> The Reluctant Gunman
>  by thunderclap
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> What're ya buyin'?
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	I used to think that my life was pretty normal; that I was pretty normal. Now, not so much. I would wake up, go through my morning rituals and face whatever the world would throw at me. And after facing all that I would seek comfort in whatever struck my fancy, one of those things being anime. Growing up I loved pretty much all the stuff that Toonami and Adult Swim would show. Dragon Ball Z, Big O, Cowboy Bebop, you name it I had at least tried it, even Pilot Candidate (much to my eternal dismay). Though, my favorite out of all of those shows was Trigun. Something about Vash’s outlook on life and philosophy spoke to me and helped shape who I’d become. 

Of course, life went on and I occupied my time with things other than over-the-top animation from the far-east. I had even decided to go into engineering to try and satisfy my childhood fantasy of becoming a mad scientist/inventor (mainly in an attempt to build my own megadeus). Everything seemed to be going well, but fate decided to throw the mother of all monkey wrenches into the gears of my life.

I was just about finished with my post-grad work and was set to get my masters. It had been pretty tough but I had made it through and had decided to reward myself by buying a pass to my first anime convention. Lucky for me I lived close enough to the second largest one in America, Otakon. And of course I decided to go as my favorite character of all time, Vash.  I worked hard to make my own costume. I used some metal-working equipment to make the glasses and a fake hidden knife in the boot. I even had the tubes along the duster that he used to reload his gun in his duel with Knives. The only thing I was missing was Vash’s signature gun because I didn’t have enough materials. When all was said and done I thought I looked pretty good.

The day of the con came quickly and I was all set in my costume and ready for one of the best weekends of my life. I had even heard a rumor that Johnny Yong Bosch was going to be there and I was excited to ask him some questions. I entered the convention center and was swept up in the sea of the crowd. I was so glad that I had decided to come here. The place was chock full of stands, and events were everywhere. A few people even came up to me and asked to take pictures of me, though they were disappointed that I didn’t have the gun. I was too, but what was I going to do about it? Just as I was thinking this a guy with a too-big smile came up to me.

“Hey there man, that’s one cool Vash cosplay you got there.”

“Thanks, I did a lot of this myself,” I said uncertainly.

“I can tell. The things they sell online always leave out details, but you’ve got ‘em down pat. How did you do the glasses?”

“Metal working is a hobby of mine so it wasn’t too hard to get the frames done. When I was done with that I ordered the lenses online,” 

“Nice going there, but I can’t help but notice that you’re missing a crucial component there. You don’t have Vash’s signature pistol,” the guy said as he pointed at the spot where the gun would’ve gone.

“Yeah, I wanted to try and make that myself, but I couldn’t afford the materials. And I couldn’t find an affordable recreation that I liked.”

“Well, I think I can help you find a good recreation that will probably be in your price range.”

‘Why do I feel like I’m about to enter an afterschool special on either drugs or stranger danger… maybe both.’ I thought as a worried grimace spread across my face. ‘All I know is if I see Bugs Bunny pick up a joint I’m out of here.’

“That does sound pretty interesting,” I told the guy as I scratched my chin in thought.

“That’s the spirit. Come on, I’ll show you where the stand is that’s selling all this stuff.”

The guy then led me through the convention with his smile still on his face. Eventually we made it to a stall in a little corner of the main room. Now, I had heard some rumors and seen some stories online about people who went to cons suddenly disappearing, but I had never really believed them. It all sounded like a dumb internet ghost story. And considering the prevalence of things like creepy-pastas that dealt with similar subject matter, I was fairly confident in that assessment.  

I smiled as I saw that the guy at the stand looked like a familiar merchant from a survival horror game. I thought it was pretty cool that it seemed like a fellow nerd was selling this stuff. I then turned my attention away from the merchant and towards his stall. I had to fight the urge to drool when I saw what was on the table. It was like someone had reached into my wildest dreams and pulled out everything they could find. I couldn’t tell you if there was a tablecloth on the stall because every millimeter of the table’s surface was covered in merch. I could already feel my wallet lighten at the prospect of buying everything I could from this stand. I had almost lost myself into my fantasy when the merchant’s raspy voice called out to me.

“So, what brings you to my little shop, stranger?”

‘A role-player, huh. Well I guess that’s pretty cool.’

“I uh heard that you have something that could go with my costume. But now that I see what you have I’m half-tempted to try and clean you out of your wares,” I told him with a chuckle.

“Sorry, but I have a one item limit for my customers.”

In hindsight that should’ve been a red flag.

“Now let’s see, I think I’ve got just what you’re looking for,” the merchant told me as he reached under his table and threw me something. I caught it and I let out a whistle when I noticed what it was. This really was Vash’s gun. Everything about it just felt right, from the look down to the feel of it.

“This is some really impressive work. How much do you want for this?”

“For something like that, I’ll give it to ya for fifty dollars.” I was dumbstruck by what I had just heard.

“I’m sorry, but are you being serious?!” I yelled.

“I never joke about my prices. Now, do you want the gun or not?” The merchant asked getting impatient with me.

“You got yourself a deal!” I enthused as I thrust a few crumpled bills into the hand of the merchant. I didn’t get to enjoy my purchase for very long because all of a sudden I was enveloped in a brilliant, white glow and I passed out.

I don’t know how much time had passed before I woke up. All I knew was that I was suddenly in some sort of dark forest. Considering the situation I had found myself in I gave the only reasonable response.

“Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!”

Okay, so I screamed, but it was a very deep, masculine scream… Shut up, you can’t prove that it wasn’t. Anyway, my mind was racing as I tried to figure out what was happening. 

‘Someone must’ve drugged me at the convention. Now, there are plenty of rural areas within easy driving distance of the convention center. I don’t know why anyone would want to kidnap me but then again you can’t account for random sickos. Alright, now let’s just remember that basic survival training you took. Find a source of water, make a shelter and stay put until someone eventually finds you.’ 

After a few moments I managed to calm myself down and stood up so I could set out and hunker down until I could get rescued. When I did I noticed that my pockets had a bit more jingle to them than I had remembered. I reached into them and pulled out… bullets. I stood slack-jawed at what I was holding in my hands. I think it goes without saying that I did not go to the con with bullets in my pockets. 

I didn’t have much time to consider what all this could mean because I suddenly heard a growling noise right behind me. What I saw when I turned around left me fully convinced that I was either very high or insane, maybe both considering I was looking at a goddamned manticore! I really wish I was kidding, but no. If there really is a god or gods, then they have a real sick sense of humor. This really was something straight out of a mythology book. The beast approached me with its stinger bobbing with each step and its leonine fangs bared in a snarl. And just to add to this sick twist of fate the thing had bat wings twitching on its back. I held up my hands defensively as the manticore showed its impressive size to me.

“Nice kitty, good kitty, please don’t eat me.” 

If the manticore could understand me, it didn’t care. I considered my options and did the most sensible thing I could think of.

“Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!” I screamed and ran. But it was very masc… You know what just forget about it. I moved with a speed that would make the Kenyan Olympic team proud. I could tell that the manticore was following me but I didn’t pay that any mind. I was a little more preoccupied with trying to stay alive, and a small part of me was hoping that I could just wish the thing out of existence. I don’t know how long I ran, but it was long enough to make it out of the forest, and for the manticore to give up on chasing me. I didn’t care, I just kept running.

I just wanted this nightmare of a day to be over. I started to curse at the top of my lungs. I cursed the smiling jackass that had led me to that stall, I cursed that merchant for selling me that replica gun, I even cursed Yasuhiro Nightow for creating something so amazing that it compelled me to buy that gun. 

Third Person POV:

Celestia and Luna the princesses of the fledgling nation of Equestria were battered and bruised as a being floated above them and laughed. This being was Discord, Spirit of Chaos and Disharmony. He stood for everything that the two young princesses opposed. He was a mismatch of various animal parts that seemed to be more of a foal’s art project gone wrong rather than an actual being. Although, despite his bizarre, even goofy appearance, he was still a force to be reckoned with.

“Is this really all the two of you can do?” Discord asked in an attempt to mock them. “When you told me that you’d defend your little country with everything you have I was expecting much more than this.”

Celestia and Luna just balled their fists and refused to look Discord in the eye. If they were going to die than they would do so with dignity and would not give Discord the sick pleasure of seeing them afraid. Celestia looked over to her younger sister in some hope that it would offer her some small comfort. However, her heart sank as she saw the state Luna was in. Her regal, black armor that had once been polished enough to rival any jewel was nothing more than piecemeal at the moment, and what was left of it was dented and cracked beyond the repair of any mortal blacksmith. Luna herself didn’t look much better. She was covered in so much blood, dirt and bruises that she appeared brown and red rather than her normal midnight blue. And her starry mane that normally waved elegantly without the aid of any breeze now hung limply all around her. Celestia knew she wasn’t in any better condition and reached out to grab her sister’s hand.

“I’m so sorry, Lulu,” Celestia whispered.

Just as the two sisters were prepared to meet their end all three of them felt their ears twitch as a strange sound seemed to be approaching them.

“Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! Fuck you Smiley! Fuck you Merchant! And Fuck! My! Life!” Somepony screamed as they crashed into the two princesses and sending the three into a sprawling heap.

> First Impressions
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	I don’t know what I ran into but whatever it was, it was hard. I let out a pained groan as I slowly brought myself to my knees. I started to rub the side of my head as I looked at what I had crashed into. My eyes widened from what I was seeing. Sprawled out on the ground in front of me were two… horse people… with wings and horns. Now, after being chased by the manticore, anthropomorphic horses with extra appendages didn’t faze me that much. At this point I was convinced that I was desensitized to all the crazy things this place could throw at me. What I did notice was that these two were obviously females, and they were seriously injured. This caused my chivalrous nature to come out and I put on my serious face. I jumped to my feet and looked for what could have done this. It didn’t take long and I nearly had a stroke when I saw the strangest creature in the history of ever floating in midair. As soon as I looked at the thing I felt my mind screech to a halt.

‘What in the name of… I’m so confused I can’t even think of a stupid joke. That thing looks like it makes a platypus feel inadequate because it isn’t confusing enough. Oh, looks like I can think of one. Stop, now is not the time for that. There are two injured… let’s just call them women until I can figure out what to call them. Now, I’m in this costume and I’m obviously insane, so let’s ride this crazy train until it goes right off a cliff. So, what would Vash do in a situation like this?’

And that’s when inspiration struck.

Celestia’s POV:
I had no idea what had run into us. One moment I was prepared to die the next moment some cursing thing smacks right into Luna and I. I was the first between Luna and myself to recover and looked at what had hit us. What I saw was a creature that was strikingly similar to Luna and I, yet very different as well. I was fairly certain that it was a he if the voice and build I was seeing were anything to go by. His mane was spiky and was a golden blonde in color. His eyes were hidden behind a strange pair of glasses that were orange in color. From what I could tell he was very thin and tall, almost as tall as myself even. The creature seemed confused for a few moments as he regarded Luna, Discord and I, but he recovered quickly and he quickly turned serious. He stood and I saw that he was indeed tall. He then turned to Luna and I.

“Are the two of you okay?”

“We’ll be fine, but who are you?” I asked.

He made a strange face as he told me, “I am known by many names, but for now just know that I am a defender of peace. Especially when it comes to fair ladies such as yourselves.”

I didn’t quite know what to say about all that. Luna however didn’t seem to share that problem. “And what do you plan on doing?”

He drew a strange weapon and held it up as he turned to face Discord. “What needs to be done.”

“Oh, do you really think that you can hurt me with something like that?” Discord asked with a chuckle. “Well, if you want to play hero then I won’t stop you. Come on, hit me with your best shot.”

The mysterious stranger then leveled his weapon right between Discord’s eyes. My mind raced as I tried to understand what I was seeing. Who was this person? Would they really be able to defeat Discord? All these thoughts and more shot through me as I watched what was about to happen. I could feel my heart try and hammer out of my chest as the anticipation mounted. They then started to pull something on the weapon and time seemed to slow down. I started to feel hopeful and even like I could swoon. Whoever this person was they were brave, they were incredible, they were…

*Click* *Click* *Click*

The stranger then opened up the weapon and looked at it in complete shock when it was empty. “Gyahhhh!” they cried.

… an absolute idiot. Luna, Discord and I stood in absolute disbelief of the stranger’s actions. The being then recovered quickly and put his weapon away. “In a situation like this, there is only one course of action.” He then spun on his heel and grabbed Luna and I by the hand. “A strategic retreat!” he screamed as he started to run in the direction he had come from. Luna and I were in no condition to try and resist and just ran right behind him. Discord still seemed just as confused as I was because he just let us leave. Either that or he was thinking that none of us were a threat.

Vash’s POV:
The two women and I just kept running after I had enacted my brilliant, Vash-approved plan. I didn’t even realize that we were running back toward the forest where I met the devil-kitty, I wasn’t really thinking though. All that mattered to me was getting the two to safety. Once we made it into a small clearing I stopped running and leaned against a tree to catch my breath.

“Whew, that sure was a close one. I can’t believe I forgot to load this thing,” I said as I pulled out my gun and loaded it with the bullets from my pocket. I then turned back to the two ladies with my best smile. “So I know I already asked this, but are the two of you okay?” Apparently this set the blue one off because she got right in my face with the mother of all glares.

“What in the name of Tartarus was going through thine head?!” she growled at me.

“I was thinking that we’d all live to see another day.”

“And because of that thou turned us into cowards. If thou truly wished to run then thou should’ve done so without us.”

“Are you saying that you were just willing to die?” I asked carefully.

“Of course, it is the duty of a princess to be willing to put their life on the line for the sake of their land.”

“Even if laying your life down causes a threat to your land to run free?” This seemed to get their attention.

“What?” the blue one asked.

“If you ask me, which I know you didn’t, but if you can find a way to get out of a fight so you can think of a new strategy. Then that’s a lot better than needlessly sacrificing yourself. I’d say giving up on life and letting yourself die is much more cowardly. If you two really are princesses then you need to stay alive to lead your country.” I told them with as much determination as I could muster.

I fully expected to get smacked for what I just told them, but right before the blue one was about to do it, the white one placed a hand on her shoulder. “Thou might have a point stranger. Though we should not be arguing amongst ourselves whilst Discord is still out terrorizing our little ponies.”

The blue one let out a sigh as she looked up at the taller, white horse-woman. “Thou art right sister, as usual.” She huffed that last part almost to the point where I couldn’t hear it.

‘Did… did she just say ponies?’ I thought with a bit of a grimace. ‘Okay, so that’s what these people are called. Note to self: never call them horse people. Something tells me that could get my ass kicked.’

“We suppose that we should thank thee. Wouldst thou tell us thine name now?” The white one asked.

“Oh sure,” I said with a chuckle, “my name is…” I paused as I thought about my answer for a moment. Should I tell them my real name or… “Valentinez Alkalinella Xifax Sicidabohertz Gumbigobilla Blue Stradivari Talentrent Pierre Andry Charton-Haymoss Ivanovici Baldeus George Doitzel Kaiser III.  But you can call me Vash, Vash the Stampede.” I then performed a large dramatic bow. “Now, who might you two fair maidens be?” I wasn’t looking at them but I could practically feel them roll their eyes at me. The white one was the first one to speak.	

“We art Princess Celestia, tis a pleasure to meet thee Vash.”

The blue one then regarded me with a little less hostility in her eyes. “And we art Princess Luna.”

‘Well that was short and to the point. I guess I’ll just have to make some attempt to get on her good side. That shouldn’t be too hard, ladies love me and I’m great with animals. And she’s both of those things rolled into one!’

“Vash, there is one more thing that confuses us about you,” Celestia told me as she tilted her head at me. “What art thou?”

“I’m what’s known as a human. And what are you supposed to be exactly?”

“We art known as ponies, or more specifically we art alicorns.” Luna answered.

“Okay, but who and what was that thing we just ran away from?”

“That was Discord,” Celestia said as a dark glower came over her face. “He calls himself the spirit of disharmony and chaos. Other than that, all we really know is that he is very powerful. He rips the very land in twain and fought us as though we were nothing. If we do not stop him there is no telling what he’ll do to our subjects.”

‘This is horrible,’ I thought with an internal grimace. ‘Wait, why am I thinking like that? This isn’t real, is it?’ I then looked over the two princesses and my grimace worsened when I saw their battle-worn appearance. ‘Real or not, these two need my help. Even if the only thing I can offer is moral support.’

“Now is not the time to be thinking like that,” I told them. “Right now we have to find a way to stop him. This isn’t over until we draw our last breath.”

This caused Celestia to give me a warm smile for the first time since we met. Something I took great pride in. “Thou art right Vash, we still have hope. Discord may have power, but we have our subjects and our friends to support us. Starswirl told us before we left to fight that he was looking into something that might prove useful.”

“This is true,” Luna said as her expression started to soften. “Starswirl has never let us down before, and we doubt that he will start now.”

“That’s the spirit!” I cheered as I gave them a thumbs up. “Now, how do we get to this Starswirl guy?”

“If thou would allow us to rest for but a moment then we shall be able to use our magic to get to him.

“Sounds good to me, I could use a rest myself.”

The princesses and I then sat down and talked for a bit. I found the Elizabethan English to be odd, but I got over it. During our talk I found out that the name of the country I was in was called Equestria. I’m actually surprised that I managed not to laugh at that. Still, that basically confirmed what I already knew that I wasn’t on Earth anymore. If I wasn’t hallucinating.  I still wasn’t completely convinced that what I was seeing was real. I also told them a little about myself including where I was from.

“So thou art from another world,” Celestia said sadly as she looked to the ground.

“Yeah, it seems like it. I don’t really know the specifics though.”

“We art sorry to hear that, but perhaps we could find a way to return thee to thy home,” Luna told me with some small amount of hope. “Starswirl was talking about researching other worlds before Discord attacked.”

“Thanks, that does give me some hope.”

“We art glad to offer our services. A princess is always meant to lend a hand to those in need,” Celestia said with another warm smile before standing and dusting herself off. “Now, we believe that it is time for us to return to Starswirl. We have much to do if we wish to defeat Discord. Celestia then gave me a hand up and then placed a hand on my shoulder as Luna got in close as well. “Brace thyself, if this is thine first time teleporting then it can be quite the experience,” she warned me as everything disappeared in a brilliant, white light.

> Elements and Trees of Harmony... Ok.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	The light died down and I felt a little light-headed once we arrived in a strange building. Celestia placed a hand on my shoulder to try and help me regain my balance. “Art thou okay, Vash?” 

I turned to her with a bit of a goofy smile on my face. “I’m perfectly fine, but why didn’t you tell me that you were triplets?”

Celestia and Luna just rolled their eyes at that. “Thou art always ready with a joke of some kind it seems.” Luna stated while seeming unimpressed.

“Heh, I like to think that it helps keep things interesting.”

“Thou art hopeless, aren’t thee Vash?” Celestia asked with a chuckle.

“Ahh, but if my silly little jokes and antics can make you laugh, then it’s all worthwhile,” I replied with a grin.

“Thou certainly hast a strange way of seeing things,” Luna said as she crossed her arms over her chest.

“Though it is oddly refreshing,” Celestia continued.

“My princesses, I am glad to see that thou art safe.”

I turned to the source of this voice and had to fight back my laughter. Alright, let me paint a picture for you. Imagine a wizard. Now imagine a wizard through the lens of a Saturday morning show meant for toddlers. That would still be less ridiculous than the outfit this guy was wearing. It was a big, blue hat and cape that had stars and moons on it, and bells. The hat and cape had enough bells on them to sound like a few dozen Santa’s sleighs. Other than that he appeared to be a unicorn with gray fur and a very long, white beard and yellow eyes.

“Starswirl tis good to see thee old friend,” Celestia called out as she walked over to the older stallion.

He gave her a parental smile before turning to me. “And who is this strange creature?”

“This is Vash, he saved us from Discord,” Luna answered.

“Is that true?” someone asked in a small voice as two more ponies walked into the room. One was a young mare (thank you Celestia and Luna for the explanation on terminology) who had greenish gray fur, a grass green mane and tail, and amethyst colored eyes. The other was a brown stallion with a black mane and brown eyes. I couldn’t tell much about the mare’s figure because she was wearing a robe that hid quite a bit, but if I had to guess, I’d say she had a very thin and trim sort of body. The stallion on the other hand I could instantly tell that he was buff, and if the marks on his hands were anything to go by then I’d say that he did some pretty hard work with them. Actually, I get similar marks on my hands when I do my metalworking. Still, the mare’s question was the perfect opportunity for me to take action.

“That is correct,” I told her as I slid onto one knee in front of her and enveloped one of her hands with both of mine. “I am a hunter of peace and I search for the elusive mayfly of love,” I proclaimed with as much dramatic weight as a high school production of a Shakespeare play. “I am a man that is always willing to risk his life for the sake of beautiful maidens. Maidens such as yourself,” I finished with a wink.

My actions caused a scarlet blush to form over her entire face and she started to stammer in a pretty adorable way. “Umm, I-I,” she got out before I was enveloped in a strange, blue light. I was then lifted off of the ground and I reacted by making swimming motions in the air in a vain attempt of escaping. I was then brought to hover in front of an irritated looking Luna.

“Vash, dost thou know how to behave thyself, or dost thou need us to teach you?” She asked as an oppressive air started to surround her.

‘Oh man, I could totally make a joke here about that sounding kinky. But I like my internal organs staying internal, so I think I’ll just keep my mouth shut for now.’

“I’m sorry, I’ll be a good little boy from now on,” I answered adopting a pathetic face and posture.

Luna rolled her eyes as she let her magical hold on me go causing me to fall onto the floor right on my face. “We doubt that thou art telling the truth but shall hold thee to it for now.”

“It seems thou art quite the lech,” Celestia said with a disapproving look.

I peeled my head from the floor and gave her my best smile. “I disapprove of such words to describe me. I prefer to say that I appreciate the beautiful ladies of the world in an enthusiastic way.”

“That doesn’t sound very different to me,” Luna replied with a frown.

“Well, lech has this negative connotation and some certain implications that do not fit me at all. I may be many things, but at the end of the day I truly do respect mares and would never act in a way that goes against their wishes.” I explained seriously.

My sudden change of attitude seemed to take everyone else by surprise because there was a silence that seemed to hang in the air for a while. Starswirl was the first to recover though and turned his attention towards Celestia and Luna. “My princesses, perhaps it is best if thee bathe and allow us to dress thine wounds. We should not let those fester.”

“Thou dost have a point,” Celestia said as she smiled at the older stallion. “Plus it shall be nice to get out of this broken armor.”

“Do not worry milady, I shall have new armor prepared for thee as quickly as I can,” The muscular stallion declared with a slight bow.

“We do not doubt that for a moment, Hammerfall,” Luna said with the first smile I had seen from her. “Thou art the greatest blacksmith we have ever known.”

“Thou does me too much honor milady.” With that the two princesses turned and walked out of the room. I was tempted to offer to wash their backs for them (as a joke of course) but I figured that I should stay quiet to avoid ruining any of the potential goodwill I had just earned. Once the princesses were out of earshot all three of the other ponies turned to me. The two stallions wore glares on their face while the mare still seemed to be nervous.

“Umm, hello I still don’t know all of your names so maybe we should introduce ourselves. I’m Vash.”

“I’m Starswirl the Bearded. I have been the princesses’ advisor and teacher for quite some time,” The unicorn wizard said.

“I am Hammerfall, I am a blacksmith,” the muscular stallion continued with his arms crossed over his chest, possibly in an attempt to intimidate me with his bulk.

“A-and I am Clover. I am Starswirl’s apprentice.”

“Well, it’s nice to meet the three of you,” I said with a grin.

“What art thine intentions with the two princesses?” Starswirl asked me suddenly.

“What do you mean?” 

“We hath seen the way you behave around mares, dost thou plan on using the princesses for some cheap thrill? Or worse, for their power?” Hammerfall demanded as he got into my face. I kept my head and let out a sigh as I tried to think of something to say. 

“I suppose that I’ve earned some skepticism. I mean, your two beloved princesses suddenly bring a creature with them that you’ve never seen before and he acts in a strange way. But please trust me when I say that I bear no ill will or nefarious intentions towards those two. In fact, for as long as I am in this world I promise that I will help you all defend Equestria. As I have said before I believe in peace and I will help you defend just that.”

“Hmm, well I hath practically raised those two mares, and I will not see any harm come to them.” I tensed as he said that and started to subtly look for an exit, thankful for my glasses hiding that. “But, they art my princesses and if they trust thee then I shall trust their decision.” I let out a large breath and slumped over in relief when he said that.

“Thank you for that, I will do my best to earn all of your trust.” I replied with a massive grin. “In fact, I might be able to help do that right now. Hammerfall, could you show me your forge?” 

Everyone quirked an eyebrow at that, but they did as I asked and showed me to the forge. I placed a hand on my chin and looked over the forge for a few minutes. “Hmm, this is a pretty good setup here, but it could be better.”

“What dost thou know about forges?” 

“I actually do a bit of metalworking myself so this is something I know about.”

I then explained a few changes that could be made to help heat circulation and increase the quality of the stuff forged in there. It took some time to convince Hammerfall of the changes, but in the end we had started with them when Celestia and Luna came back into the room. I turned away from the work to greet them and nearly had my breath taken away. 

Now, I wasn’t into the anthropomorphic animal scene back on Earth, but something about Celestia and Luna was different. Maybe it was because I was seeing something real in front of me as opposed to something on a screen. They were both in simple dresses that hid a majority of their wounds and for the first time allowed me to gauge their figure since their bulky armor was gone. Celestia was the curvier of the two with a large chest, wide hips, and what seemed to be quite the bootylicious posterior. Luna certainly wasn’t a slouch in those areas either, but her figure just seemed trimmer and more toned. And both of them would make any model back on Earth seethe with jealously. Another thing that took me by surprise were their manes. They were both moving as if there was a breeze in the room. Luna just seemed to let hers billow off one side of her head while Celestia kept one of her magenta colored eyes covered with hers.  I then turned back to the forge with tears streaming down my eyes.

“Vash, is something wrong?” Hammerfall asked me.

“Nothing, just realizing how lucky I was to have found two benevolent princesses like Celestia and Luna.  Hammerfall turned his head slightly and noticed what I had just looked at and started to glare at me. “What? Don’t you think they’re attractive?” Hammerfall flinched at that and returned to his work with slightly darkened cheeks. 

“Vash what art thou doing?” Celestia asked.

“I’m helping Hammerfall here with his work so we can make you even better armor,” I replied with a grin. “By the way, I’m glad to see that you two are looking much better.”

“Thank thee Vash, we feel much better. By the way, Starswirl has some things he wishes to discuss with all of us. Now, please come along. Thou can finish thine work later.

Celestia and Luna then led Hammerfall and I to a study of their little hideout and had us crowd around Starswirl as he was looking over a map. “It is good to see all of you. Clover and I hath been working on something for quite some time now. It seems that there is a large source of Harmony magic is radiating from this forest,” he explained as he pointed at a spot on the map. “We hath reason to believe that if we can harness this source of magic then we could be able to finally defeat Discord.”

“And what is the source of this magic?” Luna asked.

“We do not know for sure, but this may be the best hope we have.”

“Well then, let’s get going,” I said as I turned to walk out the door.

“Agreed, the sooner we can defeat Discord, the sooner my citizens can live in peace,” Celestia declared with determination in her eyes. Celestia, Luna and the others walked over to my side as we were swept up in the flash of white light signifying the teleportation spell that had brought me to that room earlier. 

When the light died down we appeared in front of a very familiar looking forest. I looked it over and slumped over when I scanned the area a bit and realized that it was in fact the same forest. Starswirl then took to the front of the group and looked over his shoulder at the rest of us. “Come now, the source of the magic is not too far.”

We all nodded and set off into the forest. I had my hand on my gun the entire time. The first time I was in the place I was taken by surprise by a monster and I wasn’t going to let the same thing happen twice. I wasn’t going to actually kill anything, but the noise and smoke from the gun would probably be enough to scare a lot of the things that could come after us. Fortunately, we were able to make it to some cave that Starswirl told us was the source of the magic.

We all walked into the cave and I felt my jaw drop when I saw what Starswirl told us was the source of the Harmony magic. It was a giant, crystalline, shining tree. I couldn’t feel the magic coming off of it like Starswirl or the princesses could, but one look could tell me everything I needed to know. This thing held power. It wasn’t an oppressive kind of power, it was more like a stream. It was a gentle yet constant force. Being in front of it was akin to a religious or spiritual experience. Looking at it closer showed me that there were three symbols on the trunk. One was a sun, another a moon and the final symbol was a strange star.

“Tis beautiful,” Luna said as she approached the tree.

“We agree, tis very beautiful,” Celestia agreed as she looked at the branches and lit up her horn with a golden aura that spread to the branches of the tree. “And if thine words are anything to go by Starswirl, then these should prove most helpful.”

“W-wait, should we really take those?” Clover asked as she stepped forward. “What if taking those hurts or worse, kills the tree?”

“That’s a good point,” I said. “I say for now we use these but what if Celestia and Luna build their castle close by here in order to protect and keep an eye on this tree?” I suggested as I looked over the group.

“That plan makes much sense,” Luna said with a nod. “We think we will do just that, sister?”

“Yes, we like this plan as well,” Celestia answered with a smile as she brought the multicolored jewels into her hands. When she did a sudden look of shock appeared on her face. “Oh my, Luna come over her and tell us if thee feels something. Luna walked over to her sister and took the pink jewel from her sister causing her own eyes to widen.

“Thou art right, sister. We feel… warmth and kindness emanating from this jewel.”

“The same rings true for the others,” Celestia explained. “Each of them gives us a different feeling. Perhaps these are the very essence of harmony?” She wondered aloud.

“That seems as good of a hypothesis as anything. Perhaps we should call them the Elements of Harmony.” Starswirl suggested.

“We like it, tis a fitting name for these. Now, let us go and take on Discord with these.”

“But milady, I am not finished with thine armor,” Hammerfall said.

“We appreciate the sentiment, but our armor did not last long against Discord in our last battle. We would hate to see thine work ruined so quickly once more. Besides we have a feeling that this will be our last battle with Discord, in one way or another.”

“Well then let’s get going Celestia and Luna! We’ve got a spirit of chaos to defeat!” I cheered before the weight of Celestia’s words could sink in.

“What art thou talking about, Vash?” Luna asked as she tilted her head. 

“Remember what I said Luna, this isn’t over until we draw our last breath. I’m coming with you. I don’t know if I’ll be of any help, but I’m going to try.”

This actually caused both of the princesses to smile at me. “Very well, Vash. Thou shall come with us,” Luna said.

> This Land is Made of...
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	 After I had made my declaration we were soon gone in a flash of light once more. Celestia, Luna and I then appeared in a field overlooking a small valley. And I didn’t like what we were seeing. It seemed that Discord had been busy in the short time that we had been away and had turned the world upside down, literally in some places. In others it seemed like he had turned the ground plaid and was causing rain to fall upwards. I scratched the side of my head as I scanned the landscape.

“Well, I think we’re going in the right direction.”

“Thou art right. We must end this reign of chaos,” Celestia stated as she glared at the chaotic scene.

“We agree, we will finally be free from this nightmare.” Luna continued as she clenched her fists.

“Well then,” I started as I adjusted my glasses, “let’s do this. We’re not going to accomplish anything if we just stand here all day.”

Celestia and Luna nodded and we made our way towards the source of the chaos. My mind was racing a mile a minute with thoughts on what we were about to do. What if we failed? Discord showed us that he was more than willing to kill the last time we saw him. I glanced down at the revolver at my side while my right hand hovered over it and started to think.

‘What if the elements aren’t enough to defeat Discord completely? The three of us would have to fight him. And considering that he has no qualms with killing we might have to… No! Whatever happens I will not let us kill Discord. I will do whatever I can to prevent that from happening.’

I then clenched my fist just above the grip of my revolver and stared into the distance. One of the things I had admired about the real Vash was the lengths he went through to prevent killing his opponents. Even though it damaged his body and left him scarred. I wanted to be at least half the man he was. These thoughts continued to swirl around my head as we marched toward Discord.

As we continued to walk I noticed that things seemed to be getting crazier and crazier the further we went. Trees seemed to have random objects blooming from trees like fruit, a few flowers were wearing horned helmets and singing an opera, and a number of things that hurt my head just looking at them. We eventually reached the center of the madness to see Discord sitting on a floating throne while he happily munched away at a bag of something that sort of looked like black, unpopped popcorn kernels. He was giggling to himself while he watched his handiwork unfold. When he did finally did notice us he glanced down at us with a shit-eating grin.

“Ooh, if it isn’t the two princesses and the “brave warrior” that challenged me,” he called out with a laugh. “Have you three come back for more?” He asked as he pointed his bag at us and hit us in the face with a few of the seeds, which we didn’t bother to react to. “I certainly hope so, that thing you did with your weapon was hilarious. I almost want to keep you here as my jester.” Discord finished with a grin.

I just grinned and crossed my arms over my chest while I responded with, “There’s no way that this is going to play out like last time. Your reign is at an end Discord! Now, Celestia and Luna, do your thing!” I called out as I stepped aside for the two princesses to use their newly acquired elements on the giggling chaos spirit. They both gave me an odd look as they turned towards me.

“Vash, what art thou doing? Aren’t thou going to help us with the elements?” Celestia asked.

“Uh, okay.” I said with a nod as I stood between the two. The mention of the elements peaked Discord’s interest and caused him to lean forward in his throne with a manic grin.

“Ooh the plot seems to be thickening. What are these elements you’re all talking about? Do you think you’ll really be able to stop me with them? Because I’d love to see you try.”

My grin just seemed to widen when he said that. “Alright, but you might just want to give up now.” I boasted. “If you behave yourself we might even let you off easy with community service.” This caused Discord to glare to at me with his eyes while his mouth was still grinning at me.

“I think I’ll take my chances.”

“Well,” I replied with a shrug, “don’t say we didn’t warn you.”

I then nodded to Celestia and Luna and they held the elements in their magic and had them float around us in a circle. “Okay, now what should we do?” I whispered to Luna.

“We do not know for sure, but we suggest letting the feelings from the elements flow through thee. The feelings we hath been getting from them are: magic, kindness, generosity, laughter, honesty and loyalty.”

“Okay, but we probably should’ve figured out how to work these before we rushed to fight the thing that can bend reality over the proverbial table,” I pointed out with the prescriptive lenses of hindsight. Luna tensed up a bit at that, probably because I had made a good point. But in the end Luna just had a steely expression on her face and stood firmly.

“Thou art not wrong, but we cannot worry about that now.”

I nodded and the three of us closed our eyes as we reached into ourselves to let the feelings from the elements flow from and into us. It was a sort of surreal feeling. One that sort of escaped description, or at least the entirety of what I was feeling at the moment. All I really know was that I felt a warmth in the entirety of my being, and I felt like I was floating. All of a sudden, the elements started to spin around us and glow in a blur of colors. Just when it seemed like there was no stopping them, they stopped. Two of each of the elements were floating in front of us. In front of me were the red and the blue jewels, Luna had the orange and the pink jewel in front of her, and Celestia had the two purple jewels in front of her. Then the elements started to glow with more intensity and the warm, floaty feeling intensified as well. I couldn’t resist breaking out into a wild grin as this happened and looked up at Discord.

“Before we defeat you Discord there is something you must know.” I told him with determination.

“And what would that be?” He asked with a slightly irritated huff.

“This land is made of…

"This land is made of?" Discord questioned

"LOVE AND PEACE!” I cried as I struck a pose and two twirling rainbows shot out of the elements. The two rainbows flew into the air before combining into one and flying back down right into Discord. As soon as the beam struck Discord he started to slowly turn into stone. Discord’s eyes widened in genuine terror as he tried to escape what was happening to him. In the end he threw up his arms and opened his mouth to scream just as he completely turned to stone. Once this was done, Discord’s magic faded from the land and his statue landed to the ground with a dull thud. I let out a sigh of relief and craned my head to look at the now normal scenery of the area. The elements stopped glowing and Celestia and Luna had them return to their sides. They then walked up to Discord’s statue with hard to read expressions on their face.

“It seems this ordeal is finally over,” Celestia stated as a look of relief came over her face.

“Yes, though we do not like that it appears as though Discord is still laughing at us.”

I walked up to the two princesses and placed a hand on their shoulders. “Yeah but we’ll know the truth, Discord was doing anything but laughing at the end. This caused their lips to curl up and they nodded at me.

“Thou art right Vash, but what should we do with Discord? He may break free of this prison and return to cause more mischief,” Luna inquired.

“Well considering he’s basically a statue now, I say we put him on a lawn and treat him like a glorified ornament.” Celestia started to giggle at this and she looked at me with mirth in her eyes.

“We like this idea. It seems like a fitting punishment and a good way to keep an eye on him.”

“Well, should we tell the good news to the others?” I asked.

The two nodded and we disappeared into a flash of light. We showed the group the statue of Discord and this caused them to break out into cheers. Our celebration lasted well into the night and by the end of it I was feeling pretty drained after everything that had happened. I decided that I would take a bath to help me relax. I walked into the bathroom and was greeted by a fairly primitive wash basin. I let out a sigh as I pulled up on my red duster.

‘Really should’ve been expecting this considering the “Ye Olde” speaking that everyone has going on. If only there was a dashing, young engineer that could help modernize this society so I don’t have to use a chamber pot. Oh well, too bad there isn’t anyone like that in this world.’ 

I snickered a bit at that thought and closed my eyes as I carefully placed my glasses on a nearby stool. I then peeled off my gloves and threw them on the growing pile of clothes. I was just about to reach for my pants when I felt something strange as my right hand brushed against my left arm. I felt a cold, metal surface instead of the, fleshy, squishy feeling I was used to. I slowly opened my eyes and saw that my left arm was indeed made of metal. Being the Trigun fan that I was, I of course noticed that this looked exactly like Vash’s arm. I could feel a scream start to form deep in my chest, but I swallowed it down.

‘Okay, there is no need to freak out.’ I thought with a nervous chuckle. ‘I bet this is just part of my costume. I bet I can just peel it off and see my real arm right underneath it.’ I attempted to do just that, but it seemed that there was no way to remove what I thought was just a metal covering. After a few more fruitless tugs I decided to give up on that idea. ‘Okay, apparently I’ve been sent to another world and somebody stole my goddamned arm! Why would they even do that!? I wonder… does this thing…” Just as I was thinking that, my arm suddenly shifted and revealed that there was a gun barrel hidden within… just like Vash’s. This was the straw that broke the camel’s back for me and I suddenly passed out, my mind collapsing from all the insanity I had been exposed to in such a short time frame.

Once I had woken up from my impromptu nap I quickly bathed and walked out of the building we were staying in and stepped out to get a breath of fresh air and to think about everything that was going on with my life at the moment. I sat down on a nearby hill just to look up at the stars for a while. I don’t know how long I was sitting on that hill before I heard the sound of approaching footsteps… or I guess hoofsteps. I turned back to see Luna looking down at me.

“Vash, what art thou doing out at this late hour?” She asked softly.

“I could ask you the same thing.” I told her with a weak grin.

“We art the princess of the moon and night. We art used to being up at this time of night. But, what art thou doing up?”

“I was just looking up at the stars and thinking about some things.”

Luna sat down beside me and looked up at the same patch of sky that I was. “Wast thou thinking of thine home and family?” She asked carefully.

I looked down at my now gloved left hand and clenched it. “A little, I’m sure they must be worried sick about me.” I said trying to fight back some tears. 

Luna looked uncomfortable for a moment but she steeled herself and hesitantly wrapped a wing around my back. I was stunned by this action and couldn’t find any words at that moment. Luna was a lot less friendly toward me than this, but I found the gesture oddly calming. “We art confident that Starswirl will find a way to return thee to thine home. But if he does not… then know that thou shalt always have a place here. Thou art our friend Vash, and we would not be here without thee.”

A small smile worked its way onto my face and I wrapped an arm around Luna’s shoulders and gave her a little squeeze. “Thanks Luna, that means a lot to me.” My look then turned into a sultry one as I turned towards her and cupped her chin with my other hand. “But mayhaps we could work on becoming more than friends my fair princess?” I asked as I leaned in towards her with closed eyes. Just as I was a hair’s breadth away from her lips I could feel myself being lifted off of the ground. When I opened my eyes I was greeted by a furious looking Luna.

“Try to steal a kiss from our lips one more time and we shall see thee gelded. Do we make ourselves clear?” She growled as she held me up in her magic. I covered my crotch with my hands and nodded emphatically. She then stormed off with a huff and dropped me right onto my face. I peeled my face off of the grass and watched her as she left. I let out a sigh and leaned my cheek onto my right arm.

“I do so love when they play hard to get.” I said with a wistful look on my face. I then called out, “I will win you yet my queen of the night! Your lips will be mine for the kissing!”

Without even turning to me she shot back, “Brazen fool!”

The next day we set back out into the forest with a crew of workers and started the construction of Celestia and Luna’s castle. I helped out as much as I could, even if most of the workers seemed to be uncomfortable around me. The building took a few months even with the help of everyone’s magic, but in the end we had a fantastic looking castle for the princesses to call home. When everything was completed our ragtag little group looked over the new castle.

“This castle is quite the sight,” Starswirl beamed. “What should it be called?”

“I believe it should be called the Castle of the Two Sisters,” Hammerfall suggested. “Considering who shall be ruling from it.”

We all nodded at that and Clover spoke up with, “Um, what about the forest? If we are going to put the princesses’ castle here, shouldn’t we name it too?”

“How about the Everfree Forest. Because from here we’ll proclaim that the citizens of Equesrtria shall be forever free!” I exclaimed with a grin.

“We like it, and we shall try to live up to this proclamation.” Celestia said.

With all of that settled we walked into the castle to begin our roles now that we had defeated Discord. Celestia and Luna would be the princesses of the day and night respectively, and hold their own courts. Starswirl would be their advisor and court mage with Clover as his apprentice, and Hammerfall and I would work in the forge and help to modernize Equestria.

A few days later I was walking down the halls of the castle and was considering what to do with my day off. My thoughts of course drifted towards the two princesses that were my best friends. I hadn’t made any real advances toward them since that night with Luna and considered correcting that. Before my mind could wander into fantasies of grand, romantic gestures to win them over I was struck on the head by something. I looked around to see if anyone had decided to be funny and throw something at me but I was alone in the hallway. I then looked down and saw a black and green cylinder on the ground. I leaned down and picked it up and the instant I did a message started to play.

I am the changer of shape, seeking to understand the many forms of life. Call for the man of many shapes during your hour of need and I will come, a one man army. Activate the cylinder and in a flash I’ll be ready to clash.

> And Then There Was a Crossover
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	I looked at the strange, metal cylinder in my hand and regarded it with disbelief. I had no idea what the message could mean. Was there really some truth in those rumors? Were the others who had disappeared from conventions in worlds similar to the one I had found myself in? I had to admit, the idea of finding someone else to talk to about all this did sound like a blessing. Though a part of me considered it might be too good to be true. In the end I decided to take it to Celestia and Luna and investigate it with them. I figured that if this was an elaborate trap, then the three of us would be able to handle it. 

I walked down the halls of the Princesses’ new castle, staring at the cylinder all the while. The more I thought about it the more my curiosity grew. Before I knew it I was standing in front of the doors to the throne room. I pushed the doors aside and walked up to the thrones to see that Celestia was holding her day court. I decided to use my authority and walked past the citizens to go straight to her.

“Vash, we are pleased to see thee,” she greeted with her usual grin. “Though we are surprised that thou hast pushed past our citizens who art looking for help. What has caused this odd behavior?”

“Well, Celestia, something strange has happened and I’d like to see if you and Luna would be willing to help me investigate.”

“Considering we defeated Discord not too long ago, define strange.”

“Strange as in a strange object appearing in front of me with a message from someone saying they’re willing to help,” I explained as I held up the cylinder for her to see.

“We shall wake Luna at once. This certainly is strange.”

Luna was a bit cranky at first but she understood once Celestia and I explained everything and the three of us gathered in the library to examine the cylinder further. Luna picked it up off of one of the tables and rolled the cylinder around in her hands.

“This… thing seems to be made of metal, but it looks to have been forged with techniques that we have never seen.”

“True, it does truly boggle the mind,” Celestia agreed with a nod as she frowned slightly at the foreign object. “Vash, thou art from another world, hast thou seen anything like this there?”

I took the object from Luna and pointed to the symbol on it. “Yeah, this symbol is something I’ve seen before but I’d only seen it from a story, not in real life.”

“Well explain the story to us, how would the device work there?” Luna asked.

“Well, if you pressed down on the symbol something is supposed to happen,” I explained as I slammed my palm against the symbol in demonstration. “But that was just a story so nothing should happen.” All of a sudden the cylinder started to react causing me to drop it in shock.

It gave off a bright flash, being replaced by two arguing creatures. One was a quadruped, with an insectoid body while the other appeared to be a human male.

“You invaded a freaking town! Do you know how insane that is?” the human shouted, throwing his hands out.

“I did what I had to do to keep Rarity safe from a cult!” the ‘insect’ shouted back, her voice oddly echoing. “It’s not my fault you went gallivanting to the Empire!”

“I was helping Son...” he paused, turning to look at us, his eyes a little wide, “Oh uh... hey...”

“Oh great, Displaced,” the female said with a snort, “That’s just what we need right now.”

“Forgive us... we were uh... having a bit of a spat...” the human said, coughing a little, “I’m Jason and this is my wife Chrysalis.”

“Charmed,” Chrysalis said with a scowl.

I didn’t quite know how to respond for a moment. There was quite a bit to process in the thirty seconds these two had been in the room. One being that this guy Jason had said that he was married to this strange, bug-horse. Then again she seemed intelligent enough and whatever made the two of them happy and all that. I collected myself and put on my best grin.

“Hello, I’m Vash and these are my friends…”

“We already know that they’re Celestia and Luna,” Chrysalis interrupted as she held up a hoof to stop me.

“Just uh... bit weirded out by the whole anthro thing,” Jason said, giving the two an uncertain look.

I just shrugged and kept up my grin. “Hey, they certainly beat that manticore I ran into when I first woke up here. Oh and Discord, these two are definitely normal compared to him.” Celestia and Luna frowned at me for that comment and I let out a nervous chuckle before turning back to Jason. “So, what’s up with the two of you being here? And did Chrysalis say something about a Displaced or something?” I asked as I scratched the side of my head.

“You my friend are a Displaced,” Jason said, turning to me, “You dressed up as Vash The Stampede, went to a con, bought something from some creepy guy and ended up here, am I right?”

I pulled out my gun and looked at it for a moment before holstering it. “I might’ve, oh and there was this creepy smiling guy who gave me a sales pitch about the merchant’s stall, is that part par for the course too?” I asked

“No,” Jason said, shaking his head, “Never heard of a smiling guy involved with the Merchant,” he said with a shrug. “But uh... you said Discord right? You didn’t happen to just seal him away did you?” Chrysalis smirked before Jason shot her a look, “Don’t you dare Chrissy.”

“Killjoy...” she mumbled, looking away with a pout.

“Anyway uh...” Jason paused again, giving me a look, “You... you realize you're no longer human right?”

I gripped my metal left arm and my eyes widened in shock. My thoughts from days before ringing in my head. I knew I had changed, the arm and my new height were testament enough to that, but not being human anymore… some part of me just didn’t see that. Of course I did my best to hide my shock with a grin. “Okay, that certainly is hard to believe, but maybe you should explain?” I suggested with a laugh.

“You BECAME your costume,” Jason started, walking over, “Vash is not human, he is a Plant, which is what you are now,” he held up his right arm, which had a watch like device on it. It chirped, passing a yellow light over me. “Yup, you ain't human.”

Celestia and Luna’s eyes widened in shock at this revelation but I just stood there with the same grin. Of course that was just the outside. On the inside my mind had come to a screeching halt. If I had really become my costume then that meant I had all of Vash’s abilities. [All of them. So I kept up my grin and walked over to Jason and put a hand on his shoulder.

“Hey, do you mind if I have a brief chat with you in private?” I asked. Jason nodded and we walked deeper into the library. Once I thought we were far enough away from the others I leaned towards him and started to whisper. “Were you serious back there? About me becoming my costume?”

“Yes I am serious,” Jason said, looking into my eyes, “You're a Displaced, one of Yggdrasil knows how many. There's a Nemesis, great guy by the way, a Pyramid Head, a Jesse and James, a Mewtwo, you name it, there's a Displaced for it.”

“And when you say that I became my costume, do you mean what I think you mean?”

“You are Vash, down to the genetic level,” he held up his arm, “I got lucky, I just bought this thing, doesn’t make my life any less insane,” he muttered, running a hand through his hair. “Also, you should count yourself lucky, normally when a Displaced gets sent to this time period, they get sealed in stone like Discord.”

I was starting to get a little annoyed. I dropped my grin and turned serious for a moment. “Okay, but there’s one more thing I need to know. If I really am Vash down to the genetic level, then does that mean…” I asked as I gripped my right arm, hoping he’d get the picture.

“Yes, that’s what that means,” Jason said, crossing his arms, “You best learn how to use it before you put a hole in the moon.”

My mind screeched to a halt, something that was happening constantly since I had woken up in this world. If I really did have the angel arm, then there was no telling what could happen. And considering this was a world filled with magic users who could potentially do something to my mind. It seemed like it was only a matter of time before one of them caused it to fire. Flashes of images came unbidden into my mind. Scenes of destruction and horrified citizens as they wept over what had once been their homes. I pulled out my revolver and glared at it for a moment. Maybe if I just destroyed it, I would never have to worry about anything like that happening. Surely it was more trouble than it was worth?

“Hey,” Jason said, giving me a light smack, “I bet you’re thinking about losing the arm huh? Don’t.” he said, looking intently into my eyes, “This world has some insane shit in it, you are going to need that arm.”

“And what if something happens and I lose control?” I spat at him. “Would you want to have the destruction of an entire city on your conscience?”

“Would you want a soul sucking demon from the pits of hell stealing the very magic from these ponies?” he countered, “Because that will happen and you will need a way to stop him. But,” he said, his gaze softening, “I can help.”

“Yeah, you said that in your message. And if that watch is what I think it is then I know exactly how you would help. And you’re wrong about me needing this arm. I’ve seen what Celestia, Luna and many other ponies can do. But,” I said with a sigh, “I’ll hold off on doing anything too rash,” I told him as my face returned to its normal grin. “After all, this is the only organic arm I have left,” I started with a chuckle and devious smirk. “I don’t even want to think what alone time would be like with a metal prosthetic.”

“I know someone you could ask,” Jason said with a laugh. ”But anyway, hey!” Jason called out to Celestia and Luna, “I need to get some things, mostly metals, a forge and your best mage.”

Celestia and Luna looked between each other with an odd look. “And what dost thou plan on doing with these things?” Luna asked carefully.

“I’m going to make Vash a power regulator,” Jason said, crossing his arms, “I’d just conjure one up as Hodgepodge but I don’t think you guys want to see another Draconequus at the moment.”

“I’ll let you do that, I’ll stay here with Lulu and Tia,” Chrysalis said with a smirk, “I bet they’d love so see what our versions of them are like, wouldn’t you?” she asked, looking at Celestia.

I walked up to Jason and put a hand on his shoulder. “I’ll help you with the power regulator. This is to help me after all. Besides, I know my way around a forge and I’m sure that I can figure out anything I don’t understand.” I told him with my grin.

“We still need someone well versed in magic,” Jason said, shaking his head, “I’d get Twilight but... she won’t be born for a few centuries...” he mumbled, stroking his chin, “Is uh... Starswirl here?”

“Yup, he’s one of Celestia and Luna’s advisors and their Court Mage. Do you want Clover’s help too, or will he be enough?” I asked.

“I think they’ll do fine,” he said, nodding, “Omnitrix, Grey Matter,” he vanished in a flash, being replaced by a small grey creature, “Well let’s get started,” he said, leaping up onto my shoulder.

I led Jason to Starswirl and Clover’s study and explained the situation to them. It took some time to get Clover to stop panicking, but Starswirl and I were able to calm her down quickly enough. Once we were done with explanations I led the group down to my and Hammerfall’s forge area using one of the secret slides I had insisted on putting in to get there quickly, and to think Luna called my secret passages stupid and childish. Once we were in the forge I let Jason down onto a table and gave him some parchment and quills so he could start sketching and explaining what we were supposed to do.

“And don’t ask me to explain this stuff,” Jason said after he had finished with the sketching, “I just... do things as Grey Matter, I don't really understand it all myself. I need you,” he pointed at me, “to get the metal ready and you,” he pointed at Starswirl, “I need you to enchant some storage crystals.” He looked up at us with a little glare. “Well? Get on with it!”

“Yeesh, you’re pushy when you’re in this form,” I told him as I picked up the sketch and went to get the necessary materials. 

I then took off my duster and put on my metalworking apron over the tunic that Celestia’s seamstress had made for me. I then started to whistle a little tune to myself as I grabbed the metal and my tools. I put them down in a neat and orderly way and turned to my forge with a grin. I lit a fire at the base of the forge and allowed it to heat up for a moment while I decided where to start on my end. I stopped my thought process for a moment to see how Starswirl was doing on his end.

He was dutifully enchanting the crystals as instructed and was even explaining the proper way to do it to Clover. Every once in a while Clover would nod and follow her master’s example. I had to smile as I watched the two of them. Starswirl was definitely the type to turn anything into a lesson. Kind of like a magical Mr. Miyagi… except without the whole tricking Clover into doing chores for him at the same time thing... well, as far as I knew anyway. With that thought out of the way I then turned back to my work and started on heating up the metal.

Jason was off in the corner, fiddling with some wires, his little hands moving like lightning. “You know... last time I did something like this, I was making a friend a new pair of legs.”

“I’m afraid to ask, but why did they need a new pair of legs?” I asked.

“She got them cut off by a crazed dictator while saving my life,” he said, his voice getting dark. “I turned him into paste.”

I nodded at his response. “I can understand that. But there was a reason why I picked this costume above all the god-like entities that pop culture has to offer. I never want to take a life. I personally believe that it’s not my place to say who gets to live or die, no matter how bad they may be.” I told Jason with determination in my eyes.

“You're a better man than I,” he admitted, letting out a sigh. “Me? I’m a warrior to the end, I’ll die in battle, or at least I hope. I have Yggdrasil knows how long to work that out.”

I started to laugh at Jason’s response. “Me, a better man? Not really, I just have a moral compass that I learned from a tv show that I watched years ago. I can guarantee you that I wanted to kill Discord when I saw what he had done to Celestia and Luna in their first battle. I just don’t act on those urges,” I finished with a shrug.

“He’s actually a nice guy, at least mine is,” Jason said, looking up from his work, “Got himself a rather nice mare. Still a bit of an annoyance though.” He went back to his work, mumbling to himself about things I couldn’t really comprehend.

I found that hard to believe but I ignored it.

“They have a kid on the way.” he added, pausing to wipe the sweat off his brow.

My mind then drifted off to see an image of Discord holding a half-pony half… whatever he was abomination. And then I realized that he had been naked when we had fought him and he didn’t seem to have… I stopped myself before I could go any further with that train of thought and turned away from my work to look Jason in the eye.

“Who in their right mind would want to have a kid with Discord?”

“The Element of Kindness,” Jason spoke up. “She reformed him and they hooked up. I’d say ponies changed him for the better.”

The Element of Kindness part confused me but I ignored that part as I turned back to my work with a smile. “Well that’s odd, but I guess that just makes me all the more adamant about my position on killing. If even Discord can be reformed, then anyone can,” I beamed.

“Well, I’m done here,” he said hopping off his table. He moved over to Starswirl and Clover, tapping the Omnitrix and shifting into a four legged unicorn. “You need any help?” he asked, though the voice of Bob Dylan left his lips.

“We are almost done here as well. Perhaps, Vash would like thy help?” Starswirl suggested.

“Hey, I can handle things just fine here!” I called out. “This just takes a lot of time otherwise the metal will be too weak and break with a stiff breeze.”

“Okay then,” Jason said as he reverted to normal. The Omnitrix chirped, passing a yellow light over Starswirl. “Alright, was not expecting that to happen, but I suppose the DNA of an anthro pony is different enough from the four legged kind to warrant a scan... I should totally get one of Celestia or Luna...”

This caught my attention and I quirked an eyebrow at him. “And why do you want a scan of one of them? If you already have a scan of something like Discord then you wouldn’t need their magic. Or is there something else about their form that interests you?” I asked as I slid over to him with a devious smirk.

“I’m married,” he said flatly, “But I scan everything I can. Never know what forms will come in handy, plus if any of them go extinct, the Omnitrix can bring them back from their DNA.”

“I know, I just felt like messing with you. Plus, I don’t know what you and your wife do behind closed doors,” I said with a chuckle. “From the sound of things it seems like both of you can change your shape, who knows how crazy the two of you get.”

“Yeah, me, Chrissy and Rarity do get into some kinky stuff,” he said leaning on the wall with a slight grin.

My eyes widened as he said that. “Wait a minute when you say that do you mean… are you?” I asked unable to complete my sentence.

“Polygamus? Yup,” he said with a nod, “Wedding was awesome... at least after we stopped Ansem from eating the world. Had a bunch of other Displaced there for the ceremony,” he turned to me, “On the subject of Displaced, you should probably make a token.”

I then placed an arm around his shoulder with a grin. “This token thing can come later, I have a very important question to ask. Polygamy may be accepted in your world, but what do you think are the chances that it’s accepted here?” I whispered to him.

“You’d have to ask,” he said with a shrug, “But, you need to know something, something very, very, very important,” he looked into my eyes, a dark look forming on his face. “Elements from Trigun will appear in this universe, most likely? You’ll have to fight a version of Knives.”

This caused the grin on my face to falter and I let out a sigh. “You couldn’t just let me have my fantasy of having a group of wives with Celestia, Luna and who knows how many other of the beautiful mares that live in this world. Still, I’ll keep that in mind. Thanks for the warning.”

“Hey, I’m just looking out for you,” Jason said, pulling away, popping up the dial of his Omnitrix. “Now... I have a Plant scan I have to try out and name.”

“Well, have fun with that,” I said with a sigh as I silently agreed with Chrysalis about Jason being a killjoy. “By the way, I’m almost done with the metal so we can finish up this power regulator whenever you’re ready.”

“Well, let’s get on with that first,” he said, shifting back into Grey Matter. He hopped up onto his table and grabbed whatever he had been working on, jumping over to Starswirl and Clover. “Just waitin’ on you,” he said, looking at me.

“Alright, don’t get your tiny panties in a twist,” I told him as I put the finishing touches on the metal and held it out for him. “Now do your thing. I’m curious on how this is going to turn out.”

He gave a little smirk, starting to put it all together, his hands a blur. “Alright, it’s done,” he said, holding up a crystal studded arm band, “Now let me see your arm.”

I did as he said as he asked and held out my right arm for Jason to see. “So, this will help me prevent… that from happening?” I asked.

“Yup,” he said, jumping up onto my arm, attaching the ring above my elbow, “See, when you power up the arm, the crystals will absorb it and activate the dampening spell inside them, preventing any more energy from gathering. You may need to replace the crystals at some point but I don’t think Swirl over there would mind.”

“Of course not,” Starswirl said with a nod. “If this will truly help Vash then I’d be more than happy to offer up my assistance. Though, may I ask why we are making something like this for Vash? He has no magic that one would normally need a dampening spell like this.”

“You want to tell him?” Jason asked, looking up at me, making some more adjustments to the band.

I turned to Starswirl with a smile and told him, “If this works like it’s supposed to, then you won’t ever have to find out. Now, please don’t tell Celestia and Luna about this. I don’t want to worry them over what should be nothing.”

Starswirl didn’t seem to like that answer, but he accepted it and gave a slight nod.

“That should do it,” Jason said, jumping to the floor and reverting to normal, “Well, anything else you need any help with?”

“No,” I said as I looked over the band. “The castle is finished and things have been pretty quiet ever since we defeated Discord. Actually, you could explain that token thing now. That sounded like it was important.”

“Every Displaced has a token, it lets other Displaced summon us. This includes guys who decided to become monsters and psychopaths,” Jason started. “We each make our token out of something to represents us, mine is a Unitrix core.”

I reached into my pocket and pulled out one of my bullets. “Will this work?”

“Anything will work.”

“Okay, so what am I supposed to do now? Is there like a magic word or something to make it work?”

“Just focus on it and make a phrase. Something like your mission statement,” Jason explained, “And don’t make it something stupid like Wade, his phrase is just pathetic.”

I grinned at him as I tried to focus on the bullet. “I make no promises.” I told him before I started on my message. “I am Vash the Stampede. I am a hunter of peace. If you fight to defend peace and the lives of others then I will be more than willing to help. Just call on me and together we will create… LOVE AND PEACE!” I cried as I struck a pose. With the message finished I then turned to Jason with a goofy smile. “How was that?”

“A lot better than Wade’s,” Jason said with a smirk, “Now we just have to send that out into the multiverse.”

“And how do we do that?”

“I’m going to change into Hodgepodge, for the love of Yggdrasil do not put my ass in stone,” he said, shifting into an almost exact copy of Discord, though his eyes were green. 

“Hi!” Hodgepodge said with a big grin, taking my hand and shaking it vigorously. 

I didn’t let this bother me and just shook his hand, returning the shake with as much enthusiasm as Hodgepodge. “I’m guessing your personality changes with some of your forms, huh?” I asked curiously.

“Nope!” he said with a laugh, “I’m an entirely separate person! He needs someone to help him run Alien X so the watch created me! Anyway, we have to get that token of yours out there or you’ll only be able to do incoming crossovers.”

“What was that?”

“Oh, nothing you could comprehend,” he said, grabbing the token and looking it over, “Not bad,” he drew his lion paw back before punching the air, which shattered and revealed a black abyss behind it. He flung the bullet through the hole, “Bah! I was aiming for a screwball, not a sidewinder,” he pouted, crossing his arms.

“I think you already have enough of a screwball in that head of yours.” I told him with a chuckle.

“Oh hush, you,” he snorted, flicking my head. “Don’t incur the wrath of the meme god.”

This just caused my grin to widen. “Oh please, I bet you skip leg day.”

“Do you even lift bro?” he asked, narrowing his eyes. 

I narrowed my eyes at him as well and the two of us continued to stare one another down for a while. But then I burst out laughing and doubled over and looked up at Hodgepodge with a grin. 

“Heh,” he laughed, giving me a smile in return, “You’re alright Mr. Stampede. Now we have a Plant form to name, wanna help?”

I picked myself up and scratched my chin in thought. “Hmm, well the only two were named Vash and Knives. So maybe something weapon based like Knives’ name would work?” I suggested.

“Actually, there were more in the manga, Domina, Telsa and uh... give me a moment...” he said, pulling out a copy of said manga. He skimmed through a few pages, “Ah, it was Chronica.” he said, tossing the book aside, which exploded into snow.

“Okay, so Telsa sounds similar to Tesla who was a famous scientist and inventor who dealt with electricity. And considering Plant is another term for places that make energy maybe something dealing with an inventor or energy could work?”

“Hmm.... how’s about Gram?” he asked, tapping his chin.

“I like it, it’s short, and is based off of someone who changed the world.” I said with a thumbs up. “Now I’m kind of curious what this Plant form looks like. I mean, it is based off of my DNA after all,” I finished with a chuckle.

“Let’s see shall we?” he asked, tapping the Omnitrix and shifting forms again. Standing there was a young man with blonde hair, decked out in a green body suit. 

“Well now,” he spoke with the voice of Clint Eastwood. “This is something.” He flexed his fingers, looking himself over. “Not very imaginative with the clothes however.”

‘I’ve got to try something,’ I thought. I reached out with my mind to see if Jason’s new form had a telepathic link like Vash and Knives had. ‘Gram, can you hear me, or can I make jokes about you and not get you angry? Starting with the fact that your new form isn’t even half as handsome as I am.’

‘Don’t make me shift into my Mewtwo form, Vash,’ Jason said, crossing his arms and giving me an unamused look.

‘Hi Vash!’ Hodgepodge called over the link.

I beamed at this discovery. ‘This is so cool, do you think you have the telekinesis like Knives? Or no considering there’s no canonical instance of Vash himself using it? Oh, and hi Hodgepodge, how did you get on this frequency?’

‘We all share the same mind ya tit!’ an irritated British voice responded.

‘Hey, there’s no need to use something so beautiful as an insult. Also, which form is that? And why is it so British?’

“That’s Hughes,” Jason said, shaking his head. “I think it’s time we got going Vash, me and Chrysalis have to have a frank talk about her decision to invade a town.” He tapped the Omnitrix, returning to normal.

“Okay, it was nice meeting you, and thanks for everything,” I said as I extended a hand for him to shake. “If you ever want my help with anything, just call me. I’m a full-fledged Displaced after all.”

“I’m not leaving right this moment, I still have to collect Chrissy,” Jason said with a laugh, taking my hand anyway. “Shall we?” he asked, giving it a shake.

“Way to ruin the moment ya big killjoy. Fine, let’s go find your wife so you can get the hell out of my dimension,” I told him with a good natured smirk.

“Yeah, yeah,” he said, moving toward the exit, “Nice meeting you two,” he called to Starswirl and Clover.

They waved back and said their goodbyes, though I’m fairly sure a part of them was glad to see our confounding visitor leave. I then led him through the castle and back towards the library hoping that the three mares were still there. When we arrived we saw that they were, in fact, still there, though Chrysalis seemed to be in the form of a quadruped version of Luna and was trying to get a rise out of the two of them.

“You two are no fun,” Chrysalis said with a snort, reverting to her normal form in a burst of green flame. “Oh hey, Jay.” She trotted over to her husband, giving him a nuzzle.

“Don’t think I’m not still mad at you,” he said, stroking her mane. “Well... it was fun.”

“Yeah, it was. Like I said earlier, thanks for everything. It was nice meeting the both of you. And hey, maybe I’ll meet your counterpart, Chrysalis.” I suggested with a grin.

“I don’t have a counterpart,” Jason said, moving over to Celestia, taking a quick scan, “Some advice Celestia? Make peace with the Changelings as soon as you possibly can, it’ll do wonders for both your kingdoms. Also, don’t screw up Sunset.”

“We will be sure to follow that first bit of advice, but who is this Sunset of which thou speakest? Or art thou insinuating that we cannot do our job with the sun?” she asked with a glare.

“I’m not insinuating that you suck at your job, what I’m telling you is that, one day you’ll meet a filly named Sunset. You’ll know her, don’t screw her up,” he said cryptically before turning to me. “To get us out of your hair, all ya gotta do is say, ‘Jason, our contract is complete.’” He put his arm around Chrysalis, looking at me.

“Jason, our contract is complete. Now get out and stay out,” I told him with a smirk.

Jason just smirked before he and Chrysalis vanished in a flash of light, their token falling to the floor. I reached down, picked it up, and smiled. Jason was probably going to be the first of many interesting characters that I would meet in Equestria.


> The Captain of the Guard
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Time passed after Jason’s surprise visit and things continued to be peaceful. Celestia handled the day court and Luna handled the night court, though not that many ponies ever showed up to it. Considering I was a bit of a night owl I would usually spend some time with her there. Surprisingly, I didn’t hit on her all that much. Most of the time during that time was just the two of us talking about whatever came to mind. Luna seemed disappointed that her citizens seemed more interested in going to Celestia with their problems and preferred to sleep during her court. I did my best to ease her worries, but I could tell that they were still in the back of her head. And while the two of them were doing that Hammerfall and I were busy working in the forge to help give the citizens of Equestria some creature comforts and amenities. The first thing we did was introduce lightning rods to help protect villages from stray bolts of lightning during thunderstorms.

Then Hammerfall and I worked toward something bigger, indoor plumbing. I started it off simple by introducing the aqueduct system similar to what Rome used before I tried rushing things into modern plumbing. It actually caught on fairly quickly much to my surprise. I let Hammerfall take most of the credit for our work. Most of the ponies were still uncomfortable about my existence so I figured that they’d accept the work of one of their own more than if they thought I had done it. And despite our rocky first meeting Hammerfall and I had become good friends as we worked together.

Another change that had been taking place in the castle was the increased hiring of royal guards. Celestia told me that she and Luna were looking for the right pony to be the captain of both the day and night guard. I told them to have good luck with that and didn’t pay it much mind. A few weeks passed and the selection process was over. Celestia and Luna gathered the entire castle together in the throne room for the inauguration of some pony named Morning Star. Starswirl, Clover, Hammerfall and myself were in the front of the room just off to the side of the two princesses. A round of horns blasted and Celestia flared her wings as she began her announcement.

“We hath been spending these past weeks searching for a truly extraordinary pony to lead our royal guard.” She boomed in the Royal Voice that she always used when addressing subjects at things like these. With those opening lines said, Luna took that as her cue to start speaking.

“Many tried to prove themselves, but only one showed the intelligence, determination and skill in combat that we were looking for in our captain.”

“With that said,” Celestia continued, “would Morning Star please come forth?” 

With that, a unicorn in dress uniform entered into the throne room. I had to admit I was slightly surprised to see that the pony the princesses had selected was a mare. Most of the guard was male so seeing a mare become the captain made me wonder what she was like to impress the princesses like this. Morning Star was a yellow-orange unicorn with a short red mane that had yellow streaks running through it; she also had cyan colored eyes. She stood at about 5’ 8’’ and from what I could tell she seemed to have a fairly small chest. Probably around a B cup if my discerning eye was anything to go by. Though what she lacked in the chest area she more than made up for in her hips and legs. The term, “legs that go all the way up,” seemed to have been created just for her.

As she continued to walk down towards the thrones I made a few observations about her. She had an incredible look of pride on her face as she glanced between the assembled staff, citizens, the guards that she had beaten out for the position and the princesses. She also had this air about her that made it seem like she was more comfortable in a suit of armor than the dress uniform she was currently in. Finally, Morning Star made it to the thrones and knelt before the princesses.

“Morning Star, thou hast been chosen above all of thine peers to be the captain of our guard,” Celestia declared.

“Thou must vow to uphold the standards of Equestrian law and serve as a guiding force for all the guards under thine command. Dost thou understand?” Luna continued.

“Yes my princesses, I vow to protect thee and the citizens of Equestria as well as maintain the honor that comes with this station.”

Celestia and Luna nodded to one another and motioned to Hammerfall. He handed them a ceremonial sword which they drew, held together and gently touched the blade to her shoulders. 

“Now rise, Morning Star, captain of the royal guard,” Celestia boomed while Morning Star rose to her hooves. With that the crowd started to applaud and the ceremony ended shortly afterwards. Once the crowd left the room the princesses turned to Hammerfall and I. “Vash, thou and Hammerfall shall make new armor for Morning Star,” Celestia said.

“Is that all?” I asked with a smile. “That shouldn’t be too hard. We’ve been making so much armor lately that we could do that in our sleep. In fact, I’m going to take a nap and the armor should be done before dinner tonight.”

Celestia chuckled a bit at that joke and nodded. “Very well, Vash. We shall have the requirements for the armor and a pillow sent down to the forge shortly.”

“And Vash, we shalt tolerate none of thy buffoonery with Morning Star,” Luna pressed as she gave me a cross look.

“What ever could you mean?” I asked with an innocent look.

Everyone, including Clover, gave me a flat look when I said that. “Vash, please do try to be on thy best behavior when thou art around Morning Star,” Celestia warned me carefully.

I scratched my chin and chuckled a bit at that and with my eyes closed asked, “And what if I told you that I’ve been on my best behavior up until now?” This caused everyone to just let out a huge sigh while Hammerfall looked up at me.

“Vash canst thou just promise to behave? We all would rather you didn’t upset our new captain.”

“Fine, now come on Hammerfall, we’ve got some armor to make for the new captain and I’d really like it if we can hammer it out quickly so we can get back to work on our project.” 

“I agree, I wouldst like to get back to that as well.” Hammerfall stated with a slight nod.

“And what art the two of thee working on this time?” Starswirl asked with a quirked eyebrow.

Hammerfall and I shared a look for a moment and chuckled. “Sorry Starswirl, but that’s a secret for now. We’ll be sure to tell you when we’re ready to show it off. But until then it will remain classified,” I told him as I crossed my arms across my chest.

“As thou wishes,” Luna said.

“Alright, see ya later everypony ,” I called out as I turned to walk out of the throne room to head back to the forge.

The rest of the day Hammerfall and I pretty much just worked in the forge. The armor took a bit of time considering it was a custom set that was very different from the usual day and night sets. It was a fairly light set of plate armor that was red and the helm didn’t have the opening for her mane like the other guards usually had. We also had to put on some clasps where a cape was supposed to be attached. After that, we worked on our other projects and talked whenever there was a lull in our work.

The next day was a day off for me so I was wandering the castle and looking for something to do. I considered sneaking into the kitchen to make myself a snack, but the last time I tried that the castle’s head chef threatened to cook me as a meal for one of the carnivorous foreign dignitaries. I slumped over slightly when I thought back to that. A part of me considered just heading into the library to start researching magic. Ever since I had heard this world had magic my scientific curiosity was piqued. I desperately wanted to use it as an energy source for all sorts of things. I mean, a potentially clean fuel source that’s easily renewable, what kind of engineer would I be if I didn’t take advantage of that? Just as I was about to do just that I passed by something that caught my interest. 

Alone in the training yard was the new captain, Morning Star. She was wearing light clothing and hacking away at a training dummy with a sword and every now and then would dance around it as if she were dodging an opponent’s blade. Morning Star moved with ease and every swing of the blade was nearly fluid. I was impressed, she definitely had some skills. If she was just as good with her magic as she was with her sword then I could easily see how she beat the other guards in terms of combat. I leaned against the archway leading to the training yard and just continued to watch her for a while. Eventually, she decided to take a break and grabbed a nearby towel and mug of water. Of course, when she did this, she noticed me watching her.

“And what art thou doing here?” She asked, not really irritated but working toward it.

“Oh, I just saw you training while I was looking for something to do and stopped for a little while, hope you don’t mind.”

Morning Star continued to wipe her brow for a little while. “Hmm, I suppose I can believe thee for now.”

“Thanks, I’m Vash by the way.” I said as I approached her and extended a hand toward her.

She accepted the gesture and slowly shook my hand. “I know, thou art well known amongst the castle staff.”

I flinched a little and let out a nervous chuckle at that. “And what have you heard about?”

“Only that thou hast made advances toward nearly every mare that works in the castle.”

“Oh, I guess my reputation precedes me.”

“Very much so, and I’m to assume that thou art going to add me to thy list of failed conquests?” She asked as she put away the blade she had been using on the dummy earlier.

“Actually, I tend not to hit on ladies when they have easy access to sharp things that can kill me.” I told her with a strained grin. This caused Morning Star to laugh a little and she placed the towel down next to her.

“That seems like an excellent idea. Thou art not quite the fool that the stories have made thee out to be.”

My grin fell a bit at that. “I feel like I’ve just been given the biggest sideways compliment of all time.” This caused her to smirk a little.

“Perhaps, now thou said that thou wast looking for something to do? What would thou say to a little wager?”

I quirked an eyebrow at that and asked, “And what kind of wager would this be?”

“I was considering practicing my hand-to-hand combat, what would thou say to a friendly spar?” She asked keeping up her smirk.

“And where does this wager you mention come in?”

“I was getting to that. The winner of our sparring match would be allowed to make the other follow any one order that they wish.”  This definitely caught my attention and a large, dopey smile spread across my face.

“And when you say anything, do you mean anything?” I asked eagerly.

Her smirk grew bigger with that. “If thou wants an answer to that, then thou will have to win.”

“Alright, let’s do this!” I beamed as I crouched down in a fighting stance. 

Morning Star laughed a little at my response and got into a fighting stance of her own. In an instant she lashed out and attempted to punch me right in the solar plexus. However, I had Vash’s reflexes and I used my left arm to block it. Morning Star grimaced when her fist made contact with my metal arm and hopped away from me to put some distance between the two of us. She then proceeded to clench and unclench her fist a few times as she eyed me warily.

“Thine arm is as hard as stone,” She stated as she started to circle around me in an attempt to look for an opening.

“Metal actually, my left arm is a prosthetic.”

Morning Star then narrowed her eyes at me for that one. “Thou could have warned me about that.”

“It must’ve slipped my mind,” I returned with a good-natured smile.

Morning Star continued to circle around me as if she was waiting for me to make the first move. This went on for a few minutes as the two of us waited for the other to attack. In the end she decided to attack first and charged at my side. I reacted quickly and jumped back slightly to avoid her fist and caught it with my left hand. I then made an attempt to pull her toward me while I pulled back my own fist. Morning Star just smirked at me as she drove her free fist right into my solar plexus. This caused me to let her go and stagger backwards a little as the wind was knocked out of my lungs. She then pivoted on one of her hooves and attempted to roundhouse-kick me. I recovered quickly, grabbed her hoof and flipped her over. Her eyes widened, but she braced herself as she hit the ground of the training yard.

I was about to try and finish the fight, but Morning Star swept her leg at my ankles, knocking me off-balance. I managed to throw my hands in front of me to stop my fall. I was just about to pick myself up when Morning Star pounced on me and tried to pin me down. Her arms were holding me by the elbows and her legs were on top of mine. I tried to wriggle my way out of her hold but she just held fast. She looked down at me with a triumphant smirk, and seemed utterly confident that she had won our little sparring match.

“It appears that this victory is mine, will thou yield?”

“It certainly does seem that way,” I answered with a grin, “but there’s something you should know.”

“And what would that be?” She asked with an arched eyebrow.

“You got a little something on your face!” 

I called out as I tossed some dirt that I had managed to grab during my fall. Unfortunately, Morning Star’s eyes widened when I did this which caused more of the dirt to get into her eyes. Without thinking, she reached up to try and rub the offending matter out of her eyes. I used this as my opportunity to throw my weight and reverse our situation so I was the one on top. This time, I was the one smirking down at her while I held her down.

“It looks like I’m the winner now.”

Morning Star attempted to struggle for a bit before she went limp and scowled at me. “That was a low, cravenly tactic,” she spat at me, starting to struggle again. “Then again,” she started her smirk returning, “I am not above such tactics myself,” she finished as she freed a leg and kneed me right between the legs.

I could feel my eyes start to water as I let out a high-pitched squeak and my hold loosened. She took advantage of this and in a matter of moments I was on my back with Morning Star holding me down once more. This kept happening for a while until the both of us were sprawled out next to one another and gasping in an attempt to catch our breath. Eventually, I leaned up and turned to Morning Star as I sat with my legs crossed.

“Maybe we should just call this a draw, I don’t think I can take much more of this,” I told her with a pleading expression.

She picked herself up as well and sat with her legs extended. “Perhaps thou art right, our little match has gone on far longer than I thought it would.”

“Yeah, that was intense. You’re one vicious fighter,” I told her with a bit of a laugh.

“You can owe a part of that to my parentage,” she replied with a small grin. “My family have been soldiers since the days when Unicornia was still a fledgling nation.”

I had to pause at that sentence. My mind was struggling to process a certain word that just confounded me.

‘Did she just say Unicornia? There is no way that she just said that. I mean, Unicornia, really? Do they mine Unobtanium in Unicornia? I mean, how bereft of creativity do you have to be to come up with a name like Unicornia? I think I would actually prefer it if all the names of places were horse-based puns or something… And now I feel like I’ve just invited trouble. I swear if I run into a place called Manehattan or something like that… I don’t even know what I’d do.’ 

“So is that why you worked to become the captain of the guard? To continue the family business so to speak?” I asked.

“Partly, but I also wanted to protect other ponies and to uphold the law. It has always been my dream to defend those that cannot defend themselves,” she answered as she turned her head skyward.

I let out a small chuckle as I scratched my cheek before replying with, “Man, you’re making me self-conscious about my own dream I had when I was a kid.”

“And what was thine dream?”

“When I was younger I wanted to build something called a megadeus which is essentially a giant robot.”

I turned toward Morning Star and saw she had a confused expression across her face. “And what is this… robot that thou speaks of?”

I tapped my chin as I tried to think of a way to explain what a robot was to someone who had no idea about the concept. “Okay, picture a suit of armor, but make it as tall as one of the towers of the castle.” 

“Why wouldst someone make a suit of armor that large? Nopony would be able to wear it.”

“I was getting to that, inside that armor is a set of controls that the person inside can use to control the armor.”

“That certainly is a strange dream. Why didst thou wish to accomplish such a goal?”

“To be honest, it just seemed like fun to me. There was one robot that I would always see in stories that caught my attention the most. It had this amazing phrase that would come up whenever the pilot would go into the controls, and it had these awesome weapons.”

“That certainly does sound incredible, though thou said that this was thine dream when thou was younger. Dost thou have a new dream?”

“I guess you could say that. As I’ve been getting older, I just want to make things that will help everyone and make their lives better. I still have my odd fantasies about making that megadeus, but I know it’s a bit unrealistic to expect I’ll make anything quite like that,” I said as I cast my eyes skyward to see a few clouds rolling by.

“Creating armor as tall as a castle that can somehow be made to move is only a bit unrealistic?” Morning Star asked with a quirked eyebrow.

“Hey, I ended up being transported into another world by a creepy merchant, and said world has people who can use magic. Not to mention what Discord did with his abilities. At this point you could tell me just about anything and I’d believe it.”

This caused Morning Star to laugh a bit and she looked up at the sky with me. “I suppose thou hast a point, our world must seem strange to thee. Though I think thine own world would be strange to me.”

“You’re not wrong, my world’s technology would blow your mind. And the lack of magic would seem as alien to you as magic is to me.”

“I imagine so,” She said before looking back to me. “I have to admit Vash, thou art quite different from the stories told by the maids of the castle. Thou hast not made a single advance toward me during this entire exchange.”

I chuckled a little at that. “Well, like I said earlier I try not to offend ladies with sharp, pointy things who know how to wield them. Although, I have thought of a few pick-up lines and I may or may not have undressed you with my eyes once or twice during our sparring match. And I have to say, if my mind’s eye is even the least bit accurate then you have one incredible body on your hands there Miss Morning Star,” I finished with my usual grin.

This caused Morning Star to blush slightly, glare at me and her hand was hovering over the hilt of her sword. “Hast thou any shame? I see the stories about thee are more than true.”

“Oh come on, I can’t be that bad can I? Can you honestly say that you’ve never had a fantasy about more intimate situations? Or is our new captain of the guard forged from the same iron as her armor?” I asked with a little smile.

Morning Star’s blush deepened and she turned away from me. “O-of course I have had desires. I am not cut from stone. I just do not go throwing myself at every pony I see,” she barked as she shot me a pointed look.

“Hey, I’m not hurting anyone from what I’m doing. I would never do something like force myself onto a lady. And my fantasies are perfectly healthy.” As soon as I finished saying that a growl came from both of our stomachs. I looked down at my stomach and back to Morning Star and grinned. “I guess our match worked up a bit of an appetite. Come on, let’s go see if the chefs would be willing to make us something and we can continue talking in the dining room,” I said as I sprung to my feet and offered her a hand up.

She took the offered hand and smirked at me. “And what makes thou think that I would wish to keep speaking with thee?”

“Well, let’s just go pester the chefs and go from there.” I laughed as I walked out of the training yard with Morning Star close behind.

After that, Morning Star and I did see each other more and we became quite good friends. She had a bit of a rough exterior but she was a kind mare and we got along really well. A few months had passed and I was still busy in the forge despite it technically being my day off. I was working on a personal project of mine and I had a book on magic theory next to me as I tinkered away and examined the armband Jason had given me, I was careful not to damage anything but I wanted to see how I could use magic as an energy source like Jason had. If I could figure it out I would be able to implement it in all sorts of technology. Just as I was examining along a wire carefully to see how it was connected to the crystal power source when a loud knocking from behind me caused me to jerk upright in an instant. I turned toward the source of the noise to see a rare sight, Morning Star in a dress. It wasn’t anything fancy, just a simple white dress but it certainly took me by surprise and it showed her figure rather well. My only complaint was that the skirt was too long. Then again all the dresses were like that. Before I could go any further with that thought Morning Star started to say something.

“What art thou doing down here? Shouldn’t thou be resting today?”

“You know, I had a sign up saying not to disturb me,” I said as I quickly checked my armband to see if anything was damaged. Luckily for me everything seemed fine and I let out a sigh of relief.

“Like thou hast not disturbed me while I was busy before,” she shot back at me. “And thou still hast not answered my question.”

“I was working on my research to implement magic into technology as an energy source.”

“Dost thou ever take a break from this? I swear thou art obsessed with thine work.”

“Oh like you’re one to talk,” I retorted with a smirk. “I’ve seen how you treat your guards during training,” I then cleared my throat to prepare myself to do an impression. “Do not slow down for even a moment! Thine enemy shall give thee no quarter and neither shall I!” I boomed in an impression of Morning Star as I thrust my finger toward my imaginary guards.

Morning Star just rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest. “Thou dost know how to keep me in hysterics,” she said her voice dripping with sarcasm. “Now come along, thou art going to take a break from thy work even if I have to drag you out of this blasted castle myself.”

“And what did you have in mind for this break?”

“My home village is having a celebration for its founding. I’m bringing you along to get some fresh air and to finally get out of this castle.”

“Wouldn’t that take days?” I asked in disbelief. “I can’t be gone from my work that long.”

“I have already asked Celestia and Luna and they have agreed to this idea. Thou hast not left the castle since it has been built. They feel that the citizens of Equestria will never get used to thee if thou dost not let them do so.”

“And of course Celestia agreed to this. It’s just like her to not tell me about this at all. I wish I knew what was going on in that mare’s head sometimes.” I sighed as I got up from my workspace and stretched. I then reattached my dampening band and strolled over to Morning Star’s side. “Though I guess you do have a point, I really should get out of the castle every now and then.” I told her with a bit of a grin.

Morning Star nodded and grinned as well. “Glad to see thou art listening to reason.”

“More like I don’t want to have three angry mares come after me when all three of them can use magic on me that could turn me into molten slag.”

“And that was the reason that I was speaking of,” Morning Star retorted with a big grin.

With that the two of us left to the gate of the castle and said goodbye to the princesses. We climbed into a carriage and my chivalrous side came out as I opened the door and helped Morning Star into the carriage. We settled into our seats facing each other and prepared ourselves for the long trip ahead of us. For a while we just spent the ride in companionable silence and I watched the scenery pass us by. I briefly considered taking a nap but Morning Star started to speak and nixed that idea.

“Vash, there is something that I am curious about.”

“Hmm,” I started as I turned away from the window, “what is it?”

“Why dost thou have that armband? Celestia mentioned that it was created by a visitor from another realm as some sort of “dampener”. What is the band supposed to do?”

“Don’t worry about it,” I dismissed with a chuckle. “The armband does what it’s supposed to so it isn’t an issue.”

“Vash that does little to assuage my worries. What is it that that band prevents? I hath never seen thee without it and would like to know why. I am thine friend, and would like to help thee if it is within my power,” Morning Star told me with quiet determination in her eyes

I could tell just from the look she was giving me that she wouldn’t drop this unless I gave her a satisfactory answer. I let out a sigh as I slowly pulled off my right glove and held up my right hand for her. “Tell me, does anything seem odd about my arm?”

“Nothing that I can see, why art thou asking me this?”

“Well this arm may look normal, but it’s anything but. This arm can shift itself into a cannon of sorts and fire an energy so powerful that it could destroy an entire city, and I don’t know how to control it. That’s why I wear the armband, to prevent me from causing destruction like that. If I lost control and did something like that, I don’t know if I’d be able to live with myself.” I told her with none of my usual cheer. Morning Star seemed disturbed for a moment but she steeled herself fairly quickly.

“Perhaps there is a way we could get this power under control,” She suggested as she took and gave my right hand a squeeze with her own in a small gesture of comfort. “The badlands are a desolate place with no life for days of travel. Perhaps if we were to take thee there thou could learn to harness the arm. And even if thou did lose control there thou wouldst not injure anypony.”

I shook my head at that idea. “That’s not a good idea. There’s something else about my arm. Every time it fires I would lose a bit of my life. My hair will start to turn black and once it does, that’s it, I’d die.”

Morning Star’s eyes widened in shock at that and she turned her head to the side. “So the band is thine only option then?”

“Yes,” I answered as I slipped my glove back on. “It’s the best way to keep the arm from firing until I can find a way to control it.”

“I understand, thank thee for telling me the truth,” She said turning back towards me.

“No problem, but could you please not tell everypony back at the castle about this?” 

“Why wouldst thou not wish to tell them? Do they not deserve to know this as well?” Morning Star asked clearly confused by my decision.

“I don’t want them to needlessly worry about me. This is my burden to bear and I will find a way to deal with this, okay?” I finished by looking her in the eye and grinning.

“Very well Vash, I shall respect thy wishes and hold my tongue on this matter.”

“Thank you, now let’s just focus on having fun at this festival. I don’t want to be depressed when we get to your hometown!” I cheered keeping up my big grin. “I wonder if they’ll have mead there?” I thought aloud. “And I do have to see how many beautiful maidens I can find.” I finished as a large, dopey grin spread across my face as my mind drifted off toward the beautiful “tracts of land” that awaited us.

Morning Star frowned at that and leveled an icy stare at me. “Tis nice to see that thou art back to normal after that small, somber moment.”

“Well the way I see it life is too short to dwell on negative things too much. It’s best to look at all the bright sides and to keep moving forward.”

“I suppose there is some truth to that, and I am sure that we will enjoy the festival. Some of my fondest memories are from them over the years,” she said with a wistful tone.

“But will there be mead?” I asked with a hopeful expression.

“Yes Vash, there will be mead,” she huffed and rolled her eyes.

The rest of the ride was spent in relative silence that was occasionally broken by some friendly chatter. Later, the two of us were jolted awake as the carriage came to a sudden stop. I climbed out of the carriage and helped Morning Star down. I then looked around at our surroundings and a large smile spread across my face. 

The entire town seemed to be out for the festival, the buildings had all sorts of decorations strewn about the buildings and familiar sounding music was playing in the background. The town was basically an idyllic medieval town, kind of like a Medieval Times restaurant minus the refills on Pepsi. Anyway, as we were looking around I noticed that I had drawn some attention from the crowd. The looks they were giving me didn’t seem to be full on mob about to chase the monster to the old windmill, just wary. I decided to just put on my best grin and let Morning Star do the talking so I wouldn’t accidentally step on any landmines. She looked at the crowd with a vibrant smile on her face.

“It is great to see thee all again. I am glad to be back home for this most wonderful of occasions!”

An elderly earth pony who seemed to be the town’s leader stepped forward from the crowd and stopped in front of Morning Star. “Morning Star, we art all glad to see thee, but what is this creature that thou hast brought with thee?”

Morning Star frowned slightly at that and answered, “This is Vash and he is a friend who works in the forges for our princesses and is a close friend of theirs as well. He is here to partake in our celebration.”

This seemed to catch the attention of the crowd and their wariness slowly shifted into curiosity. “Is that so?” The elder mused as he stroked his beard. “Well if he is truly the friend of the princesses then he is welcome to partake in our festivities. Welcome Vash, to the village of Trottingham!” he exclaimed as he took my hand and shook it as the town dispersed so the festival could go into full swing.

After that rocky introduction Morning Star and I walked through the town to see everything that the town had to offer. I had to admit that it was nice to be out of the castle for this. Seeing all kinds of ponies come together for something like this gave me a good feeling. All throughout the streets were all sorts of vendors selling just about anything and everything. There was also a ton of performers showcasing their talents on small stages or just on the street corners. Morning Star had to pull me away from the bartender selling the town’s best mead, that stuff was delicious. The day wore on and eventually the festival was almost over. The last big event was a dance of sorts. 

Morning Star ended up dragging me toward the tent where it was happening that no matter how much I tried to protest. Once the two of us were on the dance floor I had to swallow back a lump of fear. Before I could get myself ready the music started and Morning Star grabbed my hands and started to take lead of the dance. It was a little awkward at first partly due to my general inexperience, and the difference in our heights. Eventually though I was able to adjust and I was able to keep up. A smile broke out across my face as I started to get into rhythm with the energetic music. The song continued to swell as Morning Star and I kept going faster and faster. Of course, the song came to an end and the two of us were left close together and breathing heavily from the exertion. The two of us took in a few quick breaths and stared intently into each other’s eyes. I don’t know how long we were like that but Morning Star then placed a hand behind my head and started to pull me down to her. At first I was going along with it as I was swept up in the moment of it all. But just as our lips were about to brush together something snapped in my head. In an instant I took my hands and placed them on Morning Star’s shoulders to push her away. Her eyes snapped open and looked up at me with an expression of hurt and confusion. I turned on a heel to avoid seeing that face any longer. I then walked out of the tent as fast as I could without drawing attention to myself. 

I slipped out of the tent just as the next dance started and hoped that I could lose Morning Star in the mass of bodies. I then rushed to the edge of the town and took a seat up against a tree. I then placed my face in my hands and couldn’t help but think about what had just happened.

‘I am such an idiot, why would I even do something like that?’ I thought desperately. ‘Ugh, this is awful and to make matters worse I just ran off.  That was probably the dumbest decision I could make. It’s not like I could avoid her or anything so I’ll have to talk to her about this. Now I just have to figure out what I’m going to say.’

Before I could continue that line of thinking I could hear hoof steps approaching me. I didn’t bother to look up, I already knew who it was. “Vash, why didst thou do that?” Morning Star asked with a strained voice.

“I-I don’t know.” 

“Vash, look at me.” She implored as she walked a few steps closer to me. I did as she asked and our eyes met as I looked over her face. The hurt and confusion was still there, but it seemed like anger was working its way there as well. “Please do not lie to me, and tell me what is wrong,” she pressed as she placed her hands on my shoulders and gave them a squeeze. I tried to think of some excuse but I thought back to the conversation we had in the carriage and decided to just tell her the truth.

“Fine, my arm isn’t the only thing that’s abnormal about me. I have an incredibly long life-span in head of me. I don’t know how long I have exactly but I do know that I won’t age very much in the next few hundred years,” I admitted as the words just kept spilling forth. “I guess I’m just afraid that the two of us could get serious and I’ll outlive you and have to watch as your life slowly ends.”

I could feel Morning Star’s grip on me soften and I looked up to see that her expression had as well. “That is a perfectly normal fear, but my mother had a saying. It is not how long something lasts, but what is done in the time it does. For now we should not worry about thy longevity, but instead focus on what is before us.” And with that she inched her face closer to mine. This time I didn’t pull away and our lips met. The fur around her muzzle tickled a little but it wasn’t a bad feeling. In fact both of our eyes closed as we got lost into the moment.

> The Humanoid Typhoon and the King of Hearts
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

           After a while Morning Star and I pulled away from each other and just sat next to one another under the tree looking out over the village. I then turned my head and looked her over for a moment before looking out at the sunset. I reached over with my right arm and wrapped it around her as we continued to watch the sun dip below the horizon.

“I honestly can say that I didn’t expect this to happen.” I said, breaking the comfortable silence between the two of us.

“Wouldst thou consider this an unpleasant surprise?” Morning Star asked with a chuckle.

“Never would I say that a kiss from a beautiful lady is unpleasant,” I answered as I gave Morning Star a squeeze. She rolled her eyes and laughed a little at my response.

“If thou did not say similar things to every mare that thou meets I would be more inclined to believe that.”

“Hey, you’re the one that initiated the kiss so you had to have bought at least one of my lines,” I told her as a little grin worked its way on my face.

“It was not thy words that caused me to act as I did but thy actions.”

“Even the actions when I was hitting on all those mares?”

“Aside from those actions.”

With that night started to fall and a full moon peaked its head over the horizon as the sun finally fell out of sight. I noticed there was a chill starting to form in the air and I motioned for Morning Star and I to get up.

“Well I guess it’s time for the two of us to turn in.”

“I agree, follow me, we art sharing a room at the local inn.”

I perked up at that and a large smile spread across my face. “Is that so, are we going to be sharing a bed as well?”

My hopes began to rise when she gave me what I hoped was a smoldering look. “Perhaps,” This caused fanfare to go off in my head and my mind was working overtime on ideas for what to do, “but not in the way thou art thinking.” She finished with a little smirk and the fanfare abruptly died in my head and my grin deflated.

“Wait, what?”

“Consider this punishment for running away earlier.”

“So you’re just going to tease me mercilessly through the night with your sleeping clothes?” I asked with a desperate look.

“Of course not Vash,” she said which raised my interest, “I do not wear sleeping clothes,” she finished as she turned and walked back into the town. I realized the implications of those words in an instant and followed after her with tears streaming down my cheeks.

Morning Star made good on her promise and we were ready to leave the next day and piled into the carriage once more. Only, instead of the two of us being across from each other we were next to each other. Like before we were in a companionable silence for a while but I was the one to break the silence this time.

“Hey Morning Star, there’s something I’ve been meaning to ask.”

“And what would that be, Vash?” Morning Star asked with some curiosity.

“Apparently the world where the visitor who gave me my armband lives in accepts polygamy, so I was wondering what this world’s stance on it is?”

“If thou art asking about herding then yes it is a fairly common practice,” she answered with a quirked eyebrow.

“Really, now that is interesting,” I chuckled.

“Vash, what art thou thinking?”

“I may or may not be thinking about seeing if Celestia and Luna would be willing to join in on this. If that’s okay with you?” I asked as I looked Morning Star in the eye. She flinched a little and there was a little discoloration to her cheeks.

“I do not know. I hath never been a part of a herd before and hath not considered it before now. Especially not with the princesses of my land.”

“Yeah, I could see how that might be just a smidge intimidating. How about this, let’s just keep this relationship between the two of us and you think about it for a while until you know one way or another.”

“I would appreciate that Vash,” she said with a small smile and nod.

The rest of our return trip was rather uneventful but very pleasant. When we made it back to the castle the princesses and the others were there to greet us just as they had been there to send us off. Celestia and Luna were in the front of the group and both had warm smiles on their faces.

“Greetings Vash, Morning Star, we trust that thy trip was a pleasant one,” Celestia said. Morning Star and I shared a look and chuckled for a bit.

“Yeah, we had a great time at the festival. It was nice to get out of the castle for once,” I answered with a small smile.

“We art glad to hear that,” Luna stepped in. “We were all starting to fear that thou would fuse to thy workbench in the forge.”

“Why Luna, was that a joke that just passed through your lips? I never thought I’d see the day,” I replied with a quick laugh.

“Perhaps thou art a bad influence on us.”

“Maybe, and who knows how long before I completely corrupt you,” I replied with a devious laugh.

The others laughed a little at this for a few moments before Celestia spoke again, “We are all glad that the two of thee have returned. Now, the two of thee have had a long trip and we art sure that thou would want to rest from it.”

“Nope,” I told her with no hesitation. “I’ve been itching to get back to work in the forge. The break was nice but Equestria won’t revolutionize itself!”

“Yes, and I am sure that my guards have been slacking in their duties ever since I left. I will need to ensure they are in top form for thee Your Highness,” Morning Star said with a small bow.

“Very well, if that is what the two of thee wishes. we art glad to see thee return, but we must return to our own duties.”

With that we all reentered the castle and I made my way down to the forge to continue my research. Along the way I noticed a flash of light in my peripheral vision and something hit me on the head again. I looked down while I rubbed the spot where it had hit me  and noticed a weathered katana still in its sheath.

‘Is that another token? I guess so considering how it appeared, but are they all going to hit me on the head?’ I whined inside my thoughts. ‘I guess I should see who this belongs to just in case they’re friendly. Jason did say there were some baddies out there.’ 

I then picked up the katana and allowed its message to play out.  

'I am the burning hand of justice, the Shining force of righteousness. Would you ever need my aid, use this blade and I will be but a moment away.'

‘Huh, burning hand of justice, guess that means that this Displaced isn’t evil. Though I wonder how he’d feel if I called him here when there isn’t a problem here? Ahh I’m sure it’ll be fine. Better go tell the two princesses about this.’

I then turned around and headed up to the throne room to show Celestia just what I had found. I pushed my way through the throng of citizens and showed her the katana. She understood what I meant in an instant and sent a maid to go wake up Luna. Around ten minutes later we were all in the library once more to see who the token belonged to, though they weren’t all that excited.

“So another of these Displaced has sent thee a token,” Luna said as she glanced at the katana with indifference.

“We just hope they do not bring somepony as… interesting as Chrysalis with them,” Celestia said carefully.

“I’m sure it’ll be fine, this guy sounds alright. Now, stand back so I can summon him.” The princesses did as I asked and I adopted a stance I had seen in old movies and shows that featured samurai and performed a quick draw with the katana.

Fire sprung to life on the floor, quickly growing into a pillar. It died down, revealing a young man with black hair, a bandana tied around his head with the rest of his body hidden by a red cloak. On his cheek was a rather wicked looking 'x' shaped scar.

The fire had taken us all by surprise for a moment, but after seeing it all die down and our previous experience with Jason we recovered quickly. I then stepped up to the man with a hand extended.

“Hey there, I’m Vash welcome to my version of Equestria. Who are you?”

He smiled, taking my hand. "I'm Domon Kasshu, the King of Hearts, and this," he moved his cape, revealing a young orange Pegasus, "is my apprentice Scootaloo." 

The three of us broke into big grins when we saw the teenage mare. Each of us loved children and even the usually distant Luna couldn’t resist opening up to them. I knelt down a bit so I could look her in the eye and offered her a hand as well. 

“It’s nice to meet you Scootaloo. Have you ever gone universe hopping with Domon before?” I asked.

"Yeah, but they all have those weird four legged ponies." She said looking at Celestia and Luna. 

I chuckled a little at that. “Yeah, we’ve run into an example of that before. Though she wasn’t a pony but a changeling.”

"So, why did you call me?" Domon asked, looking around, raising his eyebrow.

“Well, I kinda just called you here to see who you were and find out about your abilities. Plus, it’s nice to talk to a fellow human every once in a while and swap stories about life back on Earth. So if you were expecting something like a rampaging demon then sorry to disappoint,” I explained as I rubbed the back of my head.

"It's fine," he said shaking his head, "we needed a break anyway, we're just coming back from Griffonstone. That Gilda is one hell of a fighter."

“Yeah, I’ve heard that they can be some mean S.O.B.’s if you insult their pride, and the castle chef has threatened to feed me to one of their ambassadors before,” I admitted with a weak laugh. “Anyway, why don’t we take this some place more comfy. And I bet our captain of the guard would enjoy sparring with you if you’d be up for that later,” I suggested as I motioned toward the exit of the library.

"I'd probably be too much for them," Domon said, his eyes lingering on the princesses, "What year is it?"

Celestia quirked an eyebrow at that. “It is 30 years after the great unification of the three pony tribes, why dost thou wish to know?”

"Because this was the time I ruled Equestria," he said, getting a far off look, "You two wouldn't be born for another five thousand years..."

“Huh, that certainly sounds different from how things have played out here, but then again we’re already acquainted with the idea of the multiverse so it isn’t that surprising.”

“Yes, though we art surprised that thou ruled over Equestria in thine own world,” Luna continued. “Please do not take offense to this, but thou does not seem the ruling type.”

"You’re right," Domon said with a laugh, "but someone had to do it, and after they saw me destroy Winter, they thought I was best for the job."

“I’m sorry, but did you say that you destroyed winter… as in the season? Or do you mean you fought those windigos that I read about?”

"I destroyed the windigo leader Winter, an act that made me king for several thousand years." Domon explained. "At least, until you two showed up."

“It seems thou art powerful if thou can fight something like an alpha windigo,” Celestia said with a nod. “Though we hope that thou are not pushing that young pony too hard,” she finished with a slight warning

"No way!" Scootaloo said huffing, "Master Domon is the best! He doesn't treat me like a foal!"

“Relax young Scootaloo,” Luna said with an even tone. “Our sister was not suggesting that Domon treat thee like a foal. But everypony has their limits, even the two of us have limits. And attempting to push past those limits too quickly can be quite dangerous. Especially for a growing pony such as thee.”

"Thank you for the concern but, I have experience with teaching." Domon said, patting Scootaloo head gently, "I mean, you two turned out alright."

“So you taught the Celestia and Luna of your world huh. That’s pretty cool, I’ve been doing some important things around here too,” I told him with a grin.

"Like what?" Domon asked, grabbing a chair and getting comfy.

I sat down across from him with a big grin on my face. 

“Well I was an engineer back home and so I introduced indoor plumbing to this place. Plus I’m doing research into using magic as an energy source.”

"I was a literature professor at Yale," Domon started, with a hint of pride, "I was rather 'hip' with kids."

I laughed a little at that. “I’m gonna call foul on that one. No one who uses the phrase hip with kids can be all that popular. Though you’re making me a little self-conscious. I say I was an engineer, but I really had just finished my post-grad work when I decided to treat myself to some fun and bought a pass to an anime convention. I’m sure you know how well that turned out.”

"I was never really one for anime, well besides 'G-Gundam' obviously." He gestured to himself, "I was always a fan of Martial arts."

“If you weren’t a fan of anime then how did the Merchant get you?” I asked with a quirked eyebrow.

"Merchant? I got a tattoo from some lady in a weird bird suit." 

“Okay, I have to ask this. Why did you think it was a good idea to get a tattoo from a lady in a bird suit?”

"One of my students dared me to." Domon said simply, "I was retiring anyway so I thought, why the hell not?"

“Okay I guess that means that there are others beside the merchant I ran into that are pulling people off of Earth. But that still doesn’t tell me what their intentions are. Is there some big purpose to taking people like us from our homes and lives, or is this just some joke to them?” I wondered aloud as I crossed my arms across my chest. “I have to say, the more I hear about other Displaced the more I want to track the ones who sent us to various Equestrias down.”

"I'd thank them, I didn't have much to live for before," he said gazing down at Scootaloo, "But now I have a whole country depending on me, I'm not going to let them down." He spoke, his eyes full of determination.

“I understand your point of view but I’m sure there are others who don’t feel the same way. Personally, if someone offered me a chance to go back to my Earth right now I may not take that chance. But that doesn’t mean I don’t want some answers. If not for those like us, then those who left behind friends and family. I also don’t like the fact that I wasn’t given a choice in all this.”

"Ugh, this is boring!" Scootaloo whined, "can we go do something already?!"?

I smiled at Scootaloo and thought it over for a little bit. “Well was there something you’d like to do Scootaloo?”


"I wanna punch something!" She said smirking, fluttering her wings. After an unamused look from Domon, she coughed. "Uh...I'd like to spar please..."

“Very well, we can arrange for thou to spar with somepony. Vash mentioned earlier that our captain would enjoy something along those lines. Is this satisfactory to thee, Domon?” Luna asked.

"Of course your Majesty," he said with a nod,"I'll make sure she doesn't hurt your captain too much."

Celestia and Luna frowned a bit at that comment but returned to their good-natured attitude fairly quickly. “Thou seems quite confident in thine student’s abilities, but our captain Morning Star is quite skilled herself and comes from a long line of warriors. There is a reason we chose her above everypony else to be captain,” Celestia told the two visitors.

"Oh of course,  I'm not doubting her abilities, I'm merely confident in my student." Domon said with a smile, causing Scootaloo to smile at the praise. 

“Alright, well Morning Star is probably in the training yard at the moment. Hopefully she isn’t running them too hard today,” I said as I got up to lead them out of the room. 

We all exited the library with me at the front of the group and Celestia and Luna close behind it didn’t take us long to get to the training yard where Morning Star was pulling her usual drill sergeant routine.

“Move thy flanks foals! I only left for a few days and thou cannot handle such simple drills! If thou dost not prove that thou deserves thy armor in the next few moments then I will not hesitate to pull it off for thee!”

"Woah, it’s like a lady version of Shining Armor," Scootaloo commented.

“Shining Armor? Is that the captain of the guard back in your Equestria?” I asked.

Domon paused, looking hesitant, to answer.

I looked at Domon and noticed his hesitation. “Well, I guess it doesn’t matter too much. I’ll go get her attention and see if she’s up to spar you Scootaloo.” I then looked towards Morning Star and called out, “Hey Morning Star, could you come over here for a moment?” 

Morning Star turned away from her task and noticed the visitors with us. She then jogged over to us and stopped in front of me. “Greetings Princesses and to our visitors. I take it the two of thee are from another world like this Jason I’ve heard of.” She said as she extended a hand towards them.

"That would be correct mil'lady," Domon said with a smile.

“Tis a pleasure to meet thee. I am Morning Star. What brings the two of thee to…” she paused as she noticed something in the corner of her eyes. She then turned to a guard that was straggling behind the others and fired a beam at him from her horn to motivate him. “Do not think I do not notice thee Swift Hoof! We have visitors so be sure to show them thy best!” She then turned back to Domon with a smile. “I apologize about that, Now, what brings thee to see somepony like myself?”

"My apprentice wishes to spar with you," he said gesturing to Scootaloo, "That is, if you'll accept her challenge."

Morning Star laughed a little at that. “I see thou art trying to provoke me, but I would be glad to spar with thy apprentice. I am always willing to help a pony get stronger, and judging from the posture she is displaying thou hast trained her well so far,”  

"Heh, lady knows talent when she sees it!" Scootaloo said with a smirk.

Morning Star returned the smirk and chuckled a little. “I like thee, thou reminds me of myself when I was thy age. Though I hope thy master has taught thee the difference between confidence and overconfidence.”

Scootaloo snorted, getting into a stance, narrowing her eyes at the older mare. Morning Star dropped into her own fighting stance and studied Scootaloo carefully.

“Whenever thou art ready to begin,” Morning Star said.

Scootaloo darted forward, sweeping her leg out at Morning's, aiming at her ankle. Morning Star dodged Scootaloo’s kick and attempted to kick Scootaloo’s ankle. Scootaloo rolled out of the way,, jumping to her hooves, throwing a punch at Mornings back. Morning Star rolled as well and then attempted to sweep at Scootaloo’s legs while still crouching. Scootaloo caught Morning's leg and with a grunt, spun  around, heaved her across the yard. Morning Star jumped up and readied herself quickly with a smirk still on her face.

“Very good, thou dost not leave openings for more than a second and to be able to lift somepony easily twice your weight and throw them such a distance is no easy feat.”

"I am a student of the school of the Undefeated of the East,"  Scootaloo responded, getting back in her stance, "I have expectations to live up to."

“Thou are not the only one. But let’s see if thou truly can live up to this “Undefeated” school,” Morning Star replied as she gestured for Scootaloo to come get her. Scootaloo took a deep breath before dashing forward, throwing a punch at Morning's stomach.  Morning Star caught Scootaloo’s punch and then started to twist her arm behind her back and kicked at the back of her knee to knock her off her balance.  Scootaloo grimaced, grinding her teeth. She moved her head forward before slamming it back into Morning's stomach. Morning Star staggered slightly from the blow and pushed Scootaloo away to avoid another blow like that.

"Bet that hurt huh?" Scootaloo asked, a grin growing across her face.

“I hath felt worse, but that was good thinking. Aiming for thy opponent’s core is always smart. Though I’m sure thy master has taught thee the damage a well placed punch to the solar plexus can cause already."

"That's not all he taught me," Scootaloo said, closing her eyes. A red aura built up around 
her, and she raised one of her hooves. She brought it down as hard as she could, sending a crack through the ground.

Morning Star quirked an eyebrow at Scootaloo’s aura. “That is an interesting technique. Though, it may be a bit much for a simple sparring match. One might even think thou art trying to send me to the infirmary or worse.”

"It's an insult to one’s opponent and their skill to hold anything back," Scootaloo countered, moving back toward Morning and elbowing her in the gut. She quickly rolled away, getting into her stance once more.

“If that is how thou feels then I should not hold back as well. Though I hope thou feels no insult in my use of magic to level the playing field so to speak,” Morning said as she sparked up her horn in a cyan glow.

"Of course not," Scootaloo said, giving a smile, "I wanna fight you at your best!"

“Very well, thou hast proven to be most interesting to fight.” Morning Star then caused a bright flash of light to appear from her horn blinding everyone looking at her. She then appeared behind Scootaloo in another bright flash of light and attempted to kick her in the small of the back. Scootaloo grabbed her leg, bringing her elbow down on it before heaving her to the ground. Morning Star let out a loud grunt and swung her leg in an attempt to bring Scootaloo down as well. It caught Scootaloo down, the young filly rolling away quickly. Morning Star took that as an opportunity  to pick herself up, slower than the first time and lit her horn up for another spell.

Scootaloo did the same, giving Morning a long look before taking a deep breath, narrowing her eyes in determination. She held her right hand up. "This hand of mine glows with an awesome power! Its burning grip tells me to defeat you!" Her aura intensified and her hand did indeed start to glows much to the surprise of the other ponies. Morning eyed Scootaloo warily before intensifying the glow around her horn.

“If that is what it tells thee then attempt it. Try to defeat me!” Morning called out.

"Take this!" Scootaloo shouted, bringing her hands together as if she were holding a sword, "my love, my anger and all of my sorrow!" As if on cue a massive burst of energy erupted out of her hands, "Shining finger sword!" She roared, rushing forward, thrusting it at Morning's head.

The glow around Morning’s horn intensified further and she disappeared in a flash of light once more as Scootaloo’s attack tore through the yard and toward where Morning had been only a moment before. She reappeared behind Scootaloo and attempted to kick her in the back again. Scootaloo took the kick, rolling to break her fall. She swung around, catching Morning in the face with the blade. They stayed like that for a moment before it exploded, sending them both tumbling to opposite ends of the yard. Morning Star groaned and brought herself to her knees half in a daze.  Scootaloo just laid there, out cold.

Seeing that the sparring match was over I rushed over to Morning Star to help her to her hooves. “Are you okay there Morning Star?” I asked as I hoisted her up.

“I shall be fine, and I can hold myself up without thy assistance,” she half-mumbled as she seemed to be teetering on the edge of consciousness.

"I have to hand it to you," Domon said moving over to Scootaloo, "not many get up so quickly from that attack."

“I am the captain of the guard. I have to be impressive,” Morning Star mumbled again.

“Yes, yes, you’re a very impressive pony,” I said with a roll of my eyes. “Now let’s get you to the infirmary to make sure you don’t have a concussion or internal bleeding.”

"She won't, that technique merely overloads the nervous system to incapacitate an opponent, it’s not lethal."

“I guess that explains the loopy talk, she’s half out of it,” I said as I waved a hand in front of Morning’s face with her pupils barely moving.

Domon just nodded, picking Scootaloo up. "Shall we go somewhere quiet?"

“Sounds good to me. These two look like they need their beauty sleep,” I joked as I patted Morning on the head while she weakly swatted at me. “Want to head to the dining room, since the two princesses are with us we could get the chef to make us anything we want. Even things that are usually reserved for visiting nobility.” I mentioned with a grin.

"As long as I can get some tea," Domon said with a smile, giving a nod.

“Are you kidding? There’s a shelf in the pantry completely devoted to tea from around the world.” Domon nodded, walking past, already seeming to know where he was going. I followed after him as fast as I could with Morning in tow with the two princesses close behind keeping an eye on Morning. “Are you sure you know where you’re going? I helped build this castle so it could be different than what you’re used to,” I told him.

"It's certainly possible," he admitted with a shrug, "we get lost then we have you to guide us."

“I guess you have a point. Well, stay the course then.” It didn’t take long for Domon to get to the dining room and the two of us carefully placed Scootaloo and Morning Star into chairs. 


Domon took his seat, looking around, "This place brings back memories..."

“I bet, you said you were around 5000 years before Celestia and Luna but were still able to teach them, then you’re one old bastard,” I joked with a good natured smirk.

"I experienced my greatest failure as a teacher here. I failed my student and it cost us both a thousand years..."

The smile fell from my face a bit and I looked at Domon with a bit of sympathy. “I’m sorry to hear that. I can imagine what a failure like that would feel like.” I told him as I placed a hand on my armband.

"You'll forgive me if I don't talk much about my world, we're at least a thousand years into the future."

“I get it, you don’t want to cause any butterfly effects and do irreparable damage to time-space.”

"No, I don't want what I say to alter events and prevent any births." Domon said, crossing his arms.

“Eh, butterfly effect, grandfather paradox, they’re pretty similar,” I said with a shrug. “But I understand. I would be nervous about doing something like that if I were in your position. So do you understand Celestia and Luna, no asking of questions about the future.”

“We do not know what thou means by those terms, but we shall stay our tongue about future events,” Celestia said.

“We shall not inquire about anything either,” Luna agreed.

"Good," Domon said, nodding his head, "But I have to ask: do the caribou exist in this world."

“We hath not heard of the Caribou before, though that does not mean they do not exist.” Luna explained

"You need to be extremely careful with them. If they exist here, you need stand ready for war." Domon said, looking dead serious.

“We shall take that advice to heart,” Luna said with a nod. “Hopefully, even if these Caribou do exist we hope that war can be avoided.”

`	"Good, because if they win, every single mare in this country will become nothing more than a sex slave."

My eyes widened at that piece of news and I gripped at the table to keep myself from trembling in anger. “That’s awful, but it doesn’t surprise me. But like Luna said, hopefully if there are Caribou  here they won’t be like what you’re describing.”

"Let's hope so,"Domon said nodding, " But let's talk about something better hmm?"

“Sounds good to me,” I said as I released a deep breath. “What did you have in mind?”

"I dunno, you got anyone special?" Domon asked, leaning back in his chair

I closed my eyes as I scratched my cheek and chuckled a bit. “Uhh, yeah I do,” I admitted. “Your student tried to kick her ass about ten minutes ago.”

Domon smirked. "Nice catch there. I've had a few myself."

“Vash, why didst thou forget to mention that Morning Star and thou are courting one another to us?” Celestia asked as she leaned forward with a smile.

“Uhh, you didn’t ask?” I replied with a weak grin. 

"You know, I uh...had a uh...tryst with Faust herself..." Domon admitted, a blush gracing his face.

“Art thou serious? Faust is but a myth.” Luna asked with an arched eyebrow.

"Oh I'm serious...it’s how you two were made..." He muttered softly.

I blinked a few times at that. “Did you just play the, “Luke I am your father,” card?” I asked with minor amazement.

"I only found out recently myself..."

I started to laugh uproariously at this piece of news. “Well then, say hi to your daddy you two.” This caused the two of them to glare at me and I turned away from them and started to whistle nonchalantly.

"Is he always like this?" Domon asked, looking a bit annoyed.

“No,” Luna started with a sigh. “Sometimes he is better, sometimes he is worse. It’s hard to know with Vash.”

“Sorry, something about that just seemed kind of funny to me. I uh... pictured you three in that scene from Starwars.”

Domon just sighed, rubbing his forehead. "Where is that tea?"

A few moments later a server  arrived with a large tray holding a teapot and a few cups. He then placed them on the table and bowed as he left the room. Domon eagerly poured himself a cup, taking a nice long sip of it. A moment later, Scootaloo bolted to her hooves, throwing a kick that knocked the cup out of Domon's hand.

"Um...oops..." She said with a nervous chuckle, wilting under her master's unamused look.

Celestia, Luna, Morning Star (who had finally somewhat recovered from Scootaloo’s technique) and I had to hold back chuckles as tea dripped from Domon’s hair and face.

"I believe we should be going now," Domon said, getting to his feet and pulling his cloak on. "Scootaloo and I have to have a long talk about using techniques before she's ready." Scootaloo gulped, getting to her hooves as well.

I got to my feet, reached into one of my pockets and pulled out a bullet. “Alright Domon, it was nice to meet you. Take this,” I said as I put the bullet in his hand. “This is my token. If you ever need my help just give me a call.”

“And the two of thee are always welcome to return,” Morning Star added. “I would like to have a rematch with thee Scootaloo.”

"I'm gonna cream ya!" The filly said cockily, standing next to her master, who nodded to me that they were ready.

“Domon, our contract is complete. Take care of yourself. You too Scootaloo.” They both gave a bow, vanishing in a burst of flame.

I turned back around and saw the mischievous expression Celestia was giving me. "So Vash, perhaps Morning Star and thee wouldst like to tell us how the two of thee began thy courtship?"

Morning Star and I shared a nervous look and I let out a weak chuckle.

'Something tells me this is going to be a long day.'

	
> Getting called Upon by the Terrarian Tank.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

     
I was walking down the halls of the Castle of the Two Sisters with a spring in my step and a smile on my face. I was on my way to the courtyard that morning. The day before Morning Star invited me there for training to keep the two of us in shape. I wasn't all that keen on training, but I did love spending time with her. I closed my eyes and started to whistle a made up tune as I walked down the familiar halls. Unbeknownst to me, a portal opened up in front of me and I walked through it. When I opened my eyes I was standing in a room that nowhere near resembled the castle I had been in.

    	“Uhh, I didn’t think I made a wrong turn at Albuquerque, where am I?” I said to no one in particular.

        “Who the hell are you?” The guy who must've been the Displaced said, drawing a strange blade with a cat cross section, turning it into its full size form and pointing it at the me as I came through the portal. My eyes seemed to widen behind my glasses and I threw my hands up in a panic.

        “Gaaaah! H-hey, there’s no need to point anything that dangerous at me! Weren’t you the one that summoned me?!”

        “The hell are you talking about?! I didn’t summon anyone! Just who the hell are you?!”

        “Keep it down in there! Some of us are trying to nap!” Came the angry scream of an elderly pony.

        “Sorry Granny!” The Displaced yelled before turning back to the intruder and talking softly. “Who are you? And what do you mean, ‘I summoned you’?”

        The intruder’s head drooped slightly and let out a sigh while keeping his arms extended. “Didn’t you get the message on my bullet? I’m Vash… well that’s not my original name, but it’s what I go by now.”

        “Mhm. Alright, I don’t believe that.” Richard said. “Seriously, who are you?”

        “Really, you don’t believe that?” Vash said as he let out a little huff. “I guess this is your first time running into another Displaced, huh?”

        “The hell’s a Displaced?” The Displaced questioned.

        “Well, I’d be more inclined to answer that If there wasn’t a sword pointed right at my jugular,” Vash replied with a weak grin.

        “Fine. But don’t do anything… questionable.” The Displaced said, lowering his sword. He then remembered the whole reason why he got out of bed. “And you can wait for me to use the bathroom first.”

        “Yeah, take as long as you want.” I replied with a sigh of relief as I put my arms down and sat on the bed. “It’s not like I can leave and go anywhere.”





        After taking a quick trip to the bathroom and taking me outside -as well as explaining why I was here-, The Displaced and I were out in the Apple Family orchard, walking around and talking about things.

        “So… Again. The hell’s a Displaced?” Richard asked me.

        “Well, a Displaced is someone who gets something from a shady individual and gets sent to a version of Equestria. Once there a Displaced can make a ‘token’ with a message that serves as a sort of business card I guess and allows us to be summoned to other Equestrias. And from what I understand all of us were in a costume of sorts when we became displaced. I’m guessing you dealt with someone who ran a stall at a convention? Possibly dressed as the Merchant from Resident Evil 4?”

        “Eh. It was a shady merchant. I was at Minecon.” Richard explained. “All I know is that he kinda just handed it to me while I was playing Terraria in a corner.”

        “Really? Because I had to deal with a creepy guy giving me a pedo smile before I had to deal with my merchant.” I admitted as I slumped over slightly, “And then the merchant took fifty bucks off of me for my gun.”

        “You still have the gun?” Richard asked. “I got handed a replica of Star Wraith from Terraria. Got trapped in one of my items via Discord and lost all my stuff. Hell, I even lost my cell phone, and that was the last of my possessions from Earth!”

        “Yikes, well I still have my phone, but considering there aren’t any outlets in my Equestria it’s about as useful as a plastic brick at the moment. Plus, I helped the Celestia and Luna of my Equestria trap Discord in stone and turned him into an ornament for the castle garden.”

        “Sounds like fun.” Richard said. “Well, anyways, anything else I should know about Displaced?”

        “Well, I’d recommend wearing a helmet or something. All of the tokens I’ve gotten so far have hit me right in the head. Also, if you make a token then be prepared to get summoned at anytime. I’d say that you should be careful what you do in your private time.”

        “Right…” Richard said before stopping in his tracks and grabbing Vash by the shoulders. “Wait a second, is that a dick joke?!”

        I turned my head and scratched my cheek a little. “What, of course not.” I said with a weak chuckle. “I was just warning you not to do anything embarrassing like playing with dolls that you would claim to be action figures, or ‘collectibles’ when really you know you’re lying to yourself to spare your ego.”

        “... I thought you were talking about…” Richard said. “Nevermind. You sure that’s all I need to know about Displaced?”

        “Well, I’m fairly new to all this myself so I can’t tell you all that much. I suppose I could help you make a token.”

        “And how, exactly, do I do that?” Richard asked.

        “Well, you first have to pick something that represents you, like my bullet does.”

        “Well, the only thing I can think of is the Last Prism, here…” Richard said, taking out the Last Prism. “But it’s a bit too powerful for me to turn it into a token, considering what you told me… Then again, people would only know what it does if I told them… No. I can’t use this. I’m sorry Vash, but I don’t have anything to use as a token.”

        “Don’t worry about it too much, I’m sure you’ll find something to use eventually. Until then, do you still want me to explain the process?” Vash said as he gave Richard a pat on the back.

        “Sure, why not. Afterwards maybe we can actually go look for something.” Richard said dejectedly. “Might find something good.”

        “Hey, buck up there little buddy. You just learned about tokens and you’re acting like it’s the end of the world that you don’t have one.” I replied with a chuckle as I tried to cheer Richard up. “Anyway, after you have a token picked out you concentrate on it and record your message on it. Oh, and a word of advice from another Displaced, don’t make your message stupid like Wade’s.”

        “What’s his message?”

        “I don’t know exactly,” I admitted, “but apparently it’s pretty bad. ‘Pathetic’ was the word the guy who told me about it used.”

        “Sounds interesting. I’ll keep an eye out for the guy.” Richard said. “So, about that little ‘adventure’. You have any ideas?”

        “Hmm, well I don’t know where we are in this version of Equestria so I wouldn’t know about any hotspots or anything. Well, considering we’re on a farm civilization can’t be too far behind. Wanna just look around the nearest town and see what we can find there? Elements from the IP your costume is based on are supposed to show up in this Equestria so we might find a suitable token in a shop.” I suggested.

        “... I wasn’t wearing a costume.” Richard said. “I mean, I did get my Terraria character’s equipment, but I lost all of it when Discord trapped me in the Last Prism. Don’t ask me about it, I don’t like talking about it.”

        “Okay, well I’d still be willing to bet that this Equestria is going to incorporate elements from Terraria, maybe because you were playing it when the merchant essentially slipped you a dimensional roofie?” I wondered.

        “That’d be the Star Wraith replica. I told you that’s what he did!” Richard said. “And you’re right, elements of Terraria did make it over here. I had to fight off cultists and the Moon Lord! You know Cthulhu? Well the Moon Lord is Space Cthulhu! Fucking dick!”

        I blinked at that and tilted my head. “Uhh, isn’t Cthulhu already Space Cthulhu?” I questioned with a strange look on my face.

        “Shut up. This guy shot lasers at me and had eyes in his palms. Was NOT fun.”

        “Okay,” I replied as I threw up my hands defensively, “sorry if I touched a nerve there. Still, what do you think about exploring the local town?”

        “Sounds like fun.” Richard said. “I mean, I was stuck in what’s now the Tree of Harmony for a thousand years.”

        “Yikes, from what I’ve been told, being trapped for a thousand years isn’t all that uncommon for a Displaced. Still, I have to imagine that’s not a pleasant experience-”

        “Since I was part of the Tree of Harmony, if not the cause, I was connected to it and its assets.” Richard said. “That means the Elements of Harmony. I watched what happened to Discord. I FELT what happened to Luna. I saw everything… and I know that shadow is still alive...”

        “Wait, what are you talking about?" I asked as I grabbed Richard’s shoulders. “What happened to Luna? What shadow are you talking about?”

        “I’m not talking about it.” Richard hissed. “What happened to me and my world while I was in my prison, stays with me. You’re better off not knowing, anyways. Just drop it and let it go.”

        “Damn it, Luna is one of my best friends and you just want me to drop this?!” I growled. “How do you expect me to just do nothing when I might be able to help her?”

        “Because I don’t know anything about it. I only know what happened in the end, not how it happened or why.” Richard said. “Sorry Vash, I just don’t know. I only know the pain that I felt when it happened… I… I’m sorry…” Richard started to break down crying at that point, unable to contain his feelings.

        My expression softened at that point and I relinquished my grip on Richard’s shoulders, allowing him to fall to his knees. “No Richie, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have reacted like that. It’s just.... I want to be able to protect my friends. I don’t want to lose them before I have to.” I finished as a tear rolled down my own cheek.

        “Trust me, I feel the same. I just wish I could have been there to prevent everything.” Richard said, drying his eyes and getting back on his feet. “L-let’s just get to that ‘adventure’.” Richard took a few more steps before falling down a hole that he didn’t see.

        I looked over the edge of the hole to see if Richard was okay. “Hey, you didn’t break anything did you?”

        “Just my legs!” Came Richard’s voice. “Don’t worry, I’m just joking! Just come on down here. I think I found our adventure!”

        A devious grin worked its way on my face. “Okay, but I have to warn you that I don’t have much experience exploring holes with other guys!”

        “You’re missing out on an awesome threesome, then!”

        “Ha,” I replied with a light chuckle, “whatever you say dude. I’ll just hop down there and we can get started on our adventure.” I finished as I jumped into the pit.

        “Welcome to mole town, population two weirdos.” Richard said when I reached the point where he had fallen to. “Now come on. I think I saw a light further down this way.” Richard started walking deeper into the darkness.

        “Yeah I’ll be right there,” I said as I slipped my glasses into a pocket and followed after Richard. “Because nothing says good idea like walking towards the light in a long, dark tunnel. Where is this ‘light’ you saw anyways?”

        “What do you mean? It’s just around the corner.” Richard said. “What, you can’t see it?”

        I squinted a bit and tried to see what Richard was talking about. “Uhh, you might’ve hit your head during that fall because I can’t see anything.”

        “Oh great, it’s this shit again.” Richard complained aloud. “Let me explain, this shit happens from time to time. Sometimes I can see things that the others can’t. Like, sometimes things in Terraria give off light. Apparently, no one else can see the lights, though. Makes me think I’m crazy now and then. I mean, I could have given you a potion, but I lost all my potions when I got trapped.”

        “Umm, the both of us were ripped from Earth and are suddenly in a world of magical, technicolor ponies. The jury is still out on whether or not either of us is crazy.” I said flatly.

        “Yeah.” Richard grumbled as he ducked through a hole in the underground passage. “It’s just over here. In fact, it should...”

        Vash ducked into the passage as well and quirked an eyebrow at Richard. “It should what? You’re not suddenly suffering from a concussion are you?”

        “No way in hell. There’s no way.” Richard said eying something on the floor. “Vash, check it out. See that flower? Look what’s around it.” Richard pointed to a rather large and out of place bulb that was growing out of a small patch of grass in the underground tunnel they were in. Around the base of the bulb was a strange red-pink necklace.

        “Well, that’s certainly conspicuous. Is there anything I should know about that thing?”

        “Which one are you talking about? The bulb or the necklace?” Richard asked as he bent over the bulb and attempted to take the necklace off the bulb, only to find it snuggly stuck onto the plant. “This necklace is my Star Veil. It’s one of my items that Discord took away from me when he trapped me.” Richard went back to trying to take the necklace off of the flower bulb without damaging the plant.

        “I was talking about the bulb. I’m no botanist, but I’m pretty sure that flowering plants don’t usually grow underground. Also, sounds like Discord pulled a Metroid on you and spread all your equipment all across this world.”

        “Yeah, pretty much.” Richard said as he attempted, and failed, once again to take the necklace off the bulb. “Ugh. Wanna give me a hand with this?”

        “Alright, stand back I think I know a way to get that thing to let your necklace go,” I said as I pulled out my revolver and leveled it at the bulb. I let off a shot right beneath the necklace in an attempt to get the thing loose. The bullet, however, ricocheted off the ground and into the bulb, somehow destroying it completely.

        “... You IDIOT!” Richard yelled as he quickly picked up the necklace and put it on as a monstrous roar echoed through the underground tunnel. “As happy as I am for having this back, do you even KNOW what you just unleashed upon us all?! That thing summons a boss from Terraria known as Plantera! She’s a near endgame boss, and thanks to you, we just summoned her in noobish conditions! Everyone knows to summon her in a large open space, otherwise she can corner you in a small tunnel!” Just then, the flower started growing back at an alarming rate, growing even past the bulb that was originally there. “RUN!” Richard took off back through the tunnel as fast as he could.

        I was close behind and proceeded to scream as loudly as I could. “Why didn’t you tell me about that damn thing?! I’ve never played Terraria before!” I screamed.

        “Well sorry! I didn’t know!” Richard screamed as he ran for his life. “Just know that if that thing gets close to the surface, it’s not gonna be fun to fight.”

        “I’ve got a crazy idea… maybe we can cause a part of the tunnel to collapse and trap the thing so it can’t follow us.” I suggested.

        “Well, it might work. I’ve only ever fought the normal creatures and Moon Lord, and Moon Lord was out in the open. Hopefully she doesn’t do what she does in Terraria and just phaze through the wall.” Richard said as he drew Meowmere and charged energy into it. “Here goes nothing.” Richard slashed his sword out in front of him, sending out the usual strange cat-shaped rainbow projectile that exploded upon contact with the ceiling of the tunnel. Dust started to fall a little from the ceiling before it started to shake and rocks came tumbling down in a torrent of stone.

        Richard and I heard an aggravated roar as Plantera came upon the impromptu blockade. I looked at Richard with a hopeful expression. “Do you think it worked?”

        “I’m not sure. If I had my phone, I’d have a map that would have told me.” Richard said. “The maps in game translated to being on my phone, and that map always displayed bosses… Well, it displayed Moon Lord. But to answer your question-” Another roar from Plantera caused Richard to pause. It sounded a bit more far off and… not there. “I think it worked. Sounds like Plantera is going back to whatever state she was in. Hopefully no one else summons her on accident.”

        “I know what you mean… maybe we should tell the Apples about this hole on their property and help them fill it. Do you think they have cement in this Equestria?”

        “Not a clue.”





        One hole filling later, as well as enough time to explain what the hell just happened…

        “So, Vash. Mind explaining the whole token thing again?” Richard asked as he looked at the Star Veil that was hanging around his neck.

        I nodded as  I scratched my chin in thought. “Well you hold what you want to use as your token and concentrate on it while recording your message.”

        “Yeah. Now, here’s a question, will I get a copy of it?” Richard asked.

        “Uhhh, I wouldn’t know. I used a bullet and for some reason I don’t think I can run out of the things. Like I said before, I’m fairly new to this whole Displaced thing myself.”

        “Ah. Great.” Richard said, taking off the Star Veil. “Well, might as well see. So, just say an oath or something that tells people about me?”

        “Yup, just say whatever comes to mind. Don’t be afraid to get hammy with it either.” I replied with a nod and a grin.

        “Alright then…” Richard said. He started to concentrate energy into the Star Veil before saying his ‘oath’.

        “For those of you who need someone to take a hit for you, those of you who need an extra hand, call on me, the Terrarian Tank, to help. And while I may not be the nicest of people, I can still help out in a pinch.”

        “How’s that?” Richard asked.

        I had a big smile on my face as I gave Richard a thumbs up. “That’s perfect! Now, concentrate on sending that across the ether and toss it as hard as you can.”

        “... Really? That’s it?” Richard questioned. “No demonic ritual, no crazy summoning, just toss it?!”

        “Well, once you’re done with that we’ll have to sacrifice a goat and chant in ancient Sumerian to Baal, but other than that, yeah, that’s all.” I replied with a shrug and a chuckle.

        “Oh ha ha. Very funny.” Richard groaned before chucking the Star Veil as hard as he could, a portal opening up and accepting it. Immediately afterwards two identical portals opened up, one in front of Richard, the other behind me. Identical Star Veils shot out of the portals. Richard caught the one that came at him, while I got pelted in the back of the head. “WOO! I get to keep the damn thing!” Richard put his on right afterwards.

        “Ow! why do I always get hit in the head with these things?!” I cried as I picked up my Star Veil. “Does the Multiverse hate me?!”

“Dude. That sounds hilarious.” Richard chuckled. “Anyways, you might want to know what the Star Veil does. Basically, if you get hit, ‘stars’ will be called from the heavens to strike whoever hit you and you’ll be given a minute of invincibility, and that’s pretty much it.”

I grinned a little as I slipped the necklace into one of my pockets. “I’ll have to save that for later. Never know when a minute of invincibility will come in handy. I could get a lot done in that amount of time.”

“Well, I mean, it’s not a one time use, so yeah.” Richard explained. “All you need to do is wear it.”

        “Really, well I’ll still put that on later. My marefriend likes to use me as a sparring partner and the last thing I need is for her to get attacked by stars.” I replied with a chuckle.

        “Alright then, glad to see you care about someone… Just makes me think if she still cares about me the same way as she used to…”

        I saw the look on Richard’s face and tried to cheer him up. “Hey,” he started with a slap on the back, “don’t you worry about that kind of thing. A guy like you can’t be so easily forgotten by whatever lady-friend you’re thinking of.” I finished with a massive grin.

        “Yeah, probably not. Hell, she and her sister carved their marks on the Tree of Harmony when they realized what happened to me.” Richard exposited. “I miss her so much… Her cheery smile… Always brightened up my day. Maybe I’ll see her again soon.”

        “Here’s hoping you do.”  Vash said with another pat on the back. “So, is there anything else you need from me?”

        “Well, considering summoning you in the first place was an accident, not really.” Richard said. “So, uh… How do I send you back?”

“Well, first you grab a chicken and cut its head off. Then you draw a pentagram in its blood and…”

        “Dude. Enough of the cult jokes.” Richard said, annoyed.

        “Alright, there really isn’t much to it.” I replied with a chuckle. “All you have to do is say, ‘Vash, our contract is complete,’ and I’ll go back from whence I came.”

        “Well, that seems simple enough.” Richard said. “Vash, our contract is complete.”

        A swirling, green, triangular portal opened up behind me and I turned to start walking into it. Right when I was just about to enter it I turned back to Richard with a smile and a wave. “See ya later Richie. Use that bullet to call on me whenever you need me.... or when you just need someone to remind you that you’re not as insane as you’re thinking you are at the moment.” I said with a chuckle.

        “Later, weirdo!” Richard called back as I stepped through the portal. 
> Ponylands, the Pre-Crossover Pt. 1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

[???]

        A Scav’s head exploded as a bullet penetrated his air bubble and the sudden interruption of his atmosphere and violent disruption of his flesh allowed the vacuum to make quick work of him, sending his body floating in a reflex moments before it started being digistructed.

        “Great, another one with a Priority Medivac Access. How many of these damn idiots have one of those?” Jack hissed as he walked through the hall, blood and bodies everywhere inside the atmosphere-filled building as he approached the doorway to the outside the idiot had tried to attack from. There’d be more, but a good number of them had Priority in the old Dahl Medivac system somehow. Jack scoffed as he wiped some blood from his sleeve, only succeeding in spreading it across the black leather. “There’s more blood in atmosphere, I keep forgetting that.”

        “Hell if I know!” Wilhelm shouted as he shot yet another Scav that had dropped down from the ceiling with his glitching shotgun, the gun currently glowing yellow. He turned to shoot someone else, only to hear a click when he pulled the trigger. “I NEED MORE GUN FOOD!”

        “Loot one of these idiots, I’m sure they’ve got some shotgun ammo.” Jack offhandedly said as he kicked a corpse with one of his blood-coated yellow hooves, bringing up his Vladof pistol to neurotically reload it.

        “I found one bullet. One.” Wilhelm said as he looted the only Scav he saw with a shotgun. “The hell kind of moron only carries one extra bullet?”

        “The kind saving a way out in a hopeless pinch. If it isn’t a shotgun round give it here, I’m pretty dry myself on my pistol ammo.” Jack mentioned as he noticed his pistol mag was one short.

        “Here, take it. I’m full up on pistol ammo, anyways.” Wilhelm said, tossing the bullet to Jack.

        “Thanks.” Jack paused for a second, his horn tingling and something telling him this bullet was different somehow, but he shrugged and slotted it into the top of his magazine, fitting perfectly with the other rounds before he slammed it home into the machine-pistol. “Now then, time for some EVA again.”

        The rest of the crew, for their own reasons, were off doing something else, so only Jack and Wilhelm were working on getting access to Crisis Scar at the moment. “Why didn’t we just kill that claptrap and have Frag open the door?” Wilhelm asked, maybe for the fifth time.

        “Because, the geniuses put the doorman on the wrong side of the door, it only opens from the other side. So we need the robot to tell us where an alternate entrance is. Now stop whining, geez, when you were just Wilhelm you weren’t such a little bitch. Did Trixie really bring out some of the old you?” Jack asked as he twirled his pistol in his hand.

        “Shut up before I decide to shoot you instead.” Wilhelm warned, pulling out his Nukem.

        “There’s the murderous psychopath I know and love.” Jack joked with a smile as he aimed at the nearest approaching Darksider goon now that they were outside on the top of the building, exposed to vacuum with his Oz kit springing to life and covering his head with the air-giving blue head-bubble. “Oh I love a good airless tumble.” Jack pulled the trigger.

[Vash’s Workshop, Vash’s PoV]

        I was working in my forge as I was putting the finishing touches on repairing a rookie guard’s armor. I wiped my brow as I frowned a little at a particularly large gash in the breast plate.

        ‘Honestly, can’t Morning take it easy on the new guys just one time? I swear half of my job is fixing the armor she breaks during training.’ I was  about to turn to Hammerfall and ask how he was making out on his own set of armor when I felt a sinking feeling in my stomach. ‘What the hell was that?’ Before I could think more on that, my vision was filled by a flash of white light. Before my vision could completely clear up I tried to take a breath only to be met with nothing, my eyes widened as my vision finally came back to me as I was greeted by what looked like a massive gunfight. I didn’t have much time to wonder what was going on as my body screamed for me to find some air, the obvious complete lack of pressure on my body pulling me in every-which-way.

        I stood there choking as two anthro unicorn stallions, one seemingly normal and the other being an actual cyborg traded fire with the Space-Balls dudes what with their familiar helmet designs and black outfits, until the yellow one noticed me and his eyes widened before he seemed to be shouting something towards the yellow-gray cyborg, which I couldn’t hear due to the vacuum, and they both rushed towards me, the yellow one holding a triangular box as I started blacking out, everything was fading.

        Suddenly, I gasped I felt gravity fully reassert itself, and breathable air filled my grateful lungs. “What the fuck?!” I heard someone shout, but the voice was extremely distorted with a very deep and tinny robotic tone. “You know where the hell we are? ‘Cause this sure as hell isn’t Elpis.”

        “How the Tartarus did you two get into my forge?!” I heard Hammerfall yell as I turned to see the two strangers from the previous gunfight. Hammerfall had the largest hammer in the forge leveled at them as his nostrils flared most likely due to the smell from the blood they were covered in. “Explain thyselves before I am forced to take drastic measures!”

        “Word of warning, don’t threaten me.” Wilhelm growled, leveling the barrel of his Nukem at Hammerfall.

        “Wilhelm, not inside. You’ll make a mess.” Jack quickly raised his pistol at Hammerfall, and before I could say anything, he shot the hammer out of the strong stallion’s grip at just the right angles to prevent actually hurting the stallion. The fact that it was with a burst of fire, rather than controlled individual pulls of the trigger, was even more impressive.

        “Do I look like I give a crap?” Wilhelm said sarcastically, not changing his aim. “This guy just threatened us. I don’t take too kindly to shit like that, and you know it.”

        “With a hammer? Wil, put it away.” Jack rolled his eyes. “Cyborgs and their toys.”

        I pulled out my own gun without leveling it at either of the strange visitors and cleared my throat loudly to get everyone’s attention. “Excuse me, but I think that’s enough threats for one day.” They both whirled their attention to me, but the cyborg kept his very big rocket launcher aimed at my friend, and they froze more in surprise than worry.

        “Wilhelm?”

        “Yea Jack?”

        “Is that Vash the mother-fucking Stampede aiming a Mateba .45 Long Colt Custom at us?”

        “I think so.”

        “Okay. AH~!” The stallion named Jack literally fancolt-squealed as he started dancing in place.

        “GET A HOLD OF YOURSELF!” Wilhelm said, smacking Jack upside the head. “I liked that anime, too. I’m not going to freak out about it, though.” Wilhelm changed his aim from Hammerfall to me. “Drop the gun, pretty boy. I’ll put this away afterwards.”

        “Dude! It’s Vash The Stampede! You shoot that, he’ll somehow redirect the rocket with his dumb luck and we’ll die instead from our own hubris!” Jack screamed in fear as he tried to hilariously push the cyborg’s aim away from me, his average stature and apparently average strength not even budging the bigger, stronger, heavier stallion at all.

        “Yeah, at least I’ll go out in a blaze of glory, though.” Wilhelm scoffed as his friend futilely attempted to change his aim. “Do you not remember the splash damage on this damn thing?”

        I let out a sigh as I watched the two have their little fight. “How about this, we both put away our weapons on the count of three. Does that sound good to you Heavy Weapons Pony?”

        “Sounds better than shooting you with a miniature nuke.” Wilhelm said.

        “Oh fuck no! Dude, did you forget how FAST Vash is? We put away our guns, we’re good as injured!” Geez, whoever Jack is he needs to calm down, I’m not going to hurt them if I don’t have to….

        “And do you remember Vash’s attitude?” Wilhelm reminded as he put away the very large, and very dangerous, launcher, it vanishing behind his back in a flash of blue light and pixels. “Since when did Vash kill anyone?”

        “Legato? I mean, he was forced to, but I said injured, I don’t even know if our shields can take the kick of a .45 when almost all pistol types were made universal several decades ago.” Jack mentioned by summoning a bullet from the air in a similar flash of blue light, the bullet clearly being smaller than my ammo. “They just have differential impact force varying from the kinetic amplifiers of gun types these days.”

        “Let me try again, since when did I care?” Wilhelm said, snatching the gun out of Jack’s hand and doing what he did with the launcher to it. “Either way, our shields can tank the occasional sniper shot or rocket. You forget that? There ya go, kid. Our guns are gone. Now put your stuff down.”

        “Oh yeah….”

        I let out another sigh as I watched the two bicker at one another as I did a little spin with my pistol before holstering it. ‘Something tells me these two are always like this.’

        “Okay, now that we’re done leveling weapons of mass destruction at each other, let’s see if we can have a civilized conversation, okay?” I said as I smiled at the two. I then turned to Wilhelm keeping the grin up. “By the way. I’m the one with the biggest gun in the room so don’t even think about leveling a nuke launcher at my friends again.”

        “Yeah, nice bluff. I see and sense that thing on you.” Jack gestured to the armband ensuring I don’t have any misfires. “I’m an arcanotech engineer with a degree from Eden-6 Mega University. You can’t exactly have something like that on display and not be noticed by me.”

        “I can take this thing off you know.”

“Faster than Wil or I can blast you? No chance. We have all the cards dude, just accept it and we’ll get along just fine. Now then...is this an old-fashioned smithy? My gosh. I haven’t seen one of these since we were on Promethea.” Jack whistled as he walked around, examining things with a critical eye. “Good work.”

“Oh yeah, that’s right, you used to be a backyard smith on Earth. Making things from smelted soda cans and repurposed car frames.” Wilhelm commented as he casually picked up a piece of armor, inspecting it. “Geez this thing’s been through the ringer.”

“Yeah, that would be the work of my marefriend. She’s the captain of the guard and is intense when it comes to training.” I answered as I took the armor from him politely.

“A ‘Captain of the Guard’? Just how backwards is this planet? I mean, I’m seeing nothing but medieval works here. Broadswords, shields, armor? Where’s all the guns, shield emitters and bullet presses? I don’t even see a-.”

“Jackie. This isn’t Elpis. I doubt this is even our universe anymore, got it?” Wilhelm interrupted. “I mean look at how they reacted to the Nukem. They looked like they were scared out of their wits and their meals.”

        I frowned at Wilhelm’s retelling of events but ignored it. “Okay, it seems this is the first time either of you have interacted with another Displaced, am I right?”
        
        ‘Considering they summoned me in space, that’s a dead giveaway.’ I thought grumpily.

“The fuck’s a Displaced?” Jack asked bluntly.
“The hell’s a Displaced?” Wilhelm asked bluntly.

“Canst thee have this conversation elsewhere?” Hammerfall growled. “I wouldst like to be able to finish my work without the threat of two lunatics who reek of death.” Hammerfall waved a hand at his snout, indicating he didn’t like the stench the two blood-covered stallions produced which neither of them seemed to care about.

        “Sorry Hammerfall, I’ll take them somewhere else.” I said as I motioned for the two to follow me out of the forge. Jack was more eager to follow me while I’m fairly sure Wilhelm was grumbling something disparaging about me and I swear he was ready to pull a weapon from behind his back, like he wanted to test my ability to dodge bullets. Or just treat me like a blood filled target dummy, either or. I stopped in front of one of the trick walls and turned back to the two as I looked them over. “Alright you two, first thing’s first, you two need to wash all that blood and miscellaneous gore off of you so you don’t freak out the rest of the staff.”

        “Really? Geez, ponies in this place are squeamish. Let me guess, they’re herbivores too.” Jack mocked, and after a short silence of me not wanting to respond. “You’re kidding? Ponies here are grass-feeders? Ugh, I can’t imagine life without meat.”

        “There’s still meat here. It’s just mostly used to feed foreign dignitaries and things like that. Also, they don’t seem to have a problem with eating eggs or things made with them, so it isn’t all that bad… the chef still needs to learn how to cook a decent steak though.”

        “I hope we’re not stuck here, Trixie and I still have that date to resume at that steakhouse once we stop Helios from blowing up the moon.” Wilhelm grumbled, and both of them groaned as their stomachs roared in hunger.

        “Uhh, I’ll have to get back to you on that one. I’m still not sure how the two of you got here. Now, let’s get you two cleaned up and annoy the castle chef for all the meat they have!” I beamed as I pressed on the trick wall causing it to rapidly spin and bringing us to a hidden spiral staircase.
        
        “Is...is this made of actual wood?” Jack marveled at the spiraling stairwell banister, running his hands along the oak handrail as if it were a treasure.

        “Uh yeah, it is. Don’t they have wood in your Equestria?”

        “Pfft, no? Try almost the whole damn galaxy. Name a planet; it’s forests have been cleared. The only places you can find actual trees anywhere are rare little pockets of woods where nature nuts defend them from wood poachers.” Wilhelm informed as if it was common knowledge.

        “That sounds awful. But who am I to say anything about the politics of another universe. I’m an engineer, not a political science major.” I said with a shrug as I started to lead them up the staircase.

        “Well if any intelligent person found a seat of power, I’m willing to bet they’d actually try to restore the forests of the galaxy. I mean, one planet is bad, but every inhabited planet in known space? Idiots. Even the new colonies rapidly deforest their planets, the big-name companies most at fault for it are Jakobs and Dahl. They snatch up all the wood they can, fucking assholes. Good guns though.” Jack exposited as he noticed their hooves leaving a trail of bloody hoofprints. “Uh, sorry, just clean that up later. We usually aren’t this messy, but the fighting was in real close-quarters this time around.”

        “Well, if your universe is anything like back home then I’d say those companies have the politicians in their pockets. And don’t worry too much about the mess. Only a handful of people in this castle know about these passages, they wouldn’t be a secret otherwise.”

        “Good, don’t want any whining about the blood. Anyway, as for that bit about the politics, the companies don’t have them in their pockets, they actively run everything. Pandora and Elpis just happen to be a taboo for anyone to really touch thanks to Dahl, then Atlas, but now Hyperion is trying to pick up the pieces.” Wilhelm informed as we reached a stone door that was only visible from this side, and I opened it to reveal a public washroom with a line of curtained shower/tubs made of bronze and stone tiles.

        “Ah, good to see you went the smart route and had bronze tubs instead of porcelain. That stuff was stupid.” Jack commented as he immediately started shucking off his clothes, getting me to blush in surprise.

        “H-hey I’m still here!” I shouted indignantly.

        “And?” Wilhelm asked as he was undoing the straps of his shirt. “You kill enough guys, you see enough dead bodies, nudity is nothing.”

        “Alright, well not everyone has as cavalier an attitude about nudity as the two of you,” I told them as I turned away from them. “Give a guy a warning the next time you do that. The only naked thing I like to see naked is a woman… or mare in the case of this world. The last thing I want to see is your dangly bits.”

        “Wow, preach like you’ve lived on Eden-5 your whole life. Most of our universe couldn’t give a damn, some of the poorest places are all in the nude. Anyway, since you’re too insecure to join us for some locker room humor, take these.” I turned slightly with my eyes closed to suddenly have a huge amount of wet, filthy, disgusting clothes slammed into my arms. “Door’s that way, if there’s no towels we’ll just walk out in the buff. See ya in a half-hour, washing blood out of fur is a task and a half.”

        ‘How do I get into these situations?’

[Royal ‘Tea’ Room]

        I was sitting in front of Celestia and Luna, feeling incredibly embarrassed with my hands covering my face while Jack and Wilhelm casually reclined into the chairs they sat in. Celestia and Luna did their best to keep their eyes above their waist levels but with varying degrees of success.

        “Vash, wouldst thou like to explain why we hath found two strange ponies wandering our halls nude?” Luna asked as she turned to me, eyes darting against her will towards Jack now and then.

        “I honestly don’t know. You’d have to ask Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Boom Boom over there.” I answered still burying my head in shame. 

        ‘I kind of wish I had just stayed in space.  I’d rather be anywhere but here.’

        “Hey, not our fault your staff can’t handle raw sexiness. Besides, there weren’t any towels or robes or whatever in the washroom and we weren’t going to just hide in there like cowards.” Jack casually stated as if his junk wasn’t on display for the rulers of the land. “You get your clothes destroyed during combat, you don’t have the luxury of modesty, so you get used to being exposed.”

        I turned to them with a death glare leveled at Jack. “Didn’t I tell you to just wait until I could borrow some clothes from a guard your size!” I growled at them.

        “And risk my servos getting too much moisture in them? Pfft, yeah, right. Moisture is killer on my joints. I’d rather give a show than have Jack have to perform maintenance on me again. I’m surprised you mares aren’t all turned off by my augmentations like most are.” Wilhelm commented as he flexed his diamond dog-like left arm’s claw.

        “We art used to seeing someone with a metal arm.” Celestia answered with a shrug. She then turned to Jack with a bit of a smirk. “Though we aren’t used to speaking with handsome guests in private. Especially when they are disrobed.” She finished with a wink that caused a pang of jealousy to shoot up my spine.

        “Well, being hit on so openly by an alicorn. I can’t believe it. Sure, normal beautiful ladies I’m used to but...this is new.” Jack sheepishly closed his eyes with a light blush and rubbed the back of his neck with his hand. “You wouldn’t believe the kinds of trouble my face alone has given me.”

        “I’ve foiled thirty-seven attempted rapes on his person in the past year I’ve known him alone.” Wilhelm supplied with a sigh, getting us all to balk. “I wish I was exaggerating, but I’ve kept a tally.”

        “That doesn’t count the several times I turned the tables right?” Jack asked and Wilhelm shrugged indifferently. “I’m not a prude, or cruel. Some ladies just really need a release. I’m not selfish enough to keep my handsomeness entirely to myself.” Jack admitted with a bit of confidence and also nervousness tingeing it. “Well, sometimes they just happen to be really persistent, or are my type to begin with and resisting all but becomes pointless. I love strong girls mostly, the take-charge type. That one politician we did a job for, remember Purrscilla?”

        “That Jaguar? Oh, who could? She was scary. And not even the way she yowled when you two went at it on her desk-.”

        “Okay, we get the idea you two, we all get the point.” I interrupted as I gritted my teeth at the two. “Oh and here, I actually did get you some clothes before everything went to hell in a handbasket.” I finished as I tossed them some clothes I managed to get from a pair of guards.

        “Oh, thanks, it’s a bit drafty in here.” Jack commented as he accepted the trousers and I couldn’t help but notice with a pang of inner green fire of jelly how disappointed both Celestia and Luna were that the show was apparently over.

        “Yeah, same here, I just hope this scratchy fabric doesn’t catch on my legs.” Wilhelm commented as he worked the pants on over his cybernetic legs, and soon only their upper bodies were exposed, I couldn’t grab shirts in time before the screaming and excited mares started raising a ruckus about two ‘hotties’ walking around in the buff.

        “I’m sure you can live through scratchy pants.” I commented offhandedly.

        “But we can’t live, or leave, without knowing how we got here.” Jack decided to cut to the chase now that his and Wilhelm’s nudity wasn’t encompassing all the focus I guess. “So Vash, how the hell did you end up on Elpis? In vacuum? A whole dimension away? And how did you pull us here when you were about to black out from asphyxiation?”

        “I know how to answer one of those questions. You, Wilhelm and I are all something that’s called a ‘Displaced’. Essentially, a Displaced is someone who finds themselves pulled into a version of Equestria after interacting with a shady individual and getting something from them. For me, it was my gun.” I explained as I put my revolver on the table.

        “W-wait...I remember this better than Jack, considering I wasn’t tranquilized on arrival.” Wilhelm said as he scratched his head. “I still can’t remember what we got from him, but both Jack and I bought something from some Resident Evil Merchant at GameCon, then I was suddenly standing at the Dodge Junction spaceport terminal with an unconscious Jack over my shoulder, about to get on a rocket to the moon.”

        “Oh right~, I need to be tranqed for flying. I have violent panic attacks.” Jack admitted with a nod.

        “Anyway,” I started as I ignored Jack’s admission, “once a Displaced finds themselves in their Equestria they’re able to send out a token that has a message on it that allows another Displaced to summon them for a while.”

        Upon me holding up a copy of my bullet token, both Jack and Wilhelm’s ears bent back and they sheepishly pat my shoulders. “Sorry about that. Fired it from my pistol at the start of that shootout you saw.” Jack admitted. “For some reason, I didn’t hear any message, must’ve been too blase about it or something to notice.”

        “Or it could be because that sound can’t travel in a vacuum,” I replied with a blank look.

        “Well actually, no, we’re at fault. We were inside an atmosphere-filled building when I looted the bullet from a scav’s corpse. But I didn’t hear anything, and Jack didn’t either. Also, a point I’d like to ask you two ladies; why didn’t you mention our blank flanks?” Wilhelm asked seemingly off-topic, but held up a hand when I was about to protest, it was apparently important.

        “We did not wish to offend thee. A pony’s cutie mark… or lack thereof can be a most personal topic.” Luna answered.

        “Plus, we may have been distracted by something else in that area.” I heard Celestia mumble under her breath which caused me to grit my teeth again.

        “This might actually be a reason for us not hearing the message, or some silly concept or whatever, but let me broach a topic. Have you ever heard of ponies...losing, their marks?” Jack asked with a hint of despair he was clearly holding back. “I mean...Wil and I, we used to have our marks. Then we were shoved mind and soul into these bodies, we don’t know where the original stallions are, or if we killed them or...but we ARE them now. Not having our marks is a sensitive thing, but not just because we’re blank now, but because we lost what told us for certainty who we are. I’m two people, so is Wilhelm. But who are we? Our marks vanishing just tells us that while we have their names, their memories, their bodies...we aren’t Jack and Wilhelm….”

        Luna and Celestia exchanged a look for a brief moment and seemed to have a sisterly telepathic conversation. They then turned back to the two with an apologetic expression etched into their faces. “We art sorry Jack. We hath never heard of something that removes cutie marks. Even those that suffer from amnesia keep their mark if they had one. There may be a way through dark magic. But it is illegal to study it.”

        Both Jack and Wilhelm groaned. “You guys actually illegalize ‘dark’ magic? The galaxy in our universe only has limitations on kinds of spells.” Jack’s horn lit up with shadows, and a dark copy of him rose from his shadow, giving a wave before dispersing harmlessly.

        “Dark magic was made illegal because of its corrupting nature. It warps and twists even the purest of minds into a true abomination of depravity.” Celestia answered as she watched the figure disappear.

        “Ha! You’re joking! It isn’t the magic, it’s the nature of the person wielding it being brought to the surface. Studies show that ‘dark’ magic is more primal, more chaotic than most types of magic. What you’re describing is more likely the person trying to resist, or refuse the truth. Those that accept it, like I have, don’t go crazy or ‘evil’ or whatever. Sure, I kill people. But you know what? I’m paid to. And it’s usually in self-defense anyhow. I was like this before I picked up ‘dark’ magic a few months ago and developed my Echo Replication spell.” Jack explained as he turned to Luna, his eyes making her wary as he seemed to look through her. “Yeah, but it isn’t for everyone.”

        “Yeah. I remember I used ‘dark’ magic to help make Wolf and Saint. Gave ‘um personalities.” Wilhelm said.

        “Art thou going to at least explain the process?” Celestia asked with a raised eyebrow, and Wilhelm quirked an eyebrow, as if he plainly told her he didn’t care to extrapolate.

        “Anyway!” I interjected, tired of all the going-off-on-tangents these guys seem to be prone to. “So you’re saying your current indecision on your identities makes the message silent? Let’s test that.” I said as I reached into my duster, pulled out Jason’s Unitrix core and placed it on the coffee table for them. “Pick this up and see if you can hear the message. And don’t activate it. I don’t want to interrupt the guy on the other end of that thing in case he’s in the middle of something.”

        Jack touched it first and furrowed his brows, before picking it up and focusing on it, his horn sparking a bit before he blinked. “Yeah, I could, if I forced it. It wasn’t saying anything off the bat.”

        “Alright, that’s interesting. And I guess I can’t fault you for not closely examining it. I mean, you just found a bullet during a gunfight. Hopefully next time I won’t get summoned in space. It wasn’t fun being in space without a spacesuit.”

        “Only scavs and EVA professions use spacesuits. Everyone just uses Oz kits these days.” Wilhelm commented as he held out a hand, and a triangular box appeared in his hand in a flash of blue digitization. “It needs constant refilling from Air Bubbles and atmosphere contained buildings, but they can have up to several minutes worth of air for the trek between air pockets.”

        “We were going to slap one on you, but then you kinda sucked us along with you to here.” Jack added, and that made everyone pause in realization. “How do we get back?”

        I froze, realizing all four pairs of eyes were on me, and I felt a sweatdrop go down my head at realizing the weight of the matter. “I have no idea.”

> Ponylands the Precrossover Pt. 2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

[Royal ‘Tea’ Room]

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU DON’T KNOW?!” I would respond, but I’m currently being throttled to death like Bart Simpson!

        “Wil no! We need him alive!” Jack screamed at his violent partner, trying in vain to use both brute and magical force to pull the infuriated cyborg off of my choking-to-death body.

        Meanwhile the sisters merely looked on in shock and bemusement, while the scene was incredibly violent in nature, somehow, I  made it humorous even while gasping and choking. “Sister, we do not know if we should intervene, or laugh.” Luna admitted.

        “We know, t’is an unusual sensation….” Celestia conceded, equally confused on whether or not they should stop the slapstick.

        I looked over to the two sisters and tried to beg them to help me, only to have a pitiful gurgle escape my lips. Eventually though, Jack had enough.

        “Wilhelm, don’t make me do it!” Jack warned and Wilhelm paused only a moment before redoubling his efforts to strangulate the man who may have well stranded them here. “Protocol 3!” At Jack’s words, Wilhelm roared in anger as sparks ran across him and his cybernetics all seized up, allowing me to break free, taking in great heaving breaths through my bruised windpipe.

        “Damn it Jack! I trusted you with my protocols and you used one against me!”

        “No, I used it to save our asses! See there?” Jack pointed to the princesses who blinked. “TWO Alicorns would have seen you murder their boy-toy and then where would we be? Fugitives! Stuck in a dimension with no digistruct technology! I’m so sorry for my partner’s behavior towards your lover ladies, we will make reparations.” Jack bowed towards the sisters who both balked with light blushes, wondering where he got such ideas.

        “Yeah, I’m not their lover,” I grumbled as I rubbed my sore throat. “The three of us are just friends.” I finished, perhaps stressing the point a little too much.

        Both Jack and Wilhelm blinked, looking disbelieving. “Yer kidding, right? The amount of sexual tension between you three is driving even me; the half-robot nuts. The pheromones are also a dead giveaway. Geez, ponies in pre-history times are clueless.” Wilhelm stated with amazement as his body unlocked and he left his strangling pose.

        Luna let out a low growl as her wings flared a little and sparks of electricity came off her horn. “Tell us Wilhelm, what would happen if thy prosthetics were to have lightning course through them?”

        Wilhelm blushed and Jack sighed. “I’d...likely get off on that actually. For robots, being electrocuted is pretty close to the asphyxiation orgasm.”

        “Princess, I’d advise you stop suppressing your feelings. It’s bad for you. I mean, really. Our Luna is very clearly trying to get my affections and she’s so awkward about it, it’s adorable. I mean, she even wore a dress when we first met a short while ago.” Jack informed in a worried tone that shifted to affectionate nostalgia. “I mean, she couldn’t have been any more blunt about it and at first I was so caught up in the moment with the attacks I didn’t realize it until later.” Jack mused, and then shook his head. “Anyhow, what I’m saying, is she clearly has issues with expressing intimacy, and from what I see here, you do too. Consider this a polite warning Princess, if you don’t be yourself, you’ll just feel so alone.”

        “Jack,” Luna interrupted. “If thou dost not stop thy prattling, we will send thee to the very depths of Tartarus themselves. Vash is a friend and nothing more.” She finished with an icy glare.

        “Luna is right,” Celestia said with a bit of a chuckle. “...About Vash being our friend, not the Tartarus bit. And the pheromones thou art smelling must be… the beginning of our Estrus cycles… that is all.”  

        “Oh, my, gosh. So~ in denial. C’mon Wilhelm, we can’t help these poor diluted ladies. If Vash has no idea, we need to start looking ourselves. Good luck finding out far too late ladies.” Jack waved nonchalantly as he turned and started walking out, cracking his neck as he went and even taunted them with a few stretches. “We’ll find a way, or I’m not a prodigy in magic theory.”

        “I thought you said that diploma was only in Arcanotech Engineering?” Wilhelm asked as he followed.

        “Same thing.” After they left the room as casual as they pleased, I felt a bit out of place and nervous as the sisters both seemed confused, and furious at the same time, at least Celestia was more irritated than angry.

        “I’ll uh… just help those two find the library and try to find a way for them to leave as soon as possible. I am somewhat responsible for them being stuck after all,” I offered as I slipped out of the room and followed after the two unicorns, only to find no trace of them in either way down the hall. “What? How’d they? I didn’t hear their hooves so they didn’t run…. wait, did those two teleport?” I asked myself as I tried to see if there was any trace of them with all of my senses. “Son of a bitch, if they teleported they could be anywhere… including the forest.” I rushed over to the closest window that had a view of the Everfree forest in a vain attempt in seeing the two mercenaries.

        I heard a commotion that sounded like it came from the direction of the guard barracks, and I rushed with all my inhuman speed figuring that they must’ve popped up over there. But by the time I got there, all I found were a ton of guards all knocked around, groaning, and Morning was looking exhausted, pouring sweat and looking like she’d been put through the ringer on a bench. “Morning, did you just kick all your guard’s collective asses again?”

        “Heh, no Vash, twas not I that did this.” Morning admitted as she used a towel to sop up her sweat, which I really did notice added a shine to her fur.

        I let out a sigh and slumped over, then said this. “Let me guess, two stallions popped in, the bigger one got angry and started to randomly attack the nearest living thing.” I suggested what I thought was the most likely series of events.

        “Yes, but twas not the larger stallion who attacked.” Uh...what? “The shorter stallion shouted out for us all to attack, and the next thing we knew, he was putting Private About Face in a chokehold, and proceeded to start flinging him around like a flail. Twas glorious.” Morning grinned, and winced as she touched her ribs. “Thou dost bring forth so many interesting opponents Vash.”

        “Yeah, hopefully they won’t be here for too much longer. They summoned me in an airless environment and somehow I brought them back with me. The long and short of it is that they’re stuck here for a while unless we can find a way to get them back. But first I have to find those two and keep them from destroying the castle. Do you know where they ran off?”

        The sound of screaming cooks and flinging cutlery, both of which being very familiar to me, rang out and I sighed as she nodded in the direction of the kitchens. “Yeah, I’m really going to be glad when these two are back in their own universe. Anyway, do you want to help me get those two to calm down?”

        “Very well Vash, I would be glad to assist thee… as well as get some revenge for the cheapshot that the yellow stallion hit me with. No, quite seriously, he threw Private Cheap Shot into me.” She finished with a crack of her knuckles. I smiled a little as she was the first to rush out the door and toward the kitchen.

        ‘I am so glad that I’m dating this mare.’ I thought as I followed close behind Morning Star, and as we were about to enter the kitchens, a knife flew through the air and she stopped so suddenly I crashed into her, sending us toppling as the knife flew over us and stabbed in the mortar cracks between a couple of stones. “Ow, hey Morning, you ok-.” I froze as I realized the position we were in, I was over her, atop her, her butt up against my pelvis, and I could feel how tense she was under me.

        “Vash...please remove thyself….” Morning said calmly, but with an undertone of something that wasn’t anger, or irritation. Nervousness? Morning? As if! I was reluctant to remove myself from the position (All that guard training worked wonders for her after all), but I figured that if I didn’t, she could change her tone to anger fairly quickly. And I was surprised though when I moved, she moved with me. Needless to say I was stunned when she leaned further back until I was sitting, her in my lap, and her leaning back into me, sniffing my hair deeply as she reached her arms behind my neck.

        “M-Morning?”

        “Hm? Vash? Oh, um….” She seemed to just realize what she’d done and bolted up off of me, her tail flicking. “Um, sorry. I apologize for my behavior.”

        ‘That was weird… a little hot… but still, incredibly out of character for her. Normally I’d be the one to do the more suggestive actions.’

        “Uhh Morning, you wouldn’t happen to be going through.... you know what, forget I said anything, okay?” I said, willing to drop it, but she then looked up at me with a nervous look.

        “Yes.” She said seriously, fidgeting as she blushed and looked around nervously. “I was trying to exert the frustration with exercise, but then those two ruined it and-”

        “Well wasn’t that cute?” Came a strange voice from out of nowhere. “Two star crossed lovers already in the position. Don’t worry kids, we won’t do anything… yet. All depends on how kinky it gets in here. And considering how it seems every mare in the castle has gone off all at once, well, things are about to get rather heated.”

        “Ya know, normally I’d agree to your little proposition but at the moment I’m not really in the mood.”

        ‘I cannot believe I just said that.’ I thought with a grimace.

        “Now, can the two of you stop wrecking up the castle I helped build and follow us to the library so we can try to find you a way home?” I asked as I pinched my brow between my pointer finger and thumb.
        
“Oh? We think thou art mistaken. Art thou insinuating our voice is like a stallion’s?” I finally noticed how disturbingly familiar the voice was as it seemed to get closer from wherever it was, and I froze.

“Luna?”

“Close~.” I suddenly felt a massive hand on my shoulder, and two impossibly gigantic soft things pressing into my back as Morning seemed to pale as she looked up and past me. “Hello there, kid. How’s the soon to be family?”

I tried to turn around only to be blinded by what could only be described as, titanic orbs of unbelievable softness. “Uhh, I hate to ask, but who are you?” I asked, muffled by the fleshy orbs.

“Oh, silly us, forgetting that while under our spell we art invisible to the average observer. Here, let us give thee a better look upon us.” She released me from the magnificent valley of silvery softness, and I had to gawk at her. “We see thou likes what thee sees.”

‘HOLY HERA she’s glorious!’ What stood before us, almost reaching the ceiling in fact, stood what had to be a 15-foot-tall silver version of Luna, wearing a triangular ring-clasped gray bikini top that barely covered more than her nipples, and tight form-fitting faded gray jeans with tribal marks where her cutie marks would be. Also, she had gigantic knockers, and that wasn’t just because she was a giantess almost three times my size, that if I had to guess, were maybe K-cup. “Wh-who are you?” I asked as I tried desperately to avoid having my tongue loll from my mouth as I stared at her. Mostly because I didn’t want Morning to see me drool at the sight of another mare. I’d hate to make her upset or jealous or anything like that. 

“We are Doxuna, a Traveler of the Multiverse. We are also the Traveller. And thou art a Displaced. Clearly, as we doubt Vash the Stampede could possibly be a natural occurrence without him being a pony, or the SEED ships crashed on Equis instead of Gunsmoke….” The mare, who introduced herself as Doxuna mused as she put a hand to her muzzle in supposition.

        “Well, I am a Displaced, actually. I guess you have some experience with us if you know what they are.” I said with a chuckle as I tried (with mild success I might add) to keep eye contact with the tall mare. “I’m sorry if I confused you with someone else. We were just looking for two other Displaced that were randomly teleporting through the castle.”

        “Oh, them? Well, maybe they’re behind that curtain.” Doxuna said with a smug grin on her face as she pointed to a curtain that was clearly not there before. “We mean, it wouldn’t hurt to check.”

        Morning and I quirked an eyebrow at the sight of the strange curtain before I decided to go over to the curtain carefully to see what was behind the curtain with my right hand subtly hovering over my revolver. Something about Doxuna seemed dangerous, hot but dangerous. When I reached the curtain I slowly began to pull it back to see what was behind it...

        Only to be smacked in the face by a coconut cream pie… Actually, it just seemed like one. I’m not even sure what it was made of. Tasted marshmallowy actually. As I wiped the stuff off, I heard both Doxuna and Morning Star laughing at me, so I grinned and decided to ham it up. “Ah~! I’ve been assaulted with creamy death! Blargh~!” I pretended to fall over onto my back, spasming.

        “Vash! No~!” Morning jokingly called out, feeling oddly amused by my silliness as she kneeled at my head and pretended to dramatically pick my head off the floor. “Speak to me my love!”

        I weakly gripped her hand and started to cough weakly. “I am sorry Morning. It appears that this is the end for me. Our time together has been short… but I have never  been happier than when I’ve looked in your eyes.” I cheesed, and she snorted as she tried not to laugh, before deciding to move in and kiss me.

        “Aw, that’s just so sweet!” Doxuna gushed at the sight, before blinking. “Uh-oh….” Doxuna realized something as suddenly Morning Star stopped kissing me, and started fervently licking the cream off of my face. “Y-you don’t want-oh well….”

        “Mm that cream is delicious! What is it made of?” Morning asked as she surprised me by scooping some of the white fluffy cream from my duster and shoving it into her mouth.

        “Well, that would be a secret… if you hadn’t just had some.” Doxuna said, dropping her royal tone. “That was made of my breast milk. Here’s the thing, you’re honey boo boo love right there is resistant to it, to a degree, you’re not. And the last normal being to have my milk went from an 8-foot horse stallion to a 16-foot giant horse stallion. I honestly have no clue what is about to happen.”

        Morning’s eyes widened in panic, and she shoved her hand into her mouth to try and trigger vomiting, but cried out in pain and drew out her hand to see two sharp lines of blood from two holes in her hand, and she opened her mouth wide to reveal two distinctive fangs replacing a couple formerly flat teeth as they grew longer. I was shocked at the sight as they were clearly snake fangs, and they protruded out of her muzzle even when she closed her mouth and she was running her tongue over them, said tongue seemed to be getting longer, and forked.

        Next, she gasped as she fell onto her back, her simple trousers ripping apart as her legs seemed to melt and fuse together. She whimpered as she watched what was once her legs mold and grow longer, longer, until it was at least three times longer than her torso, and began to solidify into a smoothly scaled snake tail that matched her yellow-orange coat, and tapered nicely from her wide still-existing hips to the tip, sadly her beautiful tail had joined her legs and pelvis in the transformation. Then she moaned, and began to grow larger, her whole body scaling up a bit, just enough for the rest of her clothes to nearly shred to pieces, and then her bosom lurched outward in a surge of size, finishing the job and making my nose explode in a small fountain of blood from seeing my marefriend’s sexy bosom bared in such a fashion.

        “Wow...nice.” Doxuna commented in surprise, hefting up her breasts and looking at them in a bit of awe. “Girls, you do wonders.”

        “Y-you just turned my sexy marefriend into an...admittedly even sexier naga pony! How can you be so casual about-.” I was shut up by a powerful hand grabbing my duster, and my marefriend dragging me away on her new slithering coils as she panted.

        “Thou, art to be mating with me. Now!” The mare demanded in frustration as I tried to slip out of my duster, an act harder to do than Vash made it seem on the show. Possibly due to Morning’s iron grip and the bowel loosening look she was giving me.

        “W-wait! Big lady! I’m totally unprepared for this! Help!” I pleaded, only slightly worried by the hungry look in her eyes as Doxuna followed.

        “Mm...I wonder...how does being tail-pegged by a naga feel?”

        “Gaaahh! I don’t want that to happen to me!” I screamed as Morning drug me out of the room and down a hallway.

        ‘How the hell is this my life? Everything was so nice this morning~!’

[Morning Star’s Private Room]

        ‘Everything is awesome….’

        I laid in bed, well, actually, I was mostly lying in the new coils of my marefriend’s long snake body, she curled around me so adorably.with her head next to mine. I managed to roll around in her coily grip to see her sleeping contently next to me. I had to admit that she was adorable when she slept. And it was a rare thing to see her so relaxed. I loved the mare but she could be a little uptight. So seeing her actually relaxed, and happy, was just amazing to me.

        Sure, for our first time together it was a bit awkward, but her fervent NEED overwrote any sort of complications, and she figured out how her new plumbing worked fast enough. Damn was it kinky. It actually left me a little sore. I just continued to lay there and enjoy being in her embrace for a little while. Not that I had much of a choice considering all the layers of coils I was tucked into.

        “I see you enjoyed yourselves.” Oh, yeah, that’s right; she’s still here. I managed to put my head up far enough to see over my lover’s coils and see the naked and relaxed-looking Doxuna in the corner, my mare’s much-longer snake body’s tail near her. Oh yeah, she kept growing as we were going along, it seemed her body wasn’t done yet. I have no idea how long she is now, but with how fast she moves all that length might as well not exist in relative terms.

        “Hey Doxuna,” I said with a bit of a frown. “Do you think you can change Morning Star back at some point? I don’t know how well she’ll be able to do her job with this snake tail.”

        “I’ll be level with ya hun. I like the new changes, and I’m not undoing them even if I knew how to.” Doxuna said with a smirk. “And here’s a helpful tip: I wouldn’t go out into the halls at all today if I were you. Your little romp with her, as well as my help, kick started every single mare in this castle.”

        “So basically it’s a powderkeg of hormones that’s exploded into a huge gooey mess of sexual fluids?”

        “Yes. So much seminal fluids. These halls be baptised in saltiness.” Doxuna joked, but the muffled sounds of some far-off screams of pleasure reinforced her words. “Anyway, you don’t have to worry about the two colts you were talking about, I ran into them earlier in the kitchens and sent them on home. Displaced lost in the multiverse is sadly a common occurrence.”

        “That’s good, but..” I stopped as I looked down at Morning’s new tail. “Are you sure you can’t help me turn her back to normal? Her legs and ass were two of her best features.” I pouted at the end there, only to yelp at feeling a hand goose my butt from within the coils.

        “Whilst I appreciate the fact you enjoyed my legs...art thou saying I am not attractive now?” Morning asked with a pout as she rose up and out of her coils smoothly, her arms crossed under her now G-cup bosom. O gosh that pouting lip along with her fangs was just adorable!

        “O-of course not.” I said as I wove my hands in front of me defensively. “Heh, I was just saying that to add another reason to get you back to normal. I know how seriously you take your position. How can you stay a guard captain when you take up most of a room?” I pointed out to how her coils, even heaped up onto the bed spilled out into the room, and most of the furniture was knocked around or smashed by her powerful coils during the previous events.

        “And? Didst thou not see how fast I was? I crossed the castle in a time that would’ve taken several minutes within barely two, I was able to subdue you even faster than ever. If anything, this new form’s benefits outweigh the losses. Besides.” I yelped again as suddenly her coils moved like greased lightning and wrapped around me entirely, lifting me up to her where we were eye-level, and she cooed. “I absolutely love the sensation of being able to cover so much area….” A coil slithered between my thighs and I shivered.

        “Morning, are you sure part of this isn’t just your heat talking?” I suggested as the coils near my pelvis kept teasing me.

        “Maybe…Maybe I like my new form.” Morning countered as she put her hands on my shoulders and rubbed gently.

        I stopped myself from giving in to her ministration and sighed as I looked down for a moment. “Okay, fair enough. I obviously can’t tell you what to do with your body, but how about this? Maybe you should wait until your heat completely passes and see what you think of the snake bits when your hormones aren’t in the driver’s seat. I’m just trying to look out for you, that’s all.” I said with all the sincerity I could muster as I stared deep into her new, slightly slitted eyes.

        “Very well Vash, I shall withhold my final say in the matter until my cycle ends.” She relented with a sigh before a devious, fanged smirk wormed it’s way onto her face. “But until then, Lady Doxuna mentioned something called ‘tailpegging’ that I am most curious to try with thee.” She said as her grip on me tightened.

        “N-no! I don’t want the buttsecks!” I cried as I tried in vain to escape her powerful coils.        

        “Surprise~.” Doxuna said as she grabbed me and shoved me onto Morning, somehow managing to strip me of whatever I was wearing in the process. “Buttsecks!” She then suddenly disappeared in a puff of…black smoke, I think.

        “Nooooo!” I then let out a primal cry of fear that could be heard throughout the castle, the Everfree Forest, and the nearby countryside.

[Royal ‘Tea’ Room]

        “So...we see thou hath both had quite the adventure.” Celestia said as I sat next to Morning Star, who had to coil around herself to ‘sit’ as she couldn’t sit in chairs now, I was slumped over and silently sobbing.

        “Indeed, for our Captain of the Guard to become so...exotic, in such a short timeframe.” Luna commented with her eyes seemingly stuck on Morning, who grinned sheepishly as she tugged the large night-shirt she donned down in vain, trying to cover her pelvic area despite there being nothing obscene at the moment.

        “I feel like a part of my innocence has died. And that there’s a part of me that’s gone and I’ll never be able to get it back.” I managed to get out between sniffles and sobs.

        “Oh buck up Vash, I am quite content with the turnout of things.” Morning stated as she ran her hands over her wide hip-area, adoring her smooth silky scales. “Also, with how many times we mated, however our respective anatomy works, need I remind thee I might be with foal now?”
        
I fell silent at that and stopped sobbing. I wasn’t afraid of becoming a father. But could I really be capable of getting a pony pregnant? I’d be slightly incredulous of it as a human. But with Vash’s strange Plant DNA… it seemed to make things complicated. There was a reason I became an engineer and not a biologist. 
        
“We doubt that!” Came the voice of Doxuna from out of literally nowhere. And just as she had disappeared earlier, she reappeared, this time behind Celestia and Luna. “Dear me. It seems the sisters have a case of the fibs.” I watched with shock as she reached around the stunned sisters and grabbed a handful of their breasts, getting gasps out of them since the Heat was still on, but Morning had worked out her frustration already. “Sisters, I’m appalled at your denial of your own pleasures in favor of trying to seem fair and impartial. It’s better to just give in.” She leaned down and whispered something into their ears, which flicked and they both gawked up at her before looking at me, making me suddenly very nervous.

“W-why are you looking at me like that?” I asked weakly before the giant silver Luna-like mare was suddenly behind me in a quick poof of that smoke-stuff.

“Because the Traveller’s influence has spread.” Doxuna whispered into my ear, causing a shiver to go up my spine. She draped some kind of necklace over my neck. “Have fun, kid. And keep in touch.” She leaned in closer and gave me a kiss on the forehead before erupting into smoke, or whatever it was, and a small portal opened up and sucked it in. A large drop of sweat went down the side of my head as I looked back up at the two sisters and subtly tensed my muscles in preparation for a speedy escape.

‘Okay, don’t overreact Vash. I’m sure your two best friends won’t jump you… Normally I wouldn’t mind the idea, but between the fact that Morning still hasn’t given me the greenlight for a herd, and the fact that the two aren’t in the right mindset to give consent to something like this….’

        “Uhh, Celestia, Luna, what did Doxuna just whisper to you?” I croaked out to the two of them as I got up to back away, only to be stopped by a wall of scaly and furry flesh behind me that grabbed my shoulders as the sisters both grinned and got up.

“Oh, tis nothing Vash...just that thou has the right...equipment now.” Luna said breathily.

“And really, twas most of what we were concerned with. We didn’t wish to risk hurting thee.” Celestia admitted, and I screamed like a little girl as I was pounced upon. I could feel all three of them trying to peel my clothes off and while normally this would be a dream come true… I just wouldn’t feel comfortable doing this and hearing that they regretted it later. I reached into one of the inside pockets of my duster and pulled out a little something that I had created to help make speedy escapes easier.

        “Not today!” I shouted as I threw the small, grey sphere onto the ground between the four of us, causing a large cloud of smoke to start filling the room. The three mares started to cough uncontrollably and their grip on me lessened, allowing me to successfully slip out of my duster this time, leaving me in my black leather bodysuit and I snuck out of the door as quietly and as quickly as I could.

        “SEIZE HIM!” I took off running at hearing Luna’s command.

        “HE IS TO PLEASURE US!” Celestia’s addition made me squeal as I made it half-way down the hall.

        “Yes your majesties!” Morning shouted as she began chasing after me at a speed I only managed to outpace with my adrenaline and already impressive speed.

        “Maman, why does this have to happen to me~?!” I cried out. “These heat-crazed mares are trying to rape me maman~!” I sobbed. “Agh! Why am I crying in french!” I asked no one in particular as I made a tight turn in the hopes of tripping Morning up as I tried to find a trick wall to hide behind. Luckily, Morning didn’t know about many of the secret passages and even the princesses didn’t know about all of them, so I could hopefully hide in some of the secret areas of the castle until this heat thing died down. Unlucky for me though, she was able to make the tight turn with obscene ease and speed and she was back to being hot on my tail in a matter of moments.

        ‘Oh come on!’ I cried out in my thoughts as I saw Morning’s stunt in my peripheral vision. The end of the hallway was rapidly approaching and branched off into a ‘T’ shaped junction. As the junction was getting closer I noticed the corner of the carpet at the end of the hallway and an idea popped into my head. I tapped into some hidden reserve of energy that I had and put a little extra distance between Morning and I as I reached out and grabbed the edge and snapped it as hard as I could to send a ripple down the rest of it in the hopes of knocking Morning off-balance.

        Again, unfortunately, I forgot she didn’t HAVE legs now, and instead it merely sent her shaking about. “Vash, come quietly and I will ensure the princesses do not hurt thee during the mating.”

        “Sorry, Morning, but I can’t let you catch me. My chivalrous nature prevents me from doing anything to a lady they might regret,” I answered with as much gusto as I could manage.

        “Sorry to hear that love.” Suddenly, her softly slitted eyes sharpened, and I gasped as I suddenly felt paralyzed, as if I were a statue the moment I had looked into her eyes. “Oh...I just wanted to use a stun spell...oh well, I’ll figure it out later. I have two very needy mares to deliver thee to.” She said as she slowly slithered towards me. I tried to move my stunned limbs but could barely manage to wiggle in place,

        ‘Oh shitshitshitshit!’ I cursed mentally as I tried to think my way out of this situation. ‘Come on man, you can’t let your friends do something they’d regret. You’d never be able to live with yourself if you hurt them in any way. Now, the real Vash found himself in situations much worse than this. How would he get out of it?’ I thought as I wracked my brain for a solution.

        “Now be at ease Vash. The Sisters hath been avoiding this for so long because they were worried for hurting thee physically. Now though, that thee has a stallion’s groin….” Wait, what? I didn’t notice anything like that! W-well then again, I couldn’t exactly SEE it during Morning and I’s escapade. But that wasn’t the important thing at the moment. If Celestia and Luna really did want to be with me then I wanted it to fully be their decision without the factor of a hormonal cocktail in their systems. I continued to wrack my brain as I could nearly feel Morning’s breath wash over me.

        ‘Really wish I hadn’t left my duster in the tea room. I still had one or two smoke bombs in there and that really would’ve helped me give Morning the slip.’ I thought as I silently chastised myself while she picked me up with ease and hugged me, just how strong was she now?!

        “Also, consider this my consent to a herd.” She kissed my forehead as she turned around to head towards the sisters, me silently crying to myself for my failure.

        ‘Come on man, you can’t give up just yet!’ I told myself. ‘There has to be something you can do. Just calm down and assess how much motor control you have in each area.’ I tried to move my arms and legs, but I couldn’t even move my metal arm, the nerves that connected it to-wait...there is ONE feature that didn’t NEED my nerves to function...I just hope I don’t hurt her.

        I was thankful my arm was turned away from her as the hand moved out, then down under the arm to reveal a gun barrel, and it fired into a nearby wall, the ricochet startling Morning and whatever power she was using to paralyze me stopped working, and I promptly took off down the hall again. “Sorry Star, but I don’t want my relationships to be entirely based around sex!” I called out as I ducked down one of the junctions and looked for the nearest door to duck into to hopefully confuse her. I quickly found one and quietly opened and closed it just as it seemed that the ringing in Morning’s ears stopped and she rushed to look down the two halls of the junction.

        I took that as a chance to rest a bit and slumped over a little and grabbed my knees as I tried to catch my breath. ‘Here’s hoping that’ll distract her for a while. I just hope that I don’t run into her again. Either she’ll catch me, or I’ll have to knock her out…  if I can knock her out after what Doxuna’s  transformation has done to her. I don’t want to do that, but if it comes to it… Well, I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it.’ I then looked down at my now exposed metal arm and frowned a little. ‘Also, I guess I’ll have to figure out how to make a new glove seeing as I ruined this one. Getting the leather will be the tricky part.’ I grimaced. 

        I didn’t have much time to think about all that as I could hear Morning Star approaching. I knew it was only a matter of time before she found me. ‘Why couldn’t she go down the other hallway?!’ I screamed in my thoughts. I scanned the room, hoping to find some way to escape. Looking around I noticed that I was in a spare storage room for the cleaning staff. Of course that left me with very few options on how to hide. A few seconds later the door opened and Morning slithered in and looked around the storage room and seeming to find nothing amiss. 

        “Vash, I know thou could not have gotten far. Come out now or I will be forced to take extreme measures.” She warned as she swiveled her head around the room. I didn’t respond and hoped that she would move along before finding my hiding spot. I watched in trepidation as Morning moved along the various shelves and pushed equipment out of the way while her forked tongue flitted out of her mouth and her nostrils flared as she sniffed around the room. “I smell thou Vash. Thine earthy scent is unique.”

        ‘Oh crap, that’s right! I’m a Plant, and I’m bound to smell different from any actual mammal! Snakes can smell with their tongues, and track prey for miles too! I’m-.’ I yelped as suddenly the golden-orange coils of my marefriend launched up over her head at me as I was hanging from the ceiling chandelier and ensnared me with lightning-quick speed, and Morning had coiled around me almost completely within seconds as she pulled me down to the middle of the room.

“Yes, thou does taste and smell like a delicious garden salad. Crisp and fresh. Hard not to place where thou is.” Morning throatily purred with a light hiss, it seemed she was getting more into her new body’s nature as time passed.

“Morning please! I don’t want to ruin what I have with Celestia and Luna in a moment of heated passion! Just don’t let them do this while their reason is lost to lust, I’d be more than happy to consent if they’re in their right-of-mind.” I insisted, and Morning sighed as she crossed her arms under her new G-cup bosom in her plain nightshirt.

“Vash, let me tell thee that thine chivalry is to be applauded, but thou truly does not know of the mindset of us mares whilst we are in the throes of estrus. Certainly we are quite dogged in our pursuit of satiating our desires, but we also try to seek out one we trust and care for to sate these desires. If thee refuses them in their time of need when they clearly desire thee, thou will hurt them more than any joining.” Morning explained with a worried frown on her fanged lips. “Please Vash, I have consented to a herd, and I am duty-bound to deliver thee to our rulers for their own physical and mental health. Do not see it as a loveless mating, for that is not true. For it is in the throes of estrus that us mares are at the height of our passion.”

‘...Damn it, I have no more excuses….’ “Alright...but...please...don’t let them hurt me? Especially not Luna. I get the feeling she’s the kinky type, and I don’t want any whips. I’ve got that more than enough with you now.” I joked as I used my arm near her tail tip to flick said tip and she gasped as her eyes dilated.

“D-don’t do that! My tail tip is sensitive!” Morning hissed with longing, clearly she wanted me to do more as her tail tip neared my hand rather than moved away. “Remember? When I pegged thee with my tail I too received pleasure?”

“Please never mention that again, or do that again.” I pleaded as she calmed down and freed me from her coils, both of us moving back towards the tea room. “So...uh...how am I going to handle two mares at once?”

“Do not worry Vash, I shall lessen the burden for thee.” Ah, good. “But also know that I refuse to not have some more of my stallion’s attention too.” Oh, crap. Oh well, goodbye pelvis, I will miss you.

[Celestia’s Royal Bedchamber]

        A gentle breeze, the rustling of the curtains, the sunlight gently hitting my eyelids. I grunted softly as I opened my eyes, the surprisingly soft light blinding me for only a moment. ‘Where am I?’ I questioned, as my personal room was pretty secluded and didn’t get morning sunlight. But the feeling of a few bodies around me brought my awareness forth and I wearily looked to my right arm, seeing Celestia’s beautiful dozing face as her horn gently shimmered, and I looked to the left to see the same thing with Luna on my left arm, her horn also gently glowing, while around all three of us were the coils of Morning Star, who was sleeping with her torso directly atop mine, her beautiful face nuzzled into my chest as she cutely snored a bit.

        ‘It...actually happened...I had a four-way with the three most important mares in my life….’ I only took a brief moment, before I had to contain my desire to cheer out loud. ‘I’m so happy! I don’t want this moment to end~!’ I smiled brightly to myself, feeling so snug with my beautiful friends and now lovers all cuddled around me. ‘But it was late afternoon when I submitted to Morning, just how long were we at it? And how did we make it to Celestia’s room when they had pounced on us the instant we returned to the tea room?’

        “Mm….” I turned to face Luna, who oddly seemed to be the one waking up first as her beautiful cerulean eyes seemed to flutter open slightly and gazed into my own as a gentle smile graced her face. “Good morning Vash, we trust thou art feeling well after our little… excursion.”

        “I guess you could say that.” I answered with a smile of my own. “Though I have to admit, I never expected something like this to happen.”

        “Well, we art glad to see that thou art satisfied.” Another voice cooed and I turned to see it was Celestia who had woken up and planted a kiss at the nape of my neck. “Though we art still suffering from some symptoms of our heat, so thou might have to try and make sure we art satisfied.” She finished as one of her hands gripped right below the belt area.

        I felt a large bead of sweat drop down the side of my head as I let out a nervous chuckle. ‘They’re going to have to put death by snu-snu on my tombstone, aren’t they?’

        “Especially considering thine impressive size.” Morning said as she looked up from my chest tiredly. “Pardon me this time Vash, I am quite exhausted. I’ll leave you three to it this time. But Vash, careful not to hurt them, thou art quite endowed.” Morning warned me as she slithered off us, hissing as she rubbed the scales where her new groin was covered as she gathered her stained nightshirt. “Oh...so sore….” I blushed vividly as she slithered out of the room, and I hissed as my own soreness was made obvious by the two hands grabbing me below the belt under the covers, and the sisters both grinned mischievously.

        “Well...I guess I’ll get used to it….” I said with a weak grin.

        “Do not fret Vash, we art sure that thou will adjust by our next estrus.” Luna cooed as she leaned into my side. “Especially since thou art smelling a bit more like a stallion than purely crisp vegetables.” Um, what?

“But until then,” Celestia continued as she mirrored her sister’s actions. “Thou will just have to humor us and push through any discomfort.”

“Okay, ow...but please be gentle.”

“No promises~.” Both of them chorused with giggles and I groaned in exasperation and humor.

> A Mysterious Disappearance
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Time passed and the estrus cycle finally seemed to end. And somehow, I managed to make it out in one piece despite everything that had happened. I was walking down the hallways trying to find Starswirl. I was a little worried about how he and Clover held up during the incident. I’d hate to think that something would happen to either of them. I made another turn and walked up a flight of stairs to make it to Starswirl’s private study. I came up to the simple wood doors and gave a fairly soft knock.

“Who is it?” Starswirl’s voice called out from within the room.

“It’s me, Vash. Let me in, Starswirl,” I called back. The door was surrounded in Starswirl’s aura and it opened allowing me to step inside. I looked around a bit and saw that Starswirl and Clover seemed to be taking a break from their studies and were drinking some tea and having a bit of finger foods with it. I let out a sigh of relief as I saw that everything seemed okay there.

“What brings thee to our study Vash?” Starswirl asked as he set his cup down.

“Wouldst thou like a cup of tea Vash?” Clover asked as she held up the pot. “Tis a blend that we received from Prance recently.

“No thanks Clover, I’m not in the mood for tea right now. I was just checking up on you two considering what just happened throughout the castle.

Starswirl’s nostrils flared a bit as he nodded and stroked his long beard. “Ah yes, the estrus cycle. I was quite surprised that nearly every mare entered such a state simultaneously. Though I hath heard rumors that those sorts of things can ‘synchronize’ as it were. Clover and I were aware of the season approaching and placed a barrier around the study to prevent any unpleasantness from occurring.”

The instant I heard that I blushed a little and looked between Starswirl and Clover for a few moments. Clover seemed to know where my train of thought was going and threw up her hands, waving them in front of her while a scarlet blush overtook her entire face.

“N-nno, n-nothing untoward happened. Starswirl actually cast a spell that suppressed my urges during my cycle.”

“You can do that?” I asked with a quirked eyebrow directed toward Starswirl.

“Of course, I developed the spell some time ago to help keep things more civil for those who wish to stave off the aggressive behavior and stay productive if somepony so chooses. The only downside is that it is a fairly taxing spell so I would be unable to use it for the entire castle staff.” 

“Do Celestia and Luna know about this spell?”

“Yes, I hath offered to use it on them several times. However, they rejected my offer each time, saying that they would suffer through their desires just as a common pony would. I never pressed them on this issue and hath always trusted that they would keep their composure. Even despite some lingering worries.

As soon as he said that I flashed back to the look Celestia and Luna’s faces after Doxuna had whispered into their ears and everything that happened after that. I let out a little nervous chuckle at that and rubbed the back of my head a little. “Heh, yeah, I’m sure those two were just fine.” I then frowned a little as a sudden thought struck me. “Hey, how come nopony ever told me about this whole estrus thing?”

“What dost thou mean?” Starswirl asked as if I had grown a second head. “Did they not have a similar cycle in thy world?”

“Uhh, I suppose there are some species on my planet that followed a similar seasonal clock for that sort of thing. But humans are the only species back home that were capable of complex speech so they’re the only ones I know how the basics of how their reproductive cycle works. Humans don’t really have a mating cycle to speak of. I mean, human females do have a peak point of fertility on a monthly basis, but it’s not like that’s the only time they’re really capable of getting pregnant.” 

“Fascinating, your planet seems like quite the interesting place.”

The smile on my face faltered for a fraction of a second before I let out another chuckle and forced my smile to get a little wider and responded with, “Heh, I guess you could say that. Really the place had its ups and downs like anywhere. People fighting for the smallest of reasons and it seemed like those with the most money had more say than everybody else. But it was home.” I finished with a shrug.

“Anyway, I should leave the two of you to your work; I’m going to go make sure that Hammerfall made out of all this okay.” I said as I turned to head to where Hammerfall most likely was.

“Very well Vash, have a pleasant day.”  Clover called out as I slipped out the door.

I made my way down to the forge and allowed my mind to wander a bit. ‘Why didn’t I just tell those two that the princesses and I are seeing each other due to some emotions coming to light during the heat thing?’ I asked myself as I scratched my cheek absentmindedly. 

‘I’m pretty amazed that I didn’t climb the tallest tower of the castle and shout out that we had started dating. I guess I want to wait for the four of us to break the news.  Heh, I wonder how everypony will take the news when we do tell them?’ A part of that train of thought caused me to stop dead in my tracks. ‘Did I just say ‘everypony’ in my head? I wonder if any of the Displaced I’ve run into start thinking in pony terms. I should probably ask one the next time I run into them. Actually, I wonder if I could get a group of Displaced together and start a regular poker night or something and talk about this sort of thing with them?’

My train of thought continued to segue several times before I finally made it down to the forge. Amazingly, Hammerfall seemed perfectly fine. He was busy checking over some of our work from before Jack and Wilhelm came to our world. Apparently he heard me approaching because he looked up for a brief second and nodded casually to acknowledge my presence.

“Hey Hammerfall, glad to see you’re okay considering everything that happened.”

Without looking up from his work Hammerfall replied with, “Hmm, oh yes the estrus cycle. Do not worry, I had arrangements made ahead of time. So, how was thy first estrus season? Should we begin creating a set of maternity armor for our Captain of the Guard?” 

“Ha, very funny.” I replied with a small grin. “Gotta say though, I’ve never known you to be the joking type.”

“I hath been working with thee for some time now, some of your mannerisms are afflicting me it seems.”

“Sheesh, you make it sound like I’ve given you a disease or something. Still, to answer your question we do have to design Morning Star a new set of armor, though not for pregnancy.”

Hammerfall quirked an eyebrow at that and turned away from his work towards me. “What dost thou mean?

“Well, we got another visitor from another universe and long story short she caused Morning’s lower body to turn into a snake tail… along with some other interesting changes.”

Hammerfall didn’t say anything for a while and just blinked repeatedly, possibly attempting to process what I had just said. Finally he asked, “Art thou telling me the truth?”

“Hammerfall, in all the time you and I’ve been friends you should know that I would never joke about the loss of such a glorious ass and legs.” I told him with a steely expression that bored deep into his eyes as I put a hand on his shoulders. Hammerfall let out a long sigh at that.

“No, I don’t suppose thou would. I shall go grab the parchment and quills and we shall begin designing the new armor straight away.

Once Hammerfall grabbed the parchment and quills we both started sketching some designs. Mine were a little bit rougher than his. I’ve never really been good at sketching my designs out. We sketched in relative silence our quills scratching along the paper while I thought of a way to protect Morning’s new snake tail. Most of my ideas involved an armor skirt of sorts. My first idea was just a skirt of chainmail that would attach to the bottom of her breastplate. My other idea was a few wedges of plate mail that would also attach to the bottom. I looked at the two and decided to go with the chainmail, it would be harder to make but it would look better and offer better protection. I showed my designs to Hammerfall and he agreed with me on the chainmail idea. We then gathered all the metal we needed and started on Morning’s new armor. All in all it wouldn’t be all that different from her old set, aside from the chainmail skirt it was basically just sized up to match Morning’s larger chest. One change I particularly enjoyed was the one I made to the symbol of the Two Sisters. I had drawn an ouroboros snake around it. It was a little crude, but I thought it added a nice touch. We worked on the armor non-stop and by the end both 0f us were pretty tired after making it. The chainmail ended up taking a lot of our time. 

I placed the fresh armor onto a rack and went up to my room to get some sleep. As I was walking up I passed by the window and saw the morning sun high in the sky. I let out a tired groan upon seeing that. This caused me to pick up my pace so I could get some much needed sleep. After I slept for a few hours I showered and headed down to the kitchen to steal a bit of food before going to the night court. With a simple sandwich in hand I walked into the throne room with a bright smile on my face. As per usual Luna was on her throne with only a few stoic night guards to keep her company. I strode right up to the throne and gave her a large dramatic bow.

“Greetings oh lunar princess, how art thou faring on such a beautiful night?” I made sure to ham up my statement as much as possible. I looked up and saw that Luna was rolling her eyes at me. And with that the status quo seemed to be restored. Here’s hoping it stays that way for a while.

“Greetings Vash, what brings thee to our court this evening?

“The same thing that always bring me nearly every night, to see your beautiful form and to hear your divine voice.”

“Canst thou be serious with thy answer for once?” Luna asked without as much exasperation or irritation as usual.

“I would think you would know by now that I am completely serious when I say those things,” I told her with a wink.

“Very well Vash, we don’t suppose thou willt not stop no matter how many times we tell thee,” she huffed. “Now, perhaps we should adjourn elsewhere for our talk?” She suggested as she rose from her obsidian colored throne.

“Are you sure that’s okay? Shouldn’t we stay here for the court?”

“Guards, we and Vash shall be in the gardens if anypony does see it fit to come to our court then send a messenger there to fetch us.” And with that Luna started to walk out of the room. I took a look towards the guards and they just shrugged. I let out a little sigh as I turned and jogged after her in order to catch up.

A few minutes later Luna and I were on a stone bench and looking out at her night sky. I was on the left side of the bench and Luna was on my right. For a few minutes the two of us seemed content to sit in silence and just enjoy each other’s company while staring at the night sky. After a while I looked down at the mare next to me and I couldn’t help but let out a chuckle. This caused Luna to look at me with a quirked eyebrow and a scrunched up muzzle.

“What is causing thee to laugh, Vash?”

“Sorry, I was just thinking of the first night I was in Equestria when the two of us were looking out at the night sky. Back then you threatened to have me gelded for a simple kiss. Are you going to have my dangly bits taken away after what we did a few days ago?”

Luna blushed at that and made a point to avoid looking me in the eye. “We suppose that we should apologize for our earlier behavior. Twas not the appropriate response for one of our station.”

“Oh?” I started as I put an arm around her and pulled her close. “So what would you do if I tried something similar to what I did then, my fair princess?” I asked as I cupped her chin, closed my eyes and leaned in close. A part of me was half expecting her to pick me up in her magic and threaten to castrate me. Instead, she met me halfway and the two of us shared a tender kiss. I have to admit, I kind of missed the threats. I pulled away from Luna with a dopey smile on my face. “I’d say that’s a vastly different reaction to the previous one.”

“Must thou ruin such a pleasant moment?” She huffed.

“Sorry, I couldn’t help myself there.” I replied with a chuckle. “Still, you’ve outdone yourself with the sky tonight Luna.” I finished as the arm I had around her gave her a little squeeze.

“Thank thee Vash, we only wish that our subjects shared thy appreciation.” Luna said as her body language changed drastically.

“I’m sure they do appreciate you, Luna.” I offered as I turned both our bodies so we could look at each other. “They just don’t show it well. And if you’re worried about them all sleeping during something you obviously put so much effort into, then I can promise you that there will be a time when some ponies will be out during your night and doing things that they don’t even do during the day.”

“And how can thee offer us such a promise?” Luna asked with a quirked eyebrow.

“Because I know it will happen. The same thing happened in my own world. As the technology of this world increases, ponies will find ways and reasons to stay up at night.” I told her as I gave her shoulders a squeeze and offered what I thought was a comforting smile.

“If that is the case, then would thou be able to help with this? Thou hast said that thou studied the technology of thy world. Couldst thou recreate that technology for Equestria?” She asked with a hopeful expression. I flinched a bit at that and didn’t quite know how to answer her. I took a deep breath and let it out slowly as I collected my thoughts.

“You’re right that I do know a bit about my world’s technology,” I could see Luna’s face light up a bit as I said that, “but I don’t think I’d be able to recreate too much from it. For one thing, there’s a lot of technology that I don’t have a clue on how to make it. For another I don’t know if all the raw materials I’d need have been discovered yet. And the last and possibly the most important thing is that I don’t know what kind of effect bringing some of the technology at this point in time would do. In the wrong hands it can cause some serious problems. I’m really sorry Luna."

“Thou hast nothing to apologize for Vash.” Luna said as she looked down at the ground. “Thou knows more about thy world’s technology than we do and if thou says that it could prove dangerous for our subjects then we shall trust thee.” I smiled weakly when I heard that.

“I really am sorry I can’t help you more. But there will be a time when ponies enjoy your night. Until then,” I said as I tilted her chin up once more, “I hope you can make due with one devotee to the princess of the night.” Then, I gave her another kiss. I don’t know how long we were like that, minutes maybe? But after a while we were interrupted by a guard rushing toward us.

“Your Majesty!” This caused Luna to yelp into my mouth and bite down onto my lip. Hard. 

“Gyahh!” I cried as the two of us pulled away from each other. Luna had a bit of color to her cheeks and was smoothing out nonexistent wrinkles of her dress as she turned to face the guard. Meanwhile, I was checking to see if my lip was bleeding. Luckily it wasn’t. I guess that’s the good thing about dating an herbivore, their teeth don’t break skin that much.

“What is it guard?” Luna asked after clearing her throat.

“There is an injured pony in the throne room who wishes to see thee.” This got Luna’s attention and she was on her hooves in an instant.

“Then we must not tarry!” Luna called out as she teleported the three of us in a flash of light. We reappeared in the throne room in a matter of moments. Once we were in the room we were able to see a disheveled, young, red-furred pegasus. His clothes were dirty and torn to shreds. His fur was burned in some parts and gone in others that showed old gashes that were crusted over with nasty scabs. The worst part might’ve been the fact that it looked like he hadn’t eaten or slept for a few days. His body language may have been even worse than his general appearance. He was shivering and his pupils were pinpricks as he whipped his head around the room. It almost looked like he thought something would jump out from the shadows for him. Whoever he was he had been through a lot. That much was obvious.  

“Young stallion, tell us what has caused thee to appear before us in such a state?” Luna asked as she stepped up to the stallion and placed a hand on his shoulder in an attempt to calm him down. “Did some foul creature from the forest give thee thy injuries?” 

“N-no Your Majesty. I was able to fly above the reach the worst of the forest’s obstacles. The cause of my injuries is my reason for being here.” He replied still shaken up but stable for the moment. “I was with a group of settlers that were looking to stake a claim for a new village.” He continued after a deep breath. “We had found a surprisingly fertile piece of land near the badlands when tragedy struck.” He started to tremble again as he started to relive the events. “It all happened very quickly, I did not see who or what attacked us but I remember fangs and a horrible droning noise. I-I am most sorry I cannot tell thee more Your Majesty, but I escaped the scene to tell thee as fast as I could. The last thing I remember is seeing my companions being dragged away towards the badlands in the corner of my eye.” He finished as he started to sob.

“Thy tale is most troubling,” Luna started as she placed a hand on her chin in thought. “We will have to discuss it with our sister and deliberate on it in the morning. Tell us, what is thy name young stallion?”

“It is Hot Streak, Your Majesty.”

“Very well then. Guard,” Luna called out as she turned her attention to the nearest guard. “Take young Hot Streak to the infirmary and see to it that his wounds are treated properly. And Hot Streak.”

“Yes, Your Majesty?” Hot Streak asked confused.

“Twas a truly courageous act for thou to come to us in the manner that thou did.” Luna told him, possibly trying to assuage some doubts. “We shall see to it so that bravery is rewarded, by finding thy companions and punishing whoever is responsible for spiriting them away.” She finished with a flair of her wings.

“Yes Your Highness!” Hot Streak cheered as tears streamed from his eyes, for different reasons than before, as the guard led him out of the room. Once Hot Streak was out of the room, Luna sat down on her throne and got lost in a train of thought. I walked up to her and leaned against the wall next to her throne.

“So, what do you think took Hot Streak’s friends?” I asked.

“We art unsure, but we do know that we will have much to discuss with our sister in the morning.”


	

> Never Drink With a Shapeshifter
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

              Luna and I continued to talk a little while we whittled away the hours until we could tell Celestia about what happened to Hot Streak’s companions. For the most part we tried to bounce ideas off of each other on what exactly had taken them. Well, Luna came up with ideas, I mostly just listened to her ideas and descriptions and considered the likelihood based on the little information I had. By the time Luna was ready to switch off with Celestia we were no closer to figuring anything out and I was feeling the lack of sleep. Luckily, the castle was well stocked with coffee beans imported from Saddle Arabia so I would just have to substitute a few cups of coffee for a good night’s sleep. It was enough to remind me of Finals week.
 
            Celestia came in looking as chipper as ever first thing in the morning. When she saw that I was still with Luna she shot us a bright smile and picked up her pace to come talk to us. “Good morning, how art thou faring? Though Vash, we would think that thou wouldst be in bed by this time. Or were the two of thee taken with each other even after all the time spent together this estrus cycle?” She asked with a sly look on her face. “We had overheard one of our maids saying that the two of thee were caught kissing in the gardens by a guard.”
 
            A deep blush spread across Luna’s cheeks and she tensed up as if she were going to respond, but then remembered there was something more important than Celestia’s teasing. “Unfortunately, more serious things have transpired during our court. Last night, a stallion by the name of Hot Streak told us that a party of settlers were attacked by some unknown force and dragged off into the badlands.”
 
                    “Where is this Hot Streak now?” Celestia asked turning serious.
 
                    “He should be sleeping in the infirmary. He had a few worrying injuries that we thought it best he saw treated.
 
                    “Very well, we think it would be best that we perform our morning duty to raise the sun and then call for a meeting to discuss a course of action concerning these missing settlers.”
 
                    “Sounds good,” I said with a grin. “Now, while you two do that I will be in the kitchen to make myself a cup of coffee and to grab a quick breakfast.”
 
                    “Oh, so thou can spend the evening kissing Luna, but thou cannot even give us a good morning kiss. Art thou trying to make us jealous?” Celestia pouted, though obviously in good nature.
 
                    “Of course not,” I answered as I went up to her and gave her a brief kiss. “I could never stand to make a lady feel jealous. Now, go raise the sun so we can figure out how to save Hot Streak’s friends. And once the rescue is complete we’ll have something to celebrate.” I finished with a wink as I turned to walk out of the room.
 
                    Two cups of coffee, a three egg mushroom omelet, and one dodged kitchen knife later and I was on my way to the meeting room to discuss our plans. When I opened the door I found that I was the last one to arrive. Hammerfall, Starswirl, Clover, the princesses, and Morning were all sitting around a table and Luna was nearly finished relaying Hot Streak’s story.
 
                    “… And the last thing he remembers seeing his companions being dragged away.”
 
                    “Tis certainly a troubling tale,” Hammerfall stated with arms crossed against his chest.
 
                    “What dost thou think happened to them?” Clover asked as she trembled slightly.
 
                    “Hmm, I believe I hath heard tell of creatures that make their home in the badlands. They were called changelings if memory serves.”
 
                    Celestia, Luna and I’s eyes widened as we all shared a look, Jason’s words rang in my mind. “Make peace with the changelings as soon as you possibly can,” I let out a sigh, rubbed the back of my head and shook my head.
 
                    “So, it looks like we might have our first run in with changelings on our hands,” I said.
 
                    “Verily, though it seems we may not be meeting under the best circumstances,” Celestia continued.
 
                    “Thou hast heard of changelings before?” Morning asked with a tilt of the head.
 
                    “Yeah, the first person from another Equestria we ran into suggested that we make peace with them, and he was married to a changeling.”
 
                    “Interesting, though as you stated twas a different Equestria that they were from. Perhaps there is no chance for peace with the changelings here?” Hammerfall suggested.
 
                    “And what should our reaction be then?” I asked as calmly as I could. “Should we have the entire guard find them and wipe them out?”
 
                    “No, I was merely saying that we do not know what these changelings are like,” Hammerfall clarified with a shake of his head.
 
                    “Well if we’re dealing with an unknown then it’s best to just be careful. If we do send guards then we should make it a small contingent and have it so they only act in self-defense.”
 
                    “I agree with Vash on this matter,” Morning interjected. “Equestria was founded on three very different tribes coming together. Who knows what we may accomplish if we made peace with the changelings. But, we should be prepared to defend ourselves if we are met with hostility.”
 
                    We all nodded at that and continued to discuss our plans until we came to a consensus. In the end we decided to let Morning lead a contingency of guards with a message to give to the changelings. I had to admit that I was a little nervous about the whole situation, but I knew that nothing I could say to her would stop her. After the meeting we all visited Hot Streak in the infirmary so we could check on him and to figure out an approximate location of where his companions were taken. Lucky for us he was he was healing well and was able to give us the information that we needed.
 
                    The next few days were spent preparing for Morning’s excursion. When everything was ready Morning and the rest of the contingency of guards were outside of the castle with all of their gear ready and the rest of us were ready to see them off.
 
                    “So, how do you like that new armor?” I asked with a strained smile.
 
                    “Tis truly thy best work yet, the chainmail is quite a nice addition.”
 
                    “I would tell you that flattery will get you nowhere… but that would make me a liar,” I said with an ear to ear grin.
 
                    “Verily,” Morning said with a roll of her eyes before turning to Celestia and Luna. “I will return shortly. Hopefully with the leader of the changelings to broker the beginnings of peace between our two races.”
 
                    “We understand Morning Star; we trust that thou will succeed in thy quest,” Celestia said with a smile and a nod.
 
                    With that, Morning motioned for the guards to move out and they all marched single file across the bridge and out of the forest. All of us continued to watch the guards and the few attendants with them march as they disappeared from sight into the dark canopy of the Everfree. When Morning did finally leave my line of sight I let out a little sigh and my smile drooped slightly. I don’t know if the others noticed the expression but I didn’t think too long about that. I needed to get my mind off of anything that could go wrong for Morning and her group.
 
                    I decided to go down to the library to continue my research into magic theory. I secluded myself into a corner of the room with a pile of books, parchment, quills, ink and candles in preparation for a long study session. I cracked open the first large tome and I could feel my eyes glaze over instantly due to the small text scrawled onto the pages. Basically the book was written out like a book on Physics back home. Normally I wouldn’t have much trouble with something like that, I mean Physics was important to my studies back on Earth. But this was a completely different animal. I had taken a Theoretical Physics class a few semesters ago (I needed an elective and the professor was the overseer for a club I was in) and the professor described how different the laws of Physics could be in alternate universes. One possibility he threw out was the potential for a universe made entirely of anti-matter. Well, now I was dealing with a situation like that. I was looking at rules that almost resembled the ones I was familiar with, but were fundamentally different. The flowery “Ye Olde” speech wasn’t helping me comprehend it any better either. I attempted to press on as best as I could and scratched out notes whenever I managed to decipher something that seemed important.
 
                    Eventually, my mind grew tired of all the relentless studying and my hand started to cramp. This caused my mind to wander. And of course it decided to wander to Morning and her group. Images of a group of what I assumed changelings would look like in our world bursting out from the ground and dragging the guards and Morning to some unknown fate.  I tried and failed to shake the images from my head and let out a long sigh as I cradled my face in my hands.
 
                    ‘Ugh, this is gonna shoot my nerves to hell for as long as Morning’s out on this mission. And I probably won’t make any real headway on my research either. So, what could I do with the rest of my day? Should I try to think of some good date ideas for my three mares? Heh, okay reminding myself that I’m in a relationship with the three most beautiful mares in Equestria made me feel a bit better. So, how should I plan this out?’ I gathered up my pens and quills and headed down to my sketching easel so I could draw up my battle plan for the perfect date ideas for each of my mares. I was walking down the hallway with several ideas popping in and out of my head. A few of which involved me learning to play the lute, when I saw Celestia walking up the hall towards me with a radiant smile on her face.
 
                    “Vash, we art glad to see thee. We were about to take a break for a bit of tea and a light snack. Wouldst thou like to join us for a bit, or art thou too embroiled in thy studies?” She asked pointing at my materials.
 
                    I took a deep bow and responded with, “My lady, I could never deny a request from you. Even if you asked me to lift the sun to rise above the horizon I would find a way to do so.”
 
                    Celestia let out a little chuckle at that. “We believe we can handle raising the sun above the horizon, for now we shall simply ask thee to join us for tea.”
 
                    “Of course Tia,” I said as I looked up from my bow. “But first, would you please send all of my things to the forge area? I don’t think I’ll need them where we’re going.”
 
                    “Very well,” she replied as she lit up her horn in a golden aura which spread to my materials before they disappeared. “Now,” Celestia said as she extended an arm. “May we have a handsome escort to the tea room?”
 
                    “As my lady wishes,” I said as I threaded my arm through hers. The two of us continued to walk in a pleasant silence before stopping in front of two white and gold doors. Celestia’s horn lit up again and the doors opened to the tea room. I unhooked my arm from Celestia’s and pulled out a seat for her. Her smile widened a bit and came over and daintily took the seat. I then took my own seat directly across from her. Celestia made a strange face for a moment and placed a hand underneath her chin.
 
                    “Hmm, we do not like this, but what shall we do? Oh, we know,” with that her horn lit up with her golden aura and I was picked up, chair and all and placed right next to her. She then leaned her head onto my shoulder while minding her horn. “This is much better.” Celestia then grabbed a nearby bell and rang it. A few moments later a maid appeared and Celestia asked for a pot of tea and some snacks. Another few minutes passed and the maid returned with a large cart that had a pot of tea with everything needed to sweeten it along with a small collection of cakes. “Thank you Honeypot, you may leave us now.” The maid bowed and backed out of the room leaving Celestia and I alone.
 
            “Would you like me to pour you a cup and get you a cake, my lady?” I asked.
 
            “We would greatly appreciate that Vash. Wouldst thou put two cubes of sugar and a bit of cream, along with a slice of the strawberry shortcake?” I did as she asked and quickly placed them in front of her. She smiled as she picked up her fork and mused, “We art tempted to ask thee to feed us, but we shall be lenient.”
 
            “Of course, Your Majesty is truly a benevolent ruler and a gracious mare.”
 
            Celestia snickered a bit at that. “This has already proven to be a pleasant break.”
 
            “I have to agree, it’s nice being with you like this.” I said as I ran my hand through her hair before resting it on her back. “Actually, I’m still having a hard time believing that you, Luna and Morning are all in a relationship with me.”
 
            “Oh?” Celestia mused as she leaned up and kissed my cheek. “And why dost thou find it hard to believe?”
 
            “Well, I mean, the three of you are such incredible mares. You and Luna are both princesses of a country and the two of you are powerful enough to lift heavenly bodies with your magic. And Morning is a captain of your guard with a strong sense of justice and is devoted to this country. And I’m… just me.”
 
            “Oh and thou dost not consider thyself to be worthy of our affections?” Celestia asked in a strange tone.
 
            “To be honest, I don’t know what to think,” I answered with a bit of a sigh.
 
            “If that is the case then we shall tell thee what we think of thee,” She said as she looked up into my eyes. I quirked an eyebrow but remained silent and decided to just listen to what she had to say. “Thou art quite the pervert and it seems that thou dost not take things seriously,” I flinched a bit at that. “But, thou hast also done so much for Equestria. Thou helped us defeat Discord, helped build our castle, and thy inventions have drastically improved the lives of our citizens. Also, thou hast been a constant companion for Luna during her night courts. Thou hast quite a few faults but thou art a truly good friend. And we know that we can always trust thee. Does that answer suffice?” She finished with a small grin.
 
            “Yeah, that does make me feel a bit better. Thanks, Tia.”
 
            “Thou art welcome, Vash. If thou has any more doubts then please tell us. We will always be willing to listen to thee.”
 
            “I think I’ll be fine for now, thanks again.” I said with a chuckle as I rubbed her back slightly with the hand resting there. The two of us were in a comfortable silence for a while as Celestia enjoyed her snack. I was just about to pour a cup of tea for myself when I saw the glint of my dampening armband in the corner of my eye. Celestia’s talk of trust replayed in my head and caused a lump of guilt to form in the back of my throat. I knew I couldn’t hide this from her and that I needed to tell her about the angel arm. I took a deep breath and pulled myself away from Celestia so we could get a better look of each other. She looked confused but I just took a deep breath and told her everything about my angel arm. Celestia didn’t say anything for a while and appeared to be deep in thought. I fidgeted a bit in my seat waiting for her response, terrified of what she might say.
 
            After what felt like an eternity she said, “That is quite troubling to hear,” my heart started to sink with those words, “but we were already somewhat aware that thy armband was of grave importance. This just fully explains why it was made.”

        “So, you’re not mad at me?” I asked carefully.

        “We art disappointed that thou did not tell us sooner, but no, we are not mad.” She answered with a smile.

        “Thanks Tia, that makes me feel better.” I said as I returned the gesture.

        “Verily, just be sure to tell Luna of this as well. She worries about thee more than we do.”

        “Ok, I’ll be sure to do that.”

        “Now, we must return to our duties. We thank thee for keeping us company Vash.” Celestia said giving me a kiss on the cheek before getting up to leave the room. Once she was gone I face-planted onto the table.

        ‘Well, that went better than I thought it would. But now I need to find something else to take my mind off of Morning and her mission with the changelings.’ 

A flicker caught my eye and a moment later, Jason appeared out of nowhere.

“Oh sweet it worked, 'sup Vash!” He said with a large grin, looking rather pleased with himself.

        I blinked a few times and even  rubbed my eyes to make sure I wasn’t delusional and replied with, “Uh, hey Jason. What are you doing here? I didn’t summon you by accident, did I?”

“Nah,” he waved his hand dismissively, “I learned a technique called ‘Instantaneous Movement’ that kinda allows me to teleport wherever the hell I want, even outside of my universe.” 

        I perked up when he said that. “That sounds an awful lot like Goku’s Instant Transmission.”

“They’re both from DBZ, Movement is just better than Transmission. Anyway,” he said, cracking his neck, “I don’t mean to just drop in on you but, I kinda needed a break and you’re cool...so...mind if I chill here for a bit?”

        I gave him a big grin as I said, “I’d never turn a friend down. Besides, I needed something to distract me. My marefriend is out on a diplomatic mission and my nerves are shot.” I finished as I got up and stood placed a hand on his shoulder.
        
“Great! Got any place we can just relax?” Jason asked, his shoulders sagging a little, “I’m exhausted...”

        “Are you kidding? I’ve got all sorts of secret rooms in this castle for emergencies. Do you want one with or without a stash of booze in it?” I asked with a big, sly grin.

“Booze, lots of booze,” he smirked, pulling a jug out of his pocket, “Hell, I even brought my own, straight from the goats teat!”

        “Nice, do you want me to grab a few of the guards so we can play some poker or something. Or is this going to be one of those times where we drink by ourselves and start saying things that we won’t remember saying the next day?”

“Probably the second, I’m too tired for poker, plus I don’t know if modern bits work in past Equestria,” Jason shrugged, looking around, 

“This place looks weird without all the changeling stuff...”

        “Why would there be changeling stuff in this castle? It’s Celestia and Luna’s?”

“This place was abandoned about...a thousand years ago. They set up shop on a mountain, with the city hanging off the side. When Chrysalis surrendered to Equestria, one of her terms was being able to turn the ruins into a new hive, which is where I rule from.” Jason explained, taking a swig from his jug before offering it to me.

        I took a swig from the offered jug and coughed a little as the strength of it took me by surprise. “Whoa, that’s some good stuff, but I think I might have something a little bit stronger in my hideaway,” I said with a smirk and handed the jug back to Jason.

“Stronger? Dude this is the stuff the gods drank,” Jason raised his eyebrow, “Oh yeah, I don’t think I ever properly introduced myself last time did I?”

        “What do you mean? I guess you didn’t tell me your last name… wait, what was that about gods?”

Jason smirked, reaching into his pocket, pulling out a black crown, inlaid with rather beautiful emeralds. “I am Jason Hughes, also known as Corypheus Toyason,” he placed the crown on his head, “Ruler of Jotunheim, lord of winter and one of the five ruling monarchs of Equestria. Grandson of Hel, Goddess of Death, descended from the first one Ymir.”

        I blinked a few times and scratched the side of my head, trying to process everything Jason just said. “So, the norse gods are real… and you’re related to them and the frost giants? Well, that’s… that’s got to be interesting one interesting Thanksgiving dinner.”

“All gods are real Vash, just depends on what universe you're in...or in my case, realms, anyway,” he clapped his hands together, “Let’s go get hammered!”

        “You don’t have to tell me twice! Come with me and you’ll be, in a land of pure inebriation!” I called out as I led him into the castle halls.

“I’m just glad we’re both getting drunk...I know I’m not going to keep my mouth shut about spoilers,” Jason commented as he followed, looking around.

        I hurried along the halls so I could get us to my hiding place without being seen. It took us a few minutes but I was able to make it to the spot we needed to be in without incident. We stopped in front of a large tapestry with the insignia of the two sisters flanked by two suits of armor. “Alright, we’ve made it to the passage.” I said as I moved the tapestry aside and pressed a few of the stones to cause the door to slide open. “Here we are, welcome to Chez Vash.” I said as I motioned for Jason to enter.

“Huh, I wonder if all these are in here back home...” Jason muttered to himself as he stepped inside, “Not that Celestia tells us anything. You should have seen how pissed Chrysalis was when we found out there was a magic changeling book hidden in this place.”

        “If she’s anything like my Celestia then she probably saw it as a threat to her citizens. Celestia can be a little overprotective of Equestria.”

“She also puts the safety of her kingdom into the hands of a bunch of twenty year olds with magic rainbow powers,” Jason countered, sitting down, “The only time I’ve ever seen her actually do any fighting is when we got our asses kicked by Surt.”

        I shrugged as I opened a cabinet where the barrels of mead and mugs were and prepared two for us before sitting down across from him and handing Jason his drink. “I was just playing devil’s advocate there. I don’t know what your Celestia is like so I was just comparing her to mine. So, what made you need a break? Was it the pressures of being a ruler?”

“No, that's easy,” Jason said, leaning back in his seat, “I just need a break of the insanity that is my life. Mostly the training Hel puts me through...well that and making sure everything goes according to plan.”

        “I can’t imagine what that’s like,” I replied as I took a drink. “There’s a reason I work down in the forge. I just bang on some hot metal with a hammer and make things.”

“Yeah well, I got a whole thing planned...I’m going to make permanent gates between the realms, and I’m going to divulge the whole thing to Earth.”

        “Good luck with that. Hey, make sure you invite me over to your world when that’s up and running. If I remember my norse mythology correctly then there’s a realm of dwarves where the best smiths live. I’d love to pick up a few tricks from some masters.”

“I could just have Dash take us there or just teleport us,” he said with a shrug, “Yggdrasil I wish you weren’t in the past.”

        “You’d have to take that up with the jackass that put me here,” I dismissed with a shrug. “I didn’t have much of a say in it. Then again, I wouldn’t have met Morning if I ended up in a different time period so there’s that.”

“True enough...” Jason said, chugging down his drink, “Thing is, I could warn you about so much but...it’s a balancing act really. A lot of good things happen in the default timeline...but at the same time, you shouldn’t be afraid to make your own choices.”

        I let out a long sigh as I leaned back in my chair. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. It’s just this is all new to me. Back home I would’ve been a face in the crowd all my life. Now, I apparently am making choices that can change history. It makes me wonder if the Merchant picked me at random just to screw with me.”

“You think I haven’t?” Jason snorted, “I really doubt I factored into whatever weird destiny was there before I arrived. Funny thing is, I’m more native to Equestria than any other living thing on that world.”

        “Sorry if I sounded like I was complaining. I’ve just been wondering what all this Displaced business is about.” I let out a chuckle as I tried to lighten the mood. “Now, on to happier topics. Do you remember how I asked you about polygamy here?” 

“Who’d you hook up with?” Jason asked, taking another long drink from his own jug.

        “I’ve got three mares: Morning Star, captain of the Royal Guard, and Celestia and Luna.” I answered with a smirk.

“Well that's certainly something. My Luna got herself pregnant by a Displaced and my Celestia is currently dating a changeling,” Jason commented, running his hand through his beard.

        “Well, I was dating Morning Star for a while first. But then the Estrus season started along with an incident involving a few other Displaced, and well, I don’t think you need to hear about what happened after that.”

“Had a lot of fun huh?” Jason asked with a laugh, “You have no idea what I get up too. Considering myself and my wives are all shapeshifters.”

        “Well, it wasn’t all completely fun.” I said looking down. “You see, one of the Displaced I ran into accidentally used a transformative drug on Morning and she… and she… got turned into a naga-pony.” I said looking up at Jason while fighting back tears.

“Naga-ponies are a thing?” he asked, a few small chuckles escaping his lips.

        “You don’t get it, her lower half was replaced with a snake tail. Do you know what that means?” 

“Kinky sex?” 

        “Well that, but something just as important. She lost her ass!” I cried, no longer able to hold back my tears. “Her glorious ass that was forged from years of intense training is now lost to the ether!”

“I could probably fix her,” Jason said with a shrug, “Sorry if I sound indifferent, but, I change form so much, it doesn’t really have that big of an effect on me anymore.”

        “Well, Morning likes her new form. It gave her some benefits other than aesthetics and I’m not going to force her to do something. Besides, she’s not here at the moment.” I finished with a shrug.

“You wanna see something cool?” Jason asked, taking another chug of his mead, making a bit of a face.

        “Sure thing,” I answered with a grin.

“This is something I just learned how to do so...watch closely.” He closed his eyes and focused and without a few moments had shifted into...a female version of himself.

        “Whoa, that’s pretty cool!” I boomed, getting up to get a better look. “So… do you feel… different when you do that?”

“Well of course I do,” he said rolling his eyes, “I haven’t tried anything else yet, I’d rather not get stuck as anything else...plus it may make the Omnitrix wig out.”

        “Uh… what do you mean by wig out?” I asked as I pulled away from Jason. “Because if I remember correctly… doesn’t the Omnitrix have an explosive in it?”

“Relax, the self-destruct won’t activate. Besides, it takes at least a week for it to build up enough power to destroy a universe.”

        “Okay, so what do you mean by wig out? Something like getting stuck in a form for a while, or not getting the form you set the omnitrix to?”

“No it’s more like, I have no idea if my natural shapeshifting changes my base DNA and the Omnitrix is coded to my base DNA.” Jason said, trying to explain it.

        “Oh, that makes sense. Still, that’s a pretty cool skill. Must be one of the perks of being a demi-god.” I stated with a shrug.

“Demi-god is really a Greek term,” Jason said, waving his hand dismissively, “You know...I did not wear the right clothes for this trick...” he mumbled, looking down at himself.

        I looked where Jason was staring and let out a nervous chuckle. “I wouldn’t know how to help you there. I don’t exactly keep a stash of clothes for women in here. Scotch, yes, wine, yes, but no clothes, sorry.”

“That's rather surprising you know,” Jason chuckled, “Seeing as how you're basically this worlds Master Roshi.”

        “This room is meant to be my escape for everything. Not even the princesses know about this room.” I said with a serious tone. “Plus, the underwear in this time period does nothing for me. Once these ponies get past pantaloons then I might go on some panty raids… Please don’t tell Luna I said that. She might kill me for comments like that.”

“Really? Panty raids?’ Jason asked, giving me an unamused, flat look.

        “Well… uh, I guess I don’t mean panty raids exactly… I just mean… hey, wanna get silly drunk now and see if anything in this room is stronger than the stuff you brought?” I asked in an attempt to change the subject.

“Hell yes! Lets do it!!” Jason fist pumped, a big grin on his face.

        I returned Jason’s grin as I got up and opened all the cabinets to reveal my entire stash of alcohol. “Well then, ladies first,” I joked.

“Hahaha,” Jason snarked, grabbing a bottle off a shelf, popping the top, chugging the contents down. Not one to be outdone I grabbed a larger bottle off the shelf and started to chug it down.

        “Wanna have a drinking contest?” I asked with a stupid grin.

“You are so on.” He returned the grin, wiping his mouth off.

        “What should the terms be?” I asked, wiping my own mouth off.

“Well obviously, first one to pass out loses.”

        “That’s a given, but what should the winner get? Just bragging rights and the title of Iron Liver?”

“Heh, Iron Liver...I don’t have any better ideas, so lets go with that.” Jason nodded, taking his seat again.

        “Well then, as the guest I’ll let you pick out what we drink. Not that it matters, I’ll win even if you’ve got the blood of norse gods in you.” I bragged, sitting across from him.

“Oh, I doubt that,” he snorted, randomly grabbing a bottle, “We’ll just go through the stock.”

        “Fine by me,” I said as I poured the two of us a glass to start with. “One of the perks of dating the princesses is that I can get a stock of good booze pretty easily.” I finished with a grin.

“Well then, let’s begin,” Jason nodded, grabbing his glass, downing it quickly. I followed suit and the two of us polished off our first bottle rather quickly. After that the two of us continued to go through quite a few bottles while smack talking one another with increasingly slurred speech. At some point in the match I blacked out and don’t know what happened to Jason. I think a dim part of my mind noted that he may have earned the Iron Liver title, but I don’t quite remember much.






“GET UP!” I hear someone shout before a pair of hands wrap around my neck, starting to strangle me.

        “Herk!” I gargled out as my eyes snapped open to the sight of a very angry Jason, still in his female form. “Why are you trying to kill me?!” I choked out.

“Why the FUCK are we naked!?” he demanded, his eyes glowing red, his mouth contorted into a look of pure rage.

        “WAIT, WHAT?” I cried as I looked down. Sure enough, both of us were naked with our clothes strewn about the room. “How should I know? Didn’t I black out first?!”

“I am going to kill you!” he roared, squeezing harder, his nails digging into my neck. I felt my eyes bulge a little bit and on reflex I took my own hands and put them on Jason’s wrists in an attempt to pry him from my throat.

        “Jason, calm down!” I cried. “Maybe nothing happened? You were complaining about your clothes before we started our contest.” I finished, somehow lessening his grip on me.

“We’re on top of each other you idiot!”

        “Okay, then I don’t know! But what will killing me accomplish?”

“I don’t know!” he shouted, letting out a scream of rage, ice starting to build up around the room.

        “Okay, so we got drunk and did something stupid. That much is obvious. Can you ask Hodgepodge or Hughes about this so we can figure out what happened exactly?”

“Hughes isn’t here anymore,” Jason said, taking a few breaths. He sat up, thankfully releasing my neck.

        “Okay, what about Hodgepodge?” I asked, sitting up and crossing my legs.

“Give me a moment here ok...?” Jason asked, putting a hand on his head He rubbed his temple for a bit, going quiet. He let out a long sigh, falling back on the couch.

        “Uh, what did he say… if anything?” I asked carefully.

“What do you think happened Vash?” he asked, staring up at the ceiling.

        “Okay, I didn’t mean if we had sex. I mean, what happened before that? Did we say anything? Was there something that set us off? I mean, you’re married and I’m in a committed relationship so I don’t think just getting drunk would be enough for us to cheat.”

“You started to hit on me...and...things spiraled out from there.” Jason sat back up, brushing some hair  out of his eyes. “And there is one more thing.”

        “What is it?”

“Congratulations, you're a dad.” I felt my eye twitch a bit and fell over from the shock of the bomb that was dropped.

        “I-I don’t suppose that he could be wrong about this, could he?” 

“I don’t see why he would be.”

        “How are you feeling? Are you okay?” I asked, picking myself up.

“I can’t begin to describe what I’m feeling,” he sighed, looking down at our clothes, “Hand me my clothes would ya?” I did as he asked and avoided staring as much as I could.

        “Jason, I’m sorry about all this,” I said with a sigh. “The drinking contest was a dumb idea.”

“It’s not your fault,” Jason said, pulling his clothes on, “Whelp, better go explain this to your girlfriends.”

        I let out a long sigh and pulled my own clothes on. “You’re right, I can’t hide this from them. But before we do this I think I should say that it was nice knowing you.” I finished as I pushed the door open and led Jason to where the princesses would most likely be. As we walked I glanced over to Jason and asked, “Are you stuck in your female body because of you being pregnant?”

“I think that's pretty obvious, not like I’d try to change back anyway.” Jason crossed his arms, looking around.

        “Okay… so what are we going to do about the baby? I know you and your wives could handle raising it… but where do I fit in?”

“Well, you’re family now Vash,” Jason said, looking up at me, “I’m not just going to keep the kid to myself.”

        “Well, that’s a load off my mind.” I said with a chuckle. “Now I’ve got to figure out birthday and Christmas presents for a baby that lives in another universe.” I said, trying to add some levity to the situation.

“Heh, you get to come to the Pie-Apple family reunion,” Jason smiled, “Plus the Sparkles are going to be there as well as my family.”

        “Didn’t you say that you were related to the Goddess of Death… what’ll it be like to be part of that family?”

“Insane,” Jason smirked, “But, I’m sure they’ll like you.” 

        I smiled and chuckled a bit at his response just as we stopped in front of the throne room doors. “Well, this’ll be fun to explain.” I said with a gulp.

“You ready?” he asked, placing a hand on the door.

        “As I’ll ever be… just be ready to run if you see Luna’s horn glow.” I warned as I placed my hand on the door and pushed it open. We both walked into the room to see that Luna was looking bored as she presided over a mostly empty court. She perked up a bit when she saw me but quirked an eyebrow when she saw I was with someone else.

        “Vash, we art glad to see thee, but who is this?” She asked as she indicated Jason. “Is this a Displaced?”’

“Hello Luna,” Jason said with a wave, “It’s me Jason.”

        Luna’s eyebrow quirked farther as she scanned Jason up and down. “The last we remembered, Jason was a male. So, why art thou a female now?”

“I’m a shapeshifter,” he said with a shrug, “But uh...well...we have something to tell you and you ain’t gonna like it.”

        Luna’s face became a stone mask as she asked, “What is it that thou wishes to tell us?”

        “Well… this would be better if we told Celestia too,” I said. Luna then called for a guard and sent him to go get Celestia. The three of us then stood in an awkward silence  as I started sweating bullets and my mind raced. Eventually, a groggy looking Celestia emerged into the throne room with her waving mane slightly disheveled.

        “Why hast thou called us here, Luna?” Celestia asked with a yawn.

        “Apparently, Vash and Jason have some troubling news for us. Now, what dost thou wish to tell us?” 

“Well...uh...we got drunk, like really, stupidly drunk and uh...well...” Jason coughed, looking away.

        “Well what?” Luna asked with a slight edge to her voice.

        “We… had sex.” I admitted, barely able to get it out.

        Luna and Celestia were silent for quite a while, obviously trying to process the information. I don’t know how long they remained silent, but I didn’t want to be the one to break it in fear of making excuses. At some point Celestia breached the silence.

        “This is certainly quite troubling,” she said as she tried to remain calm.

        “I-I’m sorry Celestia, Luna. I don’t know why I did it. Jason and I decided to have a drinking contest… and I have no idea why I did what I did… but… but I will do anything to try and show you that I regret what I did.” I stammered, trying to keep myself from breaking down.

“Look,” Jason said with a sigh, “This is my fault too, so don’t go putting the blame on him.”

        “Vash, Jason,” Celestia started, holding up a hand to stop Jason. “We cannot speak for Luna, but we still need time to think on thy actions. Just know that we are not happy.” I cringed and tried to make myself as small as possible. “But thou are not past the point of redemption.” She finished.

        “Our sister is right, thou art not past redemption,” Luna stated after taking a deep breath. “But thou must work to regain our trust again, Vash.”

        “I understand.” I stated simply.

Jason chuckled a bit, shaking his head. “I’m sorry, it’s just...weird hearing Luna talk about trust like that.”

        “What dost thou mean?” Luna asked.

Jason sighed, putting a hand on his head, “Do you really, really, really wanna know the answer to that question?”

        “Is this one of those things about letting us make our own choices that affect the future?” I asked. 

“I’d say...I’d also say we’re within...a year or two of it coming to pass.” Jason nodded, eyes locked on Luna.

        “We shall keep that in mind Jason. We shall remain vigilant for anything that could put our trust in jeopardy.” Luna stated with a nod.

“No Luna...what's going to happen...it’ll cost everyone's trust...in you.”

        “All the more reason to remain vigilant.” Luna answered, flinching slightly at Jason’s words.

        “Well, we broke the news to Celestia and Luna, now do you want my help telling Chrysalis and your other wife?”

“Well, we didn’t tell them everything now did we?” Jason asked, crossing his arms.

        “Okay… do you want to say it… or should I?”

“I’m expecting,” Jason said bluntly, arms crossed over his chest.

        Celestia and Luna started to shake as they processed what they heard. “Oh boy, you hit the mommy button. You shouldn’t have pressed the mommy button.” I said as I looked for a way out of the room.

        “Vash, thou can give Jason a child, but not us!?” Celestia cried.

        “Jason, run.” I whispered into his ear as I bolted out of the throne room.

Jason just raised his eyebrow before shrugging, running after me. “You, couldn’t have told them that gently, could you!?” I called out.

“I don’t like to pussy foot issues.”

        “Noted, but my Celestia and Luna love kids and considering the first person that I’ve managed to impregnate was due to a drunken fling… I don’t think they’re happy about that.”

“You know...I could stay here for a while...” Jason commented, “Hodgepodge worked the numbers, a month here is about a day back home.”

        “Do you want to tell your wives first?” I asked as I motioned for him to stop. “I mean, how do you think they’d react if you were missing for nine days only to show up with a baby?” I asked as I opened the door to another of my secret rooms.

“I do manage a few trips I think...” Jason said with a nod, slipping inside.

        “Okay, but don't go blaming me if your wives kill you for this,” I said with a shrug. “Still, it might be interesting to have you around for a while. That diplomatic mission I told you about earlier, it might involve changelings.”

“Oh fun,” he said, placing his hand on my arm. “You ready?”

        “That depends, who should I be more worried about, Chrysalis, or your other wife?” I asked with a chuckle.

“You’ll be fine.” he assured me before I felt like I was being torn apart and mushed back together. 

> Meeting the Hughes Family
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	“That was fast Jason,” Chrysalis’s voice said as the world returned to normal. We were in the throne room of the castle...I think. It was covered in a strange black substance, with fluid dripping every so often from the ceiling. “And hello Vash, nice to see you again.”

        “Hello Chrysalis,” I said with a wave while a looked around the room. “Wow, this place looks a lot different than it does in my world.”

“Well, two dueling alicorns and a thousand years will do that to a place,” Chrysalid smiled, “Of course we had to make a few changes to turn it into a proper hive.”

        “Two dueling alicorns?” I asked with a tilt of my head.

“Yes Vash, you know them quite well actually.”

“Chrissy...” Jason warned narrowing his eyes.

“What?” she asked innocently, “I’m not telling him anything...but...just know that one of those alicorns...decides that their time of day shouldn’t end...ever...”

“You just want me to hurt you don’t you?” Jason asked, crossing his arms.

“Hurt the mother of your children? Just what kind of man did I marry?!?” Chrysalis asked, recoiling with fake distress. Jason just sighed, placing his head in his hands.

        ‘Technically he isn’t really a man at the moment,” I thought offhandedly. 

        “Well uh…” I started trying to get the conversation on track. “There is a reason I’m here besides a social visit.”

“Then do tell, why are you here and why is Jason currently a woman?” Chrysalis asked, leaning back in what was once Luna’s throne.

        I looked up at her and let out a nervous chuckle. “Well, this would probably be better if… uh what was your other wife’s name Jason?” I asked glancing over to him.

“Rarity.” 

        “Right, Rarity. This would probably be better if she was here too.”

Chrysalis sighed, closing her eyes. “Just speak, she can hear everything we’re saying.”, 

        “Okay, do you wanna tell her, Jason?” I asked, scratching my cheek.

“Well...we got drunk and uh...well...now I’m having his kid...”Jason mumbled, looking away, his face red.

Chrysalis was still for a moment, not making a sound until she burst out laughing, falling out of her throne, rolling around the floor.

        “Is this how she gets when she’s pissed, or is she taking this better than I thought she would?” I asked,  very confused by what I was seeing.

“That's the most hilarious thing I’ve ever heard!” Chrysalis laughed, tears flowing down her face, “Oh Faust my sides!”

        “Did you think she would react like this?” I asked, looking at Jason.

“Yup...” he sighed as another laughing voice filled the air. We turned around to see a tall, about twelve feet, woman standing behind us, laughing her ass off as well.

        “Who’s this?” I whispered to Jason.

“I told you to stop spying on me!” Jason shouted, his eye twitching.

“But your life is so entertaining!” she argued, trying to control her laughter, “To answer your question my good man, I am Hel, Goddess of Death.”

        “I uh figured as much but didn’t want to be presumptuous,” I chuckled as I extended a hand towards her. “My name’s Vash. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“The pleasure is all mine!” she took my hand vigorously shaking it. As she did, I got a good look at her face. One half of is was white as snow and the other was black as night.

        “I’ve heard that you are Jason’s grandmother,” I said returning her handshake as best as I could. “But that can’t be right. You look much too young for that. Are you sure you aren’t a sister or a cousin of Jason’s?” 

“Oh stop it,” she said with a laugh, “But thank you, not many can look this good this old.”

        “You know I always thought I’d stare death in the face one day.... though I didn’t expect it to be a literal face.” I joked, pulling my hand away.

“Don’t worry, I won’t try to steal your soul,” she said, giving me a rather bright smile.

        “Okay,” I said with a bit of a nervous chuckle.

“But onto better topics! Jackie got herself pregnant! I guess she thought Loki was a great role model after all!”

“Hey! I didn’t do this on purpose and why the fuck are you calling me Jackie for?” Jason asked, crossing his arms. 

“Short for Jacqueline, we can’t exactly call you Jason or Corypheus right now now can we?” Hel asked, looking down at him with a big grin.

        “Jacqueline?” I asked placing a hand on my chin. “I don’t know Hel, he… or she rather looks more like a Jenna to me.” I added looking Jason up and down. “What do you think Chrysalis?”

“Hmm? Oh I’m sorry, I was just undressing her with my mind...” Chrysalis said, a lecherous smile growing across her face.

        “I can understand that,” I said with a nod. “Though it was literally undressing her that got me in trouble here.”

“All of you just shut up!” Jason shouted, his face now  bright red, “This isn’t helping me at all!”

        “Sorry,” I said with a laugh. “I just got caught up in everyone else’s levity.”

“Oh you can all go fuck yourselves!” Jason huffed.

“Only if I got you babe,” Chrysalis smirked, waggling her eyebrows.

        “Are you already having mood swings, Jason?” I asked with a chuckle. “Weird, you just found out that you’re pregnant.”

Jason narrowed his eyes, growling.

“Okay, everyone just calm down,” Hel held her hands ups, summoning a very pregnant looking white pony, who had changeling wings and that...saddle thing Chrysalis had on her back.

“Please warn me next time you do that...” the new pony said, holding a hoof to her mouth, looking queasy.

        “Um hello there. You must be Rarity. It’s a pleasure to meet you, I’m Vash.” I said by way of introduction as I extended a hand towards her.

“Nice to meet you as well,” she smiled, shaking my hand, “So...you and Jason hmm??”

        “Yeah, we decided to have a drinking contest… and by the time we woke up… Jason’s a mommy.” I explained.

“I see,” she nodded, moving past me and laying down on Celestia’s throne.

        “Huh, you’re taking this rather well. Much better than my Celestia and Luna did.” I said rubbing the side of my head.

“Oh no,I’m rather furious but, I think Jason’s condition is punishment enough,” she got comfy, giving Jason a glare, which he flinched under.

        “I uh suppose that makes sense.” I said. “I’m sorry by the way. The drinking contest was my idea so I deserve my share of the blame,” I explained.

“So...how are we handling this?” Chrysalis asked, climbing back onto her throne, looking between me and Jason.

        “Well, I am going to be involved with the baby,” I said. “And Jason figured out that there’s a difference between our universe’s timeframes. Do you want to tell them the plan, Jason?”

“Well a day here is nine months there so I figured I would stay there until...you know...” he said, rubbing the back of his head.

        “I just had a thought Jason. Maybe we should bring a doctor or something with us considering medical technology isn’t quite as good back in my universe. Unless of course you want to go through childbirth without some serious painkillers.”

“Wait, you want to spend nine months in another universe?” Chrysalis asked, looking at the two of us, raising her eyebrow.

        “Uh, that was the initial plan,” I said. “Jason, do you have any other ideas?”

“Not really no...” Jason sighed, running a hand through his hair. 

        “I’m open to suggestions. Hey, maybe Hodgepodge has an idea? He seems like someone we could go to for an out of the box idea?” I suggested.

“Yeah, insane ideas,” Jason laughed, rolling his eyes, “Ugh, this is just insane...” he moved over, sitting down with Chrysalis, leaning on her.

        “Yeah, I’ve got to agree with you there. The last thing I was thinking when we first met was, ‘I’m gonna get this guy pregnant’” I said with a sigh, rubbing the side of my head.

“You’re not helping...” Jason glared. 

        “Sorry, just thinking out loud there. This is a lot for me to take in too.”

“Quite the predicament hmm?” Hel asked, looking between us, “So, what are you two love birds going to do?”

        “Well, what if Chrysalis and Rarity come with us Jason?” I asked. “Considering only a few days or so will pass here I think I can find some room for them in the castle back home.”

“I think that could work, if you don’t mind us bringing the children along,” Chrysalis said, standing up, “We’re not exactly going to leave them here.”

        “Are you kidding?” I laughed. “My Celestia and Luna could never turn away children.”

“Good! I’ll go get them!” she smiled, trotting off with a spring in her step.

“Well, this isn’t turning out like I had planned,” Jason muttered, getting comfy on his throne.

        “You’re not the only one. But hey, just think of this like a big sleepover… in the past!” I added, trying to look on the bright side.

“I wonder how that’ll work...” Rarity tapped her chin, “I mean, I’m the element of Generosity now, I hope that doesn’t conflict with anything on your end.”

        “I dunno,” I shrugged. “There’s probably nothing to worry about there.”

“Ready!” Chrysalis trotted back out, four foals on her back. One was a black unicorn with a wicked curved horn, and the others where changelings.

“Alright then let’s go,” Jason got to his feet, helping Rarity to her hooves. He gestured for everyone to gather around. I did as he asked while suppressing my urge to pinch the foals’ cheeks and braced myself for the feeling of getting transported back home. The familiar feeling of being pulled apart and mashed back together overtook me and when it was over we were standing in the throne room of my castle.

        “Ugh, I don’t think I’ll ever get used to that feeling,” I said shaking my head.

“Tell me about it...” Rarity moaned, retching a little, though thankfully nothing came out.

        “So, thou hast returned.” Celestia said getting up from her throne. I flinched a little, fully expecting to get chewed out, but then her eyes locked onto Chrysalis’s back. She then rushed over and knelt down to look the foals in the eyes. “And who might these wondrous creatures be?” She cooed.

“These are Hakol, Sif, Heimdall and Freya,” Chrysalis beamed. The changelings looked up at Celestia, chittering softly, buzzing their wings.

        “Oh, well they are much too precious. May we hold one of them?” She practically pleaded.

“Sure but you might want to be careful with Sif and Heimdall, she’s ice and he’s fire.” Chrysalis explained.

        “We shall keep that in mind,” Celestia said as she carefully picked up one of the changelings and started to use baby-talk on it. It chittered away, looking up at her with bright yellow eyes.

        “Hey Celestia, glad to see you again,” I said with a weak wave.

        Celestia looked over with slightly narrowed eyes. “Is this an attempt to appease us? Appealing to our love of children.”

        “I won’t lie, that thought did cross my mind.” I said with nervous smile.

“Wait, wait...” Jason said, sighing a little, “We forgot someone...”

“Who could we have forgotten?” Rarity asked, tilting her head.

“My mom...”

        “Wait, your mom. You’re able to see your mom in your Equestria?” I asked. “Actually… who is your mom? I mean your grandmother is Hel so…”




“Okay...I think that's my least favorite method of travel...” the woman moaned, placing a hand over her mouth.

        “I feel your pain,” I said with a nod. “Teleportation is the worst.”

“So you’re Vash huh? I’m Megan, nice to meet you.” She held out her hand, giving me a sweet smile.

        “Charmed,” I said giving her hand a shake. “Sorry the first time we’re meeting is under such strange circumstances.”

“Please,” she said with a laugh, “Besides...nothing tops the Smooze...” she said, trembling in pure terror for a moment.

        ‘Wait a minute… I’ve heard that before in my travels across the internet. Weird,’ I thought with a quizzical expression.

        “Well, did Jason fill you in on everything?” I asked.

“Yes, yes he did...which brings a question to my mind...”        

        “And what would that be?”

“Well...if Jason and the girls are a ‘herd’ and you and your girls are a herd...does this mean you’re all one herd now?” she asked, looking between each of us.

        ‘Uh… that’s… I don’t know. What do you think there Jason?” I asked with a nervous chuckle.

“I have no idea...” Jason said with a sigh, “So...what do we do now?”

        “Well, Morning is still out looking for the changelings. So we’ll have to wait for her say in this.”

“Ooh! Changelings hmm?” Chrysalis asked, trotting over to me, “Tell me how is that going?”

        “Well, a couple nights ago somepony named Hot Streak came in covered in injuries and told us that some settlers were dragged off into the badlands. Due to some of the details of the story we believe that changelings may have done it.” I explained with a sigh. “So we sent a contingent of guards led by my marefriend and captain of the guard to investigate and hopefully bring back their leader to discuss peace.”

“Did you check to see if Hot Streak was a changeling?” Chrysalis asked, looking at me.

        “Uh… no, that is something that we did not do,” I admitted, slumping over.

Chrysalis let out a long sigh, facehoofing. “Take me to them, quickly.’

        “You got it. He’s in the infirmary,” I said motioning for Chrysalis to follow me. She passed the foals off to Jason, quickly trotting after me. 

        “So what made you think that Hot Streak is a changeling?” I asked quietly as we walked down the halls.

“It’s a classic tactic,” she looked around, “Have an ‘escapee’ go back to warn others. They feed off the concern that is directed toward the creature they’re impersonating while any sent to rescue the others are cocooned and used for feeding.”

        “So what you’re saying is that my marefriend might be in a cocoon at the moment and being drained for emotional energy.” I said in a flat tone.

“Yes, that's most likely happening.” she nodded her head.

        “Well, whoever this changeling leader is we’re going to need to have a long talk before we go through with this peace talk thing.”

“Well, there might be more than one hive out there, we’ll know if this ‘Hot Streak’ is indeed a changeling.”

        “Okay, but are you going to change your shape first?” I asked stopping in front of the oak door to the infirmary. “It might be a good idea to shock Hot Streak or trick him into dropping his disguise.” I suggested.

“No, I’m an empress and they’re a drone,” she pushed into the infirmary, scanning the room. In the corner of the room by the window Hot Streak’s bandaged form appeared to be sleeping.

        “Welp, do your royal thing Chrysalis.” I said waving my hand towards Hot Streak.

Chrysalis stood at the foot of the bed, closing her eyes. A moment later her horn started to glow a sickly green color. A moment later his body was consumed in green fire, shifting into a bipedal changeling. “Drone!” she commanded, opening her eyes.

        “Queen!” The changeling called out in shock in a buzzing, vaguely female voice as they scrambled to kneel before Chrysalis.

“You shall tell me your mission,” she snarled, narrowing her eyes, “Now!”

        The drone looked up in fear only for confusion to fall over their features. “Thou sounds much like my queen… but thou art not her. Why should I obey thee?” The changeling said stubbornly.

“I am empress!” she snarled, her horn glowing brightly, “You will tell me your mission your I will destroy your mind drone!”

        “I recognize no empress!” The drone spat out, “My mind, body and soul all belong to Queen Chiton. I would gladly die before betraying her.”

“Then I shall have to tear it from your mind!” the green glow encompassed the drones head, with Chrysalis baring her fangs.

        “Hold it right there!” I called out, flicking the tip of Chrysalis’s horn in an attempt to break her concentration on the spell.

She hissed, spitting some kind of goo at my face. I panicked for a moment, worried that I may be unable to breathe as I tore at the goo. 

“Now you will tell me why you are here drone,” Chrysalis demanded, turning her attention away from me.

        “I-I shall tell you nothing,” The drone groaned, sounding much weaker than before.

        “Chrysalis, what the hell are you doing?!” I boomed, managing to pull the goo off of my mouth.

“I am taking what we need.”

        “And you wouldn’t happen to be torturing her to do it, would you?” I asked as I stood between her and the drone.

“Vash, you don’t really understand what’s going on do you?”

        “Explain it to me, please,” I said as I narrowed my eyes and crossed my arms over my chest.

“Because of her queen,” Chrysalis hissed, “Her queen is the reason my race had to hide, had to starve and suffer in the shadows for a thousand years! I will not let her doom them to that fate here!”

        “And you’re just going to torture someone to do that!” I roared. “I’m sorry Chrysalis. I can only imagine what you and your race went through. But you’ve resorted to something heinous way too quickly. Now, maybe you should sit down over there for a while so I can talk to this drone?”

She snarled, her horn going out. “You know nothing Vash, just like you don’t really know the princesses.” 

        “Watch it there Chrysalis,” I warned her, turning back to the drone. “I don’t want the two of us to get in a fight. I’d like to remain friends with Jason.”

“You truly know nothing. I wonder just how you’ll react when Luna finally snaps.”

        That had done it, that caused me to snap. “You think I don’t know how Luna feels!” I thundered looking Chrysalis in the eye. “I might not be a being that feeds off of emotions, but I’m not an idiot either! I know how lonely she feels. I know that she wishes that there were others that saw how much of herself she puts into the night sky each night! I may not know all the details Chrysalis, but I do know a bit about how Luna feels. So please, drop it.” I finished, barely speaking above a whisper.

“You don’t know the jealousy and resentment bubbling under the surface, nor do you know that it will consume her. She will become a monster and try to take the country for her own and bring about eternal night.” she glared up at me before shifting her gaze to the drone. “All this negative emotion must be overwhelming you hmm?” 

        I looked over to the drone only to see that the drone looked like she was a bit sick. She noticed that Chrysalis was staring at her, and immediately straightened up. “I know not of what thou speaks of. I have been trained to overcome such paltry emotions.

“Are you sure?” she asked, slinking over, a predatory look on her face. “Tell me, does your queen feel the death of her drones?”

        “She does,” the drone said a stone look coming across her face. “But she and I have steeled ourselves for that possibility. She knows the cruelty of ponies when they discover a changeling among them.”

        “Chrysalis, don’t you even think about killing this drone,” I growled. my fists balled at my sides.

“I lost hundreds myself, all at the same moment,” she stopped, staring into the drone’s eyes.

        “I will not be swayed by thy story. My will is my queen’s. I shall not let the ponies and their allies keep her from her design.” The drone declared, wavering slightly.

“And do know why they all died? Because of my hubris. My hive was starving but I thought I could bring down the sun and moon. But, do you know the single thing that would have prevented that?”

        “What?” the drone croaked, trying to shrink under Chrysalis’s stare.

“Talking. I could have simply come to Equestria under a banner of peace and asked for help. If I had all of those drones, my children, would still be alive. You don’t have to live in the shadows, you don’t have to be monsters.”

        My glare softened and I walked up to Chrysalis to place a hand on her shoulder. “Please, just tell us where your queen is. I don’t care what you were ordered to do. All I want is to talk to your queen, I swear it.” I told the drone softly. I then leaned down to whisper into Chrysalis’s ear. “You did most of this to fill the room with my negative emotions and weaken her, didn’t you?”

“Of course I did,” she whispered back pausing, “I apologize.”

        “You’re forgiven, just don’t make a plan without filling me in next time,” I whispered before looking at the drone. “What is your name by the way? I’d rather not just call you Drone.”

        The drone looked at me as if I had two heads. “I do not have a name. Only generals and queens have names among my hive.”

        “No name huh,” I said as I scratched my chin. “How about, Wisp?” I suggested.

        “Wisp?” The drone asked.

        “Yeah, it’s the name of a spirit that appears as a flickering flame where I come from. I figured since you transform in a burst of flames that it fits.” I answered with a smile.

        “If this makes it easier for thee to address me then do as thou will,” Wisp made it a point to look away from me though she sounded a little pleased at having a name. 

“Oh stop being pouty,” Chrysalis rolled her eyes, charging her horn up, though this time it was a bright pink. Wisp turned to stare, her jaw hanging open. “What? Never felt this much love before?”

        Wisp caught herself and wiped a little drool from the corner of her mouth. “And why art thou trying to entice me through food?” She asked as she turned to me. “Thou said that thou did not care what my mission was? What if my mission was to assassinate the princesses?” She asked.

        “I don’t think it was,” I said with a shrug. “You didn’t have a weapon on you and if you really did want to assassinate a princess you could’ve just waited in the forest, cried out for help, took the place of a guard and got close to a princess that way. If I were a betting man I’d say your mission was a surveillance one. You probably would ask for a job once you “recovered” and found out as much about this castle as possible.” 

“I’d say that's the most likely scenario,” Chrysalis agreed.

        “Hmm, that may have been my mission,” Wisp said, still trying to be elusive. “Not that I suppose it matters now. So, thou wishes to speak to my queen. Why should I believe thee?”

        “Well, it’s either believe me or I could leave you alone with Chrysalis and she’ll just rip your mind apart and then you’ll be left to sit in the dungeon afterwards.” I told her with a shrug.

        “Very well, I shall lead thee to her.” Wisp relented with a sigh. “Just know that if I find thee to be a liar, then I shall not hesitate to kill thee,” She warned me as her jagged horn lit up a dark purple.

        “I’ll keep that in mind,” I told her with a nod. “Follow us, Wisp. We need to get a few others to come along on this trip to see your queen.”

        Wisp nodded weakly and I motioned for her and Chrysalis to follow me back to the throne room. Along the way I looked over to Chrysalis and asked, “Hey, about what happened in the infirmary. Do you mind if we keep that to ourselves?”

“Of course Vash, and no, I couldn’t have warned you before hand, if I had, the emotions would not have been genuine.”

        “I figured as much,” I sighed. “Still, I wasn’t expecting you to be able to push my buttons like that.”

“You should get used to it, I do it to everyone,” she smiled, giving me a wink.

        “This is going to be the longest nine months of my life, isn’t it?” I asked with a long, drawn out sigh. We then walked into the throne room where everyone was still waiting for us. Once Wisp noticed Celestia she tensed up and became stiff as a board. “Hey everyone, turns out Hot Streak was a changeling,” I told them.

“Huh...the drones are female here weird...”Jason commented, looking Wisp over.

        “Maybe they’re related to bees in this universe?” I suggested.

        “Do not compare me to a lowly bee!” Wisp growled.

        “Sorry Wisp, didn’t mean to offend you.” I told her with a chuckle. “Hey Jason, do you and Chrysalis want to come and help me talk to a changeling queen?”

        “Should Luna and we come as well?” Celestia asked.

        “I don’t think that’s a good idea,” I told Celestia. “Based on one of Wisp’s comments I don’t think these changelings have the best view of ponies. I think it’s best that we send a group of non-ponies to talk to her.”

“Sure I’ll go, you ok with mom and the kids?” Jason asked Rarity, who gestured with a hoof.

“Just go Jason, I’ll be fine.” 

        “Don’t you worry Rarity, I’ll have him back to you before you know it,” I said with a big grin. “So Jason, do you want me to grab you a sword and shield from the armory since you can’t transform just in case we run into trouble along the way. Highway ponies are a thing after all.”

“I’m fine,” he said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a rather strange looking sword, “I have this, so I  should be fine.”

        “Alright, that’s fair. I guess we’ll need to gather some supplies before we head out. Maybe we’ll even be able to get you some clothes that fit.” I said as I pointed out Jason’s saggy clothes.

“That’d....be nice...” he said with a nod, and I note he’s been holding his pants up. 

        “Alright, why don’t we do the clothes thing first? Would you prefer pants and a top of some sorts, or do you wanna see how you look in a dress?” I asked with a chuckle.

“Ooh! I have to see Jay in a dress,” Rarity smiled, “Would you happen to have a tailor in the castle?” she asked, turning to Celestia and Luna.

        “Of course we do, it would be improper for a princess to not have one on standby in case one of our garments were to be damaged in some way.” Celestia. explained.

        “Like unexpected frosting stains,” Luna joked, shooting her sister a pointed look.

“Marvelous!” she declared letting out a squeal, “May I have access to their supplies?”

        “Of course, help thyself to whatever thou needs,” Celestia said with a smile.

“Welp, life is just screwing with you now,” Chrysalis chuckle while Jason let out a long groan.

        “Oh come on,” I said with a chuckle of my own. “How bad could it be for your wife to make you a dress?” I asked, patting Jason on the shoulder.

He just stared at me, his eye twitching.

        “Oh come on Jason, just think of how pretty you’ll look,” I told him with a grin. “Hey Rarity!” I called out. “Do you think we should give Jason a makeover too? Just think of what you could do with his hair.”
        
“Stop giving her ideas!” Jason shouted, his eye twitching more.

        “Sorry, I couldn’t help myself.” I said with a chuckle. “I’m so used to being the one that has all the wacky things happen to, it’s nice to see it happen to someone else for a change.”

“I hate you...”

        “Give it a while Jason. I’m sure it’ll be my turn to have something happen to me soon.” I told him with a pat on the back. “Now just take your lumps and let Rarity make you a dress. Who knows, you might even like how you look in it.”’

“I will hurt you...”

        “Threatening the father of your child?!” I cried out in a tone very similar to the one Chrysalis had used earlier. “I thought I knew you better than this, Jason.”

Jason just growled, pushing past me and walking out of the throne room.

“Oh he is just going to be fun when the hormones kick in.” Chrysalis snickered, flashing a smile.

        “I’m just wondering what kind of cravings a half Jotun half Plant baby will cause.” I said, placing a hand under my chin. “I’d put my money on donuts being one though,” I finished with a snicker of my own.

“We’ll just have to find out won’t we?” she asked, trotting out of the room, humming a tune to herself.

        I just chuckled, shook my head and followed the two out of the room, with Rarity close behind.

> Into the Hive
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	A couple of days had passed and Jason, Chrysalis, Wisp and I were ready to let Wisp lead us to her hive. Jason was in his new dress made by Rarity. It was a simple green and black dress, though Jason hadn’t let her do anything else to it. I would’ve told him that he looks very pretty in it, but he’d probably tear my throat out if I did. During the journey I glanced over towards Chrysalis every once in awhile. Despite my best efforts, the things she had said back in the infirmary were still bothering me. A part of me kept telling me that she had said it just to rile me up. But could I take that chance? I would have to talk to her in private if I wanted to get to the bottom of it all.

        The day quickly passed and Wisp looked the most tired of all of us. We all decided it would be best if we stopped for the night. Setting up camp was a quick affair and the four of us were sitting around a small campfire.

        “So, how much farther until we get to your hive, Wisp?” I asked.

        “If we were flying I would say a day or so. But this is the first time I have walked to it.”

        “Yeah, spontaneously growing wings isn’t something I’m capable of,” I said with a sigh.
        
“If I wasn’t stuck like this, I’d just fly us there myself,” Jason sighed, brushing some hair out of his face.

        “Well it isn’t all bad,” I mused. “This’ll give us plenty of time to think of what to say to this Queen Chiton.”

“Tell her her plan is stupid,” Chrysalis said simply, keeping her eyes out as we walked.

        “Okay, but maybe we should find a more subtle way to say something like that,” I said with a chuckle. “How would you have reacted if someone walked into your hive and just said your plan was stupid?”

“Ugh, you sound like a pony...” she rolled her eyes, “I think I’m best qualified to be making the plan here.”

        “So you would’ve been fine with a stranger walking up to you and saying your plans are stupid?” I asked again.

“It has more weight coming from a fellow changeling,” she countered, sounding rather annoyed.

        “Alright, if you’re so confident that it’ll work, I won’t stop you,” I relented with a shrug.

“Of course it’ll work,” she snorted, sounding a bit offended.

        I decided to ignore her tone and moved onto a different topic. “Hey, we’re all around a campfire, does anyone know any ghost stories?” I asked with a grin. 

“I dunno,” Jason sighed, looking into the fire, “You got any?”

        “Uhh, if I do then I’d probably butcher it,” I said with a chuckle. “Horror wasn’t exactly my thing back on earth.”

“What about you Wisp? Got anything?” Jason asked, turning to the drone.

        Wisp looked up in shock, not expecting to be asked something like that. “I… I suppose I know some stories that the nurses would tell us to make sure we were careful when we were among ponies.” She admitted slowly. “But I do not think the lot of thee would like those stories.”

“Well tell us,” Chrysalis said, cuddling up with Jason, “If you do, I’ll tell you some of mine.”

        Wisp let out a long sigh at that, “Fine, if thou wishes to hear one then I shall tell thee.” She then took a deep breath as she began her story. “This is a tale from long ago. A time before the three pony tribes were one. A drone was sent out to gather some love from a unicorn village. She took the place of a village elder who was not long for this world. She did as the elder did and read stories to the children of the village and gathered their innocent love. This drone had heard her own stories about the dangers of ponies. How they hated members of their own kind, let alone the various species around them. However, over time this drone came to love the village of her own will. The bright smiles of the foals as they eagerly awaited a story filled her heart with glee. This was not to last.” 

“One day, she had decided to let a villager know the truth about her. This pony called for the rest of the village and the drone was tied up and put into the village square. Then, the village’s carpenter came forward with a saw and began to saw at the drone’s horn. She cried out in pain and begged for forgiveness but the carpenter paid her no mind. When her horn was finally removed the village threw stones at her and beat her, leaving her for dead at the village gate. Without her horn she was cut off from the rest of her hive and had no way to give them what love she had collected. She began to wander and died at the entrance of her hive,” Wisp finished, shuddering as she ended the story.

“What kind of village was it?” Chrysalis asked, looking into Wisp’s eyes.

  “It was a unicorn village.” Wisp repeated. “If they had some specialty then that I do not know. The nurses never told me that.”

“I’ve heard stories from the old times,” Chrysalis said, closing her eyes, “Back then, harmony had not yet spread throughout Equestria. The ponies were so full of hate and malice that they almost drove themselves to extinction.” 

 “Yes, I have heard stories that the princesses have extended hands of peace towards others. But we changelings are still left in the dark and treated as things of myth or monsters.”

 “That’s what we’re trying to change, Wisp,” I told her as I placed a hand in her shoulder.

“You should try,” Chrysalis said, taking a breath, “We managed to bring ponies and changelings together in harmony, we have more love than we know what to do with...enough that drones have started to live for themselves.”

  “What dost thou mean?” Wisp asked. “In what way are they living for themselves?”

“We get enough love from just living among the ponies that, harvesters no longer need to harvest. Most have left their hives to explore the world and make their own way.”

  “Explore the world on their own?” Wisp repeated, pondering the idea as she stared into the campfire. “I wonder if I would be able to see such a thing within my own lifetime.” She said with a dry chuckle.

        “I don’t see why not,” I told her with another pat on the back.

“Got any other stories?” Jason asked, looking at Wisp.

        “None that I remember quite as well,” Wisp said with a shake of the head. “They are all very similar anyway.”

“I see...” Chrysalis said, nodding her head sagely.

        I looked around the group and figured that Wisp had probably been through enough for the day. “Hey guys, maybe we should call it a night? I’ll take the first watch.”

“If you insist!” Chrysalis smiled, laying down, pulling Jason close to her.

        “As thou wishes,” Wisp said with a shrug.

        I sat at the edge of the camp, leaning against a tree as I looked up at the moon. I felt the smile from my face fall as I thought about what Chrysalis said in the infirmary again. If what she said was true then I had no idea what to do about it. I let out a long sigh as I ran my left hand through my hair. Time passed and the sounds of night increased.





“Everyone have a pleasant night?” Chrysalis asked, smiling as she sat at the fire, cooking a few fish. Jason was still asleep, snoring a bit.

        “Yup!” I said with a thumbs up. “And nothing happened under my watch,” I finished, turning my thumbs up into a salute.

“I also caught you making eyes at my mate,” she narrowed her eyes slightly, flashing her fangs.

        “Hey, I was just worried about the baby!” I said in an attempt to save face. “I wasn’t even slightly tempted by Jason’s attractive female body.”

“I sense emotion idiot, lust happens to be one of the more blatant ones.”

        “I am pleading the fifth on this one,” I said with a nervous chuckle.

“Relax, I’ll only be pissed at you until we can resolve the ‘herd’ issue,” she smiled, levitating over a fish, “Now eat.”

        “Alright, but I just hope that Morning is alright,” I said, taking a bite of the fish. “Do you know what it’s like to be in one of those cocoons?”

“Love is slowly extracted, while the cocoon keeps the subject alive,” she explained, eating her own fish.

        “Okay, and are there any side effects from being in one for a few days?”

“Not much some drowsiness and a bit of memory loss.”

        “Glad to hear it. You’d better wake up Jason and give him his breakfast so we can head out soon. I don’t want to know what’ll happen if we take too long.”

She nodded, waking the sleeping jotun up. Jason mumbled, immediately grabbing a fish, biting into it. 

 “Glad to see you back in the land of the living,” I said with a smile.

“Shudup...” he muttered, letting out a loud yawn.

        “Is Jason always this cranky in the morning?” I asked Chrysalis.

“You have noooo idea,” Chrysalis said with a laugh, “Sometimes we have to throw a torch on him.”

        “Huh, what made you think to do that the first time you tried it?”

“Well, cold water doesn’t work and he’s ice so...we thought fire would work nicely. We already have fire proof sheets due to Heimdall.”

        “And you weren’t worried about accidentally melting your husband?”

“Does he look like a snowman?” she asked, giving me a flat look.

        “Good point.” I admitted with a sigh. “But all this magic and norse god stuff is still really new to me. How am I supposed to know what’s a stupid question?”

“Well if he was a snowman he’d be melting right now now wouldn’t he?” she pointed out, seeming to enjoy making me look stupid.

        “Alright Chrysalis, I get it. Me stupid, me shut up now,” I relented.

“Only if you understand,” she said with a laugh, a wide grin on her face.

        “I do, believe me, I do,” I groaned. “Are you almost done with your breakfast, Jason?”

“Yeah...” he grumbled, taking the last bite, tossing the stick at my head.

        I dodged the stick without thinking and quirked an eyebrow at him. “Why did you do that?”

“You’re too happy...” he grumbled, brushing some hair behind his ear.

        “Yeesh, Chrysalis can you check if we have any coffee in our supplies? I’d rather have cranky Jason gone before he throws something else at me.”

“I don’t drink coffee...it’s disgusting...” Jason made a face before stretching out, cracking his joints.

        “Alright, but Chrysalis is going to have to walk between us. I’d rather you didn’t poke an eye out.” I said, getting up and stretching as well.

He grumbled in acknowledgement, standing up and brushing his dress off, stifling off a yawn. Once the camp was all packed up we continued on our journey. The next few days passed rather quickly. At the end we made it to the entrance of a well hidden cave at the edge of the deserts of the badlands. Wisp motioned for us all to stop and turned to talk to us.

        “This is it. My hive lives in this cave.”

        “Alright, are we all ready for this?” I asked, my hand sitting above my gun.

“We’ll be fine,” Jason said, drawing his sword, cracking his neck rather loudly.

        “Alright, lead the way Wisp.” She nodded and our group followed her into the mouth of the cave. I had to suppress a shiver as I got a strange feeling from the cave. When my eyes adjusted to the dim light I saw a substance similar to what I had seen back in Jason’s world lining the walls. Wisp took us deeper and deeper into the cave and something felt off.

        “Jason, do you notice something?” I whispered to him.

“Shh...” he responded, narrowing his eyes, looking around.

        “What is it?” I asked, a little quieter than before.

“They know we’re here...”

        “I figured, we’re pretty deep and we still haven’t come across a drone.”

He kept moving, his eyes scanning the walls. He kept his breathing quiet, being as silent as possible. I followed his example and scanned the cramp space as much as possible.

        ‘It’d be pretty easy for them to surround us and use the cramped space against us. Sheer numbers might trump skill in a situation like this.’

        “Wisp, where are we exactly?” I asked her.

        “We are not far from where we would keep those that we extract love from.”

        “And is that an open space?”
        
        “T’is more open than most places in the cave.” She answered.

“Alright then, keep going,” Jason said, glaring back at her.

        Wisp nodded and in what felt like minutes we were in a fairly open chamber that was lined with strange crystals that gave off a soft glow. The room was also full of giant pods made of a goo-like substance.

“As soon as we touch a pod they’re going to spring their trap...” Chrysalis commented, looking around the room, frowning.

        “Well, that’d be one way to get the attention of their queen,” I commented, scanning the room for Morning. “Probably not the smartest way, but still, a way.”

“You see your girl?” Jason asked, kneeling down by a pod, looking inside it.

        “Not yet, it’s a little hard to see in here.” I answered, walking down a row of them before I stopped dead in my tracks. “Hey Jason, you might want to check this out,” I told him with a slack jawed look.

“What?” he asked walking over, keeping his guard up.

        “Just look in the pod. It kind of looks like… a human is in it.”

He took a closer look before his eyes went wide. “Zinnia!?” he shouted cutting open the pod, grabbing at the woman.

        Zinnia dropped out of the pod like a sack of rocks, crumpling quickly to the floor as the strange green liquid within pooled around her. She lay there for a couple of seconds before her eyes flew open, shooting to her feet with a gasp.

        “Stryker!” she cried, looking around frantically. “Wait… Chryssi!? Where’s Jay, and who’s the hot chick and the blonde hunk?”

        “Whoa calm down there.” I told her. “My name’s Vash, and the hot chick…” I started, trying to suppress a snicker, “is Jason. Who are you? And how did you get in my world without me summoning you?” I asked.

“Wibbly wobbly space-time shit,” Zinnia dismissed. “But rewind a second - Jay’s a chick! You didn’t tell me you could do that! What’re your titties like?”

“Zinnia this is not the fucking time! Why the fuck are you here in a changeling hive?!” Jason asked, grabbing her by the shoulders and shaking her vigorously.

“Wow, chill crazy mama!” The Draconid laughed, grabbing Jason’s arms and smiling at him. “I was try’na tame my Void Dragon, and he just sorta dropped me here. Changelings jumped my bones as soon as I touched the floor.” She pouted, crossing her arms. “Didn’t even try and have their way with me…”

        I blinked in confusion for a second. “Did you just complain that you weren’t sexually assaulted?” I asked.

        “Well, I probably wouldn’t be the one walking away with mental scars, but… yeah.” Zinnia smiled, sauntering over to my side and running her finger up my arm. “What about you, lean and mean? Wanna have some fun?”

        “Sorry, part of the reason we’re here is to rescue one of my marefriends.” I told her with a nervous chuckle. “Plus, caves are a bit of a turn-off for me.”

“Hey, caves are great!” Zinnia cried. “I live in a cave!” She paused, looking behind her. “Anyway, does your marefriend happen to be a Naga?”

“Yeah, do you see her pod or something?”

She just smiled, a blue flame erupting around her hand and forming a claw. She walked up to a random pod and punching into it. The liquids inside sloshed out, coating the floor one more before they were followed by a familiar tail. “Huh, Nagas are pretty tight,” she said before pulling her hand back and licking them clean…

Ew.

        I ignored the double entendre and rushed over to Morning’s side. She was still woozy from the experience and I put my hands on her shoulders to keep her from falling. “Morning, are you okay?” I asked her, concern evident in my voice.

        “V-Vash, what art thou doing here?” She asked groggily.

        “Well, it turns out that Hot Streak isn’t really a pony, so we figured that you would be captured and decided to come help you with the peace talks… and I accidentally got Jason pregnant.” I muttered the last part hoping to get that past her while she was still recovering from the love extraction process. Unfortunately, her tail shot out like lightning and wrapped itself around my neck.

        “What did thou just say?” She asked, her eye twitching. All I managed to get out was a gurgle and I feel my vision going blurry. Before I could black out I took my hand and flicked the tip of her tail.

        “Ahh~!” She cried as her grip on my neck loosened enough for me to wriggle free.

“Wait, is that why Sugar Daddy’s a Sugar Mama now”?” Zinnia shrieked, rushing over to Jason’s side and grabbing his arm. “I’m preggers too, Jay! We can be baby buddies!”


“You are!” Jason cried, instantly placing his hands on Zinnia’s exposed stomach. Wait, she’s wearing yoga pants and a tube top. The fuck?

“Aww, who’s the daddy?” I asked, walking over to them and ignoring Morning’s death glare.
 
They ignored me. “But what about…” Jason asked, trailing off. Even Chrysalis winced.

“Not a problem! Mesprit said that my Draconid Egg mixed with your Jotun baby batter made, like, a super-species! Our little girl’s gonna be just fine!”

“So you and Jason huh?” I asked scratching the side of my head. “Were you aware of this Chrysalis?”

“Aware of it?” Zinnia cried, laughing. “Dude, her horn was forehead-deep in me! You know she can turn into a chocolate-skinned delight?”

“Whoa, that sounds pretty interesting…” I said, trailing off.

“Dude, you have no idea,” Zinnia breathed. “Wait... “ She pushed past me, walking up to Morning as though in a trance. “Dude… your tits are huge!” Without warning, Zinnia reached out and tried to squeeze Morning’s breast, only to come into contact with her armour. “Dammit! Why metal no go squish!?”

Morning rolled her eyes at the young woman. “T’is the point of metal armor. And as for thy… astute observation. Yes, my breasts did grow when I was turned into a naga-pony.”

“So how good are you with that tail?”

“I don’t know, ask Vash,” Morning said with a smirk.

“Hey! I thought we agreed to never talk about that again!?” I cried out, my face turning bright red.

“And I thought that thou would not get someone else pregnant. We were both wrong,” she shot back. 

Zinnia looked between us, grinning madly. “You didn’t…” she asked, laughing uproariously when Morning just nodded. “Oh, sweet Arceus that’s priceless!”

        “It’s not funny!” I growled, face still beet red. “It destroyed my innocence,” I whimpered.

“Dude, there is no innocence,” Zinnia said with a grin, throwing her arm around my shoulders. “Only kinky sex. You mind if I join you two in the bedroom some time? I’ve got a few tricks I could show Morning that’s make her cum harder than if she was getting pounded by a team of clones.”

        “You’d have to ask her,” I grumbled, still unhappy about being reminded of what Morning did with her tail.

“That depends,” Morning said with a smirk still on her face. “Do any of those tricks include ways to punish Vash?”

“Like ninety percent of them! And the clone thing? I can do that too.” As if to prove her point, Zinnia took on a brief white sheen before an exact copy of her appeared beside me.

“Most interesting. Dost thou hear that Vash? I might be willing to forgive thy transgressions rather quickly. By the way, dost thou have a way to clone Vash?”

“Unfortunately, no. I can only clone myself.”

“That is quite disappointing. But then again, one Vash is already difficult to manage,” Morning finished, shooting me a look.

“Really? He’s that big?”

“Hmm? Oh no, I did not mean it in that way.” Morning clarified.

“Aww.”

“But…” Morning said with a bit of a blush. “I have no complaints about his size.”

“Not to be rude or anything,” Jason said, sounding pretty grouchy. “But shouldn’t we get going now!? We’re here for the Changelings, remember?”’

“He’s right,” I said with a clap of my hands. “Now is not the time to be distracted by sex talk. We’re on a mission to bring peace between ponies and changelings.”

“Ugh, fine!” Zinnia sighed. “But I’m screwin’ someone later. I’m horny as all hell!” She turned and started walking down a random corridor, hands behind her head. “Oh, and Morning? I really hope it’s you two.”

“That corridor leads to a dead end!” Wisp called out.

Zinnia walked back in, smiling. “Which way?”

“Considering we hath broken two pods open, a group of drones should be here shortly to take us before the queen.”

“Good,” Jason said, his gaze hardening, “We need to have words with her.”

Zinnia shrugged, sitting on a rock and leaning back on her hands. “So how long ‘till they get here?” As soon as she said that a large group of changelings rushed into the room through various tunnels. Surrounding us in a matter of seconds. “Oh, good! They’re punctual!”

“No one expects the Spanish Inquisition...” Jason muttered dryly.

“Their chief weapons are fear and surprise,” I said as I put my hands in the air.

“Really?” Zinnia asked, walking up to one and poking it. “Guess I’m pretty disarming. I’m not scared or surprised at all.”

“We’re not exactly normal though are we?” Jason asked, putting his sword away.

“Nah, guess we’re not.”

“Take us to your queen,” Chrysalis spoke to the drones, “We would have word with her.”

“Thou art not in the position to be making demands,” One said.

“I could drop all of you in thirty seconds.” Jason commented, crossing his arms. 

“Really?” I asked with wide eyes. “It would take me like a minute. Though that would probably be dumb luck rather than skill.” I finished with a chuckle.

“I’d be somewhere in between,” Zinnia added. “Maybe forty, forty five.”

“Seriously, just take us to your queen before this gets messy.” Jason urged, getting annoyed.

“Very well. the queen wishes to see those that infiltrated her hive,” The drone that had made herself the self-appointed leader barked. “Bind their hands and bring them to Queen Chiton.

“I like them!” Zinnia cried. “They mah peeps!”

“I don’t know if I’m comfortable with this,” I called out. “Nobody’s given me a safe-word!”

“Not Safe For Woona!”

“Suck it up Vash,” Jason snorted, holding his hands out.

“Verily Vash,” Morning insisted as she held out her own hands. “Hopefully this will be a simple matter to resolve.”

“Well!” Zinnia groaned, shaking her head. “By the luck of the Multiverse, as soon as someone says something like that, things go down the drain. I’m ready for a fight, don’t know about you guys.”

“Give her extra bindings!”

“Oh, charming.”

“If it’s any consolation, I welcome our new insect overlords,” I said with a big grin.

“Someling quiet the big one!” The leader called out.

“Zinnia, save the sexy talk for later, we actually have things to do,” Chrysalis said, giving the drone that approached her the stink eye, “I don’t have hands you idiot.”

“Thou has a horn that can give us trouble.”

“Cap her horn instead, we don’t have time for this!” the leading drone barked again.

“Get it over with,” Chrysalis hissed, glaring at the drone. The drone did as she was commanded and placed a cap on Chrysalis while another did the same to Morning. 

Once the drones were done binding all of us the leader barked out, “Now, take them to the queen!”

Once everyone was properly bound, the drones began leading us through the twisting tunnels, eventually coming out in a large, open chamber with a black throne in the back, a much taller changeling sat there looking not much different to Chrysalis, but where she was green, Chiton was dark purple. And she was anthro, obviously.

“Queen Chiton?” Zinnia called out, gaining the larger changeling’s attention. “I’ve got a bone to pick with you!”

“Oh, if it isn’t the being that we found in our hive not too long ago… and it seems that thou brought a few others that look like thee,” Chiton said with a smirk. “And what grievance wouldst thou like for me to address?”

        “Well my friends here aren’t exactly happy that you threw Equestrian guards into your pods, but I need to talk to you about your guards. They missed out on an essential part of intruder-jumping that every hive-like community must have!”

        “She isn’t…” Vash muttered, eyes wide.

        “She is,” Jason sighed.

        “They didn’t have sex with me!”

        If I could’ve at the time, I would’ve face-palmed. “Zinnia, now really isn’t the time for this. Can you do us all a favor and distract yourself with thoughts of Morning’s tail or something?”

        “Mmm…” she groaned, shuddering. “Naga tail…”

        I let out a long sigh at that. “Hopefully that’ll give us a few minutes of peace and quiet and allow us to get back on track. I’m sorry about that Queen Chiton,” I said with my best smile. “We think our friend here is experiencing some strange side-effects from being in one of your pods. Please forgive her.”

        To her credit, Chiton didn’t seem to have reacted much to Zinnia’s outburst. “Quite, so what brings all of thee to our humble little home?” She asked, crossing one of her legs across the other.

        “Well, we were hoping to try and broker a peace deal between your hive and Equestria,” I said as carefully as I could.

        “Is that so? And what might the terms of this deal be?” She stood, walking towards us. “Would my hive have to submit to Equestrian rule? Would my changelings - my children - be left to the mercy of the ponies and their hatred?!”

        “No Your Highness,” I told her, bowing my head. “I do not have specifics for this deal, but if it’s anything like the deals that Equestria has made with other nations then your hive will be recognized as its own sovereign nation.”

        “That’s a pretty sweet deal, ya know,” Zinnia said, having somehow freed herself from her binds and had popped up behind Chiton. “You should take it. Arceus only knows what’ll happen in the future for the changelings if they don’t secure it now.”

        “Oh Jesus Christ, she isn’t doing what I think she’s doing, is she?” I muttered under my breath.

“I know exactly what will happen,” Chrysalis spoke looking at Chiton, “And it’s really not a good thing.”

        “And how dost thou know what will happen?” Chiton asked with an arched eyebrow.

        “Oh, a bunch of us are from the future.” Zinnia said dismissively. “Don’t ask us to tell you anything, though. No spoilers.”

        “And why should we believe thy claims?” Chiton asked, crossing her arms across her chest.

“Because I lived it. I have as all changelings have since the rule of Empress Chiton. In the dark, starving, scrounging up every bit of emotion just to keep the larva fed,” Chrysalis spoke, her gaze hardening, “All because YOU made the wrong choice now.”

“That’s some heavy shit right there!” Zinnia cried, patting Chiton on the shoulder before falling into a fit of giggles. “Sorry, I think that goop messed with my head.”

“Zinnia, sit down and be quiet!” I hissed, before returning my attention to the changeling queen. “Chiton,” I started. “I know this is a lot to swallow, but I give you my word that we are sincere in this peace offer. And if you have any doubts about that, then I’ll let you take me captive while you broker peace with the princesses.”

“She can keep me captive,” Jason said, stepping forward, “I have more value than Vash afterall...”

“Um, no you don’t?” I said with a quirked eyebrow. “The last time I checked, I was the one dating the princesses of Equestria, not you,” I finished with a chuckle. 

“Yes but you're not the one that's pregnant now are you?”

“Yeah, and that’s why I don’t want you to be the captive,” I shot back.

“I’ll do it!” Zinnia shouted from the corner of the chamber.

“I’m not gonna let you do it either!” I growled at her.

“Why not? I can call a Void Dragon to bust me out at any time!”

“Oh for the love of, will you all shut up?!” Chrysalis asked, growling at us.

“Sorry,” I mumbled.

“Sorry, Cray-Chry!” Zinnia called out, giggling. “Oh! I should go pranking with Pinkie!”

Chrysalis just sighed, placing a hoof on her muzzle.

“Thank thee,” Chiton said with a nod towards Chrysalis. “All of their arguing was starting to get grating.”

“Ponies I tell you, so high maintenance...” Chrysalis mumbled, shaking her head.

        “Who are you calling a pony?” I asked in mock offense. “I would prefer it if you refered to me as a Plant and or Human.”

        “Draconid!” Zinnia cried, now lying down and staring at the ceiling. “I want these walls! They’re creepy!”

        “Silence!” Chiton called out as she gave Zinnia and I a dirty look. “Can the two of thee go one minute without prattling on about something else?”

        “I think I could manage that,” I told her with a nod. “What about you, Zinnia?”

        “I want to fly!”

“I hate you both so much...” Chrysalis groaned, facehoofing.

“Hold on,” I said, trying to get things back on track. “I might have a way to keep Zinnia from talking for a while.” I turned to Zinnia and with a straight face told her, “Hey Zinnia, go to sleep. You can fly in your dreams!”

“I can fly in real life!” she replied, stretching out her large purple wings before yawning. “But a nap does sound good…” She curled up, rolling onto her side and quickly falling asleep.

“Well, glad to know my experience of babysitting a high roommate did not go to waste,” I said with a sigh. “That should keep things quiet and sane for a while.”

“Did that really just happen...?” Jason asked, looking down at Zinnia with a raised eyebrow.

“Probably,” I dismissed with a shrug. “I’m done asking questions, remember?”

“So...Chiton what's the plan here?” Jason asked, looking at the queen.

“Simple, gather as much love from these ponies as possible, gather intelligence about the princesses and their forces, and if at all possible take over Equestria so that our hive shall never want for food again. At least, that was our original plan. If thy offers about peace are genuine then we may, may, reconsider this course of action.” She mused.

Chrysalis rolled her eyes, her horn charging up breaking the cap. She gave off a bright pink light, causing the changelings to just stare in wonder. “More love than you’ve ever felt in your life right?”

“How didst thou manage to collect all that love?” Chiton asked, managing to maintain her composure.

“Simple: I made peace with the ponies,” Chrysalis said simply, “We get so much from them that, over half my harvesters can live life away from the hive.”

“Interesting, if thine words are true then this would be quite the deal for our children,” Chiton replied, placing a hand on her chin in thought. “I shall go to the princesses of Equestria and hear what they have to say about this deal. However, our trust is not so easily earned,” She continued, a dark look spreading across her face. “We shall keep one of thee as a captive in order to prevent anything from happening to us and our changelings while we are in the midst of our discussion.”

“I understand Chiton, and as I said before. I am the princesses’ mate, so I’m the most logical choice,” I reminded her.

“I think I should do it,” Jason argued, shaking his head.

“Jason, we’ve been over this,” I told him with a glare. “I’m not letting anything happen to that baby.”

“And I can kill them all with a flick of my wrist.” he argued.

“And that’s another reason why you shouldn’t be the captive,”

“If it will keep the two of thee quiet then we shall take both of thee captive,” Chiton interrupted.

“I don’t know, what do you think Jason?” I asked.

“I’m fine with that,” Jason said nodding.

“Whelp, there you go,” I said with a grin. “Looks like you’ve got two captives now.”

“Lovely,” Chrysalis sighed, shaking her head.

“Just think of it this way Chrysalis,” I started. It was either this or the two of us would’ve kept arguing about it.”

“Just be careful,” she trotted over to Jason, pulling him down into a deep kiss.

“That goes double for thee,” Morning told me as she gave me a kiss of my own.

“Don’t you worry about a thing,” I said when we pulled away from each other. “I’m a lot more capable than I look.”

“Just don’t touch em’ until we work it all out, that sweet ass is mine!”Chrysalis affirmed, placing Zinnia across her back.

 “Just be sure to let the others know about us being captives with as much tact as possible,” I said waving my bound hands.

“Of course, are you coming?” she asked, turning to Morning.

“Yes, as loathe as I am to leave Vash here. He has made his choice and I must do my part to make sure that this peace deal happens,” She said with a sigh as she slithered over to Chrysalis.

“We shall talk on the way back...we have much to discuss,” Chrysalis nodded, heading to the door.

Chiton and a few other drones followed after them. Leaving us alone with a few of the drones. “So… does anybody have a deck of cards?” I asked, breaking any awkward silence before it could form. “I think it’s going to be a while before they get back.”

Jason just shrugged, “I’m going to to do some studying.”

“How do ya plan on doing that? Does this place have a library we passed by that I wasn’t aware of?”

Jason sighed, his bindings suddenly icing over. He easily broke out, moving over to sit down against the wall. He reached into his pocket, pulling out a strange book, which he proceeded to start reading.

“Uh Jason, do you mind doing me a solid?” I asked, holding out my bound hands with a weak grin.

He threw a blast of magic at me, covering a large portion of me in ice.

        “Th-thank you,” I said with a shiver, breaking the bonds.

      
> Peace Between Ponies and Changelings?
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

[Third Person POV.]

        Morning Star, Chrysalis, Zinnia’s sleeping form, and Queen Chiton and her drones were all on their way to the Castle of the Two Sisters. The drones were hyper-vigilant as they scanned the area, wary of any possible trap that they might be led into. Chiton on the other hand maintained her composure and kept her gaze forward.

        “Thou said we had much to discuss,” Chiton said, indicating Chrysalis. “What did thou wish to discuss with us?”

        Chrysalis opened her mouth to reply, only to be interupted as Zinnia groaned, pulling herself up and straddling the Empress’s back. “Ugh,” the Draconid groaned. “What happened? I remember the pod, then everything’s blank…”

        “Thou complained about not being molested by the changelings that captured thee, attempted to grab my chest, propositioned me for sex, and giggled to thyself like a madmare for a while before Vash convinced thee to fall asleep,” Morning answered.

        “Sounds like I’d just had a spliff…” Zinnia muttered, before her eyes went wide. "Oh shit, Changeling resin is Dragon weed…" she rounded on Chiton, sliding off of Chrysalis's back as she did so. "With all due respect, your majesty," she spat. "If anything happened to my daughter, I will come back, and I'll burn. You. Alive."

        “How were we to know that thou would have such an adverse reaction to it?” Chiton asked with a quirked brow. “In all others the only thing that the resin has done is put the one inside in a state of suspended animation while we extract love for our hive.”

"That's why you ask! Don't just throw people in there!" Zinnia paused, sighing to herself. "Look, just… don't worry about it. Jason's bloodline helps with alcohol consumption, I just hope it's the same with narcotics."

        “We apologize if anything untoward does happen to thy child,” Chiton said with a sigh of her own. “We know all too well the worries of a mother.”

"Thanks… I'm sorry I yelled at you. And complained your guards didn't rape me."

        “That’s why thou asks,” Chiton said with a bit of a smirk.

"You sly bitch!" Zinnia laughed, pausing seconds after as she noticed something. "Hey, where're Jay and Vash?"

        “They decided to stay behind as captives as insurance for the deal,” Morning said in a flat tone.

"Really?" Zinnia groaned. "Stupid sexy idiots…" she added in a mutter before shaking her head. "Okay! Where're we going and how long's it gonna take, by foot or wing?"

        “It should take a few days by foot,” Wisp replied.

"Too long, who can't fly?" The Draconid looked around briefly, seeing only Morning Star raise her hand. "Okay, we'll fly. I'll carry Morning."

Without waiting for anyone to agree, Zinnia moved behind Morning and wrapped her arms around the Naga's waist, her body glowing white for a second before she took off.

        “Do not treat me as if I am some sack of flour!” Morning hissed.

"I'm not!" Zinnia replied. "If I was if have dropped you by now! I'm treating you like a sexy woman I wanna bang later!"

        Morning let out a long groan as she facepalmed. “It’s as if I’m speaking to a female version of Vash… but somehow with less tact.”

"What? I have a Naga fetish!" Zinnia laughed. "And who has the time for tact?"

        “From what I gathered in the cave, thou has quite a few fetishes,” Morning said flatly.

"Everything but incest!"

        Morning let out another groan as she decided to just accept what was happening. “I was not meant to fly,” She grumbled to herself.

        “How come?” Zinnia asked. “Afraid of heights? Get airsick?” She paused, flying slightly closer to the ground. “I can fly lower if you want.”

        “No, t’is nothing like that,” Morning said with a slight blush. “I just prefer to do things under my own power. The last time I let somepony fly me somewhere was when I was a foal.”

        Zinnia grinned slyly. “I understand your plight,” she purred. “That’s what led me to dominatrixing. I bet you’d like it, so many ways you could make Vash beg for release…”

        “Well… actually, I like when Vash takes charge at times,” Morning admitted with a blush.

        “Well yeah, no one likes to do all the work,” Zinnia allowed. “A good pounding is good after a stressful day, but when he screws up or gets someone else pregnant,” she paused, a mad grin crossing her face. “Honey, his face after a few hours? You’ll love it.”

        “Could we not talk about this? I am not quite comfortable discussing these matters.”

        “Sure,” Zinnia said with a shrug, slowing down until she was alongside Queen Chiton. “Hey Queenie, when was the last time you had a cock between your legs?”

        “This shall be a long journey…” Morning groaned.

        “Preaching to the choir, sister,” Chrysalis called from her left.





        Nightfall came and the group landed at the gate of the castle. Zinnia let Morning down and she straightened herself out as she gave the Draconid a look.

        “I thank thee for at least not groping me during our journey.”

        “Armour, couldn’t,” Zinnia replied, waving dismissively.

        “There was still my tail,” Morning said with a chuckle as she gave the tip of her tail a little wiggle. “Considering thy admitted fetish for Nagas I am surprised thou were not drawn to it.”

        Zinnia promptly reached out and grabbed Morning’s tail, slipping it under her shirt. “I honestly forgot, since I couldn’t do that without dropping you while flying,” she said as she pressed her breasts together around the tip. “Now, though, it’s like you’re asking for it.”

        Morning’s entire face turned red and she bit her lip. “W-wouldst thou please *pant* release my tail? We s-still have to bring Queen Chiton to discuss peace with the princesses.”

        Zinnia shrugged, pulling the tail out of her shirt and giving it a quick kiss before letting it go, sauntering past Morning and into the castle gates. “Suit yourself,” she said, shooting a smoky look over her shoulder. “But that’s just a taster of what’s to come.”

        Morning collected herself and took a few deep breaths. “I deal with some interesting beings,” she muttered under her breath as she slithered into the castle. 

        A few minutes later, the group was in the throne room where Luna and a freshly awoken Celestia were sitting in front of them.

        “So thou must be Queen Chiton?” Celestia asked.

        “That is correct, thy offer of peace intrigued us, so we deigned to give thee a chance to tell us thy deal.”

        Luna scanned the room and noticed something. “Wait, where are Vash and Jason? Why are they not among thee?”

        “Oh, they’re staying behind as insurance,” Zinnia called from the back of the room, where she was leaning against the wall next to a guard. “Their own choice, mind you,” she added.

        Both princesses shared a look and let out a sigh. “That does sound like something Vash would do,” Celestia said.

        “And who art thou?” Luna asked indicating Zinnia. “Art thou another Displaced?”

        “Yep!” the Draconid said happily before sauntering over. “The names Zinnia, I’m a Draconid. Jason’s the father of my daughter.”

        “Interesting,” Celestia mused. “Though that will have to be discussed later. For now, we still have to complete our deal with Queen Chiton.”

        “You guys have fun with that,” the Draconid said, turning and walking back to her spot by the wall before turning to the guard. “So, where were we?” she asked breathily, running a finger up his arm. The guard gulped nervously.

        The princesses then shook their heads before returning their attention to Queen Chiton.

        “We art glad that thou hast come to us,” Luna started. “What dost thou want from this deal?”

        “We only wish for our hive to continue to survive,” Chiton answered. “What can the two of thee offer us to ensure this?”

        “If thou accepts our deal then thy hive shall be considered its own nation. And if thou wishes, we would be willing to give thy people fertile, uninhabited land to do with as thou sees fit,” Celestia started.

        “In addition we and our guard would work to help facilitate cohabitation between Changelings and Ponies. Under the condition that thou does not kidnap any more of our subjects,” Luna added.

        “That is quite the deal, why should I believe thee?” Chiton asked.

        “We have no reason to lie to thee,” Celestia said with a steely look in her eyes.

        “Plus,” Zinnia chimed, having given up her torture of the guard. “You’ve got their boytoy, so…” she paused as the princesses looked to her in shock. “What? It’s not that hard to figure out.”

        “Plus, thou were told back in the hive,” Morning added with a roll of her eyes.

        “Shh!” Zinnia hissed. “I’m try’na be cool!”

        “Anyway,” Chiton said, turning back to the princesses. “We may be willing to give this deal a try. But before we commit ourselves to anything we wish for thee to allow our changelings to live among thy ponies for a short time. If they come to no harm in that time, then we will accept thy deal”

        “We would be more than happy to allow this,” Celestia said with a nod.

        “Uh…” Zinnia said, raising a hand. “How are you going to make that work? I mean, from what I’ve gathered, the ponies think the Changelings are monsters.” She paused, looking around briefly. “Isn’t the first reaction to a monster in Equestria either ‘run for you lives’ or ‘kill it with fire’?”

        “That may be true for now,” Celestia conceded. “But we shall go to the villages of our citizens personally and explain our intentions of peace. After that, we will ask for a village to volunteer to be the first to allow Changeling integration under the condition that if the Changelings under their care are to come to harm then the entire village shall be subject to severe punishment.”

“Actually, it might be a better idea to set up a new village full of changelings and then have pony volunteers move there. Trying to force a village into that will only cause trouble,” Chrysalis spoke up, adjusting her wings.

        “Thou makes a good point,” Luna replied. “That does seem to be the wiser choice. We shall still go to the villages personally in order to gather volunteers.”

        “This seems a fitting idea to us,” Chiton said with a nod. “Though where shall this village be made?”

“Well, in our world,” Chrysalis started, looking around, “We turned this ruin into a hive and after Canterlot was almost destroyed, most of the ponies there migrated here and started to build our village, Valhalla.”

        “As thou can see,” Luna started, shooting Chrysalis a bit of a glare. “We do not plan on allowing this castle to become a ruin. Though,” She said, her look softening as she turned to Chiton. “There is a patch of fertile land just outside of the forest where this castle lies. Thy village of changelings could be started there,” she offered.

“Wait...” Chrysalis tapped her chin, “If you make the village there...you’d be founding Ponyville nine hundred years early and in place of the Apple Family...” she muttered, looking deep in thought.

“It’d probably be more like Lingville,” Zinnia chuckled.

        “Very well,” Celestia sighed. “Where would thou suggest we create this village?”

        “We’re not saying it’s a bad idea,” Zinnia clarified. “Just that it’d make a few differences appear between our worlds, ones more noticeable than the obvious.” She gestured between Chrysalis and Chiton to prove her point.

        “Then dost thou have any complaints about this location?” Luna asked, glancing at Chiton.

        “As long as nothing untoward happens to our Changelings, thou could place the village in a tundra for all we care,” Chiton replied with a shrug.

        “Then it’s settled!” Zinnia cried, smiling brightly. “The Changelings shall build a hive-village on the edge of the Everfree and name it Lingville, opening the gates for peace between Changelings and Ponies alike!”

        “We did not agree upon the name Lingville,” Chiton interjected.

“Hmm...”Chrysalis buzzed her wings, an idea forming in her head.

“What’cha thinkin’, Chryssi?” Zinnia asked, leaning in towards her.

“Either Outer Heaven or,” she held a hoof up, “More appropriately, Gunsmoke.”

“Gunsmoke?” Chiton asked, tilting her head. “We hath not heard of such a thing, but it sounds intriguing."

“It’s the name of the ‘world’ Vash is ‘from.” Chrysalis air-quoted. 

“Vash was the tall one, correct?”

“Yeah, with the blonde hair,” Zinnia provided.

“Speaking of Vash,” Celestia interrupted. “Now that we have brokered the beginnings of peace, can we expect that he and Jason will be released.”

        “Yes, we shall return thy mate. Though we are sorely tempted to see what kind of love we could extract from one who two princesses have shown their affection to,” she mused with a tittering laugh.

        “Didn’t you do that once?” Zinnia asked, turning to Chrysalis with her brow raised questioningly.

“There are many different types of love, for example, the love I gained from Shining Armor allowed me to strike down Celestia herself.” Chrysalis explained, a smug look on her face.

“As we were saying,” Celestia said with a bit of irritation. “We would be most appreciative if thou could return Vash and Jason as soon as possible. Along with any other ponies thou has in thy possession.”

“Very well, that could be arranged,” Chiton replied with a bit of a sigh.





(The Hive, Vash's PoV)

        Time had passed and the drones had basically become just a thing in the background. I looked over to where Jason was sitting, still reading that mysterious book. I turned away from him and scraped off some more ice that I had missed. Eventually though, the silence was too much for me to take.

        “Jason, are you pissed at me or something?” I asked without looking at him.

“Yes.” he didn’t look up from his book.

“Is there anything I could do that could help you… not be pissed at me?”

“I dunno Vash, is there?”

“Alright, I guess that was just a stupid question,” I said with a sigh. “If it makes any difference, I really am sorry.”

“We both are Vash.” he turned the page, still not looking up.

“This is one of those things that needs time, isn’t it?” I asked with a sigh.

“Most likely yes...” he said, finally looking up at me.

        “Okay, I guess I’ll have to live with that. I’m gonna be honest though, patience was never one of my virtues,” I said with a weak smile, trying to add some levity to the situation.

“Same here,” he looked back at his book before letting out a sigh, closing it.

        “Is something wrong?” I asked, slightly worried.

“I’m fine Vash,” Jason insists, brushing hair out of his eyes.

“Then why did you close your book?”

“Got tired of reading.”

“Okay, well…” I started, unsure of what to say. “Have you thought of any names for the baby?” I asked, scratching my cheek.

“A few...” Jason looked down, placing a hand on his stomach.

        “Cool, I thought of one or two myself,” I said with a chuckle. “Can I hear yours?”

“You first.” he gave a slight smile, gesturing for me to move over to him.

        I did as he indicated and slid over a couple feet away from him. “Well, if it’s a girl I thought something like Valkyrie would be kind of cool. Playing off the norse thing you’ve got going on with your other kids. And if it’s a boy, I dunno, something like Flash. A sort of play on my own name. Kind of stupid, huh?” I conceded with a weak laugh.

“I’m not naming my kid Flash,” Jason rolled his eyes, his smile growing.

“Well I thought Vash Jr would be a little too awful,” I countered.

“That's even worse, you're terrible at this you know that?”

        “Okay, then what are your baby names if you’re so good at this?” I asked with a chuckle.

“Well, there’s Zidane, Viola, Raven, Lightning, and a whole lot of others we can steal from popular media.”

        “Okay, I concede. You really are better at this than I am.”

“Well of course I am,” he smirked, leaning back against the wall.

        “You are so lucky I would never hit a pregnant lady.”

“You wouldn’t hit a lady in general yah pussy.”

        “Hey, I am not a pussy,” I said with fake indignation.

“You’re right, you're just pussy whipped.’ Jason smirked.

        “That I won’t deny,” I returned with a smirk of my own. “At least I don’t make threats to the mother of my children.”

“What's that supposed to mean?” he asked, raising his eyebrow.

        “It was a joke, based on that little interaction when I was in your Equestria.”

He just rolled his eyes, socking me in the arm.

        “Ow,” I groaned, rubbing where he had hit me. “I knew I should’ve sat on your other side. Then you would’ve hit my metal arm.”

“Suck it up pansy,” he chuckled, leaning on me.

        “Oh, so I’m a pansy instead of a pussy now?” I asked, jumping slightly from the contact.

“You’re both,” he said closing his eyes, “And yes, I’m going to milk my condition for all its worth. Now stay still, there ain’t nothing else comfy to relax on.”

“You could threaten to kill one of the drones with the flick of your wrist,” I mused. “That might make them a bit more receptive to let you using them as a cushion.”

“Eh, you’re already here,” he said with a shrug.

“Whatever, you know I can never say no to a lady anyway.”

“Glad we have it all worked out then.”

A drone chose that moment to walk over, gaining our attention.

“The Queen hath informed us that thine peace offering hath been accepted,” the drone said. “As such, thou art free to leave at thine convenience.”

“And what about the other guards and ponies here?” I asked.

“They are also free to leave,” the drone replied. “The hive is to be relocated to a patch of land bordering thy ‘Everfree Forest’.”

“Oh boy, looks like I’m going to have a heavy workload for a while,” I said with a sigh.

“You got me to help ya,” Jason said, putting a hand on my shoulder, “So don’t worry about it.”

“Oh, are you any good at setting up pipes? Or are you more of a carpentry kind of guy?”

“I don’t know how to do either of those things, I was going to school for paleontology.”

“Well, I know you’re good at heavy lifting so I guess that’ll help lighten the workload.”

He nodded, “Now let's go get those other ponies before they end up vegetables or something.”

“Alright,” I said, getting up and brushing myself off before extending a hand to help him up. “I’m ready to go whenever you are.”

“What a gentleman,” he teased before taking my hand.

“Only when I’m with the right lady,” I teased back.

“Hitting on me again him? Have a think for transgendered guys huh?”

“I am a non-discriminatory man,” I told him with a puffed up chest. “If somebody identifies as a lady then I will treat them like a lady.” I then chuckled as I added, “having a figure like the one you’re rocking now doesn’t hurt either.”

“What you mean these?” he asked, posing a bit, pushing his chest out, “I keep seeing you stare at them. I take it you like them?”

“I will plead the fifth on that one. Though the thought of them swelling up during the pregnancy has crossed my mind once or twice,” I laughed. “Now, how are we getting back to the castle? I don’t know if the ponies will have the strength to walk for a few days.”

“I can just teleport us there,” Jason said with a shrug, “Shouldn’t be more than a single trip.”

“Are you sure you don’t want to find an excuse to snuggle up to me again?” I joked.

“Hahaha,” Jason said, narrowing his eyes.

“Oh, calm down there Jason,” I said giving him a pat on the back. “Let’s just grab those ponies and teleport out of here. I don’t know about you, but I’d hate to keep my marefriends waiting too long.”

“Lead the way then,” he gestured with his hand, watching me.

“Why am I the one leading the way?” I asked, starting down the tunnel.

“Because I said.”

“Fine… I didn’t want to stare at your ass anyway,” I muttered under my breath. It didn’t take us long to make it to the chamber where all the pods were, and once we had allowed them all to get their bearings after being in the pods for so long, we were gone in a flash of light. We reappeared a few moments later, and once the nausea was gone I noticed that we were back in the throne room.

“Ugh, how are you so okay with traveling like this?” I asked, looking over to Jason.

“I’m used to it,” Jason said, shrugging. “Plus, I’ve had to do a lot worse for a lot longer.”

“I’m not that bad!” Zinnia and I cried out, Zinnia from beyond a doorway.

“What...?” he asked blinking.

“Never mind, Jay. You’re too innocent to understand sometimes,” Zinnia sighed, walking back in. “Hope nobody minds, but I just sent a guard on a cookie run. I got the munchies,” she added, shooting a light glare at Chiton.

“Hi Zinnia,” I said with a little wave. “You didn’t cause Morning and the others any trouble, did you?”

“She put my tail in her breasts!” Morning screeched.

“Nope!” Zinnia said straight after, a sweet smile on her face.

“So, business as usual yeah? And no Zinnia, I’m not innocent, I’ve killed more people than everyone in this castle combined.”

“I meant you don’t always understand innuendoes, ya stupid fool,” the Draconid groaned, flinching when her stomach growled. “Where’re my cookies, dammit!”

“Your highnesses!” a voice called, and we all turned to see a panicked-looking guard come charging in.

“You’re the one I sent for cookies!” Zinnia growled. “Where are they?!”

“Yes, guardsmare?” Luna asked, raising her brow and ignoring the Draconid for the moment. “What is thy problem?”

The mare took a moment to regain her breath before answering. “There’s a strange creature attacking the guards at the gate!” she cried, pointing in the general direction of the gates in question. “It seems to be a mass of blue tentacles on two small red feet!”

Immediately, all eyes turned to Zinnia, unamused.

“What?!” she cried. “Just because a tentacle monster’s on the loose you think it’s me?”

“Zinnia,” I groaned. “It fits the exact description of a Tangela. Now, who here has a world where Pokemon exist?” He paused, looking around. “Oh, no one but Zinnia? How incriminating."

“And,” Morning chimed. “Thou hast not only made sexual comments and advances since thou arrived, but thou hast admitted to have a fetish for, quote, ‘everything but incest’.”

“Now,” Jason deadpanned. “Are you really going to sit there and tell us that’s not your Tangela out there?”

Zinnia stood stubbornly for all of two minutes before sighing, beginning to walk out of the room. “Fine, I’ll go get Writher to stop,” she grumbled.

“You know...I don’t actually remember if I have a Tangela scan...” Jason mumbled, following after her.

“And it’s been a while since I’ve seen some tentacle porn, so I should go too,” I commented as I followed along.

“Those are my guards, so of course I must help,” Morning added.

“I get the feeling Vash is the only one being honest!” Zinnia called, laughing. “Why do you think he’s called Writher?”

“I can already tell I’m getting way more than I want out of this...”Jason muttered, crossing his arms.

Zinnia’s laughter echoed through the halls as she led the way to the main gates, finally getting herself under control as she placed her hands against the doors and pushed. The sight that greeted us… was not pleasant.

Broken arms, legs, and I’m pretty sure ribs were just a few of the injuries these poor guards had suffered, all at the hands of the admittedly adorable ball of… whatever they were stood between them. It glared up at us for a moment before it seemed to recognise Zinnia, running forwards with a happy squeal.

“Writher!” Zinnia cried, scooping the Tangela up in her arms. “Am I glad you’re safe! But you shouldn’t have hurt them so much, they’re only doing their job!” she added, chastising it.

“Yeah, you can’t just go attacking ponies at random little guy,” I said with a chuckle.

Jason sighed, moving from guard to guard, healing their wounds with what I assume is magic. The Tangela, meanwhile, turned to me, staring with what I can only hope is wonder.

“Uh Zinnia,” I asked nervously. “Is this a normal thing with him, or…?”

“You said you were a plant, right?” she asked, and I nodded quickly. “Well he can probably sense that, but he’s wondering why you look human.” She paused, looking thoughtful for a moment. “Hey Jay, you think he can talk to Grass Types?!”

“Aren’t Plants energy beings?” he called back, not looking away from his work.

“That’s what I thought,” I called back. “Then again, I guess, it wouldn’t hurt to try and talk with the little guy.” I then leaned down, looking Writher in the eyes. “You got anything to say to me, buddy?”

“Your girlfriend’s hot, dude. Can I have a go?”

“I am talking to a pokemon… one of my childhood dreams has just been realized,” I said with a wild grin on my face.

“What’d he say?” Zinnia asked. “I can’t really read his body language with him being without much of a body.”

“Yes Vash, what did he say?” Morning asked, coming over to my side

“Uhh…” I started looking between them and Writher before settling on Writher.

“Well?” he asked. “You gonna ask or not?”

“Well, it turns out that he’s definitely your pokemon, Zinnia,” I said with a sigh and shaking my head.

“What do you mean? I only found him yesterday, and he followed me!” she explained. “I haven’t trained or gotten to know him at all yet, I only named him that because he got a bit… adventurous when I tripped over.”

“He better keep those tentacles away from me...” Jason warned, looking over his shoulder. A blue vine promptly scurried away, re-tangling itself in Writher’s body.

I ignored what Jason just said and leaned in closer to Writher. “When she says adventurous, how far did you get with her exactly?” I whispered to him.

“Dark side of the moon, brother,” he replied. “With calcium-rich refreshments.”

“Mad respect bro,” I said with a nod. “Next time you do that, see if you can record it and send me the video.”

“Video of what?” Zinnia asked.

“What is this ‘Video’ thou speak of?” Morning chimed in, leaning closer.

“Ignore them,” I whispered. “Can you manage that?” 

“The only camera in my world is Mistress’s iPod, but I’ll try dude. Anything for a brother.”

“That’s what I like to hear,” I said with tears welling up in my eyes. as I held out a hand for Writher. “No matter what happens, you and I are friends for life.”

“Word,” he replied, making a fist with five of his tentacles and fist-bumping me.

“Okay seriously, what’s up with this!?” Zinnia cried. “You know I’ll just get Mesprit to read your mind if you don’t tell me, Writher!”

“She’s bluffing, hold fast brother,” I said with a grave expression.

“She’s not… that Noivern was raised by her…”

“If you manage to pull this off,” I started, getting in close to Writher. “I’ll let you have a shot with Morning, and the princesses.”

“And I’m pulling Writher away now,” Zinnia stated. “Mainly because angry Naga heard you say that.”

“You’re boned. I’ll still try though!”

“Thank you bro… Ack!” I cried as Morning’s tail wrapped around my neck.

“What were thou discussing with that creature, Vash?” Morning asked with a twitching eye. I gurgled out a response all while my face started to turn blue.

“Ah!” Zinnia suddenly cried out. “Writher, I’m all for a bit of fun, but… Oh, oh!” she turned to me with a glare, though it was slightly less effective with the smirk on her face. “Morning, I do believe I know,” she purred, leading the mare away as her grip loosened and I sucked in air.

“Dude, I tried to get the iPod and she figured it out! I’m sorry!” Writher wailed, helping me up.

Jason hummed as he moved over, the Omnitrix scanning Writher. “There,” he said smirking, “Now I am the tentacle monster.”

“Well that’s just great,” I said, rubbing my sore neck. “I hope you get a lot of use out of that form. As for you,” I continued, turning to Writher. “Dude, why did you try to take the iPod now of all times? Wait until no one’s around man.”

“Because I’m not the only Pokemon that was sent here, and Mistress is gonna wanna find Sonar before she leaves! I was gonna get the footage tonight for ya, bro!” he said, pausing to give me a flat stare. “And you think she cares who sees her go at it? Word travels fast, bro. She gangbanged a girl in the sky with her Double Team clones, then pulled a dominatrix show walkin’ through Canterlot.”

“And just because your trainer acts like that, doesn’t mean that you should,” I admonished. “Remember this phrase and you’ll go far my friend, ‘Gentleman on the streets, pervert in the sheets,’” I finished with a sagely nod.

“I don’t even...”Jason sighed, facepalming.

“So, Vash,” Zinnia growled from behind me, and I paled.

“Care to explain something to us?” Morning added.

“Eep,” I squeaked, trembling where I stood.





After a long and… painful talk with Zinnia and Morning, all of us were in the throne room. All of my marefriends shooting me a glare.

“So...we still need to talk about the herd situation,” Chrysalis spoke up, currently feeding her larva, who Chiton were watching closely.

“While I am not completely happy about the situation,” Morning started. “I do feel that we all have an obligation to the foal.”

“If I may?” Zinnia said, raising her hand. “I also have a child of Jason’s, and have recently gotten into a relationship with a Displaced named Umbra. Where do we stand in this?”

“I think that makes us one long, insane extended family,” Jason said, sitting on a couch with Rarity, who was on her side, head in his lap, dozing off.

“True, even if we are not a completely sexually active herd,” Morning interjected. “Forming some form of relationship should prove to be the best solution.”

“How about this?” Zinnia started, standing and pacing around the room. “We’re all in one big herd, but that herd is, in fact, made up of smaller herds - mine, Vash’s and Jason’s. We can intermingle and have fun with each other, but we don’t have to.”

“And we can’t just visit for sex, either!” Jason added, looking to Vash and Zinnia in particular. “There has to be a legitimate reason for dropping in unannounced, unless you’re invited.”

“Sounds good to me!” Chrysalis smiled, “Welcome to the family! I hope you’ll all come to the reunion! Hel is letting most of Jay’s family come.”

“Are you kidding?” I cheered with a big grin. “You couldn’t keep me away from that!”

“Excellent!” Chrysalis said before blinking, “Wait...where’s Megan?”

Zinnia looked around frantically. “I don’t see Writher!” she cried out fearfully.

Thankfully, both parties soon walked through a side door, a plate of cookies held in Writher’s vines as he and Megan munched on them, laughing merrily.

“I swear tentacle man you did ANYTHING with my mom, you die.” Jason hissed, giving Writher a death glare.

“Vash, please tell the gender-bender that we had cookies and that’s all,” Writher deadpanned, shoving another cookie into his mouth.

“Writher says they just had cookies,” I relayed to Jason.

“Well,” Zinnia groaned, stretching out. “It’s pretty late, so I’m gonna hit the sack. Can I borrow a room for the night?”

“Sure thing, just let a guard lead you to one of the empty ones,” I told her.

“Ooh,” Zinnia cooed as a grey-furred mare began to lead her away. “This one may not come back tonight! Come along, Writher!”

“Dude,” Writher breathed, drooling slightly. “I will definitely get you footage of that.”

“Godspeed my friend!” I called out with a thumbs up. “Godspeed!”

“Well, you certainly live up to your family,” Megan commented, taking a seat next to Jason, taking a bite out of her cookie.

“I know....I hate it...” he groaned, letting his head fall back, sighing a little.

“Still talking about Loki?” I asked.

“Yup...” he muttered, not looking at me.

“Well… to be fair you were already like him before,” I added. “He did have a horse baby after all.”

“Oh fuck off Vash.”

“Is that any way to talk in front of your mother?” I asked.


“It’s just words,” Megan said, shrugging a little.

“Man, you’re a cool mom,” I said with a grin. “My mom would’ve tanned my backside if I said something like that in front of her.”

“You’d be surprised what I let slide.” Megan smiled, sharing a look with Jason.

“Heh, you must have the patience of a saint,” I commented with a chuckle.

“Well,I do have him as a son.” she teased, giggling a little.

“I can only imagine,” I said, shaking my head.

“Well,” Morning said, her tail wrapping around my arm. “I do believe that the princesses and I have some very important business to discuss with thee, Vash. Good night Jason, Megan, Chrysalis.”

“We hope thou sleeps well,” Celestia added, leading the way out of the throne room. Luna nodded and followed after her sister, with Morning dragging me along behind.

“Help me?” I pleaded.

“Nope,” Jason said, taking his book out, burying himself in it.
	
	


> Dueling Dragons
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	The next morning I was walking down the halls to get some breakfast. When I came into the dining room I saw that everyone else was already there (though Jason seemed to be nodding off at the table.)

“Hey everyone, good morning,” I called out with a wave.

“Go die...”Jason mumbled, glaring at me.

“Love you too honey,” I replied before dodging a fork.

“Damn Jay,” Zinnia muttered, taking a long drag of her coffee. “I hope I’m not that cranky when my mood swings kick in.”

”Mornings suck...morning people are the devil...” he mumbled, rubbing his eyes.

        “Better than eternal darkness people…” Zinnia muttered, slouching back in her chair. “I hope Fluttershy’s okay…”

        “Well, other than little Miss and Mister Sunshine over here, how’s everyone else this morning?” I asked taking a seat to Celestia’s right.

“Well the young ones slept well,” Chrysalis said, watching the foals play in a makeshift play pen.

“I had some trouble getting comfortable but I managed,” Rarity commented from her mound of cushions.

“Oh, was it because of the change in environment, or is there something I could do to help?” I asked.

“Not unless you can get the foal out,” Rarity commented, patting her swollen belly.

“Sorry, that’s not my area of expertise. The only thing I can offer you is some home remedies that my mother swore helped alleviate pregnancy symptoms. Don’t know if they’d work for a pony though,” I offered while rubbing the back of my head.

“Don’t worry about it, I’m due any day now anyway.” She dismissively waved her hoof.

“You are!?” Zinnia asked excitedly. “Oh, I’m so excited, I can’t wait!”

“I bet it’ll have two heads or be a hedgehog or something,” Chrysalis teased, much to Rarity’s annoyance.

I rolled my eyes and smiled a bit at the antics before turning to Zinnia. “Hey Zinnia, didn’t you say that you had pokemon other than Writher that were with you when you came here?”

“Yeah,” the Draconid replied, leaning back and staring at the ceiling. “Me and Writher were sitting on Sonar’s back, so it’s not completely out of the question that he’d be here somewhere too.” She paused, seemingly thinking on something. “Oh, Sonar’s a Noivern. Jason knows him, kinda.”

“Nice guy,” Jason added, sipping at some tea. He made a face, looking at Celestia. “Seriously, Zebrifican Red Tea. Get some...”

“If that is what thou wants,” Celestia started, signaling for a maid. “Then we have some in the pantry. Or dost thou prefer to complain about things first?” She teased.

He glared, conjuring up a snowball, tossing it at her only for it to stop just short of hitting her face due to a barrier she had erected.

“Thou art lucky we consider thee to be family now. Otherwise that could’ve landed thee in the dungeon,” Celestia teased again.

“I can do worse.” he warned, narrowing his eyes.

“Can we not have threats at the breakfast table?” I asked, hoping to defuse the situation.

“Why are you so grumpy lately Jason?” Zinnia asked, leaning forward. “Is it because of the baby, or is something else eating at you?”

“I’m always like this, you just haven’t been around me long enough,” Jason snorted, downing the rest of his tea.

“Anyway,” I started, trying to get back to an earlier point, “do you think we should look for Sonar?”

“Either that or wait for panicked reports of a bat-dragon monster flying around looking for something,” the Draconid shrugged. “Either way, he’ll turn up. I have faith in him.”

“Uhh Zinnia, considering all the crazy creatures that are running around here, your description could just as well match something that already lives here.”

“True…” she murmured before standing up, stretching. “Alright then, where do we start?”

“Well, there’s a place where dragons stop to rest during their migration that isn’t too far from here. That might be a good place to start,” I said with a shrug.

“Knowing Sonar and his… approach on things,” Zinnia sighed. “He’d probably head for the nearest Draconic scent and start looking there, so that’s a good idea. I just hope he hasn’t gotten himself into any trouble while he was alone.”

“That depends, how much does he take after his trainer?” I asked with a chuckle.

“Well if you think of me as the impulsive type, he’s the exact opposite,” she said with a chuckle. “And I’m not his trainer. He’s more like… an uncle for Stryker.”

“That’s pretty interesting,” I replied with a nod. “So whaddya say we make this into a road trip and try to find Sonar?”

“Another one?” she laughed. “Didn’t you guys just have a road trip to Chiton’s hive? You sure you’re not just getting sick of the castle?”

“One,” I started holding up a finger, “that was a mission of peace and trying to rescue Morning. Two, you weren’t involved with most of that and what you were involved in, most of it was spent high. And three, this is more like me putting off all the work I’ll have to do to build the changeling village.” I finished with a grin.

“Fair enough.”

“Glad to hear you’re on board,” I said with a nod. “What about you Jason, do you wanna help with this?”

“Go suck a lemon...”

“I think little miss sunshine would prefer a nap,” Zinnia snickered. She shrieked with laughter as a flurry of snowballs were flung her way, bringing up a green bubble of energy to protect herself.

“Well if Jason would prefer to take a nap then I guess it’ll just be the two of us Zinnia,” I told her with a wink.

“How romantic, Vash,” she replied from behind her shield, still laughing. “Taking a girl out to find her lost friend. All alone. No one could predict what happened out there…”

‘Now I have to go to protect Vash from you,” Jason said, cracking his neck with a loud pop.

“Who says I want protecting!” I interjected.

“Thou hast better want it,” Celestia warned semi-playfully. “While we have agreed to a connected herd, we are not prepared for thou to just sleep with her as soon as thou can.”

“Plus, you're just too nice Vash,” Jason added, getting up and stretching.

“Isn’t too nice just something you use as a BS line on an online dating profile when they ask about your weaknesses?” I joked.

“Or it’s someone they warn about me,” Zinnia shrugged. “‘Too nice’ often translates to ‘they’ll say yes and regret it later’."

“Also, Zinnia, stop ogling me, I get enough of that from Chrissy, I don’t need it from you.” Jason crossed his arms, giving her an annoyed glare.

“Does that go for me too or…?” I asked with a raised hand.

“Also,” Zinnia chimed, throwing her arm around Jason’s neck and hugging him tightly. She grinned cheekily, poking him in the breast. “No.”

“I will hurt you Zinnia.” he warned, looking into her eyes.

“Make out already!” Chrysalis shouted, smirking.

“That’s all the permission I need!” Zinnia cried before pouncing on Jason, locking her lips onto his and shoving her tongue into his mouth. The fact that he was a woman right now made it so hot. 

I quickly pulled out my phone from my pocket and snapped a picture of the scene before me. Thanking all the gods that I had the foresight to conserve my battery for as long as I had. “And now I know what my new wallpaper is going to be,” I said to myself as I stared at the picture.

“Hey Vash!” Zinnia called out when she came up for air, smiling madly. “Catch!” With that, she flung a piece of cloth to me, which I quickly realised was Jason’s boxers! “Ultimate panty raid, straight from the source!”

“Why would you throw these to me?!” I hissed with a red tint to my cheeks. “Jason, please take these back.” I said, holding the boxers out in my left hand. “I’d rather you weren’t pissed at me.”

Zinnia pouted, stradling Jason’s lap. “You’re no fun,” she whined, crossing her arms. “I thought we were trolling! C’mon, man up a little!”

“Excuse me for wanting to live long enough to see the birth of my son/daughter,” I said with a roll of my eyes.

“Whatever,” the Draconid huffed, leaning down and kissing Jason once more before standing up and sauntering over to Celestia’s side. “Y’know, in my world, you’re kinda depressed right now. Any suggestions to cheer yourself up?”

“It all depends on the root of the depression,” Celestia answered with a shrug. “Though we were never one to turn down a homemade cake.”

“Well, I’m not sure if I should tell you this, but…” she trailed off, before shaking her head with a sigh. “No, I don’t think I will. I’ll just try the cake thing, thanks Celly.”

“T’was our pleasure to be of assistance. And if that doesn’t work then attempt talking to see what thou can do. And if we prove to be stubborn, then do not be afraid to be stubborn in turn.” She offered with a smile.

“Oh, that won’t be a problem,” Zinnia chuckled. “I can be pretty hard-headed when I wanna be.”

“Then we trust that thou shalt be successful in thy endeavors.”

“As much as I like seeing Zinnia do something actually productive for once,” Jason called out, hiding behind a pillar as he assumably put his underwear back on. “We should probably head out to find Sonar. The longer we wait, the more chance there is we’ll either miss him or he’ll get into a fight.”

“Alright, let’s grab the leftover supplies from the changeling mission and let’s get ready to head out,” I said, standing up.

“I’m good,” Zinnia said, patting the bag at her side. “I’ve got months of supplies in here. Infinite Bag of Holding, basically.”

“Cool, do you mind sharing with the rest of us?” I asked.

“Not at all!” she replied with a bright smile. “Just let me change out of my sleepover pyjamas.”

Before anyone could say a thing, Zinnia pulled her top off, revealing her bare chest and shoving the shirt into her bag. Next were the shorts, disappearing just as quickly before she sat on the edge of the table, crossing one leg over the other casually as she rummaged through the bag.

“Zinnia, shouldn’t you’ve found an empty room before you did that?” I asked with red tinged cheeks.

“Hm?” she hummed, looking up briefly before shrugging and returning to her search. “Nah, we’re all gonna see each other naked eventually anyway. It’s a fact of the universe - unless we’re related, I will get you naked.” She paused, grinning at something. “A-ha! Found it!”

“Zinnia, did you mean for that last statement to sound rapey? Because it sounded pretty rapey.”

“What? Oh, no no no!” she said frantically, waving her hands in front of her, a black leather bra in her grip. “No, I would never rape someone! Not unless it’s, like, roleplay or something, and we’ve clearly established that that’s not what’s really happening.” She paused, sighing. “Sorry, that was just something an old friend of mine made up, and I kinda just ran with it. And yes, I did screw her.”

“Alright, no need to get so defensive. Also, I pegged you for a leather bra kind of girl.” I said, pointing out the bra in her hand. “Glad to know I haven’t lost my touch.”

“Oh, this isn’t a bra,” Zinnia explained, putting the straps around her neck. “Bras go under shirts, I don’t wear shirts with this. It’s more like a bikini top. Little help?” she added, turning her back to me.

I sighed and walked over to her to help her with the top. “You’re trying to tempt me on this trip, aren’t you?”

“Maybe~” she cooed, reaching into her bag again and pulling out a pair of black lace panties and a dark purple mini skirt. “Now you can help me with these or I can do them myself, it’s up to you.”

“You can do those yourself,” I said taking a step back. “We both know you’d rather have my help taking those off.”

“Eh, guilty.” She stood up, sauntering to where everyone could see her and bending over slowly, inching the panties up her long, slender legs…

I looked between Celestia and Zinnia a few times before slouching over and sobbing silently. “To whichever god may be listening, please give me strength. This temptation will be the death of me.”

“Sweet mother of me…” I heard Celestia breathe, and I followed her gaze to see that she was staring right at Zinnia’s exposed ass, the slightest hint of drool at the corner of her mouth.

‘And I can potentially use that to my advantage,’ I thought. ‘Vash might be getting a threesome when all this is over,’

Zinnia finally, finally finished putting her underwear on, snapping the waistband while throwing a smirk over her shoulder. “I’m tempted to stay like this now,” she cooed, shrugging a second after. “But I suppose I don’t really want to put the skirt away, so…” She smirked again, pulling the skirt on quickly, revealing that it only just covered her ass, and even then you could still see all of her curves with how tight it was.

“Are we finally ready to get going, or do you want to see if we can find a pole for you to dance on?” I asked with a chuckle.

“Oh, could I do that before I go home?” she asked eagerly, eyes actually sparkling slightly. “And don’t tell Luna! I want to have her brought in blindfolded and surprise her.”

“Wasn’t being serious there… but I suppose I could try to make and install a stripper pole somewhere.” I muttered to myself before shaking my head. “Anyway, let’s get going. We don’t want anything to happen to Sonar.”

“Alright,” Zinnia shrugged, pulling out a pair of black sneakers and slipping them on her feet. “You sure you wanna come, Jay?” she called.

“Yes,” he deadpanned. “With what you just did, you’re going to need someone to keep you two from just stopping every five minutes.”

“We would not stop every five minutes!” I shot back.

“It’d probably be more like three,” Zinnia shrugged. “I’m pretty accessible dressed like this.”

“Whoa there,” I said throwing my hands up quickly. “I have a pretty good recharge rate but I’m not Superman over here.”

“Fine,” the Draconid groaned, heading for the door. “Eight minutes.”

“That’d probably work,” I replied with a shrug, following after her.

“I,” Jason sighed, dragging a hand down his face. “Am surrounded. By idiots.”





A few hours later and all of us were on a path out of the forest and were heading east toward a mountain that was about a day or so’s walk away. I was in the lead with Jason in the middle while Zinnia brought up the rear. Jason had insisted on being between Zinnia and me. I tried to offer a substantial rebuttal, but he wasn’t hearing any of it.

“You’re no fun, Jay,” Zinnia huffed, pouting. 

“I don’t care Zinnia,” Jason huffed back. “I’m not letting you and Vash get into any trouble.”

“Oh come on Jason,” I called back. “What kind of trouble could we get in with you here?”

“So much,” he deadpanned, nodding his head at Zinnia. “She’s like a magnet for it.”

“Hey!” Zinnia cried. “I represent that remark!”

“Don’t you mean resent?” I questioned.

“No,” Jason said evenly. “She really, really doesn’t.”

“Hey, I’m no liar,” Zinnia said nonchalantly, shrugging.

“Even if it helped you get into somebody’s pants?” I asked, laughing.

“Nope!”

“Well, at least she has some morals,” Jason muttered.

“I never doubted she had morals,” I said with a shrug. “I was just wondering if she had limits to what she’d do to get laid.”

“Make tons of advances until I’m explicitly told ‘no’,” Zinnia chimed from my side, slinging her arm around my shoulder. “It could be straight away or it could be after three weeks, but if you say no, I’ll stop. Tell’im, Jay!”

“To be fair,” the Jotun relented. “When we first met, she did stop trying to get me in bed when I said I was married. Didn’t stop her saying she wanted me, though.”

“And then your grandma told you to bang me!” she cheered. “How is Hel, by the way? Last time I saw her was when my universe was grabbed by Yggdrasil and became one of your realms.”

“What!?” Jason shrieked. “Why didn’t you tell me!? Why didn’t she tell me!?”

“I’ve been busy, and I’m guessing Hel’s a troll, so…”

“She did seem like a bit of a troll when I met her,” I said with a nod. “And if Jason’s comment was anything to go by she might be a bit of a stalker.”

“Well when all you’ve got for entertainment for a few thousand years is books and learning every language in existence,” Zinnia shrugged. “I’d jump on the chance for something different too.”

“She also knows every style imaginable and for some reason knows Shin Zanzetsuken.” Jason sighed, sagging a little

“Hey, just be glad you get to see your family,” I said. “Everyone isn’t that lucky.”

“My brother’s out there as a Displaced,” Zinnia provided. “But he’s the only one of my family I cared about anyway. Otherwise I’ve just been trying to make a new one for myself - you two included!” She pulled us into a hug on last bit, wrapping an arm around each of us and squeezing tightly.

“A brother huh?” I said with a weak chuckle. “I haven’t talked to mine in a while,” I finished with a sigh.

“Man, I’m sorry,” Zinnia said. “Do you know if he’s out there with us somewhere?”

“I doubt it,” I said with a weak laugh. “I come from a traditional household. The last I’d heard he went on to become a priest while I had started my graduate work… I was kind of the black sheep of my family.”

“You’re not the only one,” she chuckled mirthlessly. “My parents disowned me because of my sex drive, said I was a disgrace. Kicked Ace out because he, quote, ‘spent too much money on games’, even though it was all his own.”

“Yeah, my mom said I was touched by the devil when she caught me masturbating,” I shared with a laugh. “Puberty sucked after that.”

“What about you, Jay?” Zinnia asked. “We’re sharing here, anything you’d like to get off your chest?”

“Well, do you want to know about my biological or my adoptive parents?” Jason asked, looking up at the sky.

“I’m curious about your adoptive family, to be honest,” the Draconid said. “I can kinda gather the struggles with a family of Norse Gods from the legends back home, but what about your human family?”

“I’m curious about both to be honest,” I added. “But whatever you wanna tell us is fine with me.”

“Well, you’ve both met Megan, she and her brother used to go to Equestria when they were kids,” Jason started, “But one day the bridge just disappeared. No one believed her and they made her believe none of it was real.”

“Wait…” Zinnia murmured, snapping her fingers a second later. “Was your mom the girl from MLP series one? I never watched the new one, but the first few…”

“Hold up there,” I said. “First, and this isn’t important but, they made more than one series out of My Little Pony?” I asked with a quirked eyebrow. “Second, YOUR MOM IS FROM AN OLD CARTOON! How is that even possible?”

“Multiverse rules,” Zinnia and Jason deadpanned simultaneously.

“Okay continue,” I said as I pinched my brow. “Please, before my head collapses from how complicated my life has become.”

“So she became very religious and married Mr.Hughes, who is a peice of shit,” Jason spat, a look of contempt on his face.

“What kind of piece of shit are we talking about?” I asked.

“I’d rather not talk about it.” Jason said curtly.

“Alright, if you don’t feel like sharing then I won’t force you,” I shrugged. “Still, what you said earlier about making a new family here Zinnia,” I continued with a bit of a smile. “I’ve got to agree with you there. Including you two being part of mine.”

“You guys know know about my biological parents?” Jason asked, looking back at us.

“I know the basics,” Zinnia replied, shrugging. “I told you before, I studied the Norse Gods back home after watching Avengers.”

“I don’t know who your parents are,” I admitted “I’m a novice when it comes to Norse myths.”

“My mother’s name is Terra, she’s a witch,” Jason smiled, “My father’s name was Toya, my real name is Corypheus Toyason and I have a sister named Ib.”

“Is there any chance of us meeting her at your family reunion?”

“Vash, even I know that’s not cool,” Zinnia stated.

“What?” I asked with a worried expression. “On a scale of one to ass kicking, how bad did I just screw up here?”

“Well yeah you can meet her, she’s a shadowmancer.” Jason shrugged. “Anyway, They were walking home one night when I was about...three and a group of witch hunters ambushed them. My father died protecting us and my mother cast a spell that sent me to safety but...she didn’t know where...”

“Oh, sorry to hear that,” I offered.

“Hey it’s all good,” he smiled, “I got to meet him anyway.”

“Did your grandma help with that?” I asked.

“She’s the goddess of death, she can bend the rules every so often,” Jason said with a nod.

“That’s the beauty of family I guess,” I chuckled. “They might be crazy, but they can still help us when we need them.”

“And now you two are in it!”

“Yup!” I affirmed with a few nods. “Oh, you said your sister is a shadowmancer, what all can they do… besides win a shadow puppet contest?”

“Dude…” Zinnia breathed. “Is that… Is that racist?”

“What?” Jason asked, looking at her like she was crazy.

“Assuming shadowmancers are good at shadow puppets!” she cried out. “That’s gotta be offensive at the least!”

“Zinnia, did you lick some changeling resin while we weren’t looking?” I asked with a quirked eyebrow.

“Uh… unless someone slipped it into my food, I don’t think so…”

“So, what all can a shadowmancer do?” I asked again.

“I honestly have no idea, I’ve never seen her power myself,”Jason admitted with a sheepish smile.

“Well if she’s anything like the shadowmancers in games,” Zinnia said, a hand resting on her chin in thought. “It’s probably manipulation and production of shadows and darkness. Kinda like Blackbeard in One Piece, or maybe my Shadow Claw.” She held her hand out, her shadow seeming to melt into her feet before erupting from her hand and forming a claw-shaped construct.

“That’d be pretty sweet,” I said with a nod. “I’ll have to ask her myself if I meet her.”

“Anyway, what else is there to talk about?” Jason asked, eyeing the claw.

“How about we keep swapping stories, but we change what kind every so often?” Zinnia provided, shaking the shadows off. The dark energy seemed to swirl in the air for a moment before dropping like stones, merging back into her shadow once more. “We could do embarrassing moments next.”

“Hold on, does anybody want to make certain topics off-limits?” I asked.

“Like what?” the Draconid asked in turn.

“I dunno, but considering what’s on both of our minds most of the time I was wondering if Jason would want to make sexual topics a no-go zone?”

“Well we could just say you don’t have to answer if you don't want to.” Zinnia provided.

“Alright, then I’ll share something embarrassing and sexual. I… was actually a virgin before coming to Equestria.”

“So was I,” Jason said shrugging.

“I haven’t been a virgin since I was sixteen,” Zinnia chuckled, shaking her head. “But something embarrassing… well, I was a porn star for a while.”

“Really?” I asked with a chuckle. “When you applied for the job did they have a checklist for what kind of scenes you’d be okay with doing?”

“I… didn’t really apply,” she admitted with an embarrassed chuckle. “I got caught in one of those ‘Fake Taxi’ vids and I gave the guy my number. He called me a few days later and asked if I wanted to make a living out of it.”

“Did they give you a pornstar name and everything?” I asked.

“I got to choose my own, went with ‘Zeta’.” She paused, a crimson hue coating her cheeks. “Don’t ask why.”

“Did you have a crush on Catherine Zeta Jones?” I asked with a smirk.

Zinnia remained quiet, her blush started spreading to her ears.

“Aww, that’s nothing to be embarrassed about,” I told her with a pat on the back. “I had a crush on her too at one point.”

“...shut up, Vash…” Zinnia mumbled, looking away.

“Wow, you just admitted to doing porn and the thing that’s left you blustered is a celebrity crush? That’s kind of adorable in a way.” I finished with a grin as I scratched my cheek a little.

“Vash, would you like me to show you what I learned in my years as a sexual artist?” she asked suddenly.

“Uhh, have you met me?” I asked as though the answer was obvious.

“Then shut up, or - and I swear this is the only time this will ever happen, and Hodgepodge is probably having a fit over it - I won’t sleep with you.”

“Shutting up now,” I whimpered.

“Wow, that's a big threat from you Z,” Jason said, looking at her with a raised eyebrow.

“I’m not adorable,” she pouted adorably. “I’m sexy.”

“Can’t you be both?” I asked carefully.

Zinnia whipped around, her eyes sending a message of immediate danger. “I’m either sexy or deadly. Only one person calls me cute, and that’s not you.”

“Okay, you’re sexy.” I said throwing up my hands defensively. “A pure sexual dynamo that anyone would be lucky to get with.”

“Damn right,” she preened, turning and marching ahead, swaying her hips as she walked.

I let out a long sigh as I watched her then turned to Jason. “Women, am I right?” I asked with a weak grin.

He just looked at me, eyebrow raised.

Zinnia fluttered back, hovering over our heads with her hands behind her head. “Did you just say that to the man-turned-woman that you knocked up, Vash?” she asked, smiling slightly. “Wow, it is true what they say about some blondes.”

“That we have all the fun?” I asked, feigning ignorance.

“Sure buddy. Whatever you say.”

We walked in silence for a moment before Zinnia spoke up again. “So what’s next?”

“Depends on what you mean by that?” I asked.

“Stories, you idiot,” she sighed. “We’ve done family and embarrassing moments, what’s next?”

“I don’t know, maybe share something happy to lighten the mood?” I suggested.

“Alright - best birthday.”

“That would have to be my 5th,” I started, laughing as I remembered it. “My dad dressed up as the red power ranger to save money on the entertainment and he fell into the cake while doing what he thought was karate.”

Zinnia giggled at that, a hand over her mouth. “Sounds like that was fun. Mine was my eighteenth - Ace organised the whole thing, rented out an entire brothel for me and a bunch of my friends from the porn shoots. We had the biggest orgy ever.” She paused, laughing a little. “Then when I walked out the next morning, covered in cum, he was standing there with a towel and the keys to a new car. Greatest brother ever.”

“What about you Jason?” I asked turning to him. “You got a best birthday story?”

“Not really, growing up with hyper religious parents sucked,” he said with a shrug, “What about best injuries?”

“From fights?” Zinnia asked, shrugging. “I never really fought much before being Displaced, so my worst injury was mental. Got thrown in an asylum after Ace disappeared - I know he was Displaced now, though - and was kept there for three years before getting displaced myself. Went through group therapy, electroshock, ink blots, painting, and a bunch of other shit that didn’t work. All because I freaked out and had a small party with a pile of rocks and a sack of flour.”

“Yikes,” I offered dumbly. “I didn’t get into fights much either. But my best injury was when I nearly gave myself a 3rd degree burn when I first used a soldering iron.”

“I got stabbed in the chest by a drug dealer,” Jason said, “It hurt like a bitch.”

“And the winner is... Jason,” I said as I mimed opening an envelope. “But our other contestants will go home with some lovely gift baskets.”

“You should have seen the look on his face too,” Jason smirked, “He totally thought I was dead but I got up, with a knife where my heart should be, utterly pissed.”

“Wait, where your heart should be?” I questioned.

“I have Dextrocardia, my hearts on the right not the left.”

“Is that part of your Jotun heritage or just a personal quirk?”

“Birth defect.”

“Sweet,” Zinnia chimed. “That’s got to have come in hand in a fight. I’ve got something wrong with the production of chemicals in my head. Leaves me with less shame and more lust.”

“I used to have something wrong with my leg. But ever since I became Vash it hasn’t bothered me,” I admitted.

“What about your first pet?” Zinnia chimed. “Mine was a snake named Ekans. Yes, I named it after a Pokemon,” she added with a light laugh, rolling her eyes.

“I didn’t have any pets. My mom was allergic to most animal fur.”

“Dude, that sucks!” the Draconid said sadly. “Pets are the greatest, always there to listen when people can’t.”

“I had a gecko named Jose,” Jason sighed, “Man I miss that little guy.”

“It wasn’t all bad,” I said with a shrug. “I had a toy robot that I made myself that I treated like a pet. I also pretended it was like my butler.”

Zinnia was quiet for a moment before nodding, slamming a fist into her palm. “Okay, I’m getting you a pet. A Pokemon pet.”

I blinked a few times before tears welled up in my eyes. “That would make a childhood dream of mine come true. I… I think I love you, Zinnia.” I said, joking… for the most part.

“Vash, you need to be careful saying that,” Zinnia chuckled. “Especially around a certain Overlord Displaced named Umbra. She’s my girlfriend, and she will smack you up.” She smiled, shaking her head. “Not that I don’t appreciate it. Now, I’d need you to come to my verse to find one, since everyone seems to have a ‘soul partner’ or something.”

“That’d be awesome,” I said with a smile. “Here’s hoping mine will be something like a Gardevoir. That’s one of my favorites.”

“I wonder why…” Zinnia muttered, leaning in close to Jason.

“Because I like it’s stats, the recent type change made it really good to use against dragons. And it was one of the first pokemon I caught in Sapphire so there’s a personal connection there,” I answered honestly.

“Fair enough,” Zinnia said, nodding. “I can’t guarantee it’ll be a Gardevoir though, your partner will come to you.” She paused, turning to Jason. “Do you want one too? Or are you good just turning into them?”

“That could be cool Jason,” I said with a smile and a nod, “What kind of Pokemon would you want for your partner?”

“Oh, I already have a partner,” Jason said shaking his head, “Her name is Zed, she’s an Anubian Baskurr.”

“Alright, but what pokemon would you like if you didn’t already have Zed?”

“Yeah, come on man,” Zinnia said, nudging him. “Don’t be a spoilsport, join in the fantasy!”

“Eh...I dunno...there are a lot of them...”

“Just pick the first one that comes to mind. Or one that you wanted the most when you were a kid,” I said.

“Well...my favorite pokemon has always been Deoxys.”

“That’s a solid choice,” I said with a nod. “The design for it is awesome and the multiform thing makes it interesting.”

“You know…” Zinnia murmured. “I’m not sure what’s gonna happen with Deoxys. I’ve seen a few legendaries, but Deoxys is technically an alien, isn’t it?”

“Wasn’t there a theory that all pokemon are aliens?” I pondered. “Or was that just the Mount Moon episode that offered that idea?”

“Eh, I don’t know,” the Draconid shrugged. “Pokemon history is so janky it’s not even funny.”

“True, Pokemon canon gets retconned more than any comic series,” I said.

Zinnia shook her head with a sigh. “I gave the lore up after a while. Too much. Anyway, my partner is actually my son, Stryker. While he’s not old enough to battle yet, he’s a powerful little man. Already knows Twister!”

“Sounds cool,” I said with a grin. “He’ll have to show me that when you want to summon me to your Equestria. By the way,” I said, reaching into my pocket. “Here’s my token,” I tossed her a bullet. “Use that to summon me whenever you want. I’m always ready to help family after all.”

“Sweet,” she replied, catching the bullet and pulling a small black case from her bag, dropping it in. She then pulled out a small blue pendant with silver trimming, threaded onto a thin silver string. She closed her eyes, creating two copies of herself and the token that they handed to me and Jason. “This is Ace’s token, just tell him I sent you.” She dismissed one of the copies, the other one bending down and removing her anklet and tossing it to me. “And that’s mine. Jay you’ve still got it, right?”

“Of course.”

“I’ll be sure to take good care of this. Oh, the next time you summon Umbra, call me and maybe we can have a talk about the whole shared herd thing.” I said as I put the two tokens away in my duster.

“Will do,” Zinnia replied, giving a quick salute before starting to giggle uncontrollably.

“What’s with the giggling?” I asked.

“I just thought about what Umbra’s gonna do when you mention the herd.”

“Will it be good, or should I wear a helmet and a cup?” I asked, paling a little.

“That depends if I get her in a good mood first,” she chuckled, socking me in the arm. “Come on, pretty sure we’ll be at the mountain within the hour if we hurry.”

“Alright, let’s hoof it,” I said with a quick laugh as I started to jog ahead.

We all hurried along and Zinnia was right, we made it to the base of the mountain within the next hour. 

“Alright everyone, now the only thing we have left to do is to find a way up the mountain,” I said, looking between Jason and Zinnia.”

“I could carry us all up,” Zinnia said, her body gaining a white sheen before she hooked her arms around our waists, rocketing upwards with a powerful flap of her wings. “Strength and Fly, bitches!” she cackled.

“I know I should feel emasculated or something right now,” I said as I made myself comfortable, “but what can I say? I’ve got a thing for strong chicks.”

“You’ll love it when I get in your bedroom, then,” Zinnia purred. Jason coughed uncomfortably from her other side. “Right, sorry Jay. Anyone see where we need to land?”

“There’s a cave close to the peak, other than that there’s a few places along the range I could probably point out when we get high enough.”

“You think we should start from the bottom or go straight for the cave?”

“The cave is one of the places where I heard that dragons use as a rest stop between nests during migration. Side note, can we look for some loose dragon scales while we’re here? I really want to make some dragon scale armor and dragons aren’t too keen on sharing.”

“Sure, why not?” Zinnia replied, putting on a burst of speed, bringing us level with the plateau atop the mountain, a cave opening off to one side. “Well here we are. See anything that’d tell us a Noivern was here?”

As soon as those words left her mouth, the mountain shook with the unbridled rage released in a pair of great, blood-curdling roars.

“I think I found something,” I said, pointing in the direction of the roars.

A plume of fire erupted from the depths of the cave, a massive black and purple form flying out seconds after, crashing down near to the edge of the plateau and kicking up a cloud of dust. A few seconds later, a lanky drake stalked out, long pink spines curling down his neck. Large, powerful looking wings rested on his back, and his long, thick tail thrashed about behind him in anger. His scales were a burnt red, his underbelly a softer yellow.

“How dare thee enter our cave, wyvern!” the drake roared, flames licking at his lips. “I shall burn thee to cinders for thine ignorance!”

“Whoa, the way he said wyvern sounded a bit racist,” I commented.

“It probably was,” Zinnia said, nodding sagely. “In certain media, Dragons and Wyverns were separate species that hated each other.”

“Well, we can worry about dragon-wyvern relations later. Right now, we should probably help Sonar here,” I stated.

“Well let’s get going then!” Zinnia cried, charging into the battle as Sonar pulled himself to his feet. Blue flames built claws around her hands before she lunged, swiping her claws at the red drake.

I drew my revolver and fired a warning shot that wizzed right by the drake’s cheek. “Stop attacking my friend here or the next shot goes right through your eye,” I warned him.

“How dare thee!” the drake growled. “How dare thee attack Smaug, Crimson Drake of the Burning Sunrise!”

“Do you wanna see me do it again?” I told him. “I got plenty of ammo for this thing and I’m quick on the draw.”

‘Smaug’ growled again before snorting, small clouds of smoke flying from his nostrils. “Fine,” he spat, glaring at me. “Thou may leave this day, but be warned! Should thou return to this place, we will not hesitate to reduce thee to ash!”

“Good,” Zinnia said from behind the drake, her arm held high. She quickly dispersed the blue flames coating her hand and stalked past him, shooting him a glare. “Come on, Sonar, we’re leaving.

“Halt!” We all turned to see Smaug glaring angrily at us. “We said that thou couldst leave, not the wyvern! His transgressions shall not be forgiven!”

“Kaio Ken X20!” Jason shouted, becoming encased in a furious red aura. He narrowed his eyes, glaring at the dragon. “You don’t threaten my family, reptile.”

“Yeah, you don’t call the shots here,” I told him, keeping the gun leveled at him. “There’s more of us and each one of us could drop your scaly ass before you’d even know what hit you. So, we’re taking they ‘wyvern’ as you called our friend, and you can go suck it somewhere. Do I make myself clear?” I asked as I drew the hammer back on my gun.

The black form pulled itself up, revealing itself to be a massive Noivern that I assume is Sonar as it plodded over to us, leaning it's neck down and nuzzling Zinnia happily.

"WHAT!?!?”

“I take it Sonar didn’t just say something good,” I said with a sigh, still glaring at Smaug.

“He…” Zinnia muttered, stumbling back before steeling herself, fists clenched. “He wants to fight Smaug. Says it’s a matter of honor.”

“Any chance of talking him out of it?” I asked.

“No,” she sighed, moving to a nearby rock and sitting, her arms folded angrily. “Stupid draconic pride, he won’t go with us unless this is settled. And it’s not like I can force him - he’s family, not a slave.”

“Alright,” I said with a nod as I holstered my revolver with a little flourish. I then turned to Sonar with a smirk. “Hey Sonar, give this dick hell. Show him what a real dragon is made of.”

Jason sighed, dropping the aura, sitting down. “Next time I do that, kindly knock me out.”

Sonar seemed to smile at us before letting out a massive roar, taking to the skies. Smaug sneered and followed after him, claws and fangs bared, ready to rip Sonar to shreds.

The Noivern rose higher and higher before twisting in the air, his ears pulsing as waves of sound blasted out in a Boomburst attack, pushing Smaug back. The red dragon growled before rocketing into Sonar’s stomach, but Sonar twisted again, rolling out of the way, his wings glowing a faint silver. He smacked Smaug aside with a Steel Wing, straightening out soon after.

“Hey Zinnia,” I whispered to the Draconid. “Does Sonar know Supersonic?”

“I’m not sure,” she whispered back. “This is the first time I’ve seen him fight in the open air. The only other time was when me and Jay met him, when attacked us, and even then he only used Boomburst.” She paused, bending down and picking up a red scale that had fallen in front of her. “Why do you ask?”

“Well if he did he could confuse Smaug, making it easier for him to win this fight,” I said with a shrug.

“Maybe. But this is a matter of pride, not winning.”

Sonar charged at Smaug from above, folding his wings in and dropping like a rock in a basic Tackle. He tucked his head in at the last minute, his body impacting with the red drake and sending him tumbling through the air.

“Filthy wyrm!” Smaug spat, righting himself and charging at Sonar as he came out of his attack and raking his claws across the Noivern’s chest. Sonar cried out and his altitude dropped dramatically for a moment. Smaug tried to follow up on his first attack and took a deep breath and sent a large fireball towards the Noivern. Sonar righted himself and started beating his wings rapidly, sending a Gust out to meet the hurtling flames. The wind met the fireball and cancelled it out, little embers falling to the ground harmlessly. Then Sonar sent out another Gust, aiming for Smaug’s face. Smaug dodged the attack, the winds just grazing his cheek and dislodging a few loose scales. 

Smaug charged at Sonar, his claws outstretched in front of him. Sonar rushed forward, his wings glowing a soft white once more and met Smaug’s attack head on with a Steel Wing. The two dragons pressed at each other, neither one wanting to give an inch. Smaug sneered as wisps of flame escaped his clenched fangs. He then opened his mouth and tried to spray fire all over Sonar. Sonar was prepared for this and sent out a Boomburst to counter the flames. The two attacks collided and exploded in the two dragons’ faces.

“Holy shit!” Zinnia cried out, eyes wide. A massive grin split her face as a cloud of smoke and soot grew in size from the explosion, blocking the combatants from view. “That was fuckin’ awesome!”

“Hey Zinnia, after seeing Sonar fight like this, I might want to raise a Noibat as a partner.” I said with a grin that matched hers.

“Can’t say I blame ya, Dragons are fuckin’ beasts.” She paused as a stream of smoke shot out from the bottom right of the cloud, flying down and back into the cave. “Hah! Guess Smaug couldn’t handle the awesome power of a Noivern!”

“No kidding,” I laughed. “That Smaug just went out like a bitch.”

Zinnia laughed with me, leaning back and watching the cloud for a moment before going quiet. I frowned, looking to her and following her gaze until I saw something that made my blood run cold.

Smaug. In the sky. As in, not in the cave.

“Ha!” he cried, flexing his claws. “So much for the might of the wyverns! He was naught but a child in comparison to my power!” he paused, an evil grin spreading across his face. “His end shall be swift.”

A low, rumbling growl sounded from beside me, and I turned to see Zinnia sitting there gritting her teeth as scales sprouted along her arms. Her nails extended and hardened into black claws even as her body expanded, growing from her regular five feet tall to a stunning eight feet, her clothes becoming a black leotard emblazoned with a flaming purple wisp symbol on the chest. Her wings reshaped to become much taller and sleeker. In her upper arm’s scales was a black pattern of two women encompassed in a flaming heart. Scaled boots covered her feet, black bone heels raising her height even further until she stood at eight foot three. A pair of crimson fins sprouted from her eyebrows, curling upwards and around her head.

“Jason, Vash,” Zinnia growled out, and I noted that her teeth had sharpened to the point where it looked like I was staring at an actual dragon. She turned to me, her slit-pupil eye staring at me with clouded clarity. “Would you kindly check on Sonar? I’m going to make some new boots.”

I nodded a bit and dashed towards the cave, just when I was at the mouth of it. “Hey Zinnia, try not to go overboard.”

“Okay,” she replied, her voice sounding more monstrous, eyes already locked back onto Smaug. “I’ll leave the mountain standing.” Her head twitched to the side.

I didn’t like the sound of that and rushed into the cave. It took me a minute but I was finally able to spot Sonar sprawled out on the cave floor. I knelt down beside him and let out a sigh of relief when I saw his chest rise and fall. I then placed a hand on his shoulder and started to shake him.

“Sonar, are you okay?” I asked quietly. “Come on buddy, I know this is a lot to ask but you’ve got to get up. Zinnia’s gone off the deep end and might end up killing Smaug.”

“Get out of the way,” Jason said, pushing me aside before using his magic to heal Sonar’s wounds, if only a little. “There, that should give him enough strength to move at least.”

“What, you’re not going to give him the Nurse Joy lines?”

“Dun dun dun-fuckin’-dun, now let’s move!”

“Alright,” I said hoisting Sonar up. “Come on buddy, we’ve got to go help your partner before she does something stupid.”

“N-Noi…” Sonar groaned, limping towards the cave mouth with me. Once outside, I noticed that something seemed off, and looked up to see a raging inferno of orange, blue and purple fire, Zinnia flying next to it with her hands outstretched.

“Jesus,” I muttered as I stared slack-jawed at the inferno. “Sonar, sorry to ask this of you after that fight, but please get Zinnia to calm down.”

He looked to me for a moment, seemingly staring at something in my coat, before rolling his eyes and nudging me with his snout, causing my gun to fall out.

I picked up my gun and stared at him with a raised brow. “Do you want me to shoot at her to get her attention?” He just nodded. “Alright, but you’d better keep her from attacking me,” I said with a nervous gulp. “I happen to like my ability to eat without the use of a straw.” 

I took a moment to make sure I was aiming somewhere that either wouldn’t hurt her much or at all before squeezing the trigger, the bullet screaming through the air. I watched as it skimmed off of Zinnia’s shoulders, sparks flying from where it ricocheted off of her scales. Zinnia whipped around, the ball of flame dispersing and allowing the drake within to fall to the earth.

Zinnia sneered, flying down to us and landing with a *thud* that shook the ground slightly, crouching down to glare into my eyes.

“Okay Sonar, whatever your plan is now is the time to enact it,” I whispered to him while sweat poured down my face. “She looks like she wants to tear my throat out.”

Sonar seemingly chuckled before stretching his neck out, nudging Zinnia again. The Draconid whipped around and, upon laying eyes on the drake, she instantly calmed down, shrinking back down to her original size. The scales on her arms and legs fell away, clattering to the floor in a small pile. Her clothes returned normal almost instantly, making me blink in disbelief.

“Sonar, when we get back to the castle, you can ask me to get you anything you want,” I told him with a sigh of relief.

Sonar let out a small huff. “He says he’d better,” Zinnia laughed tiredly, swaying on her feet. “Woah… N-now I know why I passed out last time…”

        I put an arm around her and said, “Here, I’ll help keep you upright until you’re feeling better.”

        She laughed dryly. “How long can you hold up an unconscious woman?” she asked before her eyes fluttered closed, slumping over.

“Well,” Jason said. “I guess a rage-fuelled transformation would take the wind out of anyone.”

“I figured you’d be an authority in that field,” I teased as I hoisted Zinnia up in a bridal carrying pose before sitting down and leaning against a rock. “Guess we should wait until she wakes up before doing anything else.”

“I suppose so,” Jason agreed, sitting and leaning against a rock himself. Sonar watched us for a moment before yawning, his eyes fluttering closed. “Looks like he’s having a rest, too. Can’t say I blame him though.”

“I hear that, I’m just glad we stopped Zinnia from becoming a killer,” I said as I looked up at the sky.

“I get the feeling she’s gonna be really grateful for that,” he chuckled, shaking his head. “Zinnia doesn’t strike me as the type to handle killing well.”

“Not everyone can be the hardened warrior, Jason.”

“No, I suppose not. Though from what she’s told me of her world, she’s going to have to be.”

“Hmm, I don’t like the sound of that. You know how I feel about killing.”

“Well what about mind control? Or conquest? Or preventing eternal darkness from taking over the world?”

“I don’t like the sound of that either,” I said with a sigh. “I guess this is just one of those times where you have to take the lesser of two evils.”

“I guess so…”





A few hours passed before Zinnia started to stir in my arms. I looked down at her just as her eyes started to flutter open.

        “Wha…?” she murmured, reaching up and rubbing at her eyes, “Where… Where am I?”

        “You’re still up on the mountain,” I told her gently. “Sonar’s fine by the way.”

“Vash?” she breathed, bleary eyes gazing up at me. “...Why are you holding me?”

“You asked me to keep you off the ground before you passed out. And I always accept the request of a lady in need.”

“Pretty sure I was being sarcastic…” she chuckled dryly before groaning, holding a hand to her head. “Ugh, migraine.”

“Whoa, easy there, that crazy dragon form you just used seems to take a lot out of you,”

She just shrugged, smiling faintly before snuggling into my arms, cuddling up to me. “Well, if you insist on being a gentleman,” she said.

“I always do,” I retorted with a chuckle as I gave her a squeeze. “Is Sonar waking up yet?” I asked Jason.

The Jotun looked up from the book he’d pulled out, taking a brief glance at the Noivern before looking back to me and shrugging. “I dunno,” he said. “You’re holding the dragon expert.”

Zinnia sighed, turning her head and glancing at the drake. “I’d give it another minute or so. Sonar doesn’t like sleeping in the day - says it gets in the way of his training.”

“He’s missing out, I always looked forward to sleeping through the mornings on weekends,” I said with a chuckle. Zinnia giggled, wriggling further into my grip.

“...Vern…” we heard, and a second later Sonar shifted, pulling himself to his feet, hunched over and leaning heavily on the claws at the ends of his wings. “Noi… Noivern.”

“Hey buddy!” Zinnia called, holding her hand up. “Mind giving us a lift? I’m too tired to fly and I think these two deserve a rest as well.”

“Sorry to ask this of you after all you’ve done for us by the way,” I added with an apologetic grin.

Sonar seemed to shrug, flapping his wings slightly as though to shake off any stiffness before hunkering down. He nodded at his back, clearly telling us to hop on, and Jason didn’t wait long before climbing up onto the Noivern’s neck.

I got up slowly, helping Zinnia up along with me and walked over to the dragon. “Here, let me help you on to the badass dragon,” I offered her.

“Uh-uh,” she muttered, shaking her head. “I… I don’t want you to put me down. Not yet.”

“As my lady wishes,” I told her with an over dramatic tone.

“Mmm…” Zinnia murmured, wrapping her arms around me. “Good boy…”

Sonar snorted, his wings moving restlessly, and Jason held up his Omnitrix, tapping it lightly with two fingers. Even with it being an alien device of shapeshifting, the message was clear.

“Huh, that kind of kills the mood, doesn’t it?” I mused with a short laugh.

“Ignore them, Prince Charming,” Zinnia said with a happy sigh, cuddling me snuggly. “Just hop on and keep being you.”

“As you wish,” I told her as I got onto Sonar’s back carefully. I then looked forward and patted his back. “By the way, I’m getting you the pokemon equivalent of beer when we get to the castle. You’ve earned it, buddy.”

The Noivern roared happily, spreading his wings wide. “Hold on~,” Zinnia muttered playfully, smiling into my shirt.

“Oh, and thanks for giving me the scales I wanted for my armor project,” I told her as I pulled out one of her scales from my pocket. “If I have any left I might be convinced to make you a scale bikini top if you’re interested.”

The Draconid looked up at me with one eye, smiling cheekily. “Only the top? You sly dog,” she cooed.

“Well obviously I only have so many scales. Certain sacrifices would have to be made,” I replied with a cheeky grin of my own.

“You know,” Jason called over his shoulder. “She can generate them from her body if she learns to control it. You could get as many as you wanted.”

“Thanks for being a party pooper, Jason.” I sighed. “I really hope our kid doesn’t get that from you. What about you, Zinnia?”

“I just can’t wait for my little girl,” she said happily. “I wanna be able to give her the joy of Pokemon first-hand, instead of through a screen.” She paused, sighing happily. “She’s gonna have the best childhood ever…”

“You’re damn right she is,” I told her with a massive grin. ‘Ooh, do you think I could talk you into having her calling me Uncle Vash?”

“That was already gonna happen, dude,” she laughed. “With Stryker too, when you meet him.”

“Yes,” I beamed. “And my son/daughter shall call you Aunt Zinnia. And we will give them the ‘birds and the beedrills’ talk together. Jason is too innocent to handle that one. He can teach them the best way to use a battleaxe.”

“For the last time, I’m not innocent!” Jason shouted angrily, glaring over his shoulder.

“Shut up Jay,” Zinnia giggled. “I’m in a happy, half-sleeping mood right now and it’s all because of Vash. Leave the plant alone.”

“I’m just surprised he had more of an objection to being called innocent rather than the two of us teaching the baby about ‘adult fun-time’,” I said with air-quotes.

“I’ve long since realised that things of an explicit nature are inevitable  with Zinnia,” the Jotun sighed. “So I thought it’d just be better to let her take care of those areas with the kid when she told me the other day. As long as she waits until she’s old enough.”

“Dude, of course I’d wait! I’m not gonna tell her how to fuck as soon as she’s born or anything, I’m not that bad!” She paused, shaking her head. “Hell, I told Umbra off for even mentioning our bedroom actions through metaphors around Stryker. I’ll talk to the kids once they start showing signs of, you know, puberty and stuff.”

“Yeah, same here.” I said with a nod. “I might be a lot of things, an idiot just being one of them, but I’m not utterly irresponsible.”

Jason was quiet for a minute before saying “Good,” and nothing else, staring ahead. Zinnia shook her head before turning her attention back to me.

“Hey, should we mess with the others when we get back?”

“I’m game, what are you thinking?”

She ‘hmm’ed in thought, bringing a hand to her chin before replying. “What about musical troll dancing?”

“Got any dances in mind? You’d have to take the lead though. I’ve never been much of a dancer.”

She grinned, shifting slightly before bringing an iPod into view. “This was a gift from my Displacer. It has unlimited Wi-Fi at full connection across the multiverse. Any song in existence is open to me.”

“By Odin’s beard!” I called out in amazement before I realized something and furrowed my brow. “Wait a minute, you get sexed up by a sexy filipina lady and a magical iPod. All my Displacer did was steal my goddam arm! I call hacks.”

“Oh, I got more than that,” she chuckled mysteriously. “And mine was just nice. I’ve heard there’s some out there that are just complete dicks.”

“I’d file arm-stealing under the complete dick category,” I grumbled.

“Don’t worry honey,” Zinnia cooed, tracing her fingers up my chest as she sat up, staring into my eyes. “If we can get the others to agree, I’ll be sharing some of my other, special presents with you.”

“So, back to the troll dancing idea,” I said with a weak chuckle. “Before a certain Draconid tempts me to do something that would get Morning and my other marefriends to kill me.”

“Okay,” she shrugged, quickly dropping back into her snuggled position. “I was thinking maybe LMFAO, or even Gangnam Style.”

“Well with LMFAO there’s Sexy and I Know It. But, Gangnam style has what is commonly referred to as, ‘the horse dance,’” I mused as I held my chin in thought. “That’s a tough call.”

“See, now that you’ve named it I wanna do Sexy and I Know It,” Zinnia whined. “I can ‘wiggle’ with the best of them, you know.”

“Wanna see how well you hold up in the wiggle department when Morning’s out of her armor?” I joked. I frowned, however, when I felt a wet spot on my shirt. “Are you drooling?”

“Y-yeah…” the Draconid replied, quickly shaking her head. “But there is another reason I wanna do Sexy now.”

“And what reason would that be?” I asked with a quirked eyebrow.

“You,” she grinned. “In a speedo and roller skates.”

“I don’t know,” I said with a big sigh. “I don’t think you’re ready for that much unbridled sexiness.”

She gave me a look that said ‘did you really just say that to me?’, all mirth lost from her eyes.

“That was a joke Zinnia,” I said as I gave her a pat on the head. “Though, I got a bit of the stuff that turned Morning into a Naga, and let’s just say that it had some… expansive effects.”

“What’re you saying?”

“Well, I wasn’t exactly what you’d call a slouch in the size department when I was human. Now, I’m apparently big by pony standards.” I told her with an innocent look.

“And if you use that stuff Morning used… you’ll get even bigger?”

“There’s no guarantee on that one.” I told her with an apologetic look. “The stuff Morning and I accidentally took apparently has random magical effects. For all I know, I could grow a spider abdomen above my ass if I drank more of it.”

“Heh,” Zinnia chuckled mischievously. “You think I could get a little bit of that stuff? I’ve got a mare back home that’s amazing in the sack, and I kinda wanna see what’d happen.”

“Sorry, that stuff is universes away with a mare named Doxuna.”

“Aww…” she pouted. “Is she a Displaced? Can I have her token?” She paused, a sly grin growing on her face. “...Is she hot?”

I let out a sigh as I pulled off the necklace Doxuna gave me. “Here, make a copy of this. And to answer your question, Doxuna is a silver colored version of my Luna that is fifteen-feet tall and has breasts that are bigger than my head, hair included.”

Zinnia lay there for a moment, eyes wide as she stared into the distance before she looked into my eyes. “I am so tit-fucking her,” she breathed as she took the necklace, a copy of her appearing behind her and passing me its version of the token. Both Zinnia’s grinned as the copy reached around the original, groping her breasts briefly before disappearing.

“Knock yourself out,” I said with a shrug, “she seemed to be open to friends with benefits when I met her. And I think you’ll like what she used to transform Morning and I.”

“Oh, so do I.”

“Not to interrupt you guys and your sex talks,” Jason called, and we both looked up to see the castle ahead of us. “But we’re back.”

“Guess the snuggling will be over soon,” I said looking down at Zinnia with a weak smile.

“Yeah, but if my plan works, there’ll be something much better later,” she cooed, a sly smile on her face.

“I’ll get the roller skates if you get the gold speedo,” I told her with a sly grin of my own.

“Honey, I’ve got both.”

“Gotta love a lady who comes prepared for anything,” I mused, starting to laugh.





(Third Person PoV)

It was just about sunset at the castle and Celestia and Luna were in the throne room about to trade off for Luna to take over for her court.

“We trust that thou had a pleasant sleep, Lulu?”

“Yes, and do not call us Lulu,” Luna huffed. “There are guards around.”

“Very well Luna, we shall respect thy desires.”

“Thank thee, so what all transpired whilst I was asleep.”

“Plans were drawn up for the changeling village and Vash took Zinnia and Jason to go search for her missing companion.”

“Then the castle must’ve been most quiet.” Luna commented.

“Though perhaps a bit too quiet,” Celestia added. “We almost miss their antics…”

As soon as the words left the solar princess’s lips, a strange tune began to echo throughout the castle’s walls, seeming to build up until a male voice began singing, and Vash strutted in mouthing the words dressed in a pair of tight, iridescent blue pants and a black muscle shirt. Zinnia followed after him dressed more or less the same, though her pants were purple and her shirt only reached just past her bust, revealing her midriff.

“When I walk in the spot,” Vash sang, stopping and posing. “This is all I see!”

“E’ry body stop and starin’ at me!” Zinnia chimed, mirroring Vash.

“I got passion in my pants,” they continued together, placing one hand on the waist of their pants each while the other one grabbed their shirts. “And I ain’t afraid to show it!

“Show it!”

“Show it!”

They both paused for a second before tearing the clothes away with a flourish, revealing Vash to be wearing nothing but a sparkling golden speedo that left nothing to the imagination and Zinnia in a likewise sparkling silver bikini so tight the sisters could see her nipples poking through.

“We’re sexy and we know it.”

“What was thou saying about missing their antics?” Luna asked, turning to her sister with a slight blush.

“Wiggle wiggle wiggle wiggle wiggle, yeah!” the two sang, shaking their bodies so that their assets jiggled before both princess’s eyes.

“The jiggling… t’is almost hypnotic,” Celestia muttered under her breath.

“What art thou say…” Luna started as she turned back to stare at Zinnia and Vash.

“Sister?” Celestia asked, managing to tear her eyes away. “Luna? Art thou in there?”

Luna didn’t reply, her hands slowly raising up her body before gripping the collar of her dress tightly. Celestia watched in shock as her sister tore her dress perfectly in half, effectively stripping her down to her bloomers and girdle before she hopped down the stairs of their throne’s plinth, joining Zinnia and Vash as their song changed. Zinnia took one look at the night princess’s underclothes and shook her head, using Shadow Claw to quickly slash it up until it looked much more modern, a simple, incredibly thin bra and panties, the latter of which quickly found themselves snugly between the twin cheeks of the full moon.

“Nice costume change,” Vash whispered to Zinnia with a grin.

“It comes with practice,” Zinnia whispered back.

“Mind doing that to the rest of their underwear drawer?” Vash asked with a hopeful expression. “It would make strip-teases a lot sexier.”

“Tell you what,” the Draconid said with a smile. “If this works, I’ll do you a solid and burn all of their old-timey underwear and replace it with mine.”

“I am so glad I met you.”

“Come, sister!” Luna called out suddenly, holding her hands out to Celestia. “‘Tis the most fun We have had since we first found Rainbow Falls!”

Zinnia smirked, nudging Vash and discreetly handing him a pair of silver roller skates, flying up and doing a backflip in order to cover putting her own gold ones on.

Celestia blinked a few times before lighting up her horn and teleporting out of the room. Luna frowned, lighting up her own horn in order to follow before her arms were grabbed by Zinnia and Vash, the Draconid managing to slip a pair of stark white roller skates onto her hooves. She shrieked with delight, picking up on the actions rather quickly, and soon she was skating around the room with them, dancing along to the music.

A few moments later Celestia returned with a confused looking Morning Star in tow.

“Why hast thou summoned me Your…” Morning started before she went slack-jawed from the scene before her. “Vash! What art thou wearing!?”

“Quick, Vash, Luna,” Zinnia cried. “Entice her with your wiggles!”

“Understood, setting wiggles to maximum!” Vash cried.

“Wait, how dost we wiggle!?” Luna shrieked, panicking slightly.

“Like this!” Zinnia replied, sliding up behind the mare and grabbing her under the arms, proceeding to shake her chest back and forth. The torn girdle acting as her bra allowed Luna’s cans much more freedom in their wiggling, swinging to and fro erratically. As soon as the princess was wiggling under her own power, Zinnia rolled to Vash’s side, joining them in their wiggling assault.

“Nice wiggling, Luna!” Vash beamed as he stared at her assets wiggle with her movements.

“Now do your ass!” Zinnia called, spinning around and twerking her rear in the air. “Just copy me!” She grinned as Luna did as she was told, locking eyes with Vash and mouthing ‘You’re welcome!’

“Celestia… dost thou know what they are doing?” Morning asked as her eyes darted between Celestia and the group.

“Only that they started dancing in this strange manner and enticed Luna to join them,” Celestia answered, her eyes locked on Zinnia and Luna’s twerk moves.

“Princess?” Morning asked worriedly, waving her hand in front of Celestia’s face only to stagger back as the solar ruler reached up, tearing her dress perfectly in two. Zinnia grinned, skating up to her with a pair of dark blue roller skated in one hand and a Shadow Claw in the other, quickly giving her the same treatment as Luna. The Draconid smirked, giving Celestia’s ass a hearty smack as she sent the mare on to Vash, who immediately started teaching her how to skate. She turned to Morning, holding out her hand invitingly.

“Come on, Morning,” she said with a grin. “It’s fun~”

“How dost thou propose I join in thy merriment?” Morning asked, raising her tail. “Thy… devices do not seem to be made for somepony like me.”

[CLOP DISCLAIMER! RUN IF YOU DON'T WANNA FAP!]

“Easy,” Zinnia chimed, reaching into her bag and pulling out a large, double-ended, purple coloured dildo. “We’ll make a game - you try and knock us over, and if you do, we have to make you cum.”

“Why would I join in such a perverse game with thee!” Morning shrieked, her face redder than her mane.

Zinnia smirked, turning her head. “Who wants to play a sex game with Morning Star!?”

“I do!” Vash cried almost instantly.

“Verily!” Luna agreed.

“Just take thine clothes off already!” Celestia chastised.

“That’s why,” the Draconid replied smugly, one hand on her hip and the other holding the dildo up. “Come on, it’ll be fun!” she tried, giving the head a lick. “This thing’s magic.”

“Fine,” Morning huffed, snatching the dildo while her blush seemed to spread throughout her body. “But I do not agree with thy winning conditions,” she practically whispered.

“Okay, fine,” Zinnia sighed. “We’ll think of something else. Here, let me help you with that.” She reached out, grabbing the collar of Morning’s night shirt and pulling, tearing it clean off and allowing her massive fun pillows to spill out. Vash cheered from the background.

“Why wouldst thou do that?!” Morning shrieked, covering her breasts with the crooks of her arms. She blushed when the tip of the dildo in her hand pressed into one of her nipples.

“Because for one thing, you don’t need it now,” Zinnia replied, moving the mare’s arms away and moving in, pressing their breasts together. “And I’m replacing all your undies anyway, now shut up and kiss me.”

With that, Zinnia pressed forward, forcing Morning back against a wall as they kissed. The Draconid’s tongue pressed gently against Morning’s lips, asking her permission to enter, and she slowly parted her mouth, wrapping her own tongue around Zinnia’s. Zinnia smirked into the kiss, sneakily taking the toy back with one hand and caressing Morning’s tail with the other. Morning yelped into the kiss before pushing Zinnia away, panting.

“N-no, n-not *gasp* the tail. Ohhhh!” She moaned as her body slackened a little.

“Oh right,” Zinnia said slyly, sneaking closer. “The tail’s sensitive, I forgot…” She paused, resting her hand on where Morning’s ass ought to be and rubbing it slowly. “How’s that feel?”

“V-Vash does that better,” Morning replied in an attempt to be cheeky. Though it was slightly undercut by the rhythmic thumping of her tail.

“Does he now?” Zinnia cooed, tracing the tip of the toy up the front of Morning’s tail until it rested just below her nether lips. “And what about here?” she asked, sliding the toy around Morning’s opening teasingly. “Is he better here, too?”

“Very much so,” she replied with a bit more confidence. 

“Well that’s a shame,” Zinnia pouted, pulling away and stepping back. Morning groaned slightly at the missing touch, though her eyes went wide as Zinnia slowly inserted the toy into her own opening, moaning with pleasure even as a bright purple light enveloped it, soon fading away to reveal an actual, fully functional penis, nine inches long with veins throbbing along the sides. “I had hoped to show you how I do things.”

“Thou can try, but thou should know that Vash is bigger than that.” Morning Star said as she hesitantly grabbed Zinnia’s magically grown phallus and stroked it slowly. “I may not even feel this member.”

“Ouch,” Zinnia said playfully. “Right in the groin. Good thing this is… adjustable~” Morning watched in shock as the member glowed again, Zinnia moaning loudly as it grew, becoming longer and thicker until it was roughly fourteen inches long and seven thick. “Is this more your speed?”

“That seems more promising. Though I hath changed my mind about thou showing me what thou can do,” she said, subtly moving her tail.

“Oh?” Zinnia asked, completely oblivious as she stepped forward, her shaft standing at full attention and resting between her breasts. She smirked, pressing against Morning’s chest again and thrusting upwards slightly so that it poked her chin.

“Yes, I would rather show thee what I can do,” she smirked as her lower half moved like lightning and wrapped around Zinnia.

“Yes!” the woman cried out. “Finally! Use your tail on me, Morning!”

“Hmm, if that is what thou wants,” Morning mused. “Though I should be clear. I shall do all the work. If I feel even a twitch from thy hips. Then I shall get my release whilst thou shalt go without.”

“Sure, whatever, just FUCK ME!”

“Very well,” Morning shrugged as she positioned Zinnia’s magically grown cock at her entrance. “Oh, and just so thou knows, Vash is still bigger than this.” She said pressing it inside her opening. “If thou does as I instructed, I may let thee feel for thyself.”

Zinnia groaned loudly at the feelling of Morning’s walls clamping down around her, wanting nothing more than to thrust into as hard as she could. She held back, however, instead opting to let her head lol back in pleasure. “Sweet virgin Phione, you’re tight!” she cried out, shuddering in delight.

“Perhaps that is another boon that my transformation has offered me,” Morning offered. “But that is a matter for another time. Now, let me show thee just how well I can control these coils I possess.” She smirked before lightly sinking her fangs into Zinnia’s exposed neck.

“AAHH!!” Zinnia screamed in both pleasure and pain, spasming slightly. Morning grinned as she felt the woman’s shaft throb inside of her, but that look was soon replaced by confusion as nothing else happened. “C-confused?” Zinnia asked, chuckling slightly. “It’ll take a helluva lot more than that to make me break!”

“Well, that just gives me more of a chance to play with thee,” Morning said with a fresh grin as she adjusted her coils, wiggling the tip of her tail against Zinnia’s asscheeks. “And a chance to do something that Vash will not let me do to him,” she said, roughly thrusting her tail into Zinnia’s ass.

“A-haa!!!” Zinnia cried out. “Ye-he-hes! Fuck my ass!”

“What dost thou think I am trying to do?” Morning retorted through gritted teeth as she synchronized the clenching of her coils to the thrusting of her tail. Zinnia grunted in response, her eyes rolling back. Morning grinned at her face, finding great pleasure in the feeling of power she had. Her eyes went wide when she felt latch onto her nipples, looking down to see two perfect copies of Zinnia grinning up at her as she suckled away.

“I would say that thou broke the rules of our agreement,” Morning told the Draconid with a cross look that was undermined by a sensual moan that escaped her lips. “If thy clones were not skilled in their ministrations.”

“Not cheating!” one of the clones chimed before nibbling at the nipple in her mouth.

“You said not to move my hips!” the other added, doing the same as the first. Both leaned back, pulling the naga’s flesh with them.

“Oooh!” Morning groaned loudly. “If that is how thou art going to be, then I shall increase my own ministrations,” she said, thrusting her tail at a much quicker pace and nibbling Zinnia’s neck again. She then took one of her hands and groped one of Zinnia’s breasts roughly, her milk squirting out and running down the naga’s finger.

“Ah, damn it!” Zinnia cried. “Argh, why is my mouth not filled right now!?” She paused before grinning. Another clone appeared above her, this one without a dick, and lowered itself onto her face, where she instantly began to eat herself out.  Morning looked up at the scene and shuddered slightly, the moisture between her hips growing.

“Ahhh!” She cried as her clenching and thrusting became more erratic. “Zinnia… I am close.”

The newest clone leaned back until she was upside down in front of Morning’s face, grinning. “Kiss me you fool,” she breathed, gripping Morning’s head and pulling her into a passionate kiss.

Morning returned the kiss for a few moments before her eyes went wide and pushed Zinnia’s clone away slightly. “Wait, do not release thy seed inside me. I only wish for Vash to do that,” she said through her haze of lust.

“Relax…” Zinnia breathed, the clone having dispersed. “I can’t get you pregnant unless we both want it.”

“Please,” Morning pleaded. “I would feel more comfortable if thou did not… cum inside me. I will use… my mouth if that would be preferred.”

“I don’t really have much choice here,” the Draconid moaned. “You’re holding me still! I haven’t moved at all! But I’m holding b-back now, so be quick!”

“Thank thee,” Morning said with a sigh of relief. “I shall make it up to thee. I am most skilled with my tongue,” she finished with a wink as she released Zinnia from her coils and leaned down to her crotch level. Zinnia let out a sligh of relief. managing to wriggle her hands free and grip Morning’s head, shoving her shaft down her throat and crying out as she came. The feeling of Zinnia’s seed rushing down her throat was enough to send Morning over the edge and she let out a garbled moan as she came as well.

“...wow.” Vash said from the centre of the room, staring slack-jawed with Celestia and Luna by his side. “I was not expecting that.”

“F-fuck you, Vash!” Zinnia stammered, clenching her teeth.

“What did I do to earn that?” Vash asked as he walked over to her.

“N-no, seriously,” she said, pulling out of Morning’s mouth, allowing one last strand of her cum to fly out from her tip, landing across the mare’s face. She stumbled back, reaching down and pulling the dildo from her snatch with a groan and a flash of purple light. “I wanna fuck you, now!” She turned, lunging at the man and tackling him to the floor. The dildo flew out of her grip, rolling to a stop by Luna’s feet.

Luna picked the dildo up and gave her sister a sly look. “What dost thou say, sister? Art thou willing to give this device a try?”

“Hmm, we suppose there is no harm. Art thou going to be the one to gain the… addition?” she purred as she returned the sly look her sister was giving her.

“Wait there for a second, Vash,” Zinnia purred, standing and sauntering over to the sisters. “You realise it won’t work without me, right? It’s tuned to my bio-signature.”

“Oh, is that so?” Luna asked, visibly disappointed.

“We agree. We wished to give this particular magic a try,” Celestia added, just as disappointed as her sister.

“Girls, girls!” Zinnia chuckled. “I said it wouldn’t work without me - meaning no one can steal it. I can turn it on for you, though.” A sly grin found it’s way onto her face on the last words, and she wrapped her arm around Luna’s neck, dipping her and pushing her tongue into the mare’s mouth. She gripped the toy in her free hand, guiding it to the mare’s nethers and pushed it in slowly. The purple light shone again, and a second later a long, thick, dark blue horsecock hung from between Luna’s legs, throbbing with her heartbeat.

“Oh, this is certainly a most interesting feeling,” Luna thought aloud once Zinnia pulled away, wrapping one of her hands around the member between her legs.

“Thank thee Zinnia,” Celestia added. “Now we believe we shall assist our sister with her new equipment~.”

“Not a problem!” Zinnia cooed, sauntering away.

The Draconid grinned, standing over Vash, who was still lay sprawled out on the throne room floor. “Are you going to take those off,” she asked, nodding at his speedos. “Or am I tearing them off?”

“I do like the sound of the tearing off option,” Vash replied with a cheeky grin.

Zinnia sighed, a small smirk on her face. She bent down, gripping the tight fabric.” C’mere you,” she growled lustfully, dragging him over to the thrones and throwing him onto the one made of gold and marble, the speedos tearing as she did so.

Vash spread his legs as his dick stood at attention. “So, what’s your plan, Zinnia?”

“I, uh…” she murmured, eyes glazing over at the sheer size. “I… I forget…”

“What, is there something distracting you?” Vash asked, giving a playful shake of his hips that caused his member to bob slightly. “If that’s the case, then why don’t you come and take a seat?”

Zinnia staggered forward, dropping to her knees in front of the throne and taking the shaft into her hands. She stuck her tongue out, dragging it up the man’s shaft until she reached the tip and pulling the head into her mouth, swirling her tongue around.

“Mmm,” Vash said, throwing his head back slightly, “not quite what I had in mind. But you won’t hear me complain.”

Zinnia let his dick out of her mouth with a wet *pop!*, stroking it with both hands. “Oh, you’re gonna be balls-deep in my ass later,” she breathed, lining the head up with her mouth once again. “But I’m tasting this cream filling first!”

With that she dived back in, pulling as much of Vash’s shaft into her mouth as she could, swirling her tongue around and tracing the veins the entire way. When the tip reached the back of her throat, she took a deep breath through her nose and swallowed, deepthroating as much as she could and wrapping her breasts around what was left.

“Agh!” Vash cried, clenching his teeth. “Is that a trick you picked up during your porn days?” He teased with a strained smirk.

Zinnia hummed onto his shaft, sending the vibrations down Vash’s spine, even as she jerked what wasn’t in her throat, the pressure causing her milk to shoot out onto Vash’s chest. She pulled her head back, beginning to bob her head along his shaft.

“H-hey, slow down there Zinnia,” Vash called out, breathing heavily. “There’s something I want to do for you.”

Zinnia quirked an eyebrow, pulling back and letting his shaft pop out of her mouth, breathing heavily. “What is it?” she asked, still pumping her arm along his length. “I was about to go to the base.”

“Easy, I wanted a taste of something too,” he said with a weak chuckle as he reached down and pulled Zinnia up, bringing her legs around his neck. “I was feeling bad that I was the only one getting pleasure here,” he added before dragging his tongue along her slit and flicking it against her clit.

“Ngh!” Zinnia grunted,, smirking before pulling herself away and flipping over, pushing her snatch into Vash’s face. “Well I would’ve came just from this monster cumming down my throat,” she said, flicking her tongue over the tip. “Though I suppose now I can get more down.”

She opened her mouth wide, allowing Vash’s shaft to slide down her throat with little to no resistance, swallowing now and then.

“Well, there was one more reason for doing this,” Vash said with an evil smirk before using both of his hands to spank Zinnia’s ass that quickly turned into a grope. “I wanted to get my hands on something,” he commented before diving into Zinnia’s crotch.

Zinnia moaned, licking along as much of Vash’s manhood as she could. She reached down, cupping his balls in her hand and massaging them lightly, giving them a squeeze that made him groan into her nethers, sending jolts of electric pleasure down her spine. She grinned, bringing a small flames into her throat and using it to stimulate him further. Vash responded by spanking her again, which forced her a little more down his member.

The two continued like this for a little while before Vash felt a pressure building in his groin. He forced himself away from Zinnia’s nethers and called out, “Z-Zinnia, I’m getting close here. Where do you want me to finish?” She responded by moving her head even faster, squeezing his balls tighter as the flame in her throat superheated his rod.

“Ahhh!” Vash moaned, letting himself cum right down Zinnia’s throat. The woman groaned delightedly in response, twisting around without removing his member and returning to her feet, bobbing her head once again in an attempt to milk anything left before removing him completely.

“Th-that was….” Zinnia muttered once she’d pulled away, swaying on her feet. “That was delicious….”

“Heh, read an article online about foods that supposedly make the stuff taste better,” Vash explained, panting. “Thought it would help me at some point.”  

“Good boy…” she continued, before turning and leaning over, pulling her asscheecks apart. “Now ram that monster in here and fuck me silly!” 

Vash smiled as he crawled over her body, leaning down to whisper into her ear, “As my lady wishes.” He lined himself up, pushing gently until his head slipped inside.

“Nnggh…” Zinnia groaned, biting her lower lip. “Oh yeah…”

“Heh, you’re still pretty tight back her even after Morning’s rough treatment,” Vash commented forcing back a moan as he continued to slowly push inside her.

“Perks of- gah!” she cried out, legs shaking. “Perks of being a whore, lots of p-practice!”

“I wouldn’t call you a whore,” Vash told her, running a hand down her side. “You just know what you like.”

Zinnia smirked, pushing back suddenly and forcing Vash back onto the throne, leaning back and sitting in his lap. “Vash, when a woman says she’s a whore,” she said, bringing her feet up onto the armrests and using them as a brace to raise herself, slamming back down moments later, crying out. “Then she’s a fucking whore, and you treat her like one.”

“Well, you know I’ve never been one to turn down a request from a woman,” Vash said with a smirk as he snaked his hands around Zinnia’s front. “And if it’s the whore treatment you want, then it’s the whore treatment you’ll get.” With that, Vash’s hands clamped down on Zinnia’s chest and he pulled out of her ass only to thrust back in roughly. Zinnia groaned in delight, leaning back against him and wrapping an arm around his neck, her hips moving in tandem. The sounds of their flesh slapping together filled the room.

“Ooh, Vash!” she cried, tangling her fingers in his hair and placing her free hand over his. “Ravage me.”

“As you wish,” Vash said gripping her tighter and picking up the pace of his thrusts. A strange wetness began to run across his fingers, and he pulled a hand away to find it covered with Zinnia’s milk. Vash shrugged internally and decided to put the milk finger in his mouth. “Mmm, not bad Zinnia,” he complimented.

Zinnia grinned, kicking her leg up and spinning around, her breasts now hanging in front of Vash’s face. “Help yourself,” she cooed, bracing herself and bouncing on his shaft again. “Sharing is-gah! Caring!”

“Don’t mind if I do,” Vash beamed as he latched his lips onto one of the offered nipples, sucking with all the enthusiasm of a newborn. Almost immediately, a stream of creamy goodness filled his mouth, dancing across his tongue. Vash swallowed his mouthful and repeated the process to get mouthful after mouthful of the cream. Zinnia grinned, catching Vash’s eye as she lifted her other nipple to her own mouth and began suckling, a sliver of milk dribbling down her chin.

This continued for a time, Zinnia ramming as much of Vash into her ass as she could and Vash doing his best to bury himself in her as they both filled themselves with the seemingly endless streams of milk at their disposal, before ZInnia’s shot back, eyes wide as she let out a sharp gasp.

“I-I’m gonna c-c-cum!” she cried, grinding herself into Vash’s lap.

Vash popped Zinnia’s nipple out of his mouth, panting. “Me too, where do you want me to finish?”

She didn’t answer, instead slamming down as hard as she could and pushing her lips against his, her tongue suddenly wrestling his own for dominance. Vash let out a throaty groan as Zinnia’s inner walls convulsed, his shaft pulsing briefly before he fired shot after shot of his hot, thick cum into her ass. Vash continued to battle Zinnia’s tongue for dominance and thrusted his hips slightly in order to milk any leftovers from within him.

Zinnia moaned in delight, pulling away from their kiss. “Oh, I haven’t been this full since Umbra last fucked me…” she sighed, lifting herself off of Vash’s lap. The man stood to follow her, shocked when she dropped to her knees and pulled his entire length into her mouth, sucking any beads of cum left off.

“Heh, didn’t you ever learn that you never go ass to mouth?” Vash joked, still recovering. His eyes flew open as a Zinnia clone appeared, smirking at him before diving into the original’s ass hungrily, rimming her. “Never mind…”





Meanwhile, Celestia was kneeling in front of her sister with her magically grown phallus in her hand. Celestia smiled up at Luna as she stroked her slowly. 

“How does this feel to thee, Luna?” Celestia asked coyly.

“T’is most strange… but we like it,” Luna admitted trembling.

“Then we wonder how this would feel.” Celestia then opened her mouth and traced her tongue along Luna’s length. Luna let out a long moan as her wings snapped open. “Hmm, that was quite the response,” Celestia tittered as she gave the flare a kiss. “Now we must see how strong thy resolve is Luna.” Celestia then took Luna’s tip into her mouth and dragged her tongue along her shaft slowly.

Luna let out a groan of pleasure, her hands resting on her sister’s head gently before her grip tightened, pulling Celestia in and ramming her cock down her throat.

“Our resolve,” Luna panted, pulling back. Celestia looked up at her, eyes watering and mascara running, and grinned. “Will bring thee to orgasm before we even touch thy nethers, sister.” With that, Luna pushed Celestia back down on her cock. Celestia let out a little gag as Luna’s tip kept battering against her throat. Eventually though, she took a deep breath and attempted to swallow on the end of one thrust, relishing in the feeling of her sister’s cock stretching her throat. She let out a throaty hum and snaked a hand to work at her own nethers, further driving her desire for Luna’s rough treatment.

Luna grunted, reaching a hand up and massaging her own tit. “Thy throat is tighter than one of Morning Star’s coils, sister!” she cried, pulling on Celestia’s hair slightly. “T’is no wonder Vash prefers thine mouth!” Celestia attempted to say something, only for her to end up humming along Luna’s dick and drooling. Luna let out a sharp gasp, holding her sister still for a moment as her cock pulsed. “D-do that again!” she growled after a second, thrusting with more power than before. Celestia hummed in delight, wrapping her tongue around Luna’s shaft and tracing every vein as it passed, slipping a second finger into herself, which was quickly followed by a third. She ran her free hand up Luna’s thigh, cupping her sister’s ass for a moment before tracing her puckered backdoor. Celestia didn’t even bother to hear Luna’s response to the situation before sticking her finger inside and circling around the entrance to the hole.

“Gah!” Luna cried, hilting herself in Celestia’s throat and hunching over as she released her cum. Celestia shook with pleasure as her own orgasm rocked her body, swallowing every last drop and  bobbing her head of her own accord once Luna let go. She continued to hum and bob her head for a while, content to swallow any spare seed as she prolonged her own orgasm with her drenched hand. Eventually though, she felt that she had had enough and slowly pulled herself off of Luna’s dick, releasing it with a wet *Pop*

“We did not know that thou could be so forceful with us, Luna,” Celestia panted. “Hast thou been harboring some hostility for thy loving sister?” She teased, nuzzling against Luna’s crotch.

“Nay, sister,” Luna replied, panting just as heavily. “We were merely overcome by desire… Though we must say, dominating thee was quite thrilling.”

“Oh Luna, overcome by desire for thy own sister. T’is quite the shameless admission.” Celestia playfully chastised. “Though we found being dominated equally thrilling,” she admitted with a giggle. She then lay on her back and spread her legs for her sister. “In fact, we desire to be dominated again.”

Luna grinned, kneeling and lining herself up with her sister’s opening. “Thou always knew how to make an enticing offer…” she whispered, gripping Celestia’s alabaster hips and plunging into her, hilting herself on the first thrust.

Celestia cried out in pleasure and smirked up at her sister. “Yes, no need to hold back! Rut us like we were a common animal!”

“A common animal,” Luna breathed, pulling back agonisingly slowly. A low chuckle escaped her lips as Celestia whined in protest. “Would not be quite,” she paused when she broke free of Celestia’s nethers, pressing against her opening. “As.” She pushed forward slighty, leaning over Celestia’s body. “Satisfying!” She finished, thrusting back in completely before latching onto her sister’s tit, biting her nipple softly as she pounded away.

        “Mmm, Yes!” Celestia cried, gyrating her hips. “Harder! We wish to walk crooked for days after this!” Luna grunted in response, leaning back and gripping Celestia’s hips, pulling her sister onto her even as she thrusted. She raised her hand after a moment, bringing it down hard on Celestia’s flank, right over her Cutie Mark. Celestia cried out in pain tinted pleasure as her nethers released another wave of fluid. Luna took that as a signal and brought her hand down against Celestia’s other flank. Luna continued to pound into her sister for what felt like a pleasurable eternity before she felt a somewhat familiar pressure forming in her nethers.

        “Sister, w-we art close!” she warned between pants.

        Celestia snapped out of her lust-filled haze and looked up at her sister with desperation. “Outside, we wish to be covered in thy essence!”

        Luna complied, pulling out and staggering to her feet as Celestia brought herself to her knees. She grabbed her shaft, stroking it furiously as Celestia pushed her breasts together, cupping them under her chin and sticking her tongue out. The sight of this alone pushed Luna over the edge, her dick flaring as she shot strand after hot, thick strand across her sister’s face and chest, getting it in her hair, covering her left eye, shooting it up her nose and into her mouth. Celestia moaned in delight through all of this, waiting until Luna finished before sealing her lips around her head once again, sucking the last few shots out as she rubbed the thick white strands into her fur.

        Luna shuddered when Celestia pulled herself off of her length. She then took a moment to catch her breath before taking in the sight of Celestia covered in her cum. She felt her magically made male part twitch slightly but didn’t harden and felt compelled to kneel down to get eye level with her sister. Luna locked eyes with Celestia as she began to lick her cum from her sister’s bust.

        “Ah…” Celestia moaned. “L-Luna… Thou art so beautiful…” Luna grinned at that and quietly continued her work. When she was finished she kept some of the leftovers in her mouth and pressed her lips to Celestia’s, tongue demanding entrance. Celestia moaned into Luna’s mouth and allowed Luna’s tongue to dominate her own, swallowing the fluids that Luna gave her.

        



        Zinnia pulled away from Vash, licking her lips. Her clone grinned, giving her ass a quick smack before disappearing.

        “That was nice and all,” she said, standing and gripping Vash’s member as she pressed her breasts into him. “But I’ve got a craving to be filled completely. Any idea how to satisfy that?”

        “Well,” Vash started pausing to think. “Luna still has that magic toy on her I think. And you’ve seen that Morning’s tail can make for a substitute. Think that’ll be enough?”

        Zinnia put a hand to her chin playfully, smirking. “No, but I have a better idea.” She gave him a quick kiss on his cheek before turning, spotting the sisters swapping tongues on the floor. She grinned, sauntering over to them and kneeling down at their side. She reached out, gripping Luna’s shaft and making the mare cry out as it gained its purple glow, sliding out of her.

        “Z-Zinnia…” Luna whined. “W-why hast thou…”

        “Calm down, Lulu,” Zinnia giggled. Two copies of her appeared, each one holding a copy of the toy. “I’m just making things more… interesting,” they continued, talking in sync.

        “What dost thou have in mind?” Celestia asked, she and Luna sitting up.

        “We’ll need Morning first,” the Draconid said. She grinned, leaning in and taking a lick of cum from Celestia’s fur. “Mmm… blueberries!”

        “What dost thou want from me?” Morning asked, slithering up to Zinnia, finally recovered from her session.

        One of the clones slipped behind Morning, wrapping her arms around her and slipped the toy in her opening. The purple light flashed for a moment, passing to reveal that Morning had two shafts, the upper being sixteen inches long and flared like a normal pony shaft while the lower was closer to fourteen and was more pointed. Zinnia’s eyes widened slightly and a bit of drool formed at the corner of her mouth.

        “Sweet Cresselia, I thank you for this gift…” she murmured before shaking her head. “Okay, I was not expecting that. Should be fun!” she added with a grin.

        Morning blinked a few times before a blush formed on her cheeks and she whispered into Zinnia’s ear. “Dost thou have something that could cause someone to grow… female nethers. I would be interested to try these on Vash.”

        “The minute I find something like that,” Zinnia whispered back, a sly grin on her face. “I’ll bring it over. I wanna see him squirm.”

        While they talked, Zinnia’s clones had taken the toy copies and pinned the Princesses down, pressing their nethers to the sister’s faces as they traced their lips with the tips. The clones shared a look before pushing the toys down their throats, sealing the princess’s lover lips with their upper ones and using their tongues to push them in. Purple light spilled out from the corners of their mouths, and seconds later both clone’s eyes went wide as they gagged slightly, though they remained where they were until the light faded. They both pulled away, gasping for air before fading away.

        Luna sat up, smiling when she saw her dark blue, eleven inch horsecock once again standing proud between her thighs. “Ah, we do believe we know what thou wishes, Zinnia,” she cooed.

        Celestia panted on the ground, wrapping her hands around her own stark white, twelve-and-a-half inch horsecock and pumping away at it furiously. “This is a most curious feeling. But we cannot say that we are not enjoying ourselves.”

        Zinnia chuckled, straightening out and turning to the sisters. “If you think that feels good, Tia,” she said, reaching down and spreading her nether lips. Fluids streamed down her legs, quickly coating her fingers. “Then what I had planned is gonna blow. Your. Mind.”

        “Oh,” Celestia said, stopping mid-stroke. “Then, do enlighten us of thy plans.”

        Zinnia grinned, sauntering over to Luna before turning around and pressing against her shaft, slipping its length between her cheeks. “Well…” she said coyly, beckoning the solar sister over before bending over and giving her tip a lick.

        Celestia shuddered slightly and shot Zinnia a smirk. “We believe that thou hast made thy intentions clear.”

        “Good,” the Draconid smirked, before pushing back, causing Luna to fall to the the floor with a soft “Ooph!”. She grinned, lining the mare’s length up with her ass before impaling herself on it, leaning back with a content groan. “Now sit on my chest and fuck my tits! Vash, in my mouth, right now! Morning, you take the front!”

        The three did as they were told and got themselves in position. Each carefully pressing into their designated area, much to Zinnia’s delight - Vash rested his length across her face, smearing any remnants of their last session under her nose, before pushing past her lips and down her throat. Celestia straddled her waist, sliding her shaft between Zinnia’s tits and pushing them together, causing a small trickle of milk to emerge. With wide eyes she brought some to her mouth, humming in surprise at the taste. Morning took a little longer, seemingly trying to decide on which of her two members to use before shrugging and lining the lower, more pointed one up with Zinnia’s opening, pushing in with much more force than the others.

        “Mmph!” Zinnia groaned, shuddering at the feeling of being filled.

Morning shuddered as well. The feel of penetrating similar to what she did with her tail. Only this seemed a bit more, intense. She calmed herself down with a deep breath and slowly withdrew from Zinnia’s slit, staring intently at the juices coating her new length. She teased Zinnia’s vulva with the tip of her shaft for a few moments before slamming right back in.

Luna groaned, pulling back and thrusting back into Zinnia’s ass over and over. She grit her teeth as Zinnia’s walls clenched around her before bringing her hand round, smacking her ass hard. Zinnia moaned, sending vibrations around Vash’s dick, and caused her insides to tighten around Morning and Luna. Luna let out a moan of her own before she gave Zinnia’s ass three more hard smacks in succession.

        Celestia pouted with just a little jealousy as she pressed Zinnia’s breasts together around her shaft, thrusting into them. As the milk flowed from the woman’s nipples, the mare smirked, gathering it in her palm before smearing it along her length, making it easier for her to fuck the girl’s chest. Vash looked down from where he was thrusting and decided to reach out and tilt Celestia’s chin up. Then, he captured her lips in a kiss and entwined their tongues together.

        Zinnia writhed in pleasure, smiling around Vash’s shaft. She wrapped her legs around Morning, pulling her further into her and clenching her muscles. Morning moaned and picked up the pace of her own thrusts, running one of her hands along whatever she could reach.

        The throne room doors creaked open, Writher walking in and freezing moments later. He stared upon the sweating, moaning mass of bodies for a second before his eyes creased as though he were grinning, a mass of vines springing from his body.

        Morning grunted as she thrusted before letting out a loud gasp, looking down to see a mass of blue vines wrapping around her upper dick, squeezing and writhing, sending waves of pleasure through her body. She didn’t even protest as another three twisted around each other, pushing into her ass and opening up inside, wriggling around.

        Luna thrusted up into Zinnia’s ass again, moaning as something pushed against her own puckered hole and slipped inside. She looked to the side to see the small mass of blue vines - Writher, she believed Zinnia called him - with a multitude of his vines extended, three of which he had just penetrated her with.

        Celestia grinned as a number of vines appeared in her peripheral vision, wrapping around her body. They surrounded her breasts, squeezing them tightly even as more of them pushed into her ass, opening up within her. She leaned back, pushing the vines further into her.

        Vash noticed the little tentacle monster and arched an eyebrow as he pulled away from his kiss with Celestia. “Writher, what the hell are you doing here?”

        “Fuckin’ yo girls in the ass, what’s it look like?” the Tangela replied.

        “I meant where did you come from ya little smart-ass.”

        “Maid barracks.”

        “You didn’t?” Vash gasped, putting the pieces together.

        “I did.”

        “And you’re still not tired? How much stamina do you have?”

        “I had a Leppa Berry,” he shrugged.

        “Smart move,” Vash said with a slight nod. “By the way, you’d best be careful with my ladies’ backdoors. Even I haven’t had a chance with those yet. I’d hate to have to use weedkiller on a bro,” he warned with narrowed eyes. That changed, however, as Zinnia wrapped her tongue around his shaft, lightly grazing her teeth along it.

        “You’d better get back to work,” Writher chuckled. “She doesn’t handle it well when people stop without filling her.”

        Vash grumbled something to the Tangela and set back to what he was doing before Writher walked into the room, thrusting into Zinnia’s throat more forcefully than before. The woman shrieked happily, her body shaking as her orgasm rocked her body, clamping down on both Morning and Luna.

        Morning and Luna both moaned loudly as they lost themselves to Zinnia’s milking motions, releasing deep inside her. Their walls clamped down on Writher’s vines, making him smirk and work his vines harder on Celestia, causing her to cry out, shooting her own load onto Zinnia’s chin, neck and chest. Watching his lovers’ orgasms triggered Vash’s own and he thrust as deep as he could manage and unloaded deep into Zinnia’s throat.

        Writher pulled his vines away as the girls came down from their highs, watching as they removed themselves from Zinnia’s holes. The woman went limp atop Luna, cum leaking from her nethers and staining her chest white.

        “Uhh…” Zinnia moaned, her eyes rolling back. “That was awesome…”

        “Are you finally satisfied?” Vash asked, giving her hair a short stroke.

        “Hell no!” she replied, eyes sparkling with lust. “We’re going long into the night!”

        “Oh boy,” Vash said with a nervous chuckle. “Hey Writher, you got any more of those Leppa berries? I’ve got a feeling we’re going to need some too.”

        The Tangela tossed him a small brown bag, turning away and walking back to the door. “You guys have fun,” he said. “I’m going back to the maids. That one Pegasus was amazing.”

        “You let those maids get some sleep at some point, bro!” Vash called out, waving the hand holding the bag of berries. He paled as a guard stepped through the door, took one look at them, and rushed out of the room with a nosebleed. “Uh, maybe we should move to the bedroom before we go again?”

> Zinnia opening up
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	(Vash’s PoV)

I woke the next morning with Morning, Celestia and Luna curled up around me, kinda like the last time we all got together like that. After the morning haze cleared slightly my mind dimly noted that someone seemed to be missing. I scanned the room and I realized that Zinnia wasn’t among the cuddle pile. I got up and checked any hidden area of the room to see if she had passed out somewhere unexpected. After an extensive search that included places she couldn’t possibly fit in, I decided to extend my search to the rest of the castle. I reached into the closet and appropriated some pajama pants so I wouldn’t give anyone an unintended show, and set off on a hunt for the Draconid.

        I wandered down the hallway for a while, checking every room along the way. At one point I think I wandered in on a couple of guards going at it, since one of them was tied up and suspended from the ceiling, but I got out of there before they could see me so I can’t be sure.

        I was passing by one of the upper balconies when I heard music, making me stop and go back. Peeking round the edge of the door, I saw Zinnia dressed in a pair of black skinny jeans and a white version of her leather bra from yesterday, a studded black leather jacket sitting on the railing beside her, while she played a sad sounding song from her iPod, singing along to it. 



I moved into the door as she poured all of her feelings into the song, just watching. She turned around once she’d finished, eyes down until she saw me, freezing.

        “V-Vash!” she cried, taking a step back. “Uh… H-how long were you…”

        “About halfway into the song,” I admitted. “Is there something on your mind?”

        She stayed quiet for a second before her eyes began to water, small tears falling down her cheeks. “Vash…” she sobbed, gripping her jacket tightly. “Am I a bad person?”

        I rushed over to her and wrapped my arms around her, softly stroking her head. “Not once have I thought you were a bad person the entire time you’ve been here. What would ever make you think that?” I asked gently.

        “Y-you know what My Little Pony is, right?” she asked, and I nodded. “Well… Darkrai, he’s trying to take over my Equestria, and he took over Rainbow Dash’s mind.” She paused as sobs wracked her body. “I-I couldn’t s-s-save her… A-and instead of telling h-her friends…” She broke down, wailing and dropping to her knees, and I went down with her. “I-instead of t-t-telling them I had s-sex with Fluttersh-shy and P-Pinkie Pie-hie-hie!”

        “Shh, hey, that doesn’t make you a bad person,” I told her, holding her tighter. “Tell me something, do you know that you fucked up?” I asked.

        “I-I’m not d-done…” she answered, burying her face in the shirt I’d thrown on. “I-I did tell them l-later… but not until S-Shy was… was raped by Darkrai…” She sniffled, eyes tight shut. “I-I wasn’t f-fast enough, Vash… I-I could have s-stopped him…”

        “Zinnia... “ I paused, looking for the right words to say. “There was nothing you could’ve done. You tried to save both of them, I’m sure that’s what matters most to them. We can’t go back in time and stop ourselves from making our mistakes. But we can correct them later on. Failure isn’t what makes someone bad Zinnia, that’s giving up. And I know, you’re not the kind of person to give up.”

        She stayed quiet for a time, sniffling to herself, before wrapping her arms around me and squeezing me tight. “Th-thank you…” she murmured, eyes closed.

        “We’re family now Zinnia,” I told her with a soft stroke to the head. “And I’m always there to help my family. Whether they want it or not.”

        “...Can you shoot Darkrai in the butt?”

        “Sure, and in a heart pattern to give him an adorable tramp stamp,” I told her with a weak chuckle. I smiled as she giggled, finally beginning to cheer up.

        “Thanks again, Vash,” she said, pulling away and smiling shyly. “This has been eating at me for a while now.”

        “Don’t mention it,” I told her with a warm smile. “Just remember you can summon me any time you want if there’s something else is eating at you.” I turned, holding my arm out to her. “Now come on, let’s go see if the others are awake and we’ll all go for some pancakes.”

        “...I’d like pancakes…” she muttered, her smile growing as she shrugged her jacket on and slipped under my arm, wrapping hers around my waist. I frowned a little when I saw the streaky mascara under her eyes.

        “But first maybe we should get you a shower,” I said carefully. “Don’t want others to see the streaks, do you?”

        She giggled, grabbing a hankie from her bag and wiping at her eyes. “No, I guess not,” she said. “Not sure why I put this on. I don’t normally wear make-up.”

        “Who knows,” I said with a shrug. “That’s not important right now. Are you going to be okay?”

        “I…” she said, sighing. “I don’t know… If this happens again… If he gets to one of the girls again, and I can’t help them… I don’t know what I’ll do.” She paused, shuddering. “I lost it when I found him with Fluttershy. Melted Luna’s old bedroom into nothing but molten slag.”

        “Zinnia, I can’t promise that you’ll never have to experience anything like that ever again,” I told her with a sigh. “But… I can offer you that I will help you in whatever way I can, and I’m not the only one. I’m sure Jason feels the exact same way. We’re here for you Zinnia, whenever, however you need it. Plus, if you learn from your mistakes instead of hiding from them you’ll go far.”

        “Thanks Vash… but that’s not all I’m scared about,” ZInnia sighed. “My transformation, the other day… I can’t control it. It happens whenever I get really angry, and I just lose all control. I’m afraid that one day, I’ll change… and I’ll hurt someone.”

        “You’re not the only one with a power they can’t control,” I told her as I showed her my armband. “Do you know anything about Trigun?” I asked.

        “I was going to start watching it…” she said, chuckling darkly. “But then Ace disappeared. You know what happened after that. So no, I don’t. Why?”

        “Well, I’m a lot like you. I look human now, but I’m not. Not entirely anyway. My arm… it can shift, transform into a powerful cannon. One that could take out an entire city. And I don’t know how to control it,” I told her with a dark sigh. 

        “Oh…” she said simply. “Uh… Couldn’t you just, like… not use it?”

        “That’s the point of the armband, but… there are things that could cause it to go off without me wanting it to.”

        “Damn…” Zinnia breathed, staring at the arm in question. “Well… If there’s ever a time you actually need to shoot it, feel free to come over. I’m sure Darkrai would just love one of those to the face.”

        “It’s a promise,” I told her with a smile.

        We rounded the corner into the bedroom, seeing Morning sat on the end of the bed and neither Celestia or Luna anywhere to be seen. “You okay Morning?” Zinnia asked, sitting next to her.

        “Hmm, I am fine,” Morning answered. “Where have the two of thee been this early in the morning?

        “...talking…” Zinnia muttered, fidgeting with her hands. “Where’d the princesses go?”

        “Celestia went to raise the sun and Luna went to go freshen up,” Morning answered as she stretched.

        “Ah, okay,” the Draconid said, nodding. “Well, we were going to get some pancakes. You wanna come with?”

        “Food sounds wonderful,” Morning said with a smile and a nod. “I am famished this morning.”

        “Great!” I cheered with a big grin. “Then let us make haste to the dining room and ransack the castle for all its pancakes!” I finished pointing out of the door before offering both of the girls an arm.

        “Yay!” Zinnia cried. “Pancakes!”

        “Must thou always act like children?” Morning asked with a small smile, shaking her head.

        “Yes,” I chimed.

        “It’s fun.” Zinnia added.

        Morning chuckled as we made our way towards the dining hall. “Thou art lucky I love thee, Vash.”

        “What about me!?” Zinnia asked.

        “Thou art growing on me, Zinnia,” Morning said with a wink.

        “Yes!”





Jason sighed as he stared up at the morning sky, lost deep in thought. Heimdal was curled up on his lap, snoozing peaceful, letting out a small puff of smoke every so often. He leaned back in his chair, closing his eyes, just listening to the wind as it blew through the forest.

“Jason!?” Zinnia’s voice called out, and the Jotun looked up to find her leaning over a balcony, seemingly scouring the distance. “Jason! Where are you!?”

“Come on out sleepyhead!” I called out next to her. “We’ve got pancakes!”

Jason sighed, standing up, carefully shifting Heimdal. “Will you two keep it down? The kids are still asleep!” he hissed, glaring up at them.

        “Sorry!” the two of us called out, much softer than before. Zinnia spread her wings, wrapping an arm around me and flying us down gently.

        “We didn’t see you at breakfast,” she said, holding the plate out. “So we brought you these. I can hold Heimdal if you want.”

        “I wanted to hold the baby,” I pouted, slumping over.

“You can hold the others if you want,” Jason said quietly, gesturing to a small picnic blanket where the other little ones were cuddled up, sleeping peacefully.

“Yes,” I beamed as I sat down and scooped up the closest baby.

“Sorry I wasn’t at breakfast, I just...” Jason sighed, sitting back down against a tree, “I needed some time to think.”

“What’s up” Zinnia asked, gently rocking Heimdal in her arms. She sat opposite the Jotun, smiling sweetly. “You can talk to us. Hell, we’ve unloaded plenty on each other this morning…”

“Yeah, I told her all about my Angel Arm and everything,” I commented.

Jason let out a long sigh, going quiet for a moment. “I’ve...killed a lot of people you know...several thousand actually...”

“Woah…” Zinnia breathed. “That many? Sweet Arceus…”

“Wow… I can’t even begin to imagine what that must be like.”

“The first person I ever killed was Trenderhoof. He took Dash’s legs and I just...I lost it. I turned him into paste...” Jason went quiet, gently stroking Heimdal’s head.

“Jason…” Zinnia sighed, shuffling closer and leaning her head on his shoulder. She smiled up at him when he turned a questioning gaze to her. “You care about people, and you want to protect them. That’s nothing to be ashamed about.” She giggled lightly. “It’s okay that you feel this way, you know. If you didn’t feel bad, that’s when I’d start to worry about you.”

“Yeah, and I told you when we first met that I didn’t judge you for doing what you do,” I told him, taking a seat next to him as well. “You’re you, and whatever that means, you’re our family. No matter how high your body-count is.”

“Then why does it feel so good when I’m in battle...?” he asked softly, “The rush of blade on blade, that constant fear that you’ll make a mistake, the feeling of satisfaction when you end your opponent’s life...I love it all...”

“You think I don’t get that?” Zinnia chuckled. “Jason, we’re warriors. Right down to our blood, we were born to fight, to test ourselves against the strongest enemies. I get it because I’m a Dragon, one of the most prideful races in all of history. You, however, are freakin’ Norse God level. Everything that springs from their loins is built to fight.”

“It’s just...I ran into this kid, his name’s Lance, I was blasted to his world along with that bitch Eclispe,” Jason spat, his eyes glowing red with hate. “I was going to end it there, I was going to kill her and he points his gun at me. Telling me if I did it I’d be a murderer, a killer. Kid doesn’t know a thing about actual combat.”

“Sparkplug got you to stop?” Zinnia asked, shaking her head sadly. “Poor kid… what’s he gonna do when he goes up against a homicidal maniac like the Joker? Pull a Batman? Throw him in a cell and just wait ‘till they break out?” She sighed, closing her eyes. “I just hope Max can teach him that sometimes, it’s okay to commit the lesser of two evils…”

“The worst part is, while I’m sitting there talking to him, she managed to cast Ultima and leveled the entire city.”

I flinched at the mention of leveling an entire city. “So, this… Eclipse was just okay with taking a city’s worth of lives?” I asked in a low voice.

“Sounds like Darkrai,” Zinnia muttered. “Except he’d enslave them, then destroy their lives. Might kill a couple for fun.” She snarled, her fangs extending slightly. “Might even choose a couple he likes for personal use…”

“Eclipse is Nightmare Moon reborn, through the Omnitrix. She used it to clone my body, and create her own Omnitrix. She rules over Svartalfheim and the dark elves. She recently invaded Vanaheim and almost wiped out the Breezies...” Jason explained, “Don’t worry about them though, Twilight managed to win their lives back from Hel while she was dead.”

“Twilight died?!” Zinnia hissed. “How? Eclipse again?”

“Yeah. She died in battle protecting the last of the Breezies.” Jason smiled a little in pride. “But she’s back now, managed to win back the Breezies, all the soldiers we lost, and her own life from Hel, but...I think Hel may have been going easy on her.”

“Wow, I can’t even begin to articulate my thoughts on this.” I said as I layed down on the blanket. “Do… do you think I’ll have to deal with things like the two of you are going through at some point?”

“Vash...” Jason sighed, looking at me, “You’re a thousand years in the past, most threats to the base Equestrian timeline were sealed away now and break out then. I could even list them for you, right now if you’d like.”

“Would listing them off really help me deal with them? Also, when you said Nightmare Moon,” I started, getting up and looking Jason in the eye. “Who is she?”

Zinnia and Jason shared a quick, unsure glance. Jason sighed, taking in a deep breath.

“Vash I’m sorry… Nightmare Moon is Luna...”

“Though to be fair…” Zinnia chimed. “In my world, she was brainwashed… Not sure how that makes you feel, but…”

“In mine and most others, she gave into her loneliness, her jealousy, and her resentment and became a monster,” Jason held his hand out, and an image came into view. It was a four-legged alicorn, her fur as black as night and her mane and tail like flowing star fields. Her eyes were slitted much like a cat. 

She opened her mouth, baring fangs. “Remember this day, little ponies, for it was your last. From this moment forth, the night will last forever!”

“That is Nightmare Moon, Vash, the monster Luna became, hellbent on trapping Equestria in an eternal night. She fought Celestia here and destroyed the castle. With no way to get through to Luna, Celestia had to seal her away on the moon for a thousand years.”

I had to fight the urge to reach out to the image in Jason’s hand, tears welling up in my eyes as everything Chrysalis said in the infirmary came rushing back. “Do you think my being here will do anything to prevent her from becoming that?” I asked.

“Vash...I...”Jason stopped, not finding the right words, “If it doesn’t happen, everything Zinnia and I know about Equestria won’t happen. Twilight Sparkle and her friends won’t become the Elements of Harmony, Discord might not be reformed, the list goes on and on but if you do want to stop it, I won’t stop you.”

“...It’s gonna be like a Doctor Who episode,” Zinnia mumbled, shaking her head. “A fixed point in time that has to happen, no matter how you don’t want it to. Maybe you can postpone it, maybe you can change it a little, but some way, it will happen. I’m sorry, Vash.”

I didn’t know whether to feel angry or sad at that moment, so I just chose both. “That’s it?!” I hissed, tears streaming down my face as I looked at the Draconid. “I’m just supposed to sit back and watch as one of the mares I love is sealed away for a thousand years? And for what? Some timeline that I never asked to be a part of?! Why?! Why would that… Displacer send me to this time? I wasn’t supposed to be anyone special! I was just going to be a face in the crowd and if I got lucky I’d be one of a few dozen engineers that would make a piece of a space shuttle or something!” I vented, hyperventilating.

“Heroes aren’t born Vash, they’re made,” Jason said, looking into my eyes, “You might not have asked for this, none of us did. Hell, not even a year ago, I was just a college slacker, you think I had any idea I had the blood of gods and giants in me?”

“Yeah, but you do have the blood of gods in you. All I have is an arm that’ll kill me if I use it too much that I can’t control.” I replied, not even looking at the two.

“Vash, unlike Zinnia, I don’t believe anything HAS to happen. I don’t believe in fate. I believe we make our own choices of our own free will.” Jason reached out, placing his hand on my shoulder. “If you want to change things, I believe you can.”

“And you know…” the woman said, looking thoughtful. “It’s not always Luna. It could be Celestia, or even someone else entirely. We don’t know.”

“That doesn’t exactly help, Zinnia,” I told her with narrowed eyes.

“I’m just sayin’,” she shrugged, a hand held up defensively. “It could be anyone. Could even be you.”

“And how would it be me?” I asked with a quirked eyebrow. “I’m not all magical and stuff.”

Zinnia just shrugged. “The Nightmare is a parasite that feeds on your negative emotions. It amplifies your abilities and makes you into the most evil version of yourself you can possibly be.” She sighed. “Look, all we’re saying is… be careful. Keep an eye on your girls, Vash. A lot of the things Equestria goes through in the future could have been solved in this time - like the Changelings.”

“Yeah, no pressure there,” I said with a sigh.

“If it makes you feel better my Equestria is already more different that yours. You should have seen when Twilight’s library didn’t explode.” Jason smirked. “That crystal castle is so ugly.”

“I don’t think I’m that far yet,” Zinnia chuckled. “Hel said something about her being a Princess.”

“Yeah. That’s...season 4 I think? Then came that weird unicorn who made a sameness cult. I wasn’t there for that but you should ask Chrissy about it, she went ballistic when she found out Rarity and the girls had their cutie marks stolen.”

“Hold up, season four?” I asked as the gears in my head worked overtime. “Wait a minute… Jason, your mom was apparently a character in that old My Little Pony cartoon. And now… we’re all in worlds filled with talking ponies. We-we’re in a world based off of a cartoon too, aren’t we?” I asked, brain melting.

        “Oh, yeah,” Zinnia said with a sigh. “Though it’ll get much darker than the original show. I think. Never watched it myself, that was more Ace’s thing.”

        “I actually got the first season on DVD last time I visited Midgard,” Jason said, a large grin on his face.

        “I thought Discord was going to be the most confusing thing I’d have to deal with,” I muttered to myself. “Nope, turns out it was multiverse BS and finding out that my life is a cartoon.”

“Well actually Vash...”Jason started, his grin growing, “Our lives are chronicled by people writing fanfictions about said pony cartoon. Why even right now they’re typing away, writing down our thoughts and words.”

“Wait what?” I asked my left eye twitching. “You’re screwing with me, right?”

“No I’m really not, even as we speak our ‘authors’,” he air quoted, “Are typing away. I was pretty messed up as well when Hodge first told me that but they’re just chronicling our lives as the ideas enter their minds, they don’t actually control us or anything.”

“I… I give up,” I said with a sigh. “I am done being surprised by things like this. If you told me that I’m going to become an alicorn princess in the future then I’m just going to shrug it off and say, ‘neat’,” I finished turning my attention to the baby in my arms.

“Vash, you REALLY shouldn’t give Hodge ideas.”

“Don’t care, mind turned to mush over here,” I answered, playing peekaboo with the baby. Little Hakol laughed, clapping his hooves together with a coo.

“You’re pretty good with kids, Vash,” Zinnia giggled. “You had experience or something?”

“Yup, my brother was a few years younger than me so I helped my mom whenever I could. Plus, I watched after a few kids to help pay for expenses while I was in college. Doesn’t hurt that I genuinely love kids. Especially when they’re this cute!” I finished, lifting Hakol up above my head.

The little unicorn squealed, kicking his legs around.

“You know...Hakol actually used to be Luna’s husband.” Jason explained, starting to eat his now cold pancakes.

I narrowed my eyes and gave Hakol a playful grin. “You better not get any ideas about my Luna little guy. Otherwise I’d have to do something like… this.” I said as I tickled Hakol on the stomach. He squealed louder, gently pushing at my hands with his tiny hooves.

Zinnia giggled, smiling happily. “You are so babysitting for me if Whiplash can’t,” she said, grinning at me.

“Can do, I won’t even charge you for it,” I told her with a grin of my own.

“Hakol used to be King Sombra, even had a son with Luna, Grey Ghost,” Jason paused taking another bite of his pancakes, “These are really good...”

“Hold on, did Grey Ghost sound like Adam West?” I asked with a grin.

“I met him and no, he didn’t, he actually sounded like Batman Beyond.”

“Heh, that’s pretty cool. So how did this Sombra end up as this adorable tyke?” I asked as I patted Hakol on the head, careful to avoid his horn.

“Well...Sombra kind of turned into a shadow monster and the Crystal Heart destroyed him. Grey Ghost managed to use his horn to reincarnate him into Hakol.” Hakol cooed, grabbing my hand in his little hooves, starting to chew on my fingers.

“Awww, you’d never become a shadow monster, would you little guy?” I cooed at the little unicorn chewing on my hand.

“You never know,” Zinnia chimed, having laid back with Heimdal on her chest, staring at the sky. “He might have exactly the same abilities as Sombra, but, you know… good.”

Heimdal chittered, nibbling on Zinnia’s hair, drooling on her chest a little.

“Maybe, hopefully all of our guidance will help him turn into an upstanding citizen.”

“Hopefully,” Jason licked his lips pushing his plate away. “Man...those were good.”

“Thanks, Zinnia and I made them ourselves with the help of Morning,” I told him with a smile.

“You two do great wor...” Jason stopped, his eyes wide in horror.

“Uh Jason, what’s wrong?” I asked putting a hand on his shoulder. “You didn’t get food poisoning, did you?”

“Zinnia...I just realized the worst thing ever...”

“What’s up?” she asked, sitting up and frowning worriedly. “Jason, what is it?”

“Your universe is one of Yggdrasil’s realms now right?”

“Yeah…” She frowned, leaning closer. “Jay, what are you getting on about?”

“Eclipse and Darkrai.” he stated simply.

“Oh, I see what you’re getting at,” I said with a nervous gulp. “Hey, how did your Equestria become one of the realms anyway?” I asked Zinnia, an idea forming in my head.

“Uh…” she muttered. “Hel said it was something like Yggdrasil was feeling grabby and just liked mine, so…”

“Do you think we could find a way to get Yggdrasil to grab my Equestria?” I asked.

“That tree mostly does what it wants,” Jason said, shrugging, “I mean we could try but Vash...you do realize if it does, your world would be subject to Ragnarok right?”

“I guess you’ve got a point,” I said with a sigh. “I was just thinking that since you’re able to travel between Yggdrasil’s realms the three of us could act as a warning system to each other if Eclipse or Darkrai did something.”

“Ragnarok isn’t a bad thing Vash, it keeps the realms going, they’ll never end.” Jason picked up Freya, kissing her head gently.

“Did it already happen once?” I asked. “You did say that Odin and the other gods besides Hel were dead.”

“It’s happened more times than anyone can count. It allows Yggdrasil to renew itself and the realms. As long as the cycle remains unbroken, they will always exist.”

“Okay, then let’s just assume that Yggdrasil does take a liking to my universe,” I said looking between the two. “What do you think of the idea?”

“We won’t really have a say in the matter,” Jason shrugged, “It’s a timeless eldritch being of unknowable age and power.”

“I was referring to being a warning system for each other. If we’re all attached to the world tree together we could probably respond quickly if anything happens.”

“That makes sense,” Zinnia said, nodding sagely. “I wonder if we could convince Hel to see if she could… influence it a little.”

“You’ll have to talk to her when you get back,’ Jason nodded, “But Vash... I hope you know what you're getting into here.”

“Nope, I’m winging it here!” I told him with a grin. “It’s worked for me so far and I’m riding this gravy train to the station.”

“It certainly worked last night~” Zinnia cooed, nudging me and wiggling her eyebrows.

“Well, I did have some help there,” I told her with a wink.

“Seriously, my throat still hurts,” she chuckled.

“That’s enough Zinnia, don’t wanna scar the babies after all,” I said as I gave Hakol a little hug. Hakol giggled, returning my hug, nuzzling my side.

“Oh, alright,” she said, smiling as Heimdall stirred, letting out an adorable little yawn.

“Ooh, speaking of babies, what do you think the two newborns will look like?” I asked with a wistful smile.

“I dunno about yours,” the Draconid said with a smirk, straightening out. “But my daughter is going to have her mother’s beauty and her father’s strength. She’ll be the perfect little Amazon.”, 

“Well, what are you hoping our kid’ll be like Jason?” I asked, turning to him.

“Normal. No extra heads, no weird skin pigmentation, just a normal kid,” Jason asserted, petting Freya’s head.

“Hmm, I was thinking something like my eyes but your hair,” I said with a chuckle.

“There’s nothing special about my hair Vash.”

“I like it,” I said with a shrug. “Plus, it’s not like I’m a natural blonde anyway.”

“Me too,” Zinnia giggled, reaching out and running her hand through his luscious locks. “So soft…”

“Hey come on!” Jason batted at her hand, a blush forming on his face.

“Don’t be like that Jason,” I told him as I rested a hand on his shoulder. “We’re just paying you a compliment. Isn’t that right Hakol?” I asked, grinning down at the foal. “Tell your daddy how pretty he is.”

Hakol giggled, babbling happily, flailing his limbs around.

“See, Hakol agrees,” I beamed at the Jotun.

Jason huffed, crossing his arms, looking away from us.

        “Okay, I’ll stop poking fun,” I said with a chuckle. “What are you hoping as far as personality goes? Do you want the baby to take after you more or what?”

“Doesn’t really matter to me,” Jason said with a shrug, letting Freya chew on one of his fingers, “Just as long as they're not a psychopath...”

        “Well, I don’t think there was a family history of mental illness in my family,” I said as I scratched my chin. “Then again, I don’t think my DNA is what it used to be so I doubt the family history thing matters. What about you Zinnia?” I asked looking at the Draconid. “Do you want your daughter to take after mommy?”

        Zinnia thought on that for a moment. “Well…” she said, unsure. “Yeah, I’d love to bond with her over things she inherited from me, but at the same time…” She paused, looking down at her hands. “With my transformations…”

        “Yeah, I get that. Oh, I asked Jason this when we were ‘hostages’ together, but have you thought of a name for your daughter?” I asked with a hopeful smile.

        She was quiet for a minute before a wistful smile crossed her lips. “...Rita.”

        “That’s a cool name, does it have some significance to you?”

        “Rita… was my grandma’s name,” Zinnia said with a smile, staring up at the sky. “She took me in when my parents kicked me out. She supported me through everything. And sadly, she passed away while I was in the asylum, leaving me with no family that cared.”

        “I’m sorry to hear that. She sounds like she was a great person.”

        “She was…” The Draconid chuckled, shaking her head. “You know, she would have loved you two. And Umbra.”

        “Really, I would’ve loved to meet her then,” I said with a smile. “Our relationships would’ve been a little weird to explain though.”

        “You think?” she laughed. “Grandma told me some of her stories. She would go out to the beach and show off her legs, Vash. Her legs!”

        “Heh, sounds like you take after Granny,” I chuckled.

“Sounds like a fun woman.” Jason nodded. 

        “Huh, this has been nice, but I think I need to get started on the Changeling village.” I said, carefully getting up. “Do you two want to help with that? I’d appreciate it.”

“Sure why not, let’s just drop the kids off first,” Jason instructed, carefully picking up the still sleeping Sif.

        “Aww, do we have to?” I asked, clutching Hakol to my chest. “Can’t I bring one along to have as a little helper?” I pleaded.

        “No,” Zinnia deadpanned. “We’re going to a construction site. No children.”

        “Fine,” I relented slumping over. “You make a good point.”

        “Good boy,” she tittered. “Now give the kids to me, I’ll take them to Chryssi and Rares then meet you two at the site.”

        I reluctantly gave Hakol to Zinnia and watched as she walked away with the rest of the babies. “Alright, let’s get this started. Can’t avoid my job forever after all. Jason, would you kindly teleport us to the site?”

“A man chooses, a slave obeys,” he commented, giving me a stern look.  “Yeah come on.” he placed his hand on my shoulder, teleporting us away. We reappeared a few seconds later in the middle of the construction site. After I shook off the nausea I looked around and saw that nothing had been started yet.

        “Okay Jason, can you go see what needs to be organized while I go check on the plans and make sure they’re up to snuff?”

“Right, tight,” he said with a nod, 

        I nodded back to him and found the tent where one of the supervisors was working. I asked to see their plans and I looked them over with a frown. They were going to make actual thatched-roof cottages. Plus, I didn’t like the proposed layout. I sat down with the supervisors and together we came up with a better plan. With our plans redone I walked out to catch up with Jason. I found him while he was about to lift a heavy load.

        “Hey Jason, sorry I took so long. I had to give the team a stern talking to. They were going to make thatched-roof cottages, can you believe that?”

“Heh...burnination...” he smirked, shaking his head.

        “Well Trogdor won’t come in the night on my watch,” I replied with a chuckle. “I’m making this as modern of a village as I can.”

        “Hey guys!” Zinnia called suddenly, landing behind us. “Sorry that took so long, Heimdal just didn’t want me to leave!” She paused, chuckling as she looked around. “So… what’s the plan?”

        “Well, if you have any skill with carpentry or any other construction then you could come help me. If not, then you can just do the legwork with Jason here,” I commented giving Jason a pat on the shoulder.

        “Eh,” she shrugged. “I’m more of a demolition girl. You need anything clearin’, I’ll have it out of there.” She paused, grinning slightly. “Ten seconds flat.”

        “I’m sure we’ll need to cut down a few trees to get a line to the nearby river,” I told her with a nod. “Just make sure you’re careful, we don’t want to disturb the environment too much.”

        “Okay, no problem,” she said with a nod. “Which is the nearest edge to the river, I’ll clear a path. I’ll even dig a trench if you want.”

        “Uhh, go check with one of the other supervisors. I’m sure they’ll have a map for you. As for the trench… that might actually come in handy for burying the pipes and things like that,” I thought aloud. She paused, looking around. “And if there’s a quarry nearby, I can melt the stone down to line the bottom and re-harden it, like a proper waterway. Keep it all clean.”

“I can handle the melting,” Jason commented, conjuring up a fireball in his hand.

        “And I can handle the pipework and the various other tasks that come with construction,” I said with a chuckle.

        “A perfect team, if ever there was one!” Zinnia laughed.

        “Yup, now let’s get this village built as quickly as we can!” I said with a big grin. We then nodded and went about the tasks that we chose and began to build the changeling village. Zinnia quickly and carefully cleared some trees away while I began to mark spots for buildings and pipes to be buried. After that I started to assist with some of the foundation work. I made sure that everything was as close to the plans as I possibly could. At one point I decided to look over to see how Zinnia and Jason were doing.

Zinnia had just finished with cutting through the last tree, lifting it effortlessly and dropping it onto a pile with the rest of them. She quickly turned back to the stump left behind, bracing herself against it as a white sheen overtook her body and she ripped it out of the ground. She straightened out, wiping the sweat from her brow.She waved when she saw me, a contagious smile on her face. I smiled and waved in return and walked over to her.

“Good job, Zinnia.”

"Thanks dude," she said, breathing heavily. "Is it just me or is it hot out here today?"

“Yeah it is a little warm. Then again, I always wear a heavy duster so I’m probably not the best one to ask. How about I get you some water and you take a rest?” I asked.

"Thanks Vash…" she replied, turning to the river. "I think I'll have a seat over here…" she added, walking over almost drunkenly and kicking her shoes off. I blushed slightly when she dropped her jeans, kicking those off too and climbing into the water in just her underwear.

“Be careful in there,” I told her as I turned to get the water. “We don’t know what all lives in there. There might even be a river monster,” I told her with a chuckle.

“Nng…” she groaned, leaning back against the riverbank. “That would be welcomed…”

“Zinnia, are you okay?” I asked turning back to her.

“I…” she breathed, eyes lidded. “I’m fine… just… really hot…”

“Well, you’ve always been hot,” I said with a chuckle.

“No… I mean, like…” She paused, squirming. “Burning… between my legs…”

“... Zinnia I think you might be going through heat,” I told her blankly.

“That…” She paused, groaning loudly. “Yeah… That’d do it…”

“Maybe you should ask one of the mares if they have any advice for dealing with heat,” I suggested. “I’ve only gone through one heat so I’m not exactly an expert.” She just nodded, slowly sinking further into the water with her eyes closed.

“I-I’ll ask Whiplash…” she said, now neck-deep in the gently flowing waters. “When I get back… I’ll… Yeah…”

“Okay, you take as long as you need in there. You’ve done good work by the way,” I said as I turned to go get her some water to drink before getting back to work. Hours passed and evening fell on the construction site. I flopped down to the ground as I finished one last task. “Uggh, somebody kill me. I can’t feel my arms,” I groaned.

“Vash…” Zinnia panted, crawling out of the river. “Can… Can I borrow a few maids tonight? And a couple guards? And maybe the blacksmith?”

“Uhh do you mean me when you say the blacksmith or my friend Hammerfall?” I asked, looking over to her.

“...Both…”

“And are you asking to borrow us for the reason I think you are?”

“Yeah…”

“I’ll ask Hammer if he’d be willing but I think he might be a little too old fashioned for random sexual acts. And I think that a lot of the maids are recovering after their encounter with Writher last night.” I explained as I walked over to her.

“Writher…” she mumbled, eyes glossing over. “...Oh yeah…”

“Actually, I could just ask Starswirl to cast a spell on you that will suppress your symptoms for a while,” I said, offering her a hand up as I remembered that factoid.

Zinnia attempted to stand, her legs shaking, and seconds later she collapsed onto me. “Y-yeah… even I can’t handle this…”

“Okay, let’s get Jason to teleport us back to the castle. I don’t think you can fly in this condition,” I told her as I led her carefully through the site. “Jason! we need you to teleport us out of here!” I called out.

Jason was busy munching on an apple, watching the construction unfold before him. I walked over to him with a trembling Zinnia in tow. “Jason, I’m glad I found you,” I told him with a weak grin.

“Hm?” he looked up, a bit of apple juice running down his face.

“Zinnia’s having a bit of an issue so we need you to teleport us to the castle,” I explained.

“Not until I finish my apple.”

“Jason, can’t you just teleport us and finish your apple in the castle?” I asked, trying not to get annoyed.

“Nope.” he said, taking a loud, obnoxious bite of said apple.

“Is there any particular reason for this, or are you screwing with us for the fun of it?” I deadpanned.

He shrugged, closing his eyes, chewing rather slowly.

“Damn it Jay, I’m in heat and unless you want me to use you to relieve it I suggest you teleport us now!” Zinnia growled.

“Sounds good to me!” he smirked, tossing the apple over his shoulder..

“So you’ll teleport us?”I asked with a hopeful smile.

“Sure why not?” he asked with a shrug. “I was worried I wasn’t going to uh...have some fun like this...”

I blinked a few times at that admission. “Jason, are your hormones acting up due to the pregnancy?” I asked, carefully so I’d avoid getting him angry.

“Probably. I honestly have no idea.” he shrugs. “Honestly, I don’t really know all that much about jotun.”

“Actually, speaking of fun… you did have some with me when we were drunk. Are you… attracted to both sexes, or was that the alcohol?”

“Vash, I’m a shapeshifter, I have done some weird ass shit in bed. Doing it as the opposite gender does not bother me in the least.”

“So that’s a yes,” I said with a nod. “I only asked because I hate being presumptuous about other people. That’s gotten me in trouble in the past.”

“I bet it has.”

“Well, now that that’s out of the way, maybe we should teleport to the castle now?” I asked with a weak chuckle.

“P-please…” Zinnia moaned, blushing furiously. “Hurry…”

Jason smirked, pulling Zinnia into a deep kiss. He put his hand on my arm, teleporting us away. When we reappeared a few moments later I was slackjawed at what had just happened. 

‘I did not see that one coming.’

Zinnia moaned hungrily into the kiss, her arms flying around Jason’s neck and pulling him closer.

‘I saw that one coming though. Now, should I leave, or stay and see if anything interesting happens to me,’ I thought, my brow furrowed deeply. ‘Screw it, I’ll just stay right here.’

I watched as Zinnia pushed Jason back against a wall, pressing her entire body against his, her hands grabbing at his clothes and pulling at them almost desperately.

“I know, I want it too...” Jason muttered, slipping the dress over his head, standing there in just a pair of panties.

‘I’m starting to think they’ve forgotten I’m even here,’ I mused to myself. ‘Either that or they don’t care. Either way, I’m not really complaining.’

“Mnah… Jason…” the Draconid moaned, tearing their underwear away without a care. “I need you…”

The rest is basically clop. Don’t read unless you want to read some. You won’t miss much plot.

“Well then...” Jason shivered, pulling her into another deep kiss. She moaned loudly, leaning in and reaching up to knead his breasts roughly, their tongues wrestling for dominance. After a while, she pulled away, breathing heavily as she stared into Jason’s eyes before dropping to her knees, lifting his leg and diving in.

I pulled out my phone again and discreetly took a picture, ‘I was wrong, this is going to be my new wallpaper.’

        Jason moaned throatily as Zinnia helped herself to his slit, grabbing the back of her head and pushing her further in. Jason grabbed her head, pushing her even closer. He turned to me, winking with a sly grin.

        I blushed a bit, not knowing how to react to that. ‘I guess that answers my earlier question.’

“Well?” he asked, holding in a moan.

“Oh, uh, what would you like me to do?” I asked.

Zinnia leaned back, breathing heavily with a clear coat of Jason’s juices on her chin. “Take that magnificent cock of yours out,” she breathed. “And fuck us!”

That got my and a certain body part’s attention and I started throwing clothes off as fast as I could. Less than a minute later, I was standing completely in the buff, already starting to stiffen.

        Jason purred at the sight, smirking as he rested his hand on Zinnia’s head. “He’s mine,” she said, glaring lightly down at the Draconid. “Any objections to that?”

        Zinnia blushed, eyes wide as she looked up at him. “N-no…” she stammered, pressing her legs together. “...M-Master…”

        ‘Okay, that’s seriously hot,’ I thought with a dopey smile.

        “I’m yours huh?” I asked with a quick laugh. “What all does that entail?”

        “You,” Jason said, pointing at me. “Are going to put that,” he pointed at my shaft. “In me.”

        “Fair enough, any position you’d prefer, or are you just gonna keep standing up?”

“Surprise me.”

“As you wish,” I said as I pressed up against Jason and kissed her as I pushed her against the closest wall. I then reached and lightly kneaded a breast while my other hand gripped an asscheek. The thought that Jason was originally male only went through my mind for an instant as I felt the womanly curves beneath me. I then started to move my hips slightly, dragging my shaft along the outer lips between Jason’s legs. I continued this motion for a while, coating my length in Jason’s juices. Then, I bent my knees a bit, lining myself up with the entrance, and pressed inside slowly.

Jason moaned pleasantly, arching his back as I slid inside. Something rubbed up on my leg after a minute, and I looked down to see Zinnia, on all fours, looking up at us pathetically. I quirked an eyebrow at her behavior as I continued to slowly press forward.

“Zinnia, what are you doing?” I asked.

She whimpered slightly before answering. “M-Master claimed you… b-but I’m so wet…”

“Well, what do you want us to do about it?” I asked, fighting off a devious smirk. “And be specific, we can’t help otherwise.”

“P-please…” the Draconid whimpered. “I-I just… I-I need to be f-fucked…”

“Zinnia, what did I tell you about being specific,” I told her with a cross look. “Now, how do you want us to fuck you. And if you aren’t specific you’ll be punished.”

        Zinnia’s blush spread to her ears and she averted her eyes for a second before answering. “I-I want to be used as your cocksleeve, while Master uses my face as a seat. I-I want to be used completely, abused, I want to be your toy, your property.”

        I reached down and patted Zinnia on the head with my right arm. “Very good, that wasn’t so hard, was it?” I said with a grin. “Now, what do you think we should do, Jay?”

        “I suppose we could give her what she wants,” Jason mused with an off putting grin. “Now, get into the proper position.” Jason ordered, pointing at the floor.

Zinnia nodded, quickly spinning around and raising her ass into the air, pressing her face to the floor. “Please enjoy my body, Masters.”

“That’s not the proper position,” Jason reprimanded with a sharp slap on Zinnia’s ass, making her yelp. “You said you wanted me to sit on your face. How am I supposed to do that when you’re like this?”

“I-I’m sorry Master!” the Draconid cried desperately, quickly flipping onto her back. “Please forgive me!”

“I might,” Jason mused walking over to her. “If you do a good job.” And then, Jason flopped down onto her face with very little grace. He cried out seconds later as Zinnia dug in greedily, lapping at his folds.

I watched them for a few moments before deciding to do anything. I got down on my knees in front of Zinnia, lining up my length with her folds, and pressed as much of myself into her as I could with one rough thrust, making her cry out and Jason to moan in bliss. I took that as my cue to continue and withdrew my member until only the tip was left inside, and stayed like that for a moment or so. Then, I pressed inside with more force than before and buried myself to the hilt.

Zinnia writhed about on the floor, reaching up and gripping Jason’s hips tightly, pushing her face into his folds more vigorously and making him pant with pleasure. I watched as she shifted, her fingers dancing down his skin until they reached the little nub of sensitive nerves that was his clit, pinching and twisting it slightly. This caused Jason to stifle a moan, trying to keep up the dominant air. I decided to reward Zinnia a bit. I picked up the pace of my thrusts and used my right hand to toy with her clit, just like she was doing to Jason. She arched her back, crying out as her walls clamped down on me, mashing her thumb into Jason’s clit. The Jotun’s eyes widened as his own orgasm crashed down, soaking Zinnia’s face with his juices. The sight of the two in the throes of ecstasy was enough to send me over the edge, letting out a sharp cry as I filled Zinnia’s waiting tunnel.

Jason panted, sliding back off of Zinnia’s face. The Draconid panted happily, staring up at the ceiling with her tongue lolling out of her mouth. I let out a small sigh of relief as I sat on the floor.

“Whew, that was nice.” I then took a look at the still recovering Draconid. “But I don’t think you’re done yet, pet. Don’t you think you should clean me off?” I joked with a shake of my hips. Zinnia glanced to me with a lidded gaze before nodding, shifting on to her knees before crawling over. She pressed her face into my shaft, licking off every drop of cum left over.

“Good girl,” I told her with a stroke to her head. “Feeling better?”

She looked up at me with clouded eyes full of lust, whining pathetically. “Yes Master,” she whimpered. “Thank you Master.”

“Master? Vash, what hast thou done!?” I heard a familiar voice cry. I turned around and saw a shocked looking Morning, Luna and Celestia staring at us. I looked back at Zinnia between my legs and my three marefriends and let out a nervous chuckle.

“Uhh, I can explain.”

“Mistress Morning, Mistress Celestia, Mistress Luna!” Zinnia cried suddenly, smiling up at them. “Have you come to pleasure yourselves with my body too?”

“Vash, what has brought this on?” Celestia asked. “Zinnia seems more brazen than usual.”

“Long story short,” I started. “Zinnia’s in heat, and Jason’s hormones are starting to pick up.”

“Yes,” Zinnia nodded, turning and presenting herself to the mares. “So please Mistresses, use my body as you see fit.”

“Vash, why is Zinnia calling us mistress and thou master?” Morning asked as she crossed her arms over her chest. “Is this one of thy schemes?”

“No, I just think her heat is causing a bit of a submissive streak.”

“I can stop if you want,” the Draconid breathed, standing up. Her face suddenly hardened before she growled out “I could use a new pet.”

I let out a nervous chuckle at that and stood up. “I don’t think they were complaining, Zinnia. They were just curious.”

Just as soon as it had come, Zinnia’s edge faded, and she dropped to her knees again. “M-my apologies Master.”

“Just make sure you don’t do it again,” I told her with a slight edge in my voice.

“Vash, may we have a word with thee,” Morning said as she wrapped her tail around my neck and leading me around a corner with Luna and Celestia close behind. When we were out of earshot Morning let me go and shot me a stern look. “Vash, dearest, why art thou allowing Zinnia to prostrate herself like this?”

“Well, I’d rather deal with sub Zinnia rather than dom Zinnia. This way, she can work out the symptoms of her first heat with minimal amounts of damage to the castle.”

“This is Zinnia’s first heat?” Luna asked in shock. “No wonder her behavior is so erratic.”

“Yeah, so I know it might not be the nicest idea, but I figured keeping her like this until her heat dies down might be the best way to keep her from doing something crazy.”

“Verily, we agree with thee, Vash,” Celestia said with a nod. “Now, perhaps we should go check on her. If there is one thing one must not do, it is to keep a lady waiting while they are in heat. Though, thou already knows that,” she finished with a snicker as she kissed my cheek and walked back to where we left Zinnia. We all followed after her and sure enough, Zinnia was right where we left her. Though, she did seem to be fidgeting a bit.

“M-Master… M-MIstresses…” the Draconid stammered, looking up to us pathetically. “A-Am I in trouble?”

“No, of course not,” I told her as I stroked her head. “What would give you that idea? You’ve been nothing but a good pet, haven’t you?”

“I-I try, Master,” she mumbled, smiling slightly. “Thank you.” She paused, seeming to think something over, before stammering out “M-Master, Mistresses... c-could I… ask you to do something?”

“I suppose,” I told her as if I were mulling it over. “A good pet does deserve a treat.” Her face seemed to light up at this. “But if I find it to be out of line, then you might get punished.”

She nodded quickly, eyes wide. “O-of course, Master.” She paused, taking a second before continuing. “...I want to stay here through my heat and be your plaything. You can do whatever you want to me - punish me, reward me, fuck me mercilessly or deny me release - but I want to stay.”

“Is that all?” I asked with a chuckle. “Of course you can stay through your heat.”

“Thank you Master!” she cried, jumping up and glomping me. I never complained, not with my face in her valley. “I’ll try to be a good pet, I promise!”

I pulled myself out of her cleavage with a wicked grin on my face. “I know you will, but you seem to have forgotten something,” I told her cryptically. She looked at me confused for a second before her eyes widened and she pulled away, dropping to her knees once more. “You didn’t say, ‘Please Master,’ when you made your request.”

“I’m sorry, Master!” she cried, bowing low. “I was a bad pet, please punish me however you see fit!”

“No,” I told her with a chuckle, “since you seem so eager to set things right, I’ll let you pick the punishment. Be grateful, next time you make a mistake, I won’t be as lenient.”

She was quiet for a minute, not daring to move or lift her gaze, before she mumbled something inaudible.

“What was that?” I asked, leaning down so I was directly above her. “Speak up or I’ll give you another punishment.”

“Spank me!” she barked out suddenly. “Spank my whore ass until it’s bright red and I can’t sit down for a month! Take turns doing it, and do it as hard as you like!”

“That’s better, I much prefer to hear what my pet wants. How else am I going to be a good owner?” I told her as I ran a hand down her cheek. “Now, would you prefer I start with my right arm, or my metal left arm?” I asked her.

“M-Master’s choice…” she muttered in response, though it was loud enough for me to hear this time. “J-just… make sure you do it hard... please, Master?”

“Very well, left it is. Now, get in the proper position. And if you take your punishment well, you’ll get a treat.”

“Apologies, Master…” Zinnia said, looking up to me with wide, apologetic eyes. “But would the right position not be… across your knees?” She flinched back as soon as she’d said that, as though expecting a beating. “N-not that I’m telling you what to do, Master, I-I’m just trying to be helpful!”

“You have nothing to apologize for,” I told her with another stroke to her head. “You came up with a very good suggestion. And besides, I told you the punishment was your choice, didn’t I?”

“Y-Yes Master,” she stammered in response. “Of course Master. Sh-shall I fetch a chair for you, o-or would you prefer to move into another room?”

“I suppose we should take this to another room,” I mused. “No sense in the entire castle seeing your punishment.”

Zinnia bowed again before climbing to all fours, glancing up at me. “Would Master like my collar and leash?”

“I’ll take the collar,” I told her. “But you can leave the leash. I expect to have a pet that’s well behaved enough not to need one, understood?” I asked with narrowed eyes.

She nodded frantically before reaching into the bag still fastened around her waist, pulling out a leather collar coloured a deep purple, black studs lining its surface and a tag in the shape of a sharp, curved tooth. Smiling sheepishly, she held it out to me. “A-a Master always collars his pets himself…” I took the collar, gently reached around her neck and secured the clasp.

“There you go. Who’s the prettiest pet in the castle?” I asked like one would address their dog.

“Me?” the Draconid asked hopefully, one hand raised like an animal.

“Of course it’s you,” I told her with a pat the head. “Now, let’s start your punishment so you can get your treat.” She nodded happily, following on her hands and knees as I lead the way into one of the many guest bedrooms in the castle, Celestia, Luna and Morning right behind her.

I took a seat on the couch in the back of the room and motioned for Zinnia to lie across my lap. Nodding obediently, she did just that, her stomach on my knees as her breasts hung over the edge.

“Please Master…” she breathed. “Be rough…”

“Of course,” I chuckled as I brought up my left hand and swatted her directly on one of her upraised cheeks. She gasped, eyes wide, before smiling slightly and going limp.

“Please Master, again!” she cried, panting heavily. “I’ve been a bad pet, please punish me!”

“Don’t tell me what I already know!” I boomed as I swatted her other cheek with my right hand. She cried out again, panting heavily as her tongue lolled out of her mouth and she drolled openly onto the carpet. I proceeded to alternate hands for a few minutes, Zinnia crying out each time.

“Harder Master,” the Draconid begged. “Please, o-or I may not learn my lesson!”

“You’re right,” I growled lustfully as I swatted her harder, an audible crack resounding around the room. “The last thing we want is for you to act up again. Isn’t that right?” I asked, as I gave her another hard swat. “You do want to be a good pet, don’t you?”

“Yes Master, I’ll be good! Just please don’t stop!”

“And who’s pet are you?!” I boomed, picking up the pace of my spanks.

“Y-Yours! I-I belong to Vash the Sta~ampede and his marefriends!”

“And what will you do as a good pet?!”

“A-Anything you command, Master! A-absolutely anythi~ing and everything I-I’m told!” With that I gave her one final spank with my right hand, and started to rub at the redder part of her cheek.

“I think you’ve learned your lesson, wouldn’t you agree?” I told her, still tenderly rubbing her.

“Y-yes Master…” Zinnia panted. “Th-thank you for my punishment…”

“I only do it because I care,” I told her giving her rump a gentle squeeze. “Now, are you ready for your treat?”

She nodded eagerly before answering. “Y-yes please Master.”

“Okay, and since you were so good, I’ll let you pick what you want.”

Going quiet again, Zinnia slowly climbed off of my lap, kneeling before me with her eyes down. “...Can I be Mistress Celestia’s personal show pet for the day?” she asked hesitantly. “O-or Mistress Luna’s tonight. I-I’d like to show the subjects who o-owns me. Besides you of course, Master.”

“And what does being a show pet entail?” I asked with a stern look.

“I-I’d be by their side the whole time… dressed how they choose… and would d-do whatever they commanded to whoever they commanded. M-most commonly with a leash…”

“I’m not entirely opposed to the idea, but you do realize what time period you’re in, don’t you?”

“Wh-which is why I said they could dress me how they like.” Smiling slightly, she turned to the princesses. “A-and would it not be better to introduce more… casual lifestyles for your subjects? S-so you can be more open with your… relationships… without fear of ridicule?”

“And I appreciate that idea, but the best way to do that most likely isn’t you on a leash by their throne. It’s better to introduce these things slowly and allow ponies to be more comfortable with sex.”

“Y-yes Master…” she sighed, almost dejectedly. “Then… Master can choose my treat, as that was my only idea.”

“I’m sorry, maybe the next time you come here we’ll be able to show off what a good pet you are, but for now… hmm, are you sure you can’t think of something else you want?” I asked, placing a hand on her shoulder.

“No, Master,” Zinnia sighed. “I-I want to be shown off, Master. B-but if I-I can’t… you can decide my treat, or lack of.”

“Well, how about to make up for not being able to show you off, I be a good owner and pamper my pet?”

She seemed to brighten up at that, smiling shyly up at me. “That sounds wonderful, Master. Thank you.”

“And what do you think pampering you will entail?” I asked with a chuckle, seeing if her thoughts lined up with mine.

“I-I don’t know, Master…” she trailed off, though her gaze slowly turned to the three mares behind us before snapping back to me. “I-I would be grateful for a-anything you give to me.”

I caught where her gaze went and a smirk wormed its way onto my face, “Oh, and if I decided to call the three mistresses over and have the four of us give every piece of your body special attention, that would just make you grateful?”

“Oh, yes Master!” she cried out, smiling brightly. “I would love that so much!”

“Glad to hear it,” I told her, patting her on the head. “Now, who would you like to start on what body part?” I asked her, whispering the last part into her ear.

“...MIstress Luna…” she whimpered, squirming slightly. “...W-with my… b-breasts…”

“Very good,” I told her with a final pat. I then looked up at the three mares and had to hold back some laughter. Celestia and Luna’s wings were sticking straight out and Morning’s tail was thumping on the floor erratically. “Oh Luna dear,” I started with a sweet, honey soaked voice as I got behind Zinnia. “Give our pet a treat, and start here,” I said as I grabbed Zinnia’s breasts roughly. Luna nodded, a slight blush forming on her cheeks and knelt down in front of Zinnia, replacing my hands with her own.

“Mmh…” Zinnia moaned, arching her back slightly. “Mistress… yes…” Luna’s slight reluctance seemed to melt away and she slowly kneaded Zinnia’s breasts.

“Oh, come on Luna,” I said with a chuckle. “You can do better than that.” She nodded and leaned her head in and wrapped her lips around one of her nipples, while one of her hands started toying with the other. Zinnia moaned louder, pushing her chest into Luna’s face as her tongue lolled out.

“That’s perfect. Now, who do you want to pamper you next, pet, and where?” 

“M-Mistress… Celestia…” she panted, looking to me with clouded eyes. “I-I want... between m-my legs…”

“You heard her Celestia,” I told her with a wicked grin. “Get to work on our pet.”

“Yes Master,” Celestia responded with a bow as she slowly made her way over to Zinnia. She lied down on her stomach directly between Zinnia’s legs. “As you command,” She finished, letting out a puff of air right onto Zinnia’s clit before wrapping her lips around it.

“Gah!” the Draconid gasped, eyes wide. “Yes, yes!” Turning to me, she smiled dopily and said. “M-Mistress Morning, I-I want to… k-kiss her.”

“Very well, Morning, would you be willing to kiss our dirty little pet here?” I asked.

“I...I suppose there would be no harm in that.” Morning said as she slithered up to Zinnia and placed her arms around her shoulders. Zinnia leaned forward, pressing her lips to Morning’s in such a tender, passionate way that for a second I thought it wasn’t even her anymore. All I did for a moment was watch - until I felt Zinnia shaking her ass against me.

“Oh, what do you want from me my little pet?” I asked her with a knowing smile.

Breaking her kiss with Morning, she looked back to me and whined before answering. “M-Master… fuck me in the ass… please…”

“Anything for my little pet,” I told her with a fond smile. “But first, you have to get it ready. I’d hate to hurt my favorite pet.”

Nodding silently, Zinnia placed her hands on Celestia and Luna’s heads and pushed them away slowly, whining when Luna let her nipple go with a loud *pop* before turning around, grasping my shaft tightly. She glanced up to me as her tongue hung out of her mouth, drooling on the head for a moment while she slathered it along my length with her hand.

“A-another thing, Master…” she said, averting her gaze. “C-could you… dress me up? Maybe tie me up too? Please?”

“Of course,” I told her as I petted her. “How do you want to be dressed and tied up? Do you want your wrists and ankles tied around the posts of the bed, or simply tied around your back?”

Without answering, the Draconid reached into her bag once again, pulling out one item of clothing after another until she had what seemed to be a torn and shredded set of Nightingale armour from Skyrim, the chestpiece ripped open and any crotch or ass cover gone.

“I want to be a captured warrior, forced to do your bidding,” she said, fully serious. She then pulled out what looked to be a sturdy metal hook, flying up and drilling it into the ceiling with her strength alone. “And I want to be hung from this.”

“That can be arranged,” I told her with a nod. “Do you want your master’s help putting on your outfit?”

Touching down, she once again became meek, subservient. “Y-yes Master… I-I would like your help…” She paused, thinking something over for a second before reaching into her bag again. “But there is also… this.” she said, holding out a long, metallic bar with ankle cuffs on either end.

“Seems you have a bit of everything in that bag,” I pointed out with a chuckle. “Well, I’m ready to begin whenever you are.”

Nodding, she stood straight with her arms held out. “P-please Master… feel free to dress me…”

“Hmmph, of course,” I snorted as I picked up the chest piece and quickly put it on, followed quickly by the rest of it. Then, I roughly grabbed her hands and tied them above her head with a length of rope she provided from her bag, hanging her from the hook.

She took to her new role immediately, her soft, happy smile hardening into a scowl of indignation. “Let me go you bastard!” she barked, struggling against her bonds. “I’ll gut you for this!”

“You’re certainly making a case for me keeping you tied like this,” I told her with a dark chuckle. “It seems that you’re all brawn and beauty with no brains.”

“Fuck you!” she growled, pulling at the ropes even harder. “And fuck your little whores too!” I responded with a  slap across her face.

“Now that was uncalled for,” I told her, getting into her face. “These fine ladies have done nothing to you. And besides, you say whore as if it’s a bad thing,” I finished with a malicious grin as I reached for the metal bar.

Her eyes widened when she saw that, her entire body freezing. “W-what are you going to do with that?” she asked, trembling slightly. “Please tell me that’s for one of your whores.”

My malicious grin grew at that. “Why yes, yes it is,” I chuckled as I opened one of the cuffs and put it around her ankle.

“Hey, w-wait a minute!” she stammered, eyes widening further. “Y-you said it was f-for your who-” She froze again, mouth agape in realisation.

“Yes, I intend to keep you. A strong and lovely warrior such as yourself is something I simply can’t resist,” I laughed as I put the other cuff on and looked her in the eye with a grin.

“You sick bastard…” she growled, glaring at me. “Is that what you do, huh!? Kidnap women and keep them until their minds are broken!?” Her gaze shot to the others. “Who were they before you got to them, huh!? Do you even know!?”

I let out a long laugh at that before answering. “Of course I know what they were before this, but it doesn’t matter anymore. They were lost before coming to me. I freed them, allowed them to become what they were always meant to be. And I know what you were before coming to me,” I told her as I grasped her cheeks with a hand.

Her glare intensified as she spat at me, catching me just below the eye. “Like you could know anything.”

“Oh?” I asked bemused as I gently wiped away the spit. “So I wouldn’t know anything about what the nobles and their guards did to your family? What drove you to join the Thieves Guild and dedicate yourself to Nocturnal? No, I suppose I don’t know anything.”

She gaped at me after that, eyes wide. “H-how…”

“My little Nightingale, you didn’t think you were the only one to have made a deal with a daedra, did you?”

She whimpered at that, trembling again. “Nocturnal give me strength…”

“She holds no sway here in my domain,” I told her with a laugh. “But don’t worry, I will set you free like the others soon. Then you will hurt no more,” I said as I got behind her.


“P-please…” Zinnia whimpered, watching me as her eyes watered. “No… D-don’t…”

“Shh, do not worry, you’ll be free soon,” I whispered as I lined myself up with her ass using one hand. Very carefully, I pressed inside meeting very little resistance. I let out a small moan and chuckled a bit. “Oh, what is this? You say no, but your body is welcoming me like an honored guest.”

“Sa-shut up…” the Draconid stammered, obviously trying to hold back a moan. Looking to the others, she growled out, “What are you doing just standing there, help me!”

“Master is already helping you,” Celestia said sweetly.

“She’s right,” I said, halting my progress to caress the exposed parts of her body that her broken armor could no longer protect. “Be honest with yourself, let go and be free.”

“Nnah…” she moaned in response, turning away. “D-don’t touch me... not there…”

“Oh, and why don’t you want me to touch you there?” I asked, my hand hovering right above it.

She was quiet for a moment before choking on a sob, forcing out, “...I-I’m scared…”

“And why are you scared, be honest.”

Biting her lip, she looked away for a moment before answering. “I-I… I don’t…”

“Come now, answer me. I want to do away with all your worries.”

“I-I’m scared because…” She paused, sobbing quietly. “I-I don’t want to say no… b-but I know I should…”

“And by what standard do you know that you should say no?” I asked her, my hand descending on the spot that made her gasp before. “Society’s? The same society that rewarded those scum of the earth nobles that hurt you?”

“...yes…” she muttered, scowling. “I-I can’t stop… I have to make them pay.” 

“And I can help with that,” I told her, picking up the pace of my caresses. “I only want the best for you. But to do that, you need to reject that awful system, the one that caused you and countless others so much pain.”

“Y-yes… so much pain…” she moaned, pushing back slightly. “...o-okay…”

“Hmm, what are you agreeing to?” I asked, stopping all my ministrations. “I want to hear you say it.”

“I-I want your… help…” She paused, turning to me with pleading eyes. “Please… set me free…”

“Of course,” I told her as I picked up where I left off and started thrusting into her. Zinnia moaned out, no longer holding back as she leaned into me, pushing down against my actions. I moaned with her, speeding up my thrusts slightly. “Yes, isn’t this so much better than what those corrupt pigs out there told you?”

“Y-yes… Master…” the Draconid moaned, eyes closed in bliss. “S-so much better… thank you…”

“There is no need to thank me, this was within you from the beginning. I simply let it out,” I whispered into her ear as I used the hand that I had braced on her shoulder to tweak her exposed nipple. She cried out at that, her walls clenching down slightly as she turned her clouded gaze to the others.

“M-Master…” she stammered, biting her lip as another moan escaped her throat before continuing. “W-what about them?”

“This is your rebirth, they are here to witness it. Once you are fully free, all of us will celebrate.”

She nodded, crying out as I pinched her nipple again. “B-but… I think they m-might... help free me, Master,” she whimpered. “P-please… let them take their place…”

“Oh, and how would they help free you?” I asked with a smile. “Tell us all your deepest desires.”

“Mmnah~” She shuddered as milk began to leak from her breast, coating my fingers. “P-please, Master… I-I… I like w-women too…” She winced slightly, as though remembering something. “I-I was told to hide it, b-but…”

“Shh,” I stopped her, “whoever told you that was simply wrong. A rotten specimen of this rotting world. Now, what would you like my ladies to do with you?”

“Please… I-I want to f-feed one…” she stammered, managing to shake her breasts slightly. “M-maybe two… a-and my… my pussy… it’s so wet…”

“Of course I understand,” I told her with one final pinch. “Ladies, this poor woman needs our help, won’t you please provide it?” The three of them nodded and each set about their tasks. Celestia and Luna each took a breast while Morning drove her forked tongue deep into Zinnia’s slit.

“Ah!” Zinnia cried out almost immediately, throwing her head back as thrashed about. “Yes, free me! Oh, it’s so good!” I grinned like a madman and started to pound into Zinnia’s ass.

“Yes, isn’t this so much better than what those fools out there told you? Why would you ever hide who you are?!” I boomed.

“Yes Master!” Zinnia replied,tongue lolling out of her mouth. “I’ll never hide my true self again, I promise!”

“Good,” I started, feeling myself edge closer to finishing. “Then accept your freedom!” I roared.

Zinnia screamed as I filled her ass, her body seizing up. I heard Celestia and Luna moan in delight, leaning around to see them drinking Zinnia’s milk eagerly as it flowed down their chins. I panted for a few moments, recovering and remaining inside her.

“How do you feel now, my new whore?” I asked with a chuckle.

“...More…” Zinnia moaned, panting heavily. “Please, more…”

“Of course, do you want to be unchained, or would you prefer to stay like this?”

“...leave me here…” she sighed happily. “I-I want more cum in me…”

“As you wish, would you like it in another hole, or would you like this to get another filling?” I asked as I patted her ass fondly.

She was silent for a moment before answering. “B-both, Master… please…” she moaned, shifting her hips slightly. “I-in my bag… the toy…”

I nodded and reached inside her bag, hoping that I would pull out the right thing. Luckily, I managed to get it on the first try and held it up to her face. Without hesitation, she opened her mouth wide and began sucking on the toy, pulling it from my grip before shooting me a look.

“Who do you want to use the toy? And in what hole?” I asked, hand outstretched to catch the toy. Spitting it into my hand, she grinned back at me.

“Morning Star,” she growled lustfully. “In both. All while you fuck the other two.”

“Hmm, I suppose that could be arranged, what do you think, Morning?” I asked as I slipped out of Zinnia and handed Morning the toy.

“I suppose I could go along with this,” Morning said with a blush as she inserted the toy. She frowned, however, when nothing happened.

        “Master, I-I have to… turn it on,” Zinnia muttered. “B-but I don’t want to be untied…”

        “Would you have to be untied to turn it on?” I asked with a light glare.

        “N-no… I-I can use my… my mouth.”

        “Then do it,” I said with a smirk as I removed the toy from Morning. “And make a show of it.”

        “No Master… I-I’m sorry, but… i-it has to be in her…”

        “Then put it in using your mouth,” I told her bluntly. “Morning can stretch out on her coils to reach your mouth.”

        Nodding, Zinnia took the toy into her mouth again, moaning slightly at the taste before looking down to Morning Star. Morning took a deep breath and started to reach up on her coils, stretching out until her pelvis was level with Zinnia’s head, bracing herself on the support that Zinnia was hanging from. The draconid smiled as much as she could up at her before leaning forward, slowly pushing the end of the toy into Morning’s folds and continuing forward until her lips met her scales. A purple glow spilled from the gaps before Zinnia cried out in alarm, thrashing about in a panic.

        “P-pull her back, Vash!” Morning cried. “For heaven’s sake, pull her back!” I did as Morning asked in a hurry and in a matter of seconds I heard Zinnia sputtering and wheezing as Morning’s new twin members were pulled from her mouth.

        “What the hell were you thinking, Zinnia?!” I growled at her.

        “I-I’m sorry, Master…” she wheezed. “Th-there’s normally a… a delay… I-I thought I would have enough time to move back before…”

        “Alright, I’m just glad you’re okay,” I said with a sigh of relief.

        “I-I’m sorry, Master…”

        “Nothing to apologize for, just be more careful next time.” I told her as I let her go.

        “Of course… Th-thank you, Master…” She squirmed a little, the bar rattling slightly as she tried to press her legs together. “A-apologies, Master, b-but… c-can we g-get on with it, please?”

        “Alright,” I sighed before chuckling a bit. “If Morning’s still up for it, I won’t stop you two.” I said as I walked over to Celestia and Luna.

        Nodding, Zinnia looked into Morning’s eyes, whining with need. “P-Please, Mistress…” she moaned, leaning forward to give Morning’s flared horsecock tip a lick. “F-fuck me…”

        Morning shuddered a bit and tried and failed to stifle a blush. “I...I suppose that I could do that. Which hole wouldst thou like me to put my larger member in?”

        “Pussy.” Zinnia stated with a determined smirk. “And don’t hold back. Fuck me hard.”

        Morning nodded and let go of the support and slowly lowered herself back down. Then, she wrapped her tail around Zinnia and pressed both of her shafts against Zinnia’s holes. With a simple squeeze of her coils they were both pressed inside with little to no resistance.

        “Ah!” Zinnia screamed, shuddering with delight. “Yes, fuck me Mistress! Ravage my body! I’m your Cocksleeve, Mistress, use me like one!”

        “Wouldst thou not speak like that?” Morning asked, blushing a deep red as she continued thrusting. “It is most embarrassing.”

        Zinnia grinned, leaning forward until her mouth was right beside Morning’s ear. “I bet you love it, really,” she breathed, moving her hips against her thrusts. “You’re a dominatrix at heart, Morning. Embrace it, and use me.”

        “I..I am not like that,” Morning stammered. “T’is most unbecoming.”

        “Not behind closed doors~” the Draconid tittered before stifling a moan. Grinning, she clenched down on Morning’s members, drawing a moan from the naga-mare.

        “Perhaps thou can get into it, but it is... not something that interests me.” Morning said as she averted her gaze from Zinnia.

        “Alright then…”  Zinnia cooed, before she growled out “Then I’ll take control then. Fuck me harder!”

        That seemed to irk Morning, but she bit her lip to avoid making a comment. In the end she just decided to grit her teeth and speed up the clenching of her coils. Zinnia cried out in bliss, going limp in Morning’s grip as she allowed herself to be filled completely.

        “Well, thou art in control,” Morning growled between thrusts. “What else dost thou want?”

        Smirking down at her, Zinnia leaned in and sealed Morning’s lips with her own, pulling back moments later. “How’s that for what I want?” she asked cheekily before diving back in, shoving her tongue past the mare’s lips. Morning rolled with this action, wrapping her prehensile tongue around the woman’s. Zinnia moaned happily at that, clamping down on the mare’s shafts again.

        She pulled back after a while, gasping for breath. “That tongue…” she breathed, a throaty moan cutting her off before she continued. “I-is fucking amazing...”

        Morning smirked at that. “Thou art not the only one who has voiced that sentiment.”

        “I can imagine…” Zinnia said, smirking right back. “Now shut up and fill me, okay!?” With that, she lunged right back in, kissing Morning with all her might as her walls milked her for all she had. Morning moaned loudly into the kiss and fired off a few shots into Zinnia’s clenching walls, her coils tightening around Zinnia’s body on reflex.

        Zinnia cried out, bucking her hips wildly as Morning filled her, her own climax wracking her body, her walls clamping down and sealing the mare’s seed inside of her. Morning pulled her mouth away from Zinnia’s, a small string of saliva connecting the two while she relaxed the grip of her coils. She stayed like that for a few moments, panting and trying to recover from her little tryst.

        “...take my bar off, Morning…” Zinnia panted. “...And take me down… I think I’m done… for now…” Morning nodded and did as Zinnia asked and in less than a minute Zinnia was untied and touching the ground.

        “Are you feeling better?” I asked her carefully. “Is your heat still bothering you?”

        “A little…” she replied, staggering on her feet. “B-but it’s not… as noticeable now. Like a dull throbbing.”

        “Glad to hear that, you got a little crazy there for a second,” I said with a chuckle.

        Zinnia nodded, starting to pull the tattered armour off. “Sorry about that,” she muttered as the last piece fell to the floor. “I didn’t mean to cause trouble…”

        “Are you kidding?” I asked with a bit too much laughter. “What you did was nothing compared to what these three did during Estrus. I’m still having arousing nightmares from that.”

        Zinnia giggled as she began to place the outfit back into her back, pulling out a pair of sweatpants and a loose-fitting tee shirt. “Wish I could’ve been around for that,” she tittered. “Sounds like fun.”

        “I think that would be the last thing I need,” I said with a shudder. “I can only imagine what you’d encourage them to do to me with that magic toy of yours.”

        “Heh, I guess so,” the Draconid chuckled. “Still though, next cycle, feel free to call me. I might bring a few friends, too.”

        “I don’t see why not,” I told her as I stretched and popped a few joints. “Though I hope you don’t just visit to use me for my body, or my acting talent.”

        A chorus of “Shut up, Vash!” greeted my ears,

        “What? What did I say?” I asked, playing dumb.

        “Ah, leave’im,” Zinnia laughed, shaking her head. “...I don’t suppose I could share your bed while I’m here.”

        I laughed a little before replying with, “Of course, a good pet sleeps at the foot of the bed.”

        Just like that, Zinnia dropped to her knees again, pulling her shirt down enough for her collar to show. “Of course, Master. I shall sleep wherever you command.”

        “Uhh, Zinnia, that was a joke. We don’t have to do the whole master pet thing anymore,” I said as I scratched my cheek.

        “Vash,” Morning said as she fixed me a glare. “Perhaps thou should save thy jokes until after Zinnia’s heat is over.”

        “...Am I not Master’s pet, then?” Zinnia asked, looking between us.

        “Uhh, not when we’re not about to, or in the middle of sex,” I explained, trying to avoid, crazy dominatrix Zinnia from emerging. “When we’re like this it’s best if we just keep our normal dynamic going.”

        “Okay, I can do that,” she nodded, standing up again. She readjusted her shirt, blushing slightly. “Though… I’d like to keep the collar on, if that’s okay.”

        “Heh, alright, whatever makes you happy,” I said with a shrug. “It does look really good on you.”

        Zinnia’s blush intensified, her face quickly turning bright red as she turned away with a huff. “...thanks…”

        ‘Dammit, I want to call her cute here, but that’ll piss her off,” I thought with a grimace. ‘Guess I’ll just keep it to myself.

        “Anyway, we’d better hit the hay if I’m going to be able to do any work tomorrow,” I said aloud, rubbing the back of my head.

        “Yeah,” Zinnia nodded, smiling sheepishly. “I’ll help you if I can, Vash, but… you know…”

        “If your heat is acting up tomorrow then you can take the day off,” I told her with a smile.

        “Thanks… but didn’t you say there was some kind of spell or something that could, I dunno, dull it down?”

        “Duh,” I said slapping myself on the forehead. “Starswirl does have a spell for that. Sorry, slipped my mind considering everything that just happened.”

        “No problem,” she chuckled, walking to the door. She paused as she passed me, leaning in and whispering “And I’ll deal with our little… agreement tonight. No more bloomers for Vash.”

        I had to stop myself from tearing up at that and nodded as I followed after her. As soon as we stepped out the door, however, we turned to see Jason still laying on the floor, snoring away.

        “Oh…” Zinnia muttered, eyes wide. “We, uh… We forgot Jason.”

        “Yeah, guess we did.” I said rubbing the back of my head. “Should we… do something about this, or just walk away and pretend we didn’t see anything?”

        Zinnia stared at him for a minute before sighing, leaning down and lifting him into her arms. “We should at least take him to his room,” she said. “Chryssi and Rares would kill us if we just left him there.

        “Good point,” I replied. “I don’t think they’d believe us if we claimed plausible deniability.”

        Zinnia just nodded, beginning to walk down the hall again. As we rounded the corner, however, Chrysalis came into view. As soon as she laid eyes on us, Jason in particular, she just sighed, using her magic to lift him onto her back before turning around and leaving.

        “...That was easy,” Zinnia muttered.

        “I’m guessing that’s not the weirdest thing she’s found Jason doing,” I offered.

        “Ten bags of Stardust says he was masturbating as one of his aliens.”

        “Twenty big nuggets says that it was Four Arms,” I told her with a smirk.

        “Oh, what I wouldn’t give to see that…”

        “I could do without that sight,” I replied.

        Chuckling, she just shook her head, starting to walk off again. “Oh well, c’mon. Sooner we get those three asleep, sooner I can do you that favour.”

        “Don’t have to tell me twice!” I called, picking up the pace.





        I woke that night with a groan, pushing myself to a sitting position and looking around the room. Celestia and Luna were cuddled up to me with Morning holding us all in her coils, like most nights.

        What was strange, however, was that Zinnia had disappeared. My eyes widened and I gently extracted myself from my marefriends’ grip. When I did, I noticed some wisps of smoke trailing from the window. I poked my head out of the window to see if I could spot her.

        There, in the middle of the courtyard, was a massive pile of clothes which I assumed to be Celestia, Luna and Morning’s underwear. Zinnia stood at the side of the pile, pacing up and down in what seemed to be nothing but a pair of panties, as small flames burned at a few areas of the pile. She looked up to the window and spotted me, waving excitedly before turning back to the pile and breathing a continuous stream of flames. When she stopped, all that was left was a pile of ash.

        I stumbled back when she flew up to the window, climbing through. “Hey Vash,” she whispered, grinning. “You like the show?”

        “I always was a fan of pyrotechnics,” I whispered back.

        “You’ll be a bigger fan of me in a minute,” she tittered quietly. “Go check the drawers, I think you’ll like what you find.” I did as she asked and pulled out a pink thong and a black, see through bra.

        “Ooh, you’re right, I do like this.”

        “And that’s just the beginning…” the Draconid whispered in my air, hugging me from behind. “I’ve left thongs, g-strings, panties, bras, pasties, bikinis, and all manner of sexy lingerie.”

        “It’s like Christmas came early,” I said with a sniffle.

        “You think you could do me a favour in return for all of this?” she asked mysteriously, resting her head on my shoulder. “It’s nothing big, I promise.”

        “What did I tell you this morning?” I whispered back with a chuckle. “You’re family, whatever you need, name it.”

        “...Can I breastfeed you until I fall asleep?”

        “Did you even need to ask?” I asked as I whipped around to face her. I chuckled when I saw that her face was bright red.

        “Th-thanks, Vash…” she murmured, taking my hands and slowly pulling me towards the bed. “I-I kinda wanna be in there,” She nodded to the pile of mares. “When we do this, if that’s okay.”

        “What did I just tell you?” I asked, chuckling again. “Anything you want.”

        She smiled gratefully at me before pulling away, climbing carefully into the entanglement of mare limbs before beckoning me over. I followed her as carefully as I could and knelt over her, my head right above her chest. She smiled again, placing a hand gently on the back of my head and guiding me to her left breast, letting me latch onto her nipple and suckle gently, her milk flowing almost instantly.

        “Wha…?” I heard, eyes going wide as Luna stirred. She pushed herself up, staring at us both for a minute before smiling good-naturedly, shaking her head. “Thou art almost too predictable,” she chuckled quietly. “May I?”

        “Sure,” Zinnia shrugged, opening her arm to the lunar princess, her moved in slowly and latched onto her right nipple, moaning slightly at the taste of her milk. The two of us matched our suckling and continued for a long while until the sound of gentle snores interrupted us. The two of us pulled away and shared a smile before settling back down on the bed, Zinnia’s arms around us both.

> A Mad God's "Kitten"
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Third Person PoV)
Jeeves was droning on and on about the ongoings of the realm. Who had problems with that and who had problems with this. Sheogorath knew he should be paying attention, but when you rule a realm for so long all the problems seem so insignificant. Something new needed to happen.

Sheogorath was simply sitting on his throne and he let out a dramatic sigh. Interrupting Jeeve’s report he said, “Oh Jeeves, so much is going on. Mortals scurrying for those precious minutes of their lives. Work to be done. Sweetrolls to be eaten, and I’m just sitting here… bored!” He flung a hand up into the air, palm up, and said, “Oh, when will something interesting happen in my realm-”

His speech was interrupted by a flash of metal and an object dropping lightly into his palm. “Oh? What’s this then? A bullet?”

“I am Vash the Stampede. I am a hunter of peace. If you fight to defend peace and the lives of others then I will be more than willing to help. Just call on me and together we will create… LOVE AND PEACE!”

“Oh! What marvelous item have I come across?! Is this something that can possibly cure my boredom?! Hahaha! Yes!” Sheogorath cackled, he calmed down after the bout of laughter. Sheogorath pinched the bullet between his index finger and thumb, “Very well! Vash the Stampede! I call on you! Do be hasty now.”

Sheogorath felt that the dimensional barriers of his realm were touched by something. He allowed the foreign being access and directed them to the foot of the stairs of his throne. A swirling green portal opened up and a tall, spiky haired blonde man wearing a red duster walked through it. The blonde man let out a loud yawn before opening his eyes and realizing he had been summoned away.

        “Aww man, who’s summoning me this time?” He asked looking around the room. “I’ve still got a lot of work to do on that Changeling village.”

“Hah! Quite the mouth on ya mortal! Look up here then.” Sheogorath purred.

        Vash did as he was told and his eyes bugged out as he cried, “Jumping cheese wheels Batman, it’s Sheogorath!”

Sheogorath cackled, “Oh, I knew this would be entertaining!” He calmed down a bit and wiped away a tear, “Now, do ya have any idea why I called ya here mortal?”

        “First,” Vash said holding up a finger. “My lifespan is an indeterminate amount of time so the mortal thing may not really apply to me. Second, how the hell should I know? You’re the Prince of Madness. You could’ve called me for anything from unbelievable psychological trauma to kissing a bottlenose dolphin.”

Sheogorath grinned, “Quite the mouth on ya mortal. You don’t need it do you?” He glared, “You have longevity, not immortality. Second! You’re quite right! How should ya know?! I don’t even know either! Or maybe I do…” His glared turned into a grin.

        “Alright, sorry about mouthing off,” Vash sighed. “You just summoned me before breakfast, that’s all. So, why did you call me over to your neck of the multiverse?”

“I don’t know anything about a multiverse, but I do have a little proposition for ya. If yer interested. I only require you to do a simple task for me.”

“I get the feeling that your simple task won’t be so simple,” Vash started. “But, what the hell, I’ll listen to what you’ve got to say.”

“Ha! Of course ya will! Not like ya got much choice in the matter now is it?” He grinned, “All I want ya to do is rescue my kitten.”

“Ooh, and let me guess, the twist is your kitten is either a manticore or a chimera?” Vash asked, pointing at the mad god.

“Ha! Neither! But I won’t ruin the surprise. I only require you to bring him back to my realm, without a single scratch on him! Can ya do that mortal?”

“I think I might,” Vash said with a smirk. “I can dodge automatic weapon fire and survive Celestia and Luna’s estrus fueled frenzy. I can handle protecting a kitten.”

“Wonderful! You’ll do nicely then! Now before I send ya off, ya need Mr Fluffle’s leash!” Sheogorath turned to the strict looking pony lookalike to his left, “Jeeves! Bring me… ‘The Leash’!”

Jeeves bowed and teleported away in a swirl of purple energy.

Sheogorath looked back down at Vash, “Once he gets that leash you’ll notice a little gem at the top of it. Pay attention mortal, this is important. You just need to go to that uh… Baggy Bosh. No, Berry Bogg? Ah, whatever! It’s a marsh near that pony town just outside my gate! Mr Fluffles is there and before ya bring him back ya need to drop that gem in the middle of the marsh. Did yer mortal brain get that?”

“Got it, take gem to marsh of indeterminate name and drop said gem in the middle of said marsh. Also, can I ask you a question?”

“Aye, speak yer peace mortal. Just don’t take too long, I can feel Jeeves is almost done.”

“Well, since you’re Sheogorath and I’m doing a quest for you, shouldn’t I get a Wabbajack?”

Sheogorath laughed, “Well aren’t you presumptuous! Ah, don’t worry. You’ll get a Wabbajack, and if ya do a good enough job ya can even leave with yer eyes intact! Ah! Here comes Jeeves.” He looked down and to the right of Vash. The same swirl of purple energy announced the arrival of the chamberlain.

Jeeves looked at Vash and held out a long staff that had the faces of screaming ponies along it’s length. A purple gem rested at the top, glowing with power. “Here you go sir, try and not lose it.”

“You don’t have to worry about that Jeeves,” Vash said with a smile. “The only things I’ve lost in my life are my virginity and my mind. And one of those things was a temporary loss.”

Jeeves looked at Vash with no emotion, “I might not understand mortal biology, but that doesn’t seem possible.” After handing the staff over he turned and walked up the stairs of the throne to stand next to Sheogorath once more.

“Aint he a hoot?!” Laughed Sheogorath.

“Hey, someone’s got to play the straight man to ya,” Vash chuckled back. “So, can you point me to the exit so I can begin my epic quest to find and protect Mr. Fluffles!” he called out valiantly, staff held high.

Sheogorath looked at Jeeves, “Where is that marsh? I forget what the mortals call the place.”

Jeeves sighed and looked at Vash, “It’s called Froggy Bottom Bog. It is south of the town the mortal ponies call, ugh, Ponyville. I recommend you ask for directions when you get there.”

“Seriously, Ponyville?” Vash asked with a sigh. “What, did they just run out of horse puns or something?”

“Who knows?! Now you’d best be off now. Would you like a little push out of my realm to speed things along?” Asked Sheogorath sweetly.

“That depends, when you say a little push, do you mean a boot to the head? Or something else that will send me hurtling and screaming to crash to the ground?”

“Of course not!” He exclaimed gleefully.

“Alright, send me to… ugh Ponyville, please.”

Sheogorath chuckled, “Oh I can’t send ya directly to the little mortal village. A little too far from my portal in the mortal realm ya see.”

“Okay, then send me as close to the town as possible, please. And there better not be a monster nest there.” Vash muttered under his breath.

“Don’t worry! It’s just about two hundred feet over the lake!” And with that Sheogorath gathered power in his right hand and swept it in front of him in a shooing motion. A push of power flung Vash through a portal and out into the mortal realm over a large lake.





Vash’s eyes widened as gravity took hold of him and sent him on a direct course with the lake. “Damn you Sheogorath!” Vash cried as he positioned his body like a cliff diver and prayed to whatever deity that would listen that he would survive the fall. In an instant, he breached the water and nearly whooped for joy that he lived. He then made for the nearest shore and pulled himself onto land. He pulled his revolver from his holster and opened the chamber.

“Dammit, I hope this thing works if I need it later,” he growled as he holstered the weapon. “Ok, so where’s that town?” Vash took a quick look around and noticed what looked like a camp. “Nice, let’s hope they’re willing to let me dry my clothes.” With that, Vash made his way over to the camp and made sure to stay out in the open so they wouldn’t think he was an assailant of some kind.

When he got to the gate of the camp a guard shouted, “Halt! Who are you?”

“My name is Vash the Stampede,” Vash called out. “I simply want some directions and a fire to warm up and dry my clothes by. I mean no harm.”

The guard seemed to look him over before nodding, “Very well, proceed through the gate. There is a brazier to the left, you can dry your clothes there.” The guard pointed with his spear. “Don’t try anything funny, we’re on high alert here.”

“You don’t have to worry about me sir,” Vash replied as he snapped a salute. “I would never disrespect someone’s hospitality.” The guard then opened the gate, allowing Vash inside. He followed the instructions and huddled around the brazier gratefully. “Oh yeah, that feels a lot better. I swear, if I had known that I’d wind up in situations like this, I’d have never made that damn token,” he muttered under his breath.

“Hmm? You say something?” A patrolling guard said to Vash.

“Just griping about falling into that lake,” Vash replied with a chuckle. “I feel like an idiot for doing that. Say, since you’ve stopped to talk to me, do you know where I can find Ponyville? That’s where I was heading before I took an unscheduled bath.”

The guard blinked, “Well, Ponyville is a five minute walk that way.” He pointed with a hoof, “Just west of here. And don’t worry, I won’t ask about the lake business.”

“Thanks for the directions. And as for the lake thing. I was looking at a map and wasn’t paying attention to where I was going. Nothing too embarrassing, but stupid nonetheless. Plus, I lost a perfectly good map.” Vash lied. Not wanting to say that a mad god had teleported him.

The talkative guard stared at Vash in silence, before smiling, “Ah, don’t worry about it! Happens to the best of us. Take care now, and try to avoid any mad ponies in the forests.” The guard nodded at Vash and resumed his patrol. Vash let out a sigh of relief and continued to warm himself by the fire. Once he felt he was sufficiently dry enough, he exited the camp and followed the friendly guard’s instructions.

After an uneventful few minutes of walking Vash finally arrived on the outskirts of a small town. Ponyville, if he were to guess. Deciding that he would probably need a map, or at the very least look at one he decided to try and find the nearest place. Vash stopped a random pony, a brown stallion with a black mane.

“Excuse me, do you know where I can find a map?” Vash asked. The stallion pointed to a large tree, it was the town’s library. “Thank you. Here, a bit for your trouble,” Vash said as he fished out a coin from his coin bag and flipped it over to the stallion with a grin.

The stallion looked at it and said, “Wow! A vintage bit from before Nightmare Moon! And in such good condition! Thank you kind sir!” The stallion turned around and ran off, a large grin on his face at his lucky find.

“I think I just made somepony a bit richer,” Vash punned as he snickered at the dumb joke. “Alright, best get to that map. I’ve got an epic quest to complete after all.” Vash walked over to the library and knocked on the door.

“It’s open! Sheesh, it’s a public library!” Yelled a boyish voice. The door to the library opened and revealed a small purple dragon. His eyes widened when he saw Vash, “Whoa, you’re a tall one dude.”

“That’s because I drank a lot of milk and ate all my green vegetables,” Vash joked.

Spike deadpanned, “Riiight. Well come on in I guess. Whatcha lookin’ for?” Spike opened the door wider and motioned for Vash to come in.

“I just need a map of the local area, nothing major,” Vash answered as he entered the library and looked around the room. “Nice place ya got here, but aren’t you a little young to be running a library?”

Spike closed the door and walked over to a shelf, “I don’t run this place, Twilight does. I’m her number one assistant!” Spike said proudly, grabbing a roll of paper. “Well, it’s a little outdated, the new ones haven’t come in yet. But those aren’t updated for Ponyville.” Spike handed the map over to Vash.

Vash scanned the map and asked, “Okay so would this be the general location we’re in since Ponyville isn’t on it.” He showed the map to Spike as he pointed at a spot below the Everfree Forest.

Spike scanned the map then nodded, “Yup! That looks about right! Where do you need to go anyway? I can probably point it out to you.”

“A place called Froggy Bottom Bogg,” Vash answered.

The baby dragon shuddered, “Ugh, why would you want to go there? Well, it should be around here. On the west most side of the Everfree.” Spike pointed a claw at the point on the map. “When the ground gets muddy and hard to walk through… you’ve been to the right place.”

“Good thing I’m wearing my boots,” Vash said with a weak grin. “Thanks for the map, I’ll be seeing you around… uh?”

“Spike.” He held out a clawed hand.

“Vash,” he replied as he accepted the hand and shook it.

“You can keep the map if you want it. We have tons in storage.” Spike said.

“Sorry, I don’t take handouts. Here,” Vash said as he flipped a bit to Spike. “That should cover it. Thanks for the map my scaly friend,” he said as he turned to walk out the door.

Spike looked at the bit and said, “Oh, a vintage bit! Twilight would love this! Thanks Vash!” Spike waved goodbye and slowly closed the door behind Vash. “And good luck in the Bog!”

Vash waved without turning back to the dragon and whistled a tune to himself as he idled his way toward the undoubtedly dangerous bog. Vash looked around the town and chuckled to himself at how quaint it all was. Most of the buildings had thatched roofs. Still, the ponies all looked happy enough and smiled as he walked down the streets.

“Excuse me, but would you like to talk about our Lord and savior Sheogorath?” Vash raised an eyebrow and looked to where he heard the voice. A mint green unicorn was going from house to house, knocking on doors and trying to get ponies to convert and worship Sheogorath. The doors were all slammed in her face however.

‘Huh, they even have things like this in Equestria. I wonder if she has pamphlets like some of them do? Or those little comics we read in Sunday School that one time?’

The mint green unicorn sighed, but put on a determined faced and continued on. Until she saw Vash and stopped in the street. Her eyes widened, then narrowed in suspicion. She rubbed her chin as she scrutinized him.

“Um, hello?” Vash offered with a small wave.

Suddenly she smiled and waved, “Hello! I see you’re doing our Lord’s work! Don’t disappoint him!” She turned around and merrily went back to what she was doing. Her spirits seemed to have been lifted a bit.

‘She was a weird one. But she seemed harmless enough.’ Vash then shrugged and continued down the street. Hoping no one paid attention to what she said about him.

He seemed to strike some luck in this adventure. Not a single pony seemed to have heard the small exchange and Vash couldn’t help a small sigh of relief. His journey through town led him past the town center and over a bridge. He could see the beginning of the Everfree treeline.

“Ah, some things never change,” Vash said with a fond smile. “This treeline is just like the Everfree back home.” He then moved to enter the path into the dark and foreboding forest.

Vash pulled the map out and looked at it as he walked down the path. “The bog is in the west section of the forest, so I guess that is... this way?” Vash turned right on a fork in the path. He pulled the map back down and said, “Hmm, I hope it’s not too far.”

Vash continued down the path and scanned the area to see if he could find the bog. He also kept on guard, he knew how dangerous the forest could be. The last thing he wanted was to be caught unaware by something like a manticore or a group of Timberwolves.

His luck proved to be good once again, the ground started getting more and more wet without a single monster or beast attack. It was not too long later that he had to either start really pulling hard against the mud or try and find paths amongst fallen tree trunks and small islands of dirt.

Vash turned in a circle as he made sure to check if he was right about the area. “Okay, this looks like the place. Oh Mr. Fluffles!” he called out.

Nothing answered his call, Vash slapped his forehead when he realized he forgot something. “Oh, right! The gem!” Vash pulled the staff out and grabbed the gem, trying his hardest to pull it off. “Oh, come on! Get. Un. Stuck!” With one final yank the gem was ripped from its perch and flew off into the marsh.

Almost immediately after it sank the ground seemed to shake. A wave of purple energy shot out in a dome from the point of impact the gem had with the ground. The shaking stopped once the dome dissipated and everything went silent. Way too silent.

“Um, Mr. Fluffles?” Vash asked with a nervous whimper.

There was a shake of the ground. Vash stumbled a bit before regaining his balance, now on full alert. There was another shake, this time a rather large dome of mud rose from the marsh. Vash stared at the spot when another shake finally sent something free from the mud.

A rather large bear claw rose out of the ground, it gripped the marshy floor and pulled the rest of Mr. Fluffles out of the mud. A large undead abomination rose from the depths. It had the body, head, and tail of a fifty foot tall Manticore, the front paws of a dead Ursa Minor, and the back legs of a dragon. It’s eyes glowed purple with energy once it reached its full height.

“Uh… good boy Mr. Fluffles. Do you want to go for a walk?” Vash asked, sweating bullets as he held up the leash.

Mr. Fluffles looked down at Vash, then at ‘The Leash’. It growled loudly and took one giant step forward. The ground shaking just a bit.

‘Oh please don’t let this be the way I die. I’ve still got so much that I want to do.’

“Mr. Fluffles, sit!” Vash boomed, trying to be authoritative as he thrust the leash forward.

Mr. Fluffles roared at Vash, loud enough to send his already spiky hair even spikier. He clearly did not respect Vash’s authority.

“Don’t you sass me Mr. Fluffles!” Vash growled. “I beat down Discord and I won’t hesitate to do the same to you!” He finished, trying to stand his ground.

The large abomination looked down at Vash, its glowing eyes seeming to stare into his soul. It growled once more, then growled again, then it seemed to make some odd noise in its throat, like rocks falling mixed with beastial roars. It put a bear paw over its jaw, it was laughing…

“Oh, you don’t believe me?” Vash asked with a dark chuckle. He then removed a band from around his right arm. “Do you see this? This is a limiter. This keeps me from being too dangerous. If I wanted to, I could destroy an entire city, or punch a hole in the moon. So unless you want to end up a smear on the ground I’d suggest you… RESPECT MY AUTHORITAH!”

Mr. Fluffles raised a nonexistent eyebrow, his glowing eyes seemed to twinkle in a way that reflected rolling, and pointed to the staff, then motioned to Vash before making a small space between his front paws. Vash cautiously stepped toward the space that Mr. Fluffles indicated with the staff outstretched before him.

The beast looked at him oddly, then sighed in exasperation. It drew on the ground, a single word that said ‘madness’, then pointed at Vash, then once again made a small space between his paws. Then laughed once more. Vash moved to the indicated space, pointed the staff at the abomination and said, “Madness.”

Mr. Fluffles sighed, and gave Vash a pitiful look. It pointed at the word once more, made it’s paws stretch outwards as if indicating something large, then pointed at Vash, before bringing its paws closer.

“I really wasn’t expecting to play charades today,” Vash said with a sigh. “Do you want me to point this at myself? Or hold my arms outstretched like I’m Moses trying to part the Red Sea? Just hold up your left paw for the former, and right for the latter. It’s pretty obvious at this point that you can understand me.”

Mr. Fluffles face pawed. It seemed to give up now. He seemed to resign himself and stared down at Vash licking his jaws.

“Hey! None of that Mr. Fluffles! It’s my job to get you to Sheogorath!” He boomed as he drew his revolver and aimed it at the beast’s eyes. “Not to be your snack! Now, let’s just be civil here and maybe the two of us can be friends before this is all over. Or, you can try to eat me. The keyword there being try.”

Mr. Fluffles grinned widely and shook his head yes as he slowly began stepping forward.

Vash paled and pointed the staff at himself, “Madness!” he called out.

Mr. Fluffles rolled his eyes and got even closer. Not even bothering to hide his hunger now. Vash stretched his arms out and thrusted the staff upwards and cried, “Madness!”

Mr. Fluffles stepped particularly hard this time, the ground around Vash shaking. It gave one more lick of its chops and eyed Vash. Vash looked up at the abomination and let out a nervous chuckle.

“Hey look, a distraction!” he called out, pointing behind Mr. Fluffles.

Mr. Fluffles looked behind him. Then roared in anger when it realized his mistake. While Mr. Fluffles was distracted, Vash took off running, screaming like a little girl all the while. The beast let off a booming roar and took off after Vash through the bog. Vash didn’t bother looking behind him, the angry roars and shaking ground was evidence enough that he was being chased. He felt tears stream down his eyes as he pushed himself forward as fast as he possibly could.

“With what is most likely my last breath, I curse Zoidberg!” Vash boomed, then paused for a moment. “And screw you Sheogorath!” Vash could’ve sworn he heard mad cackling, but it was probably his mind playing tricks on him.

Mr. Fluffles charged through the forest, not seeming to care at all for the trees in its path. Vash wondered where he should go to lead this beast somewhere, before he gets too tired. Vash swiveled his head madly and just decided to blindly head through the densest part of the forest, hoping that would slow Mr. Fluffles down at least a little bit.

It worked to an extent, the beast slowed down from ramming so many trees. On the other end of the spectrum however… it also served to make it madder. It roared at Vash when it was forced to smash through a group of trees.

“I hope you get splinters!” Vash called back at the beast. “And if you do catch me, I hope my bullets give you lead poisoning!”

The eyes of Mr. Fluffles glowed eerily bright in the dark forest when it glared back at Vash as an answer to his taunts. Not even bothering to roar when it jumped over a boulder and slammed against a tree. The two continued their chase through the forest, eventually coming up to a path. Vash decided to throw caution to the wind and pulled at whatever dregs of adrenaline he had to make it onto the path.

The second his foot touched the dirt pathway he shifted direction and shot down the path like a bat of out hell. Vash didn’t know what had happened, but didn’t bother to question his bit of fortune as he continued forward. He didn’t know how long that fortune would last though, Mr. Fluffles was nowhere in sight.

Vash gulped and he shifted his eyes around, looking for the beast.

‘I do not like this,’ he thought, slowing down slightly to conserve energy. ‘How can something that big be able to hide?’

He didn’t have to wait long for the ‘kitten’ to reveal himself once more. Glowing eyes and a roar from the edge of the treeline to his right was all the warning he got. Mr. Fluffles smashed through the trees, bear paws outstretched and jaw open.

        “Screw it, Yolo!” Vash shouted as he charged Mr. Fluffles and vaulted off of the beast’s outstretched paws and onto it’s back. Vash ran down the thing’s back and hoped that he would be able to dodge its tail if the thing decided to use it.

Mr. Fluffles was surprised by Vash’s unexpected agility. His tail indeed lashing out in reflex, Vash, thanks to the luck of the gods, barely dodged it’s poisonous stinger. He rolled on the ground upon landing and continued his dash. The beast behind him skidded to a halt, kicking up dirt, and renewed its chase on Vash.

“Oh come on!” Vash cried. “Can’t you go and bother somebody else? Aren’t you bored of chasing me yet?”

He roared and shook his head no.

“And this is why I’ve always been a dog person!” Vash cried as he barreled through the forest.

Mr. Fluffles roared again, taking exception to that. The forest seemed to be getting brighter, the chaser and chasee were getting close to the edge of the forest.

“Yes!” Vash beamed as he attempted to speed up. “Please let there be somepony on the other side that can help me!” Vash boomed, tears of joy streaming down his face.

The two burst out of the forest in a blaze of leaves and dirt. A crying Vash and a roaring beast mixture were suddenly hit by the blinding light of the sun. A picturesque moment, and one hell of a surprise for a yellow, pink maned, pegasus minding her own business.

“Eep! What is going on?!” She softly yelled.

“Help me!” Vash sobbed. “Mr. Fluffles is trying to kill me!”

Fluttershy narrowed her eyes and flew in front of Mr. Fluffles, “Now you listen here mister! You are bigger and stronger than him! You shouldn’t pick on and bully others! That is simply not nice!” She simply flapped in place and glared into Mr. Fluffles’s glowing eyes. The chase was stopped for the moment as the two stared at each other. Vash took that as his chance to fall to the ground catching his breath. His limbs spasmed slightly as he did so.

He watched as the brave pegasus gave the abomination a tongue thrashing of a lifetime. Her glare was a sight to behold as she stood her ground against the mix match of creatures that was Mr. Fluffles. He didn’t get to rest for long though, but he was glad for any at this point. The beast simply placed a paw on the pegasus and gently pushed her away.

She eeped, clearly not expecting that. Mr. Fluffles returned his gaze on Vash, licking his lips.

“Hey Mr Fluffles. You don’t really wanna eat me, do ya?” Vash asked with a nervous chuckle as he stood up slowly. “I mean, look at me, and look at you. Would I even make a good snack for you?”

Mr. Fluffles shook his head no. Still grinning, showing off his sharp teeth.

“Uh, that’s not all, one of my limbs isn’t even real,” Vash continued pulling off a glove and showing his metal arm. “See, you wouldn’t want to get bits and pieces of this stuck in your teeth, would you?”

Mr. Fluffles rolled his nonexistent eyes and mimed ripping off Vash’s arm, and throwing it away.

“Uh… Look, it’s Sheogorath!” Vash yelled, pointing behind Mr. Fluffles.

The beast narrowed his eyes, as if debating whether it was wise or not to potentially ignore its lord and master. Finally it decided that the risk wasn’t worth it and gave a quick over the shoulder. This was all the distraction Vash needed and he took off screaming again.

“Run little pony!” Vash screamed. “Mr. Fluffles is an unstoppable killing machine! All he knows is hatred and death!”

The pony was frozen in fear now, but Mr. Fluffles ignored the easy meal and ran off to continue its chase on Vash. Hatred in its eyes as it roared at Vash. Vash did his best to speed through the town, shouting for others to get out of the way as he went. Vash sobbed as bits and pieces of his life flashed before his eyes.

“Damn you Sheogorath! I swear when this is over I’m going to shove my Angel Arm straight down your cheese-hole!” Vash roared.

It was a good thing the ponies in town were smart enough to get off the street the two were running down. Vash passed by the mint green unicorn from before, she was staring in awe at Mr. Fluffles as the two ran by her.

“Screw you, your god is a lie!” Vash called back to her.

“Would you say that to his face?!” She called back before he didn’t have the chance to hear as she watched the two slowly begin to fade from sight.

‘I’d say there’s about a 50/50 shot of that at this point,’ Vash thought in response as he came to the edge of the town. Vash’s mind rushed as he considered his options. ‘Wait a second, Mr. Fluffles is part cat. If I can trick him into that lake, he may not be able to swim!’ Vash thought as he pushed his tiring limbs well beyond their limits as he dashed towards his faint glimmer of hope.

They finally managed to get out of town and were dashing through the small stretch of land that separated the military base from Ponyville. That stretch of land was barren of any ponies so Vash only had to think about running and nothing else. About a minute of running led him to see the lake ahead, and the island with a three faced portal gate in the middle of it.

‘Oh please let that thing lead to Sheogorath’s place!’ Vash cried in his thoughts as he dove for the lake waters.

Vash quickly swam for all he was worth to the island, he reached its shores and pulled himself on its beach. Gasping for air he looked across the lake and spied Mr. Fluffles standing at the edge of the lake giving Vash the stink eye.

“Yeah, take that Mr. Fluffles!” Vash gloated, flipping off the beast with both hands. “What’s wrong? Kitty doesn’t like a little water?” Vash asked before bursting out in a desperate fit of laughter. “Whoo, yes! I am the man!”

The beast growled, it could still be heard even across the lake. But it stopped its growling and smirked at Vash. Dramatically it turned around and walked away from the edge of the lake, looking over its shoulder it huffed in amusement at Vash. Vash stopped laughing and gulped loudly. “What are you thinking Mr. Fluffles?”

He stopped a good distance away, still smirking at Vash. It slowly turned back around, looked Vash in the eye, and pawed the ground.

“Oh shit, don’t you do it Mr. Fluffles!” Vash cried, waving his hands frantically in front of him.

Mr. Fluffles nodded, pawing the ground once more.

“Don’t you do it!” Vash bellowed, louder this time.

Mr. Fluffles roared and charged down to the lakes edge as fast as it could. Once it reached the edge it leapt for all it was worth, taking itself high into the air on a straight course for the island Vash was standing on.

“Fuck. My. Life!” Vash swore as he backed away closer to the portal.

Mr. Fluffles slammed into the ground in front of Vash. The portal was behind him, and the beast in front. Vash desperately tried to think of a way to deal with this situation. The only thing that came to him was stupid and highly unlikely to work.

“Alright, let’s finish this Mr. Fluffles,” Vash taunted, eyes narrowed at the beast. “Come and get me you dumb animal!”

The beast roared at Vash and leapt at him, successfully taunted. Vash seemed to stand his ground but just when Mr Fluffles’s claws were inches away from him he dove to the ground. Allowing Mr. Fluffles to sail through the air and into the portal. Vash leapt onto his feet and raised his arms to the sky. “Yes!” he cheered. “I get to live another day!” He then turned back to the portal and sighed. “Now I just have to go back to Sheogorath.” He then stepped through the portal and prepared for the worst.

The moment he stepped through he was greeted with the sight of the Fringe. But he didn’t get to enjoy it for long, a paw slammed next to him and a loud growl was heard in his ear. He slowly turned his head and saw Mr. Fluffles directly in his face.

“Mother,” Vash squeaked as he quaked in his boots and prepared for death’s cold embrace.

It never came.

“MR. FLUFFLES!!!! HERE KITTY KITTY KITTY!!!” Boomed a thunderous voice across the realm, shaking the ground. Mr. Fluffles froze, his eyes dimming then just as quickly sparked back to life with a much greater energy in them. He immediately turned in the direction of the gate that could be seen from here and leapt to it.

“Sheogorath, is that you!?” Vash roared.

Vash felt the same push he felt when Sheogorath first pushed him out of his realm. A portal appeared in front of him but he could not see through it, he could do nothing to stop from being sucked in. “Ahhh!” Vash screamed as he felt like he was being stretched.

He fell through the portal and back onto solid ground. Right back where he started, at the base of the staircase of Sheogorath’s throne. None the worse for wear. He heard clapping coming from above him.

“Good show! Good show! I haven’t had this much fun in centuries!” The mad god cackled.

“Well at least one of us had fun,” Vash groaned.

“You bet I did! It’s been so boring here! Sometimes I love to be around mortals, they are endless entertainment! And sometimes I hate them. But it’s all in good fun!” Sheogorath said.

“Why do you keep saying mortals like that?” Vash questioned. “Weren’t you human at one point?”

The mad god eyed Vash, “Aye! I was, but that was millennia ago. I hardly remember anything about it. Just something like Hallogreen as my final memory of it. I’ve come to think of us Daedra as far superior to normal mortals, mostly because we can’t truly die.”

“Don’t you mean Halloween?” Vash asked, starting to feel a bit sorry for Sheogorath.

“Did I? Well it matters not! I’ve grown to my new station now, a mortal mind can not be in the body of a Daedric Prince for long after all.”

“Oh… okay. So, do you know about Displaced yet, or am I the first one you’ve come across?”

Sheogorath rose an eyebrow, “Displaced? Oh, laddie you just piqued my interest. What is that? I hope it’s something interesting, I don’t like gettin’ my hopes up.”

“Well, to put it simply, you, me and countless others got transported to different versions of Equestria. Each of us gaining abilities or having our form changed. I wasn’t always Vash the Stampede. Each of us has a token that we use to call on each other whenever we want. Mine was the bullet that you picked up.”

He shrugged, “Eh, more like it fell into my palm laddie. So, you’re saying there are countless others across this vast multiverse of ours? Just waiting to be picked clean of entertainment!”

“Uhh yeah,” Vash answered hesitantly. “I’m actually good friends with a few of them.”

“Interesting. So, what can I do to get meself a token of my own? I see a marvelous way to relieve my eternal boredom!” He leaned forward, staring at Vash.

“Basically, you just pick an item that represents you, concentrate on it, create a message, and toss it into the Void,” Vash explained.

Sheogorath rubbed his chin, a mad delight shining in his eyes. He got up from his throne and held a hand out, palm up. A flash of purple energy burst from his hand and a staff with three screaming faces on its tip appeared. “I think the Wabbajack is a perfect choice don’t you agree laddie?”

“Whatever you say oh lord of madness,” Vash agreed with a dramatic bow.

Sheogorath concentrated on the staff and said a message, “To those little mortals called Displaced! I am the Prince of Madness! Sheogorath! And I have cheese for everyone!!! Hahahaaa!!! Call my name if you got something entertaining. If not, I’ll rip your heart out and eat it! Tastes divine with a sweetroll!” 

Sheogorath waved the Wabbajack and a rip in the realms of Oblivion appeared, exposing the void for all its worth. He under tossed the staff and it whirled into the portal. Once the portal closed he looked at Vash.

“Ah, your Wabbajack is in the mail laddie. Should be arriving in 3, 2, 1…” A portal opened behind Vash and the staff smacked him upside the head.

“Damn it!” Vash cried as he bent and picked up the Wabbajack. “Why does this always happen to me?!”

Sheogorath cackled, “Aye! I could get used to a sight like that! If you ever get smacked in the head again call me! We’ll do lunch and I’ll watch it happen over and over!”

“I’ll keep that in mind, and the next time you call me, please don’t ask me to retrieve any of your pets.”

“No promises! Now, how do I kick ya out of my realm and back in yours?” He questioned.

“Just say, Vash our contract is complete. And I’ll be out of your hair until I call you or vice versa.”

“Vash, our contract is complete. Do come back now ya hear, we can do the fishstick together. And dine on cheese! Cheese!” Sheogorath said, widening his arms to the side.

A swirling green portal opened up behind Vash and he turned to walk into it. “I’ll keep that in mind. Try to keep yourself entertained until we meet again.”

Sheogorath sat back down in his throne, “Yes, yes. Now get out of here! Unless ya don’t want yer legs?”

“Fine, I’m gone ya chaotic goat!” Vash called out, flipping Sheogorath off as he disappeared into the portal. Sheogorath laughed at his audacity, his mad cackle following him.

The portal closed behind Vash and the room was silent. Sheogorath turned to Jeeves, “See my old friend? Entertainment! Endless entertainment!” He looked forward, leaning forward on his cane. “I wonder what will happen next Jeeves? The mortals in the next realm over doing something fun, or another ‘Displaced’ dropping in?”

“Who know’s sir? I suggest we simply wait and see.” Jeeves said with a slight bow of his head. After saying his piece he remained silent as he did his duties for the mad god.

Sheogorath grinned, “Oh, such fun! Much fun! Now… send in entertainment!” Sheogorath shouted, Jeeves nodding an affirmative and silently walking off.

> It's Gonna Be a Long Day, Isn't It? 
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	I stepped out of the portal and I felt myself slump over. After being chased by an undead abomination  I was understandably tired. Plus, my clothes and revolver were waterlogged again after my little swim. I let out a sigh and looked around me. Luckily, I was in my bedroom so I was able to change out of my clothes quickly. When I was showered and changed I stepped out into the castle. When I looked out the window the morning sun was still low in the sky.

‘Guess a lot of time hasn’t passed since I was summoned. Good, I still haven’t had breakfast.’ With that, my stomach growled loudly and I rushed to the dining room. When I got there, everyone was sitting down and eating breakfast.

“Morning everyone,” I said with a long yawn.

“Hey Vash,” Jason said with a wave, scarfing down some toast, “Where have you been?”

“Nowhere special,” I replied as I sat down next to Celestia. “Just summoned to another universe, dropped 200 feet into a lake and chased by an undead kitty the size of a building. Ya know, the usual stuff.”

“Sounds fun,” he nodded, pausing to take a gulp of his drink.

“Really Jason,” Rarity chided from her cushioned seat. “You have worse tables manners than Twilight!”

“I can’t help it, I’m starving.” he replied, munching on an apple, though he did at least have the courtesy to wipe his mouth.

“You’re right Jason, nearly getting eaten was tons of fun,” I said, my voice dripping with sarcasm.

“Yeah? I’ve done worse.” Jason snorted, fixing a glare on me.

“Whatever,” I sighed. “It’s not like I was trying to turn this into a contest or something. Actually, I’ve got a question for you.”

“What?” he asked, his gaze softening.

“When some people get displaced, can their personalities change due to their costume?”

“From what I know? Yeah.” Jason nodded, looking at me. “Why do you ask?”

“The person that summoned me became Sheogorath. And one of his comments bothered me. A mortal mind can’t live in a daedric body for long. That just got me thinking, that’s all,” I said, resting my head on my arms.

“I’m sorry Vash.” Jason reached over, placing his hand on my shoulder. “But, there’s really nothing we can do to help in that case.”

“I know, kind of wish I could though. I mean, the guy couldn’t even recall how he got to Equestria correctly,” I sighed.

“Damn, seems like he went the way of the hero of Kvatch.”

“I guess,” I nodded. “Oh, by the way, you seem energetic this morning. You haven’t even thrown one piece of cutlery,” I joked with a little snicker.

“Hahaha.” He gave a little glare, socking me in the arm.

“I know you’re technically a viking, but do you always have to use violence as the answer?” I pouted as I rubbed my arm.

“Only for you Vash.” He grinned, turning back to his meal.

“Whee, I feel special.” I joked as I tucked into my meal.

“You should,  don’t normally hit people.”

“I’m guessing you’re getting into technicality here because I know you’ve been in a ton of fights. And I also know that there’s a few aliens in your omnitrix that are brawlers.”

“You’re way overthinking it Vash.” Chrysalis looked up from her meal. “Just relax and learn how to love the bomb.”

“Hey, I know how to relax,” I shot back. “And I happen to enjoy how much I think about things.”

“But does everyone else?”

“I can think of at least three that can at least tolerate it,” I replied with a big grin as I wrapped an arm around Celestia.

“Oh, and how much thought went into thy drinking contest with Jason here?” Celestia asked with a smirk.

“Um, that was a case of me underthinking the situation,” I admitted with a nervous chuckle. “But things worked out well in the end, didn’t they?” I asked with a small smile as I looked her in the eye.

“Perhaps,” Celestia relented with a small titter and a peck on the lips

“She’s just mad you didn’t knock her up first,” Chrysalis pipped up with a smirk.

“Oh, I’m well aware of that,” I said with a weak smile. “She made that abundantly clear when we told her and Luna about the whole thing.”

“Well excuse us for wanting to be the first to carry our lover’s child,” Celestia pouted as she stuck her tongue out at me.

“I already know the feeling.” Chrysalis grinned, glancing at her children, who were quietly playing in a playpen nearby.

“Hmm, well we suppose that Vash will just have to make it up to Luna, Morning and us the next time our estrus season comes around,” Celestia mused with a chuckle.

“We could have some fun before then you know...” Chrysalis looked over at her, a sultry look on her face, slowly dragging her tongue over her fangs.

“We do not know, what pleasure could we get from one who can bend their shape as they see fit,” Celestia joked as she scratched her chin in thought.

“Oh you have no idea...” she grinned deeper, a predatory look filling her eyes.

“Well, we could always bounce a few off each other,” Celestia replied with a wink.

“Shall we...?” she asked, getting up from the table.

“Right now?” Celestia asked a little surprised. “We would have to put a hold on some of our royal duties,” she continued, this time seriously thinking it over.

“Well I’m starving and haven’t had anything decent to eat in at least a day.” Chrysalis grumbled, buzzing her wings.

“In that case we would be glad to help,” Celestia replied as she got up from the table. “We art nothing if not a good host. And a good host never leaves their guest wanting,” she finished with half lidded eyes.

“Oh you are so much better than my Celestia.” Chrysalis purred. “It’s bad enough she decided to court that insufferable king...”

“What can we say,” Celestia shrugged. “Perhaps Vash has been a terrible influence on us.”

“You know, you never did tell us what your problem with Slash is,” Jason spoke, pushing his now empty plate away.

“That's right, I didn’t.” Chrysalis said simply, though I could tell she wasn’t going to say anything else on the topic.

“Me thinks it’s not wise to pry on this topic,” I offered. “Something tells me you won’t want to go down this rabbit hole until she’s ready.”

Zinnia chose that moment to enter, wearing a large fluffy bathrobe and sporting a raging blush that coloured her entire face crimson. “Morning everyone,” she greeted, taking Celestia’s now-empty seat. “D-did I miss anything?”

“I was just talking about a dude that got turned into Sheogorath who had me chased by a 50 foot tall demon kitty. And Tia and Chryssi were about to make the beast with two backs. So, not really.”

She was quiet for a minute, just staring at me as though trying to see if I was lying, before breaking into a mad grin. “Cheese!”

“I didn’t get any cheese,” I said, rubbing the side of my head. “I did get a Wabbajack though.”

“Awesome,” she breathed, staring into space for a minute before frowning, her gaze whipping back to me. “Don’t go turning me into a chicken, though. I wouldn’t mind a Dremora - demons are hot - but not until Rita’s born.”

“I don’t know,” I told her with a sly look. “I happen to like you just the way you are,” I added with a wink. “Plus you know as well as I do that I’d have no control over the Wabbajack’s effects.”

“Meh, guess not,” she shrugged. “Still though, I stand by my statement about demon girls and their hotness.”

“Yeah, but you find a lot of things hot,” I chuckled.

“Meh. Wait ‘till you meet my girlfriend and you’ll see why demons are pretty high on the scale.”

“I wasn’t doubting you. Just stating facts.”

“Oh well.” She shrugged again, turning to the spread on the table and readjusting her robe. “I’m starving, what’s for eats?”

“Whatever you want,” I told her. “Help yourself to whatever’s on the table. And if something you want isn’t here, just ask a staff member.”

“The pickles are good,” Jason commented, leaning back in his seat, cleaning his teeth with a toothpick.

“Pregnant cravings already?” the Draconid asked, shocked. “He’s, what, a week in? I’m almost into my third month by now and I’ve had no cravings at all.” She paused, smirking at me. “Aside from the normal, that is.”

“Oh, speaking of that. How are you feeling? Was Starswirl able to help?”

“Help with what?” Jason asked, sitting up quickly. “Everything ok?”

“Jason, you were there for part of it,” Zinnia deadpanned. “I went into heat, remember? I gave your insides a spitshine.” Sighing, she shook her head and turned to me again. “Yeah, he helped out. It was kind of awkward afterwards though, seeing as I walked in stark naked and started making out with… shit, what was her name!?”

My eyes widened at that. “Wait a minute, you made out with Clover?!” I asked before I started laughing. “So, is she a good kisser?”

Smacking her palm into her forehead, she groaned loudly. “That was it! I knew it was a plant…” She sighed again, looking up. “Yeah, kinda. She was more shocked throughout than participating though, just stood there. I think she was just about getting into it when Starswirl knocked some sense into me.”

“Well, sorry to hear that Starswirl ruined your fun,” I said with a pat on the back. “But I’m glad that you’re back to being functional.”

“You know, I’m really glad jotun don’t go into heat,” Jason commented, leaning back in his chair again.

“Oh, do you go into something else? Like, frost?” I joked with a dopey grin.

“Vash dear...that was rather lacking,” Rarity spoke up, shaking her head.

“Don’t care, even the lame jokes have to be made every now and then,” I replied with a snort.

“I liked it,” Zinnia shrugged, snickering slightly. “But you’re lucky, Jay. That… it messes with your head. I’ll send ya a heads up when my cycle’s coming so you don’t turn into Delta and lose it.”

“One can only imagine what two Draconids in a mating frenzy would be like,” I thought aloud and shivering slightly. 

“Why on earth would I turn into Delta?” he asked, raising his eyebrow.

“Because he’s cool and awesome and part of me?” the Draconid said, frowning playfully. “And you wouldn’t wanna insult me, would you? Or maybe I’ll hold off on letting you know when I go into labour.”

“You wanna be like that huh? Because I can just not let Rita inherit anything from me.” Jason smirked, though his tone was playful.

“You wouldn’t,” she huffed dismissively. “You’re too much of a softy for children, anyway. And it’s not like she’d see anything inherited immediately anyway - Chryssy and Rarity’s kids would be first in line, right?”

“Have we really sunk so low that we’re making baby related threats?” I asked with a playful huff. “Never thought I’d see the day.”

“When we’re in a family that loves kids as much as we do, it’s a given. They’re not serious - at least, I hope they’re not -” she shot a quick glare at Jason. “But they’ll probably be frequent.”

“You make a good point,” I said with a shrug. “Though I don’t know what kinds of threats I could make. Last time I checked, Jason could kick the crap out of me if I tried something funny.”

“So could I,” she said with a smirk. “Unless you’ve got a few Ice infused bullets.”

“Well unless you plan on popping in to ‘visit’ me after Rita’s born, I don’t think we’ll need to make baby related threats to one another.”

“Oh, I plan on visiting.” She smirked, leaning back with a mug of coffee in her hand. “And you’d better visit me, too. If only for a drink and a laugh.”

“I dunno about the drink part. That’s what got Jason and I into our current mess,” I told her with a laugh. 

“I’ll probably have a chaperone or something. Not sure if Whiplash would want me getting too drunk.” She smirked suddenly, winking at me. “Unless of course it’s Umbra, in which case I just have to say one word and she’s in too.”

I shuddered for a moment before responding with, “You just love to tease and torment me, don’t you?”

“‘S’what ah do,” she said with a shrug, putting on a sort-of-southern accent.

“Uh huh, ‘cause that makes my life all kinds of easy,” I said with a roll of my eyes. “So, are you going to put on clothes today, or are you sticking to the robe with what I’m guessing has nothing under it?”

She pouted slightly, glaring at me out of the corner of her eyes. “...I got some panties… And I thought you liked me naked?”

“Oh, I wasn’t knocking your incredible body. I was just wondering because I still have work to do today. And I liked having both of your help the other day. If not, I could always hold back on the changeling village and just make the dragon scale armor.”

She shrugged, shoving some food into her mouth and chewing it before answering. “Sure, I could do some landscaping or something today.” She paused, frowning to herself for a moment before adding “Pretty sure I have an actual outfit…”

“Thank you, and I’ll be sure to do you a favor in return for the help,” I told her with a bright smile.

“Watch your wording, my friend,” she chuckled. “Or you might end up cleaning my boots, if you know what I mean.”

“I think I’ll keep my wording as is,” I chuckled back. 

“Pfft, dragon scale armor,” Jason chuckled, “That stuff is for chumps.”

“Hey,” I huffed indignantly. “I’m making it because I want to see if I can, not because I necessarily want someone to wear it. And even if I did, what’s wrong with dragon scale armor?”

“Because I can get you way better armor,” Jason said, sitting up, “And better materials.”

“Go on,” I said with a wave of my hand. “You have piqued my scientific curiosity.”

He reached into his pocket, pulling out a scale as big as his head, tossing it on the table. “I pried that from the body of the world serpent.”

My eyes widened as I picked up the scale to examine it. “This thing looks amazing!” I beamed gushing over the material. “How strong is this ? Does it have magical properties? Where did you get this? Do you have more?” I asked all those questions, the words running together.

“Yes they’re magical and ya know, it took Thor to kill the thing. As for how I got them, I dived into the deepest part of Midgard’s ocean and pried them off my uncle’s body.”

“Your uncle… is Nidhogg.” I paused lowering the scale. “Paternal or maternal?”

Jason sighed, putting his head in his hands. “No Vash, I am not related to Nidhogg. Nidhogg is not the world serpent. Nidhogg spends all of his time in the void, gnawing on Yggdrasil’s roots. The world serpent, Jormungandr was one of Loki’s children, Hel’s brother, who was killed by Thor during Ragnarok.”

“Sorry ‘bout that,” I said with a chuckle as I rubbed the back of my head. “I told you that I only knew a bit about the norse stories.”

“Well you should, because your kid is part of it.”

“Then I guess you or Hel will have to teach me. ‘Cause it’s not like I can just fire up Google and look it up.”

Jason pulled out a thick tome, tossing it onto the table. “There ya go.”

Zinnia blinked at the tome, smirking slightly. “Heh. And here I am with an actual, interdimensional WiFi password I can give him. And you Jay, if you’ve got anything that could use that.”

“I’m working on that, but things stalled out when I started working on the gateways.” Jason shrugged, closing his eyes. 

I put down the scale and started flipping through the pages of the tome. My eyes started to glaze over from the script. “Ugh, I thought I was done studying things like this after I got my degree. Nope, turns out between magic theory and this, I might be busier than ever,” I moaned as I face-planted into the book.

“You want that password now?” Zinnia tittered. “I know you have a phone. You’ve been taking enough pictures with it.”

“That depends, you got an interdimensional charger to go with it?” I asked, not looking up from the book.

She paused for a moment, eyes wide as she scrambled around in her bag, pulling her iPod out. “Uh… no idea. Hold on, let me try something.” She began tapping away at the screen for a minute before putting it down on the table, screen down. “And now we wait.”

“Wait for what?” I asked, pulling my head up from the book.

“A woman more sexually active than me.”

“You can’t be serious?” I asked, gulping.

“You’ll see.” She smirked, turning to Jason. “And she knows about you. Her reaction in three words? “Ice Giant indeed~””

Before anyone could say any more, a door appeared in the middle of the table, dark and made of a strangely steaming stone. It swung open seconds later and a tall, pink-haired filipina woman stepped out, her voluptuous body covered by a rather skimpy set of armour-like clothing.

“Oh, the Everfree dining room?” she mused to herself, her heeled, knee-length boots clacking on the table as the door swung shut and disappeared. “I’d say… roughly six months after that bothersome Discord’s initial assault on Equestria. Am I right?” She glanced around, noticing everyone gathered before her eyes settled on Zinnia and she smiled graciously. “Ah, Zinnia my dear! How are you?”

Zinnia frowned playfully. “I could be better. Why didn’t you tell me I could go into heat?”

The new woman shrugged. “Thought you’d have more fun if it was a surprise.”

“Fair enough,” the Draconid said, nodding with a smirk. She glanced my way and her smirk grew slightly. “I think you’re giving Vash a heart attack, Patty.”

“Hommina hommina,” I said dumbly, my brain fried due to sensory overload.

“Patty” was quiet for a moment before licking her lips. “This one… he’s Vash the Stampede, right? I think I remember meeting his Displacer one day.”

I snapped out of my trance as soon as she said that and had to fight off a glare. “You did?” I asked. “There should be two. One who took the form of the Merchant from Resident Evil 4 and the other who was this creepy smiling guy.”

“Did the creepy guy have a purple tunic and a large backpack?” Patty asked, sitting cross-legged in the middle of the table. “Because that’d be the guy. Good ol’ Happy.”

“No, it wasn’t the mask salesman,” I said, shaking my head. “I couldn’t really give you a good description of his face other than the smile. He was like the textbook definition of nondescript. Someone that you really wouldn’t be able to pick out of a crowd if it weren’t for the grin.”

“Hmm… I might have seen him around the Void, but…”

“But what?” I asked, trying not to get agitated.

“I can’t remember him. I’m pretty sure I’ve seen him, but I’m not sure.” She shrugged, leaning back on her hands and smirking at me. “But what about you, handsome? What did my girl call me here for?”

“Zinnia, you wanna field this one?” I asked. “I need a moment here to think about some things.”

The Draconid chuckled, smirking at me. “Yes, Vash, she has very large breasts. What was it Patty? Thirty eight something?”

“Triple G, yes,” Patty nodded.

“I wasn’t talking about boobs, as hard as that is to believe.” I replied, looking at the table and continued trying to remember what the smiling guy looked like.

“Fair enough,” both women shrugged before glancing at each other and giggling. “Jynx! Double Jynx! Triple Jynx! Quadruple Jynx! Infinity Jynx!!”

“Can you please just tell her why you called her here?” I asked, starting to show some irritation.

“Sorry Vash,” Zinnia said ashamedly. “Right… Well, I was gonna give Vash your password for the WiFi you gave me -”

“Oh, go ahead!” she tittered. “He looks like a guy that enjoys some soppingwetclits.”

“Actually, I was going to use the internet for research purposes,” I explained, fighting off a blush. “I’ve got three marefriends so… porn isn’t as much of a necessity as it used to be.”

Zinnia rolled her eyes. “That’s the password, Vash. soppingwetclits. No caps.”

“Oh, sorry,” I said with a nervous chuckle. “Can’t believe I couldn’t figure that out.”

“It’s quite alright,” Patty tittered, the movements making her barely covered breasts jiggle slightly. “But I’m sure that’s not all.”

“Yeah… any chance you could give his phone that unlimited charge you gave my iPod?” the Draconid asked sheepishly, chuckling slightly.

“Sure, why not?” Patty shrugged. “I just need the actual phone.”

“Here you go,” I said as I reached into my pants pocket and tossed it to her. “By the way, I think you might like my wallpaper.”

Patty nodded, pushing the button. She gasped and giggled slightly, a faint blush crossing her cheeks. “You’re right, I do like that. That’s… Jason Hughes, if I’m not mistaken, right? Shapeshifted into a woman, of course.”

“Correct, and I accidentally got Jason pregnant.” I explained, scratching my cheek.

“You dog~” Patty chuckled, winking at me. “Congrats on that. That’s… what, the seventh kid he’s had? Eighth?” She shrugged. “Oh well, doesn’t matter. Now for the charge. Get ready for this!” She jumped to her feet, holding my phone up above her and closing her eyes, beginning to hum loudly.

“What is she doing?” I whispered over to Zinnia.

“Being dramatic,” the Draconid sighed, before turning to Patty. “Just get it over with, would ya?”

“Oh fine,” Patty groaned, lowering my phone and pointing to it with a finger gun. A spark of electricity jumped from her fingertip to my phone and seconds later she tossed it back to me. “There ya go, unlimited charge. Enjoy.”

I unlocked the phone and tapped the screen a few times, bringing up an old photo. “Thanks,” I told her with a grateful smile. “I would’ve lost everything in here for a while if you hadn’t done that.”

“No prob hun,” she said, waving dismissively. “Oh, and I added my number to your contacts. Just in case you wanted to have some fun.” She smirked, sniffing at the air for some reason. “...and bring the naga and two alicorns, should be a blast.”

“Naga pony technically,” I corrected with a slight chuckle. “Other than that you were spot on. You’re full of surprises, aren’t you?”

“I’m the whole reason for a lot of her ‘surprises’,” Patty chuckled, jabbing a thumb at Zinnia. “That little toy she has? I gave her that.”

“Yeah, she told me that. Meanwhile the two dickheads that sent me here took my arm and replaced it with one that can rust. Do me a favor? If you do run into my displacers again, send ‘em to this universe so I can punch them in the throat.” I said, holding up my metal arm.

“I can try. It all depends on which Merchant you got - there’s one that’s really a dick who I think is actually dead and one who disguises himself as the Merchant who’s actually kinda nice.”

“Eh, just ask them if they sold someone a .45 caliber revolver for 50 bucks at Otakon recently. There can’t be too many cases of that happening,” I replied with a shrug.

“Hey, Patty?” Zinnia said suddenly with a slight smirk. “You wanna meet Jay? You know, father of my child, soon-to-be mother, ‘Ice Giant Indeed’ Jason?” She paused as the taller woman nodded, then chuckled and pointed to the other side of the table. “He’s right there. Has been the entire time.”

Patty spun around, smirking looking down to Jason and Rarity. “Well hello there~” she cooed, lying down on the table and shooting them both a set of bedroom eyes. This movement caused me to be face to face with a surprise. A full moon early in the morning. I held up my now infinitely charged phone and snapped a picture.

“Magic, ya gotta love it sometimes,” I said to myself with a dumb grin.

The woman glanced over her shoulder, smirking at me. “Enjoying the view there, lover boy?”

“Well, it could be a little better, but it’s a little early in the morning for that sort of thing.”

“Never too early for that!” she laughed, snapping her fingers. The (admittedly minimal) fabric covering her lower half suddenly became see-through. “Zinnia, improve the view further!”

“Yes ma’am!” Zinnia replied with a salute before shrugging her robe off, climbing on top of Patty and pressing her chest into her Displacer’s backside.

“Enough!” Rarity shouted, managing to get to her hooves. “There are foals in the room! If you harlots wish to get on with each other do it somewhere else!” She seethed, breathing rather heavily.

“Plus, ponies and people eat here you two,” I told them. “Think of how unsanitary you two are being on top of inconsiderate.”

“O-oh my...” Rarity winced, placing her hoof on her stomach.

“Please don’t tell me you just went into rage induced labor?” Jason asked, before turning to glare at Patty and Zinnia.

“What, are you serious?!” I asked, jumping to my feet. “How are you feeling, Rarity? Any contractions yet?”

Zinnia and Patty shared a quick, ashamed glance, the Displacer snapping her fingers and covering them both in thick clothes. They climbed off of the table, keeping their distance from the mare but still showing concern.

“Well Vash dear, it hurts, by Faust it hurts!” Rarity whined, her wings buzzing. 

“I’ll go get the midwife or whatever.” Jason got up, rushing out of the room, glaring harder at Zinnia and Patty. Sensing Rarity in pain, the larva paused in their games, looking at her in concern.

“Jason, wait!” Patty cried, snapping her fingers and bringing the Jotun back. She flinched slightly when his glare hardened even further but pressed on anyway. “I am a midwife! I have all the medical training in the Multiverse! I could deliver Cthulhu's child - and have, several times!” She paused, snapping her fingers and bringing a large hospital bed into existence, placing Rarity into it gently. “Don’t worry, she’ll be fine.”

“What do you think Jason, wanna trust her with this?” I asked as I came up to Rarity’s side.

“No, I know exactly who to call.” Jason kneeled down, sketching out a few runes out on the floor with some chalk.

“Jason, are you summoning Norse gods in my dining room?” I asked.

“Yup.” A moment later, the runes glowed, and out of a pool of darkness rose Hel. 

“Well, this is a pleasant surprise, I don’t leave the realms all that often.” The goddess smiled, before her eyes landed on Patty. “And there goes the century. I was so hoping to never see you again.”

“Ah, Hel,” Patty sighed, frowning slightly. “I’ve been dreading the day. How are you, still wasting your time with those skeletons?”

“I take my job seriously.” Hel reached out and with a resounding echo, slapped the Displacer hard, hard enough to make her do a cartwheel. “There, now I feel much better.”

“Hey,” I started, slightly irritated. “I hate to interrupt whatever the hell is eating at the two of you, but… THERE IS A GODDAMMED PONY IN LABOR OVER HERE!” I shouted, hoping to get their undivided attention.

“Vash, there are a trio of changeling foals in the room who sense emotion, the only thing you just did is scare them.” Hel scolded, crossing her arms, looking down at me like a disappointed mother. 

“Look, can you not give me that look,” I said with a sigh. “I’ve seen it enough as is,” I muttered under my breath. “I was just trying to get your attention. Rarity needs help, and Jason trusts you to do it.”

“Alright, alright, hatred of Patty aside, allow me to bring a new life into the world.” she took in a breath. “I’m going to give you a list of things Vash, get them for me.” She took off her robes, revealing a black suit of armor.

“Lay it on me,” I replied with a nod. She gave me the list, checking on Rarity, who was moaning in pain. Patty sighed, climbing to her feet and moving over to me.

“I’ll go with ya, Vash,” she said. “Doesn’t look like I’m welcome anymore and I can’t leave until a whole day’s passed anyway.”

“Okay, and don’t beat yourself up too much. Everyone makes mistakes. Guess that includes immortal beings that exist beyond known time and space,” I told her as we walked.

“More than we’d care to admit,” she sighed, snatching the list from me and scanning it. She nodded after a moment and snapped her fingers, all of the requested items materialising on the table.

“Hey, I’ve got a question for you,” I stated unsure of how to ask it.

“Shoot,” Patty said with a shrug, shoving her hands into her large blue hoodie. “I got nothin’ to hide.”

“I’m guessing that you’ve met a lot of other displacers just based on what you’ve said. And something’s been bugging me ever since I learned I was a Displaced. Why? Why do they do it?”

She seemed to flinch slightly at that, breathing in sharply through her teeth - which I now noticed were rather sharp. “That… is a tricky one. Some of… us, I guess, are just purely sadistic and want to see what happens when X goes to Y as Z.” She sighed, shaking her head. “Personally, I try to only Displace those that need it, to improve their lives. Zinnia, she had no family left, so I sent her somewhere where she could start a new one.” She paused, blushing slightly. “She’s the only one I’ve Displaced myself, though.”

I let out a sigh at that. “And which kind of displacer do you think I got? One who saw me as something akin to a toy? Or someone more like you? Trying to help me?”

She looked at me for a moment before snapping her fingers, a rather plain looking manilla folder appearing in her hands. She flipped through it for a moment before frowning, snapping it closed and throwing it over her shoulder where it burst into pink lightning. “Sadistic,” she answered simply.

“Yeah, I was afraid of that one,” I chuckled as I rubbed the side of my head. “But the joke’s on them. I’ve found a lot to live for here.”

She shot me a saddened glance and sighed. “Maybe, but it’s more when you were sent than where.”

“Even if Nightmare Moon does come around, I won’t let her be locked away for a thousand years.” I told her with a smile. “Besides, this world is supposed to be based off of a cartoon, the power of love has to be able to do something.” She smiled back, chuckling slightly and shaking her head.

“I hate my luck sometimes,” she giggled. “I find all these nice people, men and women alike, and then they’re either taken or won’t live long enough.”

“Well, I’m kinda sort of in an open relationship of a kind. And in a few hundred years, I’ll still look like this,” I told her with a wink as I scooped up the items for Rarity.

“That’s sweet, but maybe later,” she chuckled, shaking her head. “And didn’t you notice? I already poofed up the stuff back there.”

“Um, I was just grabbing some extra, just in case,” I offered with a weak smile, not wanting to admit I was distracted by my train of thought.

She shrugged. “Fair enough, I guess too much could be better to have than not enough.”

“Yeah, gotta think ahead,” I chuckled, not believing that I pulled off that excuse. “So, I’m sensing a story between you and Hel.”

Patty shrugged again, her hands finding themselves in her pockets again. “I dunno, I guess it all started with that interdimensional panty raid with Cthulhu and Happy.” She paused, chuckling ruefully. “I got a little cocky and tried to take the pair Hel was wearing.”

“Hold on,” I said trying to process something. “You’re telling me that Cthulhu, who sits on his throne in R’lyeh dead, dreaming, goes on panty raids?”

She smirked at me. “There’s more than one, Vash. This Cthulhu is - or rather, was - more of a horny teenager. But yeah, he does.” She paused, staring off into space. “Ah~ college.”

“Wait… beings that go on to be displacers have college? What do they teach you, Stalking Young Adults and Children at Conventions 101?”

“There isn’t a Displacer College, Vash,” she said, rolling her eyes. “I hopped around universes going to different colleges, taking all the nursing courses I could.”

“Okay,” I said, still unsure why someone like her would go to college, “so why did you think stealing panties right off of a god was a good idea? Was alcohol involved?”

“No, I was… curious,” she shrugged, shaking her head. “I wanted to know if the Norse Goddess of Death had anything freaky under the belt. You know how those Norse can be sometimes.”

“Ya know, you might have a point,” I said as I thought it over. “Disregarding the simple fact that her father is a shapeshifting trickster. She has siblings that are: a giant serpent, a wolf, and an eight legged horse. Who knows what she’s rockin’ under that armor.”

“Honestly, I wouldn’t care if she was just pure skeleton,” Patty shrugged. “I just wanna know, y’know? But she woke up before I could find out. Things kinda went downhill after that, every time we crossed paths something bad happened between us - she stole my boyfriend, I tripped her on the bus, she borrowed my favourite nail polish and never gave it back, I pawned off her foot, etcetera etcetera.”

“Wait, what was that last one?” I asked, thinking I had misheard her.

“I refuse to sit here and let you lie.” Hel scuffed, stepping out of the shadows. “You want to know why we don’t like each other Vash? She tried to stop Faust from bringing life back to Asgard.”

“Wait, what?” I asked, looking between the two. “And what kind of effects would preventing that have caused?” I asked Hel.

“Gee I don’t know, maybe nothing would be living there now,” Hel looked at him, “You do know that Jason and all of Equestria reside on Asgard right?”

“No, he just mentioned Yggdrasil. Never told me which realm he was in exactly. Okay, so how did she try to prevent life from returning to Asgard?”

“Simple answer - I didn’t!” Patty snapped, openly growling. “I was sitting and having an innocent conversation with my old friend and the topic of ‘why bother’ came up. You merely decided to show up when I was on one of the negatives!”

“Oookay, I don’t know whose side to be on here,” I said as my eyes shot between the two. 

“You tried to murder her!” Hel shouted, narrowing her eyes.

‘Do they even remember that I’m here anymore?’ I thought to myself. ‘Also, how did I find myself in the middle of a conflict between a god and an interdimensional being? Can my life get any crazier?’ I flinched as soon as I thought that. ‘And I think I just jinxed myself.’

“I did not!!” Patty screeched. “By the Void, you take the worst out of everything I do! Just because I happened to be holding a knife when you turned up!” She threw her hands up, eyes wide in what I think was disbelief. “This isn’t freakin’ Undertale, Hel!”

‘Undertale?’ I questioned in my head before my eyes widened as well. ‘Oh yeah, I remember that now. I threw a few bucks into a kickstarter or something for that awhile back. Wait, did that come out after I got sent to Equestria?’ I shook my head and focused on the two in front of me. ‘Now is not the time for tangents, Vash. Just listen to what the two ladies have to say.’

“You were about to stab her in the neck! I’m not stupid!” Hel growled.

“Well apparently you fuckin’ are!” the Displacer screamed, getting into Hel’s face. “I have never once killed a person! And I wouldn’t dare raise a hand to anyone who wasn’t asking for it like you are now!!!”

‘I think it’s time I try to get out of here.’ I thought, silently creeping away from the two. 

“WE don’t have time for this,” Hel growled, taking a calming breath, “We have a baby to deliver.”

“I thought you had that covered?” Patty huffed, taking a few steps back and crossing her arms. “I left you with all the stuff on your damn list. Which I wouldn’t need, by the way.”

“Can we please stop this?” I huffed from behind the two of them. “I get that the two of you don’t like each other, and I don’t know who to believe. But, now is not the time for it. So, would one of you please teleport us to Rarity so we can safely deliver her child?”

Patty sighed, snapping her fingers, and seconds later we were all in the dining room again.

Hel moved over to the whimpering mare, getting everything ready. Chrysalis had taken the larva out of the room to sooth them. I followed after Hel and set the extra things I had gathered next to her.

“How is she?” I asked Jason.

“What do you think?” Jason asked, turning to look at me. Rarity was screaming her head off, blaming Jason for her current situation.

I winced a bit at the noise but still put on a smile. “Sounds like business as usual for this sort of thing. Is she dilating yet?”

“Do I look like I know this stuff?” Jason growled, crossing his arms.

“Well excuuuse me, princess,” I told him with a roll of my eyes. “Hel, can you check on her?”

“Yes, yes, expect the eldritch goddess to do all the work.” Hel gave a roll of her eyes before moving over to Rarity. “Well...it won't be too long now...”

“Ya hear that Rarity?” I offered. “You’re going to see your baby real soon.”

“Just get it out!” She screamed back.

“We’re working on it, just keep breathing and pushing.” This went on for a few more minutes before the wails of a foal filled the air. Hel quickly and carefully cleaned the foal up, wrapping them in one of the towels. “How’s the baby, Hel?” I asked expectantly. “Is it a boy or a girl?”

“Got a healthy set of lungs on him but he’s fine.” She passed the foal over to Rarity, who smiled tiredly, holding the squirming bundle close.

“How are you feeling Rarity? I’m going to guess tired is pretty high up there,” I joked, glad the ordeal was over.

“Keep making jokes and I won't let you see the baby.” she shot back.

“I’ll be good,” I squeaked.

“Well? Come on then, come get a look.” Rarity sat up, with some help from Jason, holding the baby in view.That was an offer I couldn’t refuse. I quickly leaned in and had to fight the urge to pinch the baby’s cheeks. The first thing I noticed were the horns. The kid had two freaking horns. Both were curved back, one being the color of his mane, which was a deep purple, while the other was changeling black.

“I know you told me not to make jokes, but I think you just gave birth to a twonicorn, Rarity.”

“Bicorn.” Hel corrected. “Uni means one, bi means two.”

“Hel, I already knew that,” I just found twonicorn was a lot more fun to say.” I let out a yelp as Rarity dragged me down with her magic, my nose pressed into her muzzle. 

“Do.Not.Mock.My.Son.”

“I wasn’t,” I whined. “How could I ever mock such an adorable tyke?” She snorted, releasing me from her death grip, though was now glaring daggers at me.

“So...” Jason asked, looking down at his newest son, a smile on his face. “What do we name him?”

“Can I make a suggestion?” I chimed in, avoiding Rarity’s gaze.

“Yes?” Rarity asked, her tone just daring me to say something stupid. Granted, that was a fair assessment of most of the things I say.

“Considering his unique feature, maybe we could incorporate something like ‘duo’ or ‘double’ into his name?”I offered.

“I already have a name in mind.” Rarity cleared her throat. “Elusive.” She looked down at the baby, smiling serenely. “My beautiful little Elusive...”

Zinnia snorted from where she had apparently decided to take a seat, quickly covering it up with a cough. “Sorry about that,” she said, barely managing to hold back a smirk.

“Just say it Zi,” Patty chuckled. “Rarity, you just named your son after yourself, but the male version.”

Rarity didn’t seem to care, too busy fussing over Elusive.

“Anyway...that horrible event over with...” Chrysalis shuddered. “Mammals...” She coughed. “Anyway, we were discussing Jason, and Rarity and I both agree it would be best if we went home with the kids.”

“If that’s what you want,” I told her with a quick nod. “But, what about you, Jason?”

“I’m fine with that, it wasn’t a great idea in the first place.” He moved over, pulling the two mares into a hug. “I’ll be back soon ok?” he asked, pulling away. 

“Of course dear and we’ll be waiting for you.” Rarity turned to me. “Do thank the princesses for their hospitality won't you?”

“No problem, and you two and the foals are free to come back any time you want.”

“Patty.” Hel nodded. She raised her hands to the sky, the group vanishing into a pool of darkness. It lingered a little before a strange, rock-dinosaur looking dog jumped through.
> An Uneventful Trip to Griffinstone
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	“Zed!” Jason smiled, kneeling down as the creature moved over to him, giving it a hug.

“So that’s the Anubian you were talking about,” I said with a grin. “Hey girl.” I reached out with my left hand in an attempt to pet her. She looked at me for a moment, sniffing my hand before allowing me to touch her. “Aww, who’s a pretty alien puppy?” I asked with a goofy grin.

She growled, not seeming to like being called a puppy. 

“Yeah, she doesn’t like being compared to dogs.” Jason explained.

“Sorry about that,” I apologized, slowing my petting down. She relaxed, licking my hand a few times. “Hey Zinnia, do you wanna pet the alien?” I asked over my shoulder.

“Depends,” she chuckled. “Does she like me? I have a bad history with… canines and canine-like creatures.”

“Well, calling her a canine is a quick way to annoy her.” Jason shook his head.

“Which is why I added canine-like.”

“Why don’t you try giving her a pet and see what happens?” I offered with a shrug. “Though there was a reason I started with the metal arm,” I muttered under my breath.

“Yeah, that wouldn’t have helped you at all Vash.” Jason just laughed.

“Last time I checked, metal doesn’t bleed,” I deadpanned.

He stared back. “Zed, Buglizard.”

In a red flash, Zed shifted into a car sized creature that looked like a cross between well...a bug and a lizard.

“Was this actually part of the later Ben 10 series?” I asked, paling. “Because if so, that show got weird.”

“Zed is the proud owner of the Nemetrix.” Jason smiled, patting her head. “Which allows her to shift into various predators.”

“Well, that certainly beats ‘roll over’ in the trick department,” I joked.

“Yeah, it does…” Zinnia breathed before grinning, flying up onto Zed’s back. “Can you imagine riding this into battle, Jay!?”

“Already done it.” Jason said. “Where do you think I got that scar?” He asked, running a hand down his chest.

“Considering how many fights you’ve told us that you’ve been in, any number of places,” I answered.

Zinnia chuckled, hopping down from Zed’s back. “To be honest, I thought Rares or Chryssi had a hissy fit and sliced you.”

“Ya know, I’m actually surprised that Morning hasn’t taken a swing at me with a sword after some of my shenanigans,” I mused aloud.

“My evil clone did it...” Jason muttered, leaning against the wall.

“You have an evil clone?” I repeated, trying to wrap my head around that. “How did that happen?”

“Eclipse.”

“But I thought you said that Eclipse was Nightmare reborn that got her own omnitrix. She’s a clone of you too?”

“A female clone.” He clarified.

“I’m going to say something I’ve probably said before, but the life of a Displaced is really confusing,” I said, stating the obvious.

“And infuriating, when the villains turn up,” Zinnia sighed. “As well as depressing.”

“True, but luckily we all found people who can be our anti-depressants,” I said with a weak smile.

She smiled too, pulling me and Jason into a hug. “That we do. And sexy ones too!”

“Yup!” I agreed with a nod. “So Jay, did seeing your wife in labor make you nervous about what’s going to happen to you in a few months?”

“Vash, I’ve died before, I’ve fought the guy who lit nine entire universe on fire.” Jason gave me a flat look. “No, I’m not nervous.”

“Alright, I guess that’s fair,” I admitted. “Wait a minute, how do you light an entire universe on fire? they’re mostly empty space.”

“Norse Gods, Vash,” Zinnia said with a shrug. “Because fuck all your rules.”

“Considering I’ve got a reality warping mish-mash of a creature as a lawn ornament, you think I’d have learned that lesson already.”

“Vash, you need some Madman’s Knowledge.” Jason brushed some hair out of his face. leaning on a wall.

“Madman’s Knowledge?” I asked. “Is that supposed to be a metaphor or something?”

“You didn’t play Bloodborne did you?”

“No, I didn’t have a PS4, or an Xbox One. Was kind of waiting for the price to go down.”

“You should have bought it, Bloodborne was amazing.”

“Dude, I was a grad student living in an apartment by myself at the time. There were days that instant ramen was too expensive for me.”

“That sucks,” Zinnia deadpanned. “Almost as much as living on Nutrient Paste in a mental asylum.”

“Zinnia, I wasn’t trying to turn this into a contest of who’s life was worse,” I replied flatly. “But, you’d probably win it with that unless Jay here can pull something out that can top it.”

“Not really.” Jason shook his head. “Besides being unable to shapeshift for a few months...”

“Yeah, not gonna touch on why you’re unable to shapeshift,” I said with a chuckle. “So, now that Rarity and Chrysalis are gone with the kids, what’s the plan?”

“I need a drink…” Zinnia groaned, glancing to Patty. “You?”

“I could go for an Atomic Vodka, sure.”

“Zinnia, you’re not talking about alcohol when you say you need a drink, are you?” I asked, arms crossed over my chest.

“I’ve already been pissed off my tits, Vash,” the Draconid said dismissively. “The Norse practically live off the stuff, and none of it reaches my womb anyway - I checked.”

“I’m not touching the stuff.” Jason shook his head. “Out of principle.”

“Yeah, I’m gonna avoid drinking too. Considering what happened the last time I got drunk, I don’t wanna see what’ll happen this time.”

“Heh, don’t wanna get another girl pregnant, eh Vash?” Zinnia teased.

“Exactly, or I could end up doing something even dumber. I’m pretty open to suggestion when I’m drunk, so I’d hate to think what you and Patty could convince me to do. One time my roommate convinced me to  sing a Katy Perry song while wearing a tutu in a Church of Latter Day Saints. I ended up on Youtube the next day.”

“So again, now what?” Jason asked, crossing his arms.

“I dunno, there’s gotta be something that a shapeshifter stuck in female form, a dragon lady, a gunslinger, and a being that exists in the Void can get into at this time of day.” I mused, scratching my chin.

Patty opened her mouth only for Zinnia to cover it. “Not now Patty,” the Draconid said simply.

“I dunno, you guys could come with me and collect some scans.” Jason shrugged, starting to move to the exit.

“Hey, that could be interesting. You might be able to get a griffin scan. Considering ponies in my world were different enough to warrant one, griffins should be too, right?”

“Your whole world is anthro Vash, so yes, the DNA is different enough to warrant scanning.”

“Well then, how about you teleport us to Griffinstone?” I suggested. “The place is supposed to be nice and they’ve got good baked goods.”

“And you could try scanning me,” Patty suggested. “I can’t help but wonder what you’d look like.”

“What the hell even are you?” Jason asked, raising his eyebrow.

“Vampire Succubus with a bit of Witch thrown in somewhere,” she shrugged. “Go ahead, try it.”

“Nope. That's way too much for me.” Jason just shook his head, moving out of the castle, Zed trotting after him.

“Wait, is Witch actually a different species?” I asked. 

“In some worlds,” Patty shrugged. “In others it’s a profession. My world was kinda like Harry Potter in the sense that Magic is in the bloodline, and those with it are Witches and Wizards, a separate species.”

“You aren’t originally from the Void?”

“Nah, my dad was,” the woman explained, shrugging. “I was born on a world called Aktechameplatek.”

“Uh, bless you?” I joked.

“Multiverse, dearie, you’re bound to get some weird names.”

“You guys coming?” Jason called back.

“Yeah, we’ll be right there!” I returned, jogging to catch up to Jason.

“What were you guys going back there?” He asked, looking a bit impatient. 

“I was asking Patty about her origins,” I said with a shrug. “She might be the only Void dweller that I ever get to talk to so I was curious. So, what was up with you not wanting to scan her? You’ve got a scan of Discord, not to mention Alien X is a pain to use, so how was Patty too much?”

“I have my reasons Vash, let’s just leave it at that...”

“Alright, I’ll respect your privacy. Oh, speaking of your scans, do you still have Ghostfreak?”

“Uh yeah, I never didn’t have him.”

“I was just wondering because you said elements from our IPs would show up. And considering what happened with Ghostfreak in Ben 10, I was curious.”

“No Vash, that will never happen to me. Plus, I’m not the one who caused all that stuff to show up it was Driba and Blukic.”

“Alright, so are you planning on teleporting us to Griffonstone anytime soon?” I asked with a chuckle.

“I’m waiting for Zinnia and Patty.” 

“Fair enough,” I shrugged.

At that moment, Zinnia flew up, Patty right behind her. “Sorry about that,” Zinnia apologised. “I was asking what the beef was with Hel.”

Jason nodded before teleporting them to the outskirts of Griffonstone. He sighed, leaning on me, looking a little tired.

“Woah, you need a sec Jay?” Zinnia asked worriedly, eyes wide.

“I’m just tired...I really overdid it with the kaio ken thing and the dragon....”

“And you didn’t bother telling us this, why?” I asked.

“I didn’t think it would be an issue...” Jason pulled away, shaking his head. “I’m fine...”

“Uh huh,” I said, thoroughly unconvinced. “Just to be safe we’re going to get back to the castle without the help of the Jason Express.”

“I can cover that,” Patty said. “I’ll just open up a Void Door.”

“See, we got you covered. Now, let’s find you a griffin to scan.” I beamed, patting Jason on the  back.	.

“I told you I’m fine...” He grumbled, crossing his arms.

“Don’t care, I’m not going to let anything happen to you or the baby,” I replied, crossing my arms as well. “Even if I have to be an overprotective dick to do it.”

“I will punch you Vash. Hard. In the face.”

“You’re not going to avoid this by intimidating me, Jason.”

“I could actually do it.”

“And what would that accomplish in the end?”

“A court case for domestic abuse at best,” Zinnia chimed, chuckling. “And Vash’s funeral at worst. Please don’t do it Jay.”

Jason grumbled, looking away. Zed seemed to snicker watching a rabbit dart by.

“Hmm…” Patty hummed, before snapping her fingers, a cushioned wheelchair appearing before them. She snapped her fingers again and Jason found himself in the chair as the Void Dweller began pushing him. “Come along now! Much to do!”

“Ha!” I laughed, following after Patty. “I’m beginning to think that you and I are going to get along pretty well, Patty.”

“I knew you would!” Zinnia laughed. Jason growled, his eyes taking on a golden glow. He threw his hand out, sending Patty flying back. 

“Bitch!” she cried, landing face-first in the mud.

“Do not patronize me.” He hissed, frost starting to form over the wheelchair.

“Did you really have to react like that?” I asked with a sigh. “We were all just having a bit of fun.”

Jason didn’t reply, just slumping down in the chair, out cold.

“Oh, would you look at that. You overexerted yourself,” I deadpanned at the unconscious Jotun. “Now you really do need the chair,” I finished, pushing the chair.

Jason lifted his head up, shaking it a few times. “Testing, testing is this thing on?” he asked, touching his throat. “Oh good, the voice is working, score one for the Hodge!”

“Hmm Hmge!” Patty called, her voice muffled by the dirt before she pushed herself up, spitting it out. “Hi Hodgey!”

“Who are you?” He asked, turning to look at Patty. “Besides needing a bath.”

“Oh, right…” Patty muttered in response, snapping her fingers and making the dirt remove itself from her body. “Time travel stuff. Dammit…”

“Hodgepodge? What are you doing in control of Jay’s body?” I asked, genuinely confused.

“Well someone had to.” He smiled. “As you might expect, our current situation did not go over well with some of us.  Orm in particular wants to eat you. With Jay as exhausted as he was, Orm was able to come out for a bit. Didn’t expect him to tap into Odin’s power. Jay is... well, I put him down in our subconscious for the time being to get some sleep.”

“Uh, what was that about someone wanting to eat me?” I asked with a nervous chuckle.

“Orm. He’s the voice of our bloodlust. He wants to eat you.”

“That… I have no idea how to respond to that. No one has ever threatened to eat me before.”

“But you’ve been swallowed~” Zinnia sang with a smirk.

“Anyway, I just thought I’d pop out to let you know what was up.” Hodge smiled again. “And Zinnia, do be a good girl and don’t molest Jay in his sleep.”

“Don’t worry Hodge, I’ll keep an eye on her,” I told him with a chuckle.

“Can I molest you while you’re awake?” the Draconid asked, leaning over Hodge.

“Well that is a question isn’t it...?” Hodge asked, tapping his chin. “I mean technically Jay is the only one of us who isn’t a virgin...”

“Hodge, please do not go down this road while I’m the one pushing the wheelchair.”

“What, you wanna take it?” Patty teased, draping an arm over my shoulders. “Oh Vash, you devil~”

“Ya know, considering I was just told that one of Jay’s personalities wants to eat me. My mind isn’t really drifting towards more carnal matters.”

“Am I even interested in sex?” Hodge asked, looking deep in thought. “Maybe I’m not...”

“Trust me,” Patty said, laying a hand on his shoulder. “You are. Or… will be.”

“Eh, maybe, maybe not.” Hodge shrugged. “I could be like Floyd.”

“Who’s Floyd?” I asked. “Is that another Displaced? Or one of Jay’s personalities?”

“Oh no, he’s Jason’s cousin. Megan’s brother’s son,” Hodge explained, “If I recall, he’s asexual.”

“Eh, to each their own,” I shrugged. “Anyway, it’s nice to hear from you again, Hodge. Did you get into any trouble since the last time we met?”

“Not really. Though there was that time I changed a city of unicorns and earth ponies into bicorns and taltzponies.” 

“Wait, you combined ponies and tatzlwurms? What kind of Lovecraftian nightmare did that end up looking like?”

“Like a normal pony...whose jaw splits in half...and has tentacles...and tends to swallow things they like as a show of affection...”

“That last part sounds a bit like Zinnia,” I joked, looking over to the Draconid.

“Hey, you love it!” she shouted back, smirking. “But yeah, I agree. Lovecraftian nightmare and all that.”

“Hmm… sorry in advance Zi,” Patty muttered sadly, just quiet enough for Zinnia to not hear.

“Though, I’m not sure if you can molest me while I’m awake, I’m not exactly myself...” Hodge commented, gesturing to himself. 

“Well, were you ever really all there, Hodge?” I joked.

“Keep that up and it’ll be R63 for you Mr.Stampede.”

“Well, I know Zinnia wouldn’t mind seeing me get in touch with my feminine side. But you might have to deal with a magical double rainbow to the face when Celestia and Luna find out,” I shrugged.

“I doubt they would hurt an expecting mother. Especially after they hear the horrible tale of how you tried to force yourself on me! For shame!!!” Hodge pointed dramatically.

“As if they would believe that story,” I replied with a roll of my eyes.

“They would if we all told them,” Zinnia chuckled. “Now Hodge, make with the Vash titties! And put him in a bikini while you’re at it!”

“Done!” Hodge smiled, snapping his fingers. A flash of light surrounded me for a moment, and when it subsided I was left feeling… different.

“Hodge, if you actually…” I clammed up before I could finish my sentence. The sound of my own voice surprising me.

“Hmm...I think those are a solid DDD.” Hodge reached up, poking one of the mounds on my chest.

“Ahhn!” I blurted out, blushing and covering up my own chest. Apparently I was surprisingly sensitive. I further examined myself and my mind was fried into crispy bacon by what I saw. Hodge was right about my chest, it had really ballooned out due to his spur of the moment transformation. And I was in fact wearing a bikini much to my dismay. A tight red one that seemed to match the color of my duster. He had removed my gloves leaving both of my arms exposed. Though Hodge had changed my metal arm to look a bit more feminine. My hair had really grown out as well, probably at my mid-back if I had to guess.

“Yay, squishy!” Zinnia cried, tackling me and pressing her face into my chest. “Mmm, you’re soft!”

“Get off me!” I boomed. “Hodge, change me back! I don’t want to be Valerie the Stampede!”

“Well, too damn bad!” Hodge just smirked. “Hey, look at it this way, you can’t knock anyone else up!”

“And imagine what Celly Lulu and Morning will say!” Zinnia cried, smiling for a second before gasping loudly. “Oh my Arceus! I’m gonna tie you up and give them cocks!”

“Please don’t! Patty, you’ve gotta help me out here!” I called out, reaching towards the Void dweller.

“I dunno~” she cooed, smirking at me. “I kinda like where this is going. I might just bring Morning here now, that tail could be useful in keeping you quiet~”

“He’s just jealous Jay has bigger meat bags.” Hodge piled on, a wicked grin on his face.

“I am not!” I screeched, my entire face overtaken by a blush. “Hodge, if you’re not going to give me back the proper genitals, can I at least get a pair of pants?” I pleaded.

“I got that covered,” Zinnia said with a smirk, reaching into her bag and pulling out some clothes. She then winked at Patty, and seconds later I felt myself being lifted up before she slipped the clothes up my legs.

“Hot pants…” I groaned.

“You should have given him yoga tights.” Hodge commented, looking bored already.

“Can we just get into Griffinstone already?” I huffed, getting myself straightened out. “I’m thinking about drowning my sorrows in pastries.” I grumbled. “One shall be dedicated to my fallen comrades, Mr. Johnson and the Juice Crew.”

“You can borrow my toy if you like~” Zinnia sang, rubbing her shoulder against mine.

“And I can bring the tentacles~!” Hodge snapped his fingers, a tentacle growing out of the ground, slapping my ass.

“No!” I screamed. “No tentacles!” I then reached to my side in an attempt to grab my gun, but only came up grasping empty air. “Hodge, where’s my gun?” I asked calmly, trying to avoid popping a blood vessel. He smirked, twirling it around a finger.

“Good work, my adoptive brotha!” Zinnia cried. I grumbled for a second before blushing, feeling a hand sliding under my hot pants and bikini bottoms.

“Hmm, firm~” Patty breathed in my ear, groping my ass.

“If I still I had my gun you would all be getting an Angel Arm straight up the ass,” I griped, resigning myself to my fate.

“Love you too Valerie!” Hodge said from behind me, reaching around and giving my chest a squeeze.

‘Why is this my life?’ I thought with a look of utter despair. ‘I should’ve just never picked up that revolver.’

“You should give the woman’s side a try, Val~” Zinnia cooed, hugging my arm. “We won’t stick anything in if you don’t want, but it feels good~”

“I have to say, I love how we’ve completely derailed Vash’s story.” Hodge giggled. “The readers must be so pissed.”

“I dunno about them, but I’m certainly tired of being the butt of the universe’s jokes,” I said, trying to worm my way out of everyone’s grip.

“But your butt’s so nice!” Patty argued, giving my ass another squeeze.

“It was nice before!” I shouted indignantly. “And it was attached to a body that I had grown quite fond of!”

“You know...I wonder if plants go into heat...?” Hodge inquired, looking away in thought. 

“I don’t know, and I don’t want to stay like this long enough to find out,” I growled. “Now, can we please go to Griffonstone already? I’m sick of being groped.” I then stomped off towards the griffin village.

“No, Sexy, come back!” Zinnia and Patty called after me, simultaneously falling to their knees and taking up begging stances.

“Normally I’d say eat me, but in this case you’d take it the wrong way!” I called back, flipping them off.

“Huh?” Jason asked, blinking a few times. “I miss something?” he asked, looking down at Zinnia and Patty. He stifled a yawn, obviously still tired. 

“Hodge is a legend, that’s what!” Zinnia answered, a huge smile on her face. “Look at Vash! Or Val! Whatever!”

Jason just yawned again, sitting back down in the wheelchair. “I’m too tired to care...”

“You should care!” I shouted. “Get Hodge back out here and change me back to normal.”

“Val, I can do it later, leave Jason be,” Patty chuckled. “I promise I won’t leave you like this, but you’re staying that way for today.”

Jason snored softly, having passed out again. He looked rather peacefully, hair falling down into his face.

“Thank you Patty,” I said softly, not wanting to wake Jason up. “Normally I’m up for trying new things, but changing genders was one of those things that never really crossed my mind.” Zed just sat next to her master, as if to stand guard.

“One rule though,” the Void Dweller continued, smirking.

“I know I’m going to regret listening to this, but if it gets me the boys back then I’m listening.”

“You try sex as a girl once,” she said, suddenly serious. “Just once. Do that, and I’ll change you back.” Pausing, she then added, “Either lesbian or straight, that’s your choice, but just be the chick in the bedroom once.”

Even though I knew this was where she was going, I still blushed heavily and was at a loss for words. “Just once, and then I’ll be me again?” I finally managed to get out, just above a whisper.

“Yes. Void’s Honour.” As soon as the words left Patty’s lips, her eyes glowed bright pink for all of three seconds.

“Fine,” I huffed, arms crossed under my chest. “It’s not like I’ve got much of a choice. You’ve literally got me by the balls here.”

“Thanks Val!” Zinnia cried, hugging me from behind, her arms brushing the underside of my new chest bags.

“I never said that it’d be with you, Zi,” I said with a smirk. “I might just grab a couple griffins here and see what they’re like in the sack,” I finished, walking away with a bit of an exaggerated sway to my step.

“Bitch!” Zinnia shouted after me, and I chuckled as I heard her hurrying to catch up. “I’ll tell the others!”

“And tell them what? That you’re the one who caused their lover to be unable to give them a child?” I shot back.

“I can give you the baby making toy, dumbass,” she replied, smirking. “You’ll just have to be careful they don’t put one in you.”

“Relax Zinnia, I wasn’t being serious about the griffin thing. I really, don’t want to have any foreign objects thrust into me.”

“That’s a joke on two levels!” Patty laughed, walking up on my other side with Jason’s wheelchair in front of us.

“Thank you, Patty,” I said with a bit of a chuckle. “Where would we be if you weren’t here to explain our jokes?”

“Stuck as a woman.”

“You make an excellent point,” I replied with a nervous gulp. “Anyway, let’s get into town, get Jason a scan, eat their famous pastries and leave.”

“I want pie~” Zinnia cooed, leaning against me.

“None of that until we’re back at the castle,” I told her, patting her on the head. “I was serious about dedicating a pastry to my lost manhood.” Zed snorted, her stomach growling. 

“It’s not lost, silly,” Patty chuckled. “Just… stored away for later.”

“Fine, maybe I’ll just see if the griffins have invented donuts yet,” I said, starting to drool. “Here’s hoping they have, I could use a few after the day I’ve had.”

Snapping her fingers, Patty held out a tray of Krispy Kreme donuts. “Enjoy.”

I snatched the tray out of Patty’s hands and with tears of pure, unadulterated joy streaming down my eyes told her, “I think I love you.” I then picked up a donut and started munching away happily.

“Does that mean I’m invited to your one attempt later?” she asked with a smirk.

I slowed down my attempt to enter a sugar coma and chuckled nervously a bit. “Why not? I already know Zinnia is going to bring Tia, Lulu and Morning into this. What could one more hurt?”

“Famous last words have never been sexier~” Zinnia tittered.

“Let’s just see what Griffonstone is like,” I said with a sigh, not wanting to think about later. We all finally managed to enter the town and instantly noticed something. The town was a bit… rougher than I was led to believe. The buildings were in okay condition, but the griffins roaming around the street were another story. There were panhandlers everywhere and most of the citizens seemed to have a sneer permanently etched onto their faces.

Zed growled, as if daring any of them to get too close.

“Wow, I was really not expecting the place to be like this,” I thought aloud.

“I have an amazing idea…” Zinnia breathed.

“If you say orgy in the street,” I warned her.

“Not for you maybe,” she shrugged before grinning, reaching over and grabbing Patty before throwing her forward. “WHOEVER GETS THAT GIRL NAKED FIRST WINS A BAG OF BITS!!!!”

“I am so glad that she didn’t grab me for that,” I muttered under my breath.

Almost instantly, the street fell into chaos, Patty looking back at us just long enough to smirk before being consumed by the mob.

“The thought occurs to me, why didn’t she just teleport to avoid the mob?” I pointed out.

“She likes the attention,” Zinnia shrugged.

“Thanks by the way for not thrusting me into that mess.”

“Hey, if anyone’s getting a taste of that pie, it’s me,” she replied, smirking at me. “No use in ruining your mood for later, eh? Who knows, we may even get Jason in on it.”

“Oh like you wouldn’t have had fun trying to think of a way to put me in a good mood again,” I chuckled.

“Eh, true. I could walk around naked, for one.”

“I dunno, I’m partial to naughty maids,” I chimed.

“That can be arranged~”

“Nice,” I replied with a dopey smile before turning back toward the crowd. “Should we go in and get Patty out of there? I’m pretty sure I’m the only one of us with bits from this century, and those probably disappeared with the rest of my clothes.”

“You forget we have a Chaos avatar and a Void being with us,” Zinnia chuckled. “And she can get herself out when she wants t-”

“ENOUGH!!!”

“Told ya.”

“Whoa, was not expecting her to react like that,” I said, quaking slightly.

“It’s only her version of the Royal Canterlot Voice,” the Draconid shrugged, crossing her arms. A second later we heard a quiet pop behind us. “Hey Patty.”

“You owe me so much,” Patty said simply, her clothes in tattered shreds and her most intimate parts exposed.

‘Really wish I still had my phone,’ I thought. 

“So, now that you’re back Patty, wanna walk around the village and find out if the pastries were an exaggerated rumor too?”

She shrugged. “Sure, why not. You want your phone back?”

“Does Japan have vending machines for everything?” I asked.

“What does Japan have to do with it?”

“I was trying to make a witty remark, and I was smacked on the ass with a tentacle earlier.”

“Eh, true,” Patty shrugged, pulling my phone from her bust. “Here ya go.”

“Thank you,” I said trying to put the phone in my pocket. Only for part of it to stick out of the hot pants. “Stupid girl pants and their half pockets,” I grumbled.

“Give it here,” Zinnia said, rolling her eyes and taking my phone. She plunged her hand into my cleavage before pulling back, leaving the phone there. “Perfectly safe. Never underestimate a big pair of tits in a tight bikini.”

“This feels weird,” I mumbled, shifting my shoulders around. “But I guess this’ll have to do.”

“It’s either that or down your pants,” Patty said, smirking. “And I can call you on vibrate~”

“I’d rather not mess up my phone, and my pants in public,” I replied with a blush. “Now, let’s go and do what we came here for before you two can find another excuse to grope me.”

“We need an excuse?” both girls asked simultaneously before grabbing one of my breasts each and giving them a hearty squeeze.

“Walked right into that one,” I groaned and walked away, covering my chest in a vain attempt to protect it.

“Aww, sorry Val~” Patty sang, pushing Jason along again. “We can make it up to you. I happened to overhear your little preference~”

“You’re not going to make it up to me by dressing up as a naughty maid,” I grumbled, looking around for a good candidate for Jason to scan.

“Well it’s better than staying in these,” she huffed, gesturing to her shredded clothes.

“Then why don’t you use your magic and fix your outfit?” I asked. “You didn’t have any problem making it see-through this morning.”

“That’s what I’m trying to do!” she yelled. “But I’m trying to cheer you up at the same time! Sorry for trying to be a good friend!”

“I’m sorry, didn’t mean to offend you. Also, nice to see that the curtains match the drapes,” I called back.

“Of course they do, I’m a natural Pink,” she preened, tossing her hair. “But seriously, tell me what you want. Fuck sake, I’ll go naked if you say so!”

“For now, I just need your help finding the best griffin for Jason to scan. Think your magic can help with that? Otherwise we could have Zinnia go nuts and find the toughest griffin the old fashioned way.”

Rolling her eyes, Patty smirked. “You have no idea how the Omnitrix works. All it needs is a sample and it’s make the best form out of that for Jason.” Smirking, she snapped her fingers, a voluptuous and naked female Griffin appeared before us, her feathers soaked. Obviously taken from her shower or something… “But if you insist, here. The toughest and sexiest griffin in Griffonstone.”

“Just hold Jason’s wrist up to her and send her back. I don’t want to deal with a pissed griffin,” I sighed, facepalming.

“She’s in heat.”

“I don’t want to have to deal with a horny griffin either,” I deadpanned. “Lord only knows what that beak would do.”

“Fine,” Patty huffed. Holding the Omnitrix up to the Griffin, she waited for the yellow beam to shoot out before striding up to her. “I’ll be back for you later~” she cooed, tweaking the griffin’s nipple, and a second later she snapped her fingers and sent her back to her home.

“There we go, that takes care of that,” I said with a smile. “Was the nipple thing really necessary by the way?”

With the most serious expression I’d ever seen on her face, Patty simply said “Yes.” Jason mumbled a bit, his head lolling to the side. 

“I think Jason’s waking up,” I said. “Either that or he talks in his sleep.”

“I don’t talk in my sleep...” Jason yawned, stretching his arms out.

“Well good morning to you, sleepyhead,” I cooed. “We managed to get you a griffin scan during your nap.”

“She was sexy,” Zinnia provided. “But Val said no, so we sent her home.”

“Yeah, I’m glad you’re awake, Jay. I’ve had to be the voice of reason, it’s been terrifying.”

“Bleh...” Jason reached into his pocket, pulling out a strange fruit with a question mark on it. He took a few bites, perking up.

“Was that an Enigma Berry?” Zinnia asked, raising a brow questioningly.

“Yes...yes it was.” he nodded wiping his mouth off.

“How and why did you have an Enigma Berry in your pocket?” I asked.

“I can answer that!” Patty chimed, smiling happily. “Medulla!”

“That only raised further questions,” I deadpanned.

Jason tossed away the core, getting out of the wheelchair, stretching out. “Welp, I feel better!”

“Glad to hear that,” I said with a smile. “Next time tell us about things like this, alright?”

“Eh, maybe.” he shrugged, looking around. “And they’re staring at us..”

“I wonder why?” I asked with a roll of my eyes. “Maybe it has something to do with Zed being an alien. Or the fact that we had a floating naked chick in the middle of town like a second ago.”

“And I’m still mostly naked,” Patty added. “You know what? Fuck it. I’m naked.” With a snap of her fingers, Patty’s tattered clothes disappeared, leaving her stark naked in the street.

“And this might further explain the odd looks we’re getting,” I sighed, waving a hand over to Patty.

“I see...” Jason stared at her for a moment. “Alright food!” he smiled, clapping his hands.

“Huh, alright,” I sighed. “I’m sure we’ll be able to find something to eat around here. Actually, griffins eat meat,” I started, coming to a realization. “I might be able to finally get a decent piece of steak here!” I cheered.

“I think I saw a restaurant back that way,” Zinnia said, pointing behind her.

“Good! Lead the way!” Jason commanded.

Zinnia shrugged, turning and striding back the way we’d come. “This way then.”

Jason, Patty and I eagerly followed after her, Jason excited about food in general and I was excited about the prospect of satisfying a craving I’d had for months. After a few minutes of walking we made it to a building with a dilapidated sign that read, “The Silver Quill Tavern.” Zinnia led us inside and the place had a few griffins milling about. The inside was clean enough, though nothing about it stood out. It seemed like your stereotypical medieval tavern. We all piled into a table at a corner of the room and looked around the tavern.

“This place looks like somewhere you’d get a fetch-quest in an rpg,” I mused aloud.

“Don’t tempt fate, Val,” Patty quipped.

“You make a good point,” I said with a chuckle. “Though if this were your standard rpg, some villager would come in shouting, “The bandits are coming!” Or something like that,” I shrugged.

“The bandits are coming!”

“God dammit Val…” Zinnia groaned.

“Yeah, next time I start saying something, feel free to punch me in the stomach,” I sighed. Mere seconds later, I crumpled over, Patty’s fist implanted in my stomach.

“Why wait?” she quipped, shaking her hand as she stood up. “Consider that a preemptive strike.”`

“Hope you weren’t planning on having kids Vash.” Jason snickered, moving out of the tavern.

I picked myself off the floor and shot back, “No, I’ll leave the genderbent impregnation to you. Now, give me back my gun.”

“Maybe I’ll give you a bun in your oven anyway,” Patty mused, patting my shoulder as she walked out. “Might be interesting to have a kid.”

By the time we got outside, Jason was already moving through the bandits, some of which had been frozen, torn in half or sliced a part. 

“Well, I don’t think Jay needs any help here,” I said.

“Maybe not,” Patty shrugged, handing me my duster and gun. “But it’ll be fun~”

“True, can’t let the skills get rusty,” I returned with a smile as I put the duster on. I left it open, figuring I’d give Patty and Zinnia a show.  I drew my revolver and shot a bandit’s sword, shattering it before they attempted to sneak up on Jason. Jason seemed to move with unnatural grace, his dress splattered with blood, in some strange dance of death. I caught most of his fight in the corner of my eye, dealing with the bandits that he hadn’t gotten to yet. Like the first I shot, I aimed for their weapons and dealt with them without killing them.

Patty, however, ran in laughing like a madwoman, demonic wings sprouting from her waist and a pair of black-handled scythes with red blades appearing in her hands. She practically flowed through the bandits, her blades slicing through their flesh and bones like a hot knife through butter and their blood being drawn into the weapons, seeming to just make them sharper. In no time at all, the last of the bandits were dealt with, the ones I had shot scampering off while what was left of the others lined the streets.

Patty grabbed one of the bandits as he tried to slip past her, baring her fangs. “Who’s your boss?” she demanded.The bandit seemed too scared to respond, the only sound escaping him were a series of choked whines.

“She said who’s your boss!” Jason snarled, putting the tip of his sword to the bandits throat.

“I-I can’t tell you. She’d kill me if I told you anything,” the bandit replied, their eyes darting around.

“You’re better off telling us what we want to know,” I told the bandit, placing a hand on their shoulder. “You’ve just seen that these two have no qualms with killing. And that they mowed your friends down in no time at all. So, what do you think will happen if you annoy them and don’t tell them what they want to hear?”

“And I haven’t tasted blood in so long…” Patty said, her fangs bearing down on the bandit’s neck. “Give me an excuse, I dare you.”

“Okay, okay, I’ll lead thee to the boss!” The bandit screeched, openly sobbing. 

“Good.” Jason lowered his sword, looking at Patty. “Release him Patty.”

Patty rolled her eyes, dropping the bandit. “Don’t tell me what to do, Jay. I know full well how to deal with these types.”

“Settle down you two, save the hostility for the bandit leader,” I said, hoping to defuse a situation before it could occur.

“I’ll take care of her,” Patty grunted, turning and grabbing the bandit again. “I’m drinking someone’s blood today. Don’t wait up.”

“Can we at least try to finish this without any more bloodshed?” I asked with a sigh.

“No.”

“What about death? Can we settle on no more death?”

“She won’t live without becoming a vampire, so no.”

“Is there anything I could do to talk you out of this?”

“No.”

“Not even extreme sexual favors?”

“No. A vampire’s bloodlust is stronger than a succubus’s sex drive.” Sighing, Patty turned to me, smiling sadly. “I promise you I’ll clean up before coming back.”

Jason reached into his pocket, tossing Patty a small pack. “Don’t say you don’t owe me. Those are at least twenty blood vials, courtesy of a hunter from Yharnam.”

Patty sighed again, grabbing the vials and tossing them into her mouth whole. She spent a minute crunching them up, a small trickle of blood escaping her lips, before swallowing. “Thanks. I don’t like that part of me, but it’s a thing, so nothing I can do.”

“So, think we can finish this bandit leader without tearing her throat out?” I asked hopefully.

“I already have a plan!” Jason smiled, flicking some blood of his blade.

“Oh?” Patty asked. “Do tell.”

“Yeah, I’m all ears,” I agreed.

“The local orphanage  is about to get a sudden influx of occupants.” His eyes glowed gold and a second later, all the previously dead bandits were alive once more, only reduced to small children of various ages. “Wake me up when we get there...” Jason mumbled, collapsing to the ground, snoring loudly. 

Patty sighed, bending down and lifting him into her arms. “Why didn’t he tell me to do that…” she muttered, shaking her head.

“Because he’s Jason,” I sighed.

“Oh well…” the Displacer shrugged, turning to our captured bandit. “Tell me, in exact detail, where your camp is.”

“Outside of Griffinstone, near the base of the mountain range. There’s a cave where we hide loot and a river that we use to hide our scent right beside it,” the bandit blurted out.

“Dibs on the loot!” Zinnia cried from the inn.

“Get out here and do something and we’ll talk about it!” Patty shot back.

“Why do you even want the loot that they most likely stole from this village among others?” I asked.

“Uh...” The bandit spoke up, looking at his former comrades. “Thou art not going to condemn me to the same fate as mine comrades, art thou?” 

“That all depends on whether or not the information you gave us is good, or if you annoy the vampire and the Jotun. Or if we get bored,” I finished with a shrug.

“Maybe I’ll wipe your memories, too,” Patty added, placing Jason in what looked like a replica of Professor X’s wheelchair from X-Men. “Let you live a whole new life. Though if I find out you don’t make the right choices, I’ll come back and feast on you.”

The bandit looked at his former comrades and started to sweat profusely. “I think I am done with the life of an outlaw. Perhaps I shall become a florist like mother always wanted?” He wondered aloud.

“Good. Now leave,” Patty growled, glaring at the bandit. “But be warned, if this falls through for us, I will find you.”

“Of course not, I am done with dishonesty!” He whimpered before running off, hopefully to start a new, honest life for himself.

“That was an interesting use of bad cop, bad cop and good cop,” I quipped. “Anywho, now that we have a location, are we ready to deal with this leader?”

“You want her turned into a kid like the rest of’em?” Patty asked, snapping her fingers and covering herself up with a tight, form-fitting black latex outfit complete with corset, pants and a duster like mine.

“Eh, that all depends on how much trouble she is,” I said with a shrug. “If we can convince her to turn over a new leaf there really isn’t a reason to make her go through puberty a second time.” I shuddered as I thought of the idea. “That is a fate no one, no matter how evil they are, deserves.”

“But we could give her to Jason,” the Displacer reasoned. “He’s got so many kids now, what's one more?” 

“Alright, I guess that could work out,” I shrugged. “Patty, would you please teleport us? I wanna get this over with so I can be the proper gender again before sunrise.” Patty snapped her fingers and all of us were teleported in a flash of light. When it subsided we were all standing at the edge of a crude outpost, just like the bandit had told us we would. 

“Looks like that bandit isn’t getting his blood drained,” I commented. “Now the question is, do we try and be secretive about this, or do we just break down the doors with guns blazing?” Patty and Zinnia just shrugged at that and I rolled my eyes. “I’ll just try to wake Jason up. He did say he had a plan.” I reached down and gently shook his shoulder. “Jason, wake up, we’re about to get into a fight.”

“Huh...?” Jason asked blinking a few times. “That was not as long as I was hoping it would be...”

“Next time don’t overexert yourself when we’re in the middle of something and you might get a longer nap.”

“Shut up...” he grumbled, socking me in the arm. He got up, stretching himself out.

“So, you said something about a plan, would you mind sharing what it is?”

“Oh that?” He reached into his pocket, pulling out a golden spear. He drew his arm back, throwing into into the outpost. “That’ll keep the leader pinned until we get in there.”

“Huh, simple but effective,” I said. “I was kind of hoping for a complex plan that involved one of us being a distraction or something.”

“What? Nah, the spear will be enough.” He gestured to the outpost, where voices were already shouting.

“Is it a magic spear?”

“It’ll hit anything, no matter the skill level.” He smirked, moving up to the doors, pushing them open. “So, we letting them all live?”

“You know my style Jason, I let everyone live,” I said, walking up to him and flourishing my gun. “Think you can handle things using the flat of your blade?”

“No.” He shook his head. “Which is why I’m not using it.”

“Alright, let’s take on some more bandits. Maybe these ones will be tougher than the ones in town,” I offered.

“Yeah, I doubt it.” He chuckled, walking inside, humming a soft tune.

“Yeah, but maybe the leader’s hot,” I said with a chuckle of my own as I caught up with him. As bandits came into view, Jason just flicked his hand, making them all collapse, snoring away. “That’s a convenient skill,” I commented as I fired a few pot shots at some new bandits that came toward us. “You wanna take the ones on the left side of the outpost and I’ll take the right then meet in the middle?”

“You sure you can take them? You might miss, you do have a new center of gravity after all.” he snickered softly.

“You seemed to adjust pretty quickly. And what about you? You’re not gonna pass out in the middle of all this, are you?” I asked, snickering as well.

“Nah, probably after... and most likely be out all of tomorrow.” Jason chuckled. “Rarity is going to be pissed about the dress...”

“She’s going to be scarier than the guy who lit universes on fire, isn’t she?” I asked, firing another shot at a bandit.

“Probably.” He nodded, knocking out another group of bandits. “But, not like she can kick me onto the couch or anything.”

“I’m sure she’ll think of something,” I replied, pivoting around a bandit and uppercutting him in the jaw with my metal arm.

“I think we’re on the last of them.” Jason commented, seeing that no more of them were running out at us. 

“Man, they do not make nameless bandits like they used to,” I laughed as I fired at three more bandits, their weapons shattering.

“Nope.” Jason commented, knocking them out with the same spell he had used on the others.

“Looks like that’s the last of them, better go see the bandit leader. She’s probably got a few words to say to us.” We moved toward her little...hut thing, hearing her swearing from the inside. “They don’t sound like very pleasant words, but words nonetheless,” I commented.

We both entered the hut and found the bandit leader, a female griffin, sitting on a makeshift throne of sorts and wearing surprisingly nice looking armor that she had most likely stolen. As soon as she saw us her glare intensified and it nearly looked like she was going to explode.

“So, art the two of thee after my treasures?” She asked, reaching for a bastard sword sitting beside her. Jason was already there, having disappeared from my side, holding the sword with a smirk. “Impressive, I am not surprised to see such skill considering thou hast disposed of my bandits.”

“Yeah, your bandits weren’t all that impressive,” I said with a shrug. “They basically just charged at us and yelled before we knocked them out.”

She seemed to want to say something else, but considered her position and held her tongue. “Very well, take my treasure and spare my life. I am sure the spoils that I have acquired is the reason why the two of thee attacked this place.”

“Nope, I don’t care about treasure,” I said with a grin. 

“We can’t just let bandits run around attacking people. I mean what kinda of heroes would we be if we let that happen?” Jason asked, fiddling with the sword.

“Heroes?” The bandit leader asked with a dark chuckle. “Griffinstone is not the place for lofty ideals such as justice. Greed and strength rule it, and I just happen to be the strongest and greediest.”

“You’re not exactly the strongest anymore, case in point,” I said, indicating at Jason. He smiled, grabbing the blade, crushing it. He didn’t seem overly injured, letting the broken blade fall to the ground. “And as you can see, he’s a showoff.”

“Very well, if thou dost not wish to take my treasure, then what dost thou plan to do with me?”

“Well, considering we sent the guys you sent into Griffonstone back to childhood, what do you think?” Jason asked, crossing his arms.

“What?! What insanity art thou speaking of?”

“The insanity that is our everyday life,” I answered.

“And mine is more insane than you know.” Jason chuckled. “What do you think Val? Diapers? Maybe all the way back to being an egg?”

“That depends, you wanna be the one to sit on it?” 

“I could get Zed to do it...I think she lays eggs anyway...”

“Then let’s go with egg. Might as well put off changing diapers for as long as possible,” I shrugged.

“Hold still will ya?” Jason asked the bandit, holding his hand out, his eyes glowing again. The bandit leader’s eyes shrank and she began to panic. She attempted to get out of her throne but Jason kept her down. He smirked, sending the magic into her. “Also Val, if I pass out, I want this armor ya?”

“Be my guest, not like I’m gonna need it, and I can’t give it to Morning as a gift. The chest is way too small.”

“There...” Jason smiled, lifting a white, speckled egg out of the now discarded armor, starting to sway a little. I rushed over to him and threw an arm around the Jotun. 

“There we are, can’t let you drop that egg,” I said with a sigh of relief. He mumbled softly, resting his head on my shoulder, out cold. “You’re making a bad habit of passing out around me.”I joked as I set him down in the throne as I turned and walked towards the exit. I looked over my shoulder and called out, “Don’t go anywhere, I’ve got to get your chair and the others.” Jason justed mumbled again, clutching the egg close. I had to hold back a d’aww at the sight of that as I quickly grabbed the chair and the others. Once we were back in the hut I carefully lifted Jason and the egg and put them in the wheelchair. 

“There we go, they’re both nice and comfortable,” I said softly.Once the two of them were settled in their chair I collected the armor that Jason wanted and told Patty to teleport us back to the castle. 

“I won’t teleport,” the Displacer replied, rolling her eyes. Snapping her fingers, she made a simple red door appear in the air. “That ain’t my style. Now come on, I think Zi-” Patty stopped suddenly, looking around. “Where did Zinnia go?”

“If I were a betting man, I’d say looking for the loot,” I sighed.

Patty opened her mouth to comment, stopping as our little conversation topic walked in casually, a comically large burlap sack slung over her shoulder. “‘Sup?” she asked as though she wasn’t carrying the stolen loot of a bandit clan.

“Huh, I should become a betting man,” I said with a grin.

“It was kinda obvious,” Patty groaned, rolling her eyes. “And I’m guessing that’s all for your little piece of arm candy, huh Zi?”

“Umbra is not arm candy,” the Draconid growled. “She is the single most beautiful woman in existence and I will kill anyone who says otherwise.”

“Okay, but you do realize that I’m not going to let you keep all that loot, right?” I told her with a cross look.

“Ugh, spoilsport…” Zinnia sighed, dropping the bag and reaching in. “Fine, here,” she added, flipping a single golden bit to me.

“Zinnia, you know that’s not what I meant. Those items belong to the griffins in Griffinstone and we’re going to return it to them.”

Rolling her eyes, Zinnia leaned back, sitting on the bag. “No, we’re really not,” she said. “I’ll give them something that’s infinitely more valuable to them, but this stuff’s coming with me on the grounds of ‘finders keepers’.”

“Zinnia, if you give back everything but one piece of the loot, and the loot you keep can be anything. Then I’ll let you do anything you want to me back at the castle.”

“I would just give it all back.” A new voice spoke, making us all jump. “At least, that's just me.” We turn to see a young man, draped in a cloak. “Sorry to just drop in, but I wanted to have a talk with Jason... who is asleep... and a woman...”

“Yep,” Patty said with a shrug. “He’s also pregnant, knocked up by the chick in the bikini top and duster over there.”

“Though if you hurt her,” Zinnia growled out, glaring at the newcomer. “I’ll hurt you.”

“Ease on the clutch there,” I said, placing a hand on her shoulder. “Who are you?” I asked, turning to the cloaked figure. “And how do you know about Jason?”

“I’m no one special.” The young man shook his head. “Please let him know that B wanted to talk to him.” He turned around, walking away without another word.

“Okay, that was weird. Even for us.”

“Yeah…” Zinnia agreed, staring after the guy for a moment. “But back to the point - when you say anything…”

“Yes, I meant anything,” I sighed, a blush creeping in on my cheeks.

“Hmm…” the Draconid hummed, tapping her chin in thought for a second. “Well… okay, but on one extra condition.”

“What else do you want?” I asked, slightly terrified.

Smirking, Zinnia reached into the bag, pulling out something at random. Turns out it was an ornate golden statuette, rubies and sapphires embedded in its surface. “I’ll give everything but this back, if you take it to the village stark naked. And no attempts to cover yourself at all, not even your own arms.”

“Oh that I must see.” Hodge smirked, having taken over Jay’s body again.

My blush deepened and I briefly considered just letting her take everything. But my conscience won out in the end. “Fine, I’ll do it,” I huffed.

“Good girl~” Zinnia sang, smirking to herself triumphantly. Standing, she sauntered over to me before grabbing my duster and yanking it off, sending me spinning in the process. “This first!”

“Damn it Zinnia! Can’t you let me prepare for this mentally?!” 

Hodge whistled, leaning back in the wheelchair, holding the egg close.

“Nope!” the Draconid replied. “Get nekkid Val! Why do you have a problem with it now?”

“I don’t know!” I shouted honestly. “I just… feel weird being like this, okay?”

“Look, I’ll do it too!” Hodge pulled off his dress, tossing it to the side. “There. Feel better now that others are doing it?”

“Not really, but I appreciate the sentiment,” I sighed, unbuttoning the hot pants I had been given and pulling down on them. As soon as I bent over, Zinnia took it upon herself to spank me! “Gyahh!” I cried, turning to Zinnia with crimson cheeks. “Can you please not make this harder than it already is?” Hodge smirked, reaching on and pinching my ass. I jumped and shrieked, whipping my head at him with a pout. “Why’d you do that?”

“To see your reaction.” He smirked wider, a camcorder in his hands.

“You want a good reaction?” Patty chuckled, zipping up behind me and reaching around to grab my breasts, tearing the thin top away. On reflex, my hands went up to cover my exposed breasts, but stopped myself. I muttered something under my breath and rigidly put my arms to my sides.

“Oh come on! Don’t be lame Val!” Hodge complained, giving a cute pout.

“Grrr, urge to fire laser… rising,” I growled, slowly going to take off the last piece of my outfit.

Zinnia grinned, eyeing my naked body hungrily. “Hmm… I may just skip the public torture and eat you out now…”

“Whatever you do, I’m totally putting this on my multi-verse youtube page!” Hodge cackled, lighting striking above him.

“How are you going to put this on youtube? Doesn’t nudity and sex violate the terms and conditions?” I asked, picking up the bag of loot without bending over.

“Multi-verse youtube doesn’t have those.” He grinned back.

“Ooh!” Patty cried, grinning. “Put it on Multi-verse Facebook and tag me!”

“And now my life has become an episode of Rick and Morty!” I called out, mind thoroughly broken. “I have officially gone off the deep end and and derailed the crazy train!”

“Val, dear, you were already there,” Zinnia chuckled, hugging me from behind and making me drop the loot. Without warning, she lifted me up, throwing me onto the bandit leader’s old chair before kneeling in front of me. “And like I said, I’m skipping the public part.”

“And suddenly... I feel left out...” Hodge frowned, a bit upset everyone’s attention had left him.

“Silly Hodgey~” Patty sang, wrapping her arms around him from behind and resting her breasts on his head. “I haven’t forgotten you~”

“Aww shucks!” He smiled, still keeping the camera fixed on me.

“Oh no! This is not going down like this,” I hissed, covering my genitals. “I agreed to go along with whatever you wanted at the castle. And we are not going to be sidetracked from returning the loot to those griffins.”

Rolling her eyes, Zinnia pushed my hands away and slipped a finger into my folds. I bit my tongue in order to prevent a noise from coming out. “D-damn it Zi, I’m serious here.”

“Bow chicka woow wow...” Hodge muttered, snirking. 

My eye twitched and my metal hand slowly reached for my armband. But I took a deep breath and dropped it again. “Can everyone please take a break from driving me insane for a little bit?” I asked as calmly as I could.

“Alright fine... I had my fun...” Hodge pouted, dismissively the camera, crossing his arms with a huff. 

“Aww, Hodgey~” Patty cooed, still hugging him. “You can film me all you like later. Maybe even join in a little~?”

Hodge just blushed, nodding a little.

I was about to say thanks when I adjusted myself on the throne and noticed something. “Zinnia, can you please remove the finger from my lady bits?”

“Fine…” she huffed, doing just that. She then smirked at me, lifting the finger to her mouth and sucking it clean. “Hmm~ delicious.”

“Thank you,” I said, pulling myself off of the throne. “Now, I’ve got some loot to return, then the unspeakable things that Zinnia is going to subject me to, and then copious amounts of drinking to forget said unspeakable things along with the rest of my time spent as a lady.” I then picked up the bag of loot and strode out of the hut.

“Hodge, camera!” Zinnia cried, grabbing her iPod and racing after me.

Eventually, I was able to return everything to the griffins. I nearly died of embarrassment, partly from the gawking griffins and mostly due to the idea of my bare ass becoming a viral hit across the multiverse. When the last piece of loot was returned, Patty opened another dimensional door and we all walked through it. Once I was safely home in the castle I collapsed to my knees, exhausted.

“I am so done with today,” I groaned.

> Keeping a Promise 
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Zinnia started to chuckle darkly and  sashayed up to me slowly.

“Ah-ah-ah~” Zinnia sang, striding past me. “You made a deal~ Now come on, we’ve gotta find the girls.”

“Ugh,” I whined, getting up. “I hate my moral compass sometimes.”

“Catch you guys later!” Patty called, grabbing Hodge’s hand and starting to tug him away. “I have my own promises to keep~”

I waved my hand to the two of them without turning back as I caught up with Zinnia. “Zinnia, can’t I at least have my duster back if we’re going to see the princesses?”

“Wait!” Hodge cried out. “Someone has to keep the egg warm!”

“SONAR!!!” Zinnia Roared out suddenly.

Within seconds, a tiny black and purple bat creature fluttered up to us, chirping at Zinnia. She seemed to chirp back for a second before the bat glowed white, slowly expanding and changing into the hulking Noivern from before.

“What in the name of all things good and holy just happened?!” I shouted, confused.

“Pokemon in my world, if they train hard enough, can turn into their previous forms,” Zinnia explained, shrugging. “I have a Tyrantrum that does it too.”

That reminded me of something and I started to sing, “Digimon digital monsters, Digimon are the champions~”

“Eh, that was more my brother’s thing,” the Draconid shrugged again.

“What I was trying to say there was that the form changing thing you just described, basically sounded exactly like Digimon,” I chuckled. “Still that solves the egg problem.”

“Yay!” Patty cried, slinging Hodge over her shoulder and turning to walk off with him. “I’ll see you in a month!”

“Wait what!?” Hodge called, his eyes wide. “One of you help me!!!”

I turned to Zinnia with an evil grin. “Did you just hear something?”

“Nope~” she replied, closing her eyes and turning in the opposite direction to Hodge. “Just Sonar taking the egg to safety.”

“That’s what I thought,” I said, following after her.

“Damn you!!!” Hodge cried as Patty dragged him away.

I started to laugh a bit as Hodge’s cries became harder and harder to hear. “Ah, sometimes payback feels so good.”

“Yep!” Zinnia giggled, bumping her shoulder against me. “And now to find your women and show off your new body!”

“The throne room is probably our best bet,” I answered. “One of the princesses should be there.”

The two of us continued walking down the halls of the castle, and I was feeling increasingly nervous with every step. The only two things keeping me from bolting and hiding in one of the secret rooms I made in the castle was: one, the promise of getting back to my original gender, and two the promise I made to Zinnia. After what felt like an eternity, we made it to the doors of the throne room with two night guards standing in position.

“At ease,” Zinnia said, waving them off. “You won’t be needed for a while. Go enjoy an early break.”

The two guards exchanged a brief look before shrugging and walking off to the guard barracks. I heard one of them mentioning a card game as they turned the corner, shrugging at the info.

“You okay Val?” Zinnia asked, planting a hand on the doors.

“Just scared out of my mind… and cold.”

        “Oh,” she muttered, blinking. A second later she moved over to me, wrapping me in a hug, and I felt a warmth flowing from her body. “Sorry. I keep forgetting others don’t have fire in them.”

        “How is that something you forget?” I asked with a weak chuckle. 

        “I’m used to it, and I hang around ponies. I forgot about being human for a while.” Pausing, she smirked, nuzzling my neck. “And if it’d make you feel better… you can get dressed if you want.”

        “I feel like if I agree to that you’re going to give me a cheerleader uniform or a latex bodysuit.”

        “No, I’ll give you actual clothes,” she muttered. “I… I want you to feel good too…”

        “Well, if you got something then I won’t say no.” I said, scratching my cheek.

        Zinnia just nodded, letting me go and reaching into her bag. She rummaged around for a minute before frowning, turning to shove her other hand in, searching again until she seemingly found what she wanted. “Uh… you want underwear too?” she asked.

        “Hmm, that depends, do you think I should go with something sexy?” I asked, mostly joking.

        “If you wanna. I’ve got briefs and boxers too though.”

        “Just pick something for me,” I said with a shake of my head. “I’ll trust you on this.”

        Zinnia nodded, pulling out a pair of black lace panties and handing them over. “These okay?” she asked, handing me a matching bra before plunging into her bag again.

        “They’ll do,” I replied, slipping the panties up my leg. “Mind helping me with the bra? I only have experience taking them off, not putting them on.”

        Zinnia chuckled, shaking her head and pulling a bundle of clothes out of her back before dropping them, taking the bra back. “Sure thing, turn around,” she said, making a twirl motion with her finger. I did as she asked and knelt a bit so she’d have an easier time.

        Zinnia reached around me, positioning the cups of the bra over my breasts before having me slide my arms in. She pulled the straps over my shoulder, moving to clasp it behind my back, straining a little with the effort.

        “Come on…” I heard the Draconid mutter. “This is the biggest damn bra I have left…”

        “Ow,” I hissed. “What the hell are you doing back there?”

        “Trying to clasp the thing shut!” Zinnia shot back. “Your tits are too big!” She paused, and I swear I actually heard her blinking in shock. “Never thought I’d say that…”

        “Same… this has been a really weird day.”

        “Sexy though. You gotta admit being a girl is pretty cool.” She grunted, and a second later I heard her stumbling back, my chest suddenly feeling tight. “Success!”

        “Considering I’ve basically been sexually assaulted all day, my experience as a lady hasn’t been ideal. Oh, and my naked body is going to end up on the internet in other universes.”

        “I’ll convince Hodge to at least keep the tape to himself,” Zinnia said, smiling as I turned to face her again and handing me the clothes she’d dropped. “And maybe I can treat you to dinner another day, if you’re willing to give this another go. How’s that sound?”

        “Only if I’m a man when we do it,” I chuckled as I pulled the clothes on as fast as I could. Looking down, I noticed that I was now wearing a knee-length black skirt and a white blouse. “Hmm, I’m surprised how tame this outfit is.”

        “Well, you said you were scared, so…” she muttered, looking away with a blush. “I, uh… I wanted to try and make you more comfortable. Tight bra probably doesn’t help though…”

        “Thanks, I appreciate the sentiment. And the bra isn’t too bad.” I told her with a smile.

        “Oh… well, good,” she said, smiling back a little before turning and placing a hand on the door again. “You ready?”

        “Not really, but I really want to be a dude again so let’s get this over with as soon as possible.”

        Zinnia nodded, pushing the door open and stepping inside, holding it open for me. I walked into the room and Luna was on her throne, looking bored out of her mind as per usual. It seemed she didn’t recognize me because her only reaction was to quirk an eyebrow at the two of us.

        “Zinnia, who is this that thou have brought before us?”

        Zinnia smiled at me, wrapping an arm around my waist and bringing me closer. “I’m surprised you don’t recognise her, Lulu,” she said, glancing up at her. “You’ve shared a bedroom with her enough times, though I suppose she looked a little different then.”

        Luna seemed to study me a little bit more before her gaze settled on my metal arm. Her eyes widened as she asked, “Vash, is that thou?”

        I smiled weakly at her and waved with my left hand. “Hi Luna, how was your day?” Luna’s expression became hard to read for a while, not saying anything. I was about to open my mouth to say something else, but she started to laugh uproariously.

        “Hahaha! Vash, what has happened to thee that has caused such a sudden change?!” She asked between laughs, falling out of her throne.

        “Heh, ask Jason,” Zinnia said, giggling a little herself. “Or the voices locked in his head, I suppose. Hodgepodge decided to fuck with Val a little.”

        “Because you encouraged him!” I pouted, blushing.

        “Yeah, guilty…”

        “Well, we thank thee for showing us this. It certainly brought us some levity this evening.” Luna said, wiping a tear from her eye.

        “Actually~” Zinnia said, her voice going a little higher as she trailed off. “Hodgepodge outright refused to change Val back into Vash, and Patty said she’d only do it if…”

        “Just say it,” I said my blush spreading. “Why do you have to be so dramatic?”

        “Fine, fine, just thought you might like to tell her yourself,” Zinnia said, rolling her eyes. “Val has to have sex as a woman to see how it feels. You in?”

        “We see no reason not to,” Luna shrugged. “It seems that our subjects were not in dire need of our services anyway.”

        “Maybe we could wake Celestia and Morning too?” the Draconid suggested, starting to smirk a little. “And if Val’s up for it, you could use my toy again~”

        “That sounds like a fantastic time!” Luna cheered excitedly. “We shall go and get them!” She then teleported out of the room.

        Zinnia turned to me, smiling softly. “Wanna get ready?” she asked, shrugging her jacket off.

        “I don’t really have much of a choice,” I muttered. “I did agree to anything you wanted, remember?”

        The Draconid sighed, closing her eyes. “Val… Vash, I don’t wanna do anything that makes you uncomfortable. I want you to enjoy this.”

        “Look, just take the lead on this, and if you do anything I’m uncomfortable with I’ll tell you,” I told her, looking away.

        She just nodded, moving closer and taking my hands in hers. “It’s okay, Vash. I promise you’ll enjoy this, if you just relax a little.”

        I took a deep breath, held it for a little bit and released it. “Alright, I’ll try to relax as best as I can.”

        Zinnia smiled again, leaning forward and pulled me down into a kiss. Honestly there wasn’t much difference in the feeling than when I was a guy. I just focused on the kiss and pushed all of my discomfort away as best as I could. After a little bit, I decided to get a bit brave and let my hands wander. I reached down with my right hand and grabbed Zinnia’s ass.

        Zinnia gasped, smirking into our kiss and beginning to explore my body with her hands too. I felt her tongue pressing against my lips, asking permission to enter. Without thinking, I opened my mouth to let her in while my right hand moved up and under her shirt. I shuddered a bit as Zinnia’s tongue started to explore my mouth.

Warning: Toxic Clop materials ahead, handle with care. Move on to the next marked location if you do not wish to see such things.

        The Draconid sighed happily, her right hand moving to start unbuttoning my blouse before she seemed to change her mind, instead grabbing the thin fabric and tearing it off of me completely. I rolled my eyes, though the gesture was lost considering they were closed. While Zinnia was working on the bra, my left hand met up with my right and I quickly unhooked hers and pulled it off of her. Zinnia was quick to follow suit, my bra coming off and my breasts seeming to spring out, and she wasted no time in sliding down to pull my nipple into her mouth, suckling it gently. I bit my tongue, trying to avoid making any noise. This only seemed to spur Zinnia on as she started to swirl her tongue around my areola.

        “Ahhn!” I cried, as I wrapped my arms around Zinnia’s head. She smirked, gently biting my nipple as she reached and began to fondle the other breast, squeezing and kneading it. “Z-Zinnia, s-slow down!” I whined, though my arms tightened around her head.

        Zinnia rolled her eyes, using her tongue to flick and push my nipple around her mouth as she used her free hand to roll my skirt up. I gasped quietly when I felt her begin to rub my folds through the thin material of my panties. I started to pant a bit and had to fight to keep my tongue from lolling out of my mouth.

        “Z-Zinnia!” I moaned, my entire face crimson.

        “Hm?” she hummed, glancing up at me without stopping.

        “I…” I paused, not wanting to say anything else.

        Zinnia frowned, letting my breast go. “What’s the matter Vash?” she asked, stopping her actions. “D-do you not like this?”

        “N-no, that’s not it!” I blurted out, a little too quickly.

        “Then what is it?”

        “I… I wanna do the same to you,” I muttered, looking away from her.

        Zinnia chuckled, going back to what she was doing before. “Later,” she said, pushing my panties to the side. “This time’s about you.”

        I was about to say something in protest, but the words died in my throat as her tongue dragged across my slit. I let out a hiss of air and my brain stopped working for a second as an electric tingle worked through my body.

        “You like that?” Zinnia teased, smirking as she planted a kiss over my clit.

        Words were failing me at that moment so I didn’t say anything in response to her teasing. “J-just shut up and keep doing what you’re doing,” I managed to get out.

        “Whatever you say, Val~” she cooed before diving in, pushing her tongue past my folds and lapping at my inner walls. I let out a long moan at that and nearly fell to my knees, my hands gripping at Zinnia’s hair.

        “Hmm~” Zinnia hummed, smirking as she pulled back. “You’re delicious. But turn around, if I know the girls at all I’ll need to get both sides ready for them.” Without giving me time to process that, Zinnia pushed my hands off of her head and spun me around, grabbing my ass and spreading it before lapping at my asshole.

        “Gah! That feels weird,” I whined as I squirmed a bit. Zinnia chuckled, pushing her tongue further in as she massaged my asscheeks. “At least slow down a bit!”

        “Thou were not lying sister,” A voice chimed in. “It truly does seem that Vash has been transformed into a mare.”

        My entire body seized up at the sound of that voice, and sweat formed along my brow. I slowly looked over my shoulder and was greeted by the sight of my three marefriends.

        Zinnia removed herself from my flesh, smirking at the three mares. “Hey girls, who wants the first go?” she asked, patting my ass fondly.

        Funnily enough, Morning was the first to step up. Well, slither up, but that’s just nitpicking really. “I suppose I could try. It is a rather rare opportunity after all.”

        Zinnia smirked again, pulling out a familiar looking toy. My eyes widened a bit at the sight of the toy and I instantly knew what Zinnia was thinking.

        “H-hey! You can’t really be thinking of using that thing, are you? I mean, I’m technically a virgin like this and Morning is monster-sized when she uses that!”

        “You’re not a virgin,” Zinnia said, rolling her eyes as Morning slithered over to her. “Patty said she made sure of that. And you can take as much as me, so you’re good.” Smirking, she slid the toy into Morning’s slit, the familiar purple glow flashing before my marefriend’s twin members sprung to life.

        “Calm yourself, Vash,” Morning said with a small smile. “I promise to be gentle. And thou only need to say one word and I will stop.”

        “F-fine,” I grumbled. “If you really wanna do this then I’ll try it.”

        “Thank thee,” Morning replied as she wrapped her arms and body around me. I took another deep breath and kept my focus on her face as she dragged her serpentine shaft along my folds. I buried my face into her neck in order to muffle any noises from coming out. Once she felt that she had done enough teasing she started prodding my entrance with her tip. I let out a muffled squeal as she started to ease herself into my slit.

        “Heh,” Zinnia chuckled, draping her arms around Celestia and Luna. “Looks like someone’s enjoying this more than they let on.”

        “Shut up!” I cried, whipping my head towards her. “It’s all Hodge’s fault for giving me this sensitive body!”

        “Oh just take it like a woman,” Zinnia laughed. “Morning, in you go!”

        “Already there!” Morning laughed, pushing another inch into me, causing me to bite my tongue. Eventually, Morning’s hips stopped moving and her member was as deep as it could go. “There, that wasn’t so bad, was it Vash?” She asked as she nuzzled me.

        “I don’t know how you and the others do this,” I answered, squirming. “This… it feels… weird.” I finally managed to get out.

        Zinnia smirked, sliding up behind me. “Oh, it always does when it’s your first time,” she cooed, kneeling down and licking Morning’s second member. “But it gets better. Especially when there’s two~”

        “I am so drinking when all this is over,” I said with a blush. I then let out a little squeak as Morning shifted her hips, pulling out much quicker than she had put it in.

        “Then perhaps I should make haste,” She said as her tip was the only thing left inside. She then thrusted back in and a short moan passed my lips before I bit my tongue once more. I heard Zinnia let out a muffled cry too, looking down to see her mouth stuffed with Morning’s huge horsecock. Morning hummed in delight before pulling me into a large kiss as she started picking up speed, her coils tightening slightly.

        Zinnia pulled away, staggering back slightly. “A-as much fun as that would be,” she gasped, moving over to Celestia and Luna’s side. “I think I’ll sit this round out, let you guys have some bonding time. I’ll take him for a spin last.”

        “Very well,” Morning replied, pulling away from the kiss for a brief moment. She dove back in, wrapping her forked tongue around my own. She then pulled her serpentine member out, completely coated in my juices. She then adjusted her hips slightly so that it was lined up with my other hole. My eyes snapped open when she started to prod at it and I silently begged her not to do what she was thinking of doing. If she noticed my pleas she didn’t pay them any mind, burying herself deep inside in one thrust. I let out a gurgling groan just as she lined up her horsecock with my folds and thrusted. Letting it take up residence where her snakedick had just been.

        “Wow…” I heard Zinnia breathe. “That’s hot…”

        I leveled a glare at her that quickly turned into a wince as Morning started to thrust. I squirmed in a feeble attempt to get free, but Morning’s coils held fast. My body eventually stopped resisting and I went slack in her grasp as her thrusts started picking up in speed. I tried to say something but it just turned into a pitiful gurgle. At one point, Morning’s thrusts began to get jerky and she pulled away from the kiss.

        “Vash, I am close. Where wouldst thou like for me to finish?”

        I was about to say I didn’t care, but the idea of cleaning jizz out of my ass made me reconsider. “Outside,” I said, catching my breath. Morning nodded, untangling her coils from around me and slipping out of both my holes. I collapsed without her support and looked up to see that she was stroking both of her shafts.

        A few seconds later, Morning let out a cry and both of her members started to erupt, splattering my body in several places. I just lay there, taking my impromptu facial until Morning finally finished. Seconds later, Zinnia, Celestia and Luna came into my view, all three smirking at me.

        “You shouldn’t waste that, Vash~” Zinnia sang, before all three of them began licking my body, lapping up the cum and taking the time to pause over my most sensitive areas as they did. The Draconid slipped down, licking up anything on my hips and legs before shoving her tongue deep into my folds, all while Celestia and Luna cleaned off by breasts before sucking a nipple each into their mouths, biting and flicking my nipples with their tongues.

        “Ahhn!” I cried weakly, my body barely twitching. “C-can’t a guy catch their breath before you start doing that!”

        “Thou art not a “guy” right now, Val~” Celestia shot back, smirking before pulling my tit into her mouth again.

        “Indeed,” Luna added, reaching down and playing with my clit as Zinnia slurped my folds. “Thou art a female, which means thou art ours for the night.”

        “D-damn it, you knew what I meant!” I snapped before my body jerked from Luna pinching my clit. “Gahh~!”

        “Val?” Morning said, and I looked up to see her positioned over my face, both cocks rock hard once more. “Wouldst thou mind ‘cleaning’ mine tools?”

        I briefly considered saying no, but figured fair’s fair and that she’d done the same for me. I weakly nodded and lifted my head toward her. Morning smiled in response, lining up her snakedick with my lips before pushing it in halfway and holding it there, bracing herself on my shoulders. I nearly retched from the taste but I steadied myself with a quick breath through my nostrils. Figuring it was best to get it done quickly, I wrapped my tongue around her and dragged it along her tool. Morning let out a low moan, causing me to blush again. 

        All at once, they pulled away, leaving me a panting, shuddering mess. “Well,” Zinnia giggled. “Who’s turn is it next?”

        “D-does it have to be someone else’s turn?” I asked, catching my breath.

        “Yes!” they all shot back, laughing between themselves.

        After the collected themselves, Luna and Celestia shared a look. “Perhaps we could try something with Val next?” Celestia asked, putting an arm around her sister.

        “We like thy thinking sister,” Luna giggled, shedding her dress. She paused after a second, though, her smile seeming to become more forced than genuine as she revealed her lacy, powder blue bra and panties. “Ah, We have just remembered… wouldst thou care to explain Our new undergarments?”

        “Zinnia!” I cried in fake indignation. “Why would you mess with Luna’s clothes like that?”

        Zinnia smirked, shrugging as she slipped the toy out of Morning created two copies of it. “One, it was my gift to Vash,” she said simply, helping Celestia out of her dress too, her smirk growing at the pink and white striped panties she was wearing along with a matching bra. “And two, I changed all of your underwear. Morning’s too, as I’m sure she knows.”

        “I do, but considering how hard it is to get garments in my new size I considered it a nicety,” Morning shrugged.

        “Okay, so maybe I really liked the idea of you three getting underwear from my time period,” I admitted. “But can you blame me?! Bodies like yours should not be hidden by those cloth prisons that you had!”

        “Relax Val, we are not angry,” Celestia said sweetly.

        “In fact, let us say thank thee in a… special way~” Luna sang, a mischievous glint in her eyes.

        “Lay back and spread your legs girls,” Zinnia cried, smirking as she held the twin toys up. “The Rod Twins are ready for fun!” The two sisters followed her directions and laid on their backs. Zinnia smirked at me, not breaking eye contact as she inserted both of the toys into them, sliding their panties to the side. I gulped as the familiar purple glow shined through the throne room. When it passed both princesses stood up, causing their magically grown members to bob up and down

“Art thou ready, Val?” Celestia asked with smoldering eyes.

“If I say no will I get out of this?” I asked with a hopeful smile.

        “If you say no, it’s my turn,” Zinnia growled seductively, smirking at me.

        “And even then we would simply take our turn afterwards,” Luna said with a wink, getting in front of me while Celestia got behind me. The two then put me on all fours and I gulped again as I felt them press against me from both sides.

        “I don’t suppose we could… Mmmph!” I was interrupted as Luna shoved her length down my throat, causing me to gag for a moment. Not to be out done, Celestia shoved her own member into my folds, her crotch slapping into my ass, causing it to wobble slightly and me to lurch forward, more of Luna’s shaft sliding into my throat.

“Hmm~” Zinnia hummed, watching with some sick pleasure. “That certainly does look fun. Maybe I’ll join in myself, you do have another hole free~”

I tried to shout something at her in response, but it turned into gurgling hums along Luna’s tool. She moaned as I did that and started thrusting a little faster in response.

“Now, now Zinnia,” Morning chuckled as she patted the Draconid on the shoulder. “She’s busy enough as it is. Mayhaps thou could find something else to occupy thyself with?”

        Zinnia smirked at that and, in a flurry of movement, tore her clothes off, pouncing on Morning and knocking the Naga onto her back. “Or someone, hmm?”

        “I suppose that could be arranged,” Morning replied, making a show out of sighing. Zinnia giggled at her display before leaning down, kissing Morning roughly and grasping her breasts.

        “Don’t pretend you don’t wanna get revenge on me,” the Draconid breathed, nipping at Morning’s lower lip. “You can do whatever you want… this time…”

        “I think nearly choking thee with my magically grown phalluses is revenge enough for me. But thy offer is appreciated,” Morning smiled as her coils instantly wrapped the two of them. “And noted.” 

        “Oh, I only choked because I wasn’t expecting it,” Zinnia chuckled, moaning happily as Morning slid over both of her entrances. “I’ve taken much bigger than you into my mouth, trust me. I can probably take both your dicks actually.”

        “Either way, I am not one for petty revenge,” Morning giggled, grasping Zinnia’s breasts in turn and twisting a nipple slightly. “Though thy other offer is intriguing.”

        The Draconid moaned, biting her lower lip. “And it sta-hands~” she moaned out. “Just… just make sure you give me your all…”

        “I’ll consider it,” Morning said with a smirk as she twisted Zinnia’s nipple a bit more, making her cry out.

        “I-I am yours to use…” Zinnia moaned. “M-my Mistress~”

        “Thou dost certainly seem quite ready to don the role of pet,” Morning teased, twisting and pulling at both of Zinnia’s nipples and teething on the Draconid’s exposed neck. Zinnia moaned again, reaching into her back and pulling out a black leather collar with purple markings and a tag shaped like a Dragon’s claw, pulling back and holding it out to Morning.

        “A-A Mistress always has the honours…” she mumbled.

        Morning rolled her eyes a bit and took the collar from Zinnia’s hands. “Quite the lover of theatrics, aren’t thee?” Morning asked as she put the collar on Zinnia’s neck before picking up the movements of her tail. Zinnia bit back a moan before replying.

        “S-says the Shakespeare ripoff…”

        “I have no idea what thou art talking about, but keep talking like that and thou shalt not get any release,” Morning told her, stopping all of her ministrations.

        “No!” Zinnia cried. “No, I’m sorry MIstress! Please don’t do that to me!”

        “That’s much better,” Morning said with a kiss on the cheek as she picked up where she left off, slipping the tip of her tail into Zinnia’s folds and wiggling it. Zinnia moaned aloud, arching her back and bracing herself against Morning’s chest, her hands sinking into the Naga’s large breasts. Morning let out a coo of her own as she pulled Zinnia into a rough kiss. Then, she thrust a bit more of her tail into the Draconid’s hole.

        “Mmmph~” Zinnia cried into the kiss, closing her eyes and allowing Morning total control.

        Morning pulled away from the kiss for a moment and asked, “Toy with my lower lips. I desire a release as well.”

        Zinnia nodded numbly, reaching down and rubbing her hand over Morning’s slit lovingly. “Mmm,” Morning cooed before diving back into the kiss, nipping at Zinnia’s lips with her fangs.

        “M-Mistress…” Zinnia moaned, shuddering in Morning’s hold. “M-may I… please you… with my m-mouth?”

        Morning feigned thinking it over, but eventually said, “If you wish, but my tail is staying where it is.” She then unwound her coils and allowed Zinnia to fall to the floor.

        “Oomph!” Zinnia cried, glancing up at her Mistress and smiling gratefully. “Th-thank you Mistress…” she said, bowing her head before sliding down Morning’s body, her face hovering above the Naga’s slit before she began to lap at her lower lips.

        “Very good,” Morning said, resuming her thrusts into Zinnia. “Don’t be afraid to… nibble on my clitoris. That always drives me wild.”

        Zinnia nodded, moaning into Morning’s folds as she began to dart her tongue in and out of her, dragging her teeth along the edges of her lips. Morning shuddered in pleasure, pressing her tail in as deep as she could and wiggling it along the inner walls. Again, the Draconid let out a low moan, repositioning herself and pulling Morning’s clit into her mouth, nibbling it slightly and flicking it with her tongue. Morning moaned as well, toying with her chest as her tail started to thrash around erratically inside of Zinnia.

“Mmm, that feels fantastic!” Morning complimented enthusiastically. Zinnia smiled in response, doubling her efforts and biting on the Naga’s clit a little harder. Morning let out a scream of pleasure, her tail threatening to batter past the Draconid’s cervix as her tongue lolled out of her mouth.

“Gah!” Zinnia cried, arching her back and her tongue hanging out of her mouth in bliss. “M-Mistress! Please, g-go deeper!”

“Art thou sure?” Morning asked, coming out her pleasure high slightly.

Smiling dopily, Zinnia lowered herself back to Morning’s slit, close enough that her breath washed over it with each word. “Y-yes, please~ I-I love the f-feeling~”

Morning nodded and bit her lip as she pushed her tail further. She shuddered in pleasure as the tip of her tail struggled against the entrance to Zinnia’s cervix. With a grunt and one mighty push, the tip made it inside causing Morning and Zinnia both to cry out in pleasure.

“A-ah, Mistresss~” the Draconid hissed, closing her eyes and arching her back in bliss. She leaned back, sliding further on to Morning’s tail.

“Z-Zinnia, I did not tell thee to stop what thou were doing,” Morning said, trying to sound authoritative, but the effect was lost due to her pleasure drunk appearance. Zinnia, however, had the decency to look ashamed before diving back into her task, inserting two fingers into Morning’s slit as she returned to nibbling her clit. “Mmm that’s so much better,” Morning groaned, bucking her hips. “I can almost feel my control slipping away~”

Zinnia said nothing, merely continuing her efforts to pleasure her Mistress as much as she could. Pausing for a second as a thought occurred to her, she then glanced up at Morning's face, watching her intently as she bit down roughly on the Naga’s clit.

“Aaah~!” Morning cried, squeezing her eyes closed as her tongue slipped further out of her mouth. “Do that again, harder!” She demanded. Nodding a little, Zinnia pulled off for a second.

“C-can I t-try something, Mistress?” she asked, showing off her teeth as they seemed to sharpen themselves, electricity arcing between them. “Th-this always provides p-pleasure for me.”

“Do it!” Morning demanded, her pupils becoming more slit-like. “I wish to feel thy best.”

As soon as the words reached her ears, Zinnia’s eyes also became slitted, and she immediately removed her fingers from Morning’s slit. Waiting for the Naga to open her mouth in protest, she then formed a fist before jamming her whole hand roughly into Morning’s opening, opening her hand once inside and allowing a Dragon Claw to erupt in her depths even while she leaned down, chomping roughly on Morning’s clit once more, this time sending shocks through her with a Thunder Fang.

“Ahhh~!” Morning screamed, fluids erupting from her slit while her tail spasmed inside of Zinnia. Her entire body twitching with aftershocks of pleasure. Zinnia screamed into her clit as her own orgasm crashed down, using her claws to brush the insides of her Mistress’s walls in order to bring her the most pleasure she could.

Morning allowed the top half of her body fall to the floor as she tried to slip her tail from Zinnia’s abused hole as she panted in an attempt to catch her breath. “Th-that felt… nice,” she managed to get out, shooting Zinnia a tired but satisfied look.

Zinnia said nothing, diligently licking Morning’s fluids from her tail, though she did pause to smile appreciatively at the praise.

“Mmm, you don’t have to do that,” Morning shuddered. “You’ll just make me want more.”

Immediately, Zinnia sped up. She even glanced up at Morning, flashing her a cocky smirk.

“Zinnia~” Morning cooed with discolored cheeks. “Thy mistress ordered thee to stop.”

“With all due respect, Mistress,” Zinnia replied, smirking at her. “No you didn’t. You said I didn’t have to.” With that, she returned to her licking, rubbing Morning’s tail gently.

“Then let me make myself clear,” Morning chuckled darkly. “Stop, or Vash and I will punish thee severely when he returns to being himself.”

“But…” the Draconid whined, glancing from Morning’s eyes to her slit. “You… You taste so good!”

“Be that as it may, I have just had two very large orgasms and would like some rest. We can pick this up later after I have rested.”

“B-but…” Zinnia stammered, clearly struggling with something. She glanced back to me, Celestia and Luna, me getting pounded from both ends while the princesses were moaning out my name. “Can… can I at least suckle on your breasts while I wait for my turn with Val?” she asked almost desperately.

“Only if I can do the same to thine later,” Morning said with a wink.

Nodding eagerly, Zinnia straddled Morning’s waist and laid her head on the Naga’s left breast, pulling the right nipple into her mouth and suckling it gently whilst hugging her Mistress.

“Mmm, does that feel better?” Morning asked as she wrapped her arms and coils around Zinnia and stroked the top of her head.

“Mmhm,” the Draconid replied, nodding a little. She cuddled a little closer to Morning, watching me and the Princesses go at it.

“How does this feel?” Luna asked as she let her head loll a little bit. I didn’t answer. Not that I could with my mouth as full as it was. Instead, I screwed my eyes closed and focused on breathing through my nose as Luna thrusted faster and faster.

Celestia was just as rough on my other end. Groping and spanking my ass as she pounded into me with reckless abandon. The sad thing was, my body was receptive to her actions. Lubricating fluids dripping to the floor as she pushed further and further into me. Just when I thought I couldn’t take any more, both of their thrusting started to take on a fever pitch. The sound of their hips smacking into me echoing throughout the throne room.

“Sister, we art close!” Luna moaned.

“Us too!”

Watching intently, Zinnia began to subconsciously nibble on Morning’s nipple, drooling all over her breast.

“Shall we finish together?” Luna asked, starting to jackhammer into me.

“Yes, let’s!” Celestia beamed, matching her pace.

I tried to say something and wiggle away, but judging by their enthusiastic cries, this only served to pleasure them more. Within a few more rapid thrusts, both of them buried themselves to their hilts, unleashing a large load into my mouth and pussy with thunderous cries of release in their royal voices. Causing the room to shake slightly. I shuddered a bit as I felt their loads taper off. I swear Luna tasted like blueberries as her length left my lips with a wet *pop*. Without both of them supporting me I collapsed to the floor and started gasping for air like a fish. My chest heaving with each breath.

Zinnia wasted no time, rushing over and helping me to my feet, Celestia slipping out as she did so. I went to thank her, only to find my hands bound above my head, suddenly attached to a length of rope that fastened me to the ceiling.

“You deserve a quick breather, Val,” the Draconid explained, smiling sweetly as she planted a quick kiss on my lips. “In the meantime, I think I deserve a turn in charge, don’t you?” 

“Umm, Zinnia, why am I tied up?” I asked with a nervous gulp.

“Because I wanted you tied up,” Zinnia replied with a giggle, booping my nose. “Now hush, or I’ll add a gag and a vibrator.” I clammed up instantly at the mention of that and remained completely still in my bonds. “Good girl~”

I watched as Zinnia turned and sashayed away, swaying her hips almost teasingly.

‘What is she going to do to me?’ I thought as I continued to watch her. ‘Is she going to break out something like a whip or a riding crop? Or is she going to dress me up in some outfit and tell me to act like something?’

Zinnia smirked, beckoning Morning over as she removed the toys from Celestia and Luna, the copies fading away shortly after. “Alright ladies,” she said, pushing the sisters to their knees before her and sending Morning a look saying she should do what she could to do the same. They all shared a look and Celestia was the first to seem to go along with whatever Zinnia was planning as Morning lowered herself a bit.

“I thought thou wanted a turn with Vash?” Morning asked, confused.

“Val, darling,” Zinnia chided. “Her name is Val for the time being. And you brought to my attention that she may need a break, therefore, I’m having my fun with you three. Unlike some, I can go almost ten rounds before tiring.”

“And what dost thou plan on having us doing?” Luna asked.

“Oh, mostly pleasing me,” Zinnia said dismissively, taking on a thoughtful look. “Maybe doing something embarrassing to earn your own pleasure. Maybe even putting on a show for me, seeing as watching you two go at it is pretty hot.” She said the last bit while pointing between Celestia and Luna, grinning evilly.

“Ok!” Celestia beamed, totally on board with whatever Zinnia had planned.

“And what makes thou think I will just go along with thy plans?” Morning huffed with slightly discolored cheeks.

“Because I have an ace in the hole that I’m going to be using anyway.”

“What in blue blazes art thou talking about now?” Luna growled with a tilt of her head.

Smirking, Zinnia just crossed her arms and waited. A few moments later, a slight “Fwumph” noise announced the arrival of a figure almost as tall as the Draconid, with light lavender skin and black hair styled really strangely, a segmented black dress covering it’s body.

“Next time you hitch a ride through dimensions,” Zinnia said, glancing to the figure. “Do me a favour and tell me, instead of sending me the sounds of your masturbating in my head while you watch me fuck.”

“And what fun would that be?” The figure asked as my eyes widened.

“Umm Zinnia,” I started, rattling in my bonds a bit. “I know you told me not to talk, but I think I just understood that Gothitelle when she talked.”

“I’m Psychic, you sexy little thing,” the Gothitelle ‘said’, turning to smirk at me as she roamed her eyes across my body. “I’m not ‘speaking’, I’m projecting my voice.”

“And the Pokemon just hit on me,” I deadpanned. “Ow, that just hit me right in the childhood.”

“I’ll give you a child to raise in a minute if you don’t go back to your hushing,” Zinnia growled, frowning at me.

I clammed up with after a quick sorry and hung limply in my restraints.

“Zinnia, I thought that thou said that Sonar and Writher were the only two of these Pokemon creatures that came with thee to our world?” Luna asked looking between her and the Gothitelle.

“I did,” Zinnia said, nodding. “Because I didn’t know about this one until I figured out the voices in my head weren’t some side-effect of the mental asylum. Which was this morning.”

‘Convenient,’ I thought.

“And what manner of creature is this Pokemon?” Morning asked.

“Like I said, I’m Psychic,” the Gothitelle said, giggling slightly. “Or rather, I’m a Psychic-Type. I use my mind to attack and influence others.”

“And I’m fairly certain she knows Hypnosis,” Zinnia tittered, nudging the Pokemon.

“Hypnosis, what is that?” Morning asked.

“And we do not like the way… she said influence,” Luna noted, glaring at the Gothitelle.

        “Luna, it’s okay,” Zinnia giggled before baring her teeth, which had once again sharpened. “If she tries anything, I’ll just take her out. But hypnosis is used in the bedroom a lot to make people more… agreeable, and to make them feel more than they normally would. For example…” She trailed off, and a second later I gulped as the Gothitelle giggled and turned to face me.

        Psychic waves flowed into my mind visibly as the Gothitelle’s voice rang out. “The very air around you makes you aroused. You take sexual pleasure from merely being looked at.”

        I let out an odd squeak as I could feel my body heat up and an electrifying tingle worked into my netherlips. “Ahh~!” I cried as I rubbed my legs together. “P-please stop looking at me!” I pleaded. “This is so weird!”

“Thy Pokemon’s hypnosis can do that?” Luna asked nervously.

“Looks fun!” Celestia quipped.

“Oh, it can be~” Zinnia giggled before nodding to the Gothitelle, who released my hypnosis with a wave of her hand. “So I planned to have her make you three incredibly submissive to me, and to heighten your senses.”

“Oh, I could do that~” Gothitelle purred.

“This is only temporary, correct?” Luna asked with a quirked eyebrow.

“Of course,” Zinnia said, nodding. “I don’t want permanent control, just for this one session. What would I do with your kingdom anyway, I live in another universe!” The three exchanged looks before shrugging at one another.

“I suppose there’s no harm in trying this hypnosis once,” Morning relented.

“We agree, we have already tried new things sexually anyway,” Luna nodded.

“Looks fun!” Celestia repeated.

Zinnia smirked, snapping her fingers. Gothitelle giggled and nodded, holding her hand out to the girls as blue-tinted psychic waves began flowing towards them, splitting into three and sinking slowly into their foreheads, right between their eyes, just below their horns. I watched in awe as their eyes pulsed a soft, powder blue for a moment.

“Look at me,” Zinnia said simply, her voice carrying an underlying authority. All three of them turned and stared directly into her eyes without hesitation. Staying stock still as they waited for Zinnia to speak again.

“Zinnia,” I called out, wiggling in my restraints slightly. “You’re not going to make them do anything too… extreme, right?”

“That depends~” Zinnia giggled, turning and glancing at me, sending pleasant tingles through my body. “I’m not sure how I feel today. I may make them run around the castle naked, then have Gothitelle erase all but their own memories. I might make Celestia ram her horn into Luna’s ass. Or I might just sit back and let Gothitelle have some fun.”

“Okay,” I sighed. “I trust your judgement.” The three girls remained where they were, still waiting for Zinnia and her next order.

The Draconid chuckled almost darkly, a hint of an evil glint in her eye as she turned back. “Hmm… Celestia, Luna, go behind a pillar and put these on,” she said, reaching into her bag (does she ever take that off!?) and throwing two bundles of clothes over, which they grabbed in their magic before walking stiffly over to a pillar each and disappearing behind them. 

“Morning, I just want you in these,” Zinnia continued, producing a set of royal purple nipply pasties with red and gold tassles. Morning nodded obediently, presenting herself as Zinnia and the Gothitelle leaned down. They grinned, taking one of her massive breasts each and running their tongues slowly over her nipples, leaving them glistening with their saliva before pressing the pasties slowly over them, pushing so that her breasts sank in before letting go, watching the orbs of flesh jiggle as they bounced back to shape.

‘Damn, that was pretty hot,’ I thought with slightly discolored cheeks. ‘But what kind of outfit could Zinnia have put the princesses in? Bunny girls, or something else?’ I turned my head to the pillar where Celestia and Luna were changing and narrowed my eyes to see if I could catch sight of anything.

As though answering my silent calls, both princesses strode out, a sway in their steps as they modeled their new belly dancer outfits, Celestia's a vibrant blue and Luna's a striking red. Zinnia glanced up at them and smirked, snapping her fingers to gain their attention.

“Very nice girls,” she praised, nodding approvingly. “They suit you. Now then, from now on, Celestia will be known as Candi Ass, and Luna as Sugah Tits.”

‘Seriously?’ I thought with a deadpan look. ‘Really hoping she doesn’t try to give me a name like that. Can only imagine what Luna would think about that name without the hypnosis. Celestia probably loves hers.’

“Yes, Mistress Zinnia,” both mares said, smiling gently as they bowed to her.

“Good girls. Now then, put on a good show and dance a little for us, either side of Valerie.”

They bowed again and sashayed over to me with exaggerated movements in their hips and their wings twitching on their backs. The two stopped when they were only a couple feet away from me and had the most devious of smirks on their faces as they struck a pose.Then, they started doing what looked like a belly dance, swaying their bodies to music that only the two of them could hear and toying with their outfits as if to tease exposing their bodies. The two continued, gyrating and twirling as whatever melody they were hearing seemed to pick up its tempo. Eventually, the two finished with one last big spin and pressed their chests together, their hands interwoven and staring deep into the other’s eyes.

‘Sweet mother of god was that hot!’ I screamed in my head as I twitched in my bonds again, my face feeling flush.

“That was good, girls!” Zinnia cried, apparently having taken a seat in Morning’s coils, using the Naga’s breasts as a pillow. “Now, start making out, but if a single hand goes under clothing you won’t be able to cum until I say so.”

The two instantly pressed their faces together, their hands staying exactly where they were. From where I was… hanging I got a good look of everything they were doing. I rubbed my legs together, my underside starting to burn up as the two continued their passionate display.

“Oh, and Val?” Zinnia called, catching my attention. I felt Gothitelle’s presence in my mind again and gulped. “You can now feel yourself being fucked by countless ravenous men, each one filling you with their seed, but you can’t cum once. Not until  I fuck you myself.”

I cried out, suddenly feeling every hole of my body being filled. Even my mouth felt like there was something in it down to my throat, but my breathing was still normal. It was one of the hardest things to describe. I turned to Zinnia with the meanest glare I could manage, but I’m sure it was just a strained look. “F-fuck you, Zinnia!” I choked out, my body thrashing wildly.

“Please,” Gothitelle chided, gliding up next to me and flicking my nipple. “Call Mistress by her proper title, or I’ll punish you myself.”

‘Eat me,’ I thought darkly. She just smirked, flicking my nipple again.

“Only if Mistress permits it,” she replied, pinching and twisting my nipple harshly. “Now, her title, if you please?”

‘How did she....’ I started before the realization hit me. ‘Oh, right, Psychic-Type. She can read my mind.’

“I’d do it, Val,” Zinnia chuckled, reaching between her legs and playing with Morning’s slit. “I’ve already given her free choice over what to do with you. She might just drop you in the Guard Barracks.”

“Grrr,” I growled out before I remembered my promise. “Mistress Zinnia,” I muttered.

“Louder,” the Draconid purred, smirking evilly. “I want you to shout it.”

“Mistress Zinnia!” I shouted, my cheeks beet red.

“Again,” Zinnia said, leaning into Morning as she spoke. “Oh, and all of the men are now me. And you can see them. Scream my name as your hallucinations drive you mad.”

Just as she said, several illusions of her wavered into existence. Each one thrusting wildly and had that same evil smirk that she was currently leveling at me. I gritted my teeth and let out a harsh hiss of air before screaming, “Mistress Zinnia!”

        Zinnia chuckled, standing and stalking over to me. She ran her hand over Cel- Candi and Sugah as she passed them, making both moan quietly into the other. Once she reached me, she leaned down, breathing into my ear. “Even when the control is over…” she whispered, pausing to nibble on my earlobe. “There will be a part of you that yearns for it to happen again. That’s not a command, that’s a fact.” I didn’t respond with words. I simply stared into her eyes as the illusion Zinnia’s kept at their task and my body felt like it was on fire. I let out an odd squeak and twitched  for a moment.

        “Hmm, there’s your orgasm…” Zinnia breathed, smirking at me as she stepped away. “They’ll just keep building up now… until you feel like you’ll explode~” She chuckled, turning and striding away. “But I’ll let you free when I feel generous. For now… Morning, come here!”

        “Yes Mistress~” Morning cooed happily as she slithered up to Zinnia and bowed before her.

        Zinnia hummed in thought for a moment before smiling, cupping Morning’s chin and raising her gaze to look in her eyes. “Your name is Cum Whore. Tell me, what is your name?”

        “Cum Whore~” She purred, nuzzling Zinnia’s hand. “Thy Cum Whore, to fill and fuck or deny as thou wishes~”

        “Good girl. Now then, rise and start to play with yourself.” 

        Morning nodded, putting her left hand on her breast and tweaking her nipple as her other started to slowly toy with her folds. She locked eyes with Zinnia and never broke her gaze as she played with her body.

        “Beautiful,” Zinnia praised, smirking at her. “Candi! Sugah! Come here!”

        The two pulled away from each other, a stream of saliva connecting them for a brief moment as the rushed over to Zinnia.

        “Yes Mistress?!” They chimed together with a bow. Zinnia held her arms out to her sides, not even looking at them.

        “Undress me. But don’t touch my body,” she said. “That is reward-only.”

        “Okay,” They chimed together, though they seemed visibly disappointed. They slowly and carefully peeled away Zinnia’s clothes, making sure they didn’t touch her skin. Eventually, Candi and Sugah were finished and Zinnia was laid bare again, a devious smirk on her face.

        “Good girls~” she cooed, turning to them. “Now then, a single touch to any part of your body from me will send you straight to climax. Do you understand?” Both nodded quickly, enthusiastically awaiting their reward with wide grins.

        “Yes Mistress!” Candi enthused.

        “Thank thee, Mistress!” Sugah beamed.

        Zinnia reached out to them, stopping just short of touching them as she suddenly frowned. “Yeah, that’s getting old. Okay girls - Cum Whore, you too,” she added quickly, and Cum Whore nodded to show she was listening. “Whenever I’m present, you speak perfect, modern English… Equish… whatever the language in Equestria is. Basically how Val and I speak.”

        “Yes Mistress,” all three mares agreed, nodding.

        “Good. Now then~” With that, she finally placed her hands on one of Candi and Sugah’s breasts each, squeezing them roughly and making both mares scream in bliss.

        “Ahhhh! Thank you so much, Mistress!” Candi cried, writhing on the floor as she rode out her climax.

        “Yes! Thank you so much, Mistress! This is simply amazing!” Sugah agreed, toying with her slit to prolong her orgasm. She frowned, however, when the feeling cut off, leaving her panting and unfulfilled.

        “Oh, Sugah Tits…” Zinnia sighed, shaking her head. “Don’t you remember? I told you not to place a hand under your clothes or you couldn’t cum until I said. Now you have to be punished.”

        Lu...Sugah’s face fell and she looked like she was on the verge of tears as she threw herself at Zinnia’s feet. “I am so sorry, Mistress! I forgot due to the pleasure of your generous gift. Please, forgive me!”

        “...No,” the Draconid said coldly, frowning at Sugah. “You disobeyed me and must be punished. Now stand up.”

        Sugah quickly agreed and shot up to her feet, steeling herself to face whatever punishment her Mistress saw fit to deliver. “I promise to never disobey again, Mistress.”

        “Of course you do,” Zinnia replied, fastening a collar around the mare’s neck and pulling her along by a leash. Quickly removing me from my bonds, Zinnia then tied Sugah up, dangling her from the ceiling and adding wing covers, a horn ring and even a spreader bar.

        “Val, your treatment’s over,” Zinnia said, and second later all of the ravaging I felt in my body vanished, causing me to sigh in relief. “Sugah Tits, you’re going to feel your ass fucked and filled over and over, but you can’t cum from it. If you make so much as a single noise, you won’t be filled, only fucked. Understood?”

        “Yes Mistress,” she nodded. “I deserve something like this for being so bad,” she finished with a whimper.

        “Yes, you do,” Zinnia agreed, her tone cold. “Perhaps if you behave for now, you can taste me. We’ll see. Your punishment starts now.” Sugah’s body shot up and she bit her lip to avoid making a noise. Her wings twitched wildly in her covers as her hips started pumping as if someone was thrusting into her. Sugah locked eyes with Zinnia, making sure she got a good look of her punishment. Then, her hips started moving faster and she bit her lip until a small trickle of blood formed at the corner to make sure she didn’t so much as squeak.

        Leaning in, Zinnia kissed the blood away, gently fondling Sugah’s tits. “You don’t need to bite your lip, Sugah…” she whispered, producing a bar-gag and fastening it around Sugah’s face. “There, now you can bite down on that. I don’t want you hurt, after all.” Sugah nodded fast just before her hips started moving in a violent blur. She threw her head back, biting down on the gag as hard as she could.

This is the end of the clop. 

        Zinnia watched her for a moment longer before turning around. She locked eyes with me, a dark grin on her face. “Now then, Valerie~”

        “Wh-what is it… Mistress?” I hastily added, not wanting to end up in another illusion.

        Zinnia chuckled, holding out her hand to help me up. “Ah, good girl, you remembered~” she purred.

        ‘I’m still a man on the inside dammit,’ I grumbled in my thoughts as I let her help me to my feet. I just stood there, not saying anything as I waited for whatever it was that Zinnia was planning.

        “You realise Gothitelle is sharing what you think with me, right?” she asked teasingly. “And I’m sure she could alter your memories. I can persuade Patty to leave you like that.”

        “Don’t even joke about that,” I growled.

        “Who’s joking?” she growled back, glaring at me challengingly as her eyes bacame slits. “You’re mine for the night.”

        My anger melted for a moment and I let out a long sigh. “Zinnia, do you know how much I kept of my old body when I became a Displaced?”

        Zinnia faltered for a moment, her eyes shifting between slits and normal for a moment before settling on slits. “Don’t care right now. Submit, slave!”

        “Alright then, let me answer that for you,” I continued, ignoring her. “Basically, just my gender. The hair? I dyed it to make it blonde. The eyes? Colored contacts. My height? I used to be just a few inches taller than what you are now.”

        Again, Zinnia faltered, actually stumbling back this time until she hit a pillar, sliding down it and clutching her head. I rushed over to her side and placed a hand along her back.

        “Zinnia, are you okay?” I asked, genuinely worried.

        The Draconid was silent for a moment before her shoulders began shaking, small sobs filling the room. “G-Goothitelle…” she stammered, huddling her knees close. “Release them…”

        “...Yes Mistress…” Gothitelle replied, waving her hand and releasing all three mares from her control. She even undid all of Luna’s binds.

        “Zinnia?” I asked, starting to rub her back.

        “...I’m going to bed…” she muttered, snapping her fingers. I heard Gothitelle sigh in my mind before she teleported, taking Zinnia with her.

        “Oh, you are not getting away that easy,” I muttered as I dashed out of the throne room. I ran naked along the halls until I stood in front of the door to the room Zinnia was staying in. I saw Sonar sitting in front of the door in his Noibat form as he cradled the gryphon egg. I patted behind his ears as I threw the door open. I found Zinnia sitting on the bed, still not under the covers.

        “And why did my Mistress leave me?” I asked as I sat next to her on the bed.

        “Go ‘way Vash…” Zinnia muttered in response, holding a pillow close to her chest as she curled up, refusing to look at me. “‘M not in the mood anymore…”

        “Val, it’s Val when I’m like this,” I reminded her with a smile as I put a hand on her shoulder. I frowned when she flinched, though, shrugging me off seconds later. “Zinnia, please talk to me.”

        “...Vash…” she said, still not looking at me. “I-I… I was going to hurt you…” She paused, fighting back tears. “I-I know you think I w-wouldn’t, but…. but I-I was going to… to…” She broke down then, burying her face in the pillow and weeping openly.

        “Shhh,” I told her softly. “You didn’t hurt me, and that’s the important thing. You controlled yourself. I can’t even begin to imagine how hard that must’ve been.”

        “I-I’m still doing it…” she muttered. “Th-the Dragon… she w-wants you, Vash. A-and she’d r… sh-she would…” She paused again, choking on the word. “I-I can’t even say it…”

        “I know, but you’re stronger than her,” I said with a warm smile.

        “No… N-no I’m not…” Okay, she’s growling now. “P-please, Vash, just go…For your own safety...”

        “I’m not going anywhere,” I stated adamantly. “Look at me Zinnia,” I ordered firmly.

        “N-no…” she stammered, shaking again as tears streamed silently down her face. “P-please, Vash… D-don’t make me…”

        “I’m not going anywhere,” I repeated as I forced her to stare me in the eyes. My circular pupils meeting her slitted ones. “You are my family now and I’m not leaving you like this. Just focus on me, not the dragon.”

        Zinnia did just that, staying into my eyes almost reluctantly. I watched as one pupil - the right one - grew again, returning to normal. My concern grew a little, though, when it seemed that a fire ignited behind her left eye, seeming to burn bright the more she struggled.

        “Vash…” Zinnia stammered, slipping between scared and angry tones. “P-please… I-I can’t…”

        “Yes, you can. I know you can,” I told her softly, refusing to even blink. I frowned, though, when I saw her glance up, seeming to start panicking more. “Zinnia!” I barked. “I told you to just focus on me.”

        “Vash, get rid of them!” she screamed, struggling to get away. “They’re not safe!”

        “Zinnia!” I roared as I held her even tighter. “You’re not going to hurt anyone, I promise you.”

        “H-how do you know that!” Zinnia cried, her wings fluttering in her panic. “Please! Just let me run!”

        “I know because I believe in you. Do you trust me?” I asked with a weak smile.

        “T-trusting you isn’t the problem…”

        “Just answer the question.”

        Zinnia was silent for a minute, her eyes wavering as she glanced from me to the door and back. Her wings furled and unfurled, her hands flared with energy before is was dispersed, her muscles tensed in my grip.

        “...Yes.”

        “Then trust me on this,” I told her with a giant toothy grin.

        Zinnia nodded, eyes filled with both terror and hope.
 
        “Focus on me and match my breathing, nothing else matters but that.” I said as I started taking a few deep breaths. She nodded again, slowing her breathing to match mine as she locked onto my eyes.

        “H-help… me…”

        “I am, I won’t leave, I’m here for you.” This continued for a while, and it slowly seemed to work, her other pupil becoming more rounded.

        “Do you really think it’s that easy?”

        Zinnia’s eyes widened again in fear, a black cloud of mist spewing from her mouth and enveloping me.

        “Wh-what is this?!” I shouted as I felt my mind slip into unconsciousness.

> Becoming the Dream Warrior
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	“Do you fear the darkness?” 

“The hell? Did someone just say something?” I mumbled as I rubbed my head.

I groaned as I felt my eyes flutter open. What greeted me was not what I was expecting.

“Hello, Draconid’s plaything.” I looked up at a creature made of shadows, it’s body resembling a flowing black cloak as dark as a black hole with a blood red collar that looked like a predator’s teeth. A long, white, wispy head held a single glowing, cyan eye, the pupil nothing but a slit. If stood before me on long, spindly legs, it’s thin arms folded behind it’s back. “Welcome to the Dream Realm. Or, more specifically, the Draconid’s Waking Nightmare.”

“Huh, a Darkrai, and here I forgot to bring my Master Balls with me. Isn’t that a shame?” I joked with a forced grin.

“Hiding your fear behind a lackluster attempt at comedy,” the Darkrai said with a sigh, shaking its head as it turned to a pair of large, circular monitors. “How pathetic.”

“I’ll give you pathetic,” I told the Darkrai with narrowed eyes. “But how dare you insinuate my jokes are lackluster!?” I boomed as I jabbed a finger at him.

“You joke that you lack the one item that is supposedly guaranteed to capture me,” Darkrai said in a bored tone. “And yet you do not use the brainpower necessary to create these jokes to realise that I am not truly here.”

“Ya know, I am not in the mood to be insulted by an admitted illusion. So, I’m just going to flip you off, wake up from this dream and then I’m going to go back to doing what I was doing with Zinnia. Like this,” I then showed the Darkrai both of my middle fingers and closed my eyes as I strained to wake up.

“Again you act like a fool,” Darkrai sighed, turning to the screens again. “If you have any intelligence in your inferior mind, come and observe. For you have been taken from your body, so unless you find the true way out, you cannot simply ‘wake up’.”

“Even an idiot is smarter than a genius illusion,” I shot back with a smirk as I sauntered over to the monitors. When I did, my smirk instantly fell.

I was looking at my own limp, lifeless body. Zinnia’s hands raised slowly into view, the same blue, flaming energy from before trying to flare up again, this time mixed with the shadows of the room flying to her hands before falling again.

“Do you see now, young fool?” Darkrai asked, no hint of emotion in its voice. “Do you see what I mean?”

“All I see is a crappy tv show. Come on, let’s change the channel to something else.”

“Still you refuse to think. What you are looking at is the Draconid’s view, what she is seeing at this very moment.” I watched as the view slowly rose, Celestia, Luna and Morning Star appearing in the doorway to Zinnia’s bedroom, Sonar fluttering behind them with the egg in his claws. “It will not be long now. Her grief will feed me, allowing me to grow and fully command her Dragon within.”

“You’re lying,” I spat. “What you’re showing me isn’t real. I know your game Darkrai. You show people and Pokemon nightmares until you can break them. Make them into something you can use. Well, it’s not going to work on me. Because you’re not even the real Darkrai. At best, you’re the shadow of a shadow. So do your worst to me because I’m getting out of here and helping my family member.”

“Deny the truth all you want, fool,” Darkrai said, waving dismissively as it turned and strode away. “But luckily for you, a human’s brain operates at one billion times the speed of what you might think. You have a long quest ahead of you to escape, Vash the Stampede. I suggest you get started.”

With that, Darkrai sank into the ground, and an entire landscape flew together in the white space. Mountains rose, rivers flowed, fields rolled, and at regular intervals between them, buildings built themselves, seemingly random in order. The closest, it seemed, was a school.

“Guess I’d better go back to school,” I muttered as I approached the building. “Good thing I always bring a shiny red apple to get on the teacher’s good side.” I pushed past the doors and walked inside. The building seemed to be in okay condition, but it was empty. No one was around me. I shrugged and started walking in a random direction, figuring I’d stumble into something along the way.

As I turned a corner, however, I caught sight of something that made my blood run cold.

There, in the middle of the corridor, was two children. A little girl, and a slightly older boy. The boy lay unconscious, blood running freely from a large gash on his forehead that stained the three white stripes in his otherwise coal-black hair.

The girl stood over him, cowering under the gaze of three… nightmarish, I guess, figures. Each of them pure black with glowing blue eyes.

“Weave my bwutha alone!” the little girl cried, tears in her eyes. She let out a scream of pain, however, when the figure in the centre struck her, sending her to the ground in a bloody, broken heap from the first blow alone. “Mommy!! Help, pwease!!”

        “Hey!” I cried as I rushed at the three black figures and attempted to shoulder tackle them. “Leave those kids alone you pieces of shit!”

        “An interloper?” the leftmost figure asked, its voice cracked and distorted. “How? Did our Lord bring him here?”

        “He must be new entertainment!” the rightmost figure cackled, revealing a set of jagged crimson teeth. “How thoughtful of our Lord!”

        I pushed past the three figures and stood between them and the two children, shielding them from the darkness as best as I could. “Yeah, I’ll entertain you,” I chuckled darkly. “But I’m not letting you anywhere near these children.”

        “P-pwease, mistah…” I heard, turning and blinking when I realised that the girl clearly a much younger version of Zinnia, her hair tied back into pigtails. Her eyes were the same, though, still a bright red. “Help my bwutha…”

        “Don’t you worry about a thing,” I told her with the biggest grin I could. “I’m gonna stop these three. You grab your brother and get him to the nurse.”

    “Nurse?” the central figure asked before scoffing, straightening out and taking a large swig from a bottle. “They never paid me enough to ever ‘nurse’ these brats.”

        I turned and scowled at the figure, leveling my best death glare at it. “Say that again and I’ll shove that bottle so far up your ass that you’ll puke it out again.”

        The figure scowled, breaking the bottle over the right one’s head and levelling the shattered remains at me. “You wanna go, bitch? I can kill her bastard brother, I can kill you too.”

        “Yeah, and it’s three against one too,” the rightmost figure chuckled, levelling what looked like a spear at me.

        “And what weapons do you have, anyway?” the left figure asked, priming a large hammer. “Not like you could take us unarmed, could you?”

        “Heh, you’re right, it is three against one. You wanna take a few minutes and grab a few more guys to make this a fair fight?” I snarked with the cockiest grin I could manage under the circumstances.

        All three of the creatures actually paused at that, looking between each other before laughing. “If you insist,” the spear-wielding one laughed, blowing on what looked like a whistle. Within seconds, all of the doors lining the corridor burst open, more shadow creatures swarming out and surrounding me and the children.

        “Um, I remember saying a few more guys. This is clearly more than a few. You’re disqualified and I automatically win this fight.” I said, turning on my heel and grabbing Zinnia and her brother. “Come along children, we’re done here. Let’s go get some ice cream.”

        What looked like a giant book stopped my path, held by a pure black, wrinkly old hand, almost skeletal actually. “You’re not going anywhere, sonny,” the skinny old hag holding the book sneered. “Our Lord wants you stopped.”

        “Okay, I understand what you’re saying but…” I offered before I reared back with my foot and kicked the hag between the legs. “...You’ll never take me alive!” I cried as I hoisted both Zinnia and her brother onto my shoulders and started running as fast as my legs could carry me. Loads of oversized, pure black, weaponised school equipment was thrown at me as I ran, either shattering on impact or destroying the ground before me.

        “This is not how to overcome the Nightmare Shadows,” Darkrai said boredly, rising from the shadows and floating along beside me. “Though I must admit, your odd tactics are… interesting.”

        “Tactics would imply I have a plan,” I huffed as I rounded a corner. “I’m just making this shit up off the top of my head.”

        “...you just lost the only shred of respect I have ever had for another being.”

        “Considering you’re an evil son of a bitch, I’m taking that as a compliment.”

        ‘He’s right though, this isn’t working. Come on man, you can think your way out of this. Use that greymatter for something other than scrap-metal and tits. Think through everything Darkrai’s said so far.’ I closed my eyes and focused on everything that seemed relevant. After what felt like an eternity, my eyes shot open and a manic grin overtook my face. ‘Wait a minute, Quest, that could mean something. This is either the single greatest idea ever, or I’m an idiot that’s about to die in a blaze of glory… I’ll take those odds.’

        I shifted Zinnia and her brother in my grasp and started to kick over any trash cans that we passed and slamming my shoulders into any and all lockers I could find in an attempt to force them open.

        “Yes! Finally!” I cried as one of the lockers opened, revealing… “Okay, this is a school and there’s a god-damn machete in one of the lockers. Though if the teachers are that fucked up… Well, I’m just glad that I’ve already graduated.” I put Zinnia and her brother down and started patting her on the head. “You take your brother and hide. I need to take care of those things.”

        “Thanks mistah,” young Zinnia said, hugging my legs as tears fell down her face. “You’re the goodest person I eva met.”

        “Heh, trust me, you’re going to meet much nicer people than me. Don’t ever give up, okay?”

        The girl nodded happily before wrapping her brother’s arm around her neck, moving down the hall with him. I sighed happily and started running in the direction that we had come from. ‘I am so going to die.’ I thought with a chuckle. Eventually I made it to the nearest shadow and swung my machete at it.

        To my surprise, the blade of the machete cleaved right through the shadow, making it fall to the ground and look like it was burning away. I smirked evilly as I looked between the shadows and my machete.

        “Normally I don’t approve of killing, but since this is a nightmare I’ll make an exception.” I then lunged forward and cleaved into the nearest shadow. The others jumped at me in an attempt to dog-pile on me, but I smirked and spun with my arm outstretched in a ridiculous looking maneuver.

        Kinda wish I had dressed as a certain other red-coated character now, but hey, circumstances. I kept running through the hoard, slicing into and through the shadows and leaving behind a trail of slowly decaying shadows. I kept cutting through them, switching the machete to my other arm in a flourishy move when my main hand started to get tired. Eventually, I was back where I started and the three shadows that started all this were waiting for me.

        “Huh, you found out how this works then?” the one with the hammer asked, now towering over me. Its features were much more defined this time - it actually looked like a giant, if really grotesque, man in glowing cyan goggles, with flowing white hair, pitch black clothes and a jagged crimson apron.

        “Hey, you all got makeovers, now that’s just adorable,” I said with a cocky grin as I rested my machete on the back of my neck.

        “Watch it, ya little twerp!” the ‘nurse’ growled, now sporting a flowing white ponytail, and a black nurse’s uniform with jagged red markings, a giant syringe in her grip instead of her broken bottle.

        “This one’s funny!!” the spear-wielder shrieked with laughter, now looking like a generic gym coach with thinning white hair and a black sweatsuit with a jagged red collar and cuffs, resting his javelin on his shoulder. “Let’s kill ’im!”

        “Heh, better men than you have tried to do that,” I laughed, keeping up my smirk. Now, come on, show me your moves!” I called out as I shadowboxed in place.

        The nurse cried out in rage, aiming the syringe at me and charging forward, the blade glinting dangerously. I swung my machete in an upward arc, knocking the syringe away from me before I pulled back with my fist and punched the nurse as hard as I could with the battlecry of, “Shut up, Nurse!”

        A cackle of mad laughter was the only warning I got before the Gym Coach’s javelin flew by my face, missing by mere inches purely because I managed to lean back.

        ‘I sure hope this works. Otherwise I’ll look like an idiot.’

        “Hey coach?” I asked as I grabbed at the javelin lodged in the floor. “You want your stick back?”

        “Yeah!” he laughed, holding his hand out. “Gimme!”

        “Okay,” I shrugged, somehow managing to free it. “Head’s up!” I cackled as I threw the javelin right at his face. It pierced his right eye, flying out the back of his head with his brain impaled on it’s spike and leaving the laughing body behind to burn away.

        “Did he just kill one of us?” the hammer-wielding one asked, lumbering forward and swinging it’s hammer over it’s shoulder. “Should I avenge him?”

        “Yes, you idiot!” the nurse bellowed, aiming at me and pressing the plunger of her syringe in, firing blasts of what looked like blood at me.

        “Hey, that’s no way to talk to your friend,” I pouted as I dodged the mysterious bloody liquid. The larger one’s hammer slammed down, and I just barely managed to dodge it.

        “What’s a friend?” he asked, struggling to pull his hammer from the ground. I pressed my foot down on his hammer in order to give him a harder time with pulling it out.

        “I’m glad you asked,” I beamed. “Friends are the people you can rely on. The ones that can always serve to make your day better and are with you in the highest and lowest moments of your life.”

        He paused at that, tilting his head to the side. “...What’s a life?”

        “Well, if you’ll be my friend I’ll show you,” I told him with a grin.

        “...Can I hit you if I’m your friend?”

        “No, but you can hit other things.”

        “...I think I’ll just hit you.” With that, he swung again, this time spinning with the hammer until it embedded itself in the wall.

        “What is it with you guys and throwing things at me?” I whined as I hacked away at the relatively defenseless shadow.

        “JUST FUCKING DIE!!!” the nurse bellowed, going for a jumping stab with her syringe after firing a stream of blood at me. I let out a totally not-girly scream and rolled away from the nurse’s attack.

        “You are a mean shadow lady!” I shouted, jumping back to my feet. She just let out a scream of pure, primal rage, charging forward again as her syringe seemed to change, becoming a sword with the blood vial being held in the centro of the blade. I brought up the machete and readied to defend myself against whatever kind of attack she had planned. She thrusted forward and I side-stepped, her bloody sword nearly grazing my cheek. I swung the machete, hoping to decapitate the angry nurse once and for all.

        I landed in a crouch, panting heavily. Silence reigned for a second before something rolled into my view, revealing itself as the nurse’s head as it stopped.

        “Fuck. You.”

        “Come on nurse,” I started with a smirk. “There’s no need to lose your head over this.”

        The last sound out of the nurse’s mouth before she burned away was a scream of pure rage. I turned just as the last of her body burned away, blinking when I realised it had carried on to impale the big hammer guy, meaning he was just finishing burning away too.

        “Yes!” I cried as I threw my arms in the air while a victory tune played in my head. “I can’t believe that actually worked!” I turned and scanned all of the decaying shadows all around me. “I guess I should go tell Baby Z that she’s safe now,” I said as I slipped the machete into my belt.

        I started walking down the halls and whistled to myself as I going to where I left her. Once I was right where left her I put a hand to the side of my mouth and called out, “Zi… little girl! You can come out now, everything’s fine!”

        A quiet rattling sounded from further down the hall, and I hurried over to a locker just as young Zinnia tumbled out of it, her brother falling out of the one next to hers. “Thanks mistah!” she cried, beaming up at me as she pulled her brother into her lap. “We’d be in a wot of twubble  without you!”

        I knelt down on one knee so I could look her in the eye and started patting her on the head. “I couldn’t stand to see two kids get hurt like that. Especially when one is a fair maiden such as yourself,” I finished, adding a grandiose tone to my voice.

        Little Zinnia giggled before going stiff, her eyes glowing golden. I stumbled back as she placed her hand on her brother’s head, his eyes flying open and glowing gold too.

        “You have done a great deed, Dream Warrior,” they called out, speaking in unison. “As thanks for your efforts, accept the first part of the power needed to purge the Nightmare from this mind.”

        With that, both kids burst into pure golden light, swirling into a small funnel of energy.

        “Step into the light to receive your reward.”

        Without thinking, I took a few jerky steps into the funnel of energy that was once the two children. When I did, my entire body felt… strange. I couldn’t really describe it well there was a lot of different feelings swirling around my body at once.

        “Who is this? What do you mean by Dream Warrior?” I asked, whipping my head around in the funnel of energy.

        “All will be revealed…” the voice said again, now sounding much softer, calmer… female. “In time.”

        The light gathered over my forearms, forming a pair of golden gauntlets with powder blue and light pink crescent patterns.

        I smiled as I rotated the gauntlets and chuckled to myself as I walked toward the closest exit. “And now I know who you are. Thank you.” 

I walked out of the school and steadied myself for whatever this nightmare world would throw at me. There were no demonic shadows that greeted me as I returned to the odd landscape. I scanned the area and saw that the closest location was a park of sorts. I gulped a bit as I started to wonder what kind of horror awaited me. I eventually made it to the park, and much like the school it was devoid of life at first.

“No Daddy, I can’t swim!!”

I shot up as if I was struck with a cattle prod and ran over to the source of young Zinnia’s voice. Sprinting to the edge of the gigantic lake in the centre of the park, looking across the water to see a large Shadow, holding what looked like Zinnia in her early teens by the scruff of her neck, preparing to throw her in.

“Please Daddy, don’t do this!” she cried, struggling against his grip. “I’ll learn, I promise! Please let me go!”

“Your actions shame the whole family!” the figure, who I’m assuming was Zinnia’s father, bellowed, his voice echoing across the water. “If you cannot keep your hands to yourself you will spend your days under the lake!”

I felt a white hot rage overtake me from such an awful threat and I couldn’t resist roaring, “Hey dickhead! You’re the only shameful thing I see!”

The Shadow glanced up, rolling his eyes. “Stay out of this, you naive child. How I discipline my daughter is my business.”

“Not anymore it isn’t!” I thundered. “You lost the right to call her that when you made that threat!” I started running around the lake in order to confront the shadow. He watched me for a moment before letting out an exaggerated sigh, beginning to grow as large, almost majestic wings sprouted from his back. Being the idiot that I am, this didn’t deter me, stopping just a few feet away from him.

“What is it with you nightmare shadows and your costume changes?” I asked as I looked up at him.

“It is none of your concern how our Lord blesses us,” the shadow scoffed, casually throwing the young girl out into the centre of the lake, where she splashed down and began thrashing in a panic. “Now then, can you truly hope to fight me and save her at the same time?”

“I dunno, but I’m sure as hell gonna try,” I smirked as I dove into the lake. 

I held my breath and stayed underwater as long as I could so that the shadow have a harder time hitting me. I swam as fast as I could in order to make it to Zinnia before anything could happen to her. Just as my lungs started screaming for precious oxygen I surfaced, whipping my head around to get a good look at Zinnia and the shadow.

As I thought, Zinnia was still in the water, thrashing about even as she started sinking. Just as I began swimming towards her, I felt a set of  large talons close around me, and I was lifted into the air above the lake.

“Pathetic,” the Shadow spat, spinning in the air and flinging me into a tree, where I crashed into it back-first.

“Gah!” I cried out in pain as I felt like my spine was nearly turned into powder. I slowly slid down to the ground and pulled myself onto shaky feet. “Y-you’re not gonna stop me that easily,” I huffed as I spat a small stream of water onto his talon.

The Shadow reared back, hissing as steam rose from where the water had splashed him. I smirked when I saw that and started laughing a little. “Oh, does the big, bad shadow not like water?”

He snarled, rearing back and taking to the air. “I am the Pheonix of Nightmares, the Immortal Pride of Darkness! A mere splash of water shall never end me!”

As soon as he said that I nearly doubled over in laughter. “Hey dumbass!” I called out to him. The Shadow snapped it’s gaze to me, snarling slightly. “I’ve got an entire lake to throw at you!” I laughed as I dashed towards the lake again, ignoring the pain in my back. I managed to breach the water’s surface again, diving and doing my best to make it to Zinnia while the shadow looked for an opening against me. When I needed air again, I surfaced slightly so that only my nose was exposed. I took all the air I could get in an instant and went back down and kept going towards Zinnia’s thrashing body. I finally managed to make it to her and threw an arm around her waist.

“Calm down, I’ve got you.” I said as I surfaced. Zinnia began coughing and spluttering, taking in as much air as she could before answering.

“Tha-” she tried before coughing again, managing to calm down a second later. “Thank you…”

“Don’t thank me yet, I’ve still gotta get you onto dry land,” I said with a smile as I started kicking my legs and slowly making way towards the other side of the lake. A piercing shriek rang out, not unlike a hawks, before a shadow began to grow around us.

“Look out!” Zinnia cried.

“Hold your breath!” I boomed before I pulled us both under the water as the shadow jettisoned toward us. Zinnia struggled for a moment before wrapping her arms around me, holding on for dear life. The shadow pulled away as its claws narrowly avoided us. I pulled us back over the surface of the water, both of us started taking gulps of air. “Keep looking out for that thing, I’m gonna focus on getting us out of the water,” I said, resuming my kicking.

Zinnia nodded, holding on to me as she scanned the air. “I-I’m Zoey,” she said shakily.

“I’m V… Peter, nice to meet you.” I told her with as big of a smile I could manage. Zoey smiled back before looking to the sky again, her eyes widening. 

“Uh… he’s coming back around…” she said, her grip tightening. “A-and he’s on fire!”

“Alright, I’m gonna need you to hold your breath again,” I said in a calm tone. “His fire shouldn’t hurt us while we’re underwater.” Zoey nodded and I pulled us back down. I shielded her with my body as well as I could manage and hoped for the best as the shadow dove down. I clenched my eyes and started worrying about everything that could happen if I had just made the wrong choice.

Nothing happened for a moment, and I almost swam back up for breath before the Shadow’s talons breached the waters, the fire surrounding them managing to keep the water away from its flesh by turning it to steam.

‘Clever bastard…’ I thought, bringing an arm up to defend us out of reflex and closing my eyes. When nothing happened, however, I risked opening them again only to see the Shadow once more in the air, and when I breached the surface I saw steam rising from its talons.

“Ha! Looks like your little fire trick didn’t work!” I laughed as I loosened my tight grip on Zoey slightly, starting to swim again. The Shadow snarled at me and dived again, faster than before. “Oh shit!” I screamed as I brought up my arm again without thinking. I winced and put myself in front of Zoey in a vain hope of protecting her. Just when I was prepared for the Shadow to pluck me out of the water, the gauntlet on my hand started to glow with a brilliant golden light. Then, a gout of water shot out from the light and struck the Shadow, causing it to let out a pain-filled shriek. The Shadow pulled up and I looked at my hand dumbly. “This might just be the best gift I’ve ever been given,” I said to myself.

The Shadow shrieked loudly in challenge, circling us as I began pulling Zoey to the shore again, the girl keeping her eyes on it. Whenever it looked like it would dive again, Zoey tapped me on the shoulder, and I spun around to fire at it, narrowly missing each time but still managing to scare it off long enough to make some progress. This continued for some time until the both of us were able to start wading through the shallow part of the lake. 

I turned to Zoey with a determined look and told her, “You need to get out of here Zoey, I’ll deal with this guy.”

Zoey frowned, steadying herself. “No!” she cried. “I’m not going to run away and leave you with that… thing!”

“Are we really going to have this argument?” I sighed as I looked between her and the Shadow. Zoey huffed in response, crossing her arms.

“Get down!” she cried out suddenly, tackling me to the floor just before the Shadow swept past, it's talons tearing up the earth where I had just been standing.

“Hey, I’m supposed to be the one saving you here,” I joked with fake indignation. Zoey chuckled from her position on top of me before smirking, giving me a lidded gaze.

“Hmm, maybe you can save me from something else later~”

“Well, uh… first we have to deal with that thing,” I stuttered as I tried to bring myself to a sitting position. Zoey blinked before blushing, standing and helping me up.

“Right, sorry,” she mumbled, rubbing her arm.

“YOU HARLET!!!” the Shadow screeched, bursting into flames and diving at us. “CAN YOU NOT KEEP YOUR SINFUL HANDS TO YOURSELF FOR ONCE IN YOUR DISGRACEFUL LIFE!?!”

“Didn’t I already say that the only disgraceful thing here is you!” I roared as I thrusted both of my fists at the Shadow and fired as much water at the thing as possible. The Shadow’s flames died as soon as the water made contact and it let out the loudest shriek yet. The Shadow faltered in the air and crashed to the ground in a small explosion of dirt and rocks. I turned to Zoey and said, “Come on, if you wanna help then let’s finish that thing off.”

Zoey nodded, charging forwards and grabbing a rock before hurling it as hard as she could. The Shadow stopped, hovering there as the rock bounced off its chest, giving the girl a ‘did you really just do that’ look.

“Hold on, allow me to try something,” I chuckled as I punched the air with my gauntlets and fired more water at the Shadow. The giant bird-thing dived under the blasts, skimming the ground as it flew at us at tremendous speeds. “Shit! Get out of the way!” I cried as I pushed us down, feeling the Shadow’s talons rake across my still very sore back. I let out a hiss of air through my teeth and forced a smile onto my face. “You okay?”

Zoey stared up at me in shock, blinking. “Y-yeah…” she stammered.

“Good because I have another idea,” I chuckled to avoid groaning in pain as I slipped off one of my gauntlets and held it in front of her. “Let’s split up and fire at that bastard from two sides to make it harder for him to dodge.”

Zoey nodded dumbly, taking the gauntlet and fastening it to her arm. She turned, aiming her arm as the Shadow came back around for another strike and letting loose a stream of water, striking it in the side of the face and making it shriek in pain as it veered away.

“Nice shootin’, Tex!” I beamed as I followed her example and shot at the Shadow in continuous bursts. The Shadow rolled and attempted to dodge, but one or two lucky streams of water managed to hit it in the wings, causing it to shriek in anger and pain as it spun out toward the ground. “Looks like I clipped the little birdie’s wings,” I told Zoey with a grin as the Shadow continued to fall, the girl letting out a short bark of laughter.

“How dare you!!” the Shadow boomed, climbing to it's feet and looming over us. “You take away my Lord’s gift of flight!?! I will tear your flesh from your bones and use what’s left to pick my teeth!!”

“Sticks and stones may break my bones, but first you gotta throw ‘em!” I laughed as I leveled my fist at the Shadow and fired right at its face. “Zoey, let ‘im have it!”
        
        “Sir, yes sir!” Zoey cried, laughing madly as she skirted around the Shadow’s side, blasting it with a barrage of watery projectiles. We both circled around the Shadow, steam obscuring it from our view as the thing started to shriek pitifully. I almost felt bad for the thing, but then I remembered what it had tried to do to Zoey and started blasting it with more intensity. This went on for a few minutes and eventually the Shadow’s cries of pain died off.

        “Alright, I think we’re done here,” I said as I lowered my hand and carefully watched the steam that veiled the Shadow. As the cloud cleared up, I chuckled as I saw the Shadow again, back into it’s more human-like form. “Hmm, now who’s pathetic?”

        “Shut… up…” the Shadow panted, glaring at me as it struggled to lift itself. “You… will see… your end…”

        “Maybe, but not because of anything you’ll do,” I smirked as I fired one more blast of water right between the Shadow’s eyes. The Shadow let out one final scream before wavering out of existence. I then looked over to Zoey with a confident smirk and smoldering eyes. “So, what was that about saving you from something else?”

        Zoey smirked, taking the gauntlet off and tossing it back to me. “Perhaps another time, Dream Warrior,” she purred, her eyes beginning to glow  bright gold.

        I slumped over and let out a long sigh. “Figured that was gonna happen. Alright, turn into that golden light thing like before,” I said as I put the gauntlet back on. Zoey smiled serenely, spreading her arms wide just before she burst into the golden light from before, this time leaving behind a faint, powder-blue figure with pale yellow hair and soft pink ribbons connecting it’s shoulders to it’s wrists.

        “As each obstacle is surpassed,” the figure chimed, holding her arm out as the funnel of light formed again. “More of my form is restored, and more of the Draconid’s mind is saved from her past. Step into the light, Dream Warrior, and receive your reward.”

“Can you answer a question for me?” I asked as I stepped forward. “Was there a reason why I was pulled into Zinnia’s mind? Or did I just happen to be close by when Darkrai’s influence was spreading?”

        “What you saw was the foul substance poisoning ‘Zinnia’,” the figure explained. “I, however, managed to alter it, to pull the consciousness of Zinnia’s most trusted individual in range into her mind to purge it.” She paused, a light giggle sounding out. “So I suppose it was a combination of the two, in answer to your question. Should another, more trusted one have been nearby, you would not have been chosen, but that you were is a statement in and of itself.”

        “Okay,” I shrugged stepping into the golden light. “Either way I was still going to do everything I could to help,” I chuckled and grinned at the figure.

        “I had no doubt,” she nodded. “Good luck, Dream Warrior. Things will only become more difficult ahead.”

        I nodded back as she faded away, looking down as the golden light followed suit and inspecting the new addition. A pair of golden, plated boots with powder blue cuffs and a small pink crescent on each of my ankles shined in the sunlight.

        “Hmm, a little too flashy by my usual tastes. But if they’re half as useful as these gloves have been, then I love them,” I smiled as I walked out of the park. I surveyed the landscape to see what the closest location would be. 

        “Of course…” I muttered with a slight grin, seeing a large, purple-painted building in the distance with a giant neon sign of a busty woman on a stripper pole above it. A large white canopy hung over the front door, with another neon sign above that simply read ‘XXX’. “Looks like I’m going to be paying “Zeta” a visit,” I chuckled as I made my way down the hill and towards the city-scape that the building was a part of. It didn’t take me long to make it to the building. I figured the fact that I was inside a dream had something to do with that. I tried to make myself as unassuming as possible (something that is pretty hard to do with gold-plated boots) as I pushed the door to the building open and slipped inside.

        It was pretty dark inside, with posters of what I assume were adult films in Zinnia’s world lining the walls. Titles like ‘Cum My Way’ and ‘Lady of the Cock Rings’. I blinked, pausing as I passed another two - ‘The Trouble with Tribbing’ and ‘Futa Fever’. Every one of the posters showed Zinnia in a state of undress and in a different position each time, but these two were… wow.

        “I think I’m just gonna…” I mumbled as I took those last two off the wall and slipped them into my pocket. “... save these for later. Now, let’s see where ‘Zeta’ is so I can purge whatever darkness is here.” 

I pulled myself away from the posters and started to look for where the ‘magic’ happened, figuring that was where I was most likely to find her. I passed through a long, dark hallway, the smell of perfume and stale sex heavy in the air. Eventually, there were bright spots of light shining at the end of the hallway. I quickened my pace and after a minute of jogging, I had found what I was looking for.

        A professional film set - at least, I think it was - with hazy grey figures walking back and forth behind the cameras, working all the equipment. I reached out as one passed me, my arm phazing right through.

        “Huh…” I muttered. “Passive memories, I guess.”

        I looked up as a figure walked onto the stage, recognising her as Zinnia - or Zeta - in an incredibly tight dress with a low neck, her nipples showing through the fabric.

        “Uh, I’m not sure about this one…” she said nervously, rubbing her arm.

        ‘Never thought I’d hear her say something like that,’ I thought as my eyes roved along her dress. ‘But, this is a younger Zinnia. I think I know who’s going to be the monster I have to fight this time. Cue the asshole, abusive director!’ I thought with a smirk.

        One of the grey memories stood up, moving over and speaking to her for a moment before she gave it a quick hug. “O-okay, I guess… I guess I can try…” ‘Zeta’ muttered before the figure left the stage, taking a seat in the director’s chair. Zeta took a deep breath before nodding to the cameras, slipping into character as they began rolling. “Ugh, where is that landscaper…” she muttered, crossing her arms and pushing her breasts up.

        ‘Huh, so the director was a bust,’ I thought with a frown. ‘So who’s going to be the crazy monster I have to fight? This just looks like a classic porn scenario is about to play out. Do I have to find some other place to purge darkness?’ I scanned the room, only finding gray figures instead of the shadows like I had at the last two locations.

        I looked up as Zeta gasped, seeing the door on the side of the set swing open. “There you are!” she cried, putting her hands on her hips in mock anger. “What took you so long!”

        “Shut the fuck up, you fine little bitch!” a feminine voice boomed out, and a second later a tall, busty Shadow stepped in, grinning madly and brandishing a small knife. “There’s much better things you can do with your mouth.”

        ‘Oooh, it was the co-star,’ I thought with a look of realization as I snuck along the set, trying to get behind the shadow. ‘And it’s a woman too, now that is a clever twist on the whole landscaper and the rich debutante trope.’ I finished my thought as I made it to the doorframe that the Shadow had emerged from. I then jumped out, attempting to bring both of my fists down on the Shadow’s skull before she could transform.

        The Shadow spun and swept her arms towards me, a blast of air sending me flying back. “Pathetic,” she spat before turning to Zeta again, slashing out with her knife. I crashed into a nearby wall, spare equipment and props clattering to the floor as I cried out in pain when I landed on the slash marks that I got earlier. I let out a low growl, picking up a dildo that had flopped onto my head and throwing it at the Shadow, flopping against her cheek harmlessly.

        “Hey bitch! I’m not done with you yet!” I roared, standing up again.

        The Shadow turned slowly, blood dripping from it’s blade. “Oh, does the little boy wanna get frisky?” she purred, a lecherous grin forming on her lips.

        “What I want is for you to stop attacking my friend!” I growled, fists clenched at my sides. I took a step forwards, the boots glowing as I did and a block of stone shooting up from the floor, which I instinctively spun and kicked at the Shadow.

        The Shadow dove out of the way, glaring at me as it stood afterwards and it began to grow, chest and rear expanding as it’s clothes shrank away. “Friend? Please. You just want her for her body,” she spat, standing tall and thrusting its chest out, eyes closed proudly. “Like how you’re staring at me right now.”

        In response, I stomped on the floor several times, stones shooting up which I punched right at the Shadow’s face. All of them made contact and she opened her eyes to continue glaring at me. “I’m not in the mood for head games you ugly cunt. So let’s just fight so I can kill you and save my friend!”

        “UGLY!?!” the Shadow cried in indignation, rearing back. “How DARE you!?! I’ll milk you dry until all that’s left is dust!!”

        “Try me, bitch!” I boomed. 

        The Shadow thrust her hands forward, sending a gust of wind at me. I stomped on the ground again, a wall of rock preventing the wind from pushing me into the wall again. I punched the wall, sending it flying towards her. She sliced it in half with a wave of air and I tucked and rolled to avoid her attack.

        The Shadow pressed her attack, advancing on me and sending constant blasts and slices of air with fluid swipes and kicks, jumping and flipping as she did so with some kind of martial art. I barely managed to dodge, erecting walls of earth when I couldn’t and sealing her in boxes of stone when I was cornered. I rushed over to one of the boxes of stone and roundhouse kicked one of the walls in an attempt to crush her. The wall started moving, but before it could hit her she sliced it in half with another wave of air. My eyes widened as the wave continued hurtling towards me. I wasn’t able to dodge and the wave sliced into my chest, causing me to cry out in pain and fall to the ground. I put a hand to my chest and examined it, groaning when I saw a thin layer of blood on it.

        “Oh no~!” the Shadow cried sarcastically, stalking closer. “The whore’s ‘valiant knight’ isn’t a perfect fighter after all~!”

        “You’re right, I’m not a perfect fighter,” I said with a groan. “But I’m not a valiant knight either,” I continued with a small smirk, stomping my foot to cause a jagged pillar of rock to erupt between the Shadow’s legs. “I fight like a rotten, no-good bastard.”

        The Shadow froze, eye twitching as she let out a pathetic-sounding whine of pain. “Mother!” she cried before exploding in a flurry of shadows, the remnants sinking into the floor.

        I laughed and allowed my head to fall to the floor, exhausted. “And here I thought a porn-star would love to have a long, hard pillar between her legs. Guess I was too much for her to handle.” I winced as I put a hand to my wound, pushing myself to my feet and stumbling over to Zeta, who lay sobbing in the centre of the stage, the grey passive-memories surrounding her and seeming to be in a panic. 

        “It’s okay now, she’s gone.” I said as I knelt down beside her. Zeta looked up to me, tears in her eyes, and I winced when I saw the huge cut across her lower back.

        “I-it hurts…” she muttered shakily, looking up at me pleadingly.

        “I know,” I said as I took one of her hands and put it on my chest wound causing me to flinch slightly. “But the pain will go away eventually.”

        Zeta sniffled, whimpering slightly as she pushed herself up, wincing. “P… Promise?”

        “For a girl like you? I’d promise anything,” I told her with a goofy smile. Zeta smiled shakily, moving over and hugging me gently.

        “Th-thank you…” she muttered, shaking again as tears poured from her eyes. “Thank you… s-so much…”

        “You’re welcome… I just wish I could’ve been faster. Then you wouldn’t have gotten that cut,” that last part I muttered to myself.

        The girl went still, a golden light overtaking her body before splitting away, leaving the pale blue figure from before. Instead of swirling into a cone, however, the light wrapped around me, forming a white strap across my torso and a large, golden sword on my back, the guard and handle being a mix of blue and pink.

        “The girl’s injuries were unavoidable, Dream Warrior,” the figure said sadly, stepping away. She was more defined now, a pale yellow  gown covering her curves as she blinked with pure pink eyes. A large pink gem appeared in her forehead as she began floating. “They  are a fixed point in her memory, the pain a part of her character. Ask about scars when you awake, and you shall see.”

        “Okay, but could you maybe change up my weapon?” I asked as I tugged at the sword. “I’ve kinda gotten used to being a gunslinger.” The figure tilted her head curiously before nodding, holding her hands out.

        “Of course. Merely hand me the weapon.”

        I did as she asked and carefully placed the sword into her outstretched hands. Her hands glowed with a golden light that overtook the sword until it was a silhouette. The silhouette started to shift until it looked like the outline of a large pistol. When the light died down, the figure offered me the new weapon, a large golden revolver with two chambers that seemed to flip to line up with the barrel, both decorated with pink and blue crescents. The handle had a large guard around it, coloured pink and blue, and there was a large crescent moon on the side.

        “Is that more to your preferences, Dream Warrior?” the figure asked, smiling sweetly. She then held out a much smaller, two-shot pistol with a gold body and blue/pink handle.

        “I might have to get used to the double barrels,” I said as I took the guns and examined them. “But yeah, this is totally my speed,” I told the figure with a grin as I holstered the guns with a flourish.

        “Wonderful. Now then, do you have any questions that need answering before you continue?”

        ‘None that wouldn’t offend,’ I thought as I stole a glance at the figure’s curves.

        “Nope, I think I sated my curiosity last time.”

        “I know of your urges,” the figure giggled. “Do not worry yourself about offending me. Please feel free to speak your mind.”

        “Uhhh…” I drawled as a blush spread across my face. “I’d better get going, Zinnia needs saving!” I thundered as I ran out of the studio, the figure’s giggling ringing in my ears.

        I burst through the doors and whipped my head to see where I’d need to go next. For some reason, one building in particular seemed to stick out. Which is strange considering it was one of the most typical houses I’ve ever seen. Two stories, white picket fence, the whole nine yards. I started jogging over to the house, wary of what I was going to find this time. I made it to the front door rather quickly and put my ear to it in an attempt to hear something. I didn’t hear anything so I slowly turned the knob with my hand hovering over my double barrel revolver. I walked inside to find a rather dark living room, no signs of life at first. I craned my head, keeping an eye out for anything that could sneak up on me.

        “I don’t believe this…” I heard from further in the house. “You’re a prostitute? Really?”

        “No, Mom,” a second, familiar voice groaned. “I’m an actress. I just happen to be in the adult film business.”

        “All I hear is ‘whore for hire’,” the first voice spat.

        ‘Oh this is just going to end well,’ I thought as I drew my revolver and followed the sounds of the voices. Turning the next corner, I saw a young man with long black hair peeking around a doorframe. ‘That  must be her brother, Ace,’ I thought as I got a good look at him. 

        “Hey, where’s Zoey?” I whispered.

        Ace jumped, spinning to face me before glaring openly. “Great…” he muttered. “First Mom finds out about Zo’s job, and now some crazed fan wants to kidnap her.”

         “I’m not here to kidnap anyone,” I deadpanned with a roll of my eyes. “I’m a friend of Zoey’s,” I said as I put the gun out of sight. “And you’re Ace, right? She’s told me a lot about you. Like what you did for her 18th birthday,” I finished with a knowing smile.

        Ace blushed, turning away with a huff. “Alright, fine,” he grunted, looking around the door again. “Zo’s in there, talking to our mom. I wouldn’t go in there though, Mom’s got kind of an… explosive temper.”

        “Yeah,” I chuckled as I strode towards where he indicated. “And I’ve got a winning personality, I think I’ll be just fine.” Before Ace could stop me, I walked into a kitchen to find Zoey and her Shadow mother in the middle of an argument. I cleared my throat to get their attention and said, “Hey, sorry if I’m interrupting something,” I paused and chuckled to myself for a moment. “Actually, that’s a lie, I really wanted to interrupt this argument.”

        Zoey glanced up at me, her eyes widening. “Peter…” she breathed in disbelief.

        “And just who are you?” the Shadow-Mom sneered, crossing her arms. “Another of my whore daughter’s boy-toys?”

        I couldn’t resist the opportunity and struck a pose. “I am a hunter of peace, and I search for the elusive mayfly of love. And I am a friend of your daughter’s. Not just a dick attached to a body to scratch her feminine itches.”

        “But you have scratched her itches, hmm?” the Shadow persisted, quirking her brow. “I can tell. You are just as sex-driven as her. You both disgust me.”

        “I actually haven’t slept with your daughter,” I told the Shadow.

        ‘At least not at this point in her life.’

        “I don’t believe you,” she spat. “The way you keep glancing at her, you know her much more than you let on. You’ve clearly been between her whorish legs on more than one occasion.” The Shadow huffed, turning and striding out of the kitchen. “I want the two of you out of my house. And you can take that money-wasting brother of yours with you, slut!”

        “Mom, please!” Zoey cried, following after the Shadow. “Punish me, sure, it’s not like I want to stay anyway. But leave Ace out of it!”

        “No! I’ve put up with that bastard child of mine long enough - if he wants to live off of his mother’s income, he can go and find his real mother!”

        ‘Oh… okay did not expect to hear that,’ I thought as I blinked in confusion. ‘Might have to apologize to Zinnia later for listening to all this private drama. ‘Anyway, better go shoot this nasty shadow-bitch right between the eyes.’

        I stomped after the Shadow, a glare on my face. “Where the fuck do you get off talking to those two like that?!” I roared at her.

        “I raised them, that’s where,” she spat, turning and glaring back at me. She reached behind herself, taking small wooden box from the fireplace and grabbing a key from it. “Where do you get off talking to me like that, hmm?”

        “It’s called empathy, and respecting the choices of a fellow adult! What’s wrong with Zoey being in porn? Or Ace spending money, money that he earned by the way, on video games?!”

        “They are not adults, they are children. Pornography is a disgusting and disgraceful use of a person’s body, and video games are an utter waste of their time which could instead be used studying, or maybe looking for a job.” The Shadow rolled her eyes, shoving past me and moving into the hallway, opening a small door under the stairwell with her key. She disappeared down the stairs revealed, returning a few moments later in a suit of dark, traditional Samurai armour, a large sword in her hands. “Now then, got out of my home before I throw you out.”

        “See, now you’re threatening me,” I sighed as I pulled out the revolver that the figure gave me. “I don’t respond well to threats.”

        “Zoey, let’s get out of here,” I heard Ace say, and a few seconds later I heard them running out the door.

        “Cowards,” the Shadow spat. “Spineless cowards, both of them. I can’t believe even one of them is mine.”

        “Neither of them is really yours,” I growled. “You’re just a bad memory,” I finished as I fired a shot at the Shadow’s exposed face. It dodged to the side just soon enough for the shot to ricochet off of it’s helmet, glaring at me.

        “Well, that’s a relief then,” she grunted before charging forward, swinging the sword at me. I brought up my revolver in an attempt to block her swing. I stumbled a bit and pulled out the side gun, firing both of its shots.

        “You are a coward too,” the Shadow growled, jumping back and blocking my shots with a blur of motion, her sword glinting with the movement. “A firearm is such a coward’s weapon. No skill, no intimacy.”

        “And now I know you’re an idiot,” I laughed as I lazily spun my side arm on a finger. “A gun can be a tricky weapon to master. Especially if you’re like me and have vowed to never kill an opponent.”

        “You refuse to take a life?” the Shadow gasped in shock, actually stumbling back. “You would dishonour your opponent like that!?”

        “There is no honor in taking someone’s life,” I told her with narrowed eyes. “I’m no one’s executioner. Even if the devil himself fought me I’d let him live,” I finished as I fired a couple more shots.

        “You clearly have no respect for tradition!” she spat, charging again with her blade held high. “I will rend your head from your neck and use your skull as a chalice!”

        “Ya know, that threat sounds more viking than samurai,” I chuckled as I peppered shots aiming at various parts that seemed to be unprotected by her armor. “And you’re right, I don’t respect traditions. If an idea’s stupid, I’ll say it’s stupid. Doesn’t matter how long people have been doing it.”

        The Shadow let out a scream of rage, swinging at me and ignoring any shots I took. She attacked with a flurry of motion, her blade blurring out of sight at the end of each swing and seeming to leave a trail of steel light behind.

        “Oh shit!” I screamed as I tried to dodge her sword. Despite my best efforts, I felt the blade cutting into me several times. I groaned in pain and jumped back in a vain attempt to get away from the Shadow’s swings.

        ‘Shit,’ I thought with a pant as I looked between her sword and myself. ‘Wait… maybe,’ I thought with a faint smirk.

        “That’s it, I’m putting my foot down, young lady!” I boomed as I stomped on the ground and tried to pull off the same trick I had with the last Shadow. The Shadow arched her brow, stepping back and slashing the pillar of earth in two, kicking it back at me.

        “Did you think you could use the same tactics twice?” she asked in disbelief, arching her brow. “We know how the others are defeated, and we learn from their mistakes.”

“Really, cause you all seem to be making the same mistake,” I said with a confident smirk despite cursing internally at the failure of my trick.

        “What might that be?” she asked. “Our vanity? The fact that we all know that we are better than you?”

        “Well considering the fact I’ve beaten all the other Shadows that came before you, I wouldn’t say that you’re all better than me,” I laughed. “But no, that’s not the mistake you all keep making. It’s that you all think you can get away with terrorizing somebody I care about,” I finished as I stomped on the ground again, creating a wall of stone.

        The Shadow charged forward, slicing through the stone before sliding to a stop. “...Where did he go?”

        “Yeah, where did that handsome devil go?” I said as I pressed the revolver to the back of her neck. The Shadow froze, sighing and dropping her blade as she straightened out.

        “As much as I am loath to admit it,” she muttered. “That was… well played. Congratulations. Now take my life.” I frowned a bit and pulled both triggers of my gun, the Shadow not making a sound as it burst out of existence.

        ‘You didn’t actually take a life,’ I assured myself with a deep, steadying breath. ‘These are just corrupted memories, nothing more.’ After collecting myself for a little bit I looked around the room and quirked a brow.

        “So, where’s the golden light? It’s usually here by now,” I wondered aloud. Looking around, I realised that the younger Zinnia from the dream was actually gone, her and her brother nowhere to be seen. “Oh, great. Now I have to find them.” I sighed as I opened the door to the house and called out, “Zoey, Ace, where are you?!” I looked around the dreamscape and they didn’t seem to be anywhere in sight.

        ‘Okay, if I was Zinnia and her brother where would I be?’ I thought as I scratched the side of my head. ‘Uh… I don’t know all that much about Ace, really should’ve asked Zinnia more about him. Okay, my stupidity aside let’s try Zinnia. Hmm, where would she feel safe after being thrown out by her mother?’ I strained my brain for a moment before my face lit up. ‘Wait a second, back at the studio she seemed to have a good relationship with her director! I should head back there!’ I patted myself on the back for a moment for my brilliant idea and ran off to Zinnia’s workplace. I stopped in front of the door and caught my breath, all my cuts and injuries acting up and causing me to wince. 

After shaking my head and pushing the pain to the back of my mind as best I could, I walked inside and called out, “Zoey, are you in here?”

A grey memory looked up from the desk in front of the door, seeming to say something before pointing down the hallway.

“Thanks,” I nodded before walking down the hallway and back into the studio. When I entered the room I found Zoey talking to a grey memory, Ace stood leaning against a wall not far away. “Zoey!” I called out, waving at her with a relieved smile. “You’re okay!”

Zoey looked up, a bright smile crossing her face as soon as she saw me. “Peter!” she cried, standing and rushing over to me, tackling me with a tight hug. “Thank you so much!”

“Gack!” I whined as I returned the hug as best as I could. “Careful, you might open up some of my cuts if you keep squeezing like that,” I managed to wheeze.

“Your what!?”

“I knew it…” Ace sighed, shaking his head. “I warned you about our Mom.”

“A few flesh wounds is nothing when it comes to defending the honor of a lady!” I beamed with a goofy smile at him. Ace just rolled his eyes, smiling a little.

“Well… thanks, I guess,” he said. “For helping us out when you did. Not many people in this world would do that.”

“Hmm, yeah,” Zoey hummed in agreement, still hugging me, though a lot more gently. “I feel so safe with my own Guardian Angel watching over me…”

“Heh, I’m no angel, Zoey, but my arm is!” I joked as I held up my right arm.

“Yes, quite,” a familiar voice chuckled, and I looked up to see Ace’s eyes glowing gold. Seconds later, Zoey pulled away, walking over to her brother with her own eyes glowing golden before taking his hand. Both of them seemed to merge into one, their bodies becoming golden light as they did before the figure from before appeared, now looking completely solid as she floated down to the ground, her gown fluttering in a non-existent breeze. “Congratulations, Dream Warrior. You now have but one demon to defeat in this quest, but be warned, he is the most powerful of your challenges.”

“I haven’t come this far just to give up now, Cresselia.” I said with a warm smile. “Even if I was the kind of person to abandon my friends, I’d still have to finish this quest to get back to the real world.”

Cresselia chuckled, shaking her head. “Of course you recognised me,” she said, waving her head and dispelling the dreamscape, leaving us in the white void from before, the twin monitors appearing behind me and a large, black castle before me. The building seemed to be steaming with shadows, it’s foundations spiderwebbing out and digging into the white void’s ground. “But no matter. Like I said, now is your greatest challenge, for you are fighting Darkrai’s Puppet himself. My final gift will help you, but only your skill will purge his darkness from this poor girl’s mind.”

Cresselia paused, looking up with a sad face before speaking again. “Although… I am afraid we may already be too late…” she sighed, gesturing to the monitors. I looked back to see them tinted red, my heart almost stopping when I realised that Morning was there, held by the throat with the hand holding her burning with blue flames, another hand coated with shadows ready to strike, presumably going for the kill.

“M...Morning,” I muttered, my legs buckling and threatening to go out from under me. Before I could collapse I steeled myself and turned back to Cresselia with determination in my eyes and a tear falling down my cheek. “I already said that Darkrai’s tricks won’t work on me. I’ll finish this fight, and I’ll make Darkrai regret ever screwing with me, and more importantly, Zinnia!”

Cresselia gave me a sad look, blurring out of my sight before I felt her slam into me, her arms wrapping me in a hug. “I am sorry, Dream Warrior…” she muttered. “But Darkrai spoke the truth. The images you see are true. But we can prevent any more damage from occurring, if we move fast.”

“I didn’t dress up as a character called Vash the Stampede, or the Humanoid Typhoon because I like moving slow,” I said with a cocky grin as I petted Cresselia’s hair.

‘It’s a shame she’s a Pokemon because she’s really cute like this,’ I dimly noted in the back of my head.

“Now, I’m kind of hoping your final gift is a Master Ball. I do like the irony in turning Darkrai into a servant considering everything he’s done to Zinnia and her friends,” I told her with a smile.

The Lunar Pokemon smiled, stepping back. “As poetic as that may be, that is not the case,” she said. “This gift is the most powerful of them all, to match the upcoming battle. As such, bestowing it upon you is going to require me being much more…” She paused, blushing a little as she looked away. “Intimate…”

“Uhh… what do you mean by intimate?” I asked with a dark blush of my own.

Cresselia’s blush grew, and she looked away as she crossed her arms almost self-consciously. “I… I am going to require you to disrobe…” she muttered. “You must be wearing only what I have gifted you.”

‘Is… is she serious?’ I thought with a dumb look. I turned back to the monitors again and my stomach lurched. ‘Damn it, I can’t hesitate, time is of the essence.’ I took a deep breath and practically tore all my clothing off, the various pieces of my outfit strewn about the white mindscape.

“There, n-now what do you need me to do?” I asked, staring down at the ground, seeing some of the red marks along my body from where the Shadows had hit me.

Cresselia glanced up and gulped. “I-I…“ she muttered, shaking slightly. “I-I… Um… I am extremely nervous right now…” Taking a deep breath, she turned to face me, face bright red as her dress falling away. “This does not need to finish, but we must be in the most intimate embrace two beings can partake in. Please, Dream Warrior… insert yourself into me.”

‘Goddammit,’ I thought as my blush overtook my face. ‘I’ve gotta do it with a Pokemon to save Zinnia. Couldn’t I have just slayed a demon army or something?’ I took a shaky breath and stepped up to Cresselia and took her in my arms.

“Ok I’ll… I’ll uh just… yeah,” I stuttered as I leaned down, tilting her head up as I pressed my lips to hers. Cresselia locked up as I did, shaking visibly even as she slowly placed her hands on my shoulders. I pulled away slightly and my blush intensified as I placed a hand on her cheek, stroking it softly. “R-relax, it’s not like I’m going to hurt you or anything,” I offered with a nervous chuckle.

Cresselia flinched slightly, closing her eyes. “... I know the pain of this embrace…” she muttered, resting her forehead on my chest. “I have heard of the pleasures, but only experienced pain. Please, just… get it over with…”

“Wait, what are you trying to say?” I asked, confused.

“... I have had to bestow this power before…” the Lunar Pokemon said. “And every time, when my Shards returned to me, all I felt from their experience was the pain of pen-” she stopped, seeming to choke on the word slightly. “P-Penetration.”

Clop is about to start, move onto the next marked point to skip it.

        I pulled away from our embrace slightly, and got down to my knees. Then I grabbed Cresselia by the hips and brought her forward. “I know time is of the essence here, but I’m going to make sure that this is as painless as possible for you.” I said as I ducked my head between her legs and licked her slit from the bottom to her clit.

        Cresselia gasped quietly, her hands flying to the back of my head. “O-oh my…” she muttered, her shaking calming slightly. “W-what did you do? Why… why are my nethers becoming wet?”

        “I’m trying to stimulate you,” I answered between licks. “If you’re properly wet and aroused then it won’t hurt nearly as much when I penetrate you,” I finished before pulling her clit into my mouth and swirling my tongue around the little nub of flesh. Cresselia gasped again, doubling over slightly as her hands gripped my hair.

        “O-oh… oh my… th-that is… r-rather nice…” she stammered, her breathing becoming ragged as she began gently pushing me further in. “P-please… do not s-stop…”

        “Well, I have never been one to deny the requests of fair maidens,” I said with a grandiose tone as I looked up at her and wetted two fingers. “And it seems that habit extends to fair maidens that happen to be Pokemon,” I winked as I latched onto her clit again with my mouth, one of my fingers gently pressing at her entrance before going inside.

        Cresselia winced out of habit, slowly calming down when she realised that the intrusion wasn’t hurting her. “H… how?” she muttered, a small moan escaping her lips. “How are you making me feel this way?”

        “A true gentleman finds a way for a lady,” I winked at her, surprising myself with how easy the words came out of my mouth considering how uneasy I still felt about the whole situation. I shrugged the feeling away and continued slowly pushing my finger into her folds, rubbing it along her walls in an attempt to further stimulate her.

        This continued for a time, with Cresselia letting out small moans and whimpers of pleasure, before the Lunar Pokemon stumbled back slightly, kneeling down with me.

        “I think…” she said, flashing me a shy smile. “I think I am ready. For you.”

        “If that is what the lady wishes,” I smiled at her, standing up. “I’ll let you take the lead. I don’t want to hurt you after all.”

        Cresselia nodded, eyeing my member nervously before standing and reaching out. Slowly taking hold of it, she moved closer, stroking me gently as she did before leaning in and kissing me.

        “Thank you, Vash,” she breathed, slowly guiding me to her opening. “Thank you for showing me the pleasurable side.”

        “I just couldn’t stand the thought of hurting a beautiful lady,” I smiled at her. “A simple thing like that doesn’t deserve thanks,” I finished with a stroke of a cheek. “In fact, I should be thanking you for all the help you’ve been giving me throughout this quest.”

        “Maybe,” she giggled, before pressing close to me, her slit resting on my tip. She shuddered a little, closing her eyes. “But… you have done more for me than any other in over ten thousand years. So thank you.” Smiling sweetly, Cresselia looked up at me, placing a quick kiss on my lips. “Now please… take what you have earned.”

        “If that is what the lady wishes,” I repeated, moving my hips as slowly and gently as I could, parting her folds at a snail’s pace. I then wrapped my arms around Cresselia and kissed her deeply in an attempt to get her mind off any possible pain. Cresselia whimpered quietly, wrapping her arms around my neck as she pushed herself down a little faster, freezing when I felt a barrier within her.

        Pulling back, Cresselia looked to me with wide, tearful eyes full of fear. “Please… be gentle…”

        “Of course, I already said I didn’t want to hurt you,” I told her before pulling her back into a kiss, inching myself into her as slowly as I could manage. An idea popped into my head and I flicked my tongue at her mouth, asking permission to enter. The Lunar Pokemon shuddered at the feeling, slowly opening her mouth too and meeting my tongue halfway. I lazily wrestled her tongue with my own as I finally made it past her hymen, going rigid when I did.

        Cresselia froze, holding me tightly for a moment as she let out a whimper of pain. I did everything I could to replace the pain with pleasure, kissing her deeper and running my hands up and down her body. Even circling her clit with a finger a few times. After a moment, the Lunar Pokemon seemed to relax, leaning on me.

        “...Th-this is…” she muttered, shifting and sliding down further with a quiet gasp. “This is m-much better than before…”

        “I’m glad you’re enjoying yourself,” I said with a quick squeeze. “D-do I have to be all the way inside you before the… uh final gift thing can be given?” I asked, my nervousness returning.

        “Y-yes… W-we must be as close a possible.”

        “O-okay then, wanna help me with that then?” I asked with a nervous chuckle that I tried to play off as I squeezed a cheek of her ass. “This sort of thing is better if we work together.” She nodded nervously, rocking her hips slowly as she sank down my length, closing her eyes and moaning quietly. I did my part, slowly pushing inside her, desperate to avoid doing something that would hurt her. I had to bite back a moan myself as I slid further and further inside her velvet walls.

        ‘Damn, I really have to fight back the urge to just go wild. She feels... incredible.’ I thought as I let out a low moan. Cresselia pulled me close, kissing me passionately as she slid down the last few inches, suddenly wrapping her legs around my waist. I moaned into the kiss, reluctantly pulling away.

        “I-I think I’m all the way in now. Are… are you feeling okay?”

        Cresselia said nothing for a moment, resting her head on my shoulder. “...I feel… amazing…”

        “I’m glad I could make you feel that way, even briefly,” I said with a bright smile. “So, is this the part where I get surrounded by a golden light again?”

        The Lunar Pokemon smiled back. “Not quite,” she said, before leaning in and kissing me again, her whole body glowing golden before she melted into light, surrounding my body again.

Clop is over now, you can resume reading the story now.

        I closed my eyes as the light blinded me, opening them moments later to find Cresselia gone. Looking down, I found myself clothed again, this time in a golden duster with blue and pink crescents on the collar and sleeve cuffs, a powder blue shirt with gold buttons, pale gold pants and a pink belt. Golden goggles hung around my neck, the strap blue and the lenses pink.

        “The goggles will enhance your aim further,” Cresselia’s voice said, echoing in my ears. “The clothes are the lightest, strongest armour known to the Dream Realm. And the duster allows you to use your Angel Arm infinitely, with no repercussions to your health or Zinnia’s mind.” She paused and, a second later, reformed before me, fully clothed again and with a blush and a smile on her face. “Good luck, Dream Warrior. I hope to meet you again.” With that, she leaned in, planting a kiss on my cheek before vanishing.

I looked over my clothes one more time as I walked towards the dark castle. “Hmm, thoughtful and beautiful… kind of like the one that gave them to me.” I noted, trying not to blush as what Cresselia and I just did together replayed in my head. “Zinnia is going to have a field day when I tell her everything about this trip inside her head.” I chuckled while shaking my head. Eventually, I made it to the front gate of the dark castle and I smirked down at my right arm.

        ‘She did say I could use it infinitely.’ I removed my right gauntlet and concentrated for a moment. My arm shifting and morphing into the grey, and massive cannon that I feared going off in the real world. The Angel Arm was monstrous and almost beautiful at the same time. The back end of the gun looked like multiple wings atop each other. The center was an opening for a glowing yellow sphere that looked like a miniature sun. The front was the strangest of all, several female-looking faces circling it with another wing coming from the side of one of them. And around the barrel was what looked like a golden halo. A strange sound echoed through the mind scape as the Angel Arm charged. I took a deep breath and fired a pure white beam that punched into the castle doors, blowing them off their hinges.

        “My my…” a deep, condescending voice chuckled. I stalked into the castle, seeing Darkrai himself sat on a large black,white and red throne at the end of the room. “Don’t you just love the theatrics, hmm? Let me guess, that stupid Cresselia gave you her virginity, just like all the other ‘Dream Warriors’ she’s managed to recruit over the past ten thousand years.”

        “Look, can we not go over what Cresselia and I just did?” I asked with a sigh. “I am still in the middle of burying some confusing feelings deep into my subconscious where I’ll never be able to find them again. Right now, I just want to get you out of my friend’s head,” I finished, pointing my right arm at Darkrai in a threatening manner. “So, are you going to leave quietly, or is papa Vash going to have to give you a spanking?”

        “I’m afraid I don’t swing that way, boy,” he chuckled, standing up. I blinked as he began to grow, a black scythe with a red crossbar, white blade and single glowing blue gemstone in the head appeared in his hand. “And I’m afraid it’s going to take more than pointing at me to get me to release your friend.”

        “Oh, this arm can do a lot more than point,” I said with a cocky grin as I formed the Angel Arm again. The strange noise rang out through the room again and I fired the beam right into Darkrai’s face.

        ‘Vash used Hyper Beam,’ I snarked in my head. ‘Hyper Beam was super effective.’

        I smirked, watching as the dust cloud the shot had kicked up cleared before blinking. I rubbed my eyes and looked again.

        “Is there a problem?” Darkrai asked nonchalantly, a small, glowing green disc hovering in front of his face. “What? Did you not expect me to Protect myself?”

        ‘Well shit, this isn’t going to be a fun experience,’ I thought with a grimace as I put the goggles Cresselia gave me on. ‘Probably should’ve convinced Cresselia to let me finish.’

        “Oh, I saw that coming,” I lied, pulling out my revolver and shrugging. “I was just letting you know what to expect from this fight. By the end of this, one of those is going right up your ass.”

        “I thought I had already said I don’t  swing that way,” the Pitch Black Pokemon sighed, stepping forward and twirling his scythe in one hand. “And I see you haven’t listened. You’re still not thinking. What’s to stop me having Zinnia kill one of your little girlfriends as we fight? Or even herself? I could literally ensure my success either way.”

        “Well, for the latter it’s rather obvious,” I laughed. “If Zinnia dies, you do too. You’re not the real Darkrai. You’re just a piece of him left behind to corrupt her. Face it, you’re scared of death,” I said, getting into a fighting stance.

        “Why would I fear He who I will soon command?” Darkrai shot back, a Dark Pulse forming in his hand “I am already the Master of Darkness. I command Satan, and I corrupted Loyalty and Kindness. The Moon Herself kneels before me, and it will not be long before her Sister joins her.”

        “Maybe if you were the real Darkrai, but you’re not. You’re barely a piece of him. Like I said before, hell even you said you were an illusion, you’re the shadow of a shadow. Nothing more,” I taunted a sweet smile on my face.

        ‘Vash, why are we taunting the giant Pokemon?’ I... or a piece of me asked. ‘Because if I get him angry he might get sloppy?’ I offered. ‘Or he’ll just kill us faster… Yeah, haven’t really thought this out too well.’

        “How is that conversation with yourself entertaining you?” Darkrai asked, arching a brow. He held a hand out behind him, a dark purple portal opening behind him. “In the time it took you to have that, I decided to call some reinforcements.”

        I gulped at that, watching the portal as a tall figure stepped out, dressed head to toe in black plate armour, the plates each ending with jagged red trimming. A horn extended from her head, and a long, almost gaseous mane flowed back from her head, almost seeming to hold the night sky within…

        “Wh-who is this?” I asked, stumbling back, not wanting to believe my eyes.

        “You called for me?” the new figure asked, completely ignoring me. “You of all people should know that the Dark Lord is not one to take me from.”

        “Now now, Nightmare,” Darkrai chuckled, shaking his head. “I’m sure I can deal without you while I borrow you for a while. I am merely having some… pest troubles.”

        ‘No, she can’t be real,’ I thought with wide eyes as my revolver clattered to the floor. ‘This is just Darkrai trying to get inside my head. It has to be!’

        ‘Nightmare’ turned to me, sneering. “Is this the pest then?” she asked, rolling her eyes. “He looks pathetic. Can’t even hold on to his weapon.”

        I trembled as I continued to look at Nightmare Moon, from her black fur, her cyan cat-like eyes, her dark armor, and her pointed teeth. 

        ‘She’s not real,’ I repeated to myself slowly lifting my trembling right arm. ‘This is just an illusion created by Darkrai. Luna’s back home at the castle, waiting for me to come back safe. This… thing can’t be her!’ I screamed in my head as I clenched my eyes shut and tried to create the Angel Arm again.

        “Hmm, he seems like he recognises me,” the mare sneered, turning to me. “I take it he’s seen the me from his world then?”

        “Not quite,” Darkrai chuckled again. “He is from before your first Nightmare.”

        “Oh? You’re in my past?” Nightmare asked, surprise in her voice. “Huh. How am I, then? Am I as ample here as I was in my own past, or did Tia take that away early?” she spat, suddenly glaring angrily.

        ‘Damn it, why does she sound so much like her?!’ I screamed in my head as I clenched my eyes tighter. ‘Come on, she’s just an illusion, you can’t let this beat you!’ I snuck one more glance at her and fell to my knees, my right arm falling to my side.

        “I… I can’t kill you,” I said, barely above a whisper. “Even if you are an illusion. I just can’t bring myself to do it, Luna.” I finished, tears falling to the floor in steady drips.

        “Illusion?” Nightmare echoed, before bursting out into cruel laughter. “You think I’m an illusion!? Haha!!”

        “She is no mere illusion, boy,” Darkrai sneered. “She is perfection. She was the first to take my gift, the first to fight in my name, and the first to fall in my return. Nightmare Moon is my QUEEN.”

        “Just wait,” Nightmare spat, smirking. “Wait until your pathetic little Luna turns. If you can’t stop her, then the world will fall - I know mine would have. I was without true purpose on my first turning, and would have frozen the planet had I not been stopped.”

        “Yes, a mistake on my part, I must admit,” Darkrai nodded. “I had not counted on your young mind affecting your true form so much, and was not prepared for you to dive straight for the final goal.”

        “What did you just say?” I asked, my tears stopping and my eye twitching slightly. “Did you just say that that is Luna’s true form?!” I roared, grabbing my revolver. “This is nowhere close to who she really is!”

        “That,” Nightmare growled, phasing into a cloud of smoke before charging at me. I fired into the cloud, but she just opened holes that my shots passed right through before surrounding me, knocking the gun from my hands and reforming as she pulled me into an armlock. “Is a matter of opinion.”

        “Yeah, and mine is the right one,” I said as I pulled out my sidearm and fired both shots at her horn. Nightmare staggered back, crying out in pain, and seconds later the giant Darkrai charged at me, firing his Dark Pulse and holding the stream as he closed in. I hit the ground to avoid Darkrai’s Dark Pulse, reaching out and retrieving my revolver before letting loose on the charging Pokemon.

        “Gah!” Darkrai cried, skidding to a halt and blocking the shots with his scythe. “Coward!”

        “Coming from a rapist and manipulator that means nothing!” I shouted at him, stomping on the ground to create a spire of rock to send at him. Darkrai slashed through, quickly firing another Dark Pulse before diving into a Dark Void portal.

        I dodged the Dark Pulse, whipping my head in a vain attempt to try and find him. ‘If I were Darkrai, where would I attack from?’ A lightbulb went off in my head and I pointed my gun directly beneath me and fired.

        “Nice try!” Nightmare cried, tackling me from behind. As I fell, she turned to mist again, flying straight up as another Dark Void opened directly above me, Darkrai surging out and a giant, glowing mouth tearing open in his head.

        “Dream Eater!!” he screeched, moving to chomp down on me.

        I whipped my arm out and turned it into the Angel Arm. “Eat this!” I shouted as I fired the Arm at him. A green barrier appeared in front of the Pokemon seconds before the attack hit, Darkrai halting in the air and waiting me out.

        ‘What!?’ I shrieked in my head as I watched as my attack harmlessly bounced off the barrier. ‘How was he able to use Protect while in the middle of an attack?!’ Once the Arm was done firing I scrambled to my feet and started to run, Darkrai hot on my heels.

        “Surprise, motherfucker!” Nightmare laughed, materialising and sticking her leg out, tripping me. I reached out with my flailing arms, grabbing Nightmare and pulling her down with me in a pile of tangled limbs.

        “Gah!” I cried out as I fell.

        “Let go of me, you disgusting prick!” Nightmare growled, kicking me viciously. “Or I’ll cut your dick off and feed it to you!!”

        “Would you be surprised to hear that my Luna has threatened my junk before?” I laughed, grabbing her horn in an attempt to keep her from using her magic. Figuring that Darkrai wouldn’t eat me if I had his “Queen” hostage.

        “Unhand me!” she screeched, rearing back and punching me in the face.

        “Not gonna happen,” I said woozily. “This is what you get for tripping me, and threatening my dick. I’m still not done with the thing yet.”

        A blade slammed down inches from my head, and Darkrai appeared over me. “Let her go,” he said simply. “Also, your physical body is female. Shut up.”

        “Or what? You’ll do what you were already going to and kill me?” I asked as I stood up, my hand still firmly on Nightmare’s horn.

        “Not,” he growled. “Worse. I’ll Nightmare you, then let you loose on your loved ones. You will be responsible for the fall of your world, and the deaths of your women.”

        “Huh, that is a pretty terrifying threat,” I said simply as I shoved Nightmare over to Darkrai by her horn. The mare cried out in pain, stumbling through him and curling up on the floor, clutching the base of her horn tenderly.

        ‘And now I feel like a dick.’ I thought with a slight wince. ‘But right now the lives of Zinnia and the girls are more important than her feelings.’

        “Hmm, so you can be rather ruthless when the moment calls for it,” Darkrai chuckled, charging a Dark Pulse right in my face. “A shame I’m being told to kill you. Another world is not useful until ours in conquered, and you are in the way.”

        “Gah!” I cried as I stomped a wall of rock to block the Dark Pulse from hitting me. “Come on, can’t we at least try to be friends?” I offered with a weak chuckle. “I think we might’ve just gotten off on the wrong foot.”

        “Yes, quite,” the Pitch Black Pokemon agreed, stepping through a Dark Void he opened in the wall. “You tried to stop me. I’d say that is most definitely the wrong foot.”

        “Yeah, see,” I chuckled. “Maybe we should just bury the hatchet?”

        “Is your name Hatchet?” Nightmare suddenly chimed, pushing herself to her feet.

        “Uhh, no, my name is Vash.”

        “Well then I’m afraid there will be hatchet burying,” Darkrai chuckled. “One of us is dying today. Nightmare, you are dismissed.”

        “Yes, my Lord,” the mare said, bowing and stepping through a Dark Void that opened beside her.

        “Why did you send her away?” I asked, blinking in confusion. “She gave you the advantage over me.”

        “Because I realised that you are truly pathetic,” Darkrai spat. “You cannot defeat me, not alone. And you have no way to call for help.”

        “Does he not, brother?”

        “Cresselia?” I asked, looking around the room.

        “Ah, wonderful,” Darkrai grumbled, straightening out. “How are you, sister dearest? Still lowering yourself to helping mortals?”

        “Enough of your hatred, Darkrai,” Cresselia spat, materialising with a swirl of golden light in her humanoid form, a golden-headed cane in her grip, the wood painted a swirl of pinks and blues. “You do not belong in this girl’s mind, let alone this world. Leave now, or be destroyed.”

        ‘Uhh, I suddenly feel a lot less important,’ I thought, blinking a bit.

        “Cresselia, what are you doing here?” I asked, bewildered by her sudden appearance.

        She turned and smiled at me, pulling on the head of her cane, which slid back, revealing a long, thin blade. “Assisting you, as I have been this whole time,” she said, walking up to my side. “I just got tired of sitting on the sidelines.”

        “Was part of it the dramatic timing?” I asked with a weak chuckle. “Because I can totally understand doing that.”

        “Forgive me,” the Lunar Pokemon replied, looking away. “I had to gather my strength. Darkrai’s influence weakens me even now.”

        “And I will destroy you because of it!” Darkrai roared, charging forward and swinging his scythe. Cresselia pushed me back, countering with the wood of her cane before striking with the blade, pushing Darkrai back.

        “I still have my Light, brother!” she cried, pressing forward. “And we both know that you cannot defeat me while I hold that!”

        I snuck around the two fighting Pokemon. Dodging the backlash of their attacks as I put myself behind Darkrai. While the two were distracted, I formed the Angel Arm and aimed it at the Pitch Black Pokemon. I charged the Arm with as much power as I could get into it, for some reason all of the items Cresselia gave me started glowing with an intense golden light. Before the thing could fire I shouted, “Cresselia! Get out of the way!” 

        The Lunar Pokemon looked up, eyes widening at the sight before she dived out of the way. ”Fire at will, my love!”

        ‘Wait, what did she just say?’ I thought as an intense golden beam shot out of my arm, hitting Darkrai right in the back of his head. For some reason, this shot seemed to be pushing me back, sending me flying down the entryway of the castle.

        “Ahh!” I screamed as I kept flying, feeling my back hit something and drifted off to unconsciousness.

> Waking Up From a Nightmare
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	I slowly felt myself wake up, my entire body feeling like it was coated in a layer of lead and my head pounding with an awful headache. I let out a long groan as my mind started working again. One thought in particular shot through me and I bolted up from where I was on wobbly feet.

“Morning! Zinnia! Are you okay?!” I asked, whipping my head around the room. The girls were nowhere to be seen, making me panic a bit. Bolting up, I sprinted down the halls, desperately searching for them, barely registering that none of the guards were at their normal posts.

Quiet sobbing reached my ears as I neared the throne room again. I narrowed my eyes and ran even faster, crashing through the doors of the throne room and stumbling my way inside.

“Morning?! Zinnia?! Please tell me you’re in here!” I boomed, taking a moment to catch my breath.

‘Damn, that dream must’ve taken a lot out of me. I shouldn’t feel so tired from that short of a run,’ I noted as I collected myself. Looking around frantically, I saw Zinnia stood there, still as a statue, with Morning on the ground before her. Celestia and Luna stood off to the side, shock and fear in their eyes as guards surrounded Zinnia, holding her at weapon-point.

I frowned and pointed my left arm at the surrounding guards, silently thanking Hodge as the hidden gunbarrel within it was revealed.

“Guards, put those weapons down or I’m shooting them out of your hands,” I said with as much authority as a naked woman could.

“We cannot do that,” one guard said, not looking away from Zinnia. “She has attacked our captain and threatened the lives of the princesses.”

“And if you would put those weapons down, I’ll tell you exactly why it wasn’t her fault that she did that.”

“No,” Zinnia whispered as the guards shared a look, slowly backing away. “No, Vash… They’re right. I’m a danger…” She paused, sniffling slightly. “I-I should’ve just gone home the first night…”

I looked her right in the eye, smiled and said, “Zoey, can’t you just shut up and listen to a little story from your ‘Guardian Angel’?”

She went rigid at that before a small, almost reluctant giggle escaped her lips. “Huh… I coulda swore I’d made him up…”

“Vash, what are you trying to say?” Luna asked, tilting her head in confusion.

“Zinnia going out of control wasn’t her, or even the dragon in her’s fault. It was Darkrai’s. He left a piece of him inside her during one of their meetings back on Zinnia’s world,” I explained, giving Zinnia a sad look. “But, that shadow gunk that surrounded me allowed me to enter her mind and purge that piece of Darkrai from her mind… with a little help from Cresselia.”

“Huh,” the Draconid muttered, hugging her arms self-consciously. “S-so Darkrai was in my head? A-and I didn’t even know?”

“Apparently, but he’s gone now. The fact that you and I are able to talk to each other like this is proof of that,” I told her with a bright smile. 

“What are you talking about?” Celestia asked. “Who are Darkrai and Cresselia?”

“They’re two Pokemon from Zinnia’s world,” I answered. “Think of them as two sides of the same coin. Darkrai representing nightmares and darkness, and Cresselia representing good dreams and light. That sound about right, Zinnia?”

“Y-yeah,” Zinnia nodded, shivering slightly. “They’re siblings, though I guess all the Legendaries are related. Though their official titles are ‘Harbinger of the New Moon’ for Darkrai and ‘Paragon of the Full Moon’ for Cresselia.”

“Well to me, Darkrai is the Harbinger of the Assholes,” I laughed. Zinnia managed a small chuckle before looking to Morning, tears building in her eyes again.

“I…” she breathed, dropping to her knees. “I remember everything… the rage, the… the need to kill…” She paused, holding her hands in front of her and whimpering slightly. “I-I hurt her… I…” Sniffling quietly, she slumped over, her shoulder shaking with her sobs.

I walked over to her, going down to one knee and taking both of her hands in my own. “Zinnia, that wasn’t you, that wasn’t even the dragon in you. You didn’t hurt Morning, and once she hears what really happened I know that she’ll understand. You can’t beat yourself up over this. If there’s anyone that you should be beating up over this, it’s Darkrai. And when you do, call me, I’d love to kick his ass again.” I added a quick laugh at the end of that, smiling as brightly as I could. Zinnia managed a small smile too, for all of a second, before she glanced at her hands and winced again.

“Vash…” she mumbled, just loud enough for me to hear. “I… I have blood on my hands…” Taking her hands back, she turned the left one over, the side of it streaked with blood. “Literally. I… I can’t be here if there’s even the slightest risk that Darkrai is still in my head…”

“Zinnia, before I went inside your mind you said you trusted me. So trust me when I say that Cresselia and I kicked the everloving shit out of Darkrai and he is gone from your head. Forever.” I finished, emphasizing and drawing out that last point. “In fact, I’ll tell you exactly how I did it, but not here. We might wanna go somewhere private considering some of the details of my story.”

“We’re interested in your story too, Vash,” Luna chimed, walking up to our side and placing a comforting hand on Zinnia’s hand, giving the Draconid a soft smile. Celestia joined her not long after, resigning herself to just smiling. I flinched a bit at seeing Luna, Nightmare’s face appearing before her own for a brief moment. I shook off the sight as quickly as it appeared.

“Well, my complete story involves personal details of Zinnia’s life, so it’s up to her if she wants you to hear anything like that. Whaddya say?” I asked

“I don’t mind,” Zinnia shrugged. “I… kind of owe them something after all this. And don’t say I don’t, because I feel like I do.”

“Yeah, and I feel like there should be dangly bits between my legs, doesn’t mean they’re there,” I joked, sticking my tongue out at her and winking. “But, if you’re okay with sharing things with them then that’s up to you.” I stood up and offered her my left hand (without the gun being out) to help her up. “Now, let’s go find a comfy place to talk. And maybe we should grab a few snacks. This is going to be a long and entertaining story. And there’s one bit that I know you’re going to like.”

Zinnia giggled, taking my hand and standing slowly. We turned to leave, Celestia ordering the guards to take Morning to the nurse to make sure she was okay and to stitch up any cuts, the mention of which made Zinnia wince. Just as the guards left and we reached the doors leading towards our bedroom, the main doors were flown open, Patty charging in, seeming to be in a frenzy of panic.

“What the fuck happened?!” she cried, bare naked with twin scythes drawn. “Where is everyone!? WHO HURT MY BABY GIRL!?!?!”

“Oh, hi Patty,” I said in an impression of a certain frenchman. “And the answer to your question is Darkrai, but I already took care of him. You can go back to having insane sex with Hodge now, or you can come and listen to the awesome story of how I saved the day. Spoiler alert, lasers will be involved.”

The Displacer blinked slowly, seeming to come to her senses before she blushed brightly. “We, uh… We just ended up playing strip Twister. But yeah, let’s go.” She turned to follow us, dismissing her weapons and snapping her fingers, thin but covering clothes appearing on all of us.

“Aww, I kind of liked walking around the castle naked,” I whined playfully. “I was starting to feel really sexy in this body.”

“Fine,” Patty shrugged, snapping her fingers again and making my clothes disappear. “Not like I’m gonna pass up the view.”

“I must say, it is a very nice one,” Luna giggled.

“I concur,” Celestia nodded, staying behind me and her eyes locked on a certain part of my anatomy.

“Good to know I can get a good reaction from you two no matter what gender I am,” I laughed as I entered the bedroom and took a seat in a chair in the corner of the room. “Now, who wants to hear the story of the great and noble hero Vash the Stampede… not to mention handsome, and how he defeated the douche bag Darkrai?” I asked in the voice of a stereotypical storyteller.

“Oh, just shut up and tell us,” Zinnia giggled, taking a seat next to me and leaning on my shoulder. “Hope you don’t mind. I just… I need to be held right now.”

“Not at all,” I enthused, wrapping my right arm around her. “I’m yours for the night, remember? And I don’t skip out on my promises.” I then cleared my throat and retold the story of what happened in Zinnia’s mind. From my initial meeting of Darkrai, to the fights with all of the corrupted memories, finishing off with the final defeat of Darkrai. I briefly considered leaving out what Cresselia and I did together, but I figured that Zinnia could use a bit of levity. What I did leave out though was the arrival of Nightmare Moon, I… I don’t know exactly why I did that, but I just didn’t feel comfortable talking about her. I finished my story with, “... and then all the stuff Cresselia gave me started to glow, I warned her, I think she said something that I couldn’t quite make out and my Angel Arm fired a golden beam right in the back of Darkrai’s head. And that children, is the story of how Vash saved Christmas, and Zinnia. The end.”

Silence reigned for all of five minutes before Celestia piped up. “What’s Christmas?”

“Hearth’s Warming, hun,” Patty explained, chuckling to herself. “With a few changes here and there. I’m sure Vash can explain it another day.” She then sighed, leaning back on her hands and frowning. “I just… I can’t believe I didn’t pick up on that.”

“Me neither…” Zinnia mumbled before she sat up, frowning playfully. “Hang on a second. You fucked a Legendary Pokemon in my head? I don’t know whether to feel violated or jealous.”

“Yes Vash, do explain to us again why it was absolutely crucial for you to sleep with that whore… I mean, Cresselia?” Luna asked in a threatening tone, her horn glowing with her magical aura.

I gulped nervously and replied, “Well, like I said before, she said it was so I could get the power necessary to defeat Darkrai. And that’s the truth. Oh, and Zinnia, get this. Apparently she’s a ten-thousand-year-old virgin. Crazy, right?”

“Actually, I can believe that,” the Draconid said with a shrug. “From what you said, she was terrified of sex, probably because any ‘Dream Warriors’ she had to give that final gift to abused her trust of them.”

“I guess,” I frowned. “But I can’t see how anyone could do that to her and feel right. Even if she is a Pokemon, she still has feelings. So, other than questions about human holidays, does anyone else want something cleared up?” I asked, my frown turning upside down.

“Yeah,” Patty said, sitting up. “You said you think you heard Cresselia say something as you were blasted out, right? What was it?”

I scrunched my face up and tried to recall what she said. “Yeah, I think she said, “Fire at will,” and there was something after that but I couldn’t make it out between the sound of her fight with Darkrai and the noise that the Angel Arm makes when it charges. She probably just called me Dream Warrior again,” I shrugged.

All the girls shared a quick, concerned glance before turning back to me. “Vash…” Luna said. “Do you… do you know how it makes a girl feel when they’re scared of something hurting, and a man shows her how good it can be?”

“Uhhh…” I drawled, not sure how to respond as I gaped like a fish. “No?” I finally admitted weakly.

“I think she may slightly like you, dude,” Zinnia provided. “Like, like like you.”

“What?!” I shrieked, a dark blush on my face. “Th-that’s… I mean she… and I… she’s a… and I’m… I… uh… there’s just no way she could like me that way,” I managed to get out with a nervous chuckle while I rubbed the back of my neck.

“Are you sure?” Patty asked. “Because I could bring her here. We could just ask her.”

“Vash, you’re an idiot,” Luna deadpanned.

“Thicker than the castle walls,” Celestia commented as she shook her head and dragged a hand down her face.

“Uhh…” I drawled again, not quite capable of processing what Patty just said.

Zinnia sighed, nudging me in the arm. “Let’s just leave it for now,” she said. “I’m tired and feeling guilty, so I need snuggle sleeps. Who’s with me?”

“I’m in, it’s been a long day, and nothing sounds better than snuggling up to a warm body or two,” I said, the events of the day catching up to me as I let out a long yawn.

“That sounds lovely, count me in,” Celestia nodded.

“Same, missing one Night Court won’t hurt anything,” Luna smiled.

“Patty, you wanna join the snuggle pile?” I asked with a smile.

“Pass,” the Displacer sighed. “I’ve…  got some stuff to look into.”

Zinnia shrugged, smiling softly. “Suit yourself.”

“Alright Zi, you get in first, we’ll pile in around you,” I laughed. Zinnia nodded tiredly, collapsing onto the bed face-first before rolling to face us. She held her arms out almost pathetically, pouting with big, shining eyes.

‘Dammit, that’s adorable,’ I thought as I got into bed. ‘But, can’t say it outloud or that’d make her upset.’ I then smiled at her and put her head to my chest, an action that Celestia mirrored.

“Sleep tight, Zinnia,” I yawned. The Draconid hummed sleepily, cuddling closer to me and planting a tired kiss on my cheek. I smiled one last time as I slowly drifted off to sleep.





I was in a swirling, inky darkness. I could barely see anything in front of me. I didn’t know what else to do, so I started walking. Time seemed to pass slowly and I didn’t even know if I was even getting anywhere, but I still kept going. Eventually, I heard the faint sound of voices somewhere. I picked up the pace a bit, or at least tried to and started searching for who else was in the darkness with me. Just when I was getting desperate, a familiar figure emerged from the shadows a few feet in front of me, Luna. She smiled just as the darkness started to enter her body. I tried to stop it from happening, but I couldn’t move. All I could do was watch as she screamed in agony. As the last bit of darkness entered her body to reveal we were in the throne room, Luna had changed. Now it was Nightmare Moon standing before me.

“You failed,” she chided, smirking at me. “You didn’t even try to stop it from happening.”

“That’s not true!” I shouted, my eyes tearing up. “I did everything I could! Something was making it so I couldn’t move.” 

Nightmare ignored me, and now I was surrounded by her, each of them repeating the phrase, “You failed.”

I shot up in the bed, my face covered in a cold sweat and the nightmare still fresh in my mind. I shuddered a bit as I looked over to Luna. I let out a quiet sigh and gently slipped out of the bed. I tiptoed out of the room and started walking down the halls. I kept going until I opened the door to the infirmary. I sat down by Morning’s side and lit a candle that was nearby so I could get a better look at her. She had a bandage around her head and she seemed to be twitching and mumbling something that I couldn’t quite make out. I smiled down at her and held one of her hands with both of mine in an attempt to calm her down.

“Shhh, everything’s fine. I’m right here, Morning,” I whispered to her. “I’ll always be right where you want me.” This seemed to do the trick because she stopped twitching.

‘I don’t know what I’m so worried about,’ I thought with a weak chuckle. ‘I’ve already saved Morning and Zinnia. Keeping Luna from turning into… her should be easy compared to that.’

“Vash?” a quiet, tired-sounding voice called out, and when I turned around I saw Zinnia stood there in the surprisingly covering set of pajamas she’d put on before bed, a bathrobe now hanging on her shoulders. “Are you okay?” she asked worriedly, moving to my side.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” I told her with a smile. “I just couldn’t sleep. Guess I’m too used to cuddling up to some warm scales.”

Zinnia winced at that, pulling a chair over and sitting next to me. “...I’m sorry…” she muttered, refusing to look at me. “I’m sorry I brought him here, even just a small part of him.”

“I’m not sorry you brought him here,” I said sincerely. “Because you did we were able to drive him out of your head before he could make you one of his pawns.” I took one of my hands away from Morning and tilted her head up to force her to look me in the eye. “I’m glad both of you are safe. Plus, because of you I got to meet Cresselia. I’m sure she’d thank you herself for that.” I finished with a warm smile.

The Draconid spluttered slightly, giggling madly. “Oh, shut up!” she cried, giving me a playful shove. “You’re an idiot, Vash. But you’re the good kind of idiot.”

“Hey, I’m not an idiot,” I pouted, “I’m idealistic. There’s a big difference.”

“Nnng,” I heard a voice beside us grunt. “It’s good to see you two are carrying on as always,” Morning chuckled while rubbing the side of her head.

“M-Morning?!” Zinnia cried, turning to the naga’s side with wide eyes. “Oh my Arceus, Morning, I’m so sorry!”

“You have nothing to apologize for,” Morning told her, pulling the Draconid into a hug, letting her rest her head against her chest as she stroked her head. “You were not yourself.”

“Glad to see you’re awake again,” I told her with a soft smile. “I was starting to get a little worried.”

“No need to fret,” Morning replied, puffing her chest slightly. “It will take more than that to do me in. My fortitude was high before, but it has increased greatly since my transformation.”

“Alright, glad to see your pride is still intact,” I told her with a chuckle and kissed her on forehead.

“How?” Zinnia asked suddenly, surprising us both. We turned to her, seeing tears lining her eyes. “How could you tell? I-is that why you tried not to fight b-back?”

“There was a number of things, that dark aura surrounding you was nothing like anything you’d displayed before.” Morning started, trying to wipe the tears from Zinnia’s eyes. “I noticed your “Shadow Claw” was purple not black so I guessed it wasn’t a move related to that. Plus, your eyes… they were slowly turning pitch black. If that was not a sure sign of corruption from an outside source, then I don’t know what is. And yes, that is why I did not try to harm you. Though I did try to subdue you non-violently. But my paralyzing stare had no effect.”

Zinnia said nothing, just stared at her for a moment before bursting into tears and burying her face in the sheets of the infirmary bed. Morning and I started rubbing her back, trying to calm her down.

“Hush now, there’s no need for tears,” Morning told her. “Everyone is safe, and no one has come to any major harm.”

“That’s not the point!” the Draconid screamed suddenly, and a wave of what I can only describe as pure power escaped from her. “I could have hurt you all! I could have killed you! You should have killed me first, it wasn’t worth the risk!”

“That was my choice to make,” Morning told her firmly, putting her hands on Zinnia’s shoulders. “I chose to place my faith in my friend. I swore an oath to defend lives, not take them. And Zinnia, my faith was not misplaced. And because of that, both of us are still here.”

Zinnia broke down then, burying her face in Morning’s chest and sobbing openly. She kept muttering “It wouldn’t be worth it…” quietly between sobs, holding Morning tightly. When Zinnia finally stopped, Morning smiled down at her.

“Zinnia, I am a living shield and sword. That is what it means to be Captain of the Guard. And while a sword may cut things down, a shield is used to protect precious things. And although I have not known you long, you have become one of those precious things to me. And for that, I’d gladly risk my life countless times.”

Zinnia huffed quietly. “Then you’re just as stupid as he is,” she said, nodding in my direction, before a small smile broke through her sadness. “Guess that’s a good thing though, huh?”

“Yeah, that’s a good thing,” I told her as Morning and I wrapped our arms around her.

“I truly am glad to see you are yourself again,” Morning said. “Your eyes are too beautiful to be swallowed by darkness.”

Zinnia chuckled, shaking her head. “Now don’t go falling in love with me, Morning. I don’t think Vash would like one of his marefriends leaving him for a woman from another dimension.”

“No, but he’d certainly love watching us go at it. You bouncing on my tail, or you using that toy and “Double Team” clones on all of my holes,” Morning smirked. “And Vash does not have to worry about me leaving him. We are in a shared herd, remember?”

“That’s true,” the Draconid shrugged with a smile. “I might have to introduce you to my girlfriend. Or, marefriend for your benefit. Same idea, different word. I think she’d like you.”

“And I’m sure I’d like her too,” Morning smiled. “Though I might have a little trouble dealing with her at first if she’s anything like you.”

“She’s much sweeter,” Zinnia laughed. “Though can you trust me when I say not to attack the embodiment of pure evil? She’s evil incarnate, but she’s not evil.”

“I get it, she just got the powers of pure evil when she got displaced,” I nodded. “I get it, just because she picked a bad guy’s costume, doesn’t mean she is one. Don’t worry, we’ll treat her just like we treat you,” I smiled with a thumbs up.

Zinnia smiled. “She’d like you too, Vash,” she said suddenly. “Not as much mind you, but she would, once she got to know you.”

“Heh, I’m sure I’ll manage no matter how much she ends up liking me. But I’m glad you think she would,” I smiled at her. “Well girls, I think we should head back to the room. After the day we’ve all had we could use some sleep,” I said, putting an arm around both of them.

“That sounds perfect. These infirmary bunks aren’t nearly as comfortable as the ones in the royal suite,” she nodded, moving to get out of the bed.

In a blur of motion echoed with a short growl, Zinnia had Morning in her arms, her coil draped over the Draconid’s shoulders. “I’d prefer you not to go anywhere,” she sighed. “But I get the feeling you’d come with us anyway, so the least that can be done is I carry you.” As Morning opened her mouth to protest, Zinnia shot her a quick glare, silencing the naga before any words could escape. “Do. Not. Argue.”

“Fine,” she huffed, crossing her arms under her chest. “But just know that I am perfectly able to slither just fine right now.”

“Don’t care,” Zinnia said simply.

“Oh come on Morning, I think you look pretty cute like that,” I tried to assure her with a smile.

“Vash, dear, would you like to sit on my tail?” The naga said, staring daggers at me as the tip of her tail wiggled in front of my face.

“Umm, no?” I answered.

“Then do not say another word about me being carried. Or I’ll find out how deep I can put it inside you,” she warned, a no nonsense look on her face.

“Yes ma’am,” I gulped.

Zinnia couldn’t help but laugh. “Okay, now I’m just imagining the tip of your tail sticking out of his mouth,” she giggle-snorted. “I know it’s not possible for that to happen, but I’m imagining it.”

“Well, there’s nothing stopping us from seeing how far I can actually go,” Morning smirked down at her.

“I volunteer as tribute~”

“Heh, of course you do,” I said, patting Zinnia on the head as I snickered.

“I’m guessing this is some sort of human reference that I’m out of the loop on,” Morning sighed.

“We’ll see about showing you some of our Earth movies,” Zinnia told her with a smile. “I think you’ll enjoy Hunger Games, especially the later ones. Lots of drama.”

“I think I would enjoy seeing your entertainment with you.”

“Yeah Zinnia, you should show her The Trouble with Tribbing too,” I smirked. “The star of that is a real hottie.”

“I hate how you know about all that without me telling you, y’know?” the Draconid grumbled. “Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate what you did, but… well, that was a lot of personal shit you had to see. I haven’t even told Umbra about any of that!”

“Yeah, if I could have avoided it, I would’ve,” I sighed. “How ‘bout this, you get to poke around in my head sometime?” I suggested with a grin. “Get to learn all about baby Vash.”

Zinnia mulled it over for a second before shrugging. “Honestly? I’d prefer it if there was some sort of selective mind-wipe spell. But I guess that’s easier to do.” She smiled a little then. “Thanks Vash. It’s cool, really.”

“Alright, and just know that your secrets are safe with me… except for some of the porn titles. Those are too amazing not to share.” I snorted.

“Hey,” she chuckled. “If you can find them, watch that shit. The content’s better than the titles.” She paused, smirking slightly. “Just make sure you actually watch it and don’t turn it off five minutes in so you can fuck one of the girls.”

“Trust me, I don’t think I’d want to miss a second of Futa Fever. The poster was very… intriguing,” I said with a smile and wink.

“Oh god, that one…” Zinnia muttered, eyes widening. “That one was a shocker. You know that’s not fake? The studio cast a real hermaphrodite for that video.”

“Then we'll have to watch it together sometime,” I laughed. “I’d love to hear commentary from the main actress. And afterwards we can hold an in-depth interview,” I finished with a wink.

“Hell, we can recreate it,” the Draconid chuckled. “I’d have no problems doing that. We could even make it better with three!”

“It seems the two of you are on the same wavelength again,” Morning laughed. 

“You’re gonna be a part of it all,” Zinnia told her with a smirk. “Nothing’s getting you out of that. I’ll tie you up if I have to, but you’re watching my porn.”

“Something tells me you might tie me up even if you don’t have to,” she shot back. “But I have no problems watching your porn,” she smiled and hugged the Draconid’s neck. “Or helping you recreate it.” She finished with a purr.

“When you’re better,” the Draconid said with an air of authority. “You can watch the videos first, of course, but I’m issuing a chastity ‘till you’re one-hundred percent healed.”

“You won't have to wait long,” Morning smirked. “I am nearly better already.”

“I’ll be the judge of that,” Zinnia said with a smirk. “I think you might need a visit from a… specialist doctor once you’re better.” Pausing, she shot me a smirk. “A ‘Deep Doc’, huh Vash?”

“Sounds like sound medical advice to me!” I beamed and started laughing.

“I really should start questioning my taste if this is what I’m attracted to,” Morning replied with an overdramatic sigh.

“Doubt anyone else could keep you this entertained though~” Zinnia sang. “In both ways.”

“True,” she smiled. “I suppose I can overlook a few quirks in exchange for that and all the good in you two.”

“Aww, you’re too sweet.” I grinned.

“Sweet?” Zinnia said in confusion, a slight smirk creeping onto her face. “I thought she tasted a bit tart, personally.” Morning let out a long groan while Zinnia and I just laughed.

“That's what I get for trying to have a moment.” Morning huffed.

“Aww~” Zinnia cooed, nuzzling her. “I’m sorry, pretty naga lady~ Please don’t be grumpy!”

“Yeah, we’ll do anything to make it up to you,” I said with my best innocent expression and tone.

“And to think I nearly had a quiet life guarding Trottingham,” Morning chuckled, smiling a bit. “Instead, I get to deal with you two and your shenanigans.”

“Hey, you’ve been saved from a life of boredom!” Zinnia cried. “A faceless, forgotten guard, mindlessly patrolling the city streets. Who’d choose that over getting to fuck a pair of aliens and the rulers of the country whenever they want!?”

“Believe you me, I wouldn't trade coming to the Castle of the Two Sisters for anything in the world. Even without all the great sex.”

The Draconid grinned cheekily, nudging me with her foot. “She said we were great!” She whisper-cried, positively giddy.

“Of course she did,” I beamed. “Both of us are incredibly sexy. I mean, I look good no matter what gender I am,” I said, striking a quick pose and winking at them.

“Well, both this and your normal body certainly can take large insertions,” Morning smirked.

“Oooo~” Zinnia cooed, eyes wide with a massive, shit-eating grin on her face. “Vash, are you gonna need a Rawst Berry after that sick burn!?”

“No, I think I’m gonna need a straight up Full Restore,” I sighed, slumping over. “And a Nurse Joy,” I finished with a small smile.

“I’ll see what I can do~” the Draconid teased.

“Glad to hear it,” I smiled, opening the door to the bedroom and holding it open for them.it open for them. Zinnia smiled, giving me a quick peck on the cheek as she passed by.

“Thank Val~” she cooed with a smirk.

“Well, I can't just give up my chivalrous nature just because I’m a woman at the moment,” I chuckled as I closed the door behind me. “And you’re welcome.”

“Glad to see you’re all here,” Luna said, sitting up in the bed.

“I guess we woke you up when we left, huh?” I said, rubbing the back of my head.

“Don't worry about it,” she waved off. “I am used to being up at this time.”

“Still feel kinda bad about it though,” Zinnia shrugged. “I mean, you’re adorable when you’re asleep. More than normal, I mean. You’ve got this little twitch with your ear, and-”

“That is more than enough,” Luna frowned, stopping her. “And there is nothing to feel bad about. I will have plenty of time to rest during the day. So you can see my twitching ear all you want then,” she finished with a small giggle.

“I am so recording it.”

“Heh, I might have to do that too,” I smiled. “You are right about her being adorable in her sleep. Like when she…”

“Vash, if you do not stop talking right this instant, then I’ll borrow Zinnia’s toy and make you stop,” she warned with narrowed eyes and a blush on her cheeks. I instantly clammed up, making it a point to look at the suddenly interesting carpet.

“Hey,” Zinnia chuckled, shaking her head. “That reminds me, I’ve got a surprise for you that Vash can’t know about.”

“Aww, why can't I know about it?” I pouted, looking at the Draconid.

“Because it’s a gift for your marefriends,” the Draconid teased, smirking mischievously at me. “Don’t worry, they’ll let you in on it if they want to.”

“Oh, something is very worrying about the way you said that,” I gulped.

“Oh, calm down Vash,” Morning giggled, still in Zinnia’s hold and now with her arms draping around the Draconid’s neck. “Would Zinnia really do anything that bad to you?”

“Well… I guess not,” I admitted with a sigh. “I still don’t like being kept in the dark about this.”

“Oh, quit your complaining,” Luna chuckled.

“Yeah, Vash.” Zinnia laughed, setting Morning down so she was sat up on the bed, making sure not to wake Celestia while she was at it. “You’ve enjoyed all of my surprises so far…” She paused, her face falling slightly. “Well, all the ones I planned, anyway…”

“Hey, no more sad faces from you,” I said, poking her nose. “We all agreed what happened wasn’t your fault. Isn't that right, Morning?”

“Yes, please do not beat yourself up anymore,” Morning offered with a soft smile

“I know, I know,” the Draconid sighed. “But… it’s not that easy, y’know? Morning, if you weren’t able to finish a mission despite your best efforts, wouldn’t you blame yourself even if someone told you it was out of your control?”

“I suppose you have me there,” Morning sighed. “Just know that we're here for you. So come here,” she said, holding her arms open.

Smiling, Zinnia climbed into Morning’s coils, allowing the naga to wrap her arms around her as she cuddled into the embrace. I smiled as well, Luna and I joining in the hug.

“Room for one more?” A certain voice chimed in, and another set of arms wrapped around us.

“Tia, when did you wake up?” I asked.

“My group hug senses were tingling,” she replied with a warm grin.

“A useful sense to have,” Zinnia giggled quietly before a yawn escaped her lips. “Oh, wow, I’m sleepy…”

“Yeah, me too,” I nodded, letting out a yawn as well. “It’s been a long day for me between the undead monstrosities and the shenanigans with the griffins. I’m looking forward to a good night's sleep.” I finished, laying down in bed.

“Mhmm…” Zinnia hummed in agreement, snuggling further into Morning’s hold and using her chest as a pillow. “So comfy… night night…”

We all said our goodnights and I closed my eyes and silently hoped for no more nightmares that night.



> Jason and Vash's Excellent Adventure: To the Zebras! Pt. I
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	I woke up due to Celestia’s sun hitting me right in the eyes. I grumbled for a second before getting out of bed and stretching. I looked back and smiled to see Luna sleeping peacefully. I tiptoed through the rest of my morning routine with a smile on my face and headed to the dining room for breakfast. Things had returned to normal after Zinnia returned to her universe. Well, as normal as magical ponyland could ever be. I briefly considered seeing if I had to wake Jason up, but thought better of it. I knew he wasn’t much of a morning person and I’d hate to have something more substantial than a butter knife thrown at my face. I eventually made it to my destination and threw the doors open with a large grin.

“Good morning everyone!” I called out, walking towards the table.

Zed was sitting at the table, chowing away on a steak, very much like a dog. Not that I’d say that out loud. Getting torn apart by an alien with its own strange version of the omnitrix is something I plan on avoiding at all costs.

Jason groaned as he stumbled into the room. He dropped into his chair, letting his head fall onto the table with a thud.

“Morning Jason,” I told him with a bright smile. “Nice to see you up and about.”

“Go to hell...” he muttered back.

“Sure, I’d love to visit your grandma,” I chuckled. 

He lifted his head up to glare at me. “Vash, I will freeze you solid.”

“I know you really meant to say, ‘I love you!’” I enthused as I threw an arm around his shoulder. He glared at me harder, letting out a long sigh. 

“What are we eating...?”

“The chefs have prepared something called eggs benedict,” Celestia answered. “Along with a nice fruit and flower arrangement that’s perfect for waking one up. Other than that, whatever thou wishes.”

“You realize... me and Vash don’t eat flowers...”

Celestia blushed a bit at that and chuckled softly. “Sorry, we hath forgotten this. Luckily the flowers and fruit will be separated so thou does not need to worry about thy food being contaminated.”

“Thanks...” Jason let his head fall back onto the table.

“Can you at least try to pretend that you’re awake and that you don’t want to freeze us peppy morning people?” I asked

“No.”

“Yeah, that’s what I thought,” I sighed. “Still, I’m impressed that you got up on your own. And you’ve only threatened me once today.”

“Bleh...”

“Okay, is there anything in particular that you wanna do today?” I asked.

“Get out of this castle... go explore Ye Olden Equestria.”

“Sounds like fun,” I enthused with a nod. “Any place in particular you wanna go?”

“I dunno...” Jason lifted his head up, looking at Celestia. “What nations do you know of...?”

“There are the griffins, though thou hast already met them. Diamond dogs, but they are more a loose collection of packs than a proper nation. There’s the dragons, though they’ve rebuked our offers for a proper alliance. And then there are the breezies and the zebras. The latter two we admit to not know much about.”

“So... you need the Yaks... those asshole deer... maybe the sirens, wherever the hell they are…”

“Ooh!” I cheered excitedly. “I think I can help figure out where the sirens could possibly be!”

“Where?”

“I couldn’t give you an exact location,” I admitted, “but I might be able to narrow down an area based on the myths from earth. Okay, so in the Odyssey Odysseus found the sirens on a rocky outcropping on the return trip to his homeland. If we can find the most dangerous part of what is this world’s equivalent to the Mediterranean sea than we might be able to find the siren’s homeland.”

“I dunno...” Jason shrugged. “Anyway... Let’s go visit the Zebras...”

“Okay, but you’re not going to be the one to get us there,” I told him with my arms crossed over my chest.

“Fine...” Jason rolled his eyes, perking up ever so slightly as the food was brought out.

I thanked the serving staff and slowly started on my meal, After a few bites and a drink of orange juice I asked, “Think you can do that chalk trick again so Hel can get us to the Zebras, Jason?”

“No... we’re not bothering my grandmother every time we need to go somewhere, she has a job to do.” He rolled his eyes starting to eat. After a few moments, he gagged, rushing out of the room.

I got up quickly, following after him and stopping at the nearest bathroom door. “Jason, are you okay?” Jason didn’t respond, only vomiting up the contents of his stomach.”I’m taking your silence as a maybe?” I joked with a weak smile.

He turned, punching me through a wall. “Ow,” I squeaked in my heap of limbs and bits of rubble. Jason wiped his mouth, washing his hands before moving back to the dining hall. I let out a long groan as I picked myself off the ground and dusted off any bits of the wall that were on me. I grumbled something about repairs as I sat down at the table again and let my head fall onto it.

“So, feeling better?” I asked carefully, my head still planted firmly on the table.

“Yes...a bit...” he admitted, going back to his meal.

“Great,” I enthused, looking at him with a smile. “Because my castle sure isn’t,” I muttered under my breath.

He just smirked, munching away.

“So, if we’re not going to ask Hel to get us to the Zebra homeland. And you can’t teleport us there without passing out, how do you propose we get there?”

“The old fashioned way... having some pegasi fly us there.”

“Oh…” I started, paling. “Are you sure we can’t just call Hel?” I asked with a nervous chuckle.

"Yes I’m sure.”

“Fine, then do me a favor and knock me out for the flight. Heights and me don’t mix.”

“My pleasure!” he wide before drawing his arm back and socking me in the face. 

I don’t know how long I was out, but I eventually woke up with a moan. “Uggh, did anybody get the plate number of the truck that hit me?” I asked groggily.

“Oh good you're awake!” Jason smiled, looking down at me. “Have a nice nap?”

I instantly remembered what happened and narrowed my eyes at the Jotun. “You enjoyed doing that, didn’t you?”

“Why yes, I do enjoy taking my revenge on you every way that I can.” Jason gave a sickly sweet smile.

“Punching me through a wall and the events that transpired after Hodge turned me into a woman weren’t enough revenge?” I asked with a nervous gulp.

“I’ve only just started, Vash.”

“See, that’s what I was afraid of,” I sighed. “So, are we still up in the air?”

“Nah, we landed about an hour ago. Welcome to what I assume is Zebrica.” Jason stood up, throwing his arms out.

“Awesome!” I cheered, shooting up in the back of the chariot. I was greeted by the sight of what looked like the savannah. There didn’t seem to be any animals nearby, probably scared off by us. Shame, I kinda wanted to see some elephants or something. “Wow, this place is beautiful,” I then winced as I felt something land on me which I promptly swatted. “Though I kinda wish bug spray was a thing in this time period.”

“Sucks to be you.” Jason commented. “Now come on, let’s go find us some Zebras.”

“Alright,” I said before turning back to the pegasi that had brought us. “Thanks for the ride, we’re going to start exploring so we’d really appreciate it if you could set up a camp.” Their only response was a quick salute as they pulled the chariot into a shady spot. Jason and I started to walk, and I couldn’t help but swivel my head in every direction.

“So, do you know anything about zebras back in your Equestria?” I asked.

“Think Africa that didn’t get utterly destroyed by Europeans.” Jason nodded. “If you’re a fan of comics, it’s basically Wakanda.”

“Nice, think we’ll run into someone running around in a Black Panther costume then?”

“What is this the Power Ponies?” Jason asked, rolling his eyes.

“Power Ponies?” I asked with a quirked eyebrow.

“Yes, its the pony version of the Avengers. Spike loves them.”

“Wait… is Spike a little purple and green baby dragon?”

“...How did you know...?”

“I met him when I was summoned by Sheogorath,” I answered with a shrug.

“Huh...” Jason looked around. “See anything?”

“Nothing yet, but I have noticed something,” I responded, whispering. “We haven’t come across any animals the entire time we’ve been walking. Almost like something scared them off.”

“Probably us.” Jason narrowed his eyes, taking another look around, his eyes darting from tree to tree.

I followed suit and my hand hovered above my pistol. “I’ve got a bad feeling about this.”

“Now you're quoting Star Wars.”

“Wouldn’t be the first time since I’ve come to Equestria and probably won’t be the last,” I chuckled. Before Jason could respond I heard a faint rustling from behind us that I was barely able to hear. I whipped around, drawing my pistol and leveling it at the source of the disturbance. “Alright, if you can hear or understand me then come out. I won’t do anything to you.”

Jason drew his sword, leveling it next to my gun. “I suggest you do as the man says.”

Everything was deathly silent for a few moments. But then, the rustling returned and a figure stepped out from the brush. It was exactly what we were looking for. A gray zebra about the same height as Jason eyed us suspiciously, though she stared at me as if I was made of garbage.  Her clothing was simple, probably made out of cotton or something like it, and she had several bottles filled with various colored liquids strung along her waist. Slung on her back was a bow and a quiver half full of crude arrows. She then turned to Jason and spoke in a strange language that I couldn’t understand.

“Uh what...?” Jason asked blinking. The Omnitrix chirped softly.

“Sampling unknown language.” It spoke, flashing a bright blue color. The zebra seemed to recoil from the sound of the Omnitrix, reaching for her box. A moment later, the Omnitrix spoke up again. “Translation: I’d suggest calling off your pet before I have him gelded.”


Jason blinked, looking at me. “Well... that I was not expecting at all...” 

“Same,” I said, holstering my revolver. “But this isn’t the first time I’ve been threatened with gelding. Maybe you should do the talking here?” I suggested.

“You geld my ‘pet.” and we’re going to have problems.” Jason narrowed his eyes, lowering his sword. “Why the hell were you following us. 

“There was a disturbance that scared animals in the area. I was sent to investigate and determine if it was a threat or not.” 

“So, you do live around here?” Jason asked, raising his eyebrow.

“Yes,” the zebra answered carefully.

“We’re from Equestria. We were hoping to open up diplomatic relations with your people.”

“Hmm, I see no reason to deny your request. But be warned, we do not take kindly to threats to our people.”

“I haven’t threatened anybody.” Jason snorted, placing his sword back in his pocket.

“Let’s hope that continues,” The zebra said as she started to walk away, indicating for us to follow. “And do not get too close to me, male,” she spat.

“Uh... the hell’s that all about?” Jason asked, raising his eyebrow.

“Amazonian society?” I suggested with a shrug.

“Oh that's just fucking amazing...” Jason grumbled, following after the zebra, sighing loudly. 

“What are you grumbling about?” I asked. “You’re technically a woman right now so you should be fine. I’m the one that’s gotta walk on eggshells over here.”

“Hush.” Jason shot back, looking around.

“Why do you put up with such a mouthy male?” Our guide asked over her shoulder. “Surely you could’ve found a more subservient companion.”

“Yeah, Vash is my servant.” Jason rolled his eyes. “Though...that's not a bad idea...”

I was going to tell Jason to bite me, but like I said I was walking on eggshells and I didn’t want to cause a disturbance. So I kept silent and just started looking around at the nearby scenery.

“So, do you have name?” Jason asked, looking back at the zebra.

“Zecora, I earned it when I became my village’s shaman.”

Jason blinked a few times, shaking his head. “That uh... that a common name?

The zebra chuckled and shot Jason a proud look. “No, it is a name only given to those that truly prove themselves to be great shaman. I earned it by curing a plague that terrorized several villages.”

“I see.” Jason nodded. “I am Jason and this is Vash, a pleasure to meet you Zecora.”

“A pleasure to meet you as well,” Zecora replied, only looking at Jason. “Judging by your sword I assume you are a warrior of some kind.”

“More than you know.” 

“Splendid, I am sure your guardian spirits and ancestors are more than pleased,” Zecora said with a bright smile. “Though, what is that… thing that your male companion pointed at me?”

“What do you think it is?” Jason asked, not giving a straight answer.

“Some toy that you told him was a mighty weapon so that he may feel important,” Zecora answered with a shrug. 

“No... it's a weapon alright, but only he can use it.”

“What!? What possessed you to allow a male to hold a weapon much less keep one?”

“Because no one should be helpless. It’s not like he’s a mage or anything.”

“If that is what you feel then fine,” Zecora said glaring daggers at me. “But do make sure that he behaves himself.”

“Oh, I think he knows that, at least.” Jason looked back at me. “He should.”

“Yes Jason, I’ll be on my best behavior.” I answered with a thumbs up.

“Good boy.” Jason smirked, seeming to enjoy this.

“Perfect,” Zecora nodded, stopping. “We have arrived, welcome to my village.”

“Nice place.” Jason stopped beside her, looking around. I stopped a few feet behind them, remembering Zecora’s warning. The place seemed nice enough. A large collection of huts decorated in various ways and sporadically placed around a general center point. Nearly all of the zebras we saw milling about the village seemed to be women and children.

“I don’t see any men...” Jason muttered, looking around.

“The males are in their section of the village, tilling fields or waiting for the fertility season.”

“Sounds like slave labor...”

“Perhaps to an outsider, but the males have a place in our society and they are treated according to that place,” Zecora said with a shrug. “Now come, our elder will be who you’d wish to talk to if it is diplomacy you seek.”

“Please, lead the way.” Jason nodded, gesturing for me to follow. 

Zecora led us down and into the village, indicating a few important huts and explaining what they were for. I wasn’t really paying attention to anything she was saying though. Mostly due to the death glares that all the villagers were giving me. I did my best to ignore those looks and kept my gaze locked onto the back of Jason’s head.

“Here we are,” Zecora said, waving her hand to the largest hut in the village. “The elder is inside.”

“Thank you Zecora.” Jason nodded with a smile, ducking into the hut. “Hello?”

“Who is it that has come to see me?” a matronly zebra asked, sitting on a cushion in the middle of the hut.

“My name is Jason, I come on behalf of Equestria.” He gave a bow, not breaking eye contact. I bowed as well, though I didn’t say anything.

“And for what reason have you come from Equestria my strange looking friend?” The elder asked, patting a cushion next to her.

“To make peace. While our people are not hostile, we are not exactly friends, we would remedy this.” Jason sat across from her.

“Hmm, I have heard whispers that Equestria has extended hands of peace to other nations, so your offer is not strange. I see no reason to outright reject it.”

“Excellent!” Jason smiled, giving me a pleased look. “We are most grateful.”

“Think nothing of it, it is not our way to needlessly make enemies. We offer you a place to stay just to be sure your words ring true.”

“Thank you.” Jason bowed again. “We will accept whatever accommodations you see fit to give us.”

“Do you wish to share with your male companion?” The elder asked, finally acknowledging my existence. “Or shall we have him stay with the other males while we discuss peace?”

“I do not mind sharing with my companion. Unless he would like to stay with the others?” Jason asked, turning toward me.

“No, I’ll be fine staying with you,” I answered.

“Very well,” the elder said, motioning for one of her nearby attendants. “Show our guests to a place they can stay, and make sure they’re comfortable.

“Thank you again.” Jason bowed, following the attendant out of the hut. We were led to a fairly small hut at the edge of the village with no clear decorations unlike the others.

“I will go and get you a blanket and other commodities to fend off the cold. Would you like one for your male, or can he go without?” The attendant asked.

“He can have mine.” Jason shook his head, walking into the hut. “All I need is a bed.”

The attendant shrugged and walked away to get the items that she mentioned and I followed in after him.

“So, what do you think of this place?” I asked absently.

“Not a fan of the misandry but, Whatcha gonna do?” he laid down on the bed, looking up at the ceiling. 

“Wait and hope that the prolonged contact with Equestria will slowly change their ideals?” I offered, sitting against a wall.

“You want the bed?” He asked, sitting back up. “You’ll need it more than me.”

“Yes, I need the bed more than the pregnant person who’s been passing out on numerous occasions,” I said with a roll of my eyes. 

Jason got up, moving over to an open space. He worked his magic, weaving a bed out snow and ice. He got up, smirking at me.

“Ya know what, I’m just gonna take the ice bed now,” I said with a smirk. “Looks like it has good lumbar support.”

“Vash, just shut up and take the real bed.” Jason rolled his eyes, getting comfy.

“No!” I said, putting on my petulant child act.

“I can make you a child you know.”

“You think that’s a punishment?” I asked with a laugh. “Celestia and Luna would probably get a kick out of that.”

“Just lay down, Vash.” Jason turned his back to me.

“Okay,” I shrugged, getting into the ice bed.

“Vash... we are not sleeping in the same bed...”

“Well, I told you I was just going to take the ice bed,” I shrugged. Jason sighed before holding his hand out, casting a spell and knocking me out. I woke up to the sound of retching, scrambling to my feet and dimly noting that Jason had dumped me into the real bed. 

“Jason, are you okay?” I asked rushing to his side.

“Do I sound ok...?” he asked with a groan, having vomited up his stomach once again.

“Look, we already know I’m an idiot,” I sighed. “Is there anything I can do to help?”

“Go see if they have any herbs or whatever...”

“Will they be able to understand me without you around?”

Jason tossed me a bracelet. “They will with that...”

“Alright,” I said, getting up. “I’ll be back soon. Hopefully without getting gelded.” I added before passing through the opening to the hut. 

I carefully made my way through the village, again avoiding their glares. Thankfully, I made it to the elder’s hut without incident and bowed as I entered.

“I’m sorry for intruding, but I was sent to ask for some herbs that Jason needs.” I said, sweating bullets.

“Is that so?” The elder asked, not looking at me as she ate a simple meal. “And what kind of herbs does she require?”

“Um, do you have anything that helps relieve morning sickness?” I asked. This seemed to get her attention because she actually whipped her head towards me.

“Morning sickness you say? Take me to her,” she ordered, getting up from her cushion.

“Okay,” I said, leading her through the village and back to the hut where Jason and I were staying at. The elder pushed past me and entered, walking up to Jason and studying him carefully.

“What?” he asked, looking at the elder, raising his eyebrow.

“Your male companion claims that you are experiencing morning sickness. Does this mean that you are pregnant?” The elder asked, her face an unreadable mask.

“That's what causes morning sickness.” I could tell Jason was holding back a ’duh.’

“This is wonderful news!” The elder enthused, breaking out into a wild grin.

“It...is?” Jason asked, raising his eyebrow.

“Of course!” The elder beamed. “Motherhood is a beautiful thing, and such a happening must be celebrated. Come Jason, we will show you how we celebrate the joy of life.”

“Alright, alright  lead the way...” Jason got up, moving over to her. 

“Excellent, so am I to assume you wish for your male companion to join in our celebration?” The elder asked, walking out of the hut.

“Of course I would... he’s the father after all...” Jason admitted, sighing a little. 

“Ah, so that is the reason you keep him close,” The elder laughed. “I will admit to keeping one or two young males close to me for the same reason when I was in my prime.”

“It was more... a drunken accident than anything else...” Jason coughed, looking away.

“Oh well, you still have new life in your belly. That is more than enough reason to enjoy ourselves now.”

“Lady, you have no idea.” Jason just shook his head, laughing.

The elder led us to the center of the village where she gathered the others. She then cleared her throat and began to speak. “We have cause for celebration my children!” She called out, her arms wide spread. “The guardian spirits and ancestors have blessed our foreign friend with the gift of life,” she continued, indicating Jason.

“But elder,” Zecora said, stepping forward. “The fertility season is months away. And Jason does not appear to be far enough into hers to have her child conceived during the last one.”

“I know my trusted shaman, but she has experienced morning sickness. A sure enough sign of impending child. But you can check for yourself if you like.”

“My people don’t ‘have’ a ‘season’,” Jason spoke up, “They’re fertile all year round.”

This seemed to take everyone in the crowd by surprise. A collective gasp echoing through the town center.

“Young Jason, is what you say true?” The elder asked slowly.

“Yes it is.” He nodded. “My people are old, very, very old. So old, that there are only four of us left.”

The elder’s eyes widened and she remained silent for a while. Just when I was debating saying something, she collapsed to her knees and bowed towards Jason. The rest of the crowd followed suit.

“What uh... what are you doing there?” Jason asked, his eyes going wide.

“There are tales that are far older than I that tell of those with the ability to conceive children at all times of the year with no regard to the fertility seasons. These beings were guardians of all who go through the changes of pregnancy. If what you say is true, then surely you are one of them.” The elder explained, a look of reverence in her eyes.

“I-I see...” Jason nodded, looking at them, clearly uncomfortable with the situation.

“I think you just became a god, Jason.” I whispered into his ear.

“Well... technically, I already was one but now I actually have people worshipping me...”

“Really glad I’m not in your shoes right now,” I chuckled. “Godhood doesn’t really suit me.”

Jason just glared, but held back on punching me. “Please.” He looked out at the zebra’s. “Let us celebrate!”

“Of course!” The elder replied, rising to her feet slowly. “Prepare for the traditional celebration, and have a feast ready for the expecting mother!” The entire village erupted into cheers and set about doing various tasks. The elder then smiled up at Jason and motioned for him to follow. “Come, let us sit and wait for everything to be done. I shall have an herbal blend brewed for you.”

“Thank you.” Jason smiled, walking over to her, following her to her hut. We all sat down on the cushions spread around the hut with several attendants flitting about and handing us what looked like tea.

“I hope that is to your liking,” the elder nodded. “That blend is excellent for health.”

Jason nodded, taking a sip of the tea. He coughed, looking away. “Yggdrasil that's strong!”

“It has to be to ensure the strength of the drinker,” The elder chuckled, taking a sip of her own tea without issue.

He shrugged, downing the rest of it in one go, slamming the cup down. He coughed louder, thumping his chest a few times. 

“The young ones are always quick to show off,” the elder commented with another lazy sip.

“I get that a lot.” Jason laughed, shaking his head. “I tend to show off more than I should.”

“Part of the beauty of your age,” the elder said with a smile. “Enjoy yourself and continue showing off while you still have something to show off.”

“Yeah...that's going to be a very, very long time...” Jason muttered, looking down at the floor.

“Plenty of time then.”

“So... what does this celebration entail?” Jason asked, looking back up at the Elder.

“First, we will mark you in traditional markings connecting you to your ancestors. Then there will be a feast in your honor. Following which there will be singing and dancing. Nothing too outlandish,” The elder shrugged.

“Sounds fun.” Jason smiled, closing his eyes. “I haven’t had a feast in a while.”

“Good thing we’re about to correct that,” the elder chuckled just as Zecora walked in with a bowl in her hand. “Ah, and there is what we need to mark you.”

“Do I just sit here?” Jason asked, looking at them.

“Yes, just stand up and allow me to draw the symbols on your flesh,” Zecora answered, dipping a finger into the bowl. “This will take but a moment if you remain still.”

Jason got up, holding his arms out, making sure to close his eyes. Zecora ran her finger along Jason’s face and began to hum an odd tune. She continued drawing symbols along Jason’s exposed body parts until her humming came to a climax. She hummed a few more bars and finished by drawing a symbol on Jason’s forehead.

“There, it is done,” Zecora nodded.

“Well... how do I look?” Jason asked, looking around, dropping his arms.

“Perfect,” the elder nodded. “But what’s more important is how you feel. Can you feel the connection to those that came before you?”

Jason paused, thinking for a moment. “Yes... I believe I do... I can feel them in my blood..”

“Good,” the elder beamed with a proud smile. “Let them be your strength to help you through the trials of motherhood, and life. They will not fail you if you trust them.”

Jason nodded, smiling. “Now... about that feast...”

“Of course,” the elder laughed with a shake of her head. “It sounds like you and your ancestors are hungry.”

“Considering who some of them are, that doesn’t surprise me.”

“Come, there will be plenty for you to eat, and even the father gets a special plate at this celebration,” The elder said, turning to me without a sour look for once.

“Thank you,” I said with a deep bow.

“He eats just as much as I do.” Jason patted me on the back before moving out of the hut.

“I suppose we can bend tradition and allow a being such as you to share your helping with your companion,” the elder said with a shrug, following him.

“I appreciate it!” Jason called back.

“Me too ma'am,”  I said with another bow as I caught up with Jason. We followed the elder and Zecora to the center of town, where everything had been set up.

“Wow, they sure do know how to set up a party, huh?” I asked.

“And quick too. I wonder if Pinkie Pie is part zebra...” Jason mused, looking around. 

“Stranger things have happened,” I shrugged with a grin.

“Like our current situation?”

“You mean the pregnancy or the fact that you’re now a zebra god?”

“...Both...”

“Then yes,” I chuckled. “And the sad thing is, I think I’m not just getting used to all the insanity, but enjoying it.”

Jason giggled, leaning over and kissing my cheek.

“Umm… what was that for?” I asked, looking away slightly flustered.

“A peace offering. I’ve been taking my frustration out on you...”

“And I’ve earned every bit of abuse,” I replied. “Not just for the accidental pregnancy.”

“Vash, stop trying to convince me not to hit you.”

“Alright, I guess I can do that. Otherwise I might start enjoying that along with the insanity.”

Jason just rolled his eyes, taking the seat the elder pointed out to him. I took the seat next to him and looked over to him.

“The thought occurs that since this is a zebra feast, we may not get any meat,” I said with a small frown.

“I got that covered.” Jason assured with a smile.

“Really, how?”

“I keep preserved meat on me at all times.” He smiled, getting comfy.

“I am really starting to see the benefits of having a viking for a friend,” I said, returning his smile.

He chuckled, waiting for the celebrations to start. A moment later the elder of the village signaled for the feast to begin and several zebras came up to us with large wooden trays filled with all kinds of different foods. Though of course, they all appeared to be fruit and vegetable based. I sniffed at the air and could feel myself start to salivate.

“Hey, this stuff actually smells pretty good.”

“I have to agree with you and I’m not a vegetable kind of guy.” Jason licked his lips before diving in, starting to eat. 

“And not even at a celebration in your honor do you display basic table manners,” I laughed, tucking into my meal.

“Shuddup.” Jason shot back.

“Yes my goddess,” I said, mock bowing toward him. He glared, flicking my nose. “Ow, I thought you were done doing things like that?”

“Starting now I am.” He grinned sweetly, returning to his meal. 

“You are so lucky that you could kick my ass,” I replied, eating what looked like a stew.

“As long as you know who’s in charge.” He teased, grinning still.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever you say,” I said with an over exaggerated sigh.

Our little banter seemed to amuse the zebra’s, who were watching us, all grinning. 

“Wow, I didn’t think I’d see them smiling in my direction,” I whispered to Jason.

“Don’t look gift zebras in the mouth.” He whispered back.

“Wow, and I thought my puns were awful,” I winced.

Jason rolled his eyes, looking out at the zebras. “Anyone want to ask any questions?” One young zebra raised her hand and Jason indicated it was okay for her to continue.

“Umm, if your kind does not have a fertility season, then does that mean that you always feel the need to mate?”

“Really, we only feel like mating when we’re aroused.” Jason shrugged. “It’s a little hard to explain.”

“Well, aroused or just blackout drunk, but that’s just splitting hairs,” I whispered.

“Any other questions?” Jason asked, glaring at me. I looked away from him and started to whistle innocently when the next zebra raised her hand.

“Why are you so friendly with your male?”

“Where we come from, males and females are treated equally and both can do as they please.” Jason said without hesitation.

This seemed to confuse the crowd, not sure how to respond as they chattered amongst themselves.

“Uhh, do you think that’s good chatter, or ‘Let’s chase the heretic out of the village’ chatter?” I whispered.

“Lets hope it's the first one...”

“I would start praying, but I’ve only met two gods. And one of them was the goddess of death.”

“Well... I’m a god.”

“Already counted you. And do you really want me to start praying to you?”

“Why not, might win you brownie points.”

“Really, and what’s the best way to pray to you oh mighty goddess?”

“Blast some Manowar and headbang.” Jason chuckled, leaning back in his chair. “That is the music of the gods.”

“Ha, if they taught me that back in sunday school, I’d have become religious.”

“Here's your chance.”

“Consider me a convert to Jasonism,” I chuckled. 

“Good, I expect sacrifices every other Friday, namely of beer and steak.”

“Do you want me to sing Sons of Odin while I offer my sacrifices?”

“Yes, do that and you will have your god’s blessing upon you.”

“Nice, but I feel like we’re forgetting something here,” I said scratching my chin. Jason blinked, looking back out at the zebras. Luckily, instead of an angry mob, they were just staring back at us with expectant, if slightly confused looks.

“What?” Jason asked, blinking a few times.

“We were just waiting for you two to stop talking about… whatever you two were talking about,” The elder said. “I think a few of them still have questions.”

“Er, yeah sorry... what was the next one?” Jason asked with a sheepish grin.

“Umm, why are males and females treated equally where you’re from?”

“Why wouldn’t they be?” Jason asked, tilting his head to the side. 

“Tradition,” the zebra offered.

“I don’t think Equestria had traditions like that.” Jason shook his head. “Though, back in our original home, it was the females who were restricted for a very long time, while the males ruled.”

“So back where you’re from your male companion would lead?” Another zebra asked.

Jason shook his head. “Things changed around a century ago. Some very depressing things happened, two great wars happened, dragging most of the world’s nations into combat. The women of our world where able to fight for their own rights and when we left were equal to the men.”

The zebras started to murmur amongst themselves again, more confused than they had been before.

“Maybe we should stop the Q&A and continue on with the celebration?” I offered. “I think we’ve given these ladies more than enough to think about today.”

“Oh come on, Vash, they would like answers. Anyway, any other questions that don’t involve who rules over who? Like anything in particular anyone wants to know about me?”

The zebras looked between each other and seemed to be thinking of something to ask.

“Favorite color?” A child asked.

“Green, lots and lots of green, seafoam green actually.” Jason nodded, gesturing to his dress. “So... anyone want to hear some of my exploits? I am a very well experienced warrior and mage after all.”

“Oh boy, I’d better grab a pillow. I’m probably gonna be stuck here for a while,” I joked with a roll of my eyes.

“Oh come on Vash, I haven’t even told you all of the things I’ve done with my life.”

“Eh, you make a good point. But I couldn’t resist the urge to deflate your ego a bit. I was a little scared you’d float away from all the hot air,” I snickered.

“You know if it wasn’t for the kid, I probably would.” He chuckled, shaking his head. “You know, this is actually a lot of fun.”

“Glad I could entertain you. Now, I think you have an audience that’s waiting to hear your stories,” I said, waving to the crowd.

“Does anyone have any requests?” Jason joked, looking out at them.

“Ooh, tell them the story about the time you met the handsome and charming devil in the red duster,” I joked back.

“That’s a really lame event to turn into a story.” Jason shot back. “How about... the time I slew my great uncle in combat?”

“Which great uncle is that?” I asked. 

“Fenrir, the dread wolf.”

“I’d have just shoved a ton of chocolate down his throat,” I joked.

“He was a giant wolf the size of a mountain, as well as a zombie reanimated by dark magic.”

“Your life is weird,” I deadpanned.

“So is yours.”

“My life started getting really weird once you showed up in it.”

“We are getting way, way off topic.’ Jason shook his head. He cleared his throat, regaling the gathered villagers with tales of his exploits. His training at the hands of a man known as ‘Gilgamesh’, his fight with Fenrir, his fight against a genocidal rebel, and several other tales, though I could tell he left them a little vague, so he didn’t have to explain the multiverse. A part of me started hoping that I’d never have to deal with insanity like that. But then I realized I was already starting to. Between dealing with Discord, Morning becoming a naga, and the changeling situation. I just didn’t have as much time as a Displaced under my belt.

“And that is how I slew several thousand changelings.” Jason finished, leaning back in his chair.

“Wow, I knew your life was crazy, but that was a lot of crazy,” I noted.

“I’m in a Norse world, crazy is just inherent.”

“Still, I’m a little surprised that Chryssi was your stalker for a while,” I laughed.

Jason just shrugged, going back to his meal, humming to himself.

“Jason, in light of your exploits perhaps you would enjoy seeing how we zebras engage in warfare?” The elder asked.

“I would indeed.” Jason smiled, perking up. “I’m always up for learning new techniques.”

“Very well then,” the elder nodded. “Would our two greatest warriors step forward please?” The crowd parted and formed a fairly large ring as Zecora and one of the elder’s attendants stepped into the area that the crowd made for them. “Would you like us to start with a hand to hand   combat demonstration?”

“Please.” Jason nodded, watching intently.

Zecora and the attendant dropped into an odd fighting stance and circled each other. The attendant was the first one to make a move, jabbing at Zecora’s chest. Zecora reacted quickly and caught the attendant’s fist before putting her in a hold. She then pushed the attendant away so that their demonstration could continue. The two continued to exchange blows, and from what I saw their fighting style was a mixture of quick strikes and grapples. Eventually, the mock fight was finished and Zecora came out on top.

“What do you think?” The elder asked, turning to Jason.

“You certainly do have a unique fighting style. I would be honored to learn it myself.”

“It would be our pleasure to teach you,” the elder bowed slightly in her seat. “Just be warned, Zecora can be a bit of a taskmaster when it comes to teaching.”

“That's fine, that harder the training the better.” Jason grinned, cracking his neck. 

“Have fun, and try not to hurt anyone,” I said between bites of my meal.

“I can control my strength you know.” Jason huffed. ‘Besides, if anyone does get hurt, I can heal them.”

“Ah, the power to have no consequences for your actions,” I joked

“Do I need to put you to sleep again?”

“Do it and I’ll laser your face,” I warned with narrowed eyes.

“And I’ll Ultima you in the face.” He shot back.

“Stupid Norse god with stupid alien watch,” I grumbled, focusing on my meal.

Jason just giggled, turning back to the elder. “Again, very impressive display.”

“Thank you, we can begin your training once the celebration is over.”

“I look forward to it.” Jason smiled. “And of course, I could train some of your own in my ways.”

“I don’t see why not. I am sure they would jump at the chance to learn from you.”

The meal continued for a while and Jason and I continued to eat until we felt like we could barely move. I don’t know how many plates I ate, I lost count after about six or seven. In the end, both of us had a small mountain range of bowls and plates next to us.

“Uggh, that was too good,” I groaned.

“Yeah... so good...” Jason smiled, patting his stomach, “Plus... I am eating for two...”

“We are glad that you’re satisfied,” the elder smiled. “Now all that is left is the singing and dancing and the celebration will come to a close.”

“Wanna dance?” Jason asked, getting to his feet, holding his hand out, smiling at me.

“Alright, but I’ve gotta warn you. I’ve got two left feet when it comes to dancing,” I chuckled, taking his hand.

He just smiled, pulling me to my feet, heading to the gather area. The elder gave a signal and a large group of zebras brought up several instruments. There were various types of drums, along with a few instruments that I couldn’t really identify. After the musicians shared a look they began to play and each of them started chanting. The rest of the zebras started swaying to the rhythm.

“They have good taste in music.” Jason smiled, closing his eyes, starting to sway to the music.

“Yeah, kinda trippy sounding though,” I said, awkwardly following his movements.

“Just close your eyes and feel the music, let it guide you.” Jason instructed, moving gracefully to the beat.

“Yes, the music surrounds us, penetrates us,” I said, still awkwardly trying to follow suit.

“Just let it move you Vash.” He smiled, seeming to rather enjoy himself. 

“Yeah, I’ll try. But this isn’t exactly my strong suit,” I said, attempting that and  nearly tripping over my own feet.

“You're just a lunk you know that?” he asked, giggling at my expense. 

“Hey, I’m just not a dancer. You want someone who can take apart an engine in no time then I’m your guy,” I shot back before actually tripping and falling to the ground. “Ow.”

“You okay?” he kneeled down, offering his hand to help me up.

“Yeah, but I think I’m done dancing,” I said taking the offered hand.

“Alright, you can watch me dance.” He helped me up, going back to dancing, a bright smile on his face.

“Got it, find a comfortable wall to lean on, just like back in school,” I called out as I watched him. Eventually the music stopped and the dancing creeped to a halt. 

Jason took a seat next to me, letting out a sigh. “I have to ask, how do you plan on staying with three women when you can’t even dance?”

“Make up for it with my winning personality and smile?” I offered with a weak grin.

“You’re gonna need to learn how to dance. I could teach you.” Jason offered, looking up at me.

“Yeah, that might be a good idea,” I admitted. “The only time I’ve ever successfully danced was when I let Morning take the lead. And that was back when she had legs.”

“Heh, when I’m done with you, you’ll be able to snake charm her with your dance moves.”

“Ha, okay. I’ll take you up on that,” I laughed, with a hand outstretched. He took my hand standing up. He brushed some hair out of his face, looking into my eyes with a smile.

“Uh… didn’t you want to learn these zebras’ fighting moves?” I asked.

“Yeah, I’ll teach you later.” He nodded, moving over to Zecora. “You want to watch?”

“Sure thing,” I agreed with a few quick nods. “Two girls training and grappling with each other is always a good time,” I muttered under my breath with a devious smile.

“I’ll make sure it’s worth watching...” he paused, looking at his dress. “I might not have the right outfit for this...”

“I could always lend you one,” Zecora noted.

“I would very much appreciate that Zecora, thank you.”

“Think nothing of it,” she nodded. “I’ll be back in a moment.” Zecora turned on a heel and ducked into a hut near the elder’s. A minute or so later she came out holding an outfit very similar to the one she was wearing. “Here we are, hopefully it fits.” 

“Thanks.” Jason took it, moving off into a hut. He came back out a moment later, adjusting the outfit ever so slightly. “I think it fits...”

“I am happy to hear that,” Zecora nodded. “Whenever you are ready to begin.”

“Let’s.” Jason smiled, cracking his knuckles,bouncing from foot to foot.

“We will start with the basic stance. Copy me if you can,” Zecora said as she got into the same stance she had during the demonstration. Jason observed her for a few moments, doing his best to copy her. 

“How’s this?” he asked, looking at her.

“Not bad,” she said walking over to him. “But you are too rigid. Remember, be like water,” she finished, adjusting his shoulders and knees slightly. “How does that feel now?”

“Good.” He jabbed at the air a few times. “And non-too different than the stances I already know.”

“Understandable, this stance is meant to lend itself to the natural ebb and flow of combat,” Zecora explained. “Now, come at me and I will demonstrate a grapple.”

Jason nodded, lounging at her, throwing a fist at her face. Zecora brought her hand down in a sweeping motion, twisting Jason’s arm behind his back.

“Did you notice my motions?” Zecora asked, letting Jason go.

“Yeah, I did.” He shook his arm, giving it a bit of a rub.

“Then show me,” Zecora said, holding up a fist. “Do you think you can do it yourself?”

“Yeah, I think I got it, come at me... uh sis....”

Zecora nodded, quickly jabbing at Jason’s center. He brought his arm down, mimicking her movements, pinning her arm behind her back.

“Not bad, it seems you are a quick study.”

“Yeah, I’ve been told that before.” He released her, taking a few steps back.

“Very well, perhaps we should move on to more advanced techniques?”

“Sounds good to me!” he beamed.

“As you wish,” Zecora nodded and returned to her stance. The two kept going back and forth, Zecora showing Jason moves and him repeating them for what felt like hours. Jason seemed to be enjoying himself, even when Zecora held him in a particularly painful looking hold. By the end of their training session both of them were covered in dirt and sweat.

“You’re one hell of a teacher you know that..?” Jason asked with a laugh, crouched over, panting a bit heavily. 

“And you are quite the student,” Zecora chuckled, rubbing a particularly sore spot. “I believe that is enough for one day. Feel free to return to me if you wish to learn more. But first, perhaps we should clean ourselves up?” She suggested, looking herself and Jason over.

“Hey, sounds good to me, I haven’t had a bath in a few days anyway.” Jason nodded, wiping some sweat from his forehead.

“Perfect, then follow me. I shall show you where we wash ourselves,” Zecora said, turning to walk away.

“Watch my dress for me.” Jason said to me, following after Zecora. 

“No problem,” I cheered with a little wave. An evil smirk forming on my face once their backs were turned.

‘Was Zecora just talking about a communal bath? Perhaps I should investigate this?’ I thought, subtly following after the two of them. ‘For science of course,’ I added.

Luckily, nobody seemed to notice or care about me as I snuck through the village. Eventually, they made it to a fairly large watering hole and I hid myself in a nearby bush. Securing myself a good vantage point for when things got interesting. Just as I hid, I heard more zebras approaching the bathing spot and greeted Zecora and Jason as they all shrugged out of their clothes.

‘And this is officially worth whatever insanity I’ve been put through up ‘til now,’ I thought with a dopey grin.

Jason stepped into the water, wading in up to his waist, taking a seat. “I was not expecting a hot spring.” He commented to Zecora, who sat beside him.

“There is a volcano in the area. Too far away to be an issue, but close enough to give us luxuries such as this,” Zecora informed him, running a hand through the water for effect.

“Must be nice.” Jason smiled, letting himself sink into the water.

“If I may Jason,” another zebra asked, looking him over, “Why did you leave your bracelet on?”

“Oh that.” He held up his Omnitrix arm, “It uh... doesn’t come off.”

“That must be quite difficult to deal with,” Zecora noted before letting out a sigh of relief.

“Not really, it more than makes up for it. See, it allows me to change my shape, and become other races.”

“Would you care to demonstrate?” One of the zebras asked.

“I would but my pregnancy might be jeopardized.” He shook his head. “Otherwise, I would gladly show off.”

Oh, that’s too bad,” another pouted. “But your child is far more important than our entertainment.”

“I have been meaning to ask something. In order for my... device to work, I need a bit of let’s say...blood, in order to become that race. Is it alright if I take it from one of you?”

“As you wish,” Zecora nodded, holding out one of her hands. “I’ll gladly offer you some of mine.”

“Thank you.” Jason held his hand out, the Omnitrix passing a yellow light over Zecora. “Done!”

Zecora looked between her hand and Jason’s Omnitrix before letting out a chuckle. “When you said you’d need my blood, I was expecting something a bit different.”

“It’s so small you wouldn’t notice.” Jason chuckled, shaking his head. “Though I suppose this would mean we’re sisters in a way.”

“Welcome to my family,” Zecora bowed her head. “Perhaps you will be able to earn a name through deed with whatever time you have left here.”

“A name huh? How does that work?” Jason asked, beginning to scrub the grime off.

“For us there are two different names that we will use in our lives. The names we are given at birth and the names that we earn. I told you earlier that I earned my name when I cured a dreadful plague.”

“That you did... I have many names. My birth mother named me Corypheus Toyason, but the woman who raised me named me Jason.”

“Then you already know what it’s like to have two different names,” Zecora giggled. 

“That's true.” He giggled with her. “You know, if I didn’t already have a home, I wouldn’t mind staying here.”

“We will consider that a great compliment. But one should never stray too far from their true home,” Zecora noted.

“Don’t I know it.” He closed his eyes, sighing heavily. “It’s just nice to get away from the stress...”

‘Uggh, this isn’t as exciting as I was hoping,’ I grumbled in my head. ‘No one has started a splash fight or anything! And it’s not like I can just leave. I’d get caught if I did that. Maybe if I’m really subtle about it,’ I thought, moving as silently as I could.

“How long have you been pregnant?” One of the zebras asked, sitting beside Jason and leaning in close.

“Not very long... a month at most. why do you ask?”

“Really?” She asked her eyes going wide. “I thought it would’ve been longer considering how large your chest is.” She said, poking Jason’s chest.

He blushed, moving away a little, trying to cover up. “Well... I mean... my people are giants...”

“What is with your reaction, Jason?” Zecora asked with a chuckle. “It was only some common skinship amongst friends.”

“Skinship?” he asked, looking at her, a bit confused.

“Of course, a form of showing friendship through intimate contact. Perfectly normal at times like these.”

“In my original culture... this was rather... taboo...” Jason explained, still blushing.

“Then perhaps a demonstration is in order,” Zecora said with a smirk reaching out and grabbing Jason’s chest. He let out a yelp, looking at her, his face a bright red.

‘And suddenly I feel the urge to stay,’ I thought, stopping all movement.

“Oh Jason, there is nothing to be embarrassed about,” Zecora chuckled. “You can do the same to me if you like.”

“Y-you sure...?” he asked, still unsure.

“I told you, it’s perfectly normal at times like this.”

He nodded, reaching up, gently grasping her breasts. 

“Jason, How could you?!” Zecora shrieked, turning away and covering her chest.

“I uh...” he stuttered out, looking at her with wide eyes. 

She turned back to him and giggled. “I’m sorry, I could not resist.”

“Oh that was totally not cool Zecora!” He pouted, splashing her. 

“I would disagree with you there, Jason,” she replied splashing him back. He growled, splashing her again. This devolved into a massive splash fight that everyone in the hot spring got involved in.

“I had no idea this would be so much fun!” Jason laughed, protecting his face from a splash.

“Then you have been missing out. Things like this are a great way to reduce stress after a long day,” Zecora beamed.

“I can tell. “ He laughed, his chest bouncing as he splashed at some of his attackers.

“You seem much more relaxed,” Zecora teased, flinging more water at Jason’s face.

“Oh you have no idea Zecora, this is like a mini-vacation.” he shielded his face with one hand, splashing her back.

“That is good, you seemed so flustered just from touching a pair of breasts.”

“That's... a very long story...” He admitted, coughing again.

“Mmm, well we zebras are fans of long stories,” she said, slipping up next to him.

“Well uh... if I’m going to be completely honest with you Zecora uh... I’m usually, you know... male...” He looked away, poking his fingers together. 

“Really, that is quite interesting,” Zecora replied, barely reacting.

“That... was a lot softer of a reaction than I was expecting...” Jason said, looking at her, rather surprised. 

“Well, even if you are normally male, your current pregnancy makes you female enough.”

“Huh.. I suppose you're right...” he nodded, leaning back in his seat. 

“So, was that all the reason you had to be flustered?”

“Well... yeah...” he nodded his head, looking back at her. 

“Then perhaps you’d like to continue our lesson on skinship?” Zecora asked with a wink.

“S-sure..” he nodded meekly, looking at her.

“Then you may start on me whenever you are comfortable,” she said, turning her chest toward him.
Warning: some cloppy bits ahead. Skip to next marked position if you don't wish to see such things.
He reached up, grabbing her breasts, gently rubbing her nipples.

“Mmm, see, there is nothing to worry about,” Zecora assured him.

He smiled, licking his lips and getting comfortable.

“If I may?” She asked, holding her hands up.

“You may.” he nodded. Zecora reached out and mirrored Jason’s motions on his chest. He moaned, closing his eyes, shivering at her touch.

“I take it that you’re starting to enjoy yourself?” Zecora asked, not stopping her ministrations.

“Y-yeah...” he nodded, looking at her, putty in her hands. 

“Would you like me to show you more?”

He bit his lip, but nodded. Zecora smirked, removing one of her hands from Jason’s chest and having it disappear below the water. She then snaked her hand between Jason’s legs and rubbed along his inner thigh, dangerously close to his crotch.

He gasped, arching his back, pressing against her. Zecora chuckled slightly as she ran a finger along the outer edges of his folds. He whimpered a little, letting out a pant, squirming. She then circled his clit for a moment before giving it a gentle pull.

“Na...” he moaned, bucking his hips, his head lolling a bit.

“What was that?” Zecora teased. “Did you want me to stop?” She asked as she threatened to pull her hands away.

“N-no...” he whimpered, shaking his head. 

“I didn’t quite catch that,” she said as her hand slipped further away. “Could you speak up?”

“D-don’t stop...” he admitted with a blush.

“As you wish,” Zecora said, slipping a finger into his folds.

He moaned, shuddering and leaning on her. 

“I am glad you are enjoying yourself,” Zecora giggled, dragging a thumb against Jason’s clit as she continued to finger him. He moaned and whimpered, toying with her breasts  weakly, twisting her nipples. “Mmm,” she moaned as she picked up the pace. “Would you like for me to finish this soon?”

He nodded, breathing heavily, rubbing his legs together.

“Very well,” Zecora nodded, removing her other hand from Jason’s breast. She then slipped it between his legs and used it to pinch and tug his clitoris while she inserted another finger into him. He let out a louder moan, squeezing his eyes shut,his breathing getting more ragged.

“How did that feel?” Zecora asked, pulling away.

“T-that felt... amazing...” he panted, looking at her. 

“It was meant to,” Zecora giggled again. “Though I am glad you enjoyed it. So, what do you think of skinship?”

“Eh... it's great...” he gave her a big dopey grin.
Clop bits are over, you may resume reading at your leisure.
“Good,” Zecora patted Jason on the back. “Perhaps we should head back to the village?” She suggested, getting up.

“Yeah... wait…” jason stopped, looking toward me.

‘Oh shit, I am so dead!’ I thought, as I held my breath in a vain attempt to avoid detection. ‘If Jason knows I’m here then he’ll freeze me solid!’

“Vash.. were you...watching me...?”

‘Goodbye Equestria, it was fun while it lasted.’ I then desperately tried to think of a way to get out alive.

“Caw! Caw!” I called out from my hiding place.

‘There is no way that’s going to work,’ I winced.

“Get the fuck out here!”

I stood up from my hiding spot with my head hung low. “Um… hi,” I offered weakly. I just whimpered as the zebras swarm me, all of them looking pissed.

‘Death by zebra, never thought I’d go that way,’ I thought as I started to sweat bullets.

“So uh, did you enjoy your bath?” I asked. 

“Seriously!? Are you fucking kidding me?!” Jason seethed, stomping toward me.

“Uhh… I’m going to plead the fifth on this on the grounds of either answers will most likely wind up with me dead.”

Jason just glared, stopping in front of me.

“You know Vash... I have the best punishment in mind...”

“Is it too late to say I’m sorry?” I squeaked. Jason glared before grabbed my crotch and... freezing my junk...solid. I tried to say something but the only thing that came out was a series of pitiful squeaks as I fell to the ground.

“There.” Jason smirked, wiping his hands off.

“I-I am v-v-v-very s-sorry Jason,” I said, holding onto my crotch and shivering while I looked up at him pitifully. “Just please, don’t let me stay like this.”

“And why shouldn’t I?” he asked, looking down at me with a glare.

“Because I’m your friend?” I offered hopefully.

He just glared down at me.

“Because you’ll have three angry mares after you, two of which can use the Elements of Harmony and are Alicorns?”

“I could take them.” He informed, crossing his arms.

“Because I won’t ever do this to you again?”

“Swear on your life.”

“I swear on my life that I will never peep on you again,” I pledged with one hand held up. “Is that good enough?” He sighed, grabbing me and chucking me into the hot spring. I surfaced a moment later and let out a sigh of relief as I slowly felt myself thaw. “Thank you Jason, and sorry again.”

“I will turn you into a popsicle.” he shot back, walking out of sight.

“Wait!” I called out. “Don’t leave me alone with these angry ladies!” I cried trying to get onto dry land. When I made it to the shore I was greeted by the sight of over a dozen angry zebras just seething at me. “Oh, this will not end well for me,” I said under my breath.

“Grab him,” Zecora demanded. 

The others obeyed and I was hoisted above the crowd as they rushed back to the village. Once we were there, Zecora went into her hut and seemed to be grabbing something. When she returned she was holding a large container that  had a strange blue liquid in it. She dumped the liquid right onto my face causing me to sputter for a few seconds.

“What is that stuff?” I asked nervously as I was set down.

“Distilled essence of Poison Joke. The effects of which shall be your punishment.”

“And what is it going to do to me? Kill me?” I asked with a gulp.

“No, but you will find out soon enough,” Zecora chuckled darkly. “Now, head back to your hut. We are done with you.”

“Okay,” I replied, walking to the hut and calling out, “Jason, you in there?”

“What?” Jason asked, not bothering to look at me.

“Is it okay if I come into the hut?”

“Just get in here.” Jason sighed, shaking his head.

“Thanks,” I said as I got in the hut and sat as far as possible from him. “So uh, you did really well in your training with Zecora.”

“Thanks.” He said coldly, laying down in his ice bed with his back to me.

“Umm…” I was going to say something else, but all of a sudden I felt off. “Ack!” I cried out, grabbing at my head.

“You ok?” Jason asked, sounding worried.

“I dunno,” I admitted through gritted teeth. “Zecora decided to throw something called Poison Joke on me. That’s probably what this is all about.” I said before letting out a howl of pain and huddling into the fetal position. When the pain finally died down, I let out a groan and sat up. As soon as I did though, everything seemed to look… bigger. Including my own clothes. “Jason, what happened to me?”

“Oh geez you're adorable!” Jason practically squeed, lifting me up out of my clothes. “Heh, you make a cute colt Vashie.”

“What did you just say?” I asked slowly, my eyes turning to pinpricks.

“You don’t look any older than... I dunno two? Heh, I wonder if you’ll start lisping...?”

I took a deep breath, trying to collect myself so I wouldn’t get angry. “Jason, could you get me a mirror? I wanna get a good look of myself.” Jason waved his hand, creating an ice wall, holding me in front of it. Just like he said, I was a colt. A red furred one at that. And dear sweet God were my eyes huge! I was about to explode in an odd mixture of rage and confusion when I had an odd feeling.

“Hey Jason, could you scratch my back please? I have the weirdest itch right now.” I commented, my tiny infant arms failing to reach the spot that bothered me.

He reached behind me, giving my back a scratch. Which caused it to twitch oddly just below the shoulder blades. I took another deep breath and asked, “Jason, do I have wings?”

“Yes you do. You’re an adorable little pegasus.” 

“That’s just friggin perfect,” I sighed. “That’s it, I’m grabbin’ my gun!” I shouted, trying to wriggle out of Jason’s grip.

“Oh no you don’t.” he chuckled, pulling me close to his ample chest.”This is a most fitting punishment.”

“No, you freezing the boys was a fitting punishment. This is just cruel and unusual,” I pouted, crossing my arms over my chest.

“Anyway, lets get you a diaper before you have an accident or something.” Jason chuckled, grabbing a spare cloth that was around the hut.

“That’s not funny,” I grumbled. “I’m still a man dammit. I’m not going to crap myself.”

“No you are a colt.” Before I could stop him, Jason quickly tied the cloth around my waist. “There! Now I do believe its bed time.” He got into the  non-ice bed, keeping me close. 

“You’re enjoying this way too much,” I hissed.

“Hey, if you're good, mama might give you some milk.” Jason smirked, pulling the covers over us.

“I am so grabbing my gun and using the angel arm when you fall asleep,” I mumbled.

“You're not a Plant anymore... besides, you’ll shoot your eye out.”

“Grrrr,” I growled, but otherwise I didn’t say anything else.

“Just go to sleep.”

“Can’t, too angry.”

“Sleep.” Jason commanded, casting the spell again.

“Oh you…” But I didn’t get a chance to finish that sentence as I drifted off to sleep. 

I slowly drifted back into consciousness the next morning with a long groan. “Please let that all have been an awful dream,” I muttered. Jason was snoring away, with my face pressed into his bosom.  “Well, at least it’s not all bad,” I commented as I made myself comfortable.

Jason mumbled, curling up around me, having gone to sleep naked.

‘And suddenly I am totally okay with being turned into a pony baby,’ I thought with a dopey smile as I nuzzled into Jason’s chest. ‘Actually, I just had an evil idea,’ I continued with a devious smile. I took a deep breath and started to wail loudly, just like an infant. Jason stirred slightly and and I swear he smiled. The next thing I know, his nipple had been shoved in my mouth.

‘Yes, I am a genius!’ I cheered in my thoughts. I then started to suckle and made cooing baby noises... and too my surprise got milk to start flowing. I was taken aback by this development but continued with my impromptu breakfast for a while. When I was full I pulled away with a grin. Jason just muttered something, keeping me close. I started to wonder how far the baby act would get me as I settled back into a comfortable position and decided to wait for Jason to wake up.

Jason let out a loud yawn, cracking his jaw, opening his eyes. “Sleep well, Vashie?” he asked, looking down at me.

I just looked up at him with the most innocent baby look I could manage and started to babble happily.

“What? Your mind match your body?” he asked, looking rather concerned now. I tilted my head, looking confused by his question. “Oh that's just great...” he set me gently on the bed, getting up and getting dressed, deciding the zebra outfit was much more his style than the dress.

While he did that I sniffled and reached out pitifully toward him.

“Alright, alright, I got you.” He muttered soothingly, hoisting me back up into the air. “There. Happy now?” I let out some happy noises as I nuzzled into his chest. He sighed, rubbing my back, a small smile on his face. He stepped out into the village, looking around.  “Uh Zecora,” He called, spotting the zebra stepping out of her hut.

“What is it, Jason?” She asked, seeming to not notice me.

“Besides me suddenly getting a foal? Nothing major.”

“Oh, is that the effect the Poison Joke had on your male?” Zecora asked with a chuckle. “I could not have picked a more fitting punishment,” she said as she came up to me and pinched my cheek.

“He is rather adorable isn’t he?” Jason giggled, bouncing me a little. I babbled a little more and attempted to flap my wings, which came surprisingly naturally to me. Baby instincts I guess.

“A vast improvement over what he was before,” she nodded.

“Oh?” Jason asked, gesturing for her to continue.

“	For one thing he can’t talk,” Zecora giggled.

Jason giggled with her, shaking his head. “I suppose that's true.” He reached down, booping my nose. I giggled and grasped at his finger. He let me have them, looking back at Zecora. “It appears his mind is a blank slate now”

‘Heh, that’s what you think,’ I thought as I teethed on Jason’s finger.

“That is quite the development,” Zecora noted as she rubbed her chin in thought. “Though it is not surprising considering what I used on him was the distilled essence of the oils secreted by the Poison Joke plant. The effects were bound to be strong.”

“Isn’t that kinda harsh?” Jason asked, placing me on his hip.

“He committed an egregious act and spied on us during our bathing time,” Zecora answered, her tone turning harsh. “He is lucky that you had already delved out a form of punishment on him. Otherwise we would’ve been tempted to do more.”

“Like what?” He asked, casting a glance down at me.

“Gelding is a common punishment for that kind of transgression.”

“Well than, I’m glad I gave that punishment...” he muttered, wincing a little. Which I was tempted to do as well. But instead I just grasped at Jason with a whimper. “Anyway.. you do have the cure right?”

“For the most part.”

“May I have it before we leave..?” he asked hopefully.

“Yes, but it wouldn’t do anything if you used it. One of the ingredients needed has not blossomed this year due to the weather,” Zecora admitted.

“I see... and what kind of weather does it need...?”

“Temperate and mild with little sunlight. Like in a dark forest.”

Jason sighed, pinching his nose. “Winter I assume?”

“It depends, sometimes those conditions are met at other times of the year. But this has been a particularly warm year so the Night Lily hasn’t bloomed.”

“I can fix that.” Jason sighed, looking down at me. “Though, I am remiss to start messing with the ecosystem...” I just tilted my head up at him and smiled.

“It’s supposed to be winter right...?” 

“Yes, and so far it has been a fairly typical one,” she answered.

“How would you like a white christmas?” he asked with a big smirk.

“Christmas?” Zecora asked with a tilt of her head.

“Eh, don’t worry about it.” Jason shook his head. “He can stand to spend a few months in diapers.” He looked down at me smirking. I did my best to fight the urge to gulp. Instead I buried my head in his chest and let my face fall.

‘Months! No, I don’t wanna spend months in diapers! Oh, this is not good.’

“And why the sudden lack of hurry to change him back?” Zecora asked with a chuckle.

“Because I just know the princesses are going to love him like this.” Jason grinned, winking at me.

‘Does he know that I’m faking it?’ I thought, still not dropping the act. 

“Plus, he’ll be easier to deal with like this, and he’ll be easily entertained while we train.” He smiled, turning back to Zecora.

“Fair enough,” Zecora giggled. “Whenever you are ready to leave I shall give you the incomplete cure and a drawing of the Night Lily so you can cure your male at your discretion.”

“Sounds good! Shall we get started than?”

“Of course, I hope you are ready to learn some more advanced techniques.”

“You know I am!” He smirked rather cockily.

“Then let’s not delay,” Zecora nodded and led Jason to where they had trained yesterday. 

“Where do I set Vash? I don’t want him wandering off on me.” Jason looked down at me with a pensive look.

Zecora thought for a moment and flagged down a random villager. The two talked amongst themselves before they both turned to Jason and I. “She has agreed to hold him while we train.”

“Be good, you hear me?” Jason asked, giving me a stern look before passing me off to the villager. I sniffled slightly and reached out to Jason as he walked over to Zecora. The villager chuckled and patted me on the head.

“Calm yourself young one. Mama isn’t leaving you,” she said as she sat down and pointed me at the two.

“You ready?” Jason asked, getting into the stance that Zecora had taught him.

“I am always ready,” Zecora nodded as she got in her own stance. “I’ve simply been waiting for you.”

Jason rolled his eyes before lunging at her, aiming at her stomach. Zecora brought her arm down and attempted to put Jason into a hold. He smacked her arm away with his other, striking her in the chest with an open palm. She hopped away, circling around Jason in an attempt to find an opening to exploit. She lashed out, attempting to hit him in his side. He brought his arm down, blocking her, twisting her arm behind her back. She used her free hand to strike at the nearest part of Jason she could reach. He winced, taking the punch to the thigh, pushing her away.

“You have learned well,” Zecora commented, rubbing her shoulder.

“I’m a very quick study.” Jason smirked. “You’d be amazed how much I can learn in a day.”

“I am slightly aware. You did learn quite a lot yesterday,” she said with a wink.

He blushed a bit before getting back into a stance. He moved at her, jabbing at her head this time. Zecora moved her head slightly and grabbed at Jason’s arm by the shoulder and spun him around. She then attempted to jab him in the small of the back. He staggered back, looking a little dizzy.

“Are you okay?” Zecora asked. “Would you like to take a break?”

“No I’m good...” he suddenly hurried over to a bush, starting to vomit again.

“I will get you something to help with your nausea,” Zecora called out as she slipped into a hut. She returned a moment later with a steaming cup of what looked like tea. “This should do the trick. Sip it slowly.”

“Is that the tea the elder gave me...? That stuff is horrible...” he grumbled, taking it from her, giving it a sip.

“No, this is something I made myself. It shouldn’t taste too bad. But it is still medicine.”

“Thanks...” he nodded, taking a seat, sipping at it again. “How good are you at magic?”

“I am a shaman Jason,” Zecora chuckled as if the answer were obvious. “My entire life has been devoted to bridging our physical world to the realm of the spirit.”

“Well... my magic is a bit different than that, but I’m willing to try and teach you.”

“Hmm, I suppose even the greatest teacher has much to learn,” she mused with a smile.

“We’ll start with something simple, do you have a knife?”

Zecora reached down and pulled out a knife that had been concealed by her outfit. “Always.”

“Thank you.” Jason took it from her... plunging it into his arm, creating a long, ghastly gash. He held his hand up, motioning for her to relax. He closed his eyes, casting a spell, his wound stitching closed, leaving only a faded scar. 

I opened my mouth and started to wail, figuring that was the most appropriate response from a child.

“That...might not have been the best idea...” Jason said, giving a weak chuckle.

Zecora just gave him a look that screamed, “You think?” as she covered her ears.

He got up, moving over to me. He took me from the villagers arms, gently bouncing me, rubbing my back. My wailing continued, though it diminished slightly. “Hey come on, I’m ok, see?” My wailing died down to the occasional sniffle and hiccup as I reached out to touch the faint scar where Jason had stabbed himself. “See? I’m okay now.” He leaned down, kissing my head. I finally stopped after one more sniffle and grabbed at the scar. It was normal skin, and didn’t seem to cause Jason pain.

“You calmed him down rather quickly,” Zecora noted as she removed her hands from her ears.

“What can I say? I’m great with kids.” Jason smiled, passing me back to the villager. 

“That is good. Now, perhaps we should continue with our lesson without scaring the infant?”

He nodded, moving over to Zecora, sitting down next to her. 

“So, what were you trying to teach me before that… little distraction?”

“That was my most basic white magic spell, ‘cure’. It can heal most minor injuries, including broken bones.”

“Sounds most useful. How do I perform it?” Jason went over the explanation, something about pulling the energy out of yourself and willing it to heal. I didn’t really pay attention. Not like I’d ever be able to pull off all that magic stuff anyway. Zecora hung onto his every word though, and seemed to concentrate in order to try and pull it off. It took her a while, but a faint glow briefly surrounded her hand.

“Did I do it?” Zecora asked, bewildered.

“The only way to really know is to try and heal a wound.” Jason looked at her.

“And how do you suggest I do that? Neither of us is wounded and the last time we created one Vash started crying.”

“Anyone got any injuries!?” Jason called out, looking around. Eventually, a confused looking zebra came forward with a small cut on her leg.

“Um, I skinned my knee the other day. Why do you ask?”

“May Zecora try a spell on you? It should heal your cut.” Jason explained, smiling at her.

The zebra shrugged and held her leg out in front of Zecora. She took a deep breath and hovered her hands above the cut. After a minute or so the faint glow surrounded her hands and the cut slowly began to heal itself. After a little bit the cut was completely gone and Zecora beamed at Jason.

“I did it!”

“Good work!” Jason praised with a smile. “Now this is the base level spell. The more energy you put into it, the more it will heal. The next tier is called ‘Cura’, then ‘Curaga’ with ‘Curaja’ at the top.”

‘Is Jason teaching her Final Fantasy magic?’ I thought with a puzzled look. ‘So a norse god with an Omnitrix from Ben 10, knows how to perform magic from Final Fantasy. There is so much insane about all of that, but at this point it actually makes some strange amount of sense.’

“So, what should we try now?” Zecora asked, turning to Jason. “Should we return to your combat training, or continue my studies in magic?”

“I’m up for either really.” Jason shrugged. “I feel we both have a lot to teach.”

“Then why don’t we alternate?” Zecora suggested. “I teach you something and you teach me something?”

“I think that would work wonders!” Jason nodded. “I want to impart as much as I can before heading back to Equestria.”

“Then let’s get back to your training.” Zecora nodded, standing up and getting into her stance. Jason got back into his, starting to throw punches at her. The two continued like this for some time, alternating between teaching one another. By the end of their training they seemed more tired than the day before.

“It seems you make both an interesting teacher as well as student,” Zecora said, trying to catch her breath.

“I try my best... you're my first real student after all.” Jason laughed, falling back onto the grass.

“And you have been mine,” Zecora chuckled. “I still have plenty of time to find an apprentice after all.”

He nodded, picking me up, smiling at the villager. “Thank you for watching him.”

“It was no trouble,” the villager dismissed. “He was well behaved all things considered.”

He nodded, hugging me close to his chest. “So, want do you guys do around here for dinner?”

“We eat things similar to what we had at your celebration yesterday,” Zecora answered. “Though not as much of it.”

“How do you feel about meat?” Jason asked carefully.

“The closest thing we eat to traditional meat is eggs and the occasional fish.”

“I see...” Jason nodded. “Fish sounds good.”

“Then let’s eat,” Zecora said, standing up and leading Jason to get some food. Jason hummed, waving at the villagers, a smile on his face. They all waved back as they went about some basic business. I decided to get involved and jerkily mimicked Jason’s actions while looking up at him.

Some dawwed but others ignored me. Eventually we all made it to a fairly large hut where Zecora sat us down and went to get her and Jason food. She came back after a little while with two different plates, handing Jason the one that had a grilled fish on it.

“There you are, You’re lucky that we had some fresh fish at the ready.”

“Thank you.” Jason nodded, starting to eat. “This is really good!” he beamed. 

“Yes, the land has gifted us with a variety of spices that we’ve learned to use over the years,” Zecora said with a proud smile as she started to eat. The smell and sight of those two eating caused me to start drooling.

“Oh! That reminds me!” He reached into his pocket, pulling out a small pouch. “Here.” He offered them to zecora.

“What is this?” She asked as she took the pouch.

“Those are seeds to a fruit called an Enigma berry. When eaten, they will heal a majority of your wounds.”

“Fascinating, where did you get such a thing?” While the two were distracted by their conversation, I decided to reach down and try to eat some of what was on Jason’s plate.

“No, no.” Jason stopped me. “You’re too little for that.” I looked up at him with the most pitiful look I could manage, this time not a part of my baby act. “No, you can’t have any and that's final.” he said moving his plate away.

‘Damn it! I have found a terrible downside to acting like an infant!’ I screamed in my thoughts as I pouted. ‘Not getting to eat the delicious food that these zebras make!’

Jason went back to eating, explaining how he got the seeds from a friend named ‘Medulla.’

“You lead quite the interesting life,” Zecora said.

“Oh you have no idea, Zecora.” Jason chuckled, shaking his head. 

“I suppose not, though depending how long you stay I might be able to find out more.”

“How long do you want me to stay?” Jason asked, looking at her.

“This is a matter of what you want, not what I want.”

“That is true, Zecora.” Jason nodded, petting my head. “I don’t see why I couldn’t stay a week or two.”

“Hmm, that might be enough time for you to master skinship if nothing else,” Zecora purred with a wink.

Jason blushed, but smirked at her. “Oh Rarity and Chrysalis will just love that...” he muttered under his breath.

“Then it will be a worthy skill to learn,” Zecora chuckled.

“And it allows me to pass on most of what I know.” he grinned, taking another bite of his fish.

“Seems like more than a fair trade to me. You know, if I didn’t already know Vash was male, his appearance would make me think he’s a little filly,” Zecora remarked, tousling my hair.

Jason got an evil smirk. “Lets dress him like one.”

“Ooh that sounds splendid!” Zecora cheered, clapping her hands together. “Perhaps we should dress him in the traditional garb of our honored warriors?”

‘Please say no! Please say no!’ I pleaded in my thoughts repeatedly.

“Sounds like a plan, Zecora!” He smirked, starting to tickle me.

I couldn’t help but giggle, my baby pony body being very ticklish. But I did make an attempt to squirm out of his grasp to escape my fate.

‘Why is this happening to me?’ I thought between giggles.

“Should we include the traditional lip markings?” Zecora asked, pinching my cheek.

“Let’s go all the way Zecora.”

“Of course, let’s get started!” she cheered as she stood up. Jason smirked, standing up and cradling me close. He followed after Zecora, bouncing me gently.



> Jason and Vash's Excellent Adventure: To the Zebras! Pt. II
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	I frowned deeply as Jason and Zecora were fussing with me and adjusting various pieces of the outfit they had me in. I was pouting as hard as I could and squirming to avoid having more of the face paint and whatever that stuff was that they were smearing on my lips. They seemed to be satisfied with their work for the moment and stepped back to look me over.

‘I feel ridiculous,’ I thought, pouting at the two.

“Just look at him!” Jason smirked. “He looks adorable!”

“I think you mean she, given the manner of dress,” Zecora joked as she shot Jason a smile.

“Oh that's right! Valkyrie is such a cute widdle filly!” Jason grinned, pinching my cheek. 

‘I was already a girl once, I am not going to be one again!’ I fumed, my tiny wings flapping as I attempted to get away before the two could subject me to more. Unfortunately, my wings didn’t seem to be developed enough for that so I didn’t even manage to hover from where I was sitting. ‘Damn it! What good are wings if I can’t even fly with them?’

“I think she’s trying to fly away.” Jason pointed out, watching my wings buzz away.

“Can you blame her?” Zecora asked. “She is merely trying to satisfy her instincts to take to the skies.”

“Flying is amazing, though I get more of a rush from battle.”

“You are not alone in that sentiment,” Zecora chuckled. “Battle can thrill one like nothing else. But it is also easy to lose oneself in that thrill.”

“Believe me I have...” Jason sighed, shaking his head. “He deserved it though.”

“Whether that is true or not, we always do have to tell ourselves that. It helps deal with the nature of true battle, and the outcomes of it.”

Jason nodded. “In a world away, there were a group of women, known as the Valkyries. They were warrior goddesses, sent from Odin’s hall to the battlefield, bringing the valiant dead from the battlefield, to Valhalla. I had always hoped I would be worthy of them...”

“From what I’ve seen of your fighting, you are more than worthy of such a fate,” Zecora smiled as she placed a hand on his shoulder. “But, that seems to be something that will have to wait for much later.”

“That's even if the Valkyries were still around. Like I said, a world away.” Jason shook his head, pulling out a camera, taking a few pictures of me.  

‘He better not show those pictures to anyone,’ I thought as I blinked and shook my head to get the spots out of my eye from the flash before I looked up at Jason with a pout.

“Sorry, I should have turned the flash off.” He gave a sheepish smile, putting it away.

“Jason, what was that device you just used?” Zecora asked, tilting her head slightly.

“Oh that? That was a camera. It captures images that can last for years.”

“Really? How interesting. Perhaps you could let me have an image of young Valkyrie here?” Zecora asked as she smirked at me.

“Oh of course, I can do that, I know she’d want you to keep a piece of her, isn’t that right?” he asked me, ruffling my mane.

‘Eat me, snowflake,’ I grumbled in my thoughts.

“Thank you very much, Jason. And you too, Valkyrie,” Zecora giggled as she scratched behind my ear. I shot up the instant she did that and a dopey smile spread across my face.

‘Holy crap! That feels so nice.’

“Aw the ear scratching, sadly it doesn’t work on most jotun.” Jason chuckled, looking down at me.

“Well it certainly seems to work on this young one,” Zecora said as she continued scratching my ear.

‘You’re darn right it does!’ I thought with a giggle. ‘I might have to remember this for the girls.’

“So, what's the plan for today?” Jason asked, holding me close to his chest.

“Hmm, that all depends on what you wish to do today,” Zecora shrugged, no longer scratching my ear (something I was disappointed with by the way). “We could continue both of our training, or I could lead you outside the village and show you where I collect the herbs I use in my work.”

“We could do both.” Jason said, moving me to his hip.

“Very well then,” Zecora nodded. “But which do you wish to first?”

“Let’s go get some herbs.” he nodded, smiling at her.

“As you wish, let’s go grab some baskets and we will be able to gather everything we need. Even young Valkyrie will be able to help us with this task.” She said with a bright smile.

“Won’t that be fun?” He asked, looking at me.

‘Wait, aren’t they going to take me out of this outfit first?’ I thought worriedly. ‘They’re not going to keep me like this, right?’

Jason patted my head following Zecora to the outskirts of the village. Zecora handed Jason a couple baskets, a large one for him, and a tiny one for me.

“Our first destination is one you are already familiar with,” Zecora said as she led us out into the plains.

“Any predators out here?” Jason asked, looking around.

“None that come at this time of the day.”

“Good, I’d rather not hurt anything in front of the baby.”

“Aside from me, right?” Zecora asked with a short laugh.

“Yes, aside from you sexy shamaness.” 

“Hmm, perhaps I shouldn’t let you walk behind me,” Zecora said as she slowed down so Jason could walk beside her. “Who knows where your eyes could roam. Or what kinds of ideas you could get,” she finished with a wink.

“Some that would blow your mind.” Jason chuckled.

“Now that does sound promising. Though I should warn you that I can be a bit hard to impress.” Before the two could continue that conversation, they arrived at their destination. The hot springs from the day before. “Here we are, our first stop.”

Jason set me down, holding my hand.

“We are gathering the leafy weeds that grow around the edge of the spring,” Zecora explained. “The minerals in the water allow for very strong medicinal plants to grow.”

“I wonder if you guys have penicillin yet?” Jason muttered to himself.

“Hmm, what was that Jason?” Zecora asked as she bent over and started collecting plants.

“Oh, uh penicillin. It’s a medicine created from a fungus. It’s used to treat many an infection.” 

“Well, we do use a few different mushrooms in our medicine, but I do not think we have what you’re describing. I could show you what we have available in my hut and see if we do.”

‘Makes sense,’ I thought, ‘penicillin was discovered by accident back home.’

“I might be able to find it for you.” Jason commented. “You have no idea how many lives its discovery will save.”

“Then I’ll gladly welcome the chance to use this. Now, help me collect what I need or we won’t have time for all your other lessons today.” Jason nodded, moving over to the hot springs. He kneeled down, showing me what to collect and how to collect it. I slowly reached out to the nearest plant and struggled to pull it out. When I finally managed to do it  I lost my balance and flopped onto my back. I sniffled a bit without thinking and pulled myself back to a sitting position. Jason smiled at me, petting my head. I smiled up at him and tried to pull another plant.

“Need some help?” Jason asked me. I just looked at him and babbled. He leaned down, helping me pull it out.

“The two of you are adorable together,” Zecora commented. “It’s a shame that you plan on turning him back to normal.”

“I dunno... I could decide to stay here, raise him as my son.” Jason turned to her, sounding serious.

“I should tell you, you’d have to leave him with the other males when he comes of age,” Zecora told him, looking down at me with an odd look.

“Seems harsh.” Jason frowned.

“It is our way,” Zecora sighed. “Perhaps it will change someday. But things like that require time.”

“All things require time.” Jason nodded, gathering a few more plants.

“Very true,” she laughed. “The only difference is how much.”

Jason smiled, humming a soft tune, watching me. I continued pulling out plants, though it was slow going with my diminutive form. I fell over more than once but eventually I had pulled out a small pile of the plant on my own.

“I believe we have enough of this plant,” Zecora noted, gathering her basket and standing straight. “Shall we head to get the next one?”

“Sounds good, Zecora.” Jason nodded, taking my hand again.

“Then let’s go,” Zecora said as she walked away. “Our next ingredient is one of my personal favorites.”

“What is it?”

“Oh, it’s this vibrant red flower that can be found in the nearby jungle. Its petals can be used in things like the markings we have placed on Valkyrie. And the leaves and stem can be turned into medicine that alleviate fevers and fatigue.”

“I might keep a few of those for myself.” Jason nodded.

“Do as you like,” she said. “Just be sure not to take too many. We would hate to lose one of our ingredients.”

“Of course, I wouldn’t take more than I need,” he assured her, firing a smile at her.

“I did not think you would, but caution is a virtue. Now, we are almost there. You may wish to put Valkyrie in your basket to free up a hand to clear away vines and other things.”

“Ah thank you.” He nodded, setting my in the basket. “Comfy?” he asked, smiling down at me. I clapped a few times and settled onto the bed of plants inside the basket.

“If you are done we can enter the jungle,” Zecora nodded and walked into a treeline.

‘Welcome to the jungle,’ I joked inside my head.

We all continued on for a while, Zecora leading us through a path that had the least amount of debris in our way. I actually nodded off once or twice due to how much I was being bounced. I was woken up when the basket was placed on the ground.

“Here we are, the grove where the flower blooms.”

“It is a pretty flower.” Jason kneeled down, lifting me out of the basket, placing me down. 

“One of the reasons why I love this ingredient,” she smiled. “Another is simply this area. The sounds of this section of the jungle are very soothing.”

“It looks beautiful.” Jason smiled, looking around. “Though, I will say, my people are more at home in a tundra.”

“I could not think of anything further from where we are right now.” Zecora giggled as she started carefully picking some of the flowers.

“Oh you have no idea.” Jason laughed with her, showing me which flowers to pick. I had a much easier time picking these plants, the stems breaking fairly easy as I gave them to Jason. Zecora started humming a tune as we all worked, seeming to blend in with the ambient noises of the jungle. I started swaying to the tune and a smile crept onto my face. “Having fun?” Jason asked with a giggle. I giggled with him and started clapping again. He smiled, ruffling my mane. Zecora’s humming started picking up in speed, almost seeming to influence the noises around us. Eventually her humming stopped and the ambient noises returned to normal, as if nothing had happened. “Did you... do something Zecora?” jason blinked, looking at her.

“Hmm?” She asked, turning to him with an arched eyebrow before realization and a small blush set across her face. “Oh, I’m sorry, that was just a tune that I learned from back when I was a filly. I tend to hum it when I am alone here.”

“It...seemed to do something with the forest...”

“Well, Zebra music is usually used to interact with the spirits. That tune I hummed when I marked you for the celebration was meant to help connect you with your ancestors.”

“I see.” Jason nodded. “I’ll have to teach you a few of my songs before I go.”

“I suppose that could be interesting. Learning about your magic and your body has already been a great deal of fun. Perhaps your songs would be just as entertaining.” She said with a predatory smile.

“Keep that up and I’ll freeze you solid.” Jason smirked back.

“Did I say something that stepped out of line?” Zecora asked, though her pout was exaggerated.

“Not around the baby.” He scowled, gesturing to me.

“What about when you put Valkyrie to bed?” 

“Fair game.”

“Then perhaps I should start hoping that those Equestrian princesses decide to bring on the night a little early,” Zecora chuckled as she picked up her basket. “Come along, that was the last ingredient I needed for the day. Let’s go back to the village and resume our training.” 

Jason nodded, placing me back in  the basket, following after her. I nodded off again as the two walked back and like last time I was woken up when they put the baskets down. I let out a long yawn as I slowly opened my eyes. I looked up and around and the two were already putting away the plants and chatting about nothing in particular. I shrugged a bit and settled into my makeshift crib. Eventually, the two were done with the other baskets and came up to the one I was curled up in.

“Sleepy?” Jason asked, looking down at me with a smile. I yawned and stretched my arms and wings as far as I could. I then looked up at him with big eyes and reached out to him, making grasping motions. He lifted me up, cradling me gently.

“You can just hold Valkyrie,” Zecora chimed in. “I can handle putting the rest of what we gathered away.”

Jason nodded, making sure I was comfortable. Zecora worked quickly, putting everything where she felt it belonged while Jason and I just watched. When she was done she turned to Jason with a smile and put a hand on her hip.

“Are you ready to begin our training for the day?”

“You know I am.” Jason noded, smiling back at her. “Are you?”

“Would I ask you if I wasn’t?” Zecora laughed.

“I dunno, you’re full of surprises.”

“Is that a bad thing?” She asked while stretching a bit to prepare for their sparring.

“Not at all Zecora... but don’t forget...So am I...” Jason places me down in a basket he had taken, draping a blanket over me.

“I wouldn’t dream of it,” she said with a smirk as she got into her combat stance. He did the same, cracking his neck. Zecora started them off with a few quick strikes and  the two continued to trade blows for a while, stopping only when Zecora had to explain a move to Jason. He grasped them rather quickly, demonstrating his form for her. Zecora nodded and offered words of encouragement each time he performed one correctly and corrected his form when necessary. The two stopped after a while and took a seat next to the basket I was in to catch their breath.

“Good work today,” Zecora praised as she dabbed sweat from her forehead with a cloth. 

“Yeah, but we always do good work.” he panted with a smile.

“True, but it is polite to compliment others after a job well done,” she shrugged. “So, what magic were you planning on showing me today?”

“A bit of time magic, namely, Haste, Slow and Stop.” Jason cracked his neck, looking at her. 

“Hmm, now this sounds interesting,” Zecora nodded as she mulled over the idea of what he was saying. “Please, demonstrate.” Jason got up, casting a spell. His movements were instantly sped up, with him bouncing from foot to foot.

“This is Haste, it speeds the target up by at least double.” He threw a few punches, his hands blurring a bit. 

“That would be quite useful,” Zecora nodded as she stood up as well. “It would even be useful outside of combat. How do I cast it?” Jason explained it as easily as he could, it was very similar to the white magic he had taught her already. Zecora took a deep breath and closed her eyes, attempting to gather energy into her hands like she had yesterday. It took her less time to do so and eventually she managed to cast the spell. She shadowboxed in place for a moment, her movements a slight blur like Jason’s had been. “This is an odd sensation, a… tingle if I had to describe it.”

“Yeah, feels like a caffeine high... and now for Slow...” He cast another spell, on Zecora, suddenly, her movements turned sluggish, even slower than she normally was. 

“Hey!” Zecora cried in frustration as she started walking over to Jason as if she was wading through quicksand. He smirked, making sure to stay out of her reach. “Why did you cast the spell on me!?”

“Why wouldn’t I?” he asked, grinning more.

Zecora let out a low growl and glared at Jason. “Just teach me how to cast the spell already.”

“The same as Haste, just compel the target to be slower.” 

Zecora clenched her eyes closed and caused the glow around her hands to come rather quickly despite her slowed status. She thrust her hand towards Jason and cast the spell on him. Jason’s movements became sluggish as well and Zecora looked at the Jotun with a satisfied smirk.

“Tell me, Jason, do you know what effects Poison Joke has on you?” She asked as she started walking towards her hut.

“Don’t!” Jason shouted, his eyes going wide, full of panic.

“Hmm, you’re right, if it has too much of a transformative effect on you your child might be hurt,” Zecora said, turning her head skyward in thought. “I suppose I’ll have to settle for Giggle Leaf as punishment for targeting me with your spells,” she finished as she disappeared into her hut for a brief moment and returned with a jar of a strange green salve. She strutted over to Jason with a devious smirk and applied a generous amount of salve to Jason’s exposed skin. “There, now you might experience a bit of a tickle due to this salve.”

“T-that's n-not cool...” he laughed, looking at her. He brought his hand up, casting another spell, freezing Zecora in place. With a quick... er slow, cast of Haste, he retrieved the Poison Joke from her hut, dumping it on her head before collapsing into a giggle fit. He cast Haste on her, freeing her. 

“Y-you, who know’s what you’ve done to me!” Zecora shrieked, her eyes turning to pinpricks as she examined herself, waiting for the eventual change to take place.

I was giggling like a madman from my little basket, the turn of events in front of me was too perfect. ‘Oh thank you Jason!’ I beamed. ‘Who knows, maybe this’ll turn her into a baby too? That would be just perfect!’

“What? Can’t handle a taste of your own medicine?” Jason asked, laughing at the top of his lungs. 

“I was simply getting even for your little Slow stunt!” She hissed.

“Hey, you were going to dump that crap on me!”

“I thought better of it!” She offered.

“Look, I’ll let you get even later... I’ll think of something...”

“And what about the fact that there isn’t any of the ingredient I need?”

“I’ll make it snow, it is winter after all.” 

“See that you d-urk!” Zecora cried out, falling to her knees and grasping her stomach and head. Jason and I’s eyes widened as the effects of the Poison Joke started to work through her body.

‘Oh boy, here it comes!’ I thought with a dumb grin as Zecora’s body started to change. Her chest swelled up at least another cup size  and her hips flared out. Eventually, the changes stopped and Zecora brought herself up to her feet, panting slightly, now at least a foot taller, a head over Jason. ‘Are you kidding me?!’ I screamed internally. ‘I get turned into a baby and she just gets an even better figure! I swear I’m going to burn every Poison Joke plant I come across!’

“Ugh, that was not a pleasant experience,” Zecora muttered as she rubbed her head. “So, what did the Poison Joke do to me?” She asked, seeming oblivious to her new body.

“Oh that is such bullshit...” Jason muttered, looking up at the zebra, his eye twitching. 

“What are you talking ab-” Zecora stopped, suddenly noticing that she had to look down at Jason. “Why am I suddenly taller than you, Jason?”

“Because the Joke turned you into an amazon...” he muttered, crossing his arms. 

Zecora held a hand in front of her mouth to try and hide a snort. That failed and she broke out into full-blown laughter. “It seems the joke was not meant for me, but you this time!” She said between hysterics.

He glared at her, trying keep his laughter in check.

"Oh don’t look like that,” Zecora said and brought Jason into a hug. “At least you don’t have to make it up to me now.” He grumbled, a few giggles escaping his lips. “And, the Giggle Leaf I used on you will wear off shortly, so there’s that.”

“Good...” He sighed, letting his head rest on her bountiful chest.

“This magic lesson has been much more… lively than the last one,” she commented with a small giggle.

“Yeah yeah...”

“Maybe the next one will be even livelier?” Zecora wondered aloud.

“Are you suggesting anything?”

“No, just thinking that I may want to store my potions somewhere before we train if we wish to avoid outcomes like this tomorrow. Unless of course, you’re suggesting something,” she finished with a wink.

“Uh...not in front of the baby...” Jason blushed, gesturing toward me.

“You’ve already made that abundantly clear,” Zecora laughed as she let go of Jason. “But you made it far too easy to misconstrue what you were saying. And it’s not as if Valkyrie can understand some veiled innuendo.”

‘Heh, if only you knew lady,’ I thought with a smile.

“Well... now what..?” he asked, his laughing slowing down, letting him catch his breath.

“I believe there was one more spell you had to show me, Stop,” Zecora recalled. “Just don’t demonstrate it by using it on me,” she warned with narrow eyes.

“I already used it on you.” He smirked sheepishly.

“Oh, now you do have to make it up to me,” Zecora growled slightly, narrowing her eyes and leaning down at Jason with a mischievous smile. “But first, tell me how to use the spell.”

“Uh... just do what you did before, except will the subject to... stop...”

Zecora nodded, closing her eyes again as her hands started to glow. Then, she thrust them upward, causing a bird flying overhead to stop mid-flight.

“You really are a natural...”

“I have to be to live up to my name,” Zecora replied with a proud smile.

“Yeah well... that's all the spells I had planned for the day...” Jason muttered back.

“Very well, I was starting to get a bit tired anyway. So, should we finally go and wash the markings off of Valkyrie and let her out of the outfit?”

‘Yes!’ I cried out, my ears perking up. ‘Please say yes, Jason!’

“Sure, I think he could use a bath, don’t want him stinking up the hut.” Jason moved over, picking me up.

‘Hallelujah!’ I thought, unable to keep a smile off my face.

“Then let’s go to the spring,” Zecora suggested. “Don’t worry, we can delay your other lesson for another day,” she laughed as she started walking off.

“Hahaha.” Jason rolled his eyes, placing me on his hip, following her.

When we were in the spring, I was in heaven. Not only was I out of that outfit and makeup, I was surrounded by bare lovely ladies without having any part of me being threatened. Sure, I was still a baby and couldn’t do anything even if I wanted to, but ironically enough, baby steps. I stayed quiet while Jason held me in his lap and washed me, humming a song to himself. I let out a little sound of contentment as my eyes drifted between all of the zebras chatting and bathing in the spring. 

“I’ve never washed pegasus wings before... this might be weird...” Jason muttered, starting to scrub my wings. I shot up from staring at Zecora as she was bending to wash her legs and my wings started to flap nervously and I tried to squirm out of Jason’s lap. “Hold still please,” he asked with a frown, trying not to pull any feathers out.

‘You try growing wings and see how you like me touching them,’ I grumbled in my head as I attempted to slap Jason’s hands away.

“Stop that,” he said firmly. He reached over into his clothes, pulling out a pacifier. He stuck it into my mouth, resuming the wing-washing.

‘Oh the ultimate indignity,’ I thought with a pout as I twitched slightly due to Jason touching my wings. ‘After Jason gives birth I’m dumping some of that Poison Joke stuff on his head. See how he likes this kind of treatment.’  

“Sky is torn asunder... fear that breaks the brave, will not drag me under, climb out of the grave...” Jason hummed to himself, moving onto my tail. It swished slightly, but there wasn’t really any feeling there so I just sat and listened to his song, calming down slightly. “Good boy.” he cooed down at me, scratching my ear. The effect was instantaneous, I smiled through the pacifier and relaxed completely in his grip.

‘Maybe I won’t do that Poison Joke thing,’ I thought. ‘But only if he keeps scratching.’

“Too bad he has to grow up again...” Jason said with a laugh.

“Maybe not, we could always keep pouring more Poison Joke on him once he starts getting too old,” Zecora snickered.

“Well we could...” Jason smirked, “It’d be an easy way to keep him in line...”

‘You wouldn’t dare!’ I screamed in my head.

“Oh?” Zecora asked with an arched brow. “And would you take him back to your world to raise him?”

“Nah, I’d give him to the princesses. He belongs here.” Jason shock his head, petting my mane.

‘I have no idea whether I should be relieved or terrified,’ I thought with a slight shiver as my ears flopped slightly from Jason’s contact. ‘On one hand, I know they’d definitely let me grow up. On the other, who knows what they’d put me through before I did.’

“Hmm, do you think the princesses would be okay with raising an infant?” Zecora asked.

“Considering that, at least for me, alicorns are immortal, and plants might not be, yeah I see no reason they wouldn’t do that to keep Vash with them.”

“Is he that important to them?” She asked, staring at me. “What could they see in a male that has little if no self-control like he had?”

“The same thing my wives see in me, an idiot who has too much blood on his hands.”

“And what is that?”

“Zecora, a person is more than the sum of their parts. Vash may be an idiot without much self-control but that's just the surface. Never, ever judge a book by its cover.”

“Perhaps,” Zecora nodded as she lay back in the spring. “But I did not see much more than this surface you mentioned in the time I knew him as an adult.” 

“Well, he was only here for what, two days?” Jason shook his head. “That's not really enough time to find out who someone truly is...”

“Very true,” Zecora chuckled. “What about you? Have you seen anything other than an idiot with no self-control from Vash?”

“Yes, I have.” Jason nodded. “I saw a man determined to protect his world, using humor and lust to hide his insecurities...”

‘I… am not insecure,’ I thought with a slight wince. 

“Hmm, I suppose I may have been hasty to judge your male companion. But I stand by the punishment I gave him,” Zecora laughed as she patted me on the head. “Otherwise we wouldn’t see this adorable little colt he turned out to be.”

“I know, I have half a mind to just cuddle him all day... which reminds me... I don’t think he’s eaten too day at all...” My stomach chose that moment to let out a loud roar that I’m fairly certain everyone at the spring heard.

‘Oh yeah, guess I haven’t eaten today,’ I thought as I looked up at Jason with tears in my eyes that totally weren’t there because of the nice things Jason said about me. 

“Hey now, don’t cry... this is gonna be weird...” he mumbled, holding me up to his breasts. I had to fight off a blush, thanking whatever deity that would listen that I had been given red fur, as I stole a glance at the zebras surrounding us from the corner of my eye.

‘He’s right, this is weird… No, I technically am an infant right now, so this is natural. Just stop thinking and latch on… any second now.’ I took a silent breath and latched onto Jason, slowly trying to eat. Jason shuddered and I felt rather cold milk flow into my mouth. ‘Huh, guess that’s the perk of being an Ice Giant, built in refrigeration,’ I noted as I tried to just focus on drinking, my wings twitching slightly. After a few minutes or so I pulled away and stared down at the water, avoiding looking at anyone. Jason gently patted my back, getting me to burp.

“There, better now?” he asks softly.

I looked up at him and babbled softly, letting out an involuntary yawn. 

“I think it’s bedtime for you,” Jason said with a chuckle, getting out of the water.

“Oh, will you be joining him?” Zecora asked, not getting out.

“I’ll be back once he’s asleep.” Jason smiled, pulling his clothes on.

“Then I shall prepare a special place in my hut,” Zecora chuckled, standing up. “I’ll have to clear away some of the new mixtures I’ve been working on that are taking up a bit too much space.”

“Special place huh?” he asked, raising his eyebrow.

“Well, I may or may not have allowed my work to overtake my sleeping area,” Zecora admitted with a chuckle as she put on her own clothing.

“Sounds like a few people I know to be honest.” Jason wrapped me in a blanket, bouncing me a few times.

“Yes, I’ve been working on a personal project of mine. One that I’ve been trying to perfect for years.”

“And what would that be?” Zecora smiled and leaned down toward Jason’s ear. She then whispered something into it that caused him to blush. “Oh uh... need any help...?”

“I suppose a volunteer to try it would be nice,” Zecora mused. “And possibly an assistant if the mixture does not work in its current form.”

“Well let’s get Vash to sleep than shall we?” he asked, patting my head.

‘Oh I am so sneaking out,’ I thought with a mischievous grin that I hid with the blanket. ‘I’ve got to see what they were talking about to get a reaction like that.’

“Yes, we shall,” Zecora chuckled as she walked towards the village, putting a little more sway in her hips than was necessary. Jason just hummed to himself, his face still red. 

The sun was just dipping below the horizon when Jason placed me down in the bed back at the hut.

“Do you want a lullaby?” he asked, making sure I was comfy. My only response was another yawn and settling down into the blanket I was wrapped in. “That a yes?” he asked, chuckling. I closed my eyes and pretended to slow my breathing. “That's a no then... sleep tight...” he walked out of the hut, disappearing from sight.

My eyes shot open and I pulled myself out of the blanket I was wrapped in after a few wiggles. ‘Mwahaha, now to see what’s going on at Zecora’s,’ I thought, patting myself on the back as I used the sheets to slide down to the floor of the hut and slowly poked my head out of the doorway. I was relieved when I didn’t see anyone walking around the village. Still, I was careful to stick to the shadows as I retraced my steps to Zecora’s hut. After one or two close calls with one of the villagers returning from the hot spring and I was able to sneak inside of Zecora’s hut, hiding myself behind some of her empty pots in a corner.

“So, are you comfortable, Jason?” Zecora asked as she took a seat on her bed.

“Yeah I’m comfy,” Jason replied, setting in a chair across from her. 

“That is good.” She nodded, her eyes drifting between him and some of her potions. “Would you like to test out that mixture I mentioned, or should we start our ‘lesson’ on skinship with something more traditional?”

“I’m fine with whatever Zecora, you are the teacher here.” 

“Very well, come take a seat with me,” she said, patting a spot next to her. “And do me a favor? Grab that red salve on the far right there.”

“Yup.” he got up, grabbing the salve, planting himself next to her.

“Good, now, why don’t you use the salve on me?”

“Uh... how do I do that...?”

“Simple, dip your hand in and rub the mixture all over my body. If it works the way I hope it does, then I should get a vast increase in sensitivity.”

“Alright... here it goes...” he dipped his hand into the salve, starting to rubbing it all over Zecora’s body. “Anything yet...?”

“Not yet, but I did say all over,” she chuckled a bit. “Perhaps I should take off my clothes to give you free reign?”

“Well that kinda goes without saying Zecora.”

“Quiet you,” Zecora admonished as she slowly pulled her clothes over her head. “If you get too cheeky with me, then I might just get cheeky with you,” she purred, winking as she threw her clothes to the other side of the hut.

Warning: cloppy bits incoming. Move to the next marked position if you do not wish to read such things.

“Sounds fun to me.” Jason laughed, dipping his hands into the jar again, starting to rub it into her breasts, making sure to get her nipples.

“Mmm,  I think the salve might be starting to work a bit,” she said with a faint blush, rubbing her legs together.

“Well, I haven’t gotten to the best part yet.” He moved down, rubbing it into her stomach, then her hips, going painfully slow.

“Oh, I know,” Zecora said with a smile, her blush starting to intensify. “And you are lucky that I am a patient mare. Otherwise I’d have to get payback later,” she finished with a soft moan as Jason’s hand dipped slightly lower.

“And who says you won’t?” he asked, his hand moving between her legs, rubbing it in. 

“Oh, you’re right of course,” she chuckled as her entire face started turning beet red. “The only difference would be if it’s fun for me, or fun for the both of us.”

“I think we both know which one it would be.” He winked at her, moving down her legs. 

“J-just hurry up and finish with the salve,” she groaned. “I want to move on to the next part of the lesson already!”

Jason smirked, going ever so slowly, moving down toward her hooves.

“That’s it, I’m going to pay you back in a way that’s only fun for me!” She growled, playfully kicking him with the hoof he wasn’t rubbing. He stuck his tongue out, switching to that leg, going even slower now.

“Mmm, I think you can stop rubbing now,” Zecora panted. “It’s obvious the mixture works.”

“Alright good.” Jason pulled away, looking for something to wipe his hands on.

Zecora dipped her head under the bed and threw Jason a cloth. “There, that should get it off.”

“Thank you...” he said, wiping his hands off. “Now what?”

“Well, last time I played with your body to my heart’s content and brought you to climax. I thought it would be fair if you returned the favor,” Zecora winked and pushed her breasts out, swinging them slightly.

“I dunno, maybe I don’t want to.” he looked away, sticking his nose in the air.

“Oh, that’s fine,”  Zecora laughed as she got off the bed and looked through her herbs and equipment.”I can just get some Giggle Leaf and then do it myself.”

“I was joking Zecora.” Jason rolled his eyes, moving behind her, grabbing her breasts.

“Aahn~!” Zecora moaned, pressing herself back into Jason. “I was too.”

He smirked, rubbing her nipples gently, humming to himself.

“Ahh!” Zecora shuddered and flopped onto the bed again. “I would say that my mixture is a resounding success.”

“Sounds like it...” he muttered, his hand sliding back down between her legs.

“Mmm,” Zecora groaned as Jason’s fingers traced her folds. “I should say so, I haven’t moaned like this in a long time,” she panted and moved her hips to match Jason’s hand. Jason licked his lips, slipping his fingers into her. “Yes~!” Zecora hissed, thrusting her hips to try and force Jason’s fingers further inside.

“Eager little zebra,” he teased, pushing his fingers in deeper.

“I can’t help it,” Zecora panted, toying with her own breasts. “The mixture makes everything feel so intense!”

Jason chuckled, pinching her clit, teasing it.

“Ohh, that feels nice,” Zecora moaned, throwing her head back and her slit dripping fluids onto her sheets in a near steady stream. “Do more of that!” She pleaded. Jason obliged, pinching and twisting her clit, licking her neck. She moaned louder this time, thrashing bit and accidentally exposing more of her neck to Jason as her pussy let out some more juices. “I-I think I found an unexpected side effect,” Zecora managed to say between pants.

“All things do,” Jason chuckled, nipping at her neck. 

“I-I wasn’t complaining,” Zecora said with a small squeak at the feel of Jason’s teeth. “Just making a note. Th-this will allow for larger insertions when mating season begins.”

“It still weirds me out you have a mating season.” Jason kept up his ministrations, a grin on his face. 

“Nature works in… Oooh, right there, don’t stop!” She cried out. “N-nature works in mysterious ways. But, finding ways to work with and around that nature is my livelihood,” She beamed as her tongue lolled out of her mouth.

“I don’t think you’re in a position to make demands my lovely Zecora...” Jason leaned down, blowing a cold wind over her nipples. 

“It wasn’t a demand, but a plea,” She whined, pouting down at him. “Please, you have me a needy mess right now. I need to feel a release.”

“Oh I dunno...” he started to pull away.

“Please, I need it so much!” Zecora whined, putting herself on display. “I’ll do anything you want if you just give me a tiny release!”

“I’ll hold you too that...” he went back to work, nibbling her neck. “Scream for me...”

“Ahh!” Zecora yelled, thrashing around wildly as her nethers let out a small explosion of juices, coating Jason’s fingers until there was a thin layer of fluid coating them. Zecora went limp, her legs twitching as her body went through aftershocks of bliss.

Jason giggled, removing his hand, bringing it up to her muzzle. “Lick it clean...” Zecora did as she was asked and stuck the offered hand in her mouth, swirling her tongue around it to get it clean quickly. “Good girl...” he cooed, spanking her lightly.

Zecora removed Jason’s hand from her mouth with a wet *pop* and got up from the bed on shaky legs. She bent down and dug through a pile of scrolls until she found one in particular. “I am keeping this and I’ll have more of it prepared for further use. Maybe tweak the recipe a bit to see if I can increase that side effect,” she mused, looking over the ingredients and process to make it.

“You still getting back at me?” he asked, his eyes lingering on her ass.

“That depends?” She asked, not looking at him. “Would you like a turn with the salve?”

“Didn’t you say it was going to be something only you would like?”

“My climax has caused me to change my mind. But if you don’t hurry before the afterglow fades, I might change it again,” She said, looking over her shoulder at him with a predatory look. He stuck his tongue out, laying back on the bed. “Oh? was that a yes or a no?” Zecora asked. “Because I do have something else to test. This one is guaranteed not to be fun to use in the bedroom.”

“And what would that be?” Jason asked, looking up at her.

“Something that if it works right, will cause vivid hallucinations similar to night terrors,” she said, swishing a vial of a purple potion in one hand.

“Zecora, that would be a terrible idea.” Jason gulped.

“Then would you like to stop being cheeky and just try the salve?”

“Yes, I would love a shot at the salve.” Jason nodded eagerly.

“If that is what you want,” Zecora chuckled as she put down the potion and the scroll and picked up the remaining salve. She dipped her hands into it and started to slowly rub it into Jason’s arms. “Trust me, once this is done, you’ll be begging for a copy of the recipe,” she giggled.

“We'll just see...” he watched her, shivering a little. Zecora nodded and brought her salve covered hands up one of Jason’s legs, slowly working her hands from the foot up.

“Unlike you Jason, I plan on working from your limbs to your center. This should serve to pay you back for all that teasing you put me through,” Zecora said, squeezing a calf.

“Doesn’t sound too bad to me.” Jason shot back.

“Then perhaps I should go even slower,” Zecora chuckled as she started to massage Jason’s other foot, slowly working the salve into every bit of it.

“Now that... feels good...” Jason sighed, closing his eyes, leaning back.

“So, is the salve starting to take effect yet?” Zecora asked, one hand rubbing Jason’s heel, the other his ankle.

“Should it be?” he asked, opening an eye to look at her/

“I suppose it did take a while to effect me,” Zecora nodded, dipping her hands in the salve again before working her hands slowly up Jason’s leg again. “Be sure to tell me when you start to feel it work.”

“You got it Zecora.” He leaned back again, letting her work. 

Eventually, Zecora worked her way up to the lower thigh and pulled away. She dipped her hands in the salve again and started to rub Jason’s stomach, her hands moving in small circles. Her hands slowly worked up to the underside of his breasts and brushed up against them. He shivered a little, biting his lip a little.  Zecora smirked, her hands grasping at Jason’s breasts lightly and started rubbing, intentionally avoiding touching Jason’s areolas.

“O-ok...I-I think I’m starting to feel it...” Jason shuddered, looking at her.

“How is it?” Zecora asked, looking Jason in the eyes as she started rubbing at his nipples, twisting, pinching and pulling on them.

He whimpered, pressing against her hands. “Like I’m on fire...”

“Is that right?” Zecora asked with a chuckle. “Perhaps I should help you cool off?” Zecora then leaned down and started blowing on  Jason’s nipples. He whined, squirming a little, squeezing his eyes shut. Zecora chuckled and pulled away from Jason’s breasts. She dipped her hands into the salve again and started rubbing along Jason’s inner thighs. “Do you still feel like you’re on fire?” Zecora asked, her hands skirting dangerously close to Jason’s slit.

“Y-yes...” he nodded, looking up at her with hungry eyes. 

“Do you like what the salve is doing?”

He nodded dumbly, looking up at her. 

“I’m glad,” she said before one of her hands started toying with Jason’s folds, the other his clit. He whined, bucking against her hand, his toes curling. “Mmm, now that is music to my ears,” she chuckled, pinching Jason’s clit.

“Nyah...” he moaned out, his juices starting to cover her hand. Zecora seemed satisfied with her work, pulling her hands away and lapping up Jason’s juices while he watched.

“Mmm, you have quite the surprisingly sweet flavor. Would you care to try some? She asked, holding her hand out for Jason. He stared at it, gingerly opening his mouth. She put the fingers in his mouth and shivered a bit when she felt Jason swirl his tongue. “Do you like the taste?” Zecora asked sweetly.

He nodded a little, closing his  eyes. 

“That’s good because so do I,” Zecora chuckled. “In fact, I’m feeling rather thirsty,” she purred, pulling her hand out of Jason’s mouth. She then knelt down, coming eye to eye with Jason’s leaking folds. Then, she dragged her tongue across the folds from base to clit, looking up at Jason with smoldering eyes. He moaned louder, pressing against her muzzle.  Zecora took that as a sign to continue, snaking her hands underneath Jason and grasping both cheeks of his ass before swirling her tongue up and down his slit. He let limp, his tongue hanging out of his mouth. Zecora smirked up at Jason, moving her mouth upward, sucking his clit into her mouth and pressing on it with her teeth while her tongue battered against it. Her hands squeezing his ass and slapping it lightly.He let out a scream, pressing against her muzzle before collapsing onto the bed. Zecora lapped up the leftovers of Jason’s juices, making sure to get every drop. She then slipped up beside Jason and wrapped her arms around him.

It is now safe to read this fic.

“So, would you like a copy for the recipe of the salve?” She asked, running a hand through Jason’s hair.

“Yes...” he nodded, resting his head on her breasts.

“Thinking of using it on those wives you mentioned?”

“Yup...”

I fell over from my hiding spot, my wings sticking straight up. ‘Hot damn, sneaking out was one of the best ideas I’ve ever had,’ I thought with a dumb grin. ‘I’m just gonna commit this incident to memory… and I’m gonna take a look at Jason’s recipe later.’ Jason let out a yawn, snuggling up with Zecora. 

“Do you want to rest here for a short while before heading back to Vash?” Zecora asked, pulling out a blanket. Jason was out already, snoring away. “I suppose that answers that,” Zecora rolled her eyes as she draped the blanket over them both.

Once I was sure they were both asleep I snuck back into the hut we were staying in and wrapped myself back up in the blanket I was placed in. My last thought being, ‘And this time I got away with peeping.’  A satisfied smile on my face as I drifted off to sleep.



> Jason and Vash's Excellent Adventure: To the Zebras! Pt. III
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------



“Hey little guy did you sleep well?” Jason asked, lifting me up out of the bed, hugging me close. 

‘Heh, yeah I did,’ I thought with a smirk as I babbled at Jason happily and nuzzled at his chest. He petted my head, smiling down at me. I let out a small coo, my wings flapping a little and increased my nuzzling. ‘Did you enjoy cuddling up to Zecora?’ I thought with a hidden smile.

“Hungry?” he asked, looking down at me. My stomach growled and I just looked up at him with a tilted head, my hands on his chest. “Eager little guy huh?” he asked, pulling his top down.

‘Ah, any day that starts with breasts in my face is a good day,’ I thought as I had my fill for the morning. Once I was done with my meal, Jason burped me and held me up with a smile. 

“Come on, let’s go find Zecora.”

‘He says that as if he didn’t just stumble out of  her hut,’ I thought with a giggle as Jason walked out of the hut and into the village. The two of us waved at the villagers we passed until we came up to Zecora’s hut.

“Guess who's awake?” Jason asked, walking into the hut with a smile. 

Zecora yawned and stretched up and out of her bed, fixing her mane with her hands. “The little monster that you are insistent on carrying around?” She joked, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

“I’d say he’s more of a parasite.” Jason laughed, sitting next to her.

“Perhaps, but one that you don’t seem to be in a hurry to remove,” she chuckled, giving me a quick scratch behind the ear.

“Nah, he kinda grows on ya.” Jason laughed, placing me in his lap.

“So do boyles, and I make remedies for those.”

“Hahaha.”

“So, are we planning on beginning our training early in the morning?” Zecora asked, stretching again and cracking a few joints.

“I’m ready if you are. Tell me, how good are you with a spear?”

“It is one of my less favored weapons, but I am serviceable enough with one I suppose,” she commented with a shrug. “Why do you ask? Are you planning something new for our training?”

He grinned, pulling the golden spear from before out of his pocket. “I’m going to teach you the art of the Lancer.”

Zecora blinked in confusion, looking between Jason’s small pocket and the spear. “How much can your pockets hold?” She asked, gawking at the spear.

“As much as I want it to!” he smirked, chuckling at her expression.

“I don’t suppose you could teach me that useful trick?” Zecora asked hopefully.

“Nah, it’s because of this.” Jason pulled out a small grey cube. “It has limitless storage.”

“I suppose I’ll have to make do with our other lessons,” she sighed, standing up from the bed. “Come on then, we’d better get started with this spear training.” He nodded, hefting the spear over his shoulder, holding me at his hip.

Zecora looked over her shoulder and started to laugh as they walked out of the hut. “A weapon in one arm and a child in the other. You’ve been here less than a week and you’re already the image of perfection of a proper zebra.”

“Nah, I’d say I’m becoming a Valkyrie over anything.” He chuckled a little, shaking his head.

“Hmm, then perhaps we zebras are not so different from these Valkyrie beings of your world,” Zecora chuckled as well. “Now, show me the way of the Lancer,” she said stretching and readying herself for a fight. Jason placed me back down in the basket, getting a stance.

“Just don’t blame me if you get hurt.” He smirked, cracking his neck.

“Funny, I was about to say the same to you,” she challenged with a smirk that mirrored his own. He smirked, lunging at her, kicking off the lessons. Zecora twirled around his strike, elbowing Jason in the back as she went. He whipped around, thrusting at her stomach, narrowing his eyes. Zecora’s eyes widened, narrowly avoiding the tip of the spear disemboweling her. She stumbled back a bit before righting herself. She glared at Jason and began to charge at him, one fist pulled back.

He dropped low, sweeping the spear out, knocking her to the ground. He darted over, putting the tip to her throat.

“So, what was this supposed to teach me?” Zecora asked, looking between Jason and the tip of the spear. 

“Not to get cheeky with me.” Jason pulled the spear away, holding his hand out to her. 

She chuckled and took the offered hand. “Is this because I threatened you with waking night terrors?”

“Yes, never ever do that.” He helped her up, laughing.

“I thought you were over that,” Zecora said, rolling her eyes. “I more than made up for it with that salve, didn’t I?”

Jason rolled his eyes. “Alright come on, let’s get back to the training. I’m going to beat this into you...”





The end of the week came fairly quickly, for Jason and Zecora, I felt every agonizing minute I was stuck as a colt. Even if it did come with a few unexpected perks. By the end of it, Jason seemed satisfied with his and Zecora’s progress in their training. But, he decided it was time to leave and he gathered all of his and my belongings (mostly the stuff I shrank out of when I was turned into a colt.) and started walking to the edge of the village before we would meet up with the guards who carried us before. Zecora and the elder were there to see us off. Along with a few other villagers.

“It seems the time to say farewell has come,” Zecora said, a smile on her face.

“I’m going to miss you guys.” Jason smiled back, with me sitting on his shoulders. “It was a fun week...”

“We assure you the feeling is mutual,” the elder chuckled. “Be sure to tell the Equestrian princesses that we will accept their offer of peace.”

“Of course.” Jason nodded, before looking at Zecora. “I did want to leave you with one last gift.”

“A gift? What else could you want to give other than what you already have?”

“You see, the Omnitrix allows me to... take a bit of one race and place it in another. If you accept, I will place a bit of myself into you, give you a small sliver of my power.”

“I see no reason not to accept,” Zecora nodded. Jason nodded holding his arm up.

“Omnitrix, splice target zebra with jotun DNA.” The Omnitrix chirped, sending a green wave into Zecora, making her stumble back. 

“You could’ve warned me about that part,” Zecora said, shaking her head and collecting herself.

“Sorry.” He smiled sheepishly. “So... how do you feel?”

“A little hungry,” she commented, patting her stomach. “But other than that, not too different.”

“Well, don’t go freezing anyone solid, alright?”

“I will do my best to resist the urge,” Zecora chuckled and rolled her eyes, extending a hand toward Jason. He took her hand with a smile, giving it a shake. “Goodbye Jason, may we meet again in this life, or the next.”

“Stay safe Zecora, may your blade always be wet with the blood of your enemies.” He pulled away, starting to walk back into the jungle.

“Oh, and don’t be in any hurry to turn Vash back to normal!” Zecora called out with a wave.

Jason just laughed, waving back at her. “Well, that was fun.” Jason smiled, looking up at me.

‘It definitely had its moments,’ I thought with a large smile as bathtimes at the hot spring played out in my head. ‘Then again, I did have to spend most of this trip in a makeshift diaper, so I still think I got the short end of the stick on this trip.’ I finished my thought by babbling at Jason, gripping onto his hair, and tugging on it like reins.

“Hey, don’t tug my hair, it’s not nice.” He pouted up at me, moving toward where the chariot had dropped us off.

The guards that dropped us off came forward, snapping a salute at us, “Jason, V…” The guard then stopped noticing something amiss. “Um, what happened to Vash?”

“He got hit with some Poison Joke, at the moment, he’s just a foal.” Jason explained, pulling me down into his arms

The guards all exchanged a brief look of confusion before bursting out into hysterics. “W-wait until the captain sees what has become of her lover,” the lead guard said, wiping a tear from his eye. “Come, we should hurry back to the castle, the chariot is ready.”

At the mention of the chariot I started to pale, and started shivering uncontrollably. ‘Oh crap, I have to ride in that death machine!’ I screeched internally, clinging onto the nearest thing for dear life. Said thing just so happened to be Jason’s chest.

“Well, look at that a pegasus scared of heights.” Jason chuckled, stepping into the chariot. “Sleep well...” he muttered, casting Sleep on me.

‘Thanks,’ I dimly thought as my eyes fluttered closed. I was eventually woken up by the chariot landing and stretched my limbs to see we had landed at the front gate of the castle. ‘Yes! I slept through all of that flight again.’ I thought with a yawn.

“Have a nice nap?” Jason asked, stepping out of the chariot, stretching his limbs out. 

I nodded happily and smiled at the Jotun. ‘It was certainly more pleasant than a punch to the face. Now all we have to deal with is telling the girls that I’m… a baby now. Well shit, I’m going to have to find out what pony puberty is like, aren’t I?’ I thought, my face falling slightly.

“Come along, Jason,” The lead guard said, unhitching himself from the chariot. “I am sure the princesses would love to hear how thy trip to the Zebra country fared.”

Jason nodded, following the guard, humming to himself. “Cruel and brutal, the blades of the beast... carve and clatter and cleave...” 

The guard didn’t seem to mind Jason’s song, silently leading Jason through the halls of the castle. Eventually the guard arrived at the large doors of the throne room. He signalled at the two on duty and they slowly pushed the heavy doors open. Celestia was sitting in her throne, a small smile on her face and was chatting a bit with Morning seeming to be between duties at the moment.

“Your Majesty, Jason has returned from the Zebra Kingdom,” The guard that led us called out.

“Jason, t’is good to see thee,” Celestia beamed. “But where pray tell is Vash?”

“Right here!” Jason smiled, holding me up.

Her entire face lit up and she rushed off her throne in a blur of movement. “Oh, he is too cute like this!” She squealed, snatching me from Jason and rubbing her cheek against mine.

“What happened?” Morning sighed, pinching her brow and slithering over to Jason. “What did Vash do to wind up becoming a colt?”

‘Hey! It’s a bit presumptuous to think I did something to warrant being like this,’ I thought, giving Celestia a hug.

“Oh you know, he spied on me and some zebra’s bathing... did you know they treat their men like slaves?” Jason asked, rubbing the back of his head. 

“No, we did not know this,” Celestia answered, still rubbing my cheek and squeezing me like a living teddy bear. “But as we told thee before thy departure, we did not know much of their culture.”

“Well, they decided to punish Vash by dumping Poison Joke on him and ta-da! Baby Vash!”

“Why am I not surprised by his actions?” Morning sighed. “Was he at least well behaved before the incident with the spying?”

“Yes, yes he was.” Jason reached out, petting my head. “The zebras accept our offer of peace, though best for the next few generations, have mares treat with them.”

“That would be best,” Morning agreed. “Though maybe we could also send a few feminine looking male guards in an attempt to help their culture become more equal. Private About Face would be a good candidate,” she noted to herself.

“Anyway, I do have the antidote to turn Vash back to normal, though it is missing one ingredient that seems to only grow in the winter.”

“Aww, do we have to change him back?” Celestia pouted, holding me up. “Couldn’t we just let him grow up as a normal colt?”

“No,” Morning shot down. “One of us is not immortal and does not wish to wait eighteen years before having their lover back.”

“Fine, what is this ingredient that thou art in need of, Jason?” Celestia asked, planting a kiss on my forehead.

“Ah... Zecora gave me a picture of it... this thing.” He fished around in his pocket, easily producing a scroll, passing it over to them. “And Morning Star, I can easily solve that for you.”

“What dost thou mean?” She asked, an eyebrow quirked.

“Well... I could easily splice you with something that has a very long lifespan.”

She looked down at herself, placing a hand on her hip where her snake-half started. “Will this splicing cause me to appear even stranger than I already do?’

‘Shut up baby, you’re gorgeous!’ I thought.

“Morning, you're fine. If anyone thinks you're strange they're idiots. You know what you are Morning?” Jason asked, putting a hand on her cheek. 

“Oh, I did not mean anything by strange,” Morning chuckled. “I am just very much aware that I am the only one of my kind on this entire world. And I’m a naga-pony, as Vash and Zinnia seemed intent on reminding me.”

“Yes, but you're also the mother of a new race. You're far more important than you know. Anyway, the splicing shouldn’t affect you all that much... besides probably turning you into a genius and letting you live for a few thousand years...”

“Mother of a new race?” Morning repeated. “Hmm, I have never put much thought into child rearing, my livelihood as a guard was much more important to me. Though my mother did seem to hint at wanting grandchildren several times.”

“I wonder if you’ll lay eggs...” Jason muttered to himself, looking Morning over. 

“That thought has crossed my mind once or twice,” she laughed. “Though I haven’t ejected unfertilized eggs like a common lizard so there is at least that much.”

“Wait... if you’re a new race then...” he looked down at the Omnitrix. “Have you been slacking on me?” As if to appease him, it chirped, taking a sample from Morning. 

“So that is the yellow light thou mentioned,” Morning said, turning to Celestia.

“Yes, though we were unfortunate enough to stare directly into it when we were scanned.” Celestia chuckled. 

‘Huh, I’m surprised the Omnitrix hasn’t scanned me,’ I thought, flapping my wings. ‘I don’t remember Jason getting an anthro-pegasus.’ The Omnitrix chirped again, scanning me, the beam getting in my eyes. 

“Gack!” I cried, trying to rub the spots out of my eyes. 

“Oh! Poor baby!” Jason took me from Celestia, bouncing me gently.

‘Why do I have the worst luck in the universe!’ I screamed in my head as I blinked the last spot away.

“So Morning, if thou were to accept this splicing… then could we keep Vash as an infant?” Celestia asked with a hopeful smile.

“No, I still believe it would be best to return Vash to his normal self.” Morning insisted.

“Could he at least remain a foal for another day or so?”

“I suppose there’s no harm in that,” Morning relented.

“It seems you're much more popular with the ladies as a baby.” Jason teased, tickling my armpits. I giggled and thrashed my limbs, my wings buzzing quickly.

‘Oh yeah, last time I checked I have: a guard captain, two immortal princesses, a dragon-girl and you under my belt. I think I was doing just fine before I became a baby,’ I snarked as I futilely attempted to use my hands to push Jason away.

“Oh!” Celestia cheered, clapping her hands. “We should go and wake  Luna! She would love to see Vash like this!” She cried before teleporting out of the room.

‘Oh, this will not end well for me.’

A few moments later, Celestia and  Luna in a bathrobe and a serious case of bed-mane popped into the room. “We wish to see the infant Vash!” She boomed in the Royal voice.

“Luna!” Jason hissed, having covered my ears. “Don’t do that! He’ll hurt his ears!”

“We art sorry,” Luna whispered sheepishly, a blush adorning her cheeks. “We may have gotten a bit overexcited. May we hold the baby Vashie?” She asked with outstretched arms. Jason passed me over, making sure Luna held me correctly. “Aww, we did not expect that thou would be a pegasus,” she cooed as she scratched behind one of my ears. I smiled dopily as she did that and snuggled deeper into her embrace.

‘Damn, why does that ear thing feel so good?’ I wondered.

“So, our sister tells us that Vash was turned into this as some sort of punishment.” Luna commented.

“Yup, spying on ladies bathing.”

“That does not surprise us. What does surprise us is that we have not received any complaints of similar incidents here.” She said holding me up and narrowing her eyes playfully. “Thou wouldn’t know anything about that, wouldst thou?”

‘Nope, nothing to report. Certainly no hidden peepholes or anything,’ I thought as I flailed my limbs and laughed.

“He is an adorable baby...” Jason commented, leaning on a wall.

“We wonder if he was just as cute when he was a human infant.” Celestia giggled as she pinched one of my cheeks.

“Who knows.” Jason shrugged, watching with a grin.

“It seems to be a shame that we have no way of knowing,” Morning shrugged as well. “Still, what was it that thou wished to splice me with?” She asked, turning to Jason.

“Galvin. Smartest species you’ll ever come across, one of them even made this thing.” He held up the Omnitrix. “And that guy is like five thousand years old...”

“Hmm, as long as it does not cause anymore outward changes to my body, I see no downsides to this. I was lucky once with body alteration, I do not like the idea of taking chances a second time.” Jason nodded, going through the procedure, splicing Morning. 

“How do you feel? Smarter?”

“No, but I do feel a headache coming on,” Morning groaned and put a hand to her temple. “I don’t suppose that would be a side-effect of the splicing, is it?”

“It might be.” Jason quickly cast cure to ease the pain.

“Thank thee, that seemed like it was about to be extremely unpleasant.”

“You’re welcome.” He smiled, kissing her cheek.

“And what was that for?” Morning asked, rubbing the spot where Jason kissed her.

“I dunno... I guess the zebras and their touchy feely attitude rubbed off on me...”

“Well, I suppose there was nothing wrong with it. It just took me by surprise,” Morning shrugged.

“So girls...” Jason looked between them. “What do we do now?”

“Well, what could we possibly do that’s baby friendly?” Luna asked, holding me out.

“Play... um... go exploring...” Jason rubbed his chin. “Oh yeah, how was Zed while I was gone?”

“Mostly she was restless,” Morning answered. “Though she did snap at a guard and took her spear from her. Scared the rookie half to death.”

“Yeah, Zed does that. Did she call her a dog?”

“I believe she said she referred to her as the, “prettiest little puppy”’ while scratching under her chin and petting her between the ears,” she replied.

“Oh yeah, she does not like being called a dog. She hates it.” Jason shook his head. “Honestly, I’m still hoping to breed her.”

“And how dost thou planning on going about that?” Celestia asked with a tilt of her head. “Dost thou know where to find another of her kind?”

“Yup... but that means I have to deal with Tennyson again...” Jason sighed. “I think it’ll be worth it though.”

“Oh!” Luna chimed, holding me up. “Speaking of Zed, dost thou think she would allow Vash to ride her?”

“I...” Jason blinked a few times. “She might, she’s rather gentle with kids.” 

“Shall we try to find Zed so that we can watch Vash ride her around the castle?” Celestia asked, a smile on her face.

Jason brought his fingers to his lips, letting out a whistle. Zed came bounding into the throne room, her tail wagging happily, nearly knocking Jason off his feet. “Heel Zed.” The baskurr obeyed, sitting on her haunches.

‘That was totally dog-like,’ I thought with a small laugh, ‘Why does she get offended by the comparison?’

“Art thou happy, Zed?” Morning asked her, leaning down. “Jason has finally returned. Now, no more terrifying my guards, understand?” Zed tilted her head before letting out a snort, licking her lips. “Was that an affirmation?” She sighed.

“We art getting sidetracked,” Celestia pouted. “Jason, please ask Zed about what we were just talking about.”

Jason took me back, kneeling down, letting Zed see me. Zed sniffed at me before starting to lick my face. 

‘Gyahh, alien germs!’ I thought as I tried shielding myself with my hands. Zed purred a little, laying down. Jason smiled, placing me on her back. Zed didn’t seem to mind, licking at her paws. I wrapped my arms around her neck to stabilize myself, her back surprisingly comfy to sit on.

“Aww, that is so cute!” Celestia cheered. “We wish we could keep an image of this forever!”

“We have to agree!” Luna nodded. “T’is quite the adorable sight.”

Jason just smirked, producing the camera, snapping away.

“What art thou doing, Jason?” Morning asked.

“Taking some pictures.”

“And what does that mean?”

“Here.” Jason waved them over, showing them the pictures he had taken. Their faces all lit up when they saw the screen.

“Please tell us that thou has a way to produce copies of these images,” Celestia said with a hopeful smile.

“Oh, you betcha.” Jason grinned back. 

“Then perhaps we should have Zed and Vash try out a few more poses?” Luna suggested.

“If we can get them to cooperate.”

“Shall we try?” Morning asked.

‘Ya know, I’ve hated all the other photo ops Jason has put me through. But I’m actually excited about this one. Probably has something to do with the fact that I’m riding on the back of an alien that happens to have some structural similarities to a canine.’ I thought, grinning and patting Zed’s side.

“Alright... uh any ideas?” 

“Perhaps we should just let Zed trot around the room first and go from there?” Luna suggested.

Jason nodded, nudging Zed with his foot. Zed growled, getting up, shaking herself.

‘Whoa!’ I tightened my grip on Zed’s neck to avoid being flung off from her shaking. ‘I was not expecting that reaction. Couldn’t he have thought of a better way to get her up?’ I thought, looking up at Jason with wide eyes. Zed lazily moved around the room, sniffing around. ‘Heh, considering some of the stuff that’s been done in this throne room I can only imagine what she’s smelling,’ I thought with a chuckle. ‘Also, Whee!’ I started to laugh and bounce atop the baskurr, enjoying myself as she moved around the room.

“Aww, looks like Vash is having fun,” Celestia cooed.

“Yes, it would seem so,” Luna nodded with a content expression. “Jason, art thou taking pictures of this?”

“Of course I am.” Jason rolled his eyes, snapping photos of me. 

“Should we try something else now? Or should we just let him enjoy himself for a little bit longer?” Morning asked as she watched me.

“Lets just let him play, he deserves it.”

I rode around on my alien steed until my voice went hoarse from cheering so much. At that point they all figured I’d had enough and Morning plucked me off of Zed’s back.

‘Can’t I just have five more minutes?’ I pleaded in my head as I looked between Morning and Zed with a quivering lip.

“Nice try, Vash, but thy attempts to look cute will not work on me,” Morning chuckled as she booped my muzzle. “I’m sure Zed wishes to rest and thou shalt hurt thy throat if thou continues whooping like that.”

‘Fine mom!’ I pouted, slumping over in her arms.

Zed padded over to Jason, laying down at his feet, starting to lick her paws again. 

“See, Zed wants no more part in thy shenanigans,” Morning grinned.

‘I don’t know why Jason chose a Galvin to splice Morning with,’ I thought, my pout intensifying. ‘She already had a habit of being right all the time.’

“Alright, so, how do we pose little Vashie now?” Jason asked, petting Zed’s head.

“Should we put him on the thrones and have him wear our crowns?” Celestia giggled.

“Wouldn’t it be too heavy for him?” Jason asked, rubbing his chin.

“What if we just had him hold them?” Luna offered.

“I think that could be cute” Jason smiled, pulling his own crown out.

“Oh, thou art going to have him hold thy crown as well?” Celestia grinned as she took hers off.

“Well of course,” Jason said, rolling his eyes, gesturing for Morning to place me on the throne. Morning did as she was asked and sat me down in the middle of the throne.

“Hold on!” Luna rang out. “We must fetch our crown from our chambers. Don’t start until we return!” Luna teleported out of the room and returned moments later with the onyx colored tiara in her hand and a wide smile on her face. “Now we may proceed.”

“Never change, Luna...” Jason laughed, placing his crown in my little hands. 

I decided to play it up, teething on the edges of the crown as I stared between them all dumbly.

"Is it okay for him to do that?” Morning asked. 

“I doubt it’ll hurt him.” Jason waved his hand dismissively. 

“Plus it’s natural for a growing pony to teeth,” Celestia shrugged. “We are sure that he’ll do the same to our crown.”

“If that is what thou thinks.” Morning shrugged. “But I do not envy who will have to clean off the foal spittle.”

“Oh hush Morning, or we will order thee to bring thy helmet so we can take a photo of Vash using it as a bed,” Celestia admonished with a playful grin.

Jason smirked, pulling his own helmet out, setting it on my head. I slunked down a bit, the helmet a bit heavy on me.

‘Ugh, stupid baby body, can’t even handle a little bit of weight. Just take the picture already.’ Jason snapped it, lifting it off my head. 

“I think it might be nap time for Vashie.”

“Hmm, this raises an interesting question,” Luna said tapping her chin in thought. “We certainly would enjoy cuddling with Vash in his present state, but thou art the only one that is pregnant and most likely to have milk to feed him if he wakes up from the nap hungry. Who should get Vash?”

“I dunno... I think he thinks I’m his mother.” Jason added, moving over to pick me up.

“That makes sense. I’m sure thou were the first one Vash saw when he became an infant,” Morning nodded.

“What? Do ponies imprint like birds or something?” Jason asked, blinking.

“No, but if thou hast been the one feeding him and spending the most time with him. On top of thou being the first to show him affection, then it would make sense.”

Jason nodded, bouncing me a little. “Come on, let's get you to bed.”

‘I’m not tired! Come on, just give me five more minutes riding Zed!’ I pleaded, stretching my arms out toward Zed and letting out a pitiful whine. 

“Now Vash, you can play with Zed later.” He rocked me gently, starting to sing a lullaby.

‘That will not work on me!’ I thought as I wriggled a bit in Jason’s arms. ‘I will get what I want! I am…’ My head then fell forward and I let out a loud snore.





I woke up the next morning tucked up against Jason’s chest which had become a custom since the Poison Joke. I grumbled to myself and crossed my arms over my chest.

‘Damn, I can’t believe that lullaby thing worked on me.’ I looked up and Jason seemed to still be asleep, a small smile on his face. ‘He’s lucky he’s a lady right now or I’d tickle my tail under his nose to wake him up… and the fact that I don’t have to think twice about having a tail anymore is slightly alarming. I miss being me.’ I pouted. ‘It wouldn’t be so bad if the wings actually let me fly, but they’re friggin useless!’ I flapped my wings a few times in demonstration, not moving upward as per usual.

“Hmm...?” Jason asked, lifting his head up. “Oh good morning, Vash. Ready to be a man again?” He asked, holding me at eye level.

My body felt like it was struck by lightning when he asked that and I snapped to attention, looking back at him curiously. ‘Did he really just ask that?’ I babbled a bit like I did to all of his questions and clapped my hands.

“Well, good to see you’re in a good mood.” He stood up, stretching out before carrying me off. “Lucky for you, we... managed to get the last bit we need for the cure.”

‘I’m gonna be a man again, I’m gonna be a man again!’ I cheered in my head repeatedly as I bounced up and down in Jason’s arms. ‘I can’t wait, hurry up, Jason!  I’m sick of being covered in all this fur!’ I thought as I started bouncing harder. Jason just giggled at me, entering the bathhouse. The bath had already been prepared, so I didn’t have to wait too long. Jason knelt down, dunking me in. It didn’t take long for it to take effect. I let out a low groan as my body started to stretch out. Once it was done I shot up from the bath with a giant grin on my face.

“Ahh, that feels… hey, why aren’t we in the zebra village?” I asked, looking around the room and scratching my head with my left arm.

“It's a very long and probably embarrassing story.” Jason stood up, still wearing the outfit Zecora gave him.

“And what is that supposed to mean?” I asked, tilting my head at him as I stepped out of the bath.

‘Yes! He doesn’t suspect a thing,’ I cheered, having to suppress a grin. 

He just smiled before walking out of the room. “Get dressed, the princesses are waiting for you.”

“Okay! But you’re going to have to tell me everything about the rest of the trip!” I called out after him as I found my clothes sitting in a corner along with my gun. “And don’t spare any details!”

“Yeah yeah!”

I strutted back into the dining room, feeling ecstatic to be back in my classic outfit and my normal body. I took a seat in my normal spot and beamed at everyone.

“Ya know, for some reason I feel happy to be me right now. It’s really weird.”

Jason was sipping at some tea, looking at me. “You were trapped as a pegasus foal for at least a week.”

“Heh, nice try, but I’m not falling for that one,” I chuckled as I started eating the food in front of me.

“T’is true, thou were precious,” Luna beamed with a giggle.

“Come on, he’s got you in on this?” I sighed.

“I have pictures.” Jason smiled, holding up the camera.

My eye twitched for a moment and I took a deep breath. “How did this happen?”

“Zecora dumped Poison Joke on you for peeping on us.”

“Hmm, is that so,” I said in an even tone, returning to my meal.

“Thou seem to be taking this well,” Morning said, seeming a little confused.

“Oh, I’m not happy about this. In fact, I’m so angry that I’m legitimately scared that something has snapped inside my head to where I can’t express my rage properly.”

“Uh huh, if you say so.” Jason just drank his tea, paying me no mind.

“Well, we art glad to see thee normal again, even if thou art not pleased with what the zebras did,” Celestia giggled as she kissed my cheek.

“Liar,” Morning  teased. “Thou suggested that we should have Vash remain a foal and age normally.”

“We were merely jesting!” Celestia shrieked. 

“I’m glad to see you three too,” I chuckled a bit. “Even if Celestia would prefer me as a baby,” I grinned at her. Celestia pouted a bit and the other two girls giggled. “What about you, Jason, did you like me better as a baby?” I asked as I nudged him with my elbow.

“You were certainly quieter,” he admitted, glancing at me.

“Ouch,” I wilted, “and here I thought we were friends.”

“We are, I was just answering your question.”

“Fair enough,” I sighed. “Still, I’ve learned a very important lesson,” I said with a sagely nod.

“And that is...?”

“Never peep on an ice giant and a group of amazonian zebras while they’re in the bath… or at the very least don’t get caught.” I added on with a goofy grin.

“Vash, thou art truly an idiot at times,” Morning sighed, face palming.

“Yeah, but you still love me,” I chuckled.

“Well it seems like you five are having fun.” Megan strode in, wearing a bright smile. She took a seat next to Jason, pulling him into a hug, which he happily returned. 

“Hi, Mrs. Hughes,” I beamed. “I almost forgot you were staying here with us. It feels like it’s been forever since we last saw you.”

“Vash dear, call me Megan. Beside’s I’m going back to my maiden name.”

“Sorry m-Megan, I was just trying to be polite,” I offered while rubbing the back of my head and chuckling weakly. “So, how have you liked staying in my castle?”

“Thy castle?” Celestia and Luna asked simultaneously with quirked brows.

“Hey, I helped build the thing,” I laughed. “Plus, I know more about this place than either of you.”

“Seeing this place without all the changeling stuff is weird but... at least it’s no Tambelon...”

“Tambelon?” I asked, scratching the side of my head.

Megan shuddered. “It was the home of an evil goat named Grogar…”

I shuddered as well. “Yeah I’m not a fan of goats. One gave me a nasty scar on my left hand when I tried feeding it during a school trip to a zoo. Can only imagine what an explicitly evil goat would be capable of.”

“He was stronger than any unicorn ever born. He captured all of the unicorns and was going to banish everyone in Dream Valley to the Shadow World, but I sent him and that damned city back and broke his bell. Hopefully he’ll rot there for all eternity.” Megan spit on the ground, a hateful look on her face. 

“Yeah same,” I nodded. “Oh, be careful where you put your hands while roaming the castle,” I warned her, remembering something. “I installed a lot of mechanisms in the castle that open up secret passages and even trap doors. And one of the walls flips around and leads outside of the castle on a ledge.”

“Why would it lead to a cliff...?”

“Not a cliff, a ledge on the castle wall beside a gargoyle,” I clarified. “And in case someone needs to make a quick escape in case of an emergency like a fire. I also put a loose stone there that has a coil of rope stashed so earth pony and unicorn staff that can’t teleport can get down safely.”

“What Vash is saying is that he’s an eccentric fool that can’t create a straightforward emergency exit,” Morning sighed, pinching her brow and shaking her head at me.

“Genius is never appreciated in their lifetime.” Jason laughed, shaking his head. 

“Please tell me that wasn’t sarcasm?” I asked with a hopeful smile.

“Maybe.”

“You’ll see,” I said, slumping onto the table. “It’s a great idea. I know it is,” I sniffled.

“Oh cheer up Vash, I’m sure your secrets will come in handy one day.” Megan assured me with a smile.

“Well, it was one of the secret rooms that Jason and I had our infamous drinking contest,” I chuckled weakly.

“I see.” Megan nodded, raising her eyebrow. “I do how they’ll get better use than that...”

“Yeah me too,” I said as I scratched my cheek. “So, Jason, do you wanna tell your mom how the zebras treated you?” I asked with a snicker.

“I would rather my experiences there stay between me and the zebras.” Jason glared at me, narrowing his eyes. 

“What, I was talking about how they basically made you a god.”

“I already am a god, Vash.”

“You know I meant in their culture not literally,” I said as I rolled my eyes at him.

“Yeah well, it’ll be your problem to deal with, just uh... make sure they don’t get any details wrong...”

“What kind of details? Physical, or are we talking about making sure they don’t start thinking that you’re a god that demands virgin sacrifices?”

“That last bit. None of that please.”

“No problem, I’ll make sure that doesn’t happen. I’ll be sure to tell them exactly what kind of god you are,” I assured with a smile.

“Why does that worry me...?”

“Because you have no faith in me,” I pouted. “Which is a shame considering that we’re having a child together.”

“Oh stop it, Vash, I’m just messing with you,” Jason said with a sigh. “Stop taking everything so seriously.”

I blinked a few times at that and picked my head up off the table and started to chuckle a bit. “I can’t believe you actually said I take things too seriously. Never thought I’d hear someone say that to me.” 

“You’re the one who pouts at every little thing.” He shot back. 

“My pouts are purely playful, I assure you,” I shot back, my arms crossed over my chest.

“Uh huh, you just keep telling yourself that.”

“I tell myself a lot of things,” I laughed. “One of them being that I really did end up becoming my favorite character and that I’m not just giggling in an asylum somewhere wondering when the nice men in white coats will give me pudding again.”

“You two definitely sound like a couple.” Megan teased, giggling a little. 

“What part of that exchange made you think we sound like a couple?” I asked pointing between Jason and myself, a confused look on my face.

“The banter in general really. You two are very good at it.”

“They do seem to have a certain rapport between them,” Celestia nodded.

“If you say so.” I shrugged.

“I see it, even if Vash is too dense to.” Jason smirked, leaning back, putting his feet on the table.

“Jason, don’t put your feet on the table,” I chided, nudging the foot closest to me. “And don’t call me dense.” Jason just shrugged, ignoring me. “Is there any particular reason why your feet are still on the table?”

“I dunno, I feel like being a bitch.” Jason shrugged a little. 

“Considering you’ve already flash frozen and thawed my genitals before, being slightly rude and unsanitary at the breakfast table is on the lower end of the spectrum of bitchiness towards me,” I reminded him.

“Alright, I’m sorry.” He dropped his feet, sighing. 

“Jay is just used to doing whatever he wants in his castle. Not like the changelings question it.” Megan giggled, causing Jason to mutter in annoyance.

“It’s not a big deal,” I shrugged. “I just don’t like to make life more difficult for the castle staff. Hell, one time I nearly scared a maid to death when I snapped at her when I wanted to clean up a spill I made,” I chuckled recalling the incident. “Having an entire staff dedicated to do things like that for me has been a lot to get used to.”

“You yelling at a woman? I guess that's the first sign of the apocalypse,” Jason teased, laughing at my expense.

“I did not yell…” I started, trying to find the right words to defend myself. “I was just… firm with her,” I managed to say, sounding unsure.

“Did he yell?” Jason asked, looking at the princesses. The two just nodded with smirks on their faces.

“Fine, maybe I yelled,” I admitted. “But this was back when I was still adjusting to the whole world full of talking ponies thing.”

“Eh, don’t feel too bad, we all lose our cool.” Jason gave me a smile, a genuine one as far as I could tell.

“Yeah, I guess you’re right,” I said as I rubbed the back of my head. “I doubt I’ll ever blow up on a lady ever again though,” I finished, returning Jason’s smile.

“The two of thee should excuse thyselves somewhere private,” Luna teased.

“The expression is ‘get a room’,” Jason corrected her.

“It worked just as well the way we said it,” she shot back with a huff.

“Don’t get huffy with me Luna,” Jason narrowed his eyes playfully, “You might just end up frozen.”

“Don’t you threaten my marefriend,” I warned with a chuckle. “Or I’ll find  a city-busting laser with your name on it.”

“Oh yeah? And I'll sic Hodge on you.” Jason shot back with a grin.

I paled and started to quiver. “I don’t want to be Valerie again,” I whimpered. Megan giggled at us, shaking her head.

“If you think Megan is great,” Jason smirked, “You should meet Terra.”

“I’d like that a lot actually,” I told him with a bright smile. “I even promise to be on my best behavior around her.”

“If you weren’t I imagine she'd... Actually, I have no idea what she’d do... That's rather sad...”

“Well, you did say she was a witch, let’s just say she’d turn me into a newt to keep things simple,” I shrugged.

“I doubt it’d be a newt, Terra’s a sweet girl, whose aged a hell of a lot better than I had...” Megan mumbled to herself.

“What was that?” I asked with a tilt of my head. “Didn't quite catch that.”

“Nothing dear, don't worry about it.” Megan assured with a smile.

“Okay,” I nodded and turned back to Jason. “So, how did you plan on letting me meet your birth mom?”

“Not like it's that hard, we just take a trip back to my Earth.” Jason smirked, leaning back in his seat.

I brightened up as soon as he said that. “We’re going to Earth?!” I enthused.  “That’s awesome!”

“Not any time soon.” Jason shook his head, making my joy deflate.

“Well, at least I know we're gonna go at some point.”

“May we come as well?” Celestia asked. “We would like to see thy and Vash’s world.”

“Yes, we could even disguise ourselves,” Luna offered.

“It won't be Vash’s world,” Jason said firmly, “They may be similar but they won't be the same.”

“Very well, if thou art sure,” Celestia sighed, her and Luna deflating slightly before turning to me. “Don’t feel too tempted to stay on Earth, Vash. Thou does have responsibilities here.”

“Wouldn't dream of it,” I told her with a grin. “Even if this was my Earth, Equestria is my home now.”

“Hey, I just said it wouldn't be Vash’s world,” Jason said, looking between them, “ not that you two couldn't come.”

“We would be interested in seeing the technology Vash is always talking about,” Luna said.

“It’ll knock your socks off.” Jason smirked, then frowned. “Though... It should be noted, Midgard’s magic has withered greatly since Ragnarok...” 

“We are sure that we will manage,” Celestia nodded. 

“We might even be able to meet my sister while we’re there.” Jason gave me a glare. “Don’t hit on my sister.”

“I can only promise to try,” I told him seriously. “Even if she's really hot I'll try not to hit on her.”

“No seriously don’t. I do not know her well enough to tell you how she’d react.”

“Fine, I won't hit on your sister,” I promised with a huff. “I'm sure I can find some way to distract myself so that I won't offend your birth mom and sister. But you're gonna owe me for this.”

“Oh ya? Owe you how?” Jason asked, looking rather interested in that.

“Uhh… ya know, just owe me, in a general sense,” I said with a nervous chuckle as I scratched my cheek. Jason just stared at me, narrowing his eyes ever so slightly.

“Hey Vash?” Jason asked, putting on a sweet smile.

“Yes, Jason?” I replied, avoiding eye contact with him slightly.

“You ever see Stand By Me?”

“Umm… no,” I answered with a nervous gulp.

“Hmm... Too bad...” He sighed, looking away. “Zed, sic balls.” 

Before Zed could move, Morning’s horn lit up and I was surrounded by a light blue shield. “Perhaps thou should not have thy… companion devour my lover's genitals? After all, how am I going to the mother of a new race without the right father?”

“Oh come on Morning!” Jason groaned, “You ruined it! She was just going to chase vash around until she realized he didn't have any tennis balls!”

“That’s pretty screwed up, Jay,” I deadpanned. “Is seeing me terrified for my life really that funny to you?”

“No but it would have made some nice payback, now wouldn't it, Valkyrie?” Jason winked, getting up. “Anyway, I have an egg to tend to, peace.” Jason turned on his heel, walking out into the hall, vanishing from sight.

‘Oh shit, he knew!’ I screamed in my thoughts.

“Hold up!” I growled, feeling my eye twitch. Jason walked back into view, peering at me. “Am I just the butt of your jokes or something?” I asked, crossing my arms over my chest. “Because it feels like I get relegated to being a buttmonkey since you’ve been around.”

He looked away, clearing not expecting the question. “I-I...”

“I mean, we are friends, right?” I pressed. “Or am I just the jackass you feel obligated to be around because I accidentally got you pregnant?”

He rubbed his arm, letting out a long sigh. “That's not it at all, Vash.”

“Then what is it? Do I just scream, “Forever a doormat”?”

Jason met my eyes, shifting on his feet. “I’m sorry okay? I just... I dunno... I shouldn’t be treating you like I have.”

“Then how about ya cut down on bitch-slapping me through walls and turning my junk into icicles?” I asked with a small smile. Jason nodded, looking rather ashamed. I walked over to him and put a hand on his shoulder. I gave him a smile and said, “How about we have a fresh start on this? I don’t want to have a bad relationship with the mother of my child.”

Jason nodded, putting his hand over mine. “Let’s.”

“Kiss on it?” I joked, chuckling. Jason snorted, giving me a light shove. 

> Jason and Vash's Excellent Adventure: Fish Ponies Ahoy!
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	I whistled a little tune to myself as I strolled to the breakfast table.I took my usual seat and smiled at everyone present.

“Good morning everybody, how are you all doing?”

“We are well,” Celestia said with a smile. “Though we can not say the same for others,” she said, turning to Jason.

“What?” Jason looked up from stuffing his face, blinking a few times. Being four months into the pregnancy he was definitely starting to show... And eat twice as much as he used to. Which is pretty impressive considering he ate like a one man army before.

“Nothing,” Celestia giggled. “Only that thou has not stopped to breathe since sitting down.”

He blushed frowning. “Yeah well...all that cake is going to your thighs.”

Celestia blushed, pushing her plate away. “We do not know what thou art talking about.”

“Oh hush you,” I laughed as I wrapped an arm around her. “The cake is not going to your thighs,” I told her as my other hand snaked down. “It’s making your ass even sexier,” I finished with a husky tone, groping her right on the cutie mark.

“Vash!” Celestia shouted, pushing me away. “Not at the table.”

“Fine, just wanted to make my lady feel beautiful,” I chuckled as I turned to Jason. “How are you feeling? Everything good?”

“Yeah, all good.” Jason nodded, giving a thumbs up.

“Glad to hear it,” I replied with a smile. “Just let me know if anything changes. Gotta make sure my baby mama’s okay,” I joked with a wink.

“Keep that up and you’ll never get rid of me.” Jason smirked, going back to stuffing his face.

“I dunno, I’m sure Chryssi and Rarity would notice you were gone eventually,” I shrugged as I filled my plate. “And something tells me I’d be the one to suffer the brunt of their wrath. My luck has been notoriously bad ever since I came to Equestria.”

“I suppose you're right.” Jason nodded, wiping his mouth.”Anyway, what are we doing today?”

“Well, much to my disappointment, your uncle’s scale seems to break any tool that I’ve tried on it. So the magic armor thing has been kind of a bust. On a brighter note, I’ve made decent progress on a dragon-scale chainmail outfit.” I reported. “And the work on the village of Gunsmoke has been really smooth. So, we’re free to do whatever we want.”

Jason pulled a hammer out of his pocket, sliding it over to me. “If you can pick it up, it's yours.”

I quirked an eyebrow at him, wondering if he was serious. His face didn’t give anything away so I just tried to pick the hammer up. I gripped it tightly with my right hand and started to pull. I strained for what felt like a few minutes before I managed to pick up the hammer, nearly falling over as it went over my head.

“Yes!” I cried, surprised by my success. “Does this make me an Avenger? Can I meet Samuel L. Jackson?” I asked with a laugh.

“I actually lived the first movie.” Jason smirked a bit. “I'm totally tight with Stark.”

"You can’t be serious,” I deadpanned.

“No, I'm not, but part of you believed it.”

“Jason, In the past few months, I’ve turned a spirit of chaos to stone, slept with and impregnated an ice giant, talked to a pokemon and been turned into a woman and baby respectively. I’ve learned to be ready to believe anything,” I told him with a flat look.

“Stop it, Vash, get any more serious and you’ll turn into Maud.”

“I have no idea who this Maud is… but she sounds weirdly funny,” I replied, scratching the side of my head.

“She has her moments but still, you don't want to be her.”

“Alright, I will do my best to get back to my usual self,” I told him with a smile. “So, since there’s no pressing issues to attend to, wanna go globetrotting again? Hopefully neither of us will have Poison Joke spilled on us.”

“Yeah, I'd rather not be a pregnant ten year old...” Jason muttered, sipping at his drink.

“No, you’ll probably become the god of another society. I seem to be the bigger bad luck sponge between the two of us,” I laughed.

“Its karma for knocking me up.” Jason grinned, finishing up his drink, leaning back in his seat.

“Hey, how is the pregnancy exclusively my fault!” I pouted. “Last time I checked, you didn’t say no when we were both drunk.”

“And how do we know that hmm?” Jason asked, raising his eyebrow.

“I don’t know, why don’t you ask the voices in your head?” I suggested with a huff. “They seemed to recall the evening in question with a lot more clarity than we do.”

“Relax Vash, I'm just breaking your balls.” Jason got up, rolling his eyes.

“I know, though I am a little curious what was the line that finally won you over,” I said with a snicker. 

“Ya well, I'm not askin’ so, wonder away.”

“I suppose the mystery is part of the fun. So, where does the lady wish to go now?” I asked with a small bow towards Jason.

“I will hit you...”

“Is that your way of saying you love me?” I asked with a shit-eating grin. He drew his arm back, socking me in the arm. “Ow! If you keep doing that I think I’ll go numb in this arm,” I whined, rubbing my arm where he hit me.

“Buck up.” Jason crossed his arms, smirking.

“Fine,” I pouted, finishing my meal. “Why would I expect to get any sympathy from a literal ‘ice king’?” I muttered to myself.

“I am not the Ice King.” Jason rolled his eyes, leaning on the table. 

“Yeah, you don’t kidnap nearly enough princesses to qualify for that job,” I chuckled. “So, where do you think we should go now? I’m up for anything. Though, with the way you’ve been eating, maybe we should go somewhere with really good food?” I suggested, looking Jason up and down.

“I dunno...” He shrugged. “Any suggestions, Moonbutt?” He asked, gazing at Luna.

Luna glared at him for a moment. “We do not appreciate that nickname, but the Marediterranian is famous for its food if that would interest thee.”

Jason sighed, putting a hand on his head. “The puns just never stop...”

“I feel ya buddy,” I sighed and shook my head. “They’re enough to drive ya to drink. Still, we might be able to soak up some sun at a beach somewhere.”

“Alright let's go then. Will you three keep an eye on the egg for me?” He asked, looking at the girls.

“Morning, wouldst thou do the honors?” Celestia suggested.

“Why wouldst thou choose me to keep watch over the egg?” Celestia just looked down at Morning’s lower half as if the answer was obvious. “Fine, I suppose thou dost have a point. My coils would keep the egg safe and warm,” Morning sighed, pinching her brow.

“Glad to hear it,” I said, getting up and kissing her forehead. “Have fun playing mama snake. Jason and I should be back soon.”

“Just go,” she sighed ignoring my joke. “And Jason, keep Vash out of trouble this time. I’d like him to be the proper age when he returns.”

“Of course and thank you.” Jason gave her a quick hug, walking out of the dining hall. He returned a few minutes later and gently handed Morning the egg.

“I will do my utmost to see that no harm comes to the egg,” she said with a fang-baring grin as she wrapped the egg in her coils.

“You have my complete and utter trust.” Jason nodded. “Well, let's get going.” He walked out again, humming softly.

“You got it!” I cheered, rushing to catch up to him. “And this time, I’m going to overcome my fears!” I beamed as I made it to his side.

“No you won't...”

“Oh, you’re not about to…” But I didn’t get to finish my sentence as Jason cast the Sleep spell on me. I woke up later when I was jolted and hit my head on something. I picked myself up with a groan and glared up at Jason. “Any particular reason you did that?”

“It was easier to be honest with you.” He shrugged, holding his hand up to help me up.

“Fine, not like I can stay mad at you,” I huffed, taking his hand. “Especially when I’m hopefully going to see you in a swimsuit soon.”

“Too bad I didn't bring one.” He shot back with a smirk.

“I did~” I smirked, reaching into my duster and pulling out a green and black suit for him. “I’m always prepared for things like this.”

“How do you do that...I know damn well I didn't give you a hyper cube...”

“The suit I got from Patty and Zinnia. The deep pockets is how I hold my apparently never-ending ammo,” I laughed. He sighed, shaking his head.

“But what makes you think I'll wear it...?”

“Kinda hoping that asking nicely will do the trick,” I said with a hopeful smile. “I know I can’t force you to do it. Not without having to get an icepick for my nards again.”

He looked at it before sighing. “Fine...I'll wear the damned thing...” He took it, grumbling a little.

“Yes!” I cheered, throwing my arms in the air. “Thank you!” I continued with a smile on my face. “Don’t worry, I brought a suit for myself too.” Jason continued to grumble in annoyance and disappeared to get changed. He returned a minute or so later with his arms crossed over his chest.

“Do I at least look good?”

“No… you look better than good,” I said, trying and failing to pick my jaw up from the ground. “In fact, I’m kinda having difficulties finding a good word to use at the moment.”

“Alright come on...” Jason turned away. “Let's get the exploring done shall we?”

“Sure,” I nodded dumbly as I followed after him. “Whatever you say.” The two of us continued to walk along, taking in the scenery as we did. “Man, this is a pretty nice looking place, huh?” I asked as I looked out across the ocean. “Next time we come here we should bring the girls.”

“That's not a bad idea.” Jason said with a nod.

“I’ve been known to have one on occasion,” I smiled at him. “Managing to get a bathing suit that fits you was definitely one too. Your bust was already impressive, but with the advancing pregnancy… I'm surprised you haven't been complaining about some serious back pain.”

“Vash, I’ve been through a lot more than most people dream of, a sore back is nothing to me.”.

“Alright ya show off, I know you're a very tough person,” I chuckled and roll my eyes. “Is there anything else you’re too tough for?”

“A lot of shit.” Jason shrugged. “Takes a lot to get to me.” 

“Fair enough.” I shrugged before seeing a faint outline of something in the distance. “Hey, I think there's a town over there,” I said, pointing at the outline.

“Nice little place.” Jason commented, brushing his hair out of his face.

“Yeah, and considering where we are they probably get a lot of travelers from all over the world. We might find some scans and information on Sirens all at the same time.”

“We might even run into them... I really hope we don't run into the Dazzlings...” Jason muttered. “We might stop them from getting banished.”

“And what would be the downside of preventing people from getting banished?” 

“Besides ruining Sunset’s redemption arc and preventing her from reinventing herself?” He tapped his chin. “Though it must have sucked being stuck as teenagers for a thousand years...”

“Yeah, especially if being stuck in a teenage body includes a thousand years of puberty,” I shuddered.

“Nothing about that high school world makes sense. You should see how freakishly long human Luna and Celestia’s legs are.”

“I dunno, I'm kind of a fan of long legs,” I mused. “Morning’s legs were amazing back when she had them.”

“Yeah but those legs should not be that long. Its Almighty Tallest levels man.”

“Oh… yeah, I can see how that could be mildly disturbing. Also, who is this Sunset girl? This is the second time you’ve brought her up.”

“I dunno if I should say really...” Jason sighed. “I believe the future is what we make it but... Equestria a thousand years from now is something to strive towards...”

“Dude, I already know about Nightmare Moon, and you’ve told me that my life is being written down as we speak. Are we really going to start worrying about affecting time as you know it now?”

“Eh I suppose you're right. Sunset Shimmer will be Princess Celestia’s student near a thousand years from now. I imagine she was grooming Sunset to be the Element of Magic but uh... Sunset got impatient and Celestia made one of the dumbest decisions ever.”

“Did they have some sort of fight, Sunset got angry and ran through some portal to this high school world where these Dazzlings you mentioned earlier wound up too, and the two of them never spoke again?” I asked.

“Yeah but it was totally Celestia’s fault. She had the stupid idea that she could fix her behavior by showing her a possible future where she was an alicorn... Then Sunset broke into a forbidden wing of the archives and Celestia cast her out.”

“And that's why you told Celestia not to screw up with her when you first came here,” I nodded. 

“Yeah... Than she came back, stole the Element of Magic, corrupted it, became a she-demon and tried to take over Equestria with an army of brainwashed teenagers....”

“Not gonna lie, that sounds pretty metal.”

“I wasn't there to see but I was... ‘There’ for the Battle Of The Bands against the Dazzlings. Nothing stops The Beatles baby.” Jason smirked, crossing his arms.

“Hmm… what about the Rolling Stones? Could that stop The Beatles? Or would that be an unstoppable force meeting an immovable object situation?”

“You ruined the moment man. But uh anyway, Sunset, at least mine, is still living in high school world with Hughes, my human form as it were.”

“Huh, that's pretty cool,” I nodded. “So, what does this Sunset look like? Might as well know so if I want to help Celestia not screw up with her.”

“Yellow and red unicorn. Has a sun for a cutie mark.”

“Dude, don’t know if you noticed but… cutie marks are almost always covered here. But a yellow and red unicorn… almost sounds like…” I paused for a moment, gears spinning in my head.

“What?” Jason asked, turning to look at me.

“That’s a pretty similar coloration to Morning Star.”

“Eh, a lot of ponies share coat colors.” Jason waved it off. “Don't over think it.”

“Yeah,” I laughed. “For a second there I was thinking that Sunset might be a descendant of Morning’s.  But I bet I'm way off on that one.” Jason just gave me a deadpanned look. “What?”

“Murphy’s law. Now that's exactly what's going to happen, with you as her ancestor.”

“Now you're being ridiculous,” I rolled my eyes at him. “That’s like saying a beautiful woman  will fall from the sky because I said it would.” I laughed off, holding out my arms for emphasis. “See, I scoff at Murphy and his law.” That was until someone fell on me.

“See? Told you, don't invoke Murphy, he is a cruel deity.” Jason shook his head, looking down at me.

“I remain unconvinced,” I said with a muffled groan. “That was coincidental at best. Besides, is whoever landed on me a she and if so, is she beautiful?”

“Uh... Yes... Yes to both...”

“Still not totally convinced,” I said after pausing for a moment. “Now, can you get her off me? I’d like to get a look at who fell on me.” Jason obliged, helping whoever it was to their feet. “Thank…” My mind came to a halt as I looked at the one who fell on me. She had light blue fur, long purple mane with dark blue stripes, and rose colored eyes. Her very curvy body was covered by what looked like a greek chiton that was colored the same purple as her mane.

“Is thy… companion alright?” The mare asked in a lilting sing-song voice. “He seems to be afflicted with something.”

“His mother dropped him on his head as a child, sadly he never recovered.”

“Not funny, Jason,” I said with narrowed eyes. I then turned to the mare and smiled. “I am sorry if I seemed rude, I was merely...captivated, nay entranced by your beauty.” I said with my most charming smile.

The mare giggled and smiled at me. “Dost thou truly think it wise to flatter me so with thy pregnant lover next to thee?”

“Like I said, head trauma. “ Jason crossed his arms, looking her over.

“Jason, I was never dropped on my head. My mother caused my mental defects in other ways,” I replied, crossing my arms over my chest too.

“Did she tell you that?” Jason asked. “He’s very gullible, he’ll believe almost anything you tell him.”

“The two of thee are adorable together,” the mysterious mare giggled. “Thou must have been together for some time now.”

“Eh... Few months now...” Jason shrugged. “Anyway... Why were you in the sky?”

“Oh, I was on my way to the nearby village when a random bit of bad weather caused me to crash.”

“Sky's clear.” Jason pointed up, giving her a disbelieving look.

“I am just as confused as thee, but something did cause me to crash. I am just glad that such a kind soul prevented me from coming to harm,” she said, winking at me.

“Yeah... I think you’re a siren who saw us walking and decided we’re easy prey.” Jason raised his eyebrow, looking unamused.

“Thou believe me to be a siren?” The mare asked with a tilt of her head. “And I would not consider the two of thee ‘easy prey’. Thy lover is as tall as a minotaur and has a strange weapon at his side. Plus, there is a village a stone’s throw away.”

“Because Vash invoked Murphy and he is not a happy deity.” Jason argued, narrowing his eyes.

“If I were a siren, wouldn’t I have offered to sing to thee as recompense for crashing on thee and interrupting thy day?”

“No, you'd have just started singing out of nowhere.”

“And I have not done that either,” the mare countered with a smile. “Thou seems to counter thy lover’s gullibility by being near to paranoia.”

“Lady, you don't know paranoid,” Jason countered, looking at her.

“Perhaps,” she shrugged. “Now, if thou would excuse me. As I said before, I am on my way to the nearby village. I truly am sorry for landing on thee, Vash,” she offered with a wave towards me as she turned and started walking towards the village.

“Well...that was interesting...” Jason commented, scratching his cheek.

“Yeah… interesting,” I said as I looked between the mystery mare and Jason. “I’m still wondering if she really was telling us the truth, or she was a siren and figured we were more trouble than we were worth.”

“Only one way to find out.” Jason gestured to the town, starting to move toward it.

“Lead the way,” I said with a dopey smile, following close behind. The two of us eventually made it into the town. The smell of fresh fish and the ocean breeze filling our nostrils. Ponies and even a few minotaurs were milling about in outfits similar to the one that the mystery mare was wearing.

“Sup?” Jason asked, waving to the minotaurs, taking a deep breath of the ocean breeze. The minotaurs waved back, though they seemed to be a bit confused by his attire.

"Wow, I am really liking the look of this place,” I said looking at the various stalls filled with fish. “And that breeze is nice.”

“Eh, the fish is a bit much...” Jason muttered, looking out into the ocean. 

“There is just no pleasing you,” I chuckled. “Why do I even bother taking you nice places?”

“Because I might go stir crazy or my Loki genes will kick in and I’ll turn on you for no other reason than to be an asshole.”

“Hmm, that’s a pretty good reason to take you places,” I nodded, gulping at the thought of Jason going full Loki. “Though, you did give me a magic hammer,” I offered as I patted my duster. “That might help me fend off your ‘full-Loki’ mode.”

“You realize that's just a normal hammer made out of uru right?”

“It’s magical because you gave it to me?” I said with a weak chuckle and a grin.

“No, it's just an otherwise normal hammer made of of some super powerful fictional metal.”

“Okay, I guess I won’t be going on adventures with Iron Man and the gang anytime soon,” I sighed as I slumped over. “That’s a shame though, if anyone could help me fulfill my number one childhood dream, it’d be Tony Stark.”

“What's that?” Jason asked, looking over his shoulder.

“Promise not to laugh?” Jason rolled his eyes and nodded. “I wanted to build Big O.”

“Big Duo was cooler.” He deadpanned.

"Big O’s pilot was voiced by Steve Blum, your argument is invalid,” I smirked at him.

“Yeah but flying giant robots are still better. Personally though, Jehuty all the fucking way.”

“Okay, as if anyone can deny the awesomeness of a mech that comes from a Hideo Kojima game. Also, heh, Jehuty has a pretty literal ‘cockpit,’” I snickered, remembering the game.

“You know, apparently the designer did that on purpose just for the joke.” Jason smirked, stopping and leaning over a railing, looking down at the ocean.

“That is one hell of a view,” I whistled as I came up beside him. “And it makes me a bit nostalgic,” I chuckled. “Though the water back home never looked quite like this.”

“I was never one for the ocean...” Jason shrugged, his hair blowing in the air.

“I always loved it,” I laughed, resting my elbows on the rail and staring at the water. “I grew up pretty close to the shore and my family made trips to a nearby boardwalk during the summer when my dad could manage to get off of work. Man, almost feels like a lifetime ago,” I finished, letting out a small sigh.  

“Fuck Mr.Hughes.” Jason snorted bitterly, spitting into the water.

“You okay there?” I asked, snapping out of my nostalgia trip and turning to him. “What brought that on?”

“Just the mention of dads...” He grumbled, not looking at me.

“Oh… I’m an idiot,” I said, slapping my forehead. “You never knew your dad growing up. Well, I actually think you would’ve liked my dad,” I offered, smiling at him.

“Probably. I don't know the first thing about my dad besides that he had a vaguely asian name and could turn his hands into knives...”

“Ok… that sounds pretty cool,” I nodded. “Still, I can relate to losing a father. The difference was that I got to know mine first.”  

“Lucky...” Jason sighed, letting out a long breath. “I just... Hope I'm a good dad...”

“You?” I asked starting to chuckle. “You’re a great parent from what I’ve seen. And I have first hand experience of your parenting,” I told him, starting to nudge his side with my elbow.

“Heh...thanks.” Jason smiled, looking up at me, some hair blowing in his face.

“Can’t believe someone that’s apparently the ultimate badass and a literal god is worried about being a dad,” I told him. “What you should be worried about is if our kid will pop out and start begging for donuts and hitting on the midwife,” I chuckled a bit.

“...I'm. Norse, not Greek...” Jason glared, narrowing his eyes at me.

I blinked a bit and replied, “Uh, I know that. I didn’t call you Greek. Where’d that come from?”

“Because that's that crap the Olympians did.” Jason snorted, moving away, moving his hair behind his head. 

“Jason, I hit on girls all the time. Hell, I did it about ten minutes ago. Doesn’t make me friggin’ Zeus. I was just joking about the baby taking too much after me.” All I got in response was a snowball to the face. I dragged my hand across my face and shook my head at the jotun. “You are so lucky that I can’t use magic, otherwise I’d be forced to retaliate to that,” I smirked.

“And how would you do that?” Jason asked.

“I dunno, returning fire with a snowball of my own, turning that bikini you’re wearing transparent, magic opens up quite a bit of possibilities,” I said with a smile. 

“You just keep dreaming.” Jason retorted, hopping over the railing, landing down on the sand.

“Hey, why’d you do that?” I asked, leaning over the railing. 

“Because we’re at the beach, why wouldn't I want to enjoy it?” Jason asked, looking back up at me. 

“Fair enough,” I sighed as I hopped over the railing and looked down from the ledge. “Really hoping this isn’t a bad idea,” I muttered to myself as I jumped down on the sand. Luckily enough, I landed on my feet and nothing seemed to be broken. “Whew, really glad I’m not human, otherwise that would’ve hurt.”

“See you’re fine.” Jason smiled, moving out toward the water. He sat down, letting the waves hit his feet. I decided to take off my boots, socks and my duster and sat down next to him.

“Ahh,” I said as I felt the first wave hit my feet. “Been a long time since I’ve just sat down on the beach. Though it is the first time I’ve sat down with a bikini clad ‘woman’,” I chuckled.

“Well, aren't you lucky?” 

“Honestly I feel like my luck has been weird ever since I came to this world. I mean, one minute I get to be in a relationship with real princesses, and the next I’m turned into a baby. But, a quiet moment with a good friend, of course I feel lucky to get that,” I said as I laid down on the sand and watched a lone cloud roll across the sky. Jason laid down next to me, putting  his hands behind his head. 

“This is nice...” He muttered, sighing softly.

“Yeah, don’t know if it’s the sound of the waves, the refreshing breeze, or memories of good times, but the beach just has a way to relax me.” I mused with a short yawn. A few minutes of silence passed before I decided to break it. “There’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you,” I said, rolling over to face him.

“What's that?” He asked, turning his head to look at me.

“How did you figure out I was faking that whole baby routine back at the zebra village?”

“It's not that hard, Vash, Poison Joke doesn't have secondary effects.”

“And you didn’t let Zecora know about me faking it because…?”

“Wasn't a fan of the sexism.” He shrugged, closing his eyes.

“Yeah, me either,” I chuckled. “Though bath time nearly made the punishment worthwhile.”

“I bet it did...” Jason smirked. ”You know, I still need to teach you to dance...”

I didn’t quite understand what he meant, staring blankly for a little bit before realization dawned on me. “Oh yeah, you did say that you’d do that. Nearly forgot due to everything else that happened,” I laughed as I scratched my cheek.

“You're going to scratch your cheek raw,” Jason teased, looking at me.

“Gotta wonder if you’ll cause my arm to go numb first,” I teased back. Jason smirked, socking me in the arm again. “See, that one didn’t hurt nearly as much as the others,” I laughed.

“I wasn't trying.” Jason laughed, looking up at the sky.

“Pretty sure you’d rip my arm off if you were,” I said with a roll of my eyes before sitting up.

“And beat you with it. Fatality!” Jason joked, giggling to himself.

“I’m glad you find that so funny,” I said with a roll of my eyes. “For some reason all I can picture is you shouting, “stop hitting yourself!” while bitch-slapping me with my own dismembered hand.” Jason burst out laughing, holding his stomach as he rolled around. He stopped suddenly, sitting straight up. “Uhh… you okay there Jay?” I asked with a quirked brow, shuffling a bit closer to him. He grabbed my hand, quickly placing it over his stomach. My eyes widened a bit when I felt something thump against my hand. “Was that..?” I asked, unable to finish the question. Jason just nodded, a bright smile on his face. “Wow… just wow,” I breathed, a smile matching Jason’s on my face. “Seems like the baby is growing just fine. Little thing’s got a strong kick for something that isn’t even born yet,” I said, a hint of pride in my tone. 

“Yeah well, look at who his parents are.” Jason laughed, never losing his smile.

“Nah, I think the strength’s all you,” I beamed, patting Jason’s stomach. “If the baby’s a looker with brains, then that we can claim came from me.”

“Hahaha.” Jason gave me a flat, unamused look. “Perhaps I'll just make you a baby again....”

“Do it, and I’ll dump Poison Joke on you after the baby’s born,” I told him with narrowed eyes.

“Yeah? Being a preteen is better than being a baby.” He countered.

“Then maybe I’ll just find some of that Giggle Leaf to use on you. Or I should ask the castle alchemist, Eye Of Newt to whip up something fun to use on you.”

“Oh yeah? Ill have Hodge turn you into a Diamond Dog. In heat.”

“If you’re trying to intimidate me, it won’t work,” I countered with a nervous gulp. He got a devious smirk, one of his eyes becoming like Hodge’s. I started to tremble a bit and sweat formed on my brow. “Yup… totally not going to intimidate me, heh heh.” He moved his hand up, about to snap his fingers. I flinched and snapped my eyes closed, preparing for the worst.

‘Oh god, I’m about to find out how awful heat is, aren’t I?’ I thought. I then cautiously opened my eyes, only to find Jason inches from my face.

“Boo!”

“Gyahh!” I cried, more surprised than scared (honestly), as I shot up and fell flat on my back. Jason fell back, laughing his ass off at me “You are such a jerk sometimes,” I grumbled and sat up. “Threatening me with the reality warper that lives in your head is just playing dirty.”

“Oh, who said it was just a threat? Woof woof.” He smirked at me.

“If I look at myself and find out I’m a Diamond Dog… I’m not sure what I’ll do. I might finally snap,” I deadpanned, looking down at my body. I was still me thankfully. “Well, looks like what remains of my sanity will remain intact for today,” I sighed in relief. 

Jason moved over, leaning on me. “At least until we get somewhere private. I got the perfect collar for you...”

“That had better be a joke,” I grumbled, “I’d like to think I’ve been turned into enough things for a lifetime. Though, I’m starting to think I’ll eventually become every sapient species this planet has to offer if I’m around you long enough,” I finished with a weak chuckle and a shake of my head. Jason didn't seem to be joking, giving me a rather sultry look. I blushed deeply and made it a point not to look at him. “Uhh… so… has the baby stopped kicking yet?” I asked with a nervous chuckle as I scratched my cheek. “Or has it calmed down?”

Jason blinked, shaking his head. “That was weird...” He grumbled rubbing his neck.

“Yeah, for a second there it was like you were suggesting… um, you know what, don’t worry about it. It’s probably just an effect of the pregnancy… Either that or Hodge could’ve been screwing with us there,” I suggested with a quick laugh.

“Well...maybe I was suggesting it...” Jason blushed, looking away.

“Oh…” I said, trying to come up with something to say. “Well… I mean… I wouldn’t exactly say no to anything I guess.”

Jason groaned. “I think I'm developing another personality...”

“Do you know which scan is getting the personality?” I asked. “I mean the most recent scans you’ve gotten are, Zecora, Morning, and pegasus me.”

“I couldn't tell...” Jason shrugged, leaning on me.

“So, how many personalities would that make this?” I asked with a chuckle. “If you keep it up you’ll have an entire apartment complex of people living in your greymatter.”

“Do you wanna be a diamond dog after all?”

“That depends, would you scratch behind my ear like you did when I was a foal?” I asked, joking… mostly.

“Yes, yes I would.” He nodded.

“I dunno, considering I’ve already been a baby, being a diamond dog is probably a step up. Though I would lose my dashing good looks…” I paused, pretending to consider it with a smile on my face.

“You'd gain an awesome rack though.” Jason teased, poking my chest.

“True, I could potentially have more breasts than that Martian hooker from Total Recall,” I said. “The fact I’d be in heat might be a problem though.” 

“Eh, I'm sure I could satisfy you.” Jason waved dismissively.

I started to laugh and looked down at Jason with a large smile on my face. “This is certainly an interesting conversation to add to my list of memories associated with the beach. Family outings and now a discussion about getting turned into a dog-like creature and having sex while like that.”

“I hope good memories at least.” Jason pulled away, brushing some sand off himself.

“For the most part,” I chuckled. “Though my dad teased me for a while saying that a male lifeguard was my first kiss after needing mouth to mouth. But looking back on that now… that’s a pretty good memory too.” Jason chuckled shaking his head.

“But, back to dog thing. I bet you’d make a great bitch.” He teased, a grin on his face.

“You mean like how you make for a great mommy,” I teased back. “Also, lay off the puns, terrible jokes are my schtick,” I warned with a fake glare. Jason glared back, crossing his arms over his chest. “Is that look for the mommy comment, or the obvious joke about you laying off the puns?” I asked with a sigh.

“Gee, Vash lighten up, I'm just messing with ya.” Jason shook his head, his posture relaxing.

“You are one of the few people that’s ever told me to lighten up. Also, that fake glare of yours is pretty convincing.”

“I get it from Loki.” He beamed, laughing a bit.

“Well, according to Hel you’ve gotten more than that from him,” I laughed. 

“Ok you must really want me to make you my bitch “ Jason raised his hand again, looking serious.

“H-hey, it was just a joke,” I stuttered, throwing my hands up defensively. “There’s no need to change my species… and genitals over it.”

He just laughed, getting up. “Come on, let's go get something to drink.”

“Alright,” I said, letting out a sigh of relief. “Y’know, when you think about it, I’m already your bitch. The change of species would just be a formality.”

“Think we should do it before I go?” Jason brushed the sand off himself, heading back up to the pier.

“Uhhh…” I started, not sure what to say about that. “I’d have to get back to you on that. For now, let’s just go get something to drink. And maybe a bite to eat. I’m willing to bet you’re hungry again,” I chuckled, glancing at his stomach. As if on cue it rumbled, proving me right.

“Yup. Let's go eat them out of house and home.” He grinned, rubbing his belly.

“I almost feel sorry for these people,” I sighed and shook my head. 

We continued to walk back up into the village proper, looking for a place that seemed to serve good food. In the end we decided to just go with the place that had the best smells coming from it. We walked inside and it seemed like your typical look that you’d expect from a bar frequented by sailors and I’m guessing pirates. The one thing that seemed strange was a soft singing that seemed to be hiding under the din of the crowd. I ignored that and pulled out a chair for Jason before taking a seat of my own.

“Looks like a fun place,” I said as I looked at a group of minotaurs and ponies laughing and arm wrestling.

“Too bad I can't drink...” Jason muttered, looking a little sad.

“Don’t worry about it,” I said, patting him on the shoulder. “We could always share a celebratory drink once the baby’s born… though we’d have to be careful not to get you pregnant all over again,” I snickered.

“How about next time I knock you up?” Jason asked semi-seriously

“That would be pretty fair I guess.” I shrugged. “Whether or not we get blackout drunk before we do that I’ll leave up to you,” I winked.

“Oh I’m going to hold you to that.” Jason smirked. He waved over a waiter, his stomach growling again. The waiter gave Jason a strange look for his bikini before smiling at us in that way all waiters do.

“Hello there, how may I serve thee today.”

“Well what do you have?” Jason asked, looking up at him.

“We have a variety of items available due to serving various species. We have meals that are designed for, griffins, ponies, and minotaurs.” He then listed off a few items based around catering each of those species. No shock, most of the items for griffins revolved around fish.

Jason sighed, ordering some fish, disappointed he couldn't get any actual meat. I rolled my eyes at his antics and ordered two separate dishes. Figuring I’d need to do so considering Jason would likely steal some of my food. The waiter nodded and turned and quickly brought us our drinks and assured us the food would be out shortly. I ended up just getting juice in an attempt to not make him jealous.

“I’m sure we’ll like the food we get,” I assured him, sipping my drink.

“Smells good...” He agreed, closing his eyes, taking a deep breath.

“Well, this area is famous for its food. I’d hope this stuff smells good. Though knowing our luck…” I blinked, stopping before I could potentially invoke Murphy again.

“Don't finish that sentence...” Jason hissed at me, narrowing his eyes.

“So… have you noticed that singing yet?” I asked in a whisper, chuckling nervously. “I don’t know if you can hear it, but it seems to be soft, yet able to compete with the crowd’s noise.” 

“Singing?” Jason asked, looking around. “What singing?”

“Wait, you can’t hear it?” I asked, confused. “Is my hearing better than yours, or is there some other reason you can’t hear it?” I closed my eyes and swiveled my head, trying to find the source of the sound. “Hmm, can’t tell where it’s coming from,” I relented.

“Just keep an eye on it.” Jason leaned back, closing his eyes, listening to the crowd himself.

“Don’t you mean an ear out?” I chuckled. He just sighed in exasperation. I continued to listen, but still wasn’t able to figure anything out about where the sound was coming from. “Hmm, can you see if anyone in the crowd looks like they’re singing?” I asked, eyes still closed.

“Not really...just a bunch of people talking.” Jason shrugged, looking around.

“Hmm, maybe this siren is hiding somewhere?” I suggested. “Like in a backroom somewhere, or even underneath this place?”

“Why don't you invoke Murphy so they’ll show up?” Jason asked, giving me a smug look.

“Do you really think it’ll work if I’m trying to do it on purpose?”

“I dunno but it’s better than just sitting here.”

“Okay, it’s not like the siren will just show up and fall into our laps,” I sighed, rolling my eyes.

“Anything?” Jason asked, looking around again.

“I don’t think so,” I admitted. “See, invoking Murphy does nothing,” I laughed. “What happened earlier was just coincidence.” Jason just smirked, crossing his legs, waiting. “What?” I asked, arching a brow. “Why are you looking at me like…” I didn’t get a chance to finish that sentence because the ceiling opened up with a loud *crash* and I felt something land on me and sending me sprawling to the floor. 

“Owie, what happened to me?” A young sounding female voice asked from atop my back.

‘Ugh, fuck you Murphy,’ I thought with a groan.

“You fell through the ceiling.” Jason commented, looking at her. “And your name is...?”

“Oh, it’s Mezza Blaze,” She answered, a smile evident in her tone. “Who art thou?”

“You may know me as...Jacqueline.” Jason looked at her, sitting forward.

“Oh, that’s an interesting name,” Mezza nodded. “T’is a pleasure to meet thee, Jacky.” Mezza seemed to beam.

‘Has Jason forgotten that she’s sitting on me?’ I wondered to myself. ‘Or is he just screwing with me again?’

“Why exactly were you on the roof?” He questioned, raising his eyebrow.

“Oh, I was gathering… uh… I mean, just enjoying the pleasant breeze with a friend of mine.” She chuckled.

“Hey, Vash, what was that about Murphy? Because it seems like we found our siren,”  Jason commented, a smug tone in his voice 

“Vash?” Mezza asked. “Who is that, and why didst thou look at me when thou asked that?”

“Jason, just help me off the floor or I’ll make sure you stay in that bikini until you go home,” I groaned, twitching a bit.

“Yeah? How ya gonna do that?” Jason commented with a  frown.

“I’m a crafty guy, I’ll figure something out.”

My voice seemed to get Mezza’s attention and looked down at me. “Oh! I was wondering why I was sitting on something soft!” She offered, jumping to her hooves. “I am very sorry about that.”

I got up and got a good look at our siren, and cute was the first thing that popped into my head. She had light purple fur with purple eyes and a long light blue mane with teal stripes in it. My annoyance nearly died on the spot.

“Yeah, it’s fine.” I sighed, slumping over.

“Heh Vash, don't fall under her spell or anything.” Jason commented with a frown.

“Y’know, just because I’m a sucker for a cute face doesn’t mean I’m completely unaware when I’m being manipulated,” I frowned at him. “What, would you be jealous if I didn’t pay enough attention to you?” I asked, joking and winking at him.

“Umm… I’m not a siren,” Mezza chuckled nervously, rocking back and forth on her hooves. “And I was certainly not planning on feeding on any adoration here.”

“Yes you were fish lady.” Jason gave her a look. “Now sit down and talk with us.”

“But I’m not a siren,” Mezza repeated with a pout before seeming to get an idea in her head. “See?!” She beamed, hiking up her blue chiton and showing off one of her legs. “See, hoof and leg, not a fish tail.”

“You can shapeshift. I know, not only can I shapeshift but one of my best friends is a siren.” Jason gestured for her to sit down. Mezza pouted again before sitting down.

“Well, maybe we should’ve ordered something other than… well, what we ordered considering who our guest is,” I said, gesturing toward Mezza, sitting to her left and Jason to her right.

“Well did we know our guest was going to show?” Jason asked before looking at Mezza. “So, you're here to feed?”

“Umm, maybe,” Mezza whispered with a weak smile. “Oh… sister is going to be so mad at me,” she muttered.

“Eh you’ll be fine.” Jason assured, giving a smile.

“Yeah, I’m sure your sister will understand. It’s not like you could know that this place had a weak roof.”

“Perhaps,” she muttered again, not sounding convinced.

“What's your sister’s name?” Jason asked with a smile.

“Fortissima Dusk,” Mezza sighed, putting her head down on the table.

“...You wouldn't happen to know a Dazzle would you...?”

“Yes, Capella Dazzle, she’s one of our best friends,” Mezza smiled happily. “Even if she can be truly grumpy at times.”

“I-i have no words....” Jason sighed, letting his head hit the table.

“What is it Jason? Is there something about that name?”

“Vash, the sirens I know are Adagio Dazzle, Aria Blaze and Sonata Dusk. Yes there is definitely something...”

“Oh… yeah, sounds like we’ve run into possible family.” I nodded.

“Um… what are the two of thee talking about?” Mezza asked, tilting her head and looking between us. “I am not sure I understand, but those names are very pretty,” she smiled.

“Oh nothing, nothing...” Jason lifted his head up in thought. “Mezza, do you know any sirens named Requiem?”

“Um, I think so,” Mezza started, tapping her chin in thought. “Is she green… or was she… um..? Fortissima has a better memory than I do, she might know the details better than I do.”

“Uh...yeah actually...” Jason nodded, looking rather surprised.

“Oh, then yes I do know a Requiem,” Mezza nodded happily.

“I...was not expecting that...” Jason blinked.

“What is it now?” I asked, whispering to him.

“Requiem is my siren form.” He whispered back.

“Seriously? Next you’ll be saying that you’ll run into a pony in your world that looks… like… my pegasus form.” I paused, blinking a bit before letting out a sigh. “I just invoked Murphy again, didn’t I?”

“At this rate, you’re going to end up his bitch.” Jason smirked. 

“Would you quit saying…” 

My sentence was interrupted by the door opening up and the mare from before along with an unfamiliar one that had a massive amount of curly hair. The two of them spotted Mezza and started to sing. It was really beautiful. Rising and falling at all the right moments. I hate myself for saying it, but it was really pitch perfect stuff.

“Jason, I think we should…” I started before I found it was hard to think, let alone talk. Jason shook his head, putting a hand on his forehead. He held his hand out, attempting to cast a spell.

I saw what he was trying to do, and reached for my revolver. Thinking that the bang would distract them and stop their song. Unfortunately, the room started to spin and I collapsed face-first. 

“Fuck...” I heard Jason mutter, falling out of his chair, landing next to me. After that, I blacked out, though I was fairly certain I heard the faint sound of Mezza gasping. 

I don’t know how much time passed, though a tried to sit up, only to notice that I was wrapped up in chains. I rolled over and found Jason still unconscious and wrapped up like me.

“Jason, you okay?” I asked, shuffling my arms to see if I could find some way to escape. Jason groaned, still obviously out of it. “Hey, wake up. We’ve been kidnapped and you’re the powerhouse between the two of us.”

“Huh?” Jason asked, lifting his head up, looking rather bleary eyed.

“Aww, did you have a nice nap?” I asked with a sarcastically sweet tone.

“C-can’t think...” He groaned, shaking his head a few times, blinking.

“That could be the chains tightly wrapped around us,” I sighed. “Also, those sirens are nowhere to be seen. We also seem to be in a building so I’m guessing we’re back where they live.” Jason nodded weakly, closing his eyes again.

“I can't believe they got us...” He muttered to himself.

“They had the element of surprise,” I sighed. “Plus Mezza’s singing before those two showed up probably made us more susceptible to their song. Now, this is not the time to complain about something going wrong. We need to collect ourselves and see if we can find a way out of here. So,  can you use any magic?”

“I can't concentrate...” He shook his head, looking at me. We both looked away, hearing voices approaching. We both glared a bit when the door opened up, revealing all three of the sirens.

“Well, it seems we were right to bring thee back here. My little sister seemed to let thee know who we really are,” Fortissima said, glaring at Mezza a bit.

“Was that really any reason to knock us out and put us in chains?” I asked with a weak smile. “I mean, I would’ve been fine with this, but you needed to give me a safeword first.”

“It's not my fault!” Mezza whined, looking at her sister, her ears pinned back.

“Let me out!” Jason growled, it seemed he was coming out of his weakened state.

“Wouldst thou kindly be quiet?” Cappella growled. “Thou are not in any position to be making demands.”

“Oh… that might not have been the right thing to say,” I sighed.

“What art thou muttering about over there?” Fortissima asked.

“Oh, just wondering if these chains are made of magic suppressing materials,” I said, turning my head away. “Because if they aren’t then I’d suggest you start running.”

“And what wilt thou do if they are not made of such materials?” Cappella asked with narrowed eyes.

“Not me, her,” I replied, moving my head in a way to indicate Jason. Jason growled, the chains holding him starting to frost over, cracking as they froze solid. A moment later they  shattered, allowing Jason to get to his feet. “And you done fucked up,” I sighed. “I’d start asking your god for mercy… because she’s fresh out of it.” I said in a dark tone. “Oh, before you do anything though Jay, could you be a dear and get me out of my chains? My nose itches and it’s kind of getting annoying to deal with.” Jason took a few breaths hitting me with a wave of ice, freezing my own chains. I flexed my arms, shattering the frozen metal and standing up next to Jason before scratching my itch. “Thanks, really lucky they didn’t use better chains, huh?” 

Jason took a stepping forward, glaring at the girls, narrowing his eyes. The three of them seemed to be nervous about what he was about to do and started trembling and the two sisters were secretly holding each other’s hands.

“P-please don’t be angry,” Mezza pleaded. “We weren’t doing anything bad, we promise. We just needed to eat in secret because ponies and minotaurs don’t like sirens.”

Jason just snorted, moving closer, not saying a word, frost forming under his feet with each step.

“Umm, Jason, are you okay?” I asked, putting a hand on his shoulder. Seeing we were distracted, Cappella nodded at the others, starting to sing again. Before the singing could have a real effect on me, I drew my revolver and unloaded the thing in their direction. They all fell to their knees in shock and gaped at the smoking barrel of my gun. “Yeah, none of that. Otherwise you’ll have to deal with me too.” They just nodded, their ears most likely still ringing.

Jason let out a roar before collapsing against a wall, panting heavily. “That...was not fun...”

“What was that?” I asked, keeping my revolver out as I walked over to him. “You didn’t seem like yourself for a second there.” 

“Orm was pissed...” Jason closed his eyes, sliding down to the floor, looking exhausted again.

“That’s the one that wanted to eat me, wasn’t it?” I asked with a gulp. He nodded, trying to catch his breath.

“Umm, what just happened?” Mezza asked, clearly confused.

“You three just got lucky, that’s what,” I answered. “See, Jacky here has some unique powers. And she nearly lost control of them. If she hadn’t snapped out of that state, you three, along with god knows what else, would’ve become a smear on the floor. And your singing would’ve most likely just made things worse.”

“Umm, then I suppose we should thank thee for stopping our song,” Fortissima nodded, starting to calm down.

“I was trying to help Jacky more than you three,” I admitted. “But you’re welcome.” I then turned back to Jason. “Are you starting to feel better?”

“Yeah...I'm good.” He nodded, getting to his feet, swaying a little. I went to his side and grabbed onto him.

“Easy there, don’t want you to collapse.” Jason nodded. 

“Thanks,” he said, leaning on me. He looked at the sirens, narrowing his eyes.

“We art sorry for this,” Fortissima sighed. “But we could not afford our secret exposed.”

“Whatever.” Jason snorted. “Show us how to get out of here.”

“Okay, but maybe we should feed you first?” Mezza offered with a nervous smile. “We did interrupt thy meal, and it would only be right to make it up to thee.”

“Jacky, what do you think? Should we let them feed us?” I asked, looking down at him.

He sighed, nodding. “Kid's starving...”

“Well, you heard the lady, we can stay for a bite to eat,” I said with a smile before narrowing them and a dark smile on my face. “But if one of you even thinks of singing.” I paused chuckling a bit. “Well, you’ll end up like that wall behind you.” I finished, using my revolver to gesture behind them. The three turned their heads and paled a bit when they saw the bullet holes. They nodded and led us through what seemed to be their home. They led us to a dining room and Jason and I sat down across from each other.

“The food shall not be long,” Capella said. “Mezza is not good at much, but she can cook.”

“Hey! There is no need to be so mean, Capella!” Mezza huffed with a cute pout as she put on an apron.

“Just as long as it’s food...” Jason grumbled, laying his head down on the table.

“Do not worry, I will make something delicious, and good for thy baby inside thee!” Mezza cheered before turning to her cutlery. “Hmm, should I cook crab, or shrimp?” She mumbled to herself. “I’ll just do both,” she concluded with a smile.

“See, we’re going to get some home cooked food. And from the sound of it, we’re going to get quite a bit of it,” I assured Jason as I leaned back in my chair.

“Good, I could eat a horse...” Jason muttered, his stomach growling.

If Fortissima and Capella heard Jason’s turn of phrase, they didn’t bother reacting it. Fortissima then sat down next to me and stared at my revolver.

“I knew thy weapon was strange when I first saw it, but I did not think it would be capable of what it did,” she said, her eyes not leaving the gun.

“Yeah,” I chuckled holding up the revolver and spinning it on a finger. “It’s a one of a kind thing.”

“How does it work?” She asked.

“Hmm, if I told you, you probably wouldn’t believe me,” I laughed.

“With  a weapon such as this, thou must be quite the warrior,” she said in a strange tone.

“Eh, it's a gun. The weapon matters less than the one using it.” Jason cast a glance at her, resting his head in his hands.

“Yeah, and the one using it is more of a lover than a fighter,” I laughed, holstering my gun.

“Thou seemed more than willing to fight a moment ago,” Fortissima giggled.

“I had proper motivation,” I dismissed. “I’m really just a simple guy who takes pleasure in simple things. Give me a stiff drink, and a lovely lady to share it with and I’m more than happy. And occasionally working down in my forge.”

“Give me some booze, good music and people to kill.” Jason shrugged, a smirk growing across his face 

“Well, it seems the two of thee share at least one interest,” Fortissima chuckled nervously, uncomfortable with that last comment.

“Yeah, we’ve already indulged in that shared interest together,” I chuckled, rubbing the back of my head.

“It really sucks to be stuck in one form...” Jason grumbled, shooting a glare at me.

“Some of us like being in just one form,” I shot back, arms crossed over my chest. “Though I’ve already been forcibly changed on more than one occasion. And one of those occasions was because of you.”

“That was your own fault for peeping on misandrist amazons.” Jason shot back.

“I was referring to the Valerie incident,” I replied. “I’ll admit that peeping wasn’t the best idea. And I do regret it… mostly.” 

“Hey, Hodge did that not me.”

“He lives in your head. And I’m sure he’s giggling to himself right now and thinking of new things to turn me into.”

“Dost thou understand anything they art saying?” Fortissima asked Cappella and she just shrugged.

Jason laid his head back down, starting to sing softly to himself. He got rather into it, much to the sirens’ interest

“It's called ‘the nameless song.’ Jason informed before going back to singing. He actually had a very lovely voice all things considered.

“Heh, adding some music to go with our dinner. If I didn't know better, I’d assume you were trying to seduce me,” I teased.

“That is a nice tune,” Mezza commented, not turning from chopping what looked like spices. Jason kept singing, closing his eyes and swaying to the tone. Our siren hosts joined in, though there didn’t seem to be any magic in their voices this time. Even though this was their first time hearing the song, they harmonized rather well with him. I just chalked it up to natural talent that comes from being a siren. Eventually the song came to an end and I was left stunned.

“You can take it either as hopeful or melancholy. “ Jason smiled, looking at me.

“I definitely got a hopeful vibe from it,” I told him with a smile,  breaking out of my stupor. “And you ladies have lovely voices when you're not knocking me unconscious,” I told the sirens.

“Umm, thank thee?” Fortissima replied, not sure what to make of my statement.

“So...food?” Jason asked, looking at our cook.

“I only have a salad ready at the moment if that would work for now,” Mezza offered turning back to Jason. “The rest needs a just a little longer.”

“No...” Jason sighed. “Not a fan of salad...”

“Come on Jacky, you’ve got to eat a balanced diet so the baby comes out healthy,” I said.

“Do you know what a balanced diet for a Jotun is? Because I don't.” Jason retorted, raising his eyebrow.

“Uhh… snow cones?” I joked with a shrug.

“That was bad and you should feel bad...”

“I regret nothing, Zoidberg,” I shot back with a grin. He glared, tossing a snowball at my head. “I’m getting the distinct feeling you didn’t like being compared to a talking space lobster,” I stated evenly, the snow falling off my face.

“Bingo.” Jason smirked, tossing another one at me.

“Alright, the food is ready,” Mezza grinned, holding a few steaming platters and setting them on the table in front of us. “I hope it's good,” she said with a hopeful grin. I took a good look at it and my mouth started watering at the sight of the pasta and all the different sauces.

“It certainly looks and smells good,” I commented, having to stop myself from drooling as I picked up my silverware. “Jacky, what do you think?” he was already starting to eat, not caring about manners. “Yeah, saw that coming,” I chuckled as I took my first bite. My eyes widened and tears nearly started falling. “Mezza, this food is so good I’ve nearly fallen in love with you.”

She giggled at that and waved her hand dismissively. “Oh stop, thou art flattering me.”

“I never flatter my dear, I merely tell the truth poetically,” I replied with a charming smile, a sparkle in my eye.

“He’s such an ass kisser.” Jason wiped his mouth. “This is really good!” He complimented, diving right back in.

“I prefer to kiss the other end rather than the ass,” I laughed as I dipped a piece of bread in some sauce. “And my tendency to kiss asses meshes well with your tendency to kick them.”

“Or stab them.” Jason smirked, tossing a shrimp into his mouth.

“Stabbing an ass would be like stabbing the Mona Lisa,” I deadpanned.

“I have no qualms doing it.”

“You are such a savage,” I sighed dramatically. “I can only hope our child knows how to respect beauty.”

“I just hope they don't take after Loki...” Jason said with a shudder.

“Yeah, I can understand that. For one thing, I don’t know how I’d feel about having a giant serpent or wolf for a grandchild,” I joked with a quick laugh.

“I meant personality wise. Do you have any idea how much of an asshole he is? I mean seriously, the guy defined the word douchebag!” Jason ranted, his eye twitching 

“Calm down, I'm sure the kid won't be anything like him,” I assured. “Want me to invoke Murphy to make sure they don’t?” I asked with a smile.

“Sure why not...can't bite us in the ass at all...” He mumbled, rolling his eyes.

“It’s not like our kid is going to grow up to be a good person or anything,” I sighed, rolling my eyes. “There, Murphy invoked.”

Jason just nodded, going back to his meal, making a bit of a mess. I just chuckled and rolled my eyes at him. “I can’t take you anywhere, can I? You eat like a shark on a feeding frenzy.”

“Bite me.” Jason smirked, laughing a little.

“T’is fine, Vash, Cappella will clean it up later,” Fortissima smiled. Cappella on the other hand rolled her eyes and muttered something unpleasant. “So, dost thou know any songs, Vash?” She asked. “Perhaps it is a bit silly, but we always do like to hear new music.”

I quirked an eyebrow and slowed my eating a bit. “I dunno, been awhile since I’ve done any singing.”

“Don't worry about him.” Jason waved his hand dismissively. “I know a ton of songs.”

“No, I’ll try. Just might not be as good as what you did,” I warned as I tried thinking of a song. In the end, I decided to go with a classic, Misty Mountains. Like before, the sirens joined in, harmonizing with me rather quickly.  Jason rolled his eyes, obviously not a fan. I finished the song and frowned a bit at Jason. “Guess I sucked, huh?” I said, trying to laugh it off as I rubbed the back of my head.

“No, wasn't a fan of the song choice. You were good though.”

“I liked it,” Mezza chimed in. “Though it seemed kinda sad.”

“It wasn’t… awful,” Cappella shrugged.

“I liked it as well,” Fortissima nodded. “The two of thee certainly have interesting songs to share.”

“Like I said tons, from genres that haven't even been invented yet.” Jason leaned back, creating a toothpick out of ice, cleaning his teeth.

“Very true, though it’d be a lot better if we had modern instruments. We can’t shred on a lute,” I laughed.

“Oh ye of little imagination.” Jason reached into his pocket, pulling out of guitar.

“Nice, now that opens a lot more options,” I said with a thumbs up. “Gotta love having a personal pocket dimension handy.”

Jason smirked, playing a riff, his hands flying across the strings.

“Yeah, nice going showoff,” I said with a roll of my eyes. “But maybe we should introduce these ladies to something a bit lighter instead of melting their faces right away.”

“Melting our faces?” Mezza asked, confused and a little worried judging from the look on her face.

“It's an expression.” Jason chuckled, taking the time to tone the instrument.

“You thinking what I’m thinking?” I asked, looking between him and the guitar.

“No, why don't you you tell me?”

“I was thinking we start by introducing these ladies to a certain band that started the British Invasion,” I said with an ear to ear grin.

“Sounds good to me.” He nodded, strumming it with a smile. We broke out into a song, the two of us smiling as we did so. The sirens seemed interested and joined in like they had done before. We continued this for a while, going through several genres, though there was one or two songs that Jason started up that I didn’t know. Eventually we stopped, and Mezza then looked out the window and seemed to get excited.

“Sister, the sun has gone down!” she cheered, bouncing in place.

“Perfect,” she smiled, her and Capella getting up. “We art going for a swim if thou would like to join us,” she offered.

“Sure.” Jason put his guitar away, getting up. “Come on, let's get going!”

“Wow, you sure seem excited,” I chuckled. “Hmm, guess that means I’ll have to put on a swimsuit of my own.” The sirens led us out of their home and to a nearby cove, It was a rather nice and secluded spot. The sirens shrugged out of their chitons revealing a thin covering over their breasts. Then they all strode into the water and a flash of light surrounded their bodies their legs becoming a tail and some other fins appeared along their bodies.

“This is perfect,” Fortissima sighed contently and turning to Jason and I. “Come in, the water is wonderful this time of night.” Jason walked out into the water, not even caring about the cold waters.

“It's not too bad...” He commented, getting used to the water.

“Alright, you girls can start without me,” I commented, strolling over to a nearby boulder. “I’ve got to get changed. I reached into my duster and pulled out a suit, getting out of my clothes and slipping into the trunks and walking back up to the water. I dipped a toe in, nearly jumping from the temperature. “Gah! It’s like an ice tray!” I said with a shiver.

“Stop being a bitch, Vash.” Jason splashed me, seeming very much in his element.

“Last time I checked, I’m not the ice giant,” I shot back, putting my hair back after the splash.

“Oh come now Vash it’s not so bad once you…” Fortissima started, before her gaze locked onto my left arm. I noticed where she was looking and started to laugh.

“Oh yeah, forgot to tell you about this,” I said waving the arm. “Sometimes I even forget I have the thing,” I finished as I strolled into the water up to my waist, shivering all the while. “Man, must be nice being a jotun at times like these. I feel like I’m going to turn into an ice block here.”

“Aw, here let me warm you up.” Mezza swam over, wrapping her arms around me, snuggling up.

“Thanks,” I smiled down at her, feeling her body heat. “I might have to cook you something to return the favor.”

“There is no need, this feels nice,” she giggled, pressing up against me. Jason floated on his back, closing his eyes, small pieces of ice forming around him.

“Jason, are you making that ice on purpose?” I asked, starting to shiver again.

“Hmm?” He asked, lifting his head up. “Oh uh...no...sometimes it just happens...” He said rather sheepishly.

“That would be kind of cute if it wasn’t causing me to freeze my nuts off,” I chuckled keeping my teeth from chattering.

“Nuts?” Mezza repeated with a tilt of her head. “Didst thou bring snacks in thy swimming clothes?”

“Uhh no, it’s just an expression for a body part,” I explained with a laugh.

“Which body part?” She asked innocently, still clinging to me. I paused, not sure how to respond to that.

“Umm, the crotch,” I answered with a nervous chuckle.

“Oh, I could help thee warm that up if you’d like.” She sounded so innocent when she said that, but I still couldn’t help but blush.

“Umm, ya know what, I’m fine. I suddenly feel a lot warmer now.” Jason snickered, shaking his head at me I shot him a look for that just as Mezza started to tug on me.

“Come, there are spots in the water I want to show thee. If we’re lucky we may see some schools of Silver Fish,” she said with a large grin.

“Ok- Gyahh!” I cried as she started using her tail to quickly pull us through the water.

“Have fun, Vash!” Jason called after me with a laugh. Mezza continued to pull swim until Jason and the other two sirens were hard to see in the distance.

“Here we are! Tell me, how long art thou able to hold thy breath?”

“About…” I paused, back when I was human I was able to hold my breath for nearly a minute. But I wasn’t a human anymore. I had no idea how long Vash could hold his breath underwater. Considering he lived on a desert planet, I don’t think that situation came up very often. “I’m not sure, I’ll just let you know if I need to come up for air,” I told her with a shrug of my shoulders.

“Ok.” she smiled as I took a deep breath and she pulled us under the water. I wasn’t able to see much, but I could make out some basic shapes of what looked like rock formations. That was until a school of fish came by. Their scales seemed to catch the moonlight just right and allowed me to see the area much better. I continued to watch the school for a bit until I felt the need for air. I gasped for breath the instant we surfaced and smiled at Mezza.

“That was really cool. Thank you for showing me that.” She just smiled and shook her head at me.

“I should be the one to thank thee. Thou could’ve killed us with thy weapon, but thou chose to miss. Plus, Jacky and thou have not called us monsters once when thou found out about us being sirens.”

“I never was one to believe in monsters,” I laughed. “Just animals and bad people doing bad things for an infinite number of reasons. Plus, I don’t kill anyone, it’s just part of who I am.”

“Thank thee,” she repeated, giving me a bone-crushing hug with tears in her eyes.

‘Jesus, she’s a lot stronger than she looks,’ I thought as my spine popped.

“Don’t mention it,” I managed to get out. “But you’re hugging too tightly.”

“Sorry,” she replied as she loosened her grip.

“Ahh, much better. Now, were there any other spots you’d like to show me?”

She nodded and started pulling me along at breakneck speeds to the next destination. This continued for a while until she took us back to where the others were.

“You two have fun?” Jason asked, sitting on a small, floating patch of ice 

“Yeah, this area has some really cool spots,” I nodded, just letting myself float. “We should take a look during the day depending on how long you wanna stay here. Bet we could find some sort of crazy sea life that only exists on this planet.”

“Yeah well I don't exactly have access to Ripjaws...” Jason reminded, rolling his eyes.

“Oh so between your magic and that crazy hyper cube of yours you don’t have anything that would help us do some sea exploration?” I asked with a chuckle. He sighed, laying back on his patch, closing his eyes. “Guess that’s a no. Oh well, we could still find something else to do,” I shrugged. 

“I could always torment you. That never stops being fun.” Jason smirked, winking at me.

“I’m starting to wonder why I put up with all this,” I mused with a shake of my head and chuckle. “Between you and the universe in general, I always seem to end up being the butt of the joke.”

“Eh, it’ll find another punching bag at some point.” He assured, giving me a smile.

“That would still leave you using me as a punching bag,” I smiled back at him. “Plus you threaten to turn me into insane things with Hodge’s magic.

“Keep that up and I'll put you in the doghouse.” Jason warned playfully.

“What is it with you today and wanting to see me as a diamond dog?” I laughed. “Does it have something to do with that new personality you thought you were developing?”

“Oh Yggdrasil... I'm developing a voice of lust...” Jason groaned softly.

“Heh, it’s like you have a little me or Zinnia whispering in your head now,” I chuckled. “Though I’d lean more towards her, she had more of a thing for using collars than I do.” Jason just groaned, burying his head in his hands. “Oh come on, it can’t be that bad,” I said with a roll of my eyes. “Considering you have a voice in your head that wants to eat people, I think one that likes sex is a giant upgrade.”

“Just...shut up will ya...?”

“I’ll try, but it’s never been my strong suit,” I relented as I just decided to relax on the water. Jason stayed quiet and things started to get...awkward. “So… why do you think the omnitrix started making this new personality?”  

“Oh no, I don't think it was the watch.” Jason shook his head. “Probably formed from all the sex...”

I tried to hold back a snicker, letting out a weird snorting sound, but eventually I started laughing and had to collect myself. “Sorry, just found that funny for some reason. Have other personalities popped up due to you doing something a lot?”

“No...this is a first...” He grumbled, looking away.

“Man, that is weird,” I shook my head. “So, still don’t know which form has the new personality?”

“No idea.” Jason shock his head.

“Would Hodge know?” I wondered. “Or is the personality still forming so it’s still hard to tell?”

“Vash. I. Don’t.Know.” Jason spoke, annoyance in his voice 

“Sorry, I was just trying to help,” I sighed. “So… this little cove the sirens have here is nice,” I said, awkwardly trying to change the subject.

“Yeah...wait...where did they go...?”

“Hmm,” I said, looking around. “Yeah, they don’t seem to be around. Maybe they went off to deeper waters for some reason?” I suggested. “Still, maybe we should get onto land in case they’re planning something,” I whispered. Jason nodded, slipping back into the water, swimming to shore. I came in beside him and jogged over to the rock where I left my duster. “My stuff is still here, so that’s something,” I told him as I held up my duster and holster.

“Yeah? What about your gun?” Jason asked, gesturing to the holster 

“Shit,” I hissed as I noticed the empty holster. “Good thing they didn’t seem to know about the bullets,” I said, patting the duster. “And, they don’t know about my other gun,” I said, holding up my left arm.”

“Uh girls?” Jason called out, looking around. After a moment, a nervous looking Mezza popped out.

“Um, hello,” She said with a weak smile and a wave.

“Where is Vash’s gun?”

“Fortissima and Capella said they wanted to look at it,” she admitted, flinching slightly. I told them not to, I swear!” She burst out.

“Is looking all they’re doing?” I asked, unconvinced.

“That is all they said, if they have other intentions then they did not tell me them.”

“Well then, take us to them. Now.” Jason commanded looking less than pleased. She nodded and led us back into her home. Once inside we spotted Capella and Fortissima looking the gun over and messing with it in various ways.

“How did he work this thing?” Capella asked.

“I do not know, but there seems to be slots. Perhaps something is meant to go in them?” Fortissima suggested.

“Having fun with my gun?” I asked, getting their attention.

“Oh, Vash, Jacky we did not see thee there,” Fortissima smiled weakly, holding out the gun for me to take. “Umm, we were merely curious about thy weapon.”

“Yeah, just keep being curious. Next time you try touching this without me knowing it, you’ll probably get hurt. If not by the gun itself, then by the angry Jacky who I’ll have a hard time holding back.” I warned them. “Oh, and if you think that taking that from me can keep me from being a threat, then you’re wrong,” I said with a smile.

“Well the thing is…” Fortissima shared a look with Capella and Mezza and the three started to sing. This time with magic laced in it again.

“Oh no you…” I started, trying to reveal the gunbarrel in my left arm. Trying being the key word. The music worked on me rather quickly and I collapsed to my knees, feeling dizzy and oddly warm. I managed to look over to Jason to see if he was doing any better. Jason growled, taking a step forward, cringing as he fought the effects of the song. They intensified the song, causing Jason to stumble a little. They picked up the song further, finally bringing Jason to his knees.

“Sorry about that, but that was simpler than explaining ourselves,” Fortissima explained. “Plus, I’m sure thou has noticed certain effects of our song,” she smiled. I paused for a moment, thinking about how oddly warm I felt before looking up at her. As soon as I did though, I was struck by another feeling, lust. And a whole lot of it. My body went flush and I let out a small groan of frustration.

“B-bitch...”’Jason groaned, pressing his legs together, glaring up at them.

“Oh come now, it’s not like we’re going to hurt thee,” Fortissima waved off. “And something tells me thou art going to like what we’re about to do,” she winked. Jason just blushed and I assumed the lust was getting to him too.

“Any particular reason for all this?” I asked, shifting due to my rising body heat.

“Well, it is rather lonely being the only three sirens in the area,” Fortissima answered. “Plus the two of thee are rather cute,” she added with a laugh.

“We sirens rarely get to enjoy the company of ones such as thyselves.” Mezza nodded.

‘That would make me feel kinda bad for them if I wasn’t under the influence of an aphrodisiac song,’ I thought.

“Anyway, there are three of us and only two of them, so as always Mezza, we will have to share.” Fortissima nodded over to her sister. “Ok, Capella, thou can have the first pick.”

Capella licked her lips, moving over to Jason, cupping his chin. “I do believe I'll be taking Jacky.”

I let out a growl, trying to move my left arm, only succeeding in making it twitch. Fortissima just laughed and leaned down to eye level with me.

“Thy attempts are admirable, but thou art under our spell now. And it seems like thou art lucky enough to have two lovers tonight instead of one.”

‘Under different circumstances, I’d be laughing about that.’ I looked up to Mezza who seemed to mouth the word “sorry” at me. 

Warning: Clop is imminent. Move on to the next marked p

Mezza moved over, stroking my chin before pulling me into a deep kiss. My eyes widened for a moment, but the effect of the song melted away any resistance I would’ve had. From the corner of my eye I noticed that Cappella had pulled Jason into a kiss as well. Only hers seemed a lot more wild than the one Mezza was giving me.

Jason just closed his eyes, doing his best to keep himself controlled.

“Just imagine sister...” Fortissima licked her lips, looking me over. “The child Vash could sire...” 

‘Oh… that can’t be a good thing for me.’ I thought worriedly. Though that seemed to encourage Mezza because her kiss intensified and she started trying to take off my duster. Fortissima laughed, tapping her sister’s shoulder and pulling her away.

“Thou can keep removing Vash’s clothing, but I would like a taste as well,” she said as she pulled me into a kiss as well, adding tongue instantly. Before I knew it, all my clothes were off and I was exposed before the two sirens.

“Well, that is certainly a pleasant surprise,” Fortissima purred, looking between my legs.

“I was not expecting that...” Mezza added, looking over her sister’s shoulder.

“True, the last male we brought in wasn’t nearly this big. Though he was also a disappointment in more ways than one. But thou art not anything like that, art thou Vash?” She asked with a smouldering look.

“I-I’ve been known to please a woman or two in my time,” I replied, compelled to answer her.

“Perfect, as I said, we do not get to enjoy the company of others often, so I’d like to enjoy this to the fullest,” she winked, reaching down and grabbing me. She started to stroke me slowly, causing me to moan softly as I hardened completely. I glanced back over to Jason to see how he was faring.

Cappella was all over him, slowly, almost teasingly pulling his bikini off. Jason kept kept himself silent, though his breathing was getting faster.

“Thy companion has quite the will...” Fortissima commented, running her hands over my chest. 

“Or maybe your little song isn’t as strong as you think,” I chuckled weakly, trying not to react to her touch.

“It seems to work on thee well enough,” She giggled as Mezza’s hands joined hers.

“I’m always a horny bastard,” I said with a shudder. 

“If thou says so,” Fortissima replied with a smirk as she laid me down. “If thou does not mind, Mezza, I will take the first turn with Vash,” she said as she sat down on my stomach. She reached behind her and grabbed my length as she started sliding down to my hips. She then lifted herself up and started to hover above my hips. “Art thou ready Vash?” I didn’t bother answering, just before she lowered herself down, taking half of my length in one go. “Ahh!” Fortissima called out, smiling down at me. “This has truly been worth the long wait. I do not even know if I will be able to fit all of thee inside me,” she laughed, starting to sink down on me slowly. I groaned, throwing my head back a bit, allowing me to see what Jason and Cappella were up to.

Jason finally let out a moan, Cappella’s head in-between his legs.

“I am curious Vash, what is that thing on Jacky’s wrist?” Mezza asked, rubbing my pecs.

“Oh… just a piece of jewelry,” I lied, letting out a groan as Fortissima hilted herself on me.

“Come now, no need to lie...” Mezza pouted, kissing at my neck.

I moaned again and smiled weakly at her. “Heh, it’s uh… kind of a tool to understand different cultures,” I answered.

“How so?” She asked, nipping at my ear.

“By becoming other species,” I groaned, starting to move my hips in tandem with Fortissima.

“Really now? Tell us more ..” She implored, smiling down at me.

“Sorry, that’s all I know,” I lied again, angling my hips and thrusting up in an attempt to distract her.

“Now, now, Vash, stop lying to us.” Mezza frowned, biting my neck.

“Even if I told you anything,” I said with a wince. “You wouldn’t be able to get it off her wrist.”

“We’ll see for ourselves, now talk...” She commanded, licking my neck.

“Heh, that wasn’t a lie,” I chuckled weakly. “And if you try to hurt her then it’ll take more than a song to save you.”

“Oh? Than why don't you tell us about her, since you're so confident...”

“Fine, it’s able to scan life forms and lets the wearer become whatever scans it has available. Plus, it fuses to its wearer and messing with it without knowing what you’re doing can result in a massive explosion,” I answered quickly.

“Is that all?” She pressed, kissing at my chest.

“I’m sure there’s more, but those are the important bits I can remember.”

“That is such an amazing piece of armor...” Cappella pushed Jason onto his back, climbing on top of him. She ran her hand over the Omnitrix, letting out a coo of wonder as it scanned her. “To be able to become any race at will...”

‘Kind of glad I didn’t tell them about that splicing function,’ I thought. ‘Could only imagine what could happen if they got one of the crazier aliens in there.’

“I still feel like Vash is not telling us everything...” Fortissima gave me a sinister look, slowing her movements to a tortuous pace. 

“Of course I’m not,” I groaned. “Because I don’t know everything about it.”

“Oh come now, surely there’s something else you know,” she said, running a hand along my thigh.

“Nothing that would be useful,” I said shuddering slightly.

“Unless you tell us...we’ll just leave you like this...” Mezza threatened.

“Okay, there may or may not be a timer that lasts a few minutes,” I answered with a grin. “All depends on whether or not she figured out how to correct that.” Fortissima gave me a look, starting to lift off me....painfully slow… “Oh come on, that’s everything I know,” I whined.

“Tell us, Vashie...” Mezza prodded, kissing me.

“Why don’t you ask Jacky if you wanna know about it,” I panted with a hard look. “She knows the ins and outs of it better than I do.”

Jason panted, giving me a death glare.

“Alright then, we’ll just make her talk...” Mezza smiled at me, moving over to Jason and Cappella. “Is everything Vashie told us true?” She asked with a sweet smile, cupping one of Jason’s breasts.

“Y-yes...” Jason moaned out, arching his back.

“And is there anything else we should know?” Cappella asked, grabbing his other breast and tweaking his nipple.

“I-it can s-splice someone with another species...”

“Oh, can it now?” Cappella asked with a grin. “And art thou capable of doing that?” She continued, tugging at Jason’s nipple until milk leaked onto her fingers.

“Yes!” He shouted out, squirming under her touch, biting his lip.

“Very nice,” Cappella smiled as she continued to run her other hand along Jason’s body. “If thou would be a dear and do that. Then I’d be more than happy to give thee a release.”

He shook his head, doing his best to glare at her.

“Aww, won’t thou please reconsider?” Mezza asked, leaning down and giving his other nipple a quick lick.

“Eh...” Jason moaned out, squeezing his eyes shut, trying to wriggle away.

“Please?” She asked with a tilt of her head as she shared a look with Cappella and nodded, both of them wrapping their lips around Jason’s nipples and sucking sharply. Jason arched his back, his breath hitching.

“F-fine!” He cried out, whimpering softly 

“Very good,” Cappella smiled, patting Jason on the thigh. “Do thy splicing, and then thou shall be rewarded.”

Jason nodded, weakly holding his arm up. “O-Omnitrix...splice target with...Jotun DNA...” The Omnitrix flashed. Hitting Cappella with a blast of energy. She shook her head for a moment before looking herself over.

“I-I do not feel different… just a bit of hunger,” she commented. Jason dropped his arm, doing his best to sit up. “Still thou hast done something, so I suppose I should reward thee,” she shrugged, dipping her head between Jason’s legs and ran her tongue up and down the edges of his slit. He gasped, arching his back, grabbing her head. She ignored his grip and started dipping her tongue in and out of his folds before she started thumbing his clit with one hand and toying with his breast using the other.

“S-so good...” He moaned out, seemingly at her mercy. Cappella took that as her signal to start working faster, her one hand squeezing at his breast while the other started pinching and tugging on his clit and she buried her face into his folds, her nose bumping against the hand toying with his clit. He let out a cry as he climaxed, collapsing down out the floor, out cold, milk still leaking from his nipples.

“Oh that’s no fun,” Cappella pouted, extracting herself from Jason’s weak grip. “She passed out before she could pleasure me.”

“Sorry Cappella,” Fortissima giggled, starting to pick up the pace atop me. “But thou chose Jacky so perhaps thou can nurse like a newborn until she wakes up.” Mezza strode over to me, stroking at my body as Fortissima bounced on me.

“Hurry and finish, I wish to try with thee as well,” she whispered in my ear before nibbling on the lobe. I groaned as Fortissima started slamming her hips onto mine.

“Too bad Jacky is not male...” Cappella lamented, stroking Jason’s cheek.

‘Heh, if only you knew lady,’ I thought as I looked up to Fortissima, a look of pleasure on her face as her breasts bounced wildly. I shuddered as she hilted herself one last time and let out a long moan as I finally climaxed. My orgasm seemed to set off her own because she cried out and I felt her clench down on my length. After a while she slumped down and rested her head on my chest.

“That was far more satisfying than the last male we found,” she breathed, stroking my cheek with a shaky hand. 

“We are sorry to do this Vash, but this is truely the only way to keep us going. None of us have seen a male of our kind in ages...” Mezza sighed, looking away.

“Could’ve just asked,” I groaned. “If you had said all this earlier then you wouldn’t have needed to manipulate us.”

“How could we have known thou wouldst have agreed?”

“Because I can never say no to a lady in need,” I said with a weak smile. She smiled back, pulling her sister off.

“Tell us about thyself Vash and of thy companion.”

“There’s not much to say about me,” I laughed. “Most of my life has been spent studying how to make things. Other than that, I just do what I can to help others. And Jacky is pretty complicated,” I smiled. “But, she’s a good person even if she does love to torment me to no end.”

“Come now, that tells us nothing...” She got in  position, starting to slide down my length.

I moaned a bit and chuckled. “Sorry, I’m not really good at talking about myself. Anything in particular you want to know?”

“Thine exploits, what exactly thou are...” She kissed my neck, closing her eyes.

“Don’t really have any exploits. Most of what I do is down in a forge. I make weapons, armor, and helped create the aqueduct system that’s been spreading throughout Equestria. As for what I am, I’m something called a Plant.”

“And Jacky?” She asked, starting to move up and down.

“A jotun, or ice giant if you want a translated term.” I answered before letting out a small moan and matching her movements.

“Tell us about these ‘jotun’, I have never heard of them before.”

“I’m the wrong person to ask that,” I chuckled. “And you haven’t heard of them because they’re from… a faraway land. “All I really know is that they’re beings of ice, hence the name.” She seemed to accept that, kissing at my chest. I shook my head at her actions as I wrapped my arms around her and picked up the speed of my thrusts just a bit.

The others watched, with Fortissima rubbing her belly. I nearly quirked an eyebrow at that, wondering if she thought that she could tell if she was pregnant or not already. I shook that feeling off as Mezza matched my new pace and started to kiss and nibble at my neck. I moaned out loud and held onto her tighter.

“Thou art...amazing...” Mezza moaned, locking lips with me again. I accepted the kiss, giving her a bit of a squeeze to show that I heard her compliment. I started running my right hand up and down her spine, my fingers tracing along her vertebrae. She shivered, picking up her pace. I moaned into the kiss, speeding up my thrusts as I felt my orgasm approaching. I broke away from the kiss, moaning into her shoulder as I climaxed inside her. Mezza let out a long almost lyrical moan as she clenched down on me and rode out her own orgasm with a blissful expression

“T-thank thee Vash...” She stood up, catching her breath.

“Don’t mention it,” I said before I felt myself pass out from exhaustion.

Clop is over, you can go back to enjoying the plot rather than the "Plot".





“Hey...get up...” Jason commanded before giving my side a light kick.

“Ugh, please tell me last night was a dream,” I groaned as I sat up and rubbed where he kicked me.

“I honestly don't know...do you remember checking into an inn free of charge?” Jason asked, having changed back into his normal clothes. “Because I don't.”

I looked around the room we were in and spotted our things folded in a corner, including my gun in it’s holster. “Well, at least our stuff is here,” I said with a sigh of relief. “Well, if last night did really happen… and Fortissima and Mezza were looking to get pregnant. And you said you know of sirens in the future with similar names to them… then do you think…?” I asked, my brain trying to process everything.

“That you may have fathered two of the Dazzlings? Told you Murphy was a bitch.”

“Well, at least you got a scan of a siren,” I groaned, falling back onto the bed I was on.

“Hey Vash...cheer up.” Jason looked down at me, giving me a soft smile. “You helped a race keep going.”

“I wasn’t groaning because I fathered them. I was just thinking about what you said happens to the Dazzlings. If I really am the father then I’m going to need to worry about that happening to my daughters. Life just keeps throwing curve balls right into my groin.”

“Everything will be fine.” He assured me, holding his hand out. “Come on...let's go get breakfast...”

“Yeah, guess breakfast doesn’t sound so bad,” I sighed, taking his hand and getting out of bed. “Though this world is missing something for a perfect breakfast,” I said with a weak smile.

“What's that?” Jason asked, helping me up.

“Did you really just ask Vash the Stampede what makes for a perfect breakfast?” I asked with a laugh. “Donuts obviously!” Jason let out a sigh, rolling his eyes, a small smile on his face as he left the room.

“Hey!” I called after him as I scrambled to get dressed. “Wait for me!” Luckily the inn had a small restaurant on the bottom floor and we were able to grab some food. 
> Jason and Vash's Excellent Adventure: Vash's Dog Days
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	I walked down the halls of the castle with slow, thumping steps. I winced as I passed by a few windows where the sun was coming through and muttered some curses to myself. Eventually I made it to the dining hall for breakfast table and slumped down into my usual seat.

“Good morning everyone,” I yawned, putting my head down on the table.

“Hey.” Jason commented, sitting at the table, his hands resting in his stomach. He was due at any time now.

“Vash, where were thee? Thou hast been late coming to breakfast quite frequently lately,” Celestia commented, putting a hand on my shoulder.

“Sorry ‘bout that,” I said, head still planted firmly on the table. “Ever since Jason gave me that hammer I’ve been drawing up plans and working on that scale he gave me.”

“Making anything good?” Jason asked, looking at me.

“Yeah, but what I’m making is a secret.” I looked up at him with a smile. “So, how do you feel? Relieved that your nine month ordeal is almost over?”

“Yes. I can't tell you how much it sucks to be stuck like this...” Jason sighed, leaning back in his chair.

“Well, hopefully it’ll all be worth it once it’s over,” I said as my food arrived. “And hopefully you don’t have to just deal with pregnancy again once the baby’s out,” I chuckled.

“Don't forget, you did say I get to knock you up in return.” Jason smirked, winking at me.

“Just as long as this doesn’t turn into a vicious cycle of us knocking each other up,” I grinned. “Oh, how’s that griffon egg doing by the way?” As if on cue, a sharp crack filled the air. We all looked at the egg, nestled in a basket next to Jason’s feet as it wiggled around. Jason smiled, lifting the egg up as if cracked open, making sure he was the first thing the chick would see.

“Well hello there.” He cooed in mock sweetness. “Do you understand me?” The chick just turned her head at Jason in confusion, before chirping happily and nuzzling against his chest. “Well that's no fun...” He gently poked its head, his hand glowing in magic.”Hows about now?“

“Huh, what’s going on?” The chick suddenly looking around the room, confused.

“Umm Jason, why did you make the baby griffin talk?” I asked, blinking at the scene before me.

“Because then they wouldn't learn their lesson.” Jason hummed, picking the egg shell off the griffon.

“What’re ya talking about?” The baby griffin asked before looking down at herself and her eyes nearly bulging out of her tiny head. “What the hell happened to me?!” She shrieked, her wings spreading out of instinct.

“You are a hatchling.” Jason cooed. “And I'm the first thing you saw.”

“Why am I a hatchling?” She growled, gripping Jason’s dress with her talons.

“I reduced you to an egg.” Jason picked off the rest of the egg shell. “Vash, can you get me a tub of water?”

“Sure thing,” I nodded and snapped a salute as I jumped from the table and went to the kitchen. I returned shortly with a good sized tub of warm water, a bar of soap and a towel. “Here you go, everything you need for baby’s first bath,” I said with a big smile.

“Thank you.” Jason set the chick in the tub, starting to clean her up, humming a song.

“Grrr, none of you better sleep anytime soon because I’m gonna claw somebody’s eyes out over this.”

“How are you gonna do that, baby? You can't even walk.” Jason smirked at her.

“Aww, let her dream a little Jason,” I said. “It’s not good to disillusion children at her age.”

“True.” Jason nodded, pouring some water on the chicks head. “Now you need a name...how about... Valkyrie?”

“That depends, do I get to be fully grown now?”

“No, you have to do that the normal way.” Jason commented, patting her head.

“Then I like the name about as much as the rest of this situation,” she pouted the way all kids do, her arms crossed over her chest.

“You're so tiny!” Jason laughed, lifting her up, wrapping her in a towel. He laughed, drying her off, making her all puffy. “Now to get you diapered.” He conjured one up, quickly getting it on the chick. “There ya go! Comfy?”

“I am sitting in a diaper, comfy is not what comes to mind,” she shot back glaring up at Jason.

“Yeah, I’ve been there,” I sighed. “Though I only had to do it for about a week.”

“Now, do griffon chicks nurse or eat solid foods?” Jason asked, bouncing the chick.

“Well, griffons here do have breasts, so I’m guessing they nurse,” I pointed out. Jason pulled his shirt down a little, popping his nipple into her beak.  Something seemed to click in her head and instinct took over as she started to greedily nurse. “Aww, she was cranky because she was hungry,” I cooed, gushing over the chick.

“Okay, that's really weird with a beak.” Jason shuddered, rubbing Val’s back.  

“Yeah, probably because yours weren’t made for beak nursing,” I chuckled. “But it’s an adorable sight to see.”

“So...what are our plans for today?” Jason asked, looking at us

“Vash needs to take a break from his work in the forge,” Celestia commented, looking me over. “He seems to be working himself too hard.”

“Oh come on, Tia, it’s not that bad,” I dismissed.

“Vash, honey,” She cooed with a too sweet tone. “The bags under thy eyes have bags of their own. Thou art taking a break or we will be forced to do something drastic to make thee take one.”

“Thou will end up suckling from Jason’s other breast,” Luna added on.

“Okay,” I shot up, shuddering a bit, “I won’t even think about working today,” I chuckled nervously.

“Well...we still need something to do.” Jason rolled his eyes a little.

“Well, wanna see if we can get you one last scan before the baby’s born?” I suggested with a shrug. “Hopefully it’ll go better than last time,” I added with a shiver.

“Alright...” He smirked a little. “How's about...Diamond Dogs...?”

“Fine, but you’d better not make good on that threat from earlier,” I grumbled. He smirked, holding his hand up, getting ready to snap his fingers. I gulped and closed one of my eyes, watching him from the corner of my other eye. “J-Jason, I’m serious here. Don’t do it.” and...he snapped his fingers… “Gyahh!” I cried, looking myself over. “Am I… a diamond dog?” I asked with a gulp. “I can’t tell. My clothes haven’t changed so that’s a plus.”

“Need a mirror?” Jason asked.

“Jason, just tell me,” I looked at him in the eye. “Did you turn me into a diamond dog?” 

“Woof woof.”

I looked down at my gloves and pulled the right one off, revealing my hand hadn’t changed. “You just love trolling me, don’t you?” I asked with a sigh.

“Who's trolling?” He asked, reaching over, scratching my...ear… All of a sudden, my leg started to twitch and I felt something behind me move.

“Jason, these next two questions are important,” I deadpanned, trying to stop my leg’s movements. “Did you turn me into a diamond dog female, and am I in heat?” 

“Yes and yes.”

“Okay, and this is the most important question, will you please change me back before we go to a country filled with diamond dogs? I would greatly appreciate not getting pregnant with a litter of diamond puppies.”

“Hmm...no.” Jason smirked. “I made a bet with the girls here on how long you’d last.”

“Last until what? I break down into a lust-filled mess?” I asked, still trying not to panic.

“Until you start jumping someone's leg.”

“And what are you betting for?” I asked, feeling my eye twitch.

“Who gets to collar thee.” Luna winked at me with a smirk.

“Hey Jason, you probably should’ve changed my clothes when you changed my species,” I said, reaching into my duster with what was now a paw. He snapped again, my clothes changing. “Too late!” I called throwing down the smoke bomb I had managed to grab from my duster. I ran when the cloud started filling the room. Only to be stopped by something.

Morning smiled, starting to coil around me. “Where dost thou think thou art going?”

“Far away from anywhere with diamond dogs so I can deal with this heat,” I answered, struggling against her coils.

“Nope!” She smiled, rubbing her coils over my body. 

“Dammit, Jason, this isn’t funny,” I groaned, feeling my face flush.

“No! T’is hilarious!” Celestia laughed, watching the scene.

“Really? Because I’m not laughing,” I deadpanned.

Jason just chuckled, switching Val to his other breast. “Well, Vash, if you can go the whole day, I'll put the girls into heat.”

“I guess that would be fair,” I sighed as Morning let me out of her coils. “Alright, I’ll try to last the day. Are there any rules that I need to follow?” I asked, slumping over. 

“Nope, just last the day.” Jason smiled, enjoying this way too much.

“Alright, if you excuse me then I’m gonna go to my stash of booze, drink until I pass out and last the day that way,” I chuckled, walking out of the room.

“Nope! We’re still going to the diamond dogs!” Jason called and I was dragged back in by Luna’s magic.

“Oh, this is probably going to be the worst day of my life,” I gulped, my tail going between my legs.

“Oh thou art too dramatic, Vash,” Luna assured. “We art sure Jason will keep anything too traumatic from happening.”

“Ain't got nothing to worry about, Vash, you’ll be fine.” Jason assured with a smile.

“See, normally I’d say something sarcastic here, but that's bitten me in the ass the last few times I’ve done it so I'm just going to shut up and focus on anything other than sex.” I said, my arms crossed over my chest.

“Hey, Vash...help me up please?” Jason asked, holding his hand out.

“Sure, no problem,” I shrugged, taking his hand and gently helping him up. “There we go milady.”

“Thanks, Vash, really.” He gave me a sincere smile, passing Val to me while he fixed his shirt 

“Don’t mention it,” I smiled back. “So, how long did you bet I’d last?”

“Until sundown.” Jason grinned taking Val back, patting the chick’s back.

“I’m surprised,” I replied after blinking a few times. “I would’ve thought you'd bet a lot earlier than that.”

“Nah man, I have faith in ya.” Jason smiled, heading to the exit. 

I followed at his heels and let out a chuckle. “I’m betting I don’t wanna hear how long the girls thought I’d last.”

“Probably not.” Jason chuckled, letting out a whistle, bringing Zed running. “Neither of us can really fight at the moment.” 

“Yeah, I’m a little preoccupied thinking the least sexy thoughts possible. Though I might have to fight to keep the males… and possibly one out of ten females away from me,” I chuckled nervously.

Jason just giggled at me. “You’ll be fine, Vash, I'll beat them all off with a stick.”

“I’ll hold you to that,” I laughed. “I do not want to lose this bet. Mostly because I’m worried what you and the girls would do after you get that collar on me.”

“Oh, I think you can figure it out.” Jason laughed, getting into our normal carriage. “Morning, Flash Fire.” He nodded to the pegasus hooking himself to the carriage.

Flash Fire nodded and gave Jason a quick hello as he finished his preparations. “And where wouldst thou like to go today?”

“That barren field outside of Gunsmoke. You know that one with all the rocks and gems.”

“If that is what thou wishes,” the pegasus shrugged. “Though if thou were not so heavily pregnant I would tell thee to just walk there,” he laughed and shook his head.

“Yeah, yeah, Brad, make fun of the lady.” Jason took a sit, placing Val on his lap. Zed sat next to him, licking her paws.

“Why do you call Flash Fire, Brad sometimes?” I asked as I sat across from him.

“Because he looks like Flash Sentry and Flash Sentry is the definition of ‘Brad’.” 

“I don’t know who this Flash Sentry is, but he sounds generic and hateable.” I commented.

“Yeah he’s generic but eh...he’s not that bad. Just...bland...though...his pony version is much better...” Jason grumbled, rubbing his chin. 

“Eh, I probably won't have to worry about him,” I shrugged.

“You will in a thousand years.” Jason got comfy, petting Val’s head.  

“Yeah, don’t think I’ll be interacting too much with Brad. If anything, I’ll be too busy looking at the female teachers in that high school world.”

Jason shrugged, trying to tickle Val's armpits, much to the hatchling's annoyance. “Hey! Cut that out!” The chick said between giggles as she squirmed in Jason’s grip.

“Aww, she’s a ticklish little thing,” I cooed, smiling down at the hatchling.

“Everyone back home is going to love her!” Jason laughed, keeping it up.

“L-laugh it up now buddy! I will get you back for all this!” She screeched, trying to glare at Jason but the gesture was lost as she continued to giggle uncontrollably.

“Oh yeah? How you gonna do that huh?” Jason asked, letting her catch her breath.

“I’ll claw your eyes out! Or… I dunno,” all of a sudden she let out a yawn, and her eyelids seemed to get heavy. “I’ll… I’ll jump rope with your…” her head then lulled to the side and she let out a tiny snore.

“I think all your tickling tired her out,” I chuckled as I patted the sleeping griffon on her head.

“She’s got quite the mouth on her.” Jason chuckled, cradling the hatchling. He pulled out a blanket, swaddling her.

“Well she was a bandit leader before you turned her into a baby. I’m guessing manners aren’t all that important when you’re a thief,” I offered. “But I’m sure this is just a phase she’s going through.” 

“She’ll grow out of it. I'll make her a model citizen.” Jason smirked. “So...the heat kickin’ in yet?”

“Umm, not really?” I shrugged. “Never really experienced heat before so I wouldn’t really know what to expect. All things considered,” I said, indicating my diamond dog body, “I don’t really feel anything extreme in my libido. Same thoughts as always.”

“Just checking.” He nodded, looking out at the scenery. “You better let me win.”

“And why would I do that?” I asked with a smirk. “Does a certain jotun want me as their personal puppy?” I laughed.

“Why not?” He asked, winking at me.

“Heh, I’ll think about it. I mean winning would get me all three of the girls in heat again. And as fun as the first time was, I barely survived,” I shuddered. “Do you know what a naga pony does when they’re in heat?” I asked him. “Things get weird.”

“Do you know what two shapeshifters do in bed?” Jason shot back.

“Good point,” I nodded. “But I’ll still keep your offer in mind,” I smiled. “I mean, my will might just happen to waver around sundown. I am a weak man after all.”

“Oh ye of little faith.”

“Eh, whatever you say,” I shrugged. “So, I’m guessing there’s a thing of diamond dogs in that field you mentioned?” I asked. 

“They live underground a dig for gems...not sure why,” Jason explained, looking down at the world below.

“Well considering dragons eat gems, maybe they’re similar,” I offered. “Or it could be a pure commerce thing. Or they could just like shiny objects.”

“Yeah...I doubt that last bit. Too much work for just shiny things.” 

“Guess you make a good point,” I said as I absentmindedly scratched my chin in thought. I then looked down at my paw and the rest of my transformed body. “Oh god, I just had another idea of why they might dig up gems the way they do,” I gulped.

“What?” Jason asked, looking at me.

“It might have something to do with mating. There are several animal species that present objects to a potential mate,” I explained, shivering slightly. “Though, luckily for us none of those species were canine back on earth so there is that.”

“Well we’ll find out when we get there won't we?” He asked, gently stroking Zed’s head, who was curled up at her master’s feet.

“Or, hear me out on this, I stay in the carriage while you get your scan?” I asked with a hopeful smile. One look at his face told me what his response would be. “Yeah, kinda figured that was a longshot to hope for,” I said slumping over. 

“Come on it won't be so bad.” He smiled, relaxing 

“If you say so,” I sighed as I felt us land. “Looks like Brad brought us here safely.”

“Thanks, Flash.” Jason grabbed onto my arm, pulling himself to his feet. He got off, Zed following after him.

I looked around the field we were in, scratching my head a bit. “So, any thoughts on how we’re supposed to get to their underground caverns? You got a couple shovels in that hyper cube of yours?” I chuckled.

“Zed, Slamworm.” Jason commanded, Zed shifting into a huge yellow and red, beaked worm. She let out a cry, burrowing into the ground.

“Huh, kind of forgot she had her own version of the omnitrix,” I commented, watching her burrow away. “And now I kind of feel like making a Dune reference.” 

“You know, I never saw Dune.” Jason looked at me as Zed burst out of the ground, showering us in dirt. 

I shook off the dirt from my head and looked back at Jason. “Looks like Zed’s finished our hole for us,” I deadpanned, still brushing dirt off myself. Zed reverted to normal, barking in glee when Jason rewarded her with some jerky.

“Alright so...help me down the tunnel?” Jason asked, moving over to the tunnel.

“No problem,” I smiled. “Should be a piece of cake,” I told him, going over to him and starting down the tunnel. Jason leaned on me, being careful with his steps, keeping Val close to him. “Want me to hold Val?” I asked. “You seem to be having more trouble with the tunnel than I am.”

“Alright, here.” Jason passed her off to me, bracing himself against the tunnel wall, walking as carefully as he could. 

I didn’t say anything, I just put myself in front of him in case he fell. “So, what do you think the baby will be? Boy or girl?” I asked, staring into the dark tunnel.

“I hope a boy honestly.” He placed a hand on my back to further steady himself.

“A boy would be cool. Honestly I’d probably be the overprotective dad if we had a girl,” I chuckled. “A lot of boys she brings home would have bullets whizzing by their ears. So, why are you hoping it’s a boy?” I asked.

“Because I’d like an equal gender balance to be honest with you. Right now it’s two boys to four girls...”

“Oh, I understand where you’re coming from,” I nodded before smiling and shaking my head. “Hard to believe this is almost over though.”

“I'll be happy to shapeshift again.” He nodded, letting out a sigh of relief as we got to the end of the tunnel.

“Yeah, but you’ll have to find some source of milk for the baby if you wanna go back to normal. Are you gonna have Rarity take care of that?”

“About that...I'm not taking the baby with me, Vash.”

“Say what..?” I said, turning around to face him. “You’re leaving the baby here? Why?”

“Vash, if I take the baby, you will most likely never see them again.” Jason let out a long sigh. “I'll live a lot longer than you, I'll have more chances to see them...”

“See there’s one thing neither of us know Jason,” I started, putting a hand on his shoulder. “And that’s how long I’ve got exactly.Vash was three hundred and still looked like he was in his twenties. If I keep my Angel Arm from firing enough times, there’s no telling how long I’ll live,” I said with a bright smile. “You seem to be more worried about my mortality than I am.”

“I'm still leaving the baby here.” Jason looked into my eyes with an unflinching expression. “Vash...I'm going to live for millions of years...”

“Okay, I get what you’re trying to say. But you do realize that you’re going to be leaving the baby with me during its developmental years,” I smirked. “You sure that’s a good idea?”

“The princesses will keep you in line.” He smirked back, placing a hand on the tunnel wall. “Hello!” He called out, closing his eyes to focus his hearing.

“Hmmph, I’m sure they’d agree with me that our kid is gonna call you, ‘Momma Jason’,” I smirked as I placed an ear to the cavern wall. “Hmm, there doesn’t seem to be any large number of people nearby.” I told him.

“That's what they want you to think...” Jason started to walk again, conjuring up a fireball.

“Well, good thing both of us know how to deal with ambushes.” I said as I caught up to him and scanned the darkness.

“Nah, the fireball is to light the way.” Jason rolled his eyes, holding his hand out.

“I figured that much,” I rolled my eyes back. “But if they’re actively hiding themselves from us then we should be careful. I’m sure they noticed Zed’s digging.”

“You worry too much.” Jason kept his hand on the wall, Zed trotting alongside him.

“I think I worry the correct amount in this instance,” I shot back. “Though I guess we do have the best guard…” I stopped myself before I managed to say dog. “We could ask for. I mean, she can turn into some nightmare creature and take care of anyone dumb enough to try and hurt us,” I smiled.

“Seriously guys! We come in peace!” Jason shouted down the hall, frowning a little. “I'm getting annoyed...”

“I think I have an idea so stupid it just might work.” I took a deep breath and let out a long howl. “Think that’ll get their attention?” I huffed, trying to catch my breath. All of a sudden, I felt a low rumbling beneath our feet. Zed growled, tensioning up. Jason steadied himself, reaching his hand into his pocket, beginning to draw his sword. A minute or so later, the tunnels surrounding us filled with diamond dogs, each one of them giving us curious looks. They seemed fairly humanoid, with short muzzles and fur. The strangest thing about them though was their varying heights. Some were almost as tall as I was while others were barely taller than Zed. “Um… hello?” I waved with a weak smile.

Jason held his hand up. “Bah-weep-Graaaaagnah wheep ni ni bong.”

“The hell was that?” I whispered to him. “You feeling okay?”

“What? Never heard of the universal greeting?”

The diamond dogs looked as confused as I was as they all shrugged amongst themselves. “What that one say?” One asked.

“Sound like gibberish to me,” another shrugged.

“Does anyone smell something?” Yet another asked.

“Smell like female in heat,” the first one stated. I gulped and felt my tail tuck between my legs.

“She’s off limits boys.” Jason snorted, some mist flowing out of his nostrils.

“Yeah, not interested in dudes,” I chuckled, getting behind Jason. “Sorry to burst your bubble.”

“What you two want then?” The diamond dog that seemed to be the leader asked.

“To offer peace...and maybe an alliance? I dunno.” Jason shrugged, getting Zed to relax her posture.

“If that what you want then we can show you where we live,” the leader said, motioning for the rest of the dogs to start moving down the tunnels and looking toward us to follow. Jason nodded, starting to follow them. I followed along with him, making sure to stick close to him and Zed.

“Okay, starting to feel a little weird,” I whispered to him. “But it’s nothing I can’t handle.”

“I hope you can.” He smirked at me.

“When this day is over I need to have a serious talk with you and the girls,” I said with narrowed eyes.

“Relax will ya?” He asked, rolling his eyes.

“I think I have a right to be on edge considering I have a chemical cocktail in my head telling me to shake my ass for anthropomorphic dogs,” I hissed.

“At least you only have it for a day,” he shot back.

“Jason, look down at your stomach. One day is all it takes.”

“I'll make sure nothing happens to you,” he assured me, putting a hand on my shoulder.

“Yeah, guess I am getting a little too worried,” I sighed. “I mean, I’m literally surrounded by them and their scent and my self-control is holding pretty well,” I assured myself with a smile. “Just make sure you keep that stick handy to beat them off in case things get hairy though,” I joked with a wink. He chuckled a little, socking me in the arm gently. The two of us continued walking down the tunnels, the diamond dogs chatting amongst themselves as we did. Eventually, we came into a large opening where other diamond dogs were milling about and even a few pups could be seen playing. There were also crude homes carved out of the cave walls strewn about. They weren't the prettiest looking things, but they looked sturdy.

“Hmm, not a bad looking place for an underground village,” I commented.

“Very scant clothing though.” Jason looked around, as if not surprised.

“And it looks like they’re mining setup is pretty inefficient,” I said, pointing at a few diamond dogs hacking away at a cave wall in a corner.

“Try not to insult them, Vash.”

“I wasn’t,” I huffed. “I was just saying that they’re missing out on opportunities to make their lives easier. Hell, if they have a forge and some stuff for me to sketch with, I could probably get them a better mining setup.”

“What are two of you talking about?” the diamond dog that led us down the tunnel asked.

“Oh, we were just observing your village,” I said, rubbing the back of my head.

“Its nice, if not claustrophobic,” Jason added smiling a little.

“Have to be careful,” the dog commented. “If village spread too far tunnel collapse, many lives lost.”

“I could probably help with that. I know a fair amount about building things,” I commented.

“Will keep in mind,” the dog nodded. “You say you want make alliance. Will lead you to alpha if you want.”

“Lead away my friend!” Jason smiled, nodding his head. The diamond dog nodded and led us to an upper portion of the underground village. There, a large diamond dog, about my size with the coloring of a german shepherd was sitting on a carved out stone throne. He raised a brow when he saw us coming but kept up his casual pose.

“Who these strangers?” The Alpha asked our diamond dog escort.

“Outsiders say they want make an alliance,” the escort answered with a slight bow of deference.

“This true?” The Alpha asked us.

“Yes it’s true. The kingdom of Equestria would be honored to forge an alliance with your people.” Jason nodded, bowing as best he could.

“Yes, as someone with close, personal relations with the princesses of Equestria I come as their ambassador,” I said with a bow.

“Hmm, so they send pretty female to make deal with me,” the Alpha said with a creepy smile.

“Hey, good for you Jason, he called you pretty,” I whispered to Jason with a chuckle.

“...He was talking about you Vash...” 

“Nope, I’m going into denial over this,” I said sharply. “He was talking about you and that’s final.”

“I'll say this now, our names are Jason and Vash and I expect us to be called as such,” Jason narrowed his eyes at the alpha.

“Heh, heh, fine, I call you by name,” The Alpha said with a wave of a paw. “So, what we get out of alliance?” 

“Well, protection from any potential threats that come through the area,” I started. “Along with access to our technology and you’ll be able to freely trade with us.”

“As well as access to gems from around the continent.” Jason added, taking one out and tossing it to him.

He lazily caught the gem and sniffed it. “Hmm, that good quality gem. This alliance sound good so far,” he concluded by taking a bite out of the gem, noisily crunching on it.

‘And it looks like they eat gems,’ I thought to myself.

“So will you accept our offer?” I asked hopefully.

“Will think about it. Not sure how feel about ponies getting into diamond dog business,” the alpha replied. “Make selves comfortable in village. Will have answer by tomorrow.”

“Thank you.” Jason bowed, following our escort out of the room. He whistled for Zed to follow, the Baskurr chasing after him.

“So, that guy had the attitude of a roman emperor,” I chuckled at Jason.

“Think so?” He asked, casting a glance at me.

“Well, one of the later ones anyway. Sort of had a Caligula vibe to him,” I shrugged.

“Yeah well...” Jason winced, stopping in his tracks, clutching his stomach.

“Jason,” I started putting a hand on his side. “Are you okay?” I asked.”Is it the baby?”

“I'm pretty sure...that was a contraction...” He winced again, starting to collapse. He fell on top of me, his face contorted in pain.

“Really?” I asked starting to panic as I got eye level with his stomach. “You sure have a really bad sense of timing,” I said to the baby. “Is there anyone here that can help us?!” I called out. “We’ve got a baby on the way!”

“We have dog that can help,” our guide said helping me lead Jason toward an older looking female dog in one of the stone homes.

“Put her on slab, I will do what can,” she instructed, pulling out a few things from around her makeshift room. I helped Jason on the stone table and kept a hand on his shoulder.

“How are you feeling?” I asked carefully. “Anymore contractions?”

“I'll let you know, Vash.” Jason took in a deep, shaky breath, his trembling nearly vanishing.

“Heh, I almost lost my cool there,” I admitted. “Guess I wasn’t expecting this to happen now of all times. I didn’t even invoke Murphy or anything like that.”

“You just did...” Jason opened his eyes, glaring at me.

“I need to learn when to keep my mouth shut, don’t I?” I sighed.

“Yes.” He grabbed my wrist, which started to ice over. “You do.”

“Gah!” I winced. “Please stop with the ice. I’d rather not have to deal with frostbite on top of everything else. I’m sure everything’s going to be fine,” I assured with a weak smile.

He released my arm, going back to controlled breathing.

“So, this is it,” I said. “You really want to leave the baby with me?” I asked. “I’m sure they’d be happy being around all their siblings.”

“Vash, I'm leaving them here with you, stop trying to duck your parental responsibility.”

“That’s not what I’m trying to do,” I said with a shake of my head. “I’ll gladly take the kid.” I smiled at him and started to chuckle. “I’d accuse you of trying to duck out of your responsibilities if you didn’t already have a few kids of your own.”

“Ya well first they have to get out of me.” He laughed, wincing slightly.

“Looks like they want out,” I said, patting his shoulder. “You ready to scream that you hate me for putting you through this?”

“Vash, I've been nearly cut in half and got erased from existence, this is not going to make me scream...” Jason assured, looking at me.

“Alright, if you say so,” I said, smiling at him. 

‘Here’s hoping he’s right about that,’ I thought. ‘I’ve probably got an even more sensitive sense of hearing thanks to his transformation.’

“Well? What the hell are we waiting for?” Jason asked, looking at the older dog.

“For child,” she answered putting down a tub of warm water. “The contractions still far apart. Once they get faster, then we ready to start getting child out.”

“Well Jason, how are the contractions?” I asked.

“They suck,” he muttered through gritted teeth.

“I was referring to how quick they’re coming.” I looked down and my eyes widened. “Well, we might be seeing the kid soon. I think your water just broke.”

“Joy...”

“Good,” the older dog commented. “Now come the hard part. Keep breathing steady and push.” Jason grunted, gritting his teeth. A cracking sound filled the air and after a moment I realized it was his teeth cracking.

“Jason, are you okay?” I asked. “That did not sound good.”

“I have something to bite down on if want,” The older dog offered, holding up a leather strap.

“I'm fine...” Jason snorted, icy mist blowing from his nostrils.

“Fine, keep pushing then,” the older dog shrugged, putting the leather strap down.

“You’re doing great Jason,” I assured, patting his shoulder. My hand started to ice over again, though it didn't seem like Jason was doing it on purpose. I ignored it and did my best to keep reassuring him. “Just focus on pushing, help our kid out of there.” This went on for what seemed like hours, until finally, a baby's crying filled the air.

“It a boy,” The older dog smiled as she cut the umbilical cord. She then washed the baby in the tub of water and quickly swaddled it, handing it to Jason.

“Wow,” I said, feeling stunned. “A son, I have a son now… I can’t even find words for this.” Except...Jason wasn't moving his eyes shut and being death still. “Jason!” I cried, putting an ear to his chest. “Okay, he’s still got a pulse,” I sighed with some relief. “Take the baby,” I told the older dog as I prepared to perform what little first aid I knew. “Jason, come on, wake up!” I shouted, shaking the jotun. 

A moment later, the Omnitrix went off, shifting Jason into a few large, utterly terrifying lizard. He took in a deep breath, coughing heavily.

“Umm, Jason?” I asked, standing between him and the older dog. “Are you okay?”

“Not in the slightest.” He leveled an eye at me. “You ever lose most of your life force Vash?”

“Uhhh no,” I answered. “How did you lose your life force? Did you give it to the baby?” I asked, stealing a quick glance at the baby.

“Vash, you know as well as I do that Plants are higher beings. You ever watch Steven Universe? “

“Yeah,” I answered. “Okay, I think I see what you’re trying to say,” I nodded. “So,” I started, looking his form up and down. “What scan is that, Godzilla Jr.?” 

“SCP-682.” Jason said simply, as if that was the only thing I needed to know.

“Okay, do you want to change back now?” I asked hopefully. “That form is starting to creep me out.”

“I'm not going to be able to do much for a while.” Jason shifted back, falling off the slab. I picked him up and helped him back on the slab.

“Yeesh, now I really feel bad about putting you through all this,” I said, rubbing the back of my head. 

“Just let me sleep...” Jason muttered, drifting off again.

“Here, take children,” the older dog said as she handed me the baby and Val. I took them and looked down at our newborn’s confused face.

“Yeah, something tells me both of us are going to have that look on our faces a lot,” I smiled down at him and sat down on the slab. “So, welcome to the world,” I smiled down at him. “Oh man, you still need a name,” I realized before glancing over to Jason. “Guess that’ll have to wait until your mommy wakes up,” I chuckled. I settled down in a corner of the room and kept an eye on Jason and the two babies. Zed padded over, looking up at the baby, tilting her head. “Do you want to see him?” I asked, bouncing him slightly. Zed barked softly, placing her legs on my lap, standing more upright.

“Alright,” I smiled. “Zed, say hello to Jason and I’s unnamed child. Unnamed son, say hello to Zed the alien.” I then held the baby out, allowing Zed to get a better look at him, and vice versa. Zed leaned in sniffing at him, letting out a happy growl. She licked him, tail wagging.  The baby seemed to like her too, his tiny hands reaching out and touching her head. “Heh, you’re a brave little guy,” I told him with a proud look. “I bet you’re going to love what I’ve made for you.” Zed let him touch her, nuzzling his hands gently.

“Crazy day, huh, Zed?” I asked the alien with a shake of my head. She seemed to agree, giving a silent yawn. “Yeah, probably a good idea,” I nodded to her. “I’m gonna stay up though. Gotta keep an eye on everyone,” I told her, indicating Jason and the babies. Hours passed and eventually Jason started to stir. I got up and sat next to him on the slab. 

“Water...” Jason looked at me, holding his arm out weakly.

“Alright, I’ll get you some,” I smiled as I handed the kids to him. I looked around for a little bit and eventually found a pail of water and a cup. “Here you go,” I said as I sat the pail and cup next to him.

“Thanks...” Jason commented, picking it up, chugging it down.

“So, are you ready to give the kid a name?” I asked. “I held off, figuring you’d want a say in it.”

“I want to name him after my father...”Jason gazed at the baby, stroking his cheek. “Toya..”

“I love it,” I smiled at the baby. “Mind if I use my own dad’s name for his middle name?” I asked.

“Go right ahead.” Jason nodded, smiling.

“Well then, hello there, Toya Vincent… and I’m guessing his last name will be Vashson?” I chuckled.

“Well, I'm Toyason.” Jason laughed weakly.

“I guess that settles it then,” I grinned. “Say, can you get me my duster?” I asked. “There’s something in there I want to show you. It’s a present for Toya here.”

Jason snapped his fingers, changing my clothes back.

“I was originally going to give this to you when you left,” I started, rooting around in the coat. “But since you’re not taking Toya with you I might as well show you now,” I finished as I pulled out two sheathed blades. One a shortsword and the other a dagger. “This is what I made from that scale you gave me,” I beamed at him.

“Vash...that scale was for you.” He laughed, looking at them. “They’re beautiful...”

“Yeah, and that’s not all,” I chuckled. “I also carved a nordic rune on the crossguard of both of them. “The rune on the sword says ‘strength’ and the dagger has ‘love’ etched onto it. I even made a prayer to Odin when I was done. I call them, Jormungand’s Fangs. Or Fangs of Jormungand, whichever sounds cooler.” I shrugged.

“I have something too...” He muttered, passing the babies to me, reaching into his pocket.

“Oh, you had the same idea as me and had a present ready for the baby?” I asked with a bright smile. “So, what’s your present for Toya?” I asked, eager to see it.

Jason reached into his pocket, pulling out a large, grey sphere. “I didn’t get mine when I was ten but...I would like him to...”

“Whoa, what is that?” I asked, gawking at the sphere.

“What do you think it is?”

“I dunno, that’s why I asked.”

He smirked a little. “It started when an alien device did what it did…~”

“Wait a minute…” I blinked, not believing what I was hearing. “You’re giving Toya an Omnitrix? How did you get an extra one of those?”

“I made it.” He grinned proudly.

“Greymatter?” I deadpanned.

“Oh you know it.” He grinned more.

“Well way to one up my homemade gift for our kid,” I pouted. “Here I was thinking I was being the best dad ever, and there you are giving Toya a super-powered alien device. You suck.”

“Vash, you made him nearly indestructible swords. Your gift is awesome,” Jason assured me.

“But is it as awesome as alien superpowers?” I asked him, my pout increasing. “I think we both know the answer to that.”

“You're messing with me aren't you...?”

“Heh, yeah.” I chuckled at him. “Still, can’t believe you had an Omnitrix ready for Toya. He is going to be a real handful once he turns ten. Gonna need to fireproof the castle in case he goes Heatblast… or Swampfire.”

“I'm also going to leave him and by extension the princesses some spell books.” Jason sat up slowly, swaying a little.

“And now you’re leaving things that’ll allow him to freeze my ass or worse?” I groaned as I supported his weight. “You’re just trying to make my job as a dad difficult, aren’t you?” 

“Oh stop it, you'll have two gods to help keep him in line.” He rolled his eyes at me.

“And a half-snake captain of the guard,” I reminded him. “Who you spliced with a species of alien geniuses. Something tells me she’ll be a big help keeping an eye on Toya too. Well, when she doesn’t have to keep an eye on me that is,” I chuckled.

He chuckled, nodding. “So...how's the heat going?”

“Haven’t really noticed it,” I answered. “I think the baby delivery took my mind off it.” I then paused, letting out a small groan as I felt it hit me… hard. “That is until you brought it up,” I panted. He reached up, petting my head.

“Relax, I got ya.” He smiled, leaning on me.

“Dear god don’t do that,” I flinched from the contact to my head. “That made it worse. Ugggh, this is awful,” I panted, sniffing the air a bit. “And you’re starting to smell good. That doesn’t seem like a good sign.

“What do I smell like?” he asked, raising his eyebrow.

“Really? We’re doing this?” I sighed. “Umm, kind of hard to put to words. There’s this kind of… coldness to it and this weird… almost earthy and heaviness to it. Which to my heat-addled mind smells awesome.”

“Huh...never thought of that...” He scratched his head. “And now I feel like an asshole for doing this to you...”

“Considering I just put you through pregnancy, I think we can call it even,” I groaned, nearly falling to my knees. 

“I'll turn you back.” He moved to snap his fingers, looking at me. 

“Thanks,” I breathed, getting my footing back. “So, how long did I last?” I asked hopefully.

“I think it’s sundown.” He snapped his fingers reverting me to normal.

“Guess that means you win the bet,” I chuckled weakly. Jason just smiled, offering me a berry. I smiled back and ate the berry quickly.

“Hmm, interesting taste,” I commented. “You could probably use that to make a good jam or even muffins.”

“Save the seeds, these are kinda like senzu beans.” Jason nodded, starting to eat one himself.

“This one of your Enigma Berries?” I asked, spitting out the seed.

“Yup.” He licked his lips, chowing down on it.

“Heh, almost feel like calling you Krillin if these are like senzu beans. He always seemed to get relegated to being the healer.”

“Does that make you Yamcha?” He shot back at me, grinning.

“You have just insulted me in a way that no other has ever done,” I stated with narrowed eyes. “Don’t you ever call me Yamcha again.”

“Yamcha.” He grinned evilly.

“Oh, I’ll get my revenge,” I told him. “Maybe I’ll put another baby in you,” I said with a smirk.

“How ya gonna pull that?” He asked, giving me an incredulous look.

“I’m a crafty guy Jason, I’ll find a way. If I managed to win the hearts of literal goddesses, I’m fairly sure I can accomplish just about anything.”

“I dunno, I could put a baby in you.” He licked his lips, winking at me.

“Hmmph, not after that grave insult,” I shot back, crossing my arms over my chest and turning my head up at him. “I wouldn’t bear the child of someone who thinks of me as a… as a Yamcha!” 

“Shh! You’ll wake the kids!” He shushed me quickly.

“Sorry,” I whispered with a wince. “Got a little carried away with my dramatics.” I looked down at Toya and smiled. “Heh, he has your hair,” I commented.

“How can you even tell?” Jason asked, looking down at Toya, frowning a little.

“What little hair he does have on is head is certainly not blonde,” I pointed out, rubbing his head a bit. Toya made a face, opening his eyes a crack. “Aww, how you feeling sleepyhead?” I cooed at him. He gurgled, turning his eyes away, looking up at Jason. “He’s looking for his mommy,” I told Jason, trying to hold back a bit of a smirk.

“Hi baby,” Jason cooed, reaching down, touching Toya’s cheek. The baby gurgled again, squirming happily. Jason smiled, rocking him gently.

“Seems we’ve got quite the happy baby here,” I chuckled. “You should’ve seen the way he acted with Zed.”

“I wish I could have seen it, I know Zed is a sweetheart with kids.” Jason smiled, kissing Toya’s head.

“I bet the fact he smells like you to her helps,” I smiled, looking down at Toya. “Still having a hard time believing I’m a dad. Did you feel the same way when you first became a father?”

“Yeah...I had that moment...when Chrysalis stepped out of the way and I saw them...it was amazing...” Jason smiled, a faraway look on his face.

“Heh, amazing is the exact word that came to mind when I laid eyes on Toya here… up until you passed out that is. I was scared I lost you there for a second,” I admitted, nudging him a bit.

“Yeah well, it would have pissed Hel off.” Jason laughed, shaking his head.

“Oh man, didn’t even think about Hel,” I shuddered. “What are the chances she’d come gunning for me?”

“Nah, she’d just wreck this world’s afterlife to get me.”

“Well, that’s good. I’d rather not have the embodiment of death mad at me. Especially not the norse one.” I shuddered. “Really wish I didn’t have such a vivid imagination sometimes.”

“It's one of your best traits!” Jason smirked, wincing as Val started to wake up.

“Ugh, where am I now?” Val asked, groggily looking around. “Are we underground?!” She shrieked.

“Hush.” Jason soothed, “You'll upset your brother.”

“Brother? I don’t have a brother.” The chick replied with a tilt of her head.

“He means this little guy,” I said, indicating Toya, who was regarding Val with a curious look, his mouth shaped into an “o”.

“Hey Vash, wanna help me test something?” Jason asked.

“That depends, will it involve me getting transformed into something?” I asked cautiously.

“No, I just want to see how griffon bonding works.”

“Sure thing, I’m game,” I told him with a relieved smile. “What do you want me to do?”

“Just take Val and I dunno, take her out of sight. I wanna see how she reacts without me around.” Jason explained, holding out the chick.

“No problem,” I shrugged, taking her.

“Pfft, as if I’ll care,” Val snorted. “You put me in this tiny body, being away from you would be a gift as far as I’m concerned.”

“We’ll see.” Jason pet her head, smiling. I walked away, quickly finding a secluded spot. At first, Val seemed to keep up her haughty attitude. But after a while she seemed to be agitated, and constantly whipping her head around.

“You want me to go back and get Jason?” I asked her.

“No way,” she huffed, though she seemed to perk up a bit at the mention of his name. “There’s no way I’d want to see…” her eyes started to water and she let out an ear piercing cry. “Jason!” she wailed, breaking down into tears.

“Alright, Vash, bring her back.” Jason called. I walked back over to him and handed her over. She instantly clung to him and started nuzzling his chest.

“I hate you,” she said softly.

“Do you really?” He asked, ruffling her feathers gently.

“No,” she admitted weakly. “But I should for what you’ve done to me.”

“What? Give you a new lease on life?” He asked, rocking her.

“Aww, what a cute moment,” I smiled, snapping a picture with my phone.

“You took me from my old life,” Val grumbled. “Might not have been the most honest of livings, but I was happy.”

“Really? You were happy ruining people's lives and harming them for your own gain?” Jason questioned.

“Griffon Stone’s a tough place, gotta be tough to live there. Besides, I had the respect of my men. I earned that the hard way.”

“Wanna help me out here Vash? I'm not the best at this stuff...” Jason turned to me, sighing.

“Hmm, I’ll see what I can say,” I shrugged. “Val, you’re right, that was a tough town. And I’m sure you did earn the respect of those bandits. So maybe you should’ve used that to change the town? Make it a better place. That way you wouldn't need to be tough to live there.”

“I'm trying to give you a better life.” Jason cooed, kissing her head.

“Whatever,” she huffed, though there seemed to be the ghost of a smile on her face. “Not like I can do anything considering you’ve got me dependent on you,” she finished, burying her head in his chest.

“Hey, think of it like this, you’re royalty now.” Jason responded.

“You're royalty?” Val asked, taken aback.

“Yeah, not only that, but, I'm sorta of a god,” Jason explained.

“I’m starting to think I could adjust to this new life.” She beamed.

“I think you just appealed to her inner bandit.” I chuckled. 

“And you have a crap ton of siblings.” Jason smirked. “So, you have to share.”

“Ugh, sharing,” she groaned. “Still, should be plenty to share.”

“Think of it this way. Since you can already talk, you can set yourself up as the boss of your new 
siblings,” I offered with a grin and pat on the head.

“That reminds me, you hungry?” Jason asked bouncing the chick.

“Maybe,” she said, just as her stomach let out a rumbling growl. Jason smiled, pulling his shirt off, letting Val nurse. Toya’s stomach let out a loud growl and he looked up at Jason with a pout.

“Looks like he’s hungry too,” I chuckled. Jason took Toya as well, letting him nurse from the other breast. “Eat up little guy,” I said as I patted Toya’s head. “That way you can grow up stronger than your mommy here.”

“I’d like that a lot.” Jason laughed, letting out a contented sigh.

“Really?” I asked with a tilt of my head. “Figured you’d always want to be the strongest guy in the room.”

“I want my children to be strong. I’m not one of those guys who takes pride in being able to beat their kids. My ego isn’t paper thin.”

“Fair enough,” I nodded. “Well with Morning, the princesses and Star Swirl around, you won’t have to worry about Toya here becoming weak. They’ll turn him into a proper warrior and magic user in no time.” I beamed. “Though I’m guessing you’ll want to train him when you come back here, whenever that is,” I shrugged. “Someone’s gotta show him the finer details of that Omnitrix.”

“Oh, I wanted to tell you know, I left out the more uh... destructive forms I’ve picked up.” He reached into his pocket, pulling out a small green chip. “Whatever you do, don’t give this to him until he’s ready.”

“What forms are on that?” I asked, pocketing the chip in an unused pocket. “Hodge, Alien X, the ultimate form function?”

“Saiyan, Majin, Celestialsapien, 682, and Mewtwo.” Jason listed off. “Vash, you do not want 682 out. It is the singular, most dangerous thing in the Omnitrix.” 

“Alright, I’ll take your word on that,” I nodded and gave him a look of understanding. “Still, this 682 thing has to be bad considering all the crazy forms you have on that watch of yours. How will I know when to give Toya the chip?”

“There is no taking my word for it Vash.” Jason looked dead into my eyes. “If 682 gets out, nothing in this world will save you, not the princesses, not the angel arm, not the Elements. Nothing. It’ll adapt to everything you hit it with and just keep coming. Do you understand?”

“Then why did you give me this chip?” I asked. “If 682 is really more dangerous than even the worst baddy and magical artifact that Equestria has, wouldn’t it be better to just never let Toya put that scan in his Omnitrix?

“Because Vash, 682 can’t die.” Jason let out a long sigh. “The Omnitrix has a failsafe: when its users life is in danger, it places them in the form with the highest chance of survival. What has a better chance for survival than something that can’t die?”

“Wouldn’t the Majin and Celestialsapien be nearly as good at keeping Toya alive, without the crazy unstoppable death lizard side effects?”

“Vash, there was a version of Albedo who was stuck as Alien x for a year because the voices wouldn’t let him go. That's why.”

“Is that as bad as the unstoppable death lizard that I’m guessing would just love to eat everything Toya will come to care about?” I asked with narrowed eyes. “I get where you’re coming from here Jason, I do. I’d give anything to protect the ones I care about, but this seems too dangerous, even for a god-baby like Toya.”

“Then don’t ever give it to him.” Jason shrugged, closing his eyes. 

“I’d also better never let Toya know this chip exists. Something tells me he might be a cocky teenager and try to swipe the chip from me to prove he can handle anything,” I sighed and rubbed the side of my head.

“If he’s anything like I was, he’ll be a lazy slacker asshole who caused nothing but trouble. I ever tell you about the time me and my cousin burned down a barn making moonshine?”

“Ha!” I laughed. “I burned down a barn once too. Though I was working on fixing a busted truck that was abandoned there. Money was tight and I needed a ride. Luckily I didn’t get in trouble with the cops… but my mom kinda knew what I was doing there and I got in more than enough trouble with her. I think I would’ve preferred the cops to be honest.” I shuddered.

Jason snorted, shaking his head. “You know...I think we got majorly off topic on why we’re here.”

“To be fair we do have a few excuses,” I chuckled. “Between Toya being born, you’re near death scare, and you putting me in heat, we’ve been dealing with a lot. Plus, we haven’t heard anything from that Diamond Dog leader. We’re still waiting to hear what he has to say about our deal,” I shrugged. “It’s not like…” Before I could finish that sentence I clamped a hand over my mouth, to prevent Murphy from screwing with me.

“Oh good, you’re learning.” Jason smirked, giggling at me.

“I may not be totally convinced about this whole Murphy thing,” I answered, shivering slightly. “But even I’m not dense enough to not know a pattern when I see one. Last thing I need is to get myself in trouble by opening my mouth due to the supernatural. I’ll stick to the old fashioned way of my mouth getting me in trouble.” 

“Cause we all know that's so much better.” Jason smirked.

“Hey I can deal with the latter. A supernatural being screwing me over for my sarcasm is a whole new thing for me,” I laughed.

“So...what do we do now?” Jason asked, adjusting the kids a little.

“Uh…” I drawled, trying to think of something before I got interrupted by our dog guide coming up to us.

“Leader want see you,” he said, jabbing a thumb over his shoulder.

“Talk about timing...” Jason shifted the kids again, pulling out another berry, devouring it again. “Help me up?”

“Anything for the mother of my child,” I joked with a wink as I held out a hand to help him up. He took it, getting to his feet. 

“Come on, let’s get going.” He smiled, moving over to the dog at the door. 

We moved along with the dog and were led back up to where the leader was lounging on his throne. He looked us over and arched his brow. “Where pretty female from before?”

“She had to leave.” Jason shrugged. 

“Shame,” he sighed. “Me would have liked putting pups in her belly. Could have had strong pups from one like her.” I nearly vomited in my mouth, but maintained an even expression.

“Yeah, real shame that. Anyway, what do you have to say about the peace offer?” I asked with a nervous chuckle.

“Me see no reason to object,” he shrugged. “We will take deal… for now.”

“Thank you sir,” I replied with a bit of a bow. “You won’t regret this decision.”

“Thank you for the hospitality.” Jason bowed,  being careful not to drop the children.

“Yes, yes, be sure to tell pony princesses about deal,” the Alpha waved. “You two have more business here?” He asked, arching his brow again.

“Not that I know of...” Jason blinked, looking at me. 

“Don’t you need a diamond dog scan here?” I whispered to him.

“Oh yeah.” Jason nodded. “I would like to get a scan off of you.” Jason looked up at him.

“What you mean by that?” The Alpha asked, leaning forward in his throne.

“You see, I’m a shapeshifter.” Jason passed me the children, pulling his top up. He activated the Omnitrix, shifting into a zebra. “And I would like to have a diamond dog form.”

“Hmmph, very well,” the Alpha smirked. “My form should make you stronger than a little zebra would.” Jason just smiled, shifting by to normal and taking the scan. 

“Oh, it’s not about strength, it’s about blending in.” He winked before shifting truly back to normal, his clothes changing back to his normal hoodie and jeans. 

“Aww, I already miss your woman form,” I sighed, adjusting a babbling Toya who was clapping at Jason’s shapeshifting.

“Yeah well, I don’t.” Jason grumbled, seeming to smile as he heard his normal voice. “You still recognize me?” he asked, looking at Val.

“Yeah, you do still smell the same,” she answered. 

“Good.” he pat her head, looking at the Alpha. “Gotta ask though, do all diamond dog males treat females like that?”

“Only when heat season come around. Instincts are strong.” The Alpha shrugged.

“Hey Jason, this guy did say he wanted pups,” I whispered. “Wanna turn the heat up on him as we leave?” I asked with a devious smile.

“Oh that is a wonderful idea.” Jason smirked, shifting into Hodgepodge.

“It feels so good to be back!” Hodge smirked, cracking his various joints....even ones that shouldn’t.

“Hi Hodge, so nice to see you,” I said with a forced smile, my eye twitching a bit.

“Sup?” he asked, ruffling my hair. “Awesome kid.” He gave a thumbs up before looking at the Alpha. “Whats happinin’ bro?” he asked, suddenly behind the guy.

“Discord!” the Alpha yelped, suddenly looking scared. “What you doing here?! Me heard you were defeated by pony princesses!”

“Quiet,” I shushed him. “You’re scaring the baby,” I started bouncing a crying Toya. 

“Nah, I’m not Discord. I’m Hodgepodge.” He blinked narrowing his eyes. “Are you implying that we all look alike? There’s a word for that, what is it Vash?”

“Prejudiced and or racist,” I answered with a sagely nod.

“Exactly! How dare you suggest that we all look alike!” Hodge scolded with mock outrage.

“Yeah,” I nodded with a suppressed grin. “The eyes are totally different, and the claws on Hodge’s reptillian leg are 2cm longer than Discord’s. Anyone could tell the difference between them.”

Hodge pouted, snapping his fingers, reducing the Alpha into well, a bitch in heat. 

“Gah!” The Alpha cried, looking his new form over. “What you do to me?!” (S)He panted, his/her tongue lolling out of her mouth a bit

“Well, you did want pups...” he chuckled a little. 

“Not like this,” she whined, her legs crossing erratically.

“Should’ve been more specific,” I shrugged, “Hodge can’t be held responsible for what he does if you’re not.”

Jason reverted to normal, leaning in and taking a whiff. “Seems like it’s pretty bad.”

“Grrr, if you don’t change me back I will…” she paused her nose twitching and she crossed her legs with a whimper.

“Will what?” he asked, reaching to stroke her cheek. She whimpered again and flinched from the contact.

“Can’t think straight,” she answered with a shake of her head. “You two smell too good.”

“I can help with that...” Jason smirked, his eyes changing to a shade of red that wasn’t normal.

“How…?” She asked, turning her head away from Jason.

“How do you think?” he leaned in further, breathing on her neck.The former Alpha shuddered, her panting getting heavier.

“Anything to make it stop,” she relented.

“Cover your eyes children,” I said, putting a hand over Toya and Val’s eyes. “What’s about to happen isn’t meant for young audiences.”

“You take them back Vash... I’ll meet you there.” Jason winked at me, in a voice that wasn’t his. 

“Fine,” I sighed and looked down at Zed. “You got a form that can get us back to Brad quickly?” She looked at him, shifting into a very large, big as the room, black bird with four red eyes. I hopped on her back and shifted the children in my grasp. 

“Good girl,” I said with a pat to her back. “And don’t be too rough with her, Jason. It is her first time as a girl after all,” I told him with a smirk.





A few hours later Jason strolled into the castle, walking up to me and decking me in the face.

“Why the face!?” I cried, making sure nothing was disfigured. “It’s my only redeeming feature!”

“Why did you leave me there, with a personality I don’t even fully comprehend?” Jason asked, crossing his arms. 

“I wasn’t aware that another personality was in control,” I replied, pulling out a handkerchief to stop the bleeding from my nose. “Sorry  I did that though,” I sighed.

Jason sighed, holding his hand out. Once I was on my feet, he cast a spell, healing my nose. “And I’m sorry I hit you...”

“Huh, first time you’ve apologized for hitting me,” I commented, smiling at him.

“I could do it again,” Jason offered holding his fist up.

“No thanks, I like not being numb all over.” I laughed.

“Anyway...I’m really hoping that doesn't result in a litter of pups...I have enough kids as it is...”

“Did you just invoke Murphy?” I deadpanned.

He blinked before facepalming. “Motherfucker.”

“It’s okay, buddy,” I offered with a pat on the back. “Everything’s fine. Not like you’re gonna have to deal with the consequences anyway.”

“I’d rather not be a deadbeat to any of my kids, Vash.” Jason looked at me, narrowing his eyes.

“Yeah, that was a bad joke.” I cringed. “Still, she was the Alpha before you turned her into a female. Something tells me she can handle a litter. Even if they are half-jotun,” I chuckled and patted him on the back again.

“Yeah...” Jason nodded, looking at me. “Keep an eye on them for me?”

“Of course, if Toya has siblings in this universe then I’m going to do my best to make sure he has a good relationship with them,” I answered with a smile. “That’ll include finding Mezza and the other sirens if I can.”

“I doubt you’ll find them again, Vash.” Jason put his hands in his pocket. “So, how are the kids doing anyway?”

“The princesses and Megan are busy fawning all over them,” I replied with a smile. “And Toya is eating up the attention.”

“And Val didn’t freak out at my absence?” 

“She was a little upset at first, but Megan managed to calm her down. And she hasn’t threatened to peck anyone’s eyes out in at least an hour, so that’s a plus.”

“Well that's good. Show me the way, dear old dad.” Jason smirked. 

“Whatever you say, mommy.” I smirked back as I led him to the sitting room where the girls were gushing over Toya and Val.

“Ooh, he is truly precious!” Luna beamed, rubbing her cheek against Toya’s. “We can not stand it!”

“We can only hope that our own children are as adorable as little Toya here,” Celestia agreed, letting Toya grasp one of her fingers.

“What did I tell you, he’s eating it up,” I said as I turned to Jason.

“You three having fun?” Jason asked, watching as Megan preened Val’s feathers.

“Jason!” Val cried, her tiny wings flitting in a vain attempt to fly.

“They haven’t been able to stop squealing in delight,” Morning chuckled. “They are quite taken with little Toya here.

“Says the pony who played peekaboo with him,” Celestia and Luna teased. Morning blushed a bit and turned her head away.

“Miss me?” Jason asked, taking Val from Megan, who just smiled.

“I think she realized your scent was on me and just relaxed.” Megan giggled, brushing some hair out of her face. “She’s a feisty one.”

“I’ve heard that’s a common griffon trait,” I smiled. “Though she might be a bit more feisty than your average griffon,” I said as I ruffled some of her feathers. “So, have you gotten a turn with little Toya here?” I asked Megan. “Or have Tia and Lulu hogged him for themselves?”

“They’ve been very greedy with my grandson but, I didn’t have any problem keeping Val happy.” She beamed at the chick.

“You’re alright lady,” Val admitted, burying her head in Jason’s chest.

“Tia, Lulu, I know you love kids,” I grinned as I looked at the two princesses. “But maybe you should let Megan hold her grandchild. The two pouted a bit but handed Toya over without complaining.

“Hey there,” Megan cooed, cradling Toya gently. “I’m your granny Megan. Can you say Granny Megan?” Toya started to babble incoherently until his face contorted a bit and let out a sneeze that covered Megan’s face in a thin layer of frost.

“Huh, first time he’s done that,” I commented. Megan blinked, wiping her face off. 

“Well, Toya, thank you for my sneeze.” she chuckled, kissing his head.

“I’m sure he’d love to give you more if you just asked,” I chuckled with her, smiling at the baby.

“Jason certainly didn’t give me any of those.” She laughed, watching him play with Val.

“Toya might be an early bloomer to his ice powers because of my DNA,” I told her, rubbing the back of my head. “My character, Vash, looked like a teenager within a year or two.” 

“That's because Plants are weird energy things.” Jason commented, tickling Val’s sides.

“Hey! Cut that out!” She shrieked, harmlessly clawing at Jason’s hands.

“Aww, does that mean Toya may not stay this tiny for long?” Celestia pouted.

“If he was a full blooded Plant I’d say no,” I answered. “But since he’s also half jotun my answer is, we’ll have to wait and see,” I shrugged. Jason moved over, switching Val for Toya.

“Hey there little guy, recognize me?” he asked, cradling the babe close to his chest. Toya looked up at him and then down at his chest. He then placed his tiny hands on Jason’s chest and looked back up at him with a pout.

“I think Toya here misses your breasts as much as I do,” I laughed, turning to Jason with a large grin.

Jason gave me a deadpan look. “You keep quiet or I’ll go through with that knocking you up thing.”

“Not until you make it up to me for calling me Yamcha,” I returned with a smirk.

“Yeah yeah,” Jason rolled his eyes. “Sorry little guy but you’ll need to get your munchies from someone else.” Toya continued to pout but remained quiet.

“Luckily we have a wet-nurse on staff,” Celestia interjected, patting Toya on the head. “She should have more than enough milk for Toya here.”

“Hey, do you think we should summon Hel?” I asked Jason. “I’m sure she’d like to meet her great-grandson.”

“Eh, she can wait for the family reunion.” Jason waved his hand dismissively.

“Wow Jason, that was cold as ice.”

“Vash, do you have any idea how much effort Pinkie and Applejack are putting into this reunion? With so many people, they’re putting off like the next dozen to plan a decade in advance.”

“Why are they delaying it a decade?” I questioned, puzzled. “What could those two be planning that’ll take a decade to pull off?”

“Vash, do you have any idea how many families are involved in this?” Jason asked, raising his eyebrow.

“Clearly not otherwise I’d have known that was a stupid question,” I replied, slumping over slightly.

“Relax man. It’ll be epic.” Jason smiled, patting my head. 

“So, how many families is this exactly? Just so I know.” 

“Well there’s mine, the Sparkles, the Apple clan, the Pies, and our weirdo extended herd thing.”

“Okay, that does sound like a lot. I’ve actually met a different version of Applejack before. Does she wear a stetson and talk with a southern accent in your universe?” I asked.

“Yeah she does.” Jason nodded.

“Cool, then I’ll know what to expect from her for the most part. Though this Pinkie is still a complete mystery. Along with those Sparkles,” I snickered slightly at that last part.

‘Man, some of these pony names are ridiculous.’

“Pinkie is basically the pony version of Discord. Don’t question how she does things or you’ll lose your mind.”

“Then I’ll be sure to question everything strange she does,” I beamed and struck a triumphant pose. “I lost my mind months ago.”

“Anyway,” Jason nodded to his mother, whistling for Zed. “We should get going.”

“Alright, be sure to tell Rarity and Chrysalis that Vash and Toya said hi,” I smiled as I took Toya from him. “And don’t be a stranger, Toya will miss his mommy if you don’t visit,” I finished, bouncing Toya a bit.

“Be sure to send thy wives our regards as well,” Celestia nodded. “They were quite the guests.”

Jason moved over, kissing Toya on the head. “I’m sorry I can’t stay with you...” he said sadly, looking into the baby’s eyes. 

“I’m sure he’ll understand,” I assured Jason. “Besides, I can either summon you or you can teleport here anytime you want. You’re never very far away… unless you’re talking about literal distance. In that case you’d be light years upon light years away.”

He just gave me a look, kissing Toya’s head again. “Take care everyone.” He shifted into Hodge, punching a hole in reality before taking Megan through, the broken space fixing itself right up.

All of a sudden, Toya started crying and a foul odor wafted through the room. “Uh oh,” I said, pinching my nose. “So, who wants to be the first one to change Toya here.” The three girls  exchanged a look before lighting up their horns and leaving me alone with the crying baby. “Yeah, kinda figured that’d be the reaction I’d get,” I sighed. I then looked down at Toya and smiled a bit. “Don’t worry buddy, daddy’ll fix you right up.” I cringed a bit and started walking down the halls to find a new diaper for him.



> Shadow Over an Empire
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Time seemed to fly and five years had passed since the birth of Toya. He was such a good kid. Even if he did seem to be obsessed with fighting and training. Well, he is his mother's son after all. Things with my three mares were great too. Luna showed no signs of becoming Nightmare Moon and Morning seemed to adjust well to the gene splicing Jason had given her. Everything was perfect, except for one small detail. In all that time, I still hadn't managed to impregnate any of my mares. And it wasn't for a lack of trying. It was getting to the point where I was starting to worry. I knew I wasn't infertile; Toya was proof enough of that. Maybe I just wasn't compatible with ponies? Of course, I never let those worries show. I had put on my best smile after each failed attempt and told them there was always next time.

I was walking through the halls of the castle, looking for Toya. He had wandered off somewhere After his morning lessons with Starswirl and Clover. It was a common occurrence, much to our chagrin. Lucky for all of us, Toya had aged normally. Though his powers seemed to be developing fairly quickly. You think raising a kid is hard? Try having one that causes a miniature, indoor blizzard during a tantrum. As far as appearance went, Toya’s hair was the same dark color as his mother’s and it grew out in a spiked-up way that sorta resembled a certain orange jumpsuit wearing ninja. His eyes were the same shade of cerulean as mine and his facial features were a blend of mine and Jason’s.

I figured the training yard was the best place to look for him. He was always watching the guards train and tried to copy their fighting moves on his own since Morning told him he was too young to do the same exercises the guards were. When I got there, I heard what sounded like grunts coming from the yard. I took a step behind one of the pillars between the castle and the yard and watched what was going on.

There, at the end of the yard was Toya, conjuring up spikes of ice and tossing them at one of the training dummies. Just from his body language I could tell he had been at it for a while. I then spotted a piece of parchment that had been hastily attached to the dummy. I squinted my eyes and made out the word, “Mom” on it. I frowned at the sight, piecing together what he was doing. He tried to throw another spike, only for a puff of frost to come out.

He growled in frustration and ran up to the dummy, using what strength he had left to punch and kick the dummy. “Why?! Why have I never met you?!” he boomed, still punching and kicking while he demanded answers from the inanimate object. “Don’t you love me?! Don’t you love Dad?!”  He grunted, the lack of an answer frustrating him. “I hate you! You’re the worst mom ever!”

I had to hold back tears of my own, silently stepping out from behind the pillar. After that outburst, one of his punches went wide and he lost balance, falling to his knees. Tears started falling from his eyes. “Mom,” he muttered. He then shot up, turning when he felt my arms wrap around him. He looked up, a mortified expression on his face. “D-Dad, h-how long were you watching?”

“Long enough,” I answered, pulling his head to my chest and stroking the back of his head. “I think you and I need to have a talk.”

He looked like he was about to say something in protest but quickly buttoned his lip and nodded. I gave him the warmest smile I could and led him to a sitting room. I sat on a red colored couch and pulled Toya onto my lap.

I let him get settled before I spoke again. “So, how long have you been doing this?”

He shifted for a moment before looking down at his lap. “I dunno, a while I guess.”

“You know I’m going to tell you that you have to stop doing that, right?” He didn’t meet my gaze and just nodded. I let out a sigh, “Toya, I know how you feel. My own mother and I never got along all that much. There were even times I told her that I hated her.”

Toya looked up at me with wide eyes. “You really did that?”

I nodded and stared at a point in the room as I gathered my thoughts. After a few moments I spoke again, “Yeah, I wasn’t always a good kid. I was raised Roman Catholic by my parents.”

“Catholic?” Toya repeated, tilting his head at me. “Isn’t that the name of that religion you mentioned during those history lessons?”

“Exactly,” I told him, flashing him a smile. “Anyway, I never really felt comfortable in church. None of it really clicked with me and most of the nuns hated me because of the questions I asked during Sunday School. This was a big source of contention between your grandmother and I since she was a devout member of the church.”

I hung my head as I recalled the next part of the story. “Your grandfather was a police officer. They’re a lot like the guards that patrol towns. One day, something went wrong and he-“I stopped, tears welling up in my eyes.

The day I was told the news started to replay in my mind. I was twelve and had just gotten home from school. When I opened the door, I saw my father’s partner’s head hung down and my mother breaking down into hysterical sobs. Everything seemed to slow down as my father’s partner explained what happened.

“He passed away,” I managed to get out. Toya frowned at seeing how distressed I was and hugged me. I smiled a little and returned the gesture. I took a deep breath, wiping the tears away as I collected myself. “That was a pretty big blow to my family and we all grieved in different ways. My mother and little brother threw themselves into religion, while I threw myself into my studies. I also may or may not have went through a punk phase that looked ridiculous on me. Everything came to a head when I found out a secret about my little brother.”

“How did you find out your brother’s secret?” Toya questioned, tilting his head up at me.

I smiled and patted his head. “Because it’s the job of a big brother to know how to help their little brother. Figured you’d know that by now with the pups. Anyway, I decided to do something for my brother and gave him the result of that the day I was leaving for college. Someone told my mother about what I was doing and I claimed that my brother’s secret was mine. Now, this secret was a big no-no for someone to be while practicing the religion. Needless to say, my mother didn’t react well and I stormed out of the house.”

I closed my eyes and let the event play out in my head. “That was the last time I saw those two. I said some things I’ll always regret that day. Take it from me, Toya, you don’t want to go through life with that kind of anger towards your family. I know for a fact that your mother loves you very much, and it would hurt her to think you feel that way. I’m not saying you can’t feel upset.” I stroked the top of his head. “Just please don’t say you hate her. Can you do that for me?”

Toya looked down for a few moments before speaking, “I guess I can do that.”

I smiled at him and pulled him into a hug. “I’m glad to hear it. Now, how about I make you a snack. That sound good?”

He smiled softly and nodded. “Yeah! Food sounds good.”

I stood up and took him with me, placing him on my shoulders. “Then let’s go to the kitchen, I’ll make you our family’s special spaghetti.” I started to walk out of the room and he gripped my head. “This recipe’s been in the family since our ancestors were in Italia.”

Toya seemed to perk up a bit as I led him through the halls. I didn’t say anything, simply humming a soft tune until we reached our destination. I slowly opened the door to the kitchen, peeking around it to scan the room.

“Good, no one’s here,” I whispered. “I don’t think we’ll be dodging flying cutlery today.”

I shuddered at the memory of previous trips to the kitchen ending with us running from an angry head chef. I set him down and pulled off my gloves to wash my hand. I put a cover on my metal hand and went about gathering ingredients. Part of the beauty of living in a castle is that the pantry is always stocked with ingredients for just about any kind of food that pops into your head. Like a sandwich tower straight out of a Scooby Doo episode. The fact that I didn’t puke after that amazes me to this day. Anyway, once I had all my ingredients I started to cook. After a half an hour or so I had two full plates of spaghetti prepared. I set it down in front of him and started to tuck into my own. Toya attacked the pasta, sauce flying around the dining hall. I had to hold back a chuckle, the scene very reminiscent of how his mother ate.

A thought occurred to me and I slipped a hand into my pocket. “Hey, Toya?” He turned his head to me, slurping up a noodle. “There’s something else I need to tell you about your mother.” He moved to say something but  I stopped him. “Don’t worry, no more lectures. There’s a reason she’s never around. Your mother is the ruler of a faraway land and protects the world. The reason that she decided to have you stay with me was twofold.”

“One, there’s a time difference between our lands, and two, she thought she’d have more opportunities to see you than I would. She was under the impression that she’d live longer than me because her lifespan is millions of years and mine is undetermined.”

Toya’s eyes bugged out. “Whoa, that’s a huge number.”

I ruffled his hair. “Yup. Don’t worry, Toya, you’ll see her someday.” I fished around in my pocket and found a familiar black cylinder. “In fact-”

“Excuse me,” a voice called out. Toya and I turned to see a maid step into the dining hall and bow. “Pardon the interruption, but thou art needed by the princesses, Vash.”

I did my best not to show my irritation and flashed her a smile. I looked to Toya as I stood up. “Let’s hope I’m not in hot water again.” I winked at him, eliciting a snicker from him and I turned to follow the maid.





I had found myself called to the meeting room for some sort of important meeting. I had briefly considered skipping out on said meeting, but considering I was in a relationship with the three most powerful mares on the planet who were holding it, I thought better of it. I greeted my mares with a bright smile and a peck on the lips before taking a seat.

“So, what’s with the miniature on the table?” I asked, poking the projection on the table and distorting it. Morning then shot me a glare and slapped my hand away.

“This is a recreation of the Crystal Empire and it is ruled by a stallion named King Sombra,” Luna explained, ignoring my antics.

’Sombra? Why does that sound so familiar?’ I thought, scratching my chin for a moment before another thought sprang to mind.

“Wait a minute, Crystal Empire?” I asked, looking over the model. “But this is just a city. I hate to break it to Sombra’s ego but empires are usually a bit bigger than just one city.”

“Vash… there was nothing in that rambling thought that was the least bit helpful at this current juncture.” Morning frowned at me. “So please, let us get on with the point of this meeting and save your chatter until after we have discussed the matters at hand.”

“Alright, I’ll just keep my jokes and silly comments to myself,” I replied, throwing my hands up. For some reason, Morning had been cranky for the past few days.

'I’ll have to pull up Google and show this Sombra what a real empire is like. He’ll probably flip from Rome alone.'

“Thank you,” Celestia nodded looking over the projection. “Now, Luna and I have been called to the Empire to improve relations with them and their king.”

“But that’s not all,” Luna continued. “Lately we have been hearing strange rumors that somepony in the Crystal Empire has been using dark magic. If that is the case, then we must investigate this. Dark magic is very dangerous and is very easily abused.”

“We art lucky that the signs of dark magic use are easy to discover,” Starswirl added. “If somepony has been using such foul spells, then we should be able to discover them without much difficulty.”

“Maybe not,” I interjected. “I’ve been studying magic and something just occurred to me. There are ways to hide traces of magical energy if the caster of the spells is skilled enough. And it becomes even easier if the caster has access to a powerful artifact.” Everyone in the room exchanged a worried look for a moment before turning back to me.

“Vash, there is such an artifact in the Crystal Empire,” Starswirl informed me. “At the center of the Empire there is the Crystal Heart. It is fueled by the emotions of the ponies that live there. It is what protects them from the harsh snow and wind outside its borders. In fact, the effects of the heart may even have influence on Equestria and other nations. Though this has never been truly confirmed.”

“The Crystal Heart?” I repeated, scratching my chin. “I seem to recall that our own Tree of Harmony is made of crystal. Maybe the two of them are related?”

“I had thought the same thing,” Starswirl nodded and stroked his beard. “Though we may not have a chance to investigate. Sombra is known for keeping a close eye on the Heart to ensure no harm may come to it.”

“Makes sense, it is what keeps him and all his subjects alive,” I nodded. “There’s something else we may need to worry about though.”

“And what would that be?” Morning asked with a tilt of her head.

“If we’re going to a tundra environment then we may have to worry about you. Your bottom half is a snake, and snakes are cold-blooded. Traveling to the Empire could be dangerous if we don’t take the proper precautions.”

“And what proper precautions would you recommend?” She asked.

“Well, keeping our carriage warmed as soon as we hit the general area for one thing. Other than that, it’s best that you wear a lot of clothes to keep your body heat up.”

“Hmm, this is the first time you’ve ever suggested one of us to wear more clothes.” Luna smirked.

“A novel situation indeed.” Celestia chuckled.

“Well, I’m not gonna suggest it again. In fact, I’m going to personally advocate the wearing of far less clothing when we make a beach trip sometime soon,” I grinned, my mind drifting off to visions of the three in bathing suits on a sandy shore.

'A beach trip might not be a bad idea,’ I thought, my smile twitching but ultimately staying on my face. 'It might be a good chance to try and find Mezza and Fortissima again. Find out if Toya has a couple more siblings… Nah, if I haven’t been able to get my three mares pregnant in all this time there’s no way I knocked them up after one try. Oh well, guess they found some other schmuck to give them the children they wanted. Toya is all the kid I need right now… Wow, that sounded way worse than I intended. Good thing it was just in my head,’ I finished, my eyes glancing to a corner of the room for an instant.

“So, when are we going to be making the trip?” I asked.

“As soon as we have collected all our things and the carriage is prepared,” Morning answered.

“Alright, then I’ll get started then,” I nodded and got up from my chair, walking over to the corner I glanced at earlier.

I peered behind one of the supporting pillars and found Toya trying to hide and listen in on our discussions. The look on his face at this particular moment was exactly what you’d expect of a kid who knows he’s been caught somewhere he shouldn’t be. I silently stared down at him for a few moments until he spoke up first.

“Uhh… hey Dad, what’s up?” he asked with a nervous chuckle.

“Oh, I’m just fine, Toya. So, what are you up to?” I questioned back in an even tone.

“Me? I was just uh...” Toya paused, desperate for an excuse. “Looking for my practice sword!” He beamed and held up the wooden sword that was always by his side. “Yup just looking for this. Heh, you know how I’m always just leaving things around,” he told me with a grin, seeming pleased with himself.

“Really, is that all? Because it looked like you were trying to listen in on our meeting to me.”

“Whaaat? Come on Dad, you know me better than that.”

“Uh huh, and you know I’m buying a word of this, don’t you?” I asked him, crossing my arms over my chest.

“Yeah,” he slumped over with a dramatic sigh, “but it was worth a shot.” Toya then shot up with a big grin on his face. “So, can I come with you on your trip to the Crystal Empire?”

“No Toya, you can’t come,” I told him, kneeling down to look him in the eye. “There might be a dark magic user lurking in the empire and we’ll have to deal with them.”

“Come on, Dad!” Toya pleaded. “I can help you beat this bad guy! Well, I could if I had a real sword.”

“Toya, I’m not giving you a sword. Well, not yet anyway. And the sword I plan on giving you is better than anything I’ve ever made in my years outfitting the Royal Guard,” I told him with a smirk.

“Aww, now you gotta show me this sword! Just one little look!” He beamed, bouncing in place slightly.

“Nope, you’ll get to see it the day I give it to you. And not a day sooner.”

“I can still help,” Toya pressed. “You said that this Crystal Empire place has a lot of ice and snow around it. I bet my powers would be crazy strong there.” I had to let out a long sigh at that.

       “Toya, you have no idea how proud of you I am right now hearing how much you want to help us.” I told him with a smile. And I’m sure your mother would be proud of how brave you sound right now,” I added and tousled his hair. “But you can’t come to the Crystal Empire with us and that’s final.”

       “Oh come on!”

       “Instead, why don’t you stay with Rex, Tiberius and Dot during our trip?” I suggested, hoping to make him feel a little better at the least.

       “I guess that could be fun.” He sighed.

       “Glad to hear it.” I smiled down at him. “And hey when we get back, how would you feel about a trip to the beach?”

       “The beach?” He repeated, seeming to perk up at that. “I’ve never been to the beach before.”

       “If you’re anything like me, you’re gonna love it. And if you’re lucky, I might have a special surprise for you while we’re there.”

       “A surprise, what is it?!”

       “You’ll find out when we get there.” I chuckled and tousled his hair again as I stood back up. “Now, come and help your old man pack his things for the trip to the empire.”

       “Okay.” he nodded and started to rush out of the room.

       The packing didn’t take very long and we piled into the carriage and stopped by the field that Jason and I had been to, to visit the diamond dog village all those years ago. Toya and I got out and walked out into the empty field and down a tunnel. It took us about a few minutes to reach the village and we walked up to where the Alpha was. Said Alpha was still female and had seemed to like her new body. Well, I’d never heard her complain about the change in the time I’d known her. She noticed the two of us approaching and smiled down from her makeshift throne.

       “Vash, it’s been a little while.”

       “Yeah, sorry about that. Things have been a little busy lately.”

       “So what brings you and Toya here today?” She questioned, leaning forward.

       “Well, my mares and I are going on a potentially dangerous excursion.”

       “So you want me to look after Toya for you while you’re gone?” She inquired, cutting me off before I could ask myself.

       “Am I really that transparent?” I asked with a chuckle.

       “Of course, you are, it’s what makes it so easy to get along with. And I’d be happy to watch over Toya for you. Oh, children!” the Alpha called out, looking back toward her home.

In a matter of moments, three young diamond dog pups came bounding out of the home and stopped in front of their mother, their tails wagging in a blur of motion. The three of them had the same coloring as their mother. Except the girl of the litter, she had a brown spot around her right eye. Their clothing was very plain, basically just a grey shawl that covered them. Their smiles grew when they saw Toya.They tackled him and started licking his face.

“Big brother!” Dot, the only girl of the trio cheered, still licking his face.

As it turns out, Jotun and Diamond Dog DNA can intermingle rather well and results in adorable pups. Then again, Jay does have a canine in the family so I guess that was obvious.

“Hey sis,” Toya replied with a chuckle, trying and failing to protect his face. “It’s good seeing you three again.”

“How are things in the castle?” Tiberius, the runt of the litter asked.

       “I may or may not have caused some of the new guard recruits to slip on some ice while they were running laps,” Toya told him with a mischievous grin, holding up a finger and letting frost dance along it.

       “Do you ever get tired of messing with them?” Rex, the largest of the three asked.

“I’ll let you know as soon it happens.” Toya smirked. His siblings giggled and got off of him to let him stand up.

I knelt down and put a hand on Toya’s shoulder. I reached out to his mind. ’Goodbye, son. I’ll see you soon.’

’Bye, Dad.’

Lucky for me, I had learned how to control my telepathy in the years since Toya’s birth. It certainly came in whenever I thought I was about to get in trouble with the girls. I gave him a hug. We stayed like that for a few moments before I reluctantly ended it and stood up. I turned on a heel, waving goodbye over my shoulder as I headed for the surface.





The carriage continued to bounce around, the constant bumping and jostling created from the terrain keeping me from getting a comfortable rest. I had to keep from groaning out of boredom. The ride had gone on for days at that point and I had exhausted all forms of entertainment my phone could bring.

This then led me to thinking of my research on integrating magic as an energy source in tech. It was obvious that magic could be easily altered into other forms of energy. Unicorns and alicorns did it every day with their spells. The problem would be to do that mechanically. My current course of action was studying Biology in order to do research on unicorns and alicorns to figure out the process.

Then there was the problem of moving the energy through the system. After a few primitive experiments with the equipment I could jury rig, I’d learned that copper and other typical conductors were inefficient. Crystals were able to store magical energy very well, but using them in a similar way to wire would be tricky.

“Vash.” I was pulled out of my thoughts and looked over to see Morning staring at me. She had a makeshift sweater covering her tail. I say sweater but really it looked more like a giant sock. “I have been attempting to get thy attention for minutes.”

I rubbed the back of my head. “Sorry, I was fending off the boredom by trying to think through the snags my research is hitting.”

“Dost thou think of anything other than thy research and carnal matters?” Celestia teased with a small smile.

I put on an exaggerated hurt expression. “I never. You know full well I also think about how best to raise Toya.” The girls all rolled their eyes but smiled. “So, why’d you wanna get my attention?”

“The driver hast informed us that we art outside of the Crystal Empire,” Luna chimed in, yawning. She was still adjusting to being up during the day and was currently drinking her third cup of coffee for the day.

“Thank god, it’ll be good to finally be able to stretch my legs again,” I said.

The carriage continued to pull forward for a few minutes more before slowly coming to a stop. The driver opened the door and we all stepped or slithered out. We were greeted by a line of ponies that looked like they were made of living crystal wearing silver armor.

The map didn’t do the place justice. There was a pale blue barrier surrounding the city and protecting it from the biting blizzard outside it. Within the barrier, there were rolling fields of green and large swatches of flowers all around. Everything else seemed to be made of crystal. The buildings, the streets and as I previously mentioned, the ponies. The streets were evenly laid out and followed a pattern towards the center.

“Seems like the perfect city for people with OCD,” I muttered, watching one of the guards step forward and bow.

He was a purple stallion with lighter purple eyes and a silver mane. “Your Majesties, t’is an honor to be in thy presence.”

“Thank thee,” Celestia replied. She looked among the assembled guards with a neutral expression. “Where is thy king. We would think he would be here to greet us.”

“King Sombra is awaiting thee at the palace,” the guard informed. “He is ensuring that everything is perfect for thy stay.”

“Then please, lead the way,” Luna said, motioning with her arm towards the streets.

The guards bowed again and took up positions around us as they marched towards the center of the city. We all followed with Celestia and Luna at the front with Morning at their side, Clover and Starswirl at the center and me at the back.

I put my glasses on and subtly examined the streets. There were crystal ponies of all colors and kinds milling around. A lot of them stopped and whispered amongst themselves as we passed. Most of them were focused on Celestia and Luna, but I was getting a few stares of my own. I was used to it at that point.

The purpose of my staring was to get a feel for the place. If the rumor of a dark magic user had reached our ears, then it had to be in every corner of the empire. Judging by the body language I was seeing, I was right about that. It was like they all knew something was wrong but were insistent on pretending everything was fine. It definitely warranted looking into later.

After a while, we finally made it to the crystal palace. The base of it reminded me of the Eiffel Tower and was raised above the city’s center. At the center I spotted a sort of pedestal for what I assumed was the Crystal Heart. Said heart was made of light blue crystal that matched the pedestal and the palace.

The other thing that caught my attention were the pair of guards that were circling the heart. It was safe to assume that the heart was guarded at all times. If that was the case, then how was the dark magic user masking their activities with it? As we were led into the palace’s entrance, a few possibilities were running through my mind.

Once we were in the large throne room we were greeted by the king himself. He was about six feet tall with light grey fur. He was wearing a white silk shirt with a red cape draped over his shoulders trimmed with white fur. A simple silver crown with a silver circle flanked by two red jewels rested on his head. His mane was black and windswept. His ruby eyes locked onto us as we walked into the room and he rose from his throne to meet us.

“Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, t’is wonderful to see thee,” he greeted in a deep, smooth voice, bowing his head and kissing Celestia and Luna’s hands.

“We only wish that our visit were under better circumstances,” Celestia replied.

“Ah yes, the rumor of the dark magic user,” Sombra looked back at his throne. “We art unsure how he has eluded our search thus far.”

“I had an idea about that,” I chimed in.

Sombra turned back and regarded me with a hard to read expression. “Thou must be the lover to the princesses we hath heard of.”

“The one and only,” I replied, giving him a theatrical bow.

“Thou said that thou hast an idea,” Sombra started, cutting me off just as I was about to share said idea, “but what could thou possibly know of this? Thou art no unicorn. Thou can use magic as effectively as our tea kettle.” He nodded his head and quickly added, “We mean no offense.”

“One does not need wings to understand aerodynamics.” I flashed him a smile. “My belief is that our mystery magic user is using a magical artifact to mask what they’re doing. And of course, the Crystal Heart is the most powerful artifact in this city. If this person is actually using it, then they’d have to be someone that the guards around it wouldn’t suspect them getting close to it.”

“Art thou suggesting that somepony within the palace is using the heart for nefarious purposes?” Sombra glared at me.

I shrugged. “It’s the best explanation I can give you based on what little I know.” I grinned and gave him a thumbs up. “Don’t worry, we’ll find out what’s going on.”

Sombra turned his attention towards Starswirl. “What art thy thoughts on the matter?”

Starswirl stroked his beard. “My opinion matches that of Vash’s. Our search will begin within the palace.”

Sombra nodded. “Very well, thou art free to question the servants and guards. But for now, let us make way to the dining hall.” He started to walk away, a pair of crystal guards flanking him as he motioned for us to follow.

A minute later and we were in a large dining hall. The table stretched out for about half the room. There were arrangements of multicolored crystals shaped to look like flower bouquets all along the table and there was a fancy lace cloth stretched along it. Sombra sat at the head of the table with Celestia and Luna by his sides. I was sitting next to Clover, watching as maids and servers flitted about the room to finish setting the table.

I pocketed my glasses and thanked the maid, a pink crystal unicorn with a white, glittery mane pulled back into a bun as she poured me a glass of water. Her uniform seemed to cover more of her than the maids in our castle and she had a lacy choker covered most of her neck. Actually, I took a moment to examine the other maids. They were all dressed that way.

“So, have you noticed anything strange around the palace lately?” I questioned, watching her closely as I sipped my water.

She flinched for a split second. It was subtle, but thanks to my eagle-like eyes I spotted it. “No, everything is well within the palace.”

“Are you sure? Even a small detail that seems out of place can be very helpful.” I reached out to her mind to see if there was anything she was hiding.

“Sorry, there is nothing that comes to mind.” She shook her head and gave me an apologetic look.

’Say nothing!' her mind screamed. ’I cannot incur the wrath of… him.’

Suddenly, an image was  seared into my head. It was a pair of eyes but they looked so unnatural. They had green scleras with red irises and wisps of purple smoke coming out of the corners. I clutched at the side of my head, searing pain shooting through it.

“Vash, art thou okay?” Clover asked.

I shook my head to clear out the image before nodding at her. “Yeah, I’m fine. Just had a headache for a second there. Don’t mind me.”

Clover nodded and returned to her meal. I sat in silence as I thought over what I had just seen. It was obvious she had direct contact with the dark magic user. The only problem was that she wouldn’t tell me directly or through her thoughts. I examined her again through the corner of my eye, watching as she poured Sombra a glass of wine. I took note of her uniform again along with the other maids in the room. A thought crossed my mind and I had to hold back a frown.

Once the meal was over, we were led to our rooms. I laid out our belongings on the bed and started to unpack. My thoughts continued to drift back to that maid and her behavior. Once I was done putting our things away, I turned and started to walk out the door.

Celestia perked up as I opened the door. “Vash, what art thou doing? Shouldn’t thou get some rest?”

“I’ll be fine,” I assured her with a thumbs up. “I want to start this investigation as soon as possible.”

“Very well,” Morning chimed in with a nod, “let us know if thou finds anything.”

“Can do.” I waved and closed the door behind me.

I started to carefully walk down the halls, keeping an eye out for the maid I had questioned earlier. I stuck to the walls and made a mental note of every turn that I made so I could quickly return to the room. After about half an hour of wandering, I spotted her cleaning the floors. I stayed out of sight the best I could, crouching down behind a suit of armor and watching her carefully.

She continued to clean for a while, making the floors shimmer and sparkle. When she was done she started to walk further down the hall. I followed at a distance, sticking to whatever nook or cranny I could find to avoid being seen. Eventually, she stopped in front of a door and knocked. A moment later, it seemed to open on its own and she stepped inside.

I checked both sides of the hallway to make sure no one was approaching before walking up to it myself. I crouched down and put my eye to the keyhole. I couldn’t really make anything out. The only light was coming from a candle or lantern outside the narrow view of the keyhole. I looked around as best I could and found the maid shrugging off her clothes with her back turned to the door. My eyes widened as bruises and cuts were slowly revealed.

I clenched my fist and grit my teeth. This was exactly what I was afraid of. Then, the eyes from when I had looked into her mind lit up in the darkness and the maid started convulsing. It took all of my willpower to not shoot the lock off and charge into the room. In a fight against a powerful magic user, I’d lose before I could even draw my gun. The most important thing was identifying the one abusing the maid and confronting them with the girls and Starswirl.

I forced myself away from the door and returned to my previous hiding place. From what little I had seen, there was no other way out of that room aside from the door I was watching. Which meant that if I kept an eye on it long enough, the mystery magic-user would eventually walk out.

I waited the rest of the night, forcing myself to stay awake. After a few close calls, the only one to leave the room was the maid. Even after she left, I waited for what seemed like hours.

I decided to take a chance and approached the door again. I looked through the keyhole and only saw no one inside. I drew my gun and threw open the door. I did a quick sweep only to be greeted by a couple couches, chairs, a small table and a candle holder fixed to the wall with fresh wax stuck to it. I kept my gun drawn and looked over every nook and cranny of the room.

I didn’t find anything and decided to report back to the girls. I quickly retraced my steps and made it back to our temporary bedroom just as they were starting to stir. Luna regarded me blankly for a moment as she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes.

“Vash, why didst thou not return last night?” She sat up in bed, letting the covers slip off of and pool around her waist.

“I’ve got a big lead in the investigation,” I replied. “I followed the maid I had questioned last night at dinner and it turns out she’s being tormented by the dark magic user.”

“What?!” Morning slithered out of the bathroom and gave me a harsh look. “Why didst thou not come to us immediately after learning this?”

“I couldn’t risk them getting away. If this person is ballsy enough to be doing this right in the palace then they’ve probably got measures to detect if someone’s getting close to them. If I had brought any one of you three with me, a measure like that would pick you up with no trouble at all. Like Sombra said, I'm about as magical as a tea kettle so I'm immune to that kinda thing.”

“Then dost thou know the identity of the dark magic user?” Celestia questioned, turning from her seat in front of the dresser.

“No, they managed to slip out of the room they were in without me noticing.” I frowned, thinking back on it. “Which is odd, I didn’t see a flash of light come from under the doorframe to indicate they teleported.” I turned on my heel, an idea popping into my head. “I think I need to give that room another look.”

“I will come with thee,” Morning offered. “Thou may encounter the dark magic user and we cannot let thee do that alone.”

I nodded. “Fine by me.” I turned to Celestia and Luna. “Tell Sombra that we’ll be late for breakfast.”

Morning slithered to my side once she had donned her armor and weapons and we made our way to the sitting room. I had to suppress a yawn as my lack of sleep threatened to catch up with me. My determination managed to keep me going and we entered the sitting room. I smirked and walked over to the candlestick, pulling down on it. As expected, it acted as a lever and a portion of the wall next to it swung open to reveal a spiral staircase.

“Aha, so this is how he escaped my notice.” I walked up to the stairs and took a look. They wound up further than I could see and was lined by unlit torches.

“It would seem the pony we art looking for is knowledgeable of the palace,” Morning noted, coming up to my side.

Her horn lit up and she sent a spark out to the nearest torch. In a matter of moments, it was burning brightly and fending off the shadows with a warm glow. I grabbed the torch off its sconce and held it out in front of me.

“That would rule out any of the newer staff.” I knelt down, taking a look at the hinges on the hidden door. I let out a hum as I leaned in closer and tapped on them. “That’s odd.”

“What is it?” Morning inquired, leaning over my shoulder.

“From what I can tell, these hinges are new.” I pointed at them to display how clean they were. “By my estimate, they’re about a year old.”

“Which would mean that this was a renovation made by Sombra himself and not any of his predecessors,” Morning added, a stern look on her face.

“Things are certainly starting to come together,” I said, standing up straight. “Think we should see where these go?” I used my free hand to indicate the steps.

“That would be the wisest course of action.” She started to slither up the stairs. “We still lack the evidence to accuse anypony.”

I gave a nod and walked up to her side. We remained silent during our climb, the only sound being my footsteps echoing through the corridor. After a few minutes, we reached the top of the staircase and found a lever on the right-hand side of the passage. Morning gave it a pull and the wall swung open, revealing a rather large bedroom on the other side.

We stepped into the room, examining our surroundings. Everything was lavish, from the red carpet on the floor to the crystal furniture. There was even a large bookshelf next to the proper door to the room that was stuffed to the brim with tomes.

Morning slithered over to a large dresser, opened it and pulled out a familiar looking red cape. “It would seem the identity of the dark magic user hath been found,” she stated, a dark look on her face.

I rubbed the side of my head, going over to the bookcase. “Yeah, I had a bad feeling that it’d turn out like this.” I started running my fingers along the spines of the books. “Let’s keep searching this place, we’ve gotta be sure to confiscate whatever materials he’s been using to study this shit. Or else we risk someone else starting this all over again.”

She nodded and started to look through the dresser. I focused on the bookshelf searching it top to bottom. None of them were incriminating. I expected as much, it’s not like I expected them to be left out in the open. I pulled the books off the shelf, a messy pile forming on the floor behind me. Once the shelves were bare, I started to feel around. A smirk graced my face as a false panel slid back on the second to last shelf to reveal a cubby. I reached into it and pulled out two books, one a jet black spellbook with a strange sigil engraved on the front, and the other a journal of sorts.

I grinned and displayed the books to Morning. “I believe this is everything we need to accuse the dear king of a crime.”

Morning turned from the dresser with a glittering blue object in her hand. “Sombra also has a fake Crystal Heart.” She came over and took the books from me, leafing through the spellbook. “There are all manner of cruel spells contained within this tome. If he hath been using these on the maid thou described, then we must make haste.”

“You’re right,” we headed for the door, “but I don’t think it’s just the one maid. All of them were covering up like she was.”

“All the more reason to be quick,” Morning stated.

We hurried through the halls of the palace, guards pressing themselves to the wall or else be bowled over by the charging naga. Eventually, we burst into the dining room with weapons trained on Sombra. This resulted in several spears being pointed at us.

“What is the meaning of this madness?” Sombra questioned, rising from his seat.

“King Sombra, you have committed heinous crimes,” I said, keeping my gun pointed at his horn. “Not only have you been practicing dark magic, but you’ve been using it to torture your own subjects.”

“This is preposterous! Dost thou have any proof of this?!”

“We have your spellbook right here.” I indicated the books in Morning’s arms. “Now, are you going to come along quietly, or are you going to raise your hand against us?”

Sombra clenched his fists and gritted his teeth. He glared at me, his form seeming to shift as his eyes changed to the ones I had seen through the keyhole. Before I could even react, a purplish-black bolt of magic struck me in the chest and  I collapsed in a heap. I groaned, my eyes widening as I felt something claw at my mind as I lost consciousness.

When I came to I was home. And I don’t mean the castle. Somehow I was back in my bedroom at my childhood home. It was just like I remembered it, with Trigun, Cowboy Bebop and Big O posters hanging on the walls, along with ones for bands like The Ramones and Bad Religion. Shoved into the back-left corner of the room was my work desk. Its surface was dominated by metalworking tools and bits of scrap metal with schoolwork taking up a small corner. Hanging from the ceiling by fishing wire were homemade models of space shuttles and space ships.

I tried to move, only to remain firmly planted in my bed. I kept trying to move, only to be met with the same result. Then, as if in answer to my prayers, I got up. Except, I wasn’t in control. My body continued to move, opening the closet door and pulling out a few rollable suitcases.

My body walked down the hall a bit, opening the door to another bedroom. It was much plainer than my own with a spartan sense of furniture and decoration. The only real thing of note was the wooden crucifix hanging above the bed.

If I was in control my eyes would’ve widened from what I was seeing. It was my brother, except he looked just like he did when he was a teenager. His dark hair was cut short and didn’t have any real style to it and his eyes were a dark brown that always reminded me of coffee.

“Knock knock,” I said, getting his attention.

He turned to me and rolled his eyes but there was a ghost of a smile on his face. “That’s not what I meant by knock if you want to come into my room and you know it, Peter.”

I shrugged and took a seat on his bed. “As if I’d walk in on you doing anything. Unlike me, you follow the rules in this thing.” I leaned over and rapped my knuckles on the bible he kept on his nightstand.

He frowned a little. “I really wish you’d show God and his book some more respect.”

I chuckled. “I’ll take my chances, Johnny boy. But, that’s not why I’m here.” I grinned. “I’m here to say goodbye before I go off to college.” I got up, walked over to his desk and put a hand on his shoulder. “I’m gonna miss you.”

He gave me a small smile. “It’s not like you’re leaving forever. You’ll be home for Thanksgiving.”

“Very true, which reminds me.” I reached into my pocket, pulled out a piece of paper and held it out to him.

He took and and his eyes scanned over it for a moment. In an instant, a blush burst across his cheeks and he looked up at me with a panicked look. “Wh-why would you give me this?”

I patted his shoulder and shot him a sly grin. “You don’t have to worry, I know your little secret. And unlike Mom, I’m totally cool with it.”

He turned his head from me, remaining silent for a few moments. I could tell he was debating something with himself and he would occasionally glance at me through the corner of his eye. Eventually, he sighed and tilted his head up at me. “How did you figure it out? I’ve only ever said anything about this during confession.”

“You give your big brother too little credit. I’ve been picking up some subtle signs from you for a while now. Your eyes lingering on certain parts of guys during our last trip to the beach for instance,” I pointed out.

His blush deepened and he avoided making eye contact again. “I-I didn’t even realize I was doing that. B-but why would you give me this list? How did you even come up with a list like this?”

“Easy, I talked to some people from school who I know are gay and asked them about what sites they use for their, “alone time”,” I explained. “I gotta tell you, it was pretty hard to ask for this stuff without making it seem like I wanted it for myself.” I chuckled and grinned.

He sighed again. “Peter, I appreciate the effort you went through to give this to me, but I won’t be needing this.” A weak smile spread on his lips. “I’m going to be a priest, and priests are supposed to lead a life of celibacy. I don’t ever have to act on these sinful urges.”

I had to fight off a groan and frown as soon as he said that. Hearing him describe that part of him like that, it just felt wrong. In the end, I put on the best smile I could and gave his shoulder a squeeze. “Humor me. I know the bible says pleasuring yourself is a sin, but certain priests and church figures have been caught up in abuse or sex scandals. I don’t want you to be one of them because you wouldn’t allow yourself any release.”

John didn’t respond for a while as he looked down at his lap. Then, he put the piece of paper in his pocket and looked up at me. “Fine, I’ll take it. If only to keep you from pestering me about it.”

I laughed and pulled him into a hug. “True, I wouldn’t stop until you took it.” We stayed like that for a few moments before pulling away. “Now, I’ve gotta get going. I can’t let my old clunker rust away while we have a moment.”

I waved goodbye and grabbed my luggage. I walked out of the room and took a right down the hall to head for the front door. I made it to the living room where my mother was sitting in a chair and reading a book. On a table behind her was an urn containing my father’s ashes.

“Goodbye, Mom,” I called out, stopping at the door. “I’ve gotta get going.”

Mom closed her book and looked up at me. “Not so fast, Peter, there’s something we need to discuss.”

The look on her face said it all, there was no way I was avoiding whatever this was about. Actually, the look was the same as when she found out I had accidentally burned down that barn.

I moved away from the door and took a seat on the couch across from her. “So, what is it that you wanna talk about?”

“From what I understand, you were asking around about filthy materials.” Her look hardened further, reaching uncharted territories of restrained maternal rage and disappointment.

I had to fight the urge to go rigid as soon as she said that. It took all of my willpower, but I managed to put on my best poker face. “Oh, and who did you hear that from?”

“Our neighbor, Richard,” she answered.

I gritted my teeth for a moment at the mention of that name. To put it simply, Richie was the kid you’d hang out with because your mom forced you to.

“And to make matters worse is the nature of what you asked for,” Mom continued. “Peter, I can’t let you out into the world with such sinful desires.”

There was that term again. Cracks formed in my poker face and irritation shined through. I only needed a split second of thought over what I’d say and do next.

“Oh, and how exactly do you plan on keeping me from leaving?” I stood up and glared at her. “That hunk of junk car out there is something I earned by busting my ass. Just like I did for the acceptance letter. I’m not giving that up.”

“Don’t raise your voice at me, Peter,” she warned, her look turning icy.

“And don’t try to control who I’m attracted to!” I boomed, my fists clenched at my side. “Contrary to the bullshit lines they feed you on the pulpit, this isn’t something people choose. You’re not putting me in some sort of brainwashing program to make me hate myself.”

“Don’t you dare speak to me that way!” She shot up from her chair and stomped over to me.

“Oh excuse the fuck out of me for raising my voice and cursing when you’re trying to change me!” I stood up and matched her look. “I’m not going to let you do that!” I turned away from her and made my way to the door.

“Don’t walk away from me!” she screeched. “We’re not done talking!”

“Funny because I’m done listening to you,” I shot back, grabbing my luggage and opening the door. “I’m leaving, for good if I have to. If you want me to come home for Thanksgiving, all you have to do is tell me you can accept me as I am.”

She didn’t say anything, simply seething as she tried to contain her anger. I looked away from her, threw my belongings into my car and dropped into the driver’s seat.

As soon as I started driving off, the world started to melt away. It was like watching water colors run off of a canvas. When nothing was left but inky darkness, color slowly started to return. My stomach churned once the world came into shape.

All around me was rubble and crystal shards. I whipped my head around, barely aware of the fact that I was in control of my actions again. The rubble went on as far as I could see with various fires dotting the ruined landscape.

Suddenly, I noticed how heavy my right arm felt. I looked at it to find the Angel Arm staring back at me. The entire thing was a light grey in color. The back end of it looked like a series of wings bundled together. The center parted to reveal a core that looked like an orb of yellow light. The front end of the cannon looked like the torso of a woman with her arms folded to her chest. It also had several feminine faces around it and a golden, halo-like ring around the barrel.

It only took a moment to realize what was happening and I fell to my knees. A haze overtook my vision as I continued to look over the rubble.I barely even noticed a faint sound I thought was in the distance. After who knows how long the sound started to grow. At first I had trouble making it out, but eventually I recognized it as a familiar voice.

“Vash! Vash!” Morning called out but I couldn’t see her.

I tried to look around but I didn’t see any sign of her. Her voice only grew louder and the feeling from when I was first struck by Sombra’s magic bolt returned in full force. I cried out in agony and gripped the side of my head with my free hand.

“So this is thy darkest fear,” Sombra’s voice cut in, seeming to be coming from every direction. “How interesting, we did not expect such an unimpressive specimen to be capable of such destruction. Show us this power whelp.”

I grit my teeth, trying to fight through the pain and find Morning. I searched as much as I could but there was no sign of her. The strangest thing was that her voice sounded like it was right next to me. Through my pain-addled mind a single thought came through, what I was seeing wasn’t real.

“Vash! Thy arm!” Morning cried.

That was the last thing I wanted to hear when I was just coming to. My eyes slowly came into focus and I made out a few things. One, Morning standing in front of me with a worried look on her face and a shield spell around us. Two, Celestia Luna, Clover and Starswirl taking potshots with their magic at a smoky, shadowy version of Sombra with all of them passing through him. Finally and this was the worst one, my Angel Arm charging up with my inhibitor bracelet at my feet.

“Shit,” I cursed, struggling to move the cannon upward. “Celestia, Luna!” I called out.

They turned to me, looks of horror spreading across their faces when they saw my arm.

“I need you to teleport me out of the city!” I cried, feeling the energy building in the cannon. “Get me as far away as you possibly can! Otherwise the Empire will be destroyed!”

“But if we do that thou shalt surely freeze to death!” Celestia countered, dodging to the side as Sombra swooped down at her.

I grit my teeth, sweating bullets as the sound of the cannon charging grew louder. The noise became deafening, drowning out the sounds of the battle in front of me. At that moment, I felt there was only one option available to me. My remaining glove burst apart as I shifted my metal arm to reveal the gun barrel within it. I then pressed the barrel to my temple.

“We don’t have time to argue about this!” I boomed. “Now, either you teleport me out of the city or I put a stop to the Angel Arm myself.”

Tears formed in Celestia and Luna’s eyes and they didn’t say or do anything for a few moments. Then their horns lit up and they mouthed “goodbye” as a flash of light surrounded me.

When the light died down wind and snow buffeted into my face. I paid that no mind and did my best to take in my surroundings. Visibility was low, but I could tell I was right next to a glacier. I pressed the barrel of the cannon into the glacier.

Time seemed to slow down to a crawl as the cannon’s energy buildup reached its peak and my thoughts were sent racing.

’Guess this is it for me. I was kinda hoping for more time.’ Tears welled up in my eyes as my life played out in my head.

“Toya, be a good boy,” I muttered to myself. “I’m sorry I won’t get to see you become a man, but I know you’ll be a better one than I was. And I’m sorry we won’t be having that beach trip.  Take care of the girls for me. Girls, I’m sorry I never proposed to you. I’m kicking myself over that. I hope you move on. Maybe find someone that’ll give you foals.”

The tears started to fall from my eyes and I started to shake, whether from the cold or from the sobbing I couldn’t tell. “You three will be great moms.”

My thoughts then drifted towards my mother and brother. “Mom, I’m even sorry to you. Sorry that I lied to you and that I didn’t try talking things out with you. And John, I’m sorry I didn’t try harder to make you comfortable with who you are.” The cannon fired, ice from the glacier falling all around me as the beam tore through it. “Goodbye.”

Darkness creeped into my vision as my consciousness faded.
> The Nightmare Within
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

 (Toya’s PoV:)

I’ll never forget the day Celestia, Luna, Morning, Starswirl and Clover returned from the Crystal Empire. It all started out so normal. My siblings woke me up early and we ate a big breakfast which consisted of root vegetables, some roasted potatoes and grilled rabbit. Then we played hide and seek in the tunnels. Pro tip, if a diamond dog offers to play hide and seek with you, don’t. Their ability to quickly tunnel makes it nearly impossible to find them.

It all came crashing down when Luna walked down into the village. When she came up to me I instantly knew something was wrong. There were deep bags under her eyes as if she hadn’t slept for days and her mane was barely moving. She knelt down to my eye level and pulled me into a hug.

“I-is Dad in the carriage?” I asked, a sinking feeling forming in the pit of my stomach.

Her grip on me tightened and I felt something wet land on my back. “We art sorry, Toya,” she whispered. “Something terrible happened in the Crystal Empire. King Sombra used dark magic on thy father that caused his Angel Arm to fire.”

My heart sank as soon as I heard that. Dad had told me about the arm before and said that it was insanely dangerous.

“We teleported him out of the city upon his request,” Luna continued. “We then attempted to use the Elements of Harmony on Sombra. However, he did something that locked away the Empire and kept it from our reach just as the beam struck him. Once we had gotten Morning to the warmed carriage, Celestia and ourself went to search for thy father.”

The wet spot on my back grew and I felt Luna shudder against me. “Finding where the arm fired was a simple matter, there was a large crater with an even larger ravine within it. We went down into the ravine and searched it for hours but found no signs of him. Not even a scrap of clothing, merely rubble from the glacier.”

A haze formed over my vision and my mind came to a screeching halt. Luna let out a sharp cry that I barely registered and pulled away from me. Without realizing it, a layer of frost was forming on my skin and was spreading out along the cavern floor.

I didn’t want to accept it, I couldn’t accept it. I mean, I was five. Death was still such an alien concept to me. Even if the literal goddess of it was my great-grandmother.

“Toya!” Luna cried, snapping me out of my trance.

I took a moment to take in the damage my outburst had caused. Several diamond dogs were trying to shake frost off of them while the rest regarded me warily. I fell to my knees and started to sob, apologizing profusely for my outburst.

Just as I was about to get lost in my own little world again, Luna pulled me into another hug. She stroked the back of my head and wiped at my tears. “We know it hurts, let it all out.”

I sniffled, squeezed my eyes shut and returned her hug. I don’t know how long we stayed like that; we only started to make our way out to the surface once I was physically incapable of crying anymore. Morning, Celestia, Starswirl and Clover offered their own condolences. I quietly acknowledged them and the rest of the ride was spent in silence.

The days following that were spent in a sort of autopilot. I’d get up and go through my daily routine but I wasn’t really taking anything in. I did my lessons with Starswirl and Clover, but my heart wasn’t in them and most of my spells would fizzle out. Even food seemed to lack any flavor.

What stuck out to me the most within that time was the memorial held for my dad. Celestia and Luna unveiled a statue made in his image. It had a large grin on its face and one of its hands was thrust out and making a gesture where the middle and pointer finger were crossed. I broke down and started to cry for the first time since the diamond dog village. The rest of the day passed in a blur.

The next important event was one that caught us all off guard. Morning had been throwing up a lot and we were getting worried that she was coming down with something serious. The castle doctor examined her with his magic and found something. Two additional magic signatures inside her.

The next few months were spent doting on her as her stomach swelled. She hated when she had to take a break from her duties as captain, but Celestia and Luna got her to listen to reason.

The birth of the twins was eventful to say the least. Celestia and Luna were by her side the entire time with their magic at the ready. The two were fraternal to put it mildly.

The first one to be born was a little pegasus colt. His fur was a deep red, his eyes were the same shade of blue as Dad and Morning’s and his mane was spiky, sticking out past the back of his head. The main color of it was yellow with a few streaks of red that resembled lightning bolts.

The other twin was a little filly. She took after Morning in more ways than one. Her fur was the same shade of yellowish orange as Morning’s and her mane was the same mixture of red and yellow. She also had a rounded little horn poking out from her forehead. She also inherited Morning’s lower half. Instead of legs, she had a short snake tail with scales that matched her fur in color.

Before Morning could get the chance to get a good look at her newborns, she fainted. I didn’t know what was going on and rushed to her side. I tried to shake her to get her attention, but she didn’t respond in any way.

“Toya, step back,” Celestia told me. “And take the foals with thee. We shalt resuscitate Morning.”

I nodded and scooped the twins up into my arms. Once the umbilical cords were cut, Celestia fired a bolt of magic into Morning’s chest. The twins started to wail as Morning convulsed. I did what I could to try and console them, mostly just whispering softly into their ears. After a few moments, she gasped and shot up in the bed she was laying in, going into a coughing fit.

After she settled down, her gaze fell onto the twins. A warm smile spread across her muzzle and she motioned for me to hand them to her. Once they were in her arms they settled down and laid their heads on her chest.

“They art so precious,” she said, giving them a tender squeeze. Tears welled up in her eyes. “If Vash were here to see them, he would be gushing.”

I felt like there was a dagger in my heart as soon as she said that. I saw an image play out in front of me. Dad with a manic grin on his face taking the twins from Morning and twirling around the room with them. I had to wipe at my eyes with the back of my arm to stop my own tears from falling.

“Now that the little ones have drawn their first breath, we believe they need names,” Luna chimed in.

Morning nodded, looking between the twins. “Thou art right.” She paused, her brow furrowing as she examined them. “Say hello to Shooting Star,” she placed her hand on the pegasus colt’s head, “and Morning Glory,” she shifted her hand to the naga filly.

“What wonderful names for such wonderful foals,” Celestia said with a smile. She then turned to me. “Thou art officially a big brother once more, be sure to set a good example for thy siblings.”

I nodded at her, turning my attention to the twins as they settled against Morning. I balled my fists at my side, making a silent oath to protect them.

That night I couldn’t sleep, my mind was filled with thoughts of my dad and the twins. Eventually, I crawled out of bed and went to my balcony. I hopped onto the ledge and turned to face the roof of the spire where my room was. I jumped and quickly found handholds, pulling myself up. Once I was on the roof I lied down to look at the stars.

I had no idea how long I was out there before the soft sound of flapping wings caught my attention. “Toya, why art thou still awake? T’is far past thy bedtime.”

“Sorry, Mom,” I said, turning my head to her. “I couldn’t sleep.”

“We take it that something weighs upon thy heart?” Luna guessed, sitting down next to me.

I nodded and looked back up to the sky. “Yeah, I wish Dad was here to see the twins.”

“We understand thy feelings all too well,” she said, following my gaze upward. “Every night we feel as if he will come to spend time with us during night court as he always did.”

“It’s not fair,” I said, a frown forming on my face. “Dad was a good guy, he helped save Equestria and made a place where ponies and changelings live together.” I looked at her with tears in my eyes. “So why did he have to go?!”

Her expression fell and she pulled me up to give me a hug, wrapping her arms and wings around me. “That is not a question we can answer for thee. Even in this land where day, night and the weather act on the whims of ponies, some forces cannot be controlled.” She rubbed the back of my head.

I sniffled. “I miss him so much.”

Luna hugged me tighter. “We do as well, Toya. Not a night goes by where we do not think of him.” Silence hung in the air for a few moments to the point where I could hear her steady heartbeat. “Dost thou wish to know something?”

“What?” I asked, looking up into her eyes.

“The day we met thy father we found him staring out at the stars like thou art. He was laying out and thinking of his new lot in life. He was such an enigma to us then.”

I rubbed at my eyes, a small smile on my face. “Can you tell me more?”

We continued to talk late into the night until I passed out in her arms. I decided to make visiting Luna at night court a regular thing after that night. We’d talk or play a game together until I’d fall asleep.

Things continued like this until my seventh birthday came and went. I was sitting in one of the secret rooms that Dad had shown me and was reading a book. It must’ve been about the time for the changing of shifts for the guards because I heard the sound of metal clinking together getting closer to me.

“I do not know why we must stand in one spot in that library as our duties,” a voice grumbled.

“Art thou a complete dullard?” a second voice admonished. “That is where Sombra’s confiscated spell book and journal resides. Within it are spells that can twist minds and even summon the spirits of the dead.”

I perked up at that. A sudden idea came to mind. If that book could teach me to summon spirits, then I could find Dad and see him again. I could even show him the twins.

I pushed the stone that opened the door to the secret room and made sure it closed behind me. I then headed for the library. There weren’t many ponies inside, just the librarian and a pair of night guards. The librarian was at the front of the library, checking books for any damage and fixing what she could. Towards the back, right hand corner were the pair of guards in the purple armor of the night guard.

“Greetings, Toya,” the librarian said.

I turned to smile and wave at her. She was a rather short mare with a round face. Her fur was a light cream color and her mane which she had tied into a bun and was a chocolate brown. Finally, her eyes were a bright yellow that sparkled with kindness.

“What brings thee to the library this evening?” she asked, turning away from her work to give me her full attention. “Hast thou finished finished the book thou borrowed?”

“No, I’m still reading it, Miss Hardcover,” I replied, shaking my head. “Thanks for telling me about it.” I flashed her a bright smile. “I’m just here to grab a book to help with my studies.”

“Very well, let me know if thou require my assistance.”

I nodded and went to the shelves to pretend like I was looking through them. I stuck one hand in the pocket of my trousers and used magic. The guards and by extension the two books seemed to get closer. The journal was rather plain. Just a brown cover with a lock on it. The spellbook on the other hand had an inky black cover with a strange sigil on it.

I committed the look of the books to memory as a plan formed in my head. I then cut off my magic flow and pulled my hand out of my pants. Once I did that, I grabbed a book on enchantments and checked it out from the librarian.

Once I had placed the book in my room I rushed down to the throne room to spend time with Luna. We chatted for a while, though my thoughts were preoccupied with my plan. A pang of paranoia shot through me during a game we were playing. The last thing I wanted was for her to suspect I was up to something so I feigned fatigue and excused myself to my room.

I spent the next few days after that gathering materials. I found two blank books that matched the basic appearance of the ones in the library as well as some tools. I was careful to not get caught as I etched the sigil into one of the books. Once everything was ready, I set out into a  hidden tunnel that Dad showed me.

I stopped and pulled on a slat in the wall that revealed a pair of eyeholes. I looked through them to examine the library. The pair of night guards were in the same spot as the last time I had came in and the librarian was still on duty.

I took a seat on the floor and waited for a few hours. I fended off the boredom the best I could. Hours passed and the librarian left. A wide grin worked its way onto my face and I lit up my magic. I took careful aim and fired two bolts of magic right at their heads. Once they were hit, the guards’ heads lolled downward as they lost consciousness.

I pumped my fist, pressing on a stone in the wall to let myself into the library. I stepped around them and pulled the books from the shelf. Once they were in my arm I replaced them with the decoys.

I slipped back into the secret passage and made sure the wall was back in place before releasing the two guards from the spell. If I did everything right, then they wouldn’t remember they were ever unconscious.

I had to keep myself from running down the passage as I made my way to an exit. Once I had the books stashed away I snuck into my room and went to sleep. This was made difficult by my racing thoughts, but I did eventually drift off to slumberland.

Keeping myself sane through my routine the next day was nearly impossible. I fidgeted like crazy in my seat during my lessons with Starswirl and Clover. When I was given spells to practice, I made sure not to use too much energy. The last thing I needed was to tire myself out before cracking open my new spellbook.

Before I knew it, I was free to roam the castle and zipped through the halls to go into the hidden room to grab the books and start looking for the right spell to contact spirits. I found them quickly and took a seat on a couch in the back of the room. For some reason, I was drawn to the journal. I lit up my magic and placed my hand on the lock. A few moments later and I heard a click with the lock popping open. I then opened the journal and started to read.

I spent a lot of the night reading the journal. It detailed Sombra’s time from taking the spellbook from some sort of cult to what ultimately led to his decision to start doing dark magic himself. Apparently the Empire was in dire straights with yetis raiding trade caravans that carried supplies they needed and rumors of a nation west of them that might attack them. I felt a pang of sympathy for him as I continued to read and saw his attitude slowly shift with each entry. I didn’t forgive him at all for what he did to Dad. There’s no way I could ever do that. But I sort of felt that I could understand his actions.

I frowned as the entries started to sink in. If a full grown adult could be corrupted by dark magic, then what could it do to me? Just from the entries I could see that Sombra was a good ruler trying to do the best for his nation.

After thinking on it, I put the journal away and went to grab some more tools. Sombra had mentioned that a magic artifact would mask any signs of dark magic use. And I had just the thing in mind.

I grabbed a chisel and hammer and snuck out of the castle. I conjured up a ball of light so I could see where I was going and quickly found a path that led downward. The path then turned rocky before I spotted a large cave. I pressed on and after a bit more walking I found a large tree that seemed to be made of crystal. I stood at its base, putting a hand to the bottom of its trunk. A sense of calm seeped into me, causing an easy smile to spread across my lips.

For the second time that night, I stopped to reconsider what I was doing. Sure, I missed my dad and wanted the twins to be able to see him, but this was dangerous. If I did something wrong I could become just like Sombra. Or I could wind up unleashing some sort of ancient evil on the world. I trembled for a few moments, the chisel and hammer threatening to slip from my fingers.

I don’t know how long I stood like that, but I eventually came to a decision. I took the hammer and chisel and carefully removed a chunk of the tree that fit in the palm of my hand. I put it in my pocket and rushed out of the cave, not daring to look back at the tree. It might’ve been my imagination, but it felt like the tree was judging me.

I made it back to the castle without incident. Considering everything that I had done, I decided to go to bed. The next night, I went back to the hidden room with the gem in tow. I then cracked open the spellbook for the first time. I scanned the pages, leafing through them until I found what I was looking for.

I groaned in frustration and dragged a hand across my face when I saw what was needed for the preparations. I walked out of the room in search of chalk and some candles. Luckily, I was able to quickly gather them up and returned to the room. I scrutinized the diagram that went with the spell and drew what was described as a summoning circle and placed the candles around it. I double checked the circle to be safe. The book had warned that a spirit could escape if there were openings in the circle. Once everything was set up, I looked over the page again to figure out what to do next.

I turned back to the circle, placed my hands on its edge and tapped into my magic. It felt and looked different from my normal aura. The color seemed to be separated into two layers. The bottom one was an emerald green while the top one was purple. Instead of shimmering or rippling like my normal aura, the purple layer seemed to billow and bubble. I also noticed wisps of purple smoke rising from the corners of my eyes.

I grunted in effort, trying to pour magic into the circle. The edge of it started to glow, causing my hopes to rise. This didn’t last. Just as the glow started to spread, the aura in my hands sparked for a moment before exploding in a burst of energy. I flew backwards, slamming into a nearby wall. I groaned in pain, falling off the wall in a heap.

I managed to pull myself off the ground, the room spinning around me. My body ached, but nothing felt broken. I picked up the book again, trying to figure out what I did wrong. I scanned the details of the spell, looking for anything I had missed. I grit my teeth, apparently this was an advanced spell. If I wanted any hope of doing it, I’d have to build up my proficiency for some time. I flipped through the pages, looking for a simpler spell.

I continued to sneak out at night to practice dark magic. It went on for weeks and my skills with it grew steadily. Using it was addicting. I felt powerful, invincible really. I learned things like creating spires of crystal, melting into shadows, summoning a familiar from shadows and many more. I finally felt ready to attempt the spirit summoning spell again.

I redrew the summoning circle and placed the candles around it. I then accessed my magic and let the familiar dark aura flow outward. A tingle went up my spine and a smile etched itself on my face. I put my hands on the circle, pushing my magic into it. The edge of the circle started to glow, spreading along the rest of the chalk lines.

Once the entire circle was glowing, arcs of energy started forming in its center. The arcs converged and a bright flash of light filled the room and for a moment I feared I had failed again. When the light died down however, I saw a figure standing in the summoning circle.

The figure appeared to be made out of translucent shadows and had the shape of a unicorn mare. That was, sans the eyes which glowed within the dimly lit room. The figure took a moment to examine the room before settling its gaze on me.

“And what dost we have here?” the figure questioned, sounding like a mare. “It seems times hath changed since our death.” The air around her seemed to shift as it almost felt like she was looking through me. “T’is hard to believe that one with such innocent eyes summoned us.”

I had to keep myself from trembling, something about the spirit felt dangerous. I turned back, grabbing the book in order to send her back to where she came from. “I’d give you a history lesson, but you’re not gonna be in this plane of existence for much long.” I didn’t look up from the book, doing my best to hide my nerves. “You’re not the spirit I’m looking for.”

She let out a ‘hmmph’, crossing her arms under her chest. “How rude, thou hast summoned us and thou dost not have the common courtesy to introduce thyself.”

Dark magic swirled around my hand as I prepared to send her back. “Manners aren’t really my top concern at the moment.” I pushed my hand outward, ready to release the spell.

An air of urgency emanated from her as she held her hands out defensively. “Wait!” she cried. “Thou said thou art looking for a specific spirit, correct? Perhaps we could be of assistance?”

I lowered my hand, eyeing her warily. “And how would you do that?”

She put a hand to her chest and a sense of confidence filled the room. “We were quite the spellcaster in life. Thanks to that and our connection to the realm of the dead, we can locate any spirit thou wishes.”

“Alright, then I want you to look for a spirit that looks like me,” I told her.

She nodded and the glow in her eyes increased. She paced within the summoning circle for a few minutes before looking back at me. “We are unable to find any such spirit.”

My eyes widened and my jaw dropped. “What?! But that’s impossible!” I frowned for a moment before something dawned on me. “Wait, did you look for him based on his magic signature? Because my dad doesn’t have one of those.”

“Nay, that is not how we searched for him.”

A shudder went down my spine as her eyes bore into me.

“Now, we believe we deserve some compensation for our efforts.” The glow in her eyes increased again and she stepped towards where melting wax had smudged the chalk circle. “Perhaps thy body will do?” Her body shifted, taking on a smoke-like quality as she rushed to the smudged area.

My eyes widened and I rushed for the exit to the room as she slowly started to escape the circle. There was a bright flash of light and an explosion of energy as the circle’s effects were broken. I barreled out of the room and into the hallway, looking behind me to see her following me in the form of a smoke cloud. I kept running, guards noticing the disturbance. A few of the unicorns fired magic, only for the cloud to shift away from it. The guards then joined me in running from the cloud, ready to put the castle on alert no doubt.

I kept running for a while until I barreled into the throne room. Luna saw the state I was in and jumped out of her throne. The cloud followed suit and Luna lit up her horn to fire a bolt of magic at it. The bolt struck at it before it had the chance to dodge and Luna quickly put herself between the cloud and me.

“Oh, now what is this?” the spirit asked, seeming to recover from the attack. “A manner of pony we hath never seen before.”

Luna didn’t respond, keeping her horn lit. The spirit rushed at her, spreading out to encircle the alicorn. Luna fired a bright white beam and swept it around the room, causing the spirit to dissipate.

She turned to face me, wafts of the remaining smoke drifting into her nose. “What is the meaning of this?”

Tears welled up in my eyes and I wrapped my arms around her legs. My emotions were a conflicting maelstrom, mixing together with none staying at the forefront for very long. I broke down into a sobbing mess, holding onto her for dear life.

“I’m so sorry, please don’t banish me!” I cried out, squeezing my eyes shut.

She put her hand on my head, stroking it gently. “Why would we banish thee, Toya?”

“B-because I used dark magic,” I answered, hiccuping a bit between sobs. “I-I’m so sorry, I just wanted to see Dad again and let him meet the twins.”

Luna picked me up and rested my head on her chest. “Shh, everything is alright, sweet child.”

I turned my head up to her with a gobsmacked look, trying to stop the tears. “B-but I-”

She put a finger to my lips, cutting me off. “Thou hast made a mistake, Toya. One that thou hast already recognized. We will not banish thee.” She gave me a soft squeeze. “No, we could never do that. We believe the terror the malevolent spirit put thee through is punishment enough. Just promise us that thou wilt never use such magic again.”

I nodded and hugged Luna tight. “Y-yeah, I promise.”

She smiled and kissed my forehead. “Excellent, then let’s put thee to bed; thou hast had enough excitement for one night.” With that, she teleported me to my room and tucked me in.

Later that night, an explosion woke me up. I jumped out of my bed and looked out from my balcony. My pupils contracted into pinpricks from what I saw. Celestia was having an aerial battle with someone. They were wearing light blue armor with a crescent moon symbol on them. Their coat was as black as night and their purple mane and tail had swirling stars within them. For a few moments I stared on in confusion until a moment replayed in my head. The smoke that entered Luna’s body. The spirit must not’ve been entirely defeated.

I watched on in horror as the possessed Luna seemed to have the upperhand. Celestia bobbed and weaved in the air, limiting herself to dodging and not returning fire at all. I cringed at every blast that struck the castle, my father’s work literally crumbling away. I gasped as one of the blasts struck Celestia in the chest, sending her crashing outside my line of sight.

I trembled, unable to move from my spot on the balcony. I wanted to go out and help Celestia. I wanted to do something, anything. Instead, I just stood there and silently hoped that Celestia could free her sister. Then, Celestia rose up with six gems that I assumed were the Elements of Harmony spinning around her. A rainbow colored beam shot out from her horn and raced towards Luna.

When the beam reached the possessed alicorn, it turned into a sphere and encased her. The sphere then rocketed into the sky and to the moon. When it reached the moon, the shape of a mare’s head appeared on the surface of the moon. I dropped to my knees again and broke down into tears for the second time that night.
> The Light of the Sun
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

I never knew my parents. Whoever they were they dumped me on the doors of the Canterlot orphanage when I was just a few days old. I suppose that most ponies would want to know why their parents would do something like that. Maybe to find out that there was an important reason or to tell them off for some small retributory moment. But I’m not most ponies. I could not care less about my parents and have no desire to scream at them or reconcile. The way I see it, they didn’t want anything to do with me so I’ll return that courtesy.

I learned a lot about the world while I grew up in the orphanage. Not all of it was positive, but then again, even in Equestria everything isn’t sunshine and happy thoughts. Most of the nobles I ran into turned their noses up at me as if I wasn’t even worth a passing glance to them. I always hated those looks and those nobles. If I had wanted to I could’ve thrown the entirety of the Canterlot upper crust into anarchy from everything that I had overheard from my time on the streets. I never did it, but that particular thought did give me a smile before going to bed a few dozen times.

One of the biggest moments of my life was when I found a soggy beginner’s guide to magic on the street one day when I was out looking for a way to feed myself. I still don’t know what it was that compelled me to pick the thing up. I couldn’t eat the thing and with the condition it was in I wouldn’t have been able to sell it. Whatever the reason was I’m glad I did. I rushed back to the orphanage with the book and held it up to the heater for about an hour to try and dry it out. It smelled like mold but I didn’t care as I read it. I loved every single thing about the book as I turned through the pages and saw all the different spells in it. And the most amazing thing to me was that I seemed to have a knack for magic.

The next big moment was when I overheard that the Canterlot School for Gifted Unicorns was accepting applicants for the upcoming school year and that particularly impressive applicants would get a full scholarship. This caused my face to light up and I rushed back to the orphanage to crack open my guide on magic. I read the thing from cover to cover over and over and mastered what I could from it but in the end I just didn’t think anything in the book was good enough to impress the teachers at the school. I’m not entirely proud of what I did next, but I don’t regret it. I rushed out into the streets to find a bookstore while wearing the one outfit I kept in good condition that I used to get into places. Which was just a plain red dress that hung down to my knees. It took me a while to find the store but I knew what I had to do when I got in there. I scoped out the store for a while and always made it look like I was looking at something to avoid suspicion. Once I saw the aisle where the books on magic was clear of ponies I crept over to it and looked for what I needed. I found them fairly quickly and after making sure nopony was looking I stuffed a couple into my bag. Once I was done with that I picked out a cheap children’s book and bought it.

I walked back to the orphanage so I wouldn’t get noticed by the royal guard and rocketed up into my room so I could practice everything my new books in order to get into the school. I spent the next few days going without sleep and even food a few times as I threw myself into learning new magic. After that I made it to the academy so I could finally get out of the orphanage and have a steady source of food. I had to keep my mind from drifting off into fantasies so I could focus on the spell I was going to show off. I felt butterflies in my stomach and adjusted my one good outfit, hoping that everything would work out. Eventually I was called and I nervously walked into the room where a row of three teachers sat waiting for me. I took a deep breath and tried to think back to the spell books I had read. My mind seemed to blank as I looked the critical teachers in the eyes. I started to tremble and I started to think that there was no way I would be good enough to enter the school. Tears started to well up in my eyes and the teachers started to whisper amongst themselves.

“It seems we found another washout,” the one on the right whispered to the center one.

“There’s always a few, though they usually show us some spell, even if it is a small one,” The center teacher whispered back and the two shared a short chortle. This set me off and I started to shake a little. These teachers were treating me just like the nobles that I passed on the streets every day. My mind started to race as I tried to find a way to stop those two ponies from laughing at me. I felt something shift in my body, like somepony turning on a faucet, and I felt something click in my head. Inspiration struck and I gathered magic into my horn.

I closed my eyes tightly and pictured something in my mind. All of a sudden the air in front of the teachers started to shimmer and a shape started to form. After about a minute what appeared to be a dragon was hovering right before the panel of teachers. A smirk wormed its way onto my face as the appearance of the illusion took them all by surprise, but I wasn’t done yet. The dragon I had conjured blocked me from their view so they couldn’t see as I lit my horn in preparation for another spell. Flames started to spew from my horn and I sent them flying right toward the teachers. Due to my aim it looked like the dragon was breathing the flames itself. The ball of fire raced right over their heads and left their manes singed slightly. The looks on their faces were priceless, though I didn’t get to enjoy it for long. Those two spells took a lot out of me. The dragon illusion dissipated and I fell unconscious.

I don’t know how long I was out but I eventually woke up in an infirmary. I groaned and froze up when I saw that the three teachers were in the room with me.  The full implications of my actions came rushing through my head and I tried to make myself look as small as possible.

“I am so sorry for what I’ve done,” I practically whispered.

“As you should be, that stunt you pulled was very dangerous. We should punish you for something like that.”

I clenched my eyes and prepared for the worst.

“Though you did show a real talent for a filly,” the teacher that hadn’t laughed at me said. I opened my eyes and cautiously looked up at the three teachers.

“We have deliberated on the matter and we feel that it is best that you cultivate your talents at our school.”

“You mean… I got the scholarship?” I asked, brimming with hope.

The three teachers shared a look before nodding to me. I broke into a wild grin and had to stop myself from jumping up and down on the bed I was in.

“Thank you so much! You have no idea how much this means to me!” I beamed up at them. “So, does this mean I can move my things into the dorms?!”

“Yes, you may stay in the dorms if you wish.”

My grin threatened to overtake my face as I jumped off of the bed and rushed to the door. “Thank you again! I’m going to go get my things and bring them to the dorms!” I paused, a blush blooming across my face. “Um, if that’s okay?”

“Yes, you may move into the dorms right away,” The teacher that hadn’t laughed at me replied with a soft smile. She then scrawled something onto a piece of paper and levitated it over to me. “There, take that to the front desk of the filly dorms and the pony there will get everything arranged for you.”

I nodded as I clutched the slip of paper to my chest and rocketed out the door. I passed through the streets of Canterlot as fast as my legs could carry me. It didn’t take me long before I made it back to the orphanage and was collecting my things. I stopped when I saw the old spell book that I had found in the streets. I hugged it to my chest with tears streaming down my face.

“Thank you,” I whispered to the book. “I couldn’t have done this without you.” I then carefully placed the book on the top of the few things I had and ran back out the door so I could get to the dorms soon.

I made it there without incident and was led to a room. It was fairly small, but it was really comfortable and made me happy to see it. I happily unpacked my few things, putting my spell books on display proudly. I thought I was done, but at the bottom of the small box of my belongings was the book that I had actually bought when I stole the spell books. I figured that I had nothing better to do so I settled into my new bed and cracked it open. It didn’t take long to read at all. It was a simple fairy tale about two sisters that controlled the sun and the moon. In the end the elder sister had to lock the younger one in the moon using a powerful magical item. Creating what everypony called “The Mare in the Moon”.

I closed the book and looked out the window and saw the large spires of Canterlot Castle in the not too far off distance. Inside those walls resided one of the most powerful beings on the planet, Princess Celestia. At that point in my life I hadn’t even so much as seen her, but I had heard stories. She was supposed to be tall, nearly larger than life. And she was able to raise the sun and moon. That made me think back to the fairy tale and I wondered if that story was about her. It also made me wonder if she really did seal her sister away. Thoughts like that continued to swirl around in my young head until my eyes felt heavy and I fell onto the bed, fast asleep.

Things were okay for a while. Though they took a slight downward turn when classes began. Most of the students were nobility of some kind so I was the odd one out. I was pretty much excluded from all their conversations and activities.  I didn’t mind though. I didn’t want anything to do with those noble foals anyway. I just wanted to learn as much as possible so I could go on to do anything I wanted with my life. I didn’t really know what that would be exactly, but I did know that learning all the magic I could would help me do it. I just had a feeling somewhere deep down inside that it would. Classes continued rather uneventfully for a while. That is until I started rising to the top of the class due to my dedicated studying and my natural talent. Apparently the noble foals didn’t like losing to the little orphan filly because they started to mess with me whenever they could after that. It started out small, as most things usually do, some spitballs to the back of my head, snide remarks, crude drawings left on my desk, the usual sort of bullying.

Of course, the lack of teacher intervention emboldened them. They started to do more to me. They stole a textbook from me only to return it with pages desecrated. Or they would trip me while I was walking anywhere. Eventually it got to a point that by the end of the first school year I was grabbed by a group of colts and taken to a dark part of the school’s courtyard. I don’t remember much of what they said, I think it was something about not being able to explain to their parents why a commoner had better grades than them. What I do remember clearly is that the biggest colt pushed me to the ground and signaled for the group to kick me. I remember feeling helpless and crying out for somepony to rescue me while I tried to cover my face and horn with my hands. Then, I felt the same sensation that I had during my test to get into the academy. My horn glowed brightly and a dome of energy shot out, tossing the colts all across the courtyard and crashing into several things. Right as I got up I heard a voice call out to me.

“What is going on here?” I groggily turned my head and my eyes threatened to bulge out of my face at the sight. It was none other than Princess Celestia. How did I know it was her? The large wings and horn on her head were pretty good indicators. Plus, she was as tall as some of the stories I had heard about her. She craned her head to look at all the now unconscious colts with a hard to read expression and turned back to me. When she finally got a good look at me her eyes widened. At least I think they did. It was only for a split second if it happened at all. “Did you do all this?”

I just nodded, too scared to speak properly.

“How did this happen?” She asked before lowering herself to her knees to get eye level with me. “You don’t have to be afraid, young one. I won’t punish you, no matter what you tell me.”

I nodded again and told her everything about what had happened, including the strange feeling I had before my outburst of magic.

“I am so sorry to hear that,” Celestia told me, sounding like she was on the verge of tears. “Still, to be able to send so many ponies flying like that. You have quite the raw magical power. Is one of your parents one of my royal guards?”

“I don’t know,” I replied. “I’ve never met my parents.”

Princess Celestia’s face fell a bit at that. “That is awful, what is your name, little one?”

“The mare at the orphanage named me Sunset Shimmer.” Princess Celestia’s eyes widened for a second again and seemed to be thinking something over. She looked at all the unconscious colts again and back to me and a small smile spread across her face. “Well Sunset, if what you just told me is true, then you are quite the talented little pony. How would you like it if I took you on as my apprentice?”

I was absolutely stunned when she asked me that. Me! An orphan with hardly anything to my name, and she wanted me to be her apprentice! It almost felt too good to be true. “A-are you sure you want me?” I asked quietly, looking away from her. “I’m nopony special.”

Celestia giggled a bit at that and started to stroke my mane. “The way I see it, Sunset. You are like a piece of coal. To the average pony you may not look like much. But, given enough time and the right conditions, you can become a diamond.”

“Y-you really think I could be like a diamond?” I asked, looking back at her cautiously.

“I know you can,” she told me with the brightest smile I had ever seen. “So, will you come with me?” She asked, standing up and holding out a hand.

The look she was giving me filled me with a confidence I had never felt before. I nodded emphatically and took her hand. Her smile seemed to grow as she led me out of the courtyard. After that, Princess Celestia filed some paperwork that officially made her my legal guardian. Meaning that I was going to be staying in Canterlot Castle. The place that was always in the background of my life and seemed so far away was now the place I’d call home.

The morning after, Princess Celestia gave me the tour of Canterlot Castle. I was awestruck by all of the sights. Somehow, the castle seemed to be bigger inside than it had looked outside from the city streets. She led me through all the important rooms and ended our tour in a rather odd place.

“And now I think I’ll end the tour with my favorite place in the castle, the gardens,” She said as she waved a hand to indicate all the various flora and fauna. “This is the perfect place to go get some fresh air at the end of a long, hectic day. Oh, and I suppose I should show you the statue garden as well.”

Princess Celestia motioned for me to follow her. I did and stopped dead in my tracks when I saw all the statues stretch out along the garden. I stared back after her as she started giving brief snippets on each of them. All except one. She stopped in front of one that looked similar to a pony, but very different as well. They didn’t seem to have a muzzle and their hooves seemed to be oddly shaped. The thing that puzzled me was just how goofy they looked. They were in an odd pose with their fingers crossed and a giant, dumb grin was on their face.

“Princess Celestia, what is this statue of?” I asked, looking up at her.

“Not a what my dear, a who,” Princess Celestia clarified with a dry chuckle. “Take a look at the inscription,” she said, pointing at a plaque on the statue’s plinths.

“Vash the Stampede: A great ally to Equestria, true friend, lover, and father,” I read aloud. “Who was he?” I asked her.

“Like it says on the plaque, he was a good friend. He even saved my life,” she told me with a fond smile.

“What?! He saved your life? But you can move the sun and moon! Why would you ever need to have your life saved?”

Princess Celestia chuckled and shook her head at me for that. “I may be strong, Sunset, but I am not invincible. Would you like to hear the story of how Vash saved my life?” I nodded and she led me to another statue not too far away from the statue of Vash. This one was wild. It was a creature made up of several different animal parts that seemed to be thrown together at random. “This is Discord, nearly one thousand years ago he came and wreaked havoc on Equestria while I was still very new to the title of Princess. I tried and failed to fight him with my sister. When the two of us believed that we were going to die, he appeared,” She said indicating Vash’s statue. “He came bursting out, cursing up a storm. He later told me that he had been chased by a manticore when he crashed into us,” She said with a giggle.

“When he saw us in our condition he immediately jumped to his feet and stared down Discord. Then,” I leaned in closer, wondering where the story was going. “He distracted Discord, grabbed our hands and ran away with us to what is now known as the Everfree Forest.”

“He ran away? How did that help?”

“It allowed us to gather our strength and come back to put Discord in stone here,” She said, patting Discord’s statue. “In fact, it was Vash’s idea to put Discord on display like this. After Discord’s defeat Vash went on to help my sister and I with so much. He and Hammerfall created so much for this country. And he was a big part in bringing peace between changelings and us ponies.”

“Wow, what was he like?”

“Hmm, in one word, eccentric,” Celestia answered with a laugh. “He was dedicated to his work and constantly made terrible jokes to try and make us all smile, and quite a number of other things. I miss him terribly,” Celestia finished with a sigh as she turned back to his statue.

“What happened to him?” I asked, staring at the statue.

“I’d rather not say,” Celestia told me with a sad look in her eyes. “There are certain memories I’d rather not go through.”

“Okay,” I replied, not really satisfied with that answer. “Um… you mentioned your sister. Is she the same sister they taught us about in school?” I asked carefully.

Celestia let out a long sigh before answering. “Unfortunately yes, I wish I could’ve done more than what I did. That is the single biggest regret of my long life. Sunset, I’m sure you’re familiar with the Summer Sun Celebration.”

“Yeah, I never really celebrated it or anything but I know about it.”

“Well, to everypony else that is a day of rejoice that the peace in our country was maintained against a catastrophic threat. But to me, it serves to remind me just how fallible I can be,” she said, looking up to the sky. “Sunset, let this be your first piece of advice under me. Do anything you can for the ones you love. And try to live a life with no regrets.”

“But I don’t think I have anypony I love,” I told her honestly.

Celestia laughed a bit again and ruffled my mane. “I’m sure you will eventually. Now come, it has been a long day. We will begin your real training in the morning.

“Of course, Princess!” I beamed following her out of the garden.

My training began and time started to pass. I got to know some of the other ponies in the castle. Cadance, who was an alicorn like Celestia, and Blueblood. I got along with Cadance fine most of the time, but I could not stand Blueblood. He was everything I couldn’t stand about nobles but multiplied by ten. I did my best to avoid him when I could, but when we did cross paths… Well, let’s just say that Blueblood got taken down a peg and I got punished. Don’t tell Celestia I ever said this, but it was still totally worth it. Anyway, a few years passed and Celestia gave me some troubling news.

“Sunset, I have something great to tell you,” Celestia told me with a smile.

“What is it?” I asked, looking up from a book. “Are you going to teach me some new magic?”

“No, nothing like that. Today, a young filly showed some surprising amount of raw magical power today. Raw magical power that reminds me of another young filly that I once knew,” Celestia told me with a little, knowing grin.

I put down my book and quirked an eyebrow at her. “Is that what those random bolts of magic were earlier? I think I saw one of those hit somewhere around the castle,” I said, putting a hand on my chin in thought. “Wait, what are you trying to say?”

“I’ve taken another apprentice,” Celestia answered with a grin. “Her name is Twilight Sparkle, and she’s about the age you were when you first became my apprentice.”

“What?!” I shrieked, standing up. “Why on Equis would you want to take another apprentice?! Am I just not good enough for you?!” I couldn’t believe this, I felt so betrayed.

“Sunset,” Celestia started, shrinking a bit. “What would ever make you think that? You are a wonderful student.”

“Then why are you taking on another apprentice?” I seethed.

“Because like you this filly has raw potential. A potential that can be extremely dangerous if it is not properly nurtured. Sunset, you and Twilight are going to have wonderful futures. In fact, I believe the two of you will be able to do things that I never could.”

“Whatever,” I told her with a dismissive wave of my hand. “Do whatever you want. You are the princess after all.”

I turned and walked away from her. I think she was calling out to me but I didn’t want to hear anything she said at that point. I was on my way to the castle gardens, where I usually went to vent when something annoyed me. I made it there without incident and just as I was about to rant and rave without anypony coming to bother me, something was off. There, in the middle of the statue garden, somepony was standing in front of one of the statues. It was Morning Star, the captain of the guard. I didn’t deal much with her; she was always busy with her work. I walked over to her, noticing that she was in front of the statue that Celestia had shown me so many years ago. All of a sudden, she perked up and looked over to me.

“Ah, young Sunset, what brings you to the gardens?”

“I just needed to clear my head,” I answered, crossing my arms over my chest. “What about you, what are you doing out here?” I asked

“Oh, I am just catching Vash up on the goings on of Equestria,” the naga answered, patting the pedestal of the statue. “Many things are happening that I’m sure he would be quite interested in hearing.” It seems the confusion I was feeling was evident on my face as she chuckled and shook her head.  “Why don’t you take a seat on the bench and I’ll tell you more?” I did as she asked and sat down. Time seemed to pass quickly as she told me stories, stories that I couldn’t help but be enraptured by.
> Homecoming
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Celestia’s PoV:)

I sat on my throne, Sunset’s outburst was replaying in my mind. It took everything I had to pay the slightest bit of attention to the problems that were brought before me by my little ponies. Many of them were mundane things that honestly could be dealt with themselves if they put just ten minutes of thought into them. I love my subjects dearly, but there are days where I just want to shake some sense into them. It was even harder to fight that urge and keep the practiced smile on my face with Sunset’s words bouncing around in my head.

The only complaint brought to my attention that wasn’t pointless was a land dispute between a low-ranking noble and a young changeling drone. Granted, this was a dispute more suitable for the mayor of their town, but official help was needed nonetheless. Once Day Court was adjourned for a recess of sorts, I allowed myself to sag into my throne a little.

I shot up when the doors to the throne room opened again. I instantly relaxed when I saw who it was. Queen Chrysalis strode up to me wearing a long, green dress that was the same color as her eyes. It seemed a size too small for her given the way it strained to contain her generous curves. Though I’m sure that was more than intentional. It’s always a little surreal seeing her after meeting one of her counterparts. It didn’t help matters that like her counterpart she had become the leader of the changelings after Chiton had stepped down to attend to other matters. Said matters tended to be “gathering love” in exotic locales if her letters and the attached photos were anything to go by.

“So, have your subjects figured out how to walk and talk at the same time yet, or are they as spectacularly incompetent as always?” Chrysalis asked, pulling me out of my thoughts. She flashed me a teasing smirk, showing off her fangs.

I returned her smirk, leaning on the armrest of my throne. “I don’t know, can your subjects go two minutes without screwing to actually get anything done?” I shot back.

We stared each other down for a few moments before breaking into laughter.

“Glad to see the stresses of running a country haven’t dulled your wits yet,” she said.

I chuckled, getting out of my throne to walk up to her. “Oh trust me, it’s been trying to,” I told her, shaking my head. “One pony tried to bribe me to order the Wonderbolts to have a private party for their foal.”

Chrysalis chuckled for a moment. “Some nobles tend to have more money than sense.” She eyed me up for a bit before saying, “You look exhausted, when’s the last time you had a day off?”

I groaned and let my shoulders sag. “I have no idea, it’s been a while.”

She put a hand on my shoulder. “Then I think you need to go and have some fun today.” She grinned at me. “Or just get blitzed and let loose for once.”

I pushed her hand away and frowned at her. “You know I can’t do that. I still have serious matters to attend to today.”

Her grin grew for a moment. “Oh no, if only you knew someone who could make a perfect stand-in for you? Oh wait,” a green ring ran over her body and in an instant she looked exactly like me, “you do.”

I perked up a little and I glanced at the throne room doors before meeting her gaze. “You’d really take over the rest of my workload?”

Chrysalis waved me off. “It’s not like I had anything better to do today. Unlike you, I give myself breaks.”

“Thank you.” I smiled at her and lit up my horn. In a flash of light, I had taken on the appearance of a pink maned, white furred pegasus mare. I decided to keep the attire simple with a pink tank top and jean shorts that hugged close to my rump.

Chrysalis gave me a once over before shrugging. “I’d have made the tits bigger but I suppose that’s a decent disguise.”

I laughed and sashayed towards the throne room doors. “I doubt there’s a pair of breasts that you wouldn’t say that about.”

Her muzzle spread into a toothy grin. “But of course. Boobs are like the drop on a rollercoaster, the bigger they are, the more fun you’ll have.”

I shook my head and slowly pushed one of the doors open. “I’ll be back in time to lower the sun.”

She took a seat in the throne and waved. “Take all the time you need.”

I closed the door behind me, rushed to my room in order to grab some bits and set off in search of something to do. I turned the heads of the nobles I walked past. Of course, it was probably due to my choice of attire. Not that I minded. I could put up with a few dirty looks for the sake of comfort.

My wanderings led me to Canterlot’s Restaurant Row. My muzzle scrunched up on reflex as soon as I saw the fancy lettering on the signs. Ever since that poor excuse for a food critic had appointed herself the arbiter of cuisine the quality had gone downhill. She should count herself lucky I’m not a tyrant. Otherwise I would’ve had her banished for her crimes against tastebuds.

I walked past that section of the city as fast as my legs could carry me and before I knew it I was in the central area of Canterlot.  I felt a small smile tug at my muzzle. The center of Canterlot primarily housed families that could be considered middle-class as well as a few that just barely qualified as members of nobility. I continued my aimless meandering through the streets until my growling stomach and parched lips steered me towards a tavern.

The trappings of it were fairly typical with photos and memorabilia of the local Hoofball team, the Canterlot Crushers lining the walls. I always got a chuckle out of the mascot, a cartoon knight with a manic look in its eye while wielding a comically large hammer. Nothing really stood out about the tavern except for the fairly large chandelier that hung over the center of the room and provided light.

I took a seat at the bar and ordered whatever the bartender would recommend. I waited for a few minutes and let myself get lost in the mulled conversations of the other patrons. I thanked the bartender as he placed a plate and a mug in front of me and hummed in appreciation as soon as the modest looking hayburger hit my tongue.

Before I could eat half of my meal, the tavern door opened and crashed into the wall, rattling the decorations on it. A group of stallions piled in, spreading out along the tavern. They were a mix of unicorns, earth ponies and pegasi. I took a moment to examine the stallions.

They all had a magigun on their sides and were new from what I could tell. The wood that made up most of the body looked freshly polished. In a tiny compartment just below the hammer was a small magic crystal that glowed dimly. The barrel of the gun was made of a polished white crystal and shimmered lightly with the enchantment to keep it from shattering when fired.

I quickly counted about half a dozen of them, one of the unicorns staying by the door as if to guard it. Another of them stepped up to my side and leaned on the bar. I felt a growing urge to take a shower due to the slime that I felt coming from him.

“Well hello there, sexy,” the stallion said, a cocky grin on his muzzle. “What’s a pretty mare like you doing drinking alone here?”

I ignored him, taking another bite of my burger as I weighed my options. Undoing my disguise and showing off who I was would probably cause them to give up whatever it was they were going to do. Of course, their magiguns had the potential to embolden them. In that case, keeping the other patrons out of the line of fire would be my top priority.

The stallion didn’t seem perturbed by my silence. “Aww, not in the mood to talk?” He pulled out his gun and placed it on the counter. “Is this bothering you? Don’t worry, I’d never use it on a pretty thing like you.”

I looked down at the gun. It would be a simple thing to grab it and point it at him. This would then lead to the other stallions to take aim at me. I was fine with putting myself in danger. My only concern would be if one of the other patrons started to panic.

“Y’know, my associates and I are going around asking for money.” The other stallions adjusted their guns at this. “And we’re pretty persuasive about how we ask.” He started running a hand through my mane, making my skin crawl. “Though for a mare like you, I’m willing to take another kind of payment.”

Just as I was about to snatch the gun, a loud crash came from the doorway. I turned to see a tall, cloaked figure standing in the doorframe. The cloak was a faded brown and looked like it was very old. I couldn’t see their face and the article of clothing obscured the shape of their body, leaving me unable to even guess their species.

The figure stepped into the bar, letting the door close behind them. This revealed that the unicorn guarding the door had wound up with his horn stuck into it. The being then sat at the bar, putting themself between the stallion and me.

They sighed in relief, draping themself across the counter. This sent the gun of the stallion harassing me clattering behind the bar. “Ah, feels like forever since I sat down. Bartender, I’ll take your finest ale and any kind of meat dish if you have it.”

The voice of the figure made me pause. The cloak muffled it, but it still sounded so familiar.

The group of stallions took aim on him while the unicorn who had been hitting on me stopped leaning on the bar and lit up his horn.

“Hey you stupid bastard! What do you think you’re doing?!”

The figure looked up, taking in the situation. “Gyahhh!” he cried, starting to flail his arms around and fell out of his seat. His foot got caught in the bar at the bottom of it and his flailing drove the stool right between the legs of the unicorn. Said unicorn let out a pathetic squeak, fell to his knees and cradled his damaged goods.

The other stallions took fire. I almost dropped my disguise to throw a barrier around him when he moved the stool in front of himself and blocked the bullets with it. He flailed his leg again, kicking off the stool. It went sailing across the tavern and struck the lone pegasus of the group in the head. The stool exploded into splinters and the pegasus fell to the floor. The figure jumped to his feet, “accidentally” punching the unicorn in the jaw on his way.

The remaining stallions opened fire on the figure, causing him to contort his body in order to dodge them. The bullets tore through his cloak, opening up holes along it. The stallions gave up trying to shoot the figure and drew knives. They charged him, their knives aimed at his chest. The figure seemed to be frozen in fear, remaining still as they started to converge on him. At the last second, he dropped to his hands and knees and crawled between one of their legs as their attacks went towards where he had been a moment earlier. He continued to crawl for a moment before returning to his feet.

The stallions growled in frustration and charged him again. The figure screamed again, picking up the knives on the table he was standing by and threw them blindly. At least, that’s what the stallions thought before the chandelier’s supports broke and came crashing down on top of them.

The figure winced, taking in the damage he’d caused. “Um, I can pay for this.” He tapped at his sides, feeling for his money. He chuckled weakly and added, “I think.” He pulled a bag of coins off his side and tossed them onto the counter where the bartender had poked his head up to take in the scene. “I think it’s best I just go.”

He then stepped around the unconscious would-be robbers and headed for the door. I jumped to my hooves, tossed my own payment onto the counter and followed after him. I rushed onto the street, catching sight of the figure among a crowd of onlookers that had formed due to the commotion.

I paid the crowd no mind as I dropped my disguise and lit up my horn. My golden aura surrounded the figure’s cloak and I effortlessly pulled it off of him. I gasped from what I saw. There was no doubt who it was, even with the slight differences. His hair was much longer, reaching to his mid-back and a streak of black cut through the golden blonde. My emotions swirled, so many words coming to me but I was unable to say them.

Eventually, one emotion one out over the others and I spoke. “Vash!”

He turned and regarded me with a confused expression. His expression then morphed as he had to duck from a magic blast.

“You son of a bitch!” I roared, my face a mask of pure rage as my horned shined with blinding light.

He spun on his heels, making a mad dash through the crowd. I took to the skies and followed after him.

“Nine-hundred-ninety years! For nine-hundred-ninety years I’ve thought you were dead! And it turns out that you’ve been alive doing Faust knows what!” I punctuated each sentence with a bolt of magic. He dodged them all, his hair whipping around him.

He didn’t respond, instead he screamed as he ran down the streets. He tried to make sharp turns to lose me, but there was no way I was letting him out of my sights. I chased him up and down for a while, ponies watching in fascination. I paid them no mind as I closed in on Vash. Using my magic, I hauled him into the air. Then, I teleported the two of us to the castle gardens. I cut off my magic, letting him fall to the ground with an ‘oomph’.

I crossed my arms across my chest, glaring at him. “So, what do you have to say for yourself?”

He pulled himself into a sitting position and looked up at me with a nervous smile. “Um, I’m sorry for whatever it is I did?” he offered, rubbing the back of his neck.

My eyes widened as realization dawned on me. The way he was staring at me said it all, he had amnesia. I should have realized sooner. Vash would never willingly abandon us. Tears welled up in my eyes and I fell to my knees in order to hug him.

He warily returned it, patting my back between my wings. “I am very confused right now,” he muttered.

“Shut up before you ruin the moment.”

This had the desired effect and we stayed like that for some time. Once we were done hugging I took him into the castle and led him to Morning’s office. Morning’s initial reaction was to tackle and coil around him. Whether it was out of anger or joy I couldn’t tell. My educated guess was a little bit of both.

Morning eventually pulled herself off him once it sounded like his bones were about to break. “What on Equis have you been doing all this time?” she asked, her voice trembling slightly.

Vash took a moment to catch his breath, looking between Morning and I with confused expression. “I’ve uh, been travelling all over the world.” He scratched at his cheek with a weak smile. “I was even a captain on a pirate ship for a while.”

Morning frowned, her eyes searching him. “What is the earliest memory you have?”

Vash tilted his head down, his brow furrowing as he wracked his brain. “Darkness,” he finally answered, “I was stuck in a totally dark cave made of ice. I couldn’t see anything so I had to keep my hand on the wall to feel my way out. I have no idea how long I was in there before a tribe of yetis found me.”

Morning and I shared a look, our expressions shifting to concern. “It’s just as I feared,” I said, “he can’t remember anything before the Angel Arm went off.” I turned back to him. “Vash, I think I may know someone who may be able to restore your lost memories. It’ll take a few days for them to get here, so until then I’ll have a room prepared for you.”

He scratched at his cheek a hopeful look in his eyes. “I guess a room in a castle is better than the cheap inns I’m used to.”

A small smile crept onto my muzzle. While it wasn’t quite the reunion I had ever envisioned, it was great to have Vash back. Though to be honest, any reunion was more than I could ever hope for. As I led him towards the guest room, my eyes drifted to his right arm. Memories of that fateful day came rushing back to me. The look in Vash’s eyes as he threatened to end his own life, the bitter cold biting at me and seeping into my body as Luna and I searched every the ravine, and the utter despair and self-loathing I had felt when we were forced to return to the carriage.

There was a stabbing pain in my heart. From what Vash had said it was obvious he had found himself in a cavern that had been sealed by rubble. My thoughts continued to race, guilt threatening to overwhelm me. If Luna and I had just considered that possibility at the time, pushed ourselves just a little harder: then we might’ve found him. A tear fell from the corner of my eye. I could only imagine what he had been through during his centuries of wandering alone. I shook my head, dispelling the persistent thoughts. I couldn’t afford to dwell on the past. I had to focus on what I could do for him in the present.
> Memories
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Vash’s PoV:)

My first few days back at the castle were rather uneventful. I ended up getting a haircut from the top stylist in Canterlot. While I am under the opinion that I could pull off just about any hairstyle, it felt good to have the classic look back. I wouldn’t miss the flowing locks too much seeing as keeping it looking good while maintaining the wanderer lifestyle is nigh impossible. 

The most notable event after that was the arrival of a large airship. Celestia led me to the roof of one of the larger drum towers where the ship had been anchored. As soon as it stopped moving and the guards signalled that it was secured, a hatch opened at the front and a ramp was lowered down. Moments later, a tall zebra mare stepped into view and came down the ramp. She was wearing a sort of black dress that went down to the bottom of her thighs and just above her knees. Yellow and red floral patterns adorned the front of the outfit with multicolored bands around the sleeves. Said sleeves cut off around the elbows and were wide on her arms. Her mane was done up in braids that clung to her head and then draped down her back in a tightly bundled ponytail.

Celestia strode up to the zebra mare and smiled. “Zecora, I’m so glad you were able to show up on such short notice.”

Zecora smiled back and took Celestia’s hand to give it a shake. “Think nothing of it, I’m more than happy to help.”

“So, how are you planning on helping?” I chimed in. “Sorry if I seem rude, but the idea of getting my memory back after so long has me feeling a little impatient.”

Zecora chuckled, looking me over. “I would not believe it if I weren’t seeing it for myself, but here you are, Vash, and the years have been kind to you.”

I rubbed the back of my head, sighing. “I’ll take that as a compliment, but they haven’t exactly felt kind.”

Zecora nodded in understanding, her smile receding a bit. “I am sure.” She clapped her hands together, looking between Celestia and I. “Alright, I can see that I’ve wasted enough time, I’ll just have your staff take the ingredients out of the ship and I will get to work on a brew that will hopefully restore those lost memories of yours, Vash. There’s just one small issue.” She took a moment to let that news sink in, our pensive faces urging her to continue. “You see, I need a special ingredient: the beard of a one eyed mare. As it turns out, there is no one that fits that criteria in all of Zebafrica. There were a couple mares with mustaches, but none quite had a beard."

My eye twitched, my mind reeling as I tried to make heads or tails of that statement. “Probably a dumb question, but does the beard have to be from such an oddly specific source?”

Zecora shook her head, a small smile on her face. “That is a perfectly reasonable question considering what I am asking you to procure. You see, for common ailments letting the normal chemical reactions take effect are more than sufficient to cure them. However, for extraordinary circumstances, extraordinary ingredients are required. Every living thing in Equus gives off a magical field. Normally, a being’s magical field will not change much, but unique circumstances can alter them. A particularly strong shift can be achieved when a mare manages to grow a beard and loses an eye. This altered field can be maintained for a while when the beard is cut off and used to make powerful potions.”

I scratched the side of my head, pretending to understand about half of the explanation. “Okay, that makes enough sense.” I rubbed my hands together, trying to form a plan. “Looks like I need to go to some circuses and sideshows.”

Celestia turned to me with a serious look on her face. “And I will send out a contingency of guards to aid in the search as well. Hopefully we can find a mare that fits the criteria.”

I turned and started to make my way off the tower, mentally making a list of supplies for a trip. Once I was fully packed and wearing my cloak once more, I headed out into the city streets and found the nearest stand that sold newspapers. I quickly paid for one and leafed through it as I mindlessly dodged the traffic to head towards the train station. I ignored the business and arts sections, keeping an eye out for the entertainment page. It took me a few moments, but I eventually spotted it. I scanned the page, my eyes desperate to find the word circus. One article looked promising, detailing that there would be one just outside of Fillydelphia for a few days.

When I reached the station, I handed the mare at the ticket counter enough bits to get myself a first class ticket for the next train to Fillydelphia. Since I was staying with a princess I figured I could afford to splurge just a little on the trip. It was easy to find a seat in first class seeing as I was the only one in the entire car. Once I was settled in, I tried to formulate a plan for getting the beard off of the mare once I found her. Just asking her straight up was a possibility, though it didn’t seem likely that it would yield results. Disguising myself as a hairdresser had potential.

I continued going over various plans, the gentle sounds of the train’s wheels on the tracks always on the edge of my notice. After a few hours of planning, I fell asleep in my seat with my head resting against the window. I don’t know how long it had been, but I was woken up by the train jerking to a stop. The sudden movement sent my head slamming into the seat in front of me.

I stood up, rubbing my forehead and grumbling about what was sure to form into a nasty bump. I grabbed the small bag of supplies that I had brought along with me and exited the train onto the station. 

The building was fairly nice. Sure, there was some trash strewn about but it was nothing I couldn’t handle. I didn’t focus on the building too long though, my first priority was finding a way out onto the streets and my way to the circus.

One thing I always loved about cities in my travels was the ability I had to fade into the background. No one seemed to ever care about the six and a half foot tall guy in the cloak. Maybe it was something about the natural hustle and bustle of city life? Or maybe it was the fact that with so many people packed into one confined area, you were bound to have your fair share of weirdos? Either way, it suited me just fine and I slinked through the crowded streets without any fuss.

Once I arrived at the circus I kept an eye out for the attractions. Sure enough, there was a bearded mare as part of the show. Making my way inside, I paid for a ticket and went about searching for the mare of the hour. Thankfully, the show was fairly small so making my way around it didn’t take me long. After an extensive search, it turned out that the bearded mare had both her eyes.

It didn’t take me long to return to the station and plan out my next move. I figured there had to be some sort of event going on in Manehattan. With that in mind, I booked the soonest train to Manehattan and set out on the next leg of my search.

I spent the next few weeks searching any possible lead for a one eyed mare that was surely allergic to shaving or waxing. Much like Zecora before me, my findings always came up just short. When I found a mare with only one eye, the best she had was a dewy mustache. And when I tracked down a bearded mare, both of her eyes just had to be in working order!

In the end, I had to call off my search and regroup back with Zecora and Celestia. Luckily, I had actually managed to think ahead and decided to save enough money so I could afford a train ticket back to Canterlot. Lord knows that walking all the way from the border of Southern Equestria and all the way up a damn mountain would just be the cherry on top of my failure sundae.

Most of my trip was uneventful, spent drifting in and out of sleep while occasionally overhearing snippets of conversation from a lovely couple seated in front of me. My attention was grabbed when I noticed a group of stallions boarding the train. I say group but they were spread out amongst the various ponies getting onto the train.

Having been a drifter for as long as I had, I’d resorted to various means to earning money. One of those was gambling on card games. My telepathy had made me a natural at it, but it had also helped me develop another skill, reading people. The stallions may have been spread out, but each one shared something in common. Their eyes all had this sense of hunger to them that I had seen at card tables countless times. A desperate, gnawing hunger that would do anything to be sated. 

Before the train could resume its trek, I got out of my seat and headed towards the nearest restroom where I had seen one of the stallions board. The train lurched as I quickly relieved myself. I counted off a predetermined number in my head before opening the door once more.

“-give us your bits and valuables and nopony has to get hurt!” 

I found myself staring at one of the stallions I had taken note of. This one was a pegasus, with a short mohawk. At the other end of the cabin was a nagapony, no visible horn or wings. Both of them were holding magigun pistols and had their faces covered. The nagapony took notice of me the instant I left the bathroom so I had to act fast. 

I let out the least threatening scream I could manage and fell backwards, kicking the magigun out of the pegasus’s hand before his accomplice could alert him to my presence. The gun sailed through the air, bouncing off the bathroom wall before landing in the toilet with a satisfying *plop*.

My flailing put me behind the pegasus, leaving the naga without a clear shot. I screamed again, tilting my head to avoid a hoof being slammed into my nose.

“Stay still jackass so I can beat your face in!” the pegasus roared, trying to hit me again only to narrowly miss me again.

“That is a terrible sales pitch!” I shot back, scrambling towards the cabin door and making sure to kick a foot into his crotch. Once I heard the gasping for air I was expecting, I turned around and found the stallion doubled over with his hands covering his crotch. Letting myself smirk I threw a right hook at his temple and knocked the would-be robber out. The instant the pegasus crumpled to the floor, I dropped my head to narrowly dodge a shot from the naga.

The narrow aisle of the train car was a severe disadvantage for the naga given his bulky tail. Which meant that if he had any kind of sense, he would try to keep me at a distance. Lucky for me, an obvious solution to close the gap made itself apparent in an unlikely source.

I feigned scrambling once more, waving my arms in an exaggerated manner while dodging another bullet and grabbed a suitcase off the rack placed above the seats. I made sure to undo the clasp on the lid before flinging the trunk towards the robber and causing the clothes and the other various objects inside cascading towards my attacker.

The naga dodged the trunk, only to have a pair of tighty-whities land right on his eyes. While he had been busy doing that, I was already running down the aisle and just as he tossed the underwear away, my left hand met his face. 

He swayed on his tail for a moment before collapsing in a heap. I sighed in relief, looking towards the shocked passengers. “Odd question, but does anyone here have any rope or handcuffs in their luggage?”

With the help of the grateful passengers, I was able to scrounge together makeshift materials that would be able to hold the two robbers until authorities could deal with them.

Unfortunately, I knew this wasn’t over. There were still several stallions that were on the loose. I exited the car as quickly as I could and headed towards the locomotive. If I had to hazard a guess, at least one of the robbers was holding the conductor captive and preventing him from stopping anywhere that guards were posted. 

Once I was outside the car, I climbed the service ladder and pulled myself onto the roof of the train. The wind buffeted my face and forced me to stay low or else I’d lose my balance. It might have been inconvenient, but it would keep me from running into any of the robbers before I could make it to the conductor. 

My crawl was time consuming, but I made it to the locomotive without any real complications. There was a door  with a small window separating the controls from the space between the connector and the next car. Pressing my back to the door, I snuck a glance into the head of train. Sure enough, one of the stallions was in there with a gun pointed at the conductor. 

I scooched over, giving the door plenty of room to swing open. I gave it a knock, clearing my throat. “Hey, we got a problem,” I said in a rough imitation of the pegasus I knocked out. “Some jackass is trying to take us out and is giving us the slip.”

“The Tartarus are you blathering about?” the robber questioned, opening the door and stepping out.

Before he could even look around, I jumped out of my makeshift hiding spot and grabbed him into a sleeper hold. He coughed for a moment, dropping the gun he had been holding and attempted to break free. I debated a witty comment, but decided to leave him whatever dignity he had as he went limp in my arms. I dragged him into the locomotive, the conductor staring at me in shock.

“W-Who the hay are you?” he stuttered, obviously still shaken up by what he had just been through.

“Just a concerned citizen lending a hand,” I replied, dumping the robber at his hooves. “Do you have any way to restrain him for when he wakes up?”

Pulling a handkerchief from his breast pocket, the conductor mopped at his brow. “Yes, I have some rope in my emergency supplies. That should hold him until we get to the next stop.”

“Just out of curiosity, how far away is that?” I inquired, finding said emergency supplies and rope in a corner of the room and setting to work on tying the robber. 

“The next station is in Gunsmoke, about twenty minutes away,” he answered, returning to his duties. 

I tsked, finishing the last knot. “Great, so we’ve got to wait twenty minutes before we can get the help of guards.” Standing up, I clapped my hands. “Alright, looks like it’s back to the grind.”

“You’re going to take on more of those thugs?” the older stallion asked, his voice full of bewilderment. “That’s suicidal!”

“It can’t be,” I started cheekily stepping towards the door, “I disapprove of suicide.” With that, I walked out and back into the train cars.

I made my way through the train cars, not encountering any of the bandits for several minutes. That changed when I reached the dining car. I had to tilt my head to avoid a bullet that lodged itself in the doorframe. A unicorn stallion stood at the other end of the car with a smoking gun in his hand. Between us was a cart still full of covered food.

“That’s far enough!” the unicorn boomed, training the pistol on my forehead. “Hands in the air where I can see ‘em!” I complied, my mind buzzing as I tried to think of a way out of this. His eyes drifted to my waist, most likely noticing the slight bulge my revolver made against my cloak. “Disarm yourself!” he barked, inspiration striking me.

Suppressing the urge to laugh, I reached at my left shoulder. “Poor choice of words there.” 

Before he could question what I meant, I disconnected my prosthetic from my shoulder and flung it at the stallion’s face. He blanched and staggered more from the shock than the impact of the metal arm hitting him. Kicking away the discarded limb, he took his eyes off me. I capitalized on this and charged. I dove onto the food cart, sending me and it barreling towards the unicorn. He looked back up, but it was too late. The cart crashed into him, sending him, several trays, and myself flying through the door into the next train car.

I landed on top of the bandit and noticed that he was unconscious. “It looks like the food didn’t agree with him.” I was brought out of my reverie by the cry of a mare. Whipping my head up, I found one of the robbers holding the mare from the couple that had been seated in front of me with a gun pressed to the side of her temple.

“That’s far enough, asshole!” the stallion barked, jostling the orange mare. “Make any sudden moves and I blow her Faust damn brains out!” The mare flinched at that, looking to a nearby large red-headed stallion with naked fear in her eyes.

Something caught my attention from the corner of my eye. It was the circular, metal lids to one of the platters that had been on the food cart I had charged in on. Luckily, it was within reaching distance of my remaining arm. A hair brained scheme began to take shape in my mind, one I wasn’t even sure would work out. So par for the course really.

Putting on my best poker face, I stared down the stallion. “If you shoot that mare, you’d better hope you’re faster to aim than I am,” I warned, my voice full of quiet fury. Before he could protest, I shifted my cloak slightly to show off my revolver. “Don’t think I can’t shoot you from down here. It’ll only take me a second to pull this out and put a nice new hole in your forehead.”

For a split second, it looked like the robber faltered, his gun trembling. “You’re bluffing. Slide that thing over to me or I’m killing both of you.”

“Is that a chance you can really take?” I questioned, flexing my fingers. “I took out your friend there with a cart. Just think what I could do to you with an actual weapon?” As I asked this, I let my hand drift towards the handle of my revolver.

The gun faltered against the mare's temple, a bead of sweat forming on the side of the robber's head. The mare in question turned to me with panic in her eyes. As bad as it was, I had to ignore her in order for my ruse to work. I smirked, focusing my gaze on the sweat in a way to let him know I could see it. This had the desired effect; the stallion roared out, tore the gun away from the frightened mare and started to point it right between my eyes. 

My hand instantly shot away from my gun to the lid, shoving it in front of my face and angling it just so. The stallion had already pulled the trigger by the time he could see what I was doing. The shot rang out, everything slowing down and I swore that I could see the bullet heading for me. Before I could hesitate or second guess my insane plan, the bullet struck the silver lid. There was a high-pitched ringing sound and the projectile ricocheted around the lid before finding its way in the bandit’s hand. 

Another beat passed and the stallion screamed out in pain, blood gushing from his hand. This caused his grip on the mare to loosen and he tilted his head away from her. I used this as a chance and hurled the lid like a frisbee to slam right into his muzzle. 

Just as I was about to scramble to my feet, a feminine warcry tore out of the now unrestrained mare's mouth and slammed her hoof directly between the legs.

“Take! That! Ya! Low! Down! Varmint!” she boomed, each word punctuated by a wince inducing kick between the bandit's legs. Said bandit had fallen to the floor, his eyes rolled in the back of his head.

“Ah think he gets the message, Buttercup,” the stallion the angry mare had looked to during the ordeal chimed in as he restrained her. “Remember what the doc said about gettin’ worked up.”

The mare turned her head up, a retort obviously forming on her lips. In the end, she let a breath out of her nose. “You're right, no sense stressin’ mahself out more.” She put a hand on her stomach and managed a weak smile. “Gotta think of the baby after all.”

I tuned the couple out and pulled myself to my feet while I made a mental checklist. I was pretty sure that I had fought off all the ones involved in the heist, but I wanted to be sure.

I pressed onward, looking through the remaining cars. My mind eased when I passed through quiet car after quiet car. After giving the caboose a thorough inspection, I went to go retrieve my arm. As I walked, I picked up on whispers from the passengers. News of what I had done had obviously spread to ponies that hadn't even bore witness to the insanity I had acted out. I ignored the whispers, simply content with restoring the peace to the train. I tried to stretch my arms above my head, only to succeed in getting one up. 

With a new goal in mind I headed up the aisle towards the last place I had seen my arm. When I made it back to the car I had been sitting in, a hand on my shoulder stopped me before I could exit. I was spun around to stare at the stern face of the large stallion who was part of the couple from before.

“Listen here feller, Ah don’t appreciate that gamble ya took with mah wife’s life,” he started, his grip on my shoulder becoming ironclad. “But, ya did pull it off. Thank ya.” A soft smile spread across his face and he extended his other hand to me. A pause hung in the air as I just stared at the offered hand. It took him a bit before he realized his mistake; the hand on my shoulder flew off and he offered it to me instead. “Sorry there, partner. Didn’t notice yer lack of an arm there.”

“I was just about to fix that,” I told him chuckling weakly as I met his hand shake and had to suppress a scream. The stallion's grip could crush a lump of coal down into a diamond.

Thankfully, the handshake came to an end before I could hear any bones crack. “Thanks again there, partnah. Ah app-” He was unable to finish that thought as an orange hand whacked the backside of his head.

“Don’t think I missed that, sugarcube,” Buttercup chided, her eyes starting to narrow. “Tryin’ to break that fella’s hand ain’t called for.” Her expression shifted as she turned her attention to me. “Sorry ‘bout my husband. He's a sweetheart but he can be real protective of me.”

I waved her off and smiled weakly. “It's fine. I should be the one to apologize. I gambled with your life.”

“Ya were in a tight spot there,” she assured, flashing me a warm smile. “Just try not t’let somethin’ like that happen again.”

“Can do,” I promised, returning her smile. I was just about to turn around and go after my arm when I felt a tapping on my shoulder. With a spin of my heel, I found myself staring at the bearded mare I had seen at the circus. Cradled in her arms was my prosthetic.

“Sorry to interrupt, sir, but I just wanted to thank you for stopping those bandits.” Holding my arm out to me she added, “If there’s anything I can do to return your kindness, please don’t hesitate to ask.

I started to wave her off, a smile on my face as I grabbed my prosthetic. “Oh that won’t be necessa-” I stopped, finally taking notice of something. One of her eyes was rolled back in its socket while the other was completely fine. “Um ma’am, not to be rude but did your eye get injured?” I questioned, tapping the corner of my own eye.

She blinked, putting her finger directly onto the afflicted eye. “Oh my, how embarrassing,” she said, giggling at the mishap. “This darn glass bobble always rolls around on me. I’ve been meaning to see the doctor about getting one that fits better.” With a quick movement of her finger, the eye was set back into place.

It took everything I had not to jump for joy at this discovery. “Ma’am, I think I do have a favor I’d like to ask of you, but it might seem odd.”

After several minutes of explaining my situation, I managed to convince the mare to let me have her beard. Relief shot through me like a numbing injection, allowing me to slump into my seat without a care. That feeling didn’t last long as I started to reattach my prosthetic. Surprisingly, putting a prosthetic into place so that it can move effectively without any formal medical training is a painful process. I know, I was shocked too. 

The rest of my train ride was uneventful, and I nearly passed out due to my fading adrenaline. I made sure to say goodbye to the nice couple and waved them off the train. After that, my trip was entirely quiet and spent in a state of semi-consciousness. When the train pulled into Canterlot station, I instantly felt revitalized and shot off onto the platform.

The throngs of people on the city streets slowed me down marginally, but I still made it to the castle in record time. After pushing my way into the throne room and fanfare from Celestia, we met up with Zecora.

With the bag of hair in hand the zebra said, “Excellent, now all I need is a place to mix my brew.”

Celestia nodded, a smile on her face. “Then I will lead you to a place where you should have everything you need.” 

With that, Celestia turned on her hoof and led Zecora and I down from the tower and into the castle proper. As we walked down the halls my mind wandered. My thoughts were dominated by what would happen once my memories were restored to me. Then there was the creeping fear of the possibility that whatever Zecora was going to give me wouldn’t work. I tried to keep myself calm, but my anxiety couldn’t help but bleed onto my face. 

My eyes darted around and took in the decorations on the wall as we continued our trek. Suits of armor stared  blankly on either side, almost seeming to pass judgement on me for actions I couldn’t even remember. I tried to focus my attention on the tapestries depicting the Equestrian sigil, but that offered no comfort. The blue figure on them caused a stir in my chest, almost like a memory was trying desperately to surface. It renewed the feeling that something was wrong with the castle that I hadn’t been able to shake since my arrival. Like someone or something that should be there wasn’t.

My train of thought came to a screeching halt when Celestia stopped at a door and opened it. Inside was a square room filled with shelves of various dried plants, powders and various other things that seemed random. The majority of the space was dominated by a long table that was covered in equipment. Things like mortars and pestles, glass containers nested in burners with tubes that led to vials. The smell of the herbs was strong in the room, leaving it with a pleasant, though slightly overpowering scent.

Celestia turned to Zecora and I, sweeping a hand over the room. “This is where the royal apothecaries work. I hope that it will suffice for you.”

“This will be more than enough, thank you.” Zecora turned and gathered equipment. Once she seemed to be satisfied she turned back to us. “Once my ingredients are brought to me I will set to work on the potion. I will send for you once it is finished, so feel free to try and relax until then.”

“Yeah, relax,” I muttered, turning and walking out of the room. 

I wound up wandering the halls a bit, looking for anything that could calm my racing thoughts. Getting out of the tapestry filled halls was my first priority. My memories trying to claw their way to the surface was more of a headache than I needed considering what was about to happen. My meandering eventually led me into the gardens, the sounds of the various exotic animals that inhabited it threatened to drown out my thoughts.

I welcomed the idea of such a thing and found a spot to lie down beneath the shade of a tree that overlooked the hedge maze and statue garden. Even with all of the animals, I couldn’t help but reminisce over the journey I had been on up until finding myself in Canterlot. Several important faces and events came flooding back to me. Of course, the hard times came back to me as well. I had gone to sleep hungry more times than I can count. I couldn’t help but wonder if some part of who I was would be lost after regaining my memories.

I knew it was stupid; if anything I was regaining who I was more than anything else. I continued along on that train of thought for some time until a guard came by to inform me that Zecora was ready with the potion. I brushed myself off as I stood up, thanked the guard and retraced my steps back to the apothecary room. 

Celestia was already there when I stepped into the room. Though it was subtle, I could tell she was excited about what was about to happen thanks to some slight shifts in her body language. Zecora was standing by the table with a bottle in her hand. Said bottle had a bubbling, thick purple liquid inside of it. The liquid did not look like it was going to be anything that could be described as tasty. I thanked my lucky stars that many, many years of scavenging food had hardened my palate considerably. 

“I recommend closing your eyes and pinching your nose before you drink it,” Zecora offered, placing the bottle in my hand, “it lessens this potion’s… impact.”

I nodded and did as she said, tilting my head back to make sure not even a single drop of the mixture went to waste. My body recoiled the instant it hit my tongue. Even with my nose pinched it was the worst thing I had ever tasted by a longshot. I pressed on though, the idea of returning my mind to its proper order worth the pain of dying taste buds. At some point the last bit of the potion had disappeared into my gullet, causing me to put the bottle down onto the table. I smacked my lips in a desperate attempt to get the foul flavor free of my mouth.

“Well, that could’ve been w-” I froze, a pounding forming in my skull. Various images flashed before my eyes. I tried to make sense of it all, but they were gone before I could even begin to make heads or tails of what they were supposed to be. I swayed on my feet for a moment before collapsing in a heap, darkness creeping into the corners of my vision.

“Vash!” Celestia cried, turning to Zecora and saying something that I couldn’t quite make out as unconsciousness took me into its warm embrace.

I don’t know how long it was until I came to, but I could’ve sworn someone had taken a few swings at my skull with a sledgehammer while I was unconscious. Forming a coherent thought was nigh impossible as my eyes cracked open. I winced as sunlight from a nearby window blinded me, but after a few moments I adjusted and noticed that I was in an infirmary of some kind. Close to the bed, Celestia was sitting in a chair reading a book. I say reading, but she didn’t seem to be paying it much mind as her muzzle was scrunched up in deep thought. She hadn’t taken notice of me yet and I didn’t want to disturb her while I was still getting my bearings. The flashes of memories came back to me, though thankfully it wasn’t as intense as it had been before I passed out.

Eventually, the images slowed down to the point where I could make them out. It started with my time as a human, working my way through my life until the fateful moment in the Crystal Empire. Once the images finally stopped, my mind settled on a couple things. I shot up, getting Celestia’s attention. I whipped my head towards her, my eyes wide.

“Tia, where’s Lulu and Toya?!”

She gasped, getting up from her chair and letting her book drop to the floor. “Vash, you used the nickname you gave me!” The rest of my frantic question seemed to sink in as she managed to calm herself down and offered me a sympathetic maybe guilty look. “Luna,” she paused, searching for the right words. “Luna became Nightmare Moon. I… I was powerless to do anything but use the elements on her.” She wrapped her arms around herself as if to find some form of comfort, tears freely falling from her eyes. “I banished my own sister to the moon.”

I couldn’t stand to see her like that so I got out of bed as quickly as I could and pulled her into a tight hug, stroking her mane with my right hand. “It’s okay, she’ll come back to us one day,” I assured her in a gentle tone, tracing my finger behind her ear in an attempt to comfort her. “But what about Toya?” A stabbing pain shot through my heart, unable to stop myself from picturing a version of my son that had long since fully grown up.

“Jason visited on his tenth birthday,” Celestia answered, reigning herself in as she clung to me. “Toya decided to stay with his mother until your return.” A small smile graced her face as her eyes met mine. “It was his way to keep you from missing out on his childhood entirely.”

I removed one of my arms from the embrace and fished around my coat for Jason’s token. Somehow, I had never resorted to pawning off any of my tokens. Lucky break for me considering that meant nobody would accidentally summon a Displaced and leave them stranded in a foreign Equestria. I instantly pressed the button on the unitrix core the moment it poked out of my coat. The core lit up and I tossed it towards an empty part of the room to allow a portal to form.

A green skinned woman I didn’t recognize stepped through the portal, sporting a massive head of black hair, complete with green streaks. Her eyes were a forest green, and her dress matched the Omnitrix’s colors. The device itself rested on her chest, just above her cleavage.

“Bella, I told you before, don’t antagonize...” she stopped mid-sentence, eyes locking on me.

“I feel like I interrupted something,” I commented, scratching my cheek and offering her a weak smile. 

Before I could say anything else, a teenage girl I assumed to be Bella stepped through the portal after the woman. She was in a dress that matched the woman’s along with the same green skin. However, the girl’s hair was blue and pink and styled in more of a bob.

“I didn’t antagonize, mother,” “Bella” retorted, resting one of her hands on her hip. “I merely offered my opinion.” It was pretty obvious that she hadn’t taken notice of her new surroundings yet.

The woman stepped forward, drawing her hand back and slapping me rather hard across the face... only for her to grab my head and pull me into a deep kiss. She held it for a moment before shoving me away.

“Gah,” I groaned, rubbing at where the woman had slapped me. “What is it with people and greeting me violently then nicely lately?”

My voice seemed to get Toya’s attention, her head snapping towards me. Her face lit up and she crashed into me to give me a tight hug. “Father! I can scarcely believe I’m seeing you again. Oh what am I saying? I knew you’d return!”

“I never had any doubt, Bella,” the woman agreed, winking at me.

I returned Bella’s hug and turned my head towards the woman. “So, what did I interrupt and what form are you using to both be members of the fairer sex?”

She struck a pose, grinning at me. “My dear, Vash; Bella and I are sirens. Songstresses of the highest caliber!” Gesturing to the portal, she continues. “As for what you were interrupting. We have a mother-daughter day every month.”

I rubbed the side of my head, smiling down at Toya. “I had a feeling that you’d follow in with your mother’s side of the family when it came to switching genders every now and then.”

Toya giggled, ending the hug to cover her mouth with a hand. “Well, it wasn’t exactly a smooth first outing when we had our first mother-daughter escapade. As you can imagine, wrapping my head around changing my body like this on a whim took some doing. Plus, I know not to mix shapeshifting and liberal consumption of alcohol.” She shot her mother a knowing smirk.

Jason clicked her tongue, turning her nose up. “Do keep in mind, my dear sweet Bella. If not for that particular event, you wouldn’t be here right now, now would you?”

Toya smiled and nodded her head. “That is a fair point. I’m sure Freya would only enjoy  having the undisputed claim as your strongest child.”

“My ego would take a blow,” I started, intervening before the two could start trading barbs, “but you were married well before we met, Jay. How are your wives doing by the way?”

“Very well. In fact, we married again! The lucky lady’s name is Tempest Shadow, but you’re family,so you can call her Fizzy.”

“You’d like her, father,” Toya said, smoothing out her dress. “She’s the only person I’ve ever met that has taller hair than you.”

“Wait, if her name is Tempest Shadow, why would her nickname be Fizzy?” I questioned, looking to Jason for answers.

“Because Tempest Shadow is the name she gave herself during her first few days as an edgelord, her real name is Fizzlepop Berrytwist.”

I chuckled, rubbing the back of my head. “I was an edgelord once too. And thanks to Zecora’s potion, all my memories are fresh in my mind. And now I remember every lyric off Mechanical Animals like I did in high school.”

“Good for you dear,” Jay said, wrapping her arms around me. “Does that mean you remember our first night together?” 

Returning the hug, I scrunched my face in thought. It took a few moments but I was able to focus on something. “I’m going right to the morning after. Everything’s fresh but hard to sort through. Kinda hard to explain.”

“Hm well, perhaps we can help jog each other's memories later.” Winking at me, she turned to Celestia. “How are things, Fire Horse? Haven't burned down the castle yet I see.”

“Things are better now that Vash has had his memories restored,” Celestia replied, an easy smile on her face. “I’ve adopted a niece and taken two apprentices since we last met.”

“I take it that would be Cadance.” Keeping an arm around me, Jay all but dragged me to the door. “But so help me, Celestia, if one of those students is named Starlight Glimmer, I’m turning you into a kirin.”

Celestia put a a hand on her cheek and hummed in thought. “I'm unfamiliar with the name Starlight Glimmer. My students are Sunset and Twilight.”

Leaning over, Jay stole a kiss from Celestia’s lips. “That’s a good princess. Looks like you can follow instructions.”

Rolling her eyes, Celestia feigned a pout. “Do you really have such a low opinion of me that you have to patronize me?”

Jay didn’t respond, merely walking past her. “Come along, Bella, we have people to meet. We have to celebrate your father's return.”

“Of course, mother,” Toya chirped, bounding over to us. “Who shall we see first?”

“Celestia~ We should like to visit Caddy first,” Jay called over her shoulder. “Is her room in the west wing?”`

Reaching into her dress, Celestia produced a pocket watch. “Actually, at this time of day she's with her private magic tutor in the library. I of course offered to teach her myself but she said it would be better this way.”

“An even better reason to stop by.” Jay grinned, turning down the corridor. “Let's have some fun with the princess of love.”

“Is this the same kind of fun we have at certain nobles’ expense?” Toya asked with a giggle, brushing her bangs out of her face. “The poor dear won’t know what hit her.”





(Cadance PoV:)

My eyes scanned over my magic textbook, my mind swimming. My horn seemed to itch as I puzzled over the formulas. Being born a pegasus meant that magic was something I’d never thought about before. Sitting across from me was my tutor. She was a middle-aged mare with peach colored mare with a yellow mane named Nectarine Fuzz.

“How’s your reading coming along?” she asked, a smile on her face. Thankfully, my newfound aunt had found a tutor with a vast wellspring of patience.

A blush went across my muzzle and I looked up from my book. “To be honest, not well. I still can barely wrap my head around levitation.”

My tutor smiled and reached across the table to pat my hand. “Perfectly understandable. You haven’t had that horn on your head very long, it’s not instinctual for you like it is for unicorns. Just relax and treat your horn like your wings; it’s a part of you, not some foreign entity.”

Taking a deep breath, I tried to call upon my magic like Nectarine had been drilling into my head. While I did that, Nectarine got up to examine the shelves. Most likely checking for materials that might help a total novice.

“Having fun?” A voice asked from behind me. From the sounds of it, it was a girl around my age.

My concentration wavered and any chance at getting my magic to flow was gone for the time being. Spinning in my seat, I looked to see who wanted to get my attention. She appeared to be the same species as Vash, only her skin was a pale green. “If you call failing at magic fun,” I managed to say, stopping my staring.

“Well then, maybe we should ditch class?” She whispered, eyeing my tutor. “That's much more fun than memorizing stuffy spells.”

I scrunched my face up, glancing at my tutor. “I really shouldn’t. I really need to make progress with my magic if I want to be a proper princess,” I whispered back.

“Oh pah-leesse!” The girl scoffed, putting her hands on her hips. “You have all the time in the world to learn all the pretty princess things. Have some fun!” Leaning into my face, she grins. “Don't you know; it’s fun to do bad things.” 

Biting my lip, I looked down at my textbook. It might as well have been gibberish to me. “Okay, let’s ditch.”

Pirouetting, the girl held her hand out to me. “A wise choice, princess. Come along, before the nag catches us.”

I took her hand and quietly rose up out of my seat. My heart fluttered a bit as she kissed my hand and pulled me towards the door. 

I knew it wasn't right to skip my lesson, but it was an offer I couldn't resist. My time in Canterlot hadn't gotten me a lot of genuine friends. None actually. Everyone my age always tried to use me to get close to my aunt. But with this girl, I didn't sense any selfish intentions like that.

“You can call me Bella,” the girl introduced, pulling me out of the hall. “I'll simply call you Caddy.”

I quirked a brow, letting her lead me by the hand. “How do you know my name?”

“Oh pish posh, don't fret your pretty head about it. I know a lot of things,” Bella said, smirking at me. “How about we head to the gardens? A nice day for a proper chat and the flowers are just to die for.”

Her expression should’ve irritated me, but something about it was endearing. “Well, I do like the gardens.” I managed a smile, wandering through the halls with her. She seemed to know where to go, only once or twice did I see her pause to find her bearings.

Bella practically skipped into the sunlight, her curls bouncing this way and that. “See? I told you it was going to be a good day. You should be thankful you have someone like me guiding you.”

“Oh please,” I retorted, giving the girl a nudge. “Sunny days aren’t in short supply in Canterlot. Doesn’t take a genius to figure out it was gonna be nice.”

Bella huffed, making a show off brushing her hair back. “Let's not forget if it weren't for me, you'd have your nose in a book. You should work on your keeping your ego in check, before you overstep your training bra.”

My feathers ruffled at that barb and I turned my head away. “Keep my ego in check? Look who’s talking. I’m surprised you’re not floating away with all the hot air you’re storing.”

“I am a siren, I wouldn't expect a pony to understand.” Pouting rather adorably, Bella crossed her arms. I snuck a look at her own chest, noting for the first time the metal disk attached to her skin.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to hurt your feelings,” I instantly said, taking a seat in the grass. “I just thought we were teasing each other.” The disk seemed odd, but I didn’t want to bring it up. If it was for medical purposes, then it was likely a touchy subject.

“I suppose I can forgive you,” Bella relented, taking a seat next to me. “Vanity is a blessing and a curse all sirens possess.”

“It’s hard to imagine a species that share a common personality trait,” I commented, watching the clouds go by. “Then again, I haven’t met a siren before.” I opened my wings slightly, letting the gentle breeze run through my feathers.

“And now you have.” Bella puffed her chest out. “And fortunately for you, it just so happened to be me.”

A giggle escaped my lips and I glanced at her. “I’ll admit, you are pleasant to talk to. Ever since I moved to Canterlot, people have been so fake around me. And now that I can sense emotions,” I let a hand drift to my horn, “I know they don’t really care to get to know me. I’m a springboard to them, not a real pony.”

Bella smiled, leaning in. “But princess don't you know?” Her smile turned predatory as her teeth lengthened into needles. “Sirens eat emotions. How do you know I'm not here to lure you away so the older sirens can whisk you away?”

Scoffing, I flicked her forehead. “Nice try to scare me, but I can sense your emotions too. If you had any dark intentions then I’d know.” I drew my hand back as Bella made a show of snapping at it. “Did I touch a nerve, guppy?”

“I don’t like to be flicked,” Bella said, sticking her tongue out at me. “And way to kill a joke, princess. Pushing your nose in those books has killed your sense of humor it seems.” 

I giggled, giving her a little shove. “You're like a little kid, you know that? I feel like I'm foalsitting some spoiled filly.”

“I am not a spoiled child!” Bella shot back, bristling at the accusation. She put a hand to her chest and puffed up. “I am simply assertive and do not let myself get substandard things.”

“Spoiled~” I singsonged, giving her my biggest grin. “Bella is a spoiled fishy-fish.”

Huffing at me, Bella turned her nose up. “And Caddy is a stuffy featherbrain. No wonder you got turned into an alicorn.”

I gave her another shove, the two of us trading barbs for a while. After a while, a voice interrupted our reverie.

“Princess, what are you doing out here? The whole castle is in a kerfuffle looking for you.”

I looked up, finding Morning Glory staring down at me. “Miss Glory, I didn’t hear that you’d returned from Manehattan,” I said, giving her a weak smile.

“Don't give me that, young lady.” Morning frowned, her features downturned. “I thought you were above ditching your classes.” Eyes locking on Bella she grabbed the back of Bella's dress and hauled her up to her feet. “Lemme guess, it was this little hellion who convinced you it was a good idea?”

“Who are you calling a hellion?” Bella said, frowning at the nagapony. “It’s not the end of the world if she misses one magic lesson. She wasn’t in the mindset to make progress anyway.”

“Let's go, kid.” Morning turned, beginning to drag the siren back towards the castle. “Breaking and entering the castle? Corrupting the youngest princess? Not looking good for you. If you behave, they might just give you a slap on the wrist.”

“Is this any way to talk to your big sister?” Bella questioned, going stiff in Glory’s grip to make it harder to drag her away.

“Big?” Morning turned, getting in Bella's face. “All I see is a little girl. I'm pretty sure I'm the big one here.” Coiling around Bella, she grinned. “And I'm more than okay with that.” Grinning to herself, she subjected Bella to a ticklish assault.

Bella burst out laughing, struggling to free herself from the naga’s coils. I could only watch in confusion, their brief exchange having left my mind reeling.

“You know, I like the idea of having a little sister,” Morning said, adjusting her coils to keep Bella trapped. “Maybe I'll talk to your mom about keeping you like this?”

“W-when did you become so sadistic, Glory?” Bella asked, her giggles dying down. “You used to be so sweet.”

Morning frowned, pressing her nose against Bella's. “Are you saying I'm not sweet? I knew letting you move in with your mom was a bad idea. Got your perceptions all screwed up. Maybe some more tickles will fix that.”

“N-no!” Bella cried, only to trail off into hysterical laughter. Soon, Bella was out of breath, her hair a wild mess. “I was wrong, you’re not sadistic, you’re pure evil!”

“Keep that up and I won’t make you a new wardrobe,” Glory warned, stopping her assault. “I already had ideas in mind for your colors and figure.” Loosening her coils, she traded her deathgrip for a hug. “I missed you so much.”

Bella breathed a sigh of relief, tapping the disk on her chest. In a flash of green light, where there was once a young girl, there was now a boy. He appeared to be my age, but I almost thought he was older due to his size. He was easily six feet tall and his muscles were well defined. “I missed you too, Glory. Though, I think this face is more appropriate for our reunion.”

“Aw, but you were cuter the other way,” Morning whined. “Oh well, I guess I can work with this. Cadance, I'd like you to meet my brother, Toya.”

Gaping, I tried and failed to get my thoughts in order. I had never heard of any species other than changelings pulling off shapeshifting of that caliber. “Nice to meet you,” I said dumbly.

Grabbing Toya's arm, Morning smirked, wanna see a trick, Candy?”

Shaking my head, I snapped out of my stupor. “Trick, what kind of trick?”

“The fun kind.” Coiling around Toya again, she ignored his protests and began fiddling with the watch on Toya's arm. “What would you rather see, something cute or funny?”

I tapped my chin in thought, a smile returning to my face. “Is both an option?”

“Coming right up~” Pushing down part of the watch, Morning grinned as Toya vanished in a burst of green light. In his place, she was holding a baby dragon. “Tada!”

Toya snorted a puff of smoke in her face, a frown on his face. “Stupid dragons and their slow aging.”

I giggled, stepping over and scratched under the now black and green dragon’s chin. “Aww, you’re right, that is cute.” 

“Sorry, little brother, but I learned a few things from the pups while you were away,” Morning explained as she pet Toya's scales. “We are going to have so much fun.”

“I can’t leave my door unlocked with you around, can I?” Toya said, settling in her arms. “I’ll wake up as something like Stinkfly or The Worst.”

“How about I make it up to you?” Morning offered. “You let your feminine side make put and we have a girls day! Or, we could just have fun turning you into things. Either works for me.”

Toya wiggled out of Morning’s grip, undoing the transformation. A few moments later, his frame shrank, his hair lengthened and he was suddenly much more feminine. “Letting my feminine side out isn’t a problem. I sorta consider myself both male and female ever since Mom and I went siren together.”

“Good to know.” Morning poked Toya's nose and turned to me. “How about it, Candy? Wanna keep ditching and be a rebel for a day?”

Smiling, I instantly nodded at the offer. I looked between the two siblings and couldn’t shake the good feeling I got from them. “I think one day wouldn’t hurt anything.” 

The two siblings smiled in agreement and we headed out towards the city. A wicked grin spread across Toya’s face and she fiddled with her watch for a bit. In a flash of green light, she had turned back into Bella and started singing about girls just wanting to have fun. She kept the song going while we hit the best spots in the city. At one point I was pretty sure I saw random ponies breaking out into a dance number from the corner of my eye. All in all, it was one of the best times I’d ever had while in Canterlot. Somehow, my intuition told me that I had finally found a lifelong friend.
> Changes and Developments
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

 (Toya’s PoV:)

Settling into Canterlot was as smooth of a transition as it could be. Mom helped me move my stuff into a room in the castle and then we said our goodbyes for the time being. It wasn’t that hard, I knew both my parents had an easy way to see each other whenever they wanted. So there definitely weren’t any tears in my eyes when it was time for her to leave.

My room was actually right next to Cadance’s. Something that was a pleasant surprise. I hadn't expected to find a friend my own age right off the bat. Sure, unlike me she was more of a stickler for the rules, but she was capable of letting her hair down.

I was just putting the finishing touches on my room when my dad got my attention by knocking on the open door. 

“Hey Toya, you busy?” he questioned, a small smile on his face.

I took my hands away from the decorative shield I was putting up and turned around with a grin of my own. “Nah, I’m pretty much done setting up my room. Whaddya need?”

“I wanted to let you know that you’re starting school tomorrow,” he relayed, walking over and putting a hand on my shoulder. “It’ll be good for you.”

I had to stifle a groan, but my smile visibly drooped. “Seriously Dad? I’m a prince and a warrior, what good is a normal education gonna do me for that?”

Dad’s brow creased and his hand shot up to flick me in the center of the forehead. “Saying things like that shows you're not even ready to be put in charge of a sand castle yet. If you don't see how spending time with your future subjects will benefit you.”

I wanted to open my mouth to protest, but he had a point. "Ugh, do you have to be right?" I groaned, folding my arms over my chest.

Grinning, he jabbed a thumb at himself. "That's my job. Besides, I was a moody teenager myself; I'm well equipped to handle whatever you throw at me."

“Oh really?” I asked, letting frost dance along my fingers.

“Do I have to chase you off with my welding tools and ground you?" he shot back, flashing me the tools with a wave of his duster. He let the question hang in the air for a moment before a wicked grin split his face. "Or better yet, maybe I'll go to all your school functions and do my very best to embarrass you."

This had the desired effect and a shudder went up my spine. "That's just playing dirty." The frost around my hand faded away and my body language relaxed. 

Dad relaxed as well but kept up his impish grin. Pivoting on a heel he waved over his shoulder. "And that’s why you’ll never beat me despite you being infinitely stronger than me. I'll get out of your hair, got my own things to take care of."

I waved goodbye and flopped onto my bed to enjoy the fruits of my labor.





(Vash's POV:)

I had a set of blueprints in my hands as I directed a large group of workers. If I was going to get back to my work then I'd need a proper setup. Luckily, I'd found there was space if I dug up around the entrance of the castle. An underground workshop definitely appealed to my sensibilities and I had the crew running like a well oiled machine to get the foundation dug out. 

I was in the middle of finalizing a design on hiding the ventilation amongst the foliage of the castle walkway when Morning slithered up to me. “I see you’ve thrown yourself into your work once more. Tell me, how many hidden doors is the new workshop going to have?” she questioned, a fang poking out of her smirking lips.

Turning my blueprints towards her, I retaliated with a massive grin. “Very funny my scaly beloved, but as you can plainly see my plans do not rely heavily upon trick doors. No, instead I am opting for something grander. This workshop shall be powered by the wind itself!” Putting on my best dramatic voice, I pointed upward at the sky.

“I’m sure that sounded more impressive in your head, dear,” she deadpanned. “Now, I didn’t come to see you just to have a pleasant chat; we have some visitors coming to see us today.”

“Why would anyone be coming to visit me?” I questioned, pointing a finger at myself. “I’ve been on my best behavior so this can’t be something like a maid not liking me hitting on her.”

With an exasperated shake of her head, Morning took me by the arm. “No, this has nothing to do with borderline harassment. You’ll see when we get to the sitting room where they’re meeting up with us.”

I didn’t broach the topic further, knowing that Morning wouldn’t give me any other info. For a mare that had the lower body of a snake, she could be surprisingly inflexible at times. Giving a quick word to one of the workers, I put them in charge as Morning led me towards the castle proper. The walk was fairly quick and passed by even faster with some pleasant smalltalk. 

The sitting room was simple, or at least as simple as any room in Canterlot Castle could be.The walls were a soft yellow, giving the impression of early morning light. The couches and chairs were luxurious, just the right blend of style and comfort and matched the colors of the walls. There were several tables scattered amongst the couches, the most important in my mind being the one containing a teapot, four cups and an array of tasty looking finger foods. 

I took a seat right by the finger sandwiches while Morning coiled up in a chair that had been designed with nagas in mind. I would never say it while she was in earshot, but the thing looked like a giant doggy bed with a backrest on it.

We weren’t left waiting long, a few minutes after sitting down the door opened and in came two ponies. The first was a pegasus stallion decked out in a blue military dress uniform. Even without the full scope of the decorations it was easy to see that he was a high rank at a glance. He had the stance and gaze of a leader. His fur was a solid red that matched my duster and his mane was a light blonde with lightning bolt-shaped red streaks running through it. The mane itself was styled in a Phoenix Wright-esque fashion with the spikes pulled to the back of his head.

The other pony was a naga and a near spitting image of Morning Star. She had the same basic coloration though her wavy mane went down to her shoulders. Covering her body was a coral dress that had a single shoulder strap to give it an elegant but still casual feel.

The two ponies had drastically different reactions upon seeing me. The stallion had a harsh look that contained barely restrained contempt behind it; the mare on the other hand was simply ecstatic. Before I could react, the mare latched onto me in a hug that would make an anaconda jealous of the squeezing strength on display.

“I can’t believe I finally get to meet you!” the mare cried, her hold somehow growing ever tighter. “The statue doesn’t do you justice at all!”

“Glory, perhaps you should let him breathe?” Morning offered, gently separating the naga and me. “We haven’t even explained the reason behind this little get together yet.” With a warm grin, she led the other naga to a chair much like her own while the pegasus took his own seat.

The outburst by Glory and the general appearance of the pair made me start connecting some dots in my head. However, I kept quiet, taking in grateful lungfuls of air as subtly as I could while I waited for everyone to get settled in. Once my breathing was under control, I popped a finger sandwich into my mouth and chewed it slowly as Morning began to speak.

“Vash, I want you to meet Morning Glory and Shooting Star,” she began, indicating the naga then the stallion. “They’re twins and our children.” She let that sentence hang in the air, giving me a few moments to digest the info. 

“We’ve heard so many stories about you, Father!” Glory beamed, nearly taking out the teapot with her thrown up arms. “My personal favorite was of the Trottingham Founder’s Festival.” Her eyes fluttered and she held her hands close to her chest. “The dancing, the assurance mother gave you, it was all so romantic.”

I was about to speak, a grin on my face from Glory’s energy. Before I got the chance though, Shooting Star snorted and decided to give me a piece of his mind. "Do you really think you should be calling him that, Glory?" He began, derision dripping off his every word. "What has he done to deserve that title? He left to wander the world before either of us were even born, and did so for just shy of a millenium.”

“Shooting!” Morning snapped, bristling in her seat. “That wasn’t Vash’s fault! He saved the Crystal Empire at the cost of his memory! He would never abandon us by choice!”

The pegasus rolled his eyes, a hollow chuckle passing through his lips. “Oh, and how very convenient that is.” Standing up, he glanced at me for a moment before settling his eyes on the two naga mares. “You two can welcome him with open arms, but I've spent countless lifetimes without a father and I don't need one now." He craned his neck to me, his eyes boring straight through me. "Have anything to say?"

I was frozen in my seat, the venom of his words coursing through me. It settled through me, making me leaden and inhibiting me from even lifting my hung neck to fully meet him eye to eye. I tried to open my mouth, but the thread and needle of anxiety and guilt sewed my lips tight keeping all but the weakest of sounds from passing through. 

Images came unbidden to my mind feeling fresh thanks to Zecora's potion that replayed the rift that had formed between my mother and me after my father's death. Was I the problem? Was I just a poison that infected my family and left them broken?

I was pulled out of my thoughts by Shooting’s voice cutting through the haze. “That’s what I thought. Why Toya decided to go out of his way for you, I have no idea.” Turning on his hoof, he made his way to the door. “I need to get back to Cloudsdale, if I’m not careful, Spitfire will run the crew ragged with drills.” Opening the door, he nodded at Morning and Glory. “You two are welcome to see me whenever.”

Once he left the room, the two nagas offered me their sympathies. Morning reached over, taking my real hand in one of hers. “Please don’t hold his words against him. Unfortunately, he received my pride and stubbornness in spades.”

I put on my best grin, though it felt weak even from where I was sitting. Given how well Morning knew me she’d see through a fake smile instantly. It was just a natural response at that point and one easily rationalized as being for my newfound daughter’s benefit.

“It’s fine, Morning,” I assured her, using my thumb to trace small circles in the fur of her hand. “It’d be weird to expect him to just accept me right off the bat.”

With a pout, Glory shook her head. “Don’t be so quick to defend him, Father. Even if he’s not ready to accept you as his father yet, there was no reason for him to be so blunt and cruel.”

Morning was quick to agree and the rest of our time together was spent in idle conversation. I learned that Glory was a fashion designer, A big time one too. Granted, her long time of experience likely had something to do with that. 

There were even brief snippets when Shooting Star was mentioned again. I was able to glean that he had founded the military group known as the Wonderbolts; an aerial based organization that doubled as a stunt team. 

For once I didn’t do a lot of the talking, content to listen to Glory as she tried to make up for so much lost time. While I did start feeling better than I did after Shooting’s tirade, but his words continued to weigh on my mind. When we finally decided to go our separate ways, the sun was hanging low in the sky. With no possibility of getting back to work, I decided to go to bed and was left alone with my thoughts.





(Toya’s POV:)

The morning after Dad had his talk with me, I was woken up by a loud knocking at my door. Cracking an eye open, I debated answering or pretending to still be asleep and trying to squeak out another few minutes of sleep. A different idea altogether formed in my head when I heard who was at the door.

“Oh Toya~” Cadance called out, sounding all too chipper for such a time in the morning. “You’ve got to get ready if we want to get to school on time.”

Grinning to myself, I popped the dial on my Omnitrix and carefully selected the form I wanted. Pressing it down, my body changed into the ectoplasmic wonder dubbed Ghostfreak. Turning invisible, I floated over to the door, slowly opening it. Cadance seemed confused, stepping inside and checking behind the door for me.

“Toya, where are you?” She waved her hands around, seeming to consider the possibility of invisibility of some kind. She would’ve touched me too, if I weren’t using Ghostfreak’s intangibility

Snickering silently, I went back over to the bed pulling the sheets off the bed while Cadance’s back was turned and she checked the bathroom for any noise. Striking fast, I made myself a little alicorn burrito while letting out ghostly groans. Just as she started to scream, I returned to normal and plopped down in front of her with a shit eating grin on my face. “Cadance, what are you doing playing around? Don’t we have to get ready for school?”

The shift in the adolescent princess’s attitude was near instantaneous, a groan leaving her muzzle as she threw her head back. “Toya! That wasn’t funny!” Wriggling around for a few moments, she freed herself of her cloth binds and unceremoniously threw the sheets onto the floor in a heap. Despite her best efforts, her deep glower was less admonishing and more adorable.

Stifling a chuckle, I reached over and fixed the ribbon that held her ponytail, having loosened in all the commotion. “Oh come on, Caddy, that was pretty great.”

“Whatever,” Cadance responded, rolling her eyes. “I’m gonna wait outside the door for you, just hurry up and get ready.”

Not losing my grin, I quickly completed my morning routine and joined the pink alicorn in the hallway. After some teasing conversation, Cadance’s grumpiness was quickly forgotten. We spent our trip tailed by a pair of guards. I knew it was only tradition, but it still seemed like a waste of resources.

When we made it to the school, I became the center of attention. Though, not in the way that my siren form would enjoy. No, it was more like I was the grand finale of a freakshow or a new exhibit at the zoo. It was a sensation I had almost forgotten about during my stay with Mom. However, the looks on my fellow students’ faces dredged up all those old memories of those times I would have to entertain guests with my family back at the old castle.

But did I let them see that they were making me uncomfortable? Hell no! I put on my most winning smile and invited them to stare. And if they were going to look anyway, I decided I was going to give them a reason to look. I made sure to answer every question I possibly could, making a show of explaining my responses in as much detail as I could. I couldn’t let my classmates think I was just a pretty face afterall.

The day seemed to drag, most of what was being discussed was stuff I already knew. I paid attention in History class though, having missed out on quite a bit while living in Mom’s Equestria. When the final bell rang, I shot out of my seat and met up with Cadance again.

“Wow, is every day here this boring?” I inquired, stretching my arms over my head.

“Pretty much,” Cadance replied with a shrug. “But I have to thank you for letting me not be the class sideshow for the day.”

"If just my existence gets their attention like that then imagine if I just randomly shapeshifted in the middle of class." Running my hands through my hair, I let it grow out and soon took on my female appearance. I could feel my pants start to slip downward so I quickly switched back. "Hmm, might want some adjustable clothes if I want to do that regularly."

Cadance giggled, holding a hand in front of her mouth. "Oh, that would just be too perfect! I can picture their faces when they see a non-changeling pull that off." 

The two of us snickered for a few moments, strolling down the congested streets. When we settled down I spoke up again, "I'm planning on changing and finding a gym; wanna join me?"
   
Cadance smirked, poking me in the side. "Oho, so you do go to the gym. Here I was thinking you were faking your bulk with shapeshifting." I was about to shoot her a comeback, but she quickly cut me off. "Sure, between princess training and magic lessons I've been falling behind on my wing exercises. I think a workout buddy is just what I need." Flaring her wings, one hid her horn while her smirk grew. "Come on, let's race back to the castle." She took off, letting me see faint sparks drift away from her. "Loser does the winner's laundry for a month!"

Rolling my eyes, I tried to rush after her. Only to fall flat on my face. Glancing down, I found that my laces had been crudely tied together. "Cheater!" I shouted after her, pulling the offending articles of clothing off and hopping back to my feet. I tore down the street after her, careful not to bowl over anyone in my charge. With Cadance’s smaller frame, she was able to weave through the crowds much more effectively than I could. Several posh unicorns bristled at the sight of our contest, though few were brave enough to openly say anything. I closed the distance between Cadance and I, but in the end she won the race by a horn.

“Yes!” Cadance whooped, undoing her ribbon and shaking her mane free of sweat. With the hair freed, I took notice of how it naturally curled at the end. “I just earned myself a laundry boy.” She started to do a victory dance, making sure to exaggerate her movements for full smug effect.

“What’s with the ponytail? Your mane looks nice down like that.”

The princess stopped her victory dance, grabbing at the locks for a moment. “Oh, thanks. I keep it up because the curls are hard to take care of. With everything in my schedule quickly pulling it back seemed like the best way to do it.” 

Satisfied with her answer, I shrugged and the two of us went to get changed. Cadance decided that as part of her victory, I had to carry her workout bag. I would’ve brought up that that wasn’t part of the deal, but it’s sort of hard to argue with a mare in yoga pants. Our trip to the gym was fairly uneventful, with Caddy only boasting about her victory a little bit.

The gym was nice, white walls accented in the royal purple that was associated with the city and scattered around the walls was the gym’s logo of crossed dumbbells. More importantly was the equipment. Rows and rows of it arranged by type. In the back were the saunas and showers, there were even signs advertising special yoga classes held in one of the sauna rooms. All in all, it seemed like a good place to work out.

As Cadance and I walked in, some of the more jacked patrons took notice of us and gave us the side eye. Some of them added more weights to their bars, likely in some attempt to show off. I was tempted to try and one up them, but something else caught my eye. 

In the corner where the speed bags and wooden dummies was a young mare. If I had to guess, she was Caddy and I’s age, though she was a bit taller than your average mare. She might’ve been six feet that when paired with her visible muscles gave her an almost amazonian look. Sweat poured off her white fur as her fists hammered against one of the wooden dummies while she was clearly working on self defense forms of some kind.

Grinning, I approached the young mare and waved to get her attention. “Hey, cool moves there. What was that, Southern Equestrian Kickboxing?”

The mare paused her workout, grabbing her nearby towel and wiping her face before speaking. Her turquoise eyes bore into me, as if she was trying to see my intentions. I was impressed, she didn’t seem to react much to my appearance. After a moment, she seemed satisfied and answered, “Yeah, been practicing it since I was a filly. Been thinking of mixing it with the zebra style of Kujizuia.” As she spoke, she moved the towel to her two toned blue bangs, getting rid of sweat threatening to drip into her eyes.

“I actually have a half-sister that’s a master of that style. She and her mom taught me a lot of moves. What do you say to a bit of a spar?” I flashed her a smile and pointed a thumb over to the mat. “I’m Toya by the way.”

Shrugging, the mare dropped her towel onto her nearby workout bag. “Yeah, a sparring partner does sound good." Striding over to the mat, she did a few quick stretches. "And I'm Gleaming Shield."

Standing across from her, I got into a loose stance. "Since this is all new to you, I'll go easy on you. I'll even give you the first shot free."

There was a flash of something on her face, irritation maybe? Or even a bit of mischievousness. Whatever it was was gone just as soon as it had appeared, leaving her to take her stance with a determined demeanor. 

"I sure do appreciate that." I was going to respond, but before I could she pivoted on her heel. Gleaming's body was a blur as she positioned herself for a roundhouse kick. It was excellent form, almost flawless. She just leaned a bit too far back, leaving her weight distribution ripe for knocking her on her ass if one were quick enough. At first glance it seemed like she was aiming for my stomach, so I tensed my core in anticipation. 

Then, her leg suddenly shifted its angle just before the moment of contact. An explosion of pain burst through my body, originating from the contact of hoof on family jewels. I didn't even have the time to make a pitiful sound as the white mare was on me to toss me to the mat in a seamless throw.

"Still think you need to take it easy on me?" She inquired sweetly, looking down at me with her fingers laced behind her back. I shook my head, wanting to grin at her subterfuge but was unable to due to the ache between my legs.

Cadance rushed over, concern in her eyes as she hovered over me. “Toya, are you okay?” I gave her a thumbs up, causing her to let out a sigh of relief. “Oh thank goodness. Now I won’t feel bad about this.” A belly laugh burst forth from her lips, the pink princess doubling over in mirth. “Sh-she got you good.”

As soon as Gleaming saw Cadance, her entire demeanor changed. She instantly bowed and stammered out an apology. “P-Princess, please forgive my crass behavior in your presence.”

Cadance was holding back an eye roll, disguising her disappointment. “There’s no need for all that. I’m more of a princess-in-training than anything. Plus, I’m out with a friend right now so it’s okay to be casual with me.” Holding a hand out, she helped me back to my feet. “You can call me Cadance, Gleaming.”

Gleaming ended her bow, though she shifted on her hooves a bit. “Okay, P...Cadance. I’ll uh, try to be casual.”

Coughing for a moment, I shook off the lingering pain. “Excellent, then do you want to continue our little lesson?”

Gleaming nodded, taking a stance again. Our sparring continued, with the three of us engaging in some basic conversation between pointers. She told us about her siblings, Twilight and her newly adopted baby brother Spike, who was a dragon not a pony. 

The white fur and blue mane were already a big clue who I was talking to, but that confirmed it outright. Gleaming Shield was this universe’s version of Shining Armor. I couldn’t help but wonder what had caused the difference between this world and the “Standard” versions. Was it always meant to be this way, or had Dad’s presence and actions in the past influenced this change and others? 

I shrugged off the train of thought. Dedicating brain cells to time travel logic and the effects of it usually resulted in said brain cells committing seppuku. Still, I couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed by the change. Without Shining Armor there was no apparent way for Flurry Heart to be born. Coming back to reality, the three of us finished up our work out and parted ways with promises of seeing each other again.
> Adventures in Foalsitting
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Vash’s PoV:)

Days had passed since my meeting with my other children. It was hard to tell how many though as I had thrown myself back into my work with what some might’ve called an unhealthy fervor. I just couldn’t get what Shooting Star had said out of my mind. It was harsh, sure, but that didn’t mean that I didn’t agree with every word of it. The stinging barbs dug into my skin like a persistent itch, desperate for me to scratch at it and make it raw.

Thanks to the magical efforts of the crew, my workshop was done much faster than I could have anticipated. Ponies and changelings were nothing if not industrious. There were several rooms to it with curved walls, making the rooms feel a bit larger than they really were. One corner of the main room was dominated by a forge and a hydraulic lift meant for hoisting vehicles. Unlike the one I’d had at the old castle, this new forge was sleeker and burned much hotter. Definitely something to keep in mind for future projects. There were two side rooms with work tables to work on things of various sizes. I was holed up in the back which served as an office. It had a few bookshelves that held reference materials to help me work out the mechanics of my ideas. The office was the only room in the workshop with carpeting, the others all had tile.

I was hunched over my desk, eyes scanning over a book on magic theory while I jotted down notes. With my memories returned, I resumed work on my magitech idea. Thankfully magic had been harnessed in small ways already so it made my job easier. It was a little upsetting that one of the ways magic was used was in a weapon, but I had to deal with what I could get. I also had my previous research fresh in my mind so I knew what I had tried already and could move on to new experiments.

I only stopped  to grab a few hours of sleep here and there, use the bathroom and grab food. With some foresight on my end, I’d included a fridge in my office stocked with some basic food. This meant that I could stay holed up for long periods of time whenever I was on a roll with a project. Or trying to avoid the world around me as was the case.

My routine became a slight blur, each action becoming automatic as I went. What broke me out of my self-inflicted stupor was the sound of the main door being pulled open. Reluctantly, I put down my pencil and went to greet whoever was trying to pull me out of the workshop by force. When I stepped out into the main room, I was greeted by Tia descending the stairs while sniffing the air warily.

“Well, the whole place doesn’t smell like b.o. so that’s something at the very least,” the solar princess commented, slowly approaching me. “It’s just like you to put a shower in this place.”

“There were already water pipes running through here for the sprinkler system and the toilet so it wasn’t that much extra work to install a shower down here too. Not as spacious as one of the ones in the castle but it gets the job done.”

Sighing, Tia put a hand on my shoulder and gazed deep into my eyes. “Vash, I know that Shooting Star’s words cut deep. I won’t pretend to know just how much it hurt you or how exactly you’re feeling. However, that doesn’t change the fact that you can’t squirrel away here forever. It’s been almost five days; Morning and I want to talk to you. Maybe we can help you work you through your feelings,” she offered, a gentle smile gracing her lips.

I shook my head, unable to keep my eyes on hers. “I’m not ready for that, not yet anyway. I know I’ll have to get out, and soon. I just ask for a couple more days. I might still not talk about it, but at the very least I’ll be out and willing to spend time with you and Morning.”

Tia gave my shoulder a squeeze and leaned down to kiss my cheek. “A couple days; I can work with that. But if you don’t want to talk about Shooting Star, how about you tell me about what you’ve been working on down here. With nearly five days straight of work, I’m sure there’s something you could show me.”

A weak chuckle escaped my throat as I led Tia to my office. “Are you really sure you want that? I seem to recall your eyes glazing over the last time I talked shop with you.”

“Yes, but you like explaining your thought process. So while I’ll surely only understand every third word or so, seeing you happy will make me happy in turn.”

I managed a slight smile at that, gathering up my notes. “Alright, I guess I can gush for a little bit. Wanna borrow my pillow? I’ve got a feeling I’m gonna be extra boring today.”

Taking a seat, Tia made it a point to yawn. “I’d greatly appreciate that.”

With that bit of banter out of the way, I showed off my notes to the alicorn. I started off by reviewing the blueprints I was making for a car powered by the magic engine I was designing. I may or may not have taken some inspiration from a certain hack and slash game featuring Jack Black. For a while she made a good show of feigning interest while I prattled on about wires and axles but I cut it short when even her practiced mask started to show cracks. I made sure to yawn and played up how badly I needed to get some sleep. With a reminder of our promise, Tia left me to my self-imposed solitude once more.





(Cadance PoV:)

I strode towards the throne room, tension filling the air. Aunt Celestia had called me to the throne room for a meeting with her. Toya had offered to come with me but the messenger had made it a point to tell me that the meeting was for me alone. It wasn’t often that Auntie made a request of me like this. Normally a lone meeting like this meant I was in trouble. The only problem was, I didn’t remember doing anything worthy of a throne room lecture. I mean, except maybe putting itching powder in Blueblood’s clothes but that had been more Toya’s doing than mine. 

The giant doors leading me to my meeting place pulled me from my train of thought. Nodding to the guards at the door, they let me in with little fanfare. The stretch to the throne might’ve only been a couple hundred feet, but to my stressed out mind it might as well have been a couple miles. Stress turned to confusion once I was able to see Auntie properly. Instead of the stern, knowing look that preceded a lecture she was offering a small smile. Was this some new tactic to lull me into a false sense of security? Unfortunately, I didn’t have the luxury of time to think it over. I quickly reached the steps leading up to the throne and gave the older alicorn a practiced curtsy.

“My dear niece, how are you doing today?” Auntie inquired, standing up from her throne. With a few graceful steps, she had descended the steps and pulled me into a quick hug. 

I returned the gesture, turning my head or else risk getting smothered accidentally. “I’ve been well, Aunt Celestia. I was planning on hanging out with Toya and Gleaming before I got the message. A new machine got added to the arcade on Clover Street and Big Scoops has a mystery flavor milkshake that we were gonna try out.”

Ending the hug, Auntie nodded at me. “Sounds like a lot of fun. Sorry for interrupting that plan. And what about your magic lessons? Your tutor has told me that you’ve made some progress lately.”

A grin broke out across my face and I lit up my horn. “Yeah, Toya and Gleaming have been coaching me.” To demonstrate, I held up my hand for her and used my magic to easily create an orb of light that fit snugly in my palm. “I know it isn’t much, but my friends told me that all progress is good progress. No matter how small.”

A giggle escaped Auntie’s muzzle as she crossed her arms over her chest. “It sounds like you’ve found yourself some fine friends, Cadance.” Clapping her hands, she started to head for the doors and motioned for me to follow after her. “Now, as much as I’d love to keep up our chat there was a reason why I called you to see me. My two students are not quite seeing eye to eye yet. Twilight is too enthusiastic for her own good. Outside of lessons her nose is firmly pressed inside a book. And Sunset still seems to resent Twilight’s very existence. I need a mediating force in order to bring them together. Someone older than both of them to be in charge but close enough in age to not feel like a true authority figure.”

“Okay Auntie, I’d be happy to help these two get along.”

A sigh of relief escaped the older alicorn as she stopped in front of a door. “I’m so glad you’re willing to help me with this matter. I was almost worried that I’d have to hire someone for this task.”

“Why wouldn’t you ask Toya to do it?”

Stopping with a hand on the doorknob, Auntie glanced over her shoulder to reveal a deadpan look. “Cadance, what do you think would happen if I left Toya in charge of two raw magical talents like Twilight and Sunset?”

My mind drifted, suddenly picturing the two fillies transformed into muscle bound battle mages by an onlooking Toya. “Fair point.”

Auntie dipped her head for a moment, indicating that she knew exactly what I had just pictured and had done the same earlier. With no other interruption, she threw open the door to the classroom that she used for Sunset and Twilight’s lessons. The two fillies in question were on opposite sides of the room, with Sunset idly making shapes in the air with her magic while Twilight was jotting down notes.

“Hello girls,” Auntie greeted, stopping in front of her blackboard. “I hope I didn’t keep you waiting too long.”

“It’s fine, Princess!” Twilight chirped, her head snapping up from her notebook as her eyes gleamed with wonder. “I managed to complete a page of notes from this Ancient Southern Equestria History book.”

“Not like we can tell you what to do,” Sunset dismissed, her leftover magic fizzling out of the air.

Aunt Celestia bit back a response before her warm smile returned. “I have some news for the two of you. Outside of lessons I can’t devote as much attention to you girls as I’d like. And Twilight, I talked with your parents and they’ve expressed interest in having outings of their own. So, I’ve invited Cadance here to watch you when we’re not having lessons.”

Sunset jumped out of her seat, her fists clenched at her side. “What?! I don’t need a foalsitter, I’m twelve!”

“I don’t recall using the word foalsitter. And I’m sorry Sunset, but twelve or not I can’t allow you to watch after yourself.”

“Then why not just let me go out with a group of guards?” Sunset questioned, falling back into her seat.

“Because guards wouldn’t be able to say no to your whims,” Auntie answered, her expression hardening. “As a fellow member of the royal family, Cadance can.”

Clicking her tongue, Sunset looked away in irritation. “You should know better than anyone that I can handle this city alone, Princess.”

Auntie’s face fell, silent for a few moments as she thought of a response. Letting out a deep sigh, she finally said, “It seems I have to say it outright. The other reason why I want Cadance to look after you two is that I want you and Twilight to get along.” Striding forward, she put a hand on Sunset’s shoulder. “For so long you’ve built up walls around your heart. I can’t expect you to let just anyone in, but for now I ask that you at least let Cadance and Twilight past them. I’d consider myself a failure of a mother if my daughter was completely shut off from the rest of the world.”

Sunset tried to hide it, but Auntie's words clearly hit home. Even from where I was standing I could see her trembling lip. Resting her chin on one hand she answered with, "Whatever. Like I said, it's not like I can go against what you want, Mo-ma'am, ma'am!" A hot blush spread across her face, turning her orange fur bright red.

"Why did your face turn red?" Twilight asked, tilting her head. “Are you getting sick?”

Auntie had instantly perked back up, the little black cloud hanging over her cleared away. "Alright, I've said my piece. Sunset, you can go to your room for now. Twilight, Cadance and I will walk you home."

Hopping out of her seat, Twilight stood in front of us. With a little indication from my aunt, I took the filly’s hand and we led her out of the castle. As we walked down the city streets, Twilight raved about what she had learned that day. I hate to admit it, but hearing about the spells she learned left me feeling a little self conscious. 

I had to push it out of my head quickly. It wasn't fair to compare myself to someone that was born with magic. I'd be willing to bet Twilight would be having similar troubles with flying if she were to suddenly grow wings.

“Say Twilight, you wouldn’t happen to be related to Gleaming Shield, would you?” I asked, hoping to get her attention.

Twilight’s eyes lit up, her head shooting toward me. “You know my BSBFF?! That’s so cool!”

“BSBFF?” I repeated, quirking a brow. “Does that stand for Big Sister Best Friend Forever? And yeah, I do know Gleaming. She started out as a workout buddy but then we just started hanging out.”

Twilight nodded emphatically. “That’s exactly right! You’re the first to get that on the first try.”

I couldn’t help but grin, the filly’s enthusiasm was contagious. Our chat continued until we made it to the front door of the Sparkle Household. I waved goodbye to the little unicorn, excited for what was to come. I had never really thought of being a foalsitter before, but it seemed promising. 





(Sunset’s PoV:)

There was no part of me that was excited about being forced to spend time with Cadance and Celestia’s other apprentice. I mean, getting shanghaied into spending time with anypony would be about as pleasant as a belly button lint smoothie; but being told to hangout with what’s essentially your replacement? Yeah, forgive me if I wasn’t jumping for joy. The worst part was that I couldn’t bring myself to try and get out of it. Celestia had played the mom card. How the Tartarus could I fight that? Stupid princess and her emotional validation.

Once the last lesson of the day passed, Twilight and I were left on our own while we waited for Cadance. I say on our own, but only if you didn’t count the pair of guards at the door. Which was pretty hard to do given that they seemed more like decorations in whatever room they were stationed at. Which wasn’t their fault, Celestia was almost universally beloved and even those that hated her understood why trying to break into a solar princess’s castle was a bad idea.

Before I could continue my train of thought, Cadance burst into the room with a bright smile on her face. “Hello Girls! Are you two ready for a fantastic first outing?!”

Twilight hopped up from her spot at the desk, leaving her book open while she rushed over to stand in front of the teenaged alicorn. “Yeah! I was reading all about babysitter relationships to get ready for today!”

Rolling my eyes, I placed a bookmark in Twilight’s book before closing it and getting out of my own chair. “Let’s get this started. No sense dragging our hooves since we’re gonna be together the same length of time no matter what.”

Chuckling nervously, Cadance reached into her bag to pull out a piece of paper. “That’s a good attitude to have, I guess. So I’ve actually got a few ideas of what we can do today. I know this great little arcade that’s right by a smoothie place. I figured that’d be a good place to start.”

With an affirmation from Twilight and I, we were on our way. Between most of the schools in the city letting out and ponies getting off work, the streets were bustling with activity. We had to stick close together to avoid getting separated. 

It took us a while to navigate the streets to the middle district of the city, but we eventually stood in front of a sizable arcade. The storefront was painted green and black in some effort to make it look digital or maybe futuristic. The sign read, ‘The Pixel Pony’ and the two words were broken up by a logo of a cartoon mare with a pixelated mane of various colors. The inside was mostly black with a spiderweb of green, glow in the dark paint made to look like circuitry. The mascot from the logo was also painted around the walls, doing things like laser tag and mini golf to display where customers could find those activities to just looking playful and cute in other nooks and crannies. The interior was dominated with rows upon rows of machines ranging from cabinets with joysticks to ones that had fake guns and of course the carnival style games for the sake of tickets. The place was surprisingly clean with only the faintest scent of stale nachos lingering in the air.

“Pretty cool, right?” Cadance said, snapping me out of my observation with a beaming grin on her face. “My friends and I found this place not too long ago and fell in love with it. Good game selection and their slushies are super tasty.”

“Seems okay,” I dismissed, trying to hide any hint of interest I might’ve shown. “Might as well get a drink and try out Mare of the Dead.”

“Nice, that one’s two player, mind if I join you for the first round?” Cadance asked, a hopeful look in her eyes. “And we can switch places with Twilight when one of us dies.”

I wanted to shut her down, but I had promised Celestia that I would try to play nice so I gave her a quick nod. Once we each had a slushie we went over to the cabinet and began to play. The acting was cheesy and some of the hits were cheap but it was surprisingly fun. 

Despite my best efforts, I was the first one that needed to use a continue and had to give my spot up to Twilight. She was a little too short to quite see the screen on her own so I had to hold her up with my magic. I got a big thank you from the younger filly as she started blasting away zombies. She was surprisingly good at the game for somepony so young. After a while, I got an idea in my head and a grin wormed its way onto my face.

“Hey Twilight, wanna try something to make the game more interesting?” I questioned, getting ready to make a change to my magic slightly.

“That sounds fun, do it!” Twilight grinned back at me, a move that even I had to admit made her look adorable. How was I supposed to resent her if she kept being oblivious and cute? 

With another nod I turned Twilight around in my magic so she was hanging upside down. Cadance seemed like she was about to say something when the little filly started giggling her head off and kept playing. Eventually, we had eaten up a lot of bits on just the one game. With our cups empty and our wallets lighter we decided to head out for the time being.

Once we were back out onto the street, Cadance told us that our next stop would be the park. Seemed like an okay idea. Twilight had that future shut-in energy going so making sure she learned the wonders of vitamin D was something I could get behind. With the crowds thinned out our walk was much quicker and we arrived at the park. I was never a big fan of the parks in Canterlot. The city council seemed to make it a policy to make all of them manicured to the point of feeling artificial. I preferred the castle garden, besides the hedge maze nothing felt like the life had been pruned out of it.

Despite my small personal hang ups, the park was nice enough and the playground and other equipment were well maintained. Save for the guards closely following us, we seemed to be the only ponies nearby. The three of us congregated at the closest swings and decided to have a contest on who could get the highest. Cadance was a dirty cheater and won by using her wings to hang at the top of the frame. 

I wanted to call her out, but something pricked at my neck before I could even form a syllable. Out of the corner of my eye I caught sight of something that looked like a tuft of fur as my vision blurred before ultimately going completely dark





(Vash’s PoV:)

My work was progressing smoothly. I’d begun work on a magic engine prototype. Given how rudimentary and large it was likely to be, the only real place to give it a real test would be in a train. I’d have to talk to Tia about that one. My work had been disturbed by a light rumble above me brought on by what I assumed were people scrambling for some kind of guard training drill. Seemed a bit late for something like that but it was probably to keep them on their toes… er hooves. 

I was just about to start shaping the special wires when the door to my workshop slammed open. A moment later and Morning was standing before me in utter panic. “Vash! Cadance, Twilight and Sunset have gone missing. A patrol found their security detail passed out in a park near the middle district,” Morning explained, her tail twitching behind her. “We’ve already mobilized pegasi to scout the city but there’s been no signs of them.”

I knew what Morning wanted to say and with children involved she didn’t even need to ask. Standing up from my work table, I threw on my duster and moved over to my bookshelf. Pulling out a specific topographical map, there was something I recalled from the initial construction of my workshop. I just had to double check the map based on what Morning had told me. 

I nodded once, rolling the map up once I had what I was looking for and had my hand hover over the revolver on my hip. “Don’t worry, Morning. I’ll have those girls back before the moon’s up in the sky.”





(Sunset’s PoV:)

My return to consciousness was rough, punctuated by a heaviness in my limbs and the worst case of cottonmouth of my life. The first thing my dim awareness noted was the fact that I was laying on stone. I tried to push myself upright, only to find my arms bound to my side. Trying to use a quick spell revealed there was an inhibitor ring on my horn.

On the inside, my mind was racing and I could feel panic clawing at the corners of my thoughts. It tried to keep my composure though. One thing I'd learned in my life was that letting others see you sweat it. The kinds of creeps that’d kidnap young girls would capitalize on perceived weakness.

Speaking of creeps, I decided to crack one eye open to take stock of the situation. As I thought, we were in a cave of some sort with odd crystals poking out of the stone in odd places. The immediate area was illuminated by a few magic lanterns that revealed a number of our captors. From what I could see there were four earth ponies, 2 unicorns, a pegasus and even a diamond dog. 

A knot formed in my stomach when I saw them crowding around Cadance and inspecting her like livestock. She had a gag in her mouth. She must’ve been loud when she initially came to since there wasn’t one in mine. “Those fish freaks in Klugetown are gonna flip over the stock we’re bringing them,” one of the earth ponies commented, leering at the pink princess and making her recoil. “An honest to Faust alicorn and two unicorn fillies.”

“Plus they’re all different ages,” one of the unicorns added, running his hands over Cadance’s wing and rubbing her feathers the wrong way. I cringed at the sight of it. Everypony knew what a taboo it was to touch a pegasus’s wing without permission and even more so to literally ruffle their feathers. “Appeals to more folks that way.”

This caused the others to laugh heartily, and resecure Cadance. Before they could finish the knots, Twilight let out a scream that echoed along the cavern walls. The bulkiest earth pony had a dull expression on his face as he motioned for one of the others to deal with her.

“Wh-what’s going on?!” Twilight screeched, trying to wriggle away from the approaching pegasus. “G-get away from me!” With the way her face scrunched up, it was obvious she was trying to cast a spell on reflex. When that failed, her body locked up and she gave out another panicked scream.

“Can it, bitch!” the pegasus snapped, roughly grabbing at Twilight.

I don’t know what came over me, one moment I was lying on the ground and the next I’d used my legs to spring forward and headbutt the pegasus at the knees. He fell forward, narrowly avoiding landing on Twilight as I tumbled into a heap in front of her. Why was I protecting her? I’d never put myself at risk for the sake of someone else before. Despite my inner conflict, my body was still moving to shield the crying filly. I wanted to give her a reassuring nod, but I was hoisted up by my throat before I could manage it.

“Someone wants to be a little hero,” the diamond dog growled, pulling a knife from his breast sheath. “Lucky you, we make more money off slave stock that’s fully intact. But maybe they won’t notice if you’re missing a tongue?” He pushed the tip past my lips and scraped it against my teeth to produce a sickening sound. A trickle of blood dribbled down my chin as the blade split my lip. 

If his goal was to terrify me, then he was succeeding. Knowing what he wanted, I went limp in his grasp but kept my teeth clenched. I was done fighting. I’d spent my whole life clawing and scrambling for whatever scraps life would give me and it seemed the universe had given me its final answer. I was simply destined to suffer.

The diamond dog tossed me to the ground, my head bouncing against the stone. I was dimly aware of a gag being put in my mouth as my consciousness swam from the blow and the waning cocktail of chemicals in my blood.

“Let’s haul ‘em outta here,” the earth pony leader ordered, glancing around the thugs. “The guard’s bound to have scrambled at this point and we can’t risk them fin-” 

A gunshot rang out from down one of the tunnels, causing everyone to stop what they were doing and look in the direction of the sound. With everyone still and quiet, the dull echo of footsteps reached us, growing louder every moment. A silhouette appeared in the tunnel, its form flickering with the light of the lanterns.

“Looks like my hunch was right,” the figure said, still approaching the kidnappers despite the group now grabbing their own weapons. “A diamond dog, that explains how you were aware of these old caverns.” A chill went down my spine, the figure’s voice ice cold.

“So the princess was already desperate enough to turn to bounty hunters,” the lead earth pony taunted, unholstering a magi-buckshot from his back. "So what, you got some buddies holed up in the tunnel."

"No, I'm here alone." The figure finally stepped into the light, putting him into view. It was the person from that statue in Celestia's garden, Vash. Gone was the goofy grin of the statue, replaced by a gaze that screamed hostility. In the lantern light his eyes seemed to glow, though that didn’t seem to unnerve the kidnappers.

“Tough luck for you then, one freak against all of us. What are you supposed to be anyway? Some kinda shaved gorilla?” 

Vash didn’t rise to the taunt, instead dashing forward, six shots ringing out from his gun. Several of the kidnappers cried out in pain, blood gushing from their weapon hands. The leader fired his buckshot, the pellets only hitting the wall behind where Vash had been standing just a moment before. The red coated man spun on a heel, kicking the diamond dog in the chin while his hands busied themselves with reloading his weapon in a blur of movement. Once the cylinder was popped back into place, Vash drove his elbow into the massive canine’s solar plexus and had him fall to the ground with a pitiful whimper.

A few more shots rang out, followed by the sound of metal clattering on stone filling the cave. The attitude among the creeps had changed. Their confidence was gone, replaced by a mixture of anger and dread. They tried to charge Vash, but he effortlessly weaved his way through the mass of swinging limbs. 

The kidnappers started to drop one by one, Twilight beginning to cheer our rescuer on. The lead earth pony growled in frustration, scooping up Twilight and pulling out a knife. Vash’s attention snapped towards the stallion the instant the filly screamed at the way she was being handled.

“Drop the gun,” the earth pony ordered, hanging the blade dangerously close to Twilight’s throat. Vash took all of a second to assess the situation before letting his weapon slip from his fingers and held his hands up. “Good, now I’m gonna walk outta here and you’re not gonna follow us. Not unless you wanna see something happen to this filly.”

The earth pony started backing out towards one of the tunnels, his eyes never leaving Vash. The man didn’t seem to reciprocate that, his eyes darting around the cavern for some unknown reason. Inspiration struck the gunman, his left glove bursting apart revealing a mechanical limb that slid down to reveal a gun barrel. With a slight adjustment, Vash fired the hidden gun, the bullet ricocheting off the cavern wall and striking the earth pony in the shoulder. 

The kidnapper hissed in pain, the knife pulling away from Twilight by reflex. Vash rushed forward, his arm sliding back into place as he used the fake limb to wrench the knife away from the recoiling stallion while his right arm moved to shield Twilight. With a twist of his wrist, Vash had the knife at the stallion’s neck.

“Stand down.” Vash punctuated his statement by lightly pressing the blade to the kidnapper’s throat. A pregnant pause filled the air for a moment as the earth pony stared defiantly at the man before he ultimately put his hands up in surrender. Taking hold of Twilight, Vash straightened himself out and used the butt of the knife to knock the stallion out. 

With that done, he let out a sigh of relief, his intense expression disappearing. Carefully, he cut the ropes off the three of us with a serene expression. Once her arms were free, Twilight threw her arms around Vash and broke down crying. With practiced ease, he patted her head and gave her gentle assurances while he freed Cadance and I.

Seeing him in action, there was no wonder Celestia spoke so highly of him. He moved like a living typhoon and dealt with eight thugs in the time it would take an average pony to change their clothes. And he did it all without magic! This whole situation made me realize just how helpless I was when my horn was taken out of the equation. And I refused to feel helpless. 
> Taking Aim
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Vash's PoV:)

The trip out of the tunnels was surprisingly quick. With Twilight still a wreck, I opted to carry her. The little filly gladly accepted the gesture, clutching onto me like a drowning man to driftwood. My heart broke for these girls. No one should have to go through something like that, let alone ones so young. 

My first goal was to find a guard and let them know about the unconscious and hogtied kidnappers. Given the circumstances, it wasn't hard to accomplish and I found a couple guards near a little cafe. The pair of guards regarded me oddly for a moment before realization dawned on them.

"Thank you for your help," the grey unicorn mare stated, adjusting her helmet. "We'll take them from here." She reached out to take Twilight from me only for the filly to whine and hold on tighter.

Patting Twilight's head, I gave the guards a weak grin. "She's been through a lot; I don't think she's gonna let go for a while. I'll get them back to the castle. I can give you directions to the eight kidnappers though." 

Once I was done giving my explanation, the guards ran off to get some backup to properly arrest the perps. Cadance and Sunset took the lead on getting us back to the castle, using their knowledge of the city to take shortcuts. 

When we passed through the palace gates a throng of guards escorted us to the throne room. Crossing through the grand doorway, we were instantly greeted by Tia and a quartet I assumed was Twilight’s family. Twilight squirmed out of my arms and settled into a tight embrace with her mother, the family sharing tear-filled cries as the filly tried to explain the events of the kidnapping.

Twilight’s parents were a fairly young mare and stallion with her mother being a light grey mare with a two toned purple and white mane with bangs hanging down just before her eyes, the rest of her mane started to curl when it reached her shoulders and her blue eyes shimmered with tears. Her father had blue fur with a darker blue mane styled in a professional updo and amber eyes. In his arms was a surprising sight, a purple dragon hatchling. The last figure was a teen mare I assumed was Gleaming based on the descriptions Tia had given me. 

Celestia’s regal mask was gone, replaced with the choking sobs of a relieved mother. It did my heart good to see the situation resolved so tidily. I turned on a heel, ready to let them have their moment. Just as I was about to cross the doorway, a voice caught my attention.

“Sir, thank you so much,” Twilight’s mother said, holding the filly close to her chest. 

“Yes, if there’s anything we can do to repay you just let us know,” Twilight’s father added, a tired smile on his face.

Waving a hand dismissively at him and flashed him a grin. “There’s no need for that. I just couldn’t ignore children in peril like that."

“We can’t just leave you with nothing,” Twilight’s mother argued, some cheer returning to her voice. “Can we at least have you over for dinner?”

I was going to try to politely decline but Twilight’s father cut in. “My wife makes a mean pesto.”

That last word struck a chord with me. It had been almost a millennia since I’d had a homemade pasta dish. My heritage would not let me deny such an invitation. “I guess I wouldn’t be opposed to a meal. Can my son Toya join me?”

"Of course, we've been meaning to have Gleaming's friends over. How does tomorrow sound?" He asked. "Given our nerves, I'm thinking this is going to be a take out night. I’m Night Light by the way, and this is my wife, Twilight Velvet."

“Vash, and tomorrow is fine.”

Twilight's mother and Gleaming nodded in tired agreement. The teen was trying to act tough, but her puffy eyes were a dead giveaway that she'd been crying just as much as her folks. I couldn't help but give a tender smile at the scene. This was clearly a loving family.

Celestia stood back up, but kept her arms around Sunset and Cadance. Clearing her throat, she addressed the Sparkle family. "I'm glad that this matter has been resolved. Some of my guards will escort you all home." The reunited family gave their thanks one more time and exited the throne room. 

I made my own exit, deciding to hunker down in an actual bed after the events of the day. Sleep came easy, the aches and exhaustion of my nearly week long stupor finally rearing their ugly heads.





(Sunset's PoV:)

The morning after the incident came to a sputtering start. As tough of a front as I'd put on the day before, I was still shook up. I even kept the light on due to not wanting to be in the dark. Seemed that everything that had happened in the cave was going to live rent free in my mind for a while. 

The only aspect of that I didn’t mind was the images of my rescue being replayed. I had to have imagined it at least a dozen times before I finally managed to get to bed. I don’t know what it was; maybe I was trying to figure out the secrets of Vash’s moves. Or maybe I was trying to wrap my head around his sudden change of mood. One moment he’d seemed ready to kill all those kidnappers and the next he was gently comforting Twilight.

That last thought made something stick out about the whole thing. Vash hadn’t killed a single one of the kidnappers. It was glaringly obvious. A detail that was right out in the open but lost in the shuffle of shock and thanking Faust to have made it out of the tunnels alive at all. Despite being outnumbered the way he was, all of the stallions involved were now awaiting trials in a Canterlot Jail. That settled it, I needed to have a talk with Vash and learn more about him.

The rest of the morning went by in a blur. Cele- I mean Mom had even decided to make pancakes herself. For what was likely her first attempt, it wasn’t that bad. If it had been any other day, I might’ve said something about the fruit and whipped cream face that she had put on our stacks. But after everything, I appreciated the genuine effort. Mom came off as a bit clingy, hugging me or leaving a hand on my shoulder at just about any chance she got. Again, I found myself appreciating it more than getting irritated by the affection overload.

Vash and Morning had joined us for breakfast as well, the bipedal oddity making sure to ham up his praise for the culinary experiment. Thoughts swirled around my mind as we all ate, though I couldn’t act on them. If I was going to talk to Vash I'd have to wait until he was away from Mom and Morning.

The gears in my head continued to clang together, trying to align. With my lessons my window of opportunity was narrow. With what I almost swore there was an audible click as the gears finally started to turn. He'd be going to Twilight's for dinner that night. If I could get invited over then it'd be simple to get the gunslinger alone.





(Vash's PoV:)

The office of the Royal Acquisitions Officer was a stock standard affair of bureaucracy. Plain white walls filled the room, broken up only by Royal Guard recruitment posters filled with cheesy slogans. Separating me from the other being in the room was a long counter spanning from the left to right wall. Behind the young brown mare in the red dress uniform of the guard were rows upon rows of cubbies with stacks of paperwork nestled safely within them. Said mare was currently reviewing a requisition form that I’d just filled out. 

“So you need a couple square feet of cragadile skin and a dozen bits of iron?” The mare asked, glancing over the pages at me. “Normal procedure requires I ask the reason behind the request, but the signature from the princess puts this at an automatic rush order status.” One of her hands disappeared below the counter and returned a second later with a rubber stamp that she firmly pressed onto the form.

“Thanks, Corporal,” I replied, making my exit while she filed the form. Being with Tia had its benefits. Even if it was just taking away the possibility to be told no when asking for materials to make new gloves. 

I flexed the fingers on my mechanical arm at the thought of the new gloves. After almost a thousand years I’d become fairly comfortable with only having one real arm. ‘Comfortable’ might not be the right word, ‘accepted’ maybe? Whatever the term, even if I’d done so I still found myself missing having a left arm with nerve endings. Hugs are a lot less impactful with just one good arm.

Putting in the request was the only bit of business I had that day. Morning and Tia made it very clear that I was on a forced vacation for the next couple days. I wasn’t ready to test them on what they’d do if I went into my workshop. That left me to figure out what I was gonna do until I was supposed to go to the Sparkle home.

Without a goal in mind, I decided to go to the castle garden and laze about. At one point I decided to get a jog in around the hedge maze and at another I simply enjoyed the foliage and menagerie of animals. I must’ve drifted off to sleep at one point because I was nudged awake by a grey unicorn guard in freshly polished armor.

"Sir, the princess is almost done with her lessons for the day and figured you'd like some time to get ready."

Hopping to my feet, I nodded at the young guard. "Thank you, Private. I lost track of time." The young colt blinked, obviously wondering how I'd guessed his rank. Grinning, I patted his shoulder as I passed. "Your stance gives you away. Rigid, like you're second guessing even your posture."

"G-good eye sir," the colt relented, shoulders sagging. "I finished Basic a couple weeks ago. Got to pick my assignment by the skin of my teeth.”

I gave him a thumbs up and strode towards the castle proper. “Good luck, Private, I’m sure you’ll go places. What’s your name?”

“Silver Wind, sir!” he called back watching me go for a moment before he moved to return to his post.

The journey to my mares’ and I’s room was rather uneventful. After a quick shower I was left to give my clothes a quick cleaning. I really would need to get some other clothes. Something to talk with Morning and Tia about that. 

Redressed and feeling as fresh as I could, I walked down the halls to grab Toya. I found him in his room, eyes downcast as he polished his short sword. Sitting on the edge, he looked up to the source of the disturbance.

"Hi Dad," he said, voice hollow as he returned to his task.

"Penny for your thoughts?” I asked, crossing one leg over the other. “You look like you’ve got a lot rattling around that noodle of yours.”

Sighing, he put down his rag and sword. “I can’t get yesterday out of my head.” Looking down again, he began to wring his hands. "I offered to go with Cadance but she said she wanted to do it on her own.”

“And now you’re wondering if you shouldn’t have tried harder to convince her,” I stated, a sense of knowing washing over me.

“Or even just tailed her to keep watch,” he pressed, gripping his hands tightly. “I made it back to the castle just when the guards started scrambling. When I found out what was going on I went out and started searching myself.” I wanted to say something but he looked up at me and pressed on. “How’d you do it? How’d you stay calm and find them so quickly when no one else could?”

“It was a mixture of good luck and prior experience," I told him, putting a hand on his shoulder. "I researched Canterlot's topography while making my new workshop. That led to me finding out about the caverns darting all through Canterlot Mountain. Plus, I’ve heard about Klugetown and its unsavory markets for a while. Reviewing the map confirmed what I thought. There was a cavern entrance near the park and one of the exits would put them on a direct course to that desert dung heap.” Giving his shoulder a squeeze, I continued, “But that’s not what’s important right now. Following Cadance would’ve betrayed her trust. You had no way of knowing that something like that was going to happen.”

“But it did and I could’ve stopped it!” he argued, shaking off my hand. “If wanting to keep an eye on my friend is wrong then fuck it, I’ll be wrong! If I was there those fuckers would’ve never laid a hand on the girls!”

I wanted to admonish him for his outburst, but that wasn’t the main issue. Beneath the anger there was something else in Toya’s eyes. Fear and insecurity. I knew those emotions well having experienced them countless times. Shifting on the bed, I pulled him into a hug. “You’re too strong for your own good. Fifteen years old and you’re putting the world upon your shoulders. Never beat yourself up for listening to your friends. You’re going to do great things, but even an immortal like you can’t do everything. The only time you should ever have regrets is if you give less than your best.” Rubbing his back I concluded with, “And that’s why you shouldn’t have any about this.”

Toya didn’t say anything for a while, staying stock still before slowly returning the hug. “Thanks Dad, I needed that.”

“I’m always here for you when you need to vent,” I assured him, ending the hug. “Now, we’ve got a dinner to attend. And I’m going to swing by the pantry so I can contribute something.”

“Whatcha gonna make?” he questioned, hopping onto his feet and grabbing his weapons. With practiced grace he returned them to their sheaths and let them hang at his waist.

“Something that has been passed down in our family for generations. I’ve even made this for you before.” 

Giving him a quick wink, I led him down the halls and into the kitchen. I had Toya help me gather the ingredients and together we made short work of the task. Being the good son he is, he took the bag without complaint and we spent the walk to the meeting place in amicable silence. Bounty in tow, we entered the classroom Tia was using from the back. To my surprise, Twilight’s mother was already in the room sitting by her daughter. With the way the filly was leaning into the mare, it was obvious she was there for comfort. 

Having an uninterrupted view of our arrival, Tia nodded at us. “Okay girls, that concludes our lesson for today. Be sure to read up on Grass Whistle’s Theorem on Ambient Aura Channeling and have some initial thoughts ready for tomorrow.”

Giving a quick affirmation, the two girls gathered their things and shuffled out of their seats. Twilight’s mother nodded at me and came up to Toya and I. “Mr. Vash, a pleasure. I hope you don’t mind, but dinner won’t be ready when we first get in the door.”

“Not a problem at all, a couple hours without food won’t kill me,” I assured her, flashing her a winning grin. If it wasn’t for the fact that she had such a terrible scare with her daughter the day prior, I might’ve been tempted to flirt just a little. The way her black jeans clung to her hips and her white blouse cut low enough to give just the most tasteful amount of cleavage did little to help my temptations. Even after nearly a millennia, Equus had no shortage of beauties. 

“Thank you for your understanding, Mr. Vash.” Glancing at Toya, her gaze fell upon the bags he was holding. “Oh, and what do you have there?”

“Dad plans on making dessert tonight, I’m just the packmule,” Toya explained. 

“You know how to bake?” Velvet questioned, a look of surprise and perhaps a little glint of being impressed was aimed towards me.

“Just the things Nonna taught me,” I said, dousing the fire of my ego before it could spread. “Still, I’m pretty confident in the family recipes.”

Nodding, Velvet indicated Sunset. “Oh, we’re going to be joined by Sunset here as well. She helped Twilight down in that cave.”

Twilight nodded eagerly, a weak smile on her face. “Yeah, Sunset was super brave. She headbutted one of those jerks and she shielded me.”

Giving a thumbs up to Sunset I said, “Very impressive. Can’t say I mind another pony joining us.”

“Have fun you two,” Tia chimed in, looking between Sunset and I. “Vash, make sure to bring back Sunset before it gets too late. Eleven is the curfew, okay?”

Saluting her, I went over and gave the solar princess a quick kiss. “Will do, boss lady."

With everything taken care of we headed out into the city proper towards the Sparkle home. I pretended not to notice as Sunset tried to bore holes into me from behind. There wasn’t any anger in what she was doing, but there was obviously something big on her mind. I figured that she’d bring it up on her own time and decided not to say anything.

It took a while to reach the residential area in the lower rung of the city, but we eventually stopped at one of the townhomes. It was purple, matching the general color scheme of the city and was framed by neatly trimmed hedges on either side of its front fence. Velvet approached the curved door and knocked. A few moments later and Night Light appeared with a tired smile.

“Thank goodness you’re back, Spike nearly set the curtains on fire twice today.” Giving his wife a quick peck on the cheek he ushered us inside. 

The front door opened to a living room that was painted deep blue with carpeting to match. The sofa and plush chairs were purple to match the exterior. Gleaming was on the sofa, reclined comfortably while she flipped through a book. There was a cozy fireplace decorated with pictures of the happy family together and even some awards that the two girls must’ve won. Attached to the living room was a kitchen where sitting in a high chair was the baby drake I’d seen yesterday.

Having heard the problem I walked into the kitchen. “Do you mind if I pick him up?” I asked, looking between the two parents. Getting the go ahead I picked up the little bundle of scales and cradled him close. Spike babbled at me at what must’ve been an imitation of a greeting and showed off his developing teeth in the progress. Nodding to myself, I glanced back at Night Light. “Do you have any charcoal in the house?”

Giving me an odd look, Night Light moved to the back door and retrieved a bag of charcoal briquettes from the outdoor patio.  Thanking him, I quickly fished out one of the lumps and presented it to the little drake. He squealed happily, grabbing at the charcoal and taking a big bite. The action caused a series of sparks to harmlessly flicker and snuff out in mid air. Once he was done with the charcoal, he cooed and released a ring of smoke from his lips.

"There you go," I said, grinning and handing him over to Velvet. "Give him a couple of those a day and his fiery outbursts should basically hit zero."

"That's amazing," Velvet breathed, looking down at the settled hatchling as he tried to doze off. "How'd you know how to settle his fire breath? We've been hunting for any info on hatchlings ever since we brought the little guy home. Equestrian knowledge  on dragons is next to nonexistent.”

“Oh, I got caught up in the dragon migration a few decades back. They took me in and in exchange I watched their hatchlings for a few years.”

“You lived among dragons?” Twilight gasped, her eyes sparkling. “Can you teach me about them?”

Scratching my chin, I pretended to think it over. “Well, I guess there’s no harm in it. I might even have time for a story or two while dinner is being made.

We gathered in the living room while Velvet went into the kitchen and started prepping everything. Twilight sat right by me and pressed me for a story about dragons. I spun my yarn, going on about the more exciting aspects of their daily lives. Twilight and Sunset seemed to eat the story up, hanging on my every word. Toya and Gleaming meanwhile opted to have their own conversation, going on about weapons and other martial topics. Night Light took the time to just relax, nearly drifting off if not for the light comments he shared with his wife.

The rest of the evening passed pleasantly. Velvet’s pesto was pretty good; not as delicious as the family recipe but then again, what was? And for dessert I presented everyone with tiramisu. Basic Italian dish? Sure, but it still received praise from everyone at the table. 

After the dessert things wound down to casual conversation. I learned that Velvet was a head editor of a Canterlot-based publishing house as well as an author herself. Night Light meanwhile was an Astronomer. If you ever wanted to see someone go on a twenty minute monologue about high-powered telescopes, he was your guy. The look on his face when I told him about the Hubble, you'd have thought I'd told him that joy had been turned into a donut flavor.

All good things must come to an end and the sun sank down below the horizon to be replaced by the moon. Standing up, I told Toya and Sunset that it was time to return to the castle. As we were going to the door, Twilight wrapped Sunset in a hug.

"Thanks for coming, Sunny!" The lavender filly chirped, giving the fiery maned girl a squeeze. "Next time you should come see my room."

Blinking owlishly, Sunset gave the younger filly a pat on the back. "You really want me to come back over?"

"Of course!" Twilight answered as if it were obvious and ended the hug. "You protected me, that makes us friends, right?”

There was a moment of hesitation from the tween, her muzzle scrunching up. Putting a hand on Twilight’s shoulder, she nodded. “Yeah, friends.”

This satisfied the tiny unicorn, as she said her final goodbye and let us get on our way to the castle. Toya chatted with me, doing his best to involve Sunset. She’d answer when talked to but kept it to one word responses if she could help it. Keen observation wasn’t required to see that she was conflicted about something. Given how reluctant she already was to talk trying to force the matter. Conversation petered out after passing through the main gates. With our rooms in separate wings, Toya split off from us and bid us both a good night.

Once Toya was out of sight, Sunset’s face lit up just a little. Taking a deep, steadying breath she put herself in front of me. “Mr. Vash, there’s something I’ve been wanting to say to you.”

Putting on a strong poker face, I said, “Is that right? Well, I’m all ears.”

“Seeing you in action yesterday made me realize something about myself,” she began, looking down at her hooves. “Without my horn, I’m absolutely helpless when it comes to defending myself. I hate that feeling. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do to avoid it. So that’s why I want you to teach me how to use a gun and fight like you do.” Lifting her head once more, she locked her eyes to mine. “Please Mr. Vash, I promise I’ll hang on your every word and listen without question.”

Crossing my arms over my chest, I mulled the request over. Sunset trembled, eyes threatening to water as I stood in silence. “Your first lesson begins tomorrow. Only if Tia agrees too.”

Her attitude did a complete one-eighty, a wild grin breaking out over her muzzle and she gave me a tight hug that lasted just a second. “Thank you, Mr. Vash! I promise you won’t regret this!” 

She broke off into a run, disappearing up the stairs to leave me alone in the hallway with my thoughts. It seemed as though I’d earned myself an apprentice of my own.
> Bad Moon Rising Pt. 1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Vash PoV:)

Ten years passed in the blink of an eye. After nearly a millennium of wandering I'd taken up roots. Not a bad change of pace if I do say so myself. In the time I'd spent in Canterlot my magitech engine research had made major headway. I’d made it past the prototype stage and was ready to be implemented into my very own vehicle. All I needed was the go ahead from Celestia on using the performance field normally reserved for the Wonderbolts and I’d be able to put The Deuce through her paces.

“How’s the energy readout looking, Sunny?” I questioned, not looking up from adjusting the wheel suspension on the front driver’s side axle. Putting down my socket wrench, I tapped the coil spring to give it a quick feel. The tension felt perfect, not that I ever doubted my handiwork.

“Holding a charge just like the projections suggested,” the somewhat raspy voice of Sunset called back, her horn glowing as she sent a beam into the hood. In her hands was a measurement device with a needle readout. Cutting off the beam, she switched her magic to work the ignition. With a rumbling purr, the black coupe came to life. The car shuddered in place, as if begging to race along the roads of Equestria. “She idles fine too.” Putting down her equipment, she cut the engine. “Color me impressed, Vash. You managed to invent something that works.”

Shooting up, I glared at the smug looking unicorn. “Hey! The arc cannon will work! I just have to figure out how to get a more focused electrical discharge without creating something that’ll cause The Deuce to tip over if she takes a turn too hard.”

Quirking a brow, the young mare tapped a hand on the driver’s door. “Why does this thing need heavy artillery like that anyway? Isn’t this enough of an achievement by itself?”

Grinning, I answered, “Same reason I insisted we added the flames because they’re awesome! Plus, considering how common repelling monsters is for guards in various towns, having a new type of weapon for something the size of a building would likely be appreciated.”

“That… is honestly a really coherent point,” my clever apprentice stated, her face scrunched up as she examined the car. “And having that mounted to a vehicle means that it could be easily maneuvered around the threat.” 

As scary as it was, Sunset had grown to understand my thought process through the years. If not for her help the engine could’ve easily taken a few more years. Not to mention the tweaks she’d made to The Deuce itself. Her shaping of the crystal wires had boosted energy efficiency by fifteen percent.

Before I could respond, the door to the workshop was flung open and Twilight rushed down the steps with Spike in tow. Held in her magic was a letter with Tia’s seal on it. There was a proud smile splitting her face while Spike was just shaking his head in irritation. It was clear, today was a day that Twilight was fixating on something, and Spike was background noise to her.

“Sunset! Do you remember what we were talking about this morning?” Twilight’s words almost seemed to bleed into each other as she zipped over to invade Sunset’s personal space.

Taking a quick step back, the other unicorn nodded. “Of course, the legend of Nightmare Moon and how we’re approaching the thousandth year.”

“Exactly and I had Spike send Princess Celestia a message about our concerns and she’s just sent her response. I’m sure she’s proud of our research and be sure to let us mobilize a search for the Elements of Harmony.” With that, she acknowledged Spike and gave him the sealed scroll. “Now let’s hear what she has to say.”

Clearing his throat, Spike unrolled the letter and began to read. “My dearest and most faithful students Twilight and Sunset. You know that I value your diligence and that I trust you completely.” Twilight and Sunset shared a smug smirk and nodded at the other. “But you simply must stop reading those dusty old books.”

The pair’s egos instantly deflated and they gasped at the phrase. Sunset picked up the baby dragon by the back of his neck like a cat causing him to flinch for a moment. “What?! How could she just disregard our concerns like that? She knows the legend better than anypony, she lived it!”

“Uh, let me keep reading. I’m sure the princess was just about to explain herself,” Spike assured, gesturing to the scroll. With a snort, Sunset let him go so he could continue. “My dear students there’s more to a young pony’s life than just studying and tinkering. So I’m sending you both to supervise the preparations for the Summer Sun celebration at this year’s location for my sun rising, the town of Gunsmoke. And I have an even more essential task for you to complete. Make some friends beside one another. Vash can accompany you as your bodyguard.”

“This has to be a mistake,” Twilight whined, her ears pinning to her head. 

“Come on, we need to go talk to her,” Sunset said, storming for the door. “I’m sure we can clear this mess up.”

A couple hours later, we were all gathered into a chariot headed for Gunsmoke. The chariot was being pulled by a pair of pegasi guards that let us soar among the clouds. Sunset and Twilight were dejected, the two of them hanging their heads over the side of the chariot. 

“Come on you two, look on the bright side. Princess Celestia has us set up in a library. Aren’t you happy about that?” Spike assured, patting their legs.

The pair pulled themselves up, sharing a glance for a brief moment before Twilight started talking. “Yes it does. Do you know why? Because I’m right.”

“We’ll check the preparations as quickly as possible and then use the library’s resources to shore up our proof of Nightmare Moon’s return,” Sunset concluded, a proud grin settling on her lips.

“Then when are you going to make friends like the princess asked?” Spike asked, glancing between them.

“Spike, Sunset and I are Princess Celestia’s personal student’s. Heck, Sunset is the adopted daughter to the princess. The princess told us to check the preparations. So we will do our royal duty and ensure the celebration goes off without a hitch, but the fate of Equestria does not hinge on us making friends.”

“Pretty sure she said the friend thing was the more imperative duty in that letter,” I commented, leaning against the chariot.

Unfortunately for me, the dynamic duo were back to chattering about their plan, the rest of the world fading from their notice. Glancing down at Spike, the two of us shook our heads. 

Not long after that conversation, we touched down in the town proper. The streets were unpaved and the buildings had no unifying design theory to them. What saved the place from looking totally chaotic was the vague sense of city planning in how they were arranged and the fact that most of them were soft pastel colors of some kind. A majority of the buildings seemed to be two stories tall with the ones going beyond that doubling as businesses. 

Off in the distance I could see the remains of the aqueduct I’d set up all those years ago as well as the statue dedicated to peace between changelings and ponies. Speaking of changelings, they made up a good chunk of the faces in the milling crowd. Earth ponies seemed to be in the majority with changelings right behind, a smattering of pegasi and unicorns appeared to be in the minority by far. And then there were the naga ponies of each of the three tribes blended into the population.

Putting himself in front of Sunset and Twilight, Spike motioned to a pink earth pony mare walking our way and insisted, “Can’t you two at least try to talk to the ponies here? Who knows, they might have some interesting things to talk about.”

Rolling her eyes, Twilight stepped up to the mare and gave a small wave. “Uh, hi.” The other mare regarded us in silence, blinking slowly. Then, a sharp gasp tore from her throat and she leapt into the air before zipping off. My eyes might’ve been playing tricks on me, but I could’ve sworn she didn’t land before disappearing from view.

“Well, that certainly was interesting,” Sunset deadpanned, pulling out the checklist and walking off with Twilight in tow. 

Sighing, Spike hung his head and slowly followed. Deciding to offer what assistance I could, scooped the little drake up and placed him on my shoulders. “Here buddy, let me do the walking for the both of us right now.”

“Thanks Vash,” he said, putting his claws on the side of my neck to help keep his balance. 

Our first task on the royal checklist led us to the outskirts of town. Rows and rows of apple trees peppered the landscape. If I had to hazard a guess, there was a branch of the Apple Family located in this town. That stirred something within my memories. I was left to think that over as we approached the main gates of the farm.

“First item on the checklist; banquet preparation headed up by the ponies of Sweet Apple Acres,” Spike recited, having unfurled his own copy of the list.

Before Sunset or Twilight could make a sarcastic quip, a lone pony’s cheer rang out in the air. “Yeehaw!” We all cocked our heads to see an athletic orange pony charging down the field to a tree near us. 

To describe her simply would be to just say, stereotypical southern girl fantasy. She had a well worn stetson sitting atop her head with a long blonde mane held in a loose ponytail. Her deep green eyes were framed by a triangle of freckles on each cheek. If there was any ounce of fat on the mare then it was on her glutes. She’d clearly been working the farm all her life given the visible definition all along her frame. In certain places it almost looked like her muscles had muscles. Even the rest of her attire fit the stereotype. A thin flannel shirt tied off under her generous bust to expose her midriff and a pair of denim cutoffs that refused to let go of her hips. When the mare was a few paces away from the tree, she pivoted on one hoof and delivered a mighty kick to the trunk with a thudding sound that reverberated across the field for a moment. A second later and every apple from the tree fell into buckets that had been placed on the ground and the mare couldn’t help but look proud of herself.

Groaning, Twilight approached the mare reluctantly. “Let’s get this over with,” she muttered, stopping in front of the mare. “Hello there, my name’s Twilight Sparkle and I’m-”

Twilight was cut off by the mare pulling her into a vigorous handshake that set the smaller mare bouncing in place. “Well howdy there Miss Twilight. A pleasure making your acquaintance. I’m Applejack, and we here at Sweet Apple Acres sure do like makin’ new friends.”

“Friends?” Twilight repeated, still clearly caught off guard. “Actually I-”

Twilight’s thought trailed off as Applejack ended the handshake while Twilight’s hand blindly went up and down. “Now, what can Ah do ya fer?”

Chuckling at Twilight’s predicament, Sunset stepped forward and stated, “We’re actually here to oversee preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration. I’m Sunset Shimmer, that’s Vash and Spike over there,” she added, pointing us out. “You’re in charge of the food, right?”

“We sure as sugar are,” Applejack replied, giving Sunset a powerful handshake of her own. “Would you care to sample some?”

“I guess we could, as long as it doesn’t take too long,” Sunset agreed while I gently stopped Twilight’s phantom handshake.

Applejack zipped over to a triangle attached to a homemade gazebo with a picnic table beneath it. Grabbing the dinger, the farm pony gave the triangle a series of rings and called out, “Soup’s on everypony!” 

Not a second later there was a thundering of hooves and we all got swept up into a crowd to be placed into seats at the picnic table. “Now allow me to introduce you to the Apple Family.” In a matter of seconds Applejack rattled off dozens of names as more and more dishes were placed onto the table. “And of course we’ve got Big Mac, Apple Bloom and last but not least, Granny Smith.” Tossing a bright green apple into each of our mouths, she waved a hand over to an elderly mare in a rocking chair that I could’ve sworn wasn’t there a second ago. “Up and at ‘em Granny Smith,” Applejack said, gently nudging the chair. “We got company.”

Waking with a start, the green and white mare creaked toward the table while rambling and occasionally making a coherent word every so often.

Grinning, Applejack put a hand on Twilight and Sunset’s shoulders. “Why I’d say you’re already part of the family.”

Spitting out her apple and making a face at the tart taste, Twilight laughed nervously for a bit. “Okay, well we were sent here to check the food preparation and I can see that that’s well taken care of. We should really head out now.”

“Aren’t ya gonna stay for brunch?” the filly Applejack introduced as Apple Bloom questioned. When we turned our heads we were greeted by the biggest set of puppy dog eyes I’d ever seen. The filly had fur the same color as the flesh of an apple and her long mane was the same red as a red delicious apple. Her bright amber eyes were sparkling with moisture that threatened to leak out and her lower lip was trembling like a leaf in the wind. 

Seeing her made something click into place inside my mind. From behind the lenses of my sunglasses, I stole glances at her, Big Mac and our original host, Applejack. All of them together made the pieces fall into place and the proverbial puzzle lay complete. I was so distracted by my recollection that I didn’t even notice as Sunset tried to politely decline the offer of the feast. It was only when a collective whine from the assembled Apple clan rang out that I was pulled back into reality.

Hanging their heads, Twilight and Sunset answered in unison, “Fine.”

A cheer rang out among the crowd and food was plated for us. My eyes lit up, threatening to distract me further when I noticed what had been plated before me. A pile of what I could only assume were apple cider donuts laid before me, tempting me with their promised deliciousness. 

“Say Applejack,” I started, getting our host’s attention, picking up one of the tasty treats. “You, Big Mac and Apple Bloom wouldn’t happen to be the kids of Bright Mac and Buttercup would you?”

Applejack’s expression fell a bit and Big Mac’s face became a stony mask. Even Granny Smith seemed more alert than she had a moment ago. Removing her hat, Applejack turned it over in her hands.

“That’s right, they’re our folks. But, they ain’t here no more.” She let that statement hang in the air, making it perfectly clear what she meant by that.

I put down my donut and removed my glasses to wipe away the misting I'd given them. "I'm so sorry to hear that. I'd only met them briefly, but they were a lovely couple."

"Forgive me fer sayin' this, Vash was it?" Applejack began, looking me up and down. “But Ah don’t recall Ma and Pa never mentioned meetin’ a fella that looks quite like you.” Her eyes eventually settled on my gun and her eyes widened in recognition. “Wait a minute, were you the one from the train?”

Rubbing the back of my head, I nodded. “Yeah, I met them on a train years ago.”

Big Mac came up to me silently. I didn’t know what to think as he stood a scant few inches away from me. Even though he was a couple inches shorter than me I felt very small beneath his gaze. In an instant, I was pulled into a bone crushing bear hug.

"Thank ya fer savin' mah sister," he said softly, voice hitching in his throat.

I patted the red stallion’s back and smiled back at him. “I’ve never been one to sit back when robbers are about. You’re welcome.”

“What’s this about savin’ yer sister?” Apple Bloom questioned, looking between her immediate family. “Did somethin’ happen t’Applejack?”

Smilin’ sadly, Applejack patted her sister’s head. “Big Mac was talkin’ ‘bout you. Sugarcube. Ya wouldn’t remember cuz y’all were in Ma’s belly.” Turning back to me, she gave me a nod. “Why don’t we have Vash here tell the story? He was there afterall.”

Glancing around me, I was met with a crowd of expectant faces especially those of the trio I had come with. Chuckling, I relented and began to weave my tale. The crowd hung on my every word, laughing when I emphasized my ways around using my gun. When I was finished, several of the older stallions pulled out flasks of their own brand of apple brews as a show of respect and poured me out a few drinks. Even Granny Smith perked up to say thanks, promising to set aside a jar of her signature zap apple jam for me when the season arrived.

By the time we left Sweet Apple Acres, all four of us looked like we’d gained twenty pounds. The bevy of apple themed treats proved too much for us. Spike was hit the worst, forced to sit on my shoulders when his legs refused to carry him. Either that or he just really wanted more piggyback rides. 

"Ugh, I don't think I'll ever eat again," Twilight groaned, holding her stomach.

"Is it possible to have apple-related PTSD?" Sunset inquired, loosening her belt. "What's next on the list, Spike?"

Spike unrolled the list again, his eyes roving over the parchment for a moment. “Uh, that’d be the clearing out of the clouds that’s being handled by somepony named Rainbow Dash.”

“Then she’s not doing a very good job,” Twilight noted, waving a hand at the sky. “There’s clouds every-”

Twilight’s sentence was cut off by a rainbow streak crashing into the mare and sent her careening into a nearby mud puddle. When things settled, we were able to make out a sky blue pegasus mare sprawled out on top of Twilight.  She was short, maybe five foot two if she really stood up straight. On top of that she was lithe, her body streamlined in the way you typically see in a swimmer or gymnast. Her muscles didn't bulge out, rather looking more like tightly wound steel cables. Her mane and tail were a literal rainbow, looking well kept (tousled state notwithstanding) but with no real style to them. Her attire was simple, black yoga pants and a sports bra with the pants having a design of a white cloud with a rainbow lightning bolt zigzagging out sewn onto the back pocket.

Picking herself up, the pegasus took notice of Twilight beneath her and began to chuckle as she picked herself up. “Uh, excuse me?” she said leaning over Twilight. Flapping her wings, she let herself hang a few feet in the air. “Let me help you.” She zipped off, the mud covering her flying off from the speed she was going.

“Shouldn’t you tell that mare you have a spell for cleaning things?” I whispered, watching as the pegasus grabbed a cloud and brought it over to Twilight.

“Should I, yes,” Sunset agreed with a nod. A beat later and an evil smirk crossed her lips. “Will I, no. I wanna see where this goes.”

“Is this payback for Twilight borrowing your blouse last week without asking?” I deadpanned.

“Maaaybe~” Sunset replied all too sweetly.

I returned my attention to Twilight, finding the pegasus jumping on the cloud to create a literal rainshower. The sports bra did its job, preventing the solid B cups on the mare from bouncing much from the vigorous motions. When the mare was done, Twilight was looking like a soaked cat with an expression to match.

Peering over the cloud to examine her handiwork, the pegasus tried and failed to suppress her laughter upon seeing the dripping unicorn. “Guess I overdid it there, huh?” Kicking the cloud apart, the mare started to flit around Twilight. Her eyes lit up and she started to quickly fly around. “Let me try my patented Rain-Blow Dry!” she called out, creating a rainbow-colored tornado around our bookish friend. She stopped on a dime, looking proud of herself. “No, no, don’t thank me, it was the least I could do.” When the mare stopped patting herself on the back, she found Twilight’s mane and tail were a frizzy and curled up mess. Unable to stop herself, the pegasus fell over laughing with Sunset and Spike joining in. Not me though. I definitely didn’t laugh at Twilight’s misfortune.

“Let me guess, you’re Rainbow Dash?” Twilight asked, irritation bleeding into her tone.

The recognition made the mare light up and she struck a pose. “The one and only. Why, heard of me?”

“We’ve heard that you’re supposed to be clearing the clouds out of the sky,” Sunset interjected, wiping a tear from the corner of her eye. “Hi, Sunset Shimmer and the princess sent Twilight there and I to make sure things go off without a hitch for the Summer Sun Celebration.”

Lazily flying up, Dash gave a dismissive snort and lounged on a nearby cloud. “That’ll be easy. I’ll get that done super quick once I get some more practice in.”

“Practice for what?” Twilight inquired, quirking a brow.

“The Wonderbolts!” Dash chirped, pointing to a convenient poster on a nearby wall. “They’re performing here tomorrow and I wanna show my stuff to them.”

“The Wonderbolts?” Twilight questioned.

“Yup.”

“The most talented fliers in all of Equestria?” Sunset pressed.

“That’d be them.”

Twilight scoffed, shaking her head. “Oh please, the Wonderbolts would never accept a pegasus who couldn’t even keep the sky clear of clouds for a single day.”

Shooting off her cloud, Dash glared at Twilight. “Hey, if I wanted to, I could clear the sky in ten seconds flat!”

“Prove it,” Sunset challenged, narrowing her eyes and her smirk growing.

Standing up on her cloud, Dash zipped off without a word. She became a rainbow blur as she tore through clouds. She was moving so fast that even I was having trouble keeping track of her. Just as promised, in ten seconds the last cloud was fading away into wisps and Dash was landing in front of us to strike a pose.

“What’d I tell ya?” Dash said, justifiably proud of her work. “I’d never leave Ponyville hanging.” Sunset and Twilight didn’t respond, their mouths agape at the spectacle they just bore witness to. Laughing, Rainbow started to slowly fly around us and hovered around the two mares. “Heh, you should see the looks on your faces. You guys are a riot. Can’t wait to hang out some more.” With that, the pegasus took off again.

Shaking her head, Sunset took notice of Twilight’s mane again, poking at the curls. Twilight gave Sunset a flat look as the orange unicorn snickered. Turning away, Twilight began to walk towards the nearby building marked as the town hall.

“Don’t be upset, Twi!” Spike called out, leaning from around my shoulder. “It’s really pretty once you get used to it!”

Inside the town hall, all manners of banners depicting a stylized version of Tia and the ponies enjoying her sun. “Decorations.” Glancing around the room, Spike’s eyes settled on a spot. “Beautiful,” he said, a breathy sigh escaping his lips.

“Yes, the decor is coming along rather nicely. We should be able to make it to the library in no time.”

“Not the decor, her!” He pointed a claw to the unicorn naga pony at the set up stage area.

She had a curled violet mane coiffed to perfection that hung down to the middle of her back. She wore a simple black dress that contrasted her white scales and fur, though there was a bit of a shimmer to the fabric that hinted at something more going on with it.

Seeing the hearts dancing in Spike’s eyes, I set him down on the floor. “Alright little man, all your training has led up to this moment. Now, recite stage one before I let you make your move,” I said, kneeling before him and boring into his very soul with my gaze.

Tapping his fist to his chest, Spike stood at attention. “All mares are princesses. A true gentleman treats them thusly.”

“That’s my boy, now show me what you got, tiger.” 

I gave him a gentle push and the little drake began to strut over to the mare. Taking a moment to check his breath on his claw, Spike cleared his throat to get her attention. “I have to say, these decorations are amazing. Why, they’re the second most lovely thing in the room.”

While Sunset and Twilight rolled their eyes at the pickup line I pumped my fist. His execution was flawless and he even remembered to put on a winning smile after he did so. The little guy had taken my lessons to heart.

Giggling, the nagapony turned to the source of the compliment. “Well aren’t you a little cha-” Her sentence hung unfinished in the air as her gaze settled on Twilight. Or rather, Twilight’s mane. “Oh my goodness!” She dashed forward with the speed of a viper, knocking over Spike as collateral as she circled Twilight and ran her hands along the mane to assess the damage. “What happened to your coiffure, darling?”

“That’s kind of a long story,” Twilight answered, chuckling a bit. “We’re just here to check the decorations and then we’ll be out of your hair.”

“Out of my hair, what about your hair?” Using her tail, the naga dragged Twilight by the wrist out of the room. Twilight tried to protest, but the naga’s grip was steadfast. We followed after the pair, amused by the protesting mare’s plight.

In a matter of minutes we were in the naga’s boutique with Twilight being forced into all manners of outfits and manestyles. We also learned her name was Rarity. The last outfit was a sleek white number with a built in corset that was lined with gems. Hiding the clasp was a sizable emerald that rested just below Twilight’s chest. Rarity tightened the corset, causing Twilight to let out a weak wheeze as her waist was cinched in and her chest was pushed up.

“Now, you were telling me where you’re all from.”

“We’ve been sent from Canterlot-” Sunset started, only for Rarity’s eyes to light up and her grip to disappear from the straps. With the tension released, Twilight went flying a couple feet and faceplanted.

“Did you say Canterlot?!” Rarity exclaimed with a squeal. “It’s always been my dream to live there. I am so envious. The fashion, the sophistication and not to mention all the influential ponies there.” With a soft smile, she took Twilight and Sunset’s hands and put them in her own. “Oh you simply must tell me all about it some time. Oh, we're going to be the best of friends.” As she savored the moment, her eyes settled on me, finally taking a moment to process me. She lit up, slithering over to me. “Oh my Celestia, grandfather!” she cheered, wrapping me in a naga’s famous bone crushing hug.

I managed to free my real arm to return the hug and managed a weak smile. “Oh, so you recognize me?”

“Of course I do, darling!” Sensing my distress, Rarity loosened the hug to the point where I could easily breathe. “Any naga worth their scales knows of Vash the Stampede and his statue in the castle garden of Canterlot. Not to mention my personal idol is Morning Glory. Her fashion lines speak to my very soul.” She unwrapped me, clapping her hands together. “I’m going to brew us some tea and you simply must tell me everything you know about her upcoming collection. She’s been so tightlipped that nopony knows even a hint of what’s in store.”

Humming to herself, she disappeared into another room. Lighting up her magic, Twilight rushed us out of the boutique. “Hurry, before she decides to dye my coat a different color!”

We only stopped running when the boutique was well out of view. Checking the list, Sunset and Twilight were relieved to learn we’d finally made it to the last item for the preparations. Our wandering led us to the town’s park.

As we walked my mind did some wandering of its own. I had met a few versions of these ponies before, gotten to know some more than others. Especially Jason’s versions. More than just the superficial differences like outward appearance, there were the differences in attitude. Some of it might just be chalked up to age and maturity. But there were some things that just made me think there was more to it than that. It really just let it sink in how much of an affect those of us that get displaced can have. Diverting my thoughts back to Jason and his mares, I’d have to call them over for a visit some time. Toya’s birthday was coming up and I’m sure he’d be happy to have his mother be there.

I was pulled out of my musings by what sounded like a chorus of bird songs. When I looked down, I saw that Twilight had already trudged through a bush towards the source of the noise. Which was pretty dumb for a smart mare like her. I mean, there was an easy way around it. Now I’d have to go buy some flea and tick wash for her.

A few moments later Spike decided to follow after by going around the bush.Barely a second after he strolled out there was an exclamation of, “A baby dragon!”

I shot forward, several memories coming flooding back. Not too many ponies were typically thrilled to see a dragon, even a baby one. While most wouldn’t openly say or do anything, every once in a while there were some panicky ponies that would let their fight or flight instincts lead them to do something they’d regret. Just as I was about to move in to shield the little guy, I saw that what I thought was a scared reaction was quite the opposite.

“He’s so cute!” A butter yellow pegasus cooed, leaning down to fawn over the little drake. She had a long pink mane that curled slightly at the ends, her mane hanging down to cover one of her turquoise eyes. Judging by how much of her was hunched over, it was fair to guess that she was taller than average for a mare.

“Well, I do try to take care of myself,” Spike replied, puffing up and preening at his spines on his head.

“Oh my goodness, you can talk. I had no idea that dragons could talk. This is just the most amazing thing, I don’t even know what to say.”

Spike was suddenly grabbed in Twilight’s magic and was plopped down on her shoulders. “In that case we’d better get going.” Motioning for us to follow, Twilight started to walk down the path.

Following after, the pegasus kept her eyes trained on Spike. She was wearing a soft green sweater and a long skirt. It was clear that she was trying to be modest, but there was no hiding the trademark subtle wibble wobble beneath the baggy fabric that implied mountainous mammaries that could not escape my keen eyes. If my guess was right, which in these matters they usually were, then this mare might even rival Tia in bust.

"Wait, what's his name?" the mare asked, leaning in close to Spike.

"I'm Spike," the drake opted to answer, putting a claw to his chest.

"Hi Spike, I'm Fluttershy," the mare greeted, grinning like a foal on Hearth's Warming. "Oh, this is so exciting. I have so many questions that I just don't know where to start."

"Well, what would you like to know?" Spike asked, his tail swishing as he soaked in the attention.

"Everything," Fluttershy said simply, earning a knowing groan from Sunset and Twilight.

Spike launched into his life story, sparing no detail. Everything from his favorite foods, which gems were his least and most favorite and even breaking down individual days. Fluttershy’s grin only grew as Spike continued his long monologue, only stopping him when he paused for a thought to ask specific questions. Eventually we were outside the library's front door. I had known to expect a literal treehouse from my misadventures in other Equestrias. However, my time in this world gave me context for its presence here. Long ago there was an order of pony druids that learned tree shaping techniques from the deer. I had asked how many wild shapes a day they get, earning laughs from no one nearby. But that’s okay because I did. 

Glancing over her shoulder, Twilight eyed Fluttershy up for a moment. Shrugging subtly, she sent Spike tumbling down. “Aww, looks like my poor baby dragon needs his sleep. He’s so tiwed he can’t even keep his widdle bawance. I’d better get him inside now.”

Fluttershy raced into action, scooping Spike up into her arms and hovered in the air. “Poor little baby, you simply must get him to bed.” Swooping down and opening the door, she tried to put Spike to bed herself.

Going in after her, Sunset and Twilight gently took Spike from the pegasus and nudged her out of the library. “We’re on it,” Sunset said, closing the door. “Good night.”

When all four of us were inside my ears picked up on something. The shuffling of hooves. Lots and lots of hooves. Normally, as a bodyguard that’d be my signal to get my charges on the floor and set to work. But I’m anything but a normal bodyguard and I had a good idea of what was about to happen.

“Now that we’re away from all the crazies we can finally work on convincing Mom that Nightmare Moon is returning,” Sunset said, glancing around the room, looking for a light switch.

“I know, we only have so much time to study before the Summer Sun Celebration,” Twilight added, looking around as well. “Now, where’s the light?”

At that signal, the light flicked on and a chorus of ponies cheered, "Surprise!"

Twilight, Sunset and Spike nearly jumped out of their skin while I feigned a reaction. Coming to the forefront of the group was the pink earth pony mare from the beginning of our day. Now that she wasn’t running away, I could get a better look at her. She was plush. Not fat per se but definitely padded in all the expected places and a bit of jiggle right in the middle. She had a creamy yellow top on with  a few light blue bows running down the front. She was wearing white shorts that clung on tightly to her extra wide hips and strained to contain her prodigious posterior. I at first thought there were tassels but upon closer inspection were really bits of confetti or streamers she’d attached to the garment. If you included her large poof of curly pink mane then the mare might’ve been five foot four.

“Hey there, I’m Pinkie Pie and I threw this party just for you guys! Were you surprised? Were you, huh, huh, huh?” the pink pony questioned, hopping around us and staring into our very souls with her sky blue eyes. She settled on me, her face scrunching up before she let out a loud gasp. “You weren’t surprised. Not even the tiniest bit.”

Chuckling, I threw up my hands in front of me. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I was super duper surprised.”

Narrowing her eyes, Pinkie studied me further. “Nuh uh, I’m not buying it. I’ve thrown enough parties to know when somepony’s really surprised and you definitely weren’t surprised.”

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed that Sunset and Twilight were using my predicament as a chance to rush away from the crowd and up the stairs to the living area. Poor girls were probably about to blow a gasket from how much attention they’d gotten throughout the day.

Returning my attention to the short stack before me, I put on my most winning grin. “I don’t know what to tell you, Pinkie. Maybe you have a hard time telling if I’m surprised because I’m not a pony?”

Pinkie disengaged, but kept her eyes narrowed. “Fine, do not relinquish your secrets unto Auntie Pinkie. But know that I will keep an eye on you. Soon I will learn how to truly make you… surprised.” She backed into the crowd, disappearing from view at the last word.

“Did I just make enemies with a party-themed supervillain?” I asked, getting no answer. Glancing around the room, I found Spike at the snack table, making short work of a cupcake. 

Deciding to follow Spike’s lead, I joined in the merriment. Grabbing a drink, I mixed and mingled for a while. I figured Twilight and Sunset would want some space away from others for a while. But I still checked in on them after an hour or so.

Poking my head into the loft, I breached into a sound dampening bubble that Sunset had set up. “Hey girls, wanna come join the party?”

Neither of them looked up from the books they were reading. “Not even in the slightest,” Twilight replied, turning the page of her book. “Princess Celestia is scheduled to raise the sun in just a few hours and we’re still basically at square one with everything.”

“We don’t even know what the Elements look like and only a vague idea of where they are,” Sunset added. “The last thing we need is to party with a bunch of ponies who by this time tomorrow will be nothing more than a hazy memory.”

Sighing, I left them to their devices and went back downstairs.

“Are the two grumps coming down?” Spike asked, waddling up to me with a lampshade on his head.

“That’s a negatory little buddy,” I answered, snagging a nearby cupcake. “They’re not coming down until it’ll be time to leave for the event.”

Cringing, Spike removed the lampshade and stared up at the stairs with a crestfallen look. “How much trouble do you think they’ll get in for not listening to the princess?”

Patting his head, I took a small bite of the treat in my hand. “Knowing Tia, she won’t get mad at them. Instead, she’ll tell them that she’s disappointed in them.”

Spike shuddered, the thought of a maternal figure uttering the phrase causing a wave of sympathetic pain to rush through him.

The party continued on for several hours, and just as I predicted, the dynamic duo didn’t come down until it was time to leave for the ceremony. We followed the crowd out to the town hall where it was being held. The air was electric, everyone abuzz with what was about to happen. It wasn’t every day that a princess visited. 

Once everyone was corralled into the town hall, the event was all set. Rarity was set up on a balcony, ready to pull back the curtain for Tia’s grand entrance and Fluttershy was on standby  with her bird choir. The mayor of the town stepped onto the small stage at the front and gave a small speech. At her signal, Rarity pulled back the curtain to reveal nothing. No one was standing behind the curtain. Murmurs passed through the crowd, confusion and fear rising within the assembled ponies. Rarity slithered off, checking the room behind the curtain.

“This can’t be good,” Twilight said, her face glued to the spot where Tia should’ve been.

“Everypony remain calm!” the mayor called out, trying to get the assembled ponies’ attention. “I’m sure there’s a reasonable explanation!”

Rarity returned to the assembly hall, a pensive expression etched into her features. “The princess is gone!” she relayed.

That piece of info killed any chance of the assembly being calm, a throng of murmurs filling the air. Before full blown panic set in, purple mist started to billow out and coalesce on one of the unoccupied balconies. A form of a black mare solidified, light blue armor covering her frame. A sinister smirk crossed her muzzle.

“Greetings my beloved subjects,” Nightmare Moon started, craning her head along the crowd. “Words cannot express how lovely it is to see all of your little sun-loving faces.”

That was my cue to act. I reached into my duster and pulled out my grapple gun. Pointing it up into the rafters, I pulled the trigger. With the satisfying sound of a magical charge, the hook flew up and found its mark. Pressing the button on the side, I quickly ascended onto the closest balcony to Nightmare.

“Well hello there tall, dark and megalomaniacal!” I called out, making sure to get her attention. “Gotta say, the powder blue armor kinda diminishes the scare factor. Maybe some royal purple or navy like the night sky might work better.”

Nightmare recoiled at the sight of me, her eyes widening. “You?! What are you doing here?! You’re dead!” She returned to her billowing form and flew over to me, covering me in an instant. I thrashed for a moment, only stopping when I realized I could breathe normally. My world went black and the familiar sensation of magical teleportation overtook me.