A blast of hot air greeted Sephiroth when she entered the forge. After what happened the last night, Max had practically ordered her to rest and she had watched over the children with Nightmare and Celestia until now. Then she remembered though, that she had completely forgotten to visit Calcifer to retrieve her necklace. Leaving the foals in the very capable hooves of the princesses, she had decided to do that now.

“Hey, Calcifer. Sorry for being late, but here I am.”

The fiery pony appeared in the flames and lit his horn as he said, “Ah, my new master. Come for her necklace and her slave.”

Crossing her arms in front of her chest, she deadpanned at the Elemental. “Necklace, yes. Slave, no. You have been influenced by demonic magic, Calcifer. All and every feeling you think you have for me are not true.”

“Heh, then you don’t know Fire Elementals.” He smiled and floated the necklace over to her, which she put on immediately. “Nothing can tamper with our passions or lust. I want to serve you, not because of your ‘demonic’ powers, but because I liked what I saw.”

Sephiroth facepalmed. “What you saw was the result of demonic magic. My other forms are tempered with by my succubus powers. And even then, I’m not the kind of woman that wants slaves.”

Calcifer’s ears drooped and his face turned forlorn. “Not even a servant?”

Her expression softened a little, but she shook her head. “Calcifer… you’re bound to the forge by Luna so you have to be a capable Elemental. But I’m a warrior, not a leader. And, other than Max, I’m not willing to bed with anyone but her and Lance.”

He looked down and melted into the forge. “I’m not... I’m bound here for my protection. I’m the weakest of my kind and turned from the path they followed because I gave my heart to her....”

Biting her lower lip, her expression turned to one of sympathy, but she forced herself to return to a more neutral one. “You gave your heart away?”

The forge dimmed a bit as he said, “Yes... S-she gave it back, but by then every other Elemental knew what I had done.”

“You know, I did something similar not too long ago. I cut off a piece of my life to share it with Max’s daughter, Golden Spark. I gave her her leg back and eradicated the curse that had befallen her.” Waving her own thought off, she continued. “But I can’t claim to know what it means for you Elementals to do something like this. By what you told me it seems to be considered as something really hideous, though.”

“T-to give your heart to someone that can’t return the favor, yes.”

“I’m afraid I couldn’t return such an act, too. My heart is already spoken for. But you didn’t even insinuate something like this, sorry. I’m getting ahead of myself.” She sighed and rubbed at the bridge of her nose. “What I do not understand is why you want to be a servant to begin with. Why not a partner, or a comrade in arms? I think Nightmare would be very glad to get to know you. She likes to forge herself and often uses the most exotic materials. She is the one that gave me the idea to use the condensed shadow for the chain of the necklace.”

“I wasn’t asking for you to give me your heart, I was asking if you could protect me. I-... I like being ordered around...”

Sephiroth really began to feel uneasy about this, but didn’t show it. “I kind of can relate to that, but you live in the castle’s forge. What is there that you need protection of, that can reach you here? Max calls this place her home, Sol and Mun managed to beat me and Sombra really knows how to fight.”

“.... Okay. But... can you visit every once in a while? It’s lonely here and barely anyone actually comes here besides to pick up orders.”

“Isn’t there a way how you could move around more freely? Without setting everything on fire, preferably.” She asked, increasingly feeling bad for the fire pony.

“I can move around anyways, I just lose heat when I’m away from the forge... Once you give someone your heart, it can’t be put back.”

Sephiroth stayed silent for a little while, her eyes fixed onto a suspicious looking lump near the middle of the forge. “Calcifer? What exactly would you gain from it if I’d accept you as my servant?”

“Being able to leave here and travel while still being protected. I don’t want to die in this forge, but I want to be able to live for centuries more. I-I can do that if someone is my master.”

She lapsed into silence once more before cautiously asking, “And what would that entail? For both of us? I really don’t want to bend you to my will unintentionally or something.”

“I will be bent to your will regardless. I will have only as much freedom as you want me to have. That is all this comes with.”

“What of privacy? And don’t try to lie to me so you can peek every time I have sex.” Her voice gained a threatening edge to it and she shifted her weight onto her other foot. “Also, if we find a real partner for you along the way, one that actually can give you her heart in return, would it be possible to end our pact without harming anyone of us?” She began to pace in front of the cauldron. “How would we be bound anyway? Would you gain your own body or would you ‘inhabit’ mine?”

Calcifer’s head formed out of the forge, a hopeful look on his face. “I would give your privacy as much respect as I could while following your orders and our pact can be revoked at any time without damage to either of us. I would still have my body as you see me now, but you would be able to will me to change.”

“Every time I come by the forge you form your body first before interacting with me. What I want to know is, would you be somehow ‘residing’ in my body and just coming out when you want to? Or would you actually have your own, not needing to ever sink into mine?” She stopped her pacing and facepalmed. “Holy, that sounded so wrong right now.”

Calcifer grinned. “I would reside in whatever you wanted me to. A gourd, a pouch, some revealing armor-”

“You are so not helping your case right now!” Sephiroth huffed. “The question that would actually interest me is, would it not matter to you in what you reside or would it be more comfortable to actually be in something organic. And if I can will you to be what I want, could I just will you to be whole again and your own pony?”

Calcifer pulled himself fully out of the forge and floated above it. “That... has never been done before, but my true form is nothing more than a floating ball of molten metal. I was never a pony, and only chose this form because Luna liked it.”

“You haven’t answered my question. What would you prefer to reside in? It doesn’t matter to me if you aren’t used to actually be asked for your opinion, but if you want to form a pact with me, you’ll have to get used to it.” Seph stood in front of the forge, leaned to the side a little and tapping her index finger on the upper arm of the other arm. “But I would try to make you whole again first thing after forming our pact. Then you wouldn’t need to be anyone’s servant.”

“Pony, ball, elephant, dragon, doesn’t matter to me. But trying to make me whole using our pact?” He shook his head. “Never has there been someone as kind as to do that for a fallen Elemental.”

“That still does not answer the question in what you would prefer to reside. A knife? A glove? My shoulder guard? Or if I turn you into a living being, can you leave my side without losing… erm ‘heat’?”

“.... I’d suggest somewhere private, but I know you wouldn’t let me near there.”

Her hand met her face with a resounding slap. “What about the chain you forged for me? that’s my absolute limit concerning any ‘intimate’ areas. But let’s worry about that later, after making you whole again didn’t work. Also I have to talk to Max about this first. I can’t just render her forge useless without her consent.”

“Oh, I can enchant the forge so it’s always at the right temperature. One of the supposed helpers I was given can take over making things. You sure I can’t inhabit your undergarments? I could always keep you warm.”

“Erm… Calcifer? I don’t have undergarments.”

He melted his lower body back into the forge, a dopey little smile on his face. “Oh, okay. Yeah, how about the necklace then?”

Slowly nodding, Sephiroth had to make an active effort not to shout in frustration. It did not elude her why he had hidden his lower body. “If I succeed in making you whole again you can just be on your own, yes?”

“After you break our pact, yes. But that’s if your plan even works.” The fiery unicorn pushed the lump Seph had noticed closer to her. “For regular Elementals it’s a bit harder than for those of us who have fallen. You simply have to merge my heart with the item you want me to be bound to.”

The woman did not move to grab the lump. “Just out of curiosity, what would happen if I merged your heart with myself?”

“I’d be bound to your body and would change to better represent it. I’d still be male in mind, but no matter what I do, anything I change into would always look female.”

A deep frown appeared on her face. “I wouldn’t want that. Do I just pick up your heart and hold it onto the chain?”

“To avoid absorbing it into yourself, it would be better to hold the chain in your hand and press it into my heart. you’ll have to say ‘with this, I bind you to my will’ as you do so.”

Nodding she took off the necklace again and sighed. “I can’t believe I’m actually doing this.” Lowering the chain to the heart, she recited. “With this, I bind you to my will.”

The heart beat once, blurring before it lurched upwards and started seeping into the necklace. She just held still and watched what transpired, locking her own expectations for the Elemental and not allowing herself to think otherwise than that he should just be himself.

Once the heart fully merged with the necklace, Calcifer chuckled. “Really? You mean I can tease you when you’re trying to sleep?”

“Actually, I wouldn’t outright force you not to, but ask of you to refrain from it. If there is something that will never change, is that I want you to have your own, free will. And now to try and make you whole again.” Seph closed her eyes and closed her hand around the necklace, trying to will the heart to merge with the Elemental himself again.

Calcifer shook his head and fully formed himself, reaching out to try to stop Seph. “That’s-” His hoof brushed the necklace and he was blasted backwards, hitting the far wall and dripping down into a formless puddle.

Shocked, the woman stared at the puddle. “Calcifer?! Are you alright?!”

He groaned and pulled his head up. “Damn, feels like Luna hit me in the chest with a boulder.”

She shot him an apologetic smile. “Sorry. I did not intend to hurt you. But what exactly happened? I just focused on reuniting you with your heart.”

Calcifer pulled himself together and rubbed his chest. “I don’t know, all I did was try to stop you from hurting yourself. Okay, why-” His eyes widened in shock and he stopped moving.

This worried her and she took a step in his direction, not being bothered in the slightest that she was almost climbing into the forge now. “Is something wrong?”

Suddenly he shot forward and set his lips on hers, wrapping his legs around her.

Sephiroth’s eyes widened in complete bafflement and tried to break the non-consensual kiss. “Hmm! Mpf!”

Calcifer ended the kiss and nuzzled her neck, giving her a constant stream of “Thankyou!”

Not really understanding what happened, she frowned. “Calcifer. I may be heat and fire resistant… but my clothes aren’t.”

“Oh, well here, let me do that for you,” He said as his horn flashed, her clothes flashing the same fiery color. “There! The least I can do for you returning my heart to me.”

“Wait, it worked? Wow, I’m really glad for you- MPF!”

He interrupted her with another kiss and then flew off around the room, laughing.

Seph just sighed and rested her forehead in her hand, noticing that she had the necklace still in it and just put it back on. Murphy said he wasn’t the one to blame, but she had a hard time not cursing at least some being responsible for such situations. Well now she had kissed Lightning and Fire, and she had to admit that it was an interesting experience. She shook her head hastily and frowned. Where had that thought come from? Deciding not to dwell on the matter for any longer, she instead tried to focus on Calcifer again. “You’re welcome.”

He stopped and turned back to face Sephiroth. “I won’t ever forget this. Whatever you need, I’ll make it free of charge.”

“Erm… that’s nice but don’t you need that payment? Also I still have to pay the second half for the necklace.” She tilted her head slightly and raised an eyebrow.

“No, you don’t. With my heart not bound or in me I was slowly dying. I was prolonging my life by consuming anything that would burn.” He looked away, shame evident on his face. “I didn’t have the courage to tell Luna that.”

Sephiroth shrugged. “Well, I certainly won’t hold it against you that you tried to live on. Now you can do whatever you want, wherever you want. But I’m afraid that I don’t really need anything right now.”

He looked back at her, excitement in his eyes. “You sure? I could make you a complete set of armor. Fully covering your assets, too!”

Chuckling at his enthusiasm and kind of happy that she was the cause for it, she gave it an actual thought. “That’s tempting, but I rather like my attire.” Absentmindedly she played with Kat’s token on its chain and suddenly a sharp pain lanced through her head. It was gone in the next moment, too briefly there to even make her flinch, but somehow she knew what she would like. “I kind of can think of something. Say, could you add something to my necklace?”

“That’s childsplay. What would this addition be?”

She opened her mouth to answer him, but was at a loss. The image was there, but she just couldn’t put words to it, didn’t know how to describe it. Shaking her head she closed her mouth and her eyes, too. Sorting through the memories Max had given her and searching for something that could be of help. Finding one spell, she nodded and looked back at Calcifer, her right hand glowing in her pale green aura briefly before the image in her mind appeared floating over her palm. It was a strangely formed oddity, that looked like a combination of a sword, a key and a star, while its hilt was framed by two flared wings. Seeing it in front of herself brought up a single word.

“Oathkeeper. That is its name. I want it to be of silver or a likely colored metal that is resilient and added under the diamond.”

Calcifer pulled over a few shards of metal and immediately formed the miniature blade, flash cooling it and hooking it through a one link chain on the bottom of the necklace in under a minute. “Ah, it’s good to be back in top shape! That ‘Oathkeeper’ will not be broken nor will it be melted by anything that isn’t hotter than a Fire Elemental’s heart.”

Sephiroth lifted the new addition to examine it and smiled dreamily. She didn’t know why, but it seemed to be incredibly important for some reason. Ripping her gaze away from it, she looked at Calcifer. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome! Just come on back if you need something made. Hell, tell Max that I’ll make anything for free.”

“Heh. I will.” She was about to leave, when she paused. “Actually I do have another idea. The fight with Sol and Mun gave me this idea. Would it be possible to forge new shoulder guards that are enchanted to block incoming attacks? A magical full-body armor so to speak, that only activates when needed?”

“Giving me my first challenge, eh?” Calcifer chuckled. “I’ll call you back once I’m satisfied I fulfilled your quota.”

“I would prefer it if they looked just like my current ones. And I’ll be here for at least another week or so. You could just inform Max though, she can summon me anytime.”

He nodded and leapt into the forge, levitating metals and tools over and beginning his work.

Chuckling again, she charged up her teleportation spell. “See ya around, Calcifer.” And with that her surroundings changed to the hallway in front of her rooms. But instead of entering, she paused. “Better tell Max right away.” She scryed her fiancée’s location and her brow creased, when she didn’t receive one at first only for it to suddenly appear. “How…? Well I’ll just ask her myself.”

With another quick teleportation she appeared in Max’s office. “Hey. Everything alright in here?”

“Yeah, we just got back from helping someone with a bar fight,” Max said, sitting down in the chair behind her desk. “And no, I didn’t actually fight. I just broke up the fight with my shotgun.”

“I thought you asked if we should get some lunch?” A changeling queen said as she picked herself up off the floor.

Instantly Sephiroth’s whole body tensed up and with the screeching sound of metal against metal, her sword flared into existence. Images of Chetyre flashed in front of her inner eye and before she knew what she did she already had the vile creature’s mane clenched in one fist while her blade rested against its neck.

“Sephiroth, please don’t kill Chrysalis. She’s an ally and nothing like Chetyre,” Max calmly said as she stood back up.

It took a few moments for Max’s words to seep through the haze of bloodlust that had clouded her mind, but when they did she blinked. The images of the king fading away, revealing another changeling. Reluctantly she let go of the bug’s mane and lifted her sword away from its neck, but didn’t let it vanish, as she took a step back. Grumbling, she said with a forced neutral tone, “Apologies. I… confused you for another.”

“It’s okay, I don’t take it personally,” Chrysalis said as she rose to her hooves. Only to punch Sephiroth in the gut and continue. “Now we’re even.”

The silver haired woman didn’t so much as flinch, but her eyes narrowed dangerously. “Careful. You might break something.” Not really in the mood to further the conversation, she instead focused her gaze towards Max. “Calcifer wants you to know that he will offer his services for free from now on.”

Max gave her a confused look as she said, “Why the sudden change?”

She just gave a curt answer, due to her deteriorating mood. “I reunited him with his heart.”

Max sighed and shook her head. “Seph, the changelings here are not like back in yours.”

“I don’t know of your universe’s changelings, but I can assure you we only did what is necessary to survive,” Chrysalis said, walking over to the door. “That is the only reason why I did not try to escape your grasp.”

Sephiroth growled. “Yeah, stay by your delusion, changeling.” The urge to just beat that arrogance out of that bug was almost overwhelming, but she managed to hold herself back. The cold and utter hatred she felt was another matter entirely.

Chrysalis stopped when she reached the door and turned around. “You coming, Max?”

“I’ll join you for lunch in a little,” Max said looking directly at Seph, an expression of disappointment on her face.

When she noticed the look on her fiancée’s face, a searing pain cut through her heart and all that prevented her from flinching was the numbing hatred.

Once the queen had left Max continued, “I know what Chetyre did to you was unforgivable, but you don’t have to hate more than just him. None of the changelings in this universe have done anything to warrant your rage.”

Her sword finally disappeared and she turned her head away, hiding her eyes behind her hair. Max was right, she knew that, but the freezing hatred wouldn’t just go away. Even now it whispered into her ear to chase that vermin and just make her feel pain, not kill her, but make her suffer. Break every inch of her shell and pour liquid fire in the cracks.

She heard footsteps and felt a hand on her shoulder. “Seph...”

Max was there, and sounded worried. Sephiroth struggled with herself, but managed to take a cleansing, albeit shaky, breath. “I didn’t intend to attack one of your allies. And I won’t try to make excuses for what I did.” She paused briefly, before adding. “But I can not promise you to let that bug live if I see her again.”

“Sephiroth. Chrysalis- changelings in general in this universe didn’t get their chance at peace until I convinced Luna and Celestia. I wouldn’t have let them stay more than a month if I thought they would hurt anypony they didn’t absolutely have to.” Max pulled her in for a hug. “They hate their past as much as you hate them, but they’re trying their hardest to change what everyone thinks of them.”

She stayed still, not moving to return the gesture. “I know that you are right. I know that Chetyre is the only one that deserves my hatred. But knowing this doesn’t change my feelings. They just won’t listen.”

Sephiroth felt Max nod. “It takes most of my willpower to stay calm around pegasi, if I’m honest. I can only hold back because I know I’ll be seen as a monster if I destroy every last pegasus on the face of this planet like I want to.”

Finally her hatred subsided, chased away by another feeling and she enclosed the smaller woman with her own arms. “It’s because of what happened to Celestia and Luna, right?”

Max started shaking, barely enough to be felt. “Yes... and I hate that I can’t truly love Rainbow Dash and Lucky just because of their race.”

Seph tightened her grip around her fiancée and wrapped her wing around her, too. “I don’t know if we can, but we should try to overcome this ill feelings.” She used one of her hands to lift Max’s head, so she would face her and smiled. “Together.”

Max smiled as she nodded and buried her face into Seph’s chest. “Y-yeah... why don’t we go get some lunch?”

Sighing, she returned her arm around Max and stayed in the hug a little longer. “We have to confront our feelings sooner or later and ideally on as many occasions as possible. So yeah, let’s. And I try not to be aggressive towards the changeling. Although her personality certainly didn’t help.”

Max broke the hug and led the way out the door. “Well, you did shove her down and threaten her with your sword. That would sour anyone’s mood.”

“Well…” Sephiroth decided against letting her wing fade and folded it on her back, while following her fiancée. “You have a point there. There is something I don’t quite understand. Why had nobody thought to return Calcifer’s heart to him?”

Max looked over to Seph, linking their arms. “Wait, he didn’t have his heart? When did that happen?”

The taller woman gained a thoughtful expression and instinctively walked a little closer to the one next to her. “I think he didn’t really mention when exactly, but he did say that he wanted to give his heart to Luna, at least I assume he meant her, but she wasn’t able to give him hers in return. For his kind this seems to be a great shame and he became, what he called, a ‘fallen’. His heart was in the forge ever since, bound there for his own protection. He practically begged for me to accept him as my slave or servant, but I reunited him with his heart instead.”

Max looked up in thought. “I think I remember reading something about a stallion giving Luna his heart, but I thought that was just an expression.” Her face turned troubled and she looked over her shoulder in the direction of the forge. “I didn’t know her diary was talking about Calcifer.”

“He was infinitely ashamed about it. Actually, I’m a little confused as to why he told me about it. We tested a little theory of mine and ever since he begged to be my slave.” Seph shook her head, realization filling her eyes shortly after. “Oh yes. I never told you. Since you transformed me into a pegasus I can do it myself, using my Cells. And when Kat was in my universe she used some strange badge to turn me into a gryphon. I didn’t try to change into a gryphon since, but my pegasus-form seems to be heavily influenced by my succubus magic.”

“Oh? Well why don’t you try turning into a gryphon? If you can’t do it using your Cells, you could use the transformation spell. After you learn it of course. I’d like to see what you look like as one.”

She shrugged. “Sure, why not? But let’s eat first.”

“Okay,” Max said as she opened the door to the dining room, revealing Chrysalis and a random guard making out in one of the chairs around the table.

Sephiroth instantly tensed, but forced herself to remain relatively calm. Seeing as the bug was occupied, she just strode over to her usual place at the table and sat down, careful not to bend her wing or something.

“Chryssi, I thought I told you to do that in a bedroom.” Max sat down next to Seph as the queen broke the kiss and looked over.

“Well, you did ask me if I wanted lunch,” The queen replied, not looking very steady. “Besides, I thought you would be longer than that.”

Max raised an eyebrow. “Does Straight Shooter know you’re cheating on him?”

Chrysalis waved her off. “He was busy, so he sent one of the privates from his squad.”

“Ah, I forgot Sombra promoted him to Corporal.”

Crossing her arms in front of her chest, Sephiroth caught herself glaring at the changeling. So she shook her head and looked around for the waiter-like servant. What was his name again? Silver Platter or something. She saw him waiting politely next to Max’s chair and told him to bring her just something real quick. She needed to distract herself from the bug.

“Before you go, Silver, could you bring me something as well?” Max asked, turning to face him finally.

“Yes, Grandmother,” He said, pointedly not looking across the table as he turned to enter the kitchens.

“Announcing, His Majesty, King Grey Talon IX,” A herald said from the door suddenly.

“Ah fuck, I forgot he was arriving today,” Max muttered before standing and motioning for Sephiroth to do the same.

Foreign dignitaries. Another reason to be a warrior. With a roll of her eyes she relented and lifted herself up to stand by Max’s side, still with crossed arms. “I rather liked gryphons before my imprisonment. They always said what they had on their mind outright and as blunt as a brick to the head.”

Before Max could respond a large, grey gryphon walked in. He had on a red cape and a plain, but obvious crown on his head. His eyes, though, were what drew Sephiroth’s gaze. He didn’t have any pupils, just two white, featureless orbs beneath two bushy brows.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, King Grey Talon,” Max said, gesturing for Silver to bring out another meal for the king. “I and my lover were just about to sit down for some lunch with Queen Chrysalis.”

Seph remained silent at first but decided to at least introduce herself, as to not seem impolite. “Greetings, King Talon-” That was when she remembered a way in which the gryphons in her universe often greeted their kind. “May your talons be sharp and your beak soaked in the blood of your prey. My name is Sephiroth and you have to excuse my lack of etiquette as I’m a warrior at heart.”

One of his eyebrows raised as he tilted his head. After a few moments he smiled and said, “That’s a very old greeting you used. I’m more of a warrior as well, so no harm there.”

“I’m afraid my knowledge of your kind is very outdated, but I’m very glad that there is still a rooster with honor in his heart on the throne.” A genuine smile tugged at the corners of Sephiroth’s lips.

“Bah! A ruler without honor is just a coward hiding behind his country.” The Gryphon walked over and sat on Seph’s other side.

Max smiled and said, “I agree. The rulers from my home universe... Let’s just say they weren’t always truthful about why they wanted power.”

Sitting down herself, Sephiroth grew silent again. Being reminded of her lost memories, she began to play with her Oathkeeper absentmindedly.

“So what kind of warrior are you, Sephiroth?” Grey Talon asked, chewing a piece of his raw steak. “A brute? A berserker? One with a noble quest?”

“That’s a good question. A few days ago I would have said that I’m a swordsmaiden, but I’m actually more of a wielder of both, a sword and powerful arcane arts. I prefer my blade, though.” She began to eat her own meal and was a little surprised that she got something like a medium steak with onions on top. With fried potatoes, and a serving of salad.

“A well rounded arsenal, I assume.” He sighed and shook his head. “I have wished a lot in my life that ponies weren’t the only ones that could wield magic.”

“Actually, you can. You just don’t know how to use it,” Max said as she swallowed a bite of- Seph looked away before she could turn green.

Suddenly not feeling very hungry anymore, she tried to swallow the bile rising in her throat and decided wisely against mentioning anything to Max.

“Oh? What is this mysterious way, then?” The gryphon king asked, leaning a bit towards Seph.

“Well, I could change how you take in magic and process it, but it might make your wings... not work anymore.”

Sephiroth didn’t want to take any chances with her demonic magic and swiftly stood up, distancing herself from the king in the process. “Excuse me. I have to leave for a little while.”

“Never mind that, we gryphons are about to gain magic!” Talon said, waving Sephiroth off.

“Why don’t you go see if the foals would like some lunch?” Max asked.

“Can do.” She went over to the door, before turning back a last time and bowing slightly in the direction of the King. “It was an honor to meet you, King Talon.”

The king didn’t reply, mainly because he and Max were discussing how he could gain control over magic.

Shrugging, she left through the door and teleported in front of her rooms. Opening the door revealed a scene that made it really hard not to break into laughter. The princesses were hopelessly outmatched by the foals in what looked like a pillow massacre. Down feathers were practically everywhere and the sole reason Celestia was even visible in all the white was that Golden and Light teamed up on her to tickle the living daylight out of her. Nightmare had a feather on the tip of her snout and was trying to get it off by scrunching up her muzzle and creating the funniest faces in the process.

When the black alicorn finally sneezed and thus sent a whole cloud of downs flying, Seph couldn’t take it anymore and dropped to the floor, laughing her ass off.

A chorus of three fillies said, “Mama!” and jumped on top of her, tickling her accidentally with the feathers stuck in their manes as they nuzzled her.

That caused her to laugh even harder, trying to hug all of the fillies at once. Which wasn’t that hard when she remembered to use her wing for it. Nightmare and Celestia decided to fix the mess of downs and with a few smaller flashes of their magic the slaughtered pillows were made whole again.

Rainbow stopped her nuzzling to look at Sephiroth and say, “Auntie Nighty and Celly started it!” The other two nodded furiously for a moment, wide smiles on their faces, before going back to nuzzling the woman.

Sephiroth managed to calm down enough to talk. “Is that what happened? Really?” Glancing over to the black alicorn told her everything she needed to know, but she wanted to give Rainbow the chance to confess.

“Yep! Nighty tossed a piwwow at me. Then Celly got hit when I threw it back.”

Forcing herself to adapt a serious expression, she cleared her throat. “From what I saw it was a truly epic pillow fight which puts all the other pillow fights to shame and whoever started it should be proud to have brought so much fun and pillowness to the realm of the sleepy chamber.”

Rainbow’s head tilted in confusion. “Huh?”

She nuzzled the filly and smiled. “What I meant is that it looked like it was fun.”

The filly giggled and nuzzled her back. “Uhuh!” Her stomach rumbled and she giggled again.

“Sounds like you’re hungry.” Posing the question to the entirety of the present ponies she raised her voice a little. “Who wants something to eat?”

The two adult alicorns had finished cleaning up the room and came over to the door as the three fillies cheered and tried their hardest to pull Sephiroth onto her feet. Or so she thought.

Sephiroth felt her coat slip from around her front and Light immediately latched onto her nipple while Golden waited with an expectant look on her face. Chuckling, she carefully lifted Light away from her breast and used her other hand to close her coat again. “Not that kind of food.” Softly stroking Light for a second so she wouldn’t be so upset, hopefully, she stood up, making sure to support every filly with her arms. “We’re joining mother Max for dinner.”

Nightmare grinned as she walked into the hallway, a deeply blushing Celestia by her side. “I see that your teats have already been in use, considering the familiarity the foals have shown towards them and them assuming that with ‘food’ you were referring to milk.”

Her cheeks almost burst into flame and she glared at the black mare. “Got a problem with that?”

“No. It’s rather cute.” A chuckle escaped the taller alicorn when the blush on both faces, that of Celestia and Sephiroth’s, only intensified. “Now let us be off. I could use something to eat myself.”

The trip back to the dining room went by without further incident, for which she thanked Holy greatly, and soon she entered it again with three fillies and two mares in tow. “I’m back. And I brought company.”

“-That’s how you - hey Seph - create a basic shield,” Max said, her example fading from around her. Across the room standing on the opposite end of the table was a grey, wingless gryphon with yellow eyes that shone with excitement.

Sephiroth stopped dead in her tracks and stared, leaning over to Nightmare after a few moments and whispering, “You see that too, right? Because I’m certain that gryphons are supposed to possess wings and that this particular one had a pair when I left to get the foals.”

The mare blinked in confusion, before whispering back. “I just assumed that he lost his in a fight, but if what you say is true, then I’m not sure if there wasn’t an illusion placed on him. Granted I can’t feel one, but that could be because it’s really subtle.”

“Ah, Sephiroth I presume. It is nice to finally be able to see you,” the grey gryphon said with a wide smile, making Seph realize it was the king.

Going over to Max, she placed the fillies in their usual seats and signalled Silver to bring them something to eat, while Nightmare sat down by the foals as if it was the most natural thing in the world, shortly after followed by Celestia. When she arrived at where Max and the king were… practicing, she bowed her head slightly. “May I ask what happened while I was gone?” She had a hunch with what her fiancée had said before she left but it was better to confirm her suspicions.

“He wanted me to make him able to use magic, but I decided to give him sight as well,” Max said as she stepped onto a chair and then the floor.

Seph nodded in understanding. “I’m happy for you, King Talon and welcome to the world of magic.”

“You don’t have to pretend that you care, Dame Sephiroth, An old warbird like myself should learn new tricks every year or so to keep up with the dang youngin’s,” Grey Talon said, waving her off.

Lifting an eyebrow, she did her best to not sound insulted. “I always care about children, King Talon. And before you state that you aren’t one anymore, let me tell you that I’m more than a thousand years old, so even you would classify as a child compared to me.”

He grinned and shook his head. “That may be true, but I still have the aches and pains that come with being old.”

“True, but all I said was that I actually care and do not pretend to. I always had a soft spot for children but Max is the reason I view every living being that is less than 300 years old as a child. That prevented me from committing acts I would have greatly regretted.” Sephiroth smiled down at the king.

“Then it’s a good thing I’m over four hundred!” He slapped Sephiroth on the back in a friendly manner as he chuckled. “Though I still have the stamina of a thirty year-old.”

She chuckled and returned the gesture. “Pardon me. You don’t look a year older than 103.”

“Hah! A flatterer as well as a warrior.”

“I hate to break this up, but you said you’d show me your gryphon form, Seph?” Max said, sitting down at the table.

Freezing, Seph let her gaze wander over all occupants of the room, before she returned her eyes to Max. “Don’t you think we should do that in a more… private environment? Considering what happened with my other form.”

Nightmare’s ears perked up and she looked at the silver haired woman with burning curiosity. “Now, I absolutely have to see what you are referring to.”

“Come on Seph, it isn’t like anyone’s going to do anything with the fillies here,” Max said as she rolled her eyes.

“I am intrigued as well,” The king said, a small bit of mischief in his eyes.

Sephiroth groaned and lifted a hand to her forehead. “I am not taking responsibility for anything that happens after I transformed, you got me?”

“Wasn’t saying you had to,” Max said after giving Seph’s cheek a kiss.

“Alright. You called for it.” The taller woman’s body looked like it crumbled to black dust, which then gathered in the general form of a gryphon before almost melting into the form of a jet black griffin with the front half more looking like from a crow than an eagle. Her talons were the grey of polished steel and her cat like, teal eyes seemed to glow, which, combined with her unnaturally black feathers, made them look like a predator was looking out of the shadows all the time. On her back were, indeed, two large black wings, neatly folded to her sides at the moment. She was of a slender build but with every movement the toned muscles under fur and feathers alike became more than obvious. Taller than the King, she gave off an aura of authority and power, marking her as a fierce warrior and predator.

The king’s jaw dropped as his feathers flattened a bit, his posture lowering somewhat. She could tell, though, that he was more than excited to see her from how she could see his dick slowly hardening.

“Whoa. You definitely are my little succubus~.” Max pulled Sephiroth close and gave her beak a kiss.

The chick reciprocated the kiss as best as she could with a beak, but reared back when she heard the catcall from across the table, originating from Nightmare. “Shame that you don’t want to share my bed.”

Groaning the gryphoness faceclawed, but her blush was vibrant enough to show through her feathers. “I knew the dumb magic would mess with all of my transformations.”

“I’ve met a succubus or two in my time, this isn’t at all like their magic,” Grey Talon said, finally shaking himself out of his stupor. “I had blinded myself the first time to get away.”

Nightmare chose to answer in Seph’s stead. “That would be for more than one reason, your highness. First my friend has adopted this brand of magic from the Succubi of our universe and second it’s underdeveloped. On top of that, she is making an active effort to suppress its effects, but obviously fails at that.”

The black gryphoness snapped her head around to look at the similar colored mare. “Hey!”

“Like I keep telling you, you have to accept this part of you,” Max said, a finger trailing down Seph’s wing. “That’s the only way you’ll gain control over it.”

Shuddering from the unexpected wave of pleasure, Sephiroth felt how it impacted her mind, threatening to roll over and drown it. She shook her head to clear it and clenched her beak. “Not going to happen. I’ll fight this and I’ll overcome this, even if I have to find a way to order my Cells to purge it from me.”

“It’ll just fight all the harder to gain control,” Grey Talon said. “That is why I had to resort to blinding myself.”

With a frustrated growl she transformed back into her original body and crossed her arms in front of her chest, a scowl firmly set on her face. “I just have to refrain from using my other forms and from sex until I gain control or get rid of it.”

“Aw... So no fun tonight?” Max asked, a pleading look on her face.

Cursing inwardly, she suddenly found herself between a rock and a hard place. But she could at least try to find a way out of it. “Shouldn’t you take it easy for the kid?”

Max’s expression turned into a pout. “Yeah, I should... Doesn’t mean I like it, though.”

She bit back a relieved sigh and put on an apologetic expression instead. “Sorry, but I could never forgive myself if I somehow hurt a child.”

“I know...” Max sighed and gave her a small smile. “I could possibly wait until Lance gets home, as long as it doesn’t take him two weeks or something.”

“Err… how exactly would needing to take it easy change with who you bed with?” Genuinely confused, Sephiroth blinked down on her fiancée.

“Because I’d be waiting longer between every bedding. I’d love to be able to sleep with someone every night, but...” Max gestured to her stomach. Her eyes widened and she pulled Sephiroth’s hand to her stomach right as the baby kicked.

A big smile stretched across Seph’s face and she hugged the pregnant woman with the unoccupied arm and her wing alike, while keeping the hand on her belly and gently stroking with it. “Seems like he’s pretty healthy and active.”

“Yep. Heh, you should’ve seen Home’s face when I told him nine months was normal for humans.”

The taller woman chuckled and felt her resistance crumble as the content and happiness eroded her reservations. “Look, Max. I don’t want you to suffer because I have silly problems with some demonic magic. It would be doable that I give you some fun, but it would be solely for your enjoyment.”

Max leaned out of the hug and looked at Sephiroth. “I can wait. I’m supposed to be anyways so I can try to set a better example for our fillies.”

“Okay. But don’t refrain from telling me if you are uncomfortable, please?”

Max gave her a knowing smile. “You’ll know when I can’t stand it any more.”

Nodding, the silver haired woman turned her attention back towards the table, noticing that Nightmare and Celestia were busy helping the children. Feeling a little brave, she chanced a glance in the direction Chrysalis had been. If she was honest with herself she hadn’t really paid attention if the bug was still present when she returned. She was relieved to find that the changeling had apparently left, so she just leaned back and stayed silent.

“So you said something about this affecting my children?” the gryphon king asked.

“Yes, from now on the children of yours that are hatched will be able to use magic, but will not have wings.”

The king clapped his claws together and rubbed them, a big grin on his face. “Then it’s time I took my leave, my wives aren’t hatching right now so...” He waggled his eyebrows at Sephiroth and turned to leave.

Seph just gave a respectful bow of her head. “Have a safe journey home.” But she couldn’t help it to add in her mind, This world is way too kinky.