As Kazuki approached the tunnel connecting to the edge of the forest he could hear the voices of Song, Jewel and Moon chatting, which stopped when the trio heard the clanking of his geta against the floor. When he entered the tunnel that was being guarded by the dragon sisters he also spotted Moon sitting on a rock with her right leg over her left, arms crossed and a somewhat bored look on her face she was beside the entrance while not far from her position Song and Jewel sat cross legged on the floor, their attention on the entrance.

The new clan head came out of the tunnel followed by the three new alphas under his command, they tensed when they saw the two dragonesses, they smelled the two before they saw the pair but it was still a shock for them to know that their new clan head had not one but two dragons under his command. They came out of their shock when they noticed another scent, which caused them to look to their left and see the black alicorn.

The name Nightmare Moon might have been just a legend for ponies, but the stories of the black alicorn that tried to enshroud the world in everlasting night was still recorded by other nations and stories were passed down through the generations. Diamond Dogs might not have a written language but almost all packs knew the story of the black alicorn in front of them.

“Are they the enemy leaders?” asked Moon as she saw the three dogs following Kazuki.

“Not anymore, now they are under my command as well. Now we just need to wait for Rex,” said Kazuki as he sat on another rock on the right side of the entrance, opposite from Moon.

“Eh, we were so bored just sitting here,” whined Song.

*Sigh*“In the end our assistance wasn't needed,” said Jewel.

“Ma, 'prepare for the worst and hope for the best’ is my usual philosophy for most scenarios,” said Kazuki.

“We still get our reward, right master?” asked Song confirming the suspicions of the three alphas.

“Hai, so long it isn't unreasonable and don't cause too much trouble,” said Kazuki as he leaned back a bit, closed his eyes and relaxed. Incidentally the three alphas came out of their shock and just sat near Kazuki, instinctively seeking his protection from threats and showing their submission.

“You always had a habit of collecting strays,” said Moon as she observed the diamond dogs, which were trembling under her gaze. At least they had good instincts, but they should get used to her presence in a few days.

“They have their uses, besides almost everything can be summarized as a ‘give and take’. Case and point they obey me and in exchange they get education, shelter and food,” said Kazuki casually and without opening his eyes.

“That's cold,” said Moon and despite being a criticism her teasing tone and smile told him another story, he didn't need to look at her to notice this.

“That may be so, but it's a fact,” said Kazuki simply.

While Kazuki and Moon were talking the dragon sisters seemed to have reached some sort of agreement by the way they nodded to each other.

“Master, can we request our reward on a later date?” asked Jewel.

“Yeah, we want to discuss something before that,” said Song.

“I see no problem in that, we can discuss this after the new packs get settled,” said Kazuki before sighing, he had to identify the combatants and noncombatants, give new assignments, do medical check ups on all pack members to be sure they were healthy, give all pack members the basic training and education that he gave his original pack and do all these for the slaves as well.

Speaking of slaves, Kazuki decided to keep them for now and since the changelings might be useful in the future he intended to keep them as well, he just needed to confirm their allegiances. However he wasn't doing this out of the goodness of his hearts, to him this was a investment to make a more organized work and combat force and as far as he was concerned this was a mutually beneficial trade.

Then Kazuki opened his eyes and got up when he felt Rex and Rover approaching, he stood in front of the entrance and not long after Rex and Rover arrived.

“Rex,” said Kazuki.

“Boss, there is something I need to discuss with you,” said Rex before looking at Rover who had a look of resignation.

“I suppose it has something to do with him,” said Kazuki.

“Yes, I want to merge his pack and the original pack,” said Rex.

“For what reason?” asked Kazuki.

“One: I was the one that defeated Rover and it was my squad that subsided his pack; Two: both of our packs are small compared to the other three if the information that the Zetsu collected about the clan is anything to go by,” explained Rex, which caused Kazuki to clap.

“Good, very good,” said Kazuki while he clapped. Then he stopped before saying to Rex, “I was going to do something similar anyway. I approve of the merger since this will give me four packs of similar size and will help balance things out, but they will have to train just as hard as the others, there will be no special treatment just because they came in after. Don't worry all of them will undergo training to catch-up.”

Rex and Rover nodded in agreement.

“Good, let’s start then,” said Kazuki.

A week later

It took a week but Kazuki organize the new clan, all pack members regardless of being combatants or noncombatants were undergoing basic training and education, most of the former enemy packs were healthy but a little malnourished, thankfully Gard prioritized the well being of the pups and the pregnant females. While some of them had to be put on quarantine it was just a precaution and they should be out in a few days.

The food problem was easily fixed by the large reserves of gems beneath the forest, the creatures living on its surface and the special gems from his Shōton that were capable of growing by absorbing energy and water in a similar and almost identical manner to plants. It would be a while before they became combat ready at genin level, but then again he was in no hurry and at least now he could go back to his experiments and leave the more experienced members of the clan to teach the less experienced ones.

Kazuki informed Song, Jewel and Moon this morning that they could have that conversation he promised a week ago tonight and he spent the early afternoon with the pups. It was a good way to bond with his clan, not only it decreased the chance of betrayal but it was also a good way to pass the time. That time was spend in one of the underground oases, there were two or three naturally occurring ones but he and Moon made some more so that the whole clan could use them, at least he made sure that the diamond dogs bathed often.

The Ōtsutsuki was supervising the pups as they played in the water, they were on a shallow pool in one of the artificially made springs that were used for communal baths by the clan. That was to be expected since the diamond dogs were a very pack oriented species, besides it wasn't like they didn't usually saw each other naked. Diamond dogs much like dragons don't have a nudity taboo –actually most sentient species on Equus were more relaxed than humans when it came to nudity– but unlike dragons they tend to be more practical when it comes to their clothes, besides their jackets/vests and tagged collars that was used for identification all other clothes were used mostly for protection.

A moment of noticed today was when Kazuki took off his kimono and hakama(袴) to enter the pool to help the caretakers to bath the young ones, he actually felt his right eyebrow twitch when they pointed at his fundoshi(褌) –a undergarment somewhere between a thong and a loincloth– and didn't know what it was, specially when the pups confused it for a diaper, but he let that slide since they were just pups, so he just explained to them what a fundoshi was.

Aside from that it was actually an enjoyable afternoon, especially when some of the pups were fascinated by his long white hair, some of them ended up tangled on his hair –luckily he could easily manipulate each strand of his hair and untangle them from the pups before anything serious could happen– while others got curious about the seals on his skin.

Anyway, because of the increased population of diamond dogs under Kazuki's command he made sure that the underground facilities were expanded, at this point it was the size of a small settlement somewhere between a village and a town, it could technically be considered his own Hidden Village. Just to be sure he also designated some tunnels that if they were to find a certain white pony and/or dragon hatchling they were to be ignored as long as they didn't venture too deep, those tunnels were the ones that the citizens of Ponyville –mostly Rarity– collected her gems, he even asked Zecora to inform the fashionista that she was free to collect gems without worrying about being abducted again.

Speaking of increased population, some diamond dogs tried to rebel against Kazuki and in the end they were punished, some were actually killed and because of the practical mindset of the packs that was nomadic until recently they didn't have a problem if he took the bodies to his lab for studies, still close family and friends had the right to request a funeral if they wanted, which they did. In the end he kept the bodies of those without close family and friends.

Also, Kazuki made sure to inform the slaves that in the end it didn't matter to him if they were slaves or not and as a test he offered them their freedom back. Because slavery still existed and was quite prominent on Zebrica, Dragon Lands, Griffonia –nowadays renamed Griffonstone– and many other nations further east, most of the slaves had no home to come back to for various reasons and some gave up on freedom entirely. However few of them express the desire to go back home, all of them recently abducted ponies, so Kazuki “edited” their memories when it concerned him before releasing them near the places they requested.

It was a sad reality that was confirmed by Zecora when she met the slaves, she wasn't angry or indignant like most equestrians would be, she was just sad. The fact that she was a shaman helped to ease the minds of those that came from Zabrica, but still she kept silent about it since it wasn't her secret or story to reveal. By now the Mane Six found out that Zecora knew who Kazuki was, but she informed them that it wasn't her story to tell, however she expressed every visit that the Mane Six requested a meeting, obviously Kazuki refused so far. It was getting harder to remain hidden without being too suspicious.

Now it was time for dinner and Kazuki was waiting for Song, Jewel and Moon so he could have the conversation he promised to the dragon sisters. Currently he was in the dining room and he was bored, at this point he read all the books in the library and he would be reading Hon, but she said she didn't want to interrupt his “date”. Thankfully he had impressive visualization skills –a requirement for illusionist– and was running some simulations on his mind –thanks to his highly developed, far more efficient and literally otherworldly brains, yes he had more them one– concerning some of his plans and experiments.

It didn't take long for the trio to show up.

“Good evening master,” said Song in a rather suggestive manner, tonight wearing a yukata with a more elaborate leaf like pattern on the sleeves.

“Good evening,” said Jewel in her usual almost laid back tone, tonight wearing her usual and plain red male yukata.

“Hi,” said Moon with a tired tone wearing her normal blue and black short kimono and with shorts under the "skirt".

“Before anything else, do you all want to eat here or in a more exotic setting?” asked Kazuki, while it didn't particularly matter to him he felt it was a rare opportunity, besides it was good to change things up once in awhile.

“Um, I don't particularly mind,” said Jewel.

“I kinda want to get out a little,” said Song.

“Yeah, I agree with Song, especially after the last few days,” said Moon for the first time understanding Kazuki's frustration with students that didn't pay attention to your lessons. Why did she agree to help teach the dogs again?

“I see,” said Kazuki as he got up from the chair he was sitting on. Then he made the familiar cross hand seal to create two clones, then he opened the eye on his forehead after activating the Rinne Sharingan. As the red eye with ripple like and with three tomoe on the concentric rings opened he said, “Amenominaka(天之御中, Heavenly Originator in the Universe's Heart)”

As soon as Kazuki finished saying the name of the technique the trio felt a rush of cold wind, but what caught their attention was the glow coming from above them. The three immediately realized that they were outside, but their minds came to a halt when they looked up. It was not the night sky filled with stars nor the fact that the stars were on strange places or the lights that reminded them of a aurora in the far north beyond the Crystal Mountains, what blew their minds was the broken moon in the middle of the sky.

“Beautiful, isn't it?” asked Kazuki bringing the trio out of their shock.

“Where are we?” asked Moon as she looked at Kazuki.

“We are in one of my personal dimensions?” answered Kazuki before doing a Snake Hand Seal to use Dōton in order to make a table and chairs of stone from the ground they were standing on, then he made a Dragon Hand Seal to create a invisible barrier around the area they were in.

“‘Personal dimensions’ as in more than one,” pointed out Jewel.

“Indeed. Each one is a dimension with at least one planet and they each serve a different purpose,” explained Kazuki and once he finished sculpting the table and chair he added, “This one for example, it was used by me to test some of my experiments that dealt with evolution and mutations.”

After that revelation they looked around and saw they were on a flat terrain, more specifically on the top of a plateau and around the plateau was a dense jungle, but what mesmerized them was the fact that the leaves of the trees were glowing mirroring the sky, it was like being surrounded by a sea of stars.

“Wait! You did this?!” asked Moon as she gestured to the jungle.

“Indeed, this planet used to be a barren world,” answered Kazuki.

“You seeded this world with… life,” said Jewel incredulous.

“It's not that surprising, especially when you consider that understanding the process to create organic compounds its possible with enough means and knowledge. When you take that conclusion to its logical extreme, the possibility of a being or group of beings advanced and powerful enough to seed a world with life is almost a certainty,” answered Kazuki.

"What about the moon?" asked Song.

"I don't want to talk about it," said Kazuki in a almost grumpy tone of voice.

“Can we change the subject? I think anymore of this will just cause headache,” request Moon.

“And they wondered why I sometimes called them 'primitives’,” thought Kazuki before asking, “Do you have any particular request for dinner?”

“I kinda miss meat,” said Song automatically, still mesmerized by her surroundings.

“Yeah,” said Jewel in the same state as her sister.

“Fruits,” said Moon not much better.

“Ok, be back in a minute,” said Kazuki before disappearing into the window like opening on the air beside him that was his Yomotsu Hirasaka.

It took more than a minute but that time was enough for the trio to regain their bearings, that and the lightning that they saw in the distance. Not long after that another Yomotsu Hirasaka opened above them and dropped a massive creature in front of the group before Kazuki came out of the opening and landed near the table and he was holding a assortment of strange fruits, some looked familiar while others looked almost alien.

The creature was a reptile, as noted by the red scales covering its body and two rows of yellow spikes, it had eight paws and had the general shape of a alligator but near the size of the beast form of the sisters. They also noticed that some of its scales were burned in a branching pattern, later they realized that these were burn marks of a lightning.

“We can have this conversation while I cook dinner,” said Kazuki before making a clone, who sat on the table while the original tied his hair before tying a bandana around his forehead and using a tasuki (襷, cord) to tie the sleeves of his kimono out of the way. Then he summoned a outdoor kitchen and grabbed two knives.

“You can cook?” asked Moon as she saw the original starting to cut the fruits.

“Yes I can. Does that surprise you?” asked the clone as he leaned on the chair.

“Actually yes, I never expected you to do something so… domestic,” said Moon. Jewel and Song didn't care much about that particular fact.

“Two things: One, I lived many lives some of them were quite mundane and simple. Two, cooking is not that different from doing experiments, autopsies or even vivisections the difference is that instead looking for knowledge you look for the tastiest and/or most nutritious parts of a body. Besides cooking is both a art and science to me,” answered Kazuki.

“Nevermind,” said Moon to herself when she heard his logic.

“While I don't mind continuing this conversation it wasn't the reason we came here,” said Kazuki.

“Yeah, about that master. Can you just give us a honest answered?” asked Song.

“I see no reasons to lie,” answered Kazuki.

“Do you find us attractive?” asked Jewel.

“Is it because I have made no attempt to mate with either one of you?” asked Kazuki. Jewel’s question made sense, most dragons when they have another dragon as part of their hoard –especially if it's a dragon of the opposite gender– would more often than not mate almost immediately.

Jewel and Song looked at each other before nodding at Kazuki and Moon too was curious to know the reason, even as Luna back before his sealing she was curious why he never attempted to form a relationship to either Luna, Celestia or even Faust beyond friendship. He never even had a “friend with benefits” as far as Moon knew.

“Multiple reasons, but almost all of them can be boil down to one fact: species,” said Kazuki, which caused the sisters and Moon to feel a little hurt.

“Is it because we are dragons?” asked Song.

“No it's not, and I can say without doubt that the three of you are very attractive. It's because I'm a Ōtsutsuki,” said Kazuki. He also added before they could say anything else, “And before you ask it's not because I think myself superior or because I’m against interspecies relationships since I have been on many of them across my lifetimes.”

“Then, why?” asked Moon.

“It's because my brain chemistry works differently. Do you think a normal brain would be able to handle eyes capable of seeing through different dimensions at once, a hearing capable of hearing everything around me for miles, skin capable of constantly read mnemonic data through psychometry, a tongue capable of telling the molecular composition of chemicals and a sense of smell equally advance. And that's without counting the fact that I have more than five senses and the synesthesia that I have came to experience,” said Kazuki listing how powerful his senses were and for the first time Moon understood why he once described the world as “overwhelmingly real”.

Even so Kazuki continued “I almost went mad with this senses, but luckily my brains were designed to handle this level of sensorial input. Besides, when a races is able to travel across time and space like the Ōtsutsuki we somewhat evolved to be detached from our own emotions. I can still feel emotions but their interference is minimal and I can only be overcome by them if they are very strong, I mean you have to be logical when you travel through time and space.”

“Is this the reason you didn't attempt to make a move on us?” said Song and Kazuki nodded while the trio missed the fact that he mentioned brains instead of just brain.

“So you have no sex drive,” said Moon disappointed as she pointed out that fact in a rather crude way.

“I actually have one, I’m just not affected by it on this body. If you want a relationship with me you will have to bluntly ask me because I don't plan on pursuing one anytime soon,” said Kazuki which caused them to think but he added before they gave their answer, “Before you ask me anything, think carefully what you want from me. If you want just a ‘roll in the hay’, emotional investment or offsprings.”

“I don't know about them,” said Moon while pointing at the dragon sisters before continuing, “but before I give you my answer can you answer a few more questions?”

Kazuki looked at the original and saw that he managed to completely skin the giant alligator like creature and take the meat off of the bones. The bones and scales were separated while the meat was being cooked and he also was preparing the fruits.

“Well, it might take a while for the original to finish,” said Kazuki before returning his attention to Moon and say, “Sure, but don't expect a sugar-coated answer.”

“I would expect nothing less. Ok, first: it would even be physically possible to have a ‘roll in the hay’ with you?” asked Moon catching the attention of the two sisters.

“If needed I have spare bodies of many species, besides I can shape shift and size shift. So you being twice my size is not a problem,” answered Kazuki, which caused the three to blush at the implications of what was revealed, luckily for them their scales and fur hide that blush, unluckily for them Kazuki could detect such small changes in a multitude of ways.

Kazuki could see the change through infrared or heat, which was visible to his eyes; he could smell the small change in their biochemistry; he could perceive the increased activity in their brain, which was possible since he was able to perceive energy fields, a by-product of his sensor type skills; he could hear their heart rate increase and the tensing of their muscles among other small details.

It took awhile for them to recover, but eventually Moon asked another question, “Ok... Anyway, is it even possible for you to give us foals?”

“Again, spare bodies and shape shift. In this case my genetic flexibility is such that it's possible for me to reproduce with most creatures so long they are mostly compatible,” answered Kazuki, which made the trio think a bit more.

Not long after a group of clones came with many dishes of meat and fruits for dinner, then the clones dispelled themselves after setting the table.

“Well, my task is done,” said the clone after the table was set, then he dispelled himself giving his memories to the original. Then the original sat on the clone’s place before saying, “Let’s enjoy the meal.”

Kazuki didn't need to eat but he still enjoyed the taste, besides he was curious to see how the three will react to his cooking. They each took a bit of everything, Song and Jewel didn't mind the pieces of fruit on some dishes and Moon didn't mind the meat. But it was amusing when Jewel took the first bite and moaned at the taste, rather loudly and suggestively while squirming on her chair.

“It can't be that good,” said Song before she too took a bite, only to be proven wrong when she had the same reaction as her sister.

Moon just looked between the food and the dragonesses several times before hesitantly taking her first bite. The moment the meat touched her tongue it was a shock of indescribable flavor that seemed to fill her mouth, the juice came out as she almost effortlessly chewed on it, she had no room to speak about Song and Jewel if they were tasting something similar.

Then Moon looked at her glass and noticed that it had a multicolored liquid, curious she took a sip and her mind was completely blown by its flavor. She could taste multiple fruits, but they were intertwined so well with one another that she almost missed the subtle and gradual changes in the flavor.

Needless to say that this was the most enjoyable dinner of their lives so far.

“If you can cook like this everyday then I don't care about the sex anymore,” said Moon after she ate her fill as she leaned on her chair with a satisfied look on her face. Song just lazily nodded in agreement.

*Burp*

Came the sound followed by flames from Jewel's mouth as she and Song were on a similar situation.

However because of the creature's size there still a lot of food left and Kazuki refused to waste food. So he decided to seal the feast and offer some for the diamond dogs after going back to the castle. He also sealed the parts he didn't use on the cooking process like the bones and scales.

“I hope dinner was of your liking,” said Kazuki in a teasing tone to the trio, which blushed at the memories of both the taste and their reaction to it.

“On a more serious note, there is something else I would like to inform you three,” said Kazuki with a serious tone, which caught the attention of the trio. Then he continued, “In little over a month the Grand Galloping Gala will happen and I intend to conduct multiple missions on Canterlot at the same time. One will be more of a set up for future plans while the other is a heist and recruitment.”

“A heist? Couldn't you just open one of those window-thingies and take what you wanted at anytime?” asked Song.

“Yes I could, if wasn't for the fact that what I want to steal isn't a item, but a pony,” said Kazuki.

“So it's a ponynapping then,” said Jewel.

“While I don't agree with it you must have a pretty good reason to do this,” said Moon before sighing.

“Well, it's less of a ponynapping and more of a rescue that will also help in the recruitment part,” clarified Kazuki.

“Then, who are we rescuing?” asked Moon.

“Your sister,” answered Kazuki looking at Moon.

“Eh?” said the trio at the same time.

Author's Note

I based Kazuki's mentally on both the archetype of the "mad scientist" and the Vulcans from Star Trek –more specifically Spock– as way to explain his somewhat detached emotions. Also the multiple brains thing is a idea based on Fantomex from Marvel Comic, he has three interconnected brains that can work independently.

Yes, that underground oasis is Maud future residence on the show. Now it's a resort for the Diamond Dog clan under Kazuki's command.

Kazuki, similar to Kaguya, has multiple personal dimensions and the one from this chapter in particular is a place where he tested many biological weapons, mutagenic agents among other things, the result is a highly complex and diverse ecosystem with many vicious predators.

Incidentally the ecosystem is a fusion between Pandora from the movie Avatar, the Gourmet World from the anime Toriko(トリコ) and a JRPG like Monster Hunter. Kazuki’s cooking is combination from Food Wars!(食戟のソーマ, Shokugeki no Soma) and Toriko, which are two animes I like despite the exaggerated –in my opinion– amount of fanservise on the former, well it's also a ecchi so it's ok.

Kazuki just recreated the Gourmet World not the Gourmet Cells, so don't expect something like the spirits and demons from Toriko nor the use of Gourmet Energy, just the creatures and it won't be that often.
The creature was a Galala Gator and the wine was made of Rainbow Fruit.

For those that are curious here are the standard/basic Inzō(印相, Hand Seal)

For more information click here and here.

I might post smaller intermissions/interludes between chapters and I might try to write a sex/clop scenes in those intermissions/interludes, but no promises.

Anyway, I would like suggestions for a name for the clan of Diamond Dogs under Kazuki's command, put the suggestions on the comments below. If I see a I name that I like and found fitting I will mention it on the author's note of the next chapter, but you have to explain the reason and meaning behind the name. Please, prioritize either Japanese or English names, but it can be any language and no inappropriate or insulting names.