Sweet Apple Acres was doing better than ever! With the Flim Flam brothers, who turned out to be estranged members of the Apple family, working the Squeezy and manning the stall while the rest of the family harvested as normal for their standard sales, they were practically rolling in bits! The town got used to their cider however, and weren't lining up the road for it anymore, but could order some whenever they fancied, and several of the establishments in town ordered the cider in bulk for resale.

This led the Flim Flam twins to suggest bottling and selling their delicious product across the country, which AJ admitted she'd been considering too. So now with all the funds, they were going to plant a whole acre they'd expanded specifically for cider apples, as well as a bottling press that the Flim Flam brothers were going to build themselves to save on expenses. Nopony disagreed with them on them making it, beings the brothers built the Squeezy to begin with. Also with them learning a couple of spells for making glass from sand without the intense and careful method glass blowers were known for, they could also supply the bottles from local sand deposits.

After a couple of weeks, the salesponies decided to come clean about their original intentions, but expressed how much they actually enjoyed working with the Apples and wanted to keep on with the venture, seeing the potential of Apple Family Cider as a worthwhile long-term solution to their desire to live comfortably. So now, more or less, Applejack's constant worries about keeping her farm afloat were gone, and instead replaced with her giddiness at getting to take off in success.

Kamina and Animak were tickled pink at Kamina's initial heavy-taloned treatment of the unicorn twins turning out so well. Once the new set of twins proved themselves reliable, Kamina informed them that she'll drop the threat she held over them off to the side if they kept to their word. This worked to make the unicorn brothers more receptive to the royal twin's presence, as they were more comfortable talking to Kamina now.

However, life didn't revolve around a farm for Kamina and Animak, they only visited every week or other day. Today they were visiting Blitz in the hospital.

Blitz took a really, really bad spill during a stunt according to Twilight, Rarity and Pinkie who all witnessed it. He seemed to lose control of his flight pattern, spin out, and crash headlong directly into the ground. According to Twilight, who performed emergency medical spells, he had actually died for a few seconds, having snapped his neck. But she brought him back with her quick spellcraft, and melded his vertebrae back together, but he'd have his neck in a brace for weeks, not to mention the mangled wing she couldn't get to right away beings she had to focus on his neck.

The near-death of their friend had everyone suddenly come to remember their mortality, especially Gilda who was so terrified when she heard the news, she'd been standing vigil over his sleeping form and threatened anypony who tried to drag her away with maiming, and even broke the left foreleg of one of the orderlies. They left her be, since she was a griffin, and magic or no; nothing could get between a griffin queen and her mate. She proved it when she broke free of Doctor Stable's telekinesis and about broke his snout with a punch.

However, today was the third day Blitz had been in this coma, and the Twins felt that they'd let him rest long enough. They had something they had to do. “Gilda!” The twins shouted as they burst into Blitz's ICU room, making the griffin squawk in surprise, and seem to jolt awake.

“W-what? For the last time! I'm not leaving him!” Gilda looked haggard. She was thin, having neglected eating, she was utterly exhausted, having resisted sleeping to watch Blitz breath through a tube, and she was an utter mess, also having forgone bathing.

“Oh yes you are! You're coming with me missy!” Animak declared as he towered over her, and glared into her eyes. “I am going to bathe you, feed you, and do whatever you need to get you comfortable enough to sleep.”

“I'll take over, I won't leave his side.” Kamina promised.

Gilda blinked and wobbled, she yawned, and looked to Blitz forlornly. “I...I want to be the face he wakes up to...I want to prove to him that I'm every bit as Loyal as he is....”

“Killing yourself like this isn't what Blitz would want. Hearing about this would be more than enough for him.” Animak stated, and then grabbed her left talon in his right talon, and squeezed for comfort. “Let us help. Please.” He looked her in the eyes with warmth, and Gilda sniffed as she leaned into the strong hippogriff. She couldn't cry, she'd run out of tears. No, literally. She's dehydrated too.

“Okay...I'll take a rest.” Gilda about drifted off, but Animak shook her awake.

“Don't fall asleep on me now. We've gotta feed you first. You might die if you fall asleep in this state.” Animak hugged her, and looked to his twin sister. “You'll do what we discussed, right?”

“Yes.” Kamina nodded resolutely. She decided now was best.

“C'mon then Gilda.” Animak charged his horn, and teleported Gilda to her home to take care of her.

Kamina then sat next to Blitz's side and reached a talon out to him, resting it on his chest. “I'm sorry. If you hate me for this, I won't care. It's for your own good buddy.” Kamina took a deep breath. And concentrated.

Blitz grunted into the tube in his throat, and cringed as something fundamental to his very nature changed. His wings, once feathered, shed their plumage in a rapid molt, the dead feathers revealing black leathery wings of a very clear ancestry. Kamina was turning Blitz into a thestral. His body slumped slightly with the corded muscle relaxing as something else worked into him as his cells rapidly began to regenerate faster than they died. The genetic element that gave alicorns their ageless quality and rapid healing.

When it was done, Blitz groaned and awoke, his cerise eyes opening to reveal the once round pupils were cat-like slits, and he gagged as he pulled his forehooves up and carefully pulled the tube out of his throat. “Blegh....” His mouth now had sharp fangs, and canines at the fore. Thestrals were a part of ponykind for a long time, being a sub-species of pegasi. They lived in secluded places for the most part however, for their naturally nocturnal and omnivorous natures unsettled most ponies since time immemorial, which ironically made them Luna's favorites for her guard and servants.

“Feeling fine Blitz?” Kamina asked in concern. This was the biggest and heaviest change she'd ever instilled in somepony else, she really didn't want to screw up and hurt her friend.

“Ugh...besides the stiffness I'm feeling I feel...what?” Blitz bolted up, and took in his wings in shock. “W-what happened?! Where're my feathers!” Blitz looked down at the hospital bed, and blinked. “Oh...right there. But why are my wings like this?”

“Blitz...I'm going to drop a bomb on you here....”

===//////>

“...So...you're kinda ageless now too...yeah....” Kamina broke the news to him as gently and in as bright a light as possible.

“I'm a hornless alicorn!” Blitz gushed in amazement as he removed the neck brace. “Dude! So awesome! Thanks for the other stuff too girl, Gilda always complains about my resistance to trying meat. Now maybe I'll actually like the taste of the stuff that Hayburger is always selling.” Blitz then blinked. “Wait...I'm ageless?”

“Yeah...I've been considering it a long time...I have alicorn in me, I can change others too, using any template I have available. Gilda has silent owl wings, didn't you notice?” Kamina asked Blitz, who blinked and then sneered at Kamina.

“So YOU'RE why she can always get the jump on me! Not cool! She always catches me off guard from behind and scares the tartarus out of me!” Blitz huffed and looked to his new wings. “So, what's the reason for you making me have cool bat wings?”

“Thestrals have them, duh. Also; they're silent too. Thestrals are nocturnal predators, so they need silence to catch their prey off-guard.” Kamina informed her friend, who grinned maliciously. “So now YOU can catch Gilda off-guard!”

“Sweet!” Blitz tried to get out of bed, but then cried in pain, and panted as he laid back down. “Ugh...my neck....”

“Yeah, immortal-like regeneration or not; your neck is going to be hurting for a while colt. You DIED for a few seconds before Twilight saved you dude. You're not going anywhere. Now put that brace back on, it'll keep you from agitating your neck.” Blitz hissed as he reached down and brought the brace back around his neck, and adjusted it for comfort, and sighed as the pressure on his vertebrae lessened. “Also your right wing isn't about to become flight-worthy yet. Give it a flap.”

“N-no...I'll take your word for it.” Blitz sighed as he took in the depressing room, and finally decided to process the seriousness of the situation. “I died? How's Gilda? The girls?”

“Yes. She's taking this hard, and so are the others. Gilda stood over you for days without eating, drinking, sleeping, or bathing. We just barged in a bit before I changed you, and Animak forced her to leave so he could tend to her.” Kamina explained, and Blitz looked down at the bed in depression.

“I died...like an idiot too...some Wonderbolt I'd be.” He sniffled, and looked at his new wings. “Even with a new set...I don't...know if I'll have the courage to just do stuff like that again....”

“Blitz. I gave you the regeneration not just to make you ageless, but so if you do fuck up royally like that again; you're far more likely to walk away from it and be fine later. Don't let this ruin your dreams dude.” Kamina pleaded as she put a talon on his shoulder consolingly. “Look, just rest okay? Your job is to get better right now. Can you do that Sir Blitz? Can I count on you to do this?” Kamina asked seriously, and Blitz took a steadying breath as he saluted. “Good. Now, I know you don't care for reading like us, but I brought you a pretty cool adventure novel.”

Blitz hesitantly accepted the book, and looked at the cover. “Daring Do and the Sapphire Stone? This is a kid's book!” At the sound of an irate bleating, Blitz looked over at the door. “No offense.”

A young goat and his mother were passing by the door. “None taken, come along dear.” The mother nudged her young kid along, and Kamina closed the door with her magic.

“Now Blitz, don't say that. Books like this can be enjoyed by anyone. You're not going anywhere for a while, and reading that book is going to be all you'll have for entertainment for a while.” Kamina gently warned her friend, who huffed and tossed the book onto the bed.

“Sorry, but I'm not an egghead. I get enough reading coordinating the weather.” Blitz suddenly felt his face grabbed in a talon, and the book opened to the first page with his snout practically shoved into it.

“You. Are. GOING! To read!” Kamina grit her teeth as a vein pulsed on her head. For some reason; his resistance to her pissed her off.

“No!” Blitz closed his eyes indignantly. “You can't FORCE me!”

“Grrr....” Kamina's throaty tiger growl instinctively scared Blitz, but he obstinately refused, and she snorted as she thought of how to go about this, and smirked evilly as she let his face go. “I'm so~ sorry hun. My need to ensure your physical and mental health got the best of me. Here~. Let me apologize~.” Blitz gasped in surprise as suddenly he found her talon at his groin, rubbing him in a way that elicited a response.

“S-stop that! Only Gilda can-AH!” Blitz shouted in pain as his wings went rigid, and his injured wing lanced with phantom pain. “S-stop!”

“What's that? Rub like this~?” Kamina teased his member until it started to unsheathe under the patient gown, and Blitz grit his teeth in agony as his neck tensed, agitating his neck too.

“Alright! I'll read the stupid book!” Blitz declared in desperation, and Kamina stopped her ministrations as he panted and tried to calm down.

“There, was that so hard?” Kamina slyly asked with an impish grin, and Blitz hissed at her with a surprisingly predatory rasp.

“You're the Warden!” Blitz grumbled as he picked up the book, and opened to the first page. He started reading, but stopped and noticed Kamina was still patiently sitting next to his bed. “Can you go now?”

“Moi? Sorry hun, promised Gilda I'd keep an eye on you until she comes back. Now get reading. Or do I have to take things up a level?” Kamina teased/threatened by forming a circle with one talon, and harshly jabbing a claw into it with an expression of pleasure on her face, tongue out and everything, and Blitz blushed and hissed as his male body responded accordingly, and he grunted in pain.

“The. Warden!”

===//////>

After that, it was smooth sailing for the most part. Kamina only left him alone to use the restroom or get food, but even when she was gone he kept reading. He was surprised by how much he was enjoying the book. Kamina didn't tease him like that again after the-*HISS!*-second threat, but just thinking about it got Blitz heated, and he tried to use the book to distract him from it. But the author's description of Daring's body just kept building fantasies in his head, and he groaned as another mention of her broken wing reminded him of her depiction as being an athletic, petite mare.

Blitz always did love himself, that was especially true back when he was Dash, and trying to figure out his sexuality. It wasn't until Gilda came back into his life, and they proclaimed their love that he realized he was Bisexual. He'd always wondered why as Dash; that her own body turned her on so much. It was so hard to focus when she'd see herself in the mirror, and instantly fantasize making out with a clone of her or something. And Daring, from the sounds of it; was merely a different colored version of Dash, which just spurred on the old fantasy.

'Damn you Kamina! Getting me thinking about sex when it's the LAST thing I need!' Blitz groaned in pain as his wings twitched.

“Getting pent-up?” Nurse Redheart asked as she came in. Shortly after Kamina had forced the book on him, the medical staff were brought up to speed as to his condition, and had him moved to a private room so his new appearance didn't cause a disturbance.

“Yeah. Princess Kamina's relentless teasing has me all raring to go, but it causes me pain.” Blitz complained as he tried to relax his rigid wings. “Don't you have something for that?”

“For normal ponies, yes. But a thestral? We don't know what it would do to you. Sorry sweetie.” Redheart informed him as she checked the IV and such. It was just a saline drip to keep him hydrated, with a very light dose of pain reliever for his phantom pains.

“Ugh...I just wish wingboners didn't exist sometimes.” Blitz bemoaned, and marked his place with a bookmark, and set down the book for a moment. His eyes hurt a bit. It'd been a day, and Kamina was still here since Gilda was still crashed on their bed in exhaustion. The ridiculously sexy hippogriff-*HISS~!*-was just getting some food from the cafeteria. “Damn you...Kamina!”

“Say my name!” Kamina burst into the room, holding a platter in the air with her magic as she posed like a stage actor. “And I appear! With food too.” She cheekily stated as she continued into the room, and set down a mixed platter. “Okay! Got you a hayburger, salad, yogurt, and a side of Everfree giant anaconda!”

Redheart and Blitz both turned a little green at the bloody hunk of meat plopped carelessly onto the platter. “Um...your highness...Sir Blitz is still a pony-.”

“A THESTRAL pony! Which means he needs to cut his new teeth into some meat; stat!” She then caressed his chin and pouted. “I hunted it just for you~! Try it?”

“No! It's disgusting!” Blitz declared, but his stomach rumbled, and his mouth watered. Somehow, the very stench of death coming from the raw, bloody, fresh meat was drawing something forth. A carnal desire for flesh.

Kamina's face deadpanned, and then she erupted into the tell-tale explosion of sinew that preceded a transformation, and she shifted and grew into a massive green and yellow snake that filled the whole room with scaly coils, sealing the door shut with her size, as Kamina became an Everfree giant anaconda right before them. She lowered her face down to the extremely unnerved Blitz, and smirked. “This Anaconda Don't! Want! None! Unless you got! Buns! Hun!”

“Yow!” Blitz yelped as the tip of Kamina's serpent tail whipped the side of Blitz's left flank from the side of the bed. “Geez! Fine, I'll try it!” Blitz looked down at the bloody hunk of meat that was likely part of the giant beast that Kamina transformed into, and gulped nervously. He grabbed the spork in his hoof, and hesitantly jabbed it into the fresh flesh. He slowly brought it to his mouth, sniffed, and his mouth moistened. He then quickly and savagely tore into it, moaning in a form of pleasure as his eyes rolled back, blood dripping from his lips as he chewed. “So~ juicy!”

“M-ma'am...?” Kamina blinked her layered reptile eyes and looked to the terrified Nurse Redheart, who had literally peed herself in fear. “C-can I go?”

“Oh dear, sorry hun. But it seems you already went.” Kamina giggled at her terrible joke, but became ashamed of her blasé attitude towards her transformation powers around ponies who had no prior experience with it. “I'm SO sorry Redheart. I can erase your memory of this if you want.”

“N-no...I'll be fine. It was just...very unnerving. I'd leave, but your coils are blocking the door.” Redheart explained, and Kamina noticed just how much of the room she filled. She forgot that giant anacondas hunted ursa for a reason. Her coils were actually lining the walls, under the bed, and overlapping enough times she'd take hours uncoiling herself if she couldn't just return to normal.

She blushed, even though snakes don't have the capacity to. Benefit of being such an amalgamation of templates. “Oh...right.” Kamina contemplated changing back, but she figured this much mass bursting into sinew at once would be horrific to the freshly-initiated Redheart. “Give me a moment.” 'I didn't think this through...so embarrassing!' She moved her body as much as she could to free where she felt the door was buried behind her, and grunted with the effort of controlling so much mass at once until the door was exposed. “Th-there. Please hurry, I can't hold myself like this for long.”

“Thank you. Please don't do that around other patients your Majesty. You might hurt somepony.” Redheart then climbed over the coils, and left out the door. Kamina sighed as she let her body relax, and she shouted in pain before she looked over to see Blitz out of bed, biting into her, ripping chunks out of her scaly flesh as she screamed.

“Blitz! What are you do-AH!” Kamina instinctively wrapped her coils around him to immobilize him. “Why are you eating me!” Kamina blinked, and blushed. “Not like that!”

“You're delicious!” He bit into her again, ripping free a chunk as she screamed in pain, and held him tight up to the neck, as he desperately tried to take another bite like a starved predator. “Damn it! I'm hungry!”

“Calm the fuck down!” Kamina literally hissed as she squeezed a bit, getting a satisfying crunch out of one of his bones breaking, but he didn't care, couldn't feel it over the overwhelming urge to fulfill a newly discovered desire. Besides, it'd heal in a few minutes anyway. “Blitz. I...sorta know what you're going through. You need to calm down. Let your hormones level out.”

“Let me go!” Blitz struggled, and wriggled himself free a bit, but before he could take another bite out of her, she added more coils to trap him again.

“Not until you calm down!” 'Damn, forgot how addictive the first bite can be.' Kamina was referring to a gem binge she went on when she tried a ruby at Spike's insistence. She ate most of Rarity's stock before Spike could stop her. She gasped in shock when Blitz flared his new wings, and moved his body free to launch at Kamina's neck with mouth wide open. She felt a crunch, and blacked out.

===//////>

She woke to the sound of sobbing, a wetness coated her, and she blinked as her vision returned. “-I'm sorry, I'm so, so sorry~!” Blitz was crying, hugging her massive head to his chest in despair.

“Blitz?” Kamina asked weakly, and he gasped as he held her huge head up.

“You're alive! Stay that way! Please!” Blitz was covered head to tail in blood...her blood, she realized.

“You...killed me?” Kamina asked in fear, and shock. The only way an alicorn can truly die is if they are brutally, and thoroughly slaughtered, but because of this; they can die repeatedly.

“I tore out your throat like a wild animal!” Blitz cried in anguish as he sobbed into her face. “You stopped moving, I didn't, couldn't think anything of it, and kept chewing. It wasn't until I got my fill that I realized what I did...I'm sorry...I'm so sorry~!”

“Hey...hey....” Kamina weakly brought a nearby coil up to him, and gently and weakly hugged him to try and comfort him. “I-it's okay...I'm fine, see?” Her vision was fading...she knew she wasn't fine. She'd survive, yes, but it wasn't going to ever be forgotten. That somepony she loved and trusted killed her in a fit of bloodlust. “Besides, it's my fault for not being more careful.” She began to lap up her own blood with her serpentine tongue, cleaning him up.

“I'm sorry, so sorry....” Blitz despondently chanted as he went into emotional shock, and Kamina could only hate herself, just as Blitz hated himself.

'What have I done?'
'What have I done?'

===//////>

Kamina transformed back to normal once she'd healed enough, and cleaned up the massive amount of blood she'd coated everything in with the help of the janitorial staff. She demanded that no questions be asked, and nothing be said of it. Blitz was put into another private room, and Kamina snuggled him to comfort him, to tell him she was okay, but every time his face came near her neck, she flinched, and made him cry, only for her to apologize too. “Kamina, I can never forgive myself for this.”

“I can't forgive myself either, for doing this to you. I can change you back if you want....” Kamina offered, only for Blitz to sniff and shake his head into the pillow, his phantom pains all but forgotten in the emotional anguish.

“No...I've tasted flesh. It's too good. Even if you erase my memory, I'll still want it. The body remembers what the mind can't. I'm an athlete Kamina, even I know that.” Blitz nibbled her neck, making Kamina flinch, but he started kissing her neck, and Kamina's wings extended in surprise. “Let me make it up to you.”

“B-Blitz I can't take advantage of you like that! I've done enough to hurt you!” Kamina shouted as she pushed him away, and turned her gaze away in shame. “You need Gilda...I can't replace her for this. You need your mate right now.” She took the blood-stained book from the nearby stand, and opened up to the bookmark he'd left. While the cover was ruined, the contents were protected by an enchantment. “How about...we read together? Twilight and I do that whenever we just want some quiet time to ourselves.”

Blitz was saddened that he couldn't try to make amends with his liege, but saw this compromise as being worth it. “I'd like that.” Blitz earnestly replied, and he sat up as Kamina sat next to him, hugging him with a foreleg as she levitated the book up, and began to read aloud, feeling it more appropriate than simply reading silently. Blitz smiled as he relaxed, glad for the book to take his mind off of things. Only occasionally looking at the beautiful queen next to him, feeling lucky to have a friend so Loyal.

===//////>

Gilda, Animak, and a good number of their friends quietly opened the door the next morning, and all smiled softly at the sight of the two friends asleep, snuggling like siblings on the bed, a blood-stained copy of Daring Do and the Sapphire Stone dropped at the hoof of the bed. “They look so cute.” Trixie commented as they approached while Twilight grumbled and picked up the ruined book.

“Why is this coated in blood?” Twilight growled before she cast restoration spells on it to return it to normal.

“And why does Blitz have these cool bat wings?” Gilda asked as she grabbed one, and extended it to run the other talon along it, getting shudders out of the sleeping stallion. “I like 'em.” Gilda grinned as she thought of how fun they might be. She looked to Kamina, knowing she was the one responsible as Animak picked her up carefully to not wake her. “They must've read through the night.”

“I'm glad they got to spend some quality time together.” Twilight stated as Spike took Kamina onto his back from Animak's arms and began to leave. “I think their friendship could benefit from spending more time together.” Twilight followed the others out, deciding that since Blitz was tired, they'd visit another time, having no clue as to just how frayed, and then rewoven the two's friendship was over the grim events they experienced together.

Author's Notes:

Behold; Kamina's worst personality faults. She will help, even if it is unwanted, or if she really has no right to "help" against their will, as it is then that Will of Self interferes with her Will of Others. Also, she can easily get carried away, and not think things through.

Animak is her foil in this. Were he around, none of this would have happened.

Have this funny music video to end on a more cheerful note, it's too perfect not to include it XD

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7BJ3ZXpserc