Author's Notes:

Like always, quote the title of the chapter!

Also, a bit of warning, things are going to get dark in this chapter. (Or what I consider dark)

I was going to release this chapter this weekend, but I just got promoted today, so I'm in a good mood.

Now feed me your hate!

“What did you do this time, Reaper?” one of the guards asked as I made my way out of the castle in nothing but my wet pants and a long-sleeved black shirt, upturning my scabbard to empty it of water.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I replied as I walked past them, using my magic to help dry myself off. The guards had seen fit to call me only by my new nick name, possibly thinking it was an insult.

To bad for them, I actually liked the name.

Once I began to walk the streets, I quickly became the center of attention.

This was my first time leaving the castle since the incident, so I was sure things would be interesting, but I had to get some air before leaving back for Ponyville.

Several times I ended up in small augments with some snobbish ponies who would walk into me because their noses were raised too high or thought I was a threat to their perfect city.

“Watch where you’re going! I’m walkin’ ‘ere!” I shouted at another pony, putting on a heavy accent.

In return, the random pony called for the guard and told them to arrest me for assaulting him.

The arriving guards took one look at me and then dragged the pony away, saying it was for his own protection.

“Now that, I could get used to,” I chuckled to myself as I continued my walk, looking at the surrounding buildings.

The white buildings easily reflected the early morning sun enough to light a path from the castle into the city. The ones closest to the castle were by far the largest and were spaced out so that each had a large enough yard to fit another house.

As I made it farther into the city, the building shrunk and the ponies seemed slightly less stuck up.

“All this white and purple must take forever to clean,” I mumbled as I moved past a staring group of ponies.

“Hey, you!” A voice shouted from behind me.

Instincts took over as I stopped and looked back for whoever it was calling for me. Years of hearing that while in the Marine Corps having given me a slight sixth sense for when someone was specifically calling out to me without using my name.

“O-oh, you stopped,” a pony that stood a few feet behind me said as I noticed her.

She wore an overly large sun hat and thick red glasses. A large dark magenta cloak covered her back, but two slight bulges pointed that she was a Pegasus. A pair of familiar magenta eyes looked up at me as the mare smirked confidently.

“Well, if it isn’t A.K Yearling,” I replied, causing the ponies eyes to widen even more than normal. “Surprising to see a pony like you in a place like this.”

“W-well… I’ve been trying to get a chance to talk to you,” Yearling replied, quickly regaining herself. “But apparently, you weren’t available.”

“Well, here I am,” I replied, holding my arms out to my sides and giving her a smile.

This would actually be a good chance for me to talk to her about the Reaper from her books. While I had yet to read any of her adventures, I knew that getting the info right from the source would be better.

“Come on, let’s find a place to talk,” I said before turning around and walking towards a bench I saw in the distance.

“Awesome,” Yearling chirped as she fell in beside me.

Reaching the bench, I shifted my sword into a position that would allow me to sit properly and took a seat. Yearling took a seat beside me, setting a pair of saddlebags between us before looking at me with a smirk.

“So, you’re the local human?” Yearling began, looking me up and down, her eyes resting on my sword for a moment. “Never thought I’d get the chance to see one in pony.”

“You’re not the only one that I’ve heard say that to me,” I replied while leaning back. “So, what did you want to talk about?”

“Depends on how much time you have,” Yearling chuckled as she took a moment. “I guess if I had to start somewhere, it would be if you know anything about the legend of “The Reaper”?”

“Only that you mentioned it in one of your books,” I replied. “Whatever you put in there was enough to get ponies to start calling me Reaper from the little you put in.”

“Damn,” Yearling cursed in obvious disappointment.

“Sorry to disappoint you,” I chuckled at the mare. “Would you mind sharing what you have at least? I’d kinda like to know the full story behind why ponies decided to call me that.”

“The legend of “The Reaper” is one of the oldest and most obscure stories I have ever come across,” Yearling replied while opening her bags and pulling out a large folder. “Before I got into writing, I studied archeology.”

As she said this, she offered me the folder, which I took and looked into. The only things inside the folder were a few copies of writings in a language I couldn’t understand and a single picture.

The picture was of a faded mural that showed two large beasts fighting over a mass of different species.

The beast on the right was colored yellow and white, faintly resembling a man in full plate armor and large wings. Below it, a massive swarm of armored figures congregated, some held weapons while others looked to have dripping blood from their claws.

The beast on the left was shrouded in black and the only thing that could be made out from the faded image were a pair of red eyes. Below it, I could make out several gryphons, ponies, dragons and a few other species standing against the horde.

“During one of my first digs, I found this mural and several small records about it,” Yearling continued. “All I could decipher was that there was a great war back during the Rule of Queen Ananke and King Astraeus.”

“So, you know about the princess’s parents?” I asked, my eyes never leaving the picture in my hand.

“They’re princesses,” Yearling giggled. “That kind of infers that that there’s a king and queen. But their rule was so long ago, most ponies tend to forget about them entirely.”

“Okay, but what else?” I asked.

“I was so intrigued by the story, that I did everything I could to learn more about it,” Yearling continued, a look of wonder filling her eyes before they fell. “But no matter how much I tried, all I could find were bits and pieces. Mostly just rumors and little side notes written in some old journals.

“Apparently, the Reaper just showed up out of the blue when the war was at its worst. HE apparently had the power to drain the magic of his enemy and use soul magic. A form of magic currently forbidden for ponies to practice.”

“And for good reason,” I replied, giving the mare her files back. “Do you know what the guy was like?”

“Actually, he had a heart of gold,” Yearling chuckled in disbelief. “A journal I found information about him in, was written by a young mare who opened a home to feed and shelter orphan foals, and those who had nowhere to go because of the war.

“She wrote that he suddenly appeared one evening with food and stories. He made constant appearances there, but she didn’t write much else.”

“Anything else?” I asked, finding the original Reaper to be interesting.

I honestly began to wonder why there was so little information on this character.

The mare had put it in a book most believed to be fictional, probably causing researchers to second guess its authenticity if they came across something related. But if they asked the right ponies, they could find that its true.

“Celestia could easily…” I began to think before I realized that Celestia was probably the answer.

She was the only one I could think of who could possibly get this kind of thing swept under the rug. But that just made me wonder why she would do it in the first place.

“Nothing else that I could really confirm,” Yearling replied as she stored her folder and a slight uncomfortable look crossed her face.

“What is it?” I asked, noticing the look.

“I’m not the only one interested in this legend,” Yearling replied as she looked at me with determination. “I also wanted to warn you that some unsightly individuals may come looking for you as well. Even if you don’t know anything.”

“Like Ahuizotl?” I asked, crossing my arms across my chest as a small twinge of worry passed threw me.

“W-what?! N-no, th-that’s just a character in my book,” Yearling tried to explain, failing at her attempt to placate me.

“I know who you are Daring,” I replied, not bothering to look at the mare as she flinched at the name. “And if your Ahuizotl is anything like the ones my people have legend’s about, he’s gonna want me for more than just my power and supposed knowledge.”

I couldn’t help but shiver slightly as I recounted the time I had done a search on the creature after seeing the episode he showed up in. It turned out that it was actually from Aztec myths and had a love for human flesh and preferred to drown their victims.

“After I finish my current project, we defiantly need to talk about those legends,” Yearling replied almost absent mindedly. “And yes, he’s who I’m most worried about right now. He’s more dangerous than you think and he’s not afraid to hurt others to get what he wants.”

“Well then, if you happen to see him before I do,” I began with a growl, thoughts of my friends being threatened by the beast. “Tell him something for me.”

“Uh… what?” Yearling asked, looking at me with both worry and wonder.

“Etiam deos morietur,” I replied, having slight difficulty pronouncing the words before standing. It was Latin and was a phrase I had translated on my phones translation app when I had been bored and was the only one I could think of off the top of my head.

It was one of the few languages I had downloaded onto my phone since the Marine Corps had several quotes and sayings in Latin. I had decided to try and learn the language since I had a lot more time on my hands without TV and video games and the app was all I could go off.

I could already write in Unitologist, but that was a completely different thing all together.

“If you’re as good as I think Indie, you can figure out what that means.”

With that, I left the mare to her musings.

Yearling sat on the bench for a while longer as the words the human had spoke raced through her mind. It wasn’t because she was trying to translate it, which she had accomplished mere moments after he said it, even if it was horribly done.

“Even Gods die…”

Three hours later and all I could say is that Canterlot is nothing but a tourist trap.

Everything was horribly overpriced or made for one kind of clientele and everyone kept stopping to stare at me. It would have been better if they at least asked me a question or something, but they just kept staring at me and whispering.

“And there are way too many unicorns here,” I grumbled as I turned down another street. I’ve seen a few pegasi and a couple earth ponies, but Canterlot really is a unicorn city.

Walking down a few more streets, I stopped when I reached a small curiosity shop in a back street. From the front window I could see a few old books that I thought would at least interest Twilight.

“Lest see what they got,” I decided while entering the shop.

It was nicely lit, but the walls were a bit dingy. Several shelves were along the walls and held a large assortment of random odds and ends.

“What in the name of Celestia are you supposed to be?” a lanky looking unicorn stallion asked from behind a counter along the back wall.

“One of Equestria’s newest species,” I replied, giving him a quick nod before looking back at a few items. There was actually a nice selection of things here, even if they did look kinda cheap.

“Anything you lookin for in particular?” the stallion asked, drawing my attention. He had a dingy brown coat and lacked a mane. His eyes were slightly sunken and were staring at my sword.

“Just seeing what you got for now,” I replied, turning away from him slightly. I was beginning to think that this wasn’t a good place to shop.

“You part of the guard or somthin?” the stallion asked, looking me in the eye for once.

“Do I look like I am?” I replied with a smirk. I wasn’t in the guard, but Celestia did say I was something like a foreign consultant for the guard.

“Well, if you need anything, just ask,” the stallion grumbled as he went to blankly staring at me.

After a while, I looked towards the shop clerk to see him still staring at me blankly.

“Uh… do you have any books on animals?” I asked, having found several older ones on veering items, but none that involved animals.

“How should I know?” the stallion replied with a wave of his hoof.

“Don’t you own this place?” I asked, getting annoyed. “You even told me to ask you if I was looking for something.”

“I just work the counter,” the stallion replied with a board expression, before giving a sigh. “Just let me go check to see what I got downstairs.”

With that, the stallion turned and headed for a door to his right. Opening it, I watched as he headed down what had to be a set of stairs.

For a few minutes I waited for him to come back, but when he didn’t, I planned on just leaving.

A sudden crashing noise, caused me to stop though as I moved to the counter and looked towards the doorway leading down.

“Hey, are you okay down there?” I called from behind the counter. When there wasn’t an answer, I hopped over the short impediment and looked through the door.

“Hey, can you hear me?” I called down to what looked like a lit hallway.

“I’m coming down,” I called before heading down the stairs.

At the bottom, I found a well-lit hallway and just a few feet from the entrance, I found the stallion on the ground, unconscious in front of an open steel door.

“Hey, you okay?” I asked as I checked him over. He was breathing fine and just simply looked like he hit his head in something.

“At least I don’t have to perform CPR… but what the heck hit him hard enough to knock him out?” I asked aloud while looking into the room of the steel door. It was almost pitch-black inside with very little of the hall’s light reaching inside.

Pulling my phone out and removing it from a plastic bag I had it in for my escape attempt earlier, I switched on its flashlight and entered the room with caution.

I almost immediately wished I hadn’t.

The walls were a sickly pealing green with a few wooden boxes to one side and a dingy mattress on the other. It also smelled horribly of rotten food, urine and other bodily fluids.

“I really should have left when I had the chance,” I quietly lamented as I started walking backwards to leave. I was almost out the door before it slammed closed behind me.

“W-what the hell?!” I growled as I turned to find it sealed.

“Y-you should have stayed upstairs c-creature!” I heard the stallion shout through the door, obvious panic in his voice.

“Open this door!” I yelled, banging on it with a free hand, anger beginning to build. “If you don’t, I’m braking it down!”

“Go ahead and try freak!” I head the stallion shout before his voice quickly faded away.

“Suit yourself,” I began, activating my magic and covering my right arm. I was just about to punch through the wall next to the door when something shuffled behind me, causing me to turn and scan the room.

“W-who’s in here?” I called, looking around the room, honestly worried about something being here with me.

For a few moments, everything remained silent, making me believe I was just getting a little paranoid. But another shuffling noise coming from behind the boxes made me think otherwise.

“Please don’t be a giant bug or rat…” I whispered as I moved around the boxes to see what made the noise. Making it to a small opening, I carefully peered inside and immediately froze at what I saw.

Inside the opening was a small unicorn filly cowering against the wall behind the boxes. Her mane and coat dirty and ragged as she stared at my light with fear filled sunken eyes.

“D-don’t h-hurt m-me…” the filly stuttered out in fear as she pushed farther back against the wall.

“Wh… I… is…” I tried to form words at what I was seeing. The room I was in and the condition of the filly not helping to settle my nerves.

With a shaking hand, I shut off the light and took a step back before kneeling down.

The room immediately fell into darkness, but after a few minutes, a small glow began to emanate from the ceiling, just barely filling the room with dull light.

“I-it’s alright, I promise I won’t hurt you,” I forced out, doing my best to hid my own hesitation.

For several minutes, the only thing that I received back was silence. A part of me was worried about what the stallion from upstairs was doing, but I was more worried for the filly.

“H-hey,” I carefully called out, trying not to frighten her anymore.

“W-what do you want?” the filly quietly squeaked out as she kept herself pressed against the back wall.

Flipping my phones camera on, I switched it to selfie mode and held it towards the filly, hoping to draw her out with her own curiosity.

It took a few minutes but the filly finally began to walk towards the phone, her eyes flicking towards me and the phone repeatedly.

“W-what’s that?” she asked as she was directly in front of the phone. I watched as she stared at the phone in confusion before making several faces before an unrestrained chuckle reminded her that I was there.

“It’s a camera,” I softly replied. “It records your image and shows it back to you in real time.”

“Wow,” the filly replied as she looked closer at the phone, taping the screen with her nose and causing it to take her picture with a snap.

“Eep!” the filly shrieked before rushing back into her hiding spot.

“W-wait, it’s okay,” I quickly called back, flipping the phone around and opening the image. While the lighting wasn’t that good, it was still enough to show her.

“See, it just took a picture,” I continued, turning my phone back for her to see.

It took her a few moments, but she made her way back out and looked at it.

“T-that’s me?” the filly asked as she stared at her picture.

“Yep,” I replied as I set my phone down and began to flip through some random pictures of me and the others from Ponyville. “These are pictures of some of my friends from where I live.”

“She’s pretty,” the filly commented as I stopped on a picture of me and Fluttershy.

“That’s my marefriend, her name is Fluttershy,” I replied with a soft smile.

“W-why are you here?” the filly asked as she continued to stare at the image, a blank look in her eyes.

“I was looking for a gift for her and my other friends,” I softly replied. “One thing led to another and here I am.”

“You shouldn’t have come here,” the filly quietly replied as she laid down, her eyes still locked on the phone.

For a few moments, I remained silent before shaking my head and drawing the filly’s attention.

“If I hadn’t come here, I wouldn’t have met you,” I replied, giving her a comforting smile.

Unfortunately, it had the opposite effect of reassuring her and instead caused her to draw into herself as she tried to crawl backwards away from me.

“W-wait, please, I promise I’m not going to hurt you,” I tried to reassure. “I-I just want to ask you a question, after that, I promise to leave.”

“W-what do you want?” the filly squeaked as she found herself pressed up against a box.

“Do you want to leave this place?”

“W-what?” the filly asked, her eyes opening to their fullest as she looked up at me.

“Do you want to leave?” I asked again, doing my best to be as calm and compassionate as possible.

“B-but… I… what?” the filly began to stutter as her body shook slightly.

“I just need a yes or no, that’s it,” I replied with a smile. I was getting this filly out of here either way, but getting her to agree and trust me a little would help when the shit really went down.

And SHIT was about to go down.

For a few moments, the filly looked at me with a look of shock before she looked back down at the phone.

“Y-yes…” the filly whispered as she continued to look at the picture.

“Alright then,” I smiled while reaching over and grabbing my phone. As I picked it up, the filly continued to stare at where it had been.

“Here, this is something called a movie,” I said as I set the phone back down for the filly to watch Toy Story 1. “I swear to Celestia herself, I’ll be right back.”

The filly just continued to stare as I stood up and moved back over to the steel door.

“Now than,” I said, activating my magic and surrounding the door with it. I couldn’t help but noticed that my miasma looked darer than normal, but I attributed that to the dim lighting.

With a quick work, I removed the pins from the hinges and pulled the door out, not wanting to make too much noise in case things upstairs were as bad as I guessed.

“I’ll be right back,” I called to the filly before entering the hall and making my way towards the stairs.

“W-what the hay was that?” an unfamiliar voice echoed from up the stairs.

“That was probably the creature that I trapped in the room,” the voice of the stallion from earlier replied. “This is what happens when the boss leaves me here alone.”

“Don’t worry, we’ll take care of whatever it is,” another stallions voice replied as my head crested the top of the stairs and I found out who the shop owner had invited.

And all it did was piss me off.

“What the hell is this!” I growled as I stared at the three royal guards in the front part of the shop. All the windows of the shop were covered, so no one could see inside or outside of the shop.

Two guards stared at me with growing looks of horror while a third stared at me with growing wonder.

“IT’S THE REAPER!” the third one called with a surprising smile.

“Kid, its best that you shut the buck up right now,” one of the other guards quickly said, never taking his eyes off me. He was a Pegasus, and a small emblem on the side of his armor denoted him as a sergeant of the royal guard.

“It’s the creature?! How did it get out?!” the store owner shouted before turning to the guards. “That’s it, get rid of that thing!”

“J-just shut the buck up already!” the second guard, a unicorn who looked to be a corporal.

The third one didn’t have any emblem, but his armor was ruff and looked like it didn’t properly fit him. But the thing that surprised me more than the fact that he was smiling at me, was that I recognized this orange coated, blue maned Pegasus stallion.

It was god damn Flash fucking Sentry.

“Why are you here?” I asked, pointing at Flash, my anger abated for a mere moment at seeing him, replaced with confusion.

“H-he’s here becau-“ the Sargent began to explain before I glared at him, not knowing that crimson red was beginning to replace the blue of my eyes and a dark mist was beginning to come off my body.

“I wasn’t talking to you, Sergeant!” I growled before looking back at Flash.

“I-it’s part of m-my training,” Flash began to stutter, his smile dropping as he began to realize that something was wrong. “P-part of recruit training is to go on several patrols with veteran guards.”

“That’s not what I asked, Flash Sentry,” I replied, watching as Flash and the two guard’s eye’s widened in shock of my knowledge. I didn’t even notice the book that came flying from the side of the room and smacking my head, knowing it was a result of Ananke’s spell.

“A-a citizen came to us and said there was an i-issue here,” Flash began to explain as he began to shake. “The Sergeant said we had to come here.”

“Is that so?” I replied as I glared at the pony in question. Unlike the other two, he wasn’t shaking, but he sure as hell didn’t look all that brave at the moment. “Is this your sector Sargent?”

“What does that matter human?” the guard growled. “Shouldn’t you be up in the castle right now?”

“Flash?” I asked, looking towards the shaking recruit.

“N-nowhere near here, Mr. Human… Reaper… Sir!” the stallion replied as he looked towards the other guards as if looking for guidance.

“B-buck you, you’re the one trespassing here,” the second guard finally forced out as his horn began to glow. “Y-your under arrest for-“

I didn’t allow the stallion to finish as I blinked in front of him and wrapped my right hand around his horn, lifting him up and slamming him into a nearby wall and knocking him out with ease. While the other three were to shocked to react, I reached into the side of the guard’s armor and pulled out a small ring and quickly slipped it over the unicorn’s horn.

Celestia had been sure to teach me a few things about her guards.

“Am I gonna have to put restraints on the rest of you?” I growled while tossing the unicorn to the ground in front of his Sergeant. “Or are you-“

“Buck you freak, you just assaulted a guard!” the Sergeant growled, finding his courage and taking an aggressive stance.

“And you?” I growled, looking towards Flash.

He seemed to hesitate with a response before the shop clerk made a brake for it, heading for the basement door.

“GET OVER HERE!” I shouted out, reaching out with my magic, a bone like chain flying from my hand and wrapped around his head, ripping him back towards me. The moment the back of his head reached my palm, I slammed him into the ground below me, braking his snout and knocking him out.

“Gah!” the Sergeant roared as he lunged at me, catching me off guard and slamming me into the wall. He quickly followed up with a strike to my gut, forcing the air out of me and causing me to fall to my knees.

“You aint so tuff now, are you?!” the Sargent yelled before trying to headbutt me with his helmet.

Blinking away, the Sargent’s helmet hit nothing but air as I appeared a few feet away and behind him.

“Enough of this,” I growled as I took in a breath of air, focusing as I opened my eyes. Unlike normal though, the world around me quickly changed.

Something Luna had taught me recently was a way to see magic. Normally, it was used to see ambient magic in the air, but it turned out different for me.

When I activated this new ability, the world around me turned into gray and the only colors I could see were that of small flames located in living creatures and active spells.

I called it soul vision.

The first time I did this and looked at Luna in the waking world, I had gone blind for several minutes.

But the main reason I did this was so I could do what happened next.

Seeing a small yellow flame inside of the Sergeant, I rushed forward and reached for it.

In this state, I focused solely on the small flame, my hand fazed through him as a gray mist shaped like my hand reach for and grasp the yellow flame.

Having practiced this with Luna against a few of her guards, I had learned that doing this caused the individual to pass out and nothing could fully wake them for a few hours unless I repeated the process.

Luna told me that it was something she could do too, but warned me that with the proper training and forethought, it can be resisted.

I had my own Neptunian brain squeeze.

Releasing the now muted looking flames, I ended the soul vision and watched the Sergeant fall to the ground. He looked to be awake, but his coat had dimmed and his eyes had become unfocused.

It was reminiscent of what had happened to Goldwig, but unlike him, I knew the guard would wake up fine.

“Y-you k-killed him?!” Flash stuttered out, drawing my attention.

“He’ll wake up fine in a few hours,” I growled, looking at Flash. The guy was rooted to one spot, shaking as a small puddle began to form under himself.

“P-please don’t kill me,” Flash began to sob. “I gotta little brother to take care of.”

“I’m not gonna kill you,” I sighed, as I rubbed my head.

“Y-you’re not?” Flash asked as he continued to stare at me.

“No, because I need you to do something for me,” I began while walking towards a large chest I saw against the far wall. Dumping the large chest empty onto the floor, I brought it over to the three unconscious bodies.

“I need you to go back to the castle and bring Captain Armor here,” I said as I pulled another ring from the Sergeants armor and slipped it onto the shop clerk’s horn. “You tell him to bring whoever it is that handles special victim cases and that it involves a young filly.”

“W-what…?” Flash’s voice stuttered out in obvious shock.

“And if you don’t do this, well…”

With that, I activated my soul vision and ensured the other two ponies would stay asleep.

“I can do more then make you fall asleep for a few hours,” I continued, looking up at Flash with a glare. “And it had better be Shining Armor. I don’t care if he’s fucking his girlfriend, you make sure its him that knocks on that door, am I understood?!”

“Y-yes sir!” Flash shouted with a salute before rushing out of the shop with his tail between his legs.

“I’m really beginning to hate you guards,” I growled as I used my magic to help seal the shop.

“That wasn’t flying! That was…that was falling, with style!” Woody shouted as the other toys led Buzz away.

“Wow,” the filly breathed out as she continued to watch the movie.

“So, what do you think of the movie?” I asked as a calmly walked back into the room.

“Eeep!” the filly chirped as she jumped up in fright and looked up at me with wide, fear filled eyes.

“Y-you came back?” the filly asked as the movie continued to play beside her, causing her eyes to shift to it every few moments.

“I said I would, didn’t I?” I replied with a small smile as I moved closer. “So, what do you think of the movie?”

“Why did you come back?” the filly asked as she finally stopped watching the movie.

“Didn’t I already answer that?” I asked with a small chuckle. Moving slowly, I came closer as I looked at my phone, my hands held up in a playacting nature.

“So, what do you think?” I asked as I took a knee and looked over at the filly.

“Uhm…” the filly quietly replied as she looked between me and the phone. “Do… do toys actually do all that?”

“Not where I come from,” I replied as I moved the phone for her to see better. For a few moments, I let her watch the movie before drawing her attention once again.

“If you want, we could go upstairs and continue watching that,” I said, trying to be as non-threatening as possible.

“But… I’m not allowed outside this room,” the filly replied hesitantly with a frown.

“Don’t worry about that,” I replied while standing up. “No one’s gonna stop us.”

“Uhm… o-okay,” the filly replied as she moved to follow, but stopped to look back at my phone.

“If it’s alright with you, I could carry you and the phone so you can continue to watch,” I offered as I leaned down slightly.

“O-okay,” she replied after a few moments of silence.

“Okay then,” I replied as I carefully picked her and my phone up, both being very light.

“Don’t worry, I promise your safe,” I assured the filly as I noticed her shivering. She simply continued to watch the movie with a focus that told me she was terrified.

Once we had made it back up to the main shop, I sat the filly down on a nearby counter and left the phone for her to see.

“W-what happened here?” the filly asked when she noticed the state of the room.

Turning to look, I gave a quick inspection to the few destroyed shelves, cabinets and the large trunk in the middle of the room.

“Just packing up some gifts for a friend of mine,” I replied, causing the filly to look at me in worry.

“F-friend?!” she chirped, drawing into herself slightly.

“A good pony, I promise,” I calmly assured her. “Why don’t you continue to watch the movie, I’ll be right here.”

“Y-you promise?” she asked looking at me with a mixture of fear and hope.

“Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye,” I replied while going through the motions.

“What?” the filly replied, looking confused.

“It’s a promise,” I replied, giving her a small ear scratch.

Taking a moment, I looked the filly over. Her coat was a light sky blue and her mane was a dull amber and both it and her tail were matted and looked a little slimy. Her eyes were a simple periwinkle and looked dull even in the new light.

She was small for what I guessed her age was, thinking that she was around the same age as the crusaders. She was also very thin, and was obviously malnourished.

“I hope they all burn for what they did to you,” I thought as I joined in and watched the movie.

“You see the hat?!” Buzz shouted at Woody, swerving around slightly. “I am… Misses… Nesbit!”

“What’s wrong with him?” the filly asked me as we watched the scene on the small screen.

“He’s sad,” I replied. “He doesn’t understand how-“

Knock Knock Knock

“W-what was that?!” the filly chirped as she grabbed my arm.

“That should be my friend,” I carefully reassured her. “Just wait right here and I’ll go check.”

“Y-you’ll come back… right?” she asked as she tried to look around me to see who was at the front of the store.

“Promise,” I replied as I stood fully and moved towards the door. Clearing the blinds of the front window, I could see several guards and an irritated looking Shining Armor staring back at me.

Flash wasn’t with them.

“Took you long enough,” I grumbled as I opened the door enough to poke my head out.

“This had better NOT be a joke Christopher,” Shining Armor growled as he glared up at me, using my name to obviously show how serious he was. “This kind of thing DOES NOT happen in Canterlot.”

“Yeah, well it did,” I replied with my own glare. “Now, do you have that special victim pony or whatever you call it?”

At my mention, A female guard stepped forward, a pair of saddlebags with red crosses on her back.

“Give me a sec,” I told the guard. Taking a step back, I flared my magic and grabbed the trunk and dragged it toward the door before flinging it out and past the group of guards.

“That’s for you,” I told Shining as I moved to let the mare in. “Give us a minute before coming in.”

“Tell me he didn’t lock them in…” I heard Shining begin to say before I closed the door, blocking what he was saying out.

“She’s over here,” I told the mare as I led the way towards the filly, who was staring at us with confusion and worry.

“W-who’s that?” the filly asked me as we came closer.

“Hi, there little one,” the mare softly began. “I’m Vera, a medical pony in the royal guard.”

The filly, just stayed silent as she looked up at me from the counter, her body shaking slightly.

“Don’t worry, this is one of the good ponies I was talking about,” I reassured her with an ear scratch.

“O-okay…” the filly quietly replied, before looking at the mare as one of her hooves gripped at my arm. “H-hi… I-I’m Cotton.”

“Hello Cotton,” the mare replied kindly. I had learned the name during the movie, it having been one of the few questions I had asked her “Would it be okay if I do some scans? I promise, they won’t hurt at all.”

Once again, Cotton looked up at me with fear and worry, which I replied with a soft smile and nod.

“Okay,” Cotton replied with a small nod.

“If you would just stare at the tip of my horn,” Vera calmly said as her horn began to glow a soft orange.

For a few minutes, the same glow shifted across Cotton as the movie continued to play in the background.

“A-and that’s it,” Vera stuttered slightly as her horn stopped glowing. Once it had, Cotton went straight back to watching the movie.

I was about to ask the mare what should be done next, but she quickly rushed away and out of the shop.

“Why did she leave?” Cotton asked while still watching the movie.

“H-had to talk to her boss quickly,” I replied with a slight shrug, hearing some muffled shouting from outside.

“In a few minutes, some of the others are gonna have to come in,” I told Cotton softly. “Will you be okay?”

“I-I don’t know…” Cotton quietly replied, squeezing my arm tighter.

“Is there something I could do to make it easier?” I asked.

“W-would you…” Cotton began, looking up at me shyly. “Hold me again? Like when you brought me upstairs?”

“Sure,” I replied with a smile, carefully scooping her up and turning my phone off. “We’ll finish this later, okay?”

“O-okay,” Cotton replied as she leaned into my chest.

Pocketing the phone, I moved to the side of the room and waited to see what would happen next.

After a few minutes, the medic carefully made her way back in and upon noticing where the two of us were, turned around and said something to the others outside. Shortly after, a small group entered into the shop, being led by Shining Armor.

“Secure the area and scan for any privacy spells,” Shining instructed his group. “Forensics should be here soon. Point them to me when they get here.”

“Sir!” the group of guards replied before spreading throughout the building.

As they were doing this, I did my best to keep the shaking foal in my arms calm. But each time one of the guards got a little too close, she would shake worse and tried to hide herself deeper in my arms.

“Why is it that you wind up in the middle of most of my troubles these days?” Shining sighed heavily as he addressed me while keeping a safe distance.

“Because life seems to hate me some times,” I replied evenly so as not to scare Cotton any more than she already was. “So, what now?”

“Once forensics get here, I’ll pass command to one of my guards and escort the two of you back to the castle,” Shining replied as Cotton looked up at me in worry.

“W-why the castle?” Cotton asked me instead of Shining.

“Uh… well,” I began, looking towards Shining Armor, who pointed towards the medic that had walked up beside him. “Because we need to stop at the hospital there.”

“Hospital?” the filly asked me.

“We just have to do a few more test, sweetie,” Vera replied as she calmly stepped closer.

“W-will you be there?” Cotton asked me with big eyes.

“Of course,” I replied with a smile and an ear scratch. “After that, as long as the doctors say it’s okay, I can introduce you to the princesses.”

“Princesses?” Cotton asked in confusion as Shining grunted slightly in shock.

“Yeah, I know them, so it won’t be that hard,” I replied, blowing a raspberry at Shining before looking back down at Cotton.

“A-as long as your there,” Cotton replied, giving me a small smile.

“How do you feel?” I asked Cotton as we finally left the medical ward.

“Okay…” the filly replied in my arms, looking slightly uncomfortable at the moment. “Thank you for being there.”

“No problem, Cotton,” I replied, before sparing a quick glance at the few guards that were following us around.

“A-are we going to meet the princess?” Cotton quietly asked, drawing my attention.

“Of course, we are,” I replied, before taking a moment to look at the clock on my phone. “They should be having dinner about now and I’m sure they would love to meet you.”

“I’ve never met a princess before,” Cotton said mostly to herself.

“They’re just a couple of silly ponies,” I told her as we entered the hall leading to the main dining room, ignoring the grumbles from the trailing guards. “There’s nothing to worry about.”

“O-okay,” Cotton stuttered as we made it to the dining room entrance.

“Now to enter in style,” I said, adapting a grin before rearing back.

“Rub alub a dub dub, we’re here for some grub!” I shouted as I kicked the door open, knowing fully well that the door was a push open.

“Do you have to do that every time you come here?” Celestia calmly asked as the guards and Cotton looked at me in shock.

“If you wanted me to stop, you’d do something about it,” I chuckled back as I made my way over to her with our guest. “Princess, may I introduce you to, Cotton.”

With that, I carefully placed Cotton on the table in front of Celestia so the two could stare at on another.

Cotton with shock and confusion.

Celestia with that motherly smile she never saw fit to give me.

Bitch

“Why hello there, young one,” Celestia greeted, leaning down and giving the filly a little nuzzle. “My name is Princess Celestia, what’s yours?”

“C-c-cotton,” the filly stuttered as she pulled away and began to pull into herself again.

“H-hey, what’s wrong?” I asked as I noticed her begin to shake.

“I-I’m sorry,” Cotton replied as I gave her a reassuring ear scratch.

“You have nothing to be sorry for, Cotton,” Celestia replied with the same motherly voice. “I’m the one that’s sorry. I should have asked before touching you and for that, I deeply apologize.”

“N-no, no,” Cotton quickly replied, looking at Celestia in shock. “Y-you’re the princess.”

“And even I make mistakes,” Celestia replied as I took a nearby seat. “Now, would you like to join me and my sister for dinner?”

“Sister?” Cotton asked, looking at me.

“Princess Luna,” I began to answer, noticing the slight look of sadness spread across Celestia’s face when Cotton wasn’t looking. “She’s princess Celestia’s sister and raises the moon.”

“O-oh…” Cotton said giving a small nod before moving over to me.

“Do you want your own chair or do you want to sit with me?” I asked.

“I-I can sit by myself, I’m a big pony!” Cotton proclaimed with a surprising amount of courage.

“Then how about right here?” Celestia asked as she summoned a chair between me and her. It was just high enough for Cotton to reach the table comfortably.

“Now all we have to do is wait for my sister,” Celestia smiled as she looked down at the filly.

“I’m actually surprised she isn’t here already,” I voiced.

“She’s actually handling our little problem from earlier,” Celestia replied, making me remember that the Count should be back from his trip by now. “But I’ve been told that things went smoothly and she should be here soon.”

“W-what happened?” Cotton asked, looking between the two of us.

“Nothing you need to worry about, Cotton,” I replied reassuringly.

“Oh… okay,” Cotton replied as she looked down at the table.

For a few minutes, we sat in relative silence, the odd clanging of armor being the only sound we could hear.

“So,” I began, pulling my phone out to look at the time. “How much longer unti-“

“We have arrived!” a loud voice called out as… something entered the room.

“What in the name of all that is holy?!” I muttered out in shock, my eyes going wide.

“Luna, what did you do?!” Celestia groaned as she stared at her sister.

“Mr. Christopher, what is that thing!?” Cotton asked as she pointed towards Luna, jumping into my lap and shaking in fear.

“Well, excuse us for trying out a new spell,” Luna huffed as she placed a hand over her dress covered breasts.

“I swear to god, I had nothing to do with this!” I quickly told Celestia as we stared at the anthropomorphic princess.

While her head and face still looked the same, she now had a more human like figure with an ample bosom. Her horn was still on her forehead, but her wings had shrunk slightly.

“I’m still blaming you,” Celestia sighed.

“At least she’s wearing cloths,” I lamented as the lunar princess continued to stand at the rooms entrance with an embarrassed scowl.

“I still don’t know what that thing is,” Cotton interjected.

“Okay, so why do you look like that?” I quietly asked Luna as she sat next to me.

“Do you not approve?” Luna asked with a raised brow, sparing a glance at Cotton while the filly listened to a story being told by Celestia.

“I frankly don’t know what to think,” I replied with a sigh. “Today has not been a good day, and you walking in here looking like that isn’t helping. I can only imagine the rumors that are floating around because of that.”

“We do not care,” Luna replied as she inspected her hands for a moment. “Soon enough, such ‘’rumors’’ will be proven true or false to our subjects. But until that time, they may think what they want.”

“Still doesn’t explain why you look like that,” I replied, swiping her hand away as she tried to brush it against my crotch. “And this doesn’t look like your normal transformation either.”

“It is not,” she replied with a pout. “This is a spell crafted long ago, and we wished to see if we could perform it properly.”

“Why not just do it like you did back in the forest,” I asked, remembering how she had disguised herself as a thorn and a couple of ponies.

“Changing one’s self in such a way takes a large amount of concentration,” Luna replied before adapting a smirk and beginning to whisper in my ear. “And I’ve learned that our time together, tends to make that quite difficult.”

“O-okay,” I coughed, fighting against the blush I was developing. “I-I’m gonna have to take a rain check on that.”

“What does that mean?” Luna asked as a maid entered the room with a tray of assorted meals.

“Did you enjoy your meal,” I asked Cotton as she finished the small salad in front of her.

“Y-yes,” Cotton replied as she suddenly began to cry heavily, looking between me and everyone else around her.

“Cotton, what’s wrong?” I asked as I moved closer to her, Celestia and a still anthropomorphic Luna watched from the side.

“I-I don’t wanna wake up,” the filly sobbed as she looked up at me with tear filled eyes. “I-I don’t wa-want to wake up and f-find out this was a dream.”

“Hey, it’s okay,” I softly said as I picked her up and let her cry against my chest.

Celestia and Luna silently watched as Cotton cried herself to sleep in my arms, both trying to hide their own looks of sadness.

“It is disappointing that there is still such darkness in some of our ponies after so much time,” Luna sighed before she disappeared in a puff of smoke, reappearing a few moments later looking like normal and wearing an ill-fitting dress.

“It pains me to know that this was happening in my own home,” Celestia silently growled as she looked down at the table in front of her, a small fire developing in her gaze.

“So, what’s going to happen to Cotton now?” I asked, sparing the two alicorns a glance while softly petting Cotton’s mane.

“She will most likely end up in the foster system while we look for her family,” Celestia began to explain, a slightly uncomfortable look crossing her face.

“Can she not just stay with, Christopher?” Luna asked as she directed her gaze towards her sister. “Young Cotton seems to trust him and it would be best for her, would it not.”

“She can’t,” Celestia answered for me. “Several laws prohibit Christopher from doing it and I know several ponies who would use it against him.”

“They just hate me because I’m beautiful,” I replied, forcing myself to smile as I tried to lighten the mood.

“Whatever helps you sleep at night,” Celestia replied as she stood from her seat and began to leave. “I have something I must take care of.”

“But sister, what abou…” Luna began to ask before Celestia disappeared in a flash of light.

“Forget her,” I sighed as I looked towards Luna. “I’ve never been in this kind of situation before but aside from what just happened, Cotton’s been calmer than what I expected.”

“It is because we are a herd species, Christopher,” Luna replied. “It is why I suggested she stay with you. It’s obvious that she see’s safety in you, so she will be at her calmest as long as you are there.”

“That’s gonna cause problems when she has to go,” I sighed. “I was supposed to head back home tomorrow.”

“I’m sure my sister will figure something out,” Luna stated as she looked at Cotton. The filly’s face had begun to scrunch up as if in pain, but a quick flash of Luna’s horn caused her to relax.

“You mind keeping me informed as to how this whole thing ends up?” I asked. I really wanted to make sure those bastards and their friends get what’s coming to them.

“We’ll be sure to send you any pertinent information,” Luna nodded as her horn flashed once again and her dress disappeared. “Now, I would recommend finding a place to let young Cotton get some proper sleep.”

“I’m taking her back to the medical ward,” I replied. “The doc’s wanted her there after this in case they find something in their scans.”

“Very well,” Luna nodded as she gave me a nod and left the hall first. “Sweet dreams, Reaper.”

Knock Knock

“Huh?” Derpy quietly questioned as she made her way towards the front door after tucking her daughter in for the night.

“Hello?” Derpy called as she opened the front door, only to find nopony there.

“Good evening Miss Hooves,” Celestia said, surprising Derpy and causing her to turn around and find the princess behind her. “I know it is late, but could I take a moment of your time?”

Celestia was having a good dream.

This wasn’t the dream of living in a land of cake, or even the one where she got to spend the whole day in bed with no hassles.

No, this was her favorite dream out of all of them.

Her dress was immaculate, a glowing white with a golden trim that drew in everyponies attention. Her mane was wrapped in a bun and held by a white ribbon, preventing it from flowing freely and revealing her full face for the ponies in front of her.

As she walked past her friends and family, she couldn’t help but smile and shed a tear of happiness.

“I have waited for this day, for so long,” Celestia thought as she made it to the podium.

“Sister,” Luna nodded with a wide smile of her own as she presided over her. “I am so happy for you.”

“T-thank you,” Celestia couldn’t help but stutter as she looked over to the stallion of her dreams.

Everything about him she adored and made her swoon.

“I love you,” Celestia told the stallion, her eyes filled with tears as she allowed herself to smile wider than she had ever done before.

The mare watched with bated breath as the stallion leaned forward slightly and opened his mouth…

“WE’RE WALKING ON SUNSHINE!!” Me and Luna sung at the top of our lungs as Cotton called from my arms, the song playing on my phone and being amplified by Luna’s magic.

“BWAH!?” Celestia shouted as she bolted upright in shock, her mane covering half her face.

“And it’s starting to feel good!” the three of us finished before falling over in laughter.

After spending the night awake and watching over Cotton, Luna had come to me with this little idea to wake Celestia up.

While I wasn’t against it, there was a look in her eyes that made me wonder why she wanted to. But Cotton said she was willing to do it if I was there, so we decided to do it.

“Good morning, everypony,” Celestia seethed through gritted teeth and a forced smile, her eyes looking at the filly for a moment.

“Good marrow sister,” Luna replied as she regained herself and moved to nuzzle her sister. “Have any good dreams?”

“I will get you back for that,” Celestia growled just quiet enough for Cotton not to notice.

“Did you like our song, Princess?” the filly asked as I placed her at the end of the bed and looked at Celestia with a smile.

“It was very nice, little one,” Celestia replied, giving the filly a caring smile. This in turn, earned a larger smile from the filly before Cotton decided to jump off the bed and make her way over to me.

“Why don’t the two of you head to the dining hall while me and my sister get ready for the day,” Celestia said as she mostly kept her attention on Cotton.

“Okay!” Cotton replied before looking up at me with a smile.

“Let’s go,” I smiled, picking the filly up and heading out of the room.

“I will get you back for that!” Celestia snapped as she and Luna finished moving their celestial bodies. “You know I was having my favorite dream!”

“We are quite aware sister,” Luna replied without even flinching.

“Then why interrupt it?” Celestia asked as she began to clean herself up with her magic.

“Because it is unhealthy for you to focus on a dream like that,” Luna replied as she looked towards her sister with concern. “The last time you had such dream, you fell into a deep depression for some time.”

“I…I understand Luna,” Celestia sighed as her regalia floated to her. “But please, at least don’t wake me up like that again.”

“We make no promises,” Luna replied as she nuzzled her sister affectionately. “Now, perhaps you could tell us where you went last night?”

“Why do you wear so many cloths?” Cotton asked as I finished filling my last bag.

“Comfort, warmth and because they make me look cool,” I replied with a chuckle, earning nothing but a look of confusion.

“Never mind,” I sighed as I placed the few bags I had next to the door of my room before taking a seat on my bed.

“Do… do you have to go?” Cotton asked as she joined me on the bed, looking up at me with sad eyes.

“I’m sorry, Cotton,” I replied, scooping the filly into my lap and letting her nuzzle my chest. “If I could take you with me to Ponyville, I would do it in a heartbeat, but… I can’t.”

I know it sucked, but the longer I stayed, the harder it would be to leave.

“B-but I don’t want you to go!” Cotton openly yelled as tears began to flow from her eyes.

“I know, Cotton,” I calmly replied as the filly began to openly cry into my chest. This continued for a while before a knocking at the room’s door drew my attention.

“I’m sorry to interrupt,” Celestia said as she slowly entered the room. “But there is somepony here to see, Cotton.”

“What do you mean?” I asked with some slight worry.

“A foster family has been found for her,” Celestia replied emotionlessly.

“That was fast!” I thought as Cotton looked towards Celestia.

“No!” Cotton shouted as she glared at the princess. “I won’t go! You can’t make me!”

“Cotton, please…” I tried to say.

“NO! Nononononononononono!” the filly shouted as she gripped me shirt. “Please don’t go, please don’t leave me alone, please…”

“Uhm… can we come in now?” a familiar voice called as a gray snout and blond mane appeared in the doorway.

“Derpy?” I muttered in shock as the mare and her daughter slowly entered the room. “Dinky?”

“Hi, Mr. Christopher,” Dinky waved as the two stood just inside the room.

“What… what are you two doing here?” I asked as even Cotton’s attention was drawn to the pair.

“Miss Hooves here as graciously offered to become the guardian of Cotton until her family can be found,” Celestia began to explain, continuing to hide her emotions. “While she may be a single mother, she lives in a home that I know is up to all Equestrian codes, the town is tight nit and safe, as well as several other key factors.”

“I don’t want to go!” Cotton yelled, glaring once again at Celestia.

“Cotton, wait,” I began, carefully drawing the filly’s attention.

“I don’t want you to go…” the filly mumbled, tears in her eyes.

“Cotton,” Derpy called, drawing the filly’s slightly heated stare. “You don’t need to worry about losing your new friend because…”

“We live with him!” Dinky proudly added with her own smile.

“What?” Cotton questioned, this time looking up at Celestia.

“While Christopher cannot become your legal guardian while your family is being found,” Celestia began to say, now giving a soft smile. “Miss Hooves is more than qualified.”

“If that’s alight with you, that is,” Derpy added, blushing slightly at the praise received by Celestia.

“Does that mean you don’t have to go away?” Cotton asked me, looking hopeful.

“Not without you and those two,” I replied with a smile, giving Derpy and Dinky a quick point.

“Promise?” Cotton asked.

“Cross my heart,” I replied, crossing my heart before Cotton gave me a tight hug.

“Why don’t all of you join me for brunch before making your way home,” Celestia softly offered.

“Thank you, Princess,” Derpy said as she and Dinky bowed.

“What do you say, Cotton?” I asked the filly in my lap. “Willing to share another meal with the princess before we get out of this place?”

“Got to admit,” I spoke, watching as Cotton and Dinky worked to become quick friends. “I did not see that coming.”

“I’m just as surprised as you are,” Derpy replied as she sat next to me. “The princess just showed up and asked to talk to me.

“When she explained the situation,” the mare continued, looking down at the floor with a frown. “I couldn’t help but want to do whatever I could to help.”

“Well, thanks either way,” I replied while leaning back and sighing.

“It’s horrible to hear that something so horrible could happen to a filly,” Derpy quietly said as she looked over towards the two fillies. “If something like that happened to, Dinky…I don’t...”

“Don’t worry, Derpy, I won’t let that happen,” I replied as I noticed Ponyville Station getting closer. “Our job now is to make sure that Cotton never has to think about what happened ever again.”

“Forgetting things like that is one of the perks of living in Ponyville,” Derpy replied, not meeting my eye as she spoke. “Good place to go when you want to forget the pain of the past.”

I just nodded my head in reply as I looked out towards the in-coming town, deciding to not ask Derpy about what she meant.

“Uh… Derpy?” I questioned when I began to see a large quantity of colorful flying balls throughout the air above the town. “Fluttershy didn’t happen to find a new pet the other day, did she?”

“Oh, yeah,” Derpy began, sitting up to look out the window as well. “She showed one to… me…”

“What are all those things mommy?” Dinky asked as she and Cotton made their way over to where we sat. The two looking out the window with us.

“Just Ponyville’s disaster of the week,” I replied as the train pulled into the station.