My Life on a Cassette Tape

Chapters

Side A - Chapter 1: Some Hole in the Wall
Side A - Chapter 2: Distortions
Side A - Chapter 3: An Arranged Encounter
Side A - Chapter 4: An Unarranged Encounter
Side A - Chapter 5: Skips in the Track
Side A - Chapter 6: Love, Family, and the Resolution
Side A - Chapter 7: Coming and Getting Clean
Side A - Chapter 8: Hospitality
Side A - Chapter 9: Nevermore
Side A - Chapter 10: A Change in Venues and Views
Splice 1: End of Side A
Side B - Chapter 1: A Grand Ol' Time
Side B - Chapter 2: A Bone to Pick
Side B - Chapter 3: Good, Unclean Fun
Side B - Chapter 4: Another Unarranged Encounter
Splice 2: The Hunt Begins
Side B - Chapter 5: Tactics
Side B - Chapter 6: Preparing for the Inevitable
Side B - Chapter 7: Hiding in Plain Sight
Splice 3: Twinkle Twinkle, Dying Star
Side B - Chapter 8: Revelations in the Dark
Splice 4: Confrontation
Side B - Chapter 9: The Long Walk Home
Side B - Chapter 10: Renewal
Splice 5: The New Arrivals
Side B - Chapter 11: The Other Side
Side B - Chapter 12: What Comes After the Storm?
Side B - Chapter 13: The Crucible of Sorrow
Side B - Chapter 14: Acceptance
Side B - Chapter 15: Taking a Walk
Splice 6: Pressing Buttons
Side B - Chapter 16: Back Alley Deals
Side B - Chapter 17: Negotiations
Side B - Chapter 18: The Morning After
Side B - Chapter 19: A Wrench
Side B - Chapter 20: In the Machine
Splice 7: Flesh of my Flesh
Side B - Chapter 21: A Virtuous Mission
Splice 8: A Hill to Die On
Side B - Chapter 22: A Fight for Life and Limb
Splice 9: Just a Raven in the Dark
Side B - Chapter 23: Revelations in the Candlelight
Side B - Chapter 24: Uneasy Calm
Side B - Chapter 25: Indecisive Action
Side B - Chapter 26: The Answer
Side C - Chapter 1: New Reality, New Recruits
Side C - Chapter 2: Paradigm
Side C - Chapter 3: Reflection
Side C - Chapter 4: Coming to Terms
Splice 11: When Fear Falters and Lust Rises
Side C - Chapter 5: A Surprise
Side C - Chapter 7: The Bonds that Tie
Splice 12: The Mare who has it Going On
Side C - Chapter 8: A Renewed Resolve
Side C - Chapter 9: Filius Philosophorum
Splice 13: End of the Crucible
Side C - Chapter 10: Taking the Initiative
Side C - Chapter 11: Strutting Their Stuff
Side C - Chapter 12: Family Meeting
Side C - Chapter 13: Yet Another Surprise
Splice 14: Domestic Life
Side C - Chapter 14: The Evening Out
Splice 15: End of Side C
Side D - Chapter 1: What is it that Haunts You?
Splice 16: Hold the Line!
Side D - Chapter 2: Regroup
Side D - Chapter 3: Secret Operations
Side D - Chapter 4: A Desperate Search, a Desperate Fight
Splice 17: Headstrong Resistance
Side D - Chapter 5: Pushing Ever Onward
Splice 18: Rescue
Side D - Chapter 7: Terrors and Tears
Splice 19: Taking Control
Side D - Chapter 8: Drafting Plans
Splice 20: In Home Care
Side D - Chapter 9: A New Experience
Side D - Chapter 10: A Push in A Direction
Splice 21: Diplomacy
Side D - Chapter 11: An Ending, A Beginning
Splice 22: End of Side D
Side E - Chapter 1: Relief
Side E - Chapter 2: Explanations and Alterations
Side E - Chapter 3: The Party of the Three Princesses
Side E - Chapter 4: Setting it Straight
Side E - Chapter 5: Afterparty Farewells
Splice 23: A Broken Ritual
Side E - Chapter 6: Discussions
Side E - Chapter 7: Matters of House and Home
Side E - Chapter 9: A Lesson in Thaumaturgy
Side E - Chapter 10: Divesting
Side E - Chapter 11: A Promise Made
Side E - Chapter 12: Awaiting the Day
Side E - Chapter 13: Reunion
Side E - Chapter 14: For Whom the Wedding Bells Toll
Finale: And That's All?
Introduction: A Look Behind the Curtain
Splice 10: End of Side B
Side C - Chapter 6: What Bites Like Steel, Is Hot as Hell, and Best Served Cold?
Side D - Chapter 6: Fantasies on a Stairway
Side E - Chapter 8: Inhibitions and Exhibitions

Side A - Chapter 1: Some Hole in the Wall

I was bored. How couldn't I be? I had been sitting in this dumb train for the last who knows how long - two hours, my dad always knew - and had nothing to do! My Joyboy had run out of juice, my phone was currently charging under the watchful gaze of my mom after I had received a less than polite text from one of my 'flings' as she put it, and I wasn't in the mood to read any of the lame magazines that the carriage had to offer. I let out another disgruntled snort at my situation, only to gain the less than patient gaze of my mom as she slightly lowered the issue of 'Troubled Children' she had in her pink magical aura.

"Honey, why don't you read one of the magazines instead of acting so down? We only have ten or so minutes before we arrive at the station, and I don't want you all grouchy faced in front of your Uncle and Aunt." My mom said in her well cultured way. She raised her reading materials before I could even respond with any of my many preprepared snide remarks.

The Uncle and Aunt she referred to were my Uncle - and her brother - Treble and Aunt Timbre, another musical branch of the orchestra that was our family. Despite being named for music, both me and my cutie mark, which currently hid under my cargo pants, proclaimed I was not so much inline with my parent's hope for my future as a violinist. Sure, I could play, they had made sure of it, but I had found my passion and mark with my voice. What rattled my parent's the most was the fact that though my mark was in relation to my voice, it wasn't for singing, but for simply being a good talker.

My mark was of one of those old mics you'd see in antique shops or specialty vendors being talked into by the silhouette of a pony. My teacher, much to my parents feigned delight, stated that during our oral exam, I showed great prowess in delivering my speech, during which she noticed a glow coming from my jeans. Discreet as always, she sent for the nurse and a school councilor who then asked me if I had had a cutie mark. Saying no, they asked that I check again, and sure enough, the bane of my parent's pride sat proud on my butt.

My parents, ever resilient, had taken this all in stride and had signed me up for a litany of courses for announcers, broadcast ponies, and any other conceivable career path for such a pony. My inherent talent carried me through all the courses with flying colors, and I was to be sent off to college for the same. This birthday trip I was on was the last time I'd get to stretch my legs in a free world before being rammed into some stuffy classroom to stretch my vocal cords instead.

The train eventually pulled into the station, and it didn't take long to spot the outlandishly expensive clothing of my unicorn Uncle Treble and pegasus Aunt Timbre, and the fairly modest military clothes of my unicorn cousin Double Time - who, like me, was his parent's unadmitted shame. Unlike me, his name sounded fitting for what his passion was, not to mention he was looking forward to the next few years. He would get to go off to boot camp and train to be part of the Guard, whether local or national. He had hated the sterile nature of the world his mom, my Aunt, had kept about him, and relished the opportunity to get down and dirty. After his cutie mark, a sword and rifle crossed like a plus sign on his flank, appeared, his parents felt tied to let him do what he wanted, but still his mom kept him clean and fretted over every scratch.

I was the last one of our group to step off the train, carrying the majority of our things as dad had helped mom in her failing health, leaving me to it. I didn't mind, I understood why things were the way they were, though I didn't like them. Her sudden onset of tuberculosis necessitated this trip to not just be a trip, but a moving of house. Our 'essentials' were what was being lugged out of the train by my scrawny arms, and still we were packing more than most families would when they moved.

"And this must be the birthday colt! Or should I say stallion?" My aunt said in her ever grating voice before hugging me and planting a kiss on my cheek that left a cold, red stain from her excessive lipstick. "How are you, Crescendo?"

"I'm fine, Aunt Timbre." I said with a small smile. I wouldn't want anypony to get the wrong impression. I honestly didn't hate any of my family. I guess it was just residual angst from my earlier teen years. That being said, they sure could get on my nerves with the greatest of ease.

"Timbre, dear, he is most certainly a stallion. Look at all the bags he was able to carry!" My uncle stated with his trademark hearty laugh that was infectious as always. I rubbed the lipstick stain off my cheek with my sleeve and navigated my way through our greetings with the usual level of awkwardness that was to be expected when our two branches of the family collided.

"Need some help there, Cresh?" Double Time asked me while my parents and his walked off towards the cab that would take them to the hotel where we'd be staying.

"Yeah, I think I might've strained something too much already." I replied, rolling my shoulders in hopes that that would save me the pain. "How are things with you and... Thyme was it?"

"Oh, Thyme? Y-yeah, we're... we're doing alright." He stammered as he hoisted several cases with little to no apparent effort, not even bothering to use his magic. "Let's get these over to the cab before we have to lug them all the way to the hotel!" He said, power walking away with most of the cases. Looking down, I could tell he had both left me the largest case on purpose to hold me up, and had likely broke up with what had been his special somepony for the last three years. I sighed and hoisted the case up and hobbled over to catch up.

Slidding the case into the rear compartment of the cab and stretched my back. It hadn't been as bad as carrying it all in one go, but it wasn't an easy task either. Looking over, I watched as the cab pony jotted down the address on a pad that was strapped to his wrist before harnessing himself into the cab. Though I, like him, was an earthpony - much like my father - I doubted that if he tried to harness me in like that that I'd make it farther than a few steps. The generalization that all earthponies were naturally strong was a load of bunk, or so I kept telling myself every time I refused to go to the gym.

"Now you two know where the hotel is," My dad began, handing Double Time a small business card for said hotel, "You both have your phones and a watch."

"Oh, here's your phone, dear." My mom said, holding out the phone that I too had begun to forget about. My father continued as I shoved it into my windbreaker's pocket.

"I want you two to head to the hotel by six, which gives you four hours to work with. Crescendo, I want you knocking on the door to be let in no later than half past seven." I nodded, as did Double. "Alright, you two enjoy yourselves. And, Crescendo," I cocked at my eyebrow at him, waiting for how he'd end this, "Here's some extra bits to spend. Happy Birthday." He passed me a small pouch of coins, which I took with a nod and a smile. "Have a great time, no getting in trouble."

"Yes, sir." We both said. The cab departed with a honk of the horn by the cabpony, leaving us two to our own devices.

We walked along the dry and dusty streets, looking about the many curiosity shops. There wasn't much to do because of the town being more of an 'old pony's town', but I honestly didn't mind. It gave me time to talk with Double; not to mention that it was the towns where old ponies wouldn't buy much beyond the essentials where you were more likely to find interesting stuff at the corner stores. Meandering through one such store, I think it was called the 'Bottom of the Barrel' or something similar, I finally asked what I was meaning to since the train station.

"So, Dubs, what is the real situation with Thyme?" He looked at me, suddenly going a tad paler, probably having thought he had avoided this line of questioning. He set down an old portable CD player that had a few too many stickers on it for my taste, and licked his lips while looking about at anything but me while stepping down from the toy section, which was set about six inches higher than the rest of the store for some reason. If I were to guess, this used to be a house, and the owner hadn't cared to change how it looked. Looking over the player once more, I found a toy laser sword and grabbed it as the beginnings of an idea formed in my head.

"Don't try and wiggle out of this." I cautioned him, flicking open the plastic laser sword I had found. "I have the high ground, you won't win." Double blinked a few times, and then broke out in laughter as I triumphantly collapsed the plastic sections of the old toy, setting it back from whence it came. Letting him settle down a tad, I put a hand on his shoulder, giving him a smirk. "Come on, man, just tell me."

He finished off his bout of laughter, which reminded me ever so much of his dad, and looked me in the eyes with a sad smile. "We broke up." He said simply, confirming my suspicions. "Well, she broke up with me, I should say. She said that 'oh, I don't know if I can do the military thing, I thought you were kidding, oh!' And so... boom, I'm back on the market." I couldn't help but snicker at his imitation of her, which was as terrible of an impression as could be thought of.

"That stinks man, but hey, maybe you'll meet a cute chick in basic, or whatever they're putting you in once you get out of high school." We both laughed at that. It was at that moment I noticed the mare attending to the counter. "Speaking of, check your four o'clock." Double turned nonchalantly to look. She was of modest proportions, not a supermodel by any means, but she had fire red hair that played well off her pure white skin. She was as pretty as any filly in high school, and by the look of her rather ample chest, she was more well endowed than them.

"She's a six or seven." Double said, returning his gaze to me. "Not to mention that I like my mares to have personality over tits." I chuckled at that. "Thanks, man, you're the only one that has really tried to help me."

"Beside Thyme and her friends, I'm likely the only one that knows, I'd assume." I shot back. "But you're welcome anyway." With that, we parted again to look over the random assortment of stuff in the place.

Moving over to the electronics area, which confused me due to a CD player being shoved over in the toys area, I inspected what was before me. My eyes settled on an old pen mic, or at least I thought that was what they were called. I grabbed it, thinking of all the old style recordings I could do with this, only to find it attached to something else, dangling from its cord was an old cassette player that had its share of stains and dings. Picking it up, I looked it over and saw there was a cassette already in the dock. Popping the player's door, I looked at the cassette, searching for a label.

Besides a old manufacturing label for 'Pony Audio', I was stumped as to what it was. I closed the player and pressed play, only to slap my forehead as I realized this thing didn't have an external speaker. Looking over the walls of electronics before me, I found an old pair of over the head earphones. Seeing as mine were in my suitcase, I would have to settle for these. I paused the machine, plugged in the headphones, scrolled the audio control wheel as far down as it would go and hit play, adjusting it as I went.

Side A - Chapter 2: Distortions

"The young stallion stood in the old shop that had seen too few of his kind in it in the last few years. The youngest person, besides him and his cousin, to make it into this shop in the last year was the owner's daughter, who at the moment was attending the cash register - though she was honestly playing around on her phone." I blinked a few times as I took in the narration. It was some sort of audio book I figured as I slid it into my windbreaker's pocket next to my phone, keeping a hand on it to not forget it so that I could buy it.

"The stallion made up his mind in a swift move, placing the old cassette player in his windbreaker's pocket. His father had given him a few bits after all, he might as well use them on something. Beyond the snacks he and his cousin had gotten earlier..." The recording went on, but I was frozen.

This audio book, or so I had thought, sounded far to similar to what I was doing. I could test it, I supposed, but I was rather scared to actually find out what would happen. Turning from the electronics area, I began to move towards the toy section, thinking about testing it with the laser sword and some other random toys that no audio book would go over, but stopped as I paid renewed attention to the recording.

"The stallion Crescendo froze, realizing, thanks to the strange device, that he had forgotten to grab the pen mic. Doubtlessly if he had taken but a few more steps away, it would've fallen and broken against the hard tile floor." I turned, and sure enough, the pen mic was were I had set it precariously on the edge. Grabbing it, I almost made towards the toy area, when it hit me that the recording had just proven itself to me. I paused it while slipping the headphones off, and sat on a nearby stool to think.

My mind was abuzz with all the possibilities of what had just happened. The fact it had taken credit for saving the pen mic that I now grasped so tightly should've been enough to make me believe that this was magical, but I couldn't. I grabbed the tape player out of my pocket and looked it over, and realized I had accidentally pressed the rewind button. I pressed the pause button, and then, hesitantly, pressed play. Putting on the headphones again, I listened intently. Only silence. Wait, it wasn't silence, it was just very quiet! Scrolling up the audio control, I listened closer and began to hear the words.

"'She's a six or seven. Not to mention that I like my mares to have personality over tits.' His cousin said, disregarding the young mare." That settled it, though it also brought more questions for later. I was sweating, and now my thoughts couldn't help but move to the pen mic in my right hand. Looking at the device, it did have a record button. Pressing it down, I took a deep breath, and began an imitation of the stallion whose voice had brought up so many questions.

"As the boy sat down on the bench, this young mare began to clean the counters of the store, putting her phone away for later." Looking over, I watched as the mare who was still on her phone suddenly seemed to fade away. Panic struck me. Had I just killed her by saying something wrong!?

And then she faded back into reality, rubbing the glass of one of the display cases with a cloth. No, she hadn't faded in, she had been at that when I first saw her. I then realized that I now held the two realities in my head. She had been on her phone and she had put her phone away a minute ago to clean. I looked at the tape, still recording, and gulped. I was already getting something of a hard on, but I wasn't going to be too rash. Right?

"While cleaning," I began, looking over to her, watching her clean the glass, "she was astounded to find her shirt burst, a few of her buttons breaking. Embarrassment rushed through her," I watched as it all unfolded, her shirt's buttons first straining, and then popping away, her face flushing with embarrassment only causing me to push forward with my lust and hormones running wild, "as she realized she had forgotten her bra that morning. She froze in fear and embarrassment, unintentionally flashing the two stallions in the room. She..." I paused, pressing the stop button as my shame caught up and overtook my raging hormones. I pressed play and listened as I watched the proceedings unfold.

"Her embarrassment flowed, as clear for all too see as her breasts; thanks to her mistake of not wearing a bra. Her breasts' supple, pure white flesh was exposed, and her pretty pink nipples poked out. Having previously been texting her coltfriend, they stood to attention, as hard as ever, the memory of certain suggestions the two had talked about now overshadowed with embarrassment. Her hesitation cost her all the more embarrassment as the two stallions present watched with shock and amusement the unintentional display. She flushed hard, before finally running to the back of the store." Watching it happen with real time commentary was certainly an experience, especially with the added bits I had no way of knowing about.

Double walked over to me with a shocked and elated look on his face. "Did you see that?" He asked, echoing the narration I got from the player. Pressing pause, I nodded slowly, and somewhat nervously. "I wonder what happened. Her shirt just..." He made an explosion sound while spreading his hands out like fireworks.

"The world may never know." I chuckled, more than conscious of my nervous energy that likely was more obvious to Double than his had been to me when we were at the train station. He nudged me with an elbow, obviously taking it as nervousness at the bare breasts we had just witnessed. I scratched my chin, looking at the player and mic in my hand. I had to buy them now, but what would I do with them? I knew that too, but I didn't want to admit it to myself. I looked over at my cousin, who was now flipping through the records. A devilish scheme entered my mind, and I wasn't going to deny it. Taking a few cautious steps away, I pressed play and listened for a second.

"The young stallions' thoughts were on the mare in the other room. What would she do to recuperate? At the moment, she was inspecting her shirt, thinking what best to do for it." Perfect. I pressed pause and then hit record, ensuring I was far enough from my cousin.

"The mare decided finally that there was only one solution. Grabbing her phone from her pocket, she called a friend and asked for them to bring a shirt to her, explaining the one she had been wearing had gotten a tear in it. She wanted to stay in the back as she waited for the friend who already was making headway towards getting her her shirt, but she knew that there were customers out in the main area, and she had to get them out so she could close the shop. She'd say it was her lunch break and there was no one else available to take the front, which was true. She decided that she could go out wearing an old apron that would cover her. The rough apron was stained though, and she couldn't risk staining her favorite shirt, so she knew she would have to go out with only the apron covering her chest. It was a risk, especially with how the rough fabric rubbed her nipples and made them erect - erect enough to be seen from under the fabric - but she had to get them out or else, so she thought, 'they might steal something.' Knowing she had already caused them to wait, she resolved that she - "

"Dude, what are you up to?" Double asked. I quickly hit play, and then fumbled with the player, pressing pause even as it began to tell me exactly how she went through what I said.

"Nothing, just messing with this player. Think I'll buy it. It records and plays at a pretty good quality." I bluffed, somehow covering up my own nervousness enough to not be noticed, or maybe Double just liked retro stuff as much as I did.

"Oh cool. Yeah, those things are pretty hard to find at a good price that isn't five hundred bits." He said, looking it over while I held it.

"Say..." I began, redirecting the conversation to where I wanted it, "that mare earlier." Double looked at me with a renewed sense of curiosity. "Her shirt is totally busted, right?"

"Uh, .... yeah. Why?" Double asked, not sure where I was going with this line of thought.

"Fifty bits says she's coming out without that shirt on. In fact, no. A hundred bits says that she's only wearing an apron for a top." I said confidently. I was cheating if I was right about the tape player and recorder, but this was my ultimate test. If it failed me now, I'd know, and I could just forget any future plans.

"A hundred bits, ey?" He said, sizing me up. "Look, Cresh, she isn't a slut, she's a good girl. I know her younger sister from school." I was surprised by his flippant use of 'slut', but I wasn't going to mention it. I simply smiled.

"A good girl without a bra and a busted shirt." I pointed out devilishly.

"A good girl," he countered, "who likely has an extra shirt in the back." He did have a point, if it weren't for my player.

"Do you got a hundred bits that say so?" I asked with a raised eyebrow. He smirked, obviously thinking this easy money. He counted out three twenty bit pieces and four ten pieces.

"Right here pal, do you got the hundred to back up yours?" He shot back. I showed him a gleaming golden hundred bit with the face of Celestia on it. I rarely had them on me, but I wanted to show off. He balked for a second before regaining his composure. We shook on it and waited for her to come back out, the two of us equally confident, though only I was reassured in my confidence.

After a minute, the door to the back opened and revealed the 'good girl' of the hour. Where once was a shirt, now was but an apron with the company logo with two protrusions where her nipples were. Her pure white skin did nothing to hide her blush as she walked over to the register.

"I'm sorry, but we're going to be closing shortly for a few moments. I'm the only one on duty and it's my lunch break. If you'd be so kind, I'll process your purchases and close the door as you walk out." She said in as even of a tone as possible. I so wished to add something to my player's procession of events, but I wasn't confident enough to add it with both of them watching.

Double was stunned, and as we faced her, I tapped his hand with mine as I set the headphones, mic, and cassette player down. Sighing, he surreptitiously placed the coins in my hand, which I transferred to my pocket. She tallied our purchases quite fast, and then sent us on our way. I could only smirk as we walked out of the store, but there was a problem. A southern problem.

I needed attention, and I couldn't exactly duck into any random store and use a public bathroom for it, and I knew I wouldn't be able to handle it if I waited. A thought struck me, and following through before properly thinking about it, I slapped my forehead.

"I forgot my wallet at the store." I complained.

"Really, you forgot your wallet?" Double questioned. "Well you can't go back for it, they're closed." I shook my head.

"Look, just... get us a table at the diner we were going to. I'll be there in a few. Order your lunch if I get delayed, who knows how long until I can get in to get my wallet." I said, already turning back the way we came.

"I could just buy both our lunches and then we could go back." My cousin offered.

"After I got a Celestia's worth out of you? No way man. I'm getting my wallet to buy my own lunch." I said, starting down the road.

"As if a few copper pegasi are that valuable after our little exchange." He muttered, moving towards the diner, leaving me to my work. I brought out the tape player and recorder, and while walking down the road, I began to speak my instructions into the mic with hushed tones.

"Her friend was caught in traffic, and though she didn't know it, she could feel that it was going to be a long wait..."

Side A - Chapter 3: An Arranged Encounter

Spring Periwinkle sat in the back room chewing on some hay fries. She had taken off the apron, not wanting to get any of the Celestia-knows-what on her. The incident with the two ~~colts~~ stallions earlier had been one she had wished she could've ~~avoided~~ made last longer. She could only feel ~~embarrassed~~ a tad hot and bothered. Their eyes had roamed across her, both when the shirt had broken open, and when the apron so scandalously covered her, and it sent shivers of renewed ~~embarrassment~~ excitement down her spine.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the front door. She sighed, mentally chiding the person for not being able to read the sign that clearly said... closed? Looking ahead of her, she saw her mistake. The sign sat there, not on the door, which was thankfully locked. She put the apron back on as the knocking came again, sighing as she looked out the break room's window to the main area. There, at the front door, was one of those two ~~colts~~ stallions from before. She wouldn't dare, but, she couldn't help herself all the same, and she opened the door from the breakroom.

I whistled to myself. I knew I had only to wait for a few moments as the recorded points I had put into the cassette of my life took their course. I watched after my second knocking as the face of the mare peaked out. She was still as beautiful as he recalled; a six or seven indeed, Double. She opened the door and walked to the front door, a slight swaying in her hips, exciting me only more. She unlocked the door and opened it.

"I'm sorry, we're closed for the moment, please come back later." She said in that melodious voice of hers. Even as she said this, she opened the door more, the words I had spoken taking affect on her mind.

"Yeah, sorry, I left my wallet inside and I came back to get it. It'll only be a second." I replied with all the sincerely fake emotion I could muster from the courses I had taken over the past few years. She nodded and let me in.

"It's probably in our lost and found in the back, please follow me." She bit her lower lip slightly before turning, putting that same little sway to her hips as she walked. I loved this, and knew I'd only love it more.

I locked the door behind us, and fishing a closed sign out from a corner I had said it would be in, and followed after her. She opened the door to the back, her face far more flush than it had been before. I nodded to her and walked in to the back room. To my surprise, as she closed the door behind herself, she fished my wallet from my pocket and placed it on the table beside her.

"This wallet, right?" She asked, a dangerous look in her eyes as I felt a portion of my control over the situation leave my hands. I nodded stupidly as she pulled one of the cords of the apron free, letting it hang only by the strap around her neck. "Wouldn't want to lose it again, now would we?"

"H-how did you know it was in my pocket?" I stammered, backing up away from the mare. I hadn't mentioned it in my recording, how could she have known?

"I saw you put it away after you and your friend finished your purchases. I'm no fool." She purred, closing in on me as she messed with the string that held the apron around her neck. "I know why you're really here. I want it too." She let the apron fall, and for the second time, I saw her breasts out in the open, her nipples as erect as before, though now I could hear her needy breaths as she approached.

I stopped backing up, realizing that reality had simply made some editorial decisions over my recordings and hadn't actually invalidated them. I was still in control, or at least had a measure of control that she wouldn't understand. I lifted a hand, and in a flash of movement, she seized my wrist and planted it firmly on her left breast, sighing in pleasure as her legs quaked. I could only smile.

"I think we both know what I really want." I said with a snide smile on my face, and without a word, the beautiful mare before me fell to her knees and offered up her tits to me. I smiled, unzipping my pants, revealing my already hard cock. She slobbered at the sight, her hands beginning to work at her breasts needily. I walked over to one of the chairs and took a seat, leaning back to let her get to work. She immediately sprang forward, smothering my dick with her breasts, popping the head into her mouth with greedy desire.

My first titjob was amazing. Beyond compare! The soft pressure of her tits against the shaft, and the ministrations of her mouth and tongue on the tip were a mind blowing pair, or trio if you will. She slathered on more saliva on my dick, her tits glistening in her own spit. I then realized that she was bouncing and pressing her breasts together with only one hand, and I could tell by her moans where the other was.

I simply leaned back for the next several minutes, basking in the pleasure, when I felt it coming - me coming - I shot forward, grabbed the back of her head, and pressed her down, much to her pleasure according to her moan. At first a stream, followed by the last few dying spurts, and it was over; and all swallowed by her. She lowered her breasts and cleaned my dick with smooth motions of her bobbing head and swirling tongue. She stood up, and lowered her pants and panties in one move, either that or she had forgotten both undergarments that day.

"More..." She breathed as she began to straddle me, much to my shock. This wasn't in my instructions, in fact it was quite against them. Her friend would be-

She lowered onto my dick with a wet sound and the echoing sound of our twin pleasure. Fuck her friend.

Side A - Chapter 4: An Unarranged Encounter

Berry Punch sighed as she rode in the cab, taking the last turn to the street her friend's store sat on. It was like every other street in this town, which made her all the more glad she was just here for the weekend. Sure, Ponyville was pretty calm most of the time, but this place was a bore! When Periwinkle had called her and asked to get her a shirt, she felt her blood start to pump. Finally! Some action to take the edge off! All that died a few minutes later in the cab when traffic ground to a halt after a buffalo had started a fight with one of the residents. It hadn't lasted too long, Berry barely had enough time to quietly bring herself to orgasm with a dildo she had in her purse for just such emergencies, fulfilling her daily quota of exhibitionism.

When the cab, really just a glorified covered cart, arrived at her destination, she went to the back door as Periwinkle had instructed, and knocked with the pattern they had discussed. Berry Punch waited for what seemed like forever, and almost thought to go over her quota before the door opened.

"Finally, I was... beginning.... to-" She slowed her speech to a halt. Before her was Spring Periwinkle, but not as she had ever seen her... except for that one time that they never spoke of. College was fun when she wasn't in the lecture hall. Periwinkle was disheveled, her hair completely wild, her breasts - no her whole body - was out on display, covered in a mixture of spit, sweat, and cum. This looked like Berry's kind of party, and she had brought the booze too. She always brought the booze.

"Berry, I got a friend you should meet." The usually pure Periwinkle exhaled, apparently exhausted, but not giving in. Friend? Singular? This might not be a booze type party after all.

Wait, hadn't she wanted a new shirt? Was this why? Why not say so? Berry Punch entered and saw a young stallion messing with some sort of microphone. He put down his toy and looked at her. 'Took him long enough' she smirked, before blinking a few times. Where had that come from? He was barely legal if that, and she was... already sopping wet? She slid her hand beneath the elastic band of her yoga pants, touched her pussy, and brought it up for inspection. Yup, definitely sopping wet. She looked back to him, saw her prize, and smirked.

Seeing the concern on her face as she first entered, I quickly flipped the record button back on and whispered into the mic, "She then knew why. Looking below at his exposed dick, she saw a dick that only a true stallion would have, and she wanted it. She knew why her friend had opened the door in the state she had, and she wanted in."

My classes in speed talking had been worth the price of admission, for no sooner had I turned the record button off, she looked at me from behind her glistening fingers. If I had thought my first conquest was predatory looking, I was in for so much more. This mare dropped her purse on the ground as she walked in, seamlessly removing her yoga pants while walking - revealing her definite lack of panties - in a feat I couldn't explain if I tried, followed by her sports bra. Her full nude glory revealed, she walked up to me, grabbed my chin, and smiled a smile that sent shivers down my spine. The first mare had sent shivers down me, sure, but those were of arousal and pleasure, this mare was sending shivers of fear down me.

"You wanna do me, hot shot?" She asked in a sultry tone that caught me off guard. She seemed ready to kill and fuck me at the same time. I hoped she was going for the latter.

I gulped and nodded as best I could with her hand holding my chin. If I had thought her smile intimidating before, it was far worse now, as her lips parted to show her teeth as they bit down on her lip in what should've been a sexy way, but fell short of that mark with all the 'I'm going to bite your head off' vibes she was putting off at the moment.

"Then we're doing it my way. Periwinkle," She began, turning to look at the first mare I had been with, teaching me her name - a fact that caused me to feel slightly ashamed, "close up the blinds on the show floor, I want to have some fun." Periwinkle nodded and, grabbing the same apron as before, threw it on - and nothing else, to my ever growing, though conflicted, arousal - left the backroom, and set to her task. The new mare turned her ferociously sexual gaze back on me. "We're going to fuck, all three of us. And we're going to fuck where any overly nosy pony will get to see! You got that?" I nodded, fear too powerful of a force in me to have any modicum of sense raise an objection. "Let's go." She shoved me out of my chair. "And take off the rest of your clothes for Celestia's sake! Who wears pants like that to a threesome?" I looked at my cargo pants, only unzipped, still buttoned, my belt unmoved, only with a dick poking out. I quickly took my pants and boxers off and tossed my windbreaker and t-shirt for good measure, not wanting to give her any reason to get physical with any part of me besides the parts I wanted.

Moving to the front area, I found the windows covered by the most rickety set of window blinds I had seen in a while. She wasn't wrong when she said any overly nosy pony would see, a moderately nosy pony might see! Periwinkle was standing by the counter, leaning against it in the nude, her apron tossed over the cash register flippantly. I was anxious to see how this would go, and to my delight, and marginal horror, I wasn't left waiting.

"Peri, I want you to turn around and spread your legs," the new mare ordered in a voice heavy with lust, "I'm going to eat your ass, and this hotshot is going to put it in mine." I was concerned how much control she was exerting, not sure if she might go beyond what was... legal. I desperately wanted to back out, but I knew that all this... this wasn't going to be around for long. I needed to take advantage. It was likely I'd never see these two ponies again, after all, and whatever this feisty mare had planned would be good, no doubt.

Lining up behind my part of the conga line, I lined my dick up for entry. Ahead of me, I could already hear Periwinkle moaning in pleasure.

"Y-yes, oh yes, Berry Punch! Oh! I don't know why I ever turned you away! OH!" Berry Punch then? I squared up, and shove my dick into Berry's ass, sending her forward more into Periwinkle's with a groan of pleasure. I lingered for a moment, relishing the sensation, before drawing back and slamming back down, accelerating my pace as I went, the wet slap of her ass against my crotch echoing in the small store while Periwinkle continued her exclamations, which despite her evident pleasure, were rather subdued in the volume department. Perhaps she was only going along with Berry's idea for the moment, but really didn't like the exhibitionist side of the girl that currently was gobbling up her ass.

Despite only having just cum in Periwinkle's mouth and cunt, I was still able to go - thanks to some soft words spoken into my mic earlier. Berry screamed into Periwinkle's ass, who in turned also let out a muffled scream into her arm as their pleasure hit only seconds before I delivered a load into Berry. I began to pull out when Berry pushed further up against my dick, stopping me from leaving her hole.

"Peri... Peri, dear, eat my ass out now... eat his cum... it's fresh." She gasped, her ecstasy still making her weak. Peri fell to the floor, her breasts slapping against the tile in the most sensual wet slap I had ever heard as she crawled over, positioned herself correctly, and pushed me away from Berry, cleaning my dick off first before cleaning out Berry. I stood there, feeling quite triumphant, but I wasn't quite satisfied, the raging hormones in me having found a far more pleasurable and novel outlet beyond the midnight fap sessions they were accustomed to. Even as Periwinkle cleaned and ate out Berry's cum filled ass, I moved around to the other side and slapped Berry across the face with my still hard length.

"Order's up, got your lunch right here." I said with a smirk, lining it up with her mouth as she lifted her head to look.

"Oh... dick... with a side of ass and spit... my favo-" I cut her off with a well placed dick in the mouth. If Periwinkle's efforts were amazing, Berry's were miraculous! This mare was obviously the more experienced of the two, and tended me with such great care even as she was being tended to out back. I could only imagine how good she was when she wasn't distracted. Maybe I would have to check on that later?

With expert grace, she bobbed her head back and forth - stopping me from my initially intended series of thrusts into her face - her tongue swirling around my dick, occasionally poking out to my balls with brief, but ever tantalizing, visits. Her care might've made me blow early, if not for having just finished in her ass mere moments earlier. Just as I was about to cum, she pulled away from Periwinkle's tongue, sat herself down hard, pulled my dick from her mouth, and let my jizz fall across her face and boobs, which, now that I wasn't entirely terrified of her, I noticed were larger than Peri's. I had no idea what breast sizes meant - A, B, C, Q, 1080p, I had no clue - but Berry was larger than any other pony I had seen, and was even competition for porn stars. The last bits of cum came out, and then she smeared my dick all over her face, wiping off her spit and my spunk from it onto her already messy features.

"Delicious, hot shot, simply delicious." She said in her husky, eager voice. "Now, hop up on the counter, bad boy." I didn't resist, happy to follow her raunchy advise. "Lie back and let us continue doing all the work." I complied, letting my back touch the cold glass of the counter where Periwinkle had first shown Double and me her tits.

Berry suddenly straddled me, sending my dick into her pussy before I could even object, not that I would, I could always tell the recording they hadn't got pregnant. Berry bounced atop me while Periwinkle moved over to my side and lifted my head into her breasts, guiding a nipple into my mouth. In that time I spent with those mare's, I lived like a king, suckling not only on Peri's teat, but life's teat.

We continued like this for a good while, each time in a new area, with a new arrangement. We did it in every section, and I even did my best to fuck Berry with the laser sword, though it really didn't work. So I instead did it with a dildo she had brought... for some reason. Another thing to ask, I supposed.

What had been agreed to be our final round, we did in the back of house. It was just Berry and I while Peri went about cleaning the front of house, not bothering to put anything on as she did, apparently cured of her aversion of exhibitionism from all the practice she got today. There was a lot that needed cleaning, and a few squirts of air freshener weren’t going to cover the many squirts each mare had made in turn, much less my musk.

For our last fling, Berry wanted to do it doggy-style, something we actually hadn't gone to outside in the main area. Fucking her, even though I had done it multiple times before, as I grabbed a glorious asscheek in each hand was still as awesome as every time before, and her unrestrained moans and calls seemed to agree.

"Yes, make me your bitch, oh yes! Oh yes oh yes oh yes!" She screamed so loud I was a little bit concerned she might be heard - only a little bit though. As I continued to plunge into her, her dirty talk egging me on, I plunged deep in her pussy as it quivered around my length, sending bolts of pleasure through my entire system. Honestly, this sensation of not only pleasure, but a mare that loved dirty talk of the deprecating kind, pushed me to places beyond where I'd usually go with anypony, fucking them or not - or at least so I tell myself despite this day having been my first encounter of the sort.

"You are my bitch! You are my slave cunt! Yes! Feel your master's DICK!" I screamed, my voice not quite as loud as her's, but she didn't seem to mind, even as one of my thrusts sent her into the table. Even as my tape player clattered to the floor. And even as the record button got bumped just enough to start catching things.

"Yes, I'm your SLAVE-BITCH CUNT! I can't get enough of your dick! Fuck me, oh, MASTER FUCK YOUR SLAVE CUNT! MASTER!MASTER! MASTER!!!" She screamed, and I loved it. We both climaxed, and neither of us noticed as we slumped, my body falling over hers, as I slapped the tape recorder, resetting the record button.

The mic was never powerful, I had to speak right up against it if I wanted to whisper and still be heard, and though Berry was a good distance away, it would've had to be broken to not hear her wails. The same wails that echoed in our ears as we rested post climax. The same echoes I wouldn't stop hearing for a long while.

Side A - Chapter 5: Skips in the Track

I woke up, not having realized I had fallen asleep, with Berry at my crotch, sucking my dick with her ever amazing technique. Now that she wasn't distracted, she really put on a show, a show I greatly enjoyed. I smiled, and ruffled her raspberry - quite the fitting color - hair. She redoubled her efforts, showing off as she worked my dick with learned expertise. I could only smirk as I let her finish, giving a quick glance at my watch. To my surprise, it had been fifty minutes since I went back for 'my wallet'. I would have to hurry up and get over to him before too long. Though I did have enough time to finish this little bit of fun. Orgasm overtook me once more, and Berry dutifully swallowed it all, cleaning off my dick with care.

"Glad to see you're awake, Master." She said, her voice more calm and... submissive? Wait, Master!? I looked at her and shot up, hitting my head against the table, sending myself back down to the floor. My hand hit the tape player, and I saw it there, on the floor. It clicked in my head. I quickly grabbed the mic, pressing down the record button, determined to fix this mistake.

"Berry Punch is-" I was cut off by said mare's voice streaming out of the headphones. Apparently I had hit play somehow and the volume had been knocked up as the words could be heard with ease on the cheap pair of headphones.

"-your SLAVE-BITCH CUNT! I can't get enough of your dick! Fuck me, oh, MASTER, FUCK YOUR SLAVE CUNT! MASTER!MASTER!MASTER!!!" Her hoarse call could be heard through the audio distortion. I clicked record and began to speak once more.

"Berry Punch is-" I wanted to say 'is not a slave and never was!' but as I spoke, I found my tongue rebelling, following something else's will. "Berry Punch is my Slave-Bitch cunt and loves it! She will serve me as I wish without complaint!" I hissed, clicking my tongue a few times and tried again, but much the same feeling of loss of control came over me. "Berry Punch is my whore slut, and my very touch is orgasmic while words of praise are like kisses on her quivering pussy!" I groaned to myself after finishing what any other pony would've seen as an impassioned, lustful cry. I wasn't impassioned, and I wanted it to end, but I couldn't correct the recording, or the recording would correct me! Berry Punch was my slave. I hadn't asked for it except when the recording had me do so. I pinched the bridge of my nose even as the memories of her as my slave since I was a young colt began to flow into my head.

No! I may not be able to correct the recording, but I could certainly try to qualify the recording. "Berry Punch recently became my slave and is a secret slave! She wants to keep the secret from other ponies," I was satisfied, but the recording wasn't, "unless I say so or they too are my slaves!" I gasped as I finished, the realization dawning on me that the recording, or perhaps fate itself through this device of unknown origin, was enforcing the concept that I would indeed have more slaves.

"You mean like how Periwinkle is your slave?" Berry offered in a rather loud tone. I froze in terror. Looking to her, in a way that showed that I was more than a little shocked. "What? She has to be your slave cunt like me or else why would we have fucked like we had? Why else is she out there cleaning when she could be in here fucking?" The world was already clicking this information into place. I paused the recording, rewound it, and pressed play with hope that it wouldn't have been heard despite feeling my world shift; and sure enough, with dashed hopes, Berry came through loud and clear. Sighing, I pressed record again after it got past Berry's interjection.

"She too has the same restrictions as Berry Punch." I muttered, turning off the recording as I resigned myself to my fate as constructed by the device I had thought previously as my ticket out of fate. My life was a mess; a sexy mess, but a mess nonetheless. I looked to the beautiful mare... slave beside me. I both knew that she was my slave, and knew that she hadn't been, and that I hadn't wanted her to be, but my dick - as spent as it was - was making an effort to make its thoughts on the matter known, reaching an unbidden half chub.

"Do you have much of family?" I asked, assessing the damage. Berry nodded and sat up, counting on her fingers.

"Mom and Dad are still kicking, though they are off in Las Pegasus. I also got a sister, but I haven't heard from her in years - think she lives someplace out towards Cloudsdale, or maybe Rainbow Falls - she keeps bouncing about so I really couldn't say. And that's about it for family." She said cheerily. I looked at her, and sighed, grabbing the microphone once more as I hit record.

"Berry Punch's family do not know. Berry Punch's family won't become too concerned about her should she not contact them or act differently at times." I was satisfied and it seemed the recorder was too... for now. I kept my composure as I turned the recording off. I sighed, the mess really piling up on me, with brand new cherries placed at random on top of the menagerie of 'what the fuck' that life already was.

"How do you know Periwinkle?" I asked, continue the line of questioning. If they were to be my slaves, I needed to get my head around this situation as best as I could.

"Oh, I met my slave-cunt sister in college. She and I had a brief fling, but she friend zoned me hard. But now we're slave-cunt sisters so we can be together like I always wanted!" She said with no small measure of glee. Thinking about it, Periwinkle did seem more open to Berry becoming a fixture in her sexual life while they were taking part in doing me even before this whole slave business started up. I had figured on some level of connection based on her being the friend asked to get the shirt; but I wondered if such feelings as had been expressed in the show room were there before when she had been called to bring a shirt.

"Do you know anything about her family?" I could always ask the mare herself, but she was still cleaning, and I didn't want the headache of a second slave's recognition just yet.

"Spring Periwinkle has got her dad, but that's about it. Oh, she'll be so glad to be your slave! Almost as glad as I am!" She cooed, falling on me, hugging my head between her breasts. My cock took the hint, and up it went again, straight between her thighs. I gave some muffled instructions, which she missed due to not having ears on her boobs. Leaning back, she blushed, giving a nice compliment to her... wine colored skin? Was it wine colored? It was a unique color for sure.

"I hope you won't be this obvious in public. You and Periwinkle are a secret, as you best recall." I said firmly. She nodded, taking on a submissive pose before me. She had taken the lead so often during our threesome earlier, I hardly could believe that she was being so submissive to my whims now.

"Of course, Master, but we are alone, and the only pony that would come in is-"

"Master! I'm done cleaning the front of the shop, should I suck your dick now?" Spring Periwinkle asked with the utmost sincerity. I sighed. I loved knowing I had not one but two mares at my beckon call, but I was already feeling the pain of the days to come mounting.

"Ride my dick, I need you to talk. Berry, suck her nipples." I ordered in a way that surprised me with how nonchalant it was. Was I really so easily slipping into this role that I hadn't wanted a few minutes prior?

"Yes, Master!" The two mares echoed, going to their tasks. Periwinkles' pussy was amazing, just as amazing as the first time we had fucked in this very room. I let the sensations fill me as my dick filled her, not caring to talk for the moment. I did have to talk though.

"D-do y-you h... have any f-family?" I asked through the pleasure as she bounced up and down on my dick. I could only imagine how much pleasure she was feeling, not only having the counterpart to my pleasure, but also the pleasure of Berry, who she held like an infant, suckling on her teat while working the other breast in her hand.

"Y-yes, M-m-master! I... I h-have~! I have a f-father!" She answered, struggling as much as I had. This was ridiculous, and I was ridiculous for having thought we could carry a coherent conversation while fucking. I waited until we finished to continue.

"Peri, sit on that chair, B... Punch, eat her out, clean up all the jizz I left in her." I ordered, leaning against a wall while using the apron Peri had walked out in earlier to clean myself off, no longer caring how easy it was to order these mares about. Maybe a bit of pre-enslavement Berry had rubbed off on me, either way, I'd have to wait for answers on that, other concerns were more pressing.

"If you don't mind, Master," Periwinkle began, "You can call me Spring, or even Spry. That way you can call Berry something other than 'Punch'." She offered. I nodded slowly.

"Alright, Spry; your father, what kind of condition is he in?"

"My father is in an old folks home. He has been for the last five months." She replied, as she guided Berry to her still twitching, cum-filled pussy. Something was brought to my memory as she explained her father's condition, which was stable, but nonconducive to continued life expectancy. It was something the player had said while narrating her earlier 'wardrobe malfunction'. Something like... 'she had been texting her coltfriend'? She had a special somepony! My head shot up from thought, vaguely noticing Berry was done cleaning Spry out to orgasm as I asked the question.

"What about a coltfriend, I thought you had one?" I interrupted her still continuing explanation about her father, which Berry had more effectively interrupted with the ministrations of her mouth on the other mare's marehood. She blinked, catching her breath, and then chuckled.

"I have seven." She replied, much to my confusion. "Colt toys really, nothing to compare with you, Master. Should I get rid of them?" I thought for a moment. Giving them all a text saying 'sorry, you ain't it' all at once may be suspicious, but then again, so would a dispersed sending of the same. If she had found 'the one' wouldn't it mean she'd be quick to drop her colt toys? I made up my mind after considering this for a moment.

"Yes, text them telling them you're breaking up. Be gentle with them though, don't be too harsh, just let them go and say you are already moving on and that they should to. Not those words, but that sentiment." She nodded, and went over to where she had dropped her pants. Digging out her phone from the bundle of cloth, she began to shoot out texts. I took the time to stand up, move over, and then sit down in one of the chairs that was about the backroom. Berry, like a slutty puppy, crawled over on her hands and knees and looked at my dick from her seductive pose. I, however, had thinking to do.

I had set out to have a quick boobjob, maybe a blowjob, and then skip out, never to see the one mare; and now I had two that were not only mildly infatuated with my person, but were now my slaves. Beyond all this, they were also about half a decade older than me, if not a tad more due to the references to being in college together as if it were some time ago.

Beyond that, the tape recorder was showing itself more of a liability in some ways. It would take anypony's voice, not just mine, and would take even segments of conversation bereft of context as grounds to change everything at the drop of a hat. This certainly meant I would need to be extremely cautious in its use, and likely meant public use of it was a hazard to everypony, this especially since it seemed that once a rerecording was instated, the tape would abide no contradictions.

Each one of my modifications would have to be extremely well constructed, accounting for all-

My train of thought was interrupted when Berry leaned forward and planted a sucking kiss on the tip of my dick, leaving me with another spasm of pleasure. I looked at her, and then at Spry who now sat beside her in the same pose; sitting on top of folded legs that tucked under their ample bottoms, hands set atop said spread legs, framing - in a most sensual way - their glistening sexes. I sighed.

I desperately wanted to spend the rest of my free time fucking these mares, but I had to get to my cousin. Sniffing myself, and realizing how crusty I was, I guessed I also needed to get freshened up. If I just threw on clothes my cousin would suspect me... unless.

I grabbed the tape player and held the mic up, surprised it hadn't broken when it fell from the table to the floor, only to realize that we had likely cushioned it without realizing. Neither of us would've notice the pen mic bouncing off us in the middle of banging. The image of the mic bouncing off Berry's boob as it swayed from my thrusting gave my boner another spurt of energy.

Clicking the record button, I set about an idea to make this work out for me. "The trio then found that the filth from their sexual adventures simply fell away like scabs, removing all dirtiness, foul odors, and leaving them cleaner than before. Inspecting their clothing they found it too was freshened, as if they had just washed them." It was a long shot, but it was worth a try in my opinion.

Suddenly, just as I had said, our sweat, spit, cum, and tears - a story for another time - seemed to dry up and fall off in large scabs. Giving myself a sniff, I didn't smell like roses, but I didn't smell like I had just been banging. I set the tape recorder down and sighed contentedly. If that hadn't worked, I would've had to ask if there was a hose out back, but I was fortunately spared.

"Alright," I began, "let's all get dressed. Spry, when does the shop close?" I asked as I walked over to the heap of my clothes, finding them as clean as I had expected after the recording. I quickly dressed, knowing it'd be at least an hour from when I sent him off that I'd see my cousin.

"Yes, Master." The two mares said, putting on all their duds. Looking at the two, I realized that neither of them had been wearing makeup, as they looked no different. Made sense to a point I supposed. "The shop closes whenever you wish it to, Master." Spry said in a subservient tone. I sighed inwardly. Of course it did, but that didn't help.

"When does it usually close?" I tried again.

"Six in the evening." She replied. That was almost perfect. She could meet me at the hote-. I stopped myself from that thought. The fates, and a tape recorder, had conspired to give me slaves but I didn't, no I wouldn't, use them - at least not flippantly. My hormones didn't make a retort at the moment, though I knew they'd be back in a matter of minutes; an hour or two at most. I was a teen, and I knew it, but I desperately wanted to be more than some mad pervert.

"You'll close shop for the night at the usual time. You'll go home as normal and... if I need you I'll call or text." I looked to Berry. "You'll... do your normal daily thing. Same story as far as the text or call scenarios." They nodded, and without me asking - though I guess I had by a technicality - they jotted down their numbers and passed it off to me. I entered them into my phone and grabbed my player before heading out. Stopping in the back door's door frame, I felt as if I should say something to the two mares who I had done so bad by, but I convinced myself for the time that I could set them back straight to a reasonably normal life. With this vain thought in my head, I headed out, jogging down the street to get to the diner while attempting to not think about all the perverted things I could have Berry and Spry do. Yep, only took a minute or two.

Side A - Chapter 6: Love, Family, and the Resolution

Double Time sat, not having ordered a thing, not wanting to start without Crescendo as he went back for his wallet. He played with his phone, scrolling up a text chain that lasted several years. He wasn't really reading, that was, until he got to the last few days.

I'll be heading out for basic in two months

Wait? ur bein srs?

Uh
Yeah, 'totes srs'

I thought you were joking!

Are you joking with me now?

I'm goin to go join the guards
No, I'm not joking
I'm dead serious

But I thought you loved me!

Woah!
I never said I didn't!
I do!

Then why are you leaving me like this?

Trust me, if I could stay I would
I wanna be with you

DON'T LIE!

I'm serious about us!
I'm not lying!

We're through, it's over!

Come on, we can talk this over!
Thyme?

His last text was over a week old, and still it was left on 'Delivered'. His heart ached. Thyme and him had been going out for over three years, had talked seriously about getting married, and even the possibility of foals. Thyme loved foals, and wanted to have at least a half dozen of her own, but above that desire it seemed, she despised the idea of being a guard. She called them 'legally sanctioned murderers', and had joined a variety of marches that protested the existence of a standing guard force. He had hoped by joining the local guard as opposed to national that she'd understand and would be fine with it. Local guards were little more than specialized police units, and despite her antiguard stances, she firmly supported the police, having attended every bake sale she could.

Thyme was, in a word, complicated, but in more words, a rough assemblage of beliefs that seemed contradicting, but would find their way of somehow being sensible when she spoke them. One breath she was decrying how Celestia and Luna allowed the guard to exist, the next, soliciting donations for the local police cordon. She loved art, but hated museums. She loved dressing pretty, but complained endlessly how makeup commercials effected young fillies' minds. But even with all this, Double loved her, despite their disagreements, and, so he thought, she loved him too.

That was what was in question as he weighed whether or not to send a message to her. Should he email her instead? He did have a lot to say, but he wasn't sure if she'd take the time to read all he wanted to say. For the first time he could recall in a while, he hated that it was summer. If it was any other season, they'd be in school and they'd talk there. But now school was out and they were on the brink of going off to college.

Looking at the time on his phone, he realized it was nearly five, and still Crescendo wasn't here. He thought about sending him a text when he saw the stallion jogging up the street, entering the lonesome diner.

Slipping inside, I found my cousin and sat down across from him, grabbing a menu from the rack at the end of the table. I flipped through the menu, which was actually fairly expansive for a diner like this one. It had appetizers, sides, entrees, desserts, and all of it at decent prices. I was surprised this place wasn't a bigger deal in the wider area. Based on the number of ponies gathered, either we hit them before a rush, or this place was a truly lazy diner.

"Already finished?" I asked, turning a few pages back as I hit the dessert page.

"No, I wanted to wait for you." He said, grabbing his own menu from the rack, thumbing through its pages with an expression that spoke of the minor annoyance he felt. "Told you that we should've ordered on my bit, you had to wait for her to finish lunch, didn't you?" Oh yeah, she had to eat first, but it wasn't just the hay fries and sandwich that she had on the table when I followed her to the back. "You did find your wallet, right?" I smirked, knowing full well it was in my... pocket? Patting my leg, I found to my increasing panic that it wasn't there.

I mentally retraced my steps, wondering where I could've dropped it. It wasn't while the three of us were fucking, I stripped before that. And I was wearing my pants still when... oh. The dawning realization hit me. Periwinkle had removed my wallet when I first entered the back of the store. She had set it on the table before we got started, and there it had stayed. I sighed, reaching into my other pocket to grab my phone. Pulling it out, I heard the clinking of some coins. The bet!

I had slipped the coins into my pocket after I won the bet against Double, and so I did have coins. Flashing one up at Double, I smirked.

"Almost freaked out there, I put it in the wrong pocket." I said, putting the coin back in my pocket. He seemed to buy it. Feeling a good bit of tension still, I opened my phone and texted Berry.

I need you to bring my wallet to the diner up the street

Who is this?

I blinked a few times, only to realize that, though I had gotten their numbers, I hadn't given them mine. I knew what I had to do, but it was still risky - not to mention embarrassing.

Is this Berry Punch's number?

Yeah
Who is this?

I sighed, my fingers hovering over the screen of my phone. I finally got my resolve together.

Master

I waited for a few moments, concerned as it was left on 'Read' for a few more minutes than I had anticipated. Just as I set my phone down, I got a notification, and so, unlocking my phone, I saw not another message, but an image of Berry with her clothes on, and a wallet nestled in her cleavage.

This wallet?

yeah

I sighed, rubbing my temples. She was sexy, aggravatingly sexy. My dick loved that about her, adored and worshiped it really, but the rest of me - especially the more logical part - was less than pleased. Well... that wasn't true. The rest of me was also pleased, but only when it decided it wanted to be pleased, the rest of the time it wasn't excited to be dragged along by my dick.

Wait outside, I'll text you when you can come in.
Just act natural while waiting

yes Master.

She'd be here soon, so I'd have to see about getting Double distracted. I could always use the tape recorder... but that felt wrong. Odd how it felt wrong to make my cousin go to the other room with the device I had used to fuck and enslave two beauties - though the last part wasn't my idea. Plus, it was a rather dangerous idea to do it when he was right across the table from me.

Before I even realized, the waitress appeared. She was a cute filly, probably around my same age, with a well rounded shape, with good plumpness to her. Her old style dress, though it so rarely seemed to work on others, worked perfectly on her. 'And off her.' I blinked away the thought. I had had my first real mare, and then my second mare a few minutes after. I did NOT need to be seeking out another mare.

We made our orders, watched the waitress head to the back, and leaned into the old pleather upholstery of the benches, waiting for the order to come out. I then came up with an idea on how to get Berry in here and out of here before Double would even notice.

"We should probably wash our hands." I started, looking mine over as if they were covered in muck. "We've been digging through so many second hand shops today, and I don't want to think how bad some of the items we touched were."

"Yeah..." Double said, unenthusiastically, not really having been listening. I stopped, and looked at my cousin, who dejectedly was looking at his phone, slowly scrolling through something. I, not so slyly, leaned over the table in a way that usually would earn me a slap, but instead was not met by any resistance. On the screen was a text chain, and judging by its content, it was Thyme's conversation with him. I sighed, sitting back down, feeling a tad down myself, when I realized I could help.

"Hey," I waved a hand at Double, "wake up! Ground Control to Major Tom!" He blinked a few times, looking at me confusedly. "Thank you for rejoining us in the land of the living. Do you want to go wash your hands or are you willing to risk the germs of the past few second hand stores we've been to?" He seemed to consider this, apparently still adjusting to life within a body, as opposed to being a floating mind.

"Uh, sure... yeah, I'll go to the bathroom." He muttered as he stood, walking away, taking his phone as I had hoped. Watching him enter the bathroom, I quickly fished out the tape player, pressed the record button, and whispered into the mic - cupping it with my hand so that no background noise would be caught up.

"After finishing washing his hands, Double Time found his phone going off. On the other end was Thyme. She had been thinking, as only a torn pony could. She loved him, but she didn't love what he was becoming. This all considered, she had spent the last week thinking, and finally came to the reali-" My tape player clicked. I looked at it, seeing the play button slowly depress of its own volition. The head phones around my neck began to speak, and I slipped them on with no small measure of trepidation.

"... hadn't known it, but his words were truth even before he had spoken them. The mare was truly conflicted, and now was calling Double Time. Her heart ached, but she knew she loved him. Without requiring intervention, she reached out." The play button snapped back up, leaving me slack jawed. Apparently if I wanted to add something that was already set to happen, it would let me know. Either that or something equally as weird was happening.

Finding myself with some time, I stood up, looked out the large window that was the front of the diner, and saw Berry standing out front, leaning against a stop sign, fiddling with her phone. I quickly moved outside, and walked up to her. She glanced up from her phone, her expression initially quite harsh, but it softened as she saw it was me. Putting her phone in her bag, she brought out my wallet and passed it over to me.

"Here's your wallet, Ma- mister." She had almost slipped. I nodded, a blush touching my face. She must've notice, because she put on a sly look. "Want to do something fun?" She asked. Oh goodness, she was acting like a hooker. In broad daylight she was acting like a hooker, and she had just passed me a wallet. I was her pimp, and she was a hooker, and oh FUCK!

"N-no, maybe later." I stammered, rushing back inside, away from her predatory gaze. "Thanks for getting me my wallet!" I called out before slipping inside. I moved back to the table and did my best to be unnoticeable. I would have to get back at Berry for this, which would be difficult due to her particular sexual preferences, but something would have to be figured out. For now, Double Time was walking up and I could tell he needed a shoulder to lean on.

I knocked on my parent's door at the hotel. Looking at my watch, I smiled as I noted it being only a quarter after seven. My dad opened the door after a moment, and he looked more worse for wear than I had ever seen him. His eyes were red, as if he had been crying, and he had a general disheveled look about him. I was about to start talking when he started first, by reaching forward with surprising speed, and hugging me deeply. I was shocked to say the least, but eventually returned the hug.

My father was never like this, he was always so austere. He never showed any of the things he called 'weaker emotions', and hugging me like this was also unusual. I had a dropping feeling in my stomach, but I couldn't assume the worst yet. He eventually pulled out of the hug, sniffled slightly, and cleared his throat.

"I'm... sorry. Sorry that you've had to see me like this." He said, his voice quavering. "Everything's alright, it has just been a trying night. Here's your room key, it's right across the hall." I looked him over, but was entirely unsure how to feel. Here was the man that had raised me, and had, through it all, rarely shown any signs of great sadness, much less what I currently saw before me.

"R-right," I said lamely, grabbing the key card from him, "if you need anything, or if mom needs anything, you can be sure to ask me, alright?" I resolved finally. My dad nodded.

"Of course. Now head to your room, tomorrow is going to be a rough day. We visit the doctor's at nine, so we'll want to be awake by seven." He said, I nodded, flipping up my phone to set the alarms. I looked in his eyes, and gave a simple nod, moving away to my room. "Crescendo..." My father started, causing me to turn, "No matter what it may have sounded like before, no matter how harsh of words we may have used... your mother and I want you to know that we are proud of you, and that we support you all the way. Whatever you want to do with yourself and your talents, we'll back you up as best we can. Don't ever forget that."

I was stunned. I had always figured myself to be the unofficial family pariah, the outcast that was only held on to because he was an only child, much like how Double was with his parents. I felt a tear trickle down my cheek, the first of many, I could tell. I smiled at him.

"Thank you." I said simply. I looked down at the floor, thinking back on what I had done that day, how he'd feel about it. "Dad..." It was his turn to turn around, "What... how would you feel if... I did something stupid." Stupid was softballing it to an extreme. "What if I..."

"Crescendo," he said, sympathy and care in his voice. He paused for a moment, working out his words, "You are your own stallion. I may not approve of some of your choices, but in the end, you are my son. Don't think for a second that I'm not here for you no matter what." His smile seemed to warm up slightly. "It isn't like I'm clean, I've had my share of 'stupidity'. Especially when it comes to the fairer sex." He winked at me. "Now get some rest. We'll meet you down in the lobby, text us if you leave your room before we knock on the door." He slowly closed the door to the room. "Good night, Crescendo."

I stood in the hallway in shock. My father was a fooler? There was no way that that could be right! And yet... it was genuine. He had bared his heart to me despite the fact I had failed to do so for him. I blinked a few times, some weight seeming to lift off me. The world looked brighter, and as I crept into my hotel room, I popped my phone up and texted Berry.

Do you have anything important tomorrow?

No
Neither does Periwinkle
Master

I sighed. Today was an emotional roller coaster.

Just call me Cresh

Okay, Master
*Cress
*Cresh
Sorry, Cresh

I sighed, not in anger, but in some emotional rawness that I couldn't explain if I tried.

Can you two come over to Room 913 in the Neighbourgia Hotel?

Of course, Cresh
We'll be there in five

I fell back on my bed, not tired enough to sleep. Time flew, for in what seemed like seconds, I heard a knocking at my door. Opening it, I found Berry and Spry. Inviting them in, I directed them to the bed.

"So what are we going to do, Mas- Cresh?" Berry asked. I plopped down, patting the bed either side of me.

"I just need somepony to be with me." I said earnestly. The two mares looked at each other, and entered the bed, no sexy strip tease, no pretty fluttering of the eyes, just smooth grace as they entered the cushioned confines of the bed. With me in the middle on my back; Berry lay on her side to my right, one hand placed on my chest, the other under her head; Spry on my left simply ran her fingers through my hair, a gesture of no sexual charge, but of simple tender kindness.

The day suddenly crashed on me full force. My mother was dying. We just weren't admitting it; though perhaps my dad had and that was why he was in the state he was. Double had lost a special somepony, but had been fortunate enough to get her back, and had, in his vulnerability, spent nearly the entirety of the free time we had left crying tears of joy and unexpressed sorrow into my shoulder. Then there was me. I had found some arcane artifact, had unrestricted sex with two mares I barely knew, had turned them into slaves on accident. And now I found myself in the center of a web of decisions and pain.

I broke into tears and sobs. The two mares tried to comfort me, hugging me tightly as the day's pain and emotional weight came crashing down on me all in one moment. I had held it back. I had been the bulwark for other ponies. The shoulder for Double as he dealt with losing the mare he loved, and then the overwhelming joy of getting her back. I had been putting on a brave face for everypony so that they could go on without the extra worry that was me. I had pretended to be dispassionate towards it all, but in the end, my heart was straining under the weight that pressed ever harder down on me. But now, crying in the hotel room, surrounded by two mares, I found my pain being relieved in small part, but even that felt so much better.

Side A - Chapter 7: Coming and Getting Clean

Waking up the next morning was a trial in and of itself. My alarm for six in the morning went off and I was already done with the day. I wanted desperately to stay in bed, but even as I did, Spry got out of bed, setting about getting things set up for the morning, first getting a pot of coffee on. I was surprised to find both mares had had the forethought to bring a spare change of clothes, though I supposed I shouldn't be. I hadn't turned them into zombies... or had I?

Thinking over it all, I realized how many things had gone awry. I looked at the tape player on the nightstand, and part of me wanted to curse it, but another part wanted me to kiss it for what it had done. I finally sat up, realizing absentmindedly that I hadn't changed before falling asleep. I sighed, not truly caring.

"Cresh?" Spry asked, kneeling in front of me in a loose fitting night gown that I hadn't notice her change into. I had to suppose she had done that after my tears had ended with me falling into what had been the least restful sleep I had had in a while. It struck me odd, furthermore, that she used my nickname. That was, until I remembered my short text chat with Berry the evening before. I had corrected her calling me 'Master' with calling me 'Cresh' like Double always had. I needed to make sure that they didn't think 'Cresh' was a kinky word for Master.

"My name is Crescendo." I said flatly. My emotions were still a haze that didn't settle into any particular form. I felt terrible, but I also felt nothing. I was present, but I still felt empty.

"Alright," Spry nodded, "Cressie, are you alright?" I blinked. Was I alright? Even I wasn't sure of that.

"Kid, I'm not sure how much you recall, but you were all tears and sobs before you dozed off." Berry said, as if I could forget last night, but then again, it was valid. I looked to the mare and found her in a rather skimpy set of black lingerie, aggravatingly sexy at its finest. "You fell asleep some time after ten, but that was only after you cried for two and a half hours."

"To say we're concerned for you is an understatement." Spry injected. "Cressie, if you don't talk to us, we can't help you." She said, a pleading look in her eyes that let me feel again. And I felt the sadness in me come out in a smooth, almost relaxing mixture with relief and happiness. As tears once again flowed, I slowly blubbered out my pain.

"My mom is dying. She has been for a while." I said between sobs. "We're moving here because the doctors said she needed a change in climate. But even that is just to prolong it." I fell forward, hugging Spry deeply, as my tears continued to flow, now tickling onto her. "I don't want to lose her!" I wailed in a muffled tone into her shoulder. She rubbed my back, murmuring comforting things to me.

This felt almost more wrong than what we did the day before. That was bad because it was a mare I barely knew that I was fucking without having given her much of a chance to make her own decision. I had even had been so greedy as to steal her from her colt friends, her 'colt toys' as she called them. And why? Because I was scared of what they'd do. I was scared of what she'd do. I was scared, and so I stole her voice in the matter. And now I cried into her shoulder as she tenderly comforted me. If I had eaten any time after the diner, I would've retched it up. I was disgusting.

A gentle hand placed itself on my head, and I realized Berry was kneeling behind Spry now, looking caringly, and yet seriously, into my eyes. "Kid, we are here for you. And based on last night I think you know this - but just in case - we are good for more than just fucking - though I do enjoy it. Speaking of." I winced, knowing this was going to go somewhere I didn't want it to. "We need to take a shower." I was caught by surprise that she had said something so sensible after her previous statement. "We should go in there and wash off together. It'll be a sure fire way to cheer you up." And there it was.

"I enslaved you." I muttered, my self loathing flowing free as I forced myself to explain. I would tell them, they would hate me, I would set them free, and we'd all go back to our own ways. "I used an artifact and I enslaved you!" I sobbed, pushing through the pain, knowing in my heart that I was about to lose these two forever.

"Yup, and I couldn't be happier." I looked up at Berry in shock.

"Same here honestly." Spry said in a softer tone. "Though I doubt it's for the same reasons." She said with a smirk towards Berry. Turning back to me, she smiled softly. "Cressie... before you enslaved me, I was just treading water." I looked away from the mare, shame flowing through me despite her words. She sighed lightly, and lifted my chin with a finger to let our eyes meet. "I had seven colt toys because each of them wasn't what I wanted, but the seven of them together were pretty decent; but you? You're amazing. And I don't just mean the sex." I paused at this, my brain working furiously to make sense of it all.

"Honestly, I would've likely cut them free even if you hadn't said to, I just wanted to know what you wanted." She continued, her hands rubbing my shoulders. "Cressie, you are caring, compassionate, and you have shown yourself able to see us more than just another conquest or some holes on legs."

"Now that's my kind of hot!" Berry interjected, gaining a glare from Spry, obviously not what the white mare had wanted, before she turned back to me to finished.

"When you felt like you did last night, you could've asked for us to fuck and suck you all night - trying to chase away the pain with sheer lust - and neither of us would've complained. Shoot, I was expecting it! Instead of that, you wanted to cuddle. Cressie, you might've enslaved us, but if there's a pony who would've been better to us, I've yet to meet them." Berry snorted.

"Yup, different reasons." Berry confirmed, a devilish smirk on her lips.

"Well then, Berry, care to expound on why you are alright with having been magically enslaved?" Spry asked, a wry smirk on her face.

"Simple: the kid's a good fuck." Berry pointed out. "That and he can keep going for, quite frankly, an absurd amount of time. I think I tired out before you were nearing half done." Berry was less right than she might've thought, but that was more because she underestimated my artifact enhanced tank. "Kid, like Spry said, you are a good egg. Honestly if I had felt as rotten as you likely did and do; I would've brought out whips, chains, and ball gags - not comfy cozy cuddle time. So before you go thinking about turning either of us free or some other Scheiße like that, do do that thing where you think about us more than another pony in your place would, and let us stay. If not because you like fucking, then because we are here asking you - making a choice to confirm your actions."

I blinked, not sure entirely how to feel. Both of the mares I felt so guilty for having taken advantage of were not only alright with it, but wanted it. Was this the tape player's doing, or had this been an honest feeling from before that? I knew that for Berry it was likely how she felt since before she met me, simply because she had shown signs of a kink ridden existence before her enslavement, and she would've likely gotten herself a slave or would've been enslaved herself without my intervention; but Spry... I couldn't be sure. She seemed to just want to play with ponies, not let them control her mind; and yet when it came down to it, she fucked like an animal, begged for more, and generally seemed willing to go along with things outside her normality just for the sexy fun of it. But none of that mattered now, I supposed, because in their current states they wanted nothing more than to continue being my slaves, not going on acting like the free ponies they weren't anymore since the recording interfered.

"Alright." I said. "I'll keep the two of you." I said finally, feeling as though I was both admitting defeat and winning the sweetest prize of all. 'Conflicted' was a word that had started to wear thin in my case.

"Good, 'cause if you hadn't, I would've had to figure out how to get you a case of Stockholm syndrome." Berry said, a flash of her wild side showing, though that was likely all her sides if I was honest. "So how about that shower?" I sighed, and then slowly nodded. Either I was stuck with these mares, or they were stuck with me, but either way, I felt a lot less wretched about the situation.

Hopping into the shower, we found the situation surprisingly better than anticipated. Fortunately for our particular brand of morning depravity, the shower seemed almost designed for it, being of a larger construction, with multiple shower heads positioned in different areas of the shower, pointing at different angles. I wasn't sure what we were really going to do, and honestly, I still wasn't too stoked to partake. Berry, like yesterday, took the lead initially, but shortly, Spry took the role from her, seeing me in the state I was in. I wasn't exactly in 'butt fucking in the shower' mode.

Berry and Spry, in all their naked, and now wet, glory lathered themselves in soap, and then scrubbed me down with their bodies. At first, to my surprise, my dick was on the side of the overarching mood I was holding, but it couldn't last long as Berry jiggled her jugs in my crotchular region to achieve a 'thorough cleaning'. Once my southern partner was awake, Berry stood up and looked me in the eye.

"You've got a choice, mister." Her tone almost sounded like what a mother would use, but only a porn stepmom would act like her, and even then they might be a tad more conservative - if that was possible. "You are either getting a titjob and risking the chance of getting soap down the dick, or you can fuck my ass where there is no soap. What's it gonna be?" I sighed once more. I whirled my finger in a circle in the air as Spry rubbed my leg with her magnificent boobs. Berry smirked, turned about, planted her hands on the shower's wall, and spread her legs slowly, keeping a good grip on the lightly textured shower tiles.

It was only my second time doing this, and now that I was in a more down mood, even though it was slightly elevated by the general sexiness that was the scenario about me, this was a tad more awkward as I lined up for entry. That was, up to the point I pushed in. At that point, the feeling of her insides made me gasp. It felt somehow better than I recalled. I began to fuck her in earnest as Spry rubbed me with her tits, occasionally stopping to walk beside Berry to apply more on her tits before rubbing it into a bubbly curtain in what appeared almost like the sexiest reverse strip tease as the bubbles slowly obscured the view of her body, though she did stay away from her southern border.

It took me a little bit, probably because it was the first fuck of the day after the previous day of incessant fucking, but after a while, I orgasmed, and apparently sent Berry over the edge too by her cries. Pulling out, leaving a small strand of cum between my dick and her ass that was quickly swept away in the torrent of water from the shower, I felt almost disappointed that the situation around us wouldn't allow for sexy cum eating. Then I kneeled before her, spread her cheeks, and gave it a try myself.

Berry was taken aback by this, not sure how to react to her Master eating our her ass, not to mention how green I was at it. She even coached me through it, giving me pointers as I ate my own cum from her ass. As I did, I felt Spry sucking my dick. I continued working at it, finding it a struggle to finish after I came in Spry's mouth, but beyond that, according to Berry,

"For somepony who has never eaten ass, that wasn't half bad. If you practice a tad bit, you might even get good at it." I nodded slowly as I stood up, putting at hand on a shoulder of each mare, before suddenly pushing them against the wall. Spry looked a tad shocked, but Berry just looked excited. Leaning forward, I then pinned them with my body weight, which likely could've been lifted away with ease, I lowered my hands to tend to my work.

Eating ass, I had never done; fucking ass or pussies, I had never done; but when it came to getting a girl off, I had some experience, as my two slaves now found as my fingers, lithe from the two years of piano I had taken in high school alongside my violin course.

My fingers danced across their skin, tracing a slow spiral from a nipple lower and lower down the stomach before running down and back up a thigh before switching thighs. Every thigh switch brought me closer and closer, and just as I was about to touch them where it counted, my hands left them entirely. Berry whimpered in bliss, while Spry seemed contented with what she had received. With a swift movement, I drove my fingers it and played them like a pair of fiddles; truly, my years of violin lessons came in use every so often.

After a few minutes of toying with them, I pressed, and quickly brought them over the edge. As they screamed out in orgasm, my hands flashed up and gave them a taste of their own juices. Berry, as I could've predicted, sucked on my fingers, going so far as to grab my forearm and draw it in closer. Spry, however, initially recoiled from the unexpected move, but slowly warmed up to it and lapped at my fingers like some sexy kitten.

Without coaxing, as Berry continued to lick and suck on my other hand, she slowly migrated her lapping up my arm, across my chest, down my stomach, and finally made it to my dick. Berry noticed, planted kisses from my arm to the base of my cock and began to work in tandem to bring me to the edge. Berry tended my balls, while Spry did her best to deep throat me, all the while the two mares tried to also grope and fondle each other.

Our fun eventually ended, mostly as time moved to half past seven and there were still things left to do to get ready for the day, including getting dressed - something I didn't think we could accomplish in a sexy way in the shower without having to redo the process later on.

"Will you be alright, Cressie?" Spry asked as the two of them headed out from the hotel room. I gave her a weary smile and nodded slowly.

"I'll manage. Thanks again for asking."

"Sure thing, Master." Berry replied before pulling the door shut in front of me. I was left there blinking at the door, before walking back to the room. I would have to get her back somehow.

Grabbing my wallet and other items from the nightstand, I found my tape recorder. Even after the soothing and sex Berry and Spry had given me, my emotional state was still a whirl of confusion, and I almost felt like throwing it across the room; but instead, sat down, and put on the headset. Breaking it wouldn't solve anything, and though it had its share of liabilities, it was of far more use in my estimation that the benefit gained from destroying it. I sat like that for a while, my mind full, and yet empty, of thoughts. I closed my eyes, unsure what I should do, knowing that I should do something. Picking up the mic, I felt energy surge through me, a sudden purpose filling me as the caring actions and reassurances the mares had given me, for what they were worth from magically controlled mares, came back to me. I knew what I had to do.

"Once reaching their appointment, it was found that the young stallion's mother was completely free from-" A sudden furious knocking came to my door. Turning I went to open the door, and found my father, who grabbed me, falling into me in tears. I hesitated, not sure what to make of this, before realizing the recording was still going. I closed the door, not wanting any hiccups in this plan.

Side A - Chapter 8: Hospitality

I sat in the emergency room waiting area. My mother had needed immediate transportation from the hotel to the hospital as her condition significantly, and suddenly, worsened. My father had banged on my door to let me know, even as my mother was being wheeled down the hall by the EMTs.

Glancing around, I looked for somewhere private to make the vital recording. I had been interrupted once at the hotel, and having quickly checked on the drive over, I found to my astonishment that the beginning of the recording I had made was nowhere on the tape. Perhaps it had been erased, recognized as an incomplete thought, and so not executable and not worth keeping.

I finally found my opportunity. The hospital had a quiet room, reserved for patients or family members who needed space. It was odd to me, as all of the other hospitals I had ever been to, and that was many, hadn't had one; but I could only supposed that this hospital might be a tad bit of an oddball. Stepping inside, I found it unoccupied. This was perfect. I set the recorder down, bringing up the mic as I hit record. Caution was still my biggest concern, and so, even in a quiet room with nopony inside, I cupped my hand around the mic and spoke softly into it.

"After working with her for a long while, the doctors experienced something miraculous. With little warning or provocation, Melody seemed to be healed of her condition, her tuberculosis completely evaporating from her system. She'd be weak for the next several weeks, and the doctors would observe her incessantly to try and figure out what had happened, but in the end, as she recovered fully, a medical miracle, there were no results found that were satisfactory." I paused, not sure if that was right. Other ponies suffered and needed help. I sighed, realizing my stupid and selfish mistake too late; but I could still qualify it, just as I had the enslavement of the day prior. "During her observation, one of the doctors working the case would be inspired, and shortly develop a treatment that revolutionized the world of medicine. A curative treatment for tuberculosis, that she named after herself and the mare who had so miraculously recovered."

Pressing the record button again to release it, I sighed, feeling much better. My mom would be alright, and other ponies would be given a new lease on life because of this. I could do some real good with this recorder. I thought on Spry's father, and was tempted to make a new addition, but thinking over it, and all I had gathered about his situation, it was more a matter of old age that plagued him. I doubted the recorder could... I chuckled. I had just doubted the recorder could do something. Of course it could! It had the power to do whatever it wanted, and in some cases did just that without my bidding, going as far as to control me.

I looked up as the door to the quiet room opened, and a nurse walked in, my eyes drawn immediately to her assets, thinly covered in a fetishistic rendition of a nurses uniform that still seemed at least somewhat appropriate, though definitely scandalous. She glanced about quickly, and seeing me, walked over; putting what I noticed to be over emphasis to her hips as she did. I then realized with a sigh what situation I was in as I looked at the pony's face. The 'nurse' straddled, grabbing my collar and pulling me close to her, planting a long kiss on my mouth. I forgot the situation, my hormones giving me a kick in the rear. I leaned into the kiss, finding the mare forcing me into a french kiss. Though I never had done it before, I complied, my arms moving on their own as I pressed her to me, letting the kiss last as long as it would.

Eventually we did part, and taking a few lust laden breaths, I gave Berry a stink eye. She bopped my nose playfully before giving an exaggerated twirl out of her place on my lap to land on the chair beside me, looking me over with a smile.

"Enjoy your checkup, sir?" She asked, wiggling a tad in her seat. I want to say I was torn; that I wanted to both fuck and not fuck her. That I had self control in spades such that doing it in the hospital where my mother might've been dying had it not been for my recorder was absurd. I wish I could also say that Spry hadn't entered a moment later in the same type of nurse uniform as Berry and flipped the 'Do Not Disturb' sign to face outwards and closed the curtain. I wish I could say those things.

I stood up, grabbing my recorder, and moved over to a corner of the room and turned the recording button on, speaking in a low whisper to the mic, before turning the recording feature back off, placing the device in my pocket. Looking to the two mares in the room who looked skeptically at me, I just smiled, watching them blinking as the world shifted to accommodate my newest orders.

"So, shall we begin, nurses?" I asked, walking over to them as they settled finally. "What's the first test?" The two of them smiled pleasantly to me. This certainly would be fun.

Nurse Berry Punch looked to her patient. She knew the signs of the infection when she saw them, but never had such an advanced case shown up in her records. She stood up and motioned for the stallion to sit down in her place.

"We'll need to start with a standard grip test. We need to ensure your hands' muscles have not atrophied." She kneeled in front of the stallion and brought out her grip strength tester from its place in her shirt. Presenting it to the stallion, she continued. "I just need you to grip and release repeatedly. Meanwhile, my partner here will be giving your other hand a dexterity test. Nurse Periwinkle?" Nurse Periwinkle nodded, bringing out the dexterity tester from her skirt, lowering its sterile, protective covering that was wet with the antibacterial solution, leaving a strand of the slightly viscous fluid connecting the case to the testing mechanism.

The patient began to kneed her grip strength tester, bringing back good results. Her heart beat faster as he continued to grip, release, and move his grip a tad; probably because she desperately wanted to help this stallion. She nodded, feeling herself taking slightly ragged breaths as she observed the patient's eyes. "E-every th-thi~ing s... seems a-alright, ooh, with your gr-rip, sir." She did her best to maintain her composure despite the stress that was obviously getting to her. "Y-you'll notice a... a protuberance on the device, pl-please begin to rub it between y-your th-thumb a-a-and f-forefinger. Apply v-varying p-pressure to it~!"

"A-also," Nurse Periwinkle began, "You m-may now proceed to ph-phase two of the dexterity t-test. Please... please insert y-your fingers~ in the t-tester!" Looking at the other nurse's dexterity tester, it indeed seemed to be giving good readings, Nurse Berry was almost surprised with how quick the stallion worked the tests, that was until the grip strength monitor began giving readings from the protuberance's sensor. The data was off the charts! Gasping at the results as they came in, Nurse Berry found her hands wishing, and beginning to move, to do something but seemed confused as they simply hovered between what seemed random areas to the nurse.

After a few minutes of finalizing the tests, Nurse Periwinkle exclaimed as the dexterity tester gave its final read out. At the same moment, the protuberance's sensor gave a new data set as the patient twisted it a tad, causing Nurse Berry to exclaim! Nodding after composing herself, Nurse Berry put the grip strength tester back away.

"Now we need to take your temperature." She said, as Nurse Periwinkle covered the dexterity tester again and kneeled alongside her, ready to take the patient's temperature. "If you'd please, bring out your penis so that we can take the temperature." The patient complied, lowering his pants and underwear, revealing his fully erect penis. "Move slightly forward on the seat, we'll need full access to take your temperature." Again he complied, scooting slightly forward, letting his prodigious testicles fall off the hard plastic of the chair and dangle before the two nurses. Nurse Berry quickly set to her part, checking the balls' temperature with her mouth while Nurse Periwinkle checked the penis' temperature in much the same way.

The readings took a few minutes to come back, but as the balls raised and the length trembled, Nurse Berry knew that the test was over. Sitting up on her knees, she looked to Nurse Periwinkle, watching as she took it all in, before raising herself up, swirling the data around in her mouth, even opening her mouth to show the patient his results while Nurse Berry, ever dutiful, cleaned off the stallion's penis with her mouth, ensuring that all equipment would remain sanitary.

"What are the results, Nurse Periwinkle?" Berry asked as she watched her swallow the results for further testing. Nurse Periwinkle shuddered as a horrified look crept onto her face. Nurse Periwinkle grabbed Nurse Berry's arm and lifted her up to her feet in a swift motion.

"He needs 50cc's of femcum applied topically to the penis!" She said with an edge to her voice. "Get him the femcum, I'll get his heart rate up!" Nurse Berry nodded, lowering her panties in a swift motion, kicking them off to the side before straddling the stallion, shoving the impressive penis into her vagina. This was a matter of life or death, and she needed to deliver! "Begin pumping!" Nurse Periwinkle ordered as she brought out the necessary equipment from her shirt to help accelerate his heart rate. Nurse Berry began to quickly raise and lower herself on the stallion's length, feeling herself taken by the pleasure of saving a life as she did.

Nurse Periwinkle quickly brought the equipment over to the stallion, and placed it in his mouth. Continuing to bounce up and down, Nurse Berry was surprised when the stallion gripped the grip strength tester through her shirt and applied a variety of forces to the protuberance while also kneading the rest of it furiously.

It only took a few moments, but after bouncing up and down, she felt herself cum, satisfied as she felt the stallion cum in her, his treatment completed. She sighed contentedly, but then began to feel the world around her dissolve away. Before her, Cresh was detaching from Periwinkle's teat while finally letting go of one of Berry's.

"How was that?" He asked. Berry couldn't help shudder in pleasure at the display, causing more of said pleasure to flow through her as the dick still in her pussy wiggled about inside her. She was in bliss, and never wanted to stop.

"Oh, it was wonderful, Master!" Spry gasped, hugging him, her breasts still hanging out her nurse uniform. Berry hefted one of the breasts playfully, considering its weight in her hand, gaining a look from her friend.

"What? I thought we were still going?"

I smiled at the two, the enforced role play making me feel splendid, a part of me finally agreeing that control over these two felt good. Not just because they were sexy, but because I could have them do anything I wanted. I hadn't had a fetish like this before, at least not that I was aware of, but now that I was exposed, I was addicted.

Side A - Chapter 9: Nevermore

I lay in the bed between the two buxom beauties that comprised what I supposed now was a slave harem, the sounds of their slow inhales and exhales providing better ambiance than any white noise app I had ever come across. Sleep had seemed impossible after the day I had had, and so far that thought proved true as the alarm clock on the nightstand heralded the coming of midnight.

After our fun in the hospital, I had the mares leave before me. Though I was slowly becoming more okay with the prospect of keeping them even when my libido wasn't taking the wheel, I still didn't want to be seen as what I was: a slave holder. The day was fairly calm after that, the doctors coming to tell my father and I that my mom was already stabilizing, but that they would need to keep her in observation for a while yet to ensure she was alright.

Leaving the hospital, I parted with my father, who wanted to go back to the hotel to rest, and texted Double. To my joy, he told me he was unavailable for any shenanigans as he and Thyme were going on a sort of date to patch things up as best they could. I couldn't be happier for him. Seeing as my cousin was unavailable, I joined back up with my mares to spend a day together.

I had begun referring to them as my mares in the hopes that that exercise would help me accept the reality that was pressing on me. I couldn't unmake them my slaves, and if I told them to act like they weren't, it would still be them following orders. It would be nothing beyond them simply acting unchanged would occur. They'd still would wish to serve me, but would be deprived. I didn't want to think what punishment the artifact might enforce on them should they not serve as was mandated by its magical recording.

Our day was filled with doing a whole lot of nothing. Spry luckily had a new Arcano-Wagon, which appeared like a slightly modified cart that had no harness points, and drove us to the next town over, a place called Dodge City. The Arcano-Wagon, being a rather recent invention, was a new experience for me, and so was getting sucked off in one, thanks to Berry. We spent the day shopping about in a place where the two mares would be unknown by basically any casual observer.

Returning after our day, we parted temporarily to reunite in my hotel room, in the hopes that none would connect the three of us. It did help, as I found out, that Berry was indeed from out of town and that up until I had confirmed their place as my... my slaves, she had been staying in a different motel. Moving her things over wasn't hard, and wouldn't engender too much curiosity, especially since they had been staying in the room with me since the first night, giving the appearance that either I really liked these two mares, or that they were family or friends. I wasn't dissatisfied with either option.

Lying in the room, reading on my phone, I did my best to keep my mind off things being unable to sleep. Suddenly, a quiet tapping sound broke the silence. I perked my head up, looking through the room from my spot between the mares in an attempt to figure out where it had come from - the sound having been so faint I both couldn't tell if it had actually happened, and where it had happened if it had.

After a moment, I let my head hit the pillows again, going back to my reading, figuring that it wasn't important. Suddenly it happened again, a tad more insistent this time. This time I could tell it was at the door. Getting up, I padded over to the door softly, not wanting to wake the two mares that still somehow slept softly in the bed as the green numbers on the clock brought the new day in without ceremony.

Peeking through the peep hole, I saw a distorted pony, but whoever it was was looking down the hall, showing me only enough of a hint of themselves that I could tell that it was indeed a pony. I slowly opened the door, ready to slam it shut once again at a moment's notice. I leaned my head to look out the gap and there saw a pony I actually knew.

"Midnight Raven? While I appreciate the incidental hilarity of your timing, but what are you doing here?" I whispered out the door. She turned to me, her light gray skin seeming to get a tad bit more shaded around the cheeks as she fiddled with her luscious black locks, giving me an awkward smile. She was a classmate of mine, a classmate I knew lived in Manehatten. I had no idea why she'd be here in this backwater of a town.

"Cr-Crescendo? May I come in?" She asked, looking quite nervous. It might've been my inner gentleman, but I did, quietly closing the door behind me only to realize my mistake a second later. I was about to call for her to not go any further into the room, ready to fling a 'it's a terrible mess' excuse in for good measure, but to my relief, she barely entered, just stepping past me so that I could close the door, and then turned to face me.

"Is something wrong, Raven, you seem... antsy." I asked in a quiet whisper, hoping to not wake up the mares who were a few steps away. In the unlit room, Raven was nearly invisible, her complexion and hair color naturally hiding her, though her eyes did give her away.

"No... not exactly." She paused, swiping some hair behind her ear in the soft light from the door behind me. "I... I saw you." She began, making my heart stop. "At the shop... at the hospital... I even heard you this morning." The blood drained from my face as I quickly began to calculate how to best get to the recorder, and what the fastest thing I could say was that would start me down the road to solving this issue.

"What do you mean?" I asked, wanting to make sure before I irrevocably changed this filly... no, this mare before me. Change her, mold her, from her silky hair; to her thin, inviting lips; to her fairly small boobs; and even her slight butt that led to lithe legs. My mind was already rebelling. The recorder had made it clear I'd have more slaves, perhaps she was the next? Perhaps that was the way to fix this.

"You and... the mares. You... uh... fooling around." She squeaked. I was screwed. I was screwed because I had screwed and had screwed up hiding the screwed up screwing. And now I had jamais vu to top it off. "I... I know that you did something." She continued, only making me more anxious. "You aren't... or you weren't... I never knew you as being so... bold." The air hung in silence for a moment as I processed this.

"You're right," I said finally, knowing that either I could talk my way out of this or I would record my way out of it, "I found an artifact. I found out it let me... control things." I tried to explain, leaning against the wall, both presenting a nice blockade to the door, and also taking a slight load off. "I can... rewrite the past somewhat, I suppose, but I can also affect the present and future."

"And you controlled those mares?" She asked me in a thin whisper, as if she couldn't breathe.

"Yes and no." I began, stopping to listen for their breathing. "You see... I made it so they wanted me, and then... well it kinda went from there." I waited to hear her response, and found that took longer than expected. I looked at her in the dim light from the door, trying to see her face to read it.

"You wouldn't have to make me want you." She said in a whisper that I barely caught. In the dim light, I saw her eyes shimmer with tears. "Crescendo? Could... could I join them? Could I be what they are to you?" She asked with the utmost sincerity. I blinked slowly as I processed this unprocessable bundle of information for a while, and after a thorough inspection of my ears and language center, I realized what she seemed to be after and that I hadn't misunderstood her.

"R-Raven," I stammered, "A-at the shop... when we started, it was just a fling. Then... well the artifact did something I didn't want and made them my slaves. They are bound to my orders! Are you sure you are alright with that? Because I can tell you, I'm still trying to get through it with them!"

"Crescendo... I... I love you." She said, taking a step forward, the bar of light from the door now playing across her face. I felt as if a bucket of cold water had been thrown on me as all my reality seemed to spiral downward like a bird struck midflight. Raven and I had had no encounters like I had had with some of our classmates, though we were both near the same age and in the same classes - unlike some of the ponies I had had flings with. I was kind of stunned.

"Are... are you sure?" I asked, feeling a new level of unsure myself.

"Yes!" She squeaked, her voice heavy in emotion. "Cress, ever since I met you I've had a crush. But... you know... I think I outgrew the crush. Now I'm..." She wavered before pressing herself against me, planting a kiss on my mouth, which surprised me greatly. It wasn't the sweet, sensual kiss of Berry; nor the soft, caring kiss of Spry, but its own beast of a kiss. A deeply impassioned kiss that spoke of inexperience and a deep need, but not just sexual need, but something much more significant.

She backed away eventually, and though we were shrouded in darkness, I could tell she was blushing, because I certainly was! I was speechless for a moment, unsure what could follow that up.

"Wow..." I said lamely.

"Was that alright? Oh please-" I broke her off by taking her in another kiss, my hands running over her body as I let the energy of the moment flow through me. Raven, with a contented sigh, leaned into it, her hands equally roaming across me as we kissed over and over again, passions running high.

I shifted, pushing her against the wall with a dull thud as we continued to caress and kiss, our pleasure and libidos driving us wild as we did our best to remove clothing from the other with needy, frantic energy. Kiss after kiss, we soon found ourselves naked in the dark hotel room; kissing, moaning, and feeling each other's bodies.

Kissing her neck, letting her have air, I moved one hand to fondle her ass while the other seized one of her breasts, kneading it as I felt her grab my dick, stroking it slowly. My kisses found their way back to her sweet lips, our tongues beginning to dance together as we were caught up in the lust. I grabbed her hand that still held my dick, and without looking, I lined myself up to her entrance, and then thrust. Raven would've screamed, and she did, but she did so into my shoulder as the waves of pleasure cascaded over her. I pulled back and thrust again, pushing her up against the wall as I hilted in her. She wrapped her legs about me, whimpering and moaning into my shoulder as I fucked her, my own arousal driving me equally up the wall.

The sound of skin slapping skin echoed in the small hotel room, while the two of us enjoyed each other, and as the waves of pleasure reached their peak, we kissed, moaning into each other in ecstasy as we came together. Even as the high passed, and we were left once again in the valleys between the sexual peaks, we kissed, our hearts thrumming in our chests as we coasted down, the world feeling right.

Suddenly the light came on, and I looked to see Berry, who got a slap on the shoulder from Spry for disturbing us. The two of us, still touching in the most intimate way possible, looked at her in disbelief, though belief wasn't too far away.

"So?" Berry asked, unabated by Spry, or the looks we were giving her, "Any room for another?" I looked to Raven, my eyes asking the same question. Was she alright with this? She said she wanted to be like them - though that was before I mentioned it was enslavement for them - and she had also said she loved me, but did she love me and desire to be like them enough to allow them to fuck together. I knew that if she said no to Berry's advances that I would agree and continue on my own, but I also did want to show Raven exactly how good she was, Raven deserved it.

"I... suppose so." Raven said, slowly sliding off of me, squeaking in pleasure as she did. We wouldn't be getting much sleep that night, but we weren't going to be forgetting it anytime soon.

Side A - Chapter 10: A Change in Venues and Views

The day was slowly ticking towards noon, and we were only just getting started with the day. Periwinkle was pouring us all coffees while Berry was off picking up some breakfast from the diner for the lot of us. I sat on the bed, while Raven, shying behind her hair, sat on a chair at her own request. We had spent the entirety of the previous evening having sex, a first for the bed, but now the morning was here, and there were things to talk about before we were inevitably kicked out for messing up the hotel room. I'd have to do my best to excuse that with my dad later, but maybe I wouldn't have to; the tape recorder still existed after all.

"Are you alright, Raven?" I asked, adjusting my position to try and see her face. She nodded slowly, her expression still hid behind her hair as she looked at the ground. I sighed, knowing that I had to get this over with. "Raven... last night you said you loved me. Was that what you feel?" Her head shot up, and I saw that she had been, and likely still was, crying.

"Yes!" She blurted out. Periwinkle looked to me, her expression troubled as I took the coffee from her with a grateful nod. Periwinkle knelt beside the chair and presented Raven the coffee with a smile and a soft shoulder rub.

"Don't be worried, he's just confirming with you. He wants you as happy as possible." She comforted. Periwinkle was definitely the right choice to stay as opposed to Berry. Berry would've said something more devious and less helpful, something including my dick in all likelihood. Periwinkle's words, though, had a visible effect on Raven's mood as she relaxed, taking the coffee. After taking a sip, she set it on the nightstand.

"Yes... I still love you, maybe even more now." She replied more fully. I nodded slowly, considering this.

"Last night you also said that you wanted to be what Periwinkle and Berry are to me. Knowing now that they are my... well, unintentional slaves, are you still wanting to be that?" I didn't want to entrap her in this. I didn't want to force her hand. I needed her to make this her choice, or to make another choice. I couldn't force yet another choice on this subject.

"Yes..." She replied softly, lowering her head. I was completely caught off guard, but I had a guess as to why she was so willing to accept slavery.

"You can be with me without being my slave. You can be free, Raven. There is nothing stopping you being free and with me at the same time." I stated. She'd of course would have to take this option. Who wouldn't?

"No. I want to be your... your slave." Raven was just full of surprises. I, however, predictably continued my streak of being completely dumbfounded. She looked up at me, wiping away her tears. "Cress... I want to be with you, and I also want to be a slave... I..." She stumbled a tad with her thoughts, returning her gaze to the floor as she thought. "Cress," She began once more, looking at me, "have you ever seen my house?" That... that was an odd question, a sentiment that Spry obviously shared based on the look on her face.

"No?" I actually had never been to any of the houses of any of the mares, or fillies really, I had been with. Usually we met in some other place so that neither of us got too much heat from anyone; with many of those times happening on school grounds.

"I live in a mansion. Cress, my family is stacked. I've grown up with every want and need fulfilled." She started, seeming to grow more confident as she continued, even leaning forward towards me, her pegasus wings gently twitching. "Cress, I've never had to worry, and I've had servants wait on me hand and foot. I'm sick of it. I'm sick of being better, no, I'm sick of being equal! Cress, make me your slave! Make me clean, make me cook, make me fuck you even when I don't want to! Cress, please, it's all I've ever wanted. Every night I'd m-" She cut herself off, but I guessed where her train of thought had just pulled the breaks, and it certainly made it a struggle to not blush or have my southern partner make an appearance from within my boxer shorts.

"And you're sure, Raven? I want you to be absolutely, positively sure that this," I motioned to Spry, who attended us in only her panties, "is what you want." She nodded vigorously.

"I want it, it's all I ever wanted! I want it, and so much more!" She was giddy, moving off her chair to kneel beside the bed I sat on, placing her hands on my lap, looking up at me with her eyes full of pleading need. "Make me your slave! Make me your bitch! Make me your cock hungry whore! Oh please, just don't make me go away... M-Master!" I was stunned.

I really had expected her to want to leave if she had to be a slave and only be this pleading towards staying with me while her freedom stayed with her. I suppose that this wasn't coming entirely out of the blue. Raven had always been shy, so knowing who she liked might've been difficult for the school gossips, but I had occasionally noticed through the years she'd look at my table during lunch wistfully - though I had always assumed that it was more at the Hoofball player Pigskin, a taken rather than given name, that sat next to me. Now, it seemed irrefutable, she wanted me. That was a concept on parallel with how the mares had wanted to stay my slaves as far as difficulty for my brain to wrap around.

"Ok," I said finally, "if that is what you want, then I'll use the... 'artifact'. After I do, you will be my slave and want to obey me, no, you'll be unable to disobey me."

"I... I actually don't want to be affected by the artifact, if that's alright." She said, catching me slightly off guard, leaving me waiting for an explanation. "I want to be your slave, and I'll obey you, now and forever, but I want it to be me that's obeying. I want to know it's me, and not an artifact pulling my strings." I blinked a few times, and then smiled. I was more than relieved to hear that. The prospect of having to use the tape recorder to alter her was less than... pleasant.

"Yes, that's quite alright, I'd like it better that way too." Silence hung in the air for a few seconds, nopony feeling the need to speak as the moment sank in. I placed a hand on Raven's head, and my smile returned, having lowered during the silence. "You are my slave now, and I... I will be your master. I promise that no matter what, I won't abandon you and will do my best to take care of you and your needs" She nestled into my hand, doubtlessly a flood of emotions coursing through her, though no tears showed.

It was at this moment the door to the hotel room opened and closed, and Berry walked in carrying two to-go bags, the scent of the various foods she had brought permeating the room.

"Breakfast is on. Hey, Master, want a quick suck under the table?" I face palmed.

The ill used road was more than a little bumpy. It was designed for stagecoaches or small carts that traveled at a moderate speed, not the rapid movement of the magically propelled Arcano-Wagon. After eating breakfast, where Berry continued to not disappoint - or maybe she was disappointing me - by offering various sexual acts over or under the table; and dictating the room's sudden cleanliness into the recorder, I had gone to my father. I told him that during our stay I had arranged for an apartment and a promising job interview, and that I would be heading out. In actuality, I had arranged to move into Berry's house in the small town of Ponyville and would have some coin coming from Raven, who had told her parents weeks ago she intended to go out on her own, and so was receiving the continued flow of bits from her late grandfather's trust directly to her as opposed to her parents.

The depth of Raven's wish to be with me was only starting to become clear to me. She had told her parent's this as soon as she had heard that my family and I were moving. She had sleuthed her way into knowing which room I'd be in, and had reserved the one below it, which explained how she had heard us the morning prior, though only to a point that might require me making some further questions to her. She was well and truly on her own, because she wanted to be with me, a loser beyond the pale.

Her trust money wasn't exorbitant, but it was substantial. She could easily support us, now that Periwinkle had, with help from knowing her Master would take care of her - something I would've advised against - closed the old secondhand shop, stating it was slowly dying, and that she had been fighting to keep it open. Selling off all the items in the store to random interests for nibs on the bit, as well as the building to a contracting company - something like Filth n' Flab - who had been aching for it, she had made a decent amount of money, which now were the solid basis for us being able to both pay back my father for the hotel and help with hospital expenses, and moving all of Periwinkle's things over while her apartment's lease ran out.

Moving into Berry's place was a matter of convenience as far as things went. I needed a place where no one knew me and where I could go about doing what I would; while we needed a place where we could all live without breaking one contract or another. Fortunately for us, Berry had bought the house, and though she would've been still paying for it, due to a technicality involving the house having been destroyed during Princess Twilight's battle with Tirek and a particular piece of legislation mandating the nullification of all previous debts of ponies whose houses and lives had been reduced to ash by the brawl, the house was free of attached expenses beyond property taxes and utilities. The house that had replaced the old one had 'suffered' an error in construction, resulting in what was something between a large family home and a small mansion when it should've been a smaller cottage.

Taking the turn off from the Everfree Bypass, we crested a hill, and found ourselves overlooking the quaint town of Ponyville, home of the Elements of Harmony and the Castle of Friendship. I had been told that the castle sprouted from a magical seed, and based on its appearance, I could believe it - looking as if a sculptor had made a tree castle out of crystals. It was...something to be sure.

Pulling up in front of Berry's house, we began the process of unloading all of our things. Spry's things were still going to be arriving with some movers, but beyond that, most of us had been able to fit all our things on the Arcano-Wagon - though I still would have to wait for my miscellaneous items that were coming with my movers to pass by my parents before reaching me; but I could see those things go up in flames and only feel a tad bit sorry for the loss.

The large place was quite the sight for the small town, set off a tad bit from the main hustle and bustle. Despite being a recent and larger than normal construction, it looked as if someone had only made minor alterations to one of the many other houses we had passed while driving through the small town. I liked the rustic look, though I hoped it had indoor plumbing and better insulation than the exterior betrayed. Suddenly, a pink blur zipped up to me and the others.

"Hiya, ponies! I'm Pinkie Pie, Ponyville's Pink Party Pony! Pleased to meet you and you and you, and you to Berry, though I already know you! I know every pony in Ponyville! Are you all moving in? Are you going to stay? Oh, I bet you are! Oh, but that means I'll need to get a party ready for you! I'll send you the invites! See you later!" With that the pink blur of a pony was gone, having only arrived less than ten second earlier, leaving all of us but Berry in a daze, though her lack of a daze was more simply leaving her in a state of surprise mixed with acceptance.

"Well, as she said, that was Pinkie Pie." Berry Punch said, a lot of her usual energy seeming to be missing from her voice, making me wonder if the pink blur had sapped it from her somehow. "And it seems you all will be getting a party from her, so look forward to that." I stared after the cloud of dust that trailed the ridiculously fast pony.

"What kind of party are we talking about here?" I asked, still very much not sure how I was supposed to react to suddenly being assaulted by the mental pink haze.

"Oh, her parties are great!" Berry said, her energy returning to her in a small measure. "Though I hope she doesn't invite the fillies and colts this time. I'd like to not have to pass off my stash at the door." I eyed her.

"Stash?" To that, Berry pulled a bottle of something that I had to guess was alcoholic.

"I'm always packing the grownup juice." She said, confirming my suspicion, before unscrewing the lid and taking a long series of gulps from it. She smacked her lips, wiggled from head to toe, and stowed the bottle away. "That's the stuff!" She said, her energy seeming to return to her. It troubled me to think that maybe she was buzzed, or even drunk, when we first met, but then I recalled the distinct lack of the scent of alcohol that now hit my nose, even when standing a good distance from her. "Let's get all your things in before she-"

"Here's your invites!" Pinkie burst back in before ducking away, leaving a nice card in each of our hands.

"Does that..." Berry Punch trailed off, opening the card. Looking it over, the front said, in big crayon written letters, 'Welcome to Ponyville Party!'. Opening it up, I saw the date was set for later the same evening. "What do you think, Kressle, my boy, can we make it around our schedule?" I shrugged, looking out to the setting sun.

"As long as we can get our things in before then, there won't be a problem as far as I'm concerned; and I doubt it'll take that long to get these things in the house." This would be interesting, to say the least.

Splice 1: End of Side A

The stallion strode down the dusty street, hands in his pockets in a lazy pose, while his magic gripped a pen, scratching something down in a notepad. He looked about him, the quaint town barely even alive in the evening sun. He smirked, his eyes lighting upon his prize. A mare was walking down the street, carrying a bag of groceries she had bought during the day's market a short distance down the street. She was average in build, but her bust and butt were both quite nice. Not the nicest, but most certainly nice. He picked up his pace, not wanting to lose her as she took a turn. Eventually the mare's path led to her home, a small house as quaint as the town it was in. He smiled.

"Perfect." He whispered to himself as he approached. Knocking on the door, he waited for a few seconds, anticipation building within him, feeling all the more like a predator as he swiveled his head, to ensure his prey was cornered without help. The street was empty, yet another piece to the perfection.

The door opened, revealing the pale yellow and red maned mare he had followed. Before she could say anything, he interjected. "Do you know that it is considered polite to let random strangers into your home?" She blinked a few times, seeming unsure before nodding, fully opening the door to let him in. Walking in, he looked about. "Do you live with anypony, won't you tell me?" She nodded.

"I do, my friends live with me." She replied, not sure how to appraise this stallion. She had been so polite by letting him in as was usual, but she was unsure about why he asked.

"Then bring them down. It's only good manners, right?" He said, reminding her - how foalish she had been to forget - about that piece of decorum. Walking past him, she entered the living room and called out.

"Lily Valley, Daisy, we have a visitor!" The sounds of footsteps came from the other room as she turned, flinching as she noticed the stallion now was but mere inches from her. With a swift movement, he wrapped an arm around her, pinning her arms in a hug, and drew her into a deep kiss. She was stunned by the sudden audacity of the stallion.

"Silly mare, isn't this perfectly fine?" He said, catching her off guard as he let her breath from the kiss. She was about to ponder this when her friends came into the entryway.

"What's going on here, Rose? Who is this?" One of the mares asked, seeming ready to pummel the stallion that was in their home while the third seemed unwilling to do much more than be moral support. He couldn't help but smile, this was just perfect. They each were some form of beauty, from the first being a splendid plumpness, to the other being lean, and the final being built like a supermodel.

"Oh my, don't you all recall?" He began, putting on an expression of fake worry as he toyed with them. "I sent a message earlier last month. Don't you remember that I'm to be your Master, and you, my Sex Slaves?" The mares seemed taken aback by this, but he could only stand back as his manic smile spread further. The three mares then glanced at each other, each one's expression lighting up as a moment of realization hit them in turn before they turned back to him with wide eyes and overjoyed smiles.

"Master!" They cried, flinging themselves on him, worshiping his body in all its aspects, even though he was still clothed. He chuckled, watching happily as the mares lavished their affections on him; kisses, licks, and grinding.

"Mares, mares," He fended them off after a moment, gaining their attention once more, "We're home. Aren't you all forgetting something?" They looked at each other in confusion. "We're alone and in private. Aren't you supposed to disrobe?" He asked, a predatory smile on his face. Again the mares nodded in understanding as they came to this same conclusion, beginning to strip out of their clothes without further word.

As the one named Rose took off her bra, he seized her breast, kneading it roughly, causing her to moan in desire. His smile twisted further in wicked pleasure as he twisted the nipple roughly, eliciting a howl. She stared at him indignantly, causing a small flare of anger to whelm up inside his heart. He slapped her across the face, leaving a red mark shaped exquisitely like his hand on her cheek, reducing her to tears.

"Hey, you can't do that to her!" Lily protested, standing in her stockings and panties. "You might be our-" she was cut off my equally as brutal of a slap. Daisy stared at him in horror, hurrying to remove her clothing without further word.

"Rose, Lily," He began imperiously, looking down on them with a malicious glint in his eye, "what state is your backyard in?" The three mares glanced at each other, even though only two had been talked to.

"It's well kept, Master." Rose said through her pain, her tears still streaming down her cheeks, streaking her makeup.

"Is it enclosed?" He asked pointedly.

"Y-yes, Master, it's enclosed by a short fence that's about shoulder level." Lily replied, hoping to spare both of them this stallion's wrath by dividing his attention.

"Perfect." He hummed, his expression as malicious as always. "Slaves, I want you all to crawl on your hands and knees and show me where the door to the backyard is. No talking either. Until I say otherwise, you are my bitches in heat." The three mares, eyes wide, nodded, fearing the worst as they crawled along, their asses wiggling from side to side, their breasts drooping lewdly - free of their bras.

Opening the door they led him to, he found it quite as perfect as he had hoped. The fence, as had been said, was about shoulder height, but the greenery that grew on it made the average height of the fence that much higher, providing more cover. Looking down to his slaves that cowered in the doorway on either side of him, he snapped his fingers, motioning to the garden.

"Out." He ordered, as if ordering a dog, and indeed the mares obeyed as though they were, moving out purposefully, though still shyly, into the garden. He walked up to the small picnic table, and took a seat, looking at the three mares before him, the rays of sunlight falling across their naked forms. "Daisy, for being such a good girl earlier, here's your treat." He unclasped his belt and tossed his lower garments aside, his dick standing tall, twitching in the cool air. Daisy didn't hesitate, bounding over to begin to suck vigorously on the hard member with gleeful abandon.

Looking to his other two slaves, he smiled, watching them squirm. "Lily, Rose, you are no longer bitches in heat, instead, you are my puppets. Your mind is your own, but your body is mine, is that understood?"

"Yes, Master." They replied in unison.

"Until I say otherwise, I want you to two caress, touch, kiss, lick, and pleasure each other. Stick your finger and tongues and what have you in what holes you will. Make love passionately, all the while feeling everypony in this town watching you, masturbating to your forms. You will do this," He paused, watching them taking his orders in, "and you will find yourselves unable to stop or even cum until I tell you too." Horror painted itself once more across their faces even as they stood up smoothly and began to caress and kiss as though they had always been lovers, their naked forms pressing against each other with lustful moans that were barely stifled, their expressions still horrorfied.

He watched them, contentedly as Daisy sucked his dick dutifully, but he was finished with it, not even having cum. He grabbed her mane roughly, pulling her away, leaning in close to her face. "Do you want me to fuck you?" He asked in a tone that felt almost like her was genuinely offering, if one ignored the pointed enunciation of 'fuck'. She nodded vigorously, and so he took her, spun her around, laying her across the picnic table and began to thrust, listening to the moans of his other slaves as they carried out his orders. This was truly perfect, but the perfection could be improved by a few additional mares to debase themselves before him.

Side B - Chapter 1: A Grand Ol' Time

"Do you think he'll actually like this?"

"He's a teenager and a he, so I'm betting that he will."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Well, he looks young and he has a dick."

"That wasn't what I meant and that still doesn't mean he'll like this!"

"He'll love it. What self-respecting, straight stallion wouldn't?"

"There are a lot of assumptions you're making there."

"We've each sucked his dick-"

"I haven't yet."

"Fine, we've each ridden his dick. He's asked for it multiple times! He has played with all of our tits like they're going out of season! Either he's straight, or he's the most confused kind of gay."

"Not what I was referring to when I said you were making a lot of assumptions."

"I know that, and I also know that he will love this. If he doesn't, the worst he can do is make us go naked... maybe we should ask about that?"

"No."

"Well, then put these on, otherwise it's naked we will go!"

"Fine..."

"How do you even have my measurements?"

"Honey, you're cute when you're asleep. You should be surprised if I don't have your measurements."

"Are you a somnophile?"

"I don't think that's the term, but if you can name a kink, there's a good chance I have it."

"Copr-"

"No, now get dressed." I sniggered as I walked away from the changing room's door. The three mares had a surprise for me, and I was interested to see what it might be. What they, and no other pony until I decided otherwise, didn't know was that I also had a special surprise that I was planning.

I walked down the short hall, and entered the master bedroom, my room, plopping down on the springy bed. When I had first entered while Berry gave us the short tour, I was astonished by the size of the bed. I was familiar with the size of most beds - having to buy a new mattress after my cat gave birth on my old one - from Twin to Super King. What sat in this room was nothing of the standard sizing, having been custom made apparently. A 'Celestia' size mattress. A whopping seven feet by seven feet of plush goodness. According to Berry, it had been built for Princess Twilight without her knowledge - which had proven the undoing of this magnificent bed, having been found to be impossible to get inside the castle.

When this was discovered, Twilight had had it auctioned off, the proceeds going to some charity or another. Berry somehow won the bed, and had it moved into the house, which explained the massive bay windows on the balcony that felt slightly incongruous to the rest of the house.

Grabbing the recorder, I smiled at it. I hadn't used it since we left the hotel, and really, before that I had used it sparingly. I supposed that was a good thing. Grabbing a notepad I began to jot down some lines, thinking through the phrases for any Monkey's Paw sized gaps in logic. I hadn't notice the recorder being malicious in its compliance, but caution never hurt. Finally having my message etched down on the page in a form I felt was tight, I pressed the record button, bringing the mic up to speak into it as I read out the written lines.

"The party pony had been smart in her planning, having not invited any ponies that were minors. It was to be an adults only party, as all the ponies that had newly arrived in town were adults. Due to the youth of the newcomers, many of the more elder ponies decided to stay away from the party as well, not wanting to spoil the young ponies' fun, and also wishing to enjoy their own evenings.

"Everypony who entered the party - except Berry Punch, Spring Periwinkle, Midnight Raven, and Rousing Crescendo - found themselves removing their clothes, completely unaware of any awkwardness or shame; even if it was brought to their attention by another pony. The party pony had, surprisingly, prepared for this; and had small cubbyholes for everyponies' clothes, keeping them separate and easy to access once the party had finished. Nopony outside the party seemed to notice the ponies as they entered, and no pony outside saw the ponies in their nudity.

"Throughout the party, everypony would enjoy their time, and whilst there, they would enjoy each other. Kissing, caressing, sucking, cuddling, and all other forms of intimacy short of penetration would be common place and seen as the ponies just having a good time; no more weird than playing a board game. Various board games were, in fact, brought out for the purpose of further enjoying the evening's liberty.

"Discussions about sexual acts, as well as lewd suggestions, were seen as easy to accept as small talk. No kinks were discouraged, except those that could be harmful to health and well being or in violation of consent. Despite all this, though, everypony still retained their choice as to who they would allow to touch or act with them - with the only exception being when the four unaffected ponies were involved - instead seeing them as honored guests who could do as they pleased for the night.

"After the close of the evening, the ponies would put their clothes back on and head back home, having enjoyed the party. Nopony affected by the party's distinct atmosphere thought to write down anything about, take pictures of, talk to ponies not in attendance about, or otherwise record the event before, during, or after the evening, with their focus on simply enjoying the time they were having.

"The next morning, the ponies affected by the party would forget the sexual nature of the party, though recalling any discoveries about themselves they made during the proceedings, with the general memory of the festivities being a fairly normal, yet highly enjoyable, bash - much as was the party pony's specialty. Any pony on the outside of the party who noticed, or had been told by somepony who noticed, would instead remember watching as ponies enjoyed a great evening of good, wholesome fun." I clicked the record button off, waiting for the mares to come and show me their getups. It would almost be a shame having them dress up only to strip. Almost.

It took them a few minutes to be ready, during which time I finished putting myself together. I didn't put too much effort into it, which made me feel worse than thinking about having to tell the mares that they were going to strip once we were at the party. Then again, maybe they wouldn't. Berry would most certainly get rid of whatever she was wearing... unless it was fetish wear.

"...If you can name a kink, there's a good chance I have it." the memory of her voice rang in my ears. Well, tonight would be the night they could get away with it. I had to admit, enforcing my will so heavy-handedly felt off, but I wanted my mares to enjoy themselves. I had been careful, after all, to ensure no lasting effects, save for the positive, carried over.

No penetration meant no unwanted pregnancies. Freedom of choice as to who got to be with who ensured no pony took advantage of the evening, though unawares, to get at somepony they hated. Nopony outside being able to realize and no pony inside being able to inform anypony else about it ensured everypony inside was safe. Distorting the memories after the fact ensured that the evening was safe. The restriction of kinks to safe, nondamaging ones ensured nopony would need assistance that might have difficulty reaching them. And above all that, allowing ponies to recall discoveries they had made, despite all the other things they would not recall, ensured that the best parts of the evening wouldn't be thrown away.

The moment finally arrived, and I heard a knocking on the door. Looking up, I moved to go and open it; but had barely stood when the door opened on its own. The three mares showed off their outfits, only one of them, easily guessed, looking supremely confident. They all wore matching clothing, and I was stunned.

The first piece I noticed was the black corsets they wore, which propped their breasts up, making them seem larger. Over it, a simple denim jacket covered those distracting shoulders of theirs, and not much else really, stopping at the midriff. Their lower halves were clothed in mini skirts so small that moving caused it to flip up enough to let one see the matching white panties the mares wore. Sheer, white stockings ran up their shapely legs, hugging them closely, running into the stiletto style heals they wore.

Between the three mares, I saw three ways to wear it, and each was enticing in its own way. Berry wore it with confidence, her already massive breasts squished enticingly in the confines of the cloth, her areolas peaking over the edge to give anypony looking a reason to look back. Her larger, more porn star like figure made the wear that might've been construed as normal wear come off even more like fetish wear, her panties only covered in very particular positions, none of which she seemed to hold for too long.

Spry wore it with the grace of a grown mare who, though uncomfortable, was able to bear it like any other inane suggestion Berry might make at her expense. Her smaller frame made the clothing look far more reasonable, almost as if this had been an ensemble that she had worn with pride before it shrank in the wash.

Raven, though, was another level of beauty in my eyes. She was smaller, no doubt, but she filled my vision perfectly. Her lithe frame was covered in a way that was almost modest by the pieces. Her breasts, though small, seemed that much more plump in the corset, and the panties, which peaked out only on occasion, brought definition to her rear. I walked up to Raven and the others, stunned by their unique and individual beauty in the get up that was, beyond size, the same between each mare.

"You all look stunning." I breathed.

"Told you he'd like it." Berry nudged Raven, who hid herself behind her hair with a shy smile. I gently moved the hair out of her face, looking at her with a feeling of love like no other in my chest.

"You look stunning." I repeated emphatically, a small smile on my face. She blushed, looking away.

"You two should fuck." Berry said with her cocky grin. "But, we got a party to go to, so let's put a pin in that for now." I sighed at Berry, no longer as embarrassed as I might have once been by her incessant teasing. "Ready?"

"Yes." The night wasn't getting younger, and I was antsy to see how the mares responded to the surprise.

Sugar Cube Corner. Apparently it was to be the place of our great bash - and the scene of my largest exertion of the artifact's power. I had stuffed the artifact into a small electronics case that had a lock. Berry said an old roommate of hers had given it to her, but whatever item it was originally for was now lost. I hadn't brought my headphones, but I had brought the pen mic, not willing to go unprepared should I encountered a problem with my plan, no matter how careful I felt I had been.

Entering the establishment, I smiled while the mares gawked. Already several ponies were here, though nothing much was happening beyond the definite lack of clothing. Mares and stallions talked to each other, all down to their skin, whether eating, drinking, or simply standing about. The invite had specified nine in the evening, and it was still a quarter shy of the mark.

"Hiya!" A particular pink pony said, bouncing into view. I hadn't noticed when she was just a haze, but this pony was stacked on par with Berry, though she was slightly smaller. Her fabric-free gazongas wobbled about freely, drawing the eye to them enraptured by their hypnotic movements. "I'm so glad you were able to make it! Who wouldn't want to be at one of my parties? Especially one that's gonna be this fun! Thanks for the suggestion, I think everypony is going to really enjoy this party!" I froze and blinked at her in confusion.

"Suggestion?" I was more than a little confused. Sure, I had made the suggestion into the recorder, but beyond that, I hadn't talked to her at all about this evening.

"Oh yeah, that's right, you don't know!" She said, whisking me off away from my mares. I a blink of an eye, I stood by the drink table, a cup of punch in one hand, and another hefting one of the pink fun bags pensively. I flinched back, spilling the punch all over my chest, only to realize I suddenly was naked. "You see, I kinda have a sixth or seventh sense." She started, her words coming out faster than her mouth seemed to move. "I know you made this party extra special, and I'm glad you were so careful about it all, but right now we need to introduce you to some ponies!" I blinked at her, still trying to process what was happening, only to find myself zipping off, whisked away by Pinkie.

"This is Twilight, Starlight, Rarity, Rainbow, Applejack, and Fluttershy!" She said, rushing me over to the group of friends who were pleasantly chatting, forcing my hand to grab each of their breasts in turn.

"Hello!"

"Hi."

"A pleasure."

"S'up?"

"Howdy!"

"Oh... hi..."

I stood there, my world still spinning, and only realized after a brief moment I was still groping the yellow pegasus. Flinching back again, I stumbled a hit something tall, rugged, and immovable. I felt my hand being moved up to grasp something hard as Pinkie zipped back up.

"And this is Big Mac, he's AJ's brother!" She spouted off as I flinched and whirled around, stumbling, retracting my hand from the stallion's more than impressive, and fully erect, dick.

"Can you stop that?!" I pleaded as I tried to collect myself.

"Oh dear, Pinkie, darling,I think you might've overdone it a tad." The white unicorn - Rarity, unless I was mistaken - said in a calm and cultured tone. Now that I wasn't being forced to grope them one by one, I could appraise them, and boy was there something to appraise!

Rarity, the mare who had my attention for the moment, was definitely gorgeous - built for modeling - with a thin, yet curvaceous form. She wasn't as large as Berry, falling somewhere between her and Spry, but she certainly was a sight to behold.

Rainbow Dash and Applejack - or AJ as I assumed - were fairly similar in build, despite one being a pegasus and the other an earth pony. They were more muscle than anything, though between the two, Applejack was certainly more well endowed, with childbearing hips and breasts as large as Spry's; while Rainbow was lean, with breasts that barely rose off the level of the rest of her chest.

Starlight, the next mare my eyes strayed to, was quite beautiful. She was well kept, her breasts smaller than Spry, but present in a way that her cyan friend could not match. Her main feature that drew the eye was her ass, larger than most, and yet shapely, not off putting with how much junk had been packed in that trunk.

Fluttershy, who true to her name was acting even shier than Raven, was by far the largest pony in the room, with breasts that I would've assumed were fake if it weren't for the fact she seemed the type of pony who would likely prefer them reduced over enlarged.

Finally, Twilight, who was among the smallest here. She was plump, no doubt, but she was healthy, yet small, her breasts probably lost in most outfits she would likely wear. Wait, Princess Twilight? That Twilight? She was at this party? I knew she lived here, but I had no idea... wait. Twilight, Rarity, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Pinkie? Twilight being Princess Twilight? No way... was I about to spend this evening with the honest to goodness Elements of Harmony?

Side B - Chapter 2: A Bone to Pick

I opened my eyes, blinking a few times as I stared up at an unfamiliar ceiling. What had happened? I traced my way through what I could recall, and then I lighted upon the answer as I came. Letting the orgasm trail away from me, I leaned up to see a purple pony between my legs, her face covered in my spunk. Purple... PURPLE?! I flinched into sudden alertness as I looked at her, horrified at what had happened.

"Are you alright? Ms Punch told me that... well she said, and I quote, 'sucking his dick will bring him up in no time'. I have to say that that seems to be true." The Princess of FREAKING Friendship said, using a hand to wipe away the cum on her face before licking it off. I fell back into the bed, groaning. Apparently I was wrong in my earlier estimation of my own ability to deal with Berry. She still knew how to push my buttons in a way that I couldn't handle. "Are you alright?" She reiterated. "I can suck your phallus again should that be of assistance." She offered.

I shot up in bed, frantically waving her off. "No no no no no, that's... that's not necessary, Princess." I called her off, not wanting myself to be any more dead than I was going to be for this. She puffed out her cheeks in consternation.

"Please, there's no need to be so formal. I hate it when ponies call me 'Princess' and think I'm so much better than everypony. I'm just a pony for Celestia's sake!" She huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. I blinked, still quite confused, a theme I knew would continue into the future as the most prevalent emotion besides overwhelming lust. It clicked a second later.

My recording had made sexual acts normal, and the discussion of such equally as normal. I also would have immunity for this evening. I was golden, not having to worry about any antics any of these ponies got up to.

"Where are we, where is everypony?" I asked, prying my eyes away from the nude alicorn to look at the room around us.

"Well after you fainted, we moved you up here. This is Pinkie's room, but she was more than glad to have you stay up here. Something about 'don't want the perspective character going down before the better part of the porn.' You'd think that after being her friend for as long as I have that I'd have a better read on her, but that pony is impossible." Twilight chuckled. "But again, are you feeling better? You were only out for maybe ten minutes, and the party is just about to get underway."

"Oh, right. Yes, I'm doing alright. I guess I was just surprised by seeing all of you here and... naked." I said.

"I do suppose some ponies are still affected by our presence that way. Sometimes it's hard to remember that we are the Elements of Harmony as well as the Council of Friendship. Not that many ponies seem to recall even that." Twilight mused, completely skipping past the naked comment. "Well, if you are feeling alright, I can help you downstairs. You might be feeling well, but you shouldn't try the stairs on your own, it isn't safe."

"Alright." I muttered, standing up, once again realizing that I was completely naked. Fully on my feet, I judged my balance, and sighed, certain that I wasn't due for another tumble. Moving out of the room and down the stairs, we reentered the party. More ponies had filtered in, and by the looks of it, it was nearly the entire adult population of Ponyville, all naked and willingly so. It was strange seeing so many ponies like that, and I might've gone for another dive, but I had had the time to steady myself prior and so was sufficiently fortified against the depravity that lay before me.

"He's back!" Pinkie shouted, bouncing up to me in more ways than one, her boobs and buttocks joining in the up and downs of her journey across the room. With her normal amount of speed, she hefted me off the last stair into a massive hug, spinning me around with gleeful abandon before setting me down. "So what do you want to do first? I prepared as many lewd spins on the classics as I could think of, just like you asked! Or maybe you just want a handy, or a booby, or a sucky, or a hotdoggy?" I stared at her in befuddlement.

"Like I asked? What are you talking about, Pinkie?" I was still at a loss, and this pony wasn't helping matters with her antics. Suddenly she stopped bouncing and looked at me perplexedly before lighting up.

"Oh, you didn't catch what I said earlier!" She said, producing the electronic's case that held the recorder and mic from thin air. I was horrified as I saw her brandish the magical artifact, even in its case. She knew, and now I was dead. "You see, I kinda know a lot more than I should and can see things that I shouldn't. I've been following along with your escapades - more or less. Really I've just been skimming to the good stuff. Let me tell you, I knew Berry was kinky, almost as much as me and Flutters, but I had no idea that she was that kind of kinky.

"So yeah, I gotta say, I appreciate all you've done here with the party and all!" She went on, not giving so much as a moment to reply. "Do you know how hard it is to try and pull off something like this normally? You've gotta get everypony checked out for bad stuff, do background checks, schedule at least five fall back days, make sure to stock up on all the essentials, make it so no pony who isn't supposed to be at the place is at the place, have a group chat so that you can know the ponies, check all their fetishes and kinks to make sure everypony is catered to in some way, make catering arrangements, and after all that you likely still have to reschedule two or three times, after which you are more likely to have the whole thing canceled because more of the ponies are no longer interested than are interested!

I once again tried to get a word in edgewise, only to be cut off as she continued, still on the same breath. "But you! You just bing-bang-boomed this all together, set up rules, made sure that everypony would be safe and have fun, and that no pony did the dumb thing and went in, though I might've changed that to 'penetration without a rubber' but I guess taking it off the table is safer than going in with protection. Less fun, but safety is more important than fun in cases like these! So yeah!" I heard a click behind me and various cheers. Looking back I saw Rainbow holding a stopwatch up in the air.

"Fifty-three point zero four seconds! Hand em' over!" AJ and several ponies groaned, passing small amounts of bits to the mare who chucked them behind the counter of the store. I blinked a few times.

"They were betting on how long it would take for Pinkie to catch you up to speed." The mare I recalled being Starlight said, looking over at them with a mildly disapproving look. "Apparently Rainbow bet Pinkie would take less than a minute, AJ thought Pinkie might drag it out and hit above that."

"She... she does this a lot then?" I asked, looking between the two ponies.

"Sure do! Ooh, I gotta go get the cakes out of the oven!" With that she entered hyperspace once more and was gone, the kitchen door swinging mightily as she passed through it in an imperceptible blur. I blinked a few times, and sighed. Just because the host was weird, and somehow knew I had changed the party and how I had changed it - at least to some degree - didn't mean I couldn't enjoy the altered party; especially since she seemed on board with the whole thing.

Looking about, I spotted my mares. Berry was eating out another mare I didn't know while the mare being eaten out was eating out another mare who was, in turn, eating out Berry. An ouroboros of eating out. Periwinkle was sucking on the stallion I knew as Big Mac while he nodded in conversation with another, rather lanky, stallion who too was getting, what appeared to be, the good succ from a rather heavy set mare, all while acting no different than if they were talking while getting a massage. Raven was... Raven was nowhere to be seen. Lookin around I confirmed that I couldn't see her interacting with any of the other guests.

"Have you seen Raven?" I asked, still looking around.

"Who?" Starlight said, cocking her head to the side.

"The mare that came in with me. Gray with black hair, pegasus. Really shy." I said, still searching, feeling a rising tension in my gut.

"Oh, she and Fluttershy went into the other room. I don't really know what they're up to." Starlight replied, pointing to the room in question. I nodded and quickly moved to it, not sure what I was about to walk in to as I set the recorder in its case on the counter. Did she want to do something sexual? The two mares might hit it off, but it was... well, doing it in private was definitely how they'd prefer it. Opening the door, I braced myself for whatever lay beyond it.

"Who's a good girl? You are! Oh you love your belly rubs! Yes you do!" Fluttershy cooed, rubbing the belly of Raven as she wobbled on the floor, arms and legs curled up as she panted, her tongue lulling out of her mouth. I wasn't ready.

The sound of the door must've made them aware of my presence, as the two mares froze, their faces darkening in their blushes. I had a choice here, but I already knew the answer that I would take. Stepping further into the room, I closed the door behind me. Rolling my shoulders, I psyched myself up for a second.

And then I fell to all fours, and began to pant. Both mares were confused and showed it. Honestly I couldn't blame them. I honestly hadn't really had the pet play fetish from the perspective of the pet, but I was certainly going to give it a try, if for no other reason than to make these mares happy; especially Raven.

Crawling up on all fours, I panted happily, my tongue lulling out of my mouth. Reaching the two, I sniffed at Raven, and even poked her cheek with my nose. She blinked at me as I cocked my head to the side with a little whine. Deciding that that was a dead end, I turned my attention to the only pony acting like one in the room, and looked to Fluttershy. I moved forward and then propped my curled up hands on her lap, panting happily for a second. When she didn't respond initially, I cocked my head to the side, blinking at her as I closed my mouth.

"G-good boy?" She said hesitantly, placing an uncertain hand on my head. I happily moved my head so her stationary hand petted me, and I have to say, it felt better than I had anticipated. It was sexual, and yet, it felt more than that. It felt comforting, especially as I could stop petting myself with her hand and she started petting me with the same hand. "Good boy." She said again, a tad more confidence in her voice before she smiled and brought her other hand to pet my face. "Good boy! Oh yes you are!" She cooed, returning to her previous energy. This change seem to get Raven back in sorts as she propped herself up beside me, nudging me slightly to the side.

"Oh, is someone jealous? No need for that, I love both of you! Here you go!" Fluttershy began to scritch at Raven's chin, to which Raven began to fidget her leg slightly. "You two are such good doggies!" She continued before finally stopping her petting, sighing contentedly. "Now, do you two know any tricks?" She asked.

I cocked my head to the side, not sure how to answer, while Raven barked happily before nuzzling into Fluttershy's side. The busty mare laughed at the affection, stroking her head some more before gently pushing her back to the floor.

"Alright, alright. Can you two... speak?" Raven and I barked a few times. "Roll over!" We plopped down on the floor and, surprisingly, rolled the same direction back and forth without bumping into each other. "Beg!" We propped ourselves up, sitting on our knees, our 'paws' held up before us as we panted and barked a few more times. "Good boy, good girl!" Fluttershy cooed, stooping forward to pet both our heads. "Now, there's one more trick I want to know if you know, and I know its a difficult one, but I'd like to see you try it. Ok?"

I was ready, and actually a bit excited. This whole exercise in pet play had certainly been fun, and I didn't want it to end just yet. She looked at both of us, a smile on her face that I just couldn't say no to, a smile that I wouldn't say no to. "Alright." We both perked up, listening attentively. "Suck!" We froze, our muscles bunched up to launch us into the order, only to lock up as we both came to the conclusion that we had no idea what to do. Or, at least, I thought we both had no idea what to do.

A second later, Raven was nudging my shoulder with her head. I looked at her as she moved under my armpit and pushed slightly upward. I took the hint and flopped onto my back, still not sure what we were doing, but my penis certainly seemed to have a few ideas. Raven, as it turned out, had an idea of what to do too, as she leaned forward from her dog-like pose and began to give me a blow job.

I lay back letting it happen, unsure what I was to do in my current state as she gave me her first blowjob. It was a wonderful experience, and though she lacked Spry and Berry's experience - and Berry's technique - I was more than pleased with what I received, especially as I noticed Fluttershy on the bed fingering herself openly. I could only assume that she wouldn't have done this as openly before us without the recording.

"Good, good, you two do know the t-trick! But now I need to play my part! It's only fair..." She said, standing as she continued to masturbate. Moving around behind Raven, she leaned down and, by the reaction I felt around my dick, began to lap at Raven's cunt. We were just three ponies in a room, giving each other pleasure, though my part was less physical pleasure to others and more overall emotional pleasure. But hey, I was contributing.

Eventually I felt myself getting close, and I began to let out a whine, not wanting to break the illusion, but also not wanting the mare on my dick to get taken by surprise. Whether she was just inexperienced, didn't understand my signal, or was just too distracted by Fluttershy behind her, Raven was caught unawares as I began to ejaculate straight into her mouth. Instead of pulling away like I had anticipated, she went further down, adjusting her angle, and took as much in as possible. Suddenly, as she took my load in, she quivered from head to toe, her eyes rolling up into her head, as a moment of pure orgasmic pleasure rocked her world. I could only smile as my orgasm finally wore off. After a few moments of sitting in the afterglow, we were three happy ponies.

"I didn't know you were into pet play." Raven said finally, raising herself on her arms that rested on my thighs, her hands dangerously close to a part of me that was augmented to be ready to go. It struck me then that I hadn't established a time frame for the quick and infinite reload to wear off in, not that I had to.

"Well, I only just figured it out myself." I replied with a smile. "I mean, I was into it, but I didn't know I would enjoy being the pet part of the pet play."

"You mean-" Raven began, trailing off.

"That was so sweet of you." Fluttershy said, peaking out from behind Raven. She then blushed and slinked behind Raven again, her shyness overcoming everything else as it reacted to the intimate nature of the scenario. It seemed to be that though I had said it would no longer be awkward for the event, there was a tad bit of awareness still present, as if the mind couldn't completely cordon off the emotions usually associated with the scenario. Soon, said emotions were a tad much for us, and we all started laughing at the ridiculous nature of it all

Moving out to the main area with Raven and Fluttershy, I noticed the room was now filled with ponies, the last of the guest likely having arrived. I then saw Berry, who was fingering a thoroughly stacked gray pegasus mare as they talked, the pegasus doing her best to act as if this was normal. I then knew what I had to do.

Moving over, I grabbed Berry by the shoulder and turned to the other mare. "Excuse us for a moment, I need to have a quick word with Berry." I said with a smile, not waiting as I pushed Berry into the room I had just come out of. As I passed the counter, I swiped the lock box with the recorder in it and began to adjust the dials to the correct configuration as I closed the door behind us.

"So what devious, sexy plan do you got for me back here?" She asked, looking about the room as I opened the case and set the recorder on a small writing desk beside me. "Not as many chains as I expected, if I'm honest." I grabbed her by the shoulder, and with speed and strength I didn't know I had in me, twisted and planted Berry against the door, pressing my weight against her. "Ooh, kinky!" She chuckled. "So... blow, tit, suck, or fuck?" I placed a hand on her mouth, grabbing the pen mic with my other.

"Berry," I began, a cruel smile on my face, "you've been bothersome. Now, I'm not telling you to stop, Celestia knows that even this artifact can only get you to do so much and not even it could likely restrain all of your antics," She shrugged, nodding slightly with my hand still on her mouth, acknowledging my point, "but," I continued, catching her off guard, "I am going to give you a tad bit of payback for all of it. A friendly little nod from yours truly."

I pressed the record button with the hand that held the mic, and brought it up to my mouth as my smiled grew all the more playfully devilish. "Berry Punch, for the duration of the party, found herself unable to touch anypony in a sexual way." Her eyes widened, the hand that had begun to grasp my dick suddenly jerking back and hitting the door she leaned on. "No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't touch, lick, suck, kiss, or do anything sexual. However," Her eyes, which had started to whelm up in tears, brightened slightly, "whenever she asked anypony - besides Crescendo, Spring Periwinkle, and Raven - politely to do something - anything - sexual that didn't violate the rules of the evening, she would find the ponies doing it willingly. Just never to her, or her to them." I smiled as her eyes were mingled despair and overwhelming joy and thanks. I turned off the recorder, unplugging the mic, and then released Berry from the door.

"I can't decide whether I want to punch or blow you for that." She said. "But I guess one of those options is off the table, so..." The next second I was on the floor, holding my jaw, a new and very sharp pain in my system. "Thanks, Master, I'll be sure to enjoy the evening as best I'm able." She then left me in the room to put away the recorder and nurse my jaw. I had gotten back at her in some small way while also not invalidating the reason for the night's particular festivities. This wasn't about me, it was about my mares. But even so, some of my mares needed a tad bit of a ribbing with their celebration.

Side B - Chapter 3: Good, Unclean Fun

Reentering the party area, I clicked the case of the recorder closed. My jaw felt better already, thanks to a short recording, and now I was raring to go. Grabbing a plate from the snack table, I filled it up with all the junk food I could manage, pleased by the wide assortment of things that I liked. As I grabbed a cup of punch, I saw the Elements of Flippin' Harmony sitting in a circle with Raven and Periwinkle as well as Starlight and Big Mac. Pinkie Pie saw me at nearly the same moment, evidently, as she waved frantically at me. Shrugging, I sauntered over, sitting down.

"Have you seen Berry?" I asked Spry, setting my drink and snacks to the side. Spry nodded over her shoulder. Following her motion, I saw Berry sitting by two ponies, a mare and a stallion. I recognized the two ponies as the lanky stallion who had been getting his cock sucked by the heavy mare that he was now... milking the teats of. I realized that that was what Berry had in her glass. I wasn't sure what to expect when I gave Berry free licence to mess with the ponies in the party, but it wasn't that.

"So, Cress, was it?" I turned to Starlight who was shuffling some cards in her magic.

"Uh yeah, I'm Crescendo, Rousing Crescendo." I extended a hand for a handshake, which she took with a polite nod. "So what are we playing?"

"Pinkie says it's something called... 'Short Straw'?" Starlight looked to Pinkie who shrugged.

"I actually don't remember what it was called, but I've always wanted to play it! So~... we've got onetwothreefourfivesixseveneightnineteneleven ELEVEN ponies! Starlight! Take out the cards from Ace to Ten and a Celestia!" Starlight nodded and pulled out the cards from the stack, setting the rest of it to the side with suspicious ease. "Now shuffle those cards up REAL nice!" Starlight once again shuffled the cards, setting the pile on the ground in the center of our circle. "Now everypony, draw a card and look at it, but don't show anypony!" Pinkie of course was the first to grab one, from there we all just shrugged and pulled one, looking at my card. It was the Celestia, lucky me.

"Now," Pinkie seemed to slow down substantially, her words coming out at a far more reasonable pace, though she was still talking quite quickly, "If you have the Celestia card, you are the round's Celestia. As the Celestia, you can tell anypony to do anything. BUT you can only tell the card. Let's say I have the Ceelstia card, I can say 'Number two, kiss Number four!' and they have to do it!" I stifled a chuckle at the gruff voice she put on as her hypothetical self, as if she sounded anything like that! "You can also tell anypony to do it to you! So you can tell number seven to kiss you! After each round we put the cards in the middle, shuffle it, and then pull cards again! Every time we pull, the pony who gets the Celestia shows it to everypony and then gives the command they want! Bunch of fun for everypony!" We all nodded along to her explanation.

"Well, I got the Celestia." I said, flipping my card to show it to all those present, and then gave a moment's pause. "Number seven... eh... give number nine a... kiss." At that Pinkie bounded up, holding up her seven of hearts proudly, puckering her lips comically as she scanned the circle. The circle was silent for a moment before Rarity cleared her throat, lifting her card with a sigh.

"If it wasn't you Pinkie I'd-" She was cut off by Pinkie's sudden, and passionate looking, smooch right on her lips. The two mares stayed like that for a few moments, more due to Pinkie holding Rarity's head as she drew out the kiss, breaking away after a long lasting moment with a pop. "Wow..." Rarity breathed, looking quite frazzled. "I-I mean, very good, darling." She said, blushing, before placing her card in the center. The rest of us, besides Pinkie sat there in silence for a moment longer.

"Oh, HECK YEAH!" Rainbow cried, putting her card back in the center, raring to go. "Come on, everypony, we all need a turn to get in on this!" I could tell she had more devious designs up her sleeve... well, metaphorical sleeve - we were still completely naked.

After a moment more, the rest of us tossed our cards back in, Twilight deciding to shuffle for this round. Everypony quickly drew their cards, and looking down, I saw mine to be a three. Looking about, I saw Pinkie holding the Celestia card, an excited... well, her normal expression shining behind it.

"Ok! I want nine to give me a hug!" Pinkie shouted, opening her arms wide, ready for anypony. This time, Applejack was quick to respond with a laugh as she tossed her nine to the center of the circle while taking to her feet.

"Come on, Sugar Cube, let's do it proper." She said, motioning the pink party pony in for a landing. Not needing another invitation, jumped up and hugged the farm pony. It was almost wholesome, except for their breasts squishing sensually between them. The hug didn't last too long, much shorter than the kiss at any rate, as the two mares took their places, the rest of the cards making a quick trip to the center. Rarity took the opportunity to shuffle, making the cards to various fancy maneuvers in the air, less shuffling and more doing a show. Grabbing mine, I chuckled, seeing the same three as before, wondering if Rarity had actually succeeded in shuffling at all. That was until Periwinkle on my left lifted her card, the Celestia plain to be seen.

"I want two to either blow or eat out seven." She said with no hesitation, surprising me with the speed of the request to say the least. I had always thought that Berry was the worse of these two, but perhaps the mares sitting beside me was just better at hiding than the mare that was overseeing the milking of another mare... okay, a dragon was more subtle than Berry.

The request was obviously one that neither pony involved really wanted to get on, or at least be the first out of the gate. Slowly, I watched as Raven lifted her card, showing the two timidly as her face turned several shades darker - darker than I could recollect seeing before. Looking around, I blushed on Raven's behalf as I saw Twilight lift her card equally as sheepishly.

"Best get it over with." Twilight reasoned, opening her legs, to which I looked away, finding Periwinkle looking very intently at the royal pussy. Raven crawled over and, with a nod to the princess, lowered herself into the lap of the mare that would shortly be experiencing this pony's skills. Wrapping her arms around Twilight's waist, she began her ministrations, immediately getting a reaction as she obviously did something good - a moan escaping the princess' lips as she absentmindedly set a had on Raven's head. By this point everypony, including me, was watching this unfold, the two mares seemingly in their own world. From my position, and really anypony on my side of the circle might've been able to tell, I saw Raven's pussy begin to get more wet, the mare with a submissive streak obviously enjoying herself despite the embarrassment which was only amplified by being the only pony in the room completely unaffected...

It struck me once more. Raven, despite all she had done this night, had never been affected by the recorder. She was doing this in a more vanilla state than I was. I had enhancement to my sexual prowess, while she was working with what she had. I felt a spark of admiration for the mare who continued eating out the princess. My heartfelt emotions fighting a losing war against the lewd reality of the situation.

With a final few skillful maneuvers, Raven brought the princess to orgasm, her yells of pleasure filling the room which was rather quite boisterous with that type of sound already. Raven pried herself off the princess, a shy smile on her fem cum splattered face. I hadn't taken note of it at the moment, but it now hit me that she hadn't flinched away from Twilight... much as she hadn't with me. I supposed that answered the earlier question, but it did bring some new ones to bear.

The cards flew to the center, ready to get the action going again, and this time I grabbed the pile and did a classic shuffle, raring to see what might happen. Not even waiting, I shot cards at each pony, who fumbled to catch what they were dealt. Looking at the one I had left for myself, I saw the ten. So close, and yet so far, but at least it wasn't the three again.

"Oh my..." I looked up to see Rarity with a hand to her mouth as she looked to her card, which she showed to the rest of us. The fickle Celestia card, bringer of blessings and downfalls. "Something simple then? I want number four to tell us their favorite... well... particular form of sexual gratification."

"Like a kink?" Rainbow butted in.

"Y-yes, but please don't be so crass." Rarity chided, causing me to unsuccessfully stifle a chuckle, looking at the nude fashionista.

"W-well..." A small voice began, and we all looked over in surprise to Fluttershy who had the four setting down in front of her. Her face was more red than yellow; I almost wondered if she had poured punch on her head at some point.

"Oh... oh dear! Fluttershy, dear, you don't have to. I'll just-"

"No no, it's fine." Fluttershy said, taking a few steadying breaths. "My... kink... I like pet play. I like being the pet or the owner, I just like pet play in general. Beyond that... I guess I'm into some... light BDSM. Very light though..." she then seemed to curl up into herself, so much so that if she had turned invisible I wouldn't have been too surprised. Starlight rubbed her shoulder comfortingly.

"If you want to, we can sto-" She began.

"N-no... let's keep playing." Fluttershy interjected, pushing her card forward. We all paused before putting our cards forward. Big Mac, who surprised me with his sudden movement, began shuffling like a pro, showing off some tricks I hadn't known before he set the deck down and drew a card that seemed ridiculously tiny in comparison to his size. Grabbing my own card, I saw Celestia's mug, which surprised me. I had a one in eleven chance, and yet I had won out twice.

"Uh, hey, I got it again... but I think somepony else should get to decide. I don't want to hog it to myself." I said, showing the card to the others as confirmation.

"Easy! Just say that another number gets to be Celestia!" Pinkie jumped in. I looked at her, my head cocked to the side.

"I can do that?" She shrugged.

"Why not? So, go ahead! Tell us what to do or tell somepony else to be Celestia!" She said, holding her card with anticipation. She obviously wanted a chance at the power again, or maybe she just wanted the game to continue on.

"Ok... number three, you ge-"

"YES!" Rainbow pumped her fist in the air. "Alright, so," She looked at the circle with a predatory gaze, her three of heart falling to the floor beside her, "I want - no, I'm gonna - suck the nipple of number five, or if they happen to be Big Mac, they're gonna suck mine." I blinked a few times. Suddenly Rainbow jumped as Spry beside me poked her butt, raising the card in question.

"How long you want?" Spry asked simply. Rainbow blinked at her a few times, before the edge returned to her gaze as she lowered herself to be on level with the white mare.

"Give it thirty seconds, don't want to hog all the time we got here." Rainbow replied, bringing out a stopwatch from her snack plate. "Ready, set, SUCK!" She clicked the stopwatches button, and without further words, sprang forward and began to suck furiously on Spry's nipple. The seconds passed faster than expected, between the show of Rainbow going at it earnestly and Spry letting out moans of pleasure without hindrance, I - and some other ponies doubtlessly - could only wish Rainbow had asked for longer even as she clicked the watch a second time and moved away, satisfied with her work. Cards were tossed forward, Twilight shuffled once more, and we grabbed our cards. Ace, I couldn't be both further and closer. Looking up, I saw Starlight tossing the Celestia card back to center.

"I want eight to either eat out or blow the Ace. I think we all want to see something like the last performance." She said, giving a saucy look to Raven. I shrugged, tossing my Ace on the pile, spreading my legs, looking about me at the mares... and then Big Mac set down his card on the pile and looked at me.

"Stand up." I complied to the burly stallion, who, even when kneeling, was eye level with my nipples. The absolute size of this stallion who was about to blow me! Rolling his shoulders, he took my dick, which, though I had been feeling good about it up to the moment, now seemed puny in his gigantic hand, not to mention the massive red that was at the height of my knees.

He leaned forward, and then began to give me a blow job that I really didn't expect. It was tender, unexpectedly so, but was also... well it was a mess. I bet he barely masturbated for how he treated it. He was doing his best, I could tell, but his performance did make me feel a tad better.

I wish I could say that it was an erotic experience on par with anything I had done in the last few days. I wish I could say that from that day forward that Big Mac and I hit it off and I made him a member of my harem. I, however, can not say that. I came, and Big Mac took a napkin to my junk, and spit what amount had gotten in his mouth into an empty party cup. Just as he was about to chuck it, Rainbow grabbed his arm.

"Wait!" We all looked at her, a devilish smile on her lips as she looked at us. "How about, whoever draws the Ace next round has to drink this, as well as the Celestia making an order?" We all looked at each other, and despite the fact I was risking drinking my own jizz with a splash of Big Mac's spit, I shrugged. The other ponies too shrugged, and soon it was placed slightly off to the side as the cards were shuffled and then dealt. I didn't dare look at mine at first, but I knew that the odds were likely in my favor, and so I turned it over after that first moment to look and saw... the four of hearts. Luck had saved me at least that much.

Raven tossed the Celestia into the center and grinned, even as Fluttershy, her blush even stronger than before, reached to the cup. "Actually, Fluttershy." Raven began, looking to the circle. "I want her to put it in her mouth and then Prench kiss number seven. They have to drink it together while kissing." I had almost had a heart attack, and I think that was roughly what Raven had been aiming for, even though she had missed. Fluttershy looked around the circle, and then Big Mac, ever patient, tossed his seven onto the pile. Fluttershy gulped before pouring the semen into her mouth and leaning in for the kiss.

I honestly felt bad for the big red stallion who obviously hadn't wanted to imbibe my cum, but now was forced to do so. It was hot, though. The two ponies going at it, occasional peeks of off white jizz showing as their tongues played. I think we could all see that it was doing something for both ponies as they went at it, despite the cum that had to be drunk. Shortly they stopped, and the cards were reshuffled.

"How about this be our final round? I think most of us are running dry on ideas." Twilight suggested. Most of the circle, save for a rainbow maned pony and another certain pink pony, agreed, overruling those who wanted to continue. Drawing the cards, I looked at mine. Ace once again. I looked to Raven, expecting to see her holding the Celestia, only to have Pinkie hold up her card, the fickle mistress on full display proudly showing on it.

"For the rest of the party," She declared, triumphantly, "Number nine has to act like a doggy, and Ace has to be the handler!" I, befuddled for the umpteenth time, simply left the card tumble out of my hand to the floor, frankly shocked that this pony would condemn either one of her friends or guests to act so degradingly. Then again, I suppose she knew that this party would be fine in the long run.

Suddenly, I felt a head nudging my arm, and looking over, I saw Fluttershy, her face less beat red, now down to a light blush. I looked at the card she held in her mouth, and sure enough, it was the nine. I took the card from her jaws, looking at the others, who simply shrugged. I guess we were all just going along with this.

"I cheated."Pinkie whispered in my ear, sending me flailing backwards, having seen her not mere moments before on the other side of the circle.

"What?!" I tried to get myself together as Pinkie grabbed my hand and spun me across the room like we were in a ballroom. Hitting the far wall with less grace than the metaphorical dancer I was, I grabbed my spinning head, trying to reorient myself. "What?"

"Oh yeah, I kinda knew that that suggestion would only work with some ponies." Pinkie explained in a whisper, leaning against the same wall as I had hit. "I just had the man upstairs show me the cards. He kinda is sleep deprived either way, so it was pretty easy." I blinked at her. "So yeah, enjoy!" She bounced away, leaving me alone as Fluttershy shuffled up to me expectantly. Pinkie had made sure that only ponies that would be comfortable were caught in the crossfire, so I suppose her... cheating? Man upstairs? What was she on about? Either way, it would be fine... I hoped.

Side B - Chapter 4: Another Unarranged Encounter

Grabbing another cup of punch, I moved back to the party, Fluttershy at my side on all fours. I sat down, and gave her a rub on the head, much to her delight. Setting the plate and cup on the table, I looked over the other ponies. The party had gone on for several hours, and the atmosphere was showing it, finding fewer and fewer things to do. We had played many board games, some card games, and had made a few more debaucherous scenes unfold that would need some serious cleaning up later on, but over all, the place was calming down now, as some ponies grabbed their clothes and filtered out into the night air - soon to forget the fun parts of the night.

The table had only a few ponies left at it, and was the majority of the party at this point. Twilight and Starlight, who both had few responsibilities in the morning, were kissing as part of a dare; Rainbow Dash was watching eagerly, the pony who had dared them; Pinkie Pie was shoveling cake for little reason more than she gave for anything else she did; and then there was Raven, Spry, and Berry, who were simply talking to each other. There were a few other ponies here and there, most of them in the middle of making up excuses to finally leave, except for the lanky stallion and pudgy mare - who I had learned were the owners of this establishment.

I grabbed the case from the table that held the recorder, eyeing it in idol curiosity as I petted Fluttershy. I could only wonder where it had come from. Sure, tape recorders were decently old hat, but still, magical artifacts usually didn't date back to the 980's, with most that I knew landing in the early part of the first century if not in eras prior.

"What do you got there, Crescendo?" Twilight asked. I looked up at her, noting that she and Starlight had now finished kissing. "You've messed with it several times throughout the night, is it something important?" I thought back, and I did have to admit that most times I felt distracted, I had begun to look at the recorder, though usually just the case it was in.

"It's... well it's something old I recently bought. It has some weird properties that I don't quite understand and I guess my mind just drifts back to it when it has a spare moment." I said, not wanting to spill the beans. This wasn't sexual, so I knew she'd recall this all, and admitting to having an arcane object that itself held the incriminating evidence of your use on it was less than the best of moves.

"Oh, what kind of properties?" Twilight asked, looking at me with a glimmer of curiosity. I was going to have to distract her, but I wasn't sure that anything in my power might thoroughly distract her enough from her new prize. Perhaps I could record over that little exchange or-

Suddenly, the door opened, and in walked a stallion and three mares. What surprised me, and likely my three mares, was how they acted. The mares took off their clothes like I had expected, but the stallion simply walked in, stopped, and stood there, looking about. He wore a plain t-shirt and a pair of jeans, looking quite unassuming - except he somehow had entered and had not been effected by the recording. I slowly stood to my feet, my hand absentmindedly clicking the three dials into the proper placement, a feeling in my subconscious alerting me to something. Like a wolf sensing another wolf, a hunter spying a competitor, every fiber of my being raised to alertness as this stallion walked in, his plane sneakers not making the heavy footfalls I thoroughly expected from someone in this type of scenario.

"Hello! I'm sorry, but you're a teensy-weensy bit late for the party!" Pinkie said from her seat beside me, apparently having none of the same nerves firing as I did as the first lock clicked open.

"Oh? But the party doesn't begin until I'm here," He looked over towards us, my fingers working the second lock, "now does it?"

"Of course not!" All the ponies cheered, except for me.

"O-of course not!" I stammered a half second slow and the second lock ticked into place. He cocked his head at me and slowly moved up to me. I did my best to steady myself as he approached, knowing that if I showed fear he'd know something was up. He held something... some power - and it didn't touch me, much like he seemed untouched by my recording.

"Who are you?" He said, looking me up and down as I slowly moved both my hands behind my back, taking a confident pose as I worked the last lock, feeling time ticking slowly down.

"Oh, me? I'm Testing!" I said with as much confidence as I could muster, frantically moving the dial through its options.

"Testing?" He asked leaning in closer.

"Testing One Two Three!" I replied, maneuvering one of my legs to show him my cutie mark, ashamed at my own stupid name, the only one I could think of to fit my mark on short notice.

"Testing One Two Three, ey? More like..." I felt the lock click open, an gripped the case tightly to make sure it didn't fall open, "Testing My Patience." He said, a sly grin coming across his face. "So... Testing, what do you got behind your back?" He asked pointedly.

"M-my back?" I asked, knowing already the gig was up as I opened the case and maneuvered the recorder out into my hand, grabbing the mic in between fingers of the same hand. I brought out the case and showed it to him. "I-it's a case. I forgot to put m-my mic into it, stupid me!" I chuckled, even as I felt the grooves of each button on the recorder, searching for the record button.

"A case." He said blankly, looking at it, and then back to me. "Expecting karaoke tonight?"

"Y-yeah, th-thought Pinkie might put on a karaoke machine and we could all h-have a g-good laugh." I smiled, lowering the case back to my side as I found the circle indentation. "N-no machine either way, so I g-guess there w-wasn't much of a l-loss." He certainly seemed less than amused.

"You see, that's funny. Isn't that funny?" He looked about to the room, and everypony, including me, nodded our agreement, some chuckling in response. "You see, that's funny... 'cuz few ponies have the balls to lie to me." His tone shifted to a far more menacing one as he loomed over me, lording his height advantage that I was becoming ever more acquainted with over me. "So how about you act like a pansy and tell me the truth?" My eyes widened, and I knew it was now or never.

Quickly, I slammed a fist into his gut, sending him stumbling back a few paces as I rushed to the other side of the room, clicking the record button. "The Elements of Harmony, my mares, and I all suddenly teleported out of town!" Turning in the last second, I saw the mysterious stallion drawing out a notepad, staring me down even as Twilight's horn glowed as a complex spell was fired off. A second later, the mares and I were all in the outskirts of town, the evening air striking us all at once while several of the mares fell to the floor, no longer supported by chairs.

"What in the Hay!?" Applejack, who had left the party several minutes ago, shouted as she spun around. Beside her, Rarity flailed up from the ground, wearing a loose sleeping gown and a night mask. I looked back to the recorder, and quickly spoke into it.

"All of their clothes had also been teleported on to them." I quickly clicked the button, and looked at the mares about me, breathing deeply as I collected myself, my clothes slowly fading in around me.

"If I may ask, why am I out here instead of in my bed?" Rarity asked as she removed her mask.

"I... I don't know." Twilight began as she licked a finger and pressed it against her sizzling horn. "One moment we were at Pinkie's party, and the next I felt the overwhelming necessity to teleport us all and these guests out here." She looked at me, and then narrowed her eyes at me. "What did you do?" Shoving the recorder into my pocket, I looked at the mares before me and held up a hand, more expecting that I'd need to defend myself from them than expecting to stop them with the simple gesture.

"Th-that... that stallion was bad news. The WORST of news! I... I don't know how or why, but he set off all the alarm bells and... and he's immune." I needed to tell them, I needed them to know. I needed more than just my mares, I needed these mares, I needed the Elements of Harmony.

"What do you mean? He seemed pretty chill. Are you just jealous that he was the life of the party and not you?" Rainbow asked, seeming less hostile towards me than the slowly advancing Twilight.

"Listen..." I paused gathering my thoughts, attempting to sort them out as I absentmindedly fiddled with the recorder. "I... I have a magical artifact." I said, starting somewhere as I searched for more words, finding them coming slowly. "It allows me to... alter perceptions. I can make things... happen." The mares, besides my own, seemed less than convinced. "It's a magical artifact, okay? I don't fully understand it!" I exclaimed, gripping said artifact in my hand, backing away from them... well, more so Twilight as she advanced.

"And you've been using it." Twilight noted as she grew closer, now just mere steps away from me. Her horn sparked a few times, as if she was firing off a spell on silent. "I thought I caught wind of anomalies, but this is beyond the pale. What did you do?"

"I... I-I-"

"WHAT DID YOU DO?!" She asked, her eyes blazing in anger as she bore down on me.

"I made the party sexy!" I blurted out, to the shock of all but four ponies. "B-but I was careful about it. H-he, he wasn't affected though, and then he used his own thing and I wasn't affected! Th-there's something-"

"You used... an ancient and powerful artifact to make a party SEXY?!" Twilight roared.

"It was pretty sexy..." Rainbow admitted, before being glared down by the furious Twilight. She flinched away, much the same as I was as the furious alicorn returned her gaze back to me.

"You abused the powers of an ancient relic from who knows how many eons ago to get down and dirty at a party?!" I cringed away from her, my hand gripping tighter on the relic in question, momentary fear taking me as I noticed give, fearing I had broken it. "What then? No, let me guess. You were going to make us your SLAVES!" I looked at her with fear in my eyes, only to have that fear replaced by an even greater fear as I felt the tell tale signs of a massive shift in the world. Pulling out the recorder, I noticed the recording button was pushed in under my pointer finger's grip.

"But i-i-i-t w-" I gripped my head, feeling everything shifting more. "It wasn-n-n-" I struggled, needing to spit out my line, needing to free these ponies, even as they fell to their knees, forced submission taking their minds captive. "It w-w-w-w... was true..." Too late... my tongue rebelled. "The six mares were my new slaves." I said, my words not my own as tears began to flow from my eyes. I fell to my knees.

I hadn't wanted it. I hadn't wanted this.

"...unless I say so or they too are my slaves..." The words rung in my head as I defeatedly released the recording button. I then looked up at the six new slaves, sadness the only emotion I was capable at the time. That was, until I recalled the stallion in Sugar Cube Corner.

"We have work to do."

Splice 2: The Hunt Begins

How odd it was to be denied like he had been minutes before. Pushing the girl who had been sucking his cock to the side, he grumbled, grabbing a cup of punch and downing it, spitting it out when he noticed the lack of the bite of alcohol. The door to the bakery opened and in walked the one he had been waiting for.

"So nice that you could make it, Gunther." He said, feigning respect as he approached.

"Watch your tone, you know as well as I that you are a few steps away from losing your rights, Silver." The griffon Gunther hissed through his beak. "What's the situation? And have one of your whores suck my dick, it's been a journey, and I'm riled." He said, getting down to business as he loosened his belt and let his pants fall. Silver motioned to the mare Rose, who obediently fell to her knees and removed the griffon's underwear, releasing the dick from its confines before enthusiastically sucking at it.

"I don't take kindly to those who demand my hospitality after so threatening me. We both know I'm in little if any danger. I've been careful - which I can't say for some." He said, a wisp of magic closing the door behind the griffon. "The situation, is that we have an Unchained Possessor." The griffon narrowed his eyes, staring the pony down intensely, his muscles barely twitching at the mare's ministrations.

"Are you sure? The last time you thought you found an Unchained, you had found a special pony. I wouldn't want to-"

"I carried a full conversation with this stallion. What's more, he activated some sort of artifact, though by the looks of it, it was a Reforged." Silver shot back. "He's dangerous. Half the depravity in this very room wasn't my doing. He's wielding it, and I doubt he knows full well its power."

"Reforged? What form did it take?"

"A pen of some sort. He spoke to it and it took what he said and made it reality." The stallion said firmly. "We may need to-" Suddenly the door to the shop was thrown open. Gunther looked over his shoulder, looking to the two ponies, a mare and a stallion, as they pulled swords on him. Even as they did, though, they began to undress, staring him down intently as they did as if they didn't notice their hands pulling their uniforms away from their bodies.

"Are you doing this?"

"No, I believe it a residual effect of the colt's meddling with the artifact." The stallion said, approaching the two guards, who were now undressed fully. "Why are you here?"

"We are arresting this griffon for crimes against Equestria! Step back or be detained!" The mare shouted, sword held at the ready. Silver shook his head with a sigh, and talking to the two as if they were young foals,

"No no no, don't you know? Aren't you two supposed to be outside?" The two guard ponies looked at him in surprise. "Fucking?" The two ponies looked at each other and nodded slowly.

"Y-yes, we should really should get on that." The stallion guard said after a moment, his dick already rising to the occasion.

"And, sorry if this seems obtrusive," Silver said, petting Rose as she continued to suck the griffon's dick, "but you are to also stop only to suck or eat out any pony who asks? I am right, aren't I?" The two guards nodded.

"Of course of course. To serve an-"

"To Serve?" Silver asked, his tone demanding.

"To Serve." The mare repeated with a nod.

"Isn't it, To Service and Please?"

"Of course, To Service and Please." The stallion replied, grabbing the mare by the wrist, dropping his sword with a clatter as he turned to the door. "Come on now, we'll be outside performing our usual fucking. Please stop us should one of you fine gentlecolts need us." The door closed behind the two, and, based on the noise, they had taken up fucking against the wall of the building.

"Careful?" The gryphon pressed.

"They've clearly gone insane." Silver smirked. "I'll be taking them on after we are finished here anyway, no harm." Gunther snorted.

"Your standards are so low. Fine, I'll ask for some-"

"No. I want you to help me find him." Silver said pointedly.

"And why's that, Silver?"

"You're capable enough, have enough slaves, and if we two take care of this you can have the artifact in exchange for letting me keep the credit for doing it." Gunther regarded the stallion cautiously.

"Really? You'd let me have this Reforged artifact in exchange for the simple accreditation of the deed to you?" Gunther squawked incredulously. "What are you really after?"

"Exactly what I said. I've got enough with my artifact. You think I need another one?" Silver said, smacking the griffon on the forehead with his notepad, clicking his pen to the ready. "Now, are we good? I know you've been itching for something more substantial than what you've got."

"I got what I did from the Treasury, and I'm satisfied with it. If you are willing to give me more than that for lending a talon to help you clean up your mess," Gunther leaned in, a devilish smile tugging at his features, "you'll find you're right. I'm taking the artifact and leaving you with the credit. Hope you enjoy the fun the credit gives you." Silver smirked, jotting a line down before walking past Gunther, slipping his own pants back on as he reached the door.

"Slaves, on me, we're leaving." Silver called. Rose lifted from her knees, releasing the griffon from her lips as she wobbled up, swaying her hips seductively as she grabbed her clothes from their place, slipping them on as the ponies left in Sugar Cube Corner made there way over.

"Not even giving me an orgasm?" Gunther smirked, pulling his pants up. "Whatever, I'll collect on that later." Silver snorted in response, moving out of the quaint shop. Beside the door was the guard couple who were still fucking away.

"You two are my slaves, right?" Silver said, looking at the two.

"O-o-of course, s-s-sir." The mare said as she panted raggedly from the fucking she was getting, being driven against the wall with meaty, lustful smacks. Snearing at the performance, Silver felt his pants tightening as he grew erect once more. With an annoyed grunt, he dropped his pants, grabbed the stallion's shoulder, and thrust him away to the dirt. Taking up the position behind the mare, he grabbed her mane, pulled it roughly as he began to fuck her with powerful thrusts.

The encounter didn't last long, the mare cumming first, though he didn't stop until he was finished inside her. His orgasm finally subsiding, he pulled his dick from her. He turned, grabbed the naked guard stallion, sat him down roughly, and shoved his dick down his throat. Looking to the ponies that stood at the ready, he nodded to the guard mare, who leaned against the shop's wall, panting after her fucking.

"Gather both your and his things and get dressed quickly, slave. From now on you two work for me and for a taste of this dick. You got that, slave?" The mare nodded, stumbling inside, getting pushed to the side by the griffon as he left.

"I'll be in touch, Silver. My slaves and I will get this place cased before the night is over." He said in his harsh voice, his wings spreading out, ready to take flight.

"I want him cleanly. Get me the intelligence and we'll get our plan together properly. No mistakes, Gunther, and no rush. We reel him in nice and slow and he might just find himself handing the artifact over willingly. After all," Silver nodded to the abandoned bakery, "he did put on quite the show." Gunther huffed, and flew away.

"Guard Slaves, get to work finding out as much as you can about this pony. All my other slaves, I want you with me. We're taking a field trip."

Side B - Chapter 5: Tactics

"You want me to do WHAT?!" I was flustered to say the least. Berry's antics were something I was slowly, ever so slowly, becoming accustomed to. I was doing my best with my circumstances, I had thought, and then lo and behold, the mask on Periwinkle began to slip. The party had knocked the mask off a few inches, but now she was dipping it to me as well as using it as an opportunity to come up with what was both the most ridiculous and yet most likely to succeed hodgepodge of elements that could be construed as a plan if you cocked your head to the side, squinted, and took all of the drugs.

"It's actually quite simple." Twilight said, now seeming to agree with Periwinkle as the mare sat back confidently. "You say that the tape recorder, as an artifact, has near limitless power to alter reality. It has, in your own words, given you 'instant reloads on a bottomless clip'. That being said, you likely can use the power of the artifact to alter your very being. Enhancing your sexual capabilities to the point you describe means that it can accomplish things that are impossible."

"Yeah, but transforming myself into another pony, while all well and good until we can sort out this strange pony, once we handle him we won't be able to get me back. Remember, no contradicting the recording, it prefers to reinforce itself at your own expense." I countered.

"That's just it, though." Twilight said in an excited tone as she leaned over the table, her breasts wobbling freely. "You see, magic already exists that allows you to change your appearance to some degree or another. Those spells and potions, though, are temporary. If you want, you could tell the recording you had your hands on a potion that could turn you into another pony indefinitely and then later tell the recording you had a potion that counteracted the effects of the potion. It's just that simple!"

I sighed as I leaned further back into my chair. After the previous night's accidental enslavement, we had all retired to Berry's house to confer what we should do. A quick night's sleep later, I woke up in the center of the Celestia sized mattress, finding it already starting to crowd when I had previously estimated that it could hold all of my mares and myself on it easily. The previous evening weighing on me so heavily, I simply fell back to sleep, only to wake up with a blow job.

Opening my eyes, I felt something splendid around my dick. In a newly developed reflex from the last few mornings, I petted the head of whichever mare it was that blew me so wonderfully. My fingers traced through her hair, but the more I felt, the odder it seemed to me. It was straight, unlike the wave that Berry had in her hair; it was longer than I recalled Periwinkle's being; and I wasn't smelling Raven's lilac perfume beyond what was left on the sheets.

Cumming finally, I looked up to compliment whoever had done me the morning favor, only to find a pink maned mare who was nothing like Berry, Spry, or Raven. Flinching away, pulling my dick free as I huddled up the wooden frame of the bed, my eyes widened as I tried to recall the previous evening's events that might've led to this. Fluttershy, for her part, scrambled away too, hiding her very naked form behind the bed frame. A second later the door to the bedroom opened as Twilight, Rainbow, and Pinkie barged in - Twilight's horn sparking with a ready to fire spell.

"Master, are you alright?" She scanned the room, and, for the second time in less than a week, I groaned to myself as I realized what the recorder had gotten me into.

"I suppose it could work." I said finally, taking another bite of my croissant as I mulled over Twilight's plan. Berry entered the room, setting her bag down on the marble island with a huff. "Any news?" I asked her.

"Well, there's a whole mess of ponies I don't know about the market. Couldn't engage with them too long or else it would become too obvious. Either way, yeah, we've got problems. Most any pony I talked to simply seemed a tad bit too out of it. Even some of the ponies running the stalls seemed less than present in mind, though most of the ponies were able to zone back in long enough to talk. The weirdest thing, though, was when they didn't know I was around." Berry said, bringing out her phone and tapping a few times before sliding it over to me.

Picking it up, a video was ready to be played. Looking to her, I pressed play and turned up the volume as it went on. "If we can find out who those ponies were, I'm sure Master will fuck you." The first mare said to a pony who could be heard crying in the background.

"B-but there's so many slaves already out there! How can I be the slave to find them when they all have better posts than me!" A stallion whimpered pathetically, catching me slightly off guard. "I just want him to fuck me! But I can't tell him or else he'll cage me again!"

"Shhh, it's ok, we'll find them and get you that fucking yet." I pressed the pause button, noticing it went on for several more minutes.

"Very... disturbing audio." I noted, before looking at the mares around me. "You all... you aren't that desperate to get at me are you?" Immediately Berry and Rainbow raised a hand. I looked at them with a very concerned face.

"What?" Rainbow began. "I have yet to even taste that dick. Everypony who has just goes 'Oh Rainbow, you wouldn't believe how good it is!' and 'Oh Rainbow, he's just perfect!' and I have yet to get to do more than ogle it!" I looked to Berry, who I knew had been fucked at least five times.

"I'm not sick of it yet, and you're the easiest pony to get to fuck me." She shrugged. "Plus it helps you are a goooood fuck when you put your heart into it." I really couldn't have expected much else from her.

"But no," Twilight said, "I feel no... overwhelming need to have your penis. I did suck it the once, but beyond that, I've had no real desire for it."

"Oh, we gotta fix that for you!" Berry said, slamming her hands into the table, startling all present. "I'm going to get you on that dick, and then you can say 'oH I hAve nO gReaT nEeD.' Then I might believe you." Berry mocked.

"Continuing on, Berry," Twilight reasserted, giving the raspberry mare a terse look, "I was going to say that it is very likely that the pony controlling them has given them a compulsion to need his genitalia more than anything. It provides them a reward in their mind while servicing him."

"Hey maybe you should do that, Champ! Spice it up a tad!" Rainbow said, giving me a playful nudge. Looking at all the ponies giving her less than pleased looks - all the ponies except Berry who instead nodded encouragingly while giving thumbs up to the idea - Rainbow moved back from her seated position on the table, raising her hands defensively. "I'm sorry! Master, you should consider making your cock-"

"Titles aren't why we are mad, Rainbow, dear." Rarity said flatly, setting down another tray of croissants on the table, wearing only her sexy apron.

"I know." Rainbow replied, giving her award winning smile. The ponies at the table groaned as we returned to the topic at hand.

"How much progress are we thinking we could make should we actually transform me? What purpose is there in it?" I asked, more so hoping to keep my body.

"Oh, we're finally on that suggestion?" Berry asked, looking at Twilight with a wide grin, to which the purple alicorn simply nodded with a sigh. Looking back to me, her grin growing larger. "Turn into me, and I'll turn into you." I was taken aback. Shaking my head a few times as if I'd have cotton falling out of my ears to hear better.

"Run that by me again and this time include the reason why that's a good idea?" I said, knowing full well I had heard correctly. This was Berry, there was very little beyond her in terms of perversion; body swapping was likely one of the many many kinks she had.

"Okay, hear me out." Berry said, pulling a chair up to the table, sitting in it backwards like some sort of hip teacher. "They are looking for you. You are a definite target that they want. Am I right?" We all nodded slowly. "I am not one of the ponies that is really going to be looked for; right?"

"Debatable, but I can see where this is going." I said slowly, letting her finish.

"If I turn into you and you into me, we get two benefits. For one, you will be able to do more snooping for precisely the information that you want and need for this... plan. I assume there's a plan. Of course there's a plan." I wanted to object to that, but Berry was in too much of a flow to notice my weak attempt at interrupting. "Now, the second benefit is that you get any attention that's on you put on me, meaning more ponies are after me. If there are any ponies after me, you only have to deal with them. Plus, added benefit: I'm from this town. Therefore, most ponies will just look at you as me and go 'oh, there's Berry Punch' and anypony who sees you acting weird will jump go 'Eh, it's Berry, she drinks any time she wants' and then leave you in peace unless they were aiming for a good time, which most ponies in town won't be 'cuz I wasn't publicly as much of a slut as you'd think."

"I think you were more of a slut in public than you think you were." Rainbow said, placing a hand on Berry's shoulder. "Most stallions in town would talk about you behind your back, and a lot more of them claimed to have slept with you and were believed than most any other." Berry considered this for a moment before shrugging.

"Scratch that, I guess you can act as much of a slut as you might think me in public. I guess my estimation of my public persona is a tad off the mark. So yeah, as slutty as you want as long as I get pics and vids." Berry said, before turning her attention back to me. "So what do you say? Time to go incognito and show these randos exactly why you aren't to be messed with?"

"Why shouldn't I be messed with?" I asked, which apparently caught her and most everypony in the room off guard. "Look, just hear me out. We can grab some things, hit the road, hang some place else for a few days - maybe a week or two - come back, and boom, the problem blows over on its own."

"Cress," Applejack, who had been eating her way through a stack of pancakes, looked up at me as Pinkie took away her empty plate to fetch another, "I ain't sure what type o' ponies you figure us for, but we ain't runners - we're fighters."

"Indeed," Rarity chimed in, "not to mention that problems such as these rarely blow over. They are like poorly made trends. If you don't speak your mind up front, it might catch on and then everypony is wearing lime with neon yellow highlights."

"Look, I said I was sorry!" Pinkie exclaimed as she set the new stack of pancakes in front of Applejack, who went back to eating. "But yeah, we don't do the running gig. Plus some of us have family that either lives here or nearby! We can't just run without a good bye card!"

"You... you would actually settle for a card?" Twilight asked, getting a shrug from Pinkie.

"We're on a tight schedule if we are running, I can do the 'Farewell and Hello Again' party when we get back." Pinkie said as if it were a fairly obvious solution. It was sensible as far as I could tell, but the point that we weren't running was setting in.

"I guess I'm outvoted as far as running."

"Well technically," Periwinkle said, lowering the paper she had been reading, "you could vote for all of us. You are our Master, and we the slaves - for as much liberty as you do give us. You do have executive veto, you could just tell us we are leaving and we would start packing. It is, after all, your prerogative." I blinked at her.

"Wait... I could do that?"

"Well duh!" Pinkie exclaimed. "SLAVES!? HELLO!?"

"What Pinkie and Periwinkle are trying to say," Twilight interrupted, "is that, yes, as our Master, you do have the authority to tell us what to do, and we fully accept that. You could order us to do things that would ruin our lives, or go against our moral philosophies, and I have no doubt that we'd comply - our philosophies making room for the order with the order ranking as the greatest moral prerogative over all other moral concerns we might have otherwise. We'd do anything - short of harming or killing you or killing ourselves."

"I..." My eyes widened in horror. "That leaves out certain very important 'won't do it, even if you ask's. Like, kill another pony, or commit any number of crimes. There's a lot of room in that list of things you wouldn't do for things you aren't saying, but implying, that you would do."

"But of course." Rarity replied, lathering butter onto her croissant casually. "You are our Master, and though it would pain us to commit such acts; at your request, we would but only hesitate a moment to confirm your will, and then execute it." She set the butter knife down, smiling at me in a way that suddenly felt disconcerting. "It's as simple as that." I felt sick. At that moment I knew what I must do. Grabbing the recorder that sat at the center of the table, I pulled it close.

"Twilight, a piece of p-"

"Master." Twilight said, placing a hand on mine. "Master, don't make it so we can't obey you." I blinked at her. "There is nothing that can be said into that artifact that would work the way you'd want it."

"What about... 'I can't order you to kill anypony through action or inaction', sounds pretty airtight to me. Not many downsides to that one; in fact, I'd say there are no downsides." I said simply.

"What if you order us to save somepony instead of you, but we know that that would kill you? Your order isn't explicitly to kill you, but through inaction we would be killing you. I know that if you wanted us to prioritize another's safety you wouldn't want us disobeying because we fear you will die and so make it impossible to obey. You'd want us to save the pony, not freeze and help nopony because we can't help either since it would doom the other." Twilight's tone was cold, and more frighteningly, wholly reasonable. "You can't then specify 'through direct action', because then you could order us to do something we'd know would end in another's death, but you wouldn't know. You'd force us to obey in that dire situation, and then know the blood of the ponies who died was on your hands.

"Master. You can't limit yourself because though it seems best to remove those options from the table, there are situations you may face in which, though they aren't you asking us to cut another pony's head off, you may have to have us face the possibility of collateral damage." I blinked slowly, lowering my head as I considered this. "The best risk preventor you can give to yourself is your own moral code."

"Twilight, you need to lay off those philosophy text books..." Rainbow deadpanned. "Look, if the kid wants to limit himself, let him. He is the Master after all."

"He is the Master," Twilight conceded, "but he let us keep our minds and a larger part of our freedom so that we could help him."

"No." Raven said simply, drawing everypony's attention. "He didn't do it so you could help him." She reiterated firmly. "If he wanted you to be solely usable as tools, he would've made sure to remove your personalities and freedom of thought for everything but problem solving skills. He would've asked you about the most effective means of elimination of the target by military means that is within your scope of power, Princess Twilight. If he needed help, he would've used his tape recorder by now to say that he had command over the entire military and be sending the kill order on the pony who now poses the greatest threat to him. But he doesn't, because he isn't doing this because he wants your help." Raven pressed, setting a hand on my shoulder.

"He left you with your minds and the greater part of your freedom because it's the right thing to do. Damn easy, damn efficient, he's going for the high ground. And that's why I love him, and that's why if he decides to limit his power, its fine; and if he thinks he shouldn't, then I'm still behind him." I smiled at her. Raven was seldom outspoken, but she certainly had things to say when she was.

"Well." Twilight paused before finally turning back to me after my gray mare's speech. "What's the decision. Need a piece of paper still?" I paused, considering it for a while.

"I want restrictions... but I think it would be best to follow Twilight's words on this one." I said finally. "If I say 'I can't order you all to murder ponies', it cheapens my resolution to not kill. It's... it's better I have a sword that I never use not because I've thrown it away; but because, though I carry it wherever I go, I dare not unsheathe it." I looked up to Twilight. "I will still need some paper if I'm going to figure out how best to switch place with Berry." She nodded, and Berry gave a silent 'yes', while the needed supplies were gathered.

Side B - Chapter 6: Preparing for the Inevitable

I waved my now elongated hair out of my face. Berry punched my arm with a chuckle. Looking down at her, I saw myself instead, and still categorized it as beyond trippy to see myself when it wasn't a mirror. Not to mention I was now technically a tad shorter than myself, especially since I was wearing heels. I had had to practice walking for several minutes before I gave up and recorded that I figured it out, and suddenly I had.

"Why do you insist on me wearing heels while in your body?" I asked with Berry's voice.

"Because they make my butt look tight and are just plain sexy." I heard my own voice say. I groaned, pinching my wine colored nose. "Hey now, that doesn't look sexy. If you're gonna be me, you gotta be sexy! Now come on. Put some play in those hips! Sway the chest ever so slightly! And then, once you got that all down, act like you don't know you're doin' it!"

"And you were saying that I didn't have to act as much of a slut as I might think." I shot back with a grin. Sighing, I began to walk, attempting to portray the walk naturally.

"Little more hip action!" My voice called out encouragingly. "Don't push the boobs with your arms, that's too obvious! Let them sway a tad but don't over do it!" I did my best not to show my exasperation as I turned to face myself.

"Now you walk to me." I said, still adjusting to hearing Berry talk when I tried to talk. It was almost like a speech jammer. Berry smoothed my... her... his hair back, and then began to walk normally towards me. Once... they reached me, I couldn't help but be stunned at the lack of 'hip action' and 'chest sway'.

"Look, Champ, it's a lot easier to turn it off than to turn it on." She teased.

"Then talk like me." I challenged, which caught her off guard.

"Not sure if you've noticed, but I am. My voice is what yours used to be, and vice a versa." Berry said impetuously, putting her... she's a she in a he, so whatever - her hands on her hips... my hips... this wouldn't not be confusing.

"Kid, you sound nothing like little Kressle." I said, putting on my best imitation of her mannerisms. "I, on the other hand, can fuck and suck. I can subtly wiggle these puppies around a bit." I said, hefting the breasts that had presented the oddest shift in mass above all others. "Or maybe I'll just jiggle 'em in your face. But either way, you," I poked her nose, "sound nothing like Cress."

"Oh... am I really like that all the time?" She asked, looking me up and down. "Oh, I know!" She then put on a confused face, sighed, and then rubbed her temples. I blinked. She looked up at me and blinked. I sighed as I began to rub my temples. "See, I win!"

"No, you don't." I shot back. "You need to talk like me. You talk so easily about sexy this and sexy that, but I don't."

"Fair point, fair point, but counter argument: The pony or ponies after you don't know that." She pointed out. "All they know is that you were nervous when the head honcho confronted you, but that could've been you just being caught off guard, which is pretty much true."

"Yes," I began, "I know that. But! I rather not everypony in town think I'm basically just Berry Punch in a stallion's skin." Berry waved me off, turning away.

"Fine, I'll talk all boring like. How's this: We need to make a plan, and then execute on that plan, and after that I'll... I'll go home with my m-mares."

"Laying it on a bit thick, but it's closer." I admitted. "Now, we just have to see what the others were able to cook up." She nodded, heading out of the dining area, opening the door for me as I grabbed her bag, slinging it over my shoulder.

"Ladies first." She said with a bow.

"Not sure if I should slap or blow you for that one, honey." I teased in my best Berry-like way. She went redder than I thought my body could.

"It's an experience being on this end of it." She remarked, blinking a few times before she followed me into the living room. Everypony present looked over to me and Berry as we entered, and I did my best to do the walk as she said to do it. Rainbow whistled, clapping her hands wildly. I suppose that was a good sign.

"All set?" Twilight asked as she looked over to us.

"I actually decided against it." Berry said with my voice. I was about to counter that, when I though it was a good exercise to see if we could fool these ponies.

"Yeah, he chickened out last second. Didn't like the thought of losing his big friend downstairs, even if it meant getting these two in exchange." I said, hefting the boobs happily. Berry sighed a long suffering sigh that I knew for a fact likely left me once or twice a day ever since I met her.

"Alright... so what's the plan?" Twilight asked, obviously doubting our story.

"Well," I interrupted, "Cress-boy thought it would be a better idea to give me the recorder." I said, bringing the artifact out from my cleavage. Berry had told me to hide it there as soon as the switch was made, and honestly, besides the mild discomfort and possibility that the recorder was going to get activated by the plush boob flesh, it was a decent idea.

"Alright, hope you two have had fun." Periwinkle said as she stood up. "How about you drop the act." Everypony looked to her.

"Act? What are yuh-" Applejack began, only to be interrupted by Berry and I laughing.

"So which part of it gave it away?" I asked through tears as the laughing subsided.

"Well, for one, you didn't say something like 'Cress gave me this to stick in my boobs' or 'Cress gave me a new toy' or anything along those lines. Your line was a tad too direct." Spry noted. "And you," She pointed to Berry, "were brief enough, but I - though not having as much experience with how Cressie talks - do know your particular brand of short answers. Otherwise, you both were pretty good."

"You mean they actually did go through with it?" Rarity asked, looking over both of us as if she could tell if we had or hadn't magically transformed into each other by looking closely.

"Crawl up to me and beg like a puppy." Berry ordered, and though Rarity blinked as if she was processing an order, she didn't do it in the end.

"Rarity, show me them titties." I ordered in the most Berry-like way possible. Immediately the white pony smiled, lowering her top to show her ample bosom.

"It really is you!" Rarity exclaimed happily.

"I'm lost. How exactly was that proof?" Raven asked, looking between the three of us.

"Well, you couldn't feel it, darlin', but when Cress spoke, even in Berry's voice, I think the rest of us felt the power; I an' Rarity did at least." Applejack explained.

"Yeah! When Berry used Cressie-Wessie's voice it felt like a random pony, but when Cressums used Berry's voice, I could feel it like electric submission coursing through my veins!" Pinkie added with a shiver.

"Cressie-Wessie? Cressums?" I asked blankly, an odd sound for Berry's voice.

"Hey, we only got Cress, Cresh, Cressie, and Kressle. We gotta have more pet names for our Kressle-Wessle!" She said with infectious enthusiasm.

"Up to recently I almost exclusively went with Cresh as the go to shortening of my name." I confessed.

"How 'bout Rou? You said your name was Rousing Crescendo, makes sense to me." Applejack offered.

"Or RC, that sounds good to me." Rainbow offered.

"I... I like Master... or Cress." Fluttershy mumbled.

"I agree that 'Master' certainly sounds the finest." Rarity said. "Though for more... public settings, I like Kressle, it sounds more dignified and less foalish."

"Kressle-kun, Cresslie, RooRoo, Rousle, RoCree, Sendo, Recro, OusSend, DoRo, Esen, RouNdo!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed, bouncing about the place.

"Honestly, I like Cress." Twilight said simply. "But either way, we have business. This is what I've come up with." She said, floating over an object that for all the world looked like the recorder and mic combo I was holding. "It really is an apple, but a bit of transformation magic and you got yourself a recorder doppelganger. Do be careful with it though. If you bump it around too much it will revert to an apple." Berry nodded, taking it and placing the 'recorder' in my windbreaker's pocket. It was odd to think that though she was in a fake version of my body, the clothes very much were mine. But that one I did know because we had to strip before we downed the potions, an exercise that gave Berry plenty of time to make aggravatingly sexy remarks.

"Fortunately for you," Twilight continued, "the potions, as specified in the recording, won't be wearing off for a while and physical trauma won't undo it either. We'll have some time before our pursuer catches on hopefully, and when they do they'll have to figure out who got the switch treatment." I paused at that one, a thought striking me.

"He can ask." I said simply.

"We won't tell him, Cressie. Don't you trust us?" Twilight seemed hurt.

"I trust you all explicitly, but he's got something you can't counteract: a power similar to my own." I reminded them. "He can move through my power without flinching as I can with his, but none of you can do the same. I've seen it in action." The room grew quiet, everypony considering it.

"I suppose that means we all will have to hunker down, huh? Can't have him prying it out of us with his 'power'." Applejack shrugged. "Guess that also means turning Berry into yuh was a tad bit of a waste."

"No..." I said slowly. "Berry, with me, please. Everypony, get prepared to head out with your preassigned partners, this'll only take a few." I turned out of the room and reentered the kitchen.

"What's the plan, Cress?" Berry asked.

"You'll see soon enough." I replied, setting the recorder down as I started jotting down a few lines on a piece of scratch paper. This would be dangerous, but it was more dangerous to not do it.

I waved Berry off, watching as she left with Periwinkle in tow. "Party 'Pigeon' has departed the nest." I noted, marking down the time on the spreadsheet by the door. "Time is half past five. We'll wait for forty-five to head out." I said, tapping on the paper by the door on the empty slot for 'Party Raven'.

"Are you sure this'll work?" Raven asked, looking over the times for the different parties.

"If it doesn't we'll have more trouble, and if we didn't do this, we'd have a greater amount of trouble." I noted, pushing the raspberry hair out of my face. "Our next step is to start our own recon, and the first thing to do in that list of orders is likely to be one of the diciest." I grabbed a stack of papers, sitting down by the fireplace as I began to read the one on top.

"With little explanation, the pen mic became a wireless mic attached to a single earbud and the recorder became able to accommodate such a device. The mic's sensitivity only allowed it to pick up those who spoke directly into it - whether in a whisper or louder it didn't matter. The body of it was so colored, and so thinly constructed - though with durable materials that weren't likely to break - that the entire assembly was nigh invisible when worn, though it stuck out when taken off." I switched off the record button, waiting to see the change, and, to my growing smile, the pen mic faded away, replaced with what I had asked for. Looking at the recorder, I saw dongles that stuck out of the mic and head phone ports, the recorder's concession for making it fit the parameters asked for. Tossing the papers into the roaring fire, I smiled, knowing that all likely circumstances wouldn't allow anypony to deduce what we had so carefully planned.

"That's all well and good, but why not ask that the entire tape player and recorder becomes something more portable?" Raven asked, watching me put on the mic and headphone assembly.

"Because I doubt the recorder would allow itself to be changed. Mind you, I haven't tried, but I prefer not to ask it too much and then lose it." I replied, pressing play on the tape, happy to hear audio in the one ear. With a surge of curiosity, I pressed the rewind button, flipping up the volume wheel on the recorder as I did, recalling that the past recordings seemed to be rather quiet. Playing a few times and rewinding a few more times, I found my way to where I wanted to be.

"The door to the cafe was thrown open with a sudden force as an unexpected arrival entered followed by three mares. He stood out from the rest as he shrugged off the Straight Record's power. Activating his own hidden power he asked- I fast forwarded a bit, looking to find something specific I needed - besides the sudden revelation of the recording's proper name... the Straight Record. The stallion, as the ponies disappeared, grunted in frustration, before turning to those that remained. "Perhaps I can still use you all. You are my slaves, right?" All the ponies agreed to-

I paused it, sighing. I might have to scan it more closely later on. If I knew the stallion's name it would make things easier. Standing up, I looked at the clock and saw the time, nodding as I saw I could now leave with Raven.

"Alright, let's get out there. Hopefully we can figure some things out."

Side B - Chapter 7: Hiding in Plain Sight

I walked as confidently as I could through the streets of Ponyville with Raven at my side. It surprisingly didn't take too long to find something of what I was after. In an alley way, I watched as a pony was being talked to by a familiar stallion. I turned back, moving away a bit from the alley as I moved to look at a display of fruit nearby that was closer to the ground. Lowering myself, pretending to inspect the fruit, I subtly removed the recorder from my boob gap and slid it into the purse I carried, hiding it inside a pouch, the buttons facing upward for easy use. With a second thought, I zipped it shut, not wanting any pony's cursory glance to find it sitting there in the open.

"Anything you need, Berry?" The stallion who ran the stall asked. I looked up to him with a playful smile.

"I'm thinking about... oh, well, you don't want to hear that. Let's just say I'm considering the produce carefully for a special dish and leave it at that." I said in Berry's voice. The stallion's eyes widened as he blushed furiously and leaned away from looking at me. Looking back at my options, I found a nice looking bunch of grapes next to a small tub of cucumbers. I had no idea what sorting system this pony was using, but he needed to stop.

Grabbing two bunches of grapes and the two nicest cucumbers I could manage, judging them on girth and straightness, I brought them over to the open counter, setting them down with a sly smile, as if to make the stallion remember the word 'special'. He gulped, weighed my items and bagged them quickly.

"Five bits." He said finally, his tone quavering. I smiled, putting down six.

"Keep the change." I said, pulling the package away as I moved to see what the alley had for me at this point, swaying my hips a tad extra for the pony Berry likely knew. The stallion from Sugar Cube Corner stood there, watching his handiwork as a stallion knelt beside him, masturbating openly. I gave a quick glance, and found no one else was watching or even looking this way. As if they knew.

"Are we making a move?" Raven asked as she walked up beside me, having picked out a nice looking blanket from the stall next to the fruit seller.

"Too many witnesses, we can't even properly observe." I noted, moving away from the alley, giving the airs of having seen nothing more than a stray dog. "We need to keep our distance, but we can't let him slip us. I'll stay on this end, you can move to the other side of the market." I said in a whisper as surreptitiously as possible. Raven scratched her nose in acknowledgement before we moved over to another stall, not ready yet to split.

"Hello, Berry, and who's this?" The pony behind the stall asked. Thinking on her, I recognized the mare from the party, her orange mane and yellow skin picking a part of my memory.

"Oh, this is my cousin," I lied, "Her name is Rook. Say hello, Rook." I said, playfully nudging Raven from behind.

"Um... hello." Raven offered, still not entirely happy to have to deal with ponies that weren't the pony we were after.

"Golden Harvest, most folks call me Carrot Top, though your cousin here has a different name for me." She said with a sly grin that reminded me all too much of Berry. These mares would be the death of me, maybe even literally at this rate. Keeping my composure as best I was able, I planted my hands on Raven's ears.

"Not in front of the children. I promised I wouldn't bring her back a miniaturized me when we left." I teased playfully.

"Oh, and how much did that take?" Carrot Top asked, leaning over the counter.

"Being family is a far greater incentive to keep to their wishes when you like to stay friendly." I replied, hoping to weasel out of this. She simply scoffed.

"I thought you hated the lot of 'em, what's this about being friendly now?" Carrot asked, making my heart race as I realized I was a tad trapped in my own words and Berry's old words.

"Owing bits," I began, finding my way through my tale, "brings the most hated family members together again." I finished, hoping to Celestia that it had worked.

"My goodness, you had to lean on 'em again? How many times do I have to tell you: if you're low on bits, ask me and I'll help." She chuckled at my expense as I waved her off.

"I know, I know, but I was out of town and things fell in just the wrong way. I was short, had to buy something fun for something that was fun, needed bits, boom." I sighed. "Fortunately, they just want me to fillysit this little darling and not completely wreck her." I ruffled Raven's hair affectionately, feeling the uncomfortableness oozing out of her. "So hey, not that bad of a price to pay."

"Let you off easy? Unlike them." She narrowed her eyes at me. "What do you think they're up to?"

"Mom and Dad are off in Los Pegasus." Raven supplied finally. "They don't want me around, and they don't trust any of my friends or their families."

"And they trust Berry?" Carrot chuffed.

"No." Raven mumbled.

"They trust me three hundred bits worth. And seeing as most sitters charge a couple more than that for how long they're staying away, I think they're banking on me to not screw up unless I'm willing to be visited by the family ghost." I said. "But hey, she's a good kid... bit too good. Kinda surprised me last night when she didn't kneel beside her bed to say her prayers like a good little filly."

"For shame!" Carrot Top jeered. "Any way, let's leave the poor dear alone. You need something from my stall or from me?"

"I think that all three of you should follow me, don't you?" I froze at the words in a voice I knew from only one place.

"Yeah, that sounds good to me." Carrot Top answered pleasantly.

"Sure." Raven answered in her quiet tone while I turned and looked at the stallion.

"Lead the way." I said, steeling my nerves for whatever he had prepared. He nodded and turned, leading us back to the same alleyway as I had seen the stallion in. To my surprise, he was still there, now making pitiful grunts and groans even as he still stroked at his meat, not a single drop of spunk to be seen anywhere. Either he was cleaning it off the ground, or he had his permission to cum revoked. I could see this unicorn doing either to the poor pony.

"Now, don't you think it sad that he hasn't cummed yet?" The mysterious stallion said, answering the question while looking the pony on the ground over with pitying eyes. We all agreed, with my heart sinking at the thought of what might come next. "You see, the truth is that he has a condition. Isn't that right, you poor pony?" The stallion looked up at us, tears flowing from his eyes.

"I... I can't cum here!" He said in a hoarse tone. "I can't cum outside of a mare... I can't cum in private!" His eyes held such pleading in them, it felt heart breaking to look at him.

"Won't you fine mares help him out?" The unicorn asked, a smile I could only read as teasing across his lips. "Won't you please... fuck him?" We all nodded, as we moved to help him, my movements likely a tad slower than the others. "Oh, but didn't you listen? He needs it to be public."

"I have to do it in public!" The stallion groaned, falling to his side as he vainly thrust his hips as his hands worked furiously at his junk. We all hesitated.

"He can only do it in public." The unicorn repeated for a third time, as if to drive it deeply into our heads. "Shouldn't you take him out to the market and help him?" The others agreed verbally, I simply nodded, moving to grab his shoulders. Raven quickly grabbed his feet and hefted him, Carrot Top helping with the mid section, which was especially needed considering he was still moving at a fever pace in that area. Hauling him out into the middle of the square. His furious motions would have garnered enough attention, but three mares carrying him certainly brought more ponies around.

"Gangway!" The unicorn proudly called. "Gangway! These mares need to fuck this poor stallion if he is to live! Please stay to watch to help! Won't you all come watch and participate if need be?" The crowd murmured, moving to follow us as we moved to a small stage at the center of the market, whose use wasn't clear to me beyond being a stage. "First off, let's have the pink-ish pony give him a good fucking! Won't you do that, dear?" He said, extending his hand to me. I nodded with little hesitation, passing my bag to Raven, deftly unzipping the pouch where the recorder sat as I left her.

"Of course, anything to help!" I said, moving up to the stage. Stepping up as I prepared to take off the skirt, sure that I could fix this later if need be, but at the moment I was surrounded by innocents and an enemy I knew little about.

"Anything to help?" The stallion repeated, and I nodded.

"Anything."

"Then give him a strip tease! He needs it, right?" He called, looking over to the stallion who was being held by to burly looking ponies. He nodded with no small measure of disorientation as he continued to furiously stroke himself to no avail. "You heard the pony! STRIP!" The unicorn cried, a wicked smile on his face. I nodded slowly, moving over to center stage before him, my back to the crowd, as I begun an amateur's attempt at an expert's technique.

Berry was large enough for a pornstar, so the movements almost seemed natural as I ran my hands down my clothed breasts, letting them slide down to my hips, and then to my rump which I grabbed with a moan. The stallion spasmed against his guards, looking like a wild animal being held away from a piece of delicious meat. Turning around slowly as I ran my hands up and down my butt, I peered at him over my shoulder, back facing him as I pinched my tush, released it, and then gave it a good slap, sending ripples I could feel through my body.

"Everypony, with such a fine show, shouldn't you all be masturbating?" The unicorn asked, pacing back and forth in front of the stage like a drill sergeant mixed with a caged tiger. The crowd all seemed to agree, and slowly placed whatever they were holding to the side, opened - or even fully lowered - their bottoms, and began to collectively jerk or schlick themselves, some doing it to the one beside them as they received treatment from the one they got off. I felt I was starting to get an idea of the extent of his powers, but I needed a tad more time, and a moment to execute on my idea.

Moving my hands back up, I turned to the pony I was going to have to fuck, slowly moving towards him as I unbuttoned the tight fitting blouse Berry had for me. The guards, by this point, were just jerking it too - the pony they were once holding now back on the floor, writhing as he watched me go down button by button. Reaching the final button, I slowly arched my back, leaning back while my breasts were thrust forwards to him, and my blouse slid back, following my arms. Turning around, I removed my left hand from the blouse, and then tossed the whole thing to the side of the stage, stopping before the crowd, running my hands down my bra, and then bare stomach, bending down low as I maneuvered my hands to take the zipper of the tiny dress skirt I wore, the sound of the zipper barely even a sound over the din of ponies going at it.

The skirt dropped almost unceremoniously, revealing the black panties that conformed to my ass - Berry's ass. This porn star body was certainly eliciting a reaction as I slowly stood back up, looking to the stallion still on the floor, still furiously masturbating as I put one arm across my breasts, while the other unclasped the back of the bra, letting the straps fly free, and leaving my chest feeling a lot less compressed. Moving my arms through the straps, the bra was now only held on by my hands, one on each cup, as I put on as much of a sexy strut over to the pony. I knelt over him, letting the bra suddenly drop onto his face. With a great hunger and lust, he reached to grab one of my boobs, but I reacted faster than he could move, grabbing the hand by the wrist.

"Ah ah ah! Not until the show's begun, you naughty colt." I chided him in my best Berry way. Moving back up, taking a few steps back, I spread my stance out as I turned around, letting my hands play with my free breasts, looking out to the crowd of ponies as they all masturbated. I knew it was due to an order enhanced by an artifact, but I was starting to really enjoy it - their lust collectively focused on me - and that, in some corner of my mind that wasn't overcome with the lust of the situation, was frightening.

Letting my hands leave my tits, I let them slowly trace down my sides, reaching the edges of my panties. Hooking my thumbs under the band, I slowly inched them away, noticing them stick to me due to the wetness that had built up at some point. Finally, pulling it away, I bent over, some of Berry's reflexes the tape recorder gave me kicking in, keeping me steady as I showed the desperate pony behind me my exposed pussy and ass.

Suddenly, I felt my wrists grappled, pressed to my ankles as ropes began to move quickly about them, fastening me into place. My eyes went wide as I looked, seeing ponies I didn't recognize taking thick rope and tying me up. I craned my neck to look up as best I could and saw the unicorn, standing on the stage where he hadn't been moments prior.

"You might not recall, but we have met, little pony." He said, lowering himself to a crouch so he was closer to my head level, his tone low and insidious. "I saw you at the party last night with a pony I need to see." He said, standing up before walking behind me, swatting my backside. "I would love to just dive in and have you answer all my questions," He said, before he suddenly drove something - and I knew what - into my pussy, causing me to rock forward, only to be brought back from falling by a yank on my mane, "but I think I'll dive into you first, and then ask questions later. Pleasure before business."

"What about me!" The stallion whimpered from the ground behind us, still stroking his dick with need. The unicorn didn't answer immediately, but likely had a idea forming in his head.

"You, orange mare," he called out to Carrot Top, "up here, strip quick and give this poor pony relief." He ordered, Carrot Top slowly moved up the stage, hesitation in each step. "You do want to help him, don't you?" He asked, to which the mare slowly nodded. "Then get up here and strip." Once again he thrust into me, sending every inch of my body quivering in pleasure. Carrot quickly stripped down, and then bend over like me, though I noticed no pony came to bind her. That was a special treatment for me.

The stallion was hoisted from the ground, placed behind her, and guided into her, eliciting cries of pleasure as she stumbled slightly, catching herself on her hands in something that resembled a lewd version of a yoga pose I had once seen. All at once, we were both being fucked, our cries mingling together as thrust after thrust drove us further into pleasure. I had no idea that this might be what my mares felt when I did them, and thinking on it as much as was possible while getting railed, I knew I would have to fuck each of them more if I ever got the chance.

The minutes of our ecstasy was accompanied by the occasional pony in the crowd crying out as they orgasmed. I watched as pony by pony, they all came, until finally, I came in a mind blowing scream of pleasure. Even as I felt myself going limp, the stallion behind me kept going, his stamina something else. It seemed he wouldn't stop, until finally, in a rush, I felt him cum into me, certainly a new feeling.

Finally he let me go, letting me collapse onto the stage, his spunk draining out of me. The euphoria still coursed through me, but even so, I knew I had a few moments to act as he walked off stage. Flipping over, I saw Raven, her skirt and panties on the floor beside her. I scrunched my face at her as if pleasure had gripped me, and then opened my eyes wide in a prearranged signal. She nodded, obviously still coming down from her own high, as she opened the purse and fiddle with something inside before looking to me and scrunching her face in what would've looked like something of orgasmic delight. I was live, and I had to go fast.

I quickly began to whisper into the mic that still held fast to my face through the fucking. "Suddenly a detachment of guards would arrive, the ponies would scatter, and despite his orders, the guards would press through and arrest the stallion, able to push past his-" Suddenly Raven yipped, waving her hand in pain. My eyes widened. Something was wrong. I could only hope my order had worked.

As I had said, guards suddenly flocked the area, each in their full regalia, weapons at the ready as they advanced, calling warnings to those gathered. The unicorn looked at them all, and then back to me. I could see him curse before turning back to the guards.

"Won't you put down your weapons and-" He didn't finish as one of the pegasus guards swooped down, tackled him, and but a metal rod in his mouth, locking it behind his head.

"No more of that. That's a Dark Stone bit, you won't be using any magic with that." She proclaimed, moving quickly to put his hands in shackles. Suddenly she fell over, writhing in... pleasure? I suddenly noticed all her armor had fallen off, leaving her naked. Looking up I watched as guard by guard, they all had their armor fall from them as they fell into pleasure-filled wailing. After the guards were on the floor, suddenly the ponies assembled fell over, pleasure taking them as well with the same sudden ferocity. Looking back to the pegasus, I noticed she had cum for some reason as she wallowed there for a moment longer.

With what seemed monumental effort, she reached over, grabbing the manacles from where they had fallen, only to have them disappear from the ground as she doubled over again in pleasure. I looked around for the reason, when suddenly I saw him. In the midst of the crowd of writhing ponies, a griffon stood. He wore a hooded cape for some reason, clasped with a nice looking broach in the shape of a circle with decorative etchings. He seemed irritated as he finally turned, moving to the downed unicorn with the Dark Stone bit. The pony got up slowly, working the mechanism of the Dark Stone when a key suddenly appeared in the socket and let it fall free.

"Thank you, Gunther." The pony said, sounding equally as frustrated as the griffon looked. "I thought you had the guard angle handled?" He said, looking over the curled up pony on the ground disdainfully.

"I do." Gunther replied. "They didn't succeed did they?" The stallion snorted, kicking the Dark Stone bit away from him. "Cheer up, Silver, we got what we came for." I knew I had little chance now, but any chance was better than none. Glancing over to Raven again, I saw her on the ground, apparently having been hit by the pleasure like everypony else. I scrunched my face, as if another wave of pleasure had hit me, hoping she'd notice. She did, and quickly pressed the record button, and I whispered on a breath.

"They wouldn't notice at the time, but the bindings on the wine colored mare came loose, letting her escape." I scrunched my face again, and looked to her as she once again did her part, laying low while doing so. My bindings seemed to fall apart, and not wanting to arouse too much suspicion before I could make my escape, I looked for a distraction. I couldn't risk another recording, and honestly I should've bundled my distraction in with my loss of bindings, but hind sight was not helpful at the moment. I grasped at the ropes that had fallen from me, a plan coming together somewhat. I had one shot, and I needed to take it.

With a quick motion, I chucked the rope behind the stage. The two of them froze for a moment at the sound, quickly moving in opposite directions to inspect it. As they moved off, I slipped from the stage and fell into a quick crawl as I quickly made my way to Raven. Reaching her, I looked back, and the two of them were looking about cautiously.

"Why didn't you stop whoever it was?" The stallion barked as he searched under the stage.

"I've already spent myself on saving your hide!" Gunther hissed as he looked about. "Plus, if we find them, you'll have them covered. Right?" A mocking tone in his voice.

Leaving them to their bickering, I turned to Raven, putting my hand on hers. "We've got to go." She nodded. I but my hand in the bag, found the recorder,and pressed the record button, whispering into it. "A torrential downpour suddenly struck the area, as wild clouds from the Everfree broke open, sending such rain down that it obscured every p- one's vision. Berry's purse would be found, at that point, waterproof, the rain rolling off it. The head set would also be water proof." I turned the recording off, zipping the purse back up, and waited.

The sky grew suddenly dark, and I could see various pegasi taking off from different points, moving to take on the wild clouds as they roared to life, sending a waterfall down on all the ponies. I pulled Raven off the ground and charged away as the rain crashed down, watching out of the corner of my eye as several other ponies took our fleeing as a sign that they had a chance too. Suddenly the horde of ponies who had been on the floor, partially in fear partially in ecstasy, sprang up and darted every which way. I could tell Silver, the newly named stallion, was shouting over the rain, but his words were muddled, a pleasant side effect of the downpour.

Dragging Raven along, we reached an alleyway, through which we darted, keeping ourselves to the backstreets as the rain poured down, until finally, we broke free on the small path that led away from town to Berry's place. Charging inside without a second thought, I looked up and saw Twilight and myself standing in the living room, completely dry. I cast a quick glance to the log sheet and paused at it.

Team Pigeon Departure: Five thirty. Return: Six. They had been out for about a half hour, and looking at the clock, it was now nearly seven twenty-five.

"Why are you naked Berry, and why is Raven nude from the waist down?" I heard myself ask.

"Yes, that is a good question." I looked over to the new voice. There was Starlight, standing it clothes that didn't match what I'd think she'd wear. Black latex clinging to her tightly, hugging each inch as closely as possible. I blinked a few times. "But there will be plenty time for it later." She said, and suddenly I found my hands brought behind my back as I was forced to the floor. "First we need to tell Master Gunther the news."

Splice 3: Twinkle Twinkle, Dying Star

Starlight opened her eyes, the room was dark around her. Where was she? Slowly, the previous night wormed its way into her mind.

"The Elements of Harmony, my mares, and I all suddenly teleported out of town!" The young stallion had shouted. Suddenly the ponies he had mentioned were gone in a flash of energy. The strange stallion - Silver, if the fleeting memories from the time between then and now were to be trusted - had cursed, turning to her, fury in his gaze as he looked down on her.

"Won't you just go to sleep?" He grunted, and immediately she felt herself begin to collapse into a fitful sleep as he drew out a notepad and pen, scratching something down as he turned away. Since then, her memories were hazy with the sleep she had tried to keep going as the stallion had asked her.

Visions of being moved by others. Vague pictures of dark corridors. Images of ponies chained up. Phantoms of moans of pleasure. And then a heavy door closing. Now she was here, strapped to a chair in the dark, her clothes back on her, put on at some point she couldn't recall. With a blinding flash, the door to the room opened. She looked up, still drowsy from waking up moments ago. A figure walked in, a cloak draped over his shoulders.

"Glad you could join us. Now I can begin with the treatment." He said, closing the door behind himself. Starlight could tell in the lowered light of her chamber that it was a griffon; plumage evident on his head while the sound of soft paw falls instead of shoes on the floor was distinctly griffonian. "This is quite a simple procedure, so I'll help you along here at the start. Please listen closely." He said, setting a heavy case on a small table in the corner of the room, unlatching its several locks.

"What... what are you going to do to me? Where am I?" Starlight asked weakly, feeling far more tired that she felt she should.

"You are in my domain." The griffon replied darkly, opening the case and drawing out a syringe, flicking it a few times. "As for what I intend to do, I was going to tell you that either way." Moving over to Starlight, the griffon gripped Starlight's arm, negating her struggles, and jabbed the needle into her arm. He pushed the syringe's plunger down, the fluid slowly entering Starlight. The effect wasn't immediately apparent, leaving Starlight all the more concerned as she braced for whatever would occur. After a moment she could feel herself heat up, not at all what she had been expecting from the drug as a flush came to her face.

"You see," the griffon began, adjusting his cloak, "I too have a power, but it's less direct than others." Suddenly Starlight felt a thrill of pleasure course through her, and found after it left her that her shirt was now open, and bra missing. She breathed heavily, feeling the last twinges of pleasure leave her. "I have to use... subterfuge. Sly and marginally deceptive tactics some might call cheating." He continued to explain, when suddenly another rush hit Starlight. It felt as if somepony had given a long, drawn out lick to her lower lips; and looking down, she saw her pants and panties were indeed gone. She felt good, too good.

"I've had to refine my technique over the years, you see." The griffon went on, taking a chair from the shadows, planting himself down in it, still fiddling with his broach. Starlight again shivered as it felt like the phantoms of fingers once inside her left her, leaving her filled with pleasure, but profoundly empty as whatever had been in her left with little ceremony.

"What... what did you give me?" She gasped, feeling another rush as if a tongue had swiped at her left teat. The griffon chuckled, looking over the vile passively, as if admiring the craftsmanship of the item.

"Special brew. Its an add mixture of an aphrodisiac to get you going, some trace compounds that enhance your sensitivity, and a very special type of neural inhibitor." He looked up to her from his idle inspection of the syringe. "Simply put, you will feel good, keep feeling good, but-" Starlight gasped as she felt her nipples get twisted, "you won't be able to orgasm." Starlight looked at him with a mixture of fury and despair at this revelation.

"I'm not cruel though... well, not entirely." He said, standing up, moving over to the case again. Starlight followed him, and as he stopped at the case, his cloak fluttered slightly, his hand briefly touching his broach to adjust it when it felt like a dick had hilted in her, driving far deeper than anything had before, leaving her with a rush of pleasure, and a slow seeping of blood.

"I have to say I'm surprised a mare as... desirable as you is a virgin." He commented off hand. "But to continue," he turned with two syringes, one in each taloned hand, "I have in one of these bad boys the antidote for the lack of orgasm you are experiencing. But the other is filled with the same solution as I hit you with already." Moving back to his seat, he pulled a small nightstand over with his paw-like foot, setting the syringes on it, going back to adjusting his broach. Starlight strained at her restraints as pleasure overflowed her body, her tits feeling as those they had been sucked and licked, her pussy feeling cared for as it twitched for the thing no longer in it.

"Now, overdosing is a concern. I fear that if I give you the one that is already in you again that you might never orgasm again." His features twisted in mock concern. "But unless you improve, I fear I might have to give you that at some point, especially since we never know how you'll react being let out. You see, I need you to behave." She arched her back as she felt driving thrusts one moment, only to have them fade away. "And you aren't doing that right now."

"W-why?" She panted. "Why do I feel all these-" She was cut off in a shrill yowl of pleasure as her nipples felt themselves twisted and played with more.

"That's my doing, though not through these drugs. No, I have other means of doing that." The griffon said, standing up, circling Starlight. She watched him pass in front of her, feeling her mane pulled back harshly as something shoved itself inside her asshole and pussy. Passing beside her, she felt her tits fondled, and she loved it. She felt her pussy getting slammed over and over, and she loved it. She felt her throat getting used, and she loved it. She strained against her bonds, her pleasure building ever greater beyond what she thought even possible, and she loved it!

"You love this, don't you?" A whisper came in one ear, surprising her. "You want this." A whisper in the other ear, breaking the haze of her ever mounting, but never releasing, pleasure. "You need this!" The harshly spoken words entered her as she felt her body ache in the pleasure.

"Think of your friends..." The griffon said, eye to eye with Starlight as she felt the phantom sensations of a kiss. "Think of them, how they don't get this feeling." She felt her pussy quiver again, feeling as if she had yet again had her boobs played with. "You are special today. Imagine," He whispered in her ear, her teats feeling as if they had been pulled harshly, "getting fucked." His words echoed her pussy and ass's sensation as they closed after opening wide for what wasn't there.

Starlight struggled against her bindings, feeling yet another bout of pleasure coursing through her, like every inch of her had been licked and teased. She wanted to cry, but she had cried so much in the last few hours that there was nothing left as another round of pleasure hit, followed by more whispering.

"You are a cum dumpster." She jerked away from it, a phantom tongue swiping at her pussy. "You love dick." That one felt more reasonable to her. She did prefer stallions over mares. "You need to be fucked." She twitched away, feeling her nipples getting twisted as she did. "You are a whore." Another voice, and again a flinch, and this time the sensation of being fucked in the ass, sending ripples of pleasure through her entire being.

"You are holding up quite well, slut." The griffon said mockingly.

"Believe it or... or not... I'm well acquainted with... brainwashing." Starlight managed, even as each word brought another lick to her twitching pussy.

"Oh really?" The griffon muttered, leaning forward to look at Starlight eye level. "Don't suppose you've got any suggestions. I'm on a tight schedule and honestly I can't leave all the work to my other slaves for too much longer." Starlight chuckled.

"Sorry, but most of my techniques were quite tame compared to this... I just did the whole starve and pour monotonous droning in, and stir well with sympathetic gestures, and it only worked some of the time." She replied, surprised to not feel anything attacking her for the moment, only to feel the sensation of being hoisted off her chair as if a fucking had come from below and disappeared before she could welcome it.

"That is a fairly amateur technique, and as I've said, I've had years to develop mine." He said, patting her on the cheek with a coy smile. "Now... let's work on some association, shall we?" Suddenly she felt every part of her being used all at once, her mind starting to crack under the weight of pleasure.

She struggled, her thoughts breaking the surface of the torrent of pleasure. She felt sore, but equally filled with pleasure. She pulled at the restraints weakly even as another wave of pleasure flowed through her. She needed to fight. If she didn't... what?

She sagged, flinching at another wave of pleasure in the stinking, putrid room. Why did she fight? What was there for her if she fought past it all? She couldn't remember. And as another wave crashed across her straining mind, she lost more of what she didn't know. She tried the restraints again, but her attempts were weaker as her sweat drenched body lost more and more of its fight.

"You are a fuckdoll." A dissonant whisper told her. She blinked, no longer sure. Was she? She felt she had no other reference point. "You are a horny, easy slut." She simply nodded, her spirit flagging. "You love to suck dick." She smiled, her mind filled with the pleasant thought of sucking a dick. She couldn't recall if she had sucked one before, but she looked forward to doing so soon.

"You are Master Gunther's slut." For some reason, that felt wrong, but even as she put up a small rejection, it was broken out of her mind with a rush of the pleasure that seemed to typify her existence. "Repeat." She blinked, unsure, when another crash of pleasure elucidated her. She struggled against it. It was one thing to listen passively, letting the words wash over her tired body like the dank smells of her cell, but repeating these things?

Her thoughts were broken from her with another mighty crash of pleasure as the voice came close once again. "You are a whore." She weakly nodded. "You are a dick-sucking slut." She nodded, her fight leaving her. "You are a set of holes for anyone to use." She shuddered and nodded. "You are Master Gunther's bitch." She again thought to protest, but again let the words flow over her like water. "Repeat." A blast of pleasure rushed over her as she strained, not to escape, but in desperate need to finish what these blasts of pleasure never seemed to do.

"I am a... fuckdoll." She said in a near whisper, as if not saying it loudly would save her from the words. "I am... I am a horny... a horny and easy slut." She would've laughed, but she was in to much mingled pain and pleasure. "I love... to suck dick." She said, falling limp in her restraints, fresh defeat flowing through and over her. "I am... I am Master Gunther's slut." She said, her inability to cry the only thing keeping tears away.

"I am... a whore." She said, her voice low and broken, where it would've risen in protest against her captor before. "I am... a... dick-sucking... slut." She repeated, feeling the words settling deeper into her, like the water that had run over her before soaked into the sponge of her mind. "I am a set... of holes..." She trailed off, her breathing labored as she felt the teasing return, only to fade. "I am a set of holes... for anyone to use." She said, a despondent certainty in her voice. "I... I..." She threw her head back, feeling a phantom having hilted in her like so many before, the room's musky stench increasing. "I am Master Gunther's bitch!"

Her head rocked blearily, the pleasure feeling too great to bear, her thoughts swimming in a mire of indiscernible pleasure. She had been here for... how long? She couldn't recall. Opening her eyes she stared, and before her was a disc. It had various ticks across its surface, with a singular protrusion rising from it. 'Sort of like a sundial...' She thought briefly through the haze.

"Serve." She blinked at the circle as she watched it slowly precess in her vision, spinning circles on a wound up string. She vaguely heard the voice's return, recalling it had come and gone many times before. What had it said those other times? It was beyond her, her mind a blur in this constant pleasure. "Obey." The voice came again into her head, echoing around her. "Submit." She blinked, watching the disc turn and turn slowly. Suddenly she fell from the chair, hitting the floor naked and writhing in pleasure as she immediately sent a hand to her pussy, a needy groan escaping her lips.

"Serve." She opened her eyes and saw a figure standing before her, but what her eyes fixed on was the spinning disc, and the dick next to it. Rising to her knees, she looked at the disc, feeling her body slowly calm from the pleasure. It drew her in, moving towards the pelvis the dick was attached to. Moving forward, as if in a dream, she stopped, finding the dick's tip poking at her lips, her head unable to follow the disc momentarily.

"Obey." Her lips slowly parted over the dick, her head moving down the dick to follow the disc. Suppressing her gag reflex with skill she didn't know she had, she took the entire dick inside of her, her nose touching the disc, sending a shiver of pure pleasure coursing through her veins.

"Submit." She began to bob up and down, giving the dick a blow job as she worshiped the disc that now rest against the groin. The disc had favored the groin, so she worshiped the cock as if it was the disc's. Her mind occasionally swam with phantom thoughts, but each time they were chased away by her nose touching the disc, and her body feeling the chill of pleasure.

A hand pushed her away as the dick engorged to cum. She wanted to serve, she needed to submit, she must eat the cum; but she was prevented - only to watch in excitement as the dick aimed to a deep, wide brimmed tub. Several strands flew out from the dick, landing in the tub, which was already filled with the viscous, off-white cream. She fell to her hands, and would've rushed to it, but was stopped by a yank to her mane. She strained, but she couldn't reach it. She whimpered in need - needing the cum.

"Eager, aren't we?" A somewhat familiar voice whispered in her ear. A second later it clicked.

"Master!" She called joyfully, nestling against the cock of her Master. He was so kind to let her be so close to his cock. She kissed it and licked it, overjoyed to be so close to it and her Master.

"Yes yes, slave, but now I need you to sit." His sensual voice commanded, sending shiver down her as she plopped her rear down on the hard stone, looking up at her Master with utter devotion and wholehearted love. "We'll need a name for you, cunt." She shivered, his insults feeling like hard thrusts in her pussy. Had she had a name before? She couldn't remember. "How about... Starbitch. You are my bitch, after all." His sexy voice saying her new name would've driven her to cum if she could.

"Now, Starbitch, I want you," He said, looking down on his bitch as she happily anticipated the order he'd give, "to eat all that cum while I fuck you." He said, motioning over to the wide tub. Starbitch happily crawled over to the tub, raising her rear for her Master's access, giving herself barely enough room to lean down and lap up the delicious cum.

Lapping away, she barely caught herself from falling face first into the cum, not a bad fate if Starbitch was honest, as her Master drove himself into her. Feeling her Master's dick in her needy pussy was orgasmic, despite her inability to have them. He fucked her, railing her over and over, sending her face splashing in the cum with each thrust. He orgasmed multiple times over the next hour, her body relishing his pleasure as he pulled out, spraying load after load onto her back as she ate out of the large tin of creamy cum.

Licking up the last drops as they fell from her spunk-soaked mane, Starbitch felt truly content, the feeling of her Master's warm seed inside of her giving her such pleasure. Suddenly a sharp jab hit her flank, and she moaned from the pleasure she felt in the pain. Her Master then leaned down to be close to her head.

"I'm going to fuck you one last time." He said, making Starbitch's heart sink. Had she done something bad? "This time I'm not pulling out, and you are going to get your reward." Her eyes widened as he stood up away from her, sitting down in the chair, his legs spread wide for his dick to stand erect and proud. "Congratulations, Starbitch,this time you'll cum with me."

Leaping to her feet, she practically pounced on the dick, sending it deep into her pussy. With a loud moan of ecstasy, she began to pleasure her Master, bouncing up and down on the beautiful dick - the center of existence. She could never live without it! Driving it deep inside of her over and over, she felt the pleasure inside of her building to a peak, rising beyond where it had before as her Master's dick engorged inside her, locking her in place as they both released. Starbitched yelled and screeched in wild, animalistic pleasure as she came - her Master cumming inside her. She fell forward, wrapping her arms around him as she rode the world-shattering orgasm.

She lived an eternity, her arms wrapped about him, as she welt warm seed inside her, both dripping slowly out of her aching pussy, and sloshing about in her stomach. She loved it, and wished it to never stop. Her Master, though, couldn't stay forever to be with his slave. Grabbing her shoulders, pushing Starbitch off of him in a stupor of pleasure that still flowed through her.

"Starbitch, what would you do to feel this again?" He asked simply. Excitement sparked inside her as she felt as if her birthday had come twice in a year. Her Master was offering to cum inside her and let her cum a second time, and all she had to do was offer him something worth his while. What could she give?

"Anything... anything and everything!" She breathed, not knowing anything she could specifically give, but desperately wanting this feeling again.

"Then I want you to find your friends. I need a chat with them." He ordered. Starbitch shivered, already imagining her friends getting fucked. Maybe she could fuck them before she delivered them to her Master? Maybe they could all fuck him together! She could cast the Fiducia Compelus spell on them and fuck them! She could make them slaves to her, and slaves to her Master!

"Of course, Master Gunther, I'll find them all, and I'll bring them to you!" She said, ecstatic for a chance to prove how much she wanted to fuck him again, to be fucked by him again.

Side B - Chapter 8: Revelations in the Dark

I looked at her, my mind racing, trying to understand the words that had just left her mouth. It struck me now that I had left her behind. She wasn't one of my mares, and she wasn't an Element, and I had left her. And now... now she was their slave. I lay limply on the living room floor with Raven while Starlight lounged on a nearby couch, Applejack eating her out dutifully.

"Oh yeah, that's good, AJ." She moaned, pressing the farm pony deeper between her legs. Turning to us, she smiled, nodding to Applejack, and then Twilight, who seemed herself for the moment, beyond simply not reacting to this like would be expected. "You'll be like them soon... you'll all get to be my slaves... for now... enjoy the show!" She cried, Applejack hitting a sweet spot for her. Panting, she looked around, her eyes lighting upon Twilight, a devious smile etching itself across her face. "Twilight... Twilight go blank for me!" I watched as once again, Twilight lost all expression and stood there blankly. "Repeat what I taught you, let them hear it!" She cried in pleasure as AJ continued her work. Turning to us, Twilight droned out her lessons.

"I am a slave. I am a bitch. I am a whore. I am holes on legs. I am easy. I am wet. I live to serve. I am a fuckdoll. I am-"

"Oh, that's good, Twilight! Oh, Twilight, bring back yourself and have her give me a striptease! Oh I need you!" Starlight panted, overcome with her lust. Twilight blinked a few times, looking over to Starlight, a coy look in her face as she strut over, performing a tease in her own nerdy way.

How was I going to get out? I needed to escape, to warn the others before they got here. If Fluttershy, Pinkie, and Rarity returned from their work to this, we'd all shortly find ourselves handed over, and then we would be goners. I needed to act, and fast. Seeing her distracted, I could only assume that the time wasn't going to be any better. I slowly moved myself over to the fallen purse, my eyes set on Starlight the entire time as I moved slowly over bit by bit.

Twilight finally removed her bra, throwing it to the thoroughly enthralled Starlight, who was too caught up in Applejack's activities between the unicorn's legs to make her appreciation known. Twilight turned about, spreading her legs, and I froze, knowing that she was still stripping, but fearing my position now more than ever, a few seconds away from the purse. She lowered her panties ever so slowly, and Starlight obviously appreciated every tantalizing second that drug its way towards the final removal of the article of clothing. Slipping it off, Twilight turned back to face Starlight, twirling her panties on a finger, the other hand akimbo.

I made the last few movements to the purse, no less caution in each movement as I closed the gap, not even looking towards it as I fell to my side, giving my hands access to the bag. I watched with bated breath, my hands finding the recorder with ease as Twilight let the panties fly away as Starlight pushed Applejack away. My fingers traced over the buttons, feeling each groove, lighting upon the circle indentation, I pressed down.

Suddenly the door was thrown open, and looking, I saw Silver and Gunther entering. Silver smirked at my naked form, giving me a swift kick in the gut before pressing on, his griffon compatriot stopping only to give me a glare.

"Master Gunther!" Starlight squealed in delight as she rushed up to him, bowling Twilight over with her sudden movement. "You got my message!"

"Of course I did, Starbitch." Gunther replied, looking over the scene of depravity as he set down a hefty case beside him. "Neither of these are a stallion, young or no. Were you wrong about the gender, Silver?"

"No, neither of these are the right one. And I wasn't confused, the colt had his dick on full display at the party; as I said, our kind of party." Silver shot back. "You said you had him, Starbitch, where's the pony?"

"He's in the other room, Mr. Silver." Starlight... or now I supposed Starbitch, told him, clapping her hands twice. At that, the door to said room opened, and I watched as Berry in my body walked out, head bowed, completely naked for all to see. My body bowed, prostrating lowly before the two of them.

"I am your slave." I heard my voice say, causing my heart to beat more violently. I needed to do something, but I couldn't risk the plan that I already had in place. But now, after the swift kick to the gut, beyond being out of breath, the bag with the recorder was a few paces away from my back. A teleportation wouldn't work quite as easily, especially since Starlight seemed to have her under some spell, and I wasn't sure how much I could really do against it - not to mention what had been done to Starlight.

"What is this?" Silver asked, turning to Starlight with a questioning glance.

"I used the Fiducia Compelus spell, as well as a few others, to make them your slaves!" Starbitch clapped happily. Silver actually seemed impressed.

"You're good with spells then?" He asked, looking over his compatriot's slave.

"Yes, Princess Twilight once said that I was likely as powerful, if not more so, than she was as a unicorn! I also basically worked her to a standstill as an alicorn!" Starlight chirped happily, likely knowing her newly found value would make her that much more desirable.

Even as they talked, I racked my brain for a plan, something that would work to our sole benefit, and their sole loss. I could just have us all teleported away and the spell taken from the affected ponies. I might even be able to just straight up say to have the cassette player sent over with us. But now that I saw Starlight, saw what state they had taken her to, I knew I had to do something to help her out of it. I knew this was my fault, I had only asked for the Elements and my mares, and she was neither, and so had left her in my panic to get as many ponies out of the party as quickly as I could. I had remembered to have our clothes teleported out, and I hadn't even thought to teleport the ponies out. I was an idiot, and I had to fix my idiotic actions. But how? What if the magic they had worked on Starlight was beyond the recorder? What would I do if it rebelled and didn't allow me to help her?

"... take it off." I heard, catching the last part of what Silver said. Looking back to them, I saw Starlight nod as she turned to my body and released a spark of magic, causing Berry to shudder on the floor, before shooting up to his... their feet.

"You!" Berry growled in my voice, before taking a step back, her eyes flashing between Silver, Gunther, and finally the nude Starlight. "What did you do to her?"

"Not much, I just... altered her perspective." Gunther said nonchalantly, adjusting his broach. Suddenly, Berry twisted and fell to the floor as I watched what was essentially my dick twitch and spray cum across the floor. The griffon was doing something, but I didn't know what. It had happened to basically everypony but me at the market, and it had gained much the same reaction.

"I thought you were spent." Silver spat at Gunther.

"I've since rested. I don't have many more uses back, but I have enough." The griffon commented, leaning down to Berry, patting her head. "You see? We aren't bad. Would bad griffons make you feel this good?" Berry looked up at his, shock and concern in her gaze, as well as, I noted, a glimmer of lust.

I needed to act, and quickly, but I couldn't be reckless. Craning my neck, I saw the purse, a tad bit of it under the couch already. I scooted as silently as I could, trying to gain as little of anyone's attention, especially the new wild card of a griffon. A plan was bubbling up in my mind, I just needed time.

"Get away from me and my mares!" Berry said, pushing herself back to her shaky feet, pressing against the wall for support.

"I get it, trust me," Silver began, holding his hands out in a placating gesture, "you've stumbled upon an artifact and are feeling a tad territorial about the power you've recently gained, but I'm not here to strip you of it." I reached the couch and the purse, and began to work the cassette player out from its spot.

"Then why are you here?!" Berry shouted before cringing, falling to her knees as yet again cum splattered across the floor. The griffon chuckled at this display.

"We too have artifacts, as you no doubt have noticed." He said, standing back up to his full height. "And that being the case, when we found out you too had one, well, we just felt it wise to introduce ourselves. But... you see," Berry groaned, another orgasm taking her, more cum splattering across the floor in thin streams of off white, "you've been less than hospitable, and have kept on running from us when we just wanted to say hello and make you feel good."

"S-stop th-that..." Berry breathed, unsteady from the multiple, unexpected ejaculations. Gunther tsked like a disappointed foalsitter.

"Don't you like how it feels?" He asked like he was asking a foal, even as Berry screamed, bucking their form as the dick spasmed again, cumming again, leaving her panting. "Maybe if I show you a few more times you'll change your mind." The griffon said in a menacing tone. Berry widened her eyes in fear before they slammed shut as pleasure overwhelmed her once more, cum splattering over the floor once more.

Finally pushing the recorder under the couch, I prepared to enact my plan, when Silver turned to look over me, my fear running high. He walked over, grabbed my mane, and hoisted me up, grabbing the purse out from behind me, letting me drop unceremoniously at his feet. He then picked Berry's phone out from the bag, tossing the rest to the side.

"Nine eight four one two... I wonder who you were going to call..." We muttered. I realized I must have bumped it while digging the recorder out. "Maybe you missed the emergency numbers, a shame." He tossed the phone over his shoulder, and I watched as it hit the ground hard, the screen cracking as it did. Berry really needed a phone case. "I would've loved to have your local guard ponies to play with. For now..." He stooped to my level, grasping me by the throat, hefting me up to my feet before letting me go, dusting me off with a smirk. "You are my slave, aren't you?" I blinked, and nodded slowly, knowing I desperately needed to act my part.

"Good good; I can't wait for all the other ponies to get back, because..." He then grasped my cheeks, somehow missing the microphone with his fingers as he pulled me within a breath of a kiss, "All of his slaves he's gained with whichever artifact he has... are basically already my slaves." I couldn't help my eyes widening as I felt the world shifting. He had spoken directly into the mic on accident. I hadn't turned off the recording. He threw me back and turned away, and I watched as Berry, in my form, suddenly changed how she looked at Silver; Twilight, still naked, gained a new admiring look for him; and how AJ... well she didn't change, still in a mindless state from Starlight's spell. It was over. It was over, and I was beyond mad.

Gritting my teeth, I hissed into the mic, "My restraints fell off." I didn't even wait, my hands moving as the knots died away, grabbing the rope that had bound me. I darted forward, and wrapped the rope around Silver's throat. I watched as Gunther turned to the commotion, but I wouldn't give him a chance. "Silver and I teleported to an empty field with the recorder!" In a flash, we were gone.

Landing in the field, the chill night air hit my bare skin as I pulled the rope all the more taught. Silver sent an elbow into my gut, but I tightened my rope around his neck. He then switched tactics, his throat more than likely feeling quite crushed. He grabbed at the rope, frantically trying to rend it from him. Even as his strength waned, I suddenly was hit from behind, falling to the ground in a tumble. Looking up, I saw Twilight in her nude alicorn beauty, wings spread, her horn crackling.

"Twilight fell asleep for the rest of the night." I said simply, watching as she fell to the ground, unconscious as I turned to Silver, rope still in my hand. Silver looked between the fallen Twilight and myself, probably frantically trying to put the pieces together. I marched over to the fallen unicorn, who hit me with a blast of magic, which was more of a wave of telekinetic power than anything. Keeping to my feet with great effort, I continued to march forward. "For the night, I transformed into an alicorn." I hissed, feeling the changes take hold as my new appendages appeared along with the instincts on how to use them. "I knew combat spells as long as I was an alicorn."

The knowledge shoved itself inside my head, a sharp pain as if someone had punched me striking as it did. With gritted teeth and tears growing in my eyes, I pushed past it, charging up a bolt of pure arcane energy as I stood over him. Fear grew in his eyes, as if he knew something was up.

"You are my slave, right?" He stammered, gripping at his shirt. "You couldn't hurt me, could you?" I grabbed him by the throat, my spell gathering all the more strength. "How are you invulnerable?" I smirked devilishly as he squirmed.

"That's a question I can answer," I said mockingly, "if you give me your artifact." I grabbed his shirt and tore it away from him. There, under his shirt was an amulet. He stared at me in shock as I grabbed it. "I'll take this."

"NO!" He screamed, scratching at my arm. Moving the chain away from his neck, I held it aloft. I looked it over, eyeing every inch for signs of how it worked, I needed to know. Perhaps it could resolve my mistake. Looking back to him, I saw him scratching something down on a notepad. My eyes widened as I realized the deception. My bolt of energy that I had saved up shot down, striking his hand. With a yowl of pain, the booklet fell from his hand as I caught it up in my magic, bringing it up for inspection.

Across the page was written various lines in shorthand, one line fading away - the line he had been working on furiously. I cursed my inability to read it as I stared down at him. I levitated it behind me as I stared down at him, my anger still flowing freely. I stopped my foot down on him, crouching low, pressing harder as I came a tad more than an arms length from him.

"That stallion?" I hissed to him. "That's my body, but I'm not in it." I said sharply, causing his eyes to grow wide.

"H-how... how did you not have the spell falter? D-did... Is this the power of the artifact you've found?!" He seemed genuinely terrified, and I felt only the barest amount of sympathy for him as I towered over him.

"The floor suddenly fell out from under him, allowing him to fall freely." I said, almost in reply, watching as the soil fell in on itself, and he scrambled to grab something, but failed, falling down the newly made hole. I folded my wings in, allowing myself to fall with him. He screamed as he fell, and I fell beside him, watching his terror. With a smug smile, I looped the talisman around his neck tightly, causing him all the more terror, though I only made it tight enough to press at his neck. I looked down, and saw the bottom, so far down we would hit it with such speed, I had no doubt death wouldn't keep either of us waiting.

I grabbed him by the throat, he stared at me in horror, grabbing at my forearm, even as I didn't apply more than the barest amount of pressure. I spread my wings and began to slow our decent, before finally, with a burst of arcane power, shot out of the hole far faster than we had entered it. Setting down, I threw the trembling stallion to the floor, I looked him over with disdain, but my hatred had been replaced by a measure of pity. I couldn't kill him, despite wanting to. He deserved to die, but I couldn't be the one to meet out that judgement. My judgement was also flawed, and I couldn't even say he really did deserve to die.

"Who are you? I mean really." I said, my voice calm. He stared up at me, fear still in his eyes, maybe more now than before. "The hole in the earth filled itself in, as if nothing had even happened." And as I spoke, the earth seemed to surge upward, filling the hole that he might've jumped down, for as much good as it would do him. "Tell me." I repeated.

He opened his mouth as if to answer, before he suddenly darted forward with unexpected speed, grabbing the notebook from my magic before I could react. I turned, reaching out with my magic with ease as if I had had it since birth. Smacking him to the side, I snatched the book away, watching the incomplete line fade away. Turning to face him, he looked up at me with the frantic fear of one who was about to die.

"Give it back!" He shouted, as though a foal dealing with bullies, this time charging me and going for a tackle. I stood there, unaffected by his tackling, my new alicorn form seeming strengthened in every way. "Please!" He said with frantic need, though I wan't sure if he was talking to me. He then looked up to me, backing away, a sudden acceptance in his eyes. He seemed stoic, almost fearfully so. "The Empire always takes its dues." He said simply. "Expect a collector soon." Suddenly, the talisman on his neck seemed to catch alight with a white, arcane flame. "Silver Tongue." He said solemnly as I watched in shock as his form started to catch alight bit by bit. "You asked me who I was... it won't matter for long. The Emperor has seen to that."

"Who is the Emperor?" I cried, taking a step nearer, only to back off as the arcane fire swirled around him, slowly burning him to ashes before my eyes.

"He's the one you've robbed, and soon he'll come for you." Silver said, even as he fell to a knee, one leg mostly burnt away, though he didn't respond to it. "Look forward to it." He smiled, before falling forward, disintegrating as he fell. I watched the flame suddenly die out, and looking to the notepad, I noticed was unchanged, despite its owner's fate. Who was this Emperor?

Splice 4: Confrontation

"Where are they!?" Gunther roared, bearing down on Starlight. The unicorn flinched away, her horn flaring once more as she cast a scrying spell for the seventh time in the hour. "I thought you were one of the most powerful mages! Where's that power now?!"

"They're somewhere in the eas-"

"WHERE?!" Gunther pressed, clamping his claws down on her throat. "Somepony is out there with Silver using an unknown artifact, and I want to know where! Your friend at least is out there with them, hopefully being of use!" Gunther threw Starlight down to the ground in frustration. "If you can't tell me where, if you can't render the artifact to me..." A maniacal glint took his eye, "I'll just give you two doses of my brew." Starlight's eyes widened in horror. Clenching her eyes, she drew in more power for the spell.

Suddenly a hard smack broke Starlight's concentration. Opening her eyes, she watched as a dark blur brought her master down. Almost as soon as this information crossed her mind, her master's cloak was thrown towards her. Catching it in her magic, she shoved it aside, only to see her fallen master, and then darkness.

Raven stood over Starlight, the purse dangling from her hand, a good deal of its contents strewn across the floor from the impact against Starlight's cranium. Striding over to the fallen griffon, she brought the purse back for another swing. Gunther scrambled up, blearily shaking his head, narrowly avoiding the swinging purse with a deft movement to the side. Rolling back to his feet, he looked at Raven, only avoiding an upward swing as he fell backwards, catching himself on the couch with his taloned hands before pushing off of it, beak opening in a screech. Raven slammed her fist into his gut, sending him stumbling backwards once more. Digging his right hand's talons into a sofa cushion, he tore it from its place and blocked the oncoming purse. Planting his left hand on the cushion he sat on, he pushed forward, pushing the gray mare back with his momentum.

Raven caught herself on the door frame leading to the game room, narrowly missing the exhausted form of Berry in Crescendo's body. Pushing off of it with the purse whirling wildly from its strap as she charged forward, Raven let out a battle cry for the ages. Gunther brought his cushion shield up once more, only for Raven to pull it down with a free hand, sending the purse down into his head. Gunther stumbled back, shaking his head against the trauma even as he lifted his arms to block more blows.

Raven didn't let up, bringing the purse down over and over again, loosing more of its contents from the confines they had been condemned to dwell in. Finally throwing the empty purse at Gunther, she drove her elbow into his chest. He gasped as he was driven up against the wall, the griffon's wings fluttering against behind him uselessly. Raven shifted her arms, pressing the blade of her left arm against his throat, driving her right fist repeatedly into his face. Gunther, squirming against the assaulted, drove his talons into Raven's arms, eliciting a scream of pain as she involuntarily drew back. Spitting a glob of blood and spittle out, Gunther hissed.

"For a pony, you sure can fight." Raven smirked at this, quickly ducking forwards towards her opponent. Ready for another rush of blows, Gunther opened himself up, keeping his arms away from his sides to avoid pinning. Raven gripped the fallen cushion, flinging it up towards him, catching him off guard. Slashing it out of the air, the griffon bawked as Raven's fury laden fist drove straight into his throat, sending him stumbling back into a cupboard.

Springing forward, the gray mare closed the distance, and at the last second, lept. Grabbing the ornamental ribbing of the cupboard, she planted her feet directly on Gunther's sternum - pushing him back into the glass face of the piece, while pulling with all her might with her arms. The cabinet lurched, and Raven pushed off of Gunther's chest, shifting all her weight onto the unstable piece of furniture. With a sudden crash, the cupboard and all its contents hit the floor, pinning the hapless griffon.

With a roar, Gunther pushed upwards against the cabinet's weight, glass and porcelain shards piercing him as he did. Looking up from his painful position, he barely got a chirp out as Raven sent her foot into his face. Fumbling with the cupboard, he barely pushed it to the side, ignoring the pain in his face. He stood up greatly battered, but not beaten, as he lashed out with his claws. Falling away from his talons, raven, caught herself on her hands, her gymnastics training coming in handy as she used a back walkover to plant a loose kick up his jaw with enough power to make him lose his balance.

Returning to her feet, she darted forward to the stumbling griffon, even as he tried to steady himself. Leaping, she drop kicked him in the chest, sending him toppling over Starlight. Springing up, she went to dash, but stumbled, falling down as her body quivered in pleasure. Looking up, the griffon clutched his cloak, suddenly standing over her.

"It's been fun, pony, but I'm getting tired. I'll make you cum your brains out until you are good for nothing but being a cum rag." Suddenly Raven felt another burst of pleasure over her, throwing her off balance. Hitting the ground, she winced against the pleasure, knowing she needed to fight it. Straining against the pleasure, she pushed herself to her hands and knees, only to shudder under another burst of pleasure, far more intense. Her vision darkened at the corners, her muscles feeling limp, as if she had orgasmed multiple times in one second, and based on the pool of fluids, she might've believed it to be so. Pushing again, despite her overwhelming pleasure, she rose to her hands and knees.

Suddenly the door to the house was thrown open while the window behind Gunther shattered. The griffon was suddenly tackled by Rainbow Dash even as Rarity, Pinkie, and Fluttershy rushed into the living room. Gunther hissed, and suddenly was standing while Rainbow, disorientated for a brief second, howled in pleasure, while the other three writhed in equal amounts of involuntary pleasure.

"ENOUGH!" He roared, moving over to the heavy case, his cloak now fallen as he clutched his broach. "I am going to give you all the worst time... and then I'm going to fuck your brains out!" He flicked the case open, drawing out various needles, his enraged breaths coming in ragged spurts. "I have the artifact, you all will submit to me!" Standing up, he slowly moved over to Raven, two syringes in his left hand.

Dragging her up by her collar, he sneered at her. "Where's your fight now?" He asked mockingly. Suddenly his eyes grew wide, his hand growing slack, letting the vile concoction fall to the floor as he tumbled to the side. Raven flicked her wrist, the mild reverberations from punching the griffon in the dick wearing off.

"Right here, you bitch." Raven spat, stamping down on the body of the syringes, sending their juice across the floor. Grabbing the case from the floor, she closed it, hefting it up with a grimace - her body still wobbling from the pleasure she had fought off. Suddenly, she fell, the same pleasure as before coursing through her as she tumbled over the case.

"I don't have time for this..." He hissed. "I've already given too much... I guess I'll just have to end you all before you force my talons to other more desperate measures." Looking up at him, Raven's eyes widened as he knelt beside her, talons still twinkling with the blood from her arms, now ready to hit something more vital. With a metallic clang, he toppled to the side. Blinking, Raven smiled a smile that carried more relief than she could ever express.

There stood Periwinkle, mostly naked - save for a few scraps of cloth and a collar - with a shovel. "That's... what you get... for leaving me... out in the dog house." She hissed before sinking to a knee.

"Periwinkle!" Raven gushed, lunging forward to hug her. Periwinkle, taken aback, was stunned for a second before patting her on the back uncertainly. "What happened to you?"

"Eh, when Cress and I got attacked by Starlight by Sugar Cube Corner she decided I should be her bitch." She explained, her voice far calmer. "She shoved me into the dog house outback and left me there after waking me up. After that I worked my bindings, and then got a shovel from the shed." She said, hefting said shovel. "Rainbow blew the window open-"

"You're welcome..." Rainbow groaned from the floor, slowly recovering.

"Yeah... thank you. Anyways, I walked in that way while he was paying his attention to you, and then I thwacked him." She finished, breaking up Raven's hug.

"What do you think we should do with him?" Raven asked, looking over to the fallen griffon, only to freeze in horror. "Where is he!?" She glanced around, and then noticed the second piece. "Where's his case!?" Standing up, she looked out the window towards Ponyville, the rising sun casting its first rays upon the hamlet, and saw no sign of him.

Side B - Chapter 9: The Long Walk Home

I stood there, the ashes blowing away as I watched, leaving only the pen he had held. With a sigh, I grabbed it, threading it through the spiral binding of the notepad. Looking over, Twilight lay still asleep. I couldn't leave her, and the artifact wouldn't let me wake her up again - that, after all, would be a contradiction. I couldn't exactly leave her. Suddenly I heard what I could only describe as a hissing whine. Looking over to its source, I saw the recorder, a sliver of smoke rising up from it. In a rush, I charged over, pressing down the record button to release it. In the brief moment I touched the recorder, releasing the button, I felt an extreme heat.

Flinching away, sticking my finger in my mouth, I looked at the recorder, the trail of smoke fading away. Touching it again after a moment, I found it surprisingly cool. I picked it up, and noticed the world shifting, but not shifting as it had when the whole of existence accepted a change. I watched as my wings and horn dissipated, along with the knowledge of spells I had but a moment ago, and a few inches of height I hadn't noticed prior. I saw Twilight begin to stir. The recorder had... released some of its effects? Walking over, I offered her a hand. Looking up, she froze momentarily before taking the hand and rising up.

"Berry, why are we naked in a field? What happened?" Twilight asked, looking me over.

"I'm actually Cress, Berry and I stayed switched, though I... altered your recollection so that even if you did get caught, which you did, you wouldn't be forced to tell." Twilight nodded slowly.

"Smart plan..." She said in a low tone. A moment of silence passed between us.

"As far as how we ended up like this... well, it's a long story." I said, looking her over for any damage, pausing. "What state are you in?" I asked, beating about the real question.

"State?" Twilight asked with a cocked eyebrow. I nodded slowly in response. She stared at me for a while. "If you're asking, no, I'm no longer your slave. I'm free again." She said simply.

"Oh good!" I sighed in relief.

"Good?" She questioned. "You were the one who made us slaves! Why is it 'good' that I suddenly am not your little slave to do as you want with?"

"I.. actually didn't make you my slaves... not intentionally. I never wanted to make you my slave... it's just... not me." I admitted.

"Then how did we become slaves, if not because of what you did?!" Twilight raged, her wings flaring out.

"You did it." I replied simply, sure she wasn't actually going to hurt me. "This is my artifact, like I've said before." I held up the recorder, she stared at it intently. "I don't know all the mechanics of it, it seems more than a little fickle, but also immensely powerful, which is why I was advising so much caution when using it. You... uh... well, while I was trying to explain myself after the party you were coming down on me hard... phrasing... well, you were hitting hard, and I accidentally squeezed the thing like a stress ball and you decided to pick that time to shout something like 'make us your slaves' - I don't entirely recall." Twilight's eyes opened wide.

"You mean-?"

"Your words kinda became a self-fulfilling prophecy. You made what amounted to a factual assertion with enough volume the mic picked you up. I tried to mitigate that danger by transforming the mic to only catch what those ponies say who are talking directly into it. Then Silver got real close and said that all my slaves that I gained with the artifact would be his."

"Ok, so you didn't want us as slaves, but you wanted Berry, Periwinkle, and Raven; that's still bad - criminal in fact." Twilight noted. "You didn't use us while we were slaves, so I guess rape isn't going to be a charge, but I know from asking them that you have used Berry, Periwinkle, and Raven. They could charge you for rape at this point."

"And I'd deserve it, but again, I didn't actually want them as slaves either... I've only recently come to an acceptance of it - a shaky acceptance, but an acceptance." I admitted.

"What? Did they also make themselves your slave?" Twilight scoffed.

"Well... before the whole slave thing happened; Berry, Periwinkle, and I were all kinda... fucking. And then we bumped the recorder and Berry, the dirty talker she is, called herself my slave-cunt, or something to that effect. Now, honesty where honesty is due, it was only because I said it first, but again, that was because she was egging me on.

"And then, as I tried to fix it. That's when I learned the recorder doesn't like me contradicting it." I sighed, thinking back to it, a few short days ago. "While trying to mitigate the damage, Berry accidentially took the opportunity to... well, enslave Spry for me. She didn't know at the time, but it happened." Twilight blinked at me a few times, almost expectantly. After a moment of silence made it obvious that was it, she went on.

"Alright... what about Raven? What's your excuse there." She pressed.

"Oh, Raven? Completely consensual." I replied. "She showed up at my hotel room one night without any prior warning and begged to become my slave. She even went as far as to decline having the recorder affect her. She wanted it to be plain, old vanilla perverted."

"Wait... she's free of the artifact's influence?" Twilight asked incredulously.

"Eeyup. She even knows that I'm like this." I said, motioning to Berry's body. "She's the only one besides me. Essentially, the only artifact that she's been affected by directly are Silver and Gunther's. Speaking of, can you teleport us out of here and back to the house?" Twilight looked at me with astonishment clear in her eyes. "Twilight?"

"What? Oh, teleport... right." She charged up her horn, and the world became purple, and in a flash, we were back in the.... outskirts of Ponyville. The opposite side of the outskirts of Ponyville from Berry's house. "S-sorry..." Twilight panted, putting her hands on her knees as she bent over, exhausted. "This is as close as I could get... we were... pretty far out." I nodded slowly.

"We can walk I suppose, though maybe keeping our distance to the town is for the best... we are both still naked." Twilight nodded, before pointing to her castle.

"We could stop in there first. Pick up some clothes. Or, we could walk a wide circle around Ponyville." She said. "Seeing as our friends are in danger, I think we best hurry, but both options do have their benefits."

"Wide circle. You set the pace since you are the most used up with that spell." I said. Twilight nodded, and we set off at a brisk pace, power walking our way around the town, slowly increasing in speed as Twilight found more energy in her at the prospects of her friends being in danger. All the while as we marched, my mind could only conjure a singular memory. '...unless I say so or they too are my slaves.'. Perhaps this 'Emperor' was the reason I would have, and might need, slaves. But... even after all I had been through... I still was unsure if I'd ever even let myself take a slave intentionally. Time would have to tell, I supposed.

Side B - Chapter 10: Renewal

We finally entered the home, somehow avoiding all eyes as the sun began to peak above the horizon. The interior was a mess, with a fallen cupboard, shattered glass, small spatterings of blood, and copious amounts of ponies slowly emerging from their own - or other's - sexual fluids. Before I could get a word in edgewise, Raven turned to me, her face brightening as she shot forward on unsteady legs, wrapping her arms about me.

"Crescendo!" She said into my shoulder, holding me tight. I returned the hug with no hesitation, feeling relieved at our reunion. No matter what, it certainly seemed I had at least her no matter who else may hate my guts.

"Raven, it's good to see you again." I said in a near whisper, as if we hadn't seen each other in days, rather than hours. The world was confusing, disorientating, and overall a mass of complications; and having Raven, a solid point of consistency, was more than necessary for me and my continued sanity. We stayed like that for a few moments, even as Twilight moved past to attend to her friends.

"He got away." Raven said, pulling back. "Gunther got away... I don't even know how. He had just got hit over the head with a shovel and looked down for the count and the next moment he's gone and the case that I was basically on top of left with him. No pony saw anything." I looked out the shattered window she pointed to while talking. Based on the glass being scattered on the floor inside, I had to guess he simply used it as a convenient escape rather than forcing his way that direction.

"That is a problem." I admitted. "We don't even have a firm grasp on what exactly his artifact does."

"I do have something of a few clues though." Raven admitted, gaining an inquisitive look from everypony in the room. "We had a bit of a brawl in the moments leading up to him escaping. During the fight I never once got incapacitated in pleasure until he grabbed his cloak. His cloak must be the artifact, and its power... well, it seems that it makes ponies feel pleasure. Overwhelming pleasure." Everypony seemed to agree with that assessment. "That's just a rough draft of an understanding though! I mean, if it's an area of effect, then why was only Berry affected earlier and the rest of us were fine? If it can only target those ponies he actively thinks about, then how did he take the entire crowd in the market? Another piece of info that we do have, though, comes courtesy of Silver. We know that he can only use it so many times, and Gunther has also told us that his ability to use it does recharge at a fairly quick rate, though that might depend on circumstances."

"Very astute, Raven." Twilight commented. "Though I think I can add to it. I believe, for one, that it is not his cloak itself, but possibly the broach. He always adjusted it when I saw Berry getting affected. Beyond that, you have posed some very good questions we can only hope to have answered in the near future."

"We?" I asked, blinking a few times as I caught and processed the word, almost feeling she had misspoken. "Is that a 'we' that includes or excludes me?" Twilight sighed in response.

"It includes you and whoever else wants to help bring this griffon to justice." Twilight replied, looking at the other ponies. "I don't know about everypony here, but I can say that, though I hate that you have this power to enslave, I have to admit you are among the least likely to grossly abuse it. Unlike Gunther, you have moral qualms which prevent you from doing such things as he does. True, Berry and Spry have told me about some of your... escapades, but they are all quite tame in comparison to what he has shown himself capable of."

To my surprise, the ponies around me nodded. It was true, I hadn't been cruel, but just because I hadn't didn't mean I couldn't be. Then again, knowing me, the likelihood of me being cruel to any of them was frankly minimal. The fact they thought the same was reassuring to say the least.

"It's good to hear that you believe me to be better than this guy." I said after a moment. "I've... honestly been concerned after all this time I might've turned into something like him."

"I'm kinda confused over here." Berry in my body said, standing up from the pool of spunk. "Berry isn't talking like she should... and you two are acting like..."

"Pineapple surprise." I said with a coy smirk, activating the trigger. Berry drew back for a moment as all the information I had blocked came back to her, and all the others except Raven, having not been affected in the first place.

"Now it makes sense." Berry admitted. "So... uh... care to switch back, kid?" I nodded, walking over to the kitchen, grabbing the two potions from their place in the cupboard - having created them with two doses, allowing us to just drink the opposite potions as before. Taking a draft from the one potion while Berry took several loud gulps from hers, I could feel my body and see hers transforming. I lost a few inches, while she gained them back. I lost the weight of breasts, while she gained them and her hips back, the feeling of being less heavy overall reminding me exactly how light I really was in comparison. Berry's super model form came with its own set of drawbacks, namely being heavy and requiring training - or cheating via artifact - to know how to balance properly.

"This'll make things easier for sure. Now I won't have to keep reminding myself who I'm actually talking to." Raven sighed in relief. I chuckled a tad, knowing that she had likely gone through an ordeal of her own trying to act as if I was Berry from her limited knowledge of the mare.

"So..." Berry began, looking at me from the floor expectantly.

"Why do I suddenly feel like I'm... I dunno, free?" Periwinkle asked the question on hers and most everyponies' mind, looking me dead in the eye.

"That's... a combination of my and Silver's fault." I admitted. "You see... well, he accidentally made you all his slaves. He told the recorder, without knowing it, that all the slaves I had gained from the artifact were his."

"So that's why Raven was able to start hitting him!" Berry exclaimed. "I was so weakened from the... well, from the jizzing my heart out that I couldn't join in, which at the start is a good thing. I wanted to grab your hair and yank you down over my knee to give you a few spankings for hitting master's friend. But somewhere along the line I felt... well, I felt like giving him just as much of a whooping as you were giving him, if not more."

"That's likely when Silver decided to go up in a blaze of glory... or maybe he was forced to." I noted.

"Wait what?" Rainbow butted in. "He went up in a 'blaze of glory'? What do you mean?"

"Well, at the end of our fighting he kinda... went up in white arcane flames. He had some sort of talisman that started it shortly after I took this from him." I said, lifting the notepad and pen. "It's likely what was his artifact."

"Silver's dead?" Twilight asked astonishedly. It dawned on me that I was the only pony that had seen that part of the exchange.

"I suppose so." I replied, not so sure myself, but figuring that to be the truth. "His body kinda went up like a candle. By the end of it, he was nothing but ashes. And then the recorder seemed to have some sort of problem, and gave out, releasing a few of the effects that it had recorded, though mostly it just seems to be the stuff I had said during that little session."

"I suppose it does make sense that he is dead." Rainbow added. "I mean... we are free and all. Either he's dead or we've got our freedom back for no good reason." I nodded.

"That's kinda what I was thinking too." I said.

"Well this stinks." Berry huffed, standing up. I looked at her in confusion.

"What stinks?" I asked, genuinely confused.

"Kid, you're gonna have to make me your slave again." Berry told me bluntly. I blinked a few times in all the more confusion. "Yes," She sighed in exasperation, "I want you to make me your slave." She repeated as if she was talking to a foal.

"Pretty much the same over here, actually." Periwinkle said, raising a hand from her seated position on the fallen cupboard. I stammered for a few seconds, sputtering out nonsense.

"B-but WHY?!" I finished, staring at the two of them in bewilderment.

"Well, 'cuz you're a good fuck." She said, like she had those days ago in the hotel room. "Plus, now that I'm free... I kinda can think straight and... well, let's be honest. You being my master is probably the best possible thing. Fuck, all I gotta do is just that - fuck - and boom, I don't have to worry about employment. Especially since little miss trust fund is over here of her own volition, so I know she ain't goin' no place no how."

"For my part," Periwinkle began, bringing my attention over to her, "I... well, I mean..." She paused, scratching at the back of her head.

"She's as horny for your corn dog as I am, but has the good sense to know not to let it show." Berry provided in her usual crass manner, getting a deep blush from Spry.

"B-Berry!" She raised her voice indignantly. The wine colored mare just laughed.

"What? Say I'm wrong! Say it!" Berry goaded. "Tell him you don't like his dick all up inside of you! Tell the pony of whom you said 'I would let him fuck me until I dropped in public' that you would rather pass on the D! Tell him, but you won't!" All throughout her speech, Periwinkle just blushed deeper and deeper, a confirmation for the lewd mare's accusations.

"Th-that's not the whole reason..." Peri began again.

"Yeah, but it's one big reason with a pair of smaller reasons dangling from it." Berry jeered. Peri covered her face while her friend laughed away at her expense.

"Look... yes, I like your D..." Periwinkle started reluctantly, lowering her hands. "But the thing is... I have been with bigger - both longer and thicker." Periwinkle admitted, giving my ego a needed check.

"Wait... really? I thought you said that they were all small!" Berry protested.

"Comparatively to the first one I had!" Peri shot back.

"How hung was Parcel Post?!" Berry asked in exasperation.

"He was... well... you'd think he was a bison, and even then... well... I was with a few."

"All smaller than him!?" Berry grabbed Periwinkle by the shoulders and shook her violently. "And he didn't break you?!"

"N-no... He didn't hilt."

"As nice as all this is, I think we got some more pressing concerns than whether or not he is large or not." Twilight interrupted, a heavy blush on her face. "In case you haven't the memory of it, We have a friend here who is currently enslaved to the one member of this two pony show who is still alive, and another friend who is suffering under a Fiducia Compelus charm!" We all looked to the still unconscious Starlight and then to Applejack who sat on her knees unmoving, a blank expression on her face.

"Two actually." Berry chimed in. "Maybe three, jury's still out on you, Twilight. But I know that she only has this face of me out and about because she wants it and she was told to by her master; and the same may be somewhat true for you, Twilight. Based on what I know of her, we are all just puppets waiting to have strings slapped on us with that charm of hers." We all paused, realizing what sort of situation we really were facing.

"The worst part is that I'm not sure if either of the artifacts I have will work against what Gunther's has done." I admitted solemnly. "I'm not even sure if the recorder will want to work right now. It was smoking earlier, and I'm not sure if that was permanent damage, or if it was just a hiccup."

"This really is bad..." Rarity remarked, putting a hand on Applejack's face, a frown on her's.

"I can cast the counter-charm," Twilight remarked, "Get us all free and clear, though it gives a doozy of a headache as a result." Rarity, Fluttershy, Rainbow, and Pinkie all nodded in response. "I'll cast it on myself first, just in case, so that if worst comes to worst, I'll be able to remain awake and free from the spell so that I can cast it on whoever she hits next."

"But what are we gonna do after all that?" Rainbow asked, the question hanging in the air. What were we going to do? I sighed, rubbing my temples.

"Well... I hate to break it to you all, but..." I steadied myself for a moment, raising my head to look at the ponies. "We've basically got ourselves a war."

"What are you talking about?" Rarity asked, her expression full of apprehension at the sudden news.

"Before the fire took him out completely, Silver gave a few parting words." I began, sitting down on the floor where I had landed face first a few hours ago. "He told me that there was an... Emperor. Apparently taking the artifact is considered theft of his property, and he'll be coming to claim it, either that or send somepony else to get it." The ponies around me were shocked, that was, except for Rainbow Dash.

"An Emperor!?" She squealed happily. "You mean to tell me, we got a shadowy cabal of ponies basically lining up in front of us to get their butts kicked with a big bad evil guy at the end just asking for it?!"

"Rainbow! This is serious!" Twilight snapped. "These are ponies, griffons, and who knows what else all likely holding some artifact of great power! Who knows if we might already be under their influence right now?"

"I do." I said simply, getting them to all look at me. "It seems that, at least as far as Silver's power was concerned, I'm immune, though he also is immune to direct alterations to him from my artifact. Now, that logic is a tad shaky, seeing as Gunther was more than willing to use his on somepony he thought was me, but maybe his was different."

"You essentially just disproved your own claim there, buddy." Berry pointed out.

"Yeah, but I can at least say that some artifacts can't touch me, and therefore, I can say that no effects are visible to me from the ones that are visible to me." I retorted.

"Either way, we can say that you are a preliminary barometer on the whole situation. If you notice something, we know that something is up, and so we can move on it from there. If you can't notice it, then we all are pretty much cooked either way." Twilight said matter-of-factly. The other ponies surprisingly seemed to accept this.

"So yeah, I suppose we will have to deal with more of these artifacts." I reiterated. "Artifacts we don't even know the full extent or power of, though I have a feeling most, if not all of then, will have something to do with pleasure or mind control... general reality altering stuff I guess."

"So we just have to be prepared for all the smut regulars!" Pinkie shouted. "Shouldn't be too hard! Ooh, everypony, if a stallion has a glow in his pants, watch out... but not at his dick! Don't look at glowy dicks!" She said, as if she was making perfect sense. Well, one thing was for sure.

"We're basically doomed."

Splice 5: The New Arrivals

Gunther flopped into his chair, setting his case onto his lap as he took a pained breath. The ponies really had done a number on him - between the punches and kicks, cupboard, and shovel - he was far more worse for wear. He was going to need time to heal, time he didn't exactly have.

"I can only hope that Silver made it out... otherwise I might have to report this." He muttered before looking over to the doggy door. He needed a distraction, something to soothe his pain, but physically exerting himself was beyond what he could do now. He knew, and had kicked himself ever since, that he should've tried his luck with that doctor mare, but hindsight was worth as much as sand in a desert.

"You look rough, Gunther." A familiar and thoroughly dreaded voice said. Moving to him from the opposite wall that the doggy door was, Gunther watched the tall amazonian of a mare strut out.

"Brass Tacks..." He hissed out in pain, "What are you doing here?" He asked, already knowing the answer well enough. Brass Tacks moved over, planting her hands on the armrests of Gunther's chair, looming over him.

"Silver's been Blotted Out, and if I had had my way, you would've gone the same way, but the Left Tenant convinced me that in the very least we needed a singular Baron in the fiefdom, or else the whole cycle would leave us lacking for months we couldn't spare." Brass Tacks snipped, her face screwed in anger. "Report." She demanded.

"S-Silver and I found an Unchained Possessor." Gunther replied, getting a cocked eyebrow from the mare. "We wanted to take him down without too many of the Empire's resources getting expended, but... but no known artifact was in his possession. It was Silver's assessment that it was likely a Reforged, though the identity it takes now is... still in question."

Brass Tacks pushed off the chair, turning away fuming. She stomped about the room in a fury, fists clenched as she processed the information. Stopping, she kicked the wall beside the doggy door with her hefty boots, and a stallion crawled out, head bowed low. She kicked twice more, and another stallion and a mare followed shortly after.

"Chair and a meal." She said, moving away before they could react. One of the stallions and the mare stood up, moving in a crouch before kneeling on either side of Brass, each pony crossing their arms and gripping the forearm of the other pony. Brass shirked her pants off, revealing her pussy, the hair cut in a shorter buzz than her mane, as she sat down on the chair formed by the other two ponies. The remaining stallion quickly hurried over, kneeling before her, setting to work. "Powers?" Brass snapped, not even seeming to react to the stallion between her legs.

"It appeared to be something between a Class null point two and null point six reality warping artifact by my limited interactions with it. It could very likely be a null point one with an inexperienced user, but that's more than unlikely with how few of those there are." Gunther said.

"The rarity of those artifacts hasn't stopped them being found in the past." Brass spat. "Were you invulnerable?"

"I believe it can't directly affect most other Possessors - Chained or no - it's likely one of the Aligned." Brass nodded, pushing the stallion deeper between her legs.

"I'll have that sent over to the Archivists, see if they can match it to one of the Lost Artifacts." She looked down at the stallion, an annoyed twinge taking her eye as she shoved him away. "Your ponies need to get better technique, I barely felt him." She noted as she stood and hiked her fatigues back up.

"So what are we going to do?" Gunther asked, not moving from his chair.

"First off, we're getting you back in operation. You're being kept because we can't have an open front, so you best be able to hold it down." She said, giving a nod to somepony behind Gunther. Craning his neck over, he saw a unicorn he knew.

"Well if it isn't Doctor Bone Saw. How are you doing?" Saw smirked behind his medical mask in response as he took off one of his blue latex gloves, seizing Gunther's wrist, sending bolts of pain through his entire body. Gunther let out a screech, only holding himself back from clawing the pony's eyes out due to prior experience. For minutes, though it could've been hours, Gunther grit his teeth as it felt like all his joints were dislocating at one, before snapping back into place violently. He felt as if his fur and feathers were on fire and freezing off all at once. After several long moments, the worst of it passed, allowing him to relax his body as the dregs of pain faded. As the pain finally subsided completely, Gunther slowly leaned forward, standing up in a slow, smooth motion, his injuries gone.

"I hope you don't give the treatment to one of my prized catches." Gunther sighed, rolling his shoulders. "It certainly would be a shame." Bone Saw grunted underneath his medical mask, looking over to Brass.

"I'm going to need more details before we continue on with this mission. I'll need all the information I can get." Brass snorted. "You want to do it in the slave quarters? I'll let you borrow a real pleaser." Gunther smirked and nodded. Gunther and the imposing Brass left the room, leaving Bone Saw alone for the moment. Looking over to the ponies about him, left by Brass, he knew what he'd spend his time doing. Sitting down in Gunther's chair, he put his glove back on before he unzipped his pants and brought out his dick. Stretching a condom over his rather impressive member, he beckoned over the three of them, all of them knowing what would likely come next. They were slaves, after all, and he was a master.

Pointing to one of the stallions, he motioned to his lap, and the stallion took the hint. The slave pony lifted himself above the silent doctor, and sliding the dick into his ass, a few whimpers escaped his lips while the mare set to work, sucking off the stallion while being fucked by the last stallion in a conga line of pleasure. Bone Saw smirked behind his mask, enjoying the sensations of the slave who bounced so willingly on his dick.

The doctor watched each rippling muscle, each stretch of the exposed skin, every shudder wracking the forms of the ponies, and couldn't help but smile widely, only evidenced by his eyes and the dimples that formed. Grabbing the toned ass of the stallion, he kneaded it roughly, enjoying himself silently, even as the other ponies panted, scream, and moaned in pleasure.

Shortly, he came, and like the well trained slaves they were, they came soon after, letting him blow his load first. Quickly cinching off the condom to his dick, not letting a drop leak, he carefully removed the stallion, who limply fell forward. Standing up, he removed the condom, ensuring all the cum stayed inside. Looking down at the ponies before him, he inspected them closely, deciding the stallion that had fucked the mare was to be his subject. Removing his glove again, he leant forward, pressing a hand against the stallion's wrist.

The effect was instantaneous, as his joints creaked and he let out a yowl of pain while writhing on the floor. A bruise crept across the pony's face, forming far more rapidly than it had a right to; while cuts and scrapes opened up across his chest, legs, arms, hands, and feet, letting small rivulets of blood seep out. Bone Cutter's smile grew as he put his glove back on before putting his dick back into his pants, zipping himself back up. If he had to deal with an Unchained Possessor, he'd certainly would have more time to practice his talents.

Side B - Chapter 11: The Other Side

I plopped down in the couch, looking the others over. We had taken the time to fix the house back up, Twilight taking some special measures to reinforce the house with some defensive and concealing glyphs. Berry's house now looked like it had been abandoned for years, and would hopefully dissuade any incursions. The counter charms had been cast, and all ponies were now free of the still unconscious Starlight's influence. Now came the hard task: figuring out how to handle her state.

"We need to take her to the guards and make an official report of this incident." Twilight said solemnly. "They'd likely transfer her to a mental hospital. There they have a chance of curing her of what Gunther has done to her."

"We have no way of knowing how they got her to this state." I interjected. "It's far more likely that they used one of their artifacts, in which case she is unlikely to recover from it by putting her into a hospital."

"Then what do you suggest? Brainwash over her brainwashing? Make her your slave so that you can make sure she doesn't rampage across the world by pinning her down and shoving your penis down her throat!?" Twilight snapped in anger. I shook my head, unsure what to say.

"Would that be the worst option, dear?" Rarity asked, the genuine tone catching me off guard. "Not the... penis sucking, but brainwashing over what damage there already is. At this point..." She paused, looking to the still form of Starlight as it lay on a nearby couch. "At this point, she is not herself... and though it pains me to say so, I believe that Crescendo here is correct. She is quite likely under their power by means of one of those artifacts." Twilight looked to her friend, the disbelief in her eyes far stronger than that of any of the rest of us. "Twilight, dear, think. Starlight is acting like this! Do you think that she'd do this of her own volition? She is obviously under some influence that we are otherwise unable to counteract."

"We haven't tried anything yet!" Twilight protested. "We may very well find the right counter spell if we spent a second searching for it!"

"Twi..." Applejack started, seeming hesitant. "Twi, we need to face the facts. Have you ever heard of anypony with these sorts of powers? Have you seen it in any of your books? 'Cuz to be honest, though I've read only a few books here an' there, the most I've read that sounds like this is in some of the Daring Do books, but never once did she beat 'em off with a counter spell. It was always breaking the artifact, or socking the meanie that done used it."

"We can ask Yearling, maybe she has an idea of what to do! We can't just-"

"Twilight," Fluttershy broke in, placing a hand on her friend's shoulder, "we know you're scared. All of us are, but we have to do what's necessary. You know we can't handle her in her current state. And we know she would never forgive herself should she recover and find out she did something terrible, even if it was because she was under a spell."

"Twilight," I began, piecing my thoughts together as I went, "I don't want her to be my slave... I... I can't really say I ever did want anypony here to be my slave except Raven when she offered herself up. But..." I paused, thinking over the next words carefully, "but, at this moment we are facing the chance of one of your friends being under the control of someone who would take no greater pleasure than in using her to get at us. What do you think she's going to do when she wakes up? Bake us some cookies and ask forgiveness?"

"Cookies?" Pinkie asked, popping in from the other room where she was... doing Pinkie things.

"None here Pinkie..." Twilight sighed despondently. Pinkie huffed and then zipped back into the other room to do her thing. Twilight studied the floor for a moment or two before finally looking up towards me, a hard look in her eyes. "If you do this... I want it to be temporary, and I don't want you doing anything sexy with her. Can you do that?" I nodded. I could probably say that I'd make her my slave until I chose to release her with some ritual, much like I had tried to put a time limit on the things that I had asked of the recorder before it fizzled on me.

The thought of that hitting the forefront of my mind, I brought out the artifact and looked it over. I hadn't used it since last evening, and it honestly didn't look too worse for wear. Popping open the tape deck, I looked over the cassette like I had when I first found it. Taking the cassette out of the player for the first time, I looked it over while the ponies around me began to discuss how exactly I should word it, Twilight bringing out a sticky note pad from the kitchen to jot down some ideas.

Turning it over I looked at its A side for the first time. It was slightly worn, just like the rest of it, but on its surface was written a title and subtitle.

'The Straight Record'
'Set thy way straight with but a word,
Cause calamity to others with the next'

I looked at it perplexedly. Checking the labels across it, I noticed it didn't say 'A Side'; it instead simply said 'Set in Stone'. Flipping it back over I saw that this side also didn't say something like 'B Side'. It did have a small 'Pony Audio' label, and looking closely, I noticed something. A scratch scored the surface of the tape from one side to the other, but where it crossed the label, it disappeared. With care I pulled the label away and revealed the original label, the scratch moving across its surface. 'Written in Sand'.

Flipping the tape back over, I stared at it for a moment, but I knew what I had to do. Putting it back into the player, now facing the opposite side it had before, I adjusted the volume and set the ear piece in its place, pressing play.

Pulling his piece of charcoal away, the author looked with glee upon the parchment scroll where his line now shone dimly in the candle light. He looked at it with pride, the symbols rough next to the fine script above it. Each of them, a declaration that would stand for all eternity - as his line now would - proclaiming with certainty things that were and would be. The two edges of the scroll were decorated with runes of magic, spelled out in beautiful gold thread, such that none would ever mistake this scroll.

He gave a chuckle, looking at his work, a simple line written in his unskilled hand. 'All obey Železna Raka, all Železna Raka says is truth'. It was simplicity incarnate. Well pleased with his work, he rolled the scroll up and knew what he would do next as he stowed the scroll safely in its box, looping its simple leather strap around his shoulder.

Leaving his old hut, he looked at the city before him. Disorganized rows of mud huts with thatch roofs surrounded the Great Ziggurat, backed by the rising sun - the very symbol of the priests and the King. Adjusting his shawl, he took to the streets, fingering the piece of charcoal he still held absentmindedly. The world lay at his feet, he had but to claim it. He then saw her, Čistota, the one whom he would make his. Seizing her by the wrist, he pulled her to the shadow of a hut and grasped at her face.

"Bear my seed!" He said in a deep growl, and her eyes widened. She slowly bowed her head in his grasp and removed her girdle, turned about, and raised her tail. With a smile of pure delight, he lifted himself, setting his forelegs on her withers as his penis extended, meeting her intimate areas. Thrusting with lustful abandon, he felt a pleasure he had never known before. At that moment, even as he plumbed the depths of his conquest, a mare turned the corner, and halted in her steps, staring unbelieving at the sight before her.

"You," Železna Raka smiled, extending his hand forth to the mare, "Shall be my concubine." She looked at him in astonishment, but then slowly nodded, lowering herself until she could prostrate her upper torso on the ground before her Lord and his Lady, ready to attend to their needs. With a cackle he pulled the mane of his Lady as he drove his member deep inside of her, seeding their future within her.

I paused the player, blinking as I processed what I had just heard, staring at the floor.

"Crescendo?" Rarity knelt in front of me, placing a hand on my knee. "Are you alright?" I blinked a few more times, processing everything before I nodded, looking up to the other ponies about me.

"If you don't mind, Crescendo, we have your script ready." Twilight said with little hint of emotion beyond simple annoyance. I grabbed the paper from her magic field, looking over the lines. Popping open the recorder again, I set it down on the side that now said 'Written in Sand'. Taking a deep breath in, I pressed the record button - happy to find that it didn't burst into flames immediately - and began to speak my lines carefully. There'd be time to think on what I had heard later, now I had business to attend to.

Side B - Chapter 12: What Comes After the Storm?

Železna Raka strode down the street, his confidence never having been greater as Čistota and the other mare followed him submissively. As he walked, he couldn't help but smile as the crowd began to form about him, each one of them looking as confused as the last. He needed them to follow, for today would be his triumph, and they must witness it. Taking his first step on the ramp of the Great Ziggurat, a severe disrespect as he was uninvited, the crowd drew back slightly, fully expecting the archers that stood at the ready to unleash a barrage upon the stallion.

"You will let me pass!" Železna proclaimed, and after a moment, the archers bowed their heads. Striding forward up the ramp, he felt his victory coming all the closer as he drew ever nearer to the King's High Chamber.

Arriving at the first landing, he approached the idol of the goddess of fertility, and placed a hand on it, closing his eyes. "I give obeisance to the goddess. Let my way be filled with flowerings and many children of strong breeding." Releasing the idol, he turned, moving up the second ramp as he continued his ascent, finding his way to the second landing where the idol of the water god stood. Placing his hand on it like the last, he again closed his eyes. "I give obeisance to the god. Let all land I walk be fertile, bearing many olives, grapes, grains, and all things fair and lovely, and good to eat and make merry."

Leaving the idol, he moved up the third ramp, and approaching the High Chamber, couldn't help but smile. The King sat atop his throne, legs folded beneath him, his fair, veiled wife standing behind and to the side of him. The guards reacted immediately, lowering their lances towards the intruder.

"Let me pass." Železna ordered, and after a brief moment, they complied. The spears were lifted, and the guards allowed him access to the King. Striding forth, Železna faced King Silen Pad and his Queen Slava Vrata.

"What means your intrusion here?" The King demanded; his final demand to be made. Železna Raka smirked to the stallion, raising his hand to point at the Queen.

"I have come to claim her." He proclaimed, a maniacal gleam in his eye as his hand shifted to point towards the King. "As I have come to claim my throne." The King and Queen and all their soldiers paused for but the briefest moment. And then, standing to his full height, the king approached Železna, folding his legs beneath him in a bow as he lifted the crown from his head, presenting it to his usurper. Taking the crown, and the king's caparison, He strode up, and seized the Veiled Queen's hand, pulling her forth from the shade of their royal stand.

Approaching the edge of the level, he looked down upon the crowd below him, all his fellows, all his enemies, all who lived in the fertile valley. Raising up the queen's hand, he shouted in a voice for all of them to hear his first proclamation.

"I, Železna Raka, the first of my name, by right do claim this crown and throne, and do, as is the olden tradition, claim the old queen as concubine!" He decreed, and before him, his fellows bowed low before the Great Ziggurat. Turning, he motioned the old king forward, now deposed from his strength. "I present you your old king! What is meet that I should do to him in this state?!"

"Banishment!"

"Death!"

"Make him our servant!"

"Imprison him!"

The many voices called, all disorganized about what should be done. Železna smiled, and with a mighty exertion, pushed the king down the stairs of the third level towards the second.

"Let him be done with as you see fit! He no longer has right to stand on this high level, for it is only for the king, his bride, his concubines, his children, their guards, and the priests, whom ascend all the higher!" Looking to the queen, he thrust her to the ground, tearing the veil from her head. "Queen no longer, but concubine art thou!" He decreed before turning to the crowd again. "Čistota! You are to be my Queen, ascend to me and claim thy veil!"

Čistota hesitated, but ascended all the same, performing her obeisance to each idol as she went, before finally arriving at her King and Master's side. Placing her veil over her, Železna smiled, caressing the beautiful curve of her face gently. So would begin his dynasty, and so would his strength increase.

Starlight woke up after a few hours. We each watched with baited breath as she slowly rose, blinking away the sleep from her eyes. Looking about, she saw her friends, except for Twilight - who hung back in a separate room, ready with a counter spell. When her eyes finally found me, she brightened, lunging forward to place her hands on my lap as she bowed her head.

"Master!" I flinched slightly before setting a tentative hand on her head. She shivered at my touch, and I couldn't help but feel guilty. Looking back up to me she smiled brightly. "Should I suck your glorious cock?" She asked in all sincerity, which didn't help my southern struggle. "Or do you wish to fuck me instead?" The south rose again.

"N-no, Starlight, that is not necessary." I replied, still attempting to keep myself in check, the beautiful mare on my lap not helping anything.

"Starlight? My name is Starbitch, Master gave it to me!" Her tone was cheerful, as if she expected this to be a test. Everypony in the room cringed at that, knowing full well that whatever else the recorder had done, it had certainly transferred all the work they put into her and pointed the results at me.

"I suppose this qualifies as a success..." Twilight muttered, emerging from the other room, her horn's glow dying away.

"It's a start." Rarity nodded. "We can only hope for more progress as we continue forward." We all nodded at that, looking at the thoroughly damaged Starlight.

"I'm taking Starlight to the library, maybe I can find something to help her." Twilight said. "Anypony who wants to come along is allowed."

"I'll tag along I guess." Rainbow said, sitting up from her pile of pillows with a stretch and a yawn. "Can't have just you wandering over to the library all by yourself with a pony in Starlight's state."

"And I think I shall be going to the guard." Rarity chimed in, gaining a few looks from the rest of us. "What? With those two you can feel how unsubtle they are. It's more than likely we can figure out more if we simply ask about them and their possible criminal records."

"I'll join you, but somehow," Applejack began, standing up from her seated position on the floor, "I feel like we ain't gonna get much out of talkin' to the guards, but hey, prove me wrong." She shrugged.

"I need to go check on the animals..." Fluttershy murmured.

"I'll go with you, Fluttershy!" Pinkie sprang up.

"Well it seems you all have your plans of attack. Should we be expecting you back here or will you be staying in your own corners of town?" I asked, looking over the six mares.

"I'm staying in the castle tonight, I need some sleep on a bed that isn't used by perverts." Twilight said flatly, which I found to be entirely fair. "I'd prefer it if Starlight was with me too, but seeing as you can probably summon her on a whim to give you a quick blowjob, I might be asking too much with that one."

"No no," I waved her off, "you're trying to help your friend. I'm not about to take her from that. She goes and stays with you, though I do hope you at least consider having somepony in the same room as her at all times. Who knows what lengths Gunther might go to get her back." Twilight looked like she wanted to retort with some cutting remark, but held herself back since I wasn't, at the moment, asking to bang her friend.

"I'll stick around with Twi and Star for now. Might bolt back and forth to give you some info when it comes up." Rainbow said, floating lazily with nearly effortless motions of her wings.

"I'll be back before sundown, I just need to make sure the animals are alright and are fed." Fluttershy put in. "Though... if it's alright with you, I'll sleep in a different room." I nodded vigorously, as if my rejection was unthinkable - which it was, at least to me.

"I need to check in on the Carousel and make sure Sweetie is alright." Rarity mused. "I think I might stay in my place for the night. Applejack, you are perfectly welcome to stay the evening with me. We could have a slumber party!" Rarity honestly seemed a little too excited, but perhaps that was her just dealing with the situation in her own way.

"Nah, I need to head on over to Sweet Apple Acres. I sent word yesterday to Big Mac that I'd be home with time to do chores, and I don't want to keep him waiting too long."

"Wait... Big Mac is your..." I began, even as a vague memory of Pinkie telling me just that flitted into my mind, disrupted from previous recollection due to a fainting spell I had had.

"Yeah, why?" Applejack looked at me with a questioning gaze.

"Oh, nothing!" I smiled too quickly, thoughts of being blown by the pony and that pony sharing my cum with Fluttershy coming unbidden to the forefront. I was glad they hadn't fallen victim to the cards that night, it would've been... odd, to say the least. "Well, I guess this is the time to break off. Starl-... Starbitch," I hesitated, having noticed her lack of reaction to Starlight throughout our previous conversation, "follow and obey Twilight." I said, motioning to the quite angry alicorn.

"Yes, Master, I'll follow and obey Twilight." She said with a bow of her head before crawling up to Twilight on all fours, looking up to her with puppy dog eyes. "Do you want me to eat you out, Mistress Twilight?"

"N-no!" Twilight stammered, thoroughly off her guard with this sort of question. "Eh, stand up and follow me. Rainbow, if you are coming with us, now's the time to head out." She said moving to the door while Starlight tailed her close behind. Rainbow shrugged while flying, and then followed after. Without another word, the other mares left, splitting up into their little groups.

"Well..." Spry was the first to break the silence a few moments after the door closed, "that went well, all things considered. I mean, you aren't on a spit or being executed, so that's a win." Berry nodded at that assessment.

"They're gonna fuck." She said in simple replied. I blinked after a moment, realizing what Berry had said, looking over to Berry with an eyebrow reaching ever higher places. Catching all of our glances, she shrugged, as if she had told us a painting had a hidden dog in it and we hadn't believed her. "You heard how Starlight went at it with Twilight when Starlight had her on her finger. You all also saw how Twilight reacted to Starlight. If that isn't a case of the 'secret lesbian hots' I think I'll need my gay-dar recalibrated."

"I suppose that it could be something..." Spry admitted finally.

"I honestly don't see it." I returned, giving Berry my most deadpan look. "Starlight was and is in quite the state of sexmania, and Twilight is uncomfortable with her friend making sudden advances. They aren't closet lesbians, they are two ponies with extenuating circumstances."

"You told Starlight to obey Twilight." Berry pointed out. "They will fuck." I just sighed, shaking my head in frustration at the pony.

"Moving on... we need to talk about... well we need to talk about you two and how you said you wanted to go back to being my slaves. That's an important topic because WHY WOULD YOU WANT THAT?!" I shouted, looking the two over. "I made you my slave on accident and have never really been too comfortable with it. I tried, seeing as I seemed to never be able to set you free, but as soon as you two are free you want to be my BRAINWASHED SEX SLAVES ALL OVER AGAIN?!" I said, my wild eyes fixed on Periwinkle as I finished my tirade.

"Oh yeah, keep talking dirty to me, Daddy!" Berry moaned, and looking back to her, she was fingering herself, her hand in her jeans. After a moment she stopped with a hearty bout of laughing. "Look, Crescendo, I'm going to be straight with you." She said, all humor seeming to drain from her voice. "I've been through some shit. I've loved and lost, I've been burned, I've been scarred. What's worse, every time I find something that makes me happy, it runs away and leaves me with nothing but my booze. I know it's bad for me, you know it's bad for me, and you know what else? Up to the point we first stepped out of Peri's little wagon, I hadn't had a drop, and I haven't had a drop since! That's right, even at the party where everypony was all sexy and didn't know it, I didn't drink a drop because I was genuinely having a good time without it for once in my fucking life!"

Berry stood up, taking a few steps closer to me, not at all in a threatening way, but more so that she wanted to be closer as she talked, her emotions running high as she continued on. "Crescendo, I tease you 'cuz it's fun. I act all sexy and flippant 'cuz it's fun! Either my life is going to be fun, or I'm going to be drunk so it stops being a complete pain! Either life is going to be my bitch or I'm going to be so blackout drunk that I won't care that I'm life's bitch!"

Berry then fell to her knees in front of me, not striking a sexy pose, something that at the moment felt more disconcerting than comforting. "Crescendo... if you don't make me your slave, I'm gonna have to get my bottle. And I don't want to be Raven, 'cuz Raven has got a choice. That may be wacky-woohoo-sexy-fun times for her, but I get my thrills from you telling me and me not being able to say no.

"Now before you go telling me 'Oh, but, Berry, that's just you being a massive big dumb pervert and I can't possibly find it in my little white knight heart to deprive a maiden of her choice' I gotta say FUCK YOU AND YOUR CHIVALRY! I'm right here, Crescendo, and I want you to mindfuck me as much as I want to fuck you! If you don't give me this..." She fell quiet for a moment, heaving with every breath as tears formed in the corners of her eyes. "If you don't make me your worthless slave-cunt bitch... if I can't have this... I don't know what I'll do with myself." She then... broke down into sobs?

Berry Punch, who had always seemed so self assured, was now crying on her knees before me, begging me to turn her into a slave like she had been. I was... well, I was flabbergasted to say the least. I had thoroughly expected that upon breaching the surface of their captivity to breathe a whiff of fresh, free air, that they'd both be running for the hills, excited to return to their freedom - if not sicking the guards on me as they ran. Yet, here was Berry Punch, crying. I had half expected that she would be the more lenient of the two, but I really hadn't expected this. Whatever this was.

"I..." What could I say?

"Damn it, Crescendo, I love you! I love what you make me do!" She blurted out, a mixture of anger and sadness etched across her tear soaked features. "Take me, make me yours! Stop playing these games with me and make me yours! I'll grab that recorder and shout it as loud as you want! Make me your slave, damn you! Make me not have to think about B-" her voiced hitched as she paused, a new wave of tears flowing out of her ever widening eyes. Berry hissed, rubbing an arm across her face and then cursed herself as she spun about and ran away from me, barreling upstairs. I looked at her, thoroughly confused for my part.

The room fell into silence as I just stared after her, the empty stairs leading to - what? I couldn't say. I sat there, in the mire of my own thoughts, when Spring Periwinkle sat down softly beside me. I looked to her, and was surprised by how sad her expression was.

"It's time you knew." She said in a low voice that showed her sadness plainly. This was obviously taking a good bit out of her just to say, and I couldn't help wanting to know more of what was eating at my mares.

"Time I knew what?" I asked dumbly, searching her expression for the answer.

"That day, the day Berry lost her old house in Ponyville... the house wasn't the only thing she lost."

Side B - Chapter 13: The Crucible of Sorrow

Berry walked briskly down the path, a shopping basket filled with the last few things she'd need for the day. She had picked up a few fruits, some pastries, a new shaker of cinnamon, some cream, a tube of a strawberry gel, and a bottle of foal friendly Cider. Such luxuries were reserved for special occasions, but today was a day worth celebrating, after all. Opening the door to her modest home, she couldn't help but smile. The house was filled with the smell of the baking cakes, the center of the day's efforts. Looking at the timer, she quickly hurried over, turning it off as she set the groceries down and grabbed her oven mitts.

Pulling out the three cake layers from the oven, she set them down on the counter, looking over her work. The vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry cakes looked plain, but she knew that with Pinkie's recipe that they would be delicious. Taking the cream, she threw it in with her other ingredients as she sat down and began to stir, humming a pleasant tune as she prepared the frosting. Looking to the clock, she nodded. She still had enough time.

After a few minutes stirring, she set the frosting down on the counter and walked out into the open air. It felt a tad nippy for the time of year, but it wasn't unpleasant, just a tad bit of a brisk day that would pass. Grabbing her mail, she sorted through what was hers, and what had been given to her mistakenly by the ever lovable, but endlessly annoying, Derpy Hooves. Sighing, she set her mail inside and moved over to her neighbors house, knocking with a good bit of force, knowing full well they wouldn't hear her otherwise - it was a Tuesday, after all.

The door opened slowly after a short while, revealing a disheveled looking Minuette who looked Berry over. "Yes?" She asked, not impatient, but showing she had had more 'interesting' things to do than stand and chitchat with Berry at three passed noon.

"Lyra's package," Berry said, holding out the plainly wrapped brown box, "Derpy left it on my doorstep." Minuette chuckled, taking it from Berry with a grateful nod.

"Thank you, Berry. You want to... uh, join on in? We got plenty of room in here." She said shyly, nodding to the dimly lit room behind her. Berry laughed a bit at that, waving her off.

"Sorry, I can't today. I've got a party to put together, and I'm starting to appreciate a lot of what Pinkie does because of it. Thanks though, maybe tomorrow."

"Oh wow, today's the big day?" Minuette asked, a smile growing across her features. "Give her my congratulations, Berry! Oh I wish I could give her a big hug, but-"

"Minuette? Is somepony fun at the door? If so, knock twice!" Twinkleshine's voice called out from the depths of the house. Berry chuckled, leaning to peak into the house as she called back.

"It's just me, got Lyra's mail and I'm passing it off."

"Oh, thank you, Berry!" Lyra said. "Oh hey, is it the big package? I could really use the big package I'm expecting."

"Berry, come on and join us for a little while!" Bon Bon called out, sounding slightly winded.

"Yeah, Berry's great!" Lemon Hearts affirmed. Berry shook her head with a chuckle.

"Got the whole gang back together, huh?" She commented to Minuette. "Sorry, can't, got a party to run!" She called. the house unanimously answering with an 'Awwww' at the lost prospect. "Maybe tomorrow?" The mood immediately shifted.

"Yes!"

"You bet!"

"Oh, I can't wait!"

"Bring the 'Minotaur'!"

"See you tomorrow, I guess." Minuette chuckled, giving a last nod as she closed the door, getting back to her fun. Berry moved back to her home, she couldn't wait for tomorrow, but she had far more important things to tend to as she looked at the clock in her entryway.

Moving over to the cakes, she looked at the piece of paper on which the recipe was written, figuring now the cakes had finally cooled down enough for the icing. Over the next few minutes, she carefully spread the icing over the layers of cake before stacking them in the way Pinkie had shown her earlier that week. Putting on the finishing touches to her icing work, she looked at the clock again. Somehow it was now a quarter past one. She still had time, but she was surprised how long it had taken her.

Taking out the tube of strawberry gel, she took a deep breath and began to write, concentrating deeply as she began forming careful letters out of the red gel. Satisfied with her work, she grabbed the fruit and a knife and began cutting away, turning on her small radio for some jaunty tunes to listen to while she worked. Arranging the fruit with care, she smiled at the finished product.

Suddenly the door was thrown open, literally ripped from its frame as a massive figure entered. Shrinking against the counter, she stared in fear as the figure, an erect torso sat on a quadrupedal form, entered her home. She weakly grasped the knife, the blade shaking in her hand as the thing approached her.

"No need for that, my little pony." The creature said in a cruel voice, smacking her hand away, the knife clattering to the floor. "I'm just here for your magic." Berry sputtered, only for the being to raise its fist, a glow appearing between two curved horns that she now noticed atop this being's head. Suddenly, something inside of her jerked forward, causing her to stumble, only to float as a mist flowed from her chest into this beast's maw. When the mist disappeared, he released her, throwing her like a used beer can against the cabinet. With a laugh, the thing left her panting on the ground, trying to gather herself up.

She tried to stand, but felt too weak. Her limbs didn't wish to support her, and so she crawled. She crawled towards the door, her breath ragged as she struggled. Resting for a moment, she looked out to the world before her, blinking away the fuzz from her vision as she lay what seemed an immense distance from the opening - though it was only a few steps away. All about the streets were ponies in much a similar state as her, though some had seemed to recovered slightly, now standing shakily.

As she watched, two fillies stumbled into the house, each weakened, but both now standing and walking with jerky motions. Her heart lurched, recognizing the two.

"Berry Pinch! Piña Colada! Girls, are you okay?" Berry cried, finding strength in her limbs enough for her foal and little sister. Scrambling over, she gripped the two in a tight hug.

"Mom! There was this scary guy! He broke open the school and did something to us! Auntie Cheerilee told us to get back home, what's going on?" Pinch asked, shaking in her mother's grasp.

"Shh, it's okay, it's alright, I'm right here." Berry soothed. She looked out the hole that had once been her door and saw other fillies and colts making their way back home. She wanted to find her older sister to make sure she was alright, but knew her responsibilities lay with the two fillies she held. She scooted them further into the home, not sure what else to do - desperately searching for some safety in all of this horrendously confusing scenario.

"Princess Twilight!" A booming voice resounded across the town. "You have something that belongs to me!" Berry huddled over the two fillies, quivering in fear for several moments, not hearing any more of it for the immediate moment.

"Get your things, Pinch, we need to leave now." Berry said, struggling to her feet, helping the two smaller ponies up as she did. Pinch nodded, struggling upstairs to her room while Piña stayed close to Berry. Moving to the closet by the stairs, Berry grabbed the duffel that contained her emergency necessities.

Suddenly there was a crackling of arcane energy. Her eyes went wide as she stared out the front door, only to watch as a pillar of swirling colors cut through the houses across the way and barreled straight towards her home.

"BERRY PINCH!" She cried out, darting forward to reach the stairs. At the top of the stairs was her daughter, holding onto her camping pack with wide eyes as she looked to her mother. With a resounding crash, a massive explosion rocked the entire area, throwing her off her feet, carrying her and tons of debris towards what once was the front of the house. Landing, she looked up in a daze, her instincts prying her from unconsciousness as one thought seared itself into her mind.

"BERRY PINCH?!" She struggled to her feet, her limbs only holding her because of adrenaline. She stumbled forward to the burnt out ruins of her old home. There was naught but the burnt out husk of the first floor. In a moment, she saw it. Her legs gave out after a few steps towards it, falling to her knees. There on the ground was a little hand, holding on to a camping bag. With a trembling hand, she moved the debris to the side, choking back her anguish.

"Pinchie..." She sobbed, extending a hand to the face of her daughter. "No..." Her voice cracked, sorrow whelming up in her like an unrelenting tide, even as the earth quaked with the fury of battle she no longer cared for, even as beams of devastation whipped past so near her mane was caught in the gales of their fury. "NOOOOOO!!!" She yowled in infinite heartache, feeling her world crumble.

She fell to the ground, curling around her daughter's cold form, her tears flowing freely as she trembled. She stroked her mane, like she did when the little thing had crawled up into her bed on stormy nights, but Pinchie didn't snuggle closer. Berry sang, her voice trembling and breaking as she did, the old lullaby that Pinchie always loved, but she didn't smile. She kissed her forehead, but the little filly didn't jerk away from it. She hugged her close, but felt no warmth. When the feeling of magic touched her, revitalizing a part of her, Berry didn't stir. Why should she? The world would only shove her down again. Looking up through her pain, she looked to the burning home and saw there on the ground a few paces away, a simple cake - crushed against the cruel ground - with pretty red gel letters barely legible in the muck.

Happy B-Day, Pinchie!

Berry cried tears she knew not she had in her. She cried. She wouldn't stop. She would never stop.

Side B - Chapter 14: Acceptance

"When the wreckage was cleared..." Spry said, struggling on with the story, "They found her still holding her little Pinchie. Piña was found a day later, halfway across the street under a massive heap of rubble, having been flung into the house opposite Berry's... She lived, but has been in a coma since. It's why Berry's family has shunned her. For some sick, harsh, irrational reason, they hate her for ignoring her sister - even though they know she only did so because her foal died right in front of her eyes." I blinked away my tears, keeping my silence as she finished the story.

"Crescendo... if you can only take one of us back... make it her." She pleaded sincerely, looking me dead in the eye. "She's been through so much, she needs this. It's either this, or... or one day I come by to visit and find her dead with a bottle in her mouth, if not worse." She placed a hand on my shoulder.

"I can go on not being your slave, even though I want it. But in the end, that is all that it is for me: a want. But Berry? Berry needs this. I haven't seen her this happy or sober in ages. You may not like it, but you are good for her. You being her master - that makes her happy; it makes her complete. It drives the sorrow out for a moment, and honestly, I've spent as much effort as I can to find her something beyond a bottle to save her, and nothing has come close to what you've accomplished. Cress... if you want us happy, if you want her happy... you'll do this."

I wiped my tears away, considering it all for a moment. Berry had lost so much, and I had never known. It wasn't really my business to know, but still. Thinking on it, Berry had lied to me about her family - but I couldn't blame her for doing so. They had been the source of so much pain for her that I honestly couldn't imagine her telling the whole truth unless I pressed for it - which, knowing me, wouldn't happen unless absolutely needful.

I stood up finally, a bit of resolve returning to me. I motioned the two mares that remained to follow as we headed upstairs, making a beeline for the bedroom. Pushing open the door, my heart sunk. Looking in the room, I saw Berry, clutching a pillow to her face as she wailed, the sound only muffled by the exceedingly plush cushion. Taking a deep breath, I walked forward. Berry hadn't noticed us, and in some ways, I was glad for it. Sitting down on the side of the bed, I placed a hand on her back.

Berry looked up at me, her face drenched in tears even as she continued to cry. I rubbed her back slowly, a small, comforting smile on my lips. When Berry darted forward, wrapping her arms about me in a deep hug, I was neither surprised, nor did I draw back. She needed this. We needed this.

The moments moved by, and Periwinkle and Raven joined in on the hug, doing their best to comfort the mare. Things fit into place in my mind somewhat what type of pony Berry was, and it was a picture tainted heavily in sadness. Holding her, she continued to cry into my shoulder, blubbering in between sobs and wails how much she needed me, how much she wanted this, how she never wanted me to leave her, and many many other things - all of which came out without the slightest hint of lewdness to them. I closed my eyes, holding her tighter in my embrace, letting her cry her heart out, to empty out all those emotions she doubtlessly had been bottling up for who knows how long.

Minutes stretched on, but none of us moved, instead staying with Berry, even as she stopped crying and simply held me close while being part of the massive group hug. After a long while, Berry pulled herself away from me, her eyes red and her nose running, but despite it all, she looked far better for the time we had spent letting her cry.

"Please..." she breathed, sincerity dripping from her words. I calmly smiled, placing a hand on her face.

"I'll do it." I said finally, her eyes brightening up substantially. "But we'll do it right this time, so there are no regrets for anypony." I looked to Periwinkle. "You too, if you still want this. You're as good for her as you two think I am." Periwinkle smiled, wiping her own tears away with a sleeve before giving a simple nod. Berry tackled me in a hug once more, crying tears of joy. I smiled, patting her on the back as I returned the hug, only too happy to have moved past the worst of the sadness - or what I could only hope was the worst for a long while.

"It'll be nice to have you two back with us... not that you really left." Raven said, a small smile on her cute gray face that was made only the better for the tears of compassion that ran down it. We stayed like that for a few more moments, before Berry finally broke off once again.

"Ok," She gathered herself a tad bit more, "how are we doing this? You said we're doing this 'right this time', but what does that mean exactly?"

"I'd like you both to write down your personal script, I want to have exactly as much control as you want me to have and not an inch more. I'll review them and go over your work with you and we'll work together to make this as much of a positive thing as possible." I told them, looking between the two as I explained my idea. "We've been given an opportunity unlike any other, we need to take advantage of it and do this right. No accidents; we need to be intentional or else this won't work out for any of us."

"Alright, if that's what it takes." Berry said, giving me a serious nod. "Guess we'll head back downstairs. I don't exactly have many notepads or pens up here."

"Right... guess we'll head downstairs." Periwinkle nodded slowly, before giving a sly glance towards me. "I think it would be smart, though - even if you are to review them - to not have you present for the initial draft." I blinked a few times, not entirely sure why this was a thing.

"Y-yeah, I'd think that's reasonable." Raven said after Berry nudged her slightly. I looked at the two mares as they climbed off the bed. Watching them leave, I blinked as they closed the door after them, my brain still drawing a blank as to what was happening. How would my presence while they wrote affect anything? Raven cleared that all up when she put her delicate hand on my thigh.

"What is your command, Master?" Raven said, seeming to come out of her bubble of shyness now that we were alone. I searched my mind quickly for some sort of answer. I had gotten blowjobs, fucked asses and pussies, had experienced pet play on both ends - though my tenure as a master was certainly less involved than my time as the pet - and had gotten Berry and Spry into some unknowing roleplay. There wasn't much I could think of not having done. And then it hit me as a devious smile took my lips.

"I've got a particularly fun idea that I think both of us are going to enjoy greatly."

"I'm going to guess I should put down total financial control? I mean, I never really invested in stock and I only got a few bits in the bank..." Berry muttered, tapping the pen on her lip.

"I already have committed my finances into it, not much good it'll do me, but we can benefit off of what I've got in the long run." Periwinkle admitted as she continued to scribble a few lines, only to scratch them out. "Berry, what do you think is a better way of putting it? 'I surrender my body to Crescendo's use as he wishes' or 'I give up all rights concerning my body to Crescendo'?"

"I put down 'Crescendo can do as he very well pleases with my body'. It isn't like we're making a legal contract; and plus, Cress is a good kid, we really aren't dealing with some slimy lawyer that is looking to fuck us over, but a barely legal teen who - if he does want to fuck us over - wants to do it 'over' a couch or bench or sofa." Berry said, shifting her position, standing up from the couch so that unseen hands could pull her panties down.

"I guess that's true..." Peri said, spreading her legs a tad as she continued to mull over the lines she had, thinking about what she needed to add - not even taking note of the feeling or sound of her shorts and panties being pulled away. "What about boundaries? The kid will want us to write those down, even if they aren't part of the whole becoming a slave thing in the end." Berry shrugged.

"Fuck boundaries." Berry dismissed, moving to stand behind the couch. "Well... so long as whatever we do doesn't endanger our health or the health of any other pony." She said, leaning over the couch, scooting her legs a tad bit apart.

"I can get behind that." Spry said, setting the notepad to the side as she stretched herself, letting unseen forces take away her bra. "I mean... I'd rather not do anything that's... disgusting."

"Y-you're g-g-gonna have to b-be a t-tad more speci-i-i-ific, Spry." Berry said, some part of her mind finding it odd how she rocked back and forth while leaning over the couch. Spry shrugged, taking the notepad up, setting it on the coffee table in front of her, leaning to continue working on it.

"You know... unhealthy stuff." Spry said, absentmindedly playing with one breast while she noted on some level that her other nipple was erect under some sort of attention while she began to become a tad slick downstairs. "I really can't think about any other things we might need to a-a-a-add" Spry stammered, looking up to Berry, who was quite flush as she rocked back and forth over the couch. Spry was a tad flush herself, not that she noticed. Berry gave a moan in response.

Looking over the notepad, she tried to figure anything else she could write, adjusting her position a little more as her legs parted wider. She was feeling a tad hot, but didn't really care to do anything about it as she continued to go over the lines, making marginal changes here and there as the minutes slowly passed.

Suddenly, Periwinkle found Raven between her legs, and even as she realized this, she came, her mind allowing her to realize exactly how much pleasure she had been going through as she flung herself back into the couch with a howl of ecstasy, gripping the plush cushions as the orgasm rocked her. Looking over, she saw Cress pulling out of Berry, who looked as happy as she felt.

"Surprise!" Raven cried from between Spry's legs. These two really were something else.

Side B - Chapter 15: Taking a Walk

I clicked the record button off, looking up at the two mares, having finished reading their scripts. I was surprised how few rewrites we had to make, especially considering who one of the mares was, but the minor tweaks we had made were important. Raven looked at me, and then at the two mares who sat just as undressed as when we had given them their phantom orgasms.

"So that's it then?" Raven asked, looking them over. The two mares looked at each other, and then at me, and smiled.

"Yep, script's been read into the open mic, and just like that," I snapped my fingers, "Berry and Spry are once again my... slaves." I hesitated. Despite being intentional about it this time, I still felt weird about it all.

"It's weird." Spry said, looking herself over. "I don't feel different... but at the same time, I know I'm your slave, and I know I wasn't a few moments ago."

"Can we fuck now?" Berry asked, butting in as she struck a pose. "I mean, we did already while we did the first draft, but the proviso that we could always be wet and ready whenever needed of us does mean we can play ball again."

"Yeah... thanks for that by the way." Raven said bashfully. "I... I don't want the mental effects of being a slave... but being able to help satisfy you whenever is nice. It's-"

"It's kinky is what it is!" Berry blurted out. "It's anypony's kink to be able to go whenever and however long they want! Why else do you think 'marital aids' are a thing? Now come on, let's get the sexy on!"

"We do have a dangerous individual out there right now." Spry pointed out. "Now may not be the best of times to be fooling around."

"Actually," I interjected, "With everypony else attending to their own tasks... well I doubt we can do much on our own. At this point we probably have some time while all the other ponies work on their tasks. So, I guess we can take a moment for pleasure before we really need to get back into the hot seat. Besides," I continued, looking over the three mares, "with Gunther as injured as you all got him, he won't be as much of a menace for now, and the quickest a train can get here from any other town is three hours. So in the very least, we have a few hours to work with, if not more."

"You're just saying that 'cuz you've been low on action." Berry smirked.

"Well..." I paused, thinking back to the time since the party, "I did get fucked by Silver yesterday, and I just fucked you... it isn't as much action as I got when we were in the hotel, but it is a decent amount for ponies my age."

"Well... one of those wasn't an image I needed to conjure." Spry muttered.

"Either way, we can have fun now, right?" Berry pressed. I chuckled and nodded. "So what's our first game?"

"Well, I was thinking about that." I said, looking over the recorder as I weighed whether or not I wanted to go through with my little stunt.

"So what's the plan?" Berry pressed again, leaning forward in anticipation. I smirked looking over the two ponies.

"I know Berry does, but Spry, do you have an exhibitionist streak?"

"This is what we get for giving basically all the decision power to the horny teen." Spry said a tad peeved as we walked through the center of Ponyville. Raven and I walked normally, with her holding onto my arm in as much affection as vicarious embarrassment. Before the two of us - naked, on leashes, and crawling on all fours - was Berry and Spry.

"Oh come on, Spry, it's not like anypony is going to know it's us." Berry said, far more cheerily as she made her way without a hint of embarrassment. "Master made sure of that, we're perfectly safe. Even if we weren't seen as two dogs by everypony else, what would it matter? We're slaves, our only concern is pleasing the Master."

That struck me as concerning on some level. I hadn't added that line in to either recording. Perhaps it was just her subconscious understanding of what it meant to be a slave; or maybe she was just as pervy as always, but either way it was a problem in my mind. It was true though - the part about being seen as dogs that is. Before leaving the house, I had made it so that for the rest of the afternoon nopony but Raven and I would see them as anything but dogs. Normal dogs that we were taking for a walk. And for their part, Berry and Periwinkle were wearing as much clothing as a pair of dogs, that being none.

This wasn't just me being the little pervert I was, though. I had a plan with this one. I had confirmation I couldn't effect anypony who had an artifact - though that was honestly from a sample size of one - and so, if there were any other ponies or otherwise in town with artifacts, they'd see straight through to the ponies these two were. It's why I hadn't tested what would happen if I told the recorder to make them dogs - though that was also me being fearful of lasting effects post transformation.

"I am becoming more and more grateful for the 'no cuts or bruises from crawling' line as we go. My legs and hands would be a mess if we didn't have that." Spry commented.

"My, what cute dogs!" A pony gushed. Looking over I saw a beautiful cream mare with a tan mane. "Are they yours?"

"Yeah!" I chuckled, looking down to the two mares. Berry, predictably, looked the most excited - though when competing with the completely unenthused Periwinkle, there wasn't a real competition. "This is Cherry," I said giving Berry's head a rub, "and this is Rosebud." I patted Periwinkle, which seemed to calm her down a good bit.

"What cute names for such cute dogs!" She smiled before looking over her shoulder. "Button, have you seen the dogs? Button?" She turned to the brown colt in question who was... blushing like mad. That was not exactly an expression I wanted to see on the colt in this instance.

"They're friendly, they don't bite." I said, motioning to them. Button moved forward slowly, putting a hand on Periwinkle's head, giving it a few slow strokes, which she took as about as well as could be expected.

"Button, they're just dogs. Why are you acting so strange?" The mother asked, moving over to kneel before Berry and giving her head a good rub, which Berry leaned into happily.

"Th-they... uh, what b-breed are they?" Button stuttered, scritching Periwinkle's chin, doing his best to hide his glances over at Berry. I did my best to think of other answers as to why he'd be so awkward around dogs, but his mother's tone had thrown most of the out.

"I'm not sure, I think they're a cross between a retriever and a Labrador, though I can't be so sure since they're rescues." I lied, looking this 'Button' over. He was likely in my same age range by the looks of him, which was neither comfort nor too much of a concern to me. He was leaner for an earth pony, similar to me, so in the very least if it came down to physical combat I had a chance at taking him.

"Do they know any tricks?" Button's mom asked, looking up to me. Even as I was inspecting her son, I did my best to keep a level expression. As far as she was concerned, there was nothing weird here except her son's behavior.

"A few, nothing too spectacular." I said, looking my two mares over. Spry gave me a dirty look, while Berry gave me a different kind of dirty look - about par for the course all things considered. "Sit." Both of them plonked their behinds on the ground - sending their tits swaying madly - which certainly got a reaction from Button, whose blush grew all the deeper along with my fears.

"Roll over." The two of them rolled in the same direction, and then back again, gaining a reaction once more from the pony, while his mother simply smiled and clapped like she was watching the most adorable show. I would agree with her, if it wasn't for the fact that I was suspecting her son, which made me wary of her. She might just be better at hiding it than her son, if he was her son. "Speak." I commanded, doing my best to manage my tone.

"Fuck!" Berry shouted with gleeful abandon. Peri simply barked, doing her best not to cringe away from Berry. Button, however, hadn't expected that, and took a tentative step back, though his mother just continued to smile before petting both mares.

"So well behaved! You two are such good girls!" I smiled at that, though inside I was in anything but a smiling mood. A possible artifact wielder was right in front of me after all. I couldn't very well talk to him openly here, but I couldn't exactly let him out of my sights. I needed to talk, but I also needed to be away from his mom, no matter if she was or wasn't also holding an artifact. "Well, it was nice meeting you, I hope you have a lovely day!" She said, standing up.

"You too, ma'am." I replied with a nod as a plan started to form in my head. The two of them walked off, Button lagging behind slightly as he looked towards me and the two mares at my feet. After they had turned a corner, I took a knee beside Berry and scratched behind her ear.

"Don't be alarmed, but I think that kid is an artifact user." I whispered into her ear.

"I thought he was acting a tad weird." Berry confirmed. "What are we gonna do about it, though?" I smirked.

"Well, I got a plan." This plan was going to have to work, or I'd be in even bigger problems in the near future. "This is what I need you to do."

Splice 6: Pressing Buttons

Button Mash walked behind his mother, thoroughly scared out of his wits. He had noticed some weird stuff ever since that day, and he had had to bluff his way out of a lot of scenarios he otherwise didn't want to be a part of. He had watched a griffon force Applebloom on her knees to suck him off in the middle of the road, and no pony reacted. When he had asked Applebloom what she had been doing, she said they were just having a nice chat and exchanging pleasantries - though that was all obfuscated with her countryisms. He had seen Several of his other class mates fucking, only to claim they were doing something completely normal that wasn't open sex.

He had assumed it had to do something with what he had found, but he couldn't be sure. Suddenly his dick reminded him in a harsh way exactly what it meant to see two naked mares acting like dogs - wearing as much clothes as a pair of dogs, too. He didn't think he was into pet play, but that didn't stop it from being sexy for two naked mares to be on their hands and knees. He shuddered - and his dick twitched - at the thought of having gotten one of them to roll over to give them a belly rub. His mom stopped at a stall to chat with her friend Carrot Top about the recent gossip, and Button was only too glad for it. Scanning the area around him, he saw what he was looking for.

"Excuse me, Mom," He began, getting her attention as if he was still a colt - though respecting his elders never felt demeaning to him, "I need to take a rest stop. Can I go to Sugar Cube Corner and get myself a slice of cake while I'm at it?"

"Sure honey. Maybe your blood sugar's a tad low. It might do you well." His mom said with her motherly smile. He chuckled awkwardly, rubbing the back of his head, before shuffling off, hearing his mother's and Carrot's laughter as he did. Slipping into the bakery, he darted to the bathroom and brought out his Joy Boy Retro. Closing the door, he took out his game case and pulled out the cartridge he wanted and swapped the Pocket Creatures for the Mind Heist game.

Turning it on, he was met by the deep booms of the intro screen, even as he - through a mixture of his muscle memory and quick screen analysis - moved into the main game screen with only a fraction of a second of delay. The monochromatic display showed a top down map with multiple moving blips across the screen and a singular aiming reticle that he could move. He began to scroll it across the screen, with each time it passed over one of the moving blips it popped up a name of somepony he knew. Moving it further and further, he found the one he was looking for. Pressing the A button, he closed his eyes, breathing out as he steadied himself.

Blossomforth was having a pretty alright day, her morning having been quite calm with not having to work. Walking about the town on her errands, she stopped to talk to Cream Heart before going over to Sugar Cube Corner. She had felt a little frisky when she woke up, probably because of Thunderlane having dumped her recently, and so had elected t- she felt a shiver take her spine. Blinking several times, Button flexed his new fingers, quickly familiarizing himself with the feel of the new shape before moving in to the candy shop. Slipping past the attention of the patrons of the store, he swooped away into the bathroom.

"Well that went better than expected." He said in Blossomforth's voice.

"No pony saw you?" Button asked. Looking down to his more diminutive stature, Buttonforth nodded.

"Yeah, no pony seemed to notice me. But let's still go quickly before somepony does." He locked the door while Button unzipped his pants, his aching member flinging up as the underwear was brought down just enough. "I wish there was a better way."

"So do I, but as long as we do it in the butt there shouldn't be any problem, right?" Button asked while BlossomMash began to take off their clothes.

"I thought you were thinking a bit of a titfuck." Buttonforth cocked an eyebrow, removing the sporty t-shirt, revealing the total lack of bra to support the hefty breasts. "That's what I was thinking at least before I got bamfed into Blossomforth."

"You know, I think I've reconsidered back to the titfuck. Blossom has always had nice boobs." Button nodded, hopping onto the toilet, scooching forward enough that BlossomMash wouldn't have to be too close to the porcelain throne. Buttonforth knelt down, cupping the two prodigious breasts in their hands and began to use them on the engorged dick.

"Every time we do this we begin to wonder if we might be bisexual." BlossomMash noted. "That still hasn't stopped. We are at both ends, and though the body may be fe-"

"Less philosophical conundrums, more sucking me so we can wrap this up!" Button gasped out.

"Right, talk later." Buttonforth shrugged, before leaning down to continue massaging the dick with Blossomforth's impressive tits and give a little sucking action, the taste of his own pre striking a little less odd than the last time. The sounds of the breasts working away, and the occasional whorish pop of the dick emerging from BlossomMash's mouth echoed in the small room as they worked as fast as possible. Button held his breath, preventing himself from moaning as he got his shaft smothered in boobflesh. The sensations were unbearably erotic, and withing ten minutes under this immense pleasure, Button came.

"M-more..." Button gasped out, his dick still hard, though he was obviously winded - more so from the holding his breath part than anything else; even the unforgettable titjob he had just received. "P-please... so much... built up..." Buttonforth sighed, shaking their head as they stood, shirking the nice little skirt that had caught Button's eye in the first place. Putting it with the top, BlossomMash realized Blossomforth was not only braless, but pantyless. She had gone commando. Hot.

BlossomMash leaned over, placing their hands on the rail by the toilet for ponies who had trouble moving, wiggling Blossomforth's butt enticingly. The odds of bisexuality was pretty high in the dual pony's mind. Button shakily got to his feet, completely shirking off his pants and shoes, leaving him - disgustingly - with only socks on the hard tile floor. Lining up behind, Button shoved his dick into the mare's ass, a familiar sensation of warm compression on his dick sending thrills through him.

Taking a short moment to steady himself, he clapped his hands on the prodigious ass a few times before pulling back to take his first thrust. It was amazing, as it always had been when he fucked a mare in the ass. The sensations were overwhelming. This mare's butt was tight, just perfectly so for his dick, and so he indulged as best he could, fucking her harder and harder. The mare squeaked and squealed, stifling herself rather ineffectively. It was a miracle that no pony outside of the cramped bathroom seemed to notice.

Grunting and groaning, thrusting and pulling, they continued at it until finally Button came again, but he still felt so pent up. He needed something, he needed a final release. A vision past before him of the two mares on leashes. They looked so docile, so ready, like they just wanted to be fucked. He needed somepony like them. He needed to fuck. And not just in the ass this time.

"Button?" Blossomforth's voice broke through his lusty haze. He realized his dick, now out of the splendid ass, was lined up with the entrance he so desired. "Are we doing this? We said we never would." Button was conflicted. He wanted to fuck this mare. He wanted to ravish her. He felt the virile seed within him begging to be unleashed after such a lewd display in the town. He struggled with himself, his body wanting something that even his lust addled brain wasn't entirely willing to let happen. BlossomMash stood up fully, turning around to face him and look him in the eyes.

"We need to hold on." Blossomforth's sweet voice said.

"I..." Button felt tears in his eyes as he clenched his fists. "I need it... I really need it." Blossom's expression was sympathetic.

"You need a mare friend. A special somepony to help you out, not your spirit inhabiting another body." She was right, but he still desperately needed more of a release. "Let's clean up, we've already taken a long enough while." Button nodded, hoping maybe his need would fade if he just helped clean and thought about something else.

The cleaning process was a bore, and after watching Blossom's blip flit away on the screen far away enough, he pressed the B button and felt the disconnected spirit come back to him, bringing all the memories it had made along the way. It only made it worse. The memory of the sensations from that body only served to reenforce the boner he was already fighting.

And then it hit him. Just before his spirit fragment was sucked out of Blossom - with that last moments of memory - he had seen one of the mares, the one he had recognized as Berry Punch, crawling along with her leash on the ground, loose and without a hand to guide her. Picking himself up he stuffed his Joy Boy Retro in his pocket and hurried out the door, leaving Sugar Cube Corner in a blur.

Reaching the spot where he had set Blossom free, he looked around, and saw her. Moving from one stall to another, unnoticed except for the occasional pat on the head from other ponies, the naked mare moved about unabashedly. Had she escaped somehow? He needed to help her either way. There was no way that she wanted to be like this.

Moving over as calmly as possible, he approached the pony who acted like a dog. He couldn't help but blush at the naked pony with her super model like proportions crawling about on all fours. Berry Punch had been the subject of a few fantasies of his, but he had never used Mind Heist on her. He had wanted to on various occasions, but she was never in range when he tried.

Kneeling before the pony, he rubbed her head with as much of a natural movement as possible. He looked at the name tag that dangled from her collar, like anypony would, and saw it only said 'Cherry'. No address, no phone number,and no sigh who truly owned - or claimed to - the dogified pony. He made his decision then and there, his boner forgotten for the moment, as he picked up the leash.

"Come on, girl, let's go." Button said in as calm a voice as he could manage, which despite himself was shaking quite heavily. He didn't really have a plan, but he could fake it somehow.

"Oh, you want to take me home?" Berry mused, catching Button slightly off guard. "Buy me a meal first, why don't you." Button chose to ignore that, pulling the leash as he began to walk, only to find himself dragged a different direction as Berry crawled away, guiding him in her own direction.

Button tried his best to stop her, but she was surprisingly hard to dissuade, even when he'd give a sustained pull he was sure would choke her. In the end, she led him where she wanted him to go. He had more than his fair share of doubts where she would end up taking him, but his wish to keep her safe outweighed his own need for self preservation. Turning a corner into one of Ponyville's few alleyways, his heart raced all the more, but he didn't stop.

"You are either extremely brave or extremely naive." A semi-familiar voice said. "Then again, you might just really want to bring my pet back to me." The stallion said. Button gulped, fingering his Joy Boy Retro, unsure if he really had a chance at winning a contest like this if it came down to it. "There's no need to be tense, I just have some questions that need answers. Questions about you and how you reacted to Rosebud and Cherry here."

"I-I'm not sure exactly sure exactly s-sure..." He stumbled, before getting himself back together. "W-what do you want?" The stallion stayed quiet for a moment. The silence gripping Button like a vice. He waited for a few seconds that seemed to drag for hours as he waited, until the stallion finally spoke.

"You have an artifact, don't you?"

Side B - Chapter 16: Back Alley Deals

Železna Raka stood before the priests, bedecked in his royal finery. The priests stirred restlessly as the newly made king looked over the lot of them contemptuously. Each of the priests bore the twin horns that invested them with arcane abilities - the two horns he lacked.

"Well?" Železna barked, his gaze flashing over those assembled. "What is your answer?!"

"We..." The high priest, whose skin and lower coat showed the graying of age, began slowly. "We know not of any magics to transform you into an arcane individual. No such spell has been passed down to us." Železna's lips curled into a snarl. This was not what he needed to hear, but it was something he was prepared to deal with - much as he was prepared to deal with anything. Taking out his scroll, he etched out with his charcoal pen a simple line to fix the situation.

'Železna Raka was an Ednorog.' He felt the scroll's power overflow within him as twin horns curled up from his head, forming the iconic arch, much to the priest's astonishment. He stood there, basking in the energies that flowed through him, a new source of power suddenly at his disposal.

Lifting a hand, the old priest before him was gripped in violent black and green crackling energies that focused on his throat. Železna reveled as he watched the old fool struggling, basking in the pulsing power that flowed through him. Suddenly the power failed him, the priest fell, and Železna stumbled, his forelegs giving out as he gritted his teeth. His eyes widened as he felt the power ebb from him, leaving him as empty as before. Looking to the scroll, the page no longer bore his last marking, and a brief motion with his hands revealed no horns.

With a hiss he stood back up. He glared daggers down upon the assembled priests. If he was denied the right of being an Ednorog, he'd become something beyond even that. Drawing his royal khopesh, he delivered a quick blow, lodging it into the old high priest's neck, sending blood splattering across the ground as well on his own coat. Ripping the blade from the neck, Železna let the priest slump into his death before turning his gaze on the younger priests.

"If I am to not have the power of an Ednorog," He said, stepping over the fallen bleeding body, "then neither shall you." With that, he charged with a fury, his glistening khopesh felling several before they could react. Strike after strike, his smile and his gaze grew all the more mad, as one by one he cleaved the priests down.

Suddenly he felt his khopesh caught, stopping midswing despite the power he put behind it. Looking back, a dark orange and black crackle enveloped his blade. With ferocity in his gaze, he looked upon the defiant Ednorog priest who dared to defy him.

"Don't kill them." The young priest said. He wasn't begging or groveling, not even pleading, he was telling Železna Raka what to do. "If you kill all of the priests you will lack the support of the people. No matter your magics or dark arts, your powers will count for naught unless you have the support of the divine. Do not tarnish the sun god in blood of the holy, but sacrifice the unfaithful." The defiant priest stepped forward, placing a hand flatly on Železna's breast in a sign of brotherhood. "Let me be your faithful archpriest."

Železna thought on this for a while. The people placed much faith in the priests and their connection to the divine - it was why he payed obeisance as he ascended the Ziggurat. This young priest made much sense, and spoke with wisdom sweet to the ears. Železna smiled, releasing his grasp on the khopesh, letting it float in the magic aura, and placed the hand - still tainted with the blood of the priests - on the stallion's breast.

"Serve me well and you shall stand as my arch priest for a great many years to come. What is your name, my priest?" The priest smiled, lowering his arm with his king.

"Lažna Poddrška; but my priestly name is Tirek."

I stared down the young stallion before me, my finger lightly brushing against the record button in case I needed to act quickly. Our standoff feeling like something out of an Old Western movie. We stayed rather still for several minutes, him not answering my question as he fiddle with something in his pocket. If that was his artifact, I have to move quickly. As soon as I felt a burst of magic, or the slightest shift, I would pounce, pressing down the button and rattling off instructions I was formulating as I waited.

"Y-yes." He said finally. "And I know you have one too. Everypony thinks those two mares are dogs, but I can see them for what they are." So I had been right, but that left us in a bit of a precarious position.

"Are you part of the Empire?" I asked pointedly. He paused at that, blinking a few times in confusion as he processed what I had said - a good sign all things considered.

"We... we're in Equestria... do I look like a Crystal pony to you?" He asked, gaining a chuckle from me. I relaxed my posture, feeling fairly confident that he wasn't a part of this 'Empire'. Honestly, if not for Silver and Gunther, my first assumption would've been he was in much the same situation as I was.

"I'm sorry if I gave you a scare." I said calmly, feeling far more relaxed in this situation, though I still kept my finger on the record button - better safe than sorry. "I've recently had to deal with some less than friendly characters with artifacts. I've been on edge lately because all of it."

"I'm...I-I'm not exactly inclined t-to be so trusting of you M-Mr I-Treat-Ponies-like-Dogs." The smaller pony retorted, and I nodded with a shrug.

"Fair, it's not exactly normal, but you see, unlike the others, these two are mine by choice - their choice." I replied.

"Yeah, we actually wanted this." Berry said, wiggling her butt as if it had a tail attached.

"Well, I didn't really want to parade around town naked, but it is hot." Periwinkle admitted. "We actually got our freedom at one point, but decided we liked being his slaves better."

"S-slaves?" Button looked at me in concern and confusion. "Aren't you... spirit fragmenting them?" It was now my turn to be confused.

"Spirit fragmenting? I'm... okay, I'm lost. What are you talking about?"

"Uh... well that's what I call it w-when I bamf a bit of myself into another p-pony." Button replied, successfully muddying up the water all the more.

"Okay, I'm going to let you in on a little something." I said with a chuckle. "Not every artifact works the same. Thanks for basically just telling me yours, though. But no, I'm not 'spirit fragmenting' into these ponies - whatever that really means. They are affected by my artifact, yes, but they asked for me to do so, and are able to act independently to a point."

"Y-you wanted to be slaves?" Button said, still stuttering. I wondered if he just had a stutter, but he was stuttering on different sounds each time it seemed, so I really had to just guess he was just a bundle of nerves.

"Yup!" Berry puffed herself up in pride, though I wasn't entirely sure why that was a badge of pride, but then again I had recently learned how little I really knew of Berry. "Not sure how old you are, kiddo, but some adults like their lives a tad extra kinky." Button turned from brown to maroon in a second. "Hmm, maybe you already know that." Berry mused, crawling closer to Button, nosing his crotch, which had a significant bulge through his jeans. Button flinched away, putting a hand out to keep Berry away.

"Whoa, n-not so close!" Button said, doing his best to keep her away, though I could tell by how he was acting and how he held himself, he really didn't want her to stay away. He was doing his best to not drop his pants right then and there. I smirked. That was an opening I could use. I needed him to be friendly, and at this point, we weren't exactly that friendly.

"We got a bit to discuss, Button." I started. "You aren't safe in Ponyville anymore. No pony like us is. I want to tell you more, but I can't say what I want to in public." Button looked over to me, momentarily distracted from Berry. "How about I see if I can get you detached from your mom for the rest of the day so that we can talk at Berry's place, it's safer there."

"Master," Berry said in a chiding tone, "I told you, it's yours now. Just call it your place." I shook my head. I knew she was right. Both of the mares had essentially handed over all material assets of theirs to me for the benefit of all four of us - even if I had managed to not make it part of their recordings. I didn't exactly want to deal with the legal implications of the sudden transferal of property to me - even if the artifact made everything work out alright.

"I..." Button faltered. I could tell he was conflicted. I needed to give him a reason to trust me, or at least, a reason to not think I wasn't completely evil.

"I'm not sure if it makes you feel any better about who I am, but Raven here is my slave, but she isn't under the artifact's influence. She wanted to be my slave, but didn't want the artifact to be part of that." It was a long shot, and I knew it. Having a pony who was a willing slave and unaffected by the artifact was, at least in my mind, a possible point in my favor, but that was more because I knew it meant I didn't have to enslave everypony I loved with the artifact, something some other ponies may not understand.

"It's true." Raven confirmed. "I am his slave, and I couldn't be happier for it, but I didn't want to be forced to obey. I wanted to obey for myself, not because some magic is putting me on my knees." Button's expression didn't seem to immediately lighten like I had hoped, but he did seem a tad less apprehensive. It was likely the best I could hope for given the circumstances.

"Alright." He began, a bit more confidence in his tone, which I took to be a good sign. "If you can convince my mom to let me go over to... your place, then I'll go." I nodded happily. Progress!

Getting Button's Mom - Cream Heart I had learned - to agree to let Button go off with me was surprisingly easy, almost too much so. When I told her that 'Cherry' had run off, and he had helped bring her back to me; she was only too happy to agree when I asked if she'd let me have him over for a while so that we could get to know each other and I could give him some appreciation for bringing back my precious dog. I'd have to stay on alert for that mare, she might still be an artifact user. Then again, maybe she was happy to have her son, who was confirmed to be my age, out of the house.

"You live there?" Button asked as we approached the dilapidated house. I nodded. "What happened? I thought Berry's place was always one of the nicer homes they put up after Twilight beat Tirek."

"Oh, it is." Berry commented. "It's home sweet home." At that point, as we drew nearer, we crossed the threshold for the cloaking spell Twilight had cast on the place, something Button was only too willing to openly react to, his eyes widening as he jerked back slightly - moving back and forth over the threshold of the magic field to see the house become and cease being a burnt out husk of a home.

"I mentioned things weren't quite so safe for ponies like us." I said, opening the front door. "Well, this is one of the things we've had to do to ensure our safety in recent days." Button nodded slowly as he entered the home.

"What were you talking about when you said that things aren't safe?" Button asked.

"We'll get to that in a moment. Berry, Spry, could you two fetch us some tea or something? Whatever you got in the house, really. We just need some refreshments. It's only polite, after all." Berry and Periwinkle stood up to their feet, stretching their backs, before giving a short bow to me and moving off, putting on the sexy strut that I had had to learn when I was in Berry's form. Casting a glance over towards Button, I could tell seeing that walk that Berry used all the time had an effect, especially with the lack of clothing.

"Let's sit down." I said, moving over to the living area. Taking a place on the love seat, I was pleasantly surprised when Raven instead sat down on my lap, rubbing her bum against my dick while looping an arm around the back of my neck, pressing the side of one of her small boobs against my face. I certainly had no complaints.

Button hesitated, looking at the sofa, whose cushion was a tad beat up from being used in combat. Rarity had been kind enough to sow the holes Gunther had made shut, but it still was a tad worse for wear. Sitting down tentatively, almost as if he expected it to explode or lock him in place with sudden manacles that would shoot up like this was a dang cartoon. After a moment of the couch being completely normal, he seemed to relax just a tad more. Yet more progress.

Berry and Spry then came out of the kitchen, Berry holding a bunch of napkins, a small stack of plastic cups, and a two liter of soda, while Spry carried a small snack platter that had delicately arranged potato chips, cheese puffs, tortilla chips, and a small bowl of cheese dip. We were the epitome of culture in this house. Now was my chance to get him where it counted.

"Berry, I think our guest needs a bit of special attention. Would you see if he would like to be tended to?" I said, grabbing a napkin and loading it with some potato chips, while wrapping an arm around Raven's waist to ensure she knew I wasn't shooing her away. I couldn't help being a tad peckish when the last thing I ate was... well now that I thought about it, this was essentially the first meal of the day. I had been too concerned with everything else that happened that day to make a fuss about food.

Berry smirked, moving over to kneel in front of Button, placing her hand delicately and suggestively on his lap, where a still notable bulge resided. Button, once again, went maroon.

"Do you want something? I'm as good at sucking as I am at fucking." Berry purred, one of her hands petting the tent in Button's pants slowly. Button gulped, his eyes going wide, and I couldn't help but give a light smile. Not too long ago I had been given my first introduction to Berry's voracious sexual appetite, and really, he was reacting as well as I could hope for - especially considering how shy he seemed to be.

"C-can I... f-f-f-f-f-f-" Button slowly devolved into a whisper, unable to end his sentence.

"You want to fuck me, little colt?" Berry said, snaking her way to her feet, her breasts rubbing against his legs. Button nodded slowly, shaking from head to toe. I wondered idly if I was ever that awkward about this. Maybe I was, but I had been through enough - between accidentally enslaving these two and getting fucked in public by Silver - that I could hardly see myself being like Button. "You want to fuck me in the pussy?" She said, running her hands sensually over herself, framing her boobs in a most splendid way. Button nodded furiously. "Then let's get you ready." Berry teased, slowly moving her hands, unzipping with one and unbuckling with the other.

In a matter of moments, Berry had her prize, and I had to say that Button was no slouch in the southern department. I couldn't say if he was larger or not - mostly for fear of my pride - but I could tell he was on par with me at least. Berry was, by her reaction, quite pleased. Lowering herself onto Button's ram rod, she gave one of her most sultry moans.

Resting against his lap for a moment, Berry indulged in the sensation of having him inside of her. This, apparently, gave Raven some ideas as she twirled around on my lap, looking me in the eyes with a look that would've gotten most seductresses to clap. I set the napkin of snacks aside and licked my fingers, ready to indulged in the main course. Raven slid off of me for a second, working my pants off with what felt like practiced skill - and it might've been, I didn't have too many interactions with her before that night at the hotel. My dick free, I consoled myself that it was indeed a good size for a dick, even as I saw less of it as Raven lowered herself onto me. With a fleshy smack, Berry landed after bouncing up on her stallion friend.

Soon the sound of bodies slapping against each other in acts of lust filled the house. Raven felt amazing on me, as much as I supposed Berry felt on Button. The two of us stallions were having the day of our lives, especially as we got a show when Periwinkle decided to set the snacks and drinks aside from the table. Laying down on the small thing, Periwinkle began to finger herself while playing with her breasts. I wished we had another stallion - or any pony really - about to give her attention, but that wasn't the case.

Suddenly Rainbow burst through the door. "Heya, folks, I got some ne-" She drew up short, noticing all the fucking that was going on. Raven froze for a second, her arms around me as she was in the middle of lifting herself up, while Periwinkle stopped playing with herself. Berry kept on pumping away, even as Button's expression paled, obviously not caring about the audience. Raven broke the awkward pause with an awkward slide down my dick, acting as if hiding it inside of herself would make it so Rainbow would have no idea what was happening. "I didn't get my invite, can I still join in?" Rainbow asked innocently. I chuckled, motioning to Periwinkle, who beamed at the opportunity to have some loving. Moving over to Peri, Rainbow threw off her clothes with a smug grin on her face.

"I see we got some snacks." Rainbow purred, rubbing her hands together as she circle Peri, getting into a proper orientation with the mare who was still splayed out on the small table. "Don't mind if I do!" Rainbow shot forward, shoving her head between Peri's thighs, causing the mare to gasp out in shock at the skill she felt in her nethers. After the initial shock passed, Peri raised her head to attack Rainbow in much the same way; and with that, Raven went back to bouncing on my dick while planting a passionate kiss that left me a tad woozy.

As the three pairs of ponies continued to fuck in there own way, the house grew into a louder and louder din of sexual pleasure. The six ponies gathered all let out their moans of pleasure, forming together a sort of perverse choir. It was ecstasy.

"Hey, everypony, we're back and- OH MY GOSH!" Pinkie entered the home with Fluttershy right behind through the door Rainbow had left open. "Are we having another super sexy fun party!?" I raised an eyebrow at her, once again wandering what sort of sorcery she was capable of, being cognizant of my use of the artifact in the first place, and now aware that it had happened in the first place despite what I had recorded. "I mean... are we having a sexy party for totally the first time in here?! Fluttershy, you wanna-" But the yellow mare was already upstairs, her face a bright red. The sound of a door slamming telling us all we needed to know.

"Huh... guess not." Pinkie noted before she shrugged, closing the door with a light kick. As soon as the door shut, within the blink of an eye, her clothes were gone and Pinkie was thumping her ass against a wall of the house were a toy was suction-cupped on where it hadn't been previously. "Ooooh yeah~! That's the stuff!" She cooed as she fucked herself on the wall, her tits swaying lewdly with each pounding.

"P-Pinkie!? You t-too!?" Button gasped from his place under Berry. Pinkie looked over to him and waved enthusiastically as she continued to pile drive the pseudo-dick into her pussy.

"Hey, Button Mash! Enjoying yourself? Isn't this just great?!" Pinkie asked, her tone completely unaffected by the self inflicted fucking she received. Button just blinked in disbelief at the whole scenario. I could sympathize with him, this truly was a confusing assortment of circumstances, but not an assortment I disapproved of. The room shortly reached their collective climax, shouts of orgasm filling the house for minutes on end as we rode the tidal wave of our pleasure.

"We should do that more often!" Pinkie cried. I actually tended to agree with her, that was immensely enjoyable, even if I felt oddly drained.

Side B - Chapter 17: Negotiations

Železna Raka wiped an arm across his forehead as he stood in the arcane forge's blistering heat. Grabbing the hammer once more, he slammed it into the piece of still glowing metal that rested on his anvil. Each blow echoed through the chamber, ringing in his ears like a bell, while the Ednorog Tirek continued to pump is arcane powers into Železna's project with startling effect. Satisfied with the shape, the king grabbed his runic tools and set to work, tapping them forcefully into the surface, imprinting the lines of power in the form of his language into the steel.

The last letter branded upon the metallic surface, Železna brought out a steel stylus tipped with a gem. This was the worst part. His hand a hair's breadth away from the scorching metal, he etched out the ley lines, he knew by heart. His hand hurt, but he couldn't stop, he needed to drawn all the lines onto the surface now, or this piece of metal would be doomed to remain so.

His magnum opus thus far, the binding of the Royal Record to him, was far easier compared to this. Parchment only had to be soaked in liquid mana to allow the user to alter its arcane properties. Sure, liquid mana would do a number on any living creature if they were exposed for too long, but altering a few lines of script didn't take too long on parchment. But metal? Metal had to be quenched from burning heat with liquid mana in order to gain the effect a user wanted. Once quenched, he'd have to heat it in the heart of a dying star to alter it once more, and so he had to take advantage of this Tirek's ability to aid him by pumping his own arcane power to ensure the steel did not lose its heat, while it was also imbued with certain underlying properties before it was even quenched.

This would be the start of something new. This would be the beginning to his ascension. He'd go beyond an Ednorog; he'd even ascend past godhood. He'd become. There was no truer way to describe it. And that was why, even as the hairs on his hand withered away in the heat, even as his flesh began to burn, he continued to work his own magic. He would have what he wanted. He wouldn't stop here either; after all, this was only the first step on a journey of a thousand paces.

"And that's what we've been up against recently." I finished explaining. Button sat there, looking at the floor, contemplating everything I had just told him. Either that or looking at a glob of splooge that had been missed during clean up, I couldn't really tell.

"That's... that's a lot to take in." Button said finally. My stupid brain still suggested he might be looking at some spunk on the floor. "And you think they'll come back?"

"I know they will." I replied morosely. "I was promised a visit by a 'Collector'. It may be figurative, but I have a feeling they might just have ponies - or otherwise - set up as collection units who get artifacts back. I technically do have two now, so that likely sets me a few notches up on their priority list." I said, holding up the notepad that I got from Silver and the recorder. "They also lost one of their ponies. That may or may not be a blow on them that they can't take, or it might be a minor inconvenience. Either way, it is a problem for us."

"And since I have one that paints a nice big target on me." Button muttered. "I've been lucky to have not agroed them yet, though I have mostly been hiding away as best as possible. Not as well as needed apparently, but well enough that you are the first who approached me."

"Well, it's better that I found you, if how Silver and Gunther treated me and these ponies serves as any indication." I said, looking over the mares, some of whom still had minor bruises or hickies from their treatment. Besides the twisted form Starlight now had, Applejack would've been the worst among them, I knew, but she was with her family, so she wasn't a ready example at the moment.

"tHeSe pONieS aNd I." Rainbow said in a mocking imitation of Twilight. I looked at her with a cocked eyebrow. "Sorry, with her not here, somepony has to pick up the slack in correcting everypony's grammar." I nodded slowly, not really seeing why Rainbow thought it would have to be her to do it, but not pressing the issue either.

"So what do you want from me?" Button asked. "You wouldn't have brought me here and treated me so... kindly without a reason."

"Well, I wanted to make sure you knew I'm not the enemy. I'm in much the same boat as you at this point." I began.

"Jury's still out on that one." Button interjected. "No offense, but really, with all the power you clearly have from these artifacts, your word is only so good, as is the word of these other ponies. For all I know you've got them on puppet strings and are manipulating them to do what you want... besides the sex part."

"Including the sex part." Berry provided, unhelpfully. "Parts, really."

"Not what I meant, but either way, my point is that I have no reason to completely trust you. That isn't to say I think you're evil. You don't feel evil, but then again, I'm not sure if I know evil if it kissed me on the mouth."

"How about if it fucked you?" Berry asked teasingly. I wanted to kick her for that, but seeing as she was across the room, and I wasn't as sure in my aim with my shoe as some mothers.

"N-not that either." Button admitted, the mare's frustrating sexiness getting him in a tizzy. "What I'm trying to say is," He forced through, cutting past all of Berry's antics for the moment, "is that I'll trust you for now, but I'm still on the fence as to whether or not you're good. I've played too many video games to accept allegiances on face value. For all I know, the Empire is something you made up and these ponies after you are just a special police unit."

"A special police unit that controls ponies and has brainwashed Starlight Glimmer into a sex crazed maniac that we are currently unsure how to cure." I said, pointing out a minor flaw in his argument, even as I agreed with it. He was right, this all might be a ploy to get him on my side so that we could do our own nefarious thing together, whether he'd be a partner or a subordinate having yet to have been seen.

"Oh, right, haven't told you guys yet." Rainbow butted in. "Yeah, so Twilight did some prelimanema- prelimana- she did the first search for stuff that might help Starlight. She did a scan for magical effects and says that she only found the magical signature you leave on things." She said, pointing at me as she went on. "Any how, she says that it might be that they didn't use their artifacts at all to control her. She's real scared they might've done some sort of thing with her head. Either that or their magical signature is really well hidden in this mess or your magic completely wiped out any trace of it - though Twilight said that isn't too likely since she still acts the way she did since coming back after being abducted."

"I was kind of scared of that - the use of methods that aren't his artifact." I muttered. "Gunther's power... it doesn't seem very viable for actively controlling ponies, and yet he does. Plus, he brought that brief case that you all said had some syringes in it that he wanted to stick you with." I sighed as I mulled it over. "She might be under the influence of some drug or another, or, worse yet, have been subjected to some sort of treatment to alter her personality."

"He must be a fast operator if he did it without using an artifact that takes away a pony's will. He had from evening to afternoon, which really doesn't leave much time to get it done." Periwinkle noted. "We'll have to keep our guards up unless he takes more ponies. At that rate of operations he could have all of Ponyville in a few weeks, a month tops."

"Fortunately he is kind of out of operations in some regards." I pointed out. "He'll need to recover before he can move to taking anypony."

"He was able to get out of sight before we could notice, if you recall." Berry said, surprising me with her serious tone that lacked any sort of sexual note to it. "I don't think we can count him out quite yet."

"Well, you ponies can keep talking, I need to head back to Twlight's. I've been gone long enough as it is." Rainbow stated. "Thanks for the fun, Peri, you're great!" With that she shot forward, planted a kiss on the mare before darting out the door in a blue blur.

"Between her and Berry," Raven whispered in my ear, "I'm not sure who is more of the disaster lesbian in this group."

"I mean..." I paused, thinking it over, "I think they're both bi, not sure if 'disaster lesbian' is a title anypony we have here can take on. As far as I can tell, the two of them would fuck anything with anything resembling sexual equipment."

"Suppose you're right." Raven shrugged, nestling into my shoulder.

"So what are we going to do?" Button asked, clearing the atmosphere of any awkwardness that lingered. "As I said, I'm not so sure if or not you are evil, but for now, I'm going to have to work with you, mostly 'cuz I'm gonna need to level up a tad before I can take you on." I chuckled.

"Boy, I think you're over estimating my capabilities a tad." Even though I said that, I couldn't also help thinking he might be right. I possessed what might be the single most powerful artifact in all of Equestria - barring the Elements of Harmony which hadn't been seen in years - its limits so ill defined in my mind that it was likely that if I was devoid of my moral compunctions that I might have simply ended all opposition before it even rose up. I could have any mare I wanted - I could have every mare. There wouldn't be a thing I couldn't do. But that was a dangerous thought.

"As for what we're gonna do," I began, putting my thoughts in order, "We're going to have to find where Gunther is - Rarity might be able to help with that when she swings by tomorrow with her news from the guard post - and whether or not he's gotten reinforcements." Button nodded.

"Anything in particular you'd like me to try?" He asked, pulling out an old Joy Boy.

"I don't have any particular thoughts right now, but I might think of something later. For now, you should head home and get some rest. We might see each other again tomorrow. Would you like an escort?"

"I mean... kind of?" Button admitted. "With all this talk of ponies out there willing to do me wrong, I think it would be smart to have somepony to take me home."

"Good, I would've sent a pony to tail you either way, so it's nice you agreed." I said with a chuckle. "Like you said, we are at risk, even if one of us doesn't like the idea of having others around us, we're going to have to get used to it. Berry, Spry, could you accompany him?"

"Why both of them? One should be enough." Button asked, already looking a tad flush.

"They are also at risk. That, and they'll have to walk back home. Whoever takes you will need their own escort to ensure their safety. Plus, safety in numbers." I said. "Fair warning though, the recording has them slated to become ponies in the eyes of others by sundown, which gives you about an hour before ponies are going to wonder why two ponies are crawling around naked."

"You could give them some clothes?" Button asked.

"I never liked ponies who put clothes on doggies." Berry said, lowering herself to all fours. "Come on, give us a walk."

Button waved at the two ponies as they left him at the doorstep. The two ponies nodded in acknowledgement, and then began the crawl home with enough time to spare so that they wouldn't be caught outside naked. He wasn't sure how he felt about this whole situation. In honesty, he was still processing it all. A new world had opened up to him, and he wasn't sure he liked it.

Opening the door, he found the lights off. Looking over at the clock, he wondered if his mom had gone to bed early, she did have work in the morning. Flicking on the switch for the living room lights, he paused, noting that the lights didn't come on.

"Odd, power must be off..." He muttered to himself. "Mom! I'm home!" He called out, turning from the light switch. Suddenly a hand slapped across his face and sent him to the floor, making him bang his head against the door. Blinking and shaking his head, he looked up and saw a pony in doctor's attire standing in the vague trickle of light that filtered in through the drawn curtains. Button tried to scream, but found his mouth wouldn't open!

Panicking, he raised a hand to his face, but found no mouth. The doctor smiled underneath his surgical mask, slowly turning his one uncovered hand towards Button. On his palm was a set of lips, which slowly curled into a smile - a smile that Button felt was horrifyingly familiar.

Side B - Chapter 18: The Morning After

He was nearing the end of his task, and the final piece shortly would be finished. With all these pieces, he finally have the power he needed. The failings of his first artifact would no longer hold him back as the multiplicity of artifacts he had created glistened in an ethereal glow as they soaked in liquid mana. Each piece held a different power, each supplementing the power set of another. True, there were some redundancies in his artifacts, he had even made a lesser copy of his record, placing it upon a clay tablet, but it was all necessary.

Železna Raka smiled, the work of months finally coming together before him. The High Priest Tirek approached him, standing by his side to look down on the artifacts with the same paternal look of affection that Železna couldn't hide. These were their creations, imbued with Tirek's magics and Železna's skill. Each of the pieces crafted into perfect renditions of themselves - lines of arcane energy pulsing across their surface while faint letters pronouncing their purpose and granting them all the more focus to their power glowed in the inner chamber's dull light.

"How much more is needful?" Tirek asked him, looking over their work. Železna sighed, taking a step away from his creations.

"They require time. Soaking in the liquid mana while the proper incantations are spoken over them on occasion is paramount for their true potential to be unveiled to us." The young king said, taking a seat on a small cushion, folding his legs beneath him.

"I see." Tirek murmured, still looking over the variety of items in the dull blue glow of the liquid mana. "Is there more for me to do during this time? I almost feel my contributions are inadequate compared to your great skill and artistry."

"Unless you happen to know a great sorcerer who might cast the ancient magics upon them, I highly doubt it. Time is what we need, the ancient magics can be done without." Železna replied, ready to close his eyes to drift off into another dreamless sleep.

"Well, my liege," Tirek smiled in his ingratiating way, "It so happens I do know a weaver of ancient sorceries who is close at hand."

"It's kinda what I had figured in the first place." Applejack explained. "When we got there and asked if we could look up two names in the directory, they obliged us up and 'til we told 'em what names we wanted to look into. Once we told 'em, they shut us down and told us to stop bothering them."

"That's rather odd. I assume you did some sleuthing towards why they were acting like that?" I asked. I already had a sneaking suspicion about this situation. With ponies who could use artifacts of such power at will, there was little chance a record with the guards wouldn't last incredibly long, despite any crime they might've been caught doing.

"Sure did, and ya'll ain't gonna like this. Asking about if there was some reason why those two names in particular weren't allowed - even goin' so far as reasonin' with 'em that there were hundreds if not thousands of ponies and griffons with those names - they told us that since yesterday they've been flooded with reports about those two, as well as several hundred other ponies all across Equestria. They were so dismissive because it was already developing into an international case and more than a bushel of newsponies had been flocking to get details." That... wasn't what I had expected.

"I mean... that's a good thing all things considered." I pointed out. "It means we might not even have to do anything against them. We might just be able to let the guard take their course and lock them all behind bars."

"Well, you see, that's what I thought." Applejack sighed. "Then I found out why that made me a fool." This wasn't going anywhere good, was it? "We was about to leave when a guard pony came in and told the guards that all charges against the ponies involved in the case were being dropped. When a newspony asked, she told 'em that several 'key witnesses' had stepped forward under questionin' and basically told 'em that it was all just a big hoax. 'Cuz of that, the whole thing is gettin' dropped." I hissed as I turned, feeling the urge to hit something, but not having anything present to sate that desire.

"I should've known it was too easy."

"Yeah, that's why Rarity is goin' back in a bit. She wanted to do some investigations of her own using her 'grace and charm'. I tried an-"

"You mean she's going back alone!?" I blurted out. Applejack looked concerned, but above all else, quite confused.

"Uh, yeah, she's probably headin' over now. Why?"

"AJ, if they were able to so easily dispose of the charges against them, I have no doubt... ok, a little doubt, that they have somepony on the inside of the guard. Knowing, or at least assuming that, we are sending Rarity in alone to a situation where she might very well be taken control of!" Applejack's eyes widened.

"But... then that means..." Horror dawned on her as she realized her friend was likely walking into what amounted to a trap. "We got to go help her." She said, determination dripping from her voice.

"As much as I agree, we can't go right this second. We have to wait for Twilight, Rainbow, and Starlight." I said plainly. I could tell she wanted to punch me for that, but I pressed on. "If we leave now, and provide them with no warning, we're putting them in danger. We need to hold back until they arrive, and then we can go out and help her."

"She might not be at the guard station yet! We can still get to her before she gets in danger! Ain't we got enough ponies that I can just get up and go out there and get her!?" She protested.

"Fine." I acquiesced. "Berry, join AJ and Pinkie. The three of you get back here by noon, you understand? If Rarity reaches the guard post, try and remove her quickly and as inconspicuously as possible, but don't go digging too deep. If you can't find her, come back here and we'll sort out a plan of action when Twilight gets back." Berry nodded, standing up to join the party.

"I ain't a filly." AJ hissed, looking at me. "I don't need an escort."

"Applejack, you could be the most seasoned member of the guard and I'd send Berry with you. No pony, and I repeat, no pony is leaving this house alone. Now the three of you need to hurry." I pressed. Applejack looked like she wanted to say something, but kept it to herself as she turned and headed up the party.

"Do you really think they're in danger?" Fluttershy asked from the table, her untouched stack of pancakes in front of her. I sighed.

"I do..." I said, not at all comforting her. I couldn't comfort myself in this situation, and I wasn't entirely certain if I could comfort somepony else. "I want to help them and keep them safe," I began, "but at this point we need to gather everypony together, otherwise we're in more danger. I can't have us going in blind! If we do, we lose ponies. And then we'll-"

"We'll have a troop of Starlights..." Raven muttered solemnly. "If not something worse." I winced at that. It was true, we had no idea whether or not Starlight had received the worst or the lightest possible treatment. It might yet be reversible, but somepony might fall into a scenario where they get it much worse.

A knocking came to the door, and I felt relief wash over me. Even as I approached the door, I felt it was Twilight. With her here we'd be able to set off after the others. If we were lucky, the two groups might've met up as Twilight came in and save us the trouble so that we could set out in one cluster. Opening the door, I wasn't prepared for what I saw.

"Hey~!" A particularly well endowed, and scantily clad, young stallion said.

"Button?" I looked around behind him for any other pony in sight.

"Heh heh... you said 'butt'." Button said dreamily before a sudden sharpness returned to his gaze. "Hey, you wanna have me suck your dick? Maybe you could suck mine too!" He offered, and I couldn't help but feel something was terribly wrong.

"Button, what happened?" I said, pulling him inside quickly, closing the door behind him to make sure there were no more intrusions.

"Hm? Whadya mean?" He asked, his hand grabbing at my crotch. "I juz' wanna have some fun is all." I jerked away from his grasp despite the boner that was developing of its own volition. Looking him over, he seemed... roughly put together. That wasn't to say he was roughly in a state of readiness for the outside world, but that the put together he was was a very rough style. The kid was wearing eyeliner and some gosh darn blush, and I couldn't be sure if he was wearing lip gloss, balm, or a particular well suited lipstick.

"Button!" I said, shaking him, trying to bring him back to his senses. "What happened?" I said, saying each word forcefully, vainly hoping he'd be able to take the hint.

"Woah, could you do the shaky thing again? It was pretty fun." He giggled. Hissing to myself I let him go, walking in further, grabbing at my hair. This was bad, this was very bad. "Hey, you feelin' alright? I can still suck your dick if it'll make you feel better. I'd do it anyway, but it looks like I can help you while helping me, so~." I clenched my fist. Despite myself, my boner was raging already. I would need some relief, but couldn't let it be Button - not like this. The other ponies, who had been talking, were starting to take notice, and were moving to see what the commotion was about.

"What's going o- Button, is that you?" Periwinkle stopped short, looking at the nearly unrecognizable stallion.

"Hey~, wanna go for a ride?" He said, pointing to his crotch. "Or do you want me to eat you out? Maybe suck your boobies a bit?"

"What happened to him?" Raven asked, coming up beside me. I shook my head. This was certainly not good.

Author's Note

And that's a whole month of daily updates down!

Side B - Chapter 19: A Wrench

"FUCK ME!" I roared, slamming my fist into the wall, no longer caring.

"Cress!" Raven ran over to me, not daring to put her hands on me as I raged. "Cress, what's wrong?"

"I am! That's what's wrong!" I shouted, pulling my now bloodied fist away from the small crater I had put into Berry's wall. "Fuck me! I thought I was being so smart! I thought I was doing things carefully and lo and behold, I FUCK it up royally!"

"What are you talking about?" Raven said, finally bringing herself to grab me. "Cress, you need to communicate. What are you talking about? What's gone wrong?"

"Last night," I said, "I was teasing the ever loving daylights out of Button. I thought I'd get in one last ribbing by having him walk Berry and Spry, having them serve as his escort. It was good for a laugh." I said, snorting at my own ineptitude as the magnitude of my mistake weighed down on me. "The major reason I walked those two around yesterday like that was because I wanted to see if I could draw out any artifact users. It worked, I guess, but when I sent him walking home with them, it would've only have been as obvious as possible that he and I are connected!

"FUCK!" I tore from Raven's grasp and continued to stamp about, my impotent rage boiling inside of me. "I thought I was being careful. I thought 'oh, everypony needs an escort' and then I saddled him with the single WORST choice of escort! Just for a joke! I am an IDIOT!"

"Cress, you need to calm down." Raven said, her tone steady.

"And now we got both Starlight and Button down for the count!" I went on, ignoring her as I paced about, furious at no pony but myself.

"Cress, snap out of it!" Raven shouted as she slapped me. I rubbed my cheek as I looked at her, mildly confused. "No pony is going to be doing better if you are screaming and berating yourself! You need to pull yourself together and-"

"And what, exactly?" An unfamiliar voice asked. Suddenly we each fell, a wave of pleasure hitting each of us. Looking up I saw three figures entering the house. FUCK! I should've known they were right behind him! I looked over and saw that the recorder was still on the dining room table, and even though that was a short few steps away, the distance was immeasurably large as yet another orgasm wracked all of our frames.

Looking to the three, I saw Gunther, fiddling with the broach that now hung like a good luck charm on a necklace. Twilight was right, but I had little ability to do anything about it now.

"Which one is the trouble maker?" An imposing military mare asked, looking over all of the ponies in their puddles of cum. Gunther pointed at me with a snide smirk.

"That one." He said. I frantically looked around for something, anything, that might help me in this situation. And then I saw it. I shot forward with what little control I had left in me, and grabbed on to Button's Joy Boy. Before Gunther could react, I did what I did best with video games - button mashing.

Rainbow sighed, slamming the enormous volume in front of her closed. She had been sitting here reading like this since way too early in the morning, and had little to show for it. It didn't help she couldn't really absorb the information that was presented. She had tried to fly around the room with the gigantic book, and though it would certainly do for her daily weighted flight training, the book was heavier than she could handle for too incredibly long. Not to mention its particular shape and size made it an odd object to hold and fly with.

Standing up, she paced about the room, thinking as hard as she could on what she had just read, of which more and more was already slipping out. This was immensely frustrating. It didn't help that the book was more clinical descriptions than practical applications. Rainbow simply lacked the background in fancy doctor lingo to be able to help with this entire situation. She looked over her notes, and was only more frustrated, realizing that, beyond an admittedly nice sketch of a new flight routine, there was nothing of use on the paper.

In a huff, she stormed across the castle's library towards the side room where Twilight was testing various spells and physical and psychological methods to get through to Starlight. "Hey, Twilight, I can't fi-"

"Oh Celestia, yes!" Twilight screamed. Looking up, she saw Twilight in the throes of passion with a disheveled looking Starlight between her legs. They hadn't noticed her, somehow, and the sight and realization that it was a sight she wasn't supposed to see made it HOT. Rainbow wanted to join in, but knew she hadn't been invited. She was able to piece together there was a silencing spell cast on the room that was intent on keeping her unaware, made evident with how loud Twilight was yelling. Stepping out of the room, she closed the doors with a soft click and went back to the front door. She'd fly over to Berry's place and deliver the news that absolutely nothing of progress had been made. She may or may not let slip that Twilight and Starlight were having a go at it in a side room, but that would only be out of her duty to report all the facts. Totally not because it was hot and embarrassing.

A knock came at the door, and made Rainbow pause for a second. Who could be knocking at a time like this? Derpy was never this early with mail, so it had to be a social and work related call. For Twilight's sake, Rainbow hoped it wasn't business. It would be quite the awkward business if it was that. Reaching the door, she pulled it open a crack.

"Hello?" Rainbow called out, looking around, seeing a pony she knew. "Oh hey, Applebloom, how are you?" She said opening the door more, only to find a group of ponies behind her, including Rarity, Sweetie Belle, Berry Punch, Pinkie Pie, and a very cross looking Applejack. "Hey guys... what's up?" She could already feel the tension in the air.

"Inside. Now." Applebloom said without her usual country twang and with an above normal amount of forcefulness that had Rainbow immediately stepping to the side for the ponies in a daze, her brain still trying to play catch up.

"So... what's-"

"Cress done pulled a case of the bodysnatchers on my sister!" Applejack shouted, clearly having been steeping in her anger for a while, as soon as Rainbow had closed the door behind them. Rainbow blinked a few times, looking at Applebloom.

"What?" Rainbow was, needless to say, quite confused by all of this. Applebloom still looked like Applebloom, had he pulled the same stunt he had with Berry on this filly.

"It was a spur of the moment action. I didn't have much of a choice as far as the results." Applebloom said in a way that just confirmed that it was Cress.

I sighed, kicking the ground as I continued to absolutely loath myself for what I had done. In a moment of panic, I had had to use Button's artifact to 'bamf' at least a part of me out of the situation. It ended up that Applejack's group had found Rarity and Sweetie Belle, who had found Applebloom. Rarity had wanted to keep AJ's little sister safe, as much as she had wanted to keep her own safe. Walking up to the house, suddenly Applebloom stumbled and I was then... well - for a lack of a better, less sexual, term - inside of her.

"I fucked it up, gu-" I began, only to be slapped up the back side of my head. I looked to AJ crossly.

"You might not be my sister, but I sure as heck ain't gonna let you mouth off like that in her body." She said sternly. "And don't you think of using her to get off! You are a visitor and you will treat her with respect! You got that, bub?" I nodded. She was right, I did have to be careful in this body, more so than in Berry's. When I was in Berry's form, I was still me, but now I was straight up in a different body.

"Of course, sorry." I said rubbing the back of my head, my momentary anger settling down. "What I meant to say was that I had messed up." I looked to the ponies about me. "Button is in a bad state, and it is more than likely that Raven, Periwinkle, Fluttershy, and my body are now in the same basket."

"What kind of trouble?" Rainbow asked wearily.

"Well... they turned Button into a sex crazed, effeminate, himbo. He wasn't sexually violent like Starlight, at least, but he certainly had... something done to him."

"That's... that's not good. That's definitely not good." Rainbow confirmed. "Oh wow, hey, we're gonna have to tell Twilight. I guess they ain't with you then?" Rainbow asked, peering over us as if we were standing in front of the ponies in question.

"No, we had to run from Berry's place. Ends up Gunther is back in action and with a vengeance. He knocked us all down before we could act. I was only barely able to use Button's artifact to get out in this way." I said motioning to the Applebloom that I was.

"Button's an artifact user?" More than one pony questioned. It struck me at that point that that had been one of the points of information I hadn't told anypony besides my mares.

"Yes, and his power let's him do... well, what I've ended up doing to Applebloom." I explained lamely. "But now's not the time to be explaining his power, we need to get together with Twilight to plan our next moves. Carefully this time. My recklessness has cost us, and we can't let it establish a pattern." I said, looking to Rainbow.

"Right... I'll go see if I can pry Twilight from her... work." Rainbow replied awkwardly as she quickly scampered away.

"Totally boning." Berry whispered in my ear.

Side B - Chapter 20: In the Machine

"I can't believe you!" Twilight shouted, her furious tone ruined slightly by her particular look of dishevelment. It appeared Berry was right about one thing, even if I knew now wasn't the time to tease her about it. "You are so reckless! Why would you do something so stupid!?"

"You don't have to tell me how stupid I am, I've already have been doing that." I said meekly. "That's why I'm making sure we can take this chance to make a plan that I can't mess up." Twilight huffed, stomping about as she fought to get herself under control. "I messed up, royally, and now we all have to face the consequences of that. It isn't fair, but right now, we need to focus on what's in front of us and formulate something of a plan instead of pointing at who is to blame for the situation we are in. We'll have plenty of time for that once we beat these guys."

"You're right." Twilight said finally, taking a deep breath. "Right, a plan... I can do this..." She moved over to a table, looking over a variety of books, using her magic to float more over. "Unfortunately, we won't know what power set the two new figures have. It's possible Button is the result of one of them, or it could just be a variation of Starlight's treatment. Either way, we have two unknown variables. As far as Gunther goes, we have a general idea, and the idea it brings up is that we're gonna have to be sneaky about this. There's a chance that if we jump him we might be able to render him powerless in short order."

"So what are we thinking?" I asked, approaching the table.

"No." Twilight said, lifting the books away from me. "I may have thought you sensible in planning yesterday - I even thought you were a tad mature for your age - but that was yesterday. I understand now that you are just extremely good at hiding how childish you really are. I'll make this plan and consult some ponies who aren't blinded by their libido and then inform you of it once it's complete."

"Twilight, I've made a singular mistake, le-" I began.

"The one mistake you made was enough to lose not only your original body, but also Fluttershy, Button, Periwinkle, and Raven!" Twilight shouted in my face, making me take a step back. "If you had run as soon as Button showed up, or if you had sent literally any other pony with Button last night, the larger portion of this majestic fustercluck would've been avoided! So yes, you made one mistake, but it cost us greatly; so up and until you can prove you aren't a fuck up by nature, I won't be letting you near the planning phase!" Despite the part of me that wanted to argue, I had to admit she was right, my lapse in judgement had cost us. Honestly, I was just trying to partake in the planning phase because of a habit I had begun to form over the last few days. I didn't want to do any planning, but I had felt it my duty.

"Fine... I'll just leave you to it..." I said, relenting as I walked away. I needed time to think anyway. Some of the other ponies also joined me, leaving only Rarity, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie with Twilight, while Rainbow was leading us to our rooms, intent on going back to her friends. What remained of the Elements were going to plan this. We were in good hands.

Plopping down on the surprisingly plush bed in the guest room I had been assigned along with Sweetie, Applejack and Rarity, I gave a great big sigh. This wasn't right. The fact that so many ponies had been lost in one move just proved how little I understood about tactics - not to mention self control. If I had had any sense at the time, I would've grabbed Button and called for the other ponies to follow as we bolted out the back door. But then Berry, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Applebloom, and Sweetie Belle would've been caught. We would've lost half of the Elements of Harmony rather than a sixth. Then again, it was only dumb luck I had managed to get out the way I had. We should've lost four Elements, and it was only blind chance that had allowed us to avoid that eventuality.

"Are you alright, App-... Crescendo?" Sweetie Belle asked. I looked over to her and just shook my head.

"No... I'm in deep - way too deep. I've tried my best, but I just threw out what progress I have with one action." I sank back into the bed. "Not to mention I lost not only my body, but two of the mares I love." I admit, I didn't notice it at the time, but I suppose in retrospect, besides Raven, it had never really occurred to me that I had truly begun to love Berry and Periwinkle. Before it had just been a sense of responsibility towards them for having stripped them of their will. But now? I suppose it was actually the beginnings of love.

"That must be hard... I-" Sweetie Belle stammered, and I looked up at her with a cocked eyebrow. "D-do you want me to... help you?" She asked. I was well and totally confused.

"Help me how?" I said dumbly. Sweetie Belle then moved her hands to her button down shirt's collar and began to work down the row. Oh. OH! "Applejack will kill me, we can't do s-stuff like that in h-here!"

"Shhh!" Sweetie Belle darted forward, placing a hand on my mouth as she looked over her shoulder to the hallway. After a moment she looked back to me and continued in a whisper. "It's alright, Applebloom and I have been... acting frisky for about a year now."

"You do recall I'm not her? This is her body, but inside it's a colt named Crescendo." I didn't really want to do this... okay, that was a lie. I did REALLY wanted to do this. Ever since Button came to the house I had had to push the image of him out of my head. I was beginning to think I might be bi with how frequent he popped up in a way that would've given me a boner, but instead got me a tad wet. Now I was being pinned by a cute little thing that wanted to give me... something. I wanted it desperately, but even so, I couldn't go through with it. "You aren't being frisky with Applebloom, you're being frisky with another pony in her body!" I said in a harsh whisper that was a tad more breathy than I had intended.

"I know," Sweetie said, biting her lower lip as her hands stroked my sides, sending electric shocks of pleasure through my system, "and it's really turning me on." My eyes grew wide as blood rushed to my face. She wanted this, and I wanted this. Why couldn't I just accept it? She was so small, so tender, she almost reminded me of Raven. Before anymore thoughts could come across my mind, they were all silenced as Sweetie pushed forward, pinning me against the headboard with a kiss that melted my doubts away.

Pinned there, my right arm held to the wood by this filly's strength, while her tongue prodded at my lips, slowly working past my last struggle, I couldn't help but feel how much better she made this feel. It wasn't like how I had felt as a stallion - that was just a different type of good - and it was miles better feeling than Silver's rough loving in public. This filly was loving me with an equal measure of a tender and forceful treatment, and I loved it, my hips bucking involuntarily.

One of Sweetie's hands moved lower, grabbing the hem of my t-shirt, pulling it upwards while her other hand let go of my wrist to push the back of my head further into the kiss, her tongue finally meeting mine in an explosion of pleasure as we continued to kiss. Her hand finally pulled my shirt up above Applebloom's medium sized breasts, and before I could even react, she traced her hand across my side - sending bolts of electric ecstasy through me - and unclasped the bra that held my tits back.

The bra fell off, exposing the supple flesh of Applebloom's bosom - my bosom - to the world. Sweetie broke off from the kiss, leaving me wanting more as I leaned slightly forward to get back to her pillowy lips. With a gentle, yet insisting, touch, she pushed me back before she grabbed the shirt and pulled it up and over my head, meeting little objection from me. As she tossed the shirt to the side, I darted forward and hugged her, her position making my head nestle between her smaller breasts. Using a skill I hadn't known I had, I undid her buttons with my teeth and tongue, flicking each open - taking the opportunity to do some motorboat action with her tits as I went. Eventually her shirt was unbuttoned to the midriff, and her unrestrained breasts were on display.

Using Applebloom's strength, which was markedly larger than mine to my embarrassment, I pushed Sweetie off me and to the bed, setting her down with a dull thump. I leaned forward, and took a teat in my mouth, pinching the other in my hand as I went at it. Suckling, nestling, and simply enjoying her reactions as my pussy grew wetter by the second, I marveled at how good it all felt. So much better than a stallion's whose name I was forgetting - a stallion who had went up in flames.

Suddenly, I felt her hands plant themselves on my ass, kneading the two well toned cheeks in desperate need for a few seconds, before moving around the front to work the jean's mechanics. My free hand moved down and felt her pleated skirt, gripping the hem and yanking it down unceremoniously as I let up the treatment on her tits. She looked at me with need in her eyes as I scooted up and planted a kiss on her tender lips, drinking in her taste as our tongues swirled about. Parting once more, I kicked off my boots and shirked my jeans off only to realize that was all she was wearing down there.

"Glad to see you've been playing my game, Bloomie." Sweetie said, taking off her skirt the rest of the way to reveal delicate white panties. She adjusted her position, returning to the head board of the bed, where she leaned back and spread her legs wide, revealing the moist spot that was already growing between her legs. "Come on, you know what to do." She said in a husky whisper. I may not have been 'Bloomie', but I certainly did.

Going to my hands and knees, I crawled forward and slinked between her legs. Running my hands up and down her thighs, I moved closer, until finally, I was about to touch my nose to her crotch. Maneuvering my head, I gripped her panties in my teeth, pulling them away enough to gain access. I lowered my head and began to lap away, sending Sweetie into moans of pleasure as I worked. Glancing up from where I was, I saw her playing with her tits as I worked her, and found my own hands gravitating to my tits.

I hadn't played with Berry's tits when I was in her form, and now I was beginning to regret that decision. The sensation of just grabbing them was almost overwhelmingly pleasurable, and then working the areolas and nipples - it was simply divine as blast after blast of pleasure rolled over me in a never ending cascade as I pleasured the mare who's legs framed my head.

Suddenly I was pushed back, even as I thought she might get her release. Looking at Sweetie, I would see need in her eyes as she grabbed my head and brought me in for another kiss, her tongue tasting her own juices on my lips as I felt her other hand work her panties down and off her legs completely. She then pushed me gently down to sit across from her. Pushing my legs apart with her own, she scooted forward until our pussies were pressed together, sending yet another crackle of pleasure racing through my system.

I had never done anything like this before, and the sensations were overwhelming. The love behind each movement sending waves of pleasure far more earth-shatteringly wonderful to me than the entire experience with the now nameless stallion. We both moaned in pleasure as we worked against each other, bringing both of us greater and greater pleasure. Suddenly, it all came together as we... came together.

Stifling our howls as best we could, we fell to our backs, panting heavily as the waves of ecstasy from our shared orgasm washed over us. We lay there for a while, simply basking in the moment. The world seemed better today, even if only a small bit.

I walked down the hall, slightly freshened up after my experience with Sweetie, having been called to attend a meeting with the ponies in the planning room. Entering, I saw that everypony except Sweetie Belle was already down here, the little filly having not been called due to not really having part in the process we were about to go through.

"Alright, so we're all here." Twilight began, looking over everypony. "Let's discuss the plan as we have set it up thus far." She turned to the table, beckoning us over. A cursory glance over the disorganized array of pages and books betrayed exactly how much preparation the ponies here had gone to in their quest to make this plan a sure fire win.

"First off, for the duration of this mission, we will have Starlight sequestered in the castle. We don't know what they can do to her, but it is best to not find out." I nodded at that, seeing the wisdom in the slightly cruel action. "Unfortunately, we can't really spare anypony to guard her while we're away, so we'll just have to make sure we move quickly so that nothing happens to her.

"Now, to begin," She spread out a map of Ponyville, setting some weights on the corners to keep it open, "we don't know precisely where they are, but they need to be somewhere near by. With powers like theirs, we can be sure that the location of their compound is somewhere that likely won't show up on a map." She then swatted a ruler down on a small cleared out area of the map. "Which is why this is likely where they are." I looked at her confusedly.

"How can you be sure it's there and not anywhere else?" I asked the question that was on everyponies mind. Twilight raised the ruler to her hand, flicking it down with a sharp crack on her palm like a teacher in a low quality porno.

"Because they forgot one thing when they had their little area expunged." She pointed at various locations, specifically pointing at elevation markings. "In empty areas around town the elevation is always marked down in case of further development needing to be done." Pointing back to her suspected place. "When they had all information of this little hide out of theirs expunged, they forgot to have the relevant elevation data reinserted. An easy mistake to make, really, a lot of places around Ponyville are fairly flat so a lot of places lack elevation markers." She pointed out examples of this, noting the wide swaths of land that were roughly the same elevation - perfect for development. "However, this area here," She smacked it again, obviously enjoying herself a tad while doing so, "I know to be a hill. It's a small one, increasing elevation by no more than twenty or thirty feet with a grade of no more than twenty percent at worst in places. That type of slope would need to be marked, but it isn't."

"So they did a slipshod job editing the facts..." I noted, mulling that piece of information over. These ponies, for as powerful as they were, were still prone to mistakes, and beyond that it seemed, hubris. Those were things we could take advantage of - it was what they had taken advantage of in me, after all.

"Next point of order is this." Twilight said, bringing out another small stack of papers. "Though we don't know these ponies powers, we can be sure that they had something. Gunther's is one that most of us have experience with, and we have a good idea what his artifact is: the pendant or broach he wears. If we can take that away from him, he'll be powerless from that angle. The others... well we'll just have to figure them out as best we can. I'd suggest keeping your distance and avoiding getting within their physical reach. I'll see if I can't freeze them in place with a spell or two.

"If I can halt them, the next phase is to completely disrobe them. It might seem excessive, but if we don't we give them an opportunity. Once they are disrobed of all their possessions, we'll give them clothing in the form of these coats Rarity made for this occasion." Twilight said, bringing up the two rough dresses. They reminded me of travelling cloaks I'd see in fantasy games, but they had arm holes instead of just being a cape. Functional, certainly, but less than fashionable.

"If we can't manage to freeze them, Rainbow, I want you to sock them up the jaw, assuming we have been able to take Gunther. If we can't take Gunther quickly, I'll teleport us out using this." She said, bringing up a small wooden peg on a string. "It's a spell talisman with a teleportation spell cast on it. If I snap it using my magic, it will unleash the spell and teleport us all to Canterlot. No matter how poorly this goes, that should be a safe location."

"Bringing up Canterlot," I butted in, "why don't we just call in Celestia?" I posited, looking at the ponies around me. "She can raise and lower the sun, why not just ask her to bring a tad of that power down on these fools and call it a day?"

"Simple." Twilight said as if she was explaining why two plus two equaled four for the fifth time to a little colt. "It's for roughly the same reason we can't throw the guard at them. We can't risk Celestia when we have so little information. We are going in to stop them with as little investment as possible. If we sent a battalion of guards in there, we'd be feeding them recruits in massive numbers. If we ask Celestia to go in, and she gets caught off her guard and fails, we suddenly lose a princess and have to work against her in the future. What we need to do is act quickly as a small group so that if we do end up losing we can still pull a win in the end."

"I guess that makes sense..." I muttered, not entirely convinced, but not willing to go any further with the discussion. We needed to work as a team for this to work, like a well oiled machine. If we didn't, we'd all fail.

"The next concern is regarding the fate of Cress' and Button's artifacts." Twilight said, still looking at me. "They might not know what the artifacts are, but any one of the ponies there could tell them if they so much as asked them. Assuming they haven't broken them yet, we might have an hour or two before they do. With that in mind, we need to make two teams.

"One team will be headed up by Rarity, while the other will be following me. I suggest Berry and Cress go with Rarity for the sake of teamwork - Rainbow should also be with them. Rarity's team objective is to go to Berry's house and see if they are still there while Applejack, Pinkie, and I move on their base.

"If you find they are still there, Rarity can sent me a text message. If not, make a move on the hill. Should they still be at the house, we'll loop around to approach them from another angle to ensure they won't escape." Twilight said, surprising me with the thought she had put into the plan. "Rarity, I showed you the spell to freeze them in place. Hopefully you'll be able to hold it long enough or them to be disrobed. Don't worry about having them frozen while putting new clothes on. For all I care you can just keep them naked. That is, again, if they are there." Looking over all of us, she sighed. "Be careful everypony. I don't want to lose any more of you."

Splice 7: Flesh of my Flesh

I opened my eyes, but only saw darkness. And then I felt immense pleasure, the pleasure that had woken me up. I could feel someone working at my dick with their mouth. Beyond that, there was something pumping in and out of my asshole. I tried to move, but found, after a moment of struggle, that I was tied up. I felt ropes on my wrists and ankles, and discovered after being able to focus past the pleasure enough to realize my position, that I was hung by those same bindings, my currently slopped on dick pointing to the floor, or at leas the source of gravity. The pleasure that boiled in me drove me wild, but not wild enough I couldn't think around them in short bursts.

I recalled what had happened just before I was here. I had lunged, grabbing the Joy Boy, had mashed some buttons, had felt a part of me leave, and then had my wrist stamped on by the military mare. She had been snide, thinking I had mistaken the game system for a phone, and had thrown it to the side. After that, Gunther used his artifact to bring us to near constant orgasms. He'd hissed in what I could only assume to be glee as he made us cum ourselves into unconsciousness. Now, we were wherever they had taken us.

This was a mess beyond even my wildest imaginings, and it had been my fault. I could only hope I had succeeded. So little feedback had been given, I could only assume that the 'piece' that had left me was me being 'bamfed' into another body - but I couldn't be sure though.

Suddenly, the thing in my butt, the thing I had assumed to be a dildo, engorged, and I felt hot spunk flood inside me, my mouth going agape in shock, only to be filled with a dick of its own. I muffle a cry around it, even as I felt the dick in my butt slip out, only to be replaced by another dick, one that was much larger. As it slid into me, I felt myself pulling apart, my body desperate to accommodate the new visitor. The dick in my mouth kept sliding further and further in, reaching the back of my throat with no crotch in sight.

"You love this." A voice whispered in my ear, though feeling as if it were somewhere else at the same time. "You love being taken advantage of." I struggled to counter the voice, but the dick in my mouth was now pushing even further down, overcoming my gag reflex by brute force. I would've vomited onto it, in fact I might have, but the massive dong blocked any egress from the depth of my body. I was choking on the prick!

"You love being used." The voice cooed in mind as I struggled. "You love having dicks in your mouth and up your ass." The dick in my butt began pushing up as the dick in my mouth stopped briefly. The magnum dong in my ass pushed further and further in, spreading my ass apart, and making me feel as if it was going to split me in two at the same moment.

"You love this feeling." The voice whispered, and now both dicks were moving, as if wanting to meet in the middle, my physiology be damned. In a moment of relief, though in many ways equal terror, both dicks bottomed out inside of me. They were large, and made my dick, though still sucked, die a little inside.

Then the dicks began to retreat, slowly sliding out of me, the dick in my butt being the first to pop out, letting the remaining splooge from the last guy dribble out of my violated asshole. A rough smack hit me in the rear, sending me swinging slightly into the dick in my mouth. I struggled a tad, but the flexing of my throat made the stallion - or whatever held this beast - to moan in pleasure. The dick in my throat didn't retreat any further, but instead strong hands grabbed my cheeks - hands that felt far too massive - and drove the dick all the way back down, causing me to spasm and unintentionally bring him more pleasure.

"You love the taste of dick." The voice whispered again, and my mind became acutely aware of the taste of the schlong in my mouth. It didn't taste horrid, but what I was getting was a salty, bitter tang. Certainly not good by any definition. "You love the feel of dicks spreading you open." That was a no. The pleasure I had been feeling from my dick getting sucked was currently overshadowed by the feeling of NOT BEING ABLE TO BREATHE.

"You love getting fucked in the ass." The dick in my butt emphasized by pushing forward, breaching my entrance and hilting within seconds, sending me into the dick in front of me with tears in my eyes. I realized with a start that this must be how Starlight was broken. I steeled myself, now armed with that knowledge I might last a tad longer. Suddenly the dick retreated, as if sensing my lack of cooperation with their technique.

Suddenly, something cold was shoved into my butt, smaller than the dick, though still wider than most anything I had in there before. A moment later, it started buzzing, the feeling hitting me as pleasurable, especially now that I could breath. The sound and feel of leather straps being stretched across my butt and pelvis, followed by a light click told me they had just secured it inside of me. Gasping for air as I fought the pleasure and tried to breathe with my now free mouth, I felt something get inserted into my mouth. By the shape, I knew it was a dildo - this one also getting fastened to me, a click of a lock sealing it in place as it tickled the back of my throat - though this one thankfully this one didn't vibrate.

I struggled for a few seconds, desperate to have them removed, but found they didn't even budge. I took shaky breaths in through my nose, trying to recuperate even as my dick continued to be sucked, my throat tickled, and the vibrator up my ass continued its work. Clearing my thoughts a tad against the pleasure, I heard the sound of skin rubbing skin - fast. Suddenly, a blast of hot cum sprayed across my face, a glob landing on my eye, causing me to close it with no way of reopening it as the splooge dribbled down slowly across my features. Another blast followed, hitting me in the cutie mark and flowing a tad to my ass crack. I struggled for a few more seconds as blast after blast struck me, wanting - needing - a way to avoid the onslaught.

This lasted for several minutes; old, cooling spunk refreshed with newer, warmer spunk, as the stench of musk filled the air in an pungent miasma. As the last bit hit me, suddenly the pony beneath me upped their game as the dildo was pushed ever so slightly further into my tush. I came, groaning against the cock in my mouth.

"You love being a cumdump." The voice whispered again, and a final wad of goo splatted across my face. I was covered, absolutely covered. Both of my eyes were shut, cum layered heavily on my eyelids. I exhaled harder than I breathed in, if only to get spunk away from my nostrils without accidentally breathing any in. My hair was a matted mess, more cum than hair at this point as it slowly flowed down, dripping away from my chest.

I felt used, and what was worse, I felt good, if not for simply the orgasm I had been brought to. If this was what Starlight had been through, I was now understanding exactly why it would be so hard to undo what had been done. I could only hope I lasted long enough to be saved, because I heavily doubted at the moment I'd be the one doing any escaping or saving.

"Are you ready for your second try?" A voice asked me, sounding nothing like the voice that whispered. The lock on the dildo in my mouth clicked open, sending a few drops of cum onto my face. The apparatus was removed, and I dreaded what came next. A gigantic dick poked my lips, and then pushed, prying my weakened jaws open. I felt weak, far weaker than I thought I should. I was tired, but I had to stay awake, even if it meant having to fight through the sensation of not breathing. Even if being awake meant knowing a dick was in my throat. I needed to stay strong. Because if I didn't... I didn't want to think about it.

Side B - Chapter 21: A Virtuous Mission

Skirting the edge of town, we made our way towards Berry's home. The evening air was chill, and our distinct lack of layers for the sake of moving quietly was really getting to me - not to mention Applebloom's more diminutive stature was far less insulating than my usual body, or at least so I told myself. Finally reaching the house that looked so run down from outside, we split in two groups to inspected the perimeter.

Moving slowly through the sparse undergrowth and hilly lay of the land, I moved in a wide circle around the house, checking for any signs of ponies. There were plenty of signs, but all of them seemed to just be the normal movements of ponies of the area, nothing stood out that tipped me off that it was the group we were searching for. I suddenly heard a bird whistle, and I looked over to the source, seeing Berry stooping over something. Moving up beside her I looked at what she was pointing at.

"Whole bunch of tracks leading off from the house." She noted, and indeed there were, all etched into a patch of soft clay and mud. "Griffon paws in the mix as well. I never was one for tracking, but simply looking at all these footprints, I'd say they're gone, and they called for a lot more ponies to carry off the victims." I nodded, agreeing with her assessment. In the midst of the tracks I could also see the imprints of combat boots, with much deeper treads than any of the other shoes. I felt like a regular detective on TV.

"Now we need to confer with Rarity if we need to even enter the house, it might just be better to head off towards the hill and rendezvous with Twilight's team." I noted, looking towards the house, scanning over the illusion for any sign of what was inside.

"Yeah, we did just find evidence of them leaving, might be best to head on out." Berry nodded. "We can check on my house later." We began to move again, picking our way while looking for any more signs that might give us a hint as to what was happening. Rejoining with Rarity and Rainbow, we told them what we had found.

"I'm not so sure we need to check the house. We have signs they all left. It might just be better to head on over to the hill and meet up with Twilight so that we have better chances on that front." I said.

"I would generally agree." Rarity began, looking us over. "But I do think that Rainbow should quickly check up on the old place. At least go over and stealthily peak in through the windows - just to make sure no pony got left behind." It seemed reasonable. After all, we weren't expert trackers, we just had gotten lucky finding some of the most obvious tracks that could be left in a small pile of muck. They very well could've left somepony, if not one of the prisoners, who was one of their ponies who might be able to give us some intelligence on the base's structure.

"I'll be back in a jiffy." Rainbow said, giving a short salute before darting off, flying so close to the ground I was surprised it worked at all. Disappearing beyond the wall of the illusion, she began her search, leaving us waiting impatiently as we kept watch for anypony who might be a problem. A few moments later, Rainbow zoomed out of the illusion and skidded to a halt in front of us on her hands and one knee, the other foot planted on the ground as her wings splayed out dramatically behind her. Show off.

"We got a pony in there." Rainbow said, not really even sounding winded. "I tried to look at their face, but they moved out of the living area and into the kitchen, and by the time I got to that window, they had gone someplace else."

"Well, what did they look like with mane and skin color? What were they wearing?" I asked, impatient for details.

"Honestly, they looked like a surgeon ready to do an operation." Rainbow shrugged. "I didn't have an angle to see their colors, their mane must be rather short or well managed, 'cuz not a strand was coming out of the hair net, which itself was that weird light blue doctors use."

"It's only a few shades off from your color." I noted.

"Yeah, almost, that's what makes it really weird. You'd think they'd go for something a little more distinct from pony colors." Rainbow complained.

"Doctors are wearing that color to be distinct from inside pony colors, which are all reds, browns, and other such more visceral colors." Rarity said pointedly, suppressing a shudder in disgust. Rainbow paused at that for a few seconds, and then shook off the thought.

"Anyway," Rainbow pressed, moving us back to the subject at hand, "we got a pony inside, and he is more than likely with them. Ponyville General isn't near enough for him to be all dressed up with that out here anyway." We all nodded.

"Alright," Rarity began before I could, "Rainbow, get your phone out, make sure it's on silent, and go back, text us where you see him and make sure he doesn't see you. There's a chance he's an artifact user, and I'm going to treat that possibility as a one hundred percent chance. Once you see him, text us, we'll move in and I'll cast the spell and freeze him. I've been able to manage about a half minute so far, so that's your time limit to disrobe him. Remember to remove everything, and then tie him up with Berry's rope." We all nodded, and Rainbow once again bolted towards the house. I shook my head at how Berry's kinky supplies were about to be used to help us to stop a group of hostile perverts. A few short seconds later, Rarity got a text.

second floor
lookin to Pville
b room?

"That's one of the guestrooms." Berry noted, looking over the texts. "One of the smaller ones, fortunately on the opposite side of the house from us. Let's move."

"Right, we'll take the front door." Rarity nodded, quickly typing out a reply to Rainbow.

Good job, dear.

We'll be coming in through the front door, do be ready.

use s hand Rares

Rarity sighed and put her phone away, moving a few paces behind us as we approached the house in a low crouch, not wanting to be seen as the sun finally dipped below the horizon, Luna's night beginning in earnest. Approaching the front of the house, we plastered ourselves to the wall as we slinked under a window, and finally reached the front door. I looked over to Rarity, who passed me her phone, which I showed to Berry at the same time.

on move

d stairs

live room

Now he was much closer. That presented a distinct problem, we might need space to get this done, and we needed him to not be on his guard while Rarity cast the spell so he couldn't go using his artifact - if he had one. I passed her phone back, and looked her in the eyes.

"How fast can you cast the spell?" I asked in barely a whisper.

"It takes about five seconds for me to put the runes in order in my head. Oh! If only Twilight was here, she'd have him hit with it in less than a second!" She whispered back. I sighed. Five seconds was a lot of time for a pony to do any number of things. Unless his potential artifact required a long windup to use, five seconds were extremely dangerous to us.

"What if I draw him out past the house and you cast it as I pretend to run away?" I asked. "Say I go in there, pretend to be looking for somepony of the house, and then run after a moment. If he chases, you can cast the spell as he moves towards me and away from you." Rarity considered the plan for a second. "I'd suggest hiding behind the corner of the house." I pointed. "He might notice you if you're right up against the door. Rarity nodded, seeming to like my plan as I gave her more precautions. Honestly, I was still just making it up on the fly, but in the least my thoughts were comprehensive and were accounting for a few likelihoods to avoid danger.

The two ponies, having squirreled themselves away, were now safe. I took a deep breath, ready to give my best performance. I stood up and tried the front door, and found it unlocked. Pulling it open, I walked inside, like I owned the place - which I did - and found Mr. Doctor Pony right away, simply standing there, looking at me, his cold, hard eyes locking me into place. I certainly didn't have to pretend to be fearful. Between my preexisting dislike of the full scrub look of surgeons, and this pony's sheer presence, I was honestly scared, and unafraid to admit it.

The few seconds from first entering that passed like molasses finally came to a close, a time seemed to flow once more as the pony silently began to move towards me, his eyes locked on me, his head transfixed like an owl's even as he moved around furniture, his body seeming to think for itself as his whole attention was devoted to my existence in his domain. NOPE!

I bolted out the door, putting on a stumble for good measure as I crossed the threshold. Sprinting a good way out of the house, I turned and saw him power walking towards me, fiddling with his latex glove as he approached, but behind him I saw the blue glow of Rarity's magic. Wanting to keep his attention, I turned about and squared my shoulders, and raised my fists like some old time boxer. Applebloom had gotten over her fear, she was now ready to buck the living daylights out of whoever had invaded her friends home - or at least that was the emotion I was hoping my performance was giving off.

The Doctor plodded forward, step by step, his steely eyes still set on me intently, though I could tell in the vague light of the area that he was smiling underneath his face mask. Suddenly, a bolt of blue magic struck him, and he froze in place, even in midstride. Bolting forward, I quickly seized his hairnet at pulled it off while a cyan blur of pegasus zipped around beside me, working his shoes and ankle socks off. Berry rushed over the few short steps from the house and tore his gloves away. Working quickly, I raised his arms and shimmied the shirt off of him while Rainbow pushed him up, his frozen form assuming the new elevation with ease, while she used one motion to pull of his pants and underwear, revealing his modestly sized, clean shaven penis.

All clothing removed, I grabbed the face mask and pulled it away as I stepped back. I found it odd he didn't have a talisman like Silver had had. Maybe he was the only one who had it? But not finding an artifact mad me a tad more comfortable, until I looked at his face. His lips were dried out, cracked messes of deteriorating flesh, curled back in a smile that even a mother would hate; and his teeth, his teeth were yellow and crooked, blackening at the gums. This pony seemed to be a rotting husk of a mummy, rather than something living and breathing.

"TIE HIM UP, PLEASE!" Rarity cried from behind him, tears streaming down her face as she strained to keep the spell up. His cold eyes, lacking all sheen, slid in their sockets, moving, as if his whole head would move to look at the pony who had just spoken, his demonic expression unchanging. Rainbow was the first to come out of the stupor, and grabbed the rope Berry had dropped, and hogtied the pony.

Rarity's spell dropped not a second to soon, as did the naked pony. It was done, he was done. I sighed, barely standing on my own. Looking at the fallen pony, I froze. He still stared at me, his expression malicious as always. Suddenly the yellowing of his teeth faded as they became straight. His lips also became full lips once more, no longer cracked and dying. Suddenly he stood up, the ropes that had been on him seemingly reduced to dust. Lunging forward, he grabbed me by the throat with one hand and mouth with the other, forcing me to the ground in a tackle. I pushed him off with Applebloom's surprising strength, and called out to the ponies around.

Except I couldn't. I jumped away from the doctor, a hand touching my face. Where youthful lips once stood was now a plain surface, devoid of any opening. My eyes opened wider in panic as he pressed his hands to his chest, and lifted them away a second later, revealing a pair of lips and a small bulge beneath.

"Y'all are gonna have to come quiet, or else you might need me to operate on ya." The mouth said in a southern twang, a voice I could tell was Applebloom's. What was this... this MONSTER?!

Splice 8: A Hill to Die On

Twilight, Applejack, and Pinkie slinked up the hill outside of town. Twilight focused as hard as she could in the dying light for any sign of an entrance into the likely subterranean facility. It only made sense, she thought, that they'd hold up underground. With a perfectly serviceable hill, they would be safe from prying eyes once they finished building - they'd only have to have illusions for the initial construction phase, and then natural camouflage would take over. Beyond all that, though, the fact this all took place in her backyard, in the Sister's backyard, was at the forefront of her mind. How could these ponies and otherwise somehow function as they did.

Sure, they had artifacts of great power, but how would that translate to them being able to accomplish what they had without being caught for this long? The summary of the incident report Applejack gave her helped understand it slightly, being able to manipulate the facts against the guard. They might even have ponies in the guard! All these thoughts and more swirled around Twilight's head as they continued their search.

Pushing aside a bush, Twilight brushed some soil away to see if she found anything, but there was nothing. Applejack kicked a pile of leaves to the side, but found nothing but an inconvenient rock to stub her toe on - she barely kept quiet with that one. Pinkie... well she was being herself, with was welcomed in this case. She ran, somehow, with her head touching the ground, and ear ever pressed against the soil as she repeatedly jabbed the dirt with a stick, until she abruptly stopped, poking an area a few more times with her stick.

"Found it!" She said in a loud whisper as she stood up, half her frizzy mane coated in sticks, leaves, and twigs. She grabbed something in the dirt and pulled, opening up a hatch in the side of the hill. If a home had been built here at one point, Twilight would've assumed this was the storm shelter, but knowing this land had always been free of pony settlement, she knew this unassuming hatch was exactly what they were looking for.

"My my, you certainly found us quickly." A snide voice Twilight knew all to well, despite being entranced at the time, said in its usual haughty tone. With a surge of energy, she shot into the sky, casting a quick invisibility spell on herself and the others.With that, and a pop of purple sparkles, three ponies disappeared from view. From the hatch appeared the form of Gunther and some mare in military dress.

"I'm activating my piece, if you find them, take them quickly. You likely only have five minutes in my vicinity before it gets bad for you." The mare said, moving to the top of the stairs with the griffon. Twilight did her best to appraise the new threat in the short time she had, taking in as much detail as possible.

Height: Two and a Half Meters, roughly

Color: Bronze

Mane: Yellow, short buzz

Body type: Mesomorph

Notes: Well Muscled, likely proficient in combat. Artifact user, matching description of one of those present at the house when Cress was captured. Power unknown.

Nodding to herself, she zipped to the side, thinking up a plan. Suddenly, a wave of disorientation hit her. Falling from the sky, she landed in a heap. Struggling up to her feet, she jumped back, watching as Gunther appeared suddenly before her, standing in a crouch where she had been a second ago, and where he had not been.

"One of them is a flier." Gunther called over his shoulder as his hawk-like eyes focused on the world before him, gleaming in the pale twilight's light. Twilight Sparkle was in deep. She knew she needed to take his pendant, but her brain was feeling addled. It was becoming harder to think. She needed to restrain these two before they could do any harm, but firing off the spell for both of them would take one point seven eight nine two seconds. Based on the common reaction speed of... what was it again?

Her eyes widened, as she understood. The mare's field, it must be a neu-... nuer-... brain dampening thing! She was losing intelligence every second! 'You have five minutes in my vicinity before it gets bad for you.' Based on how intelligent Gunther seemed, Twilight might hope for five as well, but she wasn't sure if the timing held true for her.

She circled around behind the griffon, and found a rock on the ground. Looking up at the form of the griffon, now hunched over like a beast tracking prey, sniffing the air as his head swayed to and fro, Twilight formed a plan. Grabbing the rock, she threw it with her best hoofball pass over his head and deeper into the field. Gunther jerked towards it and disappeared, reappearing right where it had landed. Twilight's eyes opened wider. What was he?

Not taking too much time to wonder at that, she moved stealthily towards the earth pony mare that simply stood there, swirling an ornate looking glass made of gold, silver, and gemstones. That must be the artifact! Between the gaudy look and the wine-red mist that flowed lethargically into it, there was little doubt in Twilight's mind, even as it clouded slightly.

Standing a ways behind her, she began to cast the spell, only to find it leaving her in the last moment. She would've cursed if she knew any. She couldn't cast the freezing spell, but she could do one better, or at least she hoped she could. Charging her horn, she aimed with her tongue sticking out her mouth for concentration. Delicately aiming it, she let loose, only to watch as Gunther appeared in front of her with not so much as a flash. She crumpled into a heap of pleasure as she fired it off - straight into his face.

The mare turned around, even as Twilight rolled to the side, lept, and glided a short distance away from her previous position. Twilight adjusted her clothes, finding them askew from whatever Gunther had done - and thinking on the griffon, she noticed him still on the ground. Perfect!

Twilight reached out with her magic and pulled at everything that was around his neck, bringing it to her with lightning speed. Grabbing the items out of the air, she looked over her prize as she moved away from the position the items had flown to. She had the ripped collar of Gunther's shirt, which she discarded quickly, and a talisman and the pendant. She grimaced at the talisman, and then got a devilish idea, an idea she might have to execute on if things turned truly sour.

Gunther rose up, grasping at his collar, and screeched, finding it all gone, with nothing left behind as his tank top fell open over his well muscled torso. She felt a sort of attraction to him, but Twilight shook her head and lowered herself, even though she was still invisible, as the imposing griffon scanned the area. She needed time, but he wasn't going to give it to her, but with one artifact down already, she had hope.

Looping the artifact over her head and holding onto the talisman for dear life, she bolted to where Pinkie and AJ had been. She stumbled over an invisible form and turned back, looking to see if there was any sign of dampness, and sighed in relief, not finding any. They had moved from their spot, which was good, but now whoever was here was huddled in a ball, likely rocking back and forth if the persistent shifting was any sign. This wasn't good. AJ was brave to a dangerous degree, and Pinkie was only fearful of loneliness it seemed, but now one of them was huddled in a ball.

She had wanted their help, but she wasn't going to be getting it. Peaking her head over the grass towards the two who hunted them, she saw Gunther raging, tearing up the ground as the mare walked over to him, still swirling the cup in one hand as she looked him over.

"Do you have them? Can I stop to help you?" The mare asked, not even showing concern in her voice, more acting like these were simple concerns on par with whether or not there was ice cream in the freezer. She was distracted, and that gave Twilight an opening. Charging up another blast, she aimed it at the center of mass, not wanting to miss this time. But as she charged it, a firm swirl was given to the cup, and she jerked forward as something left her. She looked up, and would've screamed if she didn't still have her good sense. She felt just as helpless as when Starlight had taken her cutie mark, her magic torn from her. She was becoming duller and duller, she could feel it, but worse yet, she didn't know if she could stop it.

Looking to where the talisman was, she knew she had a plan, and now, it was the only plan left to her. Dashing out of the grass, she stayed low, her wings spread to give her stability as she ran. Reaching the two, she shoulder checked the pony with all her might before pushing off of her and taking to the skies. She wasn't as strong as Applejack, nor was she as fast as Rainbow; but she was generally larger, and had about equivalent mass. Running at such a speed was bound to knock her opponent over, much as it did. With a start, twilight realized she wasn't dull anymore. Looking to the cup, it had been flung from the pony's hand. Using her magic, relieved it had come back to her, she brought the cup to her hand. She was imminently pleased she hadn't had to resort to that plan.

The mare rose, none too pleased with this as she grabbed Gunther by the neck, lifting him up with her as she scanned for a sign of her attacker. Twilight smiled, having disarmed them before they had been actually restrained. Charging her spell, she launched it down at the two, freezing them in place. Landing with a thump before them, she stowed away the cup in her bag as she looked over the two of them briefly, still shielded in her invisibility.

When she had had to stop six ponies and their associated objects who had been moving quickly through the castle, it had been a challenge. When she had stopped two whole clans and their food based weapons, that had been beyond taxing, but it had taught her how to best measure her arcane output. Now that she was stopping two figures with no other material considerations, she could feasibly hold it for the rest of the evening if she stayed still - and could at least manage half an hour while physically exerting herself.

She quickly removed their clothes, stowing their talismans in her pack - not wanting either font of knowledge to go up in flames. She had won, and better yet, had protected her friends from serious harm. Tying the two of them up was a pleasure, and as she let the invisibility drop, she blushed. Over in the corner of the field where she had thought a singular pony was curled up in a ball, were two ponies... eating each other out - even now that the effect of the goblet had worn off. This certainly was not what Twilight considered a good scenario, even if she was reminded of her own romp with Starlight in the library.

She had just been so cute - so sexy - under her complete control. Twilight had felt something she hadn't known before, and had made Starlight debase herself before her. It was... exhilarating. The sense of power, of domination - it felt wonderful. She had power over this pony, and no pony would stop her. She was broken from her thoughts by the sounds of steps on hard concrete emanating from the hatch.

"Master Gunther, is everything alright?" A voice called out, a pony charging up the stairs in very rough, very plain clothes. The pegasus stallion stopped, seeing his Master tied up beside the Master's friend. "A-attack! We're under attack!"

Side B - Chapter 22: A Fight for Life and Limb

I ducked forward, charging up quickly towards the nude doctor, who spread his stance to meet me. Just as I almost reached him, I went into a slide, sliding beneath him while Rainbow shot in from behind, slamming into the back of his head before twisting around to face him again. Turning, I looked back to him from my kneeling position while Berry rushed up, catching the doctor's attention, only to duck to the side while Rarity buffeted him with a wave of magic. The doctor gritted both sets of teeth, a growl emanating from the mouth that had once belonged to me.

"Y'all need to stop that before I get real riled." The young mare voice said as the doctor returned to his commanding posture. If we could just wear him down, if we could just knock him down cold, then he wouldn't be able to do anything with this horrendous power - that was our unspoken understanding, one that we strove for in every attack.

Pushing forward, I would've smirked if I still had a mouth. Juking to the side, the doctor turned to catch another opponent, only for me to wheel about and plant a high kick in the small of his back as he turned. Clumsily falling, not really being skilled enough to kick like that and stay standing, I scrambled to catch myself on my hands. The doctor, royally peeved, reeled towards me, lashing out with his hand, only to be stopped as Rainbow did a flying drop kick into his head, sending him to the floor.

The monster rose up with several sickening snaps and clicks, as if he were some sort of perverted machine draped in flesh. Turning to face me, he walked with his same intense focus solely directed at me. Stretching out a hand, he made his intentions known. Berry rushed out from the side, delivering a leaping hay maker, sending him to a knee, but with a flash of movement he reached up and seized Berry's arm.

Stumbling away, Berry's eyes stretched in horror as her arm was now missing, reappearing from the monster's back, the wine colored skin clashing with his yellow. I was slightly grateful seeing Berry's shoulder was a stump of closed flesh instead of a bleeding mess, but it wasn't much comfort. Standing up, he flexed the fingers of the new appendage as he looked around towards the rest of us, ready for seeming anything.

"Are y'all done now?" He asked in Applebloom's voice as he watched us, obviously taking our hesitation for a sign that we were about to break. We were fearful, but Berry's loss was only a factor that gave us determination as we each bolted forward. Moving at him head on, I steeled myself as he lifted a hand towards me, knowing I could duck any which direction to get out of it should he not move his attention.

With a flare of blue magic, his arms were brought up above his head, gaining a strained sound from him as Rainbow slammed a foot into the back of his head, Berry slammed her remaining fist into his jaw, Rarity delivered a few quick jabs into his side, and I punted him between the legs. Backing off, we smiled at our work. He was looking far worse for wear, nowhere as much fight seeming to be left in his hunched form as he looked at us, wild eyes darting about.

Rainbow shot forward, going for a flying punch, only to have him jerk suddenly towards her, catching her fist in his palm while grabbing onto her arm with another, guiding her into the floor with a heavy thud, sending a plume of dirt into the air. I charged forward, disregarding the possible danger, only knowing I wouldn't let Rainbow be picked apart into bits, damn my own safety.

Breaking through the cloud of dirt I jumped to tackle him, only to get punched in the gut, the stallion standing tall and proud despite how injured he had been. Falling to the group, I did a sweeping kick, knocking his legs out from under him. Jumping back from the doctor, I surveyed the scene, and quickly found Rainbow. She was on the ground, looking far more bruised than she had any right to. Looking back to the doctor, I noticed that, besides the damage I had inflicted, he was looking quite unhurt. If only I had an artifact to end this.

I would've shouted a command, but my mouth was smirking at me from his chest, even as I charged him once more. Getting in close, I did my best to knock away his hands from touching me while delivering a few punches of my own before darting back. Surprised at not having lost any part through some combination of luck and what little skill I actually had, I backed up a few more steps, quickly catching my breath as I stilled my limbs that shook in a mixture of fear and adrenaline. Rarity, with a flare of blue magic, threw a blanket over his head, pulling it back across his features.

Struggling against the fabric for a short while, the doctor suddenly stilled before falling to the ground in an ungraceful motion. The unexpected moved caused the blanket to shoot back, no longer pressing against his face. Rarity hissed, rushing forward, Berry joining in on the charge from her angle. With a shout, Rarity shot the blanket right back at him as he stood, catching two of his hands, his natural ones, and pinning them to his body.

With a grin, Berry followed it up with a devastating uppercut straight to the jaw before slamming a foot heftily into his face once he had fallen to the ground from the hefty punch. Jumping back before any retaliation could be brought about. Moving forward, I watched as Rarity darted into the home, likely looking for more fabrics to use like the blanket.

Reaching the fallen stallion, I planted my foot on the forearm of the wine colored arm. Pivoting on that foot, I planted another kick into his head, earning a sickening crack as I did. Suddenly, I was engulfed in pain, falling down to the side as pure agony overtook me. With a start, I realized through the haze of pain that was my existence, that his two arms had freed themselves, and one of them had grabbed my ankle.

Pain flooded over me, a splitting headache, various bruises across my chest and sides, as I fell down. Even as I writhed from the new pain, I realized I had a voice again, even as I screamed out in agony. Rising to his feet, the doctor looked towards Berry, flicking his three arms, as if they had fallen asleep.

This time the doctor rushed forward, three arms outstretched, only to be caught off guard as a haggard Rainbow Dash flew in from the side, slamming into his head with her full force, barely even catching herself with the landing. Seeing her like this, I felt a surge of determination to keep up the fight, despite the pain. Slowly lifting myself up, squinting against the pain, I focused on the doctor, who turned to look at Rainbow. Rainbow spat on the ground, her breathing still heavy as she stared him down, no trace of fear left in her.

Hefting my aching limbs, I charged forward, gaining his ireful gaze as I reared back in a wild hay maker. In the moment he turned his attention to me, Berry bolted forward and kicked him in the small of the back while Rainbow began to run towards the fray, wings outstretched to help her balance. The doctor distracted, my hefty punch connected without contest sending him to the ground while Rainbow lept, flapped her wings once, falling into body slam into the fallen pony, rolling off and back to her feet. Backing off from him, we watched as he rose back to his feet, thoroughly enraged at us.

Again, he rushed, but now towards me. Squaring my shoulders, I braced myself, my limbs never having had a chance to get me away from him. Fear burned away in an inferno of sheer determination as I stared down the beast who's eyes were as filled with blood lust as any feral animal I ever saw. With a force that sent explosions down my arms, back, and legs, I met him, our hands locked together in an intense grapple. I could feel the magic surging and whirling about me as he used his power. I gritted my teeth, kneeing him in the groin, only to find him unaffected, or at least able to not react.

With a surge of strength, he pushed me down to the ground. Pushing against him and the pain I felt, I put my all into the fight, feeling my own body crumble as I pushed and pushed, resisting his power as best I was able. Suddenly a loud clang resounded. His force slacked, almost to the point of not existing as he turned slowly, stumbling a tad, to face his attacker. Looking behind him I saw Rarity, tears in her eyes and a hefty metal skillet in her hands.

Lifting a hand to attack her, Rarity delivered yet another hefty blow that reverberated through the stallion's skull. Seeing an opening, Rainbow bolted over, and with all the strength she had left, planted a flying uppercut to his jaw while I used what was left in me to plant a solid kick into his gut.

He stumbled back a few steps, fighting against the urge to fall unconscious from all the trauma. "GIVE ME MY ARM BACK, YOU BITCH!" Berry roared, planting a final hay maker straight to his jaw. He stumbled back a few more steps before finally he fell backwards. We all fell to our knees, the victory having taken a lot out of us. It was a win for us, but now... now we were in no shape to fight - but based on the sounds and brief flashes of purple light from a hill in the middle distance, we might have to yet.

Splice 9: Just a Raven in the Dark

Slacking in her bonds, Raven panted, surprised by the sudden release from being fucked in all three holes. She quaked in her bonds, sobs streaming from her, feeling filthy and violated, and beyond that, unable to stop it all - but worse yet, she found herself enjoying it. The delicious loving she had received had been so tantalizing to the senses - despite the horror her mind felt towards it - that she had almost broken a multiplicity of times. The cum that covered her was cold and sticky, she hated it, but had loved the attention. She knew it was an unfortunate side effect of the times and her general situation that made it hard for Cress to give her much attention, but even so she couldn't help but wish Cress would use her like this should they ever escape.

She knew he loved her, she felt that in every second that they were together - the electric tingle of their shared affections, it gave her strength. But now, now she was violated, and her body and mind might never recover, but her body still had enjoyed it, despite herself. And so, she couldn't help but hate herself.

Moments passed, and it dawned on her that none of the captors that had been penetrating her or rubbing one out near her had finished before leaving. She could feel the room was empty in the pit of her stomach, so they couldn't be asking her to beg for it like they had so many times. Were they done for the night? She cast her mind back to when they had left, but only mind numbing pleasure and tears were found there.

She gathered herself as best she could, no longer satisfied to wallow in her tears. She needed to escape, but how could she? With no creatures about her, there was no chance that they'd let her go, no matter the subterfuge. She needed to escape using her own skills and wits. She unfortunately had been unconscious from all the loving pleasure Gunther had provided back at the house, so she had been unable to flex herself to provide wider holes to wiggle out of when they had tied her up, so that was out as an option.

Summoning up all her strength, which she had a surprising abundance of, she tried some of her gymnastic ring techniques to figure out her bondage more properly. It was ropes all the way up, but the support structure was something sturdy, which made sense since they were in no way gentle with their violation. Despite this, she could tell that unlike her initial inspection of the bonds, she wasn't attached to the roof, there was indeed an intermediary structure. Perfect.

Cress' love had always given her strength, and though lust was no substitute, it was a decent enough facsimile. Raven adjusted her position, twisting her ankles and wrists to get higher up on the bonds, reducing the slack it gave her, and once high and tight enough, she pulled with all her strength. The wooden support structure groaned as it moved, and in a heart stopping split second, they fell. Raven hit the cold, spunk coated, stone floor with a sickening splop, only to have that situation worsened by the two braces hitting her back as they fell down completely.

Groaning, she stood up, pushing against the slop as she shoved off the mounting. Now able to stand, she removed her blindfold, her irises already slits and quite well adjusted to the darkness the room had to offer. In a few short seconds, she was free of the bonds, and now had a task before her: find the others. 'Sure', she thought to herself, 'I could just run, but I can't leave Cress. I can never leave Cress.'

Moving in crouch, she made her way to the simple door that led off somewhere. Looking about in her chamber, there was no sign of anything she could use to clean or cover herself, until she found a nice little bucket. Stooping over it, she found it to be water by its sheen, and though it wasn't sperm free, it as more water than goo. Grabbing the bucket, she poured a bit of it over her, removing the larger portion of the goo, though not all of it. She thought about taking a drink of the cool water, but the floating tendrils of gunk dissuaded her thoroughly. Only if it was Cress' or Cress ordered her.

Moving back to the door, she opened it tentatively, peering out into the corridor, blinking against the light from the candles that lined the hall. Reaching out with her senses, she felt and heard no creature in the halls. Moving into the corridor, she assumed a posture of command, as is she owned the halls. Acting as if she belonged would attract less attention, a tactic she had used leaving her parent's home many times.

Moving down the halls, she peered into each doorway, squinting to see inside, hoping that she might yet find the ponies. After searching door after door to empty room after empty room, she looked into one more door, her heart already tightening in despair that she might be too late, when she saw a figure suspended as she had been. Opening the door, which was unlocked, likely because they expected all their captives to be weakened from their treatment, or at least constantly being attended to, she stepped in quickly.

Inside, her eyes quickly adjusted, and she saw the spunk coated form of Periwinkle. Her heart lept for joy. If she found one, she could find the others. Looking about, she found the same bucket of water, and grabbed it, moving over to Periwinkle.

"Periwinkle?" She whispered to the mare, not wanting to chance any guard hearing her, despite the fact that the halls had been empty throughout her entire walk.

"You... won't break... me..." Peri struggled out, her limbs limp, the fight having been drained out of all of her besides her heart. Raven would've cried at the sight, but she had work to do, both of them did.

"Periwinkle, it's me, Raven, I'm here to get you out of here." Raven said, hoping she'd get through as she began to work Periwinkle's bindings.

"Raven? Raven, is that really you?" She asked, heart returning to her voice. Raven smiled and nodded, fighting back tears of joy as she worked.

"Yes! Yes it's me! Now hold still for a second, I almost have your foot free. Do you think you can stand?" Raven asked in a whisper, pulling the last of the knot free, allowing the leg to fall towards the floor, though the height of the rest of her body kept the leg from touching the splooge coated floor.

"Stand?" Periwinkle seemed far more out of it than Raven had hoped. "Y-yeah, maybe." Raven nodded, moving to the other foot and began her work on it.

"We still have to find the others, there somewhere in this place. Once we do, we can leave." Raven said softly, the leg coming free. Both legs hit the floor with a wet sound, but Peri didn't try to stand, simply limp in the bindings that held her arm. Rushing over, Raven caught the support before it could fall, looking to her friend. "Can you try to stand?" She asked in concern.

"Stand... yeah... sure..." Periwinkle said in a daze, her legs weakly scooting underneath her. They slid across the floor, scooping spunk this way and that in lethargic motions. This wasn't good. Pressing against the frame with her back, she quickly undid the last two knots, letting Peri free, only to watch as she flopped into the spunk, her tongue lulling out, idling lapping at the mess. Raven's heart broke seeing this. Raven had hoped for a heartfelt reunion between them, but it seemed she had arrived a few seconds to late, maybe more. Periwinkle wasn't gone, but she was nearly broken. She needed care, she needed therapy.

Helping her up, Raven grimaced at her state, moving her slowly to recline against the wall. Setting her down, she looked her friend up and down. The mare remained limp, but exerted just enough force to keep herself in a sitting position against the wall. With a start, Raven realized Periwinkle's hands were extending, fingers forming circles while her legs drifted apart. She was imitating a sex doll! Raven rushed over to the bucket, turning around with it just as Peri was opening her mouth into its whorish shape.

Throwing the entire bucket's worth of water at her, Peri seemed to return to herself a tad, blinking a few times, realizing what position she was in. The mare's eye moved to Raven, and brimmed with tears. Shooting off the ground in a clumsy splash, she threw her arms around Raven. Raven cried tears of pure relief, feeling Periwinkle's love once more, no more the empty void of emotion. Raven knew she wasn't fixed by a bucket of water, there was damage there now, much like was in Raven herself, that might never heal; but for now Periwinkle was acting like herself, and that was all that mattered for the moment.

"We need to go." Raven said finally. "We still need to find Cress, Fluttershy, and Button." Raven pulled away from the hug, happy to just bask in the love she felt, but she needed to focus on the goal ahead. Periwinkle nodded, looking to the door behind her. "Can you stand?"

"I... I think so." Periwinkle muttered, slowly trying to rise to her feet. Periwinkle found her footing on shaky legs and made her way over to the door, Raven only a few steps behind, ready to catch her should she fall. "What are we going to do about guards?" She asked, looking about the restricted view of the barred window in the door.

"So far I haven't seen any, I think something might be happening elsewhere in this hive. However, if we walked about like we belong, we should be allowed to go wherever we please. It worked on my parents." Raven said, slowly pushing the door open, peaking out to see if maybe her assessment had failed, but she still couldn't see, hear, or feel any beings beyond Periwinkle beside her.

Moving out into the hall, Raven wanted to tell Periwinkle that they ought split up to cover more ground, but she both didn't think Periwinkle should be alone and didn't think she could deal with being alone herself. Looking at both directions of the hall, filled with doors like all the others, she wasn't sure how long it would take, but she'd do all she could to find the others.

Side B - Chapter 23: Revelations in the Candlelight

"What can we do? He destroyed the ropes earlier!" Rainbow asked, staring at the abomination on the floor. "That thing can't be guarded by a singular pony, that's just not gonna work. It took four of us to wear him down, and that took a good bit more than it should out of each of us. We can't just have one pony standing guard here." I considered this from my sitting position while I tried to catch my breath, despite the pain it caused.

In the distance, occasional purple flashes could still be seen, doubtlessly being seen by other ponies in town by now. True, it was night, but the sun had only set maybe ten minutes prior. I couldn't imagine no pony had noticed what was going on. Now whether or not they would help, that was something else entirely.

"Yes, but we have to go help Twilight!" Rarity pleaded, breaking me from my thoughts. "She needs our help! If we don't go, who knows what sort of danger she'll be in!" I couldn't help share that sentiment. We needed to help, but beyond my loyalty, I was imminently aware that my state made me less that helpful to most anypony.

"I know!" Rainbow shot back. "I wanna go up there right now and help her, but right now we also got mister 'I got yer nose' here, and I can't in good conscience leave him here. What would Twilight say?" She also made a good point, and I could only imagine the sleepy town below affected how she was making these considerations. If we left him, we'd put Ponyville in danger, but staying with him meant that we put Twilight in danger. I sighed, looking back to the house, and then paused.

"I've got an idea." I said, breaking the two ponies out of their argument to stare at me.

"We're coming, Twilight!" I shouted in Applebloom's voice, leaning out the side of Periwinkle's Arcano-Wagon as we sped along the bumpy terrain.

"A-are y-you s-sure you know h-how to operate this th-thing!?" Rarity asked, her anxiety plain on her face, as Rainbow poured on more speed.

"I've driven Cloud Carts a couple of times at Wonderbolt camp! I even got my certification! This thing is like that, except it doesn't have the whole elevation control! That would be a handy thing to have right about now, ey?" Whether the passengers nodded or simply were being thrown about by the vehicles jolting motions was unclear.

Looking to the open trunk I saw the hunched form of the monster as we had tossed him into the wagon, well, how Rarity had deposited him after levitating him in a binding of blankets. None of us wanted to make physical contact for longer than a kick or a punch, so Rarity had been the one to move him, seeing as she was the only one among us that had magic.

Turning back to look over the field, I could see the shapes of ponies far clearer. Twilight was flying about, zapping ponies with her magic while expertly avoiding magic bolts, crossbow bolts, and rocks. She wasn't the most graceful flier, but her semi erratic flight pattern certainly would make it tough to lead her as a target. Pulling the break lever, Rainbow shot up and over the windshield, thanking her lucky stars that Peri had one of the models without the cloth roof in all likelihood.

Hopping out of the contraption, I charged forward, tackling the first pony I met to the ground. The pony, dressed in the plainest of clothes, stared up at me with fear as I lowered myself to whisper in their ear.

"Stay down and you won't be hurt." I whispered. "I can give you something even better than Gunther could if you submit." With that I jumped off of them, bolting off towards the next pony, this one sporting a crossbow. Tackling the pony, distracted by the circling Twilight, and knocking the crossbow away, I repeated the process. If I could save these ponies from Gunther, that would be a triumph. They were affected by his power, but that didn't mean they couldn't make their own choice - at least that was what I could hope.

As I continued forward, I noticed more and more ponies that were obviously under Gunther fighting their own. It then struck me that these ponies might have had far more power over themselves than I had previously anticipated. I noted at one point as one pony wrestled with another, and pointed towards me frantically. Were they... did they know I was an artifact user? Or was it just my promise of something better?

"Cress!" Twilight shouted from above. Looking up, I saw her wheeling about as she avoided the thoroughly diminished projectiles. "Cress, the door!" She pointed, and following her finger, I saw what she meant. A small hatch was slowly being closed up - the hatch that more than likely was the only practical entrance into the hideaway for these ponies.

Darting forward, I reached the doors, grabbing one of the doors and pulling with as much force as Applebloom's body could muster, which again surprised me with its intensity. Staring down, I could see several ponies scattering away further into the compound. Perfect.

Hurrying down the stairs, I followed the ponies, only hoping that they might lead me to where the ponies I came for would be. Corridor after corridor, turn after turn, door after door, I kept up with them - despite my pain - moving deeper and deeper into the depths of the place. Taking one final turn, I watched as one of the ponies was flung backwards against the wall opposite of the turn they had taken.

Slowing my pace, I peaked around the corner and found a mass of ponies fighting, and with a start, I saw a brief flash of Raven in the writhing mass. Pushing past the pain that constantly ate at the back of my mind, I joined the fray, tearing a pony away from the pack.

Suddenly I was sent back in a daze as something slammed into my face. Looking up from the floor - not realizing when I had fallen - I saw a bulk of a stallion holding a cudgel, bearing down on me. Through my pain, I struggled back up to my feet, standing low as I fought past the sensations my body sent me in an attempt to reign me in.

Ducking forward, I landed a few solid punches into his side - or so I thought - up until the point he batted me away with little effort. Hissing against the pain as my body threatened to give out from under me, I charged forward again, planting a drop kick into his chest. Watching him stumble a tad felt good, even as my legs didn't wish to let me stand back up. This wasn't good at all. I needed a plan, but there wasn't one coming.

The large beast of a pony stomped up to me and grabbed me by the collar, hefting me up from the floor with little effort. Scrabbling desperately against the massive pony, my weak, flailing legs batted at his chest as he just looked at me contemptuously.

"If you put me down and stop fighting," I began desperately, hoping to Celestia this might work, "I can give you something far better than Gunther ever could give you." All I got in response was a snort as the beast of a pony lifted the cudgel to smash my head in further. In a flash, the pony stumbled forward, letting me go. Looking behind him I saw a wet, sperm coated, and naked Periwinkle standing.

"And who are you?" She asked pointedly to me as she took in a few heaving breaths. I looked up at her stunned, my mind reeling, only to stop as I watched the massive wall of pony that she had attacked turn about and swing its weapon directly at her. Like a drunken master, Peri folded in on herself and avoided the attack with a complete lack of grace before break dancing back to her feet - or at least that's what it looked like to me.

Periwinkle lept up and locked her legs around the pony's neck, boxing his ears with flat palms while she constricted her well toned legs about his throat. Stumbling about for a few steps, the pony fought his best, but the dual assault this beautiful mare lay on him had its effect, disorientating him while choking him out.

A few tense seconds later, the mighty pony fell, hitting the floor with a heavy thud. Periwinkle pried herself from the pony with a painful groan. Standing back up, she looked back to me.

"So, who are you?" She asked again, and this time the gears in my head clicked a tad faster.

"It's me, Cress." I replied quickly, not sure how long I had before I joined the big guy in unconsciousness. "I used Button's artifact back in the house to 'bamf' into this body just before we were captured." She looked unconvinced. "Help me up." I ordered, knowing it was the only way she'd know. She found herself helping me up, even before she mentally registered the command.

"If... if you're Cress, then who's that?" She said, pointing to a body that lay on the floor, covered completely in spunk, a large trail of it streaming off into the room where he had likely been found. There was no color visible on him except the off white of spunk, but even so, the face I knew, even streaming with spunk.

"He's also me. The artifact sends a part of your... spirit I guess. It inhabits a body at the same time you are also still yourself." I tried to explain, despite not truly understanding myself. "Button tried to explain it earlier, and I guess it really is as hard as he made it out to be to try and explain." Periwinkle nodded slowly, coming to an understanding.

Suddenly she was flung against the wall, and I stumbled back from the sudden attack, looking to the source. The huge stallion was tottering on his feet, but was back up and ready to fight. Looking to Peri, she was down and out, likely in far worse shape than I, based on the bruises and spunk that covered her. Looking back to the pony that stood before me, I knew I was screwed.

"Cress!" Peri shouted, gaining the attention of Fluttershy and Raven who still did their best to fend off the other ponies that still gathered about. Raven turned about fully, seeing the massive bulk of a pony before me, and then to me with a confused stare. I wanted to tell her, but there wasn't time. Rushing forward with all the strength I had left in me, I kicked the massive pony between the legs. It was at this point I found out exactly how androgynous this pony was.

The massive mare grabbed my throat and lifted me up above her head. I looked to Raven, tears in my eyes, and though I knew it would mean nothing to her, I forced myself to speak what words I could even as the mare's vice like grip crushed me.

"I... love... you." I whispered to her, the first mare to whom it truly applied. I was happy that I would still live, my body, though sperm covered and battered, was protected. As the grip tightened about my throat, I lamented internally how I would be letting Sweetie down. She loved this mare whose body I had inhabited by accident. She probably wanted something far deeper than what they currently had, I could feel it in the way she made love. My tears flowed, even as the world grew black. 'Applebloom,' I thought as the last bits of the world closed in around me, 'I'm... sorry...'

My eyes drifted down, now only a pinprick of light getting through, towards the mare I could say I loved as much as Sweetie loved Applebloom. If I was present enough, I might've been shocked by the sickly green aura that coalesced above her head, I might've been astonished as the massive mare that held me aloft fell flat after that aura shot out as a beam and struck her in the back of the head, and I might have even been aghast seeing the soft skin of my Raven temporarily shimmer like black plastic in the light of the candles about us, but alas, it was not so. I simply fell, accepting the embrace of the ground and whatever came next openly.

Side B - Chapter 24: Uneasy Calm

"Are you sure he needs me?" The strange creature asked, walking through the passages. "I may know my sorceries, but even so, it doesn't mean he needs me."

"Nonsense, you are the finest sorcerer I know." The priest said confidently. "And he has said that, to achieve the greatest effect with his arcane artifacts, a weaver of ancient sorceries is necessary." Železna Raka listened to all this, pondering each word, weighing them to see if any were lacking. The priest and his strange friend turned the last corner and appeared before him. The creature he saw before him was unlike any other, with wings that unfurled from its back and only two legs.

"My King, this is the sorcerer I spoke of." Tirek proclaimed proudly. "He is my brother, Scorpan." Scorpan bowed low in reverence. Železna snorted at this.

"Are you indeed a weaver of ancient sorceries?" Železna asked pointedly, staring daggers into the odd creature. Scorpan was not like his 'brother' in many ways, one of which seemed to be he was more easily put to fear.

"Y-yes," Scorpan sputtered, trying to get himself and his nerves back under control, "I am a weaver of the ancient magics. I have gone to many a land to seek out strange things, and have made acquaintance with many a mage and artisan of the arcane." Tirek bowed his head, and though Železna did not know it, it was to hide a smile as he spoke.

"My brother is most skilled in any magic or sorcery you need of him. He has read tablets of such age that he will likely be the last eyes to see and know their meaning." Železna was not one given to being impressed, and even now he remained fairly even keel in regard to this strange being, but even so, he couldn't help feeling a tad bit of wonderment at this strange beast of a mage.

"I require you to use the old sorceries." Železna Raka mandated, moving over to the vats of liquid mana. "I know not all the spells and incantations necessary, but I know the old magics hold power to enhance these pieces. Do your spells and weave your arcane tapestry, and let it all grant these pieces greater power and purpose." Scorpan nodded shakily to this, moving over to the containers, staring down into the blue.

With a gulp, he began his incantations, weaving the ancient powers around himself, gathering them into the small pieces one by one. Železna Raka could only smile, watching as he drew ever nearer to the end. Soon, not even an Ednorog of the highest order would be able to stop him. No... not even a GOD!

I slowly woke up, feeling soft cushions beneath me. It wasn't a bed, but it was darn well close all things considered. I adjusted my position, turning over, crossing my arms over my chest, I grew slightly puzzled, feeling my chest a lot sooner than I should have. Looking down I saw boobs, pale yellow boobs. It came back to me that I had 'spirit fragmented' into Applebloom yesterday. Tracing a hand over my neck, I flinched at the still present soreness still trying to piece the fragments of memory that I had from the minutes leading up to my loss of consciousnesses.

I slowly stood up, flinching at how painful a process it was. What ever that monster had done to me was still affecting me, and it wasn't a good kind of affecting. Looking about my surroundings, I tried to figure out where I was. The walls were a solid gray, not much help, and the floor was... equally gray. The sofa I had been laying on was an old one, having seen many a tush come and go. After a moment I arrived at the only conclusion I felt reasonable: I was in the underground. More than likely the base of the artifact users I barely could remember through the haze of the world.

Moving to the door, I pushed it open slightly, causing a pony who was standing next to it to flinch at the creaking noise it made. I looked at the pony, a deep purple stallion with a black mane. I could honestly say I never met him in my life.

"Hello, Mistress, good to see you are awake." Or maybe I did have a history, perhaps a history that only started last night. It took me a moment to process this, in conjunction with the flighty memories of the previous evening. Eventually the gears in my head clicked and I nodded.

"Y-yeah, I'm doing... better." I paused awkwardly trying to figure out how to phrase my next question.

"Would you like me to take you to the other Mistresses now?" He supplied helpfully. Well that worked, it was basically what I wanted with different words than I would've used.

"Uh... yes, please." I said lamely, still trying to get my bearings, though feeling like I was making some progress. The stallion nodded and began to lead me off, down the hall. The place was... oddly sterile. I noted several rooms that smelled especially strong of cleaner, and thinking on it, it did make sense. These halls, and especially these rooms, were all previously being used for sexual torture if the state of Raven, Periwinkle, Fluttershy, and my own body, were anything to go by. It made sense, and thinking on it, it was likely that that technique had been used to break Starlight.

"They are right in here." The pony said, taking up a post beside a door, acting as if he were a soldier - odd in my initial estimation. Then again, maybe this was how they usually would act around their masters when they weren't being used like living sex dolls. That thought found my eyes drifting down to the very present bulge in this stallion's pants. "Would you like me to service you, Mistress?" I shook my head quickly.

"N-no, that won't be n-necessary." I said, waving him off. And here I thought Button was the flighty one near sex. He nodded, and I moved quickly inside. Closing the door behind me, I was suddenly tackle hugged.

"Applebloom!" Sweetie Belle cheered. I smiled awkwardly, patting her on the back.

"Sorry, still Cress in the noggin." I said regretfully. Sweetie pouted in an overly dramatic way, likely hiding the saucy smirk that would've been there otherwise. She knew, she was just a miniature B-... no, Berry would've kept up the act. Thinking of Berry, I looked over to the mare. She, and basically every other pony, were currently sitting next to or hugging Periwinkle, Raven, or Fluttershy, who were all wrapped in warm blankets, of which a pile were currently being warmed in Rarity's magic aura. My gut instinct was to tell everypony to bugger off - they'd obviously had had enough contact to last them a life time. Then I realized that they weren't shirking away, but leaning into their friend's attentions. They needed contact - nonsexual contact. They needed comfort.

I walked over to Raven, sitting down beside her, placing a hand gently on her shoulder. She looked to me, tears in her eyes. I felt her heartache, as if it were my own. Her tears began to flow in earnest, sobbing her heart away as the terror's she had faced came washing over her. Pulling her closer, I set her head on my chest and hushed her soothingly, wrapping my other arm around to hug her as she threw her arms around me, holding me tightly.

The room was a wash of sobs, wails, calming words, and fond embraces for several minutes. No pony wanted to be the first to let go. We had all fought so hard just to get these ponies back, just to undo my stupid mistakes. And now... now we all just needed some time, time I could already feel we didn't have to burn.

I don't know how long we stayed hugging each other, it didn't really matter either way. The three ponies here had to recover, and they could have as much time as needed to do it for all I cared. It was then I realized something that made me a tad worried. Looking around the room to make sure I didn't make a fool of myself with the question, I asked after a moment,

"Where's my body?" The other ponies looked at me, and then at each other.

"That's a bit of a tough ask." Berry said, turning to me. "You see... well, we kept it safe, but..."

"I'm sorry to say that we were a tad late." Twilight finished. "You were... well... broken in. Thoroughly." I prodded my mind for details, and slowly recalled the absolutely drenched form on the floor. Bit and pieces of recollection surrounding that memory floated about, but in was still foggy. "We can take you to yourself... and odder sentence once I say it out loud - but yes, we can take you to him, if you want, just... fair warning."

"If you don't mind." I said, not wanting to be the pony to pry friends apart, but needing to see where I was. I couldn't stay Applebloom forever, it wasn't right. I needed to return, but I also needed to know the body I'd return to would be suitable. Twilight nodded, assured Fluttershy she'd return, and stood up.

I looked to Raven, and gave a sad smile. "I'll be back in a minute. Will you be alright?" Raven nodded slowly. My heart ached for her, not to mention I felt tired enough that I could just cuddle up beside her and sleep until winter's end, but I needed to make sure what state I was in.

Following Twilight down the halls, we eventually came to a chamber. It was barely furnished, and in the center was a kneeling pony I knew all to well. I waved off Twilight in a silent gesture to have her let me take a private moment with myself. She nodded, and closed the door behind me.

Walking over, I popped a squat in front of myself. The body had obviously been cleaned, his hair put in the messy arrangement I always used, and overall, beyond a few bruises here and there, he looked perfectly normal. The problem was inside - a problem I needed to see if I could solve.

"Cress?" I asked tentatively. I watched myself look up at me, locking gazes with myself. It was a confusing mess. The body blinked a few times, and then gave a gentle smile.

"Hello, Mistress, how may I serve you?" It was my voice. I would've gone running if it hadn't been exactly what I was fearing. Steeling my resolve, I pressed forward.

"Cress... it's me... the part of you that you bamfed using Button's artifact." I tried to make him recall. His eyes seemed to change, his expression shifting into something that was a mixture of elation, sorrow, hatred, and all around confusion.

"It worked?" He said, his voice - my voice - trembling, fighting. "I was so worried that it hadn-n-n-n..." I was afraid my body was having a seizure as the facial muscles twitched violently, the entire body twitching as if wracked with a terrible cough, before the smile returned, the expression an uncomplicated smile. "Hello, Mistress, how may I serve you?"

"Can... can you bring the other guy back?" I asked, not sure how to phrase my words to get what I wanted. My body cocked it's head to the side like a puppy.

"The other one is disobedient and reckless, he is unstable and liable to lash out in some way. Are you certain you wish to see him?" My voice asked. Strange enough, it seemed to work. I would've bounce for joy, but I also wasn't sure if this really was something to celebrate.

"Yes, I need to talk to him." I said firmly in Applebloom's voice.

"Yes, Mistress, I obey." He said - I said. He lowered his head and then raised it again, the face having gone back to its mixture of emotions, more flickering across every second. "Help me..." My voice quavered. I was taken aback. Not knowing what else I was to do, I placed a hand on my body's shoulder in the most comforting gesture I could manage.

"I will. I'll get us out of this." I looked less than convinced, and honestly, that was just like me. Whatever portion of me was in Applebloom was also unconvinced. "We have everypony here. We all made it. I'm sorry we took so long, but we're here now."

"Th-they..." My body began, tears already beginning to flow. "They raped me..." That hit me like a ton of bricks. I already had known it, but hearing it from my lips... that was another thing entirely. "They fucked my ass, my mouth, made me cum while they filled me with their cum! They stuck me with needles! I was helpless! And then... and then..." I could barely stand listening, but I had to, for my own sake, "And then they taught me to love it!" The voice hissed, thoroughly weakened, as he fell onto me, wrapping me up in a hug.

"They made me beg! And I did! I wanted their dicks, I wanted their cum! It was so good! Each time I swallowed they made me cum! They made me know what pleasure really was, but only when I did what they asked!" The tears were streaming down like waterfalls now, and I fought back my own. "They fucked me and fucked me over and over again! And they made me LOVE every single second of it! Gunther came down and brought out his pendant..." I felt another shudder run through my body, he needed to say all of this, he needed to get it out in the open, but even so, I wasn't sure if either of me could take it.

"He... he hypnotized me while they fucked my ass. And then he fucked me... he... he made me think I was a filly... and then a bitch... and then made me forget who I was... and then m-made... he made me his slut." He pulled away to look me in the eyes. "And deep down, the other guy... that guy who is me but isn't? He's still Gunther's sex crazed, nympho slut! I'm still Gunther's sex crazed, nympho slut! Every second I feel whatever he made me into bleed into who I really am! Every second I'm not cumming, and every time I cum... no matter what, I can feel his words in me. Ringing inside my mind!" He fell back int my shoulder.

"I can't fight it..." I whimpered. "I... I'm a slut... a HONRY, SEX CRAZED, NYMPHO, SLAVE-DICK SLUT! I don't want to be, but... but he's drilled it so deep inside of me... he's made me cum, he's molded me, he's whipped every inch of ME out of ME, until he has gotten exactly what he wanted out of me! A slut! A helpless... worthless slut..." I squeezed tighter, unable to do anything else.

"No," I breathed in Applebloom's voice - a strange sound in this room, "no, you can fight. We'll fight it together. We'll get past this. We'll get better. Everypony will." All uncertainties were burned away inside of me. There wasn't space for doubts anymore. I knew what I had to do, I just prayed to Celestia I had the power and strength yet to do it.

Side B - Chapter 25: Indecisive Action

Železna Raka hurled a javelin, only to watch as the black and orange power of the Ednorog swatted it out of the air. "So it's treason then, priest?!" He snarled, charging forward at the priest Tirek, who simply batted him away.

"I've had to play your petty games, Železna, but no longer." Tirek raised a hand and brought the petty king flying across the hall into his grasp. "Priest?" Tirek spat in his face, tightening his grasp on his throat. "I'm a Prince, but today... I'm KING!" Železna flailed uselessly in the suddenly large centaur's grasp. This wasn't how it was supposed to go! He was to ascend!

Casting an eye towards his artifacts, now free from the liquid mana, they all sparkled with energies so potent that not even their physical forms could contain it, and just beyond were the pots of the shining, blue, ethereal substance. In a last desperate attempt at his prize, He drew his last javelin and threw it directly to the pools of mana. Tirek was too shocked to stop it, likely having thought the desperate flailing the ineffectual efforts of a centaur dying in his grasp.

The weapon flew, and in a flash, revealed with one always lowered objects slowly into liquid mana. A massive expansion of arcane energies sprang forth, destroying everything in its wake, from the floor to the ceiling to the very vessels that contained the potent fluid. Železna may have been smaller, but he was trained in physical combat, the one blessing those not given magic could take. Grabbing Tirek's arm, he pulled and twisted, forcing himself around the other centaur, and placing him in front of him. A bolt of arcane lightning scoured the length of the chamber and sliced across Tirek's back.

Tirek glared daggers down at the centaur, only to be bucked in the face by two heavy hooves. Tirek stumbled, sending the table of artifacts tumbling, and crashing into the mana sphere that now floated where the vessels had been consumed. Železna would've shouted in panic if time had permitted, but in the instant they all touched, an explosion of the highest magnitude cascaded outward, rending stone from stone.

Outside the Great Ziggurat, the common people could only watch as the once great temple lost it's zenith in a massive explosion of dazzling, arcane colors. Many would lose their lives from the aftermath, while many more were never found again. Not King Železna Raka, and not this self proclaimed priest.

I walked down the hall, trying to think of something besides what was going to happen. Was there an alternative? No, no there wasn't. I was out of options, and I was running low on time. It was the dead of night, everypony else had gone to sleep, except for me. I had pretended to sleep of course, but my purpose for that evening kept me from actual sleep.

Opening the door, I looked in towards the figured strapped in the chair. I set the case down heavily, closing the door behind me, letting only the light stream in from the bar covered slit of the door. I opened the case and sighed, bringing out Gunther's artifact, holding it in a free hand, before moving over to remove the hood of the same griffon in the chair.

"Oh, hello, little pony, have we met? I'm Gunther. Thes-" I slapped him across the face.

"I know who the fuck you are." I spat, literally, into his face. "You may not understand, but I used an artifact to send a fragment of my spirit into this body, and now I find you've raped my original into oblivion." Gunther's expression wasn't shock like I wanted it to be, it was merely confusion.

"S-sorry, I would love to help you, but I rape so many that it gets a tad difficult to keep track. Who were you and who did I fuck the brains out of?" I slapped him again.

"You will fucking not cross me you bitch, or else what restraint I have left won't last long enough to not strangle you with a fucking garrote wire! Capeesh?" Gunther's eyebrow lifted a tad. He was curious. He should be terrified!

"So apparently it was one of my finer pieces of work." He said with casual ease. "So... Starbitch or Fuc-" I punched him between the eyes, the bolted down nature of the chair the only reason it didn't fall backwards. "Look, I know this is likely your first interrogation, so I'm going to give you some pointers," He said, shaking his head, "you don't mess with the head. It's where all the information is that you want to get at."

"Fine..." I said, a devilish grin on my face. "Fine, perhaps I was focusing on the wrong head." I lifted his artifact for closer inspection, and fiddled with it. "Maybe I'll just tre-" I paused, something catching me off guard. Looking over to Gunther with a sidelong glance that now had move to a stare, I noticed he was now frozen in place, beak parted in a cry I couldn't hear, eyes wide in the terror I wanted from him. Looking back to the pendant, I looked over the sundial-esque design. "Time?"

I looked back to the griffon, frozen in place, piecing together several things at once. The sudden disrobing, the spikes in pleasure... he had stopped time and had... jacked everypony off? I moved up to him and flicked him in the forehead. No reaction, not even a flinch. Either he had nerves of steel, or I was right. I had just assumed he had an artifact that gave pleasure, but it seemed I was wrong. I looked at his pants, feeling I had only one choice... no... no I had options.

Gunther suddenly came, likely the best orgasm he had had in a while based on his face. "C-can't believe you gave me a blowjo-" He paused, looking at his lap, horror mounting inside of him. "BRASS!?" The military pony recoiled, overwhelming the strength I had been using to keep her face against his crotch as he came hard.

"What?!" The pony 'Brass' screeched, flailing backwards, only to stop in mid motion as I activated Gunther's artifact. I had learned already that to activate it, you merely had to have contact and had to will it to happen. I grabbed Brass and lifted her up off the floor, laughing internally as she froze midair like a game asset before the physics engine is turned on. I quickly removed her clothes, surprised... well, not really surprised to find that she didn't wear anything beyond the outer layer.

Angling her about, I impaled her onto Gunther's dick, and unfroze time. "G-Gunther!" Brass yowled, likely feeling suddenly full. Gunther was helpless to move in his restraints, but Brass quickly reacted, lifting herself off, only to freeze with time as I pushed her right back down. Time resumed, and she let out an involuntary, sultry moan, before going to pry herself off once more, only for me to repeat my work. After ten assisted pumps, I didn't need to intervene, Brass simply fucked Gunther. I smirked, looking through the artifacts I had left.

Apparently this case is where my artifact and Silver's had been found by the other ponies. Button's had been retrieved, along with the colt himself, from the house. He had been stuck in the bathroom, and based on its state, had been told to jack off until further notice. Maybe I'd do something like that to these two? Maybe then they'd talk.

I grabbed the chalice that Twilight said was once Brass' artifact, though she hadn't used her name. It apparently had some sort of intelligence sapping ability that ended when it was spilled. Likely why it had the mismatched plastic to-go cup lid fitted to it. Once Twilight had had it spilled, it seemed everypony affected by it was released, including a very tired Button who collapsed in his own jizz. I'd have to pay him a visit once he woke up and had physically recovered, but these two needed my attention.

Turning back to the fucking couple, I gave the cup a gentle swirl, testing out the artifact while thinking about the concept of reasons to be secretive. If I could extract certain aspects of their intelligence, I could make this a lot easier, but nothing of this was a sure fire bet.

"How do I undo what you did to Starlight?" I asked,getting as close to Gunther as the mare riding him would allow.

"Fuck off!" I suppose either it didn't work, or he just enjoyed fucking. I swirled my glass again, watching the lethargic stream of crimson energy flow from their heads into the cup.

"You will tell me, or I will stop you fucking." I said pointedly. The two kept on fucking, ignoring me. I swirled the cup again, my ire beginning to overflow as the cup filled more and more. "Tell me how to fix what you've done!"

"Wuz... wuz yuh doon to meh." Gunther slurred. That didn't help as I gave the cup a few more violent swirls, my teeth beginning to bare into an animalistic snarl. "Heh heh heh... I feel funny..." I swirled my glass several more times, more and more as I focused on these two, my rage growing and growing. He was taunting me!

I set the glass down and activated the sundial, the world stopping before me as I grabbed and ripped Brass off of him, giving his balls a less than gentle squeeze before releasing the effect. Gunther roared like a lion at the sudden pain, grasping at his genitals while Brass hit the wall with a meaty thwack as soon as the artifact's effect was released.

"You will tell me what I want or you will not have balls for much longer!" I hissed at him. Gunther looked up at me, fear now in his eyes. He finally was scared! "Tell me!" I pressed. Gunther let out a meek mewl. What?

"Heh heh... he's a dumb kitty-birdy..." Brass said stupidly, slowly crawling forward, one hand dedicated to shlicking herself. "You took too much smart juice out of him."She said, hoisting her upper body onto his lap, giving the erect shaft of his dick a lick. "You gotta give him some back or drink the stuff if you want anything now!" She then gobbled up the dick, giving Gunther the best head his now severely impaired mind could recall.

"D-drink it?" I stammered, looking to the nearly full cup. Brass popped up, switching from mouth to hand with expert ease.

"Yeah, tastes like grape juice!" She said cheerily. "You wuz focusing on us right? You wanted us dumb not them?" She nodded to the door. I looked over and saw no pony in the shafts of light. Moving over I peered through the bars and saw a pony walking by, one of the former slaves by how he was dressed. He walked normally. Good. Apparently my single minded focus on these two was good for something.

Turning back to them, I smirked. "Gunther." I said like I was talking to a pet. Gunther perked his head up like a cat, seeming more interested in the sound than what it meant. I moved over to the glass and tipped it slightly. "Gunther?" Gunther turned to me.

"Yez?"

"What's two plus two?"

"Eh... fish?" He answered, more asking than anything. I smirked.

"If I asked you to, would you walk around naked?" I asked like a teacher asking a student if they'd read off attendance. Gunther nodded his head with a dumb smile.

"I like nekid! Can I be nekid all the time?" I smirked. Perfect. Looking to Brass, I analyzed her carefully. Gunther was believable, but she had been able to be coherent before I spilled a tad out. How much more intelligent was she now? I stared her down and swirled the cup a few times, watching as tendrils of slow moving mist swirled towards me, my gentle swirls relieving less that my violent swirls earlier had. Once Brass slumped onto Gunther's lap like a limp noodle, I began to slowly pour from the glass, still focusing on her, happy to see the mist only flowed back towards her, skirting around Gunther entirely, who was slapping her face with his dick as if that would revive her.

She blinked a few times, and then happily went back to sucking. "Brass?" I asked, again like I was talking to a pet. She stopped and looked at me, Gunther's dick still in her mouth.

"Mhmm?" She muffled around his dick.

"Spit it out." She groaned at that, but let the dick go. "Would you like to fuck him in public? Would you do it in front of everypony if I asked?" Brass' eyes grew wide in excitement.

"Yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes!" She said, bouncing up and down, patting Gunther's lap. I smirked again. Perfect.

"Do you two know anything about the Empire?" I asked like a teacher asking for information on the lesson I had just given. The two looked at each other and then to me, cocking their head to the side.

"Wazzan umpire?" Gunther slurred, pawing at Brass' head to guide her back to his dick. I looked at the juice before me. It contained all the answers I needed. And all it would take was for me to drink it. It could tell me what the Empire was, but more importantly, what they did to me, and what to do to fix it. I could kill so many birds with one stone. One stone that apparently tasted like grapes. I'd know their secrets, and best yet, they'd forever be reduced to idiots... no, they'd be reduced to fuck puppets. Like so many other ponies they had taken.

What was right? What was wrong? I didn't know, but staring between the cup and the two creatures that had caused me so much pain and grief now reduced to fucking and sucking, I knew the power to choose was now mine. Their fate, my fate, was in my hand.

Side B - Chapter 26: The Answer

I looked at the two fucking before me, and at the cup. I needed the answers, I needed to know, but was... was I truly able to take away their minds permanently? But then, what other way was there to undo the damage they had done to me or Starlight? Raven, Periwinkle, and Fluttershy were also hurt, but at least their scars could be healed with therapy, but Starlight and me? I wasn't sure if anything short of magic would fix us. What was right in this scenario?

These two deserved punishment, but stooping to their level, was that right? Could I really consume their intelligence? At this point they would never be able to harm another pony... but was I really in a position to be judge, jury, and executioner? True, I wasn't killing them, but... but the griffon Gunther and pony Brass would never be the same they once were. They'd be happy, horny fuck puppets. Maybe that was right? After all the other ponies they had taken and done the same to, maybe it was what they deserved?

I looked to the door and thought on that. The other ponies. They had taken so many more ponies than just those I knew personally. The size of this compound... how many ponies were there? How many families had lost somepony and would never know they had ended up here, ended up as sex slaves. How many mothers had died without their foals by their side? How many brides or grooms were left at the altar? I turned back to the two, these questions burning a hole through what sympathy I had left for them.

How many lives had these two ruined?! How much love destroyed? And would they face justice at the hands of the guard? That was a laughable question. Of course they wouldn't! They had the guard in their pocket, they pulled the strings! No. No, if they were to face justice, it would be right here, right now. No other ponies would deliver justice, and beyond that, no pony would have to once I was finished. I didn't have the strength to kill these two, that was for sure, but what I did have right in my hand was the power to neuter the danger they posed to Equestria.

I went to lift the cup to my lips, but paused. What would the others think? That gave me a reason to reconsider. Berry and Periwinkle would always be on my side, they were compelled to by the agreement they had made. But the Elements? They might not look so kindly. Then again, they had laid out execution orders on evils left and right during their hay day when the Elements were constantly finding use. They'd understand, they'd have to, either that or be such hypocrites that their opinion would cease to matter. I almost drank again, but then Raven's eyes flashed before me. What would Raven think?

A knock came at the door. I looked towards it, but saw no pony in the light of the slits. I grabbed the travel lid that had been fitted to the chalice and placed it over the brim. I opened the door, and as if I had summoned her, Raven stood there in the hall, a tad bit away from the door, wrapped in a blanket only heated by her body. I wanted to say something to persuade her, to make her understand what I was doing and why it was necessary, but instead I just looked at her. In her eyes I felt not only her pain, but the pain I had seen in my own eyes and the eyes of everypony the two behind me had ever met. My heart melted, and I simply lunged at her, wrapping my arms about her in a hug, crying into her shoulder. She wrapped me in the blanket and a hug, softly hushing me.

"I hate them..." I managed weakly after countless moments of crying. "They've done this to us... and now..."

"I'll do it." Raven said simply. I looked up to her startled. Had she really said that? Looking into her eyes, I saw a new edge in them, but she wasn't looking at me. Following her eyes, I realized she could just barely see the two of them, still fucking. "My cla- hands aren't entirely clean. I can end them... I can do what must be done." That... that was what I needed to hear. I turned back to her.

"No... no I think I can do it." I said with a sense of finality. "I won't kill them... death is to sweet a release." I parted from her warm embrace, lowering my head. "I just hope I can live with it." I turned and entered the chamber, making a beeline towards the chalice. I pulled off the lid and looked at the contents. This was the moment, the moment were all the answers I wanted would become mine.

Tipping the chalice back, I closed my eyes, ever cognizant of the fact Raven watched me as I did. It did in fact taste like grape juice - heavily artificial grape juice. As the taste washed over me, taking in the last drip of the concoction - irrevocably setting the change in stone - I dropped the chalice as a wave struck me, sending me against the wall. New sensations over flowed me, sending me to my knees as I gripped my head. The world swirled like the chalice.

"And where did you find it?"

"Get back here young lady!"

"Stop it!"

"I beg you, please! I can give you whatever you want!"

"I will whip that insolence right out of you!"

"You think that since it gives you power that you are at the top of the food chain?"

"Bend the knee and I might consider letting you keep it."

"You will bow in life or death, make no mistake."

"This is to be your fief. You will march as a wolf among sheep."

"You won't get away with this."

"Be sure your evil will find you out, griffon!"

"Silver, and you are?"

"Stop playing games!"

"Attention! Forward march!"

"You will cum until you have nothing left to cum, and then you will cum again!"

"Maybe if we had two or three more artifacts we'd be able to take him, but we don't stand a chance now."

"You will either die for the Emperor or will live in his service!"

"I will forget us... I will obey..."

"I'd do anything just to fuck those asscheeks one last time..."

"And who do you think you are?"

I opened my eyes, my head still a ball of searing pain as I tried to organize myself, taking stock of limbs and location. I was still on the floor of the chamber, my limbs were still attached, and the sound of the two fucking still echoed about me. Looking up, I saw Raven looking down in concern.

"Are you alright?" She asked. I barely processed this as I forced myself to my feet, swaying a tad. I looked at the two former artifact users, a feeling of dread washing over me, only to be replaced by satisfaction. I had laid them low, so low they'd never again pose any threat. I had won. I grinned.

Reaching into my mind I felt for a memory on what to do to undo what Gunther had done. I'd finally have my ans- and then it hit me. Gunther had... had drugged ponies, raped them over and over, hypnotized them, and all the while... all the while he did it for keeps. He never had a backdoor. No pony... no pony could be cured once he had them. My eyes widened in rage, my fingers flexing.

I had endured it all, and for what? Nothing. These ponies... they never intended to release anypony. I searched, and in a second, I found my answer. Two hundred and thirty-nine ponies. Two hundred and thirty-nine ponies had all been taken by Gunther. My hands twitched, my face contorting into a snarl. I took a step forward, looking at Brass.

I reached into my mind once again. Her dress uniform had tipped me off before, and now, now I knew she was military. What more, her entire platoon was repeatedly mind fucked by her. She had trained them into soldiers as much as she had trained them into sluts. She had a select few that Gunther had gotten his talons on and had inserted triggers into their minds to make them able to switch between cleaning the barracks and cleaning her pussy without a thought. He had bent them into being able to hear their trigger word and instantly become sluts in uniform.

I clenched my fist, and then opened them again as anger continued to whelm up inside of me. Of the ponies Gunther had taken... of the two hundred and thirty-nine, nearly every one of them had received a missing pony report. Gunther had laughed at each. Why shouldn't he? Each face belonged to a now broken pony who could barely function beyond acting as a cum dumpster. Each bright and shining future had been snuffed out like a candle. Even if they were found, what could they do? My hands ached to do something.

"Gunther, Brass Tacks, stand at attention before me." I boomed in Applebloom's voice, another force seeming to be feeding my tone. The two ponies quickly obeyed, breaking off the fucking. I glared daggers into them, looking them up and down, thoroughly disgusted with their existence. What would a suitable punishment be? Losing their intelligence had been a start, but they deserved much worse. "From now on," I hissed, "the two of you are my slaves!"

"You," I pointed at Brass Tacks sharply, "are my slave-bitch cunt! You are worthless beyond being a set of holes on legs! You will do as you are told, when you are told, as you are told! If you do well, I might just let you cum. Am I understood?!" She nodded furiously.

"And you," I turned to Gunther, "you are my dick-slave slut! You are only worth as much pleasure as you bring to others! Your dick will not cum unless I say so! You exist to pleasure others and will do whatever you can to bring as much pleasure as you can to others! Do you understand?!" He nodded furiously. "Good, that's a start, I huffed." I looked them over, a bad taste in my mouth.

"I want you two to walk through all the halls masturbating while repeating the words: 'I am a slave. My only worth is how much pleasure I bring. I will suck, I will fuck, I will serve. I am a slave. I must be punished. Please let me cum.' If anypony stops you, you will offer to do whatever sexual acts they like. You may only cum when told to, and will always cum when told to. Any mess you or another pony makes because of you, you will clean up with your tongue. I will come to collect you later. When anypony says the phrase: 'the dawn grows purple', you will accept them as your master. Now go!" The two of them immediately began to masturbate, their expression frozen blank as they began to repeat their mantras. They parted way once out of the door, walking in opposite directions as they began to repeat the words I had given them.

"It's not enough. They deserve so much WORSE!" I hissed, moving past Raven, who watched all of this with some trepidation. Picking up the chalice, I walked over to the case and set it in its place, taking out Button's artifact. "Raven," I began softly, a lot of the rage inside me already cooling off. "I can't fix the damage he has done to you... I can't fix anypony." I looked to her. "But I can't stay as Applebloom. It isn't right to keep her tangled in this." Raven nodded slowly.

"I want you to take this, and press the B button. That should release Applebloom and send me back to my body. I can... I can only hope all of this trauma stays on my end." Raven took the Joy Boy Retro and looked at it blankly. "Applebloom is likely going to be quite confused. Button never told me what ponies under his control are like after the fact... I kind of doubt he even knows." Raven looked up to me.

"I... I love you." She said, tears beginning to flow. "Even... even if you aren't quite you, even if... even if you never fully recover from what Gunther has done... to both of us. I love you. Nothing can change that." I smiled at that.

"I love you too Raven. We'll make it out of this together." She nodded, and looked back down to the handheld, taking a deep breath. Pressing the button, I felt my world reduced to blackness. I felt everything fly past like I was in a wind tunnel, and then... it stopped.

Opening my eyes, I looked down at my hands. They were mine. Looking up, I felt the two sets of memories fold in to one. I now had both spent a few loving hours with Sweetie Belle, and had been raped by Gunther. I tried to recall Gunther's first slave, needing to know if I kept the memories from the chalice, and to my surprise and relief, I could see him. A dark gray stallion with a shining silver mane... Silver. It felt odd, but as I looked over the memories in my head... it came together. Gunther had taken him as a slave before Silver had found his artifact, but when he had found the artifact... Gunther had to let him go.

"I will forget us... I will obey..." Silver's words rang in my ears. Gunther... Gunther had loved him. Somehow... somehow despite their bickering, Gunther never accepted that the Silver he had loved was truly gone, despite seeing the evidence every time they met. But despite forgetting their love... despite being forced to forget it... Silver never forgot Gunther. It was why he had asked for Gunther's help. He knew there was something missing.

"Give it back! Please!" The final words before he burned. Had he realized in his last moments exactly what he was going to lose? Maybe... but neither of them would be able to miss the other again.

Side C - Chapter 1: New Reality, New Recruits

I sat in the middle of the room still not wanting to move, simply staring at the floor. A part of my brain thought that maybe this was why I had been doing it before - the part of my brain that was still folding in on the rest. The last piece clicking into place, or at least what I could only assume was the last piece, I sighed. It wasn't really true. Before I was staying still because the scar Gunther had left was a hard one to ignore. Taking stock of myself, I came to the conclusion that the addition of the part of me that had been in Applebloom coming back to the fold had tipped the balance. I was a tad bit more me now, but only a little. I had adjusted the dilution, but Gunther's influence was still wriggling in the back of my mind like a festering, cancerous growth that simply needed a catalyst to sprout forth and consume my whole being.

I was so filled with so many emotions, it was hard to pick one out. I was afraid of what I might become - and that in two directions, I was enraged at Gunther and Brass, I was filled with lust and a hunger from my... slutty side, I was sad for what I and so many others had lost, and beyond all that - I was simply blank as shock kept me rooted in place.

What was I going to do? Gunther's underground hold contained two hundred and thirty-nine ponies that were still, technically, under his power, even though he couldn't exert it as much. I wanted to send all the ponies back home... but what was worse? Thinking your family member dead; or finding them alive, but a helpless slut? I knew the answer, it was simple. Families had worked through worse. What was worse was not knowing who I could trust.

True, I could do the digging and send everypony back to where they should be, but then this Empire would likely find them before too long. And then what? Doubtlessly they'd reclaim their slaves, and the families would be without them once again, if not joining them as slaves. I could help, but how much could I help?

The door opened, and I looked up, a part of me realizing I was still kneeling, and seeing as I lacked furniture, I could excuse it in that moment. I rose up, wobbling slightly as my legs got the message to start doing their part. A little cream mare with a red mane peaked in, a mare I knew fairly well.

"C-Cress, are you... uh... decent?" She asked timidly, not actually looking around the room, her eyes screwed shut as she moved her head to and fro in the slightly opened doorway. I looked at myself, not sure since I really hadn't checked. I was in my normal street clothes, and beyond that they were clean. Odd for all the shenanigans I had gone through in the last week or so.

"Yeah, I'm decent." I replied simply, far less energy in my voice than normal. I wasn't going to correct my tone. I really wasn't feeling energetic. Sullen was a good word. Confused was another.

"H-hey there..." She said, entering the room fully, opening her creamy orange eyes. "Uh... I'm Applebloom... but I suppose you figured that out, huh?"

"Yeah..." I muttered. "Crescendo... like you were probably told."

"Yeah..." We were just a pair of awkwardness. "L-look... I... I wanna be straight with you, alright? No judgement, just me tellin' you how it is." She said, I nodded, accepting that that was for the best. Holding back anything would just mean letting it cook up into something more potent later. "Okay... eh, look, I... I wasn't, you know... asleep while you were inside me." Not a surprise really, I had no way of knowing what the artifact's particularities were, and the only one who could've told me so happened to have been temporarily turned into a slut at the time.

"I... I got a foggy recollection of basically everythin' you did... everythin' you... felt." That... well.

"I... hope you enjoyed the show?" I offered weakly. I had to admit I wasn't in the most diplomatic of moods. Applebloom, however, just giggled in response.

"It was... it was certainly something." Applebloom admitted sheepishly as she pushed the door shut with her back, the soft rasp of steel on steel tipping me off that she had closed the peepholes into the room. "I..." This was either a wonderful or horrendous sign, there was no in between at his point. "I actually kinda... have had a... fetish?" Good? I had to suppose so.

"I seem to have a knack for finding those." I muttered with a soft chuckle.

"Yeah... mine is... well it's..."

"Body puppetry?" I offered, coming up with a name of the top of my head.

"Yeah... that... I ain't even sure ifin it's actually a fetish most ponies know about. Heck, I ain't even been able to find it online... not that I've really searched for it hard."

"Sweetie?" I asked, decently sure that I was right. Applebloom both beamed and blushed at that one.

"Yeah, I don't really need... well... I guess I never really needed to find another pony to talk to about it since Sweetie was right there. She... well, you kinda could guess, but she'd kinda got the counterpart fetish to mine."

"She has the hots for body puppeteered ponies." I said.

"Well... she has the hots for me, and she loves it when I'm getting what I want. I... well, I ain't got no way of being able to tell, but I think she was so wantin' the action she gave you since... you know... well, it was me, and I was getting exactly what I wanted." That... actually made some sense. She said that me inhabiting Applebloom's body was turning her on... maybe it wasn't that it was me in Applebloom's body, or even that Applebloom's body was being possessed, but that it was Applebloom who was being possessed... whatever that distinction really meant in the end.

"So yeah, she... she's quite... rambunctious? I guess? So... I'd like to say thank you kindly for... helpin' us... even ifin that t'weren't what you was aimin' at. And... eh..." My gentle smile was fading fast. This was going into the territory where Applejack would bust in and hang me from the nearest tree by my junk. "I was just... I dunno... thinkin'... ifin you wanted, say, two ponies about... two mares... and they would... I dunno... engage it sexual acts with you and your... friends?" A part of my brain was telling me that she and Button would get along... then again, I was also feeling just as awkward.

"This... this is a very... kind offer, but... well... you can't exactly offer it for Sweetie Belle, she's not even here." I said, trying to end this before it started.

"Oh, but she is, and we've already discussed it while you where sittin' in here." She said, opening the door to let the mare in question inside the room. Sweetie Belle stood there in a plain shirt and jeans. I was confused to say the least, she hadn't come with us, but I supposed maybe Rarity had just brought her down here for safe keeping. We all were down here after all, no pony was left up top side to look after her.

"Hi, Cress." Sweetie said in a sultry tone, looping an arm around Applebloom, whose blush grew only deeper, as did mine. "Yeah, I did agree with Applebloom here." She answered the question before I could ask it. "And to clarify her pausing speech: we're basically asking to, in exchange for becoming auxiliaries, or better, in your harem, for you to help Applebloom with her fetish." I was floored.

"Up to this point," She continued, now turning to Applebloom to run a hand down her cheek in a loving and thoroughly sexual motion, "we've only been able to do it through role play, but you," She cast a glance towards me, a devilish grin took her features as she bit her lower lip in anticipation, "you can make it real. And I've got to say, that does it for me. Seeing my Applebloom moving under some other pony's control? Mmmmm~! It makes me wet just thinking about it." My eyes drifted involuntarily towards her crotch.

Something in me strained, my vision lightly blurring as I blinked a few times - even as I tried to make my decision. "I... I..." I found my hand twitching, as if to move, my eyes transfixed on the spot between Sweetie's legs, my vision swimming.

"So... can we join?" Applebloom asked, apparently not having heard me, or not caring. I honestly had stopped noticing her as my vision continued to swim, but in that moment my eyes flicked over to her crotch, and bobbed up to her small breasts, and then over to Sweetie's. A need was burning in me. "Can we join?" She reiterated, or maybe her voice just echoed in my head.

"Join? Y-yeah... yeah, sure..." I said, fighting off the daze as best I could, and failing. I barely registered anything, not noticing anything Applebloom said as she hugged Sweetie in joy, my eyes now focused on the farm pony's butt. I next noticed being hugged myself, and then... I felt...

Dickslut giggled gently, realizing he was being hugged. He returned the hug. He liked hugs, it allowed him to grab butts. The mare noticed with a sly grin, and Dickslut knew he was caught. He fell to his knees, and with robotic motions undid the pants on both mares, a dreamy smile on his face as he worked. The pants didn't stand a chance, and a simple motion later, both mares stood without bottoms.

Something was said, but he didn't hear anything. It didn't concern him, why should he pay attention? His dick wanted to join in on the party, but Mistress hadn't ordered i-

"-you want to fuck us?" One of them said to him. He smiled dumbly and nodded like a good slut. "Take out your dick then. I know safe sex is good, but doing it through denim isn't exactly on my list of things to do. He nodded again, removing his pants with practiced ease. Dickslut was good at getting out of clothes - a lot better than he was at getting into clothes. He grabbed his already hard dick, but didn't do anything, not sure which mistress wanted it first.

"I'll just lick his balls and play with myself, if that's alright, you can get the fucking." One of the mistresses said as he returned to standing. The other mistress nodded, and then bent over in front of him. He smiled. He liked this part. Lining up, he plunged deeply into his mistress, his dopey grin exploding into elation, the pleasure at being used like the worthless slave-dick he was nearly making him cum, but he wasn't allowed to cum yet. Mistress must cum first. He began to fuck her, happy that the other mistress was happy to suck his balls. She hadn't needed to do that, he could've fucked her with his fingers, but she was a kind mistress.

Dickslut, let the sensations wash over him, but not too much. He stayed focus, hammering away at the mistress in front of him while the other worked at his balls. He was a good slave-dick, why else would mistress let him fuck her? This made Dickslut very happy, and filled him with a wave of pleasure, knowing that mistress liked him.

The sound of their fucking filled the room, and Dickslut loved it. Both mistresses had such beautiful voices, moaning and occasionally screaming out in pleasure. He wished his voice was pretty like theirs. Feeling mistress' pussy spasm around his dick, he could tell, she was close, so he redoubled his efforts to make this extra special. When she came, he leaned over her and grabbed her nipples through her shirt, and twisted them, just as master Gunther had taught him.

Mistress screamed in pleasure, collapsing beneath him. Dickslut, satisfied with a job well done, congratulating himself on not even cumming, looked at the other mistress. She looked happy. That was good. She moved around, and stood up before him, and lifted her leg. Dickslut obediently grabbed it and lifted her up and lined her up to fuck his dick while he stood. Mistress was already near finishing, and had just wanted to finish on him.

"C-cum in me!" That was an order. Mistress had ordered him, but he'd wait until she came. It was only right. She bounced up and down on his dick, and then with one last thrust, she came. This was Dick Slut's favorite part. With an explosion of pleasure and euphoria, he came, filling Mistress up as she slumped in his grasp. Letting her down slowly, he set her next to the other mistress, and smiled.

Maybe another mistress or master would come by and order Dickslut again? That would be nice. He could hardly wai-

I stumbled back several steps, finally having wrestled control back. Looking down, I saw both Sweetie Belle and Applebloom on the floor. Sweetie was soaked in her fluids, dozing contentedly beside Applebloom who had a creampie leaking out from her. It wasn't a dream. I fell to the ground, hitting it with a meaty smack as I looked over the two of them. This... this wasn't good.

Side C - Chapter 2: Paradigm

"And that's what happened?" Twilight looked at me with an unreadable expression. I nodded slowly. I had needed to come clean, and despite how improbable it sounded, I also needed these ponies to believe the truth about my condition.

"So that's what Gunther accomplished with you..." Periwinkle said, considering this carefully, likely partly thankful it hadn't been her, but endlessly sorrowful the master she loved had been the one to get hit in the end.

"Yes." I said plainly. "But I do have a prospective plan to maybe fix all of this." I began, setting down the small notepad I had sketched out my plan on. Raven was the one to pick it up, looking it over quickly, reading aloud.

"Everypony Gunther had hypnotized became suddenly free from the effects, and had all psychological effects removed." It was my best draft out of a great many nonfunctional ones. "Seems solid to me."

"The wording is quite tight as far as things go." Twilight commented, looking over Raven's shoulder at the paper. "Hmm..."

"I honestly should've done a similar recording at least for Starlight to begin with, but I was too concerned to start out that it would fail to even try... which was an oversight on my part. Either way, now we have the recorder back in our possession, we can get her back, as well as everypony else."

"Sounds good to me." Applejack said in a tone that was ever so slightly less murderous than I had anticipated. I lowered my head, not wanting to look at the mare. I had messed up, even if technically it wasn't my fault entirely. That might be the exact reason I wasn't an exhibition of brutality in the market square. "Let's get 'er done." We all nodded and moved down the hall quickly, noting a few wet spots here and there.

Reaching the room where the artifacts had been left,I noted it was remarkably clean. Somepony must've come through and fixed it up, because it definitely didn't have a cleaning enchantment on it. I grabbed the recorder and smirked. It had been a while, though it had only been about a day. It felt right holding it. I grabbed the earpiece and slipped it on, giving a sigh of pleasure as a new sensation washed over me, gaining a full smile from me. Some part of me knew something was off, but I was too caught up in the moment. Looking at the notepad, I clicked the record button.

"I am a huge, perverted, dick-loving," I said, reading the script, half noticing Twilight's shock as I went on, "cock-sucking, horny, sex-crazed, nympho, dick-slu-" Twilight boxed my one ear and pulled the mic out of the other. My world spun. I looked at her, a laser focus coming over me.

Dickslut shot his hand into the artifact case, grabbing master Gunther's artifact, activating it quickly. Sighing, he fell to his knees. Somepony was struggling, and they were halted by the artifact. He had been ordered to make his next recording an affirmation of his triggers, but now... now the other guy was being difficult. Looking up, he saw the ponies in the room. They were inviting him with their open stances. Standing, he pulled off his pants and looked over the ponies. None of these were master's slaves. Maybe he could fix that?

Moving up, he grabbed the purple one's skirt and pulled it down with her panties. Cress pulled back. Dickslut blinked a few times. This was odd, the other guy wasn't usually this powerful, at least not in his limited experience. He'd have to work fast. The hand that held master Gunther's artifact was already starting to feel the fatigue.

Dickslut looked at the purple pony, and then at her friends. He'd have to take care of them all. He moved from one pony to the next, quickly disrobing them, he was very good at taking clothes off. Soon, everypony in the room was naked, like they should be. Grabbing the purple one, he set her on her knees and quickly began to rub her horn. He had never done this before, but it should work. Working the pussy of the white one for a moment, he then slotted the two of them together, placing the white one on the purple one's horn, giving the purple one's pussy a good luck rub. Very sexy.

Moving over, he looked at the orange one and the small cream one. Maybe he could introduce them to a new fun? He quickly worked, making them hold each other in a tender embrace, and then fished their tongues out to make them kiss while wrapping tongues sensually. Pausing for a moment, he rubbed the two of them for good measure - never leave a job half finished! Looking over, he had the blue one, the yellow one, the pink one, the wine one, the white one with a red mane, and the gr... Raven. Cress was fighting hard.

Dickslut shook his head and focused on the two pegasi. He stroked their wings, and then their pussies, and then set them on the floor, extending their tongues into the other's pussy. Looking over to the pink and wine one, he thought they matched nicely. He grabbed the pink one and turned her upside down, and then made the wine one hold her like that, rubbed their pussies a bit, and then made them lick each other where he had rubbed, all while adjusting the wine one's position to hold the big bouncy mare whose breasts he definitely played with. Grabbing the white one with the red mane, he simply rubbed her a good bit before putting her kneeling on the ground, a hand between her legs and another on her breast - slowly lifting it to her mouth. One more good luck rub on the mare's pussy.

The fatigue was spreading through his chest, and the more tired he was the more Cress fought. It wasn't a good combination. Grabbing back the mic from Twilight, he put it back in his ear, looking back to... Raven. He had a need, and so did the other guy. Maybe he could shut him up and get what he wanted too? He was a dickslut, no, he was the DICKSLUT!

Grabbing her, he lowered her onto his dick and almost came from the explosion of pleasure. Holding her steady, he moved back to the recorder, her weight yet to press down on him as he pressed the record button. He had to give himself enough time, but he also needed to release the artifact or else he would be rendered useless, and unable to accomplish what Gunther had programmed him to do. Pressing record, he began his message.

"All the ponies I touch the pussies of are now compelled to find orgasm before anything else. The same goes for dicks." He added hastily before releasing the recording and smiling to himself as he released the artifact's power.

The room was an explosion of howls of pleasure. Even so, Dickslut felt himself slipping away. The other guy had woken up a bit more, that wasn't good. Pressing the record button once more, he smiled. He knew how to rile this pony, this other guy, and please master Gunther all in one go.

"The Elements of Harmony and Starlight Glimmer are all my horny, sex-cra," Raven slapped me, slapped Dickslut.

"F-fu... f-fu.... f-fight it... Cress! A-and... f-fuck m-me!" She moved her hips as best she could from her position. She was under the compulsion just as much as she should be. Dickslut was only too happy obliged as I began to f-fu... I tried to fight through, punching my way through the fog. He was distracted and it provided me an opening. NO! Dickslut was in charge now, the other guy just needed to get a good fuck and then he'd shut up.

"The Elements of Harmony and Starlight were my-"

"FRIENDS!" Raven shouted before kissing me and pressing the record button, ending the recording. Dickslut felt his grasp slipping, he was going to go away again and then the boring one would come out. Fine, let him come out, Dickslut would just grow horny enough to break through, and then he'd make the other guy's body do sexy things. But perhaps a parting gift. Tapping the shaft of his own dick, he felt the compulsion begin to take over him even as Dickslut waned.

I gasped as if having been underwater. A burning need was in my loins, and a fuckable Raven on my dick; and so I pumped. I fucked Raven with as much force as possible, relishing the moment, even as I felt suddenly a tad weaker. Falling to my knees, I adjusted her position, and began to fuck her doggy-style, panting as if I were one as the rampant heat washed over me. We were all in trouble, but all of us... we were too busy fucking to fucking care about it.

Side C - Chapter 3: Reflection

We all sat in the underground chamber, some of us willing to look at others, though certainly not me. I felt terrible, not only because I had failed, but it seemed nigh to impossible at this point for me to succeed. If it hadn't been because of Raven's save, there would've been some far worse consequences. But now, we just sat there, the afterglow long gone from us.

"Eh... good job... Applebloom." Applejack murmured. "Where's, uh, Sweetie Belle?" Applejack seemed flustered to say the least.She obviously wasn't one of the ponies interested in incest, not that I could blame her. She hadn't chosen to go after her sister, a combination of the new compulsion I could inflict and the position the other guy put them in having forced them into it.

"Yer askin' 'cuz you wanderin' why I didn't get 'er instead?" Applebloom said, still blushing. If anything, I think she enjoyed being forced to do it with her sister, her fetish likely overcoming the taboo of incest in her mind. Applejack sheepishly nodded to the question, getting a light chuckle from Applebloom. "She went off back to grab her purse from the lounge... she... she should be here by now that I think about it." Applebloom moved out of the doorway and looked about.

"She probably just got lost, Sugarcube. This place is more mixed up than a bowl of snakes." Applejack comforted, walking up to her. "Come on, let's get dressed and then we can search for 'er." Applebloom apparently didn't hear that first part, or firmly ignored it, walking out into the hall at a brisk pace while calling out for her secret, or at least I assumed secret, marefriend. It was likely Applejack knew, but was either being polite and waiting for her sister to tell her, or was hoping by not mentioning it that it would go away.

By this point, everypony was moving. "A-Applebloom! Girl, what in tarnation are you doin' walkin' about naked as the day you was born?!" Applejack hollered after her sister, staying firmly behind the door.

"What? The only ponies down here have seen plenty of naked ponies, plus, ain't like they're gonna snitch." Applebloom pointed out, walking further away.

"She does raise a fair point." Berry said, immediately discrediting the notion in her own way even though she was arguing for it. "No pony down here will care. We also closed the door behind us, so it's unlikely a pony who isn't supposed to be down here will be down here."

"Yeah... well there happens to be few ponies in our midst who really don't need giblets flipping about in their face." Periwinkle muttered. "Trust me, I love my sexy fun, but I had enough unsexy displays of sexy bits recently."

"Yeah, either way, we still have to fix Gunther's meddling." Twilight said. "Cress might not be able to do the recording, but one of us should be able to." It struck me as odd how unemotional Twilight seemed to be. Sure, she seemed antsy, but she didn't seem to hold that same... animosity against me as she had before. It then hit me: 'FRIENDS!' Raven had, in her attempts to stop the other guy in me from making everypony my slave, made the same ponies he wanted as slaves into friends. I was friends with these ponies. Inspecting my mind much as I had after taking Berry and Periwinkle as slaves the first time, I realized that very little had changed because of the recording.

Sure, certain memories had double images going on, a sure sign of the artifact's influence, but the changes were minor - mostly how I remember feeling and how I remembered the other ponies acting and reacting. They had become my friends over the course of this mess of a scenario, some of them naturally. My memories with Pinkie and Rainbow barely having any change, in fact Pinkie had no double image memories that I could find upon initial inspection.

Raven put a hand on my shoulder. I looked over to her, broken from my thoughts. She looked deeply concerned, and given recent events, I knew why. I gave her a weak smile. I wanted to say that I was fine, but at this point, there was no way that I could say that in honesty. I wasn't fine, I might not be for a while.

"How about it, Cress, should I give it a try?" Twilight asked. I looked over to her, at that point realizing that all these ponies were still naked, only made worse by the fact that most of them were covering themselves up with arms and hands, still not committing towards the clothes that were strewn about the room thanks to the other guy in me.

"I... uh..." I looked over to Raven, a tad bit flustered having been taken away from my thoughts, my brain still trying to piece several things together, but not being given time to do so.

"I think he wants me to do it." Raven said gently. "I... I'm actually not too worse for wear all - of these events considered. Of all the ponies here... well... well I'm better at that kind of trauma."

"Raven, about that." Twilight began moving over to us before I could make a protest. "I have noticed you have been remarkably strong throughout this entire ordeal. You know it's alright to express yourself, yes? We're all friends here." Raven smiled a sad smile at that.

"Yes... I did cry a good bit with Cress earlier when he was still in Applebloom's body if you recall." I was glad the now naked filly wasn't in the room when that little comment was made. It would be awkward for everypony for her to explain why she suddenly got hot and bothered by that innocuous comment. "The truth is... well, despite being raised in a wealthy household... I have had a tad bit of a rough life up to recently. I'm used to damage in a sense."

"No pony should be 'used to damage', Raven. Please, let us help you." Twilight said, placing a gentle hand on Raven's shoulder without realizing that let her boobs become uncovered. "We want to help. Let us in." Raven closed her eyes and sighed.

"It's... it's not that I'm closing you off. I'm... I'm..."

"Not exactly what you appear." I added, rubbing Raven's back, getting a shocked look from her. I smiled. I vaguely remembered a green glow without a visible horn, and a shimmer of hard, black carapace instead of the smooth gray of the mare before me. "It's alright, you don't have to share it with them. You didn't really mean to share it with me, but you did it to save me - to save Applebloom." Her eyes shimmered with tears.

"I... I thought you hadn't noticed, or had forgotten." Raven murmured, still searching my features in shock. I smirked, patting her on the cheek.

"I know who you are, Raven. You're a kind, gentle, and loving mare with a tad bit of a perverted streak. I love you, and you love me. Anything else is less important. No matter what happens, no matter who tries what they will, we're in it together." I said, feeling butterflies like a storm in my stomach. I had fucked more mares than most stallions my age, but expressing my feelings - well I preferred being fucked in public. At least one of those things didn't involve making myself look like a soppy fool. "If you want to tell them," I went on, pushing past my doubts and fears, "that's fine with me, but honestly, it's up to you. I'm alright with whatever you choose."

Raven paused, considering this for a while. This wasn't something I was going to force, it was something that required forethought. This was a secret that only she could reveal. There was a long moment of silence, and then she slowly nodded. Standing up, she sighed.

"I do have a secret, and it is one that is important to me, I hope you all understand that I don't want this moving beyond this group of friends. It's... it's who I am inside. In some ways... I guess 'Raven' is only skin deep... or maybe it's deeper than that... maybe... maybe she is who I truly am." With that, a brief crackle of green energy snapped off her form, and then, a disc of swirling green energy appeared about Raven's waste, pulling apart into two discs, one travelling down, the other upwards. Slowly, as they passed over the soft gray mare, the dark, black carapace was revealed. Finally, the green energy framed her, before disappearing in a mist.

She was a shiny black, with her mane now transformed into a short, green frill. On her head, a singular, rather long horn rose up in a short curve, and on her back I could see a pair of folded wings that no longer sported feathers. Unlike the depictions of changelings from years prior, I noticed she had no holes in her, she was a solid piece. Opening her eyes, I smiled at their amber glow, the color consuming each orb now instead of just the iris like a pony's eye.

"A changeling?" Twilight said, not sounding aghast, but more taken by surprise. "I was expecting that you were going to say you were abused at home... and you aren't metamorphosed?"

"I actually am." Raven replied, her voice sounding more... chittery. "But... I sort of have something of a... deficiency." Raven began to explain, sitting back down beside me. I couldn't help but notice her chitinous skin was completely smooth and solid over her breast and crotch. It brought up some questions I was sure would be answered in good time. "My... well... I'm adopted, you see. My birth parents died in an accident when I was a foal... an accident in Canterlot." Piecing together the timeline, I knew why Twilight didn't look too pleased by that detail. "As was tradition back then, I took on a pony shape with a more... permanent shape altering spell that I wouldn't have to concentrate on. I was then given to an orphanage in Manehatten, where I was selected by a well to do couple who were taken by the cuteness that I was able to put on with my spell.

"They raised me, though really they left most of it to the servants. I... I never really had much love in that place. Once Thorax and the rest of the changelings metamorphosed, they did their best to stealthily inform all changeling plants like me. They taught me what I needed to do... the issue I suppose was the lack of love I've had in my life towards me. Most days I was starving on the inside even though I would eat enormous amounts of food in the hope it would sate my changeling desires. Most of the time I just scraped by with taking on the dregs of love that other ponies expressed towards other that I could sneak a whiff of.

"They showed me - the metamorphosed changeling that came to find me - how to share love. I did my best... but in the end the fact I had so rarely gotten loved, truly loved, made it so my metamorphosed form - this form - wasn't entirely too different from a changeling prior to metamorphosis. Sure, I no longer have the scars of a changeling, but... a black changeling isn't usually looked on kindly, even if they don't fill the same type of roll the old changelings would."

"I see..." Twilight hesitated, likely arranging her thoughts, "I sorry that you had to live like that. I'm sure that you aren't feeling that same hunger now though." She smiled, looking over at me.

"Yes." Raven smiled, looking over to me. "Cress was one of the few ponies I've ever known who showed me love. Most of the time in high school I subsisted off of lust, a poor substitute for a love deprived changeling. Metamorphosing did help, but metamorphosing the way I did... well, it left more old changeling in me than most changelings get left with." I smiled at her, rubbing her back again.

"I'm glad to help." I smiled, she smiled back, doing the changeling equivalent to blushing as her face darkened a tad bit and her wings fluttered slightly.

"She's an evil enchantress / She does evil dances / And if you look deep in her eyes / She'll put you in trances / Then what will she do? / She'll mix up an evil brew / Then she'll gobble you up / In a big tasty stew / Soooo... Watch out!"

"What was that, Pinkie?" Rainbow asked, looking over to the pink pony who was off to the side.

"Hmm? Oh, nothing, just singing to myself."

"Well," Twilight said finally, "I'm sure that if you ever need some help that one of us at least can give you a pick-me-up. After all, what are friends for." Raven smiled at that. "But back to the situation at hand, if you really want to do the recording, I have no compunctions about it." She finished, levitating the recorder over from where we had set it down, along with the notepad. Grabbing both, she gulped, looking at the two objects. I took the ear piece off and held it out to her, not sure how I would go about attaching it to her now slightly different facial structure.

Setting the recorder down, she held the notepad in front of her, looking over the nods and nodding, centering herself as she raised the mic to her mouth, not ever going for putting it on the normal way. She steadied herself for a moment longer, looking at the rest of us, before looking back down at the recorder and pressing the record button. Not comfortable with the arrangement, as she began to speak, I walked to the other side of the room, not wanting to risk a momentary lapse with the other guy.

"Everypony Gunther had hypnotized became suddenly free from the effects, and had all psychological effects removed." She said, reading off the script perfectly, with intonation that showed those voice classes we had shared had had the intended effect. It was working, we were going to get out of this no worse for wear. Then Raven got a gleam in her eye and a mischievous grin. That was... most unsettling. "TheElementofHarmonyandStarlightwereallcomfortablebeingnakedandhavingsexaroundCressandhisslavesaslongastheyweren'tinpublic!" I was dumbstruck as Raven showed me once again why she had scored higher on the 'speed reading' test. The teacher had said she'd make a wonderful announcer for medicine companies. Raven quickly pressed the record button, the effect going off. I would've laughed, but something else more pressing was happening.

It started with a headache. I put a hand on my head, feeling a tad bit of vertigo, which I honestly had expected - you don't go removing damage that deep without tripping a few nerves. I leaned against the wall behind me, letting the sensation wash over me, but then it got worse. My stomach lurched, my vision blurred, and pain skyrocketed. My existence transcended the normal boundaries of pain, my vision going white as I toppled, or at least I guess I toppled based on later evidence. I writhed in pain, screaming out for somepony to help me. I twisted and contorted, no longer caring what I looked like as my muscles contracted and spasmed in the overwhelming sensation of agony beyond belief.

Rolling about, jerking, and shaking about, I tried to suppress the pain. I breathed, but found that was painful to, and only caused me to scream louder. I vaguely realized I was now floating, my eyes picking up some things and occasionally giving a report to the brain that currently was processing an immeasurable amount of pain notices from every nerve in my body. A field of purple surrounded me, Periwinkle, and Fluttershy. My ears barged in to the main command center and delivered the notice that the entire area was filled with screaming, not just from us three, but from a myriad of voices outside the door.

After what seemed an eternity of pain later, I slowly came to. Looking about the room, I saw the ponies staring at us with great concern.

"What happened?" I barely registered Rainbow asking, looking over us.

"Who are they?" Applejack asked pointedly. That wasn't a good question to come around to. I slowly lifted myself as best I was able, noticing that I was more sore than anything, the pain having subsided. Looking about me, I noticed what had the ponies so transfixed. On the floor were, as I expected Periwinkle and Fluttershy, but beside them, there were three other ponies. I looked up to Twilight who simply stared. I looked back down and inspected the three newcomers. One was a bright pink mare with a yellow flowing mane, the other was a white maned red mare while the last, the last was a black stallion with a blue mane. The pink mare was a pegasus, while the other two were earth ponies, and it struck me like a ton of bricks the significance of their colors, even as they lifted themselves to their feet, along with Fluttershy and Periwinkle.

This... this was getting complicated.

Side C - Chapter 4: Coming to Terms

"Who are you guys?" Rainbow asked, the first to break away from her stupor enough to ask the question on all our minds. I did have a guess at it, especially with the stallion who looked remarkably like me, though with a color swap that I expected from cheap toys.

"Wowie, that hurt a lot!" The stallion said, standing up with a massive sway. "You ponies are bunches of fun, we should do this more often!" It was at this point I realized he was stroking his dick furiously. I looked at the other ponies in the room. Only my mares seemed perturbed. I looked back to him, feeling I now had an answer before he even had said anything.

"Dickslut, I presume." I said with as even a tone as I could manage. The stallion turned on his heels towards me, pointing his dick at me as he stroked.

"Yup, you got me, Captain Sourpants." He said with a blissed-out expression. "Ooh, who are these mare's I've yet to feel up?" He said, turning his attention over to the two others as they stood.

"PeriSprinkle." The white maned, red mare said, stretching her back. "Not very original or inspired. I think I'll change it to... Sultry Rose."

"Wait, you can do that?" Dickslut said in surprise as his hand went faster. "Ooh boy, new names! Uh..." He pondered for a while, stopping his furious stroking to scritch at his dick like he was scratching his chin in thought. "I know!" He bounced, going back to stroking. "Dick Slut!" I sighed. "What?! Slut is short for Slutbutt!"

"What's the Dick short for?" Rainbow asked before Rarity could stop her.

"For a bison!" Dick replied with a cheesy grin, getting no pony to laugh. Even Pinkie rolled her eyes. "What? It was funny! I mean... just pity laugh..." He pleaded. "Oh fine, you ponies are no fun! What about you, you buxom beauty?" He said, looking to the pink mare with a yellow mane, who at this point was huddling in a corner, covering herself with her arms and legs. "Huh... what's with her?"

"Flutterbutt..." she muttered as she scooted further into the corner. "Gunther didn't... well... he barely touched Fluttershy." I looked to Fluttershy, who opposed to what she usually did, was standing tall and proud - or at least not completely shy, with her knockers fully on display. Raven's words had done a wonder, but this new pony wasn't affected by them, after all, she was neither an Element or Starlight. Dick was apparently still receiving at least some of the benefits of having been me, though I could only wonder which parts he was getting. Some of those benefits even I shouldn't have.

"So... Flutters' evil pervy side is as shy about her body as Flutters herself?" Rainbow asked as she escaped Rarity's grasp. "Not very pery for an evil pervy duplica-" Rarity snuffed out the comment, clasping her hand over Rainbow's mouth.

"Puppy want a bone?" Dick asked, waving his dick about in the air. Flutterbutt's eyes widened, and then she bounded on all fours across the room, jamming the rod down her throat with a happy whimpering sound as she began to pump away. "How about... Puppershy?" He asked with a smile. Pupper nodded fiercely, getting a groan from Dick, whose dick was still in her mouth.

"Evil might be over doing it," Twilight pointed out, "They're just the embodiment of what Gunther wanted, which isn't inherently an evil pony, just a sexually easy or submissive one. Now he could use that to make them act evilly, but deep down, they're just ponies with an increased sex drive and libido, which is, all things considered, completely normal for many ponies across the world." We all considered this for a while, the sloppy sounds of Puppershy giving a blowjob keeping there from being an awkward silence.

"So that's Dick Slut, Sultry Rose, and Puppershy... why didn't Raven split?" Applejack said, looking over to the changeling in question.

"Well, besides the fact that Gunther never actually made it to me, I also think it has to do with the fact that instead of wearing me down with their treatment, they actually were giving me strength." Raven said. "Again, lust is like the artificial sweetener to love's pure honey - one is substantially better, but the other is... well it does in a pinch. If I was like the others I mi-... oh no."

"What is it Raven?"

"How many ponies were in this facility?"

"Well, Gunther took two hundred and thirty-nine, and then there's Gunther, Brass, the doctor-thing, the six Elements, Starlight, my mares, Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, these three, and then me. That brings our total to... two hundred and fifty-eight if all the slaves are here and I didn't count wrong or forget somepony." Raven's eyes only got larger at my answer, and it began to dawn on me what she was getting at.

"Are we sure that we haven't forgotten to count two hundred and thirty-nine new ponies that may or may not be in these halls?" We all gulped, looking at the door, almost expecting a torrent of ponies to flood in like this was a cartoon.

Moving to the door, I opened it slowly, peaking about while ready to close the door in an instance. No pony in sight like it had been for a long while now. That could be taken as a good sign. Moving back inside, I noticed that Dick was not where he had been a few seconds prior. He instead was now approaching Raven, Puppershy at his side. He placed a hand on Raven's face with much the same gesture of gentle care I hoped I put into mine.

"Raven..." He sighed, running his hand down her face. "Now that he's out of the way," he said nodding to me, "you want to have your fill with this bad boy?" He said slapping his dick.

"I don-"

"Oh come on," He said with a devilish smile, tracing his other hand along her inner thigh, gently brushing by where her pussy would've been, sending a shiver through her, "You can be fun, I know it." Suddenly, green glows swirled about Raven's chest and crotch as her chitinous skin became the soft flesh of a pony. The compulsion! Suddenly Dick was on the floor and the sound of a hard crack of a slap lingered in the room.

"Back off." Raven said plainly, before moving over to me and grabbing my hand. "Mind helping me with something?"

"Oh... uh, yeah." I would have to tell these ponies about the compulsion in a short while. I only knew about it because of being in the passenger seat when he had done it.

"Hey, Twili-" Another hard smack silenced Dick Slut. Maybe I wouldn't have to. I looked over with a smirk at the fallen Dick, who continued to stroke himself to no avail. Turning back to Raven, I saw her bent over in front of me, legs spread decently wide.

"Here?" I asked, not even looking over to the other ponies. Suddenly I was shove forward, my dick finding its way into Raven's winking pussy.

"Now I know it can be difficult for you, so I'll just put this in simple terms." Dick said, running a finger down my back, a snide smile on his lips. "You need to go in and out and give this poor changeling mare a good fucking." I looked to him, ready to slug him, only to feel a light tap on my dick, the world falling away to the singular purpose imposed by the compulsion.

I quickly began to fuck Raven with all I had, finding her lewd moans all the more exciting as they drove me onward, thrust by thrust. Raven felt amazing, pulsing, squeezing, milking my cock inside of her, even as I felt her changeling magics sap delicately at the love energy that flowed from me. Doubtlessly she had done this so often she had learned how much she could take without being noticed. She was beautiful when she showed how smart she was.

Vaguely I noticed Dick walking about to the other ponies, humming something like, "Duck, duck, duck, duck," touching each of the ponies in the privates as he said it until he reached the final pony - Fluttershy - grabbing her between the legs with gleeful abandonment. "Fucking goose." He turned to me with a manic smile. "I'm going to fuck my goose, Cress. If you'd like to stop me just stop fucking Raven for half a second and say so!" I wanted... to keep fucking Raven. Fucking Fluttershy wouldn't be that bad, would it?

Guiding her over, Dick positioned the reddening Fluttershy in front of us before pushing her to lean over right face to face with Raven. "You two can make out while I fuck her. That'll be fun, I'm sure." With that he drove himself into Fluttershy, sending her forward in Raven, locking lips and tongues as the pair of them were fucked.

Pounding harder and harder, egged on by the lewd display, I couldn't have felt better. Every twitch, every spasm of Raven around me felt heavenly, and her magical grip on me felt like a gentle, full-body massage. It was amazing! As I watched, I saw Puppershy crawl towards and move under the mares, and based on their intensified moaning, I could tell she was playing with the wildly swaying tits that were flopping about. I loved it, this whole lewd display.

Without much warning, I felt something at my balls; a cool, wet sensation of somepony licking my balls tenderly, their tongue reaching out to turn my base whenever I pulled back from Raven. Looking down, I saw the ever perverted Berry, happily playing with her breasts and pussy, her tongue lolling out. Driving back into Raven, I relished the attention, happy to just bask in the loving attention I was receiving. This was amazing!

The moment slowly built to a climax, and I hilted deep into Raven as her pussy clenched about harder in an orgasm that drove me over into my own, shooting my load straight into her - while Berry gave a gentle, but insisting, suck to my balls. I was in bliss, my world exploding in a massive orgasm of pure erotic delight.

A minute later, the afterglow fading ever so wonderfully slowly, I was left panting on the floor, the lot of us having fallen over at some point. I smiled dumbly, watching as my vision was eclipsed by a purple mare, who, by her twat, had been going at it fairly hard for a while with some disciplined edging technique.

"Be a friend and help me out?" She asked, a plaintiff, but desperately needy look in her eyes.

"You want a dick or a ton-" my mouth was stopped as she sat down on top of me without further word, relishing the sensation as I began my best cunnilingus technique, which honestly was only a few notches above beginner. Rainbow bobbed into view, apparently also having been edging, or perhaps just having immense sexual stamina along with her regular stamina.

"Hey, is the South Pole still operational or should I wait for Twilight to finish?" She asked, massaging her tits as she talked. My 'South Pole' gave the answer in the form of becoming erect in seconds and leaking a glob of precum. My infinite and quick reloads were coming in handy today!

Rainbow smiled before straddling me and lowering herself down on my dick. I was confused for a second, and then realized she had elected to shove it up her butt, and was now bouncing up and down. I was back to heaven in an instant as I continued my work with Twilight, whose moans told me I was doing something right. As I looked up to her, I watched as Applebloom and Sweetie Belle joined in - having returned at some point - one on each breast, gaining another seductress style moan from her.

'Just in time,' I thought, 'my hands needed something to do!' With that I reached out, batted away their hands from their pussies, and began my work on the two young lovers. A distant though crossed my mind that I'd have to sit down with them and actually talk about their offer now that Dick wasn't an issue, or at least not as much of an unpredictable issue; but that thought was shrouded in the erotic nature of my existence at the moment I was getting as I pleasured the three mares and was butt fucking the fourth.

Wave after wave of pleasure washed over me as I did my best to attend to each mare in turn. Suddenly, Twilight exploded in a violent orgasm, leaning heavily into the two young mares on her breasts. I took the opportunity to give the two a tad bit of extra stimulation, and gained the result I wanted was their pussies clenched down on my fingers. Three down, I focused on Rainbow, who, having reached her bounce's zenith, found me thrusting my pelvis up as she was forcing herself back down, gaining a scream from her as she climaxed in time with me. That was amazing.

Suddenly, the four mares were removed from me, even as I still basked in the afterglow. Looking at the intruders to my pleasure, I saw Periwinkle and Sultry Rose moving towards my dick. Sultry gave me a... sultry wink as she crawled up me, lined up her pussy, and drove herself down on me, the height difference we had putting me in line with her neck, which I gave a quick kiss to as I wrapped my arms about her, finding her preferred rhythm as best I could.

Periwinkle, watching this display, moved around after a moment, finished helping her other half onto me. She looked at me with a sly smile a pushed Sultry a tad bit higher, which she did protest lightly. Periwinkle then lowered herself slightly, resting her breasts against my face. With a few prods with my tongue, I found the nipple and began to suck and stroke at it, running my tongue in circles around her areola. Both mares groaned happily as I did my best to help each of them.

"Mind if I help?" Dick asked, walking up from somewhere else. "Rarity is finished, but my dick still has at least one more to go in it." He didn't give us a chance to answer as he went to his knees and drove himself into Periwinkle, gaining a moan from the mare as she rocked back and forth in my mouth. I certainly wasn't complaining.

Splice 11: When Fear Falters and Lust Rises

Button Mash slowly shifted from his bed. Looking about, he almost panicked at seeing an unfamiliar room, fortunately, he got himself together as he remembered where he was. Standing up, he gave a stretch, pausing as he realized what he had gone to sleep in. It was the same outfit he had gone to Cre-... Be-... the same outfit he had gone to the place where Cress was in. He had wanted to change immediately upon being released from the artifact's effects, but being completely worn out from jacking off constantly for a few hours, having spent every bit of himself he could and then following through with the motions past that point really did make one too tired to care about what they were wearing.

Pulling at the thong that sank into his ass to make it not dig in so much, he felt hot realizing how scandalous this outfit was. The only reason his privates weren't technically visible was a cloth codpiece that held his bulge comfortably. The fish net stockings he still was in weren't that uncomfortable, a tiny thought scratching at the back of his brain asking if he might wear them under his jeans later on. The top he wore was another matter. Well... top was a generous word. Vest was more of an appropriate term. A very small vest.

He heard slow footsteps coming from the direction door, which likely let out into some hall or another. Moving over, he listened and could hear muffled words as the pony moved slowly down the way. Maybe it was one of Cress' girls. There was Berry... eh, Sprinkles, and... Jackdaw? That didn't sound right. Either way, they might be able to help him get some clothes, any clothes really.

Opening the door slowly, he stuck his hand out, waving at the pony. "H-hey! Hold up a moment, please!" The footsteps paused. "Yes!" He whispered to himself. He had gotten somepony to help him. The pony moved up to the door and... pushed it fully open! Button was so taken aback by this he jumped away from the door in surprise, cursing his flighty attitude for betraying him to the whims of fate.

He froze. In the doorway was a mare he knew only briefly. The mare with the cup who made him like this. His eyes widened in fear. Had she come for him? Was she going to take his newly found freedom away?! Was she going to make him a slave?! Was sh- WHY WAS SHE NAKED AND RUBBING ONE OUT RIGHT IN FRONT OF HIM?!

"I will serve you however you wish. What may I do to please you?" She said in an even tone, still playing with herself. Button blinked multiple times, looking the mare up and down. What was she on about? Serve?

Cress. Somehow Button knew Cress had taken her, had made her a slave, and was now giving her a taste of her own medicine. She was as good as a toy now. A sex doll that breathed and could take requests. That thought hit Button as off, but oh so sexy. His cloth codpiece fought valiantly, struggling to keep its charge covered, but as it went full mast, the codpiece simply couldn't help itself. It had been through so much, and the fact that it wasn't tightened how it should've been caused it to strain before the cords attaching its top to the small belt like object Button wore came undone, letting Button's penis come to uncovered attention. Button honestly didn't care at this point, it was just saving him a step.

"Close the door." She nodded, and slowly closed the door. She was well muscled, just as he remembered. She was imposing, even when completely docile towards him, but beyond that, Button felt she was truly a beauty to behold. Not an inch of her wobbled, every piece like it was chiseled out of stone.

Without thinking, he took a step forward as he secured the door's latch, and began to run his hands over her. She relaxed her posture, giving him free reign over her body. She was a perfect, sexy statue. Running his hands up and down her sides, he relished the sensation of her skin against his, feeling the powerful muscles beneath the skin, letting his fingers trace up and down the valleys of her musculature.

His hands glided down to her butt, swirling around as he marveled at how tight it was. Slapping it, it barely moved, a nice reddened hand print left. Running his hands up, he grabbed her shoulders and turned her around, the statuesque mare complying. Facing him now, Button could see the mare, standing there at attention, not hiding anything.

He ran his hands up and down her sides and arms, feeling every dip and swell of muscle. She was amazing. Moving his hands, he went to the one place he always had wanted to touch. The one place that he hadn't even touched when he had control over a mare because it felt to... to intimate. He reached a gently shaking hand out and placed his fingers on the mare's cheek. Running his hand down her face, he shivered in erotic tension. She was beautiful when she wasn't absolutely fucking terrifying.

Stroking her face, letting a finger prod her lips, he slipped his hands down and traced circles around her breasts in wonder. They weren't as small as he might've thought would be common for military mares, then again, he wasn't judging. Based on his limited knowledge, he had to say they were likely C cups. He slowly hefted them, feeling their weight. He gave them a gentle squeeze, eliciting a groan from the mare he played with. He knew the feeling, oddly enough. He could recall what it felt like to have boobs played with, even if his sympathetic nervous system generally lacked information on the subject.

Based on what he could recall, he moved his fingers and gave each nipple a gentle pinch and twist, gaining another groan of pleasure from the mare. His dick was threatening to get more erect than physically possible. He smiled at the mare, lifting himself onto his tip toes to give the mare a kiss on the mouth, his arms, as if on reflex, moved around her in a tender hug. He loved this. He didn't have to rush, he could finally savor being with a mare. His tongue played with hers as he explored her, pressing her closer to him. She was so warm, so... beautiful.

He finally broke the kiss, a dopey smile on his face as he looked her over, no longer seeing the terrifying mare that had stripped him of freedom, but a beautiful mare who was under his power without him having to bamf into her. No more confusing arguments with himself about being bi, now he could enjoy a mare, a real mare, and not have to worry about anything. His hands lifted again to her sides, running down slowly until they reached the hips, and then slipped around to grip her buttocks. Still firm, still wonderful.

He leaned against her, his head resting just above her breasts. Her warmth felt almost as amazing as the rest of her. The real body of a mare, and no rush at all as his hands slowly drifted away from the well toned ass to run up and down on the thighs of the mare. Firm and muscular, not an inch of this mare was flabby, or even scraggly or scrawny... well her breasts would wiggle, but that was to be expected. They were just as supple as they should be, but the pecs underneath were doubtlessly more powerful than any other mare's that he had had the pleasure of being with.

He stepped back from her, admiring every inch of her, before moving up again to kiss her, placing his hands to frame her face as he drank in her sweet scent, her wondrous warmth, and all-consuming beauty. She was amazing. She was perfect. Once again he broke the kiss, still trying to keep on his feet as the world span in ecstasy, even more so than when he actually fucked. She was... she was amazing, even as a statue.

He looked back to the small bed that was in the room. Could it handle the two of them? It might have to. He looked back to her, feeling he could make this better, but not entirely sure how. And then it hit him. She wasn't acting because he hadn't commanded it! He'd have to figure out a way to keep her under control, but also get her to act less like a puppet on strings and more like an AI in a game - a very sexy game, likely with some sort of puzzle game you had to solve to complete dates and have sex.

"I want you to... uh... act sexy." He said simply, hoping it would work. Life suddenly seemed to spark in the mare's eyes as she smirked saucily at Button. She bent down and kissed him, running her hands over him. He froze for a second, but then, as she wrapped her tongue around his and worked the straps of the outlandish outfit he was still in - her strong, yet delicate fingers working and shifting against his skin with electric shocks of pleasure coursing through him with each motion - he melted into it, his arms wrapping around her and gliding across every inch of her well muscled back. This was amazing!

Soon he was naked except for the stockings and their straps, and he loved it, his hands shifting to grope the mare's chest, gaining more groans. He leaned forward, pressing her against the door as he latched onto one of the nipples with his mouth while he played with the other with a few skilled fingers, driving her metaphorically and literally up the wall... door. Her moans egged him on as he pressed further, slipping his free hand to trace around her pussy, causing her to quiver in anticipation.

Suddenly she pushed him back, and he feared he might've gone to far and have upset her, only to be shocked further as she fell to her knees before him and grabbed his waist, pulling him forward. She opened her mouth in a whorish expression as she swallowed the entire length of his stallionhood, her nose pressing against his unshaven crotch. Nestling her nose into his bush, rubbing his dick inside of her throat, Button let out a groan of his own as he set his hands on her head, pushing her back slightly, before ramming her back down.

She took the hint and began the blowjob in earnest. Her tongue wrapped about his member, stroking it fiercely, yet tenderly. One of her free hands came up and fondled his balls as she continued to deepthroat his dick, surprising him with how she was able to breathe with how fast she went. She was breathing, right? She wasn't choking on his dick? That would be sexy though...

Suddenly the other hand that remained unaccounted for was accounted for, as as Button felt himself rising towards climax, the missing hand shot up and poked into his asshole while the first hand pulled and squeezed gently on his balls, sending him well past the edge. He shot his semen straight into the mare's stomach, mesmerized with her swallows that fell right between his ejaculations with perfect rhythm, providing all the more pleasure as she went.

As Button came down, he watched as the mare cleaned him off with a last few insistent sucks, leaving his dick wet, but clean. "That was delicious, thank you for my treat, Master." That made Button shoot back up. If he was lowering, his dick went back full mast in an instant. Master? That did it for Button as he grabbed her hand and pulled her along, throwing her onto the bed, though it was more of he forcefully guided her to the bed and then watched as she willingly flopped onto the bed, spreading her legs and folds for him.

Button licked his lips and gave his dick a few strokes for luck as he moved onto the bed and came up between the mare's legs, nervous and erotic energies swirling about inside of him. Putting his hands on her sides underneath her armpits, he lined up and slowly made his entrance into the mare. She moaned in pleasure as Button finally bottomed out inside of her, relishing the feeling he had never had let himself enjoy. The mare wrapped her legs around his back, locking him in place with only enough space to pull a tad bit back, but not out, before plunging back in - and so Button did just that. Pulling back, he reached the limit of the mare's grace, before diving back in, pulling back almost immediately before plumbing her depths once again.

He fucked her, moaning in his own pleasure as she began to scream and pant. "M-master! Oh Master, fuck yes! Oh Master, please fuck me! Please, Master, make me cum! Make me cum~!" Button pounded harder and harder, the mare's legs tightening around him giving him less space to move, but he didn't care as he continued to rock in and out of the mare, relishing the sensations that were his reality now. This was amazing! Button wasn't sure if he could go back to only anal and oral now. Sure, they were wonderful in their own right, but this - THIS was blowing his mind as he continued to find new heights of pleasure as the mare's pussy, made exactly for this, clenched about him, pulsed about him, and drove him higher and higher.

Every moment was an electric shot of pleasure, a blast of ecstasy, a glimpse of paradise, and Button was going to ride it as long as he could. He felt himself getting close, but he knew he wouldn't stop.

"I'm going to cum! Cum with me!" He shouted as he felt himself go over the point of no return. Suddenly, his world exploded, and he came inside the mare as she screamed out in her own orgasm. They hung in that shared orgasm for a while. Riding the afterglow for what seemed to them a lifetime. It was wonderful, it was bliss. As it faded, Button began to rock back and forth again inside the mare, this time giving her a gentle fucking as he stooped down and kissed her luscious lips. The two kept fucking, kept kissing, and when they finally finished with fucking, they simply lay beside each other, sweat and ejaculated covered messes.

As he slowly drifted off again, his hand reached out and grabbed the mare's hand, a content smile on his face as his eyes slowly closed. "Stay with me, please." he whispered as sleep finally overtook him, nestled against the mare.

Side C - Chapter 5: A Surprise

I sat staring at Dick Slut who, in the most sexual way he could manage, was drinking a bottle of water... well, he was more letting water cascade over him as he took a few gulps from whatever was left. Puppershy, as she had become known, sat by his side on the floor, pleased to simply lean against his leg. Peri and Sultry were in the corner talking to each other, apparently getting on quite well if their tones and laughter were anything to go on. The rest of the ponies were in their own corners talking to each other, with Twilight and the other Elements in one corner while Raven, Berry, Applebloom, and Sweetie Belle were in another. A faint thought popped up in my head that it was good they'd talk and get to know each other if the agreement actually went through, but my attention was mostly set on the pony who was failing to drink water.

"Look, if you like what you see, you can just kiss me." He said, crumpling the bottle before tossing across the room into a trashcan. I huffed at that.

"Having you out of my body is a good thing in my mind. I don't have the urge to kiss you, much less touch you - I've had enough of an intimate knowledge of you as it is." I said pointedly. Dick Slut shrugged, looking over at the Elements.

"Wonder what they're talking about." He mused. "Probably the three new ponies, or more, that were created due to the artifacts latest bout of hilarity."

"Doubtlessly." I confirmed. "No pony has come looking for us, so there is a possibility that only those ponies that Gunther gave special attention to have doubles. The memories I still have-"

"Oh, so that's where they went. I was missing the ones from the drink, and it was weirding me out." Dick cut me off. Made sense as far as I was concerned, he wasn't the pony who drank it.

"Anyway, the memories I have," I persisted, trying to keep my already tested temper under control, "tell me that he didn't do the treatment he did on us to everypony. It's a special process for those ponies who are especially resistant to the stimulation and drug therapy he usually uses. Few ponies actually were hypnotized... more were traumatized. Hopefully the artifact included the erasure of that trauma for them. I'm certainly glad most of the memories of my treatment are out of my head."

"Oh, yeah, I got those ones." Dick confirmed, to my ever increasing annoyance. "So what, we just hoping we only have a few dozen doppelgangers about the place? Sure it's a tad more manageable than a two hundred some odd ponies, but it isn't much better for your chivalric white-knightness."

"We might get lucky and have only the other eleven ponies Gunther took an interest in, in which case, we can count our blessings until the end of the day. If we are less lucky, we'll have about thirty-seven ponies who had the treatment, but some of whom didn't get it from Gunther personally. If we are the most unlucky, then we'll have to deal with a compound full of 'em."

"Shouldn't we be out there checking around for them then?" Dick asked. "I'm sure it's eating you alive not helping them, so why aren't you?"

"Because we still need to act carefully. Who knows what will happen if we just barge about the place asking if there are suddenly new ponies about. We might cause a panic none of us could get a hold on."

"Yeah, but if more ponies like me popped into existence, you have to admit, half the compound is currently resting in puddles of cum by this point." He was right, and I hated it. I of course knew that, but it was all we could do. Twilight needed to confer with her friends, and we all needed to rest a second from the fucking we had to take part of thanks to the compulsion power that both Dick and I had...well I assumed I had it, but I couldn't recall actually using it. My brain was still addled from the abundance of sex that broke up the day.

Suddenly there was a knocking at the door. Were the first victims coming to and looking for us? It was about the right time, though how they'd know where we were was another question entirely. Everypony in the room gave each other concerned and perplexed looks. I seemed to be one of the few ponies cognizant at this point that we were all still naked, but I was sure that the ponies would come to their senses even as I walked up to the door, not caring particularly at this point who saw me naked. Today had certainly been a trying day.

Opening the door, I looked out and saw, to my surprise, Button. He hadn't been affected by Gunther by my recollection, or Gunther's, so that meant this wasn't about him splitti- I then noticed Brass standing behind him. She wasn't masturbating. Button must've found her in the halls, she certainly was still blank enough for it.

"You... uh... want to come in?" I asked awkwardly. Button gave a short nod and walked in... holding Brass' hand. It wasn't the white-knuckled tight grasp of a pony trying to hide their emotions and failing, but the delicate hold of a pony who was caring for the hand they held. What... what had happened? A quick glance at my watch told me a lot of what I needed to know. It had been three hours since I had sent Brass and Gunther out in the halls. We had fucked for about half, if not more, of that frankly ridiculous amount of time. Thank Celestia for infinite and quick reloads.

"Button Mash?" Sweetie Belle asked from the other side of the room, before the white mare turned full red, realizing they were both undressed, though she made no effort to cover up. I had to guess these two had a history.

"Wait..." Button paused, looking at the mare, "you're in on this too?" He looked at me in confusion.

"When we got captured, I used your artifact to bamf away." I explained quickly. "I wasn't looking where I was going, and I ended up in Applebloom."

"And Sweetie Belle is part of that package, gotcha." Button nodded, catching on faster than I had expected. Perks of being a friend I suppose, you get to know the details of relationships before other ponies. "Uh... yeah, hey Sweetie." He waved awkwardly at the mare, who had calmed down since his entrance, now only blushing lightly.

"Hi, Button, I didn't expect to see you awake yet. Berry told me that you were somehow involved in this mess of fun." She said, messing a bit with her hair. "So... who's that?" I gulped, knowing the answer, but wondering how Button would put it.

"This... well this is the mare that made me a... himbo? Is that the term?"

"Sure is kid. Nice stockings by the way." Berry jeered, raising her bottle of water as if for a toast. Button looked down, as if he hadn't realized he hadn't taken them off - which was hard to imagine since they had straps that ran along his hip to be secured by a belt that looked fairly tight on him.

"Eh heh heh heh..." He pulled at one of the straps, letting it go to snap against his skin. "Yeah... forgot to take them off, got..." He looked to Brass with a thin smile, "distracted." I was more confused than a homeless pony under house arrest at this point. "But yeah... uh... well this mare did the intelligence sappy thing with her artifact, made me dumb in every way but how to have sex and make ponies feel good, and then dressed me up and used me as bait for Cress."

"And she's here and naked why?" Sweetie pressed again.

"Well... uh... well I guess this is also her base. The naked part... well I found her like that."

"That's my fault." I raised a hand, wanting to get my part over with quickly. "I wanted to get rid of whatever Gunther had done to us, and I also needed to neutralize the threat that Brass here and Gunther posed." I explained, looking at Brass. "I used her artifact to reduce both of them to about the same state, if not worse, than what they reduced you to, Button. Brass, at that point, let it slip that if I drank the juice that formed in the chalice that I'd gain their intelligence."

"You didn't!" Twilight said, moving forward from her friendship circle.

"I did." I said flatly, not feeling at all threatened by the princess at this point. "I drank every last drop in an attempt to gain the knowledge on how to reverse the effects."

"And you didn't mention this when you were explaining how you returned to your body because?" Twilight asked, her wings twitching in annoyance as she stepped closer.

"Because it wasn't important." I rebutted. "But either way, after finding that Gunther played for keeps with no backdoor, I made them both my slaves and sent them to walk about the compound while masturbating and offering their services to any pony that stopped them." Twilight was shocked.

"Th-that's... that's immoral!" Twilight accused.

"And zapping any creature that disagrees with you with Magical Brainwashing Friendship Rainbows isn't?" I shot back. "I did what I had to do. Making them debase themselves isn't even a fraction of what they deserve! They deserve so much more, so much WORSE! And if I'm the only pony willing to take the responsibility to try and make them pay for what they've done to hundreds of ponies, not just me but hundreds of others, then I'll gladly take that burden!"

"It isn't your choice to make!"

"IT IS NOW!" I roared, sending her back a step. For a second I let silence hang in the room as I glared daggers into her very soul. "Ever since I got the artifact," I said, my tone almost a whisper, "I have been invested with a power to make things in this world right. So far I've failed in that duty. Sure, I've made sure my mother is cured, but that was about it. Now... now I'm taking on my responsibilities as they have been given to me. I am going to punish those two for every second of pain they inflicted on others. I'm not going for reform, they're beyond that point. I'm going for retribution. After that, I'm taking down their entire empire, making sure no pony else can do what they've done." Twilight considered this for a second, regaining her posture as she squared up to me.

"And you think that's right? You think that you alone can be an arbiter of justice for all the ponies they have wronged?" Twilight asked calmly.

"No pony else is stepping up to the plate." I answered coldly.

"And what about me?" It wasn't Twilight who said that. Turning in surprise I looked at Button who was standing defiantly before me. "What about what I want? What I feel? What about that, Cress?" I was confused to say the least, and then I noticed his hand. White-knuckled, holding on desperately to the mare's hand - the mare who had stripped him of his freedom. I looked back to his face, an eyebrow cocked.

"What are you getting at, Button?" I asked pointedly.

"I know who she was," he began, moving a tad closer to her, "I'm... I'm aware of what she's done. But... but what you've done to her... it's stripped away the bad from her. She isn't that mare anymore. The mare she is... the mare she is doesn't deserve punishment. At this point, you have essentially a pony with the intelligence of a child and the sex education of a veteran whore. She isn't a threat to anypony except those ponies with a heart condition.

"Cress... what I'm saying is... I don't know..." He struggled for words, but I didn't press him. I had a feeling I knew where this was going. "Cress, I want you to make me her... I dunno, parole officer? Her... rehabilitation assistant? Her-"

"You want me to make you her Master and her your slave." I said bluntly, cutting through the nonsense. Button froze for a second at this, a thousand thoughts flashing through his eyes before he silently nodded. I huffed. Yet another pony thinking with his dick, great. "Fine." I muttered. "Fine, she's yours. I'll give you a key phrase to make it official." Button's eyes grew wide in excitement. "But if she hurts one more pony, if she shows herself to be just who she was before, I will take her back, and I will take her and deal with her my way." I hissed, having been done with the day before it began. I could only foresee the next few hours being worse. Nothing ever got easier it seemed.

Side C - Chapter 7: The Bonds that Tie

I woke up the next morning, ending the first good sleep I had had in a while. Uninterrupted by sexual antics or villains. My dreams were as frantic as always, and honestly were a welcome reprieve from the world. I sat up in the massive bed, looking around at the empty room with a sigh of longing. I had barely had the mares with me for a week, but I missed them dearly not having them to wake up near me. I looked at the sheets on my lap, not really focusing as I tried to collect my thoughts. Suddenly my phone buzzed as a text came through. Reaching over, the thought came to me that I hadn't switched it back to ring since... two days ago? However long ago it was we took down these ponies.

Looking at it, I suddenly felt awake. Three text conversations with multiple messages were collapsed into three boxes, each having a different number of messages. Shooting out of bed to get myself ready while I read, I rushed to the bathroom, looking over the first.

New Text Conversation with Twilight

Hey, Cress, just wanted to tell you that the eleven ponies have been dealt with.

And by that I mean we've established they aren't a threat.

They're just horny and submissive, almost frighteningly submissive.

I want to say we can release them into the wild, but I'm not so sure that's smart, especially since they had no records with any public agency and would likely raise some eyebrows.

For their own safety, it is a possibility that we might have to keep them with us, or at least under our supervision.

Hey, Cress, it's me again.

It's now past noon, you really should wake up and come down here, we've made a break through with the 'Doctor'.

This is some exciting stuff.

Also terrifying, but exciting nonetheless.

I quickly looked at the clock at the top of the screen and saw it said thirteen twenty-four. Great, I was an hour late to that message. Moving to the next message group I worked on changing into something that didn't smell like sex.

Text Conversation with Berry, Periwinkle, and Raven

Berry
Yo Cress ma boi, you up?

cuz you should be

Periwinkle
Hey stop bothering him

Raven
I thought you two were in the same room

why are you texting each other?

Berry
I moved

am with Twi

Periwinkle
That

She left about

five minutes ago?

Berry
ten, give or take a few

Cress, wake up

or answer at least

Raven
Let him sleep

Berry
No

Sleep is for the weak!

GET UP!!!!

Periwinkle
don't worry

I'll find her and shut her up

Berry
you can try

you underestimate my POWER

Periwinkle
yeah, well I still have the high gourd

*ground

Berry
I'll get your gourd high

These mares would be the death of me. The conversation was still on going, which was promising. I hadn't missed too much. I looked over to the last conversation and froze.

Text Conversation with Dubs

Yo, Cresh

your dad told me you moved out to ponyville

me and Thyme are taking a train that way and wanted to meet up to catch up on things

I know its only been like a week or whatever, but hey, it seems both of us are moving up in the world

I hear there's a sweet place in town, Sugar cubic corner

*cube cover

*cute corner

autocorrect is to be my depth

...

anywya

yeah, let's go with that

wanna meet me over there at say

two in the after noon?

depending on how the train keeps to schedule of course

I'll take your silence as confirmation

mostly because I've been sending you these as we were boarding

be there in ten, train's a tad ahead of schedule

Well this made my life complicated. I moved back to the conversation with Twilight.

Just found out that family is coming to town

Is Pinkie the pony who runs SSC?

No, she works there though.

The Cakes are the owners.

Pinkie will probably still be there, just a guess.

She tends to pop up where she wants.

Alright

I'll try to make my way over to see what you've found out asap, but I'll have to tend to family first

Understood.

Be safe.

I stuffed my phone in my pocket and then looked over to the nightstand, seeing the cassette player and mic. Grabbing both, I made my way out. I didn't anticipate needing it, but I also could anticipate everything that might happen.

Ponyville seemed different, or maybe that was just me only having known it when I was on the look out for danger. Double Time coming to town certainly was a pleasant surprise, and I wasn't sure how it would work out. I felt bad for hoping I might only have to deal with a short visit, but in the end, there were some very important things on the table at this point, things that I begrudgingly had to note were more important than entertaining family.

Taking my last turn, I found the train station, one of the larger assemblage of buildings in the Ponyville area disregarding Twilight's Castle. Moving up, I looked about, and within a few seconds, spotted Double Time as he disembarked the train with his backpack held loosely by his side. I smiled as I walked up to him, but paused as he turned, holding out a hand to help another pony off the train. If I had been in one of those western flicks, I would've expected a large hat and a veil, but instead it was a green mare with a purple and white mane in a graphic tee about some band I didn't know and a pair of skinny jeans. I chuckled a tad, closing the distance.

"Dubs! It's been a hot minute!" I shouted as I approached him, giving my cousin a hug before looking over at the mare who I knew but had never met. "And I suppose you are Thyme."

"Yep," She said cheerily, "Spring Thyme. You must be Cresh." She extended a hand for a shake, which I accepted happily. I only then noted I kind of missed normal social interactions. "Double has told me all about you."

"Only good things, I hope." I chuckled as I looked over to the stallion in question.

"'Actually I only told her the worst parts. She still likes the sound of you, so I guess it didn't work out." Thyme nudged him gently, shaking her head. "So, how's things been?"

"How about we start walking over to Sugar Cube Corner. We can talk along the way." I offered.

"Sure thing, I'm starving." Dubs chuckled, patting his belly.

"If that's the case, we might want to pick another place. Sugar Cube is a pastry shop and not much else. Well, that and a party venue."

"Nah, I need something sweet in me." Thyme interjected. "We can get something more substantial later." I nodded and motioned them to follow as I walked off.

"So what brought you out here to Ponyville? It's nothing like Manehatten, that's for sure. You just wanted a place in the country?" Double asked, looking about the place lazily as we walked.

"It just sort of worked out." I shrugged nonchalantly. "There was a place I could move into easily and some opportunities in the area."

"Oh yeah, did you find a job yet or are you working at that?"

"I'm doing odds and ends at the moment, nothing spectacular." 'Except fighting off a shadowy Empire of ponies and more that would love to take you and every other pony as slaves that is.' I thought to myself. "But yeah, it's working out pretty well."

"Sounds good to me. Have you scouted out if they have different drinking age laws in the area?"

"Nope, don't care to. You can ask yourself, but I'll stay out of it either way."

"I can get that," Thyme added, "I rarely drink anything except like one light thing at the weekends if I'm at a party. I don't like getting drunk."

"Yeah, I've been cutting back myself." Double confirmed.

"You... you aren't drinking age."

"Going from zero to any number that isn't positive is cutting back. So... I'm cutting back!" Double grinned. I shook my head in a chuckle as we entered the sweet shop. The interior was quite busy, though the line was nonexistent. Apparently we arrived just after a rush.

"Well, here we are, Sugar Cube Corner." I proclaimed happily to my two followers.

"Nice place." Double nodded as he looked about. "Certainly smells like a bakery... I like it. Do they got those little peppermint sticks here?"

"I don't know, I actually haven't bought much of anything from here." I admitted. In fact, the last time I was here I was rushed out by a member of the Empire crashing my party. Looking about, I actually recognized some of the ponies as attendants to said party. Looking behind the counter, I saw the couple that had been at Berry's mercy. Oh no... by Celestia, had she been milking one of the owners?

"Oh, hello, dearies, what can I get you today?" Ms. Cake, I presumed, asked happily. Well, at least it seemed the artifacts effect held. She didn't seem to hate my guts, or at least didn't attach my guts to Berry for the moment.

I let Thyme and Double make their orders as I got us a seating arrangement outside. I had been in one cooped up, sex-smelling place after another and I needed some fresh air as a change of pace, and plus, the weather was nice. I doubted they'd be angry. I looked about as I waited, my hand idly feeling over the buttons of the recorder as I sat there. It certainly was a nice day.

The two of them came to the table sitting down as they munched on their sugary delights, and I simply enjoyed the mostly silent company, looking about over the slowly moving mass of ponies as they went to and fro about their day. My mind concocted a dozen sexual scenarios I could enforce on the area, and better yet, leave everypony involved unaware. I could make Ponyville a town of nudists and have that be normal. That certainly would be hot. I could make asking for sex a thing as easy as asking for a cup of flour from a neighbor. I could make it so greetings were done by eating out or blowing the other pony. I smirked at the ideas as they flitted through my brain, my index finger itching on the circle indentation of the recorder, before I broke away and looked back to the ponies as they finished their treats.

I found myself wondering what Thyme looked like naked. I could find out easily, just a few words. I could make sure she didn't even get in trouble for it. I could fuck her right here and now and Double would be fine with it, even if she got pregnant from it. I circled the indentation with my finger. There were so many perverted things I could do, that I wanted to do.

"Hey, Cress!" I turned and saw Raven in pony form approaching our table. I smiled back, my mind leaving the perverted thoughts behind as I stood up.

"Raven, I got some ponies for you to meet." She turned to the two with a smile. "Raven, this is Double Time, my cousin, and Spring Thyme, his special somepony." I introduced with a grin.

"Actually," Double said, turning to the mare who was now blushing, "she isn't just my special somepony." Thyme lifted her hand and revealed a ring as she beamed in excitement. Oh... OH.

Splice 12: The Mare who has it Going On

Button slowly came back to wakefulness, something having woken him up. Stretching out in his bed, he froze when he felt the warmth of another pony in the bed with him. Slowly looking over, his mind raced to piece together what events led to this, only to slot the last pieces together as he finally looked on the lovely face of Brass Tacks who still slept peacefully. If Button was to be honest, it wasn't the face of a porn star, or even a pony who was conventionally attractive. Brass was one of those ponies that despite her outward appearance struck Button as beautiful, and it wasn't just the blank expression he'd met her with. There was just something about the mare that made Button see her as beautiful, gorgeous really.

Shifting out of bed, he crept over to the door to his room and peaked out, careful not to disturb Brass. The house was quiet, almost too quiet for his liking. Even the sound of his mother's old record player was missing, the usual replacement for sound while his mom saved up for a new TV. To say Button was concerned would be an understatement.

Pushing the door fully open, he made his way through the house, looking for his mom. After looking about, he came back to his bedroom, finally taking a moment to check his phone. It was half past one, though the text message was the main thing he noticed.

Going to do some shopping today so that we have enough for Ms Brass

You two play nice and be sure to take care

I'll be back before too long

Judging by when the text was sent, being a few minutes ago, he could likely look forward to the rest of the afternoon with Brass, not to mention it might have even been the door closing that had woken him up. Button thanked his lucky stars that Cress had taken the initiative with a recording that excused his possession of Brass. His mom was more than accommodating, a wonderful change from what might have been.

"And she'll be home?" Button asked as he walked alongside Cress.

"Yes, again, she'll be home. She was mostly untouched. I think they realized she wasn't an artifact user and so put as little effort as was needed." Cress replied, the slight edge of annoyance evident to even the rather socially inept Button. "She'll be home, she'll be fine, and best yet, she won't remember being a brainwashed slave. I've made sure of that."

"And she won't try anything funny?" Button asked, a little scared what residual effects may linger, and what those effects might mean for his and his mother's bond. He liked being just her son, and her just being his mom, he didn't want extra features. Brass was, in many ways, a way to avoid doing dumb things like he had been tempted. If he had a mare willing to spread her legs at any moment, Button could only guess that he'd lose the temptations associated with having such a powerful artifact and a mother who was hot enough that even he noticed.

"I doubt she'll have anything left of substance from her brief induction by Gunther. The memories I've extracted essentially paint the picture of your mom being a hypnotic lightweight, though you apparently were a harder nut to crack, requiring the use of Brass' artifact. Good on you for that, I guess." Cress had said in what resembled a comforting remark. "And here we are." Looking up, Button was indeed in front of his house.

It was strange standing before it like this. He wasn't sure if he really wanted to go in. What if his mom's revulsion at slavery was strong enough she overcame whatever effect Cress had and threw Button out on his ear? What if that wasn't the case, but she began to dislike Brass for another set of reasons? There were so many things Button didn't know, but desperately wanted to know, needed to know.

"Don't worry," Cress busted into his thoughts, "I took the precaution to make sure you owning Brass, at least for the time being, doesn't come off as strange. You'll be able to walk in there and act as normal or as abnormal as you like about Brass and your mom won't know the difference." That was honestly more comforting to Button than anything else that Cress said or did.

"Alright... thanks." Button gulped, looking up at the door, registering Cress walking away, when suddenly a thought came to him. "H-hey, Cress!" He turned to face the stallion who seemed so much older than the eighteen that he was. Cress simply returned the stare, waiting for Button to make his intentions known. "Look... I know that things are tough, and I know it really isn't my place to ask, but could you be kind to Gunther?" Cress didn't seem to react, either taking this extremely well, not exactly caring, or not having heard Button at all. "I get it, he deserves your punishment, but really, I think reducing him to his," Button motioned to the empty stare that Brass had on her face, "I think that really is enough. It makes them not a threat and unable to repeat the actions they once took. I can't see why anything further is necessary beyond wanting revenge."

"Two hundred and thirty-nine ponies." Cress said simply, leaving Button confused before he continued. "Gunther single-handedly took two hundred and thirty-nine ponies away from their lives and forced them into servitude. He has yet to meet with justice sufficient to the crimes. As for Brass here..." He paused, giving Button a faint glimmer of hope that maybe he'd see her as not needing punishment. "She forced her entire platoon to be her sex slaves and then forget it. Some of them she had made into triggerable puppets. Neither of them are blameless, and neither of them are worthy of escaping their consequences."

Button slowly nodded, coming to terms with the fact that Cress seemed dead set on this. "I guess I'm just asking you consider the merits of a lenient policy towards them." Button said with a shrug and an awkward smile.

"You keep your slave as you will, I'll keep Gunther like the trash he is. I can only hope that you don't call me within a week to complain about how she has reverted somehow." Cress said sounding thoroughly fatigued with the situation. Button was grateful that he wasn't irate, but in the end, Cress was acting more testy than he seemed to before. Was the friendly demeanor an act or was this just due to the high pressure of the situation?

"Just... be kind. And stay safe." Button said finally. Cress nodded slowly before heading off to return to his own place. Button returned his gaze to the door before him and gulped once more. Even with the reassurances he had been given, he wasn't entirely convinced this would go well. Turning to Brass, he sighed. She was still acting blank, which really wouldn't do - even if Cress was right that his mom wouldn't react to how weird it was, no matter how weird it was.

"Brass, eh... stop acting blank, please?" Button asked - not feeling like he could even order her, more so suggest she do things. He might've gotten past the trauma in some small measure, but even so she was a mare of the guard who stood about half a head above him - not to mention she was in her fatigues. She looked menacing without even trying. Brass' eyes snapped back to focus and turned to Button and smiled like a little school filly, an odd expression for the face that could've been carved from marble.

"Master!" She squeed, making Button cringe at the high pitch noise that, like a lot of things, was incongruous from her appearance. She wrapped her arms around Button, holding him close, making a confusing swirl of emotions come up within Button as they stood in front of a house that very easily could have the front door open to reveal any number of relatives - whether his mom who actually lived here or any of the number of frequent visitors. Button wasn't sure if what Cress had mentioned about making it seem normal for him to own Brass was specifically for his mother, or if it covered his extended family too. Either way, he hoped to not figure it out any time soon.

"Eh... please, just Button... unless we're in a bedroom... alone... or with somepony that we're making love with... or if I ask you to I guess." Button fumbled his way through, trying to wrack his brain for all scenarios he wanted to be called Master, and all the situations he didn't care for the title being said.

"Do you want me to call you Master now?" Brass asked, cocking her head to the side.

"N-no, we're about to head inside and meet my mom." Button said, trying to take a step away, but the mare's furiously tight hug prevented any forward motion.

"Oh wonderful, I can't wait to meet her! Should I call her Mistress?" Brass asked with the innocence of a child asking if they were allowed to breathe sugar in through their nose like daddy.

"NO!" Button blurted out, panicked, much like the mother in the aforementioned scenario. "N-no, just... she'll introduce herself and she'll tell you what she wants to be called."

"What if she asks me to call her mistress?"

"Then you can call her that, but she won't call herself 'mistress'. Let's.... let's just get inside." Button said defeatedly, not knowing how much more of this he could take before he just curled up in a ball to the side and rode it out while taking up as little space as possible.

Opening the door, the warmly lit interior gave Button and immediate sense of calm. It was beautiful in its own simplistic way, and was far nicer than it had been when the power had been cut off for the ambush. Over by the small kitchen area, which was easily seen from the front door in the small home, was Button's mom, scrubbing away at a dish. Turning to face her son, her expression lit up.

"Button Mash! How was your day with that other young stallion... Ascension? No, that wasn't it..."

"Crescendo?"

"Yes, that's the one. How was your day, honey?" She beamed at him, making Button feel all the more guilty for what he was about to do to this house.

"It's been... complicated. I've had a rough time of it, not because of Crescendo, mind you - in fact he helped get me out of a tight spot... it's just... well." Button stepped to the side and revealed the tall mare Brass who walked inside fully beside Button. "Uh... mom, this is Brass Tacks... she's my..."

"I'm his slave." Brass said cheerily, making Button go wide eyed and almost faint at the impossibility of the whole situation.

"Button, dear, you got yourself a slave pony?" His mom asked as she used a rag to dry off her hands. Button sneakily pulled the front door closed. No pony needed to see this. "How ever did you afford it?" She asked, coming around the counter towards them.

"It... she was actually free." Button stumbled, unsure how his mom could be so calm... well, actually he knew very well how she could be so calm. There was nothing strange here, after all - so said the artifact. "It's a... rehabilitation program." Button's mom nodded understandingly. How in the world she'd understand that lame lie was beyond Button, even with the artifact's influence. Then again, was it a lie? She was undergoing reformation of a sort.

"I see." His mom said finally, standing in front of Brass Tacks, looking her up and down. "Anything I should not ask for?" She asked, wrapping the towel around the back of her neck.

"No, ma'am, I'll do whatever you want, whenever you want, however you want!" Brass replied happily. Button's mom nodded slowly.

"Very polite, though not quite as formal as might be appropriate." She noted, turning her head towards Button. "How have you been referring to her? Or have you had her long enough to decide?"

"Eh... I was just gonna call her Brass... it is her name. Should I be calling her something else?" Button asked, not sure where his mom was going with this. The mare smirked, raising an eyebrow.

"Button Mash, you know very well what it looks like when you bring a slave home, not to mention a slave of the opposite gender." She said, almost as teasingly as Berry had been when Button had interacted with her briefly. "So, have you given her a good rutting?" Button went from tan to crimson in a second.

"W-w-w-w-w-w-w-what?!" Button fell backwards.

"I'll take that as a 'yes'." She said coyly. Turning back to Brass, she smiled, giving her another once over. "Well, if you are going to be my son's slave, does that mean I have authority over you too? He is my son after all."

"Yes, ma'am, you do have authority over me, though Button can overrule you." Brass replied simply. Button's mom nodded with a pensive pursing of her lips.

"Very good. Alright, I suppose I'll call you Ms Brass for now, though I might change my mind later. You can call me 'Mistress' when we're in the house. In public you can call me 'Ms Cream Heart', though if I here that inside of this house you'll be in for more than you reckoned for." She said with a joking waggle of her finger, flooring Button further. His mom... had just asked to be called 'mistress'. Was he in a porn flick? That would explain a lot, now that he thought about it.

"Yes, Mistress." Turning to Button, Brass smiled widely. "Am I allowed to call you 'Master' in the house now?" Button sputtered for a few seconds, unable to collect himself enough to answer.

"Yes, dear, you may call him 'Master' as long as we don't have company over, same goes for me. Someponies might take it the wrong way." Someponies might take it the wrong way? This whole situation was the wrong way!

Side C - Chapter 8: A Renewed Resolve

"So you finally popped the question, huh?" I said with a wide smile, leaning back as I crossed my arms. "The stallion went and did it. What's the parents' opinion?"

"My parents were actually disappointed when I first told them we broke up." Thyme said, looking over to Double. "Later when I told them we made up, they were happy we had worked out our differences. The proposal was... well, they were certainly pleased. They've always liked Double."

"And mine are concerned as always that I might be going a tad fast. Most ponies wait until they're in their twenties. I mean sure, I'm about to hit twenty, but most of the time we're talking twenty-five if not later."

"How the heck did you afford the ring... if you mind me asking." I stumbled a tad. Money was a sensitive topic, I realized, and not exactly what ponies wanted to hear when they just got engaged. "Did your parents chip in or something?"

"No, actually I was saving up for one for a while now. I had an understanding with Thyme's father that I wanted to marry her since... well, I think I first talked to him when I was sixteen now that I think about it." I chuckled at that, Double Time was certainly living up to his name, that was for sure. "At the time, of course, he took it about as seriously as you would take any expression of interest from a sixteen year old. We weren't even dating officially, we were just friends, but I felt confident then that Thyme here was the mare for me and I was the stallion for her. We actually started dating about two weeks after that, which might've helped move him towards changing his opinion of me. I think his disposition towards how serious I was completely changed when I reiterated my interest a year later - I might have also helped matters with the fact that I was able to prove that we weren't in it for the sex since we had both abstained. We both made sure to always have a third pony with us to keep us honest."

"Wait... really?" I looked at the two ponies. "You two of all ponies haven't done it yet? The two ponies who have their entire lives planned out with plans for children and everything? Are you just saying that you haven't done it with each other, or are you totally, like... untouched?" Thyme blushed. "No judgement... well maybe a little to be fair. Most ponies in my grade have at least one or two fuck buddies, if not more."

"We both got our V cards... though we have masturbated of course, just... not with each other." Double said at a substantially lower volume. "I wanted to make my first time with a mare special, make it the mare I wanted to be with the rest of my life."

"And... well, it's hard to find anything but wallflowers and actual flowers in the gardening club. Not to mention most guys felt less than enthused at the prospect of dating a student who never dipped below an A minus. Most guys in our school wanted to get with mares who were either the same level or lower so that they could brag about how smart they were on occasion and not have their mare show them up with their report card." Thyme said, awkwardly twisting a loose strand of hair as she talked.

"Well... uh... good for you two?" I wasn't sure how I should feel for them on that score, but they seemed happy. Happy. It was infectious. Not a few minutes prior I had been morose, consumed in my hatred against the heap of flesh in my basement, but now... now I was happy. I considered this for a second, and leaned into a hand I hadn't noticed being placed on my shoulder, knowing it was Raven's.

"So, I see you've found somepony special too." Double said, nodding at the mare. I looked up at her and smiled, giving a nod.

"Yup, pretty darn special." I looked at the empty chair at the table. "Want to take a seat?" Raven smiled and shook her head.

"I would love to, but I came by to tell you that Twilight needs you pronto. The news she had to relay just got increased from a five page summary to a doctoral thesis, and I feel it's only going to get worse for us. She was going to send a text, but knowing you were with family, it only felt right to tell you in person, but she was needed for... other things." She looked over at the two other ponies. "Sorry, a lot has been happening recently; I don't want to pull you all apart so soon after getting together, but... well..."

"We could tag along." Double offered, looking over to Thyme with a questioning glance. "I mean, we bought one way tickets to here, so really we can stay as long as we like." Turning back to look at me with a gaze that wasn't pleading, but certainly was asking very nicely, Double added, "If that's alright with you, of course. It sounds important and we wouldn't want to intrude." I didn't want to get these two tangled up in this situation. I much preferred the thought of fighting a shadow war that no pony was aware of, not even - or honestly, especially - my family.

"Well, they were wanting to meet you at our place, so the space is less... well it isn't the same level of grungy it would be otherwise." Raven added. "Me and the others could entertain them while you talked with Twilight." That... actually sounded like a decent idea; and then the thought of putting these two up in the big house struck me. It was the only rational thing to do considering the circumstances. It wasn't like there were hotels in the country town of Ponyville.

"You know what," I began, turning back to Double, "sure, come on along. Plus, I'll put you two love birds up in my place. We got plenty of space to go around." 'And I have a recorder that would be able to smooth over any rough patches that might pop up as a result of the way I live.' I thought to myself. The two looked more than pleased at the thought of being able to stay with me. "Plus, this business with Twilight will hopefully be short so that we can get back to talking." Turning towards Raven I asked, "When were they going to be back at the house?"

"Well, they started walking towards it at the same time I started walking over here. I'd say they are either there or nearly there if nothing has come up."

"That does bring up a question, how did you know I was going to be here? Did you just piece it together or guess?" Raven smirked, holding up two fingers.

"One, Twilight took your text about Pinkie running Sugar Cube as you telling her that was where you'd be. Two, Pinkie... well... I'm just starting to get used to it but apparently she's got a... a sense? Anyway, she said you'd be out here, even gave me directions to the table instead of the shop." I cast a few quick, surreptitious glances around to check to see if there might've been any cameras, but Ponyville seemed as low tech as ever.

"Alright... that certainly isn't creepy." I said, slowly standing up. "If you two are ready, the sooner we get this out of the way, the sooner we can get back to hanging out."

"And the sooner we can discuss some other important details of the coming days." Double nodded. I had a sense what that meant for him, with the eventual wedding and all, but I couldn't help notice it also applied for how my life was going. Life was getting complicated, unapologetically so.

The walk to the house was uneventful. I was relieved to see that Twilight had removed the charms on the house, letting it show for what it was: the bigger and nicer than normal house of a pony who had her share of misfortune. 'Misfortune,' I thought, 'that I can fix.' How true that was wasn't clear, but I wasn't about to make the mistake of not trying it like I had with Starlight... I'd just have to do that later on, now wasn't the time. Double and Thyme had just about the reaction I had expected to the house.

"How in the HAY did you afford this place!?" Double cried as soon as he realized we weren't turning off towards any of the other more modestly sized homes. "Are you a secret drug lord or something?"

"No, it actually... well, I'll explain once we get inside. It might help you out to have the ponies present." I said with a pleased smile that faded slightly as a thought struck me. "Uh... Raven, could you go on ahead and make sure the place is in order... as well as the ponies inside." I didn't think that Berry would be as audacious as to start an orgy in the house while they waited for me, but I also didn't think she had enough self control to NOT do exactly that.

"Right, see you there." Raven said with a nod, likely catching my drift. I certainly hoped she wasn't on Berry's side of any perversion the massively perverted pony went through with.

"Oh, so you got house mates? Makes sense, probably how you landed such a nice place." Double commented. "Still, one of those ponies is going to have to be stacked, and I know it ain't you, otherwise you are a drug lord."

"Well, things'll be a tad clearer when we get inside... hopefully. I got a nagging fear somepony is gonna try and muddy the waters somehow." I muttered. Closing the gap, I opened the front door, offering them entry, only to notice them looking over Periwinkle's Arcano-Wagon.

"A flippin Series L Wheel Turner Arcano-Wagon with dual mythril driving core. Yeah, somepony is loaded." Thyme said to Double, looking over the technology in open admiration, surprising me with her offhand knowledge of the vehicle.

"That would be my aunt." Periwinkle said, coming out form the door I held open. "She was big on technology and had a lot of bits to throw at things." Periwinkle ran a hand along the door of the driver side seating area. "When she passed she left it to me, along with a few other less impressive, but still sentimental, things."

"Wow... oh, uh, I'm Crescendo's cousin, Double Time. Nice to meet you!" Double said, extending his hand for a shake.

"Spring Periwinkle, a pleasure." She smiled, looking over to Thyme.

"I'm Spring Thyme, Double's fiancée." She said, extending her own hand.

"Congratulations!" Periwinkle said, as she and the other mare began gushing over the ring, which, was quite nice. Something Periwinkle missed and that I didn't was the look Double gave her. I knew it well: the look of a pony who isn't sure if they know somepony. I smirked at the memory of us in the little store where this all started. Things certainly had changed since then.

"Why don't we move this inside?" I asked, still holding the door. "You all can talk while I square away whatever business I have with Twilight." The ponies seemed to find this agreeable as they moved into the house, the two Springs going back and forth, already fast friends. Raven was the last one at the door.

"Fair warning, Cress, Twilight is in the basement with the Doctor and a certain griffon." She confided in a whisper. "She isn't exactly pleased, and to be honest, neither am I. I don't like this thing you're doing with Gunther, and that's coming from me. I hate him for all the same reasons as you." That struck a nerve in me. My vision blurred slightly as pure rage flowed briefly through me, but I was able to calm myself down. "Be careful, Cress." She said in a calm tone. "I love you enough to tell you this: what you're doing with him needs to stop or change severely. I don't want you to be what he and Brass once were. I might've advocated for dulling out punishments, but this goes a tad beyond that."

"I'll keep that in mind." I said simply.

"I hope you do more than that, Cress. I don't want this hatred of the griffon downstairs to be the wedge that drives us apart. I want to be with you for a long time, so please, do what's right." She pleaded.

"I'll keep it in mind." I reiterated. Raven seemed so sad at that pronouncement, but my burden was set firmly on my shoulders, and I wasn't about to shirk it because it left a bad taste with some ponies. She sighed and walked in the house. I stayed outside for a moment and looked out over Ponyville, my hand back in my pocket as I swirled a finger around the circle indentation of the record button. My problems were a button press away from being gone. How long until I pressed them into oblivion?

I shook my head. What was that thought? That was nothing like me! When had my thoughts gotten so... dark? I cast my eyes down, looking at the free hand. It was my hand, still blue as the day I was born, but somehow it seemed... off. I was changing as much as the times were changing it seemed. How much of my cousin's 'Cresh' would be left when it was all said and done? How much longer until I was only connected to that pony by physical form? How much longer until Cresh died? I clenched my fist. I wouldn't go peacefully, that was for damned sure. I'd hold on to what made me me. But... how much was left now?

Looking back towards Ponyville, the small bustling town of ponies unaware of the shadowy Empire that loomed over their lives still. I'd protect them all, I resolved, and no pony would keep me from that purpose, not even myself. I'd find this Emperor and put an end to it all, and then... then I'd rest.

Side C - Chapter 9: Filius Philosophorum

I walked down the stairs, preparing myself for Twilight's tirade. I knew at this point I thoroughly deserved it. I wasn't exactly repentant towards my treatment of Gunther, not by a long shot, but I felt it more than reasonable to tone down what I had been doing. Gunther was... well, for a lack of a better term, a barometer of sorts - a constant measure on how far I might have slipped from where I had started. Hitting the last few stairs, I looked about, noticing a wet spot on the floor, likely all the sweat from a Gunther who couldn't cum from railing himself against a wall all night. Not my proudest boner.

In one of the room's corners I saw Twilight looking at a shimmering, large, purple bubble rather pensively. I decided it was smarter to not spook her, and so knocked on the wooden post by the side of the door.

"The third step down creaks something awful." Twilight said over her shoulder. "Though it's nice to know you aren't trying to sneak up on me and jam a dildo up my butt." That... sounded far more enticing than she probably wanted it to; I mean, she did have a nice tush.

"I've had a bit of awakening recently in regards to my behavior." I said as I walked up beside her. "I'm not stopping Gunther's punishment, but I will be toning it down."

"I suppose it's a start." Twilight muttered, casting a side long glance at me. "Raven got to you then?" I chuckled as I nodded in affirmation.

"She... opened my eyes. This whole situation has... chipped away at who I am. I don't like it. I'll try to guard myself against the times." I said solemnly.

"Good to hear. The short time I did know who you were before this mess, which come to think about it, was just the party really, I didn't know you as the type of pony who would do to Gunther what I found. He was collapsed on the floor, gurgling around a gag... a penis shaped gag."

"Where is he by the way?" I hadn't seen the griffon about the basement, I wasn't sure how to feel on that one.

"Upstairs, we put him in one of the guest bedrooms with the doppelgangers. I assume they'll get on famously." She said, turning her attention back to the purple dome. I would've agreed, but she was unwittingly playing into Gunther's punishment. I could imagine Puppershy bouncing on his dick that would never cum unless one of those ponies ordered it, and seeing as most of them would likely be happy just to fuck themselves silly, I couldn't imagine they'd notice if Gunther didn't cum. Immense amount of stamina is a thing.

Looking to the dome I peered through the purple to see what I had been expecting. There in the center of the dome was the Doctor, sitting cross-legged with his head bowed.

"Meditating?" I asked Twilight, looking over his naked form for any signs of damage, only to find none. Odd, since we had knocked him unconscious.

"More like focusing his powers towards healing himself while trying, and failing, to escape." She turned to me. "Do you know what he is by any chance?" I shook my head.

"No, as far as I know, he's just a pony with some weird powers. I know it isn't tied to an artifact, unless they implanted it beneath his skin," That brought a few uncomfortable thoughts to my mind that I quickly shooed away, "and I know his ties to the Empire aren't the same as the others. You said both Gunther and Brass had themselves a talisman like the one I described Silver having. The Doctor here had no such talisman when we managed to get him undressed."

"Knowing what I do know, that much makes sense. The talisman wouldn't have worked on him." She moved over to a small card table and held up one of the talismans. Looking at the table, I noticed a few other objects, most of them science-y in nature, and so, thoroughly out of my depth. "These talismans," Twilight continued, "have a spell cast on them. I spent most of yesterday evening and this morning trying to figure out the spell. I found out that it is a rather old spell, ancient in fact, and, like many of this particular kind, thoroughly illegal to cast."

"Another triumph of the Equestrian legal system." I muttered, getting a sharp glare from the purple princess. I quickly understood that it was not the time to make jeering remarks about the legal system she had a particular personal involvement in... or at least I supposed she did as a princess, I really didn't know.

"The spell," Twilight said pointedly, returning to the subject, "is a rather complex disintegration spell. Not only that, but the talisman has an enchantment that once the spell fires, the victim cannot remove it. You could technically stop it with a powerful enough counter spell or by placing a sufficiently large piece of Dark Stone near it, but beyond that, the spell will carry out its purpose without fail, leaving you with only ashes."

"What's the trigger? Is it remote activated or are there specific instances in which it will fire." I asked, my thoughts drifting back to Silver as he burned away before me.

"I couldn't quite tease that out. This piece is an artifact to itself, not so much like the ones you, Button, Silver, Gunther, and Brass had, but more so in the sense of them being really old pieces of arcane history. A museum might enjoy having this, but would likely only display replicas to ensure public safety. Few museums have bombs that are fully ready to fire on display, and breaking this piece's enchantment would likely send it, and any who were unfortunate to be touching it at the time, up in arcane flames." Twilight said, setting it back down.

"Alright, so that's the talisman explained, but please tell me how that applies to the Doctor here and how he is supposedly indestructible as far as this talisman goes. Is he made of Dark Stone or something?" I asked, looking him over with new suspicion.

"Something much worse, I fear." Twilight muttered as she turned to look at the thing in the bubble. "I've spent a long time examining him and observing him, and I've come to a singular conclusion based on how he behaves and how his magic manifests." The Doctor looked up, his eyes wide and flaming as he rushed forward, planting his hands against the shield, causing it to sizzle. I backed off, but Twilight stood there with full confidence in her shield.

"I've come to the conclusion that you might have deciphered in part." Twilight continued, squatting down in front of the beast. "This isn't a pony." She said matter-of-factly. I had actually come to that rough conclusion, but it still didn't help it to sound sensible.

"So... not a pony, what is he? He looks like a pony, can occasionally act like one, but in the end apparently isn't one. What is he?" I stepped back towards the dome, looking at him as he pressed himself to the shield, as if he'd squeeze through a hole in the nonexistent bars of his cage.

"He shouldn't exist, for one. You see... well, the theoretical existence of things like him have rattled around the minds of the world's greatest geniuses for centuries, maybe millennia. Starting back when magic wasn't exactly understood too incredibly well and was less a science and more a mystic art, ponies were still trying to figure things out as far as the boundaries for their potential. Magic had so many abilities, and when combined with potion making, it seemed to be an avenue towards life eternal and infinite power. Some ponies made a mixture of magic and potion making and called it alchemy. The name was later reused for other fields, passing from science to science and superstition to superstition, but originally it was the art of combining the unknowns of magic and potion brewing.

"It was postulated by these early alchemists that if one could figure out the components of a body, that magic could provide a soul. With this they created the first golems, but they were rudimentary and lacked all but the ability to understand and execute orders. Beyond that, they were fairly useless. The alchemists wanted something greater, more powerful, more real. They were after the ability to create a pony, no ifs, ands, or buts.

"Even though they realized there were limitations, they felt that if they just understood a few more things, pressed the borders of known things just a bit more, they'd have the ability to create life, or in some cases, recreate life. The main hurdle is the soul. It is of near, if not entirely, infinite value. Understanding this, but not accepting it as a barrier, they postulated an item they called a philosopher's stone. An item of infinite value that would allow them to do as they pleased. With the goal to make a philosopher's stone set, they focused all efforts on either creating one themselves through alchemy or simply finding one in nature.

"In the end, a few alchemists discovered exactly how to create their philosopher's stone, but refused to share the knowledge. A few of them did, however, leave clues. In the end, the number of philosopher's stones that have ever existed throughout history is... well, unknown, but likely only barely into double digits. A few of those stones were used in the way they had been intended - to create life. Despite the infinite value of these philosopher's stones, for some reason, when they were used to create the soul of a pony, it always created something of a monster - a Child of the Philosophers, a homunculus."

"So... is that what he is? A Homunculus?" I looked at him, a renewed sense of curiosity at the unknown elements of this... homunculus.

"Yes... but that's a broad-strokes analysis of what I can see. He may very well be something else. His powers, for one, are fairly hard to pin down in both their complete extent and in their font. He is a bundle of unknowns that unfortunately are hard to examine due to his nature." Twilight finished. "Fortunately, with yesterday's and today's study, I have come to some good results. You may have not seen her today, but I was able to get him to return Berry's arm."

"That's a relief." I sighed. I was glad for Berry, and that set a thought in my mind. Maybe now was as good a time as any to give her something as a gift of sorts. I looked to Twilight, nodding for her to follow me away from the Doctor. "Twilight," I began hesitantly, unsure of how to express the thought I had, "what do you think the likelihood is that I could bring back Berry's daughter? I have this artifact, perhaps it could bring back what she's lost." She looked at me dead in the eye and sighed, looking at the ground.

"You have a good heart, Cress, maybe not all of the time," she cast a glance at the wet spot in the floor, "but you have your moments." Looking back to me she gave a sad smile. "I think that if the artifact couldn't keep you an alicorn, it might not be able to bring back the dead, but that's my two bits. The whole creating fourteen new ponies, or at best deriving them from their hosts, certainly puts a question mark on the whole limitations of its power. You can try... but if you want to do something for Berry, I suggest looking towards her other relatives." I blinked, looking down at my pocket, my finger feeling the indentation of the record button.

"Thanks, Twilight." I said slowly. "I'll... put some thought into it." Twilight nodded in response.

"See you up stairs?" She asked.

"Yeah, I'll be there in a second." I muttered, turning away from her. Twilight sighed, and moved up the stairs. The third step from the top really did creak something awful.

Pulling the recorder out of my pocket, I sat down on the floor, looking at it as I contemplated what I should do - what I could do. There was a filly I could wake up, and Berry wouldn't even know it was me... that felt right. I took a deep breath in and pressed the record button.

Splice 13: End of the Crucible

"And then he looked up at me from the mud and said 'Come on in, the water's fine!'" Double finished, fighting back his own laughter, the room around him already in various states, whether laughing, crying, or fighting their own mirth back.

"That certainly does sound like a Cress thing to say!" Raven said through her own laughter. "One time in gym he bet some of the jocks that he could cross the finish line before they could. Once they put bits on it, he took a step backwards and crossed the finish line!" The room was filled with another wave of laughter.

As she laughed, Berry took out her vibrating phone. Her laughter stopped immediately and her color drained looking at the caller ID she saw displayed on her phone's little screen. 'Why is Cheerilee calling?' Emotions ranging from rage to sorrow to elation flickered through her mind. She stood up from her chair and rushed outside, leaving the ponies assembled a tad confused as to what was happening. Looking at the phone in her hand as she stepped outside, she knew it would send to voicemail in a second. She could leave it just that long, right? She could keep up the distance from her family, that they had kept up with her. It would be as easy as doing nothing.

Pressing the accept button, Berry raised the phone to her ear, steadying herself as best she could, pushing past her own hold ups. "Hello? Cheerilee?" The line was silent for a moment, and then another.

"Berry..." Her older sister said finally, just as Berry thought she might have not tried to call her and this was all an accident, "Berry, I need you to come down to the clinic." Berry froze. Why would she need to go to the clinic? What was happening? That was where Piña was. Why did she need to go to her? Why did she have to relive that pain?

"Okay, give me a minute." Berry said, nodding despite herself. "It's..." She started, wanting to say so much, but couldn't find it in herself to get anymore out. The line held the silence for a moment.

"It's nice to talk, Berry." Cheerilee said, her voice sounding shaky as well. "See you soon, alright?" Berry nodded.

"Sure thing." She hung up, looking at the phone for a few seconds, unsure of what to do. Looking back to her house, she desperately wanted to go to a certain cupboard in the kitchen where a bottle of vodka sat minding its own dang business. It'd be so easy; she could pour some in a shot glass, no, she'd throw some into her Oktoberfest mug and down it in a few gulps. She'd then wake up the next morning feeling a lot worse, but oh so much better.

Berry shook her head, looking back to Ponyville, even as the sun drifted a tad closer to the horizon. Before she even realized what was happening - what she was doing - she was running, putting her performance at the Running of the Leaves to shame. She bolted down the short hill her home sat on, darted through the streets, taking turn after turn, running by memory through the evening streets of Ponyville. She had walked up to the front of this hospital so many times before, but had never walked further. In many ways, she wanted to keep it that way. She knew Piña was inside. She knew she wasn't the same small filly that had nearly died. She had watched Applebloom grow up, imagining two other fillies, two fillies she'd never see like that, and then she'd choke on the pain, and then drown the sorrows that whelmed up inside with a bottle.

She skidded to a halt in front of the Ponyville Clinic. It was called a clinic, but ever since the town's proclivities towards natural and arcane disasters became more and more abundantly clear, the building had developed into a fully fledged hospital - one of the finest in Equestria thanks to the proximity of a princess. But it wasn't the building that held Berry's attention. No, what was holding her attention was the three ponies in front of it.

There at the entrance were two particular ponies she never expected to see except in a casket, whether she'd look into theirs or they into hers. A mare who shared Berry's wine color skin with a purple so dark it was basically black mane stood there beside a pink stallion with a curly mane just like Berry's, both of them talking to Cheerilee. Her sister looked past the older mare and over at Berry, giving her a gentle wave. Berry gulped, and stepped forward.

"Thanks for coming so soon, Berry." Cheerilee smiled with genuine warmth, but Berry was a little preoccupied with the two other ponies to notice. Berry gave them a nod.

"M-Mom, D-Dad." Berry said shakily, unsure if she was about to get kicked upside the jaw or if they'd keep it a tad more formal than that. Her mother looked... emotional, to say the least, while her father simply gave her a calm nod in greeting. Suddenly, her mom lunged at her, causing Berry to lock up in fear, only to realize a second later that the older mare was wrapping her in a hug.

"Oh, Berry!" The older mare sobbed into Berry's shoulder. Berry blinked, awkwardly rubbing her mother's back in as best a comforting way she could. Looking over to her sister for a hint, Cheerilee simply gave her the same simple smile she always did - thin and tainted with that edge of sadness, whether her own or reflecting the sadness Berry herself felt. Berry smiled too, unsure of herself even as she grew a tad more comfortable with the hug. "Berry, I'm so happy to see you." Her mother said, muffled by Berry's shoulder.

"I... I was so mad, I should've never pushed you away. I should've reached out long ago... but... I'm so sorry!" Berry felt a weight she hadn't known had been pushing down on her for the last several years lift off her shoulders at this. Her mother... was apologizing? Berry sighed in relief, returning her mother's hug in kind. "I was scared you hated me for what I said. I'm so sorry! Please don't hate me, my little Berry Bunch of Joy! Please forgive me! Please!"

"It's okay, Mom," Berry said calmly, trying to keep herself from overflowing with emotion just yet, "It's alright. I never hated you. I... I was just sad - hurt." Berry's mom pulled away from her daughter, still holding the hug but looking her daughter in the eyes, even as tears streamed from her own, ruining what makeup she had on.

"Berry... Berry I love you so much. I'm sorry for hurting you, for leaving you to the winds. I'm sorry for all the hurtful things I ever said or did to you. I'm sorry I wasn't there for you. My little Berry, I'm so sorry! We..." her voice hitched, before she planted her face in Berry's shoulder once more. Though her voice was a wreck, and though Berry was overcome with emotion herself, she could tell what her mother was saying. How could she not? The last thing this mare had said to her... the most painful thing she could've said. The mare had never forgiven herself for saying it, and now poured her heart out to her daughter, asking for forgiveness.

"I lost something too, okay!? You may not FUCKING notice, but I lost my daughter, your GRANDDAUGHTER! I lost mine, she's gone! My SISTER, your daughter, is still alive, so excuse FUCKING me if I'm more distraught over the pony who is actually dead!" Berry's voice shouted in her echoing memories, her painful memories.

"Well that just proves who's the better mother, now doesn't it?" Her mother's voice had a savage bite, a bite only an enraged family member could put into their voice. In her mind's eye she watched her storm off again, the last time she had seen her. And now... now she was crying her soul out. That mare who had been so jaded at the possible death of her filly who somehow looked passed the death of her grand daughter to blame Berry, that mare was now crying into Berry's shoulder, each tear draining out a piece of the pain, each trembling of her body a shuddering straight from the broken soul that hugged Berry oh so tightly.

"I forgive you, Mom." Berry whispered into her mother's ear with a smile birthed from the release those words gave. "I forgive you... I'm sorry too. I'm sorry I wasn't there. I should've been there for you."

"No." Her father said emphatically, moving up to place a hand on her free shoulder, a few tears whelming up in his eyes as he looked at his daughter. "No, we should've been there for you. Piña was hurt, but our other daughter had lost so much more. We... we were damn fools. Can you forgive us; for everything?" Berry closed her eyes, laying her head on her mother's.

"Yes." She said, so much emotional weight falling from her as she finally started to cry herself. "I forgive you. I well and truly forgive you." Her father wrapped his arms about her and her mother, the three crying into each other, no longer speaking as they simply released all the pain that had built up between them over the years. Berry smiled despite herself, happiness at her reunion overshadowing the sorrow, the pain, and the hurt that had once consumed her. She was... free. Free from it all; from the pain, the hurt, the betrayal, all of it.

They stayed like that for a good long while, thankful to have each other after so long. Their reunion, their reconciliation, even if it were to end right there, would've been sweet enough to last them for the rest of their lives. For the first time in years, they were Family.

"I have one more surprise for you all." Cheerilee said in a soft, sweet tone, breaking through to the three of them. They looked to her through tear stained eyes, trying to puzzle out what she was talking about, when the hospital doors opened behind her. Pushed by a nurse, sitting frailly in a wheelchair, was Piña Colada - smiling, crying, and awake. Berry's breath hitched, much like her mother's beside her, as she stared at her sister. Berry stumbled forward, away from the hugs, and wrapped her arms about Piña, crying into the filly's shoulder, the tiny thing hugging her back weakly. Pulling back, she looked over her sister, trying to see through her tears. In her mind's eye, the image of that little filly dissolved, replaced now with this frail, yet living teen before her. She... was alive!

"Hi... Berry." She struggled out, causing Berry to smile as tears flowed once more. It was all she could do. Words failed her as joy overflowed from the very depths of her soul. Her parents cuddled around their daughters, renewing the hug, though gentler now as they all cried their tears of relief and infinite joy. Berry nestled deeper into the group hug as Cheerilee joined in. They were a family again, they were together again, and now they'd never let go. The daughter, the sister, the beautiful filly; she was alive, she had returned, and though a long road to recovery lay in front of her, it was one she wouldn't have to walk alone.

Berry walked slowly back to her house. She had been given so much back that she had lost. She felt so much better, but at the same moment, seeing the filly now a teenager, though frail, brought unwanted images to the forefront. Not images she didn't want to see - they were images she desperately wished for - but they were images she knew never would be realized in anymore than dreams and imagination. A little Pinchie graduating from the little school taught by Cheerilee. A little Pinchie all grown up. A not-so-little Pinchie all dressed up for her wedding day. A little filly or colt in Pinchie's arms, in Berry's arms.

"Berry Pinch..." She whispered to herself and to the wind that blew past her. She had had the little thing for such a short time. The love Berry had for her filly, the love that thrummed through her heart now as unquenchable pain, had never had the time it needed to be spilled out on the little filly. Berry... Berry missed her. She missed her little Pinchie oh so very much, and seeing little Piña, Pinchie's aunt the age of a cousin, back in the world of the living. It reawakened something in Berry she had long lost. No, not lost. Something she had ran from. The pain of loss and of love.

Suddenly she heard a giggle. A faint, light, and painfully familiar giggle. Looking to it's source, she saw a little pale figure at the edge of the trees. She blinked, and it was still there. She started to move towards it, but it skipped away. Berry's heart lurched, and she ran after it at full speed. She ran and ran and ran, her lungs burning in effort; her eyes stinging in tears; her heart breaking into shards and then melting again to reform into a shape not quite the same, yet still beating, still hurting, still breaking, still shattering, all to melt again to begin over once more.

She ducked past a branch and emerged into a clearing and saw something she didn't expect. A house. Her house. Not the large one that sat on a hill a bit away from Ponyville. Not the one that Twilight had 'accidentally' ordered too large. No, her little house. The little house with a small garden that never quite bloomed right. The little house with a door that creaked awfully after the rain. The little house... with a little filly inside. Her house - her home. Their HOME.

Berry moved slowly to the door, her hand hesitating at the knob. Was she dreaming? She had to be. No home like this was out here, no home with the door frame with the marks carved in it as a little filly grew. No home like that existed anywhere. She had to be dreaming. It was the only answer.

"Then I hope I never wake up." Berry whispered to herself, as she gripped the door knob and turned it. The door softly creaked open, and a gentle cool breeze caught Berry in the back, rushing in to the home. There in the living room, sat a mare, a mare that though Berry had never met like this, she knew all too fondly.

"Hey, Mom." The mare said, her voice more mature, more thanBerry had ever heard it or imagined it. She was beautiful, oh so beautiful. She had grown so much, and beyond that, she was Berry's. Berry's little Pinchie all grown up.

"Pinchie..." Berry choked, taking a disbelieving step closer. Berry blinked away her tears as she took another step, hesitating, but desperately wanting to launch herself to the mare's arms to give her a hug to last a lifetime. To cry tears of joy and sorrow, to spend all the time left to her with the daughter she had lost and had regained.

"I don't have much time, I'm sorry." Pinch said, standing up, dusting off her jeans. "There's only so much that can be done, and I'm sorry but I can't help much. We can only do what we're able with the time we're given." Pinchie gave Berry a sad smile, took a few steps closer, and then hugged her mother. Berry's tears flowed freely, even as she gasped back a wail of sorrow, digging her face into her daughter's shoulder, her arms lashing about her sides, gripping her shirt with all her might, not ever wanting to let go.

"I missed you a lot, Mom." Pinchie murmured. Berry nodded, her throat tight as she cried her soul out into her daughter, blubbering incoherent apologies and words of such desperate wanting, of such desperate need. She needed her Pinchie, she loved her Pinchie! "Don't worry, you don't have to forget me. You don't have to leave me. I'll be with you, no matter where you go." Berry dug her face further into her daughter's shoulder, pulling her in tighter, wanting to memorize every detail.

"I love you!" Berry choked out. "I love you so much! Please," her voice hitched, and she trembled in effort as she pushed past her own weakness and pain, "please, stay with me!" Pinchie rubbed her back in a comforting gesture.

"I want to, I really do, but I can't." Pinchie said in a tone Berry could only describe as motherly. Berry cried, her tears stinging like they had those years ago. "I'll never be far, just... don't forget that. Okay?" She whispered, holding her mother tight. Berry Punch became aware of a glow faintly emanating from Berry Pinch.

"NO!" Berry cried, gripping her shirt tighter, even as the feeling became fuzzy. "No no no no no! PLEASE! Please don't leave me again! PLEASE!!!" Her voice cracked, breaking in renewed sorrow and loss as she wrapped her arms tighter around her daughter's body, her hands scrabbling at her back in a desperate attempt to keep the mare close - to keep her daughter close.

"I have to go." Pinchie said quietly, returning the embrace with all the strength her form allowed. "I love you," her voice echoed out all around her, "Mommy."

Berry fell forward, hitting the damp grass. She cried, but this time, even as she cried, her tears transformed. She looked, rising to her knees, and above her the distant stars of Luna's tapestry filled the heavens. She cried tears she didn't know she had - tears of joy. Pinchie...

Pinchie, in the matter of seconds she had given Berry, had grown to a full mare. Visions flooded her mind of memories so crisp, so clear, and yet... memories she never had had and she'd never would have, and yet still did. Pinchie grew up, became the mare Berry had seen. She graduated, she dated a stallion Berry didn't approve of at first. Pinchie got married, and Berry had been there and handed her off to this stallion she had grown to trust and love in her own way. Pinchie... Berry's breath hitched as she wailed in mingled grief, anguish, and joy beyond words.

Pinchie, her little filly now so grown, had twins. A little filly called Rosé and a little colt named Midnight Blues. They were beautiful, and they were her grandchildren. They grew too, and so did Pinchie. She grew into a mare so graceful, with many more children. Berry closed her eyes, basking in the sights, her tears flowing freely, rolling down her cheeks as she thanked whatever power had blessed her with these sights, these memories that were not her own, but still were hers to cherish.

"I'll be with you, no matter where you go." Pinchie's voice echoed in her ears. "I'll never be far, just don't forget that. Okay?" Berry smiled. She cried, and she smiled.

"I won't forget." She said shakily. "I'll never forget you, my little Pinchie. Never." Berry continued to weep, tears rolling down her face in the cool night air, no longer sorrowful, but joyful and so very grateful. She wouldn't stop, and she wouldn't forget. She would never forget. A smile pulled at the corner of her lips.

"Happy Birthday, Pinchie."

Side C - Chapter 10: Taking the Initiative

I woke up for the third time that night in a bed surrounded by my mares minus Berry. She was likely still enjoying, or at least I hope she was enjoying, what I had worked together on the fly. I desperately wished I could bring back her little Berry Pinch, but that would violate several laws of nature - and I wasn't sure if bringing back the filly would help Berry either way. So I settled for the second option and gave Berry something nice instead. A visit from her daughter's spirit, and a nice set of memories of a life she had been cursed to never actually see. I hoped she liked it.

But that wasn't what kept me up. What was keeping me up was a myriad of different things besides Berry's condition. Double and Thyme were going to be getting their wedding done sooner rather than later, one month from now in fact. They originally wanted to have it a week from now, but both sets of parents had convinced them to push it a tad further back so that a few more elements of the extended family had a chance to join. What's more, Double had asked me to be his best stallion. I... well, I had expected that to be fair. I was happy that he had chosen me, but I wasn't sure if I really was up for it. The Empire's shadow war was still afoot, and I was a combatant through and through. I had to see it through to the end.

Beyond the wedding and the war, one other thing was bothering me. I had three wonderful, beautiful, caring, adoring, and sexily subservient mares. I fucked them all, and wanted to keep doing it, as did they. What we had had changed from the initial lust to love, or perhaps some sort of lustful equivalent. I couldn't come up with new and interesting sexy stuff fast enough to keep them entertained, but even so they stayed with me, and even had asked me to make them slaves again. That was saying more on Periwinkle's part I supposed, she wasn't running into my arms away from her trauma, but even so, the fact Berry enjoyed what we did - enjoyed me - enough that she wanted to stay counted for something; right?

With these three lovely, loving mares around me, what was I supposed to do? Double and Thyme's impending marriage had struck me like a ton of bricks. I loved each of my mares deeply and truly, not just their bodies. I loved Spring Periwinkles ability to act so properly and be able to carry normal conversations and then change modes to be sexy. I loved how she had borders and wasn't afraid to express them openly, even as I pushed them. I loved her caring heart that bled for her friends. I love Berry Punch in her aggravating sexiness. I loved how she relished every order and sprang into them with gleeful abandon. I loved her for her constant fight against her own darkness. I loved that she, despite her issues, had such force of will that she could put away her vices. I love, and hated, her sense of humor, her spontaneity. I loved Raven.

I blinked. I loved Midnight Raven. She was beautiful in body mind and soul. She was a rational force in my ever confusing world, she was... she was what I wanted to be, what I needed to be - able to make the tough choices, and then regret them. I loved them all. Could I marry them? Yes, yes I could. Could I marry all three of them? Most definitely. Would I be able to? With the artifact, maybe. Then our perverted union would also be legally binding, not that that counted for much. Our marriage wouldn't be for legal purposes, but because we wanted to express our love. How would we even manage a ceremony with three brides and only one bridegroom? The organist would be dead tired for sure.

My eyes drifted unconsciously over to the door to the hallway. Across from it was another door that led into the room where Gunther was being held and tended to by the doppelgangers. I wasn't sure what they were up to, but Twilight assured me they were fine when she checked up on them. I could only hope my definition of fine was similar to hers.

I stared at the door, and tried to muster up some emotion for the griffon. He was evil, yes, but he was beaten, broken, and mine. I owned him and had made him, and was technically still making him, do tortuous things. Trying to search for pity or remorse, I only found hatred towards him and satisfaction at his pain. It frightened me. I couldn't even imagine feeling badly about this, and yet, I should. I should feel horrid, and yet... and yet I wanted more. I wanted him groveling in the dirt for mercy as I made him either cum every shattered piece of his mind away or had him fucked without release over and over again.

I wanted him hurt, physically and emotionally. I wanted him covered in spunk, laying on the cold hard ground while others jeered and derided him, while others told him he was worthless, that no one was coming. My eyes opened wider in realization. I wanted him to suffer, but I wanted him to suffer like I had. I no longer had those memories, only vague whispers of them, but they still haunted me. I had woken up from a dream, that was what had happened.

I had dreamed I was in my bed with my mares all cuddled around me when Gunther barged in, chained them all, and then me. He dragged me away, and then threw me into a dungeon cell. He waterboarded me with cum, shouting at me to confess - confess I was a dick slut, bitch who was his to command. He wanted me to say it, but I wouldn't. And then he jabbed me with a needle and asked again, and I said it happily with a giggle. The next time he dunked my head in the bucket of cum, I drank deeply, slurping up its contents. He paraded me around Ponyville, covered in cum, and heralded me as the greatest slut in the world, and then chained me in the town square for all to see and use. And was I used. Dicks, pussies, asses, tits, everything was rubbed over me, used on me.

I blinked away the phantom dream. My eyes fixing once again on the door. I no longer was imagining the hate I felt. It overflowed within me.

"Cress?" A small voice asked from beside me, but I ignored it, focusing on the door in front of me. "Cress, calm down, please." I snorted. Calm? Gunther would never know calm again. Suddenly my vision was engulfed with a black face an instant before it kissed me, driving me down into the bed's cushions as a hand grasped at my nude dick and began to stroke it. I melted into it, wrapping my arms about her, about my Raven. I realized after a moment I was crying, even though I wasn't sure why. Why should I be crying? It didn't matter, at least not at that moment. That moment's most important aspect was Raven and I kissing and holding each other. My anger was gone, and I didn't miss it.

Raven slowly left my lips, kissing a trail down my chest, across my belly, and down, down towards what her hand had been occupied with. She kissed my crotch, and then the base of my cock, and then the shaft, and then the tip, and then swallowed my dick whole. I threw my head back deeper into the pillow as she wrapped her tongue around my dick, pumping her head up and down along it. I writhed in pleasure, my limbs uncertain what to do with themselves. I couldn't grab anything, except maybe Periwinkle, but she was asleep. It was like a game: see if I could get off without waking up Periwinkle.

Raven pushed herself, giving all she had in her technique. She continued her oral ministrations, while using her hand to fondle my balls gently. I felt the wave of ecstasy building up, ready to be released. Suddenly, Raven went full deep throat, diving down to take my entire length in her mouth, my cock's head poking into her throat, causing her to tear up as I was pushed over the edge. My arms shot up on their own, grabbing Raven's head and making sure she took all of it in as my body spasmed in pleasure. For what felt like hours I came down her throat, ecstasy flowing through and around me as my dick shot spurt after spurt of cum down the mare's throat.

As the wave subsided, I let go, catching my breath. Raven went back to giving me a few last cleaning sucks before moving up the bed towards my face. She leaned down and planted a kiss on my cheek, which somehow felt more sexual, before laying down beside me. I blinked a few times, realizing what had just happened.

Raven had sensed my anger and had given me a blowjob to distract me from it. Maybe I should get angry more often.

Side C - Chapter 11: Strutting Their Stuff

I sat at the breakfast table, picking at my bowl of oatmeal, more consumed in my thoughts than the oatmeal was by my mouth. I looked over every piece of my recent attitude, unsure on how I should feel about it. I had been through a lot, yes, but did that excuse an inch of what I did? Maybe an inch, but if I let myself justify an inch of my actions, I'd end up taking a mile of self-justification. Where had it all started? After I drank from the cup? The fact I had done what I did to get to that position was possibly the actual start. Possibly that then?

Being ready to use Gunther's artifact on him seemed like a good starting point to start from, but then again, maybe being forced to swap into Applebloom had started something. Then again, the lynchpin of all of this was the acquisition of the artifact, but that was kicking the can as far back as blaming all my life problems on my parents doing it - it was an argument, but it wasn't a good or compelling one.

"It's supposed to be hot cereal. I got milk and Choco-Chunko Blastmallows if you want it cold." Berry commented, shoveling another pancake into her mouth. I looked at her, almost wanting to take her up on that since my parents had never wanted to buy me cereal with more than ten percent sugar per serving, but I did like the look of the still hot strawberry oatmeal. I shook my head at her with a smile and started to eat while I thought, which was a losing battle with the conversation that had been unleashed when Berry broke the awkward morning silence between her, Double, and I.

"So..." Double began, clinking a spoon around his mug of coffee, "How did you all meet?" That was the wrong question to ask in front of a mare without a filter between her thoughts and words.

"We met through a mutual connection in Periwinkle." I said before she could make damage entirely irreparable. It was easier to work with a bad lie than to work around the stupidity she'd unleash, true or not. Besides, I had given the technical truth. We really had connected; in various fun ways.

"Periwinkle's the one whose aunt gave her an Arcano-Wagon, right?" Double asked, trying to place names still. I gave him a nod. "Ok then, guess knowing the right ponies gets you places. Thanks again for being cool with Thyme and I crashing here for a short bit."

"It's no problem. The place's now Cress'; so really as long as he's cool with it, I'm not going to get my panties in a twist over it." Berry said, making me cringe on the inside. Labeling the place as mine certainly wouldn't help me much.

"So you ARE a drug lord, Cresh." Double said, waving his spoon at me in a vague gesture.

"Oh yeah, meth lab's out back beside the fields of fucks I grow." I joked with a chuckle, trying to play it off so that he'd drop it.

"I see the harvest has been less than plentiful. But still, how are you able to be the owner of the house? Unless that was a joke; the delivery was just so straight it's hard to tell."

"Trust me, there's nothing 'straight' about Berry." I said, taking another bite of oatmeal, only to get showered by the spit take I got from Double. "Don't tell me that's a revelation. You spent the evening talking with her."

"And like a dozen other ponies!"

"Yeah, and I fucked every one of them! It was like a conference of fucked ponies!" Berry smirked with a cheerful gesture of her cup of nonalcoholic cider. I noted one more time that the happiness that Berry exuded did feel far more genuine than before; far less a concealment of what she hid beneath and more an expression of what she truly felt. That made me happy, but I still didn't ask her. So long as I could help it, no pony would peg me as the one who brought such an odd confluence of events to come to pass. I was glad to hear from the recorder that I hadn't needed to alter any feelings, though in honesty I was more than willing to make it happen to make sure that Berry got this win. My sense of self satisfaction was, however, marginally eclipsed by how FUCKED Berry was making this situation.

"Y-you... heh heh heh, good one." Double smirked, shaking his mug of coffee at Berry. "You had me going there for a second, but I'm getting a read on you." Oh buddy, you haven't got the slightest read on anything. Thinking back on it, she probably had been nearly truthful with that statement. Some, or even most, of the ponies there she had fucked, others she had fucked near. Contact high as it were. Berry gave him a smirk that could've been read as an admission of guilt either way, whether saying that she had joked about it or really had fucked the ponies in that room. I certainly hope to not have to expose the truth of that to Double or Thyme while they were here.

"I'm gonna go see how Thyme's doing with... Periwinkle?" Double said, looking to us for confirmation. I looked to Berry, not sure where Thyme had actually gone, having payed more attention to my thoughts at the time.

"Raven primarily, but Periwinkle might be there too. Upstairs, second door on the right. Be sure to knock first. We girls can be a bit frisky and I don't want you getting caught in the crossfire Mr. V-Card Premium." Double didn't blush or act offended at that, but simply sighed.

"Yeah, it's a waste. I pay my twelve bits a week to get special access, and all it gets me is a condom in the mail and a catalog of all the hot singles in my area that are grateful for my sacrifice. Real good wank material, but terrible incentive to keep paying. Doesn't even get me a discount at any stores. They just call me a perv when I show them - and let's be honest, with a V Card, I'm the last pony that should be called a perv." Berry looked at me with a smirk and a cocked eyebrow.

"You two are definitely related."

"And how's that?"

"You both don't know when to stop a joke." I snorted, pushing my bowl of oatmeal away.

"Anyway," Double said before slamming back his mug of coffee, "I'm heading up stairs to check up on their progress."

"Bet you five bits they aren't finished." Berry said before he could leave. Double turned his head towards her slowly, looking at her like she had a third tit.

"And why's that? They've had an hour and Thyme usually only takes about twenty minutes."

"Beyond the fact I'd love to know how you know that with your V Card in one piece," Berry said as she stretched a tad, her boobs rising pleasantly before flopping back down happily in what was designed to be a nonchalant movement that stank of intention, "Because there are either two or three mares up there who are each talkative in their own way and they all have one mirror to share and each have phones. If they haven't taken twenty pictures in that mirror by now..." Berry pondered this for a second, "If they haven't taken twenty pictures in that mirror, I'll text you a picture of me topless." Double was certainly intrigued, an effect, no doubt, of the display Berry had just made. She had been setting herself up for this, and we both knew it, and maybe even Double knew it.

"And what happens if they've taken fewer?" Double asked, crossing his arms over his chest, taken in the trap. Latching on hook, line, and sinker.

"You have to send me a pic of your mare's tits - be sure to include her wonderful smiling face. I want to remember whose tits I'll schliking myself to." Double drew back form this.

"I ain't sending you a picture of my soon to be bride, that's asking a bit much." Double rebutted, not sounding angry, but more surprised than anything.

"Fine, I'll settle for a dick pic." Berry said, waving him off. "You can give me that if you lose, right? Me seeing it won't be cheating on her since if I stick in up my snatch my phone wouldn't have voodoo powers over your schlong." Double sputtered for a bit. He had fallen to the classic Berry stratagem: push the envelope a good distance further than you wanted to hit to draw it back to where you want it in an area that was only slightly less sexual. I assumed that was a classic stratagem based on how easy she went into it.

"You want me to take a schlong pic for you if I lose? Usually that would be what guys are asking to do or just doing either way." Berry shrugged in response.

"I'm cataloging them. Plus I like playing dick roulette."

"Dick... roulette." Double said slowly, the concept working through his slowly working brain. "What... what exactly does that entail?" Berry smirked, leaning forward, showing a bit of cleavage to my cousin.

"I grab my phone," She said in a sultry tone, placing said phone on the counter with a sly smirk, "and then I open the album of dicks I got pictures of, and then I flick through the entire roll for a bit and then whichever I land on I scream the name of as I stare at it while I pump a dildo into my dripping wet pussy."

"T-TMI?" Double said weakly, not sure what to do as he wanted to look at the mare's cleavage, but also wanted to leave.

"Not enough info, I'd say." Berry said, straightening her posture as she moved her hands to fondle herself for a second. Double definitely wanted to stay to see how this would play out, but his mint condition V Card wasn't that way without reason - self control befitting a guard pony was one of the reasons I expected.

"I'll heading upstairs now." He said simply, turning about and moving away towards the stairs. I smirked, watching him go, his loss was to be my gain.

"Berry." I said teasingly as Double went upstairs, causing the mare to turn about, batting her eyelashes innocently. "Look what you've done, teasing my cousin like that." I said pointing my hands to my tented pants.

"I'm so sowwy!" Berry said, bending at the waist to inspect the tenting with a pout. "What should I do to help you, Mister? Would a kiss work?"

"Yeah, a kiss would work, but it's a special kind of kiss." I said, dropping my pants right there in the kitchen. "You see, what you do is take out your tits, wrap em around it, run em up and down it while squishing them together around it and occasionally kissing the head with your lips. When it shoots it's white stuff over you it's saying it accepts your apology." Berry smirked at me before moving to her knees and removing her shirt, revealing her lack of bra - not a huge surprise all things considered.

Hefting her breasts, she positioned herself to let them flank my rigid dick and began to press down and shift them back and forth, occasionally popping the head in her mouth. The sensations I was getting from down below were shouting at me, asking why I hadn't done this sooner - my eyes tended to agree with that sentiment. As for Berry, she was obviously skilled in this technique - either that or her large tits helped her to have a natural ability to do it in such a way that I was hard pressed whether I enjoyed this more or sex.

Sex, it was definitely sex.

As she continued to push my limits, occasionally swirling her tongue around my lower head, I heard footsteps at the stairs. A few weeks ago, being told I would be getting treated to some excellent paizuri technique in the same mare's house while I was being threatened with imminent discovery that I should've seen coming from the start, I would've asked which porn company wanted a totally unimpressive looking model so I could sign up faster.

Summoning all my acquired stealth sex skills from years of watching porn, instead of stopping what I was doing, I ushered Berry over while opening a mostly empty cupboard inside the island in the middle of the kitchen. How Berry never used it, I didn't know, but she was using it now as she took the initiative and popped the middle shelf out of the way and got into position while pulling my pants up from around my feet, redoing the buttons and belt, letting the shaft stick out proudly to continue receiving attention. My life was a porn flick, it was just that simple. My life was on a cassette tape, and that cassette was full of the sounds of fucking and the sobbing of broken hearts. It was a mess, but it was my mess.

Looking to the entrance to the kitchen, I watched in excitement, more so of the southern region kind, at the expected entrant. Instead of my cousin, I watched as Periwinkle walked in, stretching her back, her t shirt doing a nice job of showing off her midriff when she raised her arms.

"So..." Peri began, smacking her lips as she looked lazily about the kitchen, "where's Berry?" The mare in question knocked twice from her hiding spot. Periwinkle stopped at that one, moving around to witness the depravity. Looking between me and her, she sighed. "Mind if I join?" It wasn't so much her sultrily inserting herself into the situation and more asking if I wanted to take the last donut. I did, in fact, want the donut.

"Sure, go on ahead." I said with a goofy smile, already well pleased with the scenario, not sure why I'd ever want to stop being scandalous when I had to switch from being scandalous with one mare for being scandalous with two. "I think the cupboard's got space. What you thinking, Berry?"

"Yeah, Twilight got me ridiculous cabinetry. I barely fill out half of it, and that means both of the things you're thinking of."

"You tried fucking your furniture?" Periwinkle asked with a smirk that told you that she knew she was being facetious.

"All three things you are thinking of then." Berry replied nonchalantly after a moment of consideration. It seemed you had to get up exceedingly early in the morning to catch her off guard - possibly never going to sleep at all would help. Peri didn't dignify Berry with a response as she sidled her way inside the oddly spacious cupboard and then realized she needed to take off her shirt. Adjusting herself, she removed her shirt and then her bra, before turning her attentions to the dick in the room.

"You wanna sandwich it? Give four boobs a job instead of two?" Periwinkle asked Berry as she adjusted herself to the cramped scenario.

"Sure, though it is going to be a tight procedure."

"Was it not going to be?"

"It might've not been, but then this fat ass showed up. Oh, and then you popped in." I stifled a snicker at that one. The two mares arranged themselves properly, and began to give me a heaping helping double paizuri... was that what it was called? I honestly didn't care at the moment 'cuz my dick was getting fucked by four boobs.

"Ha! They only took thirteen photos! Still more than I expected, but unless my math skills have betrayed me that's less than twenty!" Double proclaimed as he entered the kitchen. Oh yeah, porno, almost forgot. "Where's Berry?" He asked, looking around for the mare. Please don't knock, please don't knock, please don't knock, byCelestia'sSunandLuna'sMoonandStars DO NOT KNOCK!

...

knock knock knock

...

Fuck you Berry.

As if sensing my panic like a shark detecting blood in the water, Berry had done the unthinkable. She had actually called us all out in front of my cousin. She wasn't just sinking the ship to spite the captain, she was sinking the entire armada to spite the Rear Admiral.

Needless to say, the knock peaked Double's interest, and I was in a bad position, especially since Periwinkle and Berry were exchanging heated words in hushed tones beneath the cabinet - hushed tones I bet he could hear slightly. I desperately wanted to misdirect him, but I never had succeeded in knowing how to throw my voice, one of the few vocal skills I hadn't gotten down despite great effort and practice - not that being able to throw your voice made much difference on radio shows.

"They're uh... she's uh..." I flubbed the entire delivery, even as Double moved around to look at the scene before him. It was at that moment that Berry decided to maneuver her arms to both hoist and press her boobs together while gaining a free hand to fish out and fondle my balls, all while swirling her tongue around the head of my already excited dick. It then hit me, the realization that is, that they hadn't stopped the tit-fuck while arguing. It also then hit me that Berry had just pushed me over the edge. The third thing that hit me was, despite my wishes by that point, not a frying pan, but the knowledge that I was going to cum in front of my cousin.

My cousin who was about to be married. The cousin who was still a technical virgin. The cousin who likely had only ever seen a dick in porn and biology text books. That cousin was about to see not only my junk, but my junk sandwiched between two pairs of fine tits, and beyond even that, he was going to witness it in action.

Go big or go home I guess.

Suddenly the sensations rushed in all at once as Berry's technique broke me from my thoughts that all struck like a lightning bolt of clarity. Muscles contracted, chemicals flowed, and boy howdy, I wasn't sure if it was the paizuri or the scandalous nature or both, but the feeling hit like a BISON. I grabbed the counter as I came HARD, straight all over their tits and faces. The orgasm kept going, longer, it seemed at the moment, than any other I had ever had had.

Coming down from the high, I looked at my mares, and noticed them covered quite nicely in my cum. I had given them the mega load. I slowly looked over to Double who was processing this. I slid my dick out of the situation and motioned for him to take a picture with the phone he already had out and on the camera app, though he had expected only one of the mares before him to show him their titflesh. Berry and Peri took the hint and posed in such a way to lock lips while letting their spunk coated boobs take center stage. Double tapped his phone once... twice... three times? Berry and Peri began to clean each other off in the most unnecessarily sensual way. He took that as a sign to switch to video. He'd enjoy this for days to come without a doubt.

I took the moment to clean off my dick with a paper towel, taking the moment to also swear near to never again clean my junk off with paper towels. Tissues or mares... or Gunther after a punishment.

"So..." Double began, looking at his phone as the two mares got dressed, "drug lord is out I suppose." That was a good thing, but I hated to think what he- "Pimp?" There we go.

Side C - Chapter 12: Family Meeting

"We're having a house meeting in the living room!" I called up the stairs, hoping that Raven and Thyme were nearly finished. I couldn't be sure, even with Double's testimonial. We were both stallions, and though I did have experience with being a mare, that was only in body.

"I mean, this isn't necessary." Double said calmly, his unflappable nature still thoroughly unflapped. "I mean, I get it. You got a different style than me, plus as long as they aren't getting paid for the sex it isn't prostitution. Heck, I once heard a strip club got off free in a court case by reasoning that the service the ponies were paying for was the 'Deluxe Strip Tease' package, and that if the dancers went for sex that it was not the place's fault, even though it was an open secret that that package essentially always moved that direction if you also 'tipped' well enough." I paused at that. Legal concerns were not my specialty, but even I felt that didn't sound right.

"Ok... for one, I can tell you I'm not a pimp. Two, I do have some things I've kind of wanted to tell you, and since Thyme is going to be... what, my cousin-in-law?" That felt a lot more distant than I had intended now that I said it out loud. "Either way, she's important to you, so she's important to me by proxy."

"I guess." Double shrugged, looking at his phone, likely checking over what he had gotten away with. I didn't envy him, I had the real deal and the ability to call them in on me at any point. Heck, I could ask them to bend over and get fucked in front of my cousin and they'd oblige without complaint... except maybe from Periwinkle. Pictures and videos were all well and good, but the real deal was so much better. "But still, you don't necessarily have to explain yourself to me." He continued after stuffing his phone away. "Honestly I'm just happy you've found some pony... ponies to have a fun, if not meaningful, relationship with."

"True, I don't have to, however, I want to. It'll make a lot of things easier in the days to come. A lot less dancing about the truth for one." I said, turning back to him, moving into the living room proper as I waited for the two stragglers.

"Ok, I get you. I mean, we are crashing here, we might as well know the living arrangement. I kind of figured that there was something going on when I didn't count as many doors in the upstairs area for bedrooms as I'd expect from an arrangement of everypony getting a room. Somepony had to be with somepony else. Not to mention the room Periwinkle told us not to go into that wasn't your bedroom." I constantly found myself forgetting that Double Time also was into detective novels. The stallion essentially was a buff nerd. At that point, the two stragglers appeared, Raven jumping over the banister of the stairs to land with a thump beside Thyme who had just walked down normally.

"Raven! Sheesh, you don't act rich, do you?" Thyme said, recovering from the shock of the mare's landing. Raven laughed at that.

"That's relative. Most posh people act terribly behind closed doors, and as far as I've seen, the doors are closed." Raven rebutted, nudging her gently.

"And let me guess, we have a gagged pony down stairs and a whole bunch of whips and chains?" Thyme asked, causing me to chuckle. Maybe I should look into some fetish gear. We lived the fetish dream in many ways, but it was all just fucking or sucking - besides the light role play I had made happen in the hospital. Good times.

"Actually," I interrupted, gaining their attention, "on those lines of the unique depravities of a household..." I paused, gathering my thoughts together before just shrugging, internally saying 'fuck it' and decided to give it to them straight. Worse case scenario I could wipe the last few minutes out of their minds and try again. I wouldn't force their reaction, but I'd figure out how to properly get the reaction I wanted without altering who they were. The thought pricked the back of my mind if I could even do that, but I figured I'd find out if this all went wrong. "Double here found out a bit of the depravities this morning."

"Are you talking about Berry's bet?" Thyme asked. I nodded, having a sense that Double had likely told her a version of the story after being asked why he needed to know how many pictures they had taken in the bathroom's extensive makeup mirrors. "Honestly I was surprised she bet him tit pics versus dick pics, though I'm glad he won." Oh he more than won. Wait...

"You straight up told her what the terms of the bets were? No sugar coating?" I asked, looking at my cousin perplexedly.

"What?" He looked as weirded out by the fact I was weirded out by this revelation as I was weirded out by the revelation itself. "Look, Berry's got a fine looking rack under cloth. We both agreed that she was on the list." I blinked a few times.

"List?"

"Those we'd let hop in bed with us if they asked after we had gotten married." He said unabashedly. Raven and I were doing our best to not lose our jaws as they fell. "What?"

"You... have a list like that and still have a mint condition V Card?"

"We wanted to make our first time special." Thyme replied before her stallion could. "Doesn't mean we aren't open to having more fun. We're quite open to each other about our kinks, we just decided that making the first time something special was important. Neither of us want to fuck anything else until we are married."

"Well... not what I expected to say the least." Raven muttered, which I agreed with.

"What, you thought we were straight laced goody-two-shoes?" Double asked and I gave an ambivalent nod and shrug of the shoulders, my expression shouting 'YES' while also communicating my infinite surprise and quick forming acceptance of this scenario. "Heck no! We're probably among the higher ranking morally upstanding perverts out there!"

"Stick and stones may break my bones, but whips and chains excite me." Thyme said teasingly, getting a chuckle from Double.

"Have you seen each other naked?" Raven asked before I could. We really were dialed into the same wavelengths on this matter.

"No actually, saving that for later too." Double said. "Sure, we got a pretty good idea what we probably look like, but we aren't marrying each other for the equipment."

"That's more of a bonus either way. We could fuck whoever we wanted to find who had the best stuff, but by the time they hit thirty or forty things start going down hill and you're left unsatisfied." Thyme explained.

"Right." Double nodded. "Instead, well, we've found each other and have fallen in love with the pony; not their tits, ass, pussy, or dick. As I said, I prefer my mares with personality over tits." I took a deep breath and chuckled. This wasn't what the meeting was supposed to be about, but it certainly was... well it just was.

"Moving back to the topic at hand, how about we all just sit down for a second so we don't just stand about like a bunch of morons meeting in a shopping center?" I suggested, trying to drag the mess of a conversation back to its original purpose. We eventually all sat down and I took another deep breath, thinking where I had gotten before I had been so forcefully derailed.

"You were saying something about the house's depravity?" Double provided helpfully. I nodded as I organized my thoughts one last time and started out.

"Well, you see, we have a somewhat complicated dynamic in the house." I began, trying to figure out how much I actually wanted to say. Would I be able to get away with calling them slaves outright. My mind was drawing a blank on if I had normalized that with the recording. "Berry, Periwinkle, come in here please." I said, feeling the visual aid was a stronger way of getting this across.

As instructed, Berry and Periwinkle entered the living room finally, and stood at attention with hands folded behind their backs as they stood for a sort of inspection. What caught Raven and Thyme off guard wasn't this act of subservience precisely, but the fact that the two mares were both completely naked. Raven shot me a glance that asked if she was supposed to join them. I kind of wanted to order her to do so, but I wasn't entirely certain I should push it, not yet, but my opinions were still forming on the matter.

"I... I'm still lost... and horny." Thyme muttered, the last part said so quietly I almost didn't hear it. I looked over the mares, both acting stoically as they pushed their chests forwards and exposed their clean shaven sex, their legs apart enough that you could see the slight dampness that was taking hold. They were so sexy, it was true, and they were mine.

"Well... you see, through a variety of convoluted circumstances... these two have become my... well, I want to say lovers, and that much is true, but I suppose the more accurate terminology is sex slaves." I said, just going for it. "Raven is also one of my sex slaves, a tad bit of a different sort, but still one of them." I said, giving her a nod, finally making up my mind. Raven returned it, her gray pony form growing a tad darker with a blush as she stood.

The others were ordered by me to act like this - to strip fully and present themselves in such a submissive way without any outward indication of their inner feelings besides being soaking wet - and so they really had no choice, which turned all three of us on, but Raven was different. Untouched by the artifact, as far as her obedience went, this was a vanilla experience for her as she stripped off her clothes in front of my cousin and his mare. She loved it, and so did I.

Raven grabbed the zipper of her casual dress and pulled it down slowly, letting its sound linger in the room for a second as she removed one shoulder strap, and then the other. The atmosphere of the room grew far more tense as sexual energy crackled like lightning, both Thyme and Double watching intently as the mare did what I told her with little shame apparent. Setting the dress to the side she revealed her bra, panties, and stockings, an absolutely sexy sight to behold.

"Give us a twirl, Raven." I said, my attention transfixed by my perfect mare so much so I wasn't paying much mind to the other two in the room. They weren't stripping, so I supposed they understood my lack of attention towards them. Raven's blush deepened, and she slowly spun about, showing off all of the angles of her divine body. She still wasn't large in any of the proportions, but her assets were still magnificent. "Continue stripping, please," I said, egging her on, "and give us a tad bit of a show with it." I gave her a devilish smile. Raven smiled awkwardly as she nodded and began to sway slightly as she started up her dance.

"What do you say when I give you an order, Raven?" I pressed her. I never instituted this, but it was sexy, and I felt like pushing it, hoping Raven would understand what I was going for. Raven locked up for a moment, her eyes showing her concern, and I hoped it was just a momentary fear of what I had just asked her to do with an audience that weren't really part of our little sensual life. She then smiled and bowed her head to me.

"Yes, Master. This slut is sorry, will you please forgive this slut, Master?" She said in such a sultry way that I thought my dick might ascend as its boner level exceeded nine thousand, my perfect little slut having gone further with it than I had expected. I smiled at her.

"I'll forgive you this once since we have company. Now, continue stripping and give us a show, slave." I ordered, causing her to shudder, the role play scratching an itch of hers as she worked past her hangups and let the sheer erotic nature of the scenario take her over. I wouldn't lie, it was doing a lot for me too.

Moving smoothly, she took one heel off and then another, lowering her a tad bit, but not by much. She moved over to Thyme slowly, sashaying her hips gently, wiggling it at me and my cousin as she bent over in front of Thyme, pulling a tad bit at her bra, giving a small moan as she brought both her hands over to begin fondling herself as she straightened, flipping her hair over her shoulder.

She slowly ran her hands down her sides, rubbing her ass a bit before slapping it, giving a seductive moan as she turned towards Double and I, slowly strutting over, her hands drifting to her back, the soft click of her bra coming undone making my dick twitch in anticipation. She maneuvered the straps off her shoulders, catching the cups against her tits as she swayed from side to side, bending over slightly to stick her ass out towards Thyme.

Swaying her hips back and forth, she straightened once more, turning to face Thyme as she moved the bra completely away, letting it swing from a strap that she held in a pinch between her fore finger and thumb before she lightly tossed it to the bundle that was her dress. Still facing Thyme, she fondled herself once more, still swaying her hips as she moaned while she teased her nipples, enjoying herself more and more as she went on. Turning to face us, her hands covered her breasts as she squeezed them lightly, moaning before licking her lips. Finally she lowered her hands to run them down her sides. I had seen Raven's gorgeous boobs several times, but now, with the tease she was putting on, they seemed all the more enticing. I just wanted to leap off the couch, interrupt her show just to suckle on them, play with them, worship them. It didn't help that I knew I could.

Sliding her hands up and down her sides, tracing occasional circles around her breasts, framing them perfectly, her hands tending more and more southern before she finally just ran them down, groping her ass with a seductive moan. Going back up once more, teasing her nipples slightly, she winked at me, and then sent her hands sliding back down towards her panties. With what seemed like expert technique, her thumbs gracefully hooked into the corners of her panties, shimmying them down slightly, though they still clung to her dampness.

Sliding a hand across the damp cloth as it clung to her, the top of the panties now a good deal lower, she brought the wet fingers up to her face and ran a long, sensual lick across them, moaning before giving a giggle. Bending over, she wiggle her ass at Thyme before pulling her panties free from her. Stepping out of them, she twirled them on a finger before letting them fly expertly towards the pile of clothes she already was developing to the side.

With a few soft clicks, she unbuckled her stockings, planting a foot on the coffee table, flipping her hair once more while she used one hand to fondle a breast while rubbing her nethers with a seductress' moan. I could tell she was taking the moment to also sap a tad bit of love and lust energy from us, but I only suppose I noticed since I knew what to look for, it was barely even a tingle.

Her now wet hand was once again brought up to her mouth, and she took the time to suck on each finger, releasing each sucked finger with a whorish pop. She moved her hands, fondling herself one more time before tracing her fingers down her sides, before sliding her lithe hands down to one leg and carefully, and sensually, shimmying one stocking down. Tossing it to the pile, she switched the foot that was on the table, removing the last stocking with as much care and sexual energy.

Turning back to face us, she gave me a wink, fixing her hair with her hands before moving over to the pile of clothes, lifting her ass in the air as she bent at the waist to pick up the clothes, spreading her legs to give all a view of her assets as she swayed her hips. Taking the clothes, she neatly folded the and placed them on the couch beside Thyme, blowing a kiss to the mare before sashaying her way beside Berry, turning towards us, and taking a similar pose to the other two mares.

She was perfect. So sexy, so obedient, and so... so wonderful. I smiled at her, overjoyed at how lucky I was to have a mare like her. It was an effort to not jump on her that moment and begin kissing every inch of her. Pulling myself from my revelry, I looked at the two other ponies, and now noticed they were as entranced by the mare as I had been. Perfect.

"I love them each very much, and this is how we express our love to each other. I've been... well, they gave me control. I could tell them to do whatever and they'd do it, but at the same time, I'm not ordering them to do anything they don't enjoy." I said, trying my best to explain, not at all confident in what I had just said. I would've chuckled at the two ponies who seemed to be more interested with the mares to the point they had seemed to have been surprised by my voice. "We are... well, we are kind of a... a harem, I guess?" Thyme nodded, even as her eyes were fixed on the naked mares before her.

"Hey Double?"

"Yup?"

"Can we add 'em all to the list?"

"As long as I'm not fucking or getting fucked by Cresh."

"Am I allowed?"

"If he's up for it."

"So that's three new entries on the list?"

"Mhmm."

"Can we put them at the top of the list?"

"Oh yeah."

"Thanks, sweetie."

"No problem."

...

Well fuck, mission success.

Side C - Chapter 13: Yet Another Surprise

"You're... alright with this? I'll be honest, even knowing how kinky you can be, you are both taking this exceptionally well." I said, looking between the two other clothed ponies in the room. How in the world this was working out was beyond me, and even though I shouldn't be asking them to reconsider their acceptance of my living situation, I also was far too confused to care.

"Come on man, it's hot." Double chuckled. "Plus, if they really didn't like this the front door is right there. Sure, they'd have to throw something on, but these ponies are obviously free to go as they please, so I really don't mind whatever you get up to. Heck, Berry was gone for most of last night with little explanation and you didn't seem to mind that!"

"I may not be the closest to the situation," Thyme said, still looking the three mares over, "but yeah, I can see that this is consensual, so it's fine with me. I may be surprised that you were so open with us, you three especially," she said, finally turning to face me instead of the naked mares, "but everypony is different. Everypony has different levels of openness." She then clapped as her eyes shone with the excitement of a new idea. "We should go on a double date!"

"Wouldn't it be a... quintuple date? I mean, I guess double might work if you three are also in a relationship with each other... who even pays for meals on dates with you guys, do you got a system of turns or something?"

"Permission to speak, Master?" Raven said, catching me off guard. She really was selling this hard. I liked it. I might have to make this a tad more of a permanent situation.

"Permission granted." I said with a nod, my boner aching to get some attention as I fought the urge to see if the two clothed ponies were comfortable with even that.

"Most of the time it's going to be me. Most of the rest of these ponies don't have much in the way of jobs and my trust fund's stipends are more than sufficient to both pay the taxes of this place, make investments for the future, and have plenty of fun on the side." Raven said with a cheeky smirk. She wasn't lying, but it certainly hit my pride hard enough to make my boner falter.

"Wow, it literally pays to have a rich filly in the harem, doesn't it?" Double said, leaning back. "My parent's have only ever given me about twenty bits in an allowance every month. Sure, it's a decent amount, but it isn't like I'm buying an Arcano-Wagon on that money. I'm lucky to get a new game every other month."

"I only ever got five bits in an allowance, and that was during the school year when I couldn't work at the burger place." I said with a shrug.

"You two got paid?" Thyme cocked an eyebrow, and then laughed. "Sorry, couldn't help it. My parents would give me spending bits whenever I went out with my friends, or at least when I said I was going out with my friends. Most of the time I just wanted to go to the mall to get a pretzel and see if there was anything else I might want. Usually that meant walking about the place with a pretzel and then going home after an hour or two."

"So..." Double began, looking over at me, "Tonight at that burger place you mentioned yesterday? We can still walk about Ponyville today like we said we would, but we can come back here, fix ourselves up and then hit the town for real."

"Well, a burger place is nice and all, but if we're doing a date, I think we might want to go a tad bit more fancy." I said, leaning back, looking at the ceiling in thought, trying to use the limited knowledge I had of nice places to eat. "I think I saw a small place that's only open weekends and by reservation only."

"The Exquisite Cuisine?" Berry provided helpfully.

"Probably. I could see about reservations. Hayburger can serve as our back up plan if not." I said, looking at Double and Thyme to see what they thought.

"Sounds good to me. Now how about you let these three get their clothes on. I may be alright with your life style, but that's for private settings. Public indecency is still a crime." He said sternly. I smirked and nodded, various thoughts flying through my head.

"Yeah, one time thrills aren't the best. I might have a bit of fun here and there in public, but it's all stuff that won't get us in trouble." I half-truthed. I never did anything that would get us into trouble, the recorder made sure of that. "So, mares, you all can get dressed so we can head out and have some more normal fun." I said, standing up with a stretch and a smile. The three mares released their poses and all smiled.

"We should do that more often!" Periwinkle chuckled. "I'm glad we gave it a try, I would've never known how much fun it is to just... stand there!" She gave a pleasant shudder before moving over to the kitchen where her clothes were.

"I'm hitting the bathroom real quick before we head out." Double said, standing up, patting me on the back. "Thanks for trusting us with this. The offer to have you join us one day after we're married is a valid one, just don't aim at me if you accept."

"I'll try and keep that in mind." I said with a chuckle. As the other ponies filtered out, getting ready to head out, I took a moment in thought and then walked up stairs. Knocking on the door of the room with the doppelgangers, I waited for a response. The door slowly creaked open, Stellar Afterglow peaking through the gap.

"Is the pizza here?" She asked softly.

"I was just checking up on... pizza?" I blinked a few times, realizing what she had said.

"Guess not then. What you want?" She asked, opening the door a tad more to peak her head out. I sighed and shook my head. I couldn't begrudge them wanting food, I was actually up here for that reason.

"Well I was going to say that if you wanted to get some breakfast we were all about to head out for the day so the kitchen would be open in short order, but I guess you got yourself pretty well sorted." I said with a smirk. "So... how's Gunther?" Her expression fell at that.

"Well... he's slowly getting better as far as most things ago. We've been tending to him through most of the night and this morning. Want to come in?" She asked, already opening the door before I could object, not needing to see the griffon getting fucked.

"- and I just wanted to be with him, but then he found the artifact and... I just miss him so much!" Gunther cried. I stood there processing this for what seemed to be a long while, unsure what exactly I was looking at. In the center of the floor, Gunther, Dick Slut, Puppershy, and Sultry Rose sat in a sort of circle on the pillows of the now bare bed. Gunther sat there, wrapped in the bed's comforter while gripping a tissue. Dick Slut sat to his left, rubbing his back gently while Sultry Rose offered him another tissue from the box in her hand. Puppershy for her part was the only indecent pony in the room, naked except for a collar, but she was also curled up in a ball, nestling against Gunther comfortingly.

I was floored to say the least. I shouldn't have been surprised by the fact these ponies were capable of complex emotions and thoughts, they had shown that in their ability to be self defining, but for some reason the thought that ponies made out of trauma might be able to help others with theirs never came upon me up until I saw it for myself.

Gunther looked up at me, and instead of seeing the griffon I so despised, I saw a deeply trouble griffon. I still felt an edge of hatred towards him, but it was an edge on the overwhelming feeling of pity that was now forming in my gut. I was realizing exactly how poorly I had done, even though I still felt it was justice to some measure. I stared at him, and he at me, locked in our gazes, his eyes taking on a reverential fear towards me. I stepped up to him, squatting down before him, staring him in the eyes as I tried to read his very soul.

"Back off, you dick!" Dick Slut hissed at me. I ignored him, my stare still intense. I sighed finally, standing up and turning to leave. "We don't need you in here!" My doppelganger said in a defiant tone as I began to walk out. "You might think us monsters, but at least we aren't torturing anybody, you monster!" I gritted my teeth, my pity catching alight in the embers of my rage.

"Dick!" I heard the sharp crack of skin on skin, and paused turning to face the scene. Dick slut lay on the floor, clutching at his cheek while Rose glared at him. "You of all ponies know he isn't free of his own traumas! You might have taken one burden off of him, but the absence of that trauma is almost as bitter as the weight of it! I feel Periwinkle's regret at her father's condition as a hole the shape of that emotion. He may not know exactly what it was that made you, but the hole you left stings him as much as the traumas you lost from him sting you!" I froze, taking that in. She was right. I had no concrete memories of what had made me into Dick Slut, but the void where that was left as much of an impact as it still being there. A perfectly cut hole in my emotions.

"Say you're sorry, Dick." Puppershy said in a soft voice. "We're not here for blame, we all make mistakes. We're here to heal from the hurts we have. Apologize... please?" Dick sighed and sat back up, looking at me with the same contempt I felt towards Gunther - the mirror a startling effect.

"I'm sorry for the outburst, but you'll stay clear of Gunther if you know what's best for everypony. He doesn't need more trauma on top of what he already has." He said, the same bite in his voice as would drip from my own at times. It was almost frightening seeing it from the outside.

"We'll see." I said simply, leaving the room, Stella closing the door behind me. I gave a sigh, looking about, happy to see no pony was around to witness that. I might have been ready to let my mares be naked in the presence of company, but I wasn't comfortable with the prospect of letting my cousin learn of my less than heroic - more appropriately my down right malicious - actions. I'd have to do better. Otherwise, it wouldn't be Cress at my cousin's wedding.

Splice 14: Domestic Life

Button stretched out in his bed, smiling when he brushed against Brass, who lay curled up beside him. Looking over to her, he looked over her peaceful face, and lightly brushed the back of his hand across the carved features of the mare. It was hard to think that it was such a short time since she first arrived in the house, but she seemed like an indispensable portion of household life - that or Button was just easily attached to ponies.

Brass stirred, opening her green eyes that shimmered in love, a smile tugging at the mare's lips. Button felt incredibly that Cress had agreed to let him have Brass in his life. Any time he thought of it, Button could barely think of Brass as a slave - sure he'd have her suck him off whenever he wanted and would fuck her at his leisure, but beyond that they just played games together and had fun. Whenever his mom asked Brass to do something, Button would usually be right behind her to help, and not just to look at her caboose, but also because if both of them did it, the task would be done faster and she and Button could get back to whatever fun activities they were doing before.

"Hi, Button." She said in her rough, yet strangely soothing voice. That was another reason she didn't feel like a slave to him, he had dispensed with the 'Master' talk outside of when they were doing sexual stuff. It certainly made things easier, though his mom still wanted her to call her 'Mistress' even when it was just in casual conversation.

"Hey, Brass." Button said, his hand leaving her face, only for her to quickly snatch it before it got too far, and gently move it back to her face. Button smirked, continuing to essentially pet her face with the back of his hand.

"Anything fun planned for today?" She asked, giving a gentle stretch, which ended with her getting a tad closer to the colt. Button looked of to the side in thought.

"Not particularly... maybe see if Cress has anything planned?" Button mused. They had spent most of yesterday playing his surprisingly small collection of games - small only because he didn't bring out the ones he had deemed subpar bonding material.

"I'm up for whatever you want to do, just lead the way." She said, leaning forward and planting a kiss on Button's lips. No awkwardness flared in him as he leaned into it, even letting her tongue explore the inside of his mouth. He might've gained a good deal of confidence, but he wasn't at the point where he could move his tongue into her mouth quite yet, but having her snake her tongue into his mouth felt so good. Almost as good on an emotional level as the sensation of her grabbing his dick as they continued to kiss - though Button wouldn't lie that the dick touch felt a good bit more exciting.

Her hard, calloused hand ran over his dick, a type of different feeling from the soft hands of most of the ponies who had jerked him off under his control that he couldn't help but find it somewhat more pleasurable for the distinction. He broke the kiss, placing his forehead against hers, simply happy to be with her, the hand job doing something for it, but not much honestly.

"Do you want to stick this somewhere?" She asked coyly. Button smiled at her, and then, using all the strength he could muster, flipped her onto her back, setting himself on top of her, placing his hands on either side of her head. Looking down at her, he gave her a quick peck before he lined himself up with her assistance. Slowly sliding in, both pones groaned in pleasure as he slowly found his rhythm and began to pump properly.

He had done her plenty of times, but each time had been just as wonderful an experience, extending beyond the pure carnal pleasure and touching both of them on an even expanding emotional level, each thrust an expression of their growing love that had begun to develop ever since they first encountered each other. Button leaned down and kissed her once more, relishing the moment as she prodded her tongue against his, wrapping and coiling about as he continued to drive in and out of her.

Each thrust brought them closer, and as pleasure rose, Button drove in harder and faster, each smack of skin against skin giving a pleasant retort with less and less time between each clap as the two ponies not only fucked, but made love - true impassioned love seasoned lightly with just the right amount of lust. Each thrust, each kiss, each moan all came together to be their chorus of love as each pump of him inside of Brass brought them ever closer, both to orgasm and to each other.

As their love making drew on, Button felt himself growing close, as did Brass. Grabbing his rear, Brass forced him down one more time, and with a scream of ecstasy, they yelled the other pony's name, releasing their orgasms as Button bottomed out in Brass. The moments following, the blissful afterglow consuming them, felt like a blissful eternity, the two ponies breathing heavily as they hugged each other close, enjoying the warmth of the other pony. Button raised his head to look at Brass' face, smiling stupidly before leaning down to kiss her once more, letting her tongue flick about his mouth as he basked in the passion.

A gentle tapping came to the door, breaking their attention, and their kiss, that had been focused on the other. "Ms Brass, if you're done attending Button, I could use you in the shower for my morning massage." Button's mom called through the door. Button chuckled, kissing the mare one more time before pushing up to let her escape him. Brass slipped out from under him, slipping on her panties so that Button's cream wouldn't leak across the ground. Opening the door, she bowed her head.

"I'm ready to serve, Mistress." She said in her way that excited Button all over again. He wished he didn't have to share her with his mom, but at least his mom wouldn't keep her too long - only about half an hour to forty-five minutes.

"Button, you can join us if you want." His mom said. His dick twitched beneath the sheets, begging him to say yes to the offer, desperate to see the two mares soaking wet together. The rest of him, though deprived of blood that was currently still rushing to his lower areas, had other ideas, namely how wrong incest was still.

"I'll take my own shower with her when you are finished. Just don't steal all of the hot water this time - it switched to cold halfway through yesterday." Button said, already situating himself in his bed for a quick calm down wank while his mom and slave went at it in the shower.

"Only way to make sure you get a hot shower is to be the first." His mom said, her tone laced with her smile that he didn't have to look over to see. "Invitation still stands."

"You go on ahead." Button replied, fairly certain the only reason such an offer would be made was because Brass was in the mix.

"Alright, if you insist." Cream Heart said finally, closing the door to her son's room. Looking at their slave Brass, she smiled, nodding for her to follow her. Instead of stopping at the shower and bathroom halfway down the hall, Cream Heart guided her slave down further to her room, more specifically, her on suite bathtub that had water jets and a bubbler.

Shivering as she walked barefooted onto the very cold tiles of her bathroom, she almost shirked off her bathrobe, but then simply spread her arms, letting Brass take it off of her. Brass smiled gently at this, taking it as the sign of affection that Cream Heart intended to let her remove her mistress' bathrobe.

Stepping around to the front, Brass knelt down and, with more care than necessary, undid the knot that held the robe together, and let the two strips of cloth fall to the side, held to the robe by thin loops that they fed through. Standing up, without spreading the two sides open, she stepped around to the back again and slowly slid the left side off of her lady's shoulder, and then the right, revealing the anticipated lack of a bra. Cream Heart moved her arms to stick out behind her towards Brass, who lightly grabbed the wrists of the robe, and allowed her mistress to simply step out of the robe. Turning about with the robe, not even having looked at her mistress' nude form, the slave pony took care to hang the robe neatly across some hooks on the wall before turning to face her lady.

Cream Heart stood there, completely nude, her prodigious breasts well above the size of Brass' modest pair. "You may take off those panties now, slave." She said, letting a tad bit of an edge touch her voice as she got into the spirit of things. Brass bowed her head in submission, and then, hooking her fingers around the hem of her panties, pulled them off completely, setting them to the side, not daring to put them in the same hamper as her mistress' clothes. Cream Heart quickly closed the distance, pressing her breasts against her slave's as she brought one arm around her back to hold her close, and the other swiped across Brass' cunt that was still dripping sensually. Lifting the off white cream on her fingers to her inspection, she seemed to consider in for a few moments. "So this is Button's cum?" She said as if examining some odd tincture that she had found in an apothecary.

"Yes, Mistress, it is Master's cum. We fucked as soon as we woke up." Brass reported. Cream nodded her head, and then stuck her cum coated fingers into her mouth, licking them clean, savoring the forbidden flavor.

“Mmm... it's even better than his father’s.” She moaned, cursing, and yet blessing, the day the stallion had found a prettier thing than her. Well maybe not prettier, but certainly bustier - the silicon slut. Getting a devilish smile, Cream pressed the slave against the wall, planting a kiss on her lips, swapping a bit of her son's cum into the slut's mouth. Brass took the morsel in quickly, running it over her tongue multiple times before swallowing. Cream smiled, retreating from the kiss to begin kissing her lower and lower. Trailing from her lips, to her cheek, to a small grouping on her neck, down her collar bone, over her breast - where she stayed long enough to tease the nipple with her tongue - down her midriff, across her belly button, and then just above her still dripping honey pot.

Kneeling in front of the dripping pussy, Cream licked her lips, before planting a long kiss on the cunt. Backing away, she licked her lips, the more pungent addition of Brass' juice coming through as she savored the flavor. She had to have more! Diving in, she wrapped her arms around the sultry slave's waist and pressed her face into her crotch, the bottom in her coming out full force. It was a shame that Button didn't take after his father in how he acted with her, but perhaps that was for the best. He had brought home this delicious slut of a slave and had let her share in the spoils, so that in the least was good. What he hadn't counted on was her long seated desire to see exactly how her son's dick had grown - followed shortly thereafter by riding it.

Cream Heart was a slut through and through, and no boundaries would stop that - no boundaries except her submissive tendencies that made her not want to enforce her will on her son, who in her mind, would obviously one day awaken to her sluttiness and take her and make her as much a slave as the mare she ate out. It would be wonderful! Button would fuck her and this slut daily. They'd be slave sisters! Oh that would be so wonderful!

Brass was sweet and yet salty with an excellent tang, and the still very present taste of her son - the very image of his father - was driving her mad. It was perfect! If only she could suck his dick and get it fresh. No, if only he would fuck her! He'd fuck Brass in front of her and yet he'd never ask her if she'd like to be fucked! At least now she could taste him, but even so, it was mixed with this amazonian mare's own flavor.

'If only Button were as domineering as his father, then we could fuck and fuck and I'd wake him up every morning with a blowjob and pancakes and we'd be so close! I could even have foals again!' Cream Heart moaned at the thought into Brass' pussy, which sent her over the edge. Cream, even through her distraction with her own thoughts, perfectly met Brass' orgasm, years of whorish training taking over. 'Maybe I'll do the naked apron today. Then he'd have to take me!'

Author's Note

Almost didn't make it, but even computer problems shan't stop me!

Side C - Chapter 14: The Evening Out

It had been a splendid day. The walk and shop around Ponyville had been uneventful, not to mention completely vanilla as I refrained from altering it in any way. As we returned home, though, I used the recorder to put us on the reservation list of the Exquisite Cuisine - after all, there was no way in Tartarus we'd make it in otherwise. Now we were dressed in our finest - some of us finer than others.

I wore a nice blazer from my occasional presentations at school functions over a decently pressed white shirt with a black tie and some pinstripe dress pants. Berry wore an audacious - though for her it might've been conservative - red dress that hugged every curve of her body and dipped generously in the front, leaving a good deal of cleavage to be shown off for anypony who happened to look in any direction near her. Periwinkle wore a floral blouse - the most plain out of all of us in honesty - and a shorter black skirt that made it to her knees. Double wore a nice looking three piece suit, a suit he told me was initially intended for the wedding but had been reconsidered since then. Thyme wore a black dress that competed for most scandalous with Berry, with a parting in the cloth that came halfway up her thigh, giving a nice view of her sheer stockings - not to mention the fact it had a boob window. And then there was my Raven.

She wore a white dress whose elegance outshone the rest of us in my eyes. The texture was like layered spiderwebs that fell across her, the intricate patterns shimmering in the light with a light rainbow glimmer. The sleeves did not end as I had initially expected they would, and instead trumpeted out slightly only to come back down to wrap around her delicate hands, tracing the valleys between her lithe fingers. The hem of the dress came down mid calf, and though a part in the dress rose halfway to the knee, it wasn't a scandalous cut like Thyme's but clearly a concession to make the dress more flexible.

Raven had, while we dressed, shown me a new secret of hers with this dress. This dress was made by her own shape shifting ability. By technicality, she was naked right now, but the dress itself looked, and certainly was, real enough. She apparently had some experience with fanciful dresses from her childhood and had used her reference from that to craft her own splendid wardrobe for tonight just for me. I couldn't help feeling immensely lucky, wearing a big dumb grin as we walked up, locked arm in arm, to the Exquisite Cuisine.

It had been decided that up until we entered that we would split into three couples - Double and Thyme, Berry and Periwinkle, and Raven and I. It had the side effect of making two of my mares look exceptionally lesbian, but honestly, not as lesbian as they really were. A thought tickled my brain that I'd have to keep them on a short leash tonight so that I didn't have to break out the recorder which - in accordance with all due caution - was in my pocket. I even wore Gunther's dial around my neck, tucked underneath my shirt. Of course I hadn't brought the chalice, not many ways to sneak that in, and Silver's notepad had been passed off during the day to Twilight, who had come by asking for it so that she could study it, knowing I wouldn't part with any of the other pieces.

I purposed, even as we closed the last bit of distance to the restaurant, that tonight would be a night where not a bit of my artifact would be used to spice things up. It would all be simple, clean fun with zero shenanigans, the artifacts merely on standby in case of emergencies, like if I completely flubbed the conversation and needed a redo or else lose all connections with my favorite cousin. I might have been displaying loads of confidence recently, but my oratory skills, though top notch, were not sufficiently developed to the point I believed myself beyond the ability to completely balls up the entire evening.

Arriving at the door, I walked up to the waiter, or whatever fancy term they used, and asked for our table. "Of course sir, and what is the name for your table?"

"Eh... it should be under Crescendo?" I was already internally panicking. I had made the reservations by cassette player and the receptionist hadn't asked for a name! Honestly the receptionist hadn't asked anything, in fact there hadn't been a receptionist - I was just recording after all. The moments the large pony took, running a finger down the list, did nothing for my nerves. He then tapped on the list twice and nodded.

"Ah yes, Mr. Rousing Crescendo and party. Are all these five ponies yours or is your party still to arrive?" I did my best to not sigh in relief, though I supposed in some ways he probably had enough ponies stressed about their reservations that he would've been used to it; still didn't make me comfortable with doing it. Turning to my ponies with a smile, I made sure they were, in fact, the ones that should've been there.

"Yes sir, these five are with me." It was either that or they had been replaced with exact copies in the few seconds I hadn't been looking.

"Very good, please come this way, I'll help you to your table." He said, taking up several small menus from the stand, another waiter, or really waitress, taking his place as he left it. Beckoning us with a wave of his hand, he moved into the restaurant.

The interiors were amazing, a complete departure from the Ponyville aesthetic. The floors, the part closest to the usual Ponyville, were hardwood, but the wood was polished to a glistening sheen that reflected the ghostly waving of the candles that sat in the wall sconces, providing the majority of the light in the pleasantly low lit interior. The walls, when not covered by elegant paintings that were well beyond my purchasing power, were revealed to be a marble looking stone, and considering how nice the rest of the place was, it wouldn't have surprised me in the slightest if it was real marble; it certainly fit the bill for how ludicrously expensive the rest of the place seemed to be.

Our waiter led us to the table, which itself was an expression of lavish exuberance, made of some dark stained wood that had what looked like silver inlays - only in doubt due to the lighting. On top of the table was a candelabra that gave the table a tad more light. Taking our seats, which were all free standing chairs despite the wall right next to us on one side, we sat down and watched pleasantly, yet awkwardly, as the waiter gave us our menus.

"I am Silver Platter, I will be your waiter for tonight. Can I start you off with some drinks?" He said in a refined tone, handing Berry and Periwinkle a wine list. I had to give him points, the rest of us were a bunch of kids who shouldn't be drinking according to the law. I looked over the drink list real quick, noting their wide variety of drinks that I had never heard of.

"I'll take a rosé wine, just a glass please." Berry said, looking over the list. "The Camelote Fantaisie if you have it available." She passed back the list, the waiter nodding.

"I'll take a sparkling apple cider." Peri said, not even considering the wine list as she passed it over. "Is that Sweet Apple Acres or another brand?"

"It comes straight from Sweet Apple Acres, Ma'am. It is the finest sparkling cider you will ever taste. A refinement on the rustic charms of the local special." Platter said with his customer service smile.

"I'll have that then." Periwinkle smiled with a nod.

"I'll take some cherry water, please." Raven said with her little smile. The waiter nodded, jotting it down on his little notepad.

"I notice on the wine and alcohol list you have ginger beer as a mix in, could I just have that? It's nonalcoholic right?" Double said, somewhat surprising me. He must've snuck a glance at Berry's as it was passed by him, the sneaky stallion.

"Yes sir, it is nonalcoholic, though I must warn you it is quite potent, not quite as smooth as ginger ale." Double nodded to this.

"Yup... I mean, yes sir, I'll have that."

"And for the miss?"

"I'll just have water with some lemon." Thyme said, giving him her best smile. Finally Platter turned to me. I saw something in his eye as he did, a hint of something that shouldn't have been there. I brushed it off, confident in my position.

"I'll have some sparkling apple cider as well. Can I have a cinnamon stick in that?"

"Of course sir, I'll have those out for all of you shortly. Take a moment to look over our appetizers while I fetch those." He said, bowing his head, before moving off in a smooth motion. Looking up at the table with a smile, I breathed out a bit of tension.

"Well, I'm heading over to the bathroom to wash my hands, any of y'all want to join me?" I said, already standing up from the table. "No? Well, time for this stallion to mosey on out." I put the chair back in its place and moved over to the well signed bathrooms.

Drying off my hands as I hummed a gentle tune, I looked up in the mirror and saw a stallion standing behind me. I stepped to the side, expecting him to take the sink I was at, despite the complete availability of the rest of the sinks. I cast another glance at him, but he still stood there, staring at the mirror. I turned and looked at him. He was dressed quite fancily, but just... stood there, staring unblinkingly.

"Uh... you doing alright, mister? Need me to call somepony for you?" I asked, thoroughly wierded out. He continued to stand there. I waved my hand in front of his face, seeing if that did anything, but it didn't. He stayed stock still, unresponsive, though I noticed that his face twitched on occasion. It was odd, not something I was completely sure what to think about. I moved out of the bathrooms and flagged down a waiter as he passed. "Hey, sorry to intrude, but there's a stallion standing in there just staring at the mirror. He's not responding to me and I think he may need some help. Just thought you might want to know."

"Thank you for bringing this to our attention, sir. I'll be sure to send somepony in to make sure they're alright." The waiter said with a smile that showed he was indeed concerned over the matter, but also completely calm and collected. Assured the situation was taken care of, I walked back to my table, smiling at the conversation as I came back.

"And then I slugged the guy, sending him straight to the floor in one hit!" Double explained excitedly, keeping his tone low so as to not interrupt the nearby tables. It was his favorite story to tell, one he had told me a couple of times over the years, about how his boxing instructor had called him weak and teased him for weeks on end, only to get taught a lesson on who not to pick on. "I got a suspension, but even that got over turned when the lead instructor said that knocking out the boxing instructor during boxing practice with proper technique was more A plus material than suspension material." We all got a laugh, and I sat down, happy to be away from the weirdness in the bathroom.

"Hey, Cress," Double said with a smile, I gave him a nod, "you really should learn who to not cross." I paused, his tone completely not in line with his words. "You've made some people very mad. Not a good choice."

"Double... what are you talking about?" I asked, keeping my tone as even as possible.

"He's talking about the Empire, Cress." Berry replied, looking pleasant as ever. "They aren't happy that you made them lose so many resources just to catch you. It's not very nice." I looked at her, and then at the rest of the table, expecting somepony else to join in.

"That story was great, Double!" Raven chuckled. "I had something somewhat similar happen with my gymnastics teacher." I blanched at this.

"Hold up." I raised a hand, getting everypony's attention. "Let's rewind for a second. You all were just talking about the Empire. What was that about?"

"No we weren't..." Double said, looking at me in confusion. "I just told them about the boxing incident. You know the one."

"Yes," I said, feeling very confused myself, "and then I sat down and you yourself told me I needed to watch out who I crossed." Had he done it? I was starting to doubt it myself.

"Cress..." Raven started, and then cast a glance over her shoulder, before looking down at a napkin, flourishing a pen from nowhere, scribbling down a few words before sliding it to me. 'Artifact? Laugh if yes, act like this is a drawing if no.' I blinked a few times, unsure myself. I gave a nervous chuckle, shrugging.

"I mean, I guess?" I said, sliding it back to her. "Look... I guess I'm just tense. Must've heard something wrong, sorry for interrupting."

"Your drinks." Silver Platter said, setting our drinks down one by one. As he set my drink in front of me, he leaned in a tad closer to me. "The Empire doesn't like being made the fool." He then moved away and gave us all a smile. "Have you had a chance to look over what appetizers you want." My mouth felt dry as sandpaper. This whole scenario was freaking me out, and I wasn't entirely certain what to do. I needed to know who it was that was doing this, but even so, I was already pegged as the opponent. I was at a disadvantage. I needed to make my move, but I also didn't want my cousin dragged into this. Maybe he was still seen as a nonthreat, maybe he and Thyme could still get away. I just needed to play it cool.

"And for you sir?" The waiter said, and I realized all the other ponies at the table were looking at me. Taking a quick look at the menu, I saw something I wanted and pointed at it.

"Uh, yeah, can I have this?"

"The Arugula Chestnut Salad, a fine choice. I'll have those out for you in just a moment. If you'll pass me your appetizer menus, I'll bring out your main course menus while you wait." I stiffly handed mine over, my brain flying a thousand miles a minute as I tried to piece the puzzle together. I already had a sense of the power that was being thrown around right now, but its limitations were still unclear. I had one avenue of checking it out. I pulled out my phone and sent off a text message.

Button, get you, your mom, and Brass to Twilight's castle asap

What's going on?

Empire activity
not sure who
stay away from Exquisite Cuisine

gotcha
when are you getting to Twilight's?
She knows I'm coming right?

She'll know
be there once I got intel
talk to you later

right

I sighed, happy to see that Button at least didn't seem affected, or at least they were playing him pretty convincingly. I could only hope this wasn't another trick. I had to take it on blind faith for now. Switching conversations, I pulled up Twilight's.

Empire activities spotted
not sure who yet

What are you thinking?

Button, mom, and Brass en route to your place
his mom
be there in a bit too with a few more ponies
need to try and get intel on new empire pony
or otherwise
at exquisite cuisine

Don't stay there too long.
I'd advise the utmost caution.
Them knowing you are there already is enough danger you may consider aborting your mission.
Assuming they've notice you.
Stay safe, call or text if you need anything else.

It was almost aggravating how Twilight insisted each text was a complete phrase, but at least she was a fast typer. I couldn't imagine how much more annoying she'd be if she was chicken pecking.

Looking around once more, I scanned for any sign, any hint, as to who was pulling the strings, but quickly returned my gaze to the table, doing my best to not seem scared shitless. This was a bad situation, tactically disadvantageous to say the least. I needed to know my enemy, but there were few things I could do to the other patrons he couldn't imitate. I was in a bad place. I leaned over to Raven, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek and whispered,

"Definitely one." She smiled, playing along as we continued our evening, the stinging regret we'd have to bail on this before we saw it through already eating away at me. I adjusted my tie, and at the same time, slipped my fingers into the gap of my shirt, touching the amulet. The word came to a grinding halt, and I stood up as it did. Looking around properly, checking every angle as best as I could, already feeling the edge of fatigue tingling at my fingertips, telling me roughly how long I had like this. Moving through the restaurant, I checked each table, looking for anything suspicious, but nothing stuck out to me. The stallion in the bathroom came to mine, standing there stock still.

The tingling started to reach my shoulder and began to inch its way down my sides. I was running low on tie, but I had to check. I pushed open the door and looked inside. There the stallion was, now on the floor, a waiter putting his finger against his neck. I grimaced, either he was the artifact user and this was the result of him using it, or he was just suffering from a medical condition. I took the moment to pat him down quickly, but found nothing. The itching suspicion touched me that he might be another homunculus, but I had no way of testing that, not now at least. That, and I couldn't be looking for homunculuses... homunculi? I couldn't be looking for them around every corner and in every shadow.

Reentering the dining area, the numbness was taking my left leg, making it harder to walk. I was short on time and had to sit down. I had to rest and regain my strength. I reached my table again, pulling my seat back forward before releasing the artifact. I knew I could've been more thorough. I hadn't patted down everypony and I hadn't gone to the kitchen or any of the back rooms. This wasn't good.

"Your appetizers." Platter said, setting down the dishes. I sighed, trying to calm down as I managed to properly pick up my fork despite the buzzing I still felt. The salad tasted wonderful, which was a relief, but still I was on edge, much as I should be. Casting my eyes about on occasion, I still had no clue.

"This all could've been avoided!" A young mare shouted at her parents in the table beside us. "If only he hadn't angered the Empire, then this wouldn't be happening!" I ate my salad calmly, still unsure, still on edge, still disquieted. Suddenly an idea came to me. I did have something I could make the other ponies do that would be odd, but natural, that the other artifact user might not be able to imitate unless he was lucky. I pressed the record button and whispered into the mic that sat invisibly on the side of my face.

"All the ponies in the store would stop eating for five seconds, making some comment or listening to one, and then would take a bite of food, the waiters would each pause and look at a plate of food, and find some imperfection, excusing themselves if they were at a table and would return to the kitchen to have the problem fixed." I released the record button and watched as the ponies around me all stopped eating, myself doing the same. And then, synchronizing out movements, we each went to take a bite, as I used the dial and paused the world again, the tingling feeling already up my arms. I stood up and quickly looked around.

Everypony at the tables was raising a utensil to their mouth, ready to take a bite. Looking as closely as I could, I found not one pony that wasn't doing it. The waiters then! I checked them, but they were each scrutinizing a dish they were delivering. Was he in the back then? My close scrutiny, mixed with my prior use, was already getting my leg tired. I sat back down, grabbing my fork and taking up a scoop of salad, unpausing us all.

I did my best to not show my concern and paranoia at this scenario, but it was getting harder and harder. I had no clue who was behind this all, and that on its own was enough to keep me on edge.

Suddenly, the entire restaurant stood up, and turned toward my table, the ponies at mine turning towards me. They all raised a finger, pointing at me, and started to laugh wildly for what seemed like hours on end, despite it only lasting a few seconds before they all started chanting,

"He doesn't know! He doesn't know!" in a singsong mocking tone. Raven set her hand on my shoulder and smiled at me like a teacher looking condescendingly at a slow student, a thinly veiled insult disguised in love and patience.

"If only you hadn't messed with the Empire, you would be so much better off!" Raven said, or at least, her voice did. I looked about the rest of the group, each of them still mocking me like before. There was no way, I thought, to catch the perpetrator. And then an idea struck me. I might be able to use the amulet one last time. Prodding it once more, my arms already buzzed in fatigue. Standing up, I moved through the crowd, quickly looking for anypony else who might've escaped the artifact's reach, even as my limbs well more and more tired.

NOTHING! Everypony was standing, everpony pointing, all of their mouths open in mocking me, each lip on the same syllable. I flopped back down, breathing deeply, before releasing the amulet's power, returning to the mocking me for a few moments before going back to normal. The silence was almost more horrid than the noise, the anticipation of the next attack eating away at me. I needed to get out of this, but I also needed to get the identity of the new artifact user in my belt. I needed to know!

The terrifying thought struck me. I hadn't noticed the new artifact user anywhere I had looked. There were a few options I could think for this. He was here and he was just good at hiding, he was here and I had just overlooked him, or he just wasn't here. But if we wasn't here, he could be anywhere! There was no limit I could impose upon him within reason. I was trapped. I did have one more option though.

I could just get out of Dodge, leaving this all behind, but I would have to leave with all my ponies, and make sure we didn't have anyone who could tail us. We couldn't leave the front door, that would make us too easy to follow, and I didn't feel right about just up and leaving without paying for the stuff we had enjoyed so far, even if I had a sub-one star experience. It wasn't their fault after all, it was this artifact user that was hounding me. I sighed, giving one last glance about the room, looking at the surrounding patrons. Nothing. Not one thing. I had to abort. Maybe Twilight could help logic out some sort of answer to this. I pressed the record button with a sigh.

"My mares, Double, Thyme, and me all teleported into a random field. Enough bits were left on the table to cover all the meal's expenses along with a note explaining an emergency came up and we had to leave in a hurry... and that I was terribly sorry for bailing." I whispered quietly into the mic before I released the record button. Suddenly the world flashed white, leaving us in a field, just as I had directed. I loosened my tie in frustration.

"Uh... what just happened, where's the restaurant? Is one of those magical anomalies Ponyville is famous for happening right now?" Double asked, looking around in confusion.

"No, not exactly." I replied, frustrated beyond belief as I stomped about, trying to piece together what I could say. "Look... there's something going on, something bad, and I haven't told you because I wanted you out of it, but now... now you're under threat and I can't keep you in the dark." Double looked greatly concerned. Good, he had every right to be.

"I'm... under threat?" He reiterated, processing that information, "Cress, you're going to have to be a tad more specific than that."

"I will be in a moment, but you have to trust me, what I'm doing is so that we can stay safe." I told him, looking down to the recorder as I brought it out, clicking record once more. "My mares, Double, Thyme, and myself teleported to another random field." I whispered. No mistakes, no tails, this was serious.

Splice 15: End of Side C

Tap. Tap. Tap.

The rhythmic dripping of water from a faucet onto the cold surface of a metal pan.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

Closer and closer.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

A few more drops was all that was needed.

Tap. Tap. ...

Perfect. Shifting his weight in his prison, he rolled over to the small pan that shimmered with water and the glowing purple of the dome that ensnared him. Never had he been so trapped. He was impossible to hold! Only his creator had power over him, and he had been ordered to deal with this situation. He hadn't lived a hundred pony life times just to rot away in a basement.

Reaching an appendage into the small bowl they had given him in their infinite kindness, he touched the water. He then reached out into the water itself. It wasn't like reaching out to grasp a part of a pony, and it wasn't even like extracting states from solid objects. Water was tricky - it was why he rarely interacted with it. It disgusted him. How ponies and his master stomached imbibing the sloshy, wet, inconstant substance, he would never know, but the pony's assumption he needed it too would be her downfall.

It absorbed into him, its properties becoming his, and then he was thoroughly reminded why he hated water, but also why it was so useful. He sloshed across his prison's floor, a smirk on his features, if any still existed. Reaching out into the shield's essence, he grasped hold and got to his task. He now had a feature to trade, and he was going to trade. His liquid body reformed into a solid state, while the shield wavered, and then collapsed into a pool of purple liquid around him. He was almost disappointed it hadn't turned into liquid mana, that at least would've been nourishing rather than just annoying.

He exited the basement, step by step, avoiding the third stair from the top. Pushing open the door slowly, he peaked out, listening closely. No pony was near by. Pressing an ear to the ventilation grate beside him, he closed his eyes and focused. Echoes of echoes bounced about, but the sounds of murmured chatter - of laughter - reached him all the same. The place was occupied, but not in a room near him. He wouldn't risk getting caught, he had had enough of these ponies.

Sneaking through the living room, he reached the front door. He touched the hinges, smiling as he made them good as new while his teeth and lips decayed. Grabbing the knob, he pressed an ear against the door. Nothing from outside. Pulling the door open, the new hinges glided open with ease. Stepping out, he froze momentarily as he heard something from upstairs.

"I don't know why, she just said double time it and get over there as soon as possible." One voice said.

"The Arcano-Wagon is right out front, let's use it. That'll certainly be faster than she expected." Another voice replied. How many were there? Slipping around the door frame, he listened from inside the hedge. Step step ste-step step ste-ste-step. Three or four... the heft of some of those steps meant it might be a heavy set pony in the mix... no... one of them was walking backwards, evident by the out of rhythm and awkward steps. They were carrying another. Four or five then. He wouldn't stick around to make sure.

Turning to leave, he stopped again. These ponies were part of the problem. Not only that, they were over encumbered. It was a perfect opportunity. He gently closed the door, and then slipped like a greased shadow and made his way to where he would wait. No mistakes. His master would be proud when he succeeded and he would succeed.

Stellar Afterglow hefted the limp form of Gunther into the back seat. He had had a terrible night, all roughly starting with Cress arriving. Technically his evening had gotten better after Cress' visit, the cold embrace of unconsciousness was, at least in Stella's unprofessional opinion, better than being awake to understand you were in pain. The cold embrace of nothingness did sound tempting, at least for a while. Maybe she'd take a nap.

Rose hopped in to the operator side, inserting an enchanted tag into a slot and then pulling back a plunger that shot immediately back to where it began, setting in motion the twin mythril driving cores that whirred in the front compartment of the vehicle.

"How fast can we be over there?" Stella asked, throwing a blanket over Gunther as he slept before hopping in, sitting on the front edge of the back seat, holding onto one of the metal bits of frame. Dick took the passenger side seat and patted his lap to Puppershy, who came closer on all fours, thoroughly dedicated to her game of being a dog... or a puppy as the case may be. Bounding up, she took a more pony like seating arrangement, sitting side saddle on Dick's lap, resting against his outstretched arm that grabbed another piece of the metal frame. It was cramped, but that happened when transporting an unconscious griffon who took up an entire seat, not that Dick minded as Puppers licked his cheek happily.

"Twilight's Castle? Considering how long of a walk it is... five minutes? If I drive carelessly I might cut it in half." Rose offered as she leaned over, cranking a lever a few times, setting the counter charge to the mythril driving system.

"Drive somewhere between regular and reckless. I'd like us all to arrive safely but quickly." Stella said with a smile that conveyed her discomfort. At this point it seemed like there was a contest between Puppers and her to see who could be the most unsafe while riding in this contraption.

"Gotcha, let's get going then." She pulled back the brake lever with a flourish. "Chocks away!" And with that pushed forward on the steering levers a different amount, setting the vehicle into a turn as they left Berry's house behind.

"I wonder if it's the Empire again." Dick said solemnly. "It's been... what, two or three days since they last bothered us? I can't imagine they've forgotten about us."

"Only two days? Wow, time certainly can take it's good time." Rose chuckled as she pushed both levers farther forward, increasing the vehicle's speed as they maneuvered down the bumpy road. "Any ideas what we might try to do to help? I don't think any of us are particularly sympathetic towards the Empire, and honestly, even though it means we'll have to work with Cress, I think we might agree one is supremely evil, while the other is a di- I mean a jerk."

"Hey, I get it, my name is an insult, but it's also true." Dick said, using his free hand to pet Puppershy. "He is me, and I'm him. He lost a bit of himself, and the same goes with me. We're parts of a whole. I guess... well I don't know about you all, but Cress always kind of hated himself, still does, but now it has extended into us being two ponies." Dick sighed, shaking his head. "He blames himself for a lot of things that weren't his fault."

"Kind of like you." Stella noted with a wry grin.

"Exactly like me, we are basically the same pony." Dick countered. "But anyway... yeah, he's... I'm tough on him because it's how I've always been with myself - how he's always been with himself. I... I can't blame him for Gunther, but I also can't forgive him for it. He thought Gunther deserved punishment, but he went to far. I hope he sees that."

"Maybe he has, maybe he hasn't, but maybe that's why you are here. You're a darker, more sexual version of him, just like the rest of us with our doppelgangers. Maybe he needs you as much as you need him. A solid reference to check yourself against. Or maybe you just have to talk to him. Who knows; the world has been quite weird recently."

"You can say that again!" Dick chuckled. The rest of the trip was fairly silent, each pony retreating into their own thoughts. The further the separation point grew in time, they developed into more independent ponies - further seperated from the other half that was still technically them - at least so it seemed to Dick. At the start he was just purely about sex. He loved it, why shouldn't he pursue it at all turns? But that changed. He realized that sex needn't define him. He was a pony of his own. A pony who did start out with some of Cress' baggage, and a hole shaped like the rest of Cress' baggage that the other pony still carried. He felt the absence of the twinge of hope that his mother would indeed be alright, much as Cress felt the purer realization of that feeling. It wasn't that Dick wanted Cress' mom to die, far from it. The hollow feeling, the empty feeling, the unrealized emotion that sat there as a hole, a void, was just a different sort of sensation. An understanding of what one should feel, and yet the lack of such a feeling, despite having the silhouette of such emotion haunting the heart. Dick had a Cress shaped hole in him, and it wasn't even something sexual this time.

In the end, Dick wanted Cress to do right, as much as he wanted to prove he himself could do right. Both of them, it seemed to Dick, had done so much wrong in their short time on Equestria - an even shorter time for Dick, admittedly - that it tainted even the purest good they had indeed accomplished. It made it all seem like a pathetic excuse for reimbursement to the universe at large. Dick wanted to prove himself beyond a shadow of a doubt to be a good pony, not defined by his origin, but each step seemed to be accompanied by a shove back to where he had started, whether by his own actions or by the perceptions of others.

He would do better, and so would Cress. They both were the same pony in many ways. They'd have to do better, or else... or else things would get far worse for those around them. Dick determined he would help Cress as much as he could, it was only right. He'd set his own self-hatred to the side and he'd help, he'd forgive, and then... then they'd move forward. They'd prove themselves to the ponies who mattered the most - both the ones that they loved the most, but almost more importantly, themselves.

Dick stroked Puppershy's hair once more, setting himself to the purpose before him. He wouldn't fail, he couldn't fail. There was far too much at stake, too much on the line. He would win, Cress would win, and then... then each could settle down in their own way. A happy life, a good life. That was what he wanted, and it was what he'd strive for.

Side D - Chapter 1: What is it that Haunts You?

Finally, after multiple teleportations, we arrived inside Twilight's castle. I quickly flopped down into a chair, running a hand across my face in exasperation at the evening. No sign had been given who this new contender was. My mind occasionally flicked back to the first stallion, possibly even the waiter, but neither had given any sign, neither had a physical artifact I could find in my brief searches. I hadn't searched the waiter as thoroughly as that first stallion, but I also needed to be at least a little bit discreet. Maybe they had hidden their artifact? Then again, did they need an artifact? Perhaps it was a homunculus again, a being with innate magic woven into their very being that they could manifest at will. What was I supposed to do.

"And that's what we're up against?" Double asked Raven, his unflappable nature starting to waver in that regard. Every pony had their limits, and an underground society of mind controllers seemed pretty close to his limit - that or finding out Berry and Periwinkle were bound to me through my own brand of mind control.

"Yes, it's been a hectic few days around here." Raven said with a short nod. "I also should be upfront with you two as I have been with the others. It'll prevent future mishaps since... well, you're unfortunately a part of this now." With that, Raven transformed, the green line of crackling energy flowing across her body in two separate waves, one reshaping her body as it trailed from her midriff to her head, while the other flowed downward - leaving her without a dress, wearing nothing but bare chitin.

"A changeling then... figures there's more to it than what is on the surface." Double said in exasperation before turning away, walking off as he ran his hands through his hair. "And you've talked to the guards?" He said, turning to me.

"Yes, the guards were talked to when the first mind controller got himself torn asunder by his talisman going off. All his slaves were released and many of them went straight to the guard. It didn't even take an afternoon for all the charges to be disregarded." I said with a huff, closing my eyes as I leaned my head back into the plush cushion of the chair. "They either have somepony in the guard at a decently high level or they are just really good at avoiding the guards just enough that they aren't caught."

"Great... just great." Double said, he stood there, looking about, unsure what to do with himself. Knowing him, he was wavering between screaming and kicking something - honestly it could go either way or both ways. Double let out a huff and just kicked at the floor, struggling with his own frustration and exasperation. "And this Empire, it was the thing that interrupted our dinner? What were they doing exactly?"

"Making you guys into puppets." I said, my tone unintentionally darker than even I wanted it to be. "They made you all say things and do things. I tried locating the artifact user using various means, but none of them seemed to work."

"This really isn't good." Double shook his head, looking about him as he continued to try and sort out his emotions. Honestly, I also needed a moment too, though I had a slightly better understanding of the situation. I was confused, worried, anxious, angered, and - above all - fearful. Not the sort of fear that made me want to run, but the type of fear you'd feel when a bear is stalking you. The type of fear that made you alert and ready to lash out, the fear that makes every muscle tighten like a spring and your brain flood with endorphins and adrenaline, the fear that gives you strength to face the source of your fear; now all I had to do was figure out what that source was.

"Where's Twilight?" Berry asked, breaking the moment silence. I perked up at that. I had honestly expected her to have just been standing in a corner of the room silently, but looking around, we seemed completely isolated. No pony was around. Standing up, I gave a look to Double, to which he nodded, and moved up shoulder to shoulder with me.

"Everypony, on us, form a semicircle behind us. Periwinkle, watch our rear, Berry, find something to lash around her that you can hold. Find something in here to use as a weapon if you can. We might have more problems in this castle than we anticipated." Double said, taking on a commanding tone, transforming in a way from the young stallion he was to a full guard pony. Everypony moved with purpose, grabbing chairs and fire pokers. For a lash, Berry found a spool of thread that had been being used for a knitting project that sat next to an open book about crochet techniques. I didn't take its state of looseness as a good sign. Most ponies would clean up after finishing a project, and Twilight was tidier than most ponies, or at least so said my brief acquaintance with her.

Forming up, Double on point with me right up behind him, we opened the only door that led out of whichever room we were in in the castle. The corridor before us was still well lit, arcane crystals giving a gentle glow that filled the halls with a cool light, the type of light you'd expect from ice crystals. Moving down the corridor in our little turtle formation, Double opened door after door, the fire poker at the ready to strike, though controlled well with his steely nerves as we pressed forward - as ready to find friend as foe.

Slowly inching forward, clearing room by room, we all froze as the crystals in their sconces dimmed, and then faded completely, leaving us in darkness. I cursed our luck, but blessed the recorder that still sat in my pocket. Pressing the record button, I whispered into the mic that sat comfortingly around my ear.

"The crystals reignited and the hall was filled with light once more." Just as I had said, the crystals reignited, but a moment later, they dimmed once more. I scrunched my nose in disgust. "The lights returned." And so they did, only to die away once more. This was getting annoying. "The mechanism to turn them back on malfunctioned and the rooms were filled with light once more." We all heard a pop in the distance as the lights returned to us. Suddenly all the crystals vibrated in their sconces before shattering into dust within their holders, returning us to darkness. Fed up with the back and forth, I turned off the recording and reached for my phone to give us some light that wouldn't be contested, but felt a hand on my arm stopping me.

"Wait." Raven whispered in the darkness, loud enough for our group to hear. "I can still see, let me lead. That way nothing can see us before we can see it." I would've looked at her, but I fought the automatic urge, knowing it wouldn't do any good.

"Alright, good thinking." Double said from in front of me, his tone even quieter than Raven's. "Everypony, grab each other's shoulders. Periwinkle, seeing as we can't see, you can stop watching the rear. Everypony else, be careful. Raven, on point." Raven shifted in front of me, Double and I placing our hands on her shoulders, our weapons unsure in our hands, any attack would need to be initially a blind affair until we could bring up our phones to shed some light on our situation.

Moving forward once more, we proceeded to clear more rooms, or more accurately, Raven cleared room by room as we followed her blindly, holding on to each other's shoulders. The air was tense, and only became tenser as a scuffling sound was heard.

"What was that?" Thyme said in a quivering whisper. Silence followed for a few moments.

"I don't know, I didn't get to see it." Raven admitted after a moment, her voice so quiet it barely broke the still air. Leaning in to be beside her ear, I whispered.

"Should I have my phone at the ready?" Raven shook her head, evident by the feeling of her mane... frill waving back and forth across my hand.

"No, it might shine when you don't want it to. Let's just move cautiously with everypony else in a crouch so I can swivel my head more." She said, already looking about the room as she spoke. We all complied, moving our posture lower as she scanned the open room with her faintly shimmering amber eyes. "Nothing." She said finally. "Let's keep moving."

Corridor by corridor, door by door, we walked in a huddle bunch, Raven on high alert for us as we made our way ever deeper. Occasionally Raven would stop, focusing on a point in the indistinct darkness for a good long while, only to begin moving once more. I couldn't shake the feeling of eyes on us, the prickling sensation that made the hairs on my neck stand to attention growing stronger and then fading, only to grow ever stronger. We were being stalked, I could feel it, and the occasional rustle, an unaccounted for shifting, and the brief sounds of a breath from none of our mouths kept us all fully alert to all things that surrounded us as the darkness bore down mercilessly.

If I had had a free hand, I know it would've been circling around the indentation of the record button, but I wouldn't have pressed it either way. Before we had escaped when no pony around us was likely going to be any more danger than they usually would. It was a pragmatic fact of our current existence that we needed to weigh certain lives a tad more heavily, and the Elements and Button were at this point the platinum of lives in my mind, only out weighed by the osmium of those ponies who were gripping each other's shoulders around me.

Creeping slowly forward, led by the only one who could see, I swallowed back my apprehensions, steeling my resolve as best as I could. This certainly was not the evening we had hoped for, much less dressed for. Only Raven was truly prepared, with the stallions a close second, followed by Thyme with her scandalous cut dress giving her maneuverability, while - at least in my opinion - Berry and Periwinkle were a close competition. Our nerves, however, were all equally on edge, each pony on guard for any possible threats, visible or otherwise.

Raven's occasional pauses didn't help us either, each stop along our path, whether to open a door to check it, or simply pausing in the hall to look around, brought pangs of anticipatory fear that rose in an ever grander wave to our limits. We were doing great, but we had to press on, despite the rustle of fabric here, a shudder there, a distant whisper in one ear, and a faint hush of movement in the other. We felt surrounded, especially since we so relied so heavily on Raven as she led us through the winding halls, our eyes useless in the pitch darkness we wouldn't break lest it alert whatever was haunting us that we were scared enough to shine a light on it, if it was even truly there.

Slowly, Raven opened yet another door, the soft creak of it catching me off guard for the lack of having turned. I supposed we were at the end of this hall. Closing the door behind us, we all moved silently as Raven got a better look at the place around us.

"Alright," she said in a low tone, "we're in a sort of study... kind of cozy compared to the other rooms. No pony still, but there is another door that leads in here. If you want to turn on phone lights, I think now is the best time. Gathering your wits before we press on and all that."

"Good idea, everypony is fairly on edge with the darkness." Double confirmed, releasing Raven as he fished out... something with a wind up crank? A few seconds of something whirring away in the pitch darkness, Double clicked on a small flashlight. I raised an eyebrow at him.

"You brought that to date night?" I asked incredulously. Double looked at me and shrugged.

"Hey, I expected something weird tonight. Granted, I was expecting you to invite us to walk through Everfree or something like that, but I prepared either way. Even got my electric lighter and scout knife." I was... well flabbergasted. But I suppose him bringing those things was less audacious than me bringing two artifacts to the restaurant. We both had our reasons for bringing things we otherwise might not need except for preparedness, and in the end, we both had needed the items we brought. I grabbed my phone from my pocket and turned on the flashlight, pointing it around me, comforting myself in the ability to see. I was good to see, comforting.

I froze stiff, my light having past a sparkle of something reflective. Moving the light back over, I saw... eyes!

"Guys! Company!" I managed before the thing bolted out front cover and tackled me to the ground, sending my phone skidding across the floor. The thing lept away from me almost as soon as I hit the floor, knocking over Double before its silhouette turned and lept on Raven. leaping to my feet in a fluid motion, I raised my fire poker, only to have the shadowed thing still shrouded in darkness glare back at me as it slithered away from Raven, darting back into the darkness from which it came.

"Circle! Form a circle!" Double shouted, moving up beside me, the others moving in quickly, surrounding Raven as she lay on the ground, still crumpled where she had fallen. Crouching down, I fumbled in the dimly light darkness, pressing my fingers against her throat. I froze, turning fully to face her. She was bleeding from the neck.

No no no no no no no! Without thinking my one hand clasped around the wound while the other darted into my pocket for the recorder, only for me to be tackled down fully as the thing came back, this time letting me feel claws in my back as it tore into me.

"It's breached!" Double roared, bringing down his weapon on the back of the thing's head. Suddenly a pain broke out across the back of my skull, causing my eyes to shrink in fear. In the faint light I could see him, his eyes wild and his teeth bared. There was no mistake. Thrusting my fire poker into his gut, I kicked him away, standing back up, only to realize too late I had let go of the poker.

"It's the doctor! He's here!" I said, looking around for any sign as I fought against the pain of my throbbing skull. This wasn't good, this WAS not good. I gripped the weapon, and fished my hand into my pocket once more. Pressing down, I began to record. "Raven was healed of her wounds, she was fine; she was healthy and fine and alive!" I whispered harshly. I was about to add another line, but the doctor once again tackled me, leaning down with a snarl as I felt something warm dripping down on my back, only for a searing pain to develop in my abdomen as my eyes widened. My world tilted as pain overcame everything. I dipped a hand to my gut and felt blood trickling out. What vision I had blurred, and I simply lay there, unable to do anything, despite the ponies around me as they fought a silhouette.

Darting back and forth, tackling pony after pony, ripping into them, and then darting off again into our blind spots. I fought against the pain and the rising tide of unconsciousness, trying my best to help, but every second left me weaker and weaker, each passing moment agony as I tried in vain to breath evenly, much less speak. I tried to stay awake, but it wasn't working. Too much pain and too little blood staying in my system. Slowly I faded, despite my efforts, watching helplessly as my friends, my family, and my lovers were battered by the unrelenting force.

Splice 16: Hold the Line!

Double's eyes shot around the room, scanning for any sign of the enemy. His flashlight was a few paces too far, and Cress' phone was even further. Problems were compounding on them, every second making this place more and more of a death trap as their enemy lept and bounded about the place, keeping just out of sight until it deemed itself ready to attack. Double couldn't let this continue on, but he also had no way to stop it. He couldn't call for anypony to come help, and he was in no way qualified to help the two ponies that were injured.

Another shifting in the shadows, and then a dark figure shot out. Double raised his fire poker, and skewered the curtain that shrouded him, only to then be tackled from another direction by the entity, feeling the raking of its claws - or whatever they were - across his side. Throwing a punch, he grinned as it connected with a crack against the jaw of whatever it was, sending it off of him. Rising to his feet, he swept the area with his eyes, but the thing was already gone. Grabbing the curtain in one hand, he disentangled his poker while watching the perimeter.

"We need to get out of here." Periwinkle said, lashing out into the darkness, her attack connecting with nothing but air. "These ponies need help and I don't think any of us can give that type of help."

"Agreed." Double said, gazing into the darkness. "Berry, can you carry them? If you can, we should be able to cover you while you extract them."

"Problem with that." Berry began, only to be tackled. Double wheeled about and lashed out, but only managed to hit the floor. Berry shook her head in the dim light, standing back up to her feet. "The problem..." She said, obviously winded as she grasped at her jaw, "is that... none of us... know the way out of this labyrinth. I've been in this darn place so infrequently that I couldn't...couldn't tell you where the nearest bathroom was if the lights were on... and I was standing in front of it."

"Any other ideas then?" Double asked, looking about them. "Cress isn't going to be around too much longer if we don't act now."

"I KNOW!" Berry roared back, lashing out, the sound of her attack connecting bringing some hope to the situation, only to have it replaced as Berry was flung back, bleeding from the shoulder. Cursing under his breath, Double closed the circle with the other two ponies, still scanning the area as best he could.

"We need a plan, now!" Periwinkle hissed as she continued to gaze into the darkness. The sound of metal slicing into flesh filled the air, and then a grunt.

"Double..." Double turned wide eyed to see Thyme, a gash of blood beginning to work its way through her dress before she collapsed.

"Thyme!" Double couldn't help but call out hopelessly. Stuffing his pain away temporarily as rage burned inside of him, he pressed his back against Peri's , looking all around as they tried to spy their foe.

"This isn't good! This is not good!" Peri whispered to herself as she continued to circle, her back pressed against Double. "We need something! Anything!" Double's mind raced, as his eyes darted, trying to pinpoint the enemy, when suddenly he was forced to the ground, but not by the thing, but by Periwinkle as she pushed him away.

Looking back to her, he watched as she slumped to the floor, blood trailing from her mouth and neck. No no no no no no! This was beyond bad! Standing back up, no longer with anything that resembled a circle left, he grasped the nearest light source to him, pointing Cress' phone around the room. His light caught... it.

There, halfway up the wall was a monster. Nude, it's mismatched tapestry of skin sent shivers down Doubles spine. It had a purple arm, another black arm, a feathered arm that ended in talons, an orange leg, a pink leg, a red leg, a cyan wing, a pale yellow wing, a pale pink wing, a white horn, and across it's face was plastered an evil, contorted, smile of pearly white teeth - a sinister smile echoed by the five mouths on its chest and shoulders.

Double's hand quivered at the sight, but he steeled himself, gripping the fire poker with a white knuckle grip. The beast scurried across the wall, its joints crackling in and out of place unnaturally as it flashed from where Double had it fixed in the light, darting to a patch of shadows. No time to move the light, Double stabbed out towards the dim reflection of its eyes. The thing rolled to the side, a hefty flap of its grotesque wings sending it into the air. Pointing the light up, he caught a glimpse of it as it crawled across the walls, a chorus of manic laughter in five voices filling the air.

Swinging the light around, Double caught it a mere second before it barreled into him, sending him against the wall, dislodging the phone and poker from his hands. Kicking out with all his might, he planted a solid strike between a pair of its legs, sending it scampering awkwardly back in pain, giving Double enough time to grab his poker once more, lashing out, only to have it scurry away. Picking up the phone once more, he swung the light around, catching occasional glimpses of the beast.

Suddenly, he heard it again, and pointing the light over, he saw a curtain in the air, sailing straight towards him. Learning from his last experience, he stepped backwards and to the side, ducking down as he thrust out the poker in the opposite direction. The beast gave a warbling cry in multiple voices as it backed away from the wound. Pointing the light at it, he caught a glimpse of it once more darting away, leaving a patch of pure black on the floor that shimmered like oil.

Moving the light about, Double moved away from the wall, only to be tackled from a blind spot, sending his poker scattering across the floor. Throwing a punch into the thing's face, and then another into its neck, Double did his best to fight off the thing, only to stop as he howled in pain, feeling as if his shoulder had been pierced. Still lashing out, he tried to fight off the beast, but it kept battering him, shaking him violently before slamming him into the cold hard ground.

"Cress, his mares, and Double and Thyme were teleported out of the castle!" Double's eyes widened, and suddenly he was no longer on the cold floor of the castle, but instead, he felt grass beneath him - his ears still ringing with the voice. Who was it? Standing up, grasping at his shoulder, he saw Raven sitting up right, seeming little worse for wear as she spoke into something in her hand. "Cress, his mares, Double, and Thyme were healed of their wounds!" Double hissed, falling to a knee as a pain shot through his shoulder. The flesh began to stitch itself back together violently, causing almost more pain than when the injury had appeared. Looking up at the changeling, he moved closer.

"What... did you do?" It was all he could manage before the world slipped out from under him, sending him to the ground.

Side D - Chapter 2: Regroup

I woke up, groaning as I shifted on the unyielding ground. Sitting up, I looked around us. We were in some barren field, not a hint of shrubbery beyond the bush we all were in the shade of and the small tufts of grass that grew around it. The cold chill of evening air was beginning to relent, giving way to the first scorching beams of morning sunlight. Moving a hand to my stomach, my suit and shirt were still roughly intact, though a large wet spot of blood had stained the cloth. Opening up my shirt, I saw a scar. I was healed, despite not knowing how, and for that matter, we were somewhere I couldn't account for.

Shifting up to my feet, I surveyed the surrounding country, seeing nothing much except for the occasional bush or rolling tumbleweed. The barren fields were already beginning to wave in the rising heat of morning, the heat already approaching a number I didn't want to be stuck in. Turning about a I scanned the horizon, I saw a town in the distance. In the very least we could have a place to move to, but in the various states we were in, I wasn't sure if we would be able to just get some water and a meal without more than one pony trying to force us into the hospital with our bloodstained clothes.

I sat back down, looking over the ponies around me. They were all pretty much in the same condition as I was in, with blood staining a portion of their clothes, though due to the dried look of the stains I could only guess that they had been healed just like me, that and I could still see the soft rising and falling of their chests as they breathed. I looked off to the distance, considering our situation. I doubted that the Empire would be so bold as to kill royalty, but then again, they might have decided to move their war to full scale open combat. Maybe they were close to whatever their grand evil scheme was, supposing they had one.

I sighed, running a hand through my hair as I took it all in. We couldn't count on any help from the Elements, and for that matter, I had no idea if Button was alright, much less the doppelgangers. I had told Button to head over to the castle, but the doppelgangers hadn't been informed, at least not by me. I had no confirmation either way, and no real way to be able to tell who was on my side - the new artifact user made sure of that.

The sound of movement beside me alerted me to the fact that somepony was waking up. Looking over, I saw Raven, once more in her pony form, sitting up beside me.

"You alright?" She asked, moving to sit beside me. I sighed and shook my head.

"We've lost, well and truly lost. Not only did we have to retreat from the restaurant, but also from Twilight's castle." I lifted my knees up and wrapped my arms around them, not sure what to do with myself, the truth of our situation pressing down far more heavily on me. "We let them win. We just... we failed. And now the Empire is in a far better situation than before."

"We did all we could." Raven said soothingly. "But now... now we have to push forward." I sat there in silence, a less than adequate response, I realized, to her attempt at comforting words. "Maybe we could use the artifact to bring them out? We might be able to teleport the Elements of Harmony, the doppelgangers, Starlight, Button, Brass... Button's mom, and anypony else we know isn't the new artifact user."

"No."

"No?" Raven looked at me quizzically. My response had been cold, dark even. I looked at her, not an inch of humor in me anymore.

"We can't extract them unless we know they are good to be removed. I had the recorder fail on me once before, at which point it seems to release most every effect it had in place beforehand." I sighed, closing my eyes. "I had to make sure my mom was going to be alright, but even so... I lost you all last time. And now? If the recorder fails again..."

"The doppelgangers..." Raven said in a whisper of realization. "You... you think they'll merge with their original host again?" I nodded.

"I have no reason to not believe that the more fantastic exertions of the recorder are reset to the old way after the recorder fails. Say we actually are able to get all the ponies over here, what if they are injured? Sure, we could say they are healed, but what if the doctor has done something to them? What if they are missing limbs, or worse? We'd have to try and fix them, at which point, what if the recorder fails? You know what else stops being true?" Raven shook her head slowly.

"Berry's sister goes back under. Her coma starts again. I can't put her through that, not again, not ever." Raven's eyes widened as she understood. "We're... we're treading a fine line, Raven. We have to use the recorder only when it guarantees that it will work and when we know what we want will result in a benefit for us and not more work. If it fails again, if all I've made sure of stops... then we are... we are well and truly fucked."

"You could just reinstate all the items we've lost if it happens." Raven pointed out.

"And then what? What happens when we bring those ponies over, try to heal them, fail, and then try again, and the artifact continues not to work. There are limits to this things power, and I don't know them, and that scares me. I can't risk everything that is already in place." I stated firmly, looking back to her.

"We can at least bring them here. Take those chips out of the Empire's hands. They might be injured, they might have been effected by the doctor, but I think they'd still appreciate not being hounded by the doctor every waking moment." I sat there in quiet contemplation. She was right, and I knew it, but I also knew having the Elements here would be bringing an active reminder of my failures right to me. Ponies who would need help that I couldn't provide right there beside me where I could help them if only I was able. But then again, I desperately needed ponies around me who were smart and capable of helping me formulate a plan of attack. I needed to act, but I was paralyzed by my own fear and doubt.

Seeing me like this, Raven put a hand on my shoulder, leaning in close. "I love you, Cress." She said softly. "You aren't a bad pony, you just have to remember that. Bad, or poor, choices do not make you a villain. They make you you. You have to accept who you are, and move forward - fixing what you can and knowing what faults remain."

"What if I keep on failing... what if I never do better?" I lamented, looking off to the distance, the wide open fields sprawling out before us.

"Then you get back up and try again. Failing isn't, or at least doesn't have to be, an end state. It's a new start to build from, you just have to take a chance on it." Raven said in her calming ways. I still looked off to the wide yonder, staring at it as if it would give me the answers I was looking for. Raven leaned against me, snuggling her head against my shoulder. "Don't worry, if you fall to the darker desires, I'll be there to bring you back to your center - no matter what." I smiled at that, leaning my head on hers.

"Thank you." I whispered, closing my eyes once more, basking in her comforting presence. "I love you, Raven. No matter what form you prefer, I still love you." Raven purred at that. We had a chance at this, and I wasn't going to blow it. Not now, not ever.

Side D - Chapter 3: Secret Operations

"So that's the plan, huh?" Berry asked, looking over my scrawlings on the dirt. Quite the jumbled mess, but intelligible if you had been there to watch it be scratched out in the loose soil.

"Yeah, Double and I worked on it during the afternoon while you ladies were off getting supplies." I said scratching the back of my neck as I looked it over once more. Plans only survived as long as they didn't meet the enemy, but even so, planning was an indispensable part of success.

"Looks good to me." Periwinkle commented, looking over the etchings of a plan we had. "When are we pulling this off?"

"Tonight." Double said, gaining a few looks of concern. "We have ponies in there that need help, we can't exactly leave then there. There's no telling what those things will get up to with them." The group was silent for a few long moments as each looked at either another pony or at the plan scrawled in the dirt.

"Alright, let's do this." Raven said, getting everypony's attention. Looking up at all of us, I could see the concern that shone behind her eyes. "We need to help them, the sooner the better." I nodded. We'd make it work, we'd have to.

The evening air was chill. Most everypony was indoors, bedding down for a good night's rest from the day's hard labor. Everypony, except a mail pony. Work always seemed to drag on for her, and today was no exception. Yet another delivery to Twilight's castle on short notice - it wasn't even Tuesday! Her being a princess meant that this package got priority, and then the fact it had a seal from Canterlot meant it was doubly hurried. If it had been sent by anypony else to anypony else, it would've gone out first thing tomorrow evening, but circumstances had played their tune just so, and now she was out here, wheeling the large crate through the streets at a brisk pace, thankful she didn't have to do this while also trying to dodge other ponies.

Reaching the castle's front door, she let out a few huffing breaths as she took a moment to steady herself from her run. 'When did she get an Arcano-Wagon?' She thought to herself, looking over the contraption that sat so prominently before the castle, somehow seeming more audacious than the castle it sat in front of. 'Maybe it's just somepony visiting her with one. Yeah, Twilight's not the type to go buying Arcano-Wagons.' Taking a deep breath, she finished steadying herself, walking up to the door and rapping out a quick series of knocks while she fished out her clipboard. Fortunately, the door opened shortly there after.

"Yes?" Twilight's voice echoed out from the darkness that was the inside.

"Hi, Princess, got a package for you!" She said happily. "Straight from Canterlot!" There was silence for a few moments, long enough the mail mare almost dropped her smile.

"Thank you so much!" Twilight replied, sounding chipper as usual. "Do I need to sign for it?"

"Yup, right here." She held out the clipboard towards the door, thoroughly used to Twilight's oddities. Sometimes she wouldn't leave her castle for weeks at a time. A purple - or was it lavender? - arm came out from the doorway and pulled the clipboard back, the sound of the signature being made hastily echoing out, before the arm came back passing the clipboard back.

"Thank you so much, I'll get it in a second!" Twilight called from behind the door.

"Sure thing, Princess, have a nice day! Evening! Night!" The mail mare, flustered by her own stupidity, took wing, flying off. She stopped midair, slapping her forehead. Her cart! "I can't leave that behind! They'll have my job for it!" She turned about and began flying back, only to stop as she saw something she would never care to describe. Needless to say, she turned back around. "She needed the cart and said I could come by to pick it up tomorrow! That's right! She definitely said that! Yup! No need to grab it right now! Nope nope nope!"

It seemed Twilight was at it again with another experiment gone awry, and last time that had happened it required Pinkie bursting in with a party raid. Maybe she should grab the party pony? Or maybe the guard for that matter.

The sound of the crate being roughly dragged into the castle filled the air. Many eyes scanned over its surface, many hands feeling the wood, and even some magic pried at the boards gently. What was it? What was in this box? Maybe he should pry at the purple one's mind a little more to see if she'd give him a clue. Then again, there was no need. He just needed to open it. A hand from his back passed a crowbar to the front. He'd make quick work of this. A label on the side proclaimed 'Fragile' and 'Caution! Arcane Artifact Inside! Caution!' Arcane Artifact? Was this from Master? Only one way to find out then.

Jamming the crowbar under the lid, he pried it away, the nails creaking harshly. Sending the wooden slab flying away, he pulled himself up on the box, looking inside, only to find a metal lid. Blast, this was frustrating! How secure did this thing have to be? Plunging his crowbar in the small groove, he pulled roughly, dislodging the hinged lid, sending it crashing against the wooden box's wall. He growled as he looked inside, yet another lid. This time a safe that had it's locking mechanism pointing straight up at him. WHY?!

We crept quietly through the still open door, careful to not disturb the doctor as he worked at the safe's lock. He had climbed inside the box, with one of his ears pressed against the door as he worked at the combination. Being quiet was decently easy as we walked a few inches above the ground, our feet landing on nothing but a cushion of air as we traversed the room. This was, of course, a dangerous situation, but it was our best chance.

Motioning to the other ponies, they all moved off, setting about their tasks while I turned towards mine. The others needed time to search for the other ponies, and I had to make sure they had that time. The doctor would only be so busy with the series of boxes we had set up for him - I had to make sure the present inside was delivered straight where it was needed.

Pealing away yet another layer of packaging, the doctor huffed, pulling out a small box the size of my forearm. He looked it over carefully, finding the small padlock that already had a key in it. The easiest layer by far. He unlocked it as I moved slowly up behind him. He gingerly opened the lid and pulled out a small rod, considering it carefully. It was blacker that the darkest night, and one end of it was sharpened to a fine point. He ran his hands over it, considering it like it was an ancient relic he did not understand fully. I, however, was fully aware what it was.

Pushing forward off the air, I landed in front of him, floating above the crate. He drew back in surprise as I twisted the rod from his hands and then dove forward with it outstretched. He successfully grabbed the rod, stopping the sharpened point from piercing him despite the strength I poured into it. Pushing me back with his surprising strength, skidded to a halt on the column of air below me. Lifting myself up, I gripped the weapon I held, a rod of pure Dark Stone. This wasn't a fight I'd lose, even if the doctor beat me.

Side D - Chapter 4: A Desperate Search, a Desperate Fight

I lunged forward, the doctor avoiding the spike in my hand while sending one of his new arms to strike me. Stumbling to the side, I lifted my weapon, pointing it at the monster. I grinned, staring it down, liberated from my fears of evil deeds when faced with such a heinous foe. Darting forward, I brought the spike, hefting it as a club, swinging it at the beast, who, caught off guard, was struck across the face, an advantage I wouldn't let go to waste as I moved forward, continuing my onslaught. Blow after blow fell like thunder upon the doctor, and just as I felt he might have fallen too far to recover, he hefted a table and threw it into me. Doing my best to dodge, I was still clipped in the shoulder by the projectile, sending me stumbling back in pain.

Pushing past the lightning bolts of pain that surged through me, I tightened my grasp on the weapon in my hand. Closing the distance once more, I found myself rebuffed as the doctor struck me across the face, generating a pain across my shoulder as he let me in on his own pain. I kept on my feet, tears creeping at the edges of my eyes. I had to fight. Maybe not win, but fight. If I could delay him just long enough, the others would turn the odds against this beast.

Double hissed as he released the artifact once more. He didn't like the idea of using it himself, but given the circumstances, it was the best idea. He had cleared far more floors and rooms than anypony could hope to in the course of a normal search, thanks to the amulet he toted around. The only problem was now that he had used it so much, his body was being gripped by such a potent fatigue and numbness, his speed suffered almost as much as it had benefited. He wouldn't, however, relent in the slightest. Even if it meant pushing himself beyond breaking. His cousin was buying this precious time, he wasn't going to waste it by taking a breather.

Rounding another corner, he came to a halt. Before him, through an open door, was a massive figure, looming larger than life. Taking a massive gulp, he gripped the amulet tensely. The bulking figure took a few steps forward, closing the distance fast. This wasn't something he could deal with, but if he was to guess, this was likely the way he needed to go. Either that, or it was all an elaborate ruse to confuse his search efforts through the castle.

Raven hated this form. She had taken many a different shape in her relatively short life as a changeling, but this one took the prize for disgusting. The multilimbed, and completely irregular form of the doctor was a strain on her, but it was a necessary strain. All a part of the plan, that was to be her mantra for this evening it seemed.

Opening another door, she peaked inside, but found nothing. If only she had a better route, one more fraught with particular dangers, it might've done her well, or in the very least let her be particularly helpful. If any guards had been about the place, she might've been able to pass them, but the distinct lack of any guards only served to make this form more annoying. not only was it troublesome to manage, but it also seemed to serve no particular point as far as the situation was concerned.

The next door was just as uninteresting. It led to what was either the fifth closet or the third bathroom she had found on this hall. Either way, it was excessive for the basement level. If Twilight weren't a noble, the heating, arcane crystal, and water bills would've been inordinate, even for Raven's adoptive family, and that was saying something.

She shook her head, moving off once more. If only she had something beyond finances to consume her mental energy at this point, she might've felt at least somewhat less annoyed or frustrated, but as it stood, she was just a deformed spider type thing and had nothing but checking doors to do.

I ducked under yet another attack, springing forward with the spike, slashing across one of his many limbs before bringing the thing back around to slam it into his face before hopping backwards, avoiding his counter attack. I stepped to the side, avoiding another attack, and then another, the breeze from the speed of each attack ruffling my already messy shirt or grazed my hair. I couldn't get hit or I'd lose.

Weaving around another attack, I lashed out with the rod, slamming it into his gut before ducking back, avoiding yet another one of his attack, only to see another attack coming from a difficult angle. No other choice present, I fell backwards, letting the blow flash above me, sending my hair whisping after it as I rolled away a distance before rising to my feet. Darting forward once more, I brought my weapon down on another one of his arms, gaining a growl of frustration.

Double juked to the side before darting off to the opposite side, slipping to the side of the mammoth creature. His attempt, however, seemed to have failed as it slammed its fist down in front of Double. His limbs were tired, and stopping was more an exercise in controlled tumbling as he fell face forward on his numb legs. Preserving his momentum a best he could, he planted his hands on the ground, awkwardly flipping over the thing's arm, landing behind it.

Turning about, he bolted straight for it, leaping to reach its neck height. He landed on it with a triumphant whoop as he rode the thing's frantic movements as it tried to get him off. Clambering up, he locked his arm around its throat, doing his best to cut off the circulation. His adversary was obviously at least somewhat cognizant of this, as it whipped about, turning on its heel, before letting itself fall backwards.

Not wishing to become pony pancakes, he lept off, landing ungracefully once more where he had started a few seconds earlier. Fingering the artifact, he considered trying to use it, but his limbs were nowhere near well enough to carry him through. He needed time.

Berry charged down another hall, throwing door after door open. No sign yet, not a one. It was frustrating how little action she was getting in what might have been in a castle crawling with Empire buggers. She had to have the single calmest route. No a door led anywhere beyond spare bedrooms and bathrooms. This place must've intentionally been built like a maze, otherwise castles were just stupider than she had realized.

Barreling through another set of doors, she made her way down the long hall, throwing door after door open. She needed to be useful. Otherwise, why was she here? She knew she was being a help by searching, but it wasn't good enough in the way of help. She needed to be able to find at least one of the ponies, otherwise she was just being as helpful as the white pegs in Cloudship - of definite use, but feeling far less helpful than the red ones.

Dodging yet another blow, I brought the rod of Dark Stone back around, smashing it across his head, sending him into a stumble to the side. Both of us were tiring, but between us, he was looking far more battered. Even so, I knew that I didn't have much more in me. I smiled even as I took several heaving breaths. I might not win, I might even die, but I sure as heck made this guy pay for it. Even if he transferred his wounds to me, he'd feel it in whatever passed for dreams with this guy.

Slipping to the side, I dodged yet another furious attack. I was so low on energy, I wasn't sure if I even should attack anymore. Dodging took enough energy from me, and the pain he was already in made his attacks slow and ponderous. He was feeling it as much as I was, and we were both showing it readily. It was a shame I didn't have something a tad more lethal and less effort dense than basically a giant pencil of Dark Stone, but having such a dense object of antimagic potential certainly had its advantages. For one, neither of us could use an artifact if we wanted to. That might've been enough of a reason, but compound it with the fact the darn thing was so potent that when out of its case it would slowly sap the vitality of any nearby, I felt it was the only smart option to take into this battle.

Stumbling away from yet another frantic lashing from the doctor, I huffed, sweat pouring down my forehead as I strained to keep myself going despite the pull the Dark Stone was exerting. If victory was at all possible, it wouldn't be me snatching it easily from the jaws of this battle. That didn't mean I wasn't going to do my best to make it happen.

Splice 17: Headstrong Resistance

Double stumbled backwards, avoiding another attack from the thing. Darting forward, he delivered a high kick to the thing's face, obscured in shadow from the still dimly lit castle halls. Narrowly avoiding one blow, he set himself unintentionally to get struck with another, flinging him backwards with electric shocks of pain coursing through him. His limbs still felt fuzzy, the effects of the artifact still holding him fast, slowing him, and making any chance of using it to his advantage seem all the more a double edged sword that could also render him useless if he didn't do it right.

"I hadn't expected so much fight coming from you lot." A deep booming voice came from the figure as it confidently approached Double who still lay on the ground breathing heavily. "But in the end, your efforts are for naught. It would've been better for you if you hadn't been so inclined to so violently resist us."

"Yeah, well you all made the choice for us, so screw you too." Double spat back, pushing off the ground, zipping through the gap between the hulking mass' legs. Tumbling to his feet, he turned, removing the artifact from its lanyard, holding it firm in his hand, ready to activate it if needed. Pushing up, he charged forward, diving into a power slide as the massive thing raised a leg and went for a roundhouse kick, exposing itself quite nicely.

Thrusting a fist upward as he slid past, he connected his blow, feeling the meaty squish he had hoped for - it was either that or have something awkward to explain to Thyme once this was all over with. Twirling around, he faced his opponent who was bent over slightly now, huffing in pain. Double smirked, darting forward, Delivering a haymaker straight to the slab of muscle and sinew's jaw, causing it to stumble backwards slightly. Double struggled to catch his breath, raising his fist in a taunting battle stance, a cocksure smile on his face as he relished the good few hits he had managed.

The thing swiped a burly fist across its cheek, spitting on the ground as it turned to face Double. "A troublesome lot... but I've had worse. You might think yourself capable of beating me, and even if you are, the Emperor is far beyond even the upper limits of your potential. He has ascended beyond the alicorns and now sits even above the gods. Your hope is that of an ant against the boot of a soldier - if even that much."

"You talk a lot for a guy who just got punched in the dick." Double shot back, darting forward, leaping into a drop kick, the height difference aiming his blow between the hulking beast's legs. His opponent reacted with what Double felt was uncharacteristic swiftness, catching the kick with a hand before slamming him into the wall like a bat of meat and bone. his world became a whirl of confusion and pain as he was smashed against the floor and wall repeatedly before slipping out of his grasp, flying down the hall and slamming against the door.

He definitely had a few things broken, but he could worry about that later. Right now he had to worry about the massive figure that was barreling down the barely lit hallway like a bull. Rolling to the side, hissing against the pain, he let his enemy plow through the doors instead of his far softer body. Standing up, he flinched at the pain, stumbling a tad bit. Apparently one of the broken things he had put thought to was a leg. Putting a hand against it, he assessed the damage, even while watching his foe, pushing the door off of him. It wasn't a compound fracture, so that was good, the pain seeming more in line with a hairline fracture, at least based of Double's thorough catalog of pain from various broken bones in the past.

This pain would cost him, he knew. It would slow him down, despite how necessary it was - telling him what state he was in. If only he had some pain killers, a way to take the edge off or numb the area. It then struck him; he focused and activated the artifact, watching as the foe stopped mid turn as the world froze. Pushing forward against the pain, he smirked as his leg already began to numb as he moved.

Reaching his foe, he planted a hefty punch to his opponent's groin, and then looked up. Shrugging he jabbed his fingers where the thing's eyes glinted in the pale light. He then slapped him across the face. A bit of disarming harm inflicted, he grabbed the thing's one hand and pulled it back around behind the beast, grabbing the other arm and repeating the arrangement, even as his legs went fully numb. Walking was troublesome, but doable - the lack of sensation made each step a gamble, but the lack of pain granted back equal amount of mobility that it might've otherwise taken. All in all, he'd have a disadvantage, but he wouldn't be too limited in comparison to dealing with a broken bone.

Tying the beast's hands behind his back, Double smiled, before kneeling to tie his foe's shoelaces together, only to find no laces, only boots. It was disappointing, but he could deal with it, undoing the mammoth's belt, tying it securely around the guy's legs. Now he'd be pantsless and tied. Perfect!

double began to slowly walk away, releasing the artifacts effect as he felt the numbness travel towards his pelvis. Occasional bits of pain filtered through his numbness, but not enough to truly hamper him. As time resumed around him, the howl of pain followed by a dull thud behind him gave him a smile. Moving as quickly as his dulled limbs would let him, he made it to the end of the hallway, opening up the door, scanning the room quickly. It barely took the briefest glance to find what he had feared.

The ponies he had met at Cress' place were in here, their names, however, having escaped him. He vaguely recalled they were somehow important, but he never was good with recent history. Moving in quickly, he helped the ponies, releasing them from their chains as they groaned in pain, most of them missing some limb or another - likely the ones that the doctor had. The purple mare was missing an arm; a griffon - who Double didn't recognize at all - was missing an arm; the orange eart pony mare was missing a leg, as was the pink earth pony; the white pony seemed alright, and then he remembered she was a unicorn, and flinched at the idea of her missing her horn - in someways that felt worse than just an arm or a leg; the two pegasi were missing a wing - no make that the three pegasi. The third pegasi, along with other ponies, were shackled to a different wall. Oddly enough, the three ponies here seemed almost like versions of Periwinkle and Cress - as well as the yellow pegasus mare - except they had the colors swapped. Odd to be sure. The Cress clone was missing an arm, while the Periwinkle clone was missing a leg, and the pegasus mare was missing a wing.

The assortment of which limbs were missing seemed random, but certainly intentional. Fortunately, despite their amputations, they seemed healthy. They were breathing, and a quick press against their neck revealed a strong heart beat in each. Activating the artifact, he quickly typed out a message on his phone to the new numbers in his phone.

Need help, found em all. third level, third hall down on right

Unpausing time, he pressed send with a sigh. Beyond his broken leg, things seemed to be going quite well. Helping up one of the ponies that lacked a leg, he huffed.

"Come on, let's get out of here." He said, thoroughly ready to find someplace to flop down and take a nap. The only reason he didn't crash was adrenaline and the need to finish off this most eventful chapter in his life... at least so far. He certainly could hope life would be simpler after this, but things rarely were.

"We aren't going anywhere." One of them said, giving him pause.

"What are you talking about, we need to leave!"

"No pony escapes the Empire - not for long." Another confirmed. Casting a glance down the hall, he saw the faint glint of a smile on the face of his enemy. Oh fuck.

Side D - Chapter 5: Pushing Ever Onward

I stumbled back a step, breathing heavily. The Dark Stone in my hands felt almost too heavy, but I wasn't about to yield it, I would use it to inflict as much pain on the doctor as possible, even if just by ensuring he wouldn't be able to remove it from his presence. Staring him down, I thought to my recorder, wishing I could use it, though not wanting to risk it. Clicking it on might mean it would lose all power it ever had, seeing as a chunk of antimagic was so close to it. I would have to fight on like this, despite the ever decreasing amount of energy left to me - though the same went for the doctor. We were fighting to a stalemate, and honestly, that was more than I could hope for.

He stumbled after me, his many arms extended out to latch on to me, but a falling step backwards and a swing of my weapon staved off that end as the weapon struck across one of his hands. His many mouths hissed in pain as he shrinked away, giving me something to smile about. I stumbled, planting a shoulder against the large nesting crate, nodding at him with a smirk.

"I'm willing to offer you terms of surrender if you're willing to hear 'em." I said with as much strength as I could muster, which honestly wasn't much.

"I... never... surrender." He said in a chorus of voices that I knew well enough. The fact he sounded far more haggard than I felt was a decent sign, but it could also be a bluff. No chances, no mistakes.

Pushing off the crate, I rolled my shoulders, trying to relieve the tension and fatigue that stung them. "Fine, but don't go saying I didn't give you a chance to taste some mercy. Now all I can guarantee is the taste of Dark Stone and whatever counts for blood with you homunculi." His eyes grew wide as I strode forward, brandishing my weapon menacingly. He shot out one of his arms at me, but I batted it away with the Dark Stone, narrowly spinning out of the way of another attack - looking like some sort of drunken idiot.

"I shan't be defeated!" He proclaimed in a number of voices, all of which were feminine. I chuckled at that... well it was more of a tired chuff as I stared him down, the weight of my fatigue bearing down on me heavily. I lifted the Dark Stone rod, pointing the sharpened end towards him.

"We'll see how long that lasts." I said before diving forward. Reacting with what speed he could muster, I watched as the doctor caught the attack, holding it back shakily with all his arms, straining in the effort. Planting one foot forward, I drove him further back, pushing with all the might that I had left me, straining against my own screaming body as I took another step. Step by step, I closed the distance between him and the life ending stake, a distance he could only increase by matching my steps.

With a roar of fury, I heaved with all my might, taking another step. His eyes widened as it dawned on him what I had truly done, the cool touch of the wall on his back as the sharpened rod of Dark Stone dug its tip into his chest, releasing a rivulet of black, oily substance that trailed down his chest as he gritted all his teeth. Seeing that, my expression widened into a maddened smile as I drove myself further and further, defying my body's protests against it. Every pulse of that dark substance gave me hope as I drove forward, the Dark Stone - now digging into his flesh - sapping the doctor's strength faster than it did mine with only surface contact.

Suddenly, he used some reserve of strength that even he probably didn't know he had as he released his grip with one hand, slamming it into my gut, causing me to stumble back. Crashing to the floor, my vision swayed, too much taken out of me to properly set myself in order in anything resembling decent time. The doctor slowly slid the offending piece of Dark Stone out of his chest, letting it fall to one side.

Slowly he stalked towards me, readying his attack, doubtlessly ready to grant me all his wounds - something I was surprised he hadn't done earlier, or at least hadn't succeeded in. With so little strength left in me, I fell to the floor and rolled as he lashed out, striking the crate instead. Shakily rising to my feet, my arms drooping in fatigue as I stared him down, I felt my phone go off in a text message. I smirked at him.

"The difference between you and me," I said weakly as I watched his movements carefully, judging each fidget for any inbound attacks, "beyond you being a monstrous abomination of alchemy and me being a pony... is that I've already won." Soon the others would be able to help the Elements escape, everypony converging on their position at the first text message. We'd won. I might lose, but in the end, my fight wasn't the most important. That didn't mean I'd give up.

Darting forward, I zipped past his lethargic arms, tripping over my own feet in the process. I tumbled over and over, coming to a stop, fortunately, right where I had needed. I reached out, and with a shaky hand, hefted the Dark Stone weapon once more, slowly pulling myself to my feet, the weapon's tip still touching the ground as I struggled with its weight.

"You are... most persistent." The doctor said with a hiss in fewer voices than before.

"Yeah... well being a slouch was never my type of thing." I said, hefting the weapon up as I advanced, landing a blow against his arms as he raised them for a last defense. "Once I beat you," I struggled out, hefting my weapon for another blow, "I'm gonna get so much head." I brought it down like a crack of lightning, the sickening thunk of the weapon crushing bone giving a satisfactory thunder clap as he howled in pain. Struggling to breathe, so much taken out of me, I tried to lift the stake, and after a moment of struggle, I raised it for another offensive.

With a roar of defiance, I brought it down on him once more, the impact causing the monster doctor to stumble back before finally falling to the floor. Limping over to his side, I heaved up the Dark Stone rod.

"It's been an absolute pain knowing you, Doc." I struggled out. "Now go to hell." With that, I let gravity go to work as I drove it down. The sickening crunch as it broke through his body, digging into the ground under him... it was one of the most splendid sounds I had ever heard. He let out a roar in agony that slowly trailed into a thin whisper of a cry. To the last moment, his eyes were filled with a blazing fury, a hellish anger that stuck with me - bringing me unexpected pleasure - only made to fade ever so slightly as his eyes glazed over with his last breath. I stumbled backwards, hitting the wall as I struggled to breath. I had won... I had... I had beyond all odds done it.

Looking at my fallen foe, I gave a weak, wheezing chuckle, pain coursing through me as my body was sapped dry by the Dark Stone. I had beaten him, and I could say, the sight of his black ooze made me giddy. I had won. That was that. It didn't feel real. Somehow, my world felt like a dream. I half expected the doctor to rise, the stake staying where it was as he slid up it, not even using his hands as he rose back to his feet, taunting me. In the end, his chest was still and the black ooze slowly pooled out around him. He was... dead. I felt happier about that than I had about a lot of things.

Stumbling out of the room, I made my way away from the Dark Stone, taking gasping breaths as I tried to recover. Fishing out my phone, I saw Double's text. I might not be much help at this point, but I wouldn't give up my fight. Not while I could still draw breath - and though it was a trial and filled with more effort than usual, my chest still rose and fell. Victory filled me with purpose. I would not let this be a wasteful victory. I would push on, and I'd help secure the day. After it was all said and done, I'd get back to fucking the mares I loved - and nothing sounded quite so appealing as that.

Splice 18: Rescue

Double winced as the small pegasus hit him. Of all his attackers, the yellow and the pink clone were the weakest hitters, not so much because they weren't putting their hearts into it, but simply because it seemed they were the least built for it. The rainbow maned pegasus and the orange earth pony were another matter entirely. Doing his best to avoid getting hit, there was only so much he could do, as the multiple ponies rushed him, despite their missing limbs.

Scrambling backwards, he hissed against the pain as his leg's numbness began to subside. Strengthening his grip on the artifact, he activated it, just as the orange mare landed a hay maker, sending him falling to the floor. Struggling up as the numbness began to rise once more, he looked at the mares in front of him. They were the ones that he needed to save, but they were also now attacking him. Thinking on it while he caught his breath in the frozen time, the thought came to him that this was likely what Cress had been talking about.

These ponies weren't acting like they should and were spouting nonsense off about the Empire - if this wasn't them under some other artifact's control then it meant something far worse. Looking back to the only member of the Empire that was nearby, he saw him still tied up on the floor. The numbness had reached up his legs once more, and so, Double began to walk slowly across the hall. Kneeling down beside the massive form, he began to try and pat him down, but the numbness in his limbs prevented much of a search.

Hissing at his luck, Double settled for the next best he could hope for, even as the numbness crept up his pelvis. He began to slam his fist into the back of the hulking mass' head, hoping he'd knock him out. Wailing on him for a few more seconds, he backed off huffing, deactivating the artifact as the numbness reached up past his midriff. Turning back towards the mares, they each stumbled slightly. Looking down at the large thing, he let out a huffing breath before moving back to the mares.

"Are we... good to go?" He said, thoroughly fatigued. The mares looked up at him, confusion evident on their faces.

"What happened?" one of them asked, looking around as if there would be some clue in their surroundings. Double shook his head.

"We need to go, you all were captured and we're busting you out!" Double ordered, motioning them around the great mass of his fallen opponent. "We can get your limbs back once we go down stairs and handle the doctor." 'Hopefully Cress is alright...' Double added to himself as he guided the mares down the hall. Suddenly the door was flung open, revealing Berry and Thyme.

"Are we clear?" Berry asked, moving up beside Double as he limped his way down the hall.

"Not for long, we need to move!" Double replied, ushering her forward. Thyme moved up and wrapped his arm over her shoulders, helping him along while Berry moved to help some of the other ponies. They made good time down the hall when the door was thrown open once more. From the doorway emerged the impossible shape of the doctor. Double's heart skipped a beat as he stared down the monster down.

"Path's clear, let's go!" The doctor said in Raven's voice. Green energy crackled across the disgusting form, revealing a haggard looking Raven, taking heavy breaths as she leaned against the wall. "Come on, we don't have much time." Double nodded, still not completely used to the changeling being able to do such... disturbing things.

"Could use some help with the evac." Double grunted, trying to adjust his position. It was troublesome being a burden as he was but he wasn't about to be prideful and drag everypony down while insisting he was fine.

"Right." Raven moved up and helped the other ponies, doing her best to increase their progress. Pushing through the door, they looked down the short hall, their eyes growing wide as they watched a very worse for wear looking Cress limping alongside a brown stallion... or colt - he looked decently young to Double.

"Button? What are you doing here?" Berry called over, catching the colt's attention. Suddenly, Cress went limp in the colt's - Button's - arms. Double pushed off Thyme, scrambling forward towards his cousin. Pressing his fingers against Cress' neck, he found the pulse, thanking his lucky stars.

"We need to get him out of here." Double said, looking up at Button, noticing a rather large mare behind him. Button glanced over his shoulder and gave a short nod.

"Don't worry, she's with me. Brass, help Cress out of here." The mare nodded in response to the young stallion's command, stooped down, and picked up Cress with ease. "Do we just go out the way we came or do we take an alternate route?"

"Is the doctor taken care of?" Double asked, struggling to his feet before Thyme caught up to him and helped him the rest of the way, silently checking him over.

"Yeah... he's... well he's dead." Double stared with an impressed expression towards Cress. He had done it, beyond all odds - though it seemed it had taken a good deal out of him in the process.

"If you could go down ahead of us and stow away the Dark Stone it would be a great help. I don't think any of us really need to have it leach any more out of us than the day already has."

"Right." Button nodded before charging on ahead. They had made it. They had actually made it! Victory was bitter in this instance, but even through that bitterness, there was a hint of sweetness. A victory against the Empire! It was the first on a long road ahead, but it would not be the last. That would be something Double would make sure of.

Side D - Chapter 7: Terrors and Tears

I slowly woke up, blinking away the sleep from my eyes. I couldn't recall falling asleep, come to think of it there was a lot I seemed to be missing. Looking around, I found myself in a room I didn't recognize immediately. Glancing around it seemed to be just a regular room I could find in half a dozen homes in every town across Equestria. The set up was distinctly that of a guest room, with noncommittal arrangement of less than personal decorations. It had a vanity dresser that had seen better days in one corner, a small off-white desk with a second hand makeup mirror sitting on it, and the walls were plastered with wallpaper that gave the aura of never having been replaced. The tiny ships, seagulls, and lighthouses gave the feeling that if I were to go back to the beginning of time when Equestria was a sea of magma, I could stumble upon this room and find the exact same wallpaper plastered on its walls.

Shifting up from the bed, I looked around a bit more. Nothing really seemed out of or in place in this nebulous room. It just seemed to be a set of items just sitting about the room, never truly having been placed exactly, but more having just been set here on there way to someplace else. The room felt... odd. Standing up from the bed, which gave an awful screech as I left it, I took a few steps towards the door. The door, much to my surprise, opened on its own, but no pony walked in to the room.

Slowly a shadow moved across the far wall, tracing across the tacky wall paper in slow, deliberate movements. Taking a step back, I toppled into a chair, freezing in confusion as ropes flung themselves around me, tying me to the chair without a magical field around them or any other sign of how they moved around me. Coming to a stop as they gave one final tightening, I found myself tilting backwards faster than I should've. My head was engulfed in water as I came splashing down. I thrashed about for a few seconds, feeling the world slip away from me as I struggled, unable to breathe.

Just as I felt myself reaching the edge of unconsciousness, I was pulled forcefully back up, the world whipping around me in a blur as I tried to reorient myself. Looking to where I'd see what was grabbing me, I saw nothing - the room was completely empty. No... no the room wasn't empty, the world was empty. I felt myself pulled forward into another unseen tub of water. I tried to struggle, but my arms were stilled pinned to my sides.

Once more as I almost fell away, I was pulled up, my blurry eyes darting about as my burning lungs took what fleeting breaths in that they could. Suddenly I was thrown to the ground. I heaved several times, my body falling to pieces as I tried to reorient myself in the dark void that was my life now. I suddenly realized my arms and the rest of me was free, and took the moment to turn about for a possible glimpse at my attacker.

In the dark void, silver teeth curled into a menacing smile while a vague glint off of the eyes of this thing bore down on me. I struggled away, trying to increase the distance between me and whatever it was that hounded me, but it simply stooped down, grabbing me by the collar, bringing it's Cheshire smile ever closer to me, before turning me about and thrusting me into another pool of water. Even as I thrashed about, I heard its voice, clear despite the water that I felt myself drowning in.

"This can all end." It said in what felt both a soothing and terrifyingly menacing tone. "Just give back what you took from us and I can let you be. You can go back to your little life and not have to worry about the eyes in the dark." I was thrown out of the water, giving me an unexpected moment of rest that was made that bit less restful as I opened my eyes and saw more and more eyes opening in the darkness of the void. "Give it back and this can be all over..."

I blinked a few times, my breathing ragged, my body sore, my mind racing. What was happening? I tried to get up, to fight away the sensations, but almost as soon as they had appeared, the eyes blinked closed and left me. Slowly, the face I couldn't see turned away, hiding that horrid smile and those piercing eyes, but even as it left, those eyes - those eyes that gleamed with malice and an unrelenting enjoyment of my pain - gave me one final wink, and then... I was alone.

I sat there, breathing frantically. What had just happened? As I stayed still, curled up in a little ball, feeling as small as an ant, I felt two arms wrap around me in a gentle hug, accompanied by two feathery wings. They wrapped around me, giving me their comforting warmth that I eagerly leaned into, crying the tears of all my hurt and fear. All that I had been hiding, all that I had been running from, it all came out in a torrent as I enjoyed the simple embrace. I wasn't Cress, the stallion who was somewhat in control; I was little RouRou, the colt scared of the dark, who hate going to his violin class because his teacher was scary looking. I was that little colt who had to be sent to school with his blanket because otherwise he'd spend the whole day trembling in fear.

Rousing Crescendo... the little colt that showed some promise, but had more fear than anything else - so much so that what little talent he had was hidden away beneath layers and layers of insecurities. The little colt who'd hug his mom for minutes on end when she finally came to pick him up at the end of the day, crying the same tears I cried now. It felt... good - liberating. The warmth of a hug, untainted with anything but motherly affection. How long had it been?

I stayed there, ignoring the wings that wrapped about me like a blanket, focusing on the warm hug the arms gave, the feel of the body behind my own lending me its strength so that I could cry my pain away. It vaguely reminded me of my mother. The mother that had been lost to me. The mother I couldn't ask for comfort from because I had to give it to her. The mare who I could never be fearful in front of - not since the diagnosis. The mother who might now live, but would never truly be the same. I cried tears from the depths of my soul. There were no words, no gentle shushings, just warmth and calm acceptance as waters poured forth from my breaking heart.

I don't know how long I stayed that way, crying in the void, nestled in the warmth of that divine hug. It could've been hours or minutes, but I wasn't going to be the one that sent them away. So much fear that I had hidden, so much pain that I had suffered, so much hurt that I had endured, and all without flinching - because if I flinched, if I showed weakness, there wouldn't be a pony around that I wanted to cry on. I was the rock to cry on. I was the firm face and the gentle arms that would comfort. I was the one who would set the wrongs right for everypony I loved... but what about me?

Who would heal my wounds when I hid them? Who was going to remove that pain when I hid it? No pony. I would stand firm... but now... now I crumbled, if only for a moment. Tears that had built behind a dam of years of repressed anguish, from years where I had to be the pony that wouldn't break, now spilled forth. I had shown Berry and Periwinkle this broken face once, maybe twice, but even then, I had to be strong the next moment. Everypony had their pains, and I wasn't going to take the time to show mine when others had so much that they needed healed. I didn't matter more than them, so I wouldn't let their pain be overshadowed by my own. But that was then... the past... now? Now I just cried.

I trembled, Holding the arms close, even as I faded. I cried out the years of pain, even as the arms seemed to vanish. Slowly... it stopped.

I blinked my eyes open, flicking them about the room. It was a tacky bedroom, different in many ways to the one I had woken up in... a dream? Had it all been a dream? But it felt beyond real, even now. I could feel the pain in my chest from struggling to breathe... and the warmth. The bed as empty except for me, but I could still feel the warmth of that hug. Touching a hand to my cheek, I felt tears like those I had cried what felt like mere moments ago. Looking out the nearby window, I saw the distant horizon lit up in Celestia's sun. I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. A lot of the pain that had been gnawing at me was... lifted. I felt better, even if I didn't know how. It was a new day like all those that had come before... and yet... so much better than all the rest.

Splice 19: Taking Control

The castle was quiet, not a sound echoing out from its inner chambers. The cold walls lay still, and the dead form resting in the cool pool of its own black blood still remained as it had been left. The Emperor surveyed it all calmly from the entrance - draped in a cloak that hid all of his features - looking on the scene with a calculating gaze. Every detail was taken in, every inch inspected, every nick or chip displaying the story of what had happened in their latest failure - a story he learned well. These new foes were most troublesome, and would only become more so if the issue at hand wasn't dealt with swiftly.

The door on the far end of the chamber opened, and his Justiciar walked out slowly, battered and bruised as he limped up to his lord. Taking a knee and bowing his head, the Justiciar payed his obeisance to his Emperor. The Emperor smirked at this display. If ever such a mighty beast could've been brought to heel and made into a lapdog, it was fitting that it was he who had accomplished it.

"I am sorry, my Lord, they bested me and escaped." His servant said in his low, booming voice. "I do not deserve your mercy, but I plead that you show me what I do not deserve and allow me to chase after these bastards." The Emperor huffed, his smirk growing to a self-satisfied smile. A good lapdog indeed.

"There is no need to be so... remorseful." He said, walking around his servant as he stooped down and inspected the fallen form of his homunculus. "The two of you did exactly as I required. I now have far more information on them than I would've previously." His slave turned in surprise, looking upon his lord as he dipped a finger into the open wound, bringing it up with a sheen of black blood.

"B-but... they escaped. I could not capture them as you had ordered!" The Justiciar exclaimed in surprise. He didn't want to sentence himself to damnation, but failure required punishment, that was the truth of the matter.

"Tell me, do you know how they killed our friend here?" The Emperor asked, rubbing his thumb across the black coated finger. "Dark Stone." He replied before his slave could even process the question. "I know you wouldn't know that. There isn't any obvious signs of the stone left to gather." He then pointed at the floor, more specifically a portion of the floor that looked lightly scratched. "A large crate was brought in and has since been removed. The area around the Doctor's wound has undergone premature necrosis, and beyond that." He swiped his black stained finger across his Justiciar's forehead.

His eyes opened as he felt a light tingle, a small leaching of his innate magic. The wound, or possibly just the blood, had flecks of Dark Stone still present. They barely had any power to draw in magic, but just enough that direct contact revealed its presence.

"These ponies may have not known that Dark Stone has a multiplicity of negative effects on homunculi, especially since all homunculi are in the end is magic given flesh, it could've just been an assumptive way to stop the Doctor from using his Melding of the Flesh, or possibly a gamble to ensure that he'd at least be well past fatigued if he happened to win in the end. Either way, it shows us that our prey is at least that smart." The Emperor walked away, pacing around the fallen Doctor.

"Our foes are clever, maybe not the most clever, but they are pugnacious, obstinate, and quick to think on their feet." Casting a glance to his Justiciar. "They also appear to be more than willing to disperse their artifacts, which makes ensuring we end up with all of the pieces a tad more difficult. However I have that issue resolved for the most part." The Emperor then grabbed his cloak and threw it off, revealing his full form, fully bedecked in a plethora of artifacts - from a crown to a jeweled chest piece; a short sword across his back to a fine, silken glove on his hand.

"You... you've assembled them all!?" The Justiciar stammered, and then bowed fully to the floor, raising up his hands, touching his wrists together lightly in submission. "Take mine, I pray you, that your power may be magnified! Let my final act be to raise you all the higher above my fallen state." The Emperor smirked at the display. Truly, his work had shown itself more than effective.

"No... no I don't think I will. You are my Justiciar, and until I have the final pieces I will not claim yours. I have also left Inquisitor Nightshade his artifact for now. Having one who can torment our foes at night while we torment them in the day shall be our grandest power over them."

"Then, my lord, what part shall I play?" This was the beginning of something truly great. And soon, soon it would be the end for all who had opposed him. The artifacts would ensure that.

"Firstly... firstly we shan't be making any more attacks directly on them. It's time to stop playing their little games and time for them to play our games." The Emperor said in his deep, melodic voice. He'd have them begging to be ended shortly enough, and then he had his full victory.

Nightshade sighed as he opened his eyes. It was always a gamble with his artifact. Fortunately he had protocols to follow in the case of being caught in the act by higher powers. He had had to spend the majority of his evening to this point tormenting other ponies and otherwise all across the world just to throw off the nocturnal princess, but it was well worth his security. She hadn't caught him yet, though yet was always the operative word.

Pulling himself off the couch, he stepped up to the windows, pushing two of the blinds apart. Looking around on the still shaded streets of the city, he spent a few tense seconds scanning every angle he could from his perch. The shimmering towers of the castle not a few blocks away were an ever looming threat, but presented him an equal amount of protection as he stepped away from the window.

Moving back to his bed, he sat down and thought about actually sleeping for once, but the thought of what his Emperor would do to him made it more than clear that the only sleep he'd get would be the sleep he leached from others. Grabbing the flower from the empty spot on the bed beside him, he fished out a newspaper from his bed stand's shelf. Reading over a few lines, he found what he needed - a small picture with a small subtitle 'Prince Blueblood (left) shooing off a mare who is thought to be his new mistress. Taking a whiff of his flower, he set both items down and adjusted his position in his bed. He might still have something of a trail leading towards him, he just had to make a few more stops tonight, and then he'd call it quits and move on to having a normal day life.

It was a delicate game that he played, but it was a job his Emperor had entrusted to him. A job that only he could accomplish with any efficiency. He'd hound the dreams of those insolent enough to stand up against his Emperor - THE Emperor. He'd show his loyalty, and then maybe, he'd get to keep what life he had left.

Slowly he drifted into a slumber, fading into a dream not his own, ready to spread a tad more fear tonight. He'd be a plague upon the lands, tormenting the dreams of all. The best part was when he had to run away, because then he'd get to brush against Luna. She was always a treat to see after the terrified faces of the ponies he had so rudely treated. Perhaps he might persuade his Emperor to give him Luna as a gift once they had won. That would be a splendid reimbursement for his faithful years of service. Yes, he'd ask, and even if he was refused, in the very least he'd likely get something. The other Barons and Inquisitors had always flaunted their power and their slaves, even Gunther who had at one point been much like him. Being able to do what he did.. well it didn't present many opportunities to amass a harem.

In the end, he didn't want a harem, just one good pony to fuck. He didn't even need a position of power over the pony he'd fuck, that'd just be a little bit of extra, and if that pony happened to be Luna... well that would just be something that no dream could compare to.

Author's Note

A tad bit of a shorter chapter to help me warm up and to give a peak of what the crew is up against.

Side D - Chapter 8: Drafting Plans

I slowly opened the door and peaked around, trying to figure where I was. Unfortunately I didn't really recognize any of the house, it was all just... unfamiliar. What was worse was that the hallway into which I emerged had no family pictures. What self-respecting hallway in a family house in Equestria didn't have a plethora of family photos plastered across the walls? This one apparently. It didn't help that it happened to have a nice sepia-tone picture of Canterlot, it was honestly just another nugget of confusion on top of a pile of convoluted confusing factors. Maybe the resident was a photographer?

Checking my pockets, I realized I didn't have the recorder. I already knew Double had had the pendant, meaning there was no need to check for that, so in other words I was stripped of any powers I might've had to defend myself with. This was in no way disconcerting, nope, not at all. Moving out of the hall cautiously, I relaxed as I began to hear the voices from further down.

"I think they wanted us free." Twilight's voice said. Well perhaps it was just the sound of the particular voices independent from their content the gave me ease. "If they really wanted us trapped, they would've made sure I didn't have a horn; and yet I got to keep mine, which allowed us to restore our limbs, mitigating any advantage having us without part of our bodies might've given them. The only reason I didn't try to escape with my magic was because they had that one artifact user pulling our strings."

"It does feel weird." Double admitted as he gave it a moment of thought. "Sure we might've won the battle, but that might've been their objective in some way. It might've been a way to make sure they know what they're up against. I doubt they put everything they could've against us unless this 'Empire' is actually just a reading club with five members."

"I highly doubt it is so small all things considered." Twilight said in a pensive tone. "Honestly, I get the feeling that it is far more expansive than we might wish, and yet still small enough that it can be effectively controlled by their 'Emperor'."

"Here's hoping we can actually beat the guy when we meet him. I have a feeling that confrontation won't be a pretty one." By this point I finally turned the corner into the living room. Double turned, hearing my footsteps, and gave me a smirk. "Well look who it is, our little monster slayer!" I gave him a chuckle, scratching the back of my head.

"Despite the fact I'm generally against killing, I can concede that ending the Doctor was a necessity." Twilight said plainly. "That being said, thank you for how hard you fought. You might've died, and that fact alone would've scared most ponies off."

"Hey, no need to thank me, I was just doing my part to make sure you all had the best chance at escape." I deflected, taking a position on the sofa that Double was on. "By the way, whose place are we in?"

"That would be mine." I turned and saw Button entering from the small kitchen area with a nice plate of cookies. "I lived the closest so it was fairly easy to convince everypony to bring you and the rest of the ponies over here."

"We managed to make it over here without anypony noticing thanks to me being able to teleport us over here." Twilight added. "I might've been winded from the casting and recasting of the spell to undo what the Doctor had done to us, but teleporting from the castle to the alley beside Button's house was a fairly trivial matter. Even Rarity, despite her lack of specialist knowledge, might've been able to pull it off if she wasn't still trying to mentally recover."

"I suppose everypony is elsewhere in this house?" I asked, looking over to Button.

"Yup, currently being tended to by my mom. She insisted to put them up in the master bedroom after she got a rather abbreviated description of the events. A VERY abbreviated description. She basically just knows they've been through something abnormally traumatic and need a bit of help and time to rest. Knowing her, she might be trying to figure out how to give each of them a bubble bath. Too bad the master bath isn't the deluxe model she had had her eye on or else she might've managed to only have one round of water poured." Button replied, setting down the cookies.

"Good to hear they are all being taken care of." I said with a nod, grabbing a cookie to chew on as I thought. It was pretty tasty, and nice and warm - if only I had a glass of milk. Considering what I had gone through, drinking some good old calcium juice might be just what I needed. Oddly enough, it was this point that I realized I wasn't in life ending pain or suffering from the various broken bones I was certain I had had. I guess I was just slow on the uptake after that nightmare, the echoes of which still lingered in the corners of my mind.

"So... who healed me?" I asked, looking around the group.

"That was me." Double piped up, producing the recorder and ear piece from his pocket, passing them over to me. "After Twilight got us out of the castle I turned on the recorder and pronounced you healed. Almost pronounced a few ponies husband and wife, but I was just able to restrain my inner shipping tendencies despite the ultimate power I had at my disposal."

"Yeah, I... wait what?" That last bit hit me like a truck, but then he just started laughing. Right, Double... yeah, that was a joke right up his alley. "Anyway..." I looked towards Twilight, gears clicking about in my head as I started to think as hard as I could. "We need to take it to em." I said simply, catching most of the ponies off guard. Well... one and a half - Double being completely unsurprised and Twilight looking only half surprised by my sudden pronouncement.

"Pardon?" Button asked, looking over at me from a rocking chair.

"We've been doing nothing but rolling with the punches the Empire has been throwing at us. Admittedly, we have been doing our best to be as proactive as we might be considering our circumstances; with Twilight investigating the artifact and the rest of us just keeping our eyes open as plans were being worked on, but it's time to actually act." I said with as serious a tone as I could muster. "Up to now we've let the Empire take initiative and catch us off guard. If we intend to actually end it, it's time to take the fight to them. We need to step up to the pitcher's mound and throw some curve balls instead of trying to deal with the ones they throw at us."

"I'm all ears for a good plan to pull one over on the Empire, I just don't see how we can be as proactive as we might like to be. We've got none of the resources that they have against us. They obviously have some sort of intelligence gathering operation going on, and we got only what we've been able to observe." Double pointed out. "So to be blunt, any plan we do make needs to start with a means of gathering intel on our enemy before anything else, otherwise we're marching in blind and risk victory being as inconsistent as a coin toss."

"Fair, but honestly, we do have a decent amount of coincidental intel, not to mention," I tapped the side of my head, "I might still have some surprises from the intelligence I inherited from Brass and Gunther. The problem with most of the information I have locked up in here is that I have to know what I'm trying to recall, otherwise I'm grasping at straws."

"Maybe start with what exact powers they have on us yet." Twilight said, leaning forward. "I doubt we'll get much of anything, but even the slightest bit of forewarning helps us immensely." I nodded slowly.

"Alright, guess I can start there. Do be thinking of other questions while I try and recall. The more questions I can search for answers for, the better." I said. I took a deep breath in, steadying myself, and then closed my eyes. I tried casting my mind back to any knowledge I might have, anything the might be stowed away under innumerable layers of chaff about the random quirks of the lives of the two persons I had information from.

After a few moments of trying to search both new minds at the same time, I instead focused on Brass, hoping the pony who seemed more competent was also the one in charge, or at least who had more authority and perhaps clearance. I dug deep, scrunching my brow in effort as I searched for information on other artifact users, the process of thinking showing itself as hard as trying to remember a song's title when you can only recall half of the chorus' riff.

Just like that song though, something suddenly came to me in a rush, the information hitting me like a train, sending me into something of a trance as I let the memory flow over me.

"And you honestly expect we're going to just hand over something that is essentially a sword to what is basically a toddler?" Brass' voice asked accusatory, staring down a significantly smaller stallion. "You do realize that we first need to trust you aren't out for your own interests - which we haven't in your case - and then we have to vet your particular competencies." I was inside of Brass it seemed, seeing from her eyes, aware of what she was feeling in broad strokes. The memory made a distinct note that I... Brass - hated this stallion. He was a pain, he was short, he was weak, and he was... sexy? Heck?! Stupid memories making me gay!

"I'm just asking if you think if there's a chance I might get the artifact? I heard Baron Lucky Heart got axed and so his old piece is now kind of open for the taking." He asked in his squirrely voice that made Brass, and by extension me, only more angry. It didn't help that she had been friends with said Baron that this stupid, sexy pony was trying to replace. Sure, somepony would have to, but it shouldn't be this pony!

"First off, it's 'Blotted Out'; second off, you are in no way qualified!" Brass desperately wanted him to be qualified. An odd thought, even to Brass, crossed her mind - and so it crossed mine like a chicken meandering across a road - that if he got the artifact he might show her up. He might use it to take advantage of her, make her his occasional cum dumpster. It was one of the Aligned, and that made her particularly weak to its affects. He might have her whenever he wanted if he got it.

"Ok, terminology isn't everything. Axed, blotted out, who cares? All means the same."

"His talisman fired off accidentally when a nearby magical anomaly gave a false trigger signal. He shouldn't have been blotted out! And now you're here asking to take it from his nonexistent corpse!" It was bitter irony that that was how Lucky had gone - especially since he was the one who had initially came up with the idea of the talismans after the last time an artifact had a stroke and died without being able to return their charge. That was a fiasco and a half!

"Yeah, but in the end he's gone and the Ponyville Barony is now open for a new Baron, whether or not he was meant to die or not." Brass hated him for many reasons. One, he was callus, and two, he was sexy when he was callus. Something about his bearing made her desire him, it might have to do with the fact he was a changeling. She just wanted him to drop the formalities long enough to turn her around, force her against a wall and fuck her hard. She wouldn't even yell. She'd act angry, but she'd love it - she knew she would.

"Look, it isn't my choice one way or the other. Now buzz off or I'll try my hardest to ensure that you won't get it."

"That will be unnecessary." A deep booming voice resonated behind her, startling me enough that I broke out of the memory accidentally - either that or I was ejected. It wasn't as if I could exactly tell, but either way, I felt myself slipping away from the memory, falling back into the chair in Button's house.

I blinked a few times, clearing my vision as I processed what I had just gotten hold of. It was odd how the memory felt so alien to me - especially the emotional reactions of Brass - and yet how familiar it all seemed. I cast my mind back to it, but the memory felt hazier for some reason, as if the fact it no longer involved the changeling so intimately made the memory that less vivid. The... Justiciar... he had told us that the artifact was already being given to a new Baron, a griffon Brass had had little interaction with prior to that point. I thought on that for a while, and then tried to press more memories of the changeling. Of all the villains on the Empire's side, he certainly had an ability to be the most sinister even without an artifact. He had powers inherent to all changelings, and that made him a difficulty, not to mention his hole filled appearance made it obvious that he was a nonconverted changeling - all the more dangerous all things considered.

He... eventually did get an artifact it seemed, but Brass slowly lost touch with him, having to attend to more duties shortly thereafter when she received her promotion to Inquisitor. These terms were getting on my nerves, there were far too many for my taste, and even fewer explanations; such as why Brass felt herself more in danger from an 'Aligned' artifact. I dug as deep as I could, but no answers came.

I huffed finally, giving up my search, feeling only a tad more lost. "Nothing. Well... no concrete answers. Either she kept that knowledge to herself, or she never had it to begin with."

"Who kept what knowledge?" I opened my eyes to find the mare in question standing behind Button's chair, wrapping her arms around him from behind. Talk about convenient timing.

"You actually. I was trying to find out more about what artifacts had what power and who had what artifacts." I said, hoping beyond all hope that she might just spill all the beans at once right before me.

"Sorry, never knew that junk unless it was. like, mission criti.... crit... unless it was important to the mission." She replied. I wasn't sure how good of a read I had on exactly how intelligent she actually was, she honestly could be feigning ignorance - not to mention I'd think 'critical' wouldn't be a hard word to come up with.

"So you were only told when you were hunting down somepony?" I confirmed, trying to gauge her responses. She gave a simple nod.

"I can tell you there's an artifact that removes memories. Pretty nasty really. Used on me PLENTY of times. That's how I never remembered who had what artifacts and what they did." She said, looking a bit peeved at the memory. "I barely was told what all Baronies existed. Most Barons only get told who their immediate neighbors are."

"And... you can recall all of this?" I asked stupidly. Obviously she could, but how was more to the point in this case.

"Oh yeah! Before you took a straw to my noggin I didn't want you getting certain pieces of info. Guess old me forgot to keep the reasons for wanting to keep them secret, might've helped me not tell you if she really didn't want me to."

"You... dissociate from your past self?"

"Mhm. Completely different pony back then... or maybe just a tad more up tight. I was a total slut then too, I just didn't want to show it. Got in the way, you know? But you sucked that out of me like a good blowjob too, so really, being able to obey Button here is more liberating than anything!" She said in a chipper tone. I was having a harder and harder time reading her.

"Right... so, lacking the reasons to hold this back, why didn't you just tell us. Wait, let me guess, we never asked?" I ventured. She gave me a dopey smile and a nod.

"Yup!" She was far too chipper for this. "I didn't know you wanted to know so I didn't let you know until you let me know you wanted to know what I know; you know?" I facepalmed. I really needed to get in the habit of running questions by this and basically any other pony before I went and fried my brain trying to dig up the answers to life's questions.

"Alright... why are 'aligned' artifacts more dangerous to you?" She paused at that one for a bit, looking at the ceiling as she tried to recall.

"Well... my chalice was an aligned, so if somepony else had an aligned they could nail me, just like they could nail any other pony with an aligned." She explained, only creating new and fascinating questions to my roster of asks.

"So... aligned artifacts can affect each other?"

"Oh yeah, aligned are the only ones that can. They can touch up all over other aligned artifacts if they fire first, but can't poke the unaligned. Unaligned can affect each other, but not the aligned. Oh! Also, aligned are nine times out of ten stronger that unaligned. Unaligned artifacts are like swords while the aligned are more like cannons!" I wasn't sure how I felt about that analogy, but it did paint an effective picture.

"Is... is my artifact aligned?" I asked, the question burning a hole in me. I was dying to know I might have some 'in' against the Emperor.

"I mean, as far as we could tell, yeah. I never was told what artifact you had, but we guessed it was aligned since you couldn't affect Silver when you met and he couldn't affect you, meaning you two are on opposite lines of the divide. We know his is unaligned, but that doesn't necessarily mean yours is aligned. Just means it isn't unaligned." She explained. "Could just be different. Or maybe it just wasn't strong enough, or you were too hyper specific with your commands and so didn't catch Silver in your net. I dunno." She truly was sending mixed signals. 'Critical' was certainly less complex a word than the combo of 'hyper specific'. I didn't like it.

"And you were using an aligned artifact?"

"Yep, same with Gunther. Kinda why we have some pretty over powered shit. I mean, time stopping and brain drain? Pretty tough to beat those!" She scoffed, I just raised an eyebrow, an absentminded hand on the recorder. "But yeah, you got some good stuff now since... like, ninety-five percent or so of the artifacts are unaligned."

"Alright..." I thought on that for a bit. That did give me some opportunities. I just had to be careful. So long as I could not get caught in the reach of one of these aligned, I'd be safe. I could be fairly certain too that the puppeteer, whoever he or she was, likely had an unaligned artifact seeing as they didn't make me dance over to hand off the recorder. That would've been substantially easier for them I was sure.

"Well, time to start setting up some plans." I said with a sigh. "We might not have all the info we might want, but I'd say we got enough for now, at least enough to start something of a plan on." This was going to be interesting, that much was for sure.

Splice 20: In Home Care

Cream Heart gently set another warmed blanket across the fidgeting Fluttershy's shoulders. It wasn't that Fluttershy needed it, the odd thing was that she was, of all the ponies, the one actually doing the best at least on a sight level. No, it was because of the pony Fluttershy was hugging at that moment needed it, but Fluttershy's all encompassing hug made it that much harder to actually access the pony. It was odd, Cream didn't recognize the mare, but then again, there were a lot of mares she didn't recognize. She'd just have to introduce herself when she was able.

Looking around the room, she found herself feeling uncharacteristically antsy about the situation. So many ponies were in need of help, and true, some extra ponies were doing their best to help her help them, but there were far to few ponies to help and far too many needing help.

It was a desperate scenario, and not one she felt entirely capable to handle. Suddenly she was broken from her thoughts when she heard a light tapping at the window. Looking over, she saw yet another creature in need of help. A little birdie, a type she didn't recognize, sat perched on the window sill, tapping sadly in the rain. The bleeding heart she was, Cream rushed over and cracked open the window.

Button had said something about bad ponies and other creatures and not to let anyone she didn't know inside the house, but this wasn't anything she could work herself into scrutinizing. It was a little bird, the most harm it would do would necessitate a wet washcloth and a few minutes scrubbing away, that or maybe breaking out the carpet cleaner. Either way, it was a small bird and not something she could bring herself to find suspicion in.

The poor little thing hopped inside, fluffed out its feathers comically, and shook a tad, a few droplets of water flicking off of its meager frame. It sat there, just on the other side of the window preening itself. One more guest satisfied. Cream shut the window, not caring for the draft or any bits of rain that might fly in through, and set back to working on helping the other ponies.

"Alright, the next batch of warm towels should be ready by now... maybe I could start running a bath for some of these ponies..." She muttered to herself as she rushed into the bathroom, opening the latch on the small cupboard that warmed her towels. True it only could do two or three, and only if she used the slightly cheaper towels, but two or three every few minutes was pretty good. Rushing back into her bedroom, she consoled the ponies once more, rubbing their backs while replacing their cold towels with a new warm one. She was running this comforting operation at as high efficiency as she could manage.

Rushing back to the bathroom, she quickly folded the cold towels and placed them in the warming cupboard before moving back to check on the dryer where several blankets tumbled. Hopefully they'd be marginally warm enough to be passed out by now, otherwise there'd be a definite shortage. She stopped, looking at herself in the mirror and sighed. She was a frazzled mess. Her mane was in disarray and she looked like she'd ran a marathon; and she had thought today might've been a good day to relax!

Rushing back inside the room, avoiding the variety of ponies around her, she smiled, hearing the bird chirping away a pleasant tune. It wasn't a tune she had heard a bird chirp before, cementing her unfamiliarity with it. Perhaps it was one of Fluttershy's chorister birds? Cream had never payed much attention to the particular birds in Fluttershy's choir, more often than not just happy to listen to them sing their beautiful songs. This certainly qualified as one.

Exiting the bedroom, she moved into the small washing space, and opening the drier, she sighed in relief, the blankets were warm to the touch. As she pulled them out and set them on top of the machine, something hit her. An idea that hadn't struck her before for some reason. Maybe it was something in the rhythm of the drier, or the sweet song of the bird, but it seemed so reasonable now. So... obvious.

She reentered her room and quickly passed out the blankets, silently ushering the ponies that needed comforting to one side of the room while feeding a few choice whispers to her helpers. It was such a good idea. She thought to ask Button if he and Brass might want to help, but standing in the doorway of her room that let out to the hall that led to the living room, she could hear voices talking rather fervently. She didn't feel like interrupting, so she just closed her door, moving back inside her room. Her body was filled with an electric tingle of anticipation. She felt alive! She could help these ponies!

"Alright, everypony, I have an idea of something that might cheer you up!" She looked to Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and Applejack, her helpers. It was disappointing that Fluttershy had to continue hugging the mare Cream didn't recognize, but it didn't really matter. She had snuck some whispers to each of the three around her to help them understand what she was thinking, but only starting out the plan would truly help them understand what she was thinking.

She started slowly, swaying her hips, catching the eyes of everypony in the room. It felt so good! Her hands glided on their own, leaving electric tingles of pleasure as they trailed up her waist, barely lifting her shirt as they trailed up to her heavy breasts, giving each mound a quick circle and then squeeze. Slowly swaying and gyrating her hips, her breaths became more heated - weighed down with the pleasure she was feeling at helping these ponies. Flicking her hair, she looked at the other ponies and saw Applejack, who was currently doing what looked like a slow motion bucking-bronco - except she was grinding one hand against her jeans. Pinkie and Rainbow, meanwhile, were giving each other slow kisses, parting with loud pops each time as she bobbed their heads back and forth, breaking and joining the kisses repeatedly - occasional flicks of the tongue seen between their lips sending shocks through the system.

Cream redoubled her efforts, not to be outdone by a younger mare like she had once before. She squeezed her breasts together, giving a breathy moan, before sliding one down her stomach, slipping it through past her jeans and panties. Removing her hand, she looked it over, looking at the erotic glistening of her fingers in the room's light. The beating of her heart in her ears gave her a rhythm to follow, and a vague musical quality somewhere in the room gave her direction to follow. She lapped at her finger, gyrating her hips as she moaned in unexaggerated pleasure with each lick.

She could see him in her mind's eye, her once husband, sitting with the other ponies, his eyes tracing every inch of her body. She shuddered under his power, giving a winning moan. She could almost hear his voice giving an order, giving her direction. Making her submit.

"This is a strip tease, right? So get to the stripping." Another shudder of pleasure rushed through her. AN ORDER. How long had see waited for one? She had had to be the one giving them as the mother in the family, but it wasn't as if she wouldn't have preferred to have received them. Slowly the mental image shifted, her true perversions taking hold as she ran her hands down to her belly, teasing the hem of her shirt. The stallion shifted, no longer her old husband, the handsome rogue, but instead now her son. Her sweet Button! Oh how she had lusted to hear him order her like she heard him order Brass! She could only hope that the mare was a sufficient gateway drug into ordering mares and that she was next on the ordering queue.

"Strip, Mom - or should I say, slut." The Button in her mind said in a tone he had reserved for Brass. It wasn't unkind, but it was so ENTICING. So sexy, so authoritative, so domineering. She LOVED it!

Cream couldn't hold her herself back any longer, and threw off her shirt with little teasing, showing off her red bra. She had been ordered, she would obey. She bit her lower lip, gripping her jeans, unbuttoning it with a kinky pop. Then she slowly unzipped it, giving a view of her red panties. She moaned heavily and deeply. Feeling the absolute depravity of what she was doing, and loving it. She looped her fingers into the unused belt loops and slowly shimmied them down, turning around to present her ass as she did. Bending lower and lower, she slowly worked her jeans down until they slid off the curve of her ass. With another moan, lighter than before, she stepped away from her jeans before turning back around, gyrating her hips while rubbing her breasts through her bra.

She smiled at the figment of her imagination, loving how it looked over every inch of her. She pressed her boobies together, giving another slutty moan as she did. Her hands slid lower of her bra, trailing across her sides as she continued to moved her hips like she rode an invisible cock - her son's cock. She moaned, looping her thumbs around the waist band of her panties, inching them a tad bit down, showing nothing but the pathway further down.

The front of her panties had a well defined wet spot on them, one she was well aware of, even as she slowly pulled her panties lower and lower, relishing in her side of the experience. She had received very few strip teases in her time. Her husband had ordered her to get one when she had had her twenty-fifth birthday. It was so embarrassing, but beyond that, so hot. One of the perks of being a mare afforded her was that when she entered a strip club and ordered a strip tease, the other mare went the full way like her husband had wanted for her for only a few bits more than the usual. The electric pleasure that pulsed through her and the exhilaration of watching the mare going at it was wonderful, but Cream had to admit, the wave after wave of intense arousal that coursed through her body like a second blood as she gave a strip tease was better in unaccountable ways. She loved it!

Pulling her panties away, she threw the soaked garment at where her son's image was, and though it flew through the image, she could see him looking at it, giving it a testing sniff. He'd stuff it away in his pocket and Cream would be one pair of panties short for as long as he wanted. She moaned at the thought.

She turned around, bending to show off her ass as she adjusted the straps on her bra, setting her tits free. She held an arm across her girls, swinging the bra around like a perverted sling as she slowly turned to face her watchers. She set it free, letting a cup hit Rarity and the young stallion beside her. A Stallion. She had almost forgotten - well she had forgotten - that this wasn't just with girls alone. She felt something touch her shoulder, and then a thin string of music wrapped its way through her ear before it encircled her mind. A STALLION! Her hips bucked outwards at the thought, as if drawn to him by some instinctual need. She was a mare, and he was a stallion - if she could solve one plus one, she could solve this problem.

Sashaying her hips as she walked over towards the young stallion, she gripped his chin in her forefinger and thumbs, raising it to look at her. She then leaned forward and bent over and planted a wet kiss on his mouth. Pulling away with a pop she smirked at him, sashaying her way across the room. Passing by Pinkie and Rainbow who were scissoring enthusiastically and Applejack who was slowly crawling towards Rarity with a hungry look, Cream planted her hands against the wall and bent over, moving her ass sensually towards the stallion with a look of pure desire across her features.

The stallion crawled up slowly, having gotten naked at some point. Reaching the mare, still on all fours, he nuzzled into sopping wet pussy, sending electric thrills through Cream. She'd have these ponies comforted one way or another - even if she had to ride and be ridden a dozen times throughout the night!

Author's Note

Nearly forgot to press the publish button!

Side D - Chapter 9: A New Experience

"And that's our plan?" Double asked, looking over the papers with a raised eyebrow. "I'm not complaining, but it certainly seems... well, I don't want to call it slipshod but..."

"It's a tad rough around the edges." I admitted, looking it over. "The main problem is, as you've said, we lack a good amount of intelligence on them. Heck, we're guessing they're still at Twilight's castle. If they aren't there we have to work on figuring our where they actually are. There are also the problems of knowing what powers they have at their disposal. It could be they got some convoluted power system that grants them nigh to limitless power if they pull off a complicated ritual or a series of smaller powers that just need a quick thought to activate."

"Knowing the Emperor," Brass started, "which I honestly can't say I do very well - the guy loved his shaded corners and imposing hoods - but knowing him as much as I do, he's gonna have a combination of complicated and simplistic powers." She looked at each of us, fixing us with a serious stare. "He's been around for a long while, the Empire started somewhere around fifty years ago with a major power restructuring around twenty years ago. If it is still the same Emperor, which is likely since little has changed in administrative policy, he's gotta at least be in his sixties if not later. He's had time to figure out these artifacts, in fact he's the one that passes them out.

"Considering that, and considering the fact he teaches each of us in the specific artifact's use, he likely has had a good bit of time to figure out how to synergize them more effectively than anypony could imagine." Adding 'synergize' to my list of reasons to doubt Brass. "We're not up against amateurs, this is the big leagues. We're going in against a true pro, somebody who might not be a spring chicken, but certainly makes up for it in his ability to use his artifacts in ways we couldn't imagine."

"Is he as perverted as the seeming majority of his barons?" Twilight asked with a playful smirk. "If so, we just need to line up you, Berry, maybe Periwinkle, and a few more exhibitionists, ask you all to get topless, and then give the Emperor a heart attack from the sudden change in blood pressure." It was... certainly a humorous image, despite the whole 'cause an old geezer to lose by making him have a freaking heart attack' part.

"As splendid as that might be as far as simplicity's sake might carry you - that hold line of thought is underscored with a huge 'Unknown'." Brass returned. "I never once saw him with a mare or stallion around his cock - if the old fogey can even still get it up - not to mention he never was susceptible to those barons who tried to use their particular wiles on him. He might just have no interest in sex and the like, but I wouldn't be surprised if he had something of a perverted bone in him. My initiation into the Empire was fairly... intense."

"H-how so?" I said, surprised at how cautious I felt towards broaching that subject. It didn't have that particular memory in my collection, not even Gunther's version, but I had enough memories that made allusions towards it that I had a vague shadow of unexplained dread towards it.

"Well..." Brass halted for a second, gathering her courage before she continued on. "You had to prove to the Emperor and the Empire at large you had faith that the artifacts, applied correctly, held more power than anything else in this land - except of course for the Emperor himself. Several ponies a year would do death defying stunts to try and prove their faith. A lot of one off stunt acts are actually ponies wanting in to the Empire - though others are just ponies trying something fun - not every juggling tightrope walker is a slave to the Empire.

Anyway, you don't get to choose what you do. It's part of what proves you trust the artifacts. You have to allow yourself into whatever scenario they want for you; you either submit to the test of faith or get outright rejected and have all memories tied to the Empire removed from your skull." She shuddered at that, a few of the memories she was likely missing flashing up in my head at that point. A variety of ponies all having an essence of memory forcibly extracted from their heads each showed up in my mind's eye in response to her words. "I... well... my test was administered by somepony apparently very perverted.

"I don't know who they were, they always take that much to make sure you can't go seeking grudges, but whoever they were looked at me and had one thing for me to do to prove that I was fully able to place faith that if I should fall, the artifacts would catch me. That's really all these tests were: glorified trust falls. My orders were simple, and yet... well... I get a feeling that a lot of ponies in the Empire have good reason to be massive perverts if they had an inch of what I had, if for no other reason than sticking it to their old handlers... a continuation of a destructive cycle.

"I was told to strip... and then to walk outside the Emperor's compound... at noon. The street was bustling, filled with ponies who... who didn't even notice. But I noticed. The worst part was... I had to walk all the way from the Emperor's compound all the way to the outskirts of the city... and get used. No pony knew I was naked, or knew what I was doing... but each time somepony bumped into me or stopped me, I'd turn my ass towards them... and they'd fuck me. Sometimes I'd get a dick, other times I'd get eaten out, but each time I was right there... in the middle of the street, and I had to trust the artifact wouldn't fail... because if the veil lifted a small tad, I'd be fucked far worse than I would get from any of the stallions along the way.

"My... my trial didn't exactly end at the outskirts either... The outskirts were just where the particular train station my handler wanted me at was. Arriving at the station, my handler ordered me on. The second phase was that I had to service everypony in the train... regardless of who they were. I..." The dams broke, and at that moment, Brass - the confident military pony broke into tears. Judging by the fact she had managed to become an Inquisitor, I could only assume each pony on that train left feeling a type of good they weren't able to explain because of the artifact's influence.

"I..." She struggled after a few moment in tears, despite Button's soft protests against her self imposed torture. "I made it off the train... I felt spent, filthy, horrid, and worst of all... no pony payed me any mind. I almost wished they hadn't acted as if I was just tidying up their carriage when they got blown or eaten out. Even a few sneaky looks would've made it somewhat better... a tad more natural.

"Once... once we arrived at the train's destination, I... I was directed by my handler towards the town square, still covered in all the spunk I couldn't drink. He led me to the stocks, and I knew what came next." She shuddered once more. "Locked in, everypony then saw me as naked as I was... and they all wanted me. It was like getting a 'Want It, Need It' spell cast on me. Everypony flocked around me and used me... my tits, my ass, my pussy, my mouth... one even tried his luck on my ear." She stopped, and for a moment I wasn't sure if she'd stop there. She already looked spent, horrendously so, but instead she just took a breath and moved on. "By that evening, I was release from the stocks and then led back on the train.

"I fully expected to have my handler order me to tend to all the ponies on it once more, but this time... this time he had me go inside a carriage and wait. So I did... and then... then my parents walked in." We all stared at her, mouths agape in disbelieving shock. This... this was beyond the pale. Whoever this handler of hers had been certainly had wanted to be thorough; but adding on the fact that she faced her own parents?! That was just... that was somehow a line none of us had expected to be crossed. "They... they didn't notice either. They chatted like everything was fine and normal... and then my handler walked in. I was afraid he might let them notice, might let them see me... their own daughter covered only in spunk. In the end, he didn't even let them see that he was there. He... he then ordered me..."

"That's enough, Brass, no more." Button said, wrapping his arms around her, pulling her into his chair with a gigantic hug. "No more... just... let it die... let that past die and move past it - no more."

"Bu-" Brass tried, only to be cut off with a passionate kiss from Button. He was reminding me a lot of Raven for several reasons. He truly cared for his slave, enough to stop her self destructive story. I didn't really want to know what depraved act her old handler had planned for her when her parents had joined her, but simply sitting it the cart with their spunked up daughter was enough pain, but certainly not enough for them. They really did want to test if you believed the artifacts were strong enough to keep you safe.

Something she might not have picked up on from her own story, though, that I was more than fully aware of, was the amount of power this one pony was displaying. Even if it was a multiplicity of ponies that had coordinated the use of their artifacts to one end... I could only imagine how much power was behind them. I... I did happen to have a roughly equivalent amount of power at my disposal in all honesty, at least so it appeared. I was more than a little concerned that one wrong order might cause the entire set up to come crashing down, but I wasn't about to not help. We were in big trouble, that much was for sure, and I didn't like it, not one bit.

Bringing my attention back to the two lovebirds, their kiss had progressed to light groping, rubbing, stroking, and barely restrained throaty moans. It was cute seeing them get along, I had to admit. I barely noticed a thin whisper from somewhere down the hall, almost like a song, though it was likely just in my head. I did, however, easily noticed at this point that I was getting a boner from watching these two go at it as fervently as they did. Maybe cute was the wrong word then.

I leaned back in my chair, pulled down my zipper, and fished out my already hard dick, giving it a few good pumps as I watched. Looking over to Double, he sat their, watching happily as he rubbed at his dick through his pants. I smiled, it was good to see everyone so happy.

"Oh my!" Twilight's voice brought me out of my thoughts as I looked to her. She was looking at her fingers which glistened in the light of the room. The source of the glistening was likely the same that made her panties - now visible with the sundering of her skirt - a tad bit darker towards the front end. She looked up, coincidentally looking at me, at which point our eyes met. Something of a bolt of electricity shot between us - a shared moment of inexplicable lust gripping us somewhere deeper than the heart as we were pulled together.

Twilight was the first to move, rising from her chair to ungracefully take a few steps only to sink to her knees in front of the sofa, liking her lips in a primal hunger. I adjusted my position on the couch, giving her full access, my own hunger gripping my senses as everything we did suddenly made a lot more sense to me. It was so much easier just to fuck, suck, and be sucked. It was... simple.

The Princess of Friendship lowered her head, pulling back her hair, as her lips formed a whorish circle around my dick. Her technique was slow and methodical, taking deliberate efforts to tease me in all the right spots as she worked lower and lower with each bob of the head. I gave a low groan, feeling splendid as she made it abundantly clear she wanted to sate my lust and her thirst in one go.

Lower and lower she went, leaving me to do nothing but bask in pleasure as her tongue swirled around my shaft. Each lick immensely pleasurable, each slow movement punctuated by a swift one - each giving to the whole experience like an ensemble granting their own beauty to an erotic orchestra. I grabbed her horn, uncertain what exactly what I was doing would even have an effect, as I began to slide my fingers across its ridged surface. Her eyes, which had been staring at me, rolled back and flutter in a half-lidded expression of bliss at a new sensation.

One of her hands moved lower, cradling my balls, treating them with all the kindness in the world, while the sounds of schlicking told me where the other had gotten off to. It was bliss, the feeling of her mouth on my cock, her hand on my balls, and even beyond that, the feeling of my hand on her horn as it moved gently back and forth across its length. Well, I aimed for 'gently', but Twilight's ministrations on me made my efforts more of a collection of sporadic movements with a vague semblance of rhythm.

I looked down at her, bringing my eyes back from their pleasured wandering across the ceiling just in time to watch as Twilight drew back, only to lower herself like a bolt of lightning, deep throating me all in one instant, my dick's head prodding past into her throat proper as her tongue swirled around and around, touching up my sack with its darting motions. In the throws of my pleasure, I threw my head back, giving a groan while my hand, still latched onto her horn, simultaneously kept her down while my thumb and forefinger swirled around the rounded tip. The feeling of her own moan around my dick drove me only to new heights as we both basked for a second before continuing. Just because we were enjoying ourselves didn't mean we had to do it quickly.

Twilight raised her head back finally, but only just enough that I was no longer in her throat, at which point she took a deep breath through her nose, drawing in my musk, eliciting another moan of pleasure from her before she dove back down, pressing her nose against my crotch as she swirled her tongue around and around, licking every inch of my dick. In a moment of pure genius, or possibly reckless abandon, her hand lifted slightly, and she sucked in both of my balls into her mouth. I gave a grunt of appreciation, returning in kind by trying something a tad more complex, doing my best to imitate her tongue technique with my fingers, though I felt I was failing.

For several seconds she stayed down, licking both my balls and my dick, savoring both the taste and the lingering scent she had just drawn in. Finally she returned for air, lifting her head up slightly, at which point something that should've been obvious earlier, though I had missed somewhere in the fog of our shared lust and passion. Her head bobbing now slower, but all the more pleasurable, up and down my shaft made it so the part of her I stroked was a good few inches higher than my dick. I was a red blooded, self respecting stallion - you bet I had tried to suck my own dick - I had a cast at one point to show for it got. Now there was a phallic appendage attached to a mare that was a good few inches higher than my own forbidden prize.

I released Twilight's horn from my grasp, gaining a whine from her, only to have that replaced with a surprised grunt as I did my best gymnast impression, and bent forward, finding it actually decently easy to take her horn in my mouth. I swirled my tongue around it's point, and then, using my blowjob experiences, I slowly lowered my head while she raised hers from my crotch, letting my tongue explore all the delightful hills and valleys in her horn. I didn't exactly get anything of a taste - nothing truly distinct at least - but the pleasure from my own dick and balls getting sucked certainly helped ingrain in my brain how good this felt.

Giving a throaty moan, I tried to up my ante, Reaching out my hands as I lowered my head, and in a moment of luck, I found what I was searching for, guided by the hands of the very pony I was trying to stimulate. My fingers found her breasts uncovered, raised helpfully by her now unoccupied hands, her shirt bunched up around her neck. I pinched and lightly twisted her nipples, gaining another groan around my dick, but this time I felt it. I was close.

Focusing my efforts, I took a few extra moment to catch my breath, and then dove down, pressing Twilight into my crotch as I did. I did my best and managed not to hurl as my gag reflex was tested as I deep throated the FUCKING MAGICAL PRINCESS OF FRIENDSHIP AND BLOWJOBS' CELESTIA BLESSED HORN. She swirled her tongue and I swirled mine, both of us fighting to bring the other over the brink. My hands against found her breasts and tweaked the nipples, sending her over the edge - though with her last screaming moan into my crotch, my limit was reached.

We both screamed our pleasure into the other pony, riding our shared orgasm as I pumped my load into Twilight, both of us flying happily over our edges of pleasure. Suddenly, I felt something almost cold and gooey flowing into my mouth. I didn't dare draw back, doing my best to meet Twilight at her level of commitment as she swallowed spurt after spurt of my cum. I wasn't practiced at all, so a lot of it dribbled out, feeling tingly all the way down, both inside and out.

Eventually our orgasms ended, and we slumped our separate ways, taking deep breaths in after such an intense experience. Blinking a few times, I wiped a hand across my cheek, looking at the purple, sparkling goo that adorned the back of my hand with interest. I gave it a lick in curiosity, most of the rest of it having escaped out of my mouth or down my throat. It... didn't taste at all. It was almost disappointing.

Looking to Twilight, I smiled. I was glad we were sufficiently past our drama that we could bond like this. Looking up, I watched as Button pounded into Brass' rear, filling the room with the grunts and screams of their ecstasy. When they had moved away from kisses and groping, I didn't know, but by the look of things they were nearing the end of round two. Not everypony wanted to savor each individual orgasm apparently - then again multiple weren't bad by any stretch either. It was a good night, I had to admit.

Side D - Chapter 10: A Push in A Direction

I ran around another corner, my breath ragged when I did managed to take it in. Glancing behind myself, I saw it once more - the hulking mass of the entity that pursued me - and dove into a faltering run even as it gained more on me. The air stung in my lungs, my limbs flailing through it like it was thick molasses. I was slow, far too slow, and yet just fast enough that it was always gaining, yet never catching. My eyes flooded in fogging tears as I pushed through the effort. Pain and more pain were my only rewards - a bitter shot to take with a tracer of only my drowning fear as I continued my endeavors.

Suddenly a burst of light above me caught my eye. A wondrous sight in my hellscape, but ripped from me as my pursuer ripped me back, clutching my shoulder in a firm hand, whirling me about to face it. I blinked. No mass. No shadow. Blue with black hair. Eyes. Such hate-filled eyes.

I shot up in the bed, heaving breaths as I processed my flurry thoughts, only to find the veil of dream obscuring the memory I knew was just beyond it. I wiped my brow of its perspiration and took a few calming breaths. I had never had such a vivid, and yet elusive, night terror. I knew I was fearful, I knew it was primally justified, and yet the object of my fear was gone from me.

Looking beside me, my heart lurched to a stop. I was not the sole occupant in the bed I slept in - whose bed I didn't even know yet - but was indeed very much in the presence of somepony. I felt like a drunkard who had an evening that they couldn't account for and a mare in the bed he couldn't recall taking. Well... that wasn't entirely true. I very well could account for last evening in vivid detail. I could recall all too easily what I had done, what had been done to me, what I had watched. It was... well, I had morning wood like any stallion, but the memory amplified the morning wood to morning titanium. This... this was certainly not good.

In the end, I just sighed. I had been right after all. The Empire had moved first and showed a bit more of its hand. To what end, I couldn't tell quite yet, but a move had been made. Standing up from the bed, I walked over to the curtained window, grabbing my boxers from the chair where they had somehow landed as I did so. Slipping them on quickly, I peaked out the window and froze.

The streets were full of ponies. That in itself was not too entirely surprising, it was only a tad bit before noon so ponies would be about, but all of them were unilaterally undressed and most sprawled across the streets unceremoniously. Some were alone, asleep in a puddle of their own splooge; others were paired off with another and in a joint puddle; whilst others still had a few more than two. Some were, much like myself, awake, red-faced, and/or running.

The... the whole town had had an orgy... in the open? The Empire had certainly played its hand and had played it hard. They had made the town dance into post-coital unconsciousness at their whim. It wasn't a targeted strike in that only we were taken in the feverish orgy, but a display of exactly what the Empire could do, would do. No pony was safe, no pony able to resist. My heart sank another inch at the immensity of our foe becoming that much more evident.

Looking down to the front door, I gasped, and rushed out of the room. Through the short hallway into the living room where several ponies lay in their own after-fuck rests, I opened the front door and quickly grabbed the wrists of the two ponies that lay at our steps. Twin entangled forms in sleep, likely having been caught just outside on their way to us as the town-wide fucking had commenced.

I closed the door behind me and let out a breath before rushing off to search the cupboards for glasses. Finding them I quickly set about pouring water, knowing full well everypony would need it. I looked up from my task, looking over the two forms of Applebloom and Sweetie Belle on the floor, wondering how far their clothes might be from them at this point. I didn't know why they were here, but it didn't truly matter as no matter what they were under my care. I had an outstanding offer of them becoming my sexy slaves, and they were related to what I considered my tentative friends.

"Town wide orgy? Not even I've been able to arrange one of those!" Pinkie shouted as I passed her her glass of water, having found her and the rest of the others not in the living room in the master bedroom in much the state we had been. "Did everypony have a good time? Are they expecting breakfast? Any after care ca-"

"Pinkie," I said, popping a squat in front of her, not even once looking at her massive gazongas, I'll have you know, "everypony was under mind control. This wasn't a spontaneous party, it was an attack. Everpony needs after care in their own way, but we have a situation right here, right now, and I need you to not make it worse for them with nonsensical and possibly hurtful disregard."

Somehow that made Pinkie quiet down, if only temporarily. Suddenly I was no longer in the master bedroom in a squat in front of the pink mare, but instead inside of the closet with the pink mare, both of us standing at our full height. Looking at her, she had a very serious look in her eyes that had a vague beam of light across them.

"Look, Buster, I am the premeir pink party pony of Ponyville. It is my job to make pony bust out laughing. I know ponies are hurting and I know they need help, but if I stop helping them they keep hurting. Cool your jets, busterooni, and let me be me and help everypony in my own way, capiche?" I was stunned at this, only to then find myself once again squatting in front of her in the bedroom.

"Okie dokie!" She chirped, downing her cup of water in one gulp before bouncing off to see to the others.

What...

"Cresh!" Double called from the door, breaking me from my long pause at what the frick I had just experienced. Looking over to him as I rose from my squat, I nodded in acknowledgement, having expected him to call for me once he was part way sorted through all that had happened. "Talk for a second?" He asked. I gave a short nod, following him out of the master and into the guest room. Closing the door behind me, I stood expectantly as he faced away from me, his composure obviously on the brink. I had rarely seen him like this, but it was certainly not something I was inexperienced with. I stood silently, letting him arrange himself, knowing that in time he'd be able to voice the tumult in his head in a semi-coherent manner.

"Alright... alright..." Double said in a low tone to himself, his bearing starting to come together. "Okay, we expected this... we expected this. Well, not THIS this, but something approximating this." I raised an eyebrow, having gotten past my own version of this stage a short while ago whilst everypony was still under. It was quite odd to see it from the outside, I had to say. "Alright... so..."

"Wide sweeping power able to snatch everypony's free will out from under them." I provided. "Likely a more general application artifact based on the fact it wasn't used to get us to turn over artifacts. We can also say its on the same side of the Aligned Divide as my artifact since it affected me, or maybe not even on the divide, if it does exist."

"True true...." Double murmured, pacing back and forth. "As far as public plan is concerned we're on track for where we need to go."

"Minor intel gathered by inference complete. We now know one more of their powers, though it doesn't help us as much against the dozen or more powers left unknown to us." I said, plopping down on the bed. "Hey, Dubs, its alright... I mean, between the two of us, I can be the one fearing for my life for last night, you at least didn't plow any fields."

"Yeah yeah... I just... I came close and that scared me. I don't like it, not an inch." He said, continuing to pace back and forth for a short moment before stopping dead in his tracks as realization set in. "Fear for your life?" He asked, cocking an eyebrow at me. I gave a shake of my head and a sigh.

"Yeah... turns out I fucked royalty in the raw last night." I said in a fairly nonchalant tone. "So yeah, if not for magical influence, I'd likely be on a spit by now for what I did to Twilight."

"Oh..." He slumped slightly, but regained his usual disposition fairly quickly. "Well, I suppose that is a... small comfort? Heck if I know." He said, slamming down onto the bed beside me. "Any hint that our target is wise to us?" He asked in a whisper.

"No read on the target as of yet." I replied, eyeing the door for any sign of prying ears. "Our plan stands so far, though perhaps time tables are shifting a tad." I said finally. "Good call during the planning meeting by the way." I smirked, casting my mind back to our planning session in which simultaneously, unbeknownst to the others, two plans were hatched. One vocal, one through subtle signals between Double Time and myself. Our hopes were founded in misdirection a this point. We could only hope our plans were as well-hidden as we thought.

The sight lines on our window were pretty good across the town. The single story aspect of the house the only reason it wasn't ideal. True, there was an attic, but it didn't have a window. Looking around, Ponyville was essentially abandoned as much as the streets could tell. No pony came out to clean up the clothes... or cum. No wonder really, as fear likely was rife as to whether merely being outside might cause a reappearance of the frenzied impulses that drove ponies, strangers and friends alike, into the most intimate of bonds without either party considering that not doing it was an option.

The oddest piece to the puzzle was the absence of the trains. Usually at least a few would've stopped by the lazy station by the time the sun got to its current place above the western horizon. Ponyville was alone, or worst yet, was not isolated in its forced indulgence. The horrifying thought crossed my mind a few times - the vision of every town and city in Equestria and beyond taking part in an unannounced orgy without understanding why the next morning.

To be fair, there was no evidence for that thought, but there was no evidence readily available for why we weren't seeing trains or carts or anything from other parts of Equestria visit us. If this had been any other day it might've been passed off as a slow day, which I heard did happen from time to time. Today, though, it was an eerie lack of activity that only set the mind into a fitful dance of possibilities.

Leaving the window, I turned back to the ponies in the living room. All of us were clothed, finally, after a brief scavenger hunt. Though Applebloom and Sweetie Belle were admittedly both in borrowed clothes from Button's mom. They didn't really fit the two, but the two fillies really didn't have a choice in the matter if they wished to be clothed - and if this was to work they had to be.

"Everypony ready?" I asked, adjusting my shirt slightly, the unusual tightness caused by the hidden plan making me uncomfortable. I got a plethora of answers in a varying range of enthusiasm, very heartening indeed. "Alright, stick to your parts and this should go off without a hitch... few hitches. Just remember the general purpose of your parts and adjust as needed to the response of the enemy."

"Let's do this." Rainbow said, steely determination in her voice, not at all filled with the energetic exuberance from her previous calls to action or denunciations of lack of action. This was purpose set like stone in a pony that had been through one too many things she would've wished to avoid and was now setting themselves like a flint to the cause with nigh emotionless conviction. The sentiment wasn't solitary in the room by any measure. The rest Elements seemed by and large quite ready to end this, Twilight and Pinkie alone seemed detached from that emotion, though only slightly. For Twilight's part, she was simply in a sort of silent, contemplative trance. She had a lot on her mind and gave out little of her attention to me - enough to get her by it would seem, nothing more. Pinkie... well, she made up for any lack of energy.

My mares and the doppelgangers on the other hand, with the lack of experience that had doubtlessly tempered the Elements, were champing at the bit to go, though Raven was fighting back a blush as hard as possible as she stood at the ready. Thyme and Double were both about the same wavelength it seemed, austere expressions belying what emotions were indisputably broiling beneath the surface level. The orgy had taken a toll beyond physical for them, extra measure for the two so committed to each other. The sooner this was all over, the better for them.

Button was antsy as ever, though he seemed a lot better, Brass beside him lending a sort of strength to him by her laid-back state, an apparent serenity of a fully devoted slave confident in her master's orders and her ability to execute them. Mrs. Cream Heart, now fully taken into these plans of ours, seemed much like her son, though her jitters were less withheld by a slave mare, but from some well within herself that I couldn't quite place the source of.

"Alright, let's get to it then." I said, moving over, opening the front door for everypony. One by one they exited, moving to take a position in front of the building. Finally, Raven approached, the last pony to leave. She paused, looking me in the eyes. She gave me a quiet smile that spoke of pain we all seemed to share, and then stepped out of the door. I took a deep breath, my nerves barely held at bay as I finally took my own plunge.

Closing the door behind me, I stepped up to my position, an odd memory flashing before my eyes as I looked off towards the castle that once had been fully Twilight's. A set of eyes boring down upon me filled with an anger deep and endless. Black hair on blue. I blinked, remembering my dream somewhat. Whatever it was my mind in its own hazy way might be trying to tell me, it would have to work on its communication skills before I payed it much more attention. I had a job ahead of me that needed doing. I wasn't about to let a dream take me away and jeopardize it all.

Now was the time to take action against this Empire. It was time to make history worth playing back one day.

Splice 21: Diplomacy

Author's Note

Remember how I said I wrote and rewrote the chapter about three times in that one update? We can now up that number to somewhere in the neighborhood of seven... yup, rewrote it some more after making that blog post. Frik me, ey? Thought I had it sorted but then I was like

So yeah, the whole 'I didn't know I was going this direction' I said doesn't quite apply as much as it might have. At least in this chapter. To be fair, I've had my opinions reshaped by bingeing the story all over again - essentially making me go: 'oh yeah, the original plan was basically what I want, frik the new plan. Just got tidy up over here and here...'

I've had basically what amounts to the opposite of writer's block recently... so yeah. Y'all get to suffer the wrath of my creative juices.

Splice 21: Diplomacy

"Once again, there's the matter of the Dragon Lands. The volcano is becoming all the more active, and though this poses no immediate danger to them - as is well established at this point - its eruption could be cataclysmic for every sentient race, eventually trailing back to them in the fullness of time." The diplomat pony said, reading off a paper before her. "Other nations have dispatched diplomatic ministers to try reasoning with their Dragon Lord - or any other dragons that might have sway - and so far it has been to little effect. Any updates from our diplomatic dispatch to them, your Highness?"

"Yes, actually." Celestia said in her motherly tone, levitating a scroll over to the pony. "Spike sent this letter to me just before the meeting. As you'll see, we have some good news to share with the world as the Dragon Lord Ember has decided to heed our words - or more specifically Spike's - and has taken actions towards the mitigation of the danger." The assembled mass of diplomats all nodded, some giving a short bout of applause at the news.

"It is to be understood," Luna said, from her place beside her sister, "that the dragons, despite certain rumors, are wholly unable to prevent an eruption - a fact we all bore in mind during these proceedings." The faces of those before her gave a mixture of responses, ranging from those who felt that was obvious to those who jotted down the news. "They are, however, due to their innate magical resistance to the immense heat, our best hope towards the lessening of damage to us all."

"Indeed." Celestia confirmed, looking over the assembly. "Equestria is gladdened by their willingness to help in this matter, and shall, as always, provide all assistance we are able - including financial backing for the draconic efforts in this matter. An attaché of the EUP Engineer Corps will be dispatched as well to assist in any way they are able."

Luna nodded to this, looking over the diplomats, doing her best to ignore the flashes from the press segment of the room. These special court days were the worst. Not only were they asked to solve new problems, but they also had to give account on the old problems. True, the whole dragon volcano situation was dire news and had only just begun to be solved, but even so it felt absolutely inane that they had to go over everything like this.

"With that, the day's business is tended to." Celestia said. Luna put her all into not letting an exasperated sigh out as the whole thing finally came to a close. "Thank you all for coming. Do enjoy the rest of your time in the palace. My sister and I shall be out to talk in the lounge in fifteen minutes for any questions you might have." There was that, but it was far better than the sitting on the throne for four hours listening to trifles she had already known about being publicly solved. The 'modern' world was a headache, and Luna couldn't wait to return to simply tending the nighttime again.

The two sisters retired for a short breather as the press snapped pictures of their descent from the dais to the side room. As soon as the door closed, Luna threw herself ungracefully onto a beanbag chair, letting out a low groan. If only she had the ability to silence all concerns with a bout of the RCV, but that had fallen out of fashion at some point. Celestia's motherly side no doubt to blame.

"Today was quite trying, I'll admit." Celestia said, taking a sip from a cup of tea - where she had gotten it beyond Luna's realm of care. "Though then again, it certainly beats when we had the Buffalo Concern."

"I do not suppose that there would be any way that I might be excused from the proceedings?" Luna asked, looking over at her sister who still seemed the absolute pinnacle of reserved calm. The older mare just gave her a smile and a shake of the head. "I thought not."

"I'd hate to think what the press would write if you were not out there with me. They're quite voracious." Celestia was right of course. Luna sighed, shaking her head as she closed her eyes.

"The fourth estate is just a pack of wolves the learned to read and write..." Luna muttered as she popped her neck. She needed as massage, something to release the stress that was building up, but that would take far more than the fifteen minutes Celestia had allotted for them to decompress before heading right back out into the fray.

"You think this is bad?" A voice asked from the room. The body it belonged to became apparent as one of the ferns turned around, Discord's displeased mug blooming out like a sunflower. "I've been stuck here without a whiff of good chaos!" The flower wilted, his face sagging into old age as it did, a deep frown forming on his features. "I had to skip tea time with Fluttershy because of this and I haven't even gotten anything in return beyond not disappointing her."

"We're very thankful that you have followed our wishes." Celestia said, her tone ever calm and collected. "Trust me, these past few days where you've shown the ponies of Canterlot exactly how helpful a tad bit of controlled chaos can be has been much for the better. When you go back to Ponyville tomorrow, you'll be going back not as the uncertain menace but as a creature that all can trust as much as any other pony."

"So going from not at all trusted to trusted at arms length. Splendid" Discord huffed, popping out of the flower form, simply floating in a lounging position, his mismatched three piece suit acting as if it was submerged under water as it floundered about his levitating form. "Honestly, Sunny, I'm doing this for Fluttershy. You better send your student a print of some positive press so she can show her friends. I deserve FULL marks."

"Indeed you do, Discord." Celestia said like a teacher confirming a student had earned a gold star. "I'll be sure to send Princess Twilight the first newspaper that speaks fondly of your time here in the capitol."

"Good." Discord huffed, poofing out of existence momentarily. Luna didn't even look up when the flash of his reappearance sparkled through the room, not even when it was accompanied with a distinct increase of weight in her posterior. Celestia simply raised an eyebrow at the draconequus as he sat on Luna's butt, his legs crossed.

"You ever think we should have retired when we had a chance?" Luna asked, looking over to Celestia. Celestia stifled a chuckle, setting down her cup.

"Yes, though I do feel that that time is still something that will happen for us." She said, finally taking a seat on a wicker chair. Even the mundane chair seemed to ascend into a throne when the sun princess sat down. "Matters of state need to be relatively calm before I think we can truly leave our posts. I want Twilight to have as smooth of a transition into office as possible."

"You expect them to stop inventing problems for us, sister?" Luna asked, cocking an eyebrow. "I would have thought you had enough experience with these ponies to know their problems are never ending."

"I mean to not leave Twilight with the volcano on the brink of causing international catastrophe. The minor day to day issues are something she can deal with with ease, I have no doubt. I rather not thrust her into a position where she has to solve a crisis that I've left for her. Give her at least a day to not worry about international diplomacy in the very least." Celestia explained. Luna sighed, knowing full well neither of them were getting younger. Alicorns showed aging the slowest of all races outwardly, but it certainly did not mean the joints weren't as youthful as they once were. Bodies wore down, even celestial ones. Every star, no matter how long they last, eventually blink out of the night sky.

A knock echoed out from one of the doors leading into the room, the pattern used that of a guard. Luna groaned as she pushed herself up, Discord getting catapulted comically away, bouncing around the walls like a pinball before disappearing into a vase.

"You may enter." Celestia said, ever gracious. The door opened, admitting a guard who quickly closed it behind him. Giving a short bow to the sisters, he presented a scroll to them.

"Emergency dispatch from Ponyville, your Majesty." He said with as much calm in his voice as could be managed. Celestia raised an eyebrow and lit her horn, taking the scroll in her magic. "Apparently an... unprecedented disturbance has taken the streets. We have ponies en route to look into it, but the regional commander has said there may be necessity of your direct intervention. We don't know exactly what we're looking at."

"A townwide orgy..." Celestia mused, the words sounding odd in her voice. She looked at the guard pony with mingled concern and growing dismissal, though the latter bit was something only Luna could've picked up on. Some times even the most skilled readers of ponies couldn't best the powers of siblings.

"It's a tad more involved than just mass public indecency, your Majesties." The guard said plainly. "As detailed in the report the guards took part."

"Guards are ponies." Luna pointed out. "Lust is the main constant between all races."

"They reported that once awakening the next day they found themselves with a clarity concerning the events." The guard pressed on despite the words of his diarch. "It was beyond the simple postcoital regrets. The ponies reported that in the lead up to the event and during the event, the ponies did not see their actions as any different than talking. The concept of the... taboo of public sexual intercourse - disregarding the topic of its clear illegality - was simply not something they could comprehend, as if the idea of the taboo was removed from them until they woke up the next morning."

Luna's eyebrow raised at this. The march of time had not deprived her of her... biological urges. She still very much was... well, a biologically functioning mare in all respects as far as could be ascertained with most medical tests. This news was interesting to her to be sure. She bet that Celestia probably had no such reaction. Her image as the pure princess was one she wouldn't let get tarnished, no matter how much she might've wanted it for her own sake.

"We believe," the guard went on, "Though evidence is currently a tad scant, that a memetic or magical hazard has struck the town. We are looking into it as best as we are possible."

"And the fact that we are by-and-large, a tad bit beyond the means of most natural phenomena means our special touch might be needed." Celestia provided. The guard nodded. "Has this been kept out of the public ear?"

"Yes, Ma'am, the report falls under the Public Secrets Act of Nine Hundred and Seven. The commander made sure that it was immediately sealed. The only trains going in and out of Ponyville for the foreseeable future will be our official vehicles. Transit has been diverted on rail, and coach companies have been given their alibies. Ponies can still walk of course, and those with Arcano-Wagons are still able to transit to and from Ponyville, but the from traffic is essentially nonexistent so far. Most ponies seem to have found their forgotten shame and have hidden themselves away inside for the moment."

"What do you think, sister? Are we making arrangements for a... rapid diplomatic response team?" Luna asked with a minor smirk, failing to hide that much.

"I think the letter from Spike that we just received is most certain worrying and that we should attend to it posthaste." Celestia confirmed, looking to the guard. "Relay that to the ponies in the lounge. We are leaving immediately and shan't be as available for the meet and greet as we had thought initially."

"As you wish." The guard said, giving another bow before walking out the chamber.

"Thank ME! We get to avoid them this time!" Celestia laughed. Luna couldn't help a chuckle at her sister. "Let's get ready quickly before they get a chance to try and peg us down." Luna nodded, quickly teleporting away to her room. A good old fashioned 'Ponyville Problem' was just the distraction she needed.

Side D - Chapter 11: An Ending, A Beginning

We marched out into the streets of Ponyville, the Castle in our sights. We had little else in our minds besides the end of it all. Finally we were coming to the end we so desperately wanted. We'd end the Emperor and the world would be able to go on. We'd find solace in knowing no pony would have to have the opportunity to thank us besides those who the Empire had enslaved. Keeping everypony out of the loop... it was for the best.

The tension was high as we moved with confidence, sure that a trap was just around the corner for us. We could only hope that they weren't aware of our trap for them. Their overconfidence would be their own undoing, if all went according to the loose assemblage of a plan that we had. We could only hope. Hope and march.

The streets were quiet, so quiet that you could almost feel a gruff old stallion rasp out a hoarse 'too quiet'. It was eerie. The town was dead, or more appropriately in hiding. I could only hope it was from waking up to the shameful display. Otherwise... I really didn't want to think about it. There was a lot I didn't want to think about to be fair.

The Castle was a menacing structure when viewed from the perspective of somepony trying to conquer it out from somepony, or someone, else. We had hoped our last venture was the final one, but now... now it was different. At that point we hoped for something of surprise. That was... well if the Emperor was surprised it would be his fault 'cause we honestly weren't doing much to be hidden.

I grabbed the doors, looking back at the other ponies, who each gave me a nod. Taking a breath as I returned my focus to the doors, I threw them open, expecting a horde of minions, or maybe the Emperor flanked by a few elite soldiers. Heck, I was even down for a little filly in her nightgown with her hair drooped over her face. BRING ON THE PSYCOLOGICAL WARFARE!

Instead we got an empty hallway that had a a carpet rolled out, leading toward a flight of stairs. The path was flanked by candles that cast an eerie glow across the scene.

"Well..." I coughed, "Seems we're expected." I noted, looking over the entrance, making sure there was no obvious evil laughter or ominous organ music echoing from somewhere in the castle. This was both something I entirely could've expected, and yet also just far away enough from most assumptions that I was a tad off balance.

Hall after hall passed as we followed the carpet, the path leading us ever onwards. Finally we came to what was to be our destination. Either that or the door the carpet ended at was just being unsporting about the whole affair. Opening the door I fully expected a white hall and dining table that led to a black clad figure who'd deflect a laser and ask us to join him for dinner. I almost wasn't disappointed.

The table was there, the food was there, and even the ominous figure was there. I guess it was my fault that I didn't have a laser thrower to complete the scene, though I did think really hard about shooting a laser with mind powers. Unfortunately, I had no latent abilities that remained untapped.

"Welcome." The ominous figure boomed from his side of the hall. "Please, take a seat. There is much to discuss." We all stood there, disappointed by the lack of lightning flashes from the window behind him. Anything besides the blue skies would've done really. In the end, we did as he asked, thoroughly disarmed by it all.

"Am I guessing right that you are the Emperor I have heard so much about?" I asked, taking a seat beside Raven. The figure, bedecked in full regalia smirked from their convenient shadowy seat. I had to guess there was some sort of magical effect he was putting up because the rest of the room besides him was perfectly well lit - especially wit the big window behind him.

"You do guess correctly." He said, swiveling his head towards me. "And you must be the ever persistent Crescendo I've heard so much about." He lowered his hood, the shadow dissipating as he did, revealing an old face. "At last we meet."

"Can we skip to the part where you try and convince me to hand over the artifact or do we have to wind our way through small talk first?" I asked, already fed up with his theatrical arse. He chuckled at that.

"I suppose that could be arranged." He said in a patient voice, one well tried by insolent idiots like myself. "My underlings have done little to help my case, I fear. Their ambitions and sense of... entitlement. They were their own worst enemies."

"Yes yes yes. They put a bad foot forward but you'd like to sweep that under the rug with a few smiles and a handshake. You'd love if we could get along and if I could hand over the artifact that your... I'm gonna say twelve times great grandpa made. You'd also consider having me on staff, though now you're reconsidering that pretty heftily." I said with as much impetuousness as I could muster. He might've met my ilk before, but I was going to be the grandest of the annoyances. The cherry AND the chocolate sauce on top.

"I see you've made some deductions in your down time." He said flatly. "And to respond, yes, the artifacts in question were created by my great ancestor. History saw fit to try and bereave my line of these masterpieces of his handiwork."

"Sweetness. So you are ol' Žlezie Rake's kiddo... by a gulf of generations." I said, noting the Emperor's small twitching. I was getting to him, his nerves were teased, his jimmies were not one hundred percent unrusteled, and I was having the time of it.

"Fine, I'll be frank. I want you to hand over your artifact peacefully. Last night was a demonstration that I can make this happen one way or another, but I want you to do so willingly so that I don't have to worry about you and your lot coming back around to try and steal it back." The Emperor stood from his chair, revealing his lower centaur half.

"I will have it from you, but your consent makes it that much better in the long run. In short, I want a peace deal. A complete cessation of hostilities between us and our people. In exchange, I want all the artifacts you have. I'll let you keep your slaves and shan't touch you or them. I'll even be so gracious as to allow you to not have any of your commands undone, I'll even allow a few more slaves to be added to the roster before you hand it over if you so choose, seeing as after this you won't be able to make more."

The Emperor, lowered his upper body so that his hands were planted on the table. "This is the best offer you can hope for. I might be persuaded into some other concessions, though they would be minor. You keep the slaves you have, maybe a few more, all you've said to the recorder stays, and I leave all of you alone. Myself, my followers, and any level of subfollowers below them will not touch or affect the lives of you, your slaves, your family, their families, friends, or loved-ones. All I want are the artifacts from you."

I paused at this. It WAS a good deal, even to my eyes. I fully expected him to just say 'Gimme' and that would be it. Instead I got him offering actual terms. Beyond that, he was even offering mutually beneficial terms.

"Question on that: could the terms of the treaty be ratified in the Straight Record?" I asked, testing how far he was willing to push it. "Not to say I don't trust your word on the matter, but... you know, the Straight Record is as good as anything for making the final treaty in such a way that neither of us could break the trust."

"If you hadn't suggested it, I would've." He said plainly, calming down from where I had had him. He was good at this. Then again, he did run an Empire, however shoddily. "We can bury the hatchet and let bygones be bygones. I'd have the final piece of my inheritance from my forefathers and you'd have all the mares - and stallions should you wish - you could ever want. Maybe even more." This was something. The most something of a something that ever I had planted my eyeballs on.

"You know..." I said, leaning back with a reminiscing sort of tone, "If that had been your opening play, I might've just handed over the artifact. Heck... If you had found me just after finding it I might've done it for less." I admitted, thinking back on those opening moments of this convoluted chapter of my life. My gaze hardened, fixing the Emperor with an icy glare. "But this isn't then."

I leaned forward, minorly closing the distance the table gave us, "I've gone through enough heartache and trauma to make those peace terms seem laughable. I've also seen my friends and I gain far more ground than you seem willing to concede. Those are the type of terms I might've agreed to after first running into Silver and Gunther. But this isn't then.

"I've taken down Gunther and Silver, I've got Brass over there," I pointed a thumb at the mare, "I even ended the homunculus. I've suffered trauma after trauma. I got split in two, and after that freed a whole mess of slaves. I drove you to a dark place in your Empire's history - so says the resident speaker on Empire history.

"Last time you had this much catastrophe, according to her, you had to majorly restructure the Empire. Am I wrong?" I pressed, but he didn't budge. "What I'm saying is that your position may not be as tenable as you might think. Your power base is lessened and-" Suddenly Peri let out a yelp.

My head whipped around to the sound. Peri, wide-eyed, stepped onto the table, moving fluidly, though her expression seemed less than enthused. In fact I'd say she looked downright terrified. I quickly saw why. She held a knife. The blade was pointed at her heart, her hands trembled. On instinct I reached to the cassette player in my jacket.

"Please, do try and stop her." The Emperor said dismissively, one of his hands acting as if a puppet was suspended by strings from his fingers. "Let's see... put her to sleep and her mind no longer resists and the knife digs in. Make the knife dull and it only makes the process longer and so much more painful. Have you ever tried to cut a tree down with a plastic knife? You can do it, but it takes forever. I bet if the tree could scream it would. And this tree..." The knife steadily grew closer to her chest, gaining a yelp from her.

"Now, you were saying something about me being in an untenable position? I think you were about to demand better terms." He gave a wry grin. He was trying to play us like a fiddle. Unfortunately for him, I knew how to play a fiddle. Heck, my parents made sure I could at least play violin, and this punk wasn't a maestro.

"Put her down." I said with as much menace in my voice as I could. He raised an eyebrow at that, twitching his hand slightly, causing her arm to jerk closer to its target.

"What? You think there's something you can give me in return for it? Please do place a bargaining chip down so that I have an excuse to give you even fewer concessions." He continued to smirk, playing with Peri's life. That would go poorly for him. "I'm willing to let you have the terms we discussed. I may change my mind soon, so please do act quickly, the offer is likely to expire, much the same as this mare."

"What artifacts do we have?" I asked, a smirk of my own playing across my features. He regarded me with some new found curiosity, his hand temporarily relaxing a tad bit, Peri's body doing the same. "It's a simple question to answer. And one that-" The world shifted slightly, and suddenly Periwinkle was without her knife - the entire table cleared of all sharpened implements in the blink of an eye, "I think you'll find gives us certain advantages." Periwinkle, realizing she was free, quickly moved back into her seat, Berry laying a hand on her for some measure of comfort.

"Interesting," The Emperor began, looking me over as he began to flex the gloved hand once more, "but you-" Suddenly he paused, his form finding itself no longer bedecked in ornamentation, even clothing suddenly finding itself gone from his form. "Very well..." His voice had an edge to it. "I see that you are willing to use all tactical options at your disposal to let yourself get a good deal in these negotiations. How quaint."

"You are partially right." I said, leaning back in my chair. "We are willing to use all the options available to us." The Emperor crossed his arms over his bear chest, raising a bemused eyebrow at me. "The point you've failed to assimilate is that this," I continued, gesturing to the room indistinctly, "is not negotiations."

"How so, Rousing Crescendo?" He said, as if he hadn't already said my name to me. Names had power, but not as much as he seemed to be thinking. Actions had power. Those and artifacts. I had both, and he was steadily running out of way for him to exert his own form of either.

"Negotiations," I smirked, "entail give and take. You know, what you lead with when we came in here... before you got yourself a case of the disappearing artifacts." I leaned forward in my chair. "What you're in right now might be called negotiations by some, but I doubt nations in history that left the table of negotiations felt very well served when the terms were 'full annexation'."

"What he's saying is that we're issuing demands, not requests." Double emphasized, his voice a steady rock of confidence bereft of my snideness. The Emperor gave a huff at this, shaking his head.

"Odd how you think what you've done has improved your chances." He said, his grin growing slightly. "You think that you're the only ones that are willing to use all the tactical options available to you?" An icy chill ran down my spine as I tried to read his hand. I had a flush, but he could still pull something.

"What do you have in your favor to sway us?" I asked simply, showing as little change in my disposition as possible. Confidence was key, I just had to hold out for my stars to align.

"Your royals are on the way this moment." He said with an air of such certainty that it felt... wrong. I raised an eyebrow at him, taking his words in and mulling them over.

"Pardon me if I don't quite see how that's in your favor." Double said, though I think we both had a grasp on why it might be. The Emperor simply turned towards the grand window behind him, looking out over Ponyville like a predator over its prey.

"I wasn't wielding all the artifacts. Several are still out there and ready to be used. My Justiciar for one." He looked over his shoulder. "The one who made you dance on strings like puppets as you proclaimed MY glory." His teeth flashed in something between a snarl and a smile. He turned his attention back to the window, looking out of it towards the sun as it climbed ever higher in the sky.

"They will arrive here in Ponyville. Of course they will wish to meet with their fellow Princess." His confidence was getting on my nerves, and his point was becoming clear. "They will arrive. Just in time too." His grin, reflected in the glass, grew all that more pleased with his devious plan as it unfurled before us. "They'll then grant me their blessing to rule over Equestria in their stead. My Empire will be a legal polity, not just an assemblage of those I grant power to. No longer confined to shadows, but walking in the light."

I looked to Double's chair, noting it as already empty before returning my gaze to the centaur that still stood at the window. "You think we didn't have a plan for something like that?" I asked, getting a definite reaction from the Emperor. "You act as if we haven't been planning to ensure you don't even have to be deposed in the first place, your Lowliness." He huffed at that.

"You think any of your stratagems could hope to stop this? Not even the Fixed Dial can let your pony find m-" His pronouncement was cut short by Double appearing with a pair of bracers dangling from a cord.

"These ones?" He asked to the question he hadn't been gone long enough to let be asked. Looking him over I could tell he was in a state, but he was doing admirably considering the circumstances. The Emperor narrowed his eyes at Double Time. "Now, I know what you're thinking: 'How in Tartarus did this pony just get these bracers from the guy who was all the way on the other side of Ponyville?' I'll answer that question with another question. Why the heck did you think we'd not try and counteract your string of shenanigans?"

The Emperor had been right about the Fixed Dial not having the ability to get all those ponies and whatever else he had. Of course he had had enough minions and Ponyville itself was large enough that just stopping time wouldn't have given us much benefit in the search for them all. However combining it with Button's artifact and his ability to spot the odd ones out was greatly improved.

"Interesting." The Emperor managed. "I'm glad you've had this much initiative, but even so... I have more resources than just my Justiciar at my disposal."

"Oh shoot, forgot these!" Double said, hoisting a large rucksack onto the table. Unzipping it he removed a lead box that held another box... well, to be short, the final box held a collection of Dark Stones and Dark Stone tipped weaponry. "Yeah, the trip was a bit of a long one for me, but then again a lot of them didn't realize they were near one another I'd guess. That's the problem with having ponies picking their own spots without communicating. Same problem with hide and seek to be fair." The Emperor snorted to this.

"So... anymore chips to put down before us?" I asked, smirking at our clean sweep. He stared daggers into me, probably wandering if he could activate some residual effect from the artifacts he no longer possessed if he thought hard enough. Or maybe he was just trying to shoot me with laser eyes. "Alright then, how about I cut you the embarrassment of having to ask me and just deliver you the demands I got for you." I brought out a piece of printer paper that had a nice short list of demands.

The Empire will dissolve immediately

The entity formerly known as 'The Emperor' will cease all hostilities against any and all creatures

All of the Emperor's artifacts are to be confiscated and are the immutable property of Rousing Crescendo and those he deems worthy of their possession

The Emperor looked over the treaty, and then back to us, giving us a sneer before taking one of the quills he had at the ready, giving a signature to the paper. I looked it over, raising an eyebrow at the name. Emperor Stone Heart. Apt. Rousing Crescendo almost seemed like a joke written next to it.

"Alright, I'll just record this into the Straight Record and you can be on your way." I grinned as snidely as ever.

"Enjoy this victory." He said darkly. "I think we both realize that this peace... this shall barely be a reprieve from the devastation you will suffer at my hands when the time is right."

"I look forward to seeing you later, Stone Brain." I said, bringing out the recorder from my pocket. "It's been... well, it's been terrible, but I'm glad that we can put this chapter behind us in the very least."

Author's Note

So continues my anti-writer's block!

Splice 22: End of Side D

Stone Heart huffed to himself as he left the castle. Looking over his shoulder, he sneered at the whole affair before moving off towards the town. The ponies were even more grating than he had anticipated. Sure, they had certain powerful artifacts, but he still expected them to be at least a small amount of hesitant, nay reverent, in his presence. As Stone Heart walked down the still barren streets, a pegasus landed smoothly beside him, keeping pace with minimal effort.

"How did it go, Stone Heart?" The pegasus asked conversationally.

"As predicted." He replied simply. The pegasus, not even looking at the centaur, cocked an eyebrow while nodding slowly. "They now hold all of those artifacts as we intended." Stepping into an alleyway, the two mounted into a silent cloud cart that lay hidden. The vehicle hummed to life as they driver activated the mythril driving cores, sending the cart into the sky with a few lever swings.

"We're certain that this is the best way then?" The pegasus asked, leaning back into the plush cloud seats as they shot into the cloud cover above, hiding themselves more than effectively before darting off.

"Don't doubt me, I know what I'm doing." Stone Heart said simply, popping his neck. A fleck of dark green energy arced across his chest before more an more bolts of the arcane energy joined in the procession as they worked across his form, revealing slowly the dark, hole filled form beneath. Her long tendrils of frill-like hair whipped in the rushing air as she looked towards the distant Ponyville below.

"Trust me, if I doubted you you'd long since have heard the last from me, Spinneret." The pegasus muttered, adjusting his position in the cloud cart.

"Oh we both know that's untrue." She said with a sly grin, getting a blush from the stallion. "Either way, now we just have to wait for the bait to get taken. Then we'll reel them in nice and easy." She smirked, the world rushing past. She loved how easy it had been with those ponies. They wanted to win so much that she had been able to let it come about in such a way that they'd have to be brain dead to not slip into it.

"I almost feel bad for the Justiciar." The pegasus muttered absentmindedly. Spinneret looked over to him, raising what would've been her eyebrow at him. "I mean..." He stammered, unnerved by her gaze. "It's just that... you know, he was basically in love with the Emperor and all. Now we're not only leaving him without one, but without even telling him where his Majesty is taking his long nap. The guy's got to be torn up." He offered.

"Silly little Fallstreak," Spinneret cooed, placing a hand on his cheek, "That brute will never be torn up. Won't even get the opportunity." She shifted her hand behind Fallstreak's head, pulling in him for a kiss, her long tongue slithering around his mouth as they closed their eyes, enjoying the electricity of the moment. Pulling apart, Spinneret smirked at him.

"W-why?" Fallstreak asked, blinking a few times as he tried to recover from the energy that Spinneret had taken in the kiss. He loved this feeling, but he realized how inconvenient it really was at times - like now. The feeling had a tendency to break his thoughts like... something that smashed other things easily. He had barely held on to the question, but now that it was out of his system... well. Spinneret brought their foreheads together, still smiling.

"He's gone." She breathed, leaving her pegasus in all the more confusion. "One Justiciar minus his artifact equals a very dead Justiciar." She placed a kiss on Fallstreaks forehead. "Perfectly according to plan, my stupid little pegasus." Fallstreak nodded dumbly, his mind still struggling with the concept of math.

"Can... can we kiss again?" He asked, his brain slowly trying to reassemble, but already spelling its own repeat doom. Spinneret gave an airy laugh before grabbing Fallstreaks head and using it to maneuver him around in the wide trailer of the cloud cart.

"Oh, I'll give you the BEST kiss you've ever had, my little Fallstreak." She said with the most sultry voice that the still stupefied pegasus could recall, not that he could recall many at the moment. Lunging forward, she kissed the stallion ferociously, her tongue exploring every nook and cranny of his mouth. Keeping his head plastered to hers, Spinneret let her right hand slowly drift down, letting the tips of her clawed fingers graze against the pegasus' chest - sending erotic shocks through his system.

With practiced deftness, her claw looped into his zipper, pulling it down slowly as she continued the kiss. The stallion was already quite drained - she could tell - but she knew exactly how much she could take from him and still keep it safe fun. Finally she pulled away from the kiss, her serpentine tongue trailing behind as she did, running around his lips one last time before retreating behind her own teeth

Lowering herself, she deftly pulled away the band of his boxers, letting his erect dick pop out like a perverse jack-in-the-box. Slowly, her tongue slithered forth again, wrapping around the cock while she let the primal lust flow into her. Some changelings might've called this a price to pay; Spinneret considered this one of the benefits.

Careful with her sharp teeth, she took the pegasus' length, letting it slide into her maw - her gag reflex trained into nonexistence. The stallion groaned at the sensation, grabbing the cushioning cloud. Spinneret smiled around the dick in her mouth as she began to bob up and down.

"Be sure to not let a drop out, Spinneret." A mare's voice called out from the driving compartment. "I spent far to long trying to get the stuff out of the clouds back there last time and I am not doing it again." Spinneret rolled her eyes at this. She'd just have to get the mare in a quiet minute. After that there'd be no problem with her cleaning up the cart - even if she had to do it with her tongue. Especially if it were with her tongue.

Spinneret continued her ministrations on the stallion, her form hidden beneath the siding of the trailer as they cut through the skies. She loved this, all of it. These two ponies and her, that's all she needed. It wouldn't be all she used, not by a long shot, but she could manage if necessary.

Fallstreak groaned a throaty moan as his dick engorged. Spinneret smiled inwardly as rope after rope of cum filled her mouth. Its taste wasn't as delightful as the lust and love she took from either one of them, but it certainly was delicious. Raising herself up, she let her lower carapace dissipate in a shower of green sparks, revealing her sex. Hoisting up onto her stallion, she lifted his head to hers - locking lips in a kiss as she let some of his cum slip back into his mouth for him to savor.

Soon she'd have them, soon she'd get what was hers. Until then... well, she had two adoring followers to feed from - one of which was about to give her a good rutting. It was going to be a long flight, and she was going to relish every second.

Side E - Chapter 1: Relief

Author's Note

Warning this chapter contains the following elements that some readers may find distasteful or even disturbing:

Experimental Use of Accents
My Writing Style
Artillery
Senseless Similes and Metaphors
Warnings
Lists

Side E - Chapter 1: Relief

We all laughed. Having seen the Emperor - or just Stone Heart at this point - walk off like that, we couldn't help but laugh. The tension of the moment had been so massive, expecting another rebuttal just after they had signed. Somehow, beyond even what we had expected, we had managed to get through the entire scenario in have better condition than even Gunther had left us in.

"Here," Double said between bouts of that contagious laughter of his, "here we have a case of the final boss being a let down. Frikin' thought we had to contend with something like... I dunno, an actual threat?"

"It's what happens when you have the powers of time on your side." I commented, my own laughter abating as I just let the soothing feeling of victory wash over me. We had won. Beyond all odds, beyond all probabilities, we had won while riding by the seat of our pants. I might've felt cheated of a good challenge, but after feeling what it was like to get a challenge from some of the Empire's compadres, I was more than happy to take it without any back talk.

"Do you think that it's actually over?" Raven asked, catching me slightly off guard. By the look of her she didn't seem to have laughed at all. "It was far too easy."

"Hubris seems to be the reason for that." Twilight noted, dabbing the tears from her eyes as she settled down. "The Emperor was a bit to full of himself. He wasn't exactly prepared for a pony that could stop time despite knowing, or so we could assume, that we had said artifact."

"What if... what if we're missing something." Raven asked, still seeming to be confused. "He might've set a trap for us with that... what if-"

"Raven, darling, don't stress yourself over it." Rarity said with a gentle smile. "He lost because he was blinded by his previous successes. We won, and that is that."

"And now it's time to celebrate!" Pinkie shouted, firing off a cannon in the hall. Instead of shattering crystal, the room was filled with confetti and streamers. "I'm gonna whip up some invitations, we could do it in the Council room! Ooh!" She suddenly disappeared, leaving no trace of herself or her cannon beyond the confetti that still gently drifted down.

"Should... should we be worried about that?" Double asked, looking around. It took me a moment to realize he hadn't been to a Pinkie party. A second later I realized I hadn't technically been to one either. Sure, there was the party I got when I first moved, but that was... well it was something of an unwitting collaboration between the pink party pony and myself.

"Nah, Pinkie's just... well she's just 'erself." Applejack dismissed. "She's unique is all, nuthing dangerous... mosttuh the time." Suddenly, Pinkie zipped back inside, throwing up a mail sack that let loose letters that floated gently down perfectly before each of us in an act of irreverence to conventional logic. Opening the envelope I pulled out the... vanilla scented paper. There was something else beyond vanilla, something initial inspection wasn't naming beyond the fact it was familiar to me.

Reading it over the first time cause me to reread it for a second time, then a third. I blinked a few times, and then looked up to see how the table was doing. The Elements and Starlight all seemed to be some level of pleased with the arrangement on the paper. Button and Brass were both pleased with what they read, though they seemed more pleasantly surprised than the general pleased of the Elements. Cream Heart was... rather unreadable at the moment. My mares were taken by surprise, though Berry and Periwinkle were more excited in their own ways while Raven was seeming to be encountering an error. I could practically see smoke floating out of her ears as she failed to comprehend the letter and its sudden foisting upon her.

Sweetie Belle and Applebloom were... exceptionally close together while reading their invite for two ponies whose relationship was somewhat a secret - then again secrecy was overrated at this point. Sultry Rose and Stellar Afterglow were in the middle of looking between their papers and each other with ever more devious looks - another pair for the pleased camp. Puppershy and Gunther were impassively reading of off Dick Slut's paper, the stallion looking... I believe the term was 'gobsmacked'. Finally my eyes fell on Double and Thyme. They were both exceedingly red. It was almost ridiculous how strong their blushes were at the moment.

"So..." I began, clearing my throat. "Who wants to volunteer to get the pizzas for the orgy?"

"I'm sure she'd be alright if you two decided not to come along." I offered sincerely. Double stood in the threshold of Berry's... my house, Thyme standing behind him, looking equally unsure as her stallion. It made sense, they were basically walking into a trap as far as their V cards were concerned. 'Pinkie Pie invites you to a day of fun, food, and fucking!' A very short, to the point invitation - not to mention that I had since realized the other smell on the letter was the distinct smell of Pinkie's sweet femcum. The implications were on the ever growing list of things I had little interest in understanding.

"I don't want to be a spoil sport." Double said, looking back towards his mare, his face riddled with conflict. "She's going to the trouble of setting the whole thing up on short notice."

"To be fair, it was her idea to make it short notice as opposed to giving us a date in the future." I countered. It was likely set for the very afternoon of the peace talks to make sure that everypony could be in attendance. She wanted everypony in on the action and wanted to happen on a day we needed the party most. It barely gave us all time to go back home - or to the luggage in the case of Thyme and Double - and get into something suitable for the occasion. True, the time was more to grab all of our toys from home than getting a change of clothes, but since some of us wanted to be able to walk home afterwards in clean smelling clothes, we weren't going to say no to the opportunity.

"What do you think, Thyme?" Double said with a sigh, looking to her with an expression that likely communicated his feelings better than he could with words. The mare closed her eyes for a moment, thinking for a good bit before sighing herself.

"I suppose we could go to at least be part of the less... lascivious portion of the festivities." She acquiesced, though I bet if she had said they weren't going that Double would've been alright with that too.

"Does that mean you're alright with watching everypony else getting it on if it comes to it?" I asked even as they walked out of the door towards the Arcano-Wagon. "Just wanna know where the boundaries are. I don't want to step on any toes tonight."

"I mean..." Double began, looking over to Thyme again. "Honestly at this point we've seen a decent portion of the rest of the ponies naked. Some of them were even doing it earlier while we watched."

"I've seen porn." Thyme shrugged. "If they can show me something I haven't already seen... I'll just consider it a learning experience."

"We aren't going to touch anypony, though." Double said, looking towards me, no uncertainty in his voice with this point. He knew where some of the boundaries were.

"I dunno, I'm likely to kiss you at some point." Thyme said offhandedly, catching Double off guard. Maybe not as many boundaries as he thought.

"We'll be sure to keep the fun times away from the some-to-be-weds." I said, ribbing Double. He just shook his head before moving past me, patting me on the shoulder as he did. I watched them mount up in the back of the wagon, a thought striking me. They had said a month from now was the date. I began to wonder, even as I took my seat, how much I should be trying to prepare.

I supposed, as any good stallion would in my case, that they had the vast majority already in their heads. I still had to figure out what kind of present I'd give them. I might also need to get fitted for a suit. I was sure that either Thyme or Double would let me in on the dress style they were aiming for with enough time to act on it. True enough, I could just tell my recorder to give me a suit, but that felt like an abuse at this point. It wasn't like I had a mare whose blood was so rich a drop was more expensive than my entire being. Oh wait...

Sometimes I wished I was a changeling. Being able to think about wearing clothes and then suddenly finding yourself in those clothes would certainly be nice. Of course, I wasn't exactly the most inventive sort of guy, so I was more than likely to be the sort to use the power to be able to roll out of bed and find myself going from nonexistent boxers to nonexistent jeans and t-shirt. Either way, being a changeling did come with its share of downsides. I was sure of it. I just had to find them. Beyond the still present social prejudice of course. That only hit hard if you hid it for years on end and had kids with somepony who you didn't tell. Or so I was told.

The castle hit completely different as we walked through the exact same halls as before. The walls were the same, but now covered in signs for the invited guests. Even as the noonday sun rose ever higher we were already preparing for a bash that many ponies would've reserved for the night - evening at least. It somehow made it feel that much more naughty. As if noonday fucking and nighttime fucking were somehow different beyond the time of day. Kinky day sex certainly was the type of thing that only could happen around our group of friends - or so I told myself. I had little reference for any other group of friends.

"Welcome to the party!" Pinkie bounced into view, bits of her extra bouncy without cloth being involved. "Clothes check is right over there, make sure to put your stuff in your labeled box!" She pointed off to a corner of the room where a familiar shelfing unit sat, a flood of memories from the Sugar Cube Corner bash coming into my mind's eye.

All of my mares and I were taking our stuff off even as we approached the boxes while Thyme and Double explained themselves to Pinkie in as best of a way as they could. Their situation was certainly odd, even I could realize that while having an admittedly rarer, and therefore odder, living arrangement. Taking off my pants and underwear in one go, a thought tickled at the back of my head, waving about frantically, begging for attention as it insisted something had been forgotten. Something that was very important.

One quick inspection later I just shrugged. I had all my parts exposed, all clothing in the right box. I had the recorder on a lanyard that could be taken off with relative ease once we got down and dirty. I even knew for a fact that Twilight had taken the other artifacts and had had them sealed in similar arrangements to what Dark Stone would've been stored in. I hadn't intended to bring snacks or drinks, so I wasn't forgetting those. I had my phone on ring and charging by the clothes check. All my mares were here, so that wasn't it. The check list seemed filled out properly. All that was left for it was to enjoy the nigh-... afternoon of sexy fun.

Walking up to Button I gave him a smile that might have won third place in the county fair. Button returned the gesture with a nod and lifting of his cup. Brass was... present I supposed. A twang of instinct kept me from being entirely comfortable around the mare, but her being naked certainly helped in making sure she wasn't as much of a danger with concealed weapons - this unfortunately also meant I was also essentially disarmed beyond the lanyard with the recorder which she might easily take with a swift motion. Honestly, beyond seeing her handcuffed and with me holding a sword above her, I don't think there was a position she could be in in which she wasn't still a threat. Maybe two swords would do it...

"How are you two doing?" I asked, grabbing drinks for my mares and I, keeping a corner of my eye dedicated to the massive mare. "Gotten up to much fun?"

"Plenty of fun, it's wonderful having her around the house." Button said, a minor blush taking his features, a twitch of his erect dick going completely unnoticed by myself. "Thank you for letting that go through. We're very happy because of it."

"It was for the best, I suppose." I admitted. It was true as far as I was concerned. Having Brass taken care of by somepony that wasn't me was almost a relief in some ways. Sort of like having the comfort knowing that a large dog you almost got is being taken care of by a loving family. You might wish you had certain experiences from owning that dog, but in the end it was for the better somepony else with less on their plate was around to do it instead.

...

Apparently I was more tired than I thought. That simile was beyond the realms of sensibility.

"How are things going with you and your mares?" Button asked, bringing me back to the moment. As if on cue, my mares made me felt like a sentai ranger as various poses were taken up without a second of hesitation. Berry swooned backwards onto my shoulder, resting the arch of her back along my arm and the crown of her floofy mane against my face, straining her eyes all the way up to get a look at me, her infuriatingly sexy smirk painted across her features. Periwinkle hung onto my other shoulder, pressing her boobs against my arm, looking up to me with puppy eyes. Raven, for her part, wrapped herself around one of my legs, looking up at me in a position that put her quite close to a part of me that was showing its appreciation at the sudden attention that was being payed to me.

"About that well." I replied after swallowing hard. Button nodded, his pickle getting into as much of a pickle as mine. It didn't help that Raven and Periwinkle both picked that moment to exacerbate the problem by Raven nestling into my crotch with her head while Periwinkle 'accidentally' grazed my boner with her leg.

"Would you, like, like me to suck you off, Button?" Brass asked in such a way that even more alarm bells rang out. From the 'hyper specific' and 'critical' bit to trying to be a stereoty-

On reflection, trying to have deep thoughts in a room where everypony except two were completely undressed and more than willing to get sexy with most everypone else was not bright. Raven giving my balls a gentle suck and Berry letting her one hand lull onto my dick, fingers touching both sides of it with a slow pumping action, did not help mental activity. Well... that wasn't true. There was plenty of mental activity. A CT scan would've shown plenty of brain activity. It just so happened that few of those areas that were active were areas concerned with higher reasoning or deeper thought processes than 'what's the fastest and sexiest way to rail three mares?'

"Twilight, we're sorry for not giving previous notice to our arrival but we heard about the inci-!" A regal voice began, pausing as its wielder took in the scene before them. "dent..." Slowly turning my head, I took in the sight of... ~~Celestia damned~~ Celestia and Luna. That thought from before threw up its hands in exasperation as it grabbed its little hat and brief case and walked out the door. They stood fully clothed in the entrance to the room where Pinkie had set up the decorations. The moment moved slower than molasses on an iceberg in the arctic. We - the naked many - looked upon them - the clothed few - and they too looked on us all. All of the 'us all'.

We stared. They stared. No pony moved, fearing the first to move would somehow be reduced to a pile of ash in front of the diarchs. We were naked in front of the mothers... well, more like mother and estranged aunt of the entire nation. We were caught with our pants down and our dicks in our hands by a more 'mom' mom than any of us had met. I slowly blinked.

"Back sister! The bewitching is still afoot!" Luna shouted, shoving Celestia back, her horn immediately flaring into a blaze of arcane energy.

...

Frik.

Side E - Chapter 2: Explanations and Alterations

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Side E - Chapter 3: The Party of the Three Princesses

I just laughed as Double finished telling another story. The awkwardness around having two very naked princesses - technically three, but Twilight didn't have the same effect anymore - wasn't gone, but it was getting less and less noticeable. I smiled at the entire assortment of ponies, glad to just be around these ponies - the nakedness a cherry on top of it all.

Looking around, I thought about how much we had been through together. Some of us had been around for longer, as far as the group was concerned, and yet we all had an important part in the group. This... this was good. It was right for us all to get together and just have some - admittedly - less than wholesome fun after all we had faced. We had won a victory that almost felt like it shouldn't have been ours, and I couldn't think of finer ponies to have done that with.

"So, do we got any party games, or should I scrounge up another story?" Double asked, providing the question I had equal parts anticipated and dreaded. I had a feeling we were going to see another round of Pinkie giving us sexy games to play. Though that wasn't against my wishes - thoroughly wasn't - I had a sinking feeling, or perhaps a rising feeling, about Celestia and Luna being in a sexy game. It could only lead to one thing.

Touching.

"Oh, I know!" Rainbow barged in, looking over to Pinkie with a wicked grin. "Short straw?" Pinkie just blinked at Rainbow as if the technicolor mare had just suggested Pinkie stop throwing parties. "The game you wanted to play a while ago but didn't really know the name of? The fun one we played at Cress' party?" I blinked a few times, things catching up to me. This had potential to go all sorts of wrong or right ways.

"Oh, that one! Sure!" Pinkie bounced, producing a deck of cards from her mane. "Who wants to join?" To no pony's surprise, we all joined in... except Double and Thyme who were snogging it up in the corner now that it was obvious he wasn't needed for stories. Pinkie began shuffling, throwing the extra cards that weren't needed into the air where they slotted perfectly back into the box that was nestled between her boobs.

Sitting in a large circle, my mind began to slowly take in the actual number of us. Before we had less than half the number of ponies now present, and still it felt like we were on the cusp of how much the game could handle at that point. There was no way everypony was going to be happy at the end of this beyond simple voyeurism.

"Maybe we should adjust the rules a tad for the number of ponies we have." I ventured, looking around as I tried to think of some way to correct our number problem. It also hit me that there was a disparity between male and females in the arena. Button, Dick, Gunther, and myself were the only ones with dicks. There'd be a lot of mare on mare. I was alright with this.

"Sure! How about I put two Celestia cards and two Discord cards and some other extra cards to spice it up?" She said, squishing her boobs together, the box shooting out cards like toothpaste. Catching the one she wanted, she shuffled the assortment of cards together. "If you get the Celestia card you get to order two cards to do stuff, you can even order the other Celestia! If you get the Discord card and no pony else gets one you have to masturbate for us and if two Discord cards are drawn then... uh... both of you masturbate?"

"How about they sixty-nine it if two Discord cards get drawn?" Sweetie recommended. I bet if Rarity had been sitting next to her that she'd have rammed an elbow into her little sister. Unfortunately for the prim and proper lady, she was a few places to far from her sister.

"Ooh! That sounds fun! Ok, if two Discords are in play then the two Discords gotta sixty-nine!" Pinkie shouted. I couldn't help but look over to the princesses, gauging exactly how much of this was getting to them. Celestia seemed to just be pleasantly smiling, taking this in like any normal game. Luna was leaning forward, a... blush on her cheeks. The Princess of the Night was hot and bothered.

I couldn't wait.

Pinkie, with deadly precision, launched a card to each of us. I caught mine, nearly falling over as my reflexes had just barely saved me. Pulling it up, I looked down at the card. Eight of Hearts. My disappointment was immeasurable, but I had a feeling my day was only bound to get better. Looking around for the other cards, I raised an eyebrow. Rarity and Brass held up Celestia cards while Applebloom held up the Discord card.

"I would like seven to eat out nine." Brass said with a doofy grin. I facepalmed, snickering as the stupidity of the joke hit me and hit me hard.

"I..." Rarity paused, furrowing her brow at Brass before continuing. "I would like the Luna cards to... fondle each other? If there's only one Luna in play then... kiss the Cadence?"

"What if there are two sevens?" Sweetie asked. Brass looked over, and then realized why Rarity had done her best to give a second option. Celestia and Sweetie Belle held up sevens while Berry, smile growing ever larger, held up a nine.

"Celestia can take the pussy, Sweetie, you get tits." Berry said, strutting into the center before flopping down beside Applebloom who was fast at work, working both her pussy and one of her breasts. Sweetie shrugged, and Celestia seemed happy to just be along for the ride. I quickly looked around for the other two promised pieces of entertainment, wondering who got caught in the first round.

My answer was easy to find as Pinkie and Applejack were at each other's tits already, not even moving to the center as they did. I wanted to watch that display, but I had an honest to goodness display of Celestia's...

I paused taking in what I saw properly. Berry had fallen with her legs open towards me. Celestia tending to the mare on the floor meant that she was on her knees, head lowered and ass raised... straight towards me. I... I had seen her vagina earlier when she had first stripped, but this angle... it was.

I steadied myself again. I had a night of this ahead of me, and no matter how sexy the princess of the sun was I needed to be awake for it all. Especially because of how sexy she was. My vision was ensnared by the ass and occasional peaks at the royal pussy as it winked in excitement. It was enough to drive me mad. I would've settled for the Discord card at this point, to just masturbate next to her.

Unfortunately for me, it did eventually end as Berry orgasmed into Celestia's face. It seemed to be over far too soon, but I couldn't blame Berry. She had had the princess of the SUN between her legs. I couldn't fault her for a short fuse in those circumstances.

Soon we were all back in the circle formation. Dash zipped along the line, picking up cards, giving them a quick shuffle before flying around again and dulling out cards to us before landing. Looking at my card I couldn't help but sigh. Ten of Hearts, once more too far to taste glory.

"YESSS!" The sudden outburst caught me off guard, despite having expected as much at some point. Starlight blushed thoroughly, shyly lifting her Celestia card for all to see while Periwinkle and Button lifted Discord cards. This was going to be fun. "I want... I want all the even numbers - no face cards - to get in the center and just... make a fuck ball." I blinked a few times, looking at my card, wondering if she could do that. I guess she could according to the ill defined rules we had going for us. I certainly wasn't going to ask for a rule change.

Standing up, tossing my card face up, I looked for my fellow evens. Scanning along the circle I saw Twilight and Pinkie stand up, followed by Sweetie and Applebloom, Cream Heart and Sultry following close behind, and finally Rarity. Stepping forward I paused as a sigh came to my ears. Looking over I saw... Dick Slut? He tossed his card to the side, revealing a two of hearts. He seemed... disappointed in being part of this particular event. How?

I felt myself getting pulled in towards the developing pile of debauchery by somepony before I had a chance to question it further. I soon found myself with somepony on my dick, another pony on my face, and yet two more - one on each hand. I could distantly hear the sounds of ponies going at it with a passion. I was having a hard time of it, but not an unpleasant time of it. A few bounces of whichever pony on my schlong later, I was returned to the moment and began to attend to the mare on my face while trying my best to use my hands that were effectively pinned by the mares I was trying to please.

I felt movement as the ponies on me adjusted position, likely to make out while I did my best underneath, given very little visual on the whole situation, though thoroughly enjoying the part I had nonetheless. Soon the mare on my dick came, confirming my thoughts on which hole I had been given to fuck - or be fucked with - by the juices dripping down my junk. Soon the mare on my face joined in on this, firing off straight into me. I was going to be coated by the end of this. The mare on my face lifted off, the mare on my dick getting pulled off as well in an operation that wasn't the most painful as the face mare tackled the other one off me by force.

I stared towards the ceiling for a moment before my attention was drawn by the one on my right hand dismounting, not having orgasmed as far as I had noticed. Twilight suddenly filled my vision, looking at me with a very... a very very expression. One of those that your brain reads as sexual but couldn't resolve as either hot and bothered or needing sexual release.

"W-we did it when the Emperor was trying to be intimidating." She leaned closer to me, whispering in my ear. "How about we do it again?" I doubted I had much of any say in the matter - I could see by how she shifted her weight and by how her pussy was gobbling up my cock, that she had made the choice for me. To be fair I was gonna do it anyway.

Lust rising, I locked lips with her, letting her taste whoever had been on my face earlier. By the taste on Twilight, I could only guess that she had helped somepony else while I tried to finger her. That thought slipping passed my brain, I came to the realization that my other hand was vacant - the mare leaving before I had finished her off. My train of thought wasn't long lived as Twilight skewered herself on me.

I was floored - literally and metaphorically - actually being able to enjoy the feeling of Twilight on me without magic clouding the whole thing. My arms wrapped around her as I rolled us over, my tongue wrestling with hers as we did. Now with myself on top, I pulled away from the kiss, wrapping an arm under each of Twilight's legs, giving her a sly grin.

"As you wish, Princess." I replied finally, beginning to pump into her with gusto. Her moans and yelps were sweet to my ears, my dick appreciating every aspect of the fuck - the sounds, the feeling, the emotion, and the sight. We were in our own little world for those few minutes while we fucked. No pony else mattered, we were just two ponies needing to fuck. It was amazing.

Eventually, as biology dictated, we had to crest the hill and blow our steam. I blasted first, somehow having refrained when the first mare had blasted off on me, and Twilight followed shortly thereafter. I fell on her, my arms letting her legs loose as I fell forward onto her pillowy breasts.

Breathing heavily, we let the wave of pleasure carry us for a bit, kissing once more as we did. This was the life. Fucking beautiful mares, having friends, and even fucking friends. It was almost too good to be true, and yet it was true. Better yet, fucking my friends didn't make me lose my other friends! It was perfection!

After a few more seconds, we pried ourselves away from the other, finding only Applebloom and Sweetie Belle still going at it. They were kissing and fondling each other passionately. Twilight tapped them on the shoulder, getting their attention as I moved off to my place. Leaning over to Raven, I asked the only question on my mind.

"Who were the mares all over me at the start?" Raven turned to me, leaning on my shoulder while turning my head towards her with her other hand, giving me a sultry smile.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" She kissed me, likely getting a bit of whoever it was had been on my face plus whoever Twilight had helped plus Twilight's spit. One heck of a concoction. Returning to her place, she just smiled. "Oh, and it was Cream on your left hand, who was deep throating Dick; Twilight, as you could guess, on your right who was, in turn, eating out Pinkie; then there was Applebloom on your dick; and finally Sweetie on your face. Sweetie tackled Applebloom and they went at it while Cream got put up to doing doggy-style by Dick after a bit. I think you can guess Twilight's fate."

"What about Rarity and Sultry? Were they just on their own?" I asked, realizing they had been left out of the description somehow.

"Oh no, Rarity ate Pinkie's ass while Sultry ate Rarity out. The three of them went on to eat each other out while you and Twilight went at it. Good show by the way. Can't wait to get home." Raven said, taking her card from Starlight's magic field. I was realizing what exact situation I was in.

Once more I looked at my card, sighing at the eight of spades. I decided to leave all my questions and reservations for after the party. Already Sultry Rose was holding up a Celestia card while Fluttershy and Cream Heart held up Discord cards. No matter what there'd be a show.

"I want six to come over here and either scissor or fuck me." Sultry Rose proclaimed, living up to her name. "If we got more than one I want the red six to do the scissoring or fucking and the black six to... let the two of us have fun with your fun bags or donger." Looking around I saw Rarity and Starlight holding up cards. Rarity had the six of spades, sealing both of their fates.

The lewd moans of Cream and Fluttershy eating each other out filled the room first, and was honestly more of what I was interested to see. The two mares were going at each other with gusto, their breasts - a large pair on each of them - pressed sensually against the other's belly.

Sultry and Starlight meanwhile were enjoying each other and Rarity's 'funbags'. There were times I wished I was a mare - or closer to the truth - that I didn't have to go through such preparations as making sure the change wasn't going to become permanent each time I wanted to try it out. I might have to look into some solutions in that direction once the party was over.

I was brought back to the moment as Rarity squealed the most unladylike sound of sexual relief that I had heard her give. She was blushing, not because of her scream, but because she was having the time of her life as Sultry and Starlight were now suckling each of her nipples. I wouldn't be surprised if-

There it was.

Both suckling mares parted from Rarity, letting her shiver in ecstasy at the rolling waves of her boobgasm. It was quite the sight seeing the prim and proper mare gasping erotically without a care for appearances as her body quaked under the effects of incredible pleasure. Yet another reason I wished turning into a mare was simpler - that looked awesome!

Cream Heart and Fluttershy still were going, their lewd moans made all the more enticing by their writhing, naked forms. They were caught in the moment, no longer caring about anypony else, much as Twilight and I had. I watched them, both plying skills whose origins were unknown.

After a few moments, they both came into each other's face. For a second or two they just lay there, panting into the other's pelvis. Slowly, Cream maneuvered around and brought Fluttershy up to a siting position, the mare seeming more out of it than her compatriot. Cream smiled at her, a smile that somehow read as both motherly and sultry, before moving in for the kiss. It didn't stay a kiss for long, though, as the two of them began to haphazardly, and very sensually, lick themselves off of the other pony.

The sounds of their licking and moaning filled the room, and not a face was untouched by a healthy blush. They were perfectly sensual, perfectly erotic. They were unfettered from the care of being watched. This was their moment, and what a hot moment it was. This show, this moment, had to end though. And it did so with both mares blushing at each other with a nervous giggle.

A few moments later found the ponies, having collected themselves, returning from the center while... Celestia levitated the cards and began a thorough shuffling. Somehow, despite her being naked and having shown off her assets a few minutes ago I was still quite intimidated by her presence as soon as she became an active participant in the scenario. I wasn't going to faint, but I was still very much under her influence.

I tried to get some saliva back in my mouth, trying to recompose myself. I took a deep breath and looked at my card. Celestia in a red gown looked up at me from the card. I blinked a few times, trying to process this. I turned it to face the others after a few second, despite still playing catch up with the world.

"I'm... I'm gonna fuck a three... the red one if we got two. Eh... I guess the black one can... I dunno, suck the Discord's tits?" I offered, slowly coming back into it.

"I want to try out Button's artifact." Rainbow said simply, showing off her Celestia card. "I'm gonna control the Black Luna into making out with the Cadence, red Cadence one if we got two. The other Luna can eat the real me's ass." I was... at a loss to say the least. I had barely caught back up before suddenly I hear something about using Button's artifact. Said in front of the princesses no less. I wasn't sure how much power the artifact was exerting already, and I didn't want to have to make another line that could tip the balance of the ability of my artifact over the edge, but if the princesses got suspicious over the use of the word 'artifact' I might have to anyway.

Before I could even protest to this use of the artifact - certainly not from a place of moral superiority - I watched the artifact float over to Rainbow in a blob of Double's magical aura. This party kept finding ways to floor me. I might start needing a new phrase at this rate. I'm sure the floor would be appreciative of my choice in the very least.

I sighed, standing up, looking around for who my target was to be. Looking around, I saw Starlight holding up a three of clubs. Another cursory glance showed that apparently there was no other three. Looking to her, I held out my hand to her. Only for a cough to catch me off guard from behind. Looking over I saw Luna forcefully turning Celestia's hand down, showing a...

oh...

Oh...

OH!

"Y-y-y-y-y-you don't have to if you don't want to, your majesty!" I said, holding up my hands as if the thought alone of fucking her would end up with my sausage getting grilled by the sun. Celestia rolled her eyes finally, standing up, every inch of her body a masterpiece.

"It is perfectly alright. I think I'd quite enjoy receiving much the same treatment as you gave Princess Twilight." She said, as if she and Twilight were very much the same level. I wasn't sure if that was just humility or her vastly overestimating in what regard I held Twilight in. I didn't think little of Twilight, I just happened to have had a great deal more exposure to the Princess of Friendship. I couldn't exactly imagine myself becoming as exceedingly comfortable with the diarchs of day and night, but it wasn't as if it was an impossibility. Given a long stretch of time. And drugs. Probably a lot of drugs.

I looked around at who else was getting in on the action of the round. Button was showing Rainbow how to properly get what she wanted with the artifact, giving pointers on certain aspects of 'spirit fragmenting'. Breaking from that, I looked at who was ready to get in on the action with Rainbow. Puppershy seemed to be ready to get her face sat on my Rainbow once the other portion was set up. And then there was... Applebloom and Sweetie Belle. By the looks of it the filly was about to get the second dose of her fetish.

Moving to the center of the circle, I also noticed Berry getting eaten out by Starlight. I could assume that Berry was the Discord of the round. I bet she'd have fun getting eaten out while watching me... fuck Celestia. Looking back to said mare, prepping myself for what was to come.

I should've prepared more.

Celestia was on her back, legs spread out for me. I gulped down an entire continent, trying to keep all biological functions in order. No fainting. No collapsing. No nausea. Deep breaths. In and out, I had this. Lowering myself, I took it a step at a time.

Line up penis with vagina. Arrange one's self into a comfortable orientation. Acquire a point for future leverage. Commence approach, finalizing lining up process. Initiate contact between penis and vagina. Push further in, letting partner understand how Mmmmmmmmmm~

I was inside the princess! I gasped a breath, failing in my controlled breathing as the feeling of Celestia's insides surrounded my southern friend. I... I wasn't able to believe exactly how good this felt. It was, in all likelihood, a product of idol worship coming true with the benefit of sex. Hindsight would say that that is the most reasonable explanation.

The explanation I went with instead was that Celestia had that magic pussy.

Thrusting in in earnest, I let myself bottom out in Celestia, the feeling of what I was getting out of this already beyond the pale. I, thankfully, wasn't so over stimulated as to ejaculate prematurely - a fact I will forever be thankful for - but a few breaths once inside the goddess of the sun was not uncalled for.

I had considered following Celestia's words to the letter, putting her in the same position as Twilight - looping my arms around her legs, around those pillowy thighs that put a good few trees to shame - but now that I was here, now that my dick was swallowed in the eldest of the princesses honeypot, I had a different idea.

Moving my arms, I wrapped her torso in a hug, leaning forward in a way that, if this had been Raven, I would've been face to face with the mare I was giving a good time. The effect of this with Celestia, however, was that I was hugging the sloping arch of her sides between her upper chest and hips while planting my face into her breasts. I was not saddened by this fact.

Slowly, I built confidence by easing myself into it, thrusting and pulling back at a gentle rhythm. Despite not truly giving it to her, she was already giving out soft moans of pleasure that reverberated magnificently in the valley of boobflesh that surrounded me.

Given a tad bit more confidence from this, I began to go faster, harder, and with ever building gusto. I was FUCKING the mare who's name was a swear! I was FUCKING CELESTIA FUCKING CELESTIA! I was really doing it! Despite the clunkiness of swearing using the pony's name that I was fucking, this was well and truly it! Every thrust I delivered was met with a moan or a gentle gasp. S-she was enjoying this too!

Invigorated by my continued progress, I put more heart into it, thrusting harder and faster, reaching the tempo I usually went with for rendering a pony a solid fucking. Straining, wishing I had reassessed leverage points after changing positions, I hoisted myself - still laying into Celestia's magic pussy - and latched a mouth onto on of Celestia's boobs, beginning to suckle at it while my right hand began to fondle her other tit.

It was official. I was dead. I had gotten killed by the Emperor and somehow a piece of paperwork got misfiled and I got sent to heaven.

Every thrust grew my confidence, met by the milking motion of Celestia's magical honeypot. It gripped me, teased me, bringing me all the more pleasure as I continued to thrust, continued to fuck Celestia. Even as I railed her, I sucked and fondled, loving all of it.

I was too engrossed with all the sensations to notice at first, but the surprise that resulted was better in many ways. Suck suck suck I went, like a greedy newborn. And just like that newborn, I struck gold. Starting with a trickle, I soon found my mouth receiving a treat while my hand was beginning to get wet. I was MILKING Celestia! I was FUCKING and MILKING Celestia!

Her milk was sweet, tasting divine, just like the rest of her. I poured more heart into my thrusts, giving all I had in exchange for the treat I was getting from the beautifully massive tits. I was beyond any amount of pleasure I had had before, only one way to go.

It started as I felt the magic pussy seizing up around my shaft, followed by a sharp inhale of breath from Celestia. Her body quivered, her arms shooting up and around me, pulling me in closer in a bear hug - smothering my face into her supple boobflesh, the nipple still in my mouth. Then, as her pussy began to swing into overdrive as orgasm rolled on into town like a selfish con artist specializing in tricking people into paying him large sums of money in exchange for giving them a nonfunctional marching band, I felt my mouth suddenly getting filled to overflowing.

My existence was quickly reduced to the pleasure of orgasm, the sweet flood of milk, the scent of Celestia, and the plush feel of the boob that still offered little in the way of air - not that I could or would've cared. The moment felt like it lasted a lifetime, lifting me up to higher heights than I had ever known as I did my best to swallow all the milk I could while my orgasm still rocked me, shooting my baby batter straight into Celestia.

Eventually, I came down from the height of my orgasm, breathing heavily after Celestia released me. I stared up to the ceiling, the mare of the sun right beside me, her teats still trickling a thin line of milk. Our afterglow was... well, beyond words. I hoped hers was at least. She didn't have the hero worship I had going into this fuck, but I could only hope I had done well.

"Do... do we think we can even match that round?" Somepony asked in the periphery. I didn't quite take in who asked, still letting my afterglow carry me away. The general response I heard through my basking was in the negative.

"The show we just witnessed in mind, there's only one thing I can think to do." A regal voice said in a tone that I couldn't quite place. I felt something getting put in my hand. I didn't see who - wait, no, now I could. I saw Luna towering over me, holding a Celestia card. "I will fuck the nine of spades." I lethargically moved my hand and saw the nine of spades. Who would've guessed? I held it up to her, to which she nodded and then lowered herself onto me.

The sudden onset of princess pussy was enough to sharpen me back to reality. She... she somehow was better than her sister! I was entranced by the feel of it, maybe because at this point all I was doing was... well, nothing. It might've also had to with the fact I was still in afterglow from fucking Celestia.

Luna didn't give me a chance to philosophize about the state of affairs as she began to bounce on my dick. Watching her lewdly wobble where it counted as she went up and down on my peenor. I was transfixed, simply letting myself be the dick she fucked, not exactly being in the best position to make any changes - not that I wanted to. This was perfect!

Even as her sister rode me, Celestia sat up beside me, looking at me with a smile before... oh. I had my head lifted up, guided to one of Celestia's teats while Luna still fucked me senseless. I had returned to paradise and had arrived at a level of perfection above even perfection!

The erotic slap of skin on skin, along with the sight of Celestia's smiling face looking down at me while I suckled a teat. It felt amazing - beyond amazing! It was transcendent! I had struggle parsing out exactly how Celestia had made me feel, but this... this was a level beyond even that. I got to fuck the mare with a more perfected version of Raven's body - a sentiment I would forever be sure to keep from her so that she didn't feel slighted - while I got to suck on the boob of Celestia herself. If there was something better, I wouldn't be able to name it.

The milk from Celestia and the milking from Luna on my dick... it was just beyond amazing. I loved this feeling, and wished it would never stop. That wasn't exactly a possibility, darned biology, but in the very least I would enjoy it for as long as possible. It might be shorter than I wanted, but I'd take what I could get.

Bounce after bounce, I felt the onset of the lunar princesses orgasm building up. Muscles tensed, her pussy constricted around my dick, juicing me for all I was worth - sending me over the edge. My dick, enhanced by the recording from so long ago, was ready and willing to reciprocate - sending a burst of sperm straight into the beautiful mare. In the midst of this I twisted the nipple in my mouth with a suck and a swift roll of my tongue. My maneuver gained the result I had hoped for as I felt Celestia quiver, the stimulation culminating in a boobgasm.

Luna and I came down first, Celestia still shaking in her trailing orgasm as we touched down for the afterglow. We all stayed there, breathing heavily as we let the sensations wash over us. Celestia slowly laid me back down, sitting back from us as she let the erotic aftershocks of her experiences flow over her, unintentionally - or so I supposed - leaving me a view of her cum filled honeypot. Filled with my cum.

I looked back to Luna. She was basking in her on glow still, not even having lifted away from my prick. I could see, and feel, the trickle of the cum that hadn't stayed. I... I had fucked three princesses. I had fucked the princesses of Equestria. I had fucked sun, moon, and friendship right in the pussy. I could only hope this wasn't the peak. It felt like it, but I certainly hoped there was something beyond this.

Maybe getting a threesome with all of them at the same time?

Author's Note

With that we've broken the 200k words mark!

Side E - Chapter 4: Setting it Straight

I fell back onto a couch while breathing heavily. The recorder had granted me infinite sexual stamina, but when it came to actual stamina I was still pretty low. That and I hadn't exactly felt in the best of shape since my fight with the Doctor. I wasn't mad though. I still got to watch the rest of the partygoers dancing to a jaunty tune. It was a good time - especially with the majority lacking clothes. This was good.

Raven plopped down beside me, throwing an arm around me as she looked off towards the same ponies. I couldn't help but smile, leaning my head against hers as we just enjoyed the moment. I was sure that, if she cared to, she'd have had a good source of nutrients right then, but even as I sat there just loving her she just sat there with me. We were happy, I could only hope that it would last.

"I love you, Raven." I said in what was likely the corniest way possible. She smiled, bringing me closer to her as we continued to watch the other ponies on the dance floor.

"I love you too, Cress." She murmured happily. I closed my eyes, letting out a breath, content to just drift off in her embrace. I loved my mares, I would do anything for them. I would climb mountains and cross deserts. If anything ever hurt them... Celestia best be on their side.

"Hey, uh, Crescendo?" A voice called out to me, bringing me back from my happy place. Opening my eyes I saw Dick Slut. I sat up slightly, not sure what to expect from this stallion. In some ways he was just me but with a slightly modified set of circumstances behind his existence. "Can I... can I have a word? In private?" I paused, trying to figure where this might be going.

"Sure..." I said finally. I gave Raven a kiss on the cheek before standing up. "I'll be back in short order." I said, not so sure if that was true myself. Raven nodded slowly, likely regarding Dick with as much suspicion as I had been. To be completely fair, I had little reason to distrust him all things considered - besides the fact that he was me. That felt like reason enough to me. I knew myself, and I honestly felt little trust for myself - as much as that said about me.

I followed him as he led me out of the room and into an area to the side. Leaning against a wall, I looked him over, trying to gauge his intentions. He seemed nervous - an odd start to be sure - and perhaps a tad remorseful. He fidgeted slightly, scratching the back of his head as he struggled with his words.

"I... I guess I should start with the beginning of all of... well, this." He took a deep breath as he steadied himself. "We've been talking - Sultry Rose, Stellar Afterglow, Puppershy, and I. We... to be honest, we're afraid that having you around is not good for Gunther." I slowly nodded, feeling a twinge of anger at not having been talked to about this, but the part of me that wanted to have and hold Raven for a long time yet implored me to keep my temper.

"I-I-I get it. You're mad." Dick stammered, raising his hands as if sensing my emotional knife's edge. "Look... I really do understand. When Twilight sent him into our room I was initially very much in favor of just perpetuating your treatment. Fuck the guy for damaging... well, maybe not me, but the pony I used to be." He looked down towards his feet.

"I still carry a lot of what you are, or at least the absence of those memories. I think you know what I mean." I stood there, finding myself nodding. The time from my capture to the division of Dick and myself were a patchwork of memory and absence. At times I was me and at others I wasn't. There were times that were pitch black voids of absent memories while others were a fuzzy static of partial recall - times where we were close enough to each other that there was bleed through.

"We... we might not be on the best terms, and I get that." He continued, looking back up to me, fighting back tears. "I can still remember being you in the early hours. I know who we are, or at least were. I still feel it all, and I can guess you do too." He took a moment, swallowing back his pain, taking a breath to steady himself.

"The others... some of them wanted to take out our pain on him. Stella and I mostly. I think we got a lot harsher treatment - or maybe it was just because we finished the process. It would've been easy to just order him to let us fuck him - to return the favor as harshly as possible." He clenched his fist, closing his eyes as he tried to control himself. Suddenly he turned and slammed his fists into the wall.

"I still want to, damn it! I want him to suffer... I still... I still hold a sliver of hate for the griffon he was." His breathing was ragged as he choked back sobs, trying to stay strong against his own feelings. I just stood there, letting him express as much as he would - it certainly was more than I was willing to show in front of most any other pony.

"T-then Sultry stopped us. Puppershy hugged him and... and forgave him. Sultry did too, leaving Stella and I as the only ponies in the room who wanted to continue to torture him. We almost did too." He cast a sidelong glance at me, a few tears breaking free. "But... but that was what was easy. It would've been so easy to just push it back on him.

"But Stella... Stella forgave him next. I was disgusted with them all, disgusted with Gunther, and - though I didn't quite realize it - disgusted with myself." He turned to face me fully, a look of determination on his face. "Cress, you might hate me - I can understand that - but you got to understand that I am YOU. Not a dark reflection, but a bundle of your issues and traumas that you've given legs and set loose on the world. What's worse... what's worse is that I inherited a lot more from you than you might want to realize. I inherited a lot of your morals, a lot of your beliefs, your feelings, your... OUR hate.

"I know how much you hate me, because I hate me just as much!" He hissed, his body tensing and releasing as he spoke. I recognized that, I did it too when I wanted to hit something but realizing that nothing around me should be hit - that what I really wanted to hit was a bit too metaphysical to punch. "And despite all of that, despite all of the hate and anger that I could so easily justify," he breathed heavily, closing his eyes once more as he tensed his whole frame, "I forgave him too. It would've been easy to do to take out our pain on him... but it wasn't the right thing to do. I realized that. I hope one day you'll do the same."

He stood there, and I watched as he relaxed his body as the confession came through. It wasn't as if I hadn't realized as much - or at least similar - before he said it; but having him explain it all, letting me in on all that was behind his change in views, it made it feel that much more real. I had figured he and the doppelgangers were just disposed to loving Gunther. Now it felt far more genuine to me, far realer. Something clicked in my mind, a piece I hadn't even realized hadn't been slotted in place.

These were ponies.

They weren't shells of trauma that just walked about and pretended at being ponies. They were ponies. That something that clicked, that piece that finally slotted into place, set something new before my eyes. I no longer saw Dick Slut, the emblem of all the pain that Gunther had inflicted. Instead I saw a pony, one with as much hurt and heart as myself - maybe even more.

"That... that all isn't exactly why I asked to talk, though. Cress... we... we want to leave. We're going to leave." He said simply, making his intentions known. Inflexible in what he thought right at the time, quite like another pony I knew. A pony who happened to be in this same room.

"Cress, in the morning we'll all be leaving to go out into the world - and away from you. We may see each other in the future, I'd never say that was out of the realm of possibilities, but for now... for right now we think it best for some space to be made."

The thought that Gunther was going to be taken and without me being consulted nearly reignited a flame of anger in me, but the dawning realization of what was at risk snuffed it out. I had slipped. No, I had fallen. My mistake with Gunther was one that was a bit too grievous. Not only had I taken away what mind he once had, but I then made him my slave and tortured him. I still felt a sliver of self-righteousness rising up to confront the misdeeds, but I had had enough of that. I had messed up, that was that.

Gunther needed to be punished, but Gunther was gone. A griffon who shared some of the memories and the body of that griffon remained like a specter, but he wasn't Gunther as I had encountered him. Even so, a portion of me still hated what revenant Gunther had left in his wake, but... I could only hope that this might be the direction I needed to go to escape myself and my own darker corners. To let go of this hate that burned inside of me.

I took a deep breath and released it as I tried my best to release a tad more of the pent up emotion I had bundled up inside. It would be a long road, but perhaps having an actual road between us might help both of us. I needed to move forward either way, and this was something of an easy first step. I wasn't exactly sure where the path would lead, but future me would have to deal with that.

"Alright." I said finally. "Not that you need it, but you have what blessing I can give for this action. I'm not going to stop you or hunt you down. I wish you five the best, I really do. In time... I hope I can forgive Gunther as much as you have." Dick smiled at me, putting a hand on my shoulder.

"Thanks. It means a lot that you've accepted our decision." He said, a chuckle escaping him as he gave a short pause to consider something. "You might not want to believe it, but despite it all, you're a good stallion at the core. You care deeply, maybe a tad too deeply at times, but in the end... well, we all have ways in which we need to grow." I gave a small smile at that.

"Thanks, Dick." I said with a chuckle, catching him slightly off guard before he gave a chuckle of his own.

"I forgot to tell you!" He said through his chuckling. I raised an eyebrow, wondering just how many more times he'd have to tell me something he had forgotten to that point. "I decided to get rid of Dick Slutbutt as a name. I decided after we all got rescued from the castle. Maybe the trauma knocked a bit more sense into my senseless skull." He puffed out his chest. "You're looking at the newly minted 'Testing Testing'."

I couldn't help it. As soon as he pronounced his new name I burst out laughing. Memories of my own attempts at pseudonyms coming back to me with a boatload of comedic effect. Testing joined in as well, both of us just happy to not feel any other emotion at the moment. We stayed like that for a while, and as we did, I couldn't help but notice a major difference between me and Testing. His cutiemark, a part I never payed attention to, was a silhouette of a pony talking into a megaphone. It felt fitting for the pony who let himself be known.

Composing ourselves, we gave a nod to one another before we finally reentered the room. It felt good, a weight having been removed. As Di- Testing walked off towards Puppershy, I walked over to the recorder. I picked it up, looking down at it, I considered what I should say. Taking up the ear piece, I clicked the button and spoke softly.

"Gunther was now his own slave, taking all the powers Cress once had over him as powers he possessed over himself." I couldn't contradict the recording, Gunther was a slave and that was that. There was no way to make him fully free, to stop what I had started with that earlier recording. I couldn't contradict the recording, but I could qualify it. "Gunther realized these changes had taken place." I clicked off the button, smiling at the recorder. I closed my eyes, listening to the music that filled the room, letting its cheeriness fill me. I needed to feel something besides anger and lust sometimes.

"You doing alright?" Raven asked, placing a hand on my back. I turned to her, taking the earpiece out. Placing a hand on her cheek, I gave her a smile that likely betrayed the inner turmoil that was my emotional situation.

"Yeah... a lot better than I have been, I think." I said, my eyes dancing over Raven's face. Luna might have had a body like a god, but Raven was the mare I loved. I didn't care if I had to give up princess sex forever - in fact I kind of was planning making this party my last indulgence - I had Raven.

Raven smiled back to me, placing a hand of her own over mine. Over her shoulder I saw Gunther staring at me, jaw agape - likely having finally felt the result of my recording. I turned my attention back to Raven, leaning forward to kiss her on the mouth, not needing his recognition of my actions.

This was good. This was right. Though maybe I could make it better. Dubs and Thyme were scheduled for a month out. Maybe I'd ask them a question.

Side E - Chapter 5: Afterparty Farewells

"Once again, I'd like to thank you all for the wonderful celebrations. It certainly was a pleasant distraction from matters of state." Celestia said with a smile. "I wish we could stay longer, but with the matter settled we're only here on borrowed time. We still have to make a stop by the Dragon Lands for appearances sake."

"Of course, Princesses, we wouldn't dream of taking more of your time than you deem fit." Twilight replied with a smile before darting forward and hugging her now clothed mentor deeply. From my position on the sidelines I just barely made out her final words to Celestia. "Thank you for staying as long as you did." Celestia returned the embrace. A small part of me wondered if Twilight's rationale for asking Celestia to stay wasn't because of the sexy, but perhaps in spite of it.

The hug ended shortly, the two princesses looking at each other with a smile, one of a mother while the other was of a child or fond student. I felt a tad bit of the pain of Twilight as she watched her mentor leave, a part of me knowing something of the pain. Fortunately for me, I had a Raven to hug a little tighter.

"I wish you all a good evening." Celestia said to the rest of us as her sister began to turn without her own independent goodbye. "Oh, and before we go." I perked up at that, my attention returning from Raven. "Rousing Crescendo, was it? Would you please meet with me for a moment? I have a few words I'd like to share in private." What was it with me and having private meetings with ponies? At least this one made some sense in context. She likely just needed to confirm that I wouldn't be going about bragging about fucking the princesses of Equestria. Once more I let go of Raven, kissing her on the cheek before heading over, following Celestia into a different room than I had followed Testing into.

The door closing behind me got me a tad spooked, but I brushed it off as just another measure in the 'private' part of 'private meeting'. Celestia turned to me, a serious expression across her features. I suddenly felt very small and very wrong about what I had guessed the meeting was about. This wasn't helped when I saw Luna's horn glowing brilliantly.

"Are you controlling the minds of the ponies in there?" Celestia asked me pointedly, setting more than a few alarm bells off in my head. The memory of the change in the recording not feeling quite right rushed back, and now I was terrified that I wouldn't have to worry about if I'd actually stop fucking princesses.

"I am controlling the minds of some of the ponies in there." I replied, my voice monotone and beyond my control. I couldn't help but notice Luna's smile at this. I... I was under some sort of interrogation spell or something. Those were illegal by majority, but that fact was little comfort before two princesses who could send heavenly bodies crashing down on my head.

"Well, sister, I suppose that ends that. We can deal with him and release the others before we even have to leave." Luna said, her smile far more menacing than I liked. "A shame that we have to dispose of such a fine piece of stallion. Mayhaps we can ask for a naked statue this time and have him set in the private garden?" I was... well now I was conflicted. Being reduced to a statue was not my idea of a happy ever after, but being the princesses' personal fucking ornament was... not unenticing.

"Which ponies are you controlling and how?" Celestia asked firmly, ignoring her sister. Her glare was beyond daggers, she was glaring friking zweihanders at me.

"I am controlling the mares Spring Periwinkle and Berry Punch. They agreed to be my sex slaves." I surprised myself with my answer. Then again, this was the truth. I hadn't been the one to ask the Straight Record to make the Elements of Harmony and Starlight comfortable with having sex and being naked with me. I also had just divested control of Gunther. I honestly had no other controls in place that I could think of.

"Agreed?" Celestia pressed.

"They, whilst not under my control, asked me to make them my slaves. They wrote out the boundaries to the control I have over them themselves." I said, my voice still monotone and far calmer than I was.

"What of the rest of the ponies in that room?" She continued, drilling further into me with her glare.

"I am not controlling their minds." I replied.

"Were you controlling them when we first arrived?" Celestia asked, giving herself as clear of a picture as she could. I would've smiled, knowing the truth and that she'd likely find it to be in order. Partially at least.

"I was controlling Spring Periwinkle and Berry Punch when you first arrived." I said. I felt like this was going about as well as I could hope for. Considering that I was compelled to tell the truth and that the state of affairs was what it was. Pretty good thus far.

"Did you control us?" Ah frick. Well, there goes the neighborhood. The question that I didn't want to answer was being asked and I had to answer. Stupid brain controlling spell. Hypocritical, I know, but I still didn't like it.

"Yes."

"To what end?"

"I made you accept Twilight's invitation."

"Did you make her invite us?"

"No."

"And why did you make us accept?" Celestia asked. This was my best shot in my mind. My motivations, though selfish, were not exactly villainous. I could only hope that my own testimony would be enough for me to not to get banished. My mares likely wouldn't stand for it, and I didn't want them getting punished alongside me.

"Because we had been through a great deal. Your refusal made the ponies sad and would've likely resulted in the party being cancelled. The ponies in there needed a way to relax and have a good time after what we had been through. Your refusal would've made that impossible." I replied simply. Maybe not the best phrasing, but it wasn't as if I had choice in the matter.

"So you had us join in a party full of lascivious activities not because you wanted to see the princesses naked or because you wanted to... have sexual intercourse with us, but because the ponies were in need of a morale boost?" Celestia's tone was disbelieving. I couldn't fault her, there were more than a few ponies that would take any opportunity to fuck her senseless.

"Yes. I did, however, want to fuck the both of you. That fact was not the reason I had you accept." I said. I felt like that was both my best defense and simultaneously the worst thing to have said. Celestia, however, seemed to take this fairly well. I suppose it wasn't irrational to assume she was aware of her effect on ponies. She might even have leveraged it in the past. Present even.

"Very well. And you have no nefarious intentions towards any of my ponies?" She really did cover her bases quite well. I was more than happy the truth would come out on this one. A byproduct of actually not wanting to be a moustache twirling villain.

"No. I only wish to have a quiet life with my mares." I answered, a faint thought crossing my mind if this spell lasted longer than Luna having her horn glowing. Spouting out truths incessantly like this might become a tad problematic. Celestia took this answer in like the rest - with slow and careful deliberation. There didn't seem to be any other pressing questions that branched off from it.

"Did you enjoy fucking us?" Luna asked slyly, her sister giving her little reaction. Well, I would miss being alive, but if my time was now I wouldn't resist... not too much.

"Yes."

"And who did you like more?"

FUCK!

"I preferred Princess Luna." I replied, my mouth giving no heed to my panicking brain. Luna guffawed at this while Celestia gave her a smirk of her own.

"Well then, I suppose you'll be happy to know that we didn't let your semen actually enter us." Celestia said simply, and suddenly my mouth was full of my own cum as Celestia's horn dimmed in the aftermath of a spell. Luna stopped laughing for a second, looking at her sister in a split second of confusion.

"Oh, uh, yes, of course we didn't let you actually cum in us. Just a ruse for the sake of the other ponies." It sounded completely unconvincing. Did Luna... did she like me? Or at least my dick? If that was true I'd harp on that privately for the rest of my life - no matter how short it would be. "Oh, and you have control over your mouth again, so you may want to swallow. Only quitters spit." On reflex I swallowed hard, more so out of fear. The thought I had just downed my own spunk wasn't really a consideration at this point.

"Be that as it may, we will be paying close attention to you and how this situation develops, Rousing Crescendo." Celestia said, a menacing edge taking her voice. "And do be so kind as to not ever mention that you had sexual intercourse with either of us. It would be a shame if your major found itself no longer connected." She gave me a meaningful look.

I gave her a slow nod, feeling very much out of my depth for not the first time. "I-I promise that I don't have any negative intentions towards anypony... except those who actively try and hurt me or my mares... and friends."

"You said that already." Celestia reminded me. "But it is a comfort to have it from you when outside of the spell. It means a tad more in some ways." She gave me a comforting smile, one that set me at ease despite the circumstances. I guess that might've been one of the reasons she stayed as princess for so long. That and the whole having control over the sun. "Farewell, and keep a good watch over those mares. If they did willingly offer themselves up to the situation they are now in, then you should cherish what you have all the more." I nodded slowly, and watched as they walked away, moving through the winding corridors of the castle. I was kind of... well, surprised was a good start.

"Is that everything?" I asked, looking over the singular duffle that the dopp- the ponies that were leaving had. Having said all of their goodbyes at the party, we were the only ones out here at the outskirts of the town just beyond my house.

Testing just shrugged, hoisting the bag onto his shoulder. "Well, considering we only have the clothes on our backs and what coins and food you have been kind enough to provide, yes." I smirked a tad bit at this. I never payed it much heed, but the stallion sounded only slightly different than myself - or maybe that difference was just a product of not having the voice echoing in my head as he spoke.

"Thank you for all the help you're giving us." Stella said, standing beside Sultry. The two mares had an arm around the other, hopefully intentionally sending the message they were with that. They were two beautiful mares, they deserved each other. "Our sudden arrival was a... problem, we realize. We're glad you were as kind as you were to us and more so with you not trying to stop us from moving our own way."

"Hey, you lot are ponies the same as us, you deserve a chance at your own lives." I said, brushing her off. They needed this, they were ponies in difficult circumstances. Of course I'd help them! I suppose it did help that I hadn't treated the best I could've up to that point. Guilt was also a good motivator.

"One moment, darlings!" I turned, watching as Rarity charged up, a suitcase trailing behind her. Beyond the afternoon's festivities, this was the least ladylike I had seen her. Seeing her during a boobgasm was cheating as far as seeing her in an unladylike position.

Reaching us, she took a brief moment to catch her breath and then flip her hair before gently presenting the suitcase, which was quite large, to Testing. "A gift. It took me a moment to get all of it together, but I have gotten you one piece of formal wear each and two changes of casual clothes." Rarity explained, much to their shock. "Now, I didn't exactly get your measurements during your stay with us, so none of these are precisely the best fitting pieces for you all - likely going to be on the larger side in most cases. That being said, they are still fashionable and machine washable - not the formal to be clear, just the casual bits." The ponies and griffon just stared between Rarity and the case.

"T-this... this is so much! We can't exactly pay you back for this, Ms. Rarity." Sultry stammered, looking at Rarity as if she had just offered to give them a mansion.

"Nonsense, its a gift!" Rarity repeated. "You may not have been around from as long as most ponies your age, but gifts usually do not mean I want something from you beyond taking it. So please, darlings, take them and make good use of them." The ponies looked at each other, but in the end Testing took the case and gave her a smile.

"Thank you, Ms. Rarity." He nodded to her, or maybe that was him bowing his head - it was hard to tell. "We'll be sure to make good you of these clothes."

"I wish you all well." I said after a moment of awkward silence. "You do well for yourselves. And stay in touch when you are able. We wouldn't mind hearing from you on occasion." Testing chuckled, looking at the ponies and griffon behind him.

"We'll do our best. There's nothing else we can do." He looked back to me and gave me a pat on the shoulder. "You do well for you and your mares. I don't want to come back only to find you've fucked up in my absence. Might start making me feel guilty for depriving you of my presence." I chuckled at this.

"I'll be sure to do that." I said. I punched him in the shoulder. "Take care." He gave me a nod, turning to the others behind him, looking them over.

"Alright. Time for us shadows to walk away and get ourselves our own bodies." He said in that way I recognized as my own way of trying to sound deep. It kind of worked in this instance in my estimation. The others just took it in stride and began to walk off, Gunther pulling back to take the suitcase from Testing who still had a duffle of food goods to carry.

I sighed, watching them go. I could only hope the world would be a tad bit kind to them. They deserved success, or at least their own lives. Certainly those papers Twilight had given them would be of great help, but in the end, a lot of it would come down to luck. I turned away after a few moments and walked back towards my house, watching as Rarity too turned away and made her way back to her place.

Opening my phone for a second, I made a quick search online. I had some of my own money - some of it now Testing's - and though it wasn't too much, it also wasn't insubstantial. That being said, I was already looking at needing every nib left to my personal account to make this hairbrained scheme work out.

Splice 23: A Broken Ritual

Rarity had a very strict routine with her evenings. This is what everypony who had ever tried to ask her for late night plans had been told. It was, for the most part, very true. Starting no later than half past eight she'd pick up a book and read until nine or until the end of the chapter, depending which came first. She then draw a bath, making sure the temperature was to her liking and that her herbal blend diffused properly into the water. She'd let herself soak for no longer than ten minutes to let the herbal blend do its work on her skin. She'd dip a cloth in the water and then carefully remove her makeup before submerging beneath the steaming surface, letting the blend of temperature and herbal water open her pores.

She'd then rise like some odd version of the phoenix, rub herself down with the finest soap, ensuring every inch of her immaculate body was well and truly clean. Washing this off with the aid of an exfoliating sponge ensured she never had to worry about blemishes developing, truly a blessing. Next she'd take her various hair cleaning products - the particulars of which are a secret from even her friends - and go through the time consuming process of tending her hair.

By this point it was usually half passed the hour. She let the water out, remaining in the tub while it did. Once fully drained, she'd use some magic to remove the last bit of water from her skin as she stepped out from the tub, sending it down the drain. She'd dress in her evening robe, apply a blend of various beautifying products to her face, and put a series of curlers in her hair. By this point she was an odd sight to see. A sort of light green monster in a frilly pink robe. Somepony somewhere likely had seen her in their nightmares in this form. Others had seen her like this in some of their special dreams.

This was the routine, the nightly ritual Rarity had nearly always followed. Of course there were exceptions. She couldn't exactly manage all of this when she was out solving a friendship problem, it was a difficulty even her ingenuity hadn't tried to broach. She did have a miniaturized version of her ritual for the road, but it was nothing as wonderful as her usual self indulgence.

There were other reasons to not go through with the ritual beyond travel. Today had presented one of those reasons. She had watched a young filly display certain skills that were... impressive was a kind word for it. A very good reason to Rarity to forego her nightly routine - at least in part - was a good sisterly chat. As far as Rarity was concerned, one night wouldn't be the end of it all. She'd hop right back to the routine the next night, family was more important.

She had considered putting the talk off until morning, after all, she had been the only one to see the other ponies off besides Crescendo. She had done a blitz on her stock of fairly common clothes, finding and packing the pieces before bolting out the door. She was glad she had elected to wear the outfit that afforded her the opportunity to wear flats instead of heels - she might've been well skilled at running in heels, but all heels had a point at which they'd snap dramatically and send you right into a puddle of mud. She had a variety of outfits that were well complimented by a good smattering of mud after a set of heels betrayed you, but she wasn't chasing a possible love interest to the train station just as they were about to leave forever - she was just delivering a gift.

Even so, even having been the only one to run all the way out there to see them off and present a final gift; even with the fact she had gotten back to the Boutique five minutes after the point she should've been relaxing with a nice book; and even though she felt she could really use the relaxation, she simply couldn't do it. Family was more important. She needed to talk with the filly.

Walking up the stairs to the residential portion of the Boutique, she found it slightly odd how quiet it was. Sweetie was usually up late on her computer, doing some thing or another. She'd usually have to tell her little sister to quiet it down a tad bit, but not tonight for some reason. Rarity arrived at the door to the room, hesitating slightly as she considered whether or not to actually try and talk to her sister. The sound of gaming wasn't present, but there was light coming out from under the door, Sweetie was definitely inside. This was a subject that needed to be brought up eventually, but was now the time?

"There's no time like the present, Rarity." She thought to herself. Nodding at her own internal voice, she knocked at an acceptable level on the door. It was at this point Rarity realized something. It was hard to notice it when she had hesitated, or when she had been looking for the sounds of her sister gaming, but now it was obvious. Not because she had noticed it, but because she found herself not noticing it. There had been noise. It just happened to be a sound she wasn't looking for and so hadn't noticed as much as she had noticed the lack of the sounds of gaming. The type of sound you could more than recognize due to its abrupt halt. She had heard it halt as suddenly before.

Rarity sighed, opening the door, more than aware what she'd find. "No, please, Ms. Applebloom, I want to talk with you too." She said as she entered. The earth pony filly was currently frozen in the window, her body stopping abruptly in the action of slinging her overalls on without even having her shirt on. Sweetie was in her bed, hiding her presumably naked form with a blanket.

Rarity walked over, sitting down on the bed, patting the space beside her for Applebloom. Applebloom, for her part, was just as close to fully diving out of the window into the tree across the short gap, but in the end, she elected to take the talking to and then walk out the front door. It would likely result in less pain if she did that. At least physical.

"W-we can explain!" Sweetie squeaked, pulling the covers higher up, covering her nose. Rarity pulled the blanket down slightly, placing an open hand on the side of Sweetie's face.

"You are growing up so fast." Rarity said, a twinge of nostalgia evident in her voice. It hadn't been so long ago that the Cutie Mark Crusaders had failed in one of the most spectacular of ways at their talent show. Not too long ago, it seemed, they had gotten their cutie marks. Now... now they weren't really fillies anymore.

"I'm not mad at either of you." Rarity said, retrieving her hand, looking over to Applebloom before moving right back to Sweetie as the farm pony threw on her shirt without a bra on. It wasn't as if Rarity hadn't seen everything the pony had to show, but certain things were just common decency. "Maybe a tad disappointed that you thought you still needed to hide it from me. Most everypony in town already knows after all."

It was true, you'd have to be blind, deaf, and thoroughly disconnected from society to not think the two young mares were an item. True, they didn't kiss in public or share milkshakes like other couples, but the way they were always a joint package, how if you wanted one, you'd have to tie down the other to not get them too was evidence enough. It was, as some put it, an open secret. Well known to be the case, but no pony actually had ever been told by the two ponies.

Beyond that, this wasn't even the first time Rarity had walked in on them like this. The first time she had heard the rustling from the bedroom, she had thought Sweetie was just having some 'personal' time, and so didn't interrupt. She'd notice the sound off and on, but one time she hadn't quite payed enough attention and then walked in on the two, with Applebloom defenestrating herself towards the tree that stood near enough to the boutique to be a relatively safe getaway. The series of encounters she had intentionally not interrupted was the reason she hadn't quite heard the sound. She was just too used to it to notice. It was the quieter of the two activities her sister took part in, oddly enough, and so was - despite the connotations - the preferred nightly recreation in as far as it didn't interrupt Rarity's nightly ritual.

"Well, yeah, but that's different." Sweetie argued, letting the blanket lay like a bib across her chest. "Like everypony knows that Scoots is dating like five guys and three girls, but she won't let anypony catch her with any one of them in bed unless they're meant to join in." Rarity quickly filed away the image of the little pegasus taking eight ponies at once for destruction at the earliest moment.

"Have you told Applejack?" Rarity asked, looking to Applebloom, now clothed. The farm pony looked ashamed, looking down with a shake of her head. "Do you mean to tell her?" She shook her head once more. "Darling, Applebloom, you have to tell her at some point."

"That's just it." Applebloom sighed. "I don't want to tell her. Or anypony for that matter."

"And why's that?" Rarity asked gently, giving the younger mare all the time she needed to formulate an answer. Applebloom closed her eyes in thought. It wasn't exactly clear to even Applebloom why she didn't want her sister to know. It wasn't as if they were that good at hiding it. They practically hung off of each other in public. They might as well be connected at the hip!

"Because... because then its real." Applebloom confessed in a near whisper. Rarity nodded solemnly. Sweetie, for her part, didn't seem shocked or offended by this. This might've been one of those questions that they had talked around enough that both of them had something approaching an understanding concerning the question's hypothetical answer - despite the fact that neither of them had actually gotten as far as asking said question. Sort of how no polite couple asked 'Are they real or did you just spend a lot of money on them?'

"Applebloom, dear, I can tell you are worried." Rarity began, placing a gentle hand on her sister's lover's shoulder. Applebloom looked up to look Rarity in the eyes. "I hope you understand that just because something is real doesn't mean it's any less than something secret."

"I-i-it's just that... that I've tried with other ponies." Applebloom confessed. "I've tried dating before... and it never works out. We'll do well up to the point of letting it stop being a secret... and then they leave." Rarity let a gentle smile touch her features.

"Dear, I think that if Sweetie wanted to stop the relationship that it wouldn't have lasted this long." Rarity said, looking over to the mare in question. Sweetie nodded as she looked to Applebloom. "I know secrets can be enticing, exhilarating, and even invigorating, but being honest with those around you is important." Rarity returned her gaze to Applebloom, squeezing her shoulder gently, as if her grip would grant the young mare strength. "Trust me, Applejack already knows and only waits for you to tell her. She wants to be happy with you, we all do. She doesn't want to put you in a position to lie about you and Sweetie, and so she is just waiting for you to tell her yourself."

Applebloom looked between Rarity and Sweetie, conflict written across her face. It was obvious, at least to Rarity, that Applebloom desperately wanted to shout that she and Sweetie were together as a pair, but that fear still had a grip on her heart. She was a captive in a sense, both wanting to be free but scared what freedom meant for her and the life she loved.

"You don't have to tell her tonight or tomorrow or even overmorrow. Do it in your own time, don't let me force you into it. Just be sure that you two do tell us all when you are ready." Rarity said before standing up from the bed. "You two can continue having your fun in here for the night, but do be sure you get home in time to not be suspicious. Wouldn't want Applejack on your case for not being on time for chores." With that, Rarity left the two young mares in the room, closing the door. She could already hear them talking to one another. That much was always good.

Rarity sighed, looking around the hallway as if to find her next task - a result of abandoning her nightly ritual. One thing she did need to do, however, was check to make sure the place was well and truly closed up. She hadn't technically opened up during the day, so everything should've been closed as tightly as the previous night, but Rarity hadn't succeeded at business by assuming things.

Slowly, she began checking over the windows, starting in the upstairs - disregarding the one in Sweetie's room. Sweetie would take care of that on her own - especially since she hated the cold. Her route eventually went downstairs, checking over the back door and the windows until she came around and checked the front door, finding it unlocked. She paused, and then shook her head. She had come in after delivering a gift. She likely had just forgotten to lock it back up.

That thought departed her as soon as it came to her mind as a gentle, yet wholly unexpected, tap touched her on the shoulder. She turned all at once, lighting her horn, only to be confronted with black and a flash of green even as she went to scream.

The two young mares made their way along the path. Rarity had suddenly disappeared from the Boutique, but the sound of talking and the furious scribbling of pencil emanating from the fashionista's locked room had assuage all fears. She had likely had inspiration for a design of some sort. It usually happened that way. Fortunately, it wasn't Rarity herself they had needed. Rarity's words to them had struck a cord, and something had to be done. There were steps to be taken in the morning, yes, but certain steps couldn't wait.

Sweetie Belle knocked on the door and then moved back to stand beside Applebloom, hugging her in a display of comfort and support. A brief moment later, the door opened up slowly. A blue stallion peaked out, his black hair in its usual somewhat disheveled look.

"Hello?" Crescendo asked, looking out to the two mares who called at such a late hour.

"We need to talk." Sweetie said in her most serious tone.

Author's Note

Overmorrow - Noun
(archaic) The day after tomorrow.

I'm frikin bringing this word back, so help me.

Side E - Chapter 6: Discussions

I let Sweetie and Applebloom into the house's living room. Glancing at my watch I saw that it was only a tad shy of midnight. I had only been in the downstairs because I coincidentally needed something to drink at the time. Taking a load off, I motioned to the couch across from me. The mares took the seat, the look of tumultuous thoughts broiling beneath the surface evident on their features.

"So... what brings you to my door this late in the evening?" I asked, looking them over. Neither of them seemed up for the task of telling me why they were here. Then again, Sweetie seemed ready to go, she was just trying to get Applebloom to be the one to say it. I looked at the cream mare expectantly.

"A-are Berry, Peri, and Raven upstairs?" She asked weakly. I raised an eyebrow at this but shook my head all the same.

"No, they decided to stay at the Castle and help Twilight clean up and then have a sleep over. The only other ponies in this house are Double and Thyme, but they're likely asleep." She silently nodded to this before looking over to Sweetie, giving her a small nod.

Suddenly she stood up and threw off the straps of her overalls, letting them fall to the ground. Her shirt quickly followed suit, followed by her expertly taking off her socks and shoes in one go. I was a bit to surprised to do much of anything. It was obvious that she was still playing Sweetie's 'game' by the lack of any undergarments. As soon as she was naked, she stepped forward and then knelt down before me. She spread her knees apart, laying her arms with palms facing up on her thighs while lowering her head.

I was locked on this sensual display of submission that it wasn't until Sweetie knelt in much the same way beside her that I realized that she too had gotten naked. I blinked a few times, not entirely certain what to do, not sure what they wanted me to do.

"We're here to offer ourselves up as your slaves, as we agreed." Applebloom said in a small voice. I was... well, conflicted was a good place to start. For one, my baggy sweatpants did little to hide Mr. Little downstairs. On the other hand, I could already feel Applejack and Rarity preparing a rope for me. Applebloom and Sweetie had asked to be my slaves before, I had even relayed that to the Elements way back when this first came up - also happened to be when Dick Slut had made his first appearance. I wasn't sure if I should use that name to refer to him, but I had mentally divorced Dick Slut from Testing Testing.

"What brought this on?" I asked finally. This garnered the reaction I had anticipated, both mares looking up at me with quizzical looks.

"Are... are you not interested in us anymore?" Sweetie asked, confused beyond belief how a red blooded stallion was currently looking at two naked mares that were at his disposal and turning a nose up at them. I shook my head.

"No no, not at all. You two are still thoroughly sexy. It's just that it has been a bit since we last talked on this and between then and now you both really haven't reengaged in the discussion with me." I looked between the two of them. "I'm not saying I wouldn't love having you two on call or as permanent fixtures in my group of mares, not at all. I just figure that going from not talking about it to suddenly stripping in front of me probably means you have something else on your mind."

The two mares looked at each other, silently communicating with facial gestures, nods, and other nonverbals. I watched them closely, taking a quick moment to admire the sexiness that was their naked forms. They weren't Berry or Periwinkle, much more like Raven. True, Sweetie was a tad more endowed than Raven while Applebloom was far more toned than Raven - that, again, being said about a mare that could actively change her appearance. A moment later, Sweetie turned back to me, taking a deep breath as she steadied herself.

"Yes, something has pushed us a tad, I suppose." She admitted. "We've been... considering coming out as a proper couple, but... we both are concerned what will happen to us when this become real." I nodded slowly, trying to take this in and parse it out. "We figure it would be much easier if we became your slaves. That way we'd be together as yours and wouldn't have to worry about if we'd stay together through it."

"We wanna be yours, and we wanna be together." Applebloom confirmed. "It makes the most sense to both be yours so we'd be together and yours all at once." Dots connected as I looked at them.

"You're afraid of drifting apart after becoming an official item. You also see that I can keep you together as 'slave sisters', as one of my mares has put it, and so avoid the problem altogether." I observed. They slowly nodded, as if wondering where I'd go from this.

"Lucky for you, I like pussy and ass!" Was not an altogether unlikely answer at this point. I could just let myself just have these mares, but that wasn't my style. I liked these mares, not as much as I could say I loved my mares. I hadn't gotten there with them yet - and I wasn't sure if I would. Most ponies only got struck by true love once in a lifetime, I had somehow gotten nailed three times over. Was I lucky enough to get struck twice more? Technically the recorder could make that uncertainty very much a certainty, but I didn't want to have artificially instilled emotions towards any of my mares.

"Look," I began, leaning forward - both to be a serious figure and to hide my boner, "I'll be straight with both of you." Berry was laughing somewhere. "I think what you're going through at this point isn't you wanting to be my slaves and with each other in a happy coincidence of circumstances. I think both of you truly love one another and want to be together, but are too scared that if you try that you'll fail. I think that honestly that even if I couldn't fulfill Applebloom's fetish that you'd heavily consider this option.

"Now, I wouldn't mind having two more beautiful mares at my beck and call, but I want to make sure I'm not just an easy solution to another problem. The decision to become slaves needs to be one made because you want to be my slaves and no other reason." I took a deep breath, trying to think hard to get just the right words. "To be honest. If both of you are willing to be sex slaves so that you can't fall apart... I'd say I have it on good authority that you aren't about to fall apart at the drop of a hat - or an announcement in this case."

They looked at each other, considering this for a moment, no pony saying anything. I leaned back, letting out a sigh. That went about as well as I could hope. Issue resolved, problem dodged with elegance and grace with a dash of thoroughly good intentions. That was a win.

"Can we still be slaves though?" Applebloom asked. It was good I had already drank my cup of water. I doubted either mare wanted to get sprayed. Then again, that last statement taken into consideration, that appraisal might've been a bit more than shaky.

"I mean, it is fairly true that this wasn't exactly a coincidence of circumstance, but even so... my Bloomie still has her needs." Sweetie said with a smile. "And seeing her happy makes me happy. Same with being horny."

"I..." I searched for any reason why I shouldn't take them on. Ethical concerns were less and less a concern in this instance. "I'll have to have you ask my mares before it becomes official, and then if they agree we'll have to draft up a script for each of you." The two mares broke into wide smiles before jumping me, hugging me deeply, the force of the collision enough to send the chair toppling backwards.

I was eminently grateful for how thick the walls were in this house as the mares let their devotion to any arrangement well know.

The next morning, I walked into the Carousel Boutique. The store was strange empty, though I could hear the whirring, thumping, hum of a sewing machine going full force at a project. I looked around the show floor for a few minutes, checking over the area before finally making my way to where I heard the machine. With a hesitant hand, I knocked on the closed door that hid the machine.

The sound of the machine stopped all at once. A few seconds, not hearing any sounds from inside, I knocked again. I hated being a persistent bugger, but sometimes I just had to pull up my britches and go for it. My efforts were given a response as the sounds of movement from inside began. Taking a step back, not sure if the door opened out, I waited.

The door opened in, Rarity peaking out from behind the door with a somewhat disheveled look about her - odd considering how prim and proper, and generally well put together, I had known her to be. Her hair was in the general shape it usually was, though it wasn't combed or brushed, and her eyes had bags under them.

"Yes, darling?" Rarity said from behind the door.

"Sorry if I'm bothering you, Rarity." I said, taking a step closer. "I was just wandering if I could get measured for a suit. My cousin's wedding is in a bit under a month and I'd like to at least have the measuring done so that style can get sorted out when we need to have it." Rarity looked at me, giving a few blinks as if processing something else before giving me a wide smile, stepping out from the door - closing it quickly behind her.

"Of course, darling, I'd be happy to help. Please, come right over here and I'll have you taken care of in just a moment." I nodded, not sure what to make of her demeanor, but without much reason to believe anything beyond a long night of work was the cause. Stepping onto the platform, I watched as Rarity, roll of measuring tape in her hands and notepad in her magical aura, approached - already jotting some things down. "Will you also want a vest and pants with the suit? I'm certain you'd look quite nice in full regalia."

"Well... I'm not sure what the style is going to be... though I suppose that it wouldn't hurt if you took the measurements for those pieces in case we do end up needing them." I said, trying to think ahead. I had some plans of my own, but I really did need to run a few things by Dubs. A few big things.

This whole process was going to be a tad bit of a kerfuffle for sure.

Side E - Chapter 7: Matters of House and Home

"And you both are sure that that's what you want? No ulterior motives? No secondary objectives beyond just being slaves?" Periwinkle asked, standing quite tall over the two young ponies who - for their part - had somehow managed to not shrivel up under the mare's fearsome inspection. I peaked around the door, having just returned from my run to Rarity's shop. Berry looked over to me from beside the door.

"Is now the point I walk in or should I wait a tad more?" I asked. I had excused myself from the house - and the situation entirely - by saying that my mares should be alone for the inspection of the two young mares who wanted in. I said I didn't want my mares thinking about what I wanted - I already had done that myself - I wanted them to tell me what they wanted. Sure, I could countermand their opinions - except for Raven's - but that wasn't what I was about.

"I think we're nearing a conclusion." Berry nodded, returning her gaze to the two mares as they answered Periwinkle. I didn't pay them much attention, I had already gotten my answers the night previous.

"What's your opinion on them?" I asked, sidling up beside Berry, watching Applebloom and Sweetie Belle as they played the part of criminals under inspection.

"I think they got spunk in them. Both kinds if I'm right." Berry said with a smirk, giving me a brief look before returning to the subject at hand. "Beyond that, they are pretty. I like the washboard on the little apple, it's a nice deviation from the unmuscled bodies the rest of us got going. And that Sweetie passed my oral examination with flying colors. All in all, I think we certainly could do worse with new recruits."

I nodded slowly, considering this, "We could always do worse. Worse is easier to find than good." I noted. "I'm asking if you think they'd be a good fit for the... ahem, harem."

"Yesterday's performance in mind, I'd say they are likely skilled enough in bed for it. As for chemistry with the rest of us, that much is yet to be seen. Plus, I'm not sure how ready they are for our brand of depravity. You may want to give that a particular test drive before we go any further, but that's up to you. Honestly, I'm sold with how cute they are, but I feel like going full slaves might be a tad much in their case." Berry explained.

"Thanks, I'll check in on the others. Feel out the territory." I said before moving towards Raven who stood by the stairs.

"You could feel out a tad bit more than just territory, champ." Berry said in a way that told me she had that look on her face. I didn't even have to look to know. I just knew that she did, and knowing was enough to make me sigh at her exasperating sexiness.

"They certainly are an interesting pair." Raven muttered as I leaned against the wall beside her. "They have the sexual experience to keep up with us. Plus they are pretty cute. Nice tits and ass, and Sweetie is like a slightly less wound up Rarity, which is all kinds of sexy."

"All well and good," I replied in hushed tones, "but what do you think about them actually joining in with us? There are some more considerations that sexual appeal and ability." Raven nodded to this.

"That's the thing: I'm not sure. They seem sincere enough. Berry harried them with questions and sexual acts, to which they responded pretty well-"

"Is that what Berry meant by 'oral examination'?" I asked, shooting a glance to the mare in question with a smirk and raised eyebrow.

"It figures she'd put it like that." Raven sighed, smiling herself. "Either way, I then talked to them without any bells or whistles, just straight questions. They answered fairly unwaveringly. They tasted antsy, a tad anxious, not like they were lying, just the kind of uncertainty a pony gets when they try and get a job they really want."

"I thought you said there were no bells or whistles?"

"Yeah, well me tasting the emotions of others is about as vanilla as ponies judging others' body language or perfume." Raven shrugged. "Either way, they're just two good ponies who are happy together who seem sincere in wanting to be part of this hodgepodge of what-the-fuckery." I nodded to this, considering it carefully as I watched Periwinkle raise herself up from her looming pose over the two young mares. I nodded her over, plopping down on the stairs, looking over at the two mares on the couch.

"Your thoughts on all of this?" I asked, watching the ponies we were talking about as Raven went out to talk with them again.

"On the whole, good kids. Like you and Raven, though less world weary than either of you. That much isn't really to or against their credit to be fair." Periwinkle sat down beside me, putting an arm around me, drawing me closer as she let her thoughts run free. I always appreciated hugs, they were nice.

"I think that we can fairly conclusively say that they have plenty of reasons beyond simply wanting to be a part of the harem to join in. I can't exactly fault them for wanting sexy fun - that'd be a bit more than a little hypocritical on my part." She sighed as she tried to work her feelings out on the matter. "I can't particularly say that it is what they need. Berry needed this for her happiness to not be derived from bottles, I needed this so that I could be more than just coasting along in life, and Raven needed this so that she could have you. At this point we all need it to have you, but at the start I think it was just Raven who really needed it to be you."

I shrugged at this. It was a fair and honest assessment. At the start I had only kept Berry and Spry as a matter of personal responsibility - and a no too little amount of libido. Then Raven showed up and it felt right and things just built from there.

"I think they have some issues - the fact they stripped and offered themselves up as slaves being enough evidence for me - but they might not be the type of issues that becoming a sex slave would solve."

"There are issues that being a sex slave solves?" I blinked, my brain drawing a blank for some reason.

"Being a nympho can be dealt with by being a sex slave. Having extremely cold nights and having no blankets could be helped. Chronic loneliness. Probably a few other things too." I blinked at her. "Ok, maybe some ponies would count solving nymphomania with being a sex slave as exacerbation, but it's all a matter of perspective."

"So, what's your thought on the joining in total?" I asked, trying desperately to steer the conversation back towards something of a semblance of what we were actually supposed to be talking about.

"I say that they'd make a lovely addition, I'm just unsure whether or not this is really what they need in their lives." Periwinkle summarized. "I'm sorry I can't give the most concrete answer, there just isn't much of a straight forward answer to this. They offered themselves up willingly, maybe misguidedly at first, but in the end they do seem decently committed to the idea of joining on in." I mulled this over, trying to come to something of an answer. It took a moment, but after a bit more consideration of the facts of the matter and the feelings of those involved, I came to a conclusion.

"Alright, I've come to a decision on the matter." I proclaimed as I stood from the stairs and walked over to take a seat opposite Applebloom and Sweetie. Berry moved over, resting her boobs behind and either side of my head like a lewd headrest while Spry took up position, sitting at my feet with an arm looped around one of my legs. Ravens sat beside me, an arm draped across my shoulders, leaning against my side. I felt that same feeling of being a lewd Sentai Ranger as I had the day previous.

"Applebloom, Sweetie, you both seem to be honest in your wish to be my slaves. More than willing, it seems, to give up bodily autonomy for the sake of being with my mares and I." This statement seemed to make them that much more hopeful. "You also have shown that one of the main reasons for this, at least in the past, was as a means to stay together. There is also the point that, though you have certain underlying issues, those particular issues may not be the ones that are fixed with the arrangement I have with my mares."

"B-but-" Sweetie began, but a raised hand cut her off. I wasn't sure when I had gotten the power to make a pony quiet down by lifting a hand - might've been a very situational power all things considered. I was the judge of what was to be their fate in this issue, I supposed that if I lifted my hand at any pony beyond my mares that they might quiet a tad before asking if I thought I was some sort of king waving my hand like that.

"This all being said, and considering certain bits of the circumstances that surround us, I have come to the following conclusion." I looked the two of them over. They were bursting with anticipation for my answer. I could only hope that it was to their liking - it was the best thing I could give them. "I have decided that I will decline your offer to be my slaves." They deflated almost instantly. That hurt. "However," That made them perk up once more, "I am more than willing to welcome you in as friends with benefits.

"Being my slaves is not what you truly need. This doesn't mean you can't be part of the fun we get up to on a consistent basis. You can take a submissive role in those proceedings, but being my slaves isn't a part of it." I looked between the two of them, gauging their responses to this. They seemed alright, not too deflated considering I wasn't cutting them off from Applebloom's fetish fuel. "I might change this ruling later on. I'll only put it up to consideration after some time and if you both ask for reconsideration. Who knows, maybe being my slaves is what you do need, but I think that might be something for the future."

"I think that I can say we are both incredibly grateful for your consideration." Sweetie said, looking over to Applebloom. The earth pony mare gave a nod and a gentle smile.

"I think I'll be happy for the meantime. Thank yuh for your kind offer. We accept." Applebloom did her best, and despite this, I could tell she was not as happy as she might portray herself as being in this situation. I had figured as much would be the case. Applebloom had a need that needed itched. Being turned into a slave would be - in all likelihood - the completion of that desire. Despite that knowledge, I knew that the odds were that she already had somepony who would be her Mistress in a few years - if not months.

"I want you both to know that I want you two to be happy, which is why I can't just have you as my slaves." I said, trying to explain myself despite never being asked to do so. "My mares voluntarily offering themselves up isn't the only reason why they are mine."

"He also likes our jiggly bits." Berry added. I closed my eyes as I sighed. It was true that that was part of it. Maybe a bigger part than I wanted to admit.

"It's because they need this. Our relationship is one of codependence, not unilateral advantage. I need them as much as they need me, maybe more." I looked at Applebloom and Sweetie, reading them as best I was able while moving forward. "If in time I see that simply being party to our sexy shenanigans isn't truly enough for you and that you need full subservience to me, then I'll reconsider my choice.

"This isn't me saying you aren't good enough. You very much are good enough as far as the physical is concerned, but the physical is transient. I hate to sound like some sort of shaman or monk, but in the end, physical attraction isn't something meant to last. My mares are with me for the long haul because we all need each other beyond the simple fulfillment of lust. If you - either of you - were truly needing this for the long run, I'll be here to help." They nodded slowly.

I leaned back into Berry's boobs, feeling the dissonance of talking like some sort of sage or guru on wholesome relationships before letting my head rest on the chest of a mare. I was a confused mess of a pony in a confused mess of circumstances.

"Alright. Well... thank you, Crescendo, for considering us for the... position?" Sweetie fumbled, unsure how to put it.

"Honey, you just got naked in front of him and invited him to become your master. The formalities aren't just dead, they're already returning to the soil." Berry said, a smirk evident in her voice.

"I... I guess." Sweetie slowly shrugged. "One question though, we're having a meet up with a friend of ours next Tuesday. Would you be able to swing by, say 'hi', and get introduced?" I blinked a few times, and then shrugged.

"Sure. I wouldn't mind meeting a new friend." It sounded like fun - and if I needed something after all the Empire business I had had to go through, it was fun.

"Sweet, so, do any of you wanna fuck?" Berry asked with all the practiced nonchalance of a sex-crazed maniac.

Side E - Chapter 9: A Lesson in Thaumaturgy

I ran through the streets, covered up once more. It was an unfortunate state of affairs that I had to leave the three mares after making sure I had sorted everything with the recording, but I had to get to the bottom of this and fast. I had felt... something. I had initially identified it as my own lust taking over, but that wasn't it. Not entirely at least. I had done something that involved random ponies who had never asked for it. I had been prodded, but I had taken the direction even farther than had been intended. Than I wanted.

Breaking free from the houses of Ponyville, I poured on the speed despite my burning lungs. I had to make it before something else happened. Before me the castle loomed up, casting odd shadows. No longer did it seem menacing, but a beacon of hope. The benefits of not trying to attack it.

I slammed through the doors, calling out as I tried to catch my breath, "Twilight!" I frantically looked around. The alicorn in question flew out into the halls. She swooped down and caught herself, landing on her feet in front of me in an impressive display. She looked over me, her expression expecting to find a massive gash across my face or chest or something.

"T-Twilight..." I managed, and then...

"I'll give you this one chance. Submit and I'll go easy on you." A voice, one blue with black hair, said in the distance. I swung around, the sluggish darkness around me moving like wet cement. I looked all over, but saw nothing. "You are incompetent. You could've saved her!" Something tugged at me, pulled at something beyond even my being.

"I'm taking what authority you never could use." I felt myself shooting through the space, though nothing seemed to move. "I'll end it, all of it. Nothing left to give hurt to anypony." The world suddenly shifted cold, biting at me with all of its ferocity. I tried to huddle in a ball, but the world held my limbs back, the sluggish space around me holding me fast.

"I didn't do this for me!" I felt another jerk, and fell through the cold into oblivion.

I slowly came to, blinking away the small amounts of crust that had formed at my eyes. I looked around, finding myself in the castle. I slowly sat up, looking around as I tried to gain my bearings fully. What had happened? I retraced my memory as best I could. There was the castle and then Twilight... and then... a voice? It sounded familiar... yet distant. I threw it from my mind, not because I felt it unimportant, but because that way lay madness.

Standing up, I tried to think where I might find Twilight in the expansive corridors of the castle. I had a general idea where her study was from where I believed I had woken up. A lot of the rooms in this place were hard to distinguish beyond judging the quantities of books in them. This one had a moderate level of books, which really wasn't much to go on on its own.

Fortunately for me, Twilight entered the room, seven books floating around her, one of them getting read while another was actively being written in. She was absorbed in her world as her reading material switched off multiple times while she continued to scribble away. Eventually she did look away from her books towards the couch I had been left on, lighting up when she saw I was on my feet.

"Crescendo, you're awake!" She floated her books neatly over to a table, walking over to me, craning her neck around to look over me as she approached. "You had me quite worried when you collapsed in the main hall, but you seemed physically fine to most of my scanning spells. Are you alright?"

"I..." My vocabulary failed me as I tried to piece together my thoughts. A few moments later I plopped back down in the couch, resting my head in my hands as I tried to figure myself out. "No... no something is very wrong." I admitted, not sure what to make of the world that I called my own. "I... I used my artifact... but this time it was... it didn't feel like I was using the artifact. It was almost like some other pony was using it through me." Twilight remained silent for a few moments before placing a hand on my back.

"It's alright, we'll work this out." She said in as close to a mothering tone as she could manage. I could tell she was doing her best to emulate what she thought Celestia would do - which was good since the genuine article might be sending me into banishment about now.

"Wait..." She stood up, moving away from me. "Wait, somepony else... somepony..." I looked up to her as she brought over a piece of paper, looking it over a few times before her eyes lit up. "THAT'S IT!" She shouted, grabbing the paper from her own magic with a wide smile across her features. She looked to me, her expression reading as profound happiness and concern all at once. "You need to follow me, now!" She darted off, leaving me behind before I could respond.

I followed her, running through the castle's many corridors. I realized we were moving to the lower levels, descending at a constant yet gradual pace. Floor by floor, going far deeper than I had realized the castle went. Eventually, she waited at a door, allowing me into a rather large room. All across the space were metallic bars that jutted out towards the center. At the very middle of the room, suspended in midair by no discernable means, was the notebook that Silver had used as his artifact.

Twilight closed the door behind us, an action which caused a network of arcane runes to trace across it before fading out of sight. I looked to the alicorn, she simply looked at the notebook, looking at it like she had spent a lot of time doing that in recent days. Considering the type of pony Twilight seemed to be, that was very likely.

"I've made some very interesting discoveries with this artifact." She began, moving around the room, following a circle that was traced into the floor. "It has a variety of enchantments and other intricate spellcraft woven into its very essence." She lit her horn, touching a hand to the glow, causing her fingers to emanate a small, yet perceptible glow. She extended her glowing digits towards the notebook, plucking at something invisible.

Suddenly the room came alive. The notebook flew open, its pages zipping past, blurred lines of script leaving before they had had a chance to be read. In an instant, the pages stopped and the room was filled with lavender and cyan lines. The lines crossed through the room, overlapping with each other in curves, straight lines, waveforms, and shapes that resembled cursive lettering that flowed on and on. All these lines, at one point or another, connected to a metal rod and the notebook. The room was filled with it, the immense structure of arcane drawings beyond my small understanding of thaumaturgical principles.

Twilight waved her still glowing hand through the air, and soon the space around the notebook was filled with rings of circling letters and symbols whose meaning was beyond me. I simply watched slack jawed as various concentric circle spun about like a glowing gyroscope, all centered about the notebook, whose surface glowed.

Bolts of magic crackled across its surface, occasionally jumping from the paper's surface to one of the rods with a menacing hiss. The entire effect gave the room the feel of static electricity stuck in honey and the smell of ozone with a slice of lemon. I looked to Twilight, hoping she'd catch onto the fact I was thoroughly lost.

"This is what we call an 'arcane matrix'." Twilight explained as she moved over to a machine, flipping a switch which sent out a small spool of paper rolling out with scribblings across its surface. "When an item is enchanted, the only way to tell exactly what has gone into it is one of these, though - depending on when it was enchanted - the particulars might be harder to suss out." She looked over the slowly elongating stream of paper.

"What... exactly does that mean for my problem?" I asked, watching another cyan bolt connect the book to a metal rod. She looked back to me, and then again to the book.

"I've spent a while trying to pry apart this artifact's arcane essence. Even a high intensity field has yielded only the barest minimal of information on it. I can confirm certain parts of it though." She turned off the machine, pulling the stretch of paper out, bringing it over to me. Unfurling it, I looked over it, finding a variety of data streams on it, from a waveform to a bar graph to a series of colored dots. Twilight helpfully gestured to one side of the paper, which was covered in typed arcane runes. I looked at her with an arched eyebrow.

"I know it makes little sense to you, but either way, this string of arcane symbols is a very interesting enchantment, one that I think might have something to bear on what you're talking about." She traced a finger along the length of the paper as she spoke. "This is all fairly odd hat enchantments - hard to find anypony who'd use something like this anymore - but this bit is recognizable as a 'restructuring protocol' of sorts.

"Most old artifacts had something along these lines. Essentially, if the artifact were to be broken apart without its arcane essence being disentangled, decompiled, and broken; the artifact would put itself back together after a while." She explained.

"Alright... so indestructible after a fashion, all well and good..."

"That's not all, though." Twilight cut back in. "This particular artifact actually has..." She pulled the roll of paper along, bringing me farther and farther down the line of text as it trailed up the long sheet, "two of those enchantments." She pointed out the segment of arcane runes that did in fact seem much the same to my untrained eye.

"Now, having dual restructuring enchantments isn't too out of the ordinary - it makes doubly sure that your artifact isn't going to be broken apart easily. It's basically like having a chain on your door as well as a deadbolt - or maybe just two deadbolts." She then ran her finger farther down the line. "The thing is that this second enchantment has a very distinct deviation, one that I've been having a very hard time placing.

"It isn't as if you can deviate too far from the normal restructuring enchantment. You start fiddling with the runes too much and you find yourself straying closer to a mending enchantment or a healing artifact after a while. But somehow this is neither of those, and yet is fundamentally a restructuring enchantment with some odd modification added on, which should mean it is one of those two spells.

"I've scoured book after book, and yet nothing has come up! I tried comparative analysis to homophonic rune sets, and yet I found nothing!" She then looked to me with an expression of equal parts excitement and deep rooted concern. "But then you... you might just have found it for me. No reading required!" Twilight's horn burst to life, and suddenly a flash filled the room.

Blinking away the spots, I saw her holding a book in her magic. Maybe there was some reading needed. She was flipping through the pages at a furious pace. I watched as she finally found her place and turned the book to face me. I looked over it, and then at the scroll of paper. Her magic highlighted a segment on each.

"You see, I've been trying to find something that matches the print of the rest of the artifact's distinct power. I focused on its ability to warp reality, to take advantage of the arcane energies within everything that is alive - and some things that aren't traditionally seen as alive. No string of symbols matched with what we have here." I blinked, looking at the pair of glowing symbols. "Except..."

"Except those runes weren't part of the reality warping..." I muttered, looking at the heading. 'Principles of the Hypothetical use of the Arcane for Resurrection by Means of Enchantment and Runes.' "It's... a resurrection enchantment?"

"Not exactly." Twilight admitted, pointing out various points on the line of symbols. The commonalities were numerous, but the differences weren't exactly few and far between if I was honest. "The restructuring enchantment and the hypothetical resurrection enchantment are very much born of the same root. Fortunately for us, resurrection via enchantment was never successfully executed.

"It was supposed to manage it by using a preservation spell in tandem with a thaum aggregation spell. In theory, after a few centuries at the normal background level of twelve Nyxls, you should have enough energy to cast the spell."

"You're throwing around a lot of terms that sound like they should mean a lot to me." I said blandly. Twilight blushed lightly before clearing her throat.

"A thaum is the fundamental, indivisible unit of magical energy. A Nyxl, though a tad archaic, is a unit of measurement equivalent to the flow of one thaum per second - the average energy used when a unicorn's horn glows without using a spell. The typical thaumatic flow through the world averages about twelve Nyxls." She explained before pointing back to the book.

"The enchantment was supposed to take in that flow passively, basically building a dam in one area so that more and more energy would be available for the enchantment to fire off its effect." She pointed at a diagram which showed what I could only assume was a tomb with what I guessed were the arcane batteries - or dams - that would be used.

"It was theorized by those who crafted the enchantment that it would take roughly four Apocs of arcane energy to bring life back to a corpse." I gave her a look. "Eh... the theoretical amount of energy it would take for Celestia to move the sun four degrees across the sky at a rate of one degree per second." That... that was likely a lot of energy.

"You're throwing a lot of 'hypotheticals' and 'theoreticals' in here, should I be concerned by those?" I asked, well and truly out of my depth.

"Well, it is particularly hard to get Celestia to demonstrate moving the sun at one degree per second just for science's sake - sort of how it is fairly hard to test an enchantment that is supposed to resurrect a pony after centuries of power aggregation within a reasonable time frame." Twilight pointed out. "We do have it on fairly good authority, though, that pumping four Apocs of energy into a corpse only gives you a very magical corpse. Perhaps a thrall, depending on if you applied it towards necromancy.

"Either way, that being the case, this enchantment string is fairly... well, it is not exactly standard. It is like the resurrection enchantment, but it is also very much not the resurrection enchantment." She looked me over, making sure I was following. Surprisingly I was still on the same page - at least I thought I was. Same chapter at least. Definitely the same book. I was likely in the same library as her.

"Looking over both of these enchantments with comparative analysis and based off what I know... I can come to some conclusions." She walked off with book and scroll, looking between both as she apparated a notepad to take notes.

"Our artifact here has ditched the aggregation mechanism, meaning its effect is either cast when sufficient power has been used on it or when certain other conditions are met." My eyes fell on the floating artifact, watching wheels of magical sigils float around it. Twilight's voice slowly faded into the background as I stared, as if by simply looking at it I'd unlock its mysteries. I could tell the Straight Record to make it so. I could also use it to fuck Twilight.

I closed my eyes and clenched my fist, taking deep breaths. I steadied myself, focusing on the sound of the thrumming magic that pulsed through the room in a cloud of citrus-lightning scent. I felt something. It was as if there was a small voice calling to me from the artifact. I spoke in tones I knew, but couldn't let myself recognize.

I was broken from my revelry by a tap on the shoulder. I flinched back, and saw Twilight, now standing at my other side, having walked all the way around the room, looking at me with deep concern across her features.

"You... you aren't alright." She stated. There was no question, it was a fact to her. I couldn't help but agree. "Cress... what... what kind of 'somepony' is using the artifact?" I thought on this for a second, trying to organize what thoughts or feelings I had on the force that felt so much like another will.

"Somepony... very horny I suppose. A pony that gets a high from control." I said simply. "Similar enough to me, yet... I guess a sort of exaggeration of many aspects." She nodded slowly, letting me continue. Unfortunately I had nothing else. Despite trying to focus on it, nothing more came to me.

"There... there's something else." I began. She motioned for me to continue, but I wasn't sure how to say the next part without sounding completely looney. "I... I'm not sure how to explain it, but... but I've been seeing things. Well, the same thing at different times." She again motioned for me to continue. She wasn't making this easy on me. "Eh... it's... well, I basically only get to see these... eyes. They're angry. I can feel their anger just hitting me like a blast of hot wind."

"Do you recognize the eyes?" She asked. I blinked at her, the question striking me as odd. I had expected her to pass it off as nothing, but somehow she was asking me clarifying questions as if I was saying reasonable things. "Sometimes... well, the arcane energy field doesn't exactly exist within time. It can act like it, convincingly so most of the time, but in reality it exists outside of time.

"At times, very rarely, the field can... interact in a very odd way with ponies. Many times it does so with ponies who are at the center of a lot of magical energy. Celestia and Luna have experienced it more than once in their lives, and I've had it happen at least once that I can confirm.

"Most ponies will call them visions. It isn't exactly the most accurate of descriptors, but it is functional. In the end, the arcane field can provide us brief glimpses or feelings about the future, both near and far. And, seeing as you carry some fairly high power artifacts on you like a wallet or phone, I can only imagine that you may have become an unintentional nexus of a great deal of arcane potentiality. It wouldn't surprise me if you're being subjected to these 'arcane premonitions'.

"Now, it isn't as if the premonitions are completely set in stone, but in the end, they usually do give a good indication of where things might head without any course corrections." I could only imagine she had been waiting for somepony to spring that lecture on, it felt a bit too well together. Then again maybe she just had an organized thought process.

"That all being said, do you happen to recognize the eyes?" She asked again. I sighed, and nodded. It wasn't hard to recognize them. I pulled back my black hair as I figured how to frame this.

"Yeah... yeah, I know who the eyes belong to." I looked Twilight dead in the eyes. "It's me."

Side E - Chapter 10: Divesting

"So what we know," Twilight said as she looked me over, "is that you've been experiencing arcane foresight of a sort in which you see yourself being incredibly enraged and have also have had episodes of lapse of control." I nodded to this, all of what she had said being true. "To be completely fair, we have no way of telling if the two are related. Honestly, it isn't like you've been an amazing exemplar of patience beyond measure. I've known you to be at times quite prone to anger, vindictive even.

"I've seen you reciprocate torture with the same. I recall you being more than willing to raise your voice in anger at me when you felt justice wasn't being dealt out properly. Now, I can't say I've seen you being enraged at those you love or hold dear, so there is a minor point to your account." Twilight conceded. "Seeing a vision of you being exceedingly angry isn't exactly something I'd consider as perception breaking as far as your general character goes."

"Yes... but this was different." I pressed, leaning against the wall as I cupped my head in my hands. "It wasn't just me being overly enraged or even just struck with a blinding rage. It was... it felt like the sort of deep and abiding hatred that usually broils and simmers at the fringes, but at the intensity of an explosion of anger. It was the sort of hate that I can't even imagine feeling." Twilight paused, giving this due consideration.

"Assuming it was you that you saw," She began, measuring her words carefully, "it is always possible that the future is just a very trying time. Then again, there is the very real possibility that you just think it was you. It may be somepony that looks very much like you. Eyes and a bit of hair only tell you so much." I shook my head to this.

"Maybe, but that doesn't explain the voice."

"Voice?" Twilight echoed after a second or two. "You never mentioned a voice." I paused and then groaned, slumping down the wall. Now I had to explain that.

"When I fainted in the entryway, I heard things." I explained before diving into the experience that was my period in blackness with a voice around me. It wasn't the easiest thing to summarize, but I had set myself up for the explanation by bringing it up. "I didn't realize it when I was in the middle of it," I explained as I wrapped up the telling of the vision, "but after I woke up... I realized I had been hearing my own voice."

"That... that is fairly concerning." She popped a squat in front of me, putting a hand on my shoulder. "Do you think that it was trying to say those things to you." I blinked at that one. She must've felt my confusion, because an instant later she was explaining. "Seeing things, and now hearing things, can be explained away as excess stress. That being said, it could also be either a corruptive force or a part of your case of arcane foresight. It all honestly depends on if it was talking to you, in general, or even just saying words for the sake of it."

Honestly, at this point I wanted it to be a corruptive force. I had heard those were fairly easy to deal with once diagnosed. I also knew the ponies who were professionals at said curative process. This all being a case of the 'I can see the future' was a far more complicated business. If something made me that enraged... I didn't want to know.

"It..." I tried to recall how the voice had sounded. Every one of my own intonations, the way the voice spoke, all of it used as evidence in a developing case that was slowly being built. It was a shaky case, but a case. "I think that... it very easily could've been aimed at me as any other pony." I admitted in the most unhelpful of ways.

"In that case it might just be another layer to your visions. Another part of the indistinct future that might be ahead of you." She smiled a gentle smile, one that wanted to radiate comfort but was still learning how to do so. "The best advise I can give you is to not worry to much about it. The thaumatic flow of the world will give you foresight, but it isn't like it actually chooses things to show you. There is no grander message behind these things usually, just glimpses from the other side of the gap. Expecting these things to be meaningful is like thinking what you see on the other side of a window when you open and close the shutters really fast is any more meaningful than what you'd see otherwise."

I looked at her expression, finding myself a tad at a loss for words. Was... was that true? These visions... they weren't like how they were shown in books? They really meant so little? I thought, much as anypony who read as much fiction as I did, that the world occasionally let you see what was coming next if you might do something different. The world generally hated upheaval in my view of things, and so if it could avoid the big bumps it would - even if a few rules had to be bend.

"You mean..."

"These visions are only as meaningful as you make them." Twilight assured me. "The part of this that concerns me is whatever force you feel is trying to take away a portion of your autonomy." That swiftly sunk any ship of splendid hope I had had that there was nothing needing to be worried about. "If I understand what you're saying correctly, it appears that it only ever seems to be a problem when you use the artifacts.

"Now, correlation doesn't necessarily mean causation, but a thorough scientist does their best to remove the variables to test every hypothesis." I blinked at this. If I was supposed to extract meaning or comfort from that pronouncement I had missed the memo. "Cress, I think you need to stop carrying around the artifacts."

Almost like a subconscious leviathan wheeling its head above the sea of consciousness, my gut lurched at the thought of letting the artifacts go. There were more than likely remnants of the Empire out there that had a personal vendetta against us, against me, or against my mares! Putting away the artifacts would be opening myself up to attack!

I blinked, an then took a breath. I had been fortunate during the years I had had on this world. I had never fallen to any vices too heavily. I never drank anything stronger than orange juice, never inhaled first hand smoke, and never used that schticky-icky. Despite all that, I had a pretty good idea what addiction was, or in this case, what was likely a magical compulsion.

"Yeah... yeah, I think that might be for the best." I said in a murmur.

"I can tell this won't be easy for you to do - and there are some very sensible reasons to not want to. I'm glad you agreed, though. I have a feeling the artifacts are hiding more than I've been able to uncover thus far. More tests will be necessary before any solid conclusions can be made, but I am certain we will have something figured in short order." Twilight said in as comforting of terms as she likely could manage. If I had been a doctor I bet I would've felt exceedingly comforted.

I nodded slowly, pulling out the Fixed Dial and Button's artifact, handing them over to her. She took them, placing the two of them in a box which apparated in a flash. I sighed, knowing this was for the best.

"Cress?" Twilight said, bringing me out from my mind before I even entered it. "The recorder?" I blinked at her, and then scratched the back of my head in an awkward gesture.

"I... I can't exactly... give it to you." I said apologetically.

"Cress, you said yourself that you thought it was for the best to let me hold on to them." She pressed me. "Be the better stallion and put it in the box."

"No... you misunderstand, I physically can't." It was her turn to blink at me this time, trying her best to take this in along with the rest I had told her.

"Has the compulsion aspect grown that strong? If so, we don't even need to tes-"

"Twilight, it isn't like that." I stopped her before she could continue. I brought out the recorder, showing it to her. She went to grab it, only to stop as I smashed my fist into it. She drew back, and then looked at me with the most stupefied look as I showed her the beaten apple in my hand. "I... well... Double and I came up with a plan to trick the Emperor that extra bit if need be." I tossed the apple in my hand, Twilight's eyes following it.

"I'm not sure if you can recall, but a while back - and by a while I mean when we were still up against Silver and Gunther - you gave me an apple you had transmuted into the recorder. I've kept it around, though I hadn't made much use of it beyond using it as a prop."

"So where is the actual recorder? Do you still have it on you or did you leave it somewhere?" She asked before I had a chance to continue.

"I was getting there." I shot back with a smirk. "As I said, Double and I came up with a plan. We both figured that more trouble had come from the recorder falling into the wrong pony's - or otherwise - hands. I... well, I made a very particular recording just before we left the house to face the Emperor."

"Please tell me, for the sake of Celestia, that you used its power to reduce it to atoms." Twilight said with a less than amused expression. I could tell that she could tell that that wasn't the case. She had some hope that it might be, but she had enough reason and foresight to tell that it wasn't the truth.

"Sorry." I said with an apologetic smile. "I... well..." I stretched out my left hand, curling my fingers back so that the tips touched the base of the same fingers. I then placed my right hand on top of it and then pressed down on my left hand's pointer finger. The Straight Record's effect activated and I could feel the world waiting to accommodate my next order.

"Twilight understood what I had done." I then lifted my curled pointer finger back up, letting the effect set itself in place. Twilight blinked some more at me.

"You... you melded the recorder into yourself." She asked in a state of absolute bewilderment. "You took an artifact, ancient and powerful and of unknown origins, and then decided that making it a permanent feature of yourself was a good idea." She gave an exasperated sigh, throwing her head back. "I give you that the particular activating mechanism is smart enough - very unlikely to fire accidentally at least. Even so, you took an artifact and made it part of yourself." She returned her gaze to me.

"I suppose you might, by this point, be able to tell why you've been experiencing a phenomena that requires you to be an epicenter of magical forces and have also not felt entirely yourself at times." She said in the tone of a pony who was thoroughly done with my shit. "I'm not sure if you were just foolhardy or clueless, but you honestly should've seen something like this coming about by subsuming an artifact into your very essence."

"I was expecting something more along the lines of magic syphilis or space aides." I joked with a shrug and a smile.

"This isn't a joke, Cress! Artifacts aren't just inert pieces of junk with a bit of magic thrown in for seasoning! They are objects that have, within themselves, an immense force of nature! To be specific, a force of nature that makes them essentially people of a sort! We're talking to the point that artifacts have been, in a variety of countries, granted personal rights on par with the sapient races! The Elements of Harmony had passports and signed consent forms saying that we could use them!"

"Who signed them?"

"A very confused clerk!" Twilight snapped before standing up and stomping away, trying to collect herself even as she wanted to send me to the moon - or worse. "Cress, it bears repeating that the move to take in the artifact was not the brightest of moves. As far as a tactic to surprise the Emperor it was a few steps short of genius, but as a life choice, it was horrendously shortsighted."

"To be fair," I said, lifting a finger as if to get the teacher's attention, "I was expecting to have 'The End' come up shortly after that meeting. Be it directly after 'and they all lived happily ever after' or 'and the Emperor lived happily ever after', I was just looking at what was, in my opinion, the finish line." Twilight sighed again before sitting down beside me, shaking her head.

"Look, Cress, it was dumb. It just so happens to be the type of stupid that you're going to have to live with if you weren't lying about its limitations." She said, closing her eyes, trying to think really hard - and equally not at all - on the situation we were in. This would likely be the brand new source of stress for the Princess of Friendship for a good long while.

"I guess that means an acetaminophen and a slap on the back won't fix my problems then?"

Side E - Chapter 11: A Promise Made

I walked back to the house. There was nothing more for me to do in this situation. Twilight assured me that she'd be working nonstop to find an answer to our conundrum. Firstly she'd figure out what that modified resurrection spell entailed. Knowing what it really was and what it actually did would allow for a better plan. Then again, it was also likely that it was just a complicated spell to achieve another restructuring sort of effect. I had memories from Gunther and Brass that told me that there was a category of artifacts known as the 'reforged'. I could recall, through their memories, a conversation in which Gunther had even referred to the Straight Record as likely having been one of them. Perhaps this spell string was that?

Either way, there was no way I'd be much of any help. I had barely passed the basic magic course I had been assigned in high school, and this was well beyond that. I sighed as I tried to sort out my thoughts and the confusing times that I found myself in. All of this was just one gigantic, convoluted situation. In the very least there was something I could look forward to.

Entering the house, I looked around, feeling somehow out of place. This was the same home, and yet entering it without having to worry about some random bad guy jumping out and attacking me felt... odd. I shook my head with a smirk. Once this situation resolved there'd be nothing but smooth sailing. At least by comparison. Sure, there'd be problems - no road only had flowers, there was always going to be a pothole. In the very least I wouldn't have to worry about something as powerful and organized as the Empire coming back - especially since we had the artifacts.

I plopped down on the sofa, looking over to the seat beside me and raised an eyebrow at the newspaper. More so the headline as I understood that newspapers were a thing that indeed existed. Grabbing it, I looked over the front page.

Night Terrorist Caught!

For the last several weeks, the inhabitants of Equestria and beyond have had to contend with far more frequent nightly interruptions. Nightmares, of the most horrific sort, have struck the upper crust as well as those with barely a crust on their plate. Princess Luna had told our reporters that she had been investigating the occurrences and had been searching for the force that had been causing this most disturbing of situations. Not two days later, Princess Luna has returned with an update.

It appears a pony, whose identity is to not be revealed pending their trial, had been using a special magic to inflict nightmares and night terrors upon ponies as some demented scheme for power. The exact mechanism is unknown, however, Princess Luna has assured us all that we may rest in peace knowing the perpetrator has been put away. (More on Page 9)

I regarded the story with a bit of interest, a small memory pricking at the back of my mind of some pony in the Empire with an artifact that held power over dreams. It gave me pause that even now ponies from the Empire were being found. I took a breath in, putting the paper down. I had something I needed to do. I turned my gaze to the stairs, unsure if anypony would be home.

The jostling of the Arcano-Wagon over the rough road wasn't the most welcome experience, but it had a cause behind it. I had, after a short search, found the ponies I was looking for.

"How about we go on a shopping day?" I had said. "Have a bit of fun. A bit of rest and recovery and such after all the Empire business." It had been easy to convince them all. We really deserved a day of good fun that wasn't necessarily raunchy. We didn't exactly say that it wouldn't be raunchy. Knowing us, we'd manage it somehow. With or without artifacts involved. Berry would in the very least.

Now we were driving away down the road towards a city with a bit more shops than just the mom and pop variety. That and the city that held the restaurant in which I had made reservations for our night out - well, Raven had made the reservations, I had just asked her to do it since she could actually afford the place. Especially considering a certain large purchase I was about to make.

I watched the road fly past, letting myself just lay back into the cushions of the Arcano-Wagon, letting the wind sing to me as it whipped past. I could hear the voices of the mares behind me, the wind doing a good bit to cover up what was being said. It was nice that Double and Thyme had also agree to come along, I did need to talk to Double as well after all. I was getting to take so many birds out in one go that I was likely setting a new benchmark in terms of my own efficiency.

I leaned over, throwing an arm around Periwinkle as she continued to drive, giving her a quick peck on the cheek. "I love you." She gave me a quick glance and smirk before returning her eyes to the road. "I don't say it often enough."

"You could stand to say it a bit more often." Spry admitted with a shrug and a smile. "I love you, too. I'm glad we met that fateful day." I smiled at this. It felt like it was so long ago. Life, circumstances, and a healthy helping of artifact meddling had ensured that we had been pushed together - all of us. Some of us closer than others, admittedly. My mares and I were far closer now after what we had been through than I had been to anypony else. I loved them all. I could only hope that today was a good day. I could work with tomorrow, overmorrow, and beyond; but today... today was just a tad closer - harder to see the day's forest for all the trees in front of me. I'd certainly do my best to make the day a good one, if for no other reason than to off set the Empire's evil. And because I loved them. Celestia have mercy on anypony who did them wrong.

The mall was certainly a change of pace. After having lived in Ponyville for even a short while, the mall felt like a city of its own right. Massive, sprawling, and filled to the brim with creatures of every sort selling and buying goods of equal variety. All of the mares, Thyme included, scampered off for their own time together, leaving me pretty much alone with Double as we walked through the various stores. It took me a good few moments, but I broke the silence between us as we left yet another store.

"How goes the planning for the wedding?" I asked, looking at yet another poster for some film that I had still no interest in seeing. "You got a venue yet or are you still looking into that?"

"Oh yeah! Forgot to tell you!" Double perked up. "Yeah, we talked with Twilight. Seeing as she's a princess she has the authority to do wedding proceedings. That and she agreed to do it after we asked and we really hadn't taken the time to ask anypony else. We're actually gonna have it in the Ponyville townhall."

"Really? You got the Princess of Friendship to officiate your wedding?" I said with a hint of surprise. Sure, I knew she could technically do it, but the question of if she would was one that I hadn't had answered until just now. "Some ponies have all the luck it seems." I joked.

"Yeah, I guess somepony has to have the luck you all seem to lack with all this Empire business. I only had to go through a bit of it and I was already thoroughly done with them before it was over." Double said, leaning his head back to give a sigh. "Honestly, I'm just glad it's over and that we can at least have some sense of normalcy come back."

"Times are changing fast." I nodded in affirmation. "About changing times, I got something I need to ask you, something very important." Double looked over at me with a raised eyebrow. Not my smoothest transition, even I'd admit it.

"Alright then, shoot."

I walked out of the mall with my mares, Double, and Thyme - substantially lighter on bits. Celestia's sun slowly made its way behind the line of the horizon as Luna's moon ascended to bring night upon the face of Equestria. Even with this, the city didn't quiet down. I was more than used to this type of life in Manehatten, but even so it was a definite change from what I had experienced during my time in Ponyville. It was equal parts surprise and refreshing return to what I had been accustomed to during my childhood.

The buzz of the streets, the blaring lights of the city, and the sounds of life continuing beyond the hand of day filled me with energy. Our walk away from the mall wasn't too long of course, the restaurant was just across the way. I was frankly surprised when Raven had said she had nabbed a reservation. It was one of the finer places in the city, and as such necessitated us coming dressed for the occasion in the threads we had used on that ill fated double date that wasn't so long ago.

It didn't take much time for us to get taken to our seats, a benefit of planning I supposed. I wouldn't know, I barely got to do it any. Our seat was a wonderful table on the balcony that overlooked the city streets, the auspicious location of the restaurant giving a direct view down the main thoroughfare out towards the city limits. It was a stunning sight to be sure.

"I hate to be the bearer of bad news," Thyme began, looking at the menu, "but this is one of those places that doesn't tell you the price on the menu." I looked at the menu and found that her observation was indeed accurate. The menu spared language on describing the listed items - preferring to draw and quarter them and then display their mangled corpses for all to see - but the prices had somehow escaped the massacre and were no doubt off someplace counting their blessings. That boded well.

"Don't worry, I have it covered." Raven said with a smile. We all gave her a look of surprise. She was loaded, that I knew, but... loaded enough to pay for the service at a restaurant at which they didn't list prices? Not listing prices was just a kind way of telling everypony 'We have no cheap options. We serve quality food. If you wanted the cheap option, you should've payed more attention to the burger joint further down the street.'

"You sure? I'd hate to impose on your generosity that much." Double said with no little surprise at my mare.

"No worries, I have it covered." Raven replied with a grin.

"I don't think this place accepts blowies as adequate payment." Berry noted in her own way. "This is the kind of place that doesn't have napkins - they have serviettes."

"As I said, I have it covered." Raven said once more, glossing over Berry's comment. Berry shrugged, even as our waitress walked up, giving a short bow to the table.

"Welcome to the Lavish Chateau, I am Ocean Sapphire and I'll be your waitress for the night. May I start you all off with drinks?" She gave her best customer service smile to us all as she spoke. Giving our orders to her, I got a sense of déjà vu that dated itself back to the last date we had all shared. My hands itched, but instead of folding my left in the way to get access to the artifact, it strayed to the pocket that held my little package. It provided more stress and comfort than any other gesture I could've thought of.

Double gave me a light tap on the leg, breaking me from my moment. He gave me a smile and returned his attention to the table as the waitress took our last few drink orders. It was a comfort to know that Double was still there for me. I knew he would be, but him confirming it was still good for my soul. Raven told the waitress her order, and with that, we were back to just us at the table.

"How did you even get reservations at this place? It's not exactly a burger place that you can just walk in and expect to get service." Thyme asked in low tones, leaning forward so that no other table had to be involved.

"Well, it isn't like I'm short on bits." Raven said. "It also helps to be the owner's niece." I nodded at this as I leaned back. Sure, I could call to mind most any time I needed to that Raven was rich and from a rich family, but I always had trouble remembering the part about the family being rich - or more specifically, its particular relevance when high society was concerned.

"So that's how you intend to get away with tonight." Double commented. "I suppose family discount is probably quite hefty for an only niece."

"I'm not an only niece, but the point is taken and is decently true." Raven nodded.

"I thought you said you were an only child?" Thyme said, a quizzical expression across her features.

"I do have cousins." Raven replied. It was at this point that I just started to chuckle. It was a chuckle that slowly, yet surely, developed into a laughing fit. A laughing fit, it ended up, that was contagious. It wasn't as though anything was particularly funny about this. This little misunderstanding was certainly not that entertaining. It was just the laugh of ponies that had been through far too much and needed something beyond sex to destress. It was relief washing over all of us.

We needed this. Sex and sexy shenanigans were all well and good, but this... this was something better in some ways. There was only so much our debauchery could do for our mental health.

I looked around to all my mares and to my cousin and soon to be cousin-in-law. We were having the time of our lives. It was good to see life back in these ponies, and as the night progressed, I was only happier for the company. I didn't care how the food turned out - it turned out wonderfully all the same - and I didn't care what sort of looks we got from other tables during our stress relief - and there were plenty getting shot at us. We certainly weren't prim and/or proper in the slightest.

I licked my lips, having finished off my meal, much like the rest of the table. I smiled at my mares, taking a breath as I gathered my courage up. I gave a subtle tap to Double's leg as I adjusted how my chair sat at the table. He dabbed his mouth with a serviette before slyly bringing out his phone from his coat. I looked to my mares with the most sincere, yet nerve wracked smile - I had ever given while my left hand slid the little package out from my pocket.

"That was an excellent meal." Raven said, adjusting as she took her serviette off her lap, looking to Berry and Periwinkle with a smile. I gave a nod.

"Yeah... yeah, it certainly was." I gripped the box tightly, taking one more deep breath. Caution to the wind! I moved from my seat slightly, the world seeming to fall silent and still around me as I maneuvered the small package, feeling every sensation grow far more intense yet dim so very much as my body moved on its own.

My knee hit the ground. I lifted the box, opening it to present it to my mares.

"Will you marry me?"

...

My brain took several moments to finally catch up to the world around me, all the sensory data arriving in one go. My... my mares were out of their chairs... on their knees. I blinked at them, realizing I hadn't been the only one to say those four magic words. Kneeling side by side, they each had a hand on a box of their own in which a ring sat.

I finally breathed, tears already forming. My box and its three rings fell from my hands as I darted forward and hugged my mares. We cried into each other, tears of joy we so desperately needed. Pain was a distant memory, all figments of a life so far from us as we held each other.

Through my tears, I looked at my mares, smiling stupidly. "You... you're all everything I want and more. You each keep my head in the clouds and plant my feet on the floor. Each of you-" I choked back a sob, giving each of them a kiss. "You belong here... right here in my arms. And I will never let you go."

Side E - Chapter 12: Awaiting the Day

"Yeah! Yeah, I'll see you here when you arrive! Alright, love you." I hung up from the call, a huge smile on my face. Yesterday had been a high point of many sorts, one I had thought wouldn't be matched until the wedding day. I had found, to my pleasant surprise, that this wasn't the case. I had called my dad the day after of course, and received the good news.

My mom had been cleared from the hospital, and beyond that there was already word along the grapevine that her unexpected recovery had led to a group of doctors to look into how to replicate such a circumstance. It seemed that one of my earliest of recordings was coming to fruition. I was only too happy to tell them both that not only was Double going to be getting married, but we had arranged for a shared ceremony. They'd be able to make the wedding, and, according to my father, would be in town by the end of the week.

Oddly enough, it seemed that my mares and I had, at separate moments, asked both Thyme and Double if we could share the ceremony. It certainly would make things easier - not to mention I rather not have Twilight waiting for another ceremony. True, I could get somepony else to officiate , but I wasn't going to let my cousin lord having Twilight to officiate his wedding over me.

Life was going well. We finally had a few wins under our belt. Sure, the threat that some representative of the old Empire might try and swoop in to ruin our day, but in the end, we had each other. My mares by my side and my friends surrounding me, there'd be nothing I couldn't face. Life could throw its curveballs, but in the end, my mares and I would be together.

I looked at my engagement ring with a smile. It was an interesting piece with a bit more than the bare minimal effort in it. The ring was made in a way that it seemed to be three rings that intersected across my finger. It was beautiful, just like my mares. And just like my mares, it was mine.

I clenched my fist and closed my eyes. This was good. I knew I wouldn't always have such good days, so I cherished the moment as long as it lasted. I had my mares, my mom had her health, and things were on the up and up. I committed this moment to memory, making sure that no matter what I could look back and remember how happy I was. Tears gently rolled down my cheeks.

I opened my eyes, looking out over Ponyville before me. The noonday sun hung high above, making the wonderful day all the better. The sound of birds singing merrily, distant colts and fillies playing, and the low sound of small town life and its busy - yet relaxed - pace were like music. The town had recovered well enough from the Emperor's intervention - a side effect of having been in the crossfire more than once I had been told. It was good to see, no doubt.

Raven sat down next to me on the porch, resting her head against my shoulder as she looked out to the town with me. The gentle breeze brought me her scent, a scent I was more than familiar with - one that gave me a great deal of comfort. My smile only grew as I wrapped an arm around her, bringing her close. It felt like we were already married in many ways. We only had so long to wait, and even so it felt like an eternity ahead of us to get to the day.

Raven moved her head about, looking away from the town and towards me - a gesture I returned. I gave her a tender kiss. Lips on lips, simply reveling in the feeling of the other.

"Let me tell you what, you deciding to have your wedding piggyback off of ours has actually been the greatest blessing in disguise!" Double said, flopping back into the couch. "Before you all asked, it was just Thyme and I, and she wanted everything passed by me to make sure I was happy. All well and good, but I've yet to find a suggestion of hers that I didn't like!"

"Forgive me if I'm still not seeing the problem." I said, swirling my fork in the plate of spaghetti. "Sounds to me as if you two had a good level of cooperation, something that most ponies would beg for."

"True, true, but when she passes everything by me it gets to a point where I say 'Look, I trust you, just go for it!' And then she comes back with 'But what if I pick something you don't like? We have to make sure!' Now that you and your mares are in on this the mares can be their own first line of questioning." Double explained before taking a swig for his glass of juice. "It's a relief to not have to approve everything, trust me."

"I suppose." I shrugged, taking another bite of my dinner.

"Say, I never asked this one, but... how is your marriage exactly going to be arranged?" Double asked, leaning forward in his seat. I licked the sauce from my lips - Periwinkle really was a great cook.

"Well, we're all getting married." I said simply, not entirely certain what he was precisely aiming for.

"Are they all just getting married to you or are they also making vows to each other? What's the situation?" He asked. "I can't imagine that we're going to do the ceremony enough times over for each of you all to get up as pairs and say vows to each other."

"Oh, no, we got that all figured out last night." I replied, spinning my fork happily in my plate of noodles.

"So that's what you were going on with each other until the small hours of the morning?" He asked, getting a blush of slight embarrassment from me. "I can't blame you all for talking into the wee hours. Heck, Thyme and I were talking all throughout the train ride over here - and that was after a late night of talking." He chuckled, leaning back again in his seat as he looked off into the middle distance, thinking about that time and likely every other time that had passed and was yet in front of us. His distraction was short lived as he refocused on me, still smiling. "So what did you end up deciding?"

"You see, we did some research. We wanted it to be legal and all - no surprises from the law about our union being legally bunk. Oddly enough, Twilight actually was able to text over several references in law to special exemptions to traditional two pony - or otherwise - unions in Equestrian law and how such ceremonies work. Apparently most of the stuff is actually just old laws that rarely get poked every millennium.

"So yeah, I'll be up at the front with you as we wait for our brides. You take hands with Thyme-"

"I like the sounds of this." Double said with a smirk, swirling his cup about. I chuckled and shook my head before carrying on.

"You and Thyme hold hands," I said, bringing it back to the topic at hand, "and then the four of us will stand in a semicircle facing Twilight. We'll each have a hand extended that will be part of cluster of four hands, and our remaining hand will be on the shoulder of one of the ponies next to us. My mares and I will be taking our vows in chorus so that the ceremony doesn't drag on - nothing worse than a rowdy crowd at a wedding."

"I could think of a few things worse than that."

"Not the point." I dismissed before he even had a chance to press it. He just shrugged. "Either way, it'll be a busy day for sure."

"Most definitely. Can't wait though." Double smiled. I couldn't help but feel the same way. Soon would be the wedding day. Soon we'd be able to get on with our lives, come hell or high water. Whatever would come, we'd be able to face it together.

Side E - Chapter 13: Reunion

I tapped my foot, anxiety and impatience filling me. The train station, despite the general recovery of Ponyville, was less active than usual. Granted, I hadn't used the train station that much, but I had seen its activity from afar many times. Today might've been a slow day, but it still didn't settle my nerves at all. I checked my watch again, still a good few minutes until the train would arrive.

"Time isn't going to go any faster just because you look at your watch really hard." Spry commented from the bench behind me. I looked towards my mares, all of them filling out the bench nicely in a sexy row. I gave them all a smile, an antsy one but still a smile.

"I know... it's just... I got the jitters is all." I admitted. I absentmindedly ran my thumb over my ring. It hadn't been there for too long, but even so, just touching it seemed to be a way to release some stress. It boosted my confidence to know my mares wanted me as much as I wanted them. Not just in a sexual way - though that certainly was a part of it - but in true, heartfelt love. I couldn't imagine my life without them, and soon I wouldn't have to.

"You know, I can think of one way to pass the time." Berry said, looking at her nails nonchalantly. I smiled and gave a sigh. A few fleeting ideas scampered past my mind's eye about what we could do to pass the time. "I was going through some of your stuff and found your Joyboy, maybe you could play on that and we could watch?"

I blinked at her, the mare holding up the Joyboy. I thought back to the last time I had played on the thing. Had I really not touched my Joyboy since my parents and I moved house? It seemed hard to believe, but the last time I could remember playing on it was before I found the artifact. Fair enough, I had had other means of entertainment. That and harrowing adventures and traumas that were a tad more pressing.

"I surprised you didn't suggest something a tad more risqué." Raven noted, looking Berry over. Peri leaned over and placed a hand over Berry's forehead.

"Well she doesn't have a temperature." She noted. Berry batted them away.

"Yeah yeah, very funny." Berry chuckled. Looking back to me with a smile. "What do you say champ? I got it charged for you." Without waiting for my answer, she tossed it to me. I frantically caught it, terrified to drop it. Finally having caught it I could see that it was my Joyboy, the stickers I had put on it back during middle school looking as worn as they ever had. I smiled at it, fond memories coming back. I looked back to my mares, stuffing the old thing into a pocket, a better idea coming to mind.

"I think I'll save it for later. I got some more fun things that I could be doing." I said with a devilish smirk. All three of them looked at each other and me, eagerly anticipating our 'fun'. "Let's head over to the restrooms for a bit." I said in a hushed tone before sauntering off, followed by the lot of them.

It was a pleasant surprise that the Ponyville train station had exceptionally clean restrooms - not to mention that it was conventionally located in a small alcove that led to both mares' and stallions' restrooms. There'd, hopefully, be no suspicion. Checking my watch one last time, I gave a nod. We had a good amount of time left before either the train or Double and Thyme arrived. At this point, they were likely getting the final measurements for their wedding duds done by a Rarity who was getting her work in.

"So what's the game plan?" Raven asked, locking the door behind us to make sure we didn't have to worry about any interruptions. I rubbed my hands together as I quickly concocted a lewd scheme for my mares and I. I didn't want to use the Straight Record for any of this - part of why I moved us to the bathroom instead of bringing up a short recording and doing it out in the open. Twilight still had nothing on the artifact, and it was just better to not have to mess about with the less than understood. Hindsight and all that.

"Alright... so..." I wracked my brain, and idea suddenly forming. "Raven, are you wearing clothes?" I asked, an evil plan coming to mind. Berry and Spry were both fairly out of the loop, looking at the clothed Raven, only to watch as green energy crackled across her form, leaving her naked in her pony form.

"Not anymore." She said with a sly smile.

"You know, I really should remember that as a changeling you can do that at this point." Periwinkle muttered. Berry simply looked at Raven and then at her own clothes, as if wandering whether or not she could learn to do something similar.

"Well... how blasphemous are you willing to go for some sexy fun?" I asked Raven, who only gave me a more wonderfully sexy - and yet very dangerous - grin.

"Try me." She said simply.

"Celestia or Luna with a dick?" I asked. She blinked a few times. "I honestly have no idea how far you can go with changeling transformations, though seeing as you were able to pull a convincing Doctor, I figured I should check to make sure." She remained silent for a little while, seeming unsure how she should respond, or maybe just figuring out if this was a possibility for herself.

"Well... I never tried to make a dick before..." She said, leaning against one of the stalls, rubbing her chin in thought. "I mean, it shouldn't be as difficult as going Doctor, though it might take me a few tries to get it right."

"Wait, you mean that you tried Doctor Freakazoid and never thought to try being a guy?" Spri asked.

"No, I've pulled guys before, just never anatomically correct." Raven replied, a flare of changeling magic later revealing a naked Double Time who had a vagina instead of a penis. That was just multiple kinds of weird that I didn't need in my life. Another wave later and she was her pony form again.

"You never tried to fuck a mare? I'd think that would get you a whole heaping lot of love energy since you'd know how to work one seeing as you are one." Berry pointed out.

"Well... no, I never really cared to do it that way since... well, even if I did make a dick it wouldn't work like the real thing... I think. I really have no way of knowing. Once I finally knew how a dick looked I was also giving the pony a blowjob and didn't take the time to try and give myself one." Raven rebutted. "Now, if you all would give me a moment, it's time to see if I can even pull this off."

A wave of crackling green energy swept across her form, stretching herself out and then filling out some more in various areas. I watched as her gray skin turned a deep blue, her breasts and hips expanded, her mane shifted from black to the waving field of stars, and then her horn became visible. Raven took a breath as Luna, looking every bit as real as the real thing.

"Now for the tricky part." She summoned a bit more green energy about her hand before moving it down to her nethers. Touching, and then drawing a circle around it, she took a deep breath before focusing more energy. Arcs of sparking green magic shot out, almost as if they were tracing the shape that had yet to form. Slowly, shimmering flesh began to fade into existence, a flaring tip getting brought into the visual world as Raven pushed her abilities.

With another deep breath, she sent another pulse of green into the growing member. Finally the dick became opaque. Letting out her breath, Raven looked down and gave a nod and squeeze to the dick, confirming it wasn't just an illusion. The way it twitched made me fairly sure that it wasn't fake.

"So..." Raven paused, clearing her throat, "What would you have me do?" She said in a perfect parroting of Luna's voice. This was gonna be fun.

"Well, I'll let you two decide who'd you rather get fucked by. Your master or the Princess of Dreams and Dicks." I said with a smirk, already shirking off my clothes. This would likely produce some odd dreams later. I could only hope that Luna had better things to do when they finally came around.

"I'm taking the dream dick." Periwinkle said, throwing off her shirt, revealing her lack of bra. It wasn't to much of a surprise these days, but it was still neat. Berry shrugged, taking off her clothes at the same time, not really caring as long as she got fucked.

"I wish we all could do that changeling clothes thing." Berry said, working her bra - a necessary piece of clothing for a mare with huge tits like hers. "I'd say we'd save a bundle of if we could. Plus we wouldn't have needed to bother Rarity with our dresses."

"Oh, you already ordered your dresses?" I asked, letting my pants fall before slipping off my underpants, my dong jumping up to attention, ready to go as always.

"Oh yeah, before we proposed actually. It was actually the night after the party with the three princesses." Luna Raven admitted. "I kind of ambushed Rarity in her shop after asking Twilight if she could officiate our wedding and also keep it a secret for the time being. Bet she's glad she doesn't have to keep that from you anymore."

"Wait, really?" That was a decent amount of time back, though about the same time I had come to the conclusion that I would definitely propose to all three of them no matter what. "That was the same night that Applebloom and Sweetie came over to visit now that I think about it. Did they know about it too?"

"No, they actually left after Rarity and the rest of us got to work on designs in her room. I think we'll really floor you with what we got in the works." Raven's emotions on Luna's face gave me a tad bit of a pause. I knew it was Raven, but the brain was still seeing Luna. Luna with a veiny meat stick to be fair, but still Luna. Maybe I should do this more often. To acclimatize and not feel this awkward in future of course. No other reason for sure. None.

I angled myself behind Berry who leaned over the sink, getting myself comfortable while Luna Raven did the same with Periwinkle beside me. With no warning, I thrust forward, lancing Berry, giving both of us a rush of pleasure. Without even waiting I plowed onward, setting my tempo quickly.

I reveled in the sounds of pleasure. Everypony let their pleasure be known in the small bathroom as we fucked our hearts out. it was unfortunate we'd only have one round before we'd have to get ourselves back together and see to the matters of saying hello to the family, but having this time was good enough for now. We'd have other chances later.

Seeing Luna beside me fucking Periwinkle was an experience, and by Spri's expression - her eyes rolled back and tongue lolling out of her mouth - I figured she had much the same opinion on the matter. I certainly hoped Raven wasn't spoiling her for me, I did not want to have to compete with a pony who had a dick that was as big and girthy as she wanted or needed it to be.

Groaning in pleasure, My limbs moved almost on their own as I wrapped my arms around Berry's torso before hefting her up, still fucking her as we moved to the vertical position. I almost regretted this move as soon as I had made it, finding myself barely able to hold the mare up while still fucking her. Fortunately Berry took the initiative and began to bounce herself on my dick, bracing with her feet against the sink's surface.

Luna beside me did her own position shifting, spinning Periwinkle around to look up while they fucked. It really wasn't so much to let Periwinkle to look at Luna while they fucked, seeing as her eyes were still rolled up, but more for Luna to look down at Periwinkle's lewd expression as she received the dicking.

Our pleasure had to come to an end eventually, and the growing sense of our oncoming orgasms heralded that end. With a chorus of pleasured groans, we all came, letting loose our loads. We lay there for a few moments, letting the afterglow wash over us. This too, of course, couldn't last forever. We still had family to attend to. If I had said that out loud, I was certain Berry would've fallen all over again into howling fits of laughter.

Freshened up a tad bit, we all stood out on the platform, once more fully clothed - except Raven who was the same level of clothed despite having switched outfits before exiting the bathroom. It really was a very useful ability, no doubt.

Double and Thyme had arrived during the time we had taken in the bathroom, and now we all stood watching as the train slowly pulled up to the station. This was it, time to introduce the fiancées to the parents. This certainly would be interesting - especially now that I reflected I hadn't mentioned how many daughters-in-law they'd be getting. I had said I had proposed to the loves of my life and they had said yes.

For a pony whose cutie mark was in communication skills, this certainly wasn't my finest moment.

The cars opened up, and in a thin stream the platform became a hub of activity. Looking across the... well it wasn't so much of a sea of ponies, more of a puddle really. Looking across the puddle of ponies, I spied my uncle and aunt - Double's parents.

"Right over there." I pointed out, able to speak at a surprisingly normal level despite the unloading train. The benefits of a slow day in a small town. We quickly made our way over. My aunt was the first to notice us, and opened up her arms to her son.

"Double Time!" She said in her particular way that was grating as always despite only saying the name of her son. It truly was a marvel how she could fit so much pain inducing noise into two words. Despite this, it was a comfort to hear a voice I knew from years of visits. My parents were the next off, my mom and dad smiling at me with pride, joy, and all the other parental emotions they could manage to fit in their faces.

"Rousing Crescendo!" My dad called, keeping the slowed pace with my mother. "It's so nice of you to meet us at the train station." The three of us entered a hug with little more ceremony. It was nice to just hug family. It was even better to know my mother was healthy again. It certainly was a burden that was lifted the day I had known for sure she was better. "How've you been, bucko? Busy apparently since you already proposed since you left us. What has it been? A month? Two?" He ruffled my hair with a grin.

"Where is the young lady by the way?" My mother asked me, still smiling. I gulped. Well, here we were, time to get either disowned from the family or to find out exactly how accepting my parents were. This certainly would be one of those things that I'd record over if necessary. I wasn't about to lose my parents after getting them back - my mom especially.

"Mom, Dad, I'd like you to meet Midnight Raven," I began, presenting her with a gesture.

"Great to m-" My dad began, only for me to return the cutting off.

"And Berry Punch and Spring Periwinkle." I said motioning to the rest of them. My father paused for a second, blinking a few times in confusion. I certainly inherited that one from him. A second later, my mother smiled softly.

"All three of you then?" She asked, always having been a bit more perceptive than Dad. Raven, Periwinkle. and Berry all lifted their hands, showing off their rings. I lifted my hand, letting my mom see the triple band on mine. My mother nodded, and then opened her arms. "Well, if we're going to be family, we're going to have to start hugging like it. Get over here." My mares all smiled and obliged. The six of us all hugged each other. It was nice.

"And then he came up to me, holding this big frog, the two of them muddier than a pig in summer, and just says 'Look, Momma, I got a squishy puppy!'" The room erupted into laughter. I shook my had at the story. I might get myself a real dog now that I was out of the house and in one that was mine by all rights.

I squeezed my mares a little closer, just happy to have them here and able to enjoy this time with my parents, my aunt and uncle, and Double and Thyme. It was a grant old time of the parents telling the most embarrassing, or simply funniest, story from either Double or my childhood.

"I once caught a koi from the pond outside of my house when I was little." Raven said with a wide smile, sitting there in her changeling form. The revelation that she wasn't quite a pony had been a bit of a rocky one, but after everypony confirming we had known and were more than welcoming of it - that and the Elements were all neighbors, so the risk factor was a tad less - it calmed the mood down. "I almost tried kissing it! One of the gardeners stopped me, though. My parents were worried sicker than they thought I would get if I had actually managed it!" The family broke out into laughter once more.

"Were you after kissing practice or something?" Thyme asked through her laughter.

"No, I was just a bit peckish and wanted to know if the fishes could give me a little something to tide me over until somepony came along that could give me something better." Raven said with a snicker, looking over the fond memories.

"Surely your parents were a good enough source? Were they away or something?" Aunt Timbre asked with a small frown, her laughter subsiding at the slowly dawning implications rising to meet her.

"No, not really. They thought I was cute when they adopted me, but really they didn't much love me. They just wanted a child to call their own so that Grandpa wouldn't give the inheritance to one of Papa's siblings." Raven said in a way that hid the pain of living in a house that was less than filled with love. I did my best to ease that pain with a kiss on her cheek. I loved her, and so did Berry and Periwinkle. She'd never again go hungry in any way.

"That's terrible!" Uncle Treble said, aghast at the suggestion that parents wouldn't show the barest scrap of love to a child. The conversation faded into the background as the thought of children floated by my mind. I had had unprotected sex with multiple mares. Each of mine, Twilight, Luna, Applebloom, Sweetie, and Scootaloo - maybe some other ponies that didn't quite come to mind at the moment. I wasn't sure if any of it would take, and that if it did what would come of it.

I was sure my mares wouldn't mind having my children in them. It was likely in the case of Berry and Peri that they'd either extend the loyalty rationale from the recording to any children we had seeing as they were partially me. Raven likely wouldn't mind, though I wouldn't mind her minding that much. I certainly didn't mind, that was for sure. I had always had a fondness for kids, loving to entertain the smaller cousins at the family get togethers. It was a strange thought that I might have my own some day. It certainly would be nice.

The question of what the other five mares that I had sexed up would do was one I had no answer to. Luna would likely not want to have my children in her - obligations of being a princess and all. Twilight, for her part, would... well that was trickier since she was bound by the artifact to be my friend. Did that 'friendship' extend so far as to not care about carrying a kid of mine in her? Would the bit about being comfortable with nudity and sex around me and my mares also play a part towards that? Sex and nudity were different than carrying a baby to term.

And then there was Applebloom and Sweetie Belle. Depending on how serious they had been about asking to be slaves it could change their reaction and subsequent actions towards having my kid. A kid would be a good reason, to some ponies, to be my fulltime slaves. I had given them kids and now they'd be my slaves, presto. Otherwise, if they didn't quite want to be slaves and had indeed only been encouraged to go for it because of not wanting to drift apart, then it was a coin toss.

Scootaloo... well, she didn't exactly know I had had sex with her. The artifact's influence had made sure of that fact. She'd only know we had talked and had exchanged pleasantries. I couldn't imagine how she'd react knowing those 'pleasantries' had gotten her pregnant. One heck of a time of pleasantries for sure.

This all, of course, if any of it had taken. There was no guarantee towards them getting preggers from one or two sessions with my dick. Most of them had only one shot with me, and that certainly gave no assurances. It might've done it, it might not have. Time would tell, and what a story it might tell.

My dad and I stood in the kitchen, doing the dishes after a wonderful dinner made by Periwinkle - who had insisted on making something special for all of us. I'd really have to ask her where she had learned those skills in the kitchen. Every meal was amazing and left me wishing I could eat more.

"So," Dad began in his trademark way of approaching a subject he knew he had to but didn't want to, "Three mares all in one go, eh?" I nodded as I dried one of the glasses with a rag.

"Yup. Cupid pulled a trick shot and got us all in one go." I joked. Humor usually would get my dad to move off to a joke-off, dropping the given subject. I desperately hoped this would work again, but this time he was a bit to determined to be swayed by a joke.

"Are you sure?" He asked, passing me a plate to dry. "I want you to be happy. I'd ask you the same with one, but I think with three the question really needs asking."

"Yeah, I am sure." I said, not at all angry at this line of questioning. "We... well, it might've been a short amount of time, but even so we grew close together. It isn't just that they all love me, but they also all love each other."

"And it isn't just the sex." He asked nonchalantly. If I had been taking a drink I would've choked and sputtered for the next several minutes. "I can appreciate the fact they are all... well built mares. I can imagine you all have a lot of fun together." I sputtered, despite having no drink.

"Look, Cress, it isn't that shocking. You even asked how I'd feel if you messed up real bad when you were still with us in the hotel." He was right. I could vaguely recall that question. I actually was just concerned about if he'd still have that love for me if I had enslaved ponies. It was just a happy coincidence that he had interpreted my stumbling as me having had sexual escapades I was worried he'd hate me for. "Plus you smelled of it back at the train station." That got me blushing.

"That obvious?"

"Kid, you all stank of sex so much that a pony without a nose could smell it." He joked.

"They are great."

"I didn't need to know that."

"Yeah, well you brought it up."

"Yeah, and I'm bringing it right back down." I laughed at that. This, all of this, was going to be great. I couldn't wait for the wedding. It would be a day that I'd certainly never forget.

Side E - Chapter 14: For Whom the Wedding Bells Toll

I straightened my tie, fixing how it sat for the umpteenth time in ten minutes. I checked over my mane, looking for any imperfections - and of course I could see them all now. Double nudged me, giving me a grin in the mirror. I took a deep breath, trying my best to steady myself.

This was it, this was the day. No more delays, no more hang ups, and certainly no reason to be freaking out. We had done all the planning, made sure of everything. Catering was here - thank you Pinkie Pie - and Rarity had confirmed that all clothes had been finished and delivered to the respective ponies. Everything was as it should be and all I had to do was walk up to the stage and look pretty. This day was going to be perfect. Still didn't settle my nerves at all.

Yesterday's rehearsal had gone perfectly, we even had enough time to do a second run through because we had nailed it so well first time around. We were prepared, everything was ready. I took another breath, trying not to get psyched out. I wasn't going to bail, that wasn't an option. This day meant too much to too many ponies. Sure, the amount of time we gave everypony certainly didn't allow for many of them to make it, so the crowd was significantly diminished, but even so.

"You guys need anything?" Rainbow asked, popping her head into the dressing room for what wasn't the first time that day.

"A glass... eh, make that a pitcher of water and some glasses?" I asked, my anxiety making my mouth dry. Rainbow gave me a salute before darting away. She had been more than helpful today and yesterday. She had, by volunteer, been our runner to get whatever we needed whenever we needed. She had done the last minute run to get the red carpet - which we had all somehow forgotten in the haze of the day.

"We only got about ten minutes until the big event starts." Double noted, his calm demeanor unchanged despite the looming event. Sometimes I wished I was unflappable as he was. He really made this all look so easy; not letting any of this get to him as he just straightened his coat and gave a last adjustment to his tie. It honestly looked like he was born for this day, that he had been ready since before he even proposed.

Dash zipped back into the room, setting down the pitcher and glasses, taking off the lid from the pitcher that had spared it from spilling during her flight to and fro.

"Thanks..." I said, taking a glass and pouring out some water. "You're a lifesaver, Dash, you know that?" Dash puffed out her chest.

"You bet. If you need anything else I'll be around, you just gotta call." She dashed away in a blur, only to poke her head back in a second later. "Oh, and Twilight wanted me to tell you to get that last bit ready. She'll send me to get you when you'll need to form up for the procession."

"Thank you, Rainbow, we'll be ready." Double said with a smile while I gulped down some water. Dash gave a nod and then zoomed away, leaving us alone once more. Double turned to me, shook his head, and then poured himself his own glass. "No reason to be so wound up, Cress. Anxiety is the least efficient emotion - it literally gets you nothing. You just gotta push through and go through with it." I set down my glass, breathing hard to try and release the emotions from me that way.

"Yeah, sure, emotional efficiency is what I'm aiming for." I muttered, looking at my glass. "You know, before I met my mares I had never thought about marriage? I literally just thought 'hey, maybe I'll meet a nice mare and we'll live together and maybe have some foals' but marriage wasn't in that picture. This certainly is not the sort of day of which I've dreamed since I was small. Maybe the kind I had nightmares about with how stressed it's getting me."

"I guess it shows you really are serious about your mares then." Double commented before taking a drink, swirling the water around his mouth a bit before swallowing.

"Yeah... I guess." I poured a second glass, my hands shaking as I did. "I kinda wish I had just elected to elope. Would've made life so much easier. So much less stressful."

"I think your mares would've lynched you. They spent quite a few bits on that ring and on their dresses by what I'm told. I think they want the ceremony, and I think you do too." Double was right. I did want the ceremony, it was important. I needed it this way. I needed for more ponies than just me and my mares to know and to see that we were more than just some horny ponies living in the same house. They were each special to me, and I needed everypony else to know that.

I also was suffering what was, to that point, the closest I had ever been to a nervous breakdown - that was if this wasn't already a nervous breakdown. Performances had gotten me to a degree before, but this... this was something different. Messing up a speech meant a bad grade, messing this up. Woof. That was grounds for a hanging. This wasn't just some occasion to have everypony gather around and say they looked lovely in their gowns. This was something well beyond that.

"I just don't want to ruin this for my mares." I admitted as I set the still full glass down. I fell down into the couch, letting out a long sigh. Double sat down beside me, giving me a comforting grin. Then he punched me in the shoulder.

"Hey, Cress, we've got this." His words, despite him, did provide me some comfort. "We're just gonna walk out there as the organ plays, stand on that stage, wait for our mares, say some words after Twilight, and then do what we do best."

"I ain't making fucking my mares part of the wedding vows." I said in as deadpan of a voice as I could manage. A second later we both broke out into laughter.

"Don't worry, you can just kiss 'em then." Double shot back, smacking me in the back. My laughter subsiding, I took a breath in, the air coming in easier this time, a great deal of the weight now gone.

"Thanks, Double. I don't think I could do this without you." I said with a smile of genuine gratitude. "Brothers until the end, eh?"

"Aye! Tonight we'll dine in Valhalla!" He said with ample amounts of theatrics. We both laughed again. We needed this, I especially needed this. Laughter was the best medicine after all. "It's almost a shame that we are getting married together. It would've been nice to have been your best stallion and you mine."

"What you don't know is that I have fooled you all into letting me off the hook!" I said with a chuckle before shaking my head. "Yeah, well, anyway, I think that our choice for joint best stallion is a pretty good one considering." As if on queue, the adjoining room opened up, Button struggling with his tie.

"Hey, is this the rabbit and does it go under then over or was it this part that loops around the tree?" He asked, thoroughly befuddled. I chuckled, standing up and moving to help him out. This was good, this was right. I smiled, giving Button's now finished tie a last tug.

"There we go, right as rain." I commented, straightening my coat one last time. "Well, this is it. Do or die."

"Surely it isn't that dire?" Button laughed awkwardly.

"It is that dire, and don't call me Shirley." I said with as serious of a tone as I could muster, turning to Double for confirmation.

"He really hates being call Shirley." He confirmed. Button just blinked at us for a few seconds trying to process all of this. Both of us broke out in laughter, Button joining in after a bit. It wasn't too long after that Rainbow reappeared in the door.

"Showtime, y'all!" Rainbow called. We all brought our laughter under control before giving one last nod before filling out. Time to go. We passed by the door where the mares were all getting dressed, marked by an Applejack who just nodded to us, ushering us forward. No bride peeping today.

We all formed up behind the door that led into the chamber of the castle that had been converted into the stage for our wedding. Apparently the Ponyville townhall had had a roof malfunction - something about an unexpected discharge of lightning. This was it, the moment was now.

The organ began to play, and Pinkie and Rainbow pushed the doors open. Double and I took a step, and then another. Walking down the aisle together with a short distance between us. I breathed at a steady rhythm, locking my eyes ahead towards where I needed to be. Step by step, my heart threatened to burst from my chest as I made my way on down.

The room was filled with ponies, not as many as I had seen in other weddings, but even so. I recognized a good bit of my extended family, and some of those who - through the oddity that was a family tree - were only technically related to Double. I saw ponies who were from Thyme's branch of the family - as had been pointed out to me the day previous as they arrived in Ponyville - and the stoic faces of Raven's parents, ever prim and proper. They had been 'kind' enough to attend their daughter's marriage, probably the nicest thing they had done for her. I almost regretted the fact they had agreed.

And then I saw them. Right beside my parents, whose joy was barely contained at seeing their only son walking towards the end of the aisle, was Berry's parents. Beside them was Cherilee, Berry's barely older sister, and next to her - sitting in a small wheelchair - was the still healing Piña Colada. A smile broke out on my face, and then a germ of an idea formed, growing into a scheme. Taking up my position, I watched as Button walked down the aisle behind us. I folded my hands behind my back and thanked my lucky stars that I didn't have to wear a microphone for this.

One more wouldn't hurt.

"Last bit, Darling, don't move." Rarity fussed as she affixed the train to Periwinkle's dress. The process of fitting one mare into her wedding gown was an immense and laborious one, one that required all of her attention and energy. Setting up four mares with intricate, and thoroughly distinct, designs was monumental.

Berry smiled at herself in the mirror, happy to stay in the small side room where Rarity had put the final touches together on her dress. It was magnificent. If she were to be so bold, she felt she looked like a princess. Perhaps just settling for 'an immensely wealthy pony' would do for now.

"You look gorgeous." A voice whispered in her ear. Berry closed her eyes, a gentle smile across her features as she simply nodded. She felt the touch of the pony as they placed their hands on her shoulders. She had to not cry, already so much effort had been put into her makeup, it would be a waste to cry now.

"I'm so proud of you." The sweet voice came again, now right in front of her. It was a struggle, a truly harrowing fight. "I love you so much." Berry finally let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding and opened her eyes. Before her was a small mare, smiling at her.

"Do us proud, mommy." She said simply, a sad - yet oh so happy smile - on her face. Berry placed a hand on the mare's cheek. She could imagine the warmth of the pony, the feel of the pony, but even now she faded. She hadn't been fully solid to start with, but she had been real. Oh so very real. Berry continued to smile, her hand still cupping the invisible cheek.

"Alright, Berry Punch, time to... Berry?" Rarity froze, looking at the mare. She stood still on the small podium, a hand extended forward as if holding - or maybe touching - something that wasn't there. In the mirrors, Rarity could see the mare was doing her best to hold back tears. It struck Rarity like a soul crushing weight what must be on the mare's mind. It was barely a month since the anniversary of that day. Rarity stepped inside, taking Berry's hand, guiding it down while a handkerchief enveloped in the uncorn's magic dabbed at the bride's eyes.

"There there." She comforted, running her other hand along Berry's arm. "I'll give you a few seconds, but the day won't wait long. When you're ready, though." Rarity pressed the handkerchief into the mare's hand before stepping out, leaving Berry alone once more.

Berry continued to look into the space where the whisper of a mare had been, still a gentle smile on her face. She took a deep breath and gave a slow nod before turning to face the room, Rarity standing at the door. Berry gathered herself up, and took a step off the podium.

"Thank you... my little Pinchie." Berry whispered, dabbing the last few tears from her eyes. Today was going to be a good day. It was fitting she'd see her Pinchie just that once more. It was all the better she hadn't made herself seen when Berry was walking down the aisle. That might've not been the best of times for a heartfelt word of encouragement.

Berry gave a squeeze to the handkerchief before passing it back to Rarity, giving the unicorn a smile of gratitude. This was it.

Finally the moment had arrived for Double and I to be quite the pair of lucky grooms. The organist picked up the tempo, the song coming into its own as the doors reopened for the second time. I took a breath in as I watched Spring Thyme walk down the aisle, her father holding her arm with pride, as the doors closed once more behind them. They slowly made their way down, each step filled with purpose and grace. The dress was spectacular, Rarity sparing no talent on making sure the dress was just perfect. Beyond perfect really.

The long train behind her rolled in cascading folds of silk that slowly ascended her, ending with smooth waves that traced the lines of her sides, fully covering her chest up to her neck. The dress' lack of sleeves was made up for with long gloves that elegantly flowed from the tips of her fingers, up past her elbows, and almost halfway up her bicep. The shimmering white of the dress caught the light in every which way, small rainbows seeming to fall down like waterfalls across her form. The veil, sheer in its fabric, barely revealed her face, but stood no chance against her bright smile that shone even through its confines.

"Wow..." was all I heard from Double. Once more, his unflappable nature had met its match and had been flapped. I could only continue to smile. This was altogether lovely. Her father, at Twilight's beckoning, gave his daughter to Double, who then ascended the stairs to the stage, leaving me and Button standing on the lower level.

My attention once more turned towards the doors, the organ beginning its tune once more, renewed vigor in every keystroke. The doors opened, and my breath hitched as I looked on my mares.

Periwinkle's dress looked like something out of a foal's fairytale that had found Rarity and had asked for some pointers on how to look splendid instead of ridiculous. Rarity's advice certainly had paid off. The rather deep collar let some cleavage show, though actually less than a lot of the mare's tops did on the regular. The 'V' of the neckline swooped up, leading the eye to the sleeves, with their slight amount of puff that started at the shoulder and ended about halfway down the bicep, smoothing out into an arrangement that could either be a well hidden pair of gloves that slipped into the sleeve or just the sleeve developing into a glove. Either way, the 'glove' only went around her palm and let out her fingers and thumbs without issue, revealing her delicate digits. The dress itself flowed with a minorly pleated look into its train that rolled splendidly behind her.

Berry wore what was likely the most modest dress I had ever seen her in since I had know her. The neckline was at the collarbone with a slight amount of frilling or lace that ran the edge. The fabric was just thin enough that I could see the color of her underneath - which led me to the understanding she had counterbalanced how modest it looked on first glance by not having anything behind it. The fabric did its job by making everything beneath obscure enough that you might even believe that it was all just an effect of the dress - her nipples and nethers fully hidden as if censored. Beyond its thinness, it had little flare beyond the lacing around the neck and at the cuffs of the sleeves that reached to her wrists.

And then Raven. Before the ceremony, before even the rehearsal, Raven had told me that she had a dress made and that she wouldn't be using any of her magic to make or enhance the dress. It would all be Rarity's work on display. I could see now that that was less out of deference to Rarity's work and more to the fact that Rarity had made something amazing beyond any enhancement or alteration. To change it would be to defile art, a crime most grievous.

The dress and veil were one whole, it seemed. While Berry and Periwinkle had elected for a veil much like Thyme's - something closer to a traditional veil of sorts with only minor differences - the one on my Raven was wholly unique, much like her dress - much like her.

My Raven, oh so beautiful, walked down the aisle in her changeling form, hiding nothing except what the dress did for her. Her veil had the appearance of well crafted spiderwebs that hung delicately from a tiara that looked like it had been woven together by both birds, spiders, and butterfly cocoons - all rendered in resplendent white and silver. It hid, and yet elegantly traced her divine features. Through the fabric, I could see the gleam of her iridescent amber eyes. It was amazing.

Her dress extended from the side of the veil it seemed, continuing the design with expert technique. Webs crossed over her, covering and revealing, wrapping around her arms but leaving her hands free from the wrist onward, while also moving down her sides, hugging her curves neatly before trumpeting out at the waist, cascading down into her train.

"Woah..." I said as if concurring with Double's previous statement. My mares approached me, their smiles visible through their veils. I returned the smile, in awe of their beauty - and, admittedly, a little jealous. There was only so much that could be done with a suit before even putting a groom in it didn't save the piece from becoming overly gaudy. Brides had a rougher time of it, but they were rewarded with being able to have dresses that allowed for things like what I was looking at right now.

"Mares," Twilight began in a rather regal tone, "I have been given to understand that you all have not only agreed to give yourselves away to this stallion, but also to each other. You have, as I have been made to understand, elected to enter into quite the complex arrangement of interchanged vows with each other. Is this all true?"

"Yes." The three of them said in near unison. My smile grew.

"And you, stallion," I turned to her, "I have been made to understand that this arrangement is well and good with you. That you have elected to not only take these three mares to be your wives, but that you wish and are well pleased that they take you for husband and each other for wives as well. Is this true?"

"Yes." I replied, never more confident in my life. My anxiety melted away in that moment. This is what I had been waiting for. This was what it had all been leading to. Twilight nodded with a smile to this.

"Join me on the platform, and let us begin the ceremony." She pronounced happily. I smiled, extending my hands to my mares. Periwinkle grabbed my left and Raven and Berry grabbed my right. Slowly I led them all up the stairs, taking up our positions properly at the top. It was beautiful.

CRASH!!

We all turned around to the source of the noise. There, at the entry of the hall, where once stood some doors, was a cloud cart, now smoking after impact. From it, and from the billowing smoke, strode out three shapes, indistinct in the gloom. I looked over to Double, both of us giving a nod, before slowly striding forward and down the stairs to form a first line of defense and offense. The sound of clapping felt very appropriate as it came from the tallest figure in the haze.

"Wonderful, simply wonderful." A chittery voice similar to a mare's rang out. I folded my left hand in preparation. "I'm sorry that we couldn't come in quietly, but the guards didn't seem to agree we should be here today." She said, not even hiding the mirth she felt.

"And who are you?" I called out, my right hand just itching to activate the Straight Record to wipe these wedding crashers off the face of the planet. Dare interrupt my wedding? Dare antagonize MY mares‽ That was asking for a bad time!

"Oh, just some ponies who really want to see what happens next." She teased, the smoke finally dissipating enough to reveal them. A unicorn mare, a pegasus stallion, and - at the center - a tall changeling mare. "And trust me, the rest of you won't want to miss it either." She flashed a menacing grin to all the wedding goers. I stretched my right hand, ready to go, ready to make it end. A thousand thoughts flashed before my mind - ways to end this now and get back to the day - some felt so very good, so right.

"You better back off." I warned, cutting ahead of Double, who cast a glance to me. A flash of concern from him tickled my brain, but I swiped it away.

"Oh, I don't doubt you think that I should, but I want to watch this myself." She gave a sneer towards me. "It doesn't happen every day, after all. This is quite the rare occasion."

"Sorry if you weren't on the invite list. Friends and family only." Double shot back. "Now leave before we make you wish you had." Several other stallions, and some mares, stood up at this point - some going as far as to roll up sleeves or throw off coats. The changeling just laughed at us, sending a twinge of anger through my system. If she knew who I was she wouldn't be laughing. She wouldn't be laughing in too long either way.

"Trust me, I wouldn't miss this if Celestia herself threatened to drop the sun on my head." She set her eyes at the podium. "Now," She began, grabbing something from behind her in the cloud cart, "Time to set off the fireworks." With a blur of motion I watched as she brought out a crossbow from the wreckage, shouldered it, and then fired.

Time seemed to slow as the bolt flew through the air. I watched as unicorn aura after aura appeared and then died away. It tugged at me, even as I watched it zip past my face. My eyes widened as I recognized the feeling even as time sluggishly let the bolt flutter past me.

Dark Stone!

A cry of pain. Tears. Anger. Rage. Unending and unyielding hatred.

Click.

Oblivion. Not just any oblivion. Blue oblivion with black hair.

Finale: And That's All?

Slowly the tape player whirred, the crackle of static all that was left as the audio faded away. A click echoed as the play button returned to its idle point, leaving the two listeners to the sounds of the fire they sat by. The listener adjusted their hood, drawing it farther up their face against the biting wind as it blew past.

"And that's all? That's it, is it?" They asked, shivering in the cold despite the fire beside them. The interloper nodded slowly, taking up the player and setting it back in their bag, zipping the pouch closed. "I honestly kind of expected a tad more from it." They said, staring off into space. "I mean... we barely got passed the first salvos and it ended? We were just getting to the good bit!"

"History is hard work - far harder if you're trying to piece together something from that time." The interloper replied, leaning back into a more comfortable position. "Needless to say it became quite the mess shortly thereafter. Not much that I could say that you probably don't already know."

The listener's eyes slowly drifted back towards the pack - more specifically the lump in the bag. "Is that the-?"

"No." The interloper replied simply, cutting the question short. The listener nodded, still staring at the bulge in the pack the player created, a thousand thoughts whirring in their mind. "The tape neither." The interloper said to kill another question. "It's a patchwork of the pieces. That's why its my voice on the tape instead of the ponies that were there."

"Oh... right." The listener nodded. "Its true though; right? That's... that's the long and short of it? Well... mostly the long of it, I suppose." They said, chucking a stick onto the fire.

"Yes, as far as it could be found." The interloper said, swinging the pack onto their back while still sitting. "So what are your thoughts? Care to join me now that I've shared it all with you?" The interloper extended a hand out to the listener. The listener blinked a few times, letting all they had heard echo in their mind for a few more moments. The breeze seemed still to the interloper in the moment of truth, even as gales of snow were thrown across the darkened fields behind the listener.

The listener sighed and shook their head. "No." They said, not looking at the interloper. The word hung for a short moment, the silence coming crashing in so quickly the interloper almost wasn't sure if it had actually happened. "No, I don't think I will. I got enough left here to keep me." They looked up at the interloper after a long moment. "I'd suggest you stop following this trail too. Surely you still have somepony in your life that needs you. Somepony that cares for you. Something." A pointed look was directed towards the silent follower of this interloper, who sat still to one side - the sound of something scratching across the surface of paper emanating from their huddled form.

"No." The interloper said with the most certain form of finality as they stood, hefting their bag onto their shoulders. The follower perked up at this, stowing their book away before hefting their pack up as well. "Stay warm." They intoned as the two odd ponies walked off into the gloom beyond the fire.

"Yeah, you too." The listener replied absentmindedly, but the interloper and their companion were already gone into the icy winds. The listener stared into the fire, a part of them tugging at their feet to follow the strange travelers. Perhaps it was the good part of them, perhaps the part that believe the interloper's words and their strange tape - the sliver of them that thought this all could be put right somehow. Perhaps it was the foolish part.

Certainly the foolish part. To think that there was a chance to undo what had been done. The world had died; killing no number more of the remaining entities certainly wouldn't resurrect the rest of it. Not even the death of those in the shining city. Not even their ruler had so much tied to their mortality. Even the victor of the Artifact War wasn't that much of a lynchpin.

The listener grabbed a wad of snow and set it in the pot above the fire, letting it heat up to bring out the water inside. They sighed again. The lot of them were like the fluffy stuff - here now and gone the next moment. The interloper was a fine storyteller, or perhaps historian, but that didn't mean much - not when in the face of such opposition. Then again, maybe that's why the interloper had to stay the course. Maybe it was just the opposition that caused each foot fall. The listener chuckled at that. Maybe in the end, even if the world didn't return, it could at least be that much better if the interloper succeeded. Maybe.

~ÞE END~

Author's Note

Thus ends this, the first book in the Artifact Saga! I hope you all enjoyed it! The next entry will be coming out... soon... ish. I have some other projects, as I have mentioned. Also I have NaNoWriMo coming up - look it up. See you folks later!

Introduction: A Look Behind the Curtain

My name is Crescendo. Yes, my parent's were music geeks. Yes, I'm... well, I was at one point, a music geek. My life has been a convoluted mess for a while now. Beyond all that, you might be wondering how you got your hands on what amounts to my life story. To be frank, I would never pass this off to anypony, but I'm writing this in case somepony finds it; give you something to understand and have fun for as long as I don't find out about this. Trust me, if I'm still alive, I'll find you and get back my journal and you'll have no recollection of this whole story. Then again, I might be dead and this will serve as the world's raunchiest memoir... well, it'll be up there at least.

I was born and raised in west Manehatten by parents born and raised in Fillydelphia. My childhood up to my eighteenth birthday was fairly normal as far as things go. I went to school, did my homework - or at least pretended to -, went on play dates with my friends, grew up, played video games into the unholy hours of the night, and tried to get a date or two. Life was grand for as much as I bash on it, and honestly, I miss it. True, my life wasn't a dream, but I do wish it wasn't what it is. That much coming from the guy who has lived this life for the last long while.

Anyway, let's get down to it. My Eighteenth Birthday...

Splice 10: End of Side B

"And so, we have sent out another survey team to the Griffon Empire. The chances of finding the piece are slim, but these rumors sound promising." The pony concluded. "The next question, my Emperor, is on budget. We've been spending more than our bit farms have been able to produce, and those among us with leanings towards financial concerns have developed various proposals on how to best resolve the iss-"

"My Emperor!" A voice cried out as a new pony burst into the chamber. "My Emperor, I am sorry for intruding, but a matter of great importance has arisen!" The pony waited in silence as the Emperor, draped in the darkness of his bed stand, held back from reply longer than he had hoped for - the pony who had been in meeting with the Emperor looking quite peeved at the newcomer.

"What is it?" The deep, rumbling voice of the Emperor echoed from the confines of his shadowed existence.

"News from the fiefdom of Canterlot and Ponyville, the situation continues to develop poorly for us." The pony began, already feeling nervousness taking him. "As previously reported, Knight-Errant Silver Tongue's talisman returned to us showing that he had, through some mixture of circumstances come to be Blotted Out. We sent, as you requested, Knight Inquisitor Brass Tacks and the Doctor to investigate further.

"According to their report, they found Baron Gunther in quite the state, necessitating the Doctor's... particular treatment." He shuttered involuntarily, memories of the THING in question coming to mind. "It appears an Unchained Possessor had been found in the fiefdom by the Knight-Errant, who had asked for the Baron's help. The two of them decided to act quickly in the hopes that they'd be able to capture the subject without too much expenditure of resources, however, the artifact in question appears to either be of great power, or the user of great cunning in its use.

"Initial investigations suggested an artifact ranging from a null point two to a null point six reality warping effect, though Knight Inquisitor Bras Tacks report adds an addendum that states her personal belief that - after an investigation of her own and thorough review of the facts- that the artifact is likely more accurately labeled between a null point one and a null point four, though it does appear to be one of the Aligned artifacts." From the shadow, the pony could just barely make out the silhouette of the Emperor shifting forward in interest.

"Quick strike tactics were advised by her, in an attempt to not allow the pony the opportunity to activate the effect of their artifact. Due to various circumstances, a second Unchained Possessor was located, having interacted with the first before they could act. The artifact of the second was positively identified as a Reforged form of the 'Possessor's Eye' by its effect, though the artifact itself was not located - its Reforged appearance having gotten past us.

"The Knight Inquisitor, in conjunction with the Doctor, captured the second Unchained Possessor, though all he was carrying was an old game console and several game cartridges for said console. It was determined he had left the Possessor's Eye with the first Unchained Possessor. Using the second as bait, they successfully captured the first Unchained Possessor, along with various of his enslaved entourage."

"And you say that it has not turned out well for us?" The Emperor asked, with a faint rhetorically edge. "I suppose he used the Possessor's Eye and was able to circumvent his own capture, am I not wrong?"

"Eh, yes, my Emperor. It appears so, though... we lack intelligence reports from the time for reaso-"

"He avoided capture by melding his spirit into the flesh of another. He then alerted the remainder of his slaves and any other possible allies he had, and may still have, of the danger. He has subsequently captured the Doctor, based on our lack of reports of him. He then has capture the Knight Inquisitor and the Baron based on the magical signals their talismans have given us. He is now, more than likely, in the possession of four, if not five, of our artifacts. Furthermore, he has, presumably, taken full possession of the Baron's hold and has since taken all the slaves of Baron Gunther - all two hundred and thirty-nine of them, if I do recall correctly - along with the Baron himself and the Knight Inquisitor." The messenger was astonished at this.

"Y-yes sir..."

"Do not be so surprised. One doesn't rule over you lot for as long as I have without learning of how you tend to fail me. The retrieval of the Crown of Dominion had a similar story to it. I lost five barons, seven Knights-Errant, and both of my Knight Inquisitors just to retrieve it. It's one of the reasons I made this operation so much smaller and far more efficient, but it appears some... less than suitable ponies - or griffons as the case may be - still slip through. If Knight Inquisitor Brass Tacks was taken, however, it shows we aren't up against something of the usual variety, not to mention the lamentable loss of not only Silver's Tome of Veracities and Gunther's Fixed Dial, but Brass' Philter of Wisdom puts us at a minor disadvantage."

"I-indeed, sir, w-what should we d-"

"What we NEED to do." The Emperor hissed. "If a Knight Inquisitor is not enough, then perhaps my Justiciar shall be."

"You called for me, my Emperor?" A massive figured boomed from behind the pony. The pony would've jumped from his skin at the fright. How had the Justiciar known to come? He was stationed several baronies away! It would've taken him-

"Yes, my Justiciar. It appears my premonitions were not misinterpreted. We may yet have our final piece."

"Final piece?" The pony who had been speaking first to the Emperor. "But what of the reports in the Griffon Empire? Are they not of concern?"

"What you have uncovered is not the final piece. You have found, through great digging, a religious artifact of the ancient griffons which holds no more power than your glasses." The Emperor dismissed. "What we have found here, what even the Knight Inquisitor had overlooked, is why I summoned a moot to arrive in the next few days."

"Is it truly time, my Emperor?" The Justiciar asked evenly.

"I do believe so." The Emperor said, a smile evident in his tone. "I believe... that the Straight Record has finally been found."

Side C - Chapter 6: What Bites Like Steel, Is Hot as Hell, and Best Served Cold?

"We need to check in on Starlight." Twilight said after a long moment's silence. No pony had wanted to break it, but things needed to happen, and so Twilight, ever the noble leader, took the initiative. "If she split, which is looking quite possible, we need to help her. Who knows what... Starbitch might be doing."

I cast a dagger-like knowing glance at Dick who was mouthing the word 'fucking'. He wasn't wrong in my estimation, but I hated him all the same for it. I shoved my thoughts of him to the side for now and focused on the task ahead as I nodded to Twilight.

"Right, she'll need some help. Let's get going. After that, we can help the other ponies in whatever state they are in." I said plainly, not feeling in the mood for enthusiasm. We all filed out of the room, making our way to the door behind which Starlight had been told to stay. Twilight pushed the door open slowly and revealed... laughter?

Opening the door fully, two Starlights, one of which was an aquamarine-like color and had a mane that was the same pink-like color Starlight was. A twist I hadn't seen coming, though I should've, was the double's lack of clothes, only being covered by a blanket that was thrown around her like a cloak of some sort. The two of them were chatting in what seemed an amicable way, Starlight at this point smiling as her other half was laughing uncontrollably. The two looked over, the laughing mare trying her best to get control of herself.

"Oh hi, everypony!" Starlight said happily.

"Uh... hello, Starlight. Who's this?" Twilight said, likely trying to simply know what the mare called herself. If Periwinkle's double had the capability for self defining thought to the point she could choose a name for herself, then the double of Starlight should definitely have such.

"Well," the mare in question began, still struggling with the last few bouts of laughter that escaped from her, "Gunther called me Starbitch." She gained her composure finally, ceasing her uproarious laughter as she took a deep breath, likely helped by the bitter memory of the griffon. "But, well, I mean sure, I like having intercourse about as much as Starlight like spells."

"We've established that quite effectively." Starlight chuckled, a light blush on her face.

"Oh yes, but either way... well, now that Gunther's influence is stripped away, I'm just... well, I'm just your garden variety nympho as opposed to a useful idiot because of my sexual desires." She explained. "So the name 'Starbitch' sounds exceedingly degrading to me, and so a bit ago I decided to be called Stellar Afterglow, or Stella for short."

"That..."

"Yes it still has sexual undertones, Twilight," Stella smiled, "but I'm not denying I'm a very sexual pony when I change my name. I'm only denying that Gunther has anything to do with me now. He's the only part of my past that I'm disassociating from. Sex is too fun to shun." I nodded at this, noting that Starlight was simply smiling, looking up at Twilight expectantly. She wasn't in a bad place it seemed. She was actually quite comfortable at the moment. If she was in trouble, she was doing her best to make it appear she wasn't in danger at all. These doppelgangers were a mixed bag it seemed.

I sighed as I walked down yet another corridor. The best possible scenario seemed to be coming true. It seemed that most ponies simply felt suddenly free from the pain - from Gunther - and thanked us as soon as they found us, and then said they were going to leave. I was pleased that they stated it as most of them had, not a request but an assertion of facts. They had returned to themselves, and now were leaving to return to those they loved. I told them that those who had taken them had been dealt with, and that if anypony asked, they could say that they escaped along with many other ponies who had been taken by that same evil creature - an evil creature who was now being taken care of.

The fact that the Empire would likely track these ponies did give me pause. I almost asked them if they might stay put for a few days just so we could deal with the Empire, but perhaps such a wild influx of escaped ponies would confuse what systems they had. I could hope at least. Either way, I couldn't keep them from going into the wide open world. Meanwhile, even as all those ponies left into the wider world of Equestria and beyond, we went further into the corridors, lead by Brass - whose trigger had been spoken by Button as I had agreed - who knew the layout of the complex fairly well it seemed.

Opening a door, she turned to us. "I'm not saying you have to, but if - like - you aren't good with the whole grody side of what Gunther did, you might - like - want to stay here, or maybe even - like - head back to the waiting room and stuff. This is where he kept his 'special ponies'. It's like his personal pony wine cellar." That wasn't what I needed to hear. It was fortunate for the Griffon I had found him, used his trigger, and ordered him to clean up our mess with his tongue. The room had been cleaned before we spunked it up, so he was safe from that angle, but I desperately wanted to punish him for what I had just heard. Then again, that was what I was doing.

'Don't punish them for what they didn't do!' Button's pleading voice echoed in my ears. Maybe if I hadn't personally experienced it, maybe if the hope I had from drinking from the cup hadn't been crushed, or maybe if a myriad of other factors had occurred, maybe then I'd agree. I could admit these two weren't what they once were. They were the perfect slaves instead of slave masters now. Stupid to a point that rebellion never crossed their puny minds, an inability to disobey, a compulsion towards pleasing anypony who gave them a direct command, and a complete lack of moral compunctions in regards to sexual activities. Berry and Periwinkle still had compunctions deep down and had shown, despite their perpetual obedience, a tendency to strain under commands - especially Periwinkle.

Brass walked down the short hall and then opened the door at the far end of the hall, revealing a set of slowly spiraling stairs. She looked back to us with a glance that warned us this was our final chance to back out. I wasn't dissuaded. Button, Brass, Twilight, Rainbow, and Applejack all went down, while I took up the rear - the rest of the ponies electing to stay top side. I paused after moving down a good ways, hearing footsteps behind me, and turned to see Fluttershy, the absolute last pony I expected to see.

"Fluttershy, you don't have to come down here." I said simply.

"I know... and I did want to stay upstairs... but I can't stay up there and know that there are ponies down here that need help - my help." I couldn't help but smile at the mare. She was caring to a fault, and I couldn't blame her for wanting to make sure everypony down here was alright. I turned and headed down the stairs, shortening the gap between me and the next pony down. Already I was hearing gasps of shock.

Reaching their origin, I stepped through the doorway and looked about and felt my rage sharpen as I looked upon the scene. The room had, besides those who had just come down, twenty-two ponies inside. The ponies Gunther had taken a special interest in and had broken as thoroughly as possible. Now they were all down here, with opposite color versions of themselves sucking or fucking them, or another pony. I noticed a particular stallion and mare pair were fucking the other's doppelganger. This... this would be a mess to sort out.

I flopped down on my bed in Berry's house. It had been a long day. Berry, Periwinkle, Raven, and Sultry had all elected that they'd stay the night in the underground, simply to help the eleven doppelgangers of the ponies we had found. The ponies in the dungeon were... well, they were less complicated than I had expected. Just a bunch of ponies who had been freed from forced servitude now letting their nympho side sere them. Sexual urges of their own finally being tended to as opposed to another ponies. I swiped through several pages of search results on my phone for the names I had taken from those ponies, and found what I had hoped against.

These eleven ponies whom Gunther - who now stood naked in the room at the ready for his further punishment - had taken special interest in, were not within my means to find, not even through the directory of the civil-registry. Casting my mind back towards Gunther's memories of those ponies, I found out why. He had exercised all his power as a 'Baron' of the Empire - whatever that truly meant - to have those ponies expunged from any official records. There were no family records to trace, and I could only guess that meant that those families had also been somewhere in the underground. I felt sorry for them. They'd return to a world with no memory of them... unless.

I looked at the recorder. It was a tempting option, but my eye quickly shifted to Gunther as a thought of the contingency plan he had put in place that had almost made me betray my friends; and my fear, my hope, my pity, all of it, melted into a pure sheering pot of hatred and rage. I stood from the massive size bed and approached the griffon. I grabbed his throat and slammed him against the wall.

"You aren't in control anymore." I hissed at him, the griffon nodded frantically. "You have no power, no worth, NOTHING!" His eyes grew wide as he continued nodding. I snarled at him, drawing even closer. "You will serve me and my mares. You will service us however, whenever, and wherever we deem fit." I said, each consonant being enunciated as sharply as I could manage, met only by the nodding head of the griffon. "And through it all, you will not cum, no matter how much stimulation you give or receive, unless I tell you to. Understood?" Nodding, always nodding. I threw him to the ground and spat on him, turning back towards the recorder, my purpose set firmly in my mind.

I picked up the recorder, lifting the mic to my mouth as I turned back to the fallen griffon and pressed the record button, keeping an eye on him. "All the families that Gunther had removed would suddenly find all pertinent documents resurfacing, having been held in a place and way that the Empire hadn't thought of." I paused, and then a snide smirk took my features. "Gunther is my slave and the slave of my mares, this is not strange or illegal, and he will do whatever we tell him, whenever we tell him, wherever we tell him. Anything he does is not strange or different to anypony but myself, my mares, the Elements of Harmony, Starlight, and their doppelgangers - should they have one. Gunther is unable to cum unless told directly to do so. No matter where he is, he will cum when told so, regardless of previous stimulation." Gunther curled up into a ball on the floor, even his small amount of understanding being enough to realize he was being targeted.

I released the record button and let the world shift into place. "Gunther." I said, getting him to perk his head up. I needed to test this. "Cum." He suddenly shook and came a thick stream of cum across the floor. "Cum." Again he twitched, spasming as if he was having a seizure, and released another potent stream of cum across the floor as large in quantity as the first burst. "Gunther," I said, though he didn't respond. "If you cum this next time, you won't cum for another week. So I want you to try and hold back, or else." His eyes grew wide, and them he screwed his face tight, the monumental effort evident on his face as he braced for my next pronouncement.

"Gunther, cum." He shook, trying to contain himself, but in the end it was for naught as his dick acted in accordance to my order. "Cum. Cum. Cum. Cum. Cum." He lost control of his body, even as he tried to strangle his own dick, but it wouldn't work, nothing would. I had taken his power away. He ejaculated hard, covering the floor in cum, each ejaculation as powerful as the first. "Clean up your mess, Gunther, with your tongue." I ordered. The griffon moaned, slowly pushing himself up as he extended his tongue out of his beak and began lapping away at his mess.

After ten minutes of this, he looked up at me, a sad pleading look in his eyes. "I'm going to bed." I said, setting the recorder down. "You will not touch any of the artifacts." Covering my bases in case he wanted a midnight reversal. I looked him over, a frown growing steeper on my face, and then an idea. I reached under the bed and searched. A mare like Berry was minorly predictable, I only hoped my estimation wasn't wrong. My fingers touching a shoe box proved my thoughts as I pulled it out. Opening it up, it revealed a variety of toys.

Pulling out a dildo with a suction cup on the base and a gag that was shaped like a dick, I looked to Gunther and presented him the toys. "Go to the basement and stick this one on a wall." I said wiggling the dick with a suction cup. "Rail yourself on it while stroking your dick and sucking on this one." I wrapped the dick-gag on him. It was short enough he could breathe, a mercy I suppose. "Keep at it until you fall unconscious. No cumming." He nodded slowly and sadly, taking the toys and leaving the room. 'A start', I thought, 'but it won't be enough.'

Author's Note

At one point part of this chapter were parts of multiple other chapters, however, after consideration, I felt it more proper to make them into one. Hope you enjoyed!

Side D - Chapter 6: Fantasies on a Stairway

I hit the wall hard. I had managed two flights of stairs, reaching the second level of the castle, but even that had been a miracle. Now I was out of breath and in pain and thoroughly beyond any sensible extent of my physical capabilities. I had managed to survive direct contact with Dark Stone for a length of time beyond what should've been feasible... well maybe a tad less than that. I certainly had been exposed for longer than recommended by any doctor. My muscles ached, by breath was labored, and every inch of me screamed for every other inch of me to give it a rest. It was like this that I now was huffing and puffing while leaning against the wall.

My legs trembled and I turned about, planting my back against the wall before sliding down, plopping my tush on the cold floor as I struggled against my lungs, trying to live through the day. Perhaps I should take a break, I had just beaten what had previously seemed an unbeatable foe. If I was any other pony I probably would've stayed down there and lamented the death of a creature. I knew at least seven ponies back in Manehatten that would've been horrified to learn half the things I had done since finding the recorder, and most of them would've fainted at the notion of killing something even vaguely reminiscent of a pony in anything beyond video games. And yet, here I was, pushing ever onward against my body, giving little thought to the life I had just snuffed out - if one could even consider the doctor a life.

I looked up the stairs I had yet to climb. Two more flights and I'd at least be on the right floor. From there I could stumble down the hall towards Double and be able to present at least some morale support. I'd be able to report the doctor's defeat to some ponies I bet would be very glad to hear it, but at the moment, I was two flights of stairs away.

Each breath was a struggle, sending electric shocks of pain through my sides as I heaved and fought through the pain. I likely had something broken, despite rarely having gotten hit. My brief acquaintance with Dark Stone from Arcane 101 was that it sapped magic, and, in high enough concentrations and purities, vitality. That secondary effect, which also was the reason why Dark Stone lined prison cells were outlawed, could even sap the body of its durability. It was, therefore, according to my severely limited knowledge, entirely reasonable that some of my bones were just broken of their own inability to keep it together.

My hand wandered to the recorder in my pocket, circling the small indentation on the record button. Was I far enough from the Dark Stone that it wouldn't affect me if I activated the artifact? Had the artifact been affected even just being in proximity to the Dark Stone? I didn't know. For one, I was a short hallway and a set of stairs away from the Dark Stone, so honestly not that far on much of any scale beyond microscopic. Without an arcanometer I'd be unable to tell if I was still within the Dark Stone's effective range. The Nesting cases the doctor had to deal with weren't just to annoy him after all - they kept everypony that handled the package safe. I might be far away enough, but I could also be too close. I couldn't risk it, I had to press on without getting a heal. Maybe once I reached the third floor.

Struggling to my feet, I leaned heavily against the wall. One foot in front of the other, it was all I could do. Grabbing the hand rail I slowly pulled myself up the stairs, my breathing ragged as ever, only worsened by the strain I was putting myself under. I was not a smart pony - I was a stubborn pony. I was so close, I wasn't going to quit because my body wasn't really up to the task. I huffed and puffed - giving a warning to any little huts in the nearby area - and finally reached the first landing. I threw a glance at the last set of stairs, still trying to recover from the exertion. One more flight of stairs, and then I could take another short break. I might even use the recorder to give myself a bit more vitality. A little pick me up. It could be as simple as a bottle of sports drink.

Taking another gulp of air, I pushed off the wall, stumbling across the landing, and found purchase on the railing on the nearer side of the stairs. Looking up the stairs, I took another deep breath, hoisting myself up slowly, moving step by step, each muscle straining against itself as I did. One step, a second, a third, each seeming a mountain as I pushed myself ever onward, ever higher. My limbs screamed in protest, but I fought on; my lungs burned, but I fought on. Every step was painful, but every step also brought me that much closer to the summit. Another step, followed up by the next.

Even as I slowly ascended, I cast my mind's eye to the scene that I'd have unfold once I was out of here. Raven and the other mares naked, kneeling before me. I licked my dry lips, the thought more tantalizing than ever. I'd walk up to one, have her suck me off with one ate her out and the other played with her boobs. I'd walk around town and have one suck me off whenever I stopped, and no pony would protest. I could even have one of the bystanders step in just to ask if they might suck my cock.

I gave a wheezing chuckle, moving another step higher. I'd kiss my Raven tenderly while a stranger gave me head. I'd then fuck said stranger while my mares played with themselves in full view of everypony, and nothing would come for me for it. I'd have an open air version of the party at Pinkie's. I'd... I'd find Applebloom and Sweetie Belle! I hadn't talked to them in... two, three days? I still had to check if they were serious about that offer; and if they were, hoo hoo hoo!

I imagined playing the puppeteer, taking over Applebloom's body as she wished, making her dance naked before all the town colts letting her be fully aware even if the colts weren't. She grind on them, some of them would absentmindedly stick a finger or two up her pussy, not even thinking, but Applebloom would be thinking, boy would she be thinking! She'd be thinking and helpless. She grab one by the collar and drag him around the corner and pull down his pants and give him head, only to have another stallion walk around to see what was up. She'd wiggle her butt at him and then get rammed in the rear end by a thick dick.

She'd scream and howl into the other stallion's dick, loving every second as she was spit roasted. Once they had finished, she'd saunter out of the alleyway and find the town looking like a bunch of nudists - not a single scrap of clothing. She'd consciously know that was weird, she might even panic, but I'd still have control over her as she strut out into the center of the market square.

She'd kneel down and spread her lower lips and open her mouth whorishly. And then, one by one, the entire town would use her. She'd be covered in cum and sweat by the end of it. And she'd love it! After servicing the last pony, she'd be set free. I bet she'd fall over and begin to masturbate at all she had done, at all she had had done to her. She pant and wish for more. And then Sweetie, as naked as the rest, would emerge and make out with her, horny because Applebloom was horny.

I took one final step, and rose to the third level of the castle, and immediately fell over. I breathed raggedly, my limits long having been outdone, leaving me in quite the state. I really needed a rest, but I also knew I couldn't take one. Images of Applebloom sprawled on the floor after thorough use came to mind once more, and lines of comparison were mentally drawn between her fallen, cum covered form, and my tired and battered body. One was extremely hot, the other was simply a tortured pony, but both desperately needed a third party to come out and help lick their wounds - one literally, the other metaphorically.

The thought of Sweetie licking off every inch of cum from Applebloom's body was one that was supremely arousing, despite vague connections my brain was drawing between the still very sexy fantasy and the very unsexy time that had caused Dick Slut to appear in the world.

I had also been beaten and battered - both physically and emotionally, both with strong blows and baby batter - and laid low on the floor. Reduced to a body lost in the cum of others. The hole in my memory as Raven and the others pulled me out of the chamber, something struck me. In the indistinctness of the memory, imposed by having it removed and placed in Dick Slut's head, I saw myself. I had still been awake, lying in a pool of spunk.

I had no idea how I had come to be on the floor, that part of my memory so thoroughly placed in Dick's mind that I didn't even have glints or shimmering outlines of memories to try and trace, but I was awake. I was in as terrible of a state then as I was now. In pain, desperate for saving, and above all, not really able to help myself. A stinging clarity came to a memory as I mulled it over, slowly forcing myself from the ground in the real world.

There on the ground of my cell, covered and face down in a pool of cum, I had fought with myself. So much of me was tied to the time with Applebloom's body that it felt oddly like I was reading through a vague transcript of my memories most of the time, but this one memory... it was distinctly me. There in that dismal place, unable to stand... I had given up. I had forfeited the match. Unknowing seconds from freedom, I had resigned from the game. And what was worse, I had begun to drink. Straight from the filthy floor I had taken in cum of a dozen sources, embracing Dick Slut as myself, despite the clarity of my true self peaking through.

Even as I was dragged out of the cell, my memory still my own, untouched by Dick Slut, I protested. Weakly as it might've been, I protested having been taken from the cum. Once dropped on the floor so my mares could defend me, I lay there and lapped up the small pool of cum as it formed - a broken soul unwilling to accept his victory, his salvation.

Pressing against the wall, now standing, I closed my eyes tight and hissed at the memory and at the pain. I wanted to punch the wall, but some modicum of self control stayed my hand. I could still feel it. I could feel the cold, slimy cum dripping off of me, and somewhere... somewhere inside me, I felt like kneeling to lick it up - to lick up that phantom cum, and surrender once more. I could. It would be easier after all. Going to my knees and licking up cum from the floor would be so much easier than fighting past my own pain. I'd only have to move my tongue and throat.

I grabbed the doorknob of the door that led into the next hall, forcefully pulling it open, struggling to walk around it. It would be easy, yes, to just kneel and become a dick slut, to become THE Dick Slut. It was always easier. I set my eyes before me, counting the doors. Third door on the right.

Pushing off the door, I forced myself to stand on my own feet. I was Cress. I would prevail. I would NEVER kneel! One more step forward, one more ragged breath. I fought each and every inch of me, bit back my urges, and simply focused. Suddenly I stumbled, but I didn't hit the ground. Looking over I saw a chestnut stallion holding me up.

"Button?" I whispered blearily.

"Come on buddy, let's go." He said in a tone I hadn't expected. Was I dreaming? Was I gay for Button? The heck!? I wasn't gay! I'd never been anything but straight! Stupid dreams making me gay! I got fucked once by a stallion, but that was when I was a mare, so it was still straight! Fuck you dream! "Where we moving you?" Button asked.

"Th... third... door... right..." I struggled out, my lungs not seeming to be able to fill themselves any more than a thin gasp's worth. Assuming this was real, assuming somehow Button had avoided capture or had escaped... I had to press on. There were more ponies to save. There would always be ponies needing to be saved. I would save them. I purposed, even in my weakened state, that I'd find all of this Empire, I would get rid of each of their powers, and then set their slaves free. No more unwilling slaves. No more forcing families into that grief. No more. Not on my watch.

Side E - Chapter 8: Inhibitions and Exhibitions

"That much, huh?" I muttered into the phone as I walked down the street, tabulating its cost against my means. "I'd of course would like to swing by to see it before I commit, but if you could maybe reserve it... Oh, ok. Do they usually fly off the shelf? I guess that functions as comfort." I had been on the call for the last half hour as I wandered through Ponyville's market, looking at the various stalls. The days had drug on slowly, Tuesday had rolled around in its time, and now I was waiting for the appointed time.

I hung up after a few more moments, considering my options as I turned towards Sugar Cube Corner. I wasn't sure to expect from Sweetie and Applebloom's friend. Probably yet another perv, considering my luck. It wouldn't surprise me if this pony showed up in black leather with a riding crop and heavy eyeliner. I could only hope breasts were part of that package instead of a dick. I didn't need a stallion trying to shove it up my butt - or anywhere else for that matter.

I took a seat in the outside, smiling as I recalled meeting up with Double and Thyme here not too long ago. It had been more than a little surprise that Double had proposed - not so much because he had but because of the timing of it. I wasn't sure what his plans were for how his marriage would proceed in tandem with his training - or if going off to boot camp was even still in the cards. I was glad to have my life and not his to be sure. Despite all the stupidity and trauma I had to suffer through, it was a relief not having to deal with his distinct problems. Plus I wouldn't give up any of my mares for anything.

Sweetie and Applebloom were the next to show up, taking their seats across from me. The days since had seen them publicly announcing to their families and friends that they were an item. As far as I had heard, it had been universally approved. If I was any judge, I'd say that Applebloom and Sweetie were closer than ever.

"How are you doing, Crescendo?" Sweetie asked, an arm wrapped around her mare friend.

"I'm doing alright. I see you two are doing alright for yourselves." I said, looking them over. Applebloom, for her part, was practically radiating happiness, leaning into Sweetie to the point they might as well have used one chair. "So, is your friend coming along or..." I trailed off.

"Oh yeah, she'll be along. She just needed to sort out a few things before making her way here." Sweetie waved me off before leaning over the table with a conspiratorial look about her. "I was just wandering though... if you might spice this little meet up a tad?" I blinked at this.

"Spice how?" I asked, leaning in with my own look, propping my head on my hands.

"Oh, I have some ideas..." She slid a small notebook over the table. Taking it up I began reading through the list she had for me. A smile grew across my features.

"Guess it's fortunate I carry some of the artifacts as everyday gear." I chuckled, looking up at her. "I hope you're ready, today is gonna be a bit spicy."

I deactivated the Straight Record, closing my eyes as I felt the effects roll across our little world. Opening them again, I smiled at Applebloom and Sweetie Belle as they looked at me expectantly. They wouldn't know I had gone through with it, that made it all the better. It was fun playing around in small ways like this.

My eyes zipped over to a sudden motion, in the distance I saw somepony coming down the lane at a decent pace. A pegasus by the blurred wings on their back. The closer they came the more interested I was, especially because they were coming right for us. Not in our general direction, but directly to our table - and at great speed. The blue scooter shot across the street, closing the distance a lot faster than I was comfortable with.

At the last moment, in a display that laughed at usual physics, the rider swung around in a wide arc, their momentum scampering off someplace else. The pegasus took off her helmet, letting her purple mane free. She did have some black leather - though that was just a jacket. All in all, she looked pretty normal as far as ponies went.

"Hey, Sweets, Bloom! How you doin'?" She said, kicking her scooter up, somehow managing to get it to collapse in the motion. Sweetie and Applebloom stood up and welcomed their friend. Sweetie grabbed the mare's head and brought her in for a deep kiss, which the newcomer took greedily - the mare's free hand pressing Sweetie in closer. Applebloom waited beside patiently for her turn, which came in due time with much the same results.

It was fun watching them being oblivious, hot even. I could feel the blood rush to my face and dick as I watched the mares make out loudly. Their greetings weren't too long, though - there were much more interesting things to get to.

"And who's this?" There we go.

"This is Crescendo, a friend of ours." Sweetie said, straightening her hair after the passionate kiss she had just underwent. "Crescendo, this is Scootaloo, a very good friend of ours." I nodded to her.

"A pleasure to meet you." Scootaloo said, following my script for her perfectly.

"Oh please," I said with a maniacal grin, "the pleasure is all mine." I gently pulled my zipper down, letting the sound reach her. She smiled at me, shifting onto the ground, huddling herself under the table. She pulled my boxers out of the way, letting my dick free. She smiled at it.

"If you insist." She said before giving my schlong a long, deep lick from base to tip. I looked out to the market. There were plenty of ponies out there, but none of them cared to notice the mare in my lap. I looked to Sweetie and Applebloom, the two mares just looking down at their friend with cordial smiles. This was just part of the introductory pleasantries after all.

"Sweetie, Applebloom, don't you have something very important to tell your friend?" I did my best to keep my voice even as Scoots pulled out my nards and began to suck on them with a gentle, insisting pressure. "Don't you have something important to show her?" I asked. The two mares brightened up. Sweetie squatted beside Scoots, drawing her eye.

"Scoots, Applebloom and I are officially dating!" She said happily. Scootaloo let my balls fall out of her mouth, her hand working my shaft.

"Really?" She asked, not incredulously, but more in simple curiosity.

"Yeah, let us show you while you say hi to Crescendo." Sweetie replied, standing up and nodding to Applebloom. The earth pony nodded and moved to sit on the table, letting her overalls' straps fall off her shoulders and then to her ankles. Free of her bottoms, still no panties in sight for the farm pony, she hopped onto the table and spread her legs, facing Sweetie Belle with a sincere and innocent expression.

Sweetie smiled to her special somepony before rifling through her handbag. She soon found what she was looking for - a two-sided strap-on dildo. Unzipping her pants, Sweetie shoved the dildo into her snatch - a sharp gasp escaping her. She took the two straps and secured them behind her waist, still panting as any movement shifted the dong in her and sent electric bolts of pleasure throughout her system. Stepping up, she lined up and then slid into Applebloom.

Soon the are was filled with the sounds of their moans. I smiled at them, watching them go as Scoots watched in amazement at how much of a couple her friends were. Scootaloo opened her mouth into a whorish 'o' before sliding my cock into it, letting me feel the velvety texture of he cheeks. She swirled her tongue around my length as she went further down me, up until that maneuver was a bit more than difficult, at which point she pushed down harder until she was giving me a proper deep throating.

Sweetie and Applebloom, for their part, were having a blast as they continued to fuck. Their passions were obviously running high as pieces of clothing found themselves occasionally being thrown this way and that. Soon the two mares were stark naked, Sweetie thrusting in and out of her Applebloom.

With idle interest, I watched as a small group of ponies began to encircle us, watching the display of debauchery. They looked on us with interest, not as some disgusting - or even exciting - display. It was as if we were all showing off some trick that they were unfamiliar with. I looked back to sweetie and Applebloom, still quite naked and still fucking with all the enthusiasm in their beings.

"Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, you might want to," A snide grin took my features as I relished this moment, "look around." The two mares broke from their deep kiss, suddenly very aware what they were doing and where. They saw the ponies around them, looking quizzically at their display.

"S-Sweetie... t-their l-l-l-looking at us-s-s-s." Applebloom managed while Sweetie still railed her.

"I... I... I know... Bloomie." Sweetie panted. "I... can't stop. My body... your body... it feels too good." I chuckled, looking to the other ponies around us as I ruffle Scootaloo's mane as she continued to ram my rod down her throat. She was good at this.

The ponies that encircle us then, as one, let their pants or skirts fall. They continued to watch the two mares going at it, their underwear - or lack thereof - now plain to see. They stepped closer, and then took another step, closing in, watching the two mares fuck. A brief moment later, their underwear was shirked off, falling to the ground a few steps away from their discarded bottoms. I noticed a few mares who had been wearing blouses were now reduced to just bras - while others were naked at this point.

Another step closer, and then another. I coaxed Scootaloo to work my balls along with my shaft, knowing that if done right that it would be all the more enjoyable. Sweetie and Applebloom alternated between looking at each other while fucking to fucking each other while looking at the ponies that slowly grew closer.

"I think they want to have some fun." I noted, a titanic amount of effort going into not letting the blowjob impact my tonality. The ponies around us began to masturbate, watching Sweetie and Applebloom still fucking away. Scootaloo below me had shirked off her pants as well, fingering herself through her thin, white panties. She sure was a sexy piece of work.

My mind was beginning to cloud over in lust, the moment of power, of control, overfilling me. I reached a hand into a pocket and gripped a small broach. The scene froze before me in all of its sexy glory. I pushed out from my place, Scootaloo's mouth frozen open in its whorish shape and expression - perfectly shaped like the cock that no longer filled it. I smiled as I grabbed her and threw her onto the table beside Applebloom.

Taking a moment, I threw off my clothes, examining Scootaloo where she lay. Without a care, I walked up to her and grabbed her panties. Without hesitation, I pulled them off of her, revealing her shaved cunt. My eyes fluttered and I staggered backwards as I gripped my head, an odd sensation flittering through my mind. I took a few steadying breaths. Looking up I saw Applebloom and Sweetie frozen together, as if fused at the pussy. Scootaloo was beside them, her body stuck in a pose of her kneeling, despite no longer being on the floor.

Lust flowed over me again, my dick twitched. I blinked a few times, feeling oddly tired. This... this was...

Sexy.

I blinked again, trying to steady myself only to stumble to the side, slamming into the wall of Sugar Cube Corner. I rubbed my head with a hand, trying to clear myself of whatever it was. I looked up and saw her again. My cock made itself known again.

I pushed off the wall and walked over to the table, moving into position even as my arm began to feel numb. I released the Fixed Dial and thrust into the mare. She squealed in pleasure, taken by the feeling of my dick moving from her mouth to her pussy in one instant.

With lustful abandon, I drove into her, plowing her fields with all the gusto I could manage, getting more and more moans from her. I reveled in the power I held over the situation - the power the artifacts afforded me.

Eyes filled with rage; Black hair on blue.

I let my lust flow through me, and then into Scootaloo. With a final thrust and a groan, I came into the mare, sending her over the edge for not the first time since we had begun. The world seemed to swim before me a tad as I watched the other ponies around us cumming onto us. By Sweetie and Applebloom's howls I could tell they too had burst their bubbles.

I stepped back, a smile across my features as the ponies flocked to us and began to lick us clean from our and their fluids. It felt right. It felt natural. Controlling these ponies was so easy and so sexy. And better yet, no pony got in trouble. Not them, and certainly not me.

I sighed, letting the sensations flow over me and out of me. I hadn't even needed to use Button's artifact. It had been so easy to just use the Straight Record and the Fixed Dial. I looked to the three mares, and then something struck me as my lust departed.

How had it been that easy?