Daroach knew he wasn't the original, it was something him and the the rest of the squad would have to talk about with that Elfilis fella when they had the chance. They all had a slight glow and their colors were all wrong, and if he hadn't been in control of his faculties he would have assumed he had been possessed like how the first Daroach was taken over by Dark Nebula. As it stood, he felt like Daroach, and trying act like someone else was probably an exercise in futility. And you know what? That was fine with him. So long as he had the Squeak Squad and some riches to gain, he would be happy. Maybe he could bum some gold off of his creator, an 'existence fee'. Daroach was pulled from his thoughts as the dark princess welcomed them into her study.

"Now, let us talk prices. I am going to assume you don't know our currency, so allow me to-" The coated mouse shook his head from under his top hat.

"Actually, and I'm sure this is an odd request, we would like payment in materials. If it wouldn't be a bother." Princess Luna looked bemused, but allowed Daroach to continue. "Now, I'm sure that big-eared kid back there could probably make us everything we needed, but if I know Doc, he would rather trust his own work over the magics of the mind." The UFO pilot nodded his head from the cockpit.

"Yes... His powers are clearly... Miraculous... But science and engineering... Are what I know... If you could provide us with... Materials... For an airship of my design... It would be acceptable as payment... Provided, you are willing to give me... Time, to construct it before we search for this... changeling." The princess seemed to take this into consideration very carefully before she spoke up.

"We, I, am going to assume the materials you wish to procure are not typical for most ships?" Daroach couldn't help but laugh at that.

"You got it in one, Doc works with steel and electricity. He's making an airship, not a boat. And you bet he'll give it all the bells and whistles you could think of." He calmed himself down for just a moment. "And, to be frank, finding this damsel of distress doesn't sound as simple as asking around for rumors. With a ship, Doc can do just about anything. Scanners, net launchers, rocket launchers, normal launchers, etcetera." He saw the look of consternation on her face. "Yes yes, it's a lot of launchers. That's a just-in-case-of-emergency contingency. It's the scanners that we need the most." She nodded along for a moment.

"I do not know what these 'scanners' are, but I shall take your word for it. If Doc can get us a list of needed supplies, Celestia and I will see what we can do. In the meantime, is there anything you wish to know? We do not know how much knowledge from Elfilis is transferred when he, well..." Daroach did have a question actually.

"Yeah actually. I saw it on the way over 'ere and I can't help my curiosity. Do you ponies have another mouth under your tails or somethin?" ... "...What? Why are you turning flush? Did my good looks just register?"

"... That is my vagina. I just, don't know, how to have this conversation with you. How- What?" Now Daroach was intrigued.

"Well, whats it for?" He smirked as Luna planted her face on the desk. Her response came out mumbled from under her mane.

"...It makes babies."

"What, all by itself?"

"Look, Daroach? I'm sorry, but this isn't something I'm comfortable talking about with anypony." The amused thieves just looked up and behind her as she said this.

"Really? I thought it was something of a point of pride for ponies." Side note, Daroach was having more fun with alliteration than he thought he would.

"And what, gave you that idea?"

"The portrait of your vagina hanging on the wall?" And then the room exploded.

"... There is no such portrait. You are all suffering from a mass delusion."

Elfilis and Carina had just left when Celestia heard the explosion from her sisters study. She just sighed and stood from her throne as Captain Armor jumped up and tried to find the attack.

"Luna's study Captain. I wouldn't worry so much, that was Luna's magic just now." He did relax just the smallest amount.

"I'm still going to go check on her and the mice."

"Of course, by all means. I just hope you are ready to run laps if you're going to chase after every explosion. I get the feeling they are going to become more common as time goes on."

Toby could feel it, he had more friends to meet! Elfilis must have created some new people, he was so good at it! He wondered who it could be, was it Dedede? Another Waddle, maybe a Doo instead a Dee this time? Oh, what if he was hot so he made Kracko to control the weather! That'd be neat!

"Uh, purple dude. It's your turn. You foldin' or what?" Oh, that's right. Toby was in the middle of a game. He found this neat place with spicy drinks and ponies who were super excited to teach him new games! He wished they had a bit more light, but he wasn't going to judge them for their tastes. He just shook his head no, he was not going to fold. "Well, then play your cards! We're all waiting on ya."

"Poyo!" And then he threw down all five cards he had been hiding in his stubby hands.

"... For the record, if it weren't for the fact that you literally didn't have sleeves, I would have called you a cheater. I don't think anypony has ever gotten four royal flushes in a row before. And in a different suite each time..." It was a disgruntled griffon next to him that spoke up.

"Oh come on! He has to be cheating! He did shuffle this round, and-"

"Shut your beak Cuttle, his 'shuffling' was eating the deck and spitting it back out in a pile. Now, I don't want to know what you learned you could do with your tongue over the years but-" Oh! Everyone was fighting now! Toby liked fighting!

"... Do you want to talk about it Elfy?" That was Carina.

"...Elfy?"

"Well, you call me Rina sometimes so..." Fair enough.

"Its fine. I like it." We sat there, as I tried to collect my thoughts. "I... Really do think I almost killed your mom. That... I wasn't exaggerating." I wasn't facing her, and my ears were curled around me, blocking my sight. Regardless, I heard her take a deep breath.

"I know I said we were going to talk about that, but if I'm being honest... I kind of just tried to forget that you said that." There was moment before I heard her step towards me, and then I felt her lean her back on me. We were sitting back to back now. On the floor. In a cave. "... I'm not mad at you. You said she attacked you first, and I believe you."

"I wasn't exactly being polite though, if I had better control-"

"Elfy, you could have kissed her ass and she still would have attacked you, I'm sure. Seriously, I've seen her do it." That was a can of worms to save for later. "You reacted to being attacked, and you had enough self-control to stop the fight from going further, right?" I just grunted, which made me feel like I was being a jerk to Carina.

"... I guess. Yes."

"... Why are you so scared of what you can do? Don't take that the wrong way, I know whats its like to be scared of yourself." She shifted her weight a bit, laying her head against the back of my neck. "I didn't understand how all the others could do it. To eat and gorge themselves on emotion, and somehow feel none of them as the ponies they fed from withered away."

"Carina-"

"Shut up, I'm helping you." Okay. "Thanks to you, that part of my life is over. Whatever it is you're going through though, you're still in it. So I want to know, so I can try to help you like you helped me, so that you can also move on the next phase in your life." Maybe I had fallen for her quickly, but time and time again she keeps giving me reasons to, but...

"... Is it really okay to do that? I had a life before Elfilis, wouldn't moving on leave whoever I used to be in the dust? A-and, what if I can't move on anyway!" I had stood up by this point. "I don't know what to do! I still haven't even touched half of the abilities I should have! What if once I start using them, I won't stop?! How do I-"

"Elfy-!"

"How is anyone supposed to be able to stop me!?" I was breathing heavy, my chest and my throat hurt, and I could feel tears welling up. I... I think that was the first time I can remember crying. Rina let me hiccup and sniffle for a few minutes, I don't know how long exactly.

"... No one will have to be able to stop you. You're a good guy, and I think the fact that you are so worried just proves that." She paused, and my silence must have spoke for me. "Princess Luna can use your dream powers, right? If all else goes wrong, I'm sure she will be able to do something."

"... I... I guess that's that then, huh?" I turned to her as she pulled me into a hug, laying my antlers against hers. "I love you Carina."

"I love you too, you big sap." We stayed in the embrace long enough for it to turn to sunset, unbeknownst to us in Forgo Cave. "... Hey, I know something that's good for stress relief~"

"Is it ice-cream?"

"... Well it wasn't, but now I want some. Mind if I get chocolate?" Well, it had been awhile since the milkshakes.

"Sure. I think I saw a good ice-cream place if Sugarcube Corner isn't open." And with a thought, we were portaled away to Ponyville.

"Mmmmmh!~" Carina was really trying to stop herself from shovelling the whole triple scoop into her mouth at once. I sat next to her on the bench we found not too far from the parlor we got our treats from, slowly eating my green apple ice-cream. It was different, and I thought I'd try it out. "Oh, fuck..." And with how late it was, it was just me and her out here, all to ourselves. "EEeeeh!" Which was good, because Carina opted for Dark Chocolate, which was apparently much stronger. Her squeal was a little too much for me to ignore, and it finally pulled my attention to her. Her normally pink face was flushed crimson, eyes shut tight, and both pairs of her legs were crossed. She had apparently dropped her last scoop, as it was upside-down on the ground in front of her.

"... Finally hit your limit?"

"Hah... Hah~"

"I did try to stop you after your first half-scoop."

"Uuuuh... Its worth it though. So worth it..." She finally untensed, laying spread eagle over the back of the bench, revealing the puddle that was slowly flowing towards the edge. I surreptitiously crossed my own legs.

"... I'm not an expert, obviously, but something tells me leaving messes in public spaces isn't exactly polite." She just laughed at me, and I crushed my thighs together as her convulsions caused the puddle to finally go over the edge.

"You'd be surprised then. I've seen couples get it on in pretty rique places, and there aren't any laws against it so long as you don't make a show of it." How do you not make a show of it? What is pony culture, full-stop. That clashed with my inner thoughts hard.

"S-seriously? It can't be a common occurrence." She shrugged.

"I think you're a little too tall to notice, but a good number of stallions get stuck with a stiffy. And some mares find that pretty hot." Herself included, if I'm remembering our first encounter correctly. It was with that knowledge that I slowly uncrossed my legs and let my dick breath, ignoring my embarrassment.

"Ok, but then why are mares like Twilight and Luna so shy about it? Why did you showing me your teats shock the girls back at the spa?... Carina?... Rina?" I looked back at her to see her drooling. "... I think I'm putting my hoof down and saying no more dark-chocolate for you."

"I can live with that. Can we go home? Or the lake? Actually lets just do this right-" I portalled her to the lake without a word and started eating my melting ice-cream. I only had a few moments to myself before a familiar voice picked up from behind me.

"It's because they hadn't been social for a long time." I turned around and lowered a wing to spot the mare from the cafe, Vinyl I remembered, making her way over.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"You asked why some mares are so shy right?" I nodded. "Via was the same way when I met her. When I told you it took a few years to get with her, I should have also let you know that most ponies get into serious relationships in much shorter times than me and her. She-"

"I'm sorry, but how long have you been standing there, and should I start bringing a notebook when we meet?" She magically lifted her shades off to cock an eyebrow at me and smirk.

"That's fair. Me and Octavia usually come here for ice-cream today. She had to go early to prepare for a concert, but I stuck around long enough to see you and your girl show up. Thought I'd say hi, but then she started moaning, so..."

"... So you stuck around?"

"... Maybe. Regardless, most ponies take sexuality and nudity for granted, but if a pony sticks to themselves for long enough, they could develop a bit of a phobia I guess. I learned that the hard way, let me tell you. Had to get a new pair of glasses." I let that sink in for a bit.

"... I'm just going to grill Celestia for everything I need to know."

"The Princess?"

"... Maybe Rarity or Fluttershy instead. They were still shocked at the spa, but they were also the ones to try to teach me when I made a mistake in front of them all." She nodded at that.

"I would go with Fluttershy... No, really. She's shy socially, but ask her to explain something and her kindness will win out and she'll tell you everything you need to know. She's great."

"I'll keep that in mind... Not that I don't appreciate it, but what's with all the advice? This is only our second time meeting, and this is the second time you've taught me something about your culture." Her red eyes, they flashed green as she smiled bitterly.

"Cause I know what it's like is all, my situation isn't so different from yours." Not too different at all... "... You should probably go see Carina by the way. You do not want to leave a chocolate changeling wanting."

"Shit- Right. We'll talk later."

Author's Note

Kirby Return to Dreamland Deluxe got announced. I'm stoked.
What do you guys think of this chapter? I always feel a little iffy giving world building and exposition.