Jay glared at the beasts, shifting his stance slowly as he became acquainted with his new form. The extra legs were easy to adapt to, having spent time as a pony before. The extra arms and eyes took a few moments of adaptation, unfortunately. A few moments that the spider took advantage up. The Aracuvo leaped forward incredibly quickly, like a jumping spider, and lashed out with two of its front legs, trying to pierce him with its barbs. Jay’s shield snapped up, knocking one leg off course while his blade sung through the air, severing the other with a screech of pain coming from the spider. He stepped back, guard still raised, as the spider stumbled back as well. The virus would have to focus on his shield, now. His size, seven or eight feet tall and just as long with his hind legs, was far too large for him to sway and duck out of the way of strikes. Though, the four weapons and six tendrils were useful.

Lashing out with his spiked whip, the bladed tendril wrapped around the spider’s left legs, biting deeply into it as he swung, slamming the spider into one of the scorpions. His ‘mage sight,’ for lack of a better term, caught sight of a small concentration of magic gathering around the tips of the tail singers of the other two Scorpius.

Swear to God if they shoot fucking lasers from their stingers. Jay thought to himself as his shield expanded, viral matter reinforcing it as it covered his entire front. Two small eyes formed on the corners of the shield, allowing him to see what the magic would do without exposing himself massively. The magic seemed to coalesce into a stream of liquid ejected straight from the stingers. It sailed through the air and splattered against his shield, slowly beginning to melt the virus. Healing the injuries with but a thought, the shield returned to its normal size. Good that I found out they can still hurt me like that than with a massive blow to the face.

Seeing that the spider and scorpion were still entangled with each other due to the sharp barbs of the spider, Jay quickly closed the distance to the remaining two Scorpius and shifted his whip into another shield while his claw shifted into another blade, one of each on each side of his body. He blocked a sting from one and a slash from the other, returning the strikes with his own. The glowing blue edges of his blades seemed to slice through the star-flesh of the beasts without pause, rending gashes through the sides of the astrals. The retaliated strikes continued for a few moments, the combat now much easier than it had been before his evolution. He blocked and slashed again and again, waiting for a moment when he could strike back without worry of retaliation. Eventually, his chance came. Both Scorpius stung at him, his shields coming up to block the strikes. Unlike before, he allowed the stingers to pierce his shield, only for it to reharden around the stinger and trap the tails as they were.

Jay yanked his shield, pulling the scorpions off balance. With their claws distracted trying to balance themselves, his tendrils flashed in the moonlight, slicing apart star-flesh even as his blades joined in creating the gashes across the monsters. The two monsters screeched in pain, dark blue blood flying across the field as the monsters were torn apart and consumed, his upgraded virus making short work of the Forest beasts. Integrating the DNA as he trotted toward the final two creatures, a large scorpion tail began to grow, just as a normal tail would for a centaur. The black chitin quickly coated the new appendage, all seven feet of it. The virus was content with the new weapon, the length easily able to dodge around shields and armor to strike at weak points, injecting deadly concoctions into the bloodstream of whatever he was fighting.

Nearing the two beasts, several precise strikes was all it took to slaughter the monsters, the spider’s dark green ichor mixing with the dark blue of the spider. Absorbing the spider’s DNA, Jay felt several barbs form on his tail, each one capable of being launched out. He sent a quick tendril into the ground, feeling it burrow to his othe form. When it was absorbed, he detached it. With a grin spreading across his muzzle, sharpened teeth on full display, the virus turned and began moving quickly around the town, making his way to the combat zone, hearing howling wolves and roaring bears mixing with the yelled and cries of ponies. He ignored the Ponyville residents watching him, knowing full well they wouldn’t piece together him and Gene being the same person.

Jay flinched, feeling his original form’s virus evolve several times over, the pain affecting both halves of his mind. When it faded, he turned his attention back to Celestia. He had quickly found out rather quickly that his virus was completely unable to neutralize the poison in its current state, yet this body didn’t have the DNA stored for him to boost himself to his other body’s level. Instead, he worked as quickly as he could, regenerating her cells at a phenomenal speed. Unfortunately, he was only able to heal her at a slightly slower speed than the poison was melting her cells. At this rate, she would only be able to survive for six hours or so before total organ failure killed her. There was another side effect, too. With him healing her while it was being dissolved, she was feeling an intense, unending pain. Tears streamed out of eyes that shone with nothing but pain and fear. Her gaze stared ahead at the wall of the small cave, her mind having slipped into a coma-like state to avoid the pain. The virus couldn’t let her fall asleep and risk her dying anyway, so a continuous stream of adrenaline kept her awake, dulling the barest edge of the pain as well. He had to constantly alter the amount he was putting into her, preventing the adrenaline from stopping her heart.

Jay dearly hoped that, when he sent a tendril down here to boost his virus, the upgrade would be enough to destroy the poison and fully heal Celestia. He also hoped that the sheer pain she was feeling wouldn’t affect her mentally. Celestia was tough, of that there was no doubt, but the agony she was being forced to experience must have been horrendous. Tears began to slowly trickle down his own face, knowing that he was too weak to help her, that his only option was to keep her in pain until he could help her. He didn’t even want to think of what would happen if he couldn’t heal her even with his new mutations the monsters would give him. She would die.

That thought struck him hard, an emotional pain filling his soul as the thought of losing any of the mares he loved. The fact that he would still have Luna and Chrysalis did nothing to dull his pain, he loved Celestia just as much as them.The virus soon found himself mumbling under his breath, doing something he would never do for himself.

“God, hallowed by thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, as on Earth as in hea- fuck it. God, I don’t fucking know if you exist, I’m Atheist. You might, you might not. If you do, please, don’t let Celestia die in my arms. I don’t care if your plan for me ends in Hell, just don’t let Celestia die. Whether its me to heal her or not, I don’t care. Just let her live.” Jay prayed, not caring how crazy he sounded to himself.

Moments later, he felt a tendril extend from his other form and drill into the small cavern they were in. The tendril was quickly absorbed by him, boosting his virus as he absorbed the information while avoiding the forceful mutations. Quickly returning his attention to Celestia, he sent his cells after the poison and started to cry when the virus devoured the poison, quickly cleaning her system of the fluid. Rapidly, organs began to regenerate as her body returned to a stable condition, then passed that as she fully healed, each organ returning to a pristine state. Celestia began to move slowly, her mind coming out of its haze as the pain and paralysis faded. His tendrils pulled back, taking every last viral cell with them.

Sounds flashed through her mind, voices that seemed vaguely familiar. She made out words, some of which were unfamiliar to her. Eventually, her mind began to return to her. Celestia’s first thought was that she felt very fine and not at all in pain. Was she dead? No, she could hear somepony crying next to her, feeling their tears land softly on her right side. Her left side was warm and wet, although she knew not by what. The Alicorn knew she was very much alive. Her head rose up and her neck craned, seeing Jay above her, tears streaming down his face as he looked at her with one of the happiest smiles she had ever seen from him. She looked around in confusion, not sure why she was in a cave. Her recent memory was nothing but flashes and impressions, voices mulling her thoughts. She thought back to her last clear memory, walking behind her Guards while writing a letter to Twilight. Then she sent it and after that… the Alicorn thought hard, trying to remember what had happened after that.

Then she remembered, the memory of fear and pain striking her hard and making her physically wince. She had been grabbed and bitten by a monsterous… thing and the only thing after that was pain. Celestia’s neck craned, turning back to Jay, seeing the slight worry in his eyes, though he still seemed happy. She spoke, her voice raspy and her throat painfully dry. “W-what happened?”

“A giant spider from the Forest ambushed you behind your army, dragging you into a small pit where it bit you, injecting its venom.” Jay explained gently, his virus restructuring molecules into a glass full of water, which he held up to Celestia as she gratefully drank the life-giving liquid. Jay repeated it twice more, extraordinarily happy that she was safe.

Feeling that her throat was much better than before, she spoke softly.. “Is there anymore you can tell me? What kind of spider? What did the venom do? Why did my Guards here me scream? What’s been happening?”

Then, when the memory of extraordinary pain flashed through her mind, making her realize how close she had been to truly dying, she added in a vulnerable voice. “Can you hold me?”

Without hesitation, the virus reached out and gently pulled Celestia out of the pool of her golden blood, holding her close to him with his arms wrapped around her. “The spider was massive, larger than me, with a stinger, teeth, mandibles, bristled body, and a suction tube to drink pre-digested prey. It grabbed you when two wooden bears roared loudly, deafening everypony. I...almost didn’t hear you scream. The bears only stopped a few moments before you stopped. After telling the Guards to hold the bears off, I rushed to you with both of my bodies.”

“W-what?” Celestia asked, understandably shocked. The idea of one mind controlling several bodies was hard to understand for most beings. Mostly with the problem of how those bodies sent information between each other.

“I can control multiple bodies with my powers. This one is my second one, while my original is above ground fighting the bears. I’m still me though, not some copy of Jay. Same mind, two bodies.” Jay explained.

He felt Celestia slowly nod against his chest, having trouble grasping the concept. His grip slightly tightening around her, he continued. “I found you in the pit with the spider resting on top of you. Its barbs had pierced your side and it had bit you, injecting its venom. You were paralyzed and bleeding badly, not to mention that its venom was slowly dissolving your organs. The spider got off of you and it and my first form started fighting as well as three constellation-like scorpions. I rushed down there, grabbed you, pulled you away from the fight into this cave that I made, and tried to heal you.”

“Tried?” Celestia asked suddenly, catching on to the momentarily despair in his voice. She quickly checked over herself, relieved to find all her limbs still attached. She looked back up to see a couple tears trailing down his face. She stretched her neck, nuzzling his face and wiping his tears away with her fur. “Jay?”

“I had to hurt you, Sunshine.” Jay said desolately, continuing without giving her a chance to reply. “I couldn’t heal you completely. The poison was stronger than my virus and I could only heal you a little bit slower than the poison was killing you.”

His explanation broke momentarily as a sob wracked his body. Celestia was shocked, seeing him weak and vulnerable like this. It reflected just how much he loved her, but also how much it had hurt him to help her. Before she could offer him any comfort, he recovered. “I had to inject adrenaline into you to stop you from passing out from the pain. You...wouldn’t have woken up if you did. But, I couldn’t give you enough to dull or remove the pain, only keep you awake. If I gave you too much, it could have killed you. And even then, the amount of adrenaline was enough to keep your senses in sharp focus, making you feel every bit of pain as the poison ate away at your body. It wasn’t until twenty minutes ago that my other form killed the spider and scorpions, absorbing their DNA and memories. Getting the spider’s DNA let me destroy the poison in you and allowed me to fully heal you.”

Done with his explanation, Jay’s eyes shone with tears as he began crying, the knowledge of how close he had been to losing her striking him hard again. Even worse, his virus made him remember every bit of it perfectly, all the emotions and feelings as clear as if it was still happening. Celestia, seeing his state, began to gently nuzzle him. “It’s okay, Jay. I’m fine, you saved me. Not only that, but you removed major threats to Equestria. The spider, an Aracuvo, and the scorpions, Scorpius, are incredibly magical and powerful beasts. The bears, Ursirum, where are they?”

Jay chuckled darkly. “Dead. Torn apart by my newest evolution. They were much weaker than the others, easily destroyed.”

“Where did this power come from?” Celestia asked, not quite sure if he had been hiding his power before.

“When I was standing between you and the beasts, I absorbed the DNA of you, your sister, and Chrysalis. I underwent a powerful mutation, giving me quite a few new abilities and letting me destroy the beasts.” Jay said honestly. “I think we should return to the surface. Your Guards are frantic, seeing my other form. We’ll continue this later, okay? I want to be back in Canterlot with you and Luna by dawn, hopefully.”

Celestia nodded and slowly stood up. Jay did the same, letting Celestia lean against him as bloodflow returned to her legs. She swayed lightly, the pins and needles affecting her balance severely. Seeing that, Jay picked her up and basked in the small squeak she emitted and the small blush on her muzzle. His tendrils returned, carving a tunnel toward the surface as he started walking.

Jay stopped suddenly, seeing the hordes of Timberwolves assaulting the ranks of Guards. Eyes drawn to a roar, he saw the two bears being distracted by several Pegasi flitting around their heads while Unicorns engaged them at distance. Nopony seemed to have noticed them yet, a fact that he was thankful for. Quickly, his six tendrils shuddered and split, forming twelve total as some form of energy coated the new ones as well. For a moment, he entertained the idea of having magic. Then he dismissed it. It wasn’t the time to think about that. Roaring loudly in challenge drew the attention of everyone, wolves, bears, soldiers, and civilians. Everything sentient seemed rather horrified by his presence. That was, until he waded into the fray helping the Guards.

A dozen tendrils flashed through the air violently, slicing apart droves of wolves as a veritable army flooded from the woods. Splinters and sticks flew through the air as he carved a path toward the Ursirium. Looking at them now from his mage sight, their magic was quite low compared to the other two species he had fought. Coming within striking distance of his first prey, twelve tendrils and two blades, all coated in a blue aura, lashed out and shredded the bears front. Roots fell off entirely, utterly exposing the core of the bear, which was quickly shredded after a glance to make sure the nearby ponies had fled from the combat. The resulting explosion pulped nearby wolves and forced him to stumble back rather than being thrown. They were weak prey now.

Turning to the second bear, he tested out his new stinger and struck the bear in the chest. The spike pierced the chest and drove straight into the core, roots flying everywhere as the bear exploded in a spectacular failure to contain the magical energy. Once again, the virus stumbled back as his four legs and significantly heavier frame helped him resist the force of the explosion. Quickly healing the burns and scorch marks on his chitin from the magic, he turned to the Timberwolves and unleashed what Mercer had affectionately named a ‘Devastator,’ hundreds of tendrils bursting from his chest in a flurry of motion as they shredded everything from directly in front of him all the way to a dozen meters into the treeline. Guards and Rangers quickly disposed of the few that had been behind him or to his sides, then turned their attention to him, their weapons readied. Horns, bows, and spears were pointed at him, though no Guards charged. They stared at him, nursing a hope that he wasn’t hostile.

He made a show snorting, turning and then trotting off into the forest. Once out of sight of any ponies, he quickly dissolved and burrowed underground. He made his way across town in a matter of minutes, coming to rest near where his second form would dig out. A few moments later, the ground fell into a pit as he walked out, carrying Celestia. Jay’s first form coalesced into his true form as his second form put Celestia down. She was glancing between his two forms, comparing them no doubt. She was likely surprised to find that they really were identical. His second form dissolved and returned to the cave under the flower fields and his first form gestured for Celestia to follow.

“I’ve wiped out the bears and their Timberwolves allies. The Guards weren’t sure whether my other form was hostile or not, so they bared their weapons at me. I ‘left’ through the Forest and made my way here. They’re probably worried about you. The last they saw of me was me running off to find you only for that beast to come from the same direction. I suggest making up some excuse for where you were.” Jay quickly explained the situation, making her nod.

“I already know what I’m going to say.” Celestia said in reply. A moment later, she turned and graced him with a smile, one that he happily returned. Leaning down for a moment, he gently kissed her. She eagerly pressed back, happy at the show of affection, before they parted and continued walking.

“You know, after I absorbed the Aracuvo and Scorpius, the Ursirium were pretty damn weak. They seemed so shocked at my appearance that they didn’t have the chance to fight back. They were both dead in moments. The first one was much harder to kill before I got my upgrades.” Jay said after a moment, honestly surprised that the ‘toughest’ ones were such a pushover. Being bears, he assumed they could take a hit better than spiders or scorpions.

Celestia nodded in understanding. “Constructs tend to be rather weak unless in great numbers. Even then, Guards and Rangers alike are trained to handle hordes of Timberwolves. If there had been closer to a dozen Ursirium, the fight would have been much harder.”

Jay nodded in agreement, his peripheral vision picking out several ponies watching them in shock as they walked through the town. Around twenty minutes later, they were standing before the armored ponies, with quite a few civilians around them, all waiting for Princess Celestia to say something. But before she could speak, Corporal Dancer spoke worriedly. “Princess, where were you? Everypony was worried after the battle when you were nowhere to be found.”

The Ranger seemed a little nervous at questioning his Princess, but his worry overrided his fear. Celestia looked around, seeing the curious looks and the worried glances they were giving Jay. Celestia turned her attention back to the Corporal and spoke clearly for all to here. “Corporal, if not for the person next to me, I would be dead right now.”

The crowd went into an uproar as Celestia glanced at Jay, flashing him a smug smile in return to the astonished look. His mouth curved into a smile when he understood what she was doing. The ponies feared him because they saw him fight the Ursirium, shifting his arms into blades and claws. By saying that, she made them aware of the fact that he saved her and they would be more likely to trust him. Even if it did hurt her ‘immortal goddess’ reputation some.

Words of fear, concern, and gratitude echoed around them for a time before Celestia raised a wing. The crowd slowly fell silent after several minutes, waiting for her to speak, which she did. “When my Guards and I arrived, a massive spider called an Aracuvo had set up an ambush. It grabbed me, timing it so nopony could hear it as the Ursirium, the bears, roared loudly. There, it poisoned me and cut me, the poison dissolving me faster than my Alicorn nature could heal me. Jay, the person beside me, found me and defeated the spider as well as three Scorpius that were with the Aracuvo. He healed me, then escorted me here.”

From the crowd, a familiar faced walked forward. It was Twilight, slowly trotting toward him. Her eyes conveyed the fear she felt at almost losing her mentor, a fear he had shared. At the same time, they showed him her gratitude and joy for saving him. When she neared him, tears slowly trickled down her face she reared up, her forehooves wrapping around his chest. Her muzzle gently nuzzled him as she cried. “T-thank you. Thank you for saving her.”

Jay wrapped his arms around her in return and held her, whispering into her ear. “I’m glad I did, Twilight. You know how close we are. I couldn’t bear to lose her.”

With a final nuzzle, Twilight let go and stepped back with a small smile on her muzzle. Celestia leaned down and gently hugged her in the standing-pony way, wrapping her neck around her student. Jay’s eyes drifted around the crowd, seeing the smiles and tearful eyes, all directed at him. Jay leaned over to Celestia after she let go of Twilight. “Sunshine, I want to tell them about me.”

She smiled so brightly that he could have sworn the night grew warmer. “I’ll be by your side the entire time.”

Jay nodded and turned his attention back to the crowd. “I want to tell you all something, a secret I’ve been keeping. You all actually know me.”

The ponies of Ponyville shared confused looks, glancing around. He saw ponies he recognized, like Coal Dust and Fire Brand, giving him curious looks. Others, like Twilight and Pinkie, were smiling reassuringly. He flashed them a return smile, then continued. “See, I’m a shapeshifter. I don’t copy ponies. I make my own disguise, my own history, and my own life. You all know me as Gene Splice, an Earth pony.”

The shocked looks were clear. Most of the ponies had never met him, but had seen him. Some couldn’t connect that the Earth pony they had seen in the town and this bipedal creature, armed with claws and blades, were the same being. Several backed away slowly, at least until Celestia spoke up. “I can personally vouch for the character of Jay. When he first arrived in Ponyville, he sought to live peacefully. So much so that he personally came to Canterlot and told my sister and I about who and what he really was. He spent a couple days with us as we learned about him and him about us. I trust him and so does my sister.”

Most calmed, the knowledge that he had earned the trust of both Princesses enough evidence that he wasn’t a monster than wanted to eat them all. Celestia smiled at her ponies as she continued. “In fact, my sister and I more than trust him. We love him.”

Jaws dropped and gasps rang out when Celestia turned and planted a firm kiss on the surprised virus’ lips. Quickly recovering, he returned the show of affection before they parted, a light blush on Celestia’s face at kissing him so publicly. She turned back to the astonished crowd. “So please, whether you see Gene or Jay walking down the street, don’t treat him as a monster. Treat him as a pony because he only wants to live a happy life.”

She flashed him another smug grin before her horn began to glow. “We will be returning to Canterlot for a time before Jay returns to Ponyville. Corporal Dancer, have the Rangers stay in the Expedition Staging Point in case of another attack. Guards, return to Canterlot.”

She received a nod from the Corporal and somepony in charge of the Royal Guards. A moment later, they were gone. Another moment and they were back in Celestia’s room, a wide awake Luna staring at Celestia in fear. The night mare leaped across the room, impacting Celestia’s side and knocking her to the ground. “Oh, sister, I was so scared! I saw everything!”

“W-what?” Celestia stuttered out, shocked.

“When I woke up and you were gone, I cast a scrying spell on your mirror to find you. I s-saw you get bit and h-heard you s-scream.” Luna explained, starting to break down at the end, tears trailing down her face and staining Celestia’s fur. “I t-tried to teleport to you, but s-something was stopping me f-from leaving the r-room.”

“I was so sc-scared I was going to l-lose you.” Luna added at the end, falling silent and just nuzzling into Celestia’s fluffed chest fur.

Jay sat down next to the intertwined mares and pulled them closer to them, hugging them both. Luna whimpered again, her grip tightening around them both. The fear in her voice was hurting them both, so much so that Celestia began to lightly cry. Jay knew that nothing he could say would calm her, so he hoped that their physical presence would help her. It seemed to work, too, as her crying slowly stopped. Her grip eventually loosened as she looked up to Celestia, the white Alicorn’s chest fur matted with tears. To Luna’s surprise, Celestia didn’t say anything. She just leaned down and gently embraced Celestia in a soft kiss, conveying nothing but her love and understanding. Luna happily return the kiss, the physical act comforting to her. After a time, the two parted. Luna turned to Jay and nuzzled his neck, then gently kissed him. “Thank you for holding us. I just needed some time to calm down.”

“We’re here for you, Moonbeam.” Jay replied with a small smile directed her way. “We both love you even as you love us.”

Celestia nodded in agreement. “We support each other because we’re a family. When one of us needs comforting, the others are always there. When Chrysalis returns from the negotiations, she’ll be a part of this family, too.”

Luna just snuggled into the pair again, Celestia’s wings and Jay’s arms wrapping around them all. “I love thee.”

“We love you, too.” Jay and Celestia said in unison, flashing each other a small smile. With a flash of magic from Celestia, the bundle was moved onto the bed where the mares slowly drifted off together, the night’s events having tired them all out. Jay was relieved, happy to know that the Curse was over and the beasts destroyed. With some Rangers stationed in Ponyville, they were well-defended againsts beasts. A chunk of the forest had been pushed back several meters from his last attack, giving more time for ponies to react if something came from the woods.

One thing was bothering him, though. What stopped Luna from rushing to Ponyville when she learned Celestia was hurt? If she coudn’t teleport, she could have flown out the balcony. If she couldn’t fly, she could have run to the town. Something had done more than just blocked her magic. Something had trapped her in the room, utterly helpless to save her sister. The virus wanted answers and he assumed Disarray would have them. Jay just didn’t have a clue how to contact him.

Jay sighed and frowned. That would have to be something he would need to find out later. Between the runestone, the caster, the Curse, and Disarray, things were becoming much more chaotic than he had hoped it would be in this land. Then a small smile overcoming his frown as his eyes drifted over to Celestia and Luna while he thought of Chrysalis. Even if it was chaotic now, he wouldn’t trade it for anything. He had three mares he loved, a fact he still couldn’t quite believe. Three!

Letting his head drop against the pillow, he relaxed as Celestia’s and Luna’s hooves slowly snaked across his body and embraced him, each resting their heads on his chest. With a thought, he reformed his heart, lungs, and blood. Luna’s head began to slowly move as she nuzzled him in her sleep, the familiar sound of his heartbeat penetrating her dreams. Either that, or she was dreamwalking and aware of the sudden heartbeat.

Closing his eyes, he slowly drifted off to sleep. It had been a long night and he was eager to rest, even if his body didn’t need it.

Author's Notes:

The second half of the Invasion. As always, feel free to tell me how you feel about it, point out any errors, and give your opinions on things.