“Are you positive I can eat this?” Luna asked as she stared down the lifeless imp before her.

“Yes,” I answered simply as I tore a leg off the demon and took a bite. Perfectly grilled, as usual.

“Did it suffer?” Luna continued.

“Probably, yeah. But these demons are exclusively kept as livestock, they don’t regenerate and they reproduce very quickly to recoup their losses. They’re killed and eaten by everything else down here, that’s their only purpose,” I replied.

“Now I just feel bad for it, that’s not a life anybody should live,” Luna commented sadly.

“It was also cooked alive, gives the meat an added tenderness,” I added.

“I’ve lost my appetite, I can’t eat something that lived such a horrible life and died like that,” Luna declared as she pushed herself away from the banquet table.

“Sit down and take a bite,” I ordered firmly, “All your protest will do is get the cooks beaten for doing their best to prepare this for us. This imp was born to die screaming, just like the rest of its kind, there’s nothing that would have changed that. Besides, I think you’ll find the flavor enjoyable.”

“But it was alive, it had feelings,” Luna protested.

“Grass is alive, trees and flowers are alive. The people I’ve killed and eaten were alive. Did you know plants can feel pain? I know, it was news to me too. All life is beholden to the dead, there’s no way around that. You might as well let them serve a purpose after they’re gone,” I countered. Luna opened her mouth to retort, but found no words. After a moment of searching for something to say, she relented and sat back down.

It was even longer before Luna levitated a single shaky scrap of meat up to her mouth and took the smallest bite I’d ever seen, barely a scraping against her dull teeth, “It’s dis-”

I didn’t let Luna finish that lie, instead I clapped my hand over her mouth and pushed the scrap inside. Luna’s eyes burned as her senses betrayed her, at war with her morals, “Everyone likes grilled imp.”

Luna’s internal conflict was clear on her face as she chewed and swallowed even after I removed my hand. All she could do was stare at the rest of the entree and work her jaw while she tried to find a reason to fight me on this.

“I only have to sample them right? Can I try the next one now?” Luna requested, siding with her pony sentiments.

“This is the easy one, next up are skampcakes. They are more of an acquired taste, given the fact that they’re boiled in the blood of the same scamp that the meat comes from. Kinda coppery, ya know?” I replied, prompting Luna to sigh and gather a decent sized helping.

“I hate that this actually tastes good, it isn’t natural for a pony to eat meat,” Luna complained.

“Welcome to Tartarus,” I replied.

The rest of our meal became gradually more amicable as Luna acclimated to the menu, even going as far as sampling other dishes without complaining about how they looked or what they were made from.

“We will never speak of this again,” Luna stated firmly as the plates were finally taken away.

“You ate more than me, I think you just caused a celebration outside,” I pointed out.

“Never again,” Luna repeated more forcefully.

“You’re not listening to me. You’re Tartarus famous now, that’s not something that can be ignored,” I insisted.

“It can and it will, nopony ever comes here so it won’t be known outside of this dreadful place,” Luna expertly countered.

“That’s a good point, provided you trust Cat not to make a big deal out of it,” I teased.

“Shit,” Luna swore.

“I don’t understand why you’re so ashamed, it’s just part of being in hell. When in Rome, as the saying goes,” I offered.

“I don’t see what Roam has to do with anything, but I will concede that one must eat to survive and there aren’t any plants here. Though I would’ve rather gone home to eat and intend to do that in the future,” Luna replied with an extra formality that hinted towards her upset mood.

“Just take the win damnit,” I snapped teasingly.

“What win? All I can see is the loss of even more of what makes me a pony,” Luna grumbled.

“A fair trade for some respect, and that’s if you let it determine who you are,” I reasoned.

“How could I not? I actually enjoyed the taste of meat, what other pony can say that?” Luna demanded.

“Lucky, Silver, and all of their daughters lived here for six months, they never complained,” I replied easily.

“They-they did?” Luna confirmed, her haughty attitude fizzling out.

“No choice, they lost everything during a massive storm that blew in from the ocean. I didn’t know where else to put them while I got the bits together to help them start over,” I explained.

“The same storm Lucky told me about? Where you saved the townsponies?” Luna asked.

“Not how I would describe it, a lot of pegasi died trying to push that stormfront back. We rescued as many as we could,” I corrected.

“Wait, you said you only housed Lucky and her family here. What about the others?” Luna continued.

“What about them? I had them dropped off outside Baltimare,” I replied with a shrug, “Lucky and Silver were my friends, I didn’t even know the rest.”

“Not your problem then? I suppose they should just be happy you bothered to save them at all,” Luna spat.

“What the hell Lu, why are you so fucking pissy? You were mad at me yesterday, then we made up and everything was fine, but now you’re mad again. What the fuck is actually going on?” I demanded.

“I don’t know, alright? I don’t KNOW! I’ve got a headache and Tia is being weird and you...you actually needed me. Moon and stars, I’m acting like Tia. You need me right now and I’m finding reasons to be angry…” Luna trailed off, her voice getting quieter with every word.

“You’re not-” I attempted before Luna closed the short distance between us and pulled me into a gentle hug, taking care not to impale herself on any of my armor’s accessories. I soon felt her tears starting to run down my neck.

“I’m so sorry,” Luna apologized, her voice barely above a whisper.

“Are you on drugs?” I asked seriously as I pushed luna away and held her by her shoulders, “The last time you had mood swings like this, you were on drugs.”

“You’ve been right next to me all day,” Luna replied, seeming confused by my reaction.

“Are you pregnant? Do you feel strange at all?” I continued as I sent tendrils over and through Luna to find some reason for her erratic behavior.

“I have a headache, but I feel fine otherwise. And you told me yourself that you can’t get me pregnant, are you accusing me of being unfaithful? No, nevermind, you’re just being you,” Luna sighed as she submitted to the check-up.

“Hello there, I haven’t seen one of you in a while. Where did you go for lunch yesterday?” I asked, having found the root of Luna’s instability and eaten it alive.

“A market stall in the town square, why?” Luna asked, sounding worried.

“I’ve made an adjustment to your bioforms so they’ll keep this from happening again,” I began.

“They’ll keep me from getting angry?” Luna interjected.

“No, you had brain parasites. Well, I should say unsanctioned brain parasites. Cereverum, the brain worm. Very rare, very inconvenient,” I explained.

“That is absolutely horrifying,” Luna commented, though her face and voice had dropped to total neutrality.

“Don’t worry; it’s not like a botfly where it eats your brain, it just causes more electrical stimulation to the part it’s attached to so it can feed on those impulses. Great for quietly disabling heads of state, not so great for keeping me from killing whoever did this. Did you get a good look at the vendor?” I continued.

“Moon above...No, I barely spared him a glance. Why wasn’t I warned of these creatures growing up?” Luna wondered.

“They didn’t exist, they’re a failed weapon against me,” I replied, turning my attention towards the portal and the tripod responsible for these monsters that lay on the other end.

“Really Tia, weaponized worms?” Luna sighed as she pressed a hoof to her temple.

“Better than her explosive rocks, those were even more annoying to clean up,” I countered.

“My skin is still crawling from this, I’m going into my cocoon and I’m not coming out until I’m sure there’s nothing else inside of me,” Luna declared as she turned to flee to the relative comfort of a particularly invasive medical scan.

“Wait up, I have business with your sister,” I replied as I followed my worm free wife through the portal, pausing only to collect my hammer from where it rested against the table and secure it to the back of my armor.

“Are you going to need that?” Luna asked as she looked back.

“I’ll be speaking to her ruler-to-ruler, it pays to look the part,” I answered honestly, having no intention of using the warhammer but knowing its size had an effect on others.

Tendrils sprang into action the second my armored boot touched Abaddon’s flesh, retrieving my lighter grear and adjusting the straps to add my sword and throwing knives to my arsenal. Just as I was about to take another step and exit the swarm of tendrils, a harness I hadn’t seen before rose from the floor and was attached to my chest.

“What’s this one?” I asked as I poked at the looped leather, finding my question answered by a quartet of spike pistols that found their way into those same loops. These new ones were bulkier, having a distended mass hanging below what one would call the barrel.

“These pistols won’t consume your mass until they have no choice, a feature added in response to your self destructive actions during the fight against Discord,” Abaddon replied, ignoring my actual question and answering my newer one.

“Fancy, that’ll open them up for use by other species as well. Give Luna one, just in case,” I instructed.

“I don’t want one, they’re disgusting and I have magic,” Luna rebutted as I tested the fit of the newest additions to my gear.

I looked and felt like a force to be reckoned with. My armor was the perfect mix of regality and functionality, it spoke of both leadership and national pride as well as the drive to do things by force if necessary.

“Suit yourself, but know that there will be one waiting for you if you change your mind,” I allowed, turning back towards Luna for a moment and sending a tendril to make the desired changes to our bed.

“Fine, as long as you don’t expect me to carry it around like you do,” Luna relented.

“Cool, I’m gonna go threaten to cut off another of your sister’s legs,” I replied with a gesture towards the door before turning to stroll through it. Even with all of the gear strapped to my body, I was not prepared for what I saw on the other side.

Celestia was curled up in a fetal position on Catrix’s lap, quietly sleeping as the demon stroked her mane and seemed to deliberate on cutting the alicorn’s throat. Catrix’s claws were extended from her left hand and held up to her face as she examined the edge and occasionally glanced down at the diarch, a look of pure hatred in her eyes.

“Not yet,” I cautioned as I closed the door behind me.

“She keeps crying and confessing her crimes, but she doesn’t even know how much pain she’s caused my kind. Did I ever tell you about the time I met with her? It was before your time, obviously. She set me on fire, almost sent me back to that vile piece of skamp shit right after I escaped,” Catrix mused, her voice distant as she recalled the memory.

“I’m sure you weren’t the first either, but I need her alive,” I repeated.

“I wouldn’t kill her, just leave a pretty little scar on the side of her face. Right here, below the left eye, where everyone can see. Or three, or five, or a million little cuts, one for every succubus she put to the sword and sent back to Tartarus,” Catrix hissed.

“She’ll use that to justify her actions, it’s better to explain it to her and let her own mind torture her for you,” I advised.

“You’re getting soft Jay, the king I swore my service to would’ve cut the names of her victims into her bones,” Catrix spat, her voice raising as her anger grew. Celestia was startled into wakefulness and quickly found a set of claws gripping her throat as she tried to sit up.

“Catrix, don’t,” I ordered sternly.

“All those apologies, all those tears, and not one of them was for me or my sisters! Why should I spare her?! Why should I be the better person? Why...why am I the monster here?” Catrix demanded, her anger burning out as grief took its place.

“You’re not a monster Cat,” I responded soberly as I walked the rest of the way toward the pair and placed a hand on Catrix’s shoulder.

“I remember you now, I tried to have you killed,” Celestia murmured as she seemed to look at her captor for the first time, “I was wrong about you and your kind, I’m sorry.”

“I will bet my station that you’re just saying that to cut down on the number of enemies you’ve made, but I’ll let you live for now,” Catrix snarled as she released Celestia’s neck.

“I deserve that,” Celestia commented.

“Oh shut up, I think you’re trying to play us too. It’s what you do Chelly, it’s what you’ve always done,” I snapped, though I was mildly surprised when the alicorn winced, “But it would go a long way if you told me who you gave the surviving brain worms to.”

“Those horrid things? They’re nothing more than a failed experiment, I assumed they were destroyed,” Celestia replied, sounding genuinely confused.

“I just pulled three out of your sister, obviously they weren’t. I’m going to ask you one more time before I start taking you apart, who did you give them to?” I demanded as I pulled my hammer from my back and held it against the side of Celestia’s face threateningly.

“The castle mages, I gave them to the mages for study and disposal,” Celestia conceded, though she didn’t seem afraid.

“Abaddon, we’re going to Canterlot,” I stated, though we were already jerking into motion before I could finish the leviathan’s name.

“Your name is Catrix, isn’t it? I really am sorry for how I treated you,” Celestia repeated.

“Prove it by not betraying us at the first opportunity,” Catrix replied coldly.

“I deserved that too,” Celestia commented quietly, though I was already walking out the door and leaving the two of them to sort out their own problems.

I walked confidently through the corridors as they pitched and leaned with every one of Abaddon’s titanic steps, seemingly immune to the vertigo inducing changes to the direction of gravity. I was immune, having no inner ear structure to be thrown off by the shifting mass below my feet and the ability to root myself to the floor with every step.

Lily, however, had no such immunities, but that didn’t stop her from calling out to me as I walked, “Uncle Jay, are we going back to the city?”

“Yes, yes we are. I nearly forgot to ask if Blueblood ever got back to you, did he ever grow some balls?” I asked, pausing.

“No. Do you think I could talk to him while we’re there?” Lily requested.

“Absolutely, I’ll even accompany you. My business is with certain individuals in the castle anyway,” I replied.

“Okay, I can wait while you deal with them,” Lily agreed, long desensitized to the idea of me scaring or harming others.

“Sounds like a plan, want to join me on the deck?” I offered with an outstretched hand.

“Sure,” Lily replied happily as she took my hand with a hoof and let me hold her steady as we navigated the violently shifting corridor towards the sunlight. The spiked layers of abyssanite and leather hanging from my shoulders prevented me from carrying Lily, but she didn’t seem to mind as we found a spot near Abaddon’s head and watched the rapidly approaching city grow larger.

“You know he’s just worried about your safety,” I said after a few minutes of sitting in silence.

“You’ve said that before, but it’s getting harder to believe with every passing day. If he wants to break up with me, he should just say so. At least then I could go back to my life,” Lily responded dejectedly.

“He’s a noble, they’ve never done anything in a timely manner. I’m sure he’s just being thorough,” I repeated.

“Excuses, excuses. I thought we were in love, but I guess that’s not enough for him to spend time with me. Or maybe I’m the stupid one, thinking some prince would actually fall for me,” Lily sighed sadly.

“You’re joking right? Lily, you’re as close to succubus levels of attractiveness as a pony can get, enough for me to notice. He has to be enamored with you, even if he doesn’t realize how wonderful you are,” I reassured the unicorn.

“And I suppose my ability to turn him inside out has nothing to do with that,” Lily teased, finally lightening up.

“We call that insurance where I come from,” I replied, smiling. With brighter spirits, our trip to Canterlot didn’t seem nearly as oppressive.

I grinned as Abaddon ascended the mountain and perched over Canterlot once more, his cannons diligently searching for threats. My good humor wasn’t because of where we were, rather it was because not one pony screamed at the sight. They were becoming used to the sight and didn’t pay us any attention, which only made it easier for me to do as I pleased.

After a brief discussion on how we would both get to the castle, Lily ended up riding on my back and holding onto my hammer as I flew down. I didn’t bother landing in a dignified pose, as I would rather bare the glances of the guards than send Lily flying into them. Lily noticed this and nodded her gratitude as she clambered to the ground. With that out of the way, we were finally ready to walk through the main doors into Canterlot Castle.

“No trespassing,” the guards to either side of the door chorused as they crossed their spears and blocked our path.

“Really?” Lily deadpanned.

“She’s got a point fellas, just make your lives easier and get out of the way,” I instructed.

“No weapons or persons carrying weapons are permitted on the premises,” the guards stated robotically.

I leaned in to make myself seem more imposing than I already was, “I’m going to make this perfectly clear, you are going to let us pass or your head is going up your buddy’s ass and you’re both going in the moat.”

“It is a crime to threaten the royal guards,” they responded as both spears swiveled to point at me. I sighed and crushed both spears to scrap metal and splinters in my gauntleted fists, leaving the guards with broken sticks.

“We’re going to walk inside now, I will follow through on that threat if you try to stop us,” I warned as I motioned for Lily to enter the castle.

“No tre-” the guard on the left managed before I wrapped a tendril around his neck and pulled him into my grip. His partner only had a fraction of a second to realize what was happening before he found himself hanging upside-down with my fingers and tendrils wrapped around his barrel. After a moment’s thought, I reversed them so the one who had spoken the final line would get the worse treatment and made good on my word. I left them screaming in pain as they tried to separate themselves and swim at the same time.

“Damn Uncle Jay, you weren’t kidding. I didn’t really think you’d do it. Hell, I didn’t think it could be done,” Lily commented as she walked ahead of me and tried to cover her evil smile.

“Never piss off your local surgeon, they might do weird things to your anatomy,” I replied cryptically.

“That poor fool,” Lily laughed, unable to contain herself any longer.

“You say that like I didn’t shorten one of your legs as punishment for running away from home,” I rebuked.

“That’s not funny, I still limp when I think about that,” Lily responded, losing her humor.

“But you never made your mother worry like that again, did you?” I teased, “Anyway, I need to swing by the North Tower and crack some skulls for information before we harass Blueblood.”

“Alright, I’ll wait outside then. I don’t want to deal with getting blood out of my coat,” Lily replied as though it was the most normal thing she’d heard all day. This caused everything in the hallway to come to a screeching halt as all of the staff stopped to stare at the insane mare, many of them failing to stop in time and colliding with ornaments or each other.

“I doubt it’ll be that intensive, I’m just shaking down a few mages,” I shrugged, leading us through the familiar hallways toward the mages tower. I doubted they were responsible for what happened beyond one of their number selling the remaining worms in a bout of greed.

I motioned for Lily to stop when we reached the door before walking through and locking it behind me. In the same moment, my hammer left my back and tore the first door off its hinges as I made my presence and intentions known.

“WHO’S IN CHARGE HERE?!” I demanded loudly, causing the unicorns to balk and run higher into the relative safety of the tower. I retrieved my hammer from where it had landed and followed after them, pulverizing every door and repeating my question.

I ended up destroying every door in the tower, only finding my quarry when I cornered the frightened mages that had fled earlier.

“I-I’m in charge, sir,” I green unicorn stallion stuttered as he took a few tentative steps towards me.

“Wrong,” I declared as I drew one of my spike pistols and pinned all four of his legs to the floor, causing him to scream in pain and make the others even more afraid, “I’m in charge.”

“Y-Y-Yes, you-you’re in ch-charge. I’m sorry,” the unicorn blubbered, flinching at my cold words.

“And being in charge has certain perks, like getting any questions I have answered.” I continued, looking around at the shivering ponies expectantly, “My question is simple, who did you give the brain worms to?”

“We didn’t give them to anypony, we still have them,” a blue mare answered shakily, getting looks from the others around her, “I’d rather survive this than hold onto our stupid secrets.”

“All of them? You haven’t sold a single one?” I confirmed.

“No,” the previous leader whimpered.

“Then how is it that I pulled three out of Princess Luna’s head?” I demanded, drastically changing the atmosphere with that one question. I wasn’t some psychopath destroying their stuff for fun, I was now a concerned friend and bodyguard protecting my charge. Their features softened as their fear ebbed away, replaced by understanding and the respect they would show a royal guard.

“Because she had no respect for our methods. She should’ve waited to use our runes just like everypony else, it’ll take months to repair the damage she’s done,” a black stallion with an orange mane snapped, his tone prompting those around him to move away and leave him to be the only one hit by my attack.

“Mythic? You attacked the princess?” the staked stallion asked, horrified.

“You don’t know, none of you know. I’m the one who has to maintain that register, I’m the one who has to adjust each and every appointment time and notify those involved. So yes, I retaliated against the unprovoked attack on my sanity,” the black stallion spat.

“I’ve done enough paperwork in my life to sympathize, but that’s not going to save you,” I responded as I lifted my hammer.

“Oh yeah, kill me for returning the inconvenience. Must be nice having double standards like that,” Mythic snarked, halting my weapon bare inches from his easily shattered skull.

“What?” I hissed dangerously.

“You made more work for me, so I made more for you in return. I knew those parasites wouldn’t cause major harm, I worked on their development after all. Not that you’d bother to look that up,” Mythic elaborated, making me feel like a hypocrite.

“I suppose that’s fair,” I mused as I mulled over what else I could do and how I could justify any retaliation, finding nothing I could personally do to the stallion. But I was owed a favor, and politics were far from new to me, so I wasn’t completely declawed, “Well played Mythic, but just remember that it’s never a good sign for me to know your name.”

“Not to seem presumptuous, but could you remove THESE BUCKING SPIKES IN MY LEGS?!” the previous leader requested with a pained edge to his voice.

“Quit whining, I didn’t hit anything important,” I chided as I absorbed the spikes and repaired the damage with a quartet of tendrils, prompting the stallion to drop to the ground and hold his legs close to his body, “I expect I don’t need to tell you what will happen if any of you test me like this again.”

“Double. Standards,” Mythic repeated.

“Your cries of unfairness will fall on deaf ears next time Mythic, or maybe I’ll just cut your throat before you can even start braying. Believe you me, I want to kill and eat you all so I can steal your magic power, don’t give me an excuse,” I warned, not that Mythic would be there to see it.

I walked out before the arrogant mage could retort, as I had a plan for him and a more important engagement waiting for me at the bottom of the tower. As luck would have it, we were spared the effort of tracking down Lily’s fiancee.

“Lily?” I heard Blueblood ask as I emerged from the tower, “And Jekyll, ponyfeathers.”

“Blue? Where have you been? I’ve been waiting for weeks,” Lily asked worriedly as she sprinted over to the noble and wrapped her forelegs around his neck. Some other nobles huffed at the display, but jumped and scurried away when I glared at them and reached for my hammer. That was why I carried it in the first place, wielding a hammer the size of a fully grown stallion with one hand generally made an impression on those around.

“I’m so sorry Lily. I’ve been trying my best to get you here with me, but I’ve had to fight for every inch. It’s my mother, she arranged a marriage while I was at your resort,” Blueblood confessed, sitting against the wall as he let his fatigue show, “I hate her so much.”

“Your mother? You just seemed tired of her meddling before,” Lily asked, her worries forgotten as she stroked Blueblood’s mane and tried her best to comfort him.

“Not her, my betrothed,” Blueblood corrected, “She hates me just as much and won’t let me have a minute of peace when we’re together. Gods I’ve missed you Lily.”

“I missed you too Blue, what can we do to fix this?” Lily pressed, unwilling to give an inch to her rival. I was content to watch and give any solutions I could provide.

“Unless you can fake being a noble from a distant land, there’s nothing that will make my mother call off the engagement,” Blueblood sighed sadly.

“She doesn’t have to, she is a noble,” I interjected.

“What?” both of the lovers asked in unison.

“Lily is my adopted niece. As I actually am the king of a distant land, that makes her a noble,” I replied, holding back as much as I could.

“It’s worth a try, but I doubt that’ll be enough. Just claiming to be the king of some country nopony’s heard of doesn’t mean much,” Blueblood allowed.

“He’s telling the truth Blue, Uncle Jay really did conquer a country and continues to serve as its king,” Lily added, making Blueblood’s eyes light up as he jumped to his hooves and took Lily’s hoof.

“Then there’s no time to lose, I can’t stand us being apart any longer,” Blueblood declared hurriedly before guiding Lily down the hallway. I easily kept up and used my mere presence to incentivise those in the hallway to clear a path.

We turned down seemingly random hallways and corridors until Blueblood locked his legs and slid to a stop in front of a particularly ornate door, his sudden stop causing Lily to press into his side as she struggled to match his deceleration. Neither of them complained about the contact and they only held longing in their eyes as they shared a quick kiss before Blueblood rapped a single knock on the door.

“Enter,” a harsh voice ordered from the other side. Blueblood gingerly pushed the door open and stepped inside as though walking on eggshells.

“Mother, I have a proposal for you,” Blueblood began gently. He seemed more afraid of the thin white unicorn sitting at the table than he was of me.

“Spit it out then, can’t you see I’m busy?” the mare snapped as she lowered her fork and pushed her plate away.

“If you recall what I told you about my vacation, the mare I met there-” Blueblood attempted.

“The gold digging harlot,” the mare corrected.

“Excuse me?!” Lily demanded, stomping through the door and right up to the abrasive mare, “Did you really just call me what I think you just called me?”

“A gold digging harlot, yes. Now get away from me before I catch some disease,” Blueblood’s mother spat as she placed a hoof against Lily’s face and pushed her to the ground.

“Mother, she’s a noble and her family has more wealth than us,” Blueblood lied. Or at least thought he was lying.

“She works in that sleazy hotel, I’ve seen her there,” the mare barked. Though she laughed, there was no humor in her voice.

“Do not mistake a hobby for a life,” I growled as I entered the apartment.

“What’s this then, another intruder?”

“I am King Jekyll of Tartarus and you just assaulted my niece, in my lands that is a crime punishable by ten thousand years of torment,” I declared, making up the punishment and making a note to ask Tzu about it later.

“You are a liar,” Blueblood’s mother accused dryly. I didn’t bother arguing, I simply drew my sword and used it to cut open a portal on the nearest wall, “Whoop dee do, you can pull off some parlor tricks. Too bad I’ve seen illusions before.”

“Ripper, wrath demon of the abyss, step through and taste the air of the surface,” I ordered, ignoring the mare behind me.

“By your order, my lord,” one of the demons on the other side of the portal replied as it separated itself from the others and walked over to the portal.

“Fancy magic you’ve got there, I haven’t seen an illusion with sound since-” Bluebloods mother commented, her voice failing when the ripper stepped through the portal and into her apartment.

“Scream for me, mortal,” the ripper instructed, “I long to hear your anguish once more.”

“Simmer down, I’m just proving a point. Tell the nice ponies what role I serve in your society,” I ordered.

“Is that necessary? You are wearing tartaran armor, crafted by the smith of the Infernal Palace. That is the mark of royalty, it should be obvious to all that you are our king,” the ripper replied.

“It’s true then...and this one is a noble...but...but...but this is impossible,” Blueblood’s mother managed.

“When Uncle Jay gets involved, impossible becomes something like a suggestion,” Lily snarked, “So this is how things are going to go from here on, I’m going to marry Blue and you are going to get out of our way. If you do try to interfere, I’ll destroy whatever plot you’ve put together and come after you myself. Do we understand each other?”

“Yes, I’m sorry,” Blueblood’s mother whimpered, though her fear likely had more to do with the ripper drooling on her than Lily’s threats.

“Okay ripper, you can go home now,” I ordered, causing the demon to turn on its heel and return to whence it came without another word. I closed the portal behind it and flashed my niece a grin.

“Thanks Uncle Jay, you didn’t need to give up that secret for me,” Lily declared gratefully as she bounded over and gave my waist a hug.

“Of course I did, family is always more important,” I replied, “But your future husband seems to be having trouble with this recent development, maybe you should check on him.”

Lily turned to look at Blueblood and saw the same thing I had noticed, the stallion’s legs seemed to have failed him. He was now lying sprawled out with his stomach and chest pressed to the marble floor.

“Out,” Lily ordered sternly, sending the other mare running for her bedroom. I smiled to myself as I saw how much Lily had learned from me and how well she put those lessons to use, “Are you okay Blue? I didn’t scare you did I?”

“No, I’m fine. I’ve just never seen anypony take charge like that before, not against her. I’m-uh-not exactly decent right now, that was-um-stimulating,” Blueblood stammered quietly, tossing fearful glances in my direction.

“I refer to her mother as my sister, you aren’t going to upset me that easily,” I deadpanned.

“Still, could you give us the room? My betrothed and I have things to discuss and plan,” Lily requested, lying through her teeth. They were whispering about closets and other secluded areas before I was even out the door, prompting me to sigh and smile at their young love. It cost me a secret I was already losing, but I felt it was worth the cost. I had plenty more to fall back on if push came to shove.

Luna met me at the gate, two soggy and disturbed looking stallions to either side of her, “Jay, did you assault these guards?”

“You mean ‘did I shove one’s head up the other’s ass and throw them in the moat?’ Yes I did. They accosted Lily and I as we investigated the source of the attack against you and settled the issue with her fiance,” I responded evenly.

“I see, I’ll send a message to the captain of the guard reminding him of your status so this level of incompetence is prevented in the future. You two should have known better than to challenge Jekyll by yourselves, you’re lucky he didn’t kill you,” Luna chided as she turned to walk with me as I passed the shivering guards.

“So what brought you down here?” I asked.

“Tia’s double saw the guards but couldn’t help them herself, so she sent for me,” Luna replied easily, “The hardest part was getting them to stop crying after I got them separated.”

“I warned them,” I chuckled.

“Jay, they have serious mental trauma from that. It’s not something to joke about,” Luna admonished.

“They also learned a very important lesson about picking their fights,” I added, “I’ll even be nice and pay for their therapy.”

“It’s a start, but you should try to be a little less obscene towards the guards,” Luna advised.

“You should’ve seen Lily and Blueblood, they were adorable. Especially after Lily shut down Blueblood’s mother and forced her into submission. Young love like that is always adorable,” I commented, changing the subject.

“I assume she had help with that,” Luna accused, though not unkindly.

“Just minor things, bits of info she didn’t have and some hard evidence when it came to it,” I replied as I guided Luna down a side street without her noticing.

“I suppose she did learn from the best, though your politics are a fairly aggressive,” Luna allowed.

“Not really, I use everything I can justify bringing to bear just like everyone else. It’s not my fault I can throw more at my opponents than they can hope to compete with. That’s neither here nor there though, don’t you recognize where we are?” I asked, prompting Luna to look around.

“Your bar, was today so rough that it has driven you to drink?” Luna responded, confused.

“It’s also a private place where we can talk more openly about stuff,” I added as I held the door for Luna.

“Ever the gentlecolt,” Luna teased as she walked inside.

“Still empty, that’s upsetting,” I commented as I found us a secluded booth in the back.

“It’s two in the afternoon, everypony is still at work,” Luna countered.

“Good point, maybe this place isn’t a waste of money after all,” I conceded.

“So what did you want to talk about?” Luna asked.

“Blueblood and Lily. They way they acted around each other struck a chord in me, it highlighted just how much I was missing out on. They seemed to need each other, like being apart was suffocating to them. The way Lily just forgot all of her anger the instant Blueblood started talking about all the problems he’d been having with his mother and how she was keeping them apart, the way Lily channeled her inner me and threatened to kill Blueblood’s mother if she got between them again. I can’t help but notice we’re missing that,” I explained, allowing my troubled mind to vent.

“It isn’t that we don’t, I understand them completely, it’s that you don’t have that reflex. If you did, we wouldn’t be talking in a secluded booth in the back of a seedy bar,” Luna corrected.

“Can you help me learn?” I requested.

“It’s an instinct, no different than your drive to protect me. I don’t have the first clue about how to teach an instinct. We could fake it though, mimic the real thing until it becomes natural,” Luna theorized.

“That doesn’t feel right, but it might trigger something along the way,” I allowed, rationalizing the course of action despite my misgivings.

“The biggest thing that comes to mind is how we treat sex. It’s almost transactional, I ask and you give, there’s no passion to it. You act like a male version of Cat and show me the best time you can, but that’s it. It’s an act for you. I don’t want you to have sex with me anymore, not just because I want it. I want the next time to be because you want to make love,” Luna declared, surprising me with her determination. Luna loved her nightly ritual and said as much every day.

“Luna, are-” I began.

“I know what I’m doing and how much I’m going to hate myself later, it’s not nearly as important. I also don’t care where we are when it happens. Your emotions are more important to me than public opinion, you can pull me out of any engagement or even lay me down right there if you want,” Luna continued, her face reddening as she went off on a fantasy filled tangent.

“I’m not-” I attempted again, only to be silenced by Luna’s hoof covering my mouth as she became even more theatrical and lewd.

“It’s so much more important for you to find your lost passion, no matter what the cost. If we’re on top of a mountain and freezing to death, you should sunder my coat and warm me with your body. If we’re burning in the fires of Tartarus because some demons get the jump on us, at least we’d die together,” Luna continued as she stood in her seat and gestured dramatically towards the ceiling.

“Luna, calm yourself. I doubt this is going to be something that just happens randomly one day,” I pointed out.

“Unless I bribe Discord with candy or some such,” Luna countered, adopting a sly smile.

“Whoa now, I wouldn’t last a day here as a human. I’m starting to see what I’m missing, let’s just take the win and not do anything rash,” I advised, holding my hands up defensively.

“Relax Jay, ‘twas merely in jest,” Luna chuckled.

“That’s a relief, the thought of Discord messing with my head is pure nightmare fuel. Anyway, I also wanted to talk about our public lives. Word is starting to get around that I own Tartarus, it’s only a matter of time before the papers start taking their gossip further than a secret romance,” I revealed.

“Let them talk, they’ll never consider the possibility that we’re already married. Even if they did, who’d believe them?” Luna replied flippantly.

“And if they do?” I prompted.

“Then we go public and deal with the fallout,” Luna answered as though it was obvious.

“If our marriage is made public, the other nations will attack,” I reminded the alicorn.

“Shit, I forgot about that. How close are we to being ready?” Luna asked, wincing slightly.

“Not close enough. I saw the Fillydelphia defenses when I travelled there yesterday, they looked solid enough to handle the first wave of infantry but no war machines or flyers. Reports have the other major cities at about the same level, nothing has been done to fortify the border towns yet,” I responded.

“Are the border towns necessary? The caribou pulled out of the war, they won’t attack,” Luna pointed out.

“There are rumblings coming from the Badlands and I don’t trust them not to land north of Equestria and trek through the tundra, we could be surrounded before the first arrows fly,” I countered.

“Can we win?” Luna asked seriously.

I was silent for several minutes, just looking into Luna’s eyes and running calculations. Troop estimations, projected losses, movement patterns, and levels of training all ran through the inside of my eyes, though nothing added up.

“Jay, can we win?” Luna pressed more urgently.

“Yes. It isn’t going to be easy, but we can. We’ll have to be careful how we treat each other, then go public at the last possible moment so I can bring my troops and power into the fight. They can think we’re dating, but no reports of marriage can get past the publishers,” I reasoned, a new variation of my original plan forming and solidifying.

“I’ll get Tia to leverage her control over the press, we can do this,” Luna agreed, her eyes filling with renewed determination.

“We need to get back to Abaddon, I have sabotage missions to send out,” I declared.

“Sabotage? You’re attacking them?” Luna asked nervously as she followed me out of the booth.

“Military installations mysteriously catching fire, prototype weapons going missing, key tacticians suddenly wearing low hats and sunglasses, stuff like that. Nothing they can link to Equestria, even if they know it’s me,” I elaborated, “They’re trying to do the same thing, my enforcers just keep catching and killing their spies.”

“Wars are ugly affairs,” Luna commented.

“You didn’t even flinch when I told you I tortured one of them myself,” I pointed out.

“That was different, I had you to worry about. How are you doing by the way?” Luna asked.

“Better, thank you. I also hooked Tzu up with some assistants so he can work more efficiently,” I replied as we walked out onto the street. I found a full squad of Gammas waiting for us and blocking the road, a camera wielding pegasus held in the leader’s grip.

“It’s always something,” Luna sighed.

“We found this one on the roof opposite of the establishment, she was also in possession of rune powered listening devices and pages of notes that matched your conversation,” the lead Gamma reported.

“Why are you pestering me with this? You know how we handle eavesdroppers,” I responded, not bothering to look at the condemned mare.

“Jay, there are more subtle ways of handling things like this. Like explaining how important it is that our conversation remains confidential and trusting the good ponies of Equestria to make the right decision,” Luna admonished, receiving a flat look from every bioform in the region. Even Abaddon turned his massive head to stare at her, “Okay, I know that sounded naive but-”

“Make it quiet,” I breathed quieter than a whisper.

“We’ll see what the authorities have to say about treason and espionage,” the lead Gamma growled loudly, putting on a show for the few onlookers still in the street.

The Gammas took to the skies and appeared to loop towards the castle with their captive, but an onlooker with eyes like those Luna and I had would see the unnamed pegasus’s broken neck and dematerializing body before the enforcers reached the ground and assumed disguises.

“That was unnecessarily harsh,” Luna commented.

“Was it? I don’t think it was. Maybe you’re the one holding back when it comes to your ponies, you didn’t have any problem with me handling the gryphons or zebras,” I countered, silencing Luna’s protests.

“Ponies are supposed to be nice,” Luna managed after a few seconds.

“Nice is an illusion,” I spat, glancing around at the rapidly dispersing crowd.

“You’ve spent too long in the dark, it’s time to see the sunlight,” Luna stated as she pulled me out of the shadow of the bar.

“Was that supposed to be symbolic?” I asked blankly.

“Yes, now shut up and stop being so damn pessimistic. We have a way to not just survive but actually win, that’s cause for celebration. We can discuss my aversion to seeing my subjects detained later,” Luna declared as she jumped into a hover. Many of the onlookers gasped as she showed off her impressive wingspan. I grinned and showed off a little as I formed my wings and used the buildings on either side of the street to throw myself into the sky, dwarfing Luna’s wingspan by twice again their width.

“What?” I asked when Luna caught up and gave me a bemused look.

“Your wings seem smaller on Abaddon,” Luna noted.

“I usually start out with smaller wings and expand them once I’m in the air, it’s easier to maneuver that way. I wanted to show off a little this time,” I confessed.

“That sounds like you, practicality over everything,” Luna allowed.

“I prefer the term efficiency, but yeah,” I replied as I followed Luna back to Abaddon.

“So what else is on our schedule for today?” Luna asked.

“Getting your sister to suppress the news and going home,” I answered simply as I took the lead and led Luna into Abaddon’s internal structure.

“I thought we were home,” Luna countered.

“Abaddon is our home, but Ponyville is too. I’ll always have a connection to that place, even if it is a hive of trouble and headaches,” I asserted, finding a smile crossing my face.

“It is a testament to how peaceful ponies can be,” Luna agreed.

“How peaceful they can be so long as there’s a more powerful being watching out for them,” I corrected, “Ponyville has been destroyed three times, once for every time I was driven away.”

“Another of Tia’s crimes?” Luna guessed wearily.

“You could call it that if you wanted, but it was the forest that actually did the town in,” I replied as I stopped at our door and let Luna walk through first.

“It’s a wonder they built there in the first place, the Everfree has always been a cruel mistress,” Luna mused.

“It fell within my hunting grounds, I kept the danger at bay by simply existing,” I replied.

“Better get back soon then, I don’t think Twilight will be able to handle another ursa by herself,” Luna joked as she hopped onto our bed and leaned against the wall.

“Taking a nap?” I asked.

“Being cocooned makes it easier when Abby moves,” Luna replied.

“Makes sense to me, the pod would keep you from moving around so much,” I reasoned.

“Abby also lets me see through his eyes and removes the dizziness I usually get, at least he did when we walked over here,” Luna added, getting a thoughtful nod from me in return.

“I’ll be back in a second,” I declared after a brief moment of comfortable silence. Luna waved lazily as I turned and walked through the door to Catrix’s room, finding one wall covered in scorch marks and Celestia shivering on the bed, “Did you kill my demon?”

“I didn’t mean to, she was just so angry and I couldn’t get her to calm down. I-I lost my temper and threw her,” Celestia confessed, showing real tears as she looked up at me.

“That’s fine, I think she could use a few hours to cool off,” I replied with a shrug.

“You’re not angry? But I killed your friend,” Celestia stumbled, confused.

“So? We’ve both killed Cat plenty of times, it’s not really a big deal with her,” I explained.

“But getting her back is incredibly dangerous, who knows what could be waiting on the other side of whatever portal you open? And that’s not even accounting for the difficulty in setting up the ritual,” Celestia continued.

“I ate Belial alive, I have his powers,” I answered simply, silencing Celestia.

“I didn’t believe them when they said you ended the Awakenings for good,” Celestia confessed after a few seconds to process that information, “Then that means he’s gone forever? The threat of demons is erased?”

“I summon a few when I feel the need for support, but they obey my commands well enough and won’t terrorize your precious subjects. As for Belial, he follows the same rules as every other greater,” I replied, careful not to give away too much.

“He has to be whole to be reborn, but you ate him so that’s impossible. He can’t come back if there are pieces missing, the pieces you ate,” Celestia continued, sounding relieved for some reason.

“What aren’t you telling me?” I demanded, closing the distance to prevent the flighty alicorn from teleporting away again.

“Fate’s little henchstallions, one of them mentioned that an Awakening was coming. It’s had me on edge ever since,” Celestia admitted.

“You know what’s fucked up? I just planned one of my own a few minutes ago, it’s actually why I came to talk to you,” I chuckled, feeling my fear rise.

“Absolutely not, Equestria barely survived the last one. If you were to release the demons of Tartarus, all would be lost forever,” Celestia declared adamantly.

“Unless I specifically order them to protect the citizenry from harm and force the invaders to retreat,” I countered, “The rippers and succubi would obey that order, it’s the rest of them that worry me. But that’s the last stage of my plan, the first hinges on your ability to keep Luna’s relationship with me out of the newspapers.”

“You mean to go public at the last second so you can justify defending Equestria yourself,” Celestia deduced, “Smart, that’s what I would do.”

“It causes me physical pain to know that, but I’m not seeing another play that preserves Equestria,” I added.

“Why do you care about us? I always thought you related more with the gryphons than us ponies, even your daughter was a gryphon,” Celestia asked.

“Because...Because this is where I wanted her to grow up, a nice, peaceful place without the dangers of the Isles or the shady politics of Canterlot. Whether I like it or not, Ponyville is part of Equestria and there’s nothing I can do to change that,” I responded sadly.

“I know you don’t believe me, and I understand why, but I really am sorry for taking all of that from you,” Celestia apologized, sounding sincere.

“You’re right, I don’t believe you. But our interests have become one and the same, so I will trust that you’ll take the appropriate actions to see this country into the future,” I replied pointedly.

“Jekyll?” Celestia requested as I turned to leave, “You were right about another thing, it feels good to be kind to Luna. I was wrong to be so cold towards her.”

I paused while Celestia spoke, but didn’t look back before walking out of the room and ordering Abaddon to move. I rooted to the floor as everything pitched and turned, a side effect of having a base inside of a mobile creature, and contacted Tzu with orders to increase our attacks on the gryphon and minotaur production facilities. I wasn’t worried about the zebras, they had their totems and crude magic but that wasn’t something I could burn down and bury.

“With any luck they’ll decide it’s getting too expensive and back out,” I commented to myself.

As Abaddon walked home, I diverted my attention to each of my ongoing efforts in turn. The strategic command base in the south had been located and a force was already slipping in to subvert more of the staff, the Krakens had been mostly useless since the attack on the fishing vessels, and the mountain of reports from my spies wasn’t something I was ready to dig through yet. There was an odd note from the Krakens about some unusual storms northeast of the Gryphon Isles, but it was too far from anything relevant to the war and there weren’t any talks about weapon testing in that area so I didn’t pay it much attention.

Luna stirred and emerged from the objectively disturbing pod in a tangle of tendrils and mucus, though she didn’t acknowledge any of it as the tendrils that had formerly been holding her still cleaned the sore preventing fluid out of her fur. Overall, she looked like she was being vomited out of a clam/squid combination.

“Don’t,” Luna groaned as she pressed her hooves against her eyes, “I need a minute.”

“No worries, take as long as you need,” I allowed.

Luna swayed as she reacclimated to being her usual size, a disorientation I felt to a lesser degree every time I disconnected from my leviathans. To have your awareness expanded by that much only for it to be taken away, it took some time to get used to that. As if to punctuate my thought, Luna emptied her stomach and fell onto her side.

“Might be a good idea do just go unconscious next time,” I suggested.

“Bwaaah,” Luna moaned before spitting the last of her sick onto the floor and wiping her mouth with a fetlock, “Why don’t you get this?”

“I do, but not nearly as bad. You aren’t built for that kind of transition, of course it’s going to fuck you up,” I replied.

“Still worth it, seeing the countryside pass by like that reminds me what really matters,” Luna responded queasily, though she was picking herself up and looking much better already.

“I’ll coordinate with Abaddon about restricting how much access he gives you, that should cut back on how rough the separation gets,” I reasoned.

“Sounds like there are things you don’t want me to see, but I already knew that and made my peace with it. How did it go with Tia?” Luna asked, changing the subject for me.

“I told her I intended to cause an Awakening, pretty sure that got her attention,” I revealed.

“Do you?” Luna pressed, her eyes widening, “I mean, there are some decent demons but I wouldn’t trust them with that.”

“Absolutely not, that’s a horrible idea!” I laughed as I walked over and sat next to Luna.

“But...that doesn’t make any sense, why lie about it?” Luna wondered.

“A shit plan is still a plan, even if it’s an emergency backup. But I said that because my legion aided in the defense of Canterlot during the Second Awakening and I saw firsthand how terrified your sister was. Between that and how she thinks, she’ll immediately try to weaponize her own fear against her enemies,” I explained.

“I seem to recall mother doing something similar with beetles during the founding of Equestria,” Luna noted, “It makes sense that her protege would follow the same trends.”

“Does that mean you’re scared of the dark?” I teased.

“A little, it was worse when I was a filly. I feared that something would pull me in and nopony would find me because of my coat, I still feel like that sometimes,” Luna confessed, making me blink in surprise.

“Huh, I never would have thought of that,” I commented, “How does that work when you have perfect night vision?”

“I still know a dark corner when I see one,” Luna pointed out.

“And all of my forces have that same ability. And you move a natural satellite around with your mind, a feat of power you seem to consider a chore,” I added.

“That’s fair, but it’s just the remnants of an irrational childhood fear. I don’t avoid dark places or even think about them, I’m just not as comfortable being alone there as compared to being alone in a lit area. Or not being alone at all,” Luna responded, “But I do appreciate the attempts to assuage that fear.”

“Kinda my job,” I replied as I wrapped an arm around Luna’s shoulders.

“Makes me feel worse about being so temperamental earlier. I may harbor some misgivings regarding the way you hide things from me, but not to that degree,” Luna commented.

“It wasn’t your fault, it was a mage getting back at us for commandeering the range runes and messing up his schedule,” I excused.

“I still feel guilty about it,” Luna sighed, “Why couldn’t we be like a normal couple?”

“Because normal is boring,” I offered.

“Boring can be a good thing, boring means we’d be more like Lily and Blueblood. Boring means I could apologize by seducing you. Boring means I wouldn’t have anything to apologize for in the first place,” Luna lamented.

“Do you want that kind of life? My cabin is still there, it wouldn’t take much work to expand it into a proper house,” I asked.

“Oh heavens no, but a mare can hope that one day she’ll have a nice, calm, simple life,” Luna sighed before adopting a mischievous look as she poked me in the side and added, “Maybe a foal or two to complete the picture.”

At Luna’s words, my mood darkened slightly. For all my blustering about it only taking some time to get the gene alterations done, I didn’t have the first clue how to actually create viable offspring. The enforcers weren’t proper children, they were pieces of myself that had been severed and grown into separate entities. I’d tried using artificial wombs during the experiments that created the Alphas, but every single one had fallen apart at some point during the process. To repeat the experiment with Luna would be a death sentence, her Redlight resistant body would offer no protection from the rapidly mutating Blacklight eating her alive.

“You might reconsider after you meet Frey,” I joked, hiding the uncertainty I felt behind a mask of humor.

“If she’s anything like her father, I’m sure she’ll be a terror the likes of which hath never been seen before or since,” Luna replied, giggling.

“You know, we don’t really have anything else to do today…” I began.

“Say no more, my answer is yes,” Luna declared as she snuggled into my side.

“You don’t know what I was going to say,” I protested.

“Something along the lines of lying around, being lazy, and cuddling,” Luna predicted.

“Damn, I must be getting predictable,” I replied.

“Only to those that know the real you, the ones that know the loneliness you try to bury. You’ve got the strength and the army and the adopted family, but I’m not the one who goes straight to cuddling after we have sex. It’s okay to get lonely sometimes, it’s just part of being an immortal and why it’s important to find someone to hold onto,” Luna responded as her horn flashed and my armor appeared on the opposite side of the room before clattering to the floor. With her only obstacle removed, Luna pushed me onto my side and crawled into my arms, “Better?”

It took me several seconds to form a response. The way Luna had positioned herself with her head on my shoulder filled my vision with the sight of her mane and overwhelmed my olfactory senses with her scent. Without thinking, I brought my hand around Luna’s back to hold her head while I buried my face in the comforting smell of her neck, leaving nibbles and kisses to show my gratitude.

Luna giggled and squirmed as I happened across a ticklish spot, though her only protest was to guide me towards a better spot with her hoof.

“Thank you,” I breathed, completely lost for words.

“You don’t have to thank me, I’m enjoying this more than you are. There’s nothing for me to gain from having you smelling my mane, it’s an entirely selfish act on your part. But when combined with the fact that your legs are falling apart, it shows itself as an instinctive act of love and affection,” Luna whispered, using my own style of logical reasoning to emphasize her point. An act that only made me hold her tighter.

“I have an idea. I’ll fall asleep, then you meet me there and I’ll show you something from my world. A guilty pleasure I had when I was human, romantic comedies,” I suggested.

“They made comedies about romance? That doesn’t sound right,” Luna asked suspiciously.

“Their more commonplace name was ‘chick flicks’, you’ll like them,” I promised.

“It can’t hurt I suppose,” Luna relented as she wrapped a hind leg around my lower body to embrace me with all of hers and closed her eyes. I sent one final message to Abaddon and Tzu telling them I would be unavailable for a while before following Luna into slumber.

Things could’ve been going better, the subversion force was working quickly but those that hadn’t been replaced were getting suspicious. In particular, a certain gryphon that was staring at my back as I pulled off my uniform and hung it up for tomorrow.

“I’m serious Barry, his eyes were red. I’ve known Colonel Halfwing for years, his eyes have always been green,” Margarite, my disguise’s lover, insisted. She’d been getting steadily worse as more and more of her coworkers were replaced, and had refused to leave our small apartment all day.

“I’m sure it was just the light Mar, the sand and heat do weird things like that all the time. I’ve jumped more than my share of the staff already for that same reason, but they’ve all come up clean. Tartarus, it might even be some rogue spell floating around the desert or a totem one of the zebras lost,” I responded a little more harshly than intended, causing Margarite to take a step away from me, “I’m sorry, this mess has me on edge too.”

I actually had been accosting random members of the staff, but my intent had been to publicly douse them in Cure so there would be less doubt placed on the replacement after the original was killed and consumed later.

“You’re sure? You’re really sure none of those things are in here?” Margarite pressed.

“I’m sure. I killed the only one to show up, that must’ve been enough to keep our location secret. This eye color confusion has to be caused by something else,” I lied.

“Please, just look me in the eyes and tell me there are no monsters in this bunker. It’ll make me feel better,” Margarite begged, her fear clear on her face and in her scent. She froze when I turned to grant her request, seeing my crimson irises.

I caught her and held her beak closed before she could scream, “I saw them too, but I am not one of those things. There aren’t any monsters in this bunker, I’ve had my troops checking for them constantly. I even checked myself after I passed a mirror, this eye color thing is caused by something else.”

“How can I believe that? You had blue eyes when we first got here,” Margarite demanded as I released her beak, She was already starting to cry.

“You know me better than anyone, you know who I am under the mask I wear for work. You would know if I’d been replaced. I’m not acting weird, I’m not sneaking off in the middle of the night, I’m the same Barry you fell in love with,” I insisted.

“Alright, just promise me you’ll figure this out soon so I can relax,” Margarite requested as she took a deep breath.

“I promise,” I vowed, internally wondering how to keep this up until the rest of the staff had been converted. I stood from where I had kneeled to silence Margarite and returned to my dresser to finish undressing and preparing my uniforms for my next shift.

As I finished my task and turned back to Margarite, something painful impacted the side of my head. I was on the gryphon before she could react, allowing the melting flesh of my face to drip down on her as I split my skull in two in order to silence her muted screams for help that much more quickly.

More pain erupted across my chest and arms as Margarite found her Cure sprayer and doused me as much as she could, forcing me off as my arms withered away. I had more than enough biomass though, she wouldn’t be able to kill me with her little squirt gun. I caught her ankle with a tendril and pulled her back when she tried to run, causing her to drop her weapon and whimper in terror as I crawled on top of her and readied an execution.

“This is your only opportunity to survive this Mar, allow yourself to be replaced and you will be transported out of here unharmed,” I offered as my claws rested bare millimeters from the gryphon’s neck.

“Why?” Margarite managed though her tears and shaking voice.

“Because Barry still lives to a degree, all of his memories and feelings survive within me. I don’t want to kill you, I like you, and I want us to continue living together,” I confessed, being honest with the gryphon for the first time.

“You’re insane, delusional. I could never be happy in the same room as the monster that killed my mate, I’d rather die than live like that,” Margarite spat, finding her courage.

“I know, but I had to ask. Please understand that I didn’t want this to happen,” I apologized before closing my grip and cutting off the gryphon’s head. With the deed done, I slumped against the wall and mourned the loss of another lover. I felt a tickle on my cheek and wiped it away to find the back of my hand was now wet The only evidence of the only tear I had ever cried was now drying before my eyes, as short lived as my hopes for ever building a relationship.

One of my sisters arrived less than a minute later, drawn by the sounds of our struggle. She didn’t say a word about my half melted state as she consumed Margarite’s remains and assumed her form, even ruffling her feathers to play the sound off as rough sex when one of the few members of the security staff that hadn’t been replaced knocked on the door.

“Hey, get up,” the other enforcer ordered after the guard had been sent away with her blend of lies and smiles. I could barely look at her like that, she seemed to be mocking my failure with her very existence, “I said up.”

I didn’t get a choice this time, instead I was lifted and set against the wall before a hard slap turned my head towards the bed I had shared with the real Margarite.

“Nope, none of that. Get your shit together Two, we still have a job to do. Hey. Hey! Stop it with this pity party bullshit and get back on mission,” the fake Margarite snapped.

“I just need a minute, my disguise had strong feelings for her,” I requested.

“It was mutual, but the mission comes first. We can resolve this mess between us after we clean you up and confirm personality traits. I’m Two Nineteen Dash Five, by the way. You can call me Five or use whatever pet names our disguises had for each other,” Five allowed.

“Squad Two Hundred and Nineteen? Are you new?” I asked. There hadn’t been that many India squads when I left, there had been a hundred.

“Yes, now help me get Margarite’s personality perfected so I don’t blow what remains of our cover,” Five instructed.

“She’s nicer than that, more soft spoken. Her personality is more amicable and comforting than authoritarian,” I critiqued, starting the process of fine tuning my sister’s actions. It was the cost that came with replacing a corpse, not all of who that person used to be made it into the replacement.

When we finished roughly ten minutes later, Five took my hand and led me to bed the same way Margarite used to do with Barry. Though neither of us required sleep, it was important for us to maintain the appearance. Going unnoticed would help us kill and convert the rest of the facility, as was our mission.

And the mission always came first.

Author's Notes:

I'm kinda curious where all of you stand regarding Celestia and the change in her attitude. Is she being honest and trying to make up for all the harm she's caused? Or are the others right to believe she's trying to manipulate them?

Eric's Editor's Note:

Weapons may doubt you, but I know that we can come up with a theory. A Fanfic Theory! ... We declared war on ladders. This shit should be easy.

Militia's Editor's Note:

Is it possible Celestia may be starting to show genuine remorse in lieu of the coming storm, or is she merely biding her time to jump ship?