Nocturnal Mayhem

Chapters

Chapter I: Life
Chapter II: Foal
Chapter III: Alicorns
Chapter IV: Cousin
Chapter V: Block
Chapter VI: Flash
Chapter VII: Needle
Chapter VIII: Interviews
Chapter IX: Liftoff
Chapter X: Message
Chapter XI: Fusion
Chapter XII: Sparring
Chapter XIII: Perspectives
Chapter XIV: Confrontation
Chapter XV: Capabilities
Chapter XVI: Relative
Chapter XVII: Discussions
Chapter XVIII: Mirror
Chapter XIX: Sunset
Chapter XX: Plans
Chapter XXI: Tree
Chapter XXII: Challenge
Chapter XXIII: Warnings
Chapter XXIV: Funds
Chapter XXV: Measurements
Chapter XXVI: Arcade
Chapter XXVII: Thoughts
Chapter XXVIII: Gold
Chapter XXIX: Quiet
Chapter XXX: Steel
Chapter XXXI: Bubble
Chapter XXXII: Memories
Chapter XXXIII: Dimensional Lords
Chapter XXXIV: Fate
Chapter XXXV: Sirens

Chapter I: Life

Death. Some folk normally fear it, while others embraced it after living a worthy life. Me? I didn't get a chance to figure it out, since you can't choose to embrace death when you have someone punch a hole in your chest where your heart was. But that's what you get when you decide to take on a cosmic evil in order to save untold lives, at least I was able to watch my foe disintegrate into dust after I shoved a sword into their face. Yet, one would think that taking out a cosmic evil would mark my name in the history books. One would think that, except for the fact that the only witnesses of said feat were my fellow guardians of the cosmos, who were a bunch of pricks. We only worked together cause we have a duty to preserve the natural balance of the dimensions, but otherwise, we can't stand each others' guts. So odds are they're taking all the credit for my 'heroics', while I end up being forgotten. Still, I got the job done and save at least a few lives from a horrible death, so I guess my death was worth it in the end...

Except the afterlife was just darkness. Pure, absolute, darkness. At least I have my thou—and something is poking me in the nose. Great, I'm going to that afterlife. Just pea—

"I don't think you should be doing that," said a feminine voice breaking me out of my mental rant since I wasn't expecting company.

"I was just checking to make sure she's alive," replied a male voice. Wait, she?

"Idiot, you can tell by just seeing her wither's rising up and down," said the first voice. Huh, guess I might not be dead after all. One doesn't normally expect their gender to change when they die... unless it's a great fear or desire for them, which isn't either case for me.

"Oh... then I wonder how long it will take Dusk to get back with the princess, cause I have no idea what to do with a napping alicorn filly," said the second voice as I decided to finally try moving my body about, only to find it has changed. Thankfully this change is only the third one to happen to me, and odds are this isn't worse than my first one.

"Well, not poking her in the nose with the blunt end of your spear would be a good start," the first voice said, as I decided to crack open my eyes, only to spot two rather small horses that were looming over me, both bearing gray coats and some kind of purple armor and... bat wings.

"Um... I think she's waking up," said the horse from the right, who had a bit more of a bulkier build, which along with the voice meant he was a male.

"Great, you had to wake her up!" the other one, who I assume to be the female, shot back while giving the stallion a glare. Ignoring their squabbling for a bit, I darted my eyes about, taking in the scenery, which seemed to be some kind of garden in some mansion or palace, judging by the rather decorated walls surrounding us, with a night sky overhead. After getting enough of my surroundings, I looked down at myself, or specifically my forelimbs, which appeared to be two dark blue stumps before me. Twisting them around, and then glancing at the bickering horses in front of me, I note that I was the same species as them, or possibly a subspecies as I turned my head about to see that I had a pair of feathered wings twitching at my sides, along with a dark purple tail coming out of my rump.

"Great... I'm a small... or tiny blue horse," I muttered out loud, noting the feminine tone of my voice as I let out a sigh. Still, better than the first transformation, I thought to myself as I got onto my fe—hooves. Glancing at the two horses that were apparently lost in their argument, I shrugged as I started to walk to the nearest door, albeit slow at first. Upon reaching the door, I could only frown as I saw that the knob was a doorknob that was high above my head. While I was certain that I could jump up to its level, I doubt that I could hang off it and open the door at the same time. My wings fluttered at my frustration, causing me to glance at them. At first, I thought that I could try flying with them, before disregarding the idea since I never flew before, besides the various bizarre shenanigans I been though. One would think that after being sent to several worlds to take on eldritch horrors, one would find some kind of means to achieve flight, yet that never happened to me. Even my colleagues teased that to me, especially the ones that could fly.

"Hey! What are you doing?" said the feminine horse, drawing my attention back towards them as the trotted over to me.

"Umm... Grace? Aren't we supposed to be respectful to royalty?" asked the male one, causing 'Grace' to give him a deadpanned look.

"Shade, until the princesses declare this filly to be royalty, I'm going to treat her as an intruder," Grace countered, as I raised an eyebrow at Shade's statement. Grace then returned her attention to me as she ordered, "You, stay here and don't move."

"Okay, but what is this business about me being royalty?" I asked, my curiosity perked at what Shade stated.

Raising an eyebrow, Shade leaned his head close to Grace as he whispered, "Oh great, she's going to be like the last one."

Rolling her eyes, Grace muttered back, "What next, we're going to have a pink baby alicorn?"

"You two do realize that I can still hear you, right?" I stated, giving both of them a flat stare as they blushed at my statement till Grace shook her head clear of it.

"Look, you lit—" Grace started to say until the door slammed open, the one that I so happened to be in front of, which lead to the obvious result of me being sent flying.

"This is not a good sign," I said to myself as I saw the world fly past me, until I landed in a bush.

"Where is this foal that I was told of!" shouted a new voice, one that was also feminine.

"Princess Luna!" shouted the two guards in unison, as I blew a leaf out of my face.

"Guards, weren't you suppose to watch over the filly?" Luna asked.

"Well... we were... but she then woke up and went over to the door..." Shade answered, causing Luna to let out a gasp as realization stuck her.

"By Faust! Where has the filly go—there she is!" Luna screamed, making me wonder if she's naturally loud, until I felt some kind of energy engulfing around me before pulling me out of the bush. Before I could move my head to see who this Luna was, my face immediately impacted someone's furry chest as I felt who I now assumed to be Luna giving me a hug as she shook me about while squealing like a little girl. Wiggling my head free from her embrace, I looked up to see that Luna was also a horse, but of a larger size compared to the other two, covered in blue fur with black silver regalia, with the exception of the black tiara right behind her horn, on top of her mane which was... moving about like the wind was blowing and seemed to have stars in it.

"Hey, didn't Celestia's colt had a similar reaction to her?" Shade muttered to Grace.

Before Grace could even say a response, I stated, "Still can hear you two," as I turned my head to look at them, embrassment clear on Shade's face. It's a good thing that for most species, facial expressions tend to be similar, with the exceptions belonging to those of radically different body design.

Clearing her throat, Grace stepped forward as she said, "Princess? I know that you've been desiring a foal of your own, espically since your sister now has one, but aren't you forgetting something?"

This caused Luna to freeze, her blue pupils shrinking a bit before she jerked her head down to look at me. "Young one, are you lost? Are your parents looking for you?"

Frowning at the choice of questions, I simply said, "I would be surprised if they were, considering that they're six feet under." This resulted in everyone giving me a confused look, causing me to sigh at my failed attempt of dark humor as I answered, "No, cause I don't have parents."

Pupils widening as sorrow filled everyone's eyes, Luna asked, "Do... you have any kin looking for you? Or friends?"

My frown deepening, I replied, "No? I'm all alone? Why are you asking me these questions?" Personally, I find this to be an unexpected turn of events. I was thinking that I would simply get an earful and then tossed out of the place, not to be suddenly hugged by a princess.

At my answer, everyone's eyes started to water from sadness, which only caused me to just give them a confused stare. Sure, I have no one, but I don't expect absolute strangers to pity me, given the fact that I'm currently an intruder. However, my train of thought was cut off when Luna tightened her embraced around me, even moving onto nuzzling my cheek as she said, "Do not worry, little one. You won't be alone anymore, I will take care of you now."

"Princess? I think you're still ski—" Shade started to say before Grace stuck a hoof into his mouth.

"Just let her have this moment," Grace hissed at him, as Luna continued to nuzzle me, much to my annoyance.

Putting a hoof on her cheek, I stopped her nuzzling for a moment as I said, "Now wait a minute, what is going on here? And who are you people?"

The two horses that I assumed to be some sort of guards look at each other before letting out a sigh, as Luna looked at me with a look of apprehension, answering, "I am Princess Luna, and these two are Graceful Wind and Shadow Wing, two of my personal guard. Young one, do you know where you are?" Receiving a shake of my head, she then pressed on, "Filly, could you give us your name?"

Eyeing the whole lot of them, I bit on the inside of my lip as I remembered the policies of my little group, the Dimensional Lords: Keep your yap shut when around primitive cultures. Unless you're planning to take over, then go have fun. Based on naming conventions, my real name would only raise undesired questions, so I quickly thought to myself before noticing the stars in Luna's mane again, causing an idea to spark. "My name is Nebula."

Humming to herself, Luna stated, "A fitting name for an alicorn," which caused me to quirk an eyebrow in confusion before I spotted the two outstretched wings on her back. This prompted me to look at my forehead, where I saw that I too had a horn jutting out of it. This caused me to put two and two together, explaining why the two guards were assuming royalty. However, before I could get another word out, Luna then continued, "Young Nebula, under the current circumstances presented before us, and the highly unlikely event that you simply escaped from an orphanage, I, Princess Luna, will be taking guardianship of you for the time being." That only caused me to pale a bit at the implications of that statement.

Oh fuck me, now not only I'm suddenly royalty, but I now have a princess as my guardian! my mind shrieked to myself. Normally, people would find this odd when someone finds themselves placed in a position of power and privilege have a thought like that, except for one simple fact: I hate politics, with a passion.

Chapter II: Foal

"Nebula? Young one? Are you okay?" Luna asked, shaking me out of my stupor to see what she was giving me a concerned look.

"Umm... it was nothing, I just spaced out there for a bit," I answered, blinking owlishly before scrunching up my nose. "And just wait a minute, you can't just declare yourself my guardian just like that," I stated, looking straight at Luna's eyes as she gave me a bemused expression.

"So are you saying that I shouldn't be your guardian, little one?" Luna asked, causing me to bristle a bit at being called little.

"Yes, I am saying that I don't want to have a guardian," I shot back, wondering if this princess is hard of hearing.

"Very well then, I will assent to your desire," Luna calmly replied, causing me to tilt my head in confusion.

"Oka—"

"I will instead adopt you as my own foal then," Luna said with a smirk, causing my mind to stall for a moment. "Guards, follow us, for I am heading to the dining room so my foal can have a meal," Luna continued as she stood up, placing me on her back before starting a trot.

"...What just happened?" I finally croaked out as Luna headed inside, with the two horse guards following behind.

"I think you just got tricked," Grace said, only to fold her ears back against her head when Luna turned her head around to give the mare a glare. "I mean, it is an honor to meet the newest member of the royal family," Grace continued, giving Luna a smile as she gave her a snort in return before returning her attention to her front.

"...Okay, you win this round, for now," I stated as I narrowed my eyes at the back of Luna's head, causing her to let out a chuckle.

"I see that you have some steel in yourself. That is a trait I would like to see in my heir, for ponies have grown soft these days," Luna commented, causing me to give her a confused look before turning my attention to the guards.

"You two are soft?" I asked, causing them frown at me.

"We're your guards, princess to be Nebula," Grace shot back. "Do you think we're soft?"

"Yes, yes I do. With coats soft enough for a child to pull into a bed and cuddle before falling asleep," I countered in a deadpanned tone, causing their frowns to deepen into scowls as Luna just let out a laugh.

"Such steel and wit! You are indeed a great find," Luna said, as I felt that she had some kind of smug grin on her face.

"I didn't know I was regulated to the role of royal treasure," I muttered, before noticing that we were leaving a hallway as we entered a rather large dining room with an oversized table, and various chandeliers hanging from above, but a few of their candles were lit, leaving the room poorly lighted. Before I could say a thing, Luna lit her horn again, lifting me into the aura in some blue aura before depositing me on a chair.

"Now, my future daughter, is there anyth—why are you looking at me like that?" Luna said, due in part of me just giving her a curious stare.

"How did you move me around like that?" I simply asked, causing Grace to groan out of annoyance.

"Another foal that doesn't know about magic? Where are they coming from? Under a rock?" Grace muttered to herself, earning a brief glance from me.

Unlike the female guard, Luna kept a straight face as she answered, "Why, by magic. More specifically, I channeled my magic through my horn to cast a basic levitation spell. Child, have you ever used magic before?"

Frowning, I held back saying 'depends on your definition of magic'. Instead, I replied, "No, I haven't," as I glanced about, curious about something as I spotted a candlestick. Lifting my hoof by an inch, I flick the tip of it towards the candlestick, only to see that nothing happened to it. Grand, either I don't have my powers anymore, or they're too weaken for me to use right now, I thought to myself as a frown appeared on my face, that my mother-to-be happened to have noticed.

"Do not fret, my child. I will teach you how to use your magic," Luna said with a smile that I believe was meant to calm me down, which only faltered as I simply returned her smile with a blank stare.

"But aren't you a princess? Don't you have some royal duties and what not to attend to?" I finally asked after a short moment, breaking up the silence.

"Nonsense, any mother will make time for their daughter," Luna answered as her smile returned, though a bit strained as I kept my blank stare. It went on for another moment before I pointed a hoof at her face, causing her smile to dropped as her expression turned into confusion.

"Fine, but no teaching me politics, I'm not interested in that junk," I said, causing Luna to frown but nod in response.

"Understandable, for an eight year old is still too young to understand such a topic," Luna responded, as Grace leaned her head closer to Shade as she tried to whisper to him privately, yet my ears turned to her direction.

"Funny that she didn't refuse being referred to as a daughter when she didn't want a guardian," Grace muttered to Shade.

"What's funnier is that you still think I can't hear you two," I shot back as I turned my attention to them, causing Grace to straight her head back up. "Besides, if I'm becoming the adopted daughter of a princess, who happens to be your boss, doesn't that mean I have some sort of authority over you two?" I continued, quirking an eyebrow at Grace who promptly started to sweat.

"No hints at threatening the guard, Nebula," Luna reprimanded, before turning her attention to Grace. "And watch your tongue, Graceful Wind, or do you desire to irk me?"

Sweat more visible on her face, Grace bowed her head down as she answered, "My apologies your highness, I meant no offense."

"Very good then, servants!" Luna hollered out, clapping her hooves together, causing a side to open as the castle staff poured out. "This... filly and I will be having a meal now, so treat her accordingly." As the staff approached me, their eyes widen as they muttered to themselves, while I was able to get a view of the horses, seeing some with feathery wings, some with horns, and some with neither of them. This led me to realize that horses that had both might be a rare case, hence why alicorns were viewed as royalty. With haste, the staff placed down proper dining ware before me, even providing me with a menu. Opening it, I was able to read the menu, causing me to be pleased with myself as this told me that despite my active abilities were lost or suppressed, my passive abilities were still present. That or I ended up on a world that both had the same language and writing systems as my native homeworld, but the odds of that were incredibly slim.

Coughing to get everyone's attention, Shade then said, "Umm... princess? Not to intrude, but shouldn't there be more light to make it easier for... Lady Nebula to read the menu?"

Pupils widening, Luna said, "Of course, how could I forget!" as she lit her horn up. Instantly, all the candles in the room lit up, causing me to squint my eyes for a moment before letting them adjust. Okay, apparently the lifeforms of this world aren't nocturnal after all, I mused to myself as I scan the menu again. After seeing the various foods these horses ate, I simply ordered what I believed to be a well-balanced meal, which only surprised everyone, who were probably expecting for me to order the desserts on the menu. However, Luna's look of surprise soon turned into one of pride as she said, "An alicorn that looks after their own health! You would serve as a great example to my sister's own foal!"

Frowning, I decided to tackle an issue that has been bothering me since the moment I got here. "Okay, but I got to ask: why are you so accepting of my presence without a question of doubt of where I came from?"

Blinking for a bit at first, Luna eventually replied, "It is because you are an alicorn, and a young one at that. Furthermore, I detect no traces of another pony's magic on you, so you're not somepony's pawn in some nefarious scheme."

Young my ass, I'm over two hundred dimensional solar cycles old, I thought to myself with a snort, before pressing on with my questioning. "Not to be ungrateful towards you, but I'm just skeptical of all this. I normally don't see... 'anypony' being welcome with open... hooves like this before," I countered while noting the term somepony that Luna used in her answer.

Taking in a breath, Luna responded, "Nebula, it seems that you don't understand the significance of your presence in Equestria. Do you have any understanding of how important an alicorn is?"

"Beyond being royalty, which is based on what I saw so far, I have nothing to say," I said, wondering what Luna was trying to get at.

"Alicorns don't simply appear on the whims of the world, Nebula. Prior to recent events, there were only three alicorns in all of Equestria, but now we have two new alicorns to add to our number. Your appearance on our world was dictated by destiny, and since we are meant to guide everypony live better lives, then naturally your presence on this world is naturally accepted as a sign of good fortune," Luna explained, as I held back the need to snort. Destiny? If only she knew I was a fateless, then maybe she'll have second thoughts about me. Still, if they think I'm here for some glorious fate to bring others to a better future, might as well let them think that. Besides, I could use a break for a few years, I thought to myself before giving Luna a nod, receiving a smile of satisfaction from her in return just before the staff returned with the food I ordered, which consisted of a salad, some kind of flower sandwich, and a tall glass of milk.

Munching on the food, I looked up at Luna as I asked, "Okay... so what's the plan... 'mother', if you're actually going to adopt me?"

Chewing on her own salad, Luna answered, "Fret not, dear child, your mother will take care of everything," as she smiled at me calling her mother. "However, in the morning, we will be showing you to your soon-to-be aunt and cousin. I'm certain that you will love meeting them."

Glancing out a window to look at the night sky, I replied, "Morning? And how long do we have till then?"

Her smile fading away, Luna tapped a hoof against her chin as she said, "It will be a few hours time... oh! You would want to be out playing underneath... the sun..." as disappointment sweeped into her voice for some reason.

Shrugging, I responded, "Eh, not really. Not a fan of bright lights to be honest," before I took a bite of the flowery sandwich, only to pause as I saw Luna looking at me with sparkling eyes. "Umm... mother? Are you ok—gah!" I started to say before Luna teleported to my side in a flash of blue light, wrapping her hooves around me as she brought me into a tight embrace.

"Oh glorious night! You are like the perfect foal brought by destiny to be my daughter!" Luna exclaimed, causing me to look at the guards in confusion.

Shade was the one to take the initiative, as he said, "Lady Nebula, Princess Luna is the Princess of the Night."

Well... that explains a lot... but at least that means that I might not have to deal with... foals all the time. Now if only Luna didn't acted like an overgrown one, then I could see this royalty thing as a vacation.

Chapter III: Alicorns

"So how's your meal, Nebula?"

"It's good."

"Just... good?"

"Yeah... is there something I'm supposed to say?" I asked, looking at the bemused expression Luna has.

"No... just that if normally a filly that finds their meal to be good would say that with a smile," Luna answered, as the two guards nodded in agreement. "In fact, I haven't seen you once smile."

"Oh, that's cause I don't smile," I calmly replied as I stuff the last piece of my meal into my mouth as the trio just blinked at me.

Upon hearing my statement, Shade just tilted his head as he asked, "You... don't smile?"

"Yes, I don't smile," I answered, twirling a fork around in my hoof.

"But... that doesn't make sense, everypony smiles," Shade stated.

"Then I'm an excep—does anypony hear that?" I asked, my ears shifting towards a certain direction, as Luna's shifted as well.

"Hear what?" Grace asked, her ears shriveling about.

"It sounds like somepony screaming no off in the distance," I commented before I noticed that Luna was giving me an odd look. "What?"

"Nothing, though I doubt your refrainment from smiling won't last for long," Luna responded, causing me to quirk an eyebrow at her.

"I'm guessing it involves that 'no' I heard?" I asked, receiving a nod in return. "Very well then, challenge accepted."

"...You're one weird alicorn," Grace finally uttered out, causing Luna to stare at her while the servant ponies came in to clean up the table.

Waving a hoof at her, I responded, "Bah, normality is boring. Being weird helps make life more interesting," before turning my attention towards Luna. "So... umm... what next on the agenda, 'mom'?" I asked, watching as Luna ran her gaze up and down my body, making me a bit uncomfortable as a result.

"Next is giving you a bath, my daughter," Luna answered, her horn lighting up.

"...Wait, what?"

"This is utterly humiliating."

"Oh hush you, many mothers wash their own foals."

"Probably because they didn't know how to bathe themselves, which is something I am capable of doing this myself."

"Perhaps, but I need you to be perfectly clean for the morning, now hold still."

"Don't you have serv... watch what you're doing with my tail," I said as I felt Luna pulling my tail up. Thankfully, she was using her magic for all the dirty work, yet it was still a disturbing experience for me as I fought off the urge to dash out of the bathroom. I wasn't in the mood to be chased around by someone holding a soapy brush.

"Relax, I know what I'm doing," Luna said, to which I was about to shoot back a retort when a certain sensation stopped me in my tracks. This led me to be tight-lipped through the rest of the wash, though I have a determination now to procure the rights to washing myself, alone.

"I'm sorry my dear daughter, but mommy has some princess duties to attend to," Luna said as I bounced off her back with each step.

"I thought it was made apparent that I'm not some kind of simple-minded foal?" I shot back. We were heading down yet another hallway, which made me wonder why some royals insist on over the top castles or palaces to live in. I already counted eleven other hallways so far, and the twelveth one is making me wonder if the designer of this place has some kind of thing for hallways.

Pausing for a moment, Luna replied, "Sorry my child, I'm just so happy about your acceptance of my adoption of you, that I'm tempted to fall into acting like a mother would for a foal of your age. Though it pleases me that you appear to be brighter than foals of your age group," before she resumed her trot.

"Appeared to be?" I asked, a scowl appearing on my muzzle.

"Yes, appeared to be. You have yet taken any aptitude exams, so your words only carry an appearance of a gifted foal, no more," Luna answered as she stopped before a door. "Ah, here we are."

"Mind telling me what you're planning?" I asked, watching as Luna's magic engulfs the doorknob, which causes me to wonder why there are doorknobs when it's clear that some ponies don't have levitation, which I noted consisted of those that lacked horns.

"Since I can't attend to you while attending to my duties, I'm placing you under the care of a pony that I know to be a good foal sitter," Luna explained as she opened the door.

"Couldn't you just stuck me in some unused closet in this place?" I replied, causing the door to stop at half-opened as Luna turned her head to give me a shocked look. "That was a joke."

"A foal that doesn't smile yet makes a joke," Luna commented, narrowing her eyes at me for a moment as I gave her a blank stare in return. This lasted for a minute before she turned her head around and opened the door to reveal a well-furnished suite, that had a mini-kitchen, a pair of doors that may led to either a bathroom or a bedroom, and was completed by a pink alicorn sitting in front of a table that held what I assumed to be a large mug of coffee. Did I mention she was pink?

"Auntie Luna! How was yo—another one?" the pink alicorn said, one of her eyebrows raising when she caught sight of me.

"Greetings, my niece. By your reaction, I believe you weren't informed of the circumstances of your awakening by the messenger I sent?" Luna asked as she trotted into the room, as I kept my eyes on the pink one.

Shaking her head slowly as she matched my stare with one of her own, the alicorn replied, "No... I just told that you needed me to take care of a foal."

"I see, then I will make the messenger learn to give a more proper message next time," Luna declared as she used her magic to put me down next to the pink alicorn, before leaning her head down to nuzzle my cheek, to my discomfort. "Mommy will be back in a few hours with a surprise," she stated before getting up and leaving the room, but not without giving me a goodbye wave that I decide to return to placate her.

After waving back to Luna, the pink alicorn turned her attention to me, a smile on her face as she said, "Hello there little one, my name is Cadence. What's your name?"

"...You're pink," I simply answered, causing Cadence to rear her head back as she blinked in surprise.

"Why... yes, my coat is pink. But can you tell me your name, little one?" Cadence asked as she kept her smile.

"You're... pink," I repeated, causing her smile to falter. "Why are you pink?"

Tilting her head as her smile started to fade, Cadence replied, "Um... cause my natural coat color is pink? Do you have a problem with the color pink?"

Instead of replying, I instead stared at her for a few minutes, causing the fading smile to turn into a frown before I finally broke the silence. "The moment has passed."

"The... what?" Cadence could only utter out as she tilted her head even more.

"The shock at the sight of your pinkness has faded for me," I explained as I looked around, noticing that there were some toys meant for a foal scattered about in one corner haphazardly, looking like it was brought here in a rush. "Oh, and my name is Nebula."

"Okay... that's a pretty name you have," Cadence stated as I poked at some wooden blocks. Trotting over to me, Cadence continued, "Oh, do you want to play with the blocks?"

Sitting down, I looked at Cadence for a brief second before asking, "Yes, do you have a match?"

"What‽"

"A match, you know, a thing that you strike to lit a fire? I want to see what the guards will do if I start a bonfire here."

Looking agast, her mouth gaping at me, Cadence just stood there for a moment as I picked up one of the wooden blocks. "I.. what... no! You're not lighting a fire! Why in Celestia's name do you want to light a fire‽"

"Cause I can, that and your reaction is amusing," I answered as I put the block on my back, noting that my hooves have some sort of gripping mechanism, before trotting over to the kitchen.

Frowning, Cadence took a deep breath before saying, "That's not very nice... and what are you doing now?" as I headed over to the fridge, noting that it has a freezer.

"Putting a block in the freezer," I replied, eyeing the freezer door. "Mind lending a... hoof?"

"And why would I help you do something like that?" Cadence asked as she trotted over to my side.

"Cause it could be the start of a trend of finding random objects in unexpected places. Would be amusing to see how ponies would react to that," I answered as looked at Cadence.

Looking at the block, and then to the fridge, Cadence responded, "I have to admit, that could be funny... as long as nopony is harmed," as she gave me a serious look that one would expect from their parents.

"Then don't assume that I'm as simple as the rest of the foals my age," I shot back as I tilt my side to let the block fall off my back before sitting down on my rump. Grabbing the block with my forehooves, I held it towards her as I continued, "Now stuff the block in the fridge before anypony comes in."

Grabbing the block with an amused expression, she opened the fridge as she said, "Seems like you're just like the other alicorn that showed up recently."

"I keep hearing about this other alicorn that I'm being compared to, and it's starting to bug me. Mind telling me who this other alicorn is?" I asked as Cadence puts the block in the fridge.

"Oh, you'll find out soon," Cadence replied with a mischievous smile, causing me to frown at her. "So if you want to be treated differently from other foals, then what do you want to do, Nebula."

Lessening my frown, I looked about, spotting a bookcase nearby. "How about you get me a history book, and no reading it aloud to me."

Quirking an eyebrow, Cadence responded, "Okay, now you're reminding me of another filly, when she was your age," causing me to let out a sigh of exasperation.

"Can everypony stop comparing me to other ponies already? It's starting to get old fast."

After pulling a few books on the basic history of Equestria, the land that I probably ended up in, I was off in my corner of the room, reading to myself as Cadence sipped her coffee as she studied me from her table, to which I just chosen to ignore. However, that came to an end a few hours later when the entrance to the room opened as a white alicorn entered, one who was taller than Luna, who happened to be right beside her.

"I don't know what surprise you're withholding from me, sist—oh..." the white alicorn commented, her expression initially full of curiosity before changing into a deadpanned one the moment her eyes landed upon me.

I was about to shot out a remark to the alicorn, when something followed her inside, something that caused the hair of my coat to bristle. I glared at the second newcomer, a white alicorn colt with a red mane, light green eyes which first shown surprise before returning my glare with one of its own, I simply had one thought for that moment.

Oh fuck this shit, it's one of those time obsessed pricks!

Chapter IV: Cousin

What's the one thing Dimension Lords typically hate more than their own fellows? The Magisters of Time, a bunch of self-rightness snobs, who hate our guts in return. Yet we can't wipe one another out due to the fact that both factions are needed to help maintain the balance of reality, so we often choose to avoid one another unless there's an affair that requires a member of both sides to be present. Regardless, for some reason, maybe due to eons long mutual loathing, one side can instantly recognize the presence of the other, no matter who they are or what form they take, it was just instinctual. Which is why I could tell that this alicorn colt was one of those, as he was giving off a vibe that screamed that particular fact.

"Nebula, meet you soon-to-be-cousin, Chrono Stream!" Luna exclaimed as she flourished a hoof towards said colt.

"I see you're already planned on adopting this filly," Celestia said in a deadpanned tone. "Oh, the nobles will have a fit when they hear of this."

"Forget that simple-minded rabble, for today is yet another glorious night! And right after Nightmare Night! Perhaps we can have a third night of glory in a row tomorrow night!" Luna shouted with glee.

"While I'm glad that you are happy, Luna, I hope that it isn't a third alicorn foal showing up. I don't think Cadence is ready to be a parent anytime soon," Celestia said, as I noticed at the edge of my vision that Cadence was heading coming to my side. Instead of acknowledging her presence, I chose to simply trot up to this 'colt', until my muzzle was mere inches away from his, as our impromptu glaring contest continued, his muzzle taking on a rather deep scowl. That was when I noticed that I was shorter than him by an inch. Why did I always end up being the short one in everything.

"Umm... aunties? I think something is wrong with the two foals," Cadence announced, drawing the attention of the two biggest mares towards her, giving me a moment to say something to the time nut.

"What are you doing here?" I quickly whispered through clenched teeth.

"None of your business, but I could ask the same for you," Chrono whispered back.

"What do you mean, Cadence?" Celestia asked.

"Well, I'll be honest then, I have no idea why I'm here," I shot back.

"Typical for one of you dimensional egomaniacs," Chrono said as he sneered at me.

"Pretentious time-obsessed snob," I whispered back.

"They're glaring at each other," Cadence stated, causing the eldest two to turn their attention to us as we turn our attention towards them, our scowls dropping as we looked at them in curiosity, though I'm certain that we were both keeping an eye on each other.

Raising an eyebrow, Celestia asked, "Have you two met before?"

"Never seen him in my entire life," I answered before Chrono could even open his mouth, causing him to frown at me.

Luna, on the other hoof, just looked at us with scrutiny for a moment until her eyes brighten as she pointed a hoof at us, exclaiming, "They were trying to assert their dominance!"

This caused all of us to direct our focus at Luna, as Celestia replied, "That is just a ridiculous thing for you to sa—"

"I was asserting my dominance," I interjected, causing Chrono to just frown at me as Celestia gave me an exasperated look.

"Then why, pray tell, were you asserting your dominance over a colt that is going to be your cousin?"

"Cause I wanted to let him know who's boss out of the two of us," I stated, causing Chrono to let out a sigh of annoyance.

Eyes shifting between the two of us, Celestia was about to let out a sigh when some kind of puff of dust came to her from out the door, reforming into a scroll that she grabbed with her magic. "Ah, it seems my student or one of her friends has sent me a letter," Celestia said as she opened it, her mood brightening briefly before it darkened, a frown coming onto her face.

"What is wrong sister? Is one of the Elements in trouble?" Luna asked with a concern look on her face after seeing Celestia's own expression changing.

"No, but this is a letter from Pinkie Pie, addressed to the newest member of our family," Celestia answered, causing me to tilt my head.

"There's a letter already addressed for me? And here I was hoping to be that black sheep of the family that no pony pays attention to," I commented, causing everyone to give me a queer look, even including Chrono. "What? I never said I was a normal pony, even if I'm an alicorn. So are you going to tell me what it is, my future aunt-to-be?"

Staring at me for a moment longer, Celestia finally said, "It just says, 'You're going to smile, and you will like it.'"

Humming to myself, I said, "Good thing I said challenge accepted."

Looking at me in shock, Celestia just walked over to me, hugging me with a hoof as she said, "Welcome to the family..."

"Nebula."

"Yes, Nebula, welcome to our family," Celestia continued before letting go as she head over to the door. "I'll see you three at breakfast, I'm going to have the chefs prepare some extra cake today."

As Chrono's eyes brighten, he trotted after Celestia as Cadence said, "But your doct—"

"Don't care, I need my cake!" Celestia countered as she went out the door with Chrono in tow.

After a brief moment of silence, I stated, "I take it those two are obsessed with cake?"

Hearing my inane question, Cadence jerked her head in my direction as she said, "Nebula! After the way you acted, you thou—"

"They are indeed, it makes me wonder how much of the state budget is spent on cake," Luna interjected, causing Cadence to look at her for a moment before dropping her head in defeat.

"This is going to be a long day..."

"Are you sure you don't want to see your aunt raising the sun?"

"I'm not a fan of bright lights, and I don't have a pair of sunglasses on... hoof."

"...Really?"

"Yes, really, which makes everything convenient for mom since she is the princess of the night after all," I said while waving my hoof around, as Cadence and I were waiting in the dining room for as the rest were attending to the task of lowering the moon and rising the sun, sitting at opposite ends of the table. Rather odd to see the solar cycle of a world being managed by a pair of ponies, but hey, I've seen stranger things in my tenure as a Dimensional Lord, so I just took it in stride.

"But then you can't play with other foals your age nor spend time with your cousin," Cadence stated, causing me to quirk an eyebrow at her.

"So you're saying you want to see a battle for dominance between Chrono and me?" I asked, causing Cadence to sputter for a moment.

"I... what? Were you really trying to assert dominance against each other? Why? You two just met!" Cadence declared, frustration sweeping into her voice with each passing word. Before I could reply, the rest of the family arrived, with Luna taking a seating next to me while Celestia sat parallel to her, while Chrono sat directly across from me, leaving Cadence the odd one out on the other side of Celestia.

As the servants came in, putting food on the table, Celestia cleared her throat, drawing my attention as she said, "Before we start breakfast, I think it's time we hear about Nebula's story," causing everyone to turn their attention towards me.

My face taking on a deadpanned expression, I answered, "Fine, my story is I died and was reborn in this body." Getting blank stares in response, I just shrugged as one of the servant ponies placed a stack of pancakes on my plate.

As I picked up a bottle of syrup, Cadence broke the silence as she said, "That's a terrible joke."

Pouring syrup on my plate with ease, while Chrono stared at my hooves in annoyance, I replied, "Take it as you will, I got nothing about my past to say, cause I don't have one prior to appearing in that garden. That or I have intense amnesia instead, who can say? But I don't think I have that."

Looking at each other for a brief moment, Celestia responded, "You're rather nonchalant about all this..."

Dabbing a bit of butter on the pancake, I said, "Well, considering that I'm going to be adopted by royalty, and I can't do anything else about my current circumstances, why care about it? Might as well roll with it and enjoy life to the fullest."

Glancing at each other, Luna declared, "Well, at least she's honest?"

Sighing as she rubbed a hoof against the ridge between her eyes, Celestia said, "Very well, we will deal with the issue of your past another time, there is a matter of the fact that you've chosen to adopt a nocturnal lifestyle like my sister. You do realize that you won't be able to enjoy the activities a foal normally partakes in during the day? Along with the fact that you won't be able to interact with other foals as a result?"

Pointing a fork at Celestia, causing her to blink, I countered, "You're asking that question, but you also forgetting to think about this: Is it a good idea to have this callous alicorn foal hanging around other foals where she could be a bad influence on them?" before cutting a fourth of the pancake with a butter knife, stabbing the fork into it before stuffing it into my mouth, much to Cadence's disgust.

Baring a slightly surprised expression, Celestia replied, "That... it is not normal for any foal to consider themselves a potential, bad influence..."

Swallowing my food, I responded, "Well, I never claimed to be a good pony, per se, but let's be realistic here. I know I'm not acting like a normal foal, based on your reactions so far. I'm betting that you three are starting to think that I'm unsuitable for social interaction with the public. You're probably right about that. I could have pulled a facade to make myself appear as a normal foal, but that's too much effort that I really not in the mood to even attempt, so I rather get this all out on the table and let you three decide what is best for me. Also, I don't like bright lights, and since's the sun is a big ball of bright light, I rather deal with the softer light of night than day."

As I stuffed another portion of my meal into my mouth, Celestia gave Luna an exasperated look, who returned it with a forced smile, as she stated, "Well, you wanted her as your daughter, I hope you have a plan for her in mind."

Her smiling faltering for a bit, Luna pointed a hoof out towards the ceiling as she declared, "Do not worry, my dear sister! Of course I have a plan on how to handle little Nebula."

As everyone in the room stared at Luna with doubt, which caused her smile to falter even more, I just stuffed the rest of my pancakes into my mouth as I thought, This can turn out two ways: She succeeds and I become a functioning member of society, or I'm declared too messed up and committed to a mental institution... my money's on the latter.

Chapter V: Block

After the family breakfast, Luna brought me over to her wing of the castle, which turned out to be called Canterlot Castle. She was originally planning on having me bunk with her, but due to my feisty attitude, she decided that it would be best for me to have a room nearby hers. Hence, I decided to turn in for the day instead of being a nuisance, mostly due to the fact that I hadn't had any solid sleep in years... okay, make it a couple centuries to be more accurate. It was times like this that made me think that I'm incredibly messed up.

After my peaceful full day of sleep, which is weird to say it that way, I opened my eyes to receive the sight of two bright blue eyes staring at me. After blinking once, I decided to go to the most logical response to finding a stranger staring at you at close blank range while you were sleeping. "No, I will not invite you into my bed for some 'fun times'. Please go away or I will yell rape and kick you in the crotch."

Pulling their head back to reveal an earth pony mare with a pink coat, and a pink mane that looked like it was made of cotton candy, the mare said as she blinked in confusion, "It's not nice to kick a pony in there, and I'm not into foals."

Raising an eyebrow, I replied, "Okay... who are you, and you better have a good reason to be here, otherwise I'm calling the guard and they will throw you into my closet."

Tilting her head, the pink mare asked, "Throw me in your closet? Don't you mean the dungeon?"

"No, my closet, with you tied up. I may need a 'playmate' one day, so better to have one on hoof then go searching for one. Now tell me why you're here in five seconds, unless you like cramped spaces," I answered.

Smiling at me, the mare exclaimed, "Hi, I'm Pinkie Pie, and you accepted my challenge, so hence I'm here!"

Frowning, I said, "Well, you're not going to make me smile in bed without taking me to dinner first," before I darted my eyes to the door, wondering why the guards outside my door didn't burst in shouting 'intruder!' However, I received my answer when I saw Grace watching this scene through a slightly opened door, where she had a smile plastered on her muzzle until my pillow hit her in the face. "You're a horrible guard, Grace," I dryly commented before I felt a pair of hooves on my cheeks, my face being directed towards Pinkie.

"Now that's not nice, but that's not important right now. What's important is that you don't smile! No filly or colt should go about their day with a smile on their muzzle!" Pinkie declared in a loud voice, forcing my ears to fold against my head.

As I was about to open my mouth to let out a retort, the door slammed open, as an angry Luna strode inside, shouting, "Who dare intrudes in my fo—oh, Dame Pinkie Pie. It is a pleasure to see you here," her furious expression morphing to a pleasant one.

Great, she knows her, I thought to myself as Pinkie jerked her head towards Luna to say, "Hi Luna! Don't mind me, I'm just here to turn your filly's frown upside down!"

"You're going to need a lot of tape then," I commented, causing Pinkie to jerk her back towards me, her smile not faltering one bit.

"Don't you worry, you silly filly," Pinkie said, letting go of my face to ruffle my mane. "Your Auntie Pinkie will make this day the best day ever!"

Turning my head towards Luna, I asked, "Mother, does that mean that you're going to announce to the world my presence and the fact that I won't have to lift a hoof for any bureaucratic work for my entire life, yet everypony still has to serve my every whim?"

As Luna just gave me a deadpanned look, Grace and Shade looking at each other as Grace whirled a hoof to the side of her head, Pinkie let out a giggle as she picked me up with her hooves, saying, "You're such a silly filly, it's a wonder why you don't smile."

Keeping her look, Luna stated, "I think we should move on from this line of conversation and head to the dining room for a meal, Dame Pinkie."

"Okey dokey lokey!" Pinkie replied as she deposited me on her back before bouncing towards the door.

Peeking from behind Pinkie's poofy mane, I asked, "Mother, is this normal for her or should I be worried?"

"I... have no idea, to be honest," Luna replied as Pinkie bounced past her.

"Oh joy..."

Dinner went without an incident, Chrono and I shooting each other another short glare once we saw each other, but didn't say a thing to each other. Though I got to say, Celestia and Chrono certainly have a cake addiction, considering that they both had cake at breakfast and now for dinner. That made me wonder if alicorns have a really fast metabolism, or Celestia spends an hour working off all that excess fat she would have gotten. Or maybe she's just using a powerful illusion and is really just a giant blob.

Moving on, it was after breakfast, where Luna left in order to attend to some dream walking duties, which made me wondered about whether or not she could spy on my own dreams, leaving me in the suite room with Pinkie along with Grace and Shade, who were assigned to be my personal guards.

"So, Neby, wha—" Pinkie started to say before I interrupted her.

"Neby?"

"Yeah, it's short for Nebula," Pinkie answered with a smile, while I just frowned at her. "As I was saying, what do you like to do for fun, Neby?"

"Breathing," I stated, causing silence in the room for a short moment before Pinkie blinked at me.

"Breathing? But everypony breathes, how is that fun?" Pinkie asked as she tilted her head.

"Well, if you're not breathing, at all, are you having fun then?" I countered, causing Grace to give me a flat stare.

"That's not funny, Nebula," Grace commented.

"I wasn't trying to be fun, it was a fa—" I started to say before a hoof was stuffed into my mouth.

As I tasted the dirt that has accumulated on Pinkie's hooves since the last time she washed them, Pinkie said with a smile, "If that's what you think fun is, let me show you a real way of having fun."

Narrowing my eyes at her as I replied, "Fun is relative, what you might find to be fun, I might not, and vice versa."

With her smile faltering a bit, Pinkie looked about the room, quickly spotting the corner that held the toys. Bouncing over to them, she pointed at them as she asked, "Hey, want to play with these with me? I bet we can have a lot of fun!"

Giving the toys a bland stare, I answered, "All signs point to no. Those toys won't amuse me, at all."

Her smile fading away, she put her hooves into her mane, causing me to quirk an eyebrow as she pulled out a unicycle and a set of balls, to which she quickly got on the unicycle and started to juggle the balls. "How about this?"

"I'm more interested in how you pulled all that out of your mane more than amused by this," I said as I was tilting my head, wondering if this pony has access to a personal pocket dimension. I even went to stick a hoof into my own mane as I wondered if this applies to other ponies, only to find out that it was just a regular mane, nothing.

Dropping the balls, Pinkie looked around, spotting the bookcase as she rushed over to it, pulling out a few books. "How about a story? I know my friend Twilight really like reading books."

"No thank you, I wouldn't find it as fun. Possibly something to pass my time, but not fun," I countered, as I start to notice Pinkie's mane deflating a bit.

"How about we go to a theme park? Or a dance club? I'm sure Princess Luna would be okay with me taking you to them."

"Not interested."

"How about a petting zoo? My friend Fluttershy likes taking care of animals."

"I'm not good with animals, nor do I want to pet them."

"How about some candy?"

"I'm not one for sweets."

"How about we play some sports? Or some party games?"

"Not a fan of sports, nor am I one for party games," I blandly replied, as Pinkie slumped down onto her belly, her mane starting to straighten out for some reason.

"Oh come on, there has to be something you like to do," Pinkie whined, as her head turning around till she spotted the fridge. "Oh, how about some ice cream?" Pinkie asked as she trotted over to the fridge.

"I wasn't in the mood for candy, why would I be in the mood for ice cream?" I countered.

"Well, just cause you don't want candy doesn't mean you don't wa—why is there a block in the freezer?" Pinkie declared as she opened the fridge, spotting the block that Cadence and I stashed the previous night.

"Block, what are you talking about?" Grace said as she and Shade looked at each other in confusion, before walking over to Pinkie's side. "Huh, there is a block there, weird."

After a short moment of thinking on the origin of the block for the duo, the two turn their heads towards me, causing me to raise an eyebrow as I stated, "What? How am I suppose to know why that's there?"

"It's a wooden block, a toy for foals," Grace countered.

"And it's in a freezer that is above my ability to reach, and you already know I don't know how to levitate stuff," I replied, causing Grace to frown.

"Good point..." Grace responded, turning her attention to the freezer as she pulled out the block, only for Pinkie to let out a gasp as she slapped both her forehooves to her cheeks.

"There is only one reason why there is a block in the freezer, the castle is haunted!" Pinkie exclaimed, causing all of us to tilt our heads at her until she rushed over to me, picking me up with her forehooves. "We need to get Neby to the safe room!"

"What? There's no such thing as ghosts," Shade stated. "Calm down and put Nebula down."

"No, we need to get her to safety before one of the big mean ghosties get to her!" Pinkie declared, though the eye that the two guards couldn't see winked at me. This stifled any sort of protest I was about to muster, and instead caused me to let out an amused snort, which caused Pinkie's mane to poof up a bit. "Don't you two worry! I'll take her to safety lickety-split!" Pinkie continued as she deposited me on her back before dashing out of the room with such speed that I had to hang onto her mane with my forehooves, as the guards simply yelped in surprise.

It was mere seconds when Pinkie slowed down to simply bouncing down the hallways, as I asked, "Okay, what is going on?"

"Simple, silly. I figured that you somehow got a block into the freezer, cause you're a clever filly. That meant that you wouldn't a prank like that unless you find it fun in some way, so I realize that by getting you out of the room, we can play some pranks on some ponies so you can have some fun and finally smile!" Pinkie answered as she turned her head to look at me, even when she took a left down another hallway.

"Okay... but one question then. How did you know that I don't smile?" I asked as I kept an eye on what was ahead of us.

"Oh, my Pinkie senses told me about that!" Pinkie exclaimed before turning her head around before humming a tune to herself, as I just tilted my head at her.

She... has a sense for that? But... why would anypony have a sense for that of all things‽ Wait... Did I just said 'anypony'? Oh the void, I'm going native!

Chapter VI: Flash

"So, what kind of pranks you want to pull off today?"

"Don't you mean tonight?"

"Oopsie you're right! I forgot you're a nighttime pony."

"Okay... do you have any random junk on you?" I asked as I pushed a mop away from me. We were in a cleaning supplies closet, for Pinkie decided to hide there so we can have some privacy for our prank plotting.

"Hmm... let me check," Pinkie answered as she started to pull stuff out of her mane, ranging from a frying pan, to a feather duster, to even an anchor.

After a minute, I put a hoof on Pinkie's chest, saying, "Okay that's enough! I think we got plenty of stuff to work with now. Just... take back the stuff that you need still." Pinkie nodded as she began stashing things back into her mane, leaving behind a third of the stuff that she has brought out, including the anchor. "Hmm... okay, we're leaving the anchor here and go—"

"Why are we leaving the anchor here?" Pinkie asked, which tempted me to let out a sigh.

"Cause nopony would ever expect an anchor to be in a broom closet."

"I would!" Pinkie declared as I resisted the urge to facepalm... or in this case facehoof.

"Okay... you're the exception, and why would you even have an anchor in the first place?"

"You never know when you need to stop a ship!" Pinkie answered with a smile, as I just gave her a deadpanned expression.

"Let's... just head out and start messing with ponies' minds..."

"Right here?"

"Yes, now tape it down."

"Don't you mean tape it up?" Pinkie said with a giggle as she taped a doll to the ceiling, hanging onto it via suction cups on her hooves, causing me to roll my eyes at her. It's been an entire hour since we started this prank, putting stuff in the places most ponies don't normally look at, all the while avoiding the guard that were probably informed by Grace and Shade about Pinkie running off with me. Not like they should panic, I wasn't screaming my head off when Pinkie ran off with me. After taping the doll, Pinkie dropped down to the floor as she stashed the cups into her mane as she asked, "So what's next, Neby?"

"First, stop calling me Neby, second, I just got an idea for a great prank," I answered, getting inspired by how Pinkie was able to sneak around the castle with ease. "Do you have any fake household pest props like a fake rat?"

"Hmm... I do have this fake spider on me!" Pinkie replied as she pulled out a rather fuzzy and realistic spider, as I jumped back in disgust. I was never a fan of spiders.

"Okay.. please put that away, for now, we'll need it later," I stated.

As she put the spider away, Pinkie asked, "So, why do we need that spider for? Are we going to hang off the ceiling and use a fishing rod to put that spider on ponies' heads to scare them?" while bearing a smile that looked a bit feral to me.

"No... but we do need to find Celestia's bedroom."

"Why do we ne—ohhhh... this will be the best prank ever!" Pinkie declared as she hopped into the air, while I heard the chatter of some guards approaching.

"It might be, but be quiet. We need to get moving or the guards will catch us and spoil the surprise," I ordered, to which Pinkie nodded and grabbed me, putting me on her back before she dashed off on the search for Celestia's room.

It didn't take long to find Celestia's room, since we only had to search the wing that had a sun motif design, along with the fact that there were two guards standing next to a door with a sun emblem on it, along with another pair of guards stationed outside another door, probably Chrono's room. After a brief glance around the corner, I directed Pinkie to back away a few feet before I whispered, "As I expected, the bedroom door isn't an option, so we're going to have to do this from the outside," as I went up to a door, opening it softly to find a bedroom with no one inside and a window to the outside. Giving Pinkie a signal to follow me, we entered the room where upon looking through the window I could see that Celestia had a balcony attached to her own room, complete with a glass door. Following my lead, Pinkie opened the window as I hopped onto her back, I looking past her neck to see outside the window, where I saw that it was quite a drop to the castle garden from where we were.

"Ooo... is that Princess Celestia's room? How are we going to get there, with my suction cups again?" Pinkie asked, to which I shook my head in response.

"No, too much noise for that, we need to be really quiet," I answered, as I thought about the situation. Looking at my wings, I doubt that I could fly over there, much less glide if Pinkie threw me, which still presented the issue of a quiet landing or even getting back. Biting my lip, I looked at the balcony, before a thought came to mind. If my passive abilities are still present, then maybe my active abilities will return over time. If I'm right, then my most basic ability should be present to me still. Concentrating on the balcony, I imagined a ghostly image of myself on it. Instantly I could feel a flow of familiar energy within me, that I directed to the image, causing a purplish fire to burst around me as I shifted to my desire spot. Looking back, I saw Pinkie's amazed look, as resisted the urge to smile as I realized that I possessed my most basic dimensional ability. Triggering its secondary effect, I returned to Pinkie's back, though my position was different than before due to me moving about after my 'jump', forcing me to turn my head once to look at Pinkie.

"What was that! You teleported, but your horn wasn't glowing like Twilight does when she teleports!" Pinkie exclaimed in a loud whisper.

"Let's just say it's a trick I developed on my own. Now hoof me that... spider so we can get this prank moving along," I said while holding out a hoof, as I thought about the revealed fact that unicorns can teleport in this world.

Taking the spider out of her mane, Pinkie said, "That's so amazing! I can't wait till I tell Twilight about this, she'll love to be able to do som—" before I stuffed my other hoof into her mouth while grabbing the spider.

"Be quiet or we'll be caught. Besides, my trick has a drawback, it can only go to one point and then back to my origin, then I have to wait a moment before I can do it again. Furthermore, I can't return to the point of origin if I moved away from my destination," I replied as I pulled my hoof out of Pinkie's mouth as I looked at the balcony again.

"Oh, but do you have a name for it? I bet it's something super-duperific!" Pinkie stated.

"Eh, just call it a flashstep if you want," I answered before triggering my ability again, returning to the balcony. Looking at the door, I noticed that it was covered with curtains for privacy, meaning that I can't look for Celestia until I was inside. Raising my head up, I saw the handles were about a few feet above me. Crouching low after putting the spider down, I hopped up to the handles, grabbing it with my forelegs as gravity asserted itself, bringing me down and turning the handle, opening the door a bit as I dropped to my hooves as quietly as I could. With a crack in the open door, I slipped my head through, scanning for any signs of Celestia being woken by the noise I made. Thankfully, I only hear a soft snoring, as I spotted a rather large and luxurious bed with what appears to be Celestia's slumbering form beneath its covers. Grabbing the spider, I inched myself a bit more in as I took a, throwing the spider until it landed on the edge of the bed, where it may not be knocked to the ground so easily. Pulling myself back outside as I pondered why Celestia didn't lock her balcony door, I was about to close said door before spotting Luna beside Pinkie in the window, a pensive look on her face. I could only blink as a blue aura surrounded me, lifting me from the balcony as it brought me over to the window.

"What do you think you were doing, Nebula?" Luna asked in a livid tone, her eyes narrowed at me.

"Umm... playing a prank on Auntie?" I answered, an awkward smile appearing on lmy face that prompted Pinkie to gasp as she pointed a hoof at me.

"Yes, I got you to smile!" Pinkie stated with a smile, causing Luna to give her an annoyed glance that caused her smile to fade away.

"Not the best time, Pinkie," I said, as I looked at her before returning my gaze upon Luna, who looked even angrier than before. "Umm... sorry mom for running off with Pinkie, just wanted to have some fun..."

Despite my words, Luna was still glaring at me, making me wonder if she ever set a pony on fire by doing that. However, that line of thought ended when Luna flashed me a grin, causing me to blink in shock. "Do not fret my daughter, for when I was your age, I too was playing pranks. Though I have to wonder, how did you manage to get onto that balcony? You didn't have Pinkie throw you there, did you?"
Luna said as she turned to give Pinkie a suspicious look.

"Oh no, she used this trick she called flashstep to teleport there without using her horn!" Pinkie answered, causing Luna to give me a surprised look.

"Is this true? You used magic without using your horn?" Luna asked, her expression a mix of bewilderment and amazement.

"Umm... yes and no," I started to explain, causing Luna to look even more confused. "It's not really magic, just a trick I can do. And before you ask, it's not something that I can teach, nor do I think anypony else can copy it."

Luna just stared at me after receiving my answer, causing Pinkie and me to share a brief glance before she suddenly engulfed me in a hug. "What wonderous news! To think that my daughter is so gifted that despite not knowing how to use magic, she can still create feats of power that nopony has ever done before!" I was about to comment that her shouting probably woke up everypony in the wing, until I noticed that the walls and entrances to the room were covered in a blue aura, causing me to suspect that she cast some kind of silence spell on the room. "This bodes well, for I can't wait to see what you are capable of doing with your magic when you mastered it!"

As Luna shook me about in her embrace, I croaked out, "Okay... so um... when's my first lesson then?"

Stopping her attempt to shake me about like a ragdoll, Luna grinned at me as she declared, "Good question my daughter, for you see, I came to retrieve you so we can finalize your adoption. Then we can move onto your first magic lessons if you so desire."

Keeping my lips still, I pondered if I should really go through the effort of learning magic since I would eventually regain my abilities and the fact that I prefer to get physical with my opponents if I was ever drawn into battle, but with the fact that a member of the magisters of time was here, potentially learning magic, settled the matter for me. "Sure, I guess I could try to learn magic after you finish adopting me."

"Splendid! I look forward to when your skill with magic outstrips even the greatest of unicorn mages!" Luna declared as she put me on her back as she trotted out with Pinkie cheerfully following behind, as I pondered why Luna hasn't punished me. "Also, Nebula, you're grounded." Oh... nevermind then.

Chapter VII: Needle

"Okay, this will only feel like a tiny pinch, your highness," said a brown unicorn in a doctor's lab coat, as I gave him a flat stare while sitting on a chair with Luna at my side, as we await in the medical wing of the castle. Shorty after taking care of the adoption papers, Pinkie decided to celebrate by blowing a cannon, giving cakes to both Luna and me, one for each of us, mine saying 'Happy Adoption Day!' Sadly, for her case, Pinkie had to take her leave since she had work in the morning, though she told me that I need to smile more and to have more fun, instead of being, and I quote, 'A party pooper'.

Afterwards, it was insisted that blood sample was needed, for health reasons, leading to me holding out a leg as I said, "I really don't care, let's just get this over with."

"It seems my daughter is not afraid of the needle, good doctor. Proceed with your work," Luna ordered from my side.

Blinking at us, the doctor said, "Okay... as you wish, your highness," as he levitated a syringe over my leg before bringing it down, only to see the needle bumping against my leg. "What the?" the doctor said as he tried again, only to fail. On the third try, he brought the needle down harder, only for it to snap off after failing to pierce my leg.

"Hmmm... you appear to have a thick hide, my daughter," Luna noted, before turning her attention to the doctor. "It appears that we might need to use the other needle, doctor."

"Wait, other needle?" I asked while the doctor simply nodded, turning to a cabinet, opening it to reveal a syringe with a rather thick, foot long needle.

"Alicorns are known for their sturdiness, though I thought you were too young to possess the natural toughness to render a regular needle useless, hence we have a special one meant for us," Luna explained as the doctor held the syringe over my leg with his magic before bringing it down on my leg, only to reach the same result. Blinking, he tried with a harder jab, only to meet with failure once more. "Hmm... it seems you possessed a rather tough hide, my daughter. Thankfully, we're prepared for this situation."

Tilting my head as the doctor put the second syringe away, I asked, "What do you mean pr—okay... that is a big needle..."

"Now remember my daughter, magic isn't something to be taken lightly. Even the slightest error could result in terrible consequences, more so since you are an alicorn, meaning you have a greater magical potential than a unicorn foal your age."

"Yes, mother."

"Now, magic permeates throughout the world, every being, from the smallest of insects to the largest of dragons, possesses some form of magic within themselves. Hence, when casting magic, one must account the effects the magic could have in regards to others in the vicinity for, without careful control, one could unintentionally affect those around them as they cast their spells."

"Yes, mother."

"...When you desire to call upon your magic, you will bring it out from within yourself, channeling it through your horn, but be wary, for your horn can only handle so much magic pouring through it. A sign of you surpassing its limit would be an intense pressure from within your horn, that would build up till your horn starts to crack, or in the case of those that went beyond that, shattering your horn."

"Yes, mother."

"Then you will be able to shoot out rainbows and glitter out of your horn."

"...You're joking right?" I asked, tilting my head as Luna blinked at me. After getting the blood sample via a needle that I think was made for a creature with skin made up of steel, we moved back to the suite room though this time I spotted a desk, a chalkboard, and a stack of books placed in the room. Makes me wonder if there is a hidden wall where a servant hides behind, ready to change the suite at a moment's notice.

"I thought you weren't paying attention, based on the fact that you were giving me the same response," Luna admitted, before coughing into her hoof. "Now, proceeding on with your lesson, when you pour your magic through your horn, you must not only imagine what effect you desire to have, but to have the understanding of the nature of spell you wish to cast. It isn't simply the casting of whatever you want on a whim, you must know the fundamental properties of what you desire to cause with your magic. Otherwise, with the exception of telekinesis magic and magic that is related to a pony's Cutie Mark, all you will achieve is uncontrolled magic pouring out of your horn, upon which one can't predict what will be the result."

Nodding, I asked, "So... how does a Cutie Mark affect magic exactly?" as I wonder what a Cutie Mark is, but figured that asking that would be a bit too much for anypony to stomach.

"It is a matter of what special talent your Cutie Mark dictates, though its magic will make it easier to cast anything that is linked to your special talent," Luna answered, as I wonder if a unicorn with a special talent in combat would mean that they would become a powerful war mage. "Though, for your case, I have some speculations already."

"You do?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes, based on this your ability to teleport without using your horn. Would you care to demonstrate?" Luna replied, as she took on a scrutinizing look.

"Okay..." I answered as I hopped off the chair I was sitting in, looking towards the kitchen, picturing myself on top of the fridge before releasing the trick, causing me to appear on the fridge, as Luna's eyes widen at what she saw.

"Impressive, normally only a foal experiencing a magical surge would teleport, only for that to be lost when the surges come to an end," Luna commented, as I decided to show off the second part of my flashstep, returning to the spot as Luna turned her head towards me. "Interesting, how often can you use that ability?"

"I have to wait a minute before I can use it again, but what you saw was basically it," I answered.

"I see, is there any limitations to your ability?"

"Well, I can't use it to get through solid objects, and I have to see my destination to be able to reach it, and it has a limited range that I could teleport to," I answered as I scratched at an itch behind my ear.

"Hmm... not as effective as a teleport, the fact that you don't need to light your horn, making it impossible to tell when you're going to do that," Luna noted before she narrowed her eyes at me. "Do not think to use that trick against me."

Rearing my head back a bit, I replied, "Umm... yes mother?" though I didn't think of using it against her since she's my primary caretaker and could make my life much more frustrating if she wanted to.

"Good, now it is time to see how capable you are with magic. Remember my lessons and try to channel your magic into your horn."

"Okay... I'll try," I said, skeptical if I could even channel magic as I tried to concentrate on finding this magical energy Luna was talking about. The reason behind my skepticism is the fact that throughout my life, I encountered magic in various forms, yet was never able to pick it up or even learn it, like I was just fated to never be able to use magic, which is ironic since I was a fateless. However, I felt an unknown energy from within, causing my pupils to widen as I followed Luna's instructions, pulling the energy out of my body and into my horn, causing it to glow a dark purple goo, amazing me even more.

"Very good, my daughter. Now, try to surround an object with your magic, imagining an aura surrounding it. Try that book for instance, yet be careful not to overdo it," Luna instructed. Nodding, I looked at the book, my eyes narrowing at the top book of the stack as I imagine my magical aura surrounding it, to which, as if the universe finally decided to relent on its desire for me to be magicless, as my aura surrounded the book. "Good, now imagine lifting the book, but slowly at first, and be gentle with your magic.

Giving another nod, I did as told, as the book started to wiggle a bit. However, instead of a slow, gently lift, it instead flew straight up the air, slamming against the ceiling with a loud thud, causing me to release my magic, letting the book to fall back down on the stack, scattering the books across the ground. "Umm... I didn't mean to do that."

Staring at the mess, Luna tapped her chin with a hoof as she said, "Do not fret, my daughter. It is likely due to the fact that you're an alicorn, a tiny portion of your magic would still be strong enough to cause something like this. It is more of matter of learning the fine control you would need for basic telekinesis, for which only practice will make perfect in that regard. Though I should've suggested you used those wooden blocks instead."

Shrugging in response, I replied, "Well, better a start than no start." Inwardly, I was actually filled with excitement. As powerful as I was being a Dimensional Lord, I was limited to my ability to manipulate space and dimensions. But now, with magic being finally an option, the things I could do with it could be limitless, especially if I could mix it with my spacial abilities. Well... with the exception of time travel, Dimensional Lords are completely incapable of time travel, though one can't meddle with time to change our past either.

"Indeed, though once you mastered your control over your magic, I would be able to proceed with your training," Luna commented. "Until then, magic lessons are on hold, though I am delighted that you were able to get a start on using telekinesis so quickly. Surely it is another sign of how gifted you may be. Regardless, we must move onto the matters of your official position as my heir."

Letting out a sigh, I dropped the plans I was coming up with in my mind as I asked, "Okay mother, but does that mean I have to deal with politics and governing? I'm am a foal, after all, and I don't like those things at all..."

Letting out a laugh, Luna replied, "Nonsense, my daughter. As you have said, it is too soon to toss you into the fray, nor would you need extensive lessons on how to rule as a princess. However, there will be a coronation ceremony in the future as we declare you a princess of the kingdom. There is also the matter of finding you a retainer."

"A what?" I responded, tilting my head at what a retainer is, assuming I don't actually have messed up teeth.

"A retainer, a sort of personal aid for you, since you are royalty. One who would be able to assist you in night-to-night matters, acting as an advisor, while serving your needs. I believe that there would be many from Canterlot that would desire to be your retainer, if you desire one that is," Luna explained, though I frowned at the fact that since Canterlot is the capital, and with the medieval background, odds are I would get some kind of stuffy pony to be my retainer or a complete toady instead.

"Does it have to be from Canterlot? I don't think I would like to deal with somepony of the nobility or upper classes as my retainer," I asked.

"Hmm... since you appear to desire one, how about you look into the hamlet known as Ponyville? Pinkie Pie resides there, and ponies there would be less... stuffy as those that reside her," Luna offered.

Tapping a hoof against my chin, I responded, "Sure, sounds like a good idea. I rather have a pony, or ponies, that aren't of the nobility... though can I write up the ad for it? I want to mark down some specifics for it." Receiving a nod from Luna, I thought about the benefits of having a retainer, which is mostly having them do whatever I want when they're not telling me what I need to know. Besides, it might be good to have somepony to mess around with, especially since I'm grounded. Besides Chrono, of course. Somepony needs to bring that Magister down a peg, so might as well do the job myself.

Chapter VIII: Interviews

"Wow, this is... surprising."

"What do you mean, your highness? Not enough applicants?"

"More like way more applicants than I expected," I answered as I stared at about forty or so ponies standing outside the lobby. Shortly after Luna dropped the idea of me getting a retainer, I quickly thought over what I would want, but quickly started to run out ideas due to the presence of a guard and a serving staff the castle possessed. So in the end, I just came up an ad for either a flying instructor or somepony that could keep me amused. Luna was surprised that I wanted a flying instructor when I could get one of the guards to teach me, but I'm never one for discipline, so I wanted someone a bit more loose that might suit my style of physical training, which is winging it on the fly. Heh, pun.

After getting Luna to accept my ad, I was surprised to discover that the ad would be ready and posted by the morning, along with the fact that transportation would be handled by the crown and that it would only involve a few hours of the night for a few days of the week, along with generous pay of course. This led me to think that she had an ulterior motive of having more ponies looking over me so I don't get into too much mischief.

"Well, you're going to need to give them interviews... you do know what you're doing, right your highness?" Shade asked, causing me to give him a flat look.

"Do I look like a pony with a plan?" I countered, causing Shade and Grace to let out a sigh of frustration. "Just get a couple guards and have them form a line and I'll start rejecting most if not all of them."

Looking at each other for a moment before letting out a sigh as Grace commented, "This is going to be a long night."

"So, Mr. Thunderlane, what makes you think you would be a good flight instructor for me?"

"Well, your highness, I went to flight school when I was a colt, so I could teach you how I..." Thunderlane started to say before I lean my head past the edge of the desk I was at to stare at him intensely, with the desk barely below my head level as I sat in the oversized chair. I imagine that this would be hilarious if I wasn't an alicorn princess. "What are you doing?"

"Trying to stare into your soul."

"You can do that?" Thunderlane asked as he started to fidget a bit.

"No, but it can't hurt to try."

"...I'm just going to go now, your highness."

"So you think taking care of flower garden will be entertaining for me, Ms. Roseluck?"

Bearing a forced grin as sweat dripped down her face, Roseluck answered, "Yes, it would be a great hobby for you. Just imagine going out onto your private garden, taking in the scents of the flowers you painstakingly grew over time, admiring the beauty of your garden."

"You do realize that I'm awake during the night time hours, and the castle has its own garden that is maintained by hired help?" I replied with a raised eyebrow.

"I... well... I..." Roseluck started to say before her eyes rolled up as she faint, toppling off her chair.

"...Seriously?" I could only say before turning my head to Shade, who was standing guard by the door to the office I taken over, looking dumbstrucked. "Augh, just drag her out of here and send the next one in."

"So your name is Derpy Hooves," I stated as I looked at the cross-eyed gray pegasus, who only nodded at me with a smile on her muzzle. "And you're applying for both positions?"

"Yes, I'm very good with foals and I'm great flier! That's why I'm Ponyville's own mailmare!" Derpy said as she took off from her chair, doing a loop in the air in some kind of demonstration, only to crash onto the desk, flipping it over to where it landed on top of me, sending both me and my chair crashing to the ground. "Oopsie."

"I think this is enough, don't call us, we'll call you," I muttered from beneath the desk as I spotted a panicked Shade coming to my aid.

"What does that mean?"

"...Just go, please."

"You know, your highness, that if you didn't try to weird out your candidates, you may have gotten yourself the retainers you wanted," Grace commented, having traded shifts with Shade as she eyed me while I shuffled some papers before me. "And what just are those papers you're hanging onto for?"

"For intimidation of course," I answered, causing Grace to facehoof. "Send in the next victim."

"I'm starting to wonder if this is some over glorified prank," Grace muttered to herself as she reached to open the doorknob.

"I heard that," I shot back, causing Grace to give me a flat stare before opening the door to call out for the next pony, only for a pink blur to rush past her, taking a seat at the desk as I blinked in surprise.

"Hi there, Neby! Long time no see! Though it was only one day, but that must be a long time for a foal like you. But you're an alicorn, and since Princess Celestia and Princess Luna has been around for a thousand years, does that mean it is actually just a short time for you?" Pinkie jabbered on as I just blinked in confusion before gathering my wits back together.

"Pinkie? What are you doing here?" I could only utter out, causing her to laugh at me.

"Ain't it obvious? I'm here for the position of your fun time adviser!" Pinkie exclaimed as she threw her hooves into the air, as confetti came out of them, even though I could swear that she didn't have any in her hooves when she arrived.

"Uh... fun time advisor?" I stupidly asked as I tilted my head.

"Remember you wanted a retainer that would entertain, like how you put it in the ad, you silly filly," Pinkie answered as she put the ad down on the desk in front of me.

Blinking like a moron for a bit, I responded, "Okay... so what do you have to bring to the table? Besides what you have shown me last night."

"Well, I got some rubber duckies, a unicycle, a box of deflated balloons," Pinkie started to answer as she took out said items out her mane, putting them on the table before I flash stepped past the growing pile to put a hoof in Pinkie's mouth.

"I meant what talents, skills you have for the position," I muttered before flash stepping back to my seat, before noting the saliva on my hoof, rubbing it off the side of the table.

"Oh, well I'm Ponyville's premiere party pony! I throw the best parties Ponyville has ever seen! I'm also a baker at the Sugarcube Corner, and you tastes one of my cupcakes already," Pinkie exclaimed with a smile, as I wonder if there was a volume switch underneath that mane of hers.

"Okay... so why do you want this position?" I asked as I made a show of looking over my papers.

"Oh, to make you a happy happy pony!" Pinkie answered as I raised an eyebrow at her, due to that statement having two separate meanings, depending on who you talk to.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Well, last night I did saw you smile, but I know it wasn't a happy smile. Looking at you, you sometimes look like you're having fun, but you're not really all that happy, which makes me sad. But when I saw your ad, I knew this was my chance to make you a happy pony!" Pinkie replied as I tapped a hoof against my chin in thought.

"Hmm... well, considering that I'm grounded for the time being, how about you do a favor for me, as a test of sorts?" I asked as a plot started to form in my mind.

"Oh? What is it? Is it a super secret mission?" Pinkie asked.

"You could say that, do you have any mane or coat dyes on you?"

"Yes I do, I have one for all the colors of the rainbow!" Pinkie answered as she started taking out various dyes.

Spotting a green and even a black dye, I responded, "Hmm...good, then mind doing a wee little prank for me? It's harmless, I swear."

Eyeing me, Pinkie said, "Sure, as long as you promise that no pony is going to be hurt."

"Honest, all you have to do is dye my 'cousin's' coat black and his mane green. Just a harmless prank that a few baths or a spell won't take care of," I said with a forced smile, hoping to placate Pinkie's suspicions.

Pinkie narrowed her eyes at me for a moment, before resuming her cheerful look, saying "Okey dokey lokey!" She then grabbed her dyes before heading off in a rush, zipping past the door as she also said, "Hi Rainbow!"

"Rainbow?" I muttered in confusion, only to hear some shouting as a cyan coated mare with a prismatic mane flew into the room. "Oh... Rainbow..."

"Yup, Rainbow Dash, fastest flyer in all of Equestria!" Rainbow declared as she took a seat in the chair in front of me, pumping her chest out in pride as she beat a hoof against it. "Heard you needed a flight instructor, so why not give the newest alicorn princess the best flyer to teach her how to fly like a pro!"

"You're... confident about your skills," I said slowly, frowning at Rainbow's bragging.

"Of course, since I'm the only pony to ever do the Sonic Rainboom, and I'm the winner of the Best Young Flyer competition, not to mention that I'm the bearer of the Element of Loyalty!" Rainbow exclaimed, looking all smug as one of my eyebrows just raised itself, due to having read about the Elements of Harmony two days ago.

"I see, well, that really gives you an edge over the average pony, but why do you want to be my retainer in that department? And please be honest, I'm not one for liars," I replied.

Looking at me for a moment, Rainbow shrugged as she answered, "Well, besides it being awesome to train an alicorn, there's also all the bits I could make on the side. But mostly to see what an alicorn can do with their wings."

"Okay..." I mumbled out, surprised by her brutal honesty. "Though, you do realize that this could take quite a few hours of your night from now on. This might take a bit out of your day life as a result."

Instead of seeing an expression of doubt, I just see the confusion on Rainbow's face as she said, "What are you talking about? The ad said that whoever takes those positions will be given a special kind of sleep that makes them feel like they had a full night's of rest."

Blinking in confusion, I looked down at the ad that Pinkie left behind, scanning it to spot the part that Rainbow mentioned. Guess Luna decided to add in a little extra to widen the pool of potential recruits, which explained the number of ponies that showed up. "Okay... then one simple test, to see if you have what it takes to be my flight instructor."

Rainbow then jumped into the air, hovering as she punched the air with a hoof. "What is it, I'll take on anything test you can come up with! Is it fighting a dragon? Capture a manticore? Du—"

"Punch me in the face."

"—eling a—what did you say?" Rainbow asked as she stopped her mock fighting to look at me in utter bewilderment, which is matched by Grace as well.

"Just punch me in the face, and you'll get the position," I calmly said, placing my hoofs on the desk before me.

Narrowing her eyes, Rainbow stared at me for a moment before stating, "Is this some kind of trick? Cause I'm not going to punch you only to be thrown in prison."

Shaking my head, I replied, "No no no, there is no tricks nor strings attached. The guard won't even do a thing to you, nor will you get in any sort of trouble for it. Just simply pu—" before a cyan hoof connected to my face suddenly, pushing my head back as I blinked in confusion.

"Well, do I get the job?" Rainbow asked as she hovered back in the air, a self-satisfied smile on her face as Grace just gaped at the scene before her, only to jump back as a pink blur rushed back into the room.

"All done, do I get the job?" Pinkie asked as she bounced on top of the chair, as Rainbow just cocked an eyebrow at her as I rubbed the tip of my nose with a hoof as my eyes shifted between the two.

"Well, you two did as I requested... so I guess you two can be my retainers," I answered, causing the two to cheer and share a... high hoof? As Grace just looked at what transpired in terror for some reason, I just watched the two celebrate in front of me, amused by the scene. It looked like things are going to be interesting for a while.

Chapter IX: Liftoff

"So, how much flying have you ever done?"

"Hmm... does falling count?"

"...Really?"

"Well, I don't think being thrown by somepony counts," I commented, a Rainbow put a hoof to her face as she let out a groan of annoyance. Shortly after selecting Rainbow and Pinkie to be my retainers, along with sending everypony off with a compensation for their time spent coming here, we went off to Luna to see if she approves those two being my retainers. Considering that Rainbow was the Element of Loyalty, and I learned that Pinkie herself was the Element of Laughter, Luna was ecstatic to see me being guided by two of Equestria's greatest heroes. Though, considering the appearances of those two, I'm starting to wonder if a disaster consisted of a bunny attack or a kitten stuck in a tree.

Due to there being a few hours before Luna would be free to continue my magic lessons, Rainbow thought it would be best to get started on my flying lessons, which Pinkie agreed to since she thought it would be fun. Hence, here we are, getting ready to start my first try at flying... indoors. I had a bad feeling about all this, but Rainbow said that if I'm starting out, it wouldn't hurt to start indoors first. At least we were in a hallway which had a rather high ceiling.

Brining her hoof down her face, Rainbow said, "Okay, this will take longer than I thought, but no matter. I'll get you flying in less than a week!" as she pointed a hoof up into the air.

"That's some pretty high expectations you have there," I replied, causing her to look at me with a deadpanned expression.

"Okay, first things first, you need to have confidence," Rainbow declared as she hovered over to me. "Think about yourself, in the air, flapping through the skies."

"And then crashing into a wall," I added, causing Pinkie to let out a giggle-snort as Rainbow let out a groan. "Which I'm confident will happen today."

"Look, let's just start by seeing how strong your wings are, so we're going to start out with you giving them one big flap, using all your strength, but make sure to stretch them first, like so," Rainbow instructed as she landed down, spreading her wings out as she demonstrated proper wing stretches. Looking at my own wings, I spread them out as well, but instead, I started to twitch every part of them, getting a feel for each bone and muscle they possessed. "You're doing it wrong," Rainbow said with a frown as she saw what I was doing.

"Just getting a feel of my wings first," I replied before going through the wing stretches, before finally having my wings ready and spread out. "I have a bad feeling about this."

"Relax, it's just one big flap of your wings, what could go wrong?" Rainbow responded, causing me to raise an eyebrow at her before I turned my head around as I lift my wings straight up before bringing them down. Instantly, instead of seeing Pinkie, who was eating from a bag of popcorn, I saw darkness around me. Oh, and I felt a brief pressure around my head before feeling like it got stuffed into a tight place as the rest of my body dangled below me.

"Is that suppose to happen?" I heard Pinkie said, though it was muffled. Apparently, I crashed my head into the ceiling, which was only a mild surprise to me. I always possessed a strengthen form, even if my previous body wasn't on the muscular side of things. It was believed that is wasn't a genetic trait and was instead some ability that I possessed, which might be true based on what just happened. Or alicorns are just really strong fliers, or both.

"Oh mi gosh no!" Rainbow cried out as I felt somepony tugging at my rear legs until my head was freed from the ceiling, where I immediately saw Shade and Rainbow hanging onto my legs before letting go to grab onto my body. "Are you alright‽"

Calmly turning my head around to look straight into Rainbow's face, I said, "I did tell you I had a bad feeling about this. However, I am fine, thank you for asking."

Her look of concern turning into one of mild annoyance, Rainbow sighed before she said, "Alright, let's go outside. I didn't expect your wings to be that strong."

Outside, in the castle gardens, Rainbow started to say, "Okay, since there is no ceiling in the way for us this ti—"

"But there are trees," I interjected, causing Rainbow to scowl at that fact before marching over to a clear spot as the rest of us followed her.

"Okay, back to the lesson, since you obviously have the wing strength for flying, let's see if we can get you hovering off the ground," Rainbow said, as she took off into the air to hover before me. After seeing her hovering about for a while now, instead of letting her continue what she said, I simply flapped my wings, sending myself into the air to hover as well, albeit with less flapping of my wings. "Huh? Guess you're a natural."

"Don't be so quick on that, Rainbow, I'm just imitating this based on seeing you hover about," I replied, as I try to keep the flapping to an adequate level, sometimes lowering or rising up a bit.

"Don't sell yourself short yet, now try leaning forward a bit, changing your flapping like this," Rainbow said as she leaned forward a bit as she slowly hovered forwards.

"Okay..." I started to say as I tried to repeat her actions, only to be moving forward too fast. "Wait, wait, no, not that way!" I yelled as I tried to correct myself, only to be hovering backward.

"Wait, hold on a sec," Rainbow stated as she tried to fly over to me, only for me to lose my balance as I hovered to the side. Sadly, before she could get to me, in my attempts to reorient myself, I ended up headbutting her muzzle, forcing her back as I tumbled out of control, before crashing my head into a wall as I heard Rainbow letting out a yelp of pain. "What the buck have you've been eating? Your head is ha—ah buck," Rainbow said after seeing me sticking out of the wall. As I felt her hooves grabbing onto my rear hooves, I felt like tonight was just going to be a long night.

"Nebula, your mother has arrived to continue your magic lessons. How did your flyi—oh dear Faust! What has happened here‽" Luna cried as she walked into the part of the garden we were practicing at.

"Er.... hi mom. Umm... turns out I'm not very good at flying," I said as I looked about. It's been only two hours of trying, yet there were over a dozen holes in the walls, a few broken branches, and even a broken window that a pair of ponies were repairing. Thankfully, my body was as hardy as my old one was, so I was no worse for the wear. The same couldn't be said for Rainbow, as her mane was frazzled from the frustration of teaching me how to fly.

"That is the understatement of the century," Rainbow muttered out before covering her face with her hooves. "At this rate, it'll take you all month to just learn how to fly."

"Ah, don't fret Rainbow, I'm sure you'll get Nebula flying like the best in no time," Pinkie said with a smile, only for it to disappear as a tree branch came crashing down.

"I... what... wait, are you uninjured?" Luna asked as picked me up, inspecting me for any injuries.

"Yes. Fortunately, I have a tough hide and a hard head, but I don't think the walls or trees would agree with me on that being a good thing," I answered.

Letting out a sigh of relief, Luna responded, "Nay, that is of little importance. All that matters is your own well-being," before taking a look around the garden again. "Though I recommend that you wear padding next time, for the walls' shake."

"I'm pretty certain that won't make a difference unless I'm wearing a pillow," I commented before seeing Pinkie holding a pillow with straps attached to that. "No Pinkie, I'm not going to wear one, so just put that away."

"Still, how did this happen?" Luna asked as she watched a couple of unicorns gathering the debris from the latest hole.

"Well mom, turns out that I have very strong wings, and when you couple that with a hard head and the tendency to flail about when I mess up, you get this," I answered as I waved a hoof around the scene.

Rubbing her forehead with a hoof, Luna said, "Well, at least you're unharmed," before she turned her attention to Pinkie and Rainbow. "I'll be taking care of my daughter for the rest of the night, hence you two and return to Ponyville."

Letting out a yawn, Rainbow stretched her upper body as she said, "Yeah, about time I head back, I got some sleeping to do. We're still getting that awesome sleep you promised us, right?"

"Of course. I assure you that you find your sleep to be the most rejuvenating sleep you ever experienced. Your transport is waiting outside the castle proper," Luna answered, as an evil idea crept into my head.

Before the duo could turn to make their leave, I exclaimed, "Wait! I need to ask you something, Rainbow!" As the two looked at me in confusion, I continued, "I know that it's rude to pry, but how often do you dream about punching foals in the face?"

As Rainbow's face took on a look of utter horror as she looked at me, Luna and Pinkie could only gape at me in shock before turning their faces towards Rainbow, while I did my best to keep from laughing at the scene. After a couple of minutes had passed, Pinkie was the first one to break the silence when she said, "What are you talking about! Rainbow doesn't punch foals!"

Breaking out of her stupor, Luna added, "Indeed! A hero of Equestria wouldn't do such a thing! Why would you even think about that, my daughter?" as she looked at me, anger apparent on her face.

"Hey, I was just curious after she decked me in the face earlier in the night," I said with a shrugged, causing Luna to blink at me in shock as Rainbow sputtered about a bit.

"What are you talking about! I thought you said I wouldn't get in trouble for... that..." Rainbow said as her face paled as she just realized what she said, as Pinkie and Luna now looked at Rainbow in shock before Luna's expression began to morph into one of pure fury. However, before Luna could say a thing, I finally broke out in laughter, falling onto my side as I pounded a hoof against the ground.

"Buahaha, you three should have seen your faces! This is so rich!" I cried out as I continued to laugh, as Luna turned her face towards me in confusion. After a moment of laughing my lungs out, I looked at Luna, who was bearing an annoyed look, as I explained, "Don't worry, mother. I requested for Rainbow to hit me in the face, as a sort of test."

"Well, it's not funny that you pulled a prank like this on Rainbow," Pinkie declared with a deep frown on her face, as I finally composed myself enough to get back on my hooves.

"Relax, Pinkie. All this was just a spur of the moment, nothing more. My little test was entirely for something else," I replied, as Rainbow narrowed her eyes in anger at me.

"And what was it for, then?" Rainbow growled out behind her teeth as she snarled at me.

"It was to see if you're willing to hit me, cause otherwise, I couldn't have you help me learn how to fight while flying," I answered, causing Rainbow's face to changed into one of surprise, while Luna gave me a shocked look.

"Wait, you want to learn how to fight? But you're a foal!" Luna exclaimed, which caused me to let out a snort.

"Don't worry mother, it's more of something meant for self-defense. I'm not going to go out looking for fights, so you don't have to worry about that," I responded before looking at Rainbow. "So no hard feelings?"

Instead of bearing any traces of anger, Rainbow instead had an excited one as she... hoofpumped the air? "Buck no! It'll be awesome to see how an alicorn in action! Now I really got to get you flying like a pro by the end of the week!"

As Luna let out a sigh at what happened, Pinkie had a look of confusion on her face before her eyes brighten, her face taking on an expression of joy. Before I could say a thing, she dashed over to me, wrapping her hooves around me in a tight embrace as she exclaimed, "You smiled, Nebula! You finally smiled! Even if it was for a prank that was a bit mean, at least you smiled from having fun!"

I could only blink as Pinkie shook me about before I shrugged and rolled with it. As weird as tonight was going, at least it was entertaining so far. Though I was still looking forward to the morning, that would be a great way to end the night. Assuming I'm not sent to my room for the rest of the night for my mean-spirited prank.

Chapter X: Message

"...That's a lot of paper swans."

"Indeed, I didn't believe that the servant would go through that much effort, a simple paper boat would have sufficed. Especially since I recall the one I asked to do this was an earth pony."

Blinking, I sat on my rear as I raised my forehooves before my face, my eyes wide as I looked at them then back at the paper swan mass. "They must teach me," I uttered out, as Luna flicked an ear before turning her head to look at me.

Taking on an expression that one takes when they see adorable kittens, Luna stated, "Aw... aren't you precious," which caused me give her a deadpanned look, turning her expression into a neutral one as a result. We were at the castle library, where Luna decided to have my magic lessons there instead of the suite. Though why the change of scenery, I have no idea yet, but I'm betting my money that she has some kind of plot in mind. If only I could read minds.

After our little staring contest, I glanced back at the swans as I commented, "I take it that these are here to help me with my fine control with my magic, correct?"

Nodding, Luna said, "Clever as always, my daughter. Before we can proceed with your magic lessons, I want you to be able to lift one of these paper swans and move it as such," as she lit her horn up, lifting a swan up into the air before she swirl it about, sending from one side of the table to the next, and even tossing it into the air, letting out of it for a moment before catching it a foot before it crashed into the ground.

"Huh, that would be a good way to teach me control... this is going to take a while," I stated, causing Luna to raise an eyebrow at me.

"Surely it wouldn't take you too long to get a handle on this," Luna countered, to which I just shook my head at her before lighting up my horn.

"One hundred and forty-two swans, I can't believe it took you that many swans to learn fine control."

"Guess I'm more suit for physical matters than magical ones," I said as I eyed the crumpled mess before me, including a few that got set on fire by me using too much magic. Guess it was a good thing that the servant made so many paper swans for me to practice on.

"Well, since your control is more refined, we can move onto seeing if your magic has any areas that you could specialize in. Hence, I have brought a ser—" Luna started to say as she lifted a stack of books with her magic before I decided to interrupt her.

"Space."

Frowning, Luna set the books down as she looked at me. "What did you say?"

"I said space," I calmly answered, as I looked at one of the swans. If I was able to regain my flashstep ability, maybe my lift ability has returned by now, I thought to myself as I concentrated on one of the swans, feeling my dimensional energy flowing through me.

"...And what makes you think that your magic is orientated towards space?" Luna asked, skepticism thick in her voice as I lifted a foreleg, feeling my energy going to my targeted swan. With a flick of my hoof, the swan was engulfed in a purplish aura as it went up into the air before is simply spun about in the air, as Luna glanced at the floating swan. "What are you trying to d—wait a minute," Luna started to say before she saw that my horn wasn't glowing with my magic. This prompted her to head over to the floating swan, where she closely inspect the swan before her own horn lit up in her magic. It didn't take long before her pupils widen with surprise as she exclaimed, "Astounding, this swan isn't being affected by gravity! It's like it's in..." before her eyes drifted back towards me.

"Space," was my reply, as I stared at her, as my trick on the swan worn off, allowing it to fall to the ground. "Also, no, it's not magic, it's a trick like my flashstep."

After a moment of silence where Luna was staring at me, she shook her head before she smiled at me, with one of those eerie smiles that reminded me of Pinkie's oddest smiles. "What a fortunate turn of events! To have a child whose magic may be linked to space, it is destiny for us to be mother and daughter!" Luna declared as she actually skipped to a bookcase, looking it over before she suddenly frowned to herself. "How inconvenient."

"What's the matter?" I asked as I watched her pull a few books off the shelves before placing it on my desk.

"Sadly, there isn't many materials related to spatial magic. It appears that even during my absence, there haven't been many forays into that field," Luna answered as she levitated the few books she had gathered and placed them on my desk as I took a seat. Looking at the first book, the cover read Star Gazer's Theoretical Spells on Spatial Magic.

"Well, this doesn't bode well," I commented as Luna nodded in agreement.

"While it is a shame that you don't have much material to aid you in the pursuit of spatial magic, I myself will be able to aid you in that pursuit. Just give me some time to figure out a curriculum for teaching spatial magic, since it's not a subject that is brought up often. Are you certain about pursuing that path?"

"I'm certain," I answered, as I opened the book out of curiosity, looking at the table of contents, only to raise my eyebrows in surprise as I saw the letters moving around on the page.

"Very well then, give me some time to mull things over," Luna said as she looked at the chalkboard, tapping her chin in thought.

"Yes, mother," was my simple response, my attention on the page, for I seen this trick before. It was a style of communication between Dimensional Lords and their agents when we want some level of privacy with the communication. It only took a moment before the shifting letters formed a message before my eyes.

Dear Nebula,

Blinking at the introduction of the letter, I softly tapped the back of my head, wondering if somepony decided to bug me, hence already learning about my new name. Finding nothing, I shrugged it off before returning my attention to the letter.

As you probably discovered by now, you haven't died, instead you have assumed a new form. To address any possible questions you may have, due to the fact that your death came after the death of the foe that slain you, your dimensional energy remained with your soul. As you know, there must always be seventeen lords, and without a replacement for your position, your energy instead created a new form for your body. However, doing so takes time, time that allows your essence to drift across the dimensions, hence why you reformed on the world you're currently on. Furthermore, your energy took a template of one of the strongest species of this world for your new form, hence why you now possess a new form.

Knowing your past, I doubt that any of that is a concern for you, hence I will move onto something that may be relevant to you. Due to your efforts in vanquishing the Propagator and his vile race, and the fact that you have survived, we have deemed that you deserve a period of rest. Hence, you will be given fifty system cycles of rest, with no obligations to your duties, which will be covered by your fellow peers and their agents. Furthermore, we will allow you to possess domination over the world you are on, and we will safeguard the rest that are currently in your dominion, even though you only offer your protection to them. Finally, no one will issue a challenge to your position, so you will remain as the fifth in our ranks.

The First.

Raising my eyebrows, I was surprised to see that the First actually took note of things. Being the most powerful and oldest, he is normally an enigma to the rest of us, only gathering us and ordering us around for interdimensional issues that are our responsibility to attend to. Otherwise, he just leaves us to our own devices, normally staying out of our infighting unless one of us challenges him for his position, which the last one occurred over ten thousand cycles ago, or so I heard.

As the page returned to normal, I peeked at Luna, only to see her still lost in thought as she floated a scroll and quill before her, jotting down what I assumed are plans for my education. Looking back down at the book, I saw that the table of contents is back, causing me to run down my hoof at the spells with supposed effects. Boring, don't need that, already have a trick for th—oh? What do we have here... I thought to myself before coming across a spell for spatial fusion. Looking at the page number it was located on, I flipped over to said page and started reading. Narrowing my eyes, I could see that while the pony behind this spell had the right calculations on some parts, I could recognize errors that left the spell as theoretical, as well as the fact that casting this spell would require a lot of energy. Thankfully, I had energy and innate spatial knowledge that comes with being a Dimensional Lord, though it disturbed me that all the knowledge just got stuffed into my head the moment I gained that position. Yet, it is also highly convenient for the job, or when one wants to be mischevious.

Thankfully, I was provided with my own quills and scrolls, though it took a few tries figuring out how to use the quill properly without making a mess. Writing down the spell along with the corrections needed, I grinned at the idea of testing this spell out. It's one thing to mess with pony's heads by stashing random stuff around the castle or playing pranks, but this is something new for me. Thankfully, the spell came with precautions, so it's harmless in a way. I even had a pair of ponies in mind that I think would be excellent volunteers for testing out this spell, after I tested it on some objects first of course.

Glancing at Luna as I finished my work, I could see her still planning things out, though now she was working on a scroll that was long enough that part of it was on the ground. However, before I could make a comment about that, her head suddenly sprung up, causing me to blink as she declared, "I have lost track of time, the time to set the moon is near."

Quirking an eyebrow, I started to ask, "Wait, how di—" when suddenly a rather loud, young male voice screamed out in horror.

"What in Faust's name... was that Chrono screaming? Why would he... wait..." Luna said as she turned her towards my direction, narrowing my eyes at me.

Rolling up my scrolls, I just gave her an awkward smile as I said, "Heh heh, I know what you're thinking, so I'll be honest. It was a harmless prank, something that would take only a few baths to clean up." Her eyes narrowing to just slits, I rubbed a hoof behind the back of the head as I said, "If it helps, Pinkie did all the work, I just came up with the idea."

"It doesn't," Luna replied behind gritted teeth.

"Well... umm... horseapples... I really should have thought this out further."

Chapter XI: Fusion

How does one punish an alicorn filly that is already grounded without resorting to physical punishment? Apparently by denying them dessert for two weeks. Not like it mattered to me, though it appeared that Chrono got my dessert this breakfast, based on his slightly enlarged amount of dessert he received. Thankfully he didn't enjoy it all that well, based on the fact that he glared at me throughout the meal. Probably due to his new colors, oh well.

Moving on, after getting a stink eye from Celestia, I learn that Chrono was heading over to Ponyville for some magic lessons with one of Celestia's own students, a pony called Twilight Sparkle. No idea why Celestia couldn't teach him like Luna was, though it left me wondering if Chrono wanted to get away for some kind of plot against me. Jokes on him, I'll just plow right through whatever he has in mind. I mean, since I still have a natural hardiness to myself, I could just go through a wall if necessary.

Anyways, after breakfast, instead of going straight to bed, I worked on a fusion spell, refining it to minimize the potential risks to it as well as testing it out various objects in my room. This also led to creating a counterspell, but the results were successful, not a single explosion occurred throughout the testing period. Thankfully, my own spatial powers prevented me from suffering from the lack of sleep. Hence, when it came to dinner, I was no worse for the wear, and even Celestia had cooled down since we had a pleasant meal. Hence, it was after dinner, where Luna excused herself for her royal duties along with the arrival of my retainers as I waited in the suite, that I decided to push my experimentation to the next level.

"Hi Neby!" Pinkie cried out as she rushed over to me, giving me a hug as I rolled my eyes at her, while Rainbow just hovered right behind her as she just sighed at the scene.

"Hi Pinkie, hello Rainbow," I replied, as I pressed a hoof against Pinkie's shoulder, causing her to end the hug.

"Yeah yeah, hi Nebula. Ready for some more flying practice?" Rainbow asked as she brought her forehooves together, probably due to wanting to get the flying portion of my lessons out of the way, so she can move onto fighting me. Hopefully, she doesn't want to try a test of strength in the future, I don't want to end up splattering her against a wall.

"Maybe, but I have something I want to try out first," I said with a weak grin, causing Pinkie's eyes to sparkle.

"Oh oh! You're smiling! What is it? Is it something fun?" Pinkie exclaimed, bouncing with excitement.

Rainbow, on the other hoof, just narrowed her eyes at me as she replied, "You're not one to smile, this better not be some kind of prank. Cause if it is, then you'll be in greatest prank war you'll ever have, and you will lose."

As my smile turned into a frown, Pinkie countered, "Oh come on Rainbow, she won't prank us. We already know what kind of pranks she likes to do, so we would know if she's up to something."

"But that's precisely why she would prank us, she's expecting us to have our guard down," Rainbow responded, causing me to facehoof.

"No, Rainbow, this isn't a prank," I started to say as I dragged my hoof down my face. "This is more of an experiment, no strings attached."

Eyeing me, Rainbow's expression of suspicious morphed into one of boredom as she said, "Augh, not an experiment. I heard enough science magic mumbo-jumbo from Twilight already, I don't need another pony talking about it."

My right eye twitching, I said, "I'm not going to go into the details unless one of you wanted, I just need a couple of volunteers that would be more interesting than a pair of guards or servants."

"Hey! I take offense to that!" Grace stated from her spot next to the entryway, which I returned a flat stare in response.

Sighing, Rainbow said, "Fine, what is it you want to do?"

"Yeah! Yeah! What fun experiment you have that involves us? Is it some kind of candy spell? Or are you going to conjure up a pool of chocolate and see how well we swim in it?" Pinkie asked, causing Rainbow and I to give her a befuddled look for a brief moment.

"No, Pinkie, it's none of that. I'm simply going to fuse you two," I answered, causing the two just adopt a look of utter confusion as they both said "Huh?" in unison.

"Fuse us? What are you talking about?" Rainbow asked.

"Well, just to keep this simple, I'm going to combine you two, making one single pony that is a fusion of you both," I explained, only for the two, along with Grace, to stare at me in confusion still until Rainbow shook her head clear of it.

"Why the buck should we let you combine us?" Rainbow replied, causing Pinkie to gasp.

"Rainbow! Language!" Pinkie reprimanded as she pointed a hoof at me, to which I just frowned at the idea that after all I done, Pinkie should have known that I would at least have some knowledge about inappropriate things.

Focusing my attention on Rainbow, I said "Well, I might have a few reasons to make you consider volunteering for my experiment. For instance, while you're a fast, if not the fastest, pegasus, imagine what a fusion of your speed and Pinkie's capabilities could do. I already observe that she's fast on the ground, so maybe it would carry over to your fusion. A fusion of you two would surely combine the best traits you two possess, don't you want to see what you two could do combine?"

Rubbing her hoof, Rainbow responded, "Pinkie is fast, I never saw an earth pony as fast as her before. But I don't want to be stuck with her forever, I have plans on being a Wonderbolt, not a baker. No offense Pinkie."

"None taken!" Pinkie replied, her ever-present smile on her muzzle.

"That, I already have covered. I designed the fusion spell so that if any single one of you desire to want to break the fusion apart, then the fusion will come to an end and you two will be back to your normal selves," I explained, putting on a confident grin.

As Rainbow rubbed her chin in thought, Pinkie asked, "But if we're one pony, who would be in control?"

Blinking, Rainbow said, "Yeah, that's a good point. What would happen to our minds when we fuse?"

Shrugging, I answered, "I have no idea, I only tested the fusion spell on objects so far." As the two let out a gasp of surprise at how reckless this experiment could be, I continued, "However, I taken precautions. If your minds can't be present to end the fusion, I will simply end it myself. There will be no consequences, I already taken every possible precaution," as I took out a pair of scrolls, two jars that each held a blank crystal out of pack that I had put to the side of the room earlier.

"Hey, what are those for?" Pinkie asked, tilting her head as she and Rainbow looked at the objects I brought out.

"Just the precautions I told you two about. The crystals will hold an imprint of your minds, just to help with restoration if necessary, and I would need a hair, or feather, sample from you two as well. However, the scrolls are for you two to sign, to which you two agree to be volunteers with this experiment. And no Rainbow, there's no tiny fine print in it to trick you up," I explained, levitating the scrolls along with a pair of quills over to them.

Snatching the scroll out of my magic, Rainbow looked it over as Pinkie simply signed her scroll, causing Rainbow to look at her in shock as she said, "Pinkie, you didn't even read the contract!"

Giggling, Pinkie replied, "Why would I need to read it? I trust Neby, she won't do anything mean to us intentionally. Besides, this could be fun, and Neby must be having fun if she's doing all this! And since I'm fusing with you, I get to fly!" as she spread her hooves apart, a giant grin on her face.

Humming to herself, Rainbow commented, "Well, it would be cool to be able to do what you do, maybe I could even do a few new tricks from this," before she took the quill and wrote down her own signature.

Smiling to myself, I plucked a hair and a feather from Pinkie and Rainbow, respectively, causing them to yelp from it. Placing the samples in the jar, I lifted the crystals over to them, pouring spatial energy into the crystals as I said, "Now just touch the crystals so I can get an imprint of you two." Snorting to herself, Rainbow gave the crystal a quick tap as Pinkie booped hers, complete with her saying 'boop'. Right at the moment of touch, the crystal's colorations change, one pink, one cyan, causing the duo's eyes to widen as I return the crystals to their respective jars. "Okay, now you two just stand side by side, though you don't need to touch each other or hold still for the spell to work," I told them as my horn lit up with magic, which only grew brighter when I poured my spatial energy into it.

With an apprehensive look, Rainbow landed right next to Pinkie, who was bouncing in excitement. "Will this hurt?" Rainbow asked, her face neutral, probably due to her not wanting to show any fear.

"If there is to be any pain, I would be the only one to experience it," I said before I shot a beam of magic at the two, which engulfed them in a purplish sphere of energy, one that looks just big enough for two ponies, as the two let out a yelp. Thankfully, I heard no screams of pain from the two, as the spell continued, the sphere's colors turning from purple to cyan on one side, pink on the other, before the two colors swirled about before mixing into a light purple color as the sphere started to shrink before it was a size where it could only fit one pony comfortably before it suddenly burst with a bright flash.

Blinking my eyes for a moment, with Grace groaning in annoyance as she rubbed her eyes with her hooves, I saw before me a light purple mare, with a rainbow colored mane like Rainbow's, with the exception of her red stripe being replaced with a pink one, its style similar to Rainbow's but with a bit of puffiness to it Her violet eyes were staring at me with glee as she just smiled at me before jumping into the air, exclaiming in a voice that sounded like a deeper version, with a bit of rasp, of Pinkie's voice, "Woopee! Party Blitz has arrive in the house, yo!"

As Nebula just stared in shock at the mare announcing her name, within Party's head, Rainbow's voice cried out, Party Blitz! Pinkie, what kind of name is that‽

I don't know, but I think it's super-duperific! Pinkie exclaimed from inside the mare's mind.

Wait, you're not doing this! Rainbow shouted, fear gripping her as Party started to flex before Nebula.

"Oh, look at these legs. I feel like I could outwrestle anypony, even Big Mac himself!" Party declared, while Nebula just shook her head clear of her surprise.

"Party Blitz‽ Don't tell me that Pinkie and Rainbow's minds fused!" Nebula exclaimed as Party let out a chuckle.

"Relax, those two are still in my noggin, I'm just the best possible combination of the two!" Party explained.

"Oh? But that means you're in control and not them. How come they're not unfusing then?" Nebula asked, her eyes narrowing at the fusion.

Wait, she's right, why aren't we back to our normal selves yet? Rainbow muttered.

Because this is so much fun! Why unfuse before we could do anything? Pinkie replied, giggling. Besides, wouldn't we be unfused if you want us to be unfused?

You're right... and I got to say, I do feel awesome, like I'm stronger than I ever was before, Rainbow replied.

"Simple, they like being me right now. Pinkie thinks they should try me out first before thinking about unfusing and Rainbow feels awesome!" Party answered as she landed before Nebula.

Her eyes narrowed still, Nebula replied, "Well, that sounds nice and all, but I need to take steps. Hold still, Party, so I can cast a spell to let those two speak for a moment."

"Roger princess!" Party said with a salute before taking on a serious look, causing Nebula to let out a deadpanned look at her before firing a beam at the mare's head, causing her eyes to glaze over.

"Pinkie, Rainbow, are you in there?"

"Yupperoonie!" Pinkie exclaimed from Party's mouth in her own voice, causing Nebula to let out a sigh of relief.

"Ah, good, I thought this was all a failure and I would have to scrap it after restoring you two. So, was Party telling the truth?" Nebula asked.

Nodding, Pinkie answered, "Party was telling the truth! We can't control the body, but we can feel it, and it feels super! It's like we're a super pony, and I can't wait to see what Party can do!"

"Okay, how about you Rainbow? How do you feel?"

"Well, this is weird, not being in control, you know," Rainbow started to say thought Party. "But, I do feel stronger. It sort of, feels awesome to be Party, and I really do want to see what tricks Party can do, so I'm thinking that I should give this a shot. What's the worst that could happen?"

Nodding, Nebula responded, "Absolutely nothing, since I taken every possible precaution into account. However, since Party is in control, I'll be infusing you two with a bit of my magic, just so I can tell is something funny is going on. So you two are ready to let Party have the reins?"

"Yupperoonie! Let her rip!" Pinkie answered

"Yeah, let's see what that mare can do!" Rainbow added.

"Very well," Nebula said, as she ended her spell, but not before the two ponies could feel their body shivering as a bit of Nebula's magic entered them.

With the spell over, Party blinked before doing a loop in the air, yelling, "Alright! Ready to have most awesome day ever, Neby?"

"Even she's calling me Neby?" Nebula muttered to herself, before she looked at Party as she said, "Yeah, I am, Party. Let's see what you can do."

Chapter XII: Sparring

Normally, a pony would think they're going crazy when they're hearing voices in their head. Now while I wouldn't take a sanity test, due to the fact that I might already be loco, the reason behind me hearing voices is the fact that I cast a secondary spell to be able to hear Rainbow's and Pinkie's mental conversation, just to be on the safe side. The making of the spell wasn't easy, for it involved lining my magic with my dimensional energy, and then creating a kind of hive mind link with Party's mind. Thankfully, I had experience with a hive mind for a short period of my life, even though it was a highly unpleasant thing to have since the hive mind wanted to alter my mind to become another minion in the fold, as one would say. Regardless of that, I had the to make the spell as one of many precautions, which led to me finding out that the duo weren't being suppressed by the Party personality, based on how they were jabbering about what things they could try in their fused form.

Then we do a loop before landing on the ground, only to run as fast as we can before hitting a spring-loaded platform that sends us bursting into the air! Rainbow exclaimed as she and Pinkie were discussing tricks they could do.

And then we can throw glitter behind us, making a glittering rainbow trail! Pinkie added, giggling at the thought.

Maybe if we're doing this for a party for foals, Pinkie, Rainbow replied, as Party and I, along with a confused Shade and a still shocked Grace, came out into the gardens.

"So what's the plan?" I asked as Party hovered in the air, rubbing a hoof against her chin.

"So many things to do, so little time. Oh wait, since I'm a combo of two ponies, does that mean my Cutie Mark is a combo too?" Party mused out loud before she looked at her flank, where on it were rainbow colored lightning bolts coming out of a popped blue balloon, with two balloons, one yellow and one blue, circling around the popped balloon with along with a pair of clouds. "Oh, that Cutie Mark looks so awesome!"

"Yeah yeah, it looks 'awesome', but are you going to help me with my flying lessons or not?" I asked, frowning as Party turned her attention away from her butt and back to me.

"Oopsie, sorry about that. But I'm wondering about one thing, how would you know if something funny is going on with me?" Party replied as she tilted her head in curiosity.

Rolling my eyes, I answered, "Simply put, as long as my tiny bit of magic is in you still, I can hear Rainbow and Pinkie talking still."

What‽ She's reading our minds! Rainbow exclaimed.

Wow, I didn't know Nebula's psychic! Pinkie commented, causing me to grit my teeth at their mental shouting.

"No, I can't read your minds, I can only hear you two when you're communicating with each other. I'm certain that your private thoughts are still private. Now don't do any screaming, cause I can hear that in my head," I stated as I rubbed a hoof against the side of my head as Pinkie gave me an apology. "Okay, so can we get back on track with my flight lessons?"

"Sure thing Neby! Though since I have both Pinkie's and Rainbow's knowledge, I think I know what you've been doing wrong with your flying!" Party said with a smile.

Huh? What did I miss? Rainbow added, confusion clear in her mental voice.

Frowning as Party landed down in front of me, she tapped my nose as she said, "Boop!" Scrunching my nose as I temporary went cross-eyed at that action, Party continued, "I saw that you're normally just in a relaxed state and just doing whatever you want for fun, but when you're in the air, you're all tensed up. You need to relax and let your wings do what they're supposed to do, not force them."

Blinking, I tilted my head as I asked, "Oh? But how come Pinkie or Rainbow didn't say a thing about that?"

Giggling, Party explained, "It's cause Pinkie could only notice that you were tense about it, and Rainbow could only notice that there is something wrong with how you're flying, but she couldn't figure out what. But together, it was easy-peasy to figure out what was wrong."

Huh, now that you think about it, she has a point, Rainbow commented.

Raising an eyebrow, I took a look at my wings as I spread them open. It was true that I wasn't taking my flight lessons to be an enjoyable experience, I was still expecting a lot more crashes for weeks to come before I finally gotten a handle on it. Years of always being on the ground tend to make some less willing to try flying due to going outside their norm, even though my life was always in some state of upheaval. But maybe Party was right, and I was taking this flying far too seriously. It can't hurt to just simply take this in stride like everything else. At worst, I'll just knock down a wall or something and walk with just a bit of dirt in my coat.

"Alright, Party, I'll give what you say a shot. Maybe I'll get lucky and only end up with ten holes in the walls today," I said, causing Party to beam at me.

Who knew that fusing a party pony with a pegasus that had a bit of an ego problem would result in a much better teacher? A couple of hours after taking Party's advice, I was finally flying through the air, albeit a bit slowly since I did punch three more holes into the walls before finally getting a hang of things. Party was happy that I was getting some real progress in, but then had an idea about something when she told me to get on the ground, though I could see a mischievous glint in her eyes.

"So, what you have in mind now, Party?" I asked with a quirked eyebrow as she trotted around me, glee apparent on her face.

"It's a secret!" Party answered, causing me to narrow my eyes at her. Even the duo were silent, making me wonder if those three found a different line of communication to avoid me eavesdropping on whatever plans they cooked up.

"Why not ju—whoa!" I started to say before I had to rear my head back to avoid a sudden punch from Party, who just smiled as she then swung a rear leg at me, causing me to duck before I hopped a short distance away. "What was that about?"

Smirking at me, Party replied, "Remember that you wanted to have Rainbow fight you in the air? Well, it's not fair to take on a filly that isn't even ready for some sparring on the ground," as she took up some kind of fighting stance, standing on her rear legs as her forelegs were raised, one hoof more outstretch than the other.

Frowning, I glanced at my guard, only to gape a bit when I saw that they were sitting in a pair of lawn chairs, eating from a bag of popcorn. "What are you two doing, and where did you get that popcorn‽" I shouted, only to see the both of them pointing at Party, who just gave me a wink. Typical, I thought to myself as I stood on my own rear legs, standing with my left side facing towards Party while my forelegs were raised in a half-bended position, as I felt my wings flaring to help with my balance. "Do you even know how to fight, Party?"

"Pffft, Rainbow has a black belt in hoof-quan-do and karate!" Party exclaimed before she lunged at me with a feint, that I simply dodged before blocking her real attack with my left hoof. Before she could react, I reached forward with my right hoof, grabbing onto her extended leg before swinging her about as I tossed her at a bush. Sadly, I was reminded of how effective throws were on beings capable of flight as Party simply flapped her wings to reorientate herself. "Oh wow, that was a great move! Do you have a black belt too?"

Keeping a neutral expression, I answered, "No, unless you count improvisation," as I resumed my combat stance while Party hovered around me as she let out a chuckle.

Sadly, before Party could make another move, our match came to an impromptu end when I heard Luna's voice coming from the garden entrance as she said, "Good news my daughter! I have finished my royal duties early today, so I can he—who the buck are you?" as she reached us, staring in surprise at Party.

"Hi Princess Luna, I'm Party Blitz! A fusion of Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie! Nice to meet you, again!" Party exclaimed with a snicker as she flew over to Luna, grabbing a hoof to give her a hoof shake.

"Fusion? What are you talking about? What have you been up to Nebula?" Luna asked, looking confused at first before narrowing her eyes at me.

Before I could even open my mouth to say a thing, Party flew in front of me as she said, "Hey, don't be mad at Neby. She asked Rainbow and Pinkie if they wanted to try her new fusion spell, and even took precautions! She's not up to another prank, honest!"

"Wait a minute, new fusion spell?" Luna replied, looking at me with an expression of mixed surprise and confusion.

"It's a spell from Star Gazer's Theoretical Spells on Spatial Magic that perked my curiosity. Their spell had solid ground, but I recognized that some parts needed some refining. So I just worked on the spell last morning and created some precautions in regards to the spell in case something goes wrong. My retainers were prime candidates and they did volunteer for it," I explained as Party furiously nodded her head.

Looking between the two of us, Luna let out a sigh as she said, "Very well, if they volunteered for it, then I can't fault you for trying the spell. However, be certain to keep the two mares safe, they are both important to the defense of the nation and are dear to my heart. Though, I wonder, what happened to them since they're now you, Party."

This caused me to frown as I realized something, turning my attention to Party as I asked, "She has a point, I haven't heard a peep from them for a while now."

"Heard?" Luna asked as she looked at me with confusion on her face again.

"A precaution spell, that allows me to heard the two's chatter inside Party's head, but not their private thoughts," I simply commented.

Before Luna could say a thing, Party replied, "Oh, they're there still, I just think that they're fine with just letting me run the show by myself."

As I narrowed my eyes at Party, I then heard Pinkie exclaiming, Yeah, Party's doing a great job already! I bet she has so many fun ideas to try that neither one of us might come up with together!

Like Pinkie said, Party's pretty awesome, so I rather just bask in the awesomeness and relax, which you should be doing too. So no worries, we're fine. Just watching what Party does like a movie, Rainbow added in.

Glancing at Luna, I said, "I just heard those two, they're just letting Party do her thing for now."

"I see. Well as long they're fine, then your little experiment can continue as long as nopony gets hurt. Now, what were you two doing prior to my arrival?" Luna asked as her serious demeanor shifted to a relaxed one.

"Oh! We're just sparring, and Nebula has some moves!" Party exclaimed with a smile as she brought her forehooves together, producing a soft clopping noise.

"Oh? That's a surprise. Perhaps I'll just simply stand back and watch you continue your duel," Luna stated as she backed away a few steps, though I saw a bit of a glint her in eyes that made me a bit suspicious. Before I could put more thought into it, I had to duck a fast punch from Party.

"Eyes on the prize, Neby!" Party declared as she threw another punch at me, one that I blocked with my right foreleg. As I shifted my focus into the match, I thought to myself, Bah, whatever Luna's cooking up, I can handle. I've been in messy situations before, this won't be anything different from them if it comes to that.

Chapter XIII: Perspectives

"I see that you have some talent in fighting, my daughter. While alarming, it does mean that you should be able to defend yourself if you ever find yourself in danger. Though, it's curious that you haven't done many attacks yourself," Luna commented after Party and I finished our little sparring match. Despite whatever fighting skills Party inherited from her components, it wasn't enough to match my combat experience, even though I was fighting in a different body. However, I could do much in the offensive department beyond a few pokes, for I don't want to end up breaking her with a miscalculated punch.

"Well, I don't want to end up hurting Party by accident," I replied, to which Party let out a giggle.

"You don't have to worry about me, Neby. I can take a hit," Party said as she waved a hoof at my comment.

"She may have a point, Dame... Party. We haven't discovered the limits of Nebula's strength, but if it is comparative to her durability then she may be strong enough to cause you serious harm with a single strike," Luna countered, causing Party's ever-present smile to falter a bit. "Do not fret, if my daughter wishes to spar with no restraints, I will provide the means to allow her to do so without harming you. However, I believe it is time for Pinkie and Rainbow to return to Ponyville for the night."

"Okey-dokey," Party responded as she started to fly away, until I grabbed the end of her tail with my magic, stopping. "Huh? What's going on?"

"Party, shouldn't you disperse yourself back to Pinkie and Rainbow?" I said as I turned my magic off, a frown apparent on my face.

"No way, if I do that, then how can we see what I can do? We need to stay like this so I can try some awesome tricks!" Party countered, causing Luna and I to glance at each, our expressions displaying a bit of concern.

"Okay... if you three want to do that, then go ahead. Remember, if either one of you wants to return to normal, then all you have to do is to want your old body back. But if something goes wrong, don't be afraid to come back immediately, even if you're waking me up in the middle of the day," I responded.

"Roger Neby. I'll come back if anything goes wrong!" Party said with a salute before flying off.

"Are you sure it is wise to let them go, my daughter?"

"Well, I have taken all sorts of precautions, even for the worst case scenario."

"Worst case scenario? And what, pray tell, would that be?" Luna demanded as she took on an expression of anger and fear.

"Worst case is Rainbow's and Pinkie's minds disappeared or absorbed into Party's own mind," I answered, which only cause Luna to be more alarmed.

"Nebula! How dare you play with ponies' lives like some sort of plaything!" Luna shouted, cause me to fold my ears against my head as the guards covered theirs with their hooves. "How do you even know if your magic would work! You're just a foal!"

Rubbing a hoof into one of my ears, I replied, "I may be just a foal, but I did run some tests. Besides, spatial matters are my specialty."

Narrowing her eyes, Luna countered, "And, pray tell, how do you know that it's your specialty?"

Blinking owlishly for a bit, I mentally kicked myself for not being careful with my own words. Quickly, I latched onto the only thing that I could use as I said, "Well, I did polish up a fusion spell so that it's actually working and not just theoretical, so that got to count for something, right?"

"Yes, it makes you the leading expert on that subject," Luna deadpanned, causing me to frown at her. Taking a deep breath, Luna continued, "However, since this is the first thing something like this has been done, and you said you have taken precautions, I will let your experiment proceed for now. But mark my words, if you're wrong about this, I will lock your magic and your wings until your three-hundredth birthday."

"I... umm... alright then. Also, since we're talking about magic, is it time for my magic lessons?" I asked, as Luna only rolled her eyes at me.

"Neby!"

"Who dares disturb my sleep! Be prepared to face my wrath!" I declared as I hopped out of my covers, taking a combat stance with my right foreleg cocked so I could unleash the mother of all punches on my intruder. However, upon seeing a wide-eyed Party Dash, I just tilted my head as I lowered my forelegs before glancing at a nearby grandfather clock to see it was only three in the afternoon. Turning my attention to Party, I asked, "I take it you have a problem?"

"Yes!" Party said as she spread her legs out, her expression of shock changing into fear. "I'm stuck like this!"

Raising an eyebrow, I pressed on with my questioning. "Stuck like this? Care to elaborate?" While I had a suspicion that Party might want to keep the fusion going on, it was a surprise to see her worrying about actually sticking around. "I need some details than just you saying you're stuck to figure out what's wrong."

"Well, Pinkie and Rainbow are thinking really hard to return to normal, and even I'm doing it for them, but we're not returning to normal!" Party shrieked, as I simply nodded my head in turn. "Why are you nodding‽"

"I think I might have figured out what's wrong," I declared as I lit my horn up, exploring the little bit of my magic that was still in Party. "But first, Pinkie, Rainbow, say something."

Say something? What the buck am I suppo— Rainbow started to say before Pinkie suddenly interrupted her.

Rainbow, language! And hi Neby!

Rubbing my chin, I said, "Well, that much is in order. Now, I have some suspicions on what might be preventing you two from being restored to your normal bodies. But, I need to know what happened in the meantime to be certain, so tell me how your day went so far."

Nodding, Party pulled out a bag of popcorn our of her mane, shaking it in front of me only to toss it back when after I shook my head. Hopping onto my bed before laying down on it, Party said, "It all started after I took care of the morning weather duties Rainbow had after a good night sleep, I had to go to the morning shift Pinkie had at the Sugarcube Corner. The Cakes were surprised by me, but took it in stride, since this involved Pinkie. However, when Rarity came in for a meal, that's when things started to change..."

"Hi Rarity!" Party waved from behind the bakery's counter, a smile on her face as the pristine white unicorn just blinked at the sight before her.

"Um... do I know you?" Rarity asked as she looked about, wondering if Pinkie was ill today, which would explain to her the presence of the mare before her.

"Hee hee, you could say that you both know me and don't know me!" Party answered.

"Okay..." Rarity replied, her gaze drifting to Party's wings and mane. "Are you perhaps a relative of a pegasus named Rainbow Dash?"

Hoof covering her muzzle to stifle her laughter, Party responded, "You could say that I do have a 'relation' with her," before letting out a muffled laugh, causing Rarity to narrow her eyes at the mare.

This is hilarious, it's like I'm pulling off a prank without even trying! Rainbow commented.

"Okay, I grow tired of these games, who are you really?" Rarity demanded.

"Tee hee, I'm Party Blitz! But if you really need to know, I'm also a fusion of Pinkie and Rainbow!" Party exclaimed as she threw her hooves into the air along with a hooffull of confetti.

However, Rarity wasn't sharing in the joy, instead, she was bearing a look of horror on her face as she mumbled out, "F-fusion‽ Who did this to you two!"

Giggling, Party waved a hoof at Rarity as she answered, "Relax Rarity, I'm fine, and I'm guessing you're worried about Pinkie and Rainbow. They're fine too, in my noggin hearing everything. This was just a fun experiment done by Princess Neby!"

As Rarity's expression became a mixture of confusion and horror, she replied, "Neby? Are you talking about Princess Luna's adopted daughter? She did this to you two?"

"Yuppers! But we volunteer for it, and so far we feel awesome and having lots of fun. Now we can do things we never could do alone, like this!" Party explained as she started to juggle eight balls with her forelegs and wings.

"Okay... that's lovely and all, but aren't you two concern about returning to your old bodies? Not that I'm saying that there's anything wrong with this one," Rarity responded, her expression settling onto one of concern.

"Jeeze, Rarity, relax before you get a wrinkle from all your worrying," Party said with a smirk, causing Rarity to sputter in response. "Besides, Neby told us that if either one of us wanted to return to normal, the fusion would come to an end! Easy-peasy!"

"I see... so who's in control?" Rarity asked, calming down a bit, though her eyes were slightly narrowed with suspicion.

"Oh, I'm in control, the other two are just here for the ride!" Party exclaimed, causing Rarity to blink at her for a bit

"Okay... um... I'll just be going for now then," Rarity said with a forced smile as she inched her way to the door.

"But you haven't ordered anything!" Party said with a pout.

"I just remembered that I had some errands to do, but I'll order something for lunch. Ta-ta... Party," Rarity hastily said before rushing out the door.

As Party frowned to herself, Pinkie said, That was weird, what was up with her?

Eh, it's probably nothing to be worried about. Let's just get back to work, I want to see what Party can do after your shift is over, Rainbow stated, as Party shook her frown off, returning to a smile as she attended to the rest of the customers.

This is awesome! Rainbow cried out in Party's mind, as the mare pulled off a triple loop with a corkscrew while diving to the ground, only to pull out of it at last second. I never could react that fast before!

And it's so much fun flying! Pinkie chirped in with a giggle. Shortly after Pinkie's shift ended, Party dashed out to the outskirts of town, excited to test out her limits. It turned out that with Pinkie's earth pony strength, reaction timing and her own speed, Party was pulling stunts like never before, while not even crashing once at the more extreme ones. Party even pulled off the sonic rainboom when Pinkie wanted to see what it was like, it only served to excite the two mares even more.

As the two mares waited for Party's next trick, they were interrupted when a familiar voice cried out from below, "Party!" Looking down, Party saw that the rest of Elements were gathered down below.

Tilting her head at the sight for a brief moment, Party shrugged as she descended to the four, smiling as she said, "Hi everypony! Did you se—is something wrong?" before seeing that they all have looks of concern on their faces.

Stepping forward, Twilight replied, "Yes, Party, we're concerned, for our friends Pinkie and Rainbow."

Tilting her head again, Party asked, "Why? I mean, since Rarity is here, I think she explained everything to you girls, right?"

Nodding, Applejack answered, "She did, sugarcube, but it still bothers us that you haven't turned back to those two."

"Pfft, is that why you're all here? Relax, we just wanted to see what I can do. And it was awesome and lots of fun!" Party exclaimed as she jumped into the air in excitement. "All these new tricks we can pull off! I bet I can become a Wonderbolt in no time now!"

"Don't you mean, Rainbow can become a Wonderbolt?" Twilight countered, causing Party to pause in her mini-celebration.

"Yeah, I meant that," Party said as she just hovered in the air.

"Now that is why we're so concern. You said Rainbow and Pinkie are inside your mind, but they really there?" Rarity asked.

"Hey! They are in me! You just can't hear them cause they can only speak when Neby uses a spell to let them! But they're still here," Party countered as she folded her hooves over her barrel, frowning at her friends.

"How about you just let them out?" Twilight said, causing Party to give her a bewildered look. "I mean, how about you unfuse so we can talk to them directly?"

"But... we feel so awesome this way," Party replied with a pout.

"Now, there there, I know you two are having fun, but it's only for a little while. You two could always fuse again to have more fun when you visit the princess tonight," Fluttershy said, putting a calming smile on her face in the hopes of settling the fusion down.

Letting out a sigh, Party replied, "Alright... just because you're all worried about them," as she landed on the ground, closing her eyes as she hummed to herself. Minutes passed without a word being said, as the other mares glanced at each other until Party's eyes snapped open. "I'm still here‽" Party cried out as she slapped her hooves onto her face.

How‽ Nebula said we would unfuse if we want to! Rainbow cried out, alarm clear in her voice.

Wait! Neby told us we should go back to her if something wrong happened! Pinkie exclaimed.

As the rest of the Elements began to show fear on their faces, Twilight said, "You can't‽ Oh no, we need to write a let—"

"Wait! Neby said that if anything goes wrong, we should go straight back to her!" Party declared, interrupting Twilight.

Blinking in surprise, Twilight replied, "She did?"

Nodding rapidly, Party explained, "Yepperoni! She said she took a lot of precautions to make certain nothing goes wrong! She was the one that cast the spell, so she might know how to fix this!" as she jumped into the air. "Don't you worry, things will be fix before sundown!"

"Alright... if that what Princess Nebula said, but be careful," Twilight said, as the others uttered their own agreements to that.

Giving Twilight a salute, Party replied, "Don't you worry! Everything will be fine!" before bursting into the air, a gust following in her wake that blew through the Element's manes, messing them to Rarity's dismay.

"And then here we are," Party said, finishing her explanation, as I nodded in thought.

"I see, I know what might have gone wrong," I replied, causing Party's eyes to widen with relief.

"So you can unfuse me then?" Party asked, however she was bearing a mild smile instead of her normally cheerful one. This only served to support my suspicions about the current situation.

"Oh, I could always unfuse you anytime with a spell, but I meant why you couldn't unfused on your own," I answered, causing Party to tilt her head in confusion. "The reason you didn't separate back to Pinkie and Rainbow was because they didn't really want to separate."

What? But that doesn't make sense! We were trying to separate not too long ago! Rainbow cried out, causing me to frown.

"There's no need for yelling, Rainbow. However, for that case, it wasn't a matter of you two wanted to unfuse cause you want to be yourselves, it was more of proving a point to your friends. Hence you didn't have the desire to return to your own forms. Tell me, do you two really want to unfuse right now?" I declared, giving the two a serious look.

As Party's eyes dashed about in her head, Pinkie said, Well... not really. I mean, it's just so much fun being Party.

Yeah... I feel awesome being Party. I really like how we feel to, I never felt this strong before, I bet we could even beat AJ in another Iron Pony contest, Rainbow added in.

"Then there you go, you two really don't want to unfuse yet, hence why you didn't break apart earlier before," I stated.

"But, how do I prove that Pinkie and Rainbow are fine with this then?" Party asked, worry clear in her expression.

"Simple, I'll just enchant a couple of crystals with that talking spell, then you can use it to show that those two are fine with what is going on," I answered before reaching below my bed to pull out a couple of clear crystals out a portal I generated after regaining that ability while refining the fusion spell. The portal wasn't really located underneath the bed, it was just a show to save on some explanations for now. Pulling my hoof out, I lit my horn up with my magic and energy, pouring the spell into the crystals, turning them into a dark purple that matches the color of my magic. "Here we go! Two enchanted crystals, ready to be used at a moments notice!" I exclaimed as I gave them to Party.

"Oh cool! But... how do I use them?" Party asked as she looked them over.

"Just use the phrase, 'Discussion Time' to activate the crystals. Also, use 'Party Unleash' to end the spell," I replied, only to get a hug from Party.

"Thank you Neby for helping me," Party said with a smile.

"Umm... no problem? Just tell me how they take it, and make certain that you three explain how you feel about all of this, so we can avoid any potential problems."

"Roger Neby!" Party replied with a salute after releasing me. "We'll see you tonight then, bye bye!" Party exclaimed before dashing out my door.

I could only shake my head at the sight before hopping back into bed, returning to my slumber as I thought to myself with a snort, Ponies, sometimes they just need to relax and go with the flow instead of panicking whenever something unexpected happens.

Chapter XIV: Confrontation

Spaghetti, something that could result in a mess if someone isn't careful, has been made into a rather clean meal by the power of magic. However, instead of a pleasant meal, I was being viewed upon by Celestia as she gave me a scrutinizing look. So much for having an aunt that would dote on me. I was only onto my second bite of my meal when Celestia declared, "Nebula, we need to talk."

Blinking, I asked, "What is it, Auntie?" before stuffing my mouth.

Frowning, Celestia started to say, "Nebula, you shou—" until the dining room doors slammed open, causing all of us to look at the intruder, who turned out to be Party Blitz.

"Hello everypony! Party Blitz is here, so the party can start!" Party announced as she pointed a hoof in the air, only to be greeted by silence as we all stared at her for a brief moment. "...Was I interrupting something?"

"No... Party, but your presence here would be useful," Celestia answered before she returned her attention to me as I stuffed a third bite into my mouth, causing her to let out a sigh. "Nebula, based on the actions and abilities you were showing, it appears that there is more to you than meets the eye."

Nodding as I swallowed my food, I said, "Well, I did say I died and was reborn in this body, but you passed it off as a joke."

Blinking at my response, Celestia responded, "You were being serious about that?"

"Oh yeah, I was, but I didn't press anything at the time due to lacking anything to support my statements. Now, however, it is apparent that I have something to back up what I say," I replied as I took my fourth bite.

As Luna and Celestia glanced at each other, Party flew down, taking a seat as she asked, "Hey, can I have some food too?"

"Sure. why not," I answered as I used a bell to summon a servant so Party could choose her own meal.

After the servant left, Celestia cleared her throat to get my attention before saying, "Back to the matters on hoof. Though, do you desire for Party to leave to keep this matter private?"

Shrugging, I answered, "After having Rainbow and Pinkie volunteer for my little project, it would be wrong of me to not consider a confidant of sorts," before I was suddenly swept up in a hug.

"Aww... thank you for trusting me, and us, Neby! I'll even Pinkie Promise to keep this a secret!" Party declared.

"Pinkie... promise?"

"Yepperoni! It's this: Cross my heart, hope to fly, put a cupcake in my eye!" Party declared as she put a hoof over her eye, with Pinkie and Rainbow saying it in sync with her. "Nopony breaks a Pinkie Promise!"

"Umm... okay?" I said before turning my attention to Celestia. "So... how much you want to know? The short or long version?"

Raising an eyebrow, Celestia replied, "Well, we do have time, and your story can't be that long?"

"Well, since I'm have lived over two hundred years..." I started to say, thankful that I looked up their measurement of time.

"Nevermind, we'll take the short version," Luna announced, causing Celestia to keep her raised eyebrow as she directed it at Luna now. "What? I do have royal duties to attend to after dinner."

Looking back on me again, Celestia said, "Your mother raises a good point, we don't have the time to hear everything, so a brief summary would do for now."

Putting my fork down, I replied, "Alright, here's my story. I'm a member of a faction called the Dimensional Lords, and I died taking down a cosmic horror, but my power allowed me to get a new body, which so happened to be an alicorn filly. Go figure."

Blinking, Luna asked, "Dimensional Lord? What is that?"

"Simply put, we're a group of beings that have authority over spatial matters and can travel through dimensions. Normally, whenever there is a matter that threatens the stability of a dimensional plane, agents, or one or more of us Lords, are sent to deal with the cause of the instability. We all possess the ability to manipulate dimensions and space itself, which confers power unto us as well, enhancing whatever native powers we have prior to becoming a member, as well being granted intensive knowledge of spatial matters," I explained.

"Interesting, no wonder you were able to complete the fusion spell and cast it, you already have all you needed on hoof already," Celestia commented. "Though, Dimensional Lords? That sounds a bit arrogant to possess as a name, no offense intended, Nebula."

Shrugging, I replied, "None taken, I wasn't there when our little organization was made."

"So, you're like some kind of space superheros? That is so awesome!" Party exclaimed.

Rolling my eyes, I shook my head as I said, "Not really. While we cover dimensional instabilities, for the most part, we are left to our own devices. And when you get a bunch of... ponies that have a lot of power but few responsibilities assigned to them..."

"It means that the temptation to use their power for their own desires," Celestia deducted.

"Correct, some go for the conquest of worlds to build up their own empires, while others decide to bring justice to other worlds, albeit it is justice in their point of view," I replied, causing Luna to narrow her eyes at me.

"And what were your plans then, Nebula?" Luna asked.

"Well, beyond fighting that cosmic horror I told you about, which was a major threat to life, I didn't have any ambitions on my own. No desire to take over a universe, nor any desires to become some kind of a paladin of rightiness. I was simply thrown into the role when I obtained my position," I answered with a shrug, despising Luna's suspicions.

"So, since you appeared to have obtained your goal, what are you plans now?" Celestia asked.

"To be honest, I have no plans. I wasn't expecting my rebirth, no one told me about that ability. And I did achieve my goal, which actually earned some respect from my peers, or at least enough that they would permit me a vacation of sorts."

"You're on vacation? How long?" Party asked, face full of excitement as she smiled at me, weirding me out a bit.

"Well, I was given fifty cycles, which translates for around fifty years here, give or take a few years," I answered as I reared my head back a bit.

Frowning, Luna gave me a somewhat worried look as she said, "Since you're older than you appear, and with the truth out, I take it you would desire your independence once again?"

Cocking an eyebrow at her, I knew what she was really hinting at, that I would stop being her daughter. "Meh, I'm fine with how things are going, I still have a lot to learn about this world, mom," I replied, which earned me a smile and a look of joy.

Celestia, however, had a pensive look as she stated, "While it's a joy that you desire to remain as part of our family, there is one matter about that which we need to address, your shared hostility with my son, Chrono. Why are you two like that to each other?"

"Simple, he's a Magister of Time," I responded, causing both Luna and Party to just blink in confusion, yet Celestia didn't share in it. It seemed like she already knew about this, though maybe not all the details.

"Magister of Time?" Luna asked as she tilted her head at me.

"It's sort of like Dimensional Lords, but they deal with time matters instead. However, they operate differently from us in terms of internal matters, which I don't know of. However, one known fact is that my faction and Chrono's just outright hate each other, but we are necessary for the stability of reality, so we have no choice but to tolerate each other. But that doesn't mean that there is peace, sometimes there were a few skirmishes, but there will never be war nor an attempt to exterminate each other," I replied with a shrug.

A look of fear appearing on her face, Celestia responded, "Does that mean you two may be fighting each other in the future?" Celestia's question even brought a look of concern to Luna's face, probably due to the fact that the two sisters once fought in the past before Luna was banished to the moon for a thousand years, or so I learned from a history book.

Shrugging once more, I answered, "Not sure, it depends on if he wants to fight or not. I'm more for just pranking for him and giving him a rough time, but otherwise I can tolerate him being around. So if you want peace between us, you have to deal with him, I'm fine with being a passive jerk to him."

"But shouldn't you two be friends, since you're now cousins?" Party countered, a sad look on her face.

"You may think that, but there is a lot of bad blood that is between our two factions, that created really negative views of one another. We see them as snobbish, while they see us as egotistical. It's developed to a point to where we can detect one another's presence upon sight. So, odds are we won't be friends, though we can learn to stand one another," I replied, causing Party to let out a sigh before her eyes suddenly brighten.

"Oh, I forgot, Chrono wanted me to give you a present!" Party exclaimed as she pulled a present out of her mane before giving it to me.

"Hmm... seems like Chrono wants to make peace to you, my niece," Celestia said with a smile. Frowning at the white box that was tied up with a red ribbon, I was tempted to chuck the box out a window, but with three mares in the room expecting me to open it, that option wasn't available to me. Letting out a sigh, I pulled at the ribbon before opening the box, only for a bright light to burst out of the box. Blinking my eyes clear of it, I saw that its empty inside, before noticing that my limbs were on fire.

Looking up at everypony, who were looking at me in utter shock, I simply asked, "I'm on fire, aren't I?" Receiving a mute nod from the trio, I simply nodded in turn, only for a few mere seconds later for me to throw my hooves into the air as I screamed, "I'm on fire!" before dropping onto the floor, rolling around in an attempt to put it out.

"Party... did you knew that this would happen?" I heard Luna said in a hostile tone as I came to a stop, but upon noticing that I was on fire still, I resumed my rolling.

"Of course not! I, nor Rainbow or Pinkie, would ever pull a prank that would hurt a pony!" Party cried out.

"Relax you two, for the fire is of an illusionary nature, Nebula is perfectly fine, though I doubt this would speak well of Chrono's and her future relationship," Celestia said, causing me to blink as I stopped rolling.

Sitting up, I simply growled as I declared, while still on fire, "I'll make him pay for this!"

Chapter XV: Capabilities

"So that's why you're afraid of hitting me, cause your superhero powers would have sent me flying through a wall!"

"For the last time, I'm not a superhero, and it's more me punching a hole in your body instead of you crashing into a wall."

"But didn't you stop a cosmic horror? Did you get anything out of it?"

"Umm... a vacation and dominion of this world."

"Wait, you own Equus?"

"Sort of. Maybe. Depends on your point of view, but mostly it means that nopony from another dimension would be coming over without my permission. So it's more of a 'leave this world alone' kind of thing to other Dimensional Lords and their agents, and perhaps a bit to the Magisters of Time as well," I answered as Party and I were going down a hallway. After dinner, Celestia decided to retire for the night, while Luna had to attend to her duties, much to her distaste since she wanted to find out more about me after learning the truth. I wonder how she'll react if I told her that I once pulled my spine out before turning it into a makeshift blade-whip? Wasn't pleasant, but it served its purpose, though I only had that ability when I went through my first transformation, my second one got rid of it entirely.

"So you're not going to proclaim yourself as queen of the world?" Party asked as she circled around me as she hovered in the air.

"That is way too much responsibility for my tastes, even taking some of the workloads from mom or aunt Celestia when I'm older isn't something I want to do," I answered, huffing at the idea at me ruling the world. I give it ten minutes before everypony wants my head on a pike.

"But you're a princess, shouldn't you be doing so awesome?"

"Well, if there is a danger to the world or Equestria, then just pick me up and throw me at it. I'll take it out, problem solved, and everypony will be happy to have me around," I replied with a roll of my eyes. "By the way, how did your friends handle you sticking around still?"

"They were apprehensive at first, due to being worried about Rainbow and Pinkie, but after hearing from them that they want to still fused still, they decided to accept it. They figured that if those two want this still, it would be wrong to break them apart," Party answered with a smile.

"Alright, though what is going on with those two anyway? I only heard them saying that Pinkie Promise since you came here," I asked.

"Oh, they just feel like it's redundant to say their thoughts when mine matches them so easily. Everytime they start to discuss ideas, I came up with the idea that they always both agree is best. After a while, they just felt like watching and enjoying the show, and let me do my thing!" Party replied.

"Hmm... then I need those two to think about something really important then," I started to say as I came to a stop, giving Party a serious look that caused her to land down on the ground. "Do you two ever want to return to your own bodies?"

Her smile fading away as she took on a thoughtful look, Party just stared at me as Pinkie said, I don't know yet... I mean, it is so much fun to be flying, and the party ideas that Party is coming up with is so awesome!

Yeah, I just feel too awesome to quit this now, and I've seen Party lifting ten times of what I could so far! And the tricks we can pull off like this, it's so super duper awesome to do! Rainbow added in, causing me to frown.

"Do you two realize that you're sounding a bit like your fusion partner?" I pointed out, causing Party to blink as I received a 'huh' from the both of them. "It seems like you two are starting to pick up traits from the other, meaning that the fusion is starting to affect your minds as well. It may be possible that your minds would even unite, resulting in just Party."

A look of concern appeared on Party's face as she asked, "Wait, if that happens, would that mean they're gone for good?"

Shaking my head, I answered, "No, I still have my samples of those two, so even if that scenario happens, I would still have the means to pull you two out. But with that possibility firmly on the table, do you two still desire to remain fused?"

As an expression of relief came onto Party's face, Rainbow said, Well... this is so much fun, and since you still have precautions to go that far... I'm okay with staying like this still if Pinkie is. Besides, she's an awesome fusion party, and Party is an awesome fusion that I might not mind being all the time if this happens.

If Rainbow's okay, I'm okay too! Party is a blast, and I bet so many more ponies would have some awesome fun with her in parties, we can even do stunt shows too! Pinkie added.

"Alright... as long as you two know the risks, and if one of you change your minds, then your fusion would dissolve instantly. Just give your friends and family a heads up about this," I responded before resuming our walk.

"Okey-dokey!" Party exclaimed with a salute, causing me to roll my eyes as she hopped back into the air. "Hey, since fusion is so awesome, are you planning on letting more ponies fuse if they want to try it?"

Pausing for a brief moment, I blinked for a moment before answering, "I don't know, we'll see how you pan out first. Might be too soon to even consider that possibility before knowing all the potential results from you."

Hovering in front of me, Party rolled her eyes as she responded, "Jeeze, you sound like Twilight. Don't be such a party-pooper."

Snorting, I countered, "Well, I came up with the spell, so I call the shots on how to use it," as we came out to the garden. Unfurling my wings as I stretched their muscles, I said, "Okay, ready to teach me some more flying tips?"

"Of course! And then we can spar some more? I really want to see what a superhero like you can do!"

"I said I'm not a superhero!"

"...You said you don't want to harm Party, but you have her in a headlock, my daughter."

"Hey, I"m not hurting her, I'm just not letting go."

"Get off already!" Party exclaimed as she shook me about, as I struggled to hang on. Grappling with an unpredictable mare proved to be a fresh experience, as she flailed about in ways that I never saw before. Or maybe it's because Pinkie might be part elastic, and Party inherited that trait.

"But what is the point of this?" Luna asked, having just come out into the garden after finishing her duties.

"Party is the most unpr—whoa!" I started to explain before Party did an aerial buck while spinning about, yet I still hung on. "As I was saying, she's unpredictable, so this will introduce me to a few new tactics to throw off a pony that has you in a headlock."

"Very well, but it is time for this session to end, for there are things we need to discuss," Luna ordered, causing Party to let out a moan of disappointment as I let go of her.

As the two of us landed on the ground, I asked, "Okay, what is it we need to talk about?"

"It is about you being a Dimensional Lord. While you did give us a basic summary about them and yourself, I need to know if they or... you would be a threat to this world and it's natural order," Luna said while adopting a firm look, which weakened when I just chuckled at her.

"Relax, they're not going to interfere unless an instability will occur, and I'm not seeking to upset the status quo. If anything, any disruptions I would probably end up doing is based on what responsibilities you and Celestia decide to give me when I'm older. Otherwise, I rather be a minor footnote in the history books," I replied, only for Party to give me a look of confusion as she tilted her head.

"But you're a Dimensional Lord and an alicorn princess. Aren't you rewriting history already just by being here?" Party asked, causing me to frown at her.

"Fine, be as minor as I can be then," I muttered out before feeling Luna's hoof ruffling my mane. "Hey! Stop that!" I demanded as I swat a hoof at her. "Remember that I'm over two hundred years old?"

Chuckling, Luna countered, "And I'm over a thousand years, so you're still a toddler in alicorn terms," before leaning down to nuzzle me, much to my determent as I tried to pull away from it. "And remember, you agreed for us to be your mother still, hence, I plan on mothering you still."

"Oh joy, so is there anything else we need to discuss?" I asked as I back away from Luna's display of motherly affection.

"Yes, there is more," Luna answered as she pulled her head back. "Is there any way your powers could be used for the benefit of Equestria and Equus itself?"

"Ah, the typical use of all potential assets for the benefit of all deal," I replied with a roll of my eyes, causing Luna to frown.

"I didn't intend to ma—"

"Nah, it's fine, cause for the most part, I can't really do so much right now. Most I can do is offensive, so I can only be a protector for the land. Maybe I can do more when I learn more magic and see what my powers can do when mixed with it, but for the most part, it's just fighting and... this," I said as I pointed at Party, who was just looking at us with a smile.

"Yes... that is certainly an innovation. But if you can be a guardian for this world, surely you could think of an alternative use for the techniques you employ for battle," Luna stated, only to look confused as I let out a laugh at her.

"Sorry to burst your bubble, but I mostly fight in a physical fashion, with heavy use of weaponry," I countered.

"Wait, you fight with weapons and not with your superpowers?" Party asked with a disappointed frown.

"Well, it's not like I use normal weapons, if only I regained that ability..." I answered before coming to a stop, as I looked at my hoof for a brief moment before holding it out as I began to concentrate. Within mere seconds, a silver sword materializes in my hoof, which was a pleasant surprise until I dropped it as I noticed that it was of a size meant to be used for an adult pony. As the tip of the blade hit the ground and sank into it, I looked at Luna and Party only to see their shocked expressions. "Yeah... this is one of my more well-used abilities..."

As Luna gaped in shock as me, I could only imagine that she was thinking about the horror of having a child that could create weapons at a whim, till Party shouted, "That is so awesome!" That instead caused me to worry about what kind of priorities Rainbow has since I figured that it was her side that enjoyed seeing this little feat. Maybe I should have gone for a calmer pair for a fusion after all.

Chapter XVI: Relative

"So what other weapons do you have? Where did they come from? Did they came from your mane too?" Party Blitz asked as she bounced behind Luna and I as we were heading down an unfamiliar hallway.

"No, my weapons certainly did not come from my mane, they just are generated out of thin air, and I might have other weapons, but I don't know what they are," I answered, causing Luna to cock an eyebrow at me.

"You possess weapons that you don't know of? How is that even possible?" Luna asked.

Shrugging, I answered, "I don't get it all that well myself, but I have an ability to generate weapons, though I can't mass produce them," before recalling their shock reactions when they saw my sword disintegrating, which my weapons normally do when I have no need of them for the moment. "Nor can I make what I want at a whim, it's like I have a very specific set of weapons I can draw on. As to why I don't know what I have, my sword appeared different from what it once was, so odds are my other weapons got changed. It could be a minor change, or they could be changed into a completely different weapon. Only time will tell when I summon the rest of them out, though I rather not do it somewhere where something could be broken."

"Interesting, yet also bothersome ability to have," Luna noted, causing me to shrug again.

"Eh, it's only bothersome at first, but af—"

"There you are, Auntie, and your mysterious new daughter," a male voice said in a rather elegant fashion, drawing my attention to my side where I saw a white unicorn stallion with a golden mane walking towards us, who had some collar around his neck. However, something set it on edge, probably due to the fact that the unicorn had his nose up in the air like some pompous noble, that and the fact that I saw Luna's expression darken to one of utter irritation. Based on those two things, I came up with a plan that might either be highly amusing or tempt Luna into chaining me to my bed.

"Oh mother, you got me a pet pony! You shouldn't have!" I cried out, causing everypony to give me a bewildered look.

"Pet pony? Why I ne—" the newcomer said before his mouth was clamped shut by my magic as I used it to drag him over to me before forcing him to lie down on his belly.

"Oh, don't worry, my new pet pony! I'll take good care of you!" I exclaimed, pressing on forward as I saw the edges of Luna's mouth turning upwards a bit while seeing Party covering her muzzle with her hooves as I hear some muffled giggles behind them. "I'll feed you, and brush your mane, and clean your fu—" I continued before the stallion's horn lit up with his own magic, breaking my magical hold on him, though I was barely even trying to hold him down.

"How dare you‽ Do you even know who I am?" the unicorn said, anger clear in his voice as he stood up while brushing his chest with a hoof.

"Of course I know who you are, you're my pet pony who I'll be naming Sir Scrubby!" I answered with a mocking grin, to which the stallion just sputtered about in shock while Luna let out a chuckle as Party could only laugh at the scene.

"I believe that is enough merry making, my daughter. This is my nephew, Prince Blueblood," Luna said, with a hint of venom in her tone when she said the word nephew.

"Indeed, and you better show me the proper respect for one of such a lofty station," Blueblood said while turning his nose up.

"Alright," I simply said, causing Luna and Party to cock their eyebrows at me due to knowing the kind of pony I was, while Blueblood smiled smugly. Turning my head towards Luna, I asked, "Do you happen to have a muzzle and a saddle?" causing everypony to gape at me with the exception of Party who burst out in laughter.

"Why I never!" Blueblood exclaimed before he turned his attention towards Luna. "Auntie, I will be taking my leave, but please do teach your daughter some manners," Blueblood said before he turned to make his leave.

"Just remember to leave that stick up your plot behind the next time we meet," I countered, causing him to pause for a brief moment, a mild growl escaping from him before he walked off.

"As amusing as that was, I recommend that you don't antagonize Blueblood for he could become quite a nuisance if he desires to," Luna told me as we resumed walking down our own path.

"If he's a problem, why not strip him of his title?" I asked.

"Recall that he called me 'auntie'? He is a distant... relative of mine and belongs to a family line that held that title for generations. One cannot simply strip it without repercussions," Luna explained.

"Ah, alright then. I'll just banish him to some rock floating in space then if he proves to be too much of a hassle," I idly replied, causing the duo to stare at me once more.

"You can do that?" Party asked with a tilt of her head.

"Well, yeah. Would be pretty hard to attend to the responsibilities of maintaining the spatial stability of all of existence if we can't get anywhere in a hurry. I'll just summon a portal and push him through it, and boom! One free vacation on an asteroid, no hidden fees included," I answered with a smile, while Luna only shook her head at me.

"You can't simply do that to him," Luna reprimanded.

Rolling my eyes, I countered, "Oh? But who would believe him if he told anypony that an alicorn filly banished him onto a hunk of dirt floating in the middle of space?"

Opening her mouth for a second as she left her hoof, Luna paused, blinking for a moment before finally admitting, "You do have a point there. But please don't do it if he's just annoying you."

"I'll try, but no promises."

"...Either you're challenging me to a practice duel, or you deemed me to be too much of a threat and brought me here to contain the damage our fight would have," I commented as I looked at the room that Luna brought us to, which was devoid of anything except for a few targets and a couple of test dummies.

Raising an eyebrow, Luna replied, "That's a rather pessimistic view of the situation."

"Fighting a cosmic horror tends do lead one to think in that fashion, so what is the reason you brought me here if it wasn't for a fight?" I asked as I looked up to her.

"Simple, if you are able to summon weapons such as that as well possess incredible power, I would rather minimize the risks of what could happen as we explore your powers in your new form," Luna explained.

"Ah, good idea, some of my previous weapons were... quite explosive," I commented, causing Party to take on a bit of a feral grin, which I couldn't tell for certain if it was Pinkie's or Rainbow's side that caused that, but it did cause me to take a few steps away from her.

Luna on the otherhoof frowned at the revelation as she said, "Then it would be best that you let me set up some precautions before you explore what kind of weapons your personal arsenal possess... I can't believe I'm saying something like that to a filly that is my own daughter."

"I know right, I'm such a bad influence!" I exclaimed with a smile, causing Luna to give me a deadpanned look. "So, what should we start with first?"

"Before we do begin, there is one thing that needs to be addressed," Luna replied as she turned her head towards Party. "Dame Party, shouldn't you be heading home by now?"

"Nah, I'm good, since you give me that super awesome sleep after all. Also, I wanted to see what Neby can do!" Party exclaimed with a bounce.

"Stop calling me Neby!" I protested, before seeing Luna lit her horn up, closing the door as a shield appeared around her and Party.

"Very well then, but please remain by me at all times for your safety," Luna said as I heard a thud behind me. Turning around, I spotted while looked like some dumbells, albeit it had weights that were giving off a feeling like they were enchanted. "First, we will be testing your physical stren..." Luna started to say until I lifted the dumbells with one hoof. "That weighed one ton..."

"Yeah... I'm a physical type of pony, so it's given that I should be stronger than normal," I explained before throwing the dumbells aside, flinching at the series of thuds they made as they bounced off the floor for a bit. "Since I'm still recovering from my 'death', I might still be recovering my strength, even when I"m not accounting for the fact that I should be stronger when I become an adult."

"Okay... how about you show us what magic you know prior to coming to our world," Luna said as she eyed the dumbells for a moment before returning her attention to me.

"Alright then," I said as I sat down as the two stared at me while I just stared back.

After a minute passed, Party was the one to break the silence when she said, "Aren't you going to show us anything?"

"I would, but I didn't use magic till I came here," I declared, causing Luna to facehoof.

"Why didn't you tell us that then?" Luna groaned.

"Cause this way is much more funnier," I answered with a cheeky grin. As Luna let out a groan, I asked, "How about we take a peek at my private armory, I'm rather curious about something."

"Very well, we might as well see something that might be constant with you," Luna said Party looked on with a sparkle in her eye.

Nodding, I held out a hoof, as I tried to summon out a weapon. However, this time I thought about a ranged weapon, which resulted in some kind of pistol appeared in my hoof, one that was of a silver coloration, though its grip curved off the body of the weapon, and some kind of odd disc where the hammer and bullet chamber was, and it lacked any kind of trigger. It also came with its own twin in my left hoof, causing me to cock an eyebrow at that. "Well... this is certainly interesting," I mumbled out as I wondered how I could even use it.

"What... kind of weapon is that?" Luna asked as she tilted her head at the sight as I pointed the barrel to the ceiling as I felt something that might be a trigger on its handle.

"It sort of looks like mini-can—" Party said before I pressed the trigger, firing the gun, its bullet striking the ceiling with the force of an artillery round, exploding against the ceiling as the two let out a cry of surprise before looking up to see that a chunk of the ceiling was gone. Apparently, the room's ability to contain the practice of anything dangerous didn't account for something that possessed great piercing power, as I saw that the disc part of my gun had a half rotation, where I felt it pulled some energy from me before doing another half rotation, complete with a click that told me it was reloaded. Convenient.

"Well... that packed a pu—"

"Put those away now!" Luna cried as she shielded an amazed Party with a wing.

"Wait, weren't we he—"

"I don't care! This room is clearly not suited to contain the dangers of your weaponry if one of them could do that! Now put them away before I ground you by sending you to the moon!" Luna shouted.

"...You do know that I'll just figure out how to portal ba—"

"For Faust's sake, just do it before you blow us all up by accident!"

Chapter XVII: Discussions

"Hey, you said that the room was secured, so I thought it would have been fine to test it out. Besides, at least I didn't point it at you, and I wasn't expecting them to have the punch of a small cannon."

"There were practice dummies and targets for to practice on, not the ceiling!" Luna reprimanded.

"Hey, do you think we could a party cannon version for me?" Party asked, causing both Luna and me to jerk our heads towards her.

"No!" we both shot back, before blinking at one another.

"Bummer, but hey, you're acting like mother and daughter now!" Party announced. After the little incident with my new firearms, Luna deemed that I shouldn't be experimenting with my weaponry until a suitable place was secured for the testing grounds. With this change in plans, Luna decided to bring me over to the library for some studying and her grilling me on the nature of my position. Joke's on her, I'm far less informed about this position than my fellow lords. I mean, I didn't even know I could cheat death under the right conditions.

As we entered the library, the librarian bowing to Luna as we passed by her, I looked at Party as I asked, "Shouldn't you be heading home now? The night isn't going to last forever, you know."

Waving a hoof off, Party answered, "I'll be fine, besides, I'm so excited to hear some of the things you can do!"

Rolling my eyes, I countered, "Don't expect too much, it's not like I'm some being that can play with the stars," only for Luna to pause as she looked at me with a raised eyebrow before continuing on her way. "What?"

"...Nothing," Luna replied as she walked over to our little study area. As I hopped onto my seat, Luna asked, "So, since you're affiliated with these... 'Dimensional Lords', would they be taking any actions against Equus?"

Before I could even open my mouth, Party chipped in, "Oh, they gave control of Equus over to Neby!" leaving me with my mouth hanging wide open, which was soon mirrored by Luna, with Party joining in with a giggle.

Compusing herself, Luna said, "Please tell me she's joking," as she looked at me, only to take on a deadpanned expression when I gave her an awkward smile in response. Gritting her teeth, Luna continued, "What right do they have in giving you our world?"

"Well, it's not exactly giving me the world, it's more of giving me dominion over the world," I said as I kept up my forced smile.

"And how is that any better?"

"Well, it just means that no beings or forces of interdimensional capabilities would be trying to take over, while technically giving me free reign to do whatever I want to the world as long as I don't disrupt temporal or spatial stability. Which, I don't have any plans for global domination, so it's more of just a kind of protection for everypony!" I explained, keeping my smile as I hope it helped placate Luna. Which also made me wonder what made me become so soft, probably due to being in a filly's body. Curse the effects of the biological body.

"Very well then, but it may be best if we keep that little tidbit to ourselves. Now, back to the subject on hoof, your nature as a Dimensional Lord. You explained about your duties as one of them, but there is still much more to explain," Luna stated as she lit her horn up, summoning a scroll and quill.

Nodding, I replied, "Alright, I'll tell you what I can, but there are some things that we're can't simply divulge. It's a bit of a policy for our little group. So no asking for how the upper echelon is organized or formed, and of course I can't talk about the capabilities my peers possess."

"Understandable, but do any of you possess any ulterior motives beyond what you have told us?" Luna asked as Party hovered about, though she looked to be lying down as well, perplexing me on how she does that so casually.

"Eh, technically we all do. Even with cosmic duties, we end up with plenty of time to burn, so we each fulfill our own ambitions during our off time," I answered with a shrug. "So it is ultimately dependant on our personal desires. Some of us can be benevolent, desiring to uplift other worlds to prosperity, while some may just like to see their own territory suffer underneath their rule to fulfill their sick desires, and you got some like me that are just drifting around aimlessly, doing things on a whim."

Frowning, Luna responded, "I see, I was hoping for that even with the conquest of worlds, that your organization is filled with kind-hearted individuals, but to hear that is truly disappointing."

"What can I say? We're not persay evil overall, and the first keeps us all in che—"

"The first? What do you mean by that?" Luna asked, pressing her head forward a bit in curiosity.

"Darn, shouldn't have let that slip, but I will say that there is a ranking system and that the first is the one that keeps our group focus on our primary purpose," I said while waving a hoof around. "He... she... whatever, is the only being that keeps us Dimensional Lords from devolving into power hungry warlords. That's all I will say now, and please keep this information to yourselves."

"Why? Will you get into super trouble if more ponies find out?" Party asked as she hovered to my side.

"Possibly... I'm not certain, but if too many ponies do find out, I'm pretty certain that we would purge that number to keep our secrets secret," I answered, causing the two to go wide-eyed and gulped at that.

"I'll Pinkie Promise that I won't tell anypony anything you say about the Dimensional Lords without your permission," Party declared.

As she was going through the motions, I saw that Luna was in doubt, based on her expression as she looked at the floor. "Is something the matter, mother?" I asked, bringing her attention to me as she bit her lip.

"There is, while you displayed some of your abilities, I'm still highly doubtful of your claims. While amazing as they can be, the claims to rule over empires made up of worlds is hard to believe," Luna revealed, causing me to nod in return.

"I figured that doubt would come into play without solid, hard proof, so let me try something then," I stated as I lifted a hoof before pushing forward with it.

"Wait, what are you do—" Luna asked before the space in front of my hoof cracked like some kind of mirror. "What..."

"The most basic display of a Dimensional Lord's power, the shattering of a dimension's natural barriers," I said as I pulled my hoof back, causing the cracks to disappear. "While we may have abilities that others could find a way to imitate, so far nopony has been able to pull off something like that. It also helps that it tends to have an effect on ponies' own mind to see existence being cracked," I continued as I looked at the shocked Luna and Party, the latter having dropped down to the floor at the sight. "Sorry for the that, but sometimes ponies need something rather shocking before they can start believing."

"I... understand," Luna responded, causing me to narrow my eyes a bit as that hinted to her possibly taking drastic actions when she was Nightmare Moon, or maybe even before that.

"Couldn't you... like take us to another world instead of something like that?" Party asked, her mane drooping a bit after seeing my little show.

"That is something that other beings are capable of, to the point that some dimensions draw upon that with ease. Furthermore, travel between dimensions could have side effects on us," I answered, causing Party to tilt her head.

"Side effects?"

Nodding, I explain, "Yes, for instance, one world could have a subtle bacteria in the air that may be transmitted to this world by you two if I'm too careless, which could lead to a plague wiping out all life. Another possibility is that our bodies changed to be more similar to the native life of that world."

"Oh? You mean we could become another species, like fish?" Party asked, her mane returning to normal as her eyes sparkled with childish curiosity, while Luna displayed an interest on where this was going.

"Not exactly, it's more normally just restructuring our bodies into a more suitable structure, so you'll be ponies in some form regardless," I replied, causing Party's ears to droop.

"Aw... I wanted to see what it was like to be an eagle, or a hawk, or maybe even a helicopter!" Party said, causing me to blink at her.

"Why in the world would you change into a helicopter of all things?" I asked out of sheer confusion.

"Cause it would be fun?" Party answered, causing me to groan at her.

However, before either one of us could say a thing, Luna looked at Party, saying, "Party, there is something of grave importance that I need to ask Nebula, alone." Blinking at first, Party gave a salute before flying out of the library, while Luna's horn lit up, surrounding us in a blue barrier of sorts.

"This is to keep others from overhearing," Luna explained since she saw me looking at the barrier with suspicion. When I returned my attention to her, Luna continued, "I wanted privacy due to the nature of what I'm going to ask you. What was this cosmic horror that you claimed to have defeated, and what means you have taken to vanquish it."

Frowning, I took a deep breath before asking, "Are you sure you want to know?" Getting a nod, I sighed before saying, "Very well, the cosmic horror I 'vanquished' are a viral species called the Venanites. They're an interdimensional species that has been a plague on all reality, but due to their ability to infect others with a virus that painfully turns other into new Venanites, as well as possessing individuals of great power, it kept all other factions at bay, beyond fending them off from worlds that the Venanites tried to invade. Even the Dimensional Lords and Magisters of Time feared their power since they couldn't risk an upfront confrontation with them. It wasn't until I showed up, with an immunity to their virus that the tide was turned against them, yet it took me two hundred years to put an end to them, which still gave them plenty of time to wiping out other species and worlds."

A grim look on Luna's face, I could see that she had the hide to withstand the sheer idea of the horror of a species like the Venanites, as she pressed on with her questioning. "And how did you stopped them?"

Sighing, I said, "By wiping them out. In other words, I committed genocide against them."

After staring at me for a moment, Luna narrowed her eyes as she asked, "Did you take any pleasure from that?"

Giving Luna an annoyed look, I answered, "Do I look like a monster? There just wasn't any options. The Venanites were formed of two groups, the feral monstrous portion that was what most ponies see them as, and the rarer intelligent portion that were few in number, but possessed power enough to give even the lesser agents that we may employ pause. Not only that, but that portion views all other life as mere vermin, and saw that being turned into feral beasts was some kind of uplifting. Even when facing the end, they still believe in their superiority, so I was left with no choice. Wipe them out, or risk them bringing other races to extinction if they escape whatever imprisonment that could be given to them."

Staring at Luna, who stared in return, we were left in silence before her horn flashed, as she teleported to my side, causing me to jump a bit before the engulfed me in a hug. Before I could question her actions, she said, "I'm sorry for accusing you of that and bring up those unpleasant memories, my daughter, but I had to be certain of your nature. It is a shame that such a thing had to come to pass, but it will have no negative bearing on how I see you, you are still the daughter that I have adopted, and I will raise you like any other child."

Frowning to myself, I asked, "Really? But how do you know I wasn't lying?"

Petting my mane, Luna answered, "Cause I once wielded the Element of Honesty, and I could see the truth in your words. You may have done a horrible thing, but you did what was necessary, and I can't fault you in the end of it. Instead... I feel sorrow at the thought that you have to go through something like that, no matter your age or experience."

Blinking in surprise at her answer, I let out a sigh as I nuzzled her chest while returning her hug. Truth be told, I was fearful for being called a monster and being chased out of this world, but hearing that somepony is still willing to accept me regardless of my actions have put my heart at ease. It seemed like this world is something that I might find some kind of belonging to, maybe perhaps enough to make me desire some kind of peace with Chrono... after messing with him for a few decades. I might not be a monster, but I'm not above messing with others for my amusement.

Chapter XVIII: Mirror

After our short bonding moment, Luna decided that it was time to return to magic lessons and let the rest of my past be told another day. With that said, Party finally decided to return home for the rest of the night, though it made me wonder how Pinkie and Rainbow were doing. Aside from a couple of comments, they were quiet for most of the night. Though I really shouldn't be concern about it, they were full grown mares, and hence have the right to decide their own fates, since I did inform them of the risks after all.

Hence, after magic lessons, it was breakfast time, where while I was enjoying some eggs with jam-lathered toast, I spotted that Celestia was giving me a calculating look. While I may be of a warrior's background, for the most part, I wasn't too oblivious to not notice when somepony was scheming. Unless Celestia was purposely showing that as part of some ploy, then I have no idea what her long-term plan is. However, that line of thought came to an end when Celestia said, "Nebula, there is something I've been thinking about, a problem that your supposed nature might be able to address."

Before I could get a word out, Luna frowned as she declared, "Sister, I can assure you that Nebula's words are to be taken seriously, and fear not, so is a pony of good intentions, albeit they may be misguided at times."

Rolling my eyes at Luna's comment, I asked, "I'm very tentative to ask you about what you needed from me. There are rules and limitations on what I'm allowed to do, so I'll hear you out, but no promises on helping you."

Nodding, Celestia replied, "Of course, if you have to follow your organization's rules, I can't fault you for that. My question is more about your group's desire to maintain stability between dimensions. How thorough is your group at that matter?"

Raising an eyebrow, I answered, "It depends on who's assigned to particular instabilities, we each have our approach, and hence it's matters on how one does like to handle the issue. Also, we don't cover everything, for sometimes a little issue can be ignored, for sometimes they just end up being solved for us."

"Yet your group has the free time to pursue their own desires," Luna commented with a disappointed look on her face.

Shrugging, I responded, "Well, I never claimed for us to be perfect in our job, and my own desire was something that many others wanted as well, so for my tenure prior to here I wasn't assigned many duties." As Celestia looked at the two of us in confusion, I added, "I'll explain later, but I take it there's something more to your question?"

Nodding again, Celestia said, "Yes. For we have delved into the exploration of other dimensions through an enchanted mirror, and I would like to see if it is an instability or not."

Frowning, I declared, "I'll check it out, it's pretty much now guaranteed that I have to at least check it out since it's been brought to my attention. But after breakfast first," before I start stuffing eggs down my throat as Celestia rolled her eyes at me.

"You always seem to have to keep on eating like it was your last meal. Didn't you get served meals since you were a Dimensional Lord?" Celestia asked.

"No, cause I spent most of my time fighting on the battlefields. Truth be told, I only get a meal in every other month back then," I answered, only to get the two sisters to gape at me. "Another pro of being a Dimensional Lord, our dimensional energy sustains us. But that doesn't mean I wouldn't eat a good meal when presented the opportunity. Also, it applies to sleep as well," I added before stuffing a slice of toast into my mouth to break their composure. One great way to break a pony out of shock is to shock them again with something else, as long as it isn't a bombshell of a shock.

"So this is the mirror that we discussed earlier," Celestia declared as she opened a door to a room that was void of everything but a tall object that was covered with a cloth, which I assumed to be the mirror. Luna had decided to retire for the night, just leaving Celestia and I to deal with this mirror issue.

"You know, I thought something of this nature would be kept in a vault or a secret room, but at least you locked the door," I commented as I strode over to the mirror before pulling the sheet off, only to see how fancy it was. "Why must every mystical object that I come across have to be so elaborate? Couldn't there be something that looked like a normal pony would use?"

Rolling her eyes, Celestia said, "I wasn't the one that chosen this mirror to enchant. It was Starswirl the Bearded who created this portal."

"Great, some old wizard that I can't punt out of a window, figures," I replied as I ran a hoof across its surface before frowning. "Hmm... I can definitely feel that it is a dimensional portal, but it seems to be inactive."

"It was a part of its enchantment, it only opens every thirty moons," Celestia explained, causing me to look at her with a raised eyebrow.

"That's... a weird thing to have," I stated before looking back at the mirror. "Well, I don't think this mirror has done any damage to your world's barriers, but it isn't a stable portal, so there are risks to using this. So I'm just going to shut this portal down for go—"

"Wait!" Celestia cried out, causing me to look back at her. "Is it necessary for you to dispell the enchantment?"

Tilting my head at her, I answered, "Well, yeah I have to, it's an instability, it has been brought to my attention, and it's my duty to shut down all spatial instabilities. Why you ask?" before narrowing my eyes at her.

Bring a hoof to rubbing the back of her head, which caused me to raised an eyebrow at that since one wouldn't expect that from a princess who's over a thousand years old, Celestia answered, "It's because... one of my former students has used the mirror and hasn't come back..." as she took on a downcast expression.

Scowling at what I heard, I asked, "And how long has she been on the other side?"

"It has been over a decade," Celestia replied, to which my scowl deepened as my horn lit up, which caused Celestia to become alarmed. "Wait, do—"

"I'm activating the portal, with an alteration, so relax," I interjected, as the mirror suddenly flashed before its surface turned into a purplish portal.

"...Amazing," Celestia croaked out as her pupils widen in surprise, to which I snorted at, but knew that this may dash some of her doubts about me. However, when I stuck my hoof into the mirror, Celestia's expression turn into one of confusion as she asked, "Wait, what are you doing?"

"You'll see," I simply answered as I felt around before finding a solid object. "Aha!" I cried out as I pulled, feeling a bit of resistance at first before applying a wee bit more strength, resulting in my pulling out an orange unicorn mare with a red and yellow mane out of the mirror before tossing her overhead as she screamed in horror before crashing into a wall. Dusting my hooves, I declared, "Well that problem is solved," as Celestia could only gape at what unfolded before her.

Raising her head, the mare looked about in confusion as she exclaimed, "What the buck? Where am I? Wait, I'm a unicorn aga—Celestia!" before coming to a stop in her rambling when she saw Celestia, who's expression became mixed as she stared at the mare. It took a short moment before she finally opened her mouth, only to be stopped by me when I flashstepped onto the top of her head.

"Hello missy, you're in a lot of trouble! And you probably don't know what kind of pit you have dug for yourself!" I declared with a forced cheery smile.

"What the buck? An alicorn filly! Don't tell me you got another student to replace me and instan—" the mare said before I closed her mouth with my magic.

"Tut tut tut! Didn't your mother teach you any manners... what's her name?" I stated before looking down at Celestia, who looked up at me in utter bewilderment.

"Her name is Sunset Shimmer," Celestia answered, causing me to nod before hopping off her head to land before Sunset.

"Thanks, auntie," I started to say, causing Sunset's pupils to widen in confusion. "Now, Sunset, I don't know the whole story between you and Celestia, but I honestly don't care. What I do know is that you've been in this other world over years, and that's something I don't appreciate since that causes spatial instabilities over there, even if they're just minor ones. Now, you're going to find this part hard to believe, but I'm a Dimensional Lord, and it is my duty to deal with these instabilities, hence why I decided to pull you into this world. Now, since you're the one that created this issue, I'm obligated to punish you, and for something this long, I think I have the right to set up an execution."

"Execution! You don't have the right to do something like that!" Celestia yelled in anger, causing me to give her a deadpanned look.

"I actually do, we lords tend to favor removing potential issues instead of letting them hang around," I replied, but before I returned my attention to Sunset, I gave a subtle wink to Celestia, which kept her from saying anything more, but she still looked furious at what I said. "Now, while you've been a naughty mare, I'm going to be lenient on this matter. But, odds are you may have disrupted some things over on the other world, so this is what we're going to do, I'm going to send you back so you can undo as much damage control as you can in five hours. Then you will go back to whatever portal this mirror leads to and return, or I'll drag you back and throw you out a window," I declared before releasing my hold on the mare's mouth.

Moving her jaw around a bit at first, Sunset gave me an annoyed look as she replied, "Yeah right I'm going to do something like that for a filly like you. I bet you don't have the guts to even go through with an exe—" before she stopped when I brought out my sword, holding it in my right hoof as the tapped the flat part of the blade against my left one.

"Hmm? What did you say? I think I misheard you," I simply responded as Sunset gulped before me, as her gaze shifted back and forth between the blade, Celestia, and me.

"I said I'm going to do as you ordered, and come back like a good little filly," Sunset answered with a forced smile, causing me to give her one in return.

"Good girl, now off you go!" I declared as I wrapped her in my magic before tossing her through the mirror. Smiling to myself, I looked back at my angry aunt as I stated, "There you go, problem solved."

Narrowing her eyes, Celestia replied, "You may have solved the problem, but you did it through intimidation and threats."

Shrugging, I simply responded, "Hey, I was a warrior prior to coming here, remember? I don't have the diplomatic skills you or mom has, which, by the way, would be your duties as responsible adults to teach me about," causing Celestia to let out a groan as she shook her head at me. I, on the other hoof, just smiled, as I began to think about the kinds of punishments I could dish out to Sunset for what she's done. After all, it might be nice to have a retainer that is completely at my beck and call.

Chapter XIX: Sunset

"Just how were you able to pull her through the mirror?"

"I didn't, to be honest. I just opened a portal relative to her position in that world before pulling her in. I just used the mirror portal as a means of tracking her down," I idly replied as I prod the side of the mirror. It's been a couple of hours, with Celestia taking a short leave to attend to some royal duties while leaving behind a couple of her own guards to keep an eye on me until she returned. Nice to know just how much my new aunt trusts me.

"Please don't poke the mirror," Celestia chided as she just watched me like some kind of predator.

Rolling my eyes, I backed away from the mirror before looking up at Celestia as I asked, "You think she's not going to find some way to pull a fast one on us?"

"I highly doubt it since you already proven your ability to pull her back into our world, along with the fact that I know of her inevitable return. However, when you bring her back, I would need some time to talk to her alone," Celestia answered before her expression harden as she looked at the mirror.

"Ah, going to discipline her? Here's a suggestion, use either a metal ruler or at least a thick one, that way it doesn't break when you smack her behind with it," I commented, drawing her attention as she gaped at me.

"I... what... she's a full grown mare!" Celestia shrieked as her ire for my comment start to appear on her face.

"So? That just means you have to hit her harder, that should set her straight," I replied with a shrug.

"Nebula, I do not discipline my students," Celestia stated through her clenched teeth.

"All the more reason to start now," I countered, only for Celestia to narrow her eyes at me.

"How about I just pass this 'advice' to my sister?" Celestia asked, causing me to cock an eyebrow at her.

"Go ahead, but also inform her that I have a really high tolerance for pain," I answered, causing her to let out a frustrated groan.

"Oh course you do," Celestia muttered. Before I could shoot back a retort, the portal vibrated as Sunset came out of it, or more like stumbled out of it when she lost her footing. faceplanting the floor, where I spotted something shining inside her mane.

"The fallen one has returned. So please, do tell us what you had to do to set things right back there. Cause if you don't," I said before dragging a hoof across my neck.

As Sunset's pupils widen at that gesture, Celestia stated, "Stop threatening her, Nebula. Besides, I won't let you do that."

"Then somepony else will do that, you can't exactly stop my fellow... peers from doing what must be done," I countered as Sunset got back onto her hooves before shooting me a glare. "Also, give me that," I declared as I wrapped my magic around some object in Sunset's mane, pulling it out to reveal some kind of electronic device.

"Hey! That's my phone!" Sunset said in protest, as I cocked an eyebrow at her before turning my attention to Celestia.

"Does something like this exist in this world?" I asked as I levitated said phone before Celestia.

"No, we don't have this... 'phone' in our world," Celestia answered as she scrutinized the phone.

"Then it's mine now," I idly replied before opening a small portal that I tossed the phone through.

"My phone!" Sunset shrieked, before giving me what I presume to be a death glare. Shame that ponies are too cute to be visually intimidating.

"Where did you sent that object off to?" Celestia asked as I went over to the mirror to shut down the portal I made on it.

"Oh, just a private uninhabited world that I store some things on. Good for confiscating contraband from pesky ponies and the like," I answered before heading over to the front door. "Now I'll leave you to your private moment with Sunset. Also, another piece of advice, maybe you should consider using a whip when you discipline her."

"Nebula! For the last time, I'm not going to do that!"

"About time you two finished whatever you two had to do, I was getting bored to the point that I was going to find a slingshot and start peppering the guards with... whatever I could get my hooves on," I declared as Celestia and Sunset came out of the room after about forty minutes had passed. Celestia was bearing an expression that was a mixture of sadness and disappointment, while Sunset had a mixture of anger and sorrow, with both of them having a faint trail of tears on their cheeks. Looking at them both, I continued, "Please don't tell me we're going to have one of those sappy moments where everypony gets all huggy and stuff."

Glaring at me, Sunset said, "Don't you have any tact at all?"

"I do, but under current circumstances, I decided to throw all that out the window whenever I have to interact with you," I replied with a cheeky smile.

Narrowing her eyes at me, Sunset stated, "I already had a talk with Princess Celestia about my acti—"

"That doesn't matter, for what you did falls underneath my jurisdiction, which overrules any judgments Celestia could make for you," I interjected, causing the guards and Celestia to stare at me in confusion.

"Are you... superseding my authority?" Celestia asked in utter bewilderment, as the guards blinked at me at first before shifting to glaring at me.

"I am perfectly within my rights as..." I started to explain before my eyes drifted to the guards. "Well, let's just say that due to the current circumstances, along with the information I told you about myself, this render this matter with me holding the highest authority in this judgment."

Gritting her teeth, Celestia declared through her teeth, "Very well, what kind of punishment do you think Sunset deserves?"

As Sunset could only gape at the fact that Celestia conceded to me, I looked at the guards as I asked, "Can we head somewhere private first? I rather keep some information as private as I can still."

Grunting, Celestia answered, "Very well, we'll head to that suite we set up for you. But you better come up with a proper punishment than the ones you were suggesting to me earlier."

"Unacceptable! You have no right to force that on anypony!"

"That's what you think, but this is how we lords normally deal with troublemakers, it's a great way to keep an eye on them. Unless you prefer executions inste—"

"In all things that are holy, I would never consider that!"

"Then you have no choice. Besides, we can pass it off like she's my second retainer, except she's not getting paid and she literally has to do whatever I want with her," I stated, looking at my furious aunt with a calm expression as Sunset just sat down on a pillow nearby, dumbfounded that I'm trying to rope her into 'indentured servitude'. Honestly, she should be happy that I'm not trying to press for a quick execution, most of my peers opt for that to save themselves the effort of teaching new 'servants' how to behave, hence I'm making the effort to be nice for her, even though this may be the only time I'm going to be nice to her.

"How could your organization be so cruel‽" Celestia exclaimed as she started to take some breaths to calm herself down, even thought it was apparent that it was getting her nowhere.

"Because it's an effective deterrent to those who even think about messing with interdimensional matters. Really helps cut back on the work when most ponies are afraid to defy our will," I replied in a matter-of-fact tone.

Shaking her dumbfoundedness away, Sunset glared at me as she said, "Don't I get a say in thi—"

"No, no you don't. Matter of fact, I could gag you right now, and my fellow lords would say that I'm being lenient to you still. Besides, you did interrupt my vacation," I interjected, causing Sunset to fume at me. Guess she forgotten about the fact that I could make a sword out of thin air, or maybe she doesn't have much of a desire for self-preservation.

"It only took you mere minutes to pull Sunset out of the other world," Celestia said with a scowl on her muzzle.

"Yes, but it also included all the time spent on this matter right now, time that I could spend sleeping in bed," I countered, to which Sunset could only do a double take at what I said.

"You're acting like this, cause I cost you some beauty sleep‽" Sunset cried out in anger, as her furious rage was clearly shown on her face. I wonder if she would catch on fire if she gets angry enough, I'm in the mood for some smores.

"I'll say once again, I'm being lenient. Some of my fellow lords would jettison you into the sun for wasting a mere minute of their time," I shot back as I examined my hoof like some kind of an arrogant prick, which only served to enrage Sunset further. Sometimes being an asshole can be amusing. "So, auntie, you can't get mad at me for following the standard protocols of my organization."

"Unless you're making this up on the spot," Celestia growled out, causing me to cock an eyebrow at her.

"Oh? Should I send a letter to one of them, requesting their presence? I can do that now since I already recovered some of my power," I asked, causing Celestia to adopt an unsure expression.

"You're bluffing."

"And you sound unsure of yourself."

"I should tell your mother about this, she would be cross to hear about the way you're acting towards me," Celestia declared, to which I raised an eyebrow at her as Sunset mouthed out the word mother in confusion.

"Go ahead, but for your information, you were the one that dragged me into this giant mess. Besides, I won't be cruel to Sunset beyond assigning her menial chores. I may not be a good pony, but I'm not an evil one either. Also, you can say that this will teach her some humility," I stated with a shrug.

Narrowing her eyes at me, Celestia said, "I would say you're trying to pull a fast one on me, but you're as subtle as a brick," before she looked at Sunset before returning her attention to me. "I will concede to your demands, if you in turn agree to a few set conditions in return."

"Fair enough, what do you have in mind?" I asked, curious at what plot Celestia is coming up with.

"First, you are not permitted to cause any harm to Sunset, nor put her in a position where she could be harmed. Second, you can't force her into any of your experiments without her consent, and you can't try to coerce it out of her. Third, you are not permitted to humiliate her in any fashion. Fourth, you are only allowed to keep her as your retainer as long as I permit it, but I will grant you three months as a minimum, she was a student of mine after all. And lastly, I want you two to become friends so that you two could better yourselves through each other," Celestia declared through a neutral voice.

"Oh, you got me in a bind, but I do need to punish her in some fashion, so I agree to your terms," I said with a frown.

Nodding, Celestia responded, "Good, it is nice to see that you can be reasonable, at times. But now I must make my leave, for I have my own duties to attend to" Celestia then stood up and walked over Sunset, giving her a hug as she whisper something to her before making her leave.

Frowning in a bit of sadness and angry at Celestia's departure as she stared at the door for a moment, Sunset turned her attention to me as she said, "I'm surprised that you agreed to all that, considering the way you were acting like an asshole earlier."

Raising an eyebrow, I stated, "Oh, you got a mouth on yourself. That might make things a bit more interesting. Besides, you forgot one key factor."

Cocking her own eyebrow in return, Sunset asked, "Oh? What is it?"

"Auntie Celestia said we should be friends, but she didn't specify what kind of friendship we should have," I said with a mocking grin, to which Sunset just gave me a deadpanned look in return.

"...If you weren't a princess, I would so give you a paddling right now," Sunset stated.

"Oh? What are you waiting for then?" I asked as I turned around, lowering my front as I raised my rear towards a shocked Sunset before I shook it around to shock her even more. "Let me have it!"

"...What the buck? Are you some kind of masocist‽" Sunset croaked out as she backed away from me a bit.

Laughing, I said, "No, but I have a very high pain tolerance, so odds are you could paddle me all day and I wouldn't feel a thing. Besides, I was hoping you did paddle me, only for a guard to come inside and find you in the middle of the act. Also, I didn't know you were a pervert. I wonder if Celestia knew about that side of you."

Staring at me for a moment, Sunset narrowed her eyes as she declared, "You are the worst filly, ever."

"I know, that's why I told my mom and Celestia that I would be a horrible influence on other foals," I countered, laughing at Sunset when she let out a moan and did a facehoof at my comment. Seems like things are going to be a lot more fun for me for the next few months.

Chapter XX: Plans

"So, what fiendish plans you have for me now?"

"What makes you think I have fiendish plans?"

"Cause you were hoping that I paddle you so I can get in trouble," Sunset deadpanned as I eyed a few books on the suite's bookshelf.

"That was just off the top of my head, I'm not one for planning out evil," I idly replied.

Noticing the object of my attention, Sunset said, "Please don't tell me you want me to read you a story."

"Okay, stand over here then so I can push the bookcase down onto you," I shot back, causing Sunset to scowl at me.

"Didn't you said you're not one for making evil plans?"

"I did, that one was you didn't want me to say that I want you to read me a story. You didn't say anything about me wanting you cause you harm," I countered.

"Did you already forgot that Princess Celestia told you not to hurt me?" Sunset asked as she walked over to me, her irritation clear on her face.

"I do, but I was just talking about doing something to hurt you, not actually hurting you," I commented with a smirk, causing Sunset to rub the spot between her eyes with a hoof.

"Augh, you're starting to give me a headache," Sunset whined.

My smile widening, I replied, "Causing you headaches wasn't covered by my aunt. That and it's not my fault that things like this give you a headache," to which Sunset just glared at me for that cheeky comment. "So, was there anything you and Celestia talked about that you're willing to let me in on? Besides any mushy touchy feely stuff, course."

"Beyond informing me about your nature, I rather keep what was said to myself," Sunset grunted. "Can't believe you're over two hundred years even though you're just a filly."

"Time is relative, even though I didn't really age prior to this change. Though I do hope to grow up, it would suck like Tartarus if I'm stuck as a foal for the rest of my life," I replied with a frown.

Snorting in amusement, Sunset stated, "That would be so hilarious and a fitting fate for you."

"...You do realize that if that occurred, I may be able to make you my retainer for life in some way," I countered with a mild glare.

"Statement retracted," Sunset said as she shivered at what I think is the thought of her serving me for eternity.

"Very well then," I responded before looking around. "And now I'm bored. Let's head out and find something to do."

"Oh, and what does a 'Dimensional Lord' trapped in a filly's body do?" Sunset said in a mocking voice, causing me to turn my head towards her so slowly that an audible grinding noise was actually heard, which disturbed Sunset. "Why are you staring at me like that? Hey! Don't give me that creepy smile!"

"I can't believe I'm doing this."

"Ah, come on, you're doing a good deed by feeding the castle's birds."

"Not by standing here, holding two plates of birdseed as you toss bread crumbs at my mane!" Sunset hollered as I sat on a bench, doing what she just said. After being mocked by Sunset, I remembered that the castle had an elaborate garden, so I thought there may be a possibility that there were some birds the frequent the place. Instead, I found out that the castle had it's own collection of animals, including birds, so after grabbing some supplies from the castle staff, we ended up where we are now, Sunset standing on her rear hooves while holding up two plates with mounds of birdseed on them, along with the various birds that landed on her while she gritted her teeth as she glared at me with so much hate that I bet she's imagining herself strangling me. Maybe I should let her try that, would be interesting to see the guards beating her into submission.

"But come on, your mane could be a perfect nest for some of them," I shot back with a cheeky grin, causing her to growl at me.

"That's it, I have enough of this!" Sunset screamed as she violently shook about, scattering the birds as the plates hit the ground. "I can't even believe that I agree to do this in the first place!"

"I know right? Do you have some sort of deep-rooted need to be obedient inside you?" I asked as I hopped off the bench, as I could hear Sunset starting to grind her teeth. "Anyways, time to move onto something else."

"And what would that be, your highness?" Sunset muttered out from behind her teeth.

"Well, first we need to get you a bath, you smell like you spent the night in a bird's nest," I answered, causing one of Sunset's left eyelid to start twitching, to which I just gave her a cheeky smile in return which only ended in intensifying it further. "Come on now, let's cool you down before you popped a vessel," I continued with a laugh before walking back into the castle.

"I know you're on vacation, but can't you do at least something more productive than tormenting me?" Sunset whined from the bathroom door that I was leaning against, as the shower kept on running. I may be a pest at times, but there are some lines that I won't cross.

"But I am being productive... in making myself laugh," I answered as I eyed a patrolling guard passing by why levitating a notepad as I jotted down random ideas. "Hmm... if I could get Party to lend me that, then I just need to find out where Blueblood lives if he doesn't reside in the cas—gah!" I said to myself until the door suddenly opened, sending me flying into a wall.

"Oh my, I didn't you were standing right next to the door," Sunset declared with an expression of false concern as her horn lit up, turning off the shower. "Are you alright?"

"...You do realize that you made a grave mistake, right?" I said as I just laid in a heap next to the wall.

"Oh pee shaw, what's the worse you can do to me besides being annoying? You already promised Celestia that you won't harm me in any way," Sunset replied with a dismissive wave of her hoof, as I raised an eyebrow in response.

"Challenge accepted," I simply replied before getting onto my hooves and walking off, with a confused Sunset staring at me before shrugging as she followed me.

"This is insane! Stop this!"

"Hey, you're the one that said I couldn't make things worse, so I decided to up the ante."

"By killing me‽"

"Oh stop being overdramatic, all that portal will do is send you to another world," I shot back as I watch Sunset hanging onto a column as a dark purple portal tried to suck her into it while leaving everything else unaffected. Ah, the ability to have such fine control over one's spatial powers and the benefits it brings along with it.

"I'm sorry for doubting you, just stop this, please!" Sunset cried out, as a pair of guards came to investigate, only for me to wave them away.

"I will after you call yourself a stupid dunce for ever thinking of that in the first place," I calmly replied while rubbing a hoof against my chest.

"Fine! I'm a stupid dunce for ever thinking that you can't be worse!" Sunset screamed, only to drop onto the floor when I shut down the portal.

Walking over to her as she laid on the ground, panting in terror, I lean my face to right before her own as I asked, "See, wasn't that so hard?" only to get a glare in return. "Now now now, you shouldn't glare at me all the time, or your face will end up stuck like that. Now let's go, we have some business to do."

"Finally, a moment of peace," Sunset declared as she let her head fall down onto the table, as I raised an eyebrow at her.

"I'm not such a sad sap that all I got for my days is to torment others," I shot back before returning my attention to a book of basic spells.

"Could've fooled me," Sunset said as she rubbed her forehead with her hooves. "I can't believe that Celestia even agreed to you making me your retainer. We're never going to be friends."

"Well, I wouldn't call it quits yet. Besides, do you even know how to make friends?" I asked as I looked back at Sunset, who just frowned at me.

"Of course I know how to make frien—"

"Blackmailing, bribing, threatening, hypnotizing, and tricking ponies to be your friend don't count," I interjected, causing her to blink at me. "You don't strike me as a pony that would make friends for the sake of friendship. So, discounting all that, how many friends do you actually have." Sunset opened her mouth to say something, only to stop as her eyes drift left to right while doubt started to take over her expression. "You don't have one, don't ya?" I finally said, causing her to glare at me.

"Not like you would know, name one pony that is your friend," Sunset countered with a smug grin.

"Party Blitz," I simply replied as I put my book down to lean back in my chair.

"You made that name up," Sunset countered with narrowed eyes.

"Nope, you'll get to meet her tonight when she comes over, she's a retainer like you are," I said with a sly grin.

"Hired help don't count as friends," Sunset shot back as I rolled my eyes at her.

"She may be a retainer, but she's has a genuine fun time with me. That and I help made her," I replied, causing Sunset to tilt her head in confusion.

"Made her? Oh sweet Celestia, don't tell me you made a flesh golem!" Sunset responded in fear.

Staring at Sunset for a bit, I asked, "Are there really such a thing as flesh golem in this world?"

Looking about, Sunset answered, "No, but it's been a few years since I was last back in Equestria, and maybe you know some other world method of making one."

Facehoofing at that, I replied, "No, I fused two ponies, an earth pony called Pinkie Pie and a pegasus named Rainbow Dash, into one pony as part of an experiment."

Furrowing her eyebrows, Sunset declared, "Huh, that's weird, I knew two... ponies in the other world that had those names... wait a minute, you fused two ponies together‽" before slamming her hooves onto the table, causing me to glance the librarian, only for her to be too distracted with some novel, probably a dirty romance one.

"Yes, yes I have. What, you got a problem with that?" I asked in an annoyed tone.

"No no no, this is the first thing you ever said that is actually interesting instead of being total nonsense," Sunset answered. "I can't wait to see what scientific possibilities this could present to ponykind!"

Smirking to myself, I stated, "Well, it's all good that you're so interested, but I heard that Party lives in the same town where Celestia's current student is, so odds are all the research you could have done has already been covered by her," causing her left eyelid to twitch again.

"...I hate you so much right now."

"Aww... I love you too but as a minion kind of way. No way I want to wake up in the evening to the sight of your angry face every night," I countered, grinning as Sunset blew her top off by flailing her hooves in rage while letting out a primal scream of fury. However, the weird thing is that the librarian isn't still doing a thing. Guess that book must be really good.

Chapter XXI: Tree

"I can't believe we're doing this."

"Oh shut it, and keep your voice down."

"Then stop pushing my rear."

"Only if you stop taking so long to climb a tree."

"Why are you even climbing? You got wings."

"Cause you're being so slow that I have to be here to make sure that your fat ass doesn't fall out in the process."

"Well, buck you, I don't make it a habit of climbing trees on a whim."

"Then consider this tree climbing one o one, now get on that branch already," I ordered as I pressed a hoof against Sunset's rear as I tried to shove her up the tree without using too much force. After spending some time studying in the gardens, I decided some hiding in one of the castle garden's trees would be a good way to test Sunset's more physical attributes, and so far it seems that either she's a sedentary type, or just not outgoing enough to climb a tree. However, upon reaching the garden, I decide to have us spy on some ponies after getting into the tree for my amusement. I might even get lucky and learn about some embarrassing secret.

"Fine fine, I'm getting on it," Sunset replied as she grabbed the branch with a hoof as she tugged herself onto it. "Don't know why you wouldn't let me use a ladder."

"Cause that's the lazy way to do it, and do you bring ladders with you when you go to the woods?" I countered as I hopped past her, taking a spot higher up in the tree's branches.

"That answer is completely ridiculous," Sunset shot back.

"Shush, somepony is coming," I said as I spotted the entrance door opening, only to reveal that it was Celestia who was coming into the garden, followed by a servant carrying a tea tray. "Oh boy, this is going to be good."

"Are you really goi—" Sunset started to say before I closed her mouth shut with some magic, though she glared at me in return. Ignoring her, I released my magic as I watched Celestia approaching one of the garden tables, where the servant laid out the tea set before bowing as they made their leave.

Lifting a cup to her mouth, Celestia took a sip as she said, "I know you're up there, didn't anypony told you that it is rude to spy on others?" Cocking an eyebrow, I looked at Sunset, who was giving me a smug look, until I kicked her tree branch, causing it to shake enough that she lost her hold as she fell to the ground below. "Sunset? What are you doing here? And why were you in that tree?" Celestia asked as I looked at a nearby tree and flashstepped to it since it's not a good idea to stay in a spot that has been busted.

"Princess Celestia!" Sunset declared as she got onto her hooves. "I was in that tree cause your niece forced me to, who is in that very tree right now!" Sunset continued as she pointed a hoof at said tree.

Lighting her horn up, Celestia frowned as she stated, "Sunset, there's nopony in that tree right now." Causing Sunset to gawk at her before gawking at the tree.

"What, but... how? She was in that tree, I swear it!" Sunset exclaimed as Celestia's frown deepened. However, I noticed that the magical aura around her horn brightened up a bit, so I flashstepped again onto the roof, one which was in Sunset's line of sight. Waving a hoof at her, I saw her eyes widen before she pointed at me. However, just as Celestia started to turn her head, I hopped off the edge, using my wings to guide into an open window.

Landing on my hooves, I let out a laugh as I declared, "Oh mi gosh, I can't wait to see Su—"

"Nebula‽" a familiar voice cried out in shock, interrupting me as I went wide-eyed in shock. Turning to the owner of the voice, I was treated to the sight of Cadence... with some white stallion with a two tone blue mane on top of her, the both of them staring at me in shock, their cheeks flushed while most of their bodies were hidden underneath a blanket. Shifting my eyes about, I quickly saw that I ended up flying into a bedroom, specifically Cadence's. It didn't take me long to put two and two together.

"We never saw each other!" I chirped out before rushing out of the room, slamming the door behind me. Glancing about, I saw that I was alone in some hallway, allowing me to let out a sigh of relief. Rolling my shoulders, I started to make my way to the suite as I muttered to myself, "That was something that I didn't expect to be seeing anytime soon..."

"—elling you, she set me up!"

"Now, Sunset, I will admit that Nebula is a bit of a prankster, but I don't think she'll set up a pony by making them climb up a tree to spy on others. It's a bit too obvious that such a thing would only lead to trouble," Celestia stated as she opened to my private suite, where I was reading a history book on a couch. "Ah, there you are, Nebula," Celestia said with a smile, while Sunset barged past her, her face contorted into a look of absolute fury as she came to me.

Poking me in the chest, Sunset hollered, "You better tell Celestia that you set me up!"

Giving her a frown, I said, "Fine, I set you up, Sunset. Even though I have no idea what set up she's talking about. Also, where are those jars that I wanted you to get?"

As Sunset gaped at me before growing even angrier than what I was thought possible, Celestia narrowed her eyes as she said, "So you didn't have Sunset climb a tree to spy on somepony, only to kick her out to make her the scapegoat the moment I felt 'your' presence in the tree?"

Shaking my head, I answered, "That is way too impractical of a prank to try pulling off. That and she would have seen it a mile away. But at least that explains why she didn't come back with the jars I requested."

"I... impra... what on Equus would you need jars for!" Sunset cried as she sat down to throw her hooves out in frustration.

"Storage of various crystals and other objects that I plan to use for some experiments. I will admit, it's only a basic storage until I figure out the best way to contain my experiments. Like my fusion experiment, I have my samples and crystal imprints of Rainbow and Pinkie stored in a pair of jars in my room right now," I answered, keeping a straight face as Sunset just sputtered about.

Raising an eyebrow at this, Celestia declared, "Well, since this matter is taken care of, I will leave it to you to give Sunset an appropriate punishment for her actions since she is your retainer. However, please don't send her out on some errands for the time being. who knows what schemes she could be plotting right now," before making her leave as I frowned at her. It seemed like she knew about my failed attempt at espionage, but if she knew and didn't call me out on it, she must be up to something then.

Sunset, however, was staring at me with so much hate in her eyes I wouldn't be surprised if she suddenly shot lasers as she said, "You lying lit—"

"It wasn't a setup," I interjected as I stuffed a hoof into Sunset's mouth. "You just suck at being stealthy, so you had to take the fall for getting us caught. Though next time I'm going to get you a camouflage suit, your coat sticks out like a sore thumb if you're not hiding properly," I continued as I eyed the clock, noting that it was reaching the evening hours. "Hmm... we only have an hour or so before dinner where you'll meet my mom, so we have to get you ready for that."

Scowling, Sunset glared at me as she asked, "What do I need to be prepared for? It's just dinner."

Holding up a hoof, I answered, "Well, since you were a criminal of some sorts prior to becoming my retainer, mother would be concern about you being a threat to my safety, so the best approach is to show her how easy it is for me to pummel you into submission. So either I pummel you now, where we can be more careful, or do it at dinner time, where it can't be controlled."

"...What‽"

"I can't believe that happened."

"Be thankful that I didn't have to deck you in the face."

"I can't believe that Princess Luna wanted a trial by combat, even when her sister said it was a bad idea."

"Eh, at least she was satisfied by me pinning you in a hold that forced you to submit."

"Of course I had to submit, you were about to tear my foreleg out of its socket!" Sunset yelled as we returned to the suite after the family dinner.

"Blah blah, it had to be done, and is better than a black eye," I countered, only to receive a stink eye in return. "How about you calm down now instead of giving me that look? Since mother should be raising the moon by now, Party Blitz should be he—" I said before I was interrupted by the door suddenly opening up, a pink blur tackling before bringing me into a tight hug.

"Hi Neby, I'm back!" Pinkie exclaimed as I looked at her in surprise, as Rainbow hovered into the room.

"Jeeze, Pinkie, you don't have to be so excited to see Nebula as yourself again," Rainbow said with an eye roll.

Frowning, I looked up at Rainbow as I asked, "What happened to caused Party Blitz to split apart?"

Shrugging, Rainbow answered, "Well, while it was awesome to be Party Blitz, it was early morning when I realized that if we become a Wonderbolt as a fusion, it would be Party Blitz the Wonderbolt, not Rainbow Dash the Wonderbolt, which is my dream. So... that's when I wanted us to split, and Party Blitz was awesome in understanding that, and said her goodbyes to us as we unfused."

"Yupperoonie, it was fun, and I was sad that Party had to go, but I'll be sadder if Rainbow couldn't achieve her dream. And I know you're sad that Party couldn't say goodbye to you, but I have some good news! We brought along a friend who is applying to your ad!" Pinkie exclaimed, causing me to frown in confusion.

"Ad? Wasn't my ad taken care of?" I asked, only to be answered as a white mare with a mane done in an over-the-top style.

"Because, darling, this ad was quite recent, asking for somepony that would teach you some etiquette," the mare declared, causing me to blink before I narrowed my eyes, knowing who would've sent such an ad in the first place.

Oh... Celestia... you're... actually clever for pulling this fast one on me. But doesn't mean I'm not going to get you back for that, Auntie.

Chapter XXII: Challenge

"So, who are you exactly?" I asked as I stared at the white mare before me, who let out a gasp as she placed a hoof on her chest like she was wounded or something like that.

"You wound me, your highness. Haven't you heard of me, Rarity, Ponyville's premiere fashionista?" the mare replied with a flick of her mane.

"Apparently not," I answered, causing Rarity to frown at me as Rainbow let out a snicker. "Anyways, what delusion do you have in order to make you think you have a chance at making me act like a 'proper mare'?"

"Why it's quite simple, my dear," Rarity said as she pulled a ruler out of a bag that she brought with her, which I just noticed right now. "If you don't follow my etiquette lessons, I will have to resort to any means necessary to convince you to reconsider, even if it would resort to discomfort for you. The ad said it might be needed to come to such extreme measures, but I am not one to disappoint the princesses," she continued as she smacked the ruler on a table, drawing Rainbow's and Pinkie's attention to it.

Raising an eyebrow, I asked, "Do you really think that's going to work? Did Celestia actually gave you permission to whack me with a ruler when I acted like a bad pony?" before locking my eyes on hers.

After a short moment Rarity let out a huff as she answered, "No, I wasn't. I was just hoping that the threat was good enough." I was about to toss a retort at her when she continued, "But that will not stop me, for a lady has more than one way to achieve her goals!"

"What, you're going to seduce me?" I asked with a mock grin, causing Rarity to gasp at me again.

"I... how dare... no wonder Princess Celestia needed a pony to teach you some manners. To even dare to suggest that a lady such as myself would stoop so low," Rarity declared with an upturned nose.

"I'm fairly certain that she'll suggest far worse things than that. She even shook her rear at me," Sunset dryly commented, causing Rarity to gape at me in complete shock while the other two just laughed at the idea until Pinkie let out a gasp as her forehooves clasped to the sides of her muzzle.

"New pony!" Pinkie cried out as she pulled out her party cannon, causing Sunset to jump back.

"What the bu—" Sunset started to say, only for Pinkie to interrupt her by firing her cannon, causing Sunset to let out a short scream until she realized that there was confetti floating around the place. "Really?" she croaked out as she spotted Rainbow laughing on ground as she pounded her hooves on it.

"The look on your face, ha ha!" Rainbow cried out with tears of laughter as Sunset scowled at her, only to be shaken about when Pinkie gave her hoof to give it a vigorous shake.

"Hi, my name is Pinkie Pie, and that's Rainbow Dash! What's your name?" Pinkie chirped out with a smile.

Since Sunset was glaring at her as if she wanted to set her on fire, I've chosen to do the introductions for her as I said, "Pinkie, this is Sunset Shimmer, ex-student of Celestia, former criminal, blah blah blah," as I waved a hoof around.

Redirecting her glare of fury onto her favorite target, Sunset growled out, "Did you really have to say all that?"

"Why yes, I do as a matter of fact. I have to live up to your expectations after all," I replied with a smile.

"What expectations?" Sunset asked as part of her rage fell away to confusion.

"Your expectation of me being an asshole," I answered with a cheeky smile, only to have her groan in frustration.

"Princess Nebula, young fillies don't use such language like that!" Rarity reprimanded with a stomp.

Looking at Pinkie and Rainbow, I asked, "Should I just tell her everything?"

Pinkie shrugged as Rainbow replied, "I don't see why not, might save you a headache."

"Tell me what?" Rarity responded, causing me to give her a look as I considered if there were any consequences to me telling her the truth. It only took me three seconds to make up my mind.

"Okay, Rar—"

"Miss Rarity," Rarity interrupted, causing me to frown as I took a deep breath to calm myself.

"I'm actually over two hundred years old being who is a member of an extremely powerful organization called the Dimensional Lords, who hold supreme control over all spatial matters, I only looked like a foal because my old body was killed off in a massive battle against a cosmic evil, and I technically own this world now. So can we cut with this crap and move onto something more productive?" I quickly explain in a manner that would make Pinkie proud.

Blinking in surprise, Rarity asked, "Is this some kind of joke?" as she looked at the other mares, who simply shook their heads. Returning her attention to me, she croaked out, "Are you serious?"

"Yes, yes I am. I can even demonstrate by showing you one of my special ability of summoning a weapon at whim," I replied with a smirk.

Looking up, Rainbow said, "I don't know if you should do that. As awesome as it was, I don't think the princesses would like me letting you punch giant holes into the castle."

"Well, regardless of how old you are, you must still act as one of your stature, especially if you are a Dimensional Lord, if what you're saying is truly true," Rarity countered. "Hence it is even more important than ever for me to have you behave like a proper lady."

"You wouldn't really say that if you knew how my peers behave," I dryly replied before taking on a more serious tone. "Look, you're not going to get me to do what you want, cause I certainly lacked the attention span to do so right now," I declared before hopping onto Sunset's back.

Giving me an annoyed look, Sunset asked, "What are you doing?"

"I'm riding on your back, what do you think," I declared as she I made myself comfortable, resting the back of my head on her mane. "Now take me to the li—wait what," I started to say until my body was engulfed a light blue aura that lifted me into the air.

"Now so fast, your highness," Rarity said with her horn lit up with her magic, floating me down to the ground. "By Celestia's name, I will teach you to behave. So how about you act like a good little filly and stay still?"

Cocking an eyebrow, I responded, "You know I'm just going to dash through that door the moment you drop your spell, and I don't think you want to keep it going for the entire night."

Grunting in a rather unladylike manner, Rarity asked, "Then is there some way we could make a compromise?"

Rolling my eyes, I answered, "I don't know, you want to teach me etiquette, but I will find that entirely boring. Unless you can do something to make it at least amusing enough to grab onto the attention span of a filly of my age, I'm afraid you're out of luck."

As Rarity let out a frustrated huff, Pinkie bounced towards us as she exclaimed, "Oh, oh! I have an idea to fix everypony's problems?"

As I tilted my head at Pinkie, Rarity asked, "What is it, Pinkie?"

"You and I can fuse together to make a fusion that can teach Neby to be a princess while making it fun!" Pinkie declared, causing me to chuckle a bit to myself.

"Sorry Pinkie, but I doubt a prissy mare like Rarity here wi—" I started to say until I suddenly find Rarity pressed pressing her nose against mine suddenly.

"I'm a prissy mare you say? Well, I'll show you that I, Rarity, will not back down from this challenge! Pinkie, prepare yourself! We will become the pony that will guide young Nebula to the path of elegance!" Rarity exclaimed before pulling her head back as she pointed a hoof to the ceiling while I just rolled my eyes at her.

"Okay... if you're going to through with this, then let's go to my room so I can grab the necessary materials. Just be ready to pluck a strand of hair from your mane," I said as I headed to the door.

Grimacing, Rarity asked, "Is that really necessary?"

"Oh, backing out already? I didn't think you were a cowa—"

"Fine!" Rarity shouted as she plucked a strand of her mane with her magic.

"...Okay... just follow me then..."

"You're sure you want to fuse so soon Pinkie?" I asked as I dropped Rarity's imprint crystal into a jar.

"Yepperoni! I did take this job to make you smile, and if this helps to make you smile, I'm all for it!"

"Are sure about this Rarity? It's a pretty big step to be fusing with another pony. Especially with a mare like Pinkie, no offense Pinkie," Rainbow said as she hovered from behind me, with Sunset to my left, taking notes on all that was occurring.

"This is for the greater good of Equestria, Rainbow. If this could lead to Princess Nebula being a ruler with more tact than she has now, then it is a risk I shall take. Besides, I am both curious about how Pinkie and I would look together, as well as the potential ideas we might come up with. I could end up with several new fashion lines after all this," Rarity answered as she looked off into space, probably daydreaming about her statement.

Rolling my eyes, I said, "Alright you two, hold still so I can get this over with," as I lit my horn up. Both mares stood up straight, Rarity with her eyes closed while Pinkie had a gleeful grin on her muzzle. Zapping them with my magic, I watched as a white and pink sphere surrounded the duo respectively, as Rarity let out a quick yelp of surprise while Pinkie just giggled at it all. Bringing the two spheres together, they combined into a swirl of pink and white until they mixed into a lighter shade of pink. "Close your eyes," I warned the two at my side as I followed my own warning, only opening them after hearing the sphere bursting.

With my eyes open, I beheld the sight of a mare with a light pink coat, blue elegant eyes looking at us with a purplish mane coming out from right behind her horn, forming a curved mane that faded into pink highlights, the mane possessing the pristine look of Rarity before splitting apart to present Pinkie. Her figure was a lithe one with curves in all the right places, a Cutie Mark being of a blue and yellow ribbon twisting about each other with tiny sparkling diamonds surrounding it on her well-toned, curved flanks that flo—

"Why are you staring at her Cutie Mark?" Sunset whispered with a slightly mocking grin, breaking me out of my stupor.

"I'm over two hundred years old, I have needs too!" I whispered back, bewildering Sunset as the fusion flipped her head with the flick of her head, drawing our attention.

"Nebula, are you ready for an enjoyable course of learning how to be a prime yet playful princess? I hope you do, for I, Gorgeous Gala, am here to aid you in that endeavor while making it most entertaining for you," Gala declared with a sparkling smile full of joy.

You know... learning how to be a uptight like Celestia might not be so bad if she's the one to teach me.

Chapter XXIII: Warnings

"So... how does it feel to be... well, you, Gala?" I asked as Rainbow hovered around her as she examined her while rubbing a hoof against her chin.

"So this is what it is like to see a fusion from the outside," Rainbow commented.

"It is hard to say, dear Nebula. I feel so... refined, yet so excited as well. And all these ideas that are running through my head, I feel like I could throw the best soiree that Canterlot will ever have!" Gala declared as she pointed a hoof toward the ceiling, before bringing it down. "But I know what I'm here for, to teach you to be a proper princess!" Gala continued as she brought her hoof down to point at me.

Raising an eyebrow, I simply countered, "You do know that being a proper princess is relative to one's culture and background. How do you know th—"

"A proper, Equestrian princess," Gala interjected with a slightly annoyed frown.

"...Touché, very well then, but please have me be more of mother's kind of princess than my aunts. I should take after my mother after all," I replied.

"Understandable, and that would be best, for she has a flair that is old yet fresh at the same time, yet she's not afraid to have fun like other ponies," Gala responded with a smile that is a bit like Pinkie's yet more refined like Rarity's.

Nodding, I lit my horn as I stated, "Alright then, just let me use my connection spell so I can moni—" before Gala reached out a hoof to tap my horn, canceling out my magic which caused me to frown. "What was that for?"

"A mare must have her secrets!" Gala explain with a smile that held a bit of smugness to it.

Raising an eyebrow, I said, "Secrets or not, I need to monitor how your mental state. Don't want to take any unnecessary risks now, do we?"

Gala giggled at my statement, saying, "Those two are still there, but if we let you listen in on our thoughts, then you would know our plans for you, and that would spoil the surprise. But if you must check on us, can't you use that other spell of yours to let them speak," before she closed her eyes as she hummed a tune to herself.

Grunting in return, I replied, "Fine, but if this is just your own schemes Gala, I'm either casting the spell or undoing you right here, right now." As... attractive as Gala was, I'm not one for simply sacrificing ponies for my own selfish desires. Hence, after casting the spell on Gala, I asked, "Rarity, Pinkie, are you there?"

Lifting a hoof to her head, I saw that fusion spoke out in Rarity's voice, "Yes we are, dear, so there is no need to fret. Though I must say, this spell is quite disorientating."

"You get used to it, Rarity. But it is so nice to see that you care about us so much, Neby!" Pinkie's voice cried out. "But you don't need to worry, Gala isn't playing a prank on you. We agreed that we want to keep our thoughts private this time!"

"Yes dear, Pinkie is right. Having you listen to every single thought we have while we're nearby is a bit disturbing to even think about," Rarity stated as she opened Gala's eyes to look at me.

Frowning still, I replied, "It may be disturbing, but think of it like a visit to the doctor. I'm just doing this to make certain that you two are alright. There are potential risks to a fusion, especially if it goes on long enough."

Moving a hoof to pat my head, much to my displeasure, Rarity said, "There is no need to fret, dear, it would only lead to you having wrinkles in the future. So how about you end this silly worry you have and end the spell? Pinkie and I will be fine."

Before I could make a comment on what she said, Rainbow hovered back to Gala as she stated, "Are you certain about that Rarity? I thought you would be freaking out about how your mane is so, as you would say, 'unkempt'," while giving her a taunting smirk.

"Why darling, a true fashionista learn to adapt to the changing situation. Besides, Gala has her own charm to her and a style that simply reflect the best of both of us. Why, I can't wait to see what new dresses she will come up with that would show off our shared form in the best way to the world!" Rarity replied with a flick of Gala's mane.

"Yepperoni! And I can't wait to see what kind of parties Rarity and I can put together as Gala!" Pinkie exclaimed as she smiled at us. "So how about you stop being a party pooper and let her out already, Neby!"

"Stop calling me Neby!" I shouted, practically hopping with indignation. Pointing a hoof at them, I continued, "And you two aren't thinking about the risks! At least with Party Blitz, somepony was concerned! But you're handling this like it isn't even a factor!"

Sighing as Gala rolled her eyes, Rarity responded, "Dear, you must simply relax. If it comes to something like that, you would have the means to pull us apart if necessary. Besides, I see this as a glorious opportunity to achieve one of my dreams!"

Blinking in shock, I just tilted my head as Rainbow asked, "Huh? What dream can you accomplished as a fusion?"

"Why, darling, is getting my ideal 'prince'!" Rarity exclaimed as she sat on her haunches, putting her forehooves together as her eyes start to sparkle.

"...Is she talking about Blueblood? What pony want to be him to be their ideal prince, much less even talk to him?" I asked as I looked at Sunset, only to see her smirking at me. "...What?"

"I think the 'prince' she's talking about may be a princess," Sunset replied in a whisper, as Rainbow kept her attention Gala.

"She's right, he's the only prince I know of, and didn't he got you covered in cake?" Rainbow responded to Rarity's statement.

Raising an eyebrow once more, I countered, "If she's talking about me, then I'm fine with that."

Frowning, Sunset asked, "You do know what lovers do together, right? Especially in bed?"

Titling my head, I replied, "Ain't it taboo for something like that to happen to a foal? Though that raises the question, why are you even thinking about that? Is that something you're into?" only to get Sunset to blink at me before taking on a mortified expression.

"I'm not into that kind of stuff you idiot!" Sunset shrieked, drawing the attention of the other two.

"Into what?" Rainbow asked, causing Sunset to stiffen her neck as she just stared at her.

"Into eating cactuses," I calmly answered, as the two looked at me in confusion. "Hey, it's not something a pony would eat on a daily basis and could be viewed as a delicacy if prepared right."

Tapping her chin, Pinkie commented, "Neby's right! Oh, this makes me want to make some cactus flavored cupcakes! Also, who's your ideal prince, Rarity? Cause I think there's Prince Chrono, but he's too young for you, and it's ca—"

"Pinkie, it's best not for a lady to tell her secrets. Besides, you can think of it as a pleasant surprise to everypony once they find out," Rarity said before turning Gala's gaze upon me. "So, will you return Gala back to us then?"

Frowning, I said, "Only if you two are certain about this, cause I'm not just going to let it run it course for me to simply pull you two out on a whim. So instead, if your minds do in up melding, I'm not pulling it out unless it's a dire emergency," hoping to get the two to take this matter more serious. Maybe Pinkie was starting to rub off Rarity already.

Gala appeared to be looking at me in a bit of shock before shifting into a more serious expression, biting down on her lip as the two were probably thinking this out. It didn't take long though before Rarity declared, "Very well then, Nebula. Since we have the means to break this form by our own desire, I suppose we can see where this goes. If neither one of us likes to remain this way, we can simply unfuse, but if we end up becoming Gala, then I suppose that is what destiny had planned for us then."

Gala then rapidly nodded her head as Pinkie exclaimed, "Yeah! This could be a lot of fun! And if Rarity is fine with becoming Gala, then I'm fine with it too!"

Staring deep into Gala's eyes that it caused them to rear their head back a bit, I saw no signs of trickery, causing me to finally shrug as I said, "Very well then, but don't say I didn't warn you," as I released my spell, causing Gala to blink a bit before rushing over to give me a hug. "Gah! What are you doing‽"

"Why I'm clearly giving you a hug," Gala replied before putting me down. "I'm just so grateful that you're giving all three of us a chance."

Brushing my chest a bit, I responded, "I just wanted those two to take this seriously instead of seeing me as a quick fix. I'm supposed to be on vacation, so I don't want to have to fix every mishap that occurs while I'm here, especially ones that I can avoid like the fusion."

"Blah blah blah, can we get a move on finally? I'm getting bored of just hovering around you guys all day," Rainbow said with a huff as she scowled at us.

Rolling her eyes, Gala countered, "Rainbow, a proper lady needs to learn patience, which is something Nebula needs to learn as well. So how about you be an example and show some more patience?"

"Umm... are you asking me to be a role model to a filly that is almost ten times my age?" Rainbow shot back, causing Gala to frown as she tapped her chin in thought. "Augh, can we stop wasting time already?"

"You have a good point there, still, if you insist on getting the show on the road, I might as well submit to your demands. Besides, we don't want to get you too upset, otherwise, nopony will be having fun! Let's return to the suite so we can get started on Nebula's lessons," Gala stated before trotting out of my bedroom, while Rainbow in tow.

As I began to follow, I heard Sunset commented, "And here I thought you were just an uncaring spoiled brat," as she followed behind me.

Snorting at her comment, I said, "Hey, I did save all of existence from a cosmic horror, so I'm not all that bad. Besides, that would be something more up your alley, since you're such a self-centered jerk."

Glaring at me for my comment, Sunset shot back, "Oh, if you weren't a princess, I would so tied you up and leave you buried in some lost, forgotten closet."

Turning my head to give her a feral grin, I countered, "Oh my! First causing pain, and now bondage. I didn't know you had it in you!" causing Sunset's face to redden like a tomato.

"Oh just shut it for once, you puny pervert!"

Chapter XXIV: Funds

"So, Nebula, how should you treat a noble who has given you a remark that is derogatory to you, but is subtle about it?"

"Deck him or her in the face," I answered with a shrug as I sat on my desk, only to have Gala frown at me.

"Nebula, that is completely unlike a lady to do, not to mention how mean it is to even consider that as an option," Gala reprimanded, as I looked to the side, where I saw Sunset reading a book with a smirk on her face while Rainbow was sprawled on the couch, where she was snoring rather loudly.

Returning my attention to Gala, I said, "Fine, I'll go to the nearest guard and order them to deck the noble in the face for me," I replied, causing Gala to let out a sigh.

"Nebula, princesses don't simply go about attacking other ponies. Do you know how badly that would affect your reputation?" Gala asked with a stern look.

Rubbing my chin, I responded, "Well, depends on if you're talking about my overall reputation or my Equestrian one. For the first one, it would suit me being one that's not in the mood to deal with those that seek to insult me, the other is just becoming like my standard reputation," as I lean back against my chair as Gala facehoofed at my answer.

"Nebula, such a reputation would lead to ponies either fearing you or despising you, to the point that they may begin to hate you and seek to remove you from power," Gala stated, causing me to roll my eyes at her.

"It's not like I'm seeking a position of power, far from it. I rather have as small of a role in government as possible, if I have to have one in the first place. I could even be somepony that is sent to take care of problems in a violent manner," I countered with a shrug, causing Gala to frown at me.

"But you're an alicorn princess. Even if you don't desire to have a major role in the government, your mere presence can carry repercussions. If ponies see you as a violent and rude alicorn, some may seek to emulate your actions. This could extend to foals as well, so do you want to be responsible for a surge of foals acting out like violent miscreants?" Gala asked, raising an eyebrow at me before she continued on. "If I'm not mistaken, you don't desire to be a bad influence on foals your age, yet you don't have to be near them in order to be one to them."

Frowning, I said, "I can't believe you got me there, nice one." Gala then started to taking on a bit of a smug smile, until I continued, "Not that it's going to affect me too much. You're still not going to make me a proper prim Princess like Celestia would like me to be."

Letting out a sigh, Gala stated, "Why don't you want to be like your mother and aunt? You could even bring etiquette to this organization of yours by being a prime example of what a noble should act like if they're as rough as you are."

Scratching my chin, I idly replied, "That's not going to happen. We may be in the same organization, but we hardly care about each other. Furthermore, I've seen enough of the high-class act to know it's not my thing. So cut your losses at just making me behave in public."

"Well, at least it's something," Gala sighed with a roll of her eyes before adopting a stern look. "However, if you don't learn to act as one of your station, the nobility would surely dislike you and make your life miserable."

"Not if I bribe them not to," I countered, rubbing a hoof against my chest before inspecting it for no good reason at all.

Rainbow blinked, saying, "She has a point, Gala. She's a princess, so she's got to be loaded."

"You're wrong about that, Rainbow. The princesses can't spend the state treasury on a whim. Instead, they are given a monthly stipend for their own personal expenses, so I think your idea of bribing the nobility isn't going to work since you would just be given an allowance similar to a normal foal, Nebula," Sunset declared with grin, only for it to fade when I raised an eyebrow at her.

"You're assuming that I would be reliant on my mother's role as one of the two ruling princesses. Instead, I'll rely on my own wealth," I said as I open a portal, sticking a hoof into it before pulling it back, where I was hanging onto a single gold coin as I tossed it at Sunset, who caught it with her magic as she inspected it while the other two just watched her. "I'm not certain on how money works here in this world, so how about you tell me how much that coin is worth here."

"This... is solid gold! This coin alone is worth a hundred bits!" Sunset exclaimed, causing the other two to snapper their heads to me with their pupils widen at the revelation. "Just... how many of these coins you got?"

Shrugging, I answered, "I'm not certain, but I know that I have at least enough to fill this room," causing the trio to gape at me in shock.

"You're... loaded‽" Rainbow shouted as she slapped her hooves to the side of her head before her eyes brighten as she flew right over to me as she said, "Hey, is there any chance that you could give your retainer a bonus?" as she flashed me a smile.

Before I could even give Rainbow a response, I felt a pair of hooves grabbing my face as it was turned towards a manic Gala. "Is it possible that you have some jewels along with your gold?" she asked as she shivered while waiting for my answer.

"Umm... yes? I think there's a stash of gems mixed in with the gold. Don't know how much, never had a good time to track just how much I have," I answered, only to have Gala release my face before slapping her hooves to her cheeks in excitement.

"Oh my stars! If you have at least a tenth the amount of gems as you have gold, imagine all the dresses I could design with that amount alone!" Gala exclaimed while Sunset shook her head as she gave me a look of skepticism.

"Wait a minute, where do you keep all this treasure that you claim to have?" Sunset asked.

Giving Sunset a flat stare, I answered, "Isn't it obvious? On another world."

"Hah, I like to see some proof. There's no way you can have that much wealth sitting around on another world, even if you're a Dimensional Lord," Sunset declared.

"If you don't believe me, how about I just bring us there?" I asked as I pointed a hoof at the wall, where a much larger portal appeared, a swirling purple vortex with a black center. "Just hop in and enjoy the ride to a dive into a mound of gold! Well, not really, but since I'm still recovering, it's going to be a bit of tumble on the way through."

As I took a step towards the portal, Gala asked, "Umm... is it safe to go through?"

Letting out a chuckle, I answered, "It's perfectly safe, the worst that could happen is you get a bit dizzy. I'll even go through first and catch anypony that comes after me." As the trio glanced at one another, I rolled my eyes before I declared, "See you on the other side!" as I jumped through the portal before any of them could do a thing about it.

"Gah, gold tastes disgusting! Why did I have my mouth open when I went through that portal?" I said as I brushed off the gold off my tongue with my hands. Immediately after going through the portal, I ended up crashing head first into a pile of gold, where I ended up with a hooffu—wait a minute, I got hands again? Looking at said hands, I saw that I indeed had them, albeit they were small blue hands that look like they belong to a child. Inspecting my body, I saw that I was in bipedal pony form, wearing some black pants, a white shirt, and a rather long black jacket with some purple trimming. "Hmm... well... this is unex—" I started to say before I hear a few shrieks as the sound of three bodies colliding into piles of gold can be heard.

Rolling my eyes, I played around with my fingers, due to missing them, until I heard Rainbow saying, "What the buck? What happ—"

"Oh sweet Celestia! I'm naked!" Sunset shrieked, interrupting Rainbow as I decided to turn my head after hearing that, where I caught a rather surprising sight.

"Umm... not to be rude, but we're always naked... though, this change is surprising. Especially these things on our... chests and these things on the end of our legs," Gala stated as she inspected said 'things', drawing my attention to her, where I instantly resisted the urge to let out a wolf whistle.

"Don't touch those and go back through the portal now!" Sunset declared as she tried to cover herself.

"But Gala is right, Sunset. We're normally na—" I started to reply until Sunset grabbed the collar of my jacket.

"I said back through the portal!" Sunset yelled as she tossed me through the portal, though it led to her compromising the hand that was covering her rack, giving me a clear view of them as I went through the portal.

"I... you... how dare you do that to us!" Sunset yelled at me, her face red while I looked to the side. It was only a couple minutes after everypony got through the portal when Sunset immediately took to blaming me for all that happened over at the other side. "You... are an utter pervert!"

"Whoa whoa whoa, calm down Sunset! I don't know what got your tail in a knot, but how is Nebula a pervert?" Rainbow asked as Gala was just tapping her chin in thought.

"Cause we were naked while she wasn't!" Sunset screamed as she pointed a hoof at me. Before she could do any more yelling at me, I decided to put a stop to it by stuffing a hoof into her mouth.

"Sunset, shut your trap. I wasn't expecting us to experience a change in our bodies after going through the portal," I stated before removing my hoof.

At my declaration, Sunset's furious expression dissipated a bit as she asked, "Then why were you're clothed and we weren't?"

"Well, it's probably due to my dimensional abilities. Maybe it clothed in my body after the transformation, since I occasionally have clothes appear on me in a fashion similar to my weapons, but apparently, it doesn't extend to anyone else that comes with me," I answered with a shrug.

"Augh, typical," Sunset declared with an eye roll, but this was when Gala decided to end her silence as she opened her mouth.

"Umm... Sunset, since you appeared to be familiar with our forms, can you tell us why you were freaking out over us being naked?" Gala asked, causing Sunset's pupils to widen as she looked to me for help.

"Sorry Sunset, you're on your own since you brought this up," I simply replied as I hopped onto a couch before lying down to watch the fireworks that were going to occur soon.

"But... you're the one th—" Sunset started before I decided to interrupt her.

"As I said earlier, I didn't saw that coming. So you will do all the explanation, and if you think this is unfair, then think of this as a task assigned to you by me. So chop chop! Get to explaining everything to those two," I said with a clap of my hooves, a smile coming to my face as Sunset let out a long-suffering groan.

"I so hate you."

"Aww, I love you too. But you're still going to tell them, so get to it already."

Chapter XXV: Measurements

"I will never feel right about being naked again."

"I need some clothes! A scarf, a hat, anything would do!"

"I can't believe..." Rainbow said as she sat on her haunches, giving the thousand yard stare at a wall as Gala rushed a nearby drawer, opening it as she searched its contents.

Turning my head towards a blushing Sunset, I stated, "This is all your fault you know. If only you ignored it, this would never have come past." It didn't take long for Sunset to explain the issues of nudity with certain assets being more viewable than on a normal pony, which quickly caused the two to become horrified. Though, it was rather silly since we're all mares here... well, three mares and a filly, but not like that matters.

"And let you ogle our bodies while we're there? Fat chance, you pervert," Sunset muttered back as I rolled my eyes at her. Turning my attention back to the mentally scarred duo, I decided to do something that would break them out of their panic attacks. Opening a small portal, I shove my hooves into it as Sunset gave me a suspicious look, only to pull my hooves out after I was done rummaging around, where one held a sack of gold and the other a rather large diamond. Tossing the sack at Rainbow and the diamond at Gala, I smirked to myself as I saw that it did the trick, with Gala looking at the diamond with sparkling eyes as Rainbow opened the sack, only to have a greedy expression overcome her previous one.

"All better you two?" I asked, causing them to turn their heads towards me. "You can keep those things, think of it as compensation for the horror that Sunset made you two think about."

"Wait, how is this my fault?" Sunset responded as she glared at me. "If anypony is to blame, it should be you!"

"Not exactly, for you're the one that instilled the idea that nudity in that form is seen in a sexual fashion. I know of some bipedal species and cultures that don't even put much emphasis on nudity. So... you're the one that now made it into a problem when we could have been swimming through my riches instead," I said with a flick of my hair, before pausing a bit before I continued, "Did... did I just flick my hair?"

Bearing a smirk, Sunset answered, "You did, seems like Gala is being a positive influence on you."

As Gala beamed at that, I just narrowed my eyes at Sunset as I stated, "Do you want me to dump you on a rock?"

Pupils widening, Sunset shook her head rapidly as she replied, "I'll drop it now," as she gave me a weak smile.

Snorting, I looked at the other two as I declared, "Well, seem's like we're not going to see just how much wea—" until Gala placed a hoof over my mouth, stopping me in my tracks as I gave her a confused look.

"Now, Neby dear, just cause Rainbow and I were alerted to the nature of those forms'... 'assets', it doesn't mean we can't return. We just need to get some clothes for ourselves made so that we're decent when you give us a tour. In fact," Gala said before she pulled out a measuring tape from her mane before continuing on, "I think you need to open the portal again and let me and one of the other two through, so I can get some measurements so I can prepare us some clothes."

Blanching at Gala's proposal, Sunset exclaimed, "No way I'm going to let you touch me while I'm in the nude!"

Rolling her eyes, Gala replied, "Come on Sunset dear, we're all mares here. Besides, you can use this a chance to instruct me what is inappropriate in that form."

"It's best for you to get this done and over with, Sunset. Since you're going to be my retainer, there is a high chance that you'll be heading to other worlds if I ever need to. So unless you want to be walking around in the 'nude' in that form or wear a blanket or towel around your body, I suggest that you do as Rarity suggested and let her get you your measurements," I said with a smirk, causing Sunset to glare at me before letting out a sigh.

"Fine... but you're not coming with us!" Sunset replied as she pointed a hoof at me. "I know that you would be staring at us the entire time!"

Raising an eyebrow, I countered, "And if I'm not there, you're going to try to raid my treasure horde. You were a criminal just a few days ago, so I know you're going to cave in and take some of my shiny baubles."

Giving me a flat look, Sunset responded, "You're kidding me? 'Shiny baubles'? Where would I even hide anything?"

Folding my hooves over my chest as I sat on my haunches, I answered, "If I tell you, you'll try it."

Groaning, Sunset said, "I don't care if you think I'm going to steal some of your treasure, I'm still not going to do this while you're there with us!"

Looking at me, Gala commented, "Nebula, couldn't you trust Sunset enough to leave her with me? I assure you, she won't be taking anything underneath my watchful eye."

Turning my gaze to Gala, I stared at her for a moment, causing her to fidget a bit before I declared, "Fine, I'll let her go up on her own, but I'm searching her when she gets back, just in case she's too sneaky for you," as I waved a hoof, causing a portal to open. "Okay, Gala, will go in by herself to get use to the new form and get her measurements, then Sunset can join her, with Rainbow going in last after Sunset comes back."

Groaning, Rainbow whined, "Why do I have to be the last one? It's going to be so boring just sitting around, waiting for them."

Shooting Rainbow a smirk that caused her to raise an eyebrow at me, I answered, "Simple, you're going to be sparring with me in the meantime. I have to do something to pass the time too, Rainbow," causing Rainbow to grin at me. Turning my attention to Gala, I stated, "Now get along, Gala, we don't have all night before mother is done with her duties."

"Daughter, it is time f—what is going on here‽" Luna exclaimed as she entered the suite, where not only did she saw the portal in the middle of the room, but me standing on top of Sunset's back, my hooves combing through her mane as she turned her head to give Luna a defeated look.

"I'm just checking Sunset's mane to see if she stole anything from my private money stash while Gala is taking measurements of Rainbow's anthropomorphic form, which you end up getting when you go to this other world, though I don't know why," I answered, causing Luna to blink at me in confusion before she turned her attention to Sunset for answers.

"It's... complicated, but apparently Nebula has a stash of gold and gems on a world, which this portal leads to, but oddly our bodies change to another form, one that requires clothing for... modesty. Anyways, Gala is taking measurements of Rainbow right now at the other world while we're waiting for them," Sunset explained.

Luna opened her mouth but closed it before letting out a single world, tapping her chin before looking at me as she stated, "Daughter, you are certainly the most complicated daughter Equestria have ever seen."

Shrugging, I replied, "I'll take that as a compliment. Anyways, alright Sunset, you didn't steal any of my treasure," before hopping off her. As I landed on the ground, Gala and Rainbow made their return, causing me to say, "Ah, talk about timing, I take it you got all the measurements you need?"

Before Gala could answer, Luna looked at the duo as she said, "Ah, Dame Rainbow, I see that you're back, but where is..." before she took on a deadpanned expression as she looked back at me to say, "You fused Pinkie with another mare, didn't you?"

Chuckling awkwardly, I responded, "Umm... I did, but it was a bit so that Rarity, who is the other half of Gala, could be able to keep my attention as she teaches me the etiquette of being a princess."

Frowning at my reply, Luna stated, "But why would you ne—your aunt set this up, didn't she?" With a nod from all of us, she pressed a hoof to her forehead as she continued, "I need to talk to my sister then, she shouldn't be setting things like this without my permission."

Raising an eyebrow, I asked, "You mean you weren't involved in this at all?"

Snorting in frustration, Luna answered, "Of course not, I'm still one that believes that while a Princess must present herself as a paragon of virtue, however beyond that she is permitted to act as she sees fit. I believe that you are a paragon of fortitude, judging by your desire to vanquish a great evil, hence you already have a virtue for others to adhere to. To force you to change would be wrong in my eyes," causing me to smile until I noticed Gala's ears drooping.

Gala's dismay at what might be Rarity's purpose here becoming irrelevant, I quickly did damage control as I turned my attention to her as I stated, "Well, even though I don't want to be forced to be a 'proper princess', I suppose Rarity, and hence Gala, could help me reign in my more extreme actions before they go too far, so having her as a retainer can help me from becoming too much of a nuisance."

Giving me a raised eyebrow, Luna replied, "If you desire to keep her for her intended purpose, I have no problem with this. However, I'm going to have to talk to your aunt about this still." Luna then cleared her throat before continuing, "Moving on from the fusion, I heard that you have possessed your own stash of wealth. May I asked how much you have?"

Raising my own eyebrow in turn, I answered, "Well... I'm not certain since I never did an inventory of my wealth, I think enough gold and gems to fill up this entire room."

As Luna's pupils started to widen at this piece of news, Gala added in, "Actually, since it turned out that judging by what I saw, your wealth is actually much greater, though I find it a bit savage that you have it stored in a cave like a dragon instead of a treasure vault."

"Huh, well, I only know at least the minimum amount of wealth I should have. Most of my wealth came from another lord, for reasons I'm not allowed to disclose, but it may be possible that I have other places on that world where the cave was with more treasure stashes. Besides, I didn't need a vault since there's no li—" I started to say before Luna decided to interrupt me by yelling at the top of her voice.

"Why didn't you tell me that you were rich‽"

Chapter XXVI: Arcade

After a quick talk with Luna, where she agreed not to drain my treasure horde due to the fact that I currently have no means to replenish it. Well, not drain it immediately, I'm certain that she would want to ask me to fund a few government projects here and there later on in the future, if not sooner. However, when she wanted to inspect my treasure horde, that was when things became problematic. It's one thing to see my retainers' changed forms in the nude, it's another to see my adoptive mother in the nude.

Anyways, with Luna's appearance, Rainbow and Gala decided to make their leave, though Gala promised to come back with some clothing for everypony, even something for Luna when she finally goes to the other world. With that, it left me with Luna and Sunset, the former saying, "There's going to be a change of plans today, my daughter."

"Really? What is it? We're going to see if we can banish Sunset to the sun?" I asked, causing Luna to look at me in alarm as Sunset gaped at me.

"You... I... do you know how ridiculous that sounds? Do you even know what the sun is made up of?"

Shrugging in return, I answered, "I know what most normal suns are made up of, since this is a world of magic and the fact that Aunt Celestia controls it, it could be a big glowing magical ball of something that isn't hot enough to melt your flesh off your bones in less than a second like a massive sphere of hot plasma would do to you," only to receive a shocked expression from Sunset. "Hey, just cause I act like an idiot from time to time doesn't mean I'm a complete buffoon."

As Sunset shook herself to clear her surprise, Luna said, "I see, well my daughter, our sun would be about the same as these other stars you speak of, but it is infused with a great amount of magic."

"Ah, so don't send Sunset to the planet unless she's heat-proof and plasma-proof, got it mom," I replied with a salute.

Groaning in annoyance, Sunset stated, "I'm starting to wonder if being banished to the sun is a better fate than dealing with you," to which I just responded with a cheeky grin, causing her to glare at me.

"Nebula, behave. Sunset may have disobeyed my sister, and possibly intrude upon spatial matters that it is your responsibility to monitor, but that doesn't mean you have the right to torment her," Luna declared with a frown.

"What? It helps build character," I countered, causing Luna to raise an eyebrow.

"And how, pray tell, does the idea of banishing her to the sun builds character?"

"Simple, it puts the fear of... hey, do ponies have a religious figure?" I asked as I scratched the side of my head as I sat on the ground.

"There are, in a sense. Often, ponies refer to us as holy figures, often using our names for... various reasons that doesn't have a direct connection to us. Thankfully though, they don't worship us as gods. However, there is one alicorn, from before even my time, called Faust. While she isn't worshiped either, since she was before us her name is used as well, to the point that even I and my sister may use her name from time to time," Luna answered as I gave her a nod of acknowledgment.

"Good to know, so just what's the change in plans?" I asked, causing Luna to give me a smile that somewhat reminded me of Pinkie's.

"Instead of giving you lessons, we're going to instead spend some quality mother-daughter bonding time," Luna answered.

Raising an eyebrow, I was about to say something when Sunset spoke up first, inching towards the door as she said, "Well then, I'm going to leave you two to that then, don't want to ru—"

"Leave and I will have you thrown in the dungeons," I interjected as I gave her a flat stare. Turning my attention to Luna, I asked, "Mother, is it possible for me to bring my retainer with me?"

"If you so desire, she can tend to our needs as a servant," Luna answered, causing Sunset's ears to flatten against her head in irritation.

"Hey, you only have yourself to blame for getting into your current predicament," I stated to Sunset before turning my attention to Luna. "So, what exactly are we going to do for bonding time?"

"Something that is a pleasure to enjoy these days," Luna replied with a smile, as Sunset and I look at each other in confusion.

"I imagine all sorts of things that would have appealed to you, Princess, but I didn't think this would be one of them," Sunset commented as she and I looked at the arcade that Luna took us to. Various arcade games were set up, back to back, while off to the side was more physical games, even some kind of dancing game where I could see two ponies sparring off. Luna and I had an illusion placed over ourselves to make us appear as a unicorn mother with her daughter, though Sunset didn't need one since odds of anypony recognizing her now is slim to none.

Luna was about to head over to one of the machines, a bucket full of arcade tokens floating right beside her, when she stopped to look at us as she said, "Well, I admit that at first, I thought places like these were a silly thing to participate in. However, after experiencing some carnival games on Nightmare Night and gaining a daughter, I decided to pay a visit to this place to see if it is something that I could enjoy with my daughter. That was when I found out that these arcade games are quite enjoyable after all."

"Well, since Nebula's a bit of a fighter, I don't thi—" Sunset started to say until I spotted some stools off to the side, probably for short or young ponies to use, to which I immediately grabbed one of them with my magic as I brought it over to me.

"You're wrong, Sunset, for I played some arcade games in my youth, and I find them to be quite entertaining myself," I said, causing Luna to sit down on her haunches as she gleefully clapped her forehooves.

"Oh what glorious news! With you playing with me, the fun has been doubled!" Luna declared as she grabbed the stool that I had, bringing it over to one to the games as she took the controls from the other side. "Sunset, bring us some drinks and snacks so we can have nourishment as we see who is better, mother or daughter!"

After a few hours of nonstop play on various arcade games, all three of us were relaxing the dining side area of the arcade, where we ordered some pizza. It turned out that Luna was a natural at gaming, though I only took her on one of those fighting genre games since she ended up wrecking me. Regardless, we had a blast, as we decide to end the bonding session with some pizza as we chat about our accomplishments.

"That evil demon didn't stand a chance against our combined might!" Luna declared as she banged her hoof on the table while eating her twenty-second slice of pizza.

"Yeah, shame there's only so many types of arcade games here," I stated while stuffing my fourth slice of pizza into my muzzle. One bright side of a being a small filly, a slice of pizza can last quite a while as long as you don't try to stuff it down your throat.

"Thankfully you let me have my own fun instead of having me stand there holding a tray like some kind of butler," Sunset commented while chewing on her fifth slice.

"Hey, I may be petty, but that doesn't mean I'm outright evil. Besides, it's arcade games, I'm pretty certain it would be a terrible crime if I don't let you have some fun as well," I idly commented while reaching out to grab my fourth slice as Sunset stared at my hooves.

"...Where are you putting all that? Are you some kind of bottomless pit?"

Scowling at Sunset, which caused her to shrink a bit in fear, Luna asked, "Why do you let her insult you in such a fashion, Nebula? Surely you would want to berate her for that."

Shrugging, I answered, "Eh, I let her get away with that cause it's amusing to have a snarky pony to talk to from time to time."

Raising an eyebrow, Sunset asked, "So anypony can just go up to you and insult you?" before a smirk came onto her face.

"No, I would have the guard throw them out the second story window of the nearest building. Or at least try to order them to," I replied, only for Sunset's smirk to grow larger.

"I knew you would say something like that," Sunset declared. "But this also shows one important thing."

"And that would be?"

"That you're not completely heartless and that you might care for me. You really are a sweet filly underneath that shell of abrasiveness," Sunset stated with a mocking grin, as I gave her a flat look before looking at Luna.

"Mother, can I request permission to punish Sunset for those words?" I asked, causing her to give me a bemused look while Sunset cocked an eyebrow at me.

"Depends on the punishment you have in mind for her. No serious physical or mental harm is permitted."

"Oh, don't worry, I'm just going to wrap her up in some rope and hang her off one of the castle towers," I stated, causing Sunset to blink before giving me a flat look.

"You're not goi—" Sunset started to say before I used my magic to stuff her slice of pizza into her mouth.

Turning my attention to her, I asked, "Remember the portal to a rock in the middle of nowhere threat? This is just like that," causing Sunset's eyes to widen. "Going to back down now?" I continued, to which I get a nodded. "Good, it seems like you can learn after all."

Swallowing her slice, Sunset commented, "Alright, you do have buttons that you don't like being pushed, but do you had to go with such an extreme reaction? A warning would have been appreciated."

"If she wasn't your retainer, your relationship with her would be quite strange," Luna said as she glanced at the arcade's clock. "Alas, our time together has come to an end, for the night is coming to an end."

Shrugging, I replied, "Well, it was fun while it lasted, but some sleep would be nice after skipping out yesterday."

Upon hearing this, Sunset asked, "So, where I'm going to sleep then?"

"Isn't it obvious? Either in the corner of my room or alongside me in my bed," I answered, causing Sunset to rear her head back at me in disgust.

"Why the buck would you want me in your bed? It better not be something perverted," Sunset replied, as Luna just looked at us in amusement. Maybe we're becoming some sort of comedy act for her.

"No, you're just the right size and fuzziness to be an oversized plushie. But thanks for revealing your sick fantasies again," I countered with a smile, causing Sunset to groan before slamming her face into the table. "Hey! Be careful with your horn. We don't want to leave any dents on this table since it's not ours."

Chapter XXVII: Thoughts

"Hey, Sunset, it's time to wake up."

"Augh... just five more minutes."

"Sunset, I'm not your mom, now wake up."

"Nugh, no, send the sun away," Sunset mumbled as I frowned at her. It was barely dinner time, and I'm wasn't going to let her on her own anytime soon, hence I decided to trot over to one of her ears, lifting it into position as I took a deep breath.

"... Wake up Sunset!" I shouted, startling Sunset as she jumped out of my bed, shrieking in fear before falling down onto the ground. Leaning my head over the edge of my bed to look at the crumpled heap known as Sunset, I commented, "About time you woke up, we have ten minutes before dinner."

"Augh... ponies aren't meant to be nocturnal," Sunset complained as she got off the floor, shaking her mane about to get rid of her bed head before she blinked and stared at me. "Oh Celestia, I slept with you."

"Now you're just trying to tempt me. Think of it this way, your job included being an oversized plushie for the youngest princess to use at day," I replied with a smile. "Which is honest, all I just did was hug you a bit when I used you as a pillow. Now let's get going already."

As I started trotting to the door, Sunset followed as she said, "That doesn't make me feel better, though it's more of you abusing your prisoner. Also, I think I felt you cuddling me at some point during our sleep."

"Well, think of it as us bonding. Don't you want to have a closer connection to another princess?" I shot back after exiting the room with Sunset in tow.

"I want a closer connection to you as much as I want my horn to fall off," Sunset dryly replied.

"Should I find a doctor to surgically remove it?"

"Go to Tartarus already," Sunset growled at me.

Rolling my eyes, I responded, "Quit your 'angry mare' stick already. Since you didn't pull a fast one on me while I was sleeping, I can let you talk to Celestia during dinner without harassing you a single bit."

Eying me with clear suspicion, Sunset stated, "Really? You wouldn't be making snide comments whenever you can?"

Shrugging, I replied, "As long as you don't insult me, I'll leave you be."

"Huh, maybe we are bonding after all. It wouldn't be so bad if you're not such a total bitch to me."

"Yeah, when we're really friends, I'll be twenty percent less of a bitch to you."

"...I hate you."

"Love you too."

"How did you got all that done in one day?"

"Well, when you combine Pinkie's energy with Rarity's expertise, a mare can do so many things in under a short time."

"Yeah, but to get three outfits done with underwear included?"

"Well, if you wanted some clothes, it could have been four 'outfits' instead of three," Gala stated as I stared at the three piles of clothing she brought with her. After dinner with the royal sisters, Sunset and I waited in the suite room until my other retainers have arrived, though I was surprised when I saw Gala not only bringing clothing for their anthro forms but the equipment necessary to set up a private dressing spot. Apparently, the idea of nudity is still hanging around those two.

"Since my abilities summon my own set of clothes, and odds are the most we would be doing is exploring my own private world, I don't need anything fancy for now," I commented as I looked at Sunset while she is inspecting her clothes.

"This is eerily close to the clothes I had in that other world," I heard her mumble to herself.

"But that means you could use a set of clothes for when you encounter other aliens on in that form, right?" Gala asked, her smile widening a bit.

Giving her a flat stare, I had a feeling on what route this would go, so I simply said, "Alright, you can make some clothing for me, but not right now. Sometime in the future more likely."

"The near future?" Gala asked, showing off her Pinkie side a bit.

"Fine, the near future. However, I need to know how your day went as well as how Rarity and Pinkie are doing," I stated before turning my head towards Sunset. "Sunset, I want you to take some notes on this."

"Couldn't you do this yourself?" Sunset asked as she pulled out a scroll and quill.

"I could, but I was never known for having fine penmanship. Besides, a smart student like you would have some excellent note taking capabilities and would add in things that I would probably miss," I answered.

"Huh, this is the first time you actually complimented me without insulting me," Sunset stated with a blink, which caused Gala to engulf me in a hug.

"Oh, you're becoming a nicer mare! I knew you could do it, Neby!" Gala exclaimed as she shook me about, to which Rainbow and Sunset snickered at the sight.

"Yes yes, but less huggy and more talky about your day," I ordered, causing her to put me down before taking on a more formal stance.

"Alright, though I have to admit, it was rather uneventful. As expected, the Cakes were rather surprised by Pinkie fusing with another pony so soon, but due to the first one, they simply accept it in stride. Meanwhile, before and after Pinkie's shift, I spent most of the time working on the dresses. Rarity was compelled to make them as beautiful as can be, but Pinkie actually reigned her in, saying that we might want to go with functional use rather than formal use. And I will admit since this is the first time I ever made clothes like this, it would be more appropriate to go a bit more simple and wait till I have enough experience to create the clothing that would truly be works of art. On the side, Twilight did pay me a visit after hearing about my fusion, but she simply accepted it since Party didn't cause any issues, and just went on to inform the rest of my friends of this current fusion," Gala said, causing me to nod while Sunset wrote all this down.

"Alright, but how about the status on Rarity and Pinkie?" I asked.

"Oh, on that matter, well... it's a bit more complicated," Gala answered with a weak smile, causing me to raise an eyebrow at her.

"Gala... you better explain what you mean by 'complicated'," I ordered, as Rainbow hovered over to Gala.

"Yeah, what do you mean by that? You better not be pulling a fast one on us, Gala!" Rainbow threatened until I pushed her aside.

"Well... it may be best if you cast that spell to let them talk, Nebula," Gala recommended, causing me to frown but nod at her as I cast the spell.

Closing her eyes, Gala let out a groan before opening them again as she said, "I still won't get used to that," causing Rainbow and me to rear our heads a bit due to the fact that it wasn't Rarity or Pinkie speaking, but both of them instead.

"Pinkie? Rarity? Why are you talking at the same time?" Rainbow asked, scratching her head in confusion before I turned my attention towards her.

"I think it's because they're farther along in the mental portion of the fusion than you and Pinkie ever were, though this soon is surprising, to say the least. However, I think I need some information from them first," I stated as I looked at the fusion.

"You may be right there, dear. This all started short after Pinkie's shift. Prior to that, we were in discussion of ideas and the potential of our current form. However, while working on some ideas, Pinkie came up with an idea based on the experience she had with Party. She was wondering what would happen if the two of them started to think as one. So after getting Rarity to play along and figure out the means to think together, we started doing that. But after a while, we discovered that we can't think apart now," the two explained.

Rubbing my chin, I said, "Hold still you two, I'm going to cast a spell that I was working on to get a feel for your minds." Receiving a nod, I lit my horn up, scanning the fusion's mind to see how Rarity's and Pinkie's were doing. "Ah, that explains a bit. Though, just how long was this while of yours, anyways?"

"Umm... it was just over an hour, seventy minutes at the most. Are we going to be okay?" the duo asked.

"Well, it depends on your definition of 'okay'. It seems that during the process of thinking as one, it brought your minds closer together to the point that they are starting to meld together, in a way," I answered, causing Rainbow to clap her hooves around her face.

"You mean that Rarity and Pinkie could disappear‽" Rainbow exclaimed as the fusion looked down on the ground, her face lost in thought.

"So to speak, it depends on one's point of view. I would say they are just becoming part of something greater," I countered, only for Rainbow to rush over to me and grab me by the coat on my chest.

"You better fix th—"

"There's no need to panic, Rainbow," the duo announced as they looked up at us. "Remember, if we ever want to bring this fusion to an end, we simply just have to desire it. Correct?"

Nodding, I answered, "Yeah, you just have to want it, and then you'll be back to being Rarity and Pinkie."

"Then there isn't a thing to fear, so you can let go of Nebula now, Rainbow," the fusion stated, causing Rainbow to drop me down to the ground.

"But, what if you two don't break apart before it's too late?" Rainbow asked.

"Well, then it was meant to be. For we're having too much of an enjoyable time as Gala, and we have to admit, there is a bit of comfort of sorts from thinking as one. Hence, you can release the spell, Nebula," Pinkie and Rarity declared together, as I gave them a nod of acknowledgment.

"Alright then, but if you two actually desired to come apart and it doesn't happen, then get here as fast as you can so I can fix you up," I told them as I released my spell. As Gala shook her head clear from the effects of the spell, I turned my attention to Rainbow as I asked, "Are you okay with that possible outcome for those two?"

Shrugging, Rainbow said, "Eh, if they want to go that way, then I shouldn't get in the way of that. I just wanted to make certain that they are following their desires and not be forced into them somehow."

Staring at Rainbow for a moment, I said, "Well, good for you to care so much about them. Now then, shall we move onto today's agenda?"

Groaning at me, Rainbow stated, "That so sound like Twilight when she's being an egghead."

Ignoring what Rainbow said, Sunset asked, "Just what are you planning, Nebula?"

"Oh, it's nothing much. We're just going back to my treasure horde world so we can see just how much wealth I have, since Gala has provided you three the clothes for it," I answered.

As Sunset was about to make a comment, Rainbow pushed her aside as she asked, "Does this mean I could get another bonus from you?"

Smirking at her, I answered, "If there's more gold than just that cave, then sure, why not."

"Then I'm in!" Rainbow exclaimed. "Now get that portal open so we can start swimming in gold!"

"I don't think a pony could swim in a pile of gold," Sunset dryly commented.

"I don't care, I'm going to try anyway," Rainbow declared, folding her hooves over her chest as Sunset just facehoofed, while I just chuckled at her frustration as I thought about the possibility that this trip could end up more interesting than I expected. Especially if Sunset ends up popping a blood vessel.

Chapter XXVIII: Gold

"Augh, I think you made this thing too tight."

"Sorry Rainbow, but this was a first time making such a thing for me. And I think mine is a bit tight as well."

"That's waistlines for you, Gala. But give it some time, it'll loosen up with wear," I stated.

"Though, I was thinking you would be wearing a skirt instead of some shorts, Gala," Sunset said as I looked at the trio. We were currently in my treasure cave, where I was the first one to arrive due in part of needing to set up the dressing areas for the mares. The entire endeavor took about half an hour for the mares to come through and get dressed. Sunset was wearing a pair of jeans, a purple shirt, and a black jacket, Rainbow had on a simple white shirt and some blue shorts, and surprisingly Gala was just wearing a light blue blouse with her own pair of shorts. As the latter two tugged at their shorts for being too tight.

"That thought did cross my mine, but a skirt, or even a dress, wouldn't be appropriate for what we may be doing here. Furthermore, I rather not risk ripping a skirt, much less a dress, if an occasion arises that could tear them," Gala replied.

"Well, there's no point in talking about this now since everypony is already dressed. Let's just get moving already," I ordered as I started making my way towards what I assumed to be the exit of the cave, on to hear a thump and a groan of pain.

Turning around, I saw Rainbow rubbing the top of her head, hovering right below the cave ceiling as she said, "Why did that portal have to change our bodies? My flying is messed up by this body."

Rolling my eyes, I declared, "Then take it as a challenge to adapt to it, unless you're not up for it."

Giving me a glare, Rainbow replied, "I never back down from a challenge!" as she flew up, banging her head on the ceiling again. "Ow!"

Shaking my head, I said, "Alright then, but don't hit the ceiling too many times, don't want you to be getting any brain damage," before I turned around to resume my way.

It wasn't long till we reached the cave entrance, where I raised an eyebrow while the other lets out a gasp of surprise. Before us, was a world a covered in blue and purple floral, but no signs of animal life. However, above us was a purple sky, with a yellow moon serving as a source of light for the world. However, the thing that drew our attention the most was the sight of an alien-like citadel, its spires could be easily seen above the trees before us.

"You have a castle? An alien castle? Why didn't you tell us that?" Rainbow croaked out as she started to regain her senses.

"Well, I didn't know I had one in the first place," I answered as I started walking towards the general direction.

"Wait, how the buck do you have a castle but not know about it? Is it even yours? Cause I'm not in the mood to traipse before a bunch of aliens that might want us for dinner," Sunset stated as she walked over to me, giving me an annoyed stare.

"While I don't know much about this world, I do know that there isn't any sapient life here. Hence, this castle be—"

"Horseapples, how can you own something you never knew existed in the first place!" Sunset interjected, causing me to give her a glare.

"I can't say exactly, trade secrets, but what I will say that my fellow lords have passed this world to me, along with any riches it possessed. I just wasn't given the exact details of what I gained, though I was informed that there isn't suppose to be any sapient lifeforms here. Satisfied?" I answered, causing Sunset to let out a huff. "Unless anypony else has any other complaints to raise, let's just head over to the castle to see what's inside."

"I thought Canterlot castle had some big doors, but this is overkill," Sunset commented as we stared at a massive pair of doors that stood up to what looked like about eighty feet. The doors belong to a rather massive castle, baring several tall spires as well as a smooth, glass like surface that told of its alien design.

"I'm thinking somepony was compensating for something," Rainbow added in.

Shrugging, I simply said, "Not my concern really, let's just get inside to see what treasure could lay inside."

Before I could take a step towards the door, Gala asked, "Are you sure about that? How could you know that there could be treasure inside and not some traps?"

"Because this is a world that could only be accessed by Dimensional Lords or their agents. Other factions that have some capability of traveling between dimensions would have a hard time getting to this world, and if they somehow do, we would instantly know about their intrusion," I stated.

"Wait, what's this about agents?" Sunset asked.

Sighing, I answered, "Dimensional Lords are able to grant chosen agents with some dimensional power, enabling them the ability to travel between worlds to act on the behalf of their patrons. It allows us to exert our will at a more broader sense since we can't be everywhere at the same time."

"Wait, so you could give us super powers if you want?" Rainbow asked as she hovered before me.

Dropping my eyelids down a bit, I replied, "It's not exactly giving super powers, it's just empowering the agent while granting them the means to travel about. We don't want to be opening portals over and over again just to move our agents around."

"Oh, but why didn't you do this to us since we're your retainers?" Rainbow responded, causing me to facepalm before gathering myself for a response.

"The reason is cause I'm still recovering my own power. As of right now, I'm only about ten percent full strength, so I would need some more time to gather enough power to be able to do such a thing," I answered before removing my hand from my face.

"Oh... then let me know when you're able to empower ponies again," Rainbow requested while Sunset walked over to the door, pressing a hand against it as she gave it a light shove, only to get nothing.

"Figures, it's not one of those self-opening doors. So, do you have a me—whoa!" Sunset started to say until I rushed to the doors before jumping to give it a kick, forcing to them slam wide open. "Could you give me a warning when you're going to do something like that!"

Shrugging, I said, "Where's the fun in that?" as I started to head inside, the others following me as Sunset fumed for a bit before following as well, though Rainbow snickered at Sunset when she passed by her. Stepping into the the castle, I simply whistled at another sight as Rainbow dropped to the ground, the other two probably having similar reactions, due in part that we were standing in a rather large hallway, where the other half of it was overflowed with gold and treasure. "Well... I'm definitely not going to run out of money anytime soon."

"Are you kidding me‽ You got so much gold here, you could buy all of Ponyville and turn it into a theme park if you want!" Rainbow exclaimed, causing me to cock an eyebrow at her before I hear the sound of somepony messing with my horde. Turning my head towards the source, I received the sight of Gala rummaging through my stash, picking up the occasional gem and examining until I cleared my throat to get her attention.

"Oh... sorry about that, I just couldn't resist myself. There's just so many gems, sitting there, collecting dust. It's a travesty that they're not even being used!" Gala explained herself as she idly grabbed a gem to inspect it.

Rolling my eyes, I said, "If you want to grab a few gems, then go ahead. You girls could also fill your pockets with some gold if you want, it's not like it's going to hurt my pockets. Yes, you can get some too, Sunset," as I spotted a couple of chests in the gold mound, to which I started climbing it to grab them.

"So just what are your plans for all this wealth is just in this room and overflowing throughout the castle," Sunset asked as she and Rainbow started filling their pockets with gold. "Going to see if you can buy the throne away from your mom and your aunt?"

"Nah, that throne is too big for me to sit in, I might even sink into the cushions," I answered as I grabbed a chest and pulled it out of the mound before using my magic to float it over to the entrance.

Giving me a deadpanned look, Sunset shot back, "You know what I mean, you smartass."

Chuckling a bit as I grabbed a second chest, I answered, "Not too much really, might give mom one of those chests for her to use fund some government projects or something while keeping the other to pay for any potential expenses. Can't bring all this gold and use it at one time, might cause the price of gold to drop or something. So I rather keep the gold flow to a slow trickle in the mean time."

"Still, having a whole chest of gold to yourself still gives you a lot of bits to play with. You just can't have no plans at all for all that much gold you're still bringing with you," Sunset stated.

"Eh, not really. Might buy a nightclub... wait... does Equestria even have a nightclub?" I replied. While I was learning about their history and society,

"Yeah... but I don't think you would be allowed to buy a nightclub in the first place. And even if you could, why would you want such a place?" Sunset asked, raising her eyebrow in a mix of suspicion and curiosity.

"Shouldn't it be obvious?" I replied. "If I owned a nightclub, then I could throw some crazy parties whenever I want to there."

As Sunset was about to make a comment on my desire, Gala chirped in, "That sounds like a great idea! You should totally do it!"

"See, Gala thinks it's a good idea, so I'm going to go through with it. Besides, it's my money anyways, and I can do whatever I want with it, even if it involves throwing gold coins at ponies heads," I stated before I opened a portal. "Alright everypony, time to head home. I think we all got what we needed."

Sunset sighed as she shook her head, saying, "I would have found a better use for it than just a nightclub," as she made her way to the portal.

Snorting at her reply, I said, "Yeah, hiring mercenaries to conquer a region or just buying it yourself."

"Hey! Stop acting like I'm some kind of villian!" Sunset demanded as she stomped her hoof on the ground.

"Only when you fix that attitude problem. Now go through the portal, or I'll just toss you through like some kind of miscreant."

Chapter XXIX: Quiet

"It's great to be back to normal, ponies are just not meant to have those 'finger' things," Rainbow complained while I closed the portal behind us.

"I beg to differ, dear. While it did indeed feel abnormal, it was a new experience that one can learn from. And don't forget all the gold you brought," Gala countered as she slipped out of the now oversized clothes, due in part of forgetting to undress before making the trip back.

"Yeah, but now I need some ba—" Rainbow complained before I suddenly stuck my head out the suite door to look at one of the guards that were stationed in the hallway.

"Hey you," I said, drawing the attention of a unicorn Night Guard. "Yes, you. I need you to go get me a few bags that can hold about, I say a few hundred bits," I continued, remembering that the trio went as far as to use their shirts to hold more treasure. Even Gala did it for her gems, stating that it was for 'the greater good'.

"But your highness, my duty tod—"

"Don't care. and you have a buddy there, so she can cover you while you're away. Now go get those bags, that's an order!" I demanded before pulling my head back into the room, where Rainbow and Sunset were looking at me with bemused looks while Gala held an annoyed one. "What? Did I missed something?"

"Nebula, you shouldn't order ponies around like that, you need to be more respectful towards them, even if they're working for you," Gala stated,

"Well, we all know I'm not one for tact, so consider this something you have to train me in," I countered, causing Gala to rub a hoof against her forehead. "But I will take note of what you said."

"That's a start, at least," Gala mumbled out as Rainbow hovered over to me with a curious look on her face.

"While it's cool of you to get me a bag to carry all that gold, why didn't you just get one like you did the last time?" Rainbow asked.

Before I could answer, Sunset rolled her eyes as she said, "Because the last time, it was already full of gold. That means that she either has to dump gold out of it and then fill it with the gold you got, which is redundant or that she still needs to get another bag."

"Oh, I hadn't thought of that," Rainbow replied, rubbing her head as she thought about it.

"Since that is out of the way, it is time for my lessons you three," I stated. And for today, I think a would like to observe a fight instead of partaking in one."

"Oh? Well, I'm rearing for a brawl, and it would be awesome to take on one of the guards," Rainbow declared as she slammed her forehooves together.

"Thank you for volunteering, but you're actually going to spar with Sunset here so I can see how good she is in fight. Now on the count of three, you two start beating the snot out of each other," I said as Sunset looked at me in shock.

"Now wait a mi—"

"One two three start!" I exclaimed at a rapid pace.

"I sa—" Sunset yelled until she was interrupted by Rainbow throwing a left hook on her face, knocking her down to the ground.

"Rainbow!" Gala shrieked as I approached Sunset, checking her out to see that she was knocked unconcious.

"What? Nebula said start, so the match was on!" Rainbow countered.

"Heh, she can't take a single punch," I stated, drawing the attention of the other two.

"Wait, I actually knocked her out cold? That's so lame," Rainbow said as she crossed her hooves over her chest.

"You should be more concern over the fact that you knocked her unconscious, Rainbow," Gala replied with a frown as I stared at Sunset's face.

"I don't think she should, since Sunset should have been on guard the moment I said start. Now does anypony have a marker I can borrow?"

"I do!" Gala stated as she pulled a marker out of her mane, causing me to resist the urge to cock an eyebrow at her.

Taking the marker, I said, "Alright then, let's get to work."

"I hate you, so much."

"Hey, it's not my fault that you can't take a punch."

"But it's your fault for getting me into that fight!"

"Hey, you had a moment to get ready, you should have used it for that purpose instead of complaining to me."

"I had every right to, and you even drew on my face while I was unconscious instead of getting help!"

"It was tempted, and I did get help. I got the help from Gala in the form of a marker to draw a mustache on your muzzle," I countered as she and I walked towards the library. Shortly after drawing the mustache on Sunset's face, I went ahead and had some close quarters sparring with Rainbow while Gala had her turn on Sunset, giggling as she went all out and made Sunset looked like a gentlecolt. It was only after the other two had left for the night that she woke up, and screamed at me in rage, only to stop when I burst out in laughter at her ridiculous she looked. After she cleaned up, her rage was kept at bay again when a guard arrived with a note from Luna that said that we will be meeting up with her in an hour at the library.

"Don't you ever stop being a jackass?" Sunset asked as I opened the door to the library.

"Hmm... only when I run out of fuel, and I got enough to fly a rocket to the moon," I shot back with a cheeky grin until my senses told me something was off. I quickly glanced at the area, noting that there was the usual librarian that was reading her own thing and a thestral guard that was standing off to the side. However, I feel that sensation when my eyes passed over the guard, causing me to start thinking of a plan to handle her. "Now, enough fussing and let's get to work, Mother will be here in twenty minutes after all."

Sighing, Sunset muttered to herself as she and I head over to one of the tables, placing down some quills and scrolls from the saddle bag I made her carry. Taking them from her, I set it up like I was having private lessons as I wrote on a scroll, Sunset, there is something off with the guard to my left. Don't look at her, don't make any changes to your expression that would suggest shock or surprise, and this isn't a joke, my senses are giving me a bad vibe from her. Let me handle this, you just go off to find a spell book for me to use, and please don't act like a cliche actor. If I'm gone when you return, don't freak out, it's all according to my plans. If Luna comes before I return, keep her calm and prevent her from raising the alarm, I know what I'm doing. Passing the scroll towards Sunset, I asked, "Hey, is this correct, Sunset?"

Glancing at the scroll, Sunset kept her annoyed expression before she let out a grunt as she answered, "Maybe, but there are some errors in your answer. Wait here while I get a book to show you the proper way to approach the problem," as she went off into another part of the library, taking the scroll with her. As I waited with my head turned towards the direction she left when the guard decided to act, by slowly sneaking to my backside until she was close enough to place a foreleg around my chest as another one placed a cloth over my mouth. I put up an act of struggling as I sniffed the cloth, detecting that there was indeed a chemical compound on it that is probably meant to render me unconscious. Thankfully I possessed a high resistance to toxins and poisons, but I still went with my act as I pretended to fall asleep, letting my limbs go slack as the guard pulled me off my chair.

With me apparently secured in her hooves, the would-be kidnapper took into the air, flying up towards the ceiling before flying out the door, with the librarian not noticing a thing, being too engrossed into whatever she was reading. Cracking an eye open just a hair bit, I watched as the false guard carried me through the hallways, quietly flapping her wings as she darted this way and that way until she came up to a hallway with a portrait of Celestia, where she finally stopped. Turning around a few times, in what I assumed to be checking for any signs of the other castle personal, she dropped down to the portrait, where she pulled the portrait off the wall before pressing a specific spot on it, which sank into the wall, revealing that it was a hidden button as part of the wall opened up. Tossing me inside in a rough fashion, she looked about again before going in herself, putting the portrait back in its before closing the hidden door.

Picking me up again, I was carried down the secret passage until it opened up to what looked like a crystalline cavern, where I spotted a hooded figure sitting on a chunk of crystal looking up at us. Looking up at us, the figure growled out in a masculine voice, "What in the Queen's name are you doing, Quiet Flight‽"

"Shhh! We're supposed to talk through the hive link, not talking out loud!" my kidnapper known as Quiet hissed as she placed me down.

"Like the buck I would care about that when you're carrying the Moon Princess's foal with you! What the buck would you kidnap her when we're not ordered to!" the figure said.

"Come on Steel Shell, cut me some slack. I had the perfect opportunity to kidnap her, so I decided to take the initiative. Besides, since she is the daughter of the Moon Princess, surely the princesses would crave into the Queens demands with her in our possession," Quest stated as green flames engulfed her, much to my surprise as I tried to keep my face from conveying it. However, that became a monumental task when I saw that in the place of the guard, was a black insect-like pony, with holes in its hooves and insect wings upon its greenish back, a horn on its forehead as she looked at Steel in an annoyed fashion with her blue compound eyes. All in all, it might have been something that would cause the average pony to shriek in fear. Thankfully, I'm far from the average pony, and having experience in fighting eldritch horrors also helped too. Though it did almost made me shudder in disgust at the memory of how disturbing a few of them looked.

Well now... this is something unexpected... yet not unwelcome. At least this would make the rest of the night very interesting, for me at least.

Chapter XXX: Steel

"Why the buck did you drop your disguise?"

"Cause it was compromised, Steel. There was at least one pony that seen it short before I kidnapped the princess, so no point in keeping it around," Quiet said as she looked at Steel with a critical eye. "Why are you still wearing that robe for? We already explored the caverns and found no ponies patrolling it."

"It's better safe than sorry, which some lings don't decide to follow," Steel shot back as he lowered his hood, causing Quiet to walked over to him until her muzzle was right next to his.

"And some lings know how to adapt on the fly! You would just freeze up the moment everything falls apart! I, on the other hoof, took the best opportunity for the hive to advance on our plans!" Quiet exclaimed as she turned around to bite my tail, lifting me into the air as she held me up in front of Steel. "We got an alicorn filly that is the daughter of the Moon Princess! There is no greater leverage than that!"

"Wait... something is off with this filly," Steel stated as he leaned his head closer to me, to which I decided to take action as I reached out with all my legs to grab onto his face.

"Hello!" I yelled in his face, startling the two as Quiet released my tail while Steel screamed in terror.

"Why is she awake! Didn't you knock her out!" Steel exclaimed as he shook his face around in a vain attempt to shake me off him.

"I did! The mixture I used is supposed to keep her unconscious for hours!" Quiet shot back, as she took out a bottle from somewhere and a rag, pouring a bunch of the compound onto it. "Hold still so I can give her a stronger dose."

Snorting at the foolishness of these panicking bug-ponies, I lit my horn up to wrap my magic around the rag before forcing it out of Quiet's hoof and onto her muzzle. This, of course, surprised her into taking a whiff of the rag, causing her eyes to droop before she collapsed on the ground as Steel said, "Quiet, don't pass out you bloody idiot!" as he grabbed onto me, trying to pry me off now.

I hung onto his face for a moment as he struggled, before crawling around on it until I was right-side up and starting into his eyes as I asked, "Hey, can you do us both a favor and stop struggling already? I don't want to end up putting you in a headlock if you don't cooperate with me."

At my question, Steel stopped to stare at me before giving me a deadpanned look as he answered, "You, a filly, putting me in a headlock. Yeah ri—gak!" before I carried out with my threat, moving to the side of his head before wrapping my forelegs around his neck. As he tried to pry my grip off him, I placed my rear hooves on his chin before pushing off of him, bringing him down as a landed on the ground before pinning his head to the ground.

"Told ya that I'll put you in a headlock, ready to cooperate now?" I stated, only for him to struggle in response. Letting out a sigh, I flipped him over onto his back, causing him to let out a muffled gasp. "Still going to struggle?" I asked, this time receiving a shake of his head, causing me to loosen my grip so he could properly breathe again.

"How the buck you, a filly, do that‽" Steel asked as he looked at me with a mix expression of confusion, anger, and what might be a tad bit of fear.

"I'm not a normal alicorn filly, if there is a norm for them," I answered with a shrug. "Now, tell me, why you two were here?"

"You'll never get me to talk, pony!" Steel as he tried to snap at me before lighting his horn with some kind of green magical aura before firing a fireball on my face. As the fireball impacted my face, he sneered at me until it faded into a look of utter shock as my face was left unharmed after the fire had dispersed. "How that... in the name of the queen... what..." he uttered out, as I rolled my eyes briefly before bringing his focus to the matter on hoof.

"Oh, you'll talk, it's just a matter of how much torture it would take to make you talk," I declared as I eyed his side.

"Yeah right, you ponies don't have the stom—" Steel said before I slammed a leg into his gut, causing him to wheeze out in pain. "What the buck is wrong with you?"

"One could say a lot of things, now comply with my demands or I will have to get a potato peeler," I ordered, only for him to look at me in confusion.

"What would you do with a potato peeler?"

Rolling my eyes, I answered, "Simple, I'll sharpen it, the use it to peel off your chitin one bit at a time until I get to your flesh interior!" as I gave him a feral smile.

"You're insane!" Steel yelled into my face as he tried to struggle again, to no avail.

"I think I been called that a few times so far, but anyways, time for you to choose, talk now or go through torture then talk? It's your choice on how comfortable your experience with me will be," I stated, causing Steel to look me in the eye as I gave him a more serious look to show that I wasn't playing around this time.

After a moment of staring, Steel finally asked, "Will you execute us still if I willingly divulge the information you desire?"

Grunting, I answered, "Yeah, I will have your heads chopped off if you be a good bug and tell me all I know. But I won't be letting you two go anytime soon."

Closing his mouth as he continued his stare, it was a few minutes later when he finally declared, "Fine, I'll talk, but if you're going to be imprisoning us, I expect you to have us treated properly."

Letting out a snort, I replied, "Of course, I may not be above torture, but I'm not unnecessarily cruel. Now pick up your friend, we're going back into the castle proper. And before you get any smart ideas, I'll be hanging onto your back, so if you try any funny business, I'll be ripping off your wings."

"I think that's exce—"

"You two are spies, so it's not. Now get moving."

"What were you thinking‽ How dare you take such actions into your hooves!"

"It was a now or never kind of deal, I might not have another cha—"

"I do not care! You are my foal and you don't have the right to do whatever you want on a whim!"

"Technically I do ha—"

"Silence! You have been grounded once, this time I will enforce it!" Luna declared in the Royal Canterlot voice, pressing her muzzle against m as she slammed a hoof on the table, shaking it as Celestia sat on the other side of her furious sister with a calm expression on her face. After coming out of the tunnels, I found the halls swarming with guards, who promptly pointed their spears at my ride and his other passenger. It wasn't long before they were herded to the dungeons while I was taking to a meeting room where the three adult princesses, Sunset, and Cadance's lover were seated around the table, with me

"Well... at least I caught a couple of spies?" I replied with an awkward smile as Luna's glare intensified.

"Luna, calm yourself. We both know that Nebula is fully capable of taking care of herself. Furthermore, as she has pointed out to us, she helped not only expose the spy in our midst but capture both the spy and her conspirator. Surely you can be lenient with her, for she most likely done this with good intentions," Celestia stated as Sunset nodded in turn.

"I agree, as flippant Nebula is, she took this in a much more serious fashion that I only saw once before. She wasn't treating this like a game, Princess Luna," Sunset added in, causing Luna's frown to lose its intensity, as Celestia nodded before she spotted something off with Sunset.

"Sunset... is there a bruise on the side of your head?" Celestia asked as she leaned over to get a closer look. "It is... how did you get it?" she continued before her eyes shifted towards my direction, narrowing me.

Shooting a smirk my way, Sunset answered, "Simple, she had Rainbow and I spar with one another and I got hit so hard that I was knocked unconscious."

At hearing the news, Celestia's eyes widen in dismay before her expression turned into a furious one that matched what Luna had mere moments earlier. "Nebula, I told you not to put Sunset in a situation that could cause her to be harmed!"

Shaking my forehooves in front of myself, I replied, "Hey! I thought she could take care of herself! I didn't think she would be knocked out in one blow! Honest!"

"That doesn't matter, Nebula. I told you not to put Su—" Celestia started to say before Luna held a hoof out in front of her, silencing her as she looked at her in confusion.

"Sister, it was a simple sparring match, hence it was a control case in order to see if the mare was capable of defending herself. Though it is a shame that she wasn't able to, I would have thought that you would have taught her some self-defense techniques," Luna stated, causing Sunset to look at her in exasperation.

"I was sucker punched! It was out of nowhere and I wasn't ready!" Sunset protested, as Luna rolled her eyes at her.

"Were you told when the match was started?"

"Well... yes, but it was su—" Sunset started to answer until Luna interrupted her by holding her hoof up for silence.

"It doesn't matter what happened, you were told the match had started, so you only have yourself to blame. When in battle, even if it was a sparring match, one must be ready for anything. Your lack of caution is what caused your injury, and as a retainer of Nebula, you must be able to defend her if the need ever arises," Luna declared, as I looked at her in confusion at how she shifted from being angry to me to chastising Sunset.

"Umm... Aunt Luna, should we be more focused on Nebula's actions and the intruders?" Cadance asked as she and her boy toy looked at each other.

"Yes, why are you sid—wait... I see what you were doing now," Celestia stated as Luna nodded at her, causing me to narrow my eyes at the two as I wonder what they're plotting. As the two looked upon me, I reared my head back as Celestia continued, "Very well, I won't step on your hooves on this matter anymore."

Furrowing my brows in confusion, I was about to say something when Luna looked at Cadance's boyfriend to say, "Captain Shining Armor, due to the fact that my daughter is incredibly mischievous on her own, and likely to be too much for Sunset to handle alone or for the Night Guard to handle, I would like to have you keep an eye on her when her retainers are gone for the next two weeks."

"What!" I exclaimed as I slammed my forehooves on the table, much to the displeasure of all that is present, with the exception of Luna who calmly raised an eyebrow at me.

"My daughter, it is time for you be punished for the way you've been acting, and your violation of whatever deal you have with my sister must be accounted for as well. Hence, with Captain Shining Armor would be the prime candidate to keeping you in check when the rest of us are unable to do so," Luna said in a tone that told me that she wasn't going to budge from this issue, causing me to say the only thing that could come to mind.

"Oh buck me."

Chapter XXXI: Bubble

"So, your name is Shining Armor, then why is your armor not all that shiny?"

"...Are you naturally this antagonizing?" Shining asked with an annoyed look on his face. After the meeting, the two sisters shuffled me off to my private suite, while assigning my usual guards to the front, probably more for keeping me in than keeping others out. Luna told me that they would be questioning the prisoners, and when I offered my services to get some answers, she said that they weren't going to let me turn it into an interrogation. Guess even when there was attempted foalnapping, Luna wasn't the type of pony to draw upon more forceful measures to get answers. Or her sister told her not to use them, which I think is the more likely cause. Celestia really needs to learn to be less of a pansy.

"Hey, I never made the claim that I was a nice pony. So are you up to date with my past?" I asked as I lounged on the couch, bouncing a ball off the top of my foreleg out of idle boredom.

"As Captain of the Royal Guard, I would naturally be informed of your nature," Shining answered.

"Ah, good, then that would save some time on answering questions you would have after spending enough time with me. Now, why would my mother and aunt think it would be a good idea for you to be the one to keep me contained?" I replied as I bounced the ball off my hoof, sending it towards Shining's face, who promptly used his magic to stop it.

Scowling at me, Shining said, "I'm not keeping you contained, I'm he—"

"Do I look stupid to you? I may not be a genius, but I'm certainly not an idiot," I interjected, causing Shining to let out a sigh of frustration as he took off his helmet so he could rub the spot between his eyes with a hoof.

"I feel your pain," Sunset said while having her face buried in the book she was reading.

After a moment of silence as Shining was trying to rub what may be a potential headache away, I hopped off the couch as I declared, "Whelp, I'm bored. Time to see how my mother is doing with the intruders."

However, before I could get two steps towards the door, Shining decided to step in front of me, as he replied, "Oh no you're not. You're staying here like your mother wanted you too."

Looking up at him, I raised an eyebrow as I asked, "And how do you plan to keep me from getting out?"

"Like this," Shining said as he lit his horn up, causing a pink barrier to appear around me.

Turning my head around, I could see that it completely surrounding me, causing me to give him a deadpanned look as I said, "Really? You think you could keep me in a bubble?" Placing my hoof against the barrier, I started to apply pressure against it, causing Shining to show some visible strain on his face as he said something, only for me to see his lips moving but no sound coming out. "Wait, did you just mute me‽ You're going to regret that!"

"So can you do it?"

"Well, I can, but she's going to get me back for it," Sunset stated as she watched Nebula starting to pound on the bubble shield around her, a look of fury on her face. "I think making the shield sound-proof is only going to make her angrier."

"I can tell, she hits like a bull. Just cast the spell before she breaks through," Shining pleaded as sweat started to appear on his face.

"Fine fine, but you owe me one," Sunset replied as her own lit up, engulfing Nebula in a blue aura briefly, causing her to blink before she was suddenly tugged into the center of the sphere, which led to Nebula flailing her limbs around as she tried to strike the bubble, only for her limbs to fail to reach it by a few mere inches.

With a look of relief on his face, Shining ran a leg over his forehead as he said, "Ah, thanks for that. I can't believe that a filly could ever get that strong. May Celestia have mercy on those that become this filly's enemies."

"Well, I'm really curious to see how intelligent she is. Sometimes she displays moments of ingenuity, but other times she acts like a complete fool. For instance, she's not trying her wings yet, even if it won't work in the first place," Sunset stated as she watched Nebula swinging her forelegs at the bubble while she tried to lean forward as far as she can.

"Maybe she has a short fuse, I should mention to Princess Luna that she should get her some anger management," Shining commented before seeing Nebula starting to flap her wings. "Ah, now she's doing the flying thing you mention."

"Heh, this is starting to become amusing to watch. It might almost make whatever she does to me later on worth it," Sunset said as she tapped the bubble, causing Nebula to glare at her.

"To think, a pony that could be more powerful than the princesses is just lounging about, I even heard that she's richer than any of the noble families," Shining stated before frowning when Nebula looked at him while dragging a hoof across her throat.

"Tell me about it, if she is as strong as she claims, she could take over the world," Sunset replied, only to get a flat stare from Shining that prompted her to say, "What?"

"...Don't give her any ideas," Shining finally declared. "As long as she's weakened, we might have a chance to rehabilitate her to be a better pony before she regains her full po—" THUMP.

Rearing their heads up, both ponies glanced at the sphere to see Nebula's body pressed up against the side, looking like she somehow crashed into the bubble before she was suddenly yanked back to the center where she flailed about in anger once more. "Okay... what just happened?" Shining asked as he rubbed his head with a hoof.

"I think she tried using her flashstep ability. Seems like it can't pass through solid barriers," Sunset observed.

"Well, then we need to make certain that she can't learn how to teleport for the time being, or we won't be able to contain her anymore," Shining replied as he watched Nebula now swinging her limbs around at random. "I wonder how long before she finally tires out."

"No idea, this is honestly something that interests me... want to place some bets on the time?" Sunset asked with a smirk, only for it to fade when she saw that Shining had a serious expression on his face.

"I'm the captain of the Royal Guard, Sunset. I need to set up a good example for the troops," Shining stated as he looked to the side.

Sighing, Sunset stated, "Figures you would be as upti—" before she was interrupted by a bag of bits floating before her face.

"Fifty bits she quits before two hours have passed, but keep this bet as a secret between the two of us," Shining declared with a smirk.

Blinking at the stallion, Sunset then returned the smirk with one of her own as she said, "You're on."

"Three hours... and she's still going. Does she ever tire out?"

"Apparently not, she's not even sweating," Sunset replied as she watched Nebula spinning about as she continued to flail her limbs, as she tossed a bag of bits up and down through the air every so often.

"And you would think she would use one of her weapons she can summon to get out of it," Shining stated while lying down on the couch, still frowning at the fact that he lost the bet.

"Not likely, I saw her use of one of them, and their destructive capability is too risky to use if they end up easily piercing your barrier. Thankfully, even with the temper she has, she's bright enough to know not to try them," Sunset explained, just before the door open, to reveal the royal sisters as they stepped inside.

"Nebula my daughter, it is ti—what is going here?" Luna asked as she saw the state her daughter was in, who promptly stop her flailing when she saw her mother coming into the room.

Standing in attention, Shining answered, "Princess Celestia, Princess Luna! I'm simply restraining Princess Nebula when she made the attempt to leave her quarters, as you have ordered."

Smiling at the sight, Celestia strode over to bubble, saying, "It seems like you have done a job well done, Captain. Though, is this barrier sound-proof as well?" as she tapped the sphere, while Nebula crossed her arms over her chest while silently mumbling to herself.

"He did, which was a great idea when Nebula started shouting at the top of her lungs for ten minutes straight," Sunset replied as she put her winnings on a nearby nightstand.

"Hmm... you're daughter is certainly a feisty and rebellious filly, Luna. It's such a shame that we can't rely on normal discipline techniques to get her to behave," Celestia stated with a frown before sitting down on the ground as Luna walked over to her.

"There may be a way to get her to learn still, dear sister. For I have yet entered her dreams, but perhaps I shall rectify that mistake the next time she decides to slumber," Luna declared.

"Princess Luna, excuse me for my interruption, but did the intruders revealed any information?" Shining asked as he placed his helmet back on his head.

"One of them have, but mostly out of fear of threats that my daughter have made against them," Luna answered with a frown. "While it did achieve results for us, I cannot condone such behavior from my daughter."

"As much as I agree with you Luna, we have to keep in mind of her past as another lifeform, as well as the fact that she is an adult in a filly's body. There is no straightforward way to approach this situation, hence it might be a complicated matter to deal with," Celestia commented as she eyed Nebula, who simply had cocked at eyebrow at them.

"Therapy or anger management won't work if she can bribe anypony that she meets," Sunset stated. "Though, there may be a way to get through to her..." Sunset continued, causing the two sisters to look upon her.

"And what, pray tell, is this method you possess?" Luna asked.

"Well, let's just say that Nebula may have an attraction with her latest 'fusion project', so to speak," Sunset answered.

Rubbing her chin at the news, Celestia replied, "Well, Rarity was hired to teach her etiquette, so if Gala does have her attention, so could be a positive influence that can actually get through her."

"Perhaps we should employ the services of Cadance in this matter? As mush as I abhorred the idea of manipulating my daughter, I do agree that we need to take some sort of action to rein her in," Luna added in, only for Shining to go wide-eyed for a moment before he shook his head as he stepped forward.

"Not the best idea, Princess Luna," Shining stated, only for Sunset to cock an eyebrow on him.

"And why not? She's the Princess of Love. How could she not b—she has dirt on her, doesn't she?" Sunset replied, causing all three mares to stare at Shining, who started to sweat from all the attention.

"Well, you see... um—" Shining started to say until Celestia held up a hoof.

"No need to explain yourself, I think I may have an idea about the situation," Celestia said, causing Shining to blush as she turned her head towards Luna. "For the time being, we will employ what we have at our disposal. I will send a letter to Twilight to pass a message along to Gala so she can have time to prepare for her next meeting with Nebula."

"Aye, and I will confront my daughter in her dreams during the day," Luna responded. "While her physical body may possess power, I am undefeated in the realm of sleep. Hopefully, by the next moonrise, Nebula will have seen the error of her ways."

Chapter XXXII: Memories

"Why don't you die already you bloody damn Venanite!" I furiously shouted as I swung my sword at a five-headed amalgamation of what was once probably just some poor souls that were living their lives before being infected by the Venanite virus, its form a hulking mass with one massive arm on its left side with three stringy blade-tipped arms on the other.

As I sliced off two of Venanite's heads, I heard a familiar voice crying out, "By Faust, this nightmare is nothing I have ever seen!" causing me to glance behind me to see Luna looking about in horror as she gaped at the sight of ruined structures, rapidly decaying Venanite corpses and the torn remains of the innocents that suffered the cruelty of the Venanites. Upon seeing her, I suddenly realized that I was dreaming, which brought me to a state of lucidity as I froze the dream, with the amalgamation frozen with two of its clawed hands about to hit my head in a vain attempt to tear it off.

"Mother? What are you doing in my dreams?" I asked as I looked down on myself, seeing that I was in my anthropomorphic form while Luna was still in her normal form.

"I am here to talk to you about your overall behavior," Luna answered as she lit her horn up, dispersing the scenery and shifting my form back into the normal one. That was when I remembered the events that led up to this. Shortly after Shining ended his spell, Luna tried to scold me, only to end up witnessing me jumping towards Shining and latching onto his face. It took a few minutes before they finally pried me off his face, which led to me getting a scolding and being forced to apologize to Shining for my behavior before being sent to bed early as a punishment.

"Hey, remember I said I was me—" I started to say until Luna lit her horn up, upon which my muzzle suddenly disappeared.

While I was partly occupied by placing my hooves over the smooth surface where my muzzle once called home, Luna stated, "This is bigger than anypony would have expected, despite your past. We simply can't just let this continue on any longer. You claim to be over two hundred years, and yet you act like a perpetual child with an arrogant belief that you can't be truly punished. That idea ends here. You claimed to be messed up, but you have yet given us any reason for whatever mental ailment that you suffer from can be treated," before she lit her horn again, causing my muzzle to reappear on my face.

"Well, excuse me for not wanting to terrify anypony with my history. How about I show you what turned me into the little 'monster' before you, so you can decide it if can be fixed or not? Since we're in my dreams, I assume there is a way for me to show you that event?" I countered, causing Luna to frown at me.

"There is, just recall the memory and focus on the dreamscape becoming that memory," Luna answered. Giving her a nod, I looked up as I went to recall the memory that changed me forever, only to find nothing there. Blinking, I furrowed my brows, trying to recall the memory to no avail. Eventually, Luna asked, "Well? Are you going to present this memory of yours or are you just stalling for time?"

Giving Luna a look that was a mixture of annoyance and alarm, I replied, "I... I can't recall it."

"Then you have been lying to us. What a dis—"

"No, I wasn't lying, and I recall memories of myself referring to it before, even before I came to Equestria. Something's wrong," I said, as my expression turned into pure alarm, which caused Luna's own annoyance to fade away into concern.

"Mayhaps you have forgotten that memory?" Luna asked, to which I just shook my head at her.

"That memory made me into what I am today, it's not something I would ever forget, for I remember that it always haunted me," I answered before lifting my left forehoof to my muzzle to bite on, to which Luna left me to my own thoughts. After a moment, I glanced at her as I asked, "Is there any way to use my dream to view the status of my memories?"

Luna nodded, saying, "There is a way, though I don't normally use the spell to check on them without the consent of the owner," as she lit her horn up, changing the scenery to a massive room full hallways, each filled with mirrors that hung off the walls in their own frames. "This place is a representation of your mind's memories, with each of these hallways represents a period of time the memories belong to. Though, with the number of hallways you have here, I have to say that your claim to be over two hundred years is true."

Giving her a simple nod of acknowledgment, I trotted around the edge of the room, briefly glancing into the hallways until I came to a sudden stop before one, where I gaped at the sight of empty frames. "Mother... is there supposed to be a hallway filled with empty frames?"

Frowning, Luna walked over to the hallway I was standing in front of, peering into it before saying, "No... there shouldn't be any empty frames, for your case. These frames represent lost memories."

"Lost memories! Is there any way to recover them‽" I asked, with fear apparent on my face that somewhat unnerved Luna a bit.

"There isn't a spell that can simply recover memories with ease, particularly those that no other pony is familiar with, however, I do have a spell that might point us in the direction of the lost memories," Luna stated as she lit her horn once more, this time unleashing a transparent sphere that grew in size, passing right through me as it continued expanded, even going into the hallways.

After a moment, Luna frowned as she took one a look of shock, which prompted me to ask, "What is it? What's wrong?"

Luna turned her attention towards me as she chewed her lip for a moment before finally saying, "There is no trace of your missing memories."

"What‽ What do you mean by that‽" I exclaimed at the thought that part of my past is gone.

"As I said, there is no trace of them here. There isn't even fragmented pieces of your memory. They're just... gone," Luna explained, which caused me to start pacing back and forth as I ran that through my mind.

"Memories just don't go away like that, that do—wait, could something invaded my mind somehow and stole them?" I asked as I pointed a hoof at Luna.

Shaking her head, Luna answered, "No, there is no traces of tampering with your memories. Furthermore, your mind isn't one to be entered lightly, you have some mental barriers that gave even me a challenge to penetrate without alerting you. However, I do have a theory on what caused their disappearance."

"Well, what are you waiting for? Tell me what caused this!" I shrieked.

Sighing, Luna replied, "It is most likely a side effect of your 'death'. Such a traumatic experience and later rebirth wouldn't have left you unscathed. It is likely that the memories you lost are a result of your temporary demise. However, to be certain, I would need you to review your memories to see what you have lost, for if you lost memories of something rather important, then this can be the only answer in sight."

Staring at her for a moment, I racked my brain for every important memory, either in a personal or business sense, to me, before my pupils widen as I said, "I can't remember the first twenty years of my life!"

"That's... peculiar, but it lends to my theory, since your oldest memories may be more vulnerable than the rest," Luna stated while I just started to hyperventilate, causing her to be alarmed by it. "What is wr—"

"I just lost the formative years of my life! The years that made me who I am! Even the one that twisted me into this corrupt version of the original me, whatever they may be now!" I exclaimed as I flailed my hooves about.

"Wait, what about the rest of your life?" Luna asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, considering it was fight fight fight and kill kill kill Venanites and other evils, I don't think those memories are all that great to remember," I said in a deadpanned tone.

"Point taken... but you should look at this as an opportunity! Not only a new life but a fresh start!" Luna declared with a smug smile, only for it to fade from the flat stare I was giving her. "I'm being serious."

"I know, but one doesn't just abandon twenty years of their life on a whim," I countered.

"And what are you going to do about that then? Do you have the means to recover what is now lost? Unless Equestria has developed a spell to recover memories that are entirely lost, which I doubt such a means exist, it is best for you to move on with your life instead of panicking," Luna stated, as I just looked to the side, eye twitching at how she was so dismissive about my loss. This went on until I felt a hoof beneath my chin, which turned my face towards Luna's sorrow-filled one, as she said, "I know that you're feeling a great loss, for you have lost precious memories dear to your heart, but you must move on instead of dwelling on the past. Your past doesn't make you who you are. It is the choices you make now that makes you the pony you want to be in the future."

Looking into her eyes, I saw genuine care for me in them, which caused me to seriously consider her statement, before looking to the side as I said, "I don't know now... all I have now is the memories of me fighting a war. What good can I do when all I can recall is fighting?"

"Do not think of yourself so lightly, you devoted yourself to fighting a great evil for almost two centuries. You may be self-centered, cruel, arrogant, obnoxious—"

"Jeeze, I feel so good about myself now," I shot in with a flat look, only for Luna to clamp my mouth shut with a hoof.

"—vain, and possibly perverted, but you have shown concern for your friends, disciple when truly needed, and generosity. We just need to curb back the worst of your traits while fostering your better ones," Luna stated, causing me to raise an eyebrow at her before she lowered her head to nuzzle the side of my face, much to my dismay.

"Mom... stop that..." I said, trying to push her head off without using too much force.

Raising her head up, Luna smirked at me as she stated, "Nice to see that you're coming around," before her expression turned sour. "But you're still going to punished for your behavior. No more of your shenanigans or I will have you chained to my side at all times."

Tilting my head to the side, I replied, "That's oddly spe—"

"And Sunset will be accompanied by a unicorn guard with strict orders to put you in that bubble if you try any more of your stunts," Luna continued. "It is time for you to start acting like a princess instead of a vagabond."

Blinking owlishly, I stated, "I don't think mothers normally don't flip from confronting their foal to punishing them."

"True, but since you're quite flippant about so many matters, it might be good to flip the tables on you," Luna explained with a grin, causing me to groan at her remark. "Now, onto another matter."

Groaning in protest, I asked, "Can't we just settle on what has happened already? I already have enough on my plate as is."

Shaking her head, Luna answered, "No, for this is an important matter as well, one that I will stay in your dream until we resolve this."

Sighing, I replied, "Fine, not like I got much choice here. So what is it?"

"It is your hostilities you share with your cousin. It is time we do something about that," Luna declared with a look of determination. "You must learn to be able to make peace with him before he returns from Ponyville."

Looking straight at Luna, I said the only thing that came to my mind. "Welp, guess we're going to be here for an eternity then."

Chapter XXXIII: Dimensional Lords

"What do you mean by that? Surely th—"

"Mother, no offense, but we're talking about an age-old hatred that could potentially date back to the dawn of time for all I know. It's not something that you can simply command us to ignore on a whim," I answered as I started to explore the rest of hallways that held my memories, noting that a few of the memories had a small fragment missing.

"Even as ancient as this hatred between your organizations is, all things must come to an end. Wouldn't you want to be the one to bring this about?" Luna asked as she followed me.

"Not with how my peers would react to me making an active effort in making peace with a Magister of Time. They would probably try to sabotage any attempts or make it result in a skirmish between our forces as we try to show who's the better group, again," I replied.

Frowning, Luna replied, "Sounds like this feud between your fractions is nothing more than showing off each others' power. A rather pointless endeavor, in my point of view."

Shrugging, I answered, "It may be, but that's how it is nowadays. Though, it's better that way than how it was millions of years ago, or so I heard."

"I find it hard to believe that your organization is that old, but that reminds me of something. You claim that you aren't allowed to reveal much of your group, but since we are in the realm of dreams, perhaps you could finally divulge some more information for once?" Luna asked, causing me to cock an eyebrow at her while tapping my chin in thought.

"I suppose you have a point, never in my travels, nor what I heard from my peers, indicate any sort of knowledge of this dream realm. So I guess that I can tell you some more things, but not everything. Some secrets must remain secret, and what I tell you stays between you and me, not even Aunt Celestia can know, for it's for everypony's safety. Understood?" as I stared into Luna's eyes, trying to adopt a serious expression, only for her to smile a bit at what may be something that looked incredibly ridiculous on a foal's face. Guess I need to be employing action to look threatening, or something like that.

"Very well, you have my word that I won't divulge what you tell me today about these two organizations," Luna declared, causing me to nod before taking a deep breath, letting it out as I racked my brain for all the details I could tell her.

"Okay, to start with the beginning of what I know, Dimensional Lords and Magisters of Time have existed since or near the dawn of... well time. At the beginning, each group consisted of members of one species, each devoted to the maintenance of their respective spheres. However, over time, the Dimensional Lords discovered that there was so much to do in regards to their duties, which led to them wanting to explore their abilities beyond just traveling throughout the cosmos and fixing any dimensional irregularities," I explained, causing Luna to nod in acknowledgment.

"And that is when they discovered the destructive potential their powers can possess," Luna observed.

"Correct. Turned out that having vast command over space could lead to various means to tear it apart on a whim, go figure. This eventually led to infighting amongst the original lords, each seeking to dominate their fellows. It lasted for centuries and resulted in many worlds being destroyed due to their arrogance. It wasn't until the destruction of their homeworld that the infighting came to an end, as they saw the error of the ways and decided to organized themselves into a ranking structure instead, with a system that allowed one to challenged another for their position in a duel with set rules, in order to prevent other worlds from being destroyed.

Due to the lack of a homeworld to call their own, the original Lords went on to look for a new place to have as their own domicile but instead discovered dimensional spaces that lie in between dimensions, some that are completely devoid of life. This led to them selecting one such place to be what you might call the headquarters of the Dimensional Lords, but it is more of a meeting ground for them for the most part. They instead moved on to claim other isolated spaces or even worlds to rule over. This was when the Dimensional Lords started to changed.

Now, this is a private secret, mostly to prevent future issues, but I will tell you this. Dimensional Lords follow a bit of a might makes right system, to the point that it affects our membership. For after settling down the headquarters, the Lords were left to their own devices once more, some choosing to research their abilities as well as research the dimensions and the cosmos, others choosing to go the path of conquest, either as benevolent rulers or ruthless warlords, others going on to explore the dimensions, either out of a search for power, knowledge, the lust for adventure, or just to spend their time, and others simply went for quiet private lives where their presence is barely known among other species unless they had to attend to dimensional matters. Regardless, this increased contact with other species, which led to more conflicts for the Lords, who then learn that they're not indestructible, for some of their numbers fell.

Now, one constant rule is that there are always seventeen Lords, and the Magister of Time strangely follow this same rule as well. Neither faction could increase their numbers, and neither faction could have less than seventeen. Maybe it's the way for the cosmos to maintain the balance, but regardless, when the first Lord was slain, their opponent somehow inherited the Lord's spatial essence or something like that, I'm not sure on the details, but in the end, the Lord was replaced."

"Wait a minute, weren't you slain as well? Why are you still around then?" Luna asked with an eyebrow raised in suspicion.

Snorting, I answered, "Simple, I killed the one that delivered the killing blow, so when I passed away, there was no victor to take in my 'essence'. This resulted in my essence moving onto forming a new body while keeping my mind, or most of it, around. Apparently, since I survived the longest, in the end, my might was the greater one, hence why I'm here before you."

"I see, seems like you are a stubborn one, my daughter," Luna said with a smile while ruffling my mane, causing me to snort at her before continuing on.

"Anyways, this led to some confusion amongst the ranks, until the most powerful of the Lords was able to restore order as well as bring in the new Lord. Seeing that even when one Lord is slain, only for a new one to takes its place, they decided that it was probably meant to be, but did lead them to take on a more cautious approach while trying to induct the new member into their order. This also created a new system, whenever a Lord rebels against the rest, they are hunted down and eliminated. This left that Lord's essence to find a new host, which is normally the nearest life form that is capable of handling the power of a Lord. This naturally resulted in the Lords changing over time, yet the established tenets remain.

However, they soon discovered that they could infuse others with dimensional energy. This granted those that were infused dimensional powers, yet it was minor compared to the power a Dimensional Lord. This lead to Lords gather agents to infused with power, having them act on the will of their patron Lord, yet still given enough freedom to pursue their own devices. It was this point when the Lords were gathering forces when they encountered the Magisters of Time, who was also a large faction of their own worth. This was when both factions learn one crucial factor about each other: Dimensional Lords spatial powers had no effect on the Magisters, and the Magisters' temporal powers had no effect on the Lords."

"Interesting, this surely shows just how interlinked your factions are with one another. It is surprising that your predecessors didn't join forces with them," Luna commented, causing me to roll my eyes at her.

"I was getting to that mother," I shot back before clearing my throat before continuing. "With that particular trait discovered, the Lords that first met the Magisters deemed them a threat, and hence war began, with both sides relying on their natural powers along with their own powers used on the environment instead of using them on their foes. Like the first power struggle, this resulted in many worlds being lost, even some star systems, until some centuries later the leaders of both factions decided on a truce, for it was also discovered that no one being could be a Dimensional Lord and a Magister of Time. However, that war was laid the first seeds of hatred with one another, and the eventual discovery of the vast differences between our organizations only served to grow that hatred even more. However, as much as we hate one another, it is an established rule that neither faction would go into war with the other, so the worst that could ever happen was a short-term skirmish until other members intervene to put a stop to it."

Stopping, I only receive silence from Luna as she stared at me, causing me to sigh before saying, "That's the end of that little tale, mother. I don't think I should divulge any more information, at least for now."

Blushing, Luna said, "Oh, I thought you were searching your memories once more, my apologies. However, that is quite an interesting tale, my daughter, but couldn't you tell me about the differences between the two organizations?"

Shrugging, I replied, "That, I don't know. I didn't bother to learn how the Magisters of Time operation worked due to my war with the Venanites. Priorities and the sort."

Sighing, Luna stated, "Such a shame. It would be useful to know the differences so that I might help you come up with the means to at least ease relations between your and Chrono's factions. So, how did you obtain your position among the Dimensional Lords?"

Giving Luna a long look, I answered, "Isn't it obvious? I ripped the head off my predecessor and then took his place. More or less."

Returning my look with a deadpanned one of her own, Luna responded. "Of course you did. Why couldn't you just be a peaceful filly like most foals are?"

"Cause that would make life boring, and who would want that, mother?" I shot back with a wink, causing her to groan in annoyance before sitting down on her haunches to rub her forehead with her forehooves.

"Why must I be the one to have the troublemaker as their foal? I doubt my sister has as many problems with her foal as I have with you," Luna groaned out as she started to close her eyes.

"I highly doubt that. She probably doesn't have the same problems as you have with me, but I bet that instead, she has her own special brand of problems of a temporal nature," I replied with a cheeky grin, causing Luna to glare at me.

"I thought you were going to strive to become a better pony?" Luna asked through gritted teeth.

"I am, but that doesn't mean I can't have my own brand of amusement here and there, just as long as it doesn't hurt anypony," I answered while keeping my grin, which only served to cause Luna to let out another groan of frustration.

Chapter XXXIV: Fate

"Odd... even since I came to this world, I've met more mares than stallions so far."

"That's because the gender ratio is in favor of mares, at a rate of five mares to every two stallions," Sunset stated, causing me to turn my attention towards her, only for her to continue, "No, you can't have your own private harem."

"Darn it all," I muttered as I eyed the unicorn guard that was assigned to me shortly after family breakfast, a turquoise unicorn mare with a pale yellow mane in golden armor. "Aren't you on the day shift?"

"Yes, but I was chosen due to the fact that you might use your more direct connection to Princess Luna as some form of leverage, hence my presence here, madam," the mare explained in a monotone voice.

Raising an eyebrow, I looked at Sunset as I asked, "Hey, does robots exist in this world?"

Sighing, Sunset answered, "No, we don't have the technological level for such a thing to exist yet, and before you ask, we don't have a magical equivalent of such a thing either."

"Shame," I replied to Sunset before turning my attention back to the guard. "So, what's your name, or should I call you the solemn one."

"My name is Marine Shield," the guard simply stated, not even looking at me.

"Trying to be the strong silent type?" I asked, only to receive silence in return. "Yup, so typical of a guard."

"Must you antagonize the pony?" Gala asked as she came into the suite that we were currently in, a pair of saddlebags on her back with Rainbow hovering right behind her.

"With your other retainer here, I can take my leave," Marine said before she vacated the room.

"Oh, she's going to be a bundle of joy when she comes back," I observed before taking a look at Gala, who was placing her bags on a nearby table. "I'm pretty certain my mother and Celestia told you some things before you came in for work, but there is are more pressing concerns for the time being. Which is, how is your mental state?"

Giving me a stare for a moment, Gala replied, "Well... they're there... sort of..."

Frowning, I asked, "What do you mean by that exactly? And be specific, I don't want you leaving anything out that could turn out to be crucial in this... 'matter' of ours," while noting that Sunset was taking notes on all this.

Sighing, Gala replied, "To be honest with you, Rarity and Pinkie are starting to lose their sense of... well... themselves. It's getting harder for them to tell who's who at times, to the point that Rarity is calling Pinkie Rarity and vice versa."

"Wait a minute," I stated while holding a hoof out. "I thought those two were unable to stop thinking as one?"

"Ah, that, they finally were able to break out of, though they can now slip into the line of thinking and come out of it with ease now. Now, as I was saying, they're losing themselves in me, thinking more like me now more than ever, to the point that sometimes, I think they simply went mute inside my mind, or that they're just thinking the same exact thoughts as I am," Gala said with an expression that was a mixture of concern and worry, one that was shared by Rainbow.

"I see, so tell me this, are you concern over their well-being or is it something else that you're all torn up about?" I asked in a nonchalant tone, which prompted Sunset to speak up.

"Why are you so calm about this? Two ponies could lose themselves and you're just being so uncaring about the situation!" Sunset declared, promptly to look at her in surprise.

"And when did you care about the well-being of those two? From what I heard, you were a power-hungry pony, and normally those kinds of ponies don't care about others that aren't of use to them?" I asked.

"I may want power for myself, but I'm not one to simply let innocent ponies come to an end without a care in the world!" Sunset yelled, only for Gala to hold a hoof out in front of her, quieting her while confusing her at the same time.

"Sunset dear, I don't think Nebula is being uncaring about this all, maybe more... hmm..." Gala started to say before she started to tap her chin, causing me to roll my eyes at both of them.

"Sunset, I have a different perspective on this entire matter. There are more variables at play than you think, variables that most ponies, or perhaps all, never thought about," I stated.

"And what would that be, hmm? Let me guess, the multiverse theory is actually correct?" Sunset asked with a sneer, to which I just respond with a silent stare, causing her sneer to slowly fade as she continued, "No, that can't be..."

"What is this egghead multiverse mumbo jumbo you're talking about?" Rainbow asked as Sunset dropped to her rear, pupils widening as she continued to stare at me.

"The multiverse theory states that whenever a pony makes a decision, the universe is split into multiple ones, each one based on one of the choices the pony could have made. This would lead to an exponential growth of universes until it is at the point that our universe is nothing more than an insignifact dot in the multiverse," Sunset stated, as she took one the thousand yard stare until I walked over to her to give her face a slap. "Ow! What the buck did you do that for?" Sunset asked as she came out of her stupor.

"For assuming the most ridiculous thing I ever heard," I calmly answered, causing Sunset to blinked at me before a wave of relief overtook her face. "I mean, just imagine the amount of work it would mean for us Dimensional Lords, we would be constantly working if that's true."

"So they're aren't multiple versions of me, though they're not as awesome as the original, that aren't flying around being awesome?" Rainbow asked, causing me to roll my eyes as Gala shook her head at Rainbow's question.

"There is," I simply said, causing Sunset to shake her head before giving me a befuddled look, while the rest wore similar expressions.

"But I... you just said that the idea of multiple versions of us was ridiculous!" Sunset yelled as she stamped a foot.

"I said the idea of new universes being made for every decision was ridiculous, but that doesn't mean there aren't more being formed," I replied, before holding up a hoof to keep Sunset silent, who was looking to be ready to scream my head off. Or maybe bite it off, who can tell sometimes. "The real difference is that new parallel, or whatever you want to call it, universes are being made based on major decisions that have a large impact on a world, like deciding on moving an entire nation to another land or declaring war on a massive scale. If universes were being for every single decision, I don't want to even think about how many universes that are generated per second."

"So... does that mean we're not replaceable, or what?" Rainbow asked.

"I'm curious too, are there multiple Galas running around too? Oh, and are there multiple yous running around as well?" Gala asked as she rubbed her chin as she looked to the side, which made me think that she was imagining what it would be like for dozens of Galas to meet up at one place, while Sunset suddenly grabbed me by her forehooves, lifting me into the air as a bit of an anxious expression on her face.

"Oh please tell me that you're one of a kind!" Sunset begged, causing me to quirk an eyebrow at her.

"You do know that one could take that as a compliment," I countered, only for her to start shaking me around.

"I don't, I just don't want to end up in a meeting of you and your counterparts with all of you out for my blood!" Sunset replied, her shaking continuing until I shove a hoof against her muzzle to stop her.

"Relax, something like that will never happen, so can you put me down now instead of shaking me around like a pair of maracas?" I responded, receiving the result of Sunset calming down as she put me down.

"Wait, if there are multiple universes where there are multiple versions of us due to all the major events that can happen, then how come there is only one of you?" Rainbow asked as she scratched the side of her head in confusion.

"Simple, there are only... a limited amount of Dimensional Lords whose numbers don't shrink nor grow over time, it just remains constant. And before you ask Sunset, we're not affected by the creation of universes from major events. In fact, our presence on worlds, and their respective universe, that we have set up some sort of major residence actually prevents more from being made as a result, since it would be confusing for a universe to suddenly have an individual of immense importance suddenly disappearing," I explained.

"So wait, there aren't more of me?" Gala asked, only for me to nod a confirmation, causing her ears to droop. "Oh shoot..."

Sunset, on the other hoof, was tapping her chin as she said, "So what you're saying is that we could be replaceable, but you have to take them from other worlds that don't know a thing about you, hence making them somewhat to far more different than the current us?"

"Sort of, I rather not go into the business of replacing anypony, not my kind of thing," I replied. "But in essence, you all are replaceable, but that would involve taking somepony out of a world, leaving a vacant spot as a result, along with the fact that I would have a pony calling me a foalnapper and probably trying to kick me in the jaw. But rest assured, I won't be putting any of you in danger, nor replacing Pinkie and Rarity should they decide to become Gala permanently, unless it is absolutely required."

Instead of receiving a set of relieved expressions, I was instead greeted with unsure looks as Sunset stated, "Yeah, don't blame me for being doubtful giving your track record of pranking me. I'll believe you on what you said about dimensional counterparts since you appeared to be serious about that, but you don't strike me as one that wouldn't replace a pony on a whim," causing me to fold my ears and frown at her until Gala decided to add her two bits in.

"Sunset may be a bit right, considering Rarity's original purpose here was to help you become a more responsible princess. You haven't shown to be a responsible filly, so forgive us for being doubtful about that claim, especially since your statement about your perspective could hint at replacing my parts," Gala explained, causing me to rub my forehead with a hoof.

"Fine fine, you both have a fair point, but regardless, if there is a need for both Pinkie and Rarity to be here, but they really wanted to be Gala, I could just set it up so that you can have both cases in the end. But what is more important is that Rarity and Pinkie are given the right to choose their own fate and pursue what would make them happy without the need of some important duty hanging over their head, that was the point that I was trying to get to," I replied, only for Sunset to snort at me.

"You could have said that in the first place instead of this roundabout path you took," Sunset stated, causing me to narrow my eyes at her in annoyance. "Also, speaking of important duties, you're supposed to be responsible for handling any cross-dimensional matters, correct?"

Narrowing my eyes further, I nodded as I answered, "Yes... what are you getting at?"

"Well, let's just say that while you were out and about with the changeling infiltrators, I had some free time to look into some history books, and I discovered that I wasn't the only pony to gone through it," Sunset stated as her horn lit up, teleporting a book to her that she opened up to take a look at it as the other two looked at her in confusion.

"...What."

"Yeah, it turns out that Starswirl the Bearded may have sent a trio of sirens into it a thousand years ago. Maybe you ne—"

"WHAT‽"

Chapter XXXV: Sirens

"Princess Nebula? What are yo—"

"Here on official business, so get out of my way."

"Wait, this room is res—" the guard that was standing in front of the door that I wanted to plow through said to me, causing me to stop as I gave him a good, long and hard stare, causing him to sweat a bit.

"Inside that room is an object that is linked to a certain unicorn that I so wish I could travel back in time to give him the mother of all kick to his gonads," I stated through gritted teeth, as my retainers took on shock expressions at my statement.

"Nebula! Prince—" Gala started to say until I stuck a hoof in her mouth.

"One thousand years. That is how long it has been since that unicorn decided to dump three beings in another world. If we Lords did paperwork on stuff like this, it would take months to get it all done. And that's not mentioning the fixes that I might have to do after pulling the whatever is left of the trio," I countered before returning my attention to the guard. "Now stand aside, I'm certain that my mother and my aunt won't disapprove of this matter."

The guard's eyes glanced about as he looked at every member of my little group before he let out a groan as he got out of the way, muttering, "I'm not paid enough to handle this," allowing me to yank the door open with my magic, causing Gala and Sunset to cringe at that before they and Rainbow followed me into the room.

"I know you're angry, but why do we need the mirror for? Can't you use your dimensional powers just to pull them over here since you already encountered that world when you picked me up?" Sunset asked, causing me to give her a flat stare.

"Just because I have near unstoppable command over space and dimensions doesn't mean I can do anything I want on a whim. I have no idea on the location of these sirens or their remains, but since they went through the mirror, I can use it to simply suck them in as it did with you. It's a much better idea than going to that world and trying to track them down. I mean, do I look like a bloodhound to you?" I replied, only for Sunset to give me a scrutinizing look, which in turn caused me to scowl at her. "Don't you dare."

Smirking at me, Sunset responded, "I wasn't going to," until her smile faded away as she took on a more serious look. "But, shouldn't you go through your mother first to avoid any complications, or at least Princess Celestia?"

"I hold supreme authority over this matter, hence I decided to just take care of it now rather than later," I answered as I peered at the mirror, rubbing a hoof against it before flicking it with my tail as I watch it activated, letting off a purple glow.

"And here we originally needed to wait for thirty moons, but now you just turn it on by touching it with your tail," Sunset deadpanned as I rolled my eyes at her. "So what are you going to do if all we get are their skeletons, assuming those having turned to dust after a thousand years," Sunset said as Gala took on a disgusted look at that.

"Well, if we get their remains, then we bury them, or whatever burial rites ponies have in this world," I replied as I took a couple steps back before taking a seat, my forehooves pointing towards the mirror until I made the motion of tugging something with each hoof.

"You know, if I didn't know you were a Dimensional Lord and had an inkling of an idea of what you're doing, I would say that you looked ridiculous. You know what, I'm going to say it anyway, you look ridiculous," Sunset stated as Rainbow snickered at the sight.

"...It's times like these I wonder why I made you my retainer instead of sticking you into a cell and burying it beneath the ocean," I shot back as I returned my focus on the portal, whereupon I felt something on the other side of it. "Hmm... seems like there is something retrieve after all."

"Oh joy, but do forgive me if I decide not to help you with the disposal of any potential... 'remains'," Gala said with a shiver.

"Yeah, count me out of it too," Rainbow added as she stuck her tongue out in disgust.

"Oh quit it al—" I started to say until three red jewels came out of the portal, smacking me on the forehead before falling onto the ground. "...Well, I wasn't expecting this."

"Well, at least we didn't pull somepony's bones out of their grave," Rainbow commented, causing me to roll my eyes as I picked up the gems before me.

"Can we drop th— " I started to say before I felt something going through my portal, causing me to turn my head towards it only to catch the sight of a pale gold object that ended up colliding with me, burying me underneath it as I felt two more things getting on top of me as well.

"Wheee! That was fun!" exclaimed an unfamiliar voice as I felt the beings on top of me struggling around.

"Augh, get off me Sonata!" cried another one as I began to wonder if ponies could survive being plowed through a wall.

"How about you both get off my back and find where our gems went so we can pummel the would-be thief!" ordered a third voice.

"...Do you think we should help Nebula out?" Rainbow asked as I finally had enough with being used as a pony pillow, pushing myself off the ground as I carried what I assume to be three adult mares on my back, all three gasping in surprise.

"Nah, I think she got it, though we do might want to take a few steps back, just to be on the safe side," Sunset replied as I fully got onto all four hooves before rearing back, throwing the trio off my back.

"Note to self, make certain to keep track of what is going on the other side," I said as I turned towards the newcomers, where upon laying my eyes on them, I saw three ponies that were staring at one another in shock before they look at their own forelegs. This prompt me to say, "Okay, before you three st—"

"Ahh! We're ponies! What happened to our beautiful siren bodies!" cried the pale gold coated female unicorn with an outrageously poofy orange mane as the other two, a light blue coated pegasi mare with a two-tone streak blue mane that was done in a ponytail and a pink coated earth pony mare with a purple mane that had a cyan streak through it that was done in two ponytails, kept screaming in terror, causing my ears to fold against my head.

"Well, now we know that what happened to the Sirens, sort of," Sunset stated as she and the other three had their hooves over their ears until I had my fill of screaming as I used my magic to clamp all their mouths shut.

"Alright, enough of the screaming already, that does nopony any good besides damaging the ear drums of those around you. Now, I'm going to let go of your mouths, and if one of you lot dare lets out a shriek, I'm so going to stuff a couch pillow down your throat to get you to shut up, understood?" I demanded, getting a trio of wide-eyed nods in return.

As I let go of the magic, the unicorn mare looked down at the jewels right in front of me, her eyes widening in recognition, which caused me to grab the jewels with my magic right before she jumped forward in an attempt to get them first, only to end up crashing into the spot where they were face first. Getting up haphazardly as the other two attempted to trot towards her, she pointed a hoof at me as she yelled, "Hey! Give our gems back!"

"Hmm... and why should I do that?" I asked as I open a mini-portal where I took out a tiny jewelry box where I put the gems in before shutting it close, keeping it out of the former sirens' reach as they hobbled towards it.

"Give it back or we'll pound you into a pulp!"

Smirking, I simply opened a portal once more before tossing the box into it, watching as the sirens took on horrified looks that quickly turned into rage, with the exception of the blue one, she just stood there frozen in shock. Then as I turned my cheek towards the two, pointing a hoof at it to indicate to them that I was going to let them try to beat me into nothing. This prompted them to let out screams of rage as they haphazardly charged at me, only for them to slam into me as I stood my ground. However, this didn't deter them as they started to pound at me with their forehooves, as I turned to look at Sunset as I asked, "Hey Sunset, since they're attacking me, would that give me an open excuse to banish them to the moon?"

As Sunset and the other two sighed in unison, the siren-turned-pegasi said, "Umm... Adagio? I think you should stop punching her," as the unicorn moved onto trying to choke me.

"You're right, I'm going to strangle her!" the unicorn who I'll assume to be Adagio, as the earth pony got off me, frowning at the scene.

"Sonata is right, we're not getting anywhere," the earth pony stated, causing Adagio to look at her in shock.

"Aria! This filly took our pendants! W—" Adagio said till the pony called Aria held up a hoof to interrupt her.

"I know that filly took our pendants, but look at her. She's not even bruised and I doubt you're really choking her. There's no point wasting energy on a fruitless endeavor," Aria stated as Adagio looked down at me, blinking in surprise at how I was just taking all this in stride.

"You know, if you want to be this clingy, you could at least take me out on a date or something," I stated as I wiggled my right eyebrow at her, causing her to instantly abandon her attempt at choking me.

"Great, now we're dealing with an alicorn filly that is also perverted," Adagio stated, causing me to smirk at her until Luna came into the room, looking rather annoyed as she was about to say something until she saw the three newcomers in the room.

"...Daughter, pray tell, just what were you doing in this room?" Luna asked in a leveled voice as I turned around to face her, dropping any signs of mirth on my face as I adopted a serious look.

"Just... doing my job, which in this case is cleaning up the remnants of an interdimensional mess caused by a certain wizard from that past that wanted to use the mirror as a means to dump some of this world's problems into another one without any concern of what would happen to that world," I stated, causing Luna to quirk an eyebrow at me before glancing at Sunset.

"Yeah, based on current circumstances, it appears that these mares might be the sirens of old that Starswirl the Bearded had banished to the human world. Though, if these mares are the sirens of old, it seems that their siren forms were contained in some kind of pendant that went through the portal first when Nebula tried to retrieve them, that or they lost it somehow," Sunset said with a shrug, causing Luna to let out a long suffering sigh as she looked at me.

"Why couldn't you just come to me first instead of running about doing as you please?" Luna said in a berating tone, causing me to frown in return.

"This isn't something I'm doing as I pleased. I'm on break, yet since I heard about this matter, it is my responsibility to take care of the matter in a prompt fashion. This has resulted in me being rather annoyed by it all, so I admit that I didn't think of asking you first before barging into this room. Regardless, I had to do this mother, it was going to happen anyway today," I answered, causing Luna to sigh again.

"As much as I desire to punish you, I can't do it since you're actually doing your duty this time. However, since you didn't come to me in order to handle the fallout, you will be tasked with taking care of these former sirens, without treating them cruelly," Luna stated, causing the trio to blink before Adagio pointed at me.

"Wait, you're hoofing us over to this foal‽" Adagio said, which resulted in me giving her a flat stare.

"I'm over two hundred years old, you twit," I countered, causing Adagio to clumsily trot over to me to glare at me eye-to-eye.

"And I'm over a thousand years old, you overgrown brat," Adagio countered, as Aria walked over to Sunset with a bored expression on her face.

"I take it this is probably going to be a recurring thing between these two?" Aria dryly asked, to which my retainers and mother actually nodded to. "Great... today is going to be a long day..."