Avarice woke slowly, feeling horribly drained, but in a good way, like he'd gotten a really good workout before taking a nap. 'Whoa...I feel so damn content...what happened? I started blacking out after the shotgun arrived.'

{You became a crazy horny dragon that's what. Even played with that shotgun like it was a sex toy, it was between our and our partner's thighs at the start of it all.} Crescent reported, making Avarice glad that at least one of them knew what they did.

'Who was our partner?' Avarice asked as he cracked his glowing red eyes open, and realized he was spooning an incredibly morphologically correct anthro dragoness, who had her outer chassis entirely removed, exposing dark black and gray flesh-like material convincingly designed to look exactly like a dragon's scales. Her H-cup breasts were pressed into his chest as the mech seemed to be in sleep mode with her head curled under his in a nuzzle, her breasts and body otherwise molded to him, and their tails intertwined. It was incredibly adorable. 'Whoa...who is she?'

{That claptrap we ordered? Yeah...Faust trapped us into the M+ model. My guess; this is either a genuine gift on her part, or she has other ulterior motives. Best thing about this arrangement is we not only get a capable assistant to help you make things, but you also have a fuck buddy that can't get pregnant to work off frustration when our overcharged libido starts rearing it's ugly head. Those arousal suppression spells only work so well from what just happened so soon after having had one cast on us.}

“Mm...partner showing signs of wakefulness, ending sleep mode....” The false, yet far-too-real dragoness muttered in her velvety voice as she curled her neck back and moving her head up to his, opening her glowing eyes to look him in his own eyes. “Good morning master. It is good to see you have slept well.”

“I'm fairly sure that's thanks to you.” Avarice responded slyly, pressing his nose against hers, and she paused a second before smiling earnestly in response. 'Was that her programming working to make a suitable response?'

“I feel that is indeed so. We went exactly 17 rounds consecutively, you only relaxed after having climaxed at least 23 times.” The femme's words stunned Avarice silent. That sort of extremely vigorous activity would've killed a normal person! “Your surprised expression leads this unit to believe that this is an unusual occurrence. Is there something this unit needs to be aware of to ensure no harm comes to master?”

“Comes to me? What about you? You're an astounding creation of Hyperion, no doubt, but won't that much...cum, be dangerous to your functionality?” 'Holy fuck...if we plowed a normal woman while on a high of lust....'

{We could very well fuck someone to death....} Crescent finished in shock.

“Not at all. Mother was careful to ensure the M+ models were the most sophisticated life-like replicas possible. Anything consumed orally is processed in a chamber to literally break down bio-matter into pure energy, providing extra power to our battery systems so our generators don't wear down as quickly. As for vaginally...well...this unit will have to flush out the system. That portion of this unit's anatomy has not yet been updated to proper functionality yet, as those processes have yet to be perfect to Mother's specifications~.” She said with a lustful growl, getting Avarice to gawk at her. “Were this unit updated with the final version of the uterus system, even a machine like me would become capable of reproduction. But Mother's work on creating a functional Von Neumann bio-organic reproduction has not yet been completed. So sadly, I cannot become pregnant. I will simply have to settle for washing myself out...you cum hose~.”

As she progressed in her speech, she seemed to become more set in a less robotic method of speaking, as well as provoking him with her velvety tone and lilting teases. Avarice was just gobsmacked that Faust was so close to creating living machines. 'That is amazing.' “What is your name?”

“My designation is DR4G0N322, but that isn't much of a name. You can name me if you wish.” She said as she hugged him a little tighter, seeming to scan him with her eyes, watching for a response. She was trying to adapt to how to proceed in the situation, and decided that to wait apprehensively was the best way to go.

“I can't just call you Dragoness. That's lazy. How about....” Avarice looked deep in her eyes, and even though they were fake, he thought he could see hope in those too-alive eyes. “Sonata. Looking at you, I feel as if I'm looking at a thing of beauty, and a sonata is what comes to mind.”

The seemingly-living dragoness cooed as her eyes shined for a few seconds. “This unit is hereby known as Sonata. I will be happy to serve you master.” The newly named Sonata then tightened her tail around his, and moved in for a kiss, which Avarice obliged to until she broke away. “I sense that you do not wish for more intercourse.”

“Which is good. You must've worked it out of me. Good Gog is it wonderful not to feel horny for a bit.” 'Such contention...hot damn it's nice to feel calm.' Avarice then moved to get up, and Sonata obliged with a teasing whine, making him chuckle. “You're way too realistic. I can't think of you as a machine if you keep this up. Soon enough if I'm not reminded I could forget entirely.”

“Good. Us M+ models are also designed for covert ops and blending into environments. Sure, as a dragoness I'll stand out among the populous, but they won't suspect me to be anything but a normal dragon.” Sonata stated as she released him from their embrace, but held his tail coiled in hers for a bit longer. “If you're wondering, coiling tails is a sign of dragon courtship. Is that fine with you?” Sonata asked with fluttering eyes, making Avarice's heart flutter.

'Damn...she's a machine, but I can't see her as one. She's too real....'

{Faust IS a goddess, one of creation. Maybe, her more inorganic creations truly have souls....} Crescent mused, and Avarice decided to move back in on Sonata, who actually seemed surprised as he leaned in and kissed her chastely.

“That's fine dear.” Avarice finished, and he was silently impressed at how her cheek scales flushed a little red. 'Way, WAY too real.' Avarice then moved to the edge of the giant bed, Sonata, now reluctantly, uncoiling their tails as he stood on the floor. “We didn't even make it out of Tia's room. I hope she isn't upset with us....”

Indeed, they had woken in Tia's lavish giant bed. When he moved to inspect the bathroom though, it was completely devoid of damage, and everything from the beacon to his new shotgun and small crate of ammo were gone, likely with Vagabond. {We can always count on Vagabond, huh?}

'Trust him with my life.' Avarice thought without hesitation, and then blinked. Why? Why did he trust him so intrinsically? It was like he was part of him, that much was expected, but he never really thought more on their relationship dynamic. It was less of him being Vagabond's boss, and more of them being partners, with Vagabond picking up all the slack. That made Avarice feel guilty. He didn't like that Vagabond did so much work, and thanklessly too. 'Have to do something for him.'

Their musings were cut off by Sonata hugging them from behind, pressing her massive breasts into his back. “Would you like any help bathing master?” Sonata asked as she squeezed his thick tail between her shapely thighs, and Avarice was happy to realize he wasn't feeling frisky in spite of it. She must've really worked it out of his system for now.

“Well, we must be smelly after all of our activity last night and...to be fair, I don't know jack squat about this form's anatomy, but I don't feel like doing anything naughty either.” Avarice said as he turned his head to the side to look at her, while also scanning the room for Chrysalis's egg, but not seeing her, but he wasn't concerned for her, so she must be in safe hands. He was feeling she was with Tia or Luna, unlike his other children, who were who-knows-where, and tugging at his heart like hooks on strings. If only he could use that to search for them.

“Indeed. Allow me to bathe us then. While my synthetic scales don't produce sweat, I still would collect stench if I am without my outer chassis...speaking of which, where are all of my armor pieces? I can't pinpoint them in my HUD.” Sonata asked in worry, but Avarice waved her off.

“Ah, Vagabond must have them. Let's get clean first, then we'll-AH~!” Avarice half-shouted in pain and pleasure as Sonata grabbed him by his sheathe, and began leading him into the tub, which her long, slender tail easily flicked on with hot water. REALLY hot water.

“Hm, you are sore, that's expected. Cleaning this area is absolutely imperative to your hygienic health. Pay attention master.” Sonata said as she guided him into the tub while coaxing out his flaccid black 12 inch member. “This is important to remember, you need to know how to keep yourself clean if you're not going to get sick.”

[ $ ]

It was a long bath, where Avarice was meticulously taught about all his dragon form's anatomy. Not just his groin either, even if that was where she started and was one of the most important places to keep clean. Due to just how many body parts he now had, he wasn't about to remember half of the words she used to describe things like his wing membranes, or the gaps in his scales. Being a dragon was dirty work. Which was why dragons were often considered smelly people, since they usually live in dry and hot environments and are so used to the earthy smells they can't really register that they smell “bad” to most others until they venture into more populated areas.

He was especially embarrassed when she had to “flush” her uterus system of his cum, and fuck, it was like a white waterfall from between her legs with the way she used her red aura Magic Core to levitate a stream of water down her throat and through a diverted subsystem into her inert reproductive systems to clean them out. And was further embarrassed when she demonstrated that dragons were flexible enough to bend nearly in half, and use their long prehensile tongues to clean their groins. He was especially feeling quite embarrassed when she made HIM do it so he knew how to “clean” himself if he was without a source of water, and was informed it was how most dragons made do with themselves.

When they finished, Vagabond appeared dutifully, not even needing called, and produced Avarice's thong and pants, which he noticed now changed according to his form like Vagabond. Was he spreading to other articles of clothing and such? When he put them on, he noticed that his slowly building arousal vanished, and he was just as calm as when he first woke up. He just hoped the enchantments would let him stay calm for a longer period of time over the spell. Then Vagabond provided a similarly enchanted and size-changing silver and gold signet ring with the Royal Sister's emblem of a half sun and moon he remembered from his first day on that potion vial...oh shit!

“MOSS STONE!” 'Damn it! Shit keeps happening, and I and the sisters keep forgetting to free him from his debt!' Avarice turned to Vagabond, and was quietly amused with how he politely provided each individual piece of Sonata's black and red chassis, helping her get on the pieces she wouldn't normally be able to reach so she wouldn't have to use her Magic Core to levitate them on. “Sonata, I'm going to be looking for the sisters to resolve an issue that's been ignored too often. Would you be fine with staying with Vagabond?”

“Not at all master.” Sonata stated as she was shoving her right breast into her shaped chassis. The thing was like his changeling form's chitin to be honest, the way it seamlessly adhered to her body and could only be removed by her, or by hitting the release between her wings. “I would be glad to familiarize myself with your partner.”

“Alright then. You two have fun now.” Avarice idly said as he left the bathroom, not noticing the silent conversation in sign language that started between the peculiar golem and the sexy robot.

Avarice then began looking for the princesses, or at least Tia, beings Luna was supposed to be on the Bullgarian front. He hoped she would be fine with Die Leucht hunting her, especially considering they seemed to have a particular chip on their shoulders with her. While he intimidated everypony just from his presence, he didn't feel like changing out of his dragon form for a while yet, feeling quite comfortable with his massive size. Eventually he got tired of aimless wandering, and asked a shivering maid who looked between terrified and anxious considering she was a pegasus and had full-blown wingboners and a blush.

It wasn't odd really. Almost every female he saw was both scared, yet attracted. He loved being the focus of attention everywhere he went, and almost forgot why he was looking for Tia when he entered her office, and indeed; there was Chrysalis set carefully on a large, soft, and cradling pillow on a table in clear view, with a lightly armored mare...wait.... “Ah, so there's that bodyguard-slash-caretaker Faust was offering. I'd forgotten about them in my growing arousal at the time.”

It was the red one with gold accents. She was clearly not an M+ model, save her ample D-cup bosom, which for all he knew might've been a milk-producing feature as a nursery maid. He could tell they were techno-organic by the way her shifting made her chest armor jiggle. Aside from that, her design was all business, and in fact, considering her intended uses, the unicorn-model bodyguard Claptrap was indeed all-business. Her blank, glowing magenta eyes seemed to make a grid in their scope, before she nodded to him and returned to standing vigil near-center of the room, as it was the best position to react to threats to either Tia or the egg.

“Ah, Avarice. It's good to finally see you up. The morning's already half-gone. From what my guard shifts tell me, you and that toy 'mother' provided were at it most of the night.” Tia said matter-of-factly with a teasing grin, and Avarice huffed.

“23 times. I apparently orgasmed 23 times before I was satisfied.” Avarice told her, getting her to gawk at him. “Yeah, I'd kill a normal mare if I plowed them when in a rut. So, maybe your mum automatically upgrading her to an M+ model was a good move.”

“Definitely. I don't think even I could handle 23 consecutive orgasms....” Tia said in awe before she shook her head. “Anyway. What's the first plan of action? I'm already getting disturbing reports from my admirals about a number of ships in my navy going MIA without reason or any signs of reappearing.”

“That's bad. If they have ships too...maybe even from the Griffonian navy as well...what could they be doing? I mean, they plan to destroy you and Equestria, so where could they strike behind your lines to cause the most damage? That's where I'd send a defense fleet, don't chance it. As for my being here; we keep forgetting to free Moss Stone. I'm here to ask for his location so I can free him from my magic.” Avarice replied, and Tia nodded as she quickly wrote out a response to her admiral, and sent it off in a poof of smoky magic.

“Certainly. He's being held in the padded cells of the dungeon for the less stable prisoners. Just show anypony who tries to stop you your ring, and you'll be granted passage. Nopony but our most trusted of people are allowed to have those rings, and they'll know it's real from the auras of myself and my sister being infused into it. Also, please inform the castle smith on your way down that I want Solar Radiance's suit of heavy armor delivered to this office.” Celestia said while gesturing to her personal Claptrap, which turned to her with a soft smile, which Tia returned warmly.

“Named her already? It may be an expected name, but she does match it.” Avarice commented, getting a surprising bright hue of red from the robot's armored cheeks. 'Damn, Faust. Your creations are way too alive.' “Thank you, I'll be going then.”

Avarice left the office, and began his journey down the castle following directions from the guards, who were much more forthwith with him using the ring to show them he wasn't just some dragon wandering the castle. When he reached the ground floor, he went into the smithy to find several ponies at work on various projects, but he did notice Brass Bender off in the corner with the assembly station for the shotguns, so he decided to say hello. “Greetings again Brass Bender.”

The buxom orange unicorn mare with candy-cane hair jumped in her spot as she heard his familiar voice, and she turned to him with a smile only to freeze at seeing a dragon instead of a paint horse. The faded lines of scars on his torso easily erased her doubt however, and she smiled again. “Avarice? Wow. You've...gotten bigger?”

“I'm a changeling of sorts. You'll understand later I suppose. How are you doing down here? Trying to build that double-barrel I designed when trying to escape from my imprisonment I see.” Avarice commented when he noticed the number of parts, especially the double-barrel.

“Yes. You've gotten everything for the design right in theory, but with your limited time frame and insufficient tools, you couldn't finish it. This though.” Brass beamed as she picked up an assembled one from off to the side. “This should work. But the designs that Demir has shared with everyone are already superior to it. We'd be better off saving these sort of things for less serious situations. Like hunting, or target practice.”

“Demir's already released more advanced models?” Avarice asked in glee. He wanted to see how well she'd progressed, since his last visit was very brief and he didn't get to actually spend any real time with her when he was just telling her he was okay.

“Yes, but they're so advanced...we can hardly believe it.” Brass said as she put down the shotgun, and then moved further to the side where there were blueprints laid out, which made Avarice smile in glee. “See, this here-.”

“Is a pump-action fixed-frame five-shot revolver shotgun with a simple turning axis for the revolver to be exposed on the left side for loading.” 'Like from fucking Borderlands...Demir, you beautiful, masterful Forge-Mistress....' Avarice stated and thought lustfully, wanting to get ahold of one just for the sake of having one. Even if he has a Painful Brute in his arsenal now, it didn't change the fact that one of his favorite things to do in Borderlands was collect guns, just to collect them for their quirky effects or looks.

“Yes. She even designed something called a 'speed-loader' to load shells in this style quickly.” Brass added as she showed him a large five-round speed-loader she'd obviously made herself from brass and steel.

{Wow. This Demir was truly the right mare to be your assistant, if she's already making things better than you.}

'To think, it all started because I couldn't resist her cute face.' Avarice mused, chuckling as he snapped his fingers, and Vagabond promptly appeared to Brass's shock, and he produced the partially assembled “boomstick” that was made with his parts from his enslavement, but couldn't be finished since the firing pins didn't align properly. “Would you mind finishing the original for me Brass? I'll even pay you commission.”

Brass perked with glee, and bounced slightly in place. Damn, she was so much like Demir it was uncanny. “Oh I'd be glad to! No payment is necessary, we're not really going to be making your boomstick shotgun until things settle down anyway, so I'll just use parts we've got lying around from the assembly testing to finish her, and maybe even use some of that white brass you left in your cell for decoration. Is that okay?”

“More than okay. Thank you.” Avarice said sincerely as Vagabond handed her the unfinished prototype, and then vanished. “I'll see you later Brass. Oh, right. Also Tia wants Solar Radiance's armor sent to her office.”

“Can do!” Brass replied in a chipper tone as she practically pranced to her workstation, and he continued back down to the dungeons.

[ $ ]

It wasn't nice to be back down here. He'd suffered too much in this place to have any fondness for it. Well...aside from Sharp. 'Damn that bitch...twisting me up...making me fall for her in a fucked-up love/hate way.' Avarice then imagined her ripe with his foal, and he hissed in arousal as just imagining it made the enchantments waver. Even if they won't break, there is a point they'd just stop being effective if his hormones broke a threshold. 'Fuck...gotta get that big-booty-bitch back for revenge...and more sex.'

Avarice tried valiantly to stray away from thoughts of Sharp as he strode through the dark, damp, and cold stone halls to the special area for the more unstable prisoners. He only came across a few guards, not as many as there were when Die Leucht was running this place, but despite the bad news that brought on the level of corruption, it was also calming to know that he wouldn't be swarmed by guards again.

His bare scaly and sharp-toed feet stopped before a padded cell that had padded bars, and looked in to see a nearly comatose Moss Stone in a binding harness, which had rubbed his coat off from constant struggle with his confines. The green and brown earth pony stallion wasn't looking so good. He was thin, and not the built and capable soldier Avarice had met when he first arrived in Equestria. He stared off blankly to one of his walls, drooling. The reason being was he'd tried smashing his head through the bars again, and the unicorn medic on duty for the dungeons had cast a numbing spell on him that made moving extremely difficult, and made it harder to comprehend things if cast on the head.

'Holy shit...I did this....' Avarice looked at the bars, before he decided to give something a try. His body was wreathed in green flames and he shrunk, and shrunk, and continued to shrink until he was no bigger than a football. When the flames vanished, in the dragon's place was a simple black rat, with glowing red eyes. The large rodent quickly skittered through the bars, and approached the unresponsive stallion. 'Don't worry buck. I'll be lifting our deal from your shoulders, even if I have to suffer some backlash.'

Avarice transformed into his true form, his chitin glistened in the dim light as he knelt next to the numbed stallion. “Moss Stone. I am sorry for my negligence. Hear me, even if you cannot understand. Hear me, and know that I consider all debts settled. Our contract is annulled.” Avarice gasped as a gripping agony ripped through him, and he fell sideways onto the padded floor, his chitin cracking in multiple places as angry red light shined through them. Avarice was the one to renege on the contract, so he paid the price in pain.

He hissed as he writhed on the floor, crawling away from Moss and trying not to thrash about and potentially harm the stallion. He wasn't sure how long the raw agony lasted, but by the end of it, he was staring at the oddly padded ceiling. Feeling quite mixed up about things. If HIM annulling the contract hurt this much...just...just how bad would one of his customers reneging be? Would they just outright die?

No wonder then. That he was a criminal the moment he arrived, slinging this power around like candy.

Author's Notes:

I wanted to use this chapter as more evidence of just how powerful Architect of Reality's HJR Faust is with Arch's blessing. Her Claptraps are like her children, and she puts so much love into their creation, that distinguishing between them and a biologically living being is uncannily difficult.

Not just in appearance, reaction, or even their functions. But by how they can still become so much more. Units such as Sonata are but a single step away from fully experiencing what life is really like.

Faust is still making them better too.