Chapter 19

9-25-13, 10:32 P.M.

“So, not accusing you of anything, but why did you tag along with your sister, Luna?” Jeremy inquired, still a bit jittery due to his recent adrenaline high.

“Well, I was wondering where thou were – we did not see thee at the office,” Luna mentioned - the three of them having calmed down, she had re-adopted her speech quirk, though noticeably absent of the royal 'we'. Jeremy stopped cold.

“Oh shit – I forgot I had stuff to do today!” he exclaimed. He got up, but Luna forced him down with a hoof.

“It’s fine, really!” she replied. “I assumed when thou weren’t there that extenuating circumstances were the cause, and when I found thee, I was assured that this was in fact the case.” Jeremy turned to face her anxiously.

“No, I was just hanging out with Chrysalis. We weren’t doing anything important!” Luna rolled her eyes.

“Seriously, it’s fine. Thou haven’t taken a single day off, even on weekends. Frankly, I was starting to get a little worried.” Jeremy looked at her. “What?” Luna asked.

“Nothing, it’s just – it’s weird hearing you speak in first-person,” Jeremy muttered. Luna frowned.

“Now that I have sided against my sister, I cannot use the royal ‘we’ – it would be facetious to imply that we were still in complete agreement with each other on all issues.” Jeremy nodded – it made sense to him.

Chrysalis cleared her throat again, with the air of a clinical psychologist. “Now, Jeremy, didn’t you have something to ask?” she reminded him.

“Oh yeah…” Jeremy replied. Luna looked at him nervously. “So, Chrysalis mentioned wanting to be in a relationship with me, and I wanted to see what you think. Personally, I’m okay with it... She's been nice, really.” he explained to her. Luna looked at Chrysalis, who nervously smiled back.

“But... will you still love me?" she asked forlornly. Jeremy was taken aback at the question.

"Wha - yes, of course! I wouldn't stop loving you just because I started loving her too!" he rebutted, hugging her. "I love you, Luna. I love you more than anything else. But... don't you think she deserves to be happy too?" he asked. Luna looked over at Chrysalis, who looked away guiltily.

"I... okay." Luna finally answered. "Just promise me. Promise me you'll treat us equally." Chrysalis looked over in shock.

Jeremy solemnly nodded. "I promise," he answered. Chrysalis immediately rushed over, engulfing the two of them in a hug.

"Thank you! I promise with all my heart, you won't regret this!" she jubilantly asserted, before stepping back and giving them a sheepish grin. "Too much?" she asked, and Luna gave her a small smile before pulling her back into a hug. "Just enough," she answered. Jeremy encircled his arms around the both of them, and Chrysalis hummed contentedly.

“So, Luna, I had something else to ask you…” he continued nervously. Luna looked back at him, and he took a moment to calm himself before asking. “Chrysalis told me that I should technically be bisexual for you… what’s that about?”

Luna appeared shocked for a moment before turning to Chrysalis in outrage. "That was not thy secret to reveal!" she exclaimed furiously. Chrysalis stared at her, extricating herself from Jeremy's arms to put some space between her and Luna.

"Well, you weren't going to reveal it on your own! And what about when he finds out?" she gestured, pointing a hoof up at Jeremy. "Think he's going to be pleased you hid this from him?"

Luna looked as though she wanted to argue some more, but then hung her head in shame. "Jeremy?" she asked quietly. "Dost thou remember our special night together?" she asked, and Jeremy looked at her in alarm.

"Yeah... why?" he replied, wondering what this could be about.

"I... changed my appearance before we... mated," Luna falteringly admitted, tearing up.

Well, now Jeremy was just confused. "Okay... how?" he asked.

Luna looked at him. “I… well… I’m a hermaphrodite!” Luna blurted, and buried her head in her hooves.

Jeremy stared at her. “As in… you have both sets,” he clarified. She nodded, too embarrassed to speak. For a moment, Jeremy was unsure how to reply. Then his self-critical side kicked in after days of not being used, and he pulled her into a hug, gently prying her hooves away and turning her head to face him. “That’s okay,” he said. Luna looked up at him, shocked, and even Chrysalis looked over in surprise.

“But… I’m a biological freak! Celestia said this was unnatural, that it doesn’t normally happen!” In response, Jeremy hugged her tighter.

“She's technically right, it's not genetically 'normal'. But Luna, I don’t love you for your body, although it is a sweet bonus. I love you for you – and nothing you were born with can change that.” Luna looked at him for a moment before squirming around to return his hug.

"Thou aren't even mad that we lied to you?" she asked. Jeremy shrugged.

"Hey, you had your reasons. For what it's worth... I'm glad you told me," he admitted. "It'd be a little jarring if I looked over one moment in the middle of something and you had both parts, but now that I know beforehand it's fine." Chrysalis looked over at him.

"So, what if I told you I had an ovipositor?" Jeremy looked over at her suspiciously.

"...Do you?" he finally responded.

Chrysalis laughed nervously. "I... yes," she finally admitted. "It's for impregnating the female changelings with eggs..." Jeremy looked at her for a moment, then shrugged.

"Cool by me, as long as I don't wake up with eggs in my stomach," he replied. Chrysalis looked at him, openmouthed, then looked over at Luna. "Is that - is that normal?" she asked.

Luna, who had been watching this exchange with some amusement, giggled. "No, most stallions would be running in the other direction."

Jeremy simply shrugged. "Hey, you're both aliens - everything else was trivial after I got over that," he replied. Chrysalis, after looking at him for a moment, shook her head in confusion and moved over, Jeremy holding out an arm. For a while, they stayed like that, Jeremy blushing more and more as he looked down at the two mares in his embrace.

Finally, Chrysalis moved out of his arms, and Luna took this as a cue to sit up as well. “So... I think thou should give serious consideration to enhancing thy personal protection - my sister is not to be trifled with," Luna thought out loud.

Chrysalis nodded, surprising Jeremy with a tight, crushing embrace of both hooves and wings. “No way I’m letting her get you - not after all you've done,” she replied viciously. Jeremy mumbled something unintelligible, and Chrysalis looked down before hurriedly letting go.

"Thanks, couldn't breathe for a sec - Jeez, girl, it's not like I'm going anywhere," he reminded her. "As for increased protection... What if you guys enchanted my suit so that it couldn’t be taken off?” Chrysalis frowned.

“But what if I want to take your suit off?” she asked.  Jeremy looked at her, pretending to be unamused before bursting into laughter.

“Okay, well, how about if you guys enchant the suit so that only I can take it off?” he amended.

“That seems reasonable – she can’t hurt thee nearly as easily if thou art wearing it. What about the helmet?” Luna asked.

“Going to say yes on the helmet – it’s going to make it hard to sleep, but it’ll probably be worth it in the long run,” Jeremy answered. He went and got the suit, but came back alarmed. "The helmet's gone! I must have left it at my apartment," he informed them, and slapped a hand to his forehead.

"Can we summon it from here?" Chrysalis wondered. Luna shook her head.

"If we are to enchant this suit to resist magic, one errant spell might cost us dearly - it will cost us all of our magic to resist my sister's wrath. Jeremy, I hate to say this, but... you may need to retrieve it manually," she finished.

Jeremy grimaced, taking a breath. "Okay," he nervously replied. Luna and Chrysalis’ horns both lit up, the bright blue and acidic green casting colorful shadows on the walls. The suit lit up in a sort of teal medley of their two colors, and then ceased glowing. Looking a little tired, both Luna and Chrysalis slumped on the floor. “You two okay?” Jeremy concernedly asked.

“Yes, we’ll be fine,” Luna replied, sounding exhausted.

“We used a whole lot of magic – those are the strongest enchantments I've ever done,” Chrysalis added, also sounding as if she were about to drop.

“Thanks… that means a lot,” Jeremy replied.

“Oh, don’t start again with the sentimentality,” Chrysalis replied, yawning. Jeremy smiled slightly.

“Luna, will you be returning to the castle?” Jeremy asked. Luna considered this.

“No, I do not think I will,” she answered. “Celestia would probably not take it well, after I left her.” Jeremy nodded.

“Staying here with Chrysalis then?” he said.

“Yes, that would probably be best,” Luna mentioned before yawning loudly. Jeremy grinned at the cute spectacle. Luna stared back at him, sleepily frowning. "Jeremy?" she asked, quietly.

"Yeah?" he replied, taking a seat by her and scratching her ears. She hummed in pleasure, Chrysalis looking somewhat jealous.

"I was just wondering... if we had never met. If you had continued your life on Earth, and I on Equestria... you'd be happy. You'd take a human mare, and life would have been simple. You never would have had to go through this... it's my fault..." she trailed off, head resting between her hooves. Jeremy gently lifted her chin up so that she was looking at him.

"Princess Luna, if I had never met you, I would still be getting over the trauma of my own past. I wouldn't 'be happy'... in fact, I would have probably committed suicide or gone insane," he sadly replied. Luna clapped a hoof to her mouth, and Jeremy gave her a sad smile. "But now that I'm here, I know this much: You're the best thing that's ever happened to me. Both of you," he added, looking over at Chrysalis, who gave him a surprised smile. "And I would never trade you away for a pretense at normalcy."

Luna wrapped her forelegs around his midsection, leaning her head into his chest and sighing deeply. A moment later, she began gently breathing: She'd fallen asleep. Jeremy carefully went into the office and found a jacket of his, which he draped over her as a makeshift blanket.

Chrysalis looked down at her sleeping figure. “I’m tempted to put her in my cocoon…” she thought aloud.

“Don’t, she’d probably freak out when she woke up,” Jeremy replied.

"Did you... mean what you said? About my being the best thing that's happened to you?" Chrysalis asked curiously. Jeremy nodded.

"Every word," he replied, and pulled his suit on. "Okay," he announced, an increasing feeling of trepidation in his chest. "I'm going to go get my helmet, before the sun comes up. Wish me luck!" Chrysalis nodded.

“Don’t get caught,” she reminded him.

“I know, jeez,” Jeremy answered sarcastically.

9-26-13, 1:02 A.M.

Jeremy swiftly traveled through the back alleyways, staying out of sight. There were no royal guards about, not even night guards – a fact he found disconcerting. Finally, he found his apartment, squinting through the darkness to make out the metallic "907" inscribed upon the door. Funny, Jeremy thought. I’m probably visiting this place for the last time. He cautiously opened the door, cringing at the sound it made, and stepped inside.

Of course, it was dark. He lit a match, and used this to light the lamp. Looking around, there was no one in the room. He attached the infrared chip to his glasses, and checked again. Still nothing. Somewhat more relaxed, he found his quartz helmet, and put it on.

Checking around, he didn’t find anything else – the suit still had all of his guns, including the portal gun. The coilgun was missing, but Jeremy wasn’t too fussed – he didn’t think it would be too useful considering he still had infinite bullets.

Just as he was about to leave, he staggered against a doorway. Confused, he attempted to get up again, only to find that he couldn't. He heard a noise behind him, and attempted to whirl around, feeling like he was moving through water. All he caught was a glimpse of white as he fell to the floor, losing consciousness.

It seemed to him that he had woken up instantaneously. He appeared to be confined in a small room by chains, and Celestia was standing in front of him. Jeremy was still too sleepy, but the ramifications of this quickly hit him. “How long have I been out?” he asked, trying to keep himself from panicking.

“A few hours. It’s morning, by the way.” Celestia answered, businesslike. She started pacing. “Now, I’m afraid there’s going to be some changes in how you and I treat each other. After all, you are now under my command. You will not do anything unless I say so, and in turn I will allow you such privileges as eating and breathing. You will also provide me with any sexual favors I desire – such is only fitting for royalty.” Jeremy looked at her, regaining his higher-order functions – and with them, his fear.

“And what if I disagree?” he asked.

“Then you’ll die, of course. So, what’ll it be?” Celestia asked, looking at him as though she had just won.

Jeremy grinned darkly. “Looks like you’re gonna have to kill me, then. Ain’t no way I’m doing any of that for you, you pathetic waste of –“ He was cut off by Celestia. She stopped pacing and looked at him.

“Really? You’d sacrifice your life, just to secure your dignity? And they said my problem was pride,” she mused. Jeremy looked at her, confused. No one had ever said Celestia was proud, either here or on Earth. Really, pride was something he had never expected in her. “Well,” Celestia continued, “maybe a few days in here will make you talk. I can wait.”

Before she left, Jeremy struggled for a moment before calling “Wait!” She turned back towards him, expectantly.

“What’s so important about me? Why are you doing this?” he asked. Celestia smirked.

“It isn’t really about you. I just have to show that idiot moon princess that I’ve beaten her in every way, even after she thought she won over me.” A horrible suspicion began to take root in Jeremy's mind. No... surely not, he thought to himself. Just as she was about to exit the door, Celestia's expression changed. She looked incredibly guilty and remorseful, gazing back at him. "The ropes..." she whispered. A second later, she winced in pain, and when she looked at him again she was glaring once more. "...Are secure. There is no way to exit this room. If you try to escape, I will kill you," she asserted, and promptly left.

Jeremy breathed deeply, attempting to calm himself. He had to find a way out of here. It looked as though Celestia had been giving him a clue - almost as if she wanted him to escape, weirdly enough. The chains were indeed secured by rope – he should be able to remove that if he could find a sharp surface. Unfortunately, he couldn’t bite it off, as he was blocked by the helmet. He looked around the room, also trying to feel what he was laying on. It appeared that he was on two tables, end-to-end, designed to secure a pony in place. But not a human, Jeremy reminded himself, and kept looking for an escape. As he struggled to look around, one of his restraints lengthened itself just a little longer than the other. Jeremy looked at it in surprise – he couldn’t see where it attached to the table, but he felt certain that it was coming out. He pulled harder, straining with the effort, until his arm finally came free, the rope snapping. It hurt like hell, but he couldn’t concentrate on that now. He didn’t know how long he had until Celestia dropped by again to check on him…

He leaned over, and pulled with all his might on the other arm, and the rope snapped with an unfortunately loud crack. Scared by this, Jeremy hurried even faster. Leaning forward, he flipped over, crossing the ropes, and pushed his legs apart, snapping both ropes. The sound of two ropes snapping was loud enough that he was sure Celestia had heard, and sure enough he heard hoofsteps approaching his cell. Hurriedly, he whipped out the portal gun – thankfully, the room was smooth concrete – and aimed at a nearby building, and then placed another portal on the floor, falling through just as Celestia burst in furiously.

//{Portal 2 OST – An Accent Beyond}

The chase was on, and Jeremy didn’t stop for a second as he landed on the ground, thanking whatever powers existed that he had remembered his boots. He ran for the edge of the cliff, and without hesitation, jumped off, to land in the outer district of Canterlot. Celestia was right behind him, flying after him with a look of utmost rage. Still running, he jumped off the main cliff of Canterlot, and flew down the mountain.

The wind rushing by him obscured all other sounds, and he approached the steep side of the mountain from above, finally beginning to slide on the steep incline before jumping off again. As he fell, he saw Celestia frantically attempting to catch up with him, apparently unwilling to execute a freefall herself. Finally, he approached the ground – there was an opening for a train, and a horn sounded. Jeremy gulped – he’d have to time this pretty perfectly. He once again hit the side of the mountain, and used the overlooking lip of the cave mouth as a slide, converting his vertical momentum into horizontal momentum. He flew out over the ground, and the train, being much faster than him, quickly sped out the cave opening and below him. He landed on top, grunting as he rolled across the top of the smooth car, and quickly got into a space between two train cars, hoping Celestia hadn’t seen him.

Apparently, she hadn’t, but after a moment’s hesitation, she started to fly after the train – evidently she was tracking him. Jeremy’s heart sank. He tried with all his might to send a message to Luna. Celestia after me – just escaped. Need help!

To his relief, she responded almost instantly. Thou art okay! Keep running – I will help speed thee up. Head for the Hive! Jeremy nodded grimly, as the train came to a stop in Ponyville Square.

Ignoring the shouts of alarm, he jumped off the train before it stopped completely, and continued running, Celestia close behind. To his surprise, he found that he was running amazingly fast – in fact, he appeared to be gliding along the floor. He looked down to find that his boots were coated in orange – it looked like it had been teleported on in a hurry. Jeremy smiled, grateful, and sped on.

As he ran, he sped right past a bewildered Twilight Sparkle, and grimaced. That would almost certainly come back to bite him. Not stopping, he headed for the forest, also passing Fluttershy and Applejack, who stared at him, confused and more than a little frightened.

Next Chapter: Chapter 20 Estimated time remaining: 9 Hours, 28 Minutes