I didn’t manage to fall asleep, I just laid there until the sun rose and Luna awoke. She sighed upon seeing the annoyed look on my face, evidently my inability to sleep was obvious. “Sleep well?”

“Yes, thank you,” Luna replied, rising from the bed and walking to the bathroom.

“Not going to stall today?” I asked the retreating form as she closed the bathroom door.

“I already learned that lesson, I don’t believe it will be necessary to teach it again,” Luna called from the bathroom, causing me to let out a short laugh. Luna returned a few minutes later to find me waiting by the door, an evil smirk on my face. “How many laps?”

“We’ll start with a couple hundred, or until noon, whichever comes first,” I responded.

“I don’t get a choice in this, do I?” ‘Nope.’

“I could always stimulate your muscles manually and make you run, you’d probably fall a lot though,” I threatened, wondering about the viability of using Luna as a puppet like that.

“You couldn’t if you wanted to,” Luna challenged.

“I already have. You remember when I paralyzed Nightmare Moon, same thing,” I countered, Luna froze. Technically this was true, but restricting movement was much simpler than causing it. I was more likely to tear her muscles if I tried

“I’ll be good,” Luna said in mock fear, already jogging in place. ‘At least I think it’s an act.’

“Alright, let’s get started,” I said, opening the door and heading for the lobby. Lily greeted us as we passed her desk, asking if Luna was about to discover my definition of cardio. I answered her in the affirmative as I pushed the door open and allowed Luna to pass me onto the beach.

Six hours later we stopped for lunch. We had completed three hundred and fifty-eight laps, but Luna had lost count at some point and I didn’t see any harm in a few extra laps. Lucky was waiting for us with a tray balanced on her back, I could smell salad dressing and blood well before we were close enough for her to remove the cover.

“Alright guys and gals, I’ve got a salad for Jay and a half dozen raw salmon for the princess,” Lucky joked as she handed the tray to me.

“You’re funny,” I replied dryly, consuming the fish in seconds. I caught a glimpse of movement through the trees and called to it, “Yo Mike, tell Tzu to ask if any of the others want to be Lucky’s companion.”

“Thank you Miss Lucky,” Luna wheezed, attempting to savor the salad.

“Yes, sir,” the figure replied, disappearing a moment later.

“You got five minutes till we start on unarmed combat, eat faster,” I commanded, channeling my inner drill instructor. A hundred and eighty seconds later I consumed the remains of her salad and marched her into the ocean until the water was to her knees.

“Is combat in shallow water common?” Luna asked, confused.

“No, but it is several times more difficult. If you can fight like this, you’ll be more than capable during an actual fight,” I replied as I bound her wings to her sides.

“I see, will I be expected to move tomorrow?”

“Yep,” I replied happily as I lunged for her, my fist arcing towards her face. She barely dodged in time and attempted a sloppy counter, which was punished with a light jab to her exposed ribs. We continued like that until sunset, Luna and I continuously attacking and counterattacking. I’d occasionally advise her on why her attacks weren’t connecting or how to correct her footing.

“A couple hours my flank,” Luna whined as we walked back to the hotel for dinner.

“I lied, but it’ll be easier tomorrow. Today was a test of your capabilities so I’d know where to focus your training.”

“Really?” Luna asked hopefully.

“Hell no, it’s all downhill from here,” I answered darkly, I had a very intense curriculum planned.

We entered the hotel and Luna claimed the nearest open seat, startling the other ponies seated at the table.

“Don’t mind us, it used to be pretty common for strangers to sit at the same table. Great way to make new friends, although I think Lu only saw the empty chair,” I said to the ponies, who seemed to accept my explanation though seemed uneasy about my casual way of addressing their diarch, who had progressed to slumping over the table. “Luna, you’re in public. Sit up straight.”

“Can’t say I didn’t warn you,” Lily said cheerfully as she sauntered over to our table, “What can I get ya?”

“Food,” the barely conscious Luna mumbled from her position on the table.

“Have you ordered?” I asked the other ponies at the table, they nodded dumbly, “Okay then, I’ll get something to go in a bit, if you get my meaning.”

“Saucy.”

“I meant a shark.”

“Scandalous.”

“Have I ever told you how much you remind me of your mother?” I asked, fully aware of the repercussions of my question.

“How dare you?” Lily screeched, attracting the attention of everyone in the restaurant section of the hotel before dropping her voice and adopting a cocky tone, “I’m way worse than she is.”

And then she vanished, leaving the rest of the customers to look at me for some kind of reasoning towards the crazy mare’s actions.

“I should have expected that, she must have grown out of her rebellious stage years ago,” I commented, more to myself than anyone else.

“Is this happening? Are we sharing a table with THE Jekyll, and one of the princesses?” One of the ponies, a mare, asked her stallion companion.

“Nope, I’m the other shapeshifting horror with a grudge against hot-flanks,” I said sarcastically.

“It is you! Oh, could we get a picture with you please? Our colt would love one,” the mare asked fervently.

“I have fans?” I asked. I’d shut down a couple cults that had popped up in my name but I’d never seen any normal, sane, ponies that admired me.

“Well, in truth, it’s just Night Specter. We’re just trying to be supportive. I’m Straight Arrow, by the way, this is my wife, Ebony Song,” the stallion explained, they were both earth ponies.

“Edgy teenager type?”

“Got it in one.”

“It’s my colors, they attract wannabe outcasts,” I commented.

“You calling me a ‘wannabe outcast’?” Luna asked, rising from her position on the table, “My apologies, it seems I fell asleep for a moment.”

“No worries, and you’re not a ‘wannabe’ anything,” I answered, “Sure Arrow, I’ll take a picture with Specter, where is he?”

“He ought to be back any minute now, stepped into the restroom just before you two came in,” Ebony replied, her enthusiasm made me wonder if I was watching the birth of another cult.

“OHMYGOSH mom, there are two of Jekyll’s monsters heading towards the hotel, like, right now!” an excited voice said as a colt ran over to the table before freezing at the sight of me.

“Hi Specter, I’m Jekyll. Your folks said something about you wanting to get a picture with me?”

‘Thump.’ Specter did his best impression of a statue as he hit the floorboards before going limp, unconscious.

“Oi, Uncle Jay, did that little wanker pass the fuck out?” a voice shouted from the kitchen.

“Yeah Pepper, he did. And you’re not doing him any favors by announcing it to the world.”

“Fuck the world, a gal’s gotta have her fun.”

“Why did we come here, again?” I heard Arrow ask his wife.

“It was ranked in the top ten best hotels in Equestria, and it’s on a beach,” Ebony answered quietly.

“It grows on you,” I commented to the pair, “Hey, I’ve got an idea. Ebony, get your camera ready and don’t tell Specter about these pictures until after you get them developed, Luna, help me pose him.”

With Luna’s help, we got Specter into a series of positions depicting a fight between the two of us, eventually ending with Specter standing over my broken form. I figured it would make for a great gift, Luna and Ebony seemed to agree.

“Say Jekyll, how did you know our preferred names?” Arrow asked as the two enforcers Specter had mentioned entered the hotel and headed straight for my position.

“Basic pony psychology, you lot will always defer to the cooler name or, failing that, the shorter one,” I explained before turning to the enforcers, “Report.”

“Sir, Tzu has sent me to assist in Mistress Luna’s training,” the first, an India responded.

“And I have come in response to your request for a companion for Miss Lucky,” the other added, I recognized this enforcer as the ‘female’ Mike that had attempted to spook Tzu.

“Alright India, you have until noon tomorrow to learn everything about battlefield tactics. Mike, I understand you identify as female, are you aware of what it may mean to be Lucky’s companion?” The India didn’t move.

“I do,” the Mike replied.

“Okay then, go find her and have her give you a name. India, why are you still here?”

“Tzu has already granted me the required information, sir.”

“How convenient, make yourself scarce for now. Meet up with Luna and I in the lobby at dawn,” I ordered, returning my attention to my dining companions.

“That was an interesting personality shift,” Arrow commented.

“They don’t care, my enforcers value efficiency more than anything else,” I replied.

“That’s what they’re called? Enforcers?” Ebony asked, “Specter’s been trying to figure out what they are for some time.”

“They’re Jay’s children,” Luna oversimplified as Lily walked up and deposited a tray of food and left without a word.

“I remember telling you that I don’t like that comparison, it’s more complicated than that,” I responded.

“But still true,” Luna countered.

“Specter had this idea that they were ponies that you gave your power to, he was hoping to join them,” Arrow said, causing me to choke back a laugh.

“He’d have to die first, they’re made from raw biomatter. The first ones were made from a pack of diamond dogs that pissed me off, since then I’ve been using hydras, manticores, and chimeras.”

“So it’s impossible for a pony to become like you?” a recently awoken Specter asked.

“Welcome back to the land of the living. No, it isn’t impossible, but I won’t do it. There are too many risks involved, just trying to ‘evolve’ a pony outside of a controlled environment would most likely result in the end of the world,” I explained.

“Wow, you’re that powerful?” the acting president of my fan club asked.

“It isn’t a matter of power, young Night Specter,” Luna said, taking the question for me, “Jay’s blood contains a deadly disease, I assume he would need to release this pathogen to ‘evolve’ another.”

“Correct, and I won’t allow that to happen,” I added.

“That’s so cool. Is that why Princess Celestia hasn’t killed you?” Specter asked, catching me off guard.

“Night Specter! What kind of question is that?” Ebony chastised.

“It’s fine, Ebony. Way to show your true colors Specter, thinking Chelly could last more than a second against me in open combat. Luna, please don’t tell anyone else about the virus, at least until we find Dopple, it’s a risk we can’t afford right now.”

“My apologies, please keep what you have heard here to yourselves,” Luna reconciled, though it sounded more like an order to me.

“We understand princess, nopony will hear about it from us,” Arrow said, “Though that raises further questions, such as, who is this Dopple?”

“Gryphon, black with red accents, he’s wanted for treason against the crown and crimes against myself as well. He may be traveling under the alias ‘Best Defense,’” I said loud enough for the entire restaurant to hear, “It’s imperative that he is found as soon as possible.”

“Is that why you’re here? Are you tracking him?” Ebony asked nervously.

“Nah, we’re on vacation,” I answered with a wave of my hand, “Can you believe this is Luna’s first?”

“Why here?” Specter asked, “Surely with the princess’s influence you could have taken your vacation anywhere in the world.”

“Hey Pepper, why are we here instead of some wine bar in Prance?” I called towards the kitchen.

“Cause if ya did, I’d shove my spatula so far up yer ass ya’d taste last week’s omelets ya twat,” came Pepper’s gruff reply.

“There you have it, I’m not allowed to go anywhere else.”

“I’m so confused,” Specter commented. I ignored his implied question as I had noticed Lucky trotting over with an upset looking enforcer following behind her.

“Get your new friend settled in?” I asked.

“Thank you so much, Jay. I’d like to introduce you to-” Lucky began.

“Prince Cuddlebutt,” the unfortunate enforcer interrupted. It took all of my willpower to not burst out laughing.

“Lucky, you remember what I said about the enforcers having feelings? Look at ‘Prince Cuddlebutt’s’ face.”

“May I remain Mike-thirteen-one?” the enforcer asked, her question directed at me.

“You were a squad leader? Interesting. How’s Cheryl sound?” I suggested.

“I feel like there’s a story behind that name, but I like it,” Cheryl replied, ignoring Lucky’s protests.

“It’s a bit of a jab at how many times you’ve changed your name, glad you like it. Shut up, Lucky, you had your chance.” Lucky smiled weakly and found an empty seat.

“Sir, may I speak to you privately?” Tzu asked from behind me.

“Jesus fuck Tzu, where the hell did you come from?” I said as I jumped away from the new arrival, barbed tendrils forming defensively.

“The window, I may have an explanation for your memory issues,” Tzu continued, ignoring the large number of sharp objects pointed at his face.

“Continue,” I said slowly.

“If you wish. I took the liberty of creating a new enforcer division, which I have named Sierra. They’re our research and development team, and they have uncovered a single species capable of causing the symptoms you described,” Tzu began, glancing at the assembled ponies.

“Changelings,” I guessed, Tzu nodded, “Impossible, they died out centuries ago.”

“What do you mean they died out? Did the world run out of love?” Luna interjected.

“I’ll tell you some other time. Good work Tzu. If nothing else, we have a lead to work with now. Send a squad to check the old hives and set up another division to work alongside the Sierras, call it Bravo division. Here’re the details,” I said, spearing Tzu with a tendril and depositing the locations of all known changeling hive ruins and my rough designs for Bravo division.

“Bravo for builders, sir?” Tzu asked after taking a moment to digest the information.

“I’m not a poet, I’m a bio-weapon. Yeah, have the Bravos make prototypes for anything the Sierras dream up, I’ll assess whatever passes their tests and assign them personally.”

“Understood, sir,” Tzu replied as he turned towards the open window.

“Tzu, use the door like a normal person,” I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose.

“Yes, sir.”

“Jay, I don’t enjoy being brushed off like this,” Luna said, the family just stared at us in shock.

“I know, but this isn’t the time or place for that conversation. I’ll tell you once we get back to Canterlot,” I replied just before a gold coin appeared in the air a couple feet from my nose and fell to the table, “That was weird. Pretty lame prank, Luna.”

“I am not responsible for this,” Luna replied, looking equally confused. More, seemingly random, objects began to appear and fall to the table, which began to groan under the weight.

“Everyone, get back,” I called, afraid to move for fear of causing damage to anything, or anyone, other than the already straining table. Hundreds of voices began speaking in my mind all at once, I’d need to examine this memory once everything calmed down to figure out what each one was saying. Once the frequency of the items appearing slowed down I jumped through the, still open, window in the fear that a live grenade might pop up and explode in my face, at least then I’d be the only one hurt.

“Sir, are you alright? Who is responsible for this?” a Gamma asked as the local squad took positions around me.

“I don’t know. Find me a bag and a Mike, some of this stuff isn’t Equestrian and I don’t want any of it going missing.”

“Understood, sir,” the same Gamma said as he ran into the hotel, another went sprinting for the treeline. The items, or tokens as I had caught from the overlapping voices, stopped appearing after a few minutes. The Gammas returned shortly after with a Mike in tow.

“Pack all of this shit up and toss it in one of Abaddon’s store rooms,” I ordered the Mike who set to his assigned task immediately.

“What is all of this?” Luna asked, announcing that she had followed me out of the hotel, albeit taking a more normal route.

“According to the voices in my head, they’re called tokens. They have something to do with summoning, or something like that,” I replied.

“Jay, this isn’t funny,” Luna commented flatly.

“I’m not joking, I could hear people talking while these things were appearing. I’d know more, but they were all talking at once and I couldn’t make out much. You know as much as I do right now.”

“I see, what will you do with all of this stuff?”

“Store it, for now anyway. I’ll give it all to Sierra division along with my memory of tonight, see if they can figure it out.” I was broken from my train of thought by the sound of Luna laughing. “What?”

“Perhaps I should find a new instructor, my current one is so lazy that he’ll delegate thinking to another,” Luna accused, still laughing.

“Would you prefer that I train you while distracted?” I challenged.

“I believe that ship has sailed,” Luna countered smugly.

“Fuck, you’ve got a point. Gamma,” I said, defeated.

“Sir?” the Gamma squad’s leader asked, appearing at my side within a second of being called.

“Your squad will assist me in training Luna how to fight. My attention has been compromised,” I ordered before walking back into the hotel.

I found the Mike loading the last of the tokens into a burlap bag, likely provided by Lucky, and staring at the full bag disdainfully.

“The sooner you get that loaded on Abaddon, the sooner you never have to look at it again,” I said encouragingly. Tha Mike jumped and ran out of the hotel with the bag.

“Mom, dad, I think I’m ready to go home now,” Specter said absently.

“I’m inclined to agree,” Arrow added, “No offense mister Jekyll.”

“None taken, it takes a certain kind of pony to be able to handle the insanity that follows me around. Still want that picture Specter?”

“Uh, okay.” I got down on one knee and added some bioluminescence to my eyes for the photo. I knew I’d never see the final product, but I thought it would turn out pretty well.

I found a couch in the lobby and relaxed for a moment before I realized that Luna hadn’t reentered the hotel. I pondered this for a time until Luna staggered through the door, her form covered in bruises and bleeding from dozens of cuts.

“What happened to you?” I shouted as I lept to my feet and steadied her.

“Gammas,” she managed before passing out. I bandaged her wounds with globs of biomatter that would accelerate healing and set her on the couch before storming outside.

“Gamma lead,” I said dangerously, my voice no louder than normal.

“Sir?” the same enforcer as before answered ignorantly. Tendrils pierced the idiotic enforcer and reduced its biomass to less than that of a Mike, a very painful experience.

“You’re going to fly back to Tzu and get me a competent squad. Then you’re going to be reassigned to Romeo division and one of them is going to take your place in this squad. Your crime is the assault of a protected individual, be happy that I haven’t consumed you completely,” I commanded the disgraced enforcer.

“I apologize sir, it would seem that I have misinterpreted your orders,” former Gamma lead said as he attempted to take flight. He was stopped by a tendril wrapping around his neck.

“Oh, no. You don’t get to put this on me. You know what, that sounded like sedition. You wouldn’t happen to know where Dopple is, would you?” I asked rhetorically, as I was already consuming the enforcer. I discovered that he had, in fact, been approached by Dopple, and so had the rest of his squad. ‘Oh, I wasn’t serious, but okay.’

My back exploded into dozens of barbed tendrils, spearing another rogue enforcer and consuming him. ‘An obvious tactic, pathetic.’ My claws formed and another set of arms peeled out of my back to hang next to my normal set, these armed with six foot long serrated blades. The next enforcer to attack found himself cleanly bisected and consumed. ‘That’s half of them.’ Two of the remaining enforcers rushed me at the same time and met their ends predictably.

“Pitiful,” I spat, “If this is the best you’ve got, Dopple can have you.”

“Surrender or I’ll kill her!” a voice shouted from behind me. I turned to find the last rogue enforcer with a claw to Peppermint’s neck. ‘I’ve been waiting to try this out.’

“Dumbass,” I commented as tendrils burst from the ground and dismembered the former enforcer in a whirlwind of slashing blades, “You good, Pepper?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. The fuck was that?” Pepper responded, headstrong as ever.

“Good question, I’m going to need to borrow your mom’s new marefriend to find out. These idiots didn’t know anything,” I replied before a blade erupted from my chest and attempted to syphon my biomass back to its owner. ‘Really?’

“I did it! I killed him,” the rogue India cheered prematurely.’Really?’

“Did you now?” I asked as the flow of biomass reversed and the India ceased to exist. ‘They’re supposed to be the smart ones, Dopple is really scraping the bottom of the barrel.’ Now that the traitorous enforcers had been taken care of, I’d need to get a new set of guards over here to sure up our security. I didn’t waste any time as I sprinted to Lucky’s room and opened the door, “Hey Lucky, I need to borrow Cheryl.”

“Damn Jay, didn’t anyone ever teach you to knock?” Lucky admonished.

“My guards just tried to kill Luna and Pepper, so I’m sorry if I don’t give two shits about your privacy right now. Would you please get off my only remaining soldier so I can get some reinforcements,” I snapped.

“Pepper? Is she okay? I need to go check on her!” Lucky shouted as she jumped to her hooves and tried to run past me.

“She’s fine, you know I wouldn’t let anything happen to any of you. Get yourself cleaned up before you go see her though, you reek,” I said, blocking her path.

“Is it that bad?” she whispered.

“Yes,” Cheryl answered, already opening the window. Whether to air out the room or to allow her to get to Tzu faster I didn’t know. ‘Probably both.’

“Cheryl, get me Tzu. I want him here ten minutes ago,” I ordered, but Cheryl was already out the window. I went back to the lobby to check on Luna, it had been less than a minute since I had left her side. She awoke as I placed a hand on her side.

“Jekyll! They tried to kill me!” Luna cried as soon as she saw me.

“Don’t worry, you’re safe now. Cheryl’s on her way to Tzu getting us some new guards,” I was cut off from saying any more by a scream from further into the hotel, “Don’t move, you’ll tear your wounds open.”

I ran towards where the scream had originated from, finding a panicked Lily running towards me. “Thank goodness I found you, Willow’s hurt!”

“All I want for Christmas is a quiet day,” I commented to no one as I shouldered through the door into Willow’s bedroom, finding the, barely alive, remains of Lucky’s youngest daughter. She’d been thoroughly eviscerated, bits of her were all over the room. I set to work immediately, sending tendrils into her bones and copying the marrow to feed fresh blood into her system. I blocked the pain receptors in her brain and began stitching her back together, both of my arms having dissolved into tendrils at the elbow to work as efficiently as possible.

“Can’t breathe,” Willow gasped, as I located her missing lung and began restoring it to semi-working order.

“You don’t need to right now, but you’re going to be okay. I’ve got you.” I ended up needing to make her a new pair of kidneys, as they were to badly damaged to repair.

“Get off of her, monster!” a voice shouted from the doorway.

“Lily if you could keep these idiots away while I save your sister’s life, I’d be quite grateful.”

“That won’t be necessary. Sir, you will return to your room immediately,” Tzu announced, his voice carrying an implied threat. ‘Holy shit, that’s fifty miles, round trip. Cheryl deserves a raise, or to get paid in the first place.’

“Thank goodness, get over here and help me with this,” I commanded the enforcer. With both of us working on Willow, we had her back in one piece in just a few more minutes. One of the Gammas that had accompanied Tzu got to work cleaning the blood off of the walls, and floor, and ceiling, and all of Willow’s possessions. Willow would be a patchwork of scars once she healed fully, but she’d be alive and that was what I cared about.

“Willow!” Lucky screamed as she sprinted into the room and wrapped her hooves around her, currently very fragile, daughter. She looked me in the eyes and sobbed, “Why?”

“Basic enforcer doctrine is to go after food and medicine first, without those the enemy will fall apart on their own. Not like this though, we don’t attack civilians. They targeted Willow because she’s the hotel’s resident nurse,” I answered sadly, feeling responsible for Willow’s condition.

“Never thought anyone would want me dead for helping ponies,” Willow groaned.

“Don’t try to talk, your lungs are in pretty bad shape. Well, your entire body is in pretty bad shape. You’re going to have to be on life support for the next month or so, and you’re going to have some scarring afterwards,” I advised the young mare. I grabbed the nearest Gamma, “You’re on medical duty.”

“That’s the one,” Willow rasped, attempting to shy away from the enforcer.

“No, I killed that one, this Gamma has been in Canterlot all day. Tzu, get a Mike in here, I’ll have one of them handle this,” I said soothingly.

“I can do it,” I heard Cheryl say from the doorway. I nodded and she moved to Willow’s side and connected her tendrils to her patient’s damaged system. Cheryl’s body swelled as she formed surrogate organs for Willow to use while her own healed. Tzu and I disconnected our own tendrils and stepped away, our part in this operation concluded.

“Sir, have you ever worked on a pony this injured before?” Tzu asked curiously.

“Nope, not even close. Nice timing, by the way,” I replied.

“Thank you sir,” Tzu said proudly, “What happened?”

“Dopple got to the Gamma squad, they tried to kill Luna and Pepper too.” The other Gammas bristled at this, their claws forming and lengthening.

“This could pose a serious problem, where are they now?” Tzu growled. I patted where my stomach was supposed to be in response, “Anything useful?”

“Other than that Dopple was in Canterlot? No, they didn’t know anything. But I did learn how they turned traitor, the command gene has been chemically suppressed. They are being forcibly turned against us, and no enforcer is safe,” I told the enforcers, Tzu had to sit down to process this new information.

“How do we get them back?” one of the other Gammas asked, clearly disturbed by the news.

“We’ll have to take out the source. Once the drug works its way out of their systems, they’ll return to the fold. Unfortunately, Dopple is our only lead right now,” I informed the others.

“Sir, is there a risk that you could be affected by this drug?” Tzu asked warily.

“I don’t have the command gene, but I dissolved the rest anyway. You don’t need to worry about me Tzu, but get Sierra division working on a countermeasure anyway. Here’s the formula,” I said, extending a tendril. Tzu accepted it hesitantly before viewing the offered information and relaxing.

“Your cells show no sign of tampering, I’ll take this to Sierra division immediately.”

“Wait, get me three more Gamma squads and a squad of Bravos. I’m putting a leviathan under this bitch,” I ordered. Tzu nodded and took flight out the window.

“Sir, are we in danger of turning against you?” one of the Gammas asked fearfully.

“Not if you stick together and slaughter anything that tries to stick you, Dopple got the others when they were alone,” I answered.

“Jay, I need you to get this bastard. He’s gone after two of my fillies, I can’t forgive that,” Lucky said seriously as she held Willow.

“You didn’t have to ask, they’re my family too,” I answered, just as serious.

“Forget about me? Oh, nevermind. What happened?” Luna asked as she hobbled into the room.

“I was about to send these six to retrieve you,” I said, gesturing to the Gamma squad as I sat against the wall, “This is what happens when a normal pony has to fight an enforcer, nice work by the way.”

“What?”

“You held your own against that rogue enforcer, I think it’s safe to say that you’ve graduated unarmed combat training,” I congratulated, sending a tendril over and removing the biomass from her horn.

“Small victories, I suppose,” Lucky commented idly.

“And one major victory, whoever’s behind all of this isn’t trying to destroy the world,” I added.

“What makes you so sure?” Lucky asked, “They just attacked my world.”

“Dopple couldn’t have invented this drug, someone else gave it to him. If I was the one orchestrating this little rebellion, I’d keep Dopple on a short leash. He’s probably getting daily doses of the suppression drug to keep him loyal, he’s then bound to do whatever they say lest they cut off his supply and force him to face my claws. And since this mysterious puppeteer isn’t made of Blacklight, they can’t have him go viral,” I explained.

“Do you have any suspects for us to interrogate, sir?” one of the Gammas asked, the others nodding their support.

“My immediate thought would be Chelly, she’s got that same way of doing things behind everyone’s back. But Equestria isn’t technologically advanced enough to synthesize this drug. I suspect the minotaurs have something to do with this, perhaps on the supply side. Nothing concrete yet though,” I hypothesized.

“Should we not be finding those responsible for this? Perhaps they can tell us more about this ‘puppeteer,’” Luna asked, concerned.

“The rogue enforcers? I killed them already, that’s how I’ve figured out this much.”

“Truly? They showed exceptional skill when they fought me,” Luna pressed.

“No, they showed exceptional skill compared to you. They’ve been training for a lot longer than you have. I’m well beyond even their capabilities, it was sad from my point of view,” I explained.

“Ya shoulda seen what he did to tha bastard that threatened me. Poor sod never saw it coming,” Pepper added from the hallway as she walked up, her unusual accent thicker than normal.

“Pepper, someday I’m going to figure out where you picked up that accent,” I told the Scottish sounding mare.

“Good luck, even I don’t know,” Lucky commented. We all shared a much needed laugh, more out of necessity than actual humor.

“Jay, I feel the need to lie down. Shall we retire to our room?”

“C’mere Luna, I’m not moving, so you may as well get comfortable,” I ordered the tired alicorn.

“On the floor? That hardly seems proper, perhaps you could have a bed constructed?” Luna suggested, looking at the Gamma squad.

“Just get over here.” Once Luna got herself settled into her normal position under my right arm I snaked a few hundred tendrils under and over her until she was completely cocooned, with only her head sticking out. I added some extra biomass to the cocoon and hardened the outermost layer to act as armor, the inside blistering to be more comfortable. The section of my chest where Luna had rested her head had also blistered, to act as a makeshift pillow.

“I didn’t know it was possible to be comfortable and uncomfortable at the same time,” Luna remarked.

“I’ve been meaning to ask, are you two an item?” Lucky asked hopefully.

“You know I don’t work like that,” I answered dryly.

“Then you’ve adopted her,” Lily guessed.

“I suppose I have. In an innocent little sister, protective big brother kind of way,” I replied.

“Sisterzoned,” Willow croaked.

“Good enough for me. Welcome to the family, princess,” Lucky declared, but Luna was already asleep.

“I almost get offed and get an aunt in the same night? This is too confusing, Imma make some omelets,” Pepper commented as she walked out of the room, presumably to her kitchen.

“Well it’s about time for us to hit the sack as well. You sure about sleeping on the floor like that, Jay?” Lucky asked.

“I’ll be fine, I’m going to try to sleep again tonight,” I said as Lucky and Cheryl helped Willow get situated in her bed.

“Them?” Willow asked weakly, looking at the Gammas that were still in her room.

“Gamma lead, I want two in the hallway, two by the window, and two by the front door. When the others arrive, have them disperse on that model,” I ordered, the Gammas rushed out of the room and into their assigned positions, “How’s that?”

“Better,” Willow muttered as she fell asleep, a nod from Cheryl telling me that this was not a coincidence. Lucky climbed into bed next to the injured Willow and followed her example shortly after, leaving Cheryl and I the only conscious individuals in the room. I closed my eyes and let my mind wander, finding sleep a few minutes later.

Everything was on fire, Canterlot lay in ruins at the base of the mountain it had been perched on for so many years. Ponies, griffons and minotaurs ran for what little shelter remained, all the while chased by groups of enforcers until Abaddon’s tusks and feet came crashing down on all of them. I was there, standing atop Abaddon, scowling at the different groups as they attempted to flee. Then there was another Abaddon, this one with a twisted mockery of a gryphon laughing on its back. One of Dopple’s wings was missing, the other was pushed to the center of his back by a clawed arm growing out of his side. His beak split vertically as he bellowed his shrieking laughter. The left side of his head was swollen and contained a myriad of eyes, all looking in different directions.

“Jay?” Luna asked from my side. I awoke with a start, my movement causing Luna to wake up as well.

“That was you, wasn’t it?” I asked, remembering what Luna had told me about her ability to influence dreams.

“I saw everything, my nightmares seem tame by comparison.” She shuddered. “But I am left with questions. Do you fear that Dopple will become an evil version of yourself, or that you will turn into a more evil version of Dopple?”

“Both. I’m afraid of what Dopple will do if I can’t stop him, and of what I’ll have to do to take him down,” I answered honestly.

“You’re not a monster, Jay. You don’t need to be afraid of yourself.”

“I lay the blame on Chelly, but she isn’t the one who killed off the last Equestrian army. I’m the only being on the planet that holds that title. Looking back on my life, it’s clear that I’m always one bad day away from becoming a monster.”

“I don’t believe you,” Cheryl said quietly from her position next to a sleeping Willow, Lucky must have left at some point while I was asleep.

“Really? Take a look at yourself. You’re a Mike, the physically weakest class of enforcer. Name one non-Blacklight creature on this world that could harm you,” I countered.

“I cannot. But as you pointed out, I’m a Mike, a messenger. You created us to watch over your friends and warn you before they could come to harm, these are not the motivations of a monster. Lord Jekyll, I must confess something to you, I have been corrupted with the suppression drug.” Willow shot awake and tried to get away from the rogue enforcer, reaching the end of her life support tendrils and being forced to stop.

“What?” I hissed dangerously, claws and blades forming on new limbs as Luna’s cocoon grew to cover her head.

“Please do not be alarmed, I remain loyal to you. But now it is by my own choice. As you pointed out, the drug only affects our compulsion to follow your orders, it does not affect our minds in any other way. By my understanding, most enforcers that have been dosed with the drug have not shown any sign that it is present in their systems at all, although they, like myself, have hidden this information out of shame,” Cheryl continued.

“How long?” I asked.

“I was attacked by another Mike shortly before you returned from building the leviathan Abaddon, that was when I decided to use female pronouns,” she answered, I removed the covering from Luna’s head and retracted my weapons.

“Anything else you’re not telling me?” I asked tersely, still not comfortable with having a rogue enforcer connected to a member of my adopted family.

“Your analysis of the drug was not completely accurate, many enforcers will not return to your service once the drug has left their system. A sufficient dose can destroy the command gene completely, I was injected with more than enough to result in this,” she responded, Willow was still straining against the life support tendrils.

“Relax, Willow. She’s not going to hurt you, she’s your cousin after all,” I said with a glare at Cheryl, “Right?”

“Absolutely. Thank you for being so understanding about this, sir,” Cheryl replied happily.

“You are being very open minded, Jay,” Luna pointed out.

“Less than you think. Gamma, keep an eye on Cheryl at all times, but do not engage without clear evidence of sedition. Cheryl, I’m choosing to trust you, don’t make me regret it. I believe you know what I’ll do if you follow the example of that Gamma squad,” I warned.

“Can I call you dad?” ‘The fuck?’

“I-wha-if you want to, I guess,” I stammered, having been caught completely off guard by the enforcer’s question.

“Thanks dad.”

“Thank you for revealing all of this, especially since you did it in an attempt to distract me from my self loathing,” I countered.

“It seems I failed, then,” Cheryl said sheepishly.

“No, you accomplished your mission. I have a lot more important things to focus on now,” I replied. Lucky prevented Cheryl from saying anything else by striding purposefully into the room and kissing the rogue enforcer onto the bed.

“Thank you,” Lucky gasped after a full minute of making out with Cheryl, during which Luna began to get a bit twitchy in her cocoon.

“Hey Cheryl, do you know how Dopple managed to drug every enforcer that was sent here in the second wave?” I asked.

“As I understand it, we were all corrupted at different times. I have to assume your famous luck is responsible,” Cheryl replied

“Is it weird that I find that soothing?” I asked the room, I didn’t receive an answer.

“Jay, is it necessary for this pod-thing to be like this?” Luna asked quietly after a moment.

“Sorry, I designed that cocoon to carry someone through a particularly rough area. I hadn’t thought about how uncomfortable it must be to sleep in,” I apologized, thinking that she meant that it was uncomfortable.

“It isn’t uncomfortable, per se. It’s just that between those two and the fact that your tendrils are everywhere...” Luna whispered, letting her sentence trail off. My eyes widened, the last occupant of that type of cocoon had required a catheter. I had formed it from memory without thinking about the specifics.

“Shit, sorry, the last person I carried in a cocoon like this was an invalid,” I whispered back, withdrawing the offending tendril as gently as possible, “Why didn’t you say anything last night?”

“I did, and I’ve gotten used to that one. Could you free my legs though?” Luna requested. I peeled the cocoon away from her legs, which began to shiver in the comparatively cold room, “I meant inside the pod.”

“Okay?” I said as I shifted the design of the cocoon to be more cylindrical and less like a rough outline of its occupant.

“And a little more room to move, please?” I reduced the swelling in the blister-cushions accordingly. “Much better, thank you.”

“I still don’t get what you were saying before,” I commented.

“I wouldn’t worry about it too much. How long must I stay in this pod?” Luna asked, pushing the conversation away from my line of questions. Lucky had returned her attention to Cheryl’s mouth with renewed force, Willow’s face said that this was just another Tuesday to her.

“Just tell me when you want out and I’ll pop it open. Lucky, if you want to be that enthusiastic with Cheryl, there should be some Bravos standing around somewhere that can handle Willow’s life support,” I suggested to the pair. Lucky sprang up from her position on the rogue enforcer and ran out the door. ‘Predictable as always.’

“I assume mom told you about her stallion troubles,” Willow guessed, much stronger than the night before.

“She said she was lonely,” I replied.

“She’s going to need more than she let on. Her problem isn’t getting a stallion into her bed, it’s that she just cries on them until they leave,” Willow revealed, I had suspected something like that.

“My enforcers, even the rogue ones, aren’t stupid, Cheryl’s capable of a lot more than providing life support and carrying messages. Lucky’s in good hands, don’t worry,” I said reassuringly.

“I wouldn’t be a good daughter if I didn’t worry,” Willow pointed out.

“That’s my job,” Lucky said as she walked back into the room with a new enforcer in tow, granting me my first glimpse of the enforcers of Bravo division. They had smaller torsos and heads than the others but their arms were considerably larger, making it look like a gorilla on steroids. The eight legs broke the illusion a bit though. ‘That’s odd, they don’t follow the image I gave Tzu at all.’

“Interesting look, I assume the legs are for stability while working on larger projects?” I asked the new arrival.

“Yes, sir. And the arms provide a more readily available position for tendrils and biomass to be stored,” the Bravo answered.

“With space for additional biomass to be stored at the base of your legs, thereby lowering your center of gravity for even more stability,” I assumed.

“Correct, sir. Sierra division is responsible for our nonstandard appearance.”

“Function over form, I like it,” I said, considering the conversation concluded.

“Jay, can you move without dissolving this pod?” Luna asked curiously.

“I could fly like this, Lu. If the cocoon was closed you wouldn’t even know,” I answered.

“Excellent, let’s go swimming again,” Luna said enthusiastically.

“You want to go swimming, while injured and bleeding? That’s a terrible idea.”

“Not if I’m in this pod. If it’s half as durable as yourself, then I have nothing to fear from the creatures of the deep,” Luna pointed out.

“So what you really want is to go diving again. I suppose with the added mass from those idiots last night, I could overpower the buoyancy of the cocoon. Alright, watch your head,” I replied before shifting my form into that of a large centipede, with Luna’s cocoon at the center.

We got plenty of stares as we exited the hotel, at which point I shifted my form again. This time with Luna standing vertically and my legs positioned at the foot of the cocoon, I grew my normal head out of the material next to Luna’s. I used the same method of providing her oxygen as last time once we were in the water. Using the set of crablike legs I had opted for, we reached the coral reef within a few minutes.

Luna prodded at the interior of the cocoon to tell me which direction to go for a while before attempting to talk to me through the regulator, resulting in a muffled humming sound. In response, I expanded the open space by her mouth and added an ear to the inside of the chamber.

“Thank you, could we go even deeper. I think I see a cliff up ahead.” I wrapped another tendril around her ears, pulling the water out and adding a small mouth in each one.

“It’s called a drop off. Yeah, you don’t need to worry about the pressure inside the cocoon. If we get too deep, I’ll have to close the pod around your head though.”

“Will I still be able to see?” she asked.

“I can make the cocoon semi-transparent, you’ll only be able to see the general shape of things unless I’m right up on them,” I answered, “That also sacrifices durability and defense, so I wouldn’t suggest getting that deep.”

“Let’s see how far we can go without crossing that point, I don’t see much point in exploring if you can’t see anything,” Luna requested. I proceeded up to the edge of the drop off and twisted until we were facing straight down before continuing on my path.

“Comfy?” I asked my passenger.

“It could be better, would it be possible to fill this chamber with water? I believe that would take the weight off my knees.”

“I’ll have to filter it first, there are some nasty critters in the ocean,” I replied, already filling the cocoon with clean water. I felt Luna float to the ‘top’ shortly after.

“Much better,” Luna said gratefully.

“Not used to being on your knees?” I teased.

“I know you’re mocking me, but I don’t understand what being on my knees has to do with anything,” she asked confused.

“Think about the proportions of my typical body, where would you be if you were kneeling in front of me?” I countered.

Well, that would put my face, oh. I get it now,” Luna said, her face heating up under the tendril. We reached the bottom of the drop off with a hundred meters or so until I would have to close Luna’s cocoon. We had landed next to the decayed wreckage of a sunken trade ship, only now visible in the low light.

“You have the best luck, did you know that?”

“How fascinating, though I hope the crew made it to shore,” Luna said in awe.

“I doubt it, the current is flowing away from the open ocean. This vessel went down miles out to sea,” I replied. We entered the ship through a hole in the side of the hull, I noticed metal shavings embedded in the wood. Gryphon warships had metal rams on their bows, but I didn’t know of any naval conflicts between Equestria and the gryphons.

“Oh, dear. It seems you were right, there’s a skeleton against that wall,” Luna announced sadly.

“You see those cracks in its skull? This vessel was attacked, by gryphons from the look of it. Those are beak marks,” I concluded.

“Pirates?”

“No, there are metal shavings in the breach. Gryphon warships are the only ones who use such brutal tactics for naval warfare.”

“You’re sure?”

“Yes, the caribou and zebras don’t use navies. If the minotaurs or other ponies were responsible, there would be scorch marks from either flame spells or explosives. Gryphons prefer to attach their ships to the enemy and engage them in melee combat, where they hold the advantage,” I clarified.

“Do we have anything to defend ourselves against them at sea?” Luna asked, understanding the gravity of this discovery.

“Not yet. But this was a civilian vessel, they wouldn’t have any weapons anyway. This is the kind of shit that pisses me off, you don’t target civilians. I’m going to go Norwegian on these assholes,” I declared angrily, “Let’s get back to shore, I need to talk to the Bravos.”

“What does that mean? What are you going to do?”

“I’m going to release the fuckmothering Kraken,” I declared, already leaving the wreckage.

As we passed the coral reef on our way back, I felt Luna start twitching again. I turned my full attention to her cocoon, fearing that I had gone too fast and given her the bends. A low hum left her mouth before I could say anything however, causing me to take a closer look at her movements.

“Are you fucking serious?” I demanded.

“I, uh, don’t know what you’re talking about,” Luna stammered defensively.

“Getting off on skeletons? Looking to get boned, are you?”

“NO, I just, look Jay, I don’t think my interest in you is much of a secret. Between watching Lucky and Cheryl earlier and seeing you take charge a moment ago, I kind of got swept up in it for a moment. I didn’t think you’d notice,” Luna explained, embarrassed. I sighed and took a moment while I watched the bubbles float to the surface.

“I don’t believe you. You knew that I can feel when you move and some part of you wanted me to catch you. As for your feelings towards me, my biology doesn’t allow me to share them. If you ask me to be with you, I will, but there won’t be anything behind it,” I responded, Luna hung her head in sorrow.

“Could you remove this thing from my face for a moment, please?” Luna requested.

I released the tendril from her face while watching her for any attempt to drown herself. My concerns turned out to be unfounded as her head immediately spun towards me and she pressed her lips against mine. When she deepened the kiss and didn’t show any sign of stopping I began using my mouth as a regulator to feed her oxygen. When she decided she was finished exploring my mouth I placed the regulator tendril back over her’s.

“Thank you. I won’t force you to be my coltfriend, but may we remain friends?” Luna asked hopefully.

“That was never in danger,” I answered easily, Luna released a relieved sigh.

“Out of curiosity, if you were capable of romantic thoughts, would you be interested in me?” Luna inquired.

“Nah, I’d probably be balls deep in Lily. That bitch is hot,” I teased.

“If I were not restrained so, I’d smack you for that.” I felt a hoof slap the inside if the cocoon weakly. ”There, take that.” Another weak slap. “And that.” I just laughed.

“Joking, I’ve known Lily since she was shorter than my knee. I couldn’t do that, Lucky though,” I continued.

“Lucky would just cry on you,” Luna countered.

“Fair point, maybe Chelly?” I postulated.

“As uncomfortable as it is for me to think of my sister like that, my only comment would be about strange bedfellows.”

“One of the enforcers?”

“Incest, they’re basically your children.”

“Twilight? Or one of the others?”

“You run into the same problem Tia and I have with normal ponies, they are so young, compared to us, that it feels like pedophilia.”

“Well that narrows the field considerably. So I need an immortal then. What about Caddy?”

“Who?”

“Cadance, or Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, the princess of love.”

“I know of Cadence, but I haven’t met her yet. By my understanding she is still a filly.”

“She’s engaged to Twilight’s brother,” I pointed out.

“Then it is a moot point, she’s taken.”

“True, but that only leaves one other immortal. I suppose you’re the only eligible bachelorette that doesn’t want me dead.”

“Such a terrible situation you find yourself in. Only one mare in the whole world that you could call your own, but your own body betrays you into not being able to make it happen,” Luna commented, I felt her ears try to droop sadly when they hit the edge of the tendril.

“I don’t know how to feel about that. I’ll talk to Sierra division, see if they can figure something out. It’s part of their job to figure out how to remove my limitations.” I paused, both in speech and in my movement. “Luna can I be completely honest with you?”

“Of course, Jay. What’s on your mind?” Luna asked, her eyes full of concern at the shift in my tone.

“Part of it is being down here, part of it is our conversation, but I’m lonely. I have been for so very long, that’s the real reason I made sure you were purged of being Nightmare Moon, that’s the real reason I approached you that night. Sure, I have friends and adopt whole families, but it’s always so fleeting. They’re dead and buried in what feels like a blink at this point. I thought about killing myself until I realized that it would release all of the Redlight in my system, I can’t even join my friends in death without taking the rest of the world with me. Sorry, this is supposed to be a vacation, not a time for me to whine about my problems,” I confessed.

“That is the kind of loneliness that caused me to become the Nightmare. That’s your real fear isn’t it, following the same path that led me into darkness. That nightmare wasn’t about the future, it’s what the past could have been,” Luna inferred.

“I don’t know about the dream, but yeah.” I said, “Listen, I need you to promise me that if I ever go crazy, you’ll find a way to stop me from hurting anyone.”

“I promise, though I doubt it will come to that. As Celestia is the day and I am the night, you are the shadow. You are the being of darkness that craves the light. So long as you never lose that, you will never succumb to your loneliness. Having me around won’t hurt either,” Luna said elegantly.

“Thank you, but I believe the saying is that poetry is the fastest way to a mare’s heart,” I joked. Luna started twitching again, “Okay, what the literal fuck?”

“You deal with your frustrations with humor, this is how I’m dealing with mine. Considering you’re the cause of them, you don’t get to judge me,” Luna declared. ‘Someday these ponies are going to have to stop distracting me from my problems.’

“Whatever, if you’re comfortable diddling yourself on a crowded beach, that’s your prerogative.”

“Oh hush, who’s going to know?”

“Everyone if you start moaning.” Luna paused.

“Is that common? I’ve never actually done this before.”

“Really? You’re masturbating for the first time in your life just to mess with me?”

“Actually it’s because this is the first time I’ve had any semblance of privacy, messing with you is just a bonus.” I turned around and started walking back towards the reef.

“Fuck it, I’m not surfacing until you’re capable of not embarrassing yourself.”

“You’re a good friend Jay.” Luna’s covered muzzle pressed against the side of my head. “Right, could I kiss you again please?”

“Go fuck yourself.” This time I formed a copy of my usual mouth on the inside of Luna’s regulator and initiated the kiss myself. Luna calmed down a few minutes later and attempted to pull away from the tendril that was attached to her face, I took this as a sign to return the regulator to its prior state.

“Feel better?” I asked.

“No, I feel sore and more frustrated than I was before,” Luna bemoaned.

“Wow, that’s depressing. I’m taking you to Lucky, she’ll set you straight.”

“What! No. Jay, don’t you dare tell anyone about this,” Luna protested. I ignored her protests all the way to Lucky’s bedroom, where I entered without knocking. Again.

“Hey Cheryl, I need to borrow Lucky for a moment.” Luna was a deep shade of scarlet at the scene inside the room.

“Jay I swear on Luna’s plot, learn to fucking knock on the damn door,” Lucky scolded.

“If you got out from under Cheryl you’d notice that Luna is here too,” I pointed out, separating myself from Luna’s cocoon and assuming my normal form. Lucky shot out from under her rogue enforcer and attempted to look natural.

“Jay, Princess, what can I do for the two of you on this fine day?” Lucky asked with false cheer.

“I need you to teach Luna a few things, like how to masturbate, why it’s impolite to do so while inside of someone else,” the temperature of the water inside the pod rose a few degrees, “and not to pee on people.”

“Jay, I love you like a brother and you know I’d normally ask why you would ask me for this, but in this case I think not knowing is way funnier,” Lucky replied, an innocent smile on her face.

“Great, I’ll pick her up in an hour,” I said as I set the cocoon down against the wall and detached myself from it before leaving, making sure to close the door behind me.

“Jay, you can’t just leave me here!” I heard Luna shout as I walked away.

I found a Gamma and asked where the Bravos were waiting. I was directed to my room, the last place I would have thought to look.

“Bravo squad, with me,” I said conversationally as I walked past my room.

“Sir?” one of the Bravos said as they fell into step behind me.

“You’re going to have a busy day, I want at least two leviathans by morning. One of the normal variety under the hotel, and the others are going to be a custom job,” I explained.

“Your specifications, sir?”

“Sea creature, designation is going to be Kraken. I want them able to be confused for a squid, but large enough to crush any warship. They’ll be taking the place of our navy, so treat them like any other class of enforcer. Squads of six,” I continued.

“Understood sir, shall we contact Tzu for the required biomatter?” another Bravo asked.

“Yes, consider that standard procedure now. Have the Krakens you make shadow Equestrian trade ships, make sure they don’t run into any problems. They are permitted to carry wounded ships to the shore. I’m also placing a kill order on any gryphon warships near the coast, I’ve seen evidence that they’re targeting civilians,” I ordered, the Bravos seethed at this. Even our loose codes of combat forbade the killing of civilians, much less the targeting of them. And we had a nasty habit of forcing these values on others.

“They will find no mercy in these waters,” the first Bravo declared before the whole group turned towards the nearest exit. ‘That was badass, I’ll need to give that one a name. Maybe Quint?’ I continued my wandering path around the hotel for the next hour before making my way back to Lucky’s room.

“Are you educated now?” I asked Luna, once again I hadn’t knocked before opening the door. Luna’s eyes were glued to Lucky, who had ignored my entrance and continued her lecture.

“And that is why you don’t pee on people unless they’re into it. Nice timing, Jay,” Lucky concluded.

“Thanks, how did it go?” I asked again.

“She was very thorough,” Luna said dumbly.

“I didn’t bring you here on accident, Lucky’s taught this class at least nine times now,” I pointed out, Lucky just nodded sagely.

“Twelve actually, counting this one,” Lucky corrected.

“Who were the other three? Nevermind, I don’t want to know,” I asked, instantly regretting it.

“Well two of them were fillies I caught fooling around in the laundry room, not at the same time of course. The third was a friend of yours, Jay. Let’s just say that a certain princess learned her trade during Pepper’s fillyfooler stage,” Lucky explained, heedless of my protests.

“Caddy and Pepper? Bet that was an odd sight,” I commented, making a note to ask Cadence about it the next time I saw her.

“Not really, she still sneaks mares into the kitchen sometimes, I accidentally wander in on them a couple times a week,” Lucky replied.

“It isn’t a phase if it’s still going after ten years,” I pointed out.

“How’s she supposed to give me grandfoals without a stallion?” Lucky countered.

“Just let her be happy you menace. Lily’s getting married, go badger her about grandfoals,” I ordered.

“I’m not one of your whatsits Jay, I’ll do whatever I damn well please.”

“Cheryl, do me a favor and put something in Lucky’s mouth so she’ll stop being a bitch,” I said, grabbing Luna’s cocoon and walking out.

“I couldn’t look away,” Luna whimpered. I noticed the cocoon she was trapped in was cracked near her neck, “Everything she said ended with ‘unless they’re into it.’ What does that even mean?”

“You’ll be fine, but how did you crack the pod? This thing could take a mountain falling on it in stride,” I asked.

“It broke the cocoon trying to get a toy in here with me,” Luna answered.

“Cheryl?”

“Lucky.”

“Shit, that’s impressive. Never underestimate a determined earth pony,” I commented idly.

“I’m not convinced that was an earth pony, she succeeded,” Luna countered, her eyes wide.

“No kidding? I’ll need to reinforce the neck area then,” I said in awe.

“May I keep this shell? I don’t think I’ll feel safe without it. At least until we return to Canterlot, where it’s safe,” Luna requested meekly.

“It’s yours, I’ll make it into a bioform so you can get in and out whenever you want,” I offered, granting the cocoon enough sentience to accept Luna’s commands as I spoke.

“Thank you, but that leaves the issue of this thing floating around in the pod. Perhaps we should head outside so you can drain the pod and get this thing out of here,” Luna suggested, returning to her old self now that there was some distance between her and Lucky.

“I’ll just drain the water out the window. Our room will be the second most defended place on the planet by morning, so that’s where we’re going. I’ve got half a mind to have Abaddon march his titanic ass over here tomorrow, then it would be the safest place to be,” I declared.

“What would that change?” Luna asked.

“Leviathans are immune to the suppression drug by virtue of their size, I trust them more than anyone else right now. There should be a leviathan under this hotel soon, if it isn’t there already. And the only thing more dangerous than one leviathan is two leviathans, we’ll have seven by the end of the week. Eight if I park Abaddon in our backyard,” I answered.

“If your leviathans are your most trusted units, then it wouldn’t make sense to keep Abaddon away. If Dopple lays siege to the hotel, we would need his strength to break them. Too many lives are on the line to not take every precaution,” Luna noted.

“Good point,” I said, turning my head towards the nearest window as I walked, “Gamma, go back to Canterlot and have Abaddon and Tzu relocate to the beach behind the hotel.”

A shadow darting away informed me that I had guessed correctly. Luna looked at me suspiciously, “Do you just order the air around and assume that things will happen?”

“Basically. I make educated guesses based on the psychology of the different types of enforcers and give my orders to where I think they are, I’m right more often than not,” I explained.

“You’re making that up,” Luna accused.

“Care to make a wager? If Abaddon is here by morning, you have to keep that toy Lucky gave you. If he’s not I’ll be your coltfriend, with everything that entails. Dates and all. You in?” I offered, suppressing a confident smile.

“You’d do that? Alright, I’ll take your bet,” Luna said. Her hoof bumped into the side of her cocoon, evidently she had tried to shake on the wager.

“I hope you like your new friend,” I commented.

“Do you know something that I don’t?”

“I saw a Gamma fly off.”

“Fuck.”

“Rather unprincessly language there, Lu.”

“Am I wearing a crown? I’m not a princess right now, I’m a pony on vacation and I can talk however I want. I’m also turning into a raisin in here, so could you please just get the water out of this thing,” Luna demanded. I opened the door to our room and set Luna on the bed before sending a tendril out the window and pumping the water out of the cocoon.

“Better?” I asked.

“Not yet, I still need to air out and dry off,” Luna said, I cracked the cocoon open and a shriveled mockery of Luna climbed out, “Not a word.” ‘Someone just earned a new nickname. World, meet Pruna.’

“I didn’t say anything.”

“Not. A. Word,” she repeated. I chose to remain silent as I disconnected myself from the cocoon and rested it against the wall to dry. Luna walked around the bed and laid down on the other side, allowing to see the large black dildo in her telekinetic grasp. I stumbled out of the room and collapsed in the hallway, my form dissolving into a mass of tendrils as I laughed.

Once I had composed myself, ten minutes later, I walked back into the room to find Luna and her gift in the same position as when I had left.

“This cannot be accurate,” she stated, I almost lost it again.

“Please put that thing away, I’ve already laughed myself into a pile once,” I managed.

“Oh?” Luna asked, placing the toy in a drawer.

“I lost control of my shape and reverted to my ‘true’ form, a mass of writhing tendrils and bad ideas,” I explained. Luna fidgeted at the word ‘writhing.’

“Do you have anything you need to do? Lucky’s demonstrations have left me a bit bothered,” Luna asked, causing me to become concerned for the mental health of Lucky’s children. I tossed the cocoon on the bed next to Luna and laid down on the other side.

“Nope, I took care of everything already. The pod is pretty soundproof if you’re looking for some privacy,” I said, “I’m going to try to sleep again, see if I can get some inspiration from that nightmare. Silver linings and all that.”

I closed my eyes and attempted to get some sleep, I heard the cocoon close shortly after. I didn’t manage to fall asleep, however I pretended that I was to preserve Luna’s illusion of privacy. I heard snoring after a few more minutes and got up to check on the Gamma squads. I didn’t need to, but the room smelled horrendous to my powerful nose.

Abaddon and Tzu arrived during the night, as predicted. I told Tzu about the wreckage Luna and I had found and warned the enforcers about the risk of being attacked and drugged by their fellows. I also told them that they should be proud of their comrades that had remained loyal despite having their command genes suppressed or destroyed.

Over the next few days Tzu taught Luna everything he could about large and small scale tactics while she healed from her brush with the rogue Gamma. Once she was able to, Tzu and I oversaw her combat training with magic and her weapons of choice. She eventually settled on using Nightbane and a pair of swords the Bravos made for her, within a month she was capable enough to keep three Gammas from landing a single blow. I declared her training a success at that milestone and congratulated her on learning so quickly, she responded by saying that it was a simple matter of adapting her dueling training to fit the number of opponents.

We spent another week at the beach, though we had moved onto Abaddon for safety reasons, to celebrate the conclusion of Luna’s training and just to have a period of inactivity. We were surrounded by leviathans and loyal enforcers and we both knew it would probably be our last moment of peace for a long time. However, a fateful encounter in Canterlot was setting the stage for some interesting times once we returned to our lives.

Author's Notes:

I had a ton of fun writing this chapter, awkward situations are my kryptonite.

Any similarities to actual people, alive or dead, is purely coincidental. I am definitely not basing side characters off of my crazy ass friends.

I made sure to throw in as many red herrings as actual bits of foreshadowing, just to keep you guessing.

I would also like to point out that the rom-com between Jekyll and Luna (I hesitate to describe it as shipping, for already described reasons) was not planned, nor does it exist anywhere in my outline. It just kind of happened during the part in chapter 5 that I wrote drunk, and has stuck around since.

That's all for now, Have A Nice Day.