A loud, rough knock bellowed out.

Yang groaned as he pried his eyes open and half-fell out of bed. For the second day in a row he found himself having to answer the door. But this time the knocking was louder, much more frequent, and was starting to give him a headache. Oh, and to make matters worse, he was being awoken even earlier than the previous day. As he stumbled through the, somehow even messier, room he nearly slipped on several loose articles of clothing and several oblong shaped toys. He was wearing nothing on his head this time around.

He survived the trip to the door and flung it open without ceremony. The cool, fresh air that hit his face helped to wake him, and allowed the smell of stale sex to escape the room and embrace the morning breeze. The light didn't blind him, but did make him squint. What woke him up most of all, however, was who was at the door.

Two stallions he didn't recognize. One huge earth pony with his blond mane covering his eyes; brass knuckles for a cutie mark. The other a small unicorn with a slicked, greasy, black mane; a crowbar for a cutie mark. It was as if one had sucked the size from the other.

Yang knew trouble when he saw it.

Yin, meanwhile, had been stretching and waking herself up. She had to make sure her husband didn't thoughtlessly traumatize another mare. However, she immediately took notice of the dangerous looking strangers. Instinctively, she slightly ruffled her feathers along her left wing, the action so subtle that no pony else even noticed. But it allowed her to caress the small, lightweight object she kept hidden there. A special, and sentimental, heirloom from her beloved grandfather. The feel of it sent an icy wave of calmness and security through her veins, keeping her focused.

Then she casually sauntered through the room. Coming to rest against the wall, right between the sliding, glass doors to the balcony and a small saddlebag that she and Yang kept in case they ever needed to make a quick getaway. Her ears twitching as she scanned for any unnoticed danger.

"Hello, I'm Yang. How may I help you two this fine morning?" The unicorn smiled disarmingly while his mind raced.

The smaller unicorn answered with a smile of his own. The kind of smile that could make one queasy. "Yes, I'm Crow Bar, that's two separate words not one. And this is my associate Knuckles. I'll let you guess his first name. We are currently looking for a pair of objects known as the Tao Amulets. Do you happen to know where they are?"

Yin was smart enough to not throw a betraying glance towards the closet, which was thankfully obscured in the shadows. On the closet's doorknob hung two necklaces, the gifts they had received from Mr. and Mrs. Bearer the previous night. They had taken off the necklaces when their sexy time started, but had the presence of mind to not just toss their gifts on the floor.

It didn't take a Canterlot scholar to make the connection.

Yang also betrayed nothing as he answered. "Never heard of them."

"You sure? One bears a design of a dragon, and the other a phoenix." The two goons took a few menacing steps forward into the dim room. Forcing Yang backwards, his heart beating faster than his confident demeanor portrayed. "You want to reconsider your answer?"

Knuckles somehow did his weird knuckle cracking trick.

"You know how I like my eggs?" Yang suddenly spat out the non sequitur with a cocky grin, while his wife quickly shut her eyes at the cue. "Sunny side up!"

An incredibly bright amber light flashed from his horn. Blinding the goons and sending them reeling with shock.

Immediately Yin put on the getaway saddlebag in a fluid, well-practiced motion. She sprang to the closet and used a wing to put on the necklaces. Meanwhile, Yang rushed for the door to the balcony. He unlocked and opened it before galloping out of their room and jumping off the balcony; they were on the third floor. He plummeted for less than a second before his wife wrapped her legs around him, spread out her wings, and glided them to safety.

By the time the goons recovered they found themselves in an empty room. The minicorn growled in annoyance. "Luna damn it!"

<--->

Surrounding about half of the resort's property was a forest covered with hiking trails for the various guests of the resort.

Hidden away in the heart of the forest, a decent distance from any nearby trails, was a small pond. The water was clear as crystal, the air filled with the chorus of a myriad of birds, and even the fish played blissfully. A waterfall burbled gently in the background, complete with the obligatory hidden cove nestled behind it. The only remote sign of ponies was a simple stone bench placed in just the right spot for sunning oneself. The whole area exuded a sense of serenity.

The quiet ambiance was abruptly shattered by the sounds of clopping hooves and flapping wings. Yin and Yang burst onto the scene and collapsed at the water's edge to catch their breathes and drink their fill.

Having thoroughly explored the forest during the first week of their honeymoon, that serene location had already been pre-chosen as their rendezvous spot in case anything happened. Choosing such a destination was a long ago ingrained habit for the couple from back when they'd lived as homeless travelers. It was useful in case they had to split up while fleeing from angry townsponies.

"Well, that was unexpected." Yang said between pants.

Yin absently tossed the saddlebag onto the bench and relished in the feel of a cool breeze against the newly exposed area of her tangerine coat. A small smile formed on her muzzle. "Just like old times, right?"

"Well, less torches and pitchforks, but yeah. What were those bozos even after?"

A deadpan look was shared before Yin rolled her eyes and slapped her husband with a wing to his face.

Yang had to spit out a feather. "Hey! What was that for?"

In response, Yin merely removed the dragon necklace from herself and put it on her husband. Then she cocked a brow at him and tilted her head. There was a moment of confusion before the unicorn's eyes lit with understanding, his cheeks grew crimson, and he smiled sheepishly. As his wife began giggling he rubbed the back of his head and glanced down awkwardly for a moment.

"Oh yeah, the necklaces. I totally knew that." When the pegasus just rolled onto her back and laughed harder, Yang scowled at her. "Fine, be that way! I'll give you a reason to laugh."

Before she could respond, Yin found her husband looming over her as he straddled her and pinned her wings to the ground with his forehooves. The pressure on her wings actually felt kinda nice. But she didn't get the chance to enjoy it before his forehooves transformed into the dreaded tickle twins. She gasped and struggled against the assault for a few precious, seemingly infinite seconds before managing to turn the tide of battle by slipping a wing free and using it against his sensitive tickle zones.

And then Yang cheated when his horn lit up with an amber hue.

They laughed and rolled around like two energetic foals. Only returning to their senses after rolling straight into the pond! But even then their laughter continued after coughing the water out of their lungs, as they deliberately splashed each other while climbing back onto the shore and collapsing to embrace the earth beneath them.

Yin could barely catch her breath before Yang suddenly kissed her belly, eliciting a sharp gasp from her. He didn't stop there however, as he kissed and licked up her body towards her lips. He made stops along the way to nibble on her withers and suckle on her neck. When finally their lips met and their limbs wrapped around one another, their bodies were left tightly clinging to each other. Yin invited her tongue into his mouth and they just made out for awhile.

As they did so, their hearts grew in sync and began to beat as one. It was then that there was a spark and the two amulets around their necks clinked together, as if suddenly magnetic. The moment the metal pieces came together they emitted a bright, magical flash.

Yin and Yang were engulfed by the mysterious, magical spell before they even had a chance to realize what was happening.

<--->

The room had been thoroughly searched and no trace of the Tao Amulets had been found. Somehow the room actually seemed neater than before.

Crow Bar groaned in frustration that they'd allowed those lousy newlyweds to slip away. Now it was a waiting game. Or at least it would've been if his horn hadn't suddenly flashed with a sickeningly yellow light. The same yellow as his eyes.

It was a detection spell he'd set up to locate the unique magical signature of the amulets, allowing him to track them. But only during the brief moment when they activated or deactivated. Still, it gave them a lead to continue their search with. A sinister smile adorned his face, it wouldn't be too much longer now before they retrieved the amulets for their boss. "C'mon Knuckles, we have ourselves a couple to catch."

Predictably, Knuckles merely repeated his signature trick.

<--->

Brushing away several strands of pink mane that obscured her vision, Peach Fuzz casually glanced around.

A faux smile was plastered on her face. Her position at the resort demanded she keep a joyful visage at all times. But she wasn't really feeling it at the moment. Sure she could've frowned, there weren't any other ponies with her in the hallway, but it wasn't worth the risk. Especially with how on her case everypony had been lately. As if whatever had happened to the pool was her fault. If only she could get her hooves around the neck of the pony responsible she would... she'd just...!!

Peach paused in her stride as she realized her anger was showing. An annoyed sigh and several deep breathes later, she was happy again. At least on the outside. On the inside she was still seething. So she tried to remind herself that it might not even be anyponies fault. She'd have to wait for the expert from Canterlot to arrive and test the water.

Before Peach could ponder the issue further, a terror-filled scream tore through the hallway.

The shriek made her ears cling to her head and sent a shiver down her spine. Concerned and worried, Peach dashed forward to find the source of the noise. As she attempted to turn a corner she ran right into who she was looking for.

The impact sent both ponies sprawling to the floor, and Peach subsequently found herself trapped in the embrace of a horrified maid who was sobbing and spewing out words frantically at an incomprehensible rate. The maid may have technically been younger than her, but the maid was also a bit bigger than her. It took an eternal minute before Peach managed to pull herself up and comfort the maid to the point that she could actually understand what the maid was saying.

And what she heard made her pale in shocked fear. "In the room there was bl-blood everywhere. Oh sweet Celestia! I don't know what to do. I don't know what to do!! I just don't know-" The maid slipped back into incomprehensible gibberish.

"What room?" Biting her tongue for a moment, Peach fought off her own wave of panic before grabbing the maid and giving her a good, solid shake. When that didn't work, the fuzzy earth mare resorted to using a hearty slap. "What room!?"

The maid whimpered in pain, but seemed to regain herself. "It was in r-room 113."

"Stay here and keep quiet. I'll investigate." Ignoring any protests, Peach surged forward towards the indicated room. She had to verify the claims before overreacting or doing anything rash. But that didn't change the fact that she'd barely even heard her own words over her hammering heartbeat.

It unfortunately didn't take anywhere near as long to reach the room as she'd hoped. The door to room 113 was ajar. But that wasn't the first thing Peach noticed. Oh no, the first thing she noticed was the scent. It smelled similar to sticking ones muzzle into a bag of bits, except tinged with a sweetness that churned her stomach. Peach didn't stop though, even as an icy chill went up her spine. A few more steps and she began to see into the room, which made her eyes widen. There was blood in spots blood should not be. Enough to clearly indicate a severe level of violence had occurred.

Despite every part of her screaming in protest, Peach found herself slowly moving forward, possessed by a horrible, morbid curiosity. Step by step she came closer and closer to her dreaded goal. When finally close enough, a trembling hoof of hers rose to open the door. It was only then she noticed how badly she was shaking. And how badly she wanted to throw up.

Thankfully, before she could actually use her hoof to open it, the door slammed shut with a loud bang! Peach gave a startled jump. Frantically glancing around, she noticed that the door had been shut by the maid from earlier. The maid was terrified and let out a desperate whisper. "Please, don't look."

Peach shook her head as she regained her bearing, as if waking from a trance.

Unfortunately, regaining herself made her realize just how cold and clammy she was. Her heart racing at an unfathomable speed. And a contest was being held between her stomach and head, to see which could spin faster. It didn't help that several curious ponies were sticking their heads from their rooms, with looks of worry and concern.

Realizing how quickly the situation could spiral out of control, Peach forced her breathing to calm down before she could start hyperventilating. Nearly half a decade of being a junior assistant manager had taught her how to handle an emergency situation. Although nothing could've ever truly prepared her for whatever had happened in room 113. So she straightened her stance and feigned confidence like she never had before. One loud throat clearing later and all eyes were on her. "Attention everypony, this has been nothing but a misunderstanding. Please return to your rooms."

The ponies slowly returned to their rooms. The posh and pompous ones grumbling at being distracted by nothing. The smarter ones grumbling about being left out of the loop.

With a mighty glare at any would be dissenters, Peach soon had the hall cleared of any curious ponies. With a sigh she leaned in and whispered to the maid. "Lock this door and put up a 'do not disturb' sign. Then go and... just take a break. However long you need. And don't breath a word of this, understand?"

With a nod, the maid set off to do as she'd been told.

Peach meanwhile, left to find and inform the senior manager of the situation. Then she planned to go straight to the authorities. She didn't make it very far though, before her faux confidence melted away and she nearly collapsed. Waves of horror washed over her in the form of questions. Questions which she wasn't sure if she actually wanted the answers to. Despite how overwhelming it felt she managed to get up on her shaky legs and forced herself to move forward. Away from room 113. A room that would no doubt haunt her nightmares.

Somehow she made it to her destination without throwing up or passing out. Which would've been a terrible combination to experience.

<--->

Eyes flicked open.

They belonged to a dazed and disoriented pony. Looking around, this pony was surprised, and mildly worried, to discover that they were alone. They could've sworn they had been with somepony else. Their confusion was only further enhanced by the fact that their emotions seemed somehow echoed, as if the same emotion was being felt twice at once?

Looking around, they saw that they were still near the serene pond with the singing birds, playful fish, and gurgling waterfall. They even felt the weight of their amulet still around their neck. But where had their spouse gone? What had that mysterious spell from earlier done to them.

Feeling panic welling up inside with that same strange echoing quality, the pony quickly closed their eyes and took several deep, slow breaths. Some fresh water to help quell the panic was decided upon and the pony took a few, surprisingly unsteady, steps towards the clear, beckoning water. Like a sailor drawn to a siren. But before reaching their goal, something unusual was noticed. Their surroundings, from the trees of the forest to the small pond, seemed smaller than they had been before. Shaking off the bizarre observation as nothing more than a side effect of the mysterious spell, the pony continued stumbling towards the pond.

Only to suddenly jump back with a horrified yelp at the reflected sight which revealed itself to them in the pond.

They had simultaneously expected to see two different ponies reflected. But what they saw was neither the unicorn Yang nor the pegasus Yin. Instead the pony's reflection was that of what appeared to be a slender alicorn twice the size of an average pony with a long horn and an impressive wingspan. The most striking feature however were their eyes. The left was a fiery amber, while the right was an icy blue.

"What happened to me?" The pony questioned theirself only slightly taken aback by their peculiar dual-toned voice. "A-And what happened to Yin?"

'I'm right here Yang.' The faux alicorn leapt in surprise at the voice in their head and looked around in confusion, searching for the source. 'To put it simply, I'm inside you.'

They shuffled a bit with a nervous chuckle. "W-What do you mean? Isn't that usually my job?"

The faux alicorn suddenly raised a forehoof and slapped theirself across the face, hard. "Now isn't the time to be immature. Thanks to those amulets we're clearly sharing a body now. Just look at our amulets now."

Somewhat shaken at the feeling of their mouth moving by his wife's volition instead of his own, Yang forced himself to ignore the sensation and did as she had asked. Turning their face back to their reflection, Yang noticed the amulet they were wearing was actually both amulets connected as one without any seeable seam between the two. The chains it hung by were interwoven together and much shorter than before. So short that the amulet could no longer be removed.

'This is weirder than Yin's annual hunting trip.'

"I heard that." Once again the faux alicorn gave a startled jump, causing some of their mane to obscure their vision.

Yin moved the ruby mane, with it's violet highlights, out of the way with a hoof and raised their wings to admire their new form. It reminded her of a forest fire, with such a mane atop their forest green coat. A coat filled with tangerine and yellow swirls. Her favorite part was of course the wings which were akin to burning branches. They were only green along the major veins. The rest of the wings consisted of an ever-deepening shades of tangerine. The feathers however were mainly frost blue, like her eyes had been, and also grew a deeper shade the closer they got to their tips. Like beautiful blue flames.

Yang also took a moment to admire their new form. The earthy brown that had once been his mane now dominated their legs as if they were tree trunks, with the occasional green tone blended in. Their horn however was what most took his attention. It was more than double the length his had been before, and was now only green at the bottom and slowly morphed into a rich amber at the top.

For a few priceless moments they stood awed by the sight. Impressed by the way the hodgepodge of colors on their new form mixed so perfectly, complete with new shades and tones. It was far less garish than it had any right to be. They actually looked like a majestic alicorn. A force of nature itself.

Yin and Yang were both brought back to reality by an uncomfortable pressure around their eyes. This led to the realization that their eyes had been moving in separate directions the entire time they both had been examining their new form. A quick head shake accompanied by rapid blinking soon corrected the problem.

Finally, Yang asked the obvious question. "So, um, what now? Are we just going to be stuck like this forever?"

The faux alicorn wore a worried look on their face, which Yin ignored as she raised a hoof to stroke their chin in thought. "Doubtful. Shovel and Shield had to have known about this. If anything, that's probably why they entrusted the amulets to us. I don't know why they wouldn't just tell us. But no matter! There must be a way to undo this, so let's see if we can figure it out."

"Ok. Maybe I could use my, er... our, magic to-"

"NO! We know nothing about the spell that binds us. Introducing foreign magic could be disastrous. This is clearly some sort of transformation spell. Those are always particularly nasty when messed with by somepony who doesn't know what they're doing."

"Oh, uh, right. Of course! I totally knew that."

The peaceful sounds of wildlife frolicking in the nearby vicinity were silenced by the sudden loud smacking of a hoof meeting with a forehead. "Please don't tell me that the pegasus was the one paying more attention in the requisite magic classes. Or did you just attend a really bad school?"

The faux alicorn blushed and let out a bit of nervous laughter. "I just, you know, have always been more interested in athletics." Their voice trailed off at the end as the faux alicorn suddenly found the amulet around their neck to be immensely fascinating.

A giggle escaped their lips as Yin noticed, in their reflection, just how adorable their blush was.

The examination of the amulet unfortunately didn't lead to any results. The two amulets had, as far as either Yin or Yang could tell, completely fused into one. One amulet that could be neither separated nor removed.

Still, despite this set back, the husband and wife continued fiddling with the amulet around their neck for the better part of an hour. A process which was repeatedly hindered by their bickering and struggles for control whenever a new idea occurred to one of them. All it led to however was them once more plunging into the peaceful pond. It was far less enjoyable the second time around.

Their pondering was only interrupted by the growling of their stomach, which reminded them of their lack of any sort of breakfast for the day. Thankfully their getaway saddlebag included snacks, mostly trail mix. So as they began exploring their new tastebuds, they also explored their new telepathy.

'But if we're seen like this, there's no telling how everypony would react!'

'Surprise, confusion, and perhaps a bit of fearful respect.' Yin shrugged their shoulders. She had answered absently as she enjoyed the enlightening discovery of why her husband so loved the abomination known only as raisins. Her focus returned to the present conversation. 'But it's better than being stuck like this. They have to know the solution. How could they not after owning the amulets for so many years? Especially after how easily we stumbled upon this?'

'Well yeah, probably. But what if they really don't-'

Yang's thought was interrupted by a sudden, offensive blast of magic, which hit them in the side and sent them sprawling across the ground. As they skidded to a stop their trail mix and getaway saddlebag were also sent flying, the contents of both scattered to the winds.

The world was still spinning even after their body stopped. Yin tried to get them up as fast as possible, but Yang just wanted to put their forehooves to their head for a moment 'til the spinning stopped. Unfortunately this conflict of interests lead to them only getting halfway up before falling again and landing on their jaw with a painful moan. The sound of a deep belly laugh brought them back to focus as the newlyweds looked up and caught sight of the two thugs they hadn't wanted to ever see again.

Crow Bar eventually stopped laughing long enough to give them a look of mock pity, which only made him chuckle a bit more. "Well, it looks like you two are having a jolly good time. Care to finally hoof over the Tao Amulets?"

"Sorry." Yang replied as they managed to right theirself. "But I'm afraid we're a bit attached to them at the moment."

"A shame really... Knuckles, could you do me a solid?"

Before the sound of cracking knuckles could even finish ringing out into the air, the massive earth pony flung himself at the faux alicorn. His rapid speed easily as impressive as his great bulk. Fortunately both Yin and Yang had the sense to quickly dodge out of the way, unfortunately their attempts were in separate directions. And thus they went nowhere. Until hoof met flesh in the form of an uppercut and the faux alicorn was sent flying towards the heavens, for the split second it took before a pair of hooves met their barrel in the form a powerful buck. In the span of half a second their trajectory was radically and painfully changed.

Yin and Yang had no chance to recover as their combined form very briefly careened through the forest. An ear-splitting crack rung out as their back met a tree. Their spine would've certainly shattered from the force, had Yin's natural pegasus resillence not been so greatly enhanced by their transformation. Although it did still hurt like Tartarus. While her husband was stunned by vertigo, Yin was used to it and quickly sprung them out of the way by pure instinct.

Her quick reflexes saved them a split second before a hoof split the tree in two!

The severed top of the tree crashed down upon the earth pony's head. But Knuckles didn't even flinch. Instead he merely reached up, grabbed the trunk, and swung it as if it were a giant bat. With a mighty thwack the faux alicorn was sent flying once more.

"Homerun!" The minicorn cheered jubilantly, at least 'til their quarry disappeared out of sight. "Damn it. Go find them!"

Meanwhile, the feel of air streaming past their body caused the faux alicorn to instinctively spread out their wings. Yin quickly took control in an attempt to stabilize their flight. Their new form had a completely different wingspan and weight distribution which she probably could've accounted for at least enough for a softer landing, if it hadn't been for her husband.

Yang had never had wings before and this was his first real moment truly experiencing the bizarre sensation of wind rushing through feathers. As such he couldn't even fully grasp what he was feeling. Without even realizing it he began fidgeting the wings and, more dangerously, twitching individual feathers. This wouldn't have been a problem had they been on the ground. So, considering their current situation, it was only natural for them to go plummeting like a spiraling rock before the ground welcomed them.

The ground did not give them a friendly welcome.

The faux alicorn spent several moments laying in the small crater their impact had created, while trying to catch their breath. Finally the fused creature lot of a low moan, but it wasn't out of pain. They felt every ache and pain their body had sustained. And it felt good.

Shivers rippled through them as Yin finally came to truly understand why her husband enjoyed pain so much. Sure it hurt. But somehow that just made it even better. However, she rapidly shook their head to clear away the distracted thoughts, and turned her focus to escaping before their pursuers found them again. After shaking away the slight stiffness that had begun accumulating in their wings, she gave them a mighty flap and nearly screamed at the dangerous rate of acceleration.

And so they fled; with all the grace of a drunk bumblebee.

<--->

Her heart threatened to explode, her lungs indulged in greed, and her sweat glands forgot their union-sanctioned break.

The mare these bodily functions belonged to was scared. Scared of the guards flanking her, of the situation she currently found herself in, and of the remote possibility that her heart might actually deliver on its threat.

But mostly Peach Fuzz was scared of losing control of her stomach or bladder and embarrassing herself in front of the guards. As junior assistant manager she had a reputation to uphold. Both personally to herself, and professionally on behalf of the resort. Her eyes shot around. Peach tried to find something, anything, to take her mind off the massive stress she was under.

The two guards, with their glare-inducing armor, were of no help in the matter as she lead them to her, or rather the maid's, gruesome discovery. If anything they unnerved her even more. Less so for their weapons, and more so for the fact that their enchanted armor made them look identical. She wouldn't have even known that one was a mare and the other a stallion if it hadn't been for their scents. Their rather pungent scents, thanks to the heavy, sweat-inducing armor.

Beyond the two guards, the only other pony with them was a lanky pegasus who had been introduced to her as a forensic photographer. She hadn't even known such a job existed before that day. And she honestly wished she still hadn't known. Peach couldn't help but feel sorry for him, despite his unexpectedly cheerful demeanor. He was kinda cute though and if they'd met under better conditions she probably would've tried flirting with him. But now, thanks to her brush with his workplace, Peach really didn't want to have to ever see him again.

It was starting to get harder and harder to avoid hyperventilating as her eyes continued their frantic searching for something distracting. But their was nothing else to see beyond the familiar resort all around her. And nothing else to hear expect their hooves gently clopping on the floor.

Just as it seemed as if the unbearableness of it all was going to completely overwhelm her, a loud crashing sound echoed through the hall.

It would've been a welcome distraction if it hadn't made her scream like a little filly. A scream which she quickly stopped with her hoofs. Hoofs which then proceeded to cover her face as it burned crimson. Her ears also grew hot and clung desperately to her head.

Yet another unwanted sound escaped her lips, this time a sharp yelp, as she felt something soft wrap around her in a comforting matter. Looking up, she found the source to be the forensic photographer's wing. As much as wanted to accept the comfort and let out her restrained tears, instead she gently pushed him away and gave her head a firm shake. She was still on duty and had a job to do. Without further ado she calmed herself with a deep breath before galloping after the guards, who had already went to investigate the disturbance.

The sudden sound of wingbeats was the only indication that the lanky pegasus was following.

The disturbance had come from near one of the resort's pools. More specifically, the same pool which had been closed off to the guests due to a mysterious outbreak of itchiness that it had caused. What Peach found when she got there was genuinely the last thing she expected.

An alicorn. A motherbucking alicorn!

Peach suddenly found herself questioning the validity of her reality out of shock. Was that day of her life really actually happening at that moment? It seemed so unlikely, yet the evidence was right in front of her. And it wasn't even one of the princesses. That at least would've been somewhat understandable, if one of the princesses had somehow already heard about what had transpired in room 113. But nope! It was just some random, androgynous alicorn.

The alicorn had apparently crashed into the pool area, sending many of the chairs and umbrella-tables flying off in various directions. The guards meanwhile did nothing about the situation as their usual stoic facade had been shattered. They just stared in shock at the alicorn, who stared back with an echoed expression. The only sound to break the shocked standoff was a camera's clicks as the opportunistic forensic photographer took some sweet pics to sell to the papers.

The mutual shock probably would've lasted longer if all tartarus hadn't suddenly broken out.

It broke out in the form of an arrival. An arrival of two ponies; one a small unicorn who would've looked adorable if he weren't so obviously sleazy, and a massively intimidating earth pony. Peach wouldn't have even noticed them if the little one hadn't loudly cleared his throat.

Once he had everypony's attention, he spoke up, literally, considering his size. "Oh, we have an audience. No problem. Our mission is far too important to stop now."

And then it all happened so fast. The minicorn shot a blast of concentrated magic at the guards in a flash of yellow. One of the guard was harshly thrown back and lost consciousness as his head hit a concrete pillar, hard. Only his magically strengthened helmet kept his head in one piece. The other guard was immediately snapped out of her stupor as she made a beeline towards the olive green unicorn. Only to be intercepted by the giant, silver earth pony, who easily swatted her away like a rag doll. So much force was behind the strike that she quickly flew out of sight.

The harsh events quickly returned Peach to her senses as she realized she had to do something before things got too out of hoof. She was still the junior assistant manager after all. Trying in vain to keep the shaking out of her voice, she called out. "Hey! Y-You can't do that. Stop right-"

Somehow the earth pony was capable of nigh impossible speed. A fact Peach discovered only a fraction on a second before the hoof collided with her stomach. Her world became pain as she flew a short distance before skidding upon the concrete ground of the pool area. Her trip only stopping once she hit one of the pillars. She barely had time to even curl up in the fetal position before colossal hindlegs struck the pillar right above her, shattering it and sending a stone balcony, that hung above the pool area, plummeting towards her.

"NO!!" An uncanny, dual-toned voice screamed.

Peach however ignored the voice and closed her eyes tight as she awaited the inevitable stony embrace. But instead she felt a different kind of embrace as gentle, yet firm, forelegs wrapped around. Then there was the feeling of great speed and air rushing over her, before her world became warmth.

"Are you okay?" The strange, yet compassionate, dual-toned voice asked.

With a whimper, Peach opened her eyes and found herself staring into the heterochromic eyes of the alicorn. The icy blue eye helped calm her, while the fiery amber eye filled her with the warmth of safety. She found herself transfixed.

"Are you okay?" The alicorn repeated with concern. "Nothing's broken, right?"

Brought back to awareness, Peach realized the great warmth she felt was from the alicorn's wings wrapped securely around her. Her nostrils were pleasantly overwhelmed with the larger pony's scent. The smell was akin to a forest burning in the winter. It was strong and musky like a stallion with a whiff of an ashy quality, but not unpleasantly so, and yet the scent was also sweet like a mare with a whiff of a minty frost. Peach nuzzled into the alicorn's chest and breathed the scent in deeply, letting it wash over her. As she did, the larger creature's heartbeat felt like a soothing lullaby.

Suddenly realizing what she was doing, only after the alicorn cleared their throat, she winced back in embarrassment. Peach's face a bright crimson, and her heart racing. "S-Sorry!! I just wanted to-to thank you for saving me. So, um... t-thank you. Oh, and I'm fine by the way!"

"We're glad to hear that." The alicorn spoke kindly, the two tones flowing together like honey, and shared a smile that made the young mare's heart rate nearly unbearable. "Now you'd better go before those brutes find us."

Peach couldn't stop the slight disappointed whinny that escaped her muzzle as the alicorn released her from their embrace. "B-But..."

"Yeah! We wouldn't want anything to happen to our favorite little Peach Fuzz." The alicorn suddenly added with a cocky smirk, before darting forward and giving her a quick peck on the lips.

Now poor Peach was as flustered as she was confused. So many questions buzzed through her mind like an agitated beehive. Who was this alicorn? How did they know her name? And why had they kissed her only to immediately slap theirself across the face hard enough to leave a mark? Before she could even begin to process those and the other dozens of questions that barraged her mind, she heard the sound of wings ruffling, which led to a startling realization.

The alicorn was leaving!

"WAIT!!" Peach shouted with surprising force and froze when the alicorn returned their gaze to hers. Her mind racing to figure out the right thing to say. "W-Who are you? And how do you know me?"

For a moment there was silence as the alicorn tilted their head and rubbed their chin in thought. The moment began to stretch into an uncomfortable length when the alicorn threw a quick look at the cutie mark emblazoned upon their flanks. Then the moment had to go and turn embarrassing for Peach as the alicorn used the hoof that had previous been rubbing their chin to adjust her name tag. The same name tag Peach had obviously been wearing the whole time! Finally the moment thankfully came to an end when the alicorn gave a satisfied nod and answered the question with a smile.

"Call us Taijitu." And with that Taijitu gave a mighty flap of their wings, sending Peach to her haunches with the frigid force, as the alicorn sped off back from whence they came.

The fuzzy earth pony just sat there watching their departure, even long after they'd disappeared from sight.

Her mind was abuzz, her lips were tingling, and her heart was racing. The recent events flashing through her head in a seemingly endless loop. The shock of seeing an unfamiliar alicorn. The terrifying excitement of her sudden, dramatic rescue. Including the following warmth of the alicorn's embrace, including the strong, soothing heartbeat. Peach wrapped her forelegs around herself in a tight hug as she shivered at the memory of the alicorn's intoxicating scent and beautiful, melodic even, dual-toned voice. Finally she grew exceptionally warm as she recalled the firm, yet gentle, kiss. A mere split second of her life which had felt like an eternity in paradise.

Peach's mind melted into fantasy as she let out an infatuated sigh. All before she dreamily whispered a special promise to herself. "No matter the difficulty and no matter the obstacles... one day I'm going to marry that pony."

<--->

Taijitu wobbled unsteadily through the air as they headed off towards their destination. Mr. and Mrs. Bearer's room. They desperately needed the guidance of those two elders. With some help the newlyweds could hopefully learn to control the Tao Amulets, figure out who exactly it was that wanted the amulets, and for what purpose.

Thankfully, they made it to the room without interruption and quickly knocked on the door. Their knocking soon grew frantic when their was no answer.

'I don't think they're here Yin.'

"Then why leave a 'do not disturb' sign on the door?" Taijitu questioned under their breath. Yin however gave it little more thought as she shook their head to clear the question away. "Doesn't matter. There might be something in their room that can help us."

Without hesitation, Yin plucked one of their smaller feathers. An act which greatly surprised Yang, not by the action itself but by the strange new stinging sensation of having one's feather plucked. He kinda liked it. Yin meanwhile chose to ignore her husband's perverse pleasure as she attempted to pick the lock with the feather. Their hooves were larger than what she was used to, but she managed to compensate just fine and skillfully performed her duty.

Hardly a moment later and the door came unlocked with a simple click.

The door was quickly flung open. Only for the faux alicorn to freeze at the grotesque sight which greeted their eyes. The room was a bloody mess. Literally!

Yang wanted to throw up at the sight, but Yin kept their stomach strong with a steely resolve as she calmly walked them into the room. Much to her husband's dismay. Although he felt too numb from shock to actually try and stop her.

'Yin, what are you doing!? I don't want to be here!'

Yin however, didn't answer as they went right up the bed. Upon which laid what was left of the elderly couple. With a hoof, which she couldn't quite keep from shaking, Yin gently closed their eyes. Then they turned around and just as calmly strode towards the exit. There was no point in searching the room for clues. The messy nature clearly indicated that it'd already been thoroughly searched by the killers. Anything useful had no doubt already been taken.

Once back outside, as the door closed with a gentle click behind them, Taijitu raised their head to the heavens. Their eyes narrowed as tears streamed from them and down their cheeks. Yet their voice held a quiet, icy calm as Yin gave her ultimatum.

"Grandpa, I'll make them pay for this. I promise."

TO BE CONTINUED...

Author's Note

Part 3 of 'Responsibility' coming Jan, 2018.

Constructive feedback and criticism is both welcomed and encouraged in the comments below. Thanks! Also, feel free to PM me for details if you're interested in commissioning me to write your story.