Jim heard about the events that happened, but he had missed all the parts after he had left. The part about a cthonian resident was brow raising, but lacked the impact it had on the others that had braved through it.

It was more surprising to come home from work to find Sweetie Drops laying on his couch. "Hey?" It wasn't like he was upset to see her, just surprised. "What brings you this way?"

Sweetie shrugged her shoulders. "Can we talk?"

When was it ever a good thing when a female of any species asked that? "What's wrong?" He sat down beside her on the couch.

Sweetie let out a slow sigh. "I really kind of botched things up. Ponies needed me here, and where was I? Not here."

Jim looked Sweetie up and down. How was such a cute and darling pony working as a guard? "Neither of us was expecting that. It wasn't as if--"

Sweetie raised a hoof to his lips, gently silencing him. "I understand that, logically. This isn't about logic. I am a pony. I have emotions. Somepony died and maybe if I had been there..."

Jim considered a moment before he reached and gently set a hand on her back, petting gently. He didn't try to reason it away again, and she seemed to appreciate that.

There was a quiet between them for a moment. before she sat up on her haunches. "Alright... enough moping around. Now, I plan to pay you back for all your help."

Jim raised a brow, but she was moving right ahead. She hopped down to the floor and turned back to him. "I'll be giving you some of my bits each pay day until it matches what you had to pay for the door and my lodging." She held up a hoof. "And no saying no on this. It's the least I can do."

He could argue. He wanted to a little, but he decided against it. Sweetie needed to do something to make amends with herself, and if that was going to be the way... "Alright." He pushed his way back up to his feet. "You got it. Now, for the moment, let's put aside those things. Want to hang out?"

Sweetie smiled. "You're a dear, but I really better get back to work. I've had a long enough vacation." She trotted towards the door. "But I won't be a stranger."

Spring looked over the vibrant green of her domain. It was alive, smelled fresh and wonderful. It was hers.

She flinched as she felt something. It was a sensation she had only felt once before. But how?

She moved towards the source of the disturbance, looking around with an almost paranoid awareness. How could she not? The presence of cold iron was no jesting matter for any fey, especially one that seemed to carry the taint of purpose to battle.

The source became clear. It was Razz Berry, clutching a dagger in his teeth. He had rowan berries done in a necklace, bobbing as he advanced. He saw her not long after she saw him and approached with a frown.

Spring was torn. Part of her quailed at the threat of that dagger and was repulsed by the necklace, the other... It was Razz. Her beta. He was no warrior. "Put that down, outside. Leave at once and I will forget this dire intrusion, Razz." She spoke firmly and clearly, as one might to a naughty dog. "You don't want to make me angry."

Razz shook his head quickly. An agile wing brushed at his necklace, bringing a iron horseshoe into sight. He had come prepared, but for what?

Spring could smell something. Oatmeal? Such a thing... It made fey magic a little harder to focus on a target. Usually no more than a nuisance, but Razz was layering himself in folk protections. She didn't like it. She drew her bow. An arrow wasn't magic by nature. "I will hurt you if I have to, Razz. I don't want to. Go away and put those accursed items down."

Razz suddenly charged her, launching into the air and coming as a streak. She released the arrow. To his considerable credit, he jinked out of the way just in time, leaving a red line along one of his legs instead of piercing his heart. He was onto her, driving her to the ground under the terrible weight of the iron he wore. That dagger pressed to her neck, burning terribly where it touched.

"You are beaten," he hissed. "I claim you."

Spring blinked. "Claim? Me?!"

Razz pressed the dagger a little closer. Her blood spilled just faintly, but it was more than enough to make his threat crystal clear. "You're mine!"

Spring's mind raced. Was she really being defeated by little Razz? "This isn't like you."

Razz shivered softly. "I'm not a beta," he hissed out. "I'm your alpha." His tail twitched fitfully. "Now say it. Say it! You're my mare. My brood mare! You're mine to have!"

Spring was disarmed by Razz's commanding shouts, but also... intrigued. Was this a bold move for her heart? Did Razz really wish to become the terrible beast that Tabitha had steadfastly refused to be? She looked into the fierce eyes of the pegasus over her. "If you kill me, I won't serve much as a mare."

Razz spat the blade to the side, though he still wore the horse shoe. Tactically, a poor move.

She could have dashed him against a tree. But... perhaps she wanted to see where it was all leading. She raised a hand and stroked it over one of his sides. "You don't want to hurt your mare, now do you?"

Razz broke into a sudden smile. "So you admit it, you are my mare!"

She stroked down his chest, trailing fingers through the plush fur as she gazed into his wild eyes. "I'm already heavy with life, my stud."

Razz's breath caught at being called a stud. "And you'll finish bearing it." He leaned in and nuzzled at the wound he had created, licking it clean. The rowan berries he wore made her itchy, but she ignored it for the time. "You'll take the time to learn to love your new master, then you'll bear me a fine foal. Don't even think of saying no."

Spring wondered where he had learned those things. Perhaps he had run off to a library? Whatever the case, he was acting in a way she approved of. Her legs wrapped up around him. "What will you do about Tabitha? She'll be quite upset to learn you've stolen her brood from her."

Razz's snout broke into a wide grin. "That's for me to worry about. I'll tell her myself. She can challenge me if she thinks she has a chance."

Spring barely suppressed a snort. She was fairly confident Tabitha could rip Razz apart if she wanted to, but it was all part of the game. She couldn't help but grin a little. Razz was willing to play it, where Tabitha had quailed and demurred at almost every step. Maybe he wasn't such a beta... "Only one thing remains then..."

Razz seemed to know what she had hinted at. With quivering hooves, he shoved her over roughly and climbed up on her back. He claimed his brood mare in the forest, and formally threw aside the title of 'beta'.

When it was all over, Razz sat back, panting and a little scared looking.

Spring raised a brow at it. "What's wrong, new alpha?"

Razz quirked a little smile. Being called that was nice. "I... I didn't hurt you, I hope?" He advanced to nuzzle her cheek.

Spring rolled her eyes softly. Razz was still Razz. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him close. "I would request that you not threaten me with cold iron again. A proud alpha needs only strong words and their powerful body."

Razz sat up on his haunches. "That reminds! I beat you, and I demand a boon for it."

Spring cocked a brow. Razz wasn't holding the dagger. He couldn't force her. "I'm not sure where you read that."

Razz grunted and thrust a hoof at her. "Brood mare! Obey your alpha!"

Spring smirked faintly, increasingly amused by Razz's behavior. "And what boon would my alpha desire?"

He spread his wings wide. "Use your magic. Make me stronger, faster." He went red a bit. "More virile... Make me the alpha you want." He held up a hoof. "No fingers. I'm a pegasus and proud of it. You're the brood mare of an animal." He practically sneered the word. "Never forget it."

Spring shivered. Those were the sort of words she'd wanted to hear. Perhaps being Razz's mare could have some... benefits. "I am... not entirely sure where this sudden bravery came from, but I approve of it." She went to stand, only to have Razz shove her over suddenly onto her rump.

He advanced on her, growling like an animal. "You made me so angry, and ashamed... I... decided I wasn't going to just take it anymore, so I... I got all this, and, um... You're not mad, are you?"

Spring shook her head. Razz was clearly a bit torn between the flimsy dominant attitude he was trying to foster, and the self-doubt that still lurked in his meek heart. He would need work to become a true alpha, but Spring was starting to feel he would be worth the effort spent to raise him to the task. "I'm sorry for angering you, my alpha. How can I appease you?"

His wings unfurled all the wider. "Do as I asked! No! Command! Improve me, but don't change me. You know the difference."

His tense stance faltered as one of her fingers trailed along an equine sheath, downwards towards dangling orbs. "You want these to be brimming with power and fertility?"

Razz thumped a hind hoof into the ground, firming and growing at her attention. "I want to be so... good even you couldn't stop from getting a foal."

Spring colored faintly. Such a bold request. Could she create such terrifying levels of potency? It was a classic paradox. Could she create something beyond her power? She leaned in and kissed the stallion on the chest. "And you wish to be as strong as a pony three times your size."

Razz grew all the more, bobbing his head. "As strong as you can make me without making me look all... bulgy. I'm not a weight lifter and I don't plan to look like one. I'm your sleek predator."

Sleek was not a word Spring would use to describe Razz, but she nodded.

He brushed a wing against Spring's throat, over the still present wound. She wouldn't be able to magic away the iron cut until time eased that ache. "Can you make me faster?"

She trailed a finger along one of those powerful wings. "You were quite fast enough today, my alpha. May I remind, you avoided an elven arrow, a feat to take pride in. Most don't live to try again."

Razz paled around the nose and his ears as the foolishness of his action was made clear. Maybe he was fast enough... "I want to be healthy. You don't want your alpha getting sick. I'll live as long as you do." Unspoken, he would also live as long as Tabitha and not be the first to greet death in their family, a terrifying reality that he was busily shedding. "Do this, my mare, and I will be happy. A happy alpha means a happy mare."

Author's Notes:

So... words. You get Friday's content early. No updates until Monday/tuesday.

More relationship building going on here. Go Razz! A Typo for sure, but maybe for the best?

Wonder how Horpip's holding up...