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"And these would be the guards I was telling you about" Winter said as he sighed but laughed a little "something tells me it is safer here at the moment without your mate, I don't really feel like having my head bitten off" he said as the gargoyle they were sitting beside turned and faced Darmani.

"We are excilent flyers thank you! Your mate will be safe" it said as it turned and looked at winter "and my name is Diocletian, named after my first owner, the roman emperor of the 3rd and 4th centuries in the human world but it doesn't matter, your friends will be back in 20 minutes and you" he said turning his head and looking at Darmani "REALLY need to make your children get better mates, Eternity isn't as sweet as she claims to be but then if you want a dead son then who am I to say anything?"

Winter sighed "look, shut it, whatever happens in our family STAYS within our family...and apparently you gargoyles but still! I love and trust Tira, he can take care of her, but Lemonade does have a right to be upset...wait, why am I talking to a hunk of rock?"

"You are asking that NOW!?" He said as he looked at Darmani "you know, that friend of yours is a tad slow on the up take."

"Hey!" Winter objected "that wasn't what I meant!"

Winter looked at the flutter "thanks...I guess" he said tilting his head a little "but you" he said look at the Gargoyle "you are who you say you are but you are not a gargoyle, why pretend to be one?" He asked curiously, this was a shape shifter, once the name was stated he remembered who he was.

the gargoyle looked at Darmani "I guess you do have a point" he said as he looked at the ice pony "how did you know I was a shape shifter?"

"Pays to not use your real name" he said as he looked at Darmani "this is a shape shifter, a famous one at that, but a gargoyle? Not something he would pick and especially not help out the Elders here as security."

"What can I say, the Elders offered me payment for my services while another gargoyle that was nearly killed gets delivered, I can be kind sometimes."

"Payment, should of guessed" he said as he looked from the gargoyle to Darmani "he is a nice guy, crafty as anything, but an all round nice guy."

The gargoyle changed back into his original form, a human in clothes a male mid 20s might wear from the days of King Arthur and sat down on the side "my original form, only human in this realm, ended up here, originally from King Arthurs day and haven't been able to be sent home so I am basically stuck here, not that I mind, it is a fun place to be, I have others of my kind here so whilst I can't go home at least I am not the only shape shifter."

"Stay here, do my job, I only have another two or three days till I can go, the other gargoyle is coming from the west, over the ocean, a small ancient ruin of a place called Mysteria, apparently it was a bustling city one part of it but now it lays in ruins and only two gargoyles remain, one is trying to be fixed, IF it can and the other is heading over to my spot but as promised, I said I would play security guard and I will."

"Ever thought of becoming a pony? Maybe not for good but there is another realm on the other side of this one."

"Been wanting to go visiting but apparently it is not wise for me to, not yet anyway, but I have been tempted many a time."

"Well, if you ever wish to break the law, come see me" winter said winking at him, knowing it would probably be stupid to say there up here but meh, it wasn't 100% of a law break, he would clear it with at least coven but still if he ever wanted to the offer was there.

Winter looked at Darmani "just like a certain daughter of yours TOTALLY welcomed Tira when he first arrived? I think she was rather possessive of a bear you gave him" He said, joking of course, he knew that his niece had grown up since then and all but still, it was cute, annoying, but cute when she had done that.

"Oh I couldn't, if I came I wouldn't want to impose, it wouldn't be practical and I have seen and heard your mate, she is cute and all but seriously, that temper of hers is a nightmare, forgive me if I don't want to cross her" he said, having heard and seen it a couple of times since he had been here, she may not do it in front of others but when shes alone...yeah...best not to cross her.

Winter and the shape shifter in unison "each to their own" they both said as they looked at each other and cracked up.

"But seriously, I love my sister but you, Darmani, are the lucky one, you haven't been on the end of one of her tempers, I actually have, three times, and it is why she is like she is now, she ended up harming me greatly he final time and hence why she vowed never to do it again" he said as he took a deep breath and sighed "my sister has no ice powers, at least not to the extent my family does but her ice powers ARE inside of her, she can't call on them whenever she wants, never has been able to no matter how much she tried, but the reason she can freeze ice cream mix in seconds? Because it shows she DOES have them she just can't do anything major with them like our father can. So that little bit of power is pretty much all she has UNLESS you piss her off and then you see what she is like, I ended up getting a rather sharp icicle thrown at my chest when I had pissed her off too much once and ended up in hospital for weeks whilst I healed, stuff was said, apologies made and that was it, we moved on but yes, she ended up just leaving, not saying anything and just moving to a place where she wouldn't hurt anyone if she got so upset and thus why she does what she does.

So growing up with her in her teen years was horrible, you saw the sweet, kind, sensitive, adorable Lemonade but we got the Lemonade she has never let anyone else see, she is a lot better now, obviously, but still, if you had been in my position where you received an icicle through your chest with sharp shards breaking off into the heart and blood stream etc I don't think you would be standing here today saying how sweet that is because seriously, if you think my father was bad as nearly freezing you to death I WAS practically dead, the doctors have no idea how i survived because that icicle actually pierced my heart and aorta so yeah, sorry if I can't really share that same sentiment" he said as got up onto the side and looked down.

"Don't get me wrong, I love my sister, I never will stop loving her, but that was the day she realized what she did was wrong, obviously, and killed the temper and now she takes it out on anything that isn't alive and isn't another living being, these gargoyles, they may be stone during the day but at night they have thick skin so she can throw whatever she wants at them and they will be able to take it, of course it can upst them/feel used etc but it has also given her a friendship with them, something no one has ever done. People look at these creatures, see ugliness and are afraid of them and they always turn away when they get near or just ignore them but Lemonade has become a friend to every single one of these creatures and so they allow her to do as she wishes to them, it gives her an outlet and gives them a friend, even the Elders don't care for them, they have a home here, with the Elders and what not but they do the protecting more out of the fact that the Elders have saved them so this is pay back but other then that the Elders don't have much time for them at all.

My sister has been really the only friend they have ever since their kind started to die out, they have each other, sure, but outside of that, your mate is the only friend they have so yes, your mate is a total sweetheart, she is adorable and kind and caring etc, gets that off our mother, her 'dark side' just will never be shown in front of you, you are the lucky one in several aspects, at least my father slowly started to kill you, with me laying there and hearing 'he is pretty much dead, I don't know why he isn't' when you are in pain is horrible so you got it better then what we have had it" he said as he sat down.

"So thanks to father your mate is pretty much a time bomb waiting to go off, just that thankfully she has learnt to be able to control it now."

"It is because" a voice said as she jumpped off the back of the gargoyle near by them but at the back of Darmani "it is a side I never want shown ever again" she said as she walked up to him and nuzzled him "I love you and our children so much, you have been the worlds greatest father and mate but that part of me is a side I never want shown again, it isn't your fault, you haven't failed me, I failed myself when I ended up nearly killing my brother but I never told you that story because I didn't want you to think poorly of me, not when we get along so well. My life is yours and the childrens, what I do in it concerns you all but that side of me is a horrible side, a side I never want anyone to see, what would happen if I ended up nearly killing one of the children because their annoying inane questions were driving me up the wall? Do you REALLY want me to end up nearly killing one of them? They have done some really stupid things in their time and those things are what make me want to kill them, if one does it, fine, if two do it, fine, but when you have told them ALL time and again that they shouldn't do something and they disobey you constantly, as children do, you end up wanting to strangle them and so I come here and just deal with it myself.

That side of me scares me, when I nearly killed Winter that day I locked myself in my room and didn't come out for weeks, you remember when I sat outside my window calling to me when daddy and mother wasn't home? Wanting me to come down? Just to spend the few hours they were away to be a couple for once? Well, now you know why I said no, I placed myself into seclusion because I was the one who nearly killed my brother and it was the only place, where I could be alone, locked up in my room, repenting for what I had done. How could I tell you that nearly killed my brother? You come around, want to take me out, do nice things with me etc and yet here I am trying to find a way, when you see how much I wasn't enjoying myself, why I was like I was, there is no way you can tell someone that you nearly killed your own brother, not just hypothetically either but actually physically, where he was fighting for his life.

So no my dearest, you are not at fault here, you have never failed me and never will, I just can't let that side of me out, not again, if I stayed at home with Tira and Eternity being all happy and everything about their engagement and tried to pretend everything was alright I would of ended up killing one or both of them just to make it clear I was upset. I taught myself to do this, I taught myself that if I ever get so angry that I would lash out I would just leave, no questions asked or answered, just leave because it was safer then the alternative" she said as she took a deep breath and let it out. "Please forgive me for not telling you but that was the reason, I couldn't let you see the one side of me that I keep hidden as I keep it hidden for a reason but also, I didn't want you to think I was some ogre, a woman who was happy to kill when she was upset, that doesn't paint me in a good light and I didn't want you, my boyfriend, to rethink his position.

First you nearly get killed by my father and then I tell you my brother was nearly killed by me? Seriously, Darmani, how is that meant to look? It will look like you signed up to date a mad mans mad daughter, I can't have that, I couldn't have that, you couldn't see me have my fathers temper, I was too scared I would lose my brother and lose you and if I lost one or the other it would tear me apart but losing both? I wouldn't want to live" she said as she looked away from him, head down "I am sorry Darmani but that will never be a side of me you will ever see, not now, not ever."

Lemonade hugged her mate back and nodded "of course I will! You are stuck with me, though I must say Archimede is rather cute though, he even asked me out, had to say no though, something told me that you might not be happy about it and you know I don't like playing those sorts of games with you' she said as she looked back at the Gargoyle and grinned at him.

Archimede laughed and shook his head "you also told me I was ugly, not exactly a compliment"

"I did not! I just asked if you had looked at yourself lately, thats all! You said that I had a face only a mother could love" she said as she looked back at her mate "and thank you for understanding, this is why I love you" she said as she passionately kissed her mate for a few moments before pulling away "I love you, but you do realize that we are going to have to get a couple of these gargoyles for home don't you? I think they would be a great addiction to our family!"

"Lemonade, what have I told you about taking in waifs and strays? Leave them, you don't have the room for two or three gargoyles anyway and if you have more children they can't..." Winter stopped as he was interrupted.

"that is it! Darmani, can we take Archimede home with us!? He can be our live in babysitter and Maria won't have to worry about doing that job as well!" She said as she looked to her brother "thank you for that idea!"

"...Why do I bother opening my mouth?"

"If he goes I am coming with you!" the shape shifter spoke up, he might as well get a ticket out of this place, if only for a little while, not sure how he would survive on the other side but he was invited and he wouldn't exactly be alone over there, he would have the gargoyle and he could always come back so...

"Darmani, please!?" Lemonade said as she looked around at the other gargoyles who were chatting with each other or playing cards or what not, not really minding what they were plotting, as long as they could see who was trying to break through the barrier it was all good "look at it this way, at least I can just drag Arch outside or into the other parlour or whatever and take my frustration out on him at home, no more coming here...alright, slight lie, I would, I wouldn't ignore my friends here, but still, it would be fun having another mouth to feed and it isn't like Red doesn't cook enough to feed 15 magical realms combined."

"Can I say something?" Arch spoke up "clearance from the Elders is needed but not only that a gargoyle doesn't just walk into a world of ponys, I don't think it would be very wise, I think it might be best if I stayed...not that these guys would care if I did come or go, my original clan was not exactly friends with half of these Gargoyles clans so I wouldn't be missed by many if I did leave but still..."

"We will get clearance from the Elders but please, Arch, at least think about it? You would at least be welcomed at home, granted you would be a night time babysitter only but still, the food is good, you will have a home, there is even a bedroom on the third floor that has a beautiful view of the valley, not sure how you will like the cold though, that is the only thing."

"After having been used as a target by you I think cold is pretty much alright" he said as he sighed "fine, IF your mate says it is alright and the Elders I am yours but please, Lem, I am no slave" he said, having been in a slave situation before.

"You know me, you will be treated as one of the family, Tira will be disowned anyway, you can take his place!" She said grinning at him as she turned to Darmani "I am kidding, don't worry, I am still upset by all of this, I still want to kill him and I still want to go to Raven and ask her to kill Eternity instead as I am sure she would even like to do that honour, but it has dwindled, I don't wish to do it AS much any more. Tira is still our son, even I am not that heartless to disown him but still, this engagment will have to be brought to an end I just don't know how that is going to happen" she said as she took a deep breath and let it out "but anyway we have more important matters to deal with, making the roof is secure for Arch, if he is to be coming home I think it is time to call Coven in to strength the roof."


"L...Lady Coven?" Arch said, blushing a little.

"Yes, Lady Coven, she is a dear friend of mine, wh...wait, you DO like someone!" Lemonade grinned at her friend.

"It...it is nothing, it can't be anything, Gargoyles don't date other races, it isn't allowed, hasn't been since the dawn of our time, she is the only one, besides you, that has been kind to us, treated us as equals, the time she has spent here, talking to us, making sure we are alright etc I guess things happened..." he said as he sighed "but it doesn't matter, as I said, even if she DID like me we couldn't be together, our races wouldn't allow it" he said, knowing his race was almost gone but the fact of the matter was rules were rules and they tended to follow strictly by them even if they were almost decimated.

"Right, then I shall say no more on the matter" she said as she looked at Darmani and grinned, eyes twinkling in playful delight, her mind working over time on how to set those two up on a date "we have a room to make up and Elders to talk to" she said as she walked over and nuzzled Arch "I will be back and hopefully with good news" she said as she licked his cheek.

"You realize you asked Darmani if you could take him home and then just all of a sudden made up his mind for him right?"

"Well, Winter, if Darmani wishes he can say no" she said as she looked to her mate "are you willing to take in a lonely Gargoyle?"

"YES!" Lemonade said as she danced around "you, my friend" she said looking at the Gargoyle "have a new home, one where you will be loved, cared for and fed as well as have your own room, balcony and with the reinforced roofing you can sit up here for however long you want! Though, slight question, do you like Jack Frost?"

"Er....not really, why?"

"My father but don't worry you won't see him often, he tends to keep to himself but you do have a home" she said as she walked over and hugged him "now you and I can go flying whenever we want!" She said as she looked up at him.

"Red will..." interrupted.

"Red? As in his sister is a werewolf?"

"Yes, why?"

"He...he hasn't told you has he?"

"Told us...what?" Lemonade asked looking to her mate and walking back over to him "if this concerns our family then we would like to hear it.

"Then I suggest, before I come, you talk to him as well."

Lemonade opened a portal and poked her head through "RED! Get your a** here now!" She called as she brought her head out.

Red, having just been next door in the kitchen came running "Lem?" He asked, seeing the portal and walked through "oh hi...nice..." Red stopped and looked around, noticing that every Gargoyle that was on the roof, and there had to be at least 25-30 of them, all looked up and started heading over to the red pony but as he turned to flee Lemonade shut the portal.

"Right, now, you are staying here and if you wish to keep your job and your life" she said gesturing towards the on coming storm of Gargoyles "you are going to tell us right now what your past is, the past that these guys seem to hate you for" she said as she looked at the others "guys, please, stop!" She said as she got between them and Red and thankfully, they stopped.

"Now, Red, explain."

Red sighed "I caused mas genocide on many races before I was imprisoned and the only reason I got out was because Jack was now in a position where he could vouch for me, the Elders trusted him, so I was let go but you knew this but the thing you didn't know is my real name, why do you think my name is 'Red'? It was an alias because it would keep me safe and it would put the past behind me...sort of, long story short I HAVE turned over a new leaf, I HAVE changed, but the thing is one of the races I almost killed out was the Gargoyles and I don't mean just one or two types of Gargoyles I mean EVERY type of Gargoyle, if there was a Gargoyle I would kill it but that went with every race I came across that I thought was below pony status. If it wasn't a pony or at least half a hooved animal I would kill it, they were not worthy of being here, sharing our air etc I killed many, not as much as I did the Gargoyles but a lot died at my hooves just that the Gargoyle race got it worse, I was the one who almost destroyed them all, these guys can live for thousands and thousands of years as long as they are taken care of etc but some were not but that was time for some but for most of the others it was my doing.

The Gargoyles are one of the races that started the Magical Realm and I, over the course of many years, almost killed them all and over time, near the end of my run, I met up with Jack again, he having been a bad boy himself and I ended up teaming up with him and we did about a year or twos damage together and thus, in the end, how we ended up in jail. But yes, these guys do have a right to kill me" he said as he walked past Lemonade and the others he stood right in front of them "and if they wish they can kill me, only fair right? I killed your race, do to me as I did to you, kill me, I will never be forgiven no matter how much I apologize so please, just get it over with" he said as he sat down and waited.

"WAIT!" Lemonade said as she saw the Gargoyles start to move and ran over and got in front of them "i know you are all angry, I understand that, but is killing him REALLY the answer? I have read about you guys, my tutor used to tell me what a wonderful and majestic race you were, you may have been ugly but you were fair, kind, gentle, understanding creatures, people misjudged you and, at times, you DID live up to your reputation but you did it ONLY when needed, only when someone was trespassing on your land or you needed to pass judgement and punishment or whatever, but if people were kind to you you were kind back . Now, I know that by your laws that if someone takes a Gargoyle life then their life is to be taken but I am a friend of yours am I not? I know that being friends with your enemy isn't smart and I understand that but he IS a changed man! He had to be, his sister is a WEREWOLF! If jail never changed him then his sister would have, he would not kill his own sister no matter how much she wasn't one of the 'sacred', she may have hooves but she also has paws during a certain time of the month.

Red had to deal with the fact that he couldn't kill his own sister, he was torn in two, to kill her or not to kill her and in the end he would of realized he couldn't so instead he took care of her, loved her, accepted her for who she was and that is Red, he is not the man he was so I just ask for you to not forgive him but forget him, just pretend he doesn't exist, he lives with me and sticks to Solstice, he hardly comes to Harmonia and this is your new home but with him not coming here then you won't have to worry so please, can you just let him be?"

The Gargoyles looked at each other and it seemed like they didn't need to be persuaded anymore then they had "fine!" The leader gruffed "but if he dare shows his face around Harmonia again, even if we just catch a roumor he is here, I will kill him myself" he said as the others nodded in agreement.

"That is fine" she said as she grabbed Red "he will be yours" she said as he followed and she opened up a portal to take them all home "thank you, thank you so much!" She said as she looked at the others "I suggest we leave now whilst we can and Arch, stay here, we will see the Elders first thing in the morning about taking you home with us, till then, just stay here were your brethren" she said as she walked over and nuzzled him "I promise, I will be back tomorrow with the good news" she said as she saw him nod "alright, thank you."

"Now, you who I don't know, you will have to stay as well but we will be back tomorrow" she said as she saw the Shape Shifter nod "alright guys, move out!" She said as she walked through the portal."

Winter followed his sister and wondered if he should tell his father what was going on...