Corruption of Souls

Ch.90

It was a good amount of time later. We’re not quite sure how many days, but the new FOB in the Elysian Fields was established and things in Tartarus were stabilizing to a point where our personal presence wasn’t strictly necessary.

So We went home to deal with all the bureaucracy that Spike wasn’t legally allowed to handle. Also, We had to get our 13 pups properly situated. They sadly didn’t take well to Cocoa right away like everyone else does, so We had to wean them into trusting Cocoa enough to not force us to be either in the same room or one room over.

There was also the fact that Princess Ninia has fully decided to make our aid an international incident, declaring we were annexing her beleaguered people’s city when we’ve already declared otherwise. This hasn’t made her popular with her own people any more than ours. There’s even whispers that Ailisiv might overthrow her sister in a fit of fury, but thankfully nothing that drastic has come to pass since Visilia was able to barter a deal.

For the better term of fucking promising her-! No. Calm. If Ninia is willing to wait a couple decades for any of Visilia’s triplet sons with Urta to be of legal marrying age and he’s okay with it, then she can marry her son.

“Little bitch.” We muttered angrily at the thoughts of the stuck-up Princess who clearly has been spoiled by centuries of literally being waited on hand and hoof without having to consider foreign relations or domestic relations. We don’t expect her to remain the highest authority of her kingdom with how she’s making enemies everywhere. After all, Ailisiv was already far more popular than her older sister before we even went to Tartarus.

“Seriously?” We groaned as We read the reports on the Yaks and how they fought off Hell by achieving communion with Khorne to give them a power boost, yet they didn’t get turned into Warp Daemons!

“How the fuck did they not become another enemy? Why is Khorne even helping them?” We groaned while rubbing our temples around our horns as We looked over the reports on the Yak Incident as it’s now called. “We’re going to have to call Berserker about this.” We grumbled and yanked open a drawer to retrieve the ear-mounted comm device. Why they don’t just call it Bluetooth We’ll never know. “Wiatr here.”

“Hello Princess Wiatr. Where do you need me to patch you through?” Answered the comms operator for Unity, a fairly professional young mare in the Guard who We never learned the name of unfortunately.

“Could you please patch us to Berserker?” We asked, only for our fiance to enter our study right as We finished our request. “Um, scratch that, he just walked in. Sorry.”

“No problem Princess. Have a good day.” The mare politely replied and We turned off our comm.

“So what were you about to call me about?” Berserker asked after he closed the door and approached the front of the desk. Which still had Lethice’s tasteless phone number burned into the surface and was a constant irritation.

“We were calling to ask if you have any ideas on this lunacy? The Yaks fought Hell off with nothing but melee weaponry and summoning aid from Khorne!” We pleaded with our badass dracowolf fiance in the hopes it was some sort of joke.

“From what I understand, Khorne is a Warrior God and Yaks are a race of warriors. War is all they know, fighting is what they’re good at. Of all the locals aside from the Skaven, they’re the most likely to make contact with the Warp.” Berserker replied, crushing our vain hopes of it being nonsense.

“They also have strong ties to Equestria thanks to Twilight and now Us.” We sighed, knowing We birthed them hundreds of herm yaks just recently. “So what is Khorne’s aim? From what Willow and Daring know, he’s just a parapelegic sociopath who gets a raging chainsaw boner from senseless violence.”

“That is a hilariously apt description of him. He obviously just took an opportunity to expand his influence and grow in power, even if it was just a little bit.” Berserker shrugged. “Besides, even if I had become a God, I still do deeds in his name. I can’t really separate myself from him, not entirely at least.” He didn’t sound sad about it even if it seems Khorne has been kind to him, in one way or another, but whatever it is between them, We can’t do anything about it.

“Let’s hope we don’t have to fight Radical Daemons too.” We laughed before looking over the next report.

“The next time those yaks treat you rough like last time and I hear word of it, I will kill one of them, or all of them.” Berserker declared with grim seriousness and We felt our heart warm at his intent to protect or avenge us.

“Thanks Berserker, but it’s part of their culture to be rough in bed.” We mewled and he huffed, not understanding that since it’s part of their sexual expression, We can only accommodate. The Sex Aspect is all-encompassing when it comes to carnal acts. “Looks like the dragons have driven Hell off, though not without two hundred eggs being smashed or stolen.” We snarled. We put so much hard work into those precious darlings, now they’ll never have the chance to live and the ones that were taken might become hellspawn.

“Motherfuckers!” Berserker roared out, punching his fists together. “I should’ve known they would pull off the same shit they tried to do before!”

“Before?” We asked with worry as We read the reports. Thankfully most of the clutches We birthed were safe in Unity, the ones that were lost were the ones sent back to the dragonlands due to space constraints. “This happened in your world?” We asked as We read about how Ember had already tracked where the Stolen Eggs where and Pillar was on the warpath to get them.

“It could’ve if I didn’t intervene and it was just before I left. Right after things had settled down, I was about to return to Equestria when a Kirin came out of nowhere and warned me about them. He wasn’t lying either. He led me to where Hell had set up shop to convert the eggs with Argent.” Berserker explained to us and We felt sick with worry for Urta, who was confined to medical R&D for the past...um, wow have We even slept? No wonder We’ve lost track of the days.

“Well, don’t worry too much. Pillar’s gone to stop them already.” We told our beau and Berserker calmed down a bit, but was still angry.

“Sorry that I’m so riled up. I’m a Dragon Lord. It’s my duty to protect them from outside threats.” Berserker growled and crossed his arms over his chest.

“So are We.” We replied and mentally noted that Aldin may need to actually try and rein in Bryan’s overprotective ego rather than exacerbate it with draconic pride. Lords know Cynder has calmed down a lot since joining the collective, even if our general persona has become more rash in exchange.

“I would go back home and ask the dragons there to help out, seeing as how we gave them the weapons, armor and equipment of Gears of War.” Berserker said and We imagined the Dragons dressed up in COG, UIR and Locust armor, but that’s small peanuts compared to what we’re already fielding thanks to the massive leaps and bounds our collective technology has made with Urta’s Argent being a key contributing factor.

“Maybe. They may be behind us in our new tech, but you can’t deny the effectiveness of strong armor and high-caliber assault weaponry.” We commented while sifting through more paperwork. Oh! Spike slipped in a coupon for milkshakes with a note from him telling us to take a break. How cute, We’ll take him on a date soon. Or...those eggs do need replenished...

“It’ll certainly give the dragons in this world a fright.” Berserker joked and We snorted with a roll of our eyes.

“Sure it would.” We commented with amused sarcasm before looking at another report. “The caribou are doing well. There’s only a few small groups of violent dissenters.”

“Collateral can handle them. Oh! Before I forget, I went to look at our eggs, including Collateral’s, Pillar’s and Runner’s before coming here.” Berserker replied and We blinked. That topic is a little close to home at the moment, considering eggs have been lost, We were just thinking of meeting up with Spike and making more~. “Honey. Are you here at the moment?”

“Huh? Sorry.” Even without Fertility We’re still a broodmother after all. Our core is aching with need to be full of life. “What about our eggs?” We questioned as We got out of our chair and stretched with a grunt at having been still for so long. At least what needed our attention was already dealt with and We’d just been reading over information.

“The eggs have the Doom Slayer marks on them, at least those that would hatch first according to your fertility witches.” Berserker’s words came as a surprise to us.

“Well, let’s head to the Breeding Center and see.” We picked up the milkshake coupon and put it in our cleavage. We then kissed Bryan with a lingering smooch on the lips and ran our trio of tails along his hip as We sauntered past him to the door.

“Eager today, aren’t we~?” Berserker teased us with that rumbling voice of his and We replied with a swish of our hips which sent our tails and dress shaking. “Hm~.”

“We’re excited to see our unborn kids.” We replied playfully, knowing full well what he meant.

“I meant your affection.” Our mate clarified with a return knowing grin. “While I’m not complaining, I usually think that whenever you kiss like that, you have something planned for a fun night.”

“We might, but our thoughts are more in line with mixing business with pleasure.” We admitted as We descended the stairs of the foyer, patting the snout of our sleeping dear Pharos as We passed.

“Hm...oh. Spike?” Berserker asked and We nodded with a faint flush on our radiant white cheeks. “Heh, can’t blame you. He’s a good friend and he was also your first. That and the clutch smashed and stolen was likely part of what you and him worked together on.”

“Yes. He also indirectly invited us to have milkshakes together.” We replied and Berserker chuckled about it suddenly being the 50s when we reached the Breeding Center. It was a brief walk through the busy main area where our Nuns were hard at work pleasuring and breeding commissioners who came from far and wide to either get help having children of their own, or to aid the repopulation efforts as a whole.

We basked in the praise heaped on us by our worshipers as We passed through to the Hatchery. It was a specially built and equipped section of the Breeding Center added on by Twilight. It would keep the eggs nourished and also separate from the more active Nursery. It would need a rather hefty extension with this latest tragedy proving the dragons didn’t have a secure nest.

There the eggs were resting nicely in their magic size-changing pools, soaking in nutritious milk. It was easy to find the magic pool with our eggs, as it was the only one with the utterly gigantic 10-by-15 foot eggs We’d laid from Pillar, Collateral and Runner.

“So how are the eggs doing?” We asked him, nuzzling one of the giant eggs as We felt how healthy they all were. It seemed the witches had gotten better at picking out the ‘stillborn’ eggs, as only a couple of eggs lacked the hum of life We could sense lately. We’ll have to let them know to roll those out to be disposed of. They’ll become solid stone eventually.

“Pretty good. I suspect Runner’s eggs will hatch first out of the batch you laid when you were stuck as a giantess.” Berserker answered, pointing out the ones with Runner’s symbol replacing the splotches most of the normal eggs would’ve had.

“Hunter said the same thing.” We chuckled and smooched one of Runner’s eggs. Berserker wasn’t wrong about their Doom Slayer marks on them, all four of Runner’s eggs had it. “And it seems you’re right!”

“Ten of my eggs, out of the hundreds we made together, will be the first batch to hatch. All of these ones will hatch as well. I’m just not sure when they will hatch.” Berserker said longingly and with a hint of melancholy. The atrocious survival rate of dragon eggs is still depressing.

“Yes. We sense it.” We agreed, not mentioning the dozen or so of the ones from Spike will need to be disposed of. Even more reason to get together with the first stud to claim us for milkshakes and cocktails.

(<3)

“Oof!” Berserker exhaled when the instant we had entered the nursery, he was tackled by all six of his pups into the nearest wall.

“DA!” They all howled, crawling all over him and his largest boy, Marcus, bonking him on the head with his favorite toy sword.

“Hi kids.” Berserker groaned out, chuckling a little as he got up. All six of the pups clung to his legs.

“Da staying for dinner?” Our little warrior maiden in the making Valkyr asked us with glee. “We’re having deer!”

“...Yes, Daddy’s staying for dinner.” Berserker answered her with a smile. “Never had deer meat before. Where is it from? Considering Harmonia is a deer though…”

“It’s from White Tail woods and no they’re not sapient. Harmonia is an odd duck.” We replied and then led them from the nursery which was next to the servant quarters across the foyer to the dining hall to find the servants were already hard at work with the meal for the kids and our mates that were home. Upon seeing us, they perked up and waved before going back to work with even more cheerful dispositions. Our subjects do love us so~!

“Well, still, even back on Earth I’ve never tried deer meat before.” Berserker said as we took our seats, Cocoa wrangling all the children into their own seats with the threatening presence of a gentle but firm and loving matron. It helped that our cerberus slime could literally yell at all of them at once or three directly if she had to.

“It’s a bit more stringy than beef, but still tastes great. It has a much richer and leaner taste to it.” We replied with Willow’s history of being a reasonably skilled chef shining through. Cocoa and Honey, the only ones here at the moment, came to kiss us before taking their own seats. Thank gosh Cocoa is here, the children actually behave when she’s around.

“Hm…” Berserker hummed in thought as he looked towards each of his pups. “What sort of toy weapons do you each like to use?” He asked them.

“Big sword!!” Marcus called out.

“Sword.” Lilly and Valkyr called out.

“Hammer!” Nolix told him.

“Axe.” Revix told him.

“Sword and shield.” Arith answered.

“What sort of shield?” Berserker asked Arith.

“Kite.” She answered, shaping out her shield in the air.

“A very good choice.” Berserker smiled, patting her on the head.

“She uses one of the kites as her shield, but yes, that is a good choice.” We commented with humor and Cocoa pulled Daisy from climbing on the table.

“I also like to paint!” Arith giggled. “Helps me think!”

“That’s good.” Berserker nodded to her.

“Here you are Sir, Your Majesty.” Our Servants declared before serving up our plates, first to Berserker and then everyone else. We’re thankful that even with how much they revere us and our station, that they’re following protocol and giving guests priority. While We wish he lived here, Berserker is still nominally a guest in our home.

“This is really good.” Berserker commented between bites of his venison roast. “It tastes so...it’s hard to describe. Like grass-fed beef I think.”

“Thank you, sir.” The maids said before backing away. We were about to thank them too, but held our tongue with a wince. Everytime We did that before, We accidentally Blessed someone. The mixture of thankful and slightly disappointed expressions that were also amused made us blush at realizing they knew our dilemma and We pouted at them, sending them fleeing with giggles. Letting it go, We hummed and all of us ate, our kids happy to have mom or dad home.

“Hm, this is nice.” We sighed while looking at everyone from our seat at the head of the table. We eyed Spinel and her other kirin siblings down at the far end, gnawing on gemstones along with meats. We were sad they sat so far away, but it turns out kirin foals were fairly independent. Cynder and Daring insisted it was a phase, but Willow and Svartr still worried.

“Yeah. Say, where’s Rex?” Berserker asked and he looked around for his and Visi’s son.

“Cocoa only watch Rex now and then. Rex is often in care of Scinoxes or his grandfather when not with Visilia.” Cocoa answered, but then her far left head gave something away with a quick shift of her eyes. We followed her gaze and held in a giggle.

“Dang, I was-yeow!” Berserker jumped and grabbed something under the table, lifting the perpetrator up to reveal the adorable little kirin-wolf alicorn hanging by the scruff of his shirt. “There you are, are you so hungry you’re trying to eat your father?”

“Where Mom!” Rex, the toddler who wasn’t growing up as fast as his siblings demanded, before his belly gurgled and his red face turned redder.

“He’s hungry.” We giggled and shook our head at the antics of the young.

“Hopefully your mom will be coming back soon. Is there anything you want to eat?” Berserker asked of his dear son and heir to Tartarus’ throne.

“Beef!” The blood-red furred toddler demanded and his extra-fluffy stark black wolf tail wagged while his sharp carnivorous teeth drooled and his tiny bat wings fluttered.

“None of Cocoa’s pups taught him that.” Cocoa told him with a powerful maternal leer in triplicate, the slime cerberus raising her right eyebrows.

Marcus looked up towards Rex and glared at him, making the colt wilt a little. “Beef please, Daddy?” Marcus dropped his glaring and went back to eating, causing us to blink at him.

“...Okay, beef for you.” Berserker finally said and a maid quickly scurried off to have some tender thin-cut steak grilled for Rex.

“Why is Rex acting like a brat?” We asked Cocoa quietly as the tri-species kirin basked in the attention of his father and listened more to his siblings than adults when told to do something.

“Mad that Visi not here.” Cocoa sighed with her left head while her center ate, her right still talking to Honey at the same time.

“I’m guessing Marcus is taking the role of being a big brother seriously?” Berserker asked Cocoa while Rex was distracted by Marcus talking about some inane silly thing.

“Yes, been big help to Cocoa with other children.” Our Cerberus slime mate said before stealing a kiss from Honey. “Helps Cocoa enforce rules and teach things.”

“Speaking of your children, have any dragon females gone after you?” Honey chuckled at Berserker and We grinned at the idea of Aldin of all dragons being a casanova with the ladies when he was such a bookish type before.

“Not with Hell getting in the way, no.” Berserker bluntly answered. “Not to mention, they don’t even know I exist.”

“Oh, sorry,” Honey said before she went back to drinking her Love nectar cocktail.

“Well, at least Hell isn’t gaining much of a foothold.” We sighed in relief. Despite our business with Tartarus, Hell was still on the back-foot thanks to our zealous and righteous Skaven legions scouring the lands in search of the Hellish Scourge to purge in our name. It was why Carim didn’t spare more than a single battalion for the Tartarus Crusade as it’s become known.

“True.” Berserker nodded in agreement as the maids brought Rex’s steak and a side of vegetables. “What do you say, Rex?”

“Thank you.” Rex mewled with a hungry look at his food and looked about to pounce on it to tear into it like a beast, but Berserker thankfully started cutting it up for him to eat like a civilized person.

“Are you going back to war?” Valkyr asked sadly, the draco-wolf’s ears wilted.

“Not now, but soon.” Berserker answered his daughter with regret in his tone.

“Oh.” Valkyr whined before nuzzling her father’s hand when he reached over to pet her.

“Sorry pup, but I have to.” Berserker sighed and looked like he’d sooner give up fighting forever if it meant being home for his kids. Considering his nature, that says a lot of good things about him.

“Dada play?” Revix asked and held up his toy weapon.

“No ambush-!“ We frantically tried to cut off what We feared before We were whisked away by our children in a wail of laughter and giggles as reality crumbled away into an overexaggerated brick-built dungeon.

We pouted from our place chained with rubber restraints to the back wall with team ‘meanies’ holding us hostage with a few of our Chaos Spawn on their side turning our Keep into a Mario style dungeon, or maybe it was Zelda. Hermais was here and wearing an overexaggerated hooded black cloak, yet didn’t change his physical appearance from his usual tiny size.

“Oh, poo.” We huffed and settled in for another long game of ‘Princess in the Castle’. So much for going on a date with Spike this evening...