A Fairies Tale

by shadowsythe22

in equestria humans and ponies coexist peacefully. both societies intermingle and benefit each other, we have given them technology and that have given us the help of magic. everybody loves one another... except for Zachary Miles. everybody, pony and man alike hate his guts for certain reasons... but it's not his fault. can he manage to pull his life together?

21. Picking Sides

I suddenly shot to life In the middle of twilight's house, right in the floor. Itt and Zaxiel were on wire side of me and as I shot up I almost bashed heads with the both of them. I was breathing heavily and Itt grabbed my hand and held it against her chest. Zaxiel placed a hand on my shoulder and one on my chest feeling my heartbeat and trying to calm me down. I was sweating furiously, I don't even know what made me suddenly and so violently return to life, but I do remember hearing Itt's voice and knowing that I need to wake up.

"Darling... Are you feeling alright...?" She asked.

"Where...what?" I asked momentarily confused. Then an odd but familiar feeling soon popped up in the back of my mind. It was my wings which I unconsciously flapped behind me. I had completely forgotten about that or more like, I thought it was just some dream. I wish it was some dream. Looking around I can now see twilight and spike, and the princess as well.

"Darling you were really pale, twilight told us that you had lost a lot of blood." Said Itt holding my hand tightly.

"I used my power to siphon some of my own blood into you... Are you feeling better master?" Asked Zaxiel looking at me. She seemed a little pale herself, but then again, she's always pale.

"I...thank you...I feel much better." I said. "I'm just having a hard time digesting all of this... It's kinda sudden."

"Everything a bit sudden lately...isn't it?" Asked Itt with a smile.

"Heh...yeah...it is, isn't it?" I said getting a short laugh out of the both of us. After which I let out a deep sigh and relaxed a little. "I always used to pride myself on being blue to handle change well...but lately...I'm starting to doubt myself."

"I'm sure you'll be fine... Beside...wings look good on you; you've got the whole angel look going on..." Said twilight walking over.

"Yeah but if only they were white..." Said Zaxiel placing her hand on my new wings and rubbing them.

"Yeah...why are they black anyway?" Asked Itt.

"Beats me..." I said.

"Not to interrupt..." Said the princess whose horn was glowing and the fairy book levitating beside her was as well. "But I think I've found something... I can't read this, but this bit of text here where you said you found the spell seems a bit different from the rest of the spells..." She said levitating the book over to me and pointing out a small row of text that was in small print off to the side.

"Huh...I didn't catch that..." I said grabbing the book as her magic glow faded.

"What does it say?" Asked twilight. I looked over the book and Itt and Zaxiel read over it with me.

"It says..." I said reading the passage. "To cloak the wings in shadows simply chant...Solus...Minimus..." I said and suddenly in a small glimmer of light the wings on my back seemed to simply...fade away. They dissolved into a torrent of small white lights that drifted to the ground like snow and faded. I looked back and smiled, though I could still feel them there, I waved my hand around and I couldn't really feel them, but it still felt them attached to my body. Even thinking back to what the book said, I looked at my shadow on the ground and the wings were still on my shadow.

"Wow that's cool..." Said spike.

"You can still see them in the ground..." Said Zaxiel pointing out my shadow.

"And I think I remember you saying you can see them in the mirror too..." Said twilight.

"Hang on...there's something else here too...there's a little bit more." Added Itt. I turned back to the book to see that there were still a few more lines of text.

"It says; to re-summon the wings, chant... Solus...Maximus!" I said and in burst of light the large black wings seemed to burst from my back once again showering the room with the same white lights that sparkled and fluttered to the ground like snow. "So I guess that's how that works..." I said. "Not very subtle..."

"Oh? And what part of this was ever subtle...?" Asked twilight taking a small joking stab at me which made me smile.

"The part where I can't see them..." I said. "Solus...Minimus..." I chanted as the wings once again faded in a flurry of white lights. Twilight giggled a little and I smiled.

"I suppose that's that..."I said closing the book."Twilight...you don't mind if I keep this...?" I asked holding up the book.

"Sure thing...just...don't go growing a tail...and don't summon any thunderstorms or hurricanes...we don't need you chanting up natural disasters when you're bored."

"I won't" I said getting up and standing on my two legs. Falling unconscious and landing on the floor from before really gave me a crick in the neck. "Ugh...my neck..." I said.

"What are we going to do now?" Asked Itt.

"Well...go home I suppose...I'm feeling better and think I'm about ready to head home." I said.

"Is it always one surprise after another with you?" Asked Zaxiel seeming rather innocent like always. I just smiled nervously and scratched the back of my head.

"Heh...pretty much." I said nervously. "I just wish I could predict when the surprises are coming..." I said.

"I might be able to help with that..." Said the princess smiling.

"Really?" I asked.

"Well...I'm not going to predict your future on a daily basis... But being in Canterlot, especially being the princess, I hear a lot of rumors...and one that strikes me as interesting is that there's somebody on their way looking for you... She passed through the other day...a rather interesting girl." Said the princess.

"What does she look like?" I asked.

"Oh...I wouldn't want to give away too much... But you'll know her when you see her." She said with a playful yet devious smile on her face. "She should be by sometime soon...until then, I hope you cope well... As for me... I must take my leave. Goodbye twilight, spike...Itt and Zaxiel... And you as well Zachary miles... I feel that this isn't going to be the last time we meet."

"You say that like it's a bad thing..." I said. "Bad for me, at least..."

"You're certainly the most interesting human I've met in a long time...don't worry...I'll be watching... Until the next time however...farewell." She said as she raised her horn and it started to glow. Soon her whole body was enveloped in a bright light. Soon in a flash of brilliant light she was gone. We stared at the place she was standing for a moment before I let out a deep sigh.

"Is she always like that?" I asked.

"She always finds a way to entertain herself... I guess you're her next source of entertainment." Said twilight. "I can't blame her...you're a rather interesting person."

"I'm probably the MOST interesting person..." I said letting out another sigh. "I'm tired..." I said after a long pause "can I go home now?" I asked even though I didn't even need to, I just felt like asking just in case something else was going to happen.

"Well you don't need my permission." Said twilight.

"I need to rest...I've got too much in my mind." I said. "Between joining a guild, and jobs, and wings...and now I wonder what the princess was talking about somebody was looking for me... I can only imagine who..." I said.

"She said we would know her when we see her..." Said Itt.

"So we're looking for a woman..." Said Zaxiel.

"Great...like I don't already have enough women in my life..." I said letting out a sigh.

"Hey...!" Both Itt and Zaxiel exclaimed punching me in either shoulder.

"Hey hey, I'm kidding... But it actually just dawned on me that I don't really have any guy friends..." I said.

"That's not true...what about that big guy that was at your house a while back...I the suit... His name was...John...Jake?" Said twilight pondering for a moment.

"You mean jack...the big burly guy?" I asked knowing that she was talking about hammer back when I was working with Donnie. "He's not really a friend friend that I hang out with... He was just a guy that I worked with that didn't hate my guts... So we got along..."

"Maybe tomorrow we can get you some friends..." Said Itt.

"I think tomorrow I'll just go find some work... It's been a while and I need to get back into the swing of things... Plus I've already got plenty to worry about...I'll wait until the list shortens to worry about anything else." I said. "Right now I just want to go home and sleep."

"That's sounds like a good idea master..." Said Zaxiel.

"Well... I'll see you tomorrow maybe..." Said twilight waving as we started leaving. After we left she closed the door and we started to make our way back home with the book in hand. It took us a little while, fifteens or so minutes, but we got back home soon. It was dusk now and the sun was in the midst of setting over the horizon and the house was full of an orange golden light. Once we got back I placed the book on the counter and saw that Itt and Zaxiel had indeed prepared dinner, with this so we sat down and ate. Then after we went promptly to bed, well...I did. They joined me as they usually do; they both slept on either side of me and clung to me as we all slowly started to drift away into a deep sleep.

The beautiful sunset light was replaced by a fading darkness. Soon darkness was followed by dreams and imagination, and dreams and false thoughts were soon interrupted and cut short by light once more. Bright morning light, it seemed like the night had passed by in a smile flash, like it never even happened. I felt like I had only just closed my eyes to rest for a moment and now suddenly its morning and the golden morning light started flooding through the cracks in the curtains. I woke up with a lazy yawn. I rested on my back and Zaxiel rested her head against my side and had one hand gripping my arm like a bear and the other hand placed gently on my stomach. Itt was resting her head on my shoulder and her hand lay gently on my chest just above my heart and the other wrapped around me like a hug. I turned my head to see that it was early...only seven in the morning. I stretched my arms out and twisted my body while letting out a deep yawn. I unintentionally ended up waking Itt and Zaxiel. They both did the same as they yawned and took in their surroundings.

"Good morning darling..." Said Itt now climbing onto me and resting right in top of me. She was warm and soft... And her bare breasts pressed up against my chest gently as she smiled. Zaxiel did the same and climbed on top of me as best as she could with Itt already on top of me.

"Good morning master." She said also smiling.

"Why do you still call me master?" I asked.

"I'm your maid... Plus I like to call you master... Is that okay with you?" She asked.

"Well... I'm not really your master anymore...you're free now... But if you want to call me master...then I suppose its fine... Just try not to do it in public...people will get the wrong idea." I said.

"I'll try..." She said smiling and leaning over and plant an unexpected kiss on my lips. It caught me off guard a little and I blushed. She smiled as she pulled away.

"Hey...no fair... I want a morning kiss..." Said Itt seeming a bit sad.

"Well you don't have to a-" I was cut off when she planted her lips on my own as well and started to shift her body to get comfortable. It was a little more than a morning kiss and also caught me off guard a little, but she pulled away and smiled. She giggled a little and sat up on the bed with Zaxiel. I got up too and let out another yawn.

"And so begins the day I suppose..." I said scratching the top of my he'd messing up my hair which was probably already messy enough. Zaxiel always had her maid outfit on and Itt snapped her fingers and was dressed up in her own outfit that she wears all the time. "I'm going to go wash up." I said getting out of bed and heading out of the room to the bathroom one door over. I walked in and closed the door. I started walking by and when I noticed something in the mirror I jumped, then I realized it was me. I stood there, but I had a black pair of wings behind me. I looked at myself and then remembered everything that happened, and then I started to laugh. I suppose I found it funny how I could have forgotten all of that simply overnight. I still had a smile in myself when I started to look at myself in the mirror.

As I thought my hair was a mess. I grabbed a comb and ran it under the faucet to get it wet and then started straightening out my hair. Prince it was straightened I messed it up a little just so that the hairs aren't perfectly straight, because I think I look stupid that way. Once I was done washing myself up I walked out of the bathroom and downstairs where Itt and Zaxiel were making breakfast. I smiled and walked over to the living room area and flicked on the TV and turned it to the news. There wasn't much on...just the weather. A nice sunny day, partly cloudy with mild winds.

"Breakfast!" Exclaimed Itt from the kitchen. I made my way over and we sat down and ate. She had made omelets today with bacon, cheddar, onions, and peppers... I ate mine with vigor and it was the best damn omelet I've ever had.

"This is amazing honey..." I said with my mouth a little full with my last bite of the omelet.

"Thank you darling, Zaxiel chopped up the peppers and onion... And she didn't even cry." She said smiling.

"Hey..." Said Zaxiel jokingly. The three of us shared a brief laugh as we ate our breakfast.

"Have you ever noticed how big this house feels...?" Asked Itt looking around. "Even with the three of us in it... It still feels...empty."

"You know... My mother always said that you can either fill a house with objects...or people... The choice is yours." I said quoting my mother and her infinite wisdom.

"Or people? So does that mean you want kids...?" She asked seductively smiling. Seeing the spot I've put myself in I've started to sweat nervously.

"Aha...well, uhm... No exactly... I never really knew what my mother meant by that...now I do, pretend I didn't say anything..." I said nervously taking a drink of the glass of orange juice right next to me.

"You know... I wouldn't mind having a child... We would be parents..." Said Itt seeming to get lost in her own little dream world as she smiled and started gazing off into space.

"I don't think our lifestyle is suited for childcare." I said as she suddenly snapped out of it. "Maybe when we're older and more experienced we can have a child... Until then, and with our lifestyle, we're just a danger to ourselves and others..." I said.

"I agree with master... With the time I've been here already, if your days are always like they are then there's definitely no room for children." She said.

"I suppose..." Said Itt letting out a sigh. "I always wanted to be a parent too..."

"We will someday baby... But I think we should get our priorities straight before that happens..." I said wrapping my arm around Itt and giving her a kiss on the forehead. She smiled and looked up at me.

"I suppose your right..." She said content with herself. "If you're done with your breakfast I'll take the dishes and wash them when we get home..." She said getting up and collecting all of the dishes. She carried them to the kitchen and placed them in the sink. I got up and let out another morning yawn and started to stretch myself. Out a bit.

"So what are we going to do today master?" Asked Zaxiel.

"I guess we should get back into the action... Take a few jobs and get back out there." I said.

"Sounds like a good plan..." Said Itt.

"Shall we take our leave then?" I asked in a falsely charming way. She smiled and took my hand when I held it out for her. She glowed a bright red and burst into flames that covered my body. I was soon covered in the red and black spiked armor with black cloth and cloak. I held Itt in my hand, her large sharp blade with chain covered hilt and firm grip. I held out my hand for Zaxiel who smiled and grabbed my hand and glowed a deep red as well. Soon she turned into the spiked shield with spiked chains connecting the spikes.

"It feels good to be back..." I said smiling. Itt and Zaxiel giggled talking in my head when suddenly a sharp pain jet through my chest and back. I knelt down and let out a brief grunt of pain as a set of bone wings burst from my back and cut through the armor I wore. Suddenly muscles connected to the bones like from before and what's more surprising is that they caught fire and started to bleed. Red blood like mist seeped around them and I could hear Itt and Zaxiel grunting in pain as well. I kept on my knees and soon the pain vanished. I kept breathing heavily and so did Itt and Zaxiel. "What the...hell?" I asked looking back.

"What just happened?" Asked Itt.

"I don't know...but why do I have flaming wings?" I asked.

"It could be because of the spell and our combined souls... They might have taken the personality of us..." Said Zaxiel. "I didn't expect that to happen."

"That didn't hurt as much as the last time..." I said getting back up and flapping the flaming wings. "Huh...you know...I don't even care anymore..." I said.

"That was painful for the both of us..." Said Itt.

"It was..." Said Zaxiel.

"Are you two okay?" I asked.

"We're fine..." Said Itt.

"We shouldn't worry about it... We should go." Said Zaxiel.

"Yeah...okay, let's go." I said making my way to the door. That was a bit of a weird experience but it doesn't faze me too much. I opened up the door and started to make my way through town. As I was making my way through town I couldn't help think about what Celestia said to me yesterday. She said that there was somebody looking for me... A girl if I remember correctly. She didn't tell me when or what she looked like, but she said that I would know her when I see her. As I walked through the street I could see people looking at me and smiling. I smiled and waved back and kept making my way through the streets until I got to the wooly sheep. I walked in and all the people and ponies at the bar smiled and held up a glass cheering "hey!"

I made my way over to the board and it was a bit full, some papers were overlapping each other. Oh boy...I thought letting out a sigh and looking over them. I guess it doesn't matter, it normally doesn't. I just started grabbing a bunch of the papers and folded them up and put them in one of the pouches. I pulled one last flier off and decided I would start with this. It was just a wolf scare in west ponyville. I let out a sigh and started making my way out. I kept my eyes on the flier as I started making my way just outside of the inn and studied over it. Just as I was reading over it I heard a scream down the street which instantly caught my attention and the attention of everybody else. I kept my ears focused and my eyes glued down the street.

"What the hell was that for?" I asked getting ready for the worst. Then there were more screams and a few ponies came running out of the street. I suddenly started bolting towards the direction of the distress. I made my way down the street and suddenly turned the corner to see a use spider was in the middle of the street. I quickly jumped at it and slashed my sword, but to my surprise something had blocked my sword, it was even one of my more powerful strikes too. It couldn't have been that exoskeleton on the spider; Itt should have cleaved through it. I focused and saw that there was a large metal pole blocking my attack, confused I quickly started to investigate. As I investigated I saw that it was a scythe, a large black steel scythe blocking my attack. I looked to see that there were a few hands on the pole and I looked to see who it was.

And to my surprise there was a woman holding the scythe. She wore a black dress with ribbons and lace. At first I thought it was her that protected the spider, like maybe it's just her pet or something, but then...I realized that she was the spider. Her waist cut off under the dress and where the human ended the spider began. She had the abdomen of a spider with eight large black legs and on back she had a red skull with a tribal design. I then looked at her face and she had eight eyes. Two large ones on each side and three smaller eyes surrounding either one. She had long white hair that went down to her back. Her hands were black and looked like they were pointed black gauntlets, but they were her actual hands, like they were covered in an exoskeleton. I was in the air pushing the Itt against her staff. She looked at me with a deep and determined look, while I looked at her with confusion, then she relaxed and looked at me the same way. I pressed off her and landed to the ground holding my sword.

"What..." I said to myself looking at her.

"Oh...are you the hero of ponyville...Zachary?" She asked seeming excited... Oh dear.

"How do you know my name?" I asked.

"It is you!" She said excitedly bolstering her scythe on her back. She was a good three or so feet taller than me, and she was huge... She was a spider woman. "It's a pleasure to meet you..." She said smiling and bowing. She wore a loose black dress. She had a thin figure...well, the human part was thin, and she had large breasts, and I'm suppose the spider part is...attractive, if you're a spider. I think it actually looks kinda cool. She adjusted her footing and smiled. Her legs were long and slender and looked decently armored from the exoskeleton. They were like large spikes that stuck into the ground.

"Uhm... Okay... Let's start simple...who are you?"I asked trying to digest all of this.

"She looks interesting." Said Itt talking in my head.

"My name is Anna..." She said happily. "I'm an arachnoid... I suppose I must be kinda scary... Pretty much everybody runs away from me... I can't blame them."

"Well...I think... I think it's kinda cool...you know. Something different from the normal...and trust me...I know all about different." I said.

"That's why I've come here to find you actually..." She said smiling. "I'm part of a special guild. I traveled here to find you and offer you to join." She said smiling.

"Traveled...I heard from the princess that you were in Canterlot." I said. "Where is your guild?"

"It's on the other side of the mountain." She said gesturing to the royal mountain. "It's a small town called Whisperville..." She said.

"Whisperville?" I asked. "I think I might have heard about that...it sounds familiar."

"It's a small town like this, lots of ponies and humans, though we do like to be more excluded than other towns, we don't even have a train station..." She said.

"Then how did you travel here?" I asked.

"Oh... I teleported..." She said. "I have a friend with me here actually...but she's looking else where...she's probably off scaring other people as well. She's the one who did the teleporting." She said.

"So why did you teleport to Canterlot first?" I asked.

"I heard that you were there...I guess that's not right... We figured it out after a little bit and just teleported here not too long ago." She said. "We should go find my friend before she terrifies everybody."

"What's the name of your guild?" I asked following her as she started to walk through the street. She took up a lot of space and moved quickly because of how she was built, but I kept up.

"We're called 'Amorice Heart'." She said. "It means the changing heart..."

"Is your guild full of...uh...?"

"People like me?" She asked finishing my sentence. "Yes..." She said smiling. "You don't have to be so cautious around me, it's not like I'm sensitive about the way I look..." She said. "There are plenty of others like me, that's why we came and found you..."

"But...I'm just a normal human." I said.

"I don't think you understand... I'm the only one who's a spider at the guild..."

"So who's your friend?" I asked.

"She's a snake..." She said innocently.

"Yeah... But I'm not... Well... Like you and your friend." I said.

"Were a guild for people who are different... Our master heard about you and he thought you were perfect..."

"But...I'm just a human..." I added once more.

"A human that can use magic...and you've got wings too... You're not just an ordinary human... We'd appreciate it if you would join." She said.

"Anna!" Shouted a voice from ahead. "ANNAAAAA!" Called out the voice again. Soon a woman turned the corner...or rather, slithered around the corner. It was a woman wearing a skin tight robe covered in bandages that draped around her. Her skin was fair and she had long red hair. Her eyes were slitted like a snakes, in fact she was a snake. She had a long slender body with red scales and a peach colored underside. Her body must extend to be a good three meters. She had a smile on her face that showed that she had fangs as well, small ones. Her long smooth body slithered along gracefully across the ground, but looked like it could snap a man in half. She slithered over and stopped in front of us. She had a staff on her back. It was a wooden cypress pole with a blue gem that faintly glowed on top of it. Three other gems floated magically around it. One red, one green, and the other yellow.

"Mia...there you are." Said Anna. The snake woman smiled and gave Anna a big hug.

"Did you find him...? Is this him...? It looks like him." She said looking down at me.

"Uhm...hello?" I said a bit confused from all of this.

"This is him...I already asked if he would consider joining us." Said Anna.

"Well...what do you think?" She asked. "Will you join?"

"Well...it's all kinda sudden...I've got a lot of stuff on my mind already...and I've already got an offer from somebody else... The knights of the suns circle..." I said.

"Aw...so that's a no then?" She said disappointed.

"Well no...Not really...I haven't given anybody an answer yet...I just...don't really think if a guild is really for me." I said. "I mean...if I leave this town then who's going to watch over ponyville?" I asked.

"Oh, you can still do that... In fact, for a while now our guild has been meaning to put an outpost in this town... But we never mustered up the means to do so... But if you join, we'll have a reason to build it... It'll be like the guild comes to you, so you don't have to leave so often..." Said Anna.

"That actually sounds kinda nice..." Said Itt talking in my head.

"Maybe..." I said "I'm still not sure..."

"Oh please!" Said the snake woman Mia bending over to get to my level and putting on a face that was both a combination of sadness and hope. She made an adorable stair with big puppy dog eyes that tore away at my soul. She cupped her hands and placed them bellow her so that her arms squeezed her breasts together which were easily visible because of the skin tight robe she wore. She showed off a lot of cleavage and used a vicious combination of her womanly charms and cuteness to tear away at my soul.

"Oh god what is that look!?" I shouted covering my eyes and looking away. She and Anna just giggled.

"Don't mess with Mia... She's got the most adorable look ever... It's almost impossible to say no to her." Said Anna. "Trust me...it works on everyone... In fact that's why they sent her here with me."

"They figured if I gave you that look then there'd be no way you could resist...though you were able to tear away so quickly...I guess I'm going to have to step up my game." She said pouting with an equally adorable face and placing her hands on her hips.

"Aww...she's so cute...we should join...it could be fun." Said Itt talking in my head.

"Please?" She asked one more time putting on an even more soul wrenching stare that cut right through me. Her gaze was adorable...it was like poison. She even quivered her lips a little like she might start crying. If she actually started crying I think I would literally die.

"AHH!" I shouted covering my eyes again. "Oh god it burns..." I said making them both giggle again.

"Please join our guild... Were just such a small guild...? And were misunderstood, and we'd really appreciate it if you did..." She said.

"Please?" Asked Anna also trying to put on a face like Mia's... It was pretty damn close.

"Ahh..." I said suddenly lifting up my wings and bolting up into the air at incredible speed. I tore through the air as fast as I could and made an incredible amount of ground between us in a matter of only five short seconds. I stopped up in the air and started breathing heavily. I stopped and sat down on a passing by cloud and let it carry me along. I sat there taking in the situation. "Okay...so there are two women...both with a deathly gaze that want me to join a guild." I said.

"One of them a spider...the other ones a snake..." Said Itt.

"I honestly think you should join..." Said Zaxiel.

"You were persuaded by their stare weren't you?" I asked Zaxiel.

"That kind of stuff doesn't work on me... I simply thought that it was a good deal, they're willing to bring the guild to you... And by what they were saying, it doesn't seem like a really big guild, I've never really even heard of it before." She said.

"I suppose...it does sound like a good deal..." I said. "Alright..." I said promptly letting out a deep sigh. "I'll give it a shot."

"Yay...this is so exciting." Said Itt.

"Although... If I do join... I think it would only be right to tell them our secret." I said.

"Are you sure about that?" Asked Zaxiel.

"Only if it's okay with you two..." I said.

"I support anything you do and I think it's a wonderful idea... Plus I'm sure they'll understand..." Said Itt.

"Thanks Itt..." I said running my hand along the length of her blade smiling.

"I'll follow you anywhere master...I owe you my happiness... And I agree with Itt... Usually strange people are the only ones that can understand strange things."

"Alright... I suppose there's no helping it... It's unanimous." I said. I pushed myself forward and dropped off the cloud and started to quickly plummet to the ground. I quickly flexed out my wings and pushed them down creating a circle of fire that spread over the ground with a gust of wind as I suddenly stopped and floated gently to the ground. I'm getting used to these wings... It helps that I've flown before... But it's a little different when they're physically attached to you... It feels more natural and I've got better control over them. I let out a sigh and looked around. This street wasn't as populated as it was earlier. And I looked around and eventually saw Anna and Mia make their way around the corner to step their gaze on me. Once they smiled and started rushing over the ponies and people around me fled.

"We found you... C'mon... Give us an answer... We aren't leaving until we get one." Said Anna.

"Don't make me give you the look again..." Said Mia with a stern look.

"Uhm...please don't..." I said quietly. "I think we should take this conversation somewhere else... You're scaring people..." I said.

"Oh..." Said Anna looking around. "That might be a good idea."

"Then let's go to the forest..." Said Mia.

"Sure..." I said. They both smiled and followed me to the everfree forest. I wanted to make sure we were deep in so nobody could see us. As we were walking through I noticed that Mia and Anna had absolutely no problem making their way through the forest terrain, they're kinda built for it really. I stepped on top of plants and vines and pushed branches out of my face until we came to a clearing deep inside. I looked around and up and it was a good place to talk. There was a huge great wood tree that darkened the whole area and made a nice canopy above. The ground was soft and mossy and this was the perfect place to just let everything go.

"So...are you going to say yes?" Asked Anna.

"On one condition..." I said.

"Sure thing..." Said Mia.

"I... Well... You two are right... I'm definitely not normal... Well, not anymore that is." I said. "I don't know if there was ever really a time when you two were regular humans...but I've changed...and there's something I need you to see... What I'm about to show you...stays between us..." I said.

"Uhm...sure thing..." Said Mia.

"Alright... I guess it's time to reveal the secret Itt...Zaxiel...go ahead." I said. As I did a look of confusion spread over both Mia's and Anna's faces. Suddenly Itt burst into a torrent of flames taking the sword and armor with her. Zaxiel burst into a pool of blood that splashed into the ground. The flames to my right began to compress and took the form of Itt who sat there in her bandages up top and long flaming skirt and she smiled and waved. The pool of blood on the ground began creeping upward and soon formed to the shape of Zaxiel and took her shape and form. She smiled too and waved dressed in her red and black maid's uniform. They both smiled and waved and I stood there smiling in my jeans and Tee shirt. And I figured that for good measure I might as well pull out my newest card. "Solus...Maximus..." I whispered under my breath as my black pair of wings burst from out behind me in a torrent of white lights which danced through the air and fluttered to the ground and vanished soon after.

"Hello..." Said Zaxiel a bit embarrassed.

"Uh...hi..." Added Itt also a bit embarrassed.

"Well there you have it... That's my secret...I've been hiding it for a while now... You're the first two people I've shown, save my best friends of course... Other than that...nobody else knows."

"I...what?" They both asked in unison.

"If I can explain... You might have heard tales like this... But I and Zaxiel here are fairy weapons..." Said Itt smiling. "My name is Itt...I'm the fairy great-sword of fire..."

"And I'm Zaxiel... The fairy shield blood wall." She said.

"And I'm just Daniel... The magic human with the wings... Kinda ridiculous... But I suppose spider woman...and snake woman are a bit more interesting."

"Well..." Said Anna smiling. "Like our guild master says..."

"It takes strange people to understand strange things..." Finished Mia.

"Ha...told you..." Said Zaxiel jokingly to which I just rolled my eyes and chuckled a little.

"So you're...like...alright with this?" I asked unissued.

"Hey...you were alright with me being a spider..." Said Anna.

"And with me being a snake... Most people and ponies just run away and yell monster...you didn't even run or scream a little..." Said Mia.

"Well...you did swing your sword at me thinking I was a monster though." Said Anna giving me a glare but one with a smile.

"Heh...I suppose I should apologize...I didn't see the human part...I just saw the spider part and assumed you were all spider... Sorry."I said.

"That's fine... It's a good thing I was on guard..." She said.

"Yeah it's-" said Mia before she suddenly stopped and looked to the left suddenly with a focused gaze.

"What is it Mia...do you hear somebody?" Asked Anna.

"Somebody's been following us... They must be a skilled assassin since I couldn't hear them until just now...they're close." She said. As she said that Anna pulled her scythe from her holster and held it in her hands tightly. I quickly whispered under my breath and my wings vanished from behind me.

"I always knew you were hiding something..." Said a familiar voice as a male figure in armor pushed his way through the shrubs and appeared before us. It was sir. Varner. He had his armor on and a sword and a smile on his face. "Fairies huh...you certainly are an interesting character Zachary miles..."

"What are you doing here?" I asked.

"What? Do you think I wouldn't notice a spider and a snake making their way through town, and then to go into the everfree forest alone with our friendly neighborhood hero."

"How..."

"How long have I been watching... Not long... I had a spare ghost potion lying around so I took a swig and spied on you three...well...five it would seem. I guess it wore off... I knew I wouldn't be able to spy on you normally since Lamias have hypersonic hearing, which is funny when snakes don't normally have ears." He said. "So...here we are now... Now I know... I always kinda figured actually..."

"So you know... And you aren't...surprised?" I asked.

"Oh c'mon... Like I don't study up on these things... I've seen magic's like no other in my days... It was a little surprising... But I'm capable of wrapping my head around it." He said.

"That was a dirty trick spying on us..." Said Anna.

"Hmm... I could tell from the context that you're recruiting him to a guild... But I didn't hear which one... Not like I need to... There's only one guild that accepts your kinds... Amorice heart...was it?"

"Yes..." Admitted Mia. They still had that look in their eyes. I could tell that they weren't getting along and I feel like there's a connection here, something I'm missing.

"You have to promise not to tell anybody..." Said Itt suddenly walking forward and speaking out.

"Oh don't worry...the thought never cross my mind." He said. "Well maybe it has...in fact, now that I think of it... I bet other people would love to hear about this." He said.

"You wouldn't dare!" I said getting mad and stepping up to him. Even though we were on the same height he still looked a lot more intimidating with that big suit of armor on.

"Why don't we make things interesting... I won't tell... So long as you...join the knights..." He said smiling.

"Asshole!" Said Itt.

"If you're going to blackmail me then there's no way I'll ever join..." I said.

"Hmm...The. How about this." He said. "I propose a duel... Not to the death...simply until one of us either submits or is incapacitated and can no longer fight..." He said. "And to make it more interesting... We'll make it a fist fight... No armor... No weapons... Just two men...duking it out... Acid old fashioned duel of fisticuffs." He said playfully putting his hands up like a boxer. He must know that my power comes from Itt and Zaxiel. What he doesn't know is that I can In fact use magic on my own... But I'm interested.

"So what are terms of the fight?" I asked. Itt walked over with Zaxiel and they both grabbed one of my hands. Anna put away her scythe and Mia put her staff away.

"Darling..." Said Itt.

"Simple... If I win then you join the knights and you can't leave..." He said. "And if you win...then I'll leave ponyville... And I'll stop bothering you, I won't spread your secret...and you can join...them." He said lazily gesturing to Anna and Mia. I looked at him and started thinking, hundreds of thoughts started rushing through my mind, none of them were very positive.

"Okay...I accept." I said.

"Perfect... Then a fight it shall be... But not here...dear god no... This isn't the place for a duel... There's not enough room... And not enough people." He said. "We'll take this to the people..." He said. I was confused at first and then he suddenly grabbed my arm and pulled something from a pouch in his belt. It looked like a glass orb, almost like a snow globe. He shook it and smashed it on the ground under us. There was a bright flash of light and I felt myself grow instantly lighter. Suddenly the light faded and when my eyes adjusted I could see that we were in the center of town. There were lots of ponies and people here that suddenly moved away from us and looked at us. He let go of my arm and I stumbled away a bit confused...it was just us. Itt and the others didn't come with us.

"People and ponies of ponyville..." Said Varner gathering everyone's attention. He does a good job of putting a mask on and acting like a good guy. I should have figured that he was just an attention gathering, back stabbing, conniving, jerk. "I invite you to watch a duel... A simple duel of fisticuffs between me... And your local hero..." He said gesturing to me as I got back up on my feet. Most of the people looked surprised to see that I was the hero. There was a semi audible gasp in the crowd. He smiled and started taking off his armor and it began to drop to the ground. He was wearing tights and a vest underneath his armor as well as a long sleeve shirt under the vest. He rolled up his sleeves and cracked his knuckles.

"Are you ready to fight...?" He asked.

"Why did you drag it here...?" I asked.

"Why not?" He asked. "A grand fight deserves a big crowd... Plus it means there are more witnesses. Plus it makes the duel official if there's an audience... There for the duel is legal..."

"Worried is lose and skip out on the deal?" I asked.

"That's one reason..." He said. "Are you ready?"

"Anytime... Let's get this over with." I said. I'm not the best at fighting, I know that Itt said I can become a master with any type of weapon, but I don't think fists are considered a weapon. He got into a pose and held up his hands. I held up my hands loosely by my side and kept on guard. I widened my stance and got ready to fight. We circled around for a little while and kept staring at each other. As we circled I saw him start to lower one of his arms and thought it was the perfect time to strike. I went for a punch through the opening to the side of his face. I thought I would get it in, but it was a trap and he pushed my punch out of the way and hit me right in the face. In my daze I stumbled back and he hit me in the stomach once, twice, three times and then uppercut me. His fist hit my chin and I was lucky enough that when my teeth shut closed that I didn't bite my tongue. I stumbled back a little and he advanced and hit me in the face two more times. One dazed me and the last hit broke my nose. I quickly moved back and focused making sure that he wasn't going to attack again.

"Oh hoho... Not so confident now... Are we?" He asked. The crowd around us was getting riled up and gasped with every hit. I stopped for a minute to catch my breath. My stomach hurt and my nose was broken. Blood started to drip down from my nose and began staining my shirt and the ground. This wasn't going well, he tricked me, and he definitely knows how to fight. I don't stand a chance...I might have to think fast... I've for a trump card. I could use my magic, but I don't want to do that in public unless it's really looking bad for me. I kept thinking then I stopped and had a good idea... I just realized that I've got two trump cards. Both of them aren't really something I'd like to do in public... But I'm not about to let this asshole win.

"Ugh...I won't let you win..." I said.

"Then come fight me." He said. I didn't though, I stayed right where I was and then his confident smile vanished and he glared at me. "Fine then... I'll come to you..." He said quickly jumping forward and going for an attack. I closed my eyes trying to rid myself of any doubt and I motivated myself. And just when he was right in front of me I put all of my power into jumping right into the air. I used some magic power and leapt several feet into the air, well over his head.

"Solus...MAXIMUS!" I shouted out as a large pair of black wings burst from my back in a flurry of lights that fell to the ground like snow. Black feathers fell from me and I flapped them and stayed in the air. When the people saw this there was a collective gasp through the whole crowd. Varner was a bit confused for a moment but then realized where I was. I glared at him and he gave me a deathly look.

"Hey...no cheating now." He said.

"You said no weapons or armor... Those were your words..." I said.

"Heh...I guess your right... I didn't mention magic..." He said.

"This isn't magic..." I said glaring at him.

"Then show me magic..." He said. I bolted forward from the air right towards him. "How about I show you my FIST instead..." I said landing a hard punch right to his face. The force from the punch caused him to fly back and land on the ground. I landed on the ground and he got up on his knees. He was bleeding from the nose too, meaning his was broken as well. I went to attack him again, which was a mistake. He blocked my strike and then hit me in the face and started pounding me with a flurry of punches. He hit me in the face, the side of the head, in the chest, breaking some of my ribs, my stomach. I started to see sports now me I brought my hands up to stop his attacks but it didn't work too well, then I covered myself with my wings and quickly flexed them out creating a gust of wind that pushed him back. If let weak and I fell to my knees. I was breathing heavily, and so was he, but he was the one that was smiling.

I started coughing and I coughed into my hand, and to my surprise when I removed my hand there was blood on it. I felt sick, and weak and tired. I was in lots of pain. The sides of my head were starting to burn and my face hurt. Everything was a bit blurry and I felt dizzy and lost. Even with wings I still can't beat him, he's too fast, and he knows how to fight much better than I do. I said that I would only use magic if I knew I wasn't going to win, but right now I don't think I could must that kind of strength. My head was pounding and it felt like some kind of giant as crushing my skull, same with my chest. It felt like somebody was sitting on my chest, and it was hard to breathe. I tried getting back on my feet but I couldn't. Varner smiled and walked over to me.

"Hey!" Shouted a voice from the crowd. We both looked over and suddenly Itt burst out from the crowd and into the clearing where we were fighting. She took Varner by surprise and jumped up into the air. She spun and landed a kick right on his jaw causing him to fly to the side and hit the ground. "Don't you dare hurt my husband?" Itt then knelt down next to me and looked at me. I smiled at her and she smiled at me.

"Hey now... You can't help him..." Said Varner getting up looking rather angry now.

"I won't let you have your way..." Said Itt.

"Then get the hell out of my way..." He said rushing over and landing a hard punch right to Itt's face. She fell down on the ground and covered the side of her face that he hit. She moaned in pain and it looked like she had started crying. I heard her sob and then a saw a single tear roll down her cheek and then fall to the ground...and I started getting mad. I promised I would never let any of her tears go unanswered, and that asshole punched my wife and made her cry...and now I'm furious.

"Don't you touch her...?" I said under my breath. I pressed my fist on the ground and the air around me start to grow increasingly hot. The ground under my started to crack and burn black from the intense heat generating from my body. The last time I was this angry was when I went up against Donnie.

"You say something?" He asked jokingly even though he probably didn't hear me.

"Is said...DONT YOU FUCKING TOUCH HER!" I shouted as loud as I could causing the ground to tremble and shake. Burning embers sparked under the folds of my feather in my wings and I got back up into my feet feeling incredibly angry.

"It seems I've made him angry..." He said looking at me.

"You've made my wife cry...the last time somebody made Itt cry... I tore the still-beating heart from their chest..." I said. I clenched my fists together and felt myself changing. My wings started to become more devious and twisted as they burnt like ash and amber. The symbols on my body caught flame and burnt intently. My hands started to shape into claws and I felt every muscle in my body intensify. I growled showing my clenched teeth and the fangs that I had grown. I blinked once and my eyes glowed a deep fiery red, and burnt with the fury of hellfire. I felt fire burning under my skin, I felt stronger, faster, more accurate. I felt confident and more relaxed now. I brought my fists up and held them in front of me ready to fight. Varner did the same thing and smiled holding his fists up as well. I didn't need to use magic... I only needed to be angry... And I was plenty angry.

We circled around each other for what seemed like forever, but must have only been half a minute. Then I threw a punch, a weak one to throw him off guard. He blocked the punch smiling thinking that I had made the same foolish mistake like the last two times. When he went to hit me with his other hand he left himself completely open. I quickly grabbed his arm that was blocking mine and threw him off center and pulled him into a powerful punch from my right hand. I hit him right in the face and he went back but I held onto him, making sure he didn't go anywhere. I pulled him back and then let go and threw a punch to his stomach. He let out a grunt of pain as I followed up with five more strikes. One more to the stomach, two to either side of his rib cage, and one to his sternum knocking the breath out of him. He fell back gasping for air; I could see it in his face that the fight had now become much more real.

"Fine then..." He said getting up and wiping some blood from his lip. I glared at him with anger and grit my teeth showing my fangs. I was completely enveloped in hatred right now. I couldn't focus on anything else but him, not Itt, not the people or ponies around me, it was like everything around me was just darkness, and he was the only thing I could see, the center of my hatred. His voice made me tremble in anger, just hearing him made me hate him more.

"I never should have trusted you..." I said in a deep menacing voice. I crouched down and spread my wings out and launched towards him. Instead of punching him I grabbed him flew a few feet into the air and threw him into the ground as hard as I could. I forced myself downward and landed right on top of him. I panted my feet on his chest and I felt his ribs and sternum crack and break under the force. This caused him to immediately cough up a spurt of blood and cry out in pain. I stepped off him and reached down. I grabbed him by his throat and picked him up by his neck. I gripped his neck tightly and then threw him past the crowd into the nearest building, which was the town hall. He smashed through one of the mid level windows and I flew off taking after him. I burst through the roof of the building nod landed right next to him. I slowly walked over as he turned over on his side and coughed up some more blood. I stood next to him and rose my foot up to stomp him into the ground.

"STOP...stop..." He said holding his hand up. "Stop...*cough*... I yield *cough*...*sputter*... I yield...you win... Stop." He said. Even thought he admitted defeat I still wanted to smash him into the ground for betraying me...and worst of all for hitting Itt like he did... But I guess... I suppose he got what he deserves...pain and humiliation... And defeat. I closed my eyes and let out a deep sigh. My breath carried out all the fire and hatred from within me, and in one deep breath I cool off and returned to normal.

"You're lucky I didn't burry you..." I said glaring at him. He tried to speak up but ended up coughing up more blood into his hand. At this rate he probably isn't going to make it. I let out another sigh and knelt down next to him and grabbed his arm. "C'mon...you'll die if I don't help you..." I said picking him up and carrying him away out of the town hall and back outside. As I opened the door people and ponies rushed away to give us some space. When they saw me carrying Varner they started to clap and cheer...slowly at first, but then it picked up. Now everybody in town knows my face...great.

"Darling..." Said Itt rushing over. Zaxiel had just made her way here with Anna and Mia. Itt rushed over and stopped when she noticed I was carrying Varner. "Did you win?" She asked.

"Yes...I won..." I said smiling making her smile too. The side of her face was red and a little swollen. He had gotten her good with that punch. At least she wasn't crying anymore, which made me happy. At this point sir Varner had fallen unlock ours and his limp body almost dragged me down but I shifted my stance to support his weight and Itt placed her hands on his to hold him up. As quickly as he passed out he came back. He stuttered and moaned, he was drifting in and out of consciousness.

"Hey! You did it... I knew you were good..." Said Mia rushing over and slithering around us. The sight of her and Anna startled all of the people and ponies and they suddenly went quiet. When the two of them noticed that everything was silent they looked around at all the shocked faces. I thought quickly and came up with a solution.

"Well...it helps to have such good friends as you two... Right...dear?" I asked putting on a loud and blatantly fake voice and looking over to Itt. She looked at me with a confused face. I glanced between her and Anna and Mia and then I saw the lights come on in her head once she got it.

"Oh! Yeah...they do make pretty good friends don't they darling..." By now the crowd of people and ponies started to mumble and whisper amongst themselves. That mumbling and whispering soon turned into pleasant conversations and smiles and soon the others were beginning to cheer and clap again. Mia and Anna blushed and smiled. Me and Itt smiled too and waked over with Varner over my shoulder.

"So does this mean you're going to join our guild?" Asked Anna walking over with a smile.

"Why don't we talk about it somewhere else." I said having to talk over the cheering crowd.

"I've got the perfect place." Said Mia drawing her staff and holding her hands out. The staff started to glow green and a green circle surrounded all of us and there was a sudden flash of green light and we were somewhere else. It wasn't until a few seconds passed that the light faded and I could see where we were, I looked around and it looked like we were back in ponyville, but it was different. I looked around and I saw that ponies and people were looking at us, but they didn't seem to pay much attention. It looked like they didn't recognize us. Also the whole town was now surrounded by trees and plants. I looked around with confusion at our surroundings.

"Where are we?" I asked Itt.

"This is Whisperville... Our little town hidden in the woods." Anna said. "It's very small...smaller than ponyville really, even though I said it was about the same...it's really not."

"This town was built for ponies and well...people like us..." Mai pointed out gesturing to Anna and herself. As I looked around I started to notice that the people here weren't really normal. Some of them had tails and ears like cats or dogs or rabbits. And I could see harpies flying around too. Some people were lizards with tails and wings and claws, others were lions and tigers... A variety of animal based humans.

"The town is full of Lamias, arachnoids, mermaids, harpies, slimes, cat's dog's rabbits, and you name it." Said Anna.

"Slimes...?" I asked.

"One of my friends is a slime actually..." Said Mia. "And look... Here comes Pip..." She said gesturing to the left where I could see a girl with a green dress hovering over and smiling. She was small, with a petite body. She had short black hair and long ears. Once she landed next to us and smiled I could see she had a pair of insect like wings.

"Hello!" She said smiling. "I see your back..."

"Hi pip...this is pip..." She said turning to us. "She's a pixie."

"Uhm...hi..." I said.

"Hello." Said Itt and Zaxiel simultaneously.

"Hello... Are you the hero?" Asked pip.

"Yes..." I said.

"Oh...that's great." She said smiling and giggling and flying over to me and giving me a hug. It was a bit of an awkward hug that she immediately pulled away from when she had a sudden idea. "Oh...I should tell the headmaster... Oh, he'll be so excited..." She said flying away.

"I'm sorry about that..." Said Mia slithering over. "Pip gets excited very easily... And she isn't very good with personal space..."

"Is that so..." I said sarcastically making Itt giggle a little. "So why did you bring us here?" I asked.

"I thought it would be a good idea to talk to the headmaster about this." She said. He should be in the guild... He doesn't normally leave otherwise."

"Where's the guild?" I asked.

"There." Said Anna pointing behind us. I looked back to see the base of Canterlot mountain and there was a large stone structure built into the base of the mountain with a guild symbol on top of it. It was a picture of a dragon with horns that make it look like a heart almost. It was a big and ornate building with two large double doors. Anna and Mia started making their way past us as we stared at the building in awe and I didn't notice that they had left until they were a good way away from us,

"Whoa...wait up..." I said rushing after them with Itt and Zaxiel right behind. It didn't take us long to catch up and get beside them.

"What's the headmaster like?" Asked Itt.

"He's a bit aged... But he's nice... Very kind and understanding...and very strong." Said Mia.

"He gets along with Mia very well..." Said Anna. "But he loves all of us... He thinks of us all as a family."

"He sounds nice..." Said Itt smiling.

"It sounds very interesting..." Said Zaxiel. "Are you going to join master?"

"Well...it seems rather interesting. And I suppose if I can just teleport...or fly even, I guess the commute won't be that bad." I said. "I might...but let's talk to the headmaster first I guess..."

"Sounds good..." Said Itt.

"HEY! ANNA...MIA...HEY!" Shouted a voice to our left. We all turned to look over and saw two people waking over to us. One woman and one man. The woman was a cat like woman. She had cat ears and long, sharp nails, as well as whiskers on her cheeks and a tail. She smiled and she had small cat fangs and her eyes were slitted like a cats. The guy next to her was a wolf. He had a fluffy dog's tail and limp dog ears. His fur was white and the woman's fur was orange. The guy had stronger looking hands with claws and larger teeth. The cat woman rushed over and leapt at Mia and Anna and pulled them both into a big hug. "Oh... It's so good to see you guys."

"Carly...it's only been one day..." Said Mia.

"Oh, but I missed you so much..." She said hugging them tighter. While Anna and Mia were caught in that little episode the guy with the dog ears walked over and smiled at us.

"You two look new..." He said walking over. "Are you the new recruits that the whole guild has been buzzing about?" Asked the man. "Though, I only remember hearing about one new recruit...not three."

"We come in a triple pack..." I said. "It's a bit complicated."

"So you must be that hero guy on the other side of the mountain." He said.

"Yeah...I'm Zack..." I said holding out my hand. He smiled and we shook hands, he had a very strong grip. He looked at me and then started sniffing the air strongly. Then he looks over at sir Varner who I still had over my shoulder.

"It smells like you two got into a fight..." He said.

"Yeah... I little..."

"Hmm...You...you also smell like you've been on fire recently... Did you burn yourself?" He asked.

"It's a little more complicated than that." I said. "Don't worry about that... Uh... Hey... So you know a place where I can drop this guy off?" I asked gesturing to Varner who was unconscious. "Like a hospital or something?"

"There's a clinic in the guild... Hey...Carly...stop bothering them and let's go." He said poking the cat woman in her side making her jump and turn around quickly. Her ears and hairs were standing up and she sneered at him and he just smiled. "C'mon... The guild... Were holding them up."

"Fine...let's go..." She said and they all led us over to the guild. Once we opened the huge doors I couldn't believe how big it was. The doors opened up into a huge hall full of people at wooden tables drinking and eating food. There was a large board to the side with notices on it and a bar in the back. There was a staircase on either side that led to a high rise. There was a larger door up above with smaller doors on either side. To the left there was a set of double doors with a clinic sign above it. The whole place was huge and it was full of people and ponies. Carly and the wolf man took sir Varner from us and dragged him off to the clinic.

"You should check into the clinic too... You look a little banged up." Said Carly placing her hand on my chin and examining my face.

"I'm fine..." I said pushing her hand away. "I'll be fine..."

"Okay...but still... Check in sometime later." She said as she turned around and walked off to the clinic. I turned around and was suddenly greeted by a familiar face. It was pip who was hovering up in the air and was smiling at me. She was only an inch from my face and I looked her right in the eyes. She had green eyes, bright green eyes.

"What do you think of the guild? Pretty nice huh? We've got food and drinks and plenty of space, and lots of friendly people." She said hastily still only inches from my face. "Oh... You look hurt..." She said just noticing that I'm a little beaten up. "You should see the clinic... Its right over there, I can bring you there if you want?" She said seeming a bit worried and somehow moving closer to me.

"No...I...I'm fine...really..." I said stuttering a little.

"Pip!" Said Anna grabbing her and pulling her back. "What did I say about personal space?"

"Sorry..." She said in a regretful voice.

"Go bug Judas..." She said then pushing her away to which she caught herself and started hovering in the air. She stuck her tongue out at Anna and then flew off to the other side of the guild.

"I guess you two don't get along too well?" I asked smiling.

"Even though were human, we still have a bit of our old animal instincts..." Said Mia. "For example...I don't get along well with other lizards and snakes, and lots of the bigger animals, but the people who are mice or rats don't come near me too often."

"And we've got their characteristics too..." Added Anna. "I spin webs and I've got a paralyzing poison that can freeze a grown man in seconds..." She said.

"I'm cold blooded and my venom is incredibly potent...it kills in minutes." Said Mia. "Plus I can constrict other people, and my hearing is superior to others..."

"I've got a sixth sense around me that alerts me of danger, like a sort of spider sense..." Said Anna. "That's how I was able to block your attack before."

"Mimi over there is a bat..." Said Mia pointing to a girl who had bat wings for arms and pointed furry ears, fangs, long black hair, and small claws for feet. She was like the bat version of a harpy. She was actually with a harpy and they were both smiling and laughing. "She's blind, but she can use echolocation, and she can smell blood from a mile away.

"Shouldn't she be nocturnal though?" I asked.

"She is... The days getting late, and this is like her waking up early in the morning. We have plenty of nocturnal members too, that's why this town never actually sleeps and the stores often stay open 24/7...even the guild."

"So...how did you all...well... You know... Get to be like this?" I asked.

"Well... We all come from tribes of our kind that lived separately long ago." Said Anna. "My tribe, the arachnoid tribe live in caves deep in the forests. Some others that aren't very distinct like Carly, they sometimes lived amongst humans."

"Lamia have lived in hot springs around the world. It's nice there because we can keep warm all year round."

"So you've all been around for some time..."

"Yeah... But this is the first time anybody actually made a town... We integrated with the ponies that lived here, and we get along. Not many others know about us, so it's no surprise really that they're afraid when they see us, but the ponies in this town don't mind us."

"I like this town...it reminds me of the fairy villages. We used to make friends with the denizens of the forest which often included Minotaurs, lamia, even the bat people and arachnoids." Said Itt.

"My best friend growing up used to be a snake actually..." Said Zaxiel. "Her name was Nilla."

"Huh... I've heard stories about stuff like this... But I always thought they were stories." I said.

"The problem with ponyville, is that, because it doesn't have a guild, it often misses a lot of stuff, partially cut off from the world. Around here you always hear stories from the guild members and those stories travel around town and that's how the town stays up to date on stuff in the world." Said Anna.

"Yeah...that makes sense..." I said as we followed them over to the staircase leading to the high rise. Once we reached the top we started making our way down the hall to the large doors in the very back. It was silent for a moment...well, between us anyway. The rest of the guild was laughing and sharing stories and being lively...loud and lively. "This place is very active..." I said. "It's kinda nice."

"Yeah...everybody is friends with everybody...even though I told you how like I don't like bugs...and Mia doesn't get along with mice and rats, we still manage to keep from killing each other." Said Anna.

"It's actually kinda quiet today... The others are always starting fights with each other and blowing stuff up usually... I haven't been to many other guilds...but I can certainly say that this guild is the liveliest one in all of Equestria." Said Mia. We stopped just as soon as we got in front of the giant doors. There were smaller doors built into the bigger ones. I guess they need to open these up to let in a bigger crowd for special occasions.

"Is this it?" I asked.

"The headmaster is on the other side of this door... You should talk to him alone..." Said Anna opening the door.

"Don't worry...he doesn't bite...much." Said Mia quickly pushing me through and closing the door. P

"Hey wait..." I said to no avail as the door closed shut and I was stuck back here, the door was soundproofed. Even though it was lively and loud on the other side, I can't even here a single thing in this room. O

ither side of the door were two large candles that burnt with blue flame. Their light extended for a while, but beyond that was only darkness. From what I could tell, it was a fairly big room, big enough to put a few houses in. I could only imagine why the room needed to be this big. I waited for a second, like I was expecting something to happen, but when nothing happened, I called out.

"Hello!" I said as my voice echoed through the empty and silent room. "Uhm...my name is Zack...is the headmaster of this guild here?" I asked not really knowing who would answer.

"I am..." Suddenly said a deep voice that bellowed through the room. It was a strong voice, and it sounded like it came from something big... Very big. "Are you the one that wields the fire?" Asked the voice.

"Uhm...yes... I can use fire magic." I said.

"Show me..." The voice said after a brief pause. I waited for a second, not really sure of what was going on before I held out my left hand. I focused my energy and the runes on my body began to glow bright red. I snapped my fingers and a ball of flame burst in my hand and I held it up to the darkness to not only show the source of that voice, but to see if I could get a better view... I couldn't. "Aaahhhhhh..." Said the voice like an almost relaxed sigh. "Those are ancient flames... Dragon flames... They burn with hatred and passion...this...this is fairy magic... As I had guessed... You have a fairy...don't you?" Asked the voice. I was surprised to hear this question, but part of me wasn't so shocked. I couldn't keep myself from honestly answering.

"I have two..." I said without thinking. I was bit confused as to how he knew this, he must be some kind of powerful wizard or Mage or something. He probably keeps this room dark so that he has nothing to distract him from concentrating or something.

"Ah...two... Very...very interesting..." Said the voice. Now the voice was moving around, like it was coming from varying directions in front of me. I could hear slithering and movement. Maybe he's a lamia like Mia...that would explain why Anna said that they get along well if they're kin. "Let me tell you something..." He said. "That fire you hold...is ancient... It is not like today's magic...it is pure emotion... Something capable in all humans... but like all things that suffer through time, it was forgotten. Your fire is much like the breath of a dragon, it comes from within, it burns in the core and covers the heart which leaks it's emotions to fuel the flame, and then you breath it out in a gust of hellfire." He said. "I bet that if you wanted to... You could breathe like a dragon." Said the voice.

"How do you know so much about fairies and dragon fire?" I asked.

"Because I've got experience." The voice said angrily getting very close until a head thrust itself out of the darkness and took the breath right from my lungs. The head was as big as my body, with scales, and horns, and razor sharp teeth that kept fire trapped behind them. Large reptilian eyes that burnt like fire and a wicked gaze that pierced my soul. It was the gaze of a dragon, a fearsome and terrible dragon, something I've never experienced before. Not even that dragon I fought for the wonder bolts compares to this, this was an ancient dragon... Something far more powerful than anybody could imagine. He soon slithered out and revealed his whole body by lighting the torches all around the room with magic.

The dragon had dark red scales that looked almost burnt. His arms and legs were muscular and had spikes along his spine and his joints. His tail softly whipped to the ground and he was curled around and small mountain of golden coins and jewelry. This whole room was filled with treasures that surrounded the dragon. The d had to be at least five stories tall and few dozen meters from head to tail. I could see a large pair of wings folded gently on each side of the dragon. The webbing of the wings looked torn and ragged, this was definitely and ancient and wise dragon. I couldn't help but just look up and stare in both shock and awe.

"You looked shocked...this isn't your first time seeing a dragon..." He said blatantly. I mustered up my strength for a minute and responded.

"Well...no... But I haven't...haven't seen one as...uh...well... Impressive..." I said finally figuring out a good word to use.

"Impressive eh..." He said smiling. "That's a very clever word...so tell me...what's so impressive?" He asked obviously toying with me.

"Uh...well... You're...uh, scales...and, well. The fact that you're a dragon is...interesting." I said.

"Interesting... Another intelligent word." He said. "Most people think of destruction and fear when they think about dragons... But we are very reasonable once we get older in age." He said. "It's normally the young ones that are unreasonable..."

"Do...do all dragons talk?" I asked.

"Only the high dragons do... Most dragons that are spoken about are feral beasts, they are not like me...they cannot be reasoned with..." He said. He let out a deep breath which filled the whole room with hot air. He laid his head down not too far from me and it was still taller than I was. "Let me look at you..." He said picking his head up a little and moving around me.

"O-okay...yeah..." I said not really wanting to incur his wrath. He started moving and bobbing his head around me. I was still a bit beaten up and my wings were still showing. He circled his head around me before bringing himself back in front of me and looking me right in the eyes. He glared at me with one eye. A burning red eyes, in his pupils I could see fire, hellfire. His gaze was fierce, and deadly, and somewhat mystifying. Just staring into the eyes of a dragon like this is something on a whole other level.

"Hmm...You've bound yourself to two fairies... I can see their souls dancing inside your heart." He said "but that's not all... I see courage, kindness, love...anger...suffering." He said. "You know what it's like to be treated differently...don't you." He said resting his head.

"I..." I said for a second with a brief pause. "I do..." I sputtered out reluctantly. "I've been ridiculed my whole life only because I was different... I've always felt alone..."

"Yes...so have others..." He said in a more, chipper attitude. "Look around you... See the place that you're in." He said perking up and raising his head. "You've been alone because you're different... But behind these doors...is a whole town of people who are different." He said gesturing to the door. "They were alone, you've seen how others can fear them, discriminate them, and hate them...simply because they are different... But a person's character isn't based on appearance...it's defined by the light of their soul..."

"The light of their soul..." I said.

"That is why I've crafted this guild... I've opened my own home to those who are different, so that they can be welcomed here, and start fresh...so that perhaps someday they won't be ridiculed or shunned... So that maybe someday they can coexist with normal humans and ponies, just like how humans and ponies exist already." He said.

"Seeing...well, all of this... It's a little hard to believe." I said. "It's like some kind of dream."

"Dreams are simply visions of places we haven't been. The magic of this world defines imagination itself... There's no limit to this worlds wonders...believe me...I've seen them all." He said. "I've been looking at the world for millennia, seeing it change, watching nations fall, new nations be built, species go extinct and new ones rise from the Ashe. I've seen wonders, I've seen miracles, and I've seen creature and places that I thought weren't possible... The world is full of magic, and yet we choose to ignore it..." He said. "So what will you do... Will you join us, be amongst friends, and let us show you the wonders of the world... Or leave... And go about your life as you think you want to."

"I...I don't know..." I said. "All of this is... It's just so much... All of these things that have been happening to me... Fairies, wings, adventure, dragons for Christ sake...I just... I don't know." I said. "It may seem like a bit much... But can you answer a question for me?"

"Will it help you with your decision?" He asked.

"Yes...it will..."

"Then you may ask any question...I am wise beyond my years... I will answer it." He said.

"Why me...why are these things happening to me?" I asked. "I shouldn't even exist. My mother was human but my father was a unicorn, my whole being shouldn't even be possible... Why was I born... And... Have there been others like me?" I asked. He stared at me for a moment and I stared back at him until he started laughing, a laugh that shook the whole cave.

"You are full of surprises...that was, in fact, the one question I was hoping I wouldn't have to answer." He said.

"You said you would answer it..."

"And I will..." He added. "But first, let me ask you this question... What is magic?"

"Uhm... I don't really know a proper definition. I guess it's the manipulation of the world around us..."

"Close... That's what most people understand magic to be... But there's so much more." He said getting very close to me. "Magic, is the will of the earth herself, it's the energy of the world and with it, we can shape this world, create miracles, and redefine impossibility." He said. "It's in all of us... Even humans who think they can't use magic. There was a time when they could... But with time, it was lost, forgotten. Magic is the will of the earth. It connects to us, we who are the children on the might earth, and it connects our souls to this world. Using magic is simply looking inside of yourself, and finding the power, the connection, to your own soul, only then can we control the will of the earth." He said.

"And what about me... Why was I born?" I asked. "Why do I exist?"

"The answer to that...is not simple." He said. "You were born human yes...but your father...the unicorn... Gave you a spark, a kick... A push. His understanding of magic was given to you... All the parts were there...and the earth helped make it happen." He said. "In fact...I have another question... Something to...peak my curiosity...if I may." He said.

"What about my question?" I asked. "Don't ignore me!"

"I'm not... In fact... This may help with your question...but I must know...when you were born... Did you have a birth mark?" He asked.

"Uh...yes... I did, but it went away after only a year... I was too young to remember what it looked like, and I wouldn't have known if my mother hadn't always talked about it. She never told me what it looked like either... She just said it was just a spot on my right hand." Once I mentioned this I saw the dragons eyes widen for a brief moment before relaxing again.

"May I try something... Can you hold out your right hand?"

"Uh...like this?" I asked choosing out my right hand in a fist with the back of my hand facing up.

"Just like that..." He said. He move his head over and took in a deep breath. And then let out a powerful roar as a beam of white light and bright fire burst from his mouth. The fire, which burned white, spilled group the room. I let out a surprised cry and thought uh at I would be burned alive, but I couldn't feel any burning, and it only took me a second to notice that. I had my eyes closed but when I opened them I got to see my hand clearly through the beam of light and fire. I watched as a strange symbol started to carve itself into my right hand. The dragon closed its mouth and the fire and light soon vanished leaving only a glowing symbol on top of my right hand. I pulled my hand back and looked at the symbol. It was a circle with a triangle in it, and it glowed white. "Just as I thought..." He said with a prideful smile.

"What is this?" I asked still looking. As I looked at the symbol it started to appear more...familiar. I started to get the feeling like I've seen this before, I was getting that feeling when you know that you've forgotten something, but you can't remember what, and in my case it feels like something really important.

"What do you remember of your childhood?" Asked the dragon.

"N-not much...I...I can't remember anything until I was at least five... Everything before that is blank." I said. "It's always been that way."

"I cannot tell you who you are...simply because I wasn't meant to be the one to tell you." He said. I wasn't really surprised to hear that, I had asked that question already prepared to be let down. "I can tell you this though... You are very close to finding out your past..." He said. "And as well... I can let you know one more thing." He said.

"What is it?" I asked.

"You may be the son of both a woman and a stallion... But that's not what makes you different... You are different for another reason..."

"Another reason?"

"Yes...one that's far more complicated than you think..."

-Authors Note: hey guys, i hope you enjoyed this chapter, which ive also fixed and i can say that my technical difficulties are over (for now). hopefully i wont be witnessing any more of them, and i dont know if any of you bothered reading the last two chapters before, since they were literally just blocks of text with no breaks, and that could get a bit confusing. if you did read them, id just go over these two chapters again so that you can check to see if you've missed anything. i wont be posting anymore chapters for this story until Reborn is finished. so i left it off on a really good cliff hanger because as you know, im a horrible person like that, and to keep you guys interested. if you guys haven't read reborn or dream machine, go check them out. i can promise that they will be done soon, so if some of you guys are here for just this story...well...sucks to be you (probably not though). so leave a review or a comment in the mean time, and this is the part of the story where a lot of action happens, but ive given a new purpose to the story, and i dont regret it much (just a little). so if you guys have any ideas for characters you'd like to see in the show, or if you want something to happen, or if you have any ideas for the story in general, send me a message and tell me, im always open to ideas. so i hope you liked it, and have a good one!

-Stay Shady~