Ya know, I wasn’t too keen on being in a new body. I’ve had to relearn all the stuff I thought I knew, and learn stuff I had no clue about. It was a serious pain in the ass, but now my opinion was shifting. These abilities were starting to grow on me. I was a living enhancement. I could make ponies stronger, enhance their vision, and keep them safe if they lost consciousness! I had to admit it was still weird being linked to my host. On one hand it was beyond interesting, I felt what they felt, tasted what they tasted, heard what they thought. The down side, there was this strange forced intimacy. I’m not intrusive by nature, but being like this it wasn’t an option. I was aware of my host’s feelings, thoughts, and plans. It forces me to be very trusting of those I’m attached to, but also allowed for this sort of honesty that I’d never known before. Neither me nor my host can lie to each other, or we’d pretty much know. Like right now, Twilight was saying out loud she wasn’t going to nerd-gasm over having aura sight. (Ok maybe not in those words, exactly), but in her mind she was on the verge of flipping out. Her eyes were darting to everything that moved. She looked at Fluttershy, Spike, and the ponies outside.

Poor Fluttershy had no clue what was happening. Her face was a mixture of fear and confusion. Whenever, Twilight tried to spot something new to look at with her new vision spectrum, I could see Fluttershy trying to determine what to do. Thankfully, Spike knew exactly what to do. He slapped her. Both Twilight and I felt that which snapped my concentration.

“Twilight, you need to calm down! You’re freaking out Fluttershy out!” He emphasized this by holding a claw toward poor Flutters who was verging on tears. Oh God, I can’t handle Flutters crying. I had a hard enough time with anything crying in front of me. Fluttershy crying might actually kill me out of pure guilt.

“Twilight...if she cries, I might actually die...again. Please tell her you are okay.”

Both our statements derailed her train of thought, and caused my purple nerd of a host to actually look at Fluttershy. She was trembling, and her look of concern was almost cemented on her face. I felt Twilight swimming in guilt. She immediately went to comfort her friend. “Fluttershy, I’m okay! I swear! It’s just...I could see...it was amazing!” I couldn’t see her eyes bulging out of her head, but I could feel them bulging out.

“Doing good, but you’re still at a sixteen and we need you at about a three. Take a breath and really CALM her down.”

Twilight took a moment to compose herself. After a few breaths, her heart rate came down and her mind relaxed. “I’m sorry. Dante’s abilities are just...amazing. He can see raw magic. When I saw you or any other pony, I could see their magical flow! I didn’t mean to scare you.” Twilight gave Fluttershy an assuring hug and Fluttershy seemed to calm down a bit. Aaaw, that’s so heartwarming....Brain, I can already feel you starting that thought. If you know what’s good for the both of us...you keep it in the R34 closet.

After the hug was broken and Fluttershy was calmer, Twilight suggested we take a visit to Sweet Apple Acres. She wanted to see if Applejack might be willing to see what my enhancement ability might have on an earth pony. Fluttershy opted out, saying she needed to check on her animals. Honestly, I think between Twilight’s reaction and my effect on her eyes, I think we spooked her. Regardless of her reason for leaving, Fluttershy said goodbye and headed off to her cottage. Twilight, Spike, and I made our way to Sweet Apple Acres.

It was a bit of a walk to the farm but between the three of us talking we managed to pass the time (Twilight spoke for me, but it still counts.) “So...you said you were human before?” Spike asked me.

Twilight was doing most of my responses, “He says, ‘yes’. From how he describes them humans as bipedal, mostly hairless except for on their heads, and they had feet rather than hooves. He says he can show you an image if you want.”

Spike looked hesitant at first and said it was cool. I transferred over to Spike and focused on the best image I could think of. The image came to my mind and Spike seemed to pick it up. "Whoa, who's that? It look really weird"

"Yeah, that's me, Spike."

"Uh...you looked...really...uh..." He was searching for a good cover, so far he had nothing.

"It's fine, Spike. I realize compared to ponies, humans are a bit out there."

"That's putting it mildly. So what was your special talent?"

"Sarcasm"

"Oh, ha-ha. Seriously, what was it?"

"Well I was a paralegal before I came here, and I was working towards my law degree. Does that count?"

"So... justice was you talent?"

"Heck if I know. We didn't get marks on our sides. Legal stuff was what I understood best, figured I could make a decent living. I mostly did it to help people.”

“Wait, you didn’t get cutie marks?”

“Nope. We had jobs but nothing like the flank marks.”

Spike was starting to question my mannerisms, “You mean cutie marks right?”

“Yeah, the back side marks.” Yes, I was messing with him. Sorry, but I refuse to say “cutie mark” out loud or in thought. I’ll call it everything but.

“Back side mark? Really?”

“I’ve got plenty more.”

“Ugh, I get it. So why did you choose to be a para-whatchacallit if it wasn’t for a cutie mark?”

“Well... life isn’t always fair. I figured if I was going to live my life, I was going to do something worthwhile. No matter how small.”

“Pretty noble. How’d it work out for you?”

“I did some good. Fixed some lives, pissed off some people. Nothing I regret.”

“You two have been really quiet.” Twilight interjected. I could see we had almost arrived at the farm. There were plenty of apple trees in the distance, and a small home was coming into view.

“Oop, lost track of time. We’re almost there but we can totally talk later. Okay, buddy?”

“Yeah, that’d be cool! I’d like to hear more about your world.”

“You and Twilight both. I’d link the two of you together for us to talk at once but that just wears on my mind. Talk to ya later, Spike.”

“Later, Dante”

Spike held his arm out and I transferred back to Twilight.

“Have a good chat?”

“Yeah, Spike is pretty curious. Guess he gets it from you.”

That statement filled Twilight with a kind of motherly pride. I kind of assumed Twilight and Spike had a either a brother/sister or mother/son relationship. To feel that sort of emotion coming from Twilight really showed how much she cared for the dragon.

“Well, I’m sure he appreciates you talking to him. I always worried he didn’t have much of a male role model.” Twilight was going to go on when there was a decisive *Thwack* coming from within the orchard. “Sounds like Applejack is hard at work. Let’s see if she has some free time.”

It took a bit of searching but eventually the continual thwacks led us to a certain orange pony, along with a smaller yellow pony with a red mane. Oh Mah Gawd! It’s Apple Bloom! No, no. Keep fanboy in check. Don’t want to spook her. Let Twilight introduce me...then hug that adorable little....No! Bad fan boy! Back in the corner! Anyway, by the looks of things the two of them had been collecting apples and placing them in large wooden tubs.

Twilight was wondering what was going on with my thoughts and my fanboy freak out. She dismissed it for the time being and greeted Applejack and Applebloom. “Hey, girls. Mind helping out with an experiment?”

Applebloom was the first to perk up with a giant grin on her face. D’aaaaw! Noooo...maintain...control. “Wha kinda experiment, Twi?” AJ asked.

“We found out Dante has the ability to make other ponies stronger, but when we tried it with Rainbow Dash she went a bit overboard. Could you help us try again? We need to see if it can be used over a longer period of time without the fatigue.”

Applejack pondered this a moment, but Applebloom decided to chime in, “Who’s Dante?”

Twilight knelt down and pulled the lower part of her mane out of the way, exposing my position. “That black mark is Dante. He’s a Symbio.” Twilight looked to Applebloom to gauge her reaction, she looked confused. “Yer birthmark has a name?”

Birthmark? Ok, suddenly pride seems more important than cuteness. I let a tendril come forward and wave at Applebloom. She was obviously stunned along with Applejack, who hadn’t seen my tendrils before, nor the eye change associated with my powers.

“Whoa, Nelly! Is that Dante doin’ that?” AJ inquired. I gave a thumbs up. “Uh, is that a yes?”

Twilight answered for me, “Yes, Dante has the ability to conjure these tendrils. We also discovered, he can enhance vision to what he calls ‘aura sight’.”

AJ was a mixture of impressed and shocked. Applebloom on the other hand was poking my tendril. “He feels funny.”

“I know right?” Spike chimed in. “Kinda slimy to the touch, but you don’t notice once he’s attached.”

Applebloom looked at Spike, “He’s been on ya Spike? What’s it like?”

Spike put a claw to his chin, “Eh, weird at first, but after he’s there, you hardly notice.”
I wasn’t sure how to feel about that. I knew I was slimy, I’m almost certain I’m part gak. Eh, I’d let it slide.

“So, Applejack, want to help?” Twilight asked again.

Applejack took another second to think before answering.“Hmmm, so long as we’re working on some of the chores ‘round the farm. I don’t mind.”

That was about all I needed to hear. “Cool,mooch off ya later, Twilight!” I said before letting my tendril move over to AJ and pulled myself over. My earth pony host gave a slight shudder as I nestled into her mane, but otherwise did not protest. “Hey, Applejack. Doing okay?”

“Whoa. That’s a might bit strange.” Applejack put a hoof up to feel out my location and she rubbed against me. I felt my body shiver and hers as well. “Wooo. Ok. That was....something.”

“Oh, Oh, what happened?! I want to record as much as I can!” Twilight said in a gushing nerd tone.

“Well..uh....I...he...” I felt Applejack’s face blushing a bit. Wait, blushing? Why was she blushing?

“Well, what did you do?” Twilight further inquired.

I felt AJ’s mind trying to find the right words to describe what she had just felt. She came upon the word she was looking for....Oh, my.... “Uh...Applejack... I don’t think we need to tell Twilight about that...or anypony for that matter. It didn’t happen.”

“I’m with you on that one, partner.” My host turned to Twilight, “Uh, Twi, sa’ll right ifin we pretended that didn’t happen?” Twilight looked confused. “But it might be important to-mmmmh!” I wrapped a tendril around her mouth. This was not a route we were going down, and I made sure Twilight knew it. I gave her a wage of a tendril finger then released her.

“Ooookay, we’ll leave it be for now.” Twilight rubbed her muzzle real quick before looking back to Applejack. “Okay, let’s see about using that enhancement ability.”

Applejack’s blush had died down by now and was now giving Twilight a quizzical look, “How you plannin’ on testin’ that, Twi?”

Twilight took a second to look around, her gaze started to lock onto the tubs of apples, and she got that gleam in her eye. “We’ll use the apples!”

Applejack’s questioning look only got deeper, “Say what now?”

“It’s simple, we use the tubs of apples and gauge how many you can carry.Then, we do it again until you start to struggle. When you start to feel strained Dante will boost your strength! If we do this right you should be able to do a max load for longer” She finished off with a smile and a squee.

“I guess that’ll work. You up for it?”

Applejack just shrugged and said, “Eh, why not? Load ‘em up, Twi.”

Soon enough there were three full tubs were loaded onto AJ’s back. She could still walk but she was definitely pushing herself to hold them up. Twilight, Spike, and Applebloom followed along the way. We brought the tubs back to the farm and had them unloaded. We made our way back to where we were before to collect the next set of three. Again, we loaded up Applejack and again I felt her body really pushing itself. Still she managed to take the second load from the orchard to the barn and back again. The third time was the kicker though, I felt her really pushing herself to get the third load up and onto her back. Ok, time to put this to the test. I put my focus onto AJ’s legs. Her legs were straining a bit, I felt her muscles really working to hold up the load on her back. With a bit more focus I felt a familiar twinge from before. Suddenly, her muscles weren’t straining as much. Her legs defied gravity and straightened to fully support her cargo. Even AJ noticed. “Boy, howdy. Ain’t that somethin’.”

“Yeah, it is something alright.” I said in earnest, “Just don’t over do it, I don’t want ya bed ridden. Oh and you can think what you want to say. It’s a bit easier.”

“Like this?”

“Yeeeup”

"You makin' fun of me?"

"Neuwp"

I could tell she didn't believe me. Didn't care.

I felt Applejack smirk as she made her way back to the farm. When she unloaded the tubs I let my focus drop. Applejack’s legs weren’t burning but they definitely felt worked. “How you holding up?”

“Not too bad. I don’t think I could do that again without ya given me a boost.”

Ok, I think that pretty much sets it. The boost is a one time deal. I mean yeah I could give her legs another kicker but it might push her too far. “Thanks, Applejack. I think we’re done with the enhancement. I can help with my tendrils if it helps at all.”

“Well, that’s mighty kind of ya, Dante. I’ll let Twi and the other’s know and we can get the last batch all taken care of.”

Applejack took a moment to wipe the sweat from her brow before turning to look at Twilight and the others. “Heya, Twi. I think I’m gonna need some help with that there next batch. I think if Dante using his ability any more I might not be walkin’ so pretty tomorrow.” Twilight seemed to understand. She took down some notes and when she was done, had Spike send it off to Celestia.

We spent the most of the day helping out Applejack and Applebloom with taking care of some chores. I ended up using my tendrils to carry some of the tubs. I had a newfound respect for Applejack, her body was still working hard to carry the apples but she still hefting each tub without so much as a grunt or a complaint.
_________________________________________________________________________

We finished up a little after lunch, Granny Smith was kind enough to make us a nice apple fritter with spiced apple dish. Uh, it was sooo good! I would make a reference about it being a party in my mouth...except I didn’t have a mouth. Anyway, we finished up and I made my way back to Twilight. Applejack thanked us for our assistance and she even said if I ever wanted to help out around the farm I was always welcome. Cool, maybe I could have some kind of job, and NOT be a mooch. We said our goodbye and started back towards the library. I informed Twilight about what I tried this time, with regards to enhancement.Twilight immediately went into her accelerated thought process. Part of her was wondering if there was some way to get around the muscle fatigue, then another part was curious about possible magical burn out from an enhanced spell. As interesting as that was, I was wondering about my super secret spy mission. I mean, I’ve read about assassination plots and seen plenty of movies dealing with them...but this was the real deal. It was serious, and there were lives on the line. I mean...if they were willing to kill Celestia, they’d try to kill Luna too! This was some heavy shit. I mean this is a world of technicolor ponies capable of flight and magic! You’d think assassination plots would be furthest from happening here. Ugh, no use freaking out about this for now. I’ll cross that bridge when-

*BUUUUUUUUUUUURP* *FOOOSH*

...Fuck you universe...just fuck you. Sure enough with the burp and foosh came a scoll bearing the seal of Equestria. Twilight quickly snapped out of her thought process and snagged the scroll out of mid-air. With a quick whip of magic the seal was broken and the letter unfurled.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

My Faithful Student,
I have been reading the information you have sent me, regarding Dante. From what you have sent, I can only say I am interested at what other capabilities he might posses. However, I would like you to halt any experiments for the time being and please send Dante to me as soon as possible. I’d like to go over some other details about him continuing to live in Equestria.

With Thanks,
Princess Celestia
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Well, guess that’s my invitation. Twilight seemed to take this as interesting news. “Do you think Princess Celestia is planning to make you a citizen of Equestria?”

“If she does, I’d like to know how that’ll work. I mean I have to be attached to somepony most of the time so...Ya know never mind. Hopefully, Celestia has it all planned out.”

“I’m sure the Princess has it all planned out. Let’s get back to the library and we’ll get you to Canterlot. Oh, you might feel a bit queasy.”

Queasy? Why the hell would I be-

I felt Twilight’s horn light up and a magical force envelop her body along with Spike...oooooh shit.

*Shoooomp!*

Author's Notes:

Whoa, I was WAY too behind on posting that. Sorry for the delays ya'll.