Author's Notes:

This is the first chapter of 2019!!

Open to crossover possibilities.

Front Palace Entrance, Canterlot City Equestria #2651915

Alexis cocked an eyebrow at Celestia’s tone. It was almost shy and nervous, unless he was mistaken. He tilted his head, his eyes narrowing fractionally.

“What is it that you desire? I’ll admit that I want to know just what I’m capable of,” he said quietly.

“I want to teach a student, one who has great potential. I see that potential in both you and Twilight, so it is possible that you will be learning together,” Celestia said softly, a small smile crossing her face.

“Hmmm, okay. I’ll admit that I want to learn more about this world, and learning under you would allow me to do that, and discover, potentially, what Sigma wants. I have a gut feeling that they’re intertwined,” Alexis commented. He had a feeling that Sigma had found a way to remain hidden in plain sight.

“Who is Sigma? You claimed he was some sort of sentient virus,” Celestia said softly.

Alexis inhaled slowly as his armor’s aura shifted from a deep amethyst to a warm ruby tone, revealing Zero’s armor before his eyes opened, revealing deep emerald eyes.

“He was an honorable Reploid, once. He was one of the first to encounter the original Zero, unaware that there was a virus contained within Zero’s pod and Zero himself. Zero was the only one that was not only immune to it, but grew stronger from it, though it cost him mentally as the stronger he got from the original ‘Zero Virus’, the weaker his morals and kinder nature became until he was a ruthless assassin. However, Sigma, surprisingly, was semi-immune… until we found out later that he wasn’t just immune to it… he merged with it… altered it to benefit him. It became the ‘Sigma Virus’ which became well known for creating what was known as Mavericks. Reploids that would rampage beyond their given programs, putting innocents in danger,” Zero’s monotone voice spoke in a low voice.

“That is troubling. It sounds almost like Dark Magic Corruption,” Celestia murmured.

“There’s a possibility they are connected, but we can’t be sure,” Alexis said quietly, shaking his head slightly.

“It’s also possible that the force they know as ‘magic’ could be bio-energy manipulation of some sort,” he heard Harpuia murmur in his mind.

“Possible, I suppose, though I won’t guess further without evidence,” he thought back.

He noticed Celestia’s ears twitching as if she could hear his thoughts. “Can you hear me, Celestia?” he thought. He smirked slightly as he noticed her alabaster cheeks darken with a red tint, confirming his suspicion.

“I don’t mind that you have telepathic talents, but there are some thoughts that we do prefer to keep to ourselves. And sometimes, body language can reveal secrets our thoughts do not,” he commented aloud, seeing Celestia wince as he called her out on that ability, which from what he guessed seemed to be a passive rather than conscious gift.

“I thought…. that you would not like the fact that we… have passive telepathy, so I neglected to mention it,” she admitted.

“Meh, as long as you keep it to surface thoughts, I don’t mind it at all,” he said wryly, shrugging.

Celestia sighed softly, walking towards the palace, which he didn’t mind at all. He exhaled as he focused, dismissing Zero’s armor so it reverted to a dull silvery white bodysuit before he rolled his shoulders, his wings rustling against his shoulders, though they were sheathed in a light, impact resistant, layer of metal.

“Let’s get some rest, Princess,” he said quietly. He blinked, his hand dropping to his belt before pulling free a badge no larger than a golf ball in radius.

“Hmmmm. Could be useful… If you need the Gale of Justice or the Fangs of the Shadows by your side, call upon the Blade of Light ‘Aeta Zero’. Those who walk the path of darkness and hatred, I will punish with agony and pain,” he whispered, his hand tilting so the badge fell into a rift of swirling darkness before it was spat back into his hand as the Void Rift sealed itself. He exhaled softly, unsure why he even did that, though he simply hung the badge as a belt buckle, not noticing the belt buckle shimmered as the belt became a warm golden orange.

He sighed softly, rolling his shoulders before he walked quickly towards the Palace, thinking about Celestia’s offer.

He had to admit that he was curious what sorts of advantages he would get, though it didn’t really matter that much to him, if he was honest.

“We will talk about the potential benefits of your new position in the morning, I think,” Celestia said gently as she nudged him gently towards the stairs towards the wing he recalled his own room was.

“It’s interesting that Zero and Harpuia seem to be able to project themselves out of my body… I’m thinking they are able to gather a physical shell of dense magic mimicking their spirit forms,” he thought.

“It is quite a likely theory, My Student,” he heard Celestia’s voice whisper in his mind, though he heard her giggle as he jumped in surprise as she was a few yards behind him.

“Just curious, but do they have football here? It’s a sport that’s rather competitive, but it could be used to make sure your Guards are easily able to move in any direction if the need arose,” he commented.

“I do not believe so, though I have never heard of such a game. What sort of game is it?” Celestia commented with interest.

She blinked as he yawned as he shivered slightly. “Go on, we both need our rest, I think,” she giggled.

As Alexis turned over, he yelped at the sudden sunlight streaming into his eyes, though at the same time, he felt an odd rush of energy flooding his body. ‘Ugh… never was a morning person, but that hasn’t changed. Seems I can bolster my body’s own energy with whatever energy this… bodysuit… absorbs… which seems to be solar radiation,’ he thought tiredly.

He wasn’t sure what time it was, though he absently tried to figure that out. “It is Nine Fifteen Standard Time, Sir,” Harpuia murmured in his mind. He blinked a couple of times, caught off guard. “So, you, Zero, and Phantom are active. That leaves Fenrir, X, Axl, and Leviathan dormant for the time being,” he muttered dryly. “Yes, Sir,” came her monotone reply.

He suspected that each of the Biometals had a particular element linked to them. He knew Harpuia was linked to the element of Wind, though he wasn’t sure about Zero or Phantom. He could guess, though.

He was a bit startled to see a mare with pale sea green fur, a deep glittering sapphire mane that fell in messy waves over her shoulders and a pair of deep amethyst eyes. She dropped down before jumping in surprise, her wings flaring out in surprise as he noticed the steaming bath before he smirked as she yelped more in embarrassment as she landed and slipped into the bath herself. “Fortunate that you don’t have clothes on, otherwise it’d be even more embarrassing, I think,” he commented with amusement.

“And this isn’t embarrassing?!?” the mare said with an annoyed look.

“Cute, maybe, and probably relaxing for you as I get the feeling from how you were shifting a bit on your hooves you seemed tense… like you don’t often get a chance to relax,” Alexis commented, a small smirk crossing his face as he wore a dull gray tank top and black shorts that stopped just above mid-thigh while being barefoot.

The mare blushed. “Ah… I’ll admit I probably don’t get as much chance to relax as I might like,” she said shyly. “I’m… Flètanpèt,” she said shyly, a hint of a Creole accent in her voice.

Alexis tilted his head thoughtfully. “Flètanpèt, that’s a beautiful name,” he commented, amused as the mare blushed again, almost falling into the bathtub again as she looked away as he pronounced her name ‘Flea-tan-pea’ with the ‘T’ at the end silent.

He noticed the unsure look on her face before he slid into the bath near her, though all he did was run his fingers through her mane, amused as she shivered before very noticeably calming around him. “Just relax. You want me to wash your mane for you?” he said softly, his tone gentle.

She blushed deeply. “Ah… ah… I can… I can get it,” she said shyly.

“I don’t mind… whoa there,” Alexis said quietly, catching her hoof as she almost tumbled into the deeper part of the bath as she reached for what he guessed was shampoo or conditioner though he didn’t really pay attention to precisely how she did so.

He found her blush rather cute, though he tried to let her relax despite her clear nervousness. “I won't take advantage of you, if that's what you think,” he said quietly.

“It just feels…” she started.

“Awkward? I'm sure it does. After all, I didn't expect anypony to actually run a bath for me. But then again, I've never been in a royal palace before either,” he admitted, a bit amused to hear the mare giggle.

“You're not from around here, are you?” Flètanpèt quipped as she turned around with a generous dollop of shampoo in her hooves as she noticed him sinking a bit lower in the water so that only his neck was noticeable above the bubbles.

“Is it that obvious?” Alexis muttered, a bit surprised to feel hooves running through his unruly hair.

“Pretty much. I’ll admit that I’ve never seen anypony like you,” she murmured with mild amusement.

He shrugged, sighing softly as he felt his wings rustling before she blinked, giggling as he felt her hoof lightly brush against his upper back just above where his wings were.

“How did you get these?” she murmured shyly.

“No idea. I do have a theory on it, however,” he said shyly as he let his eyes drift closed as he felt her hoof running through his hair as he could feel the heat coursing through his body from the water’s heat.

His eyes snapped open as he felt her hooves brush over his shoulders before massaging into his skin before he groaned softly, his eyes drifting half shut. “You sure you don’t work at a spa or something?” he said softly.

She giggled in an amused tone. “Actually, I do, but it’s not a public spa. It’s primarily for very select members,” she said with amusement.

“There’s one song that has been stuck in my head as it was intended for veterans of wars,” he murmured.

“I’m not very familiar with music, unfortunately,” his companion said softly as he shivered, feeling his wings flex as he felt her hooves massaging his back, the tense muscles relaxing.

“It's okay, as at one point, I was more an admirer of musical talent, never really trying it for myself. Though I can genuinely say it gave me even more respect for musicians, as whilst most people who go to concerts simply see that part of the action… they never see the challenges of practicing or of songwriting,” he said softly.

He shivered as he felt her hooves slide along the upper edge of his wings, heat coiling low in his belly at the feeling. He knew he was kneeling in a ready seiza stance with his wings half unfurled which gave her easier access to them. He knew the pony’s name was translatable to ‘Storm Lily’ in Haitian Creole, though he couldn’t explain how he knew that even to himself. It felt almost instinctive, which implied that he was intelligent even without the assistance of the Biometals or whatever else he’d gained upon arriving here.

His eyes drifted almost closed as he felt her hooves brushing over his wings, seemingly, he assumed, checking over his wings before he felt her hooves slide down his back between his wings, sending chills rushing through his body as he gasped before he felt her hooves massaging the middle and lower part of his back. He half leaned forward as his eyes drifted half closed before he heard her voice murmur something.

“...ur…. ver. Can…. ou… ear me? You can turn over if you like,” he heard her say. He inhaled deeply, shivering as he sighed softly, turning over so he was mostly floating on his back, not realizing that his cock was very much obvious and quite stiff.

She giggled before he yelped slightly, his awareness sharpening as he realized she’d brushed her hoof over his cock. “Now, I can get the rest of your body, then… you can get mine,” she giggled. He cocked an eyebrow at her sultry tone before he smirked slightly.

“Oh? Would you prefer me to wash you slowly or quickly?” he quipped, teasing her.

“Wh-what?” she spluttered.

“Do… you… want… me… to… wash… you… quickly… or… slowly?” he drawled, teasing Flètanpèt.

“S-slowly is fine,” Flètanpèt said shyly, blushing as she looked away as he let his wings fold in tight against his shoulders, letting himself float upright before he smirked a bit as he hugged the mare close.

“You’re so damn adorable, you know? I could definitely see you as a little sister,” he teased.

“How old are you?” she deadpanned. “I’m seventeen and a half,” she said dryly.

“Before I got here… seventeen,” he deadpanned, a bit nervous when she smirked.

“Aaaaaaw… I got a little brother,” Flètanpèt teased, letting her hoof scrub against his skull in an obvious noogie.

“Hmmm, meh. Doesn’t make much difference to me. I was an only child, anyway,” Alexis deadpanned. He blinked, a bit caught off guard, though at the same time, certain it was true.

The mare smirked, amused. “Not anymore, ‘lexie,” she quipped, amused. He rolled his eyes in return. He cocked an eyebrow as she let the smirk widen as he noticed her wing flicking towards a bottle that said ‘Fur conditioner’ before a few feathers wrapped around it almost like fingers.

He blinked in surprise, a bit surprised at what she did. “Huh, didn’t expect that,” he deadpanned.

He let his eyes drop before he ducked beneath the water, feeling the water rinse away most of the lather on his body and wings. He surfaced, brushing the dark auburn and golden copper streaked hair out of his eyes as it was saturated.

He gasped softly, shivering as he felt a hoof press firmly but gently against his chest before massaging over his skin, the sensation sending chills rushing through his body. He took a deep breath, half leaning against the edge of the tub before he saw Flètanpèt smirk before she slid closer, feeling her rear legs straddle over his thigh as she placed the other forehoof and started to massage his chest and shoulders with both forehooves as he felt her lean her head against his shoulder as he felt her mane brush against his shoulder and upper arm as she massaged his skin.

His eyes drifted half closed as he inhaled deeply, sighing as he felt her massaging his shoulders and upper arms. “You have a relaxing presence, you know,” she sighed, shivering as he felt her hooves brush underneath his arms, the sensation highly ticklish.

“Hmmm, I wouldn’t know about that,” he said softly as he shivered, feeling her hooves run down his sides before she smirked.

“Well, I’m telling you now, ti frè,” she quipped.

“Little brother,” he heard Phantom whisper. “I have a feeling that will be a handy trick and thanks for the assistance,” he thought back. He heard Phantom grunt in return.

“Well, tanpèt sè,” he quipped, chuckling a bit, amused as she blushed deeply. “You’re pretty adorable,” he teased.

He shivered slightly as she kept washing his upper body as she snickered. “You’re silly, you know?” she quipped.

He rolled his eyes as he sighed softly, his eyes drifting half closed before he heard a firm knock on the door.

His eyes snapped open, their color becoming a deep amber as the sclera turned a rich onyx tone as he felt something surge up within him as he saw everything shift into shades of pale blue and gold before he noticed the pure golden white aura on the other side of the door, noticing that everything that should have been impossible to see through was more in outlines of themselves. “Interesting, a sensory talent,” he mused.

“That seems to be unique to you,” he heard Zero remark thoughtfully.

“Interesting,” he heard Celestia murmur with amusement. “Though I was curious why one of the maids hadn’t come back,” she commented.

He noted that Flètanpèt didn’t react to Celestia’s psychic voice as she kept washing his arms and abdomen. “She kinda fell into the bath and has unofficially adopted me as a ‘younger brother’ in her words,” he murmured. He noticed a shift in Celestia’s Aura, getting a sense of embarrassment. “I don’t think it’ll be too much longer before we’re out, Princess, unless you want to join us,” he teased. He noticed her Aura shift again before her form abruptly winked out and vanished.

He blinked a few times, his eyes deepening to a soft, crystalline aquamarine-teal as he shivered, gasping as he felt Flètanpèt shuddering against him though he did notice that she was panting and smelled salt. “What’s wrong?”

Flètanpèt looked up at his concerned tone, blushing slightly. “Nothing,” she said hastily, looking embarrassed.

“You’re like me, aren’t you? Alone in the world,” he murmured, seeing her wince almost immediately. “Well, you’re not alone anymore, tanpèt sè,” he said softly, hugging her as he slid deeper into the water, letting it rinse away the lather. “Now, to wash you down so you’re more relaxed,” he said quietly, his tone firm as he let her slide down a bit into a shallow area of the bath.

He started off wetting down her head and mane telling her to close her eyes. She did right away to my pleasure, so my fingers gingerly worked the water into her head and mane. With the sprayer head in one hand I used the other to massage the water into her neck, shoulders and each front leg, and then worked on her back and wings. She sighed at his ministrations and began to relax.

Now soaking down her haunches and rump was going to be interesting. His fingers worked their way into her coat around each of her cutie marks which looked like a ceramic jug within a rounded bowl, both swirled with pale purple and dark goldenrod, which she moaned slightly. She even whined slightly when his fingers left to soak her tail.

The fun part was going to start as the massage part of her wash he was going to do during the soap down phase. After taking the shampoo he put a good measure of it on her head, mane and back to start off with then put it on the shelf next to him. Now using both hands he gently massaged her head working the soap into her mane.

“Relax yourself completely and let all your worries fade away while listening to the soft soothing sound of my voice.” Flètanpèt sighed and relaxed under his hands. Going from her head and mane to her neck, he worked the soap into her coat while using massage techniques. Her back came next and she reacted with a soft low moan when the space between her wings were done. Speaking of that he grabbed the soap after getting her back done and soaped down her wings cautiously as he didn’t really know what he was doing that well. He was careful here and just soaped it down while straightening her feathers.

He used the sprayer to rinse her body off thoroughly, dragging his fingers through her fur as he felt her shivering before she moaned softly, her eyes fluttering open. “By Celestia… you could rival anything I or my coworkers could do with those….” she said, pausing.

“Fingers, ane-chan,” Alexis quipped, teasing the mare.

“Yeah, those,” Flètanpèt sighed, shaking herself.

“Though admittedly, I’ve never had a massage like what you did, so it was a new experience for both of us,” he quipped.

“In more ways than one, since I’ve never bathed with a stallion,” Flètanpèt mumbled.

“Eh? What was that? I couldn’t quite hear you,” Alexis said with mild concern.

“It’s nothing,” Flètanpèt said shyly as she tapped a button with a hoof, the heated water swirling down the drain before she smirked, making the human cautious. She grabbed the sprayer before firing it, the water spraying out icy cold as she giggled.

Alexis yelped in surprise before he shuddered, his eyes snapping open as he groaned. He sighed softly as Flètanpèt smirked as she cut off the flow of water. He saw her eyes widen as her gaze dropped before he glanced down, wincing as she saw his manhood, which fortunately wasn’t stiff and aroused, though it wasn’t exactly small compared to most humans.

“Now, how are we going to dry off?” she said half jokingly. She saw her new sibling smirk before his hand flashed out, two towels shooting from the shelf before one landed in his hand before the other spread out, covering all but her tail as she looked surprised.

“I don’t know, you tell me,” Alexis quipped teasingly. He snickered as the mare shook her head, the towel flipping back over her neck, cocking her head as her amethyst eyes narrowed.

“Here I thought I was the only prankster,” she deadpanned. Alexis snorted at that as he started drying himself off as he settled on the edge of the bathtub.

“Trust me, hun. There are always pranksters… the real question isn’t necessarily if there’s a prankster, but when you’re going to end up pranked,” he deadpanned, smirking.

She smirked before shrugging. He let his gaze drop, focusing on drying himself to give her some semblance of privacy. He exhaled as he pressed both palms to the side of the tub before doing a backwards shoulder roll, landing in a fluid crouch, not realizing that the nanites formed into a pair of dark gray and silver shorts and pale gray tank top as he was instinctively thinking of clothes.

He saw Flètanpèt’s eyes widen as his wings flapped a couple of times before settling on his shoulders.

“How do you use magic? Most with wings are Pegasi and they use their wings primarily for Air or Weather Magick,” she said curiously.

“Pretty sure that’s the thing. My magic seems to flow throughout my body, not just focusing in one area, like my wings. It’s almost like it has a secondary circulatory system within my body, though I can’t be certain of that,” Alexis commented wryly.

“Somehow, that makes an odd sort of sense. You think it’s the same with somepony like me?” she said shyly.

“It’d make sense, really. I mean, it’s most likely that the only reason certain groups of ponies, like you… the Unicorns… the… ‘normal’...” he said wryly, pausing.

“Earth ponies are the ones you’re thinking of. Pegasi, Unicorns, and Earth ponies,” she teased.

“Yeah, them. It would make sense that certain parts of your bodies would be developed physically, like wings, or the body… or, and I’m assuming, the mind, as well. If magic can enhance certain parts of the body, then why not focus it to certain parts to do different things? Heck, for all we know, that could be how you can pick up things despite lacking fingers, just like now,” Alexis deadpanned, tilting his head as Flètanpèt’s eyes dipped to where she was holding the towel, where it seemed to cling to her hoof despite no real physical reason to do so.

“It would make sense that it’s almost instinctive for ponies to create a ‘gluing’ tactic with their hooves to pick up or hold items, if I had to put it into words,” he commented.

He saw her blink, cocking her head as she looked thoughtful. “That makes a strange sort of sense, now that I think about it. I wonder why most ponies never even think about it,” she said thoughtfully.

“Because it’s most likely learned early on, most likely as a toddler or newborn, if I’m right. It becomes instinctive to the point where it’s like, say, breathing, or your heart pumping blood through your body. You don’t even realize you’re doing it despite the action itself apparently having no… well… at least from my perspective, possible way of actually happening. I mean, it looks to me like it’s being held with fingers, despite the fact that you have no fingers, technically speaking, so it’s most likely an extension of your natural Aura as an attractive force like magnets, only in this case, your hoof is one end of the magnet, and the object you’re holding is the opposite end of the other magnet,” he said wryly.

She shrugged, though he got the sense she only understood half of what he’d said, which made some sense.

He half turned, hearing her move around, but not really paying attention to it. “Something tells me that it’s going to be interesting the next few months,” he muttered.