How long Dinky remained unconscious for was a matter up for debate. She remembered, thanks to the slight ache of her horn, that she had teleported. Opening her eyes once more and slowly pulling herself to her feet, the blonde unicorn took in the dilapidated sight of her old bedroom. The bed was a mess in more ways than one. Drawers are emptied and toppled over. The cupboard doors were torn off their hinges. Any and all of the few valuables she had stored here were gone; either taken by her to the Crystal Empire, or pilfered by the monsters that had ransacked it.

The sight of it all weighed heavily upon the unicorn’s shoulders and soul, and her growing despair caused her to look down and inadvertently catch another glimpse of the weight upon her chest. Her old home was wrecked. Her mother was still missing, as was Rumble, and even her own body had been twisted into a mockery of the female form. It all felt too much at that moment, and the tears broke through. Dinky didn’t care she was in enemy territory. Her emotions overwhelmed her as she brought her hands to her face, unintentionally pressing her elbows into her bloated bosom.

Dinky felt like she had been crying for hours by the time she finally felt some semblance of emotion control re-emerge. It couldn’t have been though, given the analogue clock in the corner not only wasn’t stolen or smashed but also still operating after all this time, revealed no more than twenty minutes had passed. Taking a deep breath, she shimmed over to the wall before using it to help her back to her feet.

Leaning against it for a moment, she looked down at the source of her new balance issues. As much as she hated what had become of them, and the individual responsible, Dinky couldn’t deny it felt… good when they were caressed. Absentmindedly, her hands slowly rose up to the undersides of her breasts. They gently skimmed up towards the summits, but reason and logic reasserted themselves the moment her fingertips made contact with her areola. Despite a flinch and a moan that felt concerningly sensual, Dinky pulled her hands away and slapped her cheek to smack the smutty thoughts out of her mind.

“C’mon, Dinky,” she quietly chided herself. “Mom and Rumble are missing and you’re thinking of…” Again, she shook her head as she began pacing. “No! Okay… We… we need to keep going. If Mom was here, there might be a clue or something to find her, right?” Silence answered, souring the mares’ mood. “Fine. Let’s just get on with it.”

Dinky walked over and opened the door to the upstairs hallway. Her determination, or potentially her chest, blinded her to whatever was on the floor. The soft something slipped under her weight, and mare fell forwards. Thankfully the wall wasn’t too far away, but she made contact with it tits first. The sudden pressure against her sensitive nubs was enough to blank the unicorn’s mind, however briefly. Standing pressed against the wall, she was left panting to regain her breath before turning to glare at the guilty item. Said item was a pair of racy purple panties, ones she recognised as an old pair that had belonged to Sparkler.

Gingerly moving away from the wall, Dinky continued the slow search of her home, looking for any sign that could give her a lead on her mother’s whereabouts. As she searched, however, she kept one arm cradling her chest. Partly to ensure it wouldn’t distract her, or so the arm could take the brunt of any further impacts. But the unicorn couldn’t deny there was some small amount of… comfort, in just holding her melons close. Perhaps the pressure, or the mere sensation of someone holding them.

Regardless of these feelings, her search was proving futile. Each room she entered was as badly ransacked as her bedroom, if not more so. The lounge room and kitchen had become a land fill of broken or discarded plates and pans, while the carpets and couches were long since stained thoroughly with substances Dinky dared not even guess. The cupboards and guest room were emptied of any and all valuable items. Back upstairs, Sparkler’s bed was even more stained than the couches, and Dinky nearly gagged at the sight of it. And as for her mothers’ room, it all to well resembled something out of a bad porno; with stains, sex toys and graffiti destroying the welcoming image of a room she used to feel safe in.

The lack of evidence made it clear to Dinky; nothing here would aid her in finding her mother. The thought of that kind pegasus suffering nearly broke Dinky’s dam walls, but she controlled herself this time. She couldn’t afford to wallow while her mother was still a prisoner. These thoughts then led to those of Rumble’s mother, also missing, and then to the young stallion himself. Here she was pitying her changes and fortunes when Rumble was literally turned into a demon.

“I have to find him.” She thought out loud. She needed to save him; she was the only one that could. If she could just get him back to the Crystal Empire, there was a chance he could be reformed.

The sound of wood being smashed shattered those idealistic thoughts.

It came from downstairs and, as quietly as she could, Dinky snuck over to the top of the stairs to find out what caused the sound. She had to cover her mouth, as the two burly cyclopes from before were scouring through the wreckage downstairs. Dinky dared to move over to the window and peaked out, finding both Voyette and a more sedated Rumble standing beside her.

Despite the desire to call out to Rumble, she needed to focus. It was only a matter of time before those brutes found her, and Dinky knew the odds weren’t in her favour. Plus, there was something about how Rumble stood, and the look in his eye, that suggested she couldn’t count on him. Not right now, anyway. Her mind racing, she slunk back to the top of the stairs and saw the monsters still scanning for her, large clubs at the ready. Taking a few reassuring breaths, Dinky waited for the right moment to strike.

That moment came when they stopped to converse at the bottom of the stairs. As fast as she could, Dinky lit her horn and fired near-full strength blasts into the fiends. Both fell to the floor instantly, a new hole adorning their head as they hit the ground. Dinky didn’t stick around to watch, however. If the sudden advent of hurried footfalls downstairs meant anything, it meant that Voyette and Rumble had just entered, and she had little time. Running back into her mother’s room, the unicorn encompassed the bedside table in her golden aura and flung it through the window before burying herself in a pile of old, torn clothes in the walk-in wardrobe. Within seconds of her hiding, an agitated Voyette ran into the room, then to the broken window, with Rumble close behind.

“Argh, damn it!” The she-demon shouted, punching the wall next to the window.

“I shall go after her at once, Mistress.” Rumble asked. The tone in which he spoke scared Dinky. This wasn’t the confident, sometimes arrogant, but fearless colt she’d known since their school days. His voice carried no compassion; only obedience and an annoyance he shared with this monster he now apparently served. Dinky kept one hand firmly clasped over her muzzle and barely breathed, while the other held her bosom tight against her pounding heart.

“Don’t bother,” Voyette snapped back, the succubus running a hand through her ebony hair. “Your little friend is smarter than you. I imagine she wants us thinking she’s on the run, but with tits that big, she wouldn’t make it far. No… This is a distraction.” As the crimson demonette scanned the room, Dinky held her breath. Sweat was beginning to flow, as fears ran rampant she had made the wrong choice.

“She’s clearly teleported out of here and, if what you’ve told me already is true, then she’s probably trying to jump back home with her tail between her legs. Rumble, head to Town Hall and let that pompous pig Nonag know there’s a runaway in town. I’ll fly ahead to the north end of town to see if I can cut her off.” Without another word, Voyette opened her black bat wings and took flight through the window. Rumble followed suit, but while his mistress kept flying north, he veered to the right somewhat.

For minutes after they left, Dinky did not move. She barely breathed. Her heart was pounding in her ears as she thought the moment she moved would be the moment either of them return and discover her. But, as time stretched on, the hidden mare finally released the breath she’d been holding and slowly emerged from the wardrobe. Once she felt her heart rate drop, she knew what she had to do. It would obviously be risky. Sparkler would have called her insane for even thinking it, but she had to.

Moving as carefully and quickly as she could, Dinky descended the stairs, passed the monstrous corpses she had made, and rushed out into Ponyville after Rumble.

Knowing he was heading to the town hall was a big help but, even then, it wasn’t easy. Her breasts kept swaying with each hurried step, or slapping against her torso. Once again, she was forced to hold her mounds tightly against her chest, and did her best to focus on the task at hand instead of how nice her tits felt contorting like water balloons. As she dashed from house to house, she also had to stop and hide as more monsters walked by on patrol. One time, she saw a bipedal rhino monster walking a mare like a pet. Dinky had to stifle a gasp when she saw that pet was Twist, another old classmate. As much as it pained her not to help, she knew it’d do her no good to step in now, so she let them pass without incident. This pause, however, began playing on her nerves. There was no way of knowing how long Rumble would remain at town hall, and if he wasn’t there… Dinky shook those negative thoughts out of her mind. She had to reach him, and there was only one way to do that with enough speed to reach him.

So, taking a deep breath and focusing on her destination, Dinky lit her horn and made the jump.

As with her jump how ever many hours earlier, the pain riddled her mind as the instantaneous jump felt stretched to an eternity. Thankfully, this jump seemed shorter than her last one, though she landed on a hard floor with a searing pain in her horn. Wincing a moment before opening her eyes, Dinky found herself in a dark and dusty store of some kind. Memories of what this place used to be danced on the edges of her memories as she sat up in the ruined, seemingly abandoned shop, but the noise from beyond the windows caught her attention more. Cautiously, she crept up to the window and felt her eyes widen at the depravity before her.

The open area surrounding the hall retained the usual hustle and bustle Dinky remembered from before Equestria’s fall, though now it had far more militant and erotic themes. If it wasn’t armoured monsters marching along to Celestia knows where, they were walking their pony slaves like Twist had been earlier. That was, if they were being walked at all, as the unicorn noticed a mare being held up only by the cock in her pussy and the cord connecting her collar to that of her canine owner. Further in, there were stands where ponies, mare and stallion alike, were being sold like property to the gathered crowd. Finally, and perhaps most frightening of all, were the mares that were trapped in wooden stocks; serving as little more than communal cum dumpsters.

As the horror of what had become of her town sank well and truly in, Dinky noticed movement at the hall building itself. On the outer porch, she saw Voyette landing, being met by Rumble and a rather rotund pig monster dressed in overly elaborate clothes. Like the other monsters in town, the pig had a pony pet; this one Mayor Mare, who stood on her hands and knees with a giddy smile that unnerved Dinky. After a moment or two of conversation, Dinky’s quarry took flight again, and she had to move so she could spy their intended destination. When she saw where, her blood froze.

Canterlot.

The city seemed shrouded in a pink haze that mirrored the clouds high above, but there was only one place worth visiting on that mountain and it was Equestria’s fallen capital. As Dinky sat back down out of sight of the window, she pulled her knees up to her chest and dropped her head. Ignoring the fact this forced her breasts to pillow out around her thighs and up to meet her face, keeping it from her knees, the blonde mare despaired. How was she supposed to make it to Canterlot? Her teleportation attempts, and the couple of days since she and Rumble left the Crystal Empire as a whole, were entirely luck based up to this point. It had nearly run out for her back at Rumble’s place, and it had run out for him. There was no way Canterlot wouldn’t be far worse than what Ponyville had already proven to be, and she was all alone. She couldn’t go up there, right?

But… Rumble was up there. She had sworn to herself she’d bring him back to the Crystal Empire, to heal him. And, for all she knew, her mother could be up there as well. She certainly wasn’t in Ponyville, and she doubted she would find her up in Cloudsdale at this rate. She had already come this far, but what that progress had cost?

As these thoughts swirled round and round in her mind, Dinky looked up in the darkened store and asked the million-bit question.

“What do I do now?”

Exhausted panting filled the underground cavern as the last few remnants of slime hissed while they evaporated. Large expansions of flesh rose and fell as the poor ponies attached to them tried regaining their breath. Starlight shook her head before double-checking the prone form of their former tormentor. Though she hadn’t moved from where she landed, Rarity’s body showed the tell-tale signs of breathing. Relief flowed into Starlight’s system, but the unicorn was filled with dread looking back upon the party. Vinyl was just starting to regain her senses as the cum that had been building up slowly tickled out of her three log-like schlongs, while both Flurry and Zap were buried somewhere within the alicorn’s enormous cleavage.

This led to Starlight gazing upon her own corrupted form as she used her magic to help keep her balance while standing up. There, she saw the large N cup breasts hanging off her ribcage, the undersides reaching down to her waist. The nub-like peaks at their summit were still spilling litre after litre of milk, while the same occurred from all three of her slits; trickling down the slope of her boobs and the length of her thighs. Finally, there were the “fashion choices” Rarity had made for Starlight. The reverse bunny girl suit and the ball gag reducing her to muffled murmurs. Annoyed at being robbed of her speech, she reached up to try and remove it.

Her hands never even made contact. Being so adept at spellcraft, Starlight was able to detect when the gag siphoned some of her magic to keep her hands away from it, and even push them away. They landed on her chest, and the sensation alone was enough to cause the unicorn’s mind to blank for a moment. The pleasure… oh that pleasure that flooded Starlight’s mind…

“…S-Starlight…!” She felt the milk squirt out with greater force with each tug of her nubs. The endless reservoirs within her chest always had more to share, and felt so sublime when they were used.

“STARLIGHT!”

The calling of her name snapped the mage out of her lustful daze. Shaking her head, she looked up and saw the blushing Vinyl looking at her with desperation in her eyes. Despite her only intention of looking at her face, Starlight couldn’t resist sneaking a glance at the three massive shafts of stallionhood regaining their firmness at the sight of her. Again, she shook her head in an attempt to get off that train of thought, and looked down, discovering with horror what she was doing. One hand was cradling a still-leaking nipple on her massive melons, while the other milk-stained hand had paused on the edges of her tit slit. The implications of this terrified Starlight. From her little milking session before the Pie family farm, she knew this was exciting her more than it should, her bosom being so “blessed.” But the thought that she was moments away from losing her sanity to the lust, and it being that easy? It scared her beyond words, almost on par with the future of utter desolation Twilight had once shown her.

“Starlight!” Again, Vinyl shouted, and Starlight looked back up at the white unicorn. The frustration on her face melted at the mages’ expression, and her own showed empathy. “Starlight, you still in there?” Taking a moment to regain her breath, a matter hampered by the ball gag clogging her mouth, she nodded as she once again staggered to her feet. As she used her magic to help her stand once more, the tingling of the aura on the underside of her bosom threatened to steer her mind back towards oblivion, but she held it off by focussing on Vinyl as she slowly walked closer.

“Okay, don’t scare me like that.” Vinyl sighed, raking a hand through her electric blue mane. “Look. I know both of us are pretty fucked up, but I think we agree they need fixing more, right?”

One look at the bushel of caravan-sized breasts was all the convincing Starlight needed. With her magic, she gathered the remaining seven gems and floated four of them into Flurry’s bosom. The light of reformation shone out in the cavern once more and, when it died down, the pair of unicorn’s beheld the gems work. Flurry’s breasts had shrunk, but nowhere near as much as Starlight had hoped. The sizes seemed above standard cup sizes, but if she had to guess, Flurry now rested at W cups. They were still large enough to fit a full-sized stallion within them. Thankfully, other corruptions had been healed. No longer were Flurry’s nipples hidden within her breast, nor were they generating milk at the same insane rate. Finally, four of her mountainous mounds were transformed, restoring to the princess her arms and legs. Said legs were still hidden by some of her other ten breasts, but at least there was the potential for movement.

Within the cleavage, Starlight saw a few chromatic feathers, and used her magic to gently pull Zap out. Within, soft grunts could be heard, urging the mage to pull faster. Zap finally re-emerged, though her face was scrunched up in exertion. The reason why was revealed as, upon landing on the floor, ropes of erupted from her above-average length fuck stick. The thick foal batter arched up before landing either on the chasm of Flurry’s cleavage, or back down onto the pegasus herself. Worried for Zap’s sanity, Starlight forced the last three gems the group had onto the young Apple.

After the light faded away, a small modicum of relief washed over her. Zap’s cock, now beginning to wilt following its eruption, shrank to about half it’s size. So too did her testicles, now at an average size for most stallions. Her breasts also shrank somewhat, though nowhere near as much, resulting in her having roughly K cup-sized orange melons. But the most striking detail was her limbs, mane and tail. They were normal. Whatever had caused the transformation in the tunnels had now been reversed, returning to Zap normal pony arms and legs, while her feathers had shifted back into the same prismatic hair she shared with one of her mothers.

“Ugh…” Zap moaned as she began to stir from her refractory period. “W-What happen’d?” She looked up at the hopeful looks from Starlight and Vinyl, then scratched her head, which led to the shocked but happy realisation she had hands again, then looking up to the bloated white breasts still before her.

“Flurry!”

Zap struggled to her feet, aided a little by Starlight, before rushing around. While Flurry was still hidden from sight in front or from behind, side on she was able to see, and the pegasus rushed in to hold her hand. If Flurry showed any distress from her present state, or how Zap was leaning against the large breast on the princess’ right side, she didn’t show it, instead displaying a small, fragile, but genuine smile at the flier. A muffled sound called Flurry’s attention to the other two members of their group, and her tearful blue eyes widened at the sight of them.

“A-Are… are you two okay?” She asked before a choked chuckle escaped her. “What am I saying? Of course we’re not okay.”

“Hey!” Zap called out, regaining Flurry’s attention as her grip on that white hand tightened. “We’re still here, alright. Don’t go writin’ us off like that.”

“She’s right,” Vinyl added, while Starlight nodded as well. “As long as we’re still sane, we’ve still got a shot at pulling this off…” The DJ’s gaze looked down at the incredibly inadequate “clothing” the non-alicorn ponies were wearing, pointedly trying to ignore her own corruptions. “Now, how about we try pulling these dumb clothes off, huh?” Each mare moved back from Flurry as they tried to take off Rarity’s “gifts” Despite regaining her fingers and opposable thumbs and possessing Apple family strength and tenacity, Zap seemed incapable of removing her skimpy Wonderbolts facsimile.

Vinyl should have had it easy for her top, but no matter how she pulled and tugged, the fuzzy pink crop top refused to budge. Vinyl moved on to try her denim shorts, but that challenge seemed even harder. By some kind of erotic dark magic, the short shorts had remained in tact despite the ludicrous expansion of the DJ’s ass. They more resembled a denim thong that covered nothing. As Vinyl struggled to remove them, however, her arms brushed against her ass, and then her multiple breasts. As she worked, the cocks her nipples had become began to harden, as did the three tree trunks attacked to her pelvis. Vinyl’s breath grew shorter, and eventually her struggles to pull the shorts off morphed into rubbing her hardening shafts.

“V-Vinyl…? Vinyl!”

The shout snapped Vinyl back to reality, seeing both Flurry and Zap staring concernedly at her. Immediately, she raised her arms up above her head, allowing her breath to slow as the gravity of how close she just came sank in. But a moan sounding out nearby revealed she wasn’t the only mare struggling.

As Vinyl had been struggling to control herself, Starlight had also been trying to pull off the sexy inverted bunny mare costume she had been saddled with. Whether it was her time being captured by Rarity, or if she just wasn’t as physically strong as other mares, she seemed incapable of pulling her attire off. Even her frustrated groan was muffled, and the annoyance of that led Starlight to attempt ripping the gag out of her mouth once more. Sadly, like earlier, the sex toy siphoned her own magic and flung her hands down onto the curved surface of her titflesh. Again, her mind went blank and her hands moved on their own. Her legs shook, then buckled as she fell onto her flanks as one hand pulled at her leaking teat for all her worth, while the other slid down and began stroking the dairy-stained vulva adorning her areola. As a moan escaped her gagged mouth, the other three mares finally noticed her situation, as more and more of Starlight’s mind began being swallowed by the rising tide of lust. With Vinyl having only just survived her encounter with desire, and Flurry immobile and thankfully unable to see what was happening, it was left to Zap to solve the issue.

“Quick!” She called out, turning to Vinyl. “Y’all have more o’ them fixin’ gems, right?”

“N-No.” Vinyl shook her head, both as an answer and to shake off any lingering arousal despite the scene developing before them. “I… I think Starlight used them all to fix the two of you.”

Zap looked back, seeing Starlight edging herself closer and closer to climax. Ignoring how hot this looked, she rushed over and smacked the unicorn in the head with a closed back fist. Starlight stopped moving, as Vinyl gasped horrifically at the action.

“What the Tartarus are you doing?!” She shouted, but Zap ignored her and checked on Starlight. Thankfully, as she had hoped, the mare was unconscious, but alive.

“W-What’s happening?!” Flurry asked from behind her wall of fleshy cushions.

“She’s fine, jus’ unconscious.” She explained as she pulled Starlight’s arms away from her chest, doing her best not to gaze upon those milky mammaries for too long. “Ah had t’ stop her from fondlin’ herself into a slut, an’ with no gems, this was all Ah could think of.” She stood, carrying the unconscious unicorn over to Flurry’s side, so she could see her aunt. Zap turned to see Flurry on the verge of an emotional breakdown, and gently took the alicorn’s hand. “Flurry… Starlight was about t’ lose herself. Ah… Ah couldn’t let that happen. If she fell… Ah didn’t want you t’ go through that. Not after all this.” Nervous butterflies somersaulted in Zap’s stomach as she anxiously waited for Flurry’s response. In the end, the princess said nothing, but gripped back tighter to the orange hand, and nodding with a small but grateful smile that defied the tears glistening on her cheeks.

“RRAAAAAAAARRRGH!”

The monstrous roar reverberated in the cavern as the three conscious mares looked up. There, falling through the hole Rarity had left open, dropped a monster. Fortunately, or perhaps unfortunately, it landed side on to Flurry, and she immediately recognised it as Malachite; Rarity’s apparent second in command. With a closer look, she saw the irritated twitch of it’s octopus-like lower half, the muscular pony torso beneath an ebony armoured sash-shoulder pauldron combo, and the anger in the unsettling eyes of its ram head. With one hand now holding a dark iron mace, Malachite lifted the other to point at the gather ponies.

“What have you done with my Lady Nightmare?!” A masculine voice bellowed. Flurry was frozen on the spot in more ways than one, but Zap was quick to read the situation and immediately positioned herself between the two. The rainbow-maned flier didn’t answer, but instead raised her fists in a boxing posture; a clear sign of her readiness to throw down. Malachite merely answered with a growl and raised his mace as he prepared to charge.

“Stop this instant!”

As one, everybody in the cavern froze. Eyes widened as they recognised the voice. Malachite slowly, stiffly, turned to look behind him, as the gathered mares did as well, at the voice’s owner.

There, only just regaining her composure and wearing an expression that hovered between pained and firm, stood Rarity.

“M-My Lady?” Malachite stuttered, lowering his weapon to give the reformed unicorn his full attention. This attention included his eyes bulging at the sight of her, and his limbs and lips drooping in shock. “…W-What happened? Did… What have they done to you?” That last question was added to with an accusatory pointed finger at Flurry and Zap.

“They’ve… They’ve saved me, Darling.” Rarity sighed as she slowly walked up to the monster, not noticing or caring for his discomfort as she appeared… morose. “They’ve… ahem, they have opened my eyes to what I had become and… and I…” Zap watched on with mixed emotions as the mare who, for the last hour or two, had been sexually tormenting her, now seemed to emotionally struggle to link together sentences. But the unicorn took a deep breath and looked back up at her subordinate; an odd sight to Flurry given she had towered him earlier.

“I lost, Malachite.” She finally stated, forcing herself to look him in the eye. “I lost. Flurry Heart managed to defeat me and win her little challenge. But, more importantly, I lost… to myself…” Malachite tilted his head in confusion, but remained quiet and allowed Rarity to continue. “Back when Talvira conquered Equestria, my friends and I were unable to stop her. We lost then, and then I lost my will to fight. I lost to the lust, to despicable urges, and… that’s something I shall have to live with.” A small sniffle escaped her, but she pressed on and placed a hand on the monster’s shoulder. “Go now, Darling. Let everyone know I lost. Take all the servants we have and leave Manehatten. Immediately. This is my last order to you.”

Malachite took all of this in, the shock on display evident for all to see. His eyes darted back and forth in thought as the order sunk in, but one look at those now normal blue eyes was all it took for a sigh to escape, and he bowed, answering with “As you wish, My lady.” He turned and, sparing a look at the still on-guard Zap, moved beneath the gap in the roof. Bulges formed on his back before he grew large, bat-like wings and prepared to fly out.

“Malachite?” Rarity’s call stopped him in his tracks, and he turned to look back at the regretful mare. “I… I’m unsure I’ll ever have the chance to say this again, but… I’m sorry I was never the mother you deserved.” For a moment, Zap fought past the shock that flooded her own system to see this statement rocked Malachite as well. He looked shook for a moment, before turning away and taking flight, leaving the mares alone in the cavern.

“…Wait. T-That thing was your kid?!” Vinyl’s question made Flurry and Vinyl jump, as she had shuffled her enlarged proportions around Flurry’s mass to see Rarity clearly. An impressive feat, given the size of her balls was forcing her to stand bow legged, as the lengths of her dicks rested against the ground.

“Ahem, yes, well,” Rarity stammered, rubbing both her arm and the back of her neck in a bout of nervousness. “It, it wasn’t by choice, I can assure you and… It’s far from the only mistake I’ve made.”

“Tell us somthin’ we don’t know.” Zap muttered, though one look from Flurry signified this wasn’t the time for snide remarks. Rarity merely accepted this jab, sighing and cautiously approaching the princess.

“Flur-I mean… Your Highness. I… I know I’ve done terrible things… and… I did enjoy doing them at the time. But, but now I can see clearly and… and…” The unicorn was struggling to speak, her emotions choking her words back. Though Flurry was still unsure of her trustworthiness, even she could see the earnest regret and shame on the fashionista’s feature and in the tone of her voice.

“I’ve done terrible things,” Rarity went on, gracefully dropping to her knees, nearly obscuring herself from Flurry’s sight due to the bloated breast resting beneath her arm. “Things no pony should ever be forgiven for. I’ve said and done utterly awful things to you… to all of you…” She spared a sorrowful glance at the other mares gathered before returning her attention to the alicorn with a sniffle. “So… I… As Celestia is my witness, I am willing to accept whatever punishment you deem worthy, Princess.”

With that, she bowed her head, awaiting Flurry’s judgement. Inside the alicorn, a moral battle was being waged. On the one hand, Rarity had done so many awful things not just to her and her companions, but seemingly to so many other innocent ponies. Flooding their dreams with visions of sexual excess, and morphing their bodies into grotesque things of pleasure. Then there was all she had done to her specifically; impersonating and mocking her mother, modifying all of her friends on this journey one by one, and finally changing the alicorn’s own body into a horrific perversion of nature. All this threatened to rekindle the flames of seething anger that had burned brightly less than an hour ago.

On the other hand, Rarity was one of Starlight’s close friends, and one of her lost aunt Twilight Sparkle as well. The fact she was once a heroine of Equestria, like her aunt, could be the boost to morale the Crystal Empire needed. And, given the examples of Applejack and Pinkie Pie before her, there was genuine remorse and shame for what she had done. Flurry didn’t need to be an Apple to find the honesty in her words, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t double check.

“Zap,” she asked, immediately earning the pegasus’ full attention. “You’re good at telling when somepony’s lying. What do you think?” At this request, Zap slowly approached Rarity before kneeling down to look the unicorn in the eye. Determined maroon met tearful blue as she stared long and hard into those eyes, searching for any trace of deceit. Finally, the moment passed with a moody sigh from the pegasus.

“Ah don’t trust you one bit, an’ what you said ‘bout mah parents was downright wrong…” Rarity merely nodded at this, turning away as if she was physically struck. “But,” Zap went on, “Mah Ma always told me t’ be honest, an’,” She turned back to meet Flurry’s patient gaze. “She’s tellin’ the honest truth.” Rarity looked back up, stunned at the answer as Zap stood back up and returned to Flurry’s side.

“Alright then.” Flurry uttered, taking a deep breath herself. “Rarity. It’s true you’ve done terrible things, and it’ll still be a long time before I personally am willing to forgive you… But… you are one of my aunt Starlight’s close friends, and I should at the very least give you the opportunity to make up for what you’ve done.”

“Oh… Oh, thank you, Princess!” Rarity sobbed, practically prostrating herself before the alicorn. “I promise I’ll do whatever I can to make restitution.”

“Then you can start by helping get these ‘clothes’ off of my friends.” Rarity stood up, but her grateful expression morphed swiftly back into one of uncertainty and worry.

“Oh… well, I-I would absolutely love to, of course, but those garments are designed so only the wearer can remove them.” Zap was about to protest when Rarity raised her hands in an attempt to placate her. “B-But, I… I can modify them to be less… enticing, and more practical, if you like?”

“Yeah, right.” Zap shot back full of snark. “Like we’d want any more o’ your fashion nonsense. Right, Flurry?” The spunky pegasus looked back to see her friend deep in thought over this before nodding.

“Alright then, but no tricks.”

“What?!” Zap shouted, but it was lost in the giddy excitement Rarity suddenly exuded.

“Oh-ahem… Excuse me.” She stated, curbing her enthusiasm slightly but still lighting her horn. “Now, let’s get you three into proper attire, shall we?”

The blue glow duplicated itself over Vinyl’s clothing, Rarity’s magic already affecting the threads. The crop top shed its garish colour and faded to a navy blue, while also extending to cover all of the DJ’s torso and the five nipple-mounted cocks upon it. The denim short shorts stretched as far as Rarity’s magic could manage yet, even then, they still resembled a massive denim thong. Sadly, there wasn’t enough to obscure Vinyl’s cocks or balls, meaning the brash unicorn would have to bear baring her junk to the world a little while longer.

The unconscious Starlight was next, and the black leather of her sleeves floated off her arms and legs and over her torso. A sleeveless leather leotard now hugged the mages’ body, though Rarity intentionally left her leaking nubs uncovered, in an effort to make the clothing as comfortable as possible.

“And last, but not least…” Rarity spoke as she turned her attention to Zap. Though the pegasus was unnerved at first, the reassuring presence of Flurry’s hand holding hers helped her keep her cool as the fashionista work her literal magic. As with Vinyl’s attire, the fabric stretched up from her limbs to help cover her torso. Soon, the large mounds of her chest were obscured behind the tightly-stretched fabric, as was her stallionhood which resulted in a sizeable bulge in her nethers.

“And one last piece to tie it all together…” Rarity’s then focused her magic up through the hole in the roof. For a while, the ponies there waited until an item floated down to land in the unicorn’s hands. Zap’s eyes widened, as Rarity approached her with the goggles that once belonged to her athletic mother. With the greatest of care, Zap received the eye wear and held it like they were the most important trinket in the world. To her, they might have been. She looked back up at the timid smile of Rarity and, finally, managed to muster a small, but genuine one of her own.

“Thank you.” She said, before hanging the goggles back to their proper place around her neck.

“Think nothing of it, Darling.” Rarity answered before a shiver ran through her body. “Now, if you will excuse me, I think I’ll go fetch us something to eat, as well as your other belongings. I’ll be right back.” With a spring in her step, Rarity walked over beneath the hole in the roof before encompassing herself in the glow of her magic. Slowly, as if it was the first time she had done this, the unicorn floated off the ground, ungraciously at first, and back up to the ground floor of the statue that stood above.

“Hey, Flurry?” Flurry brought her gaze down to see Vinyl had shuffled her way into the princess’ limited line of sight. “I know this might not be what you wanna hear, but I think it’s for the best if Starlight and I head back to the Crystal Empire with Rarity.”

“What?” Both younger mares blurted out.

“Look,” Vinyl shot back, something approaching annoyance in her tone. “I don’t like it either, but look at us. We’ve got no more gems left to fix ourselves up, and that’s assuming they actually work. Remember how they didn’t work on Starlight last night? Who knows if that happens again. Besides, the way Starlight and I are right now…” The DJ’s face clouded with frustration, though clearly not directed at the two younger mares. “We’d only be in your way.”

“That’s not true!” Flurry stated, her emotional state still on a knifes’ edge. “We need you two to help us out.”

“Flurry, Starlight looked about three seconds away from turning into a bimbo. You know I’m right.” She turned to Zap, her and Flurry seeing the usually confident pegasus wilt under the accusation. “There’s no guarantee we won’t turn into sex-crazed sluts if we keep going. You two still have a shot, so we’ll get out of your way and send somepony else to help out in our place.”

“I know, but… still…” Flurry faltered, trying desperately to think of a reason for the unicorns to stay as the minutes dragged on. Neither Zap nor Vinyl rushed her for an answer though, allowing her the time to process her decision.

“Uhm… If I may…?” All turned to see the form of Rarity floating back down to the group. The alabaster unicorn was now garbed in a set of light blue toga robes, while floating beside her was the box Flurry had seen earlier holding their other equipment, and another smaller box that remained sealed. She timidly approached, and waited for Flurry to nod before continuing. “I… I know I’m not exactly somepony worth trusting at the moment but, for whatever it’s worth, I think they should go back.” None voiced a response, allowing the element bearer to elaborate. “Flurry, Darling, you nearly broke at the sight of Starlight’s… changes. What would happen if she finally did fall? What would that do to you mentally, if not emotionally? And would Starlight want you to go through that? What would she want?”

The monster-turned-mare’s words cut deep through the uncertainty plaguing Flurry’s mind. What would Starlight want? If she thought about it, the one thing above all else Starlight would want for her niece would be for her to be safe. While Flurry was more than capable of doing that physically, these past few hours had revealed a mental and emotional weakness that hadn’t been there when this journey began. Each corruption of her and her friends had slowly weakened her resolve, it seemed. If Starlight were to break before her eyes, Flurry wasn’t sure she wouldn’t follow her aunt into insanity. Taking a deep breath, she looked back up to meet Rarity’s empathetic gaze, then turned to Vinyl’s.

“Okay.” She managed to force out, though the emotional tone in her voice told the others she would rather say anything else.

“We’ll make sure Starlight gets the help she needs.” Vinyl stated, a smile returning to her features.

“An’ Ah promise Ah’ll keep you safe.” Zap added, taking Flurry’s hand. A light blush lit up the faces of both mares, but at least these were innocent, purer blushes than what they had worn earlier that day.

“Well, I know it’s not much, but here’re your things.” Rarity said, setting the box down at Zap’s feet. “I’ve also gathered some food for the journey. Oh, and some extra clothes once you’re… uhm…”

“Able to fit into clothes again?” Flurry answered for her. Rarity panicked, though a shake of the alicorn’s head stopped her worries. “It’s okay… Thank you, Rarity.” The unicorn nearly teared up at that, but managed to control her emotions and nod.

“Right.” Vinyl stated. “We’d better get outta your manes then. Now, where’d that bag of stuff go?” Vinyl searched around for Flurry’s bag before Rarity spotted it and lifted it over to Vinyl. The DJ, in turn, took one of the teleportation crystals out before levitating the bag back over to its owner.

“Oh, before I go,” Rarity piped up, moving closer to Flurry. “I just thought I could also give you some information… if you’d like, that is?” Flurry looked to Zap, the pegasus offering a shrug before the alicorn nodded.

“Well,” Rarity began. “Firstly, you’ll need to keep these on.” She pointed to the dream amulet still firmly clasped around Flurry’s neck.

“Wait… I thought you were the only one that could mess with our dreams.” Flurry asked.

“That is true, but it’s not for any one enemy you’ll need them, Darling.” Rarity answered. “It’ll be for Canterlot itself.”

“Why? So we’ll look all fancy for the big city?” Zap asked.

“Because Canterlot was where Talvira began her conquest of Equestria. It’s been suffused with erotic magic far longer than anywhere else, and the very air can leave a mare hot and bothered, so to speak. Even without me interfering, the city will still give ponies corruptive dreams. So, keep these ingenious little trinkets on at all times.” Flurry nodded, waiting for any additional information.

“Second, your best bet in regards to entering Canterlot unseen is through the tunnels beneath it. If you can find a passage leading in from outside the city, then you could sneak up into the very palace itself. But,” she added, dousing the optimistic sparkle beginning to shine in Flurry’s eyes, “you’d need to be incredibly careful, Darling. Those tunnels are where your aunt Twilight used to stay and, speaking from personal experience, she has rather brutal ways of changing a mare.” Flurry couldn’t help but notice Rarity grip her arm and look away at that last part. It was clear something terrible happened between her and Twilight Sparkle, but the princess knew better than to press further at this point.

“Then… Why should we go down there, then?” She asked, hoping to lead away from whatever dark memory was plaguing Rarity. It worked as Rarity looked back at the immobilised alicorn.

“Because your mother’s down there.”

That news hit like a gut punch, but rather than reel from it like she did upon her limbs being transformed into breasts, Flurry grew hopeful there was still a chance to at least save her mother, even if she had fallen.

“She’s still sane, you know?” Rarity went on, reigniting that hope in the royals’ eyes. “Despite everything Talvira and… others have put her through, she still holds onto her sanity.” Happy tears threatened to spill out onto Flurry’s face, but she wiped them away and merely beamed at the news.

“I… I was beginning to think she’d fallen.” She thought out loud, staring into space. “But, if she’d fallen, I guess she wouldn’t have sent that message the other week.”

“Message?” The question caught Flurry off guard, and she looked back to see confusion spread across Rarity’s admittedly beautiful features.

“She… She sent me a dream a couple of weeks ago. Calling out for me to save her. A-And she’s been the light that helped me resist your nightmares earlier.” Concern began to grow as she spoke, for Rarity’s eyes widened in realisation, then fell back into sadness.

“Flurry Heart… Princess Luna was the only princess capable of entering other ponies’ dreams. I… inherited that skill, making me the only mare that would be capable of that. And, as for that pink star in your dreams… that was you, Flurry. It was your will, your desire to save everypony and never fall to evil.” Rarity then took Flurry’s hand in both of hers. “If there is anything you take to heart today, Darling, I pray it’s this; never lose sight of that star inside you. It will be your guide, and will lead you to victory.”

“Wait, wait, hold up.” Vinyl cut in, hands on hips as one of them gripped the teleportation crystal tightly. “If Princess Cadance can’t mess with dreams, then who sent Flurry that vision in the first place?” Rarity brought a hand to her chin in thought, the gears turning beneath her fabulous mane until her eyes widened.

“I… I think…” She stammered, fearfully looking back at Flurry. “It might’ve been me.”

“What?” The other three mares asked in varying levels of confusion.

“Before you all began this little crusade, I was visited by someone. It was… Oh, come now, who was it?” Rarity paced as she prodded the base of her horn as her mind scrambled to find the answer. “Oh! That’s right. It was Ragrol; one of Talvira’s demonic children. She brought some aide of hers, some cream pegasus mare, I think, and they asked me to send the dream.”

“Why would one o’ the princess’ do that?” Zap asked the question all four conscious mares were pondering.

“I’m unsure,” Rarity replied. “But things have been moving very fast in Canterlot, lately. I had been too busy trying to find you for the Empress to pay too much attention, but perhaps you’ll find your answers there. Whatever the reason,” she turned back to Flurry, her eyes showing sincere concern, “Please do be careful, Darlings. Canterlot’s a far more secure city than Manehatten. You cannot afford to lower your guard, even for a moment.” Flurry took all of this information in, nodding back to the unicorn.

“Thank you… for all of that.” She answered, receiving a grateful smile from the fashionista. “And… I’m sorry… for… you know…” Her apology was halted when Rarity reached forward and placed a gentle hand to Flurry’s cheek.

“You have nothing to apologise for, Flurry.” She stated softly. “Now get out there and give that ruffian monster Talvira a piece of your mind, and something for me as well.” That managed to garner a smile out of the alicorn. Her final request given, Rarity lifted up the unconscious Starlight up in her magic, surprising the dress maker with the increased strength of her spells. The three unicorns stood together and, with one last look and wave to Flurry and Zap, Vinyl engaged the crystal and vanished from sight.

Leaving Flurry and Zap all alone.

“…Whelp…” Zap began, rubbing the back of her neck at the awkwardness of the quiet the pair had suddenly found themselves in. “Might as well start goin’ though all this gear, huh?” Flurry didn’t answer as Zap bent down to go through the box. She placed the horn ring to the side for a moment, eventually finding her old bag. She also pulled out both Vinyl’s steel bat and Bonbon’s crystal short sword, attaching them to little belt loops Rarity must have added without her notice. She stowed some of the rations into her own bag and walked over to collect the buckler shield where it had earlier fallen off Flurry’s body before bringing it, the horn ring, and any remaining food to her friend. What she saw was enough to make her drop all she carried, and rush to the princess’ side.

Flurry was in tears once more, her sobs slowly echoing out in the cavern.

“Flurry?” Zap asked, concern filling her voice as she got as close as she could before remembering her arms weren’t wings anymore. Taking flight, she hovered over the weeping alicorn and took her cheeks in her hands. “Hey, hey… What’s wrong?” The princess took a while to calm her sobs enough to speak, but Zap waited patiently.

“I… I-I’m sorry,” she stuttered. “I-It’s… It’s just… A lot to take in.”

“Hey, it’s okay.” Zap soothed as she landed on one of Flurry’s side boobs and cradled the alicorn’s head. “We’ll be fine. We jus’ gotta be real careful from now on, okay?” Flurry nodded as she continued to cry. “Let it all out, Sugarcube. It’s okay.” The princess nodded and stopped holding it in. She reached up and awkwardly hugged Zap from side on. The flier shifted slightly to make it easier, letting her friend cry into her shoulder as she kept a wary maroon eye on the hole in the cavern roof. While Rarity had instructed Malachite to leave with all her minions, that didn’t mean every one of them would obey now their terrifying mistress was gone. Despite her desire to leave, Zap remained where she was. Flurry mattered more at this moment. It took a while longer, Zap wasn’t sure how long, but eventually the sniffling stopped and Flurry released the hug.

“I… I’m sorry.” Flurry repeated herself, wiping her eyes as Zap slid off the massive melon.

“Girl, ya gotta stop apologisin’ for everythin’ that ain’t your fault.” Zap responded with a smile and shake of her head. “Right now, though, we gotta git on the move. Ah don’t trust none o’ Rarity’s goons, and we’re trapped like rats in a barrel down here.” The pegasus bent down and handed the dropped items to Flurry, the alicorn moving them into her bag, while her companion looked around the now rocky cavern walls. There was no pathway in or out other than going up, but one look back at Flurry’s lack of wings and over-abundance of flesh made flying near impossible.

“Hey, Zap?” Zap looked back up and came in close to Flurry again. “I… I have an idea.”

“Whelp, Ah ain’t got diddly, so let’s hear it.”

“Well… you know how, when we reform one of my aunt’s friends, the sky clears up, right?” Zap nodded, following her so far. “And my Uncle Sunburst theorised that the reason it was always so hard to teleport around Equestria was because of this… miasma the clouds gave off. Well, if the clouds are now gone…”

“Yer sayin’ it’ll be easier t’ teleport ‘round?” Zap finished, Flurry’s face lighting up a little at this.

“There’s only one way to find out, and I’m not wanting to test out levitating this much mass over a bays’ worth of water when I can’t swim all that well at the moment.” Zap took one look at the mass of titflesh, then the face of the pony they were attached to. That fragile, kind… beautiful face. Without a word, the orange pegasus took that alabaster hand and nodded in readiness, her determined smile speaking volumes. With her companion ready, Flurry lit her horn, focused on a destination, and fired the spell.

-

Laughter and light.

These were the two constants in Flurry’s reality as she ran through the fields of tall grass and golden flowers. Coming to a rest beneath a large, somehow familiar tree, the princess bent over to catch her breath. A smile emerged as she stood up and looked back to see her mother landing from her flight behind her, while her aunt Starlight heaved deep lungful after lungful of air after running after the youthful alicorn. The feeling of radiant joy swelled within Flurry. The three mares were without corruption. They were together. And most important of all, they were safe. With a joyous laugh, Flurry closed the distance and gave her mother a strong hug. Princess Cadance laughed softly and returned the embrace, while Starlight eventually recovered her breath and hugged her energetic niece from behind.

In this one moment, Flurry Heart wanted for nothing. She was at peace.

Then reality began to shift.

Flurry opened her eyes, and the bright, sunny day they had enjoyed was gone. In its place was a clouded sky. A canopy of dark pink blocked out the sun as the fields instantly withered away to ash. A pair of screams from behind stabbed at Flurry’s heart, and she turned to see the worst. Tendrils of shadow had hooked around her family’s ankles, dragging her mother and aunt away towards a veritable wall of darkness.

“NO!” Flurry roared as she raced after her family, only for something to trip her by the ankle and bring her painfully to the ground. Looking back, she was unable to find the culprit. That was because, with a sense of dread, Flurry watched as her body began bloating up on its own. Limb after limb morphed into a milk-sputtering breast, and they just grew and grew regardless of her pleas. Desperate, she turned back and reached out with her one remaining arm. Hoping beyond all hope she could reach her family as her sight was robbed in the ever-expanding titflesh. Her grasping fingers felt open air, then the softness of supple skin.

As all hope began to fade, someone took hold of her outstretched hand. All awareness returned to Flurry as whoever this was pulled her out of her mounds like as if it was the ocean. At last, she broke the surface; the bright light having returned as the growths slid off of her like water until her pure form was all that was left. The individual responsible for her salvation pulled her into a tight embrace. As Flurry pulled back to look upon her saviour, the light shone brilliantly from behind them. Yet Flurry’s eyes adjusted to the glare, and a feeling of overwhelming fullness flooded her heart at the pony that had saved her.

It was Zap.

-

At once, Flurry woke from the dream.

It wasn’t a violent reaction, like waking from the nightmares had been, and a rapid glance revealed her form hadn’t changed any more than before. A quiet sigh of relief escaped the princess as she looked to the heavens, seeing the shimmering stars for the first time since leaving the Crystal Empire.

She and Zap rested on the patio of a café atop the roof of a skyscraper. Flurry had found it after the two teleported to the highest building she had been on earlier in the day. The jump there, as well as the jump out of the statues’ cavern, were far easier and far less painful than previous attempts at long distance teleportation. Zap had made sure the building was cleared of threats before doing everything in her power to make the alicorn comfortable. From raiding the shelves and cupboards of the café to try and cover her many breasts, or just sitting with her to stave off the sorrow that had nearly consumed her that morning, the orange pegasus would not complain once at being the only mobile mare of the pair.

Looking down to the side, she found said mare nestled deep in the cleavage between her chest and right side boob. Thankfully, Flurry’s awakening didn’t rouse the flier from her own slumber, yet the hand that grasped hers had yet to let go. Seeing the dedication to staying with her, that same feeling from her dream swelled within her heart. Flurry could definitely say she’d never felt like this towards anypony before. Even her closest friends Pound and Pumpkin cake, whom she loved dearly, didn’t generate these emotions that Zap seemed to engender within her. Smiling at the slumbering pegasus, Flurry returned the tight grip and lay back against the breasts that had once been her wings, using them as pillows.

“I promise,” she whispered as she closed her eyes, Zap’s form the last thing she saw before she began her journey back to sleep. “As long as you’re by my side, I’ll never give in.”

Author's Note

Flurry Heart Stats:
Purity: 3/3
Will: -3*
Strength: +5*
Defence: -2*
Speed: -13*
Magic: +5*
Items:
Crystal Sword: +1 to Strength
- Element of Honesty: +1 to Strength
- Element of Laughter: Can reroll one Will Check per chapter
- Element of Generosity: +1 to Defence
Dream Amulet: Automatically pass Will Checks in regards to dreams
Crystal Buckler Shield: Advantage on Strength Checks
Horn Ring: +1 to Magic
Teleportation Crystals x3
Rations x10
Corruptions:
Expanded Breasts (W cup): -18 on Speed Checks
Multiple Breasts (10 total): -6 to Defence and Will Checks

Starlight Glimmer Stats:
Purity: 1/3
Will: -4*
Strength: +2
Defence: +3*
Speed: -7*
Magic: +3*
Items:
Dream Amulet: Automatically pass Will Checks in regards to dreams
Bunny Costume: +1 to Defence and Magic Checks. Requires successful DC 8 Will Check to remove
Ball Gag: -2 to Magic and Will Checks. Requires successful DC 15 Will Check to remove
Corruptions:
Expanded Breasts (N cup): -9 to Speed Checks
Lactation (3/3): -1 to Will Checks, and will lose 1 Purity Point for breast-related orgasms
Nipple Pussies: -4 to Will Checks

Zap Apple Stats:
Purity: 3/3
Will: +3*
Strength: +5*
Defence: +2*
Speed: -3*
Magic: +1
Items:
Dream Amulet: Automatically pass Will Checks in regards to dreams
Flying Goggles: Advantage on Speed Checks
Wonderbolt Uniform: +2 to Speed Checks and +1 to Defence Checks
Steel Bat: +1 to Strength Checks
Crystal Short Sword: +1 to Strength Checks
Corruptions:
Cock & Balls Growth (2/8): -1 to Will and Speed Checks
Expanded Breasts (K cup): -7 to Speed Checks

Vinyl Scratch Stats:
Purity: 2/4
Will: -6*
Strength: +0*
Defence: +1*
Speed: -6*
Magic: +2
Items:
Dream Amulet: Automatically pass Will Checks in regards to dreams
Rave Clothes: +1 to Defence and Will Checks. Requires successful DC 8 Will Check to remove
Corruptions:
Multiple Breasts (5 total): Disadvantage on Speed Checks, -1 on Will and Defence Checks
Cock & Balls Growth (6/8): -5 on Will and Speed Checks
Multiple Cocks (3 total): -2 on Will and Speed Checks
Nipple Cocks: -2 to Strength and Will Checks
Expanded Ass (3/3): -1 to Speed Checks, and will lose 1 Purity Point for ass-related orgasms

Dinky Doo:
Purity: 2/3
Will: +3
Strength: +1
Defence: +2
Speed: -5*
Magic: +3*
Items:
Horn Ring: +1 on Magic Checks
Spell Scrolls: Advantage on Magic Checks in relation to Beams, Cloud Walking, and Teleportation
Food Rations x3
Corruptions:
Expanded Breasts (M cup): -7 to Speed Checks

Not gonna lie, I fully expected this chapter to be much shorter than this. Especially Dinky's segment. Oh well, another recovery chapter, as the new lovebirds prepare to face the next leg of the journey, and Dinky now struggles with decision making.
We also say goodbye to Starlight and Vinyl. Starlight's been with us since the beginning and, had Zap not acted quickly to knock her out, she would've lost her sanity right then and there. Vinyl, while not featuring as prominently as the other party members, has helped out. She helped find Flurry at the Pie farm, and helped talk Pinkie back into reforming. She also managed to help get the party to the boutique before they all got captured.
As for their replacements, they'll arrive in the next chapter, though that might be a while. There should also be another Meanwhile chapter coming soon, so keep an eye out for that.

Onto the votes, and this one was an intriguing round. Resting in the statue had the early lead before being outpaced by staying on the move. A wide range of votes for who to send back resulted with sending Starlight and Vinyl heading home, despite a major late surge from keeping the party as it was. In term of who to bring in, Spike was a clear favourite, and it looked certain Pound was going to join him. But then Button Mash came from out of nowhere to just sneak past him, so it'll be Spike and Button joining the mission. As for the other options, Rarity's help was a real back and forth thing, with the accept option winning out in the end. For the gems, Flurry and Zap were the clear winners for reformation, but it was close on how many. Flurry getting four only won by a couple of votes, though Zap's was more certain from further out.

Something I want to address is the gem options. There are a couple of regular voters who don't want to have any gems chosen. In the past, I said it wouldn't make sense story wise for them to not use gems, but at the same time, I don't want to devalue someone's votes. Therefore, when I say in the gems section who and how many, you're completely allowed to say none. I've even included said vote to demonstrate. So, going forward, if you don't want the gems to be used, you are allowed to say so. It'll count.

Action:
Rest within the Mare of Liberty: 13
Stay moving and rest elsewhere: 16
Character 1 (multiple choice):
Send Starlight back alone to the Crystal Empire: 3
Send Zap back alone to the Crystal Empire: 4
Send Vinyl back alone to the Crystal Empire: 6
Send Starlight and Zap back to the Crystal Empire: 1
Send Starlight and Vinyl back to the Crystal Empire: 8
Send Zap and Vinyl back to the Crystal Empire: 5
Keep the party as is: 7
Character 2 (Select up to TWO characters):
Pound Cake: 10
Pumpkin Cake: 8
Sparkler: 5
Spike: 15
Button Mash: 11
Items:
Accept Rarity's offer: 16
Refuse Rarity's offer: 13
Gems: (Type for who and how many)
Flurry Heart: 0:1, 1:0, 2:1, 3:7, 4+:12
Starlight Glimmer: 0:1, 1:0, 2:0, 3:1, 4+:2
Zap Apple: 0:1, 1:0, 2:2, 3:8, 4+:2
Vinyl Scratch: 0:1, 1:0, 2:3, 3:1, 4+:2

And now onto the new options. Real interested to see not only where the party goes, but also Dinky. Not gonna lie, I've been a little lost on what her direction was. After Rumble went down and the option for her to follow Rumble won, my end goal for her went out the window. Hopefully this can help both her and I get her story back on track.

Action 1 (Main Party):
Cloudsdale
Everfree Forest
Action 2 (Dinky):
Canterlot
Crystal Empire
Remain hidden
Item:
Search the store for something useful
Don't risk it

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