Chaotic Harmony: Do Over

by shirotora

Chapter 50: Can We Build It?

"Shiro, you still home?" Jynx's call roused me from a half-sleep.

"In here!" I called back.

"Shiro?" she called again.

"Oh, right." I reached up to the headboard and deactivated the silence gem. "In here."

"You're still in... oh, nevermind," Jynx paused a smirk spreading across her face when she saw Scootaloo laying on top of me. "So, you two...?"

I nodded.

"It's about damn time. What changed from two days ago?" she asked.

"We might as well tell her," Scootaloo said, still laying on me, eyes closed. "Honestly, she might be able to help with the flying part." She sat up and lifted the stump of her mangled wing. "Rot wolf got me. It's not much, but I probably won't live past fifty."

Jynx looked stunned for a bit. "That... explains a lot. Well, I'm glad we get this long with you."

Scootaloo smiled. "Thanks. Me too."

"It also explains why you never tried strapping wings to your scooter," Jynx said.

Scoots and I laughed.

"Are the others up?" I asked.

"Yeah, Sweetie's already gone home and Spike went with her."

I looked at Scootaloo with a grin, and she just rolled her eyes. "Nah, they aren't going to be a thing. Sweetie told you, she's not interested in colts romantically, and very few sexually."

I shrugged. "Yeah, Ah guess. Besides, Ah think she likes someone else."

"Oh yeah? Cool," Scootaloo said, trying to be nonchalant but blushing slightly. So she wasn't so oblivious, after all. "I should probably get cleaned up. Maybe I can sneak in and pretend I came home last night." She groaned. "Oh, who am I kidding. Mom was up all night just so she could tease me."

I laughed. "Well, if she does, you can brag about how you get more dick than her."

Scootaloo grinned. "Oh, yeah." She leaned over and gave me a peck on the lips. "Thanks. I'll make sure Sweetie doesn't try to use this as an excuse to pester you for sex."

I chuckled. "Thanks."

With that, she jumped up and headed off to the bathroom, giving Jynx a quick hug as she passed.

"That filly really is the strongest pony I know," Jynx said.

"Yeah, she is."

---

"Sorry, what little I had on them went up with the library," Twilight said. "Honestly, not much is known about timberwolves in general, much less rot wolves."

I had gotten a temporary job with the construction crew building Twilight’s new place. Despite the fact that we were getting paid, Twilight still bought everyone lunch, saying she felt like she owed us.

I decided to take that time to ask about rot wolves.

"Heck, it's not even known for sure that rot wolves are even related to timberwolves beyond just leading packs of them," she continued. "Studying them is extraordinarily difficult. If you remove them from the Everfree, they collapse and all traces of magic vanish. They're just a pile of wood with no traces, magical or mundane, that were just walking around hunting ponies.

"Trying to study rot wolves is even harder. Not only are they far more dangerous but their rot decays any kind of magic containment."

I replied, "Ah don't care about behavior or anything like that. Ah'm interested in the rot itself. What do we know about that?"

Twilight sighed. "Sadly, not much is known about the rot, either. All we know is that it corrupts one's magic, which causes irreparable damage to the magic system. Unless the afflicted area is removed within minutes, the victim will die of mana deprivation. Even when it's removed right away, the damage usually results in a reduced lifespan as well as other complications."

I stared at my sandwich, my appetite having left me.

"That's what happened to Scootaloo, isn't it?" It was more of a statement than a question. She was smart enough to put it together. Hell, she probably already had even before this. "You know, deteriorating mana pathways are common enough that there's a lot of research going into fixing them. It is just her pathways, right? Her nodes and spark are fine?"

I chuckled humorlessly. "If her spark were damaged, she would be dead already."

"Ah, right."

"As for her nodes, other than the ones in her missin' wing, they should all be fine. She wouldn't be able to use her good wing if those were damaged, and she's visited Cloudsdale without a cloud walking spell with no issues. The one in her right wingpit is probably damaged, but without that wing it's kinda useless anyway."

"Then I'm confident things will be fine," Twilight said with a determined smile. "Medical science is a quickly advancing field. If nothing else, I'm sure she'll be around for much longer than they said."

That actually helped a lot. Enough to at least restore my appetite.

"Ah saw the plans for your new place," I said before taking a bite of my sandwich. "Mom talk to you?"

"First, don't talk with your mouth full. And yes, she did. She made some very valid points. Of course, only a small portion of it will actually be 'my place'. The rest is public services and government resources."

I chuckled and swallowed before speaking. "Yeah, but the actual apartment is twice the size of my house."

Twilight blushed. "That's only because I have a lot of friends over, and it'll be used for other social gatherings. I'm planning on getting more involved in government work to help mom. Goodness knows she needs it. Aunt Luna is more 'judicial' than 'administrative'. That means entertaining foreign officials."

I gave a lecherous grin. "Oh? You're goin' to be 'entertainin'' foreign officials in your private residence?"

She rolled her eyes. "Not that kind of entertaining. I mean, if we hit it off, maybe, but the chances of that are negligible. It would be no different than with anyone else. I mean, we've only done it once and you're my girlfriend's husband. Do you really think I sleep around?"

I furrowed my brow. "Oh, wow, it really was only that once. And you've been livin' with us for a few days now. Come to think of it, why are you even sleeping in a different room? Jynx and Ah wouldn't mind you joinin' us and Ah'm sure you wouldn't mind sharin' a bed with Jynx."

Twilight blushed. "I wouldn't want to intrude. Maybe just a night or two, though."

"Well, Ah better get back. Lunch is almost over," I said. "Thanks again for the food."

"I need to get going, too. I'm glad you enjoyed it. Sorry I couldn't get you any meat for it."

"That's fine. Ah like mah veggies, too. See you later," I said and we both waved goodbye.

---

"Sweetie Belle tells me you finally took the next step with Scootaloo," Rarity said as she measured out some fabric on me.

Despite it being the work of independent parties, the werewolf attack on Ponyville had forced Lycanthia to open peace talks and resulted in some rather lucrative trade deals as well as several other agreements. Rarity, hoping for some new clientele, asked me to help her practice as I had a similar body type.

"Ah swear, that girl's almost as bad a gossip as you," I said with a sigh.

Rarity gave a cheeky grin. "She learned from the best. Don't worry, I already spoke to her about pursuing you. She promised to tone her teasing down."

"Thanks. Ah mean, Ah don’t mind mind a bit of teasin', but she can go a little far with it."

"Well, if it helps, I've already filed her consent forms. I just haven't told her I have, so if you do decide to do anything you're safe."

I chuckled. "Ah'm not sure if that helps or makes things worse."

"Just think of it as opening things up. She's not aware of it, so she won't be pursuing it, and you don't have to worry about one choice having negative consequences."

"Ah guess," I said. "Anyway, what about you? Anyone catch your fancy, yet?"

"Not particularly. I have considered a few possible suitors, but not many. I'm not opposed to a wife, but I'm hoping to find a husband. I'm also hoping to find one with a career that compliments my own. Of course, these aren't requirements, merely wishes."

I let out a chuckle. "Glad to hear you toned down the requirements. Won't want to see you an old cat lad-ow!"

"Opps, sorry. My concentration slips when people are being uncouth."

Yeah, as if I'd ever believe Rarity's concentration could ever slip.

Rarity let out a huff. "All this talk of relationships has me all flustered, now."

I found myself floating in a magical aura.

"Come. You got me this way, so you can help take care of it."

I laughed as she carried me upstairs. "Ah suppose Ah must."

---

A figure sat before an open brazier, stoking the flames. He was a pale green pegasus stallion, old though not elderly, with gray streaks through his violet mane.

"And you're sure that will work?" he asked.

Another pony, this one a silver coated earth pony with a red mane, replied, "I'm positive. The seal has already weakened, so we won't need divine blood. The hole is there, we just need to pry it open enough to call another."

The elder grimaced. "What good will that do? The first fell shortly after he was summoned. Why would I assume this one would be any different?"

"Verin was a warrior. What we need are scholars. Knowledge is power, so that's what we should pursue. Think of what one did for Sombra and the Crystal Empire."

The elder closed his eyes and sighed. "Have we found a nexus point? We can't use the one in Ponyville, after all."

"Actually, yes. There's one not far from Fillydelphia, at a location the locals refer to as 'Ponehenge', due to its similarities to an Earth location of a similar name. However, we should make haste. If the usurpers' agents get wind of our plan, they may try to reinforce the seal."

"They can do that?" the elder asked, concerned.

"I'm not sure of the details, but according to research by the historian Esoteric Script, there are six keys that belonged to six heroes that aided Gaea in her campaign against Lord Kronos."

"And they can tighten the seal with these keys?" the elder asked.

"That's correct. Though, they would need all of them."

"Then, we should act fast. Their agents are clever and resourceful. We can not underestimate them. Go, assign our best seekers to finding these keys. We only need one, but gather as many as you can."

"Yes, sir," the younger pony said before turning and heading for the door. He flung it open, startling a flock of ravens into taking to the air.

---

"Hey, Shiro, guess what!" Jynx said, excitedly. "You made it into 'Medical Miracles Yearly'!"

I cocked an eyebrow. "Say what, now?"

"In the 'Necromancy' section. You know, because of your legs."

"Oh! That, yeah. Cool."

Jynx showed me the article, which claimed I was deceased by 'unrelated causes', which got a chuckle out of me. Still, it was cool to appear in a medical magazine.

"Ah told you mah legs were special," I said, smugly.

Jynx chuckled and bumped our hips. "And I never disagreed."

As we chuckled together, a familiar raven landed in front of us and, in a wash of black fire, turned into an equally familiar dragony.

"Yo, Jet!" I greeted my friend. "Where've you been?"

"Gathering information on the Cult of Kronos," he said, instantly turning the mood dark. "They're on the move, but we may be able to stop them."

Comments

[Numinos]

That was an interesting binge. Good story! Poor Rainbow though...

[Dante-Hinomori]

11823508
Eh, if its anything like the original story, she gets some badass replacements.