Author's Notes:

This crossover was done with Blackdust and his story, Trespasser’s Journey.

In all honesty, this was a rather unexpected one, but welcoming nonetheless. I had a lot of fun writing this with Blackdust, as he was a big help. It made for an interesting, funny, and emotional chapter in my opinion.

Anyways, thanks for coming by and I hope you enjoy the reading.

FIGHT LIKE HELL, FIGHT LIKE DOOM MARINES!

Ch.29: Meet the Mage...

(Kevin/Doom Marine, Everfree Forest…)

“My lord, look! Up ahead!” Azurai pointed out, a few feet away as we came upon what looked like an ambush. There were bodies of the Changelings we have been chasing, shot up by arrows.

“It’s them, isn’t it?” They didn’t reply since there was no need for one. “Alright let’s keep moving, the Changelings are on foot now.” Following the tracks, we found more dead Changelings along the way. There were times where we had to take a detour around some of the predators that were feasting upon the bodies.

Just then, I stumbled upon something that didn’t quite belong in this forest. “Hold up.” I ordered.

“What is it?” Krimzon asked.

Walking over to it, I kneeled and picked up a single blade of grass. Well, I thought it was, but it wasn’t the case. It was a token shaped like grass, or a symbol of one. Surprisingly, it didn’t weigh as much as I thought, it was light as grass itself when you pull a single one out from the ground. Then again, Guardian said that you could make a token out of anything, so I guess this token is grass. Strange...

Of course, with tokens, comes messages.

“In brightest day,
In blackest night,
No evil shall escape my sight.
Let those who worship Evil’s might,
Beware my power, Green Lanterns Light.”

Wait, hold up. This is a Green Lantern’s token?

“My lord?” Azurai placed a hand on my shoulder, gaining my attention. “Are you alright?”

“Just a little confused.” I texted him, looking back to the token. “Although, this one could help us out with our problem.” Holding it up, I tried summoning this Green Lantern to aid us. But instead of one, I ended up summoning something else.

That something being an anthropomorphic wolf with fur that glinted faintly, wearing red robes, falling from the sky and landing on top of me, rather unceremoniously. Letting out a throaty grunt of pain from being almost flattened, the others pulled the seemingly unconscious wolf off me and helped me up.

“My lord, are you hurt?” Krimzon asked as he checked me over.

“Nothing serious, just some sore muscles.” I answered, looking down at our new arrival. “How is he?”

“Sir, he’s in bad shape.” Tahillia said as she and Azurai examined the wolf in question. “He must have been in a fight some time ago. Whatever hit him did some damage.” She pulled out a syringe and stuck the needle into his neck, injecting him with the healing liquid. We waited for a while until the wolf let out a gasp and quickly got up to his feet. Tahillia and Azurai backed away immediately and gave him some space, so as to not provoke him.

"Uh… Hi? Was I summoned, or did that bass cannon just simply knock me into next century?" He said, unsure of how to react.

The first to answer him was Krimzon. “He summoned you here.” He pointed to me as I held up the wolf’s token for proof. “You were badly injured when you got here, so she helped you.” He then points toward Tahillia.

“Hey.” She waved at the wolf. “Also, bass cannon? As in some sonic-based weapon?”

The wolf nodded and sighed, replying with, "Yeah… Turns out Vinyl knows how to weaponize SOUND in my Equestria… And Sunbutt is a murderous asshat." He held up a hand to stop us from interrupting before continuing on. "I'll tell you if you really want to know, just bear in mind most humans won't like the answer."

We looked at each other before I texted my answer to them and Krimzon relayed it to the wolf. “Perhaps when we have time for such things. Could you tell us your name, please?” He asked before pointing towards me again. “His words, not ours. He’s mute.” He explained.

"Ah. Cool beans. Name, depending on if you want to use my human name or the name of the guy I got stuck as, is Ashton or Silphen. Take your pick, I've learned to respond to both," Silphen said as he took a small bow.

“Silphen? Hmm, that’s a nice name.” Tahillia complimented before introducing herself to him. “I’m Tahillia, by the way.”

“I’m Azurai.” Azurai said next.

“And I’m Krimzon. This,” He gestures a hand my way as he introduced me to Silphen, “is Hunter. No, it’s not his real name, it’s his codename.” He added so that Silphen would understand.

"Ah. Nice nice. So um… Whose hive do these red guys belong to? Chrysalis is green, and they sure as buck aren't the stupidly retarded skittlebugs from season 6," Silphen said as he gestured to the dead changelings.

“Good eye. No, these are not Queen Chrysalis’s own, they are her sister’s, Queen Cocoon.” Krimzon stated. “Cocoon tricked Chrysalis into invading Canterlot on Princess Cadence’s wedding day. When that failed, Cocoon revealed why she did so, in order to take over Equestria through proxy. Of course that meant killing Chrysalis off after the deed was done.” He explained to the wolf.

"Huh. So multiple hive theory works here. Cool. Quick question by the way, are all of you Displaced or just Doomguy over there?" He asked, pointing to me.

“He, along with his brothers, are the only Displaced here.” Azurai answered him.

"Ok, even cooler. Another timeline with more than just the one… Say, why are you guys out here, and is there a way for me to read what Hunter is saying without him having to use one of you three as his voice?" He asked again, this time waving his paw between us all.

Nodding my head, I pulled out a Datapad and handed it to him, with some text on it. “This will come in handy for understanding me.”

"Sweet! So, what are the lot of you doing here, middle of what I assume to be the Everfree, surrounded by the corpses of the Mad Bug Queens sisters kids?"

This time, I get to answer him. “We’re here to stop those Changelings from leaving with a dangerous artifact, the Alicorn Amulet. We tried to intervene before they could find it, but we were too late. However, some mysterious group of beings that live in this forest are trying to stop them as well, so there’s still a chance.”

"Ok… That fucking thing, that thing needs to be destroyed when you get the chance. Also, I might, mind you I said MIGHT, be able to help track it. Takes corruption to track corruption, and all that bullshit… and I just realized I can swear again. Cool."

“We...were considering destroying it. But…” I looked towards Azurai when he said that.

“What do you mean?” I asked him.

“I meant no deceitfulness, it was merely a suggestion should we take back the amulet.” He quickly said, waving a hand before letting out a sigh. “But I’m more afraid of destroying it than having it locked away in our care.”

"Moving along, would you like me to try and help, or nah?" Silphen asked, trying to refocus the topic.

I let out a sigh before nodding my head. “Yes, we would like your help in tracking down the amulet, please.”

The wolf nodded and handed the Datapad back to me, before baring his claws and jamming them into the dirt, saying something in a tongue I couldn't understand. What happened next, was that his form seemed to melt away like Sombra did in the dream fight, leaving a pair of glowing, albeit closed, purple eyes.

“What the--!?” Alarmed, my Night Sentinels raised their weapons at where Silphen used to stand. No idea why though, but then again, I’m not a demon like them.

“What are you all doing?” I asked them, wanting to dissuade them from doing something stupid.

“He’s using ancient demonic powers.” Krimzon answered.

“We don’t know how he knows of this, but we don’t like it.” Azurai spoke up next.

“That sort of power snuffed out too many innocent people and good soldiers during the civil war in Tartarus. Something the Mad King took great pleasure in displaying.” Tahillia added on and I began to understand why they’ve reacted this way.

"Half a klick off… And while yes, this is dark magic, and the language I use to channel it is ancient demonic, I have no intention of going on a murderous rampage. Unless someone hurts Aurana… Again," Silphen said, as his form returned to normal, not a trace of the taint to be found on him.

They stared at him for a moment, their guns still pointed his way, until they slowly lowered them. “Okay, you’ve convinced us. Sorry about jumping to conclusions.” Tahillia told him, sounding a little ashamed.

Silphen shrugged and began walking in the direction he felt the Amulet resonate from while he said, "Eh… when the solar whore of the timeline wants you dead just because you have a book with every dark spell in existence in its pages, whether or not you'd actually use them, you get used to that kind of stuff. Oh, by the way, quick note, I'm all but immune to electricity while I have the robes on. Between the metal fur acting as a metal cage directing the overflow into the ground, and the enchantments woven into the robe itself…"

The part where he said his fur was made out of metal was a surprise for us all, so we followed after him. “Your fur is living metal?” I asked him after handing the datapad back to him, so that he could read my question.

"Yepyep. Oddly enough, the last group to summon me didn't ask about the fur. Did take a nice tree to my ass from the force of that attack, but yeah. Still kickin'," Silphen said, almost like it was perfectly normal for a wolf to have metallic fur.

“Huh, that’s pretty cool.” Tahillia said with a nod of appreciation.

“How good are you in combat?” Azurai asked the wolf.

"Depends. Spell slinging? I can take on Twilight and make it last a day or so before she won. CQC? Er… Close quarters combat? Not very well. I know a few spells already that can help in a situation like that, one making crystal armor and the other an ice scythe, but outside of those? Nothing. Not between me, or the guy I got launched out as," Silphen replied.

“Then perhaps, when we’re done here, we could help you train in CQC?” Krimzon suggested to Silphen.

The wolf chuckled and nodded as he said, "Yeah, that might be a good idea… Especially if I plan to make a hut just inside the Everfree in my world. Oh, and don't worry about how long I'm here, I noticed that my timeline is stopped when I leave."

“Fortune seems to favor you.” I texted him and the others nodded their heads.

Silphen chuckled again, this time a sad sound. "Not quite… If it did, I would've been allowed to live my life without the memories of Silphen Dardo overwriting my own. Starting to get hard to recall if I had a cat or not… or what its name was."

I winced. “I probably should’ve worded that properly.” Damn, now I feel like a dick for bringing up bad memories for him. That wasn’t what I was going for. “Sorry.”

Silphen shrugged and turned around as he began walking backwards, and fairly expertly, as he replied, "No harm done. So, that shitfest aside, what's your full title? Pretty sure Hunter isn't just it."

He’s very perceptive, I’ll give him that. Bet he could snipe just as good as well if given a sniper rifle. “It’s The Hunter of Silence.” I answered him.

"Nice. Fits you pretty well given the fact you're a mute," Silphen shot back, a witty smirk crossing his muzzle.

“Hmm.” Krimzon hummed as he looked around. “No bodies. Only signs of some skirmishes. Are we getting close?”

Silphen slowed down and closed his eyes, focusing on the resonation from earlier, and nodded. "Yeah. Very close."

That was when we heard some explosions going off, confirming it. We went in slowly, keeping our heads down as we snuck our way over to where the fighting was taking place. There were a couple of times some of those Tankers’ shots came flying over our heads, detonating off behind us.

“They’re firing off at random. Must be that group keeping them pinned.” Tahillia whispered.

Silphen nodded and began whispering in a language that we didn't even seem to understand as the mud began to reshape and show us the area in a 6 foot radius around the Amulet. "This is a 6 foot radius… Can’t get better without setting off any mana detection wards they might have…"

“Is it in some sort of cave? I can’t imagine them being stuck out in the open.” Azurai asked Silphen.

The wolf closed his eyes and focused, nodding slowly as he returned to his senses. "Yeah. They're in a cave, and I think it goes to some tunnels or something."

“That nails it. Maybe this was how they got so close to Ponyville and attacked it without being detected.” Krimzon hypothesised and it sounded rather solid, especially with what we found back at the Old Town.

The wolf twitched slightly as Krimzon said that Ponyville was attacked, and the purple mist stuff began to flow from his eyes. "I'm sorry… Did you say those shit faced ass monkeys attacked the most peaceful town in all of Equis?"

“...Yes.” Krimzon slowly answered him.

"魂を収穫して体を破壊する. 死の波,” he said, standing up and stalking towards the cave as if he had a death wish. What was that orb forming over his head?

“What’s he doing!?” Tahillia hissed as the wolf continued.

“He’s pissed.” I told them as this sort of reminds me of what Bryan would do when he’s pissed; going on a killing spree.

"Harvest the soul and destroy the body. The wave of death!" Silphen bellowed, the shadows and chill of death swirling to and around him as the orb grew, and grew, and grew.

“Should we even be here when he’s casting that!?” Azurai asked, sounding concerned about our safety.

“Maybe not! Let’s back away and let him do his thing!” Krimzon motioned and we all fall back to a safer position. Gaining some distance between us and him, there was a ditch we used to hunker down and wait out.

“I wonder how those Changelings are fairing?” Azurai questioned while we wait.

“They’re probably begging at this point.” Krimzon let out a disdainful scoff. “Not like that’s gonna matter…”

([Third person] Changelings, Alpha Cave…)

“W-What’s going on out there!?” The Commander asked as he held onto the chest for dear life. “Why do I-I feel like Death’s come to claim my soul.” He whispered fearfully.

All of the Changelings, the ones that survived, were also experiencing the same dreadful feeling. That was when they realised the fighting outside had stopped all of a sudden, they couldn’t sense their Tankers anymore. There was nothing.

That was when they saw it. A black ooze like sludge flowing its way towards them, just along the top of the grass as it made its way into the cave. The first to touch it didn't know what it was… All they knew was that it ate them alive, and used their shadow to spread the ooze even further. And soon, the cave itself was dripping with the shadowy liquid death ooze, as it transferred from shadow to shadow, feeding on all things that were once, and currently were, living. All that remained of the Changelings were the dissonant screams and possible psionic residue of their passing, along with the trees, grass, and chest with the Amulet secured within.

(Kevin/Doom Marine…)

Some time has passed since Silphen went in alone, we couldn’t go with him for obvious reasons. All we really can do is wait.

“Hmm, seems quiet out there.” Krimzon told us as he used his Vortex Rifle’s scope to see what was happening out there.

“Then they are all dead?” Azurai asked.

“Yes. I don’t see anymore fighting going on. So, yes, they are all dead.” Krimzon nodded as Tahillia shuddered.

“That spell...I think it killed them all.” She whispered, sounding rather frightened by it, with good reason.

It was shortly after she said that, that Silphen himself came into view of Krimzon’s scope, walking, seemingly calm, out from the cave entrance. “He’s returned, and with our prize intact.” He told us.

“Let’s regroup.” I said as we got out from the ditch and met up with the wolf halfway.

Silphen gave me a nod before setting the chest down and opening it to reveal the Alicorn Amulet, as he said, "Deal or No Deal?"

“Pardon?” Azurai tilted his head in confusion. He and the other two wouldn’t get it, but I do.

I held up the datapad and answered him, “Deal.”

Silphen smiled weakly at that and chuckled mirthlessly as he closed the chest and walked over to us, handing it to Krimzon before putting a single fist out to me. "Glad you got the reference, pal."

Smiling myself, I bumped fists with him. “Used to watch it from time to time. Are you going to be alright?”

"I'll need some time to recharge my mana, given the fact I poured my entire ocean into that one spell, so I think I may be stuck here for a few hours. Before you ask why, I apparently need to open my own portals to travel between the Realms. And I can promise you, I have nowhere near what I need to go back home. Not yet," was the wolf’s response, before a rock hit him in the head from out of nowhere. It was unexpected and out of the blue, and while it wouldn't have been enough for normal folk, Silphen was apparently weakened as it knocked him out.

“THAT’S FOR ALMOST KILLING US IN THE PROCESS! YOU ASS!” A feminie voice rang out. We couldn’t really pinpoint where it was coming from and nothing more came from it.

“Uh, let’s...just leave.” Tahillia suggested and we opted for that.

I carried Silphen on my back as we made our way back to Ponyville, and it was quite a walk. Eventually we made it back to Fluttershy’s cottage, but I was surprised to see more Night Sentinels stationed along the border of the Everfree Forest. I guessed that it must have been Bryan’s doing, and I was right. I saw him, Vincent, Visilia, Luna and Chrysalis making their way over to us.

Before any of them could reach us, Fluttershy burst past them and stopped in front of me. “Kevin! Are you and your knights alright?” She asked me until the shy pony realised the wolf on my back. “Wait, who is this?”

“This is Silphen. He helped us in retrieving the amulet.” Krimzon answered her for me, holding up the chest.

“Thanks goodness.” Fluttershy let out a sigh of relief. “Well, Zecora is fine and made a full recovery. Thanks to your… Scinoxes? That’s what they are known as, right?”

“Yes, ma’am.” Krimzon nodded as Bryan and the others made it. Of course, I should have seen this coming when Bryan was in front of Krimzon. “Sir--?” Before he could even speak, that damn Berserker punched through the chest and ripped the Alicorn Amulet out, storming off into the Everfree Forest without a single word.

This course of action made us groan in annoyance. Silphen groaning as he came to, holding his head as if he had a hangover.

"Someone get the license plate of that 18-wheeler…?" The wolf grumbled, shakily getting off my back.

“No, but we have other concerns.” Visilia spoke up, making her displeasure known as she folded her arms.

"And that would be…?" Silphen asked right before mumbling something as a green light washed over him.

“Self-healing spell, I'm assuming?” Luna asked the wolf with a raised brow.

"Close, but no. General touch based healing. The glow is a side effect. Also…" Silphen bowed to Luna, his right fist over his heart with his left fist behind his back over the right shoulder blade. "Praise be unto the Night Mother, protector of Dreams, Mistress of the Moon."

Luna’s eyes widen as her cheeks were burning red. “U-Uh! Well, this is… Oh I don’t even know how to respond to this.” I kept it together so that I wouldn’t laugh at Luna’s embarrassment, she looked rather cute with how flustered she was now. “But, thank you, you honor me.” She told him, smiling shyly with her wings twitching. Was she trying to keep them from springing out?

His tail began to wag slightly beneath his robe, as he stood up straight with a smile trying to spread across his face. The only thing that kept him from doing so, was noticing Vincent and asking, "What's your title, friend?"

“Deaths Runner. You can call me Runner, ya smooth criminal.” Vincent replied, smiling underneath that helmet no doubt. No sooner had those words left his mouth did the wolf grab his crotch and lift, giving off that iconic 'Hee hee!' that we haven't heard since coming here, and in near perfect replication too.

Vincent gave out a joyous laugh as he began clapping to Silphen. “Hahahahaa! Not bad my dude! Ah, good ol’ MJ, honor be his name and may he rest in peace.” When he said that, the three of us traced the cross on us for the man and legend.

This left everyone else mildly confused as to what we were talking about. “Is… Is this something from your home world, or something? You three have lost us.” Luna asked.

"Yeah, something like that. Michael Jackson, gods, ancestors, and shadows guide him, was a legend of a musician back home. Great singer on stage, bad rep off it," Silphen explained, chuckling happily as he shook his head from the impromptu scene.

Luna nodded. “I see. Perhaps you boys will indulge us all in his music?” She asked us, specifically, Vincent and I.

“We can do that. We’ll reveal all of Humanity’s music genres for your listening pleasure.” Vincent answered her before sighing. “Right now I’m more worried about Berserker.”

"Berserker? Who's that?" Silphen asked as he looked between us all.

“Our angry brother, known as The Bloody-handed Berserker.” Vincent replied to the wolf’s question. “He just punch the box and took the amulet.” He pointed towards the broken chest Krimzon was still holding in his hands.

"Ah… Why's he pissed? He feel the spell?"

“Spell? Nah, he’s pissed because the local Zebra mare got hurt and nearly raped by the Changelings looking for that amulet.” Vincent explained Bryan’s reasons for being pissed right now. “Of course, that tends to lead him doing some really risky, stupid shit.”

Silphen twitched again and took a very long and deep breath to keep from following after him. "Ok… if he's going off to kill any stragglers, I 'ate' all the little shit faced asshat monkeys."

“Ate?” Chrysalis questioned, looking confused.

“Trust us, you don’t wanna know.” Azurai intervened, stopping them from pressing on.

Before any more talking could take place, the wind started picking up slowly, until a stronger gale force came in and almost blew us over. It came from the Everfree Forest. Oh no, don’t tell me that’s Bryan’s doing. Soon the wind picked up more and I had to grab Fluttershy or else she’ll get blown away. Soon a red beam of light shot up into the air and I ordered the Defenders to erect a barrier to protect us and Ponyville from whatever was about to happen. A green dome surrounded us and the wind stopped, giving us a chance to stand up properly, but it didn’t do much to stop the ground from shaking.

"Ok, first off, WHAT IN THE NAME OF EVERY GOD, GODDESS, DEMON, DEVIL, AND ANGEL IS THAT CRAP!?!" Silphen yelled, more out of shock than fear as he jabbed his finger at the pillar of light.

“Oh, shit.” Vincent groaned before answering. “Berserker’s trying to destroy the amulet!” That didn’t sit well for any of us, even though I’ve already deduced it was him, I didn’t like it.

"I know I said it had to be destroyed, but wouldn't chucking the damnable thing into a fucking volcano be easier and smarter!? Either that, or send it to the fucking sun! Ain't nobody got the tech or spells to handle that bullshit!" Silphen yelled. Seemed he was slowly starting to panic as he began pacing after he pulled out his spellbook.

“Yeah, he’s not one for waiting when he believes he can do something about it.” Vincent told the wolf before he saw something happening with the pillar of light. “Oh, what now?” Looking back at it, the red light started to become brighter and brighter, a big ball of energy gathering up at the top until it dropped itself down. Then came the big bang from it, the explosion was big as the blast wave reached the barrier, almost blowing down the big trees if they weren’t so deeply rooted into the Earth itself. This scared Fluttershy as she held onto me for dear life.

"Gods and devils… He either blew himself up, or managed to destroy that black artifact. One or the other." Silphen said as he took what notes he could about the magical resonance of the barrier around them, mentally preparing to need to use a resurrection spell if need be.

“I’ll go have a look.” Vincent said before speeding right off, running through the Everfree. After a while he came back with Bryan in tow, his armour fractured and broken as he placed him down. Letting go of Flutters, I pulled out my syringe and stuck it in his neck. “Okay, good news, he destroyed it.” He told us, but he sounded uncertain.

"Lemme take another potshot… Bad news is that it decided to embed a shard into his hand. If not, that's nice, I'll still help heal him," Silphen said, already taking a few steps forward, his right paw glowing in that green energy.

“Hey, could you also scan him for any sort of magical trace of that amulet’s power?” Vincent asked the wolf. “There wasn’t anything left, no shards, nothing. But I think that ball of energy may have done something to him.”

"I could try. But if he handled it bare handed, there would likely be a lingering echo from how long he was holding it. I would need to scan you two as well, Runner." He replied, looking between me and Vincent.

We looked at each other and nodded to him. “Alright.” Vincent answered.

Silphen nodded and began trying to get Bryan to sit up. "Get him into a sitting position, then put one hand each on my back!" He said through gritted teeth. Helping him, we set Bryan upright and placed our free hands on Silphen’s back.

What happened next was something that would make even the most veteran drug user freak out as his body went slightly incorporeal, his hands sinking an inch into Bryan with ours an inch into him, all while he began chanting in ancient demonic again. Everyone else watching probably didn’t know what to do, though some of the Night Sentinels looked about ready to put a round through the wolf’s head should this go wrong. For now, all they can do is wait. Either way, this experience was freaky as Hell.

After several minutes of the chanting, Silphen’s form returned to normal, pushing our hands out of his back as he pulled his out of Bryan with a sigh. "There is a small trace of that damn things taint on him, far as I could tell… By the way, do all three of you know you have a fucking mountain of hellfire burning in your souls?"

“That’s...probably the Argent Energy you were sensing just then. But, burning our souls?” Vincent asked Silphen. “What do you mean? I don’t feel like I’m burning up from the inside. You?” He looked towards me and I shook my head.

He shrugged as he turned back to Bryan with yet another sigh. "No clue. All I know… Is that there is… demonic? Yes, I believe demonic is the right word… Demonic energy inside the three of you, and it is fucking tall."

“Tall… Oh, the Titans!” Vincent clicked on what he was talking about. “Yeah, we killed them and now they live inside our heads. That, in turn, also means that they’ve given us their powers, since they were the same as ours.” He explained to the mage.

"Ah… yeah, that would do it… Anyroad, he should take it easy for a few days in my opinion. Destroying something designed to eat the purity in ones soul the longer they were in contact with it is not an easy feat. That, and I imagine the armor will take some time to repair." Silphen said as he gestured to the all but destroyed suit.

We nodded our heads before one of Bryan’s hands twitched and reached up to his helmet, wrenching it off and revealing the bloody mess his face was in. He spat out a mouthful of blood as he breathed heavily. This would be the first time the wolf had seen one of our faces, silvery white hair, blood red eyes. Of course, Bryan’s teeth were that of a Demon set of razor sharp chompers.

"Putting up a mental perception filter… Initializing healing process…" Was all the wolf said as he held one hand to his own head, the paw glowing blue, while pressing the other paw to Bryan's back beginning to heal him.

Bryan’s wounds were starting to close up and the blood being washed away. But the scars he’s earned through every battle remained, but I wasn’t expecting them to go away, he wouldn’t allow it. They were there to remind him that he’s survived each encounter that could’ve been his last.

Once the wolf was satisfied with his work, he removed the paw that was healing Bryan and stood up, turning away out of respect before he asked, "Healing complete. Anything out of place, Berserker?"

“No.” Bryan said weakly. “Thanks.”

Silphen nodded again. "Good to hear. Say, you got the helmet back on? This spell is gonna fade as soon as I remove my hand. Paw… thing."

We were confused as to why, but Bryan placed helmet back on. “It’s on.”

With those two words, Silphen sighed in relief as he removed his paw from his head. He then groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose, saying, "Fucking mana burn…"

“We should turn in for the night.” Vincent suggested. “It’s pretty late, I think the time is… Half-past three in the morning.” Damn, we’ve been out for that long?

"Lovely thing that idea… Know anywhere a werewolf or 'diamond dog' could sleep without setting off a lynch mob? And how does your Sun bitch treat the darker aspects of magic?" Silphen said as he tried to do what he could to avoid the impending migraine.

“If Tia causes you any trouble, send her my way and I’ll punch her face in.” Bryan said to the wolf. “Either way, she can’t do shit to you under our care.” He assured him as Vincent helped him up.

“Anyway, as to where, we’ll just head on over to Twilight’s castle and sleep there. She has more than enough rooms.” Vincent told Silphen.

"Nice to hear… Used to love Celly just as mu-..." Silphen started to say before stopping himself and turning to Vincent. "Flying purple book horse?"

“Yes.” Vincent nodded his head.

“Don’t worry, I’ll make sure she doesn’t go off on her questioning everything about you.” Bryan waved at him, leaning on Vincent for support. “Since we’re done here, let’s get a move on.”

Silphen nodded and began following us back to Ponyville. "Not the fact that it's book horse, she's adorkable when she nerds out, but the fact she has the castle so soon… Has Tirek wrecked house yet?"

“Yes.” Visilia answered him. “It was embarrassing that he managed to get away from us, tricking Cerberus to leave his post, not our proudest moment.” She sighed as she rubbed her arm, the other Night Sentinels muttering about their incompetence when Tirek escape.

"Wait, your Tartarus has actual guards aside from the massive dog?" Silohen asked as he turned to the three of us.

“You’re looking at them.” Bryan said, waving his hand at all of the Night Sentinels. “They’re the Wardens of Tartarus, as well as the locals of that realm.” He explained.

"Realm? Thought it was just a giant ass crack in the Everfree… Eh, different worlds, different timelines. Moving on from that… What is your power, Hunter? I saw Berserker can do some kind of insane Hulk stuff, and Runner… Well, he could possibly give Flash a run for his title." Silphen said as he winced, grabbing his head lightly.

“He can turn invisible.” Vincent told him and I showed him my ability, disappearing from his sights before disabling it, reappearing.

"That's pretty damn cool… Almost wish I was sent off with you guys instead of as a fucking weak assed Soft Metal Furred Wolf mage…" Silphen grumbled.

“Weak!?” Azurai exclaimed. “Sir, with the shit you pulled off today, you are anything but weak!”

“Yeah, dude, you shouldn’t be selling yourself short.” Tahillia chimed in.

“You helped us in getting rid of Cocoon’s Changelings, retrieved the Alicorn Amulet, and healed our lord from his stupidity.” Krimzon stated. The only response Bryan gave to him was the middle finger. “Classy, sir.”

“Fuck you.” Bryan grumbled before looking at Silphen. “They’re right though.”

"Yes, but one good throat check and I'm out of the fight. All my spells are verbally linked, meaning I NEED to speak in order to cast." Silphen countered.

“And that’s why we’re gonna help teach you hand-to-hand combat.” Krimzon told him. “Once things have settled down in town, we’ll begin your training.”

While Silphen didn't seem to enjoy hearing that, he did nod in agreement. "Yeah, there is that, isn't there…?"

“You don’t sound confident.” Luna point out as she looked at him. “Something the matter?”

"Just the fact that I had trouble getting one unconscious human into a sitting position, Mistress…" Silphen replied solemnly, before growling and giving himself a very loud slap. "Fuck that! The armor made Berserker weigh a metric fuck ton! Hand-to-hand should help me get better with that."

That was when Visi spoke up, holding a hand out. “Let me see your arms.” That made us all stop.

"Uh… Ok?" He seemed hesitant at first, not that any of us could blame him, but he held out his arms.

Grabbing a hold of it, she started feeling along his arm. “Hmm, you’re on the lean side of things.” She noted before letting go of him. “Have you been eating properly?” She asked him.

"Er… Until about a week ago, I had been in the Canterlot Dungeons as an unofficial prisoner… Then I had to figure out how to hunt and gather for myself and Aurana… So, not really…?" The wolf replied nervously.

Visilia let out a sigh at this response. “Of course. Well, first thing’s first, building up your strength and muscles. You’re gonna need it in order to survive the training.” She told him as we began walking again. “Now, normally, we wouldn’t do anything to speed things up, but we’re making an exception for you. The food you’ll be getting will be slightly altered in order for your body to develop a little quicker. This will cut down on time.”

"I'm not sure how well I'd enjoy being altered...I used to be human like those three, but Merchant's bitch ass happened, and… Yeah." Silphen replied, jerking a thumb to me and my brothers.

Visi waves her hand at him. “It will only affect your muscle development. Nothing major in any way.” She explained to him.

"Uh-huh… Welp. Only thing I give two shits about is Aurana and her half changeling sister back in my timeline, so why in the nine pits of hell shouldn't I get stronger?" Silphen asked rhetorically as he shrugged. "Besides, if I'm already able to swing a stone fucking katana around like it's made of plastic, why not be able to swing it around like it's plastic that can cut a mountain?"

“It can wait until tomorrow morning.” Bryan said as he pointed out towards...Ponyville’s residents. “If they’ll leave us alone and go back to sleep.” Right, the explosion he caused.

Luna sighs in annoyance, pinching at her forehead. “Let me handle this, the rest of you continue onward.” With that said, she spoke to the masses as the rest of us continued making our way back to Twilight’s castle. Of course, some of the townsfolk gave us some dirty looks, so we flipped them off and moved along. Uncaring about their retorts or complaints.

Silphen lingered near Luna for a brief moment before following after us. As he caught up, he asked Visi, "So… What's your rank? Or title? Still unsure how many Displaced are here…"

“I’m the Princess of Tartarus, and one of Berserker’s girlfriends.” Visi answered, stunning the wolf. “There’s only five Displaced and that’s the Doom Marines.” She added.

“Ah. Coolio. Wait… Then what’s the titles of the last two?” He asked, now very interested in our past.

Vincent answered him, “The Mountains Pillar and Collateral Damage. Pillar fought through defensive means while Collateral fought with big guns or a lot of guns. So one sets up fortifications where we can all hunker down and the other set up firing lines to gun down the enemy.” He clarifies to Silphen. “Anything else you wish to know?”

“Nah. Aside from what version of Doom you got Displaced as, I think I can imagine why the five of you were separated,” Silphen said with a dismissive wave of his hand.

“2016. We’re also over ten thousand years old, so you're hanging out with some ancient bastiches.” Vincent told him.

“Uh… Bastiches…?” Silphen asked, confused.

“He mashed both bastard and bitch into one word.” Bryan clarified.

“Ah…” Silphen leaned over to me and whispered, “Is he… Insane…?”

Pulling up the Datapad I texted, “Yes, he is insane. Also, that word he used? It came from a DC character, an alien bounty hunter named LoBo. First seen in the cartoon series of Superman.” After that I pulled up a file on LoBo and let the wolf read through it. “If you thought Runner was insane, wait until you see what this guy has done before coming to Earth.”

Silphen facepalmed and sighed heavily, saying, “Being both a Marvel and DC fan, you’d think I’d know that…”

“Well, he’s never always around like the other characters.” I shrugged. Honestly it’s only because LoBo isn’t put into the front of the page, per say. “Anyway, we’re close.” I saw Twilight’s castle up ahead of us, seeing the Princess of Friendship standing at the front of the entrance.

Upon closer inspection, I can already tell that she wasn’t happy. She was mad, but also worried at the same time. Seeing Bryan in the state he was in, she puffs out her cheeks. “Oh, shut up woman. I do what I want.” Dammit, man. Don’t make it worse.

“Do you have ANY idea what you’ve almost done!? You could’ve died and destroy the town for your reckless actions!” Twilight screamed at him, verbally tearing into him. “Of all the things that could’ve been solved relatively easy, you just had to choose the hard one! Why didn’t just, oh I don’t know, locked it up in Canterlot!?”

“Where one of those Nobles would dare to steal it and use it? Fuck that. Not to mention another impending attack on the city by Cocoon and her Hive, when reconstruction is still underway? Fat chance!” Bryan countered her. “Yes, it was stupid of me to do what I did, but this way, NO ONE will ever get their hands on the damn thing, ever again.”

They both glared at each other for a few, tense moments, which felt like an eternity, until Twilight was the first to relent and sigh. “Okay, fine. You win this time. No more risk-taking, you hear?”

“My line of work is an occupational hazard. ‘Risk-taking’ is a part of it, as an option.” Bryan firmly stated.

“Okay, if your lovers’ quarrel is over and done with, let’s head inside and sleep. There’s enough excitement going on tomorrow.” Vincent interjected before any more arguing could be made, moving inside so as to give neither of them a chance to utter a retort. Visilia, Chrysalis and my Ghosts following after them.

“Hello, Book Horse. Before you go off about what I am, how I can use magic, this that and the other, I have a stack for you. Managed to fill out most of it while in my Canterlot’s Dungeon. My Book Horse actually gave me the stack originally,” Silphen then pulled out a 1 THOUSAND page book from his satchel and passed the monster to Twilight.

“Oh! Well, uh…” Twilight grabbed it and grunted from the weight of the damn thing. “Unf! Tell the other ‘me’ on your end to compact these sorts of books.” She growled, hauing the thing inside. “Didn’t catch your name, did I?” She asked the wolf as we followed behind her.

“Ah, bollocks… Human name or the one I got Displaced with?” The wolf asked.

“Displaced.” Twilight answered.

“Silphen Dardo. Archmage of the Soft Silver Furred Wolves. One of the last pages details which branches Silphen still had left to study,” was his response.

“Okay, thanks.” Twilight huffed, still carrying the book with her hands. Which was strange because she could easily use her magic to do that. “Hold up.” She said as we stopped at one of the doors of her castle, this one having a distinctive, ornated, stainless glass within it. Using her magic to open the double doors, we saw what was on the other side; the library. Going inside, she placed the huge book on a large, round table in the center of the room with a loud thump, sighing before coming back to us and closing the doors behind. “I’ll be coming back to read up on that book tomorrow. For now, let me show you to your room.” She told Silphen, leading the way to his room.

Silphen gave his thanks to Twilight as he retired for the night, closing the door as she lead Fluttershy and I to our rooms. Well, that was until Fluttershy made her request. “Um, Twilight? If it isn’t too much to ask, can Kevin stay with me for tonight?” I wasn’t surprised, maybe a little, but not so much. I suspect it was because of Cocoon’s Changelings and what Bryan pulled off, she was still frighten.

Twilight blinked owlishly as she stared at her. “Uh, sure.”

“Sorry, Twilight, but I’m just so worried. After what has happened…” Fluttershy started to whimper as I tried to calm her down.

“No, Fluttershy, there’s no need to be sorry.” Twilight shook her head as she placed a hand on Flutters’s shoulder. “I understand.” With that said, she leads us to our room, this one being just as big and spacious like Canterlot Castle. Once Twilight left, I waited for Fluttershy to shower and get ready for bed.

Looking over to one of the two nightstands, located on either side of the large bed, there was a clock on it and it was already four in the morning. I sighed until I heard the door to the bathroom open and Fluttershy came out in a bathrobe, with a towel wrapped up and holding her mane on her head. Upon seeing that, I turned my head away in order to preserve her modesty and innocence. Well, what innocence remains within her being.

“Kevin?” Fluttershy called. “Is something wrong?”

I slid the Datapad across the bed from my side to her, with the following message I left on it saying, “I do not wish to tarnish your modesty upon first glance.”

“Oh…” She mutters before saying, “Thank you for being honest. The shower’s all yours, if you want to wash up.” I took up on her offer and went into the bathroom, getting out of my armour and washing up.

Once done, I dried myself off and put on a bathrobe. No need to wear my armour. Walking back into the room, Fluttershy was already fast asleep. I couldn’t help but smile at how she looked so...peaceful, while she sleeps. Letting out a sigh, I snuck myself underneath the bed sheets and get in as much shut-eye as I could. Before closing my eyes, I felt hands grabbing a hold of my left arm, I knew it was Fluttershy’s, because of how soft and smooth they felt against my skin. I didn’t move my arm away, deciding it best to let it be and fell fast asleep.

(Princess Luna, Dreamscape…)

“...Hello?” I called out to the wolf, as I walked into his dream, approaching him.

As I approached, the land seemed to stretch and distort, before I was confronted with three paths. To the right, looked to be a swamp. The left, some plains. And behind me, an active volcano.

“Ooooookay...hmm, which path to choose?” I questioned, looking at each path. “The swamp might not be the best. The heat from the volcano would probably melt his fur right off, even though this is a dream.” I sighed as I chose to walk the path leading to the plains. “Plains it is, then.”

Once I’ve made it, I looked around to find the wolf. Crossing through the grassy plains as the breeze blew, rustling up the grass, it felt serene. Moments passed, and I finally found him; sitting against a large tree on top of a hill, overlooking the land. Taking flight, I flew up the hill and was hanging overhead of him.

"Crazy land, ain't it, Mistress?" He asked, not looking up from where he was, and there looked to be some roses growing near him surrounding a stone.

“Maybe.” I responded, flying down and sitting myself next to him. “So, what purpose does this dream of yours represent?” I asked the mage.

"This? This ain't a dream. Well… Not a proper one at least," he looked up at me, and it took everything I had not to gasp in shock. His face was a shifting mass of what I had seen in the waking world, and what I can only assume was who he was before he became Displaced. "The swamps are where We go to work on the Voidic tree of magic. The volcano is for the Aetheric tree. What you and Sun Who- er… Celestia use fall under that category. The plains are for the Psionic tree that few know of, and fewer still can use."

I stared at him in… amazement. “So, these are one of many branches of Magic, itself?”

"Eeeeh… Yes and no. The meditation helps Us read from the trees, not just their branches," he said as the human aspect stood up and wandered off, leaving the wolf behind. "We were once two souls. Now We are one. Ashton Grey cares for the active mind, while I, Silphen Dardo, Archmage of the Soft Silver Furred Wolves, tend to the sleeping mind. If Azurai and Krimzon speak to you of what Ashton performed back with the Shadow Mimes, know that any gods of death for the realm shall find their numbers to be short a few dozen. The spell Ashton used steals the soul to use it as an amplifier to Our mana pool. Ocean would be more accurate at this point. While doing so, it destroys the body and the soul, leaving behind only psionic residue and dust."

“This is… Wow, that’s a lot to take in.” I held my head as I processed everything he said so far. Or was it they? “I don’t suppose there’s a book to explain all of this? Because I’m starting to get the feeling that ours won’t hold many details in them.”

"There are two. One, the book your Purple Horse now has, details mine and Ashton's lives. The other, my spellbook, is my collection of spells and magic branches across the thousands of wars I have fought in my world before We became as one," he replied, smiling faintly as he reached out a single paw. "If you would like, Mistress of Moons and Dreams, I can give you a brief run through my first memories of using that accursed spell…"

I hesitated a moment, wondering if I should learn what misfortune befell upon the wolf. “Well… You know what, fuck it.” Reaching out, I grabbed a hold of the offering hand. “I accept.”

The transition was instant, leaving my head spinning as the smell of death, blood not my own, and both rage and sorrow filled my senses. I realized only too late that I was in the memory when I looked down and saw the body of a young female, his daughter, bleeding out in his arms. The rage and sorrow grew stronger and stronger with each passing moment, until finally, I roared out at the shadows to do as I had commanded them to do more moments before, and they listened. The room darkened, the shadows spread outward from me and consumed all the living flesh they touched, using a small bit of the soul to amplify themselves and keep feeding. The city, and for several miles around, was soon empty save for myself, and I knew it. But that wasn't enough. The enemy, the Avoni, had to all be ERASED from the planet, so I used what was left and did just that. The planet that had been torn from Soft Metal wolves wouldn't fall into enemy hands.

I gasped as we both came back to the tree, falling to my knees as I tried to steady my breath. “Holy Celestial Light…”

"Should We have warned you first, Mistress?" He asked, a mildly worried look upon his face. "The physical toll from that spell left Us- left ME, unconscious for three days, and three nights. Upon which, I awoke to travel back to my homeworld. One may have mana, but one needs the body for that ocean to coarse through in order to use it."

“I’m not sure if… a warning was going to do any good in… preparing me.” I said in between breaths. “But… I’m sorry you and your kind were not so lucky.”

Silphen, for that was the one I now knew I spoke to, laughed mirthlessly, and looked at the stone. "Lucky? No… We were a race born of genetic intellect inhibition. The lower ones Fur was, the weaker ones mind was… I saw the corruption and tried to flee… But it followed and consumed my daughter. Now I am trapped with Ashton, and I shall not see the same thing happen again. I swear it unto you, Mistress."

“... Why do you keep referring to me as that?” I asked him, a little flustered.

He replied with a small smile and said in the happiest voice ever, "Our people once worshipped the moon. Both mine and Ashton's. We both hold a special love for the moon, he for the beauty of it, I for the freedom it represented back home. We could never see the moon, but we always knew it was there. When the clouds parted, and it lined up with the birth of a Wolf, they were raised up to the sky and called upon as Blessed Children of the Nightmother. I was the last one before being ripped from my own world, same as Ashton."

“Why couldn’t your people be born on Equestria~?” I whined, lying down on my back. “Maybe then I wouldn’t have ended up as Nightmare Moon, even if my little ponies did not revere me in the same light as Celestia.” I pouted just at the mere thought of it.

"Because the electromagnetic storms that are always present would kill off your entire race in a mere hours time. Growing food had been done very carefully as all plants had a higher electric discharge than we could normally handle," was his answer.

I stared at him when he explained. “That’s insane!” I cried out.

"Tis how we acquired our coats and our titles. We are, afterall, Soft Metal Wolves. We have a tolerance for electromagnetism that would make an Arkashi, a robotic squirrel about yay high, got a Soul Core in their chest that contains their actual mind and soul, jealous." Silphen said as he described a three foot tall squirrel construct.

“Oh.” I sighed. “Well, at least I got rid of a guilt-tripping spell I cast upon myself. The Ta-.” I was cut off by him.

"The Tantabus. Also known as a Nightmare Maker curse. Nasty bit of Dreamer magic… Still, good on you for removing it. Tends to spread like-"

“Wildfire. Yeah, I know.” I finished, getting in my chance of cutting him off.

Silphen winced as he nodded. "Yeeeeaahhh… How long did it take to spread for you?"

“It didn’t spread.” I shook my head. “I felt it trying to, so I made sure it stayed put. Or so I thought. After many failed attempts on its end, I decided to get rid of it. Only, once I did, it showed me one last thing: its fear.”

"Truly? A sentient Tantabus? That is… Frightening, and interesting. They are usually mindless blobs that feed on the nightmares of one they had infected… Would you mind sharing with me, not Ashton, the variant you used?" He asked, more curious than worried about it spreading.

“Of course.” Nodding my head, I used my magic to replay the memories of my self-penance. Throughout the torment, it was starting to try and escape from me. But something made it stop whenever it was close to breaking free. “See what I mean? Just before making the final push, it stops immediately, as if stricken by fear of something far more worse was waiting out there to kill it.”

"Yes, I see… It had spent long enough in one host to acquire a few memories… Those memories, possibly of the Doom Marines, made it recognize the threat of leaving without permission or with ill intent… But what's more, is the fact it acts very similar to M347. Should a Dreamer or Waker curse be successfully kept within one Host long enough, it will either possess the host, or seek to be born from the coupling of the host. Might I have the variant you used, Mistress? The spell itself, not the memories." He asked again.

“If that is what you wish.” I said before granting him the spell I used. “And you are right: it feared the Doom Marines, or more specifically, one Doom Marine. The Bloody-handed Berserker. Apparently my sister locked him up and had him hidden away in our castle. The mere presence of sensing him seemed to have done it.”

"I thank you, Mistress. And it is as I thought. This one is different from the one I learned from the Kalru-kidara. Only slightly, but with Dreamer and Waker magic, the slightest deviation can bring the largest changes." Silphen said as he bowed to me, exactly the same as he had in the waking world.

“And I thank you for sharing your story.” I said, bowing back to him in kind. From there we gave our farewells as he began to wake up from his dream, so I left him and Ashton be and returned to my own dream.

One where I’m spending time with my children and my husband...