"Are you certain this will work?" The Nameless One asked as he looked to his portal he had created on his ship, using the technology at his disposal.
"Trust me," Mephiles reassured. "I've done this before, and it will be no different. I ask nothing from you, save the destruction of Mobius once this is all over."
"Keep up the service, and you can consider it done," The Nameless One replied. He stepped back as Mephiles's hands started to glow and power radiated from his body. The energy he was building up got sucked into the portal, then unexpectedly a small human-like figure appeared, but one that had an unnatural look to him. He looked as if he was a hollow husk with the only feature to be seen being his eyes; terrible to behold and holding a dark secret behind them. The Nameless One smiled and addressed the figure formerly.
"Greetings, Beast of Time. I have been expecting you," the robot master remarked. Mephiles said nothing, but simply kept staring at the odd creature.
"The Nameless One..." The Beast hissed. "What do you want from me...?"
"I simply wanted to help you," The Nameless One remarked. "After all, we both share a common enemy."
Mephiles added on, "He thwarted you once and his organization imprisoned you in a broken timeline. We are talking about the one who calls himself TD, The Terror of Dimensions."
"The Guardian of Chaos..." The Beast said seemingly in glee. "I'll gladly assist you... my friend, then I'll destroy every time line he holds dear..."
"Then I have only one condition," The Nameless One remarked. "You may have anyone he holds dear to him, but he's mine. I have a score to settle with him personally."
The Beast was silent for a while, then a hissing chuckle was heard. "Deal..."
The Nameless One smiled and shook hands with the Beast.
"Now then, let's get on to business," he suggested, then turned to Mephiles. "Is everything ready?"
"Everything is going according to plan," Mephiles answered with an evil chuckle. "The unsuspecting fools know nothing..."
-Ten Earth years (Thousands of Equis years) ago...
"Okay... you can do this," William said to himself as he looked over at the terrain in front of him. He had discovered over time that his newfound power wasn't as easy to control or as stable as he had thought it to be. Sure it granted him the ability to do just about anything he wanted, but it was addicting. Every time he did some chaos, he wanted to do some more. Only by mentally reminding himself how dangerous it could be was he able to keep from constantly spamming it. And even so, he had another issue to deal with. His personalities. They were his own actual thoughts personified by his magic and as such he could sometimes hear voices in his head shouting suggestions to him or trying to wrench for control of his body. Well, two of them did. The third seemed to be there simply to be a stalemate resolver, or to reason with one or the other. In other words, he didn't seem to act like he was on either side. That was a relief.
Today, William was looking down at a sight that was rather heart warming for him every time it occurred: several baby chicks that had hatched from their eggs barely a day or so ago. They were gathered around in a small pen that was kept warm by a kind of lamp that shone down on the chicks and lit up the otherwise dark garage that it was located in. The chicks peeped and chirped as William stared down at them, feeling a small wave of happiness but also of slight guilt as he picked one up. For he was about to try something with his powers. As he didn't want to harm his parents or other family, he had decided to test it on one of the chicks. Sounded cruel, but William wasn't too attached to any of the chickens on his family's mini chicken farm; they were often killed off anyways for dinner on some nights, dinners he'd actually participate in and eat of the chicken that he may have been friends with the other day. Living with the thought that one of those birds could one day be your next meal did not allow him to feel entirely attached to them.
Still, he couldn't help but feel sorry for the one he held in his hands now. Sighing, he placed one of his other hands over it and it glowed slightly.
"I'm sorry little guy," he whispered. "I'll try to make it as fast as possible if it comes to that."
A pulse of power was felt from his being and he suddenly felt as if he was in the mind of the chick... which is what he had intended. He could read its thoughts (which wasn't much, of course) and could even feel its emotions. It currently seemed to think of him as a second mother or something, which he felt slightly flattered at that. The innocence of the bird was adorable...
Suddenly, the chick's eyes opened wide and it made a noise that sounded very much like gagging, causing William to put it down rapidly, fear running through his body. At first, he wasn't sure what had happened; but then it hit him like a slap to the face.
"The magic that went through it... it's too much for it's mind to handle... The poor thing..."
William hadn't meant to kill it, but death was now inevitable for the small creature as it's eyes closed and it's breathing became smaller. Trying to lessen it for the innocent creature, William used some more of his magic to enact some kind of hypnotic state on it. It worked! The chick's eyes closed as it's breathing steadied- or steadied as much as it could while dying. It was now almost as if it was going to sleep...
A swat on the butt made him jerk back to reality and he turned to see his mother standing there, accusing him of killing the chick. He protested that it wasn't on purpose and that it was an accident. He then gave her an 'explanation' of what happened: it had suddenly gagged and gone limp. True, but not the full story. His mother had let him off on a lighter note, concluding that it had simply died on its own and it wasn't his fault.
"But it was," he thought to himself quietly as he looked to the poor creature. "I killed it... even if it was an accident... I caused this..."
-Present Day, Canterlot Palace in Equestria-
TD's mind was brought back to the present by the sound of Red giving instructions to a new recruit who had followed him to the meeting room. It reminded him of what was currently going on.
"One more day," TD muttered to himself as he stared at the map of Equestria in front of him.
"Technically, one and-one-quarter-days," Red corrected. "We still have that six hour advantage."
"He's not wrong," Bill commented.
"And Time should work in our advantage because I'm here." Tempus said, standing behind TD and looking over his shoulder. "Right? Or am I just being to hopeful again?"
"It's been on our side so far," TD answered. "Don't see why it wouldn't be now..."
"William!" The group heard a tomboyish voice of a pegasus mare well-known to them.
"William!" The group of three mares entered the room, the one speaking being recognized as Scootaloo. "We've brought big news!"
"What's up you three? What have you got?" TD asked them.
"Evan's Cheer'lee is goin' ta' have a foal!" Applebloom shouted.
"She's WHAT?!" TD and his two rouge personalities shouted at once.
"Yeah! She just started going into labor not too long ago!" Sweetie Belle added. Tempus blinked, before realization dawned in his eyes.
"Ooohhhhh. So that's what I sensed," He said, nodding his head sagely.
"We came here as fast as we got the news!" Scootaloo explained. "We're off to hospital now! Twilight's friends are already there..."
TD was silent for a moment, then brought up his hands.
"Stand close to me if you want to be there in a flash. Literally," he stated.
"Ooo! A trip down Mulberry Street!" Red commented randomly. Tempus raised an eyebrow, before sighing.
"Might as well not tire myself out running at super speed there." He muttered, stepping up to TD.
"Ah' agree!" Applebloom remarked. TD snickered and with a snap they all teleported to the hospital. Most of the gang was already waiting for them in the waiting room.
"Next time, warn me before I almost fly into you," Rainbow Dash scolded, only a few inches away from TD's face.
"No promises, RD," TD chuckled.
"Darling, you're all here!" Rarity spoke up. "It's so nice to see you."
Tempus shook his head, before muttering.
"Should have just run..." He grumbled. "Gotta wait... for the room to stop spinning now."
The gang giggled a bit as Tempus said this.
"Hopefully, you'll get used to this," Joy said.
"How long has she been in there?" TD asked.
"At least an hour before you came," Applejack stated.
"Is Evan with her?" Bill inquired.
"Mmmhmm," Bubble nodded along with the rest of their friends. TD looked to a watch on his arm.
"What are you doing?" Twilight asked him.
"Waiting to see how long before we hear her scream as if she's being murdered," TD replied.
"How rude..." Rarity pouted.
As if that was cue , they heard the painful screams of Cheerilee coming from the certain room. Joy made an expression which looked like he was remembering something similar.
"You were saying," Red remarked with a giggle.
"Same shoes before?" TD asked Joy. Joy smiled and nodded while Bubble gave a sheepish blush.
"Yes... pretty much."
"I remember when I went through the same thing," Tempus said, smiling as the room finally stopped spinning for him. "It was... painful, since Starlight almost tore my leg off she was gripping it so tightly, but in the end it was worth it."
Joy held his hand with other as he heard that and a sheepish smile came upon his face.
"Guessed that..." As he said this, Bubble jabbed him lightly. Joy chuckled in response. "That day still is the most joyful day of my life."
Tempus rolled his eyes as he grinned.
"Yeah, same with me. In fact, I may or may not think about bringing my son Mortem here," the brown alicorn said. "He always has liked adventure, plus he's seemed to be a little bored for the past few months before I came here."
"I almost wish I was there to see that Joy," TD giggled. "I remember Chuck and maybe Pinkie Pie felt that Twilight was getting murdered when Zach was born."
"It's true," Twilight replied with an embarrassed smile.
"I was THAT close to busting down the hospital doors!" Pinkie laughed. "And then I remembered doing the exact same thing when the twins were born and called it off."
"I almost had a panic magical surge during the event," Bubble blushed. "I was just so scared..."
"It's alright my sweetheart," Joy smiled nuzzling her mane. "I know you didn't mean to almost blast the doctor into the wall..."
"I'm pretty sure my eardrums were murdered when our twins were born," Tempus said wryly. "I didn't expect for Starlight to be able to use the Royal Canterlot Voice... that was a big mistake on my part..."
After what felt like a really long time, the screams came to a rest, and a small crying voice could be heard.
"I guess..." Joy smiled "You heard that too right...?"
"I did..." Bubble smiled as well.
"Wahoo!" Pinkie cheered. "This calls for a-"
"Not yet!" everyone shouted.
"Relax! I was just messing with you!" Pinkie reassured. In a few moments, a unicorn mare with pink coat and light blue mane, wearing a nurse hat came in the waiting room.
"Congratulations," she smiled. "It's a cute little filly."
"Ah, I feel so happy for them!" Red said aloud, then aside to Twilight, "I owe you twenty bits."
"Really?" Tempus said with a raised eyebrow. "You bet on the gender? That's as bad as when my Celestia and her husband bet on whether or not my Starlight would be able to defeat my worlds Crystal Shard when she was evil."
"Moments like this..." Bubble said, wiping a tear or two from her eyes, "...makes me cry with joy."
"For the record, it wasn't a bet for me," Twilight stated bluntly to Tempus. "I knew it was a filly before he even made the bet."
Red looked to her with a murderous expression.
"Why, I oughta-" he began, but was stopped by Bill.
"Guys, different time," he reminded. "Right now, focus back on what's happened just now."
"Yeah. A new life being brought into the world is a joyous occasion," Tempus agreed, smiling as he inconspicuously used his wing to wipe a tear from his eye.
"If someone starts crying, I'm gonna cry too," TD remarked.
"Should we go there and see...?" Joy asked.
"Why not...?" The nurse smiled and nodded "You can definitely and go and see them now..."
"Okay, now the question is who's going to be the favorite aunt?" Pinkie asked aloud as they trotted/walked through the doors.
"She'll totally pick me! I'm next, remember?" Rainbow Dash remarked.
"Don't get your hopes up," TD chuckled. "There's like- what? Seven? Eight plus of you? Also, she's unaware of that system, Dash."
"What about best uncle?" Joy said "That'll be an easy one, right?"
"Again, debatable," TD chuckled. "There's a bit of a selection to be made."
"I think I'd be a good uncle," Tempus said softly.
"Ladies, you're all beautiful," Red stated. "Now, let's leave the debates to the parents. Besides, we're here."
They saw Cheerilee was lying on the hospital bed while holding a bundle in her front hooves. Beside the bed was standing Evan in his black cloak. Cheerilee looked up towards them and smiled.
"Evan, your friends..." Evan looked towards them silently as they noticed his smile and some tears flowing down from his cheeks.
"Ah... the nostalgia... Oh, it's coming back," Red commented. "Oh... the floodgates are opening..."
"Red, enough of the dramatics," TD chided gently, then to Evan, "Congrats man."
Tempus smiled. "So, how are you feeling Evan?"
"Thanks..." Evan said, "The joy I'm feeling right now, is beyond my comprehension..."
Cheerilee giggled. "He meant to say that he has never felt that much happiness before."
"I hear ya," TD chuckled. "It's a wonderful feeling, isn't it?"
"It is..." Evan said as Cheerilee hooved the small filly to her father. Now they could see her face clearly, She was an earth pony, with purple coat that was a little darker than her mother's and a red mane.
"Isn't she the most beautiful thing in this universe?" Evan asked.
"Too much... cuteness!" Red squealed as his eyes turned into puppy eyes.
"Ahh, look at her," Applejack said. "She's so adorable."
"Quite a lovely filly," Rarity added.
"Alright, I'll admit it... She's too darn cute for even me to stay serious," Rainbow Dash remarked, earning a giggle from Fluttershy at her behavior.
Bubble nodded at this. "She absolutely is..."
"I wish I could contact with my mother now..." Evan sighed and then smiled. "Guess, I've to wait until..."
He went silent, knowing that saying that in front of Cheerilee wouldn't be good idea right now. Tempus blinked, before shrugging mentally.
"So, have you decided on a name yet?" He asked, smiling softly.
"Yes, tell me her name! I need to know so I can put it on her birthday cake!" Pinkie squealed softly so as not to disturb the baby filly.
"We were thinking about... Elena Dawnheart," Evan said.
"Oh, that's a beautiful name!" Twilight exclaimed.
"I agree," TD nodded. "Welcome to Equestria, Elena."
"Welcome to Equestria, Elena Dawnheart." Tempus said softly. "May your life be long and full of happiness."
"Can you even tell if that'll be the case?" Red asked telepathically, knowing that now was not a good time to bring up the doom and gloom out loud.
"Yes, I can tell that," Tempus thought back. "I just can't see the outcome of the upcoming fight."
Evan and happily nuzzled his daughter and then looked towards them once again.
"Thanks..." Then they heard him speaking to them telepathically. "To help me protect my family... thank you so much."
"I will always protect the living as long as I can." Tempus said, nodding once at Evan.
"Hey! you've been holding out on us!" Red remarked.
"Guys, now is not the time," Bill stated. "He's right though. We're here for ya."
"We should probably stop talking telepathically," Tempus said. "We're excluding the others who can't."
"Yes you are," Twilight suddenly stated with a smirk.
"Never try that on her, boys," TD giggled.
"Wasn't my idea," Tempus protested, pointing at Red with a hoof. "He started it."
"Guilty," Red admitted.
Evan smiled and then turned to Cheerilee and her daughter. Cheerilee spoke. "Evan, how long we're gonna stay here? Not that I am complaining..."
"I guess we'll be staying in this world for quite a while... don't worry, we'll soon go back to our Equestria."
"I can give your daughter my blessing if you would like." Tempus suddenly said. "It might have some effect on keeping her safe since I'm the Prince of Life."
"Good idea," TD nodded. "She'll need it."
"Oh boy... now Ah'm thinking about my own foal," Applejack muttered.
"You'll be fine, Applejack," Fluttershy reassured.
Tempus nodded, before stepping forwards, lighting up his horn with his dark blue magic as he gently rested the end on Elena.
"I give thee my blessing Elena Dawnheart. Your life shall be a prosperous one, full of happiness and joy, without the oppressions of sickness and hurt."
"Thank you so much, Prince Tempus," Cheerilee said nuzzling the mane of her daughter .
"You're welcome Cheerilee," Tempus said as he stepped backwards, smiling tiredly. "Even though it drained me, I'm glad to do it to protect a young one."
Just then, they heard a beeping noise from Red and all turned to look at him.
"You said you wouldn't bring that to this occasion!" Bill scolded.
"I didn't know I had it with me," Red remarked, pulling out a small portable holo-screen. He looked at it, then looked up in shock. "I hate to break this occasion, but we've got company, and I don't know if it's the good kind!"
All of a sudden, Michael materialized next to them, his different colored eyes glowing.
"What's the update?" He asked, before adding, "Before you ask, I have a spell on Tempus to tell me if anything interesting happen involving him."
Evan quickly put on his hood. "TD, should I take Cheerilee and Elena to the Palace...?"
"For now," TD consented. "We don't know yet if it's a friend or foe. Everyone else, on me."
He started to walk out of the hospital with the others following suit, except for Bill who stayed a moment longer.
"When this is over, I am going to kill him for making me his good personality," he muttered. "Stay safe, you two."
Then the old fox followed his friends.
"I should go too..." Joy said. "Bubble, stay here for a while..."
Bubble nodded at this, then Joy went after them as well. Tempus walked beside TD, glancing at the chaotic entity.
"William, if it is a foe, I don't know if I'll be at full power..." the alicorn said softly.
"Don't worry, I don't think it'll come to that," TD answered as they came outside. They found a cloud of smoke in the streets and a figure standing among it.
"Found him," Red commented as TD raised his hands, two spheres of magic seen in his palms.
"State your intentions!" he demanded. "Are you for us or for our enemies?"
Shaking his head while rubbing his eyes for the sudden dizziness, the figure let out an mutter to mostly himself.
"Okay...one note to self; never trust Discord, by going into his game with this universe travelling..." Then , once he lowered his hands to see what was going on, he saw an human with some spheres in his palms. He got into an defensive stance. "What are you doing?!"
"I am getting ready to defend my friends and my family from you, if you happen to be hostile," TD replied. "So I ask again... are you for us or for our enemy?"
"Just answer him, man," Bill suggested. "Things have been a bit jumpy lately, and we don't know what to think about your arrival."
The figure didn't let his guard down one bit. "Hey! Take it easy!" he exclaimed. "I am not going to hurt you guys. I'm here by an unexplained reason. And I have no idea why, but I guess if you wanna battle, then I won't be so easy on you."
Red gave him a hard stare, then looked up to TD.
"He's telling the truth, TD. Stand down," he chided. The spheres in TD's hands subsided, but he still gave a guarded expression.
"Who are you? And why are you here?" he demanded.
"My name is Virin," the figure, now known as Virin, replied in an unsteadily way. "I am here to help some folks, that my Discord said were his friends, by defeating some challenge in this world. I've got no idea who that foe might be, but he might be strong to take on a Saiyan like me."
Tempus looked up. "I think he meant that he wanted... Virin to help us take on The Nameless One. But then, who are his friends in this world?"
TD slapped himself. "Discord, you cheeky little..." He sighed and looked to Virin. "By 'friends,' I think your Discord meant his alternate self in this Equestria, along with his friends and family. Which would be us."
Joy understood the situation and sighed in relief. "For a moment... I thought the war had begun..."
He smiled sheepishly at this. Virin tilted his head at what the other human said.
"What war?" he asked them.
"Oh, I think I said that too early, didn't I?" Joy remarked as he looked around toward the others.
"We are at war with one of my greatest enemies, who will be arriving here in roughly a day," TD explained, then extended his hand towards Virin. "The name's TD, short for The Terror of Dimensions. Former villain, Guardian of Existence, husband of Princess Twilight Sparkle, and (currently) Commander-in-Chief of the Equestrian Army."
Virin looked surprised at the name of Twilight, sighing as he extended his own hand and shook TD's. "If that's the case, then I'll be happy to help you out."
"Glad to hear. Now, how exactly did you get here?" TD asked.
It was a nice, cool, and fresh day in his world of Equestria. On the ground, was a young adult human training by punching the air, producing some gust of wind in the process. His name was Virin. He had a muscular body, with spiky brown hair, and a reddish orange martial arts fighter outfit. He was currently training in order to defeat more foes he's going to face in the future. After the Tournament of Power, it was rather boring without a single battle afterwards.
Suddenly, in a flash of an portal, the Draconequus known as Discord appeared in front of him, with a gleeful glint in his eyes.
"What is it this time, Discord?" Virin asked a little irritated, not happy with him at the moment after sending him to alternate Earth planets throughout the multiverse.
"Oh, you know," Discord replied innocently. "I just wondered if you're up for a nice fight and all."
"You know, I am," Virin gritted through clenched teeth, not happy with the Draconequus.
"Yes, I know," Discord added, "but if you want a challenge, then why not come to an old friend's world of the same name as this one?"
A different Equestria? Virin thought, rubbing his chin in deep thought. After some more seconds of thinking, he sighed as he nodded cautiously.
"Sure. Why not? That world might bring me a challenge."
Discord smiled in a sinister manner. "Knew you were going to accept the proposition!"
He clapped his hands together, before snapping his fingers, and in a quick flash, Virin disappeared from the face of the planet again. Chuckling, Discord disappeared in a flash as well.
"So basically, your Discord talked you into this," Rainbow Dash summed up.
"Basically," Virin nodded to Rainbow. "He's a cheeky little fella, but he's also a good friend."
"And a good babbysitter too..." Joy snickered.
"Oh?" Virin turned to Joy. "How's that?"
"Well, Joy, much like you, comes from a different Equestria," TD stated. "And in his Equestria, Discord is often the babysitter of his foals."
Virin turned his head to TD. "Foals? How come a human has foals?"
"Well, why not?" Joy asked in disbelief "Do the humans of your world not have any young ones?"
"Well, I have no other humans on my Equestria," Virin started. "Plus, I haven't started marrying the one that I love yet...we're just close friends at the moment."
"Oh," Joy nodded "In my case, I realized that me and my dear wife can fortunately have foals... even we wasn't sure at first that this would be possible for us, as we do belong to different species."
Pinkie suddenly bounced forward, her disguise not placed up so her Changeling features were visible to all.
"Ooo! Who is the special somepony?" she asked.
"Um..." Virin was a bit startled at Pinkie. "...Twilight Sparkle..."
TD groaned while Tempus laughed a bit.
"Why are there so many OC x Twilight ships?!" TD shouted up at the sky. Several laughs were heard from his friends as the alicorn in question walked forward.
"Don't worry. My husband has seen a lot of alternate versions of me in a different scenario," she said.
"And before you get any ideas darling, she's not your Twilight," Rarity added.
Virin grunted. "I knew that..."
"Well... now you're here to help us during the battle, so I guess it'd be good if you know who we're gonna stand against, right?" Joy suggested.
"Well," Virin began, "as I currently have no idea who the foe is, or how he got here for that matter, I guess I'd like a summary on what I'll be fighting against."
TD smiled. "I can do that." He looked to Red and Bill. "Bill, I need you back at HQ. Red, you can let them know that it's all cool."
Red nodded and then took off, his voice ringing out like a megaphone... somehow.
"False alarm everyone! He's a friendly," Red called out, as Bill rushed off towards Canterlot. TD shook his head in amusement.
"So, if you really want to know who we're fighting, follow us please," Tempus said, as they all started back to the palace. Virin followed them into the palace, curiosity taking over him. He wished to know more about his opponent, and from how everyone apparently treated it, this enemy sounded serious.
Oh, if he only knew...
Red gave a sigh out of nervousness as he looked out to the oceans before him. He knew that the figures he was looking for would be found along the coast, but he didn't know where to look. After all, he hadn't seen them for over ten years; something that wasn't exactly his fault. Due to how his world's time worked and Equestria's as well, it made visits rather difficult. Still, he had visited- or rather, he had Sonata visit them; they still didn't like him as much. And now, he personally was going to call on them.
"Please don't kill me for pulling this on you," he muttered to himself, then he sang out a short song, his voice somehow mimicking the voices of the ones he was calling.
Red: Whoa! Whoa!
You didn't know that you fell.
Whoa! Whoa!
Now that you're under our spell.
Blindsided by the beat,
Clapping your hands, stomping your feet.
You didn't know that you fell.
Now you've fallen under our spell.
Far off in a cove of some kind, the two Sirens heard the voice of the hedgehog and looked towards each other.
"Guess, he's here... again," Adagio said.
"Let's see what's he up to," Aria continued as they both floated towards the source of the song. Red smirked as he noticed the two Sirens approaching him from the cliffside he stood on and chuckled.
"Ah, Adagio! Aria! Good to see you again, old friends," he greeted, knowing full well that it would probably annoy them. They never did like him too much. They noticed that their sister wasn't with him at the time, then Adagio stared at the hedgehog and spoke bitterly.
"Get to the point!" she hissed.
"Nice to see you too," Red chuckled, then got serious. "We need your help. Tomorrow, we're expecting an attack from someone on this world. He will kill you as much as he'll kill everyone else, assuming he doesn't enslave you first. So... I'm asking for your help." He got on his knees as he spoke. "Please. My friends and I need all the help we can get."
Adagio and Aria looked towards each other talking in some sort of signals only they would understand and then looked back to hedgehog.
"Well, we don't have anything to do with ponies, or any other creatures mind you..." Aria spoke. "And I'm pretty sure we can protect ourselves, so..."
Her response was very clear to Red, but Adagio was still silent. Red frowned.
"I see I need more motivation," he remarked as he stood to his feet. "How about this; your sister and your niece are both helping me and my friends by fighting on the front lines. They're putting their lives on the line to make sure others will live." He looked them dead in the eye as he finished. "If you don't help us, then you may never see your sister alive again before she goes into battle."
Aria was about to say something while Adagio signaled her to stop. Then she sighed.
"Look...this is for Sonata and Serena," she said to Aria. "You know we would never let something happen to her..."
Aria huffed and then her expression saddened. "I... I know." She spoke.
Adagio looked towards Red again and smirked, "Tell your friends they can count on us... Pin-cushion."
Red gave her a genuine smile. "You know, I missed you calling me that. I really have."
"Oh, so you like that..." Adagio said and then her expression became more serious in a moment. "Tell us, what we need to do now..."
Red's smirk returned. "You know, I was hoping you'd ask..."
I based TD's experience with a baby chick on an actual experience I had with my chickens while growing up as a child in my first home (I've moved to at least three different states in the US my whole life). What had happened was that, for one reason or another, the chick had stopped breathing or had trouble breathing, and it conveniently had happened while I was holding it. It was a sad experience for me, especially since it died shortly after and there was nothing I could do about it. All I did was tweak it a bit for the flashback so the chick died from a different cause, yet still seemed to have died by the other.
And yes, I didn't feel too attached to the chickens on my farm nor was I a stranger to the fact that we KILLED and ATE them. I was well aware of both, despite my age (about 7-8 years old), and thus I wasn't as attached to them as, say, my pet cats I had at the time.
Song used: "Under Our Spell" from EQG: Rainbow Rocks
Big thanks to Admirer Boy, Daniel4760, and Darkstalker728 for helping out! Hope you enjoyed this chapter! I'll cya in the next one! Peace out!