“Mmm. Bakksy~ It’s time to wake up, Bakksy.” Something warm and soft pressed against the underside of the dragon’s chin. “It’s getting late. Or early. That is entirely of your perspective.”

The drake stirred with a groan. “I dun wanna.”

“I understand, love, but I might need some help with something. It’s a bit important...”

The drake sighed before opening his eyes. “What?”

“Well...” Daemon was staring up at the dragon a bit wide eyed. “I’ve never been on this side of a delivery...I don’t know what to do. Snuffy is close...”

“Daemon, you are asking a reptile.”

“But...Wait. Would Snuffy lay eggs then?”

“Depends, what is she more of? Mammal or reptile?”

“Well...It’s a bit half and half. I tried to balance things. Never thought this situation would come up though.”

“Well, I don’t know what the fuck to do.”

“Neither do I! Bakksy... We need to find someone who can do this...Do you know any?”

“I don’t know, a doctor who actually does this for a living?”

“Um. That may be a problem...”

“Why?”

“I may have, in a mad rant while you were sick, estranged all known doctors in the area...”

“...Gods damnit, Daemon…”

“Hey, I was under a lot of stress at the time and wasn’t getting any of the answers I needed. You can’t blame me for being a bit...forceful.”

“A bit?”

“Um, yeah. Just a bit.” Daemon smiled innocently.

Bakmah rubbed his temples. “Now what?”

“I don’t know. You seriously don’t know anyone who could help right now? I mean, I could read about the whole process and what to do but I doubt I have the time for that.’

“Nope…”

“I guess we’re screwed?”

“Yes.”

“Well...fuck. I say we need to hunt down Lili and force him to be here.”

“You can do that. I will sleep.”

“...Alright then. I will see you in a bit. With either a full or partial dragon. Bye bye.” Daemon waved lightly at Bakmah before disappearing.

“She is gone again. That means we can speak. How are you after a bit of sleep, Bakmah?”

“Decent.” said the drake with a sigh. “I believe I did say I wanted more sleep.”

“You did, but I would love it if we may speak for just a bit longer. If that is fine with you?”

“Fine, I guess.”

“I was just wondering why you are not as panicked as that mare is over...that creature giving birth. Sorry for the lack of a better word. I know not its name nor what to call its breed.”

“She is a hybrid, female, and her name is Sanufia.” said Bakmah with a sigh. “As for why I’m not freaking out? Daemon has a tendency to worry about small things. I find it adorable, though.”

“Worry? It seems more like she is overreacting to me. Well, not just me. My siblings would agree to this as well. You really find that sort of behavior cute?”

“She is not one to overreact often. As for her freaking out over small things.” The drake blinked. “Why do you have such an interest in me and Daemon?”

“I am not as much interested in Daemon as I am you. I just wonder why you are with a...pony like her...”

“Who says she is a pony?”

“We are all well aware of what exactly that pony is. It just doesn’t make much sense to me. Dragons usually stick with much of their own species. It’s very rarely that you see a dragon mating with something that even is comfortable in the form of a pony.”

“The dragons need someone better than a homicidal drake.” He shrugged. “I am not famous among my kind. Daemon doesn’t really care about the skeletons in my closet because she cares more for who I really am.”

“Or is it because she has more skeletons in her closet than you do? She is not famous among her kind either. It is because of these similarities that you two find solace in each others company? Have you convinced each yourselves that the other is the only choice for you? You have more choices than just that pony, Bakmah Genesis. On that I can guarantee.”

“And I really don’t give a rat’s ass.”

“Are you sure that is your honest feeling, Bakmah? I will leave you to sleep now. I just ask that you really think about why you are with Daemon. Good night, Bakmah.”

Bakmh grunted as he fell back. He sighed as he closed his eyes. He was not given a chance to sleep before the door was thrown open.

“Completely unbelievable!” yelled Daemon. “I spent so much time looking for his loose ass only for him to be in their room THE ENTIRE TIME! And what’s more, Snuffy already had her foals.” She paused. “Don’t ask me to repeat their names. I didn’t even try to pronounce them. I just made up nicknames for them instead.”

Bakmah blinked a few times before shrugging. “That’s good...I guess. What did you pick?”

“Savvy, Shix, and Fae.” She sighed as she sat next to him on the bed. “I think...we should not let her name their kids next time.”

“Considering those nicknames, I think that is the best plan.”

“Bakksy...are you okay? You look a bit tired.”

“Yes...yes I’m fine, until you woke me up.”

“Oh. I’m sorry. Do you need help getting back to sleep~” Daemon let her tail rub against Bakmah.

The drake yawned. "I think I can handle that on my own." said the drake already falling asleep.

"Then I shall wait here."

Lilian stirred from his slumber with a small yawn. A small smile appeared on his face on his as he opened his eyes. The sight of his three daughters brought a smile to his face. He frowned as he thought back to the names his mate had picked.

"I'm naming the next litter." mumbled the drake.

“Why is this?” Snuffy mumbled, not even opening her eyes.

“Well, you did pick pretty good names...except it is extremely difficult to remember them, let alone pronounce them. We had to get Daemon to give them nicknames.”

“Snuffy does not think they are hard to remember or even pronounce.” The hybrid lifted her head and stared at her children. “Savayla, Ushixiris, and Wrafaeth. They are simple names for extraordinary cubs.”

“Snuffy, I am beginning to think that your opinion on ‘simple’ is different than ours.”

“How would our opinions differ? Snuffy was raised by Daemon so Snuffy would have much of Daemon’s opinions....right?” Snuffy scritched one of her younglings under the chin, a soft thrumming coming from it while it slept. “Daemon did think the names were simple, yes?”

“She couldn’t pronounce them.” The drake let out a sigh, scooting so he sat up. “It is not about who raised, it was how you were raised. Sanufia, none of us were raised by being stuck in a dungeon, guarding dangerous entities and have nothing better to do than read.”

“Snuffy was not stuck in her home.” The hybrid gave a soft huff. ‘Snuffy chose to stay here when she came of age. Daemon gave Snuffy full choice in what she wanted to do with her life. Snuffy just thought it was proper to pay Daemon back for raising her.”

“Point is, you were doing nothing by reading. That increases your knowledge and literal abilities to immense proportions and makes the rest of us seem like cave ponies.”

“Snuffy does not think of her mate as a cave pony. Snuffy sees no difference between us even though she know the benefits of genetically modified organisms in a quarantined biome with controlled and tainted specimens while experimenting to find the most effective and efficient way to promote substantial growth without invoking a rapid and complete takeover and causing the nearby ecosystem to fall into disrepair and her mate does not. It does not bother Snuffy in the slightest.”

“...Too many big words...my brain hurts.”

“Snuffy does not believe there is many big words in that.” The crossbreed sighed. “But she has noticed that even those she was raised by Daemon, Snuffy does indeed lack a lot of Daemon’s traits. Snuffy has never found a book explaining why...”

“Because she MADE you, Snuffy. You aren’t literally her flesh and blood.”

“Ones surroundings often dictate their personality more than ones blood...”

“And you are in here more than around Daemon.”

“As of late, Snuffy has to admit she is in her room, but when she was younger, her and Daemon would spend much time together. Reading, helping with experiments, just lazing around as Daemon loves to do. Snuffy...misses some of it.”

“I know the feeling. I would love to go back to when all us brothers were kids.” He chuckled. “But all of it happened for a reason and it is wise not to change any of it.”

“Snuffy supposes though. Snuffy has her own little ones to look after now and cannot act like Daemon’s little one anymore...”

“We do grow up sometime, Snuffy.”

“Except Daemon. She has always been the same.”

“I think she always will be.”

The hybrid looked at her mate with a smile. “No. Snuffy does not share this thought. Things are changing in this world. And when the world changes, so will Daemon. Snuffy has already seen a bit of it.”

“Oh? How so?”

“How Daemon has been acting. She’s...different. Hard for Snuffy to put a claw on it exactly. Daemon doesn’t seem as interested in certain things like she used to.”

“Then Bakmah is doing some good to her.” He chuckled as he lifted up on of the cub’s heads with a claw, rubbing it softly. “Things are looking up…”

“Snuffy is not sure if it is good. Daemon has been more stressed out lately as well. Coming to her lab and experimenting was one of the few things Daemon did when she was completely calm. A place of focus and relaxing. Snuffy has not seen Daemon in that room for some time now. Some of Daemons experiments have expired due to negligence. Snuffy is...just very worried for Daemon.”

“I see...the what should we do now?”

“Rest. Snuffy is exhausted. Having these little ones was a lot more than Snuffy expected it to be. She was not ready at all.” The crossbreed seemed to think for a moment. “That is a lie. Snuffy knew what to expect. She just did not expect it to be everything she expected.”

“Alright then.” Lilian kissed her brow. “We shall sleep.”

“Lilian...”

“Yes?”

“Are the names Snuffy picked really that bad?”

“Absolutely, but I still love them all the same.”

“Bakksy! Come in here!” Daemon was yelling from the throne room.

The drake sighed as he set down his glass of water, the only liquid he had since he came back. He stood from the kitchen table before making his way towards the throne room. "What?"

“Come have a drink with me.” Daemon held up a very old bottle of what looked like a strong liquor. “In celebration.”

"Of what?" Asked the drake, looking at the bottle.

“You coming back, of course.” Daemon pulled the stopper of the bottle with her magic. “The great thing about being able to live so long, great booze.” The mare took a quick swig of the liquid, immediately making a face. “Great booze that burns like the fires of Tartarus.”

"Pour me a drink then." said Bakmah, walking towards Daemon. The mare smile before taking another drink. She set the bottle down before jumping out of the throne, wrapping her hooves around Bakmah’s neck and pulling im into a deep kiss while letting the alcoholic liquid flow over their tongues.

The drake let out a deep moan before gulping down the substance with a grin. “I would have liked a glass, but I guess that works too.”

“Of course it works.” Daemon’s horn glowed as the bottle and two glasses appeared into front of her. “But a bit inconvenient overall.” Daemon filled the two glasses and levitated one to Bakmah. Grabbed his glass before lifting it in toast.

Daemon happily complied. “Let’s not be away from each other that long again. It was hell for me.”

“If we want our children, I’ll have to be away longer, you know this, Daemon.” said the drake, taking a swig of his drink, screwing up his face as it burned his throat. “We have to sacrifice some things for our own gain.”

“I know, Bakksy. I know.” Daemon sighed, staring at her glass. “I just wish it didn’t have to be that way.” Daemon threw the glass back, downing nearly half of it in one go. “Isn’t there some way easier?”

“Not unless you want to adopt a mortal baby that will live ninety years before the wheel of time claims their life.”

“No. I don’t want that.” Daemon finished her glass and then held it out to Bakmah. “I want to do this right...no matter the cost.”

“Then, when we get the chance, I will finish up what we had started.” He grabbed her glass before refilling it, handing it back to her. “Until then, we enjoy what we have.”

“Yeah!” Daemon giggled, taking the glass and taking another long drink from it. “We need to enjoy everything we have. Come and sit in the throne, Bakksy.” Daemon patted her seat with her tail. “It’s really comfortable~”

Bakmah rolled his eyes as he walked over to the mare, sitting himself next to her. "Happy?" he asked, nuzzling her affectionately. Daemon let out a low hum before climbing in the drake’s lap.

“Quite.” Daemon laid her head against his chest. “Are we really this close to succeeding?”

“Well, I need to clean up the mess you made in your soul, then you should remember what is needed to be able to fix our dilemma. Starsoul...might not survive it, though. I actually believe I will have to unbind you two to fix this...or you’ll have to.” He sighed. “It won’t be easy, Daemon.”

“No. It will not. It has not been either!” Daemon stood up in Bakmah’s lap, a fire in her eyes. “But they always say, all those little ponies say, that if what you aim for is easy, then it probably isn’t worth the effort! And I say, this is worth all of our efforts combined!” Daemon stamped lightly on Bakmah’s chest to punctuate her little speech.

The unicorn laughed before falling back down in Bakmah’s lap. “That was funny, Bakmah.”

“Daemon...I think you’re drunk...after two glasses.”

“Bah! I am not drunk. I am simply...not drunk. Have faith in your lover, Bakksy. WAIT!” Daemon sat up suddenly. “Let’s go prank Lili...and then some other ponies. C’mon Bakmah! Let’s have FUN!”

“Daemon, Lilian is sleeping....with his two daughters...and tired girlfriend. We do not need to piss them off.”

“But he needs to be pranked, Bakmah.” A devious smile spread across the mare’s face. “I know what I could do to him. Heheh.”

“No.” said Bakmah, magicking the bottle away. “No pranking Lili.”

“But...” The fire in Daemon’s eyes slowly died before she collapsed back into Bakmah’s lap. “I just wanted to have a little fun. Why am I not allowed to have any fun, Bakmah? Do you hate me now?”

“No…” The drake shifted. “Why don’t you go lie down for now?”

“No!” With a growl, Daemon jumped from Bakmah’s lap. She landed facing toward the drake, staring him down. “I will not be tied down by some petty request! I am Daemon Delirum!” Daemon began hopping backwards away from Bakmah. “ I am the Alicorn of the Earth! The Mistress of Creation! And I...” A toothy grin spread across Daemon’s face as her horn start to glow. “Am going out to have some...fun~” The unicorn let out a hearty laugh before disappearing.

“Well fuck me.” The drake let out a throaty moan. “Drunk goddess is never a good thing.”

“No, it isn’t. Is this really what you put up with with this mare. Ugh, such a pain.” The voice was different than before. Instead of the light hearted voice that usually spoke, this one was low and gruff. “This is why I can’t stand energetic ponies. They are always sooo annoying.”

“And who is this that decided to invade my mind?” asked Bakmah, annoyed with the serious lack of privacy.

“Name’s Coal. Tinder was busy so she asked me to keep an eye on you. A bloody pain this is. She owes me a lot more than covering a few shifts. This was my nap time.” There was an audible groan from the voice. “I really would rather have nothing to do with this crap.”

“Then kindly get your ass out of my head.”

“I can’t do that, Bakksy. I would love to but I made a promise, and a dragon like me keeps his promises.”

Bakmah groaned. “At least keep quiet so I can figure out how to stop a possible riot.”

“I would, but that seems like a lot to ask for. It takes energy to keep quiet. And what would I get out of it? Nothing.”

“And it doesn’t take energy to talk?”

“Not like this. It’s actually a lot more consuming to stay quiet linked to this stupid ball. I told Kindling she needs to fix the problem, but she just ignores me. Such a pain.”

“You like to complain.”

“And you like to procrastinate. We all have our faults. Get over it, fake god.”

Bakmah inhaled sharply, biting his tongue to keep him from lashing out at the voice in his head. He growled as he stood, making his way towards the door to the hallway. “Better check on my idiot brother.”

“If you’re talking about if he was pranked or not, than he is fine. Daemon left the castle completely.” There was a little moment of silence before Coal chuckled. “You now owe for that bit of information.”

“I do not owe for what was freely given and was not asked for.” Bakmah chuckled. “I do not remember asking.”

“Nothing in this world is...NO! Get out of my dinner, Moss! I’ll...forget it. Too much trouble.”

“Man, you are lazy.” grumbled the drake as he turned around, heading to the castle exit. Coal grumbled.

“What does it matter if I am lazy? It’s my choice, so deal with it.”

"And you complain at others choices."

“Because they make choices that conflict with mine. How hard is that to figure out?”

“Sometimes, we need to learn to deal with the choices with others, even if they conflict with ours. Without complaint.”

“No. Seems like way too much work for me to go through with such mediocre results. I’ll stay as I am.”

“That is a choice.” The drake made his way up the stairs. “Now to just figure out possible...targets she could have went after.”

“Well, it’s obviously painful when that pony wandered off too.”

"What?" The drake shook his head. "Not that helpful, are you?"

A deep chuckle came from the other end. "Why should I be when I get nothing out of it?"

"If you aren't helping, then you should leave."

“Leave? This isn’t a matter of me being able to just get up and walk away. I am stuck here like this for the time being. Or... I could always go get Ember or Flint for you to talk with. I am sure you would love talking to them.”

"I would rather have my privacy instead of voices in my head who obviously see themselves higher than Gods just to make themselves feel good."

“With how the gods have been lately, it doesn’t take much to be higher than them. They have fallen from their high thrones quite ungracefully, but... maybe that is saying too much.” Coal chuckled lightly, obviously at the Gods expense.

"There is still a god that has not fallen from his throne, despite what you believe." Bakmah chuckled. "We make mistakes, Coal. Sometimes, it takes us awhile to recover from our follies and make them right."

“Yes, but some are taking too long. Perhaps so long, their time has already passed. And now they are no longer relevant in the grand scheme of things. Much of this is true, fake god, whether you wish to believe it or not.”

“I believe that I am of some use, even if no one wishes me to be. I might be useful in a small way, or a big way, who knows. Even bringing another life into this world one day may be useful and part of the grander scheme. You just don’t believe so and I don’t really give a shit about a drake and his kin that invade my privacy but refuse to show their faces to me out of some obscure fear.” Bakmah chuckled. “This, is what I believe.”

“Ha Ha! You think it is because of fear I do not show myself to you? My sisters are in the process of getting us to Equestria as we speak.” There was an audible yawn over the link. “You are boring me, pony lover. Why don’t you go find your little pony before she creates more havoc. And just so you know, it was you who first invaded our privacy.”

“How the fuck was it me to invade your privacy?” All that was his answer was a glaring silence. Bakmah let out a deep sigh as he walked out into the open. “Now how the fuck am I going to find that mare?” He got his answer as a large quantity of freezing water was suddenly dumped onto his head.

“Ahahahaha! My first target has fallen. I will claim more!” Daemon’s voice sounded a bit away from Bakmah, but she could not be seen.

"Reminder, never get Daemon drunk." Bakmah groaned as he ran towards her voice. "Daemon!"

All that could be heard was her giggling as it faded. Not long after was a pony’s scream heard, mixed in with the cracking of wood. Bakmah growled as he kept running.

“Daemon Delirum, get back here!”

As Bakmah ran further, he happened upon a pony stuck inside a tree. The trunk had grown over her body, leaving only her head and forehooves exposed. The mare looked up at Bakmah as he closed in.

“H-help... It was just a mouse. I didn’t know it was a tree...”

Bakmah sighed. “I can’t get you out without tearing you in half…” He growled. “Fucking Daemon is getting out of control.” The drake turned and stomped through the forest until he was out, standing at the treeline.

“Daemon Delirum! You stop this and get back here or we are through!” shouted the drake, the forest behind him becoming silent. “You get back...or I will refuse to help you…” said Bakmah, almost whispering the last part.

“You promised!” Daemon’s voice rang out from behind the drake. “You will not break your promise and threaten me!” The ground began to rumble.

“And what will you do?” asked Bakmah. “Kill me? Threaten me so when you wake up the next morning, you will be alone? Daemon, stop. This is not you, this isn’t the mare I love, this isn’t a mare I would trust my children with.”

The rumbling stop as Daemon froze. She stared at the dragon for a long while before sighing. “Geez Bakmah... Just suck the fun out of the entire world, why don’t you...” The mare turned around, heading back to the castle. “You can’t even have fun anymore...”

The drake sighed as he dragged his feet back towards the castle. Once there, he slowly made his way down the stairs, staring at his feet. “I can’t keep this up at this rate, Daemon.”

“What do you mean you can’t keep up? You had no trouble keeping up before...”

“Daemon...you’ve changed. You are more...frantic. You are hardly that collected mare with a tad of chaos anymore. Especially after I’ve been gone for two months.”

“And what do you think made me more frantic? I guess the stress from knowing your lover may be dead would have nothing to do with it, huh?”

“You should have moved on...for once in your life.”

Daemon stopped and whirled around on the drake. “Excuse me? And what is that suppose to mean?”

“Daemon...you sealed Starsoul in YOUR soul. I...don’t even want to know what happened to Galleon.”

“I...I don’t even know what to say to you right now, Bakmah. Other than you are being a complete ASS right now. You don’t see me using your past mistakes as ammo. How would you like it if I started bringing up the fact you killed your own son?! Acting like I wouldn’t feel safe having a foal around you because of it?!”

“And you said you wouldn’t let that happen. You would put me down if I got close to that point.” Bakmah sighed. “Daemon, what will you do if I die again? Will you just sit here, expecting me to come back? What if I didn’t? What if I wasn’t able to attach my soul in time? What if...I stayed dead because they killed me?”

“Then I would move on, if I truly thought you were dead! This is why I need help with me. This is my new leaf, fixing me is my way of moving on!”

Bakmah nodded before sighing. He started to walk past her, but stopped next to her for a moment. “I want you to kill me the next time I become overwhelmed by dark magic...next time I try to kill my children. I want you to put an end to me, or I will do it myself.” With that, he walked into the bedroom, crawling underneath the blankets.

“You idiot...” Daemon stared at the lump that was Bakmah. “I know what to do if you lose yourself... And I fully intend to make good on my promise that you’ll die by none other than my hooves if it came to that...”

“Then do it it right now.” said the drake. “I am linked to my extras, you know this. If you say you can, do it.”

“W-what?! Why would I do that now? There is no need... and all it would do is make a mess I have to clean up.”

“You can’t do it, then”

“Yes I can!”

“Then why am I still here?”

“Because!” Daemon stormed over to the bed. “I don’t want to make a mess in our bed!” She grabbed him with her magic and threw him him across the room. She lifted a hoof, hesitating a moment before stomping down, causing a spike of rock to pierce clean through the dragon. The drake gave the mare a sideways grin, his eyes dimming as the life slowly sapped out of before he went limp.

Author's Notes:

UPDATES.

We are setting something up to try and pump these out faster,, and we will hopefully try and set up an actual idea for what to do the next few chapters until we get to where we want to be. So, until then, this little arc of Bakmah being a dick will continue.