Flurry Heart was slow to surface from the depths of unconsciousness. When she did, her pulse skyrocketed and her fatigue vanished.

Her body was pinned to the cavern wall in a work of pink webbing. Her arms were held overhead, her wings completely enveloped and her legs spread wide before being covered from mid-thigh onwards. She was naked save the dream amulet still clasped firmly around her neck, but felt something sticky surrounding her horn. An attempt to cast magic yielded no positive results. She was well and truly trapped.

Looking around, Flurry found herself in another, far larger chamber than when she was last awake; the ceiling climbing over a hundred feet into the air. The chamber was lit by the same glowing pink crystals she had seen upon her descent into the mines earlier, however long ago that now was. The alicorn’s thoughts chose now to drift to her friends. Were they alright, or were they spirited away by those balloons as well? A quick glance around revealed she was alone, souring the princess’ mood and heightening her worries.

“Aww. Don’t feel sad. After all, this place is the best in Equestria at turning frowns upside down. And I should know…” At the advent of this new, concerningly chipper voice, Flurry looked back up and her fears climbed higher. “I’m the best pony ever at making ponies smile.”

Before her, as if appearing from out of thin air, stood a massive pony-monster hybrid. Her head and torso resembled those off a dull pink earth pony, though perhaps she was once a unicorn, given the jagged, knife-like black horn that arose from her forehead. Her mane was a slightly darker shade than her body, falling straight down her back and around her face, a face that bore an unsettling smile and almost manic gaze from those blue eyes of hers. Her breasts were the size of a small house each, topped with puffy areola and inverted nipples. However, Flurry thought she saw the heads of two grey mares peeking out from each indent; one was a lighter grey with her mane in a messy bun, while the other was a darker grey with a short-cut lighter mane. The rest of this mare’s body leaned more towards that of an insectoid beast. From the waist down, she had a spider’s abdomen that shared her torso’s colour, and was held aloft by six spider legs that ended in scythe-like tips. From the mare’s biceps down, Flurry saw her arms split into a bushel of tentacles. Each was the width of a tree trunk, and the young mare feared what even one of those would do to her body should this pony have her way. The last aspect of her visitor that stood out was her cutie mark; three balloons of yellow and blue, buried beneath a glowing pink heart symbol. Just like that of Bad Apple.

Something tugged at the ancient recesses of Flurry’s memory, and upon seeing the cutie mark and hearing the voice, combined with the briefings she had received before the mission began, and it all clicked into place.

“P-Pinkie Pie…?” She asked, the shock evident in her voice.

Pinkie responded by replicating a loud buzzer sound. “Wrong! Pinkie Pie was the dumber, less fun, old me. I’m Pinkamena Diane Pie now. Super Orgy Party Pony Extraordinaire!” She raised her writhing masses for arms in the air, waving them as confetti shot out of nowhere and a trumpet played a short yet triumphant flourish. Whatever reaction the monster mare had expected didn’t eventuate, as nothing but shock and fear filled Flurry’s face.

“Aw, don’t be such a downer, Flurry. I’m really happy you’re here, and that you chose me over that slimy slut Rarity. Besides, everypony already knows what she can do. It’s finally my turn to strut my stuff.” The corrupted mare’s tentacles began wriggling, much to Flurry’s concern.

“W-Where’s Bonbon?” Flurry asked, shaking off the overwhelming dread of her situation. “What have you done to her? To the others?”

“Oh, Bonbon’s fiiiiine.” The party mare rolled her head along with her eyes. “She’s just joining all the other party guests. You, however, are a VIP. And as such, you need a more… personal touch of Pinkamena magic.” As she finished her ominous declaration, Pinkamena leaned in and extended one of her tendrils towards Flurry, its tip splitting into even more, smaller limbs as they approached.

“W-Wait. Pinkie, wait!” Flurry begged, squirming in her bonds as the tentacles grew closer. They halted, a curious look on the monstrous pink face above. “Pinkie, please. I know I can’t remember when we played when I was younger, but I know this isn’t the real you. We managed to save Applejack. We can save you too. So please… please, let me go, and we can help you.” For a moment, it looked like the princess’ words would reach the former element bearer. Her tentacles slackened and edged away, if only slightly, and her face looked pensive and uncertain.

But in an instant, she shook it off and her manic grin returned. “Nah.” The writhing mass of appendages surged forward, coiling around Flurry’s breasts and lathering her coat with the sticky substance they were coated in. “No offence, Flurry, but that’s just boring. Besides, our readers came here for a show…”

One tentacle reared back and grew small nubs along one side, then ran itself between the alicorn’s legs and against her crotch. The nubs flicked against both of her lower entrances, lighting a fire along her nerves as the pleasure washed over her. The ends of two tentacles opened up, like a flower with four petals. Lining each “petal” was a bed of wriggling nubs like on the one assaulting her nethers, but it also sported a thin needle in its centre. With her melons held firmly by other limbs, Flurry could only watch on in horror as the needles were inserted into her nipples, while the nubs began stimulating her areola. Finally, on top of all the other attention she was receiving, another tentacle tipped with a needle lowered itself before her. The tip made contact with her chest just above her breasts, then began tracing a line of glowing pink magic over her collarbone, the princess’ internal heat rising with each new inch of the design added.

“…And what a show you’ll make for them.”

“S-So… which way?” Zap’s answer broke the silence in the wake of the echoing voice. The four tunnels each held ominous shadows, hiding whatever horrors lurked within.

As they stood there, Vinyl stepped forward, took a deep breath and concentrated. Her horn lit up as she stretched out her sense of hearing. Down through the tunnels to wherever they ended up. Despite most thinking the volume of her chosen music genre would’ve deafened her by this point, years of working on and perfecting her craft had only heightened Vinyl’s sense of sound to an insane degree. Many ponies had learned to stay out of sight of the unicorn if they wished to talk about her behind her back, her hearing was so keen. As such, with her magic boosting it in this echoing cavern, Vinyl picked up a familiar voice coming from the right tunnel; the one labelled as the nursery.

“I’m picking up something down this way. Come on!” Without waiting for the others, Vinyl drew her bat and ran down the tunnel, with Zap and Starlight in quick pursuit. The tunnel wasn’t as long as the one that had led down this far but it still took them around fifteen minutes to traverse, with Starlight accidentally running into a string of cobwebs.

Upon entering this new chamber, a sense of recognition swept over the mage. The subterranean chamber had water – proper, fresh water – running along in a stream. There were luminescent fungi that lit up the chamber in place of glowing gemstones, and a mostly intact, queen size bed rested on a flat surface of rock over to the left with the remnants of other furniture surrounding it.

This was Maud Pie’s old cavern, and Starlight was glad her friend couldn’t see what it was used for now.

Hundreds, maybe thousands, of pink eggs littered the cavern. Comparable in size to dragon eggs, they were resting on the ground alone or in piles, as well as stuck among the pink webbing all over the cavern. If it wasn’t the eggs that were everywhere, it was their seedbeds. Mares, stallions, even other bipedal monsters of both genders. All were restrained, with bulges beneath the skin of bloated bellies, breasts and ball sacks showing signs of where the eggs were coming from. Scattered sparsely among the victims and eggs were spider-pony hybrids. Starlight recognised these mares resembled Pinkie Pie, though the whites of their eyes were pitch black, and their irises a glowing pink. Their manes fell flat instead of poofy and limbs had been replaced, or perhaps they were born corrupted like that, as from the bicep down it was a writhing bushel of tentacles, while from the upper thigh onwards their bodies merged into that of a spider’s abdomen, with six sharp legs holding them aloft.

But of all these individuals around, two stood out to the talented unicorn. One was the overly bountiful Marble Pie; weeping as she sat on the bed whilst one of these spider Pinkies kissed her neck and caressed a puffy nipple with a tendril. The other was Bonbon. She was stuck in webbing, resting on her neck with her bare rear pointing to the ceiling. She too had one of those Pinkie clones taunting her, and the free mares tensed as another three approached.

“Hey look, new toys!” One of them stated enthusiastically.

“I wonder how many eggs we can fill them with?” Another questioned.

“Oh, I can’t wait!”

With that exclamation from the third, all three charged the would-be rescuers. The groups split into pairs, with weapons drawn and tendrils wriggling at the ready. Zap took flight, backflipping out of reach of the swirling limbs. The clone charged again, but this time Zap closed the distance. Using Flurry’s sword, she sliced a tendril clean off, then followed up with a brass knuckle-aided uppercut before zipping out of reach again. A short distance away, Vinyl was finding success with a similar tactic. Rather than dodging acrobatically, she blocked with her magic and retaliated with her bat and Bonbon’s short sword. A burst of magic cleared all tentacles out of the way for the DJ to land a full, backhand swing with the bat to knock the clone down. She had to back up to avoid being caught, but the aggravated look on this fake Pinkie’s face proved she was getting somewhere.

Unfortunately, Starlight wasn’t. This clone seemed as evasive as the original Pinkie Pie, as every magical blast she shot its way was weaved around with ease. Too late did the unicorn realise the clone had closed the distance, and with a whip of three tentacles, she was knocked backwards. Thankfully Starlight landed on something soft, but that something moaned. This split-second distraction was enough for the clone to turn around and spray more pink webbing from her nipple-like spinneret. Starlight was trapped against the wall, discovering her head had landed within the yellow cleavage of another mare. Before the mage could cast any spell to free herself, the clone closed in again and giggle as she smothered Starlight with her own bountiful bosom. Surrounded on all sides by breasts, Starlight tried to ignore the milk still slowly churning within her own chest, or the tendril that had just started rubbing itself against the lavender pony’s cunt.

Even smothered as she was, Starlight still heard the pleasure-filled cry that echoed throughout the cavern. While Zap looked over to see the state Starlight was in, Vinyl turned and saw that the clone standing tall over Bonbon had decided to quit the foreplay and dive right in. An equine cock had grown from the spinneret and was now plunging as deep as it could into the earth pony’s anus.

“Hold on, Bonbon!” Vinyl yelled as she tried to reach her comrade, only for her opponent to block her path and drove her back onto the defensive. Zap, meanwhile racing towards Starlight, easily flipped over the attack her clone attempted and lashed out herself. The clone froze for a moment before falling down, her head rolling away from her body. Zap didn’t stop to witness this. Instead, she kept charging and swung Flurry’s sword with purpose. Half of the tentacles of the clone molesting Starlight were severed, the monstress roaring in pain and backing away. Zap then cut Starlight free and the two presented a united front against their foe.

Vinyl stopped backing up when her back hit a rocky wall, and ducked when her adversary launched her tentacles at her. Scooting beneath the pink monster, the DJ summoned as much magic as she could muster and launched the spider with a blast of audible magic. The clone flew into the air a little, before landing hard back onto the ground. As she stood up and regained her senses, the clone felt the cold steel of Vinyl’s bat held against her neck before a sharp pain filled her torso. Looking down, the blood-soaked tip of Bonbon’s sword had broken through the spider’s chest, and she slumped down to the ground in a lifeless heap.

“Ngh! Hah, hah… C-Can’t… cum… No, I can’t… I, I’m cumming. Cumming, cummiiiIIIIIIIINNNGGGG-AAHHH!”

Again, the earth pony’s carnal screams filled the cavern. All free mares turned to see Bonbon’s eyes rolling up and her teeth gritted as her stomach inflated. The three combatants saw that a second cock had emerged while they had been struggling, and was pumping monster spunk into both of her lower holes. Not only that, but beneath the skin, small bulges were poking against the inside of Bonbon’s bloated belly. Her body spasmed with each new bulge, before the monster pulled herself out and now approached Vinyl, her still twitching cocks leaving a gooey trail from the agent’s crotch.

“You’re gonna pay for that!” The clone screeched as she charged at Vinyl. The white unicorn stood her ground until the clone was less than a metre away. She then used her magic to hurl one of the pink eggs at the monster’s face. While distracted, she rushed in and sliced the arachnoid legs on one side, then clambered up onto its back.

“No! You’re. Gonna. Pay. You. Bitch!” Vinyl punctuated each shout with either a clubbing blow to the head or shoulder with her bat, or a stab in the back with the sword. Over and over again she struck, and with each blow, the spider clone drooped lower and lower until it too dropped dead. The other clone charged at Starlight and Zap, but it ran head-first into a barrier created by the mage, which left it vulnerable for the rainbow-maned pegasus to flip over and skewer the monster in the heart. They slowly converged, leaving the only monster guarding Marble left.

“S-Stay back!” She nervously called out, tendrils curling around the body and neck of the grey earth pony. “Or else!” Her less than convincing threat was answered by Starlight raising an arm and casting a spell. The clone was forcibly teleported away from the Pie pony and levitated just in-front of the warriors.

“If you wanted her dead, you would’ve done it already.” Starlight’s cold rationale served as the signal for Zap and Vinyl to proceed, and the two quickly disposed of the clone.

As they came down from the high of battle, Zap looked around at all the other bugs and free monsters eyeing them warily. “What?! You wanna try us?! Bring it, then! Y’all don’t stand a chance!” The bellicose challenge from the young Apple echoed throughout the cavern, and was more than enough to scare off any beast that would dare try anything.

Vinyl took the break in hostilities to rush over and cut Bonbon free. “Bonbon, you okay?”

“Ugh, I… I think-oof. Hah, I think so.” The beige earth pony grunted. Vinyl helped her down gently, though every movement resulted a little spurt of sperm escaping her cunt and ass. Slowly she was helped to her feet, with one hand firmly resting against the bumpy surface of her ballooned belly. Together the two slowly approach the bed, where Starlight was embraced by Marble in a side-on hug. The earth pony’s mouth was moving, but only the quietest of whispers could be heard.

“I-I’m sorry, Marble,” Starlight apologised. “I can’t hear you.”

“Hold up. I’ve got this.” Vinyl stepped up again, using her magic to sharpen her already-impressive hearing. “Go again.”

With a nod, Marble spoke again. This time, Vinyl translated her words into a louder volume. “She’s saying she’s grateful we saved her, but that we need to get out of here. Pinkie won’t show us any mercy.”

“Not without Flurry.” Zap stated firmly.

“She’s right,” Starlight followed up. “We need to save Flurry, and Pinkie as well. Frankly, I’m surprised she hasn’t done anything worse than grow your chest.”

Marble responded, and Vinyl resumed translating. “Pinkie hasn’t touched me.” At the confused looks of Starlight and Zap, she went on. “She’s used me as bait to lure ponies and others in, but she’s never tried raping me… I know she’s done terrible things, but I think that means my sister’s still in there somewhere.” The other mares gathered went silent at that. Deep down, Starlight had hoped that was the case. It had been with Applejack; evident in how she had raised her children, and how she ran Appleloosa. But what Pinkie was presiding over, and given her original eccentricity, doubt on whether the bubbly party planner was still in there had grown.

But, looking at Marble’s small smile from behind her long fringe, hope slowly sparked back up. “You’re right. Pinkie has to be in there somewhere, and we’ll bring her back.” Standing up, Starlight looked over their band of adventurers. Zap was the beacon of determination; one that would be the envy of either of her mothers in their prime. Vinyl shared that determined look, a confident smirk added in for good measure. Though still feeling the effects of her brief imprisonment, Bonbon nodded in a sign of her commitment as she took back her short sword and grappling hook from the DJ. That left Marble Pie. As the unicorn had noticed earlier, the grey earth pony wasn’t confined to the bed in any possible way bar the weight of her overflowing bust.

“I know it’s a lot to ask given what you’ve been through, but do you want to come help us bring Pinkie back?” Starlight extended her hand to the buxom Pie. Marble looked at the hand wide eyed for a moment or two, and shrank in on herself slightly before taking a deep breath and shaking the unicorn’s hand.

“Uh, no offence,” Vinyl spoke up, “but how are we gonna get to wherever Pinkie and Flurry are with her… you know…”

“Leave it to me.” Starlight answered with a confident grin, but as she turned back the levitation spell she was about to cast proved useless as Marble slung her arms beneath as much of her titanic tits as she could. With what could only be practised grace, the rock farmer stood up in one fluid motion, barely stumbling despite the sheer amount of titflesh spilling over her arms. “Uh… okay then.” The unicorn stuttered, her magic fizzling into inactivity. “You… wouldn’t happen to know which way leads us to Pinkie, would you?” Marble nodded and, slowly, she shuffled her way back through the tunnel through which the party had entered, with all four mares in tow.

“Um, what about the others in here?” Vinyl asked as they left, her hovering close to Bonbon.

“Once we’ve rescued Flurry and Pinkie, we’ll come back for them.” Starlight responded, herself walking within arm’s length of Marble.

The going was slow. A couple of times Zap wanted to fly ahead, eager to save Flurry as soon as possible. But Starlight would not allow the group to be separated again. Marble wasn’t the only one whose corruptions were slowing the group down. Bonbon’s gait swayed as she struggled with the weight filling both her womb and stomach. Vinyl was always there to steady her if needed, but it still took them around half an hour to make their way back to the crossroads, feeling as lost as they had been before.

“Oh wow. Lookin’ good, Bonbon!” Pinkie Pie’s voice rumbled once more from all around. “If you thought that was good, just wait until you see Flurry. She’s coming along sooo well.”

“What’ve ya done t’ her?!” Zap yelled angrily at the tunnels, brandishing the alicorn’s sword.

“First you have to find me.” She replied in a sing-song tone.

Starlight turned to the busty Pie. “Marble, which way?” Marble nodded and slowly led the group down the central Bedroom tunnel. Again, the journey took over twenty minutes as the five mares shuffled down the descending path.

Into the larger chamber they emerged, more pink crystals illuminated the massive cavern. Taking up a full half of the cavern was the giant, monstrous form of the corrupted Pinkie Pie. Marble withdrew her arms to cover her mouth in shock, nearly falling forward due to her breasts sagging back down. Starlight’s magic was the only reason why she remained upright, but her eyes didn’t leave their place. There, emerging as the nubs of Pinkie’s inverted nipples from her house-sized breasts, were her older sister Limestone and her mother, Cloudy Quartz. Both had vacant eyes as their mouths opened up in orgasmic glee; their arms having disappeared, leaving them as nothing more than a head and torso emerging from those titanic tits. While Marble was staring at her family, Starlight and Zap’s horrified gaze was directed to the wall on their left.

Flurry Heart was near unrecognisable. Webbed to the wall, her horn and eyes were also covered in pink webbing. That may have been a blessing in disguise, however. While her sight was deprived, her breasts had been forcibly grown once more. If Starlight had to guess a cup size, she thought Flurry was now up to N cups. The size wasn’t the only corruption though, as beneath each of her erect nipples stretched a leaking slit. Her breasts were now home to an additional pair of vaginas, each leaking sperm as a pink tentacle retreated. A third tendril removed itself from her lower lips, a stream of sperm trickling out in its wake. Finally, much like the emblem hovering over Pinkie’s cutie mark, a similar design was etched over Flurry’s collarbone, emitting an energy Starlight knew at once was erotic magic in nature.

“Hi girls. I don’t know about you, but I think Flurry looks ready to party.” Pinkie smiled manically, her tentacles retreating from the panting alicorn as the monstrous insect-pony turned to face her new guests. Zap’s wings spread and she brandished Flurry’s sword, but an outstretched hand from Starlight gave her pause.

“Pinkie, please listen to us.” Starlight immediately gained the pink monsters’ attention, her eyes narrowing. “This isn’t you. I know you didn’t ask for this. We can help you turn back to what you were.”

Pinkie’s focussed glare disappeared behind a theatrical yawn before that manic smile returned. “Oh please, Starlight. Are you and Flurry reading from the same script? You said almost word for word what she did earlier. Also,” her tone grew a fraction more serious, “get with the times, Starlight. It’s Pinkamena Diane Pie now. Pinkie Pie’s the dumber, old me. Besides, I can make ponies so much happier as I am now.”

“Happy?” Zap ask incredulously. “Happy?! Does Bonbon look happy t’ you?!” She pointed to the bloated earth pony, her expression revealing her weariness. “What’s more, you did that t’ yer own sister. Has she ever once said she was happy with this?! Does she look happy t’ you?!” The insane surety Pinkamena displayed seemed that little bit more fragile as Vinyl stepped forward.

“Pinkie… We’ve known each other for ages, thrown some awesome parties together and had great times. So, I think I know you pretty well. I’m not sure how much of the old you is still in there, but there’s one thing I do know; the old Pinkie Pie would never think hurting ponies like this was fun.” These words stung, as the giant form of Pinkamena scuttled back a few steps on her scythe-like insectoid feet, her face betraying the look of emotional pain. The erect nipples that were her mother and sister were now retreating back into her breasts as her tentacles twitched agitatedly at her sides.

“O-Oh… you want fun, do you…?” She replied, a manic chuckled that more resembled a growl escaping her throat. “I’ll show you fun!” With that, the tentacles all surged forward, ready to give these intruders the same attention and care given to Flurry Heart.

“PINKAMENA DIANE PIE!”

At once, everypony in the cavern froze. The tentacles hovered in mid-air, mere inches from the adventurers. All there, Pinkamena included, looked wide-eyed as Marble Pie, holding her overflowing bosom once more, shuffled forward with purpose. Her face wore the unfamiliar expression of stern determination as she stared her corrupted sister in the eye while she advanced. The other four mares didn’t make a move, shocked by the outburst from the quiet earth pony as Pinkamena’s tendrils retreated from her sister’s advance. She scuttled as far back in the cavern as she could before her abdomen hit the far wall, and she looked back to see Marble still wearing that firm glare at her.

“I am not having fun…” She stated as loudly as she could, never breaking eye contact. “Nopony in these mines is having fun. Except for you. Take a good, long look at what you’ve done. Look what you’ve done to your friends, what you’ve done to Mother, Limestone and I… what you did to Father and Maud…” At this last admission, she finally looked away, tears beginning to sting behind her eyes as the emotions tied to her family’s fate came crashing back to the fore.

She missed the moment as Pinkamena’s eyes opened wider than Starlight thought was physically possible. The corrupted element bearer slowly looked to the swollen, bulge-filled bellies of Bonbon and Flurry, along with all of Flurry’s other corruptions. She saw the enormous rack that Marble was bearing, only holding it up due to the insane strength most Pie family ponies possessed. Then she looked at herself, her corrupted form. Her “nipples;” her other sister and mother. And in her minds’ eye, Pinkamena saw the single wooden cross near the house with her father’s hat resting upon it… And the two unmarked mounds of dirt beside it.

Like a veil being lifted from her eyes, Pinkamena saw for the first time what she had done, and what she had become. Flashbacks of over twenty years ago flashed by, reminding her of how she, and all of Equestria, got to this point. The challenge. The seemingly endless breeding session with the corrupted Queen Chrysalis. Midnight merging her with the changeling queen…

…Breaking Fluttershy…

A massive thud resounded throughout the cavern as Pinkamena’s legs gave out. Her tentacles all went slack at her sides as her mouth opened and closed without any sound escaping. She looked down and saw Marble draw closer now, the sternness in her expression having softened into something more empathetic.

“M-Marble… I-I-” Pinkamena’s attempts to string a sentence together were halted when her sister’s hand came to rest against one of her legs. The look Marble gave her spoke volumes, but she went further by closing in and resting her forehead against it.

“It’s okay, Pinkie... I forgive you.”

In that instant, Pinkamena Diane Pie broke.

Streams of tears burst from her eyes like waterfalls, her wails echoing out through the cavern. The fact that Marble’s bust was being pressed between them as she rested against that insectoid leg didn’t matter. Decades of repressed sorrow over the state of Equestria, her friends, her family, and even herself, erupted out. A lone tentacle moved, putting Starlight on edge as she approached, but her fears were allayed when all it did was curl around Marble in a gentle hug. Her concerns dispelled, the mage dug into her bag and pulled out her last three reformation gems. Given three was enough to restore Applejack back to her original form, she assumed it would be enough here. Not wasting a moment, Starlight pressed the gems against Pinkamena’s leg. The light that filled the cavern was blinding, all mares present shielding their eyes as best each could. When the lit dimmed, Starlight felt both elation and concern in the same instant.

Pinkamena once more had a normal form, with her arachnid lower half being transformed back into a normal pair of pony legs. The glowing emblem had vanished from her cutie mark, revealing the blue and yellow balloons once more. Her arms had also been restored and, though still lifeless, her tail had returned to match her mane. But there were very noticeable differences, even more noteworthy considering Applejack hadn’t had such notable changes remaining after reformation. She was now as tall as Princess Luna had once been, and the slightly plump party pony now had an hourglass figure that could rival Rarity in her prime. See-through insectoid wings rested against her back, little indents pot-marked her forearms and shins. A familiar, jagged black horn emerged from the earth pony’s forehead, though no longer than the average unicorn horn. Finally, the areola of her puffy, inverted nipples were mismatched shades of grey; the only visible remnants of Cloudy Quartz and Limestone Pie.

Starlight’s concern grew at all of these obvious differences to the Pinkie Pie she remembered, but when those watery blue eyes of hers opened up, Marble turned to the unicorn and nodded with a teary smile of her own. This, along with the reformed earth pony giving her sister a big hug, was all the conformation Starlight needed.

Pinkie Pie was back.

“Flurry!”

A shout from across the cavern drew Starlight’s attention away from the return of her old friend to see Zap racing across to the bound alicorn, and soon she followed suit and rushed over. Using the princess’ sword, Zap cut Flurry free, setting her down as gently against the wall as she could, and then pressed three of her own gems into the alicorn. Once more the bed chamber was illuminated in radiant light, and when it dimmed down both Zap and Starlight were pleased with the results. Seemingly all of the corruptions inflicted upon Flurry during her absence had been reversed, but her breasts were still large. In fact, if Starlight had to guess, her chest was now a few sizes larger than when this day had started; resting at a K cup. More concerningly, however, was the unmistakable bulge in the princess’ belly that had been hidden beneath her bloated bosom. It wasn’t as stretched as Bonbon’s was, but the fact remained something was now definitely incubating within the alicorn’s womb.

“Flurry! Flurry, can ya hear me?” Zap nearly yelled as she took her friends’ shoulders in her hands, concern plastered across her face. Said concern seemingly washed away in an instant as Flurry’s blue eyes fluttered open.

“Wh-Huh? Z-Zap? Starlight? W-What’s hap-whoa.” Anything else the released pony tried to say was interrupted when Zap closed the tiny distance between them and gave Flurry a tight hug. When she pulled out to look at her, the pegasus mare was on the verge of tears herself.

“Don’t you ever leave us behind again, ya hear?! Ah was so worried ‘bout you, an’… Just… Don’t leave us behind again.” She collapsed into the hug once more, her emotions getting the best of her. But her feeling any form of shame about these feelings was erased when she felt Flurry’s arms embrace her in kind.

“I promise.” Flurry weakly responded, and the two friends resumed their hug.

Over at the other hug in the cavern, the two remaining Pie sisters came apart when a small pink light escaped Pinkie Pie’s chest. With all mares present watching, it shot up through the ceiling of the chamber, through the layers of rock and winding tunnels. Finally, it broke through the surface but didn’t stop there, instead shooting high into the sky. Once it vanished inside the pink clouds covering the area, a massive shockwave of energy spread out from it; clearing the sky of any and all clouds. The open sky was joined with that across the other side of the Ghastly Gorge. The clearing stretched to the Whitetail Woods to the north, the mountainous territory of the Arimaspi to the south, the gorge to the east to the borders of Las Pegasus and Somnambula to the west. Once enough of the late afternoon sky had been revealed, the pink light shot back down underground, returning to the bedroom cavern before embedding itself next to the Element of Honesty upon Flurry’s blade now that it was back in the alicorn’s hands. A small burst of light shone out and, when it had cleared, not only had Flurry’s bust shrank another size, but upon the blade now rested a small blue gem in the shape of a balloon.

“Wait, what is that?” Zap asked, staring at the newly-bejewelled blade.

“The Element of Laughter.” Starlight answered with a smile as she helped Flurry to her feet.

“How in tarnation is laughter an element?” The multicolour-maned pegasus asked as Flurry looked at the new gem. As she gazed deeper into it, the confidence in this quest she had started, though wavered by the events of this past week, felt restored in some way.

“I guess it’s like laughing in the face of sadness?” She guessed. “Like… never giving up hope?”

Starlight nodded. “That’s what I choose to believe.”

“Uh, hey girls?” Vinyl spoke up as all five adventurers came together around the kneeling Pie sisters. “Marble here says there’s still tons of bugs and monsters in these caves, and there’s tons more ponies and creatures captured. What do we do about that?” The other four mares grew silent, looking at the bodies of Flurry and Bonbon especially, but a pink face soon filled the DJ’s vision.

“Hey, um, Vinyl…” Pinkie began, sounding far timid than the unicorn remembered. “I… I know I’ve been a real meanie and everything, but if you wanna work together, I think I can fix the whole ‘tons of scary, evil monsters I helped make’ problem.”

Vinyl answered with a knowing smirk. “The P.P.P.A.S?”

At this random assortment of letters, Pinkie’s smile grew to a more grateful, jubilant one than the crazed grin she had been wearing some half an hour ago, and Starlight swore she saw the pink mane and tail of the party pony poof back up before falling flat once more as she led Vinyl back to the entrance of her cavern. The white unicorn knelt down, held her hands out above her head like she was carrying a massive bowl and charged her magic. A shimmering disc of air appeared above her as Pinkie stepped up behind her. She took a deep breath in and then unleashed an ear-splitting shout.

“ATTENTION EVERYONE! THIS PARTY IS OVER!”

The shout echoed up and through the tunnel and, though the other six mares wouldn’t know it until later, each and every bug, monster balloon and Pinkie spider clone dropped dead instantly, while all the captives in the various caverns fell into unconsciousness.

Another white-furred soldier dropped dead as the demonic horde made slow progress up the jagged mountainside. The frigid night air made it all the harder for those demons and monsters more suited to warmer climates. But the fought on, knowing a far worse fate would await any that ran with their rulers behind them. Especially in the mode they were in.

To say Talvira was upset would be an understatement. Nodabba’s rage was just as potent, but at least she was venting said rage in the form of shredding foes with her talons and crushing them with each swing of her mace. No, as ruler, Talvira would rather let Nodabba and their minions do the grunt work, only wanting to step in for when they finally found the Storm King. She had expected to accomplish this feat within the day, but the weather wasn’t on their side this time, and the enemy, as foolish as they were, were using the terrain to great effect; launching ambushes and springing traps. They were embarrassing her horde, and by extension her.

Still, Talvira thought to herself with a sigh, trying to relieve her tension. Could be worse.

Fate decided to be cruel in that moment, as things got worse.

A stinging pain shot through her skull, if only for a second, but it was enough to make her bow slightly. A lightning quick glance revealed Nodabba had felt it too, but thankfully there were enough troops to protect her. Their ebony-armoured adversaries took this as a good omen, however, and pushed their assault; the horde actually began losing ground. They rectified this immediately, counter-charging to push them back, but Talvira had witnessed her forces weakness.

She spread her leathery wings and shot into the sky. The enemy tried shooting her down with crossbows and spears, but they were either intercepted by the horde, or simply bounced off the demoness’ shield. Her real opponent now was the weather itself; the icy wind made her work twice as hard to gain altitude, and the occasional bolt of lightning forced her to course-correct. Finally, far slower than she would’ve wanted, Talvira broke through the cloud cover to the reddening afternoon sky above. Casting her gaze north she saw it, and it made her blood boil.

Another massive patch of clear sky had opened up over Equestria, with both sides of the Ghastly Gorge now illuminated in sunlight.

Her rage overtaking her, Talvira summoned her silver, double-headed great axe and dove as fast as the lightning flashing alongside her; her furious war cry preceding her. As she broke back through the bottom of the clouds, both armies looked up and, for a split second, caught the visage of the absolutely livid demoness before she crashed landed into the enemy ranks. All across the battlefield, soldiers struggled to maintain their balance. Nodabba took flight with her own bat wings to avoid the destruction, yet she witnessed even more carnage. Further along the wintery mountain range, avalanches cascaded into existence; tumbling down to crush any poor souls in their path.

The cries of pain and terror pulled the demonic princess’ gaze back down to the battle where, with the smoke clearing, she saw her mother tearing the foe apart. She had heard many tales of her struggles during her time in Tartarus, but never had she witnessed the full fury of her mother in battle. With one swing, Talvira decapitated three of her opponents, and embedded her axe deep into the gut of a fourth. Said victim was lifted along with the axe as she then slammed it into two others who drew too close, all three lifeless when the axe was withdrawn. Looking up, she saw another group of white-maned monsters before her. Her core overheating, Talvira’s throat and cheeks bulged before she belched out a stream of black fire. The ebony inferno burned all caught with to ashes in mere moments and, by the time the demonic ruler stood once more, a good ten feet in-front of her was filled with nothing but ash, and terrified enemies beyond. When she turned back to face her own troops, even Nodabba was frightened by the snarling grimace upon Talvira’s face.

“I want us at the enemy’s gates by NIGHTFALL!” She bellowed. “Fail me, and what awaits the Storm King will be dealt to you a hundred-fold! Now FIGHT!” The horde, even more terrified of their ferocious empress, shouted a war cry and charged again. As they began pushing the Storm King’s forces back, Nodabba cautiously approached her parent.

“M-Mother…? What’s wrong?” The look Talvira gave the young demonette sent a chill down her spine.

“Those intruders.” She growled through gritted fangs. “Not only did they restore another element bearer, it just had to be the one beyond even our control.” The shocked look on the princess’ face conveyed her understanding clearly.

“We must crush this hamlet,” she went on, “and then immediately make our way back to Canterlot. If they can restore two Elements of Harmony in a week…” The statement went unanswered, the dread the two demonesses felt all the compulsion they needed to race back to the front of the horde and double the efforts of their troops.

Author's Note

Flurry Heart Stats:
Purity: 3/3
Will: +3*
Strength: +5*
Defence: +3
Speed: +0*
Magic: +4
Items:
Crystal Sword: +1 to Strength
- Element of Honesty: +1 to Strength
- Element of Laughter: Can reroll one Will Check per chapter
Dream Amulet: Automatically pass Will Checks in regards to dreams
Corruptions:
Expanded Breasts (J cup): -5 on Speed Checks
Inflated Belly: Disadvantage on Speed Checks
Incubated Pussy: Disadvantage on Will Checks. Will trigger in two chapters

Starlight Glimmer Stats:
Purity: 3/3
Will: +2
Strength: +2
Defence: +2
Speed: +2
Magic: +5*
Items:
Crystal Staff: +1 to Magic
Dream Amulet: Automatically pass Will Checks in regards to dreams
Teleportation Crystals x3
Food Rations x4
Corruptions:
Expanded Breasts (CC cup)
Lactation (1/3)

Bonbon Stats:
Purity: 2/3
Will: +3*
Strength: +3*
Defence: +2
Speed: +3*
Magic: +0
Items:
Crystal Short Sword: +1 to Strength
Grappling Hook: Advantage on Strength and Speed Checks
Corruptions:
Inflated Belly: Disadvantage on Speed Checks
Incubated Pussy: Disadvantage on Will Checks. Will trigger in two chapters
Incubated Ass: Will trigger in two chapters

Zap Apple Stats:
Purity: 3/3
Will: +4
Strength: +4*
Defence: +1*
Speed: +4*
Magic: +1
Items:
Flying Goggles: Advantage on Speed Checks
Brass Knuckles: +1 to Strength Checks
Rope Lasso: Advantage on Strength and Defence Checks
Dream Amulet: Automatically pass Will Checks in regards to dreams
Reformation Gems x3
Teleportation Crystals x2
Food Rations x5
Corruptions:
None

Vinyl Scratch Stats:
Purity: 4/4
Will: +3
Strength: +3*
Defence: +2
Speed: +2
Magic: +3*
Items:
Steel Bat: +1 to Strength Checks
Crystal Buckler Shield: Advantage on Strength Checks
Horn Ring: +1 to Magic Checks
Reformation Gems x2
Teleportation Crystals x3
Food Rations x2
Corruptions:
None

Pinkie is back! Two elements down, four to go.

Sorry for the delay. I spent Easter and the week after down at the family farm, and as such didn’t have great access to the internet. However, that time offline allowed me to finish off the chapter, as well as the Meanwhile chapter that’s now also uploaded.

I will admit that, like most of you I imagine, I was looking forward to the party throwing down with Pinkamena, but alas the dice said no. Not only did Zap pass the Will check to talk her down, but Vinyl rolled a Nat20 to do so. Guess bringing her along helped out after all.

And, since I mentioned I'd written up evil stats for the mane six, here are Pinkamena's;

Pinkamena Diane Pie Stats:
Strength: +5
Defence: +5
Speed: +4
Magic: +4
Special Ability: At the start of the offensive phase, flip a coin. If Heads, nothing happens. If Tails, any defence rolls made by the party fail on a 5 or less.

Onto the votes and both categories had a similar pattern play out. In the action vote, nursery and time out were neck and neck until nursery eventually pulled away. Though Pinkie ultimately wasn't in the hole, most of you weren't willing to take that chance. The kitchen option made a late charge but it was too little, too late.
The same thing happened with the character poll; the none option eventually pulling ahead of Rumble with Pound making the late charge.

Action:
Kitchen: 7
Bedroom: 2
Nursery: 18
Timeout (Instant Bad End): 5
Character:
Request another party member (Choose ONE from the following)
- Pound Cake: 7
- Pumpkin Cake: 1
- Sparkler: 1
- Rumble: 9
Not right now: 14

So close to the bad end with the time out option there. It was actually the best choice to go to the nursery, given they not only saved Bonbon, but also it let the party bring along Marble to face Pinkamena, who gave the party advantage on their Will checks when talking the party pony down.

Now onto the new polls. Time to decide the party's next course of action, but remember Pinkamena’s warning; “A week in Equestria does strange things to a pony.”

Action 1:
Rest immediately
Scout out the rest of the mines
Check the situation above ground
Action 2:
Manehatten
Cloudsdale
Everfree Forest
Items:
Request some gems
Request all available gems
Gems:
Yes (on who and how many)
No

As always, I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and happy voting!