“I can’t believe Sweetie Belle used my gems without permission.” Rarity grumbled as she pulled a small cart with her magic. “And right on top of this important deadline!”
“I, for one, feel the need to point out how sweet it was for your reaction to be ‘I have to get more’, instead of taking them off her picture.” Prosperity commented, walking on all fours as she wasn’t wearing her dress right then.
“Hmm? She is just a filly - it might not seem like much, but things like that are very important to them.” Rarity flipped her hair about. “I simply... didn’t think it was an option. I can get more, after all.”
“I’m still not sure what do you need the box for.”
“That is a surprise, darling.” Rarity smiled and straightened her posture. “I do not know if this is the result of our altered timeline, our divergence, or simply an idea that crossed my mind, but this is part of an arrangement.”
“If you say so.” Prosperity quirked an eyebrow at that - well, her brow, at least.
They arrived to the middle of a barren field, although there was a faint scent in the air.
“Shampoo?” Prosperity asked, sniffing the air.
“Neutral-pH, hypoallergenic, no-fragrance shampoo, darling.” Rarity clarified as she opened the mystery box, revealing a black dress and a makeup kit.
“Did you do what I’m suspecting you did?” She asked as Rarity slipped on the dress - a high-collar dress with several diamond lozenges in the pattern of her cutie mark all over it.
“If your suspicions include becoming ‘Empress of the Underdark’, then yes.” Rarity’s expression was neutral as she applied black markings to her face in very specific shapes. “I find gems for them, they dig them up, and I keep a portion.”
“Then why take over?”
“It was not like I intended to do so, but there are many things that pony society uses that make the dogs’ lives much easier.” Rarity stowed her makeup kit back in the box. “Things ascended when a different tribe thought I was taking over - they became offended, you see - and worried that I would do the same to them. A civilized meeting was necessary, but we managed to come to an agreement.”
“You literally kicked their tails with some secret martial arts move from a ‘forgotten’ civilization?” Prosperity teasingly flicked one of the diamonds on the collar of the dress.
“Well, someponies are brutish and impulsive.” Rarity turned with a huff. “But then another tribe heard of my… accomplishments, then another. I became a de-facto leader when I made my deal with the Diamond Dogs of this place, then it turns out I had… persuaded the leaders of other tribes to see things my way.”
“Did you use your secret weapon?” Prosperity allowed her voice to break as she raised it as high as it could go - surprisingly high, thanks to Breathing training with her dad.
“... I might have been in the need once or twice.” Rarity admitted as a mound of dirt rose from the ground and burst into a hole, revealing a little bulldog - who was tugging at his collar in worry.
“Ye-” He stopped to clear his throat. “Miss Rarity, we were not expecting you.”
“I won’t be long, Spot; I need a refill, and my friend here has agreed to help in our little lighting project.”
“Is she here for gems, too?” Spot asked with a tone of uncertainty.
“Nah, I’ve got all the gems I could want.” She waved away his concern. “I may even have a deal to make with you.”
*****
(The day of the Sisterhooves Social)
“... And then I arranged for some alchemized bacon and assorted meats to be traded for metal ores.” Prosperity said, hugging her now-much-smaller father figure and his girlfriend.
“Neat, if we can get a little more silver, we could get Luna to make a familiar of her own. Moonsilver would be ideal, of course, but I think she’d feel better if it wasn’t imported metal - she is a princess of Equestria.” Typhon nodded, brushing against the wing holding him in place.
“You know, Typhon?” Kat said, not exactly sure why she was sitting in a dragon’s lap. “The more I hang out around you, the more it reminds me of being around the Doctor. Only less humorous… and a lot more sex.”
“Well, there is an inherent risk of confusion when dealing with Void-walkers.” Prospit mentioned.
“And a little spice helps all relationships.” Typhon added. “If you catch my drift.”
“Dad, I really don’t need you to remind me of your non-existent gender-identity.” Prosperity jabbed him on the crown of the head with a claw. “Bad enough that you’ve been getting dresses from Rarity…”
“What? I’m Pan- as a pony, and there is no risk to my health or risk of getting stuck like that.” He shrugged. “I like to demonstrate my love through sensations just the same as any pony, and the repertoire is wider than as a human.”
“I take what I can get as long as it’s the same species,” Kat said with a shrug. She gave Typhon a loving nuzzle. “Typhon just has a lot of options for me to try.”
“You know, while Twilight is brokenly-overpowered, I’ve got more than enough control to try… Gryphon.” He said, receiving a bonk to the head from his daughter.
Kat gave him a deadpan stare. “Don’t push it. I barely tolerate being a pony, why on Earth would I want to be a griffon?”
“I’m aware of that; wasn’t talking about you...” He let his words hang in the air. “My body is a condensation of dream magic turning me into a living legend - or something - and I can manipulate that. It’s why I find mental stuff so… easy nowadays.”
“...no,” Kat said simply. “Same species, or you’re going without. Now let’s just watch the event, I heard Applejack is competing.”
“Alright.” He shrugged, turning to the starting line. “For a moment, I thought about letting that other pair of sisters know, but I heard Cicy is busy taking knitting lessons. Something about string-theory, knotted realities, or botched sweaters.”
The competitors were gathering, but, instead of Applebloom, Sweetie Belle was wearing the green neckerchief that matched Applejack’s.
“That’s odd. I thought Sweetie was Rarity’s sister. Why is she with Applejack?”
“They’ve been having a sisterly spat.” Prospit said, scratching Kat’s ears.
“It’s alright, though.” Typhon chuckled. “It’s like scissors - they work best when they are so tight, they scrape against one another without actually crashing.”
“Careful with that analogy,” Kat muttered with a slight blush, swatting Prospit’s claw away. “I’m guessing you know what’s gonna happen, eh? Are you from one of those worlds that had the show?”
“Yup, and I’ve walked all sorts of worlds, too; I’ve built lots of things to help in case we find something really awful, like an evil Conversion Bureau.” Typhon said, making Prosperity shiver. “Oops, wait a second.”
As Granny Smith was about to signal the beginning of the race, her megaphone was moved by a stray breeze, making her smack herself in the forehead instead of jabbing herself in the eye.
“Did you do that?” Kat asked Typhon with a slight glare.
“Alternative is getting a mouthpiece to the eye.” He replied. “And need I remind you she spits as she yells? I’m trying to be discreet.”
Kat nodded sourly. “Alright. You’re off the hook. But watch it, if it wasn’t for that granny, Applejack never would have stuck by me.”
“But of course - she makes the best pie I’ve ever eaten, and she did help found Ponyville about three hundred years ago.” He added. “Bad enough she has a bad hip.”
"She did what?!" Kat asked, fully surprised. "H-how?! Ponies don't live that long!"
“Maybe yours don’t.” He replied as Applejack fell into the mud. “In here, magic sticks to stable things, sound-mind sound-body kind of deal, in reverse. DNA damage due to age is much slower in more magical ponies, and Granny Smith? Well, her grandson can pull a two-story house without slowing down.”
His senses picked the distinctive signatures of the contestants, making him grin.
“Not to mention it can be reversed, even if it’s only by powerful and experienced casters.” Prosperity added. “And become good enough and you basically stop aging for a time. Starswirl the Bearded was already old when he drew the attention of the unicorn courts.”
“If Twilight wasn’t born near-immortal, she became so when she got her cutie mark, or when she picked the Element of Magic - and she knows. She might be a little crazy, but she’s an harmonious pony, after all.”
Kat blinked. "Magic, huh? May need to look into that more."
“Get in contact with Flitter, she’s in charge of medical research - how do you think a changeling would live a thousand and five hundred years? And there goes Sweetie just pronking over the obstacles - Pinkie must have taught her.”
She stifled a laugh. "Heh, pronk. Ah, fun with words. Wait, should she even be able to do that? I thought that was just a Pinkie thing?"
“She is a filly, and pronking is an actual word for a prancy, jumpy sort of walk.” Prosperity commented. “It doesn’t matter if you’re black and white, or descended from a pony made from Taffy.”
"Como se what?!" Kat asked, confusion etched in her face.
“Discord is of the opinion that there is nothing more chaotic than life.” Typhon supplied as the pair they were watching climbed the stacked crates. “And he’s also a nutball. Story goes, that when he heard a pony couple worried about being safe enough to go through a pregnancy during his reign, he took some hairs of the stallion, a bit of saliva from the mare, tickled her for her laugh, and took a portrait of him for his eyes… then stuck his claw in a portal and took out some candy. The wrapper was of Wonka’s Laffy Taffy. I can twist like that, but it leaves me sore after a minute.”
Kat blinked before rubbing her head. "Wibbly wobbly, timey wimey, spacey wacey. That's what I'm chalking that up to."
“Not really - I mean, when we are a separate timeline we have free access to the other ones. He can - and has - gotten things from other universes.” Typhon shrugged, and then pointed. “They are getting to the pie section, then the haybale-pushing race.”
"Ooh, a pie eating contest? Mmm, yum. Reminds me of Family Day on base."
“Those are Granny’s, too, so you know they are magical enough to drop a buffalo at thirty paces.” Typhon said as the green team tossed the pies high into the air, then gulped them down with ease.
"How the... What the... Why the... How did they do that?! Sweetie's not even that much bigger than the pie!" Kat rubbed her aching head. "The more I see, the weirder these places get!"
“Ponies are elastic.” Typhon waved his hoof up and down. “How do you think this one is possible? It’s a cartoon, girl, don’t sweat the small stuff. Unless it’s about to eat you, then you can worry all you want.”
"Not where I come from, they're not! The only one like that is Pinkie. It's already weird enough having pockets like this, don't need to be elastic too."
“I doubt most would ever be like that without serious training, but there’s got to be enough give just to even carry the foals... and I’m sure you just missed them, because this scene happens in all Season 2-compliant universes.”
“Dad, you did the ‘speaking symbols’ thing again.” Prosperity pointed out, making him gasp and cover his mouth.
“Damn it, having a computer program shape your body screws up everything.”
"Season two?" Kat reached back into her pocket, hoof disappearing behind her cutie mark, and pulled out a scroll. She levitated a pair of glasses from her jacket and put them on. "Let's see... Season 2, starts with Discord, Twilight's freak out, Luna and Nightmare Night..." She continued reading through, catching a glance at Typhon and Prospit staring at her. "What?"
"I'm used to being the only one that does stuff like that." He replied. "Be warned, though; the relation is not perfect, and things aren't in the same order, nor are all of the plot points valid - Season four is mostly impossible, since we do not have a physical Tree of Harmony, and thee Big Bad is actually one of the caretakers of this Multiverse."
"Word of advice." Prosperity commented in an unusually-serious voice. "Ea, and by extension, Enuma Elish, are gimmicks even inside their home multiverse; in this one, using them is an instant loss - breaking space-time to the time of the formation of the world will only get the Caretakers to kill you instantly at best, destroy your gimmick of a weapon, and forcefully close the rift you create."
Kat looked at Prospit and tilted her head. "I didn't understand a lick of that."
"Just talking about a weapon people treat like it is the greatest, most broken thing ever - buck, the natives aren't the sharpest tools in the shed! And lots of those things don't work under the rules of other universes. Space-time manipulation isn't that rare in other worlds." Typhon groaned. "Hell, you can block it with the sub-space pockets ponies use to enlarge their homes on the inside!"
Kat looked at the two of them, still confused. “I really don’t understand you two at all. Ugh,” she groaned, slumping and hanging her head. “This is what I get for finishing my education at a medieval-style college back home. That degree of mine is probably worth less than a GED.”
"To be fair, most of this was pieced together by ourselves, or investigated from a parallel universe - and dang, Sweetie is strong." Typhon pointed at where the green team had finished the haybale-pushing in first place.
“Impressive,” Kat nodded. “Though, why is Applejack still covered in mud? Doesn’t seem like a good idea for a race.”
"Meh, she gets her beauty products from Rarity; a good shake and the mud just slides off." Prosperity buffed her scales with a rag. "She's got some scale polish imported for me, too."
Typhon merely chuckled and gave a knowing smirk.
"Also, she said she had a dress for me... to, well, to compliment my scales." She finished softly, looking at her palms with a look that was hard to place.
“Oh?” Kat glanced at the dragoness. “Getting all pretty for a special somedragon are we?”
"Hmph." Prosperity huffed, turning away. "What I do or do not do with Seiryu is none of your business..."
She looked at her claws again, and sighed.
"It's just - well, being this color made things so hard... but I wouldn't have met mom and dad if it weren't for that. I don't know how to feel."
“Color?” Kat looked to Typhon for clarification. “What does color have to with anything?”
She pursed her lips and looked away.
"Well, she's leucistic - but that makes her look like a white, which were very... prone to become feral; something Tiamat's white head did." Typhon commented in her stead. "Feral dragons are usually put down, and her parents would rather leave her to her luck than see her descend into madness while so young - she had a temper before living in the wild took it out of her."
"And Typhon was the only one in the world who knew what leucism even was." Prospit whispered. "Still, that saved me from other dragons taking matters into her own claws, you know?"
Kat nodded. “I can understand why you care about him.” She looked at Typhon for a moment. “It seems he is always saving someone from something, even if it’s from themselves.”
"It's my personal Myth Arc." He replied. "Heirs are leaders, or potential leaders at the least, and have their own particular style of doing things - we like doing things our way, although we usually have to grow into our role or outgrow certain... mistaken notions about our perceptions. Going against that nature, or refusing to acknowledge mistaken perceptions... has consequences - it doesn't matter if it's conscious, or if others force us; things can end badly. In my case, I hate seeing people like that, so Fate steers me to where I am the most needed - and I allow it. That's why my powers are so quick to react - I am accepting of my nature, putting me in tune with them like only successful players can."
"Heirs value their freedom, and Breath players have a lot of that." Prospit added. "He lucked out with that one."
“Oh, so now I’m a consequence am I?”
"What the what now?" Typhon asked. "I was thinking more about that... moment of mine in front of the old castle, or what happened to Luna - she's pretty much an Heir, being railroaded into insanity. I would never say that you are something bad for me - you are, even if you were to reject me, a friend, and I'd still help you."
She nuzzled him lovingly. “I’m only teasing, andouille. And don’t worry about me rejecting you. Rita always said I would end up falling for my therapist one of these days… though that time my therapist was her dad... Rita was weird.”
"The Nightingale effect? It probably doesn't help that I can summon nightingale spirits that use healing magic." Typhon chuckled. "And you are helping me just as much, you know. And- oh! They were so close!"
Kat tsked a little. “Close, but no cigar. Surprising it was Berry Punch who won. Must be one of those few times she’s not drunk… or that’s not how she is in this world and I’m sounding rude.”
"Getting a pony drunk is quite a feat, but she is responsible with her drinking." Prospit gave Kat a brief noogie, pulling her claw away before she could swat it. "Did you know Piña Colada is two years younger than her niece, Ruby?"
“Who and who?” Kat said, confused. “I don’t know that many ponies in this town. And… wait a second, why is Applejack’s fur white?”
"Because she's Rarity. Didn't you notice her eyes were blue?" Typhon said as Rarity merely shook off the mud. "Those are some beauty products."
"Piña is Berry's sister, and Ruby is Berry's daughter." Prosperity said as Applejack climbed out of the mud pool and likewise slid off the mud. "I'm gonna collect the magic with my dress, dad, you just keep doing whatever it is that you feel like."
As Prosperity walked off, leaving Kat and Typhon on their own. “She’s an interesting character, Ty,” Kat commented. “She really takes after you.”
“She had nothing. Nowhere to go or return to - all she had was us, and I was the only meat-eater… well, the only one that had her kind of disposition, since changelings like stuff like fruit-bat and the like, but infuse emotive magic on the dishes.” Typhon sighed tiredly. “They were not apex predators, though - humans are, and so, she learned from me. My mom loves her to bits, too, but we stay in Tellus for much too long at a time.”
Kat nodded, then something caught her ear. “Wait… your mom? Typhon say what now?”
“I can find my way anywhere, and anywhen, but it has to be my way.” He replied. “I have the nature of Mu, or 無. Void-dwellers and their related phenomena are harmless to me - well, mostly thanks to the Truth I glimpsed when the veils of reality thinned, but Mu-training helped. I’m also protected from those that could actually hurt me by means of those that have a…positive disposition towards me. I could take her with me because she actually fit in my arms, and I could use just one to carry her.”
He shrugged.
“Explaining why I looked ten years younger and was built like an athlete was much harder than explaining that I travelled through the packing peanuts of Reality. Then mom wanted to meet my new family.”
“Don’t suppose I’d get to meet her one day, too?” Kat asked with a twinge of embarrassment.
“Once you have better control over your Void-travel, sure. I bet you’ll love the chilaquiles she makes, even though I use Chi-enhanced cooking… must be because I love my mom.” He nodded. ”I’d like to succeed in my plan first, though - one less thing to explain…or three more, since I have to tell her that they died, only they didn’t, because I made them make me think they did so the timeline wouldn’t be screwed over.”
Kat smiled at that, then seemed to remember something. “Hey, uh, Typhon. There’s something we need to talk about. But not here, I think it would be better in private at home.”
“Sure - I’m gonna need help crystallizing Rarity’s magic into magicite, although managing auracite would be ideal…anyways. We really should get going, huh?”
Kat nodded. “Yeah, it’s, uh, really important.”
"I can see it's bothering you." He spoke cautiously. "We'll take the express."
His horn began to glow blue, and then, lines started to travel across his body.
There was a faint pop, more of a 'fwop', and then they were inside the living room of the house. Typhon unlocked the door to the basement with a pulse of magic; the door connected to the underground base he had been constructing, but turned to Kat first.
"Are you fine speaking here, or do you want to use one of the more secure rooms?" He asked. The walls hummed slightly with the runes and wards, and the paper charms let out the faint fragrance of the aromatic solutions they had been soaked in, but there were safer rooms still.
“We’re fine right here,” Kat waved off the concern. “I just don’t want anypony… misunderstanding what we were going to talk about.”
"I hear you." He nodded. "Bad enough when Luna caught Windswept talking to me about how annoying it was that most medicines don't work on her..."
“Why would that be bad for Luna to overhear?” Kat asked, momentarily caught by her curiosity.
"Because Questant is just like me, but as a mare, so she has a certain seasonal problem; the normal medicines do not work on her ink body, so she needs to have her mind isolated from the resonance that causes her to have said problem." Typhon then clenched his teeth. "That is effectively the same as having the source in a pony... removed, or rendered inert for a time. It wouldn't need to be as extreme if I didn't have such a strong hormonal response as a girl, or if I didn't need Genbu to stay with me at all times. The upside is that my powers make me independent enough that the difference is minimal, save for the long periods of staring off into space."
He produced a red collar from his inventory, and gave it to Kat. He allowed his disguise to drop further, making his wings show... now, if only he hadn't had to get a hole in his chest to get the whole package...
"If you see her, put this on her. The waves of solar energy are the weakest in winter, but my hormones are so messed up it makes little difference... I go through the potion like it's water already..." He sighed. "Luna was upset over that, but she can understand."
Kat game him a deadpan with a raised eyebrow. She looked between the collar in her hoof and Typhon. "You seriously just did that. Please tell me you realize what you just did."
"I asked the most independent female pony I know to use a special binding magical artifact to prevent my copy from doing things twenty-four/seven with just about anything in her path." He deadpanned as well. "I have PMS as a woman, and I have hormonal counts fitting a pony twice my weight as a mare - why else do you- no, I can't think about it right now, because my dream-self is now my real body, and remember - it's a representation of my self-image. Why would I see my girl-self as anything other than a good mother? Now tell me you realize what that implies, for ponies."
Kat lifted up the collar. "You handed your girlfriend a collar, a collar, to put on another girl. Let me put this in better perspective. I grew up with a girl who felt compelled to try every satané kink in the book. Where do you think my mind is gonna go when you do something like this?"
"The exact same place my mind goes; I'm a pony now, with a mind as ever-changing and adaptable as the air. The collar is, in a sense, for me, remember?" He poked it with his hoof. "However, this is going to prevent her from doing it out of her own initiative - she (and therefore, I) wants foals, and the hormones are going to make it worse; besides, it might have been a year for you, but remember that day you met this world's Celestia? It won't be much different from that, anyways."
She sighed, shaking her head. "This isn't the conversation I wanted to have right now."
"Well, it's not something I wanted to do, either, but it's better than getting memory-uploads every few hours of having to bite a lamppost or mailbox to stop 'myself' from trying for something that can't even happen to a simulated body. Maybe it wouldn't be that hard if we didn't need to contain ourselves, but she would still become effectively useless as an independent agent." Typhon planted his rump on the floor. "I can't give her Genbu's clock, because I might need its other, much more useful properties."
"Fine, if I see her, I'll give her the collar."
"Thank you." Typhon breathed out in relief. "It's better this way, trust me... so, about that thing you wanted to talk about?"
"Oh, right." Kat took a deep breath. "Typhon... how would you feel about being a... well, being a father again?"
Typhon's eyes widened, as his face turned into a huge grin. "I- Well, of course! I- I'm so- wait..."
He took a deep breath, trying to get his excitement under control.
"I thought you weren't- well, there is also the dangers you go through... but we can always get a surrogate... hell, I can be- you know, I'm constantly amazed about how much the Void screwed up my mind, and how much my training messed up with my identity." He forcibly shook his head clear of the tangents. "I'd love to."
Kat smiled. "That's great! Because...well, um, it's kind of... already... happened..."
"I- you- you adopted?" He asked, smiling more softly. "Huh, well, that's still great. There is something about raising them from being little..."
He smiled forlornly at the window.
"I'd know if you were... well, I can tell if someone's got kidney stones, so..." He chuckled, then coughed into his hoof. "Where is the little bundle of joy?"
Kat motioned for him to follow and stopped at a blank wall. She lifted her hoof and opened up a portal, walking through. Typhon followed, finding himself in a nursery. Kat walked over to the crib and pointed at the lone egg that was wrapped tightly in a blanket.
"Ah, that explains a few things." He whispered, touching the smooth egg with great care. "Is there a story behind this?"
Kat looked down at the egg, a touch of sadness in her eyes. "It's a changeling egg. A queen egg to be precise. The last of her hive."
"I gathered the changeling part, but the last?" He sighed. "I don't know how much I can help with her - I can feel the differences already... but I'm still going to try."
He ran a hoof over the egg's surface, a blue aura around it.
"I'm feeling it - she's going to be great, I can tell."
"That's what I hope for," Kat said, rubbing her moist eyes. "She's mine. I tried giving her to another hive to look over, but it can't be done. When her mother gave her to me save, she was imprinted on me. As far as Kuna is concerned, I've always been her mother."
"That explains some other things." He nodded softly. "I don't see why not? As long as she has you, she's not going to run out of love; even if she were a bit more... tiresome with her feeding habits, I could just do this:"
He inhaled deeply, reaching far and wide.
"I ask for a tiny bit of energy - just a little, enough to sate this little filly." His horn was glowing. "Nature's energy, which I use as a human to use magic, can feed a changeling so long as there is love. Although the ones that feed directly on magic are easier still to feed."
"See, this is why I need you for this," Kat said as she nuzzled him. "With what I need to do, I can't raise her on my own. But..." Kat have Typhon a sad face. "There's something you should know."
"You are never on your own, Kat, remember that." He returned her affection, still feeding it into the egg as well. "What is it?"
She sighed and decided to tell him her secret. "A long time ago, back when I was still young, I was injured during the Second Griffin War. It was a deep wound and the doctors were forced to operate."
"You cannot bear a child of your own." He said, nodding. "As you were."
Kat's ears folded. "I should have known you'd notice. I was just hoping you hadn't. I know some guys can be turned off by it, so... I was afraid you would be too."
"Kat, unless I was babbling more than I thought I was, I remember having just said that I could bear it - if you can stomach the thought of being a guy for a... while." Typhon reddened very slightly. "Also, when you came back from... Beerus..." He resisted growling, but the tightening of his jaw was noticeable.
He inhaled, and then exhaled very, very slowly.
"You were pureed, Kat; I had to call the white queen just to make sure we could heal you fast enough... even then, she decided it would be easier to just alchemically-deconstruct your organs and re-construct them from the left-overs and protein supplements. I have also have had my hands cloned more than once..." He slumped back, trying not to press against the crib. "The body contains all of its instructions, you know... although I'm not going to have you do anything you don't want to, of course."
She shook her head. "I've tried, Typhon, I have. My whole body was recreated, but they still weren't restored. It's what happens when you let a field medic with next to no experience magically operate a hysterectomy on a species he's never seen before. And with medical knowledge that was just barely above medieval."
"Well, we cloned your stomach from pulp, and yet I don't see you vomiting more blood... unless the re-creation wasn't so much of a recreation and it screwed up your DNA... I'm- We are not simply wizards, Kat, we're thaumaturges. My golems I am so proud of? I didn't just magic a statue animate - I designed them from their smallest possible part. Unless your recreation erased your past from your body, I'm not giving up; even if it did, I'm going to scourge the Void for a memory of an earlier time--".
Kat put a hoof to his lips, a sad smile on hers. "Thank you, Typhon, really. But some things are just meant to be. I've accepted this fact of my body a long time ago and I'm able to live with it. But it means the world to me that you would go that far. So thank you, but this is the way I am. I only ask that you are able to accept that and still love me the same way."
"Well, of course." He replied without hesitation. "It was just that it sounded more like you had given up more than having accepted it... but that is alright, then. I'm just prone to thinking - if a traditional method doesn't work, I just go and find something that does give me the result; it's who I am... nothing has ever stopped me yet, you know." He tapped his chin in contemplation. "Kind of like Discord, but empathic - and I already told you what he has done."
He blinked, then shook his head.
"Sorry - pony mind. Once I started thinking of foals, I kind of become unable to stop." He chuckled. "It's worse when I'm a mare during a season; probably would have one already."
Kat giggled a little. "Ya know, we don't have to be ponies. I know how to stay in human form now."
"Ah- well, I tried, you know? I do get.. huggy... as a human, and I still think you're lovely, but the physical side of things is just... I feel like I don't- I've kissed, but something feels lacking, you understand? I'm a better fighter, but I feel like I'm too cold as a lover." He rubbed a foreleg in shame. "I get passionate about my research, about fights, about helping my friends, more aggressive, too... but I just want to sit besides you and see the sunset... and that's it."
"I make fully-functioning bodies for spirits, and yet I feel like my own is not all that connected."
"Typhon," Kat cooed, rubbing his cheek with her hoof. "What kind of girlfriend would I be if I couldn't accept all of you? I'd like to get to know who the man who captured my heart really is."
"That... that is a complex answer." In a flash, he was back to standing on two legs, wiggling his fingers. "The answer is that 'I' am more like multiple instances of myself more than a single individual. Like how a cut gem has facets, so does the existence called 'Typhon' have more than one facet; we share characteristics, but - think of it as a dichroic crystal, or some variety of tourmaline. It's the same gem, but the change in color can sometimes make it seem like it's another one entirely."
He sat on the floor of the nursery.
"Like back in the forest. That is also me. The mare who just wants a foal, that is also me... the stallion that is even now thinking of asking Flitter to produce an egg, even if it would mean having to 'carry' it himself, that is also me. I am all, just carefully filtered over through one path, in order to produce a single me, or a single expression of my power. I'm a Primordial being now."
"Uh huh," Kat muttered. "Well, while that is a good and dandy, Typhon, you are forgetting something rather important."
"I am also the guy that is willing to give everyone a chance, and feels at peace having you around." He smirked. "And the guy who raised a dragon, ponies galore, a few changelings, and is now going to add one more - from another dimension, to boot."
"There's that, too. But not what I was talking about." Kat slowly advanced on him, using her pocket watch to turn back into human as well. A mischievous little smile made its way on to her face as she pressed Typhon up against the wall. "Can you guess what you're forgetting?"
"I most certainly am not forgetting 'your boyfriend'." He chuckled, resting a hand on her hip. "The beds back home are larger, you know?"
She smirked even more. "Cute. But you're close. You, mister, are forgetting that I'm the possessive type. So I'm not going to be satisfied until each, and, every, one, of those facets are thinking of me." She poked his chest lightly to accentuate each word. "Got a problem with that?" Kat teased.
"Problem? Well, do remember that a few of those are thinking of getting revenge in your behalf... frankly it was sweet, but you really should be careful with what you ask." He surrounded her with an arm. "Things can get weird."
He sighed, but just held her closer.
"I look human. Cut me, and test it, and it comes back human. But this?" He gently took her head in his hands, pressing their foreheads together. "I am human, and I am a god; I am a player in a game, and I am also the avatar in it; I am flesh and blood, and also a dream; I am Yin, and I am Yang; I am writing my own story, and I am already a legend... make no mistake - I want to give you everything you want... but there is only so much I can give, because I love like the winds of Spring love you. I wish you luck, as much as it is mine to wish - I love you, and I want you to have that love I'm giving you, but do remember I have other things inside me, like anger, and duty."
Kat have him a quick kiss. "Challenge accepted. You know something else? You're cute when you get long winded and preachy."
"Well, after all, I would hate it to be thought of as an 'airhead'." He laughed as he held her up by the hip. "I'm the patriarch of one of the most influential families in the country, and friends with queens, and by Jove, I'm willing to show it!"
"You're also dating a force of nature, windhead."
"Back at you... you know, there are obvious cracks about your weight, but I like my spine where it is."
"Joke like that and your spine isn't what you need to be worried about."
"See? Feisty." He chuckled. "You know, I can see those lovely muscles flexing and filling with Ki from miles away - not that I would have it any other way."
"Smooth," Kat commented.
"It's your fault for eating that guy." He placed her back down. "He's as unhealthy as a deep-fried and battered Double-Coronary burger; he didn't grasp the concept of 'brain food'."
"You have been doing Breathing exercises, right?" He said, before frowning and rubbing his forehead. "Sorry, sorry... I've been switching too fast lately. I just started worrying you'd come across another Saiyan... on another note, that is what happens when you get all of me thinking about the same subject at once. Sorry if I ruined the mood - I have a harder time as a human."
"I was about to ruin it anyway," she replied, before putting something in his hand.
"Huh?" He - out of habit - brought it to his sight. "A key? Where to?"
"To here," she said, motioning around the nursery. "It's enchanted to where all you need to do is put it in any lock, and you'll find your way here,"
"Clever." He said, thumbing his dragon pendant. "It's not that different from the teleport I used to get home, actually. I'm going to keep the egg safe, and watched, too."
"Good, because I still have at least six more worlds to visit, so I'm counting on you to keep my child safe."
"My pony selves just danced a jig with that phrase." He informed her. "I'm also sure Wind Whistler would have kissed you for that. Don't worry, I have more than enough love to sustain her - and I don't even know her yet."
"Alright, but watch yourself. She's my daughter so don't go trying anything. Until there's a ring on my finger, she's mine and mine alone."
"Quick question; is this room outside of normal Tellurian space, or is it just a room hidden somewhere?"
“Personal pocket dimension,” Kat clarified.
"Would you mind if I get the familiars and golems to watch over this place? Normally, they stay in the representation of my mind and soul, but, well, this is kinda valuable." He gave the egg a gentle stroke... it was much better with hands, for sure.
Kat seemed hesitant. “I don’t know… kinda have this thing against nannies…” She thought on it a little more, stroking her chin as she did. “Well, I suppose having a constant watch would be beneficial… alright. I guess one or two golems in here would be nice. In case Kuna starts to hatch and all.”
"I have a watcher in mind - I think you might get a kick out of this, too." He grinned as he made a large scroll appear on his hand. Unfurling it partially, they were met with a complex circle, full of geometric figures and some drawings of a pony and rainbows.
"Now, for the symbol of the contract/bind." He muttered, and his palm started bleeding slightly. "'Wind is a wimpy element' my tail- wait, I no longer have one... bah."
He pressed his hand to the middle of the circle, and channeled just enough energy from the Four to open a way.
In a puff of smoke, there was a unicorn made of interlocking plates of metal - albeit flexible, to the point of looking more like plastic of a very convincing metal color. Her mane and tail was like a curtain of intense colors that shifted freely like waves, and currently draped over her form.
"Hi 'dad'." She giggled - her voice sounded synthetic, but made of pleasant sounds and bits of musical instruments.
"Irida, it's creepy when you pause like that." He frowned as he cleaned his hand with some tissues - it always pays to be prepared. "Take off your eye-covers, this is important."
The golem shrugged, then the aqua-green covers that gave her face a slight changeling look receded, letting her eyes show. As Typhon was partial to colorful things, he had made her irises out of crystals from the Crystal Empire, enchanted to shift colors just like her mane and tail - only without looking like plasma, since that would totally ruin her night vision, or even her regular vision.
"This is the last egg of a hive, currently under the care of Kat here present." He gestured to her like the announcer of a talk show - a habit he had picked up because ponies weren't very good at picking-up human facial expressions. "I want you to take care of this place like it's back in my mind, alright?"
"Sure, 'dad'." She saluted, the hoof making her head ring melodiously.
"I really have to stop adding things just because I can." Typhon rubbed his eyes tiredly. "This is Irida, she can run from Canterlot to the heart of the Empire and back in less than a day, never tires unless things are going wrong, and is more like a pony-shaped missile that likes to sing than a golem - that likes to sing."
"'Dad' made me because he couldn't stop thinking of the game." She said. "A pleasure to meet you."
"Starswirl played day in and day out trying to beat all my records." He muttered angrily.
“Uh huh,” Kat nodded slowly. “I’m not too sure of this plan anymore.”
"Believe me, she'd rather explode than let something harm that egg."
"It's true! I like kids." She offered.
"And she's insanely strong, and flash-steps faster than I can with magic." He petted her head, making Irida snicker. "She's very cost-efficient, too."
"I don't need much."
"You better not - that Sunblood core of yours is a first-class combat model now; I scrapped your old one to make it."
"It's not my fault you are so paranoid you planned for an invasion of... everything, really."
"It's not paranoia if they really are after you." He nodded sagely.
“Yes it is,” Kat snarked with a smile. “It’s called practical paranoia. Still paranoia though.”
"Semantics." He waved it away, but Irida-
"Don't you thrive on semantics, 'dad'?"
"I much prefer the term 'reasonable cautiousness', since nearly everything has happened that I made one of you for - save for a big war, but Equestria can actually handle that one, despite the human-like training regime for the guards."
“Ooh,” Kat muttered with awe. “You know, next time a bad guy shows up, I want in. I’d like to see how the monsters of this world can fight.”
"The monsters are... aggressive, but it's the Nightmare Corps what should have you worried." Irida warned. "They are, obviously, amalgamations of fears and nightmares, but, unlike boogeymanes, they need something to give them a defined identity, and almost-never turn away from causing fear and negative feelings."
"They want me for my capacity to be a dream, yet remain physical on my own merit." Typhon scowled. "They have little-to-no forethought, as Nightmare Moon exemplified, so their plan will never work... but, until we recover the Crystal Empire, they will throw the dream-projections of would-be conquerors, destroyers, and even gladiators at me."
"Say, Kat, do you know what a 'moogle' is?" Irida asked. "Or a 'Black Mage' that isn't a synonym for 'evil mage'?"
“Of course,” she nodded. “Well… only through Kingdom Hearts, but same concept, right?”
"Same one, yes." Typhon nodded. "We are about to receive a visit from a moogle called Nware, one of the Five Color Kings; he's the Black Magic wizard, with a magic stat through the roof, insane reflexes, and the ability to use his own attack magic to heal himself through his equipment."
"He can also turn you into a frog. By singing." Irida added. "I suggest wearing Gilgamesh's gauntlets."
"That's true. Although I also have a Ribbon - not the KH one, though; original flavor."
“Um… yeah, I don’t know that stuff. I wasn’t much of a gamer and Final Fantasy was just boring to me,” Kat admitted. “Please don’t tell Gilgy I said that. Disappointed him enough already.”
"Well, it's like this: He's short enough to ride the ponies without trouble, but packs enough fire magic to turn sand to glass, lightning enough to hurt a pegasus that hasn't trained extensively in its use, and his ice magic... well, ice magic is more like freezing your internal life-force and making damage through that, but I wouldn't doubt for a second he can use it 'normally' to make steel brittle like glass."
"And trying to punch him is going to be a nightmare and a half, because he will explode himself to heal any damage you inflict. And he's a boss-type, with a special accessory, so he's immune to instant-death effects."
“Ooh, sounds like a fun challenge. Always wanted to fight a wizard. Not many existed as enemies in my Equestria. And there was a surprising lack of them traveling with the Doctor. Well, there were one or two, but let’s not go into them.” Kat looked down and muttered to herself. “Tordus.”
"Then you are in for a treat, sister!" Irida cheerfully proclaimed. "Once that one is done, we'll get an even stronger White King, with the ability to power his spells with life-force, access to powerful Sage spells, and... well, he's going to be less dangerous overall due to his spellcaster-squishiness, but then we get to fight all five of them at once!"
"I plan on inviting them to the Desert of Glass Sand, where I can just go nuts and hit them with everything without having to worry about either side reducing Canterlot to rubble."
“Well then, I want in.” Kat looked down at the egg, brushed it lovingly with her hand. “Come on, windhead. Let’s let the baby rest.”
Irida saluted - much slower this time - and saw the human pair leave.
"Being a geek has never been so rewarding." Typhon said as he slumped in mid-air back in his own living room. "You get to know a lot of different contexts and, with the right friends, apply them in new ways. I've seen what happens when you put one outside-context thing in Equestria - it wasn't pretty."
Kat floated right up next to him, smiling lovingly. “Just tone it down a bit for my sake. Not every reference you make I get, so at least make it simple.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll make sure no references get you.” He nodded sagely. Kat gave Typhon a deadpan before flicking his forehead.
“Andouille.”