My Life on a Cassette Tape

"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.