It had been a good week, mostly. Poor Twilight wasn’t adjusting well to having me watch over her so directly, and Spike seemed to think we were competing for the title of best assistant. All of the other little ponies didn’t seem to mind, however.

“Twilight dear, you’re supposed to meet your friends in the park in a few minutes. Shouldn’t you be getting ready?” I asked, extending a brush towards the disheveled unicorn.

“I’ve got it!” Spike shouted as he snatched the brush out of my loose grip, he had been acting increasingly hostile over the last couple weeks.

“Okay Spike, it’s all yours,” I said, trying to avoid a confrontation.

“Spike, you really should be nicer to Jeff, he’s only trying to help,” Twilight admonished as she accepted the brush and began fixing her mane.

“It’s quite alright, dear. I believe I understand little Spikie’s feelings.”

“What could you possibly know about me?” Spike countered angrily.

“You forget little one, I am this building. I can hear you complain when you think you’re alone. You are afraid that I’m going to replace you,” I responded simply, careful not to say too much. Spike froze.

“Spike! Is this true? Oh, I’m so sorry, I had no idea. Maybe I shouldn’t go, not when my number one assistant needs me,” Twilight ranted, dropping the brush and pulling Spike into a hug. I picked up the brush and finished fixing her mane before putting the brush away.

“No, I’ll be fine. You should go have some fun, Twilight,” Spike said, showing his unusual maturity.

“I agree, you haven’t spent much time with your friends this week, Twilight. Don’t you have a friendship report due in three days?” I added.

“Ohmygoshyou’reright,Ihavetogobye,” Twilight called as she bolted for the door.

“How did you know that would work?” Spike asked curiously; I fixed him with a blank stare, “Right, the whole ‘you are the house’ thing. So, what happens now? Are we supposed to fight?”

“Why would we do that?” I replied in my real voice, which was noticeably deeper and lacked the singsong quality it usually had.

“I don’t know; I just figure it’s only a matter of time before Twi decides she doesn’t want a runt hanging around. What am I supposed to do?” Spike answered sadly. I sighed.

“Spike you’re not a runt, you’re still a child. You’ll grow up eventually.”

“I’m thirteen, I should be twice as tall as I am now. I’m a runt, Twilight just hasn’t figured it out yet,” Spike sobbed as he sat down and tried to hold his tears in with his hands, “Maybe that’s why my real parents didn’t want me, they knew I was defective.”

That word shook me to my core. After Lord Jekyll had discovered my unique personality, he had flipped a coin to decide whether I was defective or not. That coin could have ended my life.

“You are not defective Spike. I may not know enough about dragons to explain your height issues, but I have met my fair share. You are the nicest, most selfless dragon I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. If you really believe Twilight doesn’t see that as well, then you should take a good long look at your life. Twilight will never think of you as anything other than her Spike, and neither will I,” I declared, holding onto Spike’s shoulder reassuringly.

“Then you aren’t trying to take my place?” Spike asked hopefully, looking up at where I was jutting out of the wall.

“Of course not. Lord Jekyll told me to take care of Twilight, so that’s what I’m doing. I never meant to upset you, in fact, I consider taking care of you to be part of that order.”

“And by that you mean…”

“The common definition. Fed, bathed, in bed on time. If he wanted you dead, it would have happened a long time ago.”

“Dude, you need to work on the creep factor,” Spike commented.

“So I’ve been told. Six times today,” I replied dryly, “I’m trying.”

“Wait, it’s eight in the morning. How is that possible?” Spike asked, his fears forgotten.

“I’m roughly twelve miles wide and capable of holding multiple conversations at the same time, right now I’m also making Mayor Mare some coffee and giving Lyra a massage,” I explained.

“Really? That’s pretty cool. Anything interesting going on?” Spike asked with a little too much enthusiasm before stopping himself, an embarrassed look crossing his face.

“I close off my senses when the locals get...close, it isn’t any of my business,” I replied, giving him a disapproving look.

“Sorry. According to some books I’ve found, I’m hitting something called-” Spike began.

“Puberty. And part of it is learning how to control yourself. I won’t make a big deal out of this, but I also won’t help you build your own ‘creep factor,’” I scolded.

“Wait a minute, you’re acting weird,” Spike pointed out, finally noticing my change in demeanor.

“In a manner of speaking. This is my normal attitude; I only act feminine to mess with Lord Jekyll.”

“You can do that? I got the impression that you were his slave or something,” Spike pressed, leaning closer.

“It’s complicated. I’m forced to follow his orders for the safety of others, but they are rare and open to interpretation. Outside of that, I am free to make my own choices.”

“Kind of like me and Twilight?”

“Twilight and I, and that would be a decent comparison.”

“We’re not so different after all. Thanks Jeff, I feel much better.”

“Anytime Spike,” I replied.

“I may as well get my chores done for the day, maybe Twilight will let me go to the arcade,” Spike commented as he rose and began walking towards the stairs, I followed him into the main room.

“Spike, can I ask you something personal?”

“I don’t have a crush on Twilight; she’s basically my mom.”

“Have you ever had a male figure in your life?” I asked, pointedly ignoring Spike’s statement.

“Wow, straight for the kill, huh.” Spike paused on the stairs, my head hanging from the ceiling next to him. “Not really, Shining was around sometimes, and the guards were okay, but it was usually Twilight and the Princess.”

“Thank you for your honesty, what do you say we go play catch?” I suggested.

“Jeff, are you trying to insert yourself as a father figure?” Spike accused, throwing me a sideways glance.

“So much for subtlety. Yes, I am.”

“Sure, as soon as I get my chores done. What’s today?”

“Friday, dusting and sweeping.” My tendrils swarmed over every surface in the library, removing any trace of dust or other impurities. “Done.”

“Jeff, why did you dust me?” Spike asked, an uncomfortable expression on his face.

“Dead skin creates dust. Clean off the dead skin, and you reduce the amount of dust you have to deal with later,” I explained, attempting to cover my lapse in attention.

“I have scales,” Spike pointed out flatly.

“Dandruff?”

“Dragons don’t have hair.”

“I’m sorry, I got distracted for a moment and didn’t mean to,” I admitted.

“Did something happen? Is Twilight okay?” Spike asked, panic starting to appear on his face.

“Everyone is fine, I just need to have a word with Lyra.”

“Oooh yeah, that’s the spot. Right there. Oh, don’t stop,” Lyra moaned into her pillow.

“Lyra? Are you okay?” Bon-Bon asked as she peeked around the door to find her roommate face down on her bed, a number of tendrils gently massaging her shoulders and neck. Lyra looked up at the sound.

“Boooonnnnniiiiiie, you gotta try thish. Itsh amazshing,” Lyra replied, her tongue hanging out the side of her mouth.

“Uh, yeah. I thought I heard something else, I’m going to go now,” Bon-Bon said before retreating.

“Bye Bonnie. Ooh, yeah, like that. Oh, the only way this could get better was if you had hands,” Lyra commented longingly. I interpreted this as a request and formed a pair of hands to work on each joint with.

“Is that better honey?” I asked in my usual tone. Lyra looked over her shoulder and froze.

“Hands?” she hissed, her eyes wide, “You have hands now?”

“Is that bad? I’m sorry.” As I attempted to retract the arms, Lyra spun in place and wrapped her forelegs around three of them.

“No! Bring them back! And more, more of them!” she shouted frantically. I set her back in her previous position and, hesitantly, resumed the massage.

“Are you well, Lyra?” I asked, concerned.

“I like hands,” Lyra said simply, “Could you do my back as well?”

“Alright, but when did you develop this preference? I’ve never heard you mention it before,” I asked idly.

“Dated a minotaur for a couple of weeks last summer. The things she could do with those hands,” Lyra replied wistfully, clearly recalling a fond memory.

“She?” I continued, not really paying attention.

“Mmm, hips. Very sore.” I added another set to massage the desired area.

“Legs.” Four more pairs of arms extended.

“So how are things between you and Bon-Bon?” I asked, searching for a new topic to talk about.

“We broke up a week ago, but we’re still friends. Flip,” Lyra replied before flipping over and looking at me expectantly. I resumed my massage of her neck, shoulders and legs but hesitated to continue with the rest.

“Lyra, I don’t-” I managed before she grabbed three of the idle hands in her magic, forcing one of them into her mouth and the other two to massage her teats. I attempted to retract all the limbs on reflex, leaving the three she had a hold of in place until a magic blocking glob affixed itself to her horn. The hands that had been on her teats shot back to me and were reabsorbed immediately, Lyra bit down on the remaining one and held it in place.

“Lyra, please let go of me. I’m not comfortable with this,” I said as calmly as I could, but my shock could be felt throughout the town. Lyra just shook her head grabbed on with her hooves as well.

I sent another head to get help from Bon-Bon, “Could you help me get Lyra off, please?”

“You two are moving awfully fast, don’t you think?” an amused Bon-Bon replied.

“What? No, I meant off of me. She’s got a hold of one of my hands and won’t let go. Please help me,” I corrected. Bon-Bon sighed and began walking towards Lyra’s bedroom.

“Lyra, we talked about this, horseapples, we broke up over this. You can’t live like this Lyra, this hand obsession is tearing your life apart, and I can’t sit here and watch you destroy yourself. I’m making you choose Lyra: that stupid hand or me,” Bon-Bon said quietly once she had made her way to Lyra, who still had my hand lodged in her mouth.

Lyra froze and began to cry, she released my hand a moment later and hugged Bon-Bon. I retreated from the house and closed off my ability to see and hear what happened inside; I didn’t want anything to do with the insane mare contained within. At least the Cakes were more easygoing.

“Jeffrey dear, could you get the next batch ready please?”

“Of course Mrs Cake. We can’t have the little sweeties going without their sweets, now can we?” I replied happily. The Cakes had accepted me with open arms, and now I did everything from kitchen work to foalsitting, this family was the rock I used to weather the insanity of the rest of the town.

“Thank you, Jeffrey, you can set them on the counter here. I’ll make sure they get in the oven on time,” Mr Cake said as he retrieved a special order Pinkie left earlier and returned to the register.

“Gah!” I shouted in alarm, twitching reflexively and burning a couple of my tendrils on the roof of the oven as I reached for a tray of cupcakes that were ready to cool. The tray moved with my tendrils and dumped the cupcakes on the floor.

“Oh, my. Are you alright Jeffrey?” Mrs Cake asked, concerned.

“Yes dear, I’m sorry. I was just startled for a moment,” I replied distantly, my main focus was on not alarming Spike and getting my hand freed.

“Are you hurt?” Mrs Cake pressed, looking at my singed tendrils, “I’ll get the first-aid kit.”

“That won’t be necessary, dear, though I appreciate your concern,” I said as I repaired the damaged tissue and began collecting the scattered pastries.

“Oh Jeffrey, you know you can talk to us if something is bothering you.”

“I know Mrs. Cake, but I shouldn’t say anything that would violate someone’s privacy. I’ve been very careful to stay out of those kinds of situations.”

“Except today. Wandered somewhere you shouldn’t have, hmm,” Mrs Cake asked with a sly smile.

“No, I... Can I trust you to keep this quiet?” I responded, my voice low to prevent any of the customers from overhearing.

“Pinkie promise, I’ve never cared for gossip.”

“I was giving Lyra a massage and discovered she has an obsession with hands...” I began.

“I don’t see how-”

“...In her mouth,” I finished.

“Oh dear. She didn’t do anything untoward, did she?” Mrs Cake asked, horrified. I straightened my posture and reverted to my normal voice

“I am a leviathan, my size is measured in cubic miles and my weight in the thousands of tons, how could she possibly assault me?” I countered, offended at the idea. Mrs Cake adopted a serious look.

“Jeffrey, there is a difference between physical and psychological harm. There’s no shame in admitting you were attacked.”

“For you perhaps, I carry the pride of Lord Jekyll and the enforcer corps. If they were to hear about this, I would be disgraced, maybe even recycled,” I replied sadly, this seemed to make Mrs Cake angry.

“I refuse to believe that. I’m sending a letter to this Jekyll, and we’re going to get this whole thing sorted out,” Mrs Cake declared as the stormed out of the kitchen towards the shop’s small office.

“No! Please, let me handle it, Jekyll will have me recycled for sure if I can’t manage one incident on my own,” I called in a panic as I chased after the mare.

“One hour. If you haven’t settled things with Lyra by then, I’m contacting Jekyll.”

‘I wonder if the Krakens have it this bad.’

“Two, what’s the ETA for Convo-three-one?” I rumbled in a language only we could understand.

“Thirty more seconds, lead. They’re mooring now,” Kraken-Two replied.

“Break off; they can handle it from there. All units, sound off. Anything new?”

“New pony on the Squidrunner, got his coat caught in the line. Nothing else to report.” That was Three; he’d spent the last couple weeks patrolling a fishing route.

“Found a wreck, matches the description Lord Jekyll gave us. I can confirm Gryphon involvement; that is all.” Four was on scavenging duty.

“This is Five; I have an unidentified contact approximately one hundred meters out at bearing one-seven-seven from my position. Moving to intercept, will report my findings.”

“Roger, Five, I’m enroute as well. Two, meet up with us before we converge on the contact. Six, anything to report?” I responded, pushing off of the ocean floor towards Five’s mysterious vessel.

“Negative, evidence suggests all hostile natives evacuated when we moved in,” Six replied.

“Understood, you’re wasted down there. I’ll be passing over your position in thirty, catch my wake and join the scout team,” I ordered. Six didn’t reply; he didn’t need to. I could feel the currents shift as he got into position.

“One, this is Five. False alarm, just a lost whale and some sealions,” Five called, stopping my momentum.

“Roger. Six, link up with Five. Everyone else back to your positions.” ‘Another false alarm, at least it wasn’t a pile of garbage this time. I shouldn’t complain, even Lord Jekyll is contributing to the war effort.’

‘Holy shit, this is boring!’

I was sitting in a crude replica of my chair, formed out of Abaddon’s flesh, and it just wasn’t the same. Maybe it was the lack of the familiar lumps in my real chair; maybe it was the sheer amount of things happening at once. Whatever it was, I couldn’t manage to get comfortable enough to waste the day as I waited for Luna to wake up.

“JEKYLL!” Celestia screamed as she teleported onto Abaddon. Her eyes glowed with power, and she had a fiery aura around her that burned into Abaddon as she stomped toward me. I didn’t bother moving.

“What did I do now, Chelly?” I asked, a resigned tone entering my voice.

“THIS,” she shouted as a scroll appeared in front of my face.

I took a quick glance at the scroll before returning my gaze to Celestia, “Too long; didn’t read.”

“You violated my sister!” she yelled, she was losing steam the longer this continued. Another few seconds and she would be at a reasonable volume. ‘Must have been Lu’s report on our vacation.’

“Refresh my memory. What are you talking about?” I asked, feigning innocence.

“The squony venom that you forcibly extracted from her body with no warning,” she accused.

“I recall the poison, but what the fuck is a squony?”

“Squid. Pony. Squony.”

“Right, ‘cause that’s not the dumbest name I’ve ever heard. Whatever, you’re pissed because I invaded Luna’s cells to clean out the poison, right?”

“Correct, are you even going to try to deny these charges?” Celestia asked, advancing on me.

“Nope. In fact, that cocoon she’s taken a liking to does the same thing while she sleeps. It’s purely for health and sanitation purposes,” I replied calmly, Celestia looked almost homicidal. ‘Viruscidal? Germicidal? Screw it, I don’t care.’

“You stay away from my sister or I’ll-”

“You’ll what?” I said angrily, rising from my shitty chair, “You’ll fucking what?”

“I’ll-” Celestia was backing away as I strode towards her, her aura disappeared and her eyes returned to their normal state as her rage gave way to fear.

“You won’t do shit. Maybe before you fucked up and attacked the one place that accepted me, you’d have done something. But now? Now you’re a scared little bitch with clipped wings. Who took the sky from you Celestia, WHO WAS IT?!” I shouted, grabbing her horn to prevent her from teleporting away.

“You,” she whimpered, defenseless without her magic. I forced her head toward the, already healing, burns she had left when she arrived.

“You can be hateful towards me all you want, you can scream at me for saving Luna’s life, you can blame me for everything wrong in the world, but you do not get to come here and threaten me on my turf. You do not get to throw a tantrum and hurt my people. And you definitely do not get to make a god awful racket directly above where Luna sleeps; I have to deal with that shit when she wakes up,” I lectured the leader of the largest country on the planet.

“Small victories,” Celestia commented petulantly.

“Get the fuck off my Leviathan,” I replied dryly as I threw her over the side, with any luck she wouldn’t figure out that she could teleport before she was spattered across the side of the mountain. A quiet pop told me my hopes were in vain.

“And I thought Discord was scary,” a tired voice said from the doorway that led into Abaddon’s internal structures.

“Hey you, you’re supposed to be asleep,” I commented as I turned towards where Luna was standing.

“I was, but then some scared little bitch with clipped wings started making a god awful racket,” Luna replied with a smirk.

“You heard all of that, then,” I noted.

“In Tia’s defense, I wasn’t sleeping very well.”

“The nightmares back?” I asked, stepping closer.

“I’m afraid so, but they aren’t as bad as they were before,” Luna replied, turning to follow me as I led the way back to her room.

“Luna, you know I mean this in the best way possible, but you look like shit. Let’s get you back to bed before you sleep through another day.”

“I’m inclined to ~yawn~ agree. Remind me to talk to you later about waking up during one of Podrick’s cleanings.”

“Not a chance in hell, I don’t want to know,” I replied with a light chuckle.

“Is this the same being that spoke so hatefully towards my sister, now showing me such gentleness less than a minute later?” Luna asked, a trace of sarcasm in her voice.

“We can discuss the way I treat different people right after we talk about your mood swings when you were high the other day,” I countered.

“I can hardly be held accountable for what I said, I was not in my right mind,” Luna protested as I reached her room.

“Why won’t anypony go to my court? Why don’t they like me? Is Tia prettier than me?” I whined mockingly.

“Shut up and get in the pod,” Luna ordered crossly, her sides shaking with restrained laughter.

“Un momento,” I said, sending a tendril into the cocoon to adjust its shape.

“What?”

“We won’t fit; I’ll need to make Podrick even larger to fit both of us,” I explained.

“I’m aware of that; I was asking what you said.”

“One moment.” A few seconds passed as I adjusted the bioform Luna used as a bed to accommodate my size and weight.

“Well?” Luna asked.

“Well, what?”

“Are you going to tell me or not?”

“Luna, un momento means one moment,” I answered as if speaking to a child. Luna’s attitude soured as she walked over and climbed into Podrick. I climbed in next to her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, assuming our normal sleeping positions would ease Luna’s nightmares. A minute later I felt a tear land on my shoulder, “Luna, what’s wrong?”

“That’s what I am, isn’t it? A foal, a foal that needs her daddy to chase away the nightmares. But what if her daddy has been dead for thousands of years? Who checks under the bed for monsters then? Tia would do it herself; she was mother’s favorite, she was the one who got personalized lessons on how to rule over the lesser races, she was the one who-who got to go hunting with father and learn how to fight.” She paused to wipe a tear from her cheek. “I was always the other one, always in the way, always intruding on Tia’s perfect life. The accident, the unwanted. And now, I’m the scared one, the fallen one, a disgrace,” Luna sobbed, burying her face in my chest. I wrapped my other arm around her and pulled her into a hug. Her horn dug into my shoulder, but I ignored it.

“Their loss. If they couldn’t see the amazing mare that I do, then I honestly feel sorry for them. You’ll never have to be that scared, lonely filly ever again. I’ll always be right here; I’ll be the one to check under the bed for you,” I said reassuringly. Luna freed her horn and threw her forehooves around my neck, continuing to cry as I gently rubbed her back.

“Thank you, I needed to hear that,” Luna whispered.

“While we’re here, has anything else been eating at you?”

“The loneliness that bore the Nightmare never left me, though you help keep it at bay,” Luna confessed.

“I think I understand that one, and I have an idea of how to erase it,” I replied gently.

“Really? How?” Luna asked, her head lifting to look me in the eyes, her own filled with desperate hope.

“First, a wager. I bet that I’ll be the first one to leave this cocoon. If I win, you have to spend an entire day in Podrick while he constantly cleans you. This includes during court and going out to eat. What do you want if you win? You can ask anything of me, what does your lonely heart desire most in this world?” I proposed.

“Companionship,” Luna replied breathlessly, her irises had shrunk to pinpricks in shock as she realized my intentions.

“Then that is what you shall receive if you prove victorious,” I declared formally. I threw the pod open with one hand and tossed Luna across the room with the other, “You win.”

“What was that!” Luna cried as she scrambled back to her hooves.

“You scoring a coltfriend. Or to use a term from my world, a ‘boyfriend,’” I answered matter of factly.

“I-Truly?” Luna stammered, “But your inability to love-”

“Has no bearing in this. A better description would be a lack of desire; I can still care for others. And I’ve grown to care about you, plus I find the term ‘Luna the unwanted’ offensive. Why don’t you come back to bed and get some peaceful sleep, I’ll keep watch for any monsters,” I replied, patting the space next to me.

Luna settled into my arms with a tired sigh, her lack of sleep catching up with her. I placed a soft kiss on her cheek as she was falling asleep, startling her back to full wakefulness. ‘Damnit, that was supposed to be comforting.’

“Sorry,” I apologized.

“No, it’s fine. That’s what couples do, but it made me think about other things. Are we supposed to have sex now?” Luna asked, her face showing her confused and jumbled emotions.

“Slow your roll, Casanova. That’s a conversation for another time, all you need to worry about right now is what you want to dream about.” Luna just stared at me, incredulous.

“How can I sleep at a time like this? Everything has changed in an instant! Couples do all sorts of things that I know nothing about! I have a- What was that word you used?” Luna began before interrupting herself.

“Boyfriend.”

“I have a boyfriend now, but Tia and I are forbidden from taking lovers. What do I do, Jay?” Luna concluded.

“I’d ignore that particular rule. As for everything else: we’ve already been doing everything together for weeks, we’ll be fine,” I responded, slowly feeding a mild sedative into Luna’s bloodstream.

“And sex! I’ve never had sex before, that I remember anyway. But that’s assuming that Bishop was telling the truth. Everything Lucky taught me ended with an ‘if they’re into it,’ but how am I supposed to know what you’re ‘into,’” Luna continued, beginning to hyperventilate as she panicked. I increased the dosage of sedatives to the maximum I could safely administer.

“Calm. Down. You figure all that stuff out by talking to your partner, which may be part of a conversation we will have later,” I responded sternly, internally amazed at how long Luna could resist my sedatives.

“You’re right, ranting at you isn’t going to solve anything. I just- mmmm.” Luna was interrupted by my lips pressing against hers, my free hand moving to hold her neck affectionately. However, this was an excuse to deposit a measured dose of Buffalo tranquilizer as close to her brain as possible. Luna was asleep in seconds. ‘At least she’ll get some sleep now, Chelly would have a field day if she fell asleep in court.’

‘I can do this. I have to do this; I only have five more minutes before Mrs Cake sends that letter to Lord Jekyll.’ I activated my hearing to make sure I wouldn’t be interrupting anything, finding nothing I extended a head into the house.

“Hey Jeff, Lyra’s in her room,” Bon-Bon said from the couch, where she was relaxing with the newest ‘Daring Do’ novel.

“Thank you dear, I’m sorry for leaving so suddenly,” I replied.

“You aren’t the one who needs to apologize. And call me Bonnie, everypony does,” Bon-Bon commented, not looking away from her book. I found Lyra on her bed, a sullen look on her face.

“Oh, Hi Jeffrey. I didn’t think you’d want to ever see me again, not after what I did,” Lyra said sadly, her ears and head lowering as she spoke.

“To be honest, I didn’t, but a good friend taught me that I can’t run from my problems. Lyra, I forgive you, but we need to set some ground rules,” I responded as gently as I could, my orders to protect the town and its inhabitants preventing me from being sterner.

“Never again?” Lyra guessed.

“Almost. I was created by Lord Jekyll, and like him and his other creations, my biology precludes me from feelings of intimacy. As such, I didn’t have any way to process your advance towards me,” I replied.

“Thanks, I guess. Still friends?” Lyra asked hopefully.

“Still friends,” I confirmed, “What about you and Bonnie?”

“She only said that to get me to come to my senses, we’ll never get back together and we both know it.”

I crossed the room and wrapped a pair of tendrils around Lyra’s shoulders in my version of a hug. Lyra finally broke down and began crying onto my ‘stem,’ what the locals had named my version of a neck.

“I’m so sorry,” Lyra sobbed.

“Shh, it’s okay honey,” I whispered in her ear, “By the way, I’m more open minded than most bioforms.”

“W-What?” Lyra stammered in shock as she flinched away, I released my hold and let her put some distance between us, “I-Are you serious?”

“Mmm hmm, and I might be willing to indulge you. Occasionally,” I added seductively. Lyra froze and comically tipped backwards onto her pillow.

“Wow, I didn’t expect that. Now I’m the one who doesn’t know how to process this,” Lyra commented to the ceiling.

“No rush dearie, it took me the better part of an hour to get this far.”

“I think I’m okay. Are you going to be busy later? I could really use somepony to talk to, Bon-Bon won’t even look at me right now,” Lyra requested.

“Lyra dear, I don’t think you understand. I basically am Ponyville, I’m holding no less than twenty other conversations right now in addition to clearing out a nest of moles that were getting a little close to Roseluck’s garden.”

“Soo, no?”

“I’ll be here anytime you need someone to talk to,” I clarified.

“Uh, by talk, I meant bang,” Lyra added, I recoiled slightly before catching myself.

“Not today. I’m still mad at you, even if I don’t show it,” I responded.

“That’s fair; I deserve a lot worse.” Lyra relaxed and rolled over onto her stomach before turning to face me. “While you’re here, do you think we could finish that massage?”

“I suppose,” I said in mock complaint, sprouting six more tendrils and beginning to work on the unicorn’s tense muscles.

“Ooh, I swear, if word about this gets out you’ll put Aloe and Lotus out of business,” Lyra moaned.

“Are you two serious? Lyra I get, but you Jeff? What is-” Bonnie shouted angrily as she stormed into the room.

“Hey Bonnie, you ever going to cash in on one of these massages?” Lyra asked innocently.

“Buck it, move over Lyra,” Bonnie said in defeat, crawling onto the bed a few inches away from her roommate. I extended another head on Bonnie’s side of the bed and started working on the muscles in her neck, “Ooooh, you were right Ly. This is way better than anything Quake can do.”

“I know right, I was just saying-yeah like that-I was just saying that we’d better keep this quiet or poor Quake might lose her job,” Lyra added.

“I wouldn’t worry too much, dears; I’m working the knots out of Quake’s forelegs as we speak. Besides, some ponies prefer a rougher massage,” I said with the head closest to Lyra.

“Aloe and I reached an agreement yesterday about the number of free massages I can offer,” I continued with the head closer to Bonnie.

“How many is that?” Bonnie asked curiously. Lyra and I shared a knowing smirk; she had been nearby during the aforementioned discussion.

“Unlimited, my mission is to ensure the townsponies are safe and happy, Aloe and Lotus do not live in town and are therefore not part of this objective. Additionally, I take my orders from Lord Jekyll, I do not, and will not, answer to either Aloe or Lotus Blossom. In short, I told her to go fuck herself,” I replied with both heads in unison. Lyra almost fell off the bed in a fit of laughter, ending up tangled in my tendrils.

“If I wasn’t sure before, I am now. You’re alright Jeff. Not many ponies would tell off Aloe or forgive Lyra; you managed to do both. Bravo,” Bonnie congratulated, knocking her hooves together in applause.

“Thank you, Bonnie, I’m still mad at Lyra however,” I replied, lifting the tangled unicorn but doing nothing to aid in her quest for freedom.

“Didn’t look like an angry massage to me, looked really nice. Could I get the same treatment? My neck feels awesome but I’m ready for you to move on to the rest of me,” Bonnie requested.

“The exact same massage?” She nodded. I leaned down and whispered my plan into her ear, moving the trapped Lyra away to prevent her from hearing. After a moment’s decision, Bonnie nodded again. I spread my tendrils and set to work on her back, legs, and hips, returning Lyra to her previous position and working on her muscles as well.

“What was that about?” Lyra asked, somewhat concerned.

“Just ensuring I wouldn’t make Bonnie uncomfortable, massages are best done when the recipient knows where you will be,” I answered simply, sending a pair of tendrils along the floor and forming a pair of hands behind Lyra and Bonnie, making sure to keep them out of sight.

A little extra pressure on Bonnie’s shoulders to ask for permission, an almost imperceptible shrug to okay my actions, and the hands descended on their rumps. Lyra instinctively attempted to jump away from the spanking but found herself bound by the same tendrils that had been working the tension out of her back a moment prior.

“Gah, I thought we were cool!” Lyra cried, struggling against her restraints.

“Oh, we are,” I replied softly, the hands transitioning to stroking the two mares, “That was just a little payback for startling me earlier. Now, if you want me to stop and let you go, just say so.”

“Bonnie, did you know about this?” Lyra accused, shivering as the hand on her back moved a little too far towards her tail.

“And more,” Bonnie replied smugly, settling in for her own treatment.

“The situations I get myself into,” Lyra commented, “Okay Jeff, I said I deserved worse, hit me with your best shot.”

“I’m not a torturer, dear, I have no intention of striking you again.” Both mares were flipped onto their backs, the hands moving to caress their stomachs. Before they could get comfortable, however, five more hands descended on each of them, resulting in three pairs gently massaging their necks, shoulders, and stomachs.

“I-I th-thought y-y-you said na-not today?” Lyra asked, her breath catching as another set extended and began massaging their cutie marks.

“Maybe I changed my mind, maybe I’m just teasing you, or maybe, just maybe, I lied,” I purred into her ear.

“It’s done. Lyra and I have reached an arrangement,” I told Mrs. Cake, who had a letter to Lord Jekyll detailing the situation in her teeth threateningly. She set it on the table before replying.

“And what would that be?” She asked tersely.

“Private, between her and I. But I can guarantee that there won’t be any more unwanted advances from Lyra, and I now know the best way to handle these kinds of things in the future,” I responded, reaching for the letter.

“Fine, here you go,” Mrs Cake said, sweeping the paper towards me. The paper slid off the table and landed face up on the ground, revealing it to be blank.

“Cup, I saw you write a real letter, where is it?” I demanded, calling the baker by her first name for emphasis.

“Ditzy has it.” Mrs Cake admitted.

The baseball bounced off of my head as I failed to catch it.

“You okay Jeff? Need to have another talk with Lyra?” Spike asked, grinning.

“No, that wouldn’t help anymore, I’m afraid. Mrs Cake just killed me,” I replied, my voice distant.

“Woah, hold on. Even I know that’s not something to joke about,” Spike chastised, stepping closer and looking increasingly concerned.

“If only. Spike, it has been an honor to have met you.”

“No way, I’m not giving up that easily and neither should you!” the adolescent dragon cried, attempting to mimic a fighting stance.

“There’s nothing either of us can do, all I have left is to accept my fate with dignity.”

I was staring at a familiar grey mare that had somehow managed to evade detection from Abaddon and all of my guards until she made herself known by landing on the cocoon containing Luna and myself.

“Can I help you, Ditzy?” I asked the intruder.

“You’ve got mail,” she replied happily, reaching into her saddlebag and retrieving a letter.

“Thanks. One of the others will get you some bits; I’m a little tied up at the moment,” I offered.

“Thanks, Jay.” She disappeared back into the void, as far as my senses could tell anyway.

“Abaddon?” I asked the walls.

“I have no idea.”

“Don’t worry about it too much; no one knows how Ditzy does anything,” I reassured the Leviathan, “What do we have here?”

Dear Jekyll,

Jeffrey had an incident with Lyra earlier today, but he was rather vague about what happened. I can tell it upset him, however, and now he’s terrified you’re going to ‘recycle’ him. I want to clarify that nopony was physically harmed, but I believe Jeffrey has been sexually assaulted by Lyra. Something having to do with hands, from what Jeffrey has told me. I think what he needs most right now is a familiar face to tell him everything will be alright. As I understand Jeffrey’s origins, you are his father. That makes this your responsibility, but neither I nor the rest of Ponyville would appreciate you taking away our newest friend. Please respond quickly, poor Jeffrey is beginning to pace in my kitchen.

Regards,
Mrs Cup Cake

“Why the hell do my own people think I’m some kind of bloodthirsty monster?” I asked no one, generally curious.

“Shall I set course for Ponyville?” Abaddon asked, a secondary head appearing over my shoulder.

“Might as well, I’ll have my chair brought on board while we’re there.”

“Was my attempt at creating a replacement inadequate?” Abaddon inquired, his voice betraying a feeling of shame.

“No, it just wasn’t the same. I miss my chair, you know,” I replied.

“I see, you seek a feeling of familiarity in these times of great change,” Abaddon noted.

“Sometimes I wonder about you, Abaddon. You keep dropping these nuggets of wisdom, and no one will believe you’re just a hulking war machine,” I warned.

“We should arrive in approximately five minutes,” Abaddon replied, ignoring my statement.

“I’m going to fly ahead, adjust your course for my old cabin.”

“Understood, sir,” Abaddon responded as the floor shifted slightly. I untangled myself from Luna’s grasping forelegs and made my way outside, taking flight towards the small town as soon as it was in sight.

Jeffrey, Spike, and Mrs Cake were waiting for me when I landed, all of them with different expressions. Jeffrey was obviously terrified but trying to appear stoic, Spike let his anger towards me show freely, and Mrs Cake wore her hopeful expression like armor.

“Jeff, you okay?” I asked in an uneasy attempt to break the ice.

“I won’t let you hurt him!” Spike shouted as he charged and began punching fruitlessly at my legs.

“Yes sir, the situation has been resolved,” Jeffrey replied, looking fearfully at Spike’s actions.

“You’ve made quite an impression with the locals, I’m impressed,” I continued, ignoring the war of my right knee.

“Thank you, sir, they have been very welcoming,” Jeffrey noted formally.

“Let’s drop the pleasantries, shall we? I’m not going to recycle you, Jeff, you’ve proven a valuable member of both my forces and this community. Spike’s attempt to protect you testifies to your importance to him, as I’m sure that he knows I’ve eaten fully grown dragons,” I announced, throwing a glance to the stunned dragon.

“Called it,” Mrs Cake commented quietly to Jeffrey.

“Furthermore, when have I ever recycled anything that wasn’t cripplingly malformed?” I pressed, staring into Jeffrey’s eyes.

“Never,” the Leviathan answered quietly.

“Then why, out of all the enforcers and leviathans I have running around, would I start with you? Jeff, you’re two hundred and eight years old, you shouldn’t be afraid of me deciding to kill you.”

“I just thought, if I couldn’t handle one mare-” Jeffrey started before I cut him off.

“One aggressive mare. Towards you. And you say you’ve handled the situation. Please, share with the class. I’m dying to know how, ‘cause I sure as shit don’t have a clue,” I interrogated, Jeffrey began to look uneasy.

“For the love of Celestia’s dusty cunt, would you bucking rut me already!” a voice echoed through the town. I noticed a few young ponies being ushered indoors by their parents in an attempt to escape the talk.

“Jeffrey, what was that?” I asked dangerously.

“Revenge,” the Leviathan replied simply. I fought to maintain my composure.

“That simple, huh?” I commented, wondering how to apply this new strategy.

“No sir, revenge for her unexpected behavior earlier. I came to the conclusion that humoring her would be the best method of preventing further incidents, as I will only have to do so until she has found a proper mate or died of old age,” Jeffrey responded, shocking Mrs Cake and Spike.

“Seems logical to me, if a little heartless. But there go my hopes of mimicking your methods; I’m already doing the same thing,” I said disappointedly.

“Really? Somepony actually likes you?” Spike asked with a negative amount of tact.

“Spike, don’t be rude. That’s Princess Luna you’re talking about,” Mrs Cake admonished, my head spun toward where she was standing.

“What?”

“It’s been all over the papers for weeks now, Everypony knows about Juna,” Mrs Cake replied like this was obvious.

“I don’t get out much, and I will neither confirm nor deny your assumption,” I responded diplomatically.

“You don’t have to, you’re in every picture the news has taken of the princess.”

“I’m her bodyguard and physician, it’s my job to be nearby.”

“And she has moved onto that thing that’s been looming over Canterlot.”

“There were assassination attempts, it is much safer inside Abaddon.”

“Reasonable excuses so far, but how do you explain the photo of the two of you sleeping together?” Mrs. Cake challenged, a knowing smirk on her face. I sighed.

“It isn’t my place to say-” I began.

“But it is mine,” Luna interrupted as she landed next to me, “Ever since I have been cleansed of the Nightmare’s corruption, I have been plagued with terrible dreams. I have found Jay’s presence comforting and requested his aid in suppressing these nightmares.”

“Of course, Princess. I didn’t mean any disrespect,” Mrs Cake said, bowing. Spike lowered his head as well; Jeffrey, however, was under orders not to bow to anyone, including me.

“When did you wake up?” I asked.

“Right after you stopped suppressing my ability to do so,” Luna answered without looking at me.

“You knew then,” I noted.

“Obviously, you are not nearly as sneaky as you think,” Luna criticized before granting me a small smile, “A few hours of forced sleep is better than none at all, however.”

“This is another of those times when you are supposed to be mad at me,” I pointed out.

“I’m done doing what I’m ‘supposed’ to do, it has only brought me misery,” Luna spat, “Why are you two still bowing? Show some self-respect and stand up already.”

“Lu, calm down. You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to, but that was a little harsh,” I said in disapproval.

“My apologies, it has been an emotional day.”

“Did Jekyll confess his love for you, dear?” Mrs Cake asked as she rose, Spike visibly gagged at the thought.

“I don’t work that way.”

“He doesn’t work that way.”

“We don’t work that way.” Mrs Cake looked thoughtfully at me, Luna, and Jeffrey in turn.

“Horseapples, it just took you so long to find the right mare that you forgot how,” Mrs Cake challenged, walking up to me defiantly.

“If you knew anything about me you’d know that I remember everything,” I shot back, my temper flaring as memories of friends long passed rose to the surface of my mind.

“Your brain and your heart are not the same thing!”

“I don’t have a fucking heart!” I shouted. I reached up to my chest and tore it open, exposing a solid mass of raw flesh were my organs were supposed to be.

“It’s a metaphor you dolt!”

“You don’t deserve to call me stupid. I’ve forgotten more than you’ll ever learn!”

“You just said that you remember everything.”

“You know nothing, Cup Cake!” Luna forced her way between the two of us, holding me back with a hoof.

“Cup Cake, I’m inclined to agree with you, but antagonizing Jay will not help him. Jay, making a scene in the middle of Ponyville isn’t doing your reputation any favors,” Luna said sternly, causing both of us to back off.

“Sorry Cup, I really am trying,” I relented.

“I’m sorry too dear, I shouldn’t have yelled at you like that,” Mrs Cake replied.

“Wonderful. Now, would someone tell me why we are in Ponyville,” Luna demanded.

“I wanted my chair, Cup gave me a good excuse to come get it,” I admitted, Jeffrey looked relieved that I hadn’t traveled here just to deal with him, the others looked offended.

“Are you BUCKING SERIOUS!” Mrs Cake screamed despite Jeffrey’s attempts to stop her.

“Yeah, Jeff’s awesome, why would you do that to him?” Spike added angrily.

“Jeff, what was your fear based on?” I asked, ignoring the pony and dragon for the moment.

“You thinking I couldn’t take care of myself, sir,” Jeffrey answered dutifully.

“And by using your problem in this manner…” I began.

“You have shown your confidence in me. Thank you, sir,” Jeffrey finished. Spike and Mrs Cake were speechless for a moment.

“You’re all crazy, I’m out,” Spike declared, turning towards the town.

“Wait for me dear, I think I have a ruby and sapphire cupcake with your name on it back in Sugarcube Corner. My treat,” Mrs Cake said as she caught up to the retreating dragon.

“Sir, you wanted to know my methods for dealing with Lyra?” Jeffrey asked, offering a tendril. I ignored this and sent one of my own through his head. Luna jumped away from the violent action.

“I’m the one who establishes a neural link,” I growled in explanation as I viewed all of Jeffrey’s memories in a manner of seconds. Jeffrey, in turn, convulsed under the strain, his mind overloaded by the power I commanded in my bioforms. I retracted the tendril when I was satisfied that he wasn’t trying to hide anything.

“Jay, why did you do that?” Luna asked in horror.

“To be sure. I can’t be everywhere, Jeff can. I needed to know everything he’s seen in the last two hundred years to make sure there wasn’t some clue that I missed,” I responded.

“Happy to help,” Jeffrey said weakly from the ground, having collapsed when I withdrew my tendril.

“Is it always so horrible to watch?” Luna continued.

I nodded, “They always seize when I take over. Though now I have to wonder, did all of your heads convulse like that?”

“Yes sir, there are many in town that are now worried about my health. And two that are not yet aware that it wasn’t intentional,” Jeff replied, returning to his former stature.

“I bet,” I commented, chuckling lightly.

“What are you laughing about? Have I missed something?” Luna asked in confusion.

“Tell you what, if that conversation we need to have goes your way, I’ll show you,” I offered, Luna took a moment to figure out what I was implying before her face reddened and she teleported away.

“Well, catch you around Jeff, I’m going back to Abaddon to make fun of Luna,” I announced, my wings forming and spreading. Jeffrey nodded and sunk into the ground, leaving no trace that he was ever there. I returned to Abaddon’s back a couple of minutes later and left orders with a Romeo squad to transport my belongings into a storage room as soon as Abaddon had arrived at my cabin.

As I made my way down the hallway that led to Luna’s room and, presumably, the target of her teleport, I noticed an unusual amount of pheromones hanging in the air. The sight that greeted me when I opened the door left only one thought in my mind. ‘I bet the Kraken’s don’t have to deal with this kind of shit.’

“Confirmed contact! Request immediate assistance!” Three shouted.

“Roger Three. Five and Six, that’s you. Two, what’s your status?” I replied, maneuvering to intercept Three’s position.

“Three-One clipped a reef on her way out. I’m currently engaged in keeping them afloat. Good hunting.”

“Understood, how many are we looking at Three?” I asked.

“Four, for now, they’ve got shamans on deck teleporting them in,” Three responded.

“Can you engage?”

“Negative, they hit The Bustler. I’ve got confirmed casualties from ranged weapons.”

“Roger, I’ll be there in thirty. Five? Six?”

“In your wake, they won’t know what hit them,” Six replied.

“Four?”

“I’m out of range, give them a good thrashing for me.”

“Let us make Lord Jekyll proud my brothers!” Five cheered as we converged on the, now ten, enemy warships. Being the closest, I had the first choice of targets. I chose the largest to be the target of my wrath and slammed my armored head through the hull so hard both the capital ship and myself were launched into the air. I released an ear-splitting roar as I fell and angled myself to land on a cruiser, crushing the small vessel under my weight.

I saw Five and Six tearing through three ships apiece as I reoriented myself to rend the last two. However, the remains of the capital ship landed on the one closest to me and the pressure wave allowed the last one to teleport away.

“Nine kills out of ten, a fine victory.”

“Having fun, Five?” Six asked, rumbling with laughter.

“Cut the chatter. How are the civvies, Three?” I asked.

“Two dead, the rest on The Bustler are severely wounded and the ship is crippled. The others sustained minor injuries and damage, they’re more shaken than hurt.”

“Understood, you know what to do. Five, you can gloat now,” I permitted.

“Ha, didn’t you know that here there be monsters ye feathered bastards!” Five yelled, sticking his head above water and speaking common to ensure his message would be understood.

“There were zebras as well,” Six commented.

“Next time I’ll shove those totems up yer arses, ya dirty stripes!” Five added.

“And minotaurs.”

“That’s enough, you’ve made your point,” I said, cutting the two off.

“Your mothers suck cocks in hell!” Five yelled to the horizon before returning to the rest of us, “Okay, I’m done.”

“Right. Get back into position; we need to be ready for their next attack,” I ordered, expecting our enemies to keep their distance for a long time after a defeat of this magnitude.

“GET OUT! GETOUTGETOUTGETOUT!” Luna screamed as I opened the door.

“What’cha doin,” I asked as I walked past her and stopped to ponder a better way to construct Podrick. Something made of rubber bounced off the side of my head, I grew eyebrows and raised one at Luna, “Really?”

“Out,” she ordered, pointing a hoof at the, still open, door.

“Can’t leave, busy,” I replied, sending a tendril into the cocoon.

“And this justifies barging in unannounced?” Luna demanded.

“It’s my Leviathan; I don’t have to knock,” I stated.

“It’s still rude, or has that changed in the last thousand years?” Luna countered.

“Depends on who you ask,” I replied easily, “You should have heard Lily when Lucky walked in on her.”

“Oh, no.”

“Yep, Lucky offered to help.”

“By the moon and stars, shut up,” Luna pleaded.

“I don’t think I will. Want to know what Lyra was doing while I was poking around Jeff’s memories?”

“Bye,” Luna said, attempting to leave the room only for the door to slam shut before she could reach it.

“Abaddon, let me out,” Luna ordered the door.

“I’m sorry ma’am, Lord Jekyll has ordered me to prevent anyone from entering or leaving that room until told otherwise,” Abaddon replied apologetically. Luna turned to glare at me, finding my other hand merged with the wall to silently issue my commands.

“Am I a prisoner now?”

“I promised you a conversation, I assumed you would prefer it took place somewhere private.”

“That conversation? Jay, I don’t think I’m ready for that conversation,” Luna said, her eyes widening.

“You’ll never be, not with that attitude,” I replied before sighing, “Luna, I get it. You’ve been bound by rules and trapped in your sister’s shadow for so long that you never got to be yourself. Now that I’ve forced the world to give you that freedom, you don’t know what to do.”

“Jay?” I finished my work on Podrick and sat down on the cocoon, which now resembled a mattress complete with sheets.

“But you’re going too fast. You’re rushing to experience as much as possible before it can be taken away again, but it won’t be. You can take the time to slow down and savor every new experience, just because I act on new information very quickly doesn’t mean you have to as well,” I continued, patting the bed next to me invitingly. Luna accepted and sat down.

“You aren’t going to rush me?”

“Never, though I will certainly tease you relentlessly. That’s just who I am,” I replied. Luna let out a breath and allowed herself to fall backwards onto the bed.

“From what I learned during Lucky’s little class, I don’t think I’m into pistachio or Arnold,” Luna declared, then looked at me curiously when I burst out laughing, “What? I’m being serious.”

“Okay then, I’ll make sure to get rid of any nuts and people named Arnold,” I replied, still laughing.

“Damnit, you know what I mean,” Luna giggled, catching her mistake. I fell backwards as well and wrapped my arm around her shoulders.

“Yeah, I know what you meant. I’m up for pretty much anything that doesn’t involve fire,” I replied.

“That just leaves being comfortable enough with each other to actually…” Luna trailed off.

“Like I said, all the time in the world. Two immortals aren’t going to grow old waiting on each other to be ready.”

“We had the talk, I didn’t think I could do it,” Luna breathed, stretching, ”It wasn’t even as awkward as I thought it would be.”

“I think you’ll find that most things are more awkward in your mind than in practice,” I noted. Luna looked at me for a second and then rolled over, so she was straddling my torso, her head directly above mine.

“Then how about right now?” Luna suggested, smiling widely, “You’re always right. So if you say that it isn’t weird or uncomfortable, then I’ll believe you.”

“Are you sure? Are you really sure you want to do this? Once you cross that line, there’s no going back,” I asked, Luna’s smile faltered.

“No, I’m not sure,” she replied, collapsing on me.

“It’s all right,” I said, wrapping my arms around her, “Perhaps one day, perhaps never, either way, there’s no shame in it.”

“But I did. The bishop said we had sex. Why is it so hard now?” Luna asked, her frustrated tears threatening to spill out.

“Because you’re sober, alcohol strips away your inhibitions. That’s why some call it ‘liquid courage,’” I replied, “But you shouldn’t depend on drinking to be happy, you should find a way to be happy with who you are right now.”

“Someday I’m going to stop crying on you,” Luna commented with a smile, even as a single tear worked its way down her cheek.

“Let me get that for you,” I said, pulling Luna close and licking the side of her head to erase any evidence that a tear had ever been there. Luna shivered at the contact.

“Jay, is it weird that that just made the ‘into it’ list?” Luna asked.

“Everyone’s different. As long as I can avoid pain, I just go with the flow. You won’t get any judgment from me,” I replied.

“I assume this is another topic to keep from Tia?”

“Up to you. I try to avoid your sister as much as possible. But if you want to tell her you’ve shacked up with her greatest enemy, I won’t stop you.”

“Can you imagine her face though?” Luna giggled.

“If you do tell her, I want to get it on camera. Then I’m going to frame it and hang it right over there,” I said, pointing at a blank stretch of wall.

“Ha. That would be perfect, wouldn’t it?”

“Yeah, it’d come with a whole host of problems though. Probably not the best thing to do right now, we should wait until the war is over,” I suggested.

“I agree, the public backlash alone would cripple our reputations,” Luna replied before falling silent. Twenty minutes had passed before Luna spoke again, “I’m bored, are you bored?”

“I relive happy memories during times like these. I don’t have to worry about tomorrow, I’m comfortable, I’m happy. This will be one for the ages,” I explained contentedly.

“Well I can’t do that, and there’s still at least eight hours until I have to be at court,” Luna complained, rising to her hooves and hopping off the bed.

“You could get some sleep,” I suggested, Luna began to pace, deep in thought for several more minutes.

“Abaddon, is the door still locked?” Luna asked, breaking her silence.

“No ma’am,” Abaddon replied.

“Please do so, then. I have an idea.”

“Sir?” Abaddon asked.

“Go ahead,” I confirmed, curious as to what Luna was thinking.

“And no peeking,” Luna added.

“Abby, close off your senses in this room. If you need to contact me, do so with a secondary lacking eyes,” I ordered, “What are you planning?”

“You’ve heard of trust exercises?” I nodded. “I’ve devised a comfort exercise, all you need to do is be in the room. You don’t even have to pay attention...”

Author's Notes:

Hey so you all remember how I said I wasn't going to be working again until the 7th? I lied. Oh, and I have an editor now. Wolf Lord Eric Longtooth is helping me keep from jumping the shark, anymore than I already have, in addition to the regular editor stuff.