Welcome back ladies and gentleman! Hopefully it hasn't been too long since I posted the last chapter but knowing my habit of procrastination, who knows! But let us continue shall we?

In Sci-Twi's lab around half a week after the fight with Messmer…

Sunset, Bedman Sci-Twi, Princess Twilight are attempting to study and figure out the secret to Messmer's flames via the Embers of Messmer and the Black Pyreflies; sadly they've made little progress despite all the time they've had and the nearly endless amounts of tests they've run.

"Even by Equestrian standards this flame is different, the embers just refuse to stop burning, same with these butterflies" Mumbles Sunset staring intently at an Ember of Messmer inside a container.

"It's clearly not the average form of pyromancy considering it's properties, color, and those dark coils all around them which move like snakes even through the air" States Princess Twilight eying the fluttering Black Pyreflies in their enclosure (given an enclosure at the request of Fluttershy of course).

"Even after studying Equestrian magic all these years it just surpasses all our expectations! Bedman what do you think of this?" Asks Sci-Twi turning towards Bedman as he writes something down on a board using the bedframe's right arm.

Bedman writes:

"It's clearly magic of another world therefore your standards nor mine will work here we must work by its standards the only problem being we have no idea what those standards are nor their exceptions"

"That's true but even after all this time and tests nothing really crops up, maybe these embers or butterflies aren't suitable for the tests we're doing?" Wonders Princess Twilight.

"Great idea Twilight! Perhaps our issue isn't our methods but the subjects we're testing them on! One problem, how would we convince him to give us even a small portion of his flame to test? We know he's probably staying with the Dazzlings but we have no idea where they even are living right now" Says Sunset.

Bedman writes again after erasing his earlier words:

"I have already found their location, I've been keeping an eye out on them since the battle too swiftly eliminate them should they become a inconvenience to myself or you in the future however as I've observed they pose little to no threat at the moment except potentially Messmer himself honestly their living conditions are quite pathetic at the moment as they live just on the outskirts of town in an old home they've attempted to repair that by some sort of divine intervention has working water and electricity in it they mainly spend time lazing around their tv and creating music or arguing with each other they do that two to three time a day mainly focusing their anger on one Sonata Dusk the only truly decent member of their trio personality wise"

"Bedman, have you been stalking them?" Concerningly asks Sci-Twi.

Bedman gives a simple nod to respond.

"That's kinda creepy" Adds Princess Twilight.

"Not helped by the fact you've been stalking them just to murder them in case they try anything" Says Sunset.

Bedman write once more:

"It is a simple logical conclusion actually two of the three of them clearly still hold a grudge and their leader whose ego and self confidence rival Rainbow Dash when talking about herself has attempted to create an evil plan to get back at your group several times only to be stopped by Sonata so tracking them down was a solution to prevent any future problems in fact I've also also solved this current problem as well considering that Messmer the creator of the embers and butterflies lives with them if you wish we could simply teleport over there and speak to him about his flames"

The three girls think to themself before Twilight responds.

"Well even if you had a fair reason to watch them doesn't make it less creepy besides they don't have their magic so they can't do much anyway nor have they even attempted anything actually sinister in years since so have a little faith in people trying to better themselves Bedman!" Says Twilight.

Bedman writes again:

"Faith? Ah yes faith a concept so old I am baffled to see it still exist as faith is simple belief in something the very idea of a god or gods is simple faith we have no real evidence to prove god truly exists nor his nature if he does so what does someone with a weakness do? 'Have faith and you shall be rewarded in the kingdom of heaven!' preachers the pope the preacher the common man they all have faith but where exactly does that lead them? Faith is a powerful yet fickle thing many lose faith after simple revelations or bad experiences faith drives men and women to harm others for their own goals and ideals. I had faith in someone once that same person had me kill many for Deliah's sake just to be left to die in the end…"

"But faith is also a good thing! If you only believe in yourself you'll live horribly all alone and hateful of everything Twilight had faith in me and I had faith in Sci-Twi and look at how much better we've become!" Says Sunset, having seen the good power faith has twice in a row.

Bedman thinks for several seconds to himself before writing again:

"Believe what you may even if it can be childish either way we are getting off topic, do you wish to learn more of these flames from Messmer himself or not?"

"Why would Messmer give us any information on his flames? For all he knows we could be trying to learn how to defeat him or something" Asks Sci-Twi.

"Didn't he say that we weren't a threat to him? Our battle with him certainly made him think so maybe he's cool with us somehow?" Questions Sunset.

"He might be cool with us but the Dazzlings aren't so I highly doubt they would even let us in to speak to Messmer!" Says Twilight.

Bedman writes one more time:

"I have listened in on their conversations before it is clear Messmer intends to be no threat to you or me as long as we don't give him a reason to attack us, the Dazzlings are also not an issue as A: with me around they stand no chance and B: They are more terrified of Messmer than they hate you all so if he demands you to be let in then they will let you in"

"Well if you say so Bedman, besides maybe we can finally befriend the Dazzlings even if we should have done it a long time ago…" States Sunset.

"Well it doesn't seem we'll be getting any info from his embers or butterflies so let us grab some ok maybe a lot of notes and pens and we'll be ready!" Says Sci-Twi.

"Let's hope you're right about this Bedman…" Says Twilight.

Bedman's body smiles that signature grin at them before once they gather their items teleports them to the home of the Dazzlings and Messmer by taking them rapidly into his dream world then out at the desired location.

At the home of Messmer and the Dazzlings…

Adagio and Aria are currently doing the dishes while Sonata sits next to Messmer on the couch.

"What is this 'taco' thou speaketh of previously?" Asks Messmer, confused by this new food he's never heard of.

Sonata smiles widely at this question and quickly spirals into one of her joyful rants which Aria and Adagio always hate but Messmer finds quite nice and always indulges her he wonders how such a joy filled soul sticks around with a hate filled soul and a prideful egomaniac for if they are to be believed centuries or longer of history.

"They're like oh-my-god-how-do-I-even-describe-them?! Like these little thingies topped with anything you could ever enjoy tasting! You can have plants or mean or anything! Sometimes they're U-shaped, other times they're shaped like little bowls and ohmygod they always taste so good I can never get enough of them! Adagio and Aria don't like them that much but that's ok since that means there's more for me!" Rambles Sonata gleefully attempting to sign things with her hands just as rapidly as she talks.

"I see… Perhaps I'll try one in the future if thou desire'ith" Responds Messmer keeping track of the beaming siren.

"Yesss! What food did you have in your world, Messmer?" Asks Sonata realizing they still don't know much about him overall.

"Spider-Scorpion Stew was a common dish in the Realm of Shadow alongside Red Flesh and White Flesh mushrooms…" Explains Messmer.

To say Sonata's face changed from glee to terror in mere seconds is an understatement.

"You ate WHAT?!" Screams Sonata leaping into the air out of shock.

"What are you screaming about this time Sonata?" Grumbles Aria poking her head out from the kitchen.

"Messmer used to eat something called 'Spider-Scorpion Stew' back home!" Responds Sonata loud enough for Adagio to hear as well.

Aria just stands there for several minutes even Adagio freezes in place while holding the final dirty dish.

"Ok that's actually just disgusting" Says Aria.

"I hate to admit it but Aria's got a point. How could you manage to stomach things like that? I know you gotta eat something sometimes but even after all these years that we've been trapped on this planet just sounds foul and we've had to eat some pretty horrible things in the past…" Says Adagio looking at Messmer after forcefully pulling herself out of a frozen state.

"It may sound revolting to thee but to us it was one of the few luxuries we had during our crusades" Says Messmer calmly.

"Wait, who was 'us'? You've never mentioned anyone else but yourself yet who else was with you?"Asks Aria.

"I commanded a vast army during the crusades, my Fire Knights were my some of most trusted allies they knew of my curse yet still followed me: Wise Elder Wego and his Trusting Disciple Salza, Stern Hilde who urged that we pressure the culture and specimens of the Hornsent, Captain Krood the leader of the Fire Knights, and of course Endlessly Loyal and Determined Queelign were some of my closest friends during this time they all came from royal backgrounds yet gave it all away to swear loyalty to me even before the crusades began and even after we were abandoned by my mother they were loyal still…" Explains Messmer who the trio swear is smiling for the first time in all the time they've known him.

"Wow… They sound like they were great people…" Sorrowfully says Sonata.

"They were, Sonata you would have loved to meet Hide she could truly appreciate your personality and would never fault you for it, Aria maybe old Wego could have taught you to value those around you as he was cursed with endless loneliness even we could not comfort the old man no matter what we did, Adagio I'm certain Krood could teach you the proper way to be a leader leading not with pride and arrogance blaming others and arguing at the littlest of mistakes but having faith and care for those you led." Says Messmer.

"Eternal loneliness? I mean I guess that sucks but is it really any worse than these two?" Complains Aria side-eying Sonata and Adagio before getting a stare from one of Messmer's winged serpents.

"Yes Aria it was, we tried and tried to consult old Wego but no matter what he felt endlessly lonely not even reviving the soul scorched corpses of the Church District in the Shadow Keep using my flame could ever bring him company, Salza his very disciple couldn't bring Wego any comfort either he was cursed just like me in his own way… Tell me why do you stay with Sonata and Adagio even if you claim to loathe them?" Responds Messmer.

"'Cause I got no one else in this trashy world who could stand me or understand me even if they piss me off daily" Snarks Aria trying to explain herself.

"You claim that is thine reasoning but it is clearly deeper than that, it is simple you don't want to be alone, you hide it well but I can see it your eyes and expression tell the truth you hide within you do care for these two beside you, thou is afraid if thine show it too much you'll get attached and they'll leave you and break thou's soul as they do" Responds Messmer.

"T-That is NOT true!" Shouts Aria loudly hiding her face from his serpents.

"I'd say I do a great job as leader! But an eternally loyal minion would make things go a lot smoother around here!" Pridefully smirks Adagio.

"Great job if you mean we live in a crappy house and lost our magic to a bunch of kids" Complains Aria.

"Krood and myself heavily disagree it wasn't your fault you plans had failed but the way you treat these two shows that leadership is earned not given Krood earned his role not through dominance but respect he cared for the other Fire Knights deeply and always personally resolved any bickering between them, and Queelign was fiercely loyal to me yes but I earned his loyalty he did not simply give it to me on first sight you could never truly earn the loyalty nor respect of Queelign nor anyone similar to him. You do care for Aria and Sonata yes but you still care too much for thyself to be a proper respectful leader" Responds Messmer.

"Well someone has to look out for numero uno!" Says Adagio far too confident to take the blame for her selfishness.

"That is why thou should put trust in thine allies you care for them and in return they shall care for you too Krood and Queelign knew this well putting faith in their comrades no matter what it could cost them" Responds Messmer once more.

"You sound a lot like Sunset and her little group of gal pals right now, preaching friendship and junk!" Hisses Adagio.

"Then they truly understood how a team should properly function; perhaps I should pay them a visit and truly get to know them" Remarks Messmer.

"Girls maybe Messmer has a point—" Says Sonata before she is rudely cut off.

"Of course you agree with what he says" Whines Aria as usual.

"He clearly likes you the most I don't know how but he does" Adds Adagio.

Messmer and his winged serpents stare at Adagio and Aria menacingly before he stands up to tower over them.

"That is because Sonata has earned my respect she treats all with kindness even her former enemies she has unlike thee not let her past bind and control her I noticed this from the moment she spoke to me; she never grew impatient like you Aria nor schemed vengeance as you do Adagio, she has attempted to show me the many things this world has to offer and yet thou seems to think they are under their right to treat her so poorly due to her nature" Says Messmer leaning in to look at them.

"W—Well if you actually spend enough time with her you gotta deal with her rants and weird obsession with tacos it gets old fast trust me Messmer…" Complains Aria stuttering a little due to just how intimidating Messmer is.

"I have spent just as much time with her as I have thee and in that time she has been truly enjoyable unlike thyself she works herself endlessly to give you all some kind of joy and yet you squander it every chance thou can it amazes me how she has not abandoned you at this point perhaps she has faith in you two that you can become better no matter how rudely thou treats her, perhaps it's kinship, perhaps it's something deeper like love I cannot say for sure but it has allowed her the strength to stay with thee despite the treatment thy receive daily." Says Messmer.

"Sniff… M-Messmer, that is one of the kindest things anyone has ever said to me!" Loudly cries Sonata leaping onto Messmer and hugging him tightly which makes him smile once more as his winged serpents gently coil around her protectively.

"At this point why don't you just keep her? Save us the trouble of dealing with her crap!" Rhetorically asks Aria rolling her eyes as always.

"If thou'st wish'ith; Sonata Dusk from now on you are under the protection of Messmer,The Impaler, from this point on no harm shall come to thee from thine own nor thine enemies…" States Messmer laying a hand on her shoulder.

"Sniff… R-Really Messmer? You'd do that for me?" Tearfully asks Sonata doing her best to stop crying and look at Messmer.

"Yes I would as it seems thine old compatriots are most unworthy of thou'arts nature" Confirms Messmer.

"That was a— You know what? Never mind!" Mumbles Aria.

And just then Bedman, Twilight, Sci-Twi, and Sunset teleport in behind everyone on the couch having missed all of that context. Twilight has teleported before but Bedman's way is slightly different as instead of just instantly reconstructing your very atoms and molecules where you wish to be he instead goes through his dreams and then back to the waking world at the desired location which is a very different feeling than Equestrian teleport magic she must admit.

"What are you doing here?!" Hisses Adagio leaping backwards to stare at them.

"More importantly, how did you find out where we live!?" Screams Aria already angry enough already.

"Bedman followed you guys since the fight we didn't tell him too, mind you we didn't encourage him to stalk you guys either but he did" Says Sunset.

"W-Who's Bedman?" Asks Sonata before getting her answer by looking up at Bedman himself.

Bedman stares at the sweet crying girl and having watched them before turns his actual head and the bedframe's head at Aria and Adagio menacingly.

"Don't look at us, weirdo! We didn't start this!" Hisses Aria.

Bedman walks over to her and points one of his spiked and currently spinning wheels directly at her throat. At this moment he legitimately considers killing the two annoying sirens now and allowing Sonata to live but weighs the pros and cons of this act before doing to, if he does kill them he rids this world of a potentially future threat but Sunset, Sci-Twi, and Twilight will be upset at him which honestly not like he cares that much they'll move on about it eventually he's sure the real problem is Sonata as these are her closest companions at the moment so her mental state won't recover for quite some time and at the moment perhaps due to her similarities with Deliah in the excitement she could feel about things she loved making her mental state worse is not his intention, so for now the pessimist siren and the narcissist siren are allowed to live. Putting his wheels back on the ground.

"What has brought thee here?" Asks Messmer looking at them.

"W-We're here to ask about your flame Messmer we've been trying to study it from the embers and butterflies but we've come to the conclusion that for our tests we need the source of the flame or at least a part of it and we were hoping you'd be willing to help" Says Sci-Twi.

"Compared to even the most advanced Equestria pyromancy your flame is something else!" States Sunset eager to learn more of Messmer and his flame.

"Equestria? Is that thou's homeland?" Asks Messmer.

"Yes! We can tell you all about it if you want, just please let us learn more about your flame!" Begs Twilight far too excited for a woman her age.

Messmer looks at them then back to the still slightly misty eyes Sonata then back to them.

"I shall answer all of thine's questions on one condition: thou'art to find Sonata a group who can truly appreciate her nature and not scorn her for it eternally" Demands Messmer.

"We can do that! I'm sure her and Pinkie would get along really well!" Says Sunset.

Messmer simply looks at Sonata and smiles.

"I wish to see thine allies as well as perhaps they may remind me of my own comrades" Adds Messmer.

"We'll do what we can!" Announces Sci-Twi.

"You all go do whatever then! Have fun Sonata!" Hisses Adagio and Aria in perfect synchronization as they stomp out the house in a fit.

"What is their deal?" Mumbles Twilight.

"Th-They're just angry that Messmer was trying to teach them something and ended up getting angry at me a little. It's nothing special, they'll come back soon…" Whimpers a still emotionally hurt Sonata.

"What did you try to teach them?" Asks Sunset.

"That my old allies the loyal Fire Knights like Wego, Queelign, and Krood could teach them something of value yet they refused to listen and choose to rage against Sonata as a result she is now under my protection" Says Messmer.

"Like a friendship lesson?" Asks Twilight.

"If thine wishest to call them that then yes" Responds Messmer.

"Well you're in luck because Twilight is the Princess of Friendship!" Proudly states Sci-Twi.

Messmer and his winged serpents give a suspicious look at this statement but it's not the weirdest thing he's seen in this world so far so he can roll with it but he does give Bedman a very confused look to which Bedman responds with a mechanical shrug.

"So uhhh about that flame?" Asks Twilight.

"Yes? What of my flames?" Responds Messmer.

"Why do you have them?" Asks Sunset.

"My flames are part of my curse this flame burns within me eternally, no flask nor concoction of my mothers could heal me of my two curses, the Abyssal Serpent that writhes within me visible through my eye continuously eats away at my flames as well corrupting it even further than it was originally" Explains Messmer.

"So is that why your flame has those coils and embers that move and act like snakes?" Asks Sci-Twi who alongside Sunset and Twilight is furiously writing down everything Messmer says at speeds that even Messmer and Bedman must admit are impressive.

"Yes, as the Abyssal Serpent eats it, it becomes serpent-like in its properties" States Messmer.

Messmer opens the palm of the hand not currently being used to comforting Sonata, allowing everyone to see the burn marks on his palms before he forms the flame in his hand, its dark coils spreading everywhere they can reach as its crimson colors light up the room.

"How long have you had this flame for? Since you seem very good at using it" Asks Sunset.

"I was cursed with this flame and the Abyssal Serpent since my birth" States Messmer.

"So is it possible for other people to use your flame like you do?" Asks Sci-Twi.

"The only ones who could wield it to a degree similar to mine were my Fire Knights who used Incantations copying my flame to honor our bond after my flame would not find full purchase within them and Rellana who had some of my flame bound to a sword which I gave to her as a gift" Responds Messmer.

"Incantations? Is that what you call magic where you're from?" Asks Twilight confused.

"No Incantations and Sorcery are much removed, one difference being Sorcery requires a staff to use while Incantations need a seal of some kind" Explains Messmer.

"Oh I see! Do you have full control over your flame?" Asks Sunset.

"Yes even as the Abyssal Serpent eats away at it I can still control it fully" Says Messmer.

"Would you mind if we brought you back to my lab for a while so we could run some tests there and ask you anything else if we need to?" Asks Sci-Twi hoping he'll agree.

"Yes but thy must keep thine's side of the pact as well" Says Messmer.

"We promise we will! In fact, why don't you come with us Sonata?" Asks Twilight.

Sonata looks up at Twilight having finally gotten herself to stop crying.

"R-Really? Are you sure I should go?" Asks Sonata.

"Yes! I'm sure it'll make you feel better!" Responds Sunset wanting to make the poor girl feel better.

"Then I'll come, I'll try not to be a bother too" Says Sonata still slightly sorrowful her fellow sirens abandoned her like that.

"Well then Bedman you mind teleporting us back?" Asks Sci-Twi.

Bedman nods and grabs everyone before teleporting them back to the lab, he then decides he'll keep this siren busy while they run their tests.

Meanwhile in Maretime Manor in Seaward Shoals within Equestria…

A duo is calmly walking towards the front door of the manor the taller and most likely older of the two is a muscular humanoid with blue skin, two small horns, unkempt and very messy silver hair, a strange circler black halo with five spikes sprouting from the sides, a large orange cross tattoos on each one of his arms and several more on his collar bone going to a heart shaped tattoo on his chest which has golden teeth shaped markings with a cross in the center of the heart which also has a small line of it dripping down the right side of his body, his soles and palms of his hands and feet are white unlike the rest of his skin. He wears black pants with no shoes or shirt, one fingerless glove on his right hand, orange x-shaped glasses on, and a black jacket which is as you would guess orange on the inside of which casually hangs off his right shoulder, belts strapped to each one of his thighs, and a hoister for his two highly advanced revolvers. The man sings to himself joined by his companion…

"It took me ten years to find the answer to something! I forgot about it in two seconds! That's about it!" Joyfully sings the man not caring who looks at him or his buddy.

"I don't have anything that's really important to me! That's why everything is beautiful!" Joins in the companion singing alongside his friend while floating without the need of wings or anything like them, defining all natural laws of physics.

The strange man's companion is even stranger in appearance if you'd believe it: he appears to be a small young child about six to ten years old of indeterminable gender they don't wear any clothes as they are made of the cosmos itself, instead of skin they have waves of multicolored dust with billions of dots which can only be assumed to be planets and stars within as well as moving dots which are either asteroids or comets, in the middle of his chest lies a large black hole swirling constantly as it sucks small things in and in the middle of his back a large white hole spews out small matter and light from the center swirling in the opposite direction of the black hole in his chest, instead of fingerprints he has dust which is barely shaped to imitate it, they possess no teeth nor tongue instead having floating asteroids for the former and a belt of clumped up comets for the latter, in place of hair sparkling strands of dust floating just above his head, instead of ears planets and moons and dwarf planets and the like float together and mimic them even if poorly, they possess a incredibly long tail of meteors and comets of varying sizes its so long thanks to the tails of the comets themselves constantly floating behind him, and of course their eyes which he has three of and all three are stars as you might expect however they consistently change either at random or to fit his emotions/mood at the time, right now the left is a Red Giant while the other is a much cooler Neutron Star, and the one in the middle of his forehead is a Brown Dwarf a a form of star that never gained enough mass to do fusion as much as other stars preventing it from shining much if any light but can potentially produce infrared light.

The duo walk towards the retirement home of the princesses the child leaving behind specks of their body in the form of nebulous beads which float in the air as he skips along acting like he's currently not floating right now while the man casually walks forwards clearly in no rush until they reach the door of the manor and knock on it…

"Hello? Can I help you two?" Asks Celestia, opening the door and staring at the two confused as to what exactly they are but still being kind enough to see if they need her or her sisters help.

The small child and the strange man look at each other and give each other a sinister and devious smile knowing they got the right place…

I think that's enough for now! We'll continue with this strange pair and what exactly they are here for in the beginning of chapter 5 which I am writing as you read this! Until then everyone enjoy your lives!