s not that easy to understand.”

Twilight appeared a little after that and we asked her for her thoughts. Twilight had to think about how to explain it, she sat on her haunches and rubbed her temples. Then it seemed like she had a moment of inspiration. “Okay, based on what I found in Rainbow Dash’s blood, your Symbio body is injecting some kind of stimulant into Rainbow. This stimulant, from what Princess Celestia explained in her letter, is enticing the natural t-cells in your host to create an advance form of cellular regeneration. Assuming that you can do that without thinking, you might be able to entice the stimulant to bolster muscle mass to make your host stronger. Then,this is mostly conjecture, I think you might be able to alter certain cells in your host’s eyes.”

While, I kept up with most of that lecture, Rainbow’s mind went to somewhere else. Ok, time to analyze this info. When I’m focused my body starts putting a stimulant into my host, so maybe that’s a kind of prep? Like receptors waiting for input. If that’s true, then maybe I could focus it to do what I want. So hypothesis must be applied to experiment to lead to theory. Let’s do a science!

“Hey Rainbow, come back from LaLa land. We’re going to be awesome.”

That was all I needed to say. Rainbow snapped right to attention and asked for the plan.

“Ok, I’m going to try and ‘enhance’ your wings.”

“Seriously?! What will that do?”

“Not a clue. We’re going on the learn from experience track. Get ready to flap your wings as hard as possible. But just one hard flap. I want to do a compare and contrast.”

Rainbow’s thoughts were on how awesome she was going to be from now on. Her wings went to full extension and raised them so they were pointed at a high arch. Better take careful note, this will be a baseline. “Ok Rainbow one strong flap, hit it!”

Rainbow’s muscles tensed and she put her full strength into a single powerful flap. I felt her body leave the ground for a few seconds, before we reconnected with the ground. Ok, baseline established. Now, let’s add the juice.

“Ok, I'm going to try and enhance your wings this time. Ask Twilight to let you know when your eyes change. When they do give it another go. Hard as you can.”

Rainbow relayed my instructions. Twilight quickly scribbled down some notes. I put my focus on Rainbow’s wings. I felt the muscles, the wind blowing across her feathers. I tried to remember the sensation of moving them myself, as if they were apart of me. Something I had before but lost. I felt something twitch in Rainbow’s wings. It was quick, but I felt it there. I held focus: wings, muscles, the movement of flight. I felt the twitch a bit stronger, followed by Twilight exclaiming, “They changed!”

Ok now or never! “RAINBOW, NOW!”

I felt the wings come down with full strength the wind resisted on the way down but it felt less than before. And unlike before I felt the wind whip past Rainbow’s ears as we ascended. Through her eyes I could see the ground becoming smaller, we had gained some serious altitude. We could easily clear a two story building on this single flap. I was elated. Imagine what else I could do. Then I noticed that we hadn’t come down to earth yet. Rainbow Dash was still going, but in a forward direction and we were booking. A single beat seemed to propel us further and faster than Rainbow’s usual sustained wing beats. She was repeating a pattern of beat, glide, adjust, then beat again. We made it well into the center of Ponyville within seconds, when Rainbow curved around the town hall and shot back towards Fluttershy’s cottage. Rainbow came back to the field where we had started. Twilight and Fluttershy were both balking at Rainbow as she came in, and she was coming in fast.

Right as she was about to reach ground she orientated herself upward and with another single flap blasted an air pocket that quickly reduced her forward momentum. A few more lighter flaps and we came to a complete halt and landed. I relaxed my focus, I felt Rainbow’s heart beating hard and her wings were burning like she’d just pulled a marathon. She was exhausted. She was excited, there was no question but I think that loop around town may have been too much.“You ok Rainbow?” I asked in concern.

“Yeah, *pant* just loving *pant* how awesome *gulp* that was. We should *pant, pant* go...a...gain.” She stated out loud.

“Tomorrow, perhaps” Twilight stated as she approached with Fluttershy.

“N-no way, I can go...again. Right, Dante?” Rainbow retorted. I wasn’t going to fuel this.

“Sorry, Dash. We’re done for tonight. You need to rest.”

The second Twilight was within range I yanked myself off of Rainbow and onto Twilight. Rainbow was not to happy about that. “What the hell Dante!? We could keep going.”

“Her wings are on the verge of exhaustion. I’m not risking it. As much as I’d like to learn more, I think using that enhancement stressed her wings.” Twilight concurred.

“I understand. Thank you for keeping her welfare in mind.” Twilight turned to the currently spent pegasus. “Dante, has a point Rainbow. As impressive that was, I think you are pushing yourself a bit too much. We don’t fully understand what his abilities do to ponies. We need more data.”

Rainbow Dash started to protest again but was cut off by Fluttershy, “They’re right, Rainbow. There’s no point in pushing yourself if you end up hurt.” Her voice was calm but very firm. The cyan pegasus halted her protest and surrendered. Fluttershy told Rainbow Dash she could rest at her cottage for the night and if she was up to it we could go again tomorrow. Rainbow agreed reluctantly and the two went back to her cottage after saying their goodbyes. Twilight and I headed back to the library just as the sun was beginning to drop behind the horizon.
__________________________________________________________________________

Twilight and I arrived at the library to find that all the lights were out. “Strange. Spike usually leaves the lights on when he gets home before me.”

“Maybe he went to bed early? He’s probably tired from the work with Rarity.”

Twilight accepted my reasoning but still felt uneasy. She opened the door slowly to only be greeted with a face full of confetti.

“SURPRISE!”yelled a single Pink Party pony along with a purple baby dragon. Twilight and I were equally surprised. There was a small platter of vanilla cupcakes with jet black icing with two white dots to represent eyes. Hanging above Spike and Pinkie in the center of the room was a modest banner that read: Welcome to Equestria, Dante!

I was agast. Pinkie wasn’t mad at me and she’d thrown me a party, albeit a small one. Twilight spoke on my behalf, “Pinkie, what’s all this?”

Pinkie quickly replied matter-o-factly, “Well duh, it’s Dantie’s preliminary ‘Welcome to Equestria’ party! We can’t throw a full party, because he doesn’t have a body of his own yet! Besides the others are going to be busy for a bit. And it’s a perfect way to say that ‘I accept your apology, Dantie’”

...Dantie? Was that my nickname now? What the hell?

“Besides,I figure we can throw him a real welcoming party when we find a way to introduce him to all of Ponyville” Pinkie quickly added.

“Wait, what?”

“Wait, what?” Twilight mirrored.

Pinkie looked at Twilight with a confused look, “What?”

“Are you sure that's a good idea Pinkie?”

“Huh? What's wrong with that? He's not a bad Symbio. Plus, he has super cool alien power thingies! Yeah, ponies will be spooked at first but, I'm sure they'll love him! ”

Twilight was about to question Pinkie but an old thought returned to her mind, “Don’t question Pinkie Pie.”

I could only speculate how Pinkie was so sure about revealing my pressence but opted to file it away with my growing list of questions. In the mean time Pinkie Pie, Twilight, Spike, and I, through Twilight, feasted on the Symbio cupcakes and enjoyed a bit of partying.

Author's Notes:

Ok, straight up. I wasn't feeling so great about this chapter. I really want to get things rolling, but I'm starting to encounter blocks. I promise the next chapters will get us back to where we should be.

(Update)
I removed the spoiler. I wasn't happy with it and neither were you guys. I wanted to have a line from Pinkie that could advance things but that was far too much. I want to hold myself to a higher standard than that. I've opted to considering letting Dante get a body or not for later. For now I'm going to let the story progress as it should and I'll look into the body thing at a later time. I'm sorry for slipping up. I hope to do better. Thanks for staying with me.

Chapter 9- Learning and Becoming a Spy

I’m not sure how they do it, but ponies have some next level cooking skills! Pinkie’s Symbio cupcakes were the most moist, and flavorful cakes EVER!They even had a tangy blueberry filling. To top it off, the icing was buttercream. BUTTERCREAM! It’s like the bacon of icings! Nothing beats buttercream, especially how the flavor lingers on the tongue long after consumption. Of course, I had to use Twilight’s taste buds to taste it but it did not detract from how amazingly awesome these cupcakes were. Of course, the party pony extraordinaire brought a vinyl record with some pretty decent tunes. I mostly just enjoyed the music, Twilight was....dancing? I knew she had four left hooves, but this was comical. She had no sense of rhythm. Probably didn’t help she danced with her eyes closed. Either way, Twilight, Pinkie, and Spike danced a good part of the night away.

When they were all too tired to continue the dance fest, we cleaned up the library and washed the cupcake platter. I thanked Pinkie Pie with a tendril-hoof shake....except she met my tendril with a lock of pink hair....don’t think about it...don’t think about it, just shake the hair and let it go. With everything cleaned and tidied up, Pinkie inquired about what we had done while she was working on preparing the mini party. Twilight explained the events of the day and some plans for the next few days. Pinkie seemed to interested in my abilities and how my tendrils would be useful at parties. I figured that might not be the greatest of ideas, I know if my waiter came to my table with tendrils carrying my food I’d question whether or not Satan had poisoned my meal. Twilight must have caught my thought as she pointed out the how others might react to a Pinkie Pie with dark eyes and tendrils. Yeah, spooky. Pinkie shrugged it off and claimed she’d find a way to introduce me to Ponyville without them freaking out. With that goal stated she said her goodbyes and went off into the night.

Twilight and Spike got ready for bed and I was left alone with my thought. I was mulling the day’s events. I had managed to learn a new aspect about my abilities, but it had a pretty nasty drawback. I mean it could be a nice Hail Mary move, but it could end badly. I really did like that I was able to make a pegasus fly faster, but I couldn’t help but wonder....how would it affect the other types of ponies? Could I make a spell from a unicorn stronger? Could I make an earth pony into the freakin’ Hulk?...Oh sweet merciful Jesus...what if I used that on Celestia or Luna?!

“Hey, Dante?”

Twilight’s thoughts snapped me out of my own. She had already retired to her room and was currently at her vanity desk, writing a report to Princess Celestia.“Huh? What’s up Twilight?”

“I wanted to go over some things for tomorrow.”

Lean more things? Why not?

“What’d you have in mind?”

“Well, I was thinking we see about testing your limits with your tendrils and maybe testing your enhancement ability again.”

“I’m ok with learning more about the tendrils, but after what happened with Rainbow Dash, I’m a bit reluctant.”

“I thought as much, but I was hoping you could explain what you did. Perhaps we can determine a better way to use it without such a burnout?”

Well, I did wing it with Rainbow. Did I put too much focus? Maybe I went full throttle and Rainbow’s eagerness simply expedited the burnout? Twilight had a point. I knew what I could do (mostly) but I definitely was not not in full control. I was playing with rocket science while using the “fuck-it”* adjustment. I needed precision, understanding, and above all experience. I agreed with Twilight despite my chagrin.

She finished up her letter to Princess Celestia and set it aside for Spike to send out in the morning. Spike, himself was already nestled into his basket bed and was already subcoming to the throngs of slumber. It was just Twilight and I still awake. Unfortunately, Twilight’s mind was still on a rolling rampage. She was making mental checklists, considering experiments, and running hypotheticals. I figured I wasn’t going to sleep anytime soon either. If I can fall asleep. Now that I thought about it, since my arrival here I hadn’t fallen asleep naturally. I had either shocked my system into unconsciousness or I had stressed my body into sleep. Ugh, I hate not knowing this stuff. I had twenty-three years to learn basic life stuff and now I’m back to square one...Well, I’m not alone, and my host was trying to help. What’s the harm?

“Hey...Twilight? I might need your help.”

Twilight perked, “What is it, Dante?”

“I...I don’t know if I can fall asleep.”

I felt Twilight cock an eyebrow, “What do you mean?...Oh still excited over what we’ve learned! I know the feeling.”

“No, no...well, yes, but I mean since I became a Symbio I haven’t fallen asleep normally. I’m not certain I can fall asleep.”

Twilight seemed to understand my concern now. She pondered my new conundrum. Then an idea, “Well, how about this. Try to get to sleep like normal, and if it doesn’t work, I’ll use a spell to put you to sleep.”

Can’t say I liked the latter too much. I really hope I could still obtain sleep naturally. “Fair enough. I’ll try to go to sleep around the same time as you. Hopefully, you wake up before me. Otherwise, you may have to teach me that spell.”

Twilight noded, made her way to her bed, and wiggled her way under the sheets. Once she had a comfortable position she said goodnight to me and closed her eyes. This was a familiar sensation, finding that perfect position in bed. Not too hot, not too cold, and there was no need to flop around to get comfy. Just where you needed to be to fall right into slumber. It took a few minutes before Twilight started to dream,but not long after I joined her in sweet, sweet slumber.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

I was home again. My parents were standing around the dining room table talking about something. I couldn’t hear them, even when I was right next to them I could hear a thing. I missed them so much. I wanted to tell them how much I loved them, how I wished I could’ve said goodbye. This was torture. I could see my loved ones and do nothing to interact with them. Either life wanted to continually poke me with a stick or my mind was masochistic.
I tried to leave to remove myself from all this. I just ended up at a friend’s home. They couldn’t hear or see me either. I felt my heart in a vice. Just kill me.

“That could be arranged”, a new voice interjected.

I had to focus on the new voice, someone had acknowledged me. I turned around to see a midnight blue alicorn looking at me. “How?...this is Earth. You’re not...wait. Is...this a dream?”

“Look around. See for thy self.” She waved a hoof around motioning for me to observe my surroundings. I looked around, to see my friend’s home was no longer around me. All around me was a void. A pure nothingness. Only the area where Princess Luna and I occupied was illuminated. “What is this? A lucid dream?” I had to ask. Why was Luna here?

“We have come at the behest of our sister. We have need of thy abilities.”

The way she said that sounded like she didn’t like the idea.

“Because we don’t.”

“Ok, that’s a bit creepy.”

“We are in thy dream, thy thoughts are open to us. We do not like our sister’s idea. We feel that she might be putting too much trust in thee.”

“Well, I can understand that, but I hope that I can live up to that trust.” I tried to be considerate. “Also, I don't think we were properly introduced” I raised my hand (oh, hey, human again! Yay, dream body) and offered it to Luna. “I’m Dante Morelo, once human, currently Symbio.”
Luna looked at my hand and gave me an incredulous look. After a second or two she brought her hoof up to meet my hand and I shook it gently. “What is the meaning of this gesture?” She asked holding the look.

“It’s a handshake...or hoofshake in this case. It’s a...common greeting.”

“We have never received such a greeting before.” I stopped the shake and released her hoof.

“Well...you have been gone a while. So uh...you said Princess Celestia needed my help?” I’ll admit I was nervous. Luna was speaking in a fairly calm demeanor, her voice was sweet and soothing. Luna raised an eyebrow, “Thou thinkest our voice is sweet?”

Damn it, errant thoughts! “I duh..I....I” I was used to getting glimpses at thoughts. She was picking them up the second they appeared with total clarity. The fact I wasn’t able to reciprocate the ability was putting me off. “That is..kind of thee to say. But we digress, thy presence is requested. Our sister believes that thy abilities may be able to help track down her assailants. Thou shalt come to the castle on the coming night.”

They had a lead? They wanted me to help?! I need more details. “Which of my abilities does Princess Celestia need?”

“Thy ability to control others. The assailant who attempted to take our sister’s life has revealed a location where her conspirators congregate. We need thee to conceal thyself within her form and learn what you can.”

Whoa, Secret Agent Dante. What child never dreamed of being a spy?...But a spy finds secrets and keeps them. Last I checked, I tended to room with someone.

“Princess, is this ‘conversation’ between us? Twilight and I sort of share thoughts. I know Rainbow Dash could see my dreams.”

Luna gave me a knowingly, proud smile, “Twilight Sparkle is confined to her own dreamscape. She shant overhear. We shall send for thee the coming night and we shall explain the finer details upon arrival.”

Well, guess that’s almost everything. “Ok, then. I guess my carriage is dragon fire again?”

The lunar princess’s response was cool and without hesitation,“Lest thy wish is for us to come collect thee, personally.”

Okaaay, that was oddly generous. “Seriously? You’d do that?”

“No.” She said that with an amused smirk.

Oh look, trolling runs in the family. Had I walked into that any harder I would have busted my nose. I gave Luna a half-lidded expression, “Ha...ha. Well, that gives me most of the day to learn some more about myself.”

“Indeed.” Luna suddenly seemed to notice something. “The night comes to an end. We shall see thee tonight, Dante Morelo.”

I wasn’t sure how she knew that. It only felt like a few minutes. No way that much time had passed right? *Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing*
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

I woke up a before Twilight did. I’m a light sleeper and I enjoy the comfort of sleep. I hated being awoken from a good sleep. I took a moment to check around the room for that damnable ringing and found it. Alarm clocks were the bane of my human existence and continue to be so in my Symbio existence. TO HELL WITH YOU!

*Smash*

Ah...silence.

“Aw, Twilight. Did you destroy another alarm clock? That’s the third one this week.” I heard Spike call from below. I let a yawn escape before slumping Twilight’s body out of bed, very reluctantly might I add. I stretched out each limb and took a peek into the main room. Spike was nowhere to be seen, he must be in the kitchen. Might as well announce myself.

“Twilight is still sleeping, Spike. I’ll let you know when she’s up. Also, I dealt the felling blow to that abominable alarm clock. I apologize for destroying it, but I will not deny I took pleasure in it’s destruction.”

Spike chuckled, “Hehe, no worries, Dante. Twilight has me set them out so she’ll wake up on time. She tends to smash them after she does an all nighter and finally gets to sleep.”

I let out a chuckle as I made my way into the kitchen. Spike was at the stove with a pan and a bowl of batter. He was making pancakes! I could smell the freshly made pancakes and it elicited a reaction from Twilight’s stomach. I couldn’t disagree with the argument the stomach made, those pancakes smelt awesome!

I figured Spike would make a nice fat stack before serving so I made myself useful. “Hey, Spike. Where do ya’ll keep the plates and silverware. I’ll set the table.”

Spike had just put some batter in the pan and was monitoring its progress, so he craned his head to look at me/Twilight. “Plates are in the cabinet by the fridge and the silverware is in the drawer underneath it.” He took a moment to flip the pancake and cook the other side. “Could you also pull out some cups as well? They’re in the same cabinet.”

I spotted the cabinets Spike had mentioned and used my tendrils to remove two sets of forks and knives, then remove a set of plates and cups. I hadn’t really multitasked with my tendrils just yet but it felt like having hands again. I didn’t have to focus as much to keep my tendrils out and it was starting to feel more natural.

Spike finished the last of the batter and moved the last pancake to the plate he had nearby. I think the smell of fresh pancakes had reached Twilight as I felt her thoughts stir. She was waking up.

“Come on sleeping beauty up and at ‘em.” I prodded. Then I added in a sing song voice, “Spike made paaaaaaaancaaaaaakes!”

That got her attention, “Hmmmm. Pancakes. That sounds really good right now.”

“Yeah, they smell just as good. We’ll have to swap around. I’m sure you want to enjoy the pancakes.”

“No, no it’s fine. Besides I’m sure you want to try them as well.”

“Eh, its cool. I can taste what you eat anyway.”

“...”

“What?”

“You can taste what I eat?” her tone sounded confused and yet intrigued .

Now that I heard that said back to me....that sounded kinda weird. But then again I share my host's pain and can hear their thoughts. What's a few taste buds?

“Uh...yeah. I share taste buds with my host. What you eat, I can taste by proxy.”

Twilight’s thoughts were considering the reasoning behind having that deep a connection with a host. Perhaps for them to be in sync? To have some kind of understanding? Twilight was on the hypothesis train non-stop to la-la land. I quickly snapped her out of it. We mutually agreed, after my previous statement that I’d stay in control until after breakfast.
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I ended up using my tendrils to eat most of the pancakes, which Spike thought was kinda cool. Twilight decided it might be a good time to make good on the magic lessons. She explained to me the basics of magic and telekinesis. Apparently, magic is a combination of focus, energy, and knowledge. So, assume you wanted to teleport (which I did). You had to focus on where you wanted to go, then you had to muster the right amount of magical energy to get you there. Finally, you needed to know how to cast the teleportation spell itself and how to mold the magical energy to get you to your location. If any one of those was out of place the spell would fail.After a few failed attempts, I did manage to levitate and move the fork and knife to cut a piece of pancake and eat it, but I got excited (too much energy) and ended up blasting a fork into the ceiling. I figured I could practice more later. I used my tendrils to finish off the last of the pancakes and helped clean up.

Shortly after we finished cleaning, Twilight and I swapped control. Still haven’t come up with a better method outside of ice water. Once she was back in control she asked if I could stay on Spike for a bit while she took a quick shower and got ready for the day. Spike was a bit reluctant but Twilight convinced him it would be ok. I let a tendril out for Spike to hold onto. When he grabbed on I transferred from Twilight up Spikes arm and came to rest in between the spikes on his head.

“Feeling ok, bud?”

Spike shuddered and stated out loud, “Yeah, that just feels....really, really weird.”

I chuckled a bit, “Yeah, sorry about that. I think the other’s have gotten used to it. Also, you can think what you want to say and I’ll hear it.”

Spike rubbed the back of his head and felt out my location, “So, like this?”

“Yup, you got it. I’ll keep the tendrils at bay for now. I know you don’t like them.”

“Eh.. yeah, but not as much as before. So, can you hear all my thoughts?”

“I get an idea, but unless you are really thinking about it I can’t get specifics.”

“That’s not creepy.”

“Heh, if it helps at all, it works both ways. Don’t worry I try not to pry.”

Spike appreciated that, and decided to work on a few chores. Before he started, I let Spike know about the notes Twilight left on her desk. He quickly found the notes and sent them off. The sensation of the fire surging up Spike’s throat was strange. It was half way between a blech and a dry heave. Watching the fire engulf the notes was kinda crazy, the fire first incinerated the notes, then the ash swirled, and flew off toward Canterlot.

“Did I mention how cool that is?”

“No, but you can totally say it more.”

“It is immensely cool. Coolest dragon, in Ponyville.”

“I’m the only dragon in Ponyville.”

“True, but at least you are respectable. I’ve seen other dragons. Some of them are real aaaaugh...butts.”

Nice save, he actually laughed at that and I could literally feel Spike’s ego inflating. He was a kid at heart. I had always felt sorry for the guy. He was surrounded by females and didn’t have much of a male role model, outside of Big Mac. Maybe I should try linking with him every now and then. He seemed like a really cool kid. I didn’t mind either, I used to babysit for extra cash. Kids are funny...except when they’re little assholes. I hate those kids...Oh, I need to find Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon later.

A knock came from the door and Spike went to see who it was. It turns out it was Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash. Apparently, the enhancement experiment had really done a number on Rainbow Dash. She was experiencing mild muscle exhaustion and couldn’t even use her wings. I asked Spike to apologize for me. Rainbow didn’t seem to mind, but said that once she was back up and running, we were going again. I gave her a tendril style thumbs up. She seemed to get it. Twilight came in a bit later and I transferred back to her. She seemed a bit confused and stated why, “Why not transfer to Rainbow Dash and fix her wings. Your regeneration abilities should be able to do that right?”

As logical as that sounds, I had to disagree, “I don’t think so Twilight. My healing ability is fast. Princess Celestia took a high speed impact which should have left her with a few busted bones. The healing dealt with it in minutes but she was still pretty sore after. I think it deals more with critical injuries, muscle exhaustion isn’t injury. If it were, her wings would have been fine by the time we landed. I think she’s just going to have to wait it out.”

Twilight concurred, but she was wondering if there was a way to replicate that kind of healing outside of contact with me. She added it to her mental to-do list, and offered for Rainbow and Fluttershy to stay and watch. Rainbow declined stating, “Meh, I’d rather be doing the tests than watching. It’s cooler that way.” Then she said goodbye and headed off to get a special ointment from Zecora to help with her recovery. OH, I totally need to meet Zecora! Maybe I’ll bring her an....orange (Bwahahaha!). Fluttershy admitted she was curious after yesterday’s display and said she’d hang around for a bit.

We started our first experiments of the day with trying to replicate my aura sight. Twilight had asked the process I went through to enhance Rainbow’s wings and to try and replicate it but focusing on her eyes instead. I wasn’t sure about that. What if I over did it and blinded her? I was still unsure about output. Hmmm, Ok lets take a precaution. “Twilight, do me a favor and close one eye. If this goes wrong I’d rather you still have a working eye.”

Twilight figured that would be a good idea, and closed her right eye. I could still see out her left eye and I put my focus into it. I remembered how things looked in aura sight. I focused on seeing like that again, and applying it to Twilight. Nothing. Ok, maybe this is different than enhancing muscles. Hmmm.... “Twilight, I’m not sure how to do this. I’m not getting the same response that I got from Rainbow Dash.”

Twilight opened both her eyes and tried to think of what might work. “What if...you used your tendrils first? That would activate the eye change and then tried to activate the aura sight?”

Hmm, not a bad idea. I let a single tendril come out and tried again.Twilight closed her right eye again. I put my focus into Twilight’s left eye, and let my influence take the eye. I heard an audible gasp from Fluttershy. Twilight snapped to the yellow pegasus and asked what was wrong. Twilight was instantly and reasonably shocked, so much that her other eye popped open. She saw Fluttershy, but she also saw the cascading yellow aura coming off of her. This was interesting to me. My normal aura sight didn’t give me details, mostly just the aura’s in a sea of ethereal blue-white wind, but now I could see everything along with the auras! Intense.

Author's Notes:

*Fuck it adjustment- Scientific wild ass guess as to how much power, energy, or force is needed to be applied to an object to get the desired effect.
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Anyway, DAT PLOT...advancement. I got my shit together and we are now underway on the assailant arc! Next chapter, we learn about Special Agent Dante's mission!

Chapter 10- Trying Again

Ya know, I wasn’t too keen on being in a new body. I’ve had to relearn all the stuff I thought I knew, and learn stuff I had no clue about. It was a serious pain in the ass, but now my opinion was shifting. These abilities were starting to grow on me. I was a living enhancement. I could make ponies stronger, enhance their vision, and keep them safe if they lost consciousness! I had to admit it was still weird being linked to my host. On one hand it was beyond interesting, I felt what they felt, tasted what they tasted, heard what they thought. The down side, there was this strange forced intimacy. I’m not intrusive by nature, but being like this it wasn’t an option. I was aware of my host’s feelings, thoughts, and plans. It forces me to be very trusting of those I’m attached to, but also allowed for this sort of honesty that I’d never known before. Neither me nor my host can lie to each other, or we’d pretty much know. Like right now, Twilight was saying out loud she wasn’t going to nerd-gasm over having aura sight. (Ok maybe not in those words, exactly), but in her mind she was on the verge of flipping out. Her eyes were darting to everything that moved. She looked at Fluttershy, Spike, and the ponies outside.

Poor Fluttershy had no clue what was happening. Her face was a mixture of fear and confusion. Whenever, Twilight tried to spot something new to look at with her new vision spectrum, I could see Fluttershy trying to determine what to do. Thankfully, Spike knew exactly what to do. He slapped her. Both Twilight and I felt that which snapped my concentration.

“Twilight, you need to calm down! You’re freaking out Fluttershy out!” He emphasized this by holding a claw toward poor Flutters who was verging on tears. Oh God, I can’t handle Flutters crying. I had a hard enough time with anything crying in front of me. Fluttershy crying might actually kill me out of pure guilt.

“Twilight...if she cries, I might actually die...again. Please tell her you are okay.”

Both our statements derailed her train of thought, and caused my purple nerd of a host to actually look at Fluttershy. She was trembling, and her look of concern was almost cemented on her face. I felt Twilight swimming in guilt. She immediately went to comfort her friend. “Fluttershy, I’m okay! I swear! It’s just...I could see...it was amazing!” I couldn’t see her eyes bulging out of her head, but I could feel them bulging out.

“Doing good, but you’re still at a sixteen and we need you at about a three. Take a breath and really CALM her down.”

Twilight took a moment to compose herself. After a few breaths, her heart rate came down and her mind relaxed. “I’m sorry. Dante’s abilities are just...amazing. He can see raw magic. When I saw you or any other pony, I could see their magical flow! I didn’t mean to scare you.” Twilight gave Fluttershy an assuring hug and Fluttershy seemed to calm down a bit. Aaaw, that’s so heartwarming....Brain, I can already feel you starting that thought. If you know what’s good for the both of us...you keep it in the R34 closet.

After the hug was broken and Fluttershy was calmer, Twilight suggested we take a visit to Sweet Apple Acres. She wanted to see if Applejack might be willing to see what my enhancement ability might have on an earth pony. Fluttershy opted out, saying she needed to check on her animals. Honestly, I think between Twilight’s reaction and my effect on her eyes, I think we spooked her. Regardless of her reason for leaving, Fluttershy said goodbye and headed off to her cottage. Twilight, Spike, and I made our way to Sweet Apple Acres.

It was a bit of a walk to the farm but between the three of us talking we managed to pass the time (Twilight spoke for me, but it still counts.) “So...you said you were human before?” Spike asked me.

Twilight was doing most of my responses, “He says, ‘yes’. From how he describes them humans as bipedal, mostly hairless except for on their heads, and they had feet rather than hooves. He says he can show you an image if you want.”

Spike looked hesitant at first and said it was cool. I transferred over to Spike and focused on the best image I could think of. The image came to my mind and Spike seemed to pick it up. "Whoa, who's that? It look really weird"

"Yeah, that's me, Spike."

"Uh...you looked...really...uh..." He was searching for a good cover, so far he had nothing.

"It's fine, Spike. I realize compared to ponies, humans are a bit out there."

"That's putting it mildly. So what was your special talent?"

"Sarcasm"

"Oh, ha-ha. Seriously, what was it?"

"Well I was a paralegal before I came here, and I was working towards my law degree. Does that count?"

"So... justice was you talent?"

"Heck if I know. We didn't get marks on our sides. Legal stuff was what I understood best, figured I could make a decent living. I mostly did it to help people.”

“Wait, you didn’t get cutie marks?”

“Nope. We had jobs but nothing like the flank marks.”

Spike was starting to question my mannerisms, “You mean cutie marks right?”

“Yeah, the back side marks.” Yes, I was messing with him. Sorry, but I refuse to say “cutie mark” out loud or in thought. I’ll call it everything but.

“Back side mark? Really?”

“I’ve got plenty more.”

“Ugh, I get it. So why did you choose to be a para-whatchacallit if it wasn’t for a cutie mark?”

“Well... life isn’t always fair. I figured if I was going to live my life, I was going to do something worthwhile. No matter how small.”

“Pretty noble. How’d it work out for you?”

“I did some good. Fixed some lives, pissed off some people. Nothing I regret.”

“You two have been really quiet.” Twilight interjected. I could see we had almost arrived at the farm. There were plenty of apple trees in the distance, and a small home was coming into view.

“Oop, lost track of time. We’re almost there but we can totally talk later. Okay, buddy?”

“Yeah, that’d be cool! I’d like to hear more about your world.”

“You and Twilight both. I’d link the two of you together for us to talk at once but that just wears on my mind. Talk to ya later, Spike.”

“Later, Dante”

Spike held his arm out and I transferred back to Twilight.

“Have a good chat?”

“Yeah, Spike is pretty curious. Guess he gets it from you.”

That statement filled Twilight with a kind of motherly pride. I kind of assumed Twilight and Spike had a either a brother/sister or mother/son relationship. To feel that sort of emotion coming from Twilight really showed how much she cared for the dragon.

“Well, I’m sure he appreciates you talking to him. I always worried he didn’t have much of a male role model.” Twilight was going to go on when there was a decisive *Thwack* coming from within the orchard. “Sounds like Applejack is hard at work. Let’s see if she has some free time.”

It took a bit of searching but eventually the continual thwacks led us to a certain orange pony, along with a smaller yellow pony with a red mane. Oh Mah Gawd! It’s Apple Bloom! No, no. Keep fanboy in check. Don’t want to spook her. Let Twilight introduce me...then hug that adorable little....No! Bad fan boy! Back in the corner! Anyway, by the looks of things the two of them had been collecting apples and placing them in large wooden tubs.

Twilight was wondering what was going on with my thoughts and my fanboy freak out. She dismissed it for the time being and greeted Applejack and Applebloom. “Hey, girls. Mind helping out with an experiment?”

Applebloom was the first to perk up with a giant grin on her face. D’aaaaw! Noooo...maintain...control. “Wha kinda experiment, Twi?” AJ asked.

“We found out Dante has the ability to make other ponies stronger, but when we tried it with Rainbow Dash she went a bit overboard. Could you help us try again? We need to see if it can be used over a longer period of time without the fatigue.”

Applejack pondered this a moment, but Applebloom decided to chime in, “Who’s Dante?”

Twilight knelt down and pulled the lower part of her mane out of the way, exposing my position. “That black mark is Dante. He’s a Symbio.” Twilight looked to Applebloom to gauge her reaction, she looked confused. “Yer birthmark has a name?”

Birthmark? Ok, suddenly pride seems more important than cuteness. I let a tendril come forward and wave at Applebloom. She was obviously stunned along with Applejack, who hadn’t seen my tendrils before, nor the eye change associated with my powers.

“Whoa, Nelly! Is that Dante doin’ that?” AJ inquired. I gave a thumbs up. “Uh, is that a yes?”

Twilight answered for me, “Yes, Dante has the ability to conjure these tendrils. We also discovered, he can enhance vision to what he calls ‘aura sight’.”

AJ was a mixture of impressed and shocked. Applebloom on the other hand was poking my tendril. “He feels funny.”

“I know right?” Spike chimed in. “Kinda slimy to the touch, but you don’t notice once he’s attached.”

Applebloom looked at Spike, “He’s been on ya Spike? What’s it like?”

Spike put a claw to his chin, “Eh, weird at first, but after he’s there, you hardly notice.”
I wasn’t sure how to feel about that. I knew I was slimy, I’m almost certain I’m part gak. Eh, I’d let it slide.

“So, Applejack, want to help?” Twilight asked again.

Applejack took another second to think before answering.“Hmmm, so long as we’re working on some of the chores ‘round the farm. I don’t mind.”

That was about all I needed to hear. “Cool,mooch off ya later, Twilight!” I said before letting my tendril move over to AJ and pulled myself over. My earth pony host gave a slight shudder as I nestled into her mane, but otherwise did not protest. “Hey, Applejack. Doing okay?”

“Whoa. That’s a might bit strange.” Applejack put a hoof up to feel out my location and she rubbed against me. I felt my body shiver and hers as well. “Wooo. Ok. That was....something.”

“Oh, Oh, what happened?! I want to record as much as I can!” Twilight said in a gushing nerd tone.

“Well..uh....I...he...” I felt Applejack’s face blushing a bit. Wait, blushing? Why was she blushing?

“Well, what did you do?” Twilight further inquired.

I felt AJ’s mind trying to find the right words to describe what she had just felt. She came upon the word she was looking for....Oh, my.... “Uh...Applejack... I don’t think we need to tell Twilight about that...or anypony for that matter. It didn’t happen.”

“I’m with you on that one, partner.” My host turned to Twilight, “Uh, Twi, sa’ll right ifin we pretended that didn’t happen?” Twilight looked confused. “But it might be important to-mmmmh!” I wrapped a tendril around her mouth. This was not a route we were going down, and I made sure Twilight knew it. I gave her a wage of a tendril finger then released her.

“Ooookay, we’ll leave it be for now.” Twilight rubbed her muzzle real quick before looking back to Applejack. “Okay, let’s see about using that enhancement ability.”

Applejack’s blush had died down by now and was now giving Twilight a quizzical look, “How you plannin’ on testin’ that, Twi?”

Twilight took a second to look around, her gaze started to lock onto the tubs of apples, and she got that gleam in her eye. “We’ll use the apples!”

Applejack’s questioning look only got deeper, “Say what now?”

“It’s simple, we use the tubs of apples and gauge how many you can carry.Then, we do it again until you start to struggle. When you start to feel strained Dante will boost your strength! If we do this right you should be able to do a max load for longer” She finished off with a smile and a squee.

“I guess that’ll work. You up for it?”

Applejack just shrugged and said, “Eh, why not? Load ‘em up, Twi.”

Soon enough there were three full tubs were loaded onto AJ’s back. She could still walk but she was definitely pushing herself to hold them up. Twilight, Spike, and Applebloom followed along the way. We brought the tubs back to the farm and had them unloaded. We made our way back to where we were before to collect the next set of three. Again, we loaded up Applejack and again I felt her body really pushing itself. Still she managed to take the second load from the orchard to the barn and back again. The third time was the kicker though, I felt her really pushing herself to get the third load up and onto her back. Ok, time to put this to the test. I put my focus onto AJ’s legs. Her legs were straining a bit, I felt her muscles really working to hold up the load on her back. With a bit more focus I felt a familiar twinge from before. Suddenly, her muscles weren’t straining as much. Her legs defied gravity and straightened to fully support her cargo. Even AJ noticed. “Boy, howdy. Ain’t that somethin’.”

“Yeah, it is something alright.” I said in earnest, “Just don’t over do it, I don’t want ya bed ridden. Oh and you can think what you want to say. It’s a bit easier.”

“Like this?”

“Yeeeup”

"You makin' fun of me?"

"Neuwp"

I could tell she didn't believe me. Didn't care.

I felt Applejack smirk as she made her way back to the farm. When she unloaded the tubs I let my focus drop. Applejack’s legs weren’t burning but they definitely felt worked. “How you holding up?”

“Not too bad. I don’t think I could do that again without ya given me a boost.”

Ok, I think that pretty much sets it. The boost is a one time deal. I mean yeah I could give her legs another kicker but it might push her too far. “Thanks, Applejack. I think we’re done with the enhancement. I can help with my tendrils if it helps at all.”

“Well, that’s mighty kind of ya, Dante. I’ll let Twi and the other’s know and we can get the last batch all taken care of.”

Applejack took a moment to wipe the sweat from her brow before turning to look at Twilight and the others. “Heya, Twi. I think I’m gonna need some help with that there next batch. I think if Dante using his ability any more I might not be walkin’ so pretty tomorrow.” Twilight seemed to understand. She took down some notes and when she was done, had Spike send it off to Celestia.

We spent the most of the day helping out Applejack and Applebloom with taking care of some chores. I ended up using my tendrils to carry some of the tubs. I had a newfound respect for Applejack, her body was still working hard to carry the apples but she still hefting each tub without so much as a grunt or a complaint.
_________________________________________________________________________

We finished up a little after lunch, Granny Smith was kind enough to make us a nice apple fritter with spiced apple dish. Uh, it was sooo good! I would make a reference about it being a party in my mouth...except I didn’t have a mouth. Anyway, we finished up and I made my way back to Twilight. Applejack thanked us for our assistance and she even said if I ever wanted to help out around the farm I was always welcome. Cool, maybe I could have some kind of job, and NOT be a mooch. We said our goodbye and started back towards the library. I informed Twilight about what I tried this time, with regards to enhancement.Twilight immediately went into her accelerated thought process. Part of her was wondering if there was some way to get around the muscle fatigue, then another part was curious about possible magical burn out from an enhanced spell. As interesting as that was, I was wondering about my super secret spy mission. I mean, I’ve read about assassination plots and seen plenty of movies dealing with them...but this was the real deal. It was serious, and there were lives on the line. I mean...if they were willing to kill Celestia, they’d try to kill Luna too! This was some heavy shit. I mean this is a world of technicolor ponies capable of flight and magic! You’d think assassination plots would be furthest from happening here. Ugh, no use freaking out about this for now. I’ll cross that bridge when-

*BUUUUUUUUUUUURP* *FOOOSH*

...Fuck you universe...just fuck you. Sure enough with the burp and foosh came a scoll bearing the seal of Equestria. Twilight quickly snapped out of her thought process and snagged the scroll out of mid-air. With a quick whip of magic the seal was broken and the letter unfurled.
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My Faithful Student,
I have been reading the information you have sent me, regarding Dante. From what you have sent, I can only say I am interested at what other capabilities he might posses. However, I would like you to halt any experiments for the time being and please send Dante to me as soon as possible. I’d like to go over some other details about him continuing to live in Equestria.

With Thanks,
Princess Celestia
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Well, guess that’s my invitation. Twilight seemed to take this as interesting news. “Do you think Princess Celestia is planning to make you a citizen of Equestria?”

“If she does, I’d like to know how that’ll work. I mean I have to be attached to somepony most of the time so...Ya know never mind. Hopefully, Celestia has it all planned out.”

“I’m sure the Princess has it all planned out. Let’s get back to the library and we’ll get you to Canterlot. Oh, you might feel a bit queasy.”

Queasy? Why the hell would I be-

I felt Twilight’s horn light up and a magical force envelop her body along with Spike...oooooh shit.

*Shoooomp!*

Author's Notes:

Whoa, I was WAY too behind on posting that. Sorry for the delays ya'll.

Chapter 11- Secret Agent Dante (S.A.D)

After traveling down the hyper-space highway. Yeah, that’s about the closest thing I can think of to compare teleporting to. Everything just sort of blasts by you so fast all you can see is zooming white. We popped back into existence in the center of Golden Oaks Library...and I felt like I was going to lose my everything. I couldn’t vomit,I wanted to, but I couldn’t. My body was so unsettled that I sloshed right off of Twilight. I landed with a less than appealing splat. I felt like I was literally just put through a blender.

“Are you ok, Dante?” I heard Twilight ask, she was obviously concerned.

I was still pretty out of it. I made an attempt to speak which came out as a half squeak, half gurgle. Ugh, I felt like a wreck and sounded like one too. Think I’ll just...stay here and...not vomit.

My attempt to recuperate was interrupted by the feeling of a hoof touching me. “Dante? Please tell me you are okay.”

“Teleportation....sucks.” Even thinking that felt hard. Why did teleporting mess with me so much? I hate not knowing things. Ok, figure it out later. Maybe Celestia could give me some kind of clue.

“I’m sorry, had I known teleporting would have this effect on you I’d just let us walk back.” Twilight’s sincerity was apparent without me having to be connected to her.

“All good. Just don’t...do that again. Please.” I was begging but honestly even the nastiest hangover had nothing on this. I was partially thankful I didn’t get the same reaction from dragon fire. I couldn’t imagine dealing with this twice. I might not be able to vomit, but at this point, I’m willing to get creative.

“I will. I’m going to go get everything ready for your trip. See if you can try to...reform a bit. You look like a puddle.”

“Yeah...that’s pretty accurate. Can you ask Spike if I can link with him for a bit? I really need to be attached to someone right now.” It was weird that I knew that. I just felt this instinctual need to be attached. I appreciate that my body knows this, but I had to admit it was just weird my own body knew more than I did.

Twilight broke contact and informed Spike of my request. He didn’t seem to mind too much. I felt him pick up my puddled mass in his claws. Don’t ask me how I didn’t just melt through his claws but I somehow held together. I slowly but surely made my way to Spikes crest. The second I linked up with him I immediately felt better. “Aaaah, thanks Spike. I owe you one.”

Spike’s concern was pretty apparent by his thoughts alone, “It’s cool, Dante. It’s weird though, I know ponies get a bit nauseous when they teleport for the first time, but you looked...well...you were a puddle.”

“Well aware, Spike. If it’s cool, I’m just gonna rest...I just feel like...garbage.” I sounded like I had just gotten the crap beaten out of me. I couldn’t help it.

Spike didn’t question further. I could still see through his eyes, but I just kept quiet and just let myself adjust. I spotted Twilight on the upper floor scribbling on some parchment. She also had the box I had arrived in before. I hadn’t noticed before but it was really ornate. There were some fancy markings along the edge and some golden trim for accent. I thought the inside was fancy but now that I see it from the outside I was really impressed. Celestia knows how to hook a guy up.

It took a minute or two for Twilight to finish her letter and bring box down to Spike. “How’s he doing, Spike?” I heard Twilight ask.

“He’s been pretty quiet. I think the teleport really messed him up.”

“It did, but feeling better now. I just really don’t want to separated for too long.” I sounded a bit better. Being attached to Spike had really helped. It’s moments like this that I realize how dependent I am on others. I shudder to think what would have happened if I hadn’t attached to somepony when I arrived. Well, dwelling on what-ifs is bad for my psyche, so best get to Celestia and see what my spy mission entailed. Hopefully, things wouldn't turn....ooohohoho, neuwp! Not doing that again. Can’t jinx me thrice, brain!

Spike relayed my thoughts to Twilight. She nodded and opened the box for me. I slithered down off of Spike and into the box. “We’ll see you when you get back, Dante.” Twilight said to me.

“Yeah, get back soon.” Spike added. I gave a nod and the box was closed. Within seconds the box was off the ground and a familiar *foosh* signaled my departure.
________________________________________________________________________

Like before, I felt my box hauling ass. The majority of my body pressed against the back of the box. It took the same amount of time as before, only a few minutes before another *foosh* announced my arrival and the return of gravity. I could hear some voices talking outside the box, with aura sight I saw the radiant yellow aura that could only belong to Princes Celestia. There was another aura of a deep midnight blue and another that was a shade of pinkish purple. Hmmm. The midnight blue aura must be Luna. Who’s the other one? Better take a listen.

“Are thee absolutely sure about this, Tia? Are thee sure he is up to the task?” Ok, that was definitely Luna. Couldn’t miss that royal “we”.

“I understand Luna. He is new to our world, and is still learning about his capabilities, but I believe he can help. Despite a bit of a foul mouth, I believe he has both the capabilities and the heart for the task.” Motherly tone, sense of regality with a splash of authority. Yup, definitely Celestia....also I really need to filter my thoughts...like FCC filter them.

“Why are you so trusting of this creature, Princess? I’ll admit that he has my appreciation for saving your life, but as Captain of the Royal Guard I feel this mission should fall under our supervision.” Ok, this guy sounded familiar. His sounded a aggravated and there was bit of a California surfer accent in his voice. Wait, Captain of the Royal Guard? Was this Shining Armor? Am I about to meet Twilight’s brother and future ruler of the Crystal Empire?! COOL!

“You are quite right, Captain Armor. It is for that reason, Dante will be under your supervision for the entire duration of this operation.” I was going to be WORKING with Shining Armor? Ok, having some mixed feelings now. Shining didn’t get a ton of screen time. I know he’s protective, hence the shield on his flank, but other than that I didn’t know much else about him other than what happened at the end of season two and the beginning of season 3. He did seem to have a fairly kind disposition, but I think that’s mostly with Twilight. Well, guess I’d figure it out soon.

After Celestia’s last comment, Shining’s attitude changed a bit. He sounded a bit confused, “So, the Royal Guard will have jurisdiction in this?”

“Yes, Dante will be working under your supervision and I believe you will find his abilities useful in this situation.”

“And you believe he will follow orders? You haven’t really explained what kind of...personality he has.”

Well, then.Time to make my presence known and make some introductions. A few well placed shoves ought to do it.

*Thunk* *Thunk* *Thunk*

I saw all three auras turn to look at the box. “Ah, looks like Dante has arrived. Captain Armor, would you be so kind as to host Dante for a bit? I’m sure you’ll determine his personality rather quickly. ”

Shining’s form seemed to hesitate a bit. “Host him? What do you mean?”

“Dante’s form requires a host for him to communicate and use his abilities. If you don’t mind, could you please be his host. I’d appreciate it”

I could tell Shining was still a bit unsure about the idea, but he agreed reluctantly,“Uh...very well, your highness.”

Shining approached the box and slowly opened the lid to expose me. I couldn’t make out his expression but based on his cocked head I wasn’t what he expected. I quick cursory glance showed I was on a desk, so I took my leave of the box. My volunteered host was now inspecting me. “This...is Dante?” He inquired skeptically. Well, what were you expecting, living body armor? Screw it, time to get comfy. With a lunge of my body I made contact with Shining’s guard armor and made my way up his shoulder. His body tensed up the second I made contact and I’m certain he had attempted to grab me. Unfortunately for him, I was well out of his reach both physically and magically. Once at my destination, I got comfy and let the connection settle.

“Suuuuup, Brah?” I greeted my new host. I couldn’t help myself, the surfer-esque accent was just too easy not to pass up. With the connection made, I could now see the room a lot more clearly. This wasn’t Celestia’s room. It looked more like a war room. Various walls had maps on them, some showing Equestria and various regions: Baltimare, Manehaten, Fillydelphia, and a few other locations. I also spotted a few maps showing the Griffin Kingdom and the Dragon Highlands. Neat! I also spotted a large circular table, I guess they used that to lay out the maps and plan stratagems. A few racks of spears and swords further confirms this was indeed a war room.

“I-what?! What did he just do?” Shining asked out loud. He was still on alert after my minor assault. He looked to Celestia and Luna for an answer.

Celestia let out a small giggle while covering her mouth with a hoof, “This is how Dante connects. Currently, he is linked to you. He will experience the same sensations you do, and he will be able to hear your thoughts and you can hear his.” Celestia sat down on her haunches next to Luna who was already sitting. “He’ll be attached for a bit but it is not permanent.”

Shining seemed to relax a bit. “Yeah, I’m just leasing for now.” I let my tendril come out and presented it to Shining Armor. “Dante Morelo, please to meet you Captain Shining Armor.”

To his credit Shining Armor didn’t flinch at the presented tendril. He did hesitate a bit, mostly due to how he was inspecting it. His mind mimicked his curiosity as he pondered both my intentions and my tendril. “Relax, I’m just trying to be courteous. Ask Celestia, I’m harmless. I just tend to end up in bad situations.” Shining pondered my words, he seemed to believe me. He took my tendril and gave it a fair and firm shake. “Nice to meet you, Dante. How bad have the situations been?”

“Ask Celestia how we met. ‘Nough said.”

Again, Shining was curious. So he inquired about my meeting with the Solar Monarch. After a quick recap, Shining’s jaw was resting in a crater on the floor. “Yeah, THAT bad. Trust me, I can’t lie to you...Well I can, but you’ll know.” Shining picked his jaw off the floor and really started thinking about what I said.

“Look, sorry to throw this all at you. Just, I’ve never been given this kind of responsibility before, and never from a ruler of a nation. The way I am now...there is a sort of trust between my host and myself. I’ve got nothing other than trust. Seriously, it’s all I’ve got. I trust you to point me straight...and well, I’m hoping I don’t screw up. Oh, you can speak out loud if you want, but if you focus on your words in thought I can hear them too.”

I felt Shining continuing to mull over my words, considering several scenarios, and determining what to do with me. Something must run in the Sparkle family, because both Shining Armor and Twilight Sparkle seemed to be amazingly skilled at processing info and applying it to hypothetical situations. I could come up with three or four at best, Shining was on ten by the time I got to three. It took a moment or two but he settled on what to do, “I can see why you trust him so much, Princess. He seems to lay it all on the line. I’m willing to trust him.”

Booyah! “I wouldn’t ‘booyah’ just yet. I do have some conditions. I trust you but that doesn’t mean I’m not going to take some precautions.” Wow, he learns quick. Well, he is in charge. He wouldn’t be captain without good reason. “Understood, Captain.”

Shining turned to face the Celestial Sisters. “I think it’s time we went over the details with Dante, your majesties.”

Celestia and Luna both stood. Celestia grabbed the letter sent alone with my container and made her way out of the war room along with Luna. Shining wasn’t far behind. “Where are we heading?” I inquired. I guessed we were still in Canterlot Castle, but I’d never seen this part of it before.

“We’re heading to the dungeons. Do you recall the assassin you stopped a few days ago?”

“I remember she was a unicorn...I was more focused on holding her down. Why?”

“Shortly after that altercation, the mare awoke and we began questioning. It seems you left a bit of an impression on her.”

“Considering I was attached to Celestia, I’ll guess our assassin didn’t like the makeover I gave Celestia.”

Shining chuckled, “Something like that. You and Princess Celestia spooked her so much, she was more willing to talk to Princess Luna and her guards. Her name is Fire Starter, and from what we learned she is a member of some rebel group attempting to usurp the throne. We aren’t sure of their numbers or when they might strike next. That’s where you come in.”

“Okay. What’s my role?”

“Well” His tone turned solemn and very serious, “it took some convincing but we managed to get groups meeting place, unfortunately the second she told us she lost consciousness.”

Well, this can’t be good.“Like she just dropped? Any idea why?”

“We didn’t notice that there were runes on her horse-shoes. The Princesses determined the runes were meant to knock her out. For now, she’s in a very deep magical sleep.”

“D’oh fuck.”

“Language.” he quickly retorted harshly.

“Sorry....but really, that’s messed up. Will she ever wake up?”

“The royal doctors have checked her for the last two days and they haven’t noticed a change. She’s stable but we’re not certain if she will wake up.”

Well, I can see how this is a problem. So we have an assailant with information, but she’s in a coma. So where do I...wait, she's sleeping. She’s not conscious. Which means if I...oh, balls.

“You want me to control her don’t you?” I was really hoping this wasn’t-

“Yes.”

Uuuuuuugh. “Since we were able to get the location of where they meet, we want you to go to there as her and see if you can find any information.”

Well, that doesn’t sound too bad. “However, should you encounter one of the rebels we want you to try and infiltrate their ranks and learn as much as you can about their next course of action.”

....I did it again. I’m my own worse enemy. One day I’m gonna jinx myself into something horrid. I don’t know what it’ll be, but it’ll be horrid.

“Uh...ok. So...Am I going this alone?” I was sure they weren’t going to send me in by myself, but having some confirmation would be a wonderful booster.

“Of course not. We’ll be sending you in with another guard. Should you encounter any of the rebels you and her will use a cover story we’ve created. With any luck, they’ll believe it and the two of you can try to gain as much information as possible. ”

Woo, needed that confidence boost. But hey I’m going in with a partner! Sweet. I wonder who they- (wait, Shining said “her”) who she is. Guess I’d find out later, we arrived at the dungeon. It felt very stereotypical. A long concave hallway that housed several dozen cells. The only light source seemed to be the setting sun. About two cells down on the left, two guards stood at attention. Inside the cell was the sleeping body of a familiar mare. I hadn’t gotten a good look at her before, but now I could see a lot more detail. She had a light orange coat with a near white mane that was bit wavy, her tail matched. I spotted her horn protruding out of her mane. She was unnaturally still, aside from the slow rising of her chest. If I didn’t know better, I’d say she was just sleeping. “Uh, Captain? Mind if I ask a question?”

“Go ahead, Dante.”

“When she was awake, what was she like? Was she cursing Celestia’s name? Was she remorseful? I’d like to know how she acted.” Honestly, I was secretly debating whether I should really dislike this mare or feel sorry for her.

“For the first day, she was a pain to handle. She was claiming that Princess Celestia helped to kill her husband and that the Princess was a she-demon. The day after, she did a full one-eighty. She was sad, regretful, and way more cooperative. It was so strange, none of us knew what to make of it.”

Well, that’s interesting. I don’t know anything else that can cause that kind of emotional flip-flop... Well, I’ll get some more details and info about how I should feel, later. I’d get the rest of that info face-to-face. A quick removal and slither, I was attached to my new host. I’m sure the guards were confused for a second when I passed by them. I could tell she was dreaming. I caught flashes of a tall, light blue stallion. Fire Starter was running towards him, she was happy. He seemed happy. She seemed completely ignorant of my presence. I let her dream assassin or not, everyone deserves to enjoy a good dream. I felt bad for her. I couldn’t tell you why, but I just felt bad for her.

I did some quick checks to make sure I had control. Everything responded to my command, so I got the eyes open and my host on their feet. I had to shake off some stiff joints but I was good to go. “Okay, ya’ll. I’ve assumed direct control. Mind letting me out?” I inquired, my hosts voice had a slight British accent (boy, do I feel classy). Shining was looking impressed. Celestia and Luna had the same expression, somewhere between amazed and stunned. The guards were, well, on guard(bad pun is bad, I’ll take the punishment), and had already gotten their spears pointed at me. Shining got them to stand down and open the cell door. I made my exit and propped myself in front of Celestia, Luna, and Shining Armor. “Ok, I wouldn’t call this the best face-to-face, but it’s as good as it gets for now.” I bowed before Celestia and Luna respectfully. I took a seat and noticed two distinct presences beside me. Both of the guards from before didn’t seem to want to take any chances. I didn’t protest, I might have tendril arms but I don’t have eyes on the backs of my host’s head. Shining dismissed the two guards under the logic that two alicorns and the Captain of the Royal Guard could easily handle a single unicorn mare. The guards left without protest, although one of them did stop before leaving and gave me the “I’m watching you” gesture.

Celestia took the initiative, “So, I’ll assume Captain Armor has gone over most of the details with you, Dante?”

I nodded, “Yeah, he gave me the rundown. I’m to check out this meeting place with somepony else and report back with anything useful. If we encounter others, we’re to try and get in with them.”

Celestia nodded with a half-smile, “Very good. Thank you for doing this Dante. I realize this is a lot to ask of you after what has happened.” Her face turned a bit more sullen. “I wouldn’t ask this of you if it wasn’t important or if we had other options. I will make sure you are properly compensated when this is all done.”

“I..um, thank you, Princess. I appreciate it.” I added. It’s weird, Celestia pretty much exudes this...presence. When you’re in front of her you feel like you need to show the utmost respect, lest the sun, itself, come down upon you. Then there was that motherly tone. Even if she wasn’t my mom, dear lord, she could make herself sound like she was.

Luna chimed in as she noticed the sun dipping towards the horizon. “We best proceed to the barracks. Night Glory shall be awakening soon. We shall explain the rest of the details when she is in our presence.”

Sweet! Time to meet my partner for my awesome (maybe kinda dangerous) mission. Let’s do this!

Author's Notes:

Oh man, now we're getting somewhere. I'd like to thank Nightmare Jerremy for inspiring the name of the chapter. Also the story is almost at 1,000 views! SWEET MERCIFUL JEBUS! You guys are amazing. Thanks for reading my story. Thanks for all the suggestions and thanks for pointing out all my spelling/grammatical errors.

Unfortunately, a bit of bad news (kinda). I'm going on a week long trip. I can't guarantee I'll have good internet reception so I may not be able to post chapters for a bit. If I can I will. Anyway, wanted to keep ya'll in the loop. Stay awesome, guys!

Chapter 12- Here's the plan.

Author's Notes:

Woo! Sorry for the wait ya'll, but I'm back! And don't think I haven't forgotten my promise! Ya'll have been patient and it SHALL BE REWARDED! This chapter will be followed up directly with another! You guys are truly awesome and supportive. Enjoy the chapters!

Ok, in all honesty, I was looking pretty calm on the outside but I was pretty freaked on the inside. Celestia, Luna, Shining Armor, and myself were making our way towards the castle barracks to meet with my partner for the mission, Night Glory. The trip was taking a while and I had some time to really consider everything that was happening. I understood what was asked of me, and how I planned to execute it. What was bugging me were the “what ifs”. As much as I’d like to be optimistic, pessimism tends to keep you prepared for the worst. I had run through a couple dozen scenarios of how I’d deal with any of these rebels/usurpers. I’d come to identify a possible problem: I could lie when calm, but my major issue was if I got nervous. I had a ton of nervous ticks, and if I tried to lie it’d be blatantly obvious. The only solution I could think of would be for Night Glory, my partner for the mission,to lie instead...assuming she didn’t have as bad a poker face as I did. I was mostly hoping that nothing would happen to make political assassination worse, or prompt another attempt.

The whole situation was hitting me at full force. It hadn’t been more than three days since I died and gotten a new body (that has to be attached to another body). I had learned a lot in that time, but my perception of this world was completely shattered. I mean the characters were what I expected and held to what I’ve seen, but attempted coups? Political Assassinations? Either Lauren Faust omitted some details, or she was some kind of psychic who caught glimpses into this place and missed some details that would have definitely bumped the FCC rating. Ugh, it’s times like this I wish I had gone into the military like my dad. He always had this confidence no matter what situation he went into. He was always calm and just seemed to know what to do. I, on the other hand, was nearing the pinnacle of my sanity. I mean this scenario sounded like it would be something an insane person would contrive or some kind a fever dream. I mean it was a new world, with different rules and laws. Who wouldn’t want to investigate something like this? It’s a world with magic, monsters, and mystery! That’s all the three M’s of adventure! I wanted to feel awesome, to rush off and go on an adventure!...But I need to be attached to something and I only get control if my host is unconscious. I mean I could be a dick and just jump host to host to do what I wanted, but I can’t do it. I couldn't! These ponies have dreams, aspirations, lives to live. They were still living things. What right do I have to force them to do what I want? I was already worried enough about being in the mare I was in now. Le Sigh, well maybe...when this is all said and done, I can figure out what to do with myself.

I decided to check on my escorts. We had made our way into the heart of the castle and were going down a corridor that hugged the edge of what I could only assume was the Royal Garden. I had to stop. I didn’t have much of a green thumb myself but I always had a perchant for natural beauty. Nature itself always seemed to create its own art. When an outside force would alter it, nature just went with the flow and adapted. The Royal Garden seemed to exemplify it. Flowers of every kind spotted different locations around the garden, each mingled with a complimentary fern, hedge, or tree. Everything just seemed to blend into this sort of natural picture. It was stunning. I could spend hours just looking at this garden. Unfortunately, I was broken from my amazement by Shining Armor nudging my host’s shoulder, “I know, it’s impressive. But we need to get moving.” I stole a final glance at the garden before continuing with Shining Armor.

We didn’t have to walk far before we arrived at the barracks. Celestia and Luna were waiting just outside the barrack doors; however, I noted the addition of a new individual. A very unique individual, a bat-pony! They were totally a thing! Her coat was a lighter shade of grey with a mane that seemed to be a light shade of baby blue with a midnight blue highlight. I could see her cutie mark was a moon peeking out from behind a set of clouds, but the one feature that really seemed to standout the most were her vibrant emerald eyes that had slits for pupils rather than the normal round ones. Then the most obvious feature were her leathery wings that were just a bit darker than her coat color. I’m gonna fan-gasm! Besides that one episode with Flutter-bat and a quick cameo in Luna Eclipsed, you rarely see bat-ponies. I kinda thought their design was pretty cool and....THEY LOOK SO DAMN FLUFFY! I’ll admit I just liked them for how different they were and how little was known about them outside of headcanon and fancanon. Plus they just look so damn cute...really..NO! Must....not.......hug....resist...cuteness....I am strong...I am... in control....I am....not gonna...lose to...fanboy!....*click*

Dante is no longer in control,

we are fanboy,

we are in control,

and we are going to hug the shit out of that bat-pony.

I moved with with the purpose and determination matched only by religious zealots and my victim was ill prepared for the glomp that was quickly and decisively delivered. “NUEW MAH GOD, YOU ARE THE MOST ADORABLY, AWESOME THING I’VE SEEN!” I shouted in a near squeal. Yeah, it wasn't my most manly moment, but damn it this world is full of cute! It compels me to hug! The fact my host’s voice was the one saying it didn’t really help, and it also didn’t help that my host was previously incarcerated for attempting to kill Celestia. So it came as no surprise that my orientation with the ground was suddenly inverted and my momentum was directed at the nearest wall. My temp body made full contact with the wall with surprising force. All the air in Fire Starter’s lung were immediately expelled upon impact and her head soon made friends with the ground. I was loopy from the encounter but I made my recovery to see a very startled Night Glory holding the pose showing how she just tossed my sorry ass. Shining Armor was dumbfounded at my glomp assault. Luna looked like she debating between laughing or face hoofing, and Celestia was attempting to contain a giggle and failing miserably.

I let out a couple of coughs and regained some air. After orientating myself, I felt my face go red. I realize it was a stupid thing to do and I had probably made a really bad impression on the pony that was meant to cover me for the mission. I made another mental note that I still needed to suppress my impulsive tendencies. Best apologize while I can, “Ugh...sorry. Never *cough* seen *Wheeze* bat-pony before.”

Night Glory was still huffing but she was slowly making her way towards me. Her emerald eyes were locked onto me and they were not deviating in the slightest. “You tried to kill the princess, and now you assault me. I don’t know how you convinced the princesses to let you out, but after that you’re going right back in.” Her voice was young and feminine, but carried the stern seriousness I’d come to associate with military personnel. Although, noticed behind that sternness was this cute little squeak that I was certain was unintentional. Her adorableness aside, she looked fairly pissed. Luna, bless her, stepped in and calmed her ire. “At ease, Night Glory. Tis as you stated, this mare hath attempted to take our sister’s life. However, that mare is not awake. Before thee is Dante Morelo, a Symbio. He has taken control of the mare to assist us.” I found it a bit unsettling that Luna refused to use Fire Starter’s name. I could only guess she still harbored some disdain for my host. “He is a bit brash, but he hath saved our sister and agreed to assist us despite the possible risks.”

“Yeah, I promise not to *ugh*do that again. I just think bat-ponies are really cool.” I said with a bit of a blush, my embarrassment apparent. Night was looking at me, but now it was more quizzical than angry. Shining decided to step in, “Look, I realize this isn’t exactly the best scenario. We are relying on you to help Dante out. He’s a civilian, but his abilities allowed us an in. If the two of you run into these rebels you can always say that Fire Starter escaped with your help. It might be enough to get you two into their organization and determine their plans."

Simple, very simple....except the execution was looking to be the hard part. I mean it's not hard to go somewhere and look for information. That's easy. Going somewhere and encountering assassins who want to take over a nation...yeah, you can see how confidence can turn into cowardice. But the weird thing was, despite the possible danger, the many hypothetical "bad endings" I'd mentally conjured, and the fact I was still learning about a new world, new body, and abilities that I thought were only possible in TV shows and comics...I was excited. I was scared, make no mistake, but some aspect of this had a thrill to it. I could compare it to the first time I skydived. Every fiber of my being screamed at me what a bad idea it was. My internal alarm was blaring how falling from an airplane 13,000ft in the air could kill me. But, I was excited. I was gonna stare death in the face while falling at terminal velocity and I was gonna walk away. I was determined. That's what I was feeling now, determination. I was going to prove my worth. I was going to do something possibly dangerous and walk...maybe slither if my host...ok need to stop the negative thoughts they're getting in the way of my determination. Either way, I was going to do this and show I could be useful.

I brought myself to focus and looked to Shining Armor, there were still details to go over. He conjured a map of purplish-pink. It outlined a small town or village (never could determine the difference). Shining Armor outlined the details in a tone I had heard military leaders address to subordinates, "Now we've discovered that the meeting location for this group is a long abandoned village just to the east of Canterlot. According to what we know the village was ransacked by an ursa-major some time ago and never recovered. There are plans to scrape the village so we need to make sure we get as much information as possible. With that in mind, some of the houses may have cellars or attics. Be sure to investigate each house fully."

Night Glory raised a hoof, and Shining gave her the go ahead to chimed in, "You mentioned what to do should we encounter any of these rebels, but what do we do should they turn violent towards us?"

Shining Armor maintained his serious tone, "Should they attempt to harm or capture either of you, you are to flee to the near by woods here." He pointed to the aforementioned woods which lied just to the east of the village. "I'll be putting a spell on both of you. If either one of you cannot make it to the fall back position or are captured, simply tap both forehooves together twice and a contingent of Royal and Lunar Guard along with myself will be alerted and we'll intervene." With the last sentence stated, both Night Glory and my host were enveloped in Shining's magic. I felt the magic wash over Fire Starter's body like a wave before it began to find residence in her hooves. Sweet, we have back up! Knowing the plan was helping ease my mind a bit. I was definitely feeling more confident. TIme to get one last detail out of the way. I lift my host's right fore hoof and waited for acknowledgement. Shining gave me the go ahead and I asked, "Ok, so we have the plan and back ups covered. When do we leave?"

"We are still prepping a few of the Lunar Guard on the details, but we should be set to move out soon Take some time to go over things with Glory. I'll get you both when the guards are mobilized." Night Glory and I both gave a nod. Glory gave a salute, to which Shinning returned before leaving. When Shining was well out of earshot, Celestia and Luna approached the both of us. Night Glory and I bowed before the both of them. Celestia spoke first, "I would like to thank both of you for doing this. This sort of situation has not arisen in Equestria in hundreds of years. I fear it can only serve as a precursor to something more menacing. I wish you both the best of luck and look forward to your safe return. Be safe my little pony, and my little Symbio." That last comment nearly made me roll my host's eyes. I realize she's the ruler of a nation and she cares for each citizen like her own child, but seriously that line just comes off as something a mother says just to embarrass their kid. Good thing I didn't roll the eyes. I can only imagine what kind of punishment you get for doing that in front of Celestia, let alone Luna. Well, as much as I always wanted to be an astronaut, I'm not going to the moon tonight. Celestia gave us both a final nod and left along with Luna. This let me alone with my bat-pony partner.

I wanted to say something to break the ice, but I was still recovering from the glomp incident earlier. The awkward silence felt like a noose round my throat. It didn't help that Night Glory was scanning me up and down with her eyes. It was stranger when she started walking around me. I felt like I was being appraised. I followed her with my host's eyes, but I dared not move. She finished her appraisal after a minute. "So, how are you doing it? Mind Control Spell? Voodoo?"

I had to take a moment to understand what she meant but once I made my response,"Oh, I'm linked into her nervous system. Here, look." I pulled away Fire Starter's lower mane to expose my hiding spot. "See that black spot? That's me." I held the mane out of the way while Night took a closer look. I felt her breath on my body, it caused a familiar set of goosebumps to surge through my host and my own body. Night took a step back and I let the mane fall back into place.

The bat-pony was looking skeptical now. "So what are you, some kind of parasite?"

"No, nothing like that. Based on what Princess Celestia and Twilight Sparkle have learned, the relationship is more symbiotic. When I'm attached I usually feel better than when I'm by myself. So, I'm certain that I get some kind of nourishment from my host. Then, while attached, I can enhance my host. So far, I know I can make them stronger, give them aura sight, and my host gains a pretty potent healing ability." I rattled off the info as best I could, but I couldn't stop the uncertain tone from being spoken along with the words.

Night didn't miss the uncertainty,"You sound like you aren't sure. How do you not know what you can do?"

I felt Fire's ears splay against her head. "I...I'm still learning. I've only had my body for a few days."

Night cocked an eyebrow, "So you're a newborn? They're pairing me with a freakin' baby!?"

Ok, nervousness tapped out and annoyance jumped into the ring. "Oi, I'm twenty-three! I just meant that I had my Symbio body for a few days. I'm a full grown man!"

Night's expression turned skeptical, "How's that possible? You've had your body for a few days, but you're twenty-three years old?"

"Well...I..." I've done this song and dance before, but having to admit I was dead on Earth was...it was like a grenade. By the time I got for the first word out, I had already pull the pin. The second "died" was uttered it was like an explosion of emotions. I could hide it sure, but it didn't stop that twinge of sadness from hitting. I hoped I could have gotten over this. I mean I'm alive now. I was thinking, I was feeling, and I was mobile...kinda. Why do cool thing have to come with baggage? Could it just leave it's baggage at home so it didn't inconvenience our time together? Well,might as well pull the pin and get this over with. I went through my last few days of existence and everything I had learned about being a Symbio. Night's expression turned from skeptical to shocked.

"That's...Wow...So...Yeah, I'm having a hard time with this." She took a moment to rub her temples. "Let me make sure I've got this. Three days ago, you were hit by a meteor and died."

I let out a sigh,"Yeah"

"Then the pale horse, himself, tossed you through space where you crashed into Princess Celestia and took control of her body."

"Yeup, again."

"Then the very next day, you discover that you're a species that hasn't been seen in centuries, with abilities that made ponies into legends, and on the very same day saved the life of the Sun Matriarch, herself."

"You're three for three."

Night looked to be considering the information for a bit before she made her next inquiry,"Ok, so can you show me?"

"Show you what?"

"Your abilities. I want to see what you can do. if I know what you can do, I can plan accordingly. It might make this mission a bit easier."

I took a second to think over what I could show her. I knew aura sight and the tendrils were probably my best bet. I let two tendrils form and I watched Night's pupils go from round cat's irises to near toothpick thin slits. Her body had back away slightly and her wings had popped open in what I can assume was a defensive response. I had to admit I got a bit of a kick out of seeing this kind of response. I always got enjoyment out of startling people back on Earth. Yeah, I can be an ass in that regard, but that spooked look and the sounds people would utter when they were startled...PRICELESS! Anyway, back to my spooked associate. I let the tendrils come into contact with Night. Just a simple pat on both shoulders was enough. She instantly snapped out of her shock and looked at the tendrils. Her irises turned back to a more rounder shape and her wings folded back into position. She did some investigatory poking, and looked at the source of the tendrils themselves.

I took the opportunity to explain, "This was the first ability I learned. I call them tendrils, but they most resemble the appendages I used to have. They're also the my preferred form of interaction." Night gave a nod and a made another once over of my tendrils before asking,"Can they do anything else? Any offensive or defensive abilities?"

I shrugged, "I don't know. Twilight seemed to think they might have some additional capabilities but we never figured it out."

Night let out a sigh

As I finished my explanation I used a tendril to point to my hosts eyes. "Do you see how her eyes look?" Night gave a nod, her body was still rigid but I had her undivided attention. "Watch."I closed Fire Starter's eyes and I put my focus into them just like I had done with Twilight, I felt the sensation flow over the eyes signaling the vision change had occurred. I snapped the eyes open for dramatic effect (aaand maybe to spook Night a bit more, again I'm an ass) and I saw Night Glory before me but she was radiating a light blue aura that matched her mane. As a bonus my dramatic eye opening had the desired effect and Night had gone back to her previous spooked state. I will never tire of that expression. EVER.
I let out a giggle despite myself and got back to my demonstration. "This is my Aura Sight. With this I can see the flow of magic. Yours, for example, is the same color as your mane." I looked around for any other auras in the area. I found two within barracks, one a light orange flowing down like a waterfall and another that was a vibrant green and radiating outward. I pointed a hoof towards the barracks, "I see two more auras inside the barracks. I'm guessing one is a pegasus and the other a unicorn?"

Night looked to the barracks before turning back to me. Her face was stunned and amazed. "You...you can see them?"

"It's their magical flow but yeah. I couldn't tell you what they looked like but I can tell you that they are there."

Night looked pensive for a moment. Like some gears were clicking in her mind. Then her eyes went wide and a smirk came across her muzzle, "This is good. This is very good. We can use this." Her tone was one of excitement and her followed matched.Her wings did a quick ruffle and her smirk turned into a beaming, toothy smile and a small squeak escaped her voice.. It was really cute to be honest. Like a child who just figured out a really hard puzzle. I couldn't help letting out a giggle, her reaction was just too much. Unfortunately, those bat ears weren't just for show. She caught onto my giggling, and immediately serioused up. Although, it did not stop a pinkish blush from creeping onto her cheeks. She let out a small cough and she composed herself. "I...uh...I believe we can use that ability to scan for possible threats. We'll do a check with your aura sight before entering the town and we can determine how to go from there....And wipe that smile off your face, this is serious!"

I couldn't make eye contact with her while that blush was still on her cheeks, but wow, those columns were really interesting right now. "Of course, I'm taking this very seriously."

"Then, why are you still smiling?" She said sounding annoyed.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." I said with my smile slowly growing. I couldn't help myself, this was just too funny. She went straight from giddy as a schoolgirl to a serious soldier. Although, the jab to my host's shoulder was enough to get me to stop smiling, "OW! Ok, I'm serious. Jesus." I rubbed the sore shoulder. Damn, she had a hell of a right hook.

Night looked off to the side, Shining Armor was waving us over. Night turned back to me, "Good, it's time to go."

The healing factor must have kicked in as the pain from the punch died down. I looked to Night Glory and then to Shining Armor down the hall. "Ok, let's do this." It was mission time, and it was time to prove my worth.

Chapter 13- Mission is a GO!

Video games are a pretty good way to simulate an adventure. Skyrim was always my favorite. You had a huge land to explore, evil to vanquish, and cool dragon shouts to learn. Plus there was the rag doll physics. God rag doll physics are hilarious! The thing that games like Skyrim can't simulate is what you'd actually be feeling while you were going through those caves, battling those dragons, or trekking through the lands. Right now, I was learning about that real fast. Nervousness, doubt, apprehension, fear, just to name a few. The trip from Canterlot wasn't so bad. We had taken a sky-carriage and were heading towards the village in question. I was pretty excited during the flight. The bat-pony guards pulling our carriage were wearing similar armor to the royal guard, but their colors were much darkers and they didn't have the legionnaire plum. Instead the plum had been replaced with a leathery fin that came over the crest of the helmet. The breast plate looked more ornate as well and the central symbol was of a crescent moon rather than the Celestia Sun. I couldn't help but stare at their wing at work as we flew and take notice of how they handled turns or turbulence. I'd keep it in mind if I ever got to control a pegasus or bat-pony. Riding with me was Night Glory and Shining Armor, both were just staring ahead and had the same determined look on their faces. The carriage itself wasn't very impressive. If I had to guess this was the carriage for more casual appearances or when Celestia wanted to bring private guests to the castle in a more discrete manner.

What was bugging me the most was nopony was saying a damn thing, only the wind spoke and he was getting pretty annoying to listen to. To make matters worse, my nerves were definitely starting to get the best of me and the silence wasn't helping. I wanted to think of anything other than the events to come, or at least get my focus on something to ease my mind. I needed to break the silence, and there's only one thing you can do when there's this kind of silence. I had to yell over the wind (noisy bastard),"So. Anyone else nervous about this? Please say yes, so I don't feel like the greenhorn here."

Shining and Night both snapped out of their stoic stances and give me their focus. Shining was first to speak with a bit of a chuckle, "We're all nervous, Dante. If it makes you feel better we can go over the details again."

I gave a sheepish smile and a nod. I realize this wasn't the most complicated plan but that didn't mean I was willing to goof up a simple detail.

According to Shining Armor, Night Glory and I were going to be dropped off about a mile and a half from the village, so that the carriage couldn't be spotted. We'd walk the rest of the way and start our investigation once we arrived in the village proper. Shining assured us (mostly me) that our backup would be waiting for our signal in case things went south. He also said that, should we need to make a getaway, we were to head to the forest to the west. Hearing the plan again did set me at ease, but apparently Fire Starter's heart didn't get the memo...wait, she's still dreaming, right? I did a quick mental check on my host's thoughts and HEYO! Ohoho okay... very good dream indeed. Going to keep that far out of my mind as possible. Private dream sexytimes need to stay private. It does explain the heart rate, though. I felt Fire Starter's face burning up and I guess Shining and Night did as well. "Are you okay? Your face looks like it's about to burst into flames" I heard Night comment with full concern.

I couldn't make eye contact. It's one thing to walk in on two people doing the sideways shimmy, but this was somepony's dream (which is the most private thing you can have) and...well...let's say Fire Starter has been reading Fifty Shades of Hay. "Yeah,everythingsfinesnoneedtoworryokaythankyou." I rattled off at near rapid speed and in a pitch that I'd only heard operatic singers reach. I was really hoping they didn't-

"Are you sure? You're really blushing and your eyes look like they're about to bust out of your head." Night decided to add, making the blush feel even worse.

I felt Fire's body hit the ground and I covered her face with her hooves. "Yes, I am fine...just please...do not ask about it." I said each word carefully, slowly, and as articulately as possible. Shining seemed to get that I didn't want to talk about it....Night on the other hoof,"Are you really sure? I don't want you losing it on the mission. Might want to get it off your chest before-"

I grabbed her with a tendril and pulled her in real close to explain why I didn't want to talk about it. I finished and Night was wearing a very similar blush to mine. I promptly picked her up and placed her back in her previous position. She didn't say another word the entire trip. Shining, after seeing the display, looked like he wanted to add something but a wiser mind prevailed and he kept his comments to himself.

It didn't take us much longer for us to arrive at the drop off zone, an open field full of wild flowers. My partner and I disembarked, Shining Armor saw us off. He wished us luck and warned us to be on guard just in case.With that said the carriage took off into the night, leaving the two of us alone. With a heavy sigh, I looked to Night and gestured toward the town. She gave a quick nod and we started our trek. The night air was cool and a light breeze helped carry the night across us. Aside from the breeze, the only other sound were the crickets playing to their heart's content. Looking up I could see a full moon just starting to crest the horizon. I wasn't sure what Equestria's celestial orbit was, but damn the moon looked enormous! I had to force myself to move, because if I didn't, I would have just sat in that field and stared at that moon all night.

We walked for a while before Night Glory added her voice to the sounds of the night, "I...uh...I'm sorry for prying earlier." She finished as her ears splayed back against her head. She sounded sincere and I couldn't fault her too much. She didn't know I could see thoughts or dreams. I waved a hoof dismissively at her, "Don't sweat it." I rubbed the back of Fire's neck just above where I was nestled. "I probably could have handled that a bit better. It was the first time I caught sight of someone else's dream while I was in control, and the first time I caught...that kind of dream."

Night looked me quizzically, "So, you can perceive thoughts and dreams? You don't really give your host a lot of privacy do you?"

I shrugged, "It kind of works both ways. With dreams, it seems like they're less aware of my thoughts and I'm less aware of my host's. So far, Fire Starter hasn't even noticed what I've been doing. I'm honestly not trying to draw too much attention. I'd rather not have her yelling at me while this is going on. I feel bad enough using her body without her consent. I'd rather not have her make it worse."

Night's quizzical look turned to a more confused one, "You really feel bad for her? Even after what she did? Why?"

I went to say something but the words died on the way up. Why did I feel bad for her? Shining said she was apologetic after a night in jail, but hell anyone would be. The prospect of banishment to the sun or moon is enough to make anyone change their tune. But for some reason, it didn't feel right. I wanted to at least be a bit peeved with her. I mean it's Princess Celestia, she had the voice of a mother and could make you feel at ease no matter what. She wasn't a tyrant, she wasn't harsh, and she wasn't cruel. She was a bit of a troll, but that's forgivable (after a bit of revenge). But according Shining Armor, Fire Starter had accused Celestia of killing her husband. That's way out of character for Celestia. Something wasn't adding up. I believe she would do anything for her husband (based on her dreams), but...something was just out of place. I couldn't figure out what, but I didn't have all the pieces I needed. I returned to my conversation with Night Glory, "I...don't know. Just....you ever feel like something was off, but you couldn't pinpoint what it was?"

Night tapped her chin in thought and mulled over my question. "Once or twice, I guess. But that's just a gut feeling. You don't have proof."

I had to concede to that, "Yeah, but think about it. Fire Starter claimed Princess Celestia killed her husband, then the next day she's remorseful. If she was really on a love fueled vengeance mission, wouldn't she still have been pissed the next day? And why oust her conspirators? Why not stay quiet and wait for them to try again? Then there's the biggest issue of all, why would her horseshoes be enchanted with a sleep spell, instead of something to help her break out or to ensure she could kill Celestia? There are just too many holes."

Night continued to mull over my words, she looked like she was trying to think of some counterpoints but was coming up short. Eventually she let out a sigh, and conceded to my logic, "Okay, okay, you've got some decent points. You sound like you could have been a decent lawyer."

I felt my pride swell a bit. Good to know some of that law school critical thinking was still useful for something. I let a sullen smile creep across my host's face, "Yeah, maybe I could have." I took a deep breath, and let it flow out. "Hopefully, we can get some answers at this village." Night gave an affirmative nod and the two of us continued on our way into the night.
_____________________________________________________________________________

It took us a couple more minutes to arrive at the outskirts of the village, but we could see it fully now. It was really small. From what I could see the layout was built in a circle. The village square was the center of the entire town with about eight homes built around it. Four of the homes looked to be two story buildings and the other four were simple one story buildings. Their design was very simple wooden houses with glass windows and wooden roofs. However, it was easy to tell something bad had happened here. Several of the buildings had large parts of their roofs missing or gone completely. The sides of some of the houses had large gashes slashed out of their sides in multiple places. Even the center of town was in a dilapidated state, the impressions of large paw prints were still evident and there were small mounds of displaced dirt scattered all around. I shuddered to think what the residents had gone through. I took those thoughts and shoved them out of my mind for the time being. I told Night that I was going to do a quick scan with my aura sight before we entered the village proper. She gave a nod and I went to work. With a bit of focus, I felt my host's eyes shift. A quick glance at Night, who now had a baby blue over glow, confirmed I had entered aura sight. I turned back to the town and looked at each individual building. After a careful scan, I saw nothing. The town was dead, with nary a soul in sight. I relayed the info to Night and we both made our way into the center of town. We started with the house to our left, a light blue two story building with most of the roof missing. The front door was mostly missing so it wasn't too hard to get in. The inside was still furnished with the basics: a couch, a few wooden chairs around the fireplace, and a carpet. Picture frames lined the walls, but they had at least an inch of dust covering them. There was a staircase leading upstairs and two doorways on the main floor. We decided to split up to check the house, I took the ground floor while Night took the second floor.

I checked around the foyer looking for anything out of place. The fireplace yielded nothing and despite my hopes for a secret button on the mantle, I found nothing. The furniture yielded nothing as well. A check of a kitchen showed little more than some really rotten fruit along with other spoiled food. The other doorway led to a small spare bedroom, the bed was still made and the pillows looked like they were still waiting for a head to fall on them. I did a quick check under the bed and a look at the around the room. Again, nothing. I returned to the foyer just in time to meet up with Night, she had had as much luck as I did. We did a final sweep around the building for a cellar, when we didn't find one we moved to the next building.

We encountered the same in the next building, a light green one story building. Part of the front of the home was missing but the supports seemed to still be intact. We gave the house the same treatment as the one before and came up with nothing. Besides the fact, that each house looked like it was vacated in a hurry there wasn't much to discover. As a matter of fact, in the next five buildings we found next to nothing. The last home was also our last hope. It was a simple one story building without a cellar. Night went to check the rooms while I check the foyer. Fireplace, nothing. Furniture, nothing. Kitchen, nothing. I was beside myself. My big chance to prove my worth and we'd come up short. I was frustrated to say the least. I was about to call for Night when I heard something that got my attention. I was in the center of the foyer on top of the carpet, when I heard the sound. I took a step back. *clop* Then I took a step forward. *Clop* A hollow spot? I jumped off the carpet,bent down, and yanked the carpet off its resting place. Sure enough, right in the middle of the floor was a hatch. Now, we had something. I called for Night and she quickly met up with me. Her eyes practically lit up when she saw the hatch. With a bit of magic the hatch came up and I was about to make my way down, when Night stopped me with her wing, "Wait!" She whispered. "Check with your other sight first. We don't know what's down there."

I could have slapped myself. I was about to walk into God knows what without checking for possible threats. Real smart, Dante. I swapped to Aura sight and did my check. I caught a glimpse of several auras, but something was off about them. Normally, an aura was as large as their owners, these were barely flickers. Like the last light of a dying flame, they were barely there. Then, there were two other auras, but these were much stronger. But there was something off about them too. They were both a vibrant neon green. That was new. I'd never seen two auras look alike. Maybe they were twins? Either way, we were going to encounter something. I warned Night of what I saw. She took a moment to think, she concluded it might be a good idea for her to go first. I didn't argue, she went down and I followed right behind her.

We made our way into the tunnel beneath the home. By the looks of things, it had been carved out by hoof and lead down to some unknown location. We were fortunate that the way was lined with lanterns, freshly lit lanterns. I kept my aura sight up as I followed behind Night. I was actually pretty grateful to be behind Night, I had been nervous when we had arrived. Now, I was sweating bullets. There was a group of ponies down here and our interaction was going to go down one of two ways: with Night and I getting in with these guys, or having to call in the cavalry. The only thing that was keeping me moving forward was Night leading the way. She was on high alert, while my sorry ass was jumping at every sound and shadow. The only problem was my jitteriness was annoying Night. After my umpteenth mini spook attack, she slapped me with her tail. Which, by the way, has some crazy power behind it. She rounded on me and held my host's head close to hers with her hooves. I was forced to look her dead in her eyes. Night addressed me in a calm even tone, "Look, I get you're nervous, but you need to calm down. If you keep freaking out like this, who ever is down here is gonna hear us and we're going to be in real trouble. I need you to trust that I can do my job. Okay?"

She definitely got me to focus, and her tone put me at ease for sure. That last part though really struck me. Her job was to protect me. Why was I so nervous anyway? Oh yeah, not my body. I'd prefer to return it in the same condition I got it in. But Night has a point, if I keep spazzing out I doubt that'll be possible. Time to put on my big boy britches and man the fuck up. I took a couple of deep breaths and leveled my gaze with Night's, "Ok, I trust you. Let's do this." Night released me and gave me a calm smile before turning and proceeding down the tunnel, with me behind her.

The tunnel went on for what seemed like forever. We had been walking for some time when Night stopped me. Her ears were pivoting like crazy, twitching left, then right, then both straight forward (rinse repeat). Now that I was paying attention I could see the auras from before minus the two neon green ones. Ok, that could be bad. However, something was still bugging me, there were about five auras ahead of us, but they were so small. Now that we were closer they only seemed about as big as basketballs. What had they been doing? I warned Night about the missing auras and we moved forward to the next bend in the tunnel. She told me to hold back while she checked ahead.

Night slowly inched forward to the bend in the tunnel and peaked around the corner. I heard an audible gasp, that caused me to investigate myself. I was stunned by what I saw. It was huge chamber, it had several small outcoves that were dimly lit by candle light. It reminded me of the chamber from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom minus the lava pit. What really got my attention were the six bodies in the center of the room: Two unicorns, a pegasus, two earth ponies, and one griffin. They all looked...emaciated. Like they had just been left to starve. What the hell is going on here? I thought this was rebellion to overthrow a monarchy, why do these guys look like they're half dead? Night did a quick check around the room, before she moved to check on the unfortunate souls. I wasn't to far behind her, mostly because that one lone griffin looked mighty familiar. Oddly enough, even with my aura sight active I couldn't see an aura on him. Did griffins not have magic? Guess not if they used runes, but are the runes magic? Eh, more questions, with no immediate answers. Regardless, this was the same griffin from the day of the assassination attempt, I'm sure of it...but he was in bad shape. He was looking old and worn before, but now...he was breathing raggedly and he looked like he was barely clinging onto consciousness. What muscle mass he may have had before had all but atrophied. Whether or not he orchestrated the assassination or not, I don't think he was gonna last much longer...unless.

"Night, I need a favor. I might be able to save this guy."

Night looked up from the pegasis she was checking on, before looking at the griffin, her eyes went wide, "Dante, you know who that is right?!"

I shook my head, much to my chagrin, I had never caught the griffin dignitary's name,"We never swapped pleasantries. I know he and Celestia were chatting the day of the assassination attempt. He's a big wig or something right?"

Night face hoofed, "Understatement of the century, dingus! That's Grif Steelwing! He's the dignitary who brokered peace between Dragons and Griffins! If it wasn't for him the Griffins and Dragons would still be going at it!"

Ok, my turn to be shocked. A dignitary who managed to bring peace between two warring nations. That's a big deal...but he may have been involved in the assassination attempt. I need to try and get him talking. "Ok, he's a very important griffin. Doesn't matter right now. He's on his last leg. I need you to watch Fire Starter's body. I'm gonna try and heal him."

My comment startled the bat-pony a bit, "What?! How? Do you know healing magic?"

"Nope, but I can do one better. I can give my host an advanced healing factor. It might be able to heal him or at least get some info from him"

Night looked impressed, "Well, hurry up these ponies aren't in as bad a shape as him. I'll keep an eye on Fire Starter."

I gave a final nod and I positioned Fire Starter's body on the ground before I slithered my way onto the griffin. The second I made a connection I could tell he was in bad shape. His heart rate was slow and every attempt to move was virtually futile. His muscles were so atrophied that he was literally not strong enough to move. As far as I could tell, he wasn't in pain, but he was extremely weak. His thoughts seemed to be focused on another griffin female, at least I'm sure she's female. Maybe it's his wife? Agh, whatever, I need answers! "Hey! Griff Steelwing, right?"

He spoke openly, but the words sounded weak and forced, "Ugh...yes...who *wheeze* are you? Where...are you?"

"I'm on the back of your head. I'm a Symbio, it's a thing we do. Listen, a few days ago you had a meeting with Princess Celestia. During that meeting, an orange mare tried to kill her with an anti-magic bolt. Were you a part of that? Did you help her?" I'll admit I probably shouldn't have channeled my inner Batman with my questioning, but damn it I've got too many questions and not a single answer.

Griff's thoughts shifted, more images of that female griffin, talk of hostages, and a plot. This didn't feel made up there were too many fine details. He was recalling the events that lead to this. What does this all mean? "Tricked...all of us..." He had to take a few deep breaths before continuing. "Yes...I...regret what I did,but...it does not...excuse my actions. They tricked us. Looked like...lovers or family...made us think...Celestia...was corrupt....harming others...made us believe...made us act. *Wheeze* Kept us so..They... could feed...off us." He was really struggling to breath now. Why wasn't he getting better? Was I doing something ... wait, did he say they were feeding off of them? Impersonating loved ones, possible mind control/manipulation, and feeding off the victims....Oh, fuck me sideways. If this is what I think this is...

"Listen, I'm trying to heal you but I don't think it's working. I want to help you, but you need to tell me something first. Who or what did this to you?"

He took a few breaths and swallowed before he confirmed what I suspected, "Change...lings"

Author's Notes:

OOOOOOOOO SNAP! It's about to get real! Whelp, still got some free time...let's go get working on that next chapter.

Chapter 14- It just got real.

So...ever have that moment when shit gets so real, you almost immediately know you got to do something? Like the universe just gave you a direct slap to the face and said, “Move.”Well, me neither, until now. Hearing the startling revelation that changelings were instigating a coup prior to the royal wedding put me in immediate action mode. I was in the middle of the build up to the changeling invasion! HOLY SHIT!! Was this going on while the narrative was following the Mane 6?! Could I stop it? Could I prevent the invasion?!....I need to talk to Celestia! I need to move! I-I...I need to get Night and everyone here out! I quickly detached from Griff and made my way back to Fire Starter. The second I acknowledged I had control, I got moving. First things, first. My healing factor isn’t healing Griff. Not sure why, but that's for later. I need to keep him going, he knows what happened. I moved to him, "Griff, you still with me?"

The worn griffon looked to me, still kicking good. "Fire...Starter? I thought-"

I interjected,"Nope, me again. Symbio? Well, name's Dante, but I'm the Symbio from before. I'm using Fire Starter as a medium, so to speak." Agh, getting off topic. "Listen, we're going to get you out of here, but I need you to try and save your strength. Can you do that for me?"

The old bird looked confused but he nodded regardless.

"Awesome, just hang in there." I turned to Night Glory, who was staring at me. I'd wager she had been trying to figure out what Griff had been saying. I made my way to her, if I looked as frantic as I felt, it'd make sense she looked concerned. "Night, listen, I don't have time to explain. I know what's going on. We need to call in our back up and get back to Canterlot."

Night blinked a few times before she shook her head. I was on a rapid fire mode, so makes sense she wasn't catching everything I was saying. She fell to her haunches and put two hooves up in a 'hang on moment' motion,"Whoa, whoa. Slow down. Why do you look so freaked out? What did you learn from Griff?"

I groaned,"Ugh, what part of 'there's no time to explain' wasn't understood?! We need to get these everyone out of here and back to Canterlot! Things are about to get-"

"Hey, who's over there?" A new masculine voice called from one of the outcoves.FUUUUUUUUUCK!

Both Night and I turned toward the new voice. Sure enough, a male pegasus was standing in one of the outcoves with a male unicorn standing next to him. The pegasus was a light shade of red with a black mane that was combed neatly to the side and a slightly cropped tail. He had some piercing blue eyes. The unicorn was light green with a yellow mane that was swept back, giving him a sort of aristocratic look, and his tail was long and flowing. His eyes were a fairly standard brown that gave him an apathetic feel. "Where did you two come from?" inquired the unicorn in an annoyed tone.

Night was about to say something when I grabbed her tail and pulled her back "Night! WE. NEED. TO. LEAVE. NOW!" I said through gritted teeth.

"But we agreed that if we found more of the-"

I interjected, "The situation has changed. Majorly." I stole a quick glance at the two stallions through aura sight. Both of them were emitting a neon green aura. These were the two I saw earlier. Now the similar colors made sense. I released my aura sight and turned back to Night, "They're not what they seem. Their auras are the exact same color. They're changelings!"

Night suddenly looked agast, "What?! That's impossible. Celestia banished them to a volcano years ago."

I shot a glance to the "stallions" again. They were looking pissed that we hadn't answered their question. "I'm going to ask one more time. Where did...wait." He narrowed his gaze at me. "Fire Starter? I thought you were captured. How'd you escape?" Okay, maybe we can talk our way out.

Night took the initiative, "I helped her escape."

The two looked at each other before turning back to Night, "Why?" asked the pegasis.

Night rolled her eyes, "Huh, you think bat ponies get good treatment just because we're Luna's select guards? Our hours are crap, at best, and we don't get half the respect as the Solar or Royal Guard. We don’t even get as much responsibility as the other guards. I think a change in rulership could do us some good. Maybe go back to the old ways." Night replied with a bit of disdain in her voice. Yeah, she was a better liar than me...unless she was serious. I couldn't tell, I was going to go with the former.

"Hmm, you make a decent point. Fine, welcome to our 'rebellion'" The unicorn said.The two stallions seemed to have bought Night's story. They started to approach us, when I felt something clutch Fire's foreleg. A quick glance showed, Griff's talon locked around the aforementioned leg, "Don't..let them...near her!"

That got my full attention. I turned to see that the unicorn was powering up a spell, "We just need to put you through the initiation."

SHIIIIT!

I shoved Night out of the way just in time for a neon green magical bolt to miss by a hair's breath. The two stallions did not take kindly to my actions. They were both staring me down with disdain. "What do you think you're doing, Fire Starter?" Then in a quick deceive motion, the unicorn back-hoofed me across the muzzle. OK, seriously, why the muzzle?! THAT SHIT HURTS!...oh answered my own question. "Don't you want to see your husband again?" The unicorn added with a particularly smug look on his face.

Ok, I might have let the smack to the face go, had he not said that. I went from mildly worried to full on pissed. These bastards were using her husband to make Fire do their dirty work! They had the audacity to hold it over her and abuse her at their own leisure......Ok, I wasn't sure how to feel about Fire Starter before, BUT NOW! Now, I knew how I felt! She's a victim and some fuckers needed a reality check! I stared down the pretentious S.O.B and I retaliated, with prejudice. A right hook across the side of the head was enough to not only get the "unicorn's" attention and send his happy ass to the ground. I pointed an accusing hoof at the both of them."Fuck you! How dare you use their loved ones against them! What gives you the right?!" I caught a glance at Night who was balking at my outburst.

"Dan...Erh...Fire Starter, I thought you wanted to-" She stopped herself as her eyes locked onto something. Following her gaze, I saw the unicorn I decked earlier was glowing neon green. The glow suddenly became an elrich flame that engulfed the unicorn turning his once light green fur to black chitin that contained holes along his legs and his once yellow mane turned to thin wispy follicles that ran along the nape his neck. His horn turned jagged and deformed and he sprouted two wings similar to his "mane". His eyes went from glassy watery eyes to a multi hexagonal eye with a central glowing iris. The transformation finished and flame died leaving the fully formed changeling in his glory.

"Ch-changelings?!" Night exclaimed.

"I FUCKING TOLD YOU!" I yelled in retort.

The now changeling hissed as he got back on all fours, "I don't know how you broke free of the spell, but we'll be sure to make it stronger next time. Grimlock, get the thestal, I'll handle this wretch." With that command given the other changeling resumed his natural form and started heading towards Night. I wanted to head towards her to back her up, but I was cut off by the changeling who looked to be harboring some ill-intent for my previous assault on his face.

I wasn't entirely sure how I was going to fight this guy but I did have one advantage, this changeling still thinks he's fighting a regular unicorn, and that was a confidence booster for me. I arched Fire's body into a forward angle and readied myself for a fight.

"So, you think this retaliation will get us to release your husband? You can't over power us! His love for you has made us strong and you are weak!" the crackly voice of my opponent gloated. He was definitely trying to demoralize me, but I was riding the righteous indignation express and this guy was gonna get a privilege check. He made the first move and lunged at me with his fangs bearing down on me. I backed stepped out of the way, causing him to miss, and retaliated with a full frontal charge with Fire's head lowered and horn pointed at my opponent. Unfortunately, the charge didn't have the effect I wanted, as he merely raised his own head to parry me half way through. We were locked horn to horn and neither of us was budging. Honestly, this is about where I wanted to be. If I could keep him close he wouldn't be able to blast me with magic. I know that simple magic didn’t hurt but I wasn’t willing to learn what offensive magic felt like.

The changeling was confident in his abilities and they weren't unfounded. In a single move he relinquished some ground causing my host to stumble forward, and then raised up on his hind legs to bear down on her skull. I felt teeth grit as the force of the changeling's hooves came down on the crown of my host's head and the taste of dirt was hardly welcome. What wasn't helping was he was keeping pressure on Fire's head and he was continually adding pressure. I tried to resist but he was blasting the ground where I was trying to get a foothold. "See how weak you are? If you beg for forgiveness, perhaps I'll forget this whole ordeal." He whispered in Fire's ear with a snide smugness that made me want to slug him again...and damn it I was going to!

I didn't want to use my enhancement ability unless it was necessary, but I'm definitely not letting this arrogant prick talk down to me or Fire Starter. I ignored the pain radiating from Fire's skull and started putting focus into her muscles and I felt the response as her body started to rise. The changeling did manage to blast her forelegs as she started ascending but what burns she received were quickly healed. My opponent took notice, and his confident bravado wavered, "Wha?! How are you-?!"

With a mighty heave, I tossed my opponent off my host's head. He was staggered for a second and I took the opportunity raise up on my host's hind legs, then I proceeded to wail on his black armored face. The added power of my enhancement had a noticeable effect as after a few decent whacks, cracks began to form in his chitin. I had him on the ropes, I hit the changeling as fast as I could and with enough force that he couldn't repoise. I grasped his throat with a hoof (don't ask me how, I wasn't really thinking about it) and was about to deal the knockout blow when I heard a voice call out, "Don't."

I turned to see the other changeling, Grimlock, had Night in a headlock with one leg locked on the side of Night's head and the other around her neck. He was threatening to snap her neck. DOUBLE SHIT BALLS ON A STICK!! I was on a roll! I managed to win a fist/hoof fight! Throw me a freakin' bone here! I looked back to my opponent who was breathing heavy and spitting up some nasty looking ichor intermittently. Okay, I did feel a little guilty, but not by much. He was still a smug asshole. I released my grip on him and let him hit the floor. I took a step back so Grimlock didn't think I was going to try anything.

The defeated changeling took a second to get to his hooves before he leveled his gaze on me. With a scowl and a grunt he made his way to his compatriot. I must have knocked him stupid, because he was not walking straight.I took some pride in that, but I had to put my focus into rescuing Night along with the other hostages. The other ponies and Griff were behind Grimlock. How did they get them over there? Damn it, I need a plan. I needed to get them away from Night and the others.

Grimlock made some kind of chittering noise at the other changeling to which he responded with a hiss. Grimlock nodded before he looked back to me, "How did you break the spell, Fire Starter? Talk or your friend is dead."

I couldn't tell him the truth, if he didn't buy it he might do something drastic. But if I try to lie and he doesn't buy that either I could get the same result. I was stuck. Damn it, Dante! Think! What can I do? Tendrils? No, too far away. If I tried to punch either one of them, they'd see it coming. Maybe I could try and get close? No, that's stupid, they'd know I was up to something. I needed an edge. I need...backup.... (internal facepalm) Good God, I'm stupid sometimes.

I started formulating a game plan, if I could get these guys talking maybe I could buy some time for the cavalry to arrive. Time to win me an Oscar. I put on a smirk and shook Fire Starter's head, "I figured it was obvious. Your magic is shite. It didn't take much to break it." I was trying to sound as vague as possible. Hopefully, it'd make them-

"Impossible! Only a high level unicorn could break that kind of magic. A mere survivalist pony couldn't possibly manage that!" Grimlock retorted. Oh, that's what Fire Starter's symbol meant! Wait, not important right now, time to get smug.

I gave a small double clap of the forehooves, hopefully that'll send the word out. Night seemed to realize what I had done and smirked. I kept my ruse going, "Well kudos to you, you underestimated me. Well, numb nuts over there sure did." I pointed to Grimlock's battered partner, who was practically seething with anger. "You got lucky, bitch!" the butthurt changeling retorted.

Grimlock was staying pretty level, despite his partner's outrage, "Easy, Stalker. She has a point. We did underestimate her." Ha! Suck it. "Which is why we need to remove her before she completely ruins our operation. Kill her."...well...that wasn’t part of the plan.

With hardly a smirk, Stalker (or Butthurt Changeling #1) blasted me with several neon green bolts that singed fur and boiled flesh on impact. I tried not to scream but this was some of the worst pain I've ever experienced...aside from the space boulder, but that doesn't detract from my point. The pain was wracking Fire's body and I could tell from her dream that she was suddenly very aware that something was going on. She was screaming and so was I. I was going to have to explain this to her later for sure. I really hope she’s a forgiving kind of pony. Right now, though, I had to stay strong. If my healing factor was as good as Twilight and Celestia said, I could recover from this. I just needed to stay conscious and stay strong.

The blasts stopped and I was still standing, barely. Fire's body had large portions of flesh burned off and I could see exposed bone at some parts. The pain was intense but it was dulling slowly, the healing factor was at work. I tried to take a step forward but the second I tried to move her she doubled over and Fire's body hit the ground in fetal position. Stalker of the Butthurt was laughing his happy ass off. "Not so confident now are you? You should have thought better than to resist us!" Oooh, that cocky attitude pisses me off! I'm gonna deck this prick again before this is all over. Maybe, I can use this.

A tingling sensation in one of Fire's right foreleg prompted me to investigate. I could already see new muscle and sinew being formed around the wound. The overall pain was subsiding as well. Ok, good sign. I took a glance at the two changelings and Night. Night looked horrified, Grimlock was just eyeing me, and Stalker McSoreass was still having a fuckin' giggle as he approached me. When he was right on top of me with his horn aglow with the green glow of imminent death he lowered his head to speak, "So whelp. Any last words?"

"Yeah. I got a few." I said through the pain. I looked him dead in the eye as I got ready for my final assault. Oh, I hope this works. I took a deep breath and proclaimed,"PRAISE THE SUN, MOTHER FUCKER!" In a fell swoop I grabbed Stalker by the throat with a tendril and slammed him into the ground, knocking the air out of his pompous lungs. Then with Fire's left front forehoof planted in the ground, I used her back right leg to kick off the ground and pirouette allowing me to face Grimlock. I used the spin to get some snap action from my tendril as I hucked Stalker into Grimlock. Grimlock looked too stunned to act and Night took advantage of it. A quick jab in the gut was enough to break the headlock and allow her to get free before Stalker careened into Grimlock.

I made my way to Night, albeit slowly. The pain had subsided, but Fire's body was protesting every step. Her muscles were sore and I wasn't willing to push it any further. I met Night half way. She still looked worried and was looking over my host from head to tail, "You weren't joking about that healing factor. There's barely a scratch on you!"

"Yeah, but I don't think I could do that again if I wanted. Fire is spent. I'm barely keeping her on her hooves."

Night's ears suddenly shot to attention and turned in the direction of the tunnel we entered through, "Well, looks like backup arrive. Clever thinking, alerting them like that."

I left out a light chuckle, "Yeah, just glad Dicky McButthurt has such a short fuse."

And as if on cue, "YOU WRETCH! I WILL END YOU!" The changeling was on a rager and the only thing holding him back was Grimlock. Probably for the better, after the royal smackdown and the grand slam, Stalker's chitin armor was virtually shattered. A green ichor was seeping from the cracks in his chitin and part of his dome eye was a distorted color compared to before. His high blood pressure and rage only seemed to be exacerbating his condition. Again, little guilty, but he was a dick so meh.

Grimlock had to physically drag Stalker away, seeming to know that staying to fight was no longer a viable option. The two of them were making their retreat, when Night was about to chase after them. I snagged her by the tail to hold her back, "Why are you stopping me? They're getting away!"

I had to level with her, "Yeah, they are. But even if we went after them we'd never survive. I didn't catch your fight with Grimlock, but he obviously overpowered you and I had to use super strength just to handle Stalker. On top of that, I nearly got this body incinerated. If I didn't have the healing factor, Fire Starter would be dead!" Huh, if my host dies, do I die with them?...Yeah, let's not test that. "Let them go. We need to tend to the infirmed and let Shining Armor and the rest of the guards handle this."

Night looked like she heard what I said, but wasn't too happy with it. She kept looking between me and the exit route the changelings had taken. Eventually, she let out a long sigh and conceded, "Fine."
_________________________________________________________________________

It didn't take long for Shining Armor and his squad to arrive. Night and I were checking on the captives when they arrived. We gave Shining a run down of the events that transpired and pointed him in the direction of the fleeing changelings. A small contingent was sent to chase after them, while the rest tended to the infirmed. Thankfully, a unicorn medic was present to give preliminary diagnoses and treatment before they were sent off to get proper medical treatment. I asked the medic if Griff would pull through. She gave me an unsure look and said it was hard to say. She did assure me that he would receive the best medical treatment possible. I wasn't sure how much of that I believed. It sounded more like a line you tell someone to keep them from worrying. Well, it wasn’t helping. I realize there was something regarding how changelings feed off loved but I never really understood how that weakened the victim, but my healing factor did not have an effect on it. Jesus, how many questions was I up to now? We’ll add those two to the list. I was going to have a very long chat with Celestia. I don’t know if it’d affect the continuity of what was shown on TV, but I’d rather reduce what ever damage could occur from the invasion.

I told Night that we needed to tell the Princesses about what we had learned and about what had transpired. She seemed to agree, but insisted she stay to assist with the mop up. It felt like what had occurred with Grimlock and Stalker had harmed her pride in some way. I didn’t object. I wished her best of luck and said my goodbye. She wished me safe journey before turning to join the rest of the guards.

My next objective was to locate Shining Armor. He could get me back to Canterlot. Shining was coordinating the evacuation of the captives as well as the guards, when I approached. “Captain Armor, I realize that your priority is to get everyone out, but I need to get to Canterlot as soon as possible.”

Shining held his commanding stature as he answered, “What have you learned?”

“I know what the changelings are planning, I need to talk with the Princesses, like asap.”

And with that statement, the composure was broken, “You do?! Quick we’ll teleport to the castle!”

Oh cool we can tele...wait. *one quick flashback to last teleport later” “NO! DON’T!” I waved Fire’s legs in the air frantically hoping I could stop Shining before it was too late.

Thankfully, Shining wasn’t as quick on teleporting as Twilight and stopped. He suddenly looked confused, “What? What’s wrong? I thought you needed to get the castle?”

I nodded, “Yes, I do. Just for all that’s good and holy, DO NOT TELEPORT ME! Teleporting messes with me. In all seriousness, last time it felt like someone put me in a blender.”

Shining’s confusion gave was to surprise, “Wow. That bad?”

“Like a whole bottle of vodka the night before and waking up the next day bad.”

Shining winced at that one, “Yeowch. Ok, I’ll have the carriage brought around in that case.” With that he called for a pegasus and bat-pony to bring the carriage around for me. The two guards gave immediate salutes and took off to do their assigned duty.

Then I thought hit me, “Wait, you know what vodka is?”

Shining gave me a gentle nod, “Yeah, what Royal Guard hasn’t had a night where somepony challenges them to a drinking game? Why wouldn’t I know about vodka?”

Ok, I wasn’t expecting that response. Uh, need to think of an excuse...Uh..uh...fuck it, might as well be truthful, “Honestly, I didn’t think Equestria had vodka.”

“Uh, why?”

I let out a sigh, I was going to have to address this later, but for now I had something to take care of, “I’ll tell you later, promise.” Shining cocked an eyebrow at first, but gave a dismissive shrug accompanied with a friendly smile, “Okay, but I’ll hold you to that promise.”

I gave an affirmative nod with my own smirk, “Fair enough. See you around.” I barely made it past the first bend of the tunnel to leave when one last question came to mind. One that might immediately confirm or deny my running hypothesis. I peaked around the corner and addressed Shining Armor, “Uh, Captain, mind if I ask one last question?”

He turned to face me, “Sure. What’s up?”

I rubbed the back of Fire’s neck,“Kinda out of left field, but....are you engaged?”

Shining looked caught off guard and had to blink a few times while he processed. Eventually he cocked his head and gave me an answer, “Uh, yeah. I’m getting married in a few months. How...did you know that?”

Well, that confirmed my hypothesis. All the more reason to get to Celestia and Luna. I looked to Shining and gave the most cliche and non-committal answer I could give at the moment, “Just a hunch. Congrats, by the way. I need to get to the Princesses, good luck down here. See ya!” With that I took off down the tunnel and to my awaiting carriage.

Author's Notes:

Ok first attempt at an action sequence. It was short yeah but I'm kinda reading up on it. If anyone has suggestions please oh please leave them below.

Chapter 15- Fixing guilt and family relations.

The thing about silence, it gives you a lot of time to think. Overall, the carriage ride back to Canterlot was mostly quiet. The wind was as talkative as ever but he just kept repeating the same thing over and over, like usual. I took the time to consider the situation and how I was going to explain this to Celestia and Luna. The changelings were attempting to remove Celestia before the invasion occurred, but it failed. According to Shining Armor, his wedding was in a few months (damn should have gotten specifics) which meant that there was some prep time. So now the question becomes, what is the next move for the changelings? If everything was following the cannon, that’d mean at some point Chrysalis was going to supplant herself into Cadence's role, but when? And for that matter, where was Cadence now? Jesus, my list of questions are becoming a small book. I ran two hooves through Fire’s mane as I pondered. This was a lot to think about. Hell, what was my role going to be in all this? An Informant? A Soldier? A Spy? Ugh, I went to law school to avoid half of this stuff! Law was straight forward and more a matter of arguing interpretation. Probably the only saving grace I have here is I know how this is going to end. What happened in between was where I wasn’t sure. But knowing the end, means there’s the ability to determine possible steps needed to get to that end. Hmmmmm, hopefully the Princesses could help get a real kind of plan together. I mean with nearly a thousand years of knowledge between them they’d know what to do. Right?

I never would have imagined I’d be in this kind of position. Five days ago, I would have assumed I’d be home playing video games, doing school work, or hanging with friends. I feel like I’m in over my head...and yet. This feels...right. Like I’m doing the right thing...mostly. When and if Fire Starter wakes up, I know that’ll be a hell of a lot of guilt to deal with. Oh God, I hope her husband doesn’t find out. I realize I’m using her body to help protect Equestria, but I nearly got her vaporized. First, chance I get, I’m leaving her body with some doctors who can monitor her condition properly. Oh, and I can probably get the Princesses to repeal the charges against her too! She was acting under duress and coercion, that might be enough to at least get reduced charges...assuming Equestrian law was the same as the American legal system. Better look into that.

I mulled over the list of things I needed to do for the rest of the flight. It was enough to make the trip go by faster. Soon enough we touched down in the courtyard just outside Canterlot Castle. I gave my thanks to my transporters, who disconnected from the carriage and made their way back to the village.

I stated the nature of my business to the two Bat-pony guards who met me at the front. They were skeptical, and asked that I wait while they confirmed with Luna. Apparently, Celestia had retired for the night. I obliged and waited. It didn’t take long before the night guard returned with Luna right behind him. I gave a formal bow before approaching.

Luna motioned for me to follow her into the castle as we started our debriefing,“Ah, Dante, thou hast returned. Please inform us, what hast ye discovered?”

I was prepared to answer, but remembered my steadily growing to-do list, “I’ve learned a lot Princess Luna. A WHOLE lot, but, if it’s okay with you, I’d like to leave Fire Starter’s body in the infirmary first before we discuss what transpired.”

This seemed to surprise Luna a bit, “Wouldst it not be better to deposit her in the dungeon? She is still to be tried for her crimes.”

Hmmm, she hasn’t be tried yet, only incarcerated. Maybe there was some similarities between our legal systems. I nodded before slipping into lawyer mode,“I understand completely, your highness, but if I may be so bold. I believe Fire Starter may have done what she did under extreme duress and possibly magical coercion.”

Luna seemed to match me, “Dost thou have proof to back up thy claim?”

Physically, I had no proof, “No, I do not. However, recent events in the village, lead me to believe that not only was Fire Starter under duress but also the griffin dignitary, Griff Steelwing. I believe that the two, and possibly more were under the influence of changeling mind control.”

Luna looked shocked at my statement, “Changelings? How is that possible? Our sister banished them to a volcano just before our own banishment.”

“I was told the same, your highness, but we encountered two changelings in an underground location beneath one of the homes. A statement from Griff Steelwing confirms that he and others were manipulated into orchestrating the assassination plot on your sister.”

Luna was just balking at this new information and was obviously concerned. The next bit I was about to drop would clinch her attention in the matter, “There’s more though. I believe it requires both your’s and Princess Celestia’s attention.”

“What more didst thou discover?” she inquired with as calm a tone as possible but still portrayed a level of concern and worry.

I stated the next line in the most serious tone I could. I had to make sure she understood, “It is my whole hearted belief that the changelings intend to invade Canterlot.”

If Luna’s pupils got any smaller they’d be the size of atoms. “What!?!” Royal caps lock...ears...ringing, ow! I snapped two hooves over Fire Starter’s ears. “Sorry, but are thou certain?”

Malp, Malp,ow! Okay ringing subsiding, “Ah, yes. I do. I would like to discuss the details with both of you. After Fire Starter is in proper care, of course.”
Luna was still reeling and seemed almost in shock, “We must ask, are ye absolutely certain? The implications of thy statement are not ones to be taken lightly, nor are they ones to fabricate.”

She had a point, I had no hard evidence. I had a witness statement from an instigator of a political assassination and the testimony of Night Glory. Night’s testimony would probably be enough to make the Princesses believe that there were changelings in the vicinity, but to prove the probability of an invasion with nothing more than my word was going to be difficult...unless. Ok, that might work. I’ll keep it as my ace in the hole. “I understand fully, your highness. I am absolutely certain that the changelings plan to invade, and I have a hunch how they plan to do so.”

Luna had her eyes clenched in deep thought and her brow was furrowed. She didn’t say a word for what felt like hours. I was about to speak up when she finally spoke, “Very well, then. We will deposit Fire Starter in the infirmary and ye will explain to us and our sister what you have learned.”

I let out a breath I wasn’t aware I was holding and allowed a smile to appear. That’s a victory if I ever saw it. And with Fire Starter getting proper medical supervision maybe there could be a chance to figure out how to wake her. Then maybe when this was all said and done I could try and apologize to her.

With that settled we made our way to the infirmary, which wasn’t that far from Celestia’s chambers coincidently enough. The infirmary was actually bigger that I had expected, it was at least the length and width of a football field with a high set ceiling. The walls were lined with cots and privacy curtains with a few being occupied. Thankfully, there were a few on doctors and nurses on duty. When Luna and I walked in nearly all activity stopped. If I had to wager a guess, Luna still had a bit of a negative reputation. The doctors and nurses looked either nervous or scared and several looked nearly petrified. Luna held a fairly stoic and regal appearance despite the other ponies’ reactions.

One of the unicorn doctors was a bit braver than the others and approached the two of us. To this doctor’s credit, he had approached with a only slightly wavering expression of calm, what betrayed him was he was sweating enough to create a waterfall off his brow. I’d comforted the poor guy but I think even a reassuring pat on the back would have been enough to make his wobbling legs give out. I was able to pantomime a breathing motion to at least get him to take a breath, which did seem to help him a bit. “Ho-how c-c-can I help you P-p-princess Luna?”

Luna addressed the doctor in while maintaining a neutral tone and pointing a hoof toward me, “This mare requires medical supervision, doctor.”

The medical pony snapped to me and gave me a quick check both visually and with magic. Hehe, magical scans tickle, “Um...she appears fine, your highness. I don’t understand.”

It was at that moment I realized, that outside the Royal Sisters, a handful of guards, and the main six, not many actually knew about me. True, I was very open about what I was to those who knew, but I’d never exposed myself to anypony else. Twilight made a good point, it’s hard to tell how the populus would react to a creature that can get in your head and controls your body when you’re sleeping.

I let out a sigh and I scooched closer to Luna and pulled her to the side, “Should I be open about what I am? I know some of the guards know about me, along with Celestia and the girls, but should I start...publicizing?”

Luna’s stoicism broke, she looked legitimately surprised, “T-thou...thou would want to know our opinion?”

I shot her a confused look, “Yeah, this is kind of a big deal. Don’t you make decisions like Celestia?”

Luna didn’t have to say a word, just the look that crept onto her face said everything. Just a look of sadness mixed with regret. I had known that Luna wanted to be accepted by her subjects, but wasn’t she at least allowed to make major decisions around Equestria? “W-w-we don’t...we do not receive requests for such things.” Oh, wow. She can, just no one actually comes to her. Ugh, damn it guilt, getting tired of you...Hmmm, well if that’s the case, perhaps a bit of change is in order!

I looked Luna right in the eyes with the most sincere smile I could muster, “Well, I be honored to receive your opinion in this matter, Princess.”

Luna was stunned, but just a bit, slowly just on the edges. I could see a smile about to form, when Luna regained herself with a punctuated cough. So close! Eh, I’ll take it for now. “We believe that, should thou present thy form in an appropriate manner, our subjects will not care what species thou hail from.”

“Are you sure?”

“We are.”

With a sigh, I gave Luna a nod and turned back to the doctor. He still looked perplexed, well this wasn’t going to help. “Sorry about that, doctor. I’ll explain the problem, but I’d appreciate it if you keep an open mind for this.”

The doctor wasn’t looking to happy at that idea and he definitely wasn’t sounding positive, “Ooookay?”

I took a deep breath and exhaled, “My name is Dante, I’m a Symbio. Right now, Fire Starter is under a sleeping enchantment. I’m currently controlling her until she wakes, but the Princesses need me elsewhere.”

I think this doctor is going to have a permanent confused look from now on, “You’re controlling her? How are- whoa!”

I had produced two tendrils in front of myself halting the doctor mid sentence. I held them low and open. If I was going to do this, I was going to make sure I did this right. Show I’m not a threat and there was nothing to fear from me. I spoke calmly and evenly “This is how. These tendrils are part of me, not Fire Starter. I’m linked into her nervous system. I can move her so long as she’s asleep.”

The confused look went away, finally. I think curiosity overrode, “I...uh...how?”

I gave a nervous chuckle, “It’s hard to explain, but I really need you to keep an eye on Fire Starter. She’s been put in a bad situation and needs to be monitored. I would be very grateful if you’d take care of her until she wakes up.”

Looking past the doctor in front of me, I could spot several of the other doctors and nurses were staring. I tried to put them at ease with a wave of a tendril and was met with mixed results. Some looked scared that I had recognized their presence and the others looked almost mesmerized. I took that with a grain of salt, better half/half than full on panic.

The doctor before me was still taking in the tendrils and their source. “Incredible. This is astonishing! How are you-”

I put a tendril to his mouth, “Would love to chat, really I would. But I have some very important business with Princess Luna. Now, would you be willing to do me a favor, and take care of Fire Starter?”

“I-uh-yes. Yes, of course.”

“Excellent!”, I said with a smile. This was a load of my mind and eased my guilty conscious considerably. As beneficial as it was for me to use Fire Starter’s body, I don’t think I’d be doing this again without informed consent.

I asked the doctor where I could leave Fire Starter, he motioned to a nearby vacant cot. I got my host onto the bed and made sure she was in a comfortable position before disconnecting myself.

I slithered my way next to Luna. I was back to aura sight, and based on the the directions of most everypony’s heads I was still the focus of attention. I couldn’t tell you what their expressions were, but the fact they weren’t wavering told me they were overtly interested in me. If I had the ability to smile nervously I would, this was nervous and embarrassed. I let part of myself come into contact with Luna, “Is it ok, for me to ‘come aboard’?” As much as I was ok hopping from host to host, I figured I should start some kind of etiquette when doing so. Now more than ever if I was going to start becoming more well known.

She looked to me after hearing the thought, “Yes, thou may.” That said I made my way up her leg and placed myself snuggly in her mane. Just a bit of a side note, Luna’s hair is crazy smooth! Like cotton mixed with fleece, it’s crazy comfy!... I wonder if Celestia’s ethereal mane has a texture? I was always kinda curious.

The familiar sensation of my body syncing with Luna washed over and I was given access to Luna’s vision. The doctors and nurses were now looking at Luna in stunned amazement but with a wave of her hoof convinced the doctors to take care of Fire Starter and resume their duties. The doctor I had left her with was already doing some checks on her. Sweet, she was getting care and not getting blasted with changeling magic. With that done, Luna turned and left the infirmary leaving the doctors to check on their patients. The two of us made our way back into the hallway and on towards Celestia’s chambers.
__________________________________________________________________________
Luna was being particularly quiet aside from her thoughts, which were focused with a twinge of concern. A few thoughts I could decipher as possible defense plans and escape routes for the citizens. It was natural, she obviously cared for her citizens and looked out for their well being. It just struck me as odd that she wasn’t trusted just a little. I knew from Luna Eclipsed that most ponies were still spooked of her, but now that I thought about it I wasn’t entirely sure what Luna was like. I know she was good with foals and made sure their dreams were happy and pleasant, but I would think that she would at least get some reports or requests occasionally, right? Would it be intrusive if I asked?...Well, let me tread carefully and see if she’ll open up.

“Say, Princess. Mind if I ask you something?”

Luna stopped her train of thought and turned her thoughts towards me. She seemed genuinely interested, “What doth thou want to discuss?”

“It’s just...you seemed kind of surprised that I asked for your opinion earlier. I was just...I wanted to ask....if well.” I was having a hard time trying to get the right words together so I didn’t sound rude. There has to be a better way to phrase this.

“Thou art wondering why we do not receive requests for our opinion on matters of importance.” She responded solemnly, but without hesitation. I’d wager she picked up what I was trying to say or just caught onto my train of thought. Either way she didn’t sound offended by my question. I counted myself fortunate she was willing to talk about it.

“We are...still feared by most of our subjects. They still see us as Nightmare Moon, a persona we doned years ago in hopes of casting Equestria into eternal night. Even after a years time we are still feared.” The way she mentioned Nightmare Moon, sounded so regretful and I could feel her sadden as she talked about her citizens fearing her. And it was a year since season one and she’s STILL feared?

“But you’re not her anymore. Plus you don’t strike me as that kind of per-uh-pony.”

“Tis because thou were not there. We were cruel and horrid.”

“Were.”

"Excuse us?"

“You WERE cruel and horrid. You’re obviously not now.Obviously, you care for your subjects. Hell, you were ready to kill me to save Princess Celestia. Plus, I can feel the remorse and sadness you feel when you think about those times. Whoever you were back then is not who you are now.”

Luna stopped walking as she shifted her thoughts, “Why doth thou trust us so much? Ye have barely been here a week and know nothing of our history. Yet ye would forgive us so easily?”

“Well, I prefer to judge ponies on who they are now, rather than who they were. Also, I know quite a bit about Equestria. I know about your banishment to the moon, I know how you were saved, and I know your sister has forgiven you. If your own sister can forgive you, I think you can forgive yourself.”

Rather than have the desired effect of cheering her up, Luna continued to be remorseful and sullen, “We can not. We began our conquest for such petty reasons. We allowed our vanity and pride to rule us. It was right of our sister to banish us. Even after one thousand years of banishment, our subjects still fear that we might return to that state again.”

This was sad, and not in the pitying way. She was honestly regretful of what she had done and even with forgiveness from Celestia, she still felt horrible about what she’d done as Nightmare Moon. I really wanted to comfort her in some way and make her feel less guilty, but I feel like words weren’t going to help here. I could always....no, that’s stupid. Hmmmm., what if I....no, not feeling suicidal today.....Wait, that could work. Canon don’t fail me now! “Well, what if you could show them that you’ve changed?”

Luna seemed intrigued, “How so?”

“Well, if I’m not mistaken, there is a holiday named after you, right?”

Luna was checking her mental map because she wasn’t quite sure where my train of thought was heading, “There is. It is only a few weeks away, but why is that important to changing our image?”

“Well, why not make an appearance in Ponyville? Show the citizens they have nothing to fear? Show them you are a different from before and try to mingle. If they’re around you and see you for who you are now they’ll definitely change their opinion.”

Luna took some time to consider my proposal. Part of her mind was going over worse-case scenarios and measuring them against possible benefits. I had to give credit to Luna, she was very thorough she was working through each scenario step by step and wasn’t shirking any variables, but some part of her mind was focusing more on the bad outcomes compared to the good ones. I still had an ace, but it could go either way. Technically, Celestia knew that I was aware of things to come, but I never got into season two. Maybe a leap of faith was necessary. “Luna, I’m going to be honest with you. I can tell you are focusing on the negatives about how showing up to Nightmare Night might make your reputation worse. I understand, but for just a second, I want you trust me. The citizens of Ponyville can be very understanding. If you go, you will be seen differently. I promise.”

Luna wasn’t convinced, “How can thee make such promises? Thou knowest not what is to come. They will be scared and nothing will change.”

“But what if things do change? You’ll never know until you try. If anything I’m sure Twilight and her friends would be more than willing to help you. And if it makes you feel better I’d be happy to come along. I have a great idea for a Nightmare Night story!”

Luna seemed to accept my logic on the latter. She started considering my proposal a bit more optimistically. She thoughts became more positive about going and she even seemed to perk up a bit. “Very well, then. We shall make an appearance, but on one condition.”

Well, I landed safely in a hay bale after that leap so, I could risk one condition, “What’s the condition?”

I could sense Luna shifting to a multitude of ideas and plans but one thing was very prominent in her mind. A very simple thought but Luna’s curiosity made it a bit easier to catch, “What is this idea thou have?”

Oh, what I would give to be able to smile my devilish smile. I had been considering this idea in the back of my mind since the discovery of my tendrils, “Have you ever heard of the Slendermare?”

__________________________________________________________________________

Luna and I discussed my story all the way to Celestia’s chamber. Luna was actually a bit giddy at how to go about telling it to foals and adults alike. I had to fudge a few details for it to fit Equestria, but the idea stayed about the same. We discussed details on how to implement the idea and who we could recruit to help. Surprisingly, Luna shared my pension for spooking the bejebus out of others. The only difference is she had magic that allowed her to be way more creative. I was but a padawan to her jedi spookin’ skillz. Seriously, she already planned illusions, disguises, and calculated removals! Just as we arrived outside of Celestia’s room, we solidified our diabolical plans for Nightmare Night. “Ok, in all seriousness I’m looking forward to Nightmare Night now! I’ve done my fair share of spooking, but this! This may be the greatest spooking ever! Teach me your ways oh wise one!”

Luna’s pride swelled with my flattery, and a small smile crept onto her muzzle, “Thy flattererous tongue shall only get thee so far...though it is appreciated.”

I had to let out my own mental chuckle, “Heh, yeah. Man, we are going to be good friends. I can tell.”

Luna snapped to attention faster than a German soldier saluting, “Thou consider us a friend?”

I took out a tendril and gave an enthusiastic thumbs up, “Anyone who has the ability to plan a scare with that much thought and consideration into spooking someone is a friend in my book. The planning and forethought, the magic to back it up, and BACK UP!? Truly, I am humbled at the skill and precision of a master.”

Luna was giggling now, damn she has cute giggle. “What was that?”

Shit, showed weakness towards cute! Need a cover up! Excuse! Something!

(We’re sorry but the excuse/cover up box is currently empty. Please enjoy your summary trolling!)

Damn you, brain. You had one damn job. ONE DAMN JOB!

“That is the second time thou has referred to us in such a way” Then she paused, and I felt that sensation. The sensation I could remember from a certain Sun Princess “Doth ye find us appealing?” Luna said in a tone that I could only recall from one other individual. A tone that was deceivingly sweet. It made promises of kindness, but held a trap waiting for any victim foolish enough to be lulled in by her words.

Was that Kenny Loggins, because I think I just entered the Danger Zone. My next words could either seal my fate or get me off scot free. Unfortunately, brain took his mental faculties and left leaving me high and dry. So my following words came out as, “I..uh well....I thought...just....hey, how about we inform Celestia about that bad thing coming soon at the place.”

Yeah...elegant, aren’t I? I’ll need to devise some punishment for my brain’s insubordination later...assuming Luna didn’t beat me to the punch. Its not like I don't like Luna. I liked her appearance in Luna Eclipsed and all but I really didn't know her as well due to lack of screen time.But from what I saw of her, she was really cute in some aspects. Probably shouldn't have thought that.

Luna didn’t miss a thing and was reading me like a book. Her tone had not shifted in the slightest, maintaining that deceptively sweet tone, “Thou doth think us cute! Thy thoughts betray you, Dante~.”

I’m doomed. Luna is just as much a troll as Celestia. Wait, Celestia! With a swift thought and swifter tendrils I rapped on Celestia’s door with enough force to wake the dead. Luna was shocked at my desperate ploy, but was giggling at my attempt to escape her. She wasn’t going to let me live it down, but at least I could buy time to prepare for some of the things Luna was planning.

Author's Notes:

Wow, this took longer than planned. I did at least three revisions on this chapter, but I feel that I got the results I was looking for. Thanks for hanging tight y'all. See ya in the next chapter!

Chapter 16- Talking Foresight

Sometimes you’re your own worst enemy. This was about as true as could be when it came to my relationship with my brain. When we worked together, we were an amazing team, but there are times (more than I’m willing to admit) when he is not my friend. Times when he reminds me of the worst possible scenarios, took me to that dark place where my worst thoughts were corralled, or just left me hanging. The latter was what I was dealing with now. Luna caught on to my thoughts leaving me flustered and my brain on temporary vacation. Only through a very desperate act did I manage to halt the trolling Luna was preparing to deal. If anyone ever questioned if Luna and Celestia were related...they are. Just based on how devious they can be when messing with someone, they are without question, related.

Speaking of the Lunar Princess, she was a bit sore that I cut her fun short;however, she was quick to remind me, with a smile, that my punishment was still to be implemented.

I had to admit, so long as I was attached to Luna I was vulnerable to her hearing my thoughts....but then again. A door once opened can be entered both ways. I just had to be vigilant and maybe I could catch something to counter with. In the mean time, time to get serious, there’s no way Celestia missed my knocking.

Sure enough, the two of us were soon greeted by the Solar Princess...only there were two things that I noticed were new about her. For one, Celestia was in a night robe that looked to be made of some pretty fine silk ( based on how shiny it was) and secondly, her mane was pink and corporeal. The hell? I thought her hair was always in that flowing ethereal state. Then again, Luna’s hair wasn’t ethereal right now, either. I wonder what that’s all about? Eh, add it to the list.

Celestia, herself, looked like she had been sleeping and everything about her seemed to confirm this. Her mane was matted and wild in several locations and she had a half-awake look on her face. She let out a yawn and rubbed her eyes with a hoof, “L-lulu? It’s very early. *Yawn* Is everything okay?” she said in a groggy tone.

Luna gave up her plots to make me suffer (for now), and looked to her older sister. She addressed her in a very serious tone, “We are afraid not, dear sister. Dante has returned with distressing news.”

That bit of information seemed to be enough to wake Celestia up from her grogginess, “What did he say?”

Luna let out a sigh, “He insisted that the both of us be present, so that he may inform us together. He hath informed us of his suspicious, but we are skeptical.”

Celestia cocked her head slightly and looked slightly confused, “Why?”

“He has yet to produce proof of his claims.” She said that while questioning why I was so dead set on having both of them present.

Celestia looked uneasy, I think the fact that I hadn’t show valid proof had her on edge. I know Luna certainly was. Well, while my proof wasn’t exactly physical, I had one bonus on my side. I could share my memories. All I had to do was recall the Royal Wedding (well the important parts, at least) and share them with Celestia and Luna. Unfortunately, that meant I’d have to be in contact with the both of them without linking. I’d shared thoughts between more than one pony before, it wasn’t exactly pleasant and possibly the closest I’d ever come to experiencing schizophrenia, but this was important and I could forgo my own displeasure to get the word out. “Luna, I can’t prove my claim but I have something close. I just need you to stand next to Celestia.”

Luna perked at that with a slight hint of curiosity and confusion, “We don’t understand. Why make such a claim, if thou have no proof?”

“I promise I’ll explain when this is over. Actually, what I’m about to show you both might explain plenty.” Yeah, I wasn’t being very specific, and Luna was right. I was hoping that once I shown Celestia and Luna my recollection of the wedding they’d at least consider the possibility. I either had to convince them the invasion was coming and have them be ready, or them have no idea and the changelings would waltz right in. Even if they did find out eventually, it’d be better the sooner they found out.

Luna was still reluctant, and I think she was still actively combing my thoughts. Damn, she was curious...or extremely intrusive. Either way, she did oblige with my request and sat next to Celestia. I disconnected myself from Luna but remained in contact. With a little reaching I made contact with Celestia and I felt both their thoughts at once. Ugh, too many voices. Do not like this! Ngh, focus, focuuuuus. Okay, start with the village then go from there. I started focusing on what happened in the village. I replayed the scene Night Glory and I witnessed upon entering the underground cavern, Grif’s testimony, and lastly the changelings who assaulted the two of us. Celestia and Luna’s mind went into shock at the state of the captives, Griff especially. When the memory of the changelings came up though, I could feel something emerging in the back of Celestia’s mind. It was another memory, Celestia’s memory. A city burning and destroyed, with ponies scattered about, withered and emaciated. Then images of a fight.

Celestia was wrestling with a tall black armored changeling, with deep emerald eyes with slitted pupils and an antenna like crown, Queen Chrysalis, herself. Something was off though, she didn’t look the same as I remember from the show. She looked less damaged, and she didn’t have the holes in her legs and her mane looked more intact and closer to hair. Even her horn looked intact and saber like rather than the jagged, and her wings weren’t shredded in the least. Instead they were full and rounded. This didn’t match up with my image of Chrysalis at all! Was this what she looked like naturally?The two were going back and forth until they both looked to be preparing spells. Chrysalis was charging up a spell and so was Celestia. I could feel the remnants of anger and rage from Celestia, a literal burning rage. Based on Chrysalis’ expression, she was feeling invincible. She wore a smug expression that made her look far more malicious with the glow of her horn. However, that look was shattered when Celestia unleashed what I can only call solar powered barrage of magic that perforated Chrysalis’ legs, chipped away pieces of her horn making it jagged and warped, and shredded the majority of her wings. The same was done to nearly every changeling that attempted to retaliate against Celestia. Yikes, personal note: DO NOT PISS OFF CELESTIA!

I let my memory finish, “That’s what happened tonight and I know the changelings being close is important....but Celestia, what was that you were thinking of?”

Luna looked to Celestia, “Indeed, what was that memory, dear sister? We knew of thy banishment of the changelings but we know not of what that was. It looked like the city of Trot.” Luna suddenly seemed startled. “Were changelings the cause of Trot’s demise?!”

Celestia let out a long sigh, “Yes, dear sister. It was the final straw. I had been receiving reports for months before the attack on Trot, mentioning changelings assaulting cities. We had been chasing them for the entire time. Trot was our chance to finally stop them. We arrived too late, though. The city was already raided and many of the inhabitants were in the same condition as the ones Dante found. We managed to subdued all the changeling and their queen. I thought banishing them to a sealed, inactive volcano would keep them from causing havoc again. I was obviously mistaken. Having them this close to Canterlot does not bode well. We must put the guards on high alert, who knows what Chrysalis is planning.”

Luna chimed in, “Dante has a hypothesis, but again he hath not shown evidence to confirm it.”

I couldn’t argue with Luna on that. I had nothing to support my hypothesis, but I was going to damn well try!

“What is your hypothesis, Dante?” Celestia asked.

Whelp...here we go. Stay focused don't mess this up,“I believe the changelings plan to invade Canterlot during the Royal Wedding of Shining Armor and Princess Mi Amore Cadenza.” I replied with the fullest confidence.

That caught both the Princesses off guard. I hadn’t mentioned I knew about the wedding, or Princess Cadence. Both Princesses were demanding answers. They wanted to know how I knew about the invasion and about the details of the invasion. I layed it out for them with the two most prominent images I could recall.

“That’s how Chrysalis plans to get in. She’s going to disguise herself as Princess Cadence and use Shining Armor’s love to boost her magic, then over power both of you and use Canterlot as an all-you-can- eat buffet.”

Luna was flabbergasted. Her mind was going insane trying to determine how I had deduced all of this information. Celestia was just as frazzled at first but, she quickly figured out how I might know this. “Dante, you figured this out based on the show we discussed?” I confirmed with a simple, “Yes”

Luna seemed confused, I felt her probing Celestia’s mind searching for anwsers through the link I had made. Celestia must have figured out what Luna was doing because she put a hoof to Luna’s chest. “There is no need to do that, Luna. I have no intentions of hiding the conversation Dante and I had.”

I was happy that Celestia was willing to let Luna in, I could tell she wanted answers, hell she was practically demanding answers. I was fortunate that Celestia was willing to acquiesce.

“When Dante first arrived, he mentioned to me that his people had knowledge of our existence and the exploits of Twilight Sparkle and her friends, but we were considered fiction. I’m still researching how such a thing is possible, but I think that Dante’s hypothesis might be based on this knowledge.”

Luna was shocked but I could feel a growing curiosity, “Is this why thou encouraged us to go to Nightmare Night? Thou knows what the outcome will be?”

I had to come out with it, “Yes. I know what happens if you go, and I stand (figuratively) by what I said. Things will change if you go, and in all honesty, you deserve it. You are NOT a bad pony and your subjects need to know it.” I finished solemnly, but held the same assurance as I did the first time I stated it.

Then something happened. Something I didn’t expect. Luna blushed. A full, couldn’t hide it even if you wanted to, blush. Now, a true gentleman would not abuse this moment for his own personal revenge, a true gentleman would pretend he did not notice such a show of emotion...but it was not so long ago, a certain princess had taken advantage of my momentary emotional exposure, soooooooooo. I put on the best troll voice I could muster,“Is that a blush I sense, Princess Luna?”

And because karma is both a bitch and a good friend, Celestia got that devious smirk and added this little gem, “Luna, you are blushing.” Trolling does not spare anyone, family included.

Both statements had two glorious effect, firstly, Luna’s blush deepened. Celestia's vision gave me a good look at Luna who was a burning crimson from ears to muzzle. The second effect was Luna got seriously flustered and the pitch of her voice climbed an octave, “Uh...we..nuh...it’s just...he was...mmmmmh~” Then she covered her face with her wings. Ok, flustered Luna is pretty damn adorable. What I would give to have a cheeky smile, right now. I left her to recover her composure and slithered onto Celestia. She berated me a for teasing Luna, not that it didn’t keep her from giggling a bit herself.

Celestia gave a, “Anyway, Dante, I believe your concerns are well founded, however, I cannot justify dispatching guards without proof to show that such actions are necessary. I can have the guards increase patrols due to the assassination attempt and the changeling’s being close but I can not dispatch them to .”

Damn it, I should have known. Then again what did I expect?

Oh hey there’s an invasion coming.

Really? How do you know?

Oh I found out about it from a show that only exists on a world you don’t know about.

Most legit proof EVER!

However, my sarcastic self-deprecation was made null by Celestia’s additional comment, “However, I’d still like to investigate the changeling’s intentions. The fact that they have attempted to kill me and are so close to Canterlot can not be mere coincidence.”

Well, at least Celestia was being understanding. "So, what are you going to do?"

Celestia looked to Luna, who had cooled down a bit to a light pink, and shared her thoughts, "I'm going to have a small team keep an eye on Princess Mi Amore covertly. If she is acting out of sorts, we shall investigate further. What we need is definitive proof that the changelings are planning an invasion. I greatly appreciate your concern Dante, and your service to our kingdom. I will make sure you are rewarded in time. For now, I would like you to continue to learn more about yourself and your abilities. We will handle things from here."

Optimum situation? Not really, but at least they were aware. Plus, I did need to mess around with my abilities some more. So far my repertoire wasn't all the spectacular. The down time would be appreciated after everything that happened tonight. "I understand, Princess. Thanks."

"Of course, Dante." Celestia took a peek out her balcony window. The moon was reaching the final phases of it's arc. Celestia turned to face Luna, who was now back to her normal shade of midnight blue. "Well, it's nearly time for the sun to rise soon, so I'll forgo going back to sleep. Luna, you are going to bed soon, correct?"

Luna nodded.

Celestia gave Luna a warm smile and asked, "Would you mind letting Dante sleep with you for the day? After everything that has happened I'm sure he could use the rest."

I'm guessing Luna stopped listening after "sleep with you" as she immediately looked embarrassed and the blush returned again, "T-t-tia! How canst thou suggest thy only sister sharing a bed with-with-"

Celestia face hoofed, "Luna, Dante is nearly a tenth your size! And, what makes you think he'd try something?"

Luna looked like she wanted to rebuttal, but her retort stopped in her throat. She let out a sigh of defeat. "Very well, then."

I took that as my cue to move over. I made my leave of Celestia and nestled myself in Luna's mane. Once I was settled, Luna said her good day to Celestia and I gave a wave good-bye with a tendril. We were nearly out the door when Celestia stopped us one last time, "Dante, might I ask a favor?"

I made a nodding motion with the my still present tendril. Celestia spoke her request calmly and evenly, "I realize you have knowledge of things to come, but should an event regarding my student or her friends arrive, I'd ask you not interfere unless necessary. Any lessons they might learn should be learned without outside guidance."

Decent point. I had already made some kind of change by alerting Celestia and Luna about the invasion, but my interference seemed to solidify Luna going to Nightmare Night...Hmmm, best to play it by ear and use my discretion. I made the 'okay' sign with my tendril to confirm I understood. Celestia gave a gentle nod and wished us both good day.
______________________________________________________________________

No sooner we got outside Celestia's room, Luna started bombarding me with questions. How much did I know about upcoming events, how much did my people know about Equestria, what did we think about think about Equestria, what were my people like, etc.

I was having a hard time keeping up with most of her questions and had to request that she ask one question at a time. Luna was still eager for answers but agreed to take things a bit slower.

Luna took a moment to consider her first question to ask me, “We would like to know...about thy people. How dost they know about our subjects?”

I had been considering this for a bit now. How did a cartoon for little girls turn out to be a real plane of existence? Maybe it always existed and Lauren Faust just happened to catch glimpses of this universe? Or maybe that theory about a thought being so strong that it could create it’s own reality had some validity? Ugh, I was good at biology but this is quantum theory. I can’t confirm this shit! Well, might as well adhere to K.I.S.S and go from there. I relayed the same information I told Celestia when I first arrived. Luna accepted a little better compared to Celestia, but she had been segwayed into it a little better.

“So thy people can see the lives of our subjects, but only small parts?”

“As best I can tell, I’m not certain how it’s possible.”

Luna’s thoughts seemed to consider some possibilities. Dimensional viewing seemed to be the one that kept popping up the most. Guess that sort of follows along with my hypothesis. But there was something that kept nagging her mind. She kept wondering about how I looked compared to my dreams. Couldn’t blame her, be weird to see someone one way but differently in another. “You’re wondering about what I looked like in the dream, right?”

The comment broke Luna’s train of thought, “Indeed...what was that form thou took?”

I never thought I’d have to repeat myself on this topic so much but, “That’s what I used to look like, when I was human still.”

Luna sounded a bit surprised, “We recall our sister mentioning you having a previous form, but this is most drastic.”

“Yeah, that’s one word for it” I replied mirthfully.

“So...what were thy people like? Could they use magic?” Luna was starting to get that eager curiosity that Celestia and Twilight got at times. Coming from Luna it sounded....oooooh no you don’t, you traitorous bastard! The mind has ears! We barely escaped last time!

“Who art thou berating?”

“The treitorous villain that is my mind. He conspires to sabotage me on a constant basis and I shant allow him to do me harm more than once in a single day!”

Luna gave a soft chuckle, “A bit dramatic, wouldn’t thou say?”

I gave Luna my most serious yet light hearted tone, “Luna, you have the luxury of having a mind that isn’t working against you. If you did you would realize why this is important.” I finished my mental correction process and resumed answering Luna’s question, “Anyway, no humans do not have the ability to use magic. We did supplement our inability to use magic with incredible technology and ingenuity.” That last part I said with as much pride as possible. Some of the stuff we came up with, as far as technology, made it look like we could use magic half the time. I lament on the fact I probably was going to be stuck in a world with little to no technology, but hey, at least there was real magic here and whatever other Symbio powers I had.

Luna’s curiosity was growingand her face matched it with a contemplative expression. “What kind of technology hast thy people created? Our scholars have considered the possibility communication between two devices using wires, a receiver, and a miniature speaker.”

Wait, they were just now developing telecommunications? Wow, they have a long way to go before they reach cell phones, but you’ve got to start somewhere right? “You mean telephones. Yeah, we have those...they’re a bit more advanced and could do more than just make calls, but hey maybe y’all can get there eventually.”

Luna’s contemplative look swapped to confusion, “So thy society has ‘telephones’ but they can do ‘more’? What doest thou mean by that?”

Hmm, I wonder how much Luna’s mind will explode if I tell her this. Well, if it blows up too much I can always heal her. Commence mind blowing! “Well, for one, our telephones are wireless and small, about the size of your hoof. Secondly, they can take pictures, play music, and the best of all they have access to the internet.” I started with a bit of excitement.

Luna was near dumbfounded, her mind was racing at how such a thing was possible. She eventually came to one logical conclusion. A false conclusion, but a conclusion none the less.“Tis...tis a lie, a joke! Thou art merely saying that to have a laugh at our expense! Tis not possible for one device to do so much.”

Well, she was right about one thing, this was funny, but not for the reason she thought. “You know, as well as I do, that it’s hard to lie like this. Search your feelings, Luna. You know it to be true!” I popped a few memories of me fiddling with my smartphone just to show it was possible.

Luna’s denial was scrutinized as she searched my mind for any hints of deception, for the miniscule chance I was making up the memory. Needless to say she came up with nothing. “Tis...tis as thou say. Tis the truth.” Well, not the response I was hoping for but close enough.

There was still something Luna had on her mind, she wanted an answer to, “Thou mentioned something before we have never heard of. Thou called it, ‘the internet’?”

Oooh this was gonna be a doozy. Glad I’m having this conversation with Luna and not Twilight. I think Twilight’s mind would actually explode with this one. “Ok, uh. How to explain this...Oh, imagine a library.”

“Huh? Why?”

“I’m making an analogy to make this easier to understand. Just go with it.”

“Okay?” With that I felt the image of a simple library come into focus in Luna’s mind.

“Ok, now that library has a lot of books with a good amount of information, correct?”

“Yes. It would.”

“Now that library has a lot of information but necessarily information on certain topics. So now imagine another library with a line attached to the first one.”

At my suggestion a new library appeared next to the first imaginary library in Luna’s mind with a simple line attaching the two.

“Now that line between the two libraries allows them to share information between them. So what one library may not have but the other does, can be shared in between them. Useful right?”

Luna gave a simple nod, “Tis indeed, although it seems quite pointless. Wouldn’t it not be easier to merely go to the other library to collect the information needed?”

“Normally, you would be correct. But if that library is miles away it becomes quite the journey for information. The internet is essentially millions of libraries around the world that are all interconnected. Through this interconnectedness they can share information between them almost instantaneously. Anything you ever wanted to know could be accessed and read anytime you want.”

Luna was back to dumbfounded and confused, “Again, how is such a feat possible? There is no such location capable of housing that many books! The building twould need to be of an impossible scale!”

“Easy, we use computers. They’re devices we created to store most of that information.That information is sent to the internet where it can be accessed by other computers any where and everywhere in the world.”

I think I may have broken Luna with that one, she stopped walking completely and was just standing still in the hallway as she attempted to contemplate such a feat. She considered it similar to dragon fire, but dismissed how complicated it would to pinpoint the information needed then direct it back to the source. Then she stopped, “That’s it! Tis impossible to locate a single piece of information amongst a sea of books! Twould take too long!”

She thought she had me. Found an inconsistency in my statement. However, there was one thing she didn’t know about. Google. “We have search engines for that.”

“Search...engines?”

“Essentially they are programs designed by humans to search the internet for the required information. The search engine searches every computer there is until it finds the something pertaining to what the searcher is looking for and presents it to the them. Sometimes you get exactly what you’re looking for, other times you have to sift through a bunch of nonsense before you find the right info.”

Luna was now on her haunches. She was still searching my memory for something to disprove my statement. I decided it might be a good idea to stop her, “Trust me, Luna. As hard as it is to fathom, humans did it. It took us years to do it, but we did. I’m certain, given the same amount of time, Equestrians will figure out how to do it too....or invent a spell that does something similar. Who knows?”

My lunar host was still in an incredulous state as such a thing was still boggling to her mind, but my previous statement seemed to snap her out of it. “What makes thee think so?”

“Because, had I told someone in my world fifty years ago what I just told you. I have no doubt they’d have reacted the same way. Nothing is really impossible, it’s just that no one has figured out how to do it yet. Until then it’s just improbable.” I stated in a manner I remember some of my high school teachers used to speak.

Luna seemed to accept my philosophy and reversed her thinking. She started thinking of how something like the internet could be possible. She came to the conclusion it would still be a daunting task to corral such a copious amount of information, but for the most part it could be done. “Thy statement holds some truth. We can see that despite how difficult it would be to gather such a collection of information, it is feasible. What else hath thy people created?”

I started telling Luna about all the different technological wonders humans had developed as we walked back to her chambers.. I told her about our transport vehicles, the various robotics, and some of our medical techniques. It was kinda fun to talk to Luna about the human race and to realize how far we had come as far as technology when compared to Equestria. Although in their defence, and thanks to Luna pointing it out to me, most of our technology could easily be replicated with certain spells or made completely pointless if you were the right type of pony. We continued our back and forth until we reached Luna’s chamber and entered.

I was about to talk about different human cultures when Luna stopped me and made an observation, “Thou speak of thy people very highly, but...thou art very silence about thyself. We have yet to hear much about what kind of... ‘person’ thou art.”

I had to admit I hadn’t talked about myself too much. I often prefer being out of the limelight and just letting others take center stage. It’s not like I’m shy or anything, I just prefer to hang back and watch people. Not in the creepy way, I just like to people watch....don’t judge me!
I got a bit sheepish at Luna’s question, “I’m nothing too special. I’m just a guy.”

“Yet thou art in another world, in a new form, and involved in a possible attempt to usurp control from our sister and us. We would like to know about you, as our friend.” Luna final part in a hopeful manner that made me feel bad for avoiding her question.

“Sorry, Luna. I...Ugh. I don’t usually talk about myself often. I usually just hang back and observe.”

“Tis fine. We are curious merely curious about thee. Of all those we have met, ye are one of the few who seems to be very open with us. We are...appreciative.”

Wow, this was a bigger deal to her than I thought. “Well, from the show, you always seemed nice and caring, especially with foals. Plus, you are regretful of what you did. If we are to believe in the legal system, when a crime is committed the committer is punished and given time to consider their actions. You were banished for a thousand years. I’d say you have had plenty of time to consider what’s happened and plus you’re not Nightmare Moon any more so, you’re just....well you.”

“We..uh...thank you.” Luna finished a bit bashfully...wait did she just..? “Also, we noticed thy referring to legal systems and justice. Why is that?”

“Oh, I was studying to be a lawyer before I came here and I was actively working as a paralegal.”

Luna seemed genuinely interested, “Was there a reason for such a career choice?”

“Well...I...you’re gonna think this is foalish....but it was because of the comics I read when I was younger.”

Luna seemed caught off guard by my statement if not slightly surprised by my nerdiness, “Comics? Really?”

“Hey, I told you it’d sound foalish. But seriously, there was this comic from my world about this guy who was blinded at a young age. At first it seems like a really bad disability, but he finds that his senses get heightened to the point that he can see through a type of echolocation. Eventually he becomes a lawyer and uses his heightened sense to pick out clients who were falsely accused and get them acquitted. I always remember that his clients were always super grateful and happy, so I wanted to be like that. I wanted to help people like he did.”

Luna giggled a bit, “That is...most admirable.”

Ok, she’s giggling and she was thinking that it was...cute? Cute? Da hell!? I’m trying to be sincere here! “Ok, why are you giggling and thinking it’s cute I take inspiration from a comic book?”

Luna was still giggling, “Because tis so foalish, yet thou take it so seriously. Tis...admirable to follow such a foalhood dream this far into stallionhood.”

Yeah, she said that honestly, but she was dancing around that “cute” thought she had earlier. “Still haven’t explained why it’s ‘cute’” I stated in an annoyed tone.

Luna caught onto my less than subtle annoyance, “Tis cute because tis...what’s the word our citizens use? Adorkable?”

....She thinks...I’m adorkable?...Conflicting emotions are conflicting. “I....uh....I ....thanks?” Curses she hath thrown me for a loop again! And she has me switching to ye olde speak! Gah!

“Hehe, regardless tis admirable to seek to acquit the innocent.” Confond her and that giggle! She makes me...feel.

That’s why she is so shippable!

Shut it, fanboy no one asked you. “Well, thanks. I appreciate it. I might not be able to continue my studies but at least I can do some good as I am.”

Luna suddenly started considering something but stopped when she noticed I was investigating. Damn, she was incredibly aware of my mental investigating. I guess the dream thing gives her a bit of an edge.

Luna let out a yawn before turning to her balcony. I felt her entire being encased in magic and reached out with her magic to embrace the moon. No seriously. She literally GRABS the moon with her magic and pushes it down over the horizon. The fact she does it like it’s nothing is not only impressive...but slightly annoying. You just moved the freakin moon. A bead of sweat or something would be appreciated! Interestingly enough just as the Moon fell the sun started to rise. Guess Celestia was paying attention.

Well, no point complaining. Luna made her way to her OH so super comfy bed. Aaaaah fleece! Once in her bed, she used a bit more magic to move the curtains on her windows to the full closed position. Based on how the light of the rising sun wasn’t piercing through, they had to be blackout curtains. With a bit of a shimmy Luna got into a comfy position and closed her eyes. “Good day, Dante.”

Eh a bit different but hey, when in Rome, “Good day, Luna.”

Author's Notes:

SWEET JAYSUS! that took some time. Missed my deadline by a bit but I had to make sure everything was looking decent. Used a few gifs for effect and a bit of experimentation. I don't intend to use them throughout the story but more of a way of conveying mental images. Whelp...it's about 12am...time to sleep!

Chapter 17- Learning and Catching Up.

I found myself in an unfamiliar location. Around me were tall trees that grew until the sky was no longer visible. I could see small pools scattered about in small pockets of thick mud and the sound of bugs was apparent. Where was this? I knew Florida had swamps but this didn’t look anything like the Everglades. Hell, I’d never been to the Everglades. This place was just unfamiliar. I felt myself walking towards the largest pool of water I could see. The skeleton of several ponies were scattered about the pool. Some pieces of a pegasus wing, another was a unicorn’s skull. What really got my attention were the voices. I could hear a collection of voices originating from the pool before me. I couldn’t make out any particular conversation as most of the words were folding over each other.

As I got closer, I could see things moving beneath the surface of the murky water. I couldn’t make out any distinct forms, but they looked...snake like? Oh god, is this one of those snake breeding pits? No, wait, those happen on land not in ponds, swamp, things. Regardless of what they were, I felt compelled to go into the water and join the writhing masses, the only reason I didn’t was this building feeling of unease. I felt that if I went into the water, something bad would happen. I couldn’t logically determine how I knew something bad would happen but some...nagging feeling kept me at bay from so much as touching the water.

I was considering investigating the other pools when I heard something...horrifying. It was like hundreds of voices suddenly just started screaming and howling in pain and fear. I put my hands to my ears trying to block out the sound but no matter how hard I tried to impede the sound the cacophony of screams wouldn’t cease. What was happening? Where were the people screaming? Why were they screaming?

Then as quickly the screams started, they stopped, and a new sound broke the silence. It sounded like wood creaking and groaning. I looked up to see a sapling emerging from the water. At first it didn’t seem like a big deal but the sapling was growing at an unnatural pace and within a minute the baby tree had grown into a mangled and deformed willow tree. This tree scared me for some reason. Something about the tree’s existence struck me to my core with pure fear. This unnatural tree made that nagging feeling turn into a full on alarm, and the alarm gave a pretty clear message, “GET THE FUCK OUTTA HERE!” I needed to run. I needed to get away.

“Dante!"

“Join us”, called an eerie set of voices that all spoke at once in different tones of old, young, male and female.

The source of the voices seemed to be coming from the tree itself. Every second I’m around this damn tree I feel the sense of dread getting worse and worse. I turned and starting running as far away from the tree as I could.
“Join us!” This time the voices were much more forceful, and there was action behind the words. The hanging willows of the tree began to stretch toward me. The tree was after me!

"DANTE!”

Time to get the fuck out of here. I’m ...why can’t I move anymore? Why can’t I move?! I glance down at my feet to see them being devoured by the very swamp itself and it was dragging me towards that tree! No no no no no! I-I-I need to get away. I can’t be taken by that tree. I started to claw at the ground with my fingers trying to get a grip onto something to get me out of the mud. I felt like a trapped animal attempting to escape death in futility. The more I attempted to get away the more I was pulled closer to this tree. I was mere inches from the pond when I managed to grab a single root in the mud. I held onto that root and refused to let go.

“JOIN US! JOIN US!” The voices continued to chant as the tree continued to lurch towards me.

N-n-no... leave me alone! SOMEONE HELP! PLEASE HELP ME!

“DANTE! WAKE UP!”

_____________________________________________________________________

I let out a sharp gasp as I felt myself shooting upward from a previous flat position. I was back in the waking world, and in the relative safety of Luna’s room. Thank, God. I took a moment to calm myself down. It appeared I was in control of Luna's body. My nightmare had caused Luna's body to be drenched in sweat and her wings to come to full spread. It was pretty dark inside the room, but some light creeping around her blackout curtains offered some illumination. I had the sensation my tendrils had manifested and a quick glance at Luna’s sides showed two black lines leading to the ground.

“Dante! Finally! Thou were stuck in a nightmare most foul. Art thou, okay?” Luna inquired.

Huh? Luna was already awake? Why am I in control then?

“Y-y-yeah, I’m..okay, Luna. That was just a really intense dream. I’ve never experienced anything like that from a dream. Plus...I don’t even understand what it was about. Did you see it?”

“Indeed, we did. We regret we couldn’t pull thee from the nightmare, but twas a black dream”, Luna responded regretfully.

“A ‘black’ dream?” I inquired.

“In our time as the Princess of the Night we have come by many a different dreams. We have found that dreams can range from pleasant to...very disturbing.” That last statement came with some R34 images involving Celestia and/or other random ponies in some compromising positions, as well as some seriously demented images of things I’d expect to find in a modern horror novel.

Luna continued, “However, as with dreams, they can turn to nightmares. In the dreamscape, all dreams appear to us as doors. These door are surrounded by an aura. The darker auras signify unpleasant dreams or a nightmare, while lighter auras are more pleasant. Thy dream was a black dream, a nightmare that is usually related to a traumatic memory or some form of extreme phobia. We are incapable to entering such dreams as the emotions attached to the dreams are so strong that a barrier is created, locking the door to the dream itself. We are sorry,we attempted to wake thee externally, but it did not help.”

Well, that’s disturbing. So if I have that dream again, Luna wouldn’t be able to pull me out. Ugh...well, maybe there’s an alternative solution? “Is it possible to stop myself from having the dream again?”

Luna’s tone turned solemn, “We are afraid not. A black dream can only be broken when the source of the dream is confronted and conquered.”

Well, shit. I can’t confront the dream when I don’t know where it’s coming from! I’d never been to a swamp, I’ve never been scared of trees (I mean really who’s scared of trees?), and I love to swim so, the water didn’t bug me. Hell, I was a certified scuba diver! Damn it. Dream logic is confusing. I let out a sigh and let my trepidation work it’s way out of my system, “It’s cool, Luna. You couldn’t do anything. I appreciate that you tried to help....but why am I in control, if you were already awake?”

Luna was pleased to explain, “We had to return to sleep in order to attempt to pull thee from thy dream. We are thankful that ye were able to wake up and are in good health and spirit...but we would appreciate it if ye could relinquish control back to us.”

Right, well this shouldn’t be too hard. “Of course, I just need to detach myself and you should get control again.”

I went to move my tendrils so I could pull myself off Luna when I encountered resistance. I tried again and encountered the same resistance. The hell is going on? It felt like my tendrils were stuck. I could see my tendrils but they looked like they were heading directly into the floor. Maybe they were stuck on something? It was still a bit too dark to see what they were stuck on, so I used a bit of Luna’s magic to move her curtains to the side and let the sun shine in. Although, in retrospect, maybe should have done it a bit slower. The room was still fairly dark, and throwing the curtains wide open to let the sunlight assault Luna’s eyes wasn’t the best idea. Luna’s wings and hooves shot to block out the hellish sunlight as it assaulted her eyes.

“GWAAAAH!!!”

“IT BURNS!!! WHY DID YOU OPEN THEM SO QUICKLY!?”

“I immediately regret this decision!”

“THOU SHOULD!”

I used Luna’s hooves to rub her eyes and attempt to sooth the burning sensation caused by the drastic change in brightness.“Auugh...I really need to think things through more.”

“Thou don’t say?” Luna replied sarcastically.

After the spots faded from Luna’s eyes, I lowered both Luna’s hooves and wings to get a better look at my surroundings. I was horrified and dumbfounded by what I discovered. Parts of Luna’s bed were shredded on the sides and near the foot of the bed. The sheets were in near tatters and the floor on both sides of the bed looked like Wolverine had gone on a rager. Then I noticed my tendrils...or maybe the more apt word now was claws. Where normally my tendrils consisted of five finger like digits at the end of a black shiny arm, I found five hard, obsidian black blades that had replaced each digit. The blades, themselves,seemed to encompass most of the fingers up until the finger reached the knuckle where it seemed to taper off to a hard plate that was the back of the tendril. This was new. I wasn’t sure how I managed to produce these malicious looking hand blades but based on the carnage they left on Luna’s bed and the floor, they were stupid sharp.

I had to really work to jimmy the claws out of the ground but I got the damn things out. I lost some dexterity with this new modification. I could move the fingers from the knuckles but the joints that followed were locked in place. A curious tap showed that the backs of my tendrils were actually harder and tougher. I’m starting to feel a connection to my inner cat. I bet could cause some damage with these...oh wait, I already shredded Luna’s bed like a mountain lion. better apologize. “Uh...Sorry about royally wrecking your bed, Luna.” I said in sincerity.

Luna, thankfully didn’t mind too much, “Worry not. Thou would believe how many times we have inadvertently impaled our pillow upon our horn. Once we are in control we can easily fix it.”

I knew that had to be a thing! With horns that long and pointed there had to be a few accidental pillow impalements ...Hehe I just remembered that Fluffle Puff episode with the orbital pillow canon and Celestia getting a pillow to the face.

Luna caught a glimpse of my memory and was quickly confused. “Why werest thou thinking of our sister being assaulted by a pillow from a pink earth pony in strange armor?”

For some reason, that comment made it funnier, but I opted to inform Luna, “That’s Fluffle Puff. She’s a really well known pony back on my world.”

Luna didn’t seem to understand, “We were under the impression that there weren’t any of our subjects in thy world.”

I let out a small chuckle, “We don’t, Fluffle Puff was a fan made pony. Someone was inspired by the stories from Equestria and made their own pony to put in situations and tell stories about her.”

Luna started to understand, “So, she is fictional.”

“Yeah. Lots of people made a pony to have adventures in Equestria.” I affirmed, “I know there were tons of fan made stories based on you.”

Luna was taken aback by this bit of information, “We...have fans?”

I let a smile come across Luna’s face, “Totally. I knew guys who’d get so excited anytime you’d appear on the show. You had an enormous fan base and a lot of fan art of you.”

I could feel a genuine happiness starting to form in Luna’s mind. “C-could you show us? Please?” she requested with a bit of hesitation.

A simple request if I ever heard one, I’d been on enough image boards to have a nice library to reference. I decided to go with two of the most common images you could find on nearly any pony thread or discussion board.


“This is quite literally a small fraction of half the stuff your fans made. Trust me when I say there were people willing to have open fights about how awesome you are."

“And...they know about...Nightmare Moon?” Luna inquired with concern in her voice.

“Yeah, they know, and honestly most of them cared more about what you did as Luna than anything you did as Nightmare Moon. If anything they felt that your experience as Nightmare Moon made you stronger as a pony. You learned from what you did, and became better for it.”

Luna’s happiness was palpable at this point, so much so I felt tears forming in Luna’s eyes. I decided to check on her, “Luna? You okay?”

Luna was focusing on the pictures I presented to her. Her happiness was flowing and so were the tears actively rolling down her face. “Yes...we are fine...we...are just very happy. Thank you for sharing this with us.”

I gave a broad smile as I wiped away a few tears. “Hey it’s what friends are for, right?”

“Indeed, it is.” I couldn’t see it but I could feel the gratitude Luna expressed in those words.

I gave a light chuckle and decided it was time to let Luna take control, “I’m going to go ahead and detach. You should gain control the second I’m off.” Luna said she understood and I let my tendrils retract. Thankfully the jagged claws and hardened plates of the tendrils quickly softened to their usual consistency as they returned to their point of origin. Relaxing my body, I easily slipped off of Luna and onto her bed. Luna’s body lurched forward for just a second but quickly stopped as she took control. From my perspective, I saw Luna stretching her limbs and wings in an attempt to shake off the sleepiness. She stopped halfway through a foreleg stretch when something caught her attention.

*Sniff* *Sniff*

“Oooh, it appears we need a bath”, claimed the lunar princess with mild disgust. Guess the fear sweat from the nightmare was really bad. She looked to her bed and then to me. With her magic she picked me up off the bed and moved herself off the bed as well. Through aura sight I noticed her magic was enveloping her bed, sheets, and areas of the floor that had claw marks. Guess that was the repair spell she mentioned.Once the spell finished Luna began to lower me onto the bed again when she stopped midway down.

*Sniff* *Sniff*

“GAUW! Ugh, thou dost reek as well! If not more so!”

I would have made a comment about that except I’m going on next to five days without a bath, and with everything I’d been through in those five days, it’d makes sense I’d be a bit...foul smelling. Guess, I’ll be waiting outside until Lunaaaa- why is she taking me in the bathroom with her? She’s not planning to-. N-n-no there’s no way she’s gonna- Why is she filling the tub?

Okay, Dante, calm your metaphorical tits of a moment and think. I’m sure there is a logical explanation. Perhaps it’s just a huge misunderstanding. Yes, of course. That’s it. I’m sure I’m just reading this all-

“Dante, how doth thou thy bath water?”

Ooooookay...I’m running out of logical reasons. Eeeh....how do I handle this? I mean I’d bathed with a previous girlfriend...but that’s just it! She was my girlfriend, this was royalty who I just recently established a friendship with.Ok, know what? I’m definitely over thinking this. I need to be rational. I’m letting my libido influence me. Perhaps she is merely filling the tub for me. Yes, yes that’s it.

I let out a few squeaks in an attempt to get Luna to place me onto her so we could communicate.

Luna cocked her head, “What?...Oh, thou can not communicate lest thou are touching us. We forgot.” With a slight manipulation of her magic I was lowered onto Luna’s back.

“I-I like my bath water to be on bit on the hot side, please.” I replied. My nervousness leaked through my thoughts and Luna was quick to notice.

“What is wrong? Thou sound nervous.”

I wanted to avoid giving Luna any more fuel to burn me with, and I definitely didn’t want her to think I’m some kind of pervert. Best to deflect for now. “It’s nothing, Luna, just...thinking a bit too hard is all.”

Luna was skeptical of my explanation, but she opted not to inquire further. She turned to face her sink while her tub filled. She plugged the bottom of the sink and let the water fill the cistern. A bit of steam rolling off the surface of the water indicated it was a bit on the hot side.

God damn it, Brain. She was asking so she could fill the sink so I could take a bath! You and Libido both go to the bad corner and listen to Reason for the next hour!

Luna didn’t let the water fill to the top but just enough that my body could reach the bottom and top simultaneously. She gave the water a testing touch and the water was a indeed my ideal water temperature. I voiced this to Luna who promptly placed me on the edge of the sink before checking on the tub. I went into my snake like locomotion so I could ease my way into the water and allow myself to acclimate to the water temperature. It took a bit of some maneuvering but by hooking part of myself on the lip of the sink and lowering myself in I was able to ease myself in at a comfortable rate.

Once I was fully submerged, I found that I felt oddly comfortable. The warmness of the water added some extra comfort to the overall sensation. I had always loved being in the water but this was different somehow. I felt like this was natural, like being in the water was my natural environment. I’d never felt like this before, even in my four years of scuba diving I never had this feeling of naturality. Maybe it was something with my Symbio side, but I...really like it. I could have spent all day just swimming in the sink , but Luna arrived to remove me from my little piece of heaven. I was going to voice my protest to being manhandled when Luna started to rub me with some kind of scented oil and It. Felt Amazing! Every rub of the hoof was euphoric. I learned there wasn’t much solid about me, but between Luna’s hooves I could be puddy all day if it felt like this.

My satisfaction must have had elicited some reaction from my body as Luna inquired, "Dante, are you okay? You’re....sagging.”

Sure enough with a bit of concentration into making a connection with Luna showed that my entire body was sagging like melting wax over the edges of Luna’s hoof. “Uh...hehe...I may have been enjoying the massage a bit too much.”

It felt like Luna had an amused looked on her face, and after a quick sniff confirmed that my now lilac scented body was a presentable amount of clean, she moved me to her back and gave me permission to attach myself. Luna suggested finding Celestia to have her send me back to Ponyville, but I asked if we could stop by the infirmary one last time to see if Fire Starter was doing okay. She was perfectly content with the idea after getting some brunch.
______________________________________________________________________

Brunch was mostly uneventful, aside from an awesome oatmeal with the best blueberries of all time! Seriously, I don’t know what they do differently but their fruits are just that extra bit flavorful and sweet! Each blueberry just explodes in your mouth (Luna’s in this case) and the flavor just hangs around, but in a good way. Hmm, maybe Applejack would know, and she did give me an open invitation to come back and visit.

Luna did inquire about my new found ability as she ate. The perks of mental conversation, you can talk and eat at the same time without showing off what you were munching on. “Dante, those...’claws’ we think thou called them. Hast thou always had those?”

“No, those are new. I think they must have formed during my nightmare” I informed Luna. “Which, if that’s true, may mean I can turn my tendrils into other things. I’m not certain how, but perhaps some experimenting might yield some different modifications?”

“Fascinating. If thy hypothesis is correct, thou could easily adapt to a multitude of scenarios. It could be a most useful trait” Luna concurred.

The idea of having a swiss army hand would be pretty useful. Kind of like Inspector Gadget without the lame catchphrase. The fact I’m amorphous except when concentrating would make sense. Something without shape could obtain a shape when given focus and direction. I’m definitely going to have to test this later.
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After the brunch, we made our way to the infirmary. Upon arrival, we were surprised to find Celestia was there talking with someone behind a privacy screen. Celestia took notice of Luna’s entry and greeted her with a warm smile and motherly tone, “Good afternoon, Luna. How are you doing today?”

Luna returned the smile as she approached, “We are fine, sister. Dante is with us as well.”

I let a tendril form to give a friendly wave before letting it retract. “A good afternoon to you too, Dante” Celestia said with a smile.

A familiar voice chimed in at the mention of my name, “Dante? That name sounds familiar. Who is he?” The tone was particularly feminine with a hanging British accent. I’d heard this voice before, mostly because it had been a voice I used the night before. Sure enough, when Luna got close enough to see around the privacy screen, there was a light orange mare with a wavy white mane and auburn colored eyes. Fire Starter!? She’s...awake? How did they break the enchantment?

I noticed that Fire Starter had another guest with her as well, a light blue earth pony stallion with a short, yellow mane and light green eyes. I’d seen him before too. If my assumption of Fire Starter’s dreams were correct, this stallion was her husband. The way he was holding her right hoof between his own seemed to confirm my suspicion.

“Dante was part of the team responsible for helping locate your husband and several of the other ponies from last night.” Celestia responded.

Fire’s eyes widened and her ears perked with this new information, “He was?” She looked to where Luna was standing, she didn’t make direct eye contact with her, but seemed to be scanning the area around her. “Where is he? Can I meet him?”

Oh shit, this was going to be...something. Either she’d forgive me for using her body without permission and nearly getting her killed ,however unlikely that was, or she’d outright resent me. A part of me knew I had to own up to what I did, but another part of me was worried about how she would react.

Luna was quick to pick up on my guilt and doubts.“Dante? What’s wrong?” Luna asked.

“I....I don’t know if I can face her, Luna.”

“But you saved her husband and the lives of the other ponies. You deserve thanks.” She added in an attempt to enliven me.

“But I used her body against her will and I’m not even sure she knows! I...just feel like I’ve really wronged her.” I retorted with guilt dripping off my words.

Luna contemplated my conundrum, before she came to a conclusion and started to approach Fire Starter. When she got close enough, she prepared to speak in the booming Canterlot voice, but stopped midway. She seemed to consider how she was about to address Fire Starter and how she had been talking to me. She readjusted herself for a moment then began in a smooth calm tone, “We would like to ask you something before we introduce you to Dante. What did you feel after your incarceration?”

Ok, that was unexpected. I thought she wasn’t supposed to speak like that until Fluttershy worked with her on Nightmare Night, and she’s starting to using ‘you’ more than the olde speak......Oh shit, I am messing with the cannon! Will this affect how the show appears on Earth? What else is going to change because of my interference? I considered potential changes when a counter-argument came to mind. If I hadn’t interfered, Celestia would be dead. So...was this meant to happen? Was my interference supposed to happen? GAH! Where’s Doctor Who when you need him?

Fire was spooked that Luna addressed her but when she heard how calmly Luna was addressing her she relaxed considerably. “I remember my first night in the dungeons. I was so mad. It felt like the Princess had doomed my husband by imprisoning me. Then, I started to think how stupid I’d been,” Fire chided herself. “I am really very sorry Princesses. I...was...just such a foal. I believed that if I did as they said, that they’d return Sunny back to me. Looking back on it, they probably had no intentions of ever doing so.” As she spoke, tears began to form in Fire Starter’s eyes and her voice started to break and choke. “Sunny is all I have. I lost my family long ago to an Ursa Major attack. He *sniff* he was there for me, after that. He took care of me. *Sniff* I-I just couldn’t bear to lose him, too.” Sunny pulled Fire in close for a light hug. Fire slowly nuzzled his neck as tears began to openly flow down her face.

“It’s okay. It’s okay” Sunny cooed in a calm voice as he slowly stroked Fire’s mane. “I’m not going anywhere.”

Somehow this scene made me feel a little better. My righteous indignation from the night before felt more justified. My guilt eased up a bit, but not entirely.

Luna interjected still maintaining her calming demeanor, “It is fine. Dante informed us of how the changelings treated you and the other victims. He advocates for your acquittal. We are inclined to believe him.”

Fire Starter and Sunny both turned to look at Luna. They shared the same stunned expression, and a quick glance towards Celestia showed that she too was a bit stunned but gave an approving nod. “He-he wants to get me acquitted, as well?” Fire looked to Sunny and the two looked like they shared a silent conversation that ended with both of affirming their thoughts with a nod. “We would really be honored to meet this stallion and thank him properly.”

Luna gave a smile before she made sure I was prepared for introductions. I was not. If I had a throat I’m sure there’d be a huge knot in it at this point. I was happy I could reunite Fire with her husband, but...I don’t know I just felt she might resent me for what I did. I was never good at confronting my wrong doings. Mostly because my guilt and fear would always get the best of me. This scenario was no different.

Luna was still on point today and worked to quash my fears, “Dante, do you remember the night before when you convinced us to attend this year’s Nightmare Night?”

Oh please tell me she’s not going where I think she’s going with this. “Yeah. Why?”

“Did you not ask us to trust you, that if we went things would turn out for the better?”

Damn it, she is. “Yes, yes I did” I responded, knowing full well what the next line was going to be.

“Then trust us. We know this will be hard. We have had to do the same when we returned to our sister. If you show her how sorry you are, she may be mad but she will forgive you. Just be honest.” Luna assured me with the utmost confidence.

Why do I feel like she just stole a page from Celestia’s book just now. I’m going to talk to Celestia after this. I might not have a Time Lord but a millennium old ruler should have some insight into this. In the mean time, the Lunar Princess and one of my few friends is asking for me to trust her, and I’d be a hypocrite to not do so.

I let out a small chuckle, “Okay, I trust you Luna.” Using my own words against me. Clever Princess.

Luna put a hoof up to her non-ethereal mane, I let myself slide off her neck and onto her hoof. Luna brought me down and placed me on the center of the bed. “This is Dante. He is a Symbio. As far as we know, he is the only one of his kind. If you wish to communicate with him, you will need to make physical contact.”

Luna backed up leaving me to deal with Fire Starter. I looked to see her auburn aura staring at me. She looked back up to Luna then back to me again. Tentatively extended a hoof toward me and I leaned into it. “H-hi, Fire Starter. It’s...a pleasure to properly meet you.” I mentally stated. I was still nervous about the whole situation, but I had to make some kind of effort.

Fire Starter retracted her hoof almost immediately. Sunny looked to his wife, “Are you okay?”

Fire shook her head, “No, no. It’s just...his voice... it sounds...familiar.”

I shrank, and I felt a pit forming in my...uh...place that I think would be my stomach if I had one. I gathered what courage I had and moved closer to my previous host. It took a bit of contorting but I was able to make a “come closer” motion. Although she was still hesitant, she slowly lowered her hoof back down and made contact again. “How- how do I talk back?”

“You can either think it or speak out loud.” I explained, my tone still expressing my shame and guilt.

“So, like this?” Fire spoke in her head.

“Yeah, you got it” I affirmed, putting off the facade of normalcy.

“So... Princess Luna called you a Symbio. What kind of creature are you?” Her nervousness was fairly apparent in her words. That made two of us. For me it was more of an anxiety. I don’t know if Fire was picking up on it, but I was really hoping she wasn’t.

“I’m a...symbiotic organism. I attach myself to a host and I can sustain myself. As a bonus my host gains...some perks.” I explained.

“Perks?”

“Yeah.” I squeezed out. I couldn’t help but recall the night before, and some of the “perks” I granted. “I give my host a healing factor, I can make them stronger, and I can give them an altered sight.” I paused, before recalling when I woke up earlier. “That’s just the ones I know about...I’m starting to suspect, I might be able to do more.”

Fire went silent as she started to digest the new information. I stayed silent. I could feel Fire connecting some thoughts. “Your...your healing factor...Can it heal...burns? Severe magical burns?” She inquired with a bit of suspicion.

Oh no... she’s remembering. She’s remembering the pain from being blasted with the changeling’s magic. If I could become a pebble...no, let’s go with an atom at least that way she couldn’t see me. “Y-yeah. It can....y-y-you remember?”

Fire’s face shifted to match her realization, “T-that wasn’t a dream?”

With the truth out, most of my anxiety just released. I let my guilt show itself, “The night before, I was asked by the Princesses to use some of my abilities to investigate the location you gave them. To do so I had to use...somepony who the other possible conspirators might trust. So...I-I I used you.”

“What?” Fire stated out loud in an incredulous tone. The news broke her concentration and got the attention of her husband.

“What’s wrong, Fire?” Sunny inquired

“He..said that...he used me and I remember during my dream...it was like I was on fire. It hurt so much, I’d never felt that kind of pain before. But that wasn’t the only odd thing, I kept hearing a voice during my dreams. His voice. I just don’t understand how.”

“I can control ponies who are unconscious or sleeping. I used your body to get into the caves. When my partner and I were down there we were assaulted by the changelings and you were blasted by their magic. It was pretty bad, but the healing factor was able to fix up most of the damage. I know it hurt, because I felt it too. It’s another trait I have.” I stated my confession remorsefully. I felt better for admitting it, but I knew I still had to face judgement. “I am truly sorry Fire Starter. I...can fully understand if you can’t forgive me.”

I backed away from her and let myself come to rest in the center of the bed. I didn’t bother looking at Fire and above all I didn’t want to hear her rage. I just waited. I heard Fire asking Princess Celestia if what I said was true. She sounded a she was in disbelief. Celestia affirmed my story and admitted that there were few options available and that she wished there were better ways to handle the situation. Celestia offered her apologizes for putting Fire Starter in such a position that would lead to her being in harm's way.

There were several moments of uncomfortable silence before somepony said something. “I’m...not sure how I feel about this. On one hoof, I was used as a puppet without my consent and nearly killed” Fire Starter began. “But on the other hoof, I’m no longer slave to those bastard changelings and I have my Sunny Days back. I want to be mad at you, but I know that you did what you did to help the Princess. You also attempted to get me acquitted of my foalish actions.”

I felt a hoof touch me. The sensation of gratitude was prominent in this pony’s mind, “Fire may not know how to feel, but I want to thank you for what you’ve done. While they may have been questionable, they have brought me back to my wife. For that you have my gratitude. In time, I’m sure Fire will come around. Before we met, Fire was all alone and not a lot of ponies were willing to help her here in Canterlot. It lead her to be very distrusting. It took a months before she would trust me. Give her time.” The voice of Sunny Days informed me. He seemed like a pretty nice guy, and he made me feel a lot calmer about the whole situation. It was in that moment I recalled an important question that hadn’t been explained to me yet.

“I appreciate that, Sunny. Really. And for what it’s worth, I’m sorry for controlling your wife.”

Sunny waved me off, “Don't sweat it.”

“But I do have one question, though. When I dropped off Fire last night she was still under the effects of a sleeping enchantment. How is she awake?”

I felt Sunny smile, “Oh, it was due to the griffin sleeping in the cot in the corner over there” He pointed to the nearby corner of the infirmary that was obscured by another privacy screen. “When I arrived here, the old griffin was demanding to see Fire Starter. I was still weak from being fed on by those abominable changelings, but I was still able to walk. The griffin said he knew how to wake her up and after I told him that I was Fire’s husband he calmed down and gave me a slip of parchment with some strange writing on it. He said it would break the enchantment on her and wake her up.”

He must be referring to Grif. It’s the only griffin I can think of that would be in the infirmary. But he knew the rune to break the enchantment. So, he must have been the one to have made the runes on Fire’s horseshoes. Explains why the runes merely put her to sleep rather than killing her. Good to know that Griff was still fighting the changelings even while under their control. Good man.

“As the griffin said, the rune burned brightly on contact and Fire woke up almost instantly.”

Well, suddenly this answered some of the questions I had. Now I just had to worry about learning more about my body’s abilities and what repercussions of my interference in the events to come.

I gave my thanks and gratitude to Sunny, while apologizing once more. Sunny once again informed me to not dwell on the events and expressed his gratitude. I slithered to the edge of the bed and motioned for Celestia to come collect me. It's about time to get back to Ponyville.

Author's Notes:

Hey guys!
Sorry I took so long to release this chapter. I hit a major block and ended up rewriting it at least three times. I would like to thank Admiral Q Ponyform for getting me out of my rut. You're awesome bro.

On a very similar note: I helped out darkponDJ on their story, King of the Seas The story is amazingly well written and incredibly interesting. Give it a read!

Finally, thanks for the continued support and comments. Seriously, you guys have been giving me amazing criticism, ideas, and suggestions. Thank you so very, very much.

P.S

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4idKg2mhcQ

Chapter 18- Calming down...but not really.

Author's Notes:

Holy crap, sorry this took so long. School took me away from the story for a bit and it took me some time to recall where I wanted to go with it. But I got back into it and I'm back in action. Thanks for waiting.

The feeling of alleviating guilt was always a sensation I reveled in. It was the feeling that things weren’t as bad as they seemed. As far as my situation with Fire Starter, while I’m still not sure if she would forgive me, but at least coming out with what I had done took away some of the anxiety.

I’m currently being hosted by Celestia with Luna following nearby. We had left the infirmary after checking on Griff, who was asleep at the time. He was still in pretty bad shape, but the old bird was still breathing. The doctors had informed Celestia that he was suffering from an extreme magical deficiency. Apparently, had we not acted when we did, Griff may not have lived through the night.

Given a bit of time to think about what has happened, I realized something. This was twice that I’d been shown the potential for loss of life. I mean, yeah the season four finale was like something out of a DBZ episode and hell the season two finale had a full on invasion...which is still something in my near future. But no one died! I’m just inside a week and a ruler of state and a foreign dignitary nearly died. Hell, the changelings nearly killed Fire Starter and me. Perhaps it’s some kind of naievety but maybe Equestria and Earth aren’t so different. Just different rules? Since they have magic, mythical creatures, and some alternate technological progression, maybe I can just make some parallels. Eh, I wish I was a smart enough to figure this shit out.

Ok, break it down. Currently, I must be in between episodes. The ordeal with Discord has already happened so...if this is going in canonical order, what’s the next event?....It’d be...Twilight’s freak out! But who knows when that’s going to occur? Hell, would the episodes occur canonically? ...For that matter, what is it today? Monday? Saturday? Is it June? I have absolutely no time frame right now. I’m usually pretty good on keeping track of such things. Hmmm, maybe backtracking would help? When I first came here, I was on my way to work. The weekend just ended. So, Monday. So this is my sixth day in Equestria...so it should be... Saturday! Okay, that’s a good start. Now let me just confirm this before I start making any more assumptions.

I turned my attention to my host, “Princess? Can I ask you a question?”

Celestia gave me her attention, and responded with a calm, warm response,“But of course, Dante. So long as I can ask you a question in return.”

Okay a tit-for-tat agreement and based on her thoughts she it wasn’t anything earth shattering, “Of course.”

“Then you may ask.”

“What’s today’s date? I just sort of realized I haven’t been keeping track of time.” I admitted sheepishly.

Celestia chuckled a bit, “Is that what you were concentrating on? The way you were focusing, I thought it was something more serious. It’s Tuesday, September thirtieth.”

Tuesday? Hang on, full day Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday...six days. Did I miss something? Did I gain an additional three days? No, she said it’s September. It was April when I left, I’ve gained months! Fuck me, this is...this...this whole thing is lunacy....I am not smart enough to figure this nonsense out. As if the whole body thing wasn’t crazy enough, now I’m dealing with this wibbly-wobbly-timey-wimey bullshit.

I broke out of my time crisis, remembering that Celestia had a question for me too. “T-t-thanks for that...uh, you had a question too?” I stated trying to shake off that little mind-fuck.

Of course, the two way link let Celestia catch it, “Are you okay?”

“Yeah...just realized I’m really missing some time...a lot of it”, I didn’t bother hiding it. At this point, Celestia was my confidant along with Luna. If I couldn't trust them with my problems who could I? The fact they were so willing to help me as well kept me from keeping secrets.

Celestia was surprised by this news, “You’re missing time? What do you mean?”

I explained my time deduction and the inconsistency. She didn’t seem to sure how to explain the time issue. When asked, Luna seemed at a loss of how to explain the missing time as well. They asked what I could remember from the time I left Earth to the time I came to Equestria. My explanation of my encounter with Death/The Reaper and what felt like two minutes of travel didn’t appear to solve much. The closest plausible hypothesis was that when Death said he was going to “Fast track” me, it was literal and he moved me through time to where I needed to be. How he did it can only be accounted to extremely powerful magic. I was wondering why here and now. Yeah, I was present to save Celestia, but... what about after? What was my role after that?

With little to nothing to go on, we agreed our hypothesis would have to be pondered when more information was available. “Ugh, things can never be simple can they?” I groaned in frustration.

“If everything in life were simple, we’d never learn. Overcoming the challenges and problems of life is what allows us to become stronger and better ponies. But for now, do not dwell on what cannot be answered. I’m sure some time in Ponyville will allow you time to rest and gain focus. And don’t be afraid to ask friends for help, just because a task is hard does not mean it must be tackled alone.” Celestia assured me in full teacher/mother mode.

Heh, that’s a good point. I don’t have enough information to discern Death’s purpose for sending me ahead in time. Maybe it’ll come to me eventually but trying to wrack my brain around it without the appropriate information wasn’t going to help. Focus on the here and now for the time being.

“I understand, Princess. Thank you.” I was about to start a new tangent when I remembered my previous agreement, “Oh, You wanted to ask me something and I completely derailed you. Sorry ‘bout that.”

Celestia just smirked, proposed her question“It’s not a problem at all, Dante. I was just noticing that Luna has been adjusting her vernacular. She’s been very set in her ways in using the royal ‘we’ and old Canterlot verbiage. But back in the infirmary she actually used ‘you’ and didn’t use the Royal Canterlot voice when addressing Fire Starter. You wouldn’t happen to know why, would you?”

I debated how to answer. I noticed the change too and I could tell Luna was remembering our conversations before she spoke to Fire Starter. So...maybe I was the cause? I wasn’t sure but I couldn’t discredit that our conversations last night and this morning hadn’t caused her to adjust how she spoke in some way. “I...I’m not sure. I mean I noticed it too, but...I guess I might be the reason.”

Celestia cocked an eyebrow, “Well, what did you do that might have swayed her?”

“Well, we chatted last night before we got to your bed room. Ya know kinda casual chat. We talked about her going to the Nightmare Night celebration in Ponyville, then we got onto the topic of spooking people for fun and we seemed to share the hobby and we ended up hitting it off. By the time we were done, we were friends.” I explained.

Celestia was almost taken back by the statement and she stopped all forward movement. “You and Luna are friends?” She asked with a spark of joy building in her mind.

“Y-yeah. Is it that surprising?” I asked a bit incredulously.

Celestia’s excitement exploded into full on elation before she grabbed Luna in a bear hug, “OH Lulu! You made a friend! I’m so happy for you!” She practically squealed. Guess this was a big deal.

Luna, who I’m guess was getting her lungs crushed, attempted to respond, “T-thank you, T-t-tiaaah. Though *hng* we’d appreciate it *herk* if you could *nerg* release us.”

Celestia released Luna from the bear hug, and Luna was able to regain some breath. Celestia could barely contain herself and was smiling from ear to ear.

“Sorry, I’m just so happy you have a friend!”, Celestia apologized, with her glee being over apparent.

Wow, Celestia is super happy about this. Am I Luna’s only friend? There’s no way. I’m sure she has some friends among the Lunar Guard, right?...Right? Would she be offended if I asked? Hmmm. “Um, Princess. Mind if I ask another question?”

Celestia reined herself in as she acknowledged my question, “You may and thank you for befriending Luna. She’s been very lonely since she returned. I’m sorry to say that many of my little ponies are still a bit scared of her.”

“I kinda figured based on how others tend to act around her...but she hangs out with some of the Lunar Guard right? I'm sure some of the guards are chummy with her. At least when they are off duty right?" I knew I was grasping in the hope that Luna's only friend before me was her sister.

Celestia's jovialness suddenly tapered a bit at my follow up, "No, the Lunar Guard are indeed her chosen guard, but they do not interact with Luna in the same way you or I do. Thestrals are loyal to Luna, but I have never seen them act friendly towards Luna, whether on duty or off. They are guards, just like the Royal Guard. They do not interact with either of us outside what is necessary for their positions."

Well....hmmmm....just....Okay, okay. I’m Luna’s friend and I will do what I would do for any of my friends. Heck, with Nightmare Night coming around maybe I can get Luna to be friends with Rainbow Dash. She is going to be part of our Nightmare Night spook scheme anyway so it could work. If one friend is good, two should be fantastic. “Thanks, Celestia-erh Princess, sorry.” I’m getting a little too comfortable addressing Luna and Celestia so informally. I really don’t want to offend them. Luna doesn’t seem to mind and we’re friends so it’s okay for me to be informal with her, but I can’t say I’m that familiar with Cel- Princess Celestia that I can use just her name.

Celestia giggled a bit, and put my worries to rest “It’s okay. It’s nice to not be addressed by my title. It’s refreshing. After a thousand years of being addressed as ‘Princess’ it’s nice every now and then to be addressed informally.”

That’s...a pretty good point. Twilight is Celestia’s student and even she doesn’t call Celestia by just her name. Plus, I think I’d get tired of being addressed by the same title all the time. If Celestia is okay with it... I guess I can be a little informal. “Okay...Celestia. Sorry, for the awkward question. I was just surprised that Luna didn't have any friends other than me."

Celestia turned melancholy at my mention of friends, "Yes, neither of us have many friends. For the longest time, I was just as lonely. I was thankful that there were so many ponies who blessed me with their friendship. Many were my personal students and I cherished them all. I hope my sister can learn the same from you and those who come."

Internally, I wanted to mention Sunset Shimmer and what happened between her and Celestia but I opted to keep my mind focused on what Celestia said. As much as I wanted to satisfy my fan boy curiosity I'm sure that might be a sore subject...but hey if I'm here long enough I could get to meet her. Hey maybe my form in human Equestria is better than a blob. Yay for future possibilities!

"I'll do my best not to disappoint, besides with our plans for Nightmare Night I got a feeling she's gonna hit it off with Rainbow Dash." I assured the princess.

Celestia brightened up a bit and put on a smile. "I'm sure they will be the best of friends. Twilight has written that she has a tendency to be a bit of a prankster. I’m sure they will get along well."

I couldn’t argue with that. With Luna planning things out and Rainbow and myself executing the majority...oh I get all giddy inside just thinking about it....Although, I had to remember not to go showing off my tendrils around Ponyville for a bit. If that got out it’d ruin the scare. With that little mental note out of the way, Celestia and I noticed that Luna was staring at us. Guess it’s weird when you can hold a conversation that only two individuals can hear. Celestia apologized for the silence and the three of us, with Celestia relaying my thoughts, talked casually the rest of the trip to Celestia’s bedroom. Luna and I even let Celestia in on our plan for Nightmare Night. Celestia, despite a few qualms about scaring some foals, was interested in the tale and our execution.
____________________________________________________________________________

We continued through the castle until we reached Celestia’s chambers. When we got inside I saw the ornate jewelry box that had been my carriage for going between Canterlot and Ponyville. Guess it, was time for me to get ready to head back. I prepared to removed myself when Celestia stopped me with a hoof.

"Before you go, Dante. I wanted to ask a favor of you." Celestia stated.

"Um, sure. What can I do for you princess?" I asked with a bit hesitation, the last favor required the use of another pony’s body and nearly had said pony barbecued.

Celestia understood where my hesitation was coming from and worked to put my worries to rest, "Don't worry it's nothing dangerous. As I'm sure you are aware, I've had Twilight write to me about her findings on friendship."

"Yeeeah?"

"I'd like you to do the same, but in regards to your Symbio abilities. You are a virtual unknown, any information you can discover would set precedent and allow us to learn more about your species. So when you discover any new information I'd appreciate it if you could write to me or Luna with what you have discovered."

Well, I can see the reasoning. New creature not seen in who knows how long, has abilities no one thought possible outside of magic. I'd like to know about it too...in fact I’m still learning. With the discovery of the claws, I think it's time I really start to experiment with my body... Somehow that came out a little dirtier than I initially thought.

"Sure, I can do that. But I how do I send something to Luna if you’re not available?”

Celestia informed me that Spike could easily designate where he wanted anything to go with his dragonfire. So as long as I told Spike who to send the letters to, they’d always appear to the correct recipient. I feel with magic like this, texting is going to take a long time to be invented...in retrospect, maybe that's not such a bad thing.

"Well, if you want me to report on new abilities and the like, I discovered a new ability this morning. I can try and show you now, if you want." I stated with a small amount of excitement.

Celestia was intrigued and gave me the go ahead to demonstrate. I produced my tendrils and held them out in front of her. I attempted to remember the sensation of the claws and how it felt. Initially nothing happened, and any more attempts to yielded more nothing. Okay, what am I doing wrong? What did Celestia say about my tendrils the first time I tried to produce them...it's a reaction. So what were the claws a reaction to? Fear? No, that doesn't make sense. Unless...the dream. I was scared but I was attempting to claw my way away from that tree. So, maybe the tendrils were reacting to my want to get some traction? My need to get away? My fear? Guh, I hate not knowing how to do cool stuff! Worse I hate not knowing my own damn body. I have claws. CLAWS! I demand to release my inner wild cat! Hmmmmph....Think....think.... I put myself back into the moment from the dream, that desperate feeling of wanting to escape. The feeling of trying to dig into the mud and grab something, anything to help me get free of the mud. I was clawing...at the ground. I had to...Wait...what if this is different from the tendrils. The tendrils reacted from reaction and instinct....what if this was...more physical. Okay. Let's try something. I let my hands go ridged like a claw, like an animal. Like if I were to swipe at someone it'd be my nails to strike first.

Sure enough, I could see the digits of the tendrils start to slim down, compact, and sharpen, and the sound the accompanied the change was something else, it sounded like ice when you drop it into water and it makes that cracking noise or the sound of glass slowly breaking. All I know is it made the transformation sound kinda...creepy. So, that works to make my claws...what else can I do? I hate not knowing...but learning...makes me feel like a little boy on Saturday morning.

Celestia was startled by the change but curiosity quickly overrode fear and she asked to inspect them herself. I warned her to mind how she inspected the claws, as they were capable of making marks in stone. That tidbit sent Celestia into full inquisition mode, how was this sort of transfiguration possible? Where would this sort of offensive ability be necessary? She make some inquisitive pokes with her hooves and ran the them along the blade of the claws. "Amazing, it's similar to obsidian, but....it appears to consist of your own biomass." Celestia released my claws and I relaxed my tendrils. Thankfully, they turn back to their normal state. Sweet! I'm learning! I wonder what kind of damage these things can do? They can make marks in stone, but could they hold up against metal? Could I sword fight with my claws!?

Might have had that a little too hard, "Dante. As much as I like to encourage experimentation, I hope you aren't planning to get into a sword fight to test how strong the strength of these 'claws' are." Celestia said with a bit of a chastising tone.

That stopped my internal man-child from continuing down that line of thought. I opted to try and convince Celestia that I intended to be as professional and scientific with learning about my abilities and biology, "Nooooooooooo." I stated like a child caught in a lie.

I could tell Celestia was unamused.

“I’m not going to get into a sword fight to test my claws. I promise!” I stated a bit more sincerely, if not a bit disappointed.

Celestia felt that I was being serious (enough) and moved on to the her next thought. “So, do these work like your tendrils? They produce out of an instinctual reaction?”

“Actually, no. It’s weird to explain but...I can actually will them to change. It’s like...uh,” I stopped part way. I wanted to say that by making my fingers rigid I could make the claws come forth, but I wasn’t sure if there was something to compare it to...wings maybe? Guess that’s the best I can go with. “I guess it’s like if you were to make your wings fully stiff then it makes them change. Does that make sense?”

Celestia considered my words and flexed her wings a bit until they went fully rigid and were sticking straight into the air. “Like this?”

"Yeah, kinda. I'd say if you could bend your wings like my claws it might be sim-"

"Tia, what are you two talking about?", Luna interjected with an incredulous look on her face.

"We were merely discussing Dante's new ability. Why do you ask?" Celestia responded curiously.

"We ask because uh...well, you appear to be...*ahem* ." Luna stated while pointing behind Celestia.

And it was at that point, Celestia turn around and realized what was possibly the greatest unintentional payback I could have ever dealt anyone. Celestia's fully erect wings made it look like she had a full on wing boner. Upon said realization, the all powerful leader of Equestria, Controller of the Sun, and Princess of the Day...blushed, hard.

Now, as gloriously unintended as this was, it had the the added bonus of being...just so damn hilarious, and while I couldn't laugh out loud like a stupid idiot. I could savor every little moment like sweet sweet vengeance ice cream. I'd never be able to pull this off again, and I wanted to remember this moment.

"Dante...you planned this?"Celestia inquired with embarrassment as she clasped her wings close to herself.

"Nooo...But I'm totally willing to take full credit for it regardless." I stated not hiding my jubilance in the least.

Luna continued to look on in confusion as Celestia's blush sustained. Then, Celestia, despite her embarressment, started giggling.

"Sister...why are you laughing?" Luna asked with a bit of concern.

I shared similar sentiments. "Yeah...why are you laughing?"

Celestia attempted to stifle her giggles, "Sorry, just it has been so long since somepony has gotten me like that. It's just so funny, that you didn't intend for it to happen." Then mentally Celestia informed me, "I've been around for a long time, Dante. A simple joke, even an unintentional one, is still a joke."

"Huh, it's just...I thought you might be sore or...retaliate."

I felt smirk of a thousand deaths return and direct itself at me, and I felt a chill go through my body as malicious thoughts ran through Celestia's mind, "Do you want me to retaliate?"

...I sense I'm in danger again. Celestia was already contemplating the many ways she could easily screw with me....I am so boned...DO SOMETHING NUMBNUTS!! "Nope! Not needed. Totally even! All good! Noooo need to retaliate aaaaat all! Please?" I rebuttled as fast as I could. I don't think I could handle Celestia's strategic mind working to prank me in some manner or another... The thought alone scares me.

The smirk disappeared but I could almost hear an "Aaaw" mumbled under her breath.

Luna continued to look on at the spectacle until she seemed to get what Celestia was talking about. "Dante...was able to prank you?"

"Unintentionally, but yes." Celestia stated as she finally calmed herself, but kept the smile.

Luna looked fairly impressed, before she gave a snide smirk. “You must be slipping dear, sister. It has been years since you have been the subject of a jest.”

Celestia didn’t flinch and the gears in her mind started up again, “Why Luna, if I didn’t know better I’d say that was a challenge.”

Luna’s smirk deepened, “Mayhaps it was.”

Ok, Celestia planning a prank is bad, with Luna getting involved I think it’s time for me to go...now! I started to remove myself from Celestia, when she stopped me. Oh God, I don’t want to get involved!

“Before you go, Dante. I just wanted to give you something.” Oh thank, God. I saw Celestia’s magic reach out and grab something that looked like a small bag that could fit in the palm of my once human hand, seemed pretty full too. “This is a little compensation for your deeds. Consider it a small down payment until I can properly reward you for your actions. Use it as you see fit.” The bag was placed next to my box to be teleported along with me and I heard the distinct sound of metal coins jingling.

Hey, a bit of spending money! Sweet! Not sure, what I’m going to do with it, but nice to have a bit of...bits!...........I’m so sorry for that stupid ass pun. Won’t happen again.

With the final preparations taken care of and my bad pun shame put in check, I was sent on my way back to Ponyville. But I heard something before I left that made me glad I was leaving when I did, “Now...you going to make good on that challenge, Luna?”
____________________________________________________________________________

The dragonfyre transit was becoming a pretty common thing for me now. I was even getting used to the rapid acceleration and rapid stop. Much like before, I felt my box come to a halt and my exit was punctuated with a lovely belch from Spike. However, within a few seconds I could tell something was wrong. Spike sounded like he was out of breath, had he been running? Not only that but I noticed that there were tons of auras present outside the box. Were we in the middle of town?!

“Huh? OH! Dante!” I heard the dragon say in a weary tone.

I felt the box being lifted along with a jingling of coins from the bag Celestia gave me. The box was opened and I felt a claw grab me. Downside of being so small, it’s hard not to be manhandled. Thankfully, my snake like movements let me wriggle my way to Spike’s crest and link up. Within a second I could tell something was wrong. Spike’s thoughts were focused on Twilight and where she might be. Better investigate.

“You okay, Spike? You sound like you’ve been running a marathon.” I asked in full concern.

Spike took a second to collect his thoughts, “It’s Twilight. I think she might have finally snapped!”

Snapped? That doesn't sound good. Better keep pressing, “What do you mean? What happened?”

“Well, it started when we went to pick up some cupcakes for a picnic with the girls and when we got back to the treehouse, Twilight did her usual double check of her calendar for today. She realized she hadn’t sent a Friendship report to Princess Celestia in a week and now she’s running around town trying to find a problem to solve!” Spike explained attempting to keep his concern in check.

OH MAH GAWD! This is Lesson Zero! Sweet!......Soooo....what do I do? Spike’s obviously concerned and Twilight does go overboard. Maybe I could stop her from doing something drastic...but,Celestia said not to interfere unless necessary. Besides the “want it-need it” spell, there wasn’t any real danger, but a small riot over a stuffed toy wasn’t a good thing either. Someone could get hurt ...wait aren’t the CMC there? Considering death is still a real thing here, this could be bad. Eeeeh....I don’t know what to do! Hmmmm...Ok, let’s be smart about this. First, find Twilight. Second, observe. Then, interfere if necessary. Sounds decent enough...now let’s see how the execution goes.

“Ok, Spike, I’ll help. Where’d you see Twilight heading to last?”

Spike snapped out of his train of thought and started thinking about my question, “Uh, she was at the treehouse before she started freaking out, then she just bursted out the door saying, ‘The clock is ticking’ a lot. I know she already visited the others, but I think she might be willing to try something desperate! I'm really worried!"

“Like causing a problem for her to solve?” I offered knowingly.

Spike went stiff, the thought had been lingering in the back of his mind and my statement merely brought it to the front. "No...she...she'd...Oh man, she'd totally do something like that! Dante, we need to find her!"Spike said as he grabbed the frills on his head.

"Ok, first calm down. We need to be calm and rational, Spike." I stated as calmly as possible. Then I had an idea, "Now think, Twilight's looking for a problem to solve, right?"

Spike nodded.

"So, if where would be the best place to find a friendship problem?"

Spike pondered my inquiry rubbing a claw across his chin. Where would there be a friendship problem? Well, you'd need ponies first. Twliight already tried finding a friendship problem with the girls and that didn't work out. So where else, would there be ponies? With a bit more pondering, he snapped his fingers in realization. "The park!", he stated out loud, earning some confused looks from those around him. Spike rubbed the back of his head and apologized sheepishly.

"Heh, right you are Spike. Now, let's see if we can't stop Twilight from doing anything drastic."

Spike nodded and we made our way off to the park to find Twilight....man I hope I do not mess this up.

Chapter 19- Fix it Fix it Fix it Fix it!

Okay, Spike is taking us to the park. We got a few strange looks when we went. I’m sure my black on Spike’s purple and green tends to stand out. That’s going to lead some questions later, I’m sure, but for now I need to devise a way to deal with Twilight. She’s going to be at the park. I know she’s going to run into the CMC and then after that she’s going to use the “want it,need it spell”. Sooo maybe if we make it before she makes it to the CMC maybe we can stop her from… wait. If I stop her, she won’t learn her lesson… but it’s more a lesson for the others so shouldn’t I let her cast the spell?...GAAAAH! I don’t know! Okay, okay, stick to the plan! Observe and interfere IF necessary.

It took some time but Spike and I made it to the park. There were ponies playing all around and even a few swimming in the pond in the center. Overall, fairly serene and calm, yet lacking a certain manic purple unicorn. Hmmm, she should be here. Did we beat her here? Hmmm....

“Are you sure, she’d be here?” Spike said mentally, while physically he was sucking wind from running so hard, poor guy’s legs are going to be sore tomorrow. Once, we find Twilight, I’m going to make sure she give Spike a break.

“She has to be here, Spike. It has the most potential for a friendship problem to be present...or for one to be made.”

“But I don’t-Wait...”Spike put a hand over his eyes as he peered at a bush for some reason. Then the bush rustled, and I instantly understood why he was looking at it, because Twilight popped out like some sort of deranged jack-in-a-box. Her mane was disheveled and her eyes were near pinpricks. Worse she had this evil smile and twitch going on with her eye. Spike and I shuddered at the sight. Okay, if the sequence of events holds true she’s going to- There! She spotted the CMC and crap I forgot how fast this escalates! She already pulled the doll! GAH! Dante. Plan. Think. NOW!! The lesson! What was the lesson?! Duh, duh.....Twilight freaks. Then riot, then Celestia, Then other rest of the girls show up and they learn...that...that...GAAAAAH! I can’t remember!!! ...Wait. I remember something important. If you see the doll you want it (duh) ...So I probably need to stop her before she enchants that horrid thing! That might be important...but would that destroy the lesson (whatever that is)....GOD DAMN IT, I’m going in circles! Where’s Netflix when you need it!? Hmmm. Wait, Spike said Twilight went to her friends to look for a problem. The lesson had something to do with the others, not Twilight.

“Spike, I need to know something, quickly! How did the others act towards Twilight’s...freak out?”

Spike got to thinking, Twilight was still pitching her doll to the girls. AAAAH!

“Uh...uh. I don’t- OH! Rainbow Dash asked if she was okay, but she didn’t seem that interested. Ya know kinda...not concerned. Does that help?”

“Not concerned? Like she didn’t care?”

“No, I think it was more that she didn’t think it was such a big deal.”

Huh, weird. I thought the girls always helped each other with their....OH! OOOOH! That’s the lesson! Listen when a friend is freaking out over something! Holy balls I’m some kind of stupid! Ok, lesson set! Now I just need to make sure it gets learned! Come on, brain I need you to work with me here! Ok, have Spike write to Celestia...or has he done that? Time for some improv!

“Ok Spike, I have a kinda, sorta, almost, plan. There’s only one thing in Equestria capable to quelling this kind of crazy.”

Spike was already one step ahead of me, “You mean the Princess? I think she should be here soon, I wrote to her earlier. I was worried that Twilight’s...crazy was getting out of control. I figured she could help.”

Excellent! “Good thinking, Spike! Ok, part two and three, I need you to go get the girls, but first. How good is your throwing arm?”

Spike seemed ok with the first part, but questioned the second before he seemed to catch on to my thinking. “It’s...decent?” Spike stated hesitantly.

I didn’t need to be to hear thoughts to know there wasn’t a lot of confidence in his words. This complicates things. I realize this wasn’t the most dangerous situation I’ve dealt with in the last twenty-four hours, but it had the potential to create injury. But is it right for me to interfer? Well, considering if I hadn’t interfered Princess Celestia would be dead...eegh. Do, don’t do? ... Man, I’ve never had to think on a decision like this before. I could say for us to wait, but I can tell Spike is getting more worried by the moment. Eh, thinking is only going to get me so far. Let’s play this by ear and adjust as things go. Perhaps I can reason with Twilight down, then have her explain things to her friends? I need to do something. Spike’s worried and me doing nothing isn’t going to help.

“It’s cool, Spike. Throw me as close to Twilight as possible. I’ll try to reason with her. Just get the others and bring them here. Hopefully, if I can’t do anything, maybe they can.” I stated this very calmly. This wasn’t a crisis, but damn if Twilight’s “broken” state didn’t make you feel like you were dealing with a big ball of crazy...which...I was about to. OOOOOOOOH boy, this is going to be a ride.

“Are you sure? What if I miss?” Spike asked with apparent worry in his thoughts.

“Then I’ll slither. Don’t worry about missing. Just do your best and I’ll handle the rest.” I stated calmly. Spike’s a kid after all, and considering this is his surrogate mother/sister having a freak out. Best I can do is try to put him at ease.

Spike’s spirits improved, if only a little. “O-okay, I’ll do my best!”

“That’s the spirit, Spike. Now let’s try to bring Twilight back to sanity.”

Spike gave a confident nod and slinked my way into Spike’s right palm. Spike lifted me and assumed a pitching position. With me firmly in his clawed hand, he lifted his front left leg and hurled me with all his might. Oddly enough, Spike has a hell of a pitcher's arm, but his aim leaves something to be desired. He got me close to where I wanted to go (near Twilight) however, where I ended was face to face with the trunk of a tree to the left of Twilight. The sensation of my body going numb...I hate this feeling. I relate it to the feeling when you lay on an arm or leg for too long. The worst part is it fucks with my already limited vision. So now the auras I can see are all distorted and mixed together.

The only indication I as to where Twilight might be was the sound of Sweetie Belle saying, “I really like her mane!” in an extremely excited tone....too excited....wait.

SHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIT! I’m too late! Should have acted earlier! Okay, okay, prevention is over, now it’s time to damage mitigation. I took a moment to let my vision return to where I can actually discern different auras. When my sight was in better condition I could make out Twilight’s purple aura tussling with, what I could only assume, was the CMC. After Twilight got unceremoniously ejected from the tussle, I made my move and linked up with Twilight. It felt like the she’d taken a couple lumps during her attempts to wrestle Smarty Pants from the Crusaders.

I was fortunate that Twilight’s mind wasn’t in as manic a state as she appeared earlier, but her anxiety was still apparent in her thoughts. There was a definite state of panic but it seemed split between thoughts. One was obvious, "I'm going back to Magic Kindergarten if I don't find a friendship problem to solve" and the second being, "I can't get the girls away from Smarty Pants!" The latter was quickly taking hold of her mind. I decided to make my presence known, "Twilight, I'm getting the strange sensation ya done goofed. Care to elaborate?"

Twilight quickly snapped out of her rapidly growing panic and turned her focus to me. "OH, Dante! Thank Celestia! Maybe you can help me! Then we can solve two problems at once! Hehe.” Twilight stated still slightly crazed. “I cast a spell on my Smarty Pants doll to get the girls to fight over her then maybe I could help them learn to share, but I can’t seem to get them away from Smarty Pants. I’m sure with the two of us we can get her back.”

Hmmm, I can still feel the crazy...but the situation is about to rapidly escalate...best not think about things to come. Twilight's still in crae-crae mode but she still might be listening...no, she's still thinking of how she can fix this and still get a letter to Celestia before sun down. Considering there wasn't much I could do to stop this, I could at least do some damage control. Maybe I could keep riots to...minor mob levels?.....Yeah, that seems...probable. Right?

Meanwhile, while I was having my discussion three fillies were having a Royal Rumble for a plushie. "Okay, I'll help you. Grab the one I can’t get and then you can take that spell off the doll.”

That statement didn’t seem to jive with my host. I already felt her trying to determine how to turn the situation around. Man, I’ve been desperate to make a deadline especially in law school. Hey, I don't have to worry about that anymore...probably not the best time to think about that. But seriously, this is some crazy mixed with paranoia and sprinkled with some unrealistic fear. I hope Celestia talks to Twilight about this fear at the end of this. This kind of neurotic behavior is not healthy.

Twilight agreed regardless and I got to work separating the fillies. I reached into the rumble with my tendrils and felt contact with two forms and produced: .....A Sweetie Bell and a Scootaloo! Ha ha! The remaining Crusader quickly snagged the doll and took off. Thankfully, Twilight was on point and snatched her up in her magic. Hey this may turn out pretty- SONUVABITCH, SCOOTS BIT ME!

"GAAH! OW!" Twilight yelled in response to the pain as well causing her to drop Applebloom, who scampered off with the doll in her teeth. I nursed my tendril that now sported a bite mark. Damn those molars hurt like a mother! As much as I wanted to nurse my appendage, the two fillies I had snagged were now charging off after Applebloom. “Twilight! They’re getting away!” I informed my host.

Twilight shook herself of the shared pain and worked to grab the fillies again. Unfortunately, the fillies were actively juking us and our attempts to snag them. Twilight was able to tackle the trio and thus force them to drop the doll. Then Big Mac showed up...wait. OH NO BIG MAC'S HERE! That's how the riots starts! Shit!

Twilight noted the farmer's presence and part of her relaxed a bit. "Oh, Big Macintosh, thank goodness. Could you help-" Twilight started but didn't get far as I used my new claw ability to create a makeshift cage around the doll. The image was enough to get Big Mac to “Eeeeh nope!” his way out of the situation. Whether it was the claw or the color shift in Twilight’s eyes but based on his expression he was quite spooked. Maybe that'll keep things to a manageable level.

"Dante! Why'd you do that?! He could have helped!" Twilight voiced in a more than apparent miffed tone.

"Trust me...he would tried to help, but it wouldn't have ended well." I informed Twilight.

Twilight wasn't buying it, and I felt some some agitation growing in her mind. "How do you know? He could have at least gotten the doll away from the girls."

"And what would have happened when he LOOKED at the doll?" I retorted.

Twilight was about to rebuttal when my words hit their mark. "He would have....become infatuated with Smarty Pants....how'd you know that would happen?"

.....Uuuuh....I think I dun goofed again. How am I going to explain this to Twilight? Dang it, Celestia was right. I shouldn't have acted on my knowledge of the show, but could I really have just stood...sat...do I even have an ass? Whatever, question for another day. Anyway, I feel like I would have been wrong of me to just tell Spike “Oh don’t worry Spike. Twilight’s psychological break will end with everything being just fine.” Because that makes me such a great male role model.

"Well...uh...I- " *thunk* “Huh?” *Thunk* *Thunk* “What is that?”

Twilight shifted her focus to my claw to see the three fillies bucking my claw near the wrist. They were at least smart enough to avoid the claws, themselves. Oddly enough, the kicks didn’t hurt. Just felt like someone was flicking my hand. Guess that hardened part is a type of armor. Sweet!

“They seem to be kicking your...wait, what is that? Is that a new ability?” Twilight said taking notice of my new claw appendage type. I told her I’d explain later, considering I still had three fillies kicking my claw in an attempt to get to the doll underneath. At least with Big Mac out of the way there wasn’t any worry of a town wide riot. I grabbed the doll with the claw and was able to lift it without causing damage to it. Well, maybe a nick or two, but nothing a little thread couldn’t fix. I was able to hold the doll well out of reach of the crusaders by keeping it well above Twilight’s head. Kinda glad Scootaloo can’t fly or this could have been tricky. Unfortunately, either by the overwhelming force of the universe or sheer act of God, a hawk happened to be flying by and must have saw Smarty Pants and ceremoniously yanked the doll from my grip.

This caused a domino effect I had hoped to avoid. This is the sequence of events that occurred as the bird took off with the doll. First, the CMC took off after the hawk, shouting about who the doll belonged with most. This then caused anypony within earshot to turn towards the commotion, spot the fillies and then look to see what they were looking at. This repeated the further the bird flew around the park. From there...well let’s just say dealing with three small luggage sized fillies was not longer our only concern. Small fights began to break out and several ponies got pegged with small rocks and twigs as some of the ponies attempted to knock the avian thief from the sky.

The open riot did nothing to soothe Twilight...obviously. Her desperation was mounting and I was dumbfounded on what to do. I thought once Big Mac was out of the way I could handle this...stupid hawk messing up my near flawless attempt to fix stuff. Twilight and I attempted to get the doll ourselves with some mild success. Somepony was able to get the hawk to drop the doll and there was a full out brawl over it. We couldn’t see the doll through the fight but thankfully somepony must have kicked it, as it was sent into the air long enough for Twilight to snag it with her magic. This thus made US the center of attention and in that moment Twilight and I shared a very short and simple thought “Run”. To which Twilight took off at full speed. I was hoping Spike got back with the girls or Celestia showed. As fit as Twilight might look on the show...she's kinda...puggy. Thankfully, the former appeared first.

Huh, this is still kinda close to how the episode went...wait...OH MAN, does that mean I tried to fix this for nothing?! Is this like a messed up Twilight Zone where you know what’s going to happen but some stupid string of events makes it happen as it should anyway? Is there a science for this? Like time-travel-to-a-place-that-is-only-supposed-to-exist-in-fiction-ology?

Anyway, Rainbow, Rarity, Flutters, Aj, and Pinkie came to find an angry mob chasing us. Rainbow was the first to come to our aid, "Twilight! What the heck is...going... going-" Rainbow was starting to look at the doll and she was not looking away. Uh oh! I made a mid-sprint transfer onto Rainbow and forcefully turned her head with my tendrils away from the doll. Thankfully, she was able to keep her flight path but I may have used a bit too much power...I heard something click...twice.

"OW, the heck, Dante?!" Rainbow yelled out loud as she massaged her neck.

"Sorry, but don't look at the doll! It's enchanted to make anyone who looks at it want it more than anything else!"

"Wait, was this why Spike was freaking out? I thought he was just exaggerating."

I took that moment to point out the scene of Twilight being chased by a rabid mob over a very scraggly looking children's doll. "Yes, because this is just a perfectly normal thing, a perfectly normal person does when they're worried about something important to them." I stated sarcastically.

Rainbow seemed to get my point, "Okay okay, maybe Spike wasn't exaggerating. But this just seems really extreme. I mean I'm all for being extreme but why'd she go this far?"

"Not to cut you off or anything...but maybe we should help Twilight now. I think she's running out of steam." I stated as I noted that Twilight was really huffing as she tried to stay ahead of the mob, but was slowly losing ground.

"Oh, right I'm on it!" my host exclaimed as she darted to snag Twilight out from in front of the mob. She got Twilight, but Twilight failed to maintain her magical grip on Smarty Pants and the doll was left to the mercy of the mob.

"You okay, Twilight?" Rainbow ask as she flew Twilight to the others.

"Y-yeah...just...tired..." Twilight panted. Then she realized something was not with her. "Oh no! No no no!"

Rainbow put Twilight down next to the rest of the gang and her demeanor was clearly depressed. The girls works to ask what was wrong and what was happening. Twilight explained everything and what she had done. When asked why she had done it, she wasn't able to get far before a voice boomed through the area.

Everypony and myself went rigid. Sure enough, Princess Celestia was hovering in the air with a less than pleased look on her face. I wasn't even the one in trouble and I was scared to do or say a word. I just relegated myself to watching the scene unfold.

Celestia looked upon the the chaos befalling the citizens. Her horn lit up and it erupted into an all encompassing light that caused every single fight, brawl, and scrap to stop instantly. Several ponies seemed embarrassed to have been fighting over something so silly, and attempted to "discreetly" leave the scene like nothing happened. The offending Smarty Pants doll was the only thing left on the scene. Celestia turned to Twilight still looking majorly disappointed, "I'll see you at the library." Then without another word she took off towards the Golden Oaks Library. You know that feeling when your parents are disappointed with something you did? Then they don't even say anything just give you the disappointed look. Twilight was getting it to a degree I'd never seen before. She looked to be on the verge of tears. "Guess this is goodbye.", was all Twilight said before solemnly walking off toward the library herself. Leaving the rest of the mane 6 and myself to just sit in silence.

"Well...that was awkward."

Author's Notes:

Sorry for the wait on this. Life has been really getting the best of me. I've been wanting to maintain a schedule of uploads, but I don't think that's possible anymore. I will still keep the story going, but I'm gonna try to keep it as consistent as possible.

Like to give a quick shout out to Jcc10 and Darkpondj for helping out with this chapter. Also thank you guys so much for the continual support!

Finally
Fix it

Chapter 20- Let's talk about the future.

Author's Notes:

Hey, ya'll sorry again for taking so long. I'm dealing with some things in real life and it's really eating into my writing. I do appeciate the constant support and kind words. You guys keep me running and I couldn't be happier. I'll try to get the next chapter out a bit more promptly.

Ya wanna know something hard to do? Trying to defuse an awkward silence with something that doesn’t immediately make it more awkward. Don’t believe me? Try it sometime. If you can do it.... Either you are Pinkie in disguise or a really good conversationalist. I mention this because after Twilight left to meet Celestia, the rest of the girls and I were left to contemplate the events that had just transpired. While I wasn’t sure what Pinkie, AJ, Rarity, or Fluttershy were thinking, but I could tell that Rainbow Dash was feeling really guilty. And if the group’s faces were anything to go by, the others were feeling just as bad. I tried to think of something to say that might make things less awkward, but I was drawing a blank. Usually when I try to dispel an awkward silence usually it just made things more awkward. Tends to be how these things work out.

Anyway, back to my starting statement. I'm not the greatest impromptu conversationalist, but a certain cotton candy, pink pony seemed to be able to say anything, no matter how awkward, and not make things.... More awkward.

Pinkie’s face changed to one of pure acknowledgement and understanding. “We need to go to the library, girls!” Pinkie stated in full confidence and striking a dramatic pose.

The rest of the girls looked at Pinkie in confusion. I, on the other hand, was questioning if I was about to witness a fourth wall break in person. If so it’s either going to be lackluster... Or funny as hell... To me.

Applejack was the first to concur, “She’s right. We shoulda listened to Twilight when she asked for help! Now she’s gonna get sent back to Canterlot!”

Damn it...eh, I’m going to be here for awhile I got time to witness the wall destroyer that is Pinkie Pie... Wait, is this how it went down in the show? I feel like something is off.

“Of all the things to happen this is the. WORST. POSSIBLE. THING!” Rarity stated a bit overly dramatic.

Okay, that felt a bit on more on point...If slightly unnecessary. Anyway, the girls shot Rarity an incredulous look that said one word and a punctuation, “Seriously?”

“Well...It is.” Rarity retorted to the facial expressions.

“Whatever, let’s get to the library before the Princess takes her away.” Rainbow added in as she took to the sky. “C’mon!”

The others took Rainbow’s encouragement to heart and started heading towards the Golden Oaks Library.

The flight was short, no surprise with Dash as my host, and we soon arrived outside the library. Now this would be the point where someone would open the door and say, “Stop!” or “Wait” or if you’re really ambitious, “HOLD IT!”.

Now, Rainbow Dash falls into the latter category, but being Rainbow Dash, she has to put her own twist on things. Instead of slowing down and merely busting the door open dramatically, she flew full force into the door and barrel rolled her way into the library. Show off? Yes. Absolutely pointless? Very much so. Fun as hell to be a part of? DAAAAAAAMN Skippy! I always wanted to get into parkour, but with my family's history of being accident prone it never seemed like a good idea. But hey, experiencing it vicariously though my hosts works just as well, it’s like doing it yourself... Except someone else is doing it for you.... Man, I’m starting to miss being able to do things myself. I mean I could hijack a body, but that’s just a colossal dick move! Plus, how unfair is that to the pony’s family and relatives? Sigh... I’ll wallow in self-pity later, it’s not going to do me any good right now.

So anyway, with Dash’s dramatic entrance done and over with, the others followed in shortly after. “Wait! ” Rainbow started.

“You can’t punish her!” Pinkie continued.

“It wasn’t her fault!” Applejack finished.

Celestia seemed oddly interested in what the girls had to say... Although it’s not that odd when she had already forgiven Twilight. Not sure if trolling or really clever teaching methods. “I’m listening.” Celestia said maybe a bit too seriously. She’s playing this up, wait.... She’s troll teaching! Sweet Christ, that’s... Scarily impressive. Then again, one thousand plus years experience makes that pretty easy, I guess. Speaking of which, I need to talk to her before she bolts. Maybe she can give me some more insight into how much I should or shouldn’t be interfering. That and I need to talk to Rainbow about Luna’s plan for Nightmare Night. Man, my laundry list of things to do is getting kinda big.

So, the girls explained everything that happened prior and even that they shared partial responsibility for not listening to Twilight. I’ll skim over most of it since it followed the cannon fairly well. However, Celestia added something that was new, “From this day forth I’d like you all to report me your findings on the Magic of Friendship and that includes you too, Dante.”

How she knew I was there, I’ll never know. Maybe some of my black was showing on Rainbow’s blue coat. That or basic deduction. I don’t know, I try not to question demi-gods with the power of a celestial body at their disposal. I confirmed I understood with a thumbs up from a tendril. Celestia nodded before she continued, “In addition, I have asked Dante to report to me his findings on any new abilities he might discover. I’d appreciate it if each of you could help him, should he need it.”

The girls happily agreed. Rainbow and Twilight seemed particularly interested in the request. I was happy to know I’d have the help if I needed it. Celestia smiled and was beginning to make her way towards the balcony when I flagged her down. “Is something wrong, Dante?”

“Rainbow, can you ask the Princess if I could talk to her for a second? It’s kinda important” I asked my host.

“Huh? Yeah, sure.” “Um, Princess, Dante wants to know if he can talk to you for a sec. He says it’s important.”, Rainbow asked.

Celestia halted her exit and turned to Rainbow. “Oh, of course, Dante.”

Okay, time to get some questions answered, “I’ll talk to ya la-.” On second thought, let’s get something out of the way so I can start prepping, “Actually, can you drop by tomorrow? I got a secret mission you might be interested in. I should be here with Twilight.”

The words “secret mission” immediately caught Rainbow’s attention and got her questioning what this mission would entail. “Sounds interesting, what would I be doing for this mission and who’s it for? You?”

I did my best to withhold my “contractor” from my thoughts, but I couldn’t hold back my unbridled enthusiasm for the scare, “Let’s just say any scare you or I have done before will pale in comparison to this. As for who thought of it, it was a joint effort. Just thought you’d be the prime candidate to help. I’ll tell you more tomorrow.”

Rainbow still wanted more answers, but she figured she could get the rest of the info tomorrow. With another thing on my to-do list taken care of, I detached myself from Rainbow and slithered my way onto Princess Celestia, while Rainbow went to converse with the others. This time around I actually managed to get a feel of Celestia’s mane... it feels... soft and... strangely warm. Like a blanket fresh out of the dryer. It also didn’t feel like hair either. Like there weren’t individual strands of hair. It was more like some kind of moving energy. Does that mean that Celestia and Luna magically alter their hair? Might explain the pink haired Celestia I saw the night before. Why though? Is it’s like a symbol of their power? Whatever, I can postulate potential political reasoning later. I need to make sure I’m not causing some quantum fluctuation or something.

“Hello again, Dante. What is it you wanted to talk about?” Celestia asked warmly as I made my connection to her.

I took a second to gather my thoughts from the last day and a half. If I was going to ask about time altering issues, I needed to make sure I was articulate and concise. “Hi, Celestia. I wanted to talk to you about something we discussed before. Specifically about my knowledge about things that are going to happen.”

Celestia didn’t seem immediately concerned. She merely waited for me to finish.

“I’m sure, Twilight already told you, but, I tried to intervene in today’s events... Very unsuccessfully, I might add. I knew what was going to happen and I...I was too late to stop it. But... Something was bugging me the whole time. Should I have intervened? Had I arrived earlier and been able to have done something. Would it have been right for me to do so?”

I could tell Celestia was considering my predicament. I felt her lapsing to our previous conversation about interfering only if necessary. “Twilight did tell me about your actions. I must express my gratitude with attempting to help her, but if you knew the outcome, why did you interfere at all? Why not let thing progress?”Celestia asked.

“Well... Spike was concerned when I arrived. When he explained the situation, I couldn’t just sit by and do nothing. Even when I was attached to Twilight I couldn’t do nothing.” I retorted, but I made a slight addendum, “I’ll admit I thought I might be able to prevent the situation from getting worse. I thought if I could keep the CMC confined to that spot, maybe I could buy time until the others arrived to talk down Twilight.”

Celestia considered my words, from her thoughts I could tell she was happy that I helped Twilight. She then considered my plan, she saw how it could have worked and how it failed by a mere chance. She then swapped to train of thought that I was partially expecting, “Tell me, is this how things ended, according to the show from your world?”

“Well, kinda.” I admitted, “Some things changed but the outcome was the same.” I finished and I felt Celestia about to bring up how my interfering yielded nothing. I also had considered that, but I had a counterpoint, “Princess, before you say what you’re about to say, I have thought about it and... My interference did change something.”

Celestia was interested in what I had to say about the point and allowed me to speak my mind... Ok, that was an unintentional pun. I swear! Anyway, I laid out my counterpoint, “If I hadn’t interfered... You wouldn’t be here.”

Celestia stopped for a moment and considered my line of thinking. Her mind set went straight to left field and started focusing on something I couldn’t quite decipher. I say that because, when Celestia’s mind goes into overdrive, it’s like trying to listen to a song sped up to the point it sounds like gibberish. Eventually she did slow down, when she thought she might have pinpointed a solution, “Dante, according to what you know. Do I die at any point?”

“No!... Well, you get knocked out during the wedding, but now you’re alive and well. But I need to point out that assassination attempt I had no idea that-” I stated a little bit too panicky a tone. Thankfully, Celestia put a stop to my worried state and offered her thoughts.

“It’s okay, Dante. I know you didn’t know. Your thoughts at the time told me you didn’t know about it. However, this raises a conflict. According to your understanding, I am alive and well, but in this situation, I would have died had you not been present.” Celestia stated very matter-of-factly and without much hesitation. She’s going somewhere with this, and I can feel she has an idea of what is going on. I can feel it, like it’s just at the back of her mind and Celestia knows it’s there. I tried to get a better grasp of what it was but, Celestia shifted her train of thought. Was she trying to hide her thoughts to prevent me from keeping track of them? “Dante, I’d like to ask you something. If you don’t mind.”

What is she up to? I can’t tell if she did that on purpose or it wasn’t relevant so she just pushed past it. I can tell Celestia is affording me some level of trust and that she does believe me, but I know that she knows something. What it is, I have no clue. For now, I’ll follow along. Maybe I can get some answers out of this. “What did you want to know?”

“I wanted to know how much you know of what is to come in Equestria’s future?”Celestia asked in a manner that caught me off guard. It sounded oddly, pleading, if not slightly curious. “You claim that the Changeling will invade on the day of Cadence’s and Shining Armor’s wedding, and make no mistake, I do believe you. But without any hard evidence I cannot act on your claim. I merely wonder what else is to come.”

Ooooh boy, this is going to be interesting. “Ok, I’m going to need a bit of clarification. Do you mean major things to come or just general things that are going to happen?”

Celestia seemed a bit caught off guard, “Is there that much to come?”

“Ooooh... Pretty much. I can think of at least... Five MAJOR things that are-” I stopped as a remembered a few others “Sorry,make that seven major things that are going to happen.”

Celestia balked at the number. She processed the info before she gave me the go-ahead to start.

“Okay, I told you about the invasion already. So after that is the return of the Crystal Empire and-”

“The Crystal Empire?! Are you certain?” Celestia interrupted sounding a bit startled.

“Yeah, I have no reason to lie to you, Celestia.” I countered.

“Dante, you don’t understand. The Crystal Empire has been missing for nearly-”

“1,000 years?” I interrupted this time, using my knowledge of the show. Yeah, I was acting cocky, but I wanted to make it clear, I knew what I knew.

Celestia took another moment to recover before asking her next question, “Do you know how it returns?”

“Unfortunately not. I know it comes back after the wedding, but it kinda comes with a snag.”

“What do you-” Celestia started before she came to the answer herself, “You don’t mean… Sombra?”

“Yeah. When Cadence takes her place as Princess of the Crystal Empire, he comes out of the woodworks and starts attacking.”

My regal host was reeling. Part of her was wanting to deny the possibility of something as dangerous as King Sombra coming back, and another part couldn’t deny that if the Crystal Empire came back, its dictator would too. “What do you know about Sombra?” She asked in an attempt to confirm I was referring to the same pony.

“He conquered and ruled the Crystal Empire for years with an iron han...er- hoof. He enslaved the Crystal ponies to do his bidding. But he was banished by you and Luna years ago, but before he did, he cursed the Empire to disappear along with the Crystal Heart, the power source of the Empire’s power and also happens to be his weakness.” I spewed out feeling my brony nerdom being shown in full force. Considering I was telling this to Celestia, herself, I was happy to see that at no point did she correct me, nor did any thoughts appear that seemed to contradict what I was stating.

I expected Celestia to say something once I was finished, but she was...oddly quiet...sorta. While she wasn’t addressing me directly, her mind was a bullet train of information, scenarios, and hypotheses. I’m sure I’ve stated it before, but when Celestia’s mind goes, it goes fast. Her mind was a blur of information and I couldn’t catch much of anything. Now, I could slap her again, but I was tempting fate the last time I tried that and got away with a peck on the tendril. Best go the more traditional route, “Princess? What’s wrong? Talk to me here.”

Celestia seemed to catch on to my prods and halted her train of thought, “Sorry, it’s just...this is just...” She seemed to be at a loss for words. The hell is going on? “Dante, what you just explained,hardly anypony knows, but you just stated it like it was common knowledge. There aren’t even books published about it...and you know about the power source of the Empire. Luna and I didn’t even know that.”

Did...did I just impress Celestia?...Huh, didn’t think I could do that. “Oh...I...um...I’m not sure how to feel about that.”

Celestia proceeded to walk to the balcony of Twilight’s library and stepped outside. She took some deep breaths before she started again, “I understand, Dante. But...the fact you know this... I can’t think of anyway you could have learn about it. All books pertaining to the Empire were lost when it disappeared.”

Whoa...suddenly, my knowledge about things to come seems very important. Hmmm, I’ll have to try and remember as much as I can...Hey, wait a second. “Wait, doesn’t Princess Cadence know something about the Empire?”

Celestia shook her head, “I’m afraid not. Cadence was the only thing we managed to rescue before Sombra’s curse took the Empire away. She was only a foal at the time.”

Well, there goes that idea.

Celestia let out a sigh as she continued, “I’m in a very strange predicament, Dante. It is rare that I have been given this much forewarning about things to come, and I am grateful that you have been so forthcoming with this and the invasion. While I can’t do much about the invasion, I might be able to do something about the Empire and Sombra.”

I got a good feeling I know what that is, “Twilight?”

“I...yes. I’ll guess that’s what I did, according to the show, right?”

“Yeah, and I know why too.”

Celestia cocked an eyebrow. “Oh?”

“It’s because you’re grooming Twilight to be a princess as well, right?”

Again, Celestia was balking. “Trust me, when I say she will succeed. When it’ll happen, I’m not sure. I haven’t determined when things are going to happen aside from the wedding and Nightmare Night. So...that’s kind of the other problem I got going right now.”

Celestia was perplexed and it took her a solid minute to finally recover. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to drop that much on you.”

Celestia shook her head, “It’s okay, Dante...I just did not expect you to know this much.” She paused for a moment as she thought of something, “Does...does Twilight know about this? About her becoming a Princess?”

“No, she doesn’t. I’ve been able to keep spoilers away from everyone. Only you and Luna know that I know about future events.”

Celestia nodded in understanding, "I see." She took a moment to gather her thoughts further. She considered whether I could keep my knowledge of the future, how my knowledge would affect the ponies (Twilight especially), and finally how she could use the information I provided her to protect her citizens. When she had her thoughts together she told me to continue with thing to come and promised she wouldn't interrupt again until I was done.

"Okay, sooo. After Sombra, Tixie Lulamoon makes a return to Ponyville wearing the Alicorn Amulet to get revenge on Twilight. Then, comes Discord's reform." I took note that Celestia's mind stopped and put focus on "Discord's reform" questioning what would lead her to consider reforming Discord, and if it was possible to accomplish. I waited until her processing was finished. She noticed my hesitation and apologized. "It's cool. After that is Twilight's coronation and then Sunset Shimmer tries to steal her tiara."

The mention of Sunset Shimmer caused Celestia's heart to skip a beat and a feeling of melancholy washed over her. I felt a bit guilty. I had wondered what she would do if I mentioned Sunset and now that I did...I kinda regret it. "Sorry, I that was insensitive. I didn't mean to-"

Celestia shook her head, "No, no it's okay. Just...a time I could have done better."

I considered how to make her feel a bit better, "If it makes you feel better, Twilight helps her see the error of her ways and they even become friends!"

The thought did seem to put her at ease, not a whole lot, but enough to make her smile just a bit. She suggested that perhaps we could continue another time. While a part of me considered warning Celestia about Tirek, I reasoned that was some time away and the Mane Six had to defeat him to unlock that...ridiculous looking rainbow powered deux ex machina. Plus, the wedding was the closest and most imminent catastrophy I could do something about. One disaster at a...am I really considering how to deal with an invasion, and an evil overlord? Who is prepared for this sort of lunacy?! I'm not even sure how I'm going to deal with Chrysalis! The fuck am I doing?! Nothing on Earth prepared me for this! Damn it, Dad was right. I should have joined the military. Yeah, it's four years of hard grueling work, but I would have been ready for this!

"Dante? Are you, okay?" Celestia stated, snapping me out of my "Coulda-Shoulda-Woulda" conversation with myself. "You seemed a bit distressed."

I explained my train of thought and Celestia did her best to put at ease and told me not to worry. She told me that when the time came I should rely on the girls and others. "And should you ever feel the need to discuss things further, you can always send a letter to Luna or me. You have saved my life and performed a hazardous mission when you didn't have to. You've shown that you have a courageous spirit and a valiant heart. I'll keep you updated if anything happens."

Oh, Humility! Here to keep my ego in check? Oh, using your backhand today? Must be a very important statement. My word, you're using a bit of force! I'd say that mark won't go away for some time! So after a decent dose of humility was applied directly to my ego. I thanked Celestia for her time. Celestia told me to go about doing what I thought was right should another "episode" arise, but to try and keep my knowledge of the future under wraps, if I could. She also informed me that, should the girls or anypony else learn about what I knew, that I write to her immediately. Again, I thanked Celestia for her time and advice. She, in turn, thanked me for informing her of the events to come and my cooperation.

Celestia took me back inside and let me transfer to Twilight for the night. Celestia said her goodbyes and took her leave. Twilight and her friends talked for a bit little after I had attached, but shortly after they all made their way to their respected homes. Rainbow said she'd stop by around mid-day tomorrow so we could talk about our "secret mission". With all that said and done, Twilight and Spike decided to forgo their normal bedtime rituals and went straight to bed. I couldn't blame them. Twilight felt utterly drained after today's events and I could only imagine how tired Spike was. So, with everything turning out for the better the three of us went to sleep. Twilight went first, and I slowly after.

___________________________________________________________________________________________

I found myself underwater for some reason. The water was clear blue and all below me I could see vast expanses of large rock formations spotted with coral of varying sizes, colors, and species. Among these rocks and coral were equally vibrant and varied fish. I'm positive I've been here before, but I couldn't place it. Eh, who cares? This is peaceful. I decided to swim around and enjoy the scenery and the wildlife. I always found scuba diving peaceful in it's own way. The sound of my breath through the regulator and the visuals of the oceanic life were enough to make any piss poor year seem better than it was.

I zoomed about for what felt like a relaxing eternity when I noticed something that seemed extremely out of place in a coral reef. In the middle of one of the rock formations was a door. A large cherry wood door with a tarnished gold door knob. The hell was this thing doing down here? Was someone transporting a door on a boat and lost it? No, that can't be right. The wood isn't warped, the knob isn't corroded, and it looked like it'd built into the rocks. Who does that?...Wait, why did this remind me of something. Hmmm, there's no way there's anything behind this door, right? Yeah, I'm sure this is someone's idea of a joke. I bet I'll open the door and there's a spooky clown thing that'll shoot out at me or something.

Looking to disarm whatever stupid gag was behind the door, I reached out with my hand and turned the knob. I was dumbfounded when I opened the door, and I was immediately sucked inside. I landed on a pure white floor in the middle of a long hallway lined with hundreds of thousands of different doors. Am I in the Matrix? I looked around a bit more and soon came face to face with a midnight blue alicorn.

"Good night to you, Dante." Luna said with a bit of a smirk.

Oh...I'm dreaming...again Guess that explains why I was able to breath underwater without my regulator or the rest of my scuba equipment. Although, I was wearing my short length wetsuit for some strange reason. With the realization I was dreaming and thus subject to dream logic, I got to my feet and greeted Luna, "Hey, Luna. Good to see you."

Luna motioned for me to follow her as she started making her way down the hall,"Good to see you as well. Please follow us so we might speak in a better setting."

I shrugged as I followed behind her, "Yeah, sure...It's your realm. What did you want to talk about?"

"We wished to check on the progress of thy-er- your progress with the plan for Nightmare Night and...perhap...have some...friendly conversation?" The last part seemed a bit hesitant mixed with nervousness. That seems a bit off for her.

"Well, I'm gonna talk with Rainbow tomorrow to see if she's willing to help. She seemed kinda interested, and yeah we can chat a bit." I responded with a smile.

"Excellent! We are very pleased to hear this." Luna said as she stopped outside a pair of giant ornate midnight blue doors with a pair crescent door knobs. "Ah, we have arrived. Please, come in."

Luna opened the doors and it was...underwhelming. It was just a blank pure white room. No furniture, paintings, or anything. Just a blank room. Why did Luna bring me here? This seems kinda...abstract.

My astral guide caught on to my confusion and within the blink of an eye the room turned into a fancy foyer with two luxurious felt couches, an ornate rug floor, and a simple wooden coffee table. The walls also became adorned with images of the phases of the moon that started at the door and progressed around the room. There weren't any windows but there was a very nice marble fireplace on the far wall with a small fire already made.

Needless to say I was perplexed, "Wait, wasn't this a white room a second ago?"

Luna let out another sly giggle. "Yes, it was. This is a room attached to the dreamscape. Anything your mind can think of will be made reality. This can also apply to your current appearance."

Huh, it's like a lucid dream. That's pretty neat! So perhaps I should up my appearance a bit. I put my focus into a more appropriate and comfortable wardrobe. Again, in a flash my wetsuit was replaced with a loose pair of grey dress pants with black loafers, and a short sleeve, collared, light grey, dress shirt with a black over vest. Feeling like I was dressed to impress I took a seat on the couch to the left of the coffee table. Luna took a seat on the opposite couch, preferring to lay on her stomach. I wonder why I was half expecting her to sit like I was? That's Lyra's thing. OOOH, I should try to find her at some point! I bet she'd flip her shit if she saw my tendril hands. Another item to the list.

"So, the element of loyalty is interested in assisting?" Luna asked from her couch.

I gave her a so-so motion with my hand, "Kinda-sorta, I told her that I had a secret mission for her, but I haven't told her who came up with the idea. I figured I'd tell her tomorrow."

Luna seemed a bit worried at that statement, "Doth...we mean, do you believe that once we learned we are part of the plan she might be dissuaded?"

I dismissed the idea, "No, Rainbow loves to spook and prank ponies. Considering, most of her pranks are just sneaking up behind ponies with a thunder cloud and kicking it. Compared to this, it'll seem almost childish."

Luna blushed a bit as she smiled. "Very well, I look forward to her response. Have you asked the foals about their 'victim' roles?" She said accenting 'victim' with wing quotes.

Oh, darn I completely forgot about that.Hmm, maybe I could knock that out with Rainbow tomorrow. "No, I haven't. I missed the opportunity today...or was it yesterday?"

Luna tapped her chin with her hoof in thought, "It's nearing morning. So we have already moved to the next day." She then used her hoof to give me a dismissive wave, "Do not worry about recruiting the foals. We still have time. We can always adjust the plan if needed."

I got a little devilish grin on my face at that, "Oh...don't worry. I know they will join. All I have to do is mention six simple words and they'll agree without question."

Luna gave me a slightly questioning look, "You said that when we first discussed this, what are these six words that hold so much sway over these foals?"

I'll admit, I didn't like the idea of manipulating these foals. But out of all the things they could be doing, this was going to be lower on their typical danger scale and it would be under Luna's supervision. Plus, they'd probably enjoy it anyway. "Well, Luna if you must know." I started with my devilish grin at full width, "The words are, 'You might get your Cutie Marks'"

Chapter 21- A fairly calm day....finally.

The weird/awesome thing about holding a conversation in a dream is you can share information really easily. Luna and I were able to have full blown conversations for what felt like hours, but I was reminded that it was less than a few minutes. Luna said it has something to do with the progression of time in dreams. Time runs faster...or was it slower? I think it was slower. Yeah, that makes sense. Anyway, we managed to chat about what I should tell Rainbow tomorrow and how best to incorporate the CMC into the Nightmare Night scare plan. Once we got that out of the way, we moved onto something Luna seemed very interested in: Human technology. We were on the topic of games when I started to notice Luna was getting a bit curious.

“Do tell of what games your people have. We have seen the advent of arcade cabinets, which seems to be popular with foals and adults alike.” She started happily before turning a little sad, “Tis unfortunate that they are only available in Manehatten and Ponyville.”

I had to think about that. Did they have those? I mean I trusted Luna’s word, but I was trying to remember if I ever remember seeing an actual arcade cabinet. I mean I remember that Button Mash cartoon that had it and...OH, right, he was from part of the Hearts and Hooves song. So they do have those. Neat!

“Well, we still have arcade cabinets, but they’ve gotten a bit more advance and way smaller”, I responded with a sheepish smirk.

“How so?”

DREAM IMAGERY GO! I produced an image of my Xbox One and Xbox 360 back home (Yeah, I owned an Xbox. I got them because it was on sale both times and they were bundles...and I couldn’t afford to get a PS4 before I got hit by the space rock) “These are home consoles. The round white one is called an Xbox 360 and the rectangular one is called a Xbox One. Imagine an arcade cabinet...but in your home and way better graphics and fun.”

Luna got off the couch and looked at the two consoles. She looked a bit perplexed. “We don’t understand. How does one play games with these?”

Oh right...forgot a few components. I put my imagination to work and replaced the wall with the fireplace with the fanciest Ultra High Definition TV I could remember, then let the cords hook up to the TV and produced four controllers (Two 360 controllers, and two xbox one controllers)

“There we go. Now an arcade cabinet is just a small screen hooked up to a special motherboard with some kind of input stick and buttons. Consoles are about the same but they add a bit of complexity.”

Luna listened to what I stated as she investigated each controller. “These...devices seem very similar. Why is that?”

“The white one goes to the 360 which came first, the black one goes to the Xbox One which came after. Both are pretty fun and had some awesome games.” I explained as Luna messed with the analog sticks, buttons, d-pad, and triggers.

“How interesting.” She worked the controllers over in her magic until she came to realize something. “These ‘controllers’, they work without being connected? How does that work?”

“Magic” I said snarkily.

Luna shot me an unamused look. She was obviously skeptical of my answer.

I laughed a bit and let gave her the real explanation, “Ok, it’s not magic. They’re wireless. They send a radio signal that the consoles can pick and interpret the signals as commands from the controller.”

Luna’s skepticism seemed to evaporate as she accepted my more serious answer. “Truly thy technology is quite impressive. What kind of games do they play?”

Based on the look of curiosity and the childlike smile growing on Luna’s face, I could tell that I had just been handed an opportunity to blow her mind. And I am not the type of guy to let a rare opportunity pass by. I let a smile grace my face as I started listing off as many genres
and subgenres of games I could recall: first/ third shooters, racing, puzzle, strategy, fighting, adventure, RPG, sports, and so on.

Luna’s face went from a childlike curiosity to full blown awe. “That many? On one device? How -zing, We h-...that We mi-...” The hell? What’s going on? She’s starting to sound like a phone call with bad reception and the room is spazzing out. Is something wrong?

Luna looked around and grumbled a bit under her breath. “Oh, fie. You’re waking up.We will have to-... this next time. We look for-...to thy next....” I missed some of what Luna had said, but I was able to fill in the gaps.

I quickly gave Luna a thumbs up and attempted to let her know I looked forward to our next visit as well, but I felt the room vanish in the blink of an eye.

I awoke to find myself in Twilight’s library. I was thankful, that I was still able to remember the dream I had. The look on Luna’s face was one I didn’t want to forget. Maybe the whole Gamer Luna thing wasn’t too far off. Hmmm...I wonder if Human Equestria has something similar to an Xbox or Playstation. If it does and I can get there, maybe I could buy one with a TV and bring it here. OH! Even better, a 3DS. At least it’s portable and has all the classic N64 games. Could be fun! I took a moment to stretch out some stiffness in my...wait. Oh, Twilight’s still sleeping. Guess I got driver for a bit. I finished my stretch and looked around. I found Spike still fast asleep in his basket. Little dude looked pretty tired....Maybe I should do something for them. Spike does a lot for Twilight and I’m sure Twilight is pretty burnt out from yesterday. Okay, today....I’m making breakfast! Maybe waffles? OH, no wait...omelets! I make a mean omelet.

All right! Let’s get to it! I headed off to the kitchen as silently as possible (which is hard with hooves and hardwood floors, by the way). Once I arrived I made a beeline for the fridge. I’m cooking for two so...three eggs a piece ought to do it. When I opened the fridge I found that, thankfully, there were plenty of eggs. Guess they must have just done their grocery shopping. What else do they have in here? Some onions...tomatoes...milk, gonna need that...tofu? Blegh, no thanks...lettuce, nope...got some green peppers, eh maybe....butter... oooh orange juice. Eh, there are some other things here but I’ll make due with onions, tomatoes and peppers. Alright, let’s get to work!

I collected my ingredients and rummaged around the kitchen for a skillet and a bowl. Okay, let’s see, the stove looks like it runs on gas. Ok, a flip of the knob released some gas and created a spark. Flame active, I got to prepping my ingredients. Pluuuuus, this gave me a fun opportunity to give my talons a nice workout (after a thorough washing, of course. I’m not a barbarian.) Okay, now that my extremely sharp talons are nice and sanitized. LET’S COOK!

Ok, if I can manage to get back to Earth, I’m finding a way to replicate these talons. They slice, they dice, they chop, they mince. They do everything! I don’t even think they dulled...at all! Although all the juices stuck to bladed part, they did their job superbly. Anyway it didn’t take me long to have a nice amount of diced tomatoes, onions, and a handful of chopped peppers. Now to the business portion, a few cracked eggs, a splash of milk, and just a bit of whisking to get them suckers nice and fluffy! Toss in some tomatoes and onions to finished it off, and the mixture was tossed into the skillet. The second the eggs started to cook a wondrous smell began to permeate the kitchen. Hmmm, damn I’m good!

While I let the eggs cook, I was able to do a bit of multitasking. I had my tendril working the omelette and used Twilight’s magic to pull out plates, utensils, and napkins. I’ll admit that it was moving a bit slow with the magic because I was worried about losing focus again and either dropping the plates or sending them into the ceiling. So, after a few minutes I had a perfectly shaped half moon omelette with bits of tomato and onion. The smell was awesome. Awesome enough in fact that it got Spike out of bed.

“*Yawn* morning, Twilight. Whatcha making?” Spike said sleepily.

I turned to look at Spike and gave him a tendril wave as I continued to work. Of course, Twilight’s voice rang out rather than mine...but I’m used to it. At least I still sound like me in my mind. “Morning, Spike. Twilight’s still sleeping. Figured I’d make some omelettes for you guys. You like peppers?”

I saw Spike change his expression to one of understanding, “Oh, thanks, Dante. Yeah, I like peppers, but can you add something else?”
I nodded, “Sure, bud. What do you want in yours?”

Spike let out a big ole smile as he gave his answer, “Rubies!”

Uh...okay, I should have thought of that...but...how does one cook rubies? I guess just throw them in? Eh, first time for everything I suppose. “Um...sure, tomatoes and onions cool too?”

Spike nodded with excitement and went off to grab, what I can only assume, was his gem stash. In the mean time, I put down the omelette on a plate and left if on the table. I got the next omelette ready and sure enough Spike came back with a small handful of rubies. I was able to take them all in one tendriled hand and I realized I had to figure out how to smash these things...Hmm could I smash them with Twilight’s hooves? Do rubies break like rocks?

“Uh, Spike? How do you usually crush these?”

Spike gave me a weird look, “Why would you crush them? Just toss them in.”

Oh...well...don’t I feel like an idiot.

I attempted to hide my embarrassment and tossed the rubies into the omelette along with the tomatoes, onions, and peppers.

“So...how you feeling? Sore at all?” I asked Spike. I remember his legs were burning yesterday. No way his calves aren’t lead right now.

Spike nodded a bit as he rubbed his legs a bit. “Yeah, my legs are pretty sore. Thanks for yesterday, by the way. I’m not sure what would have happened if you weren’t there”, Spike stated with sincerity.

About the same as would have happened if I hadn’t been there. Eh, at least he’s thankful. “Sure, anytime, bud.” I said with a smile. However, the short sentence seemed to elicit a giggle from Spike.

I gave Spike the same look he had given me a few seconds ago, “What’s so funny?”

Spike sat down at the table as I magically floated the omelette to him. Magic is kinda fun to use. Plus magic doesn’t get burnt. Not sure if my tendrils can get burnt, but I digress. “It’s just weird hearing Twilight speak like that. Twilight won’t admit it but she tends to speak really formally. When you speak it’s really casual. The disconnect is kinda funny.”

Well...I was never the fancy type...’cept when I got gussied up. Dress pants, dress vest, and strategically place silver (imitation) pocket watch. Sucks I could never find a top hat or a monocle, then I would have been the classiest of the classy. “Heh, yeah. I can see how odd that can be. Anyway, enjoy your omelette! I’m going to see if I can get Twilight to wake up.”

Spike gave a small nod and began to dig in. Based on a few blissful, “Hmmms” I’d assume I did a decent job. Gotta love that wordless appreciation. Now to add one more too the appreciation to stroke my ego just a little more.

“Hey Twiiiiilight. Wakey Wakey!” I cheerfully spoke mentally.

I received the response of several mumbles and grumbles followed by, “Just another minute.”

“Come ooon, I made OMELEEEETTES!” I sang as I tried to entice my host to waking up fully.

The offer of fluffy yellow delights seemed to have a dual effect. One, it got Twilight to rouse a bit from her sleepy state...and it make her stomach growl. No stomach may resist my culinary delights!

“Your stomach betrays you, Sparkle! You have no choice but to give in and succumb to your stomach's demands!”

Twilight laughed and gave into my less than threatening threat. I relinquished control of Twilight’s body by hopping off and letting her take control before hopping back on. “Alrighty, now hurry up and eat before it gets cold.”

“Okay. Okay. I’m going.”Twilight stated as she took her seat and started to dig in. Again ,my ego receive a wonderful little bit of inflation as I hear more content “Hmmms” from my host. Spike had long finished up and was cleaning his plate and utensils. “This is really good, Dante! Where’d you learn to cook?”

“My family mostly. My mom is an amazing cook and so is my grandmother. Learned a lot from them. Italian cooking mostly.” I felt a bit melancholy thinking about it. The time spent preparing in the kitchen. The time with my mom and grandmother.

I felt Twilight frown a bit as sadness crept into her mind, “You miss them don’t you? Your family, I mean.”

“Yeah...I do.” I replied in sullen earnest. No point hiding it.

“Did you want to talk about it?” Twilight asked with concern.

“I appreciate it, Twilight, but I’ll be fine. Enjoy your omelette.” I stated while attempting to hide my feelings with other random thoughts.

Twilight was skeptical, but she didn’t push the issue. I’m not sure if she could feel how much I didn’t want to talk about it or she was just respecting my wishes... It’s not that I didn’t want to remember, it was that...I just didn’t want to be reminded that I wasn’t going to see them again. Equestria is a cool enough place and the powers are cool, but...the whole thing was so abrupt. My family and friends were everything I had. Yeah, I had personal stuff too, but most of it was replaceable. I only have one family...or had, I guess. Either way, this is my issue to deal with. No need to drag Twilight or the others into it.

Anyway, Twilight finished her omelette (with praise and ego inflation), I helped with the clean up and putting away the dishes and silverware. It didn’t really take long, between Twilight’s magic, my tendrils, and Spike’s clawed hands we easily cleaned up the mess in a few minutes. Teamwork is the best kind of work, because teamwork gets it done fast!

So after squaring away the kitchen, we made our way back to the main room of the library. Twilight informed me that she wanted to show me something she’d been working on. She took me to an isolated work table that had numerous books and notes strewn from one end of the desk to the other. When Twilight was close enough for me to see what was written on the notes, I noticed they were notes pertaining to me...well, what I was. The notes were on Symbios. Their physiology, potential diet, abilities, and hypothesis on their origins. I was surprised to say the least. Not that she had done it (it’s Twilight, she’s going to document anything new with as much detail as possible). What surprised me was how much she had. Candidly she admitted that most of the notes were conjecture and speculation, but the logic behind most of them were based on clear scientific speculation. This was the main thesis Twilight had thus far.

Symbio Physiology (Work in Progress)

Known Symbio (Dante Morelo) appears to be a few centimeters tall (freaking metrics, ...my inability to focus in science class has come to haunt me again.) and about a few centimeters wide. (Exact measurements to be determined later.) Skin Flesh Dermis Exterior appears to have a small layer of slime. This seems to act as some sort of protection, similar to some fish or eels. Considering that Symbios appear to be symbiotic in nature, it is possible that Symbios borrow fluids from their hosts to maintain this slime coat.

Visible appearance is black (possibly a very dark shade of blue). There appear to be small circular/oblong spots that could be eyes, however; discussions and first hoof experience has shown that Symbios do not see in the traditional sense. Their vision allows them to see the world in terms of how magic flows from and around ponies and the world itself.

Conjecture: Vision has evolved to assist in finding hosts.

Additional details

Symbio shows the ability to produce “tendrils” with five digits (fingers, as described by Symbio Dante). Suggests lack of magic and a need to be able to manipulate surroundings.

Diet

The Symbio diet is still inconclusive. Visual evidence seems to suggest that Symbios require a host in order to survive. Visual evidence suggests that Symbios become somewhat aggressive or spastic when they are without a host for a period of time. This could suggest that maybe Symbios gain their nourishment FROM their hosts. This is of course speculation. Subject has been uncooperative due to a fear of needles. (HEY! It’s a legitimate fear!... I don’t like pointy things inside me!)

Regarding symbiotic abilities

Symbio seems capable of “sharing” certain attributes with their host. One ability being a sort of advanced healing. Symbio hosts appear to receive advance healing abilities that can repair damage (damage here refers to bodily harm, lacerations, and/or broken bones) that would often take days or weeks to heal. Currently, reported injuries as severe as shattered rib cages were healed within seconds.

Further evidence needed (if possible): Symbio healing has been shown to heal through minor and severe damage, but distinctions are limited. Due to lack of information, speculation would suggest that it might be possible to fix most injuries. Similar to more advanced healing spells or spells used in surgery when closing incisions. It may be possible lost appendages may be regrown, but this is also speculation. Limit of healing ability has yet to be tested. Due to lack of severe injuries it is difficult to determine how far healing will work or if there is a time limit for when the healing will or will not work. Healing ability seems to suggest a need for host preservation. This may be due to the Symbio’s land of origin being potentially dangerous and a need to keep the host alive to sustain sustenance (Badlands, Zebrica, and the Everfree Forest come to mind)

Personal side note: Ask Zecora if she knows about Symbio or other potential sources. If no information avaliable, consider asking scholars in Whinniapolis about Badland species before city’s establishment.

Another ability is referred to as physical enhancement. Symbios seem to have a sort of innate ability to stimulate muscles and other organs of their host. Warning! Enhancement ability appears to be similar to a “fight or flight” response. Hosts report boosted strength for a short duration, followed by extreme fatigue and partial muscle failure. Again, this suggests a hostile living environment that would necessitate the need for this.

Symbios attach to host’s central nervous system, this allows for mental communication that is unheard of with most unicorn telepathy spells. Host and Symbio share all senses as well as emotions. One would assume this is to allow for better communication between host and Symbio and thus better efficiency in their actions.

Conjecture: based on known reports of the “Dark Eyed Warriors” (See Trail Blazer’s Unexplained Mysteries of Equestia page 155) this would collaborate with the idea of efficiency in the actions of host and Symbio.

Side note: Is it possible that the Symbio’s evolved from a type of warrior like society?

Last recorded ability is another type of host preservation ability. Should the host lose consciousness, the Symbio personality takes control of the host’s body. Host and Symbio can still maintain active mental communication (assuming host regains consciousness while Symbio is still in control.) So far it has not been determined how best for host to regain control without the Symbio first removing themselves from the host.

“Holy crap, Twilight! You’ve been documenting everything since I arrived and in impressive detail! Color me impressed.” I praised Twilight, causing her to blush a bit.

“Oh, it’s nothing really! I was planning to add that new ability you showed me yesterday. You called them ‘talons’, right?”

“Unless you can think of a better name, yeah. It’s just what they reminded me of when I saw them.” A thought did run through my mind. Twilight said several times in her report that Symbio abilities came about from a need for preservation. This was probably due to a hostile environment, so either the Badlands (don’t want to go there) or Zebrica (Guessing that’s like Equestria’s version of Africa). Considering that the resident Zebra was Zecora and I was going to be out by the Everfree later with Rainbow Dash anyway...yeah, might work. “Say was going to ask, how accurate do you think your hypothesis is about the Symbios originating from a hostile land?”

Twilight pondered my question, checking over details and information she had memorized. “I’m very confident that it is true. There are very few areas of Equestria that require the need for such preservative abilities. Even gryphons, who are war-like from the start, only have their talons and beaks. You have healing abilities, body control to preserve the host when they can’t, then you have your own appendages, and now you have bladed claws! All signs point to needing these for some reason.”

Well...that’s definitive. In that case, “Well, I was thinking. I’m going to be out by the Everfree Forest with Rainbow. Considering she can fly, maybe she and I drop by Zecora’s place and see what she knows? Then, when Rainbow drops me off afterwords I’ll report my findings. Sound fair?”

Twilight didn’t see an issue with it, so long as she got some results from my inquiry. “Sure! But let me write down some questions for you to ask her. I want to make sure we don’t miss anything vital.”

I agreed to the terms, thinking a small set of questions couldn’t hurt...at least that’s what I thought. When Twilight actually started making the list...if you could call it a list. After thirty items, I question if it’s still called a list anymore. I’m almost certain it becomes an inquisition after that.

Anyway, after Twilight’s inquiry / list was written out, she put it to the side for me to take with me later...my lawyer side made a little note to go through that list and narrow the questions down. No offense to Twilight but some of these questions seemed a bit...weird...and unnecessary. With that discreetly stored away, I chatted with Twilight for a bit. I was happy to have convinced her to let Spike relax for the day. Once I explained how sore he was feeling, Twilight was more than willing to give him a day to relax and recoop.

It wasn’t long after my chat with Twilight a knock came from the front door. Sure enough, it was my rainbow maned cohort. I gave a friendly wave with my tendril and Rainbow returned with her own...minus the tendril, of course. The two chatted for a bit, while I...just chilled and listened in like a voyeur...eugh...for some reason that brings up some unpleasant imagery. Wait, did Twilight catch that?! DAMN IT, BRAIN! You can’t go to R34!! Not when this is a cohabitation of the mindspace!

To my continuing string of luck, Twilight was too focused on her conversation with Rainbow to notice...I need to be careful. I’m getting too lucky. At some point I’m gonna run out of luck and then I’ll literally be S.O.L. Considering I’ve already died once, I think I’ll take a LONG rain check on doing it again.

Eventually, Twilight and Rainbow finished their chat and I hopped over to Rainbow. “Heeeey, Rainbow!” I greeted my host, kinda excited to reveal Luna’s idea. Being a conniving S.O.B is fun!

“Hey, Dante. Ready to finally give me all the details of this ‘plan’?” Rainbow asked inquisitively. She felt a little excited and her curiosity had her in a vice grip.

“Indeed, I do! I’ll explain everything on the way to the Everfree forest.” I replied, keeping her in my grips. Could I tell her? Yeah. Was it fun to keep her wondering? OOOOOH mama, yes! I can’t help myself.

Rainbow grumbled a bit that I didn’t tell her outright, but she let it slide for the time being. “Ugh, alright, but you better explain everything.”

“I promise I will explain it all. Trust me, you’re gonna LOVE this. This is gonna be the best prank you and I have ever been a part of!” I egged her on...and WOOO did it work. Her attention was mine and it wasn’t going anywhere.

“Go on.”

“In due time, my dear Rainbow, in...due...time.”

“OH, COME ON! You can’t say that and then not explain what you mean!”

I was loving this. I could feel her demand for answers. It’s so delightfully delicious! I’m such a horrible person, and I don’t care! BWAHAHA! I let my evil shenanigans drop, I need Rainbow to agree. If I hype this too much and break her expectations she might not go for it. “Okay, okay. Let Twilight know we’ll be back later and that we’ll stop by to talk to Zecora. Then we can get this show on the road!”

“AW YEAH! This is gonna be so awesome!”

Rainbow relayed what I had said, collected Twilight’s list of inquisition questions, and took off towards the Everfree Forest.
_______________________________________________________________

“Okay, we’re on our way. Details now!” Rainbow demanded as we speed toward the forest.

“Alright, alright! I promised I’d explain and thus I shall!” I countered. “So, a couple days ago I was in Canterlot and I had a lovely chat with the princess.”

Rainbow’s mind did a full backflip at the mention of the princess.“Princess Celestia?! She wants to do this prank?!”

“Close, but no. This little bit of brilliance is Luna’s. She planned this out, I just came up with the subject it’s based around. The prank will be for the upcoming Nightmare Night celebration. Still interested?”

Rainbow’s excitement died a bit when she found out Celestia wasn’t the one orchestrating this, but it didn’t extinguish. If anything her excitement turned to curiosity. “Hmmm, depends...What’s the story?”

“Ok ,back in my world we have a horror story about this creature that has existed since the dawn of time. It traveled the Earth, searching for small children. When he find them, he takes them away where the children are never to be seen again!” I narrated in my best spooky ghost story voice.

Rainbow was unimpressed, “Pssh, doesn’t sound so scary. Bet I could take him.” My host bragged.

“And you wouldn’t be the first...or the last.” I counter ominously.

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“Oh plenty of people have tried to stop the creature. There are historical pictures of valiant knights attempting to slay it...none succeeded.”

“W-wait, I thought this was just a story. How are there pictures of this thing?” Rainbow returned sounding a bit worried by how unshifting and serious my tone was.

“I told you, it’s been around for a long time... After some time the creature just became a story. Something to keep kids away from strangers and not go out into the woods...but then...people who heard the story started noticing some odd things in photos with children in them. A figure...just barely in the corner of the photos...watching the children play. A tall, slender creature.”

“A-a-and what of it? Probably...just some blur in the photo that looked like something. What’s that have to do with me not being the first to go after this creature?” She was getting nervous. She’s trying to rationalize the story, try to make it seem like just a coincidence.

“Well, not too long ago...some children started disappearing. Concerned parents took it upon themselves to go looking for them. What parent wouldn’t? But some of the one’s that searched the local woods came back...different. They’d talk about how they found a creature in a black suit and red tie, that had innumerable tentacles, and no face. Upon seeing it they were struck by this immediate sense of dread and doom and ran for their lives!” I continued on, stressing the seriousness and drama where necessary and throwing in some images to complete the spookiness of the tale.

Rainbow was enraptured. Her heart was beating fast, but it wasn’t from the flying. When we started, even as fast as we were going, her heart was steady, rhythmic, unfaltering. Now it was accelerated and erratic. Her mind was envisioning everything I was narrating (with ponies, rather than humans, but whatever). While she had her focus on heading toward our destination, her mind was clearly following my every word. “So what happened? D-d-did they find the children? What about the parents?”

“It didn’t end well. The parents started reporting seeing the creature hanging outside their homes. Electricity would fluctuate whenever the creature was near, and as the days went by their sanity became more and more strained. Eventually, they’d go completely mad. Yelling and screaming about something trying to get them...trying to kill them. They’d start shooting randomly into the forest, slashing at nothing with knives and blades. Then...”

“Y-yeah?”

“Without warning.”

“Yeah?”

“They’d disappear. No corpse, only whatever they had on them at the time left by the last place they were. None of them have been seen since again. The strange thing is, some disappeared from completely locked rooms, with no windows.”

That didn’t seem to satiate Rainbow’s curiosity. “Well?! What else? It can’t just end there?!”

“Well, a guy did document his experience with the creature...before he vanished too. He got the word out and got others to beware of the creature in the black suit and red tie. As far as anyone knows, the slenderman still wanders the world...looking for more victims.”

A set of goosebumps ran through Rainbow’s body. The story along with the visuals I was showing her seemed to have had some effect, and her following statement further enforced the idea, "That sounds...so awesome! Like it’s spooky but kinda interesting, and there are pictures and stuff, and...What’s the plan for this?”

Seems like she’s interested, “Well, here’s what Luna had in mind...”

Author's Notes:

I'm BACK!...Well, never really left, but hey new chapter! Yay!

Big thanks to Jcc10 for Proofreading and Editing.

Also big thanks to all you guys for the support! We are nearing 5,000 views! I am constantly reading everyone's comments and I keep track of them all. You guys are awesome, see you next chapter!

Chapter 22- Legacy of the Missing

Author's Notes:

Hey y'all!
Sorry for the delay. Life...it hit me hard while I was writing this, but hey, here we go! But before we get this underway, I'd like to give two major shout outs.
First, I'd like to thank darkponDJ for helping with some of the idea's about Zebras.
Then, I'd like to give a HUGE shout out to Lycanthromancer who helped with arguably the hardest part of this chapter, writing Zecora's lines. He was an intense help and I can't thank him enough. Rhyming is hard man!

With that said, ENJOY!

One thing that has always interested me are movies with really well thought out plans. Like heist movies or those movies that kept you wondering who the real murder is. They made me think, wonder, and on those rare occasions...scheme. I mean I never really enacted any of them. It’s like after you come out of a kung fu movie and you just want someone to start some shit so you can open up a can of whoop ass on the unfortunate soul who thought they were all tough. Of course, that never happened and the hype would die out in a few hours. This feeling was way different, though. Rainbow was on board, which left only the Crusaders, and maybe Zecora. Rainbow suggested that she might be willing to tell the story while everypony else and I executed the plan. It’d be a slight deviation from the original plan, but it might open up some additional possibilities. We’ll see how up to it she is. I hadn’t thought of it, but Zecora was the host/tour guide for Nightmare Night. Only makes sense to include her or at least ask.

Thinking it over, I really need to try and remember more important details like that if I plan to go through with...stopping an....invasion. Good Christ, I’m insane! I am actually going to go through with preventing the changeling invasion...I mean...I still want to help! Really!... If you got popped into a new world, with a new body and abilities, and (by a strange twist of fate only God could devise) have knowledge of major events to occur, you should do something! Just...shit, man. I have a responsibility to help, to do the right thing, and, in this case, the right thing is assisting in stopping the invasion of bug ponies bent on making Equestria it's all-you-can-eat buffet...The more I think about it the more I think there is something wrong with me. Maybe...I should get this off my chest...talk to someone about all this.

“Hey Dante...you okay? You sound kinda worried."Rainbow said with all concern.

Aaaah, damn it. I should have known focusing on one thing for too long would have garnered some attention. I need to stop all this...actually, forget that. Asking yourself to stop thinking is paradoxical in and of itself. That and it’d be weird to go from deep thought to something non-sensical. I just hope she didn’t get too many details. “Yeah, I’m fine was...uh...just...thinking of something coming up...soon.” Don’t ask what it is. Don’t ask what it is. Don’t ask-

“What’s coming up that has you that worried?" She asked, the sound of worry still lingering. "That felt like...it felt similar to when me and the girls fought this crazy chaos dude and I thought my home might get destroyed. We totally whooped his flank by the way.”

I should have known better than to ask for her not to ask, what I knew she was going to ask anyway. And I still need to give her an answer...and I can’t lie...S-should I tell her? I don’t have to tell her about all the events to come...But...how would she react to that? She might tell the others...Oh God, Twilight would flip her shit!...Eeeheheeeh...Can’t I just be an irresponsible man-child with no obligations, exploring a world of magic and mythology?

“Nope.”

Come on! Can’t I be a little irresponsible?

“Hmmm let me think abou- NO!”

...Damn you, brain! Being responsible is hard!

“Oh well, in that case go ahead.”

R-really?

“What do you think?”

...Ugh...damn it...Then what do I tell Rainbow? Uuuuh...shit, this is going to go as well as a fart in church but it’s all I’ve got. “I...I can’t tell you.”

Rainbow reacted as I expected, confused and slightly offended. “What do you mean ‘you can’t tell me’? The way you were freaking out, it felt like something bad was coming. Why can’t you tell me what’s bugging you?”

Just tell it straight, don’t beat around the bush. “The princesses asked me not to talk about it, but having a linked mind makes that hard when in pops in unexpectedly. I know we’re friends and friends should trust each other...but this just isn’t one of them...Sorry, Rainbow Dash...really.” I meant it, too. I don’t like keeping things from friends or vice versa. Princess Celestia had a point, if I suddenly showed I had knowledge of things to come, there’d questions about their futures and the like. And I can only imagine what Rainbow would do...oh man, if she told Twilight, she’d...well...she’d do something drastic.

"Oh...okay. If the princesses asked you not to talk, it's cool," Rainbow responded in a more understanding tone. The insulted feeling dropped a bit. But a small thought did leak into her mind. "You seem to do a lot for the princesses. This thing for Nightmare Night and now this 'mystery' thing. What's up with that?"

"Well...the Nightmare Night plan is to help Princess Luna when she comes to visit, ya know with her being gone for so long and all ...But I'd be lying if I said I don't find the idea of an elaborate scare plan, extremely tantalizing. Like...a heist, but less illegal and way more fun."

Rainbow seemed to share my enthusiasm. Based on her thoughts she was drawing some comparisons to a few Daring Do novels... Was Indiana Jones ever part of a heist? I mean...he stole from Nazis, yeah, but who didn't steal from them? Eh, I doubt it. He wouldn't do anything illegal...or anything that the U.S government wouldn't ignore or endorse. "Well, I can get behind that...but what about this...'thing' you can't talk about?" She asked, pressing for info.

"I helped out the Princesses with...'a thing' and I learned about something that’s going to happen. So they entrusted me to keep quiet about it until they get more information. So I agreed, " I started with a bit of apprehension. I did mean it. I wanted to help. I wanted to be useful.I wanted to feel like I had some influence in this world.

"Hey Dante, not to sound like a broken record or anything, but are you really okay? You're soundin'...kinda...depressed,” Rainbow ask in full concern.

Was I okay?...Probably not...I've been trying to keep my mind off of it, joke where I can and find something to distract myself, but now I can't stop thinking about it. With Nightmare Night coming up soon, it just reminds me more that the invasion is going to happen...Wait, stop! Need to change my thoughts before Rainbow catches on. There's no need to make her or the others worry about this...maybe "I’m...I’m sure I will be fine. Thanks for asking Rainbow, really.” I stated in a tone that...really didn't sound convincing.

I could tell she wasn't, but smiled anyway as she landed, “Hey, no worries! I know about that kind of stress. Ya don’t want it messin’ with you too much. Trust me, when I say it’s not good for you.”

Based on how she said that and her thoughts, she was referring to the Best Flier Competition and her encounter with Discord. She did lockdown under pressure...maybe she has a point. If I start freaking out about this... “thing” before it even happens, I’ll choke when it does come around. Either way, I should talk to Luna or Celestia about all this. At least to voice my concerns. “I appreciate it, Rainbow." I responded solemnly. "Sorry for killing the mood.”

Rainbow waved me off with a hoof, “Don’t mention it. And if ya need to talk about whatever's buggin' ya, you can always count on me and the gang.” She then looked at the Everfree before her and figured a way to cheer me up. "Hey, Princess Luna said she wanted us to scope out some hiding spots, right? I bet that'll help get your mind off your worries."

That was kind of a nice idea. Like planning for an ambush...which really isn't too far off. Maybe I should get my mind off this for a bit. Not much I can do until I get more info from the sisters anyway. "You're right. Let's get to work. Hell, maybe talking with Zecora will help too. Give me some history about my species."

Rainbow gave a nod and we made our way into the kinda-sorta dangerous Everfree Forest. I mean let’s be honest. A lot of stuff goes down in this “dangerous” forest and the same six mares pretty much waltz through it without care. I mean it’s just me and Rainbow, but she’s a top ace flier and I got ten finger blades on demand. I think we good.

It took a bit but we ended up finding a small marked path that lead to a statue of Nightmare Moon. The path was pretty wide and had small pit stop points along it. According to Rainbow, they were used to tell different Nightmare Night stories. Apparently it was a kind of tradition to walk the path to the statue and tell stories at these stops. I guess it’s kinda like when you go camping and you’re supposed to tell spooky stories. According to Rainbow, it’s suppose to get you into the spookiness of the season. I can get behind that, just hope they’re not like stories from back home. There were some that I remember the more sadistically inclined stories, but most were the kind you’d hear and go “Oooh” or “Aaah” but not in the desired effect. More like you’re just humoring them for trying to be scary, but...ya know.

Anyway we scoped out the area along the paths and stop points. We spotted a few spots around the area that could probably work. Rainbow also pointed out that the stop spots and the path had a clear open canopy; so on top of the surrounding foliage we also had an aerial perspective. Could be useful, I’ll file it away to tell Luna later. I got into a bit of a more relaxed mood as we went through marking spots and ways to move about and around the path. I let a tune leak into my mind again, and Rainbow seemed to approve. She bobbed and shimmied to the music as we continued our search.

For the most part it was kinda fun checking various spots and angles along the path. This was one of the few times I was glad to be in sync with another mind. We were able to share perspectives and ideas with a clarity that most organizations or militaries would spend billions on to replicate. Eventually, we had marked at least thirty or so trees and bushes, and ended our trip at a large statue of Nightmare Moon rearing back and pointing down with a single hoof. There was a fair-sized clearing around the statue and little cover for the entire radius around the statue. Sneaking around here would be tricky, if not impossible. The fact that there wasn’t any canopy cover didn’t help either.

“Hmm, any ideas about what to do here? Seems like there aren’t many options,” I inquired of my host.

Rainbow pondered on what she could do for a moment or two, before she turned her gaze skyword. “Hmmm, I think I have an idea, but it’ll be kinda hard to pull off out here,” She replied.

I caught a hint of what she was thinking. It was a pretty good idea, but I could see where the problem was. “Set up cloud cover before the group arrives and use that to drop in as needed. Not bad.”

“Yeah, but the wild winds are going to make it hard to keep them in place or keep them at all,” Rainbow retorted. “If the wind gets too strong, it’ll either move the clouds away from the clearing or disperse them completely. We’re going to have to see what the forest’s weather conditions are the day of the festival.”

Well, that is going to complicate things. Hmmm, what to do? What to do? Hmmm...I wonder...if Luna has an...invisibility spell or something. I know she has that... smoke spell thing. Did that only work on her? I don’t think it was ever clarified. She definitely has to know an invisibility spell. Or a optic camo spell...eh, I’ll ask her tonight. After a thousand plus years of existence, she probably knows an illusion spell or two. “I’ll talk with Luna and see if she has a solution. Until then, we’re gonna have to deal with what we have thus far.”

Rainbow nodded in agreement.“Yeah, you’re right. Hopefully, she’ll have some kind of spell or something.” Huh, great minds do think alike.

“My thoughts exactly...hehe, literally,” I responded with a chuckle...Does that count as a pun? I don’t think so. I mean, it literally was what I was thinking. I think that’s...irony? No...that’s not right...or is it? Is it ironic that I don’t understand irony?...I think I need to stop before this gets too circular. “Well, I guess the next thing on today’s agenda is to talk to Zecora.” I pulled out the list Twilight had given me...well, not really pulled out, I had been holding it the entire time. Rainbow didn’t have anything to hold it with, so I’d opted to just hold it. I unfurled it in front of Rainbow’s eyes.

“Uuuh, we aren’t going to ask her ALL of those questions...are we?”Rainbow asked with some growing worry. Her boredom senses were tingling and the sensation was only getting worse the longer she looked at the list. “By Celestia’s Mane it looks like a homework assignment.”

...Technically...not wrong. If I handed this to a child and asked them to answer it, they’d think it was homework. Buuuuut, I’m twenty-three and, last I checked, I’m under no obligation to ask ALL of these questions. Merely report back Zecora’s responses. Aren’t loopholes great? “Nah. If anything, we’ll use it as a reference if we need to press for info. Most of this is just...excessive,” I responded, putting my host’s worries to rest.

Rainbow let out an audible sigh of relief. “Awesome. Well, let’s see what she knows.”

The flight to Zecora’s hut was fairly short. Apparently, she doesn’t live too far into the forest. It was just a few minutes away from the statue.

The hut was similar to Twilight’s library, but looked to be built out of a willow tree. A tribal mask hung over the front door and another rested on the side. There were also gourds and vials of...various somethings (probably potions), hanging from the branches. From the front there looked to be two small windows on either side of the front door. Based on the sounds of bubbling liquids, the owner was home and she was brewin’.

With a quick rap at the door, Rainbow announced our presence. “Hey, Zecora! It’s Rainbow Dash! A friend of mine wanted to ask you something.”

The sound of hooves against wood heralded the arrival of the zebra of the hour. “Ah pegasus of blue, what is it I can do for-” She started as she answered with her exotic African accent, only to stop and stare with shocked eyes at my tendril arm. The look on her face, it was a kind of shock I’d never seen before. It wasn’t like some of the other looks I’ve gotten from other ponies. They looked at me with shock, wonder, and sometimes intrigue. Zecora... hers was something different.

“Mlinzi?! Can this truly be?!”

Mil what now? What did she call me? Better yet, what language was that? Her tone sounded surprised, so this could be a good thing or a bad thing. “Uh...Rainbow? Mind asking what that word means? I’m can’t tell if it was a compliment or if she just called me a demon.”

“Yeah...I couldn’t makes heads or tails of that either,” Rainbow responded. She faced Zecora and asked what mil...milen...that word she said meant.

After the question was asked, Zecora just kept...looking...at me...still shocked...and still not saying a damn thing...the awkward levels are rising steadily. Welp, I got one thing that ought to break her from this stupor. I reached out with my tendril and...BOOP! I booped her. Hehe, the animations were right. That's fun to do. Her face instinctively scrunched up and she shook herself back to the mortal world. “You are real... I-I’m not sure how I should feel.”

"What do you mean, Zecora? Do you recognize what Dante is?" Rainbow asked.

Zecora nodded deftly. "Yes, I recognize his kind. The Mlinzi are spoken of fondly in our tales from olden times." She stepped to the side to allow Rainbow and me to enter. "Please come inside, noble Mlinzi. It is an honor to have you speak with me," she finished with a generous bow.

Wow, this is...really weird. She's being extremely cordial. I'm really curious to hear this tale. Maybe it'll give me an idea of what I can do...or at least give me something to strive for...maybe keep whatever legacy this species has alive.

We entered Zecora's abode, and true to my earlier guess, she'd been working on some kind of brew. The cauldron in the center of the room was still boiling, and an assortment of herbs were still strewn across a nearby table. There were also way more vials and gourds hanging from the ceiling, and I spotted at least three more masks hung up as well. There was no question that Zecora was an...alchemist? ...No, apothecary! That's it. Alchemists tried to turn one thing into another. Apothecaries were like the early pharmacists. The few jars containing various plants and herbs definitely reinforced the idea.

"Welcome to my humble dwelling. I know warm water would be most compelling, but as a proper host it is my regret that my cauldron is already filled and set. It boils upon my cooking fire, so unfortunately, I cannot fulfill that desire," she stated humbly. "Now, I ask my friends most true, what is it I can do for you?"

Wow, she is quite a really gracious host...but why did she offer me wa- ...! Could it be that my idea about being partially aquatic was right?! Neow mah God, I might actually get some legitimate answers!

“Are you squealing?” Rainbow asked with a small chuckle.

"No! ...Yes. ...Shut up!" She didn't. She just giggled more. "Just ask her what the word means and what she knows about Symbios. I get enough of this flack from the princesses as it is,” I moaned.

“Okay, okay. Just having a little fun,” she retorted playfully. “So, Dante, the Symbio with me, wanted to know what that word you keep using means. Minseli or something? And he also wanted to know what you about the Symbios."

Zecora cocked her head in confusion. "Symbios? An odd word indeed to distinguish your friend, though for they're called 'Mlinzi' in the stories my people have penned. It means 'protector,' and 'helper,' a name that fits well. If it's stories you're after, then I'm willing to tell." She paused as she took a seat across from the two of us. "The Mlinzi saved the Zebras from dying, it's true, and as such we are all quite indebted to you."

OH, OH, BACKSTORY! I LOVE BACKSTORIES! I want all the clarification I can get on this! “Rainbow, I’m gonna slither my way over to Zecora for this. It’ll be easier to ask questions that way.”

“Yeah, no worries.” Rainbow nodded and I made my way onto Zecora, who accepted me without so much as a flinch. “Hope you don’t mind me hanging out here for a bit. It’s just so I can ask my questions directly.”

Zecora didn’t have an issue with it and she was even willing to relay my questions to Rainbow so she wouldn’t get left out or only hear half the conversation.

"Our tale begins back before alicorn rule, and when life in my homeland was both taxing and cruel. Food and water were scarce constantly, and predatory creatures stalked us endlessly. Death for my ancestors was ever-present. Every day was a struggle; it was far from pleasant."

Well...that matches up with Twilight's hypothesis about a hostile environment. Better keep listening.

"We could not safely forage, though it still needed to be done, so we used scouts to bring food back to the herd. Predators picked them off one by one; our losses were high, and starvation assured." Hunter-gatherers. Sounds familiar, though given the fact that Zebras are herbivores, they likely didn't hunt much. "One of those scouts, Zema by name, was a scout of some courage, and some local fame. While out hunting food, he came under attack from a vicious lioness who wanted a snack. His injuries were severe, and he almost died, but at the very last moment, his savior arrived. A hyena with arms dark as pitch and with voids in its eyes killed the lioness, protecting him from his incoming demise. Hyenas are savage, all fangs, claws and hair, but this one was smart and quite self-aware. It carried him all the way back to his neck of the wood, and it even healed him, when no Zebra could. When the Mlinzi left the hyena, and alighted on Zema, an odd side-effect happened as you plainly see; it striped him with black, which has been passed down to me."

Rainbow interrupted, "Wait, wait, wait! Are you saying that Zebras didn't always have stripes?" I have to admit that I was a bit curious myself. Would that be a side effect of me staying on one host for too long?

Zecora took the moment to chuckle a little. "No, it is said that Zebras were once purely white. It wasn't until the Mlinzi came that we gained our stripes.” This statement caused Rainbow to look over herself with a slightly curious look. If I had to wager she was imagining herself with zebra stripes. Hmmm...ugh, kinda reminds me of a bad OC. “The 'Symbio' as you say, who saved Zema that day, was named Pula, the Symbio chief. She met with the elders and went to go get her people for mutual relief. The aquatic Mlinzi were suffering, as drought was not an uncommon thing. Survival was difficult; before then, many had died, but what one lacked the others could and did provide. The Zebras had knowledge of where sustenance grew, of how to find water and stave off predators, too. The Mlinzi offered great physical strength, healing, armor, and weapons, to keep foes at arms' length.”

"The symbiosis between our peoples bonded us as beloved equals. Our bonds became much stronger as time passed and the years grew longer. Relationships strengthened, and emotions grew, from friendships to love, and intimacy, too.”

"But all good things must eventually pass, and this, as all others, was not fated to last. One spring, the Mlinzi left us to spawn, and they never came back. They were simply gone. Our scouts checked the marshes where they usually bred, but instead they found nothing -- not even the dead. Nobody knows where the Mlinzi went off to. Until this very moment, and now we have you."

Dude...that’s one hell of a legacy. So...Symbios/Mlinzi helped out the Zebras and the Zebras in turn helped the Symbios/Mlinzi. If there was any question that my species is inherently symbiotic, Zecora’s story definitely confirmed it. This has answered a lot...but something seemed left out. If this story is true, then where did the dark-eyed warriors come from? I mean, there is a considerable period when they could exist. Before alicorn rule, means before Celestia and Luna. How long ago was that? It’d have to been during the Hearth’s Warming Eve story...or before. But I don’t think they ever specified how long ago that was. So...did some Zebras travel? Better ask.

“Zecora, have you ever heard of the dark-eyed warriors? Supposedly, they had Symbio partners that gave them some of the powers you mentioned.”

Zecora tapped her chin as she thought on the question. Her mind went through a variety of tales she knew, but none seemed to fit the bill. “Warriors of dark eyes? I’m sorry, but of this matter, I cannot advise.”

Well, that's a bummer. But that did cover a lot, and I guess...I have something to strive for, a protector or helper. Damn...well, guess we’ll just have to keep searching for that one. “Thank you for telling us your tale, Zecora. It’s given me a bit to think about...and I hope that I can live up to the legacy of the Sym...er, Mlinzi.”

Zecora nodded with a content smile. She was happy to have helped. And, oddly enough, I felt...kinda happy too. Not only for inadvertently making a folktale real, but for finally getting some real answers. Symbios come from Zebra country, but disappeared during their...spawning grounds. Ugh...knowing I can do that is...kinda disgusting. I can spawn. Blegh. There’s no way to say that without it making me shudder.

“I am certain you will hold true to the Mlinzi of old. But know that you have your own tale to be told. Keep the past in mind, but remember the future is vast. Hold true to yourself and be steadfast.”

How philosophical...and corny, but I’m sure that it’s meant with the best intentions. “Thank you, Zecora. I’ll keep that in mind.” I prepared to slither off, when I remembered an earlier conversation with Rainbow. “Oh, wait. I wanted to ask you something.”

Zecora cocked an eyebrow in curiosity.

“You do the tours for Nightmare Night, right?”

Chapter 23- Planning the Plan Then... Explaining the Future.

Hannibal was right. I love it when a plan comes together! This plan was still in the process of being set up, but hey, we’re getting there! Shortly after extending the offer to Zecora, she accepted to assist in the Nightmare Night plan! YEUS! So... that left the crusaders and a costume. Hmmm, perhaps we could stop by Sweet Apple Acres after talking to Rarity. Then that’d just leaves that pesky business with the clouds. Although, I’m positive Luna has some spell to make that problem disa... ooooh ho ho. Almost punned. Better watch that.

Anyway, I gave my thanks to Zecora for agreeing to help in the Nightmare Night plan, and I made my way back to Rainbow. Zecora had been kind enough to keep my pegasus host in the loop, by saying my questions out loud... if with some added words and rhyme scheme. Anyway, I told Rainbow about the next part of the plan that needed to be executed. She seemed to think that Rarity could easily make the costume, without question. However, she also mentioned that she hadn’t seen Rarity in a couple of days. Apparently, she had entered, “The Zone”. Rainbow said that after my meeting with Rarity, she had been going at some new design ideas and hadn’t emerged in a while. Hmm, I do remember her having said she’d gotten some inspirational idea mid-conversation and ran off to make a new line of dresses... or suits... or something. I don’t think I can remember her ever designing a suit, but considering some of the things I’ve witnessed it, it’s possible she could. Hopefully, she could make some time to speak with us. So, with the next part of preparations set, we said our goodbyes to Zecora and took off back to Ponyville.

As we flew out of the Everfree, I decided to check out what was still needed to be done. Let’s go to the mental check list!

Recruit Rainbow Dash [X]

Scout the trail leading to the clearing [X]

Get Slender Mare Costume. [_]

Recruit Crusaders. [_]

(Optional) Recruit Zecora [X]

Looking over the list, I’d say I’ve been pretty productive today! So now, all I have left is the costume and the Crusaders. The costume should be easy enough. The crusaders might require some thought though. I can’t ask Sweetie Belle or Scootaloo since we haven’t been introduced... Huh, I wonder if they remember me from the Smarty Pants incident. Either way, best start with Applebloom then go from there. I’ll have to ask if Rainbow can drop me off at Sweet Apple Acres, if there is time. It is getting pretty late. How long were we at Zecora’s? Must have been a while, the sun is already arcing toward the horizon. Hmmm, might need to prioritize. I still might have time to get the Crusaders, but first let’s worry about the costume then see if we can recruit the crusaders.

So, it took a few minutes to arrive at the boutique, but once we arrived we were greeted by a “Closed” sign. “Crap, guess we’ll have to try tomorrow,” I stated.

Rainbow, however, did not think so. “Pssh, nah. She’ll see us. She just puts this up when she doesn’t want ponies to bug her.” She then proceeded to open the door, which was unlocked, and enter.

“I thought you said she put the sign up when she didn’t want to be disturbed,” I reiterated just to make sure I had heard my host correctly.

“Yeah I did,”Rainbow retorted. “But I bug her all the time, so it’s no biggie.”

Well... I want to respond to that, but I really don’t have much to counter that reasoning. They are friends. Don’t know how many times my own friends popped by unexpectedly to engage in some random shenanigans. Yes, I use shenanigans... it’s a fun word... it’s like tomfoolery... but hipper... kinda... STOP JUDGING ME!

Unjustified judging aside, we entered the boutique. Once again, a bell signaled our entry. “Sorry, the boutique is closed for today! Come back tomorrow!” a voice called from a side room. If I’m remembering correctly, that was the room Rarity ran into after she got her inspirational idea. Guess she was still in there.

“YO, Rares! It’s Dash! Dante wanted to ask you something... It’s clothing related!” Rainbow yelled to Rarity.

“Dante?” I heard the proprietor respond in a mildly surprised tone. When she came out she was wearing her red glasses and she had a small pencil behind her right ear. “Oh good! I’m glad the two of you are here. I’ve been on a bit of a creational spree. Don’t want to stop the momentum you know.”

“Soooo, why are you glad we’re here?” Rainbow asked curiously.

Rarity gave a confident smile as she spoke, “Well, after my meeting with Mr. Dante, I threw myself into my work and I’m nearly done with the final design of one of the dresses! Your arrival has given me the opportunity to show what I have.”

Eeeeeh, not sure how qualified Rainbow Dash or I am to judge clothing. My idea of high fashion is a vest, a dress shirt, and maybe a pair of slacks... all of which are usually brand name... from a brand name store... on sale. The take away is do not trust me to say what is or is not fashionable. I’ll tell you if you look good in what you’re wearing, but don’t expect the words “trendy, hip, or in style” to be used.

Rainbow shared my sentiments. “Uh, I’m not sure if we’re the best for that, Rarity. Maybe Fluttershy would be better for this?” she offered.

“Normally, I would agree. But it was you and Dante that helped me see the vision! It would be rude if I withheld it from you both. Besides, I’m not asking for criticism, just have a look.” As she finished she stepped to the side of the door she had entered from and motioned for us to enter.

“Well, it couldn’t hurt, right? I mean, it is really flattering. I don’t think I’ve ever been an ‘inspiration’ before,” I said feeling extremely conceited.

Rainbow was pretty quick to sing the praises of being an ‘inspiration.“It’s pretty awesome. Scoots tells me I’m her inspiration all the time, but she’s kinda my number one fan. So, I think it’s a requirement she tells me that.”

I opted to keep my mind mouth shut because... that’s pretty damn legit. Rainbow is an actual athlete and she does have a sort of reputation in Ponyville. So, when she mentioned Scootaloo saying she was her number one fan, the swelling of pride and ego were completely understandable... although, her ego was already pretty big. Believe it or not, you can actually sense ego. It’s similar to thoughts that follow, “Yeah, I am that awesome” or “I’m just that great” line of thought.

So, regardless of whose ego was bigger, we entered the room, and HOLY CRAP! That dress is amazing! It looked like a black formal dress, but it was accented by a flowing magenta of various saturations similar to Rainbow’s eyes. Actually, the more I look at it, the more I think it’s the other way around. The black accented the magenta. Anywhere the color flowed, the eye followed. The focus was mostly around the neckline and around the the barrel, but there were small flowing frills around the hind quarters that also sported the snaking magenta. It was hypnotizing in a way.

“I found when you added the blackness to Rainbow’s eyes, I was drawn to the main color of the iris. It was odd in a way, normally black is such a subdued color. But when combined with something more vibrant, it draws focus. It’ll make a lovely formal gown when it’s finished,” Rarity explained. She then motioned to the mannequin the dress was displayed on. “I think some nice earrings, or a scarf would really pull it together. That or some rubies. I’m not quite sure, but I really must thank you. The design is simple, but utterly pleasing to the eye.”

I produced two tendrils and gave a small applause, followed by two thumbs up. The former being more readily recognized than the latter. “Oh... why thank you, dear. I’m happy you like it,” Rarity stated with a blushing smile.

Rainbow was less than impressed, giving it a meh-ish wing shrug. Whatever, I may not be a connoisseur of fashion, but I can recognize beauty when I see it. Even without any additions the dress was pretty to look at. Admittedly, it was on a pony style mannequin, but I got a good imagination. It’d be pretty elegant on a human, too.

So after the small applause, we... erh, Rainbow asked about the suit. To which Rarity responded, “Hmmm, a suit for a mare? Admittedly, not uncommon some mares do look quite professional in a nicely tailored suit.” She paused at the end as she started to tap her chin with a hoof. “Although, the mask... might be tricky. I’m not sure if I have a material that can hide your face while still allowing you to see.”

Uh oh, that sounds like another hiccup. Better figure out how bad, Rarity is pretty clever. So either this is a “not going to happen” thing or “it’ll take some time but it’s doable” thing. Either way, a gauge should be established. I had Rainbow ask if I could move over to her to ask more directly, but Rarity was not keen on the idea of a black spot on her otherwise flawless marble coat. Well, she didn’t say that outloud, but the uneasy look said it. Which I would argue I don’t leave a mark,except after hearing Zecora mention that, supposedly, zebra’s used to be pure white, I didn’t necessarily want to tempt the possibility that I might give Rarity stripes. Although... her reaction might be completely worth it. Well I asked, I was courteous, and I wasn’t rude. Rainbow ended up asking what the problem was with the costume.

“Well, it’s really just finding the correct material for the mask. If I use regular cloth or even thin silk it’ll get quite hot. I may have to make it from different fabrics or something thin with some stretch to it. ” Rarity explained in a professional tone. “But, regardless, Now, let me get your measurements and I’ll keep you updated with the progress. I’ll have it ready for Nightmare Night.”

“Awesome! That’s another item off the list,” I relayed to Rainbow. Then I realized something. Shouldn’t I pay Rarity? I mean, I know she’s the Element of Generosity, but I shouldn’t assume she’d just give this to us for free. That’d be plain rude. And I, Dante Morelo, am a gentle man. So as such, I should at least offer to pay. “Say, could you ask Rarity how much I owe her? I got a little bit of... er... I have some money I can pay her with.”

Rainbow pretty much cemented the my previous idea I had had before, “I doubt you’d need to pay much for it. Rarity is pretty generous when it comes to her dresses. She’ll probably give this one to you for a pretty decent price.”

Oh, well that’s good to know. Guess generosity can come in different forms. Besides, what kind of business practice would benefit from giving away stuff for free all the time?

“Hey, Rares. Dante want’s to know how much he owes you for the costume,” Rainbow relayed.

Rarity shot Rainbow/me a sort of interested look. “I suppose, such a suit wouldn’t be too difficult to make. The mask a little tricky, but again, nothing too difficult. Let’s say thirty-five bits for the entire ensemble?”

I should have easily have that in my pouch back at Twilight’s place. I’ll have to come back tomorrow and deliver payment... I really should see how much I have in there. Maybe by the time Christmas rolls around I might have enough to get gifts for everyone.

I extended one of my tendriled arms out to Rarity. She tentatively took it in her hoof and shook it daintily, sealing the deal. Rainbow was kind enough to express my thanks verbally and told Rarity, that I’d stop by tomorrow with appropriate payment. Rarity responded as one would expect, but I was gonna do something to return the favor. Return generosity with generosity, right?

After taking Rainbow’s measurements, Rarity told us she’d have the costume ready by Nightmare Night and that we could drop by anytime to check on it. So, with another item off the list. We said our thanks, and we left for Twilight’s library. It was getting late. Guess I’d have to head out to Sweet Apple Acres tomorrow.

When we did eventually got back to Twilight’s, we were immediately greeted by the unicorn mare... and a floating quill and parchment. She had that “look”. The “I’m about to learn a thing” look. Ooooh, I’m gonna be awake for a while longer. “I see the face of a scientist about to learn something valuable. Care to stick around?” I asked Rainbow, sort of jokingly.

No sooner than I asked, Rainbow recognized the look in Twilight's face as well. I could feel the proverbial red flags popping up. “You guys just going to be talking about what Zecora told us?”

“Pretty much. I’ll wager Twilight will want to analyze what it all means, make conjecture, and hypothesize.” I explained. “I read her thesis. What we learned is going to either confirm and deny several ideas she’s developed. I’m only warning you because... I sense we’re going to be at this for a while, and I still need to write a letter to Celestia or Luna. And I really won’t have any additional info until I talk to Princess Luna.”

Rainbow picking up what I was putting down, and decided that she should bail. She said she’d pop by again the next day after weather duty to see if Luna had anything else for us to do. So I said thanks to Rainbow for helping out, said my goodbye for the night, and departed my rainbow maned compatriot to move to Twilight. My horned host gave her thanks for her help. She told me not to worry about the it, as it was pretty fun for her as well. Rainbow told Twilight she’d drop by tomorrow after work and they could talk at length then.

Twilight closed the door behind us and the report started. “Hey, Twilight! I think you are going to do backflips when you hear what we learned!” I practically sang when I made my connection to Twilight’s nervous system. I could tell she was eager to hear what we found out. So, like the good friend I am, I released the floodgates of information, replaying the majority of the story Zecora had told us to the best of my recollection. To which Twilight absorbed and dictated everything to parchment, the whole time her face was contorted into a determined yet focused smile. Each mentally spoken word only caused Twilight’s excitement to soar, and boy was it infectious.

“So I was right about where they must have originated from!” Twilight stated in excitement.

“Yep. Apparently, they were around before the princesses ruled. So, that also explains how the princesses didn’t recognize me immediately,” I added in an equally excited tone.

“Fascinating! What else did Zecora say?” Twilight continued with bounding excitement.

“She said they disappeared during their... mating season,” I mentioned with a slight bit of hesitation. Hesitation that was not missed by my unicorn host.

“Why did you hesitate? Are you hiding something?”

“Noo... more like I don’t want to use the term she used.”

I felt Twilight giving me an unamused half lidded look. “Really?”

“What? I don’t like thinking of sex as... ‘spawning’” I said with a slight shudder.

The half lidded look did not cease. “Really?”

“Hey, you get the regular sex. I have... slime... stuff. It’s freakin’ weird, okay? Like... how does that even work?”

Twilight gave an annoyed sigh as she face hooved. “Ugh, where did she say where they ‘spawned’ at?”

“Uh... a marsh. She didn’t give specifics, just it was the place they went to do the deed,” I responded, attempting to not point out that Twilight used spawn again. That word is just nasty in that context.

Twilight switched back to talking out loud again. “Ok, so they disappeared in a marsh. Did she give you an idea of when that was?”

“Not really. Just up and disappeared. They searched the area and couldn’t find a thing. Just ‘poof’. Gone.”

Twilight melted into deep thought. Her analytical mind said that there was probably an explanation for their disappearance, but there wasn’t enough information to make an educated guess. “Hmmm, I wish had more information than that. There has to be a reason for an ENTIRE species to just disappear!”

I could understand her frustration, but when you're dealing with a mystery nearly... what? Some thousand plus years ago? It’s kinda hard to fit things together. Worse, there was no one... well, there were two ponies alive at the time, but they weren’t in the area where events were occurring. “Trust me, I’m curious too. But we are lacking a lot of evidence and information. Not only that, but time is against us as well. All this happened, long before Princess Celestia and Luna were ruling. We got lucky that Zecora knew about the Mlinzi at all!”

Twilight halted at the mentioning of this new and unheard of word.“Wait, the what? What’s a Mlinzi? I thought we were talking about Symbios... unless, they’re the same thing.”

I gave a mental affirmation.“Yeah it’s what Zecora called them, Mlinzi. I’m guessing it’s from her native tongue. She said it translates to helper or protector.”

Twilight pondered the word and even rolled it around in her mouth a bit as well. She was making connections and creating her own hypothesis. It wasn’t really the word that was sparking the thought, it was more of a coalescing of all the information and trying to make sound conjecture. “Fascinating, that does add some credence to your symbiotic relationship with your host,”Twilight stated as she held a hoof under her chin in thought. “Did you ask her about the Dark-Eye Warriors?”

“Yeah, I did. She had no idea who they were.”

“Damn it,”Twilight thought, completely forgetting that I was still linked to her. While I could mess with her about it, I didn’t. I’ve contributed enough to the swear jar that I could have probably paid my tuition for a year. “Sorry. I was hoping that maybe she might have had an explanation that could have tied the two together,”Twilight said apologetically. If I had to guess, Twilight doesn’t like being denied the information she wants.

Despite that being the one thing that we still weren’t certain of, I did my best to assure Twilight that we had still uncovered a good amount of information. “It’s cool, Twilight. With everything Zecora gave us I’d say we’ve gotten quite a bit on my species. Yeah, we don’t know how they disappeared or where the Dark Eyed-Warriors came from, but we’ve at least figured out a decent amount. We got some history and a sort of legacy that they left behind. That’s way more than we had before.”

Twilight sighed in acceptance and gave a gentle nod. “You’re right, but it’s just so odd. You’d think a species this unique and had a hoof in saving an entire race, there’d be more information about them. Although, they around were before Princess Celestia’s and Princess Luna’s rule, it’d make sense that there wouldn’t be much written about them. Especially in Zebrica.” She stopped for a moment to ponder how the get more information and ultimately came to the only answer available.“We’ll have to see if we can get into contact with anypony else who might know about them. Was there anything else Zecora mentioned that could be useful?”

I put a tendriled index finger and thumb under Twilight’s chin as I thought (an old habit of mine). Twilight found that kinda odd, but she let me do it anyway. I searched through what Zecora had said to see if I had missed anything.

Naturally symbiotic, saved Zebra kind, granted strength, vision, ar-... oh... oooooooh, I’m stupid. I am sooo fucking stupid. “There was something about armor that the Mlinzi gave zebras, but Zecora didn’t really elaborate on it, and... I kinda... didn’t ask.”

“Why didn’t you ask about the armor?” Twilight asked out loud.

“I was... enveloped in the story?” was all I could offer. Needless to say it was, it was a very weak excuse.

“Dante... that’s a horrible excuse,” was the response I got, with a POV shot of her facehoofing.

“I’m sorry, but Zecora spins a pretty good story! I got lost in it and missed it.”

Twilight let out an annoyed sigh. “Well, we’ll have to experiment and see if we can figure it out. If not we’ll have to ask Zecora for clarification, or at worst, see about getting in contact with the ambassador of Zebrica.”

“Well, hopefully the former more than the latter.”

“Twilight, who are you talking to?” a new, yet familiar voice rang out from above.

Twilight turned to face Spike who was looking down at her from the second floor. In order to save her the trouble I waved at Spike with one of my tendrils. “Oh, hey, Dante.” He seemed to understand now, but he was still a bit perplexed. “You were talking to Dante... out loud? Why?”

Twilight blushed a little. She hadn’t been talking out loud on purpose. She just sort of shifted into it during our conversation, mostly out of irritation, but hey I hear it either way. “I... er... hehe, I don’t know?” Twilight responded with a large amount of uncertainty. “Yeah, sucks when you don’t have a very a good answer doesn’t it?” I prodded my host.

Twilight scowled a bit, but let my quib slide. “Sorry, Spike. Dante found some new information about Symbios and he was telling me about it. I guess, I got a little excited.”

Spike just shrugged it off. “No worries. Just kinda weird that you were talking to yourself. Let me know if either of you need anything.” He then rolled back over and went back to doing whatever he was doing before.

Twilight let out a small sigh of agitation, “Well, I suppose there isn’t much else to discuss for now.” She went over to the table that contained her thesis about Symbios. Her mind went into conjecture mode as she scanned through her notes and began to write down what I had told her. She ran through the information for a few minutes, but despite having a lot of info to run through, she kept getting hung up on the new ultimate mystery. “How does an entire race disappear without a trace but one suddenly appears out of nowhere? It doesn’t make sense. UGH!” She ruffled her mane in frustration, and let out a an equally frustration filled groan. “Why isn’t this bugging you? Shouldn’t this be bugging you?! ”

“Well, yeah,” I responded coolly. I’d been warned about this type of thing before by my teachers before. “We got a mystery from thousands of years in the past. We have a species that only zebras seem to know about and they disappeared under strange circumstances. It’s very annoying, but we don’t have enough information to really put the points together. While I would like to know more, we can’t keep slamming our heads against the wall hoping something is going to pop up. We are warned about this in law school. You can’t throw yourself at the problem without knowing everything. Sometimes you just have to take what you have and roll with it.”

Twilight seemed surprised by my answer, but there was a hint of understanding. “I guess, I can see where you’re coming from.” She let out another sigh and perused her notes again.

I knew Twilight really wanted to solve this, especially now that we had some kind of origin point. But we were still missing a bunch of information. Pieces of the puzzle... or one giant piece that made the whole thing fit together. “Almost feels like a locked room mystery, huh?”

Twilight smirked a little. “Yeah, except the room is a marsh with everywhere to go. If only... ” She stopped short as a thought popped into her mind. She was focusing on it enough that I got an idea of what she was thinking about.

I offered my counter argument,“Do you really think this mating ground still exists after thousands of years? If Zebrica is as scarce of resources as Zecora mentioned, isn’t it possible that the marsh could have dried out?”

“Not necessarily,”Twilight replied. The little cogs in her mind were starting to pick up speed and her train of thought was starting to chug.

She started hunting through the library, until she ended up in the geography section. She seemed to know what she was looking for. Eventually she found the book she was looking for, and pulled a book from the shelf, Equestria and Its Bordering States. Where is she going with this? Unless... she thinks this breeding ground could still exist.

She flipped over to a page with the header Zebrica. She perused the pages of the chapter until she reached a sort of data point. “Ah, here, look!” she said pointing to a paragraph.It read as follows:

Zebrica often has times of extreme droughts and heavy rain. The many plains can vastly change depending upon the time of year. Many barren dead fields can become vibrant virial marshes through the strong, heavy rains that come during a few select months.

That might explain a few things. Maybe that’s why they had a breeding session when they disappeared, to correspond with the rainy season. “So this place... might still exist. You think anyone even knows where it is?”

Twilight thought on it, she could recall a few ambassadors and considered asking Zecora for help, but the unfortunate pain in the ass decided to stick a wrench in the works, “I... er... I don’t know. I would assume if Zecora knew, somepony must have told her. So maybe there is a zebra who knows more. I’ll have to ask Princess Celestia to see if she can put us in contact with a zebra historian or maybe another shaman like Zecora.”

This was news to me.“Wait, Zecora is a shaman?... Is that why she rhymes all the time?”

Twilight grumbled in an agitated tone at my question. I think she was getting tired of me detracting from the main point. “Ok, discuss later.” I surrendered the question for later. Fanboy would have to wait for answers. “Well... I need to report to the Princesses anyway. I’ll see if Princesses can help us out.” It was the best we had. Heck, if all went well maybe I’d get to see more of Equestria. ROAD TRIP!

We got some quills, ink, and some parchment and I got to writing. And I’d like to tell you all something. Writing with a quill and ink, IS A FREAKING PAIN! After so many strokes, you need to dip the quill and mentally gauge when you need to again. Oh, and if you forget to dip, your letters sort of fade. Then you have to redip the damn thing and “try” to get into the position you had before. Twilight offered to write the letter for me, but at this point, this was a challenge! I refuse to be bested by a letter! FUCK YOU CALLIGRAPHY! You ain’t better than me!

“You know I could-”

“I AM NOT GOING TO BOW OUT TO A FEATHER AND SQUID GUNK!”

“But it’s not a-”

“I’M MAKING IT A CHALLENGE!”

And so I did battle with the Royal Asshole Parchment and his cohort Sir Bastard Quill. They fought with hard demands and an fragile stems, but in the end I came out the victor! My victory permanently etched in the body of my fallen challenger. But I am nothing, if not a humble man. So, I did not gloat... much.

Anyway, Twilight put a wax seal on letter and went to Spike to send it off. I asked for the letter to be sent to Luna since she’d probably be awake and be able to read over the report and ponder it before we met up in the dream world... realm, whatever. Spike sent it off in a puff of green smoke and Twilight excused herself to take a shower so she could try and de-stress. Since I’m not one to join a friend in the shower. I popped over to Spike in the meantime. He was settling for bed already, but he wasn’t quite sleepy just yet.

“Hey, bud.”

“Oh, hey, Dante. Guessing everything went pretty well at Zecora’s if you got Twilight yelling to herself,” Spike said as he slide under the covers of his basket bed.

“Like you wouldn’t believe. We learned a lot, but we hit another wall.”

“Well, I’m sure Twilight will figure out a way around it. She doesn’t like it when she can’t figure something out, so she usually throws herself at it until she figures it out,”Spike said as he snuggled further into his basket bed.

“Yeeeah, kinda what I’m worried about,” I replied sardonically.

Spike seemed to get the idea, “Don’t worry, she knows her limits... usually. I’ll make sure she doesn’t go crazy again.” Spikes assurance was helpful, but while I trusted Spike to calm Twilight down, I doubt he had the power to quell that intellectual fervor she had. But he did know her longer than me, so I’ll rest my concerns for now.

I decided to see how Spike’s day off went. “So, you had a whole day to yourself. What’d ya do with it?”

Spike finished finding the sweet spot in his bed before he responded, “Aw man, what didn’t I do? I got caught up on my comic books, got to dig into my stash of gems a little, and best of all, I was able to get a special gift for Rarity!”

“You got Rarity a gift? What did you get her?”

Spike got a little cocky smirk on his face and he puffed his chest out a bit. “Well, it’s not really done yet, but when it’s done I bet Rarity will like it. She really likes her gems, but she really likes rubies. So I’ve been working on collecting rubies and putting them together so they’ll be really special when it’s finished.”

Aww, how nice! Handmade gifts are a good way to show sincerity... usually. I know kids do this all the time, I received a few gifts from some of the kids I used to babysit. Usually abstract things they had made in school or something they doodled. They were nice and all in a sentimental kind of way. Never got one made out of rubies, but... wait. A gift for Rarity made out of rubies. This sounds familiar. I’ll have to probe my memory later, I don’t want to have a repeat of the whole scenario in the forest with Rainbow. I decided to just go along with the conversation. “So what are you making her? A necklace or something?”

“Well, I’ll tell you as long as you promise not to tell Rarity.”Fair trade.

“Ok, I promise.”

“It’s a ruby heart!... Right now, it’s half a ruby heart, but it’s going to be pretty awesome when it’s finished.”

“Quite the undertaking. So is it for her birthday or is it something you just wanted to give to her because she’d like it?”

Spike blushed a little and I could feel his mind swooning with images of Rarity lavishing him with hugs and kisses. “Well, hehe. Maybe because she’d...really like it?” he said a little bashfully, those little childhood crushes are so cute. Slightly tragic, but cute none the less.

“Got a thing for her, little buddy?” I posed knowingly.

Spike’s blush intensified. “Maybe.”

“So those images of her kissing you in gratitude that just-” I started before he cut me off quickly. His cheeks now aflame.

“Okay, okay! Yes, I have a crush on Rarity! But you can’t tell anypony about it!” He was defensive about it, and I felt a little agitation growing in his mind. While I didn’t need to see the images in his head to know he had a crush on Rarity, but it was kinda funny to see him try to all flustered.

“Relax, your secret is safe with me. I’m familiar with confidentiality,” I assured my reptilian counterpart.

Spike relaxed a little, while his blush and agitation subsided. “Thanks, so far only you and Twilight know, so I’m counting on the two of you to keep quiet about this.”

I wanted to laugh at the hilarity of that statement, but a promise is a promise. “No worries, my... non existent lips are sealed.”

After giving Spike my promise of confidentiality, we just chatted for a bit. Half way through our conversation, Twilight finished her shower and was drying off. It’s kinda funny how ponies will sort of dog shake the water off, then dry the rest using a towel. However, I can’t knock how effective it is. Normally, it’d take me a minute or two to dry off entirely. Twilight looked to have dried off nearly twice as fast. A minor thing to notice, but I think I need to start taking notice of things like this more. I’m letting the fact that I’m in a world of magic, mysticism, and legendary creatures distract me... but in all honesty it’d distract a lot of people. But regardless of how amazing it is, I need to start focusing! But first, a certain unicorn demands my attention. I departed from Spike and moved back to Twilight. She was still a bit damp, and I found it oddly comforting. The lingering warmth of the shower was soothing, and her wet fur felt kind of nice. The added warmth the shower gave her was soothing. I’m not sure where that is really coming from, but I’ll enjoy it while I can.

“Feeling better?” I inquired to my newly refreshed host.

“Yeah,” she responded with a slightly less amount of annoyance in her thoughts. “I thought over what you said. I shouldn’t focus on what we don’t have but what we do have.”She paused as she crawled into her own bed and pulled a book off her bedside table. The title implied it had to do with advanced magical theory. Hmmm, maybe I could learn a thing or two... or get completely lost, but it’s magic! I got telekinesis decently enough. Maybe I could learn a thing or... yeah, know what. I’ll save you the anticipation and tell you that I got so lost that I ended up falling asleep before Twilight. It was just way too advanced.

I found myself in a pretty familiar environment, for once. By the looks of the massive crowd of people, the strobe lights, lasers, and the pumping jams, I was at the local club I frequented when I needed to de-stress. And tonight the club was packed! That and they seemed to have gotten a new DJ too. I don’t think I’ve heard this guy’s music before, but I’m kinda digging it. I found myself a small clear space and let the music work its special magic on my limbs and hips. It started out a bit slow but the beat was moving enough that I could at least pop-and-lock and shimmy. I wasn’t a professional dancer by any stretch of the imagination, but if you gave me a good tune I could handle myself pretty well.

Despite being a mashup song, I was really moving. The song hit a bit of a lull and I went to some more subdued movements, some two steps, arm snaps, and the classic R&B reach and grab technique. Hot damn, I’m digging this! Better call the fire department, because I’m about to burn this mother down!

The song started to build, so I started to really throw my whole body into moving with the beat. Then I noticed something, I wasn’t dancing alone any more. Someone was dancing with me, or more accurately she was copying my moves to a T. Is she challenging me? She was dressed pretty casually, but she was on point with staying in step with me. Well, the beats sounds like it’s about to pick up again, so let’s kick this thing into gear. I started breaking out my more advanced moves, some switch ups and some fancy footwork, but she was staying on me! Hmmm, I think the song is going to end on a high note. Hope this chick can keep up! Wait for the drop and... GO!

I started cranking, locking, spinning, and overall busting out my full repertoire of moves. I swear we were literally the only two on the floor now and we were sparking. Every move in sync, perfectly mirrored and damn if this wasn’t FUN! I even heard her laughing a bit as we moved and jived to the beat. I decided to really test her and started throwing in some real complicated maneuvers to try and trip her up, but she’s not missing a step! ...Know what, this is fun. Fuck it. Just gonna dance like no one’s watching. We both went full on and moved to our own respective moves, we weren’t copying each other any more, this was now a real dance between two people.

The song stopped and so did the both of us. We were panting and laughing at the same time, that was fun! I don’t think anyone has ever danced with me like that before! I turned to get a better look at my dance partner. She was wearing a pair of blue converses, blue jeans, a black tanktop and a light, midnight blue hoodie. The hood was up, so I couldn’t get a good look at her face, but her exposed hands suggested she had a sort of dark skin complexion. I took a moment to catch my breath, and addressed my dance partner. “Hey... you’re pretty good!” I said while pointing at her with two hand gun gestures.

“Thank you, we are glad we were able to keep up. Your style of dancing is quite.. .erratic, but fun none the less,” she replied in... an oddly regal... hold the phone.

I stood up fully and looked at my partner with a little more recognition. “Luna?”

She pulled back her hoodie and sure enough, there was a... ah... whoa, Luna is hot as a human. She did have a slightly dark skinned complexion as I guessed, but her hair was distinctly light blue, just around shoulder length. Wait, how was she dancing like that and NOT getting hair in her f-... wait, this is a dream. I shouldn’t apply too much logic.

“Hot?” Luna queried, “That is similar to sexy in the common vernacular, correct?”

Shit, shit backtrack! If she learns that I find her attractive like this she’ll never let me live it down! “Er, no, it’s more like-”

“Do not attempt to lie to us, we can already tell that is the truth,” She interrupted with sly smile as she approached me. “You find this form appealing, hmmm, Dante?”

... Ah, damn it! And this dream was going so well too. I somehow managed to blush feverishly despite being in a dream. “Ugh, how’d you even come up with a human form? I’m the only human you’ve ever seen and I’m male!” I asked in an attempt to change the subject.

Luna kept the smile, clearly loving that she was able to push my buttons. “Tis simple, when you showed us the images of how much we are loved in your world, we noted a human image of our visage in your memories. We assumed this would be considered appealing. Twould seem we were correct,” Luna finished as she got disturbingly close to my face, “Right?”

She posed that last part as a question, but it was more rhetorical than anything. Dear God, she is such a tease! “Okay, yes. Jesus!” I yelled in agitation. I was attempting to hide my face so she couldn’t mess with me further. “I know you didn't come to my dream just to mess with me.”

“Oh but it is so fun to see you get flustered. We are relegated to only sensing your frustration, ‘tis funnier to see it. Tis rare for anypony to give us such a bold compliment,” Luna said with an amused laugh. “But despite your adorably amusing frustration, we have come to discuss your letter. Seems you and the Element of Loyalty discovered quite a bit about your species.”

I nodded, glad that for now my buttons weren’t being abused. “Yeah, like where Symbios originate from, and an... additional mystery.”

Luna’s smile disappeared and changed to a more serious face to match the situation, “Yes, we remember you mentioning this in your letter. We are uncertain how an entire species could vanish so suddenly. There is no spell that exists that could do so either. There are curses that can affect groups of victims, but nothing that would end an entire race.”

I cringed a bit at the mentioning of curses. I wasn’t certain what kind of curses existed here, but if they were anything like the ones in Harry Potter then I wasn’t looking forward to discovering them. “Well, I guess we’re still stuck on that one,” I replied. “What did you think about Twilight’s suggestion of checking the marshes in Zebrica? Do you think she might be right, and their breeding grounds might still exist?”

“‘Tis possible. If the Zebra have stories pertaining to the Mlinzi, as they are called, then perhaps there is one who may direct us in the right location.”

Sounds similar to what Twilight was talking about. “So who do we get in contact with? An ambassador?”

Luna nodded, “We believe we might be able to arrange such a thing. However, we would like to converse with our sister on the matter first. Give us a moment.” Then she vanished through a door that was not there before. Was she going to get Celestia? Sounded like it. Well, best to look my best. Not going to get the chance to talk to Celestia and not look like a little black blob. Let’s see, I’m in a t-shirt with an throw over button up shirt, some loose blue jeans, and some comfy sneakers. That ain’t gonna work. Let’s go with professional casual. With a little mental visualization, I swapped my blue jeans out for a pair of dress slacks, my sneakers for dress shoes, then my t-shirt and button up shirt for a long white dress shirt and a simple black vest. Then just for added flair, I threw on a nice black tie. I checked myself out in a mentally conjured mirror. I looked fairly presentable. Celestia seemed to like a bit of casualness, but I should still look the part of someone who is doing a person of status a favor.

Soon, Luna reappeared in alicorn form with Celestia in tow. I gave a polite wave with the most pleasant smile I could muster, before speaking, “Hi, Celestia. How’re your dreams treating you?”

Celestia smiled, “Very well, thank you. I hope yours are pleasant as well.” She then looked me over for the first time. “It is interesting to see you in this manner. This is truly you.”

“Yep, this is me! I even got all fancied up.” I did three sixty to show off my attire.

Celestia giggled a little and Luna shared a similar chuckle. “You look quite nice. Like a professional gentlecolt. I assume it is appropriate for what we are to discuss?”

I nodded again and serious’d up for the upcoming conversation. “Yeah, Luna filled you in?”

Both affirmed with a small nod. “She told me everything from your letter before bringing me here. Both you and Rainbow Dash have uncovered an amazing legacy, along with this perplexing mystery surrounding their disappearance.”

“So... what do you think? Could you get Twilight and I in contact with someone who might be able shed more light on the situation?”

Celestia hesitated for a moment, she seemed to be considering the question and how to answer. After a short pause she responded, “I believe it is possible, but I’d like to confer with the Zebrican delegates first. I have not doubt they will be okay with authorizing an excursion into the wilds of their land once they see you exist, but I am at least obligated to ask before sending my ponies into another’s land.”

Cool, I sense a road trip! “Sounds like a plan. How quickly do you think we’ll hear back from the delegates?” I asked with some renewed enthusiasm.

“I’m not certain. We only receive delegates when political issues need to be discussed. It’ll take a few weeks just for the delegates to arrive. In the meantime, I’ll be sure to keep you and Twilight informed on progress of things. Should they need convincing, I will be sure to call upon you to assist.”

I gave her an enthusiastic thumbs up. “Sweet! Hopefully, there is someone who can shed some more light on this mystery. Thank you.”

The solar diarch shook her head, “No, I must thank you. This is revealing much that we didn’t know about. If we can find out what has happened to the rest of this species, we maybe be able to reunite both Zebra and Symbio kind. Not to mention bringing them into Equestrian society. Who knows what they could contribute?” Oh, there’s that same nerdy excitement that Twilight gets when she learns something new.

Luna must have heard that thought, because she stifled a giggle. Celestia obviously doesn’t get the same mind reading powers Luna does when in the dreaming world, because she didn’t seem to know why Luna was giggling. “Well, I’m willing to help where I can and Twilight is... well you know she’ll do anything for you.” I then remembered a previous conversation I had had with Rainbow earlier in the day. Best get this out the way before I wake up, or I forget. “Uh, hey. While I got both of you here, mind if I... get something off my chest?” I asked in a very serious tone. My entire being showed how serious I was about this. Both of the princesses gave me their full attention.

“Of course, Dante. What is it you wanted to discuss?” Luna queried.

“It’s about my warning and the things I know. I wanted to just sort of... uh... I wanted to ask if maybe...” I hesitated. Celestia and Luna were my confidants but that didn’t mean I wasn’t nervous discussing these things with them. I took a moment to collect myself, before trying again. “The girls... the Elements of Harmony. Should I tell them about the invasion? About what I know?” I asked the question, but my entire stance betrayed how nervous I was to ask that question. The two sisters seemed to understand my conflict. They looked at each other with looks of equal concern.

Celestia spoke first, “I suppose withholding information from them would be difficult. Do any of them suspect you might know about events to come?” Her tone was still motherly and the concern was obvious, but she was also weighing everything I said at the same time. That diplomatic mind was at work, I can tell.

“I almost slipped earlier today with Rainbow Dash. I told her I couldn’t talk about it and she dropped it, but I’m certain she suspects something,” I replied solemnly.

Celestia was silent for some time obviously debating what to do. Then, she turned to Luna and whispered something to her. Luna replied, but I still couldn’t make it out. Eventually the two broke and Luna stepped forward. “The official report from the cavern you and Sergent Night Glory entered two days ago. Apparently, the two changelings you both encountered escaped, but in their rushed escape, the villains left behind evidence of their purpose so close to Canterlot.” She paused, before continuing. “There was evidence that their mission had two purposes. The first was the assassination of our sister,” she spat with anger and disdain. “Then the second appeared to be reconnaissance.”

Reconnaissance? They were scouting out the capital; was this prep? “What were they scouting for?” I asked, wanting to know more.

Luna shook her head, “We are uncertain. The areas they were investigating appeared random with no real strategic significance. We have guards attempting to determine what they all have in common. But the fact remains that they are probing the capital for something. Twould appear, your prediction are coming to fruition.”

I nodded, but I took little joy in being right. This just meant that the invasion was more plausible than before... but what did this have to do with my question? I asked that exact question, out loud this time.

Celestia stepped in this time, “We had no doubt of your knowledge, but this report adds much more support to your words, and we can even begin active searches for changelings and bolster security. But if we are to reveal such knowledge we must make sure that this does not get out. Knowledge of the future garners a lot of attention. Maybe unwanted attention. So if we go through with telling the Elements, we must make sure they understand the significance of this information and what could happen if this information gets out. I trust the girls to not spread this information around, but as you have recently learned, keeping secrets is stressful. I will trust your decisions on who to share information with and when, but for now I recommend limiting what you share."

Ok, that’s fair. Although, now that I think about it, why haven’t I been hanging out with the other... oh yeah, I’m a codependent blob. Answered my own question. Anyway better get back to the conversation. “Sounds good, how are we going to tell them?” I asked , feeling my mental load lightening a little. “Should I just come out and tell them? I mean I can tell Twilight when I wake up and Rainbow is dropping by after her whether duties.”

“If you believe that will work, then please go ahead,” she started before adding a caveat. “However, I would ask you still allow Twilight and her friends to figure out their dilemmas on their own, if possible.”

I nodded in understanding. I didn’t want to destroy the lessons they were supposed to learn, and having Twilight and Rainbow to back me up might make this easier to handle. However, I made a personal note that I’d need to be helpful, but not a hand holder. “I’ll do my best, Celestia.”

Celestia smiled that motherly smile of hers. “I know you will, Dante, and know that Luna and I are willing to help when we can. You have and still continue to aid Equestria, even though it is not your own. We are grateful for your actions and service.”

Oh no... my ego! Must... humble... self! I put up both hands and gave a sheepish smile. “Hey, I’m just trying to do the right thing, ya know? Use what I know for the right purposes.”

Celestia approached and put a hoof on my shoulder. I recognized that she was touching me, but I didn’t actually feel it. Dream logic... figures. Either way, Celestia thanked me again and left through the door she had entered through initially. The minute she closed the door behind her the door disappeared.

Luna and I were now alone again. Even though this was a dream I let out a long sigh of relief. Knowing I’d have two more confidants was an incredible weight off my mind. I looked to Luna and I put on my own little smile. I suppose I had another report, of sorts, to give. I snapped to attention and let my casual attire transform into a sort of mock lunar guard uniform minus the helmet. I gave a salute and spoke with a slightly jovial tone. If I was in a dream, I was gonna have a little fun. “I have news on another matter, master planner.”

Luna chuckled at my joking, but went along with the gag. “Very well, what has our minion to report?” she took on a royal tone, along with a slight grin. I did my best to hold my composure, but the urge to laugh was building.

I broke the salute and clapped my hands, the floor below us became a top down view of the Everfree Forest. I had the path highlighted so I could point out the various locations Rainbow Dash and I had discovered. “The Element of Loyalty has agreed to join in the Nightmare Night plan and with her help, we have identified multiple observation and possible ‘ambush’ points.” I pointed out the various locations on the map as I spoke. Luna turned a scrying eye to each location I pointed out, carefully weighing their potential.

Satisfied with what was presented she let a small smile grace her features. “Glorious work, Dante. We can make good use of these points.”

A took an exaggerated bow and took the thanks. “Rainbow was very helpful in picking out these locations, so she deserves a good amount of credit as well.” I then pointed out the final staging area, the open field holding the statue of Nightmare Moon. “Rainbow also pointed out a slight problem, here.” Luna turned her gaze to the field, as I enlarged it. “The area is wide open and there are almost no spots to enter without being spotted. Unless we alter the plan, we have no way of sneaking up on any group unseen.” I backed up and let Luna look over the area. “Rainbow suggested we might be able to use cloud cover, but conditions the day of the festival will dictate how effective that will be,” I added, flipping the map so we were now within the field, itself. Luna took in the information and continue to scan the area. I sat back and let her think.

As I watched, I started to get the idea that Luna might be some kind of strategist. I figured Celestia was, but Luna seemed more of a tactician that could lay a simple and obvious trap, only to have a more complex one waiting behind it. You could tell just by the way she looked at everything. It was careful, calculated, and wonderfully brilliant.

Luna finished her check with a thoughtful look on her face. It took her a moment, but she turned to address me. “Were you able to recruit the fillies?”

I shook my head. “No, we didn’t have time. Our time with Zecora took up a good portion of the day,” I started. “But we did manage to get Zecora to help out. She’s willing to lead the groups down the path and end at the statue.”

Luna lifted an eyebrow, “Interesting. Do you still plan to recruit the fillies?”

“Yeah, figured I could try tomorrow.”

Luna put a hoof to her chin in thought again. “Would you like to ask them personally?”

The question struck me as odd. “Yeeeeeah? That was the plan.”

Luna shook her head, “That is not what we meant.”

I was confused... but intrigued. “Then what did you mean?”

The surrounding area dissipated into a mist, leaving a fairly neutral white field around the two of us. Luna’s complex face was now very serious. I wasn’t sure what Luna was about to say, but I think I should drop any pretense of joking. “You have gone out of your way to assist us, to befriend us, and help both our sister and our citizens. You have shown us such kindness despite our past, and have willingly offered to assist us in our return to modern society. We would like to show our gratitude with a gesture of faith.”

Oooookay. What is she suggesting?

“Art thou aware of what our magical speciality is?” Luna asked.

Ok, seriously, where is she going with this? “Well, I would assume it’s magic that helps you rule over the night, the moon, and stars... right?”

Luna gave a small scoffing laugh. “True... to a degree.” Luna turned and gestured to everything around us. “What do you suppose all of this around us is?”

“A dream?” I offered weakly.

“Yes, but what is a dream?”

Uh... hang on, I remember this, “Oh right, a dream is the brain’s way of processing the information from the day.”

“True as well, but not exactly our point.” The world around us switched so it now resembled the throne room in Canterlot. “To us, a dream is but a perceived reality that lasts until one wakes.”

A perceived reality? Wait... “Illusions? Your specialization is illusions?”

“Indeed. The night often obfuscates what is visible, disguises what is present, and alters the entirety of how the world is perceived. We are no different. Our magic works to deceive, confuse, or hide.”

Thinking it over, that made some sense in regards to the season one opener. She had changed the trees to look scary, had created the Shadowbolts to deceive Rainbow Dash, and the whole time she had used that shadow to monitor the Mane Six the entire way. “So what’s this have to do with talking to the Crusaders?”

Luna stepped forward and place a hoof on my chest. Again, didn’t feel it. “As a token of faith and... friendship, we would offer ourselves so you may be independent for a day. Through our magic we can craft an illusion so you might look the part of an average citizen of Ponyville and do what you want, whilst we slumber.” She paused to added a quick addendum. “Within reason and sensibility, of course.”

All mental processes stopped at this point. She was offering me her own body... for a day to be... me. To be alive.

I awoke with a light gasp, due to Twilight’s alarm clock going off. My mind was still in the processing stage after my conversation with Celestia and Luna, so I didn’t smash this one. I turned the annoyance off and stretched out Twilight’s limbs. I made her bed and just sat down for a bit so I could just think for a bit. Last night’s dream was still fresh in my mind and I knew I had a few things to do today. One would come when Twilight was awake, but for now I had a few things to go over before then.

I started with the last thing that happened. Luna’s offer... I had felt so many things at once. I felt happiness, gratitude, a hint of guilt. My vision blurred thinking back on it, and I dropped down so Twilight’s stomach was resting on the ground. I wanted to accept. To take a gracious gift and be alive for a day, to be independent. Should I accept such a gift? Luna was literally giving me her body, an ultimate act of faith. I wanted to take it. I wanted to be selfish, but part of me went back to all those ethics classes. About taking extravagant gifts. About being selfish, and keeping tabs on yourself. Making sure you never got greedy. But... was it so bad? One time being a little selfish, letting myself indulge in a gift that a friend was offering as thanks for helping her? Even now I’m not so certain. I had run every possible scenario of good, bad, and Murphy's Law through my head. I saw a few ways it could end badly and a few where I might have been able to really enjoy the whole thing. Be noticed, maybe even recognized be recognized as a new face. Let Pinkie throw that proper “Welcome to Ponyville” party. Hell, maybe just go down to the lake and just swim, just because I could!...But...I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t say “yes”. God I wanted to, so bad. I wanted to say, “YES, YES! Thank you so much, Luna!” Except... I said no. I thanked her for her insanely kind offer, and declined. I couldn’t indulge in such things like this. I understood this was a thank you gift, that she was just trying to be a good friend and repay a kind gesture with another. But I couldn’t allow myself to be okay with accepting that kind of gift. It wasn’t right. The fact she had offered was enough, despite my internal protests.

“Sorry, Luna. I appreciate that you’re willing to put that much trust and faith in me, but it’s... I can’t accept,” I said in reply.

Luna gave me a look. It wasn’t hurt or offence, but more of an appraising look. “Are you certain? We have no qualms, so long are you are responsible.”

I nodded before responding, “Yeah, I am. As amazing and great a gift it is and would be. I Can’t allow myself to accept such a gift.”

“Why?” The question was quick and direct.

“Because... it wouldn’t be right,” I replied. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m incredibly grateful... just ethically, I just shouldn’t. I’m doing this because I want to, not because I want anything.”

Luna had shot me a skeptical look. “Yet your very being wants to accept. Why deny yourself a single day of independence? If you worry for our safety, we can craft a most convincing disguise.”

“No, Luna. It’s not that. I don’t doubt you at all. I just can’t allow myself to accept such an extravagant gift. I appreciate it, and I would love to accept it but... how about we just say it’s a friendly gesture between friends?”

My friendly lunar diarch pondered my “proposal” and ultimately agreed, with the caveat that she would eventually find a way to return my kindness.

Looking back on it, I knew I made the right decision. I felt some regret that I hadn’t taken her up on the offer, but it was the right thing to do. What I want and what needs to be done are two very different things. And allowing myself to accept such extravagant gifts was against everything I had been taught and raised on.

I let out a hefty sigh as I got Twilight’s body back onto all fours and moved forward with today’s second item of importance. I checked on Spike, who looked to be up and about, as his empty bed implied. Probably in the kitchen.

So first thing to do is gain a certain unicorn’s attention, which means waking her up... or I could just wait. She’s woken up within a few minutes of me waking up anyway. Yeah, let’s go with that. If I’m going to spill the beans, best do it in as smooth a manner as possible. So I shall wait, but until such time that my host awakens, I shall go on a dragon hunt! Huzzah!

I went into the kitchen and I discovered Spike going at a bowl of cereal. I suppose some cereal would be nice. Spike greeted me, actually me, not Twilight. It sounded like he took a random guess but it was nice that he got it right. “Mornin’ Spike. What’cha munchin’ on?”

“Duger heats,” Spike replied with a full mouth of cereal.

“Dude... swallow first. I know Twilight taught you some manners,” I scolded him in a light hearted tone. I’m not a major stickler for table manners, but no one wants to see what’s in your mouth. Das just nasty.

*Gulp* “Sorry,” he said this time after swallowing. “Sugar Wheats, did you want some?” He gestured to a nearby box of the named cereal. Hmm, considering it’s Twilight’s taste buds I’ll probably like it...plus it looks like Trix with different coloring.

“Yeah, I’ll take a bowl.”

So I prepared myself the breakfast of champions and got to munching. It wasn’t too bad, a bit less sugary than expected but overall not bad. The two of us just ate in relative silence, didn’t really have much to talk about.

I finished up my bowl and cleaned it in the sink. So, that’s the most important meal of the day out of the way I decided to focus on my first task for today, pay Rarity. I asked Spike where I could find my pouch of coins from Celestia and when Rarity’s boutique opened. He pointed up towards Twilight’s room and said it was on her vanity desk. He then said Rarity would probably be opening up her boutique around nine-thirty. I checked the clock, it was eight-fifty. Guess I had some time to see how much money I actually had.

“So, why did you need to know when Rarity is opening her shop?” Spike asked as I was preparing to leave for Twilight’s room.

“I owe her for a costume I asked her to make. I’ll probably stop by real quick, if Twilight isn’t awake. I promise to bring her back.” That was my plan, but I also wanted to have some alone time to discuss things with her. Walks always seemed like good times to discuss things.

“Oookay, but if she wakes up while you’re out you are going to give her control, right?” he asked in a worried tone.

“Of course, I’m just borrowing her for a quick errand. I’ll bring her back the moment I’m done,” I said in my most assuring tone. Spike nodded and went to clean his bowl. I went upstairs to count my fortune. As my little dragon friend has mentioned, my pouch was sitting right on Twilight’s vanity desk. I grabbed it with my tendril and undid the small tie around the top. I slowly dropped the contents on the desk and took stock.

Ok, first, whoa. There was a bit more here than I have initially suspected. Besides the bits, there were about seven gems in the mix. A ruby, a sapphire, an emerald, and four opal gems. I wasn’t entirely certain what the value of the gems were but they were pretty big. About the size of tennis balls. Maybe I could take them with me and ask Rarity. I counted over the bit and... seriously, dude. I counted out five hundred bits. That’s going to last me quite a while. Considering I don’t really eat or drink (aside from what my host ate and drank) and I wasn’t really much of a burden financially, I could make this last. Sweet!

I shuffled the coins and gems back into the bag and tied it top so nothing would fall out. I checked a nearby clock, ten past nine. Guess by the time I get to Rarity’s boutique it’d be opening time. I grabbed the pouch with Twilight’s magic put the pouch around her neck. I told Spike I’d be back in a bit and made my way into town.

Walking through town, I could see many ponies were beginning to open up their shops or stalls. I spotted a few pegasi in the sky moving clouds into the sky. Overall, it made the sky kind of overcast, with a spots of sunlight poking out through the holes in the cloud cover. There was even a nice cool breeze running through town. I’d dare anyone to say it wasn’t one hell of a nice day.

It took me a little less time than expected to reach the boutique, and I was greeted with a closed sign on the door. Out of habit, I checked my/Twilight’s wrist to see what time it was only to realize Twilight didn’t have a watch. Darn. Guess I’ll just have to occupy myself until Rarity opens up. Shouldn’t be too long. I decided to try practicing with Twilight’s magic a little. Nothing complicated, of course. I took two coins out of the bag and put them in front of me, then practiced moving them one at a time, followed by attempting to move them both at once. The latter was a little more tricky as it required a decent amount of concentration. Not to say I wasn’t able to do it, but it was hard. If I focused on one more than the other, the coin with less focus would fall, and if I lost my line of sight with either coin I found that I wasn’t entirely sure if I had the coin in my grasp or not. Unlike my tendrils, magic had no “feel” to it. You feel a sort of pull an energy, but you don’t feel any direct contact. I guess the best way to say it is, you knew you were using magic, but you didn’t really feel what you were holding. In truth, magic was cool, but I don’t think it was my thing. I’d prefer to feel what I’m handling and my tendrils were perfect for the job.

Thinking on that last thought, I wondered if I had come to Equestria as a pony what I would have been. A pegasus? An Earth pony? I guess I’d be fine with a unicorn, but the two former seemed more appealing. Not as complicated either. Flying would be a bit tricky, yeah, but... that’s something I’d be willing to work towards. I wonder if Rainbow would be willing to teach me. That’d be pretty cool.

“Twilight? What are you doing out here, darling?” a voice chimed in, breaking me out of my thoughts. It startled me enough to make me to jump a little. I turned to see Rarity giving me an odd perplexed look. “Oh, hey, Rarity. You scared me,” I said with a slight smile. “Uh, Twilight’s sleeping in a bit. I just wanted to stop by real quick and drop off my payment for the costume.”

Her look changed to one of understanding. “Oh, Dante. I see, would you like to come in? I was going to have some tea before opening and... I’d like to talk to you about something.”

I mulled over the idea, and I agreed. It’d give me the opportunity to ask my questions and I was interested in what she wanted to talk to me about. I went inside and Rarity lead me to her kitchen. A kettle was already set on the stove and a fine china tea set on a nearby table. I took a seat at the table and Rarity followed suit. “So... what did you want to talk about Rarity?”

She looked a tad bashful for a moment before letting out a petite sigh. “I wanted to apologize,” she started, earning a perplexed look from me. What was she apologizing for? “I was thinking over my attitude yesterday, and I may have... let my vanity rule my actions and acted a bit rudely toward you.”

My perplexed look stayed. What was she talking about? When was she rude? “Um, I’m not certain I know what you’re talking about. You were perfectly pleasant with me and conducted business as I would expect anyone would,” I stated earnestly.

“Thank you, dear. But I did act inappropriately. I was hesitant to shake your... er... appendage and I was unwilling to allow you to speak to me directly out of worry for my coat. It was unbecoming and I must apologize.” She was very adamant about this point and based on her tone she wasn’t willing to budge on the point. I suppose Rarity was one to be a stickler on etiquette, but really I didn’t really blame her. Everypony that has encountered me pretty much flinched or backed away from me. I mean... I’m a black slime that lives on the backs of others and produces evil looking tendrils. Shit, if I wasn’t the one using them I’d be freaked out too.

“Rarity, really, it’s fine. I’m used to it. I’m inherently freaky,” I explained with a sheepish smile plastered on Twilight’s face. “I’m a symbiotic black slime. It’d be kind of weird if ponies weren’t freaked out by me. Trust me, I’m made of pretty tough... metaphorical skin.”

Rarity waved me off. “Regardless. Nopony should be treated in such a way because they don’t look appealing. It is just not how proper ponies should conduct themselves.”

I tried to think of a way to counter her, but she did have a point. Regardless, I didn’t really care. I had plenty of people insult me (while trying) and very little of it really bugged me. You had to really try and I mean really try to insult me. But regardless of my feelings, Rarity was trying to make amends for a wrong that is obviously on her mind. “Well, I accept your apology, but really it’s not a big deal. I understand that I’m going to get weird looks and ponies are going to be put off by how I... er... what I make my host look like. I appreciate you were forward about it though. Thanks.” I finished off with a small bow and a pleasant smile.

Rarity returned the smile as she got up to collect the now whistling kettle. “Well, I’m happy I did not offend you, intentionally or otherwise. I would have felt quite awful had I insulted one of my customers.”

“No offense taken.”

She sat back down and prepped our respective tea cups with hot water and teabags. The pleasant spicy smell wafting of the cup was truly appealing and I was tempted to give it a try. “How do you take your tea dear? Twilight is usually takes hers plain,” Rarity asked offering me sugar and honey.

“Hmm, a little honey, please.” Rarity acquiesced to my request and applied a small... dollop? Yeah sounds about right. She added a small dollop of honey to my cup and I stirred it into the tea. The aroma continued to appeal to my olfactory center. (Bonus points to those who can figure it out.) Once the tea settled, I used a single tendril to bring the cup to Twilight’s mouth and take a small sip. The flavor was wonderful! The spices mingled nicely with the sweetness of the honey. While I wasn’t daring enough to take a full swig, I felt content to just sip on the tea slowly. A cup of warm soothing tea in the morning is quite relaxing. “This tea is very good, Rarity. What flavor is this?” I asked after a few joyful sips.

Rarity gave a mirthful sigh as she finished a sip, “Autumn Spice Black Tea. A wonderful blend for the mornings.”

“Couldn’t agree more. It’s a wonderful blend,” I stated before taking another sip.

“Well, thank you.” She put her cup down gingerly and let the magic holding it drop. “So, with pleasantries aside. You said you had a question, correct?”

I put my cup down as well and removed the coin pouch from Twilight’s neck. I then produced the seven gems I had. Rarity seemed to be observing them with appraising eyes. “I got these and some bits, I was curious what the difference in value was between these and a regular bit?”

Rarity picked up the sapphire with her magic, quickly followed by the ruby. She looked at each carefully. “Well, in all honesty, gems only hold as much value as who you’re bartering with sees in it. If they have a use for them or are in great need of them, then they hold great value. However, many aspects of the gem can set its value. So this sapphire-” she put it on the table, “-has a nice oval shape and is quite big, it’s very pure, and its clarity is superb.”

Hell, the way she talked about this little blue gem, I’d say it was worth a decent amount. “However,” Damn it. “sapphires are a bit common in Ponyville so that diminishes the value a bit.” Always wait for those continuation words! It changes everything! “Overall, I’d say the gem alone is worth fifty bits.” She looked to the other gems and appraised them as well. In the end, it appeared that my ruby was the least valuable (in Ponyville) at twenty bits, with the sapphire and emerald being worth a bit more at fifty bits (for the sapphire) and sixty bits (for the emerald). The four topazes, however, were easily one hundred bits apiece, but as Rarity stated, that could change depending on where I was. I made a note of that just in case.

“Well that means I’ve got a little over an additional five hundred bits... cool. Thanks for telling me. Aaand,” I reached into my pouch and pulled out the necessary thirty-five bits I owed the seamstress. “Here are the bits I owe you. You’re really doing a friend of mine a big favor.”

“Oh, Rainbow Dash? It’s nothing special. I’ve done costumes for her before,” the seamstress said with a dismissive hoof.

“Actually, Rainbow is helping my friend as well. I realize I’m just referring to her as just a ‘friend’, but I need to keep her identity a secret for a while.”

Rarity cocked an eyebrow. “I see. Well, I hope that the costume can help your friend. Whoever, she may be.”

“I’m sure it-” I started before I heard a groggy voice in the back of my mind.“Dante? Why are we at Rarity’s boutique?”

Oop, looks like Twilight is up. Well, this will be fun. “I’m sure that the costume will help, thank you.” I took my tea cup and finished the remainder of my now lukewarm tea. “I know this is a bit rude, but I need to run. I have a very important task I need to take care of.”

“Give me a second Twilight. I’ll explain everything... and a whole lot more in just a second,” I informed Twilight.

“Uh... okay?”

Rarity seemed a bit perplexed by my change in tone and sudden impatience, but she didn’t stop me. “Well, do what you must. If you have any changes for the suit please let me know.”

I gave her a happy smile, and a hoof shake in thanks.“Of course, thanks for everything Rarity.”

She returned the hoof shake without hesitation. “You’re very much welcome.”

I collected my money, said my goodbye, and left the boutique, but I didn’t head back to the library. No, it was time to a nice long walk. “Ok, Twilight. We need to have a nice long conversation about the future... and I have a high suspicion you aren’t going to like a few of the details.”

Author's Notes:

Hand gesture reference
First off, major thanks to Aburi and AppleTank for helping out with this chapter. They've been a big help!

So... thirteen thousand words and twenty-seven chapters later... SWEET GOD ALMIGHTY. I am so ready for the next two chapters. I have them in red ink. They are going to be big! Well, not big like this one but big plots... (Get your mind out of the gutter) So I will get on them ASAP!

Chapter 24- Recruiting the Victims, but not in a bad way.

Author's Notes:

Hey guys... so yeah this took WAY too long. Seriously, way too long. I'm so sorry for this. I really am. The new year hit me really hard ,in a bad way, and it kind of put me in a funk for a while. But I'm back in action and working on my stories full throttle. Again, I'm very sorry for the delay and I hope you enjoy the story.

Special thanks to Aburi and Appletank for their continued assistance in proofreading and editing the new chapters.

Nothing like brisk morning air to get you ready to face the day. The warmth of the sun, the slight coolness of the breeze, the slightly annoyed voice of a unicorn asking questions in your head. Well the last one was not as relaxing, but I’m trying to remain calm for this because no matter how I phrase this or what environment I say it in, this is just going to be crazy.

“So... why were we at Rarity’s?”Twilight asked in groggy annoyance.

“I asked Rarity to make a costume for Nightmare Night. I just wanted to stop in and drop off payment real quick,” I explained in my calmest tone.

“Couldn’t you have waited until I woken up?It’s very disconcerting to wake up and realize you’re not in the place you went to sleep.”

I couldn’t fault her on that. I’m certain that’d throw anyone off their game. But this was kind of necessary. “Yes, and normally, I would, but I need to be in control for this.”

“Why?” Twilight asked in a suspicious tone.

“Because I have a strong suspicion you’re going to freak out when I tell you what I’m about to tell you.” ... Probably could have said that better.

“What could you tell me that’s going to make me ‘freak out’. I’m not sure you are aware of this, but my friends and I have dealt with a lot of stressful stuff and surprising things.” Was that cockiness I just got there? Hmm, it was small amount of cockiness, but I still think I can knock that out of her.

“Oh, like the time you tried to understand how Pinkie’s special senses worked, couldn’t and practically singed your mane in a fit of rage?” I posed with my own cockiness.

“Well, that was a very-....” she stopped as what I just said really sunk in. I could feel a small amount of unease in Twilight’s mind. “How do you know about that?”

Well, here’s the hill. Best get this boulder rolling because there’s no stopping now. “I saw it happen. You had spent most of the day trying to scientifically figure out how Pinkie Sense worked, had gotten gratuitously injured due to some... wacky antics and right when you thought you had it all figured out, Pinkie disproved your ideas and you burst into flames.”

I was dead on and it was scaring Twilight a bit. “How can you know that?! You weren’t there... or were you? Have you been spying on me?”

I found a small bench along the road I had been walking on and took a seat. “Unintentionally, but in a manner of speaking, yes.”

“What do you mean unintentionally?! You only just arrived a week ago! Have you been lying to me? To the Princess?” Okay, that’s confusion turning to anger. Need to stop giving vague answers.

“I have yet to tell anypony here a straight lie... mostly because I can’t... Well I can, but you’d know,” I explained still maintaining a small amount of calm, but my worry was growing. “Okay, so... remember I said that I was something else, before I became what I am now?”

“Yes,” she responded in a unamused tone.

“Well... my people, humans, don’t have magic, don’t have wings, and we aren’t as connected to nature as Earth ponies. But we do have one thing Equestrians don’t, and that’s technology. Advanced technology.” Twilight was still listening but I could tell my segue wasn’t making her any less wary of me or cooling her growing anger. “So one piece of technology we developed was called television. Essentially a box that played moving pictures for the purposes of entertainment. One of the shows that is on the television is called ‘My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic’. To put it plainly, it’s all about Equestria. More specifically about you and your friends. The Elements of Harmony.”

That actually caused Twilight’s anger to cool, if only by two degrees, but it didn’t stop her confusion from reigniting and her wariness to bolster as well. “I... what? What do you- I don’t understand. Your people watch us for... entertainment? How?”

I didn’t really have a response to that. Prior to a week ago, I would have still thought MLP was just a really good show for kids and adults. Considering I’m now talking to Twilight Sparkle... while also being Twilight Sparkle is kinda nuts. “I... don’t know. Most of us just thought it was a work of fiction. Magic isn’t real to humans. It’s just illusions or slight of hand. So... we really didn’t think Equestria was a real place, that talking ponies were just... you know... a story. Ponies don’t talk on Earth.”

Twilight attempted to wrap her brain around the concept. Pondering whether I was telling the true or pulling her leg. Trying to figure out how I could have learned about Equestria and thought it was fake. In the end she came up with one simple solution or it’d be better to say one simple demand, “Show me.”

So, I did. I pulled on my entire brony data base, from episodes from season one to some fan works. I layed it all out in one big mental image. Although, I think it was a bit too much at once as I felt Twilight’s train of thought ground to a halt. She probed the information I presented for any hint of contradiction, for any sign that this was a hoax or some kind of elaborate joke.

“I... wha... I don’t.” She was floored and a little anxious. I felt her heart beating heavily in her chest. If I wasn’t the one holding her up, I’m almost certain she would have collapsed by this point... maybe I’d dropped too much on her too fast. I really need to work on my delivery.

“Look... sorry if this is really sudden, but... you and the others were going to figure it out eventually. My thoughts are an open book to you and to anyone else I’m on. I figured it’d be better to just tell you and get it out of the way.” I did my best to try and sound sympathetic. I could tell she was really thrown off by all this information so early in the morning... Oh God, I feel like an ass! I could have at least waited until she wasn’t still shaking of sleep! “I’m... I’m just... I’ll get off if you-”

“How much...do you know?” The question was shaky. Like she was trying to process everything as she spoke.

“I... I know about everything that happened from the Summer Sun Celebration and Nightmares return up until... well. Without saying too much. I know enough that I know about things that are going to happen. The only issue I have right now is when they are going to happen.”

I felt Twilight thinking over this information with a hint of understanding, but there was a bit of confusion. “What do you mean you don’t know when they are going to happen?”

“Well, here’s the thing,” I started, “I’m pretty sure about a few events right now, but they’re out of order from what I’ve been shown. Like Nightmare Night is on track, but the wedding is happening earlier than I originally suspected.”

Twilight took in the information calmly, but I felt a twinge of curiosity building as I mentioned the wedding. She wanted to ask... and I was dreading her response when I did tell her. I mean I wasn’t expecting her to freak out...much, but I wasn’t sure how she’d deal with it coming from me, a guy out of time and a different reality. Then again...huh... is it worse to get this kind of news from someone who isn’t related or part of the family, or is it worse to get it via letter? I swear someone told me this once... or was that about break ups? Ugh, I’m procrastinating. Better get this done and over with quickly. Just like a bandaid. “Soo, this brings me to the reason I brought this up. Ya know that wedding I brought up?” I asked hesitantly.

“Yes... is it important?” she asked tentatively.

“Big time and your brother is involved in it too,” I stated and braced myself for the reaction. I think Twilight’s body tensed a bit as well.

“My brother? What does he have to do...” Twilight halted as she started to put the pieces together. “W-wait... the wedding... who’s getting married?”

Okay... here we go, “So the wedding is in Canterlot ,” I started trying to hold off saying what was going to happen. Damn my nerves, just say it! “And it kinda a big deal for... anoth-” Say it, dumbass! “Know what? I’m stalling so I’m just going to say it. Your brother is getting married to Cadence, your old foal sitter.”

Twilight’s mind went from confused to stunned and shocked in an instant, before shifting into annoyance melded with a bit of elation. Then she got quiet as she started to focus on something and I felt the annoyance building.“Dante?”

I don’t like that tone. It sounds... irritably annoyed. “Y-yeah?”

“When is the wedding?” she asked with what I could only assume was a slowly mounting anger.

“Uuuuh... why do you-”

“When. Is. The. Wedding?” she asked one last time. At least, I assumed it was going to be the last time if I failed to answer again.

“It’s in a few months... November, I think?” I answered realizing I still hadn’t gotten an exact wedding date. Really need to get on that.

Twilight was silent for bit after that. Well, verbally she was. I felt that mounting annoyance turning into full on anger. Part of it was toward Shining Armor for not telling her about the wedding and really the only thing keeping her irie from blowing out of proportions was the image of her brother and Cadence together.

I halted Twilight’s body as I decided (against my better judgement) to see how she was doing with this large info dump. “Sooo... I know, this was a lot aaand hearing about a family member’s wedding from someone not in the family...or the same species is not exactly the greatest thing...but I only bring it up because it’s a major event. Hope this isn’t too crazy for you.” I let the thought sink in as Twilight’s body shifted to match my sincerity.

I waited for a bit for Twilight to respond. Her mind was still stuck on the wedding. Eventually, she asked a follow up question. “Why is my brother getting married considered a major event?”

“Okay, so... Your brother really loves Cadence... and that love attracts the attention of some changelings with a bit of a vendetta against Celestia. They are going to use his love to give them enough power to... take over Canterlot,” I stated again in hesitation. She got pissed about not know about her brother’s wedding. I just dropped that said wedding was going to be the staging ground for an invasion. I felt Twilight’s body tensing again... which might have been a good thing, because-

“THEY’RE GOING TO WHAT!?” Twilight exploded. I am once again thankful the mind only has one volume setting... and I have control of the voicebox right now. “Do the princesses know about this?!”

“Yes, yes they know!” I countered trying to keep my host calm. “They already started bolstering security and they’re looking out for anything suspicious.”

That did calm Twilight a little, but not enough to keep her from asking more questions. “Well, how are they going to invade? How do they get into Canterlot? Do they succeed? Princess Celestia stops them right?”

Okay, too many questions too quickly! “Okay, okay, hold up! Twilight, I will explain everything! I swear, I will. But first I need you to calm down and I will explain everything on the way back to the-”

“Hey, Twilight? You okay?” a new voice added. It sounded kinda feminine. “You’ve been making weird faces and not moving.”

I looked around for the new voice but couldn’t really find the source, so I went with the next logical step...I looked up. Then... I nearly flipped my shit. Before me was a light grey pegasus, with blonde mane and tail, but the thing that gave away this mare’s identity was her yellow eyes and the fact one eye was looking at me and the other eye that was looking at something else. This could only be one mare. IT’S DERPY! NUEW MAH GAWD! This is amazing! I need to...no! I must... contain... fanboy!

HUG THE DERPY OR SO HELP ME I WILL END YOU!

No... must... not hug...adorable... Derps!

DO IT! FUCKIN’ DO IT!

Eeeeeeh, so tempted to... hug! Must...find an... out!

“Dante, why are you getting all excited?...And why do you have a strong urge to hug Muffin?” Twilight asked in a confused... wait a sec, Muffin? “Her name is Muffin?”

I felt some confusion coming from my host as I asked that. “Yeah. What’d you think her name was?”

T’was at this moment I realized exactly how cruel and stupid it was of me to assume her actual name would be Derpy or Ditzy...but Muffin? I mean yeah she likes muffins, but what’s that have to do with her mark? How do bubbles relate to muffins? Or maybe it has to do with a bubbly personality? No, that doesn’t make sense... Bah, another question to the many things I need to find answers to, for now I go with Muffin, but she shall always be Derpy. “Something, that I now realize, makes no sense. Let’s call it a moment of naivete.” In all honesty, I probably should have known her name wasn’t Derpy, but I really had nothing else to refer to her as. Although, I really hoped her name was something better than Muffin, but hey. It is what it is.

“I’m fine, Muffin. Really, I’m just... thinking about something is all,” I replied to the pegasus floating above Twilight, attempting to give my most convincing ‘I’m fine’ smile I could muster.

“Are you sure? You looked like you were flinching. You’re not in pain are you?” Derp...Muffin asked with a bit of concern. Her gentle voice mixed with the look of general concern made me feel like Muffin was worried for Twilight. She seems like a nice mare. Although, I was starting to notice that her voice sounded a bit different than I recalled, but I also have two different voices I can put to her face, so meh.

“Yes, I’m fine. Really. I just had something on my mind is all,” I countered, waving off the wall eyed mare with a hoof.

Muffin just looked at my host...well, one eye did until the other came back into focus. She looked at us, before giving a light hearted smile. “If you say so, Twilight. Just be sure to talk to somepony if you’re having any troubles.”

I returned her light hearted smile with one of my own. Muffin nodded and went on her way. I prepared to do the same before the sound of something hitting the ground. I turned in time to see a small dust cloud billowing out of a side street and Muffin yelling, “I’m okay!”

I sustained a small chuckle. It’s not right to laugh at other people’s suffering, but... come on, that’s like classic slapstick! I saw her flying away a moment later, so I’m sure she’s fine. “Right, that was fun. So... back to the library?” I asked Twilight in my general nonchalant tone.

Twilight for her part was deep in thought, but what struck me was that she was really focusing on me. “Dante... we are going to have a long talk on the way back to the library. I want to know how much you know about the wedding, and how much the princesses know. But before that, I need you to do two things.”

“Okay?” I responded feeling that Twilight was preparing to voice some greviences.

“First, I need you to promise never to take my body outside the treehouse without my express permission. I understand you were doing a simple errand, but waking up outside your home with no idea how you got there is very disheartening and without question scary,” Twilight stated sternly. “Look,I can tell you’re a good...er...”

“Person,” I added meekly.

“Yes, a good person and you wouldn’t do anything with it, but my point still stands.”

I felt a sense of shame growing in my mind. In retrospect, I should have waited for Twilight to wake up. Would have been more respectful.“I understand, Twilight. Sorry,” I replied solemnly. “I’m guessing you want your body back, yeah?”

“Yes, that would be appreciated.”

I did as was instructed and detached myself from Twilight until she took over. I then put myself back into position. “So... what’s the second thing?” I asked still feeling the shame from before holding.

Thankfully, Twilight didn’t let me stew in my shame. “I want you to tell me everything you know about my brother’s wedding. I want every last detail.”

Oh...that isn’t too bad. “Fair enough. But let me premise this by saying, I don’t know some key points only that they are going to happen.”

Twilight shook her head as she started making her way back to the library. “It’s fine, I just want to know everything you do.”

“Okay. So here’s how it starts...well, minus some surprise since I’ve already told you. Anyway it starts with a letter from Princess Celestia and an invitation-”

By the time we arrived at the library’s door step, I had gotten to the part where the wedding went south. She’d been quiet the entire time and only stopped me when she needed clarification. “So after you announce that the other Cadence is a changeling, she sheds the disguise and reveals her true form.The changeling you call out is Queen Chrysalis, the head changeling. She announces her plan and what she had been doing to your brother the whole time. Princess Celestia doesn't take kindly to this announcement and moves to take her out.”

I felt Twilight getting excited at this and part of her mind anticipated this being the end of the story. Needless to say, she wasn’t happy with what came next. “Unfortunately, after feeding off your brother for who knows how long, she had more than enough power to overpower Princess Celestia and knocks her out.”

Twilight mentally and physically blanched at this. The idea of Celestia losing at...anything seemed like an impossible, nigh infeasible concept to my host. If it weren’t for the fact I was doing a mental play-by-play, I doubt she would have believed it. I continued anyway, “Before the Princess falls unconscious, she tells you to take the rest of the girls and get the elements. It’s at that point the invasion force breaks through Shining’s barrier. The entire city of Canterlot is completely overrun by the time you and the girls make it out of the castle.”

This comment put a pit in Twilight’s heart. That pit of dread and foreboding that sets your heart into a slow but horrifyingly steady rhythm. However, she reminded herself that this was to come and the changelings were unaware we knew they were planning. Along with the thought she’d be helping save her brother’s wedding was enough to shake the dread from her heart. “That’s not the end, is it?”

“No, nor is it the end of Canterlot. If it was, I’d brought this up way earlier,” I assured my host before continuing. “To shorten this up a bit so you don’t look worried when we head inside, the elements are already guarded by two regiments of changelings. You and the girls fight off the first, but get captured by the second. The thing that saves Canterlot is...the strength of Cadence’s love for your brother.”

Twilight noticed that little moment of hesitation and she confronted me about it, “Why did you hesitate?”

Because defeating an overwhelming invasion force with the power of love just sounds ridiculous when you say it in conversation. But I’m also in a world where the equivalent of a nuclear weapon is friendship. Then again... “magic” how does it even work... hmm. Better idea, come together children it’s time to learn a lesson. “Just a thought, but do emotions affect magic?”

Twilight stopped for a moment before I felt her figure out why I asked. “Well, it has been recorded that extreme emotions like rage, sadness, and even love can affect a unicorn’s magic. Rage tends to spark spontaneous and sometimes detrimental magical surges, sadness or depression can nullify magic, and love or a strong connection can often bolster one or both magical users’ output.”

“So that’s why that worked. Also, I would like to point out, the power of love is not a supernatural force back on Earth, but it is one hell of an awesome song. So I hesitated, because if I said that to anyone besides... well anyone here, I would have gotten some odd looks.” Truth be told, I gave myself an odd look just think-saying it.

Twilight had some small intention to ask me about Earth more but she convinced herself there was a more important matter to deal with first. We finally made our way into the library and Twilight immediately went to her work desk with the notes on Symbios. Spike greeted us but Twilight was in full focus mode and gave him a quick and dismissive greeting. When she got to the desk she started scribbling down the details of the wedding, as I had explained.

While I’ll admit it was damn impressive to see Twilight transcribe everything with a quill, I had to admit I was envious. I was never fast a writing with a pen or pencil; I used a laptop. I am not a pen and paper person. Anyway, she transcribed everything down, then she looked it over... then she looked over it again. Finally, she stopped and asked about the one thing I hadn’t mentioned. “Dante, you didn’t say how the changelings captured Cadence or got her into the crystal catacombs. I need to know how to stop that from happening. And I’m not sure you ever mentioned where Princess Luna was during the invasion.”

“Uuuh, yeeah. Soo here’s the deal,” I started nervously. “I don’t know how or when they do that. She’s just sorta captured already when that episode started.”

Twilight lets out an annoyed groan, but ultimately she let it go. I tried to assure her that Cadence had some covert guards watching her and that the Royal Guard was on high alert due to an incident where changelings were discovered near Canterlot. I opted not explain what said incident was and did my best not to think about that particular incident. I didn't need Twilight finding out that Celestia... nearly had an... never mind she might catch on. I don’t need Twilight worrying about something that already happened.

So with Twilight assured that everything was okay in Canterlot, she got to work on counters for the wedding and I noted one counter that got me wondering. Twilight put a note about moving the Elements of Harmony to be more accessible during the wedding. While I thought it was a good idea, it made me wonder what the Elements would do to changelings. I mean, they don’t exactly kill. Tirek got banished back- wait, they didn’t have the Elements for Tirek, nevermind. What did the actual Elements do? Oh, yeah Discord got turned to stone and Nightmare Moon got...de-eviled... or something. Maybe it’s like a purification thing? Eeerh, no that’s not right. If that’s what it is, then Tirek would have gotten nicer and Discord would be less sporadic. What would happen to a changeling? Would they become regular ponies? Would they become bugs? Ew, what if they became pony sized bugs. Bleg. I really hope I can shift one of my tendrils into a mega boot or something.

Twilight was still pounding away at the wedding when Rainbow Dash showed up. It sounded like she flew in through the upstairs window with a simple “What’s up, Twilight?” When she did take notice of Twilight going through a particularly large amount of parchment that detailed various scenarios and counters to those scenarios.

“Hey, Twilight. What’cha doin’?” she asked casually as she approached us from behind.

Twilight turned and was about to answer but stopped when a thought crossed her mind. “Dante, how many ponies know that you know about the future?”

“You and the Princesses, that’s it. I plan to tell Rainbow eventually, but I think it can wait for now.” I mostly didn’t want Rainbow getting overly gung-ho. I mean, closer to the wedding, I’d let her go nuts. Until then, best keep it under wraps.

Twilight nodded. “Just a little project, Rainbow,” Twilight half-lied.

Rainbow mostly dismissed the statement as she seemed more eager to do something else. “Yeah, yeah sounds cool. Mind if I borrow Dante for a bit?”

“Yeah, sure. Let me just tell him something real quick,” Twilight stated before returning her attention to me. “I’m going to keep at this for a while. When you two return, I’d like to ask a few more questions about what you know.”

I saw no problem with this, although I was probably going to keep some stuff hush-hush for a bit. Spoilers and all that. I affirmed I’d answer her questions, within certain parameters, and made my way over to my new host for the afternoon.

“Hey, Rainbow,” I greeted my friend upon getting a connection, she had been waiting with a mounting impatience that was palpable by the time I became fully ingrained in her mind.

Rainbow returned my greeting with a bit of excitement hinging in the back of her mind.“Sup! So what’s the plan for today?”

Man, she’s really getting into this. Best not disappoint. “Okay, this is the final preparation stage and this is IMPORTANT!”

Rainbow started to prance in place at this.

“We need ‘victims’,” I stated with added tendril air quotes.

Rainbow’s excitement waned slightly as she cocked an eyebrow. “Victims? What do you mean?” She asked.

“Ok, so what makes something even scarier than your average jump scare?”

Rainbow pondered the question as we flew out of the library. We reached altitude before Rainbow gave me an answer. “Making it... really loud?”

I giggled a bit at that, “No... a perceived threat, danger. Peop- ponies get smart to constant jumpscares. So you need to ramp it up. We need some insiders to make it seem like there is a real danger.”

Rainbow flashed a look of understanding and stopped mid-flight and letting out a giddy squeal. “That. is. SO. BRILLIANT! Oh my gosh, I’m so excited for this! So who we getting to be the victims?!”

I got a little giddy myself at this.“Weeeell, Princess Luna and I have discussed it. Since Nightmare Night is directed at kids, it might be a good idea to get some to help from some local kids. Any idea who we could get?”

Rainbow barely had to think on it as a memory popped into her head. “OH OH! I saw Scoots and her friends heading to their clubhouse when I was going to the library. We could ask the Crusaders to help.”

“Couldn’t hurt. If they say no, we could always see about other kids.”

“Sweet!” she stated as she took off toward Sweet Apple Acres.

It took a short amount of time for us to arrive at the clubhouse tucked away in the back part of Sweet Apple Acres. It was a decently sized little clubhouse with a small window on the side and another sun window with a little flower box hanging off the windowsil. The front door to the clubhouse was wide open and we could hear a trio of voices talking from within, more than likely our targets. Rainbow made her way to the front door and we got a better look at the inside. Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo were in the center of the one room clubhouse. Aside from a simple table and a lone crate there wasn’t much to see. The only other things I noticed was a small rug on the floor and another window I hadn’t spotted from the outside. All it took was a small announcement from Rainbow to gain the trio’s attention.

“Heya, squirts. Whatcha up to?” Rainbow asked.

The three fillies turned to look at us, Rainbow more than me. Scootaloo had the most surprised and excited expression of the three and was also the first to respond. “Hey, Rainbow Dash! We were just discussing our next crusade for our cutie marks,” she stated exuberantly. “What are you doing here?”

“Yeah, what are you doing here?” Sweetie Belle asked, her voice cracking a little as she spoke.

Rainbow donned a subdued smirk, as her ego started to build. “Well, a friend of mine asked for some help on a secret operation for Nightmare Night and I thought you three might be interested in helping. Wanna hear about it?”

While Applebloom and Sweetie showed some interest in the proposition, Scootaloo looked like she was about to take off with her little wings out of pure excitement. “Uh, sure. What’cha workin’ on, Rainbow?” Applebloom inquired.

Rainbow’s smirk turned into a sly grin. “Well, my friend has been working on this story for Nightmare Night. So, we’re looking for some help to make it happen. He has a special role for you three and I thought you three might want to help. Still interested?”

“You’re enjoying taunting them,” I stated, knowing that Rainbow was lapping up the growing interest of the three fillies in front of her.

“Maybe a little,” Rainbow countered, barely hiding her mischievousness.

“Yeah, if a little means a lot.”

Rainbow laughed at that, not really rebutting my comment. She returned her focus to the three fillies who had huddled up and were quietly discussing what to do. I could see Scootaloo’s wings still buzzing in excitement. After a bit of internal conversing, they broke the huddle and the three asked to hear the story and what their role would be in said story. Rainbow told them the entire story and as she did, I saw Applebloom starting to put the pieces together. Sweetie and Scoots merely listened until Rainbow finished, “So the Slendermare uses her long black tendrils to take fillies and colts away into the Everfree, never to be seen again. We were thinking you three could play the ‘victims’ to make the whole thing seem more dangerous.”

Before Sweetie or Scootaloo could say “yea” or “nay” (note I didn’t take this opportunity to make a horse pun), Applebloom spoke up with a small question. “Wait a moment, Rainbow. This ‘friend’ of yers. It wouldn’t happen to be Mr. Dante, would it?”

Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo gave their earth pony friend and odd look at this question. “Mr. Dante? Who’s that?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“Yeah, I’ve never heard of that pony before. Kind of a weird name,” Scootaloo added.

Rainbow blinked a bit at this statement. “Wait, Applebloom knows about you?”

“Yeah, Twilight and I trying the strength enhancement thing with Applejack to see if the power could be used without causing fatigue. Applebloom was there when we did it.”

“Ah, okay...” She paused for a second before adding an additional question. “Can you use it without making ponies tired?”

“No.”

“Crap.” She let out a small sigh before returning to Applebloom’s question, “Yeah, it’s Dante. He’s here right now, actually.”

This comment got Scootaloo and Sweetie to begin looking around the room in a vain attempt to discover my location. Rainbow found some amusement in their search and, to be honest, I found it a little funny myself. In the end, Applebloom had to point out my “hiding” place in Rainbow’s mane. Although, upon hearing that I was hiding in Rainbow’s mane, the two crusaders gave very skeptical looks to their friend. It wasn’t until I produced my tendrils did the pegasus and unicorn understand what that meant. Obviously, both were quite startled by my appearance. “It’s real?!” Both of them shouted simultaneously. Scootaloo looked a partially interested, but Sweetie looked... worried.

Okay, that’s an odd reaction why would... oh, right. I used my talons to make a cage around Smarty Pants so the crusaders couldn’t get to him...her... one of those two. Did they think that was a hallucination or something? I suppose a that spell Twilight used did mess with their heads a bit.

“Why’d y’all think Dante wasn’t real? We saw him when Twi did that weird spell on us ‘member?” Applebloom stated.

“But... but didn’t that one have claws? Like really sharp claws,” Sweetie Belle pointed out in a slightly concerned voice and shrunken back position.

“That sounds kinda cool,” Rainbow stated before she decided to check on this info. “Can you do that?”

“Actually, yeah. I figured out I could do that two days ago. I didn’t show you that?”

“Um, no!” Rainbow said with a bit of offence in her tone.“That’s pretty awesome though. You totally need to show me that later.”

“Will do.”

“Yeah, that must have been him, but he’s cool. He helped make this plan.”

This got seemed to get Scootaloo a little more fascinated, but Sweetie seemed to be retreating a bit more. Just to make the little unicorn feel a little more comfortable, I let my tendrils retract. I felt bad. I mean, I get that I’m not exactly “pleasant” to look at and I kind of give ponies a particular “I’mma steal your soul” kinda look, but it doesn’t stop the fact that it still hurts a bit to see them look at me like I’m a demon...well, they’re looking at my host and how they look like a demon, but I know what they are really focusing on.

“So... You and Dante came up with this?” Scootaloo asked, snapping me out of my thoughts.

Rainbow got eager at the question. She wanted to drop what she knew but she held off... for now. “Well, not entirely. Dante came up with the story, but somepony else devised the plan and how it’ll play out,” she explained with a sly smirk.

The crusaders seemed curious and when they asked who made the plan, Rainbow said she’d only tell them if they agreed to help as this was considered “top-secret”. I wouldn’t have gone that far, but I wasn’t exactly in charge of correspondence. Anyway, the comment was enough to get the fillies to think over what to do. They retreated to the back of the clubhouse and huddled up. They talked amongst themselves in hushed tones,while they occasionally shot a glance in our direction.

“Do you think they’re interested?” I asked Rainbow Dash.

“I’m sure they’re just trying to figure out the best way to say yes. I’d be willing to bet Scoots is going to be all over this and Applebloom seems okay with the plan.” She hesitated when she thought of Sweetie. “I think Sweetie Belle might be scared of you, but I’m not sure.” I was kinda hoping that wasn’t the case and I was just over analyzing.

“Yeah... I noticed. I tend to have that effect on others,” I replied sullenly.

The trio eventually broke their huddle and Applebloom was the first to approach. “Well, we talked it out and we’d be willin’ ta help. The only thing is Sweetie Belle is sorta scared of Dante. Ah tried to tell her he’s a nice guy, but she’s still a mite concerned.”

Rainbow looked over to Sweetie Belle and it was apparent that she was keeping an eye on Rainbow while also keeping a substantial gap between herself and Rainbow. Her ears were flat against her head and her tail was curled around her leg. Man, I hate that I’m scary. I mean, in a fight, I’d love to be scary. I doubt anyone would mess with me, but not around kids. I’d rather not be scary to them. Especially when they are this small and adorable. Fanboy demands it.

I felt Rainbow was a bit saddened by the Sweetie’s reaction as well. It was a definite assault to her ego. She was used to admiration and praise. This was the first time she’d ever had someone look at her with genuine worry and fear. What made it worse was it was someone she knew and it was the sister of a close friend.

“Ah, was thinkin’ though. Maybe, Dante could talk to her? Show he’s an alright guy,” Applebloom proposed. “If Applejack says he’s a good guy, he must be right?”

Rainbow nodded, “Of course. Dante’s a cool guy. A little weird, but he’s an alright guy.” She changed her focus to me, “Do you mind talking to her, Dante?”

Hmmm, I’m hesitant to say no, but I don’t want to force it on her either. I’d prefer she want to talk to me. “Ask her if she wants to first. I don’t think forcing her to talk to me is going to make things better.”

Rainbow agreed and she turned to look at Sweetie Belle. “Hey... uh, Sweetie Belle,” Rainbow called out hesitantly, to which Sweetie twitched nervously. “Look, Dante really isn’t a bad guy. He’s actually pretty cool.” I then noticed something going on in Rainbow’s mind. It felt like a small amount of guilt in the back of her consciousness. “And in all honesty... I didn’t really like Dante when I first met him. I thought he was just trying to hurt my friends, but after I spent some time him, I found out he’s really cool.” Doesn’t surprise me. I pretty sure if I hadn’t had Twilight around, Rainbow would have chucked my sorry ass out the nearest window. Who knows what would have happened from there.

Sweetie looked like she was listening as Rainbow spoke. She seemed a little surprised by this admission and she seemed to relax a bit. It was clear she was still a bit scared, but she wasn’t as scared as she was before. Her tail seemed to have let go of her leg a bit and her ears weren’t as flush against her head anymore. Sweetie looked at Rainbow, but I noticed she wasn’t looking at Rainbow. She seemed more focused on the nape of her neck.

“So... do you wanna... like talk to him? Just so you can get to know him, ya know?” Rainbow offered, keeping her tone calmer than usual.

Sweetie looked to her friends. Applebloom was giving an encouraging smile, while Scoots seemed to just be interested in what was coming next. After that she turned back to Rainbow. The little white unicorn seemed to be deep in thought, and while it was clear she was still on edge, she gave a slight nod. Rainbow gave her a small smile and started to approach her, but I stopped her. “Hang on, Rainbow.” I requested calmly I had an idea that might make Sweetie feel more comfortable.

Rainbow stopped and her ears came to full attention. “Huh? What’s wrong?” Rainbow asked in response.

“Put me on the ground. I’ll make my way towards her progressively and if she changes her mind, I’ll just stop.”

Rainbow didn’t really have any qualms with my idea... other than it wasn’t a particularly quick plan. Despite her personal reservations, she gave me a hoof to get on and placed me on the floor. Ah, hello aura sight, been a while. So let’s see, four auras. Cyan one behind me is Rainbow, the yellow one to my left must be Applebloom, the orange one to the side is Scoots, and the lime green one at the far end of the clubhouse has to be Sweetie Belle.

“Whoa. He’s smaller than I thought he’d be... and not as cool either,” I heard Scoots say. And excuse me for being small! I squeaked an annoyed retort, but all that did was cause Rainbow to sputter a snicker. When I turned to yell/angrily squeak at her, she broke into full on laughter. No one takes the angry black slime seriously.

Bah! Forget it. I got better things to do. I turned around to see that Sweetie’s aura was in a more curious position. She was leaning in a little and her head was cocked slightly and she seemed to be looking in my direction.

“He... can’t talk?” Sweetie asked in a very hesitant but curious voice.

Rainbow, still laughing, responded with, “I guess- ha ha- he can speak in- BWAHAHA- Squeaks!” She then went into a stronger set of hard laughs. Thanks a ton, Rainbow. My frustration came out in an annoyed bubbly grumble that sounded like I was blowing bubbles underwater. Ugh, I need to determine if there’s a way to communicate when I’m on someone. I mean I’ve given up on trying as a blob. All I have is squeaks and that only ends in laughter.

I turned back to Sweetie who, I’m guessing based on her positioning, was looking at me still. I think she had gotten a little closer and I took that as a safe sign she was curious to some degree. In a slightly hopeful manner, I slowly made my way toward Sweetie. My approach was halted when she twitched away slightly. I waited until she relaxed before approaching again. However, we had some added pressure from Scoots, who like Rainbow, seemed to be getting impatient and was huffing her annoyance. Rude.

Anyway, I got closed enough to the little unicorn that she was only a foot away from me. I slowly came into contact with her and made a slight connection with her. “Uh... Hi, Sweetie Belle.”

While the greeting was about as low key as I could go with, Sweetie immediately pulled away. I heard her shudder slightly and I could see her examining the leg I touched. I couldn’t determine how she was feeling or what her facial expression was, but her next comment seemed to give a hint of curiosity. “He... I heard him in my head,” Sweetie exclaimed with a bit of shock and surprise.

“Yeah, it’s a bit weird a first,” Rainbow said with a small chuckle. “You get used to it and the random thoughts after a while.”

“Random thoughts?” Applebloom interjected.

“Yeah, you can hear his thoughts sometimes. He can hear yours too. I think Twilight said it’s because he links up to your nervous system or something.”

I saw some cocked heads from Scoots and Applebloom, but Sweetie looked like she was staring at me again. Her hoof came down, albeit slowly, and she gave me the okay to go again.

“You doing okay?” I asked in concern.

“Uh... yes, I guess?” she responded. “This is weird.”

“So, you can hear him?” Scoots asked.

“Y-yeah. It’s... something.”

“So... feeling better? I’m not gonna do anything to hurt you three. I used my claws to keep you three away from that doll or at least hold you off for a bit. Sorry if it was a bit much.”

I felt Sweetie’s mind processing my words, like she was questioning if I meant what I said. While I let her process I caught a small snippet of a thought, it was like some sort of deeper relief. Like she wasn’t viewing me as a threat anymore. I then caught a glimpse of a memory. It looked like Sweetie’s point of view from the doll debacle. Hints of strong admiration coupled with a undertone of fear. Then there was an image of Twilight with the whites of her eyes turned black, leaving her lavender irises to be the only other defining feature that stood out beside my tendriled arm and talon. She was scared of this image.

“Hey... look. I get that... I’m not particularly pleasing. I’m slimy, I make ponies look scary, and my abilities are not... er... not very... appealing? I guess. All I can say is that I had no intention to hurt you or the other crusaders. I just wanted to keep y’all away from the doll until Twilight could figure out how to fix the problem,” I explained in a soft tone. “I can tell you still find me a bit scary. I’ll keep my distance until you feel more comfortable near me. Sound okay?”

I felt some amount of calm go through Sweetie Belle, as well as a minuscule amount of guilt. I turned to see the other crusaders looking in our general direction. “Sooo, what’d he say?” Scootaloo asked Sweetie. “We only caught what you said.”

The feeling of guilt grew in Sweetie’s mind and I felt her body reflect this feeling. “He... uh, he said he was sorry. He didn’t mean to scare me and he’d... stay away if it’d make me feel comfortable.”

I wasn’t entirely sure if Sweetie was still scared of me or not, but I opted to stay true to my word. I went back to Rainbow and gave the filly her space. When she was ready to be near me she’ll make it known. I got back to Rainbow and reestablished our connection. Ah normal vision, you may not be as cool as aura vision, but you’re just so familiar and detailed.

“Sooo... did the chat go well?” Rainbow inquired upon the connection taking effect.

“Well, I wouldn’t say she’s not scared of me, but that’ll take time. Until then I’d say she’ll be tolerant of my presence, just give her a bit of space.” Rainbow nodded in understanding before giving the fillies her attention.

“So, now that that’s taken care of, did you want to help?” Rainbow asked with a desperate want to move forward burning in her mind.

Applebloom and Scoots looked to Sweetie Belle, their faces showed concern more than anything. I’d wager a guess they wanted to make sure Sweetie was okay with this before they gave their confirmation. The white unicorn filly gave her friends a meek nod and the other two returned with their own. This led to Rainbow getting all excited because it meant she could drop the mega bomb that she had been storing. “Well, all right. So, before we go any further, I need you three to Pinkie Promise not to tell anypony anything about this plan or who this is for.”

The three agreed and went through the actions associated with a promise that, if broken, would lead to the loss of a friend and probably the wrath of a particular bubblegum pink pony. After the movements were completed Scootaloo was the first to voice the groups curiosity, “So who is this for? You’re acting like it’s really big deal.”

“It is kind of a big deal. This is for Princess Luna when she arrives on Nightmare Night,” Rainbow said with the biggest grin she could muster.

The sound of the lower jaw lines of three fillies hitting the ground was clearly audible after the announcement was made. Their eyes went wide with astonishment and they didn’t blink for a whole thirty seconds. That last one was pretty impressive, and I suddenly had an extreme urge to blink... a lot. Anyway, after the three got over their astonishment they began bombarding Rainbow with questions about why the Princess was coming to town, why she had picked us, and (of course) what marks they could probably get for assisting a princess.

Rainbow chuckled to herself, she was feeling particularly happy about the reaction she’d gotten from the three and she wasn’t about to let up. “I’ll take that to mean you are definitely on board. So you guys want to hear the entire plan?”

Applebloom and Scoots gave a definitive, if a bit energetic, nods, while Sweetie’s nod seemed a bit more subdued, she at least flashed a small smile. I got a feeling she is still uneasy, but given some time I’m sure she’ll be a little more comfortable around me. Besides, with this Nightmare Night scare underway it’d give her plenty of time to do so... or not. I’m hoping she gets more comfortable around me. Hope for the best, but expect the... actually, I’m just going to really hope for the best.

Rainbow gave the rundown of the plan and explained how things would go. She was iffy on some details, like dialogue and certain “spook” points as we hadn’t really figured out any of those just yet. I figure Luna was still working out those details. I’ll have to try and remember to ask her about it. Maybe she can give me an idea of what we should be doing. I mean, I doubt she is going to ask for anything too complicated. More than likely we’ll just need to practice the scares and the “abductions” before Nightmare Night rolls around. Either way, it shouldn’t be too hard, most of it is just timing.

We spent the next hour or so just discussing the ideas of how the story would be executed and what the crusaders would be doing and how I fit in. The crusaders were mostly behind the idea and Scootaloo was adoring the idea of scaring the other kids in her class. With that said and done, Rainbow requested that they meet her back at the clubhouse after classes so we could let them know about any new information Luna may relay. The trio happily agreed and Rainbow told them that we’d be back tomorrow with more information.

The trio were perfectly fine with this and they said they’d be at the clubhouse immediately after school. Rainbow was almost as giddy with anticipation as the trio, but I think she was hiding it better. The fact I had access to her thoughts helped me know she was just as psyched. With the last of our crew recruited, it was time to get into the real meat things, but until I updated Luna we weren’t going to get far. I asked if Rainbow could drop me off at the library so I could send an update letter to Luna. My host was more than willing to do so.

“Okay, squirts. I got to take Dante back to the library so he can update the princess. Be back here tomorrow, ‘kay?”

“You got it, Rainbow Dash!” Scoots responded with a salute.

“Can do, Rainbow,” Applebloom affirmed with a nod.

“Okay,” was Sweetie’s energetic reply.

“Alright, see you guys tomorrow!” Rainbow finished before heading out the door and taking off into the sky toward Ponyville.

Rainbow and I had some time to chat on our flight back to the library. Rainbow had a drastic desire to vent a squee that she wanted to let out but refused to let out in front of the crusaders due to it being “uncool”. “THIS IS GOING TO BE SO AWESOME!” she yelled as we soared through the air. Her excitement and anticipation was quite palpable and she was already prepared for the next step of the process.

“Feeling’s mutual. Way to secure the pitch back there.”

Rainbow’s ego inflated a little at that, “Heh, nothing to it. I figured once I dropped that the Princess was behind this thing, they’d totally be down to help.”

Yeah, because no one would avoid the chance to do a princess a solid. I opted to keep my sarcastic remarks to myself, as this had been a productive two days. Got some info on my new species, had recruited Zecora and the CMC, and albeit not the best way I could have done it, I managed to tell Twilight about the wedding and my knowledge of future events. I wish I was this productive when I was in high school, who knows what I could have accomplished? “Without question, sold it better than any business man...pony. You know what I mean. Good job all around.” I’m not particularly good at not voicing my sarcasm. So when I have a sarcastic thought but choose not to voice it, everything tends to come out... eck.

Rainbow chuckled,“I get ya.” She then rolled one hundred eighty degrees so she was now looking up into the sky, “So what do you think happens now?”Rainbow asked her excitement still apparent.

“I’m not really sure. I would think we should maybe do a dry run of the path and test out those spots we found yesterday. Hard to say, but we are out of prep and into practice. So it should be interesting.”

My multicolored cohort agreed, “Oh yeah, hopefully, Rares will have the costume ready by then. I’m so ready for Nightmare Night.”

I was remiss to disagree. I’ve never gone through with anything like this before. I’d discussed and hypothesised doing something like this, but never executed this of the planning stage. Hell, officially, we were now in the practice phase. In a few weeks... oooh. Now I’m getting all excited. Heh, this is going to be fun. Until... the we- NO! NO! Let’s stop that right now. Yes, it’s going to happen. No, I’m not thinking about it... right now. I got a feeling I’ll be discussing it with Twilight once I got back to the library. For now, fun times! “I’m feeling pretty hyped for it myself. This is gonna be pretty awesome. Plus... Imagine the looks on their faces when shit starts getting too spooky for them. It shall be glorious!”

Rainbow giggled as the images of startled and scared ponies running from the faceless mare with pitch black tentacles. The idea was just tantalizing to her, so much so she started to wiggle in giddy anticipation mid-air. This thought, however, caused Rainbow to remember something and she halted mid-air.

“I just remembered! You need to show me these ‘talons’ that Sweetie was scared of,” Rainbow stated with a continued giddiness.

Oh right, nearly forgot about that. I did promise... and this is probably one of the few ponies I can brag about my abilities to without them being scared. Plus, who is going to see this in the sky... huh, never thought I’d say that. Anyway, I produced my tendril and shifted them to talon form. Rainbow let out a bit of a gasp before it switched into into an “ooh” of pure interest. I held them in front of her with the palms up. Rainbow observed and felt my bladed appendage. She was genuinely curious and interested, but something happened. While looking at my talons Rainbow let one of the blades rest against her left hoof. I, unfortunately, didn’t notice because Rainbow’s mind was in such a frenzied mess that I overlooked it. Anyway, she went to check out one of the talons and it cut her pretty good. This caused her to jolt the affected appendage away... and it collided with my tendril. This cause my tendril to absorb her leg! WHAT!? I mean... What?! I’m assuming this is a normal thing, but I was not expecting that!

“WHOA! WHOA! WHOA!What the hell?! What did you do?!” she mentally shouted at me. She was surprised and panicking a little, the addition of her heart rate skyrocketing also confirmed this. Her mind was probably the most active I’d ever witnessed at this point, but considering my arm just ate her leg... another thing I never thought I’d say, it was within reason.

“You really think I know? I’m still figuring have this stuff out!” I retorted.

“What did you do to my leg?!”

“I don’t know! We need to figure that out!” I added in an attempt to calm down my rainbow maned friend. I wasn’t sure what this was or what this meant, there was no pain and Rainbow still seemed to have full motor function of her leg, I assumed this wasn’t a bad thing.

Rainbow was still running on a partial adrenaline rush, but she did eventually get a few calming breaths in and got her heart rate under control. She found a cloud she could land on and we began our inspection of the... “affected” appendage.

Okay, so where to start with this? Rainbow’s leg is completely black... Boy, Rarity would have a conniption if she saw this. Rainbow already has too many colors in her arsenal, black is the one color that just doesn’t belong. Detracting, sorry. Looks like the tendril has also wrapped around the left side of her barrel as well. Uh, my talons are still active, but they’re moving without my input... wait. “Rainbow... are you moving my talons?”

Rainbow didn’t respond immediately, she was fascinated with her new digits and also contemplating whether or not it was capable to mulching a tree. Heh, I wanted to do that too. Wait, no, science stuff. Focus! “Rainbow, you are moving the talons, right?” I repeated a little more forcefully.

“Huh? Oh yeah... these are are super cool! You think I could-”

“More than likely, but that is awesomeness for another time. You can use my talons! That’s... wait. Zecora said something about armor, is this it?” My hopes were soaring at this thought, but Rainbow quickly brought me back to earth when she poked her arm and the entirety of her leg just jiggled like jello.

“Don’t think so. Doesn’t look like this could defend against anything.”

Well damn. Hopes and expectations dashed in less than ten seconds. New record. “Okay, so maybe it’s not armor, but it is something. You’re now... part... me I guess?” I was mostly unsure what I’d done aside from the observable. I was curious if it was repeatable, but a small part of me worried that Rainbow’s leg was trapped in my tendril or if it could return like my other tendrils. Best test if this was a permanent thing or not.

I relaxed my tendrils as if I were retracting them and the right one went away, the one on Rainbow’s leg did not. I was about to worry I had given Rainbow the most permanent dye job of all time, but I noticed that she was still fiddling with the claws. “Hey Rainbow, could ya do me a favor?”

“Sure.”

“Could you relax your left leg a little. Like if you were putting your wings to rest or sitting down.”

While Rainbow understood why I was asking this, she was less than happy to do so. Apparently she found her favorite ability. She agreed so long as I put them back after we tried it out. I agreed. So Rainbow relaxed her leg and the black on her leg slowly receded up and into her mane. Okay, not permanent. Sweet! Which means... hehehehe. “Hey... Rainbow.”

Rainbow was already ahead of me. “Do it.”

BAD ASS MODE! Engage! Both my tendrils shot out, talons at the ready. Rainbow reared up on her back legs and threw her front legs into them. Immediately the two legs were absorbed, her barrel was now fully encased, and Rainbow was sporting dual bladed hooves.The mutual feeling of awesomeness was so amazing, Rainbow had to squeal for both of us. Dear lord, this amount of awesome should be illegal. Hell, the fact I have ten razor sharp blades ready at a moments notice is pretty bad. The TSA would have a shit fit if I was back home.

“Oh my gosh! This is so AWESOME!” Rainbow gushed. “OH OH, do you think my eyes are black?!”

“I’d say so. Why?”

My question was immediately answered by Rainbow’s devious mind going to that place where all her little mini pranks lay. While I understood what she wanted to do and who she wanted to scare, but I don’t think Twilight needs the extra stress. “Maybe another time, Rainbow. Twilight is kinda stressed at the moment. She doesn’t need any more worry.”

This caused Rainbow to let out a groan, I caught a small thought relating to Twilight but it was too quick for me to catch. “So, what’s got her all freaked out now? Hopefully, nothing like that thing two days ago.”

May have overextended with that. Best to keep it low-key. “She got a bit of... well, not exactly bad news, but it got her pretty riled. I don’t want to mess with her too much right now,” Rainbow seemed to take me at my word and dropped the idea of scaring Twilight with the new... symbiotic... claws?...Nah, not cool enough. Hmmm, meh I’ll have to think of a name for this. Anyway, she dropped the idea and her new talons, before taking off toward the library.

We reached the library in next to no time, and we... well, Rainbow mostly, used the window to enter. I can see why Twilight finds this annoying, anyone with wings can pretty much come and go through here, but it also goes straight through her room. Soooo, kind of an invasion of privacy... and unlawful entry! Then again, Rainbow is that friend who’d barge in on you at some random time. Good thing Twilight is pretty understanding and tolerant.

The second we cleared Twilight’s room and made it to the lobby, we spotted the owner of the public book storage site. She was hard at work at her desk working with a fervor achieved by those of devout religious faith or those with an extreme OCD. I was banking on the latter.

“Hey, Twilight! We’re back,” Rainbow called out. Twilight barely twitched, she looked pretty engrossed in whatever she was doing. “Twilight. It’s Rainbow Dash and Dante. Hellooooooo!” Rainbow tried again. Twilight’s ears didn’t even twitch. It wasn’t until Rainbow went up behind Twilight and physically get her attention with a shoulder tap.

“Huh, wha? Oh hey, did you guys just get here?” Twilight responded as she turned around to face us. Her eyes looked a tad bloodshot and part of her mane was a bit disheveled. Oh boy, here we go again. Obsessive Twilight was active and at maximum capacity. Might be able to get her to maybe... I don’t know, get her on a topic that won’t give her high blood pressure.

“We’re fine. You doing okay? You look kinda rough,” Rainbow inquired.

“Huh? Oh, yeah. I’m fine just... uh... working on a small project. Nothing special,” Twilight responded a bit hesitantly. “Did you guys get your... errand done?”

“Yeah. Good to go, but we also discovered a new thing Dante can do! It’s so awesome!” Rainbow said with a large smile.

This got Twilight’s attention and her ears snapped to attention. She immediately called for Spike and grabbed a quill and parchment with her magic and gave us her full and undivided attention. Rainbow and I were more than happed to recreate the... er... man I really need to think of a name for this. Eeeh, let’s just call it the “share” ability until I can think of something less corny. Man, naming stuff gets tricky. I digress, I produced my talons and Rainbow threw her hooves into them creating our “shared” talons. Twilight was obviously interested but also a little intimidated. Her ears had gone flush against her head and her pupils looked to have shrunk a bit, not that it kept her from still take notes. Before Twilight could say anything, an impressive sounding “Whoa!” permeated the library. Rainbow turned toward the source to see Spike standing in the kitchen doorway with a small platter. He was hunched over and his normally slitted eyes were now completely circular.

“Rainbow!” Spike exclaimed. “You’re like part dragon!... Well, except for the eyes, but still too cool!”

Oh, do you hear that? Sounds like... yeup. A bountiful ego being oh so carefully stroked and it is purring. Rainbow puffed out her chest a bit as she showed off her newly acquired digits, “Aw yeah, except I’m faster and way more awesome!”

Spike came closer as Rainbow sat down on her haunches. “Whoa. This is cool. How is Dante doing that?” Spike inquired as he observed the bladed talons on the ground.

“Apparently, if you put your legs into his tendrils they just sort of... absorb ‘em,” Rainbow responded with a nonchalant shrug.

“Wait, wait,” Twilight interjected, she had questions to ask (as if she wouldn’t). She passed the quill and parchment to Spike as she continued. “The tendrils contorted to your legs and barrel, while the talons just adhered to your hoof? Just like that?”

“Yeah, it’s kinda like they locked in,” Rainbow replied. “Plus, I can control them too.” Rainbow then flexed the blades on her right hoof. The blades expanded horizontally before coming together and scraping against one another. “I wasn’t expecting this, but this is pretty sweet. The blades, I mean. You really need to try this, Twilight.”

To my surprise, I actually saw Twilight stop her notes for a moment and observed Rainbow messing with the talons. I saw a single moment of interest pass through her before she shook her head. “No thanks. I can use my hooves and magic just fine.”

“I doubt she’d want to damage her books anyway. If they can cut through rock, imagine what they’d do to books,” I suggested before letting a small mental image of Twilight accidentally shredding a book into confetti. Rainbow snickered.

“But, the reason I asked is because this could be the armor Zecora talked about,” Twilight stated with a smile.

Rainbow shot her down about as fast as she did me. “Yeah, don’t think so. It’s all flabby. Doesn’t look like it could defend against much.”

Twilight’s face scrunched up at this. Was she disappointed or just thinking? Hard to say. She went back to writing notes before she approached. “Mind if I take a look, Rainbow?” Twilight inquired.

Rainbow shrugged and held out her left leg for Twilight to investigate. Hell, if anyone could figure out how this stuff worked it’d be Twilight... ya know. You’d think when Death decided to plop my happy ass on this world, in a new body, he’d at least left me a hand book. Shit, I’d been fine with a “how to be a co-dependent blob”. Figuring this all out from scratch is a pain... well, at least I got help. Fuck me running, if I had to do this by myself.

Anyway, Twilight had Spike take over note taking while she investigated Rainbow’s augmented leg and barrel “So, do you feel different at all? Stronger or anything?”

Hmmm, is she thinking what I think she is? “No, I feel fine. Why?” Rainbow inquired.

Twilight hmm’d to herself as she added something to her notes. “What do you think she’s thinking?” I queried my rainbow maned compatriot.

Rainbow shrugged and inquired what Twilight had in mind.

“Well,” Twilight began. “While it might be a stretch, but maybe this is how the Dark-Eyed Warriors were able to have their strength and stamina. I was hoping that you were feeling stronger.”

That... actually makes a bit of sense, except how does this flab make a brace... wait. Gonna steal a line from Rarity real quick. “Ideeeeea! Rainbow!” Rainbow twitched a bit before giving me her attention. “I gonna try something. I’m not sure if it’ll work but just go with it.”

Rainbow wasn’t entirely certain what I was up to, but she gave me the go ahead. So... here’s my thinking. Rainbow currently has my tendrils on her front legs. I can’t manipulate them, but it’s also only on her front hooves. Twilight seems to think this might be where the warriors get their stamina. Assuming she is right (and let’s be honest she probably is) maybe I can-

“Whoa!” Spike exclaimed in surprise as I produced a new set of tendrils! Ha Ha! I was right! Which means, I can do this! I lowered my tendrils and slapped them against Rainbow’s back legs and, sure enough, the attached to them! However, there was an additional effect I wasn’t exactly expecting. The tendrils engulfed Rainbow’s... er... well... putting this politely, they covered her flank and back side before... ahem.... Constricting. I did not know this was going to happen I swear! Hell, I’m wondering why it didn’t constrict before!

Rainbow let out a surprised squeak before blushing and getting reasonably pissed. “Are you copping a feel!?”

“NO! No no no no no! I swear! I was just trying to see if I could... even out the ability. What use is it just having front leg enhancements on a four legged creature? I swear I’m not trying anything perverted!” I retorted noticing I was a little warmer than I was before.

Twilight was beyond interested, “Oh my gosh! They tightened! This could be the Symbio armor! This is so-” She halted when she noticed Rainbow’s new color addition. “Rainbow, why are you blushing?”

Rainbow blushed a little harder at the question. She then called Twilight close so she could voice her offense without tainting a certain tiny dragon child’s virgin ears. “Dante is totally copping a feel on my flanks!” She whispered pointing a talon at her flanks.

“I AM NOT!”

Twilight looked at Rainbow’s legs and backside with a perplexed look before excusing herself to look for a book. She went over to the health and wellness section of the library and after a bit of searching she found whatever she was looking for and pulled it from the shelf. She popped the book open and flipped through it until she found whatever she was searching for. “Actually,” Twilight said with a smile. “Dante isn’t doing anything er...,” she looked at Spike before she changed her wording, “Like that, at least not intentionally.” Not helping, Twi.

Rainbow gave a her unicorn friend a skeptical look. Twilight decided to elaborate. She flipped the book around to reveal a diagram of the muscular and skeletal anatomy of pony. “I thought it was weird that Dante’s tendrils were just enveloping your barrel and your legs, but looking at these muscular groups, it makes more sense. They’re lining up with your muscle systems for your fore and hind legs,” Twilight said with exuberance. She then laughed for some reason, “Him... er, adjusting to those parts of your anatomy is him connecting with your hehe, gluteus maximus muscle which happens to be the biggest and most important part of your back legs.” Twilight continued to titter a bit to herself. “I’m not sure, but this might be the real enhancement ability.”

Oh, that was the trigger word. “Wait, you think these could be-” Rainbow posed in with a mounting excitement.

Twilight nodded, “It could be. Dante’s previous ability seemed to be more of a ‘last resort’ boost. This seems more encompassing and might actually be the real deal. Of course, I’m just speculating but-” She didn’t get a chance to finish.

“Can we test it!?”

Twilight flinched, “What?”

“Can we see if these can make me faster?” Rainbow repeated an excited grin on her face.

Twilight blinked before she tapped her chin in thought. “Well... we could, there is a treadmill in the basement. The only issue is that we don’t really have a control.”

“A wha?”

“Like a comparison,” Spike chimed in. “It’s basically a pony who would do what you would do just without Dante’s help.”

“Oh... well is that really important?” Rainbow asked hoping that Twilight wouldn’t say-

“Yes, it is,” Twilight interjected decisively. “We need to determine how strong this ability is and if it has any side effects. You remember what his other ability did. You couldn’t fly for two days!”

Rainbow wanted to make a rebuttal, but Twilight’s reasoning made her reconsider. Some memories were flowing through her head, the soreness of her wings, the fatigue her body felt. She couldn’t deny Twilight had a point. “Hey, if anything we can give it a shot tomorrow. Maybe Applejack will be willing to help.”

“Yeeeah... I guess. Just sucks. I really want to see what this can do... you think they’ll work on my wings?” Rainbow responded clearly not entirely happy with the turn of events, but still retaining some eagerness and curiosity.

“Well... why wouldn’t they? I mean, they attached to your legs pretty easily. Hell, we could test them too, so long as there are no aftereffects like Twilight said. I’m pretty curious to see what these bad boys can do.” I could understand Rainbow’s frustration. I mean, imagine you had a pair of... I’d say half a foot long, blades at your disposal. You can’t tell me you wouldn’t fuck around just a little. Hell, if this was the states, I’d be at the nearest junk yard figuring out what I could and could not shred. I’m still questioning if these things could go toe-to-toe with a metal sword. Be like the Wolverine... but like with... obsidian claws.

“So... you can’t be the... control or whatever?” Rainbow inquired to Twilight.

Twilight shook her head dismissively. “I’m afraid that wouldn’t work. I’m nowhere near your level of athleticism. You’d clearly be faster than me and easily be able to last longer in any form of endurance. Even the other way around it’d be pretty difficult. We need somepony with equal skill and endurance. Like Applejack.”

My rainbow maned compatriot sort of understood what Twilight was talking about but there was still a nagging desire. As much as she wanted to encourage that desire, better reasoning told her she’d have to wait lest she submit herself to another grounding. “Okay... I get it. Think we can test them out tomorrow?”

“Why not? I’ll see if Applejack will let us use part of her farm to test the ability and its effects. Probably need to get some monitoring equipment as well. Hmm... I need to make a list,” Twilight then started to mutter to herself about items and equipment she’d probably need. She eventually snapped out of herself thought by Spike clearing his throat.

“Uh, can I stop now Twilight? You two haven’t really discussed anything new in a while.”

Twilight chuckled sheepishly and dismissed Spike to do whatever he wanted. Poor guy, everyone forgot he was there. But... come one this is pretty awesome. I mean... bio-weaponry and armor! Exoskin! All the coolness!... Okay, I kinda forgot he was there too. I didn’t mean to, but I did. I was distracted by cool shit. It’s a weakness. I’m working on it!

Anyway, Spike passed off the notes he’d taken to Twilight and went off to do his own thing. This left Twilight, Rainbow, and myself to determine tomorrow's plan of action. Rainbow explained that she had to meet with the CMC to discuss our next plan of action, but also said that it’d be on Applejack’s farm anyway so it wouldn’t be an issue. Twilight said she’d bring some equipment to allow us to see how much of a boost, if any, the share ability gave the host. Rainbow was fine with this and said she’d be back tomorrow a bit early since they were still waiting for a shipment of... clouds (who knew) from Cloudsdale (coincidence abounds) and until they came she didn’t really have much to do aside from some advance weather planning.

Rainbow promised she’d be back the second she got off work. She let the leg exoskins drop so I could actually leave. Apparently, this new ability kind of “locks” me into my host. Like... literally locks me. Once she did drop them, I was able to disconnect myself and head over to Twilight. I hooked back up with Twilight and we both said goodbye to Rainbow for the night. Rainbow took off, leaving Twilight and I to discuss things... a lot of things.

“Sooo... you’ve been busy,” I casually broke the ice.

Twilight was quick to respond, “Yes, but can you blame me?You dropped an invasion plot and my brother’s wedding on me. I wasn’t going to just do nothing.”

Fair point. “Well... what did you come up with? Looks like you were hard at work when we came in earlier.”

My unicorn host went back to the table she had been at prior. From a cursory glance, I saw a few images of changelings along with some notes about their biology. Another set of pages looked like maps and tactical data. Jesus, I really wish I had half her focus. I might have gotten through law school quicker. Hell, might have been done before the meteor hit. I really should stop using Jesus’ name then using Hell in the following sentence.

Anyway, Twilight had obviously done plenty of research. Which in hindsight is probably a good thing. Twilight knows more about this world than me... which I need to work on. Seriously, I wonder if this library has a legal section. Maybe... I could try to become a lawyer once I try and help with all the problems that come around. Huh, wonder if Celestia and Luna could make that a thing. Equestria’s first Symbio lawyer. I’d have to get an assistant for sure. Hey, they could be my paralegal! Hehe, that’s... wait, I’m getting off topic. “Okay, so you’ve been very busy. What did you do exactly?”

“Well, I did some research on changeling biology, checked over the maps of Canterlot for possible alternate locations to hide the Elements, looked into some possible anti-magic barriers that might be able to neutralize changeling disguises, and did some searching to see if there are ways to prevent mental tampering.” Holy crap, she rattled that off like that was normal thing for someone to research in five hours. Damn, I need to step up my game.

“Okay, first off, damn. Secondly, what can you tell me about what you learned? If I’m gonna be useful I’m gonna need to learn what I can,” I stated knowing that the incoming lecture would last a while; but it was vital. Twilight and I needed to pool our resources, and so far I have a pretty nice repertoire. Sharp finger blades, on call adrenaline rush, aura vision, and now limb enhancements (maybe). We’ll put that under “to be determined.”

As much as I didn’t want to think about it, an invasion was going to happen. Hopefully, by the time the wedding rolls around I’d be ready. Until then, best to learn me a thing or two.

Chapter 25- Life Talks and Crew Meeting.

Ya know, I like learning stuff. It helps expand your view on life, gives you alternative perspectives, and tends to make you more adaptable. Plus, if you learn something interesting you can use it to impress your friends!

This lesson, however, was entirely different. While I needed to know this information, the reason for me knowing about changeling abilities and biology was so I could combat them. While the idea of... being a warrior and fighting an invasion force was sobering and disconcerting, I knew it was essential. I’d need to know as much as I could.

I got lucky with the changelings before. Retrospectively, had I not landed those adrenaline-laden punches when I was fighting those changelings a while back...; well, I wouldn’t be discussing this right now. Anyway, I’ll just put it into Cliff's notes. Disclaimer: I’m gonna paraphrase because Twilight was in full on teacher mode.

Okay, changelings are apparently a sort of hybrid pony. Basically, bug/pony. Their biology is reminiscent of bugs, exoskeletal exterior with all the squishy bits in the middle. They have been recorded as using basic telekinesis; but their main weapon of attack is a special eldritch fire (I’m very familiar with this) and their ability to disguise themselves. While it’s not completely known how this magic works, it is believed that their biology somehow works with their magic to allow them to change their appearance. I think Twilight said it was hypothesized that their unique magic allows them to replicate various coat colors along with manes and flank marks despite them having chitinous exoskeletons. The closest thing I can compare it to would be like how octopi can change their skin pigment and texture.

If I had to wager a guess, changeling magic allows them that extra degree of authenticity; but it’s also magic so I could be way off base. Maybe I’ll probe Twilight for some additional, non-changeling related information. I could learn some more about magic and how it works, something useful in case I have to take control of my... God. I can’t believe I’m thinking like this. That I have to think about potential combat and... potential death. Damn it, not even an hour ago I was hyped to see about my new exoskin and the awesomeness associated with it. Now I’m worrying about the invasion again. Sigh... I suppose this was coming. “So, big question. When you were researching changelings did you find a way to counteract the whole... mind scramble thing?”

Twilight mentally shifted through the knowledge she’d collected that evening, until she came upon what little she found. “Well, there are spells that can stop mental manipulation, but they’re a bit complex, and performing them on a large contingent of guards would be strenuous and time consuming. You said Cadence’s bridesmaids get controlled, right?”

“Yeah, Lyra, Minuette, and... erh... crap. I can’t remember the third one. I remember she’s a unicorn... and... uh... she has... a... I can’t remember.”

Twilight’s face scrunched up as she attempted to help jog my memory. “Can you remember her cutie mark?” Twilight asked.

I worked to try and remember what the mark looked like but I was having issues remembering it.“Uuuh... God, it’s like... marbles? No, candy? No... eeeh, I’m not sure.”

Twilight was, thankfully, understanding and took the info in stride. “Well, if they are Cadence’s bridesmaids then we’ll figure it out eventually. Hopefully, we can get a list of those attending the wedding and make sure we get the right ponies affixed with the spell. With any luck, it might help us oust any changelings hidden within Canterlot or find Queen Chrysalis.”

I suppose that was a possibility. If all changelings have the same green aura it shouldn’t be too hard to spot any that are a little stronger than most. “We could do a sweep of the castle with aura sight and look for any auras that stand out,” I added.

Twilight cocked an eyebrow in curiosity. “What do you mean auras that stand out?” she asked curiously.

“Changelings tend have a sort of vibrant green aura compared to most ponies, and they seem to be the same color as other changelings. So if there are a bunch of green auras in Canterlot, we know who’s a changeling,” I explained, but the moment I did, I noticed I hadn’t explained how I knew that.

This prompted Twilight to ask the obvious question, “You know what changelings look like?”

Shit.

Oh Lord, I am a dingus. How am I gonna explain this? Oh, Celestia sent me on this mission to oust a supposed group of rebels that tried to kill her, but, in reality, it ended up being two changelings who had a bunch of ponies under their control and were using them to kill Celestia. Yeah, sure that’ll go off swimmingly. I’ve added enough problems as it is. “It’s a long story. Princess Celestia had me go on a mission a while ago. There happened to be two changelings there.”

And this opened the floodgates as Twilight's mind took off. I could practically feel her brain racing. "How reliable is your aura sight? Why haven't you already used it for this? Oh, wait, we just discovered that we can overlay our vision a few days ago. What is the range of your sight? Have you compared different race's auras? I need to review my notes. Does Princess Celestia know you can identify changelings? When—"

"Whoa! Slow down, I can't think as fast as you can!" Literally. I can't. She asked all that in about three seconds. "Let me see, my vision is perfectly accurate, but I don't have any knowledge base to make characterizations with any confidence. I don't think Celestia knows yet, I didn't figure everything out until afterwards last time. And, again, I don't have the knowledge base to make any calls. What else was there?"

Twilight referred to her neatly written list of questions... wait. Where did that come from? Did she pull out a scroll and quill, write down all her questions, AND my responses in the time it took me to answer?!

Someday Sir Bastard Quill... Someday...

Twilight's 'hmm' of thought brought my attention back to where it should be. "I think we should set up some experiments later to get the rest of this data. For now I think we should contact the Princess to make arrangements to sweep the castle for infiltrators. We can capture a changeling and, if we are lucky, put an end to the invasion before it begins."

Well, damn. Less than a minute after hearing about a potential skill and she has the bare bones of a workable plan. I'm pretty impressed. "Okay, one other thing. On the whole 'capture changelings' thing. What about... combat? Anything I should know?” I was hesitant to ask this particular question because I honestly was hoping I wouldn’t have to get into the fray again. But who am I kidding, this thing is going to happen regardless of my feelings. Best I learn what I can and, at the least, have some course of action aside from charging head long into the fray and hoping for the best.

Twilight was, unfortunately, receptive to my hesitance and inquired. “Dante... do you not want to fight?”

“Eeeh... it’s not that,” I replied with trepidation. “Just... How do I explain this?... Okay, back on my world, we’ve had wars. I won’t sugar coat it. When I was eighteen, I had the choice to join my country’s military or go to law school. I spent a long time going over this decision. I weighed the pros and cons, and what might happen with each choice. Ultimately, I chose law school because I rationalized that if I joined the military I’d have to fight and I’d have to kill. The idea of having to take a life really... it really disturbed me. I wasn’t sure if I could handle that guilt. With this whole invasion thing... I feel like I might have to do that or help others do it. I’m not sure if I can handle that.”

A sense of realization sort of flowed through Twilight and I even felt some empathy. “I understand. I had a similar conversation with myself and I’m glad that I have yet to... end a life, but... well,” Twilight hesitated as she took a calming breath. She’d been thinking about this too. “As much as I don’t want to harm others... I will also do everything in my power to protect those I care about.My parents, brother, mentor, and, apparently, my future sister-in-law are all in Canterlot. I will not do nothing just to avoid taking a life. I’m sorry if that’s a bit blunt, but it’s how I feel.”

“...”

“...”

“...”

Damn it. I knew she was gonna say that. Why’d I think she’d say anything else?... Hmmm. I don’t like that I might have to kill... but Twilight’s right. I’d feel worse sitting around doing nothing while lives were lost anyway. Hmmm, I need to think on this more. After letting out a mental sigh, I responded, “I-I... get it, Twilight. I do. And I appreciate the honesty. I’m not comfortable with the idea, and I doubt I ever will be I don’t think I can sit by either. I’m committed to this... I just... I got to figure out how to contribute to the cause.”

“It’s okay. I think we all are going to have to come to grips with that conflict eventually,” Twilight replied. She was empathetic, I could feel it, and she was also correct. Rainbow will probably be gung ho about it, no question. Applejack will probably follow Rainbow’s lead. Pinkie... erh...I’m not entirely sure. Maybe passive-aggressive party tactics? I feel sorry for Fluttershy in all this. Poor thing. Rarity... let’s mark that as another unknown. I doubt she’d be the first into the fray, but I’m also certain she knows how to handle herself. At least, I would hope. Do most unicorns know how to do pew-pew laser spells?

“Hey, Twilight question.”

“What is it?”

“Do unicorns learn defense spells? Like anti-personnel spells or the like?”

Twilight found the question a bit odd, but I think she caught on to why I was asking. “Well, most spell control and basic magic training is done by parents. Foals usually learn how to rein in their magic around the same time they learn to speak. That’s usually where they learn basic levitation. If the parents see fit, they might teach their foals other spells or if the foal is old enough to read they might learn some on their own. But to answer your question, it is dependent on the unicorn. Some might, others might not.”

Hmmm, interesting. “What about Rarity? She know any defense spells?”

Twilight had to focus on this a bit. She was going through a bunch of memories to see if Rarity ever mentioned or openly used any kind of protective or offensive magic. “I’m positive she can use a neutralization spell. It’s fairly basic, but a solid hit can knock a pony out for a good while. If anything I know she can put some force behind her telekinesis. Why are you asking?”

Saw that question coming, “I... I want to help when this all goes down. However, I know next to nothing about how to fight like this. If I were still human, I might be able to hold my own in a one to one fight. But being like this and with an invasion force on the way, I got nothing aside from wild swipes and maybe some armor. If I’m gonna be of any use to you, the girls, or even the guards I’m going to need some training.”

I felt some gratitude from Twilight for this statement and she was pretty happy that I was willing to offer assistance. “I understand, Dante. I’m probably going to request a few defensive spells from Canterlot along with some other spells that might help. If you want I can-...” Twilight suddenly went silent as a new thought invaded her mind. I caught part of what she was thinking about. Something about her brother and me, but it quickly shifted to another thought that seemed more important... or viable, I’m not entirely sure. Either way, she quickly came back with a question. “Dante, you planned to send another letter to the princesses about this new ability, correct?”

“Yeeeeeah. That was the deal. Why?” I countered trying to figure out where she was going with this and how it connected with the snippet I caught before.

“Well, I was thinking. You could ask them to find you a teacher. In regards to combat, that is.”

Oh, that could work. I mean, there has to be someone who trains new recruits and the like, but could they develop a way for me to fight? I’m still having a hard time determining how I’d assist in combat. I sort of just ad-libbed my fight with the changelings before and even then I only used my tendrils to chuck that one douche nozzle. Still feel a little guilty but not enough to remember what his name was. Sorry (not sorry), he was a dick.

“Yeah, I had considered it before. Might be better to do that sooner rather than later. Just... I guess I was just holding it off. Damn, mind if we cut the lecture short so I can get that letter out before I forget?... Or find a way to talk myself out of it.” I was being pretty sincere about that last bit. I had been dreading this moment, having to accept that this would be coming... but... I was going to have to accept this eventually. Best I accept it now rather than later.

Twilight agreed and took us to her research table so I could write my letter. Once again I did battle with Quillian, the Bastard of all Quills, and his cohort, Parch Ment, the basic. They both saw their end a little faster than before, but their resistance still caused me no amount of frustration. I made sure to include the newest ability and my current dilemma. Eventually the letter was finished, but we had to wait a bit for Spike to send the letter off. He had gone into the shower while the lecture was going on. When he finished with his liquid cleansing ritual, he was more than happy to send off the letter to Luna. After that, we sort of realized that it was getting late and decided it’d be good to prepare for bed, but not before Twilight made some notes on my newest abilities.

“Would you mind too much? I just want to get the visual stuff down first so I won’t have to worry about the physical effects tomorrow,” Twilight asked as she grabbed quill and parchment from her bedside with her magic. I wasn’t feeling that tired myself and I was kinda curious to see Twilight’s reaction to having the exo-skin on her as well. So I accepted. Twilight nestled herself into bed and held out her forelegs. I let my tendrils (sans talons) produce and enveloped them. She let out a slight shudder as they wrapped around her legs, but once they were there she quickly adjusted to their presence. Twilight was intrigued by the feeling and made some details notes about them.

Symbio ability: exo (until further notice)

Ability causes tendrils to adhere to host’s appendage. Tendril seems to follow the major muscle groups of designated appendage. (May possibly affect stamina of host- to be determined)

Twilight took a break to look at the addition to her legs again. She was apparently curious of the lack of sharp things at the end of her hoof. “Dante, how do you activate the claws... or talons?”

“Uh, it’s like flexing. So... erh... crap, this was easier with Celestia... eeerh. Try... like...” I hit a wall. I wasn’t entirely sure how to equate this to someone without digits. “Okay, I’m at a loss for how to explain this. With ponies with wings, it’s easier to explain. I’m not sure how to explain this to anyone else. For me, it’s like making a claw with my hand.”

Twilight wasn’t quite getting my explanation, so I tried a different approach. “Okay, relax your left leg and I’ll show you.”

Twilight nodded and did as I asked, allowing me a free tendril to create. With my tendril produced, I held it out in front of Twilight. “Okay, so this is normal. Now, I curl my fingers like this.” I let my digits curl in without letting them go rigid. “Nothing happens, but if I flex them so they go rigid.” Apply pressure and... “The talons come out. Does that help?”

Twilight watched and listened as I did my demonstration and did her best to apply it to her right leg. She tried various flexes to attempt to get the talons to produce but was getting no results. After her final attempt she let the appendage flop onto the bed in annoyance.“It’s still not working. Can they not be activated unless you do it?”

That might be a possibility. I should have had Rainbow try this earlier, but hindsight and all that right? Hmmmm... okay, let’s try this idea. “Okay, what about... like a cat?”

“A... cat?” Twilight inquired.

I don’t think she understood what I was getting at. I did my best to elaborate, “Like you know how a cat has claws, but they only come out when they flex or paw at something? Try like that.”

Twilight envisioned what I was suggesting and I think it clicked in some way. She looked to her right leg once again and held it up. I felt Twilight envisioning her hoof as a cat paw. She knew the mechanics of how a cat’s paw operates and I felt her working out how to replicate such an action herself. She rolled her wrist a bit until she felt something click. No, not the talons. They don’t click, it’s more like a... crackle. Anyway, it was more like she got the idea of how this would work. She extended her hoof until it was pointing. Then... she made a grabbing motion and with an all too familiar crackle, the black gave way to silvery-grey claws. Their appearance made Twilight a little giddy and she had to actively muffle her growing squeal of excitement. Hehe, Twilight is so proud of herself, it’s adorable. She jotted down some more notes on her parchment while taking occasional glances at her newly acquired claws.

Exo ability seems to grant an additional ability, named claws due to their appearance. The claws do not seem to be at the disposal of the Symbio but rather to the host. There are five per appendage, four at the front and one on the side of the host’s hoof. It is similar to the claws of feline; however, the dew claw seems to be more articulate and can bend inward to allow for grasping.

Note to be amended later: claws look to be about twenty-five centimeters long. Will measure later for exact length and width.

Currently, the durability of the claws has yet to be determined. First hoof experience gives the impression that they are quite tough and durable, but until an adequate test can be devised for the claws to determine their strength and/or durability.

Twilight put the quill down again and found herself examining the claws a bit more. “This is... a very odd sensation,” Twilight thought as she flexed her new appendages a bit. Boy, this is a good starting point for later. Maybe she won’t freak out as much when she goes to the human world. Anyway, Twilight decided to test the dexterity of her claw-fingers. She floated her quill into the clawed hoof and just sort worked it with the claws. She did fumble it a bit but eventually she figured out how to handle it... and she was really quick learner. She even figured out how to twiddle the quill in her claws... okay, that’s just not fair. I do battle with a quill and parchment, but little miss fancy britches twirls them around with ease. Bah... At least I’ll win when it comes time to stand on two legs.

I found myself in a rather... precarious situation. Hanging off the side of a rather large skyscraper looking down at the bustling city before me. I didn’t readily recognize the city and I don’t really think I’ve ever been here before. Regardless, the only thing keeping me from falling were the claws and talons I had lodged into the skyscraper. How I got myself into this stupid of a situation, I don’t know, but I’m glad my talons were working. I could probably scale my way to a safer spot... or... I could do some superhero style shit.

I’m not sure what tempted me to do so, but I decided to release all but one of my talons to let myself swing freely from my one active clawed hand. Using the momentum of the swing, I released the remaining talon so, now, I was moving sideways while also falling. Before I gained too much downward momentum, I activated my talons and claws again to lock into the building again. I took some glass with me as my momentum kept me moving downward, but I did eventually come to a stop.

Ehehe, oh my God, that was stupid... let’s go again. Again, I let myself swing a bit before throwing myself across the building, but this time I got a little more adventurous. I used the talons on my feet to kick off the glass and move me sideways a bit better. I found it pretty effective in moving across the side of this building and I was digging this mode of transportation. Better stop before I take this too far... or ramp it up. Hmm, I feel like I’m not making some good decisions right now... but honestly, I’m feeling like a beast. I’mma climb this thing and-

*Knock Knock*

Huh?

*Knock Knock*

Who the hell is knocking way up here? I looked into the window pane I was currently using as a perch to see a familiar looking alicorn waving at me... Luna? The hell she doing in... wait. I’ve done this before... well, not the skyscraper thing, but this particular conversation with myself. Oh... I’m dreaming. That’s why this is familiar.

“Hey, Luna,” I greeted the alicorn, along with a taloned wave.

“Good night too you, Dante,” Luna replied with a wave. “How do you fare tonight?”

“Not too bad,” I responded with a growing trepidation. “Did you get a chance to read that letter I sent you?”

Luna nodded, “Indeed, mayhaps you’d prefer to discuss this in a less hazardous location?”

I couldn’t agree more, now how to get inside? Hmm. Oh right, dreams. Fuck logic. Some applied imagination turned my talons into burning razors that easily melted the glass of the building. After cutting a nice circle out of the glass and slipping inside, I decided to get to the point. “So... what do you think? Know anyone who’d be willing to teach me to fight?”

“We discussed this with Tia. She believes it may be a good idea; however, the task would difficult due to having to find a way to train you and whoever you learn to fight with. Considering the nature of your species, we believe you should learn to fight with a partner since this will make you both a formidable team. Would you find this acceptable?”

A partner? I can see where they’re coming from and honestly it made sense. Although... a partner sounded kinda... intimate. I mean, it could be like a buddy cop kinda thing... but considering I haven’t met many stallions it could lead to some... ahem... hint hint, wink wink, nudge nudge, moments. Hey, I’m trying not to be graphic, y’all got imaginations. You go to your corners and I’ll stay here. “Well, yeah, but... if I did take a partner, who would it be? Someone in Canterlot? One of the girls?”

“That would depend on you and who you choose. Would you prefer to be paired with the Elements? Or with a soldier?” Luna responded.

Well... uuuh ... huh... Who would I want to be paired with? I mean, I mostly hang with Twilight and Rainbow most of the time. I could understand Rainbow since we’ve been teaming up for the Nightmare Night scheme, but I’m pretty chill with Twilight and she’s pretty quick at learning stuff. Eeerh. Hmm. Better get an outside opinion. “Well, who do you think, Luna? I mean Rainbow and Twilight are both okay in my book. I know Twilight is on board for sure and I’m positive Rainbow would be willing to help. I’m just not sure which would be better.”

Luna tapped a hoof on her chin as she considered the question. I conjured a nice sofa and replaced the partially melted window with a solid wall. Of course, I made sure the couch was comfy, and it had the right amount of cushion so I sank just enough.

“Mayhaps both,” Luna responded after some contemplation.

“Both?” I responded with a bit of surprise.

“Well, in truth, a third wouldn’t be bad either,” she added.

“Okay, hold up. Hold up. What are you suggesting?” I asked in desperate need of an explanation.

Luna made herself a sofa and took a seat as she explained her reasoning. “Your abilities have an incredible versatility. Limiting them to a singular pony or even a singular tribe would be a waste,” Luna explained in an even tone. “So, I suggest training with both the Element of Magic and the Element of Loyalty along with another, preferably a earth pony. This would allow you the opportunity to train with all three and learn how best to work with them.”

I was kinda dumbfounded by how simple but brilliant the idea was. Plus, it’d give me the opportunity to interact with other ponies. Woo hoo! “That’s a good point, Luna.”

“We thank you,” Luna replied with a small bow of her head.

Thinking on it more, training with the girls would save me the hassle of traveling back and forth to Canterlot. Actually, that’s assuming. Better get clarification. “So... if I train with the Elements, would we still need to go to Canterlot to train?”

Luna gave me a dismissive shake of her head. “Nay, my sister and I agree that this would garner too much attention. We are still unsure if changelings still wander Canterlot. Our sister and I shall find a teacher and send them to Ponyville. Until then, we would suggest finding somepony you trust to be a combative partner.”

Good point. However, whoever I pick, I’m going to have to tell them about the invasion. Twilight already knows so that will make things a bit easier. Telling Rainbow will definitely take some tact. Uuugh. Nothing is ever simple. “Hmmm, I’ll have to discuss this with Twilight,” I responded. “I’m also going to have to explain to Rainbow and whoever else I involved in this why they are preparing for combat.”

Luna nodded in understanding.“Understood. There is still time. Either Tia or we shall inform you when we have located a suitable teacher. Until then, we would suggest not worrying about the matter.”

I nodded, “Yeah. I guess so.” Actually, I should get some additional input. “Say, Luna. Can I ask you something?”

“Of course. What plagues your mind?” Luna replied with a pleasant enough smile.

“You’ve... engaged in combat before, right?” I was partially hesitant to ask this question because I feared I might step on some toes... so to speak.

Luna seemed momentarily put off, but offered her response with a bit of sullenness. “Yes... I have been in a few combative engagements. Why do you ask?”

I let out a sigh as I spoke, “This whole invasion has got me worrying about what I might have to do. I’m... I might... gah. I’m not certain if I can handle taking a life or helping someone do so.” I paused for a moment before I continued, “I talked about this with Twilight and she made a really compelling argument, but... I figured I’d get some additional input, ya know?”

I saw the realization in Luna’s eyes as she mouthed a silent ‘Oh’. “I see what you are worried about. Sister and I have... contended with this many times in the past,” Luna spoke in a softer tone than usual and there was a serious undertone to her words. “We long since agreed to do what must be done to protect our subjects... Even if that meant ending lives to do so,” Luna began, her works heavy in both tone and severity. “However, we do not take that decision lightly. Tia and... I often deliberated on the best course of action for long periods of time and sometimes... in the midst of battle.” There was a look on Luna’s face as she mentioned this, it was grim. I wasn’t sure what she was thinking about, but it was clear that is wasn’t a good one. As much as I wanted to ask what she was thinking about, I also felt like that might be pushing into some more uncomfortable territory than was necessary. I let her continue. “I... would suggest thinking on what it is you are fighting for and considering what might happen if you choose not to.”

...

More valid points. God... hmmmm. I really need to do some soul searching on this. Long and thorough soul searching. “Thanks, Luna. I appreciate your input and candor. I’m just having a hard time accepting that death is a very real... probably inevitable thing, during the invasion,” I finished with a long sigh and let myself sink into the sofa.

“I can sense the fear in your mind. This truly weighs heavily on you, doesn’t it?” Luna asked in a soft and concerned tone.

I nodded deftly. She was in my head again, but I wasn’t bothered by it. I’m sure my tone was just as good an indicator that I wasn’t “pleased” with this particular thought. At this point, I was tired of thinking about it, time for subject change. “Let’s forget about that for now. I got an update on the Nightmare Night plan.”

Luna gave me an assuring smile, and allowed for the topic change to happen. “Very well, were you successful in recruiting the fillies?”

I nodded, but made sure to add an important detail. “Yeah, they’re on board. Rainbow convinced them to help out, but there is a slight problem.”

Luna cocked an eyebrow.

“Sweetie Belle is kinda... scared of me,” I explained. “She’s still willing to help, but I want to give her some space until she’s more comfortable with me around.”

Luna nodded, “I see. I shall be certain to keep this in mind.”

“Yeah, we talked things out to where she’ll participate, I just want her to get accustomed to me.”

She nodded once more with an uneasy smile, “I am certain she will come to understand you are... not something to be feared.”

Now, I’m a fairly observant person. And I might be a little off base on this, but that sounded really insecure. It’s kinda hard to tell when I’m not attached. I suppose it’s something that we... actually, never mind. One pony being scared of me is not the same as Luna’s situation. “I’m sure she’ll come around,” I offered lightheartedly. “It’ll just take some time.”

Luna’s expression changed and she seemed a little more upbeat. With a bit of a chuckled huff, she got up from her couch. “Well, no more of these... unpleasant feelings. This is wonderful news. Shall we discuss how we shall proceed?”

I popped off my couch and gave a peppy thumbs up. “Sure. Where do we start?”

Luna smirked knowingly and produced a dream door. “We begin with our other cohort.”

Second coho-? ... OOOOOOH! “You want to talk to Rainbow?” I asked with a twinge of excitement. Rainbow had seen my dreams before, but I had yet to see hers. As a bonus, we’d get to talk a face-to-face... kinda. Close as I’ll ever get anyway.

“Indeed, I do. Come along, Dante,” Luna beckoned before creating a doorway that led the way into the Matrix hallway of dreams. This was gonna be fun. I have to devise some way to mess with her. But how? Hmmm, meh, I’ll work it out on the fly.

We moved into the hallway and proceeded until we arrived an ornate... oak door? I’m not good at identifying wood outside pine, so I’m guessing. Anyway, we arrived at the door of unknown lumber type, and she opened it. Upon it opening, we both got hit with a serious blast of wind. Luna took it pretty well... I got knocked on my ass. “What the hell?” I groaned as I got back on my feet. I looked at the door to see nothing but pure sky. I took a cautious look through the door to see nothing but clouds. The ground was far below our position was the green ground. A little more searching I spotted a few brightly colored specks streaking across the sky. I’ll give you a guess which one stood out among the rest. That one rainbow streak burning past all the others had to be the owner of this particular dream. Then I heard something that shed some light on what was going on in this dream.

“And Rainbow Dash passes yet another racer! The plucky racer from Ponyville is showing her skills today and doesn’t look to be slowing down!” a very energetic announcer... announced.

“Well, that explains the situation,” I quipped. Luna gave me an amused look.

“Would you like to go meet up with her?” Luna asked.

I thought about this. I was in magical dream world. While I could easily drop in as I was. Human with bladed feet and hands, I wanted this to be way more interesting. Hmm... oh... oooooooh. That could work. Hehe. I’m gonna need a little help on this. “Hey, Luna. I need you to help me make a disguise.”

Luna must have been listening to me think because she was wearing the same cheeky grin I was. “I’d be happy to oblige.”

After a little bit of mental finagling (yes, it’s a word) my disguise was in place. Rather than human, I was now the visage of a muscular light blue pegasus with a jet black mane and tail. I didn’t have a destiny symbol, but I was perfectly fine with that. With my ponysona in place Luna and I split up. Luna went ahead of me in stealth mode, apparently she can sort of “blend” into dreams. Don’t ask me how it works, magical alicorn dream magic. I took off into the air, making sure to close the door behind me. I’m considerate like that. So with that done, I used my imagination to push myself through the air at speeds that easily allowed me to catch up with the group of specks. As I approached, I noted the group was comprised of a bunch of pegasi wearing different... flight suits? They looked like the suits the Wonderbolts wear but with differentiating color schemes. Within the crowd, I could see Rainbow juking through the other pegasi and quickly working her way to the front. I was going to be right behind her. I poured on the speed as I entered the cluster, most of the other ponies were jostling for a better position. This opened up some opportunities for me to blaze through. Thankfully, skill can be easily replaced with imagination. If I tried this in real life I’d more than likely crash and burn... or crash and experience the ill effects of gravity. Either way, yay, dream logic!

I ducked, dodged, and twisted my way through the crowd until there were only a few front run-... flyers, the Wonderbolts and Rainbow Dash. Hmmm, might have to change the plans up a little. Still, gotta have my fun. I pumped the wings a bit harder and began to catch on the front runners. I kept my speed just behind Rainbow and made my presence known, “Yo, Dash! Right behind ya!” I altered my voice just a bit so she wouldn’t recognize me immediately. Just a little extra baritone seemed to do the trick.

Rainbow turned to see me burning around a Wonderbolt racer. She flashed a cocky smirk as she turned back to the path ahead of her. “Good luck catching up! I’m not losing this race without a fight!” she called back defiantly. Oooh... She’s right about one thing. She’s gonna fight. But I’m gonna cheat. Again, if this weren’t a dream I’d probably have zero chance of even being close to first place... but dreams make us all amazing.

I cranked up the speed once again so I was slowly inching up on Rainbow. I didn’t want to pass her but I wanted her to sweat a little. “On your right!” I called out once more. This time Rainbow didn’t look as cocky, now she looked a little concerned. I shot her my own cocky grin and stayed creeping up on her right side. Rainbow didn’t like that one bit and cut me off. I was forced to back off lest I crash into her. Not a problem, I’m looking to mess with her a little. I let myself slow down a bit and waited.

Soon a hard turn came up and I saw my opportunity. As we came into the turn, I disappeared. Not really, I just blended into the background, but for all intents and purposes let’s just say I did. So with that done, I gave myself the needed speed boost to get in front of Rainbow. Not a whole lot, just enough so she’d wonder when and how I got there. I’m gonna Looney Toon the shit out of Rainbow.

So sure enough, when I did reappear in front of her, Rainbow was clearly confused. I just held my pace and let her pass me. Once she passed me, I repeated the process. Each time she passed me she looked more and more confused, and progressively more pissed. After the fourth time she actually stopped. “Okay! How are you getting ahead of me?! You can’t be that fast!” she yelled in apparent annoyance.

I prepared to retaliate. Snark cannons to max! “Oh, you must have met my brothers. They doing okay?” I responded innocently.

“Four brothers who all look alike?” Rainbow said with a less than amused tone. “Cut the crap! How are you getting ahead of me?”

“Okay, fine. I used a really big slingshot to shoot me ahead of all the racers.”
Rainbow got angrier. “Grrrr! Stop it! I want a straight answer!”

Hmmm... Should I poke the angry bear? Or should I not poke the angry bear? “Okay, okay! Jeez. Can’t take a freakin’ joke,” I yelled. “If you really want to know so damn badly, I’ll tell you.”

Rainbow crossed her forelegs as she listened for my response. She was still seething, clearly, but at least she was giving me the time to respond.

“I just tapped my hooves together, yelled ‘meep meep’, and got ahead of you.” I poked the bear.

Rainbow yelled in frustration and grabbed me. “Who are you?!”

I started laughing. “Oh come on, Rainbow. You saying you don’t recognize me?” I said through my chuckles.

“Can’t you give me a freaking straight answer, feather brain?!”

“I am. Kinda. It’s your old pal, Dante!” I finally responded with my best “ta-da” pose.

Rainbow hesitated for a moment as she looked me over. “What?”

“Yeup! I got a little help to get here,” I said with a grin. “Hey Luna! You watching?”

The sound of laughter suddenly erupting from behind Rainbow got her to turn around. Luna was slowly materializing behind her and was clearly having herself a good hard laugh. “With rapted attention. Well done,” she replied with a giggle.

“Princess Luna?! Wait, how?” Rainbow sputtered before whipping around. “But you don’t sound like-”

“Like me?” I finished in my own voice, this time. “Welcome to dream logic, my chromatic friend.”

“I-... Dream logic?” Rainbow was clearly trying to process what was happening. “This... is a dream?”

“Indeed, Element of Loyalty. I was discussing the progress of our Nightmare Night plans and I wished to thank you personally for your help,” Luna stated with a small bow.

Rainbow released me as she tried to figure out what to do. “N-no problem. Anything for a good scare,” Rainbow finally responded.

“That’s what I figured,” I interjected as I floated my way to Rainbow’s side.

“So... wait. You brought Dante here just to thank me?” Rainbow inquired.

Luna shot her the knowing smile that I’d gotten accustom to seeing. “Not entirely. I brought Dante along so we might discuss the next part of the Slendermare plan. This will make it a easier to discuss things and get input.” Luna then used her magic to alter the surroundings to resemble the track of the Everfree Forest. “I reviewed the locations you marked and I think I have discovered how to proceed.” Luna highlighted a few of the locations I showed her the night before. “These points offer excellent potential. Each point has foliage to provide cover; however, I believe each point should be tested to ensure you and Dante can perform your duties without being spotted or heard. This shall be thy next course of action.”

I nodded. It wasn’t a particularly hard task, but I could see why it was important. No point in going at this if we get spotted every time we move. “Sounds like a good starting point. We may have to have one of the crusaders play lookout to see if they can spot us,” I offered.

“Yeah, but won’t this be at night?” Rainbow countered. “It’ll be pretty hard to see us anyway.”

Right. Forgot about that. “Maybe we can test that ourselves then. Maybe Twilight could-” I got cut off by Luna before I could even finish.

“There will be no need for that. I’d be happy to offer my assistance in this matter. I would like to work with the both of you on positioning.”

Both Rainbow and I snapped to Luna. “Really?” we responded simultaneously.

Luna giggled. “Yes. Both of you have been very helpful in making this plan come to fruition. 'Tis time I got... my hooves dirty? Is that correct?”

I poofed a big neon thumbs up sign while Rainbow just said, “Yep.”

“Very well. Then I shall come at the crest of night to assist in this regard.”

“So what about the crusaders? They’re expecting an update tomorrow,” Rainbow chimed in.

Luna nodded and turned toward the forest around us. “I would recommend walking them through the path and getting them accustomed to ducking into various bushes and ‘strike points’.” Luna made sure to highlight the points she was talking about. “It may be necessary to switch up our actions based on the group going through. Be sure they are capable of going in and out of locations and getting back to the trail if necessary.”

Rainbow and I nodded. A simple enough task and it’ll ensure the kids are on their toes... hooves... ya know what I mean. So, that took care of the basics. “Sounds good,” I replied. “If anything we could do some exercises with the girls to make sure they can duck and dodge out of sight.”

“Oh yeah. I bet I could figure out some maneuvers for them to practice. Maybe some signals to let them know when to get out?” Rainbow offered.

Luna seemed partially unsure about this. She ended up putting it to the side, “Let us wait on that. There is no need to overly complicate things so soon. If needed we shall implement such things.”

“Okay, fine,” Rainbow surrendered.

Luna giggled. “Very well then. My little... associates, you have your assignments. I shall return upon nightfall to assist in the evening test. Until then, I shall leave you both to converse, if you so desire.”

I shot a glance at Rainbow, who was already eyeing me in a curious fashion. I wasn’t opposed to the idea. The dream world was the only place I could talk face to face to anyone anyway. If Rainbow was down to clown in dreamland for a bit so was I. “What do you say, Rainbow? Wanna chat for a bit, one-on-one?”

Rainbow barely hesitated. “Uh, yeah! I got a bunch of questions for you,” she replied enthusiastically.

I smiled. Should have figured. “You heard her, Luna. We’re gonna chat for a bit. Thanks for the opportunity.”

Luna smiled as well and conjured a dream door for herself. “Always a pleasure, Dante. See you upon the morrow. You as well, Rainbow Dash.” She gave a friendly wave. Rainbow and I returned the waved and Luna took her leave. Now it was just Rainbow and I. “Sooo,” I offered while floating on my back. “Questions?”

“Yeah, I was gonna ask, If this how you’ve been talking to Princess Luna the whole time?’”

I nodded. “Yep, pretty much. I send her a letter before bed and we go over everything in the dream world. So far it’s been pretty useful. I can show Luna everything we’ve done and give her direct reports of any of my abilities.”

“Huh, really? You two been doing this often?”

I gave a so-so motion with my hoof. “We’ve been doing our meet ups for a few days now. It’s been pretty fun. Definitely nice to have a more face to face conversation.”

Rainbow smirked. “Yeah, it’s sort of weird but at least I can see you rather than just hearin’ ya in my head.”

I gave my own smirk. “Yeah, it is nice. Better than being the omnipresent voice. Feels a little more natural too.”

Rainbow chuckled, “Yeah, I bet.”

“So, excited for tomorrow... or today? Not sure which it is at this point.”

Rainbow beamed at this. “Totally! I mean, if this works like Twilight thinks it will, I might be faster than any other flier out there. Or maybe something more awesome could happen!” Aww, she’s getting all excited.

“Yeah, yeah. Gonna be Ms. Darkflyer all over Equestria,” I quipped sarcastically.

Rainbow chuckled, “Yeah, but we’re gonna look so cool!”

Or scary as hell. I know ponies like Rainbow and Scoots don’t particularly care what I make others look like, but others aren’t so accepting. Probably good that some of them are pretty tolerant of what I can do. “For sure,” I replied. “So... uh. Anything else you wanted to ask?”

Rainbow looked at me weirdly. “Wh-... say? Did- cat- hat.”

What? I barely... oh wait. This happened before. We must be waking up. “We’re waking up!” I attempted to relay, but I think I only made it to “We” before the dream was over.

I awoke to the sound of... crunching? No, munching. That is definitely munching. Gaining a little more sense of my surroundings, I discovered I was in the kitchen with Twilight. She was eating some cereal... tasted kinda like... sugar wheats? It wasn’t my usual prefered cereal but it tasted pretty good. Probably better than the pop tarts I was accustomed to eating when heading out the door for work. Well, since I’m up anyway, might as well announce myself. “Morning, Twilight. How’d ya sleep?” I greeted in the most cordial, if somewhat still groggy, tone. My mental processes weren’t exactly at their fullest just yet.

“I slept well enough, a few of the things you told me yesterday were still on my mind, but otherwise it was pleasant.” There wasn’t anything harsh in her tone, if anything she was just being honest. In truth, I couldn’t blame her. If anyone dropped that kind of info on me, I’m sure it’d plague me for a few nights.

“Yeah, again sorry about that, but it had to be said,” I replied. “At least, we can capitalize on the info right?”

Twilight nodded. “Oh yes, I’m not complaining... just it’s a bit to take in.”

“I feel you. So... what time is it anyway?”

Twilight looked to a nearby wall that had a hanging clock. It looked to be around nine. Still a bit early in the morning. I know Rainbow said she’d be coming by early, but I think we still have time to get that equipment Twilight wanted bring to Applejack’s. Best see what Twilight wants to do. “So, do you want to start moving the gear over to Applejack’s or was there something else you needed to do?” I asked curiously.

Twilight looked away from the clock and then back to the foyer. After a few seconds of thought and a quick spoonful of cereal, she told me the game plan. “Let’s wait for Spike to get up and we can make sure we have everything we need. I want to have the right equipment with us, so I can get accurate data. If anything, there is something I’d like to try while we wait, if you’re willing to try it.”

Try something? Color me interested. “What did you have in mind?” I asked curiously.

Twilight put another spoonful of cereal into her mouth as she explained, “Well, it’s a bit of a test before we head head out. I was curious about this new ‘exo’ ability and how universal it is.”

“Universal? As in, if I can affect other limbs?”

Twilight nodded as she swallowed the cereal in her mouth. “Exactly. I suspect that symbios might adapt to hosts on a more physical level than I initially suspected. I wanted to test it before we head out to get some more hooves on experience.”

Hmmm, sound interesting, but a fair warning is necessary. “Okay, I don’t mind... but you do know that... there is some... erh... ‘unintentional grabbing’,” I did my best to be straightforward... without sounding pervy. Although, in hindsight, there aren’t many ways to say that without it having some perverse context.

Twilight blushed before giving a forced cough. “Well, a little discomfort for the advancement of knowledge is well worth the few seconds of awkwardness.”

I guess that’s true, not saying I’m okay with it. I am a gentleman after all... right? ...Yeah, just being a courteous gentleman. That’s what I’m doing. “If you say so, just let me know if it goes too far okay? I don’t choose to make that happen. It just does. Plus... I really don’t need things to be awkward between us, ya know.”

Twilight chuckled nervously, “Yes... I suppose you are right, but again, as long as we are learning something, it’s nothing serious.” She took, what looked like, her last spoonful of cereal before taking a quick swig of the leftover milk. It was a little sweet, but not by much. Not too bad, in my opinion. “Just give me a second to clean up and we’ll get started okay?”

I said it was fine and waited while Twilight finished the rest of her breakfast. After that, we made our way out of the toward the library foyer. We went just underneath the nook where Twilight’s bed was to find a small hidden door that led to a lower section of the library. This was pretty well hidden. I hadn’t even noticed this here until Twilight showed me. It’s placed at this weird angle where it just sort of blends in unless you look at it from the right direction.

We made our way down the staircase behind the door until we reached the basement. It was... oddly bigger than I suspected. It was similar to the main lobby with books lining the walls, but the room was surrounded with gadgets, tech, and beakers. It looked like a mad scientist’s lab, but it was way more... messy. The three desks I could see were lined with books, notes, and what I assumed were old chemical spills.

Twilight noticed me observing the surroundings and gave a sheepish chuckle. “Sorry about the mess. Spike has been saying I should really tidy up down here.”

I wasn’t too bothered by the mess really. I was more trying to figure out what half these gadgets were. I spotted the bizarro metal helmet Twilight used to try and measure Pinkie’s Pinkie Sense, and what I assumed was an electrocardiogram. I’d watched enough House, M.D to recognize one. The other devices were too complicated or too foreign for me to discern their purpose. “It’s no biggie. I’m just trying to figure out what half this stuff is. Some of it is familiar,” I responded honestly. “I mean, it’s cool to see something familiar. Just some of this stuff... wow.”

Twilight brightened a little at the mention of some familiarity. “You see some familiar technology? Which ones?” she asked in curiousity.

I produced a tendril to point to the metal helmet. “You used that to test Pinkie once, right?”

Twilight nodded with an involuntary eye twitch. “Yes... I did.”

I then pointed to a familiar graphing device with a half dozen cables attached, “That sort of looks like an EKG.”

Twilight brightened, “You have those on Earth?”

“Yeah, it tracks your heart rate, right?”

Twilight smiled, “Pretty much. It measures the electrical signals running through your heart to determine its rate and rhythm.”

Huh. Didn’t know that. “Cool. I actually didn’t know that’s how it worked.”

Twilight smiled and a noted a little bit of pride cross her mind. “Anything else look familiar?”

I took another peek around, and noticed something else that looked familiar. “Isn’t that device used to measure wing power?” I asked pointing to a device on a shelf with a four fan blades attached to it.

Twilight nodded again. “Indeed it is. How’d you know?”

I hesitated momentarily. Could I let that slip? It’s kinda inconsequential. I don’t think it’ll hurt. “Cloudsdale has to refresh its water, right?”

“Yes, but that’s not for a while.” She paused as she thought about when the next time Cloudsdale was supposed to come around again. “I don’t think it’s scheduled to come around until next year.”

“Well, it’s coming past Ponyville at some point and the town will be responsible to help refuel it. You’ll use that tool to gauge the pegasi who volunteer to help.”

I felt a moment of conflict pass through through Twilight’s mind. What it pertained to, I couldn’t say for sure. “Well, good to know the tool will be put to additional use,” Twilight said with a wry chuckle. “Haven’t really used it since I tested Rainbow’s Sonic Rainboom.” She smiled before putting us on track with the original plan. “So let’s see about running some quick tests.”

She looked around the room until she spotted what she was looking for. It was this odd little box with three wires hanging off the side and some metal bar jutting out the side. With a small amount of magic, she pulled the box to her and carried it to a nearby table.

Naturally, I had to inquire what this device was and what it did. Twilight explained, “This is a Thaumaturgy Gauge. It’s used to measure magical power and it is what will be taking measurements for this experiment.”

“Okay.” I had a sneaking suspicion about what she wanted to test. How this was going to work, I don’t know, but I was interested in testing it. “I’m guessing you want to see if my exoability can extend to a unicorn horn?”

Twilight nodded as she unfurled some of the wiring to reveal two small pads and a wire with a ring at the end. “Precisely!” she stated exuberantly while applying the two round nodes to her temples and the ring to her horn. “So, here’s how this works. It measures a unicorn’s magic on a three point scale.” She paused as she pulled a small ball from a nearby shelf with her magic. It looked about the size of a softball. “The first point is power. This ball is mostly hard, dense rubber with a small device in the center. I’m going to squeeze it with my magic and the device will record the power output.” Twilight unfurled the wires and began to head to a small cabinet that contained some rolls of paper along with some quills, inkwells, and some pieces of parchment. She grabbed one of each and brought them to the table along with the device.

“Okay. That’s pretty straightforward. What are the other two points?” I asked with a certainty I knew where she was going with this.

“So, the device within the ball is going to be taking various measurements while we’re performing the test. When I apply pressure, the device will record the pressure applied in PSI.”

“Uh... okay.” I wasn’t sure if I liked where this was going. I was following so far... but I sensed math ahead. God, don’t let there be math. I suck at math.

“Meanwhile, the gauge will take the information down. We’ll need those to calculate power and a few other points.” Oh God, that sounds like math. “But we’ll get to that later.” Oh, thank God. “Anyway, the gauge will start a timer when I start applying my magic to the ball. That will give us the second point of the test, duration. The moment my magic falters, the timer will stop.” Well, at least that sounds simple. At least time is an easy thing to measure.

“Okay, so power and duration. What’s the last point?”

Twilight smiled as she tapped the ring around her horn. “This ring will help us get the last point, efficiency!”

Huh? “Efficiency? I’m not sure I understand what you mean.”

Twilight tapped her chin as she tried to figure out the best way to explain this. “Well, when magic is used there is sometimes a certain amount that is lost through ‘burn off’. Essentially, some magical energy can be lost if not enough focus is put into the spell. This usually comes off as excess heat and-”

“Wait, heat? Like, the horn can actually get hot?” I interjected with a bit of concern.

Twilight hesitated, again looking for a better way to explain magic to a non-magical person.“The excess mana conversion causes small amounts of heat. Essentially, reckless spell casting or not focusing on a spell causes some magic to burn off the user’s horn. Doing this too much or applying more magic than a user is capable of safely channeling, can cause damage to the horn and they can lose their ability to use magic for a while... or in extreme cases, lose it forever.”

“Magical burn out,” I said it almost without thinking. I’d read about this a few times in some fanfics, but I figured that was more of something to keep characters from being too powerful. I guess it was more spot on than people realized.

Twilight nodded, “That’s a pretty good way to sum it up. Essentially, the ring will tell us how much magic is wasted. The more magic wasted, the larger the number shown on the readout.”

Okay. I think I understand. So the ball will tell us power, and the gauge will tell us duration. Then the ring will tell us efficency. Seems pretty straight forward.“Okay... but this all seems like you’re doing the work. Where do I fit in?” I asked curiously.

Twilight smirked as she moved the rubber ball in front of her. “I want you to activate the...” She rolled her eyes. “‘Exo’ ability after I perform the tests by myself. We can gauge the difference in what your ability has added.” Twilight’s excitement rose as she ran the roll of paper through the magical readout device. I saw what she was getting at.

I gave my affirmation and Twilight flipped the device on. The paper began to flow through the machine as the little bar began tracing a line along the bottom. Then Twilight started using her magic on the ball. The moment the aura wrapped around the ball and it began to flatten, the little bar began to began to move the line upward. Likewise, a small ticking noise started as well. I’d guess that was the timer. Twilight held the ball for a decent amount of time, but eventually there was a flicker in Twilight’s magic and she faltered. Once the aura disappeared, the timer stopped and the little arm bar dropped back down to the bottom.

Twilight was a little tired from the experiment, so she flicked the switch on the gauge with her hoof. That stopped the paper from feeding through. Looking at the paper that had already gone through, I noticed a few numbers near the top away from the line. They were in a vertical row and they were consistent up until the rip in the paper. I couldn't determine what the numbers meant, but I suspected Twilight already knew.

“Okay, I see numbers and a line. What's it all mean?” I asked with a mounting curiosity.

Twilight was more than happy to explain. She started by pointing to the numbers. “So these numbers, starting from the top, represent PSI, heat, and excess magic lost. So 13,000 psi, 50 C, and 15% loss from magical overflow.”

Twilight switched to the line. “This line is a visual representation of the force applied over time.” She then pointed to a spot just under the line, where there were more numbers separated by a repeating gap. I had an idea what these were. “These numbers tell the times as which certain events happened,” Twilight explained. “So I lasted about... ten minutes.”

Looking over the entire chart it started out with a pretty steady climb before it plateaued out for a decent stretch. At the end, it was clear where Twilight was beginning to lose her energy and the line started to twitch and eventually descend. In truth, it was damn impressive. I already knew Twilight was a prodigy, but holy crap! 13,000 pounds per square inch?! What’s going to happen if I do affect magical ability?... Oh God, what would this do to Celestia or Luna? Ugh... scary thought... but best make sure I can actually do something. No point stressing if this turns out to be a dud.

“Okay, so we have numbers. Now, we wait and try to best them?” I asked in uncertainty. This was some science I haven’t done or bothered with in a long time. I needed a hard refresher.

Twilight was still panting when she went back to the readout and started.... Ugh, math. Worse, I could hear the mental calculations running through her head. Pressure multiplied by volume to acquire temperature, then using temperature to divide by the volume of the item to acquire overall power. That’s just me repeating what I think Twilight was working on. God help me if I ever had to remember or recite it clearly.

Regardless of my lack of scientific prowess, Twilight ended up with two numbers that were our overall benchmarks to beat. 885 atm and 85% efficiency. Not that I knew what that meant. Math and science, man.

Anyway,before we could begin the second test, Twilight had to regain her stamina. She said a half hour cool down period would be enough for her to get back up to full power. Until then, we went back upstairs to get some water.

Once we got up the stairs, Twilight and I noticed the distinct sound of utensils scraping and tapping against ceramic. We both quickly guessed the source to be Spike having a bowl of cereal. When we got into the kitchen, we did indeed find Spike munching on some of the same wheat cereal Twilight had been eating. “Oh, hey, Twilight!” Spike said after swallowing. He hesitated for a moment before adding, “Or... is it Dante?”

“It’s me Spike,” Twilight responded with a smile. “Dante is awake too, but I got up before him.” I gave a tendriled wave to show I was present.

Spike nodded. “Oh, okay. Figured I’d check.” He halted for a second to eat a quick spoonful of cereal before asking, “So what were you two up to? I heard you giggling in the lab. Very weird, by the way.”

“We were starting an experiment to test if Dante’s...” she hesitated again. “We need to come up with a better name for that ability. ‘Exo’ sounds ridiculous,” Twilight added mentally, before returning to her previous thought. “‘Exo’ ability to see if it has any effects on magical ability.”

Spike gave an inquisitive hum before he offered, “So Thaumaturgy Gauge using the pressure ball to determine pressure and using the resulting data to get total power output?”

... Wow. Spike is on his science game. Twilight, while not impressed, was incredibly proud of the little guy. “Exactly, Spike!” she said with a nod and a smirk. “We just got the baseline and we’re waiting for a good enough cool down period to pass to test Dante’s abilities.”

Spike perked up almost instantly. “Really? Awesome! Can I help?” he inquired excitedly.

Twilight nodded happily. “Of course, Spike. Finish up your breakfast and let me recuperate. After that we can finish the experiment. I imagine by then we’ll need to head over to Applejack’s farm, so this works out perfectly.” Twilight was giddy at the thought of how much research she was getting done today. I imagine she’d have a field day figuring out Earth technology. Bet if I had a smart phone I could keep her occupied for a month. Hmm, another thing to test when I get to Human Equestria. Either way, that’s for another time.

Twilight got herself a glass of water while Spike worked on his cereal. She also took the moment to rattle off some things we might need when we went to Applejack’s. A stopwatch, spare parchment, quills, and the wing power device. Didn’t seem like much, but I figured Twilight knew what she was talking about. After that, we went back down to the lab to collect the items, while Twilight returned to full strength. For the sake of letting Twilight recover, I grabbed what was needed with my tendrils. Thankfully everything was within arm's reach. By the time we had what we needed and made the obligatory list of things that needed to be tested, Twilight said it was probably a good time to finish the test.

We reloaded the Thaumaturgy Gauge with another roll of paper, and Spike got a small chair to observe and take notes. Twilight reapplied the two nodes to her forehead and the ring to her horn. Additionally, Twilight asked that I apply the outer armor (she refused to call it “exo” anymore). I was hesitant to apply the ability since it would cause the... *ahem* gluteal grabbing, but after mental reasoning along with some assurance that I wasn’t doing anything perverted, I applied the ... skin? Eh... There’s got to be another word for this... hmm. Screw it, work on a better name later. I applied my tendrils to Twilight’s fore and back legs. As with Rainbow, the tendrils immediately adhered to Twilight’s frame and almost immediately tightened.

Although she was forewarned,Twilight was a bit ill prepared for the effect and let out a mild “Eep”. This was accompanied by a fairly warm blush as well. She quickly shook off whatever fluster that had creeped into her face and focused on the task at hand. We were essentially doing the exact same test but this was with me acting as the “booster”... maybe. We’d see here in a bit. If this did work, it’d be a big advantage during the invasion.

Twilight got everything together and made sure both Spike and I were ready. Spike gave a thu-... yeah, thumbs up and I gave a mental affirmation. It was time to see what else I could do.

Twilight flipped the gauge on and grabbed the ball. The timer flicked on and the tiny bar began to move. I heard Spike already beginning to take notes and I couldn’t tell if anything was happening, but the one thing I did notice was the ball was looking... flatter. At least, I think so. It definitely seemed like it was really taking some serious pressure. Actually, I might be crazy, but I’d swear Twilight wasn’t trying as hard as before. Again, I couldn’t tell for sure, but it felt like it. We continued the test and I could tell that this was taking was longer than last time. How long I wasn’t sure, but I figure it’d show in the results.

When Twilight eventually petered out again and stopped the gauge, I immediately noticed that the readout was way longer than the control. So that must mean something. Twilight ripped the new readout off the gauge and placed it next to the previous one. Looking at the time we’d managed to add a whole fifteen minutes to the previous time. Not bad. Even the line looked to have gotten higher this time around. What did the number say?.... 13,000 PSI.

I was a little disappointed. I had expected something a little more impressive. Twilight was giddy for an entirely different reason. “Oh my gosh! You actually boosted my overall magical endurance by 150%!” She exclaimed. She switched her attention to Spike to confirm what he saw. She seemed to think that, aside from the black cosmetics, something else should have been noticeable. “Spike did you see anything of note?”

Spike finished scribbling something down and quickly nodded. “You bet. Two things, actually,” Spike responded with a grin. “There was no glow on your horn, at all. It was kinda weird.”

Twilight cocked an eyebrow at this bit of information. She immediately began hypothesizing the meaning. The first thing that came to Twilight’s mind was that I might somehow be siphoning the excess magic, but she wasn’t entirely sure. Spike continued. “Then I noticed something... a little creepy.”

Twilight broke her train of thought. Similarly, I was curious what “creepy” entailed.

“It was like Dante’s slime was... spreading. Like it grew towards your head a bit,” Spike stated with a light shudder.

Twilight found the news just as shocking as I did. Twilight immediately looked over her shoulder to try and see if this was still; however, she couldn’t actually see near there. “Is it still in that spot?” Twilight asked curiously.

Spike nodded. “Yeah, it’s near your ears and on the side of your head.”

Twilight’s right hoof came up to confirm this, but my bio coverings kept her from actually feeling anything. Her mind when into a tailspin of determining what the growing tendril attachments were doing. A bunch of ideas and hypotheses crossed her mind until Spike chimed in with a very important notice. “Hey, Twilight. Didn’t Rainbow say she’d be here around noon?”

Twilight’s thought process immediately halted as a tiny but incredibly loud mental alarm began to blare in the back of her mind and a warning not to be late began to repeat. She made a quick mental note to keep an eye on the test with Rainbow to see if she could spot something she may have missed. Until then she told Spike to get a bag to put the supplies we collected before in. We got the stuff together and prepared to leave when Spike pointed out that Twilight still had the tendril armor still active. Twilight looked down to see her legs still looking pitch black.

“Man, that was a good catch by Spike. You’d have gotten some looks,” I teased.

Twilight chuckled lightly. “Yeah. I’d imagine.” She looked at her legs and attempted to get the black coverings to retract; however, nothing happened. A second attempt yielded more nothing and after a third attempt she asked how to get rid of them.

“You just have to relax your legs and they’ll retract,” I explained.

Twilight’s brow furrowed at my explanation. Part of her understood what I was saying, but that little nagging feeling in the back of her mind was keeping her from really relaxing. In truth, she was starting to get into a vicious circle of frustration followed by worry. It really wasn’t helping the situation at all, so I did the one thing I thought would work. I used Cadence’s teachings to bring Twilight down. Worked in the show, hopefully it’d work now.

“Twilight, take a nice long breath and relax,” I encouraged my spastic host.

My host was struggling at first, but after a few deep breaths she started to calm down. We were all set to go by the time Rainbow made her typically boisterous entrance. Choosing to burst through the door rather than giving a formal knock. I could tell she was already excited to get things underway and she practically shoved us out of the library and toward Sweet Apple Acres.

Author's Notes:

Hey hey, everyone. Again sorry for the delays in the chapter. A lot happened during the making of this chapter that set it back way longer than should have been acceptable. I am so very sorry.

I'd like to give a big thanks to my editor, Aburi, for helping me with writing a portion of the story.

Chapter 26 - Speed is key!... but so are results.

Author's Notes:

Omg. Been so long. 7 months too long. I can't say how sorry I am for the long breaks in between submissions. Just know I am constantly working on the story.

The town is alive with the sound of... hooves. Lots of hooves. Looking around Ponyville, there were citizens going here and there doing their tasks for the day. Despite the constant sound, it was very pleasant out. A fews clouds in the sky, a nice cool breeze, and a bright warm sun in the sky. Yet another beautiful day.

As we passed through the town, Twilight going over the various parameters for the test. I doubted I was going to remember these, but I was doing my best to follow along. Rainbow seemed less than interested in procedure and ended of breaking went ahead to inform Applejack about what we wanted to do. Eventually Twilight, Spike and I made it to the outskirts of the Apple family farm. The smell of the orchard was very prevalent even from the outside. We made our way toward the farm and as we got closer, I noted we had a small crowd waiting for us. Rainbow, Applejack, and the Crusaders were all assembled in front of the barn. Rainbow was talking to Applejack about something while the Crusaders seemed to be listening in.

As we approached, Rainbow took notice of our arrival and quickly waved us over. The group turned to see what Rainbow was waving at and quickly offered their own greetings. Twilight and Spike waved to the group. I gave my own wave, but I noticed that Sweetie Belle still looked a little unsettled. Well... at least she gave a wave. I call that progress.

Either way, we approached and did a round of greetings. After the pleasantries were taken care of, Twilight prepared to explain the test... except, Rainbow had already done it... kinda. Applejack explained, “Well, Dash arrived earlier and started barking about how she was gonna whoop me inna hoof race.” She shot a quick glare at Rainbow. “She didn’t mention it’d be fer a test.”

Rainbow pretended like she was innocent and didn’t hear the comment.

Twilight face hoofed before letting out a sigh. “Yes, it’s a test. We want to see if Dante’s new ability can give a physical boost to his host,” Twilight explained. “Since you and Rainbow are pretty well matched, I figured it’d be best to test to test against you against Rainbow for a baseline then do it again with Dante to see if there is any considerable difference.”

Applejack nodded her understanding. “Seems fair ‘nough. I suppose a little competition ain’t too bad,” Applejack stated before looking to Rainbow again. “Ya still could have just said this was gonna be a test, Rainbow.”

“Yeah, but tests are boring. A good race is way better,” Rainbow countered. Hmmm, I think I’m starting to see why Rainbow wanted to do this test. Well, as long as we get some results I don’t think it’s all bad. I mean... only the first race will really matters. The second race ... well, it might be skewed a bit if I can make Rainbow faster. Well, in the name of discovery I suppose.

Twilight rolled her eyes. “Fair enough. Let me set up and we can start.” She then had Spike hop off her back and got the supplies we needed out. The stopwatch, parchment, quills, and ink were the first things we took. Once Twilight was ready, she explained our process for the day, “So we need a baseline for how fast Rainbow is without assistance. We’ll be doing this on the ground and in the air.” Twilight then floated a stopwatch to hold before the group. “I’m just going to be timing you, Rainbow, since you are going to be the main focus of the test.”

“Okay, but I can still race Aj, right?” Rainbow asked eagerly.

Twilight shrugged and gave a uncertain, “I guess?”

Rainbow smirked. “Cool!” She shifted her gaze to AJ. “You better be ready. I’m gonna go all out.”

Applejack just smirked. “Ya know I’m always up for a friendly race.”

“Me too!” Rainbow replied confidently. “But just so you know, I don’t plan on losing.”

“You got this Rainbow Dash,” Scootaloo chimed in. “You always win!”

Applebloom took offence to that statement. “What?! My sis is gonna win. Hooves down.”

“Please, Rainbow doesn’t lose to anypony,” Scootaloo countered in a cocky voice. “She’s got this in the bag.”

Sweetie Belle attempted to stop the argument but the two fillies were locked into a back and forth argument. Rainbow looked like she was soaking up Scootaloo’s praise with a confident smirk. Applejack was looking pretty confident as well. No doubt the extra praise was spurring them on.

While Applebloom and Scoots argued, Twilight got down to plotting out the race. “Okay, so we’re going to keep this simple. You’re going to do a single lap starting at the barn to the entrance of Sweet Apple Acres, then around the orchard, before returning to the entrance, ending back at the barn. After the race, we’ll take a short break, get Rainbow set up, then do the run again with Dante adding additional support. After that, we’ll take another break and test if there are any additional effect when Dante’s ability is applied to Rainbow’s wings.”

Applejack and Rainbow nodded their understanding. “So you think this new ability of Dante’s will do something?” Applejack inquired as everyone moved to the entrance of the barn. Applebloom and Scootaloo were still going back and forth about best pony.

Twilight got all excited, “Oh, I do. I tested it earlier with my magic and we saw a whole ten percent increase!”

Rainbow and Applejack both snapped to attention and their curiosity seemed peeked. “So... did you feel any different?” Rainbow asked curiously.

“Not... really. Spike noticed some odd changes, but otherwise I never felt anything different,” Twilight explained casually. “If anything I felt... like I didn’t have to do as much. Like it was just easier to use my magic.”

Applejack cocked a curious eyebrow, “So, he made ya a little stronger, but ya didn’t feel any different?”

Twilight shook her head. “No. I was expecting something, but I never felt different.”

“Really? You sure you didn’t feel anything, Twilight?” Rainbow heavily suggested. I didn’t see her face, but based on how she phrased that I think she was referring to a certain... back side grasping.

Twilight could tell she was suggesting this as well, but rather than denying it, she did something a little more devious. “I don’t know, Rainbow. Did you feel anything when Dante adhered to you?” Twilight responded with a clever smirk. Rainbow flinched slightly and looked like she was about to retaliate when Applejack interjected.

“What the hay are you two talking about?” Applejack asked.

“Yeah,” Applebloom added,” Y’all are being really weird.”

Rainbow and Twilight shared a quick glance, and I think they both silently agreed not to push the issue. I know Twilight didn’t want to discuss it in front of the Crusaders. Instead, she went up to Applejack and said, “I promise to explain it later.” She was sincere when she said that and Applejack looked like she believed her, but that didn’t stop a curious look from glancing Applejack’s face.

With that, thankfully, avoided, Applejack and Rainbow got set up at the front of the barn with Twilight, Spike and I on the left side and the Crusaders sitting on the right. Twilight had Spike ready his stopwatch. “Okay, to the entrance then back, I’ll mark time when your hoof touches the barn. Understood?” Twilight announced to the racers.

“Yup” Applejack replied confidently.

“Got it,” Rainbow responded with a gungho smirk.

Twilight nodded and gave Spike a nod. Spike, in turn, got his thumb over the starter of the watch. “Okay, on your marks,” Twilight raised a hoof to the sky.

Rainbow got into ... the pony version of a sprinter's stance, back legs at the ready and the forward part of her body angled downward slightly. Applejack was in a similar position, both looked determined and ready to bolt.

“Get set!”

Both of their eyes locked forward and they didn’t flinch from their target.

“You got this, sis! You can do it!” Applebloom called from the sidelines.

“You got this, Rainbow Dash! Leave nothing but dust!” Scootaloo roared in protest.

“Do your best!” Sweetie Belle added. I guess she was being more neutral.

Twilight dropped her hoof to the ground, and both racers were off before the word “Go” even finished leaving her lips. Once the dirt cloud Applejack and Rainbow made cleared, I could already see them entering the path through the orchard. While I didn’t have a clear idea how fast they were going, they were covering a good amount of distance. From Twilight’s perspective, it seemed like both of them were neck in neck with each one jockeying for lead. However, the two soon turning into small cyan and orange blurs as they rounded the entrance of the orchard and it became virtually impossible to determine who was in first and who was in second. Even with Twilight squinting it was hard to tell. Until they got back, it’d be hard to say who was winning. In the meantime, I figured I’d talk to Twilight.

“So... if this does work and it enhances physical capabilities, What do you think will be the next step? Application?” I ask curiously.

Twilight was thoughtful on the idea for a moment and I felt a few ideas and possibilities cross her mind. They went quick and I didn’t catch too many details, but I could tell she was giving it a large amount of consideration. “More than likely. I’m not entirely sure if we’ve even scratched the surface of your abilities, but with what we have I’d say seeing how far they can go is definitely a must,” Twilight replied thoughtfully. “For now, let’s just see what you can do and we’ll determine appropriate application.”

“Okay, sounds fair,” I responded. Twilight took another glance towards the horizon to see if she could spot Rainbow or Applejack, but whether we were too far away or they weren’t at the point she was looking, they weren’t seen. Guess this might take a while. “How long do you think it’ll take them to make the lap?”

Twilight took a glimpse at Spike’s claw, the stopwatch was an old style analog watch, but I think it had only been about a minute and... forty seconds? I think that’s right.

Twilight pondered the question before she threw me an answer, “I’d say they should be done roughly between ten and fifteen minutes.” Ok, so we have a bit before they come back around. Hmmm, leaves me with a bit of time to think on things. Maybe... I should talk to Twilight about the whole combat instructor thing. I said I’d keep her in the loop and she did ask me to inquire.

“Oh, Twilight, I wanted to let you know. I talked to Princess Luna last night about the combat instructor.”

Twilight perked up. “Oh? What’d she say?” she asked although I could sense some interest and anxiety sinking in the depths of her mind.

“She was behind the idea,” I responded. “She said she’d talk to Princess Celestia about getting us a combat trainer.”

“Oh good,” Twilight stated with the worry still hanging lightly in her thoughts. “Did she say how long it might take to get an instructor?”

“She didn’t say, but she did say she would send a letter letting us know when one was found,” I responded before adding Luna’s suggestion. “She also suggested that training with a pegasus and an earth pony as well.”

This peeked Twilight’s interest. She saw the merit of the idea and was curious about the different combat tactics I could lend to each tribe. “That’s a good idea. Considering there are different combat styles used for battle mages, aerial combat, and close quarters combat it’d make sense to learn each one with those best capable of implementing them.” She sounded enthusiastic, which was good. And I was honestly curious myself. Aside from my small scrape with Luna and my minor victory against those changelings, I never really considered how ponies actually fight. I mean aside from a few episodes where the main 6 had to fight there aren't many times where combat is shown and they weren't all the flashy.

Well, I’ll be learning with a partner so at least I’ll have a little help. That thought eases a bit of worry I had had about learning to fight. “Well, at least I know I'll have one of Equestria's best unicorns as my training partner,” I stated, feeling a little better about the whole deal.

Twilight blushed slightly before smiling lightly. “Thanks, I appreciate that,” she replied. “Have you given any thought to who you’d pick as your pegasus and earth pony partner?”

Hmmm, I’m not sure how Twilight would take me suggesting her friends... but I really don’t have many options unless I partner up with a royal guard. And... hmmmm. I don’t know. One way or another I’m going to have to fight. I just... maybe I should really think on what Luna said and try to figure out what it is I’m fighting for before I start recruiting others to fight with me. “I... haven’t given it too much thought just yet,” I replied, doing my best to keep my feelings under wrap. It wasn’t easy because I could tell Twilight was really trying to figure out why my confidence began to wane.

“The idea of fighting still worrying you?”

“No, it’s not that. It’s... have you ever... wondered how you’d handle taking a life?” I asked feeling like I could have phrased that better. Who would think about that kind of thing? ... Well besides me. The idea had been plaguing my mind for some time. I’d been trying my best to avoid thinking about it too much, but something like that doesn’t just go away. It hangs around in that dark part of your mind and waits. In this case, it was done waiting.

Twilight wasn’t as thrown by the idea as I had anticipated and I felt a small amount of empathy radiate from her mind.“You still don't have your answer to that question yet?"she asked gently.

“No... I really don’t. I can see why I need to fight and how I can help, but when I think of the end result I wonder how I’ll deal with it. When I fought the changelings before, I fought for my life and I was lucky to have survived and no one... died...” Looking back on it... that really could have been bad for quite a few individuals. Night Glory could have died. Griff could have died... Oh, God.

That dark part of my mind went into overdrive. I saw all the ways things could have gone. What if the changeling hadn’t decided to end me personally? What if they had just decided to end Night Glory? I’m not sure what would have been worse, knowing someone died because of me or because I wasn’t strong enough to defend myself or others. The thoughts felt like weights on my mind, dragging me deeper into an abyss of what if’s and what could have been.

I was on the verge of being dragged deeper until Twilight pulled me out. “Dante! Stop!” she said forcefully. “You can’t focus on what could have been,” It was enough for me to come back to reality and refocus. “You need to focus on what is and what is coming. I know the idea scares you and that a lot of bad things can happen, but that’s why we asked for a trainer. So we can be ready.” Again, Twilight had a solid point. I had to think about the invasion and how I was going to be prepared. Yet...

“But even if I prepare and train... What if the time comes and I won’t? What if I can’t bring myself to do it and it costs someone their life? I really don’t know if I can live with that, Twilight. I really don’t.” I felt like a coward. Willing to fight but unwilling to finish what was started.

Twilight was silent for a while after that. She was thinking. “You have talents that are unique, and would be very helpful. But we will be alright if you don’t. You don’t have to fight.” I was relieved to hear Twilight say this. Like all the weight was... no, that’s not true. The weight was still there, it just had a new shape now. I felt ashamed.

Again, Twilight caught on to my feelings and interjected. “Fighting isn’t for everyone. You don’t have to feel ashamed.” She was doing her best to comfort me and I appreciated the gesture. But it didn’t ease the feeling. I couldn’t sit aside and let things just unfold. I had to do something.... But I can’t think of anything. I was studying to be a lawyer! I fight with words, not fists.

“I appreciate the kind words, Twilight. But I can’t, in good conscience, just take the easy way out. I brought this up. I’m committed to this,” I replied feeling a little less like a coward.

Twilight thought on it again, her face scrunching up in focus and contemplation. “Well, how about this. For now, just work with us like you are already doing. Take your time coming up with the answer to your question. Maybe some additional perspectives will help you,” she said in an assuring tone.

Also, a good point. Perspectives may reveal something I hadn’t considered. Regardless, I needed to really give this some thought. “Yeah, you’re-” I stopped when I heard Spike chime in suddenly.

“You guys talking to each other?” Spike stated with clear confusion in his voice. “You’ve been making faces at nothing for the last few minutes.”

Twilight’s focus immediately shot back to what going on around us. Spike was looking at us with a look of confusion that matched his tone. “Yeah, we were discussing some things for later down the line. Sorry, Spike,” Twilight responded in earnest.

“It’s okay,” Spike responded. “It’s just that you tend to make a bunch of weird faces when you talk to Dante.”

Twilight chuckled sheepishly. “Do I?”

“Yeah, you do,” Spike replied bluntly. “It’s really weird.”

Twilight had a mental image of herself reacting to an inaudible conversation and a sudden feeling of embarrassment swept through her face. “Well... I suppose that is an interesting note. Telepathic conversations elicit the same reactions as a face-to-face conversation,” Twilight mused through her embarrassment.

“Just sayin’, a little weird,” responded before looking back at the stopwatch in his claw.

“I’d imagine,” Twilight countered with a bit of blush still residing in her cheeks. “So, where are we on time?”

“A little past the twelve-minute mark.” He peaked up from the watch to see if he could spot the racers, as did Twilight. While neither of them caught sight of them first, Scootaloo did.

“There they are!” the number one fan called out with exuberance and a pointed hoof. Naturally, everyone in attendance looked to where Scoots was pointing and, sure enough, Rainbow and Applejack coming up through the orchard. They were still a distance away, so telling who was winning was still tricky... hmm, I feel a very strong urge to get my Kentucky Racer Announcer voice on. Eh, too easy. Either way, both racers looked to be neck and neck and this was the final stretch!

As the racers got closer, I noticed that both of them were clearly giving it their all. On top of it, there was this look of determination on their faces’ that gave a very clear indication that neither one of them was holding back what-so-ever. Damn, these two were competitive.

Soon, the two of them were past the farm’s entrance and heading right for the barn door. Scootaloo and Applebloom were cheering for their respective racers from the sidelines, while Sweetie Belle offered enthusiastic, but mostly neutral, encouragements. Twilight shot a glance to the stopwatch in Spike’s claw. They were nearing thirteen minutes thirty seconds. She shifted her line of sight back to the racers. There was so little space between them and only a few feet between the racers and the finish line. This was going to be a photo finish! ... And me without a camera.

The distance closed between the racers and the finish point. Yards became feet. I couldn’t tell who was going to win this. Even Twilight couldn’t... well, she was more interested in the time Rainbow finished really. Based on some of the thoughts running through her head, she really couldn't care less who won, so long as she got her baseline time. I was invested and I wanted to know who won, damn it.

As AJ and Rainbow came to the last few inches, I did my best to keep an eye on who was closest to the barn. Twilight had her eyes glued to Rainbow which helped me determine that I had I still had no clue who was winning. I hoped maybe the Crusaders were getting a better perspective. Maybe Sweetie Belle could tell Twilight who won. I’d ask Applebloom or Scootaloo, but I suspect they’d be a bit... biased.

Anyways, in the last few moments of the race, both Applejack and Rainbow reached for the barn door with an outstretched hoof. Oh snap, this is it!

“FIRST!” Applejack called out as her hooves hit the barn door.

“FIRST!” Rainbow called out just split seconds later.

Immediately after, I heard Spike click the stopwatch to halt the time. “Oh, damn! That was a close one.” I was kinda hoping Rainbow would win, but now I suppose I have a reason to see that this test yields some result. I mean... obviously me boosting Rainbow gives a bit of an unfair advantage, but a race would show a distinct difference right? If they were only a few moments apart on their first race, any improvement afterward should show when I’m attached.

This is going to be fun!

So with the first round done, it was time for the participants to cool off and recoup. Rainbow and Applejack went inside the barn home to get some water and some snacks. This gave Twilight, Spike, and I to go over the details of the race.

“So they finished the race in fourteen minutes fifty-three seconds,” Spike began.

"Okay... distance over time... five point five over fourteen point five three... wait, convert the seconds... umm..." Ugh, math! Twilight giggled as her mental math rendered her answer, “Twenty-two point one seven miles per hour! Now we need to see what Dante’s attachment will do.” Math aside, I was curious to see what I could do as well. I was actually feeling pretty excited. Just sucked that I had to wait to put this excitement to use. Uuuh, oh well. Not much I can do about it.

“Okay, so that’s my bench mark right?” I asked for clarification.

“Yes, if your abilities are consistent then we should see her speed improve by ten percent. If not, we may need to perform some additional tests to determine all the variables,” Twilight was practically buzzing in her thoughts. It was clear that she was beyond hyped to see what would happen and her scientific mind was begging for answers. While I could appreciate knowing what I could do, Twilight was curious about what I could do and the implications of said abilities. Probably best she was the one learning about all this. No way I’d ever figured out a lot of the science behind this. I get the gist of how things work, but that’s about it.

Anyway, Twilight and Spike wrote down the data and went to check on Applejack and Rainbow Dash. The Crusaders had followed Applejack and Rainbow inside, so we were the only ones still hanging out by the barn. We got inside and hung around while Applejack and Rainbow talked about their race. Apparently, they were, in fact, very closely matched during most of the race and they had been jockeying for every corner and advantage they could gain. Much like the three fillies hanging on their every word, I was curious to hear what they had to say.

Once Rainbow and Applejack were in better condition and Twilight was satisfied they were good to go, we reconvened outside the barn. Twilight made sure the stopwatch was reset and that all previous data was still recorded. “Okay, so I’d like you to follow the same path you did before,” Twilight explained to Rainbow Dash. “I need to make sure most of the other variables remain consistent. Your speed should be the only thing that changes.”

Rainbow looked like she could hardly care... well, that’s not entirely true. She looked like she cared about the next race, the scientific keep-the-data-consistent part... not so much. The blasé “Yeah, yeah” that came afterward confirmed that. I let Twilight know that I’d make sure she stuck to the course. Not like it was gonna be hard, but I figure Twilight just wanted to cover her bases.

I said bye to Twilight as I slithered my way onto Rainbow’s neck. “Hey, Rainbow!” I greeted my friend enthusiastically once the connection was made. “Ready to win this thing?”

Rainbow clearly appreciated my enthusiasm and reciprocated it with an equal amount of gusto. “You know it! I know we can win this one for sure!” I felt a confident smirk weasel it’s way onto Rainbow’s face. I felt a passion to win burning within her and I could easily reciprocate the feeling. I wanted to help Rainbow win this. However, a certain someone had to rain on our enthusiasm with an annoying tidbit of information.

“Just remember, not to use anything aside from your attachment ability. We don’t need outside variables skewing the data,” Twilight added.

Now, I understand exactly why Twilight mentioned this. If I used my tendrils to give Rainbow a boost it’d make the data unreliable since it’s not my new ability at work, but the tendrils. But man, I really wanted to try that during the race! It could have totally grabbed a tree at a corner and whipped around it. Uuuugh, in the name of science and discovery I guess I’ll have to restrict myself to assistant and observer. I’m thankful, Rainbow shared my thoughts on the matter. “Aaw, come on, Twilight! Dante can’t use any other ability?”

Twilight shook her head definitively. “No, it will mess up the results. He has to use only the attachment ability and nothing else.” Twilight was pretty firm in her call and, like I said, I understood her reasoning. Rainbow, kinda got it, but she more wanted to find out just how fast we could go. Regardless, I agreed not to use anything except for my attachment ability. I gave a basic tendriled thumbs up and Twilight picked up what I was saying.

After that, Rainbow and Applejack got back into place. Now, it was time for me to apply the attachment modification... erm... Exo, no Twilight can’t stand that one...Er... oh! Augmentation! Limb augmentations! That works. Right, so I had to do that... but considering how things went last time, I figured it might be best to request permission before I went ahead and did it. So, I began the conversation in as good a fashion as I could, “Um, so... I need to apply the tendrils to your limbs. You okay with that?” I was very tentative with this as I didn’t want to hint that I took any enjoyment out of this, which I don’t! Its an automatic reaction. I didn’t do it on purpose and I took ZERO enjoyment out of the results.... Actually, no... no. I’m not going to entertain the idea of if I can even get aroused in this body.

Anyway, I offered the enhancement up to Rainbow, who quickly blushed and got a little annoyed but came back with, “Y-yeah, do it quickly.” I ignored the stew pot of her emotions and went with the band-aid route. I produced two tendrils that quickly enveloped Rainbow’s front legs and barrel, then I produced to more to cover Rainbow’s back legs and lower back. Naturally, the tendrils constricted once the second set were put into place. Rainbow managed to withhold a small squeak that, out of consideration, I won’t go into additional details about.

The augmentation did have an additional effect, but it wasn’t on Rainbow. It was on our observers. Applejack had been watching the whole process and must have been impressed with the display. She let out a low whistle before adding, “Well, ain’t that something.” Likewise, the Crusaders were in various states of awe and surprise. Applebloom looked absolutely gobsmacked (it’s a word, look it up) and had her lower jaw firmly planted in the ground. Scoots was completely in awe and had a near perfect look amazement on her face. Sweetie Belle, however, was... I think uneasy was the word. She looked visibly uncomfortable and her entire stance was shifted away from Rainbow and me. The feeling of guilt I felt must have been palpable as Rainbow asked what was bugging me. I said it was nothing, but I suspect Rainbow knew. Again she didn’t push it, but I’m pretty sure she already knew.

That put aside, we got ready for the race. Twilight and Spike were on the right side of the barn with the Crusaders on the left. Once again, Twilight had Spike hold the stopwatch while she scribbled down some notes. Eventually, Twilight raised her hoof to signal she was about to start the race. Rainbow got into her ready stance along with Applejack. I did my best to offer my support for my host and cheer her on.

Twilight began the prompt. “On your marks!” The Crusaders shouted a quick cheer for their respective racer. Sweetie was silent. “Get set!” Rainbow’s body tensed. Her legs tightened as she loaded herself to sprint and her eyes locked dead ahead of her. Then... her mind went dead silent, every point of her mind became focused on the race ahead. She was ready for a command to go at a moment’s notice. She was dead focused. For the sake of not breaking her concentration, I kept silent.

“GO!” Twilight’s hoof came down, but Rainbow was already propelling forward in a strong pounce. Her fore hooves soon made contact with the ground and she was already starting her gallop. It took a short time to reach the entrance to the farm and Rainbow was already making her way onto the path out of Sweet Apple Acres. Her legs pounded the ground hard, but each step worked to propel her forward at faster speeds. Eventually, it felt like she had reached her peak land speed, but I noticed something. Whether it was nothing or something, I couldn’t tell, but making note of it couldn’t hurt. Rainbow was... barely struggling. Her breathing was even, her muscles weren’t straining, and it could feel my... erh... modifications constricting and pushing in rhythm to Rainbow’s stride. I didn’t notice it with Twilight since she was using her magic more than actual muscle, but I could say with certainty, this ability was working to move Rainbow forward with increased efficiency.

I didn’t feel anything wrong with Rainbow, but I wanted to make sure I wasn’t missing anything. We had just left the path heading into Sweet Apple Acres and were rounding the front of the orchard. This was basically the first leg, might be best to get a status check. “How you feeling, Rainbow? Doing okay?” I asked.

“Yeah, feeling really good actually!” Rainbow replied almost gleefully. “I’ve never been able to move this fast on the ground before! It’s awesome!”

Well, that’s a good. She seems in good spirits and nothing seems to bother her so far. Well, best not deter her. The better she does the better the data, right? “Okay, just wanted to check in. Keep it up!” Rainbow smiled under my encouragement and pushed herself onward harder. From time to time, Rainbow would glance behind her to see where Applejack was. At first, she was lagging slightly behind us, but as the race went on, I noticed she was slowly getting left behind entirely. By the time we made it to the second turn, she was struggling just to keep pace. One thing that was for sure, Rainbow was definitely holding a definitive lead and the gap was widening by the minute. Okay, I didn’t witness much of the first race aside from the beginning and end, but this seems like a drastic change. Hmmm, I may have to confirm with Twilight, but I think this is more than a ten percent increase. I mean, I could be wrong.

When we came out of the second corner, I decided to test Rainbow, and by proxy, myself. “Hey Rainbow, think you’d be able to push yourself to go faster?” Rainbow still didn’t feel like she was struggling and most of the path ahead was fairly straight with only a few curves in the path. This would be the best place to lay on a little extra speed.

“Yeah, I can do that. Here we go!” Rainbow grinned as she gave a hard push with her hind legs. Rainbow began to adjust her stride to a strong gallop that took strong bounds that were propelling her forward much faster than before. Not only that, but I noticed how I was reacting to this. My attachments were almost preemptively moving before Rainbow was. Pulling her legs into position and adding additional force to each kickoff. It took a second for Rainbow to get used to this particular style of... advanced running, but eventually, she was really moving out. The new burst of speed actually made me reflexively pull closer to Rainbow’s body and I felt the black augmentations match my actions. The tendrils gripped Rainbow tighter, and for a moment I could swear I saw something cross Rainbow’s mind. It was quick, but I swear I saw an image. It looked like Rainbow was looking at someone. A stallion with very familiar rainbow colored mane and a dark blue coat color. Was... that Rainbow’s dad? I think I’ve seen him before in an episode before. But... where did that come from? Was Rainbow thinking of him? I didn’t get any inkling of it earlier. Might have to ask about that later.

With the additional burst of speed, Rainbow was now covering a decent amount of ground and with Rainbow’s athleticism, she was able to easily tackle the slight turns along the path. Eventually, we rounded the third corner and Rainbow was hardly feeling it. Some of the residual wear from the last race was creeping in, but she was powering through it pretty well. In truth, I was feeling a little self-conscious. Rainbow is pretty damn athletic. I wish I was this fit when I was alive... then again, I’d probably ended up doing stupid shit like parkour or something that would have ended up being a YouTube fail video... probably a mix of the both. Either way, Rainbow was able to quickly cover the remaining distance until we eventually returned to the entrance of Sweet Apple Acres. Rainbow was feeling a bit of the soreness from before now, but God bless her, she was powering through it.

Scootaloo was cheering Rainbow on as we came into view of the barn once again. Applebloom looked a little annoyed, more than likely that her sister was nowhere near us, and Sweetie was giving a... semi-enthusiastic hoof pump as we came up the entrance. While I couldn’t see her expression as well as the others, she was sitting behind Scoots and Applebloom. I saw Twilight momentarily peak at Spike’s stopwatch and a beaming smile almost immediately grew on her face.

No sooner Rainbow had crossed the entrance to the farm, she found herself in front of the barn with a small dust cloud kicking up at her sudden skidding halt. “Time!” She hollered out as her hoof came into contact with the barn door. Rainbow was panting hard as she stood in front of the barn and Rainbow suddenly noticed something, well noticed the lack of something, as she began to catch her breath. She was panting pretty decently and there was some soreness in her legs... but she wasn’t sweating. In fact, she barely seemed hot at all. That’s not right. She should be a little drenched if anything. But her coat wasn’t matted with sweat, and I didn’t even notice any sweat streaks. Something was going on here. Whether it was bad or not was hard to say, but I was going to bring it up.

“Hey, Rainbow. You feeling okay?” I asked in concern.

Rainbow nodded as she panted. “I feel great!” Rainbow replied enthusiastically. “I’ve never moved that fast on the ground before! Half the time I barely felt like I was on the ground at all!” Rainbow’s rushing enthusiasm was encouraging, as it appeared Rainbow was mentally fine. Considering every report of someone not sweating usually a precursor to heat exhaustion. Except... Rainbow wasn’t hot. If anything she was unusually cool for someone who just ran the perimeter of a farm at an enhanced speeds. She should at least be warm. Rainbow was along the same train of thought and she was a little concerned.

Twilight and Spike ran over to check on us, the CMC were not far behind. Twilight was looking positively giddy and Spike looked equally fascinated. Twilight almost instantly began asking Rainbow about something, but at the same time, Scootaloo was bouncing about investigating Rainbow and commenting on her coolness. Naturally, this created a cacophony of noise that made it hard to determine who was saying what.

In order to keep track of the questions, Rainbow had to interject. “Whoa, whoa! Hang on! One pony at a time!” Rainbow gave Twilight her attention and listened to what she is saying.

Twilight repeated, “Please tell me Dante did not use any additional abilities, even accidentally.” Her tone was still overflowing with excitement and when Rainbow affirmed I had never once used anything other than the augmentation ability, her excitement exploded. She began to visibly vibrate and a smile of pure exuberance caused Twilight’s mouth to stretch to their furthest reaches. This reaction prompted Rainbow to wonder what was causing the beaming smile, “What? What’s with the face?”

“You and Dante basically beat your previous time by a full twenty percent!” Spike interjected holding up the stopwatch for Rainbow to see. The stopwatch read eleven minutes and twenty-two seconds. Rainbow, in an involuntary attempt to match Twilight’s, began to grin as well. I felt a spring of excitement blooming within her and her wings began to twitch. Even with our mental connection, I didn’t need it to know how badly Rainbow wanted to test my augmentation ability on her wings. But before I would even entertain that idea, I needed to determine something.

I was still stuck to Rainbow since my augmentations were still active, but I was able to get Twilight’s attention with a tendril and directed her attention to Rainbow’s brow. Unfortunately, her confused look told me she wasn’t catching what I was getting at, so I directed her to the ground and wrote out, “Rainbow is not sweating. Check her.” Twilight took a second to read over my message before looking back at Rainbow and putting a hoof to her forehead. She held her hoof to Rainbow’s brow for a short time before pulling it away. There was a definitive look of confusion and intrigue as Twilight backed away and moved her hoof on Rainbow’s neck. I presumed it was to take her pulse.

While this was happening Rainbow and I, for a brief moment, shared a similar thought in that moment, “Was I the source of this issue.” Considering Rainbow wasn’t nearing collapse and she wasn’t burning up, the only logical step was that I was somehow involved. What it was exactly, was hard to tell.

The Crusaders also took note of my message and began to look at Rainbow with a tint of confusion in their faces. “Is it bad that Rainbow isn’t sweating?” Scootaloo inquired.

“Normally, yes,” Twilight responded. “Except, she seems fine.” Twilight finished with, what sounded like, contemplative thought. “Spike make a note of this. We’ll need to do some research.”

Spike nodded before scribbling down the information on the parchment he had brought along to mark times. “What are you thinking, Twilight?” Spike asked as he finished the note.

Twilight looked perplexed yet pensive as she mulled over the question. “I’m... I’m not sure. I have no doubt this has something to do with Dante, but...” Twilight halted as she seemed to ponder a new thought. “I’ll need to test some ideas, but clearly it isn’t causing any problems.”

“Well... that’s good.” A familiar, exhausted voice with a southern drawl added. Didn’t take much to determine who the voice belonged to. Rainbow and the Crusaders turned to see a very sweaty and panting Applejack. Sweat had matted a good portion of her coat to her body and even the inner rim of her Stetson looked darkened. Despite this, she had a smile on her face as she approached.

“Y’all were really goin’ back there,” she admitted with a chuckle. “Dante really gave ya a heck of a boost. I couldn’t keep up.”

Rainbow felt a fleeting amount of pride after hearing that comment, but it soon disappeared when she realized she needed my assistance to achieve it. She didn’t take it too seriously, but she didn’t like that she couldn’t win under her own power. I did my best to offer moral support. “Hey, you’re still the fastest thing in the sky. Plus the two of you were really close in the first race.” I kept my tone fairly light and jovial as I could. It was enough to lift her spirits enough, but I still noticed that she made a note to work on her legs a bit more in the future.

“Might need to borrow ya for some of those long-haul trips,” Applejack added with a smirk. She then turned to Twilight and asked, “So how’d they do, Twilight?”

Twilight didn’t answer immediately. When Rainbow looked back to her, she seemed engrossed in a deep thought and it took a jab from Spike to bring her back to reality. “Huh? What? Sorry?” she sputtered in confusion. Spike directed her attention to Applejack.

“Rainbow. She was faster this time, right?” Applejack repeated.

“Oh, yeah. They managed to cut twenty percent off their original time,” Twilight replied. I wonder what’s on her mind, she seems really focused on something. Knowing Twilight, she probably has some idea about what was going on. I’ll have to ask her about it later.

“Well, ain’t that somethin’,” Applejack replied with a smirk.

“Yeah,” Rainbow interjected. “Now imagine what is going to happen when it’s used on my wings!” Having figured out her health wasn’t in any danger, Rainbow’s mind had switched to the one thing she had been wanting to do since the start. Given what Twilight revealed about my ability, I couldn’t say I wasn’t curious. The way my body worked in sync with Rainbow’s was fascinating. Admittedly, I know a tiny bit about how birds fly, but I think pegasi are a tad different. There’s something more there, I feel it when I fly with Rainbow and I have a feeling the way magic flows off pegasi has something to do with it. I was curious to see how the augmentation would work in conjunction with Rainbow’s wings. I was more so curious to see what the fastest flier in Equestria could do with such a boost in physical performance.

Scootaloo was first to cheer on the idea and her little wings buzzed with clear excitement. “Oh, yeah! Do it, Rainbow!” she cheered as she momentarily hovered off the ground.

The prospect seemed to get Twilight out of her thought process, if only for a moment. She nodded her agreement and asked that Rainbow only get comfortable with how the ability felt in flight. Twilight wanted to run some tests later with more flight-related testing equipment.

“Man, Twilight seems like she’s really stuck in thought,” I mentioned off-handedly.

“Pretty sure, Twilight is always thinking. It’s kinda her thing,” Rainbow replied. “But I wouldn’t be surprised if she’s already on the way to figuring your abilities out.”

“Yeah, that’s what I figured. Just seems like she is really focused right now, doesn’t it? Like more than usual. ”

Rainbow nodded as a sense of familiarity began to come into her mind, “Yeah, she’s probably stumped on something. I’ve seen her do this before. Don’t be surprised if she spends part of the night just doing research or whatever.”

Hmm, curious. I’ll have to ask her about that later. Not like I know a ton about this body anyway. I’ll definitely need to help where I can, if only with reading material... well, and maybe some experiments too. Whichever comes first. Just as long as needles aren’t involved.

“Yeah, well that’s future problems. We have better, more interesting problems right now,” Rainbow added with determination and excitement. I had a good inkling where she was going. “We need to see what that ability can do in the sky!” Yeeeeup.

I admitted I was curious as well and gave Rainbow my okay. With this, she spread her wings and I created two tendrils to envelop them. It was a little awkward at first, as the tendrils did not attach immediately. For a few moments, I was just awkwardly slapping my arms against Rainbow’s wings. It wasn’t until Twilight suggested, I try the area closest to Rainbow’s body that we got the desired effect. The tendrils attached to Rainbow’s wings, but not in the way I was expecting. The black pretty much enveloped all of Rainbow’s back and up into the wing, but rather than turning the whole wing black, it seemed like the tendril worked its way under the feathers and added a dark hue below Rainbow’s natural cyan. It was oddly fascinating. I’m not entirely sure why it wrapped around like it did, but I’m willing to guess it has to do with how bird muscles really work. Lord knows my human anatomy was so-so, to begin with.

Either way, Rainbow was now sporting a pair of augmented wings with a slight color change. The one thing I noticed, however, was that I felt... tight. Like I literally felt stretched out and tight against Rainbow. While it wasn’t anything painful, it was a bizarre sensation. Regardless, I was hyped and so was Rainbow. She only needed a moment to get a feel for the augmentation work with her wings before she began flapping her wings and the two of us were airborne.

Compared to the other times I'd flown with Rainbow, it seemed like she wasn't exerting as much energy as she ascended. In fact, she was putting more power into each flap, again my tendrils seemed to be helping, but this time seemed to be pushing and pulling the wings into powerful flaps. Before long, we were high in the sky overlooking both Sweet Apple Acres and Ponyville. The view was spectacular, we could see way past Ponyville and far into the distant plains leading toward Canterlot. I could stare at this forever. However, we weren’t above the clouds for the view.

Rainbow took a good glance at the scene as well, but it was short lived as she arced into a steep dive with a heavy flap of her wings. The force of the acceleration took us both by surprise, but it felt amazing. The g-forces going against her body were welcomed and accepted. Additionally, Rainbow was consistently pushing us forward with empowered flaps. This combined with our downward trajectory was beyond enticing and I could feel our mutual excitement rocketing. This was AWESOME!

Eventually, we had to pull out of the dive and the g-forces altered. Rainbow pulled into an upward spiraling corkscrew causing the empty feeling in her stomach to be replaced with a force coming down over her back and wings. It felt much more tolerable than usual, not that it was ever a problem, really. Maybe earlier on, but not now, dealing with the g-forces felt much easier than ever before.

“Oh my gosh, that was a breeze! I barely struggled with that!” Rainbow said almost giggling. “Hehe, okay. Let’s take this a step further.”

“Wait, what do you-?” I didn't get to finish. Coming out of the corkscrew, Rainbow leveled out and gave a quick set of flaps to regain the speed we lost in the climb. With the additional boost and the gained altitude Rainbow decided to start pushing limits. She rolled upside down and arched her back toward the ground causing another sharp plummet. However, this time Rainbow pulled her wings in close to her body, but not enough that they were laying flat, just enough to let air move between her feathers and fur.

The drop quickly gave us speed, but unlike before, this was to set up for some tricky maneuvers that, if we pulled this off, was going to be amazing! “I’m gonna give everypony a show, hope you’re ready,” Rainbow warned me.

“Ready as I’ll ever be,” was my response. No point in saying anything else. Just gonna enjoy this ride.

The dive gave us the speed we needed and after a quick descent, Rainbow quickly angled her wings to pull us out of the dive and made us horizontal to the ground. Immediately after, she pulled her limbs in and went into a forward roll. The world spun around us as we spiraled forward, only for it to come to a solid halt as Rainbow spread her wings once again and arced us into a high g turn once again. This one took us to the left and Rainbow was tightening the curve as we went in.

“Headwind up ahead,” I called out noting a shift in the wind.

“Yeah, I see it. I’ll adjust,” Rainbow replied.

“What exactly are going to do next?”

Rainbow smirked. “What else, be awesome.” Sounds about right. She was enjoying this test almost much as her first cup of cider, but she was far from done pushing her capabilities. We were pulling some serious g-forces and powering through them with little issues. So now, she was going to start putting me through the paces. Pulling harder into the curve, Rainbow arced her back once again and twisting her wings so we were inverted toward the ground and diving once again. “God rollercoasters have nothing on this!” I said in my excitement.

“What is a rollercoaster?” Rainbow asked out of curiosity.

“Think what you are doing but on rails and fewer options for awesome,” was my reply.

“Sounds boring.”

“Compared to this, yes. Yes, it is.”

“In that case, let’s keep the show rolling!” Rainbow arched herself toward the distant forest. This time she was aiming to test her reactions. As we dove, Rainbow began to point herself toward a cluster of trees just outside the Whitetail Woods. They were spaced out just enough to slalom between them. Oh Lordy. This was gonna be a ride.I tightened my grip on Rainbow and prepared for what was to come.