Chapter 175: Ponies and the Demon Part 2: Meeting I.M.P
Spyro and Octavia had just gotten into Ponyville after leaving Sweet Apple Acres, entering the town and heading straight for the Carousel boutique, walking past a bunch of other ponies who were going about their day when they spotted Octavia, starring at her and making the poor girl feel very uncomfortable as she lowered her head, sticking close to Spyro as she tried to hide.
"Why are they starring at me?" Octavia asked.
"Oh, you'll have to forgive them." Spyro said. "You're fourth Alicorn that's come here to Ponyville."
"Alicorn?" Octavia asked.
"It's a magical creature with the wings of a Pegasi and the horn of a unicorn." Spyro replied. "There are currently four known Alicorns in this land, all of which are princesses."
"Really?" Octavia asked.
"Yes, really." Spyro replied. "There's Princess Celestia, one of the two sisters who rule all of Equestria and the one who raises and lowers the sun, Princess Luna, the second sister who rules the night, raising and lowering the moon, Princess Candece, the princess of love who rules the Crystal Empire, and Princess Twilight Sparkle, the princess of Firendship. But I just call her little bookworm."
"Little bookworm?" Octavia asked. "And she let's you do that?"
"Of course she does." Spyro replied. "She's one of my girls after all."
"One of your...?" Octavia asked, looking more confused than ever. "Wait, don't you have a pregnant girlfriend already? Why are you...?"
"It's a long story." Spyro replied. "Long story short, Princess Celestia gave me the right of the herd, allowing me to have multiple mares at a time, equivalent of being married, blah, blah, blah. Basically, anypony I like, I invite to the herd or share my light to save them from being corrupted, and they're in."
"Wow... that's..." Octavia said, trying to think of something. "Uh, I don't know what to say."
"Eh, don't worry about..." Spyro said, but a moment later, Pinkie Pie came falling from the sky, crash landing into Spyro and squashing him as she gave a huge grin to Octavia. "Right on cue."
"HI, I'm Pinkie Pie!" Pinkie said. "What's your name!?"
"Uh, Octavia." Octavia replied.
"Well Octavia, I wanted to personally welcome you to Ponyville!" Pinkie said. "I know everypony that livs here in Ponyville and since I didn't recognize you, I figured you just had to be new, so I thought I'd throw you a 'Welcome to Ponyville' party with my amazing portable Welcome Wagon!"
"Uh, what?" Octavia asked.
Pinkie then pulled out her little wagon out of nowhere and cranked it up and it opened up, music staring to play, confusing Octavia as the song was about to start.
[Pinkie Pie]
Welcome, welcome, welcome,
a fine welcome to you!
Welcome, welcome, welcome,
I say how do you do?
Welcome, welcome, welcome,
I say hip hip hurray!
Welcome, welcome, welcome,
To Ponyville today!
A moment later, the machine started to make a funny noise, Octavia looking at it curiously as Spyro leaned in.
"I suggest you duck." Spyro said
Octavia looked at the strange machine again, the noise getting louder and louder as it shook violently, which she took Spyrp's advice and ducked, the cannon on the wagon firing a cake out of it that just missed her, going over a building and unfortunately, it hit Loona, knocking her off the building and hitting a wall, where she got stuck, trying to pull herself off it as she struggled.
"Are you #%@ing kidding me!?" Loona shouted.
"Ah rats, still too much power in the spring." Pinkie said. "Guess I should have gotten a spring that's less springy."
"Does she do this often?" Octavia asked, Spyro helping her up.
"Pretty much." Spyro replied. "Octavia, this is Pinkie Pie. The resident party animal and the Element of Laughter."
"Element of what?" Octavia asked.
"One of six Elements of harmony that help to protect this world." Spyro said. "Pinkie represents laughter as she brings a smile to everybody's faces."
"And I'm really, really, really good at it too!" Pinkie said, looking surprised for a moment and smiled. "Oh, my Pinkie sense is telling me another new pony's in town! Gotta dash!"
Pinkie quickly packed up her Welcome Wagon and immeditaly ran off to find the other new pony, Octavia looking back and watching her run like a cartoon character and look to Spyro for an answer.
"Don't dwell on it." Spyro said. "Seriously, don't. The more you try to understand Pinkie, the more of a headache you're gonna get."
"Is she always this friendly with strangers?" Octavia asked.
"Sure is." Spyro said. "That's one thing I love about her. She's also part of my herd."
"Wait, she's part of your herd?" Octavia asked. "How many girls do you have?"
"Nine." Spyro replied, surprising her. "And Applejack's the only one whose pregnant. Well, to my knowledge anyway."
"You're one strange dude." Octavia said.
"Hey, wait until you get to know me." Spyro replied. "Anyway, let's get going. Rarity's boutique isn't much farther. I'm pretty sure she'll love giving you a new wardrobe."
They continued to walk along the path towards Rarity's boutique to go and get Octavia's clothes, not noticing Pinkie had found Loona and fired the wagon again, making her scream as she flew into another building and getting stuck again, making her yell in frustration as she tried t get free again. At the boutique, Spyro opened the door and they both walked in, the bell ringing to let Rarity know that she had a customer as they walked in.
"Just a moment!" Rarity called out, Spyro and Octavia walking into the store sectin of the boutique as Rarity came out. ":Welcome to the Carousel Boutique! Where everything is... on, greetings Spyro darling." She then looked over to Octavia, seeing the unknown pony and startled that she was an Alicorn. "Another Alicorn?"
"This is Octavia." Spyro said. "AJ and I found her in the Everfree being attacked by Timber Wolves."
"In the Everfree!?" Rarity asked, lookign at her. "My, my darling, you are quite fortunate that Spyro and Applejack found you before the wolves got you. And I must say, the clothing you had was in quite serious condition. I was fortunate enough to have the needed materials to fix them up. Wait here, i'll go get them."
Rarity then turned to go back behind the curtains to get Octavia's clothes while the alicorn looked around, admiring her work as she waited for the unicorn to come back.
"Beautiful aren't they?" Spyro asked.
"They are indeed." Octavia replied. "Only way you'd find something this beautiful would be in some of the dress shops in Lust or Envy. Must be quite expensive."
"Oh don't worry dear, everything is fairly priced here." Rarity said, walking out wiht Octavia's clothes in her magic. "Here you are dear. Though i must admit, pink with black is a marvelous choice, but... if you like, I think I can come up with some clothing that will knock anypony's socks off."
"But... I don't have any money." Octavia said.
"Oh, don't worry dear, the first outfit in my boutique is free." Rarity said.
"Wait, you serious?" Octavia asked.
"Rarity is known as the Element of Harmony, Generosity." Spyro said. "She's another member of my herd and the most generous pony in all of Equestria. Her business motto is that the first dress or suit is free, which makes ponies come back to buy her clothing."
"And I think I have just the thing for you dear." Rarity said. "Oh, come with me!"
Rarity then dragged Octavia away, making her yelp in surprise as she was dragged away behind the curtain where she could dress Octavia up, leaving Spyro alone in the shop so he decided to peruse the mens section to see if he could find something good for himself, but as he was looking, he felt a disturbance in the Force, something angry, filled with hate, yet he could feel how fearful they were, looking out the window and expecting someone there, but found no one. He walked to the window to see if he could find them, but as he approached, the curtains drew back and he looked to them, finding Octavia wearing a light blue spaghetti string shirt with long purple sleeves that look like they would cover the arms and shoulders of a human being, a light lavender skirt with gold rings going around the waist, a couple of blue leather straps connected to the collar of the sleeves and to the cusp of the sleeves with a couple of long black socks going up the forelegs, surprising Spyro at how amazing it looked.
"Holy moly." Spyro said. "Rarity, that looks amazing."
"Y-you really think so?" Octavia asked, blushing a bit.
"But of course darling." Rarity said. "It's perfect for you."
"Gee, thanks." Octavia said, looking at herself in the mirror as she took her hat off. "You know... I actually kind of like it."
"But of course you do darling." Rarity said. "Blue and purple go grand together. And blue goes grand with your coat and mane."
Octavia smiled at the compliment, not use to anything but her regular clothing as she spun around, liking the new look as she turned to Rarity.
"Thank you Rarity." Octavia said. "I had many nice things, but nothing like this."
"Oh, it's no trouble at all darling." Rarity said. "So, where are you from?"
"She's from another world Rare." Spyro said, shocking her.
"Another world!?" Rarity asked. "But how did she get here?"
"I ran away from some kidnappers." Octavia replied. "They wanted me for some reason. I used my fathers Grimoire to teleport away and come here. I never thought I'd actually feel safe in my entire life anywhere else rather than in my home."
"Oh darling." Rarity said, walking over. "I'm so sorry that happened to you. but don't worry, Ponyville is one of the safest places you can be."
"I can see that." Octavia said, looking out. "Maybe... maybe I'll stay here, find a place to call home, and not go back to that hell hole of a home I live in."
"My word, such language." Rarity said.
"Forgive her Rare." Spyro said. "She's from someplace that has no barriers on what they say. She lived in a toxic home with her father being the only one would love and protect her while her mother just despised and hated her father and her, saying terrible things about her."
"Oh, you poor thing." Rarity said, looking at her. "How could such a sweet girl like you grow up in such a horrid place with a terrible mother like that?"
"I did what I had to." Octavia said. "For sixteen years I lived there, and now... it feels less and less like home." She then looked out to the village, seeing the fillies and colts playfully smiling and laughing while their mothers just smiled at them, hugging them and playign with them as well, Octavia shedding a tear as she wished for something like that, Spyro and Rarity looking at one another. "Maybe... maybe I am better off here. Away from that vile, despicable woman and away from that acursed place forever!"
Spyro could feel how upset Octavia was, sensing how enraged she was and how sad she truly felt, so he walked up to her, putting his hoof on her shoulder, getting her to look at him.
"Is ti better to hold resentment to one being and let that rule over your life, or is it better to let go of your wrath and forgive, let the burden and fear go and with it, what holds you down?" Spyro asked.
"What...?" Octavia asked.
"You hold resentment and anger towards your mother, letting it break you down and destroy you from the inside." Spyro answered, looking at her and trying his best to calm her down. "By holding resentment in your heart for the rest of your life, you rob yourself of your future, killing yourself slowly. But when one forgives and let's go, they ensure a great and happy future for themselves."
"I... don't understand." Octavia said. "If I hold resentment, I kill myself?"
"You kill who you truly are." Spyro said, looking out. "I was once like you. Resentful and bitter towards my own father once. Hating him and wishing I were not his son as he became bitter and cranky in his old age, starting fights and always wanting to be right every time, making things difficult for me and mom. At one time, we argued, tempers flared, and I once said that if he threatened me one more time, he'd never see me and mom again, but I knew that this course of action only breeds more anger and hate." He then wrapped his wing around her, Octavia looking at him as he looked out the window. "I soon realized that by giving into my anger and resentment, I was destroying who I was. A pure heart and kind soul, in a world filled with hatred and anger. It is easy to give into your hatred and anger, but when you let go of all of that, show kindness instead of hate, does one begin to heal and find happiness. You mustn't resent your mother or your father, but only show them kindness, for they sacrificed much for you. Does it not hurt to show some kindness and compassion, if not to help a bitter heart to see the error of their ways?"
Octavia looked up at him, seeing how kind and compassionate he was before smiling, leaning into him as she felt more at peace around him, feeling truly safe, despite him having a keyblade.
"You kind of sounded like a fortune cookie there." Octavia said.
"I just found a path that I knew I could walk." Spyro replied. "One that I walk now and am st peace with." He looked at Octavia, seeing how happy she was as it brought a smile to him. "Come now, there's still more I want you to see and a lot more of my friends I want you to meet."
Spyro removed his wing and walked out of the boutique with Octavia close behind, Rarity watching them as she still felt sorry for Octavia, her heart aching for her as they went. Meanwhile outside, Loona had finally managed to unstick herself from the wall, growling in anger as she tried to get some of the cake off of her, having some leaves stick t her as she growled.
"Stupid, dump pink horse." Loona said. "Blasted twice by the same pink horse and getting stuck twice!?" She then started to take the leaves off of herself, grumbling to herself as she walked to the last known location she saw Octavia and Spyro. "Those two must have left town by now." She then spotted Spyro and Octavia, walking towards the edge of town while the demon turned Alicorn was wearing a new outfit, looking at her in total surprise. "What in the...? Is that really Octavia? Wait, is he...? No, no, no way! I need to get him now before Blitz arrives and get Octavia away from him."
She then followed after the two of them, doing her best to not get spotted by Spyro as they went out of the village and towards another area, walking along a pathway Spyro took many times to get to Fluttershy's cottage. As they walked, Octavia looked around, amazed by the scenery as she never saw anything like it before in her life, enjoying the moment she had as Spyro watched her, seeing how happy she looked and feeling how happy she was through the Force, but as they walked, he suddenly felt the same disturbance he felt before, lookign around as he looked for who it was, sensing they were nearby, but a moment later, he heard a twig snap, time slowing down as Loona lunged for him, Loona ready to tear him apart, but Spyro's eyes darted to his right as he turned into water, Loona pasing through him while not causing him any harm as she hit the gorund, rolling over and goraning as Spyro turned back to normal.
"Ok, seriously, you wanna sneak up on someone, you need to have a better handle on your emotions." Spyro said. "I could sense you in the town and I sensed ya before you attacked."
"Like I'm going to let a punk like you lecture me!" Loona said.
She got up and charged again, throwing her hooves, forgetting she wasn't a hellhound anymore, throwing punches and kicks, but Spyro just dodged the attacks, not even putting in any effort as he dodged the attacks, before Force pushing her into a tree, causing her to slide down and rub her head.
"Geez, I'd say you're one of my angery ex's, but I honestly don't think we had the pleasure of a break up." Spyro said.
"Loona?" Octavia asked.
"Wait, you know her?" Spyro asked.
"I do." Octavia replied. "That's Loona. She's a friend of mine. She works for Immediate Murder Professionals."
"Oh great, more hitmen." Spyro said, shaking his head. "I swear, I got a better chance of somebody wanting me dead than Ezra has asking Sabine out on a date."
"Oh, you're so dead for that punk!" Loona exclaimed.
She stood back up and her eyes started to glow, blue flames engulfing her as she went from only being a pony into a Pony Helloud hybrid, her hooves turning into paws with sharp claws, her legs becoming a little more canine like and her teeth getting sharper and her muzzle becoming more canine like, leaping at a very surprised Spyro as the world paused and he turned to the reader, still looking surprised.
"Ok, not gonna lie, that was kinda hot." Spyro said. The world resumed and Spyro just dodged the attack, Loona landing and turning to take another swing at Spyro, swinging and slashing her claws at him while all he did was just dodge the attacks. "You got a lot of aggression in you. You're angry, filled with rage. But... there's something about you." He then changed his forelegs into dragon legs, grabbing her leg and holding her as he looked at her. "Something that screams... want, need, longing."
"You don't know anything about me!" Loona shouted, breaking free and attacking, but he just blocked her attack, not even phased by her attack. "You're just another target! One of those little pricks whose spine I use to floss my teeth with!"
"Ooh, that does not sound very hygenic." Spyro said, flipping backwards and pulling out some dental floss. "Can I offer you some peppermint flavored Dental floss instead?"
"Why you little!?" Loona exclaimed. Spyro tossed the floss away and grabbed her foreleg, spinning her around and kicking her in the back, which only seemed to infuriate her as she turned to face him. "Oh, I'm going to really, really make this hurt."
"Why so aggressive?" Spyro asked, looking to Octavia. "You're friends with Octavia and she's pretty nice. Why so hateful?"
"Oh, you want to see aggressive?" Loona asked. "I'll show you aggressive!"
She then charged towards Spyro again, yelling in rage as she wanted to claw his eyes out, but Spyro just dodged the attacks, flipping and rolling around while also redirecting her attacls elsewhere, which seemed to get on her nerves as she grew more and more frustrated until she kicked, landing a solid hit to Spyro's jaw as he flew to his right, but he cartwheeled and flipped backwards, landing on his hooves and spitting out a tooth that Loona managed to knock out, using his tongue to check the rest of his teeth, finding they were still there as he glared at Loona.
"Oh, that does it." Spyro said, his tooth regrowing instantly. "No more mister nice guy."
He then called his Keyblade, shocking both Loona and Octavia as they looked at the ancient weapon as Spyro didn't use his magic this time, but took it in his claws, spinning the blade around to attack, but he then felt something hold him back, looking to see it was Octavia who had grabbed the keyblade, holding it while looking scared.
"Please, don't hurt her." Octavia said. "She's my friend."
"Well she's not acting very friendly now is she?" Spyro asked.
"Please, she's just misunderstood." Octavia said. "She's had a rough childhood and never had parents who cared for her. All she had was Blitz who adopted her at the age of seventeen. Please, don't kill her."
Spyro could see how scared octavia was for her friend, looking at Loona as she charged at him, dismissing the blade as he got infront of Octavia and blocked the attack, pushing Loona back as he kicked the ground and created a wave of earth heading towards the hellhound, making her jump back to avoid being hit, but the rock shattered and Spyro was right behind it, opening his mouth as he used the same earth powers to create a green wave of energy and send out rocks like he was a shotgun, hitting Loona and sending her backwards itno a tree, growling in anger as she landed on her feet.
"I'll admit, you're a good fighter." Spyro said. "But you seem to be hurting on the inside."
"Stop thinking you know me!" Loona shouted, continuing to attack Spyro. "You know nothing about me! About my life, myself, NOTHING!"
"I know when someone is hurting on the inside." Spyro said, continuing to block. "You distance yourself, unsure about yourself, how you project yourself to everyone else."
"Shut up!" Loona shouted, thrusting her claws at him.
"You're afraid." Spyro said, blocking the attack and breathing ice to clow her down, forcing her back as she charged again. "But what are you afraid of?"
"I'm not afraid of anything!" Loona shouted, the look of murder in her eyes. "I'm not afraid of you."
"I know you aren't." Spyro replied, dodging again. "But there is something you do fear. What is it? Blood? A person?"
"Stop %#ing talking!" Loona shouted. "I hate it when targets talk too much! Always going on and on about something in their lives! But you know what? You're nothing special. Just another coddled little royal brat who knows nothing about the real world!" She then lunged towards him, swiping wildly like a savage animal, pouring all of her anger and resentment into each of her attacks. "I lived most of my childhood and my whole life alone! Abandoned by my parents, unwanted and unloved, left in that kennel with a bunch of other unwanted brats who have to fight everyday just to get a single scrap of food!"
"Ah, your fear becomes clear to me now." Spyro said, locking her paws in his as they starred at one another. "You're not afraid of a person or a thing. You're afraid of being alone again." Loona was surprised that he figured it out, her mind becoming open to him as he looked. "You were adopted by an imp. Blitzo, is that his name?"
"Leave him out of this!" Loona shouted, breaking the lock and attacking again, forcing Spyro to turn into leaves and blow away into the trees, whcih Loona jumped up and kept up her attack. "He adopted me, yes! But he's not my real dad!"
"But he treats you like his daughter." Spyro said, grabbing her leg. "He gives you love, care, a place where you could feel safe. But you don't know what it's like to be loved or show it. You push others away because you're insecure about yourself, don't want others to see you as anything other than a hardcore hellhound who shows no affection for others."
"I am not insecure!" Loona shouted, freeing herself and trying for a round house kick, but he turned to water again and the kick had no effect, making her growl. "You're just as annoying as Moxxie! Like him, you just don't know when to shut the %# up!"
She then lunged again and this time as Spyro dodged, she split a tree in half, causing it to fall to the ground as Spyro leapt to another one, Loona going after him as she cut through the trees as Spyro kept going backwards, Octavia watching the conflict as she grew more and more concerned as she watched.
"Do you hate everyone you're with?" Spyro asked. "Blitz, your co workers, even those you consider friends?"
"Only the annoying ones." Loona said, striking out again.
"There must be someone who you care about." Spyro said. "Someone you actually like, look up to, care for."
"I... I..." Loona started to say, hesitating as she started to slow down as she stopped. "I... no. No! You're... you're trying to trick me! Make me stop so you can sucker punch me or something! I don't have anyone I care about and no one has ever cared about me!"
A moment later, she started to slash at him again, getting more and more aggressive she she went, but Spyro could sense how upset she was and how much she really did care.
"You're wrong Loona, I know you care about someone." Spyro said, blocking the attack and freezing her forelegs together as she fell on her back. "You claim you don't care, but I can see that in your heart, you do care."
"Ugh, do you every stop talking?" Loona asked, breaking the ice and attacking again.
"Only when I don't have something to say." Spyro replied.
A moment later, Loona slashed at him, but Spyro blocked the attack again and then punched her in the gut, making her fly backwards and land on the ground, charging at him again, but this time, he didn't guard or block, but instead, allowed her to hit him, the angry hound punching his chest over and over again, trying to injure him, but the attacks had no effect on him, Loona hacking and slashing at him, but due to the Beskar Armor underneath his jacket and the jacket's new enchanement to keep it from tearing as easily, the attacks had no effect. As she attacked, she was starign to loose steam, breathing heavily as she started to slow down, sitting down to catch her breath as she looked at him.
"Forgot... he wears... Beskar." Loona said.
"Wait, you know what Beskar is?" Spyro asked.
"Yeah... dude named... Malefor... told Blitz about it." Loona said, still getting her breath.
"Malefor." Spyro said, growling. "ERGH, seriously! That dragon grinds my gears!"
"Wait you know him?" Loona asked. "Of course you do. You killed him after all."
"Killed?" Spyro asked. "Ok, first off, he's still alive. He's imprisoned in the core of his world by the spirits of the ancestral dragons in order to prevent that world from being destroyed."
"Wait, so he tried to destroy his own world?" Loona asked. "Wow, my kinda guy."
"Point is, he can't be trusted." Spyro said. "Dude will literally brainwash ya and turn into into his own personal... you know, forget it. Not going there."
"What's wrong, don't have the balls to say it?" Loona asked, the world pausing as spyro looked at the reader.
"Ok, I don't usually hit a girl, but..." Spyro said, the world resuming as he slugged Loona in the face, making her fall down as he smiled. "Worth it."
"Ow, seriously!?" Loona exclaiemd, getting up. "Oh, when I'm through with you, you'll-"
"Loona, stop!" Octavia shouted, getting in between them. "He might be your target, but he's my friend! And I won't have my friends killing one another. You're lucky I convinced him not to use his Keyblade on you, otherwise you'd be nothing but dust!"
"But Octavia, he's our target." Loona said.
"And he's my friend." Octavia replied. "Just like you are. And I am not going to have my friends fight one another all the time. Got it?""
Loona looked surprised, not being use to being called a friend before, but she looked at Spyro, seeing how surprised he was and then to Octavia, seeing how annoyed and angry she looked, so Loona groaned and looked at Octavia, looking just as annoyed.
"Crystal clear." Loona said.
"Good." Octavia said. "Now, where are we going to again?"
"We're heading to Fluttershy's." Spyro said. "Her cottage isn't too far. But... maybe let me introduce you guys first. She's a bit... shy."
"Ugh, please, no body can be that shy." Loona said.
"Oh, trust me, Fluttershy is that shy." Spyro replied, getting ready to go on, but then looked at Loona. "Hey, Loona, wanna tag along?"
"Like I have a choice." Loona replied, turning back to her pony form.
Spyro could tell that Loona wasn;t going to be the easiest nut to crack, but he continued to walk towards Fluttershy's cottage, Octavia and Loona following after him to meet Fluttershy, though the hellhound didn't seem all that impressed or willing to go with him, but little did they know, the Grublin that was sent to Equestria had spotted them, drawing it's bow and disappearing into the ground. Elsewhere in Malefor's stronghold, his statue lit up as he laughed, Orion appearing as Aphara walked in and approached the statue, the statue glowing brihgter and brighter as she approached.
"Of all the places we could search." Malefor said. "I didn't think about that world."
"Did the Grublins find the girl?" Aphara asked.
"They did." Malefor replied. "She's in Equestria."
"Wait, seriously?" Aphara asked. "Wow. That's the last place I would have searched for her."
"Indeed, which makes the most sense." Orion said. "It's unlikely that the target you look for is in the one place that you'd never search. Meaning, the closer to home the target is, the less likely you'd expect to find it."
"I'll go there immediately and get the blood." Aphara said.
"Actually, I have a better idea." Malefor said. "If she's in Equestria, then she'll be protected by the prince. I'll have the grublins go and fetch her if possible. It also gives me a chance to try out our new secret weapon, but just incase they can't get the job done, I have a very special assignment for you. And don't worry, you'll have some very 'special' assistance."
Back in Equestria, Spyro, Octavia, and Loona had just reached the cottage and Spyro knocked on the door, and a moment later, Fluttershy opened the door for them and looked out, seeing Spyro was there and smiled.
"Oh, hello Spyro." Fluttershy said, looking at Octavia and Loona and getting a little nervous. "Um, who are your... friends?"
"This is Octavia and Loona." Spyro said. "They just got here and they're from another world."
"Seriously?" Loona asked. "You tell all your friends outsiders are from another world?"
"Only those with Keyblades." Spyro replied.
"Wait, she had a Keyblade!?" Octavia asked, looking at the nervous pegasi as she hid behind her door.
"Yeah, real menacing." Loona said.
"Hey, any of you girls like animals?" Spyro asked.
"Well, the only animals we see are Hellhounds, rats, and a bunch of hell creatures and demons." Octavia said. "I don't really get out much."
"And I really, really don't care much for anything to do with nature or any of that girly stuff." Loona said.
"Oh, well, if you like, i can introduce you to some of my animal friends." Fluttershy said. "That is, if you want."
"Oh, I'd love to meet some animals." Octavia said.
Fluttershy came out of her cottage and Octavia went with her, Loona wanting to go after her to keep her safe, but Spyro put his hoof on her shoulder, stopping her and making the Hellhound look at him.
"Relax, she'll be fine." Spyro said, looking at Octavia as Fluttershy took her to see some of her animal friends before looking to Loona, seeing how worried she was and smiled. "So much for not caring about anybody."
"Pfft, whatever." Loona said.
"You don't need to be all defensive, you know." Spyro said, Loona looking at him as if she didn't care. "All you're life, you never trusted anybody. You're afraid they'll abandon you like your parents did."
"Gee, we got a psychologist in the house folks." Loona said. "Dr. Prince in the house, trying to analyze me and make me a friend."
"Ok, first off, I am a prince, but I have a name you know." Spyro said. "My name is Spyro. Spyro Vanvickle."
"And my name is 'I don't give a %#.'" Loona replied, walking away from him as Spyro walked after her. "Why are you even trying to be friendly with me anyway? I tried to kill you back there."
"Yeah, I was there." Spyro said. "But you didn't."
"Only because Octavia got in the way." Loona said, looking to Octavia as she saw some of the animals, laughing and looking happy. "I gotta admit, i didn't think anyone else would get her out of her shell. She's very reclusive and a bit angst."
"Kinda like you." Spyro said, Loona looking at him with a glare. "You sort of got this, gothic, angst teen, know it all, kinda vibe going, you know."
Loona looked at him, unamused by him before she smiled, laughing a bit before sitting down.
"Ok, you kinda got me there." Loona said, watchign Octavia get swarmed by some rabbits as she laughed, Spyro sitting next to her as they watched her. "So, where did you learn to fight like that? Most princes don't do martial arts and have magic like that. And they certainly don't have Keyblades."
"Eh, I'm kinda not of this world myself either." Spyro said, surprising her. "I came from Earth. Got swept up after taking an ice shard to the heart and was brought to the Mysterious Tower after I acquirec my Keyblade. I trained there for two years before coming to Equerstria and lived here for the past year. Since then, I got a bunch of beautiful girls in a herd, I'm training six new Keyblade warriors, and I'm going to be a father soon."
"Wait, seriously?" Loona asked, looking at him. "Who'd you knock up?"
"Applejack." Spyro replied. "The first pony who I had feelings for."
"Wow." Loona said. "That takes being a furry to a whole other level."
"Yeah, keep laughing there mutt." Spyro said, looking up. "I wouldn't trade this new life for anything in the world. I mean, being the Prince of Light and Darkness is cool and all but-"
"Wait, back up there a second." Loona said. "A prince of Light and Darkness? What's that?"
"Oh, it means I am equal parts light and dark." Spyro replied. "Meaning I use light and dark magic without any kind reprecussions to myself. I also can transform into a dragon, use the force and a whole bunch of other cool stuff." He looked over to Loona, seeing how she gave him a funny look, but also seemingly relaxing around him as he got up. "I might be a prince, but I don't let the title change who I am. A guy who has needs and who has responsibilities. And one of them is making sure everyone is safe. That includes you."
Loona was speechless, looking at the guy who she tried to kill earlier just give her a warm smile, extending a hoof to her as she looked at it, confussion on her face as she looked up to Spyro, still unsure of him, but she took his hoof nonetheless, the young prince helping her up as he smiled.
"So, what now?" Loona asked. "You gonna try and get me to be all sunshine and lollipops?"
"Nah, that's Pinkie's and Fluttershy's job." Spyro said. "Pinkie's quite the party animal."
"Wait, you mean that pink cotton candy haired pony who shot me with some pastry cannon!?" Loona asked.
"Oh, you already met her?" Spyro asked.
"Yeah, got hit by her contraption twice today." Loona replied.
"Wow, talk about unlucky." Spyro said, walking to Fluttershy and Loona. "Come on, don't wanna miss out on all the fun, do ya?"
"Yeah, I don't do the whole loving anomals thing." Loona said. "I think I'll sit here and-"
"Aw, no." Spyro said, grabbing her foreleg. "We're going to go look at some animals and you're not getting out of it."
He then started to drag Loona towards Octavia and Fluttershy, despite her protests as he took her to have a look at some of the animals. A while later, outside of the Everfree Forest, three seperate portals opened up and from them, Blitz, Millie, and Moxxie walked through them, Blitz looking like an earth pony with a black and white mane with his horns, the white markings on his face and traveling down his neck, the symbol he already had remaining on his head, red eyes with yellow instead of whites, wearing his long black jacket with a red shirt on underneath with his imp tail instead of a regular pony tail. Millie also looked like an earth pony with a black mane and horns, still wearing her regular clothing with her heart shapes tattoo on her right arm, her eyes also red and yellow with her imp tail instead of the pony tail. As for Moxxie, he was also an Earth pony with a white mane and black and white horns, still wearing his clothing and had his imp tail still as well, also having red and yellow eyes.
As they all saw one another, they looked at their new forms, which everyone was surprised at how they looked while Blitz looked like he was in heaven.
"O...k then." Moxxie said. "This is... interesting."
"%# interesting Moxxie!" Blitz said. "This is the greatest #%ing think to ever happen to me in my life!"
"Aw, he's so happy." Millioe said.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, we're all very excited for you sir." Moxxie said. "But we still have a job to do."
"Yeah, yeah, in a moment Mox." Blitz said, looking himself over. "Hey, you think I actually have a horse dick?"
"Sir!" Moxxie exclaimed loudly.
"Oh, alright you big baby." Blitz said as he raised his foreleg and activated the crystal to call Loona. "Loona, where are you? Is the target dead?"
"Not yet." Loona said. "Dudes trickier than I thought. And he's a pretty good martial artist. Gave me a run for my money."
"I told you to be careful." Moxxie said. "He's really, really good."
"Hey, nobody is capable of outrunning or out maneuvering a bullet." Blitz said, pulling out a pistol.
"Ok, one, how are you holding that thing?" Moxxie asked. "And two, this guy can outrun a bullet. If you read the file, you'd know-"
"Come on Millie, we got some killing to do!" Blitz said.
"Right behind ya boss!" Millie said, walking after him.
Moxixe groaned as he walked after his boss and his wife to make sure they didn't get hurt or something bad happened. A little while later, after doing some looking around, they soon found Spyro near Fluttershy's cottage, hiding behind some bushes as they watched Spyro with Fluttershy, Octavia, and Loona, looking at some of the little animal friends and having fun with them, even Loona looked like she was happy, which Surprised Blitz as he saw her.
"Holy Crumpets." Moxxie said. "Is Loona... is she actually smiling?"
"My little girl..." Blitz said, looking like a happy proud parent as he smiled, his eyes lighting up as he looked at her. "She's finally smiling. Aw, I'm so happy."
"Hey look, there's the target." Millie said, pointing at Spyro.
"And Octavia." Moxxie said, seeing Octavia. "Looks like Loona's with Octavia and the target."
"Oh, this is going to be easy." Blitz said, pulling out a sniper rifle. "Just one little bullet, and he's history."
"Sir, I recommend we don't-" Moxxie began to say, but Blitz just pulled back on the rifle to load it, ignoring him.
As for Spyro, he could heard the rifle's little slide being pulled back and being let go, his eyes looking to his right as he heard the rifle and a moment later, could hear the three imps turned to ponies talking while Octavia was laughing, Loona next to her as she smiled.
"It was wonderful to meet you Fluttershy." Octavia said. "You and your little animal friends."
"Gotta admit, i kinda like the rabbit myself." Loona said, picking up angel. "He's got the right kind of personality for me."
"Oh, I'm so glad you're having a good time." Fluttershy said, looking tp Spyro, which she saw he was looking to his right, a seriosu look on his face, which she knew meant trouble. "Spyro, what's wrong?"
"We've got company." Spyro said.
"What do you mean company?" Octavia asked, looking nervous. "Is it those creeps that tried to kidnap me!?"
"Wait, who tried to kidnap you!?" Loona asked.
"I don't think it's them." Spyro said. "I think they're here for me."
In the bushes, Blitz was pushing the barrel out from behind the bushes, grinning as he took aim at Spyro, having a clear shot on him.
"Oh, this is too easy." Blitz said. "Just one little bullet and our mission is complete." Blitz said.
"Um, what about the mission about Octavia being brought back home?" Moxxie asked.
"Yeah, yeah, Loona's with her." Blitz said. "That's the second one done." he looked through the scope, getting a clean beat on Spyro as he grinned. "That's it, hold still and..." He then pulled the trigger, the rifle going off and making a loud bang, but as he pulled the trigger, Spyro was instantly gone, confusing him as he took his eye away from the scope to look. "Wait, wha..." Where'd he go!?"
"What do you mean sir?" Moxxie asked.
"I pulled the trigger and he just disappeared!" Blitz replied.
Blitz lookd around, lookign throught he scope again while Moxxie got out his crossbow, looking through it to see if he could find him as well, but little did they know, Spyro was right behind them, looking over their shoulders as he cracked a grin.
"Did you get him?" Spyro asked, scaring them both as they trained their weapons on him, Millie jumping out from behind with a large axe made out of Beskar, ready to go as she smiled., Spyro looking at everyone as he kept smiling. "Gee, three against one? Doesn't seem fair."
"Hate to break it to you, Dick weed, we don't play fair." Blitz said.
"Oh no, I meant it doesn't seem fair... for you." Spyro replied.
Blitz pulled the trigger again, but Spyro just dodged the bullet, kicking the rifle out of his hooves before roundhouse kicking him out of the bushed and onto the meadow, shocking Loona and Octavai as they saw him get up.
"Blitz?" Loona asked.
"Loona!" Blitz said. "Take Octavia and get her back home! We'll handle this guy!" A moment later, Moxxie was thrown out of the bushes, yelling as he flew through the air and crashed through a tree, Blitz looking at him as his eyes spun. "Damn it Moxxie! Stop messing around in the trees and help us kill this guy!"
Blitz got his pistol out right as Mille leapt backwards, Spyro leaping after her as the two faced off, Spyro calling his keyblade while his armor activated and started blocking Millies attacks, redirecting her attacks until he unleashed his ice breath, hitting her on the side and causing her left arm to get frozen as she fell down, Blitz aiming the pistol at him and pulled the trigger, firing the gun, but he just dodged the attack, grabbing the bullet and looked at it, his eyes widening when he saw it.
"Beskar?" Spyro asked. However, due to his hesitation, Blitz shot him again, this time it knicked his shoulder, making him yell in pain as he grabbed his shoulder, holding it and looking at his hoof to see it was blood, looking at Blitz as he waved his hand, contonuing to grin. "Ok, seriously, where the heck did you get Beskar?"
"Thats for us to know and for you to find out!" Blitz said. "Eat lead suck ass!"
He pulled out a machine gun and pointed it at Spyro, realizing that his armor was useless now, he deactivated it and stood on his hind legs, his hoof turned into a claw and at Blitz fired his gun, time slowed down all around him and he started to capture the bullets one at a time Blitz laughing like a maniac as he fired the gun, but his laughter soon faded as he saw that none of the bullets hit him, looking at Spyro in confusion until he saw Spyro drop the bullets, shocking them all as they looked at him while he smiled.
"As I tried to warn you, sir." Moxxie said. "He has super speed, strength, master of the elements, transforms into a dragon, the Force, so on and so forth."
"Why in the #%@ didn't you warn us Moxxie!?" Blitz shouted.
"I did warn you guys, but you never listen to me!" Moxxie shouted back "I mean, literally, I said he had all those powers and then some, but does anybody listen!? No. They're all busy putting me down for no apparent reason!"
"Well excuse me for not taking you seriously when you cry and whine like a baby all the %#ing time!" Blitz shouted, Millie and Spyro watching them.
"Do they do this all the time?" Spyro asked.
"Eh, every now and again." Millie replied, looking at Spyro while the two imps kept on fighting. "You know, you definitely don't seem like the kinda fellow who'd do bad things for no apparent reason. I'm Millie by the way."
"Spyro." Spyro replied. "Spyro VanVickle."
"Pleasure to meet ya." Millie said. "So, how do you want to do this?" She then pulled out a knife as she held up her axe, smiling at him. "Wanna be stabbed by the knife or cleaved in two by the axe?"
"Seriously?" Spyro asked. "What ever happened to the friendly little demon I just met?"
"Hey, yer a target, gotta make nice before I kill ya!" Millie replied.
She then lunged for Spyro as he leapt back, Octavia and Loona watching everything while Fluttershy hid behind them.
"Uh, aren't you going to stop them?" Octavia asked.
"Nah, looks like he has this entire thing covered." Loona replied. "Besides, with how he held up against me, he won't break a sweat."
"Still, I'm going over and ending this whole thing right now!" Octavia said. She started to walk over to the fight to break it up, but a moment later, the ground erupted and from it, several Grublin orcs from those with massive axes and ones with shields to those with crossbows popped out, surrounding everyone and surprising the demon girl while Loona got into a defensive position. "What the hell!?"
"Octavia, get behind me!" Loona said.
She grabbed Octavia and pulled her away as one of the Grublins reached for her, kicking it and sending it to the ground, but one of the crossbow orcs took aim and fired, hitting Loona in the shoulder and making her fall to the ground, grunting in pain as she hit the ground.
"Loona!" Octavia shouted.
That shout was enought o get everybody's attention and looked to see Octavia run to Loona as they were surrounded.
"Loona!" Blitz shouted.
"Grublins!" Spyro shouted. "Fluttershy, protect Octavia and Loona!" The nervous pegasi looked at the army in front of her, seeing the monsters converging on them, her fear rising, but she got over it and gave a serious look, summoning her Keyblade and charging through, cutting through the Grublins to get to Octavia and Loona while Spyro turned to Blitz and his coworkers, the boss looking horrified at Loona and at how injured she was. "Look, we can fight each other all we want, but right now, our friends are in danger. I don't know about you, but I'm going to save my friends. With or without you."
He then took off, leaving the three imps alone at the spot they had the fight and look at one another, waiting to hear if anyone else either had a better idea or if they were going to helpp out or not. In the battle, Fluttershy was doing the best she could to fight off the Grublins, swinging her blade wildly to keep them back, but one of the Grublins grabbed the blade and threw it away, making the Pegasi yelp as she fell on her back like a goat, the Grublins getting closer and closer as Octavia felt her heart race, clsing her eyes as she believed it was her end, but before anything could happen, a massive ball of fire landed right in front of them and sent many grublins flying, Octavia looking into the fire and saw it was Spyro who was standing in between them and the monsters, smiling as she saw him.
"Spyro!" Octavai shouted.
"Holy hell." Loona said. "That was... pretty awesome actually."
"Listen here Grub-nuts." Spyro said. "You want to get to them, you're going to have to go through me."
The Grublins took it as a challenge, many charging towards him to attack, but as they swung and fired their weapons, Spyro dodged and called his Keyblade, slashing through ech of them as they came while also dodging the ranged Grublins attacks, grabbing an arrow and throwing it back, hitting one of the crossbow orcs as it fell to the ground while grabbing the axe of another one and spun it around, cutting it's holder in half while also spinning around, cutting clean through them before throwing the axe at another, which it dodged and looked at Spyro, wearing a black mask as it starred at Spyro, watching his moves before looking at more Axe grublins, looking at him.
"Inbau l'sarol!" The Grublin said.
A moment later, the grublins brought over a case and from it, the leader pulled out a single spear with braided silver hair on the tip of the spear, walking towards Spyro as he fought, cutting clean through another Grublin as he turned to the leader, who was standing before him with the spear in his hand, glarring at him.
"Oh, so the big boys finally decided to come out and play?" Spyro asked, spinning his blade as he took a battle stance. "Well, come on then. I don't have all day. Got a date with Rainbow Dash later tonight and I don't want to be late." The grublin started to thrust the spear at him, which Spyro deflected and knocked away from him as the Grublin started to thrust and swing the spear around, both putting their skills into the fight as they fought relentlessly for a few moments before locking their weapons together, Spyro smiling as he looked at the Grublin. "Dude, that all you got? I swear I've faced toughter... tougher..."
Spyro suddently felt weak, feeling like something was wrong as he suddenly felt his powers were growing weaker, the lock breaking as he backed away and started to stumble a bit, his vision blurring as he believed there was dark crystals nearby as he fell.
"What's the matter little dragon?" The grublin asked, approaching him. "Can't take a few strands of Sphynx hair?"
Spyro could barely hear a thing as he suddenly passed out, the grublins laughing as they approached to get him, but a moment later, they heard something whistle and looked, being met with a hail of bullets and gunfire as many of the Grublins get destroyed while the one with the black mask was unaffected by the bullets, which bounce off of him as Blits held his machine gun, a look of murder on his face as he looked at them.
"Nobody hurts my little Loonie bear!" Blitz shouted. "NOBODY!"
He then lifted the rifle again and opened fire again, going for more of the Grublins while Millie and Moxxie took care of the ones around Octavia and Loona, clearing the area up around them, but the Grublin with the mask on was unaffected, approaching the girls as he tapped his spear on the ground, Loona getting up to protect her friend, but the thing knocked her away, making her land on the shoulder that still had the arrow in it and making her yell in pain, Octavia looking at her friend with horror beforte looking to the Grublin.
"You're coming with me little girl." The grublins said, reaching to grab her.
"No, leave me alone." Octavia said, backig away as she felt her fear rise up in her, the monster reaching to grab her, but as it did, dark flames started to appear on her horn, catching the grublin by surrpise as it froze. "Leave me alone!"
Without thinking, she fired a wave of black fire on the Grublin, causing it to run away as the flames burned it and caused the mask to pop off, shattering to dozens of pieces as Blitz opened fire on it, riddling it with bullets until it fell to the ground and exploded into pieces as the others retreated, returning to the earth and fleeing.
"Yeah, you better run!" Blitz shouted, looking to Loona as she got up. "Loona, you ok!?"
"Yeah, I'll be fine." Loona replied, pulling the arrow out. "It'll take more than some dumb arrow to take me down."
"Spyro, wake up." Octavia said, shaking him as Fluttershy ran over.
"Is he ok?" Fluttershy asked.
"I don't know." Octavia said. "That thing just had it's spear close to him and he collapsed."
"Eh, just makes our job easier." Blitz said, pointing his gun at him.
"No!" Octavia shouted, the gun bursting on it's own and surprising them. "I am not letting you hurt my friend!"
"Might want to drop this job Blitz." Loona said. "If he hadn't collapsed, he'd have taken that gun and used it on you."
"Ugh, fine." Blitz said. "But your dad owes us big time for dropping this job."
"Don't worry, you'll get your money." Octavia said, lookign at him. "But we need to get Spyro someplace safe until he recovers."
"Quick, bring him to my cottage." Fluttershy said. "He can recover there."
Fluttershy and Octavia lifted him up and put the unconcious prince on the pegasi's back, rushing back to her cottage as the four demons walked after them, but Moxxie stopped, looking at the spear and picked it up, bringing it along to figure out what was som special about it. Back in the I.M.P building, Stolas was pacing back and forth, getting impatient as he waited for the return of his daughter or any word from Blitz or somebody about how she was.
"Oh, I knew I should have gone with them." Stolas said to himself. "I should have gone with Blitz or somebody to help look for my baby girl. All of this waiting is killing me." A moment later, the phone rang and he went over an dpicked it up to answer, putting it against his ear to hear who it was. "Hello?"
"Stolas, where are you!?" A womans voice said.
"Ugh, Stella, really, nows not a good time." Stolas replied. "Out daughter is missing and I'm trying to find her."
"Well you can stop now." Stella said. "You little imp boyfriend brought her here, thinking you had gone home already."
"She's there!?" Stolas asked. "Can I talk to her!? Octavia, you ok!?"
"She's in her room now." Stella said. "Too embarrassed to even talk to you. You want to talk to her, come home and you can do it yourself."
"Alright, I'm on my way!" Stolas replied.
He put the phone down and rushed out the door and started heading back home, but little did he know that as Stella was putting the phone down, she turned to look at a being behind her, which turned out to be Aphara as she came out of the shadows to look at her.
"He's on his way." Stella said. "As agreed, you get a vile of his blood, after which, kill him and leave my daughter to me."
"Don't worry, you'll get your corpse." Aphara said as dozens of Grublins and demons with blessed weapons came out, grinning as she too grinned. "Once he'll have bigger problems to deal with than a missing daughter."