I sat and watched as everypony started heading to their rooms for the night. I felt good. I actually managed to fix a problem without resorting to violence for once. I was about to go find a vending machine when I felt something brush up next to me. Rather, somepony… That’s not a pony. It’s not a changeling either. Well, it looked like a pony and she was kinda pretty. The… I guess mare, for a lack of a better word, rubbed up against me in a way that’s supposed to be seductive.

My stupid pony brain liked this. My ears shot up and I reeled as…

“Good evening…” The mare had a wild, yellow mane and tail that just popped. Around her neck was a black necklace with a red gem hanging from it. Her eyes were half lidded and she had a spiked headband in her mane. Her larger than average flanks sported a cutie mark consisting of some musical note, a treble clef I believe, and a green gem. I felt every curve of her press up against the side of my body as she brought a hoof up to my jaw. She had wings… that felt off, leathery even. The leathery, off-feeling wing draped itself over my back.

“‘Evening to ya.” I waved. “Is there anything I can do for you?” She clearly wants… something.

“I was hoping for a stallion-”

“I’m married.”

“Surely you’re open to a mare that… can give you anything you’d like. All your desires… If you let your lust for me-”

“Man, I can’t control what makes this stupid body horny. As far as I’m concerned, Celly’s my mare, my only mare.”

“Pfft, what can that old hag offer you? She won’t ever love you or give you the time of day a stallion such as yourself deserves…”

“Pfft,” I snickered. “Man you gotta calm your tits, lady. What the fuck do you want, anyways?”

“...You aren’t falling for this?” The mystery mare asked. “How!?” Up until now, she had a silky, smooth voice that sounded like music to my ears. Now, it cracked and almost broke into a growl here and there.

“Simple…” I smiled. “Celly means the world to me. She’s old, sure, but… she’s lovely to be around. I love her, she loves me. What else can you ask for in a relationship? We’re both equals, we’re both a team, and we comfort each other when needed. Celly’s my rock, just as much as I’m hers, apparently.” A small grin made its way to my face. “Plus… Chrysalis, Queen Chrysalis, tried that song and dance before, trying to seduce me and shit. She was just horny, you clearly need something.”

“That old bug is still around, too?”

“Hey, don’t insult Chrysalis. She’s not a bad lady once you get past how bitchy she can be a lot of the time. Heck, she was pretty chill after she understood that I wasn’t interested in her. What’s your problem with semi-immortal monarchs and diarchs?”

“Chrysalis helped imprison us!”

Us?

“Okay. Dunno what you did, but if you done fucked up hard enough to make Chrysalis hate you, something’s wrong. Like she hates everyone, as she claims, but to make her take action against you…” Hmm. I pulled a scroll out from under my wings. I wrote a small note for my buggy friend.

Yo, Chryssy, do you know about a yellow mare with leathery-

“Fuck it, Adagio, let’s just kill him!” A new mare, who looked… kinda like a pony if a pony fucked a fish and gave birth. She had no hindlegs, rather a fish-like tail. Her dark purple scales, the fin on her back… She’s fucking terrifying. “We aren’t going to…”

“We could do that one trick.” Another one of the fish horse things, a lighter blue, almost gray one popped out. “Just kiss him, Adagio!”

“...Oh yeah.” The mare puckered her lips up right as I sent the message away to Chrysalis, along with another to Celly. I ducked and backed off. Okay, so there’s something I’ve learnt about evil bitches from watching a few shows… if they wanna kiss you, it’s probably because their kiss can either… kill you, they want to kill you, or mind control. I’m not letting that happen regardless.

“Okay, what in the fuck are you?” I asked. “Y’all ain’t ponies… You… look like sirens. Those still exist in the world, but only three were ever known to try and mark Equestria as territory…” I put earplugs in my ears. I do not want to get enticed with the song that they were singing. On top of that, I drank a pint of beer. I lowered my stance and lit my horn… The light gray one grabbed me and before I could blink, Adagio kissed me. Right on the fucking lips. My eyes widened… The last thing I heard was two sets of doors and a window being broken open.

I slowly rose to my hooves after… my lovely wife got done kissing me. I stared ahead, as Princess Celestia and Princess Luna galloped down the halls, with Sunset Shimmer at their heels. Twilight Sparkle… Princess Twilight stood at the fore, her horn lit as I heard the sound of shattered glass being stepped on. I turned my gaze behind me to see a changeling queen stand to her full height, as her eyes widened.

“It’s too late…” She whispered.

Princess Celestia stared at me, horrified for some reason.

“Source?” Princess Celestia asked, stepping forward.

“...What do you want, Princess?”

“Now dear,” Adagio walked up beside me and nuzzled me. “She just wants to hurt you and I. She wants to kill us…”

“She looks more worried about me than anything…” I mused. “But… If she wants to hurt you.” I lit my horn. “Step back.” Princess Celestia solemnly stepped forward and lit her horn.

We ran at each other, I reared up and got ready for my foe to strike.

Princess Celestia.

As I shot a spell at Source… I felt my heart drop. Tonight was a good night, I was reunited with my daughter, everything was going so well! My husband was actually in a very good mood for once and tomorrow was my birthday. Twilight was taking to her ascension better than I could’ve hoped, and I was able to finally spend some proper time with Luna and Cadance after we couldn’t, either due to Luna’s sleep schedule or because Cadance was busy ruling the Crystal Empire or busy when I could visit the empire just a month ago.

Source brought up… a normal shield and it nearly shattered upon impact with my spell.

That isn’t Source anymore. It’s a siren’s slave.

He isn’t even using Python anymore.

“What!?” Adagio growled. “I thought an alicorn was supposed to be strong, and he’s barely able to block Princess Celestia’s weakest attack?”

“My apologies,” Source said, looking back. “I feel something holding me back.” He slowly turned to me and shrugged. “Why are we fighting anyways? I personally want no part in this.”

Chrysalis trotted up to my side, I didn’t even need to glance her way. I could feel her presence… she must’ve had a lot of love before coming here. “It appears that your stallion hasn’t practiced much in defending his mind,” Chrysalis mused. “‘Tis a shame, I liked Source.”

“Chrysalis…”

“That’s not Source, Princess.” The venom in Chrysalis’s voice was palpable. “He’s not using Python and I’m willing to bet he possesses none of the skill Source has. Nor do I think it can truly tap into what Source is capable of.”

“Come on, you stupid alicorn! Kill them already! I know how strong you are-”

Source turned back. “I don’t wanna hurt anyone. Can’t we just talk this out-” Luna charged forward and swung her foreleg at him. It connected with his cheek and sent him flying into a nearby wall. Both my sister and I cringed at the sound of the wall cracking as my husband’s body crashed into it. Source slowly got up and shook his head… It appears he didn’t skimp out of physical enchantments this morning, as he cracked his back and stood at his full height.

It wasn’t a very impressive full height, it was something I always teased Source for, his short stature.

I was hoping this stallion would be the sire to my first biological foal ever.

“Jesus Christ, Luna.” Source said as he rubbed his cheek. “You hit hard.” He chuckled. “Feck…” His eyes were glazed over, like he was drunk. He then slumped over, his face planted into the ground as his neck was bent in a way that shouldn’t be possible. His body set itself on fire before turning into nothing but a pile of ashes. We all stared in horror during the whole process. Twilight started crying as she ran ahead to what was left of Source’s body.

In a heartbeat, I punched Adagio in the face. She had no time to react before she was knocked out on the floor; she’s lucky that she’s still alive. My horn lit up. “Do either of you two wish to put up a fight? You’re lucky that I didn’t kill your leader,” I snarled. “Do you understand who that alicorn was the husband to?” My horn lit as a burst of magic blasted both sirens, knocking them out cold. That was… Source’s magic.

“Princess!” Twilight started backing away from the ashes as they caught fire. “How…”

“Shit, Luna, you hit hard.” Source, that was my husband! “Fuckin’ broke my neck and everything, shit… You were ready to kill, weren’t you? I know I’ve done some research and that most ponies that fall under a siren’s spell are as good as dead, but god damn.”

Luna started sputtering. “What?!”

“Lulu, calm down,” Source grinned as the flames dispersed, revealing my vertically challenged husband… looking brand new. His wings looked freshly preened and his feathers extra soft. His mane was extra shiny… He looked like he let the royal groomers have their way with him. “I know y’all forget, with all the excitement from having Sunset Shimmer return, but keep in mind that I cracked Phoenix Fire not too long ago. Oh yeah! We can jot it down; dying breaks mind control spells!”

He looked around. “Okay, seriously, I’m gonna hug you and your sister if you keep looking sad. I know- woah nelly!” Source’s body went limp when I swiped him up in my magic and hugged him as tightly as I could. “Celly,” he chuckled humorlessly. “Fuck… That was a scary experience, getting mind controlled.” He started crying into my neck. “I could see what was going on, I could hear what was going on. I couldn’t do anything to stop it beyond forcing myself to not use Python… Celly are you alright?”

“Source, I thought I lost you again!” I whispered as I lowered us onto the ground. “At least the sirens are captured…”

“Yeah. Probably muzzle them so they can’t sing. I feel like-” Maeve stormed past us.

“Alright, I watched that whole thing. Mama’s mad.” Maeve hit Adagio with a rejuvenation spell. The siren got up while rubbing her head.

“What… happened?”

“You hurt my fucking son. I’m going to beat your ass.” Maeve spun around and bucked the siren in the face. “LEAVE MY FUCKING FAMILY OUT OF YOUR STUPID, EVIL PLANS!” Adagio groaned… only to be hit with a rejuvenation spell… before being hit with dark magic… That’s a spell used for torture. I slowly looked down at Source.

“She was curious and I taught her dark magic.” He explained. “Dunno where she learnt that spell, but it’s essentially a spell that makes it feel like you’re being cooked alive.”

Maeve, when she was done, left a crying Adagio on the ground, her two comrades were shivering in fear and crying just as much; they got the same treatment as their leader.

“Now, what do you fuckers say?” Maeve asked. “SPEAK UP, BECAUSE I AIN’T HEARING SHIT LEAVE YOUR MOUTH!”

“…Sorry…” The sirens droned out like small children that got scolded for taking the last cookie in the cookie jar.

“Source, why is your mother terrifying?” I asked.

“She’s just mad. Really mad. Hey, let me go comfort Luna, she’s been crying since she cracked me in the face.

Source

After comforting Luna and letting everypony know that I’m fine and no longer being mind controlled, I made it a goal to work on mental wards; I fell to that mind control shit way too easily. According to Chrysalis I was resistant to mind control, naturally as an alicorn. Because if the mind control were actually doing its job, I woulda attacked and killed everypony on command without question. Instead, I just sat there and questioned why I should hurt anypony before getting my neck snapped.

To be frank, I am glad that I got Pheonix Fire working when I did, or I would be straight up dead.

Celly wasn’t leaving me alone; despite plans to keep us separated during the Princess Summit, she dragged me up into her room and laid down right on top of me. “We do not mention a word of this to Button, got it?” Celestia asked. “We do not need him to know that you literally died while being mind controlled, correct?” Celly asked, tilting her head and looking down at me with big, pitiful eyes, but not the fake ones she used to make me do stuff for her.

“Celly, my lips are sealed. Besides… I thought I was a goner; I could control my body, kinda, but didn’t have my own thoughts anymore. It… felt awful, honestly. I knew that I was going to be a problem if I were to actually attack anypony, so I tried my best to not do that while being mind controlled and actively didn’t use Python in any capacity so that… taking me out would be easier. To be frank… Shit. I can’t believe I let that fucking happen to me.” I snarled. “How can I be worth two damns if I can’t fucking stop myself from getting mind controlled?” I asked.

“...Source, do not start spiraling. I’ll be honest; almost nopony in that situation could stop that from happening to themselves. Not many could stop that from happening even if they tried. You’re-”

“Barely a fourth of the man you think I am, Celly.” I kissed her. “I…” an idea came to mind. “What if I mind controlled myself?” I asked.

“...What?” Celly asked.

“Does self mind control override other attempts at mind control?” I asked.

“I believe so, why do you ask?” Celestia hummed. “Actually, I’m not even sure, as nopony ever thought to do that to themselves…” I immediately summoned a book on dark magic, skimmed over a few chapters before finding a spell that lets me do mind control. It was a simple one, you just choose who you want mind controlled, do the Runes, attune it to whoever you’re mind controlling, and boom. It’s really simple, since you just need a magical signature. I used my own and everything went blank for a second. Then everything went back to normal, like nothing happened. So that's what it's like to mind control yourself...

I guess. I don't fucking know. Time to test it with the only pony I knew of that has used mind control on a high tier unicorn before, who was still in the empire for some reason.

“Okay, Chrysalis, stop hiding in our fucking closet, come out here please.”

“Oh? And what is this for?” Chrysalis asked… “And why did you know I was in your closet?”

“I know I sent a letter for ya, and you’re secretly a big, softy that was worried for me?” I asked.

“...Okay. You did not have to say that in front of my ex, you know.” Celly giggled at Chrysalis’s suddenly meek demeanor. “Now, did you need something? I was about to have some beauty sleep…”

“In my wife’s closet?”

“It’s comfy and has dresses that smell like her in it.”

“That’s the exact reason why dogs like sleeping on dirty clothes on Earth.” I pointed out.

“Shut up before I have your wife hold you down; I am not above tickling you until you die, now that I know that you pretty much can’t die.”

“...Fine… try and mind control me, please. I’m testing out something stupid.”

Chrysalis blasted me with a spell, a changeling specific spell that I want to learn now… it’s probably mind control. She blinked a few times. She tried again. And again. Nothing.

“Source, your idea for counteracting mind control, by mind controlling yourself… is stupid,” Chrysalis grumbled. “Even I cannot break through such a defense!”

“...All those thousands of years, and Starswirl pulling hair out of his beard while making wards and charms to combat against mind control, and all it takes is using the spell on yourself?” Celly asked.

“Apparently. I dunno how the fuck that works, but it works, and I’m happy.” I sighed. “No more getting mind controlled for this guy!”

The door slammed open and Luna strolled in.

“Jesus fuck, what is with everyone kicking doors open and casually strolling in?” I asked, having jumped out from where I was, under Celly’s wing. “That’s not just something you do after kicking a door in!”

“Well, I am a Princess, therefore, I can do as I please, can I not?” Luna asked. She gave me a smug little smirk, before giggling. “Sorry about making you jump, I just wanted to check in on how you were doing. You did literally just die,” she pointed out. Chrysalis had long since jumped back into the closet with… that looks like a pink fluff ball. A pink, sentient fluff ball with a pony face. A portal opened up, Fruit stuck his face out and smirked at the sight; he gave her that! He and the portal disappeared before Luna or Celly noticed.

“I’m fine. Phoenix Fire’s a resounding success, even have the Runes left over. I can now safely say I am Not The Doctor, since I think The Doctor bursts into flames when he dies and comes back to life.” I mused. “Now, how are you actually doing, Luna? I know Celly needs some snuggles right now, and she ain’t the one who cracked me in the jaw so hard that it broke my skull, my neck, and shattered a couple ribs.”

“...I did all of that?” Luna asked.

“According to the diagnostic spell. I think you forget your own strength sometimes, Luna. Like I was dead before I realized it, but it probably also helped free me from the siren’s call.”

“...I feel really bad about that, but I doubted there was any other way. Usually most ponies that fall victim to mind control, especially that of a siren, don’t come back as who they once were if they get freed from their mental shackles at all. With who you are, my dear brother, the only way I could think of to defeat you was through sheer, physical might… My sister believes in such an approach should you… ever go rogue. I’m inclined to share that mindset.”

“It’s a real good thing I can’t get murdered,” I noted. I flopped down near Celly. “Now, c’mere, I am turning you into a filly, and I’m going to cuddle you so hard that you forget all your troubles for the night-” I hummed. My horn lit and now both Celly and Luna were fillies. “Now, c’mere, lemme hug the babies.”

“...How the buck did you do that?” Celly asked. Her voice was a lot like Sweetie Belle’s now; nice and squeaky and adorable. She was about the size of Sweetie Belle when I first met her too. Hell, you’d mistake them for being twins if Celly didn’t have pink hair, or wings. Luna… well, looked like how she did when I first met her, her coat was lighter in color and so was her mane. She was now just… filly sized rather than young adult and/or teenage filly sized.

“So I may have practiced the spell a few times. Rather, studying and memorizing it so I can finally turn y’all into fillies so you can take me up on my offer and just be children for a day or two. Tonight I need to cuddle both of you until you feel better, and you’re both much larger than I am… SO!” I flopped on my side and opened a wing. “I’ve got plenty of room…” I coaxed them under my wing for the deadliest snuggles they’ll ever know… Because I am going to tickle them in the morning when we wake up, not because I’m going to actually hurt them.

I’d sooner kill myself than let myself hurt them under any circumstance.

A couple of days later, I had nothing to do, and Button was off annoying Dan for the day. So like any smart person, I decided that it was time to go visit the new arrivals… Sunset Shimmer was sleeping in like a highschool student on the weekend. So she was probably out of the question for at least a couple more days. So I was walking down and into the dungeons. Ma kinda beat our second, third, and fourth newest addition to people that I think could be redeemed if they weren’t assholes.

So they probably aren’t redeemable, the Sirens are assholes.

I made it to their cell pretty quickly as… I’ve learnt something kinda cool.

Sirens are good with magic, but physically weak as fuck. And they’re not even really that good at magic, just manipulation-style magic such as mind control and stuff like that.

They were sitting in their cells with ice packs… They looked down trodden.

On my back was a tray full of food that was better than what they were getting served, which was probably a bunch of dried grass.

“Howdy everybody,” I announced my presence, even if it probably wasn’t necessary. Unless you’re Luna, or a bat pony, your hooves are pretty audible on stone or tile flooring. Wood too, I just remembered that. Most floors are just magicked so the sound isn’t super loud; it’s there, but not ear piercingly loud like it would be.

“What do you want?” Adagio asked. “Another kiss, perhaps?”

“Yeah that ain’t gonna work again. Plus me Ma would kick your ass again if you got me killed… again.”

“...Please tell me you didn’t bring her. We couldn’t mind control her, and she burnt my lips off with her magic and healed them right back just to burn them again,” Adagio shivered. “I can still feel my lips burning and she fucking healed them back!”

“I didn’t even do anything all that bad,” Sonata pouted.

“You gave Adagio the idea to mind control me or kill me outright.” I pointed out.

“You did, stupid.” Aria Blaze rolled her eyes. “Seriously, we’re lucky that he’s bringing us grub to begin with after what we did.”

“Well, he’d better; we’re royalty-”

“Adagio, if you act like I’m doing this because I like y’all, I’ll eat all this food right in front of you. And don’t think I won’t; I’m drunk as fuck and am hungry as fuck as a result. However, me and Shiny plan on having a guys night out on the town with Spike, Tale, and Solar… and Rainbow Dash because she’s gay.” I threatened. I won’t eat their food, that’s just straight mean, but I wanted Adagio to shut up. Luckily, it did get her to cut the ego back a bit. I magicked their trays with their selective meals on them. I did my research; sirens are omnivores. I got them a mixture of fish, veggies, other various meats and food stuff.

“I wish there were tacos,” Sonata grumbled. “We just had to leave the day before taco tuesday.”

“You keep thinking with your stomach, you imbecile.” Aria growled.

“Don’t mind them; they’re stupid,” Adagio suggested. Good suggestion. “Now, why are you here?”

“Mostly coming down to see how y’all are doing, and figure out what makes you tick. Why did you wanna use me to kill everypony?” I asked.

“...Okay, we’re not very good with… you know, conventional magic.”

“Go on,” I gestured, before pulling out a taco from under my wing. Well, I teleported the taco to me, I just made it look like I kept it in my wing. I took a bite and hummed. Celly made them for me last night to make sure I had something to eat today, because ‘the baby can’t cook’.

“We just needed everypony to fear us and then love and adore us-”

“You just want love and adoration?” I asked.

“Well, who doesn’t? I also want some power in my life.”

“Dude,” I chuckled. “Have you ever just gone and gotten laid?” I asked. “Or find yourself a nice, sexy stallion to cuddle up without mind controlling him? Maybe a mare if you swung that way.”

“...No. Why would anypony want to date… this?” Adagio gestured to all of herself.

“I’unno. You know me and Princess Celestia are dating and I’m about as boring, optically, as it gets if you ignore me being an alicorn. I’m sure you’ll find a stallion that’s… more adventurous than the rest and curl up with’em. Heck, your pony form was rather striking, rather… eh, pretty. Heck, as is, you’re kinda pretty. Don’t get any ideas; I ain’t fucking with you crazy horses and Celly’s my wife. But… I dunno, if you ever get out and not get sent to Tartarus, ask Cadance for help. She can probably help you find somepony to love. Or somebody, if you don't like ponies.”

“...What?” Adagio asked.

“I’m kinda forgiving, since the only pony you actually ended up getting hurt was… me, myself and I. I have zero care for what happens to me; even more now that I can’t die from natural causes or stab wounds, or broken bones. I may try and argue for you guys to be let out under a few conditions, like talismans that make it so y’all can sing, and can’t remove. No mind control, none of that. To be frank, I think you could be great members of society if you used your lovely voices for something other than causing chaos, but that could just be me. It could be Celly rubbing off on me and hoping to see the best in everyone around me.”

“You’d give us all another chance?” Adagio asked.

“You want love, adoration, and power. The power thing’s a bit weird, but eh, with the exception of griffins, females are usually dominant on the planet. Y’all live forever? Y’all were stuck in the portal a thousand years ago.”

Sonata hummed. “...No. We don’t. Why?” Oh.

“How long does a siren live?”

“A hundred years, hundred fifty at the oldest,” Aria answered.

“Okay then. Tell me, would you rather leave behind a legacy of hatred and despair, or leave the world loved and accepted?” I asked.

“Why would we care? We’d be dead-”

I cut Adagio off. “We all don’t live forever, save alicorns, unfortunately; I hate knowing that I’ll live forever… What we leave behind are the memories of us. What do people think of you? What will anyone remember you for? Would you fade into nothing? Would you like to leave the world knowing everyone hated you? How would you feel, being erased by the passage of time? What will you leave when you close your eyes for the last time, Adagio? If I were still mortal, I’d take this,” I lifted my hoof with Phoenix Fire’s Runes etched into it. “I’d erase this and die happily, knowing I made an impact on Celly. Knowing that I raised a son that can hold his head high… Knowing that yeah, I was loved and cared for, and will be remembered for decades, possibly centuries to come.” I smiled. “That I made a difference and left the world better than when I found it.”

Adagio and her friends were no longer interested in their food. They started to stare at the floor. Perhaps I was getting through to them?

“Why must you think about mortality?” Adagio asked. “You’ve no need to think as such.”

I chuckled. “A life without death is one I will lead. However, the race I hail from, humanity… often pondered on what happens after death. Is it… just a blank void? Is there an afterlife? Does any of this actually matter?” I felt a tear roll down my cheek as I started speaking again. “We humans are very morbid creatures and often joke about death because we fear it. It’s unknown and not something we can just conquer. Some, if not everyone, tries to make a lasting mark on the world. I was hoping to do the same until I ended up in Equestria.”

Adagio sighed. “Can you let me out for just a moment? I’ve something to say to you.” I teleported into her cell. “That… also works.” She pulled me into a hug and started crying on me. What? When she pulled back, she was still crying a little. “Sorry about hurting you. I want to be something better than I am right now.”

Oh. “You will. I’ll put in a good word; it’s a good thing I’m running a lie detection spell, too. I know you wanna actually do better and I will help you do better by letting you live your life… once Celly gives the okay to release y’all from your cells.” Adagio nodded as I teleported out. “If we meet in person again, I’ll look forward to seeing the mares y’all become.”

I found myself sitting in Sunset’s room not too long afterwards. She was sitting on her bed, her phone was sitting next to her on the nightstand beside it.

“So that’s why Celly isn’t hanging out with you, Sunset.” I got done with explaining to her what’s going on. “She’s teaching Twilight and Cadance how to princess, and that takes time. She should be done by the end of the week.” I shrugged. “So, how’s trying to figure out what to do now that you don’t have the internet to mindlessly scroll through or have books that can be played to you as you demand?” I asked.

“...It’s awful, honestly. How did anypony on Earth do anything before inventing the phone?”

“I’unno. How’re you doing, anyways?”

“I’m… doing fine. Why are you asking, Source?”

“Well, dunno if you noticed, but I’m Celly’s bitch. Therefore, you’re my kid.”

“Oh… right. I keep forgetting that Celestia has a husband. How’d you two meet, anyways?” Sunset asked.

“So, I’m not a pony. I was once human, but not from that Crystal Mirror. I was found in a crater in Ponyville-”

“That checks out. Before I left, somepony managed named Apple Jack burnt down half the town with an apple. She was a filly, by the way.”

“...What the fuck?” I asked.

“...What?”

“Apple Jack used to do what her little sister does now? How old are you?” I asked.

“...I’m twenty four.”

“YOU’RE OLDER THAN I AM!?” I asked.

“I am? How old are you?”

“Okay, so as I said, not a pony. Celly and Twilight are inclined to believe that my body’s twenty one, and when I lost my humanity, I was about… twenty three.”

“...Why would I call you dad if I’m older than you?” Sunset asked.

“You don’t gotta. You already don’t call Celly Mom a lot of the time. But… Y’know, you’re family to me through Celly if you’d want to acknowledge it or not. You’re a grown mare; I’d still love to hear about how you’re doing though. At a minimum, you’re a friend, Sunset.”

Sunset tilted her head, before raising an eyebrow. “You’re really sappy, you know that?”

“So I like having a family and knowing how they’re doing. Can you blame me for that?” I asked.

“You’re still a sappy little bitch.”

“Rude. Seriously though, how’re you doing?” I asked.

“I’m doing fine, honestly. It feels… a little odd to be a pony again, but not holding resentment for Celestia feels nice. By the way, I, and everypony else, heard what your Mom said to those… sirens? That gave me nightmares, Source. Luckily Auntie Luna managed to stop them.”

“Pfft, didya know Celly’s scared of me Mum? Luna too.”

“...Celestia? Scared of something-”

“She’s scared of chickens.”

“HOW!?”

“Cockatrice, probably.”

“Oh.”

Sunset rubbed the back of her head. “So… what now?”

I levitated a guitar to her. “C’mon, Celly said you liked music almost as much as you liked magic. She said you’re good at it.” Sunset took the guitar and strummed the thing a few times. “Consider it a gift, eh? Somethin’ to pick up and learn instead of wondering what the fuck to do; can’t imagine you’d wanna pick up learning magic again. I’m assuming that’s a bit of a sore topic.”

“...It kind of is, but yeah, I already know how to play the guitar. After the Fall Formal, there was supposed to be this… musical showcase I was going to partake in. So I taught myself how to play guitar.”

“Oh.” I hummed. “Pretty cool, not gonna lie. What were you gonna play?”

“Well… I was going to play this,” Sunset was pretty good at playing the guitar, I’m not going to lie. Heck, she was singing too and she’s damn good at it.

“Wow,” I clapped. “Feck, I can’t imagine doing that. Playing an instrument or anything musically inclined; I can hold a note, but I’m not great at singing. I’m more of a mage than anything else…”

“Celestia did bring that up. You heard me sing, wing boy, how are you at it?”

“Uh… I was in choir when I was about twelve, and I’m decent; music’s just stopped being my main interest since my Pa died and I couldn’t partake in choir anymore.” Sunset’s ears shot up and she immediately started apologizing for accidentally making me bring up my dead dad. I let her start sputtering before I bonked her on the nose. “Quit that. It’s fine.” I wrapped a hoof around her shoulder after sitting beside her. “Do you know about Irish Folk songs?”

“No. Why?” Sunset asked.

“Darn.” I chuckled. “Meh, it doesn't matter." I teleported a bottle of whisky to me, and Shimmer raised an eyebrow. “What? I made my own spell system; it’s why that teleport felt weird.”

“Oh. Celestia mentioned that. I’d like to know more about it in the future, you know.” She tilted her head. “Will you show me it?” Sunset’s cute.

Adorable, even. She almost puts Twilight to shame in this category.

“Yeah, I’ll show ya at some point. C’mon, let me tell you ‘bout the Humor of Whisky, aye?”

By the end of the week, Celly begrudgingly agreed to let the sirens out, after ensuring that they couldn’t mind control anypony with removing their… charms, I guess. There really isn’t a better way to describe it. “I cannot believe you want this,” Celly grumbled as we sat down in her train car. Everypony else in the family vacated our car in favor of Luna’s train car until we finished having our talk. “They are literally responsible for getting you killed, Source.”

“And I’d like to think they actually listened to what I said. Adagio seemed to be hit pretty hard with what I talked to her about, but she could be playing me for a fool…” I grimaced. “I’ll hate doing it, but if they end up trying to take over Equestria, Celly, then I’ll put them down myself. I will kill them. I really don’t want to, and you’re rubbing off on me.”

“...How so?” Celly asked.

“I’m trying to see the best in everyone around me, like you do with everyone around you. I’m just hoping that… the Sirens actually listen, take heed to my advice, and live prosperous and long; to live out life and be remembered. To be celebrated rather than having their demise be celebrated. To be despised for decades after they’re gone, to then be sweat away by the weight of time. That was something they started… They were afraid of that, after I talked to them.”

“Dammit Source… “ Celly smiled before kissing me on the forehead. “I’ll trust your judgment this time around. I will have them send us friendship reports, though, even if you find the concept to be stupid.”

“Eh, best to have an idea of how they’re doing rather than not. Say, this is off topic, but what if we helped you and Luna control Daybreaker and Nightmare Moon?”

“...Why do you ask?” Celestia asked. “And how do you know about Daybreaker?”

“One of the first worlds I went to, while trying to figure out portal magic, was one where you and Luna had complete control of your darker selves, and were actually rather pleasant individuals… I may have to go visit them. Fruit may be willing to help me connect with them again. Besides, you two are, even if it’s a little, more powerful in those forms which could be useful in world ending threats.” I point out.

“That’s… I hate you, for having good points, Source. I… Will attempt to turn into Daybreaker after we ‘officially’ redeem Discord in our timeline. In a secluded area where I can’t accidentally hurt anypony.”

“Bet.” I nuzzled her.

The door got knocked on, before it just opened. Sonata walked in holding a bag of popcorn-

“Sonata! We can’t just barge in here, Princess Celestia will kill us!” Adagio stopped when she saw us. “Uh… sorry, your highnesses, we’ll just take our leave.”

“No, no. Sit your asses down,” I coaxed. “Honestly, now would be a good time for Celly to see that y’all’re changing for the better. I’m assuming you paid for the snacks Sonata has?” I asked.

“We did. We used bits from the stipend check you’re giving us, though…” Adagio sighed. “Currency is weird, but I get why it’s a thing.” She bowed her head to Celestia. “Hey, your highness… I-” she cringed. “Sorry about mind controlling your husband and sicking him on you. And… thank you for going along with his idea of letting us go… even if we’re not fully free yet.” The siren, in her pony form, was loafing on her cushion and kept her gaze averted from Celly’s eyes. Until now. “I’d like to apologize on… behalf of these two idiots, too; they were just following my lead.”

“I will accept your apology once you’ve proven yourselves. For now, I am simply putting my faith in Source’s judgment of character. If you slip into your old ways, neither he, nor I will enjoy it, but we will be more lethal in our approach of putting your shenanigans to an end, am I clear?” Celestia asked.

“Yes, m’am. Again…”

“Wow, you’re pretty,” Sonata hummed. “I never got a moment to look you over, Princess Celestia!”

Celly blinked. “What?”

“You’re pretty. Is complimenting ponies an insult?” The siren asked… she’s a fuckin’ airhead, man. I can see that there isn’t much going on behind those eyes of hers.

“No, I was just not expecting that. Thank you, Ms. Dusk… I do hate to cut our conversation with you three short, but me and Source were having a mandatory wife and husband meeting. If Source visits you during the train ride, don’t be shocked; he definitely will come and bother you three.”

“That’s fine,” Adagio nodded. “He’s rather pleasing on the eyes, so I don’t mind.” With that, the sirens went back, likely to their seats.

“So…” I hummed. “Now what?” I asked.

“Everypony thinks we’re having a serious discussion right now, and assumes we’ll be busy for another hour. What do you wanna do-” I teleported Button to us.

“Hey kid, you were being hogged by Ma and Sunset the whole ass week. You’re getting cuddles from your old man.”

“Okay,” Button rolled his eyes, but nuzzled deeper into my hug. “I missed this; you’re way better at cuddling than everypony else.”

“I’m just your favorite pony,” I rolled on my back. “C’mon, it’s been a minute since it was just us three. How does a nap sound?” I asked.

“That…” Celly flopped over and took us with her. Now, I was laying on her belly, with my head being right on her neck, Button was laying on my belly, with his head laying on my neck. I tennis balled our horns so we wouldn’t accidentally poke each other with our horns. Save for Celly and Luna, pony horns aren’t very sharp, so there was little chance of us stabbing each other, but being poked with a dull object, in the neck, in your sleep still isn’t fun.

We took a nice, long nap before the rest of the family would inevitably pile on us when they realized that no, we weren't going to do bedroom activities on a train car with no sound proofing material, enchantments, or spells put on it.

Author's Note

Source is very annoying to kill now.

also, fun little thing i noticed. with the chapter used to mark a full year, or the second unicorn convention ends roughly on chapter 51. a year has about 52 weeks in it. granted, those 51 chapters don't take place over the course of a week, and my tracking of time in this story is atrocious, but it's a fun little thing i did on accident.

i was originally gonna have a big fight with Celly and a mind controlled source, but figured... Luna cracking Source in the jaw and killing him with it would be better, and showcase Phoenix Fire better than Source suicide bombing Adagio like I had originally planned. in fact, I was going to have the Dazzlings escape during that whole escapade and have an over-season 4 arc for Source as he hunts them down. However, with how much happens in season 4 in the actual show, for Twilight, I'd figure I'd try having Source go through just as much shit...

perhaps get him lost in more portals? this time with Button, maybe he revisits composite equestria. idk.

something else i'd like to point out, I said it in a comment, but... This story isn't close to ending. for once, I want to try and drive it until Celestia and Luna retire in season 9 of the show, which does involve me doing a bit of catching up on the show in my free time, but that's fine.

next chapter, Discord is 'officially' going to be introduced in the timeline. Plunderseeds will follow in the chapter after that.

this author's note is stupidly long, so i'll stop now. thank you for reading.