Well, this was a very fun chapter to write. As you can see, this is one of the Bonus Chapters I spoke of in the recent blog. And, as you may or may not have noticed, it was a crossover with Equinox Starshifter's story, My Little Tactics. Great guy, have to say, and a great writer.

Hopefully this long ass chapter isn't terrible. Heaven knows I worried about that the whole time we were writing it. But, if it is, it will be edited to fix that.

Anyways, hope you all enjoy it!

-Timeless Lord Slayer

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Durin swung his pick with little attention to the action, breaking apart stone one block at a time as his thoughts swam. It had been a day since he left Ponyville in a huff, and he was still, naturally, upset.

‘Fucking ponies.’ He swung his pick again, breaking another block of stone. ‘Hypocritical, dumbass ponies.’ His mouth was set in a thin line, green eyes ablaze with anger. He swung his pick harder. ‘I fucking saved them so many times, and what do I get?’ He swung even harder. ‘Hunted down like a fucking animal!’

He swung particularly hard at that. ‘Treated like one, at that! All on baseless!’ A harsh swing of his pick. ‘Fucking!’ Another swing, another block. ‘Accusations!’ He stopped for a moment, then sighed and continued. ‘If they’d have just given me a fucking chance to talk instead of immediately trying to capture me, none of this would have happened.’

The previous night he'd been exhausted after using so much Will, yet forged on all the same through the distrust and suspicion and worry to help others. And it'd only left him more tired. He hadn't bothered staying long enough to explain everything he knew after meeting with the leaders of Equestria. Only long enough to explain the Blood Moon to his friends, and then to get home and collapse into bed.

The nightmares had come after that.

He grit his teeth, a familiar face flashing through his mind’s eye. “...I really wish you were here, Robin…” He hurriedly wiped away the single tear that fell, then resumed his work as he took deep breaths. “Forget it, Durin. Just...keep working.”

And so he did, swinging his pick time after time and slowly shaping his new mineshaft. However, soon enough, a bright flash of light blinded him, and a yelp sounded out as he felt his pick brush by something.

When the light cleared, there was a man surprisingly that seemed to just barely be shorter than six feet tall. Though a brown cloak obscured his face it was clear from what was peeking out under the hood that his hair was brown and that he likely was feeling a bit disoriented judging by the squint from his eyes. A groaning came from the man as he sat up, allowing his cloak to billow open, making clear he wore leather armor across his chest and that he had a buckler strapped to his right arm.

“I think I am going to stay away from that brand in the future.” Rubbing the bridge of his nose with two fingers of his gloved hand, the man opened his brown eyes to reveal ordinary pupils that showed he was ordinary in the fact he wasn’t modified in some way, at least not visibly. However when his eyes adjusted he spotted something he didn’t think he would see in his lifetime. “Holy shit! Are you another human?! Did I return home somehow?”

Durin removed his pick from the solid earth next to the man’s head, eyes just as wide as his. “...I…” He seemed to choke on his words, before shaking his head. “No. This...isn’t Earth.” His feline eyes, glowing in the low light, noted the yellow scrap of paper on the man’s chest. “Do you uh...always have sticky notes on your chest?”

The man stood up, confused for a moment before understanding came to his eyes. “Right, course it wouldn’t be as simple as falling asleep dead drunk just to find myself back home.” Standing up, it was clear the man was armed in a few different ways. Along his right hip were two scabbards. One clearly meant for a straight length of blade and another with a slight curve to it. On his left hip through a loop in his belt hung an axe that had a strange finish that seemed to reflect the light in the same way an oil slick might. His belt had more than a handful of pouches as well as some potions lining it.

“Sticky note?” Reaching down there indeed was a yellow piece of paper stuck to his armor. “Let’s see, is it from Pinkie or Twilight? Hmm, don’t really recognize the handwriting.” Taking a moment, the man stretched as he started to read. “Hello there, Dusty.” The man quickly thought of the pink party pony, the only one to call him that. “I hope you don’t mind me borrowing you for a spell, but one of my boys could use some quality human time. Don’t worry about your world, they’ll all be just fine, I talked with...eugh, Father, and he made sure of it.” Neither had a clue who this Father was but both wondered how they had dealings with his world or control over it for that matter. “For now just enjoy what time you have with your fellow man. P.S. Tell Duri that I say hi! He’ll get a kick out of it I’m sure.”

When ‘Dusty’ looked up, he could see Durin was certainly ‘getting a kick out of it.’ Durin’s form was aglow with light blue tattoos, and his free hand blazed with the primal light of fire. Durin turned eyes with more fire than Hell to ‘Dusty’. “So.” He began. “You a spy of Traders? Or just one of her minions in general?” As he said this, he kept his senses sharp.

Dusty took note of the anger and readied himself for trouble but tried to keep a calm face. “Look, I don’t know what you mean though I can guess, if this Trader person can pull me from my world on a whim to yours, I am guessing that she did the same to you. I am in a similar boat except I have a pair of Merchants to thank for me being away from Earth. Fuck I don’t even know if you and I are from the same Earth or if we are from fucking similar realities cause bullshit Multiverse Theory. So no, I am not a spy. I am a victim and am trying to get by in my current reality as is. Which by my estimate it has taken nearly a year and a half to do so.”

Durin stared Dusty down for the longest time, before slowly, the glow and tattoos faded, and the flame in his hand sputtered and died out. “...Good. You’re not lying.” Durin sighed, rubbing the back of his head. “But this still brings a whole load of problems I do not need right now.” He shook his head. “So, what’s your actual name? Or are you fine with me just calling you Dusty?”

Relaxing his guard the cloaked man started checking over his pouches and his weapons. “Dustan Warner. You can if you want, only Pinkie tends to call me that so if you want to, sure go for it. Means I can quickly tell who is trying to get my attention.” In some of his pouches there seemed to be something wrapped in leaves, cloth, a type of pill, and weirdly enough, golden needles as well. The blades Dustan carried were opposite ends of the spectrum. The curved blade seemed to have a rather ornate handle, and it was clear upon drawing it that it was not normal as energy crackled along it for a moment before he sheathed it.

The other sword was simple, looking to be made with the purpose of just being a weapon instead of also looking nice. There were, however, two things unusual about it in that its base was a good bit wider than a normal long sword should be and it was colored crimson. “Everything seems to be pretty much in order.” Lowering his hood and running his fingers through his hair showed that Dustan was due for a haircut. “So um, mind me asking what is with the eyes? I mean, I kinda get it if the Trader is like the other Merchants in stories in that she fucks with you, but it’s still good to know more about who it is I will be spending time with. Like, how long have you been in this world?”

Durin grunted, hefting his platinum pickaxe over his shoulder. “Nearly two and a half months.” He turned and gestured for Dustan to move. “Eyes are like a cat’s because I’m a Witcher. Among other things. Mind moving? Got a mineshaft to make.”

“Sure no problem.” Taking a step to the side and moving around Dustan tried moving his body a bit more shaking off the effects of last night’s drinking. “Witcher huh? Never got to play those games myself and-” The sound of a distant rock hitting the ground made him wince. “One moment.” Holding a hand above his head and in a clear voice he called out a word. “Esuna.” A mote of light appeared above his head and circled around him before a wall of light sprang up and followed the mote before closing in on the follow displaced. “Much better. Esuna for all your remedy needs. You have no clue how happy I was when I discovered that it works on hangovers.”

Durin grunted as he swung his pick into the rock. “Count yourself lucky you can still get those so easily. I have to basically poison myself to get drunk.”

“It is more expensive than it sounds.” Looking up and down the tunnel to see how far Durin has dug he continued. “Pony booze in my world is either extremely watered down, or they are all lightweights. Takes so much to do the trick. So why are you digging?”

Durin swung his pick again, breaking off a block of stone, when, in Dustan’s mind, it should have broken off a misshapen chunk. “Need more materials. All the other shafts are tapped out.”

“Resource gathering, got it. Do you have to dig it all yourself or-” For a moment while watching the cloaked human’s mind slowly came to realize what was happening. Not only were the stone not forming correctly but also vanishing. “Where is all of that going? Bag of holding or something? I have mine ri...nevermind I don’t have it.” Of course the one thing he didn’t check on was the one thing he didn’t have.

Durin shook his head, pausing in his mining to look over his shoulder at Dustan. “You could certainly help if you wanted, but I don’t have an extra pick with me. As for where it’s going…Inventory.” At that utterance, a screen popped up in front of Durin, who turned around to show Dustan said screen. “This is where it’s going.”

“Oh...you got an inventory.” Sighing and face-palming the man shook his head. “What I wouldn’t give for one of those myself. Seems you got some pretty neat abilities.” To the onlooker nothing would change with Dustan. But, for him, upon activating his own particular ability called Tactical Eye, he was able to get some information on things he looked at. “Lets see, Platinum Pickaxe, Eagle School Medallion, huh. Did you know your job class is registered as Mutant?” Dustan looked to the walls and the tunnel ahead trying to figure out in what way he could help that wouldn’t also cause the tunnel being dug to collapse.

Durin frowned. “...I didn’t, no. None of the games this world takes elements of had a class system, save for maybe Terraria.” He narrowed his eyes. “...How did you know my class, anyway? You get the same video gamey abilities as me?”

“Sorta.” Dustan rubbed his chin, looking at the wall. The man adjusted his buckler for a moment. “In my case it’s not the same as yours but Final Fantasy based. Specifically Final Fantasy Tactics, though it seems other games of the series are leaking into it somewhat. Had some encounters with others but those were Discord messing with me at the time. I have one particular ability that seems to be unique to me called Tactical Eye. I suppose it is meant to recreate how the player could see the names, level, and other stats of someone or get descriptions of items.” Moving up to a wall and running his hand over it he asked. “How sturdy did you make this tunnel? A hard knock or two won’t cause it to collapse on us will it?”

Durin shook his head. “This world operates on three different kinds of physics from three different games. Terraria’s, which typically defies general physics, and the Witcher and Fable, which follows more with physics.” Durin shook his head. “Either way, I placed a good few beams down to make sure it won’t collapse, just in case.” He gestured to the wooden beams and supports spaced evenly along the length of the shaft.

Looking down and tapping his booted foot against the ground Dustan gave a nod, more to himself than to what Durin said. “Good to know. If that is the case then I might be able to help after all. Mind backing up? Never tried using this ability in this way before. If it doesn’t work, back to the drawing board until I figure something out.”

Durin grunted. “Just don’t collapse the shaft.” He said, backing up as requested.

Watching his fellow human get out of the way, Dustan smiled. This was nice. He had been feeling homesick for a good bit and even if this wasn’t his world, having someone who he could relate to did ease that feeling some. “Geomancer.” Normally he said this in his mind but he had lowered his guard being around another human. Thus the man who was normally Squire changed his Job to the mage of nature.

Durin’s Medallion’s eyes glowed red, starting to lightly tug on it’s chain as well as vibrate. Durin paid it little heed, but kept himself ready for anything.

Taking a firm stance and holding out his left hand the job changing human called out a simple word. “Contortion.” The word might not seem to be magical in of itself, but the very earth itself knew its power and could feel it coming from him. The tunnel’s end glowed blue, lighting up the earth and rocks in their way before they would shift and push out of the way, either to the sides of the tunnel itself or digging itself deeper and out of the way. “Huh, neat. Didn’t think I could use it that way.”

Durin blinked. “That’s a handy ability.” He looked to Dustan. “Still, were you not trying to use it that way?”

Dustan shakes his head. “Most of the abilities I have are from a tactical RPG game so there was no show of it being used in any way beyond an attack. My world has it so that when I learn abilities, I have to control how they are used as mine don’t quite respond in the same way you would think they would. I don’t have the ability to select an attack, I have to think and feel it. In the game lightning could be called from the sky, for me, well I mimic good ol’ Palpatine with his unlimited power in how I use lightning.”

Durin hummed. “Huh.” He looked to the newly lengthened tunnel. “Still, this should help make some good tim-” Suddenly, a low rumbling shook the tunnel, followed by rapid clicks and shrieks. “-Shit.” Durin turned to Dustan, willing his silver sword to his hand. “We have to go, now! Shaelmaar are coming, and we need an open area if we’re gonna have a chance at fighting them!”

Dustan thought at first it was his fault the rumbling happened but the relief that came with knowing it wasn’t was replaced with both the dread and curiosity that could only be expressed in one way. “What is a Shaelmaar?” He looked to Durin, who would know the best way to go to find an open area.

Durin started to run down the opposite end of the tunnel, motioning for Dustan to follow. “I’ll tell you while we run, now come on! There’s no telling how many or what kind are coming!”

Not sure how fast his new Mutant Witcher friend was, Dustan changed from a Geomancer to Ninja, his fastest job class, and started moving quickly to follow. “Should we seal the tunnel to slow them down?”

Durin shook his head. “No point. Shaelmaar are basically a cross between moles and caterpillars, they’d dig right through any collapse we made,” Durin explained, running as fast as his legs would carry him as the rumbling grew louder.

Not wanting to waste time on ideas when clearly running was the better option, Dustan started to book it. In his world thanks to the benchmarks he had recently done at his castle, Dustan thought he might outpace his ally but found him keeping up quite well. “Not going to lie, figured I might out run you. Had to recently come to terms that though I look human, my capabilities physically are not exactly standard anymore.”

Durin grunted. “Not really the time to talk about these things, dude, but suffice to say, I’m not human anymore.” Durin soon saw the shaft start to open up. “We’re almost to the hub! Pick up the pace!” Durin urged, the sound of rumbling even closer now.

Dustan could see the opening of the tunnel coming up and knew what it was the cat eyed man was talking about when he said hub. Getting himself ready he pulled out his gleaming crimson blade as he gritted his teeth and pushed onwards. ‘Relax and enjoy some human time. RIGHT, cause humans always get chased by molemen in the underground.’

When they burst out of the tunnel, so too did the beasts behind them, easily rending gashes into the carefully placed walls of the shaft they just came out of. Durin immediately whirled around on the tiled stone floor, Dustan doing the same, allowing them to get a view of the Shaelmaar. What they saw was what could only be described as a strange mole with no eyes to speak of, and fin-like claws covered in stoney armor, along with their heads and backs.

The two Shaelmaar screeched so loud it almost seemed like the duo’s ears would bleed, announcing their challenge. “Fuck, could you two get any louder?” Not taking his eyes off the monstrosities in front of him the class changing human asked the expert, “So, what is the best way to deal with these rolly polies?”

“They’re blind, and sensitive to noise. Use that or whatever you can to knock them on their backs. Their underbellies are soft. Kill them quick, too. They could easily disrupt other underground dwellers,” Durin explained, willing the strange, steam-punk looking Hero Pistol to his other hand and firing a shot right at one of the Shaelmaar’s heads, putting a good sized dent in it’s armor plating and making it squeal and stagger back.

Taking a cue from Durin, Dustan pulled back his fist holding the sword and thrust it forward, a useless gesture for most normal individuals but for him it seemed as if his punch reached out and connected in a similar manner as the ranged attack, though less effective. It seemed to do something to the bug mole though as it’s head moved to the invisible hit.

Screeching again, the two Shaelmaar suddenly curled up and started to charge straight towards the duo like the living boulders they were. “Knock them over!” Durin called, narrowly dodging said charge from one of the beasts.

Dustan took the highroad instead of the side, using one of the skills of his classes and jumping straight up vertically and letting the hard shelled horror roll under him. “Easier said than done!” When he landed though he thrust out his hand and called out, “Strip away the ground with glistening blades! THUNDER!” It was as he described with one exception. Since he was holding his sword, instead of his fingertips the lightning poured out from the crimson colored weapon into the beast, caressing it but doing little else in the way of damage as he landed on his feet behind the Shaelmaar. “Well, found out they are insulated or grounded. Lightning doesn’t work.”

“Watch out!” Durin called, but it was too late. In an instant, Dustan felt what could only be described as a freight train slam into his side, the cracking and fracturing of bones easily heard as he was knocked to the side by a stoney fin.

Dustan, while not a fan of it, was no stranger to broken bones. Thus, at moments like this he was entirely happy to have the abilities he did. “Life’s refreshing breeze, heal from the sky! Cura!” A pair of green glowing lights came up from the ground and spiraled around him as the labored breathing vanished and he stood up. “I’m ok. Say do you get motion sick?”

Durin fired off three shots at one Shaelmaar, chipping it’s armor bit by bit as he replied, “No! Why?” he asked, before rolling out of the way of a swipe and retaliating with an upward slash of his sword in one fell swoop, leaving a sizable gash in the monster’s soft underarm.

Quickly throwing a heavy rock away from him to get the attention of the big bug that wanted to squish him Dustan smiled. “Good to know, you can make more use of this then I can.” Holding out his hand towards Durin, he called out, “Layer upon layer make your mark now! Haste!” A pair of spiraling roman numerals vertically circled the Mutant that was Durin before closing in on the center of his chest.

Durin nearly stumbled from how fast he now moved, but quickly adjusted, firing off three more shots at the other Shaelmaar’s fin-like arms, piercing holes in the less heavily armored appendages.

Said Shaelmaar screeched and staggered back, clutching it’s injured fin. Durin caught movement in his peripheral, and backflipped out of the way of the other Shaelmaar’s slam. Durin looked to Dustan. “Take care of the more wounded one! Don’t let it get away, it could alert others of its kind!”

Dustan smiled as he watched the hurt Shaelmaar no longer able to roll which meant its belly was now nice and open for an attack, especially from below. Like before Dustan pulled his arm back before thrusting it forward, but instead of the invisible attack from before a yellow streak seemed to flash from the ground as it rushed towards the beast. As the energy reached it a pulse from below where the line was rushed up to hit it. The Shockwave attack lived up to its old name of Earth Slash, contrary to its newer one as the attack ripped at the underbelly of the large monster causing the secrets of its body to come spilling out and be revealed to the pair.

Entrails, kidneys and more spilled out as the beast collapsed on it’s side, a puddle of blood forming under it as it weakly tried to get up. But, eventually, it went still, and silent.

Meanwhile, Durin was still fighting the remaining Shaelmaar, whose fins and legs were covered in broken, rocky shards and holes from bullets. Despite this, it continued to fight, trying to hit Durin with a flurry of swipes.

Durin dodged each one with his enhanced speed, before aiming a shot right at its head. Squeezing the trigger, the beast could only stagger and stumble back, clutching its head. It screeched, staggering over to a wall and slamming against it, blood leaking from the hole the bullet had made in its head.

It let out a final, pitiful squeak, before it too, passed on.

Durin sighed, dismissing his weapons. “Well, that’s another batch of meat for me to use, I guess.” He looked to Dustan. “Nice work there.”

“Thanks.” Dustan said and smiled. “Same to you. Not used to fighting something that naturally armed and quick before. If it was wearing armor, I have ways of dealing with it. If it was alone I have ways of whittling it down, but combine its speed, power, toughness, and a second one, and well I get sent into a wall I suppose. Thank goodness for healing magic. Rather not spend any more time letting ponies poke and prod me than I have to. Don’t get me wrong, the ones I know mean well they are just...too eager to unlock my body’s mysteries.”

Durin chuckled. “Talkative, aren’t you?” He walked over to one of the monsters, willing a small knife to his hand. “Guessin’ you’re starved for interaction with your own kind?” He ventured, starting to carve into the Shaelmaar.

“I have been stuck in my world for about a year and a half. No other human, no one who understands the alienation, the xenophobia, the mannerisms, the culture that I come from. Really hurts.” Dustan let his friend carve the beasts as he had no clue as to what would be good to get from them. “Sure I have a place of my own and people that accept me now, but I worked hard to make my own place. People naturally flocked to me when I did but still. Though I have friends, a place to call my own, it's just...not the same. I didn’t have much of a life back home and I am not sure where I would have gone with it, but the connections, family, friends? All gone in an instant. So yeah, starved is a good word for it.”

Durin didn’t reply for a short span of time, and though there was silence, neither broke it until Durin decided to. “I guess I’m in about the same boat. Sure, I lived alone up in Alaska, but at least I had friends nearby. Now?” Durin looked to his hands, stained with blood. “...Now I’ve got all kinds of blood and responsibility on my hands.” He let out a self-deprecating chuckle. “Hell, I have to stop a literal Eldritch Horror from fucking H.P. Lovecraft, even if it’s a different version.”

“Ouch. While I can’t say I am in the same boat I am in a similar one in some regards.” Pulling out a strip of jerky from one of his pouches to nibble on, Dustan took a moment to savor the flavor before he continued. “I have a stone in my pack, that isn’t with me right now but I am almost one hundred percent positive that it is a powerful entity that can destroy the world. No one knows it but me and I make sure to almost never let it out of my sight. There is also the fact that creatures from the Final Fantasy games seem to be popping up left and right and if the stone I have is the basis well there are possibly twelve more that contain powerful demonic like entities all looking for a chance to fuck up the world.”

Durin grunted. “Aren’t we the lucky bastards.”

“Could be worse I suppose.” The cloaked man said as he finished off the piece of jerky. “I have read stories where Displaced like us spend a thousand years petrified with their minds aware the whole time. Ones where they are mutilated, sold as slaves, and worse. I don’t see you turned into stone, with a collar around your neck, or missing pieces of you that you wish you still had. As much as you or anyone hates a situation, it could always be worse.”

Durin frowned. “There’s that word again,” He looked up at Dustan. “What the heck’s a Displaced, and why and how do you know so much?”

Dustan looked at the man who had traits from several games and blinked once. “You...aren’t a fan of My Little Pony are you?”

Durin shook his head. “Not particularly.”

“Hmm, how to explain this then...” Leaning back against one of the walls of the hub Dustan took a moment to collect his thoughts. “My Little Pony, a children’s show that surprisingly appealed to all ages, has a section of fans that write fiction for it. One of the common writing tropes that is used is a means to take someone from our normal world and write them in the My Little Pony universe, usually giving them strange powers though not always. They are taken to said universe in a multitude of ways, the most common being the Merchant like myself. Displaced is the term given to those that were written in this way. Turns out multiverse theory is a bitch though because any results that can happen, will. Guess which results we are.”

Durin grunted, shaking his head as he got back to work. “Figures.”

Nodding once more and leaning back more, Dustan relaxed against the wall. “Yep, you hear about all those kids who say they see the boogieman? Turns out we are the ones telling the truth and have actually seen him.”

Durin only grunted again. “Fuckin’ Lady Fate.” He looked to the other corpse, then tossed Dustan a knife after willing it from his Inventory. “Take that and go carve that thing up.”

Dustan caught the knife in his hand before heading over to the other Shaelmaar. He had done quite a bit of this type of thing when he first started out, but nothing on this large of a scale. “Can do but can’t promise the best of work.” As Dustan was working over the bug mole he couldn’t help but chat up his ally. “So, what’s it been like for you in your world? Ponies here kind, nice, mean, xenophobic? Usually if you can win them over they cling to you pretty hard. I think it has to do with herd mentality.”

Durin frowned, taking out some entrails and setting them to the side. “They’re sexist, slightly racist, and way too skeptical and paranoid.”

“So, just like my world. I will say they do get over it, but you either have to do a grand gesture to show you aren’t bad, or treat them like they are kids meeting a stranger.” The carving knife caught on a particularly nasty piece of sinew that the senior Displaced had to saw through a bit before continuing. “Its annoying, they can be loud, brash, or just too inquisitive for their own good. However a good deal are alright once you get passed the ‘ITS A MONSTER, RUN!’ phase. There are going to be those ones that stick to their racist ideals the entire time but in that way they are very human-like.”

Durin paused at that. “...Only real problem is they wouldn’t be far off in calling me a monster.” He continued his work. “I’m basically a mixture of two different kinds of humans, only mutated to be like a Witcher as well.” His frown deepened. “So my ‘class’ name isn’t really far off from what I am now.”

“A job and who you are are not the same thing.” Pulling back a good piece of hide Dustan cleared his throat. “‘The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.’ Martin Luther King Jr. So in the end tell me. Are you a monster? Do you feel, look, speak, or act like one? Or since you said you are trying to stop something from Lovecraft, are you trying to save people? A monster doesn’t save people.”

“...Thanks,” Durin said eventually, smiling slightly despite himself. The rest of the work passed in silence, and eventually, Durin stood up and deposited all the meat into his Inventory. He looked to Dustan, holding out his hand. “Mind handing those to me? Last thing we need is more predators smelling that stuff.”

“Sure thing.” Handing him both the knife and the parts from the monster that were cut Dustan looked behind himself for a moment before remembering he didn’t have his pack. “One moment.” Holding out his hand and concentrating he spoke. “Liquid that gives life, take it away now. Water.” An orb of pure water was summoned in front of him and he took a moment to hold his focus so that it stayed there before smiling. “First time I used that spell. That isn’t a spell from Tactics at all but I somehow learned it from a fight. That isn’t to say a spell like it isn’t in one or more of the games but still.” Moving his hands into the orb he used it to wash up. “Go ahead and wash up as best you can. Not sure how long that I can make it float like that.”

Durin smiled and nodded, walking over and rinsing his hands, arms and legs. “Thanks.”

Once that was done, he summoned his Cell Phone, looking at it’s clock. “Might as well head back home.” He looked to the mine shaft they were once in. “I don’t like the idea of being in there when a nest of Shaelmaar are so obviously close. That, and it’s getting late.” He started to walk towards one of the many pillars, this one marked with, oddly enough, white flamed torches. “Come on, we can rest at my place. It’s not terribly far.”

It was at this point that Dustan noticed where they were. While shaft entrances lined every wall, in the middle of the room, and even running across it, were pillars, coupled with what seemed to be primitive rope lifts on those pillars leading up to a bridge far above, where yet more torches lay.

“You said you have only been here a couple of months now right? If so not going to lie, this is really impressive.” Running a hand through his hair again he chuckled. “Then again your powers are suited for this.”

Durin chuckled himself. “Being part Terrarian means I have my own brand of physics, so I can make a house in just one day. Being an experienced carpenter helps. Always had a flair for architecture.”

“Nice. The profession I wanted really doesn’t help in my world.” Making a wide sweeping gesture he laughed. “Hell, you might have it in your world, but in mine there is a ruin called the Castle of The Two Sisters. A team of builders and I spent months renovating and building it up. It’s not as it once was before but it’s no longer a ruin. We are adding on to it by the day and other building projects as not only are ponies coming to live there, but other races as well. Griffons, Dragons, Minotaurs, one of the Parrot races that...I actually am not sure of the name of. Point is, if you don’t have a place you belong, build one. Though I can’t take all of the credit as I didn’t build it all by myself.”

The Witcher chuckled again. “Fairest point I’ve ever heard,” he said as they walked over to a pillar and Durin stepped onto the rope lift. “See you up there,” he said with a two finger salute before the mechanism lifted him up into the air.

Eventually he followed the gravel voiced man up when it was his turn taking a moment to look at how deep the tunnel went. Once he finally arrived up top he called out. “You said you had something to eat right? Don’t really have my pack now so I have to rely on your word that you have food enough for both of us.”

Durin smirked as Dustan stepped off the lift. “Oh believe me, thanks to a certain feline, I have plenty in reserve.” He turned, starting to walk down the bridge towards one of the entrances. “Follow me and we’ll be there in no time.”

“Lead on.” Dustan laughed as he kept pace with the white haired human. “I don’t mind pretty much anything to eat. As long as it’s not chicken. Kinda have had one of those moments where I realized something and can’t unrealize it. Which sucks cause chicken tastes so good.” He takes a moment to think about it before realizing. “Wait...you don’t have Chocobo here, I don’t have to worry about that! Now I hope you have chicken!”

Durin grinned. “Just so happens I found a few plates of chicken flavored ramen in a chest a while back,” At Dustan’s expression of disgust, Durin laughed. “Relax, it’s still good. Terrarian food doesn’t go bad as long as it’s in my Inventory or a fridge.”

“That’s good to know. Not going to lie, of all the ways I could possibly go out? Food poisoning isn’t the way I want to do so.” Though he said that with a serious face a crack of a smile appeared before he started laughing loudly.

Durin joined him in his laughter as they walked the dimly lit tunnel, soon enough reaching a flight of stairs that seemed to go up quite a ways. More white flamed torches lined the walls of the stairwell, though Durin paid it no mind as he began to walk up the stairs.

Dustan gave a long, impressed whistle. “Seriously man, A plus to you for doing all this. Cheaty powers aside it looks great. I am pretty sure you could make quite an easy and profitable life for yourself if you could properly promote your work.”

The context of Durin’s smile changed. “Yeah. But I’ve never been looking out for just myself.” He shook his head. “Anyways,” He stopped at the top of the stairwell, then gestured to the insides of what seemed to be a very homey and rustic basement. “Welcome to Casa Del Duri-”

“Durin, y’ okay, mate? Y’ ran off in a tizzy after y’ left th’ meetin’ with th’ big honcho, aaan’ who th’ bloody fuck is this bloke?” Tora suddenly appeared from around a corner, her concerned expression shifting to one of confusion in the time it took to blink.

Durin blinked himself. “Oh, uh, this is Dustan. He’s uh…”

“He another Terrarian? I thought y’ said y’ were the last o’ them or somethin’,” Tora asked, stepping forward to thoroughly inspect Dustan.

Durin raised his hands in placation. “I am! Dustan’s not a Terrarian, he’s human!”

“...Hmm, a’ight. Nice t’ meetcha, Dustan. Y’ look miiiighty similar t’ Durin ‘s all, so forgive me if I mistook ya fer a Terrarian. Name’s Tora. Tora Katt,” Tora said, holding out a paw.

“Dustan Warner.” He took the hand but made sure not to squeeze too tightly. He wasn’t sure about the people of this world or how hardy they were and didn’t want to do any damage to someone he just met. “Also technically I think I would be a subspecies of Human. A Gaian at this point.” He couldn’t help but chuckle as he took a moment to realize her name. “Did you know for my species in a certain language your name would come out to tiger cat?”

“...Wot kinda fuckin’ drongos would speak such a fuckin’ weird-arse language, mate?” Tora asked after a few moments, expression blank.

“To be fair, I’m technically half Japanese on my mother’s side, sooo…” Durin rubbed the back of his neck.

“Could be worse. Could have someone play the song ‘Deja Vu’ while you try to play tag with sapient body parts in a life or death game of pure chaos.” Dustan laughs a bit as a thought came through his head. “Still kinda funny but still kinda pisses me off at times remembering it. Guess it’s been long enough at this point. Or I have long since become numb to that kind of crazy”

“...Yer life must be some kind o’ fucked t’ get numb t’ that kinda shit,” Tora said, withdrawing her hand and taking a tiiiiny step away from him. “...Sooo, y’ hairless ape, mind tellin’ me wot happened after y’ met th’ pony princesses an’ shite that made y’ storm off like someone poured cat piss on ya?”

Durin sighed, deflating a fair bit. “Just...a lot of pent up stress and frustration. Was exhausted too.” He looked up at the ceiling. “...You already know I’m not from this world, right?” He asked, looking back to her.

“...Had m’ suspicions. Y’ didn’t know ‘bout how mares and stallions did shite ‘round here, yer abilities an’ shite weren’t anythin’ that coulda come from anywhere I know of...an’ wot th’ bitch said sealed it,” Tora replied, crossing her arms over her modest chest. “...Y’ were taken, weren’t ya? From yer home?”

Durin slowly nodded. “Got dropped here for the dumbest of reasons. No idea where I was, what had happened to me, or what was going on, cut off from everything I knew…” Durin clenched his fists. “...It was Hell.” His gaze bored into the floor. “...Then, of course, Fate makes it worse when I meet the ponies. I go up to one of their floating cities, kill a monster and save them, and what do I get? Fear, revulsion, and distrust.” He looked back up to Tora. “So when they called me in for a meeting and interrogated me when all they needed to do was be polite and ask, yeah, I got pissed.”

Tora just stared at Durin for a good while...then stepped forward and wrapped him up in a big, tight hug, her tail curling around his back.

“...Y’ poor bastard. I know how y’ feel...somewot. Taken from m’ home by them fuckin’ sla- Moos, an’ bein’ alone...scared, not knowin’ wot yer gonna do…I can sympathize. I’m here fer ya, if y’ need to...ya know, talk or vent,” Tora said softly into his ear, her breath tickling the flesh even as he got a good sample of her rose-scented fur.

“Should I come back later and give you two some time alone? I will. I just don’t know where to go around here.” Dustan really didn’t want to interrupt the two but he was honestly a bit embarrassed by the level of intimacy. “I mean I can go back into the mines for like an hour if you need it...”

“...Nah, she’s apples,” Tora said, breaking the embrace and stepping back from Durin.

Durin sported a light blush as he coughed into his fist. “R-Right, let’s, uh, go get some food going.” He looked to Dustan. “I think you’ll like how Shaelmaar tastes when properly cooked.”

“Can you really cook that weird rolly polie bug mole and make it edible?” The cloaked human took a moment to really gaze at his friend and hoped it was as he said, though he might have been slightly skeptical.

“Y’ GOT MORE MEAT?!” Tora all but squealed, mouth watering and eyes sparkling in utter delight. “Put it on th’ fucking barbie, y’ bastard, you!”

Durin laughed. “Alright, alright,” he said, flipping the switch next to him and closing the secret entrance to his mine. “Let’s head upstairs then.” He suggested, walking down the small hall and towards the spiral staircase.

Tora bolted up the stairs on all fours, looking more like a cheetah than a tigress as she zoomed past him.

As she bolted up the stairs Dustan looked towards the host of the house. “She is rather adorable isn’t she? Weirdly most residential species of Equis have that effect. I think it has to do with the fact that the source material as we know it was meant for young girls.”

Durin smiled. “Yeah, she is, in her own way.” He shook his head, then looked to Dustan with a smirk. “Also, we really need to get you back in touch, because you’re spouting random facts a lot.”

“Maybe. I know plenty of facts and worst of all I know the timeline of my world as I am set in what is effectively season two. So yeah, considering the fact that my world is also slowly tilting out of that timeline is both good and bad, mostly bad as I am trying to keep it on track.” As he walked he was saying all of this quietly so as not to be heard. “No one knows about my knowledge either. It hurts to keep that to myself so, yeah I might be spouting random things but I can’t help it. I don’t know when I will be popped back to my world and I am trying to get the most of this as I can while I can.”

Durin patted the man’s shoulder as he followed him up the stairs. “It’s fine. If you need it, then do it. I ain’t gonna judge.”

Soon enough they reached the main floor of the house, allowing Dustan to see it was obviously heavily inspired by the Hobbit homes of the Lord of the Rings.

“Yeah, again you should be a house designer. I could easily see myself in a house like this. Castle is nice and all but being a Lord isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be at times.” Dustan looked around, marveling at the detail, the carvings in some of the materials as well as the attention to detail.

Durin chuckled. “I was in the same line of work, remember?” He walked past him, going down the circular hallway to find Tora sitting very impatiently at one of the chairs in the dining room.

“TUCKEEEEEEER!” Tora banged her fists on the table with a frenzied look in her eye.

Durin rolled his eyes. “Right, right,” he said, walking towards the kitchen and pulling out the slabs of meat he and Dustan had procured from his Inventory. As he went about cooking them, Dustan sat down across from Tora.

“So...y’ also not from this world? Y’ smell...off, kinda like Durin,” Tora asked, tilting her head slightly.

“No I am not. Not part of this world either. Kinda just...visiting I guess. I have been away from my world for about a year and a half and now I am somehow here. Regardless, for me it’s kinda nice to see someone like me, even if it is not exactly the same.” He said relaxing in a chair across from her.

“Hmm. Wot’s it like, in yer world? Crazier than this shitshow?” the tigress pressed, her amber gaze piercing into him.

“Hard to say. I mean, in some ways I think its a parallel to this world here minus some of the craziness I have heard going on. It has a Celestia, Luna, Cadance, the Elements of Harmony: Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy. Actually, not sure how much I should say, my timeline might be ahead of yours and I’d rather not spoil things in case.” He tried to look thoughtful before shaking his head. “But for me, I am a Lord of the Everfree on my particular Equis. Not sure if your Everfree is as big as mine but I have a lot of land to cover. Still working through that.”

“You own th’ fuckin’ death forest in yer world? Well, you’re a right nutter.”

Dustan chuckles and nods, agreeing with her somewhat. “It’s not as bad as it seems to be fair. It can be really calm once you take the proper precautions. It can be rather lovely in fact.”

“Dark, dismal, full o’ fuckin’ dickhead beasties. Not m’ idea of ‘lovely’, mate,” Tora dryly remarked, giving an irritated glance at the kitchen. “Hurry th’ FUCK UP, Durin!”

“Good food takes time!” was Durin’s reply.

“Worst thing I have had to deal with is a hydra. Didn’t really have any casualties...well there was almost one but I managed to save her.” He explained and even laughed, though his laugh was a bit off as he rubbed his right arm.

“An’ who was th’ sheila?”

“A filly who technically wasn’t supposed to be there. She died for a bit, I had to even bargain with death itself to make sure the girl could come back.” Dustan looked down at the table, a far off look in his eyes as he remembered the event play out.

“Tch, fuckin’ anklebiters. Always instinctively tryin’ t’ cark it in th’ dumbest ways possible,” Tora chuffed irritably. “Hope th’ brush with death taught th’ sheila a lesson not t’ go where she’s not s’posed to.”

Durin soon came in, carrying three plates of Shaelmaar steak, two of which he placed in front of Dustan and Tora before sitting down in his own seat with his own plate.

“Kids aren’t that bad,” Durin started, picking up a jug of steak sauce from the table and pouring some onto his steak. “Pretty cute, actually.”

“I saw an anklebiter in Roam fuckin’ poke a caged Manticore at a circus with a stick that had a joy buzzer on th’ end. Fer reference, th’ little shit was in tail-range,” Tora said with a derisive snort, grabbing her steak and smearing the ambrosia that is steak sauce on it before fucking mauling the meat like a rabid beast.

Dustan was enjoying his own little slice of heaven, the meat a good deal tastier than he thought it had any right to be considering what it came from. “MMM, good.” He mumbled through a full mouth before swallowing. “Don’t get me wrong, she and the other two were trying to help. They had been given some training at my castle and our forces were low. I couldn’t spare the time or forces to escort them back. When I went to check on them again, one had collapsed, the poison of the hydra had gotten to her from a sliver of a claw fragment. The Hydra had become basically giant and more powerful thanks to the lush hunting that the Everfree gave it in my world where its normal home wouldn’t have offered it such a feast.” Looking up to them he sighed and picked up the knife in his left hand. “Tora, when I said earlier that I had to bargain with death, I don’t mean that as a figure of speech. I literally summoned the personification of death itself and struck a deal that would return the girl back to her body. Lost part of my own soul in the process but I would do it again. Now I just have to deal with the fact I can’t feel anything in my right arm from the bicep down.”

To emphasize the point he took the steak knife and slammed it into his right hand, pinning it to the table. “Nothing.” When he removed the bloodied knife he then used his healing magic to close the wound and make it seem as if it was never there, save for the small bit of blood that was left on the table and on the knife. “Oh, sorry about that.” Using the same method from earlier he summoned some water to clean his mess.

“...Okay, one, that hurt me, mate. Two...I didn’t feel that, like I do with all th’ other horny ponies I’m around when they do th’ magicky shit,” Tora said, setting down her steak and staring hard at Dustan. “How th’ fuck didja do it?”

“That is my brand of magic.” He said with a smile. “In my world, not sure if its the same here or not, Unicorns and Alicorns and to the lesser extent all races use Harmonic Magic. Basically they mix their own internal magic with the environments to boost their power.” Holding up his left hand and pointing it to himself he continue, “I use Neutral Magic. My magic comes all internally and needs no help from anything else. At first it was only I who could use it but I have been teaching all species on my world to learn to use it. Zebra’s, Unicorns, Earth Ponies, Pegasi, Dragons, Minotaurs, the Parrot race whom I still need to learn the proper name for, and more. Anyone can use my brand of magic.”

Durin hummed as he chewed on a bite of steak, before swallowing. “Doesn’t sound too different from my magic, then.” He held out a palm, a ball of flame dancing in it immediately after. “I basically have two brands of magic. Signs, and Will. Both are internally powered.” The flame suddenly turned to golden rings of roman numerals and clocks, all rotating around each other. “Will is more powerful, and arguably more varied, but Signs are practical and still just as useful.”

“Hmmm, suppose its a matter of knowledge and execution that is the difference between ours.” Thinking for a moment Dustan remembered something his Twilight had said to him. “Might be also where I draw my knowledge from. Someone told me that I get my knowledge from another plane of existence, which is how unicorns starting out or those with special talents seem to intrinsically know how to cast certain spells and such a lot easier than others. For others it affects their special talent in how easy they get that knowledge or how well they can expand upon such knowledge.”

“...Anyone can learn an’ use th’ magic y’ use? Where th’ bloody hell do I sign up, mate?” Tora asked with a dangerous gleam in her eyes.

Dustan shakes his head sadly. “It’s not that simple. Those in my world have been training for quite a while to learn anything. The best I could teach you quickly is some Squire abilities. Basic ones sure, but I am not sure if you will open up the Classroom cause this is a different world.”

Tora leaned over the table and stared Dustan dead in the eyes, “Does it look like I give a fuck, mate?”

Dustan finished off the last bit of his steak and shrugged. “Can’t hurt to try. If nothing else I have a long shot of a back up plan, though there is a good chance that I won’t get to see if it works. Sorta long term plan to acquire my type of magic.”

“You guys do that,” Durin interjected, gaze focused on his food. “I have things I need to do before it gets too dark.”

“Wot kinda things, mate?” Tora asked with a slight tilt of the head.

“...” Durin didn’t answer for a time, face screwed up in thought. “...” He sighed. “Paying respects to an old friend.”

“Take all the time you need.” The visitor told him as he rose up out of his seat. “Mind if I take a look at your workshop for now? Might need a couple of things to get started.”

Tora nodded with an understanding look in her eyes, “Yeah, take all th’ time y’ need, Durin.”

“Tora can lead you to the workshop,” Durin replied, polishing his plate before standing up himself. “Feel free to take a gun or two while you’re there.” He started to walk out of the room, adding an, “For the help you gave me,” before leaving the room, the sound of the front door opening and closing signaling his leave.

“...A’ight, this way, Dustan,” Tora said, standing up from the table and wiping off any remaining food around her mouth with her arm before gesturing for the man to follow her, turning and walking away on padded foot to the workshop.

“Alright, thanks.” He called out to Durin before adding something more for himself. “I mean, I kinda stirred up the Shaelmaar with my geomancy, so I am not sure if I would say helping you kill them really helped out since I caused it.”

“Jus’ follow me, mate,” Tora urged, curling her tail thrice in a gesture for him to follow her - now, preferably.

Dustan followed along behind the cat person as the cloaked man took mental stock of the first items that he would need, the same ones he gave to those wanting to try to obtain a job class on his world. It would be a simple test but if it didn’t work then he still had his long shot.

Tora led him through the hall, and soon down the secret stairwell leading back to the basement. After walking down the relatively short stairwell, they arrived at another hall, at which point Tora abruptly turned around and addressed Dustan, “A’ight, wot y’ lookin’ for, exactly, mate?”

Going through the mental checklist again the visitor from another world simply said, “I need a Root of Liliander, a Sprig of Oilum, leaves of Diathum, and a few berries from a Hawkin’s Rose.”

“...Only ever heard of th’ Liliander stuff, an’ even then, that’s stuff’s been cactus for decades,” Tora replied, brow rising up into her hairline. “Why’re y’ askin’?”

“I assume by cactus you mean dead?” He wondered out loud.

“Aye,” Tora nodded.

“Then that puts us in a bit of a bind.” He told her as he thought up something. “I tested those who wanted to acquire abilities like mine and the Root of Liliander was part of the thing needed.” Pulling out of one of the pouches on his belt, he showed her the balled up leaves containing a paste in the middle. “This is what you get when you mix them all up and add a tiny bit of magic to it. If you don’t have Liliander I can’t really give you the proper test. Meaning we have to go with my long shot.” Taking a moment, he went through a mental list of what might be needed for his idea.

“An’ yer ‘longshot’ shite iiis?” Tora asked, tapping a paw expectantly on the ground with her arms crossed over her chest.

“Can you find me a pestle and mortar and a crystal or some kind of gem that Durin won’t mind losing? Oh, and a knife,” Dustan told her before adding the last request in at the last moment.

A knife is helpfully tossed at his feet as the tigress turns on her heel and heads off to find the necessary reagents. A few moments later, she comes back with said mortar and pestle, along with what looks like a pure ruby.

“A’ight, do yer thing, Dustan. I’m waitin’,” Tora says, leaning against a wall and watching him with unblinking eyes.

Taking a moment to steady his breathing, the cloaked man put the gemstone into the bowl of the grinding tool before doing just that and starting to destroy it into a powder. “The item I am looking to make for you is called Materia. Usually it is made via the world’s own life force pouring out and having some of its knowledge stored in it. Er, well it’s a bit more complicated than that bit it’s the gist. What I am going to do here is similar but as I said it’s a bit of a long shot.” Once said ruby was nothing more than powder Dustan moved the tool away and took up the knife. “Your world doesn’t have the knowledge it needs and I’d rather not pull at its life force. So what we need is a source of life energy and knowledge.” With that, he took off his glove and cut open the palm of his hand and let the blood flow into the powder.

“Yeah, good thing yer usin’ y’self as that ‘life energy’ shite. I don’t think the planet’d right like bein’ stabbed all that much. I’d expect that’d make it mean as cat’s piss,” Tora remarked, eyes following the blood as it dropped onto the powder with tiny splashes.

As the crimson liquid dripped into the dust Dustan used his other hand, his numb hand, to try to start lightly mixing it. “Lets see if we can get just the right amount so that it turns into almost the consistency of something like mud or dough.” Occasionally he would have to pick up bits he dropped and put them back into the bowl but it did eventually get to the point he wanted. “Here is where I hope things catalyze a bit. I am going to hold this in my hands and start pouring my own magic into it hoping it tugs more of my life force into it since I am keeping the wound open, and will be thinking of the particular magic I am infusing into it. So cross your fingers kitty ca-“

“Don’t call me kitty cat,” Tora suddenly interrupted him, taking in a deep, shaky breath to calm herself. “Got some...real shit attached t’ those words, an’ I don’t wanna have t’ relive ‘em.”

“Really sorry to hear that. Didn’t know,” He remarked, seeing his blood dripping down past his other hand and having a bit of a lamenting look on his face as he couldn’t feel it at all.

“It’s fine, mate, jus’...keep it in mind, a’ight? Y’ do that, an’ she’ll be apples,” Tora said, giving him a weak smile.

“No problem Tora.” Closing his eyes and concentrating on the knowledge he held for that particular brand of magic, he would have another question for her. “If you don’t like that name so much why is it that you called Durin a ‘hairless ape’ earlier? Bit of a demeaning name for humans and those that come from them.”

Tora sighed and looked down at the floor with furrowed brows and a frown curled across her muzzle, “He an’ I have an understandin’, mate. He knows I’m teasin’, an’...well, again, real shit tied to ‘kitty cat’ fer me. He don’t have th’ traumatic word association.”

“I can kinda understand. I may not have a specific trigger like you do, but I do have some trauma associated with some particular species back on my world. Goblins are one of the top ones.” Dustan still was concentrating on what he was doing with his eyes closed, so he couldn’t see the slight glow that started to come from between his fingers.

“Oh? Gobbos like from that one ‘mahn-ga’ from Neighpon? Wot was it, uh, ‘Goblin Slayer’? Th’ li’l green fucks like wot I’ve heard are runnin’ around, ‘cept all...murder-rapey?” Tora asked, her gaze now firmly back on Dustan and holding an odd curiosity.

The glow was a dull red but it was clearly, though slowly, changing colors away from it. “You guys seriously have manga here in this world?” Dustan blinked. “Wait, Spike has comics in my world...maybe there is manga. I never thought to check.”

“Well, yeah, o’ course, mate. ‘Cept the Neighps call ‘em manga cuz they were isolated fer a couple hundred years. Their culture’s all kinds o’ weird,” Tora replied, shuddering a little as she rubbed her arm, muttering something about ‘tentacles’ and ‘real-life reenactment.’

The glow was steadily shifting colors, it was currently yellow but still shifting. “Wait till your world gets the internet, if it ever does. That shit goes everywhere.” Though Dustan was wearing a smile, he was sweating and looking a bit pale now.

“...Inter-wot now? Izzat like some kinda messagin’ shit? Like a spy network, but fer erryone? Why th’ fuck would there would be a public spy network dedicated t’ spreadin’ tentacle hen-” Tora began to ask.

Opening his eyes at hearing her say that he could only smile and raise a single eyebrow. “What was that?” Though as he opened his eyes he caught sight of a green light and his eyes grew wide. “Oh, I think it’s working.” As he went to open his hand, besides being covered in blood, sitting right in his palm was a green round jewel, perfectly smooth and seeming to be radiating a bright light that was quickly calming now that it wasn’t being infused. It was about the size of a bit in diameter. “Ok, looks like step one of the long shot is done. Now we need to get you something to wear so we can socket this in.”

Problem was when Dustan went to stand up he clearly was lacking a good deal of strength now and promptly stumbled forward landing on his face with a thud and a painful sounding ‘oomph’.

“Y’ good down there, mate? Not ‘bout t’ cark it or nothin’?” Tora asked, slowly raising a brow at the magic man.

“I think so,” Taking a moment to look at his arm and read his own status he barely got out a squint before he started to chuckle. “I suppose that explains it. I have no magic anymore and my HP is quite low.” Reaching down to his belt he pulled out a blue looking potion and started to drink it. It was clear it was a healing one as the cut on his hand quickly closed and some of the color returned to his face, though he was still pale. “That should help.”

“A’ight. So...that li’l thing is th’ Materia? Guess not everythin’ magic’s got t’ be big an’ fancy an’ shite,” Tora said as she plucked the little green orb from his grasp and looked herself over...then slid the sphere into a metal ring on her armor, just above her left hip. “Any place it’ll be nice an’ snugly fit will do, yeah?”

“Yeah. Since I don’t have quite the same amount of life force as a planet, it might be dormant or it might not be. If it is, I can’t say how long it will be like that, but you should eventually be able to cast the Cure family of spells.” Wiping his face, he took a look at his sweaty hand with a bit of a grimace. “Damn, didn’t think I was sweating that much.”

“Magic burnout or somethin’? Some kind o’ physiological effects? I mean, y’ ain’t in yer world, so maybe th’ magic works different here,” Tora suggested, walking over to him and placing a hand on his forehead. “...Y’ feel like y’ve got a fever, mate, but y’ also don’t. It’s bloody bonkers, mate: It don’t feel like all of you is there or somethin’.”

“I will be fine Tora, thanks for your concern though.” Chuckling a bit, though lacking the usual mirth he would tap his arm. “Also remember, I'm not entirely here.” Stretching a bit and looking around he tilted his head. “Where is Durin anyways? Haven’t seen him for a bit.”

Tora’s ears flicked and swiveled around as she tilted her head up to the ceiling, “...Upstairs an’ outside, it seems. Shovel...dirt movin’...prolly diggin’ somethin’...an’ I feel I know wot.”

Durin gained another block of dirt to his Inventory, frowning as he did. ‘For once, I’m not thankful I have my own brand of physics.’ He stabbed his shovel into the earth again, and again, seeing the dirt break but not act like dirt should. ‘Feels wrong to be doing this so quickly. Sacrilegious, at that.’ Finally, the sixth block down was broken, and he dismissed his shovel. He paused for a bit, staring down at the hole he’d made.

He sighed. “Inventory,” he commanded, and the screen popped into his vision. He stared a moment longer at the two items he’d made for one purpose. He then dragged them into his hotbar and dismissed the screen, before willing a bouquet of flowers - from daisies and honeysuckles to Dayblooms, Moonglows, and Arenaria - and tossing it into the hole. Then, he willed the dirt blocks into his hand, and covered the hole.

He remained silent as he willed the last item into his hand and placed it down. “...Hopefully you get a kick out of it, Robin.” He muttered, looking over the gold and ruby encrusted Robin on the top of the platinum-ringed tombstone. A new screen opened up, asking if he wanted to edit the text on the tombstone. He selected edit with a solemnness and weight he hadn’t felt in years, and afterwards, stared down at the inscription now engraved on the stone.

‘Here lies Robin Fairgarden, friend, confidant, and lightbringer to all. May her name never be forgotten.

1988 - 2014.

R.I.P.’

Durin stared for a while longer. He didn’t bother to stop the water coming to his eyes. Didn’t bother to wipe away the fresh, stinging tears. He only bothered to not weep openly.

He felt a pair of warm, furry arms wrap around him from behind, followed by a familiar accent filling his left ear, “Had a feelin’ this was wot y’ were doin’. Feelin’ better, havin’ done it, Durin?”

Likewise a hand would be placed on his shoulder as the traveler from another world came up as well. “Don’t know who she was, but she obviously meant a lot to you. I am sure she is happy to live on in your heart.” Dustan had a somber tone to his voice and a look in his eyes that said he too had felt the pain of losing someone close to him.

Durin didn’t respond for a long while, simply placing a hand on his face, as if to hide his shame. He took deep, shuddering breaths as they all stood there, before finally calming and wiping the tears from his face.

He looked back to his acquianta- Friends, he corrected, and gave them a weak smile. “...Thanks, guys. I appreciate the concern.”

“Eh, wot’re mates for, if not stuff like this?” Tora asked rhetorically with a little smirk on her lips.

“There are always people around to share burdens with, sometimes you don’t know they are there, and sometimes it’s because you haven’t met them yet. They are there though, just have to find them.” Hearing himself say that he rubbed his eyes and chuckled. “I think I may have been living in Equestria too long. That sounded very sappy even for me.” The joke and chuckle he gave was one he hoped would help cheer up those around him least from the smile he gave to his fellow human and the quirky cat.

It thankfully did, Durin’s weak smile becoming more genuine. “Thanks.” He looked to Dustan’s belt. “I see you picked a gun.”

Dustan nods and shows it to him with a bit of a grin, “Yeah, I did. I am not much of a gun expert, but I picked something that looks like it will be easy to replicate and not too advanced should I decide to give it to others when I have more of them.”

A voice then replied, one that set Durin’s senses on edge, “Seems like you two made quite the trade. Shame I couldn’t have witnessed it in person. I could’ve given pointers.”

Durin growled, drawing his Hero Sword and Pistol in a flash. “Trader.”

The voice laughed. “Still as touchy as ever, I see.”

“Are you the person that brought me here?” Called the cloaked man as he drew the curved sword that glistened with bits of crackling energy.

“...So. You’re th’ sheila who brought Durin t’ Equus?” Tora asked neutrally, though her tone was as frigid as the Frozen North.

“Such icy tones. I’m almost hurt,” a gloved hand patted Dustan’s head from behind. When he whirled around, he found a woman with a red Victorian tailcoat and gentlemen’s mask. Her hair was black as night and done up in a ponytail, and a cane was in her free hand. “If it weren’t for how cute you are, I would be.” Trader giggled behind a gloved hand and a platinum mask. “Anywho, it’s about time you got back home, Dusty my boy. Your people miss you something awful. Already your little Griffon is panicking since she found your room empty.” Trader lightly elbowed the man. “She’s quite the cutie, too. I’m almost amazed you don’t have a thing for her.”

“Cut th’ chatter an’ get t’ th’ fuckin’ point, y’ dog,” Tora snapped, hands clenching and unclenching as she stared down the other female.

“I’d suggest the same. Have half a mind to cut your fucking head off,” Durin snarled.

Trader rolled her golden eyes. “Very well, Miss Katt.” She pulled away from Dustan, then twirled her cane, causing a rift in reality to appear. “As I said before, it’s time you were home. The specifics of my trade have been met, and if you stay much longer, well, things won’t go well for any of us.” She gestured to the rift. “So, off you go.”

“Durin, Tora.” Dustan said before slowly turning to face the two. “It was nice meeting you both. I hope everything in this world goes your way and that you make it through relatively easily. Tora, that Materia is meant to cure people of wounds, heal them. Use it when you can but keep in mind that it uses up your mana so you might have to build it up.”

“Was a pleasure, mate, an’ thanks fer th’ advice. Be seein’ ya,” Tora said, giving him a quick salute…and then running up to give him a quick hug before backing away. “And thanks for the hoodoo magicky stuffs.”

Durin glared at Trader a while longer, before sighing and giving a smile to Dustan. “Stay safe, okay? And when we see each other again, let’s have a drink.”

“Sure.” Dustan called out as he turned to the portal waving his hand. “Just none of that weak pony stuff. Takes forever to get drunk on it.”

Durin chuckled. “Duly noted.”

Taking one last look over his shoulder the man smiled and stepped through the portal, his limbs vanishing as did the rest of him back to the world he came from, the last item to go through was his billowing brown cloak.

Trader, in response, turned to Tora and Durin and performed a bow. “Adieu, for now, my boy.” With that, she twirled her cane over herself, and disappeared as well.

Durin and Tora sat in silence for a time, before he sighed and looked to Tora. “Up for a bit of drinking?”

“Shit-faced?” Tora asked, grinning widely.

Durin chuckled. “Definitely.”