Thomas was greatly enjoying the way time moved in the dream world. By his reckoning, about four or five hours had passed since this reenactment of Jak and Daxter had started, and he was feeling absolutely spiffy. He wasn’t tired, hungry, or exhausted. Feats of total exertion would only leave him winded for a couple minutes, after which he’d be right as rain. The other players were in the same boat, infused with massive amounts of phantom energy just waiting to be put to good use on the next leg of their journey.

The air stank of rotten eggs and hot coals as they neared the edge of the canyon. Most of the ladies covered their noses, except for Honey who was used to smelling worse and Thomas who was too busy enjoying the heat. It was nothing at all like being next to lava, but more like being just close enough to a fire pit that the warmth washed over his entire body.

“Great,” Kiera cheered as they neared the zoomer on the edge of the fire canyon. She stepped around from behind it, idly cleaning the grease from her hands with a rag. “You’ve got enough cells to… oh.” She went bug-eyed at the sight of so much bare, luscious, female flesh. Cheeks tinted a hot pink; she averted her eyes and rubbed the back of her head.

Said women, after seeing such a reaction, were all too happy to flaunt their stuff, striking various alluring poses as the young woman eventually lost the will to look away. Even Thomas had to admit his appreciation for how far his friends were going in their lewd little show as his loose pants became tighter.

“Uh, I see you guys decided to go commando again, heh-heh,” Kiera laughed nervously, trying to keep her attention on the zoomer and not on crawling over the supple, shapely bodies before her.

Thomas smirked at the girl’s response. Again meant they’d done this before, at least in this version of the story. However, the men of the village, and even Kiera, were still terribly flustered. It was as if they weren’t used to such open displays, but still expected them. This place, Thomas thought, just keeps getting more and more interesting.

“It was more comfy this way,” Surprise said as she swaggered up to Kiera and pulled her into an almost bone crushing hug. “So great to see you again.”

Kiera inhaled deeply after being set back down. “Same,” she panted as Surprise remained beside her, her eyes repeatedly darting over to the tremendous breasts that seemed to be looming over her shoulder. “Always a pleasure to see you guys.” She paused to sneak a less-than subtle peak of the white woman’s pert nipples and gave her lips an unconscious lick. “Also, there’s something you might want to know.”

“About the mission?” Moonlight asked, trying her best to keep everyone on track.

“Yeah. See, a lot of my previously captured scout flies to the north have been released,” Kiera explained. “They’re back to hunting for power cells, but they’re also sending back reports on recent lurker activity.”

“Good news or bad?” Silver asked.

“Great news!” Kiera’s scratchy voice cheered as she shook her fists in celebration. “Lurker armies are experiencing desertions by the thousands. I’m not sure how word spread so quickly, but not only are they not attacking human settlements anymore, there are confirmed reports of them actually repairing some of the damage they’ve caused, at least along settlement outskirts.”

Moonlight clapped her hands together. “That’s wonderful!”

Her sentiments were shared by the others, all exuberant at the prospect of having helped so many.

“But how’re the po-people handlin’ that?” Honey asked cautiously, the dream correcting her diction. “Ah don’t imagine they’re too keen on old enemies turnin’ nice without explanation.”

“Like I said, they’re sticking to settlement outskirts,” Kira repeated. “They run whenever it looks like the people are getting aggressive, and they’re even holding the bad lurkers at bay to keep them from causing more trouble.”

Silver huffed and crossed her arms under her chest. “Then it would seem our enemy has been deprived of their militia.” Her brow furrowed as she thought. “Surely it was not that simple.”

Kiera gave a forlorn sigh. “I’m afraid you’re right. By my calculations, the lurker armies lost about a fourth of their number, but that still leaves a lot you guys’ll have to deal with.”

“Then we’ll just have to work harder,” Moonlight asserted. “The lurkers we’ve met so far have been pretty receptive to a show of dominance, so maybe we just need to subdue a few more of their alphas and we can get even more desertions.”

“Yay!” Surprise cheered and threw her arms around Kiera from behind, her well-endowed chest wrapping around the smaller, thinner woman. “Let’s show these meanies how much more fun it is to be friendly.”

Kiera smiled and gave Surprise’s arm an affectionate pat. “First thing’s first. You guys gotta take the zoomer,” she gestured with her thumb, “through fire canyon. You should be careful, since the shield’ll only protect your zoomer ‘til it reaches five hundred degrees. Hit five hundred degrees and its,” she snapped her fingers, “over.”

“Let me guess,” Thomas cut in. “You’ve taken precautions to help keep us cool, right?”

“That’s right,” Kiera confirmed with a giggle. “I’ve released several blue cooling balloons into the canyon to keep your zoomer’s temperature low. Oh,” she remembered, overcoming the obvious distraction of a naked woman grinding on her back, “and when you get across, be sure to activate the teleporter gate in the blue sage’s lab. Then the rest of us will be able to teleport over to meet you.”

It was only then that the group looked at the zoomer and noted how there was only one. Then they looked at each other. Silver and Honey looked wary of the strange piece of technology and kept a safe distance. Surprise and Moonlight looked mildly curious, the former more for the glowing parts, but not especially eager to climb on.

“I’ll go,” Thomas volunteered. He was carrying the designated ‘Daxter’, so it was only right. “You guys can give it a try later.”

Kiera giggled. “I figured you would. Strong, silent Thomas likes to let his actions speak for him.” She flexed her arms in a ‘manly’ pose.

“Are you sure it’s safe?” Moonlight asked. She was clearly uncomfortable in looking over the device and not understanding how it worked or if it would provide suitable protection for her mates.

“Come on Moonlight. Do you really think I’d let Thomas ride something without running every safety check in the book?” Kiera asked, earning a smile from the mare. “You’re not the only one with an interest in keeping his butt safe.”

Thomas suddenly coughed, certain he’d just inhaled a bit of ash from the canyon. Luna gave an affectionate pat to the side of his head. He ignored the way the others were laughing at his embarrassment as he threw a leg over the device and mounted. He’d never been much for motorcycles or roller coasters, however, something was definitely happening to him. He gripped the handles and revved the engine, making the machine vibrate beneath him as the propellers turned. His whole body shook and he felt the machine’s power resonate within him. It was exhilarating, but also had the vagueness of the other sensations. He knew it was the dream magic reminding him that this wasn’t real. That said, it was way more real than the PS2 version, or the PS3’s vibrating controls, and that was good enough!

He took off into the canyon. Luna braced herself against his shoulder as they went. She was clinging for dear life, but she was also smiling. There was an immediate spike in heat, but not so much that it was too uncomfortable. It had been a while since the man had driven, but it was fairly easy to get back into the swing of monitoring the dashboard and ‘road’ simultaneously. He swerved, bodily, left and right to avoid obstacles and guide his vehicle. Lurkers and scout flies were absent, but there were still plenty of dark eco boxes to contend with while the cooling balloons provided a refreshing breeze to counter the heat. Blue eco vents provided an exciting boost that made Luna cling all the tighter to his shoulder. He nuzzled her as best he could, knowing he couldn’t speak over the blaring of the engine. It also satisfied his OCD to hit orb boxes, shattering them and hearing that delightful jingle of the currency being added to his inventory.

In no time at all they’d arrived on the other side. A single lurker stood vigilant as Thomas carefully guided the zoomer in to dock at the transpad. After awkwardly watching each other for a few seconds, the lurker stepped back and motioned to several power cells laid out behind him. He gave an affirming grunt, and then departed up the canyon wall.

“Nice to have these guys on our side,” Thomas said as he dismounted and gathered up the offered Precursor items. By his reckoning, these were probably all the orbs and power cells he and the others had missed thus far. “Also, can I confess something?”

Luna nodded. “What bothers you, dearest Thomas.”

“Dearest Thomas is overthinking things again,” he replied and hopped up the ledge. “Is it wrong I’m glad that we still get to fight lurkers? It’s been fun so far, but…”

“Do not worry, my little human,” Luna assured and stroked the top of his head. “If fighting is what you need to relax in this game set in a dream,” she reminded, “then so be it.”

Thomas smiled at her. “Ya know, Silver’s got a point. It’d be fun to have you fun-sized every now and then.”

Luna huffed and turned away, her mood soured. “Easy for you to say. At least you still have working genitalia!”

Thomas slowed his pace as he walked along the familiar trail to the blue sage’s hut at the edge of Rock Village. “You still working on expanding the new place to have more people?”

“That I am,” Luna affirmed, her back to her first true friend in centuries. “The changes have already been made. We need only move forward to investigate.”

“So you’ve got the power to change the whole world at a whim, but-”

“I told you I am NOT a cheater!” Luna growled. “I shant return to mine original form, especially not when it so conflicts with the narrative.”

“And I get that,” Thomas agreed, wanting the placate the little critter before she decided to start biting. “You’re trying to be a good sport about all this. It’s admirable. Really.”

“I sense a ‘but’ coming,” Luna said warily.

Thomas grinned. “Even if you can’t change back completely, why not just go part way? Give yourself the parts to enjoy the same sexual harassment everyone else is.”

Luna’s shoulders slumped and her arms went lax against her fuzzy sides. There was a prolonged moment of silence, save for the sound of Thomas’ feet crunching against the grass. She spun around, meeting Thomas’ gaze with a snarl. “I was aware that I could do so from the very beginning. Is that understood!?”

Thomas laughed.

“I mean it!” Luna insisted. “It was by mine own decision that I went without feminine parts for so long. It was curiosity, NOT negligence!”

“I get it. I get it!” Thomas assured, clutching his sides. “Even pintsized, you’re still the super special awesome gal everyone thinks you are.”

Luna’s ears folded back and her scowl morphed into a concerned frown. “Then, should I admit my lapse, remind the others of my fallibility to keep mineself off of any pedestal?”

Stopping, Thomas sat himself down against the cool stone wall and lifted Luna from his shoulder. Hands under her armpits, he then held her out in front of him as he regarded her. “You really are cute like this.”

The dark fur of Luna’s cheeks was tinted pink as she tried to avert her gaze. “You are just saying that to make me feel better.”

Thomas beamed back and set the little creature down on his knee, looking down at her as his fingers glided down her back. It was so strange to do this for her after all the times she’d done the same with him. He wondered if she found this size reversal equally jarring. “Do you want me to say more?”

Luna fiddled with her fingers. “If you would not mind, I should enjoy hearing your thoughts.”

“You’re Luna,” Thomas began flatly. “We can pretend all we want, but when this is all over and we’re back in the real world, you’re going to go back to towering over all of us.”

Luna sighed. “‘Tis true.”

“You’ll probably never fully escape from that image people hold you to, so you really shouldn’t try.”

Luna blinked and looked up at Thomas, curious of where he was taking this.

“You’re Luna, and everything that comes with it. You’re tall, big in all the best ways, you’ve got the wisdom of the ages, you’re prideful, playful, and everyone with a passing knowledge of history knows you’ve made mistakes.” Thomas paused when Luna flinched. “But that’s just part of what makes you so lovable. I’ll admit, sometimes even I forget there’s more to you than the mask of confidence you like to wear, but it’s nice to remember there’s more, that I’m not the only one who constantly worries about stuff.”

Luna giggled and nuzzled Thomas’ arm.

“There’s just one thing you gotta remember, one feature that, as far as I’m aware, all people everywhere have in common.” He paused, looking into Luna’s eyes as she awaited his next words. “An asshole.”

Luna tried to restrain herself, but inevitably burst out laughing. She’d have fallen backwards if Thomas hadn’t caught her. “You have quite the way with words, my little human.”

Thomas beamed proudly at making his first love smile. “You really in a position to call anyone little?”

Recovering from her mirth, Luna gave Thomas a saucy wink. “Would you like to find out?”

Thomas had to take a moment to think on this. On the one hand, Luna was basically an overgrown weasel devoid of any of the physical qualities he found attractive. Ponies were anthropomorphic and human in all the important ways, but an ottsel was borderline bestiality. On the other hand, she was still Luna on the inside and he was experienced in reading a variety of clop stories. The answer was obvious. “Eh. We’ll see,” he said with a noncommittal shrug.

“Then let us make haste to the gate!” Luna commanded after scurrying back up Thomas’ shoulder and motioning him forward. “The others have been deprived for too long of my glorious touch.”

“There’s that pride we all know and love,” Thomas said as he climbed to his feet.

“Onwards, noble steed!” Luna slapped her tail against Thomas’ back for extra encouragement. “Onwards to adventure and happy endings for all!”

Thomas did as bid and soon emerged into an opening. The smell of the sea instantly wafted into Thomas’ nostrils. It was stronger than at Sentinel beach, more real, but still had that subdued quality to remind him of its fakeness. That smell was mixed with the smoke of many hearths. Someone was probably having barbeque. The dew of the grass felt cool against his toes and he could hear the crash of thunder off in the distance.

The cliff side granted a lovely, if gloomy view of Rock Village, or rather what had become of it. The entirety of the stone walls surrounding the small gulf were covered in buildings. Housing made of stone and wood were connected by layers of scaffolding and ladders, with waterfalls built into the aesthetic. Trees of dark green lined the cliffs and the blimp tethered down over the swamp could be seen from even this distance. Even the top of the ancient Precursor city poking out from the sea floor had a majestic quality about it, the orange metal catching the sheen of each lightning strike. Although damage from the flaming rock bombardment was still evident, the giant lurker responsible for it all was notably absent. It was likely because of this absence that Thomas was able to make out the most surprising sight of all. People, real people had mustered up the courage to exit their homes and walk about the village.

Anxious to get to exploring what this modified level had to offer, Thomas hurried into the blue sage’s three story metal hut. He had to sidestep the debris of turned over book cases, furniture, and broken glass. Looking around, he saw a spiral stairwell leading upward. He smiled, recalling how the game designers had given the hut seemingly three floors on the outside, but no means of reaching the upper two. However, despite his almost overwhelming curiosity, Thomas managed to compose himself and activated the teleporter.

Honey and Samos were the first to come through, with the green woman helping the green old man along. “Thank you Honey,” the green man said, paying no mind to his green student’s nudity. “I don’t think I’ll ever get used to that teleporter tingling sensation.”

“Mah pleasure,” Honey said with a smile, letting go after Samos made it clear he could stand on his own. The other players and Kiera followed shortly after, the former mares still nude as ever.

Moonlight hurried to Thomas’ side and checked him over while the others took in the messy state of the hut’s bottom floor.

“Hey!” Samos gasped as he looked around. “It looks like the blue sage threw a party.”

“Oh my! Rock Village is covered in flaming boulders!” Kiera exclaimed, causing those assembled to tense. “But it looks like they’ve got the fires under control.” She adjusted to look out the telescope, bending over slightly and showing off a bit of plumber’s crack. “Oh. And it looks like the blue sage was working on a levitation machine to move them.”

“How can she tell the machine’s purpose from over here?” Silver asked, earning shrugs of confusion from the others.

“Assuming it’s operational, we’re going to need power cells to fuel it. I guess you six are going to have to find some more,” she said matter-of-factly, smiling at the players.

“We’d better look at his notes,” Samos suggested. “Thomas. You and the other perverts go check on the villagers, then come back and give us an update.” His words earned subdued snickering from those present, much to the old man’s annoyance.

Rather than immediately do as the old man said, the players split to assist in various tasks around the hut. Thomas smiled at the way Honey was now fussing over Samos. It reminded him of himself with his own grandparents, always being the first to volunteer to help them walk up ramps and hold the door. Silver stuck by Kiera and was discussing the Lost Precursor City. Surprise was also helping Samos to clean up the scattered books to help him assess the surrounding areas. Flirtations seemed to be momentarily suspended as everyone was sucked into their various tasks, almost like this hut was a second tutorial level of some sort; or just general pony altruism to help those they considered friends, even if they were fictional.

Although he was impressed by such a display, Thomas decided to pay a visit to the upper floors to see if there was anything worth seeing. Had this been part of the original game, he’d wager there would have been at least a few orbs lying around to reward the player’s curious exploring. Having nothing better to do on the bottom floor, Moonlight went with him.

The second floor looked to be an extension of the blue sage’s lab, with several chemistry sets and machines none of the three could quite figure out. Everything looked mostly in place, suggesting the blue sage’s struggle had been contained on the bottom floor. Thomas ran his hands over the machines, feeling the way the metal was cool in some areas but hot in others.

“Check this out,” Moonlight beckoned. She was holding a book. “History of the Lost Precursor City by Tanner Avadin,” she read aloud and began flipping through the pages. “It looks to be a collection of journals from Avadin’s various expeditions into the city. It details his observations of working and nonworking machines, theories on how it all works, and… Oh. Someone’s been scribbling in the margins.”

Thomas leaned over to read the messy handwriting, having a good idea of to whom it belonged. “I remember the blue sage was working on a way to raise one of the city’s chambers to the surface. I bet he used this book as a reference.”

Moonlight beamed. “Do you think there’s a way to include something like this in ‘Lotus Blossom?’”

Thomas smiled back and wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her close. He was gladdened to hear that his favorite unicorn was still looking for inspiration for their book. “Having a story within the story helps a lot with world building. Makes the story seem like a place that could really exist, but we should be careful about adding too much clutter.”

“Right. Right.” Moonlight nodded, continuing to flip through the pages.

Thomas left his girl to her reading as he ruminated on what he’d just said. More than seeing the expanded village and all those people, somehow that little book had done so much to help build this world in his mind. There were people who came before, people whose lives had impacted others and left lasting imprints. It was electrifying to think about.

The top floor was the blue sage’s bedroom, but even here there were tables with half-finished machines, haphazardly stacked books, and a number of Precursor items. There were also the orbs Thomas had hoped for. But then he noticed something was off.

“You’ve been awful quiet,” he said to Luna.

She smiled down at him. “Moonlight is not the only one who likes to watch.”

Thomas made a face at Luna’s peculiar remark. “Please tell me there’s a context to that.”

Luna giggled. “You love telling stories. Even if they are not your own, you still love the act of sharing, and I love to listen. This time, however, the story is one you tell by living it, and you are clearly enjoying it.”

Thomas laughed softly. “I’m enjoying playing a game with my best friends. It’s not as much fun if you aren’t playing, too.”

Luna scratched at her chin. “Very well. I will endeavor to be more proactive in future events.”

With the hut fully explored and Samos and Kiera having offered final suggestions for places to check out, the party was off to begin their exploration. Rather than a series of cliff steps that would have been rather tricky for an old man to traverse, even if he was a sage who could fly, the path to the village was bridged with actual steps built into the rock face. That probably helped a lot in maintaining communication with the sage and the people. The village itself was a massive, sprawling place with the people traversing the scaffolding reminding Thomas of an ant farm.

“Hello! Excuse me.” A woman waved the group over. She was dressed in a red vest, white undershirt, brown pants, and a maroon hat similar to that of the mayor from Sandover. Her skin had a healthy tan and her lips were a luscious red, reminding Thomas of the geologist. “Can I help you with-er, something?” She stammered after noticing the nudity of the female players, something they were all too happy to exploit with sexy poses.

“I was about to ask you the same thing,” Thomas replied. Deciding he was the most normal looking person here, he stepped up as the group’s representative. The woman looked relieved to talk to someone who knew how to dress themselves. “Name’s Thomas. My friends and I are adventurers.”

“Adventurers? That’s great,” the woman cheered. “I’m Celine, mayor of Rock Village, and it saddens me to admit we’re in quite a state.”

Thomas had to fight the smile from growing on his face at meeting the new character. After learning a bit more about Tanner, he couldn’t wait to see what this new girl had to offer. “Whatever you need, we’re here to help.”

“Wonderful news,” Celine sighed gratefully. “Not too long ago, this massive lurker began a vicious bombardment of our fare village. Our warriors attempted to fight him off, but they were all beaten back. The lurker’s gone now, but we’re still dealing with the collateral damage.” Celine paused to look over Thomas’ shoulder at the nude women. “Are your friends aware that they’re, um, naked?”

“Hey! I’m not naked!” Surprise protested and held out her hand. “See? I’m wearing a glove.”

The other players laughed their amusement and indicated their own articles of clothing that covered up nothing of importance, but still technically exempted them from the label of full nudity.

“I’m not naked, either,” Luna added and adjusted her tiara.

“Gah!” Celine jumped back. “Th-that thing can talk!”

Luna flinched as if physically struck.

Thomas frowned and folded his arms. No one talked to Luna like that on his watch. “That thing,” he stressed, not seeing the way the others were now attempting to restrain and calm Silver, “happens to be a hyper-evolved entity that is commonly worshiped as a goddess where we’re from.” And where you’re from, for that matter.

Silver nodded her silent approval, her temper eased.

Celine flinched back, her political instincts kicking in. “I… I beg your forgiveness, dear lady.” She gave a small, yet gracious bow. “I assure you I meant no offense.”

“None taken,” Luna said with a dismissive wave. However, just as Celine was starting to relax, the ottsel turned around on Thomas’ shoulder, bent over, and flipped her tail up. “That is, if you are willing to offer an apologetic kiss.”

Thomas chuckled at seeing how Luna made good on her word in restoring herself.

Celine gulped nervously. It was impossible not to stare at the puckered white star resting between the two grassy hills, or the red, glistening slit that almost seemed to be calling her forward. “Do I,” she gulped again, “have to?”

“The better question is,” Luna gave her rump an enticing wiggle, “do you want to?”

Thomas was gladdened to see Luna’s more playful side. She so rarely brought it out in the presence of strangers.

Wetting her dry lips, Celine stepped forward, her eyes glassy, and leaned in close, giving her answer. For a moment she hesitated, uncertain of where exactly to place the kiss as the creature’s butt fur tickled her cheeks. For whatever reason, she decided to plant her lips on the puckered star. Luna shook with giddy excitement, barely able to restrain her laughter. Celine lingered for a solid three seconds before making a loud “mwah!” when the kiss ended.

The sight of not-Daxter having her ass literally being kissed by a politician was surreal enough as Thomas’ face split in a silly grin. However, he soon became aware that their little show was much less than private. Taking the lack of attack as a sign of safety, villagers had begun poking out from various hiding places, only to stumble at the turn of events. They watched with expressions ranging from curiosity, to anger, and even to a few cases of interest.

“Th-there!” Celine gasped, giving her lips an involuntary lick. Her cheeks and the tips of her ears were almost as red as her lips. “Was that, uh, satisfactory?”

Thomas heard many giggles and chortles from the players behind him.

Luna giggled and turned back around, shaking her rear as the lingering sensation of such enthusiastic lips against her most private place. “Immensely. Thank you, mayor.”

“I believe there was a matter of the village needing help,” Moonlight cut in, once more putting everyone back on track.

“Oh right,” Celine said with a nervous giggle, her eyes continuously drifting up to Luna’s as she spoke. “Well, we’ve gotten most of the fires taken care of in the village, but I’m afraid things aren’t doing so well in the nearby areas. Some of our eco collectors went into the Lost Precursor City just before the attack and they haven’t come back sense.” She shifted from one foot to the next. “My wife and daughter were with them.”

That was definitely never in the original! Thomas thought.

“You can count on us, ma’am,” Thomas affirmed with a salute.

“Anythin’ else we should know about?” Honey asked as she walked up to join the others.

“Oh don’t worry,” Celine encouraged, gazing briefly down at Honey’s breasts. “For a group of… strapping,” she licked her lips again, “young adventurers like you, I’m sure you’ll find plenty to keep yourselves occupied.” Celine then turned around and tried not to look like she was hurrying away.

Other villagers came up to take her place and unload their various problems upon the party. There were cases of missing persons, dropped valuables, and numerous other menial tasks that needed doing. All in all, Thomas figured they had around twenty power cells worth of side quests to deal with, and that was before counting the ones just lying around. Without the giant lurker providing an imminent threat, the group agreed to split up to cover more ground.

“I was impressed by how you handled yourself, back there,” Silver offered as she hurried to catch up with Thomas. “Very diplomatic.”

“Think so?”

“Most certainly. You even came up with an amusingly clever way to defend Luna’s honor.”

“It was amusing,” Luna agreed.

“And unexpected,” Thomas added and turned to Silver. “Luna’s made some tweaks to the game world to add a bit more content. That’s why there are so many more missions this time around.”

“I cannot take all the credit,” Luna countered. “I have been conversing with everyone via mind link and all were in agreement that a bigger world would be more fun. I merely helped things along,” she added, trying to sound more modest than she felt.

“Well it’s awesome,” Thomas said with a laugh. “There definitely weren’t any lesbians in the original game, especially none that were willing to literally kiss ass.”

“Lesbians?” Luna furrowed her brow, looking puzzled.

Thinking she had simply forgotten the word, Thomas opened his mouth to explain, but then Luna continued.

“Did you not see the man Celine ran to, the one who cradled her in his arms?”

Thomas blinked. “Now that you mention it,” he trailed off, recalling the buff warrior with green hair. That was the same guy who’d pulled the pontoons out of the water to keep the giant lurker from coming down.

“I would wager the young mayor holds proper Equestrian mores regarding relationships, viewing both the woman in the city and that man as her mates. After all, such are the views of most of the dreamers.”

Thomas blinked, taking this all in. “So, if everyone has Equestrian views on relationships, why is everyone still acting like you guys are breaking a taboo for being basically naked?” He gestured to a nearby couple who were staring as they passed. “Shouldn’t you have changed that, too?”

“Because it’s fun?” Silver suggested playfully.

“Verily!” Luna cheered in agreement. “Nudity taboos are truly a delight to defy.”

“Fair enough,” Thomas conceded and they continued their trek through the village. “So where are you heading, anyway?” he asked of Silver.

“I noticed a rather shady looking fellow watching us from the shadows,” the wingless bat answered. “I cannot be certain, but I suspect he may be some sort of spy.”

“If the game’s more complicated, then I guess that sort of thing would make sense,” Thomas agreed. “Need help watching him? We were going to take the zoomer out to the basin, but your thing sounds fun, too.”

“Thank you, but I can handle myself,” Silver assured. “I’m just surprised Moonlight is letting you go off alone again.”

Thomas shrugged. “She made me swear up and down not to get myself hurt. Besides, it’s safe here. We’ll meet up again before doing any actual dangerous stuff.”

Silver looked like she had more to say, but decided against it after meeting Luna’s eyes. “Well I’m happy for you.” She gave him a light slap on the back and they split ways, with her climbing up one of the countless ladders to the village’s upper levels.

Mounting the zoomer, Thomas found the basin was a much different experience than he remembered. Many varieties of lurker had broken out in a full civil war. The lurker he recognized as Shaggy came bounding up and motioned to the blue cape around his back. Shaggy then pointed out at the battle, grunting urgently. Thomas couldn’t understand the creature’s language, but it wasn’t too hard to tell that the lurkers in blue capes were the good guys.

“‘Tis as Moonlight said,” Luna advised. “Find the enemy leader and the rest will fall.”

Thomas nodded, primed the engine, and zoomed out into the fray. Allied lurkers had the good sense to duck down whenever the oncoming vehicle came close, but the capeless charged head long into the whirling blades. Their bodies would instantly dissolve into green eco upon contact, freeing the blue capes to help their comrades in some other area, and then Thomas would move to the next batch. Other lurkers tried flanking on foot, but it was easy to evade so long as the human kept moving. After the tenth group had been decimated, the capeless lurkers were in full retreat behind a wall separating the second half of the basin. The blue caped lurkers rallied around Thomas, throwing their fists up in celebration.

“Do not dally, my warriors!” Luna proclaimed, her booming voice silencing all others. “The enemy may be beaten back, but this day is not yet won. Even now those who still cling to the dark ones rally against us. Those wielders of the dark energy want nothing more than to twist the world into a shape most heinous. The world, your mates, and you!”

The lurkers growled, beating their chests and snarling in defiance, all while Thomas was reasonably certain someone was playing patriotic music in the background.

“How many of you, your brothers and sisters, sons and daughters, have already fallen prey to the vile machinations of the darkness?”

Thomas chose to interpret the uproar of grunts and growls as ‘too many.’

“Then rally, my warriors.” Luna hopped on to the front of the zoomer as Thomas angled himself towards the entrance to the second half of the basin. “For the hope of a better tomorrow, I ask of you. Please help me save your brothers and sisters from their own ignorance. Save them before all are doomed!”

The lurkers gave a thunderous roar that shook the entire basin.

“Chaaaarge!”

And they did.

Thomas’ zoomer plunged headlong into the fray, tearing through capeless lurkers like a lawnmower. Spotting the bone armor variety, he quickly zeroed in and made them his targets. They went down as easily as any other, leaving the enemy army quite disorganized by the time the blue capes tackled them to the ground. Without leaders, the capeless were routed and soon surrendered.

“Hot damn!” Thomas panted excitedly. His adrenaline had his body feeling tingly all over and his hands were gripped around the handles so tightly it almost hurt. A stupid smile was practically stapled to his face. “That was… wow!”

“Zons!” Luna cheered, her volume just shy of the Royal Canterlot Voice. “‘Tis been centuries since we enjoyed such a successful campaign!”

Eventually Thomas managed to release his grip on the handles and relaxed his body against the zoomer, taking a moment to calm himself down. “I still don’t think I’m an adrenaline junkie, but that was awesome!”

Her chest rising and falling with her heavy breaths, Luna picked up Thomas’ head as best she could and planted her lips firmly against his. Thomas’ grin continued as he returned the kiss. Luna’s lips were not as fuzzy as he’d feared, likely due to her ‘secret’ changes. When her tongue probed his own lips for entry, Thomas readily accepted and laughed as he found Luna tasted the same as always.

The world of the dream and everything in it had a slightly muted effect, eternally reminding him that this place wasn’t real. By contrast, Luna’s lips weren’t muted in the slightest. If anything, they seemed all the more real in comparison, driving the human to devour them more hungrily. The smallness of her mouth was a little off-putting, but then he just remembered that such was part of his own appeal. The ladies of the harem all liked the way he resembled a young colt, essentially making the harem a club for shotacons, but that was okay. However, he still chose to think of Luna as just a smaller version of herself and not a loli as they meshed lips.

A bit more building of the new world, we take things a step farther by expanding upon Rock Village. I know a lot of you are probably disappointed that I don’t go into all the possibilities the scenario has to offer, but I think that would just take too long. I still want to finish up this arc so I can move on to the next one. But don’t worry, as Rock Village will return next time.