//------------------------------// // Chapter 28 // Story: Redemption, Damnation and FIM // by ShadowWalking18 //------------------------------// Another chater :) I'm thinking there will possible be 30ish chapters total. possibly 35 with one extra being a special episode for all my faithful readers. But will have to see. Eitherway you are all getting a special chapter after this all ends :P it will probably be a BIG one. Anyway do enjoy. Tez looked down at Twilight, who looked over to him with slightly closed eyes. The dim light of burning candles that were arranged strategically around the bed, was all that illuminated the dark room. Tez llicked his lips as he hungrily looked over Twilight. She was wearing, what he figured was the pony version of lingerie. She had on a saddle, only this was made of silk fabric. She also had furry leg bands, worn right under her cutie mark, with two smaller ones on her front legs. At the base of her horn as another fuzzy ring. All in all it was making him excited, and his mind was already contemplating several thousand acts of debauchery he and she could commit. "To what do I owe this....pleasure?" Tez asked as he walked over, his eyes slowly starting at Twilights legs and making their way up. Twilight giggled, "Do you like it? I found it in such an interesting book." Tez wondered what book ponies could possibly have that described this, but then realized....he didn't care. "Oh I like very much." Tez said licking his lips lightly. Twilight gave a smile and moved back to lay on the bed, legs spread slightly. Her front hoof giving a 'come hither' motion. Tez followed willingly, slowly crawling onto the bed and towards his student like a jungle cat stalking it's prey. Tez was soon on top of Twilight, gazing at her slender form. Twilight looked up at him with a slight, and lustful smile. Tez smirked and slowly traced a finger down her neck and over her stomach, winning a ticklish giggle from Twilight. Tez chuckled slightly as his hand went lower before sliding down her leg towards her cutie mark. Twilight was panting, her face flush as she looked up at Tez. Tez could feel his heart racing and feel his own growing arousal. "Screw the foreplay. Let's get right to the main course." Tez growled with desire. Twilight panted and nodded. Tez gripped Twilights rump, his nails digging in slightly and... RING!!!! Tez's eyes snapped open, red and bloodshot. He growled and got up quickly and looked at the alarm clock that was seated on a small night desk next to him. "Always.....when...it gets....to the best PART!!" Tez yelled and thrust out his arm and blasting the clock with a violent blast of magic, reducing it and the desk into charred pieces of cinder and ash. Growling Tez got up and shook the sleep from his mind. He was going to be in sour mood today. He got off the throne, which he took to sleeping on due to its comfy pillow. He stretched and made his way towards the door. As usual he was alone in the throne room, since he did not want any guards wasting time protecting or guarding it. 'They are better spent training and recruiting. Let's hope the numbers have grown somewhat since last week.' He thought as he pushed open the door, scaring several maids and couriers as he walked past them. It had been almost seven weeks since he had, without a small bit of resistence, taken and assumed full control of Canterlot and all of Celestia's kingdom. Some nobles and council members had been against it. But after a few words, a show of power, and no small amount of bodily harm and tortures of unimaginable pain to those they loved and charished and he had managed to put those ponies under his heel. 'These ponies wouldn't even know court intrigue of higher scales if they tried. Eons of peace have made them ignorant of the Game of Houses.' Tez thought as he looked out the windows as he made his way towards his first destination of the day. The sun was out and shone brightly, and outside at the castle grounds he saw guards training new recruits, running drills, and working formation. 'Still not fast enought. Still not enough recruits. Mex has a giant head start on us still.' Tez thought. Hundreds of different tasks he still had to complete or finish running through his mind that it was causing him a headache. Passing servants, that immediately got out of his way in fear, or guards that shook when he passed, Tez soon found himself at the door of the dinning room. From the posistion of the sun he was a bit late, but what could he do. Pushing open the door he walked in, gaining a surprise glance from those gathered. Celestia, Luna and all the girls were there. Some just finishing up breakfast. Pinkie Pie herself was just finishing a whole cake. 'How she does that I don't know...but I do want to know what else she can do with that tongue of hers.' Tez thought with a smirk. "Good morning ladies." Tez said as he sat down. "Good morning Tez." Celestia said, Tez could tell she was holding back a question. The same one as yesterday no doubt. "Hello Tez. " Luna said with a smile, though Tez could see sadness in her eyes. "Howdy Tez." Applejack said, though she couldn't meet his eyes. It irritated Tez. "Oh...um...good morning." Fluttershy whispered. "Mfffmmff mgfmfmff." Pinkie Pie said with her mouth full of cake. Tez took it as good morning. He was also glad to see her hair was all puffy again. 'Though how long will that last today?' He thought with a frown. "Good morning darling. I do hope you plan to change into some new clothes. Wearing the same thing twice is simply uncouth." Rarity said as she finished her eggs. Tez smirked, he could always count on Rarity to focus on fashion before anything else. It was one of the things he loved about her. "Oh...good morning Tez." Twilight said frowning slightly. "Why do we have to stay here? I've got things to do." Dash said crossing her hooves. Tez sighed and walked over to the table and sat down at the head. "I've told you before Dashie. You were there when I confronted and fought against my brother. He will assume some sort of connection between us and will try to use that to gain an advantage over me. I can't let that happen." "But-" Dash began but was cut off by Tez lifting a hand. "No arguments. I send you all to Ponyville to take care of business and work that you have there. But untill I have my brothers head served to me, on a silver platter you will all remain in the castle when all of your other duties are taken care of. It is safer for both you and your families." Tez said, his voice saying that was the end of any argument. Dash sighed and flicked a piece of cereal. She couldn't do all her tricks that she normaly could do in Canterlot. Tez sighed and watched the girls finish their breakfast. Celestia looked over to Tez, and as Tez had predicted, asked her question. "Tez...do you really have to do this? Surely there is another way." Celestia said, hoping to change Tez's mind for today's decision. Tez sighed, "Celestia. We are at war and we need soldiers. I've already gotten most of those who would volunteer and accept the payment I offered." "But surely that was enough." Luna said, it was a very wealthy sum Tez had offered. "I need more. My brother has an army of thousands and all well trained. We only have a good fifteen hundred soldiers. It is not enough." Tez said with a growl. "But your brother ain't attacked at all." Applejack said. Tez nodded, "That's only because we evacuated the cities that were closer to where he could strike easily and swiftly." "But...a conscription. Are you just going to drag ponies from their homes against their will?" Celestia asked, her voice betraying her anger at the concept. Tez was silent, then said, "If necessary. Yes." "But..." Twilight began, but was cut off by Tez as he slammed his fist down on the table, causing it to crack. "No buts. I already told you, if you want to keep your entire kingdom from becoming knife fodder we need soldiers." Tez said. "Why do you need the guards to fight? You and your brother are like, wickedly powerful why not just fight each other?" Dash asked. Tez sighed, "While it is true I can match one of my brothers one on one, I can't fight two on one." "Why not? you're like the strongest I know. Your brother ran away the last time you fought didn't he?" Dash asked. Tez nodded, "Yes he did flee," Tez took a slow drink of water, then continued, "but that was only because he was not willing to risk his ambitions on the flip of a coin." "What do you mean?" Luna asked. "I mean," Tez said, "is that if I were to fight one of my brothers it is a fifty-fifty percent chance I'll either kill him or he will kill me. We are that equal in strength and even if I managed to kill one, my remaining sibling would be able to easily destroy me, I wouldn't even be able to put up a fight." "So ya'll are gonna be using us your armies to be fighting each other?" Applejack asked. Tez nodded, "It would be the safer option....until either Mex or I find a way to gain a strength advantage over the other." "And Mex already has one." Twilight said with a frown, remebering the conversaton concerning this topic. Tez sat on the throne, repositioning himself at a constant rate. The princesses and the girls watched him with....slightly raised eyebrows. It had only been a day since he had assumed control, and after dealing with more outbursts against him, thankfully none of them ending with somepony eviserated. Luckily, he seemed calmer now, though Twilight was sure that it would not last for long. He had now called Twilight and her friends, along with Celestia and Luna to see him in private. Though right now all he had done was....this. "Uh...Tez?" Twilight spoke up. "Yes." Tez said as he tried lounging on his head in perfect balance. "Uh...." Twilight tried to think of a way to phrase the question." "Why are you moving around like an idiot?" Dash asked in her usual blunt manner. "Oh silly Dashie, can't you see he is trying to get comfy. He is a kitty cat after all, they require a special way to sit to be comfortable." Pinkie said with a smile. "Hmm, she does have a point. I know my Opalesence does a similar thing...only...with less...poses." Rarity said looking at Tez who was now trying yoga posistions. "Anyway...you asked us here for something?" Twilight asked. "Yes. It concerns my brothers. I didn't tell you this yesterday, but..." "But what?" Every pony asked. "I'm afriad that they already have a far greater advantage over me." Tez said as he finally found a posistion he liked and sat contently on the cushiony throne. "What do ya mean?" Applejack asked. "Yes Tez," Celestia said, "do explain." "Simply he has access to a leyline. It would be the only reason why he would be gathering sacrifices." Tez said. "A what?" Everypony asked. Tez sighed, seeing that this was gonna take a bit of explaining. "Well...a leyline is-" So Tez explained the workings of leylines. How they were conduits of magical energy. How they amplified ones magical ability and acted as a buffer against magical backlash allowing one to wield more magic then their body could handle on its own. "So...your brothers are more powerful then you?" Fluttershy said, very afraid. Tez smirked, "They would certainly be so yes. Luckily I have a few aces up my sleeve." "What kind of aces? Are they shiney aces? Oh maybe their blackcherry flavored ones." Pinkie said with a smile. Tez smirked... "Um....so...what do we do?" Fluttershy asked. Tez stood up with a stretch, then turning and heading to the door. "The same thing I always do my dears. Make it up as I go along." Tez said with a laugh. The girls watched him go with a collective facehoof. Once they were sure however that Tez was out of earshot, they began to talk again. "He seemed happy today." Fluttershy said. "Yeah, but how long you wanna bet that will last." Dash said. "Rainbow Dash is right. I think we all know how short these good moods of Tez's have be recently." Twilight said with a frown. "Ummmm...he didn't eat again." Fluttershy said with a worried tone. "Yeah...Tezzy has been doing that alot lately. And I know for a fact he hasn't even had any snacks at all." Pinkie Pie said, her mane flat. "And he hasn't bothered to change his clothes at all. And I had brought him his clothes from Ponyville, but he has only bothered to change once in two weeks. Simply gross." Rarity said, though despite her demanor her eyes showed that she truely worried for Tez's well being. "So...what do we do?" Luna asked. Celestia bit her lip, unsure of what exactly they could do. While Tez had done some good, seeing that all the refugees that had arrived be given a place to stay and supplies of food, he had pretty much established himself as a tyrant in Canterlot. 'At least he hasn't taken to executing ponies for simply disagreeing with him or speaking out against him....though it might eventually come to that. I hardly think he will continue to just show off his power in order to produce fear.' Celestia thought. "I don't know....we don't even know why Tez is acting this way now. Frankly he seems to be completly erratic in his behavior as we have seen," Celestia sighed, "one moment he seems to be his old self...then the next he is almost killing a pony for speaking out against him." "Well...if something is bothering him, maybe we can find out what." Pinkie Pie said. Everypony looked at Pinkie with surprise. For once she had an idea that, amazingly, did not make any sense at all, or lacking any of her usual pinkieness added to it. "Uh sugarcube, are ya feeling okay?" Applejack asked as she placed a hoof to Pinkie's forehead. "Of course AJ, why wouldn't I be okay?" Pinkie Pie asked, tilting her head slightly confused, "I want Tez to be his old self again." Twilight opened her mouth, but shook her head and said, "Nevermind. Still, it is an idea. And I think that something has to be bothering Tez. I know for a fact that he has some memories that he probably wouldn't want to remember." Twilight remembered the Cortez incident, and was sure it was probably connected with Tez's behavior. When he had remembered that he had been vicious and angry. "Who knows what else he has probably remembered now. Sudden recollection of bad memories can really hurt somepony mentally." Twilight said. "Well...it is something." Celestia said, not sure if this plan was the right path to take. "We really have no other plans," Luna said, "it's better then doing nothing." Celestia had to agree with her sister, "Alright. We can all try to find out what, if it is the reason, of Tez's past would cause his sudden change in behavior. But I don't want anypony taking risks. We don't know if Tez is completely stable, and any forcing of the issue might cause him to lash out at somepony or even you." The girls were silent, the ears flat. The thought that Tez would try to hurt any of them did not seem possible. And yet....mental images of an engraged Tez filled their minds none the less. It made them shiver. Still...what choice did they have. If they did not find a way to change Tez's behavior....there probably wouldn't be much of an Equestria to save. Tez walked down the hall. Passing freightened guards and servants. No one dared even look at him, keeping their eyes instead on the floor when he passed. It was fine; he preferred it that way. 'Have to gather the recruitment teams. But where to begin the recruitment?' Tez thought. As he thought on the subject Tez, he picked up the sweet scent of apples. 'Huh?' He thought and looked around, spotting Applejack walking next to him. She was looking up at him with a slight smile. "Howdy sugarcube." Applejack said. Tez blinked, "Uh...hi..." "Something wrong?" Applejack asked with a tilt of her head. "Uh...no..well yes." Tez said. "Oh what is it?" Applejack asked. "Well....it's just that you, well...you girls don't usually follow me. If you're here to ask me to send you home to do work, I'll get to it later." Tez said. "Oh there's no need to rush sugarcube. All the major harvesting was taken care of last week, and Big Mac said he would be able to handle a day by himself. So I thought I'd spend some time with ya'll." Applejack said with a slight smile. Tez blinked, and a part of him, the part that was both paranoid and suspicious of anything outside of direct combat, was telling him that Applejack was being honest, but at the same time she was probably hiding something. He knew for a fact that she could not tell the full truth, as she had done that time with the rodeo fiasco at Dodge Junction. But another part, the one that he prefered to listen to when he was in the company of the girls, was wondering if she not only smelled like apples but tasted like them. His eyes would wonder over to Applejack's cutie mark and he began to have sudden, and very perverted thoughts. 'Hmm....maybe I can make that dream a reality.' Tez thought as he licked his lips. Applejack took notice of this silent staring and began to feel a bit uncomfortable. "Uh...something wrong Tez?" She asked, slightly afraid that she might have done something to set something off. Tez blinked, "Huh...oh no. Everything is alright. I guess I just got lost in your pretty eyes." Applejack blushed, "Eh...there you go with that fancy sweet talking business." Tez smirked, "Of course you know I'm being truthful." AJ blushed more, "You...you...I.." Tez smirked, "You're cute when you're flustered." "Hey now....look," Applejack said, trying to move the conversation to something that would make her blush less, "You stop that sweet talkin and..." Tez leaned forward a bit and kissed Applejack a bit lightly on the lips. This caught her completely off guard and she backed away a bit in surprise, her face red as the apples of her cutie mark. Tez chuckled darkly and followed her, eventually cornering her next to the wall. Applejack had backed up till she now stood on straight, back against the wall. Tez pressed his hands against the wall, and he looked at Applejack with a lustful look in his eyes. 'How long has it been since I've been with a woman...' Tez thought, 'Three thousand years....no I think four thousand...gah whatever the time it's been too long!' "T-Tez...I..you...ahh" Applejack gasped she felt Tez trail a finger down her neck softly. The finger trailing over a sensative spot and sending shivers down her spine. Tez smirked when he saw this reaction, and slowly circled his finger on the area, earning another gasp from Applejack. "T-Tez....stop..Ah..." Applejack said breathlessly. Despite asking him to stop, a part of her was enjoying it. "Why?" Tez said as his other hand slid down her side, stopping at her flank, giving it a squeeze. This earned him a gasp from Applejack. AJ's face was flushed, as she looked up at Tez and shivered when she met his eyes. Eyes that glowed with unrestrained desire. "Tez....stop," Applejack pleaded as Tez slid his other hand down to her flank and lifted her up, pressing himself against her slightly as he trailed his lips against her neck. Applejack's shivered with the contact, her breathing becoming faster, sometimes catching in her throat when Tez nibbled her neck. "Tez....other ponies are...ahhhh," Applejack gasped, "watching." Tez stopped and looked around, spotting a few servants passing by. Each with a blush on their face and looking away, not wanting to draw attention. Though one or two might have peeked every so often. Tez just smirked. "Let them watch. Makes it more kinky." Tez breathed softly. "But.." Applejack tried to say, but was cut off by Tez as he placed his lips to her. Her eyes widened as she felt him press against her, the kiss becoming more passionate. Despite her mind telling her to resist, or at least go somewhere more private, Applejack felt her self melting into the kiss. Her heart beat quickened as she closed her eyes, and felt Tez's tongue part her lips and meeting hers. She could not help but moan slightly, which only made Tez even more excited, and causing ponies nearby to blush as they witnessed this. Applejack soon felt her tongue entering Tez's mouth, his own caressing her own. Eventually the kiss ended and both were breathing heavily. Applejack's vision was a bit cloudy, but it slowly began to refocus, now if only her mind would. 'This...this is going off in the wrong direction. But...it was so good.' Applejack thought with a blush. "Damn that was good." Tez said with a smile, one of his fangs showing slightly. "I...yeah..." Applejack said, unable to think of something to say. Tez chuckled, "I think....we should go somewhere else now." The way he had said it, made Applejack shiver. And the look in his eyes made it clear what he had planned. Tez frankly did not care. His mind now giving full control to his more primal urges, sadly...it was not to last. "Um.....excuse me..." A voice said. Tez blinke and growled, lifting a hand away from Applejack and sinking his claws into the stone wall and dragging his hand down. The loud screech and tearing of stone as his claws left a deep cut in the stone caused every pony to jump and look at Tez in fear, especially Applejack who was being held so close to him, if he wanted to hurt her she wouldn't be able to do anything to stop him. The servant that had approached Tez during his...activity, flinched and ducked low with fear as she looked up at Tez. Tez turned his head, his eyes glowing violent and hissed, "What!?!" The servant gulped and lifted a note up, shaking immensly in fear, even after Tez took it. With a wave of his hand, the servant quickly took off, crying slightly from fear. Tez looked at the message and growled, crumpling it in his hand. He looked to Applejack and sighed as he set her down. Applejack looked up at him confused, her face still flushed a bit. "Wha-what's wrong?" Applejack asked, feeling slight disappointment that they weren't continuing. "Nothing, but I have some business to take care of sadly." Tez said as he turned and began to walk off. Though he stopped for a moment, turned and said, "Though we should really continue this at a later date....I really enjoyed it." He gave a smirk, his eyes glittering with untold desire. Applejack blushed and looked down, digging slightly at the ground. Tez smirked and continued on, grumbling about something. Applejack looked around a bit, noticing at least one remaining servant. She blushed even more and she quickly ran to her room. 'Okay....maybe I need to think of a plan next time.' She thought. Despite how easy Pinkie's plan had seemed, it was no doubt going to be very difficult. 'DAMN IT!' Tez screamed mentally as he stomped down the hall, murder in his eyes. 'Damn that Shining Armor. Worse then a freaking contraceptive! I was so close!' Tez made a mental note to kick Shining Armor where it hurt the most as hard as he could. Hopefully he didn't accidentally kill him. 'Naghh....now I feel worse then I did this morning.' Tez thought, as he still felt his heart racing and his desires and arousal still afflicting his body. This was not going to be a happy day. Pushing open the doors leading out into the training grounds, Tez passed earth ponies training in spear and blade usage. Which was amazing considering they lacked fingers. Unicorns were busy practicing spells of destructive use, ones that he had personally instructed them in using. 'They might be able to do this for practice, but when the real battle comes we will see who has the ability to be a killer.' Tez thought with a smirk. Finally he spotted Shining Armor, who seemed busy conversing with a number of guards. The recruitment group no doubt. 'Okay, maybe I won't kill him....yet.' Tez thought as he approached. "So, I take it you're ready to get this over with. Cause you interrupted me at an inconvient time." Tez said with a slight snarl. Shining Armor turned quickly and saluted, gulping slightly as Tez stood before him. The guards did the same, and all could tell that Tez...was not happy. "Uh...sir..uh...I'm sorry if my message interrupted anything important. But we're ready to begin the...conscription." Shining Armor said. The last part making his stomach turn. Tez looked over the guards. Frankly he was not impressed, but then again he never really was with those who lived in peace and had the nerve to wear the garments of warriors. 'Don't even deserve to call themselves guards. Not until they've tasted the blood lust of battle.' Tez thought. "Fine. We will begin with Cloudsdale. Don't worry, I'll make sure you don't fall to your deaths." Tez said The guards gulped and nodded. Shining Armor just bit his lip. 'This doesn't seem right,' he thought, 'I became a guard to keep ponies safe...but if I drag ponies from their homes like this...am I still protecting them?' "Alright if we are ready lets..." Tez said before beign cut off. "Wait!" Tez turned to see a rainbow streak coming towards them. Tez blinked as Rainbow Dash landed infront of him. "Dashie?" Tez said surprised. "Yeah. Are you just getting ready to leave?" Dash asked. Tez blinked, "Uh...yeah. Why?" "Well I was just passing by and I heard that you were going to Cloudsdale, soooo I thought I'd come along. I haven't been there in awhile and I'd love to visit again and see my folks. That okay?" Dash asked,tilting her head slightly. "Uh...sure...thats okay." Tez said. "Cool. Well let's go!" Dash said as she did a loop in the air once. Tez blinked, "Right well. Let's go." Tez turned to face his guards and cast a cloud walking spell on the ones that required it. Once that was all set he waved a hand and in a flash of light the entire group teleported to their destination. Twilight walked with Celestia through the castle halls. The two were taking time to catch up with each other, as well as discuss current happenings and plans. "It has been wonderful talking with you Twilight. It has been awhile since we had time to ourselves." Celestia said with a smile. Twilight smiled, "It has been awhile. I'm glad we took some time to talk today, what with everything that's been happening..." Celestia frowned, "Yes...I know. The weeks have been traumatic, and I fear that unless we do something there will be more to come. And while I can't agree with what Tez has been doing, I fear that if he isn't stopped he might risk causing open rebellion." Twilight gasped, "That...that wouldn't really happen...right princess?" Celestia bit her lip, "I don't know...I hope not but....right now...I don't know what is possible anymore." Twilight's ears flattened, she hoped that they could find a way to bring the old Tez back. If they didn't....she didn't want to think about it. "I hope that....if something in his past is truly behind his sudden behavior change...that we can try to way to fix it." Celestia said, though she had serious doubts. Twilight bit her lip, "I hope so too....I have to hope..." Celestia looked at her student, the look in her eye as she said that...made Celestia remember a similar look in Luna's eyes when they had talked about Tez so long ago. Affection. "Twilight," Celestia said, "do you care about Tez?" Twilight looked up to her teacher, "Of course. He is my friend, and I hate to see him acting this way. It...it's not how he is. I know it." Celestia giggled at her students naivety, "I meant do you really care about him. Do you love him?" Twilight blinked and blushed at the question, "I...why would you ask that princess?" Celestia smiled softly, "Well, when you talk about Tez I see something similar in my sister's eyes when she talks about him." Twilight blushed, "Oh...well...I..." Twilight tried to think of a response, but words would escape her, so jumbled now was her mind. 'Do I? Oh...I don't know....I...' Twilight tried to figure out if she did or not. At times she felt something for Tez, but...had it been affection? "I....I don't know..." Twilight said with a slight frown. It was a question she wished she had an answer to. Celestia smiled softly, "Well, perhaps we should move onto a different topic." Twilight nodded, still blushing slightly, "Um...yes...that would be nice. Umm..oh...how is Blueblood?" Celestia frowned, "He will recover. Though he is certainly making a big fuss over it....at times I find it hard to be mad at Tez for what he did. And I doubt I could do anything if he decided to do it again." "Well....I don't think Tez will do that again....right?" Twilight asked. "As long as he stays away from Tez I think." Celestia said. The two were silent after that as they continued to walk. Their minds plagued with confusion and worries. Though for Twilight, it was also plagued with conflicted feelings. Feelings she had to sort out. Tez strolled down the cloud streets of Cloudsdale. All about him he saw guards approaching houses and leaving with one or two mares, or a stallion. He wasn't good at judging a ponies age, but if he guessed right, and the guards remembered his instructions, they were taking ponies between young adult and middle age, maybe a bit older if the pony was still in good physical condition. 'So far so good. No one has tried to resist conscription...yet anyway.' Tez thought. Spotting Captain Shining Armor, Tez walked over earning him a salute from the unicorn. Though Tez could see in his eyes that Shining Armor did not agree with what was being done. Or what he was ordered to do if needed. "Shining Armor. I trust the conscription is going well." Tez said as he crossed his arms. "Yes sir," Shining Armor said with a nod, "we....we should have the desired amount of conscriptions from Cloudsdale soon." Tez nodded, "Good. Then I leave it in your capable hands....hooves....just do it and you will get a promotion or something. As for me I have something to do." Shining Armor blinked, "Uh...as you order your....highness." Tez smirked and walked off, leaving a torn Shining Armor behind. Tez walked down the streets once more, keeping an eye out for Rainbow Dash. 'Now where did she go?' Tez thought. When they arrived here she had hung out with him a bit, mostly talking about how cool he had been when he had been fighting Mex, but as soon as the conscription teams got to work taking ponies, at times even dragging them with Tez making sure that there was no interference, she had flown off saying something about her parents. 'Hmm....hey maybe I can meet her parents. Be interesting to see where she gets her personality from.' Tez thought as he kept searching. Sniffing about he finally caught her scent, and breathed it in deep sending a shiver down his spine. Tez took off after the scent, trying his hardest to keep himself in control. 'Ancients she smells good. But...keep it together Tez....don't want to end up doing her in public.....of course that does sound really kinky.' He thought with a lecherous grin. Finally he found where the scent was leading, and he found himself in front of a decent sized house. Outside, playing tag were two young fillies, probably no more then toddlers. but what was interesting about them was their coats and manes. Light blue and rainbow in color. Tez blinked, "What the..." As Tez walked over, trying to figure out if what he was seeing was real, one of the rainbow maned fillies spotted him and pointed his pressence to her sister. Soon both of the fillies were looking at him with wide eyes. "Uh...hello...little ones. Is a Miss Rainbow Dash here?" Tez asked. "Awe you one of big sistew's fwiends?" One of the rainbow maned fillies asked. Tez smiled, "Yes I am. Is she here, I would like to talk to her." "She's inside with mommy, getting pweety." The other rainbow maned filly said with a giggle. Tez blinked, "Getting pretty?" The two fillies giggled and motioned for Tez to follow. Tez did so, smiling softly that he didn't scare everyone. 'Hmm...these must be Dashie's little sisters. Pretty cute and friendly.Though....it probably won't last long if I have to recruit from their family.' Tez thought with a frown. "So what are your names?" Tez asked the two fillies. "I'm Doxy." One said with a smile. "And I'm Sun Burst." The other said. Tez smiled, these two were just so adorable it could give a heart attack. As the three drew closer to the house the fillies began to tip-hoof and staying as low to the ground as they could. Tez did the same, getting down on all fours and stalking silently staying low. The fillies looked at him and put their hooves to their lips in a gesture of "quiet now" and they slowly opened the door and walked in. Tez followed. The inside was quiet nice, reminding Tez of a victorian style house. His keen hearing started picking up talking from a room down a hall, which Doxy and Sun Burst were tip-hoofing down. Tez followed till they reached a door. "Look." Doxy whispered with a giggle. Tez blinked and peeked inside. What he saw made his jaw drop. It was Rainbow dash, along with another older mare with a cyan coat and a orange and yellow mane and a rainbow colored tail, her cutie mark was three ribbons. But what was shocking was...that Dashie was in a dress, and not like a dress similar to her Gala dress, no. This dress was pink, with white frills. She had on pink shoes on both legs, and bows. A big white bow on her mane, with a smaller one on her tail. What was also amazing was that Rainbow Dashs mane and tail had been brushed straight, which made it appear longer and almost silk like. "Mom," Rainbow Dash whined as she tried to move, only to be forced to stay still be a holding wing of her mother, "this is sooo embaressing." "Nonsense dear, you look absolutely darling." Dash's mother said in a french sort of accent. 'So that's what the kids meant by pretty.' Tez thought as he bit his lip. The sight was just too hilarious. And yet at the same time, seeing Dashie all dolled up like this was giving Tez some serious thoughts. 'Hmm....oh I wonder if she is into role play. I've always wanted to do an evil overlord and innocent maiden one.' He thought as he licked his lips at the raunchy images he was picturing. Tez looked back to the fillies, who had the biggest grins on their faces. "See. Ain't she pweety." Sun Burst said with a giggle. Tez smirked, "Oh very much." The fillies giggled then ran into the room. "Mommy!" The fillies called as they ran to their mother and nuzzled up against her legs. Dash's mother looked down at the little fillies and smiled and lowered her head to nuzzle her children. "Hello dearies. I thought you were playing outside." Dash's mom said as she got back to fixing Dash's dress up. "We wewe. But somepony is hewe to see Dashie." Doxy said. Dash blinked and looked to her sisters, "Uh...who is here to see me?" Tez cleared his throat as he stood there leaning against the door frame. He had a big grin on his face as he looked over at Dash, who was now red in the face. "Oh geez! Don't look at me!" Dash yelled as she dived behind her mother, trying to hide herself from Tez. Dash's mother stared at Tez with wide eyes, slight fear reflecting in her cerise eyes. "You...you're..." The mare stuttered as she held her children closer to her, which confused the little fillies some. "Tezcaltipoca. Current overlord of Equestria. There is no need to worry, I won't hurt you. Nor am I here to conscript any of your house hold." Tez said as he walked over, leaning slightly so he can see Dash again, who was looking at the ground with an embaressed blush. Dash's mother relaxed slightly, but she now looked at Tez with a raised eyebrow. "Then...why are you here?" She asked. Doxy managed to wiggle free of her mothers grasp and ran over to Tez and pointed hoof up at him as she looked to her mother, "This is dashie's fwend mommy. He came to talk to her." Dash's mother blinked, and her eyes widened as she looked to her daughter with a slightly irritated look. "And just when were you going to tell me this?" She asked, which caused Dash to smile uneasily. Tez chuckled, 'Oh this is gonna be interesting.' "And that was my little Dashie after she won the Cloudsdale third Litte Filly Beauty Pageant. I was so proud!" Ribbon Tie, Rainbow Dash's mother, said with a sniff and wiping away a tear. Dash, still in the dress her mother had put her in, placed her hooves over her face in embaressment, "Mom....." Ribbon Tie, after a little talking with both Dash and Tez, and getting her younger daughters lunch, was now showing Tez Dash's baby pictures, as well as albums of what she called, "Dashie's Pageant Days," frankly Tez was having a hard time not laughing, and Rainbow Dash seemed ready to die of embaressment. "Oh I have to show you the album that has Dashie when she was modeling for some of my earlier designs, oh she was just cute as a button." Ribbon Tie said as she grabbed another album and opened, revealing pictures of a filly Dash in various forms of cute little dresses. In some, when she must have been younger she had a smile, and in others no doubt when older and her personality starting to kick in she was grumbling. Though of course in all of them Ribbon Tie would say and comment on how cute and adorable her daughter was. Not to mention what beauty contests she won, or participated in. 'And boy are there alot of them. No wonder Dashie dislikes dressing up, she got enough of it for two lifetimes.' Tez thought as he looked at a picture of Dash winning another pageant award. Though Ribbon was in the background and was clapping with a big smile, Dash just looked embaressed. "Oh I knew we would beat that darn Prism Beauty! I am Ribbon Tie, the best dress designer in all of Cloudsdale!" Ribbon Tie said, a fire sparking in her eyes. Tez blinked, 'Well...I guess I know where Dash got her competativeness.' "Mom..." Dash groaned. "Oh come now Dashie, you look adorable. All the stallions would simply trip over themselves if they saw you and I would love some grand kids." Ribbon Tie said with a smile. "Mom!" Dash said, red in the face as she looked at her mother in shook. Ribbon Tie giggled and looked over to Tez, "Well Mr. Tez. How exactly do you know my daughter?" Tez blinked and noticed the look in Ribbon Tie's eyes. A look that promised a painful end if the answer was improper in anyway. 'Ho boy....got to play my cards right here.' Tez thought. Nothing scared him more then an angry mother. That was just a natural for anything that enjoyed life. "Well, your daughter saved my life." Tez said, and began to explain the story, Dash every so often adding her two cents, mostly to make herself look cooler, though mostly she just looked away from Tez embarrassed. She really wanted to get out of the dress...but her mother pretty much begged her to wear it untill she left. 'It's just for a little bit Dashie...you can do this...' She thought, though she was ready to just fly out of it. When Tez was finished, Ribbon Tie wrapped him in a hug, which took him by surprise. "You are a very brave one. You saved my daughter from a dragon. Thank you." Ribbon said as she hugged Tez a bit more before turning and glaring at Dash. "And you young lady, did it ever cross your mind to tell me and your father about this? Huh?" Ribbon asked as she looked at Dash with an angry look. "I...I....no." Dash said, ears flattening. "I thought so. You just don't care about us enough to even send us a card about how you're doing. And now I hear you almost get killed by a dragon and I wasn't even told." Ribbon was near tearing up and sniffling. "Aww...mom...don't cry. I'm okay." Dash said getting up. Ribbon sniffed, "And what about next time! Am I going to be left in the dark all the time about my own daughters health?" Dash bit her lip, tears welling up in her eyes, "No...mom...I..." Dash closed her eyes as she hugged her mother, tears silently flowing from her eyes. Ribbon embraced her daughter tight and just cried slightly as the two stood there hugging. Tez felt a bit uncomfortable being around. This seemed like a private moment really. After awhile the two mares let go of each other and sat down. Ribbon held up a mirror and gasped as she saw some of her make up running. "Oh dear. Do give me a moment while I fix this. It was a good thing I didn't put any on you Dashie." Ribbon said as she headed over to the bathroom to fix her make up, leaving Tez and Dash alone now. The only sound being from Dash's sisters playing outside. Tez took this moment to look Dash over, and frankly he was liking the new look. He wondered if he could get her to do it every so often...just for him. "Umm...sorry about my mom...she can be a bit of a drama queen. if we didn't have the same mane color I'd probably think I was adopted." Dash said, a bit uncomfortable with Tez looking at her right now. "Heh, reminds me a bit of Rarity. Very surprising, I was expecting somepony...well more like you." Tez said as he looked Dash over some. The dress matched her body perfectly melding with each curve and joint. Dash chuckled, "Yeah...I got her competative spirit, but mine was for sports...not beauty pageants." "And yet you stared in some and looked as cute as a button in each I might add." Tez said with a slight smirk, causing Dash to blush and hide her face. "Ugh...yeah...it's really embaressing and this dress is as well. I don't know why my mom tries, it doesn't really look that great on me." Dash said with a slight frown. "I disagree. It looks pretty good on you." Tez said. Dash looked at Tez, "Are you kidding? It's all frilly and...pink...way to girly. It just doesn't look good on me." Tez shook his head, "I still disagree. Dash that dess was designed to fit perfectly to your shape, while the colors might not work with you, it still looks good on you." Dash bit her lip and looked away, blushing slightly, "I....I just don't do this kind of stuff...I...this is for pretty mares..." Tez blinked, "Dashie...you are pretty." "No I'm not." Dash said with a slight mutter. "And why is that?" Tez said as he got up and walked over to sit next to Dash. Dash moved a bit and just looked at the ground. "Dashie?" Tez asked as he bent forward a bit to look at her. "Because I'm just not pretty okay!" Dash said, looking at Tez with an angry glare, "Why else would he..." Dash closed her mouth and looked away. Tez looked at Dash and reached out placing a hand on her shoulder, "Dash...you're very pretty. Who said you weren't?" Dash was silent. Tez frowned and said, "Dashie..." Dash bit her lip, "Lightning Dasher...he was....a colt I had a crush on when I was younger." Tez blinked, and had to fight a sudden urge to find this Lightning Dasher and break his legs. "I...I went up to confess my crush on him....I had gotten all prettied up for it and....he just flat out rejected me." Dash said closing her eyes, remembering the old pain again. "Dash..." Tez said softly with a frown. Dash sniffed, "Said I was...just not pretty and that the dress wasn't worth a pony like me to wear. Said I didn't have the flank for it, not like...other fillies. Then he just left to hang with fillies he said were pretty." Tez really had to muster all his will power to keep himself from going on a warpath of mindless bloodshed until he found this colt that would say such a thing to Rainbow and ripping off his genitals. "After that...I guess I just didn't bother with all the dresses and stuff anymore. I mean...I tried to get other stallions to notice me...but...they never did, and some even said I just wasn't pretty enough." Dash said sniffling again, "so there...are ya happy now?" Dash looked at Tez with tears in her eyes. Tez looked back, "Dash....I still say you're pretty, even down right beautiful." "You're just..." Dash began, but was cut off by Tez placing a finger to her lips. "Don't say it cause I'm not, and I'm gonna prove it to you." Tez said. "Your body...your build, it is lithe and athletic. Not overweight or underweight at all, and your muscles are evenly worked and none of them in gross over workings, their well toned and firm." Tez said as he gently slid a finger across Dash's leg, causing her to blush slightly. "Your mane, as it is right now looks majestic and without any form of effort was really needed. It would look good free flowing or designed. Most mare's can't do that." Tez said again as he ran his fingers slowly through her mane. Dash bit her lip, her face a bright red. "And lastly is your eyes. Their color is captivating, and the fire that one can see burning when you commit to something is inspiring. And...more then anything they are eyes which show the soul of a wonderful and loyal mare who will stick by those she cares about no matter what." Tez said as he leaned in a bit. "I don't know what those stallions were smoking, but if they were stupid enough to not see how great you are. They weren't worthy of you." Tez said. Dash looked at Tez with wide eyes, and she was suddenly very aware of how close he was to her. She was also aware of her own pulsing heart as it beat faster. 'He....is he really being serious....' She thought as she looked him in the eyes, feeling the same feeling she felt when she was in the hospital The two looked at each other for a moment, before Tez leaned forward some and slowly kissed Dash. The sudden act caught her off guard, but she soon found herself returning it. Pretty soon the two were making out there on the couch, Tez running a hand through Dash's mane, while his other hand wrapped around her and pulled her closer to him. Dash felt her wings extend, and gasped when she felt Tez's tongue part her lips. 'Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh.' Dash thought, feeling her pulse quickening. She had never gotten this close to a male before, ever. Now here she was, if not exactly with a stallion but it still felt good. Tez rubbed Dash's back, his hand trailing up towards and brushing against her wings. Dash gasped and tensed up slightly. Tez noticed this and smirked mentally. 'Ah, so their sensative there...or at least when their wings are sticking out like that. I wonder...' Tez thought as he began to softly slide his hand up and down a wing. Dash gasped and stopped the kiss as she bit her lip, her body shivering each movement of Tez's hand up and down her wing. "Ahh Tez ahh..." Dash gasped, her face red. Tez smirked, "I had no idea that your wings were sensative." Dash groaned slightly as Tez continued to stroke her wings, "Only...only when they get stiff...ahh...knock it off ah I...we..." Tez frowned, "What...don't like it when I do this?" "No...I mean yes...I mean..." Dash tried to think of the right words, but with the continued strokes and the shivers of pleasure she was having difficulty, "I...ahh not here....ahhh" Tez licked his lips, enjoying the sounds of Dash's moans and gasps, "Why..." He slowly began to kiss down her neck, nipping here and there. Of course....it didn't last. The sound of someone clearing their throat brought Tez back to reality and he looked up, his eyes immediatlly widening in horror. There, with a very miffed look in her eyes, was Ribbon Tie. Eye brow raised she looked down at the two, causing Dash to blush slightly and say, "That's why...." "Oh....yeah......crap." Tez said as he saw Ribbon's hoof come for his face. Doxy and Sun Burst laughed as they played. The two fillies ran about with almost limitedless energy. CRACK The two fillies stopped playing and looked around, looking for the source of the loud noise. "Did you heaw something?" Doxy asked her sister. Sun Burst shook her head. The two fillies just shrugged and returned to playing, completely ignorant of what occured inside their house. "Well. I can see that you two have a very....close relationship." Ribbon said as she rubbed her hoof slowly, looking down at Tez. Tez layed on the floor, with a big red hoof mark on his face, and a black eye and bump starting to form. He seemed to be unconcious. "I tried to tell you." Dash said looking at Tez. Ribbon Tie looked at her daughter, "And you young lady. When were you going to tell me about this huh? Have you two already rutted each other? How many times? Did you at least use protection?" Dash blushed, "What? No! I mean yes...No wait Ahhh we haven't done anything, I swear!" "I find that hard to beleive, from what I saw." Ribbon said with a raised eye brow. "Ugh....can I say something?" Tez asked, only to have a hoof planted in his mouth. Ribbon looked down at Tez, with an evil glare, "Don't open your mouth mister. I see you put those lips on MY daughter and touching her wings in MY house. You're lucky I don't cut them off right here and now. So untill I get whats going on between you two you will be quiet or else." Tez gulped and nodded, keeping his mouth shut as Ribbon pulled her hoof away. She then looked back to her daughter, who had a mixture of embaressment and fear in her eyes. Tez had to agree, her mother was scarey. "Now, what is the relationship between you two. I don't want you getting into an unhealthy relationship Dashie." Ribbon said as she squished her daughters cheeks together and hugged her close. "Mom..." Dash whined as she pushed her mom away from her slightly. Ribbon just smiled, "So if you two haven't done it yet...were you?" Dash blinked and her face went red again, "What!?" Ribbon giggled, "Because if you were I could take the girls out for ice cream for a bit. Give you two some privacy. Just do it in your old room only." "Mom!" Dash shouted in embaressment. Tez chuckled, 'Oh I like her.' "Well if you haven't gone that far that is okay. I don't want you rushing into things, that is a quick way to get hurt." Ribbon said as she hugged her daughter. Dash just grumbled a bit. "I wouldn't do anything to hurt Dashie Mrs. Ribbon." Tez said as he slowly got up. Ribbon turned looking at Tez, "I certainly hope so," she let go of her daughter and approached Tez, "Royalty or not if you break my little Dashie's heart in anyway I will send you into a nightmare world in which there is no return." She finished with a glare that could kill a man's soul. Tez gulped, 'Oh yeah...she scarey.' Ribbon smiled, "Well now that we have all that cleared, it is nice to see that somepony is interested in my daughter. I was worried that she would never have a special somepony. And I had tried so hard to make her look stunning to draw some potential stallions. I swear the colts here have no eye for beauty, they all just want a quick and easy flank these days. My daughter is a real mare." "Mom." Dash grumbled, then blinked, "wait I never said he and I were together!" Riboon looked to her daughter, "Oh? I could have sworn that you were given how you were moaning when he touched your wings. And I certainly didn't raise you to be like that awful Prism Beauty's daughter. So you must be in a relationship; he is quiet a nice guy. Don't you like him?" Dash blinked, "I...I guess I do...but...we're just friends!" Ribbon blinked and giggled and whispered to Tez, "Don't worry she'll figure it out eventually. She was always a bit dense when it came to love. Takes after her father like that." Tez chuckled slightly, "So...where is her father?" Dash blinked, "Yeah...I haven't seen dad since I got here." "Oh your father had to head down to the weather factory. Appearently the machines have been acting up recently." Ribbon said, "I don't know when he will be back, but I know he would have loved to see you dear." Dash smiled softly, "Eh its okay." Suddenly the door burst open, and Doxy and Sun Burst came running in laughing and cheering. "Dady's home! Daddy's home!" The two little fillies said. Dash and Ribbon looked to the door in surpise, their eyes widening when they saw who was there. Tez looked over as well and blinked. 'That's Rainbow Dash's father?' He thought. The pegasi before him....was not what he expected to be the birth father of a mare like Rainbow Dash. One he was....well skinny. Not very muscular and....well...had glasses. The stallion had a smile as his two youngest daughters came running to him again and hugged him again. He looked over to his wife and eldest daughter and smiled. "Hey there." He said. "Dear. You're back already?" Ribbon said surprised. The stallion frowned, "You make that sound like it's a bad thing." He smirked slightly. Ribbon smirked and walked over, giving her husband a kiss, "Now you know I don't mean that. But I thought you said you were going to be out all day?" Dash's father nodded, "Yeah so did I. But we managed to get the kicks in the machine fixed. Seems whatever was going on just disappeared suddenly. Strange but not unappreciated, cause I get to see all of you sooner, not to mention see my little dashie after so long." "Hey dad." Dash said as she flew over and gave her father a hug, which he gladly returned. Soon the whole family was engaged in a group hug, which Tez had to admit was kinda cute. Once the hug ended, Dash's father noticed Tez and his eyes widened. "Oh yeah, Thunder Roar. Honey...you remember Tez right?" Ribbon said. Thunder Roar gulped, "Yeah....I remember him. Most of the workers at the factory were still talking about him. And now he is taking ponies from their homes." Thunder Roar gave Tez a look that showed he did not agree with this. Tez just shrugged, Doxy and Sun Burst looked at the parents. "What does daddy mean by that?" Doxy asked. "Yeah. Tez is nice. Wight?" Sun Burst asked. "Of course he is pipsqueaks," Dash said, despite the nickname Tez could tell it was not one of malice but of affection. "Hey we awn't pipsqueaks!" Doxy said with indignation. "Yeah. I gwewed thwee inches wecently." Sun Burst said with pride. "Of course you two arn't pipsqueaks," Ribbon said picking her daughters up, "But it is time for you two to go to bed." "Awww." The two fillies said. "No awws. Bed time," Ribbon said as she looked to everyone, "I'll get them settled. Why don't you three talk. Oh dear you really have to talk to your daughter about her little hospital stay." Dash looked at her mom in shock, and Thunder's eyes widened and he gave Dash a look. "Hospital stay eh? What does she mean by that Rainbow Dash?" Thunder asked. Dash's ears went flat, and she glared up at her mother as she walked upstairs giggling. As were Doxy and Sun Burst. It took a bit of time for Dash to explain the mishap with the dragon, not to mention dealing with a rightly miffed father, but the two shared a hug and all was well again. The same couldn't be said for Tez as he explained how he knew Dash, and his relationship with her. 'It doesn't help that she had to bring up the whole couch incident again.' Tez thought as he tried to save himself from being hit by an angry father. Though frankly he was not as scary as Ribbon was, mothers were just naturally more terrifying when mad. "Well....," Lightning Roar said as he cleaned his glasses, "This is....most interesting...." "Dad...it's..not that big a deal." Dash said rubbing the back of her head. She was hoping that this would all end soon. She had certainly suffered enough embaressment and awkward situations for one day. "Still....my daughter is old enough to make her own decisions, even if I might disagree with some of them," Lightning said, obviously still peeved a bit about not being told his daughter had been in the hospital, "but....if she is happy I can't really see any problem with it." "Well...glad we got all that settled then." Tez said, kinda wishing to get going as well. This visit had taken much more time then he had wanted and he had conscriptions to get to. "However..." Lightning said as he lifted a hoof, "if I learn that you have hurt my daughter in anyway, you can be sure my wife and I will not be forgiving." "Geez..." Dash said face hoofing. "Uh...right..." Tez said, gulping slightly when he saw the evil look in Ribbon's eyes. "Well, I'd stay more but I have to make sure my soliders did their job." Tez said. Dash blinked, "Huh...we're going?" "Afraid so Dashie. Sorry." Tez said. Dash frowned, "Dang." "Now hold up. I can understand if you have to go, but why can't my daughter stay with her family for a night?" Ribbon asked. "Because she will be safer, as will you, if she stays close to me." Tez said. "What do you mean by that?" Lightning asked with a raised eyebrow. Tez sighed, "My brother knows about your daughter and her connection with me. If he could he would attempt to take her and use her against me. Of course he won't try to abduct her as long as she is near me or in Canterlot where I have set very powerful protective wards." Ribbon opened her mouth to say something, but was cut off by Tez. "Look. I know you want to spend more time with Dashie. But untill I have my brothers heads as lawn ornaments, she and her friends are not safe. Nor would you if Dashie remained with you. My brother is a ruthless killer and has no qualms in killing women...or children." Tez said as he looked up the stairs. Ribbon gasped and seemed pale a bit. Lightning Roar frowned. Dash's eyes were wide. 'Would Tez's brother....actually kill my family to get me...' She thought in horror. "I...see..." Lightning said, "I can tell you're not lying." Ribbon bit her lip, but nodded in agreement. "Now we should get going. Alot to do." Tez said as he walked to the door. Dash watched Tez go then flew over to her parents and embraced them in a final hug. "You take care of yourself okay. And don't be afraid to visit often when....when this is all over." Ribbon said, hugging her daughter tight. Dash smiled and nodded, "Alright. I..I'm sorry I don't keep in contact as much....I'll try harder." Lightning smiled, "All we want to know is that you're okay. We love you Dashie." Dash smiled, "I love you guys too." 'D'awwww.' Tez thought. After a few moments the three pegasi released each other and Dash followed Tez out the door. Both waved goodbye to Ribbon and Lightning Roar, who waved farewell. After a few minutes of walking Dash finally spoke up. "Uh...hey...about what happened in there...with the couch...and my parents...and well.." Dash said, blushing. "Not to mention you're still wearing the dress your mom made you." Tez said with a playful smirk. "Huh?" Dash said and looked at herself, seeing that Tez was right, "Horseapples. This is embaressing." Tez stopped and looked at Dash, "Actually, I still say it looks good on you. Especially with the moon light shining on you." Dash blushed slightly, "Yeah well...dresses still arn't my thing. But...I guess I could keep it. But don't think I'm gonna wear it all the time." Tez smiled, "No doubt. Special occasions maybe." "Um...yeah sure." Dash said. Tez looked Dash up and down, wanting nothing more then to push her against the clouds and comment with her every form of debauchery that society frowns on. Sadly he had to see to his soldiers. An irritating distraction at the time. 'Later.' He thought as he turned and continued to walk. Dash following at his side. "Say...what were your parents like?" Dash asked. Tez blinked, and was silent. "Tez?" Dash asked. "I...don't have...parents. I just have creators." Tez said with a frown. Dash blinked, "Creators?" "Let's drop it. Not important." Tez said, picking up speed as he neared where he told Shining Armor to gathering the troops and ponies they gathered for conscription. Dash stayed behind, processing what she had heard. 'Creators....what does he mean by that? Still, I should probably tell Twilight....without going into detail of course.' She thought, blushing slightly. Best to leave how things proceeded up to the point of learning this bit of info to herself. "Hey Dashie. You coming?" Tez called. Dash blinked and flew to catch up with Tez saying, "Oh yeah." When Tez met up with Shining Armor again. He found that the guards had managed to gather a good number of pegasi. Total of three hundred and twenty at least. Most mares, but with some stallions in as well. 'Not surprised given the gender ration.' Tez thought. "Sir...you're back. We were wondering where you had gone." Shining Armor said saluting. "Just visiting someponies. Now is this all you managed to gather?" Tez asked as he looked at the gathered ponies, surrounded by guards to keep any runaways from happening. Shining Armor nodded, "Y-yes sir." Tez nodded, "Good. Now we'll drop these sods off in canterlot and move on to the next city." Shining Armor blinked, "Uh...but sir it is already night. Don't you think we should let the guards rest?" Tez shook his head, "No. We've got more towns to get and every minute we don't gain another hundred soldiers means my brother will only be better prepared for...whatever he has planned." Shining Armor opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off as Tez cast his teleport spell sending them all back to Canterlot. When they reappeared in Canterlot, Tez instructed some guards to take the new soliders to get settled, while the rest were to gather around him. "Don't worry Shining. I'll keep you guys awake. In fact, "Tez said as he gathered magic, aiming it at the guards, "you won't have much of a choice." And with that the spell surged forth striking the guards. When the spell subsided, no damage was done, but the guards, including Shining Armor, felt suddenly very active and awake. Tez smirked, "There." He then turned to Dash, "Well Dash. It was fun spending some time with you, and meeting your parents. But I have more ponies to conscript, and I don't think you'll want to see that." "Umm...it's cool. I kinda need to hit the sack anyway." Dash said. Tez nodded, "Then sleep well." With that he kissed her once more briefly before stepping back and teleporting himself and the guards away again. Leaving Dash standing there blushing slightly. 'Dang it. Why do I have to get like this when he does that.' Dash thought as she flew off to her room, before anypony saw her in this dress. All through the night and through most of the next day, Tez worked his guards to the bone, taking ponies from their homes for the conscription. At times some would resist, but a few words from Tez explaining what his brother would do to their loved ones, along with a few graphic illusions of the process, many came willingly. And those that still did not...well force is a rather universal language. After returning to Canterlot with another group of ponies, Tez saw that his spell was beginning to wear off as many of the guards that had accompanied him were begining to fall asleep while standing, giving soft neighs every so often. Tez watched the new recruits being escorted to their barracks and to be ready for training. While other leaders might feel upset that they were sending innocents off to die, Tez couldn't feel anything. 'Guilty won't keep them alive.' He thought as he turned and walked back to the castle. As he made his way to the castle, and through the halls, he suddenly felt an odd sensation....that he was being watched. "Hey Tez." Tez jumped high and clung to a column, when he looked down he saw Pinkie Pie, looking up at him with a curious look. "Pinkie Pie! Don't do that!" Tez said as he slid down. "Sorry Tez. Say what ya doing?" Pinkie Pie asked as she started to hop up and down. "Well...I was gonna check on you girls before I finished up the conscription. Last stop is Ponyville." Tez said as he stretched. Pinkie Pie blinked, "But...but why do you have to recruit from Ponyville? That was your home!" Tez sighed, "Yes. And I need all the troops I can get, and denying myself possible troops due to emotional or sentimental attatchments won't win this war Pinkie." Pinkie frowned, her mane going flat again, "But..." "No buts," Tez said with a sigh, "Now where are the rest of the girls. I figured they will want to see their family and friends today." Pinkie blinked, "Oh they're already in Ponyville. Well except for Rainbow Dash, she's taking a nap. Did you know she came back wearing a dress?" Tez blinked, "What?" Pinkie giggled, "Oh yeah Dashie was wearing a dress. I mean it's not that shocking she wore the gala dress once, but this one was pink. I love pink." Pinkie giggled again. "No Pinkie...what did you say about..." Tez began but was cut off. "I wonder why she was wearing it anyway? She seemed to be trying real hard for nopony to see her last night; which is odd cause she looked pretty in it." "Pinkie!" Tez shouted slightly, "Who...went to Ponyville?" Pinkie blinked, "Oh Twilight took Rarity, Fluttershy and Applejack back to Ponyville. They spent the night there as well, why?" Tez blinked then facepalmed, "Those damned fools." And with a flash of light he vanished, leaving Pinkie Pie alone. "Oh dear...I hope he isn't mad." She said with a frown. Rarity was busy sewing a dress. She had no orders to fill, this was a dress to take her mind off of her worries. As well as her sadness. Sadly....it was not working. 'Darn it! I feel so utterly powerless.' Rarity thought as she clenched her eyes shut, tears forming again. The reason for this pain was in connection with Fillydelphia. While Rarity still cried for the loss of her parents, things had only gotten worse....when she had to tell Sweetie Belle of what had happened to their parents. Rarity felt her legs ready to give out. She had run through this scenario hundreds of times since Tez had brought her back to Ponyville. But...now all her plans were falling to pieces. "I...I.." Rarity bit her lip and closed her eyes tight, tears threatening to rise again. "I know it will be hard. But it's better to get it over with now then later." Tez said as he placed a hand gently on Rarity's shoulder. "That's easy for you to say!" Rarity hissed slightly, "have you ever lost those you cared about?" Tez blinked, ". . .yes." Rarity looked at Tez with shock, and then regret, "I...I'm sorry Tez...I.." "Save it. Let's just get this over with." Tez said as he walked towards the boutique. Rarity felt her heart ache in pain. The way Tez had spoken those words, she could feel the coldness in his words. 'Oh Rarity, you should have watched your words.' She lectured to herself. What she had done was uncalled for and unlady like. Following Tez to the door, Rarity kept her eyes on the ground, unable to look at Tez at the moment. Slowly she opened the door and walked inside, Tez following. "Sweetie Belle....are you here?" Rarity called as she looked for her sister. "Rarity." Sweetie Belle called as she ran down the stairs and hugged her sister's leg, "I was wondering where you were." "I'm sorry if I scared you sweetie. But I'm back now." Rarity said as she hugged her sister. Looking down at the innocent smiling face broke her heart. "And Tez is here. I haven't seen you all day." Sweetie Belle said as she let go of her sister and ran to Tez, who kneeled down to give the filly a hug. "It is good to see you Sweetie Belle." Tez said with a smile as he let the filly go and stood up again. Rarity bit her lip, she couldn't do this. But....she had to. 'At least Tez is here....I don't think I could do this alone.' Rarity thought. "Sweetie...we....we need to talk...." Rarity said. Sweetie Belle blinked, and seemed a bit fearful, "Oh no did you find out about the window incident? We told Roseluck we were sorry, and me and the girls are gonna do chores around her house to pay off the damages. I'm sorry sis, but we thought that baseball was our special talent." Rarity and Tez blinked and looked at each other for a moment before back to the fearful little filly, whose's ears were flat. No doubt fearing a possible punishment. "Well...no Sweetie, though we will have to talk about...that later," Rarity said, earning a frown and a nod from Sweetie Belle. "Then...what is it?" Sweetie Belle asked. Rarity took a deep breath, but felt ready to collapse into tears again. How did one go about telling this to a child. "Sweetie Belle....mother and father...." Rarity began, but covered her eyes and turned away sniffling slightly. Sweetie Belle frowned, "Sis...what's wrong?" Sweetie Belle walked over to her sister, only to then be pulled into a tight hug. Rarity held her sister tight to her chest as she sniffed and shed silent tears. "Sweetie Belle. My dear darling sister....mother....mother and father.....they...." Sweetie Belle was afraid, sensing that something was wrong. Something big if it had Rarity like this; she did not like it. "Rarity....what's wrong with mom and dad?" Sweetie Belle asked. Rarity rubbed her eyes and hugged her sister tighter, though not enough to hurt or cause breathig trouble. Taking a deep breath, Rarity said the final part, and felt her heart shattered as she did. "Mother....and father are.....no longer with us....they're....they....gone." Rarity said before finally crying aloud. Tez closed his eyes, though he shed no tears, he couldn't. Even if he so long to. Tears could not bring back the dead, nor would it offer any comfort to those that suffered. Tears were for maidens and children, and he was a warrior. The only thing that he could and would shed....was blood. And so he brought his hand up to his eyes, and slowly sank his claws into the skin under his eyes, enough to draw a thin line of blood that slowly slid down his face. 'If I cannot cry tears, then I will cry blood. For it was my blood that brought this pain, and it will be mine that causes more to others.' He thought, with a bitter taste in his mouth. Rarity sniffed, and rubbed her eyes again. Sweetie Belle had cried, had cried for hours before finally falling asleep, though even in sleep Rarity could see that her sister was suffering. And what made it all worse was that she could not spend more time with her little sister when she needed her. Even with the little visits she was allowed to Ponyville, it was not enough to do what she wanted. 'Damn it. I know Tez is just trying to protect us...but my sister needs me.' Rarity thought as she tossed her work glasses aside and proceeded to the door, intent on heading to Sweet Apple Acres. Since Rarity had been unable to remain in Ponyville, and because she was afraid of what she would be exposed to at the castle with Tez running things, Rarity had to settle in leaving her sister in the care of Applejacks family. She hoped that Applebloom, being Sweetie's friend, as well as Scootaloo would be able to comfort Sweetie Belle where she could not at the time, so far nothing seemed to do so, as the poor filly stilled went about her days in a state of depression and sadness. Well no more, nothing would stop her from this course now. Nothing! Opening the door, a determined look on her face Rarity, opened the door and saw a very angry, and very frantic looking Tez standing outside. 'Okay....maybe there might be...something.' Rarity thought, looking up at Tez. Okay I know I promised Scoots, and she will come...but I realized that this chapter as a whole would be VERY long and I have to be gentle to my proof reader and editor so I'm splitting it into two seperate chapters. I hope you all enjoyed this. I enjoy writing this fic, though inside I cry as I hate to make ponies suffer this way T_T Please forgive me ponies!!!!*cries* FORGIVE ME SWEETIE BELLE! *Cries and sniffs* I need a moment......okay I'm good.*Sniffs* I hope no one hates how I depicted Dash's mother. I kinda got the idea while looking for some Fan Art :P I thought it would be very humorous. I hope this chapter is well recieved. Oh and anyone wondering just what Twilight's wearing in Tez's dream...well here you go. I kinda got the idea off of this.