“It’s not that different, Tom’s just being a bit foolish because he isn’t attracted to me and doesn’t want to deal with the awkwardness if he can avoid it. It’s nothing to do with your own worthiness, Wave. If you weren’t worthy in my eyes, we wouldn’t still be having this conversation. Anyways… I have no desire to scare anyone, though I have been wondering if I might be able to become like… a super hero or something? Go to wherever people are already afraid, and drink in that power while I help put an end to whatever’s scaring them? It’s just a thought though. Regardless, I need people who will set me straight if I get tempted to create my own fear, and I trust both of you in that respect. So… I’m inclined to put up with the awkwardness,” Eric said before smiling at Wave with a blush. “Besides, you’re pretty and cuddly and have great curves. All great things in my view.”

“What, I don’t swing that way. I’ve got no interest in guys, thank you very much,” Tom grumbled in extreme agitation, already feeling more than a bit jealous with Eric’s compliments to Wave for some reason. “Wave, look. I love you, not much as I could just yet, but that’ll come in time. Part of what you’re proposing includes physical activities and attraction, and Eric there? Bout the last thing I’d want on my mind when it comes time to get down. We’re all friends here, yeah, but I really am getting extremely uncomfortable about this now,” he griped, ducking down into the still rising water for a few seconds, rubbing his temples.

Wave looked to be in heavy thought, puzzling it through. "So you wouldn't want to hug him then? Or is this about that sex thing from before?" She raised a brow lightly. "I'm not doing that, so there's not much to worry about there." She pushed to the levers and adjusted it so the water flowing was warmer. "But let's put that aside. We're not here to settle our family, which I thought was settled, but I was wrong." She lifted an ear at the two. "You're the aliens, even more than me. What do you want then?"

“I think perhaps settling our family is the most pressing thing at the moment, one way or another. I don’t think I need to be family to continue your journey with you and remain together, for the most part. We’re all going to Baltimare once this meeting with Cadance is concluded, and we’ll decide what to do next from there,” Eric said definitively. “But Wave, as much as I enjoy a good cuddle, I think Tom doesn’t much appreciate it. He wasn’t even really willing to let me carry you when he was exhausted, and that’s a lot less… intimate in nature. And as much as you might be okay with it, I’m not really willing to accept a life without sex any longer than circumstances demand. If that’s not something you’re interested in, I should probably follow your earlier advice and find a suitable mare of my own in time. So… friends?”

Popping back above the water in time to hear Wave’s words, he impulsively wrapped his arms around her from behind, trapping her tail to a degree with his legs. “Wave, you and I will need to have a chat about some things soon, I think, especially when it comes to relationships,” he softly spoke, glancing up to Eric before some of the anger bled from his expression. “Eric, look… I’m sorry. I’m more than a bit on edge, to say the least, and for a moment there you might’ve hit a button. I’m more than happy to call you a friend, as you’ve saved my ass so many times in such a short time. But, Wave, I think before we talk about something like this again, we really do need to talk, as husband and wife, since we are married. Okay?” He gently kissed her cheek from behind, sighing.

Eric nodded to Tom, doing his best to hide the pain he felt at Tom’s anger. “I’m not attracted to you, either, Tom. But you’re welcome to your lovely wife.”

Wave nodded and returned the kiss eagerly before she sank into the water. Things became quiet then, and the evening passed there in the tub. A servant passed by an hour later, but was never seen. Her presence was only made known by the sliding tray of food and the scuttle of her nervous hooves as she hurried away. They were left to enjoy the food at least, and one another's company through the night.

They were guided to a bedroom, not a jail, by a guard, who remained outside their door. Breakfast was carried in by another guard, or was it the same guard? With their armor on, they all looked kind of familiar, but he offered the food with a smile, and they were being treated mostly like guests and less like rabid animals, so that was a step up.

Tom adjusted the loose fitting pair of shorts he was wearing, courtesy of Prince Armor. “So, best night of sleep I’ve ever had while being a ‘prisoner’ I’ve gotta say,” he remarked with a chuckle as they ate breakfast. “Beats the one time I spent the night in jail back on Earth, I’ll say that. Much nicer here, bed is a lot comfier.” Reaching over to Wave, he ran his fingers through her mane with a sigh, feeling mostly content for the first time now since arriving in Equestria.

Wave nibbled at a breakfast roll, looking uncertain. "I've felt odd since we got here." she nestled in against the touch and was soon snuggled against Tom even as she chewed. "Like I have to… do something."

“Can you be more specific?” Eric asked with a yawn from where he had slept on the foot of the bed, arching his back while he contemplated his warring desires to either eat or sleep in longer. “Something your goddess wants you to accomplish here?”

Wave shook her head. "Oh, no, she's more ob--" she cut off suddenly and flopped to the ground, and hurriedly waddled herself off to the restroom and slapped the door shut with a tail. It seems she remembered what it was.

While she was busy, a soft knocking came from the door.

Blinking a few times as he watched Wave hurry to the bathroom, Tom shrugged as he got up and walked to the door, opening it up with a bit of fruit in hand. “Yes?” he questioned, curious who it was at the door.

The smiling face of a pink pony was revealed. Cadance gently entered with a nod towards Tom. Her eyes took in his details curiously, but she didn't make it painfully obvious. "It's a pleasure to meet you. Are you truly a human, or partially, I should say?" Her eyes darted off and she gasped. She raised a hoof to her mouth as she beheld Eric.

Eric sat up, focusing his mind more now that they had company. “I am physically unaltered other than the eyes, so I’d make a better basis for your understanding of what humans look like. A pleasure to meet you as well. I am Eric Wolfgang, the partially transformed person there is Tom Sawyer. And you would be?”

Eyes going a bit wide at the pony before him, Tom was saved from making a fool of himself thanks to Eric. “Princess Cadance, it’s a pleasure to meet you, please, come in,” Tom remarked, stepping aside. “I was human, but now not really, even if I still mostly look the part, I guess. I’ve got some great luck, just like Eric over there does.” Tom stuck a finger out in Eric’s direction.

Cadance bowed her head towards Tom. "You are as you chose to be. I will recognize you as human if you wish." She approached Eric though, her attention largely dominated. "How did you come… You've been foully tainted." A hoof raised to brush against the corners of his eyes with the greatest of care and sympathy. "Does it hurt?"

Eric thought a moment. “I’ve been granted the power to save lives, and used it as such. But I am well aware it has other uses, though perhaps not as aware as some of your ponies. It doesn’t hurt, physically, but… I don’t care for being feared or hated. That does hurt, deeply.”

Tom smiled at Cadance’s words, moving out of the way so that the more pressing concern could be addressed first. “I’ll admit, he’s saved my ass a few times, and he got us on the train where we were… apprehended,” Tom chimed in. “I’ve expressed my concern about it, though, but I can’t fault his original reasoning for it.”

Cadance took a slow breath and moved a hoof along with the motion several times, calming herself down. "Now, I imagine my subjects expect me to blast you until you're gone or clean, but I don't think that's called for." She smiled ever-so gently at Eric. "Instead, I'm going to ask that you trust me, completely, more than any whisper in your head. It may hurt, it might not even work, but if it does, you'll be something that even Sombra tried, but failed, to be."

Eric nodded. “The whisper has… proven itself more worthy of trust than I’ve ever given it. I always feel like it’s telling me the truth to lower my guard until it can tell me that one crucial lie that will destroy me when I believe it. I’ll trust you, and I can bear with some pain. Can you tell me what you intend to attempt?”

“I say trust her, Eric. Can’t be any more weird than ending up a goddess’ priest, after all, yeah?” Tom gave Eric his two cents, moving to his side and resting a hand on his friend’s shoulder. “Especially if it’ll get rid of that whisper… like I said, if it wasn’t for that, I don’t really see an issue with it.”

Cadance glanced towards Tom, new questions forming in her mind. There was only time to deal with one human and their oddness at a time. "The darkness does not have to be evil, but it has… a lot of momentum towards that. I want to free you from that." She sat down and raised her hooves. "I have a theory. Humans are very susceptible to the harmonies of this world. The last I met became a pony not long after he came here, just to be partially returned. It would be far from the last change he, then she, and eventually he again would face. Not because they are specifically susceptible to magic, but…"

She took a slow breath. "It is a matter of the mind. They, you, you wanted to change. Am I wrong?"

“No, you’re not wrong,” Eric confirmed. “We come from an age of change in our world, where new changes spread swiftly and inspire even more change. But personally… I’ve always been more comfortable than most with the idea of shadow magic, and well… tired of feeling powerless and irrelevant. It’s not that I want to conquer or bully, just that I want to have the means to make a positive impact. I wanted to help. It’s why I ended up here, at Tom’s side, rather than in someplace more quiet and pleasant. Not that this palace is unpleasant… perhaps I would have arrived here directly instead of trekking through ice and snow, though.”

Cadance gave a sad little smile. "You would have been wiser to take the quiet option, but you are a good person for seeing to the safety of another. Come." She reached with her hooves, cupping Eric's cheeks. "It's not the magic that is foul. Magic is magic, in the end, with no purpose, but the shadow of the north is a terrible thing, looking always for weaknesses, like a frail human mind. I will banish it, and it will hurt, a lot. You may even feel powerless for a while, but I doubt the memory of how it works will be gone forever."

“Do it,” Eric consented, closing his eyes and bracing for the pain.

Her horn glowed a soft pink light and her vision shifted to the love realm. She looked for ties and found a timid wire going towards the other human, barely that of camaraderie-filled friendship. Another tether wove into the bathroom that had a promise of unfulfilled love and she grew curious, but there was little time to go exploring that. There were no shortcuts to soothe the pain to come, so she let the vision fade. She called out, "Bring it in!"

The door opened and a guard trotted in with a crystal heart held in his magic. He carefully set it beside Cadance, saluted, and stepped back outside.

Don't listen to her! She'll break you. Break us! Strike her down and flee with the gifts you have learned, and I'll show you better tricks. The dark whisper sounded very displeased and even, dare one to say, afraid. Next Chapter: 25 - Squinting into the Light Estimated time remaining: 2 Hours, 5 Minutes