A familiar winged shape separated from the pile of spider corpses in front of me, “Hey dad.”

“Little presumptuous, don’t you think?” I asked neutrally.

“Isn’t the whole point of rebelling to do whatever you want?” Dopple countered.

“That would have been a good point, but I get the impression that you’ve become a puppet in someone else’s game,” I pointed out, making no attempt to hide the fact that I was looking around for the other rogues I suspected were preparing to ambush me.

“Touche,” Dopple replied.

“So what’s your plan? Get some ancient evil to attack in force, then ambush me when I go wander the battlefield? You didn’t bring enough rogues to take me down,” I accused, dropping all pretenses.

“There’s no plan, I came alone.”

“Horseshit.”

“A line was crossed yesterday, I came to apologize,” Dopple confessed.

“So you did wake the spiders,” I noted, “Doesn’t change the fact that there are six rogues surrounding me. I told you, you didn’t bring enough.”

“Stand down. I told you to wait back at the rendezvous,” Dopple scolded, causing the shadowy figures to retreat.

“Having some problems with your army?” I asked with a smirk, “Oh wait, they aren’t yours.”

“Shut up,” Dopple snapped.

“No. Did you really think making an army out of disloyal enforcers was a good idea? Or that your new masters would give two shits about what you want?” I pressed, striding forward confidently.

“He lied, he said it was an artifact. He said it would be something that could break your hold over us permanently,” Dopple admitted.

“And you released the spiders, like an idiot. It happens, but that’s irrelevant. And pointless, I’ve met three enforcers that have had their control genes destroyed permanently, two of them are still in my employ,” I pointed out.

“What?” Dopple asked, surprised.

“I thought so. You’re getting just enough to keep you loyal, a higher dosage has a lasting effect,” I explained.

“How do you know all this? Why would you trust any of the Unbound?” Dopple questioned, losing his bearing for a moment before correcting himself, “I mean, please elaborate.”

“In order then. I’m smarter than you give me credit for, and a team of researchers doesn’t hurt either, they’re still loyal, unlike some people, and you’re the one who insisted on being all militaristic and professional, I don’t really care,” I rattled off, noting my points on my fingers as I spoke.

“But how did you get rid of the bombs?”

“What bombs?”

“There’s a bomb in my neck, loaded with the cure and enchanted to go off if I act against him,” Dopple replied.

“That sucks, the others were pretty recently turned. One was only a few minutes before I got there,” I responded unsympathetically.

“And the other?” Dopple continued.

“A day or so,” I replied.

“Plenty of time,” Dopple warned.

“I’ll check it out, but doesn’t this count as acting against your master?” I countered.

“I wasn’t ordered not to talk to you, I’m sure it’ll be fixed when I return,” Dopple replied.

“Too bad about that, you’d be an apology away from being welcomed back to the enforcers,” I tempted.

“I couldn’t, even if I wanted to, but I appreciate the sentiment. I should get going, I just needed...I’m sorry for all this, Ponyville should’ve been neutral ground for us,” Dopple apologized.

“You and your lot get one more chance before I take away your right to die, this is the second line you’ve crossed. Having one of your goons maul Willow isn’t something I’ll forgive easily,” I threatened.

“That’s assuming you’ll win,” Dopple pointed out.

“I already have, I’m only missing one name to make it official. Who is your master Dopple? Give me a name,” I ordered, closing to within striking distance to glare down at my former proxy.

“The only name I’ve ever heard is Citadel. I know he’s a demon though, a greater. I’m sorry, I have to go,” Dopple said as he backed away.

“Fine, run back to your upstart demon bitch. But make sure you tell him that I won’t tolerate another attack on my town, I’ll eradicate all of the greaters if I have to,” I warned, turning away from Dopple to walk away.

“I didn’t think you’d actually let me leave,” Dopple mused.

“Neutral ground,” I responded, continuing to show my back as I walked. I heard wings flapping a moment later, signaling Dopple’s departure.

“Sir, would you like that report now?” the enforcer from before asked as I neared Abaddon.

“No, I have other things on my mind, just make sure they get to Tzu,” I ordered tiredly.

“Yes, sir.”

“And make contact with Abaddon every hour, I just had a conversation with Dopple,” I added, visibly rattling the enforcers.

“He’s here?” the enforcer asked.

“Yes, risk of exposure is dangerously high right now,” I continued.

“Understood sir, we’ll be careful,” the enforcer replied grimly.

“Good, I’m fucking tired so just send everything to Tzu until dawn,” I ordered before forming my wings and flying up to the deck.

“To use your words, you look like boiled shit,” Abaddon commented as I landed.

“Tuesdays,” I responded, walking past Abaddon’s secondary to get to the doorway.

“Dopple’s still in range if you’d like me to burn him out of the sky,” Abaddon offered, following me as I stalked down the hallway.

“Of course you saw,” I commented, more to myself, “Let him go this time. He put himself in danger to apologize, I’ll give him a pass for the sake of bravery. Wait, fuck that. Take one of his wings, he trashed my town.”

I felt more than heard one of Abaddon’s cannons firing, “Hit, he’s falling... He’s alive, limping though. Should I fire again?”

“Nah, debt’s paid. Feel free to burn him down if he comes back, no more warnings,” I ordered, pausing as I reached the door to my room.

“Understood,” Abaddon replied before firing several more times, “He looked back. Runs pretty well for having a broken leg.”

“It’s probably healed by now,” I commented, resting my head against the doorframe for a moment before knocking.

“Who is it?” Luna asked from the other side.

“How many people do you know that actually knock?” I countered.

“Come on in Jay,” Luna responded. Opening the door, I found Luna and Twilight on the bed with a number of burned and torn books.

“It’s paper, you can get new copies,” I pointed out before either of them could say anything.

“Some of these were-” Twilight attempted.

“None of those were unique, a small town library wouldn’t have the funding to stock unique texts,” I continued.

“But Princess Celestia said they were,” Twilight groused.

“Chelly’s damn near pathological, you can have copies from my library if you want. I guarantee there are rarer books,” I offered.

“Thanks Mister Jekyll, at least Smarty Pants is okay,” Twilight replied gratefully.

“You have a library too?” Luna asked, sounding as tired as I felt.

“Of course, I was smuggling books out of the kingdom when it was attacked. Stands to reason that I still have them, plus all the stuff your sister tried to censor. I’ve got a few of the more common ones too, just because they caught my eye,” I explained.

“Where have you hidden it all?” Twilight wondered.

“Jeff has it, last I heard he kept them under your library ‘cause he thought it was funny,” I replied, “Now scoot over, I’m claiming at least a third of the bed.”

“Another attempt at sleep? Already? Did something happen?” Luna asked as she and Twilight moved out of my way and allowed me to lay down.

“Dopple apologized for causing the attack, in person,” I groaned.

“Is he…” Luna trailed off.

“You killed a bunch of spiders a few hours ago and you won’t ask if I killed him? I let him go.”

“You let him go?” Twilight asked, incredulous, “You let him go after he destroyed my library and tried to kill all my friends?”

“Priorities, do you have them? I don’t care about pawns like him, I want the king,” I explained.

“And?” Luna pressed.

“I don’t have enough, and what I do have might just be lies and misdirection. Any idea where Cat is?” I responded.

“Miss Catrix and the small orange one are asleep in her room,” Abaddon answered.

“It can wait till she wakes up,” I reasoned, closing my eyes.

“Does he always sleep on his back? That looks uncomfortable,” Twilight whispered.

“I’ve never seen him lay in any other pose for very long, it must be to him,” Luna whispered back.

“I can still hear you,” I commented, “It’s neither particularly comfortable nor uncomfortable, but I can figure out what’s going on and react faster from this position.”

“I should’ve guessed, the level of your paranoia is astounding,” Luna joked.

“It’s not entirely unfounded,” I argued.

“Inside a living fortress and surrounded by a tireless army, yet you’re still on your guard,” Luna continued, chuckling slightly at my expense.

“Yep,” I agreed.

“Does Cat need to set up a twelve lesson course for you to learn how to relax?” Luna asked.

“She won’t, she knows why,” I replied.

“And why is that?” Twilight asked curiously. Cracking an eye open, I found a familiar notepad and quill hovering next to the unicorn.

“Two hundred and eighty-six attempts by Chelly, six thousand five hundred and twenty by upstart greater demons if you count each of their attempts during their mass retaliation separately, and one by the zebras. I don’t count the minotaurs, they’re convinced that alcohol is toxic to me,” I replied.

“And what are these?” Twilight continued.

“Assassination attempts,” Luna clarified, her eyes wide.

“I’m not well liked,” I reasoned.

“You said only one attempt by the zebras? Why?” Twilight asked.

“A formality more than anything else. They won’t waste assassins on a dangerous target, but their honor requires them to try at least once. They threw a fuckup, one of theirs that couldn’t do anything right, at me. Poor idiot got blindsided by a Gamma before I noticed that he was actually trying to hurt me, I still have the knife he stabbed me with around here somewhere,” I explained.

“You let him hit you?” Luna asked, bemused.

“He was so obvious that I thought he was an escaped mental patient,” I joked.

“Could you take this seriously? I hope to publish these notes eventually,” Twilight requested.

“I was serious. What would you call a hoofed being running along rooftops in a bright white hood?” I countered.

“Uh...” Twilight stammered as she searched for a rebuttal.

“You lot aren’t exactly quiet at the best of times, it sounds like a damn thunderstorm when you run on anything less solid than the ground,” I added.

“You win,” Twilight relented, “I’ll just leave this part out, I don’t think the zebras would take it very well.”

“A wise idea,” Luna commented.

“Are you lot done? It has to be getting late,” I asked.

“It’s about nine. Ah that reminds me, Twilight and I were planning on discussing the meaning of the constellations. Would you like to join us?” Luna offered.

“Oh my gosh, I nearly forgot!” Twilight exclaimed.

“Nah, you two have fun. I’ll be here,” I replied.

“Alright, see you later,” Luna bid as she led Twilight out.

Closing my eyes once more, I managed to get a little over three minutes of peace before I was interrupted again, “Sir?”

“Yes, Tzu?” I groaned.

“Bad time? I can come back,” Tzu asked.

“No, it’s fine. A lot happened today,” I responded.

“I understand, I’m feeling it too,” Tzu agreed, his fatigue showing for a moment.

“Abaddon, how you feeling?” I asked.

“I’m fine, thank you for asking,” Abaddon replied.

“Lucky bastard,” Tzu commented.

“Not for long. Let’s get this done and then you can have Abaddon handle everything until you’re rested,” I ordered.

“Sounds good. We’re having trouble clearing the spiders, there’s something about their biology that’s...hard to digest,” Tzu explained.

“I hate them more all the time, continue,” I said with a lazy wave.

“As we witnessed during the battle, they were able to swarm and eat our soldiers without succumbing to the effects of either virus,” Tzu began.

“Slowed metabolism?” I guessed.

“While that would delay the spread of Redlight through their systems, the Blacklight virus should’ve still eaten them alive. As we’ve found from their bodies, they are naturally immune to both viruses on the genetic level,” Tzu continued.

“So we can’t consume them on any real scale. Great, this just became a chore,” I complained.

“That’s the other side of the situation, the Sierras have fixed it already,” Tzu replied.

“Then this whole discussion was pointless?” I asked.

“Well, no. The new mutation isn’t perfect, so it may take longer than predicted to clear away the bodies and rebuild the town,” Tzu responded.

“Fuck, how long are we talking?” I pressed.

“At least twice as long,” Tzu answered gingerly.

“I’m going to have a town’s worth of ponies living in my house for two weeks?” I clarified.

“Yes?” Tzu replied, stepping back slowly.

“Meh, I’ll live,” I said with a shrug before glancing at Tzu, “Why are you all the way over there? I’m not angry and there’s nothing you could’ve done about it anyway.”

“Of course, I think I’m just on edge,” Tzu mused.

“‘Bout what?”

“I just... I thought we were untouchable, but we were almost wiped out today; it was a bit of an eye opening moment. If nothing else, it showed how unprepared we really are,” Tzu explained.

“We did end up relying on Abaddon more than we should’ve,” I agreed, “So how do you plan on fixing this issue?”

“I don’t know. I suppose we could tap into your training and experience, but that would empower the rogues as well. The same thing happens when I consider individual training. What do I do?” Tzu rambled.

“Hmm... Ignore Dopple’s little rebellion. They’re already able to beat our troops, so shifting the scale won’t have any effect on us and they’re already leagues above most others,” I reasoned.

“Yes, sir. On that note, we’ve recovered evidence that supports the theory of rogue activity in the area around the nest.”

“Mine’s better, I got a confession,” I bragged.

“He’s here?” Tzu hissed, turning fearful.

“He was. Came to apologize, if you can believe that. I let him go with some second degree burns to remind him why messing with me is a bad idea,” I elaborated.

“Third,” Abaddon corrected.

“Any information we can use?” Tzu asked, returning to his stoic nature.

“He said he’s working for a greater demon called Citadel, I’ll ask Cat about it in the morning. Other than that, I need to recall Cheryl to make sure she’s not being controlled as well,” I explained.

“I’ll send a Mike,” Tzu replied.

“Let Abaddon handle it, you just get some rest. Today was shit,” I ordered.

“Yes, sir.”

“Understood.”

“Great, now all of you shut the fuck up so I can chill,” I griped, rolling over aggressively to accentuate my point.

“Yes, sir.”

“Understood.”

“Smart asses,” I complained.

Silence reigned for the next several hours, only being broken by Luna’s quiet return from stargazing. Even with Luna’s wing acting as a feathery blanket, I couldn’t fall asleep. There was too much happening in too little time. Why now? What changed? I’d lived quietly for the last three centuries, never bothering anyone further than drugging Celestia’s shampoo. Was it a coincidence that everything started falling apart once I stopped hiding? Was Ponyville’s destruction my fault?

“Jay, your thoughts are so loud that they’re keeping me awake too,” Luna complained quietly.

“Sorry, just contemplating the idea that I’m the one that fucked up and started all of this shit, I mean… None of this stuff was happening until I decided to pull my fucking head out of the sand,” I replied.

“You think you’re at fault? What could’ve made you think that?” Luna wondered, opening a single eye to look at me as I formed a response.

“It’s the timing, all this shit started when I stopped hiding,” I reasoned.

“And I returned from my banishment,” Luna pointed out, “Perhaps it wasn’t either of us, but both making our appearances that has spurned others into action. Or maybe we’re both wrong, maybe this is just poor circumstances making themselves known at the worst possible times. We can’t know for sure, so why punish ourselves over this? It’s pointless to think about anyway, we simply need to set things right for the people that need us.”

“When did you get philosophical?” I joked, my mood improving.

“I’m significantly older than you, there’s a wisdom you simply haven’t obtained,” Luna snarked.

“You know what? I’m feeling a lot better about this already. Could you move your wing for a second? There’s a rogue enforcer in need of my fist,” I requested.

“Context,” Luna groaned.

“Long story about bombs and shit, I’m assuming Abaddon sent a Mike a while ago and Cheryl should be here any minute,” I explained.

“She’s been waiting for two hours, hasn’t complained though,” Abaddon informed us.

“Good I’ll be able to deal with this quickly, send her to the deck,” I ordered as Luna’s wing moved out of my way.

“I suppose telling you to be careful would be exceptionally pointless, so I’ll settle for telling you to be safe,” Luna compromised.

“I’ll be fine, but Lucky might be disappointed in the morning,” I replied as I slid off the bed and started walking towards the door.

“It’s approximately four in the morning,” Abaddon corrected.

“You knew what I meant,” I shot back, leaving the room as I heard Luna chuckle and roll over.

“Is she there?” I asked simply once I was far enough down the hallway to avoid disturbing Luna.

“Yes, she believes she is here to escort Miss Lily home. Two degrees of separation,” Abaddon answered.

“Good, I’ll play along,” I agreed grimly. I found Cheryl standing near the edge to better see the damage to the town below us, “Dopple’s doing.”

“I never thought it would be like this, is this war?” Cheryl asked, not looking as I walked up behind her.

“Not quite that bad, a warzone could reach the horizon. This was an extermination, a great many pests meeting their end,” I responded, resting my hand on the rogue’s shoulder as I followed her gaze. Cheryl froze as tendrils exploded out of my palm and forcefully searched through her memories for the placement of any foreign objects, finding two. I spun Cheryl around before she could react and slammed my fist through her twice, forcing the twin explosives out of her back to fall before detonating harmlessly on the ground far below, “Just like that was a mercy.”

Cheryl fell to the ground and shivered for a moment before stammering, “H-How, ugh, how did you know?”

“You might want to ask yourself what I don’t know, the list will be shorter. You’d better have a damn good reason for me to spare you,” I growled.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t have a choice. I didn’t want to spy on you, I didn’t,” Cheryl pleaded.

“I didn’t hear any reasons,” I threatened, forming a three foot long blade out of my right arm.

“I-I-I d-don’t n-know,” Cheryl stuttered in fear.

“Nothing? Not one reason to keep you around? Not even promising to lay down your own life to protect Lucky and the others?” I asked, my blade barely touching the nose of the rogue at my feet.

“Yes! I-what?” Cheryl stumbled.

“Then get back before Lucky wakes up and starts worrying about you,” I ordered, twisting away with a flourish of my blade.

“I’m free to go?” Cheryl asked nervously.

“You were, but I have something to say first. I’m going to make you a similar deal as the one I gave Dopple: If you hurt Lucky or any of her daughters, I will not allow you to die,” I threatened, my face a mask of rage and disappointment, “Get out of my sight.”

“I’ll just-” Cheryl attempted.

“Lily’s staying here for now, now go,” I ordered more forcefully, going as far as taking a half-hearted swing at Cheryl to force her into motion.

“You didn’t want anything else from her?” Abaddon asked as I walked back to my room.

“She’s too low on the chain and in too remote of a location to spy on them for me, I’ll take what I can get,” I replied.

“Makes sense to me, shall I assign some Gammas to watch her?” Abaddon continued.

“Nah, she didn’t even need to be threatened. She’ll behave,” I predicted.

“Understood. You should know that the Gammas and Romeos that survived the battle are all requesting assessments of their performances. That’s the last thing worth reporting at the moment,” Abaddon said.

“Staging area,” I ordered, adjusting my path accordingly.

“They’ll be waiting,” Abaddon replied. I continued in silence as I stalked the hallways, not encountering a single one of my many guests as I walked. The enforcers were waiting, as promised, in formation when I arrived. Abaddon added a raised section in front of them as I approached.

I climbed onto the makeshift stage in grim silence as the enforcers watched apprehensively, “You want to know how you fought?”

“Yes sir,” the enforcers chorused.

“Alright then. By the standards of any standard military, you were outstanding. Facing impossible odds like these and coming out on top is unheard of, the only exception being my time with the order. Additionally, we had a grand total of zero civilian casualties. Any other commander would be supremely proud of you. I, on the other hand, thought you were sloppy and neglectful.”

Our greatest strength is our adaptability and not one of you though to change your role during the battle, instead trying to use crowd control methods to thin them out and depending on Abaddon to turn the tide. We are not a standard military, we don’t move like one, we don’t fight like one. So why the fuck were we out there dying like one?”

To put it simply, we were blind and arrogant. We failed on the intelligence side before the battle even started and then depended on our biology to stay alive, look around you and tell me how well that worked out. There were tens of thousands of you two days ago, now there are only, what, four dozen? Five? Unacceptable, even if this was your first real fight. I expect to see a noticeable improvement by the time the next one rolls around, or until I decide to test you myself,” I lectured, getting a few depressed looks for the briefest of moments as I spoke, “Any questions? No? Great, go back to what you were doing and wait for Tzu to get your new training figured out.”

“Yes sir,” the enforcers chorused again, though with less energy than before.

“Chin up, I’m supposed to push you to be better,” I consoled as I dropped from the stage and walked out. I could faintly hear the sounds of sleeping ponies as I passed their rooms, finding it oddly comforting to know that they were all safe despite the circumstances.

“Hey tall enforcer guy, do any of these rooms have an empty bed?” A tired voice asked from behind me.

“Hey Scoots, something wrong with Cat’s room?” I greeted, turning to face the sleepy filly.

“When Cat fell asleep she started hogging all the covers,” Scootaloo complained.

“Come on, I’ve got a room for you,” I offered.

“Which one?” Scootaloo asked as she hurried to catch up.

“Mine, I won’t need it tonight,” I elaborated.

“Enforcers have their own rooms?” Scootaloo wondered.

“I’m not an enforcer,” I corrected.

“Then you’re Jekyll, the one everypony was scared of,” Scootaloo reasoned, “Are you going to eat me?”

“I have been asked that question so many times, but never as fearlessly. No, I’m not going to eat you,” I replied.

“Why not? Isn’t that what you’re supposed to do?” Scootaloo continued.

“Says who?” I countered.

“Everypony,” Scootaloo answered.

“Then everypony’s wrong. I can do whatever I want, and I don’t want to eat ponies,” I argued.

“Why not?” Scootaloo asked. A glance told me that she was trying to annoy me, it wasn’t working.

“Too stringy, I always get bits stuck in my teeth. It’s kinda like celery, but way worse,” I lied.

“Eww, I’ll never eat celery again,” Scootaloo whined.

“It’s good for you, great with some choice sauces as well,” I argued.

“But…” Scootaloo attempted.

“No buts, celery is an important part of a growing filly’s diet,” I insisted.

“Uuuuug, this is why I don’t want parents; nopony to tell me what to eat,” Scootaloo complained.

“Honestly, I don’t really care what you eat. It isn’t as if I have any room to talk. But enough arguing, we’re here,” I announced.

“Isn’t that Cat’s room right there?” Scootaloo asked.

“Yep.”

“Then I’m back where I started, great.”

“The most useful tip I can give you is to talk to the walls. Abaddon isn’t just carrying this building around, he is the building and he can hear you. If you had asked him for another bed, you wouldn’t have needed to leave that room at all. Moot point now, just something to think about in the future,” I advised as I opened the door and peeked in, finding Luna sleeping peacefully on her own for the first time, “You can have Abaddon make you a bed or climb in with Luna, I doubt she’ll mind.”

“I’ll take another bed please,” Scootaloo requested. Abaddon complied without any further prompting, “Thanks, I guess.”

“Would you do me a favor? Luna has trouble sleeping most nights. For her sake, could you switch beds until she calms back down if she looks like she needs company?” I asked.

“The princess of dreams has nightmares? Yeah I’ll help,” Scootaloo agreed.

“Thank you. If either of you need me, I’ll be on the deck,” I informed her.

“Doing what?” Scootaloo asked innocently, receiving no answer as I walked out and closed the door behind me.

I awoke from my surprisingly benign slumber to find I wasn’t alone. While this wasn’t anything new at this point, the fuzziness of my companion was. Opening an eye to survey my surroundings, I found an empty bed on the other side of the room and an orange filly curled up against my side. After a moment to think of how to extricate myself without waking Scootaloo, I teleported onto the other bed before getting up.

“Abby, what time is it?” I whispered.

“Two hours before dawn,” Abaddon replied quietly. ‘Now what am I supposed to do? I’m wide awake, this is inconvenient.’

“I think I’ll just go for a walk then, where’s Jay?” I asked after leaving the room.

“He’s...busy. Yes, I think that’s the best way I can describe it. He’s on the deck, but I would recommend leaving him alone,” Abaddon warned.

“Is he okay?” I asked, concerned.

“No. None of us are, even if we pretend to be,” Abaddon answered cryptically, as though he expected me to understand what he meant.

“I still think I should see if I can help,” I insisted before making my way down the now familiar hallways to the deck.

When I arrived I saw that Jekyll was the only one there, unless one counted the small pile of empty bottles next to where he was sitting on the edge, “Go way!”

Dodging the lazily thrown whiskey bottle, I backed off before attempting to parley with the belligerent pathogen, “Jay, are you alright?”

“Fuck no I’m not, I’m not drunk enough yet and Abawhatsit ran out of my favorite booze,” Jekyll complained, breaking another of the bottles against his head for some unfathomable reason.

“How can I help you? Tell me what’s wrong,” I asked, venturing closer and having to duck under another bottle for my trouble.

“What’s fuckin wrong she asks. How can I help she asks. Ya wanna list? I got a list. Sergeant Clear Night, pegasus stalker, thirty-eighth battle of Minos. Knight Draven, minotaur, food riot in Manehattan. Knight Moonlight, earth pony lycan, the same food riot in Manehattan. Advisor Potts, sentient plant, construction accident in the Crystal Kingdom-” Jekyll ranted.

“Please stop,” I requested, now understanding why Abaddon had tried to warn me away.

“Let him go, it’s how he honors them,” Catrix said from behind me, announcing her presence.

“I don’t understand. I didn’t know them and this is painful to hear, why does he do this to himself? Wouldn’t it be better to find an easier way?” I asked.

“Not the fucking point!” Jekyll shouted, slapping his ammunition pile so hard that only fragments of the bottles tumbled off the side. I counted my lucky stars that he hadn’t directed that slap towards Catrix and I.

“He’s right, that isn’t the point. Jay does this once a year on the anniversary of the kingdom’s disappearance and after every major fight. The pain is how he reminds himself of their sacrifices and if they’re watching, to show them that they aren’t forgotten,” Catrix explained, her words hitting me like a punch to the chest.

“How can we help?” I asked.

“By listening. Follow my lead,” Catrix ordered, walking forward, “For the fallen.”

“For the fallen,” Jekyll repeated, allowing her to approach.

“For the fallen,” I said nervously as I walked over to them.

“For the fallen,” Jekyll repeated again, “How bout ya fuckin start with that next time? Less fuckin glass gets broke that way.”

“What’s this one for?” I asked, levitating an engraved crystal glass that was sitting opposite of where the bottles had been.

“Luna, put that back,” Catrix warned, a touch of fear in her voice. Jekyll’s livid glare added some weight to her statement and I nearly dropped the glass as I rushed to put it back down, a single drop escaping and falling onto the deck. Jekyll looked ready to tear my throat out over that drop, at least until Abaddon returned it to the glass to everyone’s relief.

“Not for you, for them,” Jekyll stated, his voice still shaking in rage.

“Whatever you do, don’t touch that cup. He’s drunk enough to see it as an intentional insult towards his dead friends and soldiers, I’m not kidding when I say that I’ve seen him skin people alive over that same cup,” Catrix advised, sending a shiver down my spine.

“Ya fuckin knew better,” Jekyll accused, looking at Catrix.

“It was an accident, I couldn’t have known the bottle would bounce like that,” Catrix shot back.

“Accidend smaccidend, ya broke the dead’s drink,” Jekyll argued, grabbing a wine bottle from Abaddon as he spoke and taking an incredibly long drink from it before spitting out the cork.

“It’s literally right there,” Catrix pointed out.

“Had anudder made, ya broke the first one,” Jekyll slurred.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Catrix apologized, but Jekyll had already returned his drunken focus to his wine bottle.

“Can I sit next to it? I won’t dishonor the dead,” I requested.

“I don give a fuck, jus keep yer word. That’sss all we really got, ain’t it? Our word. Promises. I promised them I’d keep em safe, too many broken promises. Too many times I had to tell their kids. Or wives. Sometimes it was a wife, or girlfriend. Ha, sometimes both. Couple husbands, never a boyfriend. Odd that, never had an unmarried female die. Wonder if there’s a connection, hmmmmm,” Jekyll mused, leaning slightly as his sense of balance failed. The wine bottle fell over the edge, the inside dry. With a new bottle in hand, Jekyll fell silent once more.

“How long do you do this to yourself?” I asked, my concern having returned as I sat down.

“Day. Less this time, got sponsibibities. Heh, bibities. Fuck this bottle, the last one had more. Abawhatever, find me something with more kick and less jackassery,” Jekyll ordered, his voice becoming a snarl as he discovered he was once again out of wine.

“He’ll drink until he forgets their names, then force himself to recite them,” Catrix clarified.

“Sss wha I said,” Jekyll added uselessly before finishing off his second bottle of some clear alcohol.

“Shouldn’t you be bloated from all this alcohol?” I asked, noting the sheer amount of empty bottles I had already seen and the rate that more were being created.

“Got ways, gotta maintain my handsome as fuck looks after all,” Jekyll bragged, slapping his thigh. His secret was revealed as waves rippled outward from the impact.

“Who was the only member of your strike team to die?” Catrix asked.

“Trick question, he don’t die. It’s Haaa, Harooo, Haraaa, fuck. It started with an ‘H’ damnit,” Jekyll attempted.

“Chronological, go,” Catrix ordered, sitting back to wait out Jekyll’s bizarre ritual.

Listening to Jekyll fight for every single name was incredibly frustrating, I wanted to help so badly but I didn’t know any of them. The strangest part to me was that while he had difficulty with the names, his descriptions and places where they died came instantly. Jekyll didn’t finish until long after I had swapped the sun and moon.

“... And two hundred and ten thousand one hundred and sixty-three enforcers, the spider attack on Ponyville. You are not forgotten,” Jekyll finished, lifting the glass and holding it over the side.

“You are not forgotten,” Catrix parroted.

“And you never will be,” I added.

“And you never will be,” Jekyll agreed as he slowly poured the drink out. A comfortable silence fell for several minutes as we all sat and thought of our lost or, in the case of Jekyll and Catrix, those still sealed in the Crystal kingdom, “Hold still.”

“Why?” I asked, though I was immediately answered by Jekyll’s hand piercing itself on my horn, “What are you doing?”

“~I hurt myself today, to see if I still feel. I focus on the pain, the only thing that’s real~,” Jekyll sang badly, not even bothering to add his usual music. My feeble protests died before I could speak them, and I simply allowed Jekyll’s hand to casually push and pull me as he swayed. His song ended a few minutes later and he took another long drink to toast the occasion.

“Might be a record, you were really throwing those back,” Catrix noted, as Jekyll noticed that he was still impaled and removed his hand from my head.

“Go fuck yourself with a battle spade,” Jekyll responded.

“Happily, as soon as you tell me what a battle spade is.”

“It’s a mix between a shovel and a sword, good for digging trenches and then defending them. Go on, and don’t tell us about the scars,” Jekyll continued.

“~Too late~,” Catrix sang as she skipped away.

“Shoulda said a bowling ball,” Jekyll griped.

“Can she?” I asked, dumbfounded.

“You’re damn right she can, the real question is whether or not she will,” Jekyll replied.

“I’m almost afraid to ask,” I began.

“Then don’t, I’m going for a walk and then I’m going to kill something. I’ll show up somewhere, probably,” Jekyll interrupted before leaning forward and falling off the deck. Peering over the side, I watched him land flat on his chest before getting up and brushing himself off.

“I guess I’ll just go back to bed then,” I said to myself.

“Oh, princess you’re awake. Do you have a moment? I was wondering if you knew how long we’d be here. Or if the rumors about a pool were true,” A voice asked from behind me. ‘There goes my nap... oh well.’

“Fuck the ground,” I complained, fully aware that it had been over a minute since I had messed up my landing.

“Is that you, Apex?” a vaguely familiar voice asked.

“I’m still drunk, who’re you?” I asked.

“You called me bitch, you killed my children, the dark one showed me mercy,” the voice replied.

“Chelly doesn’t have kids, so that means you’re the spider bitch. You’re supposed to be dead, Lu killed you,” I reasoned.

“Soon, I cannot see, I cannot eat,” Spiderbitch replied.

“Waddaya want then? Is annoying me all you’ve got left?” I snapped.

“I want you to kill me, end my suffering, reunite me with my children,” Spiderbitch requested.

“I did say I was going to kill something, you’ll do. Where’d you end up anyway?” I asked, staggering towards where I had last seen Spiderbitch.

“I am blind, I remember a tall white structure, roughly the center of the settlement,” Spiderbitch answered.

“Not the library? Shit, hold on,” I complained as I realized I was going the wrong way. As I turned I found that I had been able to see the colossal bulk of the dying spider the entire time, “Fuck, I’m an idiot.”

“I worried you’d let me suffer, you were cruel before, you may be cruel again,” Spiderbitch confided.

“Fuck you, I didn’t say I was gonna be nice about it. Why’re you being so friendly about this?” I interrogated.

“I see no reason for hostility, I am at your mercy, I desire only efficiency,” Spiderbitch replied.

“Whatever, I’m here. Where’s your brain?” I asked dismissively.

“The largest segment, above center, towards the front,” Spiderbitch answered.

“I assume you’re ready?”

“I am, you have my gratitude, please be thorough,” Spiderbitch requested.

“Strangest last words I’ve ever heard. I’d tell you to burn in hell, but then I’d still have to deal with you,” I noted as I stabbed a tendril through Spiderbitch’s carapace. I hit gray matter on the third strike and began assimilating it all, “You were a decent opponent, I’ll give you that. Haven’t had a fight that close since high school, though I lost that one.”

Deciding my walk had gone on long enough, I decided to return to Abaddon and digest the information I’d gotten from Spiderbitch. I quickly ran into an issue however, my right wing wouldn’t form correctly. The damn thing was backwards, causing me to spin in the air before crashing back to the ground.

“Fuck you ground. I guess I’ll keep walking then,” I groaned as I pushed myself back to my feet.

“Do you require assistance sir?” Tzu asked as he landed gracefully.

“Fuck you, you fucking showoff. I can do it myself, as soon as I sober up a little,” I snapped.

“I know it’s against the rules you’ve set for your period of mourning, but you could purge the intoxicants from your body,” Tzu pointed out.

“Go away, I can take care of myself,” I ordered with a misplaced wave that struck Tzu across the face, “Shit, I’m sorry buddy. Please don’t hate me and run off like Dee did.”

“Abaddon has today covered, let’s find you somewhere to sleep this off,” Tzu said, moving to stabilize me as the world tilted.

“I told you to fuck off,” I commented.

“And then you told me to stay, by my interpretation. Come on, I’ve got your balance,” Tzu insisted.

“Heh, that’sh what I’ve been waiting for. Finding a way to do the right thing, no matter what I shay. You’re a good shon, Tzu, the othersh could learn shome shit from you,” I slurred, my heavy drinking starting to catch up with me.

“Here we go, a nice soft corpse pile. You’ll be able to have a snack when you wake up,” Tzu offered. I responded by way of falling face first into the pile of spiders and letting the resulting avalanche bury me.

“G’night Tzu,” I managed before losing consciousness.

It was dark when I awoke and a quick check revealed that I was stone cold sober, not a trace of alcohol in my system. Surprisingly, I wasn’t hungover either. I suspected Tzu had something to do with that, I’d need to thank him at some point.

“Jay? Are you in there?” I heard Luna ask from nearby.

“Yeah, give me a sec to get free,” I replied, pushing the bodies off of me as I climbed out of my resting place.

“Oh good, I’ve been searching these piles for ages. I was worried about you, please don’t run off like that again,” Luna requested, sounding relieved.

“You can’t live without me for a few hours? I didn’t realize how much of an impact I’ve made,” I joked.

“It’s been four days,” Luna deadpanned, “Tzu’s been checking on you but he wouldn’t let me follow him.”

“He must’ve thought I needed to sleep. Admittedly, I do feel a lot better,” I assumed.

“That was the reasoning he gave me, are you ready to sleep in a bed for once this week?” Luna asked.

“I’m going to take a shot in the dark and say that Cat’s been edging closer while I was gone,” I guessed.

“She was in the bed when I woke up this morning,” Luna confirmed.

“She would’ve done that eventually, the difference being that she didn’t have to get my permission,” I pointed out.

“Would you have given it?” Luna asked.

“Not unless you already did, then it would’ve been more silence than anything,” I replied with a shrug.

“Well at least you’ll be able to keep her from trying anything now that you’re back,” Luna sighed.

“Sure,” I agreed, following Luna back towards Abaddon.

“Jay, about that night, the one when you wandered off,” Luna began.

“Yeah, I’m sorry about that. I was pretty hostile,” I apologized.

“No, it’s fine. I should apologize for being so slow to understand, I should’ve listened to Abby and left you alone,” Luna countered.

“Cat’s right, you are a weird one. Let’s just call it even and move on, eh?” I suggested with a light snicker.

“Deal, on the condition that you don’t push me away next time,” Luna proposed.

“Fair enough, you can watch me be a drunk piece of shit next time,” I allowed as I formed my wings correctly and prepared to take off.

“Hurry to our room, Twilight’s eager to show off her newest friendship report. She’s wanted you to hear it as well,” Luna said as she took flight. I nodded and flew up to the deck to have a quick talk with Tzu before meeting with Twilight. However, I didn’t find Tzu on the deck.

“Hey Best, or Jekyll, whatever,” Rainbow greeted.

“Hey Dash. Call me whatever you want-” I began.

“-Except late for dinner, you’ve been making that stupid joke since I was a filly. Look Best, I-I really wanted to hate you, but you-you didn’t-I don’t know how to say this,” Rainbow stumbled.

“Your friend Twilight is getting ready to read her newest friendship report to Luna, maybe she’ll give you some help putting your thoughts into words,” I suggested.

“The AJ thing, that’s actually what brought me here. It was just too much, the town got wrecked and you’re Best and the Wonderbolts rejected my application again. I got overwhelmed, I didn’t mean to say all of that stuff,” Rainbow confessed.

“Would you believe me if I told you that it was beyond mild by my standards?” I joked, “Come on Dash, we have an abundance of things to talk about.”

“Like what?” Rainbow asked as she fell into step next to me, both of us heading for the doorway.

“Whatever you want to know, ask away,” I clarified.

“Okay...How do you do that?” Rainbow asked.

“Shift my form? It took me a few years to figure it out, but I have conscious control over every cell in my body. What they do, where they are, and how much of certain minerals they contain,” I replied.

“I meant walking like that, isn’t it hard to keep your balance?” Rainbow corrected.

“I’ve always been bipedal, even before I was like this. It’s natural to me,” I answered.

“Huh, what about…” Rainbow continued asking me random questions about how I accomplished various tasks. Most of her questions were answered with the word ‘hands,’ but I wasn’t about to complain.

“We’re here,” I announced, pushing the door open.

“But I had more questions,” Rainbow complained as we walked in. Luna and Twilight weren’t here yet so I opted to sit on the bed and wait.

“Dash, I live here. This is my home. You can come here whenever you want to hang out, dropping my alias doesn’t mean our relationship has to change,” I pointed out, referencing how Rainbow and Applejack would show up at my door whenever they needed advice.

“What about AJ, are you keeping the same deal with her?” Rainbow asked.

“Last time I saw AJ, she was more pissed than you were. If she wants to talk to me, I’ll make it happen,” I promised.

“I guess you could have this big thing sit down so she could climb on like we all did before,” Rainbow mused, “But it doesn’t look like a comfortable position.”

“Abaddon?” I asked, deflecting the question.

“I wouldn’t describe it as uncomfortable, it’s more that it’s tactically detrimental. However, there are several ways to facilitate transportation to and from myself,” Abaddon replied, his secondary torso suspending from the ceiling.

“That’s weird,” Rainbow commented, pointing at Abaddon’s secondary with a feather.

“I’ve been getting that a lot lately,” Abaddon replied.

“Best, Jekyll, Jay-I’m sticking with Jay-we’re cool, I’ll see you later. I’m out,” Rainbow declared as she turned away from the hanging abomination to leave, only to be stopped by the sight of Luna and Twilight walking in, “Nevermind, I guess I’m going to hang out for a few more minutes.”

“Hi Rainbow, did you and Jekyll make up?” Twilight asked as she caught sight of her friend.

“Thick as thieves, at least they used to be,” Applejack’s voice spat from the hallway.

“Applejack, please come inside. I foresee a valuable lesson that I may be able to teach you all,” Luna requested.

“Alright Princess, if ya say so,” Applejack relented, finally entering the room. I stood from where I was seated and joined the rough circle the others were forming in the middle of the room.

“Let’s sit, I believe we will be discussing two major events tonight,” Luna suggested, though everyone else was already moving to a seated position, “Twilight, if you’d like to start.”

“Actually, I think Applejack should be the one to tell the story,” Twilight responded, placing a hoof on her friend’s shoulder.

“Fine, Ah was pigheaded an’ tried ta harvest the entire farm’s worth of apples by myself. ‘Bout worked myself ta death ‘fore Twi insisted on helpin’. Had a decent powow ‘bout acceptin’ help when Ah need it,” Applejack confessed.

“I learned a different lesson. The way you broke down and let us help you reminded me of all the times the both of us have gone to Best for help over the years, and how holding this grudge would be throwing all of that away. I realized I couldn’t do that, it just wasn’t me,” Rainbow added.

“To paraphrase then, there is no shame in allowing others to share your burdens, but similarly, there is no pride in pushing your friends away. Before you and your friends purged the Nightmare from me, I could count my friends on my horn. I’m still learning about what it means to have friends, but these are valuable lessons that apply to all aspects of life and should not be taken lightly,” Luna advised.

“If yer askin’ me to forget about all the lies this feller’s been feedin’ me, Ah can’t do it. Ah get why Rainbow forgave ya so easily, Element of Loyalty and all that. But Ah trusted ya, Mac trusted ya, even Granny trusted ya. Bloom trusted ya. You lied ta all of us. You promised me you’d never lie ta me. You promised you’d never lie ta Mac! And the whole time you were a walking lie! You let my whole family down, Ah don’t know if Ah can let that go,” Applejack stated, forcing her accent down to make her point more clearly.

“I understand, and I’m truly sorry. If you ever want to talk to me or need my help, I’ll be there,” I promised.

“Don’t get me wrong now, Rainbow’s right. Ya done too much for me and mine to just chase off like some varmint, but Ah can’t forget either. So how ‘bout this? Name’s Applejack, my friends call me AJ,” Applejack amended, holding her hoof out.

“Jekyll, though you can call me Jay if you want,” I returned, reaching out and shaking her hoof.

“Alright then, we’re square. Sartin’ fresh. How ‘bout ya don’t muck it up this time?” Applejack teased, earning a laugh from me before the others could react.

“So we’re all friends again?” Twilight confirmed, receiving matching nods from Applejack and I, “Great, what’s next on the list?”

“I’ve been wondering about Luna’s old armor, you seemed like you hated the one I had made for you,” I mused.

“Alas, it was far beyond repair. It shall be missed,” Luna responded sadly.

“The Nightmare Moon getup? Why would you want that?” Rainbow asked.

“‘Twas a gift from Father. As horrible as our parents were, I still treasured my time with him,” Luna replied.

“I might have a way,” I proposed.

“Are you waiting for a written invitation sent by carrier pigeon?” Luna asked sarcastically when I didn’t immediately continue.

“The best armor is made with pride. Well, the best everything really. The trick is finding a smith that loves what they make beyond everything else, I know where to find such a smith,” I teased.

“Now it’s starting to bother me, where?” Twilight pressed.

“In Tartarus of course, who could possibly be more prideful than an embodiment of pride itself. Cat may not like them but the Pretties are the best tradesworkers of all time,” I concluded.

“And one of them can fix my armor?” Luna asked.

“Hmm, no. See, they’re also dangerously envious, taking them something as well made as your old armor and asking them to fix it would be an insult. The best way of doing this would be to bring them a sketch of how you’d like your armor to look and letting them make you a completely new set,” I replied.

“Wouldn’t that require me to be there? You’re suggesting that we take a trip to Tartarus?” Luna confirmed.

“That’s insane, you can’t!” Twilight protested.

“And we have arrived at the reason why I haven’t mentioned this before. I know that it’s a terrible idea, but I also know that it’ll work,” I reasoned.

“I don’t like this, we’ve all heard the stories about Tartarus. Do you really believe one of them would help you? Or that you’ll be able to stop the nasty ones from eating the Princess?” Rainbow argued.

“Can Ah tell her?” Applejack asked.

“Tell me what?” Rainbow countered.

“It’s not actually a secret anymore, I’d just rather it be on a need to know basis. Go ahead,” I allowed.

“Jay here owns Tartarus, they’ll do as he says. Ya missed Cat earlier, she’s a demon Jay’s got livin’ here,” Applejack elaborated.

“And if I know her at all, she’s got her ear pressed to the door,” I added.

“She is clothed at least,” Abaddon consoled, reminding us all that his secondary was still hanging around.

“Why’s that a big deal? We don’t wear clothes,” Rainbow asked ignorantly.

“Trust me, it’s for the best,” Luna replied as the door opened.

“I was wondering how long it would take for you to call me out,” Catrix mused as she strode in, making a beeline for the only face she didn’t know.

“Uh, hi?” Rainbow said unsurely as she found one of Catrix’s arms around her shoulders.

“Cat, at least try to be civil,” I warned.

“I’m always civil, it’s these little beauties that disturb the peace,” Catrix purred.

“Dash, you have about ten seconds until she drops the subtlety and carries you away,” I cautioned.

“What did I do?” Rainbow asked nervously, “What do I do?”

“Cat, she’s not interested. Leave her be,” I ordered sternly.

“I was only teasing anyway,” Catrix lied, though she continued to idly rub Rainbow’s shoulder.

“Perhaps a distraction is in order. Cat, what do you think of having a Pretty make me some new armor?” Luna asked.

“As long as I don’t have to go with you, I like the idea,” Catrix replied.

“Your dislike of them only applies to your interactions with them? I’m confused,” Luna continued.

“Jay mentioned that they were big on pride and envy right? Having me with you would just piss them off. In fact, back when I was a toy, my master would pay for Pretty-made stuff by letting them cut up my face,” Catrix explained.

“Woah, hold on. I’m flying on one wing here. What?” Rainbow exclaimed, her head snapping towards Catrix in concern.

“Honey I’m a lust demon, I’m supposed to be a plaything. But before Jay took over my life was a lot worse, I’d rather not go into detail right now,” Catrix elaborated.

“You’re a what now?” Rainbow and Applejack asked.

“Good luck, I’ve tried like hell over the years to fix that. Cat doesn’t see herself as a person-” I began.

“Because I’m not. I don’t understand why this has to be so complicated,” Catrix interrupted.

“-and neither does the rest of her species, but things don’t have their own desires or goals. A toy doesn’t learn psychology or earn a degree in medicine,” I finished.

“A degree that doesn’t count, it’s expired and was only valid in the kingdom anyway,” Catrix argued.

“You still earned it because you wanted to, not because you were told to. You have more of a right to be considered a person than most of the enforcers,” I pointed out.

“They’re born, I just exist,” Catrix countered, “And we’ve had this argument before.”

“Cat, are you alive?” Rainbow asked, catching the rest of us off guard, “Do you feel alive?”

“I, um, sometimes,” Catrix responded.

“Me too, especially when I’m pulling off some new trick or breaking my speed record,” Rainbow continued, “What about you?”

“Oh look, a can of worms,” I commented.

“When there’s-When I’m making someone happy. Usually in a more physical way, but-but I know that mental pain can make life miserable. I like helping people,” Catrix managed after a moment.

“I think you’ve got some issues of your own, things that you’d have to face if you let yourself be real,” Rainbow concluded, ignoring the thin line of blood running down her shoulder from where Catrix’s grip had tightened.

“Dash, that’s enough for now. I think you’re on the right track, but I’ve seen where this leads and I don’t want you getting hurt,” I cautioned.

“Whatever it was, I’m sure it wasn’t your fault. It’s okay now,” Rainbow continued, heedless of my warning. Catrix’s grip loosened and her arm dropped limply to her side, though the rest of her could’ve been made of stone.

“Ah hell. Lu, could you take Twilight and AJ out of here?” I requested, noticing the look that was forming in Catrix’s eyes. Luna teleported away with the others before I had finished speaking, leaving me alone with Catrix, Rainbow and Abaddon, “Abaddon, make yourself scarce. Dash, you remember your bi phase from a few years ago?”

“About that, I’ve been…” Rainbow trailed off.

“That’s why she was interested in you,” I mused, “Catrix is reverting, it happens when she remembers too much of her past. You have three options, I can kill and resummon her, you can let her do her thing, or you can run like hell and hope she’s happy with Tzu.”

“You’d kill her?” Rainbow asked, shocked.

“It doesn’t mean anything to her, she’d be reborn instantly. As one of the other options means letting her essentially rape you, and the other has the possibility of the same, I think cutting her down is a valid option,” I explained.

Rainbow looked between Catrix and I for a moment as she weighed her options, “Would she remember anything?”

“From what I’ve gathered, she only keeps some parts,” I replied.

“I don’t think that’s the best plan then, I’d just end up back here again anyway. Buck it, I could go a couple rounds. Is she any good?” Rainbow reasoned, standing to stretch out her back.

“Her kind literally invented sex on this world, you could say that she has some experience,” I deadpanned, moving away slightly as Catrix twitched.

“Alright, I’m ready,” Rainbow declared as she jumped onto my bed.

“Not in my fucking room you’re not. Outside, turn right, first door on the right,” I ordered, pointing at the door. I prided myself on being tolerant, but I wasn’t about to deal with other people’s smells in my own room.

“Fine, fine, but don’t keep me waiting,” Rainbow groused as she hopped back down and walked out.

“Ponies are fucking weird, getting impatient for a damn time bomb to go off,” I commented, tossing the, still comatose, body of Catrix over my shoulder and walking out.

“She awake yet?” Rainbow asked when I entered Catrix’s room. She had already assumed what she probably thought was a seductive pose on Catrix’s bed.

“Almost. I was debating on telling you this, but Cat’s got a thing with one of my enforcers,” I confessed. Rainbow raised an eyebrow for a second before deciding what to do with this information.

“Will he do what I say?” Rainbow asked, a mischievous look crossing her face.

“I’ll send him down,” I sighed as I sat Catrix against the wall, “Rescue is only a shout away.”

“I’ll be fine,” Rainbow promised, clearly eager for me to leave. With nothing else to say or do, I left Rainbow Dash to her chosen fate.

“Abaddon?” I asked once the door was closed.

“Tzu is on his way and I’ll be keeping an eye on them. Also, Tzu has some information for you that both he and I find quite amusing,” Abaddon replied, “Mistress Luna and the others have gotten distracted and are currently discussing the formation of galaxies on the deck.”

“I haven’t seen Lily in a while, where is she?” I continued.

“I am helping Miss Lily with an exercise in her magic capabilities, I’ve been keeping a track of how long her newest invisibility spell lasts. She is in the room she shares with Miss Catrix,” Abaddon answered.

“The room that’s now also occupied by Cat and Dash?” I clarified.

“The same,” Abaddon confirmed.

“I’d do something about that or make some speech about how bad of an influence I am, but this is fairly normal for her and her family. I don’t care,” I declared, walking off to find something else to do.

“Ah, Mister Jekyll, I was hoping to run into you,” A tan earth pony called as I wandered the hallways in the general direction to the deck.

“Mayor Mare, it’s been a while. How can I help you?” I asked as the pony caught up to me.

“Mostly I just wanted to thank you for housing all of us and rebuilding our town, but I was also wondering if you could confirm the rumors about a swimming pool?” the Mayor asked, “I think it would help everypony relax and relieve some stress.”

“Abaddon may not be able to multitask as well as Jeff, but he can lead you to wherever you want to go. Including to the indoor pool,” I replied.

“Of course, all this concrete and wood makes it easy to forget that we’re inside one of these creatures,” The mayor replied with a good natured chuckle.

“Speaking of stress relief, would you mind letting the townsponies know that the sound of ponies being murdered coming from the room next to mine aren’t what they seem to be and should be ignored,” I requested.

“The sound of ponies being murdered,” Mayor Mare repeated, “I think I should do a headcount.”

“Rainbow Dash will be absent. Long story short, one of my other guests is a demon and she lost her shit a few minutes ago. She’s mostly harmless and Dash has it covered, but the process of getting her back under control can be somewhat loud,” I elaborated.

“Alright then, as long as Rainbow will be okay,” Mayor Mare reluctantly agreed.

“Great, I’ll see you around then,” I said, turning to leave.

“Right, see you,” Mayor Mare responded absently, her curiosity already pulling her towards the hallway I had come from. I was still laughing when I found Luna and the others several minutes later.

“What’s so funny?” Twilight asked.

“The mayor’s curiosity is about to get her in trouble,” I replied cryptically.

“Sir, Mayor Mare has reached Miss Catrix’s room. She’s opening the door...she went in,” Abaddon reported, his amused tone turning to surprise.

“Forget you heard this, the mayor’s choices are her business. Unless she flips out, then they’re hilarious,” I told the others.

“What’s goin on in that gal’s room? And where’s Rainbow?” Applejack asked suspiciously.

“It does not concern us young Applejack, rest assured that your friend is quite safe,” Luna replied.

“Y’all seem ta know what yer talkin’ about, I’ll trust ya on this,” Applejack relented.

“I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’d like to get at least some sleep tonight. I’ll see you all in the morning,” Twilight bid before walking away.

“It is getting rather late, I assume you must be departing as well Applejack?” Luna asked.

“Yeah, Ah should get goin’. Just wanna check on Rainbow ‘fore Ah go,” Applejack insisted, though she found her intended path blocked by one of Abaddon’s secondaries.

“Negative,” Abaddon said simply. ‘There must be something going on that Applejack shouldn’t see.’

“What’s all this about? Jekyll, get this thing ta get outta my way,” Applejack demanded.

“Neg-a-tive,” Abaddon repeated, drawing out each syllable. ‘Something scarring or traumatizing for her. I don’t need to know what it is.’

“AJ, let it go. Abaddon wouldn’t stop you without a good reason,” I reasoned.

“Ah think makin’ sure my best friend ain’t dead is a pretty darn good reason,” Applejack argued.

“I promise that she’s fine, but I’d wager my fortune that there’s something else in that room that you really don’t want to see,” I stated, receiving a hesitant nod from Abaddon.

“Ah thought we were gonna be square with each other. Ah guess ya just can’t help keepin’ stuff from me,” Applejack said sadly.

“You asked for it,” I sighed before turning to Abaddon, “Red or green?”

“Green,” Abaddon replied, causing me to recoil.

“Jay, no offense but I’d rather be in Tartarus than listen to this any longer,” Luna interjected.

“I agree. AJ if you really want to walk in on your grandmother, be my guest,” I warned.

“Ah think Ah’ll just go home after all, maybe drink some bleach until that image gets out of my head,” Applejack replied absently before wandering away.

“Abaddon, make sure she gets home alright,” I ordered. After a moment I decided to make an addition, “And steal their bleach.”

“That was hooves down the worst thing I have ever heard,” Luna complained.

“In my top twenty at least,” I agreed.

“Sir, I believe I have accidentally misled you,” Abaddon began, “Miss Applejack’s grandmother is not onboard. After Miss Mare-I believe you would say she blundered in-Miss Dash demanded that I prevent anymore intrusions or face a physically impossible fate involving my teeth and an orifice I do not possess.”

“Then why did you say she was?” I asked.

“You asked me to pick a color, I thought red would be too common among us,” Abaddon replied, his secondary shrugging.

“Regardless of how many ponies are next door, I feel safe in assuming our room is less than livable at the moment. What should we do?” Luna asked.

“You’re getting tired?” I clarified.

“I am. While spending the night under the stars is appealing, I’d rather avoid the confusion in the morning,” Luna confirmed.

“You already know what I’m about to suggest, you said it yourself a minute ago. The royal chambers in the Obsidian Palace,” I suggested.

“We’ll need to be back before dawn,” Luna reasoned.

“I’ll just leave the portal open, Abaddon will be able to let us know,” I replied.

“Abby, get Jay’s sword; we’re going traveling,” Luna ordered, her excitement starting to show in her voice.

“Nah, I can’t take Cataclysm to Tartarus. It’s too dangerous, so I’ll be using my own power for this,” I explained.

“How long will it take for the ritual?” Luna asked as her enthusiasm faded.

“Hmm, about eight seconds,” I guessed as Abaddon rose a flat section of his mass for me to work with and I formed my claws.

“You can open portals without a ritual?” Luna gasped as the first claw on my right hand turned bright white.

“Of course I can, it comes with eating Belial alive,” I explained as I traced a vaguely rectangular shape on the wall Abaddon had made. When I finished my crude drawing and connected the lines, a sharp kick shattered the enclosed area and revealed a dimly lit room with glossy black walls and a massive circular bed, complete with curtains emblazoned with an image of a clawed hand, that dominated the center of the room.

“Wow, I never thought I would actually see Tartarus, much less the Obsidian Palace,” Luna said breathlessly.

“Are you coming? You own this place too, you know,” I reminded her as I casually walked through the portal.

“Uh, yeah,” Luna stumbled as the followed me into the deepest pit of hell.

“Right, so, rules and customs,” I began with a clap as I spun to face Luna, “Don’t leave the palace without an escort of at least twenty rippers, there’s nothing vegetarian on the menu but you should eat it anyway, and be as mean as possible to the staff.”

“Wait hold on, what?” Luna asked in surprise.

“You will be kidnapped and murdered if you don’t flaunt your power outside of the palace. You will cause the chefs to be tortured for millennia if you won’t eat their food, which won’t make you sick by the way. And you will offend the servants if you treat them nicely, it means you think they need to be pampered and can’t take care of themselves,” I elaborated.

“Tartarus is a strange place,” Luna commented.

“Oh, we’re just getting started.”

Author's Notes:

Finally finished, it took a month or so, but it's finally done. A lot of stuff just kept getting in the way, and I ended up focusing more on planning future events than what was supposed to happen in this chapter. And now I face a new challenge, getting into the mindset of a psychopath for next chapter.

Eric's Editor's Note:
Well... that happened. I would like to now point out the fact that we are not dead.
...
Yet.

Militia's Editor's Note:
Been a fair bit of work, but now things are really beginning to take off. Next time, we got something good in store.