“Thank you Mister Scarlet, you’ve been very helpful,” I said gratefully as I accepted the report from the unicorn before me. Talking through the bandages in my mouth was difficult and slightly painful, but my heart wouldn’t let me remain silent around my little ponies.

“Anytime Princess, will you need anything else?” the stallion asked with a bow.

“I believe this was all I needed, thank you. How about you, is there-” I began.

“SON OF A BIIIIIIIIIITCH!” a familiar voice echoed, bringing with it a weakness in my knees as I realized I would have to confront Jekyll again.

“Oh dear. Please excuse me Mister Scarlet, it seems an urgent matter has come up. Azure will make sure you’re paid in full, I know how boring taxes can be,” I bid before waiting patiently for the stallion to finish making his farewells and leave the room, only then did I allow myself to collapse while I sought out the strength to face the eternal pain in the flank that was Jekyll.

“It’s him, isn’t it Princess?” the nurse that had been shadowing me asked. Daisy, that was her name. Tender had given me an ultimatum when I had refused to remain in the medical wing, allow Daisy to follow me around and take care of my wounds or get back in that damnable bed.

“CHEEEEEELLLLLYYYYYY! GET YOUR FAT ASS DOWN HERE!”

“Yes, and he’s in a foul mood as well,” I responded, still trying to find the strength to pick myself up.

“I saw how you spoke to him when his kind invaded the city. Why do you let him carry on like that? And why do you get so angry when he’s around?” Daisy asked innocently.

I bit back the instinctive sharp retort that commonly followed mentioning my nemesis and instead responded in a nicer tone, “It’s a long and complicated story that not even I fully understand, but I can’t seem to bring myself to kill him.”

“So you won’t kill him and he can’t kill you, sounds like me and my ex husband,” the pale yellow mare joked in a weak attempt to cheer me up.

“Thank you for trying, but I will have to deal with this. Would you like to accompany me?” I offered, knowing Doctor Tender would have more than a few harsh words for my caretaker if he found her without me.

“But Princess, aren’t you worried about looking weak?”

“I am weak, and he knows. There’s no point in hiding the damage from the one who caused it.”

“Then I suppose I should come with you, just to keep your bandages from getting too loose,” Daisy agreed as she nervously fiddled with her orange mane.

“Have you ever teleported before?” I asked as I forced myself to my feet and moved to stand next to the nurse.

“Uh, no. Earth ponies don’t usually get around with magic,” Daisy replied.

“Then you may wish to sit down, it can make you fairly dizzy if you aren’t accustomed to the feeling,” I advised. Once Daisy was safely positioned on the floor, I cast the spell that would take us to my latest headache. ‘And I was having a good day too.’

“Took your sweet fucking time getting here,” I seethed as soon as Celestia and some other pony appeared.

“I do not have to follow your schedule,” Celestia shot back.

“Sister, hurk, this isn’t the time to be picking fights,” Luna warned queasily.

“Luna, what happened to you? Are you sick?” Celestia asked, distracted by Luna’s current condition.

“Her stomach isn’t as strong as ours,” I answered, “And that’s what I called about. Your zealots broke the deal.”

“Remind me which one, we have far too many arrangements for ‘the deal’ to mean anything,” Celestia requested, obviously straining to remain civil.

“The one about how I let you send idiots to kill me and I’ll spare them as long as they don’t get others involved. A royal guard is dead and a civilian is missing, I’d call that involved,” I retorted.

“One of the guards that decided to serve Luna? And you’re sure none of your kind are responsible?” Celestia confirmed, her mask cracking enough to show a hint of fear.

“They can’t kill ponies without permission, and none of the townsponies were in the area. Couple that with Abaddon’s lack of information about the crime and the cauterized wound, the suspect list gets pretty short,” I explained.

“Shimmer enchantments on the armor and Sunflare on the blades,” Celestia deduced, wilting slightly as she made the same connections as I had.

“Bingo. I think you know why we’re talking right now,” I prompted.

“How long do I have?” Celestia asked.

“Until Abaddon parks his ass on your city, at that point I will assume Lily is dead and eradicate your little cult. Let’s say...twenty minutes. You have twenty minutes before I remove all trace of the Wardens. Twenty minutes until I tear every last one of them apart and burn their cathedrals to the ground. Twenty minutes until I give Canterlot a second fall, one made of blood instead of a rainbow,” I threatened, just to make sure she got the point.

“I’ll have some questions when I return with this civilian of yours,” Celestia promised before teleporting away...without her companion.

“Looks like you got forgotten,” I noted, “Probably would’ve helped if you spoke up a bit more often.”

“My job is to tend to the hurt and sick, not gossip,” the mare snapped.

“Is that right? Even when keeping your mouth shut causes you to misplace your patient?” I jibbed.

“Jay, leave her be. I’ll take her back as soon as I-uh, eraach-as soon as I won’t lose the remains of yesterday’s dinner in the process,” Luna stated, having to stop and retch mid-sentence.

“Abaddon, get Lu some fresh grass; it’ll help ease her stomach,” I ordered.

“Who are you talking to?” the mystery mare asked.

“Hello, my name is Abaddon but most ponies prefer to call me Abby for some reason,” Abaddon greeted as he formed a secondary next to the mare.

“Gah! What are you?” the mare asked, her disgust evident as she looked at the way Abaddon’s secondary extended from the floor.

“I am a leviathan, a being built to crush cities and armies alike under my feet. I serve as a mobile apartment building for Lord Jekyll, Mistress Luna, and the population of Ponyville. At least until we get the spiders cleared away, then they’ll go back to their homes and lives. Maybe then I’ll get to stomp on something again,” Abaddon explained, becoming wistful as he continued.

“This place is weird, I don’t like it,” the mare complained.

“Normally, that would be the point where you introduce yourself. Here, let me show you how it’s done: Hi there, my name is Catrix. How are you?” Catrix commented from the doorway, causing the mare’s head to whip around to view the new arrival.

“D-Daisy, I’m a nurse under Doctor Tender….I’m doing well, thank you,” Daisy replied hesitantly. Tracing the line of her stare, it wasn’t hard to see that it was locked on Catrix’s teeth.

“Hey Cat, either flash your tits or close your mouth. I don’t care which, just as long as this chick doesn’t piss on my floor,” I laughed as I turned to walk back inside. Catrix’s dress hit the floor as I passed her, just as expected.

“Can I have some fun with her?” Catrix requested quietly, causing me to stop and look at the two of them over my shoulder.

“Didn’t you get enough last night? Whatever, as long as it doesn’t mess with my timetable,” I replied with a shrug, “Abaddon, go ahead and make tracks. Twenty minutes.”

With that small amount of warning for everyone else, Abaddon lurched into motion and sent Daisy hurtling through the air...right into Catrix’s arms.

“Abaddon, someday someone is going to call you out on that kind of thing,” I warned as Catrix carted off her protesting captive.

“Are you insinuating that I purposefully neglected to secure Miss Daisy and then angled my first step in such a way that she would collide with Miss Catrix? Preposterous, that would be far too much work for such a simple joke,” Abaddon rebutted indignantly.

“Just get the rest of us there in one piece and keep Cat from killing the poor thing,” I groaned.

“Should I take her home?” Luna asked, the green in her face having transferred to the wad of grass in her mouth.

“Take her, leave her here, either way she’ll get home,” I responded with a lazy wave.

“I was expecting a warning about what I would find if I followed them,” Luna commented.

“Cat’s about as sane as she gets right now, so nothing disturbing. More than likely you’d just find them spooning and dead ass asleep,” I replied.

“That’s oddly specific and differs from my view of our resident demon, why do you say that?” Luna asked.

“Because Lord Jekyll is hooked into my nervous system and can see and hear them. Miss Catrix proposed just that a few seconds ago,” Abaddon explained.

“I’ll keep that in mind before I ask anymore dumb questions,” Luna responded, placing her hoof over her eyes, “At least they’re getting along.”

“You say that now. That Daisy character seems convinced Cat’s going to eat her, I’ve never heard of a pony with that level of phagophobia,” I commented.

“In her defense, Cat can bite like a motherfucker,” Luna rebutted, earning glances from everyone at her chosen wording.

“You might have a point there, but she doesn’t know that,” I argued.

“She’s a nurse, and she can see Cat’s teeth. There isn’t a whole lot of guesswork involved,” Luna pointed out.

“Then go rescue your first maiden, hero,” I suggested.

“You said you were going to stop doing that.”

“Whatever, you know it was funny.”

“I will neither confirm nor deny that it was funny, but I think I will go retrieve my sister’s nurse,” Luna stated.

“Yeah, go save her before our resident psychologist makes her need a psychologist,” I laughed as Luna walked away, shaking her head.

“Sir, shouldn’t you be angry?” Abaddon asked in confusion.

“Oh, I’m absolutely livid. But lashing out won’t help anything right now so I’m saving it for the Wardens. On that note, I think we’re about five minutes out, wouldn’t you agree?” I replied happily.

“Hmmm, perhaps three and a half,” Abaddon answered with a noticeable speed increase. I grinned at my leviathan’s enthusiasm.

“Magazines?” I asked.

“Tripled in capacity and fully loaded,” Abaddon replied.

“Armor?”

“As close to impenetrable as we have ever gotten.”

“Tusks and teeth?”

“Sharper than any sword and eager to taste blood once more.”

“Support staff?”

“At their battle stations, we will not be caught unprepared this time.”

“Assault teams?”

“Standing ready.”

“Intel reports?”

“India division has mapped the residences of all members of the Wardens in addition to their meeting places, both public and secret.”

“What’s your plan for the civilians?”

“On board, they’ve been warned already. I will be rooting and securing them under the assumption that I will need to make abrupt maneuvers. In the streets, I will avoid stepping on them or their homes.”

“Rooting?”

“I got the idea from how you disabled Nightmare Moon, I run tendrils through their hooves and hold them on the floor. However I do not keep them from moving.”

“Fancy. Anything I’m missing?”

“Me, where do I fit in?” Tzu asked as he approached.

“Here, keeping Luna from being seen,” I responded.

“Sir?” Tzu asked.

“Did you hear what I told Chelly? My goal is to flood the sewers with so much blood that they overflow and fill the streets. I’d prefer to keep Luna out of that, her reputation doesn’t need the hit,” I replied.

“I understand,” Tzu agreed with a nod. About a minute passed as we all watched the approaching city before Abaddon broke the silence.

“Am I the only one that isn’t troubled by this? Lord Jekyll is furious, Tzu is terrified for some reason, and all the others are apprehensive, but I’m thrilled. I get to fight again, or at least provide support, and we’ll be down an enemy!” Abaddon cried, shocking the rest of us with his sudden outburst.

“Abaddon, this isn’t a fight. It’s not something to get excited about or look forward to. This is a massacre, a mass murder, a slaughter. A fight means that they have a chance, but this lot might as well be children...no, infants. Infants trying to fight full grown, starving wolves have better odds than these fools. This-This is wrong, evil, but I don’t see another way. If I let this slide, Lily will die and Chelly will start pushing me again. I can’t allow either of those things, so the Wardens have to bleed for her,” I reasoned soberly.

“Was it evil when you were part of the order?” Abaddon countered.

“Yes, and just as necessary,” I answered. Abaddon didn’t have a comeback for that, and silence reigned once more. At least for a few seconds.

“Then why’s the thing scared?” a voice accused from behind us. Taking a glance over my shoulder, I regarded Daisy with a single red eye for a moment before turning to face Tzu.

“Fear of failure?” I guessed, receiving a nod, “Good. Hold on to that, it’ll keep you from getting lazy. Heh, I’ve learned that lesson far too many times.”

“What’s your bucking problem? You scream at the Princess from halfway across Equestria just to threaten her, and then you leave me with that-that thing, AND THEN you show your true colors by jumping up the time table, AND THEN you have the nerve to be sad about it. What the absolute buck?” Daisy ranted.

“It’s like looking in a mirror,” I commented, “How long have you been sitting there?”

“Shut the buck up and answer my bucking question,” the foul mouthed nurse demanded.

“Only if you answer one of mine,” I countered, “Does Tender make you keep quiet so you won’t swear at the patients?”

“Yeah, he bucking does. I gotta act all bucking pro-bucking-fessional all the bucking time or he’ll kick me the buck out. Happy?” Daisy seethed.

“So much for the whole ‘my job is tending to the sick and I built my entire life around that’ shtick. To answer your question, it’s the two sides of my life conflicting with each other. Before Chelly sealed my home and all of my friends and family in time, I was something of a warlord or a mercenary. It’s kinda complicated. But afterwards, I travelled the world and learned a fair bit from a lot of good people. I discovered that while my abilities were made to take things apart, they could also put them back together,” I began.

“If there’s some revelation here-” Daisy attempted impatiently.

“I’m a doctor too. Chelly tries to keep it quiet, but I still get referrals from quite a few of your peers. I don’t know Tender personally, but I’d bet Abaddon that he knows of me. You should’ve seen the look on Chelly’s face when she found a copy of that certificate on her desk, she’s been hunting for the stallion that signed off on my license ever since. And the ones that have been letting me renew it,” I concluded.

“Who the BUCK is Chelly?”

“Celestia.”

“WHY?”

“Because it bothers the fuck out of her.”

“I still don’t like you,” Daisy huffed, unable to find another argument.

“I still don’t give a shit,” I replied, “By the way, that thing that scared you so damn bad is the local therapist if you wanna talk to somebody about your shitty life.”

“My life isn’t shitty,” Daisy argued.

“If you really believe that,” I commented idly.

“What was that anyway?” Daisy asked, her voice softening as her temper cooled.

“Miss Catrix is a succubus, a demon of Tartarus,” Tzu explained tactlessly.

“And an old friend, one of the three remaining escapees from the Crystal Kingdom. She wouldn’t hurt you at her worst moment, much less when she’s just looking for something fluffy to cuddle with while she sleeps,” I elaborated quickly, but it was too late.

“A demon...a demon touched me,” Daisy mumbled as she fell into a seated position.

“I assure you, there are worse things that could’ve happened,” Luna consoled as she joined us.

“Like what? I mean-If you would be so kind as to elaborate, your majesty,” Daisy snapped before correcting herself and bowing.

“I’ve visited Tartarus twice. From what I have seen with my own eyes-shut up Jay-succubi are the most friendly and docile bipeds you could ever meet, with Cat being a paragon of this particular feature. I myself count her among my friends,” Luna explained.

“That-I-You-I give up, you’re all insane,” Daisy declared, “Especially you.”

“Me? Clearly, but I’m interested in why you think so,” I cooed, refusing to react in the slightest as the deck pitched violently. Looking back towards Abaddon’s front, I could see the underside of Canterlot as my walking tank-apartment building combination scaled the mountain. Luna seemed to find the new orientation fascinating and wandered off to get a better view.

“YOU DON’T MAKE ANY BUCKING SENSE!” Daisy screamed, too absorbed in her fury to notice the direction of gravity.

“I might. If you asked the right questions,” I offered.

“Fine, how about why you invaded Canterlot for all of an hour before leaving?”

“Chelly asked me to, said she had a lead on an enemy more dangerous than me that she needed taken care of. It was a trap.”

“And this deal thing you have with the Princess? Is that what keeps her from killing you?”

“I have my own reasons for keeping her alive, but I don’t know why she won’t try to kill me. The deal I was talking about lets her recruit others to harass me and keeps me from killing them, but it also stops them from harming anyone else.”

“And what’s a magazine? I assume you weren’t talking about a bunch of papers covered in gossip.”

“A stockpile of projectiles lined up and ready to be launched-”

“Sir, it’s time,” Abaddon interjected.

“Send the assault teams to gather up anyone associated with the Wardens, no deaths yet,” I ordered before turning my attention back to the nurse.

“Well?” Daisy asked irritably.

“Meh, I’ve already said enough to answer the question. Next,” I replied with a shrug.

“Here’s a big one, why the BUCKING TARTARUS is Princess Luna here?” Daisy near screamed.

“Learning how to be her own mare, something her parents neglected to teach her. From what I’ve heard so far, they were pretty terrible people,” I answered easily.

“Horseapples, that’s where I’m calling it. You are so full of crap,” Daisy accused.

“Go ask her then, I haven’t said anything that can’t be easily verified,” I challenged.

“Trust me, I will,” Daisy promised defiantly.

“You suck, I’m over here being nice as fuck and all I’m getting is hostility. Go pick Luna’s brain if you want, Imma go kill some murderers,” I declared, walking to drop off the side of the deck. I flared my wings before I could crash into the street and managed to avoid cracking the bricks when I landed.

The teams of Gammas and Romeos Abaddon had sent were already hard at work dragging gryphons and ponies out of their homes, anyone that wore the symbol of a flaming sword on a white field was targeted. Taking my position as their order, they began shuffling their captives onto the sidewalks around me.

One all of the assault teams reported their successes, I began speaking, “Good afternoon Wardens, though it won’t be for much longer.”

“Seal the sewer grates. Perhaps some of you are aware of the actions of a few of your members earlier today, specifically a murder and kidnapping. I know that not all of you are responsible, but there are greater things at play and my hands are tied. You all had orders from Celestia herself to never harm anyone other than myself. I know because I was there when she first organized you into a formal religion. This tenant existed because it was part of an arrangement between your ‘goddess’ and I, a deal struck to keep you alive and prevent as much bloodshed as possible,” I continued as I paced along the twin lines of bound fanatics.

“However, should you fail to uphold your end of the deal, I am free to pursue my vengeance upon your entire order. That’s what this is. Now I know what you’re thinking, that I’ve been waiting and watching for you to slip up so I could attack. But in reality, I proposed this truce. I wanted you focused on me so you wouldn’t turn on Equestria, I wanted you to live as peacefully as possible. I’ve never killed any of you, and I don’t want to now. And yet, I find myself here anyway. All because Celestia failed to make this right in the time provided. Well, that's not really fair, she shouldn't have had to scramble to fix your mistake while wounded. I think you've listened to me rant long enough, I won't torture you further. Kill them all,” I concluded, tired of lecturing the doomed cultists. As one, the claws of my enforcers descended on the necks of the nearest Wardens, ending their lives painlessly.

I cast a long glance at their mixing blood as it ran over the blocked sewers and slowly creeped down the street. Looking at the bodies, I noted the extreme age range of my newest victims. The eldest was an earth pony, well into his twilight years. The old and grayed stallion wore a serene smile, even in death. While the youngest was arguably still a colt, yet was doomed from the moment his cutie mark appeared. His flank bore the bloodstained emblem of the Wardens. His eternal scowl burned it’s way into my memory as soon as I looked at it.

“Where are the kidnappers?” I asked, my rage building once more. I felt my teeth lengthen as my form started to unconsciously shift, but I arrested the change before it could affect me further. This was business.

“Two blocks south of here, white building with yellow shutters,” one of the enforcers answered.

“Surround it, but do not enter. They belong to me,” I ordered. These were the ones that had condemned their brothers and sisters. These were the ones that had broken a deal I had worked so hard to maintain. These were the ones that had DARED to target my family.

I found the house in question without issue and kicked the door through the back wall without bothering to slow down. The smear of blood, splinters, bone fragments, and brains across the floor alerted me to the fact that they had posted a guard. The first Warden to attempt to block me found himself tacked to the ceiling by the blade of his own sword, still I continued unhindered. I found Lily behind a steel door in the cellar, it offered little resistance to my claws and fell in a broken pile.

“Uncle Jay? Oh shit, you’re pissed. Those poor dumb bastards, I tried to tell them that they can’t sneak up on you,” Lily lamented as thundering hooves and the scratching of talons echoed through the basement.

“How many?” I asked, turning and moving into the remains of the doorway.

“A dozen, maybe more. Hey did you kill a gryphon on the way in? Dumbass tried to rape me and left in tears when I made fun of his shrimpy little cat pecker,” Lily responded loudly, drawing a cruel laugh out of me.

“You are your mother’s daughter. No, I haven’t seen any gryphons here yet. I’ll make sure he knows how fucked he is,” I promised.

“DIE demon!” one of the remaining Wardens shouted as they charged around the corner. They were attacking in a straight line. ‘Amateurs.’

“So which one of you morons thought this was a good idea?” I asked as I dodged and ducked around their wild swings, occasionally darting a claw out to sever a muscle or nerve.

“We will win, we must! It has been foretold!” Another Warden hit the ground without any remaining leg muscles.

“Nope, I don’t believe in fate; only sharp objects,” I retorted, continuing my deadly dance until none of them were left standing, “Yo, any of these fools the one?”

“That’s him, with the white plumage,” Lily confirmed. The accused gryphon suddenly found himself pegged to the wall by a pair of spikes through his shoulders.

“Do what you want, as long as you don’t kill him,” I told the unicorn mare before turning my fury on the others. Starting with the closest, I did my best to emulate a ripper in the way I slowly pulled the pegasus's limbs off one by one. Next was a minotaur of all things, and received an inverted spine for his misplaced loyalty. This carried on for a few minutes, until I ran out of Wardens to disable. Yet I refused to kill any of them, every cut was sutured well enough to keep them from bleeding out, every broken bone was set well enough to prevent internal injury. I would not end the Wardens, that responsibility would fall to time.

“I think I’m done with this one,” Lily stated, getting my attention. I looked over to find her pinned attacker covered in new bruises and cuts.

“Nothing fatal?” I confirmed.

“Nope, just painful. Wait, there’s one last thing I want to do,” Lily requested before walking back up to the whimpering gryphon and taking a long lick up his bloody calf, “I thought you should get some consolation prize, you finally got a part of yourself inside me.”

“Damn, that was dark as fuck,” I commented, raising an eyebrow.

“I get to be pissed off too. You can kill him now, I’m done with this trash,” Lily responded, sounding hollow. I made a note to sit her down and talk to her later.

“No, I won’t kill them. I’ve already killed off the rest of their order, I will not have their symbol die by my hand,” I declared, getting a confused look from Lily and a fresh set of wails from my latest victims.

“So you’re letting them go? After all they’ve done?” Lily hissed angrily.

“I didn’t say that, I have something special in mind for these assholes,” I consoled, gesturing for Lily to go upstairs.

“If I don’t approve of this, I’ll get Cat to claw them to pieces. You know she would,” Lily threatened as she grudgingly followed my implied request. Once Lily was safely upstairs, I took one last look at the group responsible for all of this.

“You did this. The deaths of all of your friends and comrades lay upon your souls, not mine,” I declared before following lily and leading her out of the house. I ensured that she wouldn’t see me hook tendrils into every load bearing wall as we walked, gifts are meant to be surprises after all, “Ready for their sentence?”

“I told you-what’s that?” Lily asked, interrupting herself. With a smile and a heave, I dropped the second story onto the basement.

“They lie in their prison and tomb, time will do what I won’t,” I responded, noticing my lapses into my old way of speaking, “Sorry, I don’t know why I said it like that.”

“You’ve done that a few times now, might want to talk to Cat about it,” Lily suggested, “They’ll starve down there, works for me.”

“Yeeeaahh, you should talk to Cat too. This whole vengeful bitch thing really doesn’t suit you,” I replied, leading Lily back to where the enforcers would be gathering to wait for us.

“I’m fine,” Lily stated.

“No, you’re not. Come on Lily, you’ve known me for almost your entire life; you can talk to me,” I pressed.

“I’m. Fine,” Lily insisted.

“I won’t make a scene here, but we will be continuing this conversation at home,” I promised.

Lily refused to speak for the rest of our trip, remaining silent even as she climbed onto my back to be flown the rest of the way to Abaddon.

“Sir, all teams have reported in. They’re all reporting success and Abaddon says they’re free of corruption. How did your fight go?” Tzu asked when we landed.

“Predictably,” I answered simply, as though there was another possibility.

“Then the Wardens are gone, it really does feel empty,” Tzu commented.

“I agree, this wasn’t a fight. It feels as gratifying as crushing an ant,” Abaddon agreed, giving me an idea.

“When we get back, I want you to stomp the shit out of the spiders. Really flatten them. I want them pasted so thin that Jeff can hide them while he rebuilds the town,” I ordered, causing both Tzu and Abaddon’s secondary to hold their foreheads.

“I should’ve thought of that,” Tzu commented in bewilderment.

“You? I’m the one with the giant feet, I actually stepped around them when we left,” Abaddon added.

“Don’t worry about it too much, I didn’t think of it either. But we have bigger issues, Lily’s not doing so well. Where’s Cat?” I asked.

“In her room with Mistress Luna, they seemed lonely so I added a doorway between them,” Abaddon answered.

“You confined them? That’s a bit much,” I responded.

“Not confined as much as encouraged to remain hidden,” Tzu corrected.

“With?” I prompted.

“The exact wording you gave me regarding her status and reputation, she didn’t take it very well but she didn’t appear angry,” Tzu elaborated.

“That works, I’ll head down now,” I replied before setting off again, my adopted niece still weighing down my back. Her position brought back memories of a certain young gryphon, one I was still waiting for, “Lily?”

“...”

“You know, Frey sat in that exact position when I first started walking towards the Crystal Kingdom.”

“...”

“She was pretty quiet too.”

“...”

“This isn’t a punishment, I’m just scared for you.”

“Me too,” Lily whispered as the door to Catrix’s room came into view..

“It’ll be okay, you’ll feel better once you’ve gotten this off your chest,” I replied soothingly.

“But I-and he-what have I done?” Lily attempted before going quiet again, I could feel her silent sobs against my back and the tears pouring into my shoulder.

“You’re okay, everything will be okay,” I repeated as I pushed the door open and held up a hand to silence its current occupants, “Lu, could you step out for a minute? Family emergency.”

“I’ll be next door if you need anything,” Luna replied as she hurried to give us some privacy.

“What happened?” Catrix asked as I moved to set Lily down, however the young unicorn wouldn’t let go of my neck. After a few seconds of shifting around her, I had her in my lap with her forelegs tightly wrapped around my arm.

“...” Back to the silent treatment.

“Lily, please look at me. Come on, it’s Aunt Catrix, you know me. It’s okay, you’re safe now, nobody’s going to hurt you,” Catrix cooed as she slowly closed the distance and sat next to me, rewarding Lily’s hesitant look with a soft stroke to her mane.

“I lied,” Lily admitted tearfully, “I lied and I’m so sorry.”

“Tell me what happened, nobody’s going to judge you for anything,” Catric continued, holding Lily’s attention while I checked her for injuries.

“I blacked out, I didn’t know until we were walking away. I thought-I-I thought…” Lily trailed off, dissolving into tears again.

“It’s not your fault, you know it’s not your fault,” Catrix insisted.

“I drank his blood. I drank his blood to taunt him, but he-he...he did touch me. I feel wrong, spoiled, like I’m broken somehow,” Lily confessed.

“I remember, but it fades. You’re not broken Lily, just hurt worse than ever before. These wounds will heal just like any other, if you let them. You’re too strong to let this bastard break your spirit, I know you are,” Catrix stated, her voice hardening slightly as Lily returned to crying quietly.

“I want my mom,” Lily requested through her tears.

“You’ll get her. Abaddon,” I responded.

“I’ve sent a squad, they’ve been instructed to move as fast as possible. Miss Lucky will be here within the hour,” Abaddon promised.

“Could I lay down? I don’t feel so good,” Lily asked. I gently lifted her and placed her on Catrix’s bed before sitting on her left side, Catrix herself soon joined us on Lily’s right.

“We’ll make sure you’re alright, even if it means staying here all night,” Catrix soothed. Lily smiled slightly at her before whipping her head around and vomiting into my lap.

“I’m sorry,” Lily apologized between heaves.

“It’s fine, let it out,” I soothed, rubbing Lily’s back as she vomited again, “That’s a good girl.”

“Jay?” Catrix asked, focusing her attention on me now that Lily was occupied.

“I was the legate back there, more than ever before. I was even talking like I did back then, trying to be so damn poetic for Dirge’s dumb drinking songs. I left them in a living hell, condemned to die of starvation if they can find some water and actually drink it,” I confessed.

“If there was ever a good time, this was it. You gave them what they deserved, maybe less, but nothing worth beating yourself up over. They attacked your family, you should be pissed,” Catrix reassured.

“Uhhhh, I think that’s all of it,” Lily announced, drawing Catrix and my attentions once again.

“All of it?” I asked.

“The blood, I had to get it out,” Lily explained, her eyes drooping as she began to pass out. Suddenly her eyes snapped back open and became wild, “Out, that’s what I need. Get it out.”

“Lily, calm down and tell us what you’re talking about,” Catrix said evenly.

“You’re a doctor, a surgeon, the best, I need you to get it out. I’ll die before I give birth to his foal, or chick, or whatever the fuck. Get it out. Get it out. Getitoutgetitoutgetitout,” Lily begged, becoming hysterical as her tears began anew.

“Alright, just lay still and it’ll be over before you know it,” I responded, using the same tone as every other time I’d treated her in the past. I’d hoped it would bring some familiarity and comfort to her, and it seemed to work. Her rigid stillness gave me the brief moment I needed to place a gentle hand on her side and send the smallest tendrils I could through the pores in her skin.

After searching out and collecting every last foreign cell, I set my other hand further up and scrubbed any remaining blood from her stomach. Within a second, only the mental scarring remained, “That’s all of it.”

“Burn it, I need to see it burn away,” Lily demanded. With a look at the nearby living matchstick, I pooled the liquids in a blister on my palm. At Catrix’s nod, I detached it from my hand and tossed it to her. Lily’s eyes tracked the globule as it travelled the short distance into Catrix’s blazing hand and sizzled briefly as it was incinerated.

“The smell,” Lily requested. Abaddon didn’t need any further prompting before he took action. The room we were in ceased to exist for a split second as Abaddon filled the space with biomatter to purge the contaminants from the air, “That’s it then, it’s all over.”

“But the crying,” I added, finishing the quote and getting a hoof to the side for my trouble.

“Not really ready to be cheered up yet, thanks for trying though. And for doing that for me, knowing that it’s gone helps. Almost like you two managed to reverse it,” Lily thanked, drawing a concerned look from Catrix. I too gave her a wary glance at her quick turnaround, suspecting that she had switched to trying to suppress her pain.

“Lily? Why don’t you sleep in my bed tonight? Just so I can watch over you,” Catrix suggested, a hint of suspicion in her voice.

“Your cousins will also be ready to help if you need or want anything,” I added, getting a rumble of agreement from Abaddon.

“Sleep actually does sound pretty good right now, it’s been a long day,” Lily conceded as she shuffled up to the pillowy blisters and closed her eyes. Her light snores hit a few seconds later.

“I have to go find something to punch,” I excused as I stood.

“Don’t go far, Lucky should hear it from you,” Catrix said.

“I won’t,” I promised before walking up to the new door that separated Catrix’s room from mine and walked through. Luna sat on the bed, her eyes red and swollen.

“Cat’s right, you hear everything through these walls whether you want to or not,” Luna explained.

“You wanna know the worst part? I don’t think those jokers were real Wardens. They might’ve been stupid and annoying, but they were still a knightly order and followed the code. This bunch didn’t even fight like them, they were far too disorganized. But it’s what they did to Lily that settles it. Three people knew about that deal, me, Chelly, and Dopple. So unless your sister got tired of being worshiped, unlikely, then this is Dopple’s handiwork. Which means I killed the Wardens for nothing,” I ranted, “I do not like being manipulated.”

“Oh,” Luna managed, lying down as she processed this.

“I fucking hate this,” I hissed, driving my fist into the wall.

“My cannons stand ready…” Abaddon offered.

“For the love of fuck, YES! BURN IT DOWN, THEN BURN THE ASHES, THEN BURN THOSE! SHELL THAT FUCKING HOUSE UNTIL THERE’S NOTHING BUT A CRATER!” I roared, throwing more useless punches into the wall with every word.

“Jay, you’re starting to scare me,” Luna said as Abaddon’s guns went live. Those simple words evaporated my rage and left only fatigue behind.

“Fuck all of this, I’m not moving until Lucky gets here,” I declared, flopping onto the bed next to Luna.

“Do you need a hug?” Luna offered, pressing against my side.

“I am a shapeshifting, cannibalistic, warlord-slash-doctor that has no ethical problem with burying people alive and then setting them on fire. Yes, I would like a hug,” I conceded, allowing Luna to crawl on top of me and loop her forelegs around my neck. After a moment I placed my right hand on her neck and softly stroked her mane.

“Feeling better?” Luna asked after a few minutes.

“A little, but I’m still not getting up,” I replied, though Luna was happily dozing on my shoulder and didn’t seem to mind.

“Okay. While we’re here, could you scratch my scalp? It’s hard to scratch itches with hooves but your fingers seem made for it,” Luna requested. I curled my fingers and added my other hand to Luna’s mane, eliciting a blissful sigh from the mare, “Mmmm, higher.”

“What’s thi-hold on...where the fuck did you pick up fleas?” I asked as I swarmed tendrils over Luna’s body and consumed the parasites.

“That’s a good question, I don’t really go anywhere,” Luna responded in confusion, her head popping up as she thought.

“All I can think of is the bed in Tartarus, I don’t actually know when it was cleaned last. I mean, I assumed it had been washed regularly, but I never thought to check,” I proposed.

“That’s gross, you need some new maids,” Luna replied.

“Yeah, I’m really glad that I fired them now,” I agreed.

“Even One-Eye? Oh well, I never even learned their names,” Luna commented before shrugging and lying back down.

“Are you comfortable like that? I can adjust myself to be more comfortable if you want?” I offered.

“I’m fine. But if you want to be softer, I wouldn’t complain,” Luna replied. After thinking for a bit, I settled on a mix of my current form and my original one, ending up as a human without any hard elbows or shoulders to dig into Luna’s skin.

“I could get used to this,” Luna commented sleepily as she settled in and I returned to stroking her mane with one hand. She dozed off a few minutes later, though I continued running my fingers through her hair.

“Sir, Miss Lucky just arrived,” Abaddon whispered.

“Guide her down here, and make sure she knows everyone is asleep,” I ordered quietly, getting a curt nod from Abaddon before he disappeared. I got a few more minutes of peace before Lucky arrived.

“Jay? What happened? Where’s Lily?” Lucky whisper shouted.

“Ease up, she’s sleeping next door. You can take the door over there,” I responded, pointing at the new doorway with my free hand, “She’s not doing so well, she was attacked today.”

Lucky’s eyes narrowed, “Define attacked.”

“The kind that requires a lack of honor. She was kidnapped earlier, and one of Luna’s guards died protecting her, but I got her back within the hour,” I explained, dropping most of the details I knew she wouldn’t care about.

“But she got hurt before you could? I assume whoever did this died painfully... Be honest with me Jay, is my daughter going to die?” Lucky asked soberly, her eyes slowly filling with tears.

“Not that kind of hurt,” I corrected.

“No. You’re not saying she-” Lucky began.

“Was raped, yes. Over a thousand lives have paid for her pain, but it doesn’t help. Cat’s in there with her now, either watching her sleep or trying to help her cope,” I continued.

“Oh my sweet Lily, what did they do to you?” Lucky asked, her own tears falling freely.

“If there was ever an expert on surviving that kind of trauma, it’s Cat. She’s in the best hands I could find,” I consoled, pulling Lucky into a one armed hug for support. Luna added her own leg shortly after, but remained silent as Lucky wept.

“Can I see her? I want to see her,” Lucky requested quietly once she had cried herself out.

“Of course you can. Luna?” I replied, prompting Luna to move so I could get up and lead Lucky into the next room.

“She was resting when I left,” I warned as we neared the door.

“I just want to be with her, I don’t need to talk to let her know that I’m here,” Lucky responded. With a nod, I opened the door. Inside, we found Catrix holding a shivering, and very awake, Lily.

“Mommy?” Lily asked when she saw her mother.

“I’m here,” Lucky answered as she darted forward and jumped onto the bed. The two mares embraced awkwardly, even though Catrix did her best to get out of the way, “Oh Lily, how are you feeling? Are you hurt?”

“I had a nightmare, but I’m okay,” Lily replied after a moment.

“What?” Lucky asked on reflex, having not gotten the answer she was expecting. Catrix and I shared a concerned look before returning our collective attention back to the pair.

“I know Jay must’ve told you I was...violated, but I’m okay now. He and Cat undid it, I’m fine,” Lily confirmed sincerely.

“Lily, stay put. Everybody else, huddle up,” I ordered, pulling Catrix and Lucky with me to the other side of the room, “What the fuck?”

“What does she mean you ‘undid it’?” Lucky asked, confused.

“She threatened to kill herself if she got pregnant, so I caved and pulled everything out. Then Cat burned it,” I explained.

“This is so far from healthy,” Catrix commented.

“So what do we do?” I asked.

“It would be cruel to bring all those memories back and force her to face them, but that’s what we have to do isn’t it?” Catrix proposed.

After a few seconds of silence, Lucky lost her mind, “Someone has to say it. Should we just let her keep her fantasy?”

“It could come back, and if it does she’ll be more of a wreck than she was before you got here,” Catrix warned.

“I might be able to isolate those memories and block them, she’d forget it ever happened,” I offered.

“You want to play around in my daughter’s brain?” Lucky asked in shock.

“Absolutely not, I have some experience with Luna’s though. It’d be a controlled environment, and would mitigate the risk. Plus I think it would be cool to be able to talk silently with her,” I corrected.

“I think this is a horrible plan, and you’re horrible people for even considering it,” Catrix stated.

“And you’d let her spend the rest of her life as a victim?” Lucky accused.

“It’s not like she wouldn’t figure it out, ‘huh, I was a virgin yesterday. I wonder what happened,’” Catrix shot back, her voice deepening for some unfathomable reason.

“Seriously?” I asked, incredulous.

“She’s just a flirt that likes her toys a little too much, but she was intact. Somehow. I could see the blood when she rolled over in her sleep,” Catrix elaborated.

“Jay, you’re our doctor, how did you not notice?” Lucky asked.

“I try to preserve some level of privacy, she was a damn filly after all,” I retorted defensively, “Besides, I can fix that while I’m working on her brain.”

“I hate this,” Catrix reiterated.

“So do I, but I’m not seeing a better option. And furthermore, who are you to talk Miss Kill-Herself-To-Forget?” I countered.

“This is different, you’re talking about altering her biology to make your lives easier. That’s wrong no matter how you phrase it,” Catrix insisted.

“They’re talking about altering my biology to make my life easier,” Lily corrected, appearing in the center of our huddle, “And I approve, it’s just the last few things that need to be scrubbed away. Oh, and I wasn’t actually intact, that was from his-”

“Too much information!” Lucky interrupted, her eyes going wide.

“Less to worry about then, I’ll talk to Luna and see what she thinks,” I said, turning to leave. I found Luna in the doorway, sitting as though her ear had been pressed against the door. Her frustrated look quickly became a sheepish smile when she realized she’d been caught.

“I got curious,” she explained.

“Come on in, we need to talk,” I stated neutrally, moving to the side to let her pass.

“Jay, Lily, all of you, I’m sorry for eavesdropping,” Luna apologized.

“It saves us time, in this case. I want to hear your opinions on this. Lily wants the memories blocked and all damage repaired, she wants to never know it even happened, I believe I can accomplish this. Cat hates the idea, Lucky’s in favor, I’m on the fence,” I summarized.

“I wish I could forget my time as the Nightmare, but I’d never let that happen. Those memories make me who I am today, I don’t know what I would be like without them. They’re a part of me now. Do you really believe you would be happier living a lie?” Luna asked sadly.

“It’s not-well, I guess it would be. But it would be you four keeping it, can you let me live in peace? Would you make that sacrifice for me?” Lily countered.

“I hate lying, especially to you and your sisters. But that isn’t even a question to me, your happiness matters so much more,” Lucky answered instantly.

“I’m tempted to open my throat right now, just on the off chance that I’ll forget enough of this conversation to avoid hating Jay,” Catrix seethed.

“Secrets and lies are nothing new to me, comes with hiding from Chelly for all these years,” I responded.

“I-I don’t know. If this is what you really want, then I’ll try,” Luna agreed after a moment.

“Jay if you go through with this, we’re d-” Catrix began.

“NO! Cat, you and Jay have been friends forever, don’t throw that away over this. Immortals like you need friends more than anyone else, you in particular. Cat, I’m just a mortal, here one day and gone the next. My life isn’t worth the bond between two immortals, much less a single memory,” Lily interrupted.

“Fine. I deserve an eternity in the pits with twelve incubi for this, but fine. I’ll fucking try,” Catrix conceded with a scowl before reaching up and snapping her own neck. Her lifeless body burned to ash before it even hit the floor.

“This feels wrong, yet…” Luna trailed off.

“I know,” I added.

“So how do we do this?” Luna asked.

“I need a familiar brain to practice on first, someone I’ve linked with. I need to peel your skull open and examine how your brain functions to be able to do this safely,” I revealed, causing Luna’s eyes to widen.

“I, uh, I don’t know about this anymore,” Luna commented nervously.

“It won’t hurt and the risk will be minimal, but I will need you awake and it’ll feel really weird. As for incentives, I can give us the ability to communicate and transfer memories silently and instantly as well as make you immune to concussions. Possible side effects include perfect long term memory and faster information retrieval, also increased appetite and a host of other minor issues,” I explained.

“What do you mean by minor issues?” Luna continued.

“I won’t know until the procedure is over, but they should be easily fixed,” I replied.

“Can you give an example?” Luna requested.

“Considering your recent bout of doubling, odds are that part of you brain would be targeted as well. You might experience a ravenous libido or a lack of one altogether. Or it might be alerted to your spinal column due to your activities with Cat and leave you in a constant state of hyperstimulation. But like I said, these will be easy enough to fix,” I elaborated.

“Hyperstimulation?” Luna asked.

“You fed the Nightstallion magic, right? That’s hyperstimulation,” Lily explained before starting to giggle.

“What’s so funny? This is scary you know,” Luna chastised.

“The Nightstallion is based on the idea of a male Nightmare Moon, you got off on yourself,” Lily laughed, ruining the tense mood.

“I assume you can fix these ‘minor’ issues quickly?” Luna asked, though she was fighting her own smile..

“As soon as I know they exist, it should take less than a second,” I confirmed.

“Then let’s get this over with, how do you need me to stand?” Luna sighed.

“Just lay down and try to relax, I promise this won’t hurt a bit,” I instructed. Once Luna was in position, I had Abaddon hold her head flat and still while I straddled her neck.

“Let me know when you start,” Luna requested as I pulled her scalp back to expose the white bone underneath.

“I already have, it’ll feel funny when I get to the important part,” I replied as I formed a claw and began carefully cutting away pieces of her skull and placing them in a bowl shaped appendage.

“Jay, I just though of something. Could this type of procedure be used for other purposes?” Luna asked.

“You want a pressure point that hypersensitizes you? Sure, I’ll put it on the back of your knee,” I guessed.

“No, I meant for control. Couldn’t you use this to move me around like a puppet?” Luna corrected.

“I have mind control magic, this is ridiculous in comparison,” I pointed out.

“Could Dopple?” Luna pressed, causing me to hesitate as the thought struck home.

“Luna, don’t get caught by any rogues. This is the kind of thing that shouldn’t be seen outside of this group,” I warned. Finally, I had the top of her head open to the world and could start working. I began by replacing her cerebral fluid with biomass and slowly inching it along her neurons until I had her entire brain mapped, “Chocolate.”

“What?” Luna asked, but the memory of the candy had already flared.

“Love.” Two locations flared, but one was next to the chocolate point and was ignored.

“WE’RE UNDER ATTACK, GET DOWN!” And that’s fear located. I reached up and pinched Luna’s ear, finding pain. Another point lit unexpectedly, and after further examination I discovered it was this situation being formed into a memory. Following its path, I recognized where it was sorted and how it was filed.

“Only one spot left that I need to check, are you ready?” I asked.

“What are you going to do?” Luna countered, her voice full of apprehension.

“Nothing too invasive, just this,” I answered as I sprouted another arm out of my back and rubbed at the space under Luna’s tail. A comparatively massive location in Luna’s brain all but burst into flames at my touch. Though on closer examination, it was actually two different nerve centers receiving runoff from each other, “Interesting.”

“That can’t be good,” Luna whimpered breathlessly. Lucky and Lily were doing their collective best to remain unnoticed.

“There’s something odd here, I need to investigate further to see what’s happening,” I warned before my hand returned to its position on her posterior. Luna’s whine at the sudden attention became a moan far too quickly, and gave me my answer, “Your pleasure center is in the wrong place, it’s far too close to your spinal cord. And it’s getting a feedback loop from this other one… What is that?”

“That is the last thing you want to hear when someone’s poking around up there,” Luna replied.

“Subject change causes the signals to move all the way back to the frontal lobe, perhaps modesty or shyness. That cluster is abnormally dense as well, suggesting you hide a lot of your impulses. This is truly fascinating, I think my next degree will involve neurosurgery. Anyway, back on topic. Luna, I’m going to run a little test. Just say whatever feels natural,” I instructed before blocking all signals to the overdeveloped cluster.

“Like what?” Luna asked.

“How about you tell me what’s on your mind right now,” I proposed.

“I’m imagining what it would be like for us to have sex while you play with my brain. And now I’m wondering why I said that. And now I’m scared. And now-” Luna rambled, unable to stop herself.

“That’s enough, I have all I need from this area,” I interjected, moving back to the cluster that had intrigued me before, “I’ll be able to finish this up once I understand this node. Hmm, perhaps I can get two birds with this one? Luna, do you remember the last time we spoke before Catrix treated you? What I did?” I prompted. Without the node in the frontal lobe to siphon the signals, my mystery node lit up brighter than ever before in addition to alerting me to the desired memory, “Perfect, I have all I need from your brain. If I didn’t know you and was only looking at your neural pathways, I’d assume you had a penchant for nocturnal activities. All that’s left is the promised alterations, one second.”

“Did you just call me a whore? Can I have control of my voice back please? Or you could ravish me, though I’d prefer the first one,” Luna requested as well as she could.

“Sure, I’m done rerouting signals anyway. Just give me a few seconds to piece your head back together and we’ll be done,” I agreed, following her request immediately while I simultaneously prepared the new bioform for its intended purpose and rebuilt Luna’s skull. When I was finished, Luna sported millions of microscopic holes in her skull, each occupied with a tendril that both reinforced her cranium and allowed for easier linking between us.

“My head feels a little heavier, but not too much to ignore,” Luna commented while I reattached her scalp, taking great care in ensuring that I didn’t leave any scars.

“And done, any side effects?” I asked, stepping back.

“Um, well, I’m, you know, but you were touching me,” Luna admitted.

“Keep an eye out for anything that doesn’t seem like something you’d say or do,” I advised before turning to face my next patient.

“What will you tell me afterwards?” Lily asked.

“You were hit on the head and it cracked your skull, I administered emergency surgery and was forced to alter you in order to keep you alive,” I replied, “And then I’ll inform you that you’ve been unconscious ever since, so I had your mother brought over just in case.”

“I’ll believe you, I think. Sounds believable enough anyway. Let’s do this,” Lily declared, lying down in a mirror of how Luna had been.

“It’ll be harder for you, I’ll have to learn your brain and then isolate every part of your captivity and the time afterwards. I’ll be blocking you from forming new memories as well, so this will be a few minutes at a time and very disorientating. Are you sure you want to do this?” I asked, giving her another chance to back out.

“Yes, I really really do,” Lily affirmed.

I sighed and got into position, “Then let’s begin.”

“I feel fucking dirty,” I complained as I rested against the wall next to Luna and Lucky. Lily was still comatose, though her bioform would let her wake up when the sun rose in about fifteen hours.

“And I want to wring your neck, but we both know you had to,” Lucky agreed.

“Are you sure I’m not being affected by this thing? I’m still...let’s go with bothered,” Luna asked again. I’d checked her bioform five times, it was a clean alteration; no unplanned effects.

“You could go fuck yourself,” Lucky joked...again.

“Luna, I think that might be a good idea. You should go burn some of that adrenaline,” I encouraged.

“Not until Lily’s fine,” Luna adamantly refused.

“Is it because I’m here?” Lucky guessed.

“No,” Luna lied. I reached over and tapped the side of her head, prompting the bioform to act, “Yes it is I’m convinced you’ll come in and decide I’m doing it wrong and then I’ll get another lesson and I wasn’t ready for the last one and why am I still talking?”

I tapped Luna’s head again, stopping her verbal diarrhea, “You went a little far last time, Lucky.”

“Yeah, I probably did. But how often do you get to teach your passion to one of the princesses?” Lucky challenged.

“Every day,” I responded, hooking an arm around each of them.

“You are so full of it,” Lucky mocked lightly.

“Meh, maybe. But I’m the one who just stole an entire day from your daughter, so I think I’ve earned a little cockyness,” I argued.

“Not to interrupt, but shouldn’t Tia have thrown a fit by now?” Luna asked.

“Why? Because I parked a leviathan on her city and massacred her favorite band of cultists? In all honesty, she’s probably too busy dealing with the aftermath to yell at me right now,” I replied.

“I suppose that’s what I should be doing too. Fuck it, I had brain surgery today,” Luna stated, kicking at nothing with one hoof.

“Hold on, there’s one thing I still haven’t tested. Wanna give telepathy a shot?” I suggested.

“I just sit here and think right?” Luna asked, prompting me to run a tendril through her mane to connect to the ones in her scalp.

‘Yes, can you hear-OH MY GOD!’ I thought, pulling away as it finished setting up and showed me what was in Luna’s head. I felt a powerful need to wash my hands for twelve hundred years.

“I didn’t think you were religious,” Luna commented innocently.

“I’m not. But it wasn’t just speech, I got visual and audio too. You have a twisted imagination,” I explained, shivering slightly as Luna threw me a bashful smile and Lucky tried to laugh herself to death.

“Sorry, I’ll try to tone it down if you want to try again,” Luna promised. I tentatively returned the tendril to its former location and mentally prepared myself for what awaited me.

‘I don’t know what I was expecting to find, but that was insane. I can deal with this though,’ I commented.

‘I said I was sorry. Hey, how come I can’t see your imagination?’ Luna asked.

‘It isn’t active enough for you to see without practice, shouldn’t that modesty thing be shutting you down by now?’ I responded, distracted by the outright impossible scene before me.

‘I don’t know, maybe it has something to do with how it’s in my own mind and not being said out loud?’ Luna postulated, ‘It’s either that or my newest passenger is lowering my inhibitions.’

‘Just checked, it isn’t. Seriously, couldn’t you make this a little believable?’ I complained, getting distracted again.

‘What, can’t you do that?’ Luna challenged, nudging my side with her elbow and getting a sly look from Lucky.

‘I can, you can’t. That’s not how normal people work. The start is plausible, your replacement eyes can survive on their own for a little while, but after that, no way,’ I argued.

‘Fine, what do you want then? Just normal standing?’ Luna offered.

‘Can you imagine anything other than us fucking?’ I requested.

‘As far as I can see, this is your fault. You can terminate this link if you want, or you can enjoy watching another you plow another me into the ground,’ Luna declared.

‘I’d love to bail, but I need you to find my imagination. Maybe even my memories,’ I instructed.

“Sounds easy enough.” Luna replied.

‘Keep it mental for now, just for practice,’ I added.

‘Okay, I’ll try,’ Luna agreed. After several minutes of watching the same scene replay over and over, my mind filled instead with the sight of storm clouds.

‘Good job. Did you find my memories too?’ I asked, sure Luna could sense the pride I felt.

‘I found one, it wasn’t a happy memory. That poor chick…’ Luna answered after a few seconds.

‘Frey?’

‘It was when you saved her. I felt your pain. How do you live like this? It’s horrible,‘ Luna responded.

‘It isn’t all the time, just when I’m reminded of them. Remembering every second I’d lived all the time would be impossible, I usually think of it as an expanding library with a superman level librarian,’ I explained.

‘Thanks for the references, nerd,’ Luna mocked lightly.

“Fuck you,” I griped.

‘Please do, I doubt Lucky would mind if we disappeared for a few minutes.’

“Are you being serious?”

“No.” ‘Yes.’

“Can you give me a straight answer?”

“‘I’m trying’”

I severed the connection and stared into Luna’s eyes for a moment, “Yes...or no?”

Luna closed her eyes and looked down for almost a minute as she collected herself, but when she looked back at me her eyes were focused and committed, “Yes.”

“Lucky, hold down the fort. Luna and I have another plate to spin,” I ordered cryptically.

“Damn, did the bitch show up?” Lucky guessed as Luna and I stood up.

“Not yet, but this is more important than her anyway,” I replied.

“You two better be glowing when you get back,” Lucky demanded as we reached the door.

“How does she do that?” Luna asked.

“I have no idea,” I replied. We both looked at Lucky for answers, but her smug grin held none. Once we entered our room, we both headed straight for the bed. The issue was that neither of us knew how to get things started with the other, so we sat there in silence for nearly a half hour.

“Jay?”

“Yeah?”

“I think we’re going to need Cat.”

“I’m sorry, I’ve just...I’ve never started anything like this with this body. I remember how it’s done, but-well, yeah,” I apologized.

“It’s fine, I’m in roughly the same position. I know the steps but not where to start,” Luna agreed.

“If we bring Cat in to help, she’s going to want to join,” I advised. Luna pursed her lips at this.

“I guess I should get used to her, that is her actual job after all,” Luna commented, prompting me to open a small portal on the wall behind us and pull the first fleshy thing I felt back through.

“Hey boss,” Harry greeted.

“Hey Harry, could you put Cat in my hand when you get back?”

“Sure boss.”

“Thanks Harry,” I said as I pushed my steward back through the portal and released him. I felt a new form enter my grip a few seconds later and finally retrieved Catrix.

Catrix took one look at us and tossed me a devilish smile, “Is this what I think it is?”

“Well, you know-” I began.

“Shut up. Luna, lay down. Jay, kiss your damn wife,” Catrix ordered.

Author's Notes:

If I need to tell you where this is going, then you probably shouldn't be reading this anyway. Yeah, next up is a clop scene. It won't have any real story elements and will be segmented off into its own mini-chapter to be easily skipped.

I say again, the next chapter is entirely optional. You will not miss anything important if you skip it. I promise not to feel like a failure if you do.

Eric's Editor's Note:

It's time~~! Y'all ready for some kinky shit!? XD

Militia's Editor's Note:

Going from 'licking the blood off an impaled rapist to taunt them' to 'threesome between a succubus from Hell, a royal alicorn of the moon, and a world-ending virus'... Par for the course, I suppose.

Author's Note Part Two: Some of us are more eager for this than others. I sincerely hope this doesn't seem forced, it's really not. I didn't actually want any of this in Monster, but that's where it went anyway.

Well, here goes...