006

Someone was carrying me. I could barely open my eyes, but my nose registered the scent of cinnamon. Discord, I thought blearily, my subconscious guiding me to wiggle closer to his chest and the warmth the Chaos Lord provided.

When I next awoke, I was alone in the apartment, tucked into bed and hugging my plushie. A quick inward glance showed that my energy reserves were back within acceptable levels, but I wouldn't be up to fighting any high-tier enemies for another day or so.

With a small yawn, I rolled out of bed and made my way to the kitchen with the plushie still tucked under one arm. Some dim part of my half-awake brain recognized that Discord was sitting at the table, reading a newspaper. He could wait. I needed caffeine and needed it now. I popped open the fridge and eyed the shelves curiously, noting that all of my food and drink options had been restocked. All of them were "Chaos" branded, likely as a small joke and reminder from the pseudo-deity of just who I had to thank for my current comforts.

After a moment of browsing, I pulled out a two-liter bottle of Chaos Cola and crawled up onto Discord's lap. The Draconequus glanced down at me with a raised eyebrow, but I just mumbled something unintelligible and tried to twist the cap off my drink with little success.

"You just can't function this early in the morning, can you? Maybe if I'd started my takeover a few hours earlier Equestria would be all mine right now," Discord chuckled, transfiguring the cap of the two-liter into a water bottle's nozzle. I murmured something again and started chugging.

Once I was a little more awake I realized where I was and what I was doing. A bit mortified, I glanced up at Discord, but he'd gone back to reading his newspaper. I felt and heard his barely-contained snorts of laughter. Then, I considered everything and realized that I didn't have anything to be embarassed about. Discord was a friend and if he had any real problem with me using him as a glorified cushion I wouldn't be sitting on his lap.

"So," Discord began, flipping to the comics page, "You've been keeping yourself occupied since we last spoke."

"A bit. Mostly just lazing around and letting my Carbuncles do the leg work," I admitted, then turned and gave him a proper hug. "Thank you for making them permanent by the way. It's a lot more fun with them around."

"Oh it was nothing. A small favor between friends, hm?" Discord's usual smirk changed into a gentle smile. "On that note, I believe I may have found one of those little crystals of yours."

I sat up, any trace of tiredness gone in a rush of adrenaline.

"You found a Soul Crystal? Do you know which one it is?" I was bouncing in excitement. The Soul Crystals were always well-hidden and well-guarded, but that just made it even more fun to try and retrieve them.

"Calm down, little Summoner," Discord chuckled, patting my head. "I said I may have found one. All I know for certain is that I was wandering around some Diamond Dogs' territory not too far from here and I felt a bit of magic very similar to yours."

"Even a possible Soul Crystal find is better than nothing. I'll get packed up and ready to go after breakfast," I giggled, hopping off the draconequus' lap. He quickly grabbed me and pulled me right back.

"Not a chance, young lady," Discord said, poking me on the nose. "You just gave all of your energy to a Changeling and are still weak. I won't have you running off into danger until you're at your best and have at least your Carbuncles to aid you."

"But... but... Soul Crystal," I whined, pouting at Discord and hugging my plushie to make myself look as cute as possible.

"Possible Soul Crystal," Discord corrected. "Don't think the cute act will work on me either. I can automatically regenerate from the spontaneous heart failure it causes."

"Fine," I slumped, taking another sip from my two-liter. Still, the possibility of getting another Soul Crystal excited me. Each one I collected raised the effective power of the others, as well as providing its own unique skills that I could use to raise my unpredictability in combat.

"You may want to try recruiting the Bearers of Harmony for this expedition," Discord commented, catching me by surprise. Before I could raise my voice in protest, he waved a paw to cut me off. "I know they're not all that skilled in combat, but this would be a nice way to show them just what they should be doing with their position and power. Plus, the more you interact with them on a positive note, the less likely they'll turn on you at Celestia's command, hm?"

He made a fair point, but was it worth it to drag those ponies into danger unprepared? Rainbow Dash may have some experience as a Pugilist, but if things went south I doubted I'd be able to protect all of them.

"I'll make them an offer, but if they decline I won't push the issue," I conceded, if only to prevent any possible argument from Discord.

"That's about as much as I could hope for, I suppose," Discord rolled his eyes, gently depositing me in the chair he'd been sitting in. "While you head to Ponyville, I'll be confirming that it is, in fact, a Soul Crystal. Wouldn't want you wasting your time on a fool's errand. Call if you need anything in the mean time!"

Just like that, he was gone. I didn't waste much more time, grabbing a couple of pop-tart packs from the cabinet and tossing them in the toaster. It wasn't the healthiest breakfast when paired with the cola, but my Lalafell metabolism kept me at an acceptable weight no matter what I chose to eat.

After my "meal", I took a quick shower and brushed my teeth, then Job Changed back to Summoner. After a moment of further consideration, I switched back to White Mage. Summoner may have been my go-to Job, but White Mage would make me look better on the Good/Evil scale thanks to the brighter colors.

As soon as I stepped out of the apartment I could feel the Everfree Spirit settle around me, conveying its concern and mildly chastising me for doing something so reckless. It made me wish that I had any talent for Conjury while I was in my other forms, that I could communicate with the Everfree's spirit even when I wasn't a White Mage. It was another old friend, one that I had neglected far too often from my own preferences.

The Spirit gently began to feed its wild magic into me, easily replacing what I'd given to the Changeling and then some. The message was unspoken, but still there. All is forgiven.

As if to compound on this, a single Timber Wolf loped into the castle's entry hall. I noticed that its back was shaped oddly, somewhat similar to a saddle? The Everfree Spirit seemed to giggle at my confusion as the wolf approached and dropped a small stick at my feet.

When I picked up the stick, I could feel my magic reach out and bond with it, much in the same way it bonded with any Soul Crystals I collected. Then, it reached further and wrapped around the Timber Wolf, who seemed content to lie there and accept whatever my power was trying to do to him. A set of instructions imprinted themselves into my mind, guiding me to throw the stick in a high arc.

In a flash of light the Timber Wolf vanished from in front of me and reappeared in the air to catch the stick. It landed lightly on its paws before walking back to my confidently and dropping the stick at my feet again.

My first non-Chocobo mount, I realized. With a new grin on my face I stepped forward and settled onto the Timber Wolf's back, thanking the Everfree Spirit for its generous gift. With a snap of my fingers the stick was gone, but I could feel its unique place in my powers. So long as I could throw the stick, I'd be able to summon my Timber Wolf anywhere and likely contact the Everfree Spirit through it. Of course, it wouldn't be fair to always have the Timber Wolf with me or use him for minor trips. From what I understood the Timber Wolves were magical constructs, but they also had their own pseudo-intelligence and personalities. Thus, the Timber Wolf had his own wants and needs apart from my wishes or the Everfree's.

With that in mind, I reached forward and gently patted the wooden wolf's head before guiding him out of the castle with my knees.

It was time to see what the Bearers had been up to since I'd last visited.

At the edge of the Everfree I dismissed by Timber Wolf with a round of scratchies. He'd made good time through the twisting trees and unseen paths, saving me from having to deal with any possible monster encounters.

Hopefully the civilian ponies wouldn't be hostile once I reached the town. A friendly village meant that I'd have a safe place to potentially buy and sell much-needed resources. I'd need a supplier of some sort if I was to complete all of the work I had planned. Scavenging would only go so far in the long run and there were things that I just couldn't get out of a centuries-old ruin.

I sighed and subtly cast a Cure spell to remove the headache forming from that line of thought. I needed to keep my focus on the task at hand; recruiting the Bearers of Harmony for an expedition into a dangerous situation that they weren't remotely prepared for.

Yeah... Discord's suggestion or not, this was a terrible idea. I turned on my heel before even reaching the town, only to come face to face with a grinning pink nightmare.

Oh wait, it was just one of the Bearers. She was about as harmless as you could get, as far as appearances went. Pink on Pink for her color scheme, only broken by the trio of balloons for her Talent Mark. Plus, that poofy mane and tail looked so soft and fluffy and... No. I will not hug a random pony just because they look fluffy. Especially not one of the Bearers!

"Done with your internal monologue yet?" The Pink One asked, giggling as she bounced in place.

Wait, how did she know?! I quickly checked my mental shields, but they were all still in place. The Pink One snorted a bit with her barely-suppressed laughter. I had a fair idea of which Element she was supposed to represent, if her Talent Mark and general behavior weren't an act.

"Aww, you're just so adorable! Why can't you be like this all the time instead of a big meany-pants?" The Pink One asked, suddenly invading my personal space with a bone crushing hug. The Tables have turned. They Prey has become the Predator! Abort mission! Abort mission!

My logical response was a tiny squeak as the Pink Pony squeezed the life out of me bit by bit.

"Um... Pinkie Pie, maybe you should let Kikiru go," A soft, meek voice whispered. "I don't think she can breathe right now."

"Oh my gosh! Sorry!" The newly identified Pinkie Pie giggled madly as she released me and bounded a few steps away. "My Pinkie Sense just told me that somepony needed a big hug out here, so I ran over as fast as I could!"

I made an incoherent sound in reply, unable to see much from my position face-down in the grass.

"So, what are you doing out here, Fluttershy?" Pinkie asked, completely ignoring my downed state.

"I live here, Pinkie," The other voice responded in what I could only imagine as a timid person's deadpan. That's right, I was near a little cottage when I decided to abort my mission.

A surprisingly soft pair of hooves lifted me up and set me back on my feet. Much to my surprise, it was the yellow Pegasus from the Bearers' group. She seemed much less afraid of me now, standing there with a gentle smile on her face. Her Talent Mark was a trio of pink butterflies, which gave me little to no idea of what her actual Talent could be based on her personality.

I glanced towards the cottage nearby, which I'd overlooked during my "internal monologue" as Pinkie put it. Instantly I was surprised by the sheer quantity of animals in a variety of species watching us. Many tried to hide in the thick foliage that covered the cottage's roof, with differing levels of success. After all, it was hard for a bear to be stealthy when its entire head was poking up out of the leaves.

So, a veterinarian? Odd profession for a Pegasus, but maybe... When I met the Bearers of Harmony, I was silently gauging each of them to try and figure out just what path they might be suited for from the classic Adventurer's Guild lineup. Rainbow Dash had been the easiest, since she already had some training, but the others had proven difficult since I hadn't had too much direct interaction with them. Seeing Fluttershy's personality and home firsthand had given me an idea, however. It all depended on whether or not she had the talent.

Unfortunately, I had the feeling Pinkie Pie would object to me taking Fluttershy into the Everfree Forest to test my idea. It'd have to be shelved until Fluttershy sought me out of her own accord, or a better opportunity presented itself.

"What made you come back to Ponyville... um... if you don't mind me asking, that is?" Fluttershy asked, pulling me out of my thoughts once again.

"Yeah! Especially after your big mysterious 'come find me when you're ready' speech!" Pinkie interjected, suddenly reappearing atop Fluttershy's back and waving her forelegs dramatically.

"A friend asked me to look into something," I replied. It was the truth in some form, without giving away details that might cause a negative reactions. I was more concerned with what Pinkie Pie had just done. She'd moved from Point A to Point B without any visible travel time or detectable magic flares. If she could pull things like that off at will, it gave me a sneaky idea for what I could train her in.

"Hmmm..." Pinkie Pie leaned forward, staring at me intensely. She finally lost her balance and fell face-first into the grass, taking Fluttershy with her.

I was fairly confident the sound of my facepalm could be heard from Canterlot. Maybe she wasn't quite cut out for what I was thinking of.

"I'm just... I'm just going to walk away now," I said, taking a long step away from the silly ponies. If anything, this interaction had proven that they weren't ready to go on even the most minor of missions with me, even just as spectators.

"Wait!" Pinkie Pie shouted, bouncing up from her prone position. "Now that you aren't acting like a big meany-pants I need to throw you a 'Welcome to Ponyville' party!"

"Probably not the best idea. Especially after I fought Rainbow Dash in the middle of town," I replied as I increased the distance between us. "A 'party' can easily turn into an angry mob complete with torches and pitchforks. Trust me, I know from experience."

"Alright then, you've forced my hoof. It's time to break out my ultimate weapon!" Pinkie Pie declared, bouncing toward me as if her legs were made out of springs. I paused in my escape attempt, curious to see just what a modern pony would consider an "ultimate weapon".

My vision was filled with the image of a pouting pink pony's face. Her baby blue eyes, brimming with tears, pierced into my soul mercilessly.

When I recovered my senses, my arms were wrapped around Pinkie in a fair imitation of the bone crushing hug she'd given me earlier. Unlike me, however, Pinkie Pie didn't seem to mind it in the least. I nearly shoved Pinkie away when I heard a giggle from Fluttershy's direction.

"Uh... anyways... I'd better get going," I said, feeling my cheeks heat up in an embarrassed blush. I really needed to get a better handle on the childish behavior I'd been showing lately.

Even if it'd cost a chunk of my magic, using the Swiftcast Teleport was worth it to get away from the ponies and the insanity they drove me to.

Author's Notes:

Yes. I know it's shorter than usual.
Yes. I know the quality might be a bit lower than the typical standard.
Yes. I know it's another bloody filler chapter.
Yes. I know there's more Diskiru fluff even though I said I was trying to avoid it.

Don't worry. Things are being set up to earn that Adventure tag. There are two key points that are going to happen very soon, likely within the next chapter or two. Unfortunately, I just couldn't pull a decent second section for this chapter out of my rear even after a week.
On the plus side, Kikiru now has a mount! Yay!