---

"For the last time, Vinyl, no!" a gray Earth Pony said firmly, putting her cello's bow down.

"And why not?" Vinyl countered, a towel wrapped around her head as she walked into the room; she'd gotten tired of yelling across the house to get her point across. Bringing the hair dryer with her, she unwrapped the towel and started to dry her mane. "Despite what the Guards say, I know what I saw!"

Octavia groaned, rubbing her face with a hoof. "We've been over this, Vinyl," she removed her hoof, fixing her roommate with an exasperated look. "We don't know anything about that creature. We don't know if he's hostile, if he's biding time to gather more strength to attack us in earnest, if he's just a creature native to this world we've never seen before, or if he's part of this," she raised her hooves to make air quotes, "'New Wave' of monsters!"

"And I told you a thousands times already! He! Saved! Me!" Vinyl punctuated each point with a stomp of her hoof, pausing in her hair drying. "You know how rare it is for a stallion to save the mare! I don't care what it takes, I need to find him to at least buckin' thank him somehow!"

Octavia raised a brow. "And you plan on doing so how?” Vinyl raised a hoof and opened her mouth to speak, then faltered. Octavia sighed. “I thought so.”

Vinyl growled, lowering her hoof and tossing the hair dryer down. “I have to do something! I’m a mare, I can’t just...just…!”

Octavia sighed deeply, looking her lover over for a time. Sighing again and trotting over, she put a hoof on Vinyl’s shoulder. “Alright, Vinyl.” She gave the mare a soft smile. “Much as I’m still averse to the idea, I’ll help you.” She gave her a stern look. “So long as you don’t go too far, and I come with on any searches.”

Vinyl stared at her roommate, then slowly nodded, smiling. “Thanks, Tavi.”

---

“Oof!” Applejack grunted, stumbling back as Rockhoof knocked her to the ground of the courtyard.

“Ya got ta keep more steadeh hoofin’, lass,” he said, offering her a hoof up. Applejack grunted again, taking the offered hoof and letting herself be pulled up.

“Ah’ll try and remember that,” she replied, taking off her stetson and wiping some sweat from her brow. She looked up at him with a slight smile. “Fer a stallion, you sure got a mean hook.”

Rockhoof let out a rumbling chuckle. “Thank ye, I try.” He turned and walked a short ways away, then turned back around to face her, getting into a stance for the umpteenth time that day. “Now, try again.”

As the two trained, and the other Elements and Starlight did the same, Tempest came up to the Sisters, whom were watching it all from afar.

Without looking to her, Celestia asked as she raised a cup of tea to her lips, “Any news on that new creature from Las Pegasus, yet?”

Tempest shook her head as she came to sit nearby. “No, none. All we know is the strange eye was killed by it.”

“Hmm,” Celestia frowned and furrowed her brows, then took a sip of her tea.

Luna patted her sister’s back with a wing. “Have no fear, sister. Our investigation is slow, but there is still hope.”

Celestia sighed as she put her cup down on it’s saucer. “It is hard to not have fear when we only survive due to the grace of our magic.” She rubbed her forehead with a hoof. “How I let the kingdom become so weak I do not know.”

“Dwelling too much on the past will not help things, Your Majesty,” Tempest interjected. “We must focus on the here and now, and getting them,” she gestured to those training. “Up to speed.”

Celestia sighed once more, looking to the sky. “I suppose you are right.”

‘Still, though… What has our world come to…?’

---

“I’m home,” I said to the empty house as I entered it. It was a useless gesture, I knew that weeks ago, but it...it felt more uncomfortable to be silent about it all.

Shaking my head, I flipped the lever on the wall, closing the entrance to the mines behind me. After that, I made my way to the storeroom. My boots thudded softly against the tiled floor as I did, and soon enough my mind wandered.

‘I’ve been here a month now, and it still hasn’t gotten any easier…’ Reaching the storeroom and flipping the lever to open the door, I walked in and started to put everything I found on my trip away. My body was essentially on autopilot right now, having done this so many times, and my mind thus kept wandering. ‘Especially since I’m a wanted man now.’ I grit my teeth, pausing with my finger resting above the screen of my inventory and the chest’s as the memory flowed into my mind unbidden.

Two weeks ago I’d been out on a trip, and had to deal with the Eye of Cthulu messing shit up in a city full of ponies. I snorted. ‘Ungrateful, bastard ponies, at that.’

Continuing my work and dumping the ten chunks of gold into the gold ore chest a bit forcefully, my thoughts kept chugging along on their train of thought. ‘Only real good thing that came out of that trip was the loot.’

I looked down at the picture of my Silver Sword in my quickbar, noting it’s new effect of 2% bleeding chance, a result of the Lesser Devana Runestone I’d gotten from the Treasure Bag and had put onto it. My Hero Sword had changed too, though not because I had added something to it, despite the glowing blue runic characters now on it’s otherwise nondescript blade. I'd also gotten the Shield of Cthulu, specifically one with the Warding modifier, giving me 4 extra defense. And, to my surprise, I had the option of making it invisible.

Honestly, the fighting style of Witchers didn't incorporate shields, but, to my surprise, after getting the Boss Item, my Training App actually did incorporate ways of using it effectively. Though I still decided on using it only when I truly needed it. Honestly, my dodging was on point enough that I don't think I would use it much at all, especially with this no longer being Terraria. At least, not in most aspects.

My mind swiftly went back to how those armored ponies - guards, likely - had been so obvious in their intent towards me despite me quite obviously fucking saving them from the Eye.

"Fucking ponies..." I groused. "I save them, and they just, they just..."

Sighing, I went back to sorting things and storing them away. The Crimtane and Demonite Ores were a surprisingly good find, though I couldn’t make anything from them without either Shadow Scales or Tissue Samples.

I’d have to use those seeds I’d gotten from the Treasure Bag, and I didn’t like that. Mainly because doing so meant starting to make the Corruption and Crimson appear in this world. Though knowing that I’d gotten both types of seeds and ores meant there was already some present, I still did not like the idea.

It wasn’t something that would help this world prosper, after all. Only I would, arguably, and I wasn’t a selfish guy, I liked to think.

After putting everything away, I walked out of the room and let out a yawn. Pulling out my phone, I checked the time. “Nearly midnight…” Sighing, I looked behind me at the still open door to the storeroom. I was tired, but… I didn’t like the idea of sleeping. Not right now. I had the feeling I’d just have a terrible night again. Grunting, I trudged my way upstairs.

“Might as well farm some monsters…”

Next Chapter: 4.5 - First Transmission Estimated time remaining: 5 Hours, 3 Minutes