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Princesses and Vagabonds

by KitsuneNoYomeiri

Chapters

Prologue: Off to see the wizard...

“Okay, man, we need to get back to work...”

“Alright. Don't worry, I'll be there soon...”

“Just get over here...”

The banter continued, two gamer friends playing a hack-and-slash RPG.

“Alright, finally! Come on, let's go!” the first voice said again.

“I'm ready. Lead the way, fearless leader... hehehe.”

“You're just jealous I'm the one with the... hehe... bitches. Hehehehe...”

“hehehe... I don't think dog summons count...”

“Whatever, you're still just jealous.”

They left the safety of the little port-camp and trekked into the wilderness.

In a place not so far away...

“Come on, we've been idle too long.” A deep voice rumbled toward his companion.

“I'm on my way... And stop acting so mystic! It's kind of annoying...” A slightly higher voice returned.

Walking across the bridge, the man had just grabbed his gear before heading out. As he came closer to the first, his friend's size really came into view. He was, for lack of a better term, a giant. He easily stood at nearly seven feet, head and neck over his own rough six. It fit him, however, his people being brothers of a kind to the Barbarians.

They both wore leather tunics, had an overall similar outfitting. The shorter one wore a thin leather belt, from which hung a small pack on his left hip. He also wore a wide leather baldric, which lay over his left shoulder. It held a slightly-smaller-than-average pack for simple gear they were taking with them into the wilderness.

On his waist, at the back, hung a small scabbard. It held a small dagger of a roughly four inch blade, along with a guard before the hilt. It was hung so that the hilt was to his left, ready for use.

His boots and his gloves were lightly plated with thin steel, and padded well. Etched In the steel were runic symbols, most likely enchanting them with a hidden strength. His hair was pulled back into a short ponytail , bangs cut short above his nearly-glowing light blue eyes. It fit his white, straight hair in a strange way. His Baldric was studded with three small sapphires that matched his eyes, one of the few things not colored a dark gray or black.

He was also somewhat pale, especially for one that seemed to spend so much time outside. Upon his face, only a few minor faded scars marred his appearance.

His larger companion wore much the same, a baldric over his left shoulder as his friend, also studded with three gems. This time, however, they were emeralds; the same green color as his eyes. Long black hair was tied back into a loose ponytail.

Also like his short companion, a larger, by comparison, pack lay on the baldric and rested on his lower back. Directly below the pack were two scabbards, hiding two similarly sized daggers. An unstrung bow and quiver lay across his back the other way, over his right shoulder.

Thinner gloves and less cumbersome boots -compared to his companion- for the most part completed his equipment, save for what was hidden In various pockets and satchels at his waist and outer thighs.

The gloves still had a single thin plate of steel on the back of the hand, also etched with runes. The boots had a small steel plate each on the shin and back of the leg, both etched with similar runes.

The larger of the two spoke to the smaller again, “So, Simon, what do you think we'll find today? So far it's been nothing of real value...”

The smaller one, now known as Simon, replied, “I'm not sure, Beary, but we'd better find something exciting to do soon. All of this monotonous searching has gotten us nowhere...”

The larger one, apparently 'Beary' only sighed, “I told you not to call me that... My name is Bet. Stupid little necromancers...”

Simon only chuckled at his friend's annoyance, “Whatever you say, Bear.”

Bet only muttered a curse in return, to Simon's elation.

In yet another world, still closer than one would think...

“Spike! Where did you put that book of weird spells we found? I just got an idea!” A lavender unicorn called to her assistant.

“Found it! But why do you need it? I thought you said it was just useless showy spells, Twilight.” Spike, the assistant, replied on his way down.

“Because according to this book here,” she motioned with her hoof towards a red book on a table next to her. “We can modify the Farsight spell and turn it into a scrying spell!”

Spike's face scrunched up in confusion, “Scrying?”

Twilight paused, before explaining it with smaller words. “It means that we can see different places or ponies that we've seen before! Maybe even see dreams!”

Spike deadpanned. “I don't see how this is amazing, Twilight...”

Twilight only grinned and took the book from his hands. “Just let me find the spell, and I'll show you!”

Back where our story began...

“..Hey, do you see that light? There, beside that stone... weird. Is it a glitch?”

“What light? I don't see any-- oh. Now I see it.”

“I don't think we should touch it... at all. Let's restart.”

“No! Come on! Maybe it's a secret stash of gear, or a portal to a new level or something!”

The other voice sighed, “ I know I'm going to regret this...”

In the second strange world...

“Hey, Simon! Come over here... I think you'll want to see this.” Bet said, motioning towards a swirling pool of energy.

Walking closer to get a better view, Simon stepped closer and crouched. He asked, “what do you suppose it is?”

“I'm not sure. Perhaps it would be best if we left it alone...” Bet said.

Simon only grinned. “Where's your sense of adventure?” He then reached forward and shoved his hand deep into the pool of energy. He was then pulled in, laughing the entire way.

Bet only sighed. “I know I'm going to regret this...” He then glanced into the pool, saw no sign of his friend... and jumped in.

Finally, back with Twilight and Spike...

Twilight's horn was glowing faintly, her eyes closed and face scrunched up in concentration. She had worked towards the spell for nearly a full minute now. 'Maybe I did it wrong? No! Of course not... I've read this three times!'

She held her concentration for a few more moments, before the spell fizzled out, her horn stopping it's glow. Spike voiced his disappointment, “All that buildup for nothing? You read it right, didn't you Twilight?”

Twilight looked a little hurt, in an effort to hide her disappointment and her embarrassment. “Of course I did... but... maybe the spell just doesn't work?”

Spike took a look at the book the spell was from. Near the bottom, it read: Results may vary; an outcome is not always guaranteed! Less experienced unicorns may require a focus or other artifact to complete the spell. Spike facepalmed and brought it to Twilight's attention, “Twi, I think you should read this here...”

Twilight blushed in embarrassment, “Maybe I did get worked up over nothing... Sorry, Spike.”

Her number-one assistant dismissed the apology, “It's nothing, Twi. We can all make mistakes. Don't let it get to you! Now, what do you say about... a spell to give a mustache! I've always wanted a mustache...”

Twilight chuckled at his enthusiasm, “Alright, but after one more. Then, we'll try yours. Let me find the spell...”

With Simon and Bet...

Both Bet and Simon were bored. They had been falling for about fifteen minutes with nothing but swirling lights around them. Simon, in fact, had almost fallen asleep. Bet tried to meditate; he wasn't very successful, his concentration breaking every few moments.

A few more minutes passed before Simon couldn't take it anymore. “COME ON! I want something to do! Something to destroy! Hell, I'd rather pet a kitten than fall like this any longer!”

Bet only sighed, both at his failed attempts and at Simon's whining. “I'm sure we'll be out of this soon enough... Just give it a bit longer. Things usually go wrong after you can't take it anymore...”

Simon's only answer was to cross his arms and grumble.

With our first two adventurers

“Okay, where the hell are we?”

“Not a clue! Let's keep going!”

“...fine. Let's go...”

“We're off to see th-”

“NO. Don't you DARE start singing that! I've got enough songs stuck in my head as it is! I don't need another one!”

“...spoilsport...”

Back to Bet and Simon...

Still trying to meditate... and still trying to ignore Simon's bored complaining, Bet had to admit... he was going to go insane if this kept up for more than a few minutes longer.

Fortunately - or rather, unfortunately, depending on your point of view - Bet was hit with a strong, searing pain in the back of his skull, slowly crawling forwards. He clenched his teeth at the pain, before uttering a growl that immediately got his friend's attention. A short curse and a few giggles later, Simon had a similar pain. Much to Bet's amusement. Which also immediately ended due to another sharp pain growing, and flooding his perception.

Both experienced strange senses, what... 'appeared' to be memories, flooding their thoughts. As they both writhed in pain, clutching their skulls, they were going through foreign memories at an astonishing rate. They however, all seemed to have a theme.

These were all the most infuriating moments of a person's life. Some force compacted hate, anger, anguish and fear into a twisted emotion, gathered every memory related to it, and shoved it straight into their conscious minds. It was akin to choking, only with just the pain. As moments extended into hours, into days, the pain dulled to a throb.

When it finally stopped, both Bet and Simon were exhausted. And furious. How could humans be so stupid? Why did that little-

The pain came back, twice as hard and twice as fast. More prepared for it, however, it dulled to the throb before the memories assaulted them again. This time, the theme was anything funny that could be found. Every hilarious memory whoever this person (or persons? It was hard to tell) had, came to their minds.

As soon as the memories stopped, the hours going by just as slow as before, both adventurers burst out in a ridiculous belly-laugh, nearly tearing their diaphragms from the force of it. After a few moments, it calmed down, only to double back and return, just as strong.

Simon managed to loose a small phrase, “Hehe, you know what's funnier than 24?”

Bet paused long enough to answer, before his laughter overtook him again. “I don't know, what?”

Simon replied with a childish grin, and said in the weirdest voice he could conjure at the moment, “Twenty-five.”

Both ridiculing parties burst into laughter again, amid the cries of “I don't get it! Hahaha!” and “hehehe, twenty-five...”

Then the pain began, again, their laughter thankfully stopping.

It followed much the same routine as it did both occurrences previous. The pain started in the back of the skull, crawled forward and dulled to a low throb, this time even faster.

Still falling, in their mind's eye they both saw what had to be the most gut-wrenching moments anyone could live through. Deaths of loved ones, sad stories, depressed outcomes, sad pictures... everything, almost simultaneously. No matter how hardened they were, they were forced to experience the emotions as they were parts of the memories.

As soon as the writhing and the memories stopped, both again had the same reaction. They bawled their eyes out, almost sobbing, doing what they could to hold it back. Bet was slightly more successful, having meditated a bit beforehand, but neither cared at the moment. It wasn't a time to be 'manly.'

Among the crying, utterances of “Dashie...” and “oh, Pinkie...” and more, could be heard... though neither fully understood the significance, lost within the sorrow.

To their great relief, the next wave of pain started only as a throb, and faded away almost instantly. They were barely conscious.

This final wave contained the memories of the most blissful, loving moments of these people's lives. The safe feeling of a mother's love, the pride of being strong like dad, even the proud moments of having siblings, cousins, and more.

After hours, days, of memories all at once, they felt at peace... fully content, happy, joyful... safe. Then all fell into darkness...

As they fell, still unconscious, their inner selves worked overtime to sort the information coming in. The pain no longer was there, the message just not being received. Memory after memory came in and experience after experience. It was nearly too much for the minds of the two to handle.

The memories slowed to a trickle, their minds catching up. However, the last thing that was expected was the entrance of another mind. Each of the two got a mind exceedingly similar to their own, though with different inhibitions and very different life experiences.

The 'voice of reason' of the first universe, the 'leader' had come to rest inside the mind of Bet, while his crazy companion had found itself home inside the skull of Simon.

The second set of minds sat in a strange state of half-rest, influencing the thoughts of their hosts but neither grabbing full control.

Then the fall ended.

Strange friends and new places

Waking to a rough start, Bet clenched his head. His skull was throbbing. Simon was still out of it nearby. He was also headless.

Bet then started to freak out, as was perfectly normal. “Oh no... Where ... damnit! Why did he have to touch the stupid portal!?”

Bet then paused. “...how do I know him? What the?! Where am I?” Looking around, he found himself in some sort of stone chamber, rotted wooden doors blocking the exit.

“Let's see... first, we were playing the game, we found a glitch... and he clicked it. That figures.”

His face turned a thoughtful look. “But... wait... these memories... his name is Simon? And he's a Necromancer? ...and he's not dead, is he?”

“Nope!” A very familiar voice sounded nearby. It was a severed head. Simon's severed head.

“...I think something either really bad, or really good has happened, Simon. It's you, right?”

“Yup! It's me! In the flesh! At least, for the most part...”

Bet only sighed, “Well, at least I know what's going on... sort of.”

“Hey, uhm, Bear, What do you think happened?”

“Somehow we've been sucked into our Avatars' bodies. I'd be more amazed if I wasn't right and that I won't end up regretting following you.”

Simon's features morphed into a grin, “Hey, Bear, do you think this counts as an out-of-body experience? Hehehe...”

“I assume you're talking about you being just a severed head... which would be no. The other one, however, would be yes. Because it's not your body.”

“Hmm... I bet.. hehehe...  that we've either taken over for the other conscious in these bodies. For now, at least. Sucks to be them. A lot.”

“Why do you say that? The foreign memories? The fact that after about seven seconds, I knew you were still alive despite being headless?”

“Seven seconds?! You've lost your touch!”

“It happens when you're quite out of it.”

“...Say, Bear. Can you pick me up? I don't like the floor as much anymore.”

Bet grabbed the severed head, sighing again. “Don't you think you should try and re-grow your body? Or something. Maybe. At least try?”

Simon hmmed at that. “You know, this sort of thing surprisingly comes up a lot less than you would think it. At least, in my case. I should practice.”

Bet chuckled. “You don't have any idea of where to start, do you?”

Simon at least had the grace to look a little sheepish. “...maybe.”

Bet grinned, before closing his eyes and turning his head. “You owe me. Pay attention, now. I'm not going to do this again.”

Simon only answered, “To what?”

Soon afterward, he felt Bet's mana surge into what remained of his body, before it forced a new one to grow from the neck down. In a few scant seconds, Simon now had a fresh, new, naked body. And so Bet ceremoniously dropped him onto the unforgiving, cold stone floor. He landed with a grunt.

Bet voiced a new thought, “I wonder where we are?”

Simon cursed, “Horseapples!”

Both paused suddenly. Bet recovered first, his 'human' self dealing with weird things all the time had censored himself somewhat to the unbelievable. “Did you just-”

Simon answered an immediate affirmative. “Yes. And I didn't mean to.”

Bet turned inward, looking through his memories for something significant as Simon stripped his old corpse of the gear. It had to have been awkward.

Bet then found a more recent memory of his 'life' and fortunately it had what he was looking for. The strange carvings and scratches throughout the little chamber looked very familiar, but only now did he actually recognize them. Though that's a bit subjective.

He brought this to Simon's attention, who had fortunately stripped his ex-corpse and finally clothed himself once more. “Come here, look at this. Doesn't this seem familiar to you?” He pointed to a few runes carved into the wall nearby.

Simon squinted, and then stared in astonishment. “Yes, actually. If I remember correctly, this is from-”

Bet cut him off, “My Little Pony, right?”

Simon grinned really big, followed by Bet. “Oh well, I guess you owe me twenty.”

“Don't care, in Equestria.”

The smell then hit Bet's nose. “I think you should... dispose of that corpse there. It's creepy enough to have one of you, but one and almost another... it gives me chills. And not the good ones.”

Simon simply forced the corpse to decay into nothing but bones, and then the bones dried up into a powder, before falling into the floor just a little bit. “I never was good at that last part...”

Bet finished the 'ritual' with a simple wave of his dimly glowing hands, “I got it, don't worry.”

The ground where the corpse had been turned for a short moment into a slurry of lava, before cooling once more into the perfect stone floor.

Simon huffed and muttered, “Showoff...”

“Whatever, we need to find out where we are. Though I'm pretty sure I have an idea. We're most likely in a dungeon of some sort, or some sort of important chamber if those symbols on the floor and ceiling are anything to go by.”

“Just what I was thinking. Canterlot or Everfree?”

Bet nodded, “Everfree. Rotting doorway, and all. Well, let's get going. I'd at least like to get some proof that we're in Equestria before we both go fan crazy.”

Bet kicked the rotted door away, it crumbling into dust at the touch. They walked a ways until they found a winding stone staircase, and then climbed up it as well. It was surprisingly intact for being hundreds of years since it was supposedly inhabited.

The two eventually found their way to a large door, which was slightly open. Slipping through, they found themselves in a courtyard. Of course, it was overgrown with plant life. They continued further until they found the chamber where the Elements were first held at the beginning of the series.

They then proceeded to have a fan-crazy freakout. Who wouldn't?

More than a thousand thoughts must have ran through their heads before they calmed down again. It was because of a few stray thoughts that went horribly wrong.

They thought of the... unnatural possibilities of ending up in one of the fanfic universes instead of the Canon-verse. Cupcakes immediately came to mind following the previous thought.

“Ah, crap. I guess you just had the realization too, Bear?”

Bet muttered, “Stop calling me that... But yes, I did. And I hope to Celestia and Luna as well that we're not in that one.”

Simon agreed.

They left the chamber and walked out into the Everfree, on their way to Ponyville. They needed to know both where they were, and if it were canon, when.

As they walked, they kept their senses open to their surroundings, hoping to find familiar landmarks on the way. They eventually caught sight of something that jogged their memories immediately; a small hut/house in the forest.

Bet stopped Simon before he could begin, grabbing him roughly by the collar. “No puns, no jokes, and I swear to Celestia, if you ask her the famous zebra question, I will stab you.”

Simon wisely zipped it.

They then walked quietly towards the hut thing.

As they got closer, they realized something a bit startling. It was surprisingly small. It couldn't all together be more than seven or eight feet tall.

Bet and Simon shared a look. “Fitting, the name of the show is 'My Little Pony' after all”

They walked up to the hut, to receive greetings from inside. “Unusual, a visitor, in the forest so deep.”

The door opened as Zecora continued her rhyme, “A pony I think this far wouldnt... creep...”

Both Bet and Simon sheepishly waved down towards the small zebra, their sizes absolutely massive.

Zecora's eyes widened considerably as she took in the two. She was heavily startled, and somewhat frozen with fear as the legends from her home came to mind.

Obviously tired of the awkward silence, Simon broke it with a simple compliment. “Nice hut, Zecora. I approve.” He finished with a small thumbs up and a bit of a cheesy grin.

Zecora's mind couldn't take it, so she fell over in a dead faint.

Bet sighed, “Well, I think that went better than expected.”

He picked her up, careful not to startle her awake again. He set her on her bed inside the little hut, Simon following, and both set on the floor nearby.

“Well, now we'll have to wait for her to wake up.” Bet said.

“I hope she's not out of it too long. So, wanna play Tic Tac Toe?” Simon replied.

“I guess so, we can't really do anything else...” Bet sighed again.

Later...

Bet grinned again, “That's ninety three to nothing, what's wrong?”

Simon only grumbled again. “Rematch.”

Stirring came from the bed, along with a groan. “...What happened?” Zecora muttered to herself.

Simon grinned and was about to answer, but a Mean Look from Bet stopped that action short.

Bet then answered, “Well, we came to say hi, but with one look at us, you kinda... fainted.”

Zecora's eyes widened as the memory came back, staring frightened at the two where the voice had come from. She forced herself to calm down, with only a meager effect.

The two awkwardly waved again.

Simon then took the initiative, and began the introductions. “I'm Simon, and this here is my friend. Call him Beary, or Teddy, or whatever you prefer!”

Bet sighed again, turning to Simon. “My name's not Beary, my name's not Teddy, my name is Bet! I swear to Luna, if you keep this up...”

Bet then turned back to Zecora. “My name's Bet, and we're kinda... new here. Similar to you, Zecora. Oh, and sorry for scaring you.”

Zecora paused once more, “It's no trouble. It just reminded me of legends from home... many of which are apparently only half-true.”

They both knew where this was going, and at a nod from Bet, Simon guessed the legends. “I'm guessing that the legends were that fur-less bipedal creatures were innately evil and terrorized everything?”

Zecora looked a little surprised, “Something like that, yes. Though with perhaps longer words. From what I can remember, they looked very much like you do.”

Bet smiled, “That's probably no coincidence. However, we're not... evil,” Simon shrugged a bit, “as your legends say we are. At least, we two are not. I can't speak for the rest of my species.”

Zecora then looked a bit relieved, “That was what I was speaking of, the legends said that they were... less than polite, and destroyed many different things.”

Simon calmed her worries, “Don't worry, we're not here to cause destruction of any kind. We actually don't really know how we got here, to be honest.”

Bet then added, “He's right. But I would like to ask you something... Why aren't you speaking in verse?”

Zecora's face betrayed a bit of suspicion. “I rhyme my words to keep the attention from my looks when I come to Pony settlements. I've just not been to one in a while. And how would you know that?”

Bet then looked a bit sheepish, “Uhm... well... Let's just say that I know much more about you than I should.”

Simon snickered at the implications while Zecora blushed ever so slightly.

Bet glared at Simon before adding, “Not in that way, that's just creepy.”

Zecora looked a little relieved.

Bet then asked a question, “Have you been to Ponyville, yet?”

Zecora shook her head, “No, I haven't, but I was planning to go there soon.”

Bet then turned to Simon, “Then I think this is a bit before Bridle Gossip, or rather, significantly so. We're probably around Trixie's visit, or before it by a bit.”

Simon replied, “That sounds about right. If we assume a few days pass in between... within the week Trixie should arrive.”

At Zecora's questioning look, Bet only said “Don't worry about it, it doesn't really pertain to you.”

He then continued on a different topic. “You're planning to go to town because you don't really have some of the resources you need around here, right? I think we can help with that a bit.”

Zecora nodded, but then asked “How would you do that? Only about half of what I need grows here.”

Bet then motioned to himself and Simon. “We're... unique among our species. I think it would be best to just show you.”

They both stood, Bet crouching significantly to not knock anything over. They went back out the door and walked a ways away from the hut on the opposite direction of the path. Zecora followed, staying a bit behind. They reached a bit of a clearing within sight of the Hut, and Bet reached into his pouch. He withdrew a few small seeds.

Bet's foot glowed green. He stomped once, causing the clearing's plant life to erode away. He then stomped again, foot now glowing a light brown, causing a small rectangular outline to appear. He then walked into the outline and stomped a third time, causing the dirt and stone to mostly dissolve into loose soil. Taking the seeds, he dropped a few in rows along one side of the rectangle and then placed his hand on the ground in the center. Then they glowed as his foot had.

The rectangular outline jumped up into a stone fence, about three feet high. There was a space facing the hut left open.

As the dirt rose up, it turned molten for a sort few moments before solidifying again into a solid material.

Finally, the places he had dropped the seeds grew into sprouts. After a full minute, the plants had begun to form different foods. Some of the sprouts grew into corn, others into tomatoes and the rest into other various vegetables.

He had created a vegetable garden for Zecora.

He asked Zecora for any preferences. “Zecora, Do you have any special need for any herbs? I should be able to grow them as well.”

Breaking Zecora out of her surprised stare, she walked over and gave him a small list of herbs and flowers that she used in her medicines, that the forest unfortunately didn't have a significant supply of.

He then repeated the process, though it took longer to change the seeds from their 'cousins' into the plants Zecora was looking for.

Simon had nearly fallen asleep standing up.

At Bet's sharp whistle, he started awake and walked over.

Simon then reached in his own pouch, and removed a smaller pouch, tied with a string that was filled with a powder. Giving it to Zecora, he explained, “This is a special bonemeal mix I used to make for money before I was more well known in our world. It easily helps plants grow, being a great fertilizer. It usually increases the bounty of food-producing plants and can help the effects of herbs become stronger. It should also help them both grow faster. I guess we're both lucky I made some before we left, huh?

“Just remember not to give too much. This should help you start your little garden here.”

Zecora was speechless. She had to express her thanks somehow. “...I don't know what to say. It's been so long since I've received such kindness since leaving my home. I... I can't thank you enough. I was always feared because of my appearance being so unique here. ”

Bet then joined the conversation, having completed the growth he could manage using his Mana. “It was no trouble at all. We're happy to help, no matter our eccentric appearances. Though do us one favor. When you go to Ponyville, don't tell anyone about us, alright? We want to keep our presence a secret for a while longer. This may help you need to go to town less, but you'll still need to go every now and then for the things that just won't grow here.”

Zecora smiled. “Thanks for the... wonderful gift. I wish you good luck on your quest then, Bet. Simon. I do hope I see you again soon. It's nice not being shunned for a different appearance. Thank again.”

Bet then turned to Simon, “Come on. We've got to go.” Turning back, they both waved. “It was no problem at all. We'll visit again soon! Don't worry about us.”

They then turned and left, walking down the road towards town.

First impressions are hard

On the way to town, an idea crossed Bet's mind. “Hey, Simon... should I refresh your Japanese so we can have privacy among others?”

Simon considered it, “Hmm, I think so. It would make it easier to hide secrets... why not? Let's go for it.”

Bet then sighed, and began his lesson. “Alright, now since we're not going to be reading or writing this anytime soon, I don't think that will be the first thing I'll teach you. Lets jump straight into vocabulary, so you'll have things to talk about. Ready? Here we go. 'uma' is horse, 'inu' is dog, 'neko' is cat...”

They continued with the lesson as they walked, though they slowed down their pace considerably.

Simon took notes as he said, “There's no way in Tartarus I'm soul-melding with you over a small thing like a language.”

Bet's expression morphed into one of great relief, “Thank Celestia! That would be creepier than the time... better not finish that thought.”

”He can be taught...” Simon muttered

“I still have sharp hearing, you know” Bet replied, with another smack to his head.

”Ow.” Simon raised an eyebrow and thought. 'can you hear this, sahib?' sarcastically.

Bet smacked him again, “Yes.”

”Za?” Simon jotted down some notes. “Infusion of telepath soul success. Will wait for cryomancer soul.”

“What are you talking about? I didn't read your mind, idiot. I read your body language. Druid, remember?” Bet tripped him, this time. “There's also that we've been traveling together for longer than both of us could remember otherwise.”

Simon caught himself, and flipped back upright with one hand. “Hmm, pity. I was hoping that one would stick.”

“It probably did, but with the way my skills work, It's hard for them to randomly happen. And it's not like I can practice telepathy...”

“That's what makes these experiments fun. The thrill of not being caught and all that.”

“Nice form on the flip by the way. You should probably watch out for the-” Bet was too late.

Simon walked into a tree.

“Great, now you did it. You just bumped into Fluttershy. Now apologize.”

“I would, except she seems to have fainted. Cute.”

Bet picked her up gently, being careful of the wings. He then brought her inside, and with a little coaxing (and maybe a little bribery) he got Angel to hush up about the ordeal. That bunny really does love carrots.

They then left and continued their way towards Ponyville.

“So, any idea when we are?” Simon asked

“It has to be before Zecora's visit, before Bridle Gossip; she said so herself. At least, that she's not visited the town. She's also not rhyming yet, which means she's probably not been around a significant number of ponies for a while.” He put on a thoughtful expression. “Hmm... So... it depends on Trixie's appearance, and a few other factors. Perhaps if there's been strange magic from Twi?”

”There's always strange magic from Twi.” Simon cheekily commented.

Bet conceded his point, “True, but you know what I mean. Let me think on the order...” He stopped walking. “It was before Look Before You Sleep, the sleepover episode, before Bridle Gossip, wasn't it? And before that... the one with the dragon?”

Simon summoned a golem and a giant shadow, with a palanquin to ride. “Any idea how to blend in, nature boy?”

Bet turned, “Blend in with what..?”

“The scenery, the residents. Pinkie, if you have to.”

“Well, I don't know enough about...” Bet then turned and kicked the golem back into dust, and then blasted the shadow with a burst of flame, banishing it. “Don't do that, they could probably detect us now that we're out of Everfree.”

“We are two bipeds in a world of quadrupeds. The residents of Ponyville are always two steps away from torch mode. Relax, I can be stealthy if I need to be.”

“Well, you can be dead silent when you want to... hehehe.”

Simon smacked the back of his head. Or rather, would have if it weren't for the magical contract. So he settled for a deadpan.

“Yeah, I know. Best get it out of the way now, eh? Besides... you're just jealous I thought of it first.” He announced with a victorious grin.

Simon sighed, “Yup.” He then turned to the palanquin, “I notice you left the carriage.”

Bet's expression turned contemplative. “Hmm... the carriage... could have it's uses in a few moments, but we're not going to use it to right into town. From what we've seen, the ponies are quite small. Fluttershy is proof of this; you yourself could probably carry her as if she weighed no more than your pack.”

Simon's face fell. “Yeah, I know... small ponies, large carriage.” His face then brightened, “I know! We could claim to be foreign dignitaries!”

“We need to be stealthy until we can actually meet the mane six, or the princesses. So we're not going to use it after all.” His face then formed a grin, “We can, however, spend some time now to design it. We have the time, and it's not like we're in a real hurry.”

Simon paused, a worried look on his face. “...You think the princesses have noticed us yet?”

Bet's expression then morphed into one of not so little fear, similar to Simon's. “Banish it... now.” Simon did so, snapping his fingers as the apparition returned to it's normal form; a small bone.

Simon chuckled, the fear replaced with a bit of mirth. “Just in case be have to bribe Winona, too.”

Bet chuckled as well, before he tapped the ground lightly. A bit of the dirt under the bone popped up, launching the bone into the air to be caught in Bet's left hand. He then turned and tossed it to Simon, “And this is yours, I believe?” The patch of dirt fell back into the flat earth, evidence of the disturbance all but gone.

Simon slid the bone up the sleeve of his tunic, “Do be careful. I have no idea just what the effects of the realm will have on my art. Besides, you don't see me plucking flowers so if you would be so kind, handle my components gently.”

Bet held a straight face. “Noted.” It then turned into a large grin, “But if you really believe your creations are so flimsy as to not be able to take but a small tap...”

Simon deadpanned, “Touche.” He then continued, “Golem and shadow bone construction I figure won't cause anything too massive. That was a test run, and you know it!”

“That may be true, but the strange magics we use could end up being vastly different and easily noticeable to the unicorns in Ponyville, as comparably few as there are.” Bet then hardened his expression. “Not to mention... our simplest spells can be very, very destructive. Remember that time you accidentally overcharged that Teeth spell?”

They both shivered at the memory. “Good times.”

Bet sighed, again, “Back to what I was saying... I think we're some time before Boast Busters, if we don't see anything involving Trixie for a while.”

Simon only said “All I need to know for when is whether or not the CMC has been formed.” Simon then had an idea, “Maybe we can get Trixie to stick around? Though, you'll probably be the one performing that manipulation... I'm not a people person.”

Bet nodded, “I'll see what I can do.”

They continued on to the town, somehow still not actually there. Bet commented offhandedly, “You know... I can't really say which memories belong to whom, now that I think about it. If we're lucky, we'll-” He fell to a knee, clutching his head.

Simon spoke, “Beary? What are you do-” He stopped, grabbing his own.

After a moment, Bet stood, panting. “What..? Where are we?”

Simon shook his head, “Don't know. But I have a feeling we'll find out soon.”

In the back of their minds, they both heard a voice. Not the same voice, mind you, but a voice nonetheless. The voices introduced themselves, to a degree, and provided a bit of information on where they were.

Simon sighed, “Did you catch... any of that?”

Bet shook his head, “Not much. One moment.” He closed his eyes, to open them a little bit later. “I think I've got most of it; sharing those memories hurts...”

Simon grinned, “Hey! Maybe we can talk to them as we go?”

Bet nodded, “It's the best we can do. They're the ones with the plan, anyway...”

Simon chuckled, “Yours is, at least.”

They continued their walk towards Ponyville, as the voices in their heads guided them along the way. They're not crazy yet.

As they finally reached the town, they so happened to have the great luck of being sighted by Pinkie Pie. Or the horrible luck, depending on who you are.

Nonetheless, once she caught sight of the two of them, she (teleported) ran over to them and began with the breathless greeting of those who need not breathe. “GAAAAAAAAAAAASP! You must be new here, because I've never seen anything like you! And I know EVERYPONY here in Ponyville!”

She gasped again, somehow deeper. Bet assumed it was really just a deep breath. She then continued with her unusual greeting, “and THAT means we get to have a PARTAY!”

Fortunately, we were only just out of earshot of the actual square, so only Pinkie had actually noticed us. She suddenly got a weird look on her face, before she went still.

Simon only whispered to himself, “I swear, I didn't do it...”

Pinkie then moved a hoof to her chin, a thoughtful expression forming as she puzzled out the answer to the latest riddle only she heard. Her eyes then bulged out, before she exclaimed, “Ooh! Are you friends of Wade? You look a bit like Wade. But you aren't wearing the jumpsuit! What's your favorite color? Season? Pastry!?”

Simon mirrored what used to be Pinkie's thoughtful expression, before answering, “Grey, Winter, and Danish... but muffins are good too. Ooh! And...” The world seemed to slow in it's spinning, time screeching to a silent halt, as the next word left his lips. “Cupcakes.”

Pinkie's hair fell flat. This caused a start from Bet in the form of him kicking Simon - Hard - back the way they came. Pinkie's hair then poofed back up into the unkempt puffball she's known for. As soon as she grinned, they could all hear “Like a boss!” from somewhere. After Simon's crash landing, causing yet another phrase to be heard, “My cabbages!” he then ran back to the group.

He then knelt at the Pink pony's hooves, arms fully outstretched. She had mixed feelings, somewhere between giddy and confused.

Simon then glared with one eye up at Bet, “Beary, don't be rude. Answer the kind pony's questions.”

Bet kicked Simon again, though nowhere near as hard, and did so. “Hmm, I guess it would probably be green, or blue as my favorite color. I love the late fall/early winter time. And... I'm actually not one for pastries. Maybe chocolate cornets?” He then grabbed Simon by his tunic's collar, tossed him over his shoulder and pony-napped Pinkie away onto his other. Bet ran out of the open, wondering how nopony had seen them yet.

As Pinkie cheered at the ride, and Simon only tried to strike a pose (he wasn't all that successful) Bet then found a decent enough place to 'hide' for the moment. He unceremoniously dropped Simon, complete with annoyed protests, “Hey!” and set down Pinkie a little gentler.

Bet took the attention of Pinkie and Simon, as difficult as it was, and forced them to calm down. “Alright, Pinkie Pie, we need-”

“Just Pinkie, please.”

“Alright... Pinkie, we need to-

“Why not go with 'Pi'?”

“Shut up, Simon. Don't give her ideas. Not yet, anyway.”

Pinkie giggled.

“Alright, I'm Simon,” He touched his nose with his index finger, “And he's Beary.”

“...I'm tempted to give up. At least you got the introduction thing right...” Bet then turned to face Pinkie. “My name's Bet, but you'll probably end up with a nickname for me sooner or later, and I really don't care at this point.”

Simon whispered in her ear, “Call him teddy, or ted. I'll bake you a cake?”

“There's been enough crazy lately. Anyways, I've just been wanting to ask you something- or rather, we've been wanting to ask. Do you know where Carousel Boutique is, by any chance? And no, we can't have a party as much as both of you want one.”

Both Pinkie and Simon's faces fell in near-perfect unison, before Pinkie brightened again. “Oh, that's easy, you just go around the corner here, take another left and it's across the street!”

Bet then consoled Pinkie. “Don't worry, after we meet everypony, we can have a party. If you're quiet for now. Pinkie Promise.”

Pinkie then did the little ritual, “Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!”

Simon and Bet then said their momentary sayonaras, and left to find Carousel Boutique. With help from Simon to keep them more or less invisible. The proverbial back alleys and shadowy shortcuts, of course, helped.

Along the way, however, they were having a most interesting of conversations. It began with Bet's question, “How do you think we should approach this? Pinkie was pretty straightforward... for Pinkie. I don't know how exactly Rarity will take this.”

“What about Sweetie Belle? We're before the CMC is formed, so...”

“You have a point. If she's at home, we'll probably have to deal with a super overprotective Rar. That doesn't leave me with a pretty picture.”

“What about... well, Rar is the element of Generosity, so maybe that nature will have her not buck first ask questions later?”

“...”

“Just as I said it, yup.”

“Hmm... well... one look at your outfit, and she'll probably forget we're the rough equivalent to aliens”

“What's wrong with the way I look!?”

“...you know, I've just realized.”

“Hmm?”

“We're wearing animal skin.”

Simon's answer was to take the bone he had up his sleeve, morph it into a plank and slam his head against it. “Nature boy just now realized we're wearing animal skin.”

“I guess you don't get it, Simon. Ponies are herbivores; the only thing remotely carnivore here would be Opal, Owlicious or maybe Spike.”

“Oh, no, I realize it. I'm just stunned that it took you so long.”

“Let me put this in simple terms. We're wearing animal skin. We're going to interact with children's show level ponies. I don't think this will be well received.”

“I'm still shocked that the 'one with nature' just now realized he's wearing nature. And the nature of that nature.”

“I've long known that leather is animal skin, you idiot! That's not my realization! You're thicker than... than... Applejack's Accent!”

Long in the distance, the words could be heard, “Ah Ain't Got No Accent!”

“...How do they bloody do that?”

“...I think we should really have payed more attention to our surroundings. We've been hiding out behind the Boutique for a while now. I think we've been noticed.”

Simon closed his eyes, “Please let it be Pinkie again, please let it be Pinkie...” He turned, opened his eyes, and the first thing he saw was Sweetie Belle, in stunned silence. “Crud.”

Thinking quickly, Simon waved his hand, “This is just a daydream...”

She screamed.

Bet quickly opened his palm, glowing a bright green, and turned it towards Sweetie Belle. Her mane then grew and wrapped around her muzzle, silencing her. He turned to Simon, “Did you really think the hand-waving would work?”

“Was worth a shot.”

Sweetie's eyes were still fraught with fear, she turned and tried to run, only for vines and roots to come out of the ground and catch her.

Bet's eyes glowed a deep blue, as he stared into hers. It seemed to calm her enough so that she wasn't thrashing, but she was still scared, as evident from her eyes trying to dart back and forth.

“Huh. Wind-telepathy. Thoughts flowing from one mind to another... cool.”

Bet glared at him, before correcting him. “No, just Empathy. Telepathy is a lot more difficult.”

“Same concept for you.”

Bet sighed, before asking Simon a quick question. “Do you still remember the lessons I gave you earlier?”

Simon replied, “Ossu.” (yes sir)

Bet then switched to the language that he had been teaching Simon, as the man in question distracted Sweetie with finger and shadow puppets. “I think we should give her a quick explanation, don't you?”

Simon's brow knotted, “Slow down. I'm not good at this you are. But yes, soon we figure one out.”

Bet then said, “How about an abridged, cut-to-the-chase version of what really happened?”

Simon thought on it a moment, before nodding. “Go for it. Maybe better off telling her we know Pinkie?”

Bet's reply was simple, “But does she know Pinkie?”

Simon paused, “Eh, everyone knows Pink One... if the pink one has to say. Maybe not as good as us, so probably won't work, but... you know.”

“You should practice more. You suck at this.” Bet signed, returning to English. “Alright, Sweetie Belle. Yes, we know who you are... wow, that sounded a lot less creepy in my head.”

“You think?”

Bet shook his head, “Anyway... We're kinda lost here ourselves, and we're looking for help. We don't really mean to hurt you, or anyone else, in any way, shape, or form. Unless we really need to, and Simon isn't included in this.”

Simon nodded throughout the explanation, before he caught himself, “Hay!”

Sweetie tried to giggle, but the mane-muzzle stopped her.

“Hehe, the puppets sold it!” Simon muttered to himself with a small smirk.

“Anyway... we were kinda dropped into the Everfree Forest a while ago, and we've only just come to town. We met with Pinkie on the way in, and had an... interesting conversation. Anyways, we're not really here to cause trouble. I'm Bet, and he's Simon, by the way.”

Simon then took the initiative, “Now, if you promise not to scream, I'll get Beary here to undo his magic.” At her nod, Simon's fingers glowed a dark, churning green. “It'll shorten your mane, but hopefully nothing too bad.”

Before he could act, however, Bet beat him to the punch. And punched him in the face. “Don't you know a girl's-or in this case, a pony's mane is their life?”

“How you know that with such fierce pride, I'll never know.”

Bet deadpanned. “I'm sure you won't, you blind little-”

“..But with it this long, she'll end up tripping herself, the poor thing.”

“Allow me to fix that,” Bet answered, his hands glowing the same green as before. With a wave of his hands, the part of her mane that kept her silent unraveled and shrunk back into place, just as it were before his manipulations. Following suit, the vines and roots fell back into the ground, leaving no trace that they were there at all. Bet then turned back to Simon, “And that's how you do it.”

Simon's disbelief was almost palpable. “You made it grow... in reverse. Reaper, you love screwing with the natural order.”

“No, I just bend the rules. It was his idea.”

Now that Sweetie had been released, and all forms of distraction removed, it occurred to her once more what happened. So she took the only path left.

Once more, she screamed.

Bet only looked to Simon, “We're boned, aren't we?”

Simon glared back, “What's that supposed to mean?

Unfortunately, Bet's answer was cut off by a flying kick to Simon's skull, knocking him hard into the side of the Boutique.

Simon could only mutter a low “Ow...”

Bet turned to see what happened, only to see Rarity's cutie mark - three blue diamonds - before he too was bucked. He didn't really fly, but it did knock him off his feet.

Bet grimaced and muttered a small apology before both his hands began to glow the light green seen before. All of a sudden, vines appeared from a small pocket in Bet's gear, before morphing into a tight seaweed wrap, covering Rarity from head to hoof. The only things left uncovered were her eyes.

Bet then moved his attention to Sweetie, following a similar process of wrapping her in vines, once more leaving just her head uncovered, but still muzzled.

Simon then pried his face from the wall of the Boutique, there being a bit of structural damage done due to the impact. As he fell from the wall back onto his feet, he turned to Bet. “Oi, Beary, want me to fix the hole?”

“We'll worry about that later. Summon your prison, add the runes. I can't hold her magic back like this much longer...” He grit his teeth, “Hurry! This isn't easy, you know!”

Simon sighed, hands glowing gray, “As you wish.” Spectral bones appeared from the ground around Rarity, covered in dimly glowing runes. “There, done.”

Bet relaxed, allowing the vines to climb out of his pocket and embed themselves in the ground, keeping the two unicorns still. He then stood up again, this time to his full back-straight height rather than his hunch from earlier. The fear in both ponies' eyes was easily visible, Rarity more so than Sweetie.

Simon sighed, then facepalmed, “Well... This first impression is down the hole.”


Prelude To A Quest

Simon called to Bet, “You can cool the alpha-male behavior, Beary. If either of them start crying, contract be damned!”

Bet's expression softened. He then sighed, “Sorry about this, Rarity, Sweetie Belle. We're not here to hurt you.”

Simon then walked nearby, no longer hanging out beside the wall. He then placed his hands behind his head, and grabbed onto what looked like another ghostly bone, this time a skull. He pulled it free, examining it for damage, before replacing it. “I must say, you've got a mean kick.”

Bet chuckled at both Simon's antics and at their astonished faces. “Don't worry about him, he's just... a little off in the head. Anyways, we've been dropped into your world somewhere in the Everfree Forest, and we really just wanted to see if we could find a civilization. You wouldn't happen to know one, would you?”

Their eyes were still showing their fear, though it had dulled significantly. Bet sighed again, “I hate doing this...” His eyes glowed the same blue as before, as he stared deep into Rarity's eyes. Her muscles unclenched, her eyes lost the scared look and she began to relax, much like Sweetie had done before. He then repeated the process with Sweetie, taking much less time.

“Now that you've calmed down... I think introductions are in order. I'm Bet, and he,” Bet pointed towards the necromancer, “Is Simon.”

Simon then not-so-quietly whispered towards the two trapped ponies, “Call him Beary.”

Bet switched back to Japanese, “Same as with SB?”

Simon nodded.

Bet then continued his explanation. “We're not here to hurt anyone, and we're trying to stay inconspicuous for as long as we can. Now, I'm going to let you go, as long as you promise not to scream, or fight, or anything and let us calmly discuss this. Do you agree?”

Both ponies nodded to the best of their ability.

Bet then nodded to Simon, who was taking some notes. At the nod, Simon then released the bone prison, and Bet had his vines and such retract and climb back into his pocket.

Immediately afterward, Rarity bucked Simon in the chest, back into the wall of the boutique.

Simon crashed harder into the wall this time, “Ow.”

He picked himself up again, “Not the worst I've been hit by a unicorn... but pretty close.” Bet gave him a curious look. “What? I had a life before you, ya' know.”

Bet only muttered, “If you can call it that...” He then addressed the sibling unicorns. “I think we'd best take this inside, yes?” At the three questioning looks, he added, “Don't worry, I'll fit. Probably.”

They went around to the back of the Boutique, and Bet grimaced at the small door. Simon's expression mirrored one of an 'Aha!' moment, before he creaked a little bit. He then shrunk down to the rough height of a toddler, however with saggy skin.

Bet then smacked him again, forcing him to revert to normal. “Don't do that, that's creepy. We're all lucky it didn't mess with your clothes like it could have.”

A small twinkle appeared in Rarity's eye, but it was gone before anyone could notice.

Simon huffed, “The carnival folks love that trick!” he said indignantly. He then continued, “So, how are we getting in?”

Bet chuckled, “You can crouch, and I can crawl. I think that will do it.”

Simon then added his two bits, “Or you can do what you've been doing all day... and grow the building.”

Rarity then kicked Simon again.

Bet chuckled once more at his misery, “Therapeutic, isn't it?”

Rarity smiled, “Quite.”

Simon then crouched low, normally this time, and walked through the doorway. He then stood in the work room that also functioned as the first floor, in a bit of a slouch. “Doubt you're gonna fit in here, Beary.”

Bet knelt down on one knee to see the rough height of the room. He then blanched, as he wouldn't be able to fit comfortably at all. “I hate doing this..” he muttered, glowing green hands touching. His entire form glowed, and his stature visibly shrunk down almost an entire foot; he was now roughly Simon's height.

Simon then had a sudden realization, “Oh for Reaper's sake, we've probably already been detected!”

Bet only muttered back, “Don't care at this point... ow. I don't like this form at all.”

Both Rarity and Sweetie Belle stood astonished at his sudden change in size. Bet followed Simon's example, crouching through the doorway and slouching in the work room.

Simon voiced his complaints, “Sure, I do it and people get freaked out, but he does it and it's Top o' the morning.”

Bet then grinned, “It's because I'm better at this than you. And that was pretty creepy, what you did back there.”

Rarity cleared her throat to gather their attention. “I do believe that we've began with a bit of a rough start. I say we re-do our introductions, yes?”

Simon summoned another bone prison with another gray-glowing finger snap, though it was more floaty and didn't damage anything.

Bet smacked him, and it was gone.

Bet nodded, “I agree. I'm Bet, and he's Simon. And we of course know your names, Rarity and little sister Sweetie Belle.”

Simon then added, “We're from the future. We're Pinkie's friends.”

Bet smacked Simon again, “No, we're not from the future. But we are recently friends of Pinkie.”

Simon glared at Bet, “And the truth is more belief, is it?”

Bet only sighed, “We'll cross- or in your case, burn- that bridge when we come to it. Until then, go with what I say.”

Simon then pointed at Rarity, while Sweetie was off coloring something. “Well, we're here, aren't we?”

Bet continued the explanation, “As I was saying... we've been dropped into the Everfree Forest somehow, no idea how we got here from our home... world? Universe? and We're kinda... looking around.”

The gleam in Rarity's eyes returned.

Simon held his hands up in surrender, “You're explaining the fur.”

Rarity let loose a flurry of questions relating to the fashions of our 'home' which of course, Simon couldn't care less (save for his off comments regarding the odd lack of bones in the designs) and Bet was left with answering what he could. Which wasn't much, as neither life had been really interested in Fashion more than the 'what works, works' function over form.

During the very one-sided conversation, Simon only explained a bit to, what end the end, would be himself. “Robes are quite stylish in winter, mostly. Unless the magi. But I won't complain.” His tone dissolved into muttered complaints. “Why couldn't I have lost a card game with one of them instead of the Jolly Green Giant here...”

Luckily for Bet, someone had come to his rescue during the torrent of questions. Opalescence had walked into the room, which gave Bet an excuse to 'pull a Simon' and distract himself from Rarity and go pet the kitty. “Hello there, Opal.”

The cat meowed in response.

Bet replied, “What do you mean how do I know your name?”

The cat appeared startled, before meowing again.

“Yes, I can understand you. Why?”

Opal meowed again.

“I suppose that makes sense, but... should I really tell her that? She might not take it well.”

Simon walked over to pet Opal, only to get clawed for his troubles. He then muttered darkly, “Use me as a scratching post, and we'll have words...”

Then Opal meowed once more.

“Alright, I'll say it.” Bet turned to Rarity, “Opal here doesn't like the food you give her – a bit too salty, and she wants more petting. And that you should be... well, give Sweetie more attention than you do.”

Rarity didn't know whether to facehoof or be offended. So she settled for a little bit of both. “I.. What do you mean give Sweetie more attention? She's my sister! Of course I give her lots of attention!”

Simon added his two bits again. “I wouldn't bother with the food and the petting. Cats are stubborn, and prideful... a lot like fashion models, from what I've heard.” He got another smack for his troubles. He then sighed, “Even when I'm trying to be genuinely helpful, I get smacked.”

Opal meowed again, and Bet translated. “You know what I'm talking about.”

Bet then spoke for himself, “I think you both do. But Opal, I don't think you should be so... I think blunt would fit best here. And Rarity, I know you take Sweetie for granted. It's as clear as day... at least to me. I can read others well.”

Simon then spoke up. “I can give her a vision of what-if." He then gave a message from his Fey, "And what happened prime directive-ing stay, Beary?”

Bet relayed an answer, “We'll keep the changes to a minimum. Don't worry, things shouldn't change too much. And keep practicing. Your grammar is horrible.” He then turned to Rarity, “Sorry for the secrecy, dear... That one made me feel older than I am.”

Simon then said, “Well, miss Rarity, It's been... interesting, but we really must be going...”

The gleam in Rarity's eyes returned, full blown. Simon then muttered, “Reaper, ease our passing...”

“You simply must let me make you some clothes! You must, you must you must! If for nothing else, than as an apology for the misunderstanding!” Rarity pleaded.

Bet couldn't take it and gave in. He had one condition, “Nothing frou-frou.” he then grabbed Simon before he could escape. “And him first.”

Later...

Bet and Simon stumbled out of the back door to the Boutique. They were wearing a rough equivalent to a tux, which was strange enough. The only thing that remained untouched was the now-fuller leather pack across their back.

Bet managed to voice his concern first. “...What happened?”

Simon then followed it up. “I'm not sure... but I think she gave me a repair kit of some sort. Think there's anything to that?”

“Probably the wall. Don't worry, I got it.”

His left hand glowed a red, and his right hand a dull brown. He cupped his hands over the cracked wall, and thanks to his magic the wall sealed itself back together, unblemished as if it never touched Simon's face.

Simon voiced his thanks, “I've been thinking. And I think the safest destination for our next stop would be the farm. We have no personal gauge to mark Twi, you're not fireproof either... though it is a trek. And since RD's in the clouds...”

And the moment the words left his lips, a scream was heard from above.

Simon sighed, and held out his arms in an effort to catch Rainbow.

And of course, he missed just enough that he broke her fall with his face and shoulders rather than his arms. He then let out an “ow.” which was followed up by a muffled “Normally, this wouldn't be too bad.”

Bet stifled a curse, “This is too soon!”

Rainbow Dash was coming to, unfortunately for our two mismatched heroes. “uwah?”

Simon then muttered, “Hey, he's the hero; I'm just the patsy.” He sat up as Bet stole Dash's attention.

Bet called to Dash, “You okay? That was a bit of a hard landing there.”

She stood on shaky legs, hearing a perverted chuckle in the back of her mind. Or maybe it was behind her? She shook her head again.

Simon then commented, “Rainbow Dash always dresses in style.”

Bet facepalmed, as Rainbow Dash turned to where she heard her name, but not before she bucked out behind her on some sort of instinct.

Her vision's blur dimmed as Simon came into view. She was, like the other ponies, struck speechless. He gripped the back of his head, pulling out his skull as he did before. “Ooh, bruising. Definite concussion. Congrats, you did better than Rarity.” He then replaced the skull.

Thinking quickly, with a glance toward Bet, he then looked up and pointed, “No way! It's Spitfire!”

Rainbow Dash and her naïve fan loyalty forced her to turn in the direction Simon pointed to. “Where, WHERE!?”

Simon then grabbed something from his pouch, and tossed it to the ground as he stood up. It exploded in a thick cloud of smoke. A twinge pointed him towards Bet's location, before they both ran like Nightmare Moon was on their heels, in the general direction of Sweet Apple Acres.

Luckily enough, with Rainbow still a little loopy from the crash, and slowed with the smokebomb, they made it out of sight fast enough that Dash couldn't follow.

When the Acres were in sight, they both stopped to catch their breath. Simon, being almost dead, had an unnatural advantage in that aspect. “Out of curiosity, while you catch your breath, could you, say, survive a mule kick from... say, Diablo?”

At Bet's questioning look, he continued, “History: Fluttershy fainted, Pinkie was Pinkie, Rarity, need I say more, and Rainbow almost caved in my skull. So using that logic, either Big Mac or AJ is going to kick one – if not both – of us before we can get them to try reason.”

Bet then said “I could probably take a kick, but not necessarily unscathed. I'd heal, though.” He then had another thought. “Wait, unprepared or could I brace for it?”

Simon then said, “Probably unprepared, but an expected eventuality.” He then continued, “From prior knowledge, earth ponies are roughly as strong as the Northern Barbarians from 'home' or, rather, respectively. Special abilities currently unknown.”

Bet voiced his thoughts, “Probably something to do with the earth.” He then sighed, “Well, I know we're not ready for this, but are you ready to get mauled?”

Simon chuckled, “It's what I live for,” he said sarcastically. He then continued with, “You may be worrying here, but next stop is one of three beings I suspect can actually disintegrate me.”

Bet then said, “Then let's go.” and began his trek, Simon in tow.

As they walked, Simon had another thought. Scary, right? “Hey, Beary... not that I'm worried, but what happens if we and the fey don't leave? What if we just live here? No strife, no demons, or, at least adorable ones... sounds like a paradise for you. Heh, a death priest as a farmer.”

“You're a priest?”

“Just a title. What about you?”

“Hmm... I probably wouldn't mind. I'll miss my family back home, but... most of the world I knew were pricks, anyway. You?”

“Me? Uhm... well... I'm Death's hand among the living. Best I can hope for at this point is a pat on the head and oblivion.” He then shook his head, “Stupid Fey making me philosophical. Messing with my head, these two sets of memories are. The worst part is I can't actually remember his.”

Bet then said, “I can't help but feel we should be more aware of our surroundings.”

Simon questioned him, “Why do you say that?”

Bet stopped walking, looking around nearby. “Just a hunch.” They were surrounded by apple trees.

Simon paused, “...Ah, I see what you mean.” He shivered, “Great, can you feel that? It's a vein of life force going through the trees. I really shouldn't be this close.”

Bet deadpanned, “I know what it is, moron. I'm the one that gave you it's real name, though I should thank you for not using it.”

Simon continued his thought, “Think they know we're here yet?”

“Probably. But just to be sure...” He reached up and went to pluck an apple from one of the trees.

“Ya touch those apples, and I'll buck ya to Manehattan!”

“Eeyup.”

Simon muttered, “They're making the innuendo too easy...”

If AJ heard it, she hid her reaction well. “Now, State yer name and business and this here won't turn ugly.”

Bet took the initiative before Simon got them killed. “I'm Bet, and this is Simon.” He pointed to the waving, strange little (but still pretty huge) man. “And we're... currently unemployed. Why do you ask?” he added at the behest of his Fey.

Applejack was caught flatfooted, or, uhm, flathooved. “uhm, I.. what?”

Luckily for her, Mac knew the game. “She meant, why are ya here?”

Simon grinned, “Because I wanted a near-me experience for some reason.”

Bet then smacked Simon, yet again. “We're here looking to meet you two, actually. And perhaps Granny Smith and Apple Bloom too, if it's alright with you?”

Simon, taking a break from warily eying the trees, smacked Bet's forehead – he could barely reach, and most everywhere else wouldn't really be noticed - “Great, now we're spies. Good job, Beary.”

Applejack studied Simon with a wary eye, “What's wrong with him? And why's he lookin' at our apple trees funny?”

Bet apologized on Simon's behalf, “Sorry, he's recently had a pretty bad concussion.”

Simon then answered her question. “You want a list?” He ignored Bet's smack. “Your trees are overabundant with life. I am one who balances the beyond, the line between, or if you prefer, I serve the Gray Mare. Life veins, or Creator's Breath, zaps the strength of one such as myself, and if I use my Art, they'll have to call this place Sweet Crater Acres. So I'm a little nervous.” At Bet's look, he continued. “What? Lying to her isn't going to do anything.”

Bet then asked, “Gray Mare?”

“Long story.”

Applejack was more than a little startled by the revelation. Macintosh took it as you'd expect him to, gracefully with not even a full word answer.

Simon straightened himself out, and gave Applejack a glance. “Don't worry, as long as I'm not forced to do anything a regular pony wouldn't, we stay intact. Or, at least, we're not sent to the pasture in the sky. Which is a good thing, because last I thought about it I think I owe GM some money.” There was a bit of an inflection to sky letting AJ know he wasn't talking about pegasus land.

Bet sighed, “Since he's given you his backstory, I guess I'll give a bit of mine. I was raised as a Druid, one who is with nature, and... I can control the wind, the earth, and I can command plants and some animals. Also, I'm technically a lycanthrope.”

Simon commented, “He's basically you guys, as unicorns.”

Bet chuckled, “How oddly appropriate. Oh, and one more thing. Due to a card game from a long while ago, He's bound to me through some strange contract.”

Simon elaborated in his own unique way. “He says 'Jump!' I throw him, that kind of thing.” He got another smack for his troubles. “Say, now that introductions are halfway complete, can we move away from the scary trees of boom?”

AJ probably only agreed because of the Orchard. Mac was rather indifferent, but the glint in his eyes never left. Bet's Fey recognized it; Simon didn't. Or maybe he didn't care much enough to notice.

Simon decided to give more details on the 'last time' he played with the Creator's Breath, as they walked out of the orchard. “Let's just say... I was the only acolyte who thought playing with it was a good idea. Turns out, it wasn't. But I met Kali, so there's that.”

Bet voiced the group's confusion, “Who?”

Simon followed it up, “What?”

Bet then grinned triumphantly, “Exactly. ...wait-”

Simon cut him off, “So! Back to the walking away from the boom trees?”

At the strange looks from all three, he held his arms at his sides and walked slowly forward out of the orchard.

As they arrived at the house, Bet quickly tossed a few of the seeds in his pocket to the ground at Simon's feet, his hand glowing green. Not really paying attention, Simon didn't notice until the vines were in position to coil many times around his legs and waist. He only managed to utter a quick “Oh, ponyfeathers.” before he was trapped and gagged.

Bet then addressed Applejack, “It's so he doesn't get into trouble. Trust me on this one.” He then turned to Big Macintosh, “And I'd like to have a bit of a word with you. About something that the idiot over there and AJ shouldn't hear.”

The glint returned. His expression then hardened, but Bet cut him off before he could say anything. “Don't worry, the vines have held back an overprotective sister for a few moments; they can handle Simon. Especially because of the contract. And he can't scream while he's gagged.” He gave a small wink to Applejack. “So don't worry, she'll be safe.”

Mac reluctantly nodded, and started over towards the barn. Bet then followed.

Simon saw the gleam in Applejack's eyes. He gave his best unrepentant shrug, and raised his eyebrow as if to say, 'You know you want to. Bring. It. On.'

Applejack only smugly grinned.

With Bet and Mac...

Once they were far enough away that they wouldn't be easily overheard, Bet then spoke first. “Don't worry Macintosh, I won't tell her that you're actually as educated as Rarity or Twilight. Just don't beat around the bush, I really need to know this kind of stuff.”

Big Mac looked more than a little surprised, “How'd ya know?”

Bet grinned sheepishly, “To be honest? Lucky guess after observations and a bit of help from a friend.”

Mac sighed, then said, “Horseapples... Alright. Shoot.”

Bet considered his words carefully, trying not to offend. “I need to know what you know of pony anatomy, of all three types, and if there is anything beyond the wings/flight and magic that make the pegasi and unicorns uniquely gifted. I would also like to know if there's something that helps counterbalance the earth ponies that keeps them strong, while still lacking the ability to fly or use magic.”

The talk continued across many topics; what made the ponies unique, how the flight mechanics worked (or at least how Mac speculated and was taught) and more. Mac even explained weird anatomy, but he didn't know much beyond the basics.

Bet cleared his throat, then said to Mac, “Alright, that's an amazing help. But now I've got to ask the question I really don't want to, and this is the reason I had to ask you and not somepony else.” He then leaned in and whispered into his ear.

He then stood back up straight. He couldn't quite tell if Mac was blushing because of his red fur, but he was pretty sure he was.

Mac then calmed himself, and said with his accent returning strong, “Simon best not hear a word a' this.”

Bet then Pinkie-promised, “Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!”

Back with Simon...

Still trapped within the vines, he was bruised and beaten. He also had the dreaded feeling that he missed not only a jerkface moment, but also some important information. He tried to growl into his gag, but nothing came out. Bet was getting good at that.

And now, back with the hero and the best candidate for Giant Pony...

Mac finished the ever-awkward explanation. In the back of his mind, something commented that he was lucky that he didn't need to use visual aides.

Bet summarized it up in as few words as he could, “Blushing, heats, and exactly what I thought about reproduction? Yup. Thank you so much. Now we should never speak of this part of the conversation again. Agreed?”

Mac's reply, “Agreed.”

Bet then had a few last things to ask, “Alright, last few things. One, can ponies eat a large amount of sugar regularly with no ill side effects?” Mac shook his head. “So a few ill side effects?” He nodded this time. “Stomach ache?” Another nod. “Makes sense. We met Pinkie earlier today.” Mac then nodded in understanding, and sympathy.

“Okay, Two. What is-” He was cut off as his eyes glowed a hazy purple, writing appearing in the air over Mac's head in his vision. Can ponies be infused with special skills pertaining to their strengths? Oh, and can you hurry it up? AJ is running out of steam.

Bet chuckled, and at Mac's questioning look, he only said “Simon's getting bored. He wants me to ask; 'Can ponies be infused with special skills pertaining to their strengths?' which was, more or less, what I was going to.” Mac considered it, then shrugged.

“Don't really know,” he said. “But If I had to guess, I'd say so.”

Bet then muttered what would most likely be the first words from Simon's mouth. “That would explain so much...” His face stopped with the weird expression. He was sure he heard maniacal cackling in the back of his mind, but he wasn't crazy; Simon said so. “Alright, Three. Do you have any alcohol?”

Mac grinned.

Back with the still-getting-mangled Simon...

'I feel an urge to get hammered approaching. Am I missing something about booze?' Any further thought was removed by a final punch from the panting Applejack.

Spectral fingers then moved aside the gag just enough to say a few words. “Maybe you should take a little rest, hun.”

A new fire kindled in Applejack's eyes, “No one calls me that.” She then stood, prepared to resume the beatdown of Simon with a renewed vigor.

Simon couldn't keep his mouth shut. “Really? 'Cause I've heard a thing or two about you and-” Applejack's hoof cut him off, also removing the spectral fingers. The vines gripped tighter and the gag adjusted itself to a more effective position.

With Bet and Mac once more...

Bet then chuckled himself, “Just making sure. Make it yourself?” Mac nodded. “Anyone know about it?” He sheepishly nodded, “Granny Smith?” he nodded again. “Just her?”

Mac then finally spoke again, “Luckily. I'm sure happy Applejack or little Apple Bloom haven't found it yet.”

Bet then had a scary thought. “Don't let Pinkie find your stash. Burn it if you have to, but don't let Pinkie find it.” Mac's face reciprocated the scenario that passed through his mind. “Yeah, you can see why, can't you?”

Bet sighed. “Alright, now for my half of the deal... This is all we know of our own anatomy...”

The conversation continued, explaining fingers, toes, hair, eyes, and various anatomical things. Bet finally spoke lowly and lightly about human reproduction. Mac's blush was barely visible, but still there.

Bet grimaced. “Shall we never speak of this again?” Mac nodded. “Let's get back to the other two, Applejack should be tired of hurting Simon by now.”

They then walked back to the other two, Simon horribly mangled beyond most of all recognition, and Applejack a sweaty mess. Bet took immediate action, “Don't. Say. A Word.” He then roughly healed Simon and had the vines return to their place in his pocket, shrinking back into the seeds.

Simon, now that he was whole and not tied up, simply jumped up and brushed himself off. “Well, that was fun. We simply must do it again some time.”

That, of course, prodded Mac's overprotective brother button, so he simply kicked Simon twenty meters in the direction of the barn. “Yer lucky ah' held back.”

A gurgled moan was all that was heard from Simon. Bet then healed him... again... and contemplated adding a muzzle.

Simon then stood up, and thought before he spoke. “You have weird ideas about your sister, bro.” He pulled a salt crystal from one of his pockets, holding it up in his fingers before them. “Peace?” Mac gave him a wary glare, but accepted the crystal nonetheless.

“Why in Tarnation do you have a salt crystal in your pocket?” Applejack questioned, mostly recovered from the fevered relentless beating Simon had received at her hooves. It was taxing to hit him that many times. She was also a little frustrated that he was just as well as before; no broken anythings for her work.

Simon grinned, “Alright kiddies! A bit of mumbo-jumbo lesson from Big Brother Simon.” The other three shivered. “Salt is considered a spice in food, however in mysticism it's considered a purifying agent. Both for it's color, which is normally a shade of white, as well as it's properties when used in certain rituals and against some of the more... shall we say, mischievous spirits. White is often interpreted as pure in many different sects. However, if you separate the components, you get two rather nasty ingredients used in dark and battle magics respectively. Chloride is used in the Fey-” He was immediately silence from a crushing punch to his face from Bet.

“No. No Fey.”

He weekly responded, “Okay.” Then he stood up as if it didn't happen. “Never mind chloride. Sodium when added to garlic can be used to knock a pony off their hooves, or can trap a pony in a circle when mixed with cinnamon. Salt is also used in barrier magics. Lesson over.” He then added a little foot note at the end, “Oh, and it also tastes good in small bursts!”

The ponies were understandably confused. They then looked to Bet for confirmation. He nodded, “Most of it's true, anyways. I tend to ignore nearly all of what he says when he rants."

Apple Bloom opened the door to find the source of the ruckus outside. She saw Applejack and Big Mac, nothing out of the ordinary. She then looked up and saw Simon and Bet. Simon waved, and Apple Bloom waved back. She then walked back inside the house, towards the table. Halfway there, she realized something. The two things behind Applejack and Big Mac weren't ponies. And that they were bigger than Big Mac, the biggest pony she knew! So, she screamed.

Simon only commented, “I have that effect on others sometimes.” Bet then smacked him again, before tangling him in the vines once more.

Applejack called to Apple Bloom, “Don't worry, they're friends!” she finished under her breath, “Ah think...” As she talked, she broke the line of sight between Apple Bloom and Simon.

Simon adopted a new mantra, “Child present, no rude comments. Child present, no crude comments. Child present, no..” It wasn't as successful as it should be, but it still held.

Apple Bloom calmed after she heard her sister's words, and she blinked a few times in surprise, cocking her head. Applejack discreetly kicked Simon a few times.

Simon was lucky a gag wasn't part of the entanglement this time, as he introduced the two... humans. “I'm Simon, and the tall one is a shaved bear.” At this, Bet growled. “He donated his fur to help Fluttershy build a few dozen nests for the birds.” He got another slap for his troubles, and a gag to complete his new plantlife getup.

“I'm Bet, young Apple Bloom, and the crazy one with a big mouth that you're probably terrified of is Simon. And he's got a concussion.”

Simon then wriggled out of the gag again, somehow. “Don't forget the brain damage! The brain damage! The brain damage! The brain damage! The brain dam-” he was silenced by another small bit of violence.

Bet glared, “Stop playing around, Simon.” His expression softened, and he chuckled.

Apple Bloom took a deep breath, before assaulting him with another barrage of questions in a fashion not unlike Pinkie earlier that day. “Hi! My name's Apple Bloom, but ah guess ya already knew that, didn't ya? How'd you know that? Can ya read minds? Because ah don't think Applejack would tell ya. Hey! Maybe you're from the future! Wait, what are you anyway?”

As she gasped again to catch her breath, Bet cut her off. “In reverse order, we're humans. Kinda... We're not necessarily from the future. No, Applejack didn't tell us and I can maybe perhaps read minds.”

Simon interjected here, “But not fully. I've been working on that, but so far nothing really sticks.”

Bet then continued after more Simon mauling. “I can't say how I knew your name, mainly because it wasn't me who knew, and lastly, yes, I knew your name. Might I also ask, Who are you more afraid of, me or Simon?”

Apple Bloom thought on it a moment, before settling with “Definitely Simon.” The owner of the name mentioned hung his head in comical despair. Or rather, as much as he could while still being tied up. “Was it something I said?'

Applejack shook her head, before she walked inside with Apple Bloom and Big Mac. “Come on in, you two.”

Bet tried to decline, “Sorry, but we really need to get going.” Simon tried to escape and say something, but the spectral fingers didn't work this time.

Apple Bloom's bow flatted out a bit, her head drooped and her eyes shined as she pouted. “Aren't ya gonna stay for supper?”

Both Bet and Simon (who had caught only half the effect) broke down instantly; they immediately agreed.

They didn't know what they were in for.

They met Granny Smith, had an interesting chat, and from then on it was all a blur.

Later...

They suddenly 'came to' outside the house, much like what had happened at Rarity's Boutique.

Bet rubbed the side of his head, “Man... what happened? I just remember... apples. So many apples...”

Simon shared the bewildered look. “I've not heard of most of the treats... I think... I think...”

Bet quickly grabbed Simon's head in a firm grip, his hand glowing a dull green. “Gotta burn away the sugar, gotta burn away the sugar...”

Luckily, he managed to burn away a good deal of it. Unfortunately, the rest was rapidly absorbed into Simon's bloodstream, and so he was having a sugar rush for the first time in his new body. It wasn't a good thing.

Simon sped to the barn nearby, cackling madly as he went. Bet rushed after him, unable to keep up with him in the hyperactive state. Simon entered the barn, and the moment Bet was in front of the door, Simon sped out of it and towards an open field. Simon then screamed “IMMA PLANT A POTATO!” at the top of his lungs, before he tried exactly that. He dug with his empty hand into the ground as fast as he could, tossed in the potato and covered the little hole he'd dug and ran off... straight into a clothesline from Bet.

At first, Bet was confused. “...Where did you get the potato?”

Simon paused, “What potato?” he then blinked a few times, “Why's it so dark?”

Bet looked up. “Ah. It's dusk. We must have been there for a while...”

Simon sat up clumsily. “So, it's twilight then. Well, an hour or two won't hurt any... uurp...” Bet took three quick steps away.

“Bet you'll throw up.”

Simon was no longer looking ill. “Bet I wont.”

Bet grinned, it was working. “Will too.”

“Will not.”

“Will too.”

“Will not.”

“Will not what?”

“I don't know.”

Simon extended his arm, Bet pulled him up. “Come on, we need to get to Twilight's soon.”

Simon stopped him before he could walk off, “I believe I have a faster mode of travel.”

Bet's eyes narrowed. “It's not the carriage or the skeletal horses, is it?”

Simon grinned, “Nope! It's a new one! I call it... Return to the Grave!” He cackled madly after he named his spell. “Let's go!” Without waiting for a response, Simon grabbed Bet's wrist and disappeared. Bet, of course, followed against his will.

In a strange room...

A gray mass appeared and pooled onto the floor of the room. From it, Simon rose, Bet following close behind. They both looked a little ill. Simon coughed a bit, then muttered “Probably should have actually tested that one...”

He tipped, but Bet stopped him from falling on his face. Simon uttered his thanks. Bet then asked, “So, where are we?”

Simon couldn't help but chuckle and say, “I swear to drunk, I'm not Rathma...” He then steadied himself and took a look around. Turns out, it wasn't a room, per say. “Hmm... open balcony, telescope, pet bed... Not on the ground floor... which means... I'll have to rename the technique.”

Bet's Fey recognized where they were. “Ah, ponyfeathers. We're on Twilight's little observatory deck.”

Simon glanced towards what he assumed to be east, considering the rising moon. “Ah. It's officially night... whoo. Okay then, let's go meet our hostess.”

Considering that Bet was back to full height, the tiny doorway/window to the balcony could barely fit him. They both managed to make it to the stairs without any noise, hearing the signs of conversation. They walked a few steps down and went into another tiny hallway, this time to another set of stairs. “Hmm, I swear this was different...” Bet muttered under his breath. Simon heard him, and a voice in the back of his head agreed.

As they reached the end of the small hall and the end of the new steps, they clearly heard the tail end of an explanation from none other than Rainbow Dash. “And I swear, one of them was hitting on me!”

Bet grinned and winked at Simon; a bad sign. “Then why does he have the concussion?”

Rainbow Dash growled, “You!” She then flew towards Bet with a kick aimed at his face. Bet deftly dodged, causing Dash to hit Simon instead.

Bet grinned triumphantly, “See? Proof of point!”

Having rolled into a bit of an awkward position, Simon couldn't help but comment, “We really must stop meeting like this. She might get jealous.”

Simon was then quickly untangled from Rainbow Dash, and dragged floating to the center of the room by an aura of lavender. “You were the one hitting Rainbow Dash?!” Twilight shouted, astonished.

Simon put his hands up in defense, “No! She was hitting me! She just gave me another concussion!” He stupidly pulled out a spectral copy of his skull again, “See!” he shouted, pointing to another crack.

Bet acted quickly. His hand glowed green once more, and he tossed a seed behind Twilight as her concentration was on Simon. Rainbow Dash was still bewildered, but stood up. The vine grew and moved to tickle Twilight, causing her concentration to slip and thus causing Simon to fall onto the hard floor.

Rainbow Dash then tackled Bet, to little effect. He only stumbled forward a few steps; she obviously just wasn't going fast enough. However, this caused the vine to stop tickling Twilight as he turned to face Rainbow Dash instead.

Slightly out of breath, Twilight then picked up Simon with her Telekinesis and tied him to a table spread-eagle with some streamers and rope that was laying around. They were most likely left-overs from one of Pinkie's parties.

Simon was also most likely concussed... again. He managed to get out, “You know, if you ponies keep treating me like this... I might start to have thoughts. Just saying.”

Bet turned and laughed at him, “We know, we know. Love and tolerance, that sort of thing.”

Simon bit back an annoyed curse.

Bet jumped from the stairs to the floor, near where Simon had first been dropped. Simon then said, “Just to let you know, RD's about to knock you out. Figured you'd like the heads up.”

Rainbow Dash, as one would expect, flew as fast as she could and bucked as hard as she could to the back of Bet's skull. He swore he could see a rainbow flood the room, as he fell over onto his face. He let out a muffled, “Ow.”

Simon managed to say “ooh, pretty...” before Twilight finally thought to gag him.

Later...

Simon was humming to himself, a strange little song while waiting for his loudly snoring druid buddy to wake up. They were both being guarded by a drowsy Spike.

Simon soon afterwards was trying his best to mime to Spike to remove the gag; but his arms and legs were tied and he couldn't really move, so the message was probably never received. Either way, it would have probably been a fruitless effort.

Mostly because Spike was snoozing. And trying to outdo Bet.

Simon then turned internal in his search for a way out of his dilemma. After a few moments, he came across something. “Thing is... with contracts, you can get away with a lot depending on how you interpret them; verbal contracts even more so.” He listened to Bet's snoring once more. He then mumbled as clearly as he could into his gag, “If you snore again, you want me to wake you up.”

As if to spite him, Bet didn't snore for three rounds of Spike's snores. But then he did so again, and Simon took that as an initiative. The binding mostly-magical contract then granted Simon a small burst of his 'latent power' and so his left arm's bindings were snapped. He then untied his gag, and called over to Bet. “Hey. Beary. Wake up.”

As if an instinct, Bet roused with “Don't call me that.” Soon afterward, his mind caught up with his body. “Wow... That was a bit of a conversation.”

Simon shushed Bet. “The kid's asleep, be quiet.”

Bet muttered under his breath, “You're one to talk...”

Bet then took in his surroundings once again. He noticed Simon's left arm, “Wait. How did you get free?”

Simon emulated a shrug as best he could with one arm. “Boredom.” He then continued, “Oh. By the way, Twi's probably writing her letter as we speak.”

Bet grimaced, “Ah, well. Spike's asleep, so we have at least until morning. A day or two of she goes by way of normal mail. Maybe we even got lucky and she sent her letter earlier today and is expecting a reply tomorrow?”

Simon tutted him, “You're forgetting the express special. For five bits more, they get the fastest mailmare there is.”

Bet sighed, “And how do you know this?”

Simon grinned, and only said, “I have my ways.” His grin fell. “Unfortunately, she's not asked RD to deliver it, so far.”

Bet then asked, “And you know that because?”

Simon explained, “Because she's still up the stairs. And Spike's the only one who's been here for a while. They've been up there for at least fifteen minutes.”

Bet paused, “To be honest, I was half expecting you to point at RD flying somewhere over my head.”

He got back on track, “Alright, I think I have an id-”

Simon cut him off with a bit of a harsh whisper, “Be quiet! Here they come!” He then stuck his arm under what used to bind his hand, letting the gag fall back into place loosely.

Bet fell silent, and evened out his breathing; a good imitation of sleep was the result.

Twilight came down the stairs, followed by a flying Rainbow Dash, who then left the building. As soon as the door closed, Simon's face splint in a grin, and he started to sing “Ninety nine bottles of 'tox on the wall, Ninety nine bottles of 'tox!”

Bet nearly chuckled, knowing what his long-time companion was trying. He concentrated, and felt his mana flow. 'Perfect...' he thought, continuing the magic.

At the beginning of the second round of the song, Twilight re-tied the gag. He then showed that his arm was untied, as he undid the gag again and finished the next verse. Twilight then stomped up to him and tied them both back twice as tight as before, and checked the other bindings as well.

When he was out of Twilight's line of sight, Bet hastened the growing of the plant. Soon, there was a large daffodil growing out of a pocket on his tunic.

Simon gurgled the muffled fourth verse of the impromptu song before he was ignored, and Twilight turned around. To see a giant Daffodil now sticking out of the pocket of the taller one. She was flabbergasted.

Simon somehow got the gag off again, “He's just happy to see you.”

Even though Twilight wasn't very socially adept, she still understood the reference, and blushed a rosy red.

Bet groaned at Simon's joke, pulled the Daffodil out of his pocket as he stood up and simply snapped the ties around his wrists. He then glared at Simon, who sheepishly grinned.

Bet walked over to the table where Simon was tied up, and quickly untied him; practice with vines and rope allowing him to nimbly undo the knots.

Simon uttered a thanks, before Bet picked him up off the table and dropped him unceremoniously on the floor. He then bound and gagged him with his vines.

Twilight had been more confused than anything else during the whole of this; as the bigger one just untied the smaller one to tie him up again. Then, the bigger one sat on the floor and looked at her with a small grin as if nothing had happened. In fact, Spike was still asleep!

Rainbow Dash burst through the door, a little winded. She panted out, “They're all... on their way... here...”

Twilight could only utter a short word of thanks before Rainbow Dash looked up again and saw what had changed.

Dash charged up in front of the two, fully prepared to shout, but Bet cut her off. “Shh, Spike's still sleeping.”

It caught Dash off guard, but it didn't do much more to slow her down. She then angrily whispered, “Why are you here?! What did you mean by 'Rainbow Dash always dresses in style'?! How much do you know!? Are you a Spy?!”

Bet caught her off guard again, and answered her truthfully. “In order? Don't know, haven't decided yet. I don't know how his mind works, more than you'll ever imagine, and no. He's the one that would be the spy.”

Rainbow was about to continue, but the door opened. In came Fluttershy, who only went “eep!” before hiding behind Twilight.

Rainbow Dash sighed, “Look, it's late. If you tell me what all you know, we can all go to sleep. You don't want to see me when I'm mad.”

Simon wiggled out of his gag, “Not saying it.”

Bet then said, “Oh, don't mind us. Get as much sleep as you need!”

Dash had a questioning look, “You really think this is a good idea?”

Bet put his hand over his heart, “Promise. And breaking a promise is the easiest way to lose a friend.”

Simon grinned as his Fey explained what Bet was doing.

Suddenly, Pinkie Pie popped out from one of the piles of books on the floor. She eerily said, “Forever!” before sinking back in, only to bounce back out and greet Bet. “Hi Teddy!”

Bet groaned, “Not you too...”

Pinkie then bounced towards them, as Simon performed a limited arm-pump. “Not me too what, Beary?”

Bet only groaned and hung his head. “At least you're not in the other mood.”

Rainbow Dash butted in, “Okay, What's going on here!?”

Simon quickly leaned in and whispered something into Bet's ear. Bet then sighed, and said, “Fine. But you owe me one.”

Simon nodded to it. Bet's hands glowed green once more and the vines trapping Simon climbed back into Bet's pocket again.

Music exploded from nowhere as Simon sprang up onto his feet and began to sing, “All you have to do is take a cup of flour, Add it to the mix...”

Pinkie then bounced somehow even more excitedly, “Ooh! I know this one!” She sang the next part, “Now just take a little something sweet, not sour, a bit of salt; just a pinch!”

They then sung together, “Baking these treats is such a cinch, add a teaspoon of vanilla!” they bounced around the others, who were stunned and frozen in their places. Bet's eye glowed as he gave Rarity a wink. Spike was still asleep, somehow. “Add a little more, and you count to four, and you never get your fill of!”

They both inhaled deeply before finishing. “Cupcakes! So sweet and tasty! Cupcakes! Don't be too hasty! Cupcakes! Cupcakes, Cupcakes, Cupcakes!”

Applejack walked in on the crescendo of the finale. Spike was still somehow blissfully asleep. 'Perhaps he's just a really heavy sleeper?' Bet wondered. He caught Applejack's eye and winked, his own glowing, like he had done with Rarity amongst the confusion that Simon and Pinkie had caused.

As the music died down from the song, Simon dashed to Fluttershy and lightly grasped her hooves to keep her attention. He then once more accomplished the inexplicable: he told his (and a great deal of Bet's) entire life-story in roughly the amount of time it would take to pronounce 'gesundheit.'

Fluttershy's eyes swirled, and then she sniffled. Simon quickly backed away, startled. She then shook her head, and, while looking quite distraught, glared at Simon. If he wasn't the target, Simon would have gushed over the adorableness of it all. However, since he was the target, he felt like melting into a quivering puddle of fear. Angry Fluttershy is scary.

She stalked over to him, her eyes hardening into The Stare. Simon swallowed hard as he realized (due to his Fey) what was going to happen. He was compelled to meet her eyes, and he instantly regretted it when he did. His mind immediately cleared; his breath stilled and his pace quickened. He could only dumbly stare into her eyes and listen to her commands.

She only said one thing, and it came out quiet and collected; yet as firm as any parent's scolding. “You shouldn't play with other pony's feelings.”

As she continued her Stare, Fluttershy saw a glimpse of something she really didn't understand and placed it in the back of her mind for later. As Simon gurgled something, she turned her Stare to Bet.

Bet simply smiled and met her gaze without even the slightest flinch. It startled Fluttershy from her Stare, and he then said, “It seems he was right. You've stumbled upon a lost power, Fluttershy.”

Bet afterward said to Simon, “I do believe we've overstayed our welcome.”

Simon paused a moment, then incoherently gurgled a positive response.

Twilight's eyes widened, before she started to dive through her books. She cried in frustration, “Where is that manual! I know I've heard that before! Rainbow Dash, help me find it!”

Rainbow Dash was confused, “Help you find what? You never told me the-” She was then jerked by Twilight's magic over towards the bookshelf.

Bet suddenly stood, and walked next to the slouching Simon. Chopping him in a junction on his neck brought the necromancer the rest of the way to the ground. Bet then commented, “Well, I believe the little guy has had quite the day; he's sleeping so soundly. I think it's best that we leave so I can return him to bed, wouldn't you say? Not to mention, I think Spike needs his own sleep.”

Simon forced a last thought to embed itself in his mind, 'you twice-skinned bastard, you've been holding out!'

With Twilight and Rainbow Dash looking through books, and Pinkie trying her best to help, the way to the door wasn't much blocked anymore. Fluttershy was still confused at what Bet had said, and both Rarity and Applejack moved away from the door.

Grabbing Simon's arm, Bet hauled him over his shoulder and climbed out the door. He took a few loud steps around the side of the tree and then jumped lightly onto the branches. He quietly climbed where he could find strong handholds, and found a place where it was hard to spot him from both inside the Library and from down below. Using his mana, Bet then grew the branches and leaves a bit to hide them further while Simon 'slept.'

Bet then sighed once more, sat Simon down against one of the larger branches and lay back against one himself. After rubbing his throat with a glowing green hand, he hummed a melody to a lullaby he'd thought he forgot, brought upon by the mirrored action of his Fey.

Soon he eventually drifted off to sleep, filled with dreams that he could only half remember. The ponies were none the wiser to the roost and had returned home, thinking heavily on what had happened.

Spike finally got the peace and quiet he was looking for, and met his own inner world with a soothing melody drifting through the forest in his dreams.

Nonconsensual Teleportation

Spike woke gently from his dreams, a soothing melody playing through his mind. As he sluggishly opened his eyes and stretched, he yawned deeply. Standing, he noticed a blanket draped over him and the lack of ponies in the room. The 'prisoners' were also absent. He assumed that Twilight had taken care of them and the matter had mostly been resolved.

Noticing the mess of books, he sighed and folded the blanket. Taking to humming the tune that played through his mind, he sat the blanket down on the table and began returning the books to their normal places.

He found an unusually heavy book, but he didn't pay it much attention and simply hefted it up to it's place on the shelf. Soon he finished, roughly half an hour had passed, and he found a few leftover gemstones to munch on.

He was used to Twilight's crazy book searching sprees, having lived with her as long as he could remember, and he paid no mind when he found the missing space. Twilight was sure to replace it when she was done.

After cleaning he had found himself without much to do until Twilight woke up. He ended up looking through a book on different types of magic, trying to find something interesting.

Earlier, with Bet and Simon...

Bet woke to his sharp ears hearing a familiar tune. It was the same melody he was humming last night. Yawning, stretching, then yawning once more, he sat up and surveyed his surroundings. It was an old habit from his days learning.

Noticing the day had arrived not long ago, he guessed by the general position of the sun that it was around nine o' clock, if the ponies went by a twenty-four hour system as they had in their home universe. With great care, he climbed down to the observation deck next to Twilight's room. Peering in, she was still asleep.

Bet sighed, and thought, 'She must have been up quite a bit longer than we were. Or perhaps she's just not a morning person?' He heard a voice eerily similar to Simon at the back of his head mutter 'Stalker...' but he brushed it off as nothing.

Climbing back around to the branches he had slept on, he closed his eyes and listened for the telltale signs of the Mane 6 returning.

Back with Spike...

After only a few minutes of skimming the book, a quiet knock arrived at the door. He placed a sliver of one of the streamers into the book as a bookmark, and answered the door. As it opened, he came face to face with a cyan hoof. Flinching at the surprise, he recognized Rainbow's hoof as he backed up. Behind her stood Rarity.

Shaking himself out of his stupor, he tried to say a few words, “Hey Dash, Rarity, what's-”

He was cut off as Rainbow Dash barged her way inside, Rarity exasperatedly following behind her. Rarity apologized for Rainbow, “Sorry, Spike, She's just a little... anxious.”

Spike grinned dumbly as he played down the action, “Don't worry, it's no biggie.” He then closed his eyes as Rarity walked to the table, repeating her words in his head like a loon drunk on love.

As Spike came to his senses, Twilight walked down the stairs with a case of bedhead. Floating with her was a brush, alight with the glow of Twilight's magical aura. Following the brush was a book. Spike couldn't read the title from where he was standing.

Twilight brushed her mane as she greeted Dash and Rarity. She was going to suggest something but Rarity cut her off. “Sorry, dear, but I can't say anything until everypony else gets here. Applejack and I have... something to say, and it's going to be hard enough the first time; I don't want to explain this twice, so please wait for them to get here. It shouldn't be long.”

Confused and a little curious at Rarity's attitude, Twilight just continued to brush her mane back to it's original shape. Rainbow Dash snickered at a thought she had, but Rarity's look stopped her from going any further.

Back with Bet and Simon...

Bet had heard the conversation start in the Library below, Simon was still unconscious. Or asleep? It's hard to tell with him.

Bet expected the others to arrive soon, so he carefully crept into the hall at the top of the stairs from outside, much like he had done the day before. This time, however, he was alone and Simon was still tied up and asleep on the roof.

He sat and waited near the end of the hall and crouched down, well within earshot but just out of sight.

Spike answered the door as another knock commenced, somewhat louder than the previous one. He opened the door to Applejack, and let her inside. Rarity shared a look with Applejack, both nodding.

Immediately afterward, a single book fell from the bookshelf. With a yawn that was extremely familiar, a figure pried itself out of the small hole the book left in the row. It was Pinkie, as crazy as can be, and she didn't knock down a single book more than the first. As Spike reached down to replace it, he realized it was the heavier one that he had put away earlier that morning.

Rainbow Dash giggled, then grinned. “Pinkie Pie, you're so random!”

Twilight stared at the book, before looking between the shelf where the book was and the book itself again. After a moment of thought, her head drooped and she muttered, “It's too early for this...”

Finally came a very quiet knock, almost not there in the first place. Bet heard it, but the others didn't seem to. He imitated a knock with his knuckle on the wood, using his mana to direct the sound toward the door.

It worked, and they opened it and greeted Fluttershy. Bet muttered to himself, “Need to work on that...”

Now that everyone was here, Rarity and Applejack reminded those present of what had happened here the day before.

Pinkie couldn't resist, so she made a dramatic noise, “Dun dun dunnn!” She received stares for her trouble. “What?”

Last Night,

Immediately after Bet had dashed out the door with his friend in tow, the six ponies had clamored after him. They saw him turn around the library, but when they followed they found the trail had suddenly gone cold; he was nowhere in sight. There were no hoofprints to follow; he seemed to just disappear.

They walked back inside and had a discussion over what had just occurred. Twilight headed the discussion, being the most logical of the ponies, and stated three questions she wanted to find the answer to. “Okay girls, we need to know three things before we can do anything about this. First, we need to know what they are. Second, we need to know why they're here. Third, we need to know what they can do.”

Pinkie interjected, “Fourth, we need to know what food they like!”

Twilight sighed, but allowed it. “We do, strange as it is.”

Rainbow Dash answered first, “Well... whatever they are, the bigger one is really heavy. It took almost all I had just to knock it over!”

Twilight added on to it, “They both seemed pretty intelligent... they did talk with us, after all.”

Pinkie had a thought, and wasted no time in voicing it. “Uhm, Dashie... Ya think the big one might be mad at you for hitting him?”

Rainbow Dash blanched, “Uhm... maybe?”

Fluttershy tried to garner attention, but was ignored for her soft voice. “Hey, girls, I think-”

Twilight thought back again. “The bigger one grew a giant daffodil from somewhere. In fact, it's still over there now.” She pointed with her hoof to the corner, showing that there was in fact a giant daffodil in the room. “There's also the vines he called from the same place.”

Fluttershy tried again to get their attention, and was again ignored. “Girls, I think we need to-”

Rainbow Dash brought up something odd that happened, “Wait a minute, Remember the big one wrapped the skinny one up in the vines after he untied him? That seemed kinda odd to me. Why would he untie him only to tie him back up?”

Pinkie bounced up to garner attention as Applejack muttered under her breath, “Leave it to Dash to notice the bindings...”

Pinkie bounced again, “Ooh! Ooh! Did you see the skinny one? He looked kinda pale! And not just because he wasn't colorful, like me!” She continued to bounce, though with a little less energy and not quite as loud. “Maybe he's sick?”

Fluttershy tried a third time to get their attention, “Girls, we need to-”

Rarity got their attention for Fluttershy, “Excuse me, ladies? Fluttershy has something to say.”

Fluttershy squeaked and thanked Rarity for the help, then said, “I think we should be careful with the bigger one. It seem like... like he recognized my Stare. He didn't even flinch when I used it on him, but it worked on his friend like it works on everypony...”

Twilight was confused, but the other four stopped moving almost completely. She voiced her confusion, seeing the reactions of the others, “What do you mean, Stare? I don't get it, what's the big deal?”

Applejack took a moment to explain, “Well, Fluttershy takes care of the animals, right? Sometimes they don't listen well, so she figured out she can Stare them down and get them to behave. No animal's resisted it before, even a little bit.”

Twilight looked unconvinced, but trusted her friends. “If you say so, but... I don't get why that makes it special.”

Rarity spoke up, “Him, dear. They're both male, I'm sure of that.”

There was a bit of an awkward pause. Twilight spoke first, a little shaken, at the revelation. “Rarity... How... do you know that?”

Rarity blushed as she caught her meaning, “Celestia, no! They simply told me is all. Why, half an hour of making them something would be rather boring without conversation, dear! Besides, who do you know other than the Princesses that is both a mare and taller than Big Macintosh?”

Nopony spoke up, unable to thing of anypony who fit the bill.

Rarity grinned triumphantly, then hid it behind a smile. “That's what I'm talking about, darling.”

Twilight then caught something in her explanation, “Wait... you made them something?”

Rarity began to get nervous. “Ah, the... pale, skinny one asked nicely?”

Surprisingly, Applejack spoke on Twilight's side. “Sugarcube, that skittish thing wouldn't have asked you to make him a tie, let alone a full-on suit.”

However, it backfired. Twilight turned her attention to Applejack, “And how would you know he's skittish?”

Applejack nervously backed up as Twilight approached. “He... uh... uhm...” She sighed, “Ponyfeathers. The two of them had supper with me an' my family, alright?”

Fluttershy managed to work up the courage to add something. “When I Stared at him, I saw something weird flash by, I don't know what it means, but... I think that may help. I mean, if it helps...” She blushed and went silent, unable to say more.

Twilight paused, then sighed. “I think we all need a break. Everypony, come back here tomorrow and we'll discuss this some more. Don't be late; and get here before ten!”

Mostly everyone then left to go their separate ways home; Applejack followed Rarity to have a little chat and Rainbow Dash stayed the night at the Library, her home far away for how tired she was.

Back to our Morning in Ponyville Library,

Pinkie then added, “So she said, 'And that's when I discovered Oatmeal could be used in cookies!' so I said, 'Oatmeal, are you Crazy?!'”

Everypony stared.

“What?”

Twilight cleared her throat, “Alright. You said you two had something to share?”

Rarity nodded and took the floor. “Yesterday, before our... escapades, here at the Library, both Applejack and myself interacted with the two. Their names are Simon, who is the skinny one, and Bet, who is the bigger one. They asked me not to share their story until we were all gathered together... so I don't know if I should.”

Applejack nodded at her resilience and will to keep her word. “Then we'd best wait until they come back. From what I got, they can be really sneaky-like.”

Up on the rooftop...

Simon stirred, roused by the sounds of conversation from below. He flinched as he opened his eyes, not prepared for the light. 'Oh yeah, Tia and I are going to be BFFs' he thought sarcastically, waiting for his eyes to adjust. As his vision cleared, he made out a short phrase spelled out with the branches. 'Clever, that Beary.' It read: Stay there, don't make noise. I'm running damage control.

Simon moved to sit up, but found himself tied to the branch. The vines reacted to his movement, restricting him tighter and gagging him. Simon sighed in defeat, 'Horseapples.'

Movement caught his eye, and the message before him shifted. It now read, Don't worry. It won't take too long. You might want to be still, though. The vine doesn't have an upper limit.

Simon sighed, without a method to abuse the contract he would be stuck there. He resigned himself to his fate of boredom, and began to hum to himself a dark little tune.

After twenty seconds, he quit and tried to escape with renewed fervor. As he tried to make cutting movements with his index and middle fingers, he mumbled into his gag. “Come... on... acid. Work... already... I'm bored... and hungry... so work!” 'Heh, it's almost like he doesn't want the company of a mostly morally bankrupt necromancer that he himself sought out.'

Back with Bet...

Bet stopped a sneeze, then thought 'Must be Simon...' He then grinned at what Applejack had said.

Turning so he could see into the room, he saw the daffodil in the corner of the room, where they had left it last night. His hands glowed green, and the daffodil began to move. As it grew into a more humanoid shape, leaves as hands and the flower itself as a head, the ponies – and Spike – in the room turned towards the commotion only to discover it.

While the daffodil grew, it seemed to sit upright. The 'arms' of the thing crossed. Bet threw his voice so that it sounded like the plant was speaking.

He said, “I dance through trees, nuzzle birds, and aloft, to all I whisper.

The lands I know, plants I help grow, and to life I bring wonder.

My voice graceful, light as a feather, your breath I make ever crisper,

A good friend I make, your breath I take, for each time you hear my thunder.

What am I?”

As their attention was kept by the daffodil, Bet crept down the stairs behind them.

Applejack spoke first, “Beg pardon?”

Twilight was next, “I... uh... what?”

Rarity recognized what it was and elaborated, “It's a riddle, darling.”

Twilight's eyes shone with realization.

Dash then spoke up, “The wind.”

Everypony turned to Rainbow Dash, surprised. “How'd you figure that out?” Applejack asked.

She flapped her wings exaggeratedly in the air to emphasize her point, “I'm a pegasus, and I work with the weather. It's simple enough for me.”

Clapping sounded from behind them, Bet startling them again. “Very well done, Dashie. You're smarter than you look.”

Dash blushed for a moment before she mastered her look. “Of course, I am the most awesome pony in all of Ponyville!” She then thought on it for a moment. “...Hay!”

Pinkie giggled, then Bet chuckled, before all save Dashie were laughing. She chuckled to herself, “I guess I flew right into that one, didn't I?”

Bet's laughter subsided, “All joking aside, I really think we should get to business. Rarity I believe has told you a bit about... ah, us, if I'm correct?”

Applejack tried to keep a straight face, but failed. Pinkie brought it up, “You do realize that-”

Bet sighed, “As soon as I said it, yes. Now if you'll get your mind out of the clouds – no offense, Dashie – and realize I'm talking about Simon...” He cleared his throat, blatantly ignoring the glares he got from Spike.

He extended his arm, hand glowing green once more. The daffodil shrunk back to it's original state, a seed, and was left on the ground. After a tiny gust of wind blew it up into the air, Bet caught and pocketed it. He the spoke, “I'm sure you have plenty of questions, so I'll answer a few outright. We're humans, we're not evil, there's a good reason for Simon's nickname for me, I'm a Druid, I can talk to animals and plants, yes Fluttershy I see the gleam in your eyes, being a tree is annoying, I know firsthoof. Simon so far has been concussed, from what I could guess, twice over at least.”

He continued, “Twi, I'd love to learn more about your magic and I'm sure you're ecstatic to learn about ours... or at least, mine. You should probably not tell the Princesses about us until tomorrow so you've not got a fully biased opinion and you know things from our point of view, yes I know about the princesses, yes we know about each and every one of you, I can kinda read minds, Simon's cynical and annoying... and we had help.”

Gathering his thoughts, he kept on the assault of information. “Dashie, I know all your secrets. Not really, but I had you going, didn't I? Pinkie, be yourself for a moment. We don't need your... Pinkie-ness right now, okay? We'll have a party afterward. Yes everypony, I know what I agreed to. I, for one, think I would enjoy her parties.

“Fluttershy, I'll talk to you about The Stare somewhere away from prying eyes and ears, and why it doesn't effect me. Finally, we slept on the top of the Library. It's pretty comfortable if you know what to do. Simon's still tied up.”

Everypony was digesting the information as Bet grinned sheepishly.

There was a shout from above, “I got loose, Bosco!”

Bet's hands glowed green and he pointed them towards the ceiling. He shouted back, “Not anymore!” as there were sounds of a struggle from above.

At their worried looks, he placated their fears. “Don't worry, that was Simon. He's in the vines again.”

He then sat on the floor, still a bit taller than them. “So, any questions?” Another thought crossed his mind, “And no, Dashie, we're not spies.” She wilted at that.

Bet's mind went back to the melody that woke him. “Spike, do you know where that tune came from?”

Spike coherently supplied, “Huh? What tune?” Bet then hummed a few notes. “Oh. That one. Not really... I just... heard it while I was dreaming, I guess. Wait... how do you know it?”

Bet chuckled, “It's one of my favorite songs from when I was a child. You see... I grew up in the forests of my home. There were trees twice as wide as this one here, maybe more, that were as tall as mountains. It's there that I learned the melody from the spirits in the forest.” He chuckled, “And now that I've come here, I've learned the words to the music I've loved for so long.”

He sighed, “Back to where we were before... Does anypony have any questions?”

Twilight looked conflicted; it was like she wanted to raise her hoof to be called on. Rainbow Dash however, just asked. “How did you do the thing with the air, earlier? When you grabbed the seed?”

Bet smiled, “I've been friends with nature for nearly all of my life. Plants, animals... even the wind, and the earth are my friends. However... my oldest friend has been the wind. She's always been there for me, whispering encouragement in my ear as I went. Perhaps you will hear her voice one day, too, Dashie.”

Dash then added, “One more question. Why do you call me Dashie?”

He grinned, “Now that would be telling.” He motioned to Twilight. “I know you've been wanting to ask it. Go ahead.”

Twilight was surprisingly calm. She'd held back her questions as one came to the forefront of her mind. “You've done lots of magic... but... you don't have a horn? How do you do your magic?”

Bet chuckled. “It's actually very similar to how you unicorns use your own magic. However, with my... 'type' of magic, I guess you could say... I don't need a horn to focus the abilities as you do. And I suspect that neither does your magic truly require it.”

Twilight would have asked more questions, but she was stopped by Bet. “I would love to continue the discussion on our different magicks at a later time, Twilight, but I believe that Fluttershy has something to say.”

Twilight looked a little sheepish, as Fluttershy spoke up. “I... uh... thank you for the help. I want to ask about your... uhm... well... your teeth.” The others in the room raised their eyebrows. “Well, uhm... you've got canines... doesn't that mean... that... well...”

Bet understood, “That I'm an Omnivore? I am.” Fluttershy looked more than a little scared and hid behind Twilight, back in Meek Mare Mode. “However, that doesn't mean I have to eat... 'meat' or similar. I've been a vegetarian for most of my life; talking to animals does that to a pony. I can't speak for Simon, but I promise that I won't eat anypony.”

Another shout came from above them. “Haha! Bosco, I've freed myself again! Oh, wait... I shouldn't have said that.”

Bet followed the previous procedure, “No. You shouldn't have.” Bet dusted his hands, “Now that Simon isn't being silly for the moment... Back to where we were. I believe that Rarity was next?”

The pony in question nodded. “Yes... well... I want to ask if it's okay to tell them what you told me?”

Bet thought on it for a few moments. “I don't think so... at least, not right now. Perhaps at a later moment when they don't have so much to take in.” He turned to Applejack, “Alright, and now, your question?”

Applejack pondered her question, searching for the right wording. “Ah... would like some help with the farm. It's doing great, and the planting season's about to get here, and... Ah'm sure we'd appreciate a helping hand, especially from you. Not to mention, Apple Bloom would love to play with yah again.”

Bet smiled, “I'd love to. But first, we have to deal with Simon.” He stood up, then raised his hands towards the ceiling, once more glowing a shade of green. After a few moments, the ceiling itself rent in two, before Simon dropped in and the hole grew back together.

As he fell, the vines binding Simon fell away towards Bet. Right as he hit the floor, Simon's form exploded into a cloud of dust and smoke. With a quick breeze from Bet, the room was clear and Simon was standing, fists on his hips with a big smile. He proclaimed, “I am Simon, hear me roar!” He then roared, which due to Bet's interference sounded like a kitten mewling.

Simon grinned, then turned to Bet and asked, “So, Bosco, How'd I do?”

The vines that had fallen on Bet turned into a six. Bet grumbled, “Don't call me that.” He then pointed behind him towards the other ponies. Pinkie was holding a card that said six point five, and Spike held a card that said seven.

Bet sighed, then motioned for Simon to sit down next to him to be less intimidating. When he saw Simon's hand begin to glow a gray color, he strictly said “No.”

Simon sighed, then complied and sat next to Bet, facing the group.

Bet took a deep breath to clear his mind, then said, “Alright. Now that Simon's here... Fillies and Sir Spike, ask us any question, and we will tell you no lies.” Simon grinned. Fluttershy tried to hide harder. Simon stopped his grin.

He turned to Bet, “Did you tell them-”

He was cut off, “About omnivorous us? Yup.”

Simon sighed, “Ah. That.” He turned towards the ponies and dragon, “To alleviate your fears, I don't eat ponies.” After a moment of thought, he added, “Or dragons. I rarely eat at all if I can, and thanks to Bosco here, I eat mostly vegetables and other plants... so there.”

Everyone let out a sigh of relief at the news. Even Spike, but mainly because Simon was pretty tall.

Twilight spoke first, their unnamed leader speaking for all of them. “Alright... Simon, Bet told us about his magic... but... what about yours?”

Bet grimaced and placed his head in his palm. “I know this is going to end badly.”

Simon, for once, hesitated slightly in his answer. “Uhm... well... I sorta play with the thin line between life and death?”

Everyone but Applejack and Rarity freaked out, Fluttershy even fainted. Bet tried to salvage the situation, “It's not quite what you think. He's told you the bare minimum... and even though many ponies from our home world think otherwise, he's not actually evil.”

Simon shrugged at Bet, “Well, I'm not going to lie, but I'm going to sugar-coat it a bit for my own well being.” He turned to the ponies and dragon assembled. “I deal with death, poisons, acids, ghosts and spirits, bones and dead flesh, illusions and curses, ethereal fire and golems.” With a bit of afterthought, he added. “Oh, and the spectral bones of the god-dragon Trang Oul. He's... kinda big.”

There was a moment of silence before Simon continued. “Get your pitchforks, I'll wait. But before that, also know that I can... uhm, 'kill' diseases.”

Bet sighed again, “And this is why we can't meet nice people, Simon.”

Simon glanced back, “What? You said not to lie.”

Bet gave an apologetic look to the ponies. “He's a little... off, at the moment. The concussions and the fact he's not a morning person is probably contributing to this. He's... nicer, if you get to know him. Trust me on this one, we've spent quite the time together.”

Fluttershy came to, a little woozy. Bet noticed first, the attention to detail paying off once more. “Are you okay, Fluttershy? I know Simon's kinda crazy, but he's not evil. Or all that bad. If you actually stick around and get to know him. He's just a little destructive. He also may or may not be like a bottle with his power and must let a little leak out now and then. I told him to get a mana crystal or something but he was too busy looking at the other weird things the guy had...” He stopped, “Ah, I got rambling again, didn't I?”

Simon grinned, “Yup.”

Bet sighed, “Anyway... on the topic of our abilities, I'm sure you'd all enjoy a presentation of sorts, but I don't think we'll be able to have one for a while.”

Simon pondered, “I wonder if ponies even have pitchforks...”

Bet chuckled and continued, “Anyways.. on to the next question, please?”

Seeing as Fluttershy was still a little loopy from fainting, Dash asked her question next. “I know all three of us hit you. So I gotta know... who hit hardest?” Dash was, of course, referring to herself, Applejack, and Rarity.

Simon then grinned, “And my reputation is quite thrilled with that, let me assure you.” He paused, in thought. “Hmm... well, Bet so far hits me hardest. But... I think Rarity is second-best, she's the only one that sent me into a wall.”

Bet added, “Twice.”

Simon acknowledged it, “Ah, yes, Twice. Thank you.”

Rainbow Dash and Applejack were both flabbergasted. Rarity looked quite proud, if not a little smug.

Before Applejack or Rainbow could voice their complaints, Simon said, “Next question!”

Fluttershy raised her hoof, so Bet did the school teacher thing and called her name. “Fluttershy? We're not in school, so you don't have to do that.” Fluttershy then lowered her hoof and blushed, embarrassed a bit. “So, what's your question?”

She spoke up, still quiet. “Ah... well... when I Stared at Simon..” The necromancer in question shivered. “I saw a flash of... something, that I don't remember seeing anywhere else when I used it.”

Bet sighed, and turned to Simon. Switching to their unique-to-them language, he asked, “So. Do we tell them? I don't think we should... at least, not right now.”

Simon turned, and contemplated. “Well, then. How do you want answer it? According to 'them,' one of these is honesty... ponified.”

Bet smiled, “Well... We just won't lie. Follow my lead. Maybe we'll tell them the truth after the Princesses meet us? You're getting better, by the way. I think we should thank 'them' for giving us this language to use.”

Simon grinned, “I'm sure they know. So let's go, 'fearless leader!'”

They turned back to the ponies and dragon, Bet speaking first. “Alright, well... first of all, I can't really tell you much about it. We don't exactly know what it is. One of them calls itself a 'fey' though, so we're going with that. So far, it's mostly just been a mutual exchange of information... and maybe a little personality.”

Twilight then asked, “Where did you learn... that... whatever it was you were saying?”

Bet grinned, “It's one of the things my 'Fey' taught me. From what he could gather, it's a language rarely spoken here, if at all, so it serves as a method of speaking in privacy while around others.”

Simon then added, “He's been teaching it to me... I think.”

Bet then said, “So why do you ask, Twilight?”

She looked a little sheepish. “Well... I've read that a group of ponies a long time ago used to speak in that... language, and you said words that sounded similar to what I'd read about them. I think that the name had something to do with the sun, or something. It's why I was intrigued originally.”

Bet closed his eyes in thought, before saying “That makes sense, strangely enough. I think we'll need to talk with the princesses soon...” He opened his eyes and added, “So, next question?”

Pinkie bounced up and down excitedly, “Ooh! Ooh! I have a question! Where did Simon grow up!?”

Bet grinned and answered before Simon could do it himself. “That's easy! He didn't.” At Simon's glare, he added, “What? You know it's true. Most of the time.”

Simon sighed, and answered more truthfully for himself. “It's probably best you don't learn of where, Pinkie. You wouldn't like it there.” His eyes widened in a sudden realization, with a bit of fear. “They banned parties!”

Pinkie looked scared at the thought. Bet eased her worries, “Stop messing with her Simon. You know all too well that we're going to have a party soon after this. Especially if Pinkie brought her Cannon.”

Simon pondered, “Hmm... I do owe her a cake... But I don't think we should make most of the ones I know.”

Bet grimaced, “Good call. But you still owe her cake. Should I make those candies?”

Simon paused, “Wait, the one with the-”

“Yup.”

“...I don't think the world is ready for that, yet.”

“You just can't hold your sugar.”

Pinkie was very, very interested in the conversation.

Simon suddenly stopped, “You're just hoping they forgot Pinkie asked the question, aren't you?”

Bet sighed, “Dang. I was so close... but yes, I don't want Simon to answer that mainly because we don't want to... well, I can't really say. Maybe after we talk with the princesses on what's allowed or not?”

Twilight suddenly got a deer-in-headlights look. “Ah.. well... on the topic of the princesses... I kinda sent Princess Celestia a letter about you two? And I may or may not have included your... ah, 'hitting on' Rainbow Dash?”

Bet sighed, “You need to get out more.” Then it hit him, “Ah, we're in trouble. I do believe we should vacate the premises, yes?”

Simon nodded, then said, “Twilight, dear, I don't think it could be worse if you did, since... well... you put me in that report.” he finished with a sheepish grin.

Bet then stood, dragging Simon with him, and made for the door. “I think we might just be able to-”

All nine of them were teleported away with a small wink sound.

A whole new meaning to 'Burning Mad'

They appeared just as they had disappeared, with a small wink of light and sound. However, they did not come out how they went in. All nine ended up in a pony pile, with Bet and Simon at the bottom. Fluttershy was luckily placed up top.

Simon chuckled as best he could. He then said, “That's a bit forward, don't you think, everypony? I know I'm amazing, but...” Once the thoughts crossed their minds, everyone scrambled off the pile, leaving Simon sitting on Bet's chest. He let out a final, “Awkward...”

Bet sat up suddenly, tossing Simon off him with a grunt. He managed to land on his feet, however, rolling into an upright position.

Bet did as his instincts told him to do, and he looked around. “A bedroom?” He turned around, and saw the Princesses behind him. “That explains it.”

Simon offhandedly commented, “They have a giant bed right there... and they teleport us onto the floor?”

Celestia's gaze hardened from her usual easy smile. She lightly stomped forward and glared at Simon. He only managed to say to himself, “Must not smart off to royal duo.”

Celestia strongly said, “You smell of death and decay.”

“Well, that was fast.” He turned to Bet. “New Record?” He received a nod. Turning back to Celestia, he replied, “And you smell of sunflowers and raisins. With a hint of burning?” He looked down to see his arm a little charred. “Ah, my mistake. That's me.”

Bet turned to the other princess in the room, and in an attempt to remain earthside initiated damage control. “Last night was amazing, Luna. Thank you.”

You could hear a pin drop. Simon then said, “You realize that-”

Bet sighed, “As soon as I said it. Yup. Now Celestia, before you go all-oh wait you're already burning mad. I think we should run, Simon. Are you up for a race?”

“Always.”

“First one to the door survives?”

“Indeed.”

They ran. They didn't make it far, Celestia teleporting in front of them before they reached the door. Bet sighed, and turned to Simon. “You have any regrets?”

Simon turn to face him. “Besides the obvious? … … no, not really.”

Bet then grinned. “Then I guess you won't mind if I do this?” He reached out and petted Celestia's mane.

Simon managed to mutter, “Dang, now I'll never get to taste hay fries...”

As Celestia was still shocked at the action, Bet flashed a grin to Simon. “Sayonara... sucks to be you.” His whole form glowed a dirt brown, and he fell into the floor.

Simon took advantage of Celestia's predicament. He dashed in front of Luna, knelt and tried his best at Doe eyes. She giggled at the ridiculous situation.

Rainbow Dash then said to her friends, “Why aren't we helping?”

Pinkie answered, strangely enough, in a normal fashion. “Do you want to get in the middle of that?”

Twilight added, “Princess Celestia... is... well... protective of her subjects?”

Fluttershy had an answer of her own. “To be honest, I just find this fascinating.”

Applejack asked, “Which one?”

Bet climbed out of the floor behind her. “I'll take that as a compliment.” He then fell back into the ground, the hole sealing itself up as he went.

Appearing again in front of Princess Celestia, he waved a hand in an attempt to get her attention.

Simon was currently running his finger's through Luna's mane. He saw Bet, and then said to him, “You magnificent Bear, you, I take back everything I said about you last week.”

Bet ignored him in favor of trying to grab Celestia's attention. “I think something's wrong here. She's not moved in three minutes and she should be miffed at us right now. Especially 'cause you're kinda, in a way, molesting her sister.”

Simon was confused, “What do you mean, molesting her-” His hand accidentally bumped Luna's horn. She froze, and Simon muttered, “Oh dear, I am so moonside...” At Bet's angry look, he added “What, and you weren't?”

The air in the room grew hot, unbearably so. A glance towards Celestia told Bet what he needed to know. She was absolutely livid. Bet acted quickly. His whole body glowed a light blue. His own eyes hardened as the air in the room swirled, abating the searing heat. He called out, “Fluttershy! This is why it doesn't work on me.”

His eyes glowed a bright blue as he glared straight into Celestia's. Simon was pleading and apologizing to Luna.

As Celestia returned Bet's gaze, he spoke. Both with his mind, and with his mouth. In Japanese, he said, “Princess Celestia. You need to calm down. You're scaring everypony here-- I'm sure that Luna is among them.” As he spoke, his stature grew. His shoulders broadened and he grew taller. “If you don't stop the fire, I'll have to put it out myself. I won't be gentle.”

Celestia's eyes betrayed her surprise, before she answered back, this time in Japanese as well. “It's been a long time since I've heard this tongue. What are you?”

Bet stopped growing, but the wind began to whistle, drowning out the noise from outside. “A benevolent being who does not wish to cause harm; but I will not let my friends be hurt. Especially those who you yourself are supposed to protect.” He pointed harshly towards the group of six ponies and a dragon cowering in a corner of the room. “They are your loyal subjects, and they love you dearly. And yet you scare them.”

He took a step forward. Celestia unconsciously took a step back. Bet continued, “If you value your little ponies, you'll stop and we'll talk this out like civilized beings. If not, I guess I'll just have to stop you myself.”

Celestia's anger faded a little, reminded of a parent chastising a child. Only this time, she was the child – something she hadn't experienced in a long time. The chill of Bet's hurricane overcame the heat of Celestia's anger. The room was returning to it's normal temperature.

Celestia took a step forward, and her resolve returned. Bet's glare intensified, he took another step forward. He then said low enough so that only they could hear, “I'm much stronger than Discord. He's only powerful because he's unpredictable. I'm just powerful. Now grow up.”

Bet took another step forward. His voice grew softer, calmer. He also switched back to the common language. “And don't be afraid.” He took a final step, shrinking back to his original seven-foot stature. The winds died down quickly. Bet threw his arms around Celestia in a hug, no longer glowing. He finished, “To let it out.” With a gust of wind, both Celestia and Bet turned to dust that blew out of the room.

Those in the corner of the room had the expected reaction. In a moment of sudden harmony, all seven gasped at the same time. They burst into a confusion mass of unanswered questions. Twilight was the only one that remained silent.

Taking a few short, wavering steps, she looked very distressed. “Okay. What do we know.” She spoke lowly to herself, “A creature none of us has seen before yesterday just overpowered Princess Celestia. He spoke with her in a language none of us know... and then they both disappeared after he grabbed her.”

Simon grimaced, 'That's not good.' He spoke up, turning from Luna. “He didn't overpower her, exactly. None of us would be standing here if that happened. He just got to her with words and his please-don't-hate-me aura cranked to ten.”

Twilight shouted back, worried, “That doesn't matter! What matters is that they both turned to dust! To dust!”

“Well, from what I hear, hurting me is therapeutic. Maybe it will calm you down?” Simon said, grinning at Applejack's embarrassed look. Simon eased Twilight's fears, “Anyways...  she's not dead.” He barely stopped himself from making another joke.

Rainbow questioned him, trying to hide her worry. “How can you tell?”

Simon gave her a flat look. “Duh. And, well, that much power has to go somewhere. And it usually does so... quite violently. And the contract I have with him is still limiting my power. So, as long as that happens, he's still alive.” At their looks, he added, “It's very binding. Don't worry, we'll probably tell you about it some other time.”

A cloud of dust blew into the room through one of the windows, probably forced open by the small hurricane. The dust gathered and formed into the shapes of Celestia and Bet, now standing side by side.

Simon struck fast with his comment, “Eighty seconds, Beary? Wow, you work fast.”

The commotion had calmed, the ponies and dragon no longer freaking out. Twilight kicked Simon as it occurred to her he was insulting the Princess.

Applejack, both Luna and Celestia, as well as Rainbow Dash caught the meaning... and blushed. Bet chuckled, “I was going to tell you all the details, but now I'm just going to keep them to myself.”

Celestia looked mortified, “But we-”

Bet whispered into her ear, “I'm just going to mess with them a bit, don't worry.”

Simon cackled in the background.

Bet spoke up again, “Actually, I changed my mind.” Celestia didn't look any less worried. “It was infinitely better than I first expected. With her skills rusty, and mine - while good, are not those of a master – I expected it to be a lot rougher. In fact, her lips formed the most... perfect... words. It turns out, she actually is fluent in Japanese... which is what I expected. Who knew, huh?”

Simon looked disappointed, Twilight still looked clueless, and Celestia looked relieved. Rainbow, Applejack and Spike laughed, Luna gave a giggle, and the others remained just as clueless.

Twilight voiced her confusion, “Spike! What's so funny? I don't get it!”

Spike couldn't hear her over his laughter. Or maybe he ignored her, but he didn't answer nonetheless.

Bet returned the subject of the conversation to something more fitting, “Alright, now that we've got that out of our systems... I believe we should return to formal introductions and speak apologies.” He walked over to Simon and pulled him up to his feet. “Princess Celestia, Princess Luna... I am Bet, and this one,” he shook Simon a bit for emphasis, “Is Simon. We're here by ways that are not known to us, and through a stroke of luck – good or bad, yet to be known – we have another's consciousness, and memories, inside our skulls.”

Simon butted in, “I call it a Fey.” At Bet's glare, he wilted. “Shutting up now.”

Bet continued, “Anyway... we've come to introduce ourselves and our... 'Fey's so that you know we're not a hostile threat. I'm sure you see that you teleported us here ahead of schedule, and you can see how that ended.”

Simon butted in again, “It's actually 'Fey' in both singular and plural.” Another glare, and he wilted once more. “Shutting up.”

Bet spoke again, “Back to the discussion... I would like two things from you. The first, is permission to build a house near Ponyville. Don't worry, I can handle it and it will keep Simon busy. The second is something I'd like from everypony here.”

Simon struck, “Is it their ch-” He was silenced by Bet's vine this time.

Bet finished, “No. It's a simple promise of secrecy – I don't want anypony to talk about our Fey outside of those who already know. Please? It will help us immensely if everypony doesn't think we're insane, or something.”

Pinkie immediately agreed, “I won't say a word! Or a phrase! Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!”

Spurred by Pinkie, Applejack gave her own oath, “I won't say anything; you can count on me!”

The promises continued around the room, until Twilight, Spike, and the Princesses were left. Celestia spoke, “A promise from me is a powerful thing... I hope you know what you're doing. I, Princess Celestia, promise not to speak of the 'Fey' to anypony that hasn't already heard of it.”

Twilight's eyes went wide, showing her surprise. She cried in disbelief, “What?! But Princess, you-”

Celestia stopped Twilight, “Trust me, my most precious student. We were gone longer than you think; Simon was quite wrong with his joking.”

Spike's fears were removed. “Well, if Princess Celestia trusts them... I guess I do too. I promise not to talk about it to anypony who doesn't already know.”

Luna followed suit, “Well... Tia's always been a good judge of ponies. I think we should trust them, so... I, Princess Luna, promise not to speak of the Fey to those who lack previous knowledge.”

Twilight was similarly surprised, “But Princess Luna, what about-”

Bet sighed and cut her off. “Please, Twilight? It really means a lot to us. Well... to the Fey, really. Mine doesn't want to be widely known until he can speak separate of myself. I assume Simon's Fey is just following mine's lead.”

Twilight's expression betrayed her annoyance. “Fine... I, Twilight Sparkle, promise not to speak of the Fey to anypony who lacks previous knowledge. There, I did it. Now you owe me something.”

Bet smiled, “Magic?”

Twilight nodded, “Magic.”

Bet turned to Celestia, “I think it's time you send them home. They've had... a strange day, to say the least.”

Celestia nodded, “Yes, they do seem rather... unsteady.” Her horn glowed and a glyph appeared on the floor. “Walk onto the glowing symbol and you'll be taken back to the Library in Ponyville. Don't worry my little ponies, we just need to discuss a few things before Bet and Simon can leave.”

The six ponies and dragon friend walked onto the glowing glyph one by one, disappearing with a wink.

Celestia then appeared before Simon. She nearly spat, “I don't like you.”

Simon replied, “Kinda figured that one out.”

Celestia sighed, then continued, “But... Bet says you're not evil, and I guess I can trust him.” She sighed, then muttered under her breath, “So far he's been quite... candid.”

Celestia rounded on him again, “But if you harm my sister or any of my little ponies, I will find you. And I'll make sure that you Stay. Down.”

Simon's face became serious. He raised an eyebrow, unimpressed by the threat. “Then you'd be a hero to countless and the crusher of many a dream.” he scoffed, “Besides, taller, more cunning and I'm pretty sure more powerful have tried. You're just the latest on the list.” He distinctly didn't mention that Bet had a hand in his survival on quite a few counts.

However, like a switch, Simon's face fell back into a grin. “So... about little Luna... Can I write?”

Celestia glared, but the doe eyes from her sister got to her. She sighed, “You'd find a way to do it anyway...” She turned to Bet, “So I'll let you handle it.”

Simon couldn't resist a fist-pump, his Fey influencing him.

Bet nodded, “I'll make sure he's... appropriate.” Simon loosed a raspberry at him in response. “There's just a few minor things I'd like to take care of before we leave.” Bet motioned for both Luna and Celestia to come closer.

Bet glanced to Simon, who nodded. Bet's hands glowed blue, and he formed a sphere in his hands. As the air swirled, he poured his mana into the sphere, then shrunk it to the rough size of a marble.

Simon followed suit; his hands glowed gray, and he formed a similar sphere in his own hands. As the shell was formed, he poured his mana into the construct, similarly shrinking it.

Bet spoke, “These orbs are made using our Mana; it's what fuels our spells and our magic. As each Unicorn has their own aura, so do we have our own unique mana.” Both Bet and Simon held the small orbs in front of them, hovering a bit over their palms. Bet continued, “These orbs serve two purposes; the first, is that it will allow you to recognize us, no matter our appearance. The second, is that it will help us both study your magic, as you no doubt want to study ours.”

Celestia nodded, but Luna was entranced by the dim, swirling light inside the orbs. After a nudge from Celestia, Luna nodded, reminded of herself. Celestia spoke, “Your magic is... unique, yes. Thank you for these gifts.” Celestia's horn glowed, a similar glow surrounding the tiny orbs. Luna followed suit, their telekinetic aura blending.

The Princesses closed their eyes in concentration, feeling out the mana, and it's differences. It was vastly different to their own energy, as Alicorns, and still unique when compared to the Unicorn's energy.

However, after a moment, it seemed very familiar. Luna brought it up, “Tia, does this Mana remind you of something?”

Celestia nodded, still in thought. After a moment, she spoke, “I can't place it right away, but this energy seems very familiar...” They both opened their eyes. “I think we've got the feel memorized; and you were right. It's very different from our own magic.”

Bet nodded, “I thought so. So tell me, does your own magic function by way of lingual direction, pre-set spells or intention followed by energy?”

Celestia pondered something a moment; “There are common spells, but beyond those, magic here is directed by intention.”

Bet grinned, “And a unicorn's energy is based upon both their talent, their practice and their age, am I correct?”

Luna nodded at this one, “Yes. However, very young unicorns can exhibit uncontrolled magic. As they get older, their capacity grows with their use.”

Celestia smiled proudly, “That's right.” Her telekinetic aura whisked the orbs into the air; they dissipated into nothing after they were a few meters away from Bet and Simon. “And just as I expected, your Mana can't last well without some sort of container, correct?”

Bet nodded at this, “We often used gems and crystals to store our Mana; However I don't expect to find the right types in this world anytime soon. Perhaps we should ask Rarity for some assistance?”

Simon nodded, “That would be a good idea.”

Celestia smiled. “I think that's enough about Magic, Bet. There were other things you wanted to discuss?”

Bet replied, “Since we're kinda new here... I think a map of Equestria would be very helpful. More specifics on the spot to build the house would be helpful.”

Celestia was about to answer, but Luna cut her off. “I have a map! It's around here somewhere...” Her horn glowed as she turned around, digging through her things. “Book? No. Book? No. Not that... nor that. Where is the... aha! Found it!”

After making a pile of books, Luna had found the map she was looking for. She explained, “Tia gave this to me a few days after Twilight and her friends... well...”

Bet smiled warmly, “'Saved' you? Don't worry, we don't blame you.” Simon mirrored his smile.

Luna cleared her throat, “Anyway... Tia gave me the map so I could learn what things had changed while I was gone. I've already memorized it, so I think you should have it.” She levitated the rolled and bound map into the air in front of Bet. After he grabbed it, he placed it in his pack.

Bet voiced their thoughts, “Thanks, Luna. I'm sure this will be a huge help.”

Celestia then spoke, giggling at her sister's antics. “I'll give you some of the land between Ponyville and Fluttershy's cottage; it should be plenty for your purposes. It should also keep you close enough for comfort, but far enough away for you to keep your privacy.”

Simon surprisingly shouted, “Yes! We finally get a house again!” He jumped, then was stopped by Bet.

Bet spoke, “I promise we'll make good use of it.” He mirrored Celestia's grin. “Thanks for all your help. But I need to show you one last thing...”

Simon paused, “Uhm... Beary? Are you going to-”

Bet cut him off, “Yes. I have to, as much as I don't want to. I'm not going to risk their trust now.”

Both Celestia and Luna looked confused. Luna asked first, “What do you mean?”

Bet smiled, “I've explained my profession before; I'm a Druid. My people back 'home' are close to nature. We can speak with animals, talk to the trees, flowers... and we can become one with nature.”

Bet grimaced, “Please stand back. It's been a while since I've done this; just... whatever you do, don't be afraid. I'm still me.”

The Princesses nodded, then backed away. Bet moved to the center of the room and closed his eyes. As his breath evened out, Bet relaxed. Suddenly, however, something changed.

It was subtle at first; barely noticeable. Bet's hair seemed to grow spikier for a moment, before receding back into his head. He somehow grew even taller. His arms grew hairier, wider. After a moment, Bet's clothing disappeared. Underneath, however, he was covered in fur.

Sickening cracks sounded as Bet fell from his upright position onto all fours. The Princesses looked on, their expressions torn between horror and fascination.

Suddenly, Bet's form glowed a bright white. Flinching and shielding their eyes, the Princesses looked away for but a moment.

They looked back, and a huge, furry bear was in Bet's place. It was easily as tall as Celestia, and likely two or three times the weight.

A unique feel remained, however. The bear's eyes were still green, when they should be brown or black.

Simon spoke first, “And this, is why I call him Beary.”

The bear somehow managed to look annoyed.

The Princesses were startled, but showed a sense of understanding. Celestia spoke first, “I understand why you would want to hide this, Bet. But don't be afraid, my little ponies are accepting.”

Bear-Bet's eyes glowed blue, then the three heard a voice inside their heads. “I'm not afraid of that; I just don't want this to be getting around. I need to have some secrets, yes? Anyway, this isn't my only... 'alternate' form. I can also become a wolf, even an Ent... which is a walking tree.”

Bet's form glowed white, and when the glow disappeared he was back to normal, in his human form. He spoke through his mouth this time, “That is actually the only skill I can use in that form.”

Celestia looked startled, “Was that... telepathy?”

Bet chuckled, “Ah... of a sorts, yes.” He sighed, “Anyway... I think we'd best get going. We've got to return to Ponyville. Don't worry, we'll keep in touch.”

Bet looked to see that Simon and Luna were making faces at each other. He sighed, and Celestia followed his gaze.

Celestia would have glared if it wasn't for Bet's hand on her shoulder. “Don't. Let them have a bit of fun, Tia.” Celestia's eye twitched at the nickname, but nothing else happened. “Simon's a bit of a kid at heart... right now, anyway. And Luna's still got the social issues from her... ah, trip to the moon.”

Celestia sighed, then smiled. “At least she's making friends. Though I can't help but wonder of the quality of her latest one...”

Bet chuckled, “Don't worry. He's not nearly as bad as he looks. I'll vouch for him on that one.” Bet then whistled sharply, causing Simon and Luna to flinch.

Looking towards the noise, they met the matching expressions of an annoyed Bet and Celestia. Simon couldn't help but chuckle; Luna's giggles followed soon after. Moments later, all four had begun to laugh.

Bet grinned, “Well... I think it's best that we take our leave.”

Celestia stopped him from continuing, “Wait, please. There's one thing I want to know... why did you show us that... other form you have?”

Bet sighed, and opened his mouth to speak... but was cut off by Simon before he could begin, “'Cause he's a sucker for ponies.” It made both princesses blush lightly.

Bet glared at him for a moment, then explained, “Well... as a result of my 'ability' there are times that I can't control my form; that is, I can't choose which form to stay in. Some shifts result from poisons, others from magic sources, and a few through means that I'm not entirely sure of. However, even though I'll be forced into those forms doesn't mean I won't be myself; I just wanted to show it to you two so that you won't be scared and try to kill us again.” Celestia had the grace to look sheepish, even if only for a moment.

“Uhm... Sorry?” She cleared her throat, “I give my thanks for your insight; that could have ended up much worse were this not the case.”

Luna did have something to add. “What about you, Simon?” Her voice was normal, the Royal Canterlot Voice deemed to be used to address those outside the castle.

Simon put a hand on his chin in thought, “Other forms? Not really.” He smirked, “Though I do admit to myself being taken in by my beauty from time to time.”

Bet sighed, “I think you're forgetting the armor.”

Simon's expression changed into one of understanding. “The bone armor thing? Doesn't really count as shapeshifting; but it does make me look a lot more intimidating.”

Bet looked annoyed, “I forgot you're an idiot for a moment there.” Simon opened his mouth but was cut off, “No.” He turn to the Princesses, looking a little disappointed, “Alright. Now that we've taken care of business, I think it's time we should leave.”

Celestia sighed, “It's time we get back to our own duties, as well. I trust you can keep in touch?”

Luna added, “Simon too?”

Simon nodded. “Definitely!”

Bet smiled and said, “Of course. If nothing else, we can always ask Spike, right? Anyway, we must take our leave.” He put his arm on Simon's shoulder, then said, “See you!”

They turned into dust and blew out the window, and away into the wind.

Scratch my back, I'l Scratch yours

The dust drifted on a breeze, to land in a pile on the outskirts of Canterlot. It bunched and swirled into the forms of Simon and Bet, before their color returned and they faded to normal.

Simon muttered, “That's always creepy.”

Bet grinned. “You're one to talk. But yes... it is rather strange, isn't it?”

Simon patted himself all over. “I can never tell if you put the right bits in the right places...”

Bet chuckled. “Come on, we need to head back to Ponyville.”

As they started walking, Simon was annoyed. “Let me recap, shall I? We were transported to a land filled with technicolor ponies. We picked up a couple of hitchhikers while in the 'void.' We then landed in an old ruin, walked outside into a forest. On the way out, we met a talking zebra. Afterwards, we walked to town. Switched places with our Fey at that point, and we finished our trip. Soon after reaching the town, we met the group that the Fey call the 'Mane 7.' The next day, we met two semi-divine beings of a sort. Afterward, we nearly got vaporized by the apparent elder of the sisters. Then, after that, you calmed her down somehow, we shared secrets, talked shop with the two and declined a dismissal right back to Ponyville. Did I miss anything?”

Bet chuckled. “You left out where you nearly molested the Princess of the Moon... and that about sums it up, yeah.”

Simon sighed. “Alright, what do I have to do to live that down?”

Bet was silent for a moment. “Let's put it this way. Neither of the Princesses are going to kill you.”

“That's good... right?”

“I wouldn't hold my breath.”

“But I don't need to breathe?”

“Right now you do.”

“Ah, right. Bummer.”

Later...

“Are we there yet?”

“No.”

“...How about now?”

“No.”

“... … How about now?”

“NO! And if you ask again, you'll regret it.”

Simon stopped. For all of two minutes. “...Are we there yet?”

Bet grunted in annoyance, then blew away as dust like he did before.

Simon grinned. “This is too fun! Yay! Tag!” He glowed gray and sunk into the ground. (If it so amuses you, you could find Yakety Sax and play it during this part.)

The dust swirled at the top of a hill, forming Bet. Simon followed, clawing his way out of the ground.

Bet sighed, then repeated the maneuver. Once more, Simon followed. They kept this up for over an hour, through hills, valleys, once in the middle of another city.

They eventually ended up in Ponyville, Bet in front of the plot of land that the Princesses had given him for a house. A short walk outside of the town, only a few minutes at most, enough for a house of significant size.

(You can stop the Yakety Sax now.)

Simon climbed out of the ground again, bored more than anything. “Are we done?”

Bet sighed. “Yup. We're here. This...” he motioned towards the plot of earth and grass, “Is our new home... for now.”

Simon put a hand on his chin. “Hmm... A bit too natural for my tastes... but I can make do. Dibbs on the pillow-bush!” He jumped and charged towards a small bush in the clearing.

Bet reached into his pocket, pulling out a few seeds. “Then I guess that makes the house mine?” His hand glowed green, then he tossed the seed, and after a few moments, a tree began to grow.

Simon chuckled sheepishly, moments from pouncing on the poor bush. “Ah... druid... right...” He quickly scampered back over to where Bet was standing. After a moment of silence, the tree still growing, Simon asked, “So... any chance I can decorate? ...at least, my room? ...a small corner? ...of my room?”

Bet closed his eyes, then darkly muttered to Simon, “Shut up; we're concentrating.”

Simon was quiet for a moment... then, “...the cellar that nopony is going to?”

The grass under Simon's feet suddenly grew to over thirty times their original length, then tripped and bound him. Bet uttered an exasperated “Thank you.” at the silence.

The tree, meanwhile, was growing. It was an oak, strong and firm. As it grew, the trunk became much, much wider than an ordinary oak. There were sounds of cracking, and snapping, from inside the tree.

Grumbles were heard from Simon, “hmphmhmh gruhmhmhmhmhm hehmhmhmh” and were promptly ignored.

The tree kept growing, until the thickness of the trunk was easily fifteen yards across. However, as it grew wider, it also grew taller. It now stood over five stories tall.

The growth slowed as the tree stopped it's initial spurt. A door carved itself into being at the front of the tree, facing the road. There was no handle, but there was a small indentation of a hand, as well as a hoof-print, on top of each other.

Bet walked up to the door as the leaves and twigs grew into the canopy a tree of this size was known for. Simon whistled. “Wow. Even I've got to admit, that's impressive.”

Bet chuckled, “He's not finished. He's still guiding the spell, carving the rooms and even a basement, I think.” He placed his palm over the indentation; the door was just big enough so that he could walk inside easily.

Simon spoke up, “You think?” He then approached the door, himself. “I like the door. Though, the sheer size of the house will attract attention. Ooh, slumber parties!” As an afterthought, he added, “Hmm... I wonder if Pinkie takes commissions?”

Bet elaborated on what he said before, “Right now, I'm only giving it power; my Fey said he had a few ideas of what to do, and to leave it to him. He also mentioned something about a surprise?”

Simon's interest was piqued. “Ooh, a surprise? I wonder what it is...”

Bet chuckled, Simon's childish demeanor was fun to watch. “Whatever it is, it will have to wait. Perhaps your own Fey could help us figure out what to do next?”

Simon scratched his chin in thought. “I don't know... Maybe we can- no, hmm... one moment!” His posture drooped for a short time, before he groggily stood up straight. “Woah, that's weird for the second time. Hello there, Bet! I'm Simon's Fey!”

Bet didn't know whether to be relieved or worried. “Uhm... hello?” Simon's body waved. Bet hesitantly waved back.

Simon spoke, “So... what do you want to do?”

Bet decided. He was worried. “Well... I can't leave. I have to stay here for a little longer while your... ah, 'buddy' guides my spell.” As if to punctuate his point, there was a large crack from inside the tree-house. “And that means that you do as well, Fey.”

Simon pouted. “Aww, no fair!” His face brightened. “Whatever! My dreams are coming true, so I don't care!”

Bet paused, “...Pardon?”

Simon grinned, “I get to meet the Ponies! Oh, by the way... did you ever ask my fey friend how he can guide your spell, even though he can't use magic himself?”

Bet blinked. “...You raise a good point. I'll ask when he finishes.” The wood cracked again, this time from above them.

Simon fist-pumped, “Yes! Two floors has been confirmed!”

Bet only sighed.

A few minutes later, the tree-house spell had stopped, final touches being added moments before. They explored the house, finding that there were a total of five floors; the ground floor, two on top of that, and a large basement at the bottom. Between that large basement, and the ground floor, was what appeared to be some sort of... they weren't sure. But it had a door, some strange carvings, and a few other things in the stairwell.

The top floors held four bedrooms, and above that there was a hidden balcony, they discovered had a great view of the area around them. Simon whistled, “Wow, he wasn't kidding.”

Bet's brow knitted. “What do you mean?”

Simon chuckled, “Well... back before... this, he always had creative streaks when presented with the right opportunities. I guess he took your spell and ran with it.”

There was a soft silence. A small breeze drifted through the balcony, bringing a smile to both faces.

Then, suddenly, a set of knocks sounded from below.

Simon grinned. “Ooh! Company! I'll get it!” He skipped down the stairs to the front door, Bet following behind him.

Bet walked across the room as Simon bounced at the door, giddy with excitement. Simon opened the door to find none other than Vinyl Scratch. “Hello! How are you today?”

Vinyl's reaction was to pause, shrug, then say “Pretty good, I guess. Though I did see something that was quite impressive not but a short while ago.”

“Was it... well... me, I guess, coming out of the ground? 'Cause I had a view of it and it was kinda awesome. Hey... don't I know you? Loves the shades, by the by.”

“Uh, thanks? But that's not what I was talking about. I saw the tree grow. That's pretty amazing.”

“Yeah, I guess that is cool. Hey, you wanna meet the guy who grew it?”

“Sure!”

“I've got to warn ya though, he can be a bit of a stick in the mud... but he's cool at the same time, ya know?”

Vinyl chuckled, thinking of a certain gray mare. “I think I know the type.”

Simon motioned for her to come inside, so she followed. Inside, leaning against the wall with his eyes closed, was Bet. Simon pointed, “He's the one who did it.”

Vinyl froze up as how big they were actually hit her. The door was large enough so that they could easily walk through; and now she knew why. They were huge! Twice her height, by a quick guess.

Bet's expression changed; he was conversing with his Fey. Simon enlightened Vinyl, “He's having a little chat with a friend of mine. Don't worry, he'll come out of it soon.”

Vinyl was a little worried. While Simon had an air of kindness, Bet was somewhat more intimidating. “If you say so... Anyway, how did he grow this tree? Especially into a house? I don't think I've ever seen anything like it... at least, not this natural.”

Simon thought on it. “I'm not too sure, exactly... but between Bet and my friend, they grew the tree-house. It's really something. Want a quick tour?”

Vinyl nodded. “Why not? This seems like a pretty cool place.”

Simon paused. “You know... I don't think we've introduced ourselves. My name is Simon. Or maybe I should say this body is Simon? I don't know. I'll ask Bet – the tall one over there – when he comes out of that trance.” He knelt and extended a hand. “Nice to meet ya.”

Vinyl returned the hoofshake, “Vinyl Scratch, and likewise.”

Bet stood from his spot against the wall, shaking his head. He opened his eyes and turned to greet Vinyl. “Sorry for that, he had a few questions. He should be finished any minute.” Another loud crack sounded from below. “I don't think we should go downstairs quite yet.” Bet cleared his throat. “Anyway, my name is Bet,” he knelt and offered his hand, as Simon did earlier. “And it's a pleasure to meet you, Vinyl.”

Vinyl returned the shake, and grinned. “And you as well. Now, let's get on with this tour, shall we?”

Simon lead the way, heading up the stairs two at a time. Bet chuckled as Vinyl followed; he brought up the rear. “So eager, that one.” he said to himself.

From above, Simon called down. “Come on you slowpokes!”

Bet just smiled. Vinyl was lead throughout a good deal of the house. It was currently unfurnished, for the most part, and the furniture that was there was part of the walls or floors.

As they showed Vinyl the masterpiece, Bet's Fey was finishing the house. Things such as the tree's leafy canopy, the roots below the ground, were the final touches that needed intricate attention.

The last place they visited was the balcony. Vinyl was stunned by the view. “Woah... I've not seen something like this in a long time.”

Expanding from the balcony, there was a great view of a wide open area; sparse roads lined the scene, one leading to Ponyville, another to Fluttershy's cottage, and a third outwards to places unknown.

Rolling green plains and hills were much of the landscape; Ponyville visible off to the side. From so far up high, Sweet Apple Acres was visible a few kilometers away.

Bet smiled. “A great view, isn't it?”

Vinyl nodded. Simon added his piece, “Well, I believe we should head downstairs. I think we have a few things to discuss.”

Vinyl grinned sheepishly. “I'm guessing you want to know what I was doing, right? Hehehe, well...”

They walked downstairs to the ground floor. Surprisingly, the moment Bet sat foot on the floor, a small orb of light appeared, floating a few inches from the ceiling. “I'm thinking that means he finished?” Simon commented.

Bet nodded, “Yes, he's finished. I think we should check it out later. Back to what you were saying, Vinyl?”

She chuckled. “Ah... well, I was taking a break from all the parties and such, to clear my head, maybe find some inspiration, that kind of thing. I eventually found my way Ponyville. I've not been here in a while, so I thought I'd check up on the town and see if anything new had happened, and... well... I saw the tree growing from nothing, so I came to see what was going on, and that's that.”

Bet grinned. “In that case, I'm happy you stopped by.”

Simon added, “Ditto.” He then asked, “So, what is it that you do? You said that you were looking for inspiration, and your Cutie Mark is musical notation, so... I'd guess something with music.”

Vinyl laughed, “I guess you could say that. I'm a DJ – and one of the best! It's just that I've hit a bit of a rut lately, and I've not been... well, inspired, ya know?”

Simon grinned, “Yeah, I know the feeling. This one time, I wa-” He went limp, only to be hastily steadied by Bet. After a moment, he looked up, shook away the metaphorical cobwebs and blinked. “...Did I do that?” He turned to Vinyl. “Ooh! Another pony!” He tried to jump forward, but Bet held him still.

“Stop it, Simon. We don't want to freak her out any more than we already have.” Vinyl looked nervous, or rather, as nervous as a pony could while still behind sunglasses. Bet turned to her. “I'm guessing you'll like an explanation now.”

Vinyl's flat look told him everything.

“Okay... where to start... we-” He motioned to himself and to Simon, “Are humans. We're not native to this world, and under strange circumstances, we were brought here half against our will.”

Simon continued, in a moment of rare seriousness. “After we entered the portal of sorts, we grabbed a pair of tag-alongs in the Void between the universes.”

Bet followed through, “Which would be the friend that Simon was talking about. They joined us in a manner unusual to many; they are separate consciousnesses within our minds.”

Vinyl took off her sunglasses, revealing red eyes, and stared. “...I'm not sure if I should be worried about your mental health, or if I should just walk away.”

Bet sighed. “I don't want to do this, but I doubt you'll believe us any other way.” Bet's body drooped in a similar manner to Simon's did, before he stood up a moment later with Simon's help. “Thanks for that.”

“No problem.”

Bet shook his head. “Now that Bet and I have switched places... Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Bet's Fey, but since I'm in this body, you can still call me Bet. Trust us, it will be much, much less confusing if you do.”

Vinyl nodded, confused. “Uhm... okay?”

Bet grinned. “Good! Now, to prove that we're not from around here, as well as not from where our buddies are from...” He glanced towards Simon. “Pay attention, you guys.”

Bet sat down on the floor and crossed his legs. “Let's begin. First, you are Vinyl Scratch, one of the DJs of Equestria, who goes by the stage name of DJ PON-3. Your talent is centered around the creation and remixing of music through the use of your equipment – including, but not limited to: a mixing table, recording setup, turntables, lights, and speakers of various sizes. You are currently single, though you are very social. You dislike large crowds, but don't mind being the center of attention. Finally, you harbor a secret liking of classical and other 'weird' music for one in your position. Did I miss anything?”

Vinyl was frozen. She shakily spoke, “I... how... how do you know all that!? I've never told anyone that!”

Bet only grinned a knowing grin. “Knowledge is power, my little pony.” He smiled softly. “Don't worry, though. Your secret is safe with me. I wholly swear that I shall not tell a soul what secrets have been exchanged today. I suggest you do the same; the less ponies that know about the other voice in my head the better.”

Vinyl was still shocked. Bet frowned, Simon mirrored it.

After a moment, Vinyl moved again. It was completely unexpected. She fainted from the sudden stress.

Bet deadpanned, “What is it with us and causing ponies to faint?”

Simon chuckled. “I blame Bet. Not you Bet, Bet Bet. ...The voices in my head agree.”

Bet sighed, and closed his eyes in thought. After a moment, he came up with something. “Come on, we at least need to get her to a bed.” He picked her up, making sure to grab her sunglasses, and brought her upstairs.

Turning inside the first room on the right, Bet came upon an empty room. He closed his eyes, his hands glowed green, and a seed grew out of his pocket into a vine that climbed onto the floor. The vine crawled its way to the wall, pierced the wood slightly, then turned into wood itself. It soon grew, taking the shape of an average human-sized bed.

He muttered under his breath, “Guess I'll have to make due...” From the bed grew a large makeshift mattress of leaves, thatch and other fibers. Bet carefully put her down on the freshly grown bed.

He left the room and closed the door, waiting for her to come to.

...

Back downstairs, Bet met with Simon. “You said that you wanted to know how I guided his spell even though I can't use magic?”

Simon nodded.

“It's a simple, roundabout way. Even though I don't have the capacity Bet does, I still have my own mana – because it's the energy of the mind – and through that, plus the experience of using his spells when we first came here, let me guide his spell. It's simple enough... for me, at least. I don't know how you would fare using Simon's spells, but it should be simple enough to cast the easiest ones.”

Simon paused. After a moment, he conveyed a message, “Okay, he says... something about you cheating – sounded kinda garbled – and that when is it his turn to learn to use spells and stuff.”

Bet blinked. “You won't actually be able to use them under your own power unless you had your own body or something. And I'm not cheating; Bet used the spell, and I guided what it did. Not quite as difficult as casting it myself... but much harder to guide it. I grew quite a few things under my own power – nowhere near the capacity Bet can do.”

Another moment passed. “Well, he is more experienced... Whatever.” There was another pause. “So what now?”

“Well, Simon, we need to wait for her to wake up.”

“That brings something to mind... why did she freak out?”

“Equines are skittish and easily scared; to be honest, I'm kind of embarrassed that I forgot.”

“...I see.”

“We'll have to explain things when she wakes up. It shouldn't be long.”

“If you say so... Also, he calls you stupid.”

“I try my best, Simon.”

There was a sudden sound from upstairs. Bet started walking. “I got it.”

After he went up the stairs to the second floor, he knocked lightly on the door. There was an awkward pause. Vinyl's voice came muffled through the door, “Uhm... come in?”

Bet opened the door. Vinyl was sitting, but flinched as he came in the room. Bet sighed, then he closed the door and sat with his legs crossed on the floor. Putting his hands up as if to surrender, he calmly said, “I'm not here to hurt you, nor am I here to give away all of your secrets. If you want to leave after our chat, by all means, you're free to go. I don't want to make enemies, but I would love to make friends... and I think it would be best if you tell me why you freaked out.”

Vinyl tensed for a moment, then relaxed with a frustrated sigh. “Fine, I'll tell you. It's because I'm... well, popular, ya know? I'm a party pony, I love loud music, having a good time... It's just that if it got out that I love Classical music too, it would ruin my image. Classical music isn't... 'cool' to some ponies.”

“...That's it? That's seriously the whole reason you freaked out? Because you thought you would become 'uncool?' Vinyl...” He put his head in his hands and sighed. “Classical music is a favorite of my own. Back home, as it were, I was friends with the strangest people, with completely different musical backgrounds. One of them was a 'metal-head' that loved the genre. Another loved rock, and jazz. Just because you like different music doesn't mean you can't be cool.”

Bet smiled, and Vinyl returned the gesture. “I... thank you, Bet.”

Bet grinned, then stood up. “Let's get back downstairs, shall we? Don't want Simon thinking something else is going on.” Vinyl blushed.

Bet opened the door, and Vinyl stood. She immediately flinched in pain, and lifted her left foreleg in the air. “...You hurt your leg falling out of the bed, didn't you?”

Vinyl laughed sheepishly. “Ah, well... yes. I did.”

Bet chuckled. “Then let me carry you, you probably shouldn't walk on that anyway.”

Vinyl blushed again, a deeper red than before. “I... ah, well...” Bet picked her up, and she let out an embarrassed squeak. Bet chuckled again.

Bet carried her downstairs, being careful of her leg. Simon was keeping himself entertained by staring directly at the werelight. His pupils were pinpricks, and his eyes were very red. He growled out, “I will not lose! I will not blink!”

Vinyl stared. “Is he always like this?” she whispered to Bet.

Bet stifled his laughter. He answered in a whisper, “This one is. The other one is... significantly more intelligent.”

Vinyl giggled. Simon looked over to the sound, and blinked because of it. A moment later, it hit him. “Nooooo!” he cried in anguish at his loss. “I lost! This is the Worst! Possible! Thing!” He fell over expecting to hit some sort of furniture, but instead slammed almost face-first into the floor. “Ow.”

Vinyl and Bet shared a laugh. Simon sighed, then stood up again. “So! How's the situation? And why are you carrying her?”

Vinyl looked embarrassed. “Ah... well... I hurt my leg because I fell off the bed.”

“...Seriously?”

Bet gave him a look. “She probably twisted her ankle a bit or something. Want to come with us to Twilight's?”

Simon jumped into the air. “Adventure!”

Bet sighed. “Not quite. We have to ninja.”

Simon jumped a little higher, almost striking the ceiling. “Ninja!”

Bet glared. “That means shut up.”

Simon deflated. “Aww...”

Vinyl giggled again. “You're funny, Simon.”

The weird one in question puffed out his chest in pride.

Bet started to walk to the door, Vinyl still in his arms. “Let's go, Simon.”

They walked outside. The sun was perhaps an hour from setting. “Woah, we were inside for a while. It's going to get dark soon.”

They walked towards Ponyville, chatting about Simon's antics and telling jokes.

As they reached the town, surprisingly few ponies were out and about. They managed to reach the Library without being seen by anypony; perhaps their luck was finally turning around.

Simon knocked on the door. It was soon opened by Twilight, who complained, “It's a Library, you don't have to knock!”

She recognized two of the three at the door. “Hello Bet, Simon. Who's this?”

Vinyl grinned. “I'm Vinyl Scratch.”

Bet chuckled. “And this is Twilight Sparkle.”

“So... what brings you to the Library?”

Vinyl looked embarrassed again. “Ah... well... I sorta hurt my leg.”

Twilight was aghast, “Oh! That's not good. Come on inside, I'll help you.”

Bet looked to Vinyl. “Your call.” She nodded.

They walked inside, Twilight searching the bookshelves for medical books, and spellbooks with healing magic, and more. Bet sighed. “You don't change fast, do you Twi?” he muttered to himself.

Bet sat Vinyl down on a couch in the room. “Can I see your ankle? I'd like to see it before Twi goes crazy.” At her worried look, Bet added, “Don't worry. She's a bit eccentric, but she means well. You won't get hurt.”

Vinyl let Bet examine her foreleg. “It doesn't really hurt, but it stung when I stood on it.”

Bet made a thoughtful noise. “It's probably a minor thing, so staying off it a day or two should let it heal. I'd heal you myself, but I lack the experience and knowledge to do it correctly.”

Simon grunted, “What do you mean? You've healed me plenty of times.”

Bet chuckled, “That's because you've gotten hurt so much that healing you comes as a second nature. Ah, excuse the pun.”

The three shared a short laugh. Twilight eventually found the book she was looking for, Preparing Poultices, Readying Remedies, and Magical Medicine by White Mage. Bet and Simon laughed at the author's name.

Twilight didn't get it, and neither did Vinyl for that matter. Twilight still spoke up in the book's defense, however. “Stop laughing! This book has directions for some of our best medicines!” Bet and Simon only laughed harder. “Stop it!”

Bet stopped to catch his breath, explaining between gasps. “Sorry... but... It's something... from... our home... hahaha... oh wow, I haven't laughed that hard in a long time.”

Twilight blinked. “You're not Bet, are you?”

Bet grinned. “Nope! I'm the Fey. But still call me Bet, it will make it harder to reveal, and less of a headache on you guys, ah, girls.”

Vinyl cocked her head. “Fey?”

“Ah, sorry. That's what we call ourselves for easy communication for the others.”

“I see. So, 'doc,' what's the verdict?”

“I'm not a lawyer.”

“Okay then, what's the damage?”

“...You just hurt your leg. We've been over this.”

Vinyl grinned. “Come on, Bet. Don't be a stick in the mud!”

Simon beamed. “Yes! Someone agrees with me!”

After a moment, Vinyl giggled again. “Just kidding!”

Simon hugged his knees in a corner, looking depressed again.

Bet chuckled, “Don't worry. She's just messing with you.”

Vinyl grinned. “Sorry, but... it's just so easy!” She laughed.

Simon grinned back and stood up again. “I know. I was playing drama queen! ...or so says my Fey.”

Bet's tone turned serious. “Alright, for real now, all you've done – from what I can see – is twist your ankle a little bit. I won't be sure until I can examine it better, but keeping off it should be plenty enough for it to heal.”

Vinyl sighed. “Aww... So how long should it take?”

Bet made a thoughtful noise. “Let's see... injuries of similar nature could take weeks to heal depending on the severity... but if you actually listen and stay off of it, you should be healed in a day or two.”

The three turned to see Twilight still looking through books; a large pile of them was on the floor behind her. Vinyl called out, “Come on, Twilight. I think Bet already figured it out.”

Twilight turned at hearing her name, and saw the huge pile she'd made. With a sheepish laugh, she began returning the books to the shelves. “Ah, sorry. I kinda got... carried away a little bit.”

Simon smiled. “It's okay, happens to the best of us.” He smirked. “Especially you, from what I've heard.” He got smacked again for his trouble. “Stop that!”

“When you learn your manners. Be nice,” Bet chastised. “Back to business... Twilight, do you have any books on Magic? I want to get started as soon as possible.”

There was a gleam in her eyes. “One moment!” Twilight was off raiding the bookshelves and grabbing books again.

Simon idly commented, “You know... for all her organization, she's not very organized.”

Twilight paused in her search, and gave a sheepish laugh. “Ah... well...”

Bet helped her save face. “It's probably because she's still somewhat new to the library here, Simon. That, and excitement tends to force one to ignore reason. Please, Twilight, continue your search.”

She did so with gusto. Bet gave Vinyl a short lecture on staying off her leg, and Simon stared at the grains in the wood. He found a weird pattern, but it must have been uninteresting to him because he passed it over.

After a few minutes, Twilight had a large stack of books on the table, and she asked Bet to come discuss the magics of their respective worlds. Simon groaned, uninterested, but at the pressing of the Fey, he walked over to listen in. Vinyl was interested, and swayed her head to a melody heard by only her.

Twilight spoke first, “Alright, Bet. First, there are a few questions before we can truly start. One, the method of magic you use, Second, the restrictions of your magic, and third, how it is learned and if it can be taught to anyone.”

Bet closed his eyes for a moment, and put a hand on his chin in thought. “Our magic is one of the most versatile types I know of.” He paused a moment. “There are many uses, as well as many schools – and further, there are many spells shared between all of them... the base of them, anyway.”

After a moment of silence, Bet chuckled at Twilight's face. Her eyes were shining, and she was nearly splitting her face with her smile. He continued. “At the basic levels, our magic is limited to spells, but as a magic user grows in prowess, they are less and less restricted by the normal spells.”

He held out a hand, palm up. After muttering under his breath, Bet formed a small flame, floating a few inches above his outstretched limb. “This is a common spell; it goes by many names, but the one we learned it as was 'Embers.'”

“Why is it called that?” Twilight asked.

Bet grinned. “That's easy.” He canceled the spell, and it left behind small glowing sparks floating above his hand. “It leaves embers when the initial flame goes away.”

Twilight's interest was piqued again. “How does it do that?”

“It's hard-wired into the spell itself. It's simple enough; I'll explain in a moment. Now, back on topic. This is one of the smallest spells taught in my school, and is the 'first step' of sorts to a much larger repertoire of skills.

“Now, like I said earlier, as users of our magic grow with prowess, they can... 'personalize' spells, somewhat. Here's an example.” He dispelled the embers floating above his palm, and cast forth another small ball of fire. “It looks very much the same, correct? There is, however, one key difference. When this one is dispelled...” He did so, “It simply splits.” The original flame split into two flames, each one half the size of the first. “And it continues on and on.” The two flames split into four after a moment, then into eight, then sixteen, and so on until they were barely sparks. “There are more dangerous versions of it, of course, but I don't think it would be a good idea to play with more than these little sparks inside your tree.

“Back on track. After learning to change the spells a little bit, most students are taught some runes, along with the more advanced spells. One moment...” He closed his eyes. When he opened them, they glowed a slight tinge of blue. With a finger glowing a light purple, he drew in the air a strange symbol. “This is one of the runes taught. This one is 'spark' which refers in specific to the small ember than can start a flame.

“As you can see, our magic can be exceedingly complicated. These runes, and incantations that are rarely used, can help a magic user improvise a spell. By drawing a circle, and filling it with runes representing the objects or forces they represent... and then thinking hard on their intentions... they can guide a spell from scratch.

“Even further along, the masters of our magic, can simply use their Mana – the energy we use – to directly carry out their intentions. For example...” His hand glowed green for a moment. “You remember the vines?”

Twilight blushed a moment at the memory, and shivered.

“You liked it that much, huh?” Bet grinned. Twilight's eyes widened, before she covered her face. “Don't worry, I'm only messing with you.” He chuckled.

Twilight's face stayed tinged a bit pink, but she uncovered her face. “That wasn't funny.”

“Then why were you laughing?”

“Because it tickled!”

Simon butted in, “You do realize that you just admitted to being ticklish, right?”

Twilight's eyes widened. “Oh, ponyfeathers.”

Bet smacked Simon again. “Stop that. We're distracted enough as it is. Anyway, our energy – Mana – is powerful and versatile. And from what we've experienced, it's found in almost every living thing. So yes, our magic should be teachable. I don't know to what capacity, but ponies could be able to learn it.”

Twilight beamed. She was obviously elated. “Yes! I can be the first unicorn to learn a new magic... Ever!”

Bet sighed and stopped her. “Stop that. You won't be able to actually learn anything useful until I can figure out the differences between our magics, and how you control your own magic so I can teach you correctly. Bet may not be the best teacher, but I prize knowledge, and don't give it lightly, nor to those who don't deserve it. Especially the harmful knowledge.”

Twilight deflated. “I see...”

“That doesn't mean we won't teach you, however.”

She grinned again, eyes shining.

“That's better. You look cuter with a smile.” Bet grinned at making Twilight blush again. “Now, on to those books...”

Vinyl was deep in thought during their conversation. She owed Bet a lot, and his Fey even more. But... She sighed. It was a lot to take in all at once. There was a positive side, however. While she was hurt, she could still use her magic, and she could still play with the music in her head.

She hummed a broken melody, trying to turn it into something interesting as the others discussed magics that she didn't really care for.

Simon payed attention to the conversation at the direction of the Fey in his head.

Twilight had explained what she knew of the unicorn's magic. “From my studies under Princess Celestia, and my own experiments, I've learned a good deal about magic. There are two things to keep in mind; unicorn magic is restricted by spells, unless it's related to one's special talent... and the average unicorn isn't very powerful by themselves.

“I am one of the exceptions – or so says Spike – and my talent itself is magic. However, we're getting off topic. Unicorn magic for things related to one's talent – Rarity's aptitude for finding gemstones, for example – doesn't require a distinct spell, and more relies on the intentions of the user.”

Bet hummed as he took this in. “I see... that helps me even more with my theory, Twilight. Thank you. However... I can see your barely contained excitement. I assume that you want to learn a spell?”

Twilight smiled brightly, and bounced around, dancing crazily. “Woohoo! I'll be the first unicorn to learn the new magic!”

Bet gave a warm smile. “Calm down, Twilight. This magic isn't easy; Bet and Simon have had years of practice... probably more than you've been alive. And as their Fey, we leech off of their skill to cast spells of our own... and the spells we do cast cost us much more Mana to use than if Bet or Simon did it.” His expression grew grim as he spoke.

Twilight calmed down, and her face mirrored Bet's. “I see...”

After a moment, Bet's smile returned. “However, I can still teach you the very basics. The first step would be finding – and then manipulating – your mana pool. This will be the hardest part for a while. It requires introspection and meditation to do it alone... however, with some help from Bet... we can help you find your mana pool much faster.”

Twilight nodded, determined. “I can do it, Bet!”

Vinyl continued her humming, bored and not very interested with the discussion over magic.

Simon looked to Vinyl and offered her a smile. His Fey was on something it had called ‘autopilot’ or whatever, so he was free to whisper to the disc jockey... so long as he didn’t interrupt Twilight’s lesson. “So... any composers in particular that you like?”

Vinyl answered with a shrug. “Not really, no. At least, not the specific artists... more along the lines of the music itself, and the songs, ya know what I mean?”

Simon nodded sagely. “Aye.”

Bet had begun the first steps of the lesson, finding the pool of mana - or in some cases, causing it to form - and was swirling a tiny amount of mana in an orb hovering slightly above his open palm. Twilight looked into it, the barely-visible colors mesmerising her and stealing away her attention.

Bet placed his hand on her withers, bringing her attention back. “Pay attention now, Twilight. You’re going to look inside of yourself for a pool of energy similar to this. I can let this flow through you so you can get a feel for it, but I can only do it once. Pay very close attention. Are you ready?”

She hesitated for a moment, then nodded, sure of herself again. “Let’s do it!”

Bet nodded slightly himself, and replied. “Now, I need you to close your eyes, and breathe evenly. Breath normally, and keep a steady rhythm... yes, like that. Breathe in and out at the count... ready? one... two... one... two... in... out... in... out... yes, keep going... in... out... there. I’m going to inject you with the mana... in... out... here we go...” The mana orb in Bet’s hand shrunk to the rough size of a baseball, and he slowly pressed it against Twilight’s chest.

Twilight let out a small gasp at the contact, but Bet’s mantra kept her in time. “In... out... in... out...” He slowly pushed the orb inside of Twilight’s chest, and her eyes clenched shut with a grimace. Bet still continued the mantra, “In... out... calm down, Twilight, In... out...” After a few moments, Twilight opened her eyes with a big grin.

“I found it!” She exclaimed, proud. “I found the mana!”

Simon cleared his throat. “You do realize what that sounded like, right? We thought it was... that for a few moments and we were here watching it happen!” Vinyl next to him sported a rosy blush. “So Vinyl, do ya think a song about skeletons and bats would sell?” Simon attempted to break the awkward silence.

Twilight was sporting a blush of her own, though not quite as blazing as Vinyl’s. Bet chuckled mirthfully at the scene. He the opened his mouth to speak, but he slumped over before he could get out a word.

“Bet!” Twilight called out, startled and worried. She rushed to help keep him upright as he was sitting before, but she wasn’t quite as strong as required. Fortunately, Simon quickly dashed over and held him in place upright. After half-heartedly checking for a pulse he started shaking Bet’s shoulder.

A few seconds later, Bet shook his head and mumbled, “I’m alright... Just let me stand up.” The two stepped back, allowing the giant to raise to his full height. He rolled his neck a few times, and sucked in a deep breath. “Nice to be back!” he chuckled to himself.

Bet gave Twilight a comforting smile, “Don’t worry. We just... ah, ‘swapped places’ he says - and it wore off a bit later than we expected. It’s okay, we’re fine. It feels weird to speak for two...” He turned to Simon, “And he says not to make a pregnant joke.”

Simon in return offered him an innocent ‘who, me?’ look.

Then all five present, Spike having just come down stairs at the last minute, erupted into laughter.

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