After a bit, I leave the CMC to their adventures. I decide to just wander a bit. Eventually I find a long path with the trees of a wooded area on either side, a rocky hill can be seen above the canopy some distance away.

A signpost says the place is called Whitetail Woods. Huh, no puns... I’m a bit surprised. Oh well, I guess it doesn’t matter. A little drawing which I suppose is a map shows that the trail loops around. I proceed down the little path. I won’t get lost and I do need a bit of time to think... a quiet walk would be nice.

I’m definitely more muscular, but I honestly don’t feel like I’m much stronger or anything. But then, it’s not a huge increase, I’m really just in better shape. I’m no pro wrestler. Then there’s my powers. I suppose it makes sense that the poison I ate did it. If my target was a magic-user and I planned to kill them, I’d remove their magic first. But will I get my powers back once the toxins are fully erased from my system? If I was making the poison, I’d make sure the effect lasted even if the trigger was removed, and it’s not like there aren’t venoms and toxins that have permanent effects.

I look down at my hand and, with another fruitless attempt to Spark up or grow, let out a heavy sigh. I suppose if I am just human now... I could still be an essential part of these ponies’ lives, I’m still special. Just not super special. Anne’s right, I can still be influential. But I will have a bit of a more ordinary life.

What is ordinary life for a human among small, talking, technologically simple horses? You’d think after two years that’d be obvious... but I wasn’t just a person then. I was a star. I was a cosmic force, unmatched.

After a long while, I start thinking about my future here. There’s a possibility that I could go back to Earth but... if the demon thing is real and it’s 2016 there now, I’m not sure if I want to see my home torn apart and burned to the ground, entire cities reduced to burning rubble and stained with innocent blood, spilled for the sole purpose of sating an avarice for the despair of others... I shudder at the mental image my mind drew for me.

No. I’m staying here, for better or for worse, this is my home now. I suppose that means I should work on actually setting up a life here in Ponyville. I sure as hell am not going to live in Canterlot. It has redeeming qualities, but they are few and far between.

I look up and realize I’ve walked the entire way around Whitetail. Kinda impressive as I don’t really feel that tired, though my legs definitely felt the entire trek. I decide to head back to Ponyville, continuing my thoughts. What really makes a place home? Maybe if I had a deeper connection to the ponies around town, not just my friends.

Heh, Pinkie’d love to help with that. But I feel like I need a more... romantic partner. I know Myrna likes me. I’m not entirely sure of how I feel about the prospect of her as more than a friend, though. I guess I should talk with her about that. Once I decide that should be my next goal, I think on what to say. My ‘Mr. Cool’ tactic either fails or ends up with me a statue so I just forgo that.

I get to town and, not knowing where she might be, I ask a random pony. Luckily she’s become quite famous around here as I have, so I don’t even need to describe her as ‘the snake-lady’. I’m pointed to the park, and once there, I see Myrna laying belly-up in a tree, her serpentine body limply spread across multiple branches as she sleeps.

I think about if I should wake her or just wait. Figuring I’d rather not surprise the equivalent of a massive anaconda with petrification powers, I sit down on a nearby bench. I don’t have to wait long as after a bit of time, Myrna yawns and stretches, a very odd sight for something that is mostly a tail. She slithers down the tree trunk, her snakelike body slipping across the branches they were laying on, following her torso like an immense ribbon.

Once she’s on the ground, I get her attention. “Hey there. Have a good nap?”

“Yeah. What’s up?”

“Well, if you didn’t know, I’m kinda juiced out at the moment.” At the weird look she gives me, I elaborate. “My powers are gone. Either completely or temporarily, I don’t know. What I do know is, I’m completely normal... relatively speaking.”

“Ha! As if you’d be ‘normal’, powers or not.” Myrna sighs, scratching the back of her head. Or maybe the snake there. “I wish I could’ve been there for you, but I don’t fit in the library so well. If I curl up, I take up almost half the ground floor.”

“Yeah. Anyway, I figured that I guess since at this point, Earth is demon-chow, trying to get back home would be really stupid so I got to thinking-”

“Don’t hurt yourself.” She joked, cutting me off.

I continue, rolling my eyes. “About settling down here, actually being a citizen or whatever. I guess that I’d need more than just a bunch of friends. I know you like me and all, but... well, if we were going to take the ‘next step.’ then... what would that be? I honestly can’t think of anything that I wouldn’t do with a friend.”

“So... you’d screw Pinkie?” Myrna asks, cocking an eyebrow.

“That’s too far. I’m talking, like, dating and such. Being an official couple. But I don’t quite understand how that would change anything. And for the record, I’m not gonna do anything crazy with any of these ponies. Besides, I already had some time with Pinkie. Once.”

Myrna’s smile turns predatory, and she urges me on. “Do tell.”

“Well the circumstances were rather different, considering she was human at the time. But really, even if she became human again... I think I’d rather not. She’s nice and all but... nah. It was just a kiss anyway. Nothing’s going on between us and it never will. I’m willing to bet Pinkie would say the same.”

Myrna gets a thoughtful look, then nods slightly. She turns to me. “Well, either way... maybe we should get to know each other. After all, if we’re the last two- er, three humans in the world, we should make sure we’re going to stay together, not just exist together. Right?” She smiles beatifically at me, and my hormones take the moment to kick me.

“Woah there, I’m not gonna just jump in the sack with you simply because we’re an endangered species... though I’ll remember the offer for later...”

“What? I wasn’t offering! I was saying that even if we did, we’d want to make sure we could live together, not just raise the same children.”

“Pffft, who wants to raise children? They have people you can pay to do it for you.” I say with the most sarcastic tone I can muster, making it unmistakably clear I was not serious.

An eyebrow raises, and I see that I’ve got three of her five snakes staring at me as well, each of them poking out of her hoodie. It’s kinda strange, though, because it’s a dark hoodie, but a bright, warmish day.

“What? I’m kidding. I wouldn’t do that. For real, why would you think I’d just drop a child- my child on someone else and have them be raised by someone I’m paying to raise?”

Myrna opens her mouth to answer, only to be interrupted by me blinking back a sudden attack by glowing floaties in my vision. Oh yeah, normal people need to eat and drink... fuck. I look around for some kind of drinking fountain, but apparently those either don’t exist or Ponyville doesn’t have outdoor plumbing.

“So thirsty... I’m just gonna go find... somewhere.” I get up, intending to head for some store or something that I could get a drink from.

As I stumbled a bit, feeling slightly light-headed, I feel Myrna catch me. “Here, let me carry you. Ooh, let’s go to the lake! The water’s probably pretty cool, and it should be plenty clean enough with how careful the ponies are about the environment.”

“Yeah, clean. Except for all the fish and what they do in the water... oh well, let’s go.”

“Oh, don’t be such a baby. Humanity survived fish-pooped water and worse for a million years before you or I even existed. I’ve actually been trying to find an excuse to go to the lake for a while.”

“Yeah, sure. Suddenly-dependant friend is in trouble. Hey, let’s go for a swim.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll be there for you.” Myrna turned to one of the ponies as she passed, and asked the mare to get Anne and send her to the lake. “Besides, that nice white unicorn made me something, and I haven’t had any excuses yet.”

“Yeah, Rarity’s pretty good with clothes. But she’s been disappearing a lot lately. She owes me something, and I plan to cash it in when she gets back.”

“Oh? Something like what you gave Pinkie?” She gives me an eyebrow waggle.

“Not likely considering she... oh wait, I shouldn’t tell you that. You’ll have to ask Rarity. It’s a secret she’s gonna tell me.”

“Aww... Oh, alright, we’re here!” I look over and see that she’s right; the lake looks cool and inviting in the warm afternoon sun. What time of year is it, anyways? It’s so hard to tell when sub-zero and fucking hot feel almost the same to me, not to mention that these pegasi make weather their bitch.

“So yeah, just drop my by the water and I’ll get a drink.” I pause. “I said by not in right?”

“Yep.” Myrna says, still holding me as we move steadily closer to the shore. She still hasn’t put me down, and the long, dirt slope to the water is drawing closer by the moment.

“So is there any particular reason you invited Anne? I mean, yeah you should get to know each other, but anything other than that?”

“Well, I heard about what she went through, and I hope I can help her feel better. Also, I’m pretty sure Rarity made the same gift for her as for me.” Myrna is still carrying me, and the feet of distance to the water is shrinking rapidly.

“You’re going kinda fast, any particular reason? Wait, I’m dying of thirst, dumb question. Sorry, kinda out of it.”

“That’s alright.” Myrna says, and I feel an odd shift in her body. It’s rather hard to describe the sensation, but as I look at her and try to figure it out, I see that her belly, all the way to the snake part and onwards, has somehow formed a concave surface, a runnel as wide as her chest running down her body. It even feels like her ribcage has split to allow it to form the new shape.

Before I can ask what’s going on, she changes her grip on me to a one-armed grip, and uses the other to take off her hoodie, entirely. Underneath is just her and a bikini-top in stunning emerald green to match her scales coloring, with black patterns just like hers on it. Tiny, delicate scales run up her arms, like she’s wearing elbow-length fingerless gloves. More extend daintily up her sides and abdomen.

Without even a splash, she slides onto the surface of the water, undulating to move forward at an even higher speed than before. It’s like a roller-coaster ride, with thin, high rooster tails on either side when she banks towards it.

“Uh, I like the ride and all, but again, I recall saying by the water.”

“I’ve got you, don’t worry.” Myrna begins to curve sharply to the left, coiling atop the water until she’s a giant, floating raft in the lake, and she sets me on her coils. “There, right by the water.”

“Close enough.” I lean over and begin to drink. The water is indeed cool and refreshing. Guess I’m going to have to get used to eating and such again. Once I’m finished, I sit up on Myrna’s coils. “So you just happened to be wearing a swim-top today? Kind of a coincidence...”

“Not really, I actually asked for a bra to replace the one that came with me, but Rarity said that the top is completely waterproof, and is meant to be as similar to my actual scales as possible.” Myrna is reclining forward on her own coils, effectively laying next to me and sunning herself. She’s almost sunk half intot he water, but doesn’t seem to mind or worry. “I’ve actually taken some time to go across the river a few times, it’s how I found out I can do this. I asked Twilight for a book on big snakes, and there’s only a couple as proportionally large as I am. One of them is the anaconda, another is the reticulated python. Both are big snakes, and anacondas can swim. So... tada!”

“You said that as if I don’t know about snakes. Anyway, yeah, but you aren’t a snake exactly. Name one species of snake that has a full mouth of teeth.”

“Actually, I think that my front teeth are just modified human teeth. The ones on the sides match, though. Sorta. See?” She then opens her mouth, pointing at the double rows of teeth on either side of her mouth, each of them parallel and needle-tipped, curved like blackberry thorns to point inwards. It’s still rather unnerving, no less so than the last time I saw them.

“Yeah, so we could just talk about ourselves, but I guess we should wait for Anne, it’d save time.”

“Yeah, alright. And, it’s gonna be so cool to have a human in the group who can fly! Right?” Myrna still sounds pretty enthused. “After all, every super-hero team needs at least one person who can fly.”

I sigh. “We are not a super team, okay? Besides, I’ve never seen her fly at all. Thirdly, for all we know, my super days are over.”

“You can be our batman.”

“Hmmmm... I’m not a huge fan of capes, but I’ll see what I can do.”

“Eee! We get to be a super-team! I’ll need to create a theme-song and costumes and...”

Next Chapter: Chapter 95 Estimated time remaining: 21 Hours, 32 Minutes