The day after I was screwing with people in town, getting my visiting over, Twilight slept in a little bit. I say she slept in, but we tend towards rising with the Sun and setting just a few hours before it rises. As Alicorns, or rather, an Alicorn and a kinda Alicorn-Revenant-Thing, we don’t really need that much sleep. I can go a week and then some without it before I need a couple hours of some kind of rest and Twilight can go a few days no problem, but we both have to be exceptionally well fed for us to stay up for any period of time. In any case, that means that grabbing a few hours every night means we don’t have to eat as much during the day and that we can settle with being ravenous for a few hours. I was a little surprised that Twilight didn’t wake up with me, but it’s not like I was complaining or anything. I got to spend a little more time with her and I couldn’t make her cry or be disappointed or embarrass her in any way, so I liked spending time with Twilight when she was sleeping.

While I was brushing a lock of hair off of her face, her eyes fluttered open and she gave me a little smile. “Good morning, Amour.” She murmured.

“Good morning, Cherry. Did you have a good dream?” I asked.

“You were there, so you know the answer.” She sighed, closing her eyes.

I came a little closer and Twilight tilted her head so she wouldn’t jab me with her horn. “Have I ever told you that the real thing is going to be so much better? Sure, the dream is the third best thing, but it can’t compare to real D three-D.” I chuckled.

Twilight hummed. “What’s better than having our first time every time?”

“Cherry, every time feels like our first time, even when we’re not in the dream world.” I went silent for a moment. “Do you remember our actual first time, though?”

“It was the night of your bonfire. I was in estrus and you’d been doing some mild teasing all night that was driving me crazy, but you would only be with me as Roxy. We had to wait until Celestia and Luna in disguise went home and Fancy and Fleur went to bed.” Twilight shifted a bit so she could look me in the eyes. “You were so nervous about it not being good for me that you were shaking lightly, but I remember that it was like seeing the most beautiful mare nervous to come into my bed… That just made me feel so… Exhilarated, I guess. I felt important. To know that somepony so experienced as you could still get nervous before the act.”

“I want to kiss you right now, but coffee first. You just don’t know the way you make me feel, Twilight. Every kiss is as good as the last, and every time we touch, my heart skips a beat to the point where I’m pretty sure I’m dying and going to the afterlife. Of course I’d be nervous about performing for you, learning all the things about you, like your turn ons and turn offs. To me, you’re the most important person on this technicolor planet, so don’t be like me and start doing stupid things-”

Twilight jabbed me in the ribs. “How do you think I feel about you going off and doing stupid things?”

“Oi! I’m more immortal than you are! To our knowledge at least.” I added.

She rolled her eyes. “I don’t like seeing you get hurt and you threaten to end lives when somepony hurts me. What if I offered to do the same for you?”

“I’d end them before you could so you'd never have to get your hands dirty.” I answered absolutely.

“...I wasn’t expecting you to answer that so quickly.” Twilight said a bit blankly.

“It’s something I’ve put a lot of thought into. You only have a thirty minute window to kill the thing that got me before I come back as a Revenant and get it myself. If Celestia does what I asked her to, then you’ll never have to have any more blood on your hands, though I still don’t think that the Manticore in the Everfree that one time was your fault.”

She sighed. “Didn’t you tell me that you were going to kill it anyway?”

I clicked my tongue. “Damn straight, babycakes.”

Twilight sat up and magicked one of our lamps on. “You sure do know how to make a mare want to give you a favour in the morning, don’t you?”

I propped my head up on my elbow. “I was planning on waking you up with one, but if you don’t want it…” I trailed off.

Twilight held the covers up and threw a leg over me so she was sitting on my hips with her hands on my chest. There was a one tree forest nestled within a valley now and I was rather happy about that. “Why, Max, I think I feel something down there. You wouldn’t mind removing it, would you?”

“With you on top of me, it’s not going away any time soon.” I said blandly.

Twilight ground her hips against me and I put my hands over hers. “Why, I don’t believe I know what it is. Would you mind telling me why there’s something so stiff in your pants?”

“Oi, I wear sleeping trousers to bed!” I protested, chuckling.

Twilight rolled her eyes and leaned down a bit, her hair falling over her shoulder. “You know, for a furless ape, you’re pretty cute.”

“I’ve got to admit, for a furry alien, you’re awfully cute yourself. Wanna see if we taste as good as we look?” I offered.

She put her hands above my shoulders and used magic to make her hair not pool on my face. “I’ll tell you what: you put your hands wherever you want and I’ll put my hands wherever I want and we’ll see where we go from there.” Twilight said sultrily.

My first thought was to put one of them on her face and break the ‘No kisses before coffee’ rule. Twilight’s first thought was to firmly grasp it. My second though was to firmly grasp her, and then things kept going from there until I had the taste of wine in my mouth and a decent desire for a shower. We took one together since the morning was already starting off pretty well and it only got better when I suggested that we head into the Murder Forest for a picnic with our favourite ancient being besides our former teacher and my current one. Actually, we know a lot of old ladies, come to think about it, but then again, in Equestria, if you’re a male and you make it past a thousand years, something usually comes along to drive you insane or you get bored enough to become evil. Thankfully I have too many people looking out for me for that to happen, but you never know I suppose.

Evilness aside, Twilight helped me make breakfast by stirring up the eggs and staying out of the way when it came to the actual cooking. I asked her to butter some bread so I could toast it on a skillet and she tore the bread to pieces somehow, though I don't even get how you do that. We ate the bread anyway and I just had her pop a few slices into the toaster before I got the eggs cooking, which is probably what I should’ve had her do in the first place. At least, that’s what I thought up until she burned the fuck out of the toast like she usually did, which made no fucking sense because I’d had the toaster on a light setting in the first place and I hadn't even seen Twilight change anything! Seriously, her bad luck in the kitchen made no sense, but if she could muddle through it, then I suppose there is hope for anyone without talent in the kitchen.

Crimson came out of his room once he smelled breakfast and I told him that his plate was in the kitchen. He retrieved it and went into the sunroom to eat since he was growing fond of watching the Whitetail Woods while he ate. I couldn’t blame him since Twilight and I still smoked in there occasionally, but that wasn’t the goal for the day. We finished up with breakfast soon enough and I told Crimson that we were heading out to go talk to and old friend and he asked if I minded that he get started on the mission I’d given him a few days prior, namely the one about sorting out the bad part of town. I’d wanted him to do it sooner rather than later in the first place, so I obviously had no fucking problems with it at all.

Crimson fucked off shortly after breakfast and Twilight mentioned that she wasn’t really dressed for an excursion in a forest. I took in the skirt that went to mid-thigh and her blouse and blazer combo and told her that she’d be the best looking thing in said forest if she so chose, but she just rolled her eyes and told me that we were going to her house so she could put on some real trousers and I brought up what had happened the last time we’d visited Uror. She blushed and told me to shut up, stating that such things were not going to happen this time and I took her word for it, not really believing her. Still, we ended up in Twilight’s house and she got her trousers one way or another, so without anything else holding us back, Twilight teleported us to Uror’s glade and we had a look around.

The Yggdrasil was still there and there were plenty of furry creatures running about, doing as they pleased. It was actually quite the pleasant day out, and from what I could tell, everything was enjoying it in its own way. Something touched me from behind and I saw that it was one of the tasty Goat-things that I liked, so I rubbed it’s head, though I was a little sad that I didn’t have anything to feed it. However, it’s not there wasn’t tall grass everywhere for it to mow anyway. Twilight just sighed happily and took in the open space with a gentle smile on her face and I could feel one of my own forming until I realized that something wasn’t quite right. Something in my heart told me Uror wasn’t here, so I knelt down next to the Goat-thing.

“Oi, Goat-Mate, do you know where Uror is?” I asked.

It bleated at me and started nudging me in a general direction, so I called for Twilight to follow it and myself, but when I looked at her, she was laying down in the grass, sound asleep. I rushed over and tried to rouse her, but she wasn’t waking anytime soon, so I cursed and followed my guide across the field. For a Kendani, it sure seemed like it knew what the fuck it was doing, so I followed it to the edge of the glade until it turned around and bleated at me again. Shit didn’t mean anything. Fucking Goats.

“Nashoba!” I called out into the air. “Brilliance! Sunny! Shit, I’ll even take Bella at this point.” I muttered.

I waited around for a few minutes, hoping for someone to show up, but nothing came to explain what the fuck was going on. I didn’t feel Nashoba’s presence anywhere nearby, nor did any of the animals have any answers for me beyond chippers and various other animal sounds, so I did what came naturally to me and carried Twilight around to the shady bit of Uror’s tree before Shadow Diving into Nashoba’s space. I hoped for a second that I’d find her and Uror at some kind of spa in the middle of the forest, but it was a stupid hope and I was well aware of that.

I surfaced in Nashoba’s shadow, but much to my displeasure, it was constantly fucking moving faster than I could rise out of it, so I was stuck in the Shadow Realm with no way to exit, so I switched targets to Uror since I still had reversed momentum going on and when I rose out of her shadow, I had to dodge a fucking lightning bolt that seemed to draw in light rather than be made of it. Shit was seriously cool, but I figured that whatever was throwing was probably seriously evil, so I snapped my fingers and went straight into Primal Mode, loading my limbs with Dark Magic so that I could move faster. It had the added benefit of making me leak Mist, making me a little harder to hit if I stood still, but it also made my movements easier to track unless I constantly dissipate it.

On the move, I started piecing together my surroundings and foud that I was actually in familiar territory near the Old Caste and that I had a few friends in the fight along with me. While I was making a circuit around the souce of the black lightning, Nashboa joined me, but before we could say anything, she dashed ahead and I did a dodge roll to avoid getting tagged by another bolt of lightning. Shit was already irritating me, and in Primal Mode, irritation quickly leads to anger and anger leads to much, much worse things. My rational mind briefly wondered how such a wonderful day had gone to shit so quickly, but then my instinctual Primal side told me to fucking sprint toward the target and tear it to pieces like it was trying to do to me. Thankfully Primal Mode doesn’t make me a complete fool, but I was leaning toward fucking kill it anyway.

I started closing my circuit so I could get a good look at the being that we were dealing with, but it was still a little too far away, so I cut a shallow cross in its general direction, rolling out of the way of a ball of Dark Fire when it came to me. If it weren’t for the Dark Magic in my legs, I would’ve been hit and most likely eaten alive by the flames, and I straight up don’t know if I come back from having my bones burnt. Maybe I rise from the ashes, maybe I die forever. Either way, I didn’t want to find out, so I kept my wits about me and made my kept moving. It might be a strange time to mention it, but a stick had stabbed me in the shoulder while I was rolling and that was a fucking nuisance, so I pulled it out and loaded the thing with Dark Magic, sending it in the general direction of the thing that kept trying to kill me.

A minute later, after dodging a few more lightning strike and another ball of fire, I saw what I was dealing with in the first place. Noir had warned me that I’d probably run into one since the Everfree was a dark place at times, but I’d never actually expected to see a Lich so close to my territory. The skeletal remains were pretty unsettling, or at least, they are in memory. In Primal Mode, the rotting carcass of the Lich barely made me think twice about grabbing a milkshake with Twilight after I killed the damned thing, and once I closed in a little bit, I saw that it could’ve been in better shape. Uror was going toe to toe with it, throwing bolts of her own green and purplish magic at it while dodging or block it’s attacks with trees that burst from the ground only to be burned to a crisp by black flame. I decided to see if it would like a taste of it’s own medicine and threw a Dark Fireball at it of my own, though mine was far smaller that its were. Don’t think for a moment that size meant a damn thing when it came to power: Mine was most likely stronger since it was more concentrated and it had an Noir's weight behind it on top of me being an Alicorn myself. God that’s weird… I have an Alicorn within me and I’m like, kinda sorta an Alicorn. Shit’s just weird. Whatever, back to the super cool fight, yeah?

The Pony Lich took my strike to the back of the head, distracting it long enough for Uror to send a bolt each of pure green and pure purple magic that exploded on impact, making vines grow from where they landed. The vines, however, withered and died once they got so far, but I had a feeling that the purple bolt had been more than just a casual vine-thing. It seemed to be a different kind of magic to me, so when the Lich let out a deadly hiss that made my ears hurt, I wasn’t all that surprised when a fucking Fig Tree sprouted from its chest. I was a little upset when that tree only grew a couple meters and fell to ash, but Nashoba took the opportunity to come in and rip the damn thing’s head off in one fell swoop. The body made some strange hand gestures and Nashoba dug her paws into the dirt, playing magical tug of war with the Evil Dead.

I wasn’t about to let it hurt my Goddamn pupper, so I let loose a barbaric yawp that would have made Noir proud and activated my two mental powers at the same time. It gave me a bit of a nose bleed, but it was worth it to have every bit of detritus whirl around the Lich and start ripping chunks out of its flesh while I pounded away at it with my psychic tentacle. Hacking, slicing and slashing, I chopped the thing to pieces and wrapped it all up, grinding it together with dirt, stones, all the little nastiness of the forest. The Telekinesis worked one way while I turned my Psychokinesis into a spiked tentacle with dozens of spines consisting of various shapes and sizes and worked it the other way. With a little more effort, I made it so that Uror’s magic could pass through and Nashoba howled the Lich’s skull to pieces and eventually into powder from the strength of her voice. Separating my focus, I took the powder from Nashoba mouth and threw a gout of Dark Flames at it, blazing on while I ground the other bones into dust.

Uror’s trees sprouted and grew in midair, jutting out from every direction with their roots intermingling until they formed a ball so tight that I couldn’t keep the Psychokinesis going. I’m pretty sure Uror’s stronger than I am, so it was no surprise to find that her magic could outweigh mine, and when I let up with my Psychokinesis, I had the mental space left to form a Seal and load it with ‘Seal’, the irony of which was lost on me in the moment. I threw it at the ball of arboreal bullshit and conjured up a few more to go along with it. Once I had the thing well and truly stuck with my symbols, I looked back to the target I’d been burning the entire time and stopped the gout of flame. I’d burned the bones into cinders and dust, blackened and glossy. I swear I’d actually formed a gem or something with the heat of the flames and pressure from the telekinesis, so I let the mass fall onto the now bare Earth and it started burning the dirt, wisps of smoke pouring from where it lie. I found that amusing.

The ball of trees fell and hit the floor with a rather heavy ‘thud’, and when it sank into the earth, I thought it was just fucking heavy or something until it kept going. The topmost tree was barely sticking out of the ground at this point, and when the final leaf was about to be swallowed, Uror snapped her fingers and another tree sprouted from the mass that had gone underground as if it had been a huge seed of some kind. The new tree grew rapidly, but not instantaneously like the others had, taking its time to rise from the ground. Dryads, normal and Dark, along with all sorts of creatures from the Everfree came from the woodwork to see the new Yggdrasil rise from the Lich’s remains, and once it was as tall as I was, Nashoba and I walked over to Uror to watch it keep growing.

“Thank you both for your assistance this morning. You, Nashoba, did not have much of a choice, but you, Maximus, did not have to stay and risk your life.” Uror said pleasantly.

“It wasn’t a problem.” Nashoba yawned. She laid down and said, “That undead piece of filth tasted terrible, however.”

I shrugged. “I was wondering why you weren’t in your glade. I guess I just happen to visit at good times, yeah?”

Nashoba and Uror looked at me. “...You came by chance?” Uror asked.

“Completely by chance.” I said airily.

Nashoba stood up and whacked the back of my knees with her tail, making me pratfall. “Oi! Fucking mutt, I still helped!”

She snorted. “This is your territory. You should have taken it out by yourself.”

Uror made a disapproving noise. “I doubt he could have. If you did not have its head and I did not have its attention, Maximus could not have gotten close enough to fight it.”

I got to my feet and let my Dark Magic return to my navel. “Fuck both of you. I’m a fucking badass.” I huffed in a manly manner.

“You’re a pup with good powers. I would like to see you battle a Lich on your own as Uror had to.” Nashoba said derisively.

“Oi! Who ground the thing into a fine powder? Who burnt its skull until it became a weird looking gross black mass? Who bought both of you the time to finish it off?” I crossed my arms.

Nashoba gave me some side eye. Well, she’s a Wolf, so she’s usually looking at me with one eye, but still. “I’m messing with you. Is your self esteem that weak?”

I sniffed. “No, you just hurt my feelings.”

She rolled her eyes and Uror put a hand on my shoulder. “Don’t worry, Maximus. Your assistance is highly valued.”

I tilted my head toward her. “Thank you, Figgy.”

The Matron hit my back, bowling me over forwards. “Oi! You fucking twat!”

“Do not call me ‘Figgy’.” She said kindly.

I picked myself up again and brushed myself off. “You could’ve just asked.” I muttered.

“Why ask when I can abuse? Nashoba is right, hitting you is fun, especially when it does not hurt you.” She gave me a disarming smile.

I flipped her off. “Shove it, Figgy.”

She rolled her eyes and held my hand with both of hers. “You are such a treat when you come around. What say we return to my meadow and talk more there? The Yggdrasil should be ready for travel within a few more minutes.”

I nodded and held one of her hands firmly. “Sure thing, Uror. We have some catching up to do, yeah?”

Nashoba put her paw on our hands. “I’m tagging along.”

“I assumed that you were.” Uror said.

“Same here. I mean, we did just kill something evil as fuck together. It would suck if the three of us didn’t spend some non-combat time together.” I replied.

Her eyes flicked and she removed her paw. “You two travel by tree like weirdos, I’ll be hunting for a little bit. There are plenty of things around to eat right now.”

Uror raised a brow and Nashoba met her gaze readily. “It’s Max’s territory, not yours, Matron.”

Uror nodded. “I am aware, but do you not you need his permission to hunt here?”

I shrugged and withdrew my hands from hers. “I’m not going to tell her she shouldn’t. Hell, I’d be surprised if my scent markers were still here anyway.”

“They’re not. They’ve long since gone, but every creature knows where you mark your territory by the gashes in wood and where your scent once was. Nothing is willing to upset you, just in case you come back, though you do have a few passers by.” Nashoba informed.

I tilted my head. “Does that mean prey doesn’t come around anymore?”

“No, only predators are wary of your marks. Prey roam freely since they usually do not mark territory outside of mating season.”

Uror nodded. “Of course. Fierce predators keep what they claim, after all, and it does not hurt that Nashoba marks your territory for you anyway. Some have argued that she claims too much, but at the Gatherings, none have been willing to try her in combat to dispute her claims.”

Huh. “I suppose I’ll have to show my face at one of these Gatherings and accept a challenger or two to keep my territory.” I turned to Nashoba. “You’re welcome to hunt here whenever. You know that all I have, I’d share with you.”

Uror clasped her hands to her chest. “How touching! If you two were the same species, I would hope that you would form a mating pair or at least be members of the same pack.”

I rubbed my pupper’s ears. “In another life, I’d be dicking her down real good-”

Nashoba nipped me. “Silence, you fool. You would give me the most insolent pups and I would eat them to keep myself from going insane.”

I rubbed my hip. “Sure they’d be mouthy, but they’d know when to shut up!”

“They would yip all day for milk and then tell me that they wanted to try some from a Cow.” Nashoba huffed.

“Hey, Cow milk is good.” I objected.

Uror gave me a funny look. “You drink Cow milk?”

“Well, their tits are bigger than anyone else’s.” I said glibly.

Nashoba licked her chops. “They are tasty. I like Cows, but their milk is rather bland.”

“I know, that’s why it’s less shitty than anyone else’s. I’d try yours if you let me milk you.” I jested.

Nashoba turned a baleful eye to me. “Try it. I dare you.”

I smiled. “Lemme suck a teat to see if you’re producing first.”

Nashoba huffed and Uror coughed. “I can produce milk on command.”

I looked at her funny. “Really?”

“They do not call me the Matron because it just sounds nice.” Uror said, checking her nails.

I just looked at her in silence for a little bit before shaking my head. “Okay.”

“Would you like to try my milk?” She asked flirtatiously.

I licked my lips because they seemed awfully dry all of a sudden. “Let me run that by my fiance and I’ll get right back to you.”

“I sense that my magic has her sleeping in my dell. We shall return and wake her, no?”

I nodded. "That would be the quickest way to get an answer from her, yes.”

Uror gave me a brilliant smile. “Then let us travel!”

She walked toward the Yggdrasil and sat down in front of it, so I sat next to her. Uror laid her head on my shoulder while Nashoba dashed off to go hunt, or at least, I assumed that’s what she was doing, and I just enjoyed the feeling of having someone pretty lean on me for a little bit. I liked having Twilight around more than I liked having Uror around, but the Matron was a good second when it came to cuddle buddies. Noir would usually come in second, but she was my number one when it came to cuddling with people taller than me. The Matron and I were around the same height, so she fell under the ‘little spoon’ category while Noir was definitely ‘big spoon’ levels along with Celestia. Of course I would tell Twilight if anything more than a little head-on-shoulder action happened, but that was the extent of it for the ten or so odd minutes that we sat while Nashoba was off murderin’ shit like Jack the Ripper in Wolf form.

When Nashoba came back, the Matron pulled me to my feet and the three of us went inside the still growing Yggdrasil like it was nothing. Uror started walking around the tree, occasionally kicking a stray leaf into place and hopping in the odd spot, making her mammaries jiggle in the most delectable way. They seemed to grow, and when she put her hands on them, I looked at her face to see that she was giving me an alluring smile. I raised a brow at her and held my hands up.

“If Twilight allows it, then we can have some fun. We made a promise to do anything of that sort with you together, however.” I said quietly.

Uror came over and walked her fingers up my chest. “Our little Plum will say yes, I assure you, as long as I give her a turn.”

I waited for her fingers to reach my lips and licked them because why not. “I don’t know that for sure. I’m not going to do anything without Twilight’s express permission, Uror. You’ve been in my head. You know that.”

She caressed my cheek and pressed her forehead against mine. “Twilight Sparkle does not have to know.”

“I would tell her anyway.” I said, steel creeping into my voice.

Uror grinned and kissed my cheek. “That. That is resolve. Many men lack resolve when it comes to pleasures of the flesh, Maximus, and that is why I offer myself to you, even if you are not in my preferred form. Your resolve sets you apart from the common rabble.” I’d say it’s more respect for Twilight than resolve, but whatever.

I grabbed her chin gently and licked her nose, making her scrunch her face up. “I’d say the power behind my dick does that, but who am I to laud myself?”

Uror wiped her nose off and gave me a dirty look. “Males.”

“Oi! Females are crazy; males are goofy.” I objected.

“I’d rather deal with insanity than stupidity.” She huffed playfully.

I rolled my eyes. “Oh, if you knew some of the friends Twilight and I had, you wouldn’t have a choice between the two. They come together in a lot of them, you know.”

“Are they male or female?” Uror asked.

“Female.” Nashoba answered. “Max is correct; most of them are fools.”

Uror and I looked at her. “...Kinda forgot you were here.” I said.

“You tend to when the prospect of mating comes around.” Nashoba licked her chops.

“Sorry about that, pupper.”

“Think nothing of it. I would be eager to mate too if most of my kind weren’t fools. That, and the Matron looks a lot like you. It is understandable that you would give her plenty of attention.” Nashoba said kindly, for once.

Uror looked at me and I kept my eyes on Nashoba. “I am the only being on this planet that truly looks Human to you, am I not?” She asked.

I closed my eyes and sighed. “Can you do the mind link thing real quick? It’ll be easier to show you than to explain.” I offered her my hand.

She took it and pressed her forehead against mine. When I started thinking hard about my trip back to Earth, she gasped and let go of me. “Y-You returned?”

I nodded. “God forced me to go back and see my brother. I’m sure some other things happened because of his guiding crook, but that’s the gist of it.”

Uror placed a hand on my chest. “To see our people once again and to have to choose… It could not have been easy.”

“Shit, it was easy. Earth will revolve without me, but my world stopped turning when I left Twilight. When I was on Earth, I did some evil shit for a good reason, but I’m sure that I wouldn’t have if I was in my right mind with Twilight by my side.” I said solemnly.

Uror gave me a sad smile. “We all commit evil deeds for the sake of the greater good sometimes, Maximus. I do not because I tend to destroy the absolute evil and leave the 'kind of evil' to do whatever it pleases within reason, but that is because I’m a being of nature. It’s what I do. Humans have always been wicked creatures that do wicked things, Maximus, but at least you recognize that you did evil for a good purpose. That does, however, beg the question of what you did.”

I took a deep breath. “...I used Dark Magic to force people into being kinder to each other. I also used it to clear addictions and hatred, but the main thing was instilling kindness.”

Uror stopped smiling, her face going placid. “You did what?”

I pursed my lips. “I know.”

She gripped my arms. “Maximus, tell me that you jest.” Her eyes searched mine for an answer. She found it. “I… I cannot even say that I am angry, just… Shocked, I suppose. You did not seem like another Celestia to me.”

I looked at her. “Fig, I’m worse than Celestia. She influences people with words and laws. I commanded with magic.”

Uror looked at me sadly, a beautiful frown forming on her face. “You regret your decision, but at the same time, you find it hard to say it was the wrong one.”

“Exactly.”

Nashoba yawned. “I don’t pretend to understand morality. Can we leave now?”

We looked at her and she laid down. “What?”

We went back to ignoring her. “Maximus…”

“I’d apologize, but that battle still wages on in my heart. I can’t really say I’m sorry for making our world a nicer place for everyone, but I recognize that it was wrong for me to force it into being a better one.” I said.

“...You upset the balance and made a new one. You changed the laws of nature. You are too powerful for your own good.” Uror said firmly.

“...When you start talking like that, it sounds like you’re going to kill me.” I said, a little scared.

“You changed Midgard in ways that no god ever dared to.” Uror said, her eyes unreadable. “What is your defense?”

“Temporary insanity brought on by the powers that allowed me to change the world in the first place. Knowing that there was a better way for the world to be. Hatred for the way mankind kills itself and never learns from its mistakes. There are a few more, but those are the important ones.”

Uror let me go. “You… You do not even realize that you are practically one of my kind, do you?”

“I really try not to let my head get that big. I’m Human and immortal with a few powers, and that’s it.” I said adamantly.

“Maximus, there are Demi-gods with less power than you.”

I covered my ears and ran around the inside of the tree. “Totally ignoring you! Not listening!”

Uror stood in front of me when I was coming back around to her and stopped me by making some roots grow and trip me up. When she knelt in front of me, I had a lovely look at the goods, despite not really trying to let my attention stay there. She probably knew where I was looking, so I dragged my eyes away from the sweet sight of non-furry tang and up to her eyes. Uror was smiling again, but she just seemed amused by my antics rather than sad this time around.

“Your humbleness is astounding, and your childishness is endearing.” She said kindly.

I spat a leaf out of my mouth. “I’m a narcissist and I’m super mature.”

“Being contrary for the sake of it makes you cute.”

“Handsome.”

“That you are not.” She said, her face going flat.

“Oi!”

The smile returned. “Gotcha.”

I flipped her off and she let her roots do whatever they were doing before, so I got up. “You’re fucking evil, you know that?”

Uror rose and started stretching, her leaves rustling in an unfelt breeze. “I am nature incarnate: I cannot be evil.”

Nashoba barked. “Can we leave!? I’m tired of your incessant flirting and yapping and talking in general!”

I scratched my head and Uror tsked. “If you wanted to go, you could have just walked outside. We are in my glade.”

Nashoba got up growling and grumbling, more grumpy than I’d heard her in a little while. I looked at her as she passed through the gap that widened in the Yggdrasil. “She needs to get laid.”

Uror crossed her arms and nodded. “Severely. You do it.”

I gave her a look. “Not happening. You do it.”

Uror rolled her eyes. “I look forward to your fight with the Wight within your territory.”

I looked at her. “You know that word literally means living being, right? Unless you mean something akin to a Draugr or something like that.”

She shrugged. “Both words describe the unholy thing at the Castle. I suggest you take care of it sooner rather than later, however.”

I sighed. “I guess I will, but I was rather hoping that the Lich was the thing I was warned about. Where the Hell did that thing come from, anyway?”

“It was born from a Pony that died to Kobolds.” Uror said quietly. “I eradicated those Kobolds, but they performed a sacrament that they should have had no idea how to perform. I suppose Discord thinks that even I require unnecessary reminders that he is powerful.”

“Wait, how did the Pony die to the Kobolds? It wasn’t-”

“Some things don’t need to be spoken of, Maximus. Just know that it was a death that gave way to much hatred in the heart of one that had once been pure and full of love.” Uror sighed. “As much as I dislike Ponies, they are generally rather pure creatures due to Celestia’s nonsense, and I do not believe I have ever known one to deserve such a death. I know few creatures that actually do deserve such a fate, but none from this world besides Discord himself.”

I nodded. “Just another reason for me to rob him of whatever I can. I’ll do my best to kill him, Uror, but barring that, I’ll take what I can from him and leave him wishing her were dead.”

Uror gave me an odd look, but the smile returned to her face, small though it was. “I hope you defeat him, Maximus. Things are not looking good for Equus at the moment.”

I sighed. “Shit, do I ever know that. Things are so bad, I’m a fucking Prince now.”

She beamed and gave me a hug. “Truly? Congratulations on your suffering!”

I patted her back and sighed. “You’re a sadist, aren’t you?”

The Matron gave me a kiss on the cheek and lead me out of the tree by my hand. “Only to those who can take a little punishment. Come now, we shall rouse Twilight and you shall suckle from my breast!”

Yes, she actually said that. It sounded fucking weird to me too.

I followed her because I didn’t have much of a fucking choice, and when we saw Twilight napping happily with various woodland creatures curled up next to her, my heart melted a little and I felt the strong desire to get down there with her and take a nap for myself. The Matron stopped that from happening by waving her hand and releasing Twilight from the sleeping magic or whatever and my fiance got up slowly but surely. She sat up and stretched, placing her hands on the animals on either side of her and stroking their fur for a moment with a smile on her face, and when she looked up to see Uror and I smiling right back at her, Twilight’s grin grew and she rose to her feet to give us both a hug.

“Uror! Amour! I had the most wonderful dream!” Twilight sighed happily.

“Really? What was it about, Cherry?” I asked. Uror giggled and I gave her some side eye.

My finace kissed my cheek a couple times, but when she started trailing down, I suddenly understood why Uror had been sure that we were going to be having sex today. “Oi, Cherry, why don’t we wait on that for a mo’ and see if our gracious host minds?”

Twilight blushed and kissed my lips. “I’m telling you, it was just that good of a dream.”

The Matron came up behind her and wrapped her arms around my fiance. “You know, my sweet little Plum, your lover is quite devoted to you.” She murmured into Twilight’s ear.

“I know. I’m lucky to have him.” Twilight replied in the same tone, smiling at me.

Uror nibbled on her ear. “I offered a lot to Maximus and he refused in favor of garnering your permission.”

Twilight bit her lip. “What did you offer him?”

“Pleasure. Passion. Possibilities. All of them involving myself.” The Matron held Twilight a bit more tightly.

“...And he wanted to wait for me?” Twilight breathed.

“He wanted to wait for you. Perhaps we could reward him for showing such loyalty?”

I killed the smile on my face to the best of my abilities, but there was only so much I could do. “I like being rewarded for not doing things. It’s nice.”

Twilight pulled Uror’s hands away from her and turned around. She gave the primordial being a kiss of the lips and the Matron returned it readily, controlling the pace as though she often kissed Twilight behind my back. Well, this time it was directly in front of me, but I was a little jealous since I’d gotten pecks on the cheek and precious little else, but it was still a treat to see the two most beautiful beings on Equus go at it for a minute or two. However, Uror pulled away and gave Twilight a playful look around the time I think tongue was being introduced.

“Come now, Plum. You would deny Maximus a kiss of his own?” The Matron asked.

Twilight tilted her head. “From who?”

“Either of us. He would not allow me to kiss him either.” Uror looked at me and beckoned me closer with a finger, so I came over and she gave me a grape and fig flavoured peck. “That is all.”

I gave her a look and she beamed. “Any more from me and your senses would explode.”

Twilight held my hand and I scoffed at her. “Try me, Figgy Pudding.”

She grabbed Twilight’s other hand and took mine. “If you become comatose, do not blame me.”

I smiled a bit and leaned in, meeting her in the middle with our lips as the common ground. I was careful to split my attention between our kiss and Twilight’s heart, finding that Twilight’s heart kept me grounded even as it rapidly grew louder through no fault of her own. Uror set my mind on high alert, and as we kissed, I felt my senses expand beyond the clearing as though I was meditating, but instead of focusing inwards, the focus was quickly growing to encompass the surrounding forest. Twilight heartbeat thrummed in my ears, but Uror’s lips held me down firmly, and as I felt Twilight’s heartbeat begin to subside, I pulled away from my kiss with Uror, and kept my eyes closed for a moment, knowing that I would be in for one hell of a trip when I opened them.

“Amour?” Twilight asked softly, though her voice was still deafening.

“Give him a moment.” Uror said just loud enough for Twilight to hear. She may as well have roared.

I slowly opened my eyes, but I wasn’t seeing through my eyes. I was seeing from a bird’s eye perspective, looking down on the three of us standing in a triangle. “Dear Lord.” I murmured. “Let’s tessellate.”

Twilight’s head was turned toward me and I felt her squeeze my hand. “Max, what does that mean?”

“I don’t know.” I replied.

“You did not slip into a coma. Good job!” Uror said happily, my senses calming down.

“Coma Chameleon.” I said softly.

Twilight’s heart picked up. “Is he okay?”

“He is going slightly insane. Leave him be for a moment until he comes down from his high and allow us to pick up where we left off, yes?” Uror leaned in with intents to kiss Twilight.

The purple Princess leaned away. “Let’s wait until he’s back-”

“No matter where you go, there you are. I am here, thus I am everywhere.” I muttered.

“...That makes no sense.” Twilight said.

“He is drawing conclusions. He will return soon enough.” Uror sighed.

“I am already here. I never left, even when I was gone.” I told them, my bird’s eye circling closer and closer to my head.

“Any moment now.” Uror said patiently.

There were a few moments of silence and the bird slammed into my head, jerking it forward. “Holy shit! That was fucking weird!” I chuckled.

“This is why I do not kiss you for more than a second.” Uror smiled.

Twilight looked at me, but before she could ask me anything, I leaned in and kissed her briefly. “It’s hard to describe, so I won’t bother right now. When we start doing journals, I’ll cover it, okay Cherry?”

She nodded and Uror came in for another kiss, so Twilight let the current even go and went back to kissing the Matron like nothing had happened and I got a little giddy. I was pretty sure that I knew what I was going to have to do while I was meditating in the Everfree now and that was going to be a spectacular revelation. I might have to spend some time kissing the Matron to see whether or not I was taking the right path, but if insanity allowed me to see things like that without meditating, then I was going to be in for one Hell of a treat since I’d only managed to leave my body once during meditation, and that shit had been awfully difficult. I didn’t know how I could bring myself back in case I was in any danger, but I knew that I could get shit done like that.

In any case, Twilight, Uror, and I ended up doing a few more things that didn’t involve kissing. I learned the Uror’s breasts tasted like normal human breasts tended to, but her milk was actually kinda tasty. Like, I’d have a bowl of cereal with it if it was colder, but that’s a weird thought coming from a weird day. Twilight tried some too and thought that it tasted a bit funny, but I actually liked the flavour quite a bit. Uror was happy to let me go for as long as I wanted since I made it fun for her too, but Twilight got jealous and asked why I didn’t give her breasts the same amount of attention. I offered to do so, but Twilight didn’t make any wine flavoured milk for me, so it was a little less fun than sucking on Uror. It was still fun since I got to have a tit in my mouth and Twilight made nicer noises than the Matron, but maybe that was because I wasn’t alone in working on Twilight.

Uror was as tasty as she had been the last time I’d seen her and Twilight was as tasty as she always is, but when they changed me into a girl, I was a little miffed that I wasn’t going to be able to stick my favourite appendage into someone pretty. Uror told me that it would have to wait until I came to visit her alone and Twilight told me that the only way I was ever going to be allowed to visit the Matron alone is if I came on platonic business. I gave Twilight permission to do what she wanted with Uror as long as she promised not to be stolen away from me but Twilight still maintained that I wasn’t going to be allowed to give the Matron some D. I asked her why I couldn’t, though it wasn’t as if I was upset by the news. Twilight just said that the only woman I was allowed to have actual sex with would be her on our wedding day, but after that, I could dip my dick into Uror as many times as I could tolerate. I told Twilight that I’d give her the best sex of her life and she started muttering darkly about how ‘it better bucking be’ seeing as how I’d made her wait years for it.

Since we were basking in the afterglow, Uror asked about what exactly Twilight was talking about, so I told her that my trip to Earth had made two years pass on Equus. Uror made a weird noise and said that she hadn't even noticed that it’d been two years since we last visited, but that the sex was equally as good anyways. She usually didn’t bother with sex and probably hadn't since she’d met this one black Alicorn with a starry mane and I asked if that Alicorn's name had been Noir. Uror was shocked to find that I knew her, so I told her about Noir’s current situation and how she’d gotten into it. She was saddened to hear that one of her favourite lovers had been reduced to being trapped in my soul, but she didn’t know of a way to get her out, so that totally sucked. We were silent for awhile after that until Twilight and I did a few favours for the Matron to lift her spirits. After all, nothing beats good sex, even if one of the people working on you is average looking at best and the other is a different species entirely.

We spent a couple of hours with Twilight and the Matron laying on me, Uror and I laying on Twilight, and then Twilight and I laying on the Matron. It was just nice like that. I liked having Uror as our third in the little Menage a Trois since she wasn’t one to try and steal either myself or Twilight away, but knowing that she was older than Celestia and Luna combined was a little strange if I thought about it too much. I was basically nailing something that was older than intelligent life or, at least, she was older than most forms of intelligent life on Equestria as far as we knew. I don’t know if there were different races before Alicorns and Dragons, or what societies there were before them, but still. It was an odd thought all the same.

The Sun was starting to dip in the sky when Twilight suggested that we go home. I wasn’t against the idea, so I had her change me back into a guy and we got redressed before giving hugs and love to Uror. The Matron told us to return a bit sooner this time around and I told her that I was supposed to be meditating in the Everfree soon. She asked why the fuck I would do that in kinder terms, so I told her that I was trying to tap into new magic that I couldn’t figure out how to utilize and she told me that she would happily kiss me any time I wanted her to, though Twilight was a little jealous and told me that she would kiss me whenever I wanted too. I grinned and asked her to remember that the next time I had her absolutely knackered with my brilliance and she hit me for that. Uror told her to stop abusing me rather hypocritically and Twilight blushed up a storm, defending herself by saying that I would twist her words if she reprimanded me verbally. Uror gave her a hug and threatened to stick a finger in her butt if she kept abusing me and Twilight asked why everyone was threatening to finger her butt these days. She amended herself and asked why the people who had sex with her threatened to finger her butt and Uror and I told her that it was because we knew she didn’t like it.

Twilight sighed and said goodbye before teleporting us back home, so I starting putting together the stuff I was going to take into the Everfree with me until Twilight asked me what I was doing. She’d followed me around for a little while for the sake of coming along with me, and when I grabbed one of bits of meat from my shed, she asked why I had cheesecloth hanging around for no real reason. I opened it up and showed her the cured meat within and she asked why I’d salted it in the first place, so I explained the process of curing and why people did it to her, though she wanted to know why people didn’t just dry it out if they were going to try and save it. Curing is basically drying something without heat, so when I got into the nitty gritty bits about microbials, Twilight was actually pretty interested. I filled a few bottles full of water and she asked to try some of my cured meat since I’d gotted it prepared and she was actually a little fond of it, but I told her that she should be careful just in case she got addicted to the sheer salt content in the slices of meat I gave her.

I took Twilight out for an early dinner over at a Zhongguo restaurant that had come to town recently and I ordered a delicious vegetable lo mein that made my dick tingle in all the right ways. Twilight ordered some tofu bullshit that I wasn’t going to try, and when we finished up, we went to go visit Blue in her shop to find that it was already closed for the day. We switched to go and find her at her house, but she was having sex, so I wasn’t about to interrupt that. Fucking Christ, I wish my hearing wasn’t so sensitive sometimes. Have you ever heard your mother get railed like tomorrow isn’t coming? Because it’s scarring every time and I don’t even like to think about it. What kind of sick fuck would, after all?

That being said, Twilight and I went back to her house and started filling out our journals for the day and that was a relaxing activity as always. It was nice to have her with me when I was writing about shit, and I’m sure Twilight feels the same way, which is why we do it in the first place. I was tempted to put on a movie when I finished up with my stuff, but the better thing was obvious, so I started playing some dope video games and shit. Twilight was fucking staggered when I showed her Dark Souls 3 in person, and I did my best to show her that I wasn’t some bitch ass parry-junkie with a PvE boner. Nah, I was a roll-hard real man and I taught Twilight how to play over the course of a few hours. She keeps dying to hollows in the first level and it's been fucking hilarious since she’s starting to get frustrated. She keeps hitting me when I giggle at her rage, but until she hits me with the controller, I think we’ll be good.

Okay, she stopped playing, and I think it’s time to stop writing. I’ll pick up some time in the next few, so this is Max, signing off.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The rest of that night had been spent giving Twilight a tummy rub while fondling her ears and I always found that to be a worthwhile endeavor. Twilight’s such a treat when I can get her nice and relaxed, and when I finish with tummy rubs, she usually gives me a favour to thank me for being kind in turn. It’s rather give and take, but that’s how things are supposed to work. I give Twilight love and she takes my bullshit. Twilight gives me patience and I take her however I can without actually ravishing her. One of those is an actual example, but you know how I work, oh dearest journal. Man, I’ve put a lot of words in this son of a bitch over the last year and change, but that’s just how I like to compile my life I guess. Things just work out like that.

That being said, Crimson returned in the morning of the next day to tell me that he was in the process of quelling any potential misbehaved citizens in the bad quarters, so I offered to bake him some cookies. He gave me a look and the finger until I told him that I would actually make cookies if he wanted one since Pinkie had given me a good recipe for one that involved budder and walnuts. I had to make the budder, but Briar had expanded the fuck out of my greenhouse while I’d been away and Twilight had found a way to tell the different species and types from each other, so I made some sativa/indica hybrid budder and got to making the budder. It’s a process that I’ve show exactly three people how to do, so I’m not going to write it here since I’ll fucking show you if I really want you to know, but if you’re not one of the people who I’ve shown and you’re reading this, you fucking better be Celestia or Uror because otherwise I’m going to rape you with the Warbling Blade and Nacht simultaneously. Oh, and if you think you’ll die from that, you’re sadly fucking mistaken. I’ll pump your arse so full of Dark Magic that you will heal from it and go fucking insane, so you better find me before I find you and apologize your arse off. Hell, I might just give you a quick death instead of the slowish one I have planned.

Anyways, I got the cookies made and Crimson was rather fond of them until he landed himself on the couch and couldn’t move. I put on Brokeback Mountain for him since I figured I was allowed to be a prick like that and watched it with him. Crimson hated the movie, so I turned on Nightmare On Elm Street and he liked that one a lot more. Crimson seemed to have the same taste in movies as I did, so the Texas Chainsaw Massacre was next and I turned out to be wrong, but Twilight came over halfway through it, and I turned the day into a Marvel Movie Marathon. Twilight cuddled up next to me on the couch and said that these movies were generally pretty good, but Crimson was on the edge of his seat every time and I’m pretty sure Black Widow turned him straight because he said that he would give anything for a night with her. Then again, he said the same thing about the fellow who played Captain America, but you know. Bisexual and all that.

Nothing all that interesting happened until the end of the week and Twilight and I didn’t really commit much time to our journals. Well, she did, but I was mostly spending my time reading my Midnight Stroll books so I could see where I’d left off. I still had my little book of ideas for the series, so I enjoyed myself as I caught up to where I’d left off. Twilight told me that the last book I’d gotten published in the Midnight Stroll series was Midnight Stroll and The Bewildering Broach, so I found the first edition copy she’d placed in my study and gave it a quick readthrough since I’d caught myself up otherwise. The thing was, I’d felt that Twilight wanted to ask me a question for a few days now, and that question finally came to a head during the weekend where I was about to start writing the next book.

Basically, Twilight asked me why I was putting off going into the Everfree and I told her that I really just didn’t want to leave her, and that was honestly the main thing. There were a few other items on the side like not wanting to go insane, but they just couldn’t match up to my desire to stay next to Twilight. She thought that I was being incredibly sweet, but she essentially told me to buck up and get the whole damned thing over with so I could come back and we could get the ball rolling all over again instead of putting it off and having her fret over when I would leave. Thus, I started writing this entry. I’m not looking forward to my time away, but at least no one’s going to be fucking me up with emotional or physical abuse this time around.

Good God, I really don’t want to go… I know I have to, and the longer I wait, the more danger the world is in, but then again, fuck the world, am I right? No, I’m not, so I guess I’ll pick up when I get back from my trip into Hell. I can’t even take my fucking journal along since it might keep me sane, but fuck; is there ever a time to not have something like this around. I’m going to miss my friends and Twilight like no other, but hopefully life moves on without me. It will, undoubtedly, but it feeds my ego to think that things will fall apart. I could get into the effects my departure might have on Twilight, but words and such, you know.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Alright, first things first, I spent a little less than a month in the Everfree and that makes me happy. I also didn’t have to create another Path to figure out what I was doing, so that’s even nicer, but I don’t want to spoil anything because honestly? My journals kind of read like a story of some kind, though there are officially only three people I would allow to read them in the first place. Well, four if you include Noir, but you know her situation. Other than her, Twilight, Celestia, and Uror are the only people I’d allow to invade my mind like this and I’ve only allowed Uror into the equation because I think she’d be a good person to spill my secrets to because she’s so fucking old. Seriously, she’s like, nature itself or some shit, but then again, I don’t know if she can even read since she doesn’t like civilization. I’ll have to ask her next time I see her.

In any case, Twilight and Crimson bid me goodbye the morning I headed into the Everfree. I’d taken the day before to give everyone a hug or a handshake before leaving since I wanted everyone to know that I was going to be safe, though Blue and Trixie were still heavily against me leaving until I told them that Nashoba had carved me out some territory where I’d be left alone. I didn’t mention, however, that I was going to have to fight something that was kinda like me but actually evil when I got there, so they let me go without too much fuss. Spike told me to be careful, Mary told me to be safe, Strawberry told me that she hoped I ate something mildly poisonous and got the Hershey Squirts for days on end (I told her to fuck off), and Onyx wished me luck on dealing with Rockodiles, Manticores, and Orthus’ until I let him know that I’d killed all of them before.

With all the gushy shit out of the way the day before, I took my kit and Shadow Dived into the Old Castle’s kitchen since there wasn’t a safer place that I knew of. I rose from the Shadow Realm in utter darkness, but I just turned on my Night Vision and things were okay from there. I walked around and smelled the smelly smells, but there wasn’t anything that stood out, so I left the kitchen and started exploring the Old Castle all over again, looking for the undead thing that I was supposed to make more deader. I couldn’t sense any kind of presence ebsides some harmless Spirits that hadn't messed with me much before besides trying to creep me out, so I said hello to them and turned on the Spirit Sight that would allow me to see them. As I walked up Celestia’s old tower, there was a rather cute ghost lady following me, so I waved to her and she waved back. I gestured for her to walk next to me and she hesitantly came to my side, so I tried talking to her.

“Wotcher, love. How are things?”

She didn’t reply.

I shrugged and started walking again, but when she didn’t come with me, I gave her a look. “I didn’t want you to just stand next to me. Come on, yeah?”

She walked up to me again.

I went back to climbing steps and she floated next to me a few centimeters off of the floor. Steps. What the fuck ever. “You know, I’m sure it’s awfully boring around here. It’s not like anything ever comes to stir things up.”

She didn’t say anything.

“Why not leave the castle and find a nicer place to haunt? I mean, sure it’s a good final resting place, I suppose, with all the suits of armor you can move around to your heart’s content and the tapestries you can make flutter when there’s no breeze, but without anyone to spook, is there really much of a point to it?”

She glared at me and pointed down the stairs.

“If you’re not going to talk, I’m not going to listen to you.” I said haughtily, continuing my journey.

She continued floating next to me, glaring at me as I walked.

“You know, for someone dead as fuck, you’re awfully pretty. What say we get that dress off of you and give you a proper look, yeah?” I asked pointlessly.

Her chest rose suddenly and fell, giving me the impression that she’d just huffed. She stopped looking at me, but she stuck around, so I figured I could be a bit nicer. “What’s your name, love? If you can’t say it, you can spell it out in some dust for me, can’t you?”

She continued ignoring me.

“Fine. Be that way. Can you at least tell me why you want me to go downstairs?”

She turned back to me and pointed, so I rolled my eyes and stopped, sticking my tongue out at her. She rolled her eyes in return and gave me a womanly look, but when she started mouthing words, I couldn’t make out what she was saying.

And then there was a fucktonne of them

Just flooding up from the stairs, there were spirits of every shape and size, every age and make marching up the stairs and I suddenly felt like they were about to mob me or something. I looked back to the woman who’d been following me and she just smirked. Well, she smirked until I started pumping out Dark Magic like I could keep them at bay with it. She actually looked at me a bit worried now and held her hands up. I turned off the magic and looked at the horde of semi-translucent beings. They’d stopped a few meters away from me, so I figured I was okay to continue my journey, but the ghostly woman floated in front of me and held her arms out to either side, trying to block my path.

“Look, Celestia herself said I could come up here and use it as my base while I’m in the Everfree. It’s not like I’m trespassing according to her.”

She let her arms fall to her sides and held a hand out, palm forward. I think she was asking me to wait, so I crossed my arms and gave her a look.

“What do you want me to do, not sleep while I’m here? The bed in Luna’s room sucks arse-”

She covered her ears and looked down, so I covered mine and closed my eyes tight, waiting for the ghosts to do something. After a few moments of nothing happening, I looked up and saw that she was holding herself, fear on her face.

“...Was it the name? Are you afraid of her?” I asked softly.

She looked away.

“Wait, was it Luna-”

She covered her ears again and I felt goosebumps on my skin. It was Luna.

“Holy shit... “ I looked at the mass of spirits. They had the same general look of fear about them. I looked back to the woman and she was giving me a pleading look. “...She killed all of you, didn’t she?” I asked, softly.

She nodded slowly.

“It wasn’t her, love. She didn’t do it, please believe that.”

She frowned deeply.

I raised my hands in a placating gesture. “It’s not what it sounds like, love. Let me explain. Your Princess of the Night was taken over by Nightmare Moon. Nightmare Moon killed you, not Luna.”

The woman’s face contorted into the picture of fury itself and wind started whipping at my clothes, but I wasn’t afraid.

“It’s a truth that I wish you would have heard a thousand years ago. Please don’t blame the blue one, love. She was taken over by Nightmare Moon and was banished to the Moon for a thousand years. Don’t let your spirits be kept here for something you had no control over. Luna never meant to betray Celestia, she was eaten away by the same Dark Magic that I use. Nightmare Moon is the villain here, not Luna.”

The woman wept and I wanted nothing more than to reach out to her, but I knew that it would be pointless. I still tried since the gesture was a kind one, but she just wiped her eyes and made an about face, walking up the steps. I looked behind me to find that the ghosts were floating back down the spiral steps, so I followed the woman since I had nothing better to do. When I arrived at the top of the steps, I walked through the doors that lead to Celestia’s old room to find her sitting on the old vanity that still bore traces of the stain that had graced it so long ago. I walked up to her and she looked away from me, so I started setting my backpack and things down near the bed. I sat on it and looked at her for a few minutes, but it was clear that she wasn’t going to come over, so I went to her. I wasn’t sure in the vanity would hold my weight, so I tried focusing my Dark Magic into my fingertips and touched her.

She jolted and held her arm where I’d touched her, more surprised that I’d been able to lay a finger on her than that I’d used Dark Magic. I offered her my hand and she kept staring at me, stunned. It took her a minute or two, but she eventually placed her hand in mine and I started trickling bits of my power into her. She winced a bit, biting her lip, so I withdrew it. However, she grabbed my hand with both of hers and looked at me expectantly. I tilted my head and tried giving her a bit more, recognizing that I hadn't been hurting her. After a few minutes of feeding her my power, she let go of my hand and touched my face. It was a lot like being tickled by a feather, honestly, but there was definitely something there rather than it just being a breeze like I’d expected. I grabbed her hand and gave her a disarming smile. She returned it with a small one of her own and gently guided my hand toward her chest, placing it right over where her heart would have been. She nodded at me and I gave her a little more juice than I had been. I had no idea why the fuck I was doing what I’d been doing, but it seemed like good thing to be doing.

I took a quick break and the ghost just kept smiling mildly at me, lightly kicking me with her hooves, though it’s not like it came anywhere close to hurting. I focused and tried to listen to Noir, but all she said was that I was doing something I’d better be ready to accept the consequences of, which I assumed meant that I was doing something a little on the stupid side. She’d told me that Dark Magic had interesting interactions with ghosts and spirits, but as long as my intent wasn’t evil, they wouldn’t turn out to be evil, so I was interested in seeing where my experiment would take me. Noir warned me that while I could turn back at any time, it would be inconsiderate of me to do so, but I wasn’t planning on leading the lady in front of me on for any reason. Once I was done with my break, I asked Noir how I would know when I was done and she told me that I just would.

“Are you ready to pick up where we left off?” I asked.

She nodded and said, “Yes.” Her voice was like a breath on the wind.

I blinked a couple of times and placed my hand where it had been before. She took her hands and covered mine shortly after I touched her again. She gave me a little smile and closed her eyes, humming a soothing song while I tried giving her more power than I thought I really should do. She seemed to enjoy it well enough, so I maintained the course and felt something creep up from my navel and travel along my arm, like I was beginning to form a connection with her. The thing had a physical form in that it was grey and blue like my magic, and when it started seeping out of my fingers, it pervaded through the woman and we looked at each other wide eyed. Neither of us had expected it to happen, and when we felt it form itself into a spheroid, we were both surprised to find that she started gaining color. She’d been a pale white to me before, but now when I turned off my Spirit Sight, she started turning ash grey and her mane was a darker shade, close to wrought iron grey. Her eyes, however, were a brilliant royal blue that surprised me quite a bit, though I think it was my magic that made her eyes that color.

“Wow… I don’t know what I was expecting, but… Uh… Hi there.” I said elegantly.

She held her hands up and floated off of the vanity before turning around to look at herself in it. “This mirror is awful.” She muttered.

“Well, it’s a thousand years old, so…” I pursed my lips.

She whipped around. “You hear me?”

I nodded and she blinked a couple time. We looked at each other for a little while and I poked her. “So what’s your name, love?”

“I- I’m…” She furrowed her brows.

“Can’t recall?” I asked.

She shook her head, but didn’t say anything.

‘ “Well, for the time being, why don’t we call you Jovia? It’s only a letter off of Jovial, but I rather like it as a name.”

She looked at me and nodded silently, giving me a little smile.

“...So… Uh… You don’t seem to be much of a ghost anymore.”

Jovia brushed the back of her hand against my face and shook her head.

“Do you know what you are, or am I going to have to figure that out on my own?”

She mouthed some words, but nothing came out and I feared that she was becoming a ghost again, but when she tilted her head as though she were listening to something, I figured she had asked the spirits something.

“The Ether says…” She trailed off.

I waved a hand. “The Ether says…?”

“It speaks. I am not a ghost.” She beamed.

“We guessed that, Jovia.” I said patiently.

She shrugged and grabbed my left hand, tapping my ring. “Here.”

I lifted my hand. “What about my ring?”

“I can hide here.” She said.

“...Okay? Do you really want to?” I asked.

She tilted her head to and fro. “You have business.”

“Well, yeah. I came here to meditate for a few weeks. I’m sure you have something better to do than hide in my ring.”

Jovia shook her head. “We are bonded.”

“I figured as much.”

“You helped me.” She said simply.

“I guess I have, though I don’t know how.”

She shrugged. “This is better.”

“I’m sure it is. Tell me, were you grey before, or is that new?”

“I was grey.”

“That’s cool. And what color were your eyes?”

“Green.”

“So that changed. Huh. Well, if you want to hide in my ring for the time being, you’re welcome to, I guess. I’ve gotta go hunt so I don’t have to worry about food for a few weeks, so… Well, I don’t really know what to do now.”

She tilted her head and listened to the Ether again. “I am your familiar.”

I raised my brows. “I’ve got a cute girl as my familiar. Cool. What all can you do?”

Jovia pointed her finger at the mirror and it returned to its former glory, letting both of us get a good look at our reflections. “Restoration. Levitation. Things of such nature.”

I nodded my approval. “Can you use your Unicorn Magic at all?”

“That was it.”

“Ah. Hmm.”

She gave me a little smile and patted my shoulder. “I will sleep.”

“Can you?

“I can now.”

“Did you miss it?”

“Very much.”

“You don’t say much, do you?”

She puckered her lips. “Kiss my tail.”

I grabbed it and tugged until she went ethereal. “Huh. So you’re not tangible all the time.”

Jovia smiled and held my hand for a moment before my ring drew her in like we were in a fucking cartoon or something. Shit was weird. Since I had nothing else to do, I sliced off a bit of my cured meat and chewed it on my way down to the Courtyard. I figured I might as well take up my old spot and get some meditation done due to the earliness of the day, but when I got out there, I felt a presence start coming toward me from nearby and I sighed, drawing the Warbling Blade and facing its general direction. I didn’t want to fuck with whatever it was since it felt a little negative in nature, but I figured that the being was here to be a bother anyways. When it came into sight, I was certain that it was the Draugr I’d been warned of and it already annoyed me that it was on my turf, most likely chasing away my prey. I saw it long before it saw me, but when we made eye contact, or rather, eye to strange-glowing-orb contact, it made a hideous shouting noise and started shambling over to me rather quickly.

I wasn’t having any of its shit because I generally don’t put up with no shit in any case, but I especially wasn’t going to put up with this fucker messing with me while I was trying to get some peace and quiet. I wondered how I was going to handle this and figured I could do it hand-to-hand as long as it wasn’t decaying too badly, but then again, it was a Buffalo Draugr, so it’s not like it was rotting or anything at this point, or at least I couldn’t smell it rotting. I would’ve been able to pick out the scent of decay, but instead of rotting flesh, I could definitely taste Dark Magic on the air with its mesquite undertones. It wasn’t too bad, but the scent of my Dark Magic was stronger, though I didn’t slip into Primal Mode just yet. I approached the Draugr at a calm pace and for a few seconds, we just travelled toward each other, but when I stopped, I found that interesting enough to see if I could talk to it.

‘It can talk’ Noir said in my mind.

‘Cool.’ I replied simply.

I was reserving judgement until I could have a proper word with it, but when I got within talking distance of it, it raised its fists to the sky and let out a warcry to top the last before pounding its fists on its chest. I strapped on my gloves and waited for it to square up, and when it did, I recognized the style as the one the Buffalo from Noir’s fighting circle had used. It started wrapping some frayed, somewhat thin rope around its hands and once it finished, it pointed behind me, so I followed its finger and we walked into the middle of the Courtyard. We maintained a decent distance between us the entire time, and when it cried out again, I gave it a thumbs up and snapped my fingers hard, jolting myself into Primal Mode rather than easing myself in like I usually do.

The Draugr and I approached each other quickly, neither of us wanting to waste an opportunity to taste the might of another capable pugilist, but when we got within a meter of each other, but faltered and came to a stop within a foot or so of each other. I don’t fucking know the Imperial system, so I could be off, but that sounds about right. I looked at the Draugr with appraising eyes. I knew it wasn’t going to win, and I had the funniest feeling that it had figured out the same thing while charging. I backed off and it did the same, so I snapped softly in disappointment, sending myself into Person Mode.

“Fight…” It wheezed.

“We don’t have to, I guess.” I shrugged. “I’d like to give you a few good whacks, but if you’re not up for it…?” I spread my hands.

It grunted and touched its fists together with its elbows flared. “Lose. I will lose.” It bowed.

“You will if we do fight. Still, it would’ve been a good death.” I said softly. “Better than wandering about, looking for someone to put you down and killing whoever comes.”

“I seek a good fight.” It said coarsely. “This is not what I seek.”

“...Are you saying I’d win too quickly?”

It nodded and extended a hand, so I walked forward and put my hand on its ropes. “This is your land.”

“You’re right. I claim this territory as my own.”

“This humble one will protect it until he finds a worthy opponent.” He swore.

“I already have someone doing that. What do you offer that the Wolfmother doesn’t?” I asked.

“Protection from dusk to dawn.” He wheezed. “The Wolfmother is not here like this humble one is.”

“...True enough. The thing is, you’re leaning toward evil, mate. It’s kind of my duty to obliterate you.”

“This humble one offers you no evil. He is no Wendigo.”

“I’m not one-hundred percent sure on what that is, but it doesn’t sound good. Can you take on the creatures of the Everfree?” I asked.

“This humble one fears no Manticore, no Cockatrice, or any Goblin.” He said hoarsely. Drawing another breath, it said, “Goblin and Kobold alike wish to reside here. Neither will find a home.”

I tilted my head from side to side. “Well… It would suck pretty fiercely if either of those little groups of arseholes found purchase in a place that’s actually defendable. Tell you what: When the Wolfmother comes back around, tell her that I allowed you to live. Until then, I can’t really talk to you. I’m supposed to be meditating, so I can’t really say that we’ll be talking much in the future, but if you bear my mark, she won’t kill you on sight.”

The Buffalo gave me no look to go by. Instead, it turned its shoulder to me, so I stuck a Seal on it after loading it with a complicated number that would make the Buffalo freeze if it tried to kill something I generally wouldn’t condone it killing unless it was an agreed duel. I let him know what it was before I placed it on him and he agreed to the terms since it was reasonable enough and thus the thing fucked off, limiting its presence so it wouldn’t bother me. I took the time to wonder why a fucking Buffalo would be a Draugr in Pony lands, but it was a question beyond my pay grade. However, I called Nashoba over shortly after and told her what had transpired and she told me that she had avoided killing it because it wasn’t willing to fight her either. I guess we were both just overpowered as fuck and not terribly fun to fight.

With half of my daylight burned up, I decided to forgo hunting and just meditate for the first day, switching my focus from inside to outside, which was an interesting transition that’s hard to describe. Well, it’s actually not all that hard since I’m still about to do it, but whatever I guess. Focusing on the outer instead of the inner was like just… Closing your eyes and seeing through your other senses. Every shift in the breeze painted a picture with your ears, fuzzy images giving your eyes something to do while you were watching through the blackness. After a few hours of listening, I had a pretty decent picture of the world around me as the wind blew and lulled. I could tell you where each tree was and were each boulder that broke the wind lay, but that was a little disconcerting. I could taste the usual things on the breeze, but then again, I could also smell the things I tasted and the smells were a lot stronger than the tastes. I actually paid attention to what I was smelling and came to the conclusion that I wouldn’t be hunting tonight since there were Goblins chasing small game and precious little else. There weren’t any large creatures worth going after nearby, so when the day cooled off and came into the night, I sat and waited for nothing to happen.

A lot of nothing did happen, but with my mind clear and my focus on building a better picture of what was around me with my senses. I sat throughout the night without moving a muscle and heard the Buffalo tear some Goblins apart when they invaded my territory, and from their screams, I could tell that they died terribly. I could actually feel what was happening and gather a decent picture based on the vibe I got from it, but my senses hadn't stretched far enough for me to ‘see’ what was going on. Still, night gave way to dawn and dawn gave way to day and I was still internalizing a lot of the Everfree’s magic. It stirred within me and it was starting to get harder to sit without thinking. I decided to take a break since I smelled something potentially tasty on the breeze, but it wasn’t the poultry of Cockatrice or the familiar reeking musk of the Deer-like creatures. No, it had a reptilian scent that I’d smelled before and it didn’t seem like a terribly large creature, so it seemed like it would be a good piece of prey since I hadn't eaten it before. I hopped off of my rock and limbered up over the course of a few minutes since I was stiffer than a teenage boy’s dick after walking into a wet T-Shirt contest.

I got up and walked toward the scent, following just outside of my territory to the last marker I’d set. When I got there, I saw that it was an Alligator of sorts, but that it had rather long legs and seemed to canter about like it was a lizard, and that shit was a little freaky. I didn’t want to bother with it, but the thing sighted me and hissed, scurrying over faster than I would’ve liked, so I pierce its skull with Psychokinesis and it fell like a sack of brick on sticks. The creature was a little too large to carry myself, but a little Telekinesis meant that I could float it back to base without much trouble. I’ll save you the details of cleaning and cooking it since that shit was a little tedious due to my lack of knowledge on the subject, but I will tell you that the Gator thing was abso-fucking-lutely delicious. Like, I ate until my stomach was full and had to start drying the meat so I would have some for later, that shit was so good. I didn’t let a single fucking scrap of that shit go to waste and even saved the joints and put them in a small pot that hadn't corroded so I could make soup with the joints. I mean fucking honestly, I even broke the no talking rule and got the Buffalo to show me how to use the skin so I wouldn’t let a single piece of the thing go to waste and made a new sheath for the Warbling Blade since the old one was a little shit anyway. That took a little doing, but still, I used every bit of that Alligator-thing as a way to appreciate it for being one of the tastiest whatchamacallits I’d ever had in my life.

After eating my fill, I was good to meditate for a few more days without a break and so I did. I continued on as I’d started and that was most certainly a nice way of doing things, but I didn’t feel like I was making any progress. It took me a week to realize that I was probably just doing the wrong kind of meditation. I wasn’t asking myself questions like I had been when I’d learned how to use my Telekinesis, so I started asking myself questions about things that bothered me and my first question was ‘How far am I willing to go for Twilight?’. That question was actually incredibly easy to answer when I thought about it. Was I willing to kill for Twilight? Yes. Was I willing to die for Twilight? Yes. Was I willing to sacrifice my pride for her? Yes. Was I willing to bend my knee at any reasonable request? Yes. The most important in those series of questions was whether or not I was willing to live for Twilight, but the answer to that had already proven to be yes multiple times. When it comes to my precious love, I was willing to do anything but leave her, but in coming across that realization, I realized that I’d be fucked if I ever started becoming too dependant on her. I was already kind of fucked since I’d put off going to the Everfree so long just so I could stay by her side, even though I knew the stakes in doing so. I’d still come in the end, but that was just the beginning of my worries.

I continued along that train of thought and came to the conclusion that I was stuck when it came to Twilight. I loved her too much to ever part with her, and if I was ever forced to, then there might come a time where I might face the world to reunite with her. It killed me to think that I might be doing the same kind of crippling to her, but when I started asking myself questions about love and what it truly was, I understood it as a fact of intelligent life, a force of nature all its own that was as powerful as hatred or anger or any other emotion, if not more so because it could easily birth either. Love is the best of the best and the worst of the worst simultaneously, and there’s nothing anyone can do with that. I love Twilight and she makes me stronger (literally), but she’s also my greatest weakness. She is my rock, my foundation and the source of my goodness, but when someone fucks with her, good God would I ever smite the fuck out of the person foolish enough to come after her. Love is good and evil, but that’s just how it do.

When I exhausted that topic, I moved on to my relationship with Celestia, and fuck was that shit ever complicated. On one hand, her arse was fantastic, but on the other hand, her tits were big enough to bury your face in. That nonsense aside: bitch is kinda evil, but on the same thread, I’m kinda evil. We had similar evils, but different darknesses that just didn’t match up too well and I wondered what would have to happen for us to actually come together again. Yes, I found Celestia fun and freaky like no other, but how would she take playing second fiddle to Twilight for millennia? It wouldn’t surprise me if she went Nightmare Moon on us and tried to claim me for herself, but if she hadn't done so yet, I doubted that she would. I had faith that Luna, Cadance, and Twilight herself would try and help if Celestia lost her mind, but Celestia is the most powerful of the four Princesses and that’s just a fact. If Celestia wants me more than anyone else other than maybe Noir or the Matron does, then she fucking has me, and since I started thinking about it, I realized that it’s taken a lot of resolve on her part to not just wipe my mind and claim me as her own. Luckily I’d brought my Dragon Fire with me by accident, so I was able to send her a note on some old parchment that thanked her for having restraint in the face of Max-shaped adversity.

I thought about a lot of things while I was in the Everfree honestly. I thought about what life meant now that I was immortal, what I would do if Twilight ever got tired of me, how I needed to handle all of my friends dying, what to do when the war comes, how to handle the members of Adstus when I get them together and what to do if they ever got out of hand, and a menagerie of smaller things that I don’t feel like writing down. The biggest thing was the final thing I thought about, however, and that was my place in the universe. A lot of people think about the futility of their actions, and I know Kansas has a song called Dust In The Wind that sums it up pretty well. It’s not a happy song, but I wasn’t thinking about how my actions affected the universe as a whole… No, I was thinking about how the atoms worked with each other.

Now, if you’re a Pony or a being of Equus, you don’t understand atoms and you’re really not going to get much of an explanation of what they do from me beyond the fact that they make up everything. Atoms are the building blocks of the universe, and there are more atoms in one body than there are stars in the galaxy, so if you can wrap your head around the fact that your body is made up of millions upon millions of cells, then you might possibly understand that there are around seven billion billion billion (no that’s not meaningless repetition) atoms in the average Human body. Ponies are an awful lot more dense than Humans are, so that number is probably double that since I would reason that Ponies are about twice as heavy as an average Human. Math aside, let me get into the good shit, yeah?

Now, I was in my third week of meditation on the first day of that week when I started getting rather philosophical. What is my place in this world? I know that I’m a prince, but what do I do? How do I interact with the other grains of dust that surround me? Why do we bunch up together and create little bunnies under the sofa that is the world, but while I was thinking about that, I started considering myself to be an atom in the ‘body’ of the universe. For some odd reason, I started thinking about the way atoms interacted with each other and remembered that they didn’t always do so in a way that made sense to scientists. I mean, Quantum Theory is fun because it plays on that which we can’t really confirm without advancing science a little further, but that only played at my mind for a few moments while I thought about atoms again. Atoms have electrons, protons, and a nucleus that binds them together, but if I remember correctly, an atom’s electrons could be a considerable distance away from the nucleus, like, to scale, it could be up to ten miles away, and if I considered the electron something like the hands of an atom, then that would mean that I, the nucleus, could reach distances that would seem unreachable by Human standards, or at least, to Human arms. I opened my eyes from my meditation and tilted my head, imagining my arm reaching across the Courtyard to grab a stone, but arms don’t work like that… Atoms do, however, and what am I but an atom in the body? My hand started to darken and I tried again, but I imagined that I was reaching through a portal of sorts, that the empty space was a wrinkle that would allow me to skip the line. I know it doesn’t really make sense, but to me, in the moment, it made complete sense, and when I imagined the electron, or rather, my hand passing through negative space, my hand disappeared as I pushed it through the ether and into the other side of reality. What I really needed to do was look at my life as though I was an atom all along and things just started making sense to me. I wasn’t just bending space, I was bending reality itself to my will, so when I picked up the stone I’d had my eyes on, I drew my hand back and saw that I’d done it. My arm had the white swirly pattern on the black background that I’d seen when God had originally let me use my power.

I wasn’t sure if I quite understood what I’d done, so I closed my eyes again and tried to imagine what time and space would look like, bit all I could see were the hazy outlines that made up my mental images, and that’s when I realized that I was looking at time and space all wrong: the two exist in a different dimensional definition that I could already see, and that all I had to do was reach through, though I could only do so with my left hand when I tried to slide through them myself. I could dip my right hand through space, but I could only make it go so far before time pushed me back out, and honestly? Time felt a bit slimy. Space felt like I was reaching through Bengay with how creamy it felt, and the hot and cold sensations were odd to say the least. I don’t know where my limbs disappeared to when they weren’t in this dimension, or when they were hidden by the fourth and fifth dimensions, I should say, but I do know that it was fucking weird and a little unsettling at first.

My arm was still black while I was experimenting with time, space, and those betwixt, so I figured that I’d found the source of my power in deep intellectual thought. I didn’t waste time with trying to turn it off and on and wandered out of the Courtyard and over to a tree that had never done anything to me. I wondered what would happen if I tried to scoop a bit of wood out of it with my power active and found that I could ball it up with my left hand, with with some help from my right, I managed to compress it into the size of a ball bearing. I took another handful of the tree and added it to the little ball, compressing the material back down into the same size. I’d squeezed all of the water out of it when I did it the second time, and when I did it the third time, I noticed that it was getting a little on the heavy side, so I continued until I could only lift it by using the True Theft’s passive ability. I was certain that I was about to do something fucking retarded with my tiny tree ball, and when I looked up to the Sun, a smile grew on my face and I reached a hand up to block it from blinding me. Suddenly, my hand slipped through the space and a shadow fell over me, but as I look, I could see that my hand and a bit of my arm hand gone far above me to block out a bit of the Sun. The shadow it cast was considerable, so I frowned and thought about my hand becoming larger and it fucking did. Somehow, some way, dream rules applied to my left hand and that thought brought a smile to my face.

With my hand back by my side, I prepared to something incredibly stupid, but before I could reach out and do what I planned on doing, the swirling pattern on my arm had came and focused on the back of my hand, glowing brightly in the shape of my Seal. I assumed that it was for a good reason and so I reached into the heavens (not to be confused with Heaven) and took a handful of the Sun’s flames. The day flashed brighter as I brought my hand back, and when I did, I realized that the swirls on my arm had formed my Seal to contain the fucking absolute blaze that was my piece of the Sun. I’d only skimmed the flares on the surface, but I was pretty sure that being careless with it would destroy the Everfree in a beautiful flash, but here I was, a common thief from Wiltshire, former lowest man on the totem pole, scum of the Earth, holding a piece of the fucking Sun. Fuck Yeah!

I couldn’t control the smile on my face or the pride welling up in my heart, but I knew that I probably shouldn’t hold something so dangerous for longer than necessary, so I reached through space again until I was sure that I was high enough in the atmosphere to let it go, and Dear Lord was it ever a spectacle. Colors of every shade and hue spread out in ribbons and rivers, fractals and various geometric patterns, all at the same time in every direction. It must have spread for miles because it was easily visible from the ground, and it was just… Beautiful. It was a beautiful event that signalled the beginning of Equestrian hope in winning The War, but it wasn’t what I needed. I wasn’t quite done.

I looked back at the tree and picked up my tree ball, absentmindedly lighting it with the Sunfire in the sky and tossing it up and down in my left hand. The flame didn’t burn me and it was a wonder to look at, so I kept it around until I had to put it down and test something for a moment. I wandered around the Courtyard for a few minutes until I found myself in front of another tree, but I had a different goal in mind this time. This time, I reached into the tree and felt around for something, a warmth or whatever and I found it after a minute or two of searching. I grasped that warmth and tugged, but that shit wasn’t coming easily, so I decided that I wanted the warmth a lot more than the tree did and ripped it from its trunk, hearing the leaves rustle as the tree shook violently, vibrating like there was an unseen earthquake. It scared me a little bit, but when I looked at what I held in my hand, I knew why the tree had been so loathe to surrender it to me.

I held its soul.

The trees soul was green and brown. It was fucking tree shaped, though it was more like it was a sapling, and when I stoked it with my right hand a face of no sex in particular formed on it and looked at me fearfully. My heart broke into pieces and my soul ached, tears falling in rivulets down my face as I begged the tree for forgiveness. I looked back to its shell and saw that it was grey and lifeless, but I knew somehow that it was still technically alive, though it wouldn’t be that way for long. Without waiting for an invite, I thrust the tree’s soul back into it and waited for it to take before letting go. I knelt before the innocent being and continued to beg for its forgiveness for doing something so unforgivable to it. There was nothing other than sorrow and shame in my heart. I’d committed evils before, but rending the soul from a living being… That was the ultimate evil and I still believe that it is. Kill something, rape it, torture it, do whatever soul-blackening thing you may that sends you to Hell, but never rip a soul from a living being.

An idea popped into my head. A whisper came into my ear. We agreed to try.

I abandoned everything in the Everfree and Shadow Dived in the shade of the tree I’d wronged so terribly, and when I surface, I ran around the Throne to face Celestia. “Um, excuse me?” Some bitchy faggot from behind me said.

I turned around and glared at the bitchy faggot so furiously, I was pretty sure he pissed himself. I turned back to Celestia and said, “Hun, I need the Alicorn Amulet!”

Celestia looked at me like I was crazy and rude. “Maximus, as happy as I would normally be to see you-”

I raised my left arm and pointed at it. “It fucking works! I did it, okay?”

Celestia looked at my arm. “Wait, are you saying-”

“Yes! I need the amulet!” I said rapidly. “It’s for a very good cause, believe me!”

“Maximus, I am in the middle of something.” Celestia said firmly.

I hit my chest with both hands. “So am I! Seriously Celestia, right now, if you let me have the amulet, I’ll knock sixty-three years off of our separation, it’s worth that much to me!” I pleaded. She blinked at me a few times and I added, “It’s not terribly time sensitive, but it needs to be done, Celestia! Stop dawdling! Please!”

She shook her head and addressed the fellow behind me. “Gold Watch, you will be granted another audience tomorrow or you may come to Night Court and your grievance will be heard then. Prince Maximus obviously requires my attention at the moment.”

Gold Watch let out a pitiful squeak and I met Celestia at the bottom of her steps. “Guards, please have a custodian come in and clean up the mess,” I started tugging on her hand, “and close Day Court until I return.” She sighed.

“Come on, Hun! We’re burning daylight!” I said hurriedly, trying my best to pull Celestia to where we needed to go, though I had no idea where that was.

She huffed. “Maximus, if you don’t start acting like your station demands, I assure you that Luna and I would be willing to train you again.”

“Like I give a fuck about that, woman! Come on!” I tried.

Celestia caught me by my collar and glared at me. “What has gotten into you?” She hissed. “You’ve never been this excitable-”

“I’ve never had a reason like this, Celestia! Come on! My promise is still good, I swear, just get a move on!”

She grabbed my hand and we started walking slowly out of the Court Hall, but I was absolutely shaking like a leaf at the prospect of having my plans fulfilled. If this worked… If this went through as it needed to… Dear God, there would be no stopping me, no stopping Equestria after I got my wish.

While we were walking, Celestia tried to talk to me. “Max, are you serious about us being together as soon a decade? I need to know that you’re not playing with me-”

“Celestia, I swear on Twilight that I’m not playing with you right now! Regardless of whether or not this works, I-need-to-try-and-I-did-some-thinking-while-I-was-in-the-Everfree-and-I-think-you’ve-already-shown-a-lot-of-restraint-and-growth-as-a-person-which-is-nice-and-all-but-can-we-hurry-please-I-just-want-to-see-if-this-works-and-if-it-does-this-is-going-to-be-great-”

She stopped and held me by my shoulders, which made me want to do nothing more than shake her and scream. “Max. Slow down.”

I grit my teeth and made some noises. “WOMAN! WE MOVE!”

Celestia crossed her arms and I threw myself onto the floor and did some Squidward style crunches, making more noises until Celestia picked me up and started shaking me. “What is wrong with you!? Max, are you in your right mind right now?”

I grabbed her arms and started shaking her. “Woman can we keep walking!? Oh my God, I’m going to fucking blow my brains out with a gun from my planet if we don't. Get. A fucking. Move on!”

She pressed her fingers to her temple and I decided that I’d had enough and walked behind her, grabbed her tail, and started dragging her down the hall. “Maximus, if you don’t let go of my tail, I swear I will send you to jail!”

I didn’t let go and kept dragging her. “We can walk and fucking talk, Celestia! Stop stopping and show me the amulet so we can have a real discussion, okay!?”

Celestia turned around and grabbed my wrist, so I let her go and tried dragging her along by her hand and she just gave me a vexed huff before teleporting us to her room. She told me to stay still and I vibrated in place for a little while she walked over to her mirror. She rapped a peculiar pattern onto the glass and walked through it, and after a few minutes of some incredibly bouncy pacing on my part, she finally came back with the Alicorn Amulet in hand. At least, I thought it was the Alicorn Amulet. I didn’t know what the shit looked like, so I assumed that she brought me the right thing, but when she walked over to me she, held it like she wasn’t sure she should give it to me.

“Maximus, the power of the amulet is corrupting-” She warned.

“I don’t give a flying fuck about what it does, I need it for what it is!” I reached out to grab it and Celestia held it away from me. I made a frustrated noise and she glared at me.

“What is it to you, Max?” She asked firmly.

“Noir’s body! That’s what the fuck it is!” I cried.

Celestia’s eyes widened and she looked at it for a moment before I snatched it away with Psychokinesis. Once I held it with my right hand, I thrust my left hand into it and immediately felt a breast, and I knew without a doubt that I would pull Noir out by the fucking tits if I had to. She’d been crying in my mind while Celestia dilly-dallied, so when I found an arm, I pulled like my fucking life depended on it. The Solar Diarch watched in awe as the Alicorn Amulet folded in on itself and formed Noir herself, finally in the flesh after thousands of fucking years. I had no time to waste, so I thrust my left arm into my stomach and searched for the dark spot that was Noir’s soul, but I felt a hand on mine instead. I seized it by the wrist and started pulling, but when the pain began, neither of us were surprised. Noir and I were literally bonded by the soul, and now I was basically rending my Dark Magic from my soul, and that was going to be a painful process.

And how painful it was. Have you ever… No, there’s no way to describe it. Being killed by Applejack had hurt less. Elfriede carving ‘Kingslayer’ into my arm had hurt less. The Rat Bastard’s injection had hurt less. Going to Hell and the suffering I inflicted upon Alexander Graham were as close as I knew that could possibly describe the level of pain I was experiencing, but my love for Noir conquered my fear, my pain, and I hoped that doing this would allow me to have her in my life, well and truly, as more than just someone I had to visit in my mind. I wanted to be able to see Noir, to hug her in person and thank her for all she’d done for me, so I kept going through my tears. I bit through my cheek and tongue while sundering her from my being, and I fought every step of the way to get her out. There was nothing I could do other than fight and riot to get my mentor onto the physical plane like she deserved to be, and when I felt the final pull give way, I threw up on her lifeless body, but I now had a tiny, smoky version of Noir in my hand. I’d fallen on top of her in my struggle and now that I wasn’t literally ripping a piece of my soul out, I could feel Celestia’s arms around me and hear her voice calling for me to stop doing whatever the fuck that I was doing. Sadly for her, I still had one last thing to do, and with my vision fading, I didn’t have long to do it, so with my waning strength, I thrust my hand into Noir’s chest and waited for it to take. What felt like hours passed until I heard it.

Noir gasped. Her heart beat.

I removed my hand and fell over, finally allowing myself to rest. I felt two sets of hands on me, but only one voice mattered to me at the moment. “Maximus… Thank you-” Noir said.

And with that, I was taken into the abyss, which was an adventure in and of itself. Here seems like a good place to stop. I’m going to go grab some tea and I’ll make myself a hot toddy before I get to that bit.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

I fucking love hot toddies. Anyway, so where were we? Just brought Noir back into the world of the living, slipped off into the abyss. Bitchin’. So I let my my eyes stay closed for a few moments, pretty much just enjoying the silence and the feeling of not being in immense pain for what felt like eternity, but then someone coughed and I felt the need to open my eyes and deal with them because of my intrinsic English Politeness™. I couldn’t hear any heartbeats, so I assume I was dead again, but when I opened my eyes, I wasn’t in the beige room where God and I usually met. I was, however, in a grey room with a brown lounger nearby that looked very inviting. I sat up and had a look around for a moment, surveying the room and taking in my surroundings to get my bearing. I appeared to be in a study of sorts, though it seemed to be a little bit of an office too. I stood up and looked around for the source of the cough and my eyes met those of a smallish fellow who seemed to be of… Well, my best guess is North African or Middle Eastern descent, but then again, I’m not exactly a genealogist or anything. The fellow gestured to a chair in front of his desk that looked pretty comfortable and I glanced back at the lounger, but he coughed again and looked at me expectantly.

“You wouldn’t make me talk to you from across the room, would you? That would make our business very difficult.” He said politely.

“Of course not, but I do request that I be allowed to sit in it before we’re done.” I walked over and had a seat in the comfy little chair. “Being on Equestria, no race is fond of leather and I find myself missing it most days.”

The fellow waved his hand. “I don’t quite understand what that means since I don’t look at all the planets, but I do understand a love for leather. That’s why I got it in the first place.”

“Good taste. I’m Maximus, by the way. I’m sure you know my real name, but I prefer Maximus.”

He smiled. “I do know you by Kaid, but I have been informed of your preferences. Most people call me Jesus, but I prefer Yesu myself.”

I raised my brows. “Yesu as in ‘Yesu Christos’?”

“The one and only.” His smile faltered a bit. “You’re not one of my worshippers, are you?”

“Nah, mate, I was never terribly Christian when I lived on Earth. I was Agnostic for the majority of my life, but then I met the Big Guy. Kinda makes you certain.” I chuckled.

He chuckled along with me. “It does tend to, though at least you weren’t an Atheist. I never have been terribly fond of them.”

“They’re alright.” I defended. “Sure, some of them are as pushy as religious fellows with their beliefs, but then again, I was of the opinion that people sucked anyway. I’m sure we have actual business to discuss, however.”

He nodded. “We do indeed. Well, first things first: you’re not dead.”

I beamed. “Fucking great!” I clapped my hands. “So where are we?”

“Some call it Purgatory, some call it limbo. Whatever you call it, you’re not dead, so keep that smile.” He mimicked my own grin.

I nodded. “I will. So what are we talking about here?”

Yesu patted the stack of papers in front of him. “Well, I’m sure you remember taking that lovely murderess from your soul, yes?”

“I do.”

He nodded curtly. “Well, when you removed Noir from your being, you also removed her magic. We’re here to talk about your new set of powers.”

I tilted my head. “New powers?”

“Yup. A new set of them, rather.”

I scratched my head. “Damn. I was just getting used to the old ones too. I’m taking it that I’m only losing the ones related to Dark Magic, right?”

“Your guess is correct my good sir. Your Telekinesis, guided and unguided, perception boost, upgraded constitution, healing factor, and True Theft are all untouched since Noir had no effect on them whatsoever. Well, besides unlocking your True Magic a little earlier than we’d thought, but you know how these things go.” I don’t but I’ll pretend that I do.

“Alrighty then. So what’s on the table? I’m guessing Capital G isn’t just going to let me get my Dark Magic.”

Yesu wagged his finger at me approvingly. “Correct again! No darkness for you, my friend.”

“Damn. Well ain’t that a kick in the teeth.” I muttered.

He shook his head. “In fairness, you could always go without new ones.”

I tilted my head toward him. “I see your point. What all can I have?”

Yesu coughed. “Well, I’ve taken the liberty of sorting them out by the useful functions that you used to have with you Dark Magic since I thought you might like to choose from there. The main categories are: Teleportation, Non-lethal Takedowns, Combat Effectiveness, and… Prankery.” He made a face at the last one.

I thought about that. “So what can I get under the Teleportation category?”

He smiled. “Well, do you consider nearly instantaneous movement teleportation?”

“Close enough, I guess.” I shrugged.

“Then you can pick the Storm Set, the Fire Set, the Light Set, or the Shadow Set.” The Earth shall end by storm and by fire… Let’s not pick those.

“What’s in the Shadow Set?” I asked.

Yesu shook his head. “I can’t tell you too much about them myself, but you’ll know how to use them once you have them.”

“As much or more than I knew how to use Dark Magic? Because honestly, at least I had a teacher for that, mate.” I sighed.

He reached over the table and offered me his hand, so I held it and it was as gay as I thought it would be. “You will know how to use the powers innately once you discover them, but how you use them and what you use are completely up to you.”

“... Can I bounce some ideas off of you for a mo’?” I asked.

“Sure, I suppose. What’s in that mind of yours?”

“Well, say I choose the Storm Set. Would I be able to conjure storms and travel by lightning, stuff like that?”

“I would say so, yes.” He bobbed his head from side to side.

“And say I pick the Fire Set. Do you know how I would teleport like that?”

“No clue, my friend.”

I sighed again. “Lovely. Hmm… So what all can I choose from?”

He shuffled his papers around. “Well, you can choose basically any neutrally aligned set of powers that you like, Maximus. Fire, Lightning, Superhuman, Mental, Water, Earth,” He paused and looked at one for a moment, “whoever picks air is stupid.”

“I like air.”

He raised a brow at me. “Really?”

“Hell no.” I scoffed. “What am I gonna do, blow someone to death?”

Yesu chuckled. “You never know. I’ve heard of someone using nature powers to pelt someone with lemons until they die.”

“Doesn’t that usually just happen with fanfiction?”

He stared at me blankly and I waved it aside. I took some time to actually think about what I really wanted, but nothing struck me as particularly good since I’d liked the powers I’d had. I mean, shit, Dark Magic was hella useful in that it allowed me do all the things that Yesu had categorized, so my next question was what powers had all of those characteristics. He said that the Storm Set, Light Set, Shadow Set, Plasma Set, Nature Set, Cosmic Set, and Pink Menace Set would fulfill my desires, but at the last one, I had to ask if these powers had side effects. He snapped and sighed before telling me that most people just jumped and asked for whatever silly power they could get away with and I gave him a look before conjuring my Seal. I was a little surprised that I had the ability to do it, but I suspended my mild disbelief and showed it to him. Yesu sat back and touched his face.

“Would you look at that…” He said softly. “Another Chosen.”

I lifted my brows at him and pursed my lips. “Yup. It hasn’t been fun so far, but I imagine that it sucks worse when you get into it.”

Yesu laughed. “Maximus, being a Chosen is probably one of the worst things that can happen to you. You realize that I was nailed to a cross and left to die over the course of multiple days, right?”

I held up fingers. “Beaten to death, poisoned to death, had my heart ripped out, and ripped half of my soul out. Mate, fuck with me, I think I’ve got you just about matched.”

He winced. “You’ve died multiple times?”

I spread my hands. “Went to Hell for a thousand or so years too. Luckily I’m not allowed to remember that, but still.”

Yesu looked uncomfortable. “Why don’t we go back to talking about powers?”

Conversation deleted from here. I came up with something I wanted more than anything else, something more useful than anyone else could have come up with. I wanted to get the full version, but Yesu said that I couldn’t have it, so I took a weaker version that would work against any and all sources, even myself if I wasn’t careful, and with that, Yesu gave me a hug and a warning about letting the whole ‘Chosen’ thing go to my head like some people had over the course of history. I told the ‘Son of God’ to stow it and he shut up since he’d let it go to his head, although he meekly argued that everyone was God’s child in the grand scheme of things. I flipped him off for being vague and he waved me away, but before I left I totally sat in his lounger and the shit was so comfortable. Like, it was definitely worth it. When I closed my eyes, I felt my body shirt until I was laying down with my head propped up by a pillow.

I opened my eyes to find that I was in a somewhat familiar place that I hadn't been in since my first trip to Canterlot. I was in the infirmary and the place had a few heartbeats that I just didn’t recognize. Yesu had told me that I would be a few hours removed from the happening of what went on in Equestria, but I figured that it would be fine. I sat up and winced, the area behind my navel aching like I’d just ripped out a chunk of my intestines. Shit fucking hurt. I was fine after a few minutes of meditation, however, and once I was good to go, I tried Shadow Diving to Celestia since I figured Noir would be nearby, but then I remembered that I ain’t got those powers no more. With that in mind, I sighed and examined my left arm to find that it had gone back to normal. I thought about my True Theft kicking in again and it blackened within a few seconds, the swirly pattern from earlier latticing about like usual. I wondered if my power worked in different, stupid ways, so I thought about Celestia and reached through space, aiming for her shoulder. I found it and grabbed it, pulling her to my location and that shit fucking worked!

I know had a very confused Celestia standing in front of me, and when she just blinked at me a few times, I waved. “Hullo, Hun.”

Celestia looked at my hand. “...Did you- Did you just teleport me?”

“No, I stole you. You’re mine now. That’s how True Theft works, dummy head.” I said cheekily.

She blinked at me. “Max, why didn’t you just teleport to me like you did earlier?”

“I can’t do that anymore. When I took Noir out, my Dark Magic went right along with her.” I explained.

“...That’s what she said, but I hoped she was wrong. Max, Noir’s magic was one of the things keeping you alive-”

I held up a black finger. “Until I became an Alicorn or whatever abomination I am. If it becomes a problem, I can steal some life and put it inside of me now.”

Celestia looked me in the eye before gently grabbing my chin and tilting my head upward. “Max, your eye is blue now.”

“The left one or the right one?” I really hope it’s not the left one.

“The right one.” She said softly.

“Ah, so grey gives way to blue! Fucking sweet!” I said happily.

“...Are you okay, honey?” She asked, concerned.

“I’ll be better when I see Noir. Is she okay? Is she taking her newly found freedom well?”

Celestia laid a hand on my shoulder and gave me a smile. “Perhaps it would be best if I showed you.” Her horn lit up, and in a flash we were standing in the Royal Family Room. I didn’t fucking name it, so if you think it sounds stupid, blame Celestia and Luna.

Noir was sitting at the table with Luna sipping tea and idly chatting about something or other until Celestia and I arrived, and when we did, Noir rose from her seat quickly enough that she was able to catch me as I was still in mid flight. She spun me around since Noir’s still stronger than fucking anyone else I’ve ever met and when we’d lost most of our momentum, we stood still for a minute or two and enjoyed the moment. Noir was finally whole again after thousands of years, and I’d been the one to bring her back into existence, just like I’d hoped. She made me let go of her long enough to bend down and give me a lovely kiss that spoke volumes of her gratitude for my actions, but the kiss wasn’t really needed, in fairness. Knowing that she would be around and would be able to give advice whenever I needed her to was invaluable to me, and just having her outside of my mind was a treat all its own, though I was sure that I would miss the days when we would spend hours upon hours just cuddling within the span of just a few minutes.

Noir broke our kiss and looked me in the eyes. “Do not fear, my pupil. We are still linked by our souls. I will continue to be within your mind, but now we can see each other within and without the mindscape.”

I stood on my tiptoes and hugged her. “I’m so glad to hear that. I was afraid to pull you out since I didn’t know we would lose our connection-”

“Worry not, Max.” She said soothingly, pressing my head into her shoulder. “Thank you. I should have said that first, but thank you.”

“With the same power, you would’ve done the same for me. Good God, is it ever fucking wonderful to know that I have you here with me.” I said, my voice getting a little thick.

“And with you I shall remain.” Noir replied softly.

“Does this mean I can try stealing your heart literally now?” I asked, trying to lighten things up a bit.

Noir just hugged me tighter and chuckled. We stood for a few more moments and I looked to Luna. “She’s here. She’s really here.”

Luna smiled calmly. “You’ve done the impossible yet again.” Her smile faltered a bit. “However, Noir and I were just were just talking about all the hours we wasted training you with Dark Magic.”

I turned on my True Theft and tried scooping some Dark Magic out of Noir, and it totally worked since I wasn’t trying to forcibly rip it out of her. I internalized the magic by trading it into my right hand and thrusting it into my chest, and when I did that, I conjured up a small ball of Dark Fire.

“Well, I can still use it. I just have to steal it from someone else first.” I made an approving noise and gave Noir her magic back.

The three elder being in the room stared at me, but Celestia spoke up first. “...So… Did you master True Theft?”

I thought about it for a moment. “I wouldn’t say that I have. I’m good with it to a point, but I have no idea how to grasp time or space yet since I only just learned how to move through them. I’d say that I’ll pick it up as we go along.”

Celestia sighed, though her tone was unreadable. “Do we stand a chance of defeating Discord yet?”

I nodded. “Depending on what I can take from him, we stand one Hell of a chance, Hun. Shit’s finally looking up for us after all.”

Luna huffed. “I knew you would pull through for us, even if you did waste time by going into the Everfree.”

“Shut up before I throw Sunfire at you.” I threatened playfully.

Luna gave me an odd look. “Sunfire?”

Celestia gasped. “The prismatic spectacle above the Everfree… That was you, wasn’t it?”

I nodded again. “It sure was. I skimmed some fire from the Sun and let it off high in the atmosphere far beyond where anything could hope to live. It really was a lovely show, wasn’t it?”

“Maximus, that little ‘show’ was one of the most terrifying things I have ever witnessed.” Celestia said, holding a hand to her chest. “I thought there was a magical meteor or something of the sort coming!”

I shrugged. “I guess we know that I can clear a battlefield by myself, now don’t we?”

Luna stared at me. “Would anyone object if I killed him now? I think our Human has gotten quite strong enough to warrant being put down.”

Noir stood in front of me. “For what reason would you do so? Max no longer has Dark Magic, so it will no longer eat away at him or cause him to become a Revenant, so there is little need for such drastic action anymore.”

“Wait, you mean I don’t get that incredible power boost anymore? Fucking really?” I sighed. “Oh well. At least I won’t turn evil, I guess.”

Noir turned around, Luna leaned around her, and Celestia came to stand near Noir. All three of them were giving me very womanly looks that made me feel rather sheepish about saying anything in the first place. I took the time to turn my True Theft back on and reach through space to grab the jerky that I’d left in the Everfree, and after taking a bite of the delicious Alligator-thing meat, I stopped giving a fuck about how they were looking at me and offered them each a piece of my prey. Luna and Noir each had some while Celestia waited until they were chewing away to accept the piece I offered her. She tore a small chunk off and handed me the rest, so I went back to snacking and we started talking from there.

My mentor had been slowly regaining her magic, Unicorn, True, and Dark, so as soon as she was able to, she altered her appearance into a slightly different being since she and Nightmare Moon had been fucking twins after all. I wondered why it was necessary if no one knew who Nightmare Moon was, but apparently it was pertinent enough for her to do so, and so it was done. Noir was going to keep her name, but she had to change her eyes to look more like a normal Pony’s, though they remained teal, and her mane still did the flowing thing that Celestia and Luna’s did, but now it was a few shades darker than Luna’s. She also lightened her coat so that she was more like a rich, lovely midnight blue that I wasn’t exactly against. Noir kept her incredible height, and now that she was here in life, she was actually a good deal taller than Celestia, now that I got a look at them in comparison. I asked them to stand side by side and found that while I looked at Celestia throat when she stood upright, I was just looking into nothing but the jiggly bits when I looked straight on with Noir. Luna was actually about my height, now that I think about it. Anyway, now that Noir’s horn was whole, it was long and sharp looking, so that scared me a little bit, but then I remembered to ask her to join my crew as a member of Adstus.

Noir said that she would stay on as an advisor or an Instructor, but that she was going to be filling the role of a General for Equestria since she was now back in the flesh. She was a woman hand-crafted for war, and nothing would ever take that out of her. Noir had done her fair share of stealth ops and the like, but Adstus just wasn’t where her heart lay, and I understood that, though it made me rather unhappy. At least, it made me unhappy until Noir swore that she would join my side with Nashoba when we went to war, and I asked if she was planning on staying in Canterlot from here on out. She said that she’d been planning to come to Canterlot in time, but that she wanted to meet Twilight in person and that she’d also wanted to meet my favourite pupper face to face instead of having to hear about her through my interactions with her. I was thrilled at the chance to have the three people I trusted most in the world in the same room in person. It was something I’d wanted for a long time and I was glad to finally get it.

Celestia asked if she could speak with me in private for a moment, but Noir said that she would know what was said and Luna stated that she would grill her for information later, so Celestia and I just had our conversation in front of them. My former lover asked me if I was serious about ending our separation sixty years early and I explained to her that I was considering doing so before I gave Noir her body back since I’d done some meditating on her and our relationship while I was gone. I’d actually spent the better part of six hours weighing in on whether or not to strike so much time, but when I explained that Celestia really had shown an incredible amount of restraint in not just taking me for her own, Noir agreed with me and expounded upon her own feelings on the matter.

My mentor said that she trusted Celestia to do the right thing when it came to me, but that we needed to be as honest with each other as Twilight and I were. I agreed hands down since Twilight and I were better off for it, but Celestia winced and asked that she be allowed to keep her secrets on the rare occasion that she not be comfortable with sharing them. Luna backed her, stating that some secrets and truths didn’t need to be shared, but Noir and I formed a more cohesive unit than even two eternal sisters could. Noir backed me up by stating that being frank and earnest with someone was the best way to rebuild the trust that I was still a little skeptical of giving Celestia once more and that having the ability to ask Sunbutt a question and know that it would be answered truthfully would go a long way in bridging the gap that still lie between us. She went on to say that Twilight and I worked together so well because, despite my secretive nature and deceptive tendencies, Twilight knew for a fact that I would never lie to her and could trust me based on the knowledge I’d already given her in the form of my journals. Basically, I allowed Twilight to see into my soul and if she didn’t like what she saw there, I accepted her opinion and worked on what I could if I felt it was an issue or a flaw in my character that didn’t lend itself to me being a charming prick.

Luna argued that Noir was only so open with her information because she’d never had to share anything for herself and I caught Luna then and there, telling her that Noir had spilled her soul to me in turn. She was surprised by this news and my little Blackberry blushed, stating that she thought it was only fair since we conversed regularly and she knew every little detail about my being. The Lunar Diarch complained about Noir never doing the same for her, but she conceded to my point when I said that she and Noir had never been terribly friendly since Noir had been shunted off to the side when she and her sister had taken residence within Luna. Celestia brought the topic back to her and my relationship and basically said that she just wasn’t used to sharing her darkest darkness with anyone up until I pointed out that she allowed Luna to bear the burden of her evils, but Celestia shot back that she’d known Luna for the vast majority of her long life and, well, they were sisters that ruled a country in tandem.

I took a moment to gather my thoughts while Noir kept working the same angle, going back and forth with Luna and Celestia, but when I was ready to speak, she suddenly fell silent and directed the sisters attention toward me. I had an important question for Celestia, and I needed an honest answer from her, so I waited until I was sure that I had the floor, so to speak.

With my eyes meeting Celestia’s once more, I asked, “Celestia, do you trust me?” She went to answer, seeming a little hurt, so I added, “I’m not asking if you think you trust me, I’m asking 'do you really trust me?'. You’re willing to give me a title in your nation, one of the highest in the land, but we both know that I’m going to have to fight tooth and nail to garner the same respect that Twilight and Cadance get for just being Princesses because of your frankly sexist way of running things and poor choices in previous Princes. You’re willing to trust me to not destroy the image of Equestria, to have me weigh in on a war that will tear the world apart, to hold your surrogate daughter near to me, and most of all, you’re willing to trust me with your own heart, with your love and if I’m not mistaken, your respect. You obviously trust me with a lot, Celestia, so why aren’t you willing to trust that I see you for who you are? We’ve had this conversation before, but I think now, when both of us have our most trusted companions nearby, is a good time to ask why you’re scared to trust me with your darkness.”

Celestia listened carefully and held a hand to her face, staring off into space for a moment. Luna came over and put a hand on her shoulder, which Celestia covered with one of her own, and when she’d had a few minutes to gather her thoughts, she spoke. “Maximus. Kaid. I know for a fact that I can trust you, and as you said, I obviously do, otherwise I wouldn’t have given you a title and the land that I have, but do you understand what it’s like to have lost multiple lovers to the same darkness you’re asking me to share? I... “ She rubbed her face. “You scare me, Max. You saw me for what I was from the moment you met me, and when I showed you that I was exactly who you thought I was, you distanced yourself from me. Do you know what that said to me? That told me that you couldn’t accept me for who I am, and that if we were ever to be together, that I needed to change drastically. No more mind wiping to save myself from humiliation, no more memory alteration to make things go more smoothly, no more orchestrating sweet moments that would bond you closer to me, no more romantic gestures to buy your affection, but the last one just didn’t work anyways, no matter how grand the offering. You’re different, Maximus. I can’t fool you, I can’t sway you, and I can’t buy you. I have no choice to be anything other than myself with you, but the side of me that I don’t let anypony see, the side that makes you not want to be with me, is the hardest thing to change. What would you do in my situation, Max? What would you do if you became me?”

I turned and gave Noir a droll look and she was busy inspecting the ceiling for faults in the architecture. “Due to some bullshit on Noir’s behalf, I literally did become you, Celestia, but that’s not the important bit. Do you remember when I told you that my darkness was more like Luna’s?” She nodded slowly. “Well, my darkness has evolved and my way of seeing things has changed, Hun. I have a better understanding of why you are the way you are, what you accomplish by being what you are, and I get that you’re… You. I accept you for what you are, Celestia, and I’ve been saying this from the beginning. I think you’re missing what I’ve really been asking of you, and the main thing is that I want to know if you’d be willing to betray me.”

Celestia furrowed her brow. “I don’t understand. I have betrayed you.”

I nodded. “And I’m asking if you’ve learned your lesson. Would you be willing to swear to never betray me again? I don’t mean a magical oath; I mean you put your word on the line, my respect for you and who you are.”

She tilted her head. “I understand what’s at stake, Maximus-”

“Do you really?” Luna and Noir asked at the same time.

Noir gave way to Luna. “Sister, Maximus is asking that you risk tearing apart the Equestrian Royal Family for the sake of love. If you truly do love him, then you’ll be swearing that you won’t mess with anyone’s mind for the sake of having him, that you’ll allow things to happen between yourselves naturally. I believe Max is asking if you trust yourself enough to love him.”

Noir weighed in. “It is a question that doesn’t need an answer right now, Celestia. If you say that you will never betray Maximus and you do so without a good reason, there is no going back, and I will kill you.”

I hit her. “Oi! She won’t die for good anyway.”

Noir raised a brow. “There are ways to make immortals stay dead.”

I rolled my eyes. “Way to bring some death into an already tense moment. Really; good job.”

Noir placed her hands on my shoulders and worked the muscles. “My love for you runs deep, Maximus. I would be willing to swat Twilight out of this life if she ever hurt you like Celestia has, even if you try to end my life for it.”

I put my hands on hers. “Thanks Blackberry, but can you not fuck with my fiance? I’m pretty sure you’d get me before I could get you, but I wouldn’t really want to be heartbroken in two ways anyway.”

Celestia coughed. “Max, if you’re quite finished.”

I blushed. “Sorry.”

She nodded. “Maximus, I promised myself that I would never hurt you as I have ever again, and I trust myself enough to be around you without claiming you for my own. I understand what you're asking of me, and I can say in sound mind and body that I will never willingly or willfully betray you in a manner beyond pulling harmless pranks. I’ve learned my lesson.”

I gave her a smile. Her words were as true as they were ever going to get. “You’re still going to answer all of my questions, are you?”

Luna made an irritated noise and Celestia gave me a shy smile, something I wasn’t expecting to see from her. “Perhaps you could try one now? I… I’ll answer it to the best of my abilities.”

I looked at Noir and she nodded, so I looked to Luna and she shrugged. “Alright. There aren’t really going to be many secrets between the people in this room, so let’s start off with your first time. What was that like?”

Celestia tilted her head. “My first time as in sex, killing, addresses, torture…?”

“Let’s start with sex.” I said , scratching my head.

“It was only memorable because the fellow I slept with wasn’t long enough to pierce my hymen.” Celestia said dryly.

I tried to suppress my smile, but Noir and Luna were openly chuckling. “Alright, so it was a little disappointing.”

Celestia rolled her eyes. “Rather. The only thing that makes me happy about it is that the next fellow was far more satisfying, though I only remember that it was better. Are we moving onto my first kill?”

I nodded. “We can.”

She sighed. “My first kill was a stallion named Alum. Luna and I were orphans under his care and he was not a kind man. Luckily, I wasn’t his type, but he made advances toward another young girl that he’d adopted, so I ended up killing him when I heard him begin to come after her, as it were. I’m sure I don’t need to tell you what he was doing, but I got him before he could do it, thankfully.”

“Huh. Rapist dies to young, murdery teen. Who woulda thunk it.” I said, mildly surprised. “So what was your first Royal Address like?”

“Terrifying.” She and Luna chorused. Celestia sighed and said, “When we took over Discord’s castle, things were in such disarray, and we weren’t even planning on becoming royalty, to be honest with you. We were just the only Alicorns left and thus the only two powerful enough to face them, or rather, we could wield the Elements of Harmony and stood a decent chance at taking him down. After we took Discord out, those that had been under his rule were lost for a leader and Luna and I were the only real options that anyone had. We were thrust into the position, so our first Royal Address consisted of a lot of stuttering and a few misspoken words.” She chuckled at the memory.

Noir huffed. “It sounds better than mine. My first Address was a war cry over the screams of the dying.”

Everyone stared at her. “You’re a morbid bitch, you know that, Noir?” I told her.

“You have said so multiple times.” She sighed. “Perhaps I’ll try to lighten up now that I will be among the living.”

I reached up and poked one of her breasts a few times through the thick, ancient looking dress she was wearing. “You should try that.” She grabbed my hand. “Why are old clothes so damn thick? Seriously, we’re getting you some comfortable clothes when we go to Ponyville.”

“We can work on that tomorrow. I will require your funds to buy myself many sports bras.” Noir sighed happily and I heard her shifting something. “You have no idea how uncomfortable a four thousand year old brazier is.”

Celestia and Luna winced. “I remember that they used to be just plain awful.” Celestia said. “I’m so glad fashion evolved.”

I raised a hand. “Same here. I like the new stuff.”

Luna gave me a look. “What is a ‘sports bra’?”

Noir clopped a hoof on the ground. “Oh, it is easily one of my favourite inventions from Max’s world! They are elastic braziers that hold breasts and don’t allow them to… ‘flop about’.” Noir cuffed my head.

“Oi! It just sounds funny, so stop hitting me for my thoughts! I didn’t even say anything!” I protested.

The other ancient bitches in the room laughed at my pain. “Perhaps you should control your thoughts?” Luna suggested with a grin. Perhaps I should fist your arse?

Noir hit me again. “No one is fisting anyone.”

“Fucking hit me again and I’ll throw you across the room!” I threatened, looking up at her.

I saw her draw her hand back, so I turned on my True Theft, reached through space, and grabbed her tail, giving her pause. I pulled her through Dimension B into Dimension A and had her sitting in my lap a moment later. I wrapped my arms around her and peeked around her since I couldn’t see over her shoulder.

“I swear, if someone doesn't train this fucking Amazon, I’m going to have to spank her.” I said irritably.

Noir swiveled in my lap, but I couldn’t see past her fucking tits anyway. She leaned back a little bit and I leaned the other way so I could see Celestia and Luna. “It may take me some time to readjust, but at least I learned to use the common methods of speech while I was within Luna.”

“You still don’t use contractions.” I pointed out.

“Those who use them are linguistically lazy.” Luna huffed.

Celestia gave her a look. “You use them.”

Luna shrugged. “I never said I wasn’t lazy.”

The four of us carried on doing nonsensical things for awhile until Celestia had to go lower the Sun, and Luna followed soon after to raise the Moon. They told us that we could go back to Ponyville since they were sure that I wanted Noir to meet Twilight in person. I thanked them for that and we left shortly after, but Noir just Shadow Dived us into the Treebrary since we were going to be seeing Twilight tonight anyway. I dragged Noir outside so we could properly knock since I wasn’t alone and I didn’t want to just teleport into someone’s house uninvited. Noir stood around adjusting her bra until I asked if she would rather go home and take it off, but she maintained that having it off would be a lot worse since the dress was itchy. We bickered back and forth about which was worse: being itchy or being pinched. While I was making a point that itchy nipples weren’t really all that bad, Spike answered the door and I stopped myself a bit short.

“Wotcher, little brother. How’s the night going?” I asked.

He held up a hand and made a so-so gesture. “Could be better, could be worse.” He looked at Noir and opened his mouth to say something, but the blush that was quickly forming on his face and the sheer shock on his face was pretty amusing.

I waved a hand in front of his face. “I see you’ve noticed my friend here. This is Noir, and no, you can’t touch them.”

Spike blinked a couple times. “Can I have a cookie?”

Noir titled her head. “I do not have any cookies, young Spike. I must say, it is nice to finally meet you. Max has told me much about you.” So that’s how we’re handling this.

“Uh…” Spike continued to stare.

I snapped in his face a couple times. “Oi, stop ogling my mentor and let us in already.”

Spike stood there until I blew in his face. He shut his eyes and rubbed them. “I’m sorry, I zoned out. What?”

“Mate.” I groaned. “Is Twilight home? I’d like to see her.”

“Yeah, she just went to bed, but I’m sure that she’ll be happy to see you and your… Friend.” He said awkwardly, looking up to Noir.

I waited for him to step aside, and after a few seconds, he finally let us in. I asked Noir to have a seat on the couch and had Spike keep her company for a moment. I heard him awkwardly ask if she liked cookies and tried not to die of laughter on my way upstairs. When I got to Twilight;s door, I knocked a few times and waited for an answer, but I didn’t get one, so I let myself in silently and smelled that she was doing something awfully nice. I entered and blocked as much light from entering the room as I could, sauntering over to Twilight’s bed, though if she was paying attention I would’ve been caught outright. I knelt next to her bed while she was on the side with her lamp, looking at pictures and touching herself while looking through the scrapbook of nudes and boudoir photos I’d made for her before I’d left for Earth. I was rather touched that she actually used the thing, so when I carefully climbed onto the bed without disturbing anything too quickly and snuggled up next to her, I was even happier to find that she’d been looking at the two pages that I myself was most fond of.

“I really liked those myself.” I whispered in her ear.

Twilight jolted hard and froze, slowly turning her head to face me. I gave her a smile and she lifted a hand from the covers, but before she could wipe it off, I grabbed it and licked her juices off of them. “I brought a friend, but she can wait. Let’s take care of this real quick, okay?” I said seductively.

Twilight stared at me for a few moments, blinking like she was trying to draw out the process for as long as possible before nodding slowly. I let myself under the covers, had myself some Twi-wine, and cleaned up the mess I’d made. My tongue had seen more work in the past day than it had in the past two weeks, but it was well worth it to be back home, and when I came out of the covers to kiss Twilight, she returned it happily. I didn’t waste too much time, however, since Noir had telepathically told me that Spike was starting to make her a little uncomfortable with his obvious staring at her lovely lady lumps. I sighed to myself and Twilight asked what was wrong and I told her that Spike was being a horny little teenager, which made her ask how I knew. I just smiled and had her get ready for some company before headed downstairs alone.

I rounded the corner and entered the library proper. “Oi! Spike, quit gawking at my mentor before I dropkick you.” I said irritably.

He jerked his eyes away from her breasts and they locked on me, his whole face turning cherry red. “I-I wasn’t gawking, I swear!”

I gave him a look and he looked down. Noir coughed. “So where is Twilight?”

“She’s coming. I’m about to call Nashoba, so sit tight a mo’. I said, already heading toward the door.

“I wait with baited breath!” Noir chuckled.

I called for Nashoba and about two minutes later, I heard her rushing through town, slowing down to meet me in front of Twilight’s stoop. “Hello, Max. I assume you’re done with your time in the Everfree.” She said matter-of-factly.

“Sure am, pupper. Come on it, there’s someone I want you to meet.” I grinned.

“Is it the ghost in that thing on your hand?” Nashoba asked tersely.

I looked at it. “...Uh… Wow, I kinda forgot about Jovia. Yeah, no, I have someone else I want you to meet, but I guess I could introduce you guys in a bit too.”

“I have no desire to talk to a shade that isn’t a Wolfmother.” She said bluntly.

I pursed my lips. “Okay then. Well, how about you come in and see someone alive?”

She trotted up the steps and opened the door, not bothering to wait for me, so I followed her and saw Twilight coming down the stairs, so I gestured for her to hurry up. When she was down, we walked into the living room together and found that Nashoba and Noir were sitting together on the couch. Nashoba had laid her head on Noir’s lap and my mentor was stroking her ears with a small smile on her face while Spike was eyeing them carefully.

“I see you two are already on good terms.” I beamed.

Noir and Nashoba looked at me. “We sensed kindred spirits within each other. Nashoba is a lovely Wolf, Max. Her ferocity is best experienced in person, however.”

“This woman has yet to tell me her name, but I like her. The Wolfmothers gather in respect.” Nashoba licked her chops.

“Really? Well, you did say she was a companion to… Shira, I think.” I hinted.

Twilight grabbed my hand. “Max, aren’t you going to introduce us properly?”

I grinned and Nashoba snorted, but let me speak. “Twilight, Spike, Nashoba. This is Noir, my friend, mentor, and tormentor.”

Twilight’s head turned and she looked at me. “Max,” She whispered, “I don’t mean to discredit you-”

“This is Noir. Shira has confirmed it.” Nashoba interrupted. “It is nice to meet another companion of the Wolfmothers.”

Noir kept rubbing her ears. “It’s nice to meet another Wolfmother. You know, Shira was a bit more respectful than you.”

“She was also more warlike, so bite your tail.” Nashoba huffed.

Twilight gaped. “B-But… Wasn’t- Noir, I mean, it’s good to see you, but weren’t you… You know… Basically just a soul?” She finished weakly.

Noir nodded. “I was, but I am sure that you remember that my body was crafted into the Alicorn Amulet, do you not?”

Twilight held a hand to her face. “But…”

I gave her a goofy smile and kissed her cheek. “I learned how to use my True Magic and it was the first thing I thought of when I found out that I could move souls. I stole Noir’s body from the amulet and ripped her out of me so she could walk among us once more. We’ve got another Alicorn in town, Cherry!”

Twilight remained silent for a bit, so Noir spoke. “It is an honor to meet you in person, Twilight Sparkle. If I’m not mistaken, we haven’t spoken since before you became a Princess and I would like to congratulate you, but first and foremost, I would like to tell you that I am no threat to your relationship with Max. We had our fun, we decided that it would be the first and last, so do not fret.”

My fiance blushed brightly. “W-Well, it’s just that… You know… You just, well, you’ve been inside of Max and you know him better than anypony else in the room…”

Nashoba lifted her head and hopped onto the floor, leaving Noir’s company. Noir put her hands in her lap and said, “I assure you that Max and I had no choice in the matter, though I will say that I would not trade my time with him for anything in this world. You are lucky, Twilight Sparkle, to call him your own. And you, Nashoba, will not be replaced by me in his heart. I am his mentor, but I can never be his companion in the way that you are.”

I cleared my throat. “Noir is right. Each of you has a place in my heart that none of you will ever be able to trespass into. Nashoba, you’re my closest companion and that’s all there is to it.” I looked at Twilight. “Cherry, you already know that you’re the only one for me.”

Twilight blushed and looked down. Nashoba looked at Noir. “Max and I hunt together. Do not tread on my territory.”

Noir raised a brow. “I would hope to hunt with you, just the two of us sometime.”

My pupper blinked a couple of time and Twilight held my arm. “...You do realize that hunting involves eating prey as well, yes?” Nashoba asked.

Noir gave her a look. “I eat meat, you pup. Think, will you?”

Twilight shook gently, so I whispered, “She’s not going to eat you.”

Nashoba seemed disturbed. “...I was not aware that Ponies even could eat meat.”

“I assure you that we can and I am rather fond of it. Speaking of which.” Noir looked at me. “May I try your Alligator meat, my pupil? I am hungry.”

I shrugged and activated my True Theft, stealing it from the Everfree. I tossed the piece over to her and she caught it with magic before taking it in her hand and giving it a shot. She made a ‘Not bad.’ kinda face. “It’s rather good.”

“I’m particularly fond of it. I think it’s actually my favourite kind I’ve had so far.” I said happily.

Twilight made a noise. “Am I really the only herbivore in this room?”

I looked around. “Yup.”

Spike raised a hand. “I’m so lost right now.”

“Noir was Nightmare Moon’s good sister who was trapped inside of her after a deal with a devil, but when Nightmare Moon lost her body, they ended up finding refuge in Luna. Nightmare Moon drove Luna crazy with envy, you know that bit of the story so I’m skipping it, but when Luna came back, Nightmare Moon and Noir were still in her body, though Nightmare was weakened. Noir and Nightmare chilled out in Luna for a few years until I came around, and when Applejack killed me,” His jaw dropped, “Luna brought me back to life with really dark magic, and when she did so, Noir ended up slipping into me, and she’s been inside of me up until today. I didn’t learn that she was inside of me until the day before I confessed my undying devotion to Twilight, so she’s been in me for awhile now and when I meditate, I’m usually going to see her for a spell. We used to do stuff within my mind like wrestle, shoot bows, play games from my world, go rafting, and more recently, Noir taught me how to use the Dark Magic that she was giving me. Now that she’s not inside of me, I don’t have that magic anymore, but I’m just glad I can share my mentor with the world now.” I rattled off rapidly.

“...What.” Spike said numbly.

Twilight let go of me and pressed her fingers against her temples. “I knew all of that, but you just said it so fast!”

“It was a rundown! What was I supposed to do, say it slowly?” I asked.

“Yes.” Everyone else chorused.

“Fuck you guys.” I muttered, flushing.

Spike raised his hand. “So… Is Noir older than Luna?”

Noir cleared her throat. “I precede Celestia and Luna by at least two thousand years. I was actually a Queen.”

I nodded. “Yeah, she’s cool as shit, dude. If you can stop staring at inappropriate places when you’re talking to her, you could stand to learn a good deal of pre-Equestrian history from her.”

Spike lit up and Twilight gasped. “Spike! I thought Max was kidding! Don't tell me you were ogling her!”

Spike raised his hand. “I-I wasn’t-”

“Bullshit.” I coughed.

He glared at me, his face still red. Noir cleared her throat. “I take no offense, Twilight. It is nice to know that young men think I am attractive.”

Spike choked and I chuckled. Nashoba put in her two cents. “Pups should not be lusting after matriarchs.”

Spike sputtered like someone had just slapped his shit and I started laughing. I may have been experiencing a bit of schadenfreude, but his embarrassment was some tasty shit, in my defense.

The night ran long and we ended up taking the party over to my house, though Spike decided to stay his happy arse at home when we mentioned coming to my place so Noir would have a proper place to sleep. He actually threw something at me when I suggested that he and Noir share a bed, but the look Noir threw me had a much bigger effect and that made me stop laughing. She threatened to make me do more training if I kept up my nonsense and I told her that I would stop for the night, but she couldn't do anything to Nashoba who was all too happy to pick up where I left off. When Twilight expressed some discomfort about Nashoba jesting, I asked her to stop and that was the end of it until we went to my house. I ended up grabbing my shit from the Everfree with my True Magic and getting that stuff sorted, but when I went to start making dinner, Noir asked me if I had taken a bath in the last three weeks and I took the blatant suggestion because I really don’t like stinking.

I left the three most important women in my life to talk among themselves for about forty-five minutes while I went and got myself sorted, and when I came back, they were talking about me, so I held on and listened for a little bit. Noir told me that they were just mentioning some amusing things I do, but as I was listening, I heard Twilight mention that I talk in my sleep and asked what she should to help me. Talking in my sleep was news to me, and when she said that I often said things about murder (committing it and being murdered), Noir told her that she’d been trying to keep the worst of my nightmares under control, but that they were practically ingrained into my subconscious by now. She said that the issue was going to be taken care of, but that tonight was going to be a bit rough for me unless Luna fulfilled her promise and I sighed. I wasn’t trying to hear that shit, so I came downstairs with a smile on my face and asked my ladies how things were going.

Then Jovia popped out.

She floated around me in circles for a little bit before settling next to Noir since they were dressed in similar styles and Noir asked her how she was. Jovia was feeling pretty jovial since she’d basically just been sleeping on and off while I was in the Everfree, but when Nashoba growled at her, that general air of happiness wavered until she remembered that she didn’t have to be tangible. Jovia stuck her tongue out at Nashoba when she growled at her and I told them both to play nice before using my magic to grab a bottle of whiskey and a couple of tumblers for myself and Noir. Twilight was about to ask for some wine, but I was in the process of getting it for her when she asked, so she got her own wine glass and we started drinking from there. I let Nashoba have some of my cheaper whiskey since I had more of it, but I reminded myself that I was going to have to restock since I was actually running low on alcoholic beverages. I made a plan with Twilight to do that tomorrow and she said that she wanted me to get some wine along with the liquor, so I told her that I would.

I shared a few bowls with Twilight and Noir, but my mentor and I were pretty lit after two since Noir had never actually smoked before and my tolerance had fallen through the floor again. Nashoba got a nice little contact buzz and we found out that ghosts can’t get high, but Jovia did, however, keep the conversation going and I learned a good deal about her, like that she still didn’t like Luna much and that she was one of Celestia preferred maids when she’d been alive. She didn’t remember much, but she didn’t let it get her down, instead focusing on the fact that she had a fun master to follow now.

I asked why she referred to me as her master and Noir explained that it was the nature of the bond I shared with her now. Jovia is mine. She just is. I refuse to treat her as anything other than a person, however, and said as much to her, which was met with approval across the board. Noir took the time to explain that I’d made Jovia into a Poltergeist, though the way the magic was applied had made her into a benevolent one that probably wasn’t going to be much good in a fight. I shrugged and accepted it for what it was since I didn’t really want to have an angry slave tied to my soul, but then Jovia levitated me and gave me a hug, thanking me for giving her the ability to sleep and touch things again. I hugged her back a bit awkwardly since I hadn't been expecting it, and Twilight pulled us apart when Jovia didn’t let go. An evil part of me suggested that she hug Twilight since she was softer and my fiance was happy enough to be hugged by a nice being with good intentions.

Jovia eventually got tired of being around and requested that I call on her whenever I felt the need to before diving back into my ring for another round of continuous napping. Nashoba was happy to have her gone and left shortly after we ate dinner, stating that she had some business to attend to. Noir said that she was unsure of what room to take, so I suggested that she not take Crimson’s and she hit me for that, but it was worth it. Twilight suggested that she take the room next to mine since it was actually the second largest (she measured) and Noir was perfectly fine with that, so I designated it as her room forever and always, but she just scoffed and said that she would rather have a room at my new place when it came.

I didn’t stop asking what the fuck she’d meant until she threatened to pummel me.

Twilight and I stayed in the living room for a little while to experiment with my True Theft, but when I told her that I could snatch fire from the Sun, she asked me to get her a stone from the moon and I did, though we had to go outside and look at it for me to do so. I brought her back a little one and she held it like it was a large precious gem, babbling about how cold seemed to radiate from it like it was some strange kind of mineral called Dwarf Ore. I said that it might be and she said that it was a prized mineral, and that if I could really just pluck it from the ether, that we could have been wealthy enough to keep our families fed until Equestria fell due to a meteor strike or something. That could’ve happened at that exact moment, so I told her to stop mentioning bad things and she shut up long enough to get us our journals.

Of course, I wrote up until literally this point. Shit was cash, but reading over this, my life is fucking weird. No doubts. I’m so happy at the moment. So, so very glad I was able to free Noir from her prison, and there really are no words to describe what that means to me that she’s here. The only thing I think can possibly compare would be the day I get married to Twilight, learning that I don’t have to be a Prince anymore and that The War isn’t happening, or that I could see Twilight in Human form. Wait… I just asked Twilight if she knew a spell that would allow her to do that and she said that she would look into it with Trixie sometime, so I might have something to look forward to. That being said, I kinda look forward to seeing what the world has in store for me as far as the next few days. I’m sure they’ll be interesting in a good way.

Until then, I suppose.

Author's Notes:

Writing this Chapter was fun. I've had plans to have Noir come into the Physical Plane ever since I introduced her, but until I came up with Max's True Magic, I had no way to get her in. Things like that are why I write. Things work themselves in a way that I just can't explain, and it's fun to write when they do come out. Of course I wrote this chapter a few weeks ago at the time of its release, but seriously: Shit's dope af.

Max's replacement power most likely isn't going to be mentioned any time soon. I know what it is and I'll remember that it's there, but it's a secret to everybody.

As Always, RIP HER FROM YOUR SOUL

Stay Cool, Kids