“Let go of me, I can heal myself!” I demanded hoarsely, though my captors continued layering awful smelling biomatter onto my side anyway.

“Ma’am, continuing to move like this will only aggravate your injuries,” the one closest to my head cautioned.

“Sierra,” I began kindly enough, “How do you intend to treat the internal burns?”

“Internal burns, ma’am? I don’t see any signs of that level of damage,” the enforcer replied.

“This is not the first time I’ve teleported into a fire, I know the extent of my injuries. Your treatment is preventing me from ending this torment,” I groaned.

“Ma’am, I must insist-”

“Abaddon! Get Jay to make them let me go!” I screamed as well as I could.

“Ma’am, Lord Jekyll doesn’t appear to be in a very active mood. However, as I am his acting proxy, I hereby order the medical team to stand down and desist their actions toward treating Mistress Luna’s wounds so she may do so herself as she sees fit on this occasion,” Abaddon declared, continuing his speech long after the Sierras had released me. Thankfully, they started with the biomatter attached to my horn, allowing me to take a moment to cast a powerful healing spell on myself before I responded.

“Thanks Abby, but did you need to be so formal?” I asked curiously, suppressing a laugh now that I wasn’t in pain.

“I have no idea what I’m doing, it sounded good at the time,” Abaddon admitted.

“I know you weren’t meant for this, but you’re doing great,” I encouraged the giant creature that I was currently inside, “Now, let’s find Jay and get Cat to calm down enough to not singe my feathers.”

I found Jekyll in our room, hanging from the ceiling by a tendril wrapped around his neck, “What are you doing?”

“Hanging around,” Jekyll replied, to no one’s amusement. Definitely not mine.

“Why?” I pressed.

“It’s good for my spine,” Jekyll lied.

“You don’t have a spine. Or bones, for that matter,” I pointed out.

“You ever get bored and do dumb stuff to entertain yourself? That’s what you walked in on. That and I’m pissed at the world right now and don’t want to deal with anything,” Jekyll admitted, sending me into a minor panic attack. I was part of the world, had I done something wrong? Was Jekyll going to kick me out? Was he going to run off with Catrix and leave me behind to sort out Celestia’s mess by myself?

“Lu, breathe,” I ordered as I dropped from where I was hanging, allowing Luna to rush in and throw her hooves around my neck in panic.

“I’m sorry! I don’t know what I did but I’m sorry!” Luna rambled, taking my casual statement to the extreme. I made a note to be more careful in the future.

“You didn’t do anything, it’s just a phrase. Let’s get Cat to cool off and then we can start setting things right,” I suggested softly, hoping Catrix wouldn’t be too temperamental when we got there.

“Okay,” Luna agreed meekly, falling into step behind me before I even started walking. With a sigh, I moved to my regular place on her left before setting out. I stopped Luna before we entered and poked my head in to make sure it would be safe.

Catrix’s room was in ruins, the bed was gone, there was more ash than oxygen in the air, and every surface was exactly the same as the ground of Tartarus. Catrix herself was curled up in the far corner, hugging her knees to her chest and sobbing.

“Cat?” I asked in concern.

“Go away. I shouldn’t be around any males right now,” Catrix ordered weakly.

“Would it be alright if Luna came in? I think you both need someone to talk to right now,” I requested.

“Sure, send in my latest victim, that’s a great idea,” Catrix spat.

“You’re upset over a little smoke inhalation? Luna’s fine, she’s right here and worried about you,” I insisted.

“Smoke? Smoke!? You weren’t there, a ripper would’ve been proud of the burns I left her with,” Catrix raved, driving her fist into the overcooked flesh of the wall.

“I messed up the teleport and rematerialized in her flames. It was pretty bad but nothing I couldn’t mend with a little magic,” Luna whispered, cluing me in to how badly I had been misinformed.

“Go to her,” I urged, “Cat doesn’t have a lot of friends and she thinks she’s lost you, I’m sure you can relate. My suggestion, be as forward as you can stand.”

“Okay,” Luna agreed quietly. Slowly walking into the room with her head low to avoid as much ash and smoke as she could, Luna announced her presence by sitting next to Catrix and wrapping a wing around the distraught demon’s shoulders, “It wasn’t your fault, I messed up and got myself hurt. I’m fine, Cat, you don’t need to punish yourself over an accident.”

“It was still my flames, if I hadn’t lost control this wouldn’t have happened at all. Now I’ve hurt you and Twilight, I don’t deserve your friendship,” Catrix insisted sadly, attempting to squirm out of Luna’s embrace.

“I could make the same argument. I tried to kill everyone when I was the Nightmare, I don’t deserve your friendship or anyone else’s. But it doesn’t matter, friends forgive each other. I forgive you for being upset at Twilight’s question, can you forgive me for failing to teleport properly and putting us in this position?” Luna asked softly, leaning into Catrix for emphasis.

“I-I think I can, but only if you’ll turn that advice on yourself as well. I heard your freakout over Jay’s comment,” Catrix said after a long moment, even cracking a small smile as she spoke.

“I know, and I’m trying, but knowing something and feeling it are two different things. I’m still on step two, remember?” Luna replied, nodding.

“I’m not sure whether to make the walls thicker to keep you out of our business or make them even thinner so you can do your job more efficiently,” I commented, reminding the two of them that I was still there.

“I vote for thinner walls,” Catrix replied immediately, her usual smirk reappearing.

“Can it be variable? Can we have Abby make them thicker when we want some privacy?” Luna asked uneasily.

“That would require Abaddon to take that biomass away from something else, it could be a major problem if we came under attack while he wasn’t at full strength,” I lied.

“I suppose I’m being watched by Abby anyway, do what you want,” Luna allowed, sounding defeated.

“You make it sound like I’ve got my ear pressed against the wall at all hours of the day,” Catrix accused, “It’s much easier to get Abby to open a small hole for me to listen through from the comfort of my...oh.”

“It’s fine, I’ll have Abaddon make you a new one,” I consoled, ignoring her admission of spying on us.

“I owe him an apology too,” Catrix added, peeling a bit of blackened flesh off the wall.

“He should be able to repair it any second now, he’s probably waiting for me to tell him it’s safe,” I replied, sending a tendril into the raw biomatter Catrix had exposed and relaying the all clear. The walls became an explosion of activity as the damaged material was broken down and replaced. Within seconds, only the floor remained burned.

“I’m hesitant to repair the floor with you two sitting on it, it would be rather uncomfortable. In fact, I’d prefer it if you all left the room,” Abaddon declared, sprouting from the wall adjacent to where I was standing.

“I should check on Twilight,” Luna excused herself before teleporting away.

“Something I should know about?” I asked.

“An awkward moment a few weeks ago, I’ve been sworn to silence,” Abaddon replied.

“And that means what to you?” I pressed. Abaddon sighed before answering my original question.

“When Mistress Luna required a latrine for the first time, she was sitting on the floor when she asked me to make one. It would appear that converting mass into tendrils and shifting their position is…” Abaddon trailed off, clearly uncomfortable with continuing.

“It’s okay, I understand what you’re saying. I assume you aren’t moving?” I asked, my question directed to our resident demon.

“If that statement was going where I think it was going, I think I’ll be more than fine right here,” Catrix replied.

“Well I’m going to go yell at Pinkie for taking advantage of Tzu, don’t traumatize my leviathan while I’m out,” I ordered before walking out of the room. Out of curiosity toward Abaddon’s reaction, I paused in the hallway and adjusted my hearing to pick up what was going on inside.

“Ma’am, I assure you, Mistress Luna did not find this pleasant,” Abaddon warned.

“I’m not Luna, you’ve never seen anything like me before,” Catrix replied, her voice gaining the sultry tone she had used at my promotion party. Satisfied that Catrix hadn’t been changed by her recent experience, I returned my hearing to normal and continued on my way.

“Hey Jekyll, how’s life?” Discord asked, spotting me as I rounded a corner.

“Been better, people are dumb,” I groaned.

“I’m going to guess there’s a mare involved, I’ve seen that look before,” Discord replied with a smirk.

“Several, but not in the way you’re implying. Luna’s a skittish mess, Twilight doesn’t have any common sense, Pinkie’s abusing her authority over Tzu, and Cat is being Cat,” I complained.

“Who’s Cat?” Discord asked, tilting his head.

“The demon, her name is Catrix Infernus,” I clarified.

“That doesn’t seem like such a bad thing, unless she’s taking up too much of your time. I was actually looking to ask you about her. Could you introduce me?” Discord asked hopefully.

“Only if you want to make her laugh at you. If you want to meet her properly, go knock on her door in an hour or so,” I advised.

“Why an hour?”

“Trust me, you don’t want to be anywhere near that room right now,” I warned my guest.

“I don’t get it, is she getting dressed or something? I’ll just go, she wouldn’t let someone walk in on something she doesn’t want others to see,” Discord reasoned before turning around to walk back the way I came.

“People are dumb,” I reiterated to no one. I reached the deck and took flight without any further interruptions. Thinking I would probably find Pinkie and Tzu at Sugarcube Corner, I angled toward the bakery to start my search.

“Ah, Mister Jekyll, I didn’t expect to see you here,” Mrs Cake greeted as I walked through the door.

“Just looking for your employee,” I replied easily.

“Jeff’s in the back, I’ll go get him,” Mrs Cake offered, turning towards the door to the kitchen.

“I’m actually looking for Pinkie, I trusted her to help one of my subordinates and she’s taking advantage of him,” I corrected.

“Pinkie? She took the week off, I haven’t seen her,” Mrs Cake responded, looking away.

“She’s upstairs, isn’t she?” I asked knowingly.

“Yes,” Mrs Cake admitted.

“Thanks for your help Cup,” I said with a friendly smile before walking to the stairs. The lock on Pinkie’s door was a simple one and took less than a second to pick, barely slowing me at all before allowing the door to swing open and reveal the activity inside.

“Sir, I wasn’t expecting you,” Tzu said nervously, a pillow still held in one of his hands. The one that had obviously been in his other hand was still attached to Pinkie’s face.

“I can see that. How are your lessons coming along?” I asked neutrally.

“Nothing so far sir, and Pinkie’s starting to run out of ideas. Is there something wrong with me? Why does everything seem like a chore?” Tzu asked sadly.

“Good question, even Abaddon finds ways to have fun. If Pinkie can’t find anything you like to do, let me know and I’ll see if there’s a chemical issue with your cells,” I offered, “And Pinkie, the spider thing was too much. Scaring the whole town isn’t something my people should be associated with.”

“That wasn’t me, I have no idea where that creature came from,” Tzu rebuked, catching me off guard.

“No shit? Where did it go?” I asked.

“I took care of it in our way,” Tzu replied, obviously dancing around saying that he killed and ate it.

“Were you seen?” I continued.

“The whole town saw him wrangle that mean old spider and drag it back into the Everfree, Suzy’s a local hero now!” Pinkie exclaimed excitedly.

“I suppose that’s the best possible outcome. Well, keep me posted,” I ordered before walking back out of the room, “Never seen any giant spiders in the Everfree, have to send a team to check it out.”

A pony shaped object collided with my back once I reached the bottom of the stairs and turned towards the door, “Uncle Jay!”

“Hey Lily, I thought I saw you when we were first getting into town,” I greeted, aware that the rest of the bakery had gone silent when Lily had jumped on me.

“Yeah, I tried talking to Abaddon a few minutes ago, but he seemed distracted,” Lily replied.

“Catrix,” I explained, knowing I didn’t need to say anything else.

“That-That’s just confusing. I mean, how? She’s smaller than one of his teeth. Did you give him the world’s cruelest handicap or what?” Lily asked, eliciting a laugh from the kitchen.

“Why don’t we continue this somewhere more private? I’m sure Luna will be excited to see you,” I suggested.

“Okay,” Lily agreed, pulling herself higher on my back to hang more comfortably. Resisting the urge to shrug, I set off for the library with my adopted niece on my back. One of the great things about Ponyville was that weird things happened all the time. As such, no one looked twice at the unicorn riding around on my back. Not one pony even stared at us as we walked to the library, though Roseluck had panicked and run off at the sight of me. I didn’t take it personally, she always did that when anything out of the ordinary happened.

“What do you mean you don’t know how to overcharge? It’s one of the first tricks a unicorn should learn,” Luna asked. Both Luna and Twilight were fussing over a spell book and hadn’t noticed our entry into the library.

“I’ve had a few magic surges, but nopony ever taught me how to do it on purpose,” Twilight responded defensively.

“And you don’t have any books on the subject? How curious,” Luna commented.

“Chelly got rid of them, you can substitute an overcharge for demon magic,” I explained, causing the two of them to jump in surprise.

“Jay, I wasn’t expecting you to be here,” Luna stumbled.

“Ran into a mutual friend after talking to Pinkie,” I replied, turning to allow them to see the young mare attached to my back.

“Hi Lu-woah!” Lily shouted, falling off my back when she attempted to wave.

“It seems Jay was right. How are you Lily?” Luna greeted the pony caught in her telekinesis.

“I’m alright. Mom said I should meet the other side of the family before the wedding, but Blue said I wouldn’t like Canterlot. I agreed to wait for them here, but it’s been a week and I’m running out of bits,” Lily confessed.

“You’re covered,” I declared.

“Thanks Jay, but I wasn’t worried about myself. I think something may have happened to Blue,” Lily clarified worriedly.

“I’ll send a team to check it out,” I said.

“They’ll have the support of the royal guard as well, no friend of mine will be left scared and alone like this,” Luna added.

“Um, hi I’m Twilight. I don’t know what’s going on but I want to help too,” Twilight offered as well.

“Thank you all. Hey Uncle Jay, do you think I could see Cat today? It’s been years since we got to talk,” Lily requested.

“She’ll probably be busy for a while, but you can stay with us on Abaddon if you want. Cheaper than renting a room,” I offered.

"That sounds good, is Abaddon handling the organizational stuff?” Lily asked, her eyes going white as she overcharged to show off while preparing to teleport.

“Yep,” I replied. With a thundering crack of released magic, she was gone.

“That’s an overcharge? I’ve never heard a teleport that loud before,” Twilight asked in awe.

“Yes it was, but I’m left wondering where she learned how to do that,” Luna replied with a suspicious glance toward me.

“She figured it out on her own, one of those things fillies do when trying to find their cutie marks. It took Lily a long time to figure out her talent, took till after her thirteenth birthday to discover that it was being pretty,” I argued.

“That’s an odd one, how did she figure it out?” Twilight asked curiously.

“No idea, she never told me,” I replied, shrugging.

You don’t think…” Luna began nervously.

“No, either one of her parents would have murdered the guy or they’d have let me loose on him, either way I would have heard,” I replied reassuringly.

“I’m inclined to agree, but how does that translate into being able to overcharge?” Luna conceded.

“Tried out professional magician. She didn’t have anyone to teach her, so she started trying out random stuff to see what would happen,” I explained.

“That’s incredibly dangerous! She could’ve hurt herself or somepony else!” Twilight exclaimed.

“Kids do dumb stuff,” I reasoned.

“Whatever the case may be with young Lily, your capabilities will be stunted without the ability to overcharge,” Luna stated, bringing Twilight back on track.

“Right. So now that I’ve seen it, it looks a lot like a surge,” Twilight noted, falling back into place by her teacher’s side. I walked over to the couch and sat to watch Luna work.

“The two are visually similar, but structurally they could not be more different. A surge is the complete loss of control, normal activity is directing magic while using spells to focus it in order to change the world around us, but overcharging is to have even more control over the magic coursing through you so that you may force it through the filter of the spell in ways it was never meant to. When used with a healing spell you might regenerate lost limbs or reverse time on the subject, depending on how much control you have,” Luna explained.

“And with a teleport?” Twilight asked.

“Overcharging a teleport is arguably both the most useful application, and the most dangerous. What would happen if you were to teleport into a wall? You’d die, correct? An overcharged teleport into a wall would shatter the wall and allow you to walk away unharmed. However, were you to teleport into a small room with another pony in it, they would be killed by the pressure wave of your teleport,” Luna continued.

“Seen it happen,” I added, “It used to be a common military tactic for urban fighting.”

“Indeed,” Luna confirmed with a nod.

“So how do I do it? I think I understand the risks and rules behind it but what is the actual technique?” Twilight asked.

“This will require some trust from you, my student. You will have to trust in your ability to let it go when you achieve it, you must not attempt a spell without first knowing the effect it will have,” Luna warned before stepping away from the desk.

“No spells, got it,” Twilight parroted.

“Face me and follow my instructions. Take a wide stance, ensure you will not slip or otherwise lose traction on the floor. Any loss of focus can be dangerous. Breath slowly and easily, be at peace. When you are ready, draw your magic as though you were going to cast a spell but give it no outlet,” Luna instructed, following her own directions while Twilight tried to do the same with her eyes closed. This was Luna’s element, her real talent, and Luna looked elated to be teaching something she was so passionate about.

“It hurts,” Twilight complained quietly.

“Let go, you’re holding it too tightly. Let’s start again, this time try to relax. This isn’t a test, just two friends having tea and talking about the newest issue of a book series,” Luna said, her voice rising and falling to the tune of some unheard melody. After a moment Twilight’s horn flickered and died out.

“I don’t understand, why didn’t it work?” Twilight asked in frustration.

“Did you ever have one of those puzzles that only get more difficult when you get frustrated or angry? This is not too different, you must be calm and free of distractions until you have mastered it,” Luna advised.

“And then I’ll be able to overcharge whenever I want?” Twilight asked, already starting on another attempt.

“Just wait, Twilight. Take a moment to relax, brew some tea if you wish. You will not master this art today, nor even this week, it takes years to reach that level,” Luna cautioned.

“Even then, it isn’t something to use all the time. I’ve only seen Luna overcharge twice and the first time it left her with a mild case of burnout,” I added.

“A good point to make. Keep practicing Twilight, just remember to stop when you start getting frustrated. I admit I’m curious about what color your eyes will turn,” Luna commented.

“Wait, I thought they could only turn white. Magic doesn’t have a natural color, wouldn’t that mean any amount that spills out would match this?” Twilight asked. Luna’s wings flared on reflex as her eyes cast their, now familiar, black light across the room.

“It depends on the caster. If you’re powerful enough, your will may change its hue. I suspect you are more than capable of this, just as I was at your age,” Luna responded, her voice echoing from the amount of power she held.

“Wow, I’ve never seen Princess Celestia do that,” Twilight commented, awestruck. Luna immediately returned to normal with a huff.

“Tia finds it... I believe the best word would be ‘nerdy.’ She refuses to overcharge unless there is no other option, she wouldn’t even use the technique against Discord,” Luna spat.

“He claims that he let you win, by the way,” I added.

“Impossible, we had the Elements at our side,” Luna argued.

“That’s why I believe him, even I can dodge the Elements. Honestly, they’re a great weapon system but they take way too long to fire,” I countered.

“And he would do this because?” Luna asked.

“He says that he had already retired by the time your parents showed up and gave up so he wouldn’t have to fight anymore,” I replied.

“Jay, please don’t take my only real victory away from me,” Luna requested, shaking her head to rid herself of any doubts.

“You beat Chelly,” I pointed out.

“With help. Though Tia and I both fought against Discord, I can live with that,” Luna agreed reluctantly.

“I’m still trying to comprehend that part, Princess Celestia has always been a goddess to the rest of us. To hear about her losing a fight, or even getting hurt, it’s hard to wrap my head around. To be in the same room with two ponies that have beaten her, I feel really small,” Twilight commented.

“I always tell people not to compare themselves to me, I’m not like anyone else you’ve ever met. I’ve kicked some serious ass in my day, but I’ve also been around for a lot longer than you. I’ve learned from many teachers and faced many challenges. You’re still young, you haven't hit your prime yet. Keep learning, I expect you’ll be a sight to see some day. Don’t expect me to run in fear though,” I replied with an easy smile.

“I think that concludes our lessons for today, I suggest you spend some time with your friends,” Luna announced, stretching her shoulders dramatically.

“You looking to confront Discord?” I asked casually, leaning back as Luna walked over to where I was sitting.

“Not quite yet, I actually had a few questions for Cat,” Luna corrected.

“Alright, she should be bored of Abaddon by now,” I agreed, standing so I wouldn’t fall when we were teleported. With a flash from Luna’s horn, we were back in our room.

“So the walls really don’t block any sound,” Luna commented.

“Two female voices, one has to be Cat, the other sounds like Lily to me,” I added.

“Nope, I’m over here,” Lily said from the bed behind us, “Dunno who she’s got ahold of, but I’m kinda jealous.”

“But you’re engaged,” Luna cried in shock.

“Meh, I’d give Blue a turn too,” Lily said with a shrug.

“Neither of you could keep up with her, you’d only embarrass yourselves and feel like amateurs afterwards,” I warned.

“Preach it!” Catrix shouted from the next room.

“Abaddon, who’s in there and how did they get here?” I asked.

“The one you call Pinkie dropped off two of Jeffrey’s friends via a flying machine of some kind, they said they wanted to talk to Miss Catrix. They haven’t spoken at all,” Abaddon replied.

“Sorry about that, I didn’t think you’d be back so soon,” Catrix apologized from the doorway.

“Are your guests going to miss you?” I asked, not noting any change from the other room.

“Nah, I’ve just been watching for the last twenty minutes anyway,” Catrix said dismissively before noticing Lily sitting on the bed and tackling the unicorn in a hug, “Lily!”

“Hey Cat, how you been?” Lily managed.

“I made a new friend. Other than that, about the same,” Catrix replied conversationally, her tone belying the suffocating hug she was delivering to Lily.

“You ever miss the days when it was just us?” I asked Luna.

“Not really, this is adorable,” Luna replied.

“If it keeps going, it’ll be murder,” I commented, Lily was starting to turn blue.

“I give! I give! You win,” Lily barely managed to say before Catrix released her and allowed her to breathe.

“You take back what you said about me not always being able to squeeze you like a filly?” Catrix asked with a sly smile.

“I take it back,” Lily conceded with a smile of her own.

“Great, now I can badger you about that jealousy comment. Since when are you big enough to talk like that, hmm?” Catrix chided.

“I’m twenty-two Cat, I can talk however I want,” Lily shot back.

“I suppose that’s true, you are your own mare now. But I can make my own decisions too, and making your mother mad at me isn’t something I want to do,” Catrix countered.

“Ease up Cat, I was only joking,” Lily said defensively.

“Fine, I’ll let it slide. This time,” Catrix allowed before turning to address Luna and I, “So Luna, what’s on your mind?”

“How do you do that?” Luna asked, looking slightly unnerved.

“You’re easy to read,” Catrix replied easily.

“Well, um, could we talk privately?” Luna requested.

“No, the walls literally have ears. But Abaddon won’t tell unless Jay needs to know, so I guess we can,” Catrix agreed, falling into step as Luna led them out of the room.

“So,” I began.

“You going to berate me too?” Lily asked tersely.

“Depends, does Lucky know where you are?” I countered.

“No,” Lily admitted before quickly adding, “but it was her idea to meet Blue’s parents.”

“When were you supposed to be home?” I continued.

“Yesterday, I couldn’t afford a new ticket after I didn’t make the train out of Canterlot,” Lily responded, her ears lowering.

“Abaddon, send a Mike to let Lucky know that Lily’s safe and with me,” I ordered.

“Jay, could I still stay here and travel with you and Cat? I’ve never seen much outside of the hotel,” Lily requested meekly.

“I did send a message instead of sending you with that Mike,” I replied.

“Thanks Uncle Jay, I promise not to get in the way,” Lily said gratefully.

“Bah, my enforcers can move through the walls, just do your thing,” I rebuked.

“Not to be a bother, but Abaddon doesn’t have any empty rooms yet. He said he was still being expanded to fit an indoor pool. Where should I sleep?” Lily asked hesitantly.

“Until the Bravos finish their work, you can sleep in Cat’s room or Discord’s. Or I can talk to Luna about moving Cat in with us and giving you her room,” I offered.

“Discord? Like, evil dictator, drive everyone insane, Discord?” Lily asked in horror.

“Turns out that he’s not that bad. But yeah, that Discord,” I confirmed.

“What the fuck happened to my life? I actually miss being bored,” Lily groaned.

“Kid, you ain’t seen nothing yet,” I promised darkly.

“This seems as good as anywhere,” I commented as I looked around the storage room.

“Must be something serious to drag me to the other side of the leviathan over it,” Catrix guessed, moving to sit on a small stack of boxes.

“I’m just having some trouble wrapping my head around some things, but I don’t know how to talk to Jay about it. Honestly, we could’ve talked in the hallway, I was just wandering while I figured out how to talk to you,” I confessed, looking at the floor in shame.

“Don’t worry about it, this is what I’m here for,” Catrix said reassuringly.

“That’s actually what I wanted to talk to you about. After I tried to rush myself and propositioned Jay, he said he’d never push me to do anything like that. But now you’re here and that seems to be your end goal, and he’s helping you. I don’t understand,” I explained.

“I get what you’re saying, and it would seem like Jay lied to you. But he didn’t. I don’t actually care whether or not you two get it on, that’s your choice. My job is to help you be yourself, to strip away all the issues and trauma that are keeping you from that point. My focus is on the intimacy and sexual side because it lets me hit all of the most crippling problems at the same time. If I can restore your self worth, most of your confidence issues will resolve themselves,” Catrix replied.

“How does that factor into all of this?” I wondered.

“You see yourself as less than those around you, not even deserving a demon as a friend. You put everyone else on this unreachable pedestal and reason that they’re too much better than you to properly love you, even me, and it scares the shit out of you. Jay’s in there fighting his own biology to try to love you properly, and it makes you feel guilty. That fear and guilt lower the value you place on yourself and the whole thing gets worse,” Catrix elaborated, drawing my attention to my rising depression and causing me to evaluate its roots.

“Why?” I asked as I fought to reign myself in before I started crying again.

“Why am I doing this? I really do see you as a friend and I want you too be happy, the fact that that’s literally my job is just fluff at this point. Why am I focusing on sex? You have seen me right? Seriously though, it’s just a convenient benchmark. The actual goal is to see yourself as Jay’s equal, the way he sees you. As this makes him a real person and therefore obtainable, it’ll remove the layer of fear in your mind,” Catrix answered.

“You got all of that from a few conversations?” I asked, choosing to ignore the tears that were already starting to edge their way out of the eyes Jekyll gave me.

“And your mannerisms, but it’s still a developing diagnosis,” Catrix corrected.

“I pray you’re right. I’m supposed to be a queen but I’m not fit to preside over a garden if I start crying over things like this,” I commented.

“We’ll get there,” Catrix reassured.

“I only have one more question. Why did Jay get you to handle this, wouldn’t a pony therapist be more effective?” I asked.

“Ponies are fleeting creatures to people like us, they are born and die too quickly to treat an immortal. A callous view, perhaps, but it’s accurate nonetheless,” Catrix replied.

“I suppose we could head back, it should be approaching dusk and it’s been a long day,” I suggested.

“Would you mind if we took a quick detour? I accidentally burned my dress earlier and need a new one,” Catrix requested.

“Of course, where did the original come from?” I asked, receiving a shrug in response.

“A mare named Rarity, she owns a shop in Ponyville called Carousel Boutique,” Abaddon answered helpfully.

“Thanks Abby,” I said to the wall before returning my focus to Catrix, “Do you need to hide under my wing?”

“If you don’t mind,” Catrix agreed. Once Catrix was tucked into my side and sufficiently concealed, I teleported us to the only place I knew in Ponyville to start our search. Unfortunately we teleported in front of the library right as a number of colts and fillies were heading there, presumably to do their homework.

“Wow, it’s Princess Luna! Hi princess!,” a brown and white spotted colt greeted immediately.

“Whatcha got under yer wing, Princess,” a yellow filly with a red mane asked.

“Are you going to be here for Nightmare Night? That would be awesome!” another colt asked. They were starting to crowd in on me and I began to panic.

“Miss Catrix?” I heard a filly whisper in confusion before shouting at the rest, “Hey, don’t crowd the princess or she might not come back!”

“Whatever Blank-Flank, we were just passing by anyway,” a snooty looking unicorn sneered as the crowd dispersed, leaving only one filly by my side.

“You’re friends with Miss Catrix, Princess?” the white and purple filly asked.

“Hi Sweetie Belle,” Catrix greeted quietly.

“Why are you hiding? Oh, is it because you don’t want to make everypony act funny?” Sweetie asked to my growing confusion.

“We’re looking for a mare named Rarity, I understand she made Cat a dress yesterday and she needs some more,” I requested.

“That’s my sister, I can take you to her. Could you do me a favor and not mention that I have demon friends?” Sweetie offered. At my nod, the filly led us down the street and stopped in front of a building that could only be Carousel Boutique. An odd architectural combination of a carnival ride and dress shop molded into one eye catching exterior.

“My thanks Miss Belle, both for the rescue and directions,” I said gratefully.

“Anytime Princess,” Sweetie replied with a wink before running back toward the library.

“Why am I afraid of that filly?” I wondered aloud.

“Probably because she knows way too much to be as innocent as she seems,” Catrix replied. I didn’t know how to respond to that so I simply walked over to the door and knocked.

“Coming, dear,” a voice sang from the other side.

“I’m starting to question my sanity,” I commented, completely serious.

“That means you’re still sane,” Catrix replied as the door opened to reveal another white unicorn, though with a darker mane.

“Miss Rarity, I presume?” I asked politely, “May we come inside?”

“Oh my, there’s a princess on my doorstep. Okay Rarity, you practiced this. Don’t panic, just take the order with grace and dignity,” Rarity replied, maintaining eye contact despite talking to herself.

“Take your time, breathe, and relax,” I advised sympathetically.

“Did I say that out loud? I’m so sorry, please come in. Would you like some tea?” Rarity asked, moving away from the door with something that could be called grace.

“I’d love some, but I should introduce you to my friend Cat first. She’s the one who requires your services,” I said as I lifted my wing and exposed the demon hidden underneath.

“Hi, I’m Catrix but everybody calls me Cat,” Catrix greeted, straightening her posture while demonstrating a truly graceful movement.

“I made a dress for you yesterday, didn’t I?” Rarity asked as she wandered toward Catrix, “I handled that silk with my own hooves, I’m one material away from your skin.”

“I was hoping you could make me a few more, the first one was so well made that I just had to have a complete set,” Catrix praised, leaving out that she had accidentally incinerated the original.

“Anything you want beautiful,” Rarity replied wistfully, now within touching distance of Catrix’s leg.

“If you need a muse, I suppose I could spare the time,” Catrix reasoned, sounding bored.

“Would you? You’re so beautiful and generous, would you mind if I just…” Rarity trailed off as she absently took another step forward and licked Catrix’s thigh.

“Okay, I’ve had my fun. Luna could you figure out how to fix her?” Catrix requested.

“I don’t know anything about the drugs Twilight used or how they work, I’m sorry Cat,” I apologized, “How have you handled ponies in the past?”

“Ug, hold on, I’ll be back in a few minutes and she’ll be able to focus for a while,” Catrix groaned, allowing Rarity to lead her upstairs. True to her word, Catrix and Rarity returned less than five minutes later.

“Sorry about that, I don’t know what came over me,” Rarity apologized.

“I understand, it’s quite alright. As I was saying, Cat needs some more dresses to keep everypony else from going crazy as well,” I repeated.

“Sure, I think I still have her measurements around here somewhere. Give me a second to find them and I’ll make a full set. It should only take me a couple hours, if you don’t mind waiting,” Rarity replied, immediately picking through scraps of paper for the notes in question.

“A couple hours for a set? Impressive,” I praised.

“Her shape is easier to work with than a pony’s and begs for elegant simplicity,” Rarity explained.

“I’ve been told that before,” Catrix agreed.

“It isn’t down here, I must have left it in my room. Excuse me,” Rarity requested before hurrying back up the stairs to continue her search. If nothing else, she was getting plenty of exercise running around like that.

“I hope it wasn’t on her bed,” Catrix commented.

“I don’t want to know,” I hissed back. A muffled scream all but confirmed Catrix’s hypothesis and an ashamed looking Rarity slowly made her way down the stairs a few seconds later.

“Could I trouble you to allow me measure you?” Rarity requested quietly.

“A tip for the future, use a pencil. Ink runs, but lead doesn’t,” Catix advised as she followed Rarity into the back room, leaving me alone in the showroom again. I decided to flip through a few magazines conveniently placed next to the couch to pass the time, though I didn’t expect to find an article about attracting stallions in one that looked so classy on the cover.

“Cosmopolitan Mares Weekly,” I noted, reevaluating the smiling blond mare on the cover, “I have read books thinner than this, how do they manage to write and publish one of these every week? I suppose filling it with inane drivel helps.”

When Catrix and Rarity returned, they found me levitating my hoof to turn the pages of the magazine I was skimming through, “Bored much?”

“No, why?” I responded dryly.

“If you want to take off, I’ll be fine here. And even if I’m not, I can always opt out and wait for Jay to resummon me,” Catrix offered.

“I’d rather you didn’t, I don’t like the thought of you hurting yourself. I can wait if you want,” I replied.

“Go on, go. Find something more entertaining than that shitty magazine,” Catrix dismissed, waving me towards the door.

“I’ll stay in Ponyville so I can teleport us back when you’re done,” I promised as I let myself be shooed outside, “Well now what am I supposed to do?”

“Hello Princess, how are you today?” a mare I vaguely remembered asked kindly from the street.

“I’m well, thank you Miss…” I trailed off.

“Cake, and it’s Missus actually,” Mrs Cake corrected.

“My apologies, I’m usually good with names but it’s been a bit of a day,” I apologized.

“It’s alright. Say, you look like you could use a nice cup of hot chocolate, why don’t you come with me back to Sugarcube Corner and I’ll fix one right up for you,” Mrs Cake offered.

“It was just some colt giving you a flower,” I deadpanned.

“Yep,” Lily replied.

“And you never thought of becoming a model,” I continued.

“Nope,” Lily replied with the same tone as before.

“Abaddon, I need two pieces of bread,” I ordered, receiving the requested items a second later. I looked deeply into Lily’s eyes as I pressed the bread to the sides of her head, “What are you?”

“I don’t-”

“You’re an idiot sandwich,” I declared, cramming the bread in her mouth to stifle her retort, “I thought you would, your parents thought you would, your sisters thought you would, why the fuck didn’t you leave that stupid ass hotel and get a job in front of a camera?”

“I just never thought of it,” Lily managed around the bread in her mouth.

“And Blueblood doesn’t think you’ll like Canterlot, why? You’re a unicorn, pretty, low-born but they won’t know that, and there are a ton of modeling agencies there, I don’t get it. What does he gain by keeping you away?” I mused.

“You think he’s embarrassed of me? That he’s scared I’ll say something stupid in front of his noble friends?” Lily proposed.

“He doesn’t have any, more likely that he’s worried about your safety,” I countered.

“Is Canterlot that ruthless? Would someone ponynap me for being engaged to him?” Lily asked.

“Possible but still unlikely. Though if I were him, I’d be taking every precaution,” I replied.

“Because you’ll turn him inside out if anything happens to me?” Lily guessed.

“Something like that, yeah,” I responded.

“Then he’s just being paranoid and I don’t have anything to worry about?” Lily asked.

“Probably, we’ll know for sure when the team gets back,” I replied.

“Why didn’t he just ask you for help?” Lily wondered.

“Pride. He sees me as a stand in for your dad, needs my approval and all that. He’d be ashamed of himself if he had to come to me for help,” I explained.

“You’ve seen this before,” Lily accused.

“Once, had a talk with that fellow too. You definitely got the braver one, at least Blueblood kept breathing,” I confessed.

“What’s left on the list? I think we’ve run out of things to talk about,” Lily asked.

“Sleeping arrangements. You make a choice on that yet?” I pressed.

“I’d prefer my own room but I can sleep with Cat if I have too,” Lily replied.

“I’ll talk to Luna. Abaddon?”

“Mistress Luna is in Ponyville at the moment, specifically at the bakery known as Sugarcube Corner. Jeff says she’s on her third hot chocolate,” Abaddon replied.

“Why call her mistress? Shouldn’t you call her princess or lady?” Lily asked, confused.

“Lady Luna sounds stupid,” was Abaddon’s only response.

“I’ll give you that one, but it’s wrong. Jay and Luna got married, she’s not his mistress,” Lily insisted.

“I’ll leave you two to argue this one out, I’m gonna find Luna and figure out where Cat’ll be sleeping,” I said as I backed out of the room, an amused smile on my face as Abaddon continued to dismiss Lily’s objections.

“Sir, I just got a report of increased activity in the Everfree,” Abaddon warned as I walked toward the deck.

“Visuals?”

“Nothing but scattering birds and rustled trees, however it’s either one big creature or a lot of smaller ones. Do you think Dopple would attack here?” Abaddon asked nervously.

“No, this is as close to neutral ground as we get. He’s known this town almost as long as I have, there’s an emotional connection to it and he doesn’t want to see it harmed. I think this is something else,” I reasoned.

“I’ll maintain the alert among the enforcers, but I’d recommend retrieving Tzu,” Abaddon replied as I reached the deck and formed my wings.

“I’ll get him,” I promised as I took off. I landed in front of Ponyville’s only bakery a couple minutes later to screams of terror, “What?”

“It’s going to eat me!” Roseluck screamed as she fled.

“Jeff, what’s going on?” I asked.

“You landed in Ponyville, alone, near Roseluck,” the leviathan replied.

“And they already found a bunch of pitchforks and torches, at least they’re efficient,” I groaned, cradling my head in my right hand in disappointment.

“I knew you were no good!”

“Ponyville is for ponies!”

“Remember Roseluck!”

“I don’t know why I’m yelling!”

“Are you done?” I asked calmly, “I have places to be, so fuck off.”

“We’ll fuck you off monster!” one of them yelled.

“That means something completely different. As entertaining as this is, Roseluck is unharmed and being dramatic. Besides, what are you going to do to me? Poke at me with pointy sticks and yell? I’m not a stray dog that wandered into town,” I pointed out.

“What’re y’all idjits doin now, hmm? Makin a big ol fuss over nutin, looks like. Y’all git outta here fer Ah find ya mommas,” a rickety voice demanded angrily.

“But Granny Smith, this monster attacked Roseluck,” the same pony argued. I decided to lean against the nearby bakery wall and watch the show.

“Attacked nothin, Ah’ve seen that ditz scream over a worm in her garden. Ah been right here the whole time, this fella ain’t done nothin wrong,” Granny Smith insisted.

“But Granny-”

“But nothin, go on git,” Granny Smith ordered forcefully. The small mob reluctantly disbanded, with one of them pausing long enough to spit on my foot before leaving, “Sorry about them, they git ta thinkin one way and ain’t nothin gettin through their skulls after that.”

“It’s fine, they aren’t the first and they won’t be the last. I didn’t expect it here, though,” I replied.

“So that’s how ya done it. Ya been that Jekyll fella all these years, hidin right in front of my nose. Don’t try ta deny it, Ah hear more than Ah see these days,” Granny Smith accused, a smirk spreading across her face.

“Maybe, but I have people waiting on me. You need anything from the Cakes? It’s on me,” I offered.

“Heh heh heh, you always were a slippery sort. Couldn’t get a straight answer before, can’t now,” Granny Smith laughed as she walked away.

“There goes your disguise,” Luna commented from behind me.

“The mob draw you out?” I guessed.

“Yep, pulled me away from a nice conversation about sugar to bread ratios too,” Luna replied.

“Sounds absolutely riveting,” I deadpanned.

“Meh, I’ve had worse. But I needed to swap the sun and moon anyway, so it was already over,” Luna pointed out.

“On that subject, we need to talk about where to have Cat sleep. Lily doesn’t mind sharing a room but would prefer her own, I said I’d talk to you about moving Cat in with us for a couple days until Abaddon’s growth is finished,” I stated.

“I admit, waking up next to both of you was rather pleasant this morning, but I’m hesitant to continue the trend,” Luna responded after a moment.

“It’s up to you. If you don’t want Cat in our room, I’ll let Lily know,” I pressed.

“I don’t want to disregard Lily’s preferences, but I’m also uncomfortable with inviting another person into our bed. It feels like cheating, somehow. Could I borrow a bit? Maybe fate can give me an answer,” Luna requested.

“Chelly side is heads, because her’s is so big. Heads, Cat keeps her room and gets a roommate, tails, she gets to use yours as a blanket,” I said as I flicked the coin into the air.

“We both know she’d do more than that,” Luna argued as the coin landed in my palm.

“Heads. Sorry Lily, looks like you have to share,” I announced.

“You don’t sound disappointed, I would’ve thought the idea of Cat being there all the time would appeal to you,” Luna wondered aloud.

“Cat and I have the same goal, helping you figure yourself out, but she’s more aggressive about it than I would like,” I replied.

“But isn’t she the best candidate for the job?” Luna asked.

“Undoubtedly,” I agreed.

“Then what’s the problem with her methods?” Luna pressed.

“Cat was hurt, more than either of us can imagine, for a long time, but she can’t stay hurt. She remembers just fine and that can bring it back, but she’s not a victim unless someone dredges it up. At her core, Catrix is the same as every other member of her species, she’s a toy for the lonely and the depraved. She’ll say that sex is a goal that can be defined, but she could pick any number of things. It’s who she is, and that’s the real reason why she keeps bringing it up. I’d take you hunting until you could comfortably kill a squirrel or something, just hadn’t thought of it until now,” I explained.

“But she says she doesn’t care about the end result, as long as I see you as an equal and obtainable,” Luna parroted.

“Obtainable? She used that word? Luna, people aren’t objects to be collected. This is what I’m talking about; Cat says she wants you and I to be on equal terms, but she’ll never be able to follow that advice herself. Because she is an object, in her mind anyway,” I continued.

“But she cares, I can see it,” Luna insisted, looking away.

“I know she does, and I’ve been trying to help her since I figured out how she thinks. As far as I can tell, it’s as deeply ingrained in her species as eating grass is to yours or shapeshifting to mine,” I replied sadly.

“It’s so sad,” Luna commented.

“It is,” I agreed, “Where is she now?”

“Carousel Boutique, getting some more dresses made,” Luna replied.

“She got you to leave her alone with a pony? Shit, I should’ve seen this coming. We gotta go,” I shouted in alarm, immediately turning to run for the dress shop.

“What? Why? What’ll happen?” Luna asked as she ran after me.

“Rarity propositioned Cat, right? And then Cat took her away for a bit and she was fine when she came back, right? Well, that time will get shorter and shorter until Rarity dies of a heart attack,” I warned.

“She’s dangerous! Why didn’t you tell me?” Luna asked in panic.

“She knows. Damnit, she knows how to keep it from escalating,” I responded as I slid to a stop in front of the store and threw the door open.

“Oh my, you must be desperate for a dress dear. That or I shudder to think of what passes for manners where you come from,” Rarity admonished, looking perfectly healthy.

“Sorry about the door, it’ll fix itself. Where’s Cat?” I asked.

“So demanding. If you must know, she’s trying on her new ensemble at the moment,” Rarity answered tersely, her ear flicking in annoyance.

“I see, and how many times have you needed to measure her?” I pressed.

“Only once, I am a professional. Now unless you have an order to place, I must ask you to-” Rarity attempted.

“Stuff it, I own this building and the ground it sits on,” I snapped, cutting her off.

“Jay, there’s no need to be rude,” Luna chided as she walked in, pausing to catch her breath from the sprint over.

“I’m inclined to agree, I know the pony I’m renting from and it isn’t you,” Rarity argued.

“Brisk Whistle died almost a thousand years ago when Celestia had him and ten thousand others attack a peaceful nation, he only exists now as one of my aliases,” I spat as my head shifted to match the appearance of the long dead earth pony, causing Rarity to freeze.

“Half the town rents from him,” Rarity commented in horror.

“The other half rents from me too. This is my town, it was founded because of me, it has survived because of me, and it will thrive because of me,” I replied, returning my head back to normal as I spoke.

“Jay, you’re sounding evil again,” Luna admonished.

“Yes, my fiendish plot to keep rent low and profits high while maintaining a rustic charm that’ll keep the snobbish types away. Muahahaha,” I said sarcastically.

“It is surprisingly affordable,” Rarity reluctantly agreed, “But I don’t have to like you.”

“You aren’t supposed to like your landlord, just point me towards where Cat is,” I demanded.

“You’d interrupt a lady when she’s changing?” Rarity accused.

“Cat isn’t a lady, a lady doesn’t offer herself up to a stranger when they first meet,” I shot back, causing Rarity to freeze again.

“How do you know about that? Are you spying on me?” Rarity hissed when she recovered.

“No, I just know Cat and the effect she has on others. Honestly I’m surprised you can stand, she’s killed her share of partners over the years; thought you’d be one of them,” I replied kindly.

“Back room, there’s a closet I’ve had converted into a changing room. You can’t miss it,” Rarity sighed, defeated. I found the converted closet easily enough, and an amused Catrix inside.

“How close was she to dying?” I asked, my anger starting to show on my face.

“Twenty minutes of lucidity per round, it’s been pretty constant. I’d say another six hours before she broke, much longer than I would’ve been here,” Catrix confessed.

“So you thought you’d have some fun with her because you’d be gone before you left any permanent injuries,” I accused.

“Well I’m not getting anything from you, am I, even dear Abby was just a fleeting tryst. I need a release Jay, I’m going crazy,” Catrix argued.

“And living vicariously through Luna is taking too long,” I noted.

“Yes,” Catrix admitted.

“I’ll find you something, even if I have to lock a live hyda in that room. Just do me a favor and don’t kill anyone or hurt Luna,” I said.

“Deal,” Catrix agreed.

“Great. Get your shit and come on, you’re going back to Abaddon to sort things out with your new roommate. Shit, that’s not going to work now. Fuck,” I swore, angrily walking away.

“Jay, are you okay?” Luna asked when I walked back into the main room.

“No, Cat’s being more demon-y than usual and Lily won’t be able to stay with her,” I complained.

“I don’t understand, what do you mean by that?” Luna asked.

“Last time she was like this, she tried to force herself on me. Tried to tackle me and everything,” I elaborated.

“She tells it a different way,” Luna commented.

“I’m sure she does,” I agreed.

“What should I do?” Luna asked.

“Take Cat back to Abaddon and have her wait in her room. You should also tell Abaddon to make another bed in ours for Lily,” I ordered.

“What will you be doing?” Luna continued.

“Killing as many birds with as few stones as possible,” I replied, walking out the door.

“What will killing birds accomplish?” I wondered aloud.

“It means getting several things done at once,” Catrix whispered into my ear, causing me to jump.

“Cat, are you alright?” I asked nervously.

“How does the whole alicorn thing work Luna? Do you get the benefits of all the races, like earth pony endurance? I could show you what it means to kill multiple birds with one stone,” Catrix offered as she closed in on me, causing me to back into the wall.

“Cat, I don’t know what happened to you, but this isn’t the Catrix I know,” I declared.

“Sure I am, I’m just more...awake right now,” Catrix purred as she pushed me against the wall and moved to kiss me.

“Sorry Cat, I’m not into mares,” I replied, lighting my horn to hold her in place.

“You don’t have to be afraid, I won’t hurt you,” Catrix promised.

“I’m not afraid of you. I’m afraid for you,” I corrected before teleporting both of us directly into Catrix’s room, “Abby, Jay says to keep Cat in her room.”

“Understood, ma’am,” Abaddon replied, extending tendrils to pull Catrix away from me.

“Only wrists and ankles? A real guard would have restraints around my body too,” the thing with Catrix’s face taunted as I backed out of the room.

“Luna, what’s going on?” Lily asked from the hallway, looking concerned.

“I can’t say I know,” I confessed.

“Hey Cup, I need Tzu,” I stated as I walked into the bakery, it wasn’t a question.

“He’s with Pinkie,” Mrs Cake replied.

“Damnit Cup, lives are at risk! I need my tactician!” I shouted, causing the baker to jump in fright.

“Upstairs,” she answered shakily.

“Tzu!” I roared, rattling the entire building.

“Sir?” Tzu replied, at my side before I had finished calling for him.

“Unknown enemy encroaching from the west and Catrix has decided to lose her mind, but Abaddon will have her confined by now. Right now I need a report on your current mission,” I ordered.

“No luck yet sir,” Tzu responded sadly.

“Pinkie’s list?” I pressed.

“Nearly spent, only one idea left. It’s-” Tzu began hesitantly.

“I know what it is, she’s getting desperate,” I interrupted.

“Yes, sir,” Tzu confirmed.

“Birds and stones, birds and stones. Tzu, I’m transferring you to Catrix’s command until either dismissed or Abaddon informs you that it’s dawn. Jeff, I’m giving you three thousand Gammas and twice that in Romeos to handle this threat. Get to it, move!” I ordered, nearly throwing Tzu out the door in my frustration.

“Mister Jekyll! I don’t appe-”

“Another word and your rent doubles,” I threatened, “I’m not here to make friends, I’m here to keep your stupid asses alive.”

Mrs Cake settled for glaring at me as I stormed out of her bakery and flew back to Abaddon, noting the advance of the unknown force by the shaking trees, “Sir, Tzu has returned but he doesn’t look happy.”

“His previous mission was a failure, this is his last attempt before I hold him down and check him over for a chemical imbalance. Also I gave him to Cat for the night,” I explained, causing Abaddon to shudder in sympathy.

“Mistress Luna and Miss Lily are also distressed over Miss Catrix’s change in demeanor,” Abaddon continued as I watched the slow progress of the mysterious foe I had trusted Jeffrey to handle.

“I’ll deal with them in a moment, right now I want you watching the trees. If they break through the enforcers I assigned to Jeff, bring the hammer down on them. And let me know when they clear the trees,” I ordered.

“What should I do about Miss Fluttershy? Her cabin is dangerously close to the forest,” Abaddon asked.

“Send a Mike to let her know what’s going on and ten squads of Gammas after it gets back with her response,” I clarified.

“Understood,” Abaddon replied. A thought struck me as I turned to walk back to Luna and Lily.

“Abaddon, have the enforcers been taught how to form ranged weapons?” I asked.

“They have, the Gammas seem to view them with disdain though,” Abaddon replied.

“And the Romeos?” I continued.

“Are currently competing over who can form the most weapons and fire them the fastest,” Abaddon answered.

“Spooks?”

“Marksmanship.”

“Perfect. I want them scouting in the forest, get me intel on our opponent,” I ordered as I reached the door to Luna’s and my room.

“Understood, they’re leaving now,” Abaddon replied as the door opened.

“Jay, thank goodness. What’s wrong with Cat?” Luna and Lily asked at once.

“Did you two coordinate that? Whatever. Cat does this occasionally when she gets her hands on someone and doesn’t get to act. It started after the fist time I offed a bunch of demons, she’d start getting aggressive whenever someone denies her some pleasure or another. She got a better hold of herself after I slit her throat when she attacked a foal over a pair of earrings, granted I’d accidentally dropped her at the feet of the incubus that’d owned her before. She just needs some ‘action’ to get her thinking straight again,” I explained.

“Didn’t she get enough out of Abaddon and Miss Rarity?” Luna asked, shocked.

“She’s not a pony, it takes her longer than twenty seconds to get off. I tossed Tzu at her to fix the issue, he’s one of the comparatively few creatures on this planet that can safely help her right now. Plus it was the last option Pinkie could think of for him to have fun, and she’s not like that,” I replied.

“I got the same impression, she’s more of the party type,” Lily agreed.

“Eww,” Luna complained.

“Pinkie’s a virgin and proud of it. Lily’s talking about normal parties,” I corrected.

“Oh, okay then. But if that’s handled, why do you still look angry?” Luna asked.

“There’s something new coming at us. It’s moving slow, but that means it’s either really big and hard to kill or an army and hard to kill. The enforcers are mobilizing and Jeff is no slouch but I want to be there to keep casualties to a minimum. It’s times like this that I miss Dirge, he’d have some dumb cooking anecdote to ruin the tension,” I groused.

“I’m coming too,” Luna insisted, summoning her weapons.

“Get some armor. I don’t care if it’s the same shit Nightmare Moon wore, you’re not going out there unprotected,” I ordered.

“What can I do?” Lily offered.

“Stay here, the first order of battle is to minimize the number of noncombatants on the field,” I replied.

“Could Cat help?” Lily asked.

“Yes, but she’s out for at least four hours,” I replied.

“Not if Tzu’s anything like you,” Lily argued, “Let me in there, he’ll flounder and take forever without instructions.”

“It’s your hide on the line,” I warned, waving toward the door. Lily sprinted out and slid into a turn toward Catrix’s door.

“Was that wise?” Luna asked as she passed me, allowing me to fall in next to her.

“She may be the most well mannered, but she’s still Lucky’s daughter,” I responded, distracted by memories of battle lines and formations long passed.

“Jay?” Luna asked, looking concerned at my seeming inattention.

“Minos, six A.N. A peasant revolt, we were contracted to put it down. It was like this, they were coming through the forest. But it was south, and uphill. The high ground helped the defenses hold,” I noted.

“We have the low ground this time, but better fighters,” Luna encouraged.

“We don’t know that, we don’t know anything yet,” I countered.

“Then let’s get down there and find out,” Luna suggested.

“After you get some armor,” I insisted.

“Where do you think I’m going? The Bravos have a workshop directly below our room,” Luna replied, drawing my attention to the fact that we were walking down a staircase as we spoke.

“You don’t have any armor already?” I asked.

“It was shattered when the Elements of Harmony hit me. A shame, despite its infamy, I liked that armor,” Luna explained.

“Get the Bravos to reforge it, I assume the pieces are still in the old castle?” I guessed.

“They should be, if you don’t mind me bringing some enforcers with me when I retrieve them,” Luna requested.

“Go ahead,” I allowed.

“Thank you, in the meantime I’ll have to deal with whatever the Bravos can make,” Luna reasoned.

“Prepare to be amazed,” I warned.

“Why?”

“I wouldn’t be surprised if they built a living suit of armor that enhanced your strength and speed to ridiculous levels while also acting as a capacitor to boost your magic power,” I prophesied.

“Don’t be ridiculous, magic is way too complicated to do that,” Luna rebuked.

“I don’t like it,” Luna complained from somewhere within her twelve foot tall armored shell.

“Why not?” I asked. We’d had to move into the staging area to deploy Luna effectively.

“It makes me feel bigger than I am, I shouldn’t be able to feel the texture of the floor,” Luna explained, “And now it’s gone, armor shouldn’t listen to me!”

“It’s alive, remember,” I responded.

“I know, but I also know that there are tendrils going into my eyes to let me see. I’m fighting a panic attack over that by the way,” Luna added.

“This is the break in period, it’s for you to get comfortable and adjust anything you don’t like. Afterwards you can have the helmet peel back,” I advised.

“Again, I know. This isn’t armor, it’s a weapon. Weapons are supposed to be fine instruments bound to the instincts and training of the wielder, not this cudgel you call armor,” Luna continued.

“A cudgel is a weapon,” I pointed out.

“Shut up or I’ll step on you,” Luna threatened.

“Hey, did you remember to lower the sun?” I asked, realizing it had still been dusk when I had arrived.

“Fuck,” Luna swore, “Abby, I need to see the sky.”

“Dropping in three,” Abaddon warned.

“Three what? Woah!” Luna exclaimed as the floor dropped out from under us and allowed us to fall over a hundred feet into the grass below.

“How do you feel about that armor now?” I asked with a smirk.

“It needs wings,” Luna complained as she forcibly freed her legs from where they had embedded in the ground.

“Too heavy and it would require an invasive connection,” I replied.

“I understand I still weigh less than you in this armor,” Luna countered.

“Invasive connection,” I repeated, “It would have to sever the connection to your wings and connect to the nerves for you to control them.”

“I recall you doing something similar before, to my brain,” Luna pointed out.

“It would still hurt the first few times,” I argued.

“I teleported into fire earlier today, I can take a little pain,” Luna insisted.

“I’ll have them make the revision for next time,” I promised.

“Thank you. Now, to the task at hand,” Luna stated, armored plated shifting and sliding as she looked up to monitor her progress. The sun and moon switched places with an audible roar from the horn on Luna’s helmet and a speed akin to the flipping of a lightswitch.

“Interesting,” I commented.

“Armor, I need to see my eyes... That’s what I thought, I’m overcharging constantly and more intensely than ever before. I’d like to revise my opinion, this is excellent battle armor,” Luna noted.

“How so?” I asked curiously.

“My eyes have stars and galaxies in them, they’ve never done that before,” Lina replied.

“Like how your mane used to look?” I confirmed.

“More than that,” Luna corrected.

“Fancy, try to teleport us onto the deck,” I ordered, figuring it would make a decent test. Instead of transporting us to our destination, Luna’s spell opened a portal to it in front of her that remained for a moment after she ended her spell.

“Interesting, was demon magic involved in the capacitor system?” Luna asked.

“It’s all we have,” I replied.

“Then I am left unable to teleport, however I have another option,” Luna noted before we were both lifted by a crushing telekinetic aura, arriving at our intended destination shortly after.

“Two seconds to move us three hundred feet, impressive. But don’t do that to a pony, they’d be crushed,” I commented.

“Noted. We do we do now?” Luna asked.

“We wait for them to spring the trap, whether the spooks get back with my intel or not,” I replied.

“The Nightmare was always attacking, I’ve never fought defensively before. Is the waiting as bad as I’ve heard?” Luna continued.

“Worse,” I replied.

“Sir, the spooks have returned. They say the enemy has stopped for the night,” Abaddon reported.

“Shit, just inside the tree line too. At least we don’t sleep, they can’t catch us unprepared,” I mused.

“They also have a description of the force: large spiderlike creatures,” Abaddon continued.

“Damn, then the one Tzu dealt with earlier was a scout,” I reasoned.

“I assume he killed it?” Luna guessed.

“Without issue, but bugs swarm and a hive that large could number in the millions. Where the fuck did they come from?” I asked.

“Where did what now?” Discord asked from the doorway into Abaddon’s internal structure.

“Giant spider things, lots of them, came out of nowhere. Any ideas?” I clarified.

“Underground, probably disturbed by something heavy walking around. They don’t have a name, but they used to be a pretty big problem in untamed areas. This was all before I took over, of course,” Discord explained.

“What do they want?” I continued.

“Same as everything else, food and safety. This town will make a decent snack if they can push past the threat,” Discord replied.

“Anything else you’d care to share?” I pressed.

“They die easy enough, but they reproduce faster. There was an old joke when I was small, swing your ax at the first one and there will be another three born and raised before it hits the ground,” Discord warned, “But that’s all I really remember.”

“All that and no name?” I pressed.

“I’ve only heard them referred to as Them,” Discord insisted.

“Sounds like a bad joke to me. Anyway, thanks for the help, always better to know your enemy,” I replied gratefully.

“Jay, there are other towns nearby,” Luna pointed out.

“I know, as soon as we have a clear line of travel for this bunch, I’m going for the nest with Cataclysm. If they want something to eat, I’ll feed them rippers till they burst,” I responded.

“I hate this kind of chaos, too much destruction, too few smiles,” Discord complained.

“You could always rewrite them out of existence,” I suggested.

“It’s more complicated than that, I’m sorry,” Discord apologized.

“It’s fine, just have to settle this the old school way. My favorite,” I replied, flexing my claws for emphasis.

“Who’s the giant?” Discord asked gesturing toward Luna’s armored form.

“You gonna introduce yourself?” I asked, poking the side of the suit and receiving a long snore in response, “It’s Luna.”

“Nice digs Lulu. You don’t do anything halfway, do you?” Discord laughed.

“Nope. If it’s worth doing, it’s worth overdoing,” I replied.

“Wise words, I should heed them. Listen, about Catrix, I chickened out,” Discord admitted, changing the subject.

“I know, and you missed your best chance. If you went to her room an hour ago, she wouldn’t have let you speak,” I informed him.

“That’s not really what I’m after. Well, eventually, sure, but not just that. I’m a relationship kinda draconequus, call me a romantic if you want,” Discord explained.

“And a lust demon seems like girlfriend material to you?” I laughed, moving to sit on the edge of the deck. Discord joined me a moment later and sighed.

“I don’t know, but she’s single and I don’t know anyone else,” Discord whined.

“Then go out there and meet people, you idiot. Cat’s not someone you want as a girlfriend and definitely not as a wife, she’d cheat on you every day. Look, after this mess is settled, start hanging out with Luna and I more, come with us to Ponyville, and for the love of chaos talk to someone other than me,” I advised.

“Sorry, I’ve always been a bit of a loner,” Discord apologized.

“Says the most boisterous person I’ve ever met,” I countered.

“Well sure, but I never actually get to know anyone. It’s a harmless prank or two and then I move on to the next pony or whatever once I get a smile,” Discord responded.

“Something else on your mind? You’ve been awfully serious lately,” I asked.

“It’s our fight, that whole night really, everything went wrong and all I accomplished was reinforcing everyone’s opinion of me,” Discord confessed.

“We all make mistakes, at least these can be mended with time and effort. I’ve been living in the shadows for centuries and I never really accomplished anything, it wasn’t until Luna stirred the pot that I started caring about my reputation,” I responded.

“Killing Belial isn’t accomplishing anything? That’s a pretty big something, even by my standards,” Discord praised.

“How do you know about that?” I asked.

“I read ahead,” Discord replied with a shrug.

“Nope, not going to think about that one. New subject, uh, pools. Abaddon’s getting an indoor pool,” I stumbled, trying to escape the logic gap before I ended up with a migraine.

“Indoors, eh? That’s smart, no leaves to clean out,” Discord commented.

“That’s what I said,” I agreed.

“But wouldn’t your house, butler, war machine combo do that for you? And aren’t we too high up for debris to get in there anyway?” Discord pointed out.

“Not too high for bird shit. But you’re right, the real reason is to keep prying eyes off Luna,” I admitted.

“Is she warming your cold heart, hmm?” Discord teased.

“Certainly trying. But who are you to talk about our relationship, mister I-think-a-demon-girlfriend-is-a-good-idea,” I shot back.

“Fair enough,” Discord conceded with a short laugh.

“I don’t suppose you could fix that, could you?” I asked.

“What, your lifeless heart? Who says I haven’t already? Would you even know?” Discord countered.

“I think I’d know, I have a fairly good grasp on my mind,” I pointed out.

“By your perception, sure, but not necessarily by mine,” Discord continued cryptically.

“You think I can hide things from myself?” I guessed.

“I know you can, you just can’t perceive how you do it,” Discord replied.

“I remember when I first figured out how to mold my body, I couldn’t even think about it beforehand. You might be on to something,” I relented.

“Well, I’ve had my fun playing with your mind. I’m going to bed, see you around Jekyll,” Discord stated, rising to leave.

“Hey, Discord,” I called when he reached the door, “It’s Jay.”

“Thanks for coming over Luna, I just needed someone to talk to,” Twilight greeted gratefully as I walked into the library.

“Anytime Twilight, what’s on your mind?” I asked, gesturing towards the couch.

“There’s just a lot going on right now,” Twilight replied, moving to sit on the referenced furniture. I noticed she left enough space for me to join her.

“You know you can talk to me, Twilight,” I encouraged as I sat next to my student and laid a wing across her shoulders.

“I’m so excited, but I’m more afraid. You know they accepted the trade agreement I proposed last month, and the gryphons promised a nice reward for whoever set it up. And you know Green and I...well, we’re supposed to be getting engaged as soon as we have the bits,” Twilight began.

“All things to be proud of, for sure. If you keep going like this, I’ll be your student before long,” I praised, lifting Twilight’s chin with my hoof and noticing a slim silver band around my ankle.

“That’s the thing, I can’t keep doing this. I can’t go on adventures or settle arguments between Celestia and some other world leader or make any more major breakthroughs in arcane theory. I just can’t, I’m sorry,” Twilight apologized as the started to cry.

“But you love all of those things, why do you have to stop?” I asked, pulling Twilight into a gentle hug with my wing.

“I have a bigger responsibility now,” Twilight explained, pushing me away with one hoof while she held her stomach with the other.

“You mean…” I trailed off.

“A filly, I was thinking of naming her ‘Eclipse,’” Twilight confessed.

“This is wonderful news,” I squeed, lifting Twilight and spinning around in joy.

“But why am I scared?” Twilight asked when I returned her to her hooves, slightly unsteady from the rapid movement.

“Twilight listen to me, there’s nothing to be afraid of. You’re my student and my friend, all the armies of Equestria and Tartarus stand between you and anything that would have the folly to wish you ill. All the physicians in the world are here for you and your foal. And all your friends, myself included, are thrilled for you. This is a joyous time, but it’s natural to be afraid. Just know that we’re all here for you,” I said as I pulled Twilight in for another hug, closing my eyes to bask in the moment.

“I hope you’re right,” Twilight replied.

When I opened my eyes, we were no longer in the library. I stood in a barren field of bones and ash, with small brush fires all around, “Twilight, were are we? Did you teleport us?”

When Twilight didn’t respond, I lifted her away to see what was wrong and screamed at the sight. In my hooves rested the partially eaten remains of Twilight’s corpse. Whatever had killed her had taken her rear legs and tail completely off and torn the rest of her open, leaving her organs exposed to the world like a butchered animal. I broke down and cried when I dropped her and a, still twitching, fetus fell out of her body.

“Oh Twilight, what happened to you?” I sobbed before my stupor was broken by something slimy touching my leg, her foal was still alive and crawling towards me, “Eclipse. You’re still alive? You’re a strong little filly, let’s get you out of here.”

With a new purpose, I gently lifted the newborn foal onto my back and started looking for anyone who could help us.

“No escape,” a voice whispered, carried on the wind.

“Who’s there? Please, I need help!” I called back.

“No escape,” the voice repeated.

“Please, I have a foal that needs help,” I begged.

“Since when did you care about foals?” a different voice demanded from behind me, a voice I knew, my voice.

“Who are you!?” I screamed as I spun around.

“You know who I am.” From my left this time.

“Tell me!”

“Boo,” the voice whispered into my right ear. It took everything I had not to fall over in shock, for fear of crushing the foal on my back. As I stumbled away, I finally saw who had been tormenting me.

“Jay, you scared me,” I sighed in relief.

“Good, you should be afraid,” Jekyll laughed cruelly, causing me to take a second look at him. All the red spots and lines that ran across his body were now glowing teal and his left hand was hidden behind his back as he leaned forward to sneer at me.

“Nightmare,” I noted angrily, “Let him go.”

“That would imply that your insanity could control this body, I’m afraid that’s just not possible,” the thing that was controlling my husband lied, hopefully.

“Jay isn’t cruel like you Nightmare, he wouldn’t talk like that,” I insisted, clinging to the hope that Jekyll could fight her off.

“Wanna know a secret? I’m not your Nightmare, I’m the Horror. I’m the other side of your weak little hubby, I’m the one who gets things done, I’m the one that’s hungry,” the Horror snarled as he lifted his left hand to reveal a newborn foal, causing me to panic as I realized Eclipse wasn’t on my back anymore.

“Let her go,” I demanded, charging The Horror with as much force as I could muster. It flowed around my attack like black and teal water and laughed at my attempt.

“Is that the best you can do? Jekyll was a fool for ever keeping you around, a mistake I aim to correct. But not yet, your tears are much too tasty for me to end this already. I’ll have to settle for an appetizer,” the Horror mused, sending me into a panic as Eclipse was raised to its mouth.

“Don’t you dare hurt her!” I demanded, overcharging as I launched a pressure wave into its arm to no effect. Eclipse received a long lick across the top of her head as The Horror grinned evilly.

“So weak, always so weak,” the Horror taunted, dodging my next charge effortlessly.

“You can have me, just let Eclipse go,” I begged.

“But you aren’t crying anymore. You just need some encouragement,” the Horror said excitedly before biting into Eclipses neck and viciously tearing her head off like a piece of taffy, allowing her tiny spine to dangle from its mouth as it chewed.

“NOOOO!” I wailed, dropping to my knees and sobbing into the ashes. Eclipse’s tiny body landed inches from where my tears were pooling, causing them to mix with her blood and run towards my hooves.

“Now you’re ready to-” The Horror began before something odd happened, its mouth stopped matching his words. Its face said ‘die’ but I heard, “Yo Lu wake up, time to do your thing with the sun and moon.”

“Jay?” I asked groggily, the nightmare still vivid in my memory.

“What’s up? Woah, you look like boiled shit,” Jekyll commented as I looked him over for any teal coloring.

“You mentioned evolving before, could you evolve me? I never want to sleep again,” I sobbed as I jumped into his arms, barely noticing that my armor was gone.

“Another nightmare?” Jekyll guessed as he held me comfortingly.

“The worst one yet. You were like the Nightmare and you ate Twilight’s foal,” I explained, continuing to cry into his chest.

“Damn, I’d be rattled by that too. Wait, Twilight’s pregnant?” Jekyll replied soothingly before becoming confused, absently running one of his hands through my mane while I cried.

“Please evolve me, I can’t see that again,” I begged, ignoring his question.

“You don’t mean that, you wouldn’t be a pony anymore.”

“I don’t care, as long as I never have to look at the Horror again,” I insisted.

“Look, I get where you’re terrified right now, but that isn’t the answer,” Jekyll argued.

“Why won’t you help me?!” I screamed, beating my hooves on his shoulders as I wept openly.

“Because I don’t know if you’ll survive. I can’t lose you like that, especially not over a nightmare,” Jekyll explained, causing me to pause.

“It called you weak, do I make you weak?” I asked.

“You make me stronger, now I have something real to live and fight for instead of just sitting around waiting for my old life to come back. You give me a purpose, and that’s better than any armor or weapon or treasure,” Jekyll replied, holding me close as I calmed down.

“You have a nightmare about him turning evil and eating foals, and your first instinct is to run into his arms? You are one interesting mare,” Catrix commented, cluing me in to the fact that we weren’t alone; Lily and Tzu were also watching in concern.

“Shut up Cat,” Jekyll and I ordered in unison.

Author's Notes:

Spring Break, a time for relaxing, drinking excessively, and trying to be more philosophical than I should be. And writing, a lot of writing. Next up is a proper fight, or as close as I can get with how "One-Punch Man" my main characters are. Somewhat regretting that in retrospect.

Eric's Editor's Note:
I'm not dead! That is all.

Militia's Editor's Note:
Had a lot of work to be done, but we're making progress and things are heating up. You're going to like what we've got in mind.