//------------------------------// // The Taming of the Shrew // Story: Subject 27 // by Phyrexian //------------------------------// Chapter 57 - The Taming of the Shrew         “Now, do you want to fool around in the shower?” Hyper nuzzles his head into my chest.         “After the crazy night we just had, I think I’m good; but thanks for the offer though.”  He simply sighs and we continue to lay there in our mess.         Tail on the other hand seems a bit impatient as he grabs me by the horns and yanks on them. Hyper scoots off my chest before Tail could fling him off; Tail pulls once more but I don’t budge, he grabs the whip and cracks it. I quickly jump out of the bed before he has the chance to cracks it against me again.         “Okay, okay, I got it! You want to be cleaned! Please, just don’t whip me again!” I let out a burst of clicks to locate the bathroom, Tail cracks the whip again and I bolt into the bathroom.         “Want any help in there Demon baby?” Hyper giggles.         “Sorry, Tail is very picky on how he’s cleaned, and after last night, he and I need a long shower.” Tail finds the light switch and turns off the lights; I barely open my eyes, only to be greeted by a dark bathroom and just a dull ache in my eyes.         “Thanks buddy, eyes still extremely sensitive to the light. Glad you’re thinking ahead for me.” I can see clear as day in the dark bathroom, the dull aching pain I can easily ignore, as long as Hyper doesn’t come in here and flip the lights back on.         I spot the tub and jump in, I turn the handle until the nozzles spews out warm water. I look down to see the ice around my feet starting to melt; with haste I turn the handles to the right, turning the water from warm to ice cold. The ice patches refreeze and I just stand there letting the cold water cleanse my body. I reach down and grab a bottle of apple scented shampoo and squeeze a healthy dollop in my hands and lather up Tail first; not wanting to experience the same thing I did last bath time with him. I make sure I get into every nook and cranny near his tip; after several minutes of vigorous scrubbing, Tail is efficiently clean and happy now. I turn my attention to myself and start to scrub down with another glob of shampoo.         “Hey Demon baby, you about done in there? Or would you like me to come in and finish you off?” Hyper teases.         “I don’t care if you join in, just finished cleaning Tail and I’m just getting started; fair warning though, I’m doing a thorough cleaning so you might not like what you see if you do join in. Just whatever you do, please don’t turn on the lights!” I bring out my claws and encase my arms with scales, I have some free time so why not make myself feel pretty?         Surprisingly my scales have gotten rather dirty themselves, finding random bits of giblets that somehow managed to get themselves lodged in between my scales; with some concentration, I make stand on end which makes it that much easier to dislodge the bits and pieces of Ponies, Manticores, Colt, Hydra, and other strange life forms I ran into on my adventures. Hyper parts the shower curtains and hops in, the cold water startles him and he jumps out.         “Cold cold cold! Why?!” He cries.         I turn my head to laugh at his misfortune, but I too fall out of the shower at what I see; desperately clinging to the shower curtains but the slip right through my claws. Hyper shivering from the sudden shock of the cold and a pair of tentacles jutting out from his shoulders; each one equal in size and girth, two feet long, about two inches in diameter at the base and they thin out at the tip; kinda like an icecream cone. The tentacles are mimicking his oddly colored coat; pink and covered in short fur. Tail looks at himself and then at the tentacles, he creeps towards them, the tentacles wiggle around aimlessly in the air until Tail pokes one of them. The tentacles wrap around Tail trying to strangle him, Tail easily pulls away pokes at them once more.         “Oh hello there! What’s all this then?” The tentacles rub up against his muzzle.         “You’re now just noticing them?!” Tail and I watch the affectionate tentacles greeting their new master and Tail becomes jealous and starts to rub up against my face.         “Yeah, could explain the weird dream I had last night.” Tail starts to get annoying with his desperate attempt on trying to act cute so I push him aside.         “Are you not as surprised as I am right now?” Tail tries to love on me again but I bat him away.         “No, all though I am curious on how I obtained these new toys of mine.” I finally give in to Tail’s relentless attempts on affection and hug the poor guy.         “Me...” I bluntly say.         “Oh? Please do explain my handsome plaything.”         “I have a virus inside me, well better way to put it, I am the virus; I’m a self aware, self destructive, chaotic weapon built for the sole purpose of god knows what and I’m forced to live with the burden of not knowing what has or has not happen to my home planet and how I got here. The virus I speak of is called the Horror Virus, it’s extremely aggressive and it consumes its host in the matter of days; by the looks of it, you’ve already began to mutate into a Horror. I don’t know how long you have before you’re consumed by the virus. I-.” Right before my eyes his coat turns black, his wings turn into more of wasp wings and a twisted horn materializes out of thin air on his head.         “I won’t let that happen.” His voice becomes flat, even, and not as flamboyant.         “We are strong, we are one, we won’t allow ourselves to be taken over by some puny virus.” He looks at his tentacles and they retracted back into his body.         “My parasitic magic is already using this virus to our advantage. This gift you’ve bestowed upon us is appreciated. Bits are the only thing that matters to me, wealth is power, power is all, it’s the only thing that matters. But, the alters, my alters: Phantom and Rough Shadow, Hyper Crasher have grown rather fond of you. I on the other hoof have this grudging feeling towards you that I, no we haven’t felt in a long while... We do not like to be controlled like drones, this feeling I can not break it as long as you or I live...” I get up to feet, this changeling in front of me stays calm and holds his ground.         “I understand, this feeling you’re having, do you think of me as your Alpha? Your leader?” He nods, his scowl only deepens.         “That, is the virus. Your magic might be able to manipulate it but one thing is certain; the virus will not go down without taking a piece of you with it.”  The world around me zones out as I feel myself slipping away into deep concentration. Something is very wrong here; my brain feels pre-programmed, I can’t shake this feeling that my own brain is about to betray me.         “I’ll give you a three simple choices, ones that I was never given: A: I can simple end it right here and now for you, 2: You travel along with me, not as a drone, no, but as a friend, one that follows his and her own free will, or C: You and I go about our lives, like this never happened.” The pre-programmed thought escapes me before I have anytime to analyze what just happened.         “Option A doesn’t sound too appealing to me, there’s still a lot of wealth I need to obtain before I can retire. Option C would be the best option to go with. But, this feeling I have tells me that if I stick with you, I’ll be able to retire in no time, so option 2 it is. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need a shower.” Tail reaches into the shower and turns the knobs over to hot and the changeling pushes past me and into the shower.         “So, Phantom and Rough Shadow, brother and sister, Hyper Crasher their cousin, and then there’s you. You’re Lighting Charmer, correct?” I yell.         “Correct.” He replies from the shower.         “By alters, do you mean other personalities? As in Multiple Personality Disorder?”         “Correct.”         “Answer me this, mind explaining to me how this virus spreads?” His request gets the gears in my head turning.         “Well, best way of transmitting the virus is via blood, which Hyper... Or you, however you care to look at it, did. Licking the blood from my cheek would’ve done it, just a drop would suffice, or also licking my whip wounds clean of their blood. Digesting my other bodily fluids in large amounts could possibly transmit it... Which if this is the case, Silver might be in trouble.” And possibly Fade, if an energy being can be infected...; she and I need to have a word.         “Don’t worry about Silver.”         “Mind elaborating on that for me?” I cock me head, and so does Tail.         “Wow, you’re either absurdly oblivious or ignorant about other species... Rarely can a gryphon become ill or infected with any diseases, illnesses, or viruses. If anything, she’ll just be a carrier for the virus; nothing else.” With that said, Lighting Charmer turns the shower off and steps out of the shower and begins to dry himself off.         “Since I’ll be traveling with you for now on, I’m going to need you at full strength; this might hurt... A lot” He steps past me and turns the lights on. My eyes feel as if their engulfed in balefire flames and everything now has a red sheen to it.         “Don’t you dare close your eyes! Look at me!” He orders, I turn around to face him and kneel down next to him; the pain starts to boil over but I fight through it.         “That’s it, keep those peepers open!” Any Longer and I’m afraid that my eyes just might explode into fireballs.         “You’re not even doing anything! You’re just doing this to torture me, aren't you?!” My eyes start to tear up, I grind my teeth together as Lighting Charmer just examines my eyes.         “Yes, but I needed to see the extent of the damage, you can close your eyes now.” I shut my eyes with such great speed that a bullet would appear to be standing still by comparison. “This next part will be extremely uncomfortable and slightly painful for you, try not to vomit.” I clamp my hands over my eyes and rub them vigorously.         “What are you go-.” Tail turns the lights off for me as Lighting Charmer presses his forehooves on my chest and slowly applied pressure as it vibrates.         I open my eye to see Lighting’s horn glowing a dark green; I look down to see his hoof sinking into my chest. My body is screaming at me to wrap my claws around Lighting Charmer’s neck and obliterate him; but my morbid curiosity gets the better of me and I force my body to allow this happen. The sensation this is bringing me is extremely uncomfortable; like someone is penetrating my chest with a jackhammer my chest who’s vibrations at an incredible frequency. The pain on the other hand is tolerable, just a slight squeezing sensation. His horn glows slightly brighter as he pushes himself deeper into my chest. Further and further he penetrates into me, he’s already up to his elbows; the further he goes, the more cramped it feels inside me; I’ve just gotten used to the denser bones and mutated organs that shifted around during my mutation, but this is just pushing me too far; any more and I just might burst at the seams. My lungs press up right against my rib cage, he brushes up against my heart; sending a massive bolt of pain through my chest, causing my body to spasm uncontrollably.         “Hold still! I don’t want to rupture your heart.” Tail constricts around my torso, he quickly tightens himself around me to almost strangling strength.         Scales start to appear around the entry point, Lighting ignores them and continues on. I can feel my body trying to reject this new foreign body that’s invading me; more scales appear on my chest; nearly covering my torso. My gag reflex kicks in and I start to dry heave; thank God I haven’t had breakfast yet. I close my mouth and bite my tongue, the pain dulls the gaging enough that the urge to vomit subsides. He’s already has both his forehooves fully submerged in me; he pushes further in me, creating a cavity for himself. His horn glows a Dartmouth Green, the vibrations grew even stronger, making it that much easier for him to climb inside of me; my bones begin to resonate with the vibrations of his body. In goes his head with ease, his barrel came shortly after, by this time it’s becoming increasingly difficult to breath. Just his hind hooves dangle out of my chest, he maneuvers around in his makeshift cavity and parts my intestines; creating even more room for himself. In goes his hind hooves, the urge to vomit and to empty my bowels is overwhelming now, I get up to run to the toilet but Lighting Charmer takes control and stops me dead in my tracks.         “Don’t you think about using that tollet. You’re a tough one, shouldn't’ve taken me that long to infest your body; those damn scales of yours absorbed a lot of my magic. Resist the urge to empty your bowels and puke your brains out, your body is trying to reject me; some immune system you got here, I can give you that much. You’re going to feel a bit cramped for awhile, until I settle in and make myself comfortable.” I grasp my sides and bear down on Tail’s tip.         “W-What did you j-just to m-me?! W-What kind of m-magic is this?!” Lighting Charmer turns me around and heads for the door, I put up a strong fight over control; but he’s already in my nervous system; he raises my left hand and slaps me across the face.         “I’m in control now, the sooner you release this, the sooner we can get along. I’m already tapped into your spinal cord,; from here I can control every inch of your body. If I really wanted to, I could stop your heart from beating, or cause your major organs to shut down; killing you slowly.”         “W-Wouldn’t that k-kill you too?!” He goes to slap me again but Tail intercepts my left hand and coils around it.         “No, I would be fine, this is a highly evolved Parasitic Magic. Changeling magic is much different from unicorn magic; you’ve might’ve noticed that unicorns can use a variety of magic, can be either beneficial to others or some offensive magic. We changelings on the other hoof are more offensive than most unicorns. We adapt better to our surroundings, fit in to fool our enemies, strike at opportune times; we use other’s misfortunes to our advantage, feed on their love; using it as sustenance. Drones can only use just the basic Parasitic magic, I have an entire arsenal at my disposal, like this spell I just used on you. Infestation; I can take utter control over my victim, or just stow myself away and feed on them from the inside out.” Tail starts to flail about the bathroom as Lighting Charmer tries to take control of him.         “Y-You forgot one thing my friend, you’ve never seen nor infested one of my kind before. L-Let me explain something t-to you, we h-humans have the ultimate adaptability, and extremely intelligent; w-with enough conditioning our bodies can do p-pretty much anything. Take me for e-example, my b-body has been thoroughly conditioned to be the p-perfect weapon. My body is already a-adapting to you, I k-know you can sense it by now.; slowly but surely, I will regain control over you. I-I don’t know what you’re trying to p-prove but Tail and I are ones n-not to be fucked with.” My body feels as if it was made out of concrete, just taking a step takes all my concentration.         “Sooner you stop resisting, the sooner I can fix you.” I’m reluctant at the thought of losing control, but I surrender to him and allow him full control.         “Good boy, for a pet you’re more stubborn than a mule.” I don’t know what’s more uncomfortable, having someone or better put, something inside me or watching my own body move without command from I.         Talk about an out of body experience, I helplessly stand by and watch my body move to Lighting Charmer’s own accord. He looks down to both my arms and rubbed my claws together.         “For being a ‘perfect’ weapon, your body is a mess. Your claws are dull, your organs are barely functioning as is, your heart is only running at sixty percent capacity... Your eyes are the worst of it all, technically you should be blind; I’ll begin on reconstructing your eyes for you; stare into the light and tell me how I’m doing.” He uses my body like a puppet, he flips the lights on and everything turns red.         “I-It doesn’t hurt, w-what did you do?” The red sheen fades to grey.         “I told you I was already tapped into your spinal cord, I shut down the pain receptors in your brain. Continue to stare into light and focus.”         “I-Im colorblind! Wha-.” He forces my mouth shut.         “Calm down, I had to turn the coloring off so I can properly reconstruct your eyes. You’ll be colorblind for a while, your eyes are only able to see one of the three primary colors: Red, the other two are Yellow and Blue.” Everything looks and feels so alienated to me; first my own body, now everything is just different shades of grey.         “I see... Lighting Charmer... I rarely say this to anyone, but thanks.”         “Don’t mention it, literally don’t mention it. If somepony found out that I’m doing something for free, it would ruin my reputation.” He forces my legs to move and heads into the bedroom.         “My lips are sealed.”  Friend’s muffle screams of anguish echo out through my head. - - -         “Lad! Help me! The Lass went mad I tell you! Mad!” The sound of ice shattering and Friend’s girlish screams grow ever louder. - - - “Hey Lighting Charmer, can you managed everything without me? Got a place I need to go for a little bit.” “What are you talking about? There’s nowhere to go...” He says bluntly. “Humor me.” With that, I leave my body to Lighting Charmer and escape to the Darkness. - - -         “I’LL KILL YOU!” Fade screams as she flings ice shards at Friend.         “Calm down Lass! Why are you so buttmad?!” With a flick of his fingers, his throne erupts from the Darkness, shielding Friend from the ice shards as he dives behind his throne.         “Lad, stop your harpy girlfriend before turns me into a popsicle!” His throne becomes encased in ice and shatters into a billion little pieces.         Friend bolts out from behind cover with more ice shards chasing after him, his girlish screams fill me with glee; one of the shards land true and make itself a new home in Friend’s left ass cheek. He falls to the ground right before several more shards drill into his back; they fly over him and explode into shrapnel; raining havoc down upon him.         “Fade, what’s gotten into y-.” She jerks her head over to me, her glare sends chills down my spine.         “And YOU! Don’t think I forgotten about you! You allowing such a hideous parasite into your beautiful body like that! I won’t allow it!” I’m unable to move, her glare has my legs frozen solid.         “Fade calm do-.” A shard of ice rockets towards me, still unable to move my legs I’m force to duck.         “No! I will NOT calm down!” Friend tries to slink away but Fade turns around and freeze him in a ice block.         “And where do you think you’re going?! You, you need to taste your own medicine!” I quake in my boots, terrified out of my mind.         “Have mercy Fade!” The ice creeps up his body, from his shoulders down is completely frozen in ice.         “Fade, whatever he did I’m sure he’s sorry! Aren’t you Friend?”         “No! I’m never sorry!” I facepalm hard, just the worst possible words you could’ve spoken.         “You, of all things, don’t deserve mercy!” The ice crystallizes around his lower jaw as it crawls up his neck.         “Fade! Hold on! Would a snack sway your judgment?!” She turns around beaming at me with her beautiful smile.         “Yes, yes it would!” She purrs.         The ice around Friend and I dissolves into nothingness. Fade vanishes and reappears right behind me and sinks her teeth into my neck; filling my body with blissful agony. Credits Editor frieD195