//------------------------------// // Ahhhh! My Mind! // Story: The Equestrian Edda // by Grey Ghost //------------------------------// Jason panted softly as he rested against a tree, the pain having subsided by now. He took in the peaceful silence of Jotunheim, glad for once in his life to be alone. He had already tried Gilgamesh and hadn’t gotten a response, and he wasn't about to summon Drake again, so his only hope was Zinnia. The girl in question dropped into view, falling to her knees as she landed in the snow with her cloak falling around her. Zinnia shivered slightly, looking around before her eyes fell on the exhausted Jotun, then she rushed over to his side. “Jason, what’s the matter?” she asked, placing a hand on his shoulder. She jumped slightly at how cold he was, so much so that she could still tell in a blizzard. “What’s going on? How can I help?” “It wants out,” Jason said, looking up at her. “I can’t... it wants out, and it’s going to get out.” “What wants out?” Zinnia asked. “Is it that thing Hodgepodge told me about, the Orm guy?” “Yeah... ever since Hughes left I can’t suppress him anymore, and he wants out,” Jason let out a cry of pain, holding his head. “I know... it’s not a dragon, but you’re the only one I could think of...” “What do you think I can do?” Zinnia shouted, flinging her arms out. “I don’t even have a hold of my powers yet!” A small blue drake fell from within her cloak, causing Jason’s eyes to bug out. “You brought him!?” Jason demanded, his eyes wide in horror. “You have to get him out of here!” “I panicked! We were on our way to Canterlot when you called and Whiplash stayed behind!” “You...” Jason howled in pain before the Omnitrix went off, shifting him into Ormagoden. Orm let out a bloodcurdling roar, his hateful eyes locking on Zinnia. “Okay, I’m guessing you’re Orm…” Zinnia said, pulling Stryker to her chest and standing up. Orm stood with her, eyes locked with hers. “Can… can you talk?” she asked. “I am Ormagoden! And I will strip the meat from your bones, you waste of flesh and sperm!” he roared at her, lunging forward to snatch her between his jaws. Zinnia rolled to the side, keeping her eyes trained on the primal beast before her. “Okay, now the cloak comes off,” Zinnia sated, pulling off her cloak and pinning it around Stryker’s neck before placing the drake in the snow. “Go hide, sweetie. Mommy has to deal with the nasty abomination.” With that, Zinnia span back around just in time to dodge a swipe from Orm’s claws, bending backwards and spitting an Ember as she did so. The tiny flame burst in Orm’s face, distracting him enough for Zinnia to slip away. “Okay,” she said to herself, her right hand subconsciously curling into a claw. “Jason said something about a Hughes leaving, so I’m guessing Hughes was the more aggressive personality that kept Orm in line. I need to induce a replacement.” “I will not be chained again! Not by that whelp! Not by you! Not by anyone!” Orm roared, his body starting to crackle with electricity. He let out a shriek, discharging the electricity in a massive blast. Zinnia braced herself, arms crossed in front of her body. A green dome of light erupted from her core, acting as a barrier and deflecting Orm’s attack skyward where it exploded in a shower of sparks. Orm bellowed in rage, charging the girl. He whirled around, swinging his tail at her, snapping several trees like twigs. Zinnia moved to block, a claw of purple draconic energy encompassing her hand and adding to her strength. She then brought the other hand up, the same energy in that one as she raked the clawed construct across Orm’s chest. They locked eyes once more, and Orm saw that Zinnia’s regular scarlet eyes had shifted to a more draconic nature, her pupils mere slits and the whites of her eyes lined with her veins. Zinnia jumped backwards, hoping to gain some distance. Orm, however, tackled the girl as soon as her feet left the ground, the two of them crashing into the snow with Orm pinning Zinnia down. “Get off’a me, you freak!” Zinnia Roared, her voice causing Orm to recoil just enough for her to kick him off. “You’re just full of surprises, aren’t you?” he growled, flexing his claws. “I’d be happy to rip them all out!” As the drake said this, he charged at Zinnia, swinging his claws in an upward strike that Zinnia just barely managed to dodge. Orm had, however, caught her shirt with a single claw, and their combined motions resulted in a massive tear right down the middle, exposing her bra. “Oh, you done fucked up now!” Zinnia shouted, slamming her forehead into Orm’s with a vicious Headbutt. She followed this up by breathing a purple flame at the drake, the Dragon Breath attack dancing over his armour. Orm replied by raising his fists over his head before smashing them down on Zinnia, causing the Draconid to drop to the floor. She rolled out of the way of his foot as he moved to stomp on her head, springing up before throwing a punch directly at the Omnitrix. It sparked a bit, sending a surge of green energy through the lizard. With a pained roar, Orm collapsed onto his side, his body going limp. “This thing on?” the body spoke, though the voice sounded more playful than furious. “Hodgepodge?” Zinnia asked, relaxing slightly. Unbeknownst to her, her eyes returned to their regular look. “Oh, you have no idea how good it is to hear your voice!” “Sorry about all this, we’re trying to straighten things out on our end, this form is more a communal effort than anything else. We’re going to have to give it a new name.” “How about ‘Fucking Terrifying’? It seems pretty fitting for that beast,” Zinnia grumbled, pulling her torn shirt around herself. “Or maybe ‘Shirt-Ripping Ass’...” “To be honest, I rather like you without it...” Zinnia smirked, pulling one side of the tear away teasingly. “Oh really?” she asked, running a hand over her bra-covered breast. “And what if I took this off too?” “You’d probably freeze, though you’d look good doing it.” “Huh. You know, the cold isn’t really bothering me.” As she said this, Zinnia removed the tattered remains of her shirt and dropped them in the snow. “Must be the fire in me, keeps me warm.” Hodgepodge went to speak when the Omnitrix flashed. “Personality instability detected. Analysing existing personalities.” It flashed more quickly for a few seconds. “Required qualities determined. Selecting personality base.” The form selection image appeared on the face of the Omnitrix and quickly flipped through all the scans Jason had acquired, finally stopping on the Plant form. “Personality base determined. Balancing.” The watch chirped before it went off, replacing the hulking reptile with the form of Gram. He sat up, blinking a few times, seeming a bit confused. Zinnia regarded the plant with caution, slowly moving into a battle-ready stance. “Relax,” he spoke, looking up at her, “I’m not going to hurt you.” “Forgive me for being a tad skeptical after what just happened,” she replied, though she did come out of her stance, moving over to crouch beside him. “Who’re you?” “I am... Gram.” he said, looking at his hands, “And you’re... Zinnia right?” “Yeah… is Orm still in there?” she punctuated the question by poking Gram in the forehead. “Yeah he is, he’s just... quieter now” “Well, that’s good to hear.” Zinnia stood, placing her hands on the small of her back and bending backwards over them. This had the effect of making her near-bare breasts much more pronounced, causing a blush to form on Gram’s face. “Now, where’s Stryker?” she asked, the drake in question rushing over at the mention of his name, her cloak billowing behind him. The child took one look at Gram and screamed, firing a concentrated vacuum of air at the plant, the Twister attack pulled all snow and dirt in it’s path along with it. Gram’s eyes went wide before he rolled out of the way. “Okay, baby dragons are dangerous, good to know,” he muttered to himself. Zinnia grabbed the drake, holding him in front of her. “Stryker, no! Don’t attack Gram, he’s not the bad one!” she scolded, causing the drake to look away, dejected. “He’s fine,” Gram said, getting to his feet, “He was just trying to protect his ma is all.” “Yeah…” Zinnia sighed. “He still has to apologise though! Tell mister Gram you’re sorry, Stryker.” With that, she placed the drake down. The drake waddled over, holding his hands together shyly. “S-sorry, mister,” he said. A tree fell in the distance. All three heard the impact. “When did you start speaking, son?” Zinnia asked, kneeling down. She pulled her cloak from the drake’s neck and wrapped it around herself. “Yesterday!” he replied, waving his arms happily. “What?” Gram asked, looking utterly lost, “What, is he talking or something?” “Right, you need to be a Draconid to hear him,” Zinnia muttered, before frowning slightly. “Or whatever reality-warping thing Hodgepodge is… anyway! Gram, this is Stryker, my son. Stryker, this is Gram. He’s a person that lives inside Uncle Jason’s watch.” She then turned to Gram, concern working its way into her features. “So how’s Jay now? He doing any better?” “I think he’s fine,” Gram said, rubbing his head. “Probably exhausted, but he’s fine. You weren’t hurt were you?” he asked, shifting focus onto her. “My wrist aches a little from when I blocked him, but otherwise I’m fine.” She then looked down at herself, fluttering her cloak slightly. “Tore my only shirt, though.” “That's good, I was afraid we had gotten you hurt,” Gram gave her a smile. “Jason wouldn’t have forgiven himself if you had.” “That guy cares too much.” She dismissed the sentiment with a wave, but the blush rising on her face betrayed her gratitude. “Do you have a way out of here, by the way? I’m guessing Jotunheim isn’t your Equestria’s version of the North Pole.” “That would be me,” Hel said, having emerged out of the shadows behind Zinnia. She chuckled a little to herself as the woman jumped up, a big smirk on her face. “I take it you’re Hel, huh?” Zinnia asked, admiring the goddess. She extended a hand, causing her cloak to fall open once more. “I’m Zinnia, and this is my son Stryker. It’s nice to meet another member of the family we placed ourselves in.” “Another one, Corypheus?” Hel asked, looking to Gram. Zinnia raised a brow in confusion. “Corypheus? Is that another voice?” Her eyes then widened in horror. “Does he wanna kill me too!?” “Corypheus is my grandson’s real name,” Hel enlightened, “Most just call him Jason.” “Oh. Well, that makes me your sort-of granddaughter then, because Jason took my DNA and I made him be my brother.” Zinnia smiled innocently, accentuated by Stryker’s wide, glittering eyes as he clambered onto her shoulder. “And he’s Stryker’s uncle, too, though I guess that would be obvious.” “Hello, little one,” Hel cooed, kneeling down, looking Stryker in the eyes. “Aren’t you just adorable?” she asked, grabbing him up, cradling him in her arms. “I’m not adorable, I’m fierce!” Stryker complained, letting out the most adorable attempt at a roar to prove his point. “Of course you are dear,” she cooed, tickling his stomach gently. Stryker resisted at first, but eventually fell into a fit of giggles. “Wait, you understand him? I thought only Draconids could hear Dragon-Types talking.” Zinnia asked, a calm smile on her face. “I’m several million years old, what do you think?” Hel asked, not relenting as she tickled Stryker silly. “I guess you’ve got a point there, plenty of time to learn all languages in existence right there.” Zinnia looked to Gram, who still sat in the snow. “Hey, you alright there new guy?” “Hm?” he asked, snapping out of his trance. “Oh yeah I’m fine. It was a pleasure meeting you but Jason’s ready to come out,” Gram said, tapping the Omnitrix and shifting back into Jason. The young Jotun blinked, shaking his head and groaning. “You feel better now, Jay?” Zinnia asked. Stryker wriggled out of Hel’s grip, sliding down her leg before rushing over to Jason. “Uncle Jason!” he cried, tackle-hugging the Jotun with very little effect, due to his small size. “You’re okay!” “Yeah... got one hell of headache but I’m ok,” Jason said, managing a smile for Stryker. “Hey little guy, nice to see you too.” he reached down, petting the little drake’s spines. “He’s talking now, apparently.” Zinnia said, chuckling. “You may need to switch to talk to him properly.” “What do you mean, mama?” Stryker asked. “Uncle Jason is different to me, Stryker.” Zinnia explained, kneeling down. “He’s not a Draconid, which is what I am, so he won’t understand you unless he studies how to talk to your species.” “I can turn into a Draconid, though.” Jason added, cutting off Stryker’s sadness as soon as he saw the tears forming. “My watch lets me turn into other species, and your Mommy gave me a Draconid.” “Oh. Do it now, do it now!” Stryker started bouncing in Jason’s lap, the Jotun looking to Zinnia. “He wants you to show him.” Zinnia giggled. Jason smiled and nodded, popping the dial up and turning into Catscratch, “See?”’ he asked, looking at Stryker. “Whoa, that’s so cool!” the drake shouted, dropping into the snow. “I wanna pick one!” He reached for the Omnitrix on his chest, pushing down on it before anyone could stop him. He tapped it, causing Jason to shift into Upchuck. Stryker started giggling, reaching for the Omnitrix again before Jason pushed his hand away gently. “You gotta be careful, the Omnitrix doesn’t like being messed with. “This unit would not harm a child,” the Omnitrix chirped at them. “Well, that's good to know,” Jason said, watching as the Omnitrix timed out. “Wait, does your Omnitrix have an AI?” Zinnia asked, scratching her head and exposing her breast again. She looked down at Jason’s scowl before chuckling nervously, pulling the cloak around her with a, “Sorry.” “This unit is self aware,” the watch chirped. “Oh, cool.” Zinnia nodded before her eyes lit up. “Hey, can you tell me about my powers if you have my DNA?” “Negative.” “Oh, that’s a shame,” Zinnia sighed dejectedly, kicking a pebble. “Guess that was a bit of a stretch, eh?” she asked. Stryker moved over and hugged her leg, causing Zinnia to laugh and pick him up. “I can’t get upset about this, it just gives me a challenge!” “Yes, well, I still need to talk with my grandson,” Hel spoke up, getting their attention, “Something rather important.” “Is that our cue to leave?” Zinnia asked, ignoring Stryker’s whine. “‘Cause I kinda wanted to meet Jay’s wives.” “I never said you had to leave,” Hel said, opening up another portal, Chrysalis and Rarity tumbling out of it. “Oh,” Chrysalis said, helping Rarity to her hooves, “Hello Hel, always nice to see you.” “Yes, nice,” Rarity grumbled, getting steady on her hooves, placing a hoof on her swollen belly. “Oh my, I didn’t know you had company,” Rarity said, looking at Zinnia. “Hello, I’m Zinnia, and this is my son Stryker.” Zinnia said, shaking each of their hooves. She didn’t notice the cloak open so that it fell behind her shoulders, exposing her shirtless-ness to the mares. “I assume you’re Jason’s spouses?” “Yes, I am Chrysalis and this is Rarity,” Chrysalis said, holding Rarity rather protectively, “Now, would someone please explain why we’re here?” “Well, I kinda said I wanted to meet you two,” Zinnia explained. “But I expected to come to you, not the other way around.” She then turned to Hel, smiling slightly. “So what’d you want to tell Jay that doesn’t need me to leave?” “This may sound insane, but we’re going extinct,” Hel started, taking a seat, not caring if she didn’t have a chair. “Extinct!” Zinnia exclaimed, placing Stryker down. “No way, how!?” “Really?” Jason asked, giving her a flat stare. “Did you just ask how the Jotun are going extinct? We’re dying out! There are four left, including me.” “S-sorry, I was just shocked.” “See, the problem is,” Hel started, looking at Rarity and Chrysalis, “Their children aren’t exactly going to be Jotun.” “Well duh, I could’ve told you that.” Zinnia stated. “I mean, come on! I’m pretty sure you ain’t gonna get an Ice Giant out of a Pony or a… whatever Chrysalis is.” “I am a changeling,” Chrysalis said with a snort, glaring at her. “Really?” Zinnia shrugged. “Never met a changeling before.” “Well, now you have.” “If we could get back on track,” Hel huffed. “The point is, I’m in no position to have any more children, Terra refuses to remarry and Ib isn’t interested in having kids. Which leaves Jason,” she said, turning to the rather uncomfortable younger Jotun. “So… Jay needs to pork someone who’s not his wife, huh?” Zinnia asked. “What?” she demanded when the others just looked at her with varying degrees of annoyance, all except Hel. “You seem like a good candidate.” Hel leaned in close, looking her over, staring into her eyes. “You want him to do me!?” Zinnia’s shocked look quickly morphed into a lecherous grin. “Well, if the Norse Goddess of Death and the Afterlife demands it…” as she said this, she slipped her shoes and shorts off, now standing in just her underwear. She looked around briefly before picking her discarded clothes up. “Can we go somewhere a little less… arctic?” “Do we not get a say in this?” Rarity asked, looking at them, a rather angry look on her face. “I mean really, does marriage mean nothing to you people?!” “Uh... maybe this isn’t a good idea...” Jason said, putting his hands up, “I mean really, this is just the worst idea I’ve heard since Celestia wanted to chuck the sun at Surt...” “Now that’s just mean, Jay. I mean really,” she ran her hands over her chest. “Who wouldn’t want a piece of this?” “That's not the point!” he shouted, his face getting rather red. “This is an easy problem to solve,” Chrysalis said with a purr, “A foursome involving kinky shape shifter sex.” She moved up to Rarity, nibbling on her ear. “S-stop that!” Rarity stuttered, trying to pull away, only to give into Chrissy’s advances. “Ooh, me gusta!” Zinnia called, dropping her clothes again and pressing her chest against Jason’s. “Whadda’ya say, Jay? Kinky times?” Jason looked from face to face before sighing and hanging his head, “Fine.” “Good!” Chrysalis said before leaning up to Zinnia’s ear, “This is a one time thing. You ever come onto my mate again and I’ll jump rope with your intestines.” “Ooh, I like you! You’re super kinky!” Zinnia said, pulling the changeling into a kiss. “Well I’ll leave you four to it,” Hel said sinking into the shadows with a big smirk. “Wait, I still don’t wanna do it in the snow!” Zinnia shouted, pulling away from Chrysalis, leaving the changeling breathless. “I must agree with you there,” Rarity said. “As much as I hate to.” she muttered. “Come on, Utgard isn’t that far away,” Jason said with a sigh, starting to walk away, hands in his pockets, muttering about sex crazed mares. “Mommy, what’s happening?” Stryker asked, making Zinnia jump. “Oh, crap!” she shouted, catching Jason’s attention. “Is there any way I can send Stryker home? I can get Whiplash or Sonar to watch him.” “Not at the moment, the Omnitrix needs to recharge,” Jason said, shaking his head. “Hmm…” Zinnia rubbed her chin, the brief thought of rubbing something else flashing through her mind. “Would you say Utgard is dangerous?” “We’re the only ones in the entire realm besides the Windigos.” “Windigos?” Zinnia’s confusion seemed to upset Chrysalis, if her scowl was anything to go by. “Do you seriously know nothing about the world you live in!?” she demanded. “And don’t tell me it’s different from this one, there are the same species in them!” “I’ve been there three days and have met the Princesses, a unicorn, and a pegasus.” she grumbled. “I’ve seen ponies that don’t have a horn or wings, but I’m not sure what they’re called.” “Those are earth ponies,” Rarity clarified, staying close to Jason for warmth “Oh, thanks.” Zinnia said. She picked up Stryker, smiling at him. “Anyway, the only other species I’ve met were Pokémon.” “Well, you need to get out more,” the changeling huffed. “Maybe your version of me could use some help becoming Empress.” “Yeah...” Zinnia stared into the distance, thinking. “I wonder what you’d look like anthro…” “Probably just as beautiful,” she said, smiling. Utgard came into view, its imposing size dwarfing them.