Wishing Star: C-Typeby Quantum_ShiftChaptersCh01 - Fallen StarCh02 - Walk Before You CrawlCh03 - Looking For GroupCh04 - Just an Old-Fashioned 'Polgy SongCh05 - DaybrokenCh06 - Spirited AwayCh07 - Martial AutisticCh01 - Fallen StarSitting at the dorm after a long day in college, Cole Winters sighs. Now that summer was in the air again, it was getting hard to pay attention in class again. Which wasn’t helped at all by the teachers getting steadily more and more demanding as the year dragged on, and the workload was getting more intense. Looking over at the computer that sat in the corner, Cole has to suppress the urge to try watching his favorite show, which he’s been denied for most of the last four months. The allure of ponies is strong, but he can’t watch now. After Trixie’s backstory episode in season 5, he’d had to taper off watching the episodes, and he hadn’t seen anything of season 7 yet. Drawing a sheaf of papers, he had a microbiology paper due the following week, a stack of court cases to look over, and a lab hand-out to fill out that he was too lazy to fill out when he first did the lab last week. Looking out the window at the evening sky, Cole sighs. Then, he shouts, as a brilliant line of fire streaks from the sky towards him. Scrambling for cover, and expecting an explosion from the impact, Cole can only wait. A sound of smashing glass reaches his ears, and a thump, but no explosion. Peeking out from the chair he’d hid behind, and ignoring the shouts to shut up from the hallway, he takes a look at the ruin of his window. “How am I going to fix this?!” He panics at the fact that he will now be paying for the damages. As if to counter his argument, a soft, rainbow glow lit up the room. Looking down at the mess of broken glass, Cole saw a large, glowing orb. It was almost perfectly smooth, a pearl of glass. “The hell is that?” He walks over to the sphere carefully, avoiding the shards of glass, he had to pay for the damages, he didn’t need medical bills on top of that. Cole carefully picked it up and sets it on his desk, the light fading as he touches it. A bit confused by this he headed over to get the broom and dustpan so he can start cleaning up the pieces of glass scattered about the room, knowing his roommate would sue if he stepped on one. Several minutes of cleaning up the mess and preparing the cardboard to cover the window he stops and re-examines the sphere. Its surface was smooth, with what felt like millions of tiny indents, like craters on the moon, or divots on a golf ball, but larger. All in all, it was a magnificent piece of art, and likely worth a lot of money, but knowing his luck it was fake. “Who launches a cubic zirconia golf ball at people’s windows?” The globe simply sits in his hands, rather heavy and very pretty. Just for its visible appearance, it was likely saleable, regardless of the material. Turning it around, he couldn’t find a made-in stamp anywhere. “Damn ball, I wish I didn’t have to pay for your mess.” Suddenly, the sphere lights up again, and Cole’s arms lock up as an electric shock with rainbow hues arced up his arms, pain lancing across his nerves as brilliant colors exploded across his vision, before fading away entirely. “The hell just happened?” He sighed, holding his head, wondering if the dorm druggie spiked his drink earlier. As he reached for his head, something hard smacked him on the side of his skull, painfully. “The fuck is on my. . .hand?” He stopped where he lays, staring at his arm, something was different. “What the hell?!” The arm was, for one thing, more tube-like than before, and ended abruptly where the wrist ought to be. Smooth, darkly-colored hair covered the stricken appendage, and he turned it around to see the puff of soft fur on the back of it, a silvery-white in the dim lighting. “The hell?” He panics slightly, but more confused than anything. One thought was going through his head, yup, my drink must’ve been laced with something. He tries to stand up only to collapse on all fours in a pile on the floor. “What the hell is going on here?!” He stopped speaking, as a knock echoes across the room. “Hello? Are you awake in there?” “I don’t know!?” Silence reigned for several minutes as this processed. “Then, uhm, how are you talking to me? Do... Do your kind speak in their sleep a lot?” “Well I did manage to talk to my cousin about games in our sleep once, but no, I am just REALLY confused right now.” Silence falls again. “Uhm, can I- can I come in?” “I would appreciate that seeing as I’ve fallen and can’t get up.” The door opens rapidly, a rectangle of blinding light against the soothing dark of before. A four-legged shape is silhouetted for a moment, before moving into the room. “I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to leave you here alone, I just needed to get my notes, and then I realized you’d be hungry, but I couldn’t find anything on what Nightwings eat, so I thought I’d do some research, and-” The shape resolves itself much more clearly to the confused Cole as a length of spiraling bone on the equine’s forehead lights up, a soft golden aura wrapped around his limbs and helping him back onto the bed. All the while, she kept talking, her voice kind but rather panicked-sounding. “Calm down and explain something to me, did you just pick me up using magic?” “W-well of course. Oh! I forgot to introduce myself, I’m Summer Solace, daughter of the head of the Imperium Sol bureau of Information. A-and you are, sir?” “Cole, Cole Winters, and what is Imperium Sol?” “Oh, you must be from the outlands, I’m sorry, I thought that all of the nightwings lived under Lady Rubeum’s rule these days.” “Who?” “The Living God of the Earth? Maybe you know her under a different name. Anyways, the Imperium Sol is the official name of King Eosos’ domain, and is from an old language and means ‘Empire of the Sun’ because King Eosos raises the sun each morning!” “Well, I am really angry right now...“ “I-I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to offend you-” “Not at you, at the universe itself for once again screwing me over completely.” The mare just looked at him. “I-I don’t understand... What do you mean?” “Judging by all of this and your colorful nature I assume we aren’t on a planet called Earth correct?” “P-planet? But planets are travelling stars that recur in the night sky regularly. You can’t live on a star.” “Well as of yesterday I didn’t live here, I didn’t have hooves, I was able to walk without collapsing in a pathetic pile on the ground, and now I just realized the three years I spent at university are now worthless here. Fantastic!” “Y-you went to a university? Ooh, what did you study?” The mare seemed to almost literally brighten at his words. “Biology for three years, and I doubt it’ll be of any use here.” “What sort of biology? I finished most of the available material when I was fourteen, but any outside knowledge would be really helpful!” “I did organic chemistry, microbiology, some ichthyology, a-” “Ichthyology?! I love fish!” “As do I, but right now I would prefer to figure a few things out. Firstly, where am I, secondly, how I got here, thirdly, why I am a pastel colored pony when I was a bipedal ape only yesterday. “Alright, in order. This place is my home, or rather my parent’s home. It’s a villa a few dozen miles from the capital of the Imperium Sol, and my parents are letting me use it while they stay at the family estate there and teach. “As for the second question, I brought you here after I found you outside. I was planning an electricity-based experiment, to see if I could convert the lightning to a base charge in a capacitive spell matrix. But I had to stop, because you were laying there, after this huge bolt of rainbow-colored lightning! I’ve never seen anything like it before, and there’s nothing in my notes about rainbow-lightning. Either way, when I went to check it out, I saw you, wearing a really fancy suit, in the bottom of a blast crater, reminiscent of a shockwave spell or collapsed-trail wormhole. “And the third thing, I have no idea, but some residual energy from the bolt could be causing some sort of magical feedback, altering your memories. That crater was swamped with high-energy thaums.” The mare blushed slightly, turning her head away from his gaze. “Y-you’re not actually pastel, you’re more of a really fine carbon, especially with your eyes.” “Well my memory is fine I can remember my life before this, the day this happened however is a little hazy, and are you oka- wait, what about my eyes?” The sunset-colored mare shuffles shyly, and the fall of her hair reminds him momentarily of Fluttershy or Trixie, and she blushes harder, her cheeks going from rosey orange-red to a startling crimson. “They’re a really nice orange... Uhm, sorry, I d-didn’t mean to get off-topic.” “Why are my eyes orange now? They used to be brown, same with my hair, and it was long and curly. This is still very strange in so many ways.” Cole took almost a ‘Thinker’ like pose. Summer began circling around him, her horn alight again as she contemplates him. “W-well, you’re mostly a really shiny gray, with bright orange eyes, and your mane and tail coloration is more pony-like than Nightwing-like, from what I’ve read of them, featuring a three-color motif them. I can see...” She carefully leaned in towards his head, her breath making his ear twitch. “I think that’s purple or indigo, hard to tell in this light, then cobalt blue, metallic even, and the third color is... steel gray.” “Huh, I always liked green better, oh well, too late to change anything, not that I could. Oh well, did my clothes have anything in the pockets?” “Oh, yes, there was some sort of money pouch, and a few artifacts that seemed to have some sort of residual enchantments on them, but I didn’t have time to figure them out.” “Can you bring me the brick shaped one? “There were two of them, both had some sort of lightning spell in them. What do they do?” Cole grinned wickedly. “I’ll show you my dear.” Summer blushed at his comment, then hurried out of the room. Cole waited for a minute, wondering why she was suddenly so bashful. Moments later, she skidded back into the room, a bag in her telekinetic grasp, smiling as she burst back into the room. The bag levitates over to Cole, and she set it down carefully onto the bed in front of him. He spends several minutes of fumbling in the bag, sorting past clothes and such until he finds his prize: an iPod. “Thank you, now to... Damn it, how do I work this with hooves?” Cole fumbled with it until he facehoofed, accidentally hitting the iPod’s screen with his nose, and turning it on. “Ah there we go, now to find my song.” Cole used his nose on the touch screen leaving smudges all over it, but eventually manages to play the song he wanted. Within Temptation, Our Solemn Hour. For the four and a quarter minutes of the song, Summer simply watched the device with utter fascination. Cole sat there, happily bobbing his head to the beat of the music, lost for a moment in the recent past. Slowly, the music fades, and Cole presses the button to stop it with his nose. Looking up, he spotted Summer, sitting in awe, the light from the doorway highlighting her features, from her fiery red-orange coat to the smooth, shimmering violet of her mane, like a sunset in equine form. “That is one of the songs of my people, do you like it?” She simply looked at Cole with her mouth agape and her eyes wide, lost in the moment. “Would you like to hear more?” Summer snapped out of her trance at the offer, a broad grin stretching across her face. The way her eyes light up just makes Cole want to give her a hug as she nods her head enthusiastically. “Then hop up here, the bed’s big enough for the both of us, now what kind of music would you like to hear?” Cole patted a spot on the bed next to him. she crawled up onto the spot, curling up like a large cat next to him as she looked closer. “I- uhm... I- I have no idea. What kind of music was that? And how did you store an entire song into a single artifact, with a lightning enchantment involved? Most of those simply fade away in minutes, let alone hours or days.” “Well, where I’m from we have harnessed the power of electricity to power certain objects like this, it isn’t enchanted, it just has a battery inside it. We can store thousands of songs in these and play them back whenever we want. We had no magic or immense physical strength so my people focused on intellect and being a creative and inventive sort.” “W-wow... that’s just so... wow... And- and your people create music like this? I never knew the outlands could produce such things, all the schools say that away from the six domains, there’s nothing but wilderness and savages.” “I’m not from the outlands, or here. I wasn’t a pony either, and what’s a nightwing? I never heard of that type.” “Oh, well, uhm, I guess the outlands might be called other things by those who live there, but, uhm... as for what a nightwing is, well... it’d be easier to show you if there was any light in here.” “That’s not what I me- never mind, and what do you mean light, I can see perfectly fine, even without my glasses.” “Well, that’s one thing... it’s almost completely dark right now, the only light is from a few candles in the hall.” “Huh, I guess Nightwings have good vision in the dark, I can see you perfectly.” Cole emphasized this by booping her on the nose. “Well, of course, you’re nocturnal. And, uhm, what was that for?” “I don’t know, you just look soft.” She just blushed, and squeaked softly. “R-really?” Cole booped her nose again. “Eeyup. Now what kind of music do you want me to play?” “Uhm... do you have anything with a cello?” “I don’t think so, how about this?” Cole hit play, playing a song with a long name, the music playing over the speaker. The bass, heavy rhythm and simple lyrics dragging Summer into the song as they listened. Leaning on Cole as she listened, Solace found her eyes fixated on the tiny device, just small enough, and the right shape, to fit in the hollow underside of his hoof. The two sat as the music continued, and the full five and a half minutes of the song pass. “So how was that?” “W-wow... it sounded so... primal, I suppose. I-I don’t really know how to describe it.” “Glad you liked it, I think it would be classified as industrial metal, not really sure. Wanna hear some of the heavier stuff?” Cole playfully jabbed her. “I- I think I would like that... But, do you have anything with more strings in it?” “I think I have something in mind.” Cole gave her a smile as he selected A Little Piece Of Heaven by Avenged Sevenfold. As the lyrics pour out, and the opening notes drift out. Summer settled in closer to Cole in the dark, smiling at the soft music. When the grimmer parts of the song, though, began to play, she cringed, then winced, then huddled against Cole, forcing him to stop it most of the way through to figure out why his side had turned wet. He looked down at the unicorn, and saw through the gloom that her face was buried in his side, and that she was crying softly. “Y-You okay?” “S-s-sorry... I- I just... that was awful! why would anypony write music a-about k-killing a-a-and eating other p-p-ponies and w-w-why?” Summer sobbed into Cole’s side, barely able to speak around the choking, stifled crying. “I’m sorry, I guess where I’m from things like that aren’t as frowned upon in music. Want me to play something else?” “Y-yeah...” Cole then spent a full minute fiddling with the device, finding a better song through much diligence and effort. Finally, he puts on a song that should be a little more... uplifting. Cole smiles as the song ends, and looked down to ask Summer what to go for next, only to see that she’d fallen asleep on him, snoring softly, her breaths making the lone bundle of hair sticking off the front of her mane drift up and down. Cole just sat there and began to stroke her mane, he kind of felt bad for letting her listen to a song of that nature, ponies and cannibalism aren’t good pairings. Sitting and contemplating the events of the morning/evening/night/whatever, Cole wondered how he arrived. Summer had said something about a rainbow-colored lightning bolt, and something about that set him to thinking. The words kept ringing in his head, and he had a momentary flashback to something about rainbow-colored electricity and some kind of orb. Whatever the memory was, though, he couldn’t focus on it, like a bad dream. Before she woke up he had an idea. He laid her in bed, laid down next to her, messed up her mane a little bit, and simply waited. And waited. And waited. He was patient, though, and waited until his eyes grew heavy, fighting off sleep every moment until he, too finally drifted into rest. Author's Note Well, this is the much-anticipated (by that one guy in the back row. Yeah, you, the one throwing popcorn at the screen) third of six. Yeah, that's right, six. I need to get either a life or an assistant. Anyone got a 1-Up I can borrow? Ch02 - Walk Before You CrawlWaking up in a warm embrace, Cole realized that he hadn’t slept that well in literally years. Slowly opening his eyes, his vision was bombarded by the bright, fiery colors of the mare that held him close. And if she’d been human, he would’ve been held to her chest, her fuzzy ribcage instead tickling his nose. “Well that was a great sleep, and I’m still a pony, so it isn’t a dream.” Cole’s disappointed muttering was a bit loud, and greeted by Summer’s voice. “Mmph... so warm... and fuzzy...” Summer mumbles her words, then suddenly tenses up. From his position near her chest, he can actually hear her heart skip a beat, and her breathing stop for a moment. “Hello!” Cole was feeling energetic for some unknown reason that morning, maybe it was the fact he actually got some decent sleep. Summer doesn’t respond, except to slowly begin looking down at him, her bright red eyes wide. “What?” “I- I’m so sorry!” Her exclamation startled Cole a bit, it wasn’t the reaction he was expecting. Summer had begun trembling slightly, and her eyes were welling up with tears. “Sorry for what? You didn’t do anything but pass out last night.” Summer lets out what can only be a sigh of relief. “Oh, thank goodness... I was so... I just- I thought I...” Instead of finishing her sentences, she simply holds Cole close to her, a soft, fuzzy, plush hug. “What’d you think happened? I’ll happen to let you know I’m a classy lady.” Cole pouts mockingly. However, the joke seems to go over her head as she simply holds him close and nuzzles him on the top of his head, ruffling his mane. “But why the sudden reaction? And why were you apologizing?” “I- thought I’d... I’d... that I’d... t-t-taken a-advantage of you.” Looking up from his location up against her furry chest, Cole saw that Summer looked absolutely serious. “Huh, in my world this situation would be completely reversed.” Sounding like she was reciting something she’d learned from rote, Summer Solace responded. “ ‘Mares will always be the buffer between the stallion and the world. There is nothing more tragic than the loss of a male.’ My mothers taught me that. We’ve always been a traditionalist family... I- I don’t know what to say, beyond that.” “Wait, what is the female to male ratio in this world? In my world is is a one to one ratio.” “One to one? That’d never work... There wouldn’t be enough mares to raise the family. B-but, it varies based on specific race. I’m not sure about nightwings, but Unicorns have one of the lowest ratios, only about 5:1, while Earth Ponies are about 11:1, and Pegasi are around 20:1.” “No, I don’t mean nightwings, I mean my species, humans. And it did work, quite nicely in most cases” “Doesn’t matter what race. Without two to four mares to raise the foals and protect the stallion, there’s no way any of the sentient races, other than the dragons, could have survived.” “Well my mom did a good job raising me on her own, as did other couples in our world.” “Well, I have read about some monogamists that didn’t completely fail in the end, I suppose if there’s enough time to set precedents and the like, it could work-” “Sorry to interrupt, but we’re really close, I think I breathed in some hair.” Cole coughed, yup, he inhaled a few hairs, their gold and orange colors giving away their owner. Summer shuffles quickly away, looking away and blushing, looking kind of depressed, her ears back and fore legs tucked up against her chest. “What’s wrong Summer?” “I- I just didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable, I mean... I know it’s supposed to be the mares that are outgoing, but I didn’t mean to be so clingy. Y-you’re just so warm...” “Nothing wrong with hugs.” Cole shifted up and wrapped his forelegs around her. “See? The only thing that made me uncomfortable was breathing in hair, gets stuck to the back of your throat, sends you into a coughing fit. Nothing good about it, but snuggles are alright.” Cole emphasized this by snuggling up next to her. In response, Summer put a hoof around his shoulder, pulling him closer. “Well, if you’re alright with it... Oh! I forgot something! I need to go get the staff to make some breakfast! I know you’re probably a little sleepy, ‘cuz of the nocturnal thing, but I know they have some fruits and stuff!” “Actually do you have any meat? I need some protein, and staff? Are you guys rich?” “Oh... I thought only pegasi, dragon-ponies, maredragoras and stuff ate meat. And, uhm, yeah, we’re moderately wealthy... I guess.” “Well I’m a huge meat eater, sorry if that’s a problem, also that’s a nice change of pace to hear that you’re wealthy.” “Well, yeah... did you think just anypony can afford to have marble columns in their guest rooms, and at least two homes in different locations in the country? I mean, I know I mentioned that two of my mothers are in the capital, staying at the estate there, and I mentioned that this is just a villa...” “Ah, well that’s a lot better than what I had. Want me to help with anything or do you just want to cuddle all day?” She shifted slightly, blushing furiously at Cole’s comment. She seemed to think for a minute, obviously debating her answer. “W-well, as much a-as I like b-being here, with you... I, uhm, would actually like to ask a favor, if that’s alright?” “What kind of favor?” “Uhm... my mother, Dawn Light, said th-that I can’t leave on my own, to go explore the world, until... well... until I’m part of a herd.” “And?” “And... well... would you at least pretend we’re a herd? I already have somepony else to fill in, as the third member, so we’d have our minimum and all... P-please? I don’t get to talk with many bucks, and you seem really nice, and I really want to be able to leave but I understand if you don’t want to, I under-” “I don’t mind if we form a herd, but what all does that entail? I’m from a monogamous society so this terminology is unknown to me.” “Oh, right... Well, basically, we’d be, uh... what’s the term?” Summer’s eyes shut in concentration, the most adorable scrunchy face gracing her features as she tried to find the word. “Oh, uh, right! It’d be like we’re a couple! I hadn’t quite understood the context until now. But there’d, of course, be one more member in the group, and I already have a friend ready.” “So polygamy? Alright, would I have to do anything else?” “Mostly just let us nuzzle you and stuff, as if we were dating and stuff.” “I am okay with that, I like the cute stuff, also why not let some of the staff see this, they tell your parents, and the charade goes on from there perfectly?” Summer simply hugged him in response, a faint ‘squee’ noise emanating from her as her plush body impacted his face. She nuzzled the top of his head again. “Thank you! Oh thank you so much! And I don’t need to just tell the staff, they already know my plan. We’ll just need to stick together for a while. C’mon, let’s get to the nearer dining room, and I’ll ask the chefs to make us some brunch.” “Okay, got any steak honey?” She blushes. “I-I- uhm, no, I don’t think we have any meat on the grounds, if only because we don’t employ any staff that eat it.” “Eh, I guess I’ll just eat some fruit then, maybe have a food fight in the dining room, you know, the usual.” Cole poked her stomach, making her giggle. Then, he remembered: I don’t know how to walk. “Oh yeah, can you get up and let me watch your legs?” “Uhh- uhm, sure!” Summer hops up off the bed, eagerly strutting back and forth. Cole carefully studies her as she struts, not looking at the parts she’d hoped. After a few minutes, Summer looked back, beaming brightly at him, though it falters slightly at his serious expression, a hoof under his chin as he strokes his beard, which he’d realized is also deep purple and silver. After another few minutes he raised a hoof signaling her to stop. She did so, and looked like she was awaiting a grade. “Thank you, now to try and walk.” “Oh... right, sorry. Was a little... uh... caught up in the moment.” She seemed a little disappointed, her ears a little further down. “Huh? I just needed to see someone walk so I could mimic their foot movement.” “R-right... Do you need any help with anything else?” “If I fall down and hurt myself medical attention would be appreciated.” Cole said, shakily standing up on the bed, he hopped down, nearly falling, but catching himself. “I- I could help support you at first, you’re not very heavy, at least until you can walk again... if, uhm, you want me to.” “Let me try it on my own first, then you can cuddle up to me if the offer still stands.” Cole took a few slow steps, mimicking her movement, tripping at first, but again managing to not faceplant. After a minute or so he seemed to have gotten it down, slow and steadily he manages to walk toward Summer. “See, I got it, kind of.” Cole looks down to his hooves, hoping they would listen to him. Slowly following Summer through the halls, extremely, indeed almost painfully, bright light streaming in through the windows, whitewashing his vision, and forcing him to squint his eyes. Summer, noticing Cole’s discomfort, whispered something to a passing pony in some dark suit; Cole couldn’t tell what color it was or what color the pony was, the sunlight was too bright. The light suddenly fades, and Cole looked up to see that large, heavy drapes had been pulled across the huge, two-story windows, the lengths of fabric being set into place by a small team of unicorns even as he watched. “Thanks, the light was never kind to me.” “I’m sorry for not noticing, or thinking of it before, I could’ve asked the staff-” “No, no, it’s okay Summer, really, you couldn’t have known.” “I- Should’ve figured, it’s mentioned over and over again that Nightwings see by a fairly advanced organic light enhancer in the preorbital lens.” “Ah, well thanks for closing the blinds though, and could you slow down a little bit?” She slowed with a gasp, her own horn lighting up. Cole felt himself lighten, his steps becoming easier as he felt his weight seem to decrease. “What are you doing?” “I’m trying to lift you a bit, to make it easier for you to walk.” “Or I could just ride you.” Summer stumbled in mid-stride, her magic faltering and dropping Cole back to his feet. “Ah- uhm- ah...” Her eyes went wide, as she looked over her shoulder at his smirking face. “So no piggy back ride then?” “I- uhm- w-what?!” “I was asking if you’d carry me so we could move around the house faster, but this is very entertaining, please explain what you thought I was asking.” “O-oh! Not... right, sorry. I- I shouldn’t have assumed- I mean, I wasn’t- uhm... I’m so sorry, I’m a horrible pony!” “Why are you a horrible pony exactly?” “I- I, uhm, thought you were offering to... well... ah, I- I don’t really know the euphemisms for this...” “Something sexual I assume? “Y-yeah... sorry...” Her ears were flat back against her head, and her blush was visible from behind as her flanks lit up like a lightning bug’s. “Oh you dirty dirty mare you! For shame on you for thinking such horrible thoughts! Why I outta- nah, I’m just messing with you, simple misunderstanding, lets move on shall we?” Summer just continues walking slowly, her horn alight again as she helped carry Cole. “Thanks you sweetie.” Cole stuck out his tongue at her and winked. A few more minutes of walking later, the two ponies made it to the dining room, a massive room lit by candles. Massive white stone columns, presumably marble, were spaced around the room, a huge set of drapes, covering one of the three-story-high walls, was being attached into place by a small army of unicorns in butler uniforms. “Holy shit...” Tapestries run the length of the of the room, near the roof, along with one opposite the new drapes, that spans the entire height of that wall, a massive tree in gold thread twisting across the deep maroon fabric, names attached to the branches by colored pieces of fabric. And if this world was even at the level of sophistication of the show... Hell, it’d be expensive by Earth standards, that maroon stuff looked like crushed velvet. “Summer, h-how much do you guys have?” “Well... uhm... a lot. I-I mean, Silver Sunset, my biological mom, is the headmistress of the Bureau of Information, so she makes at least a small percentage on all books printed, and she’s paid based on her work with the department of schooling, and then Golden Dawn is an artist, and she’s pretty good...” Cole fell over. In utter shock from the money overload, he found himself simply staring at the massive sheet of velvet. Summer ran over, checking on him, but he found he wasn’t hearing anything. Slowly, the world fades back in, Summer peering over him with a concerned look on her face. “What happened?” Cole rubbed the side of his head where he’d hit it falling down. “Well, you passed out when I told you about my family’s financial situation... I thought you might’ve had a heart attack, but thankfully, I caught you before you hit your head too hard. A- are you going to be alright?” “Oh yeah, just kinda shocked me for a minute, all I had was a room half the size of the one I woke up in.” “Oh! I’m so sorry! I didn’t realize things were that bad in the outlands. Uhm... if you’re alright, would you like some food?” “Don’t be sorry, nothing can change the past, and food would be nice right about now, sorry for overreacting.” “It-it’s alright. Uhm, we’ve got some fruit here, and some vegetables, too. One of the chefs even made their specialty hayshakes.” “I’ll try a shake.” Summer helped him to his hooves, and the two of them made their way to the table, which was already laden with trays. It seemed that Summer had invited several of the staff to sit in and eat with them, as they were sitting as well, and a few foals had been set up at the table. Some hushed whispers passed around the table, and Cole felt his ears twitch, which only seemed to prompt another round of whispering. Every pair of eyes were locked on his every movement. “I trust you know what you’re doing here, madame Solace...” Cole barely caught the comment, and it was obvious that Summer, whom it had been directed to and whom was barely a few inches from the whisperer had barely heard it, too. “Excuse me?” Cole stared at the stallion. Summer looked over at Cole, her eyebrow quirked up. The stallion that had whispered to Summer had nervously placed a platter on the table and retreated with a bow. “That is one of the few things that annoys me to no end.” Cole shifted in his chair, something was up with his back. Summer looked at him unsurely. “Uhm, what does? And what’s wrong?” “I heard what your friend said, what exactly is wrong with me that he would warn you?” Summer shifted awkwardly in her seat, and the almost oppressive silence hung over the table as the servants watched Cole like a group of scared rabbits. “W-well... Nightwings don’t exactly have... well... the best of reputations since most of them declared their allegiance to Lady Rubeum. Probably because she uses them as shock troops, and they’re very good at it.” “Well, I have no idea who that is and what have I done to deserve this from you all? And stop staring at me.” The group of servants was suddenly looking anywhere but at Cole, except with sidelong glances and surreptitious looks. “Fine, if I bother you all so much I’ll eat somewhere else...” Cole got up and began walking out of the room. “W-wait, Cole! P-please don’t go! I- I didn’t...” Summer’s voice called out from behind him, sounding almost infinitely sad as she calls for him. “I never said you couldn’t come, I just hate being stared at by everyone in the room, you’re an exception.” Cole hears the shuffling of hooves, and the sound of dozens of sets of hooves moving in another direction. “Th-there, I’ve sent them away! Please come back, I just wanted to sit down for a meal together... I- I usually sit with the staff, and I didn’t think about how they’d react, I’m so sorry!” Cole sighs and went back to his seat. “It isn’t your fault, and it just bothers me that they know nothing about me, yet judge me at a glance. You didn’t, what gives them the right to? Plus do I sound like a soldier?” “W-well, you look like one... sort of. You- you move like an officer, and you’re pretty large, and kind of imposing, and none of them can see you too well, because of the lighting and all... I just didn’t think at all.” “Well you didn’t judge me at a glance and I appreciate that, most people from where I’m from would’ve just left me there, I don’t think I’ve said it yet so, thank you, very much Summer.” Summer blushed in the flickering candlelight. “I- I just did what anypony should... After all, soldier or not, you’re still a person, right?” “A nerdy one at that, and what we should do and what people would do are often very different.” Summer sniffled, then smiled as Cole fidgeted in his seat again. “Th-thank you, that means a lot to me. A-and are you sure you’re alright? I know pegasi sometimes have issues sitting in chairs with their wings, but, that’s usually because of the feathers. “Wings?” “Yeah... You didn’t notice you have wings, did you?” “For a man of science you think I would be more observant of myself more than anything wouldn’t you?” Cole laughed at this, and Summer joined in, her laughter full and bright. The two sat next to each other, and looked at the tray and platter ahead of them, a dizzying array of silver domes “Mind if I sit next to you? Or would you prefer that I sit across from you?” “Next to me is fine. What would you like?” Summer uses her magic to lift three of the lids at once, setting them to the side and revealing small stacks of fruits and leafy greens. Something about the tiny oranges on one of the platters just calls to Cole, and he tries reaching for the tiny, unpeeled fruits. Summer lifts a quartet of them, and Cole, on a whim, sticks an entire one in his mouth, using both of his forehooves to pick up the little fruit. While normally the peel would taste bitter and gross... something about this one was delicious, and he began rolling it with his tongue, sliding across teeth he hadn’t really thought about before. Taking a moment to pull out the miniature orange, Cole looked down at it, and realized he’d peeled it perfectly, and was chewing the peel. It was kind of like chewing a piece of gum, but he really didn’t have a flavor to compare it to, except something like very fresh blackberry and and a strawberry. “Eh loo a dis!” Cole was holding the peeled fruit on his tongue. Summer looks over, then blushes, giggles, and tries not to snort up some food. “Wha tho funny?” Summer just finished chewing, swallowed and pointed, at him. “It just looks so... cute.” She grinned at him, before levitating a few more of the oranges onto his plate. “Ow ith thith coot?” “Idunno, but it is.” She began to reach for another batch of food, this one a pile of green, leafy vegetables and a pile of roses and other flowers. “Or just jealous ou don ave thith tongue.” “Not at all. What would I need a tongue like that for? I’m a grazing herbivore, I don’t need to be able to grab my food with a prehensile tongue to eat it.” “Iunno, I fink oo could find thum yuth fo it.” Cole retracted his tongue as it was drying out, happily chewing the orange. Summer just snorted, the grin not leaving her face she continued to eat. “Why’re you so happy?” “You’re adorable when you eat, that’s what.” “No I’m not.” Cole pouted, sticking his tongue out at her, flicking it, hissing at her. She just giggled and restated that her assertion was correct. After breakfast, Summer asked him to follow her. Leading him towards another room near where the room he had woken in was. The door was bright red, and had a circle in black, with a black six-pointed star inscribed on it, runes inside a double-circle bordering the entire thing. “Huh, I think I’ve seen something like this somewhere, kinda like the pentagram on my wallet turned bag.” “Indeed? Do you recognize what this is?” “I think I should, but at the moment my brain seems to be failing me.” “Well, let’s go inside, and I’ll show you.” Her golden aura of magic opens the door, and it swings with a slight groan, a room that was dark even to Cole’s enhanced vision beyond the threshold. Striding in confidently, the fiery-colored mare’s horn sparks, and candles in dark purple light all around the room. “Alright, now stand over here with me, so that I can summon our other partner.” Author's Note Part two of my traditional 2-part first update. I hope you like the story so far. Ch03 - Looking For GroupA ring of dark purple candles lit around the room, revealing a large, black star with six sharply-drawn points set into the ground in black stone on white marble. “Alright, now stand over here with me, so that I can summon our other partner.” “Uh, what do I have to do? Do we need a virgin sacrifice or something?” Cole looked at her, and she looked back at him with a brow cocked. “No... why would we need to sacrifice a virgin?” “I have no idea about magic, I’m just shootin’ the breeze.” Summer just shakes her head and uses her magic to push him into the center of a circle with a five-pointed star inside bands of gold, the material of the star and bands embedded in the ground. “Should I really be standing here?” “Yes, unless you want any mistakes to be almost definitely lethal. Or, at least, embarrassing in the extreme.” Summer settled into an identical golden star-and-circle next to his. “Wait, what do you mean embarrassing?” “Well, if I accidentally summon something I shouldn’t and it isn’t more dangerous than a mild nuisance, then it’ll go after the nearest pony in the room that isn’t protected in a guardian circle. Then, depending on what it is, it’ll likely cause something embarrassing to happen... like dying your wings bright pink for a week, or doodle obscene images all over your coat in glowing ink that won’t wash off for a year or more, or try to mount you, if it’s up to it.” “Jokes on them, I don’t mind pink!” Summer giggles at the comment, before becoming serious again. “Still, that’s assuming I get something from the bottom third of the possibilities. If I get something really bad by accident, and you’re in the room and not in a protective circle, it could kill you... or much, much worse.” “Have you even had one mount you or re-color you?” Summer’s ears drooped, and she refused to look Cole in the eye. “I- I only barely got away from a really nasty Nebulous Demon... It could’ve killed me. As for the lesser things... well, I can cast protective skills on the fly, you can’t.” Cole walked over to her quickly and hugged her. “Glad you’re okay, now lets do this right.” Summer smiles and nuzzles him in return, before he returns to his circle. As soon as she was sure he was safely in his circle, she began to charge her horn, golden light pouring from it as it layered over twice, resembling what Twilight’s had in Trixie’s first appearance. She lowered her horn, and the bright, almost blinding light poured in a beam towards the black circle, turning it a shining white. Inside the star in the center, a column of black smoke rises, tendrils of purest shadow lashing out from it and curling through the air. “Who is it who calls me? What mortals dare call me to this realm?” The voice crackled like electricity, but deep and thunderous, reaching past the bones and into the soul, and nearly made Cole simply run from the room, but the fear rooted him the stone floor. “Uh, us.”Sum-” “Shh! Never speak your name aloud near a Demon of any kind!” “Well, shoot, it almost worked... although I already know your name, don’t I, Summer?” Solace breathed a sigh of relief as the smoky cloud began to recede towards the floor, no longer a towering column, but condensing down into a form like a pony with cartoony, small bat-wings and a long, whip-like tail with a spade-shaped tip. “Well, at least I know I got the right demon, Illicita wouldn’t go giving my name around.” “I’m glad you have such faith in me, Solace. How have things been? And who is this handsome buck you’re found?” The cloud had formed into the shape of a lithe, shapely mare, small, cute-sey bat-wings on her back and her thin tail resolving itself as solid black, contrasting with the solid, blood-red coat of the mare herself. “Well you can call me bodybag for the time being.” “Oh, so he speaks! Goody, I enjoy my... conquests able to think for themselves.” The demon mare grinned seductively at the colt. “Hooves off, please, he may be pretending to be shared between us, but he’s his own pony.” “Not my type anyways Summer.” The demon mare pouts at him, but it doesn’t laugh. “That’s alright, I can always get him later. So, Summer, We ready to go wandering now that you have a real stallion to keep you warm at night? Or is that still my job?” Summer blushed furiously, and looked around, biting her lip in embarrassment. “Illi! Please, that’s private!” “Okay, I want to know about that now.” “Please, honey, I’m a succubus, it’s my duty in my immortal life to kiss and tell. And we came so very close doing a lot more than just ‘kiss’ for me to tell about that one time, didn’t we?” “Illicita!” “What’s so bad? I don’t judge.” “She’s just embarrassed we didn’t go any further. I’m a delicious piece of diabolic meat, and she wanted to taste of the forbidden fish between my legs. I’m sure I’ll get to you eventually, Dark-Watcher.” “Thanks for the offer, but I’ll have to decline.” The succubus pony just laughs uproariously, stamping a hoof and ending with a giggle. “So, a challenge it is. This is a trip I’m going to enjoy a lot, and for all sorts of reasons! Ooh, I just love it!” The demon mare is grinning broadly and flapping her adorably small wings, causing her to lift by the shoulders only, her limbs tucked up like she was just picked up by her neck. “You’re coming with us? How can we trust you?” “Well, since, technically, Summer’s bindings can’t work on me anyways, as I know her true name, you don’t have much of a choice. I’m only leaving if I want to, dark-watcher.” Illicita’s voice was earnest, if very full of giggles. “How is she your friend exactly Summer? No offense, but I don’t see it.” Summer, still blushing horribly, starts to explain, her voice oddly level, in spite of her brilliant red blush. “Well, when I accidentally let her loose the first time, she didn’t try to harm me... just, ah, ‘play’ a little. I re-summoned her several times after that, and she’s been really nice every time. And when I accidentally let slip my true name, she never once used it against me or traded it to others.” “And my da- I’m not even going there... Just keep an eye on her.” “Oh, I’m sure she’ll be keeping more than her eyes on me, and I’m hoping you will, too, hunk.” “Once again, no thank you...How clear do I have to be?” Illicita’s voice was still full of laughter as she replied, and there’s a twinkle in her crimson eyes as she spoke. “As I said, I certainly hope for it... and I figure I can get you to try for me eventually, because I’d love to try you in for size.” She fluttered her eyelashes at him to emphasize her statement, and even playfully winked before a full-sized and fluffy pony tail replaced her demonic one, and she landed and the wings vaporized as well. Wrapping her tail around Summer’s, she nuzzles the blushing pony. “I have a feeling I will want to do horrible things by the end of this journey.” “Oh goody, I love it when males do horrible things to me. So, what sort of buck are you? Military? You look like it.” “Even if it involves homicide? And no, I prefer not to associate myself with certain people. I’m a scientist.” “Mmm... good ol’ murder... As long as it isn’t my precious Solace here, that sounds like fun. Now, hmm... a scientist, you say? I love getting the tough cases, you adorable little nerd!” “Illicita, please, stop teasing him, even if he is very adorable.” “You both act like me being adorable is a bad thing, and Summer is safe, I just wish they had semi-trucks here.” Illicita just huffs and rolls her eyes. “Well, that explains the Wandering traces on you, sweet buck, though I suppose you’ll leave me to wonder where you traipsed in from, hmm?” “Earth, bipedal apes, you know ‘em?” “Well, Yes I should say I know it well, or at least a few dozen iterations of it.” “W-wait, wait, wait! what are you two talking about?!” “I doubt she’d believe me about where I come from, given you’ve known her longer care to take a crack at explaining it?” “Well, he’s been dragged by something with rather impressive power here. Most things that can do that can’t keep it too focused, though... Usually you end up with twisty bits of metal or meat, along with similar effects on nearby life. I think a bunch of his kind thought it was some kind of monster going after the cows, and I never did have the heart to the dears it was just a bunch of Olympians trying to see how far they could pull from.” “Did you get that Summer?” “I- I have no idea, Cole. I have no training in interdimensional dynamics..” Cole facehoofed at Summer’s apparent slip. “So much for not using my name Summer, anyways, could you simplify the explanation for her?” “Nah, she won’t get it. She never could understand most of the stuff I had to teach, unless I could give it ‘hooves on’, if you get my drift.” Summer sunk to the ground, feeling useless and left out. Illicita’s laughing demeanor faded quickly at the sight, and she reached down to the unicorn hiding under her own hooves. “I- I’m sorry, Solace. I didn’t mean to hurt you. C’mon, gimme a smile, please?” The demon mare gave a razor-toothed grin, which Summer slowly returned, receiving a hug in for the effort. “Long story short, I’m not from this world as she said, Illicita, can you show her what humans look like?” Illicita nodded, and put down Summer. Boiling away into a cloud of smoke, the column swirled for a few second, before withdrawing into the shape of a shapely, tanned human girl wearing nothing but overalls, cowboy boots, and a stetson hat. “This is about what they look like, at least when I last visited an Earth. I think this was at someplace in some new country, amora-co or something. It was only a few decades old then, and I got summoned by accident. It was a nice decade, I faked being a farmer for most of it, lotsa exercise.” “S-so you looked like that?” Summer is looking up at the curvey human in stereotypical ‘sexy farmer’ clothes with awe, especially the slim, callused fingers of the succubus’ hands. “W-wow...” “Well I was a much more masculine version of that, being I am a male, but that shows the general idea.” Summer kept staring at the form the succubus had taken, until the demon turned back into gas and shifted back to her earth-pony form. “Hey, brainiac, out of the clouds.” Summer snapped out of the trance she was in, and looked down at Cole and Illicita again. “W-wow... That is so amazing! How did you end up here?” “Wait up, Solace, I doubt he’ll be able to remember. Most of the things that can do stuff like that don’t like being noticed or remembered.” Summer pouted, and Illicita patted her on the back. “Yeah, I’m confused as hell-” Illicita winced slightly at the word. “-about it, I’m not sure if I want to go back though, no idea if this place is any better. I’m sure you know of humanity’s mass genocides right?” Illicita just glared at Cole, hugging a suddenly trembling Summer tightly. “You actually have the gall to go bringing up that sort of thing in front of her? I may be a literally heartless demon, but that’s just cruel.” “Sorry, I’m not used to having to censor that kind of stuff. I really am sorry Summer, back there it’s common knowledge.” “Well, learn to zip it! There’s a point where you have to learn to draw a line, and I had forever to learn it, and got it quickly anyways! You’ve only got around seventy years, if you’re lucky!” “I’m sorry, I really am Summer, you okay?” “I- I guess that... that explains that music... earlier...” Illicita glared even harder at Cole at the mention of music. “I didn’t know anything about this place! I’m really sorry!” Illicita stroked Summer’s mane some more, muttering soothing words to the distraught unicorn. Cole stood awkwardly, unsure of what to do, for a while until Summer finally calmed down. Those once bright and cheery eyes held no sparkle as the met Cole’s and he felt a spike of incredible sadness, as he realized that he’d crushed something inside her, entirely by accident. “I’m... Sorry, I’m so sorry Summer.” The mare just turns away, and Illicita guides her out. Cole, not sure of what to do, follows, mildly depressed. Illicita, oddly, turned to the same room Cole had been in before, opening it with a small pulse of purple magic. Stopping at the door and unsure of what to do, Cole shuffled awkwardly, until Illicita spoke up from inside. “Well? Get in here, I’m not going to comfort her on my own, it was your mistake.” Illi’s voice wasn’t quite as pleasant to his ears anymore, and Cole dreaded the possible repercussions of accidentally pissing off the edrich being. Stepping into the unlit room, he cautiously glanced at the bed, a bright orange and red spot marking on it where Summer was curled up. “Summer? You okay?” Nothing but a sniffle answered him. His heart nearly broke in half at that, he really hadn’t meant to cause this kind of damage with his off-handed comment. He hadn’t even realized it would possible to do this. He stepped towards the bed, crawling onto it towards the form of Summer, curled up near the headboard. She flinched away from his touch when he reached out to place a hoof on her shoulder. Illicita, however, would not be deterred, and dragged him and the crying Summer together, wrapping them in a hug from a pony the size of a small car. Summer actively cried into his chest after that, weeping about injustice or about the loss of her innocence, he couldn’t tell, but he held her all the same. Patting and rubbing her back as they lay together, she slowly hiccuped and coughed herself to sleep, and Cole found himself doing the same. The last thing he heard before falling asleep sounded like Illi’s voice, but much softer and kinder. “I hate it when my friends cry...” Author's Note Well, that was something! Oh, and if anyone's wondering, my co-author for this one asked to remain anonymous. Just saying. THANK HYU BYUTEEFULL PEEPUL Ch04 - Just an Old-Fashioned 'Polgy SongWaking slowly in the grasp of not one, but two mares caused Cole to freeze as he woke, realizing that he was trapped. Remembering the damage he caused last night, though, he just continued to hug Summer tightly. Slowly, Summer woke up in his arms, snuggling closer to him. “You two really would be a great pair to start a herd, you know that? You’d make the most adorable, intelligent, confused babies ever.” Illicita, of course, had to ruin the moment, and make Summer snort into Cole’s chest. “Just shut up and help me hug this little one.” Illicita didn’t reply, simply continued hugging the other two ponies. For several minutes, the trio just stayed in the bed, snuggled close together. Finally, it was Summer who broke up the cuddle session. “We need to get ready to go, before my parents check up on me here.” Illi didn’t respond again, Cole just looked at her. “Can Illi take a more pleasing form for your parents as we work our way out and look like a herd?” “That was the idea, it’s why she’s taken the form of an Earth Pony.” Illicita simply nodded in agreement, her muzzle brushing against the nape of Cole’s neck in the process. “Ah, didn’t notice that, and I’m sorry for last night Summer, I’m a real bastard.” Neither mare deigned to respond, Summer instead wriggling out of Cole’s embrace, abandoning him to Illicita as she prepared for travel. “Oh goody, looks like you’re my gift from her this year.” Illicita’s warm breath tickled his ears as his eyes opened in terror, and he shot from the bed, grabbing the bag with his clothes and stuff as he went, panicked legs carrying him to the door and Summer’s grinning form. He hid behind the fiery-colored mare, bag in his jaws. Illicita just laughed at this and rolled onto her back, snorting and chortling all at once, her voice echoing through the estate as she flopped around, flailing her legs in mirth. “S-Shut up!” “Oh, silly buck, I’m just messing with you, can’t you take a little humor?” “Not when it involves rape.” “It isn’t rape if you’re willing.” She finished her sentence with a wide grin. “Lets just go...” “I’m ready if you are, handsome.” “Just get out of bed before I drag you out.” She simply thrashed her tail a bit, then rolled out of bed, sauntering past Cole with a sway in her hips, brushing his face with her fluffy tail as she passed. Cole found himself blushing furiously for some reason, though he was at an utter loss on why. “Alright, so what do I have to do?” “Well, first you climb on top of m-” “Illi, he meant to get ready to leave.” The demon mare simply pouted at being denied her fun. “Well, Cole, I guess to get ready... do you have any shoes to protect your hooves?” Now that she mentioned it, he noted that his hooves were feeling kind of painful after walking on all the marble floors. “What kind of shoes can I get?” “Well, I think we could easily get some brass or steel shoes for you, or perhaps some boots... wait, you were wearing a set when you showed up here, along with the other parts of your suit.” “Wait, I had shoes? Let me check real fast...” Cole dropped his bag and rummaged through it, finding the four- four? I was wearing two. -sneakers with ease, the black shoes now more like boots, evidently made to fit halfway up his lower legs, the rubber grips now in a horseshoe shape on the bottom. As he rummaged, he realized that the rest of his clothes, a black set of jeans and a soft white shirt, and his black hoodie, all tailored like it was for a pony all along. Getting ready to put them, he thought for a moment, and came to the conclusion that he needed either fingers or unicorn magic. Such as from the mare right in front of him... “Hey, uh, could you help me with all this?” Cole pointed a hoof to the pile of clothes on the floor. Summer nodded, and they began to dress him, until she snickered and stepped away, the glow around her horn diminishing. Suddenly, a pair of hands helped Cole pull the shirt on, stopping when it was only partly on, and the hands quickly drew his pants over his rear legs, copping a feel of his flank in passing. Cursing and struggling to get out without ripping his shirt, Cole rolled on the floor, the hands continuing to put his pants on him, until he heard the sound of a button clasping somewhere near his rear, and he just waited, stewing until Illicita finally fixed his shirt, and he glared at her human face, which was beaming happily at him. After a second, he realized that his wings weren’t actually cramped, and he looked over his shoulder. To his surprise, there was a pair of holes with stitching like the neck of the shirt around them for his wings to stick out of. He also got a better look at his wings, which were a dark, satiny-looking gray. A floating hoodie was next, the dark wool being slipped into place by Summer this time. By the time that had been completed, Illi had returned to her earth pony form, the cheshire grin never leaving her face. Finally, Summer helped him put on the boot-like shoes, and even tied them snugly into place, but he’d be able to slip them on and off with a fair effort. Looking him over, Illicita nodded appreciatively. “I’m a demon who’s a good judge of horseflesh, and you, sweet buck, would be worth top dollar in any breeding stable in the land, oh studly one.” Not quite sure how to take her praise, Cole simply looks at summer who is blushing and looking at her hooves. “T-Thank you? And two questions, why is she blushing and why do you keep complimenting me like that, back home I’m average, I’m average here.” “Well, stud, I have to disagree. I may be extremely biased; you do have genitals, after all. But you are certainly not just average. I have fucked and fucked with some average bucks in my time, and you, cutie, are above average. “As for why she’s blushing, it’s because she’s having troubles saying she wants you to have your way with her, to ravage her with your-” “STOP!” Both Summer and Cole shouted the word at the same time, and even shared similar blushes after the relentless verbal assault from the succubus. “D-Do I even want to know how I am above average?” “Exceptional coloration, strong, corded muscles, such a lovely color of eyes, and a nice pair of wings.” Cole’s mind had backed up for a moment near the end of her sentence, but it restarted when it didn’t go where he had expected it to. “Oh, I’m just glad you didn’t s-” “Also, he’s got some nice junk, if my hunk-o-sense is anything to go by. Which it is, he’s hung like an earth pony over there.” “...Why?!” “Because I’m beyond tactless when it’s funny. C’mon, lighten up a bit! It’s not like anypony here is jailbait.” “But why go that far, the next thing I know you’re going to be telling me my measurements!” “Fourteen and a half by two by two and a third.” “Huh? What’s that?” “That’s in inches. I can give how many cups of your blood it hold when it’s up, if you’d like.” Summer choked on nothing, as Cole face-hoofed. “Why?! And also, how?!” “Oh, you’re much easier to work with when asleep. Don’t worry, I like a challenge, so I only measured it.” Summer just sort of tipped over onto the carpet next to Cole, out cold. “Why?!” “Why not? It’s just a length of meat... a really delicious length of meat, but just another organ in the end.” “ I mean collecting data and all is what scientists do, but how is that relevant to anything?!How did you even manage to do that without waking me?” “Oh, how to explain this...Ah, here comes inspiration! When my music meets your science, they're the biggest of the giants, Illicita began to sing, her voice clear and melodious as sang, piano music filtering in from nowhere. and they'll solve all their problems and throw their troubles away~ay~ay. Cole found himself smiling and bobbing to the beat. When you take the math you know, next to do re me fa so, you can mix them all around, and you’ve got some music to play. Cole felt his soul rise, in response to the music, the world seeming brighter and more comforting. Tomorrow is a brighter day - if we work together. Together we can pave the way - it'll last forever. Just open your heart unlock that prison deep down in your mind. Cole felt himself thinking of just the right things to sing in response to the lyrics she sung, beeps and bloops pouring out of the air around him. “Step up to your console, make some music and breathe in the good sunshine. Tomorrow is a brighter day Cole joined in, finishing the line for her. / if we work together. Together we can pave the way Cole starts the line this time, and Illicita finishes the line, starting the next after it. / it'll last forever. Ilicita, Cole, and Summer all harmonized for the last lines of the song, singing it together, with beaming smiles and cheer all around. Just open your heart unlock that prison deep down in your mind step up to your console, make some music and breathe in the good sun~shiiine! “Wait...Why the hell did that just happen?!” “Oh, yeah, it’s a pony thing.” Illicita responded simply, shrugging, as Summer looked back and forth between them. “Wait, why did I pass out again?” “I described the proportions of his junk, and you freaked out.” “I am still disturbed by the fact that you played with me in my sleep. I need a shower...” “Oh, please, if I was playing, I would’ve touched it with something other than tendrils of pure darkness and shadow. But I’d be more than willing to help you take that shower, even if you don’t want any help getting those clothes back off you...” “I’m going to my corner now...” Cole promptly walked to a corner, sat down, his ears flat back and wings tucked tightly around him. Summer settled in close to him, wrapping a hoof around him in an attempt to cheer him up. “If it makes you feel any better, you’ve got a really nice singing voice...” Illicita’s voice called out from behind them. “But that’s not all he’s got good!” “I wanna go back to my violent music, but I don’t have headphones...” Cole was really depressed by this, can’t a sleep rape victim have his music? Summer simply let him lean against her fluffy side. A nonspecific time for recovery later, they finally get ready to get going. In spite of her lewd commentary, Illicita actually let them sit together and feel better. “Let’s just go, and from now on I’m sleeping in my own sleeping bag or bed depending on where we are.” Summer looked at him with big puppy eyes. “Y-you don’t want to help keep me warm?” Illicita’s laughter echoed down the hall, drawing Summer and Cole’s angry glares in her direction. “I think she’ll help you with that for now, after all, we’re just faking a herd, right?” “Y-yeah, right... Of course.” “Yeah, so as long as she can hold back he incessant need to fuck my brains out, I think we’ll be fine.” Summer just nodded, and turned away with a sigh. They finished packing up for the trip, Cole being saddled with carrying the tent, cook set, several bottle of various drinks, presumably either potions or wine. Oddly, it didn’t seem as heavy to him as it probably should have. “So let’s go before I become a rape victim at the hands of Illicita.” “Are hooves permitted, then?” Illicita’s question is given nothing but a glare from Cole as a response. “Sorry for asking... Anyhow, did we pack everything?” Summer responded by levitating a list in front of her and going over everything on it. “I think so.” “Did you remember the Buttfer?” “What’s a buttfer?” Illicita bursts out laughing, barely managing to gasp out a response. “It’s for pooping, silly!” Summer just face-hoofs. “Okay, well just let me go pack one more thing.” Cole begins to look around the room, but found nothing. Illicita looked at him curiously. “Whatcha need to pack still?” “Well I have my clothes, my pouch, my phone, and my iPod, but I seem to have lost my dignity, any idea where it could’ve gone Illicita?” “Probably in my plot somewhere, wanna go looking for it?” “Probably better left there, I would sooner walk off a cliff.” Illicita just guffawed, as Summer just rolled her eyes, and opened the door, allowing a soft, clear light to stream in. “Let’s just go before I go into anymore thought about it.” The mares agree, and they step out into the world, cool air drifting past, ruffling Cole’s mane soothingly. High above is a silvery, glowing orb, a cool white light pouring down from it. It was almost literally breathtaking for Cole, and he spent nearly a minute simply gaping up at it, utterly fascinated for some reason. “That... is really shiny.” “What is? It’s so dark out right now, I can barely see. It’s really too bad it’s the new moon, I wish I had some moonlight to see by...” Summer didn’t seem to be able to see the soft glow of the moonlight all around, and calling the full, silvery disc in the sky a ‘new’ moon seemed off. Summer also seemed to be a little scared, and was walking very close to Cole. “You okay?” “Y-yeah, it’s just really dark tonight. All I can see are the stars...” “Thankfully I can see fine, tell me where to go.” “A-alright, we need to head down the path...” The two walked together to the edge of the property, following a gravel path. Finally reaching the gate, Cole stops for a moment, trying to figure out where Illicita disappeared to. Right before he could say something, though, her voice rang out from the other side of the gate. “You guys are pretty slow, you know.” “Well I’m slow, and she can’t see anything, not a fast moving combo.” “Doesn’t change the facts... Anyhow, we ready to go?” Illicita huffed in annoyance. “I am, but I don’t want Summer to trip over anything.” Cole spoke, checking in front of her. Trying to guide her around a protruding stump, she nonetheless tripped on it anyways, collapsing into Cole. “You okay there?” Cole asked, he was used to getting hurt so this was nothing new. “Oof, yeah, I’m fine...Ah, would it be alright with you if I, uhm, stuck really close to you?” “That, or I could try carrying you?” “Th-that’s alright. You should be working on strengthening your legs, first.” Summer simply leaned against cole, and he felt her tail wrap around his. It was oddly cozy, but as they walked he noticed some dirt on her face, and he carefully leaned his muzzle over a little to brush the dirt off her cheek. Oddly, this just seemed to make her blush. “What? You had dirt on you.” “R-right, of course...” “What’s wrong?” “N-nothing! Nothing at all.” “Okay then?” Cole was just confused by her. “So, what do you know about biology?” “Well, I know a large amount on the topic, I’ve read everything I could on the subject when I was eight. I kind of grew out of it, though, and moved on to physics. Then, I sort of got back into it with Metabiological Traits in relation to Mythozoology.” “Nice, I focused on non-magical aquatic life, since magic doesn’t exist for the most part in my world. I would say it doesn’t exist at all, but since Illicita knows of it saying that would be false. What types of animals do you like?” “Well, I’m a bit of a cat-lover, but-” “Cats are fucking adorable!” Summer giggled at this, and pressed herself closer to Cole, her warm coat comforting in the cool night air. “I also used to keep a Parasprite in a jar, but it got out one time, when I accidentally dropped the jar. My parents were so mad, I was stuck in my room for two months!” “Ouch, the worst incident I ever had was a large lizard of mine nearly taking my hand.” Cole said as if it were commonplace, Summer just looking puzzled. “Oh, right, you used to have hands... say, what was that like?” “Very convenient, made object manipulation without the use of magic immensely easier and was one of the defining traits that made our species the highest on the food chain.” “Oh... so if you were on the top of the food chain... then you used to be a predator?” “Well we evolved from apes who were mostly herbivores, but we became very predatory later in life when we invented firearms. We hunted a few species to extinction, and had enough food to go around most of the time.” A few moments of quiet later, Summer finally responds. “To... extinction?” “Yeah, when one species becomes endangered it becomes rarer, rare things cost more and are sought after, so they ended up getting hunted or captured to be sold to the rich.” Summer sounded close to tears. “That- that’s so barbaric!” “Many things in both our worlds are, but at least we aren’t cruel like they are.” Cole lightly nuzzled her to try to cheer her up. She just leaned against him more, and sighed. “Yeah... I suppose so.Let’s find a nicer topic. What do you think of dodo birds? They’re a pretty common pet.” “I don’t know, never seen a live one, in our world they went extinct after a massive climate shift, they went a better way than most species.” Cole didn’t mean to lie, unknown to him dodo birds were hunted to extinction, he was lacking in that part of education. “Oh. Well, then, how much do you know about mythozoology? You seemed much more interested in the fact that you had become a pony than what a pony was. You didn’t even have any particular issues with me using magic, in spite of you saying there was no magic in your world.” “Well just because I don’t understand something doesn’t mean I should freak out, it just means I need to study it and learn about it, if I feared the unknown then I should have joined a crusade.” “A what?” “Nothing, hmmmmm lets talk about you for a bit, tell me about yourself.” “Uh... like what?” Illicita made herself known, swooping closer on her little batwings and hovering nearby the two ground-bound ponies. As she came closer, she spoke in a quiet, but happy tone. “Tell him how good you are in bed! How much you want to jump him! Ooh, tell him about that story you’re writing!” “Anything really, I just want to get to know the mare I’m traveling with. Feel free to ignore her sugge- wait, you write?” Cole asked with new interest. Summer blushed and turned away. “I-it’s not that good... Right now I’m just working on a mythozoology text in the meantime. That’s one of the reasons I wanted to start exploring; I wanted to learn more in the field about the creatures I find so fascinating.” “Well I do find the compendium interesting, I am more interested in your other work, care to tell me?” Summer just sort of looked down as she walked, blush still visible on her face. Illicita continued to float along, lounging back on a cloud of darkness as she used her wings like oars. She turned as she floated by, her eyes glowing orange discs of fire in the moonlight. “C’mon, Solace, speak up! He’s actually interested in your work. Maybe you can start talking now, and get to kissing over the details afterwards! And then, I could join in, and then we would start to roll, and it’d be you, then him, then me, and it’d be so good as I-” “Illicita! Please, I- just stop, alright?” Summer snapped at the demoness, who huffed and floated away. “I really do love her, but she’s such a pain sometimes...” “Sorry I brought it up.” Cole felt like this was partially his fault. “I thought you would actually like to talk about it, I know someone back home who did.” A lot, actually... He thought to himself as he walked, chuckling internally at the thought of his self-absorbed fan-fiction writer friend. “W-well, I’ve only got the basics planned out. I’m just starting with the standard formula for an epic: a mare, born to rule a grand estate, is having troubles staying content, so she seeks to travel. Along the way, she meets a band of strangers, who becomes her closest friends, and they find adventure and grand destiny! But, I’m not too good at writing ponies realistically.” Summer chuckled to herself. She looked embarrassed to have told Cole the story idea. “Sounds like what we’re doing right now, except we are still in chapter one, ‘The Escape’.” Cole continued walking, guiding Summer through a bush. His comment sparked a short laugh from her. “Well, I guess so, but I’m not that interesting, and we’re just going off to learn about nature.” “I call bullshit, you’re pretty interesting from my point of view, you are friends with a demoness, you want to explore the world and catalog various creatures, and have an adventure along the way, all I did was study from age five to twenty one.” “Oh, please... I’m just an heiress with a lot of time on her hooves. The relationship with Illicita was an accident. I don’t know if I’d be good on a real adventure.” “Shall we find out then? Also, your arguement is invalid, you’re adorable.” “And what would we adventure for? What quest is available to us? And- and I’m not adorable, I’m too skinny.” “You’re healthy, nothing wrong with that, better shape than I was, I may have been six foot tall, but I was almost two-hundred and thirty pounds.” “Two- th-thirty?! humans must have some incredibly dense musculature to achieve such weight! Even at six feet, which I assume is about the same as a hoof, that’s amazing!” “Yeah, we are a little dense, but some humans get to up to eight feet tall, and the world’s fattest man was somewhere around twelve hundred pounds. And the strongest I’ve seen was a guy who could lift one thousand pounds.” “Twelve hundred pounds?! He must’ve been rich! But, wait, the strongest human you knew could only lift a half-ton? Most earth ponies can lift around that much. And they’re usually only around a hundred and twenty pounds.” “Yeah, we aren’t the strongest people, we are the smartest, we have cures for most diseases, we have explored outer space, our entire planet, and have an average life span of eighty years now, but we have recently found something in our DNA that could possibly extend our lifespan by up to forty percent.” Summer stared at Cole for a moment following that. She seemed like she was processing all the information, until something caught and she asked about it. “Wait, what’s DNA?” “Deoxyribonucleic Acid, the building blocks for all life, plants, animals, bacteria, etc.” “What? What are you talking about? All life is made from cells, not acid. Unless, of course, if you’re a slime-pony, then you would be made of a weak acid.” “Not that kind of acid, although it can dissolve things, DNA is the thing in the nucleus of the cell that tells it how to do everything you need to operate correctly.” “B-but cells are the base constructions of life, how could there be something smaller living in those? And besides, everypony knows, that it’s magic-induced thaumic resonance that allows cells to form in the first place, it’s well documented. Hence, cloning spells.” “We actually managed to clone animals without magic, and yes there are smaller things than cells, my species has studied this topic for over two thousand years of research on the subject. I have a text book in file format on my iPod from college that explains this.” “You have music and books on there?! Incredible!” “Like I said, we are a smart people, we don’t use brute force, we use tools and inventions to do the work.” Summer just begins to beg to see the device. “Can I borrow it? Please? I just want to see what you’re talking about. A whole new species’ text book! Oh, if there’s anything new in there, I could be heralded as a visionary!” “And I would be alright with you taking credit for it, I really don’t like being the center of attention.” “Oh, please, nopony would believe a male could come up with that anyways, whether you did or not.” “On second thought I think I’ll show you later, because me being a male I am too stupid to even work my own technology.” “I didn’t say that! I just said it wouldn’t be credited as possible if submitted by a buck! Nopony else would accept it, unless a mare publishes it!” “Then the world will never know I guess, if the gender of the publisher effects how it is received then this world isn’t ready for it.” Summer just looked at Cole with gigantic puppy-dog eyes, her face a perfect visage of utter sadness and devastation, tears beginning to well up in them. The moment was utterly ruined by a burst of laughter behind Cole, and he turned to see that Illicita was pointing and practically busting a gut. “Oh, man, Solace, you’re such a ham! Such a drama king! Oh, jeeze, that’s hilarious!” “Sorry Summer, this world doesn’t deserve a freebie.” Summer just pouts and huffs, drawing away from Cole’s side, the cool night air almost freezing against the now unprotected coat and skin. “If it makes you feel any better I will let you read something non-educational, a popular fantasy book series.” “Oh, alright.” Summer perks up slightly at the offer, and grudgingly shuffles closer. “Just don’t read anything marked ‘Do Not Read’, I got paid to write some things I don’t think you should read.” Summer nodded at the request, and Cole poked her side. “So... can I borrow it, then?” “Yes you can, but not right now, it only has a few hours left and you won’t be able to finish more than a few chapters, can you think of anyway to charge it? If you’re clever as you are cute then it should be no problem. “Well, most magical devices that can be charged simply need to have a raw mana dump, and that will charge it, with a minor tuning for the elemental frequency. But, since I don’t know how well that will work, with the differences in specifics, then it’d be best if you had something else for me to test it on first.” “Then feel free to practice on the phone I have, it’s in my back right pocket.” Cole immediately feels a tugging and pulling at his flank, and turns to see Illicitaa trying to remove the phone with her teeth. A second mouth opens in her chest so she can speak. “What? I’m just being helpful.” Summer just face-hoofs at the comment, and pulls the phone from Illicita’s grasp telekinetically. “You can form new mouths? That’s new, and pretty cool.” “As a demonic being, I can do a lot with my substance. As a succubus, though, I’m limited on what magic I can cast, how many forms I maintain, and what I feed on. In my case, lust, sex, love, and related emotions/actions.” Illicita seemed awfully proud of herself for being able to rattle off the information on the spot. “So, what else can you form? Multiple appendages?” “Well, if I’m not trying for a specific type of creature, then yeah. Mostly, I just to utility things, you know, tentacles, hands, tongues, penises, vaginas, whatever. Usually on as mobile a base as possible, so clouds and the like are easy and common. Most succubi have access to three to five specific creatures they mimic, in addition to the ‘demonic’ version of the dominant species template.” “Can you turn into Summer?” Summer looked up from her phone she was looking over. “Wait, what?” Illicita found this funny, and began laughing and rolling in mid-air. “Ooh, you want her so bad you want me to look like her too! Oh, man, that’s great! We should totally do that, Solace.” “You take it the wrong way, I’m just wondering if you could and how far would it go in terms of details, would you merely fool someone at a distance or would you be-” Illicita interrupts by growing a horn, losing her wings, and her colors shifting to mimic Summer’s perfectly. She even had the shy, yet confident expression. Speaking in summer’s voice, Illicita responded. “Well, I suppose it depends on how much I know them. Just appearance is easy, and pretty much instinctual, but mannerisms need at least a little while nearby them to pick up. I’m no changeling, I can’t simply ‘remember’ through my form how to act like them, but I’m a very quick study.” “That is actually pretty cool, and why would I want two Summers? We only need one.” Summer and Illicita look at each other, a disturbingly well-mirrored smile appearing on both. They step forward, and begin circling him. “Well, what do you think most Succubi are tasked with doing by hormone-drenched young summoners- “-If not replicating someone they have a deep yearning for, but no way to attain?” The two had started finishing each other sentences, confusing the hell out of Cole. “I know that, but why two Summers? Having two just makes things confusing.” The two identical mares pressed up on either side of him, and nuzzled him. A sudden, uncontrolled blush rose to his cheeks, and he felt his brain blow a fuse for a moment. As his jaw dropped, the one on the right giggled, exactly like Summer, while the one on his left began to laugh uncontrollably at his expression. moments later, she had returned to looking like Illicita’s base coloration, and was still laughing at his locked-up expression. “Wait, before I forget, can you turn into me? I want to see what I look like.” Illicita just kept laughing, rolling back and forth. Summer merely giggled again, and spoke to Cole in her place. “Succubi, all of them, have a hard time doing anything if you can make them laugh for real. Most, as a result, have only a single thing they find funny, but Illicita has an almost healthy sense of humor.” “But what did I do exactly? Not my fault I was being flanked on both sides by adorableness.” “I think it was the cute expression on your face, you looked about ready explode.” “So how long will she be in a laughing fit? Do we have time for you to help me pitch a tent?” Summer just stared at him with a slightly shocked look on her face, and Illicita’s laughter doubled in volume. a slight blush accompanied the expression to Summer’s face, and settled in happily on her cheeks. “What? Aren’t we camping? Did you not bring a tent?” “Ah, oh- right, yeah, I- ah, did. Bring a tent, that is. Uhm.” “You thought I wanted you to help me some other way didn’t you?” Cole playfully jabbed her in the side as Illicita continued her laughing fit in front of them. “Ah- no! no, not at all! because, uhm. that- that would be inappropriate for me to insinuate. To you. And, uhm, I would- uhm, wouldn’t do that. To you. I wouldn’t do that to you!” “Glad to know you wouldn’t do anything bad to me, I can’t say the same.” Summer’s blush moves in its family, and her face practically glows like Rudolph’s nose. Frankly, she looked a bit like a radioactive tomato for a moment, glowing and redder than a tamale. “Why so quiet Summer? Don’t you like pranks?” “Ah- uhm, oh, uhm... uhh... y- yes! Yes! Pranks. I love them. A lot. I like pranks.” If her eyes got any wider he’d be able to serve banquets with them. “Any reason you are so embarrassed? Did you just think of a prank Illicita did or something?” “A-absolutely! That’s exactly it. A prank. That, you know, Illicita did. To me. Or, uhm, not me! Somepony else!” “What’d she do to you?” “She didn’t, it was entirely me! Or, not me, she did it!” “Summer, just tell me what did Illicita, where did she touch you?” Summer’s blush had invited its extended family up for a stay, and it was bordering on worrisome how red she’d gone. In fact, it was likely visible from a distance away, say orbit. “Did she touch you here?” Cole poked her flank immediately after saying that, surprisingly soft. Summer just sputtered and looked incredibly adorable and cute from the blush on her cheeks. “Ah- bu, she- ju...” Summer dropped sideways, into a dead faint, and Illicita continued her laugh, not an intook breath to be heard as her activity slowly waned, leaving her, smile literally wide enough to reach from ear to ear, on the ground, asleep. “Well, looks like we’re sleeping here tonight.” Cole unpacked the tent, and for thirty frustrating minutes he tried to assemble it, he eventually figured it out, he moved both mares inside and fell asleep snuggled up to them. Soon after he was comfortable, and about to fall asleep... the tent falls inwards with a loud Fwump! Sighing in frustration, he just snuggles in and falls asleep. Author's Note Yes, the songs will come for each of them, and it will not let them go. BOW TO OUR NEW AUDIBLE OVERLORDS! I should probably stop typing these notes while sleep-deprived. Ch05 - DaybrokenThe next morning, he wakes up, a little groggy, to find that a fiery, red-orange landscape is across his view, and his head is comfortably supported by something plush and warm. “Wha?” The fiery visage in front of his eyes shifts a bit, and his pupils shrink and his eyes widen as he recognizes the view as that of just barely to one side of Summer’s plot. “Huh...Back to sleep.” Unfortunately, no matter how he tried, the soft form of Summer across his body and the alluring mare-scent coming off her was incredibly distracting, especially since he had no idea why it was alluring. In fact, it almost smelled bad, but he liked it anyways, and that bugged him to no end save the one above him now. “Damn it.” Cole tried to wiggle out, leading to some ‘mmm’ sounds and some wriggles from both Summer and his pillow. “Carefully...” Cole muttered as he tried to free himself of his small pile of mares, wow, that sounded like bragging. Slowly, Summer is shifted from him, and he sits up, the fabric of the tent still laying around him. “Where’s the exit to this damn thing?” Cole flailed around trying to get out, ultimately failing in his attempt. “Probably near the entrance, but I wouldn’t put stock in that with your tent-raising abilities.” Illicita was already awake, and Summer wasn’t. Cole sighed, and snapped quietly at the demon mare. “Shuddap!” “Hmph... fine...” “Hmph, now help me out of the tent please, I really need to go!” “Go where?” “To the bathroom, and I really hope you aren’t into that!” “What, bathing? What’s the hurry?” “No, bathroom in my world means where you go to take a leak.” “Leak what? You’re not making much sense this early in the morning.” “Since you won’t get it any other way, I have to take a piss!” “Well, why didn’t you say so? The exit’s to your right, a little ways.” Cole began shuffling under the tent material, until he smacked his head on something along the way with a muffled curse. “Oh, yeah, be careful, I think the tent supports fell over there.” “Damn it, just help me outta this cursed tent!” The demoness sighed, and and he felt a warm sensation overtake his whole body, dark smoke overtaking his vision as he was propelled from the tent, smacking his head twice more along the way. Upon reaching the outside, he shouted in pain as bright sunlight hit him dead in the eyes. “Ugh, now to go to the bathroom.” Cole began to walk away from tent only to have the pain of the bright light hit him like a train. With a groan of pain, he stumbled towards a darker patch in his vision, until the warm feeling of Illicita’s helping grasp wrapped around him again, steering him around the tree he had been aimed at, until he was in the soothing shade of the same tree. “You need any help out there, or can you do this on your own?” For once, Illicita’s voice sounded entirely sincere, rather than mocking or joking. “I think I’m fine, I just keep forgetting about being sensitive to light.” “Alrighty, then.” With a hug-like squeeze, the warmth faded, and Cole got to work removing his pants, but quickly grew frustrated as the growing roar of waterfalls and oceans and streams built up in his mind, forcing him to ask for assistance. “I seem to be having problems, but since you’re so quick to try and get in my pants can you at least help me take them off?” A giggle and a quick pull later, he relieved himself, fairly sure he didn’t get himself, but not entirely positive. Pretty good for not being able to able to see and being unfamiliar with pissing this way. “Thank you, now can you help getting them back up?” Two sets of giggles answer him. “Oh come on, it’s not like I can, I’ve only been a pony for three days!” “Oh, that’s not what we’re giggling at.” The voice was Illicita’s, and it was right next to his ear. “Haha you can see my junk, can someone just help me? I am not waddling all over the place!” “Well... that would be kinda funny...” “Would you also find it funny that I woke up with Summer almost shoving her plot in my face?” Illicita’s laughter answers for her, while Summer doesn’t speak up. “Well, can someone help me? I’m basically blind here!” “Alright... I’m sorry...” “Solace! Don’t give in! make him waddle for a while, we can make quacking sounds!” “That’s just mean, Illy, so no.” “Yeah, don’t pick on the blind guy, I’m already at a disadvantage here.” Cole feels a slight pinch as his pants are pulled up, the seam of his pants a little uncomfortable in his crack. “Alright, now is there anyway for me not to have to close my eyes during the day? Otherwise I’m going to have to hold onto Summer and have her lead me around.” “Well, we could use a thick blindfold, with just enough light getting through for you to see! Oh, but we don’t material for that...” Summer’s response came slowly, and she shot herself down quickly. “Just use some thin fabric, if we layer it I should be fine, and trust me, you don’t want to have to lead me around everywhere.” “We don’t have any fabric though.” Illicita chimed in, “Hey, while you two chat this out, I’m going to go scout ahead.” “Damnit, looks like you’re being my guide dog, here Summer, here girl!” Cole could almost hear her pout at the joke. “What? You want me to just wander aimlessly into certain death? Or are you just embarrassed you showed me your plot?” “No! Never!” “So you wanted to show me your bottom? Well, mission accomplished.” “What? No! I- I meant I didn’t want you wandering into certain doom! A-and I’m really so-” “Don’t apologize, it’s not like it wasn’t a good view.” Summer just sputtered, trying to form coherent words. “Come on Summer, be embarrassed about your flank later, I’m driving blind in a minefield here.” “A- a- what?” “A field full of explosives, now get your cute flank over here.” “My- You think I have a cute flank?” “You’re cute, and you have a flank, by transitive properties you have a cute flank.” Summer simply stood in place, just barely visible in the white glare of the world. “Hello? Are you still there Summer? Hello?” “Uhm, ah, yeah! Y-you, ah, want to start going now?” “Alright, where are you, I need to hold onto you so I don’t get lost.” Cole flailed around for a moment, finally finding something by smacking it with his leg. Summer yelped slightly as he did, and he announced his triumph happily. “I found you!” “Y-yeah, you did...” “What’s wrong? I got your back, right?” “N-nothing’s wrong... but no, that’s not my back.” “Then what am I holding?” Cole squished whatever he was holding, eliciting a happy-sounding squeak from Summer. “Oh... nothing much.” “What am I holding? Seriously, are you ticklish here or something?” Cole squeezed it again, and she made a sound halfway between a giggle and a purr. “My cutie mark.” “Oh...Sorry.” Cole traced his hoof up to the middle of her back, and she shivered under his touch. He felt her lean towards him a little. “Don’t be, I don’t mind... at all.” “Okay, once again, sorry.” Summer just sighed at his apology, and the mare began leading Cole along, as he held his one hoof to her back and walked slowly along with the other. After a few minutes of walking, Cole felt Summer’s tail drape across his back and circle his own tail. “Tail holding? Oh yeah, we’re pretending to be a herd.” “Yeah... Pretending.” “What’s wrong? Did I say something?” “N-nothing, Cole. You’re fine.” Illicita’s voice almost made Cole jump, and it came out of the air a bit above him. “Damn right, he’s fine! So, you two love nerds ready for some social interaction? There’s a town just a few hour’s walk away. So, can I join this back-scratching parade?” “Sure, just watch where your hoof goes, I already messed up.” “Oh, I’ll make sure it goes were I mean it to.” Cole felt a hoof come to rest on his own flank. “Even blind I’m pretty sure I should’ve have seen that one coming.” “Too late, the invite was given.” The sound Summer face-hoofing was audible all down the line, as Cole felt the hoof on his flank start kneading it. “Let’s just go before she gets any further.” Summer tugged him a bit faster towards the town, Illicita’s hoof falling off his backside. The three ponies continued onward, the demoness occasionally groping his butt again, each time being fended off hurriedly. Finally, she stopped as the sound of speech caught Cole’s ear. A large crowd of voices mixed and mashed together, jumbled up and incomprehensible. “Why is it so loud all of a sudden, I hear nothing but indistinct chatter.” “Loud? There’s nothing around. I can’t hear anything.” “Yeah, I hear a lot of people up ahead, are we in town or something?” “No... the town’s a good ways down the hill, still.” “Then how the hell can I hear them?” From down the hill, a single voice stood out, shouting something about carrots being for sale. “Ooh, carrots are for sale!” Summer stops entirely. “How do you know that? We’re still a long distance from the village!” “I don’t know, I just hear things, and apparently the carrots are fresh.” “B-but...” Another voice called out fromt the village, this one sounding angry. Something in a mare’s voice, yelling about a lazy colt. “And now some mare is being sexist.” “What?!” “I have a feeling that this is going to be painful.” “W-why?” Summer sounded worried, and stopped walking again. “If I can hear them this far away, imagine how loud they’ll be in person, I’m going to need some migraine medicine.” “Oh, I am so sorry! I never thought this would happen! I- I should’ve guessed, based on your ear structure that you’d have enhanced hearing, but I forgot and today is market day, and I didn’t think to bring headache re-” “It’s fine, let’s just hurry through the louder part of town with the mean mare and carrot guy. On a side note, can I have some carrots?”pp Summer agreed, and the three ponies, one blind, walked into town. Eventually, the noise was too much, and Cole was forced to be carried, because he couldn’t walk from the wall of sound. “Thanks, that mare really hates her colt. And those twins, wherever they are, need to shut up already!” Summer huffed and responded. “It’s probably a result of her being stressed, he’s likely just a bit behind or something, and the stress is making her angry. I’m sure he’s normally a perfectly good worker.” Picking the conversation from the crowd, Cole caught a piece of the mare and her colt’s dialogue. The mare was yelling about it being his thirtieth mess up in the last two days, and that the cookies aren’t going to bake themselves, even with her help. “No, it’s just the fact that he sucks at cooking. Lets just go find a hotel or something, and if I have to share a bed I call Summer’s.” Minutes of headache-inducing racket and careful maneuvering later, Cole gasps as the light suddenly departed from its relentless assault on his eyelids, and he cracked one open. Summer had carried him into a building, looking like a tavern from a fantasy novel, and that the ceiling had granted them a reprieve from the light. The noise, on the other hand, was only worse, every bar patron talking or muttering. Clutching his head, Cole could only watch as Illicita, disguised as an earth pony mare in purple and blue, walked up to the bartender. After a few minutes of conversing, Illicita came back, and led them up the stairs. “This place hasn’t changed in three centuries. I love places with real history to them.” “What history? Did you have an orgy here or something?” “You’d like that, wouldn’t you? But no, I helped the original owner build this place and just posed as my own great granddaughter. Got us a discount.” “You had kids? Oh crap.” “Nah, but they didn’t know that. Just look very similar and tell them the code I made sure the original builder remembered. Shouting it right as we finished each night really made it stick for some reason.” “I am not surprised by that in the slightest actually.” Illicita just chuckled, and the group settled into a room with a red door, while the rest had plain brown doors. As the door shut, the deafening din finally died away completely. “Thank you, finally I can think. Oh, wait, Summer, you remember those circles we stood in? They look like the pentagrams on my hoodie and wa-er, money pouch, can they do anything?” “I looked them over, and they lack the proper materials and the runic portions of the bindings, but things could replace them rather nicely.” “Like? Anything to stop people from stealing my money bag, or to help heal me? I really do get hurt a lot.” Summer paused and thought for a moment. “Yeah... things like that could be done. But we’d need somepony who could cast the runes, and replace the symbols with the proper equivalents.” “I’m in no rush to get anything done, if we find someone to do it, great, if not, you’ll just have to keep a few bandages in stock when I’m around. And now my headache is gone, sweet.” With the lack of noise and the lack of windows, his headache had, in fact, faded away. Summer looked really exhausted, though, and even Illicita was curling up on the massive bed. “You two helped a lot today, thanks.” Cole hugged Summer since she was closer, and she hugged him back, dragging him towards the bed. “C’mon, I’m tired.” Summer yawned on the last word, Illicita already curled up on the head of the bed. Cole and Summer slowly snuggled into place, warm and comfortable. “Anything I can do to thank you Summer?” “Would you mind not sleeping in your clothes? It’s a bit weird holding you like this.” “Fair enough, help me get them off, I also don’t think I will be wearing pants anymore, too much trouble.” After a few more careful adjustments and her helping him, they got him undressed, and the two ponies curled up on the bed together. “You really like it when I’m naked, don’t you?” Summer just blushed vividly. In place of an answer, she just buried her muzzle in his chest, rubbing the top of her head against his chin, his tuft of beard-hair tickling her horn. “You’re a cuddly one tonight, aren’t you?” Cole began stroking her mane, and she just snuggled closer. Cole kissed the top of her head before dozing off as he stroked her mane. The two began falling asleep, as Illicita puffed into dark smoke. Curious as to where she was going, but not willing to get up, he slowly fell asleep wondering... Waking up, Cole yawns as he rubs the sleep from his eyes. “Well that was comfy. You awake yet Summer?” Cole looked down at the sleeping unicorn against his chest, her forelegs wrapped tightly around his barrel. Her face, almost angelic in its fiery colors, was still covered by the mask of sleep. “Damn that’s cute.” Cole booped her horn out of boredom, causing it to glow slightly in response. Intrigued by this he continued to boop it. The glow steadily brightened, and he noticed that her face was buried in his chest again, just in time for a spray of glowing sparks to hit him in the face. They tingled slightly, and left glowing tangerine patches on his coat. Cole deadpanned for a moment. “Wha-What was that?” Summer just moaned slightly in her sleep, a slightly glowing and happy expression plastered on her sleeping face. “Did I just... God damn my curiosity.” The glowing patches were slow to fade, and he looked around worriedly, expecting some sort of joke to be made at his expense by Illicita. Oddly, she didn’t seem to be around. There was some heavily filtered light pouring in from a thickly-covered window he hadn’t noticed before. His sensitive eyes made the thin light work to illuminate the entire room, allowing him to spy bookcases and shelves of writing materials and bottles of some sort. It looked like a medieval chemist’s room, minus scorch marks. “Those look like fun, I hope they have the ingredients for thermite.” Cole had the heart of a pyro, and the destructive nature of a child when it came to chemicals. “Mmph... Cole? Wha- what smells like citrus fruit?” Summer was waking up, and a quick sniff revealed that his still-glowing orange marks were what smelled like tangerines. “Hey Summer, and now that you mention it something does smell like oranges.” “Weird... I don’t remember having any, and they’re out of season anyways. The only other thing that smells like that is my... Why is your face covered in glowing spots.” “Your horn exploded when I tried to wake you up, sparks came out.” Cole was hoping she wouldn’t ask anymore, last thing he needed was for this situation to get even more awkward, if it just happened he can brush it off and move on. Summer just stared at him, her bright, golden eyes wide. She starts to open her mouth to say something then stops. “You... you played with my horn?” Her face was going from orange-white to scarlet red. “I had no idea what it’d do, no one on my planet has anything like it, I was just poking you to see if you were awake.” “Y- you played with my horn...” She sounded like she hadn’t heard a word of what he’d said, and had an oddly dreamy look on her face. “A-and you did it... until I released.” Well, when she put it that way... “I guess I did, sorry, I was just-” He was cut off by her lunge for him, her forelegs wrapping around his neck as she pressed her lips to his. Least to say, Cole was caught off guard, his eyes wide. “No need to apologize, you can play with my horn any time you want.” She nuzzled her face happily into his chest, a big grin on her face. Pausing for a moment in the moment of shock, a niggling, evil thought crept into his head. ‘Where’s Illicita?’ “H-Hey Summer, where’s Illicita?” “Wait, she’s not here?” Summer looked up, peeling herself from him as she looked around. Taking a look at the door, she began to shuffle off of the bed. “Where could she have gone? It’s not like her to disappear like this. She usually hangs around me.” Straining to remember the previous night, Cole vaguely remembered something about her leaving via smoke-form. but can’t remember any details. “Well, I did see her go poof last night, like a puff of smoke, does that mean anything?” “Just that she was largely incorporeal when she started moving around. It’s not a common thing, nor common knowledge, but even shapechangers like herself can’t actually turn truly incorporeal. She just became vaporous. It’s why vamponies supposedly can’t stand mirrors, they can’t go through the glass.” “Huh, she’s full of tricks isn’t she? So, any idea where she went? I would’ve thought this morning’s events would’ve caught her interest.” “Well, I have honestly no idea. I- I’ve never actually been down here to the village before. In fact, I’ve lived my whole life on one estate or another. as for her being full of tricks, well... she could’ve descended any time she wants, but I think she sticks around so I’ll still know her name.” “Then what could’ve happened? Does she have a time limit as to how long she can stay here?” “In order, I don’t know, there shouldn’t been any seers, zebra shamans, or spirit hunters around here, and no, she can stay as long as she has some sort of tie to this world. Usually demons use their summoners as that tie, but some are bound to objects instead, forced to endure the slow burning away of their essence over the course of however long the talisman is active.” Summer shuddered at the explanation, looking vaguely upset. She looked once more at the door, looking like she wanted to get going to look for her friend, but she seemed conflicted. “What’s wrong, don’t you want to go look for her?” “I- I do, but I can’t bring you along. It may be the evening, but there’s still a lot of ponies and lots of light still around, I can’t just carry you around all the way.” “I have an idea actually, do you have earplugs and some thick cloth?” Summer looked at him for a moment, before digging into a bag. From it, she pulled a scarf-like length of cloth, solid black, with tasseled ends. “I- I have this, but what are ear plugs? The name sounds kind of explanatory, but I’ve never heard of them before.” “Ear plugs are little rubber plugs, normally attached to both ends of a length of string, we put in our ears so we don’t damage them from extremely loud noises, like large explosions.” “What’s rubber?” “Damn, you guys aren’t that advanced yet, well, a large amount of cloth should help block out the sound just as well.” Thinking back to the previous day, in which he was nearly deafened even with a solid oak door between him and the marketplace, he faltered. “Actually, the cloth won’t work, do you have any ideas?” “I could cast an incarceration spell, but that would leave you blind, deaf and mute. It’s... not very pleasant.” “Umm, is there anyway you could weaken it so it only lessens the senses as opposed to blocking them entirely?” She shifted uncertainly on her hooves, not looking at all sure. She appeared to be weighing multiple choices, her head tilted adorably. She kinda reminded him of Twilight from the show, trying to make a difficult decision. “Well, I’m no good at improvised casting. I’ve mostly learned by rote. I may have a lot of versatility, but I’m kinda bound by what I’ve learned directly.” “Hmm, well, this spell would do the job. We may not be friends, but she’s important to you so I’m more than happy to help.” Summer still looked indecisive. “I- I just don’t want to cause any problems. The- the other problem with the spell, is that, well... Idon’tknowifIcouldtakeitoff.” She spat the last line of words at top speed, the individual consonant sounds blending together. “Could you repeat that? All I got was ‘I don’t’.” “I- I don’t know if... if I could take it off afterwards. I can only cast stronger spells because I practised them a lot. This would actually need to be overpowered.” “Well, I don’t want to be a burden so I think I should just wait here, you know, for moral support.” “I- yeah, that sounds good. I’m sorry I have to leave you here.” “Wait, before you go, is there a way to check the room for anyone who made themselves invisible?” Summer just looks at him funny. “Who’d use an invisibility spell in a room this small? I can’t even think of anypony who could cast one and remain hidden in here, unless they were Ninjaponese.” Cole just mentally laughed at the term she used for ninjas. “But how do we know she didn’t? She is a demon after all.” “She’d still need to keep vaguely consistent mass. Conservation of mana, after all.” “I don’t know, I feel like she’s setting me up for something. Paranoia and all.” Summer just shrugged, sighed, and closed her eyes as her horn lit up a soft orange. Quietly wiping his face in memory, he felt his cheeks warm. She just turned around the room once, then stopped. “No, there’s nopony here besides you and me.” “Well then where did our favorite demoness go? I know you aren’t her because of what happened earlier, I doubt she would’ve stopped with the ‘horn play’ as you called it.” Summer just blushes. Stammering as she speaks, she tries to explain. “W-well, it’s really n- nice to have somepony to p- play with something as s-sensitive as a horn... i- if they don’t mind, that is. B- but I don’t know where she went, I already said that.” “Crap, what if something happened? Did she get caught?” “I don’t know!” Summer looked near tears now as he kept questioning her, making him feel bad in response. reflecting back, he thought about how much his emotions were on a seesaw, swinging back and forth so easily. It was really unlike him. “I’m sorry Summer, I didn’t mean to upset you.” Cole walked over and patted Summer on the back to calm her down a little, and she sniffled. Nodding and composing herself, she began to speak again. “Alright, I’m going to make use of my reading about searching for fugitives to try finding her. I think I can modify the process to not involve tormenting or the use of memory purging spells.” And she was upset by the talk of torture? What? “You know torture and memory purging spells? Damn, what else do you know?” “W-well, I kind of did go through mother’s collection of contraband tomes that she had saved from being destroyed during the various information purges... and that one talking book was really nice to me.” “Damn, you’re more like me than I thought.” She just shrugged and dug into her bag again, her plot raised towards him as her silky tail swished side-to-side while she searched for something. “You know, with how often you show me your plot I would think you were taking tips from Illicita.” “W-what? I- I’m not showing it off! My tail is still down, a-and I’m not even presenting!” Cole just laughed a little at her reaction. “Wait, what do you mean by ‘presenting’?” Summer backed up a bit, in order to get fully from the confines of her bag, which she had been almost shoulder-deep in, head and all. “Well, according to the anatomy and breeding books I read on the subject, a mare would raise tail and spread herself by muscular contractions, thus ‘presenting’ herself. Also, she’d use her raised tail to swipe the colt’s nose, applying her scent to him and making him aroused. Then, to put it bluntly, they fuck.” She says the last sentence with a furious blush but a perfect poker face. Cole laughs loudly at her last statement. “Damn Summer, I didn’t think you could make that funny.” “How is that funny? It’s biology! All the funny jokes are in geology!” Summer sounded honestly indignant about the whole thing. “It was funny the way you politely explained it, then finished with, ‘they fuck’.” “W-well that is the common colloquialism, right? Or, wait, you wouldn’t know, not a local... Oh, fudge it all!” Her serious expression and completely mixed vocabulary proved too much for whatever shredded remains of Cole’s poker face he had left, and he fell to the ground, laughing so hard it hurt his sides. “Summer, stop it, you’re killing me with cuteness!” Cole was still rolling on the ground in laughter. With a huff she returns to digging around in her bag, finally taking out a battered brown book, with what definitely looked like... leather? It was bound in leather? “Is that leather? I didn’t think ponies had that, considering what it’s made of.” “Uhm... yeah. It’s made from griffin-tooled leather. They’re pretty ethical about it, too. And it’s not like pigs or cows are people.” “Are they sentient like us, higher intelligence?” “That’s been debated before, but they’ve failed every probing test. Piglets are still cute though, and as such I refuse leather made in the Idder desert.” “Seems fair to me, so, what’s in the book?” “My notes. It’s got several layers of compression spells on it, so it’s actually more like five or six books in one... but I still seem to run out of room, somehow.” “That is kind of cool, so what’s in it? Science, physics, history, math, politics, more spells, your favorite book series?” Cole said the last part of the sentence almost too fast to comprehend. “Uhm... my diary. And my casting notes. And other doodles I did in my spare time. I’ve had this since I was five.” “You keep a diary? They say those are good for venting and relieving stress, I probably should’ve kept one.” Summer just shrugs. She looks into the book, flipping past pages that don’t seem to get her any closer to the back of the book or further from the front. Pausing every now and then, she ‘hrmm...’s and ‘yeah’s a lot, nodding each time to herself, leaving Cole to sit it out and shift from hoof to hoof uncomfortably as he sits on the bed. “What did you write about in your diary? Am I in there yet?” Cole’s short attention span was getting the better of him. “Hmm? No, not yet. I need to start updating my diary again. I’ll just pour out my memories into it tonight. Say, this spell says it needs some Nightwing tail-hairs, c-” Cole tried to pull a few hairs out from his tail, only to have none come out. “Huh, they don’t want to move, also, ow...” “So is that a yes, then?” “Yeah, they need to be cut, I think if I pulled them I would also take off some skin.” “Well, you’re right about one thing... and I can’t cut them for them to work as reagents.” She shot him an overly-large grin, an apologetic look in her eyes as her horn lit up. “Just do- FUUUUCK!!!” The pain was comparable to having one’s nose hairs removed by getting them stuck in a motor, and yanked in succession all in a row, then replanted, and having the process repeated a few times. That was for the first hair, and she needed four more. “Damn it, any way you can do them all at once?” “I might end up taking your entire tail off that way!” “Fine, just do it really quick then, just get it over with.” Sitting on a block of conjured ice, Cole had tears in his eyes. He could honestly say that, in all of his years of accidentally injuring himself, he’d never been in that much pain before. And Summer wouldn’t stop apologizing. “I’ve cracked my head open, busted out all my teeth, taken a metal rod to my knee, a wood chip stuck 2 inches in my leg, and yet pulling five tail hairs tops the list...” “I’m so sorry, I forgot you weren’t aware of the thaumotological connection of the tail to your magic, due to your species! I’m so, so sorry!” “It’s okay, but damn, how does this top getting a metal plate in my head?” “I’m so sorry! A-and, well, with your body attuned to feeling your entire thaumotological field, having a chunk of it ripped out is pretty painful, at least for nightwings, unicorns, crystal ponies, and-” “Summer, stop apologising, it isn’t your fault. Would a hug help?” She sniffles and accepts, before suddenly pulling away in a panic. “Oh, oh no! I forgot about Illicita! I need to get going, bye-bye!” And with that outburst, she turned, grabbed something from her bag, and ran from the room. The light from the window was somewhat less, but not by much. She must’ve been wrong about what time it was. “Now what? I’m sitting on a block of ice, my ass is nearly frozen, and I can’t go outside...” Waiting for a moment, he decides to wander to the door, see if he can hear anything through it. Sure enough, pressing his fuzzy ear (I have fuzzy ears!) to the door, he could actually hear someone in the hallways beyond. Two someones, in fact. “I heard she’s some sort of agent from the Bureau of Information. She had some sort of bat-guard with her, and you know how nasty those are.” The first voice was feminine, and spoke in a gossipy way. The second voice was also female, and a little higher pitched, maybe younger. “I- I dunno, that sounds pretty risky. why would you risk bringing in a thing like that?” “Maybe she’s going to be searching for more blacklisted books. It’s just not worth learning to read anymore, it can get you killed these days.” Cole cracked open the door, hoping to hear a bit more clearly. “Now this sounds interesting.” The two gossipers continued chatting. “I hear that it’s almost illegal just to cast magic without a licence for it in the capital. And then we have agents crawling over the villages now... Makes me glad I’m an earth pony.” “From what I heard, they caught some sort of demon-spirit or something. It was sneaking around outside last night, but that new group of spirit-hunters caught it. I rather liked the show, even if it was a group led by a colt of all things. So scandalous...” Grumbling from behind the door, Cole muttered to himself softly. “What is with the gender hate here, geez?” Oblivious to his eavesdropping ears, the two continued to talk. “Still, they did do a rather nice job, and that colt had such fine, rippling muscles... I know I’d have a go at him if he was still open... but with four mares already, I could see that being a problem. As for that demon- that scares me! How could the Bureau go about letting such horrid things loose?” Cole sighed. “And back to sex, what a surprise, but damn it Illicita!” “Did you hear something?” “I think it came from that door... the red one. It’s open a little.” The sound of hoofsteps advance towards the door, and Cole realized he has no idea how to grab the door and pull it back closed. In a panic, no idea what to do, he hid under the bed. The door creaks as it opens, a shaft of light from the hallway pouring in. “Oh, my! This place must be for the bureau’s agents to concoct their evil spells!” It was the younger-sounding one, of which he could only see the ankles down of. She had nice, brown fur, with light tan hooves. Next to her was the older-sounding one, in gray. they were moving closer to the bed. Cole saw the gray one begin to step closer to Summer’s bag. Cole didn’t want them digging through Summer’s stuff, so he quickly got out his iPod and began to flip through his songs, looking for something to scare them off with, within moments he finds it. Before he could play it, however, the younger one said something that stopped his blood cold. “Hey, don’t go into that! It might be trapped. But what’s under the bed?” With no other options Cole went to hit play, encountering difficulties hitting the play button. About to hit it, the mare looked under the bed. In shock, he stared at the the mare’s face, an aroma wafting to his nose. “H-hey there? W-what’re you doing under the bed?” “You found something?” “Avoiding the light.” Cole hoped his half assed answer would put an end to their curiosity, however unlikely it might sound, he was not a people person, especially under these circumstances. “Ah... why don’t you come out then?” “What is it, Marigold?” “Go shut the door, Silver Pendant, I think he can’t come out in this light.” “What is it, Marigold?!” “I think he’s scared!” “Will you just answer me already?” Cole just shivered and looked back and forth, Marigold still looking under the bed with a kind expression, interest or curiosity in her eyes. “What do you two want?” “M-Mari... step away from the bed, we don’t know if he’ll bite!” “I’m as likely to bite as you are Silver Pendant...” “Did you hear that! He’ll bite!” “Th-that’s not what he said, Silver!” “Now will you please leave and shut the door on your way out?” The gray mare had already backed her way to the wall near the door, but Marigold was still staring at him with those big, warm eyes... “What do you want from me?” “Uhm... would you come out from under there?” “Isn’t your friend scared that I’ll bite her and drain her body of all its blood?” “You can do that?!” Marigold sounded more enthusiastic than frightened by this idea. Silver, on the other hoof, was looking as terrified as Cole could guess, with only her knees down visible. “M-M-Marigold, I- I think we should get out! N-now! H-he might come out here!” “No, I can’t, I eat fruit, not ponies, I can’t believe she believed that.” The two mares seemed kind of unsure, and Marigold looked a little disappointed. “What will it take to get you two to leave?” “I- I already do!” “Come out here, so I can lookit you!” Cole was a bit off-put by the two answers. “You can let your friend leave first, she’s too loud.” Silver looked like she wanted to bolt, but it was evident that she didn’t want to leave her friend. “If you won’t leave then just shut the door and stop yelling, this isn’t the market, there’s no need for such noise.” “A- alright... I- Uhm, I’d b-better be here. To make s-sure nothing happens.” Silver sounded nervous as hell... And Marigold had only backed up enough that he’d be able to get out, not much more. “Alright, as long as you two don’t jump me nothing will happen.” Cole said, crawling out from under the bed, sticking his iPod in his hoodie pocket. Standing up, popping his back loudly, the bed was really uncomfortable. “Happy?” Marigold just stood there, her tawny mane tousled and oddly attractive to h- NO! BAD BRAIN. Silver, on the other hand, was pressed up against the wall nearest the door, up on her back hooves to keep her as physically far away from him while still able to runs screaming as possible. “You’re so... muscley. Isn’t he, Silver?” “Y-yeah, now can we leave?” “Just a sec, I wanna touch him...” “I wouldn’t mind if you both left, my herd should be returning soon.” Cole just wanted them gone, Marigold was a creeper and Silver seemed to be the only one with any common sense. “B-but your coat looks so soft... And your wings- they look really nice...” Marigold had stepped closer, and a strong, pleasant scent accompanied her. “Silver, take Marigold back before I do something I’m going to regret...” Cole’s eye was twitching, something was bothering him to no end about this mare. at the same time, something seemed really, comforting. But still off. What was going on here? “M-Mari, he knows our names! I don’t wanna be blacklisted!” “Then, we should oblige his every need, as best as we can!” Something about that sentence set off every red flag in Cole’s head at once. Immediately, something to do with brakes and trains came to the forefront of his mind. Backpedalling verbally, he tried some tact to avoid the suddenly-obvious issue. “What I need right now is a quiet room to myself! Now get out before my herd comes back, or I’ll kill us all!” “K-kill us all? M-Mari. let’s get going! Please!” “B-but Silver, he’s so gorgeous!” “Mari! We’re leaving, now.” The gray mare reached out and snagged Marigold’s tail, and dragged her to the door, swinging it open and racing out, a pouting Marigold behind her. Cole ran over to the door, grabbed the handle in his mouth and closed it, ignoring the taste. “What the hell is wrong with this place?!” Cole sighed and went back under the bed, right now he just wanted to pretend he wasn’t in this world. Hiding from everything, he turned on the music and listened until he could fall asleep again, wishing he could leave and get some food, but not too sure if that would be a good idea with Marigold still wandering around... Not to mention if he were to make that threat outside it wouldn’t end well. Author's Note Owch, that must've sucked... Well, at least some good seems to be coming from having an ancient demoness with the group, right? Anyways, as always comment about anything in the story you want or feel the need to. Also, Hamsters. Ch06 - Spirited AwayAfter listening to some of the theme music from his League of Legends folder he felt a little better, not by much though, he was getting hungry. Nothing in sight though. Maybe he should’ve spent less time asking about Illicita and asking about breakfast...His stomach adds a loud, grumbling complaint to the conversation. Stuck in the room further, he sighs dejectedly, checking to see if he had any game apps on it that he could play without thumbs. No dice. Huffing, he shuffled back out from under the bed, looking around the room. Thinking that he might maybe make something from those bottled things around the room, he begins to search for something with a label, instead of just being brightly colored and covered in dust. “Why is everything here so dirty?” Cole whipped the dust off the bottles, squinting at each. No labels, so whoever left them either memorized each one, or it didn’t matter. “Might as well have some fun with this.” Cole just began adding chemicals, noting their reactions- or rather, lack thereof -in small amounts, not wanting to accidently make something either highly acidic or explosive. Unfortunately, nothing seemed to happen. “That was boring, not even bubbling, only color change, oh well, it’s better than nothing I suppose, now, what the hell did I make?” Taking an experimental whiff, it smelled like berries and... alcohol? “Is this stuff liquor? Boring...” Cole set it down, disappointment all over his face. Looking around, there was nothing but Summer’s bag and a whole lotta books he couldn’t read. Sighing and putting his head on his hooves, he laid down on the bed, like large, bat-winged puppy. Three hours. Three hours of waiting! She still wasn’t back, and neither was Illicita. “What could’ve happened to them?” Cole was now getting worried, Summer was his only friend, without her he’d be screwed, literally and metaphorically. And, he was really hungry. Finally, a tap-tap-tap on the door caught his attention. “Summer?!” Cole was acting like a child waiting for their parents to get home. The door swung slowly open, revealing a dejected, somber-looking Summer. The light from the window had faded more than two hours previous, and it was evident from the sound on the roof it was raining, but the sight of her mane, plastered in tangled clumps down her back and shoulder really drove it home. Her face was dour, her expression grim. She looked like nothing had gone right and that nothing could go right. To put it succinctly, she looked depressed. “S-Summer?” Cole got off the bed and approached her, her only response being to sigh, deeply and sadly. “Y-You okay?” “I failed, alright? I couldn’t find her. And so many ponies wouldn’t even- wouldn’t even talk to me, and I don’t understand why... I’m such a failure...” “You’re not a failure Summer, come here.” Cole wrapped his forehooves around her and brought her in for a much needed hug. She embraced him tightly, her wet fur squishing with moisture. She sniffled and sobbed as tried explaining what she did, but he couldn’t tell what it was through her weeping. “Summer, I know what happened to Illicita, some mares told me earlier.” “Some mares? How did they get in!? You’re alright, aren’t you?” “I was eavesdropping when I heard mention something about spirit hunters, the two mares found the door slightly ajar, and one did try something, but I got rid of them. What we need to worry about right now is Illicita.” Summer gasped at this, looking horrified at the mention of spirit-hunters. “Uhm, you remember what I said about demons being bound to things being a tormenting existence of their essence unspooling?” “They stuck her into something like that didn’t they?” “I- I don’t know. But what I was getting at, is that demons slowly lose their power if they stay on the mortal plane too long. So, as I said before, she doesn’t have a time limit, but if she’s around too long or if her bond to me is severed, she’d unspool completely, and be erased.” “Shit, we gotta save her, pain in the ass or not I’m not going to sit here waiting for her to die! Summer, you up for some more investigating?” “I didn’t get to the worst part.” She paused, looking utterly upset. “Are you in danger too?” “No... but they’re likely trying to forcibly pull her apart, to power an amulet or something.” “Can we find them before they can? Even she doesn’t deserve that...” Summer shuffled on her hooves worriedly. “I- Idunno. I sincerely hope so, she’s really my only friend, other than you.” Summer looked ready to cry again, before looking up to Cole with hope in her eyes. “Can you please help? I- I can tell you what to look for, and your arcano-location would be essential to finding her.” Cole paused for a moment, to figure out what the term she meant was. “Two things, first, I don’t know what arcano-location is, but if you tell me what it is I’ll be happy to help. Second, here.” Cole hugged her, she looked like she needed it. She slumped into his embrace, and inhaled deeply. “Arcano-Location is something that Nightwings can do. Similar to a bat’s echolocation, but with magic. By sending out pulses of low-strength, high-frequency magic, Nightwings can find magically resonant materials in the...” Summer’s muffled voice continued to ramble, but Cole found his eyes crossing after about six minutes of it, and it was getting difficult to stay awake. As fascinating as it was, it was just so dry. “Summer, c-could you just tell me in a simpler way? As nice as it is hugging you, I want to know how I can help Illicita.” “O- Oh, sorry. I- I just got, you know... carried away.” She pulled back a bit and reached into a saddlebag. Pulling out a book, she shuffled down to the floor, and opened the tome. Inside were numerous diagrams, with very little text. “Not much is known about exactly how a Nightwing does it, but the common theory is that it’s like an exaggerated yawn. I- I don’t think it’s right. It is noted from, ah, autopsies, that they have a second set of vocal cords, connected to their Thaumic glands. Specifically, their thaumic glands are located in their throat, and are noticeably smaller than most race’s, likely because they only need to use a small amount of... I’m rambling again, aren’t I?” She finished her statement by brushing her mane out of her face, and Cole saw that she had put on glasses at some point. They made her look even more adorable, if that was possible. “A-anyways, You should be able to do it like a word, sort of, if you can just figure out how to use the other set of vocal cords.” Cole began humming, trying to find the note or whatever, but couldn’t get it. Closing his eyes in frustration, he stomped his hoof and growled. Then, he hiccuped. Like a burst of light in all directions, a sparkling field of stars overlay his vision. Little points of light lay over most everything, a brilliant mesh of them formed around in Summer. “What -*hic*- was tha-*hic*-at?” Cole hiccuped repeatedly, each one bringing a change to the starfield. As Summer moved in position, the starfield was blinked away and replaced, superimposed over her each time he hiccupped. “I- I’m not sure. It sounded like a hiccup, but more... squeaky?” Cole tried to squeak at a higher pitch, sounding like a chipmunk. The starfield brightened, and he realized that the glowing network was Summer’s nerves... and that glowing ball near the top, with the brilliant point of her horn a shining beacon of orangey-red. “Co -*hic* ol!” Cole began to lightly poke her where the lights were, tracing a few of the lines, she looked like she was in Tron, only on the inside, instead of the outside. And the lines were messier. She backed up a bit, pulling back from his poking. The hiccups now sounded more like quiet squeaks, but her ears had started folding back. Maybe it was irritating her. “Sorry, you started glowing and it looks pretty awesome.” “Wait, glowing? As in, you could see my thaumic glands and the connections?” “Yeah, you started glowing a pretty gold.” Summer quirked an eyebrow, looking pretty confused. “Gold? That doesn’t match any thaumic frequencies I know of...” “Well that’s what color you seem to be glowing, what does that mean exactly?” “I- I have no idea.” Summer pulled out her journal, leafing through pages rapidly, stopping at some sort of diagram of a hexagon with some lines it, each of the outer vertices holding a bubble with color in it, and then a group of six more inside with more colors, and two more inside that with yet more. “That looks really complicated.” “It’s just a diagram of an arcanite gem, with the magical layout over it.” She shrugged off the comment and kept searching through a list on the other side, a bunch of short words showing that they were names of some kind. Mumbling to herself, the mare looked really troubled. “I took extensive notes, but I can’t find ‘gold’ under any of the aura connections! There’s yellow, tangerine, orange, chartreuse, red, burgundy, maroon, purple, mulberry, scarlet, pale orange, autumn yellow, but no gold!” Summer looked like she was panicking, flipping back and forth through about four pages, mostly on the one with the diagram. She was breathing a little more heavily, and her eyes were going small. “Now that you mention it it was more yellow, the glowing threw me off, sorry.” “Yellow? As in yellow-orange, bright yellow, yellow-green, pure yellow, butter yellow, pale yellow, yellow-red, although that’d be orange, ye-” “Imagine looking into the sun or a really bright light. So, fiery orangish yellow, like if you were on fire. Does th-wait, forget that, lets go find Illicita, I can do that now right?” Summer looked up, blinked and looked back down, then back to Cole. “I- I’m so sorry!” “Don’t apologize, I got off topic, but what do I do now?” Summer looked around. “Can you see a large, glowing orb? Probably a dark maroon, with tinges of light blue?” Looking around, he couldn’t see a large one... but he could see a smaller one. Or maybe just a large one, but further away, like real stars. Squinting did nothing to bring it into focus, and it shifted slightly as he squeaked, although the squeaks were starting to sound more like ‘clicks’. “Yeah, but it’s pretty small and...moving? No, just wavering. Like a... candle flame, maybe?” Cole pointed to it, through a wall. Summer looked in that direction, before answering slowly. “I think we should head outside to find her. It’s after sunset, so it shouldn’t be too dark.” “Yay, I can go outside without being blinded!” “Yeah, so let’s go!” Summer packed up her bag quickly, taking as little time as possible as she put everything away. Her bags, in spite of receiving a lot more than their apparent volume, remained saggy. “Yay, I’m being useful!” Cole reached out a wing and draped it over her back as they ran, holding her closer. Stepping into the night, he took a moment to inhale deeply. Looking around, the moon had not yet come out, and there was only a few torches around for light, but it was more than enough. With a gentle click, the starfield returned to his vision. Walking around, however, showed that the points of light stayed static to his eyes, forcing him to renew his sight every few steps. And if he held the view too long, it faded away. As they rounded corners and raced down streets, avoiding other ponies as they went. Eventually, they came across another inn, this one bearing a name of some sort and the image of an earth pony slumped over a table. Inside, according to Cole’s magical sight, was the dark sphere of red the color of old blood and swirlings of midnight black, a thin shell of light blue. The two main colors swirled together, refusing to mix. It sat where the second floor would be, more or less. “She’s upstairs, let’s go!” As Cole ran to the door, he didn’t take notice of Summer’s cry of ‘wait!’ from behind him, instead slamming the door open. Or, at least, trying to. The latch was still shut, and Summer calmly opened it with her magic, and opened the door for him. His jaw was in pain where he’d hit the door, and his nose was bleeding slightly. She patted his nose lightly with a piece of cloth and helped him stand up. Stepping into the building, the two ponies saw that the main area was largely deserted, minus a pair of ponies at the bar. One of them, the mare actually sitting at the bar, turned around. She had on a long coat, like something out of a western, or maybe a noir flick. “So... the demon-fucker and the abomination arrived. Looks like I win the pot, tonight.” Her voice was raspy, and sounded like she smoked. a vicious-looking burn scar went up the right side of her face, a simple black eyepatch covering the damaged socket. Pale, yellowed bone showed in some spots, and it looked like the mare was half dead. She took a pull from the mug she was holding in one hoof, and kept speaking. “Didja really think we wouldn’t hear about’cha? Fuckin’ morons, I think I’ll wipe you both out. I hate the fuckin’ empire! You shits’re the reason my family fuckin’ starved!” “We aren’t from the em-” The burnt mare threw the heavy drinking stein, the metal almost pancaking as it hit the stone floor of the drinking area. She growled and spat out. “Yeah, fucking, right. You fuckin’ agents t5hink we’re all so fuckin’ gullible, dont’cha? Well, fuck that!” “I lied so I wouldn’t get raped while Summer was out! Why would a Nightwing work for the Solar Empire? We can’t see in the daylight!” “Oh, what a clever cover story, the big, bad demon-fucker is skeered of getting raped. Whatever, I’m sick of hearing your fuckin’ whining.” Sneering the word ‘skeered’ in obvious contemptuos mockerey,the mare stood back on her rear legs, and drew her forehooves up in what looked like a pose from a kung-fu movie of some sort. “Summer, a little help?!” Cole started to back up, sure he could fight, but he never learned how to in this body, how would it translate over? The crispy-looking mare suddenly did a front-flip (how the hell did she do that with hooves?!) and did something like a spinning-top move, and kicked Cole across the face about three times before physics could catch up and throw him to the ground, several yards to one side. “What the fuck lady!?” Cole stood up, poking his face, it stung a little. Meanwhile, a glowing orange nimbus had surrounded a furious-looking Summer Solace, her eyes gone behind sheets of white light. Her teeth were grinding against one another, and her stance looked like she was pissed. “Oh, it. Is. On!” “It’s okay, I’m durable, don’t over do it.” Colt is promptly ignored by Summer, who screamed in anger, a bolt of sizzling energy arcing towards the mare in the coat. Unfortunately, the target of the spell easily dodged it, the blast splashing outwards and blowing apart a table. Chunks of wood and flaming splinters rained down. “You fucking bitch! You’re gonna pay for that!” The bartender apparently did not have a sense of self-preservation, and a couple of flying barstools and a table coming after them made him duck at last. Afterwards, Summer promptly began to charge her horn once more, the mare in the coat charging towards her. The scarred mare reached Summer about the time that Summer let loose the blast. The shot blew off her hat, and the scarred mare then drove a vicious hoof-strike across Summer’s jaw, with a resounding ‘crack’. Summer fell to the floor, sprawling out as she clutched her mouth. “Summer!” Cole ran over to her and tried to kick the other mare in the ribcage, the mare deftly grabbing both his legs in her own hooves and flipping him like a pancake. As he hit the ground, back-first, she brought up a hoof, over Cole’s head. He only barely rolled out of the way as the mare’s hoof put a deep hole in the packed earth floor of the bar. “You bitch!” Cole backed up from her, and caught a quick glance of Summer, who was slowly standing up behind the mare in the coat. Her jaw was hanging funny, and blood spilled from it, but the look in her normally adorable and sweet eyes was pure murder. So was the garrote spell suddenly around the mare in the coat’s neck. The mare immediately began thrashing and pulling against the orange wire, failing to do so with the blunt ends of her hooves, as the garrote pulled higher and higher. “Holy shit!” Cole’s exclamation was lost in the terrified thrashing and gurgling of the strangling mare, blood hissing as the strand of magic literally burned through her throat. “You will never... touch my stallion... Ever... again... You. Fucking. Cunt!” Summer shouted the words with a burst of magic, gasping around her obviously-broken jaw, as the magical wire suddenly pulled taut, and the head of the earth pony fell to the floor just a moment after her body. Summer sank to the floor after that, weeping visibly and sobbing around the break in her mandible, one hoof coming up to cradle her mangled lip. “I did not see that coming.” Cole walked over to her and hugged her, trying to comfort her, even through the shock. the orangey mare just leaned against him, her horn lighting weakly, sparks drifting lazily to her jaw. There, they slowly pulled it back into place with a ‘crack!’, making her and Cole both wince, the bone apparently set. Her mouth was still bleeding, though. “I- I k-k-killed her... Oh gods, I k-killed her...” “Shhh.” Cole just tried to keep her quiet, her jaw was still in pain as he hugged her. She just sobbed, her tears and blood pouring into his coat and sticking his jacket to him. Author's Note So... yeah. Comment if you feel like it, or want to, well, comment on something. Constructive criticism is always welcome. Music link is now fixed, as well! Ch07 - Martial AutisticHolding the sobbing, injured, shell-shocked mare to his chest, Cole Winters looked around the bar. Thankfully, nothing had caught fire yet, and the coals seemed to be burning out first. Trying to find a way to cheer her up, or at least get them moving, Cole cast his eyes about the room a second time. Sighing when he found nothing, he patted her on the back, and tried to get her to stand up. Here eyes were red, but this time with the bloodshot look of some who had, shockingly enough, just been crying a river. Not knowing what else to do, he remembered how she acted before and decided to take a leap of faith; he kissed her quickly on the lips. “T-Thanks for saving my ass b-back there.” Summer just looked up at him, and the ring of red on his lips. “You’re welcome, Cole. I- I couldn’t see you hurt, too.” Cole reflexively licked the blood from his lips, almost starting at how... good it tasted. “Don’t worry about me so much, I got hurt a lot when I was back home, I can take a few hits, I just don’t want to see you hurt.” Cole held her close, tightening his hug, his tongue snaking out to pick up some more blood from her coat, cleaning her somewhat. Summer giggled. “Sorry, I seem to have developed a weird habit.” “It tickles. A-and thanks. I’d heard Nightwing saliva helps heal wounds... uhm, w-woul you-” Cole cut her off by frenching her deeply, his tongue waggling around to slide against her jaw and the split in her lip, the skin beneath his flexing muscle sealing rapidly. Slowly leaning back, he withdrew his tongue back into his mouth, the delicious, salty-copper taste coating it. Shivering slightly, he wondered momentarily if he could take the rest of the blood from her. To get her clean, of course. And it tasted so good... “Th- thank you, Cole.” She looked up at him with large, much calmer eyes, and she kissed his bottom lip for a moment, before retreating. In the low light, Cole wasn’t quite sure if she was blushing or not, but she did look a little more rosey. “No problem, now lets stop making out and save Illicita.” “Y- yeah... I can do that.” “By the way, how did you do the magic garrote trick?” She blushed visibly, now, and looked away as she slowly put her bags back on her back. “I-it’s just a magic replacement wire, for if a stringed instrument breaks. I read in a noir novel that you could use a piano wire, and I used to play violin for a while, then piano, then contrabass, so I used it often.” “Oh, what a clever girl you are, maybe you can show me a few tricks when we get back, but for now we have to save Illicita’s giant flank!” Summer followed Cole as he began to sneak up the stairs to the second floor none-to-stealthily. He still had to get used to having big clunky things on the ends of his feet all the time. Reaching the top the stairs, the colt saw a pegasus mare with metallic blades on her one wing, the other just a stump inside her leather armor, along with a pony in gleaming silver armor, a large golden sun across one massive pauldron. A huge warhammer was strapped to the unicorn’s back, though all of the pony was covered, the only indicator of race being the armored spire on the top of the helm. A more modest sword stood at perfect attention in a soft green glow in front of the armored unicorn. A smooth, but slightly deep voice rumbled from the metal helm, calm and collected. “Please, halt your advance. I would rather not kill if I am able to talk the problem out.” “No! They killed Scarred Mountain! We should just kill them now!” The pegasus mare sounded rushed and angry, a boyish squawk to her voice. The armored one, however, barely sounded feminine around the deep, bass rumble of her voice. “I’ll talk to you, you seem more intelligent, so wha-” The pegasus interrupted his attempt at diplomacy with the massive figure, practically moving forward into his face. “Shut it, Eldrist! You have no say!” The large unicorn only rumbled for a moment, choosing to reply in her slow, calm voice. “I would rather speak to your mistress, oh summoned fiend.” “Not a good idea right now, your friend broke her jaw and she’s-” “Fuck that! Die, monster!” With her exclamation, the hasty pegasus, her mane shaved and her coat dark red. Leaning back to avoid a swipe across the muzzle from her wing-blade, Cole had to block a rapid strike from a leg before ducking the backswing of the blade, some of his mane falling to the ground in the process. “Bitch, I’m a Nightwing, not a monster-” “They’re the same thing!” “-now let me talk!” The pegasus continued to ignore him as she got closer, and he saw an orange line drifting through the air towards the maroon mare. Unfortunately, the pegasus caught view of it, and a wing-slash dissipated the spell. “Oh, so you’re gonna try fighting me like that, eh bitch?” The pegasus’ attention was away from Cole long enough for him to tag her across the cheek. The sound of a loud ‘pop!’ as the air caught and slammed her to the side. “Just shut up already! This is between me and you if anything, now stop bringing others into it you annoying cunt!” A low snort of laughter from the unicorn and a stunned pegasus was the audience, along with Summer looking appreciative of his support. “He speaks truly, if you had waited, we might’ve yet secured an honorable duel. Now, you two must fight from here. And this time, Razor, I will not bail you out. We will resume communications after this little... ‘disagreement’, shall we say, has been dealt with.” The unicorn’s voice brooked no refutations, an absolute factor in the equation. “Finally some cooperation around here, now be back with you in a minute if you don’t mind.” The inarticulate growl of rage from the seething pegasus at the meaning of his comment, and she charged again. A swipe went high, and he got tagged across the face once, then dodged and blocked it the next time, noticing that she tried the exact same move again. Hitting her with a solid blow across her face, and dodging another swipe and jab, he repeated the process. He almost laughed, as she had virtually no skill, just a pattern. Tagging her in the face again and again, he bloodied her nose, and her swings grew more erratic, wavering from her careful pattern bit by bit. “If you want to quit now, you can, I won’t hold it against you.” “F- fuck you!” The pegasus was gasping a little around the fluid leaking into her nose. “I’ll take that as a no then, carry on with your suicidal assault.” The mare just doggedly struck at him again and again, to no avail, until a chance mistiming left him open for just moment, the blade slicing open his side in a momentary pass, the pain trickling into his senses. Focusing harder on defending himself, he struck at her less, wearing her down as much as possible, not even realizing that his wings had gone up part way. Without thinking, and treating a wing like a long-fingered hand, he darted forward in the middle of one of her swings, turning and grabbing the wing she was attacking with, and twisting slightly. The pegasus gasped, her face stricken as she tumbled off-balance. As she sprawled onto the ground, rear in the air as she whimpered on the ground. Blinking slightly, Cole realized she was on the ground only after the fact. “Crap, are you okay?” Cole looked down to the pegasus, who just whimpered again, her eyes full of tears. Realizing what he was holding her down with one of his wings, he carefully let go, flexing the appendage slightly as he saw the many similarities to his original hands. “Didn’t mean to do that.” “F- fine, you beat me... what’re you going to do now, take a blood-tithe?” The pegasus snapped out the question angrily, a snarl creeping along her voice as she spoke. “No, why would I do that?” The unicorn responded for her downed comrade. “Because she thinks you have turned sarosian, nightwing.” “Oh, no, I don’t think so, I don’t do anything to people when I beat them.” The unicorn nodded, and turned to the pegasus, her bass rumble of a voice loud enough to be heard down the hall. The commanding unicorn looked at both Cole and Razor. “I, as a knighted paladin of the Solar Order, declare this duel concluded. May you two consider your grievances at rest. Now, young warlock-” “Not a warlock, accidental summoning.” “No, no, she’s right. I am a professional summoner, so my title is indeed warlock. Madam paladin, please continue. “Oh, never mind then, carry on, I’m going to sit down and quite literally lick my wounds.” The two mares gave him looks of confusion for a moment, as he sat down and Razor slid fully to the ground, her rump no longer up in the air. Unfortunately, he found his own blood not-so-tasty, and his wounds weren’t closing. Stupid magic not working on himself... “Damn, oh well, atleast I can get the blood out of my coat before it d-ow!-dries.” Picking at the scratches with the only thing he had available, Cole tried to clean himself off. Meanwhile, Summer and the paladin began to speak, using large, eloquent words. Most of it sounded like overly-flowery legalese. While Cole wouldn’t follow most of it, he got the basic understanding that Summer was trying to explain that Cole and herself were, at least, not hostile, merely trying to rescue Illicita. During all of this, the pegasus had shuffled off to one side, and had removed the blades from her wing to massage the pained limb. Cole moved over to her cautiously, not wanting another fight. “Hi, sorry about that, are you okay?” The pegasus ‘hmph’d and turned away a little, still tenderly rubbing her wing. “Is your wing okay? Can I do anything to help?” The pegasus mare, Razor, if Cole remembered correctly, refused to speak to him, finishing her ministrations on her wing by tucking it around herself. “You got me pretty good earlier.” Cole showed her the cut she gave him, still a little blood around the wound. “You did pretty well back there, what training do you have?” “I’ve been trained by none. I learned the use of the wing-blade on my own. All pegasi must learn a weapon of their own choosing on their own before they may be taught by an armsmaster.” The mare stopped herself with an audible snap of her mouth closing, as she realized she was speaking. “Well I had about five years of unarmed training, I almost reached first-dan, the first level of mastery.” The pegasus mare just glared at him. “You should count yourself lucky you even received training. When I lost my wing to the raid, I was no longer permitted training. I was left behind, useless to them. A pegasus who cannot fly... cannot fight.” Razor looked away again, her hard expression softening slightly from obvious saddness. “You’re not useless, I was trained and you almost cut me to pieces, so cheer up Razor.” Cole wrapped a wing around her and hugged her. To his (very mild) surprise, she shoved him away, a shouted at him. “Get away from me, you sarosian pit-spawn! Try your pity games on some mare stupid enough to fall for them!” Cole backed up a little bit. “I don’t pity you, I am being sincere. Would it make you feel better if I gave you some advice? Not that you aren’t capable or anything.” “Oh, go-” Razor’s response was cut off by the paladin slamming a hoof down between the two winged ponies, startling each of them. “Both of you, stop bickering like foals! This matter is resolved.” The larger mare, still clad in her bright metal armor, turned to Cole. “You and your lead mare will continue to the end of this hall. My code of honor ensures to me that you are not evil... but I will not stand against my allies.” The paladin stepped back, and Summer stepped forward, eyes darting between the still-glaring pegasus and the human-turned nightwing. “What?” “L- let’s go, Cole. We should hurry, we need to save Illi.” “Fuck! I knew I forgot about something, lets go!” Cole stood up and walked towards Summer, but before he left he turned back to the pegasus. “And I am sorry, no pity, no hidden insults.” The pegasus just stared after him as Cole and Summer turned and trotted down the hall towards the door the paladin had mentioned. As they walked along, Cole caught the edge of a whispered statement between the paladin and the pegasus. “... I just don’t know... I doubt mother even remembers me.” “Mom still loves us both, she hasn’t forgotten you...” Continuing on their journey, Cole didn’t comment on what he heard, instead asking a more immediate question. “So, how did you negotiate your way past her?” “Oh, I just swore on a few things, made a binding oath not to lie about it, and then told her we needed Illicita to continue our journey.” “Nice, lets hope the rest of the group is as rational, I can’t take much more damage.” “Sorry... I hadn’t expected that to happen. Why did you fight her? You... you could have passed the challenge to me.” “Because, I’m used to getting hurt, and I couldn’t stand by and watch you get hurt.” Summer looked over at him with a look of concern right in front of the door. “I can take it, Cole, I’m a mare. You’re a colt, you shouldn’t have to deal with being hurt.” Summer then opened the door, stepping into the room beyond. While Cole had half-expected either a lavish apartment or a dark, eerie lair, it was really just a room at an in, with a large glass ball glowing in the center of it, along with a stallion and a mare standing nearby it. “Well too bad, I have five years combat training and they are going to be put to use. So... What’s all this then?” Cole asked as he looked around the room. He saw the male and female ponies turn towards him and Summer. The stallion, a large russet unicorn, looked her over appraisingly, and Cole caught a glimpse of the mare staring at him with narrowed eyes. A moment later, though, her hood fell back into place. “Hey, you, give us Illicita back.” Cole took a step towards them. The two exchanged a glance, before the stallion, his bright orange mane drifting roguishly across his face like something out of a cheap romance novel, looked him in the eye. “Well, fine gentlecolt, perhaps we can come to an agreement.” His voice was almost disturbingly genteel, at exactly the right octave to be a combination of attractive and at the same time noble. “I think I know where you’re going with this and sorry dude, I’m only gay for Summer.” The stallion laughed, his voice clear and strong. “Oh, I must admit, I’m happy to have met her, too. Still, if you would like to come to an arrangement, I’m sure we can find something we both want.” The stallion followed his proposition with a leer and a wink, and the mare to the side of him rolled her softly luminous yellow eyes. “Oh, stop it, ye’ great dandy. Ee’s not interested, Ah c’n tell jes from lookin at ‘im. Ye’ c’n go ‘bout gettin’ th’ Goldstar lass’s steel-clad plot easier than this whipp’d boy’s.” The scratchy, thick near-irish/scottish accent was almost mind-bogglingly far from the stallion’s. “So what do we have to do to get you to release Illicita? And aren’t you curious as to what happened to your other group members?” The stallion, looking a bit put-out about the mare’s words, smiled a bit less grandly at Cole. “Well, we’ll need some sort of compensation for the catch, and the promise not to let the thing rampage any more. As for what happened to the mercenaries I hired, well... the only one I’m really surprised you passed was our resident drunkard. She has a problem with unicorns and bat-folk.” “Oh, jes git on wid it! This ‘un ain’t wort’ much, just grab some gold’n get us goin’!” The stallion rolled his own eyes, and sighed. “Fine, Mercuriel, I’ll forgo the pleasure of their company for cold, hard coinage. Madame, a mere price of seventy-five gold coins would be ample-” “Fifteen, I’m young, not stupid.” The stallion nearly spat at Summer’s remark, and even Cole had to double-take. “All four of my parents are involved in business, one way or another.” “Fine, madame, but I must make a profit, and these capture globes are-” “Forty-seven silver pieces, or four gold coins and seven silver. They’re also re-usable, and I want her released, not still contained.” The stallion looked ready to chew some nails, before growling and huffing angrily. “Dude, she’s a lot smarter than you think so cut the games.” The stallion, no longer looking so regal or kind, glared at Cole, before turning back to Summer. She hadn’t let her gaze leave him the whole time, and spoke before he did. “You should be glad you’re getting any gold, so take the offer or face the consequences.” Anger spilled out with the last three words, and finally the colt spoke up again. “Fine, twenty-five gold coins, and I release the demon.” “Release first, money second.” “And how would I know you aren’t going to simply sic the beastie on me the moment it’s free?” Summer was about to retort again, when the glowing-eyed mare spoke up, exasperation evident in her voice. “Jes give half now, and half when the demon’s out! Yer nay gonna come ta any agreement bickerin’ like foals and fools alike!” The force of the mare’s voice was impressive, and she sounded honestly angry. The two arguing ponies flattened their ears, and Cole had to cover his own with his hooves to avoid being deafened. The stallion and Summer quickly agreed on the process, Summer giving the first twelve gold coins to him. His horn lit up brightly, and the orb of glass in the center of the room stopped shining, and split open vertically. A thick, viscous stream of smog poured out from it, slowly forming a hazy outline of a pony. “Illi?” Summer’s voice trembled a bit as she said the demon’s name, taking a hesitant step forward, catching herself quickly. “Wait, I need to make sure it’s you... What are the strictures of our covenant?” The smog looked up at her, smiling slightly. “That I cannot harm you or your friends, my mistress.” Summer smiled at the words, then turned to the stallion. “It’s a nice con, but bring me my friend before I demonstrate my new cranionectomy procedure on you.” “Yeah, she did it to one of your mares downstairs, the one with the scar.” “And what, exactly, does ‘cranionectomy’ mean?” “Something ending with ‘ectomy’ indicates a surgical procedure to remove something, as designated by the prefix. The cranium is the head. I’m sure you can figure it out from there.” Summer’s grin was a bit unsettling, and her eyes seemed a little... small. The irises and pupils alike appeared to have shrunk inward a bit, and several strands of hair had jumped out of place from her normally fairly orderly mane. Her horn flashed orange, and the cloud screamed and began fading out, much to the surprise of everyone else. “Now, since you don’t seem to get what I mean, perhaps I should elaborate. Release my friend, and I’ll let you leave with all your limbs still attached. Fail to do so... and I’ll get inventive.” The stallion’s eyes suddenly bugged out for a moment, and Cole wondered why for a moment. then, he saw a faint glow from the colt’s underside, and saw the two trailing ends of Summer’s wire-spel poking out from his trousers, faintly outlining a vague bulge. The colt, rather suddenly sweating, powered his horn once more, and a second orb skidded out from under the bed, cracking open and letting a brownish-red cloud boil forth, quickly changing to Illicita’s demonic form. The glowy-eyed mare, having been silent since her outburst turned calmly to the stallion. “Well, ah told ye’ it wouldn’t work, and ye ignored me. Ah cain’t feed off’n a demon, an’ those two’re more trouble than they’re worth. I hereby dissolve our contract, an’ leave ye’ in peace. Ye’ moron.” The mare then threw back her hood and shimmied out of the simple garment, revealing a lithe mare in green, with a brilliant blue mane. However, that didn’t last long, as a gold-colored flames erupted around her, and a black-and-yellow changeling stood in her place. “Good riddance to ye’, ye’ daft loon.” Before anyone could react, the changeling shot a blast of magic through a window and flew out. The three ponies and the demon just stared for a moment, until the stallion finally spoke up. “Wow, I thought the accent was just because she was weird.” “Eh, I actually like changelings.” Summer turned to Illicita who was looking around at the group. “So... are we gonna kill him? Or just castrate him? ‘Cuz if it’s the kill option, I call dibs.” The stallion whimpered at the options presented, Summer looking at him with an angry expression. “I don’t feel any reason to spare him since he just tried to con you, kill our friend, and caused all this, so do as you please, I wouldn’t mind an execution.” Cole stared at the stallion. The stallion’s russet face went pale, his eyes tiny as he looked around, still not moving from the cord presumably wrapped around his junk. “So Summer, which head do you want to remove?” “I vote death, I can drain him and eat the body.” The colt’s face went even paler at the succubi’s suggestion. “I say we go with her suggestion, after all, she was the one who was tortured. Why not let her have her fun?” “Idunno, I think a longer-term punishment is better... and my momma always told me not to hurt a colt.” The male unicorn visibly relaxed. “Unfortunately, my mother taught me how to hurt a colt, quite extensively. Did you know that he’ll still feel the urges, but be unable to act on them if I cut it off, along with his tongue? I could remove his horn too, and brand hi-” Summer’s tirade, growing ever more maniacal as she went, was broken off as Illicita slapped her. “Summer, snap out of it! This isn’t you. Don’t you dare go stooping to his level!” The poor buck seemed entirely confused and terrified, and Cole wasn’t too far behind on that. “That actually sounded like one of my rants...” “Stay out of this, outworlder.” It was the first time Illicita had addressed Cole as anything other than a vaguely insulting innuendo, so it was entirely unexpected by him. “Okay, okay, lets just finish up here and get her back to the room, you both have had a tough day.” “Summer, listen to me. We’re going to go back, everypony’s getting a bath, and you’re not going to kill or maim him. It was funny when I was joking about it, but this is not who you are meant to be.” Summer shook slightly at Illicita’s words, and Cole had some issues figuring out where this serious side of her was coming from. “Yeah, let’s just go before you kill him, it might be a worse punishment to leave him like this anyways.” Summer nodded, and disappeared in a flash of orange light, bright enough to hurt Cole’s eyes. Illicita turned to the stallion on the floor, who was visibly relieved that Summer was gone. Until, that is, when Illicita metamorphosed into a massive, slimy-skinned thing, with dozens of needle-lined mouths and reaching tentacles, eleven or eyes floating in gooey sacs along the top of the monster all looking down at the now-terrified pony. [“̸̪̯̬̠̙̣͋̊ͫ̋̚͢͠Ȉ̸̹͕͎̦͓̲ͥͪ̔͛̎͢f̩̭̬̖̰̺̙̅ͤ͘ ̴̭̗̲̯̮͒ͩ͛ͬͥ͟I̸̫͍̦̓͞ ̴̵̱̘̯͎̩̩̑͑ͬ̾̑͡e͗҉̨̟̤̝v̜̙ͯ͌̾ͯ͑̕e̴̗̹̹͓̍̅͐͋ͨ͝r̴̡̮̘̦͇̮̿̆͢ ̶̴̟̙̰ͦ͂͗͐̐ͨͥ͌s̭̠̖̱͔̺ͯͦ̒̍̽̀̀̀̕ȅ͚͓͙̌e̫̥̪̼̖̟͆̽ͧ͆̂͋ͦ̀ ̗̞̣̬̟̜̘̯̅̂̌͒̾̍̽y̠͔̻̗ͭ̅͌̄ͨ̆ͫ̊ͅő͈̯̩̝̉̃̈́͠ṷ̹͖̳̣͚̭̙͚͌͊̿̓́ ̖͚̯̞͔͑͊ͮ̄̆ͮ̇͘a̓̆̏ͨͦ̃͒̉҉̤̗̘g̢͍̥̪̳͗̍̐̀̂̎̇͗͠͡ą̗̞̰̉ͯ̽̽ͤ͗̒́į̜̠̤̖͍̭̰ͥͤ̒̽́ͭͬͮ̅ͅn͇͓̘̫̩̦̳͗ͫ͡,̨̦̝͔̣͉̥̝̼̎ͤ̄ͯ̍͑͠ ̻̫̞̟̯̙̖̉͊͋͟͝Ỉ̸̹̦̪̣͙͈́ ̨͍̱̝̄̈́̂̓ͬ̐͝w̴̨̩̫̖̮̹͔̘͒̓̅͋ͩͨ͊̚ͅĭ̴̴̮̗̥̭̟͈͜l̦͖̗̮̱͍̣̋̎ͅl̑͛ͮ҉҉͚̝̤ ̴̧̣̪̹̱̌̋̉́ͅn̢̲̘̗̳̮̰ͣ̑̑̅̋̉̍͞ǫ̱̤̬̝̝̜̜ͮ̋͒͜ͅt̖̬͎̤̻͙ͭ̒͊̽̎̒͜͝ ̸̲̰̭̻̣̉̅̃ͩ̄h̨̟̟̼͎̹ͪ̏ͥ̊͑̽e̡͌̌̄͐͑͏̗͓͓̭̙̠̜̖ͅs̵̙̟̺͇̪̞̼̃̒̊ͭ͐̾̽̄i̧̱̗̙̮̦͓̘̽̌͐ͨ͆͠t͉ͮͮ̀͟͡ã͇̻̒̌ͧͩ͆̒͒t̼̳͚̜̐̾͆͛̎͟e̯̻̲̣̺̠͔̯̠ͤ̌͑̈́͛̀́ ͈̻͚̮̠̟̻͗̎̽ͩ͂͊̄ͅtͪ̒ͩ̐͑͏̷̳̦̖̮̳͓̙̳͢ö̗̞́̅ͧ͋̀ͯ̚̚ ̥͖̺̳͓̪̄̓ͮṫ̍҉͈͍͇̥̯̭̝͚͜͟e̸̷̠͉̳ͥ̍̌ͥ̄ͣ̎à̺̿̾ͧ̂̉r̜̲̤̟͓͍̅̑͠ͅͅ ͗̃̈́̂͒͋ͮ̚͏̰̗y̖̗͓͓̟̙̯͙̾̾̎ͯ̿̿̉̑͗̀͟ǫ̛̹̼͎̭̣̑̀ữ̪̻̱̝͚͚̦͎̽ͪͮ̀̀ ̵̸̡̺̩̙̣̟̯̝̗͌̅̾̐ͩ̏̏̆l͎̘͓̭̳ͪ́͌̈ͤͧͫ͂͢i̐̕͠͏͇̘̬m̞͎̝͎̤ͥͪ͗͗̏̒͑̔͡b͙͇̠̭͔̜̎-̠͓̞̻̫̘̓̓ͩͪ̉ͦ͂̉ͅf̓̋ͯͦ̈ͪ̆̃҉̸̪͇̖͢r̢̳̯̪̲͈̖͕͌̉̈́̍ͥ̕͢o͍̹̫̐̄͊̅̇̃ͨ͟͢ṃ͖͕̠̟̫̙̖̲ͫͫ̋̓̓ͯ͌̉-̡̛͇͓͔͓͖͖͍̍̈́̍ͧ́̓͑̽l̦̥͇̯̠͔̜̤͌ͨ͛̓͆ͣ̀ͭ̕͘i̵̧͈̥͔̝̪̟̔̔m͒͌̉҉̡̨͚̳b̘͔͉͇̫͒̄̐̒́͟.̴̯̩̬̆”̩̦͆ͭͭ The stallion nodded hurriedly, and the smell of urine met Cole’s nostrils. The twisted, demonic voice refused to leave his mind, and the blob shifted back into Illicita’s more ‘normal’ form, with the red coat and tiny bat wings. “Now give me all your money, and I won’t bite your dick off anyways.” Author's Note Yeah, I'm borrowing terms left right an center, because the good ones are all taken by traditional folklore (which people get pissy about me re-purposing, for some reason) or by other authors (which folks get even pissyer about) so I'm snagging a title from the awe-inspiring SS&E, and if you don't know who that is, you've been living under a rock, marsupial. Anyhow, 'Sarosian' is a term from a couple of his stories, referencing the bat-ponies, who were built as weapons by Discord and such, but Luna saved them, they fought back etc. SS&E did a way better job of making sound cool. In this case, though, a 'Sarosion' is a nightwing who has drunken enough blood to effectively turn into a vampire like Dracula from the Castlevania series. Freakishly scary. Early on, though, they are simply tougher, faster, and stronger than normal. Anyways, magical physiology lesson complete, for now. Feel free to chat with me about it if you want in the comments.
Ch01 - Fallen StarSitting at the dorm after a long day in college, Cole Winters sighs. Now that summer was in the air again, it was getting hard to pay attention in class again. Which wasn’t helped at all by the teachers getting steadily more and more demanding as the year dragged on, and the workload was getting more intense. Looking over at the computer that sat in the corner, Cole has to suppress the urge to try watching his favorite show, which he’s been denied for most of the last four months. The allure of ponies is strong, but he can’t watch now. After Trixie’s backstory episode in season 5, he’d had to taper off watching the episodes, and he hadn’t seen anything of season 7 yet. Drawing a sheaf of papers, he had a microbiology paper due the following week, a stack of court cases to look over, and a lab hand-out to fill out that he was too lazy to fill out when he first did the lab last week. Looking out the window at the evening sky, Cole sighs. Then, he shouts, as a brilliant line of fire streaks from the sky towards him. Scrambling for cover, and expecting an explosion from the impact, Cole can only wait. A sound of smashing glass reaches his ears, and a thump, but no explosion. Peeking out from the chair he’d hid behind, and ignoring the shouts to shut up from the hallway, he takes a look at the ruin of his window. “How am I going to fix this?!” He panics at the fact that he will now be paying for the damages. As if to counter his argument, a soft, rainbow glow lit up the room. Looking down at the mess of broken glass, Cole saw a large, glowing orb. It was almost perfectly smooth, a pearl of glass. “The hell is that?” He walks over to the sphere carefully, avoiding the shards of glass, he had to pay for the damages, he didn’t need medical bills on top of that. Cole carefully picked it up and sets it on his desk, the light fading as he touches it. A bit confused by this he headed over to get the broom and dustpan so he can start cleaning up the pieces of glass scattered about the room, knowing his roommate would sue if he stepped on one. Several minutes of cleaning up the mess and preparing the cardboard to cover the window he stops and re-examines the sphere. Its surface was smooth, with what felt like millions of tiny indents, like craters on the moon, or divots on a golf ball, but larger. All in all, it was a magnificent piece of art, and likely worth a lot of money, but knowing his luck it was fake. “Who launches a cubic zirconia golf ball at people’s windows?” The globe simply sits in his hands, rather heavy and very pretty. Just for its visible appearance, it was likely saleable, regardless of the material. Turning it around, he couldn’t find a made-in stamp anywhere. “Damn ball, I wish I didn’t have to pay for your mess.” Suddenly, the sphere lights up again, and Cole’s arms lock up as an electric shock with rainbow hues arced up his arms, pain lancing across his nerves as brilliant colors exploded across his vision, before fading away entirely. “The hell just happened?” He sighed, holding his head, wondering if the dorm druggie spiked his drink earlier. As he reached for his head, something hard smacked him on the side of his skull, painfully. “The fuck is on my. . .hand?” He stopped where he lays, staring at his arm, something was different. “What the hell?!” The arm was, for one thing, more tube-like than before, and ended abruptly where the wrist ought to be. Smooth, darkly-colored hair covered the stricken appendage, and he turned it around to see the puff of soft fur on the back of it, a silvery-white in the dim lighting. “The hell?” He panics slightly, but more confused than anything. One thought was going through his head, yup, my drink must’ve been laced with something. He tries to stand up only to collapse on all fours in a pile on the floor. “What the hell is going on here?!” He stopped speaking, as a knock echoes across the room. “Hello? Are you awake in there?” “I don’t know!?” Silence reigned for several minutes as this processed. “Then, uhm, how are you talking to me? Do... Do your kind speak in their sleep a lot?” “Well I did manage to talk to my cousin about games in our sleep once, but no, I am just REALLY confused right now.” Silence falls again. “Uhm, can I- can I come in?” “I would appreciate that seeing as I’ve fallen and can’t get up.” The door opens rapidly, a rectangle of blinding light against the soothing dark of before. A four-legged shape is silhouetted for a moment, before moving into the room. “I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to leave you here alone, I just needed to get my notes, and then I realized you’d be hungry, but I couldn’t find anything on what Nightwings eat, so I thought I’d do some research, and-” The shape resolves itself much more clearly to the confused Cole as a length of spiraling bone on the equine’s forehead lights up, a soft golden aura wrapped around his limbs and helping him back onto the bed. All the while, she kept talking, her voice kind but rather panicked-sounding. “Calm down and explain something to me, did you just pick me up using magic?” “W-well of course. Oh! I forgot to introduce myself, I’m Summer Solace, daughter of the head of the Imperium Sol bureau of Information. A-and you are, sir?” “Cole, Cole Winters, and what is Imperium Sol?” “Oh, you must be from the outlands, I’m sorry, I thought that all of the nightwings lived under Lady Rubeum’s rule these days.” “Who?” “The Living God of the Earth? Maybe you know her under a different name. Anyways, the Imperium Sol is the official name of King Eosos’ domain, and is from an old language and means ‘Empire of the Sun’ because King Eosos raises the sun each morning!” “Well, I am really angry right now...“ “I-I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to offend you-” “Not at you, at the universe itself for once again screwing me over completely.” The mare just looked at him. “I-I don’t understand... What do you mean?” “Judging by all of this and your colorful nature I assume we aren’t on a planet called Earth correct?” “P-planet? But planets are travelling stars that recur in the night sky regularly. You can’t live on a star.” “Well as of yesterday I didn’t live here, I didn’t have hooves, I was able to walk without collapsing in a pathetic pile on the ground, and now I just realized the three years I spent at university are now worthless here. Fantastic!” “Y-you went to a university? Ooh, what did you study?” The mare seemed to almost literally brighten at his words. “Biology for three years, and I doubt it’ll be of any use here.” “What sort of biology? I finished most of the available material when I was fourteen, but any outside knowledge would be really helpful!” “I did organic chemistry, microbiology, some ichthyology, a-” “Ichthyology?! I love fish!” “As do I, but right now I would prefer to figure a few things out. Firstly, where am I, secondly, how I got here, thirdly, why I am a pastel colored pony when I was a bipedal ape only yesterday. “Alright, in order. This place is my home, or rather my parent’s home. It’s a villa a few dozen miles from the capital of the Imperium Sol, and my parents are letting me use it while they stay at the family estate there and teach. “As for the second question, I brought you here after I found you outside. I was planning an electricity-based experiment, to see if I could convert the lightning to a base charge in a capacitive spell matrix. But I had to stop, because you were laying there, after this huge bolt of rainbow-colored lightning! I’ve never seen anything like it before, and there’s nothing in my notes about rainbow-lightning. Either way, when I went to check it out, I saw you, wearing a really fancy suit, in the bottom of a blast crater, reminiscent of a shockwave spell or collapsed-trail wormhole. “And the third thing, I have no idea, but some residual energy from the bolt could be causing some sort of magical feedback, altering your memories. That crater was swamped with high-energy thaums.” The mare blushed slightly, turning her head away from his gaze. “Y-you’re not actually pastel, you’re more of a really fine carbon, especially with your eyes.” “Well my memory is fine I can remember my life before this, the day this happened however is a little hazy, and are you oka- wait, what about my eyes?” The sunset-colored mare shuffles shyly, and the fall of her hair reminds him momentarily of Fluttershy or Trixie, and she blushes harder, her cheeks going from rosey orange-red to a startling crimson. “They’re a really nice orange... Uhm, sorry, I d-didn’t mean to get off-topic.” “Why are my eyes orange now? They used to be brown, same with my hair, and it was long and curly. This is still very strange in so many ways.” Cole took almost a ‘Thinker’ like pose. Summer began circling around him, her horn alight again as she contemplates him. “W-well, you’re mostly a really shiny gray, with bright orange eyes, and your mane and tail coloration is more pony-like than Nightwing-like, from what I’ve read of them, featuring a three-color motif them. I can see...” She carefully leaned in towards his head, her breath making his ear twitch. “I think that’s purple or indigo, hard to tell in this light, then cobalt blue, metallic even, and the third color is... steel gray.” “Huh, I always liked green better, oh well, too late to change anything, not that I could. Oh well, did my clothes have anything in the pockets?” “Oh, yes, there was some sort of money pouch, and a few artifacts that seemed to have some sort of residual enchantments on them, but I didn’t have time to figure them out.” “Can you bring me the brick shaped one? “There were two of them, both had some sort of lightning spell in them. What do they do?” Cole grinned wickedly. “I’ll show you my dear.” Summer blushed at his comment, then hurried out of the room. Cole waited for a minute, wondering why she was suddenly so bashful. Moments later, she skidded back into the room, a bag in her telekinetic grasp, smiling as she burst back into the room. The bag levitates over to Cole, and she set it down carefully onto the bed in front of him. He spends several minutes of fumbling in the bag, sorting past clothes and such until he finds his prize: an iPod. “Thank you, now to... Damn it, how do I work this with hooves?” Cole fumbled with it until he facehoofed, accidentally hitting the iPod’s screen with his nose, and turning it on. “Ah there we go, now to find my song.” Cole used his nose on the touch screen leaving smudges all over it, but eventually manages to play the song he wanted. Within Temptation, Our Solemn Hour. For the four and a quarter minutes of the song, Summer simply watched the device with utter fascination. Cole sat there, happily bobbing his head to the beat of the music, lost for a moment in the recent past. Slowly, the music fades, and Cole presses the button to stop it with his nose. Looking up, he spotted Summer, sitting in awe, the light from the doorway highlighting her features, from her fiery red-orange coat to the smooth, shimmering violet of her mane, like a sunset in equine form. “That is one of the songs of my people, do you like it?” She simply looked at Cole with her mouth agape and her eyes wide, lost in the moment. “Would you like to hear more?” Summer snapped out of her trance at the offer, a broad grin stretching across her face. The way her eyes light up just makes Cole want to give her a hug as she nods her head enthusiastically. “Then hop up here, the bed’s big enough for the both of us, now what kind of music would you like to hear?” Cole patted a spot on the bed next to him. she crawled up onto the spot, curling up like a large cat next to him as she looked closer. “I- uhm... I- I have no idea. What kind of music was that? And how did you store an entire song into a single artifact, with a lightning enchantment involved? Most of those simply fade away in minutes, let alone hours or days.” “Well, where I’m from we have harnessed the power of electricity to power certain objects like this, it isn’t enchanted, it just has a battery inside it. We can store thousands of songs in these and play them back whenever we want. We had no magic or immense physical strength so my people focused on intellect and being a creative and inventive sort.” “W-wow... that’s just so... wow... And- and your people create music like this? I never knew the outlands could produce such things, all the schools say that away from the six domains, there’s nothing but wilderness and savages.” “I’m not from the outlands, or here. I wasn’t a pony either, and what’s a nightwing? I never heard of that type.” “Oh, well, uhm, I guess the outlands might be called other things by those who live there, but, uhm... as for what a nightwing is, well... it’d be easier to show you if there was any light in here.” “That’s not what I me- never mind, and what do you mean light, I can see perfectly fine, even without my glasses.” “Well, that’s one thing... it’s almost completely dark right now, the only light is from a few candles in the hall.” “Huh, I guess Nightwings have good vision in the dark, I can see you perfectly.” Cole emphasized this by booping her on the nose. “Well, of course, you’re nocturnal. And, uhm, what was that for?” “I don’t know, you just look soft.” She just blushed, and squeaked softly. “R-really?” Cole booped her nose again. “Eeyup. Now what kind of music do you want me to play?” “Uhm... do you have anything with a cello?” “I don’t think so, how about this?” Cole hit play, playing a song with a long name, the music playing over the speaker. The bass, heavy rhythm and simple lyrics dragging Summer into the song as they listened. Leaning on Cole as she listened, Solace found her eyes fixated on the tiny device, just small enough, and the right shape, to fit in the hollow underside of his hoof. The two sat as the music continued, and the full five and a half minutes of the song pass. “So how was that?” “W-wow... it sounded so... primal, I suppose. I-I don’t really know how to describe it.” “Glad you liked it, I think it would be classified as industrial metal, not really sure. Wanna hear some of the heavier stuff?” Cole playfully jabbed her. “I- I think I would like that... But, do you have anything with more strings in it?” “I think I have something in mind.” Cole gave her a smile as he selected A Little Piece Of Heaven by Avenged Sevenfold. As the lyrics pour out, and the opening notes drift out. Summer settled in closer to Cole in the dark, smiling at the soft music. When the grimmer parts of the song, though, began to play, she cringed, then winced, then huddled against Cole, forcing him to stop it most of the way through to figure out why his side had turned wet. He looked down at the unicorn, and saw through the gloom that her face was buried in his side, and that she was crying softly. “Y-You okay?” “S-s-sorry... I- I just... that was awful! why would anypony write music a-about k-killing a-a-and eating other p-p-ponies and w-w-why?” Summer sobbed into Cole’s side, barely able to speak around the choking, stifled crying. “I’m sorry, I guess where I’m from things like that aren’t as frowned upon in music. Want me to play something else?” “Y-yeah...” Cole then spent a full minute fiddling with the device, finding a better song through much diligence and effort. Finally, he puts on a song that should be a little more... uplifting. Cole smiles as the song ends, and looked down to ask Summer what to go for next, only to see that she’d fallen asleep on him, snoring softly, her breaths making the lone bundle of hair sticking off the front of her mane drift up and down. Cole just sat there and began to stroke her mane, he kind of felt bad for letting her listen to a song of that nature, ponies and cannibalism aren’t good pairings. Sitting and contemplating the events of the morning/evening/night/whatever, Cole wondered how he arrived. Summer had said something about a rainbow-colored lightning bolt, and something about that set him to thinking. The words kept ringing in his head, and he had a momentary flashback to something about rainbow-colored electricity and some kind of orb. Whatever the memory was, though, he couldn’t focus on it, like a bad dream. Before she woke up he had an idea. He laid her in bed, laid down next to her, messed up her mane a little bit, and simply waited. And waited. And waited. He was patient, though, and waited until his eyes grew heavy, fighting off sleep every moment until he, too finally drifted into rest. Author's Note Well, this is the much-anticipated (by that one guy in the back row. Yeah, you, the one throwing popcorn at the screen) third of six. Yeah, that's right, six. I need to get either a life or an assistant. Anyone got a 1-Up I can borrow?
Ch02 - Walk Before You CrawlWaking up in a warm embrace, Cole realized that he hadn’t slept that well in literally years. Slowly opening his eyes, his vision was bombarded by the bright, fiery colors of the mare that held him close. And if she’d been human, he would’ve been held to her chest, her fuzzy ribcage instead tickling his nose. “Well that was a great sleep, and I’m still a pony, so it isn’t a dream.” Cole’s disappointed muttering was a bit loud, and greeted by Summer’s voice. “Mmph... so warm... and fuzzy...” Summer mumbles her words, then suddenly tenses up. From his position near her chest, he can actually hear her heart skip a beat, and her breathing stop for a moment. “Hello!” Cole was feeling energetic for some unknown reason that morning, maybe it was the fact he actually got some decent sleep. Summer doesn’t respond, except to slowly begin looking down at him, her bright red eyes wide. “What?” “I- I’m so sorry!” Her exclamation startled Cole a bit, it wasn’t the reaction he was expecting. Summer had begun trembling slightly, and her eyes were welling up with tears. “Sorry for what? You didn’t do anything but pass out last night.” Summer lets out what can only be a sigh of relief. “Oh, thank goodness... I was so... I just- I thought I...” Instead of finishing her sentences, she simply holds Cole close to her, a soft, fuzzy, plush hug. “What’d you think happened? I’ll happen to let you know I’m a classy lady.” Cole pouts mockingly. However, the joke seems to go over her head as she simply holds him close and nuzzles him on the top of his head, ruffling his mane. “But why the sudden reaction? And why were you apologizing?” “I- thought I’d... I’d... that I’d... t-t-taken a-advantage of you.” Looking up from his location up against her furry chest, Cole saw that Summer looked absolutely serious. “Huh, in my world this situation would be completely reversed.” Sounding like she was reciting something she’d learned from rote, Summer Solace responded. “ ‘Mares will always be the buffer between the stallion and the world. There is nothing more tragic than the loss of a male.’ My mothers taught me that. We’ve always been a traditionalist family... I- I don’t know what to say, beyond that.” “Wait, what is the female to male ratio in this world? In my world is is a one to one ratio.” “One to one? That’d never work... There wouldn’t be enough mares to raise the family. B-but, it varies based on specific race. I’m not sure about nightwings, but Unicorns have one of the lowest ratios, only about 5:1, while Earth Ponies are about 11:1, and Pegasi are around 20:1.” “No, I don’t mean nightwings, I mean my species, humans. And it did work, quite nicely in most cases” “Doesn’t matter what race. Without two to four mares to raise the foals and protect the stallion, there’s no way any of the sentient races, other than the dragons, could have survived.” “Well my mom did a good job raising me on her own, as did other couples in our world.” “Well, I have read about some monogamists that didn’t completely fail in the end, I suppose if there’s enough time to set precedents and the like, it could work-” “Sorry to interrupt, but we’re really close, I think I breathed in some hair.” Cole coughed, yup, he inhaled a few hairs, their gold and orange colors giving away their owner. Summer shuffles quickly away, looking away and blushing, looking kind of depressed, her ears back and fore legs tucked up against her chest. “What’s wrong Summer?” “I- I just didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable, I mean... I know it’s supposed to be the mares that are outgoing, but I didn’t mean to be so clingy. Y-you’re just so warm...” “Nothing wrong with hugs.” Cole shifted up and wrapped his forelegs around her. “See? The only thing that made me uncomfortable was breathing in hair, gets stuck to the back of your throat, sends you into a coughing fit. Nothing good about it, but snuggles are alright.” Cole emphasized this by snuggling up next to her. In response, Summer put a hoof around his shoulder, pulling him closer. “Well, if you’re alright with it... Oh! I forgot something! I need to go get the staff to make some breakfast! I know you’re probably a little sleepy, ‘cuz of the nocturnal thing, but I know they have some fruits and stuff!” “Actually do you have any meat? I need some protein, and staff? Are you guys rich?” “Oh... I thought only pegasi, dragon-ponies, maredragoras and stuff ate meat. And, uhm, yeah, we’re moderately wealthy... I guess.” “Well I’m a huge meat eater, sorry if that’s a problem, also that’s a nice change of pace to hear that you’re wealthy.” “Well, yeah... did you think just anypony can afford to have marble columns in their guest rooms, and at least two homes in different locations in the country? I mean, I know I mentioned that two of my mothers are in the capital, staying at the estate there, and I mentioned that this is just a villa...” “Ah, well that’s a lot better than what I had. Want me to help with anything or do you just want to cuddle all day?” She shifted slightly, blushing furiously at Cole’s comment. She seemed to think for a minute, obviously debating her answer. “W-well, as much a-as I like b-being here, with you... I, uhm, would actually like to ask a favor, if that’s alright?” “What kind of favor?” “Uhm... my mother, Dawn Light, said th-that I can’t leave on my own, to go explore the world, until... well... until I’m part of a herd.” “And?” “And... well... would you at least pretend we’re a herd? I already have somepony else to fill in, as the third member, so we’d have our minimum and all... P-please? I don’t get to talk with many bucks, and you seem really nice, and I really want to be able to leave but I understand if you don’t want to, I under-” “I don’t mind if we form a herd, but what all does that entail? I’m from a monogamous society so this terminology is unknown to me.” “Oh, right... Well, basically, we’d be, uh... what’s the term?” Summer’s eyes shut in concentration, the most adorable scrunchy face gracing her features as she tried to find the word. “Oh, uh, right! It’d be like we’re a couple! I hadn’t quite understood the context until now. But there’d, of course, be one more member in the group, and I already have a friend ready.” “So polygamy? Alright, would I have to do anything else?” “Mostly just let us nuzzle you and stuff, as if we were dating and stuff.” “I am okay with that, I like the cute stuff, also why not let some of the staff see this, they tell your parents, and the charade goes on from there perfectly?” Summer simply hugged him in response, a faint ‘squee’ noise emanating from her as her plush body impacted his face. She nuzzled the top of his head again. “Thank you! Oh thank you so much! And I don’t need to just tell the staff, they already know my plan. We’ll just need to stick together for a while. C’mon, let’s get to the nearer dining room, and I’ll ask the chefs to make us some brunch.” “Okay, got any steak honey?” She blushes. “I-I- uhm, no, I don’t think we have any meat on the grounds, if only because we don’t employ any staff that eat it.” “Eh, I guess I’ll just eat some fruit then, maybe have a food fight in the dining room, you know, the usual.” Cole poked her stomach, making her giggle. Then, he remembered: I don’t know how to walk. “Oh yeah, can you get up and let me watch your legs?” “Uhh- uhm, sure!” Summer hops up off the bed, eagerly strutting back and forth. Cole carefully studies her as she struts, not looking at the parts she’d hoped. After a few minutes, Summer looked back, beaming brightly at him, though it falters slightly at his serious expression, a hoof under his chin as he strokes his beard, which he’d realized is also deep purple and silver. After another few minutes he raised a hoof signaling her to stop. She did so, and looked like she was awaiting a grade. “Thank you, now to try and walk.” “Oh... right, sorry. Was a little... uh... caught up in the moment.” She seemed a little disappointed, her ears a little further down. “Huh? I just needed to see someone walk so I could mimic their foot movement.” “R-right... Do you need any help with anything else?” “If I fall down and hurt myself medical attention would be appreciated.” Cole said, shakily standing up on the bed, he hopped down, nearly falling, but catching himself. “I- I could help support you at first, you’re not very heavy, at least until you can walk again... if, uhm, you want me to.” “Let me try it on my own first, then you can cuddle up to me if the offer still stands.” Cole took a few slow steps, mimicking her movement, tripping at first, but again managing to not faceplant. After a minute or so he seemed to have gotten it down, slow and steadily he manages to walk toward Summer. “See, I got it, kind of.” Cole looks down to his hooves, hoping they would listen to him. Slowly following Summer through the halls, extremely, indeed almost painfully, bright light streaming in through the windows, whitewashing his vision, and forcing him to squint his eyes. Summer, noticing Cole’s discomfort, whispered something to a passing pony in some dark suit; Cole couldn’t tell what color it was or what color the pony was, the sunlight was too bright. The light suddenly fades, and Cole looked up to see that large, heavy drapes had been pulled across the huge, two-story windows, the lengths of fabric being set into place by a small team of unicorns even as he watched. “Thanks, the light was never kind to me.” “I’m sorry for not noticing, or thinking of it before, I could’ve asked the staff-” “No, no, it’s okay Summer, really, you couldn’t have known.” “I- Should’ve figured, it’s mentioned over and over again that Nightwings see by a fairly advanced organic light enhancer in the preorbital lens.” “Ah, well thanks for closing the blinds though, and could you slow down a little bit?” She slowed with a gasp, her own horn lighting up. Cole felt himself lighten, his steps becoming easier as he felt his weight seem to decrease. “What are you doing?” “I’m trying to lift you a bit, to make it easier for you to walk.” “Or I could just ride you.” Summer stumbled in mid-stride, her magic faltering and dropping Cole back to his feet. “Ah- uhm- ah...” Her eyes went wide, as she looked over her shoulder at his smirking face. “So no piggy back ride then?” “I- uhm- w-what?!” “I was asking if you’d carry me so we could move around the house faster, but this is very entertaining, please explain what you thought I was asking.” “O-oh! Not... right, sorry. I- I shouldn’t have assumed- I mean, I wasn’t- uhm... I’m so sorry, I’m a horrible pony!” “Why are you a horrible pony exactly?” “I- I, uhm, thought you were offering to... well... ah, I- I don’t really know the euphemisms for this...” “Something sexual I assume? “Y-yeah... sorry...” Her ears were flat back against her head, and her blush was visible from behind as her flanks lit up like a lightning bug’s. “Oh you dirty dirty mare you! For shame on you for thinking such horrible thoughts! Why I outta- nah, I’m just messing with you, simple misunderstanding, lets move on shall we?” Summer just continues walking slowly, her horn alight again as she helped carry Cole. “Thanks you sweetie.” Cole stuck out his tongue at her and winked. A few more minutes of walking later, the two ponies made it to the dining room, a massive room lit by candles. Massive white stone columns, presumably marble, were spaced around the room, a huge set of drapes, covering one of the three-story-high walls, was being attached into place by a small army of unicorns in butler uniforms. “Holy shit...” Tapestries run the length of the of the room, near the roof, along with one opposite the new drapes, that spans the entire height of that wall, a massive tree in gold thread twisting across the deep maroon fabric, names attached to the branches by colored pieces of fabric. And if this world was even at the level of sophistication of the show... Hell, it’d be expensive by Earth standards, that maroon stuff looked like crushed velvet. “Summer, h-how much do you guys have?” “Well... uhm... a lot. I-I mean, Silver Sunset, my biological mom, is the headmistress of the Bureau of Information, so she makes at least a small percentage on all books printed, and she’s paid based on her work with the department of schooling, and then Golden Dawn is an artist, and she’s pretty good...” Cole fell over. In utter shock from the money overload, he found himself simply staring at the massive sheet of velvet. Summer ran over, checking on him, but he found he wasn’t hearing anything. Slowly, the world fades back in, Summer peering over him with a concerned look on her face. “What happened?” Cole rubbed the side of his head where he’d hit it falling down. “Well, you passed out when I told you about my family’s financial situation... I thought you might’ve had a heart attack, but thankfully, I caught you before you hit your head too hard. A- are you going to be alright?” “Oh yeah, just kinda shocked me for a minute, all I had was a room half the size of the one I woke up in.” “Oh! I’m so sorry! I didn’t realize things were that bad in the outlands. Uhm... if you’re alright, would you like some food?” “Don’t be sorry, nothing can change the past, and food would be nice right about now, sorry for overreacting.” “It-it’s alright. Uhm, we’ve got some fruit here, and some vegetables, too. One of the chefs even made their specialty hayshakes.” “I’ll try a shake.” Summer helped him to his hooves, and the two of them made their way to the table, which was already laden with trays. It seemed that Summer had invited several of the staff to sit in and eat with them, as they were sitting as well, and a few foals had been set up at the table. Some hushed whispers passed around the table, and Cole felt his ears twitch, which only seemed to prompt another round of whispering. Every pair of eyes were locked on his every movement. “I trust you know what you’re doing here, madame Solace...” Cole barely caught the comment, and it was obvious that Summer, whom it had been directed to and whom was barely a few inches from the whisperer had barely heard it, too. “Excuse me?” Cole stared at the stallion. Summer looked over at Cole, her eyebrow quirked up. The stallion that had whispered to Summer had nervously placed a platter on the table and retreated with a bow. “That is one of the few things that annoys me to no end.” Cole shifted in his chair, something was up with his back. Summer looked at him unsurely. “Uhm, what does? And what’s wrong?” “I heard what your friend said, what exactly is wrong with me that he would warn you?” Summer shifted awkwardly in her seat, and the almost oppressive silence hung over the table as the servants watched Cole like a group of scared rabbits. “W-well... Nightwings don’t exactly have... well... the best of reputations since most of them declared their allegiance to Lady Rubeum. Probably because she uses them as shock troops, and they’re very good at it.” “Well, I have no idea who that is and what have I done to deserve this from you all? And stop staring at me.” The group of servants was suddenly looking anywhere but at Cole, except with sidelong glances and surreptitious looks. “Fine, if I bother you all so much I’ll eat somewhere else...” Cole got up and began walking out of the room. “W-wait, Cole! P-please don’t go! I- I didn’t...” Summer’s voice called out from behind him, sounding almost infinitely sad as she calls for him. “I never said you couldn’t come, I just hate being stared at by everyone in the room, you’re an exception.” Cole hears the shuffling of hooves, and the sound of dozens of sets of hooves moving in another direction. “Th-there, I’ve sent them away! Please come back, I just wanted to sit down for a meal together... I- I usually sit with the staff, and I didn’t think about how they’d react, I’m so sorry!” Cole sighs and went back to his seat. “It isn’t your fault, and it just bothers me that they know nothing about me, yet judge me at a glance. You didn’t, what gives them the right to? Plus do I sound like a soldier?” “W-well, you look like one... sort of. You- you move like an officer, and you’re pretty large, and kind of imposing, and none of them can see you too well, because of the lighting and all... I just didn’t think at all.” “Well you didn’t judge me at a glance and I appreciate that, most people from where I’m from would’ve just left me there, I don’t think I’ve said it yet so, thank you, very much Summer.” Summer blushed in the flickering candlelight. “I- I just did what anypony should... After all, soldier or not, you’re still a person, right?” “A nerdy one at that, and what we should do and what people would do are often very different.” Summer sniffled, then smiled as Cole fidgeted in his seat again. “Th-thank you, that means a lot to me. A-and are you sure you’re alright? I know pegasi sometimes have issues sitting in chairs with their wings, but, that’s usually because of the feathers. “Wings?” “Yeah... You didn’t notice you have wings, did you?” “For a man of science you think I would be more observant of myself more than anything wouldn’t you?” Cole laughed at this, and Summer joined in, her laughter full and bright. The two sat next to each other, and looked at the tray and platter ahead of them, a dizzying array of silver domes “Mind if I sit next to you? Or would you prefer that I sit across from you?” “Next to me is fine. What would you like?” Summer uses her magic to lift three of the lids at once, setting them to the side and revealing small stacks of fruits and leafy greens. Something about the tiny oranges on one of the platters just calls to Cole, and he tries reaching for the tiny, unpeeled fruits. Summer lifts a quartet of them, and Cole, on a whim, sticks an entire one in his mouth, using both of his forehooves to pick up the little fruit. While normally the peel would taste bitter and gross... something about this one was delicious, and he began rolling it with his tongue, sliding across teeth he hadn’t really thought about before. Taking a moment to pull out the miniature orange, Cole looked down at it, and realized he’d peeled it perfectly, and was chewing the peel. It was kind of like chewing a piece of gum, but he really didn’t have a flavor to compare it to, except something like very fresh blackberry and and a strawberry. “Eh loo a dis!” Cole was holding the peeled fruit on his tongue. Summer looks over, then blushes, giggles, and tries not to snort up some food. “Wha tho funny?” Summer just finished chewing, swallowed and pointed, at him. “It just looks so... cute.” She grinned at him, before levitating a few more of the oranges onto his plate. “Ow ith thith coot?” “Idunno, but it is.” She began to reach for another batch of food, this one a pile of green, leafy vegetables and a pile of roses and other flowers. “Or just jealous ou don ave thith tongue.” “Not at all. What would I need a tongue like that for? I’m a grazing herbivore, I don’t need to be able to grab my food with a prehensile tongue to eat it.” “Iunno, I fink oo could find thum yuth fo it.” Cole retracted his tongue as it was drying out, happily chewing the orange. Summer just snorted, the grin not leaving her face she continued to eat. “Why’re you so happy?” “You’re adorable when you eat, that’s what.” “No I’m not.” Cole pouted, sticking his tongue out at her, flicking it, hissing at her. She just giggled and restated that her assertion was correct. After breakfast, Summer asked him to follow her. Leading him towards another room near where the room he had woken in was. The door was bright red, and had a circle in black, with a black six-pointed star inscribed on it, runes inside a double-circle bordering the entire thing. “Huh, I think I’ve seen something like this somewhere, kinda like the pentagram on my wallet turned bag.” “Indeed? Do you recognize what this is?” “I think I should, but at the moment my brain seems to be failing me.” “Well, let’s go inside, and I’ll show you.” Her golden aura of magic opens the door, and it swings with a slight groan, a room that was dark even to Cole’s enhanced vision beyond the threshold. Striding in confidently, the fiery-colored mare’s horn sparks, and candles in dark purple light all around the room. “Alright, now stand over here with me, so that I can summon our other partner.” Author's Note Part two of my traditional 2-part first update. I hope you like the story so far.
Ch03 - Looking For GroupA ring of dark purple candles lit around the room, revealing a large, black star with six sharply-drawn points set into the ground in black stone on white marble. “Alright, now stand over here with me, so that I can summon our other partner.” “Uh, what do I have to do? Do we need a virgin sacrifice or something?” Cole looked at her, and she looked back at him with a brow cocked. “No... why would we need to sacrifice a virgin?” “I have no idea about magic, I’m just shootin’ the breeze.” Summer just shakes her head and uses her magic to push him into the center of a circle with a five-pointed star inside bands of gold, the material of the star and bands embedded in the ground. “Should I really be standing here?” “Yes, unless you want any mistakes to be almost definitely lethal. Or, at least, embarrassing in the extreme.” Summer settled into an identical golden star-and-circle next to his. “Wait, what do you mean embarrassing?” “Well, if I accidentally summon something I shouldn’t and it isn’t more dangerous than a mild nuisance, then it’ll go after the nearest pony in the room that isn’t protected in a guardian circle. Then, depending on what it is, it’ll likely cause something embarrassing to happen... like dying your wings bright pink for a week, or doodle obscene images all over your coat in glowing ink that won’t wash off for a year or more, or try to mount you, if it’s up to it.” “Jokes on them, I don’t mind pink!” Summer giggles at the comment, before becoming serious again. “Still, that’s assuming I get something from the bottom third of the possibilities. If I get something really bad by accident, and you’re in the room and not in a protective circle, it could kill you... or much, much worse.” “Have you even had one mount you or re-color you?” Summer’s ears drooped, and she refused to look Cole in the eye. “I- I only barely got away from a really nasty Nebulous Demon... It could’ve killed me. As for the lesser things... well, I can cast protective skills on the fly, you can’t.” Cole walked over to her quickly and hugged her. “Glad you’re okay, now lets do this right.” Summer smiles and nuzzles him in return, before he returns to his circle. As soon as she was sure he was safely in his circle, she began to charge her horn, golden light pouring from it as it layered over twice, resembling what Twilight’s had in Trixie’s first appearance. She lowered her horn, and the bright, almost blinding light poured in a beam towards the black circle, turning it a shining white. Inside the star in the center, a column of black smoke rises, tendrils of purest shadow lashing out from it and curling through the air. “Who is it who calls me? What mortals dare call me to this realm?” The voice crackled like electricity, but deep and thunderous, reaching past the bones and into the soul, and nearly made Cole simply run from the room, but the fear rooted him the stone floor. “Uh, us.”Sum-” “Shh! Never speak your name aloud near a Demon of any kind!” “Well, shoot, it almost worked... although I already know your name, don’t I, Summer?” Solace breathed a sigh of relief as the smoky cloud began to recede towards the floor, no longer a towering column, but condensing down into a form like a pony with cartoony, small bat-wings and a long, whip-like tail with a spade-shaped tip. “Well, at least I know I got the right demon, Illicita wouldn’t go giving my name around.” “I’m glad you have such faith in me, Solace. How have things been? And who is this handsome buck you’re found?” The cloud had formed into the shape of a lithe, shapely mare, small, cute-sey bat-wings on her back and her thin tail resolving itself as solid black, contrasting with the solid, blood-red coat of the mare herself. “Well you can call me bodybag for the time being.” “Oh, so he speaks! Goody, I enjoy my... conquests able to think for themselves.” The demon mare grinned seductively at the colt. “Hooves off, please, he may be pretending to be shared between us, but he’s his own pony.” “Not my type anyways Summer.” The demon mare pouts at him, but it doesn’t laugh. “That’s alright, I can always get him later. So, Summer, We ready to go wandering now that you have a real stallion to keep you warm at night? Or is that still my job?” Summer blushed furiously, and looked around, biting her lip in embarrassment. “Illi! Please, that’s private!” “Okay, I want to know about that now.” “Please, honey, I’m a succubus, it’s my duty in my immortal life to kiss and tell. And we came so very close doing a lot more than just ‘kiss’ for me to tell about that one time, didn’t we?” “Illicita!” “What’s so bad? I don’t judge.” “She’s just embarrassed we didn’t go any further. I’m a delicious piece of diabolic meat, and she wanted to taste of the forbidden fish between my legs. I’m sure I’ll get to you eventually, Dark-Watcher.” “Thanks for the offer, but I’ll have to decline.” The succubus pony just laughs uproariously, stamping a hoof and ending with a giggle. “So, a challenge it is. This is a trip I’m going to enjoy a lot, and for all sorts of reasons! Ooh, I just love it!” The demon mare is grinning broadly and flapping her adorably small wings, causing her to lift by the shoulders only, her limbs tucked up like she was just picked up by her neck. “You’re coming with us? How can we trust you?” “Well, since, technically, Summer’s bindings can’t work on me anyways, as I know her true name, you don’t have much of a choice. I’m only leaving if I want to, dark-watcher.” Illicita’s voice was earnest, if very full of giggles. “How is she your friend exactly Summer? No offense, but I don’t see it.” Summer, still blushing horribly, starts to explain, her voice oddly level, in spite of her brilliant red blush. “Well, when I accidentally let her loose the first time, she didn’t try to harm me... just, ah, ‘play’ a little. I re-summoned her several times after that, and she’s been really nice every time. And when I accidentally let slip my true name, she never once used it against me or traded it to others.” “And my da- I’m not even going there... Just keep an eye on her.” “Oh, I’m sure she’ll be keeping more than her eyes on me, and I’m hoping you will, too, hunk.” “Once again, no thank you...How clear do I have to be?” Illicita’s voice was still full of laughter as she replied, and there’s a twinkle in her crimson eyes as she spoke. “As I said, I certainly hope for it... and I figure I can get you to try for me eventually, because I’d love to try you in for size.” She fluttered her eyelashes at him to emphasize her statement, and even playfully winked before a full-sized and fluffy pony tail replaced her demonic one, and she landed and the wings vaporized as well. Wrapping her tail around Summer’s, she nuzzles the blushing pony. “I have a feeling I will want to do horrible things by the end of this journey.” “Oh goody, I love it when males do horrible things to me. So, what sort of buck are you? Military? You look like it.” “Even if it involves homicide? And no, I prefer not to associate myself with certain people. I’m a scientist.” “Mmm... good ol’ murder... As long as it isn’t my precious Solace here, that sounds like fun. Now, hmm... a scientist, you say? I love getting the tough cases, you adorable little nerd!” “Illicita, please, stop teasing him, even if he is very adorable.” “You both act like me being adorable is a bad thing, and Summer is safe, I just wish they had semi-trucks here.” Illicita just huffs and rolls her eyes. “Well, that explains the Wandering traces on you, sweet buck, though I suppose you’ll leave me to wonder where you traipsed in from, hmm?” “Earth, bipedal apes, you know ‘em?” “Well, Yes I should say I know it well, or at least a few dozen iterations of it.” “W-wait, wait, wait! what are you two talking about?!” “I doubt she’d believe me about where I come from, given you’ve known her longer care to take a crack at explaining it?” “Well, he’s been dragged by something with rather impressive power here. Most things that can do that can’t keep it too focused, though... Usually you end up with twisty bits of metal or meat, along with similar effects on nearby life. I think a bunch of his kind thought it was some kind of monster going after the cows, and I never did have the heart to the dears it was just a bunch of Olympians trying to see how far they could pull from.” “Did you get that Summer?” “I- I have no idea, Cole. I have no training in interdimensional dynamics..” Cole facehoofed at Summer’s apparent slip. “So much for not using my name Summer, anyways, could you simplify the explanation for her?” “Nah, she won’t get it. She never could understand most of the stuff I had to teach, unless I could give it ‘hooves on’, if you get my drift.” Summer sunk to the ground, feeling useless and left out. Illicita’s laughing demeanor faded quickly at the sight, and she reached down to the unicorn hiding under her own hooves. “I- I’m sorry, Solace. I didn’t mean to hurt you. C’mon, gimme a smile, please?” The demon mare gave a razor-toothed grin, which Summer slowly returned, receiving a hug in for the effort. “Long story short, I’m not from this world as she said, Illicita, can you show her what humans look like?” Illicita nodded, and put down Summer. Boiling away into a cloud of smoke, the column swirled for a few second, before withdrawing into the shape of a shapely, tanned human girl wearing nothing but overalls, cowboy boots, and a stetson hat. “This is about what they look like, at least when I last visited an Earth. I think this was at someplace in some new country, amora-co or something. It was only a few decades old then, and I got summoned by accident. It was a nice decade, I faked being a farmer for most of it, lotsa exercise.” “S-so you looked like that?” Summer is looking up at the curvey human in stereotypical ‘sexy farmer’ clothes with awe, especially the slim, callused fingers of the succubus’ hands. “W-wow...” “Well I was a much more masculine version of that, being I am a male, but that shows the general idea.” Summer kept staring at the form the succubus had taken, until the demon turned back into gas and shifted back to her earth-pony form. “Hey, brainiac, out of the clouds.” Summer snapped out of the trance she was in, and looked down at Cole and Illicita again. “W-wow... That is so amazing! How did you end up here?” “Wait up, Solace, I doubt he’ll be able to remember. Most of the things that can do stuff like that don’t like being noticed or remembered.” Summer pouted, and Illicita patted her on the back. “Yeah, I’m confused as hell-” Illicita winced slightly at the word. “-about it, I’m not sure if I want to go back though, no idea if this place is any better. I’m sure you know of humanity’s mass genocides right?” Illicita just glared at Cole, hugging a suddenly trembling Summer tightly. “You actually have the gall to go bringing up that sort of thing in front of her? I may be a literally heartless demon, but that’s just cruel.” “Sorry, I’m not used to having to censor that kind of stuff. I really am sorry Summer, back there it’s common knowledge.” “Well, learn to zip it! There’s a point where you have to learn to draw a line, and I had forever to learn it, and got it quickly anyways! You’ve only got around seventy years, if you’re lucky!” “I’m sorry, I really am Summer, you okay?” “I- I guess that... that explains that music... earlier...” Illicita glared even harder at Cole at the mention of music. “I didn’t know anything about this place! I’m really sorry!” Illicita stroked Summer’s mane some more, muttering soothing words to the distraught unicorn. Cole stood awkwardly, unsure of what to do, for a while until Summer finally calmed down. Those once bright and cheery eyes held no sparkle as the met Cole’s and he felt a spike of incredible sadness, as he realized that he’d crushed something inside her, entirely by accident. “I’m... Sorry, I’m so sorry Summer.” The mare just turns away, and Illicita guides her out. Cole, not sure of what to do, follows, mildly depressed. Illicita, oddly, turned to the same room Cole had been in before, opening it with a small pulse of purple magic. Stopping at the door and unsure of what to do, Cole shuffled awkwardly, until Illicita spoke up from inside. “Well? Get in here, I’m not going to comfort her on my own, it was your mistake.” Illi’s voice wasn’t quite as pleasant to his ears anymore, and Cole dreaded the possible repercussions of accidentally pissing off the edrich being. Stepping into the unlit room, he cautiously glanced at the bed, a bright orange and red spot marking on it where Summer was curled up. “Summer? You okay?” Nothing but a sniffle answered him. His heart nearly broke in half at that, he really hadn’t meant to cause this kind of damage with his off-handed comment. He hadn’t even realized it would possible to do this. He stepped towards the bed, crawling onto it towards the form of Summer, curled up near the headboard. She flinched away from his touch when he reached out to place a hoof on her shoulder. Illicita, however, would not be deterred, and dragged him and the crying Summer together, wrapping them in a hug from a pony the size of a small car. Summer actively cried into his chest after that, weeping about injustice or about the loss of her innocence, he couldn’t tell, but he held her all the same. Patting and rubbing her back as they lay together, she slowly hiccuped and coughed herself to sleep, and Cole found himself doing the same. The last thing he heard before falling asleep sounded like Illi’s voice, but much softer and kinder. “I hate it when my friends cry...” Author's Note Well, that was something! Oh, and if anyone's wondering, my co-author for this one asked to remain anonymous. Just saying. THANK HYU BYUTEEFULL PEEPUL
Ch04 - Just an Old-Fashioned 'Polgy SongWaking slowly in the grasp of not one, but two mares caused Cole to freeze as he woke, realizing that he was trapped. Remembering the damage he caused last night, though, he just continued to hug Summer tightly. Slowly, Summer woke up in his arms, snuggling closer to him. “You two really would be a great pair to start a herd, you know that? You’d make the most adorable, intelligent, confused babies ever.” Illicita, of course, had to ruin the moment, and make Summer snort into Cole’s chest. “Just shut up and help me hug this little one.” Illicita didn’t reply, simply continued hugging the other two ponies. For several minutes, the trio just stayed in the bed, snuggled close together. Finally, it was Summer who broke up the cuddle session. “We need to get ready to go, before my parents check up on me here.” Illi didn’t respond again, Cole just looked at her. “Can Illi take a more pleasing form for your parents as we work our way out and look like a herd?” “That was the idea, it’s why she’s taken the form of an Earth Pony.” Illicita simply nodded in agreement, her muzzle brushing against the nape of Cole’s neck in the process. “Ah, didn’t notice that, and I’m sorry for last night Summer, I’m a real bastard.” Neither mare deigned to respond, Summer instead wriggling out of Cole’s embrace, abandoning him to Illicita as she prepared for travel. “Oh goody, looks like you’re my gift from her this year.” Illicita’s warm breath tickled his ears as his eyes opened in terror, and he shot from the bed, grabbing the bag with his clothes and stuff as he went, panicked legs carrying him to the door and Summer’s grinning form. He hid behind the fiery-colored mare, bag in his jaws. Illicita just laughed at this and rolled onto her back, snorting and chortling all at once, her voice echoing through the estate as she flopped around, flailing her legs in mirth. “S-Shut up!” “Oh, silly buck, I’m just messing with you, can’t you take a little humor?” “Not when it involves rape.” “It isn’t rape if you’re willing.” She finished her sentence with a wide grin. “Lets just go...” “I’m ready if you are, handsome.” “Just get out of bed before I drag you out.” She simply thrashed her tail a bit, then rolled out of bed, sauntering past Cole with a sway in her hips, brushing his face with her fluffy tail as she passed. Cole found himself blushing furiously for some reason, though he was at an utter loss on why. “Alright, so what do I have to do?” “Well, first you climb on top of m-” “Illi, he meant to get ready to leave.” The demon mare simply pouted at being denied her fun. “Well, Cole, I guess to get ready... do you have any shoes to protect your hooves?” Now that she mentioned it, he noted that his hooves were feeling kind of painful after walking on all the marble floors. “What kind of shoes can I get?” “Well, I think we could easily get some brass or steel shoes for you, or perhaps some boots... wait, you were wearing a set when you showed up here, along with the other parts of your suit.” “Wait, I had shoes? Let me check real fast...” Cole dropped his bag and rummaged through it, finding the four- four? I was wearing two. -sneakers with ease, the black shoes now more like boots, evidently made to fit halfway up his lower legs, the rubber grips now in a horseshoe shape on the bottom. As he rummaged, he realized that the rest of his clothes, a black set of jeans and a soft white shirt, and his black hoodie, all tailored like it was for a pony all along. Getting ready to put them, he thought for a moment, and came to the conclusion that he needed either fingers or unicorn magic. Such as from the mare right in front of him... “Hey, uh, could you help me with all this?” Cole pointed a hoof to the pile of clothes on the floor. Summer nodded, and they began to dress him, until she snickered and stepped away, the glow around her horn diminishing. Suddenly, a pair of hands helped Cole pull the shirt on, stopping when it was only partly on, and the hands quickly drew his pants over his rear legs, copping a feel of his flank in passing. Cursing and struggling to get out without ripping his shirt, Cole rolled on the floor, the hands continuing to put his pants on him, until he heard the sound of a button clasping somewhere near his rear, and he just waited, stewing until Illicita finally fixed his shirt, and he glared at her human face, which was beaming happily at him. After a second, he realized that his wings weren’t actually cramped, and he looked over his shoulder. To his surprise, there was a pair of holes with stitching like the neck of the shirt around them for his wings to stick out of. He also got a better look at his wings, which were a dark, satiny-looking gray. A floating hoodie was next, the dark wool being slipped into place by Summer this time. By the time that had been completed, Illi had returned to her earth pony form, the cheshire grin never leaving her face. Finally, Summer helped him put on the boot-like shoes, and even tied them snugly into place, but he’d be able to slip them on and off with a fair effort. Looking him over, Illicita nodded appreciatively. “I’m a demon who’s a good judge of horseflesh, and you, sweet buck, would be worth top dollar in any breeding stable in the land, oh studly one.” Not quite sure how to take her praise, Cole simply looks at summer who is blushing and looking at her hooves. “T-Thank you? And two questions, why is she blushing and why do you keep complimenting me like that, back home I’m average, I’m average here.” “Well, stud, I have to disagree. I may be extremely biased; you do have genitals, after all. But you are certainly not just average. I have fucked and fucked with some average bucks in my time, and you, cutie, are above average. “As for why she’s blushing, it’s because she’s having troubles saying she wants you to have your way with her, to ravage her with your-” “STOP!” Both Summer and Cole shouted the word at the same time, and even shared similar blushes after the relentless verbal assault from the succubus. “D-Do I even want to know how I am above average?” “Exceptional coloration, strong, corded muscles, such a lovely color of eyes, and a nice pair of wings.” Cole’s mind had backed up for a moment near the end of her sentence, but it restarted when it didn’t go where he had expected it to. “Oh, I’m just glad you didn’t s-” “Also, he’s got some nice junk, if my hunk-o-sense is anything to go by. Which it is, he’s hung like an earth pony over there.” “...Why?!” “Because I’m beyond tactless when it’s funny. C’mon, lighten up a bit! It’s not like anypony here is jailbait.” “But why go that far, the next thing I know you’re going to be telling me my measurements!” “Fourteen and a half by two by two and a third.” “Huh? What’s that?” “That’s in inches. I can give how many cups of your blood it hold when it’s up, if you’d like.” Summer choked on nothing, as Cole face-hoofed. “Why?! And also, how?!” “Oh, you’re much easier to work with when asleep. Don’t worry, I like a challenge, so I only measured it.” Summer just sort of tipped over onto the carpet next to Cole, out cold. “Why?!” “Why not? It’s just a length of meat... a really delicious length of meat, but just another organ in the end.” “ I mean collecting data and all is what scientists do, but how is that relevant to anything?!How did you even manage to do that without waking me?” “Oh, how to explain this...Ah, here comes inspiration! When my music meets your science, they're the biggest of the giants, Illicita began to sing, her voice clear and melodious as sang, piano music filtering in from nowhere. and they'll solve all their problems and throw their troubles away~ay~ay. Cole found himself smiling and bobbing to the beat. When you take the math you know, next to do re me fa so, you can mix them all around, and you’ve got some music to play. Cole felt his soul rise, in response to the music, the world seeming brighter and more comforting. Tomorrow is a brighter day - if we work together. Together we can pave the way - it'll last forever. Just open your heart unlock that prison deep down in your mind. Cole felt himself thinking of just the right things to sing in response to the lyrics she sung, beeps and bloops pouring out of the air around him. “Step up to your console, make some music and breathe in the good sunshine. Tomorrow is a brighter day Cole joined in, finishing the line for her. / if we work together. Together we can pave the way Cole starts the line this time, and Illicita finishes the line, starting the next after it. / it'll last forever. Ilicita, Cole, and Summer all harmonized for the last lines of the song, singing it together, with beaming smiles and cheer all around. Just open your heart unlock that prison deep down in your mind step up to your console, make some music and breathe in the good sun~shiiine! “Wait...Why the hell did that just happen?!” “Oh, yeah, it’s a pony thing.” Illicita responded simply, shrugging, as Summer looked back and forth between them. “Wait, why did I pass out again?” “I described the proportions of his junk, and you freaked out.” “I am still disturbed by the fact that you played with me in my sleep. I need a shower...” “Oh, please, if I was playing, I would’ve touched it with something other than tendrils of pure darkness and shadow. But I’d be more than willing to help you take that shower, even if you don’t want any help getting those clothes back off you...” “I’m going to my corner now...” Cole promptly walked to a corner, sat down, his ears flat back and wings tucked tightly around him. Summer settled in close to him, wrapping a hoof around him in an attempt to cheer him up. “If it makes you feel any better, you’ve got a really nice singing voice...” Illicita’s voice called out from behind them. “But that’s not all he’s got good!” “I wanna go back to my violent music, but I don’t have headphones...” Cole was really depressed by this, can’t a sleep rape victim have his music? Summer simply let him lean against her fluffy side. A nonspecific time for recovery later, they finally get ready to get going. In spite of her lewd commentary, Illicita actually let them sit together and feel better. “Let’s just go, and from now on I’m sleeping in my own sleeping bag or bed depending on where we are.” Summer looked at him with big puppy eyes. “Y-you don’t want to help keep me warm?” Illicita’s laughter echoed down the hall, drawing Summer and Cole’s angry glares in her direction. “I think she’ll help you with that for now, after all, we’re just faking a herd, right?” “Y-yeah, right... Of course.” “Yeah, so as long as she can hold back he incessant need to fuck my brains out, I think we’ll be fine.” Summer just nodded, and turned away with a sigh. They finished packing up for the trip, Cole being saddled with carrying the tent, cook set, several bottle of various drinks, presumably either potions or wine. Oddly, it didn’t seem as heavy to him as it probably should have. “So let’s go before I become a rape victim at the hands of Illicita.” “Are hooves permitted, then?” Illicita’s question is given nothing but a glare from Cole as a response. “Sorry for asking... Anyhow, did we pack everything?” Summer responded by levitating a list in front of her and going over everything on it. “I think so.” “Did you remember the Buttfer?” “What’s a buttfer?” Illicita bursts out laughing, barely managing to gasp out a response. “It’s for pooping, silly!” Summer just face-hoofs. “Okay, well just let me go pack one more thing.” Cole begins to look around the room, but found nothing. Illicita looked at him curiously. “Whatcha need to pack still?” “Well I have my clothes, my pouch, my phone, and my iPod, but I seem to have lost my dignity, any idea where it could’ve gone Illicita?” “Probably in my plot somewhere, wanna go looking for it?” “Probably better left there, I would sooner walk off a cliff.” Illicita just guffawed, as Summer just rolled her eyes, and opened the door, allowing a soft, clear light to stream in. “Let’s just go before I go into anymore thought about it.” The mares agree, and they step out into the world, cool air drifting past, ruffling Cole’s mane soothingly. High above is a silvery, glowing orb, a cool white light pouring down from it. It was almost literally breathtaking for Cole, and he spent nearly a minute simply gaping up at it, utterly fascinated for some reason. “That... is really shiny.” “What is? It’s so dark out right now, I can barely see. It’s really too bad it’s the new moon, I wish I had some moonlight to see by...” Summer didn’t seem to be able to see the soft glow of the moonlight all around, and calling the full, silvery disc in the sky a ‘new’ moon seemed off. Summer also seemed to be a little scared, and was walking very close to Cole. “You okay?” “Y-yeah, it’s just really dark tonight. All I can see are the stars...” “Thankfully I can see fine, tell me where to go.” “A-alright, we need to head down the path...” The two walked together to the edge of the property, following a gravel path. Finally reaching the gate, Cole stops for a moment, trying to figure out where Illicita disappeared to. Right before he could say something, though, her voice rang out from the other side of the gate. “You guys are pretty slow, you know.” “Well I’m slow, and she can’t see anything, not a fast moving combo.” “Doesn’t change the facts... Anyhow, we ready to go?” Illicita huffed in annoyance. “I am, but I don’t want Summer to trip over anything.” Cole spoke, checking in front of her. Trying to guide her around a protruding stump, she nonetheless tripped on it anyways, collapsing into Cole. “You okay there?” Cole asked, he was used to getting hurt so this was nothing new. “Oof, yeah, I’m fine...Ah, would it be alright with you if I, uhm, stuck really close to you?” “That, or I could try carrying you?” “Th-that’s alright. You should be working on strengthening your legs, first.” Summer simply leaned against cole, and he felt her tail wrap around his. It was oddly cozy, but as they walked he noticed some dirt on her face, and he carefully leaned his muzzle over a little to brush the dirt off her cheek. Oddly, this just seemed to make her blush. “What? You had dirt on you.” “R-right, of course...” “What’s wrong?” “N-nothing! Nothing at all.” “Okay then?” Cole was just confused by her. “So, what do you know about biology?” “Well, I know a large amount on the topic, I’ve read everything I could on the subject when I was eight. I kind of grew out of it, though, and moved on to physics. Then, I sort of got back into it with Metabiological Traits in relation to Mythozoology.” “Nice, I focused on non-magical aquatic life, since magic doesn’t exist for the most part in my world. I would say it doesn’t exist at all, but since Illicita knows of it saying that would be false. What types of animals do you like?” “Well, I’m a bit of a cat-lover, but-” “Cats are fucking adorable!” Summer giggled at this, and pressed herself closer to Cole, her warm coat comforting in the cool night air. “I also used to keep a Parasprite in a jar, but it got out one time, when I accidentally dropped the jar. My parents were so mad, I was stuck in my room for two months!” “Ouch, the worst incident I ever had was a large lizard of mine nearly taking my hand.” Cole said as if it were commonplace, Summer just looking puzzled. “Oh, right, you used to have hands... say, what was that like?” “Very convenient, made object manipulation without the use of magic immensely easier and was one of the defining traits that made our species the highest on the food chain.” “Oh... so if you were on the top of the food chain... then you used to be a predator?” “Well we evolved from apes who were mostly herbivores, but we became very predatory later in life when we invented firearms. We hunted a few species to extinction, and had enough food to go around most of the time.” A few moments of quiet later, Summer finally responds. “To... extinction?” “Yeah, when one species becomes endangered it becomes rarer, rare things cost more and are sought after, so they ended up getting hunted or captured to be sold to the rich.” Summer sounded close to tears. “That- that’s so barbaric!” “Many things in both our worlds are, but at least we aren’t cruel like they are.” Cole lightly nuzzled her to try to cheer her up. She just leaned against him more, and sighed. “Yeah... I suppose so.Let’s find a nicer topic. What do you think of dodo birds? They’re a pretty common pet.” “I don’t know, never seen a live one, in our world they went extinct after a massive climate shift, they went a better way than most species.” Cole didn’t mean to lie, unknown to him dodo birds were hunted to extinction, he was lacking in that part of education. “Oh. Well, then, how much do you know about mythozoology? You seemed much more interested in the fact that you had become a pony than what a pony was. You didn’t even have any particular issues with me using magic, in spite of you saying there was no magic in your world.” “Well just because I don’t understand something doesn’t mean I should freak out, it just means I need to study it and learn about it, if I feared the unknown then I should have joined a crusade.” “A what?” “Nothing, hmmmmm lets talk about you for a bit, tell me about yourself.” “Uh... like what?” Illicita made herself known, swooping closer on her little batwings and hovering nearby the two ground-bound ponies. As she came closer, she spoke in a quiet, but happy tone. “Tell him how good you are in bed! How much you want to jump him! Ooh, tell him about that story you’re writing!” “Anything really, I just want to get to know the mare I’m traveling with. Feel free to ignore her sugge- wait, you write?” Cole asked with new interest. Summer blushed and turned away. “I-it’s not that good... Right now I’m just working on a mythozoology text in the meantime. That’s one of the reasons I wanted to start exploring; I wanted to learn more in the field about the creatures I find so fascinating.” “Well I do find the compendium interesting, I am more interested in your other work, care to tell me?” Summer just sort of looked down as she walked, blush still visible on her face. Illicita continued to float along, lounging back on a cloud of darkness as she used her wings like oars. She turned as she floated by, her eyes glowing orange discs of fire in the moonlight. “C’mon, Solace, speak up! He’s actually interested in your work. Maybe you can start talking now, and get to kissing over the details afterwards! And then, I could join in, and then we would start to roll, and it’d be you, then him, then me, and it’d be so good as I-” “Illicita! Please, I- just stop, alright?” Summer snapped at the demoness, who huffed and floated away. “I really do love her, but she’s such a pain sometimes...” “Sorry I brought it up.” Cole felt like this was partially his fault. “I thought you would actually like to talk about it, I know someone back home who did.” A lot, actually... He thought to himself as he walked, chuckling internally at the thought of his self-absorbed fan-fiction writer friend. “W-well, I’ve only got the basics planned out. I’m just starting with the standard formula for an epic: a mare, born to rule a grand estate, is having troubles staying content, so she seeks to travel. Along the way, she meets a band of strangers, who becomes her closest friends, and they find adventure and grand destiny! But, I’m not too good at writing ponies realistically.” Summer chuckled to herself. She looked embarrassed to have told Cole the story idea. “Sounds like what we’re doing right now, except we are still in chapter one, ‘The Escape’.” Cole continued walking, guiding Summer through a bush. His comment sparked a short laugh from her. “Well, I guess so, but I’m not that interesting, and we’re just going off to learn about nature.” “I call bullshit, you’re pretty interesting from my point of view, you are friends with a demoness, you want to explore the world and catalog various creatures, and have an adventure along the way, all I did was study from age five to twenty one.” “Oh, please... I’m just an heiress with a lot of time on her hooves. The relationship with Illicita was an accident. I don’t know if I’d be good on a real adventure.” “Shall we find out then? Also, your arguement is invalid, you’re adorable.” “And what would we adventure for? What quest is available to us? And- and I’m not adorable, I’m too skinny.” “You’re healthy, nothing wrong with that, better shape than I was, I may have been six foot tall, but I was almost two-hundred and thirty pounds.” “Two- th-thirty?! humans must have some incredibly dense musculature to achieve such weight! Even at six feet, which I assume is about the same as a hoof, that’s amazing!” “Yeah, we are a little dense, but some humans get to up to eight feet tall, and the world’s fattest man was somewhere around twelve hundred pounds. And the strongest I’ve seen was a guy who could lift one thousand pounds.” “Twelve hundred pounds?! He must’ve been rich! But, wait, the strongest human you knew could only lift a half-ton? Most earth ponies can lift around that much. And they’re usually only around a hundred and twenty pounds.” “Yeah, we aren’t the strongest people, we are the smartest, we have cures for most diseases, we have explored outer space, our entire planet, and have an average life span of eighty years now, but we have recently found something in our DNA that could possibly extend our lifespan by up to forty percent.” Summer stared at Cole for a moment following that. She seemed like she was processing all the information, until something caught and she asked about it. “Wait, what’s DNA?” “Deoxyribonucleic Acid, the building blocks for all life, plants, animals, bacteria, etc.” “What? What are you talking about? All life is made from cells, not acid. Unless, of course, if you’re a slime-pony, then you would be made of a weak acid.” “Not that kind of acid, although it can dissolve things, DNA is the thing in the nucleus of the cell that tells it how to do everything you need to operate correctly.” “B-but cells are the base constructions of life, how could there be something smaller living in those? And besides, everypony knows, that it’s magic-induced thaumic resonance that allows cells to form in the first place, it’s well documented. Hence, cloning spells.” “We actually managed to clone animals without magic, and yes there are smaller things than cells, my species has studied this topic for over two thousand years of research on the subject. I have a text book in file format on my iPod from college that explains this.” “You have music and books on there?! Incredible!” “Like I said, we are a smart people, we don’t use brute force, we use tools and inventions to do the work.” Summer just begins to beg to see the device. “Can I borrow it? Please? I just want to see what you’re talking about. A whole new species’ text book! Oh, if there’s anything new in there, I could be heralded as a visionary!” “And I would be alright with you taking credit for it, I really don’t like being the center of attention.” “Oh, please, nopony would believe a male could come up with that anyways, whether you did or not.” “On second thought I think I’ll show you later, because me being a male I am too stupid to even work my own technology.” “I didn’t say that! I just said it wouldn’t be credited as possible if submitted by a buck! Nopony else would accept it, unless a mare publishes it!” “Then the world will never know I guess, if the gender of the publisher effects how it is received then this world isn’t ready for it.” Summer just looked at Cole with gigantic puppy-dog eyes, her face a perfect visage of utter sadness and devastation, tears beginning to well up in them. The moment was utterly ruined by a burst of laughter behind Cole, and he turned to see that Illicita was pointing and practically busting a gut. “Oh, man, Solace, you’re such a ham! Such a drama king! Oh, jeeze, that’s hilarious!” “Sorry Summer, this world doesn’t deserve a freebie.” Summer just pouts and huffs, drawing away from Cole’s side, the cool night air almost freezing against the now unprotected coat and skin. “If it makes you feel any better I will let you read something non-educational, a popular fantasy book series.” “Oh, alright.” Summer perks up slightly at the offer, and grudgingly shuffles closer. “Just don’t read anything marked ‘Do Not Read’, I got paid to write some things I don’t think you should read.” Summer nodded at the request, and Cole poked her side. “So... can I borrow it, then?” “Yes you can, but not right now, it only has a few hours left and you won’t be able to finish more than a few chapters, can you think of anyway to charge it? If you’re clever as you are cute then it should be no problem. “Well, most magical devices that can be charged simply need to have a raw mana dump, and that will charge it, with a minor tuning for the elemental frequency. But, since I don’t know how well that will work, with the differences in specifics, then it’d be best if you had something else for me to test it on first.” “Then feel free to practice on the phone I have, it’s in my back right pocket.” Cole immediately feels a tugging and pulling at his flank, and turns to see Illicitaa trying to remove the phone with her teeth. A second mouth opens in her chest so she can speak. “What? I’m just being helpful.” Summer just face-hoofs at the comment, and pulls the phone from Illicita’s grasp telekinetically. “You can form new mouths? That’s new, and pretty cool.” “As a demonic being, I can do a lot with my substance. As a succubus, though, I’m limited on what magic I can cast, how many forms I maintain, and what I feed on. In my case, lust, sex, love, and related emotions/actions.” Illicita seemed awfully proud of herself for being able to rattle off the information on the spot. “So, what else can you form? Multiple appendages?” “Well, if I’m not trying for a specific type of creature, then yeah. Mostly, I just to utility things, you know, tentacles, hands, tongues, penises, vaginas, whatever. Usually on as mobile a base as possible, so clouds and the like are easy and common. Most succubi have access to three to five specific creatures they mimic, in addition to the ‘demonic’ version of the dominant species template.” “Can you turn into Summer?” Summer looked up from her phone she was looking over. “Wait, what?” Illicita found this funny, and began laughing and rolling in mid-air. “Ooh, you want her so bad you want me to look like her too! Oh, man, that’s great! We should totally do that, Solace.” “You take it the wrong way, I’m just wondering if you could and how far would it go in terms of details, would you merely fool someone at a distance or would you be-” Illicita interrupts by growing a horn, losing her wings, and her colors shifting to mimic Summer’s perfectly. She even had the shy, yet confident expression. Speaking in summer’s voice, Illicita responded. “Well, I suppose it depends on how much I know them. Just appearance is easy, and pretty much instinctual, but mannerisms need at least a little while nearby them to pick up. I’m no changeling, I can’t simply ‘remember’ through my form how to act like them, but I’m a very quick study.” “That is actually pretty cool, and why would I want two Summers? We only need one.” Summer and Illicita look at each other, a disturbingly well-mirrored smile appearing on both. They step forward, and begin circling him. “Well, what do you think most Succubi are tasked with doing by hormone-drenched young summoners- “-If not replicating someone they have a deep yearning for, but no way to attain?” The two had started finishing each other sentences, confusing the hell out of Cole. “I know that, but why two Summers? Having two just makes things confusing.” The two identical mares pressed up on either side of him, and nuzzled him. A sudden, uncontrolled blush rose to his cheeks, and he felt his brain blow a fuse for a moment. As his jaw dropped, the one on the right giggled, exactly like Summer, while the one on his left began to laugh uncontrollably at his expression. moments later, she had returned to looking like Illicita’s base coloration, and was still laughing at his locked-up expression. “Wait, before I forget, can you turn into me? I want to see what I look like.” Illicita just kept laughing, rolling back and forth. Summer merely giggled again, and spoke to Cole in her place. “Succubi, all of them, have a hard time doing anything if you can make them laugh for real. Most, as a result, have only a single thing they find funny, but Illicita has an almost healthy sense of humor.” “But what did I do exactly? Not my fault I was being flanked on both sides by adorableness.” “I think it was the cute expression on your face, you looked about ready explode.” “So how long will she be in a laughing fit? Do we have time for you to help me pitch a tent?” Summer just stared at him with a slightly shocked look on her face, and Illicita’s laughter doubled in volume. a slight blush accompanied the expression to Summer’s face, and settled in happily on her cheeks. “What? Aren’t we camping? Did you not bring a tent?” “Ah, oh- right, yeah, I- ah, did. Bring a tent, that is. Uhm.” “You thought I wanted you to help me some other way didn’t you?” Cole playfully jabbed her in the side as Illicita continued her laughing fit in front of them. “Ah- no! no, not at all! because, uhm. that- that would be inappropriate for me to insinuate. To you. And, uhm, I would- uhm, wouldn’t do that. To you. I wouldn’t do that to you!” “Glad to know you wouldn’t do anything bad to me, I can’t say the same.” Summer’s blush moves in its family, and her face practically glows like Rudolph’s nose. Frankly, she looked a bit like a radioactive tomato for a moment, glowing and redder than a tamale. “Why so quiet Summer? Don’t you like pranks?” “Ah- uhm, oh, uhm... uhh... y- yes! Yes! Pranks. I love them. A lot. I like pranks.” If her eyes got any wider he’d be able to serve banquets with them. “Any reason you are so embarrassed? Did you just think of a prank Illicita did or something?” “A-absolutely! That’s exactly it. A prank. That, you know, Illicita did. To me. Or, uhm, not me! Somepony else!” “What’d she do to you?” “She didn’t, it was entirely me! Or, not me, she did it!” “Summer, just tell me what did Illicita, where did she touch you?” Summer’s blush had invited its extended family up for a stay, and it was bordering on worrisome how red she’d gone. In fact, it was likely visible from a distance away, say orbit. “Did she touch you here?” Cole poked her flank immediately after saying that, surprisingly soft. Summer just sputtered and looked incredibly adorable and cute from the blush on her cheeks. “Ah- bu, she- ju...” Summer dropped sideways, into a dead faint, and Illicita continued her laugh, not an intook breath to be heard as her activity slowly waned, leaving her, smile literally wide enough to reach from ear to ear, on the ground, asleep. “Well, looks like we’re sleeping here tonight.” Cole unpacked the tent, and for thirty frustrating minutes he tried to assemble it, he eventually figured it out, he moved both mares inside and fell asleep snuggled up to them. Soon after he was comfortable, and about to fall asleep... the tent falls inwards with a loud Fwump! Sighing in frustration, he just snuggles in and falls asleep. Author's Note Yes, the songs will come for each of them, and it will not let them go. BOW TO OUR NEW AUDIBLE OVERLORDS! I should probably stop typing these notes while sleep-deprived.
Ch05 - DaybrokenThe next morning, he wakes up, a little groggy, to find that a fiery, red-orange landscape is across his view, and his head is comfortably supported by something plush and warm. “Wha?” The fiery visage in front of his eyes shifts a bit, and his pupils shrink and his eyes widen as he recognizes the view as that of just barely to one side of Summer’s plot. “Huh...Back to sleep.” Unfortunately, no matter how he tried, the soft form of Summer across his body and the alluring mare-scent coming off her was incredibly distracting, especially since he had no idea why it was alluring. In fact, it almost smelled bad, but he liked it anyways, and that bugged him to no end save the one above him now. “Damn it.” Cole tried to wiggle out, leading to some ‘mmm’ sounds and some wriggles from both Summer and his pillow. “Carefully...” Cole muttered as he tried to free himself of his small pile of mares, wow, that sounded like bragging. Slowly, Summer is shifted from him, and he sits up, the fabric of the tent still laying around him. “Where’s the exit to this damn thing?” Cole flailed around trying to get out, ultimately failing in his attempt. “Probably near the entrance, but I wouldn’t put stock in that with your tent-raising abilities.” Illicita was already awake, and Summer wasn’t. Cole sighed, and snapped quietly at the demon mare. “Shuddap!” “Hmph... fine...” “Hmph, now help me out of the tent please, I really need to go!” “Go where?” “To the bathroom, and I really hope you aren’t into that!” “What, bathing? What’s the hurry?” “No, bathroom in my world means where you go to take a leak.” “Leak what? You’re not making much sense this early in the morning.” “Since you won’t get it any other way, I have to take a piss!” “Well, why didn’t you say so? The exit’s to your right, a little ways.” Cole began shuffling under the tent material, until he smacked his head on something along the way with a muffled curse. “Oh, yeah, be careful, I think the tent supports fell over there.” “Damn it, just help me outta this cursed tent!” The demoness sighed, and and he felt a warm sensation overtake his whole body, dark smoke overtaking his vision as he was propelled from the tent, smacking his head twice more along the way. Upon reaching the outside, he shouted in pain as bright sunlight hit him dead in the eyes. “Ugh, now to go to the bathroom.” Cole began to walk away from tent only to have the pain of the bright light hit him like a train. With a groan of pain, he stumbled towards a darker patch in his vision, until the warm feeling of Illicita’s helping grasp wrapped around him again, steering him around the tree he had been aimed at, until he was in the soothing shade of the same tree. “You need any help out there, or can you do this on your own?” For once, Illicita’s voice sounded entirely sincere, rather than mocking or joking. “I think I’m fine, I just keep forgetting about being sensitive to light.” “Alrighty, then.” With a hug-like squeeze, the warmth faded, and Cole got to work removing his pants, but quickly grew frustrated as the growing roar of waterfalls and oceans and streams built up in his mind, forcing him to ask for assistance. “I seem to be having problems, but since you’re so quick to try and get in my pants can you at least help me take them off?” A giggle and a quick pull later, he relieved himself, fairly sure he didn’t get himself, but not entirely positive. Pretty good for not being able to able to see and being unfamiliar with pissing this way. “Thank you, now can you help getting them back up?” Two sets of giggles answer him. “Oh come on, it’s not like I can, I’ve only been a pony for three days!” “Oh, that’s not what we’re giggling at.” The voice was Illicita’s, and it was right next to his ear. “Haha you can see my junk, can someone just help me? I am not waddling all over the place!” “Well... that would be kinda funny...” “Would you also find it funny that I woke up with Summer almost shoving her plot in my face?” Illicita’s laughter answers for her, while Summer doesn’t speak up. “Well, can someone help me? I’m basically blind here!” “Alright... I’m sorry...” “Solace! Don’t give in! make him waddle for a while, we can make quacking sounds!” “That’s just mean, Illy, so no.” “Yeah, don’t pick on the blind guy, I’m already at a disadvantage here.” Cole feels a slight pinch as his pants are pulled up, the seam of his pants a little uncomfortable in his crack. “Alright, now is there anyway for me not to have to close my eyes during the day? Otherwise I’m going to have to hold onto Summer and have her lead me around.” “Well, we could use a thick blindfold, with just enough light getting through for you to see! Oh, but we don’t material for that...” Summer’s response came slowly, and she shot herself down quickly. “Just use some thin fabric, if we layer it I should be fine, and trust me, you don’t want to have to lead me around everywhere.” “We don’t have any fabric though.” Illicita chimed in, “Hey, while you two chat this out, I’m going to go scout ahead.” “Damnit, looks like you’re being my guide dog, here Summer, here girl!” Cole could almost hear her pout at the joke. “What? You want me to just wander aimlessly into certain death? Or are you just embarrassed you showed me your plot?” “No! Never!” “So you wanted to show me your bottom? Well, mission accomplished.” “What? No! I- I meant I didn’t want you wandering into certain doom! A-and I’m really so-” “Don’t apologize, it’s not like it wasn’t a good view.” Summer just sputtered, trying to form coherent words. “Come on Summer, be embarrassed about your flank later, I’m driving blind in a minefield here.” “A- a- what?” “A field full of explosives, now get your cute flank over here.” “My- You think I have a cute flank?” “You’re cute, and you have a flank, by transitive properties you have a cute flank.” Summer simply stood in place, just barely visible in the white glare of the world. “Hello? Are you still there Summer? Hello?” “Uhm, ah, yeah! Y-you, ah, want to start going now?” “Alright, where are you, I need to hold onto you so I don’t get lost.” Cole flailed around for a moment, finally finding something by smacking it with his leg. Summer yelped slightly as he did, and he announced his triumph happily. “I found you!” “Y-yeah, you did...” “What’s wrong? I got your back, right?” “N-nothing’s wrong... but no, that’s not my back.” “Then what am I holding?” Cole squished whatever he was holding, eliciting a happy-sounding squeak from Summer. “Oh... nothing much.” “What am I holding? Seriously, are you ticklish here or something?” Cole squeezed it again, and she made a sound halfway between a giggle and a purr. “My cutie mark.” “Oh...Sorry.” Cole traced his hoof up to the middle of her back, and she shivered under his touch. He felt her lean towards him a little. “Don’t be, I don’t mind... at all.” “Okay, once again, sorry.” Summer just sighed at his apology, and the mare began leading Cole along, as he held his one hoof to her back and walked slowly along with the other. After a few minutes of walking, Cole felt Summer’s tail drape across his back and circle his own tail. “Tail holding? Oh yeah, we’re pretending to be a herd.” “Yeah... Pretending.” “What’s wrong? Did I say something?” “N-nothing, Cole. You’re fine.” Illicita’s voice almost made Cole jump, and it came out of the air a bit above him. “Damn right, he’s fine! So, you two love nerds ready for some social interaction? There’s a town just a few hour’s walk away. So, can I join this back-scratching parade?” “Sure, just watch where your hoof goes, I already messed up.” “Oh, I’ll make sure it goes were I mean it to.” Cole felt a hoof come to rest on his own flank. “Even blind I’m pretty sure I should’ve have seen that one coming.” “Too late, the invite was given.” The sound Summer face-hoofing was audible all down the line, as Cole felt the hoof on his flank start kneading it. “Let’s just go before she gets any further.” Summer tugged him a bit faster towards the town, Illicita’s hoof falling off his backside. The three ponies continued onward, the demoness occasionally groping his butt again, each time being fended off hurriedly. Finally, she stopped as the sound of speech caught Cole’s ear. A large crowd of voices mixed and mashed together, jumbled up and incomprehensible. “Why is it so loud all of a sudden, I hear nothing but indistinct chatter.” “Loud? There’s nothing around. I can’t hear anything.” “Yeah, I hear a lot of people up ahead, are we in town or something?” “No... the town’s a good ways down the hill, still.” “Then how the hell can I hear them?” From down the hill, a single voice stood out, shouting something about carrots being for sale. “Ooh, carrots are for sale!” Summer stops entirely. “How do you know that? We’re still a long distance from the village!” “I don’t know, I just hear things, and apparently the carrots are fresh.” “B-but...” Another voice called out fromt the village, this one sounding angry. Something in a mare’s voice, yelling about a lazy colt. “And now some mare is being sexist.” “What?!” “I have a feeling that this is going to be painful.” “W-why?” Summer sounded worried, and stopped walking again. “If I can hear them this far away, imagine how loud they’ll be in person, I’m going to need some migraine medicine.” “Oh, I am so sorry! I never thought this would happen! I- I should’ve guessed, based on your ear structure that you’d have enhanced hearing, but I forgot and today is market day, and I didn’t think to bring headache re-” “It’s fine, let’s just hurry through the louder part of town with the mean mare and carrot guy. On a side note, can I have some carrots?”pp Summer agreed, and the three ponies, one blind, walked into town. Eventually, the noise was too much, and Cole was forced to be carried, because he couldn’t walk from the wall of sound. “Thanks, that mare really hates her colt. And those twins, wherever they are, need to shut up already!” Summer huffed and responded. “It’s probably a result of her being stressed, he’s likely just a bit behind or something, and the stress is making her angry. I’m sure he’s normally a perfectly good worker.” Picking the conversation from the crowd, Cole caught a piece of the mare and her colt’s dialogue. The mare was yelling about it being his thirtieth mess up in the last two days, and that the cookies aren’t going to bake themselves, even with her help. “No, it’s just the fact that he sucks at cooking. Lets just go find a hotel or something, and if I have to share a bed I call Summer’s.” Minutes of headache-inducing racket and careful maneuvering later, Cole gasps as the light suddenly departed from its relentless assault on his eyelids, and he cracked one open. Summer had carried him into a building, looking like a tavern from a fantasy novel, and that the ceiling had granted them a reprieve from the light. The noise, on the other hand, was only worse, every bar patron talking or muttering. Clutching his head, Cole could only watch as Illicita, disguised as an earth pony mare in purple and blue, walked up to the bartender. After a few minutes of conversing, Illicita came back, and led them up the stairs. “This place hasn’t changed in three centuries. I love places with real history to them.” “What history? Did you have an orgy here or something?” “You’d like that, wouldn’t you? But no, I helped the original owner build this place and just posed as my own great granddaughter. Got us a discount.” “You had kids? Oh crap.” “Nah, but they didn’t know that. Just look very similar and tell them the code I made sure the original builder remembered. Shouting it right as we finished each night really made it stick for some reason.” “I am not surprised by that in the slightest actually.” Illicita just chuckled, and the group settled into a room with a red door, while the rest had plain brown doors. As the door shut, the deafening din finally died away completely. “Thank you, finally I can think. Oh, wait, Summer, you remember those circles we stood in? They look like the pentagrams on my hoodie and wa-er, money pouch, can they do anything?” “I looked them over, and they lack the proper materials and the runic portions of the bindings, but things could replace them rather nicely.” “Like? Anything to stop people from stealing my money bag, or to help heal me? I really do get hurt a lot.” Summer paused and thought for a moment. “Yeah... things like that could be done. But we’d need somepony who could cast the runes, and replace the symbols with the proper equivalents.” “I’m in no rush to get anything done, if we find someone to do it, great, if not, you’ll just have to keep a few bandages in stock when I’m around. And now my headache is gone, sweet.” With the lack of noise and the lack of windows, his headache had, in fact, faded away. Summer looked really exhausted, though, and even Illicita was curling up on the massive bed. “You two helped a lot today, thanks.” Cole hugged Summer since she was closer, and she hugged him back, dragging him towards the bed. “C’mon, I’m tired.” Summer yawned on the last word, Illicita already curled up on the head of the bed. Cole and Summer slowly snuggled into place, warm and comfortable. “Anything I can do to thank you Summer?” “Would you mind not sleeping in your clothes? It’s a bit weird holding you like this.” “Fair enough, help me get them off, I also don’t think I will be wearing pants anymore, too much trouble.” After a few more careful adjustments and her helping him, they got him undressed, and the two ponies curled up on the bed together. “You really like it when I’m naked, don’t you?” Summer just blushed vividly. In place of an answer, she just buried her muzzle in his chest, rubbing the top of her head against his chin, his tuft of beard-hair tickling her horn. “You’re a cuddly one tonight, aren’t you?” Cole began stroking her mane, and she just snuggled closer. Cole kissed the top of her head before dozing off as he stroked her mane. The two began falling asleep, as Illicita puffed into dark smoke. Curious as to where she was going, but not willing to get up, he slowly fell asleep wondering... Waking up, Cole yawns as he rubs the sleep from his eyes. “Well that was comfy. You awake yet Summer?” Cole looked down at the sleeping unicorn against his chest, her forelegs wrapped tightly around his barrel. Her face, almost angelic in its fiery colors, was still covered by the mask of sleep. “Damn that’s cute.” Cole booped her horn out of boredom, causing it to glow slightly in response. Intrigued by this he continued to boop it. The glow steadily brightened, and he noticed that her face was buried in his chest again, just in time for a spray of glowing sparks to hit him in the face. They tingled slightly, and left glowing tangerine patches on his coat. Cole deadpanned for a moment. “Wha-What was that?” Summer just moaned slightly in her sleep, a slightly glowing and happy expression plastered on her sleeping face. “Did I just... God damn my curiosity.” The glowing patches were slow to fade, and he looked around worriedly, expecting some sort of joke to be made at his expense by Illicita. Oddly, she didn’t seem to be around. There was some heavily filtered light pouring in from a thickly-covered window he hadn’t noticed before. His sensitive eyes made the thin light work to illuminate the entire room, allowing him to spy bookcases and shelves of writing materials and bottles of some sort. It looked like a medieval chemist’s room, minus scorch marks. “Those look like fun, I hope they have the ingredients for thermite.” Cole had the heart of a pyro, and the destructive nature of a child when it came to chemicals. “Mmph... Cole? Wha- what smells like citrus fruit?” Summer was waking up, and a quick sniff revealed that his still-glowing orange marks were what smelled like tangerines. “Hey Summer, and now that you mention it something does smell like oranges.” “Weird... I don’t remember having any, and they’re out of season anyways. The only other thing that smells like that is my... Why is your face covered in glowing spots.” “Your horn exploded when I tried to wake you up, sparks came out.” Cole was hoping she wouldn’t ask anymore, last thing he needed was for this situation to get even more awkward, if it just happened he can brush it off and move on. Summer just stared at him, her bright, golden eyes wide. She starts to open her mouth to say something then stops. “You... you played with my horn?” Her face was going from orange-white to scarlet red. “I had no idea what it’d do, no one on my planet has anything like it, I was just poking you to see if you were awake.” “Y- you played with my horn...” She sounded like she hadn’t heard a word of what he’d said, and had an oddly dreamy look on her face. “A-and you did it... until I released.” Well, when she put it that way... “I guess I did, sorry, I was just-” He was cut off by her lunge for him, her forelegs wrapping around his neck as she pressed her lips to his. Least to say, Cole was caught off guard, his eyes wide. “No need to apologize, you can play with my horn any time you want.” She nuzzled her face happily into his chest, a big grin on her face. Pausing for a moment in the moment of shock, a niggling, evil thought crept into his head. ‘Where’s Illicita?’ “H-Hey Summer, where’s Illicita?” “Wait, she’s not here?” Summer looked up, peeling herself from him as she looked around. Taking a look at the door, she began to shuffle off of the bed. “Where could she have gone? It’s not like her to disappear like this. She usually hangs around me.” Straining to remember the previous night, Cole vaguely remembered something about her leaving via smoke-form. but can’t remember any details. “Well, I did see her go poof last night, like a puff of smoke, does that mean anything?” “Just that she was largely incorporeal when she started moving around. It’s not a common thing, nor common knowledge, but even shapechangers like herself can’t actually turn truly incorporeal. She just became vaporous. It’s why vamponies supposedly can’t stand mirrors, they can’t go through the glass.” “Huh, she’s full of tricks isn’t she? So, any idea where she went? I would’ve thought this morning’s events would’ve caught her interest.” “Well, I have honestly no idea. I- I’ve never actually been down here to the village before. In fact, I’ve lived my whole life on one estate or another. as for her being full of tricks, well... she could’ve descended any time she wants, but I think she sticks around so I’ll still know her name.” “Then what could’ve happened? Does she have a time limit as to how long she can stay here?” “In order, I don’t know, there shouldn’t been any seers, zebra shamans, or spirit hunters around here, and no, she can stay as long as she has some sort of tie to this world. Usually demons use their summoners as that tie, but some are bound to objects instead, forced to endure the slow burning away of their essence over the course of however long the talisman is active.” Summer shuddered at the explanation, looking vaguely upset. She looked once more at the door, looking like she wanted to get going to look for her friend, but she seemed conflicted. “What’s wrong, don’t you want to go look for her?” “I- I do, but I can’t bring you along. It may be the evening, but there’s still a lot of ponies and lots of light still around, I can’t just carry you around all the way.” “I have an idea actually, do you have earplugs and some thick cloth?” Summer looked at him for a moment, before digging into a bag. From it, she pulled a scarf-like length of cloth, solid black, with tasseled ends. “I- I have this, but what are ear plugs? The name sounds kind of explanatory, but I’ve never heard of them before.” “Ear plugs are little rubber plugs, normally attached to both ends of a length of string, we put in our ears so we don’t damage them from extremely loud noises, like large explosions.” “What’s rubber?” “Damn, you guys aren’t that advanced yet, well, a large amount of cloth should help block out the sound just as well.” Thinking back to the previous day, in which he was nearly deafened even with a solid oak door between him and the marketplace, he faltered. “Actually, the cloth won’t work, do you have any ideas?” “I could cast an incarceration spell, but that would leave you blind, deaf and mute. It’s... not very pleasant.” “Umm, is there anyway you could weaken it so it only lessens the senses as opposed to blocking them entirely?” She shifted uncertainly on her hooves, not looking at all sure. She appeared to be weighing multiple choices, her head tilted adorably. She kinda reminded him of Twilight from the show, trying to make a difficult decision. “Well, I’m no good at improvised casting. I’ve mostly learned by rote. I may have a lot of versatility, but I’m kinda bound by what I’ve learned directly.” “Hmm, well, this spell would do the job. We may not be friends, but she’s important to you so I’m more than happy to help.” Summer still looked indecisive. “I- I just don’t want to cause any problems. The- the other problem with the spell, is that, well... Idon’tknowifIcouldtakeitoff.” She spat the last line of words at top speed, the individual consonant sounds blending together. “Could you repeat that? All I got was ‘I don’t’.” “I- I don’t know if... if I could take it off afterwards. I can only cast stronger spells because I practised them a lot. This would actually need to be overpowered.” “Well, I don’t want to be a burden so I think I should just wait here, you know, for moral support.” “I- yeah, that sounds good. I’m sorry I have to leave you here.” “Wait, before you go, is there a way to check the room for anyone who made themselves invisible?” Summer just looks at him funny. “Who’d use an invisibility spell in a room this small? I can’t even think of anypony who could cast one and remain hidden in here, unless they were Ninjaponese.” Cole just mentally laughed at the term she used for ninjas. “But how do we know she didn’t? She is a demon after all.” “She’d still need to keep vaguely consistent mass. Conservation of mana, after all.” “I don’t know, I feel like she’s setting me up for something. Paranoia and all.” Summer just shrugged, sighed, and closed her eyes as her horn lit up a soft orange. Quietly wiping his face in memory, he felt his cheeks warm. She just turned around the room once, then stopped. “No, there’s nopony here besides you and me.” “Well then where did our favorite demoness go? I know you aren’t her because of what happened earlier, I doubt she would’ve stopped with the ‘horn play’ as you called it.” Summer just blushes. Stammering as she speaks, she tries to explain. “W-well, it’s really n- nice to have somepony to p- play with something as s-sensitive as a horn... i- if they don’t mind, that is. B- but I don’t know where she went, I already said that.” “Crap, what if something happened? Did she get caught?” “I don’t know!” Summer looked near tears now as he kept questioning her, making him feel bad in response. reflecting back, he thought about how much his emotions were on a seesaw, swinging back and forth so easily. It was really unlike him. “I’m sorry Summer, I didn’t mean to upset you.” Cole walked over and patted Summer on the back to calm her down a little, and she sniffled. Nodding and composing herself, she began to speak again. “Alright, I’m going to make use of my reading about searching for fugitives to try finding her. I think I can modify the process to not involve tormenting or the use of memory purging spells.” And she was upset by the talk of torture? What? “You know torture and memory purging spells? Damn, what else do you know?” “W-well, I kind of did go through mother’s collection of contraband tomes that she had saved from being destroyed during the various information purges... and that one talking book was really nice to me.” “Damn, you’re more like me than I thought.” She just shrugged and dug into her bag again, her plot raised towards him as her silky tail swished side-to-side while she searched for something. “You know, with how often you show me your plot I would think you were taking tips from Illicita.” “W-what? I- I’m not showing it off! My tail is still down, a-and I’m not even presenting!” Cole just laughed a little at her reaction. “Wait, what do you mean by ‘presenting’?” Summer backed up a bit, in order to get fully from the confines of her bag, which she had been almost shoulder-deep in, head and all. “Well, according to the anatomy and breeding books I read on the subject, a mare would raise tail and spread herself by muscular contractions, thus ‘presenting’ herself. Also, she’d use her raised tail to swipe the colt’s nose, applying her scent to him and making him aroused. Then, to put it bluntly, they fuck.” She says the last sentence with a furious blush but a perfect poker face. Cole laughs loudly at her last statement. “Damn Summer, I didn’t think you could make that funny.” “How is that funny? It’s biology! All the funny jokes are in geology!” Summer sounded honestly indignant about the whole thing. “It was funny the way you politely explained it, then finished with, ‘they fuck’.” “W-well that is the common colloquialism, right? Or, wait, you wouldn’t know, not a local... Oh, fudge it all!” Her serious expression and completely mixed vocabulary proved too much for whatever shredded remains of Cole’s poker face he had left, and he fell to the ground, laughing so hard it hurt his sides. “Summer, stop it, you’re killing me with cuteness!” Cole was still rolling on the ground in laughter. With a huff she returns to digging around in her bag, finally taking out a battered brown book, with what definitely looked like... leather? It was bound in leather? “Is that leather? I didn’t think ponies had that, considering what it’s made of.” “Uhm... yeah. It’s made from griffin-tooled leather. They’re pretty ethical about it, too. And it’s not like pigs or cows are people.” “Are they sentient like us, higher intelligence?” “That’s been debated before, but they’ve failed every probing test. Piglets are still cute though, and as such I refuse leather made in the Idder desert.” “Seems fair to me, so, what’s in the book?” “My notes. It’s got several layers of compression spells on it, so it’s actually more like five or six books in one... but I still seem to run out of room, somehow.” “That is kind of cool, so what’s in it? Science, physics, history, math, politics, more spells, your favorite book series?” Cole said the last part of the sentence almost too fast to comprehend. “Uhm... my diary. And my casting notes. And other doodles I did in my spare time. I’ve had this since I was five.” “You keep a diary? They say those are good for venting and relieving stress, I probably should’ve kept one.” Summer just shrugs. She looks into the book, flipping past pages that don’t seem to get her any closer to the back of the book or further from the front. Pausing every now and then, she ‘hrmm...’s and ‘yeah’s a lot, nodding each time to herself, leaving Cole to sit it out and shift from hoof to hoof uncomfortably as he sits on the bed. “What did you write about in your diary? Am I in there yet?” Cole’s short attention span was getting the better of him. “Hmm? No, not yet. I need to start updating my diary again. I’ll just pour out my memories into it tonight. Say, this spell says it needs some Nightwing tail-hairs, c-” Cole tried to pull a few hairs out from his tail, only to have none come out. “Huh, they don’t want to move, also, ow...” “So is that a yes, then?” “Yeah, they need to be cut, I think if I pulled them I would also take off some skin.” “Well, you’re right about one thing... and I can’t cut them for them to work as reagents.” She shot him an overly-large grin, an apologetic look in her eyes as her horn lit up. “Just do- FUUUUCK!!!” The pain was comparable to having one’s nose hairs removed by getting them stuck in a motor, and yanked in succession all in a row, then replanted, and having the process repeated a few times. That was for the first hair, and she needed four more. “Damn it, any way you can do them all at once?” “I might end up taking your entire tail off that way!” “Fine, just do it really quick then, just get it over with.” Sitting on a block of conjured ice, Cole had tears in his eyes. He could honestly say that, in all of his years of accidentally injuring himself, he’d never been in that much pain before. And Summer wouldn’t stop apologizing. “I’ve cracked my head open, busted out all my teeth, taken a metal rod to my knee, a wood chip stuck 2 inches in my leg, and yet pulling five tail hairs tops the list...” “I’m so sorry, I forgot you weren’t aware of the thaumotological connection of the tail to your magic, due to your species! I’m so, so sorry!” “It’s okay, but damn, how does this top getting a metal plate in my head?” “I’m so sorry! A-and, well, with your body attuned to feeling your entire thaumotological field, having a chunk of it ripped out is pretty painful, at least for nightwings, unicorns, crystal ponies, and-” “Summer, stop apologising, it isn’t your fault. Would a hug help?” She sniffles and accepts, before suddenly pulling away in a panic. “Oh, oh no! I forgot about Illicita! I need to get going, bye-bye!” And with that outburst, she turned, grabbed something from her bag, and ran from the room. The light from the window was somewhat less, but not by much. She must’ve been wrong about what time it was. “Now what? I’m sitting on a block of ice, my ass is nearly frozen, and I can’t go outside...” Waiting for a moment, he decides to wander to the door, see if he can hear anything through it. Sure enough, pressing his fuzzy ear (I have fuzzy ears!) to the door, he could actually hear someone in the hallways beyond. Two someones, in fact. “I heard she’s some sort of agent from the Bureau of Information. She had some sort of bat-guard with her, and you know how nasty those are.” The first voice was feminine, and spoke in a gossipy way. The second voice was also female, and a little higher pitched, maybe younger. “I- I dunno, that sounds pretty risky. why would you risk bringing in a thing like that?” “Maybe she’s going to be searching for more blacklisted books. It’s just not worth learning to read anymore, it can get you killed these days.” Cole cracked open the door, hoping to hear a bit more clearly. “Now this sounds interesting.” The two gossipers continued chatting. “I hear that it’s almost illegal just to cast magic without a licence for it in the capital. And then we have agents crawling over the villages now... Makes me glad I’m an earth pony.” “From what I heard, they caught some sort of demon-spirit or something. It was sneaking around outside last night, but that new group of spirit-hunters caught it. I rather liked the show, even if it was a group led by a colt of all things. So scandalous...” Grumbling from behind the door, Cole muttered to himself softly. “What is with the gender hate here, geez?” Oblivious to his eavesdropping ears, the two continued to talk. “Still, they did do a rather nice job, and that colt had such fine, rippling muscles... I know I’d have a go at him if he was still open... but with four mares already, I could see that being a problem. As for that demon- that scares me! How could the Bureau go about letting such horrid things loose?” Cole sighed. “And back to sex, what a surprise, but damn it Illicita!” “Did you hear something?” “I think it came from that door... the red one. It’s open a little.” The sound of hoofsteps advance towards the door, and Cole realized he has no idea how to grab the door and pull it back closed. In a panic, no idea what to do, he hid under the bed. The door creaks as it opens, a shaft of light from the hallway pouring in. “Oh, my! This place must be for the bureau’s agents to concoct their evil spells!” It was the younger-sounding one, of which he could only see the ankles down of. She had nice, brown fur, with light tan hooves. Next to her was the older-sounding one, in gray. they were moving closer to the bed. Cole saw the gray one begin to step closer to Summer’s bag. Cole didn’t want them digging through Summer’s stuff, so he quickly got out his iPod and began to flip through his songs, looking for something to scare them off with, within moments he finds it. Before he could play it, however, the younger one said something that stopped his blood cold. “Hey, don’t go into that! It might be trapped. But what’s under the bed?” With no other options Cole went to hit play, encountering difficulties hitting the play button. About to hit it, the mare looked under the bed. In shock, he stared at the the mare’s face, an aroma wafting to his nose. “H-hey there? W-what’re you doing under the bed?” “You found something?” “Avoiding the light.” Cole hoped his half assed answer would put an end to their curiosity, however unlikely it might sound, he was not a people person, especially under these circumstances. “Ah... why don’t you come out then?” “What is it, Marigold?” “Go shut the door, Silver Pendant, I think he can’t come out in this light.” “What is it, Marigold?!” “I think he’s scared!” “Will you just answer me already?” Cole just shivered and looked back and forth, Marigold still looking under the bed with a kind expression, interest or curiosity in her eyes. “What do you two want?” “M-Mari... step away from the bed, we don’t know if he’ll bite!” “I’m as likely to bite as you are Silver Pendant...” “Did you hear that! He’ll bite!” “Th-that’s not what he said, Silver!” “Now will you please leave and shut the door on your way out?” The gray mare had already backed her way to the wall near the door, but Marigold was still staring at him with those big, warm eyes... “What do you want from me?” “Uhm... would you come out from under there?” “Isn’t your friend scared that I’ll bite her and drain her body of all its blood?” “You can do that?!” Marigold sounded more enthusiastic than frightened by this idea. Silver, on the other hoof, was looking as terrified as Cole could guess, with only her knees down visible. “M-M-Marigold, I- I think we should get out! N-now! H-he might come out here!” “No, I can’t, I eat fruit, not ponies, I can’t believe she believed that.” The two mares seemed kind of unsure, and Marigold looked a little disappointed. “What will it take to get you two to leave?” “I- I already do!” “Come out here, so I can lookit you!” Cole was a bit off-put by the two answers. “You can let your friend leave first, she’s too loud.” Silver looked like she wanted to bolt, but it was evident that she didn’t want to leave her friend. “If you won’t leave then just shut the door and stop yelling, this isn’t the market, there’s no need for such noise.” “A- alright... I- Uhm, I’d b-better be here. To make s-sure nothing happens.” Silver sounded nervous as hell... And Marigold had only backed up enough that he’d be able to get out, not much more. “Alright, as long as you two don’t jump me nothing will happen.” Cole said, crawling out from under the bed, sticking his iPod in his hoodie pocket. Standing up, popping his back loudly, the bed was really uncomfortable. “Happy?” Marigold just stood there, her tawny mane tousled and oddly attractive to h- NO! BAD BRAIN. Silver, on the other hand, was pressed up against the wall nearest the door, up on her back hooves to keep her as physically far away from him while still able to runs screaming as possible. “You’re so... muscley. Isn’t he, Silver?” “Y-yeah, now can we leave?” “Just a sec, I wanna touch him...” “I wouldn’t mind if you both left, my herd should be returning soon.” Cole just wanted them gone, Marigold was a creeper and Silver seemed to be the only one with any common sense. “B-but your coat looks so soft... And your wings- they look really nice...” Marigold had stepped closer, and a strong, pleasant scent accompanied her. “Silver, take Marigold back before I do something I’m going to regret...” Cole’s eye was twitching, something was bothering him to no end about this mare. at the same time, something seemed really, comforting. But still off. What was going on here? “M-Mari, he knows our names! I don’t wanna be blacklisted!” “Then, we should oblige his every need, as best as we can!” Something about that sentence set off every red flag in Cole’s head at once. Immediately, something to do with brakes and trains came to the forefront of his mind. Backpedalling verbally, he tried some tact to avoid the suddenly-obvious issue. “What I need right now is a quiet room to myself! Now get out before my herd comes back, or I’ll kill us all!” “K-kill us all? M-Mari. let’s get going! Please!” “B-but Silver, he’s so gorgeous!” “Mari! We’re leaving, now.” The gray mare reached out and snagged Marigold’s tail, and dragged her to the door, swinging it open and racing out, a pouting Marigold behind her. Cole ran over to the door, grabbed the handle in his mouth and closed it, ignoring the taste. “What the hell is wrong with this place?!” Cole sighed and went back under the bed, right now he just wanted to pretend he wasn’t in this world. Hiding from everything, he turned on the music and listened until he could fall asleep again, wishing he could leave and get some food, but not too sure if that would be a good idea with Marigold still wandering around... Not to mention if he were to make that threat outside it wouldn’t end well. Author's Note Owch, that must've sucked... Well, at least some good seems to be coming from having an ancient demoness with the group, right? Anyways, as always comment about anything in the story you want or feel the need to. Also, Hamsters.
Ch06 - Spirited AwayAfter listening to some of the theme music from his League of Legends folder he felt a little better, not by much though, he was getting hungry. Nothing in sight though. Maybe he should’ve spent less time asking about Illicita and asking about breakfast...His stomach adds a loud, grumbling complaint to the conversation. Stuck in the room further, he sighs dejectedly, checking to see if he had any game apps on it that he could play without thumbs. No dice. Huffing, he shuffled back out from under the bed, looking around the room. Thinking that he might maybe make something from those bottled things around the room, he begins to search for something with a label, instead of just being brightly colored and covered in dust. “Why is everything here so dirty?” Cole whipped the dust off the bottles, squinting at each. No labels, so whoever left them either memorized each one, or it didn’t matter. “Might as well have some fun with this.” Cole just began adding chemicals, noting their reactions- or rather, lack thereof -in small amounts, not wanting to accidently make something either highly acidic or explosive. Unfortunately, nothing seemed to happen. “That was boring, not even bubbling, only color change, oh well, it’s better than nothing I suppose, now, what the hell did I make?” Taking an experimental whiff, it smelled like berries and... alcohol? “Is this stuff liquor? Boring...” Cole set it down, disappointment all over his face. Looking around, there was nothing but Summer’s bag and a whole lotta books he couldn’t read. Sighing and putting his head on his hooves, he laid down on the bed, like large, bat-winged puppy. Three hours. Three hours of waiting! She still wasn’t back, and neither was Illicita. “What could’ve happened to them?” Cole was now getting worried, Summer was his only friend, without her he’d be screwed, literally and metaphorically. And, he was really hungry. Finally, a tap-tap-tap on the door caught his attention. “Summer?!” Cole was acting like a child waiting for their parents to get home. The door swung slowly open, revealing a dejected, somber-looking Summer. The light from the window had faded more than two hours previous, and it was evident from the sound on the roof it was raining, but the sight of her mane, plastered in tangled clumps down her back and shoulder really drove it home. Her face was dour, her expression grim. She looked like nothing had gone right and that nothing could go right. To put it succinctly, she looked depressed. “S-Summer?” Cole got off the bed and approached her, her only response being to sigh, deeply and sadly. “Y-You okay?” “I failed, alright? I couldn’t find her. And so many ponies wouldn’t even- wouldn’t even talk to me, and I don’t understand why... I’m such a failure...” “You’re not a failure Summer, come here.” Cole wrapped his forehooves around her and brought her in for a much needed hug. She embraced him tightly, her wet fur squishing with moisture. She sniffled and sobbed as tried explaining what she did, but he couldn’t tell what it was through her weeping. “Summer, I know what happened to Illicita, some mares told me earlier.” “Some mares? How did they get in!? You’re alright, aren’t you?” “I was eavesdropping when I heard mention something about spirit hunters, the two mares found the door slightly ajar, and one did try something, but I got rid of them. What we need to worry about right now is Illicita.” Summer gasped at this, looking horrified at the mention of spirit-hunters. “Uhm, you remember what I said about demons being bound to things being a tormenting existence of their essence unspooling?” “They stuck her into something like that didn’t they?” “I- I don’t know. But what I was getting at, is that demons slowly lose their power if they stay on the mortal plane too long. So, as I said before, she doesn’t have a time limit, but if she’s around too long or if her bond to me is severed, she’d unspool completely, and be erased.” “Shit, we gotta save her, pain in the ass or not I’m not going to sit here waiting for her to die! Summer, you up for some more investigating?” “I didn’t get to the worst part.” She paused, looking utterly upset. “Are you in danger too?” “No... but they’re likely trying to forcibly pull her apart, to power an amulet or something.” “Can we find them before they can? Even she doesn’t deserve that...” Summer shuffled on her hooves worriedly. “I- Idunno. I sincerely hope so, she’s really my only friend, other than you.” Summer looked ready to cry again, before looking up to Cole with hope in her eyes. “Can you please help? I- I can tell you what to look for, and your arcano-location would be essential to finding her.” Cole paused for a moment, to figure out what the term she meant was. “Two things, first, I don’t know what arcano-location is, but if you tell me what it is I’ll be happy to help. Second, here.” Cole hugged her, she looked like she needed it. She slumped into his embrace, and inhaled deeply. “Arcano-Location is something that Nightwings can do. Similar to a bat’s echolocation, but with magic. By sending out pulses of low-strength, high-frequency magic, Nightwings can find magically resonant materials in the...” Summer’s muffled voice continued to ramble, but Cole found his eyes crossing after about six minutes of it, and it was getting difficult to stay awake. As fascinating as it was, it was just so dry. “Summer, c-could you just tell me in a simpler way? As nice as it is hugging you, I want to know how I can help Illicita.” “O- Oh, sorry. I- I just got, you know... carried away.” She pulled back a bit and reached into a saddlebag. Pulling out a book, she shuffled down to the floor, and opened the tome. Inside were numerous diagrams, with very little text. “Not much is known about exactly how a Nightwing does it, but the common theory is that it’s like an exaggerated yawn. I- I don’t think it’s right. It is noted from, ah, autopsies, that they have a second set of vocal cords, connected to their Thaumic glands. Specifically, their thaumic glands are located in their throat, and are noticeably smaller than most race’s, likely because they only need to use a small amount of... I’m rambling again, aren’t I?” She finished her statement by brushing her mane out of her face, and Cole saw that she had put on glasses at some point. They made her look even more adorable, if that was possible. “A-anyways, You should be able to do it like a word, sort of, if you can just figure out how to use the other set of vocal cords.” Cole began humming, trying to find the note or whatever, but couldn’t get it. Closing his eyes in frustration, he stomped his hoof and growled. Then, he hiccuped. Like a burst of light in all directions, a sparkling field of stars overlay his vision. Little points of light lay over most everything, a brilliant mesh of them formed around in Summer. “What -*hic*- was tha-*hic*-at?” Cole hiccuped repeatedly, each one bringing a change to the starfield. As Summer moved in position, the starfield was blinked away and replaced, superimposed over her each time he hiccupped. “I- I’m not sure. It sounded like a hiccup, but more... squeaky?” Cole tried to squeak at a higher pitch, sounding like a chipmunk. The starfield brightened, and he realized that the glowing network was Summer’s nerves... and that glowing ball near the top, with the brilliant point of her horn a shining beacon of orangey-red. “Co -*hic* ol!” Cole began to lightly poke her where the lights were, tracing a few of the lines, she looked like she was in Tron, only on the inside, instead of the outside. And the lines were messier. She backed up a bit, pulling back from his poking. The hiccups now sounded more like quiet squeaks, but her ears had started folding back. Maybe it was irritating her. “Sorry, you started glowing and it looks pretty awesome.” “Wait, glowing? As in, you could see my thaumic glands and the connections?” “Yeah, you started glowing a pretty gold.” Summer quirked an eyebrow, looking pretty confused. “Gold? That doesn’t match any thaumic frequencies I know of...” “Well that’s what color you seem to be glowing, what does that mean exactly?” “I- I have no idea.” Summer pulled out her journal, leafing through pages rapidly, stopping at some sort of diagram of a hexagon with some lines it, each of the outer vertices holding a bubble with color in it, and then a group of six more inside with more colors, and two more inside that with yet more. “That looks really complicated.” “It’s just a diagram of an arcanite gem, with the magical layout over it.” She shrugged off the comment and kept searching through a list on the other side, a bunch of short words showing that they were names of some kind. Mumbling to herself, the mare looked really troubled. “I took extensive notes, but I can’t find ‘gold’ under any of the aura connections! There’s yellow, tangerine, orange, chartreuse, red, burgundy, maroon, purple, mulberry, scarlet, pale orange, autumn yellow, but no gold!” Summer looked like she was panicking, flipping back and forth through about four pages, mostly on the one with the diagram. She was breathing a little more heavily, and her eyes were going small. “Now that you mention it it was more yellow, the glowing threw me off, sorry.” “Yellow? As in yellow-orange, bright yellow, yellow-green, pure yellow, butter yellow, pale yellow, yellow-red, although that’d be orange, ye-” “Imagine looking into the sun or a really bright light. So, fiery orangish yellow, like if you were on fire. Does th-wait, forget that, lets go find Illicita, I can do that now right?” Summer looked up, blinked and looked back down, then back to Cole. “I- I’m so sorry!” “Don’t apologize, I got off topic, but what do I do now?” Summer looked around. “Can you see a large, glowing orb? Probably a dark maroon, with tinges of light blue?” Looking around, he couldn’t see a large one... but he could see a smaller one. Or maybe just a large one, but further away, like real stars. Squinting did nothing to bring it into focus, and it shifted slightly as he squeaked, although the squeaks were starting to sound more like ‘clicks’. “Yeah, but it’s pretty small and...moving? No, just wavering. Like a... candle flame, maybe?” Cole pointed to it, through a wall. Summer looked in that direction, before answering slowly. “I think we should head outside to find her. It’s after sunset, so it shouldn’t be too dark.” “Yay, I can go outside without being blinded!” “Yeah, so let’s go!” Summer packed up her bag quickly, taking as little time as possible as she put everything away. Her bags, in spite of receiving a lot more than their apparent volume, remained saggy. “Yay, I’m being useful!” Cole reached out a wing and draped it over her back as they ran, holding her closer. Stepping into the night, he took a moment to inhale deeply. Looking around, the moon had not yet come out, and there was only a few torches around for light, but it was more than enough. With a gentle click, the starfield returned to his vision. Walking around, however, showed that the points of light stayed static to his eyes, forcing him to renew his sight every few steps. And if he held the view too long, it faded away. As they rounded corners and raced down streets, avoiding other ponies as they went. Eventually, they came across another inn, this one bearing a name of some sort and the image of an earth pony slumped over a table. Inside, according to Cole’s magical sight, was the dark sphere of red the color of old blood and swirlings of midnight black, a thin shell of light blue. The two main colors swirled together, refusing to mix. It sat where the second floor would be, more or less. “She’s upstairs, let’s go!” As Cole ran to the door, he didn’t take notice of Summer’s cry of ‘wait!’ from behind him, instead slamming the door open. Or, at least, trying to. The latch was still shut, and Summer calmly opened it with her magic, and opened the door for him. His jaw was in pain where he’d hit the door, and his nose was bleeding slightly. She patted his nose lightly with a piece of cloth and helped him stand up. Stepping into the building, the two ponies saw that the main area was largely deserted, minus a pair of ponies at the bar. One of them, the mare actually sitting at the bar, turned around. She had on a long coat, like something out of a western, or maybe a noir flick. “So... the demon-fucker and the abomination arrived. Looks like I win the pot, tonight.” Her voice was raspy, and sounded like she smoked. a vicious-looking burn scar went up the right side of her face, a simple black eyepatch covering the damaged socket. Pale, yellowed bone showed in some spots, and it looked like the mare was half dead. She took a pull from the mug she was holding in one hoof, and kept speaking. “Didja really think we wouldn’t hear about’cha? Fuckin’ morons, I think I’ll wipe you both out. I hate the fuckin’ empire! You shits’re the reason my family fuckin’ starved!” “We aren’t from the em-” The burnt mare threw the heavy drinking stein, the metal almost pancaking as it hit the stone floor of the drinking area. She growled and spat out. “Yeah, fucking, right. You fuckin’ agents t5hink we’re all so fuckin’ gullible, dont’cha? Well, fuck that!” “I lied so I wouldn’t get raped while Summer was out! Why would a Nightwing work for the Solar Empire? We can’t see in the daylight!” “Oh, what a clever cover story, the big, bad demon-fucker is skeered of getting raped. Whatever, I’m sick of hearing your fuckin’ whining.” Sneering the word ‘skeered’ in obvious contemptuos mockerey,the mare stood back on her rear legs, and drew her forehooves up in what looked like a pose from a kung-fu movie of some sort. “Summer, a little help?!” Cole started to back up, sure he could fight, but he never learned how to in this body, how would it translate over? The crispy-looking mare suddenly did a front-flip (how the hell did she do that with hooves?!) and did something like a spinning-top move, and kicked Cole across the face about three times before physics could catch up and throw him to the ground, several yards to one side. “What the fuck lady!?” Cole stood up, poking his face, it stung a little. Meanwhile, a glowing orange nimbus had surrounded a furious-looking Summer Solace, her eyes gone behind sheets of white light. Her teeth were grinding against one another, and her stance looked like she was pissed. “Oh, it. Is. On!” “It’s okay, I’m durable, don’t over do it.” Colt is promptly ignored by Summer, who screamed in anger, a bolt of sizzling energy arcing towards the mare in the coat. Unfortunately, the target of the spell easily dodged it, the blast splashing outwards and blowing apart a table. Chunks of wood and flaming splinters rained down. “You fucking bitch! You’re gonna pay for that!” The bartender apparently did not have a sense of self-preservation, and a couple of flying barstools and a table coming after them made him duck at last. Afterwards, Summer promptly began to charge her horn once more, the mare in the coat charging towards her. The scarred mare reached Summer about the time that Summer let loose the blast. The shot blew off her hat, and the scarred mare then drove a vicious hoof-strike across Summer’s jaw, with a resounding ‘crack’. Summer fell to the floor, sprawling out as she clutched her mouth. “Summer!” Cole ran over to her and tried to kick the other mare in the ribcage, the mare deftly grabbing both his legs in her own hooves and flipping him like a pancake. As he hit the ground, back-first, she brought up a hoof, over Cole’s head. He only barely rolled out of the way as the mare’s hoof put a deep hole in the packed earth floor of the bar. “You bitch!” Cole backed up from her, and caught a quick glance of Summer, who was slowly standing up behind the mare in the coat. Her jaw was hanging funny, and blood spilled from it, but the look in her normally adorable and sweet eyes was pure murder. So was the garrote spell suddenly around the mare in the coat’s neck. The mare immediately began thrashing and pulling against the orange wire, failing to do so with the blunt ends of her hooves, as the garrote pulled higher and higher. “Holy shit!” Cole’s exclamation was lost in the terrified thrashing and gurgling of the strangling mare, blood hissing as the strand of magic literally burned through her throat. “You will never... touch my stallion... Ever... again... You. Fucking. Cunt!” Summer shouted the words with a burst of magic, gasping around her obviously-broken jaw, as the magical wire suddenly pulled taut, and the head of the earth pony fell to the floor just a moment after her body. Summer sank to the floor after that, weeping visibly and sobbing around the break in her mandible, one hoof coming up to cradle her mangled lip. “I did not see that coming.” Cole walked over to her and hugged her, trying to comfort her, even through the shock. the orangey mare just leaned against him, her horn lighting weakly, sparks drifting lazily to her jaw. There, they slowly pulled it back into place with a ‘crack!’, making her and Cole both wince, the bone apparently set. Her mouth was still bleeding, though. “I- I k-k-killed her... Oh gods, I k-killed her...” “Shhh.” Cole just tried to keep her quiet, her jaw was still in pain as he hugged her. She just sobbed, her tears and blood pouring into his coat and sticking his jacket to him. Author's Note So... yeah. Comment if you feel like it, or want to, well, comment on something. Constructive criticism is always welcome. Music link is now fixed, as well!
Ch07 - Martial AutisticHolding the sobbing, injured, shell-shocked mare to his chest, Cole Winters looked around the bar. Thankfully, nothing had caught fire yet, and the coals seemed to be burning out first. Trying to find a way to cheer her up, or at least get them moving, Cole cast his eyes about the room a second time. Sighing when he found nothing, he patted her on the back, and tried to get her to stand up. Here eyes were red, but this time with the bloodshot look of some who had, shockingly enough, just been crying a river. Not knowing what else to do, he remembered how she acted before and decided to take a leap of faith; he kissed her quickly on the lips. “T-Thanks for saving my ass b-back there.” Summer just looked up at him, and the ring of red on his lips. “You’re welcome, Cole. I- I couldn’t see you hurt, too.” Cole reflexively licked the blood from his lips, almost starting at how... good it tasted. “Don’t worry about me so much, I got hurt a lot when I was back home, I can take a few hits, I just don’t want to see you hurt.” Cole held her close, tightening his hug, his tongue snaking out to pick up some more blood from her coat, cleaning her somewhat. Summer giggled. “Sorry, I seem to have developed a weird habit.” “It tickles. A-and thanks. I’d heard Nightwing saliva helps heal wounds... uhm, w-woul you-” Cole cut her off by frenching her deeply, his tongue waggling around to slide against her jaw and the split in her lip, the skin beneath his flexing muscle sealing rapidly. Slowly leaning back, he withdrew his tongue back into his mouth, the delicious, salty-copper taste coating it. Shivering slightly, he wondered momentarily if he could take the rest of the blood from her. To get her clean, of course. And it tasted so good... “Th- thank you, Cole.” She looked up at him with large, much calmer eyes, and she kissed his bottom lip for a moment, before retreating. In the low light, Cole wasn’t quite sure if she was blushing or not, but she did look a little more rosey. “No problem, now lets stop making out and save Illicita.” “Y- yeah... I can do that.” “By the way, how did you do the magic garrote trick?” She blushed visibly, now, and looked away as she slowly put her bags back on her back. “I-it’s just a magic replacement wire, for if a stringed instrument breaks. I read in a noir novel that you could use a piano wire, and I used to play violin for a while, then piano, then contrabass, so I used it often.” “Oh, what a clever girl you are, maybe you can show me a few tricks when we get back, but for now we have to save Illicita’s giant flank!” Summer followed Cole as he began to sneak up the stairs to the second floor none-to-stealthily. He still had to get used to having big clunky things on the ends of his feet all the time. Reaching the top the stairs, the colt saw a pegasus mare with metallic blades on her one wing, the other just a stump inside her leather armor, along with a pony in gleaming silver armor, a large golden sun across one massive pauldron. A huge warhammer was strapped to the unicorn’s back, though all of the pony was covered, the only indicator of race being the armored spire on the top of the helm. A more modest sword stood at perfect attention in a soft green glow in front of the armored unicorn. A smooth, but slightly deep voice rumbled from the metal helm, calm and collected. “Please, halt your advance. I would rather not kill if I am able to talk the problem out.” “No! They killed Scarred Mountain! We should just kill them now!” The pegasus mare sounded rushed and angry, a boyish squawk to her voice. The armored one, however, barely sounded feminine around the deep, bass rumble of her voice. “I’ll talk to you, you seem more intelligent, so wha-” The pegasus interrupted his attempt at diplomacy with the massive figure, practically moving forward into his face. “Shut it, Eldrist! You have no say!” The large unicorn only rumbled for a moment, choosing to reply in her slow, calm voice. “I would rather speak to your mistress, oh summoned fiend.” “Not a good idea right now, your friend broke her jaw and she’s-” “Fuck that! Die, monster!” With her exclamation, the hasty pegasus, her mane shaved and her coat dark red. Leaning back to avoid a swipe across the muzzle from her wing-blade, Cole had to block a rapid strike from a leg before ducking the backswing of the blade, some of his mane falling to the ground in the process. “Bitch, I’m a Nightwing, not a monster-” “They’re the same thing!” “-now let me talk!” The pegasus continued to ignore him as she got closer, and he saw an orange line drifting through the air towards the maroon mare. Unfortunately, the pegasus caught view of it, and a wing-slash dissipated the spell. “Oh, so you’re gonna try fighting me like that, eh bitch?” The pegasus’ attention was away from Cole long enough for him to tag her across the cheek. The sound of a loud ‘pop!’ as the air caught and slammed her to the side. “Just shut up already! This is between me and you if anything, now stop bringing others into it you annoying cunt!” A low snort of laughter from the unicorn and a stunned pegasus was the audience, along with Summer looking appreciative of his support. “He speaks truly, if you had waited, we might’ve yet secured an honorable duel. Now, you two must fight from here. And this time, Razor, I will not bail you out. We will resume communications after this little... ‘disagreement’, shall we say, has been dealt with.” The unicorn’s voice brooked no refutations, an absolute factor in the equation. “Finally some cooperation around here, now be back with you in a minute if you don’t mind.” The inarticulate growl of rage from the seething pegasus at the meaning of his comment, and she charged again. A swipe went high, and he got tagged across the face once, then dodged and blocked it the next time, noticing that she tried the exact same move again. Hitting her with a solid blow across her face, and dodging another swipe and jab, he repeated the process. He almost laughed, as she had virtually no skill, just a pattern. Tagging her in the face again and again, he bloodied her nose, and her swings grew more erratic, wavering from her careful pattern bit by bit. “If you want to quit now, you can, I won’t hold it against you.” “F- fuck you!” The pegasus was gasping a little around the fluid leaking into her nose. “I’ll take that as a no then, carry on with your suicidal assault.” The mare just doggedly struck at him again and again, to no avail, until a chance mistiming left him open for just moment, the blade slicing open his side in a momentary pass, the pain trickling into his senses. Focusing harder on defending himself, he struck at her less, wearing her down as much as possible, not even realizing that his wings had gone up part way. Without thinking, and treating a wing like a long-fingered hand, he darted forward in the middle of one of her swings, turning and grabbing the wing she was attacking with, and twisting slightly. The pegasus gasped, her face stricken as she tumbled off-balance. As she sprawled onto the ground, rear in the air as she whimpered on the ground. Blinking slightly, Cole realized she was on the ground only after the fact. “Crap, are you okay?” Cole looked down to the pegasus, who just whimpered again, her eyes full of tears. Realizing what he was holding her down with one of his wings, he carefully let go, flexing the appendage slightly as he saw the many similarities to his original hands. “Didn’t mean to do that.” “F- fine, you beat me... what’re you going to do now, take a blood-tithe?” The pegasus snapped out the question angrily, a snarl creeping along her voice as she spoke. “No, why would I do that?” The unicorn responded for her downed comrade. “Because she thinks you have turned sarosian, nightwing.” “Oh, no, I don’t think so, I don’t do anything to people when I beat them.” The unicorn nodded, and turned to the pegasus, her bass rumble of a voice loud enough to be heard down the hall. The commanding unicorn looked at both Cole and Razor. “I, as a knighted paladin of the Solar Order, declare this duel concluded. May you two consider your grievances at rest. Now, young warlock-” “Not a warlock, accidental summoning.” “No, no, she’s right. I am a professional summoner, so my title is indeed warlock. Madam paladin, please continue. “Oh, never mind then, carry on, I’m going to sit down and quite literally lick my wounds.” The two mares gave him looks of confusion for a moment, as he sat down and Razor slid fully to the ground, her rump no longer up in the air. Unfortunately, he found his own blood not-so-tasty, and his wounds weren’t closing. Stupid magic not working on himself... “Damn, oh well, atleast I can get the blood out of my coat before it d-ow!-dries.” Picking at the scratches with the only thing he had available, Cole tried to clean himself off. Meanwhile, Summer and the paladin began to speak, using large, eloquent words. Most of it sounded like overly-flowery legalese. While Cole wouldn’t follow most of it, he got the basic understanding that Summer was trying to explain that Cole and herself were, at least, not hostile, merely trying to rescue Illicita. During all of this, the pegasus had shuffled off to one side, and had removed the blades from her wing to massage the pained limb. Cole moved over to her cautiously, not wanting another fight. “Hi, sorry about that, are you okay?” The pegasus ‘hmph’d and turned away a little, still tenderly rubbing her wing. “Is your wing okay? Can I do anything to help?” The pegasus mare, Razor, if Cole remembered correctly, refused to speak to him, finishing her ministrations on her wing by tucking it around herself. “You got me pretty good earlier.” Cole showed her the cut she gave him, still a little blood around the wound. “You did pretty well back there, what training do you have?” “I’ve been trained by none. I learned the use of the wing-blade on my own. All pegasi must learn a weapon of their own choosing on their own before they may be taught by an armsmaster.” The mare stopped herself with an audible snap of her mouth closing, as she realized she was speaking. “Well I had about five years of unarmed training, I almost reached first-dan, the first level of mastery.” The pegasus mare just glared at him. “You should count yourself lucky you even received training. When I lost my wing to the raid, I was no longer permitted training. I was left behind, useless to them. A pegasus who cannot fly... cannot fight.” Razor looked away again, her hard expression softening slightly from obvious saddness. “You’re not useless, I was trained and you almost cut me to pieces, so cheer up Razor.” Cole wrapped a wing around her and hugged her. To his (very mild) surprise, she shoved him away, a shouted at him. “Get away from me, you sarosian pit-spawn! Try your pity games on some mare stupid enough to fall for them!” Cole backed up a little bit. “I don’t pity you, I am being sincere. Would it make you feel better if I gave you some advice? Not that you aren’t capable or anything.” “Oh, go-” Razor’s response was cut off by the paladin slamming a hoof down between the two winged ponies, startling each of them. “Both of you, stop bickering like foals! This matter is resolved.” The larger mare, still clad in her bright metal armor, turned to Cole. “You and your lead mare will continue to the end of this hall. My code of honor ensures to me that you are not evil... but I will not stand against my allies.” The paladin stepped back, and Summer stepped forward, eyes darting between the still-glaring pegasus and the human-turned nightwing. “What?” “L- let’s go, Cole. We should hurry, we need to save Illi.” “Fuck! I knew I forgot about something, lets go!” Cole stood up and walked towards Summer, but before he left he turned back to the pegasus. “And I am sorry, no pity, no hidden insults.” The pegasus just stared after him as Cole and Summer turned and trotted down the hall towards the door the paladin had mentioned. As they walked along, Cole caught the edge of a whispered statement between the paladin and the pegasus. “... I just don’t know... I doubt mother even remembers me.” “Mom still loves us both, she hasn’t forgotten you...” Continuing on their journey, Cole didn’t comment on what he heard, instead asking a more immediate question. “So, how did you negotiate your way past her?” “Oh, I just swore on a few things, made a binding oath not to lie about it, and then told her we needed Illicita to continue our journey.” “Nice, lets hope the rest of the group is as rational, I can’t take much more damage.” “Sorry... I hadn’t expected that to happen. Why did you fight her? You... you could have passed the challenge to me.” “Because, I’m used to getting hurt, and I couldn’t stand by and watch you get hurt.” Summer looked over at him with a look of concern right in front of the door. “I can take it, Cole, I’m a mare. You’re a colt, you shouldn’t have to deal with being hurt.” Summer then opened the door, stepping into the room beyond. While Cole had half-expected either a lavish apartment or a dark, eerie lair, it was really just a room at an in, with a large glass ball glowing in the center of it, along with a stallion and a mare standing nearby it. “Well too bad, I have five years combat training and they are going to be put to use. So... What’s all this then?” Cole asked as he looked around the room. He saw the male and female ponies turn towards him and Summer. The stallion, a large russet unicorn, looked her over appraisingly, and Cole caught a glimpse of the mare staring at him with narrowed eyes. A moment later, though, her hood fell back into place. “Hey, you, give us Illicita back.” Cole took a step towards them. The two exchanged a glance, before the stallion, his bright orange mane drifting roguishly across his face like something out of a cheap romance novel, looked him in the eye. “Well, fine gentlecolt, perhaps we can come to an agreement.” His voice was almost disturbingly genteel, at exactly the right octave to be a combination of attractive and at the same time noble. “I think I know where you’re going with this and sorry dude, I’m only gay for Summer.” The stallion laughed, his voice clear and strong. “Oh, I must admit, I’m happy to have met her, too. Still, if you would like to come to an arrangement, I’m sure we can find something we both want.” The stallion followed his proposition with a leer and a wink, and the mare to the side of him rolled her softly luminous yellow eyes. “Oh, stop it, ye’ great dandy. Ee’s not interested, Ah c’n tell jes from lookin at ‘im. Ye’ c’n go ‘bout gettin’ th’ Goldstar lass’s steel-clad plot easier than this whipp’d boy’s.” The scratchy, thick near-irish/scottish accent was almost mind-bogglingly far from the stallion’s. “So what do we have to do to get you to release Illicita? And aren’t you curious as to what happened to your other group members?” The stallion, looking a bit put-out about the mare’s words, smiled a bit less grandly at Cole. “Well, we’ll need some sort of compensation for the catch, and the promise not to let the thing rampage any more. As for what happened to the mercenaries I hired, well... the only one I’m really surprised you passed was our resident drunkard. She has a problem with unicorns and bat-folk.” “Oh, jes git on wid it! This ‘un ain’t wort’ much, just grab some gold’n get us goin’!” The stallion rolled his own eyes, and sighed. “Fine, Mercuriel, I’ll forgo the pleasure of their company for cold, hard coinage. Madame, a mere price of seventy-five gold coins would be ample-” “Fifteen, I’m young, not stupid.” The stallion nearly spat at Summer’s remark, and even Cole had to double-take. “All four of my parents are involved in business, one way or another.” “Fine, madame, but I must make a profit, and these capture globes are-” “Forty-seven silver pieces, or four gold coins and seven silver. They’re also re-usable, and I want her released, not still contained.” The stallion looked ready to chew some nails, before growling and huffing angrily. “Dude, she’s a lot smarter than you think so cut the games.” The stallion, no longer looking so regal or kind, glared at Cole, before turning back to Summer. She hadn’t let her gaze leave him the whole time, and spoke before he did. “You should be glad you’re getting any gold, so take the offer or face the consequences.” Anger spilled out with the last three words, and finally the colt spoke up again. “Fine, twenty-five gold coins, and I release the demon.” “Release first, money second.” “And how would I know you aren’t going to simply sic the beastie on me the moment it’s free?” Summer was about to retort again, when the glowing-eyed mare spoke up, exasperation evident in her voice. “Jes give half now, and half when the demon’s out! Yer nay gonna come ta any agreement bickerin’ like foals and fools alike!” The force of the mare’s voice was impressive, and she sounded honestly angry. The two arguing ponies flattened their ears, and Cole had to cover his own with his hooves to avoid being deafened. The stallion and Summer quickly agreed on the process, Summer giving the first twelve gold coins to him. His horn lit up brightly, and the orb of glass in the center of the room stopped shining, and split open vertically. A thick, viscous stream of smog poured out from it, slowly forming a hazy outline of a pony. “Illi?” Summer’s voice trembled a bit as she said the demon’s name, taking a hesitant step forward, catching herself quickly. “Wait, I need to make sure it’s you... What are the strictures of our covenant?” The smog looked up at her, smiling slightly. “That I cannot harm you or your friends, my mistress.” Summer smiled at the words, then turned to the stallion. “It’s a nice con, but bring me my friend before I demonstrate my new cranionectomy procedure on you.” “Yeah, she did it to one of your mares downstairs, the one with the scar.” “And what, exactly, does ‘cranionectomy’ mean?” “Something ending with ‘ectomy’ indicates a surgical procedure to remove something, as designated by the prefix. The cranium is the head. I’m sure you can figure it out from there.” Summer’s grin was a bit unsettling, and her eyes seemed a little... small. The irises and pupils alike appeared to have shrunk inward a bit, and several strands of hair had jumped out of place from her normally fairly orderly mane. Her horn flashed orange, and the cloud screamed and began fading out, much to the surprise of everyone else. “Now, since you don’t seem to get what I mean, perhaps I should elaborate. Release my friend, and I’ll let you leave with all your limbs still attached. Fail to do so... and I’ll get inventive.” The stallion’s eyes suddenly bugged out for a moment, and Cole wondered why for a moment. then, he saw a faint glow from the colt’s underside, and saw the two trailing ends of Summer’s wire-spel poking out from his trousers, faintly outlining a vague bulge. The colt, rather suddenly sweating, powered his horn once more, and a second orb skidded out from under the bed, cracking open and letting a brownish-red cloud boil forth, quickly changing to Illicita’s demonic form. The glowy-eyed mare, having been silent since her outburst turned calmly to the stallion. “Well, ah told ye’ it wouldn’t work, and ye ignored me. Ah cain’t feed off’n a demon, an’ those two’re more trouble than they’re worth. I hereby dissolve our contract, an’ leave ye’ in peace. Ye’ moron.” The mare then threw back her hood and shimmied out of the simple garment, revealing a lithe mare in green, with a brilliant blue mane. However, that didn’t last long, as a gold-colored flames erupted around her, and a black-and-yellow changeling stood in her place. “Good riddance to ye’, ye’ daft loon.” Before anyone could react, the changeling shot a blast of magic through a window and flew out. The three ponies and the demon just stared for a moment, until the stallion finally spoke up. “Wow, I thought the accent was just because she was weird.” “Eh, I actually like changelings.” Summer turned to Illicita who was looking around at the group. “So... are we gonna kill him? Or just castrate him? ‘Cuz if it’s the kill option, I call dibs.” The stallion whimpered at the options presented, Summer looking at him with an angry expression. “I don’t feel any reason to spare him since he just tried to con you, kill our friend, and caused all this, so do as you please, I wouldn’t mind an execution.” Cole stared at the stallion. The stallion’s russet face went pale, his eyes tiny as he looked around, still not moving from the cord presumably wrapped around his junk. “So Summer, which head do you want to remove?” “I vote death, I can drain him and eat the body.” The colt’s face went even paler at the succubi’s suggestion. “I say we go with her suggestion, after all, she was the one who was tortured. Why not let her have her fun?” “Idunno, I think a longer-term punishment is better... and my momma always told me not to hurt a colt.” The male unicorn visibly relaxed. “Unfortunately, my mother taught me how to hurt a colt, quite extensively. Did you know that he’ll still feel the urges, but be unable to act on them if I cut it off, along with his tongue? I could remove his horn too, and brand hi-” Summer’s tirade, growing ever more maniacal as she went, was broken off as Illicita slapped her. “Summer, snap out of it! This isn’t you. Don’t you dare go stooping to his level!” The poor buck seemed entirely confused and terrified, and Cole wasn’t too far behind on that. “That actually sounded like one of my rants...” “Stay out of this, outworlder.” It was the first time Illicita had addressed Cole as anything other than a vaguely insulting innuendo, so it was entirely unexpected by him. “Okay, okay, lets just finish up here and get her back to the room, you both have had a tough day.” “Summer, listen to me. We’re going to go back, everypony’s getting a bath, and you’re not going to kill or maim him. It was funny when I was joking about it, but this is not who you are meant to be.” Summer shook slightly at Illicita’s words, and Cole had some issues figuring out where this serious side of her was coming from. “Yeah, let’s just go before you kill him, it might be a worse punishment to leave him like this anyways.” Summer nodded, and disappeared in a flash of orange light, bright enough to hurt Cole’s eyes. Illicita turned to the stallion on the floor, who was visibly relieved that Summer was gone. Until, that is, when Illicita metamorphosed into a massive, slimy-skinned thing, with dozens of needle-lined mouths and reaching tentacles, eleven or eyes floating in gooey sacs along the top of the monster all looking down at the now-terrified pony. [“̸̪̯̬̠̙̣͋̊ͫ̋̚͢͠Ȉ̸̹͕͎̦͓̲ͥͪ̔͛̎͢f̩̭̬̖̰̺̙̅ͤ͘ ̴̭̗̲̯̮͒ͩ͛ͬͥ͟I̸̫͍̦̓͞ ̴̵̱̘̯͎̩̩̑͑ͬ̾̑͡e͗҉̨̟̤̝v̜̙ͯ͌̾ͯ͑̕e̴̗̹̹͓̍̅͐͋ͨ͝r̴̡̮̘̦͇̮̿̆͢ ̶̴̟̙̰ͦ͂͗͐̐ͨͥ͌s̭̠̖̱͔̺ͯͦ̒̍̽̀̀̀̕ȅ͚͓͙̌e̫̥̪̼̖̟͆̽ͧ͆̂͋ͦ̀ ̗̞̣̬̟̜̘̯̅̂̌͒̾̍̽y̠͔̻̗ͭ̅͌̄ͨ̆ͫ̊ͅő͈̯̩̝̉̃̈́͠ṷ̹͖̳̣͚̭̙͚͌͊̿̓́ ̖͚̯̞͔͑͊ͮ̄̆ͮ̇͘a̓̆̏ͨͦ̃͒̉҉̤̗̘g̢͍̥̪̳͗̍̐̀̂̎̇͗͠͡ą̗̞̰̉ͯ̽̽ͤ͗̒́į̜̠̤̖͍̭̰ͥͤ̒̽́ͭͬͮ̅ͅn͇͓̘̫̩̦̳͗ͫ͡,̨̦̝͔̣͉̥̝̼̎ͤ̄ͯ̍͑͠ ̻̫̞̟̯̙̖̉͊͋͟͝Ỉ̸̹̦̪̣͙͈́ ̨͍̱̝̄̈́̂̓ͬ̐͝w̴̨̩̫̖̮̹͔̘͒̓̅͋ͩͨ͊̚ͅĭ̴̴̮̗̥̭̟͈͜l̦͖̗̮̱͍̣̋̎ͅl̑͛ͮ҉҉͚̝̤ ̴̧̣̪̹̱̌̋̉́ͅn̢̲̘̗̳̮̰ͣ̑̑̅̋̉̍͞ǫ̱̤̬̝̝̜̜ͮ̋͒͜ͅt̖̬͎̤̻͙ͭ̒͊̽̎̒͜͝ ̸̲̰̭̻̣̉̅̃ͩ̄h̨̟̟̼͎̹ͪ̏ͥ̊͑̽e̡͌̌̄͐͑͏̗͓͓̭̙̠̜̖ͅs̵̙̟̺͇̪̞̼̃̒̊ͭ͐̾̽̄i̧̱̗̙̮̦͓̘̽̌͐ͨ͆͠t͉ͮͮ̀͟͡ã͇̻̒̌ͧͩ͆̒͒t̼̳͚̜̐̾͆͛̎͟e̯̻̲̣̺̠͔̯̠ͤ̌͑̈́͛̀́ ͈̻͚̮̠̟̻͗̎̽ͩ͂͊̄ͅtͪ̒ͩ̐͑͏̷̳̦̖̮̳͓̙̳͢ö̗̞́̅ͧ͋̀ͯ̚̚ ̥͖̺̳͓̪̄̓ͮṫ̍҉͈͍͇̥̯̭̝͚͜͟e̸̷̠͉̳ͥ̍̌ͥ̄ͣ̎à̺̿̾ͧ̂̉r̜̲̤̟͓͍̅̑͠ͅͅ ͗̃̈́̂͒͋ͮ̚͏̰̗y̖̗͓͓̟̙̯͙̾̾̎ͯ̿̿̉̑͗̀͟ǫ̛̹̼͎̭̣̑̀ữ̪̻̱̝͚͚̦͎̽ͪͮ̀̀ ̵̸̡̺̩̙̣̟̯̝̗͌̅̾̐ͩ̏̏̆l͎̘͓̭̳ͪ́͌̈ͤͧͫ͂͢i̐̕͠͏͇̘̬m̞͎̝͎̤ͥͪ͗͗̏̒͑̔͡b͙͇̠̭͔̜̎-̠͓̞̻̫̘̓̓ͩͪ̉ͦ͂̉ͅf̓̋ͯͦ̈ͪ̆̃҉̸̪͇̖͢r̢̳̯̪̲͈̖͕͌̉̈́̍ͥ̕͢o͍̹̫̐̄͊̅̇̃ͨ͟͢ṃ͖͕̠̟̫̙̖̲ͫͫ̋̓̓ͯ͌̉-̡̛͇͓͔͓͖͖͍̍̈́̍ͧ́̓͑̽l̦̥͇̯̠͔̜̤͌ͨ͛̓͆ͣ̀ͭ̕͘i̵̧͈̥͔̝̪̟̔̔m͒͌̉҉̡̨͚̳b̘͔͉͇̫͒̄̐̒́͟.̴̯̩̬̆”̩̦͆ͭͭ The stallion nodded hurriedly, and the smell of urine met Cole’s nostrils. The twisted, demonic voice refused to leave his mind, and the blob shifted back into Illicita’s more ‘normal’ form, with the red coat and tiny bat wings. “Now give me all your money, and I won’t bite your dick off anyways.” Author's Note Yeah, I'm borrowing terms left right an center, because the good ones are all taken by traditional folklore (which people get pissy about me re-purposing, for some reason) or by other authors (which folks get even pissyer about) so I'm snagging a title from the awe-inspiring SS&E, and if you don't know who that is, you've been living under a rock, marsupial. Anyhow, 'Sarosian' is a term from a couple of his stories, referencing the bat-ponies, who were built as weapons by Discord and such, but Luna saved them, they fought back etc. SS&E did a way better job of making sound cool. In this case, though, a 'Sarosion' is a nightwing who has drunken enough blood to effectively turn into a vampire like Dracula from the Castlevania series. Freakishly scary. Early on, though, they are simply tougher, faster, and stronger than normal. Anyways, magical physiology lesson complete, for now. Feel free to chat with me about it if you want in the comments.
