Sex Wars: Episode IV – Siblings Divided

Needless to say, the reactions of her peers to the news of Pumpkin's success were a mixture of excitement and envy. They were both motivated, knowing that the training had worked, and humbled, knowing that they weren't as talented as Pumpkin. She and Ringading were walking back to the temple interior for dinner. The latter took things rather well.

"You have to teach me!" insisted Ringading. "I'm just not getting it from Master Quinoa. I can't sit and concentrate all the time; I'll go insane."

"You've only been trying for one day!" said Pumpkin. "Quinoa's been a great teacher so far, right?"

She sighed. "I know, but at least with all the other stuff we do I can see the results."

"That's fair. Ok, I'll help you."

Ringading gave Pumpkin a smile and a nuzzle. "Thanks!"

They were quiet for the rest of their short trip. Both young mares gratefully partook in the somewhat uninspired but well-cooked food in the Absta mess hall, sitting together. That is, until Pumpkin was delivered a letter by the pony on mail duty. Seeing it was from her parents, Pumpkin put down her food and opened it with her magic.

As she read, Pumpkin's mood abruptly transformed from happiness to shock. Ringading quickly picked up on this. "What's wrong?"

Pumpkin, her mind racing, took a moment to realized she had been asked a question. "It's my brother. He's completely disappeared."

Ringading gasped. "That's horrible! I hope the police or the guard can find him soon."

"Apparently they've been looking for a while already, now," said Pumpkin, "and nothing's turned up."

Ringading placed a consoling hoof on her shoulder. "I'm sure he'll turn up eventually. Don't lose hope."

Pumpkin sniffled between breaths. "Right. Right. I'm sure he will."

* * *

From then on, Pumpkin's days were less routine, and the variety helped her thoughts from veering towards the subject of Pound. Along with the usual exercises, she now both worked on honing her own powers and assisting Quinoa in his instruction. At the moment, the others stood in the Meditation Square, getting into position. But she and Quinoa weren't with them. He was leading her deep into the temple, down a winding passageway she had never traversed previously.

"So, what exactly are we doing, Quinoa?" Pumpkin asked. "Am I getting some sort of advanced training?"

"Yes. I believe you are ready to take up the Conduit," he said, firmly.

"Conduit?"

"I'm sure you've seen them in the hooves of the older knights. Long blue crystals, used as both tool and weapon."

Pumpkin knew what he was referring to. She hadn't gotten too close, afraid she would be chastised for the disturbance, but Pumpkin had glimpsed ponies sparring with them or practicing stances on occasion. "Yeah, I've seen them. What exactly are they for, though? A lance or something would make a much better weapon than a rock."

Quinoa shook his head. "That is true, but a lance cannot be used to amplify an Absta's power. The Conduit is first and foremost just that: a conduit for our magic. Ponies who master them will find they can calm almost anything or anyone."

Pumpkin had already realized that her new talents were not universal. Sure, the rabbits, herself, and most of the other small animals atop the temple were easy enough to effect. But when she had tried to temper a circling hawk once, its instincts proved too strong, its will too great.

"Wow... that's a big responsibility," said Pumpkin.

Quinoa smiled. "The fact that you understand this is all the confirmation I need to know you're ready."

Pumpkin straightened up a bit at that.

Eventually, they came to a great stone door, which Quinoa opened with the aid of his earth pony strength. The chamber beyond was completely dark, so Pumpkin had to light her horn.

Unlike the rest of the temple, this wasn't a room: it was a cave. One that happened to be filled with innumerable crystal formations and stretched far into the core of the mountain. The six-sided red stones gleamed in Pumpkin's hornlight, but there weren't many large ones near the door.

"Woah," she said, dazzled by the display. "How long has this been here?"

"Since before the temple was built. Actually we came here because of this vast Bloodstone deposit."

"Oh, ok," she said. However, she did eventually realize something. "I thought they were supposed to be blue?"

"Your Conduit will turn blue once it is properly enchanted," said Quinoa. He paused for a moment. "Take your time. Find one that speaks to you, then pull it out."

Carefully navigating the rough stone, Pumpkin made her way deeper into the cave. She got sidetracked for a bit just admiring the natural beauty of the place, but her eyes were eventually drawn to a particular specimen with a flat tip high up on the cave wall. Yanking it out of the surrounding rock was surprisingly easy, and she brought it back to Quinoa, who nodded in approval.

Without comment, he walked back out of the cave, kneeling in front of the huge door. Reaching into his robe, he pulled out a piece of chalk, and began drawing an elaborate magic circle on the floor. Pumpkin waited until he had finished, and then inferred she was supposed to place her Bloodstone crystal in the center, which she did.

"You really are on top of things," noted Quinoa. "Now, extend your senses. It will be extremely faint, but there is always some modicum of life energy trapped within Bloodstone. All that's left for you to do is temper it with your power."

"Really? Huh."

Pumpkin tapped into her sixth sense. At first, she couldn't feel anything at all coming from the crystal, but when she narrowed her focus to only the small area within the magic circle, a small pinprick of energy revealed itself. Repeating her practiced technique, Pumpkin poured her own calming magic into it.

The effect was immediate. The circle lit up with a flash of light, disorienting her. When her eyes readjusted, the piece of Bloodstone had turned blue, and the magic circle had vanished.

"Congratulations, Pumpkin," said Quinoa.

Pumpkin reverently picked up new brand-new Conduit, rotating it in her magical grip to examine from every angle.

"You're going to have to get used to holding it without magic though," he added.

Pumpkin's brow furrowed. "That's weird. Explain, please?"

"The use of Conduits is Master Horn's area of expertise," answered Quinoa. "You will begin your instruction with him starting immediately."

* * *

Master Corn Horn, as it turned out, was a yellow unicorn with a short mane and short beard. Pumpkin now stood awkwardly in place as he circled her in scrutiny, feeling much the same as her new Conduit must have mere hours ago.

"Alright then, Pumpkin," he said, now stationary. Whatever he had been looking for in her, he seemed to have found it. "Grab your Conduit."

Pumpkin reached into her robe and extracted the object in question. She looked at Master Horn expectantly.

He withdrew his own crystal, one much longer than hers, and brandished it with his hoof. "I'm sure Quinoa told you what this is, and what it does. We Absta use them to make our job go more smoothly. That part is easy: just apply temperance as you always do, but making sure both your body and your target's body are physically touching the Conduit."

"Oh, so that's why I can't use my horn. Got it."

Master Horn continued as if she hadn't said anything. "The hard part is actually getting in contact with a hostile pony or other being in the first place. And once their lust has been neutralized, they will probably be a bit enraged at the turn of events afterwards. So, you will learn how to fight with what is essentially a blunt instrument for knocking out ponies."

Pumpkin blinked. "So... you're teaching me how to hit a pony in the head really hard. Er, Master."

Master Horn snorted. "No, I'm teaching you the art of how to hit a pony in the head really hard."

He then crouched, entering a familiar stance from her earlier martial arts drills, only with the addition of his weapon. The sun at his back framed him almost like a silhouette. "The Absta teach two Conduit battle forms: Mouth and Hoof, depending on how it is held. Mouth form favors speed and defense while Hoof form favors reach and strength. Some sparring will make it clear which you are best suited for. Don't worry, I'll go easy on you."

Steeling her nerves, Pumpkin leaned into her own stance, transferring her own Conduit to her mouth.

Her new master smiled, then lunged.

* * *

Pound banged his way through Kludgetown, bringing to bed (or desk, or shower, or carpet) species after species while honing his stupidly useful new skills. The slew of new partners was exciting, but none had talent comparable to Bliss, and so he spent his evenings with her. And it was evening now.

He carried a large bag of groceries between his wings, enough to last the pair a while. When he entered their apartment, Pound half expected to find Bliss wearing a pink apron while resting seductively against the counter. Instead, she was standing next to an old black chest that used to be in her wagon, wearing nothing.

"Come here, pretty boy," she said. "I've got something to show you."

Both curiosity and arousal compelled him to obey, and Pound watched as Bliss hinged open the chest. He was immediately disappointed. its only contents were a pair of bright red dildos made of some semitransparent material. One had numerous knobs, while the other was realistically shaped.

"You had me going for a second there," said Pound. "But these toys aren't even as interesting as the ones we've already used."

"Oh, they aren't ordinary dildos, Pound," Bliss said, leaning down to take out the knobbed one. "These are Penetrators, and they allow our strength to surge."

That certainly sounded like a good thing to Pound, but what exactly that entailed wasn't clear. He turned a skeptical expression onto Bliss.

She noticed and giggled at him. "Basically, just touching one to somepony will erode their mental blocks instantly. You can mold even the most iron-willed being to your every whim."

"Woah!"

"Woah is right. Tradition dictates that Rutyu stallions carve them into the shape of their own cock, but fresh Bloodstone is rather hard to come by these days. So you'll have to settle for my old master's," she said, gesturing to the Penetrator still in the chest.

Pound hefted it up, feeling the smooth stone in his hooves. "Let me guess: the mares carve theirs into whatever shape they prefer?"

"Got it in one," said Bliss, winking.

The possibilities that this Penetrator opened up to him were staggering. "Can I go use this to fuck that stubborn squid lady from the other day?"

"Later."

"Oh. Then can we have some pre-meal sex?"

She booped him on the nose. "No. From now on, you'll have to earn the right."

"What? Why?" Pound exclaimed.

Bliss turned and trotted to the other end of the room, flicking his face with her tail as she did. "Motivation. A Penetrator is also a weapon, and you'll need to know how to use it if you ever get tangled up by the Guard, or bane forbid an Absta. So, each time you beat me in a practice match, you can rut me. And no powers."

Pound's jaw dropped once he finished processing that statement. "You sly bitch."

Bliss smiled, spinning her Penetrator around her hoof. "Well?"

"Fine. I accept," said Pound. He then raised his Penetrator in front of him like a sword and tensed his wings.

Bliss did the same. "Whenever you're ready. Come and get me."

Pound dashed forward, bringing down his dildo in an overhead slash. Pound obviously hadn't used full strength - he didn't want to actually hurt Bliss, after all - but was still stunned by how easily Bliss blocked the blow. She twisted her hoof to the side, knocking Pound's Penetrator away. Before he could even prepare to retaliate, Bliss had already hit him in the chin.

"Ow. Again!" he said.

This time, Pound reared back and thrust his weapon forward at her like a spear. However, Bliss jumped, spinning over Pound's body with a wing-aided flip and catching him on the back with her Penetrator on the way down. He staggered from the shock.

Pound regained his bearings, spinning to stare at Bliss' smug face. Like, how had she not hit the ceiling during that flip? He would have to put a bit more thought into this. She stood there patiently until he did.

Slowly, Pound approached her, Penetrator in a ready position. Once he was in range, he swung in from the right. Bliss deftly moved her own Penetrator to block. At the last second, though, Pound rebalanced his weight, and lashed out with his other forehoof.

The resulting jab connected, and it was Bliss' turn to be surprised. This gave Pound a window to weave his weapon around hers and hit her in the cheek, leaving her as the one stunned.

"Not bad," said Bliss. "I-"

Pound didn't give her time to finish that sentence. He pounced on top of her, pinning her to the floor as he willed his dick erect. "Less talking, more moaning. I'm gonna make you feel this."

At that, a chill ran down Bliss' spine, and her pussy clenched in anticipation.

As much as his body wanted him to, Pound didn't push himself into her wet folds immediately. Instead, he extended a wing and yanked Bliss' Penetrator away. Then, that went into her pussy, and a bit of Bliss' juices squired out.

"Is that all you've got?" she asked. "I almost regret holding back with you."

It most certainly wasn't. Grinning maliciously, he took his own Penetrator and made a show of coating it in his saliva. Then, he shoved it into her asshole, hard. Bliss' back arched in pleasure. He gave her a moment to acclimate to being stuffed with two rock-hard dildos before adding the finishing touch: his own, slowly squeezing its way into her cunt between the Penetrators.

"T-Triple! Fuck!" she moaned.

Pound rutted in earnest. He could feel the familiar pulsing walls of Bliss' vagina along most of his dick, only they were much tighter than usual. The bottom was being stimulated by her personal tool, its knobs grinding against his shaft as he thrust into her. He could only imagine how good it must have felt on her end.

Then again, maybe he didn't. Her tongue was lolling out of her mouth, and she unapologetically drooled onto the floor as Pound mounted her even harder. Her pussy convulsed in an endless orgasm, the stimulation simply overloading her. Bliss didn't even attempt speaking anymore, and she just kept moaning wordlessly. Seeing his usually composed master in such a state was too much for Pound, and the tension in his balls built to a breaking point.

"I'm cumming! Take it all!" he exclaimed.

Pound pushed as far into Bliss as he could go and let loose. He came like a hose, rope after rope of semen entering her hot depths. By the time he had finished, Bliss was a panting mess, sprawled out and drained. He left the two Penetrators inside her after he pulled out.

"Thanks, teach," said Pound. "You can just lie there and savor my cum, I'll go make dinner. That ok?"

He took her contented sigh as a yes.