Bill the griffin was making his rounds flying around the warehouse making sure no griffin was stealing goods. It wasn’t until he saw a dirty orange color near the crates that had just arrived did he notice something was amiss.

“Stupid thief, using such bright colors...” It wasn’t until he got closer that he noticed something was wrong, the open crate nearby suggested that it was a thief, but he could also hear the distinct sound of bones being crunched and flesh being torn. Instead of making himself known he landed softly behind a nearby crate and peered over at what it was doing.

“That’s the last of em... Is it time?” Bill couldn’t see anything else nearby except the pools of blood and feathers on the ground around the creature in the dirty orange cloak. His blood suddenly ran cold and he ducked back behind the crate and tried to slow his breathing, he didn’t want whatever it was to see him.

“Oh?” Bill suddenly heard the sound of a clip being undone and before he could see what happened a blade’s edge tore through the crate he was hiding behind. The blades razor sharp edge cut the crate in half and tore him along the back crippling his wings.

The contents of the crate spilled all over the floor. They were steel pipes, and they were cut cleanly as if they had been butter. As Bill just crawled away in pain he looked back at his mangled wings, he heard the monster speak in a deep raspy voice.

“Wanna play a game? You hide and I’ll seek!” Bill looked in horror as the monster stood on two legs with the creepiest smile he had ever seen. Blood dripped down along its face and its canines were stained red with a feather between some of the teeth.

“You better hurry!” Bill began to crawl away, the cut was deeper than he thought and his back legs weren’t responding properly.

“Hurry!” The monster began to make heavy steps, Bill yelled for help in hopes of some griffin hearing his plight.

“Help!”

“Hurry!” The steps were getting louder

“Someone Help!”

“HURRY!” The steps became heavier

“HELP ME!” Bill was suddenly grabbed by his back leg and pulled back, then brought up into the air. The monster bent over to look into his face

“You suck at this game...” The creature licked its lips and then smiled “...I’m still kinda hungry.” Bills eyes went wide as the monster opened its jaws.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Celestia and the children were all eating dinner/breakfast together. Most of the children had adapted to staying up all night with Luna. Some even joined her during night court and made it much livelier. The night guards were worried at 1st with the presence of so many children, but in the end they didn’t mind, it made the job more enjoyable.

Luna was happy because night court was no longer the boring chore it once had been. When they were finished eating Celestia pulled Luna to the side once again to tell her some news.

“It would seem Twilight Sparkle has stumbled upon some old spells of Star Swirl the Bearded. Some very old spells that deal with the mind...” Luna suddenly became ecstatic

“That is wonderful news sister! Tell me, how far has she gotten?” Celestia bit her lower lip

“Not far I’m afraid, but it’s a start. I was hoping maybe you could visit her. Dreams are somewhat like delving into a ponies mind correct?”

“But of course sister, you delve into their mind and search the subconscious for the dreams.” Celestia nodded

“When you have the time, please visit Twilight and give her your advice on these spells. They sound similar to your dream scape spell.” Luna nodded her head

“I will head out to Ponyville at once sister!” One of the children overheard Luna say she was going to Ponyville and spoke up excited

“I wanna go to Ponyville too Mom!” He was soon followed by 29 other children who voiced the same excitement at going someplace with their beloved mother.

Needless to say, Luna ended up going to Ponyville that night with 30 children in tow...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Merry had finished eating the 3rd griffin and began to stretch all of his limbs. Being stuck so long inside a cramped space made some of his movements feel awkward. He had also lost a lot of weight while in the crate.

From his finger nails breaking off from trying to carve faces into gems, his skin breaking and blood oozing from self inflicted wounds, all from his failed escape attempts. He had gone through most of his bodies stored reserves.

The feast the 3 griffins provided for him brought him back to his full glory. After absorbing the diamond dogs strength, essence, bone mass, and teeth. Merry broke the 6 foot mark and was full of muscle. No longer a measly 5 foot something weakling.

He was a powerhouse standing at 6'5", His two handed sword no longer risked dragging on the floor, and his cloak looked to be a foot too short now. Because of the diamond dog’s he had absorbed, he stood slightly hunched over, and his eyes looked a little bigger then before.

His muscles had gained the most obvious bonus, his skin looked like it would burst from his muscles alone and his sword, while already light, felt more like a feather in his hand. Cutting through that crate with the steel pipes was far easier then it should of been.

Merry looked around the warehouse and could see no other griffins or creatures within view.

‘’‘It is safe, call her to your side.’‘’

‘’Yeah! Hurry up!’‘

“SOUL EATER! COME TO ME!” after a few seconds a flame pillar appeared on the ground in front of Merry, seconds later the pillar ended and Soul was standing in the center of the burn mark upon the floor.

“Merry, I had thought you dead! Are we to continue the search for your daughter once again?” Merry nodded his head and smiled

“Yes, but 1st we must raze this griffin village to the ground, will you help me...friend?” Soul look confused for a moment at the word friend but ignored it and answered

“Of course, it is what I am here for, To help you with whatever you ask of me.” Merry gave Soul a warm toothless smile.

“You are a great friend Soul...” Soul was a bit confused, she could feel a different set of emotions from Merry she hadn’t felt before. It seemed closer to that of a child’s emotions, simple and to the point. Instead of the layers she had gotten before, it was coming in single waves. Some thicker than others. She figured it was because he had just mellowed out a bit since she last saw him.

“How are we going to raze this town to the ground Merry?” Merry looked away and opened his mouth to show his teeth as he smiled.

“Very simple my Dear, we kill everything in our way as we watch this village burn to the ground... You like fire right?” Soul gave Merry a toothy grin as well

“I was born in it.” Merry looked back to Soul and laughed

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They had searched through the warehouse for fire starting supplies. What they found was a crate full of a Lamp oil. Merry had made a bunch of torches using the wood and some bolts of cloth he had found inside another crate. Soul carried all of the unlit torches on her back while Merry grabbed an already set up lighter powered by a gem.

‘’Hey hey, look what I found in your memories, I think this will make things more enjoyable for you!’‘

Slipknot- I am Hated

“The world is my enemy now isn’t it?” Soul looked up to Merry

“Perhaps because we are in enemy territory.” Merry nodded his head.

“1st things first, lets set this stupid warehouse ablaze.” Merry took one of the glass lamp oil bottles and put a rag into the open end of it and lit it on fire after soaking it in some of the oil. He then chucked it into the remaining crates of oil he didn’t use.

After a bit of time the glass of the other lamp oils could be heard breaking as the fire began to spread. As the flames filled Merry’s eyes he looked to Soul and said

“Remember, we’re here to Fuck shit up. Let no one stop you, if you need help call for me, Now you head left, and I’ll go right.” Soul nodded her head and left after Merry lit the torch in her mouth and Merry took some of the torches off her back.

Merry ran down to the right and was setting homes and buildings on fire as he ran. Setting fire to them was easy enough as most of the homes had straw roofs or were made of unprotected wood entirely. Simply walking by with the torch against the building would set it ablaze. It didn’t take long before griffins wearing armor showed up.

“HALT FOUL CREATURE!” Merry spun around to see griffins wearing armor and helmets, they didn’t seem to be armed with any weapons. Probably because they had claws and didn’t think they were needed.

“What do you fuck heads want? Cant you see I’m busy setting your shitty town ablaze?” the Griffins became hostile immediately and dove at Merry using a speed he was not prepared for, let alone match.

The griffin in the middle went straight for his chest while the other two went for his arms. The griffin in the middle was unpleasantly surprised when his claws couldn’t penetrate Merry’s chest, instead his claws shattered and his wrist broke upon impact. The other two griffins met their marks and pierced through Merry’s arms, digging their claws into the wall of the building behind Merry that had just been set ablaze.

The griffin with the broken claw and wrist squawked in pain while the other two lifted his cloak away reveling his adamantine breastplate. Merry smirked at the griffins even with his arms impaled upon the wall behind him, he felt no pain. He only felt Pleasure.

“What’s the matter you overgrown chicken? Never seen real armor before?” Merry burst into laughter while the two griffins holding him back looked at each other a little worried. Normally when they used this technique, the subject was killed or subdued immediately.

“Merry, I require your help!” Merry turned his head to the left as soon as he heard Souls voice, then looked to the griffins

“My friend needs help, Don’t try to stop me.” The muscles in Merry’s arm’s flexed for a moment and a crunching sound was heard followed by the 2 griffins shrieking in pain. He then promptly headed butted both of them and began to sprint in the direction Soul was.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Stop running little pony, hand over the torches and come quietly.” 3 Griffins had backed Soul into a corner, she dropped her lit torch while she was running hoping to lose them. Unfortunately something that can fly is hard to evade.

“Damn pony is lucky the Equestrian treaty prevents us from killing her...”

“We could always write in the report it was self defense...”

“They would never believe it, dang ponies are way too timid.” As the griffins closed in upon the silent pony they could hear heavy stomps coming from behind them, getting louder as each second passed.

“What is that sound? It sounds like one of those clumsy Minotaur...” As one of the griffins turned around to look behind him he saw a bipedal figure wearing an orange cloak sprinting in their direction.

“When did a Minotaur get into the this town?” The other 2 griffins shrugged

“Hes coming this way...and he’s taking out his sword...”

“So he’s hostile?”

“I don’t know, lets take off before he gets any closer, I don’t wanna take a chance...” The 2 griffins took off and began to hover in the air, but not so high as to let the arsonist pony escape, but high enough so the Minotaur couldn’t reach them.

The ugly Minotaur sprinted passed them and knelt down to the pony, then brought her into a hug. Much to everyones suprise.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Merry held Soul into a tight hug much to her surprise.

“They didn’t hurt you did they?” Soul shook her head

‘’Don’t forget about the griffins fuck nuts.’‘

“No they didn’t, you got here just in time.” Merry released a breathe he had been holding and dropped his head looking to the ground

“I’m so glad you’re ok Soul. Lets not split up again. We should stick together.” Soul nodded her head

“I agree.”

‘’The griffins you stupid bitch!’‘ Merry turned around to look at the griffins, they had begun a dive attack. So Merry grabbed Soul in his arms and kept her under him, making sure she was behind his breastplate. They would have to pierce through his body and 2 layers of adamantine if they wanted to reach her.

Luckily griffins claws aren’t made to go through adamantine, the griffin aiming for his body broke his claws and arm this time around. The other two griffins had aimed at his arms near the shoulder. They actually penetrated and cut through, so Merry released his griped upon Soul and flexed his muscles yet again.

The griffins felt the sudden pressure on their wrists, it didn’t crush them but it only held them in place.

“Soul, if you would?” Soul nodded her head in silence and reared her hind hooves up and began to smash her back hooves upon the griffins that were held into place. When they fell limp she stopped and Merry relaxed letting the griffins fall to the ground. The griffin with the broken claw and arm flew off to get help.

“Merry! He’s escaping!” Merry just laughed

“Let him, Let him get as many of his allies as possible, I will crush them all! Fuck griffins, I hate them all, they are nothing but animals that need to be destroyed for what they did...” Soul just looked over to Merry and felt the emotions of rage and hate she had known so well, except... It was different somehow. The rage seemed to spread across the entire griffin race in place of individuals...

As Merry watched him leave he inhaled a deep breath and begin to sing a light hum.

“This looks so pretty, do you wanna burn it with me?” Soul just smiled up at Merry as he continued to sing a song

“We can use the trees as torches!” Soul looked over at all the trees, there were indeed a lot of them near homes.

“Do you wanna burn it with me?” Soul nodded her head at Merry

“We’ll fill the streets with corpses!” Merry let out a thunderous laugh as Soul responded

“Lets watch this city burn!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Luna and her 30 children, along with some of her lunar guards, landed in the center of Ponyville. Everyone exited the newly custom made chariot and began to walk through the dimly lit town.

“What are we gonna do here mom?”

“Are we here to regulate someone?!”

“You can use your canterlot voice when you yell at him mom! Just like you did with the banker yesterday!” Luna sighed as she smiled

“No, we are here to meet an old friend. I am hoping to help her with some complicated spells she found.” some of the unicorn fillies and colts perked up at the idea of some magic.

Luna had been letting the children attend her night court sessions and after going out with Merry to check on that orphanage, she took it upon her self to personally check things that seemed suspicious or awkward. The children had gotten to see her use the Canterlot voice a few times, Luna didn’t mind them tagging along, as the children would often ask questions that she herself might of overlooked or didn’t seem important.

Thanks to the filly Pink and the colt Floyd she was able to uncover that bankers embezzling plan. It was the 1st time she had used the canterlot voice in front of the children, she thought she had scared them, but instead they were excited and wanted to know how they could do it as well. Kratos was the most interested colt in learning about how to use the royal Canterlot voice.

“Here we are children, the towns library, the pony Twilight Sparkle is who we are looking for.” some of the colts ran up to the door and began to knock. Luna and the others came up to the door as it opened and a small purple dragon opened the door. All of the colts except one backed away at the sight of the small purple dragon.

“DRAGON! HAVE AT THEE!” Luna watched as Kratos barreled Spike into the library and stood over him in triumph.

“Did you see that mom!? I took down this dragon who was snooping around Ms. Sparkles home!” Luna just chuckled as Spike groaned on the floor.

“Let him up Kratos, I forgot to mention Twilight’s assistant is Spike the dragon.” Kratos mouth made an O shape as he stepped off Spike. Spike got up rubbing his head.

“Well then, Twilight told me you were coming, but I didn’t realize you were going to bring all of them with you.” Luna just smiled warmly at Spike and looked around at the children who had begun to look around the library or inspect Spike. None of them had seen a dragon before.

“Yes well, They wanted to come along and I saw no harm in it.” Spike nodded his head with his eyes closed and arms crossed.

“Yeah, well, I just hope they don’t mess up the Library, I spent all day cleaning it today. Its the weekly Friday cleaning, the big one of every week...” Spikes eyes suddenly lit up “... Hey you wanna see something cool?” Luna just raised an eyebrow

“I’d rather discuss the spell details with Miss Sparkle.”

“She’s going to be out for a bit longer, Pinkie Pie and Applejack dragged her out to have some fun, since she’s been doing research for the past 3 weeks straight...” Luna sighed in defeat, she would just have to wait for her return, but hopefully with the sight of her chariot outside someone would spread the word and she would arrive sooner then later.

“Well alright then, What is it?” Spike clasped his claws together as he got a smile on his face.

“Alright well look here, After Merry told me everything he knew about dragons, and wrote down what he didn’t have time to explain. I’ve been learning things about my own fire, or breath weapon as he called it. Merry said my breath was more of an energy base that I could manipulate with some practice, it took me a few weeks but... Check it out!” Spike held out his hands and took a deep breath, after a few seconds he exhaled into his hands and a green gas slowly crept out.

Luna and all the children were in awe at what the green gas changed into. It took the form of a large sword in Spike right hand and a shield in his left, it was just big enough to cover his form. Spike ended it with holding the green sword high above his head.

“Spike, you can use magic?!” Spike shook his head.

“I’m not really sure if its magic or not...” one of the colts leapt forward and held out his hoof

“Hey can I hold it!?” Spikes eyes went wide, and he jumped back keeping the green weaponry away from the colt.

“NO!” The colt had a look of hurt on his face and Spike just sighed “Sorry, I didn’t mean to yell, but only I can touch them, They are dangerous to anyone else. I cant even let them touch the floor, Twilight got mad at me last time because they ate through the floor...” Luna’s eyes went eyed along with the children

“Wha- What do you mean?”

“These are made from my breath, and my breath is an acidic energy apparently. So these are made of acid, and I guess because its mine, is the reason why it doesn’t hurt me.” Spike held them above his head and released his grip on them, only for them to dissipate into the air. “I haven't figured out how to make them safe yet, as of now they are just dangerous weapons... But its still really cool. I just need to work on it more...” Spike had a look of sadness on his face

“And how did you get your breath to do such a thing in the 1st place?” Spike put his claw to his chin in thought for a moment.

“Well, I just visualize what I want, and as long as I keep the image in my head as I exhale my breath, it just takes that shape.”

“Have you tried making something that isn’t a weapon? A plate perhaps?” Spike just got a blush on his face as he moved his foot across the ground

“Well uh... no...but I mean... That’s not very cool...” Luna just chuckled

“Try it, I would like to see what happens.” Spike sighed

“Alright, just stand back.” Luna and the children nodded and stepped back giving him plenty of space.

“Just remember Spike, a simple Plate, Not dangerous, no weapons, a simple plate...” Spike nodded his head and held out his claws again and inhaled, a few second later he exhaled and a green plate took shape in his claws.

It didn’t look much different from the weapons, but it seemed to be denser in spikes hands, and a bit heavier as well.

“Now spike, set it upon the table if you would.” Spike eyes opened up.

“B-But! It will just melt through the table!” Luna nodded her head

“It might, this is just a test, I would like to see if its possible to make things that are useable and safe for everyone to touch.” Spike just looked at Luna with an eyebrow raised

“Well, alright, but if Twilight asks, it was your Idea.” Luna just chuckled as Spike put the green plate upon the table, and to Spikes great surprise, it didn’t eat a hole into the table and fall through, it just sat there.

“Wha-bu-How?” Luna just sighed as she walked up to Spike

“It is as I thought, when you wanted a weapon, your magical breath created a deadly weapon. But when you wanted a simple plate, it created a simple plate. I’m sure if you visualize a sword for protecting, in place of hurting, it wouldn’t eat away at everything it touches.” Spike just looked at Princess Luna and back to the green plate.

“I never thought of that...” Spike just smiled “...Maybe I can get it to work, I would never forgive my self if I ended up hurting someone I was trying to protect...” Spike just shook his head to clear it

“Oh where are my manners, Let me get you some tea and snacks while we wait for Twilight to return.” the green plate on the table dissipated into nothing as Spike rushed over to the kitchen. Luna just smiled

“Yes, we would love some, thank you Spike...” one of the colts spoke up from the back

“I don’t like tea!” Luna just sighed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Merry stood in the center of the village as it was burning to the ground. Griffins were running and flying around attempting to put the flames out. The guards no longer tried to fight him, Merry had brought out his sword and was cutting them in half whenever they got into range and moved slow enough.

None of the griffins could inflict enough damage to keep him down for any length of time, his regeneration was quickly healing any wounds he would take. And for every wound he took he killed one of them. It was a suicide mission to attack him, They opted for just attempting to put out the flames on any of the nearby homes.

“I think we did a good job setting this stupid town ablaze, don’t you think Soul?”

“Indeed Merry, it reminds me of home.”

“Home huh, tell me, why would a burning village remind you of home?”

“Because I reside in the 606th and 607th levels of the abyss. Volcanos and magma lakes are not uncommon, and this burning smell reminds me of my youth on the 606th level.” Merry lifted an eyebrow

‘’Did we forget to mention she is a fiend? A devil spawn? Hehe’‘

‘’‘Worry not Merry, She is still a friend.’‘’ Merry nodded his head with a smile and he watched the village burn.

“What do you wanna do now Soul? Shall we just watch this village burn? Or do you wanna go kill some more of those dirty griffins?” Soul puckered her lips out in thought for a moment.

“Why don’t we kill any on the way to the hill over there? I would like to get an aerial view of the flames.” Merry just smiled then released a laugh

“Yes, that sounds like an excellent idea. Come on then.” Merry began to walk a straight path toward the hill in the distance Soul had pointed too.

‘’You planning to get kinky on that hilltop?’‘

‘’‘I’m sure she wouldn’t mind it...’‘’

‘’except for the fact you have the short end of the stick! Bawhaha!” Merry released a sigh as he walked and would glance over at Soul from time to time.

Merry and Soul kept a slow N steady pace as they walked through the streets of the burning village. Admiring their own handy/hoof work as they walked.

“How did you get that brick one to burn?” Merry looked over to the building Soul was looking at.

“Oh simple, I kicked in the door and set it on fire from the inside out. Once the furniture caught the rest of it went up like magic.” Soul nodded her head.

“That makes sense...” She smiled as she looked into the flames.

They soon continued their slow pace and ended up walking into a brightly lit neighborhood.

“Its like daytime here isn’t it?” Soul just chuckled

“Yes, it is like daytime...” Soul took a deep breath and exhaled “... smells so good.” Merry took a deep breath as well

“Smells kinda like a Hickory barbeque...With chicken on the grill.” Merry released a sigh “I miss eating BBQ chicken with some good old BBQ sauce, shame this world is mostly ruled by a vegetarian race.” Merry began his slow walk trough the burning village when he could hear a faint sound of crying.

Merry looked over to a nearby building and saw it ablaze like the others. ‘Stupid griffins...’ Soul looked up to Merry then over to the house he was looking at.

“You can hear that griffin hatchling crying for help as well?” Merry’s eyes widened a bit

“Hatch...ling?” Soul nodded her head

“Yeah you know, a child, a baby. Its parents probably forgot about it during the blaze we were setting up. The griffins sure are stupid.” Merry began to walk to the house

‘’Don’t do it.’‘

‘’‘You cant go in there, For a Griffin!’‘’

‘’Who cares if it’s a child! When it grows up it will be just like the adults!’‘ Merry stopped walking and clenched his fist.

‘’‘Just leave it!’‘’

“I...”

‘’Don’t you Fucking dare!’‘

‘’‘Don’t Fucking Do it!’‘’ Merry inhaled sharply and released a yell as he charged into the burning building.

Soul just watched Merry as he ran into the burning building, she quickly followed after him. His emotions were in a jumbled mess, and she couldn’t figure out why, was the sound of the griffin child causing him grief? Either way she had to follow him and make sure he stayed safe.

Merry ran around the house, it was hard to tell where the sound was coming from, it wasn’t until he ran through a blaze in the middle of the floor did he enter what would of been a child’s room. If the wooden toys on the floor were any indication, he didn’t know what would be.

Merry looked around the room and could hear some coughing from the closet. It was blocked off by some fallen debris.

‘’Just leave you stupid fuck!’‘

‘’‘You have no business here! Its your fault this place is burning anyway!’‘’ Merry just went over to the debris and began to move it out of the way, the flames of the burning wood searing the flesh of his hands.

“I can’t do it. Even if it is a griffin, I can’t knowingly kill an innocent child because of its older races foolishness...”

‘’God Dammit, you’re so fucking weak...’‘ Merry got the rest of burning debris out of the way and opened the closet door. Inside he saw a small griffin curled up inside a blanket. The small griffin looked up at him with magenta eyes and a mix of white and orange feathers.

For a second Merry’s vision did a bit of an inverted loop and he lost his balance for a moment. When he looked at the griffin again he saw Scootaloo, but blinked and shook his head. When he looked again it was the same small griffin, It wasn’t Scootaloo, it couldn’t be.

“W-W-Who are you?” The small griffin looked up at Merry with tear stained feathers.

“Just someone that came to get you out of here, now come on.” Merry scooped up the small griffin in his arms and turned around to see Soul standing behind him.

“Merry, why are you saving this griffin child?” Merry began to run out of the house, using his cloak and the blanket to shield the small griffin from the smoke in the air.

“Because Soul, I have a weakness for children and young cute things... Besides...” Merry spoke the next part in his mind so the small griffin wouldn’t hear him. ‘I cannot take out my anger on an innocent child, when it’s the stupid adults that did everything...’ Soul simply followed closely behind Merry and he jumped out a window and landed on his back, cradling the small griffin in his arms.

“Alright...” Merry unfolded his arms and placed the small griffin on the floor “...Now run along, the rest of the village has evacuated or are helping put out the flames.” The small griffin just looked up to Merry

“But, Who are you?” Merry just looked off into the distance before he responded back.

“Just your friendly neighboorhood Spiderman!” Merry watched as the small griffin began to run down the street away from all the flames that surrounded them.

'''Are you fucking serious right now?'''

“Soul, lets go to that hilltop now...” Soul nodded her head and followed behind Merry who began to run out of the village.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Luna, Spike, and the children were enjoying their tea and snacks, some more than others.

“So when do you expect Miss Sparkle to be back?” Spike put his teacup down and picked up one of the cookies

“Soon I hope, She knew you were coming, but they wanted to get her out of the house regardless...” Spike began to munch the cookie when some of the fillies and colts approached him

“Mr. Dragon Sir, we were wondering... What’s its like to be a dragon?” Spike raised an eyebrow

“Well, what do you mean? Because being a dragon is overall pretty awesome.” Some of them just went ooh and awe at Spike claiming to be awesome.

“Well like, what’s it like to have scales?”

“And Claws!”

“And what do gems taste like!?”

“Well hang on guys, one at a time. As for scales well, I don’t know. Oddly enough they stain as I found out with blueberries, and my claws? I have to keep them dulled so I don’t accidentally damage things I pick up... But gems.” Spike began to drool a bit. “Its hard to explain, I cant compare the taste to anything that ponies eat... except... Well Rubies taste kinda like strawberries and cherries combined. And a fire ruby tastes like strawberries and cherries with hot sauce. That’s the closest to taste I can figure out.” One of the colts raised his hoof and Spike just scratched his head in confusion a bit before pointing him out

“Um, can I try eating one?” Spike and Luna laughed

“No, sorry, Dragons like me have special teeth and jaw builds so we can easily crunch up gems to eat... I remember when Merry tried to eat one of my gems...” Spike chuckled to himself for a moment “...he cracked his teeth and had to get Colgate to fix them.” Luna just looked at Spike as she chuckled a bit at the thought as well.

“And why would he of done something so silly?”

“Merry thought that gems were softer in this world and wanted to see if he could eat one. It didn’t work, ha-ha.” As Luna and Spike reminisced about the past, Twilight bust the door to the Library open followed by Applejack

“Ah’m a telling ya sugarcube, you need to get out more.” Twilight released a sigh and looked back to Applejack

“Yes I know Applejack, but Princess Luna is...” Twilight stopped talking and bowed before Princess Luna as she looked into the kitchen where everypony and dragon was sitting.

“Rise Twilight Sparkle, I am here to help you with the spells you found.” Twilight nodded in excitement

“Oh yes yes yes! Please if you would, I’m having trouble with it. It stated it was extremely dangerous, and I didn’t want to risk casting it incomplete. With you here I’m sure we could figure it out!” Applejack just bowed and looked inside at all the kids eating snacks and drinking tea.

“Are these the young’uns Ah heard so much about the las’ few months Princess?” Luna nodded her head.

“Yes fair Applejack, if you don’t mind, I would love if you could watch them while I show Miss. Sparkle here the basics of mind spells.” Applejack just rubbed her Noggin under her hat

“Well shoot, I would love ta watch em for a moment. Lets go play in the main room fillies and colts. Lemme show ya'll some farm pony games.” All of the children were excited to learn some new games. Applejack looked at one of the colts and squinted a bit.

“Hey you, yeah you, the colt in the back, whats yer name?” The colt in question just looked around and then spoke up

“My names Adam Apple Miss. Applejack.”

“Well I’ll be a dragons uncle. You look just like one of my cousins from Manehattan. Different name though.” The fillies and colts all looked around at each other.

“How big is your family Applejack?”

“Well lemme think here...” Applejack counted her hoofs a few times and looked up into the air continuing to count. “... about 145 known Apple families are spread across Equestria. Of course most of em take different last names when they find their special somepony.” Applejack continued to talk about her family and all of its extended members that she knew about to the children as she lead them out the main room.

“Now that the little ones are gone, I must speak with you in private Miss Sparkle.” Twilight nodded her head as they went upstairs, Spike stayed in the kitchen to clean up the mess they all made.

“What is it Princess?” Luna released a sigh

“Mind spells are a very dangerous thing to do. Without Proper training, your astral self can be a manifestation of your physical body, and if you die whilst delving into another’s mind, you’re real body will die as well.” Twilights eyes opened up in shock

“Well, how do I prevent something like that?!”

“1st, you will need to move to Canterlot for awhile, I will teach you everything you need to know so you will be prepared when the time comes. But another thing, when you delve into the mind of another, it is a labyrinth and without the proper commands you could be lost forever, I will teach you those as well.”

“How do you know so much about mind spells Princess?” Luna sighed yet again and looked out the window up into her night sky.

“Being the princess of the night, I am also the ruler of dreams, When I dream dive, I push myself past the sleeping ponies conscious and find my way into their subconscious, and everyponies mind is different. Some are easy to find, others are hidden or locked away. Without a direct link with your horn to the target, it is nearly impossible to find what you are looking for without extensive training and experience. But worry not, I will help you.” Twilight looked a little sad

“But, if you’re so much better, why don’t you do it? Why don’t you just delve into Merry’s mind and fix him?” Luna released a sigh and responded with a hurt tone of voice.

“I only knew him briefly in the time he was here. While you and your friends were with him far longer and got to know him on a personal scale. You would know his mind better then I would... I’ve been into his mind before Miss Sparkle... It was a scary place. You will need to prepare yourself for when the time comes, and I will personally see to it that you are fully prepared. Its been quiet for almost 2 months, he is bound to show up soon.”

“I know... Do you think he’s... dead?” Luna shook her head and smiled

“Nonsense, I heard how he escaped from the castle, the fool jumped from the window and fell down the mountain side, then apparently walked away from it. He’s surely alive, he probably just took a boat, the long way to the griffin kingdoms.”

“I hope he's alive as well... I should of tried harder to keep him here...”

“Did you... perhaps hear about what happened to our Diamond dog allies in the east?” Twilight nodded her head.

“Yes, some sort of deranged monster... Killed a lot of them, then just left.” Luna nodded her head.

“Yes indeed, the description of the monster from the living diamond dogs fit Merry’s description. Do you know why he did it?” Twilight shook her head with eyes open in shock horror.

“He said... Merry was yelling for them to release Scootloo, For some reason he thought they had her... He thought she was still alive. He’s gotten worse Twilight, and I’m afraid when we find him, it might be too late.” Twilight closed her eyes

“No! We Will find him, and we Will make him Better again! You just wait, I’m going to get this spell down in a week, you just see. I’m going to learn everything, so when we hear news of him again, we can all head out together and get him back!” Twilight dropped her head as tears formed in her eyes. “Pinkie Pies Pinkie sense can’t always be right... Can it?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Merry and Soul sat on the hilltop overlooking the village as it burned to the ground. Merry released a sigh and looked over to Soul.

‘’You’re a fucking Pansy son of a fucking bitch, you know that? How the fuck can you just torch a whole village filled with woman and children, then just go and save one of em from a fire?’‘

‘’‘You have to remember, they are Griffins, They killed you, your family and friends. Then they turned the pony princess against you as well. You cant show them any mercy.’‘’

“Soul, I cant harm a child, Something inside of me... hurts when I see or hear a child in trouble. I don’t know why... I know I should hate all the griffins but...” Soul released a sigh as she looked at Merry.

“Merry, if I may speak freely?” Merry nodded his head. And was swiftly hit upside the head with a hard hoof.

“Next time you run into a burning building, Wait for me! I had to look everywhere! And next time let me move the burning debris! Fire doesn’t hurt me, I could of moved it myself! Why do you do so many stupid things?!”

‘’She needs to hit you harder.’‘

‘’‘and more often.’‘’ Merry smiled and said the next line with a bit of a tune to his voice.

“I can’t believe that when I breathe, there’s one good thing inside of me, just one good thing inside of me...” Merry just looked down at the burning village “... Because I’m broken and part of a dying breed on this world... I don’t even remember what my original intent on this stupid place was...” Soul released an audible sigh as she sat back down next to Merry.

“We came to find you’re little girl remember?” Merry just smiled

“Yes, I know that, but... Before I had a little girl to take of, before all of this. I don’t remember what my place on this world was. I’m the only one of my kind here...” Merry laid down on the grass and looked up into the night sky. “... But I guess none of that matter now does it?” Soul laid down in the grass next to Merry and looked up to the stars with him.

“So what now?” Merry thought for a moment then began to smell something.

“Actually, we should probably head to the nearest river or something, I just realized how nasty I smell.” Soul snickered a bit.

“Yes, I didn’t want to say anything, but you do indeed smell bad, like a corpse actually.” Merry stood up and began to walk to the water front a decent ways up current from the burning village.

“Well gee thanks, I think a salt water bath should do the trick for getting rid of most of it then, at least until we find some fresh water.” Merry headed down to the water and began to strip down, Soul followed closely behind and just watched.

“Soo, Are you gonna give me some privacy? Oor what’s going on?” Soul just looked at Merry and he could hear her laugh

‘’Give her the D you pansy bitch.’‘

“Just checking some things out is all, I’ll turn around if you wish.” Merry just sighed

‘’Tell her to turn around, She wont be impressed with your small ass dick.’‘

‘’‘HAHAHAHA’‘’

“Yes I wish, now spin around.” Soul made a pouty face and turned around.

Merry stripped down and brought some of his under garments into the water with him to rinse them off as well. When Merry smelled his underwear he gagged and almost threw up into the water. With a quick scrub around his body he stopped when he touched his shoulder, it felt different. He looked over to it and saw a large scab thing. It was brown and purple with some puss escaping from it.

“What in the fuck...is this...” Merry poked at it a few times but felt no pain or pleasure from the area at all, it was all dead.

“Something the matter Merry?” Merry looked up from his shoulder over to Soul, she was still facing the opposite direction.

“No nothing is wrong, just cant figure out why I smell so bad...” Merry began to viciously scrub at the spot until small chunks began to break away and the smell gradually disappeared. He watched as the flesh in his shoulder began to slowly heal over again filling in the hole he had created.

‘’We told you that you were just a corpses kept alive with magic. Your shoulder rotting away is proof, you need to be on the look out for that stuff and get rid of it before it gets too bad.’‘

‘’‘yes, the magic preserving your body and healing it seems to be getting weaker.’‘’ Merry just sighed.

“How do you guys know that?”

‘’We told you ya stupid fucking...’‘

‘’‘what he means to say is, We know because we are the all seeing oracles that are here to guide you because we are your friends, even if Curse gets a little mad at times.’‘’

‘’yeah, anyway. When are you gonna hit that? Or did you become some kinda faggot?’‘ Merry released another heavy sigh as he walked out of the sea water and began to put his clothes back on.

Merry walked past Soul, and she jumped up to follow him. Now they were headed in whatever direction the road would take them.

About 2 hours later as Merry’s cloths began to dry, he started to get itchy.

‘’‘That what happens when you use salt water to clean your cloths and bathe...’‘’

‘’Yer a stupid bitch.’‘

Author's Notes:

Five finger Death punch- My own Hell

Twisting and turning unable to sleep
DO THE VOICES EVER STOP
My thoughts speak louder the more I resist
AND THEY'RE DRIVING ME INSANE
DO THEY EVER GO