Star Overhead

by KorenCZ11

Funny Bunny (Part 2)

---

Fluttershy

---

I cannot believe you! You can’t even be around her for ten minutes before you have to go touch yourself! And in the middle of club… You’re a disgrace. Disgusting, deplorable, dirty, deranged filly!

I know…

You were completely normal around the girls afterward. Even the one time you helped Applejack at the farm you didn’t get that bad after seeing Mac all sweaty.

To be entirely fair, I did lock myself in my room immediately after I got home…

Whatever, that’s not the point. You were so horny just being in the same room as your new fixation that you couldn’t hold it in. Why? She’s a mare. A mare damn it! She couldn’t even do what you could do with Mac! Why does she make you feel that way? Is it true? Is Trixie right when she calls you a faggot? Have you just been hiding and denying it all this time?

No! That can’t be right, I still get that way when I think about stallions, and none of the other girls get me like that, not even the adults.

Then what’s going on? Why is she special? Is it because she’s so big?

I… I don’t know…

Oh goddess, what’s wrong with me?

I’d been having this looping conversation with myself ever since I split up from Twilight. Why am I attracted to Celestia? It doesn’t make any sense. She’s as feminine as female gets, she’s even… alluring. I can’t keep my eyes off her when she’s around. Is this what the boys mean when they talk about a mare that could walk by and make you forget what you’re doing? I don’t have the right parts to be redirecting blood, so what gives? I’ve never felt like this for any other mare, and it’s usually only the high school stallions that can get me that worked up. Ugh, what’s wrong with me?

I turned the corner and very carefully crossed the highway in the thick fog. It had gotten denser after I left the school and it was very hard to see out. I’ll often take Zephyr to meet his friends at the park and sometimes take a detour just to explore the little place, so I knew it well, but this was more fog than usual. It almost didn’t seem natural, like something else was causing the fog to be as bad as it was. I suppose if I were trying to hide, it would be easy to get lost right about now.

TWANG

“Damn it, where the fuck did she go!?”

I was startled by the sudden noise, but I could swear that sounded like a guitar playing a violent chord. The voice even sounded like the Motor Mare, but who is she looking for? I followed the sound up the road, but I could hardly see anything, and it didn’t look like there was anything up ahead either. I turned the corner, and my head was knocked aside by something very large and very soft. My whole body was tilted by the force and I crashed into a puddle just off the sidewalk.

What in the world…? I looked around hoping Angel didn’t get wet, but I caught him escaping into my bag before I felt a hoof on my shoulder. I turned my head, and there she was, her snout just inches away from mine, those big pretty eyes looking deep into me, her porcelain white coat shiny even in the fog.

“I’m sorry, are you hurt?”

My whole face started to heat up and my lower body was reacting just as bad, or worse than it had earlier. I could barely contain it, I just wanted her to take the next step, her lips were right there, plump, wet and ready.

“I-I’m fine! N-not hurt, no I-I’m fine!”

She offered me a hoof and helped me stand, but that only made everything worse. She was incredibly strong. It was like holding onto a brick structure with a soft surface. My dress was wet and muddy now, but at least it was my butt that fell in the puddle so nopony would notice if I couldn’t escape for now. She looked me over, never letting go of my hoof, and then she smiled at me. It was almost identical to the way she smiled in my dream, and that made me clamp my hind knees together. AAAH!

“Oh, goodness, you’re all wet♥ That pretty little dress of yours is going to get stained if we don’t get it taken care of, and I can’t have a sweet little thing like you all dirty, now can I?” She ran a hoof up my neck and then held my face in the massive thing. My wings flared out without my consent and I squeezed my thighs even harder.

“Y-yes!” My head was swimming. Oh goddess she’s touching me! Why would she say that? Is she just being nice, or is it coming true? Oh goddess, I don’t care, take me! She picked me up and carried me to her motorcycle like a stallion would carry his bride. She put a helmet on my head and mounted the bike.

“Of course… we’ll get you home and all cleaned up. Wash that sticky dress and make sure you get the care you need, and maybe even the care you want…” she whispered in my ear.

Oh goddess, if she keeps doing that… Pull yourself together Fluttershy! She’s just being nice! Nopony is going to touch you, no pony is going to manhandle you, nopony is going to restrain you, and nopony is certainly going toooooeeeeee! Celestia suddenly put her hoof around my waist and jerked me closer between her massive thighs.

“Careful now. Can’t have you sitting too far up, otherwise you might fall off.”

I gasped for air and it took me a few seconds before I could breathe again. Good goddess, is that all it takes? I won’t survive the ride home, I’m already… She started up the bike and the rumbling engine only made things even worse. Whether it was a good thing or a bad thing, Celestia applied more pressure to her thighs and that actually calmed the itch a little, if only enough to keep me from going after it. It was a constant battle to keep my wings in place, and not violently attacking the itch was just as hard, if not harder than usual. Thankfully, we made it to Twilight’s house quickly, and after she told me where it was, I raced to the bathroom and took care of the itch.

Ugh. Why? Why would you do this at your new friend’s house? What in the world is wrong with me?

---

“The washer is ready to start, can I get that dress from you?” came from the door. Oh goddess, it’s her! What do I do? I just… and my hooves… Wash them! Yes, do that! As quickly as I could, I took off my dress and started washing my hooves. As long as they weren’t sticky, I should be able to interact with this mare. Hopefully. Probably. Everything about this is embarrassing and actually taking care of the itch doesn’t seem to be working. She’s right there, and the itch is coming back… I need to get out of here…

“Just a minute!” I called back. I turned the water off and wiped my hooves down, and just as I went to crack the door open and slide my dress out, she stepped in. Oh, goddess! She’d taken her jacket off. I don’t know why she did it, but ho-lee-shit was she jacked. Muscles everywhere. Large, powerful, muscles that rippled with every movement, her white-pink coat glistening from the mist outside, and suddenly I had the itch back in full force. I think I was drooling, I wasn’t sure that I could focus on anything else and my imagination was running wild.

“Oh, what’s this? You look like you’re already ready. Come now dear, all you have to do is turn on the water.” She took a step closer and I backed away. I can smell her! Oh goddess, what is this? She smells so sweet, it’s almost like it’s drifting off her skin, the closer she gets the stronger it is! I just want to… taste… She twisted the knob and the water started running and my water started running.

“Goodness, you’re flushed and shaking! Might you have a fever? Or is it… something else that’s got you hot and bothered?” She snaked around to my side and I backed away against the bathtub, my wings shooting out unbidden and my heart racing. She’s chasing me! She knows, she knows, she knows! What do I do, what do I do? I’m not ready for this! But… I want this… No! Yes! No! No! She tilted her head and came a little closer, now her snout was less than inches from mine and I could feel her breath on my neck.

“Flustered, aren’t we?”

“Eep!” I didn’t know my wings could stretch this far. My hooves dove between my thighs. I had to hide it. I had to. If she looks down, she’ll really know. I’ll be exposed.

“You know, I’ve always been interested in teaching. I know so much, it’s only fair to pass along my techniques♥ Mares all have these little ticks, you see, and if you approach with the right touch, you can just have them gushing for you. My dear Fluttershy, is there something you want me to teach?” she whispered in my ear. The temptation to just dig in from where I was was just unbearable. This is it! She’s going to do it! She’s going to take me, and I’m going to let her! She’ll push me down and hold me still and again and again and again and again and-

“Celestia!? Are you home!?” Suddenly, the white mare looked up and then narrowed her eyes toward the door. She made an irritated sound out of the side of her mouth and then rose to full height.

“Tch. It seems as if my playtime is over.” Then, she suddenly turned back to me and pressed the base of her horn against my forehead and pushed me against the wall. “But you know where to find me. If you ever get the urge to scratch the itch… come see me again♥” and just like a hurricane, she took my dress and left the bathroom shut. Oh sweet goddess… I thought… and she… I looked down between my legs as my heart started to slow and sighed. So worked up only to get left like this. Looks like I’m breaking a record today…

---

“I can’t believe you knocked her in the mud!” Twilight complained. Celestia rolled her eyes and swallowed a long string of noodles out of her bowl.

“I didn’t do anything, she ran into me. It was foggy, what do you expect? Besides, I brought her here and her clothes are being washed. I don’t see what the problem is.” I’d been listening to them argue over various things all through dinner, and I wasn’t sure what to make of them. I almost want to say they act like siblings, but… they almost remind me of me and mom.

Thanks to all my… scratching, the itch had died down a lot, and I could be… well, as close to normal as I can around this mare. Of course, I still freeze up when she talks to me. I’ll never get the image of her body out of my head. She’s likely just as muscular as Mac and almost twice his size. She could do so much to me…

“Yeah, I’ll believe that when you tell me what you are. Why does your shirt have wing holes? You don’t have wings. Do you?” Huh?

“Are you kidding me? You expect ponies to sell clothes in my size? I always buy pegasus clothing specifically because I can fit in the shirt, if it has room to stretch. My jacket was hoof made, but this is 100% authentic Pillows merch. You can’t get this stuff in Equestria, I went half way around the world for it.”

I was too… invested to notice earlier, but it does in fact say ‘The Pillows’ on it as a simple logo.

It looked ancient and I’ve never heard of the band before. If I had to guess, she probably buys triple XL or maybe bigger. Mom isn’t even as heavy as she used to be, and she still has to buy XL if she wants anything that fits right. I didn’t even fit in the fat kid’s clothing when I was eight and I’ve been getting larger shirts lately because everything else in the girl’s section is too tight.

“T-to be fair, I buy pretty big clothes too. I usually wear skirts and the like because finding pants long enough and thin enough is near impossible…”

I couldn’t take the stares for very long, so I stuffed more noodles in my face. Twilight raised an eyebrow at Celestia, but then leaned back in her chair. The white pony brought over some fried pastry looking things with some sauce on top, and the big mare took one and popped it in her mouth.

“Better,” she said with a mouth full of food. The white pony kind of… danced in place and then rushed back to the kitchen and brought another plate of them out. Twilight levitated one off with her magic and studied it.

“What is this?” Celestia took another, this time with her hoof, and passed it to me.

“They’re called ‘takoyaki,’ an Umanese street food. Think of it like… a savory doughnut. Or a fried pancake with green onions and stuff in it. When your father and I toured around the world last I was here, oh so long ago, this was one of our favorite things to get while we were in that country. Maybe once this is all over, I’ll go back and see what’s changed…” She sounded distant while she examined another orb, slowly turning the little steaming ball as if she were watching something cross its surface. I stared down the one she gave me and finally decided to eat it. I see these things in my shows all the time, but isn’t ‘Tako’ the word for…

“Why is it chewy?” Twilight asked after she swallowed. Celestia ate half of the one she was holding and then leaned back in her chair.

“Well, it’s got octopus in it.” The purple unicorn looked at the toothpick in horror, like eating it was the worst thing she’s ever done in her life. My concerns confirmed, I went ahead and ate it anyways. It was… different. Savory, salty, a little bit of that fishy flavor you get in fish stock soup, very creamy, and of course, a little chewy. I couldn’t tell if I liked that or not and had another. By the time I did decide I liked it, I’d already eaten four.

“See, she understands good taste.”

Twilight stared down another takoyaki and after it looked like a debate went on in her head, she decided to eat it.

“I still don’t know how I feel about this.”

“Well, feel good because it is good. You should love them, I ate them all the time back then.” The Motor Mare studied another before putting it down her mouth and… sucking the juices… off the toothpick. I felt my pulse increase, and suddenly the dull itch between my legs became more prominent. Okay, time to leave…

“So, speaking of, where is dad?”

“He said he needed to meet his editor today. The paper wants him to do a special column about the odd happenings around town over the last couple weeks.” Twilight downed the rest of her soup and then wiped at her mouth.

“So, wait, he’s doing a special about you?” Celestia shrugged.

“I mean, I guess. It’s not like anything else has happened in this sleepy little town for almost a decade and a half. Oh! And speaking of talking to editors, did somepony talk to you today?” Twilight frowned out of the side of her mouth.

“Well… there was this tourist that was looking for directions to the air base…” The white mare pushed the toothpick to the side of her mouth.

“So that’s what she was after. No wonder I couldn’t find her, I bet she did it on purpose, clever little shit. What’d she ask about?” Twilight lowered her brows.

“Wait, how do you know it was a she?” Celestia rolled her eyes.

“Come now, I don’t have time for questions, I need answers Twilight, answers!” she said, repeatedly slapping the back of one hoof against another in Twilight’s face. The purple unicorn backed away and tried to fight her hooves off.

“She asked about you, what else? Geez!” After Celestia returned to her seat, Twilight continued, “I’m not sure if she was crazy or what, she kept going on about chords and notes, and she asked about the shadows and musical instruments…” Celestia put her elbow on the table and rested her chin on her hoof.

“She’s trying to put the chord together too? What’s going on that she needs that kind of power for? What are you scheming, little sister?” Suddenly, Twilight clapped her hooves together.

“Oh! That reminds me, she paid me like, eighty-seven bits! Do you think I could buy a good deck with this much? I mean, it’s a card game, I wouldn’t imagine it’s that expensive to play, right?” Celestia gave Twilight a half-lidded stare and then shook her head and rolled her eyes.

“Tossing money around again, are we? Yes, the debt will fix itself, I’m certain, you just have to keep spending money instead of herding your cats properly, that will solve the issue. Power above all others will get you places, but one day the money will stop flowing if you don’t pay your debtors. Are you still rebelling against me? Is that why you never listen?” the white mare asked nopony in particular. I ran through a list of meta decks in my head and had trouble thinking of what core she could buy for that little.

“Uh… maybe? The cards you really need are mostly ubiquitous, but you won’t find them for that cheap and get the core you want unless something gets reprinted in the next few weeks. I mean, trying to run a deck without hoof traps like Ash Blossom is suicide, and even after the third reprint, that card is still worth about a silver right now, and that’s just for one of the commons. The playset I have is…” Oh damn it, what are you doing!? You weren’t supposed to tell her how expensive this actually is! Now she’s going to get discouraged and drop the game, and-

“Well, I still have an allowance and all, maybe I could save up and just get everything in pieces.” I brought my hooves to my mouth.

“Wait. Really?” Twilight shrugged.

“Sure, I really enjoy the game, and I loved to play back when my brother was home, but ever since he left, I’ve had nopony to play with. I still think it’s fun, and I wouldn’t mind spending some money if it meant I could keep playing with you.”

I think I teared up a little. Oh goddess, she’s so sweet! Before I could even say anything, the big mare scooped Twilight out of her chair and wrapped her in her hooves.

“Good goddess, you are just too cute! Who did you get that from? Why do you have to be so prickly all the time when you’ve the capacity to be this nice to ponies?” Twilight struggled, but couldn’t escape her grip.

“Gah! Stop! Cease! Desist! Let go of me! I can’t breathe!” Finally, Celestia put her back down, but then got up and went to the staircase.

“You know, this reminds me of something. You two stay right here, I’ll be right back.” And then up the stairs she went.

“What do you think she has?” I asked. While the other part of my brain was hoping for something that would scratch my low, burning itch, the main part was sincerely curious. I thought Pinkie was a mystery, but this mare is on another level. Twilight shrugged.

“Hell if I know. I can never tell what she’s doing.” We waited patiently and watched the staircase until she came back down carrying two duel disks!?

“You know, that game is very old. We played together, my sister and I, and for the longest time, I wondered how I might construct that fun little toy… but little did I realize that all it takes is a bit of imagination, some scientific know how, and something that likes to hold magic. Why don’t we take this outside?”

One was a pastel green, but shaped just like the ones from the first season of the show. Five slots, arrows in front of the zones, a counter, deck and graveyard zones on top, it really was just like it. The other one looked strange but I wasn’t sure it mattered if the disk was clear or not. Almost like it was made of crystal.

“Are those real?” I asked. The white mare passed me the green one and ushered me outside.

“Why don’t you find out? This is what you wanted, isn’t it?” I froze. There in her gold magic was the first edition, ultimate rare Dark Magician from the original set. She pressed the disk against my foreleg, and just like in the show, arms sprang from inside it and it clamped to me. Suddenly it occurred to me that I didn’t have my cards, and even more concerning was that Angel was still in my bag upstairs.

“Ah! I have to go get-” She wrapped a foreleg around me and brought me to a standing position. Suddenly my legs were jelly as she was holding me close. Her hoof was right above my belly and I wasn’t wearing anything to hide in now, but none of that seemed to matter. I couldn’t take my eyes off her.

“Don’t worry about anything else. Your bunny will be fine. For now, just use mine and play the game…”

Her words sent a tingle down my spine, and almost in a hypnotic way, I nodded and took the card from her. I quickly placed the card in the deck slot, and in a flash of gold, it was filled with more cards, before the disk even turned on. Something like LEDs lit up on either side of the disk, and a beam of light shot from mine to Twilight’s.

Twilight is already there? Has she been there the whole time? My head felt cloudy and my whole body was exceedingly warm. Any hotter and I might start sweating. The two lights met in the center of her front yard, and a ball of multicolored hues crossed both of us until everything had a strange tint to it.

“This will be a simple game. You’ll both have 4000 life points, and pre master rule 4, so no Links, and no limited summoning. Twilight will take the first turn. Begin.” I blinked again, and suddenly, Twilight looked like the rival character. She was wearing a spiky white coat with a black shirt and pants with useless blue belts at each of her joints.

“I draw! First, I activate the effect of Melody of Awakening Dragon! By discarding White Stone of Legend, I can add two dragon-type monsters to my hoof with 3000 or more attack points and 2500 or less defense points! I add two copies of the ultimate monster, the Blue-Eyes White Dragon!” A pony dressed in bones made to look like a dragon’s claws appeared in white light on her side of the field, and used the card to strum a few notes ending with a loud grunge chord. Visions of the smooth white dragons appeared behind him and Twilight added two cards to her hoof.

“Then the effect of White Stone activates! If this card is sent to the graveyard, I add one Blue-Eyes White Dragon from my deck to my hoof!” A third shadow appeared behind her, and Twilight took a card from her deck. The deck shuffled itself, and she had six cards in hoof. This isn’t good. What’s the power level here? Are we back in the original game, or…? I finally went to look down at my own cards when I noticed I was wearing clothes now too. Black leather pants, a sleeveless shirt, a leather choker, there was a jacket on my shoulders, and at the end of a chain around my neck was a golden butterfly made of pink crystals. What in the world?

“Now, King of the Swamp’s effect! I discard this card to add Polymerization to my hoof!” A blue-green mud unicorn grew up from the ground and shot a beam from its horn into the sky. An orange and green swirl started to spin in the clouds and faded away as Twilight took another card from her deck. I took a breath. Oh boy. BEUD turbo? That’s not a great deck, but if we’re playing the game from ten years ago, then I might not have the tools to deal with that…

“I set two cards and then from my hoof, I activate Polymerization! I fuse my three Blue-Eyes to fusion summon! Bow before my power, Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon!”

The foggy night sky darkened, and suddenly a vortex appeared above Twilight, the fog and three cards from her hoof flew up and away into the spinning clouds, then white lightning struck! The loud bang of thunder cleared the fog away and left in its place was the monster. A giant, three headed white dragon, claws as large as a pony, talons as big as a car, three heads the size of trucks.

The pearly white monster roared in the darkness, shaking the earth and threatening to shatter my ear drums. I looked up at the massive beast and all three sets of blue eyes locked on me. Holy shit, I was unprepared for this! My whole body was shaking, but this time from fear. I could feel the thing breathing on me, I could smell fire and brimstone wafting off its body, like metal coming out of an oven.

“One turn, Fluttershy. That’s all you get. Defeat me now, or be destroyed!” Twilight called from atop her dragon’s neck. Or necks. She was standing on the monster’s torso between the center and right neck. What in the world? How did she get up there? How is she not pissing herself next to that thing!? Has she seen the teeth on it? They’re as big as we are!

“Ah, what a first hoof. Turn one Ultimate Dragon. A beautiful play. I should only expect so much from her. Now then, Miss Shy, what will you do? You’ve only got 4000 points to work with, you can’t survive a beating from that thing, and I’m certain she has Neutron Blast somewhere in there. Your favorite card can’t be activated, so what will you do? Are you worthy of being a note? Or will you simply fade away from the staff, unplayed and unremembered?” The white mare asked. Now she was wearing different clothes, but something almost identical to mine, save she had a sun wrought in gold and made of orange gems at the end of her chain.

Well, first of all, I have no idea what she has set. If I can figure out what she has there, I can deal with the dragon and win the duel. Bond between Teacher and Student, Dark Magic Veil, Dark Hole, Dark Magician Filly, and Dark Magic Circle… If I can draw into Dark Magician, I can do this… well, here goes nothing…

“Alright Twilight, my turn. I dr-” I was about to grab my card when I felt a pair of forelegs wrap around me. My body straightened, my wings flared out, and the itch was back.

“No, no, no… you have the toy, you have the clothes, you have the cards, and you even have an element. You’re already in the game, play it the way it’s meant to be played,” she whispered in my ear. Suddenly, my head was clear and I knew I had victory in my hooves. The white mare backed away and I widened my stance. I pulled my left elbow back to my side and placed my right hoof on the top card of my deck.

“I DRAW!” I couldn’t say what all was happening, but as I drew the card, a trail of golden light followed it to my hoof. I flipped the card around like the anime protagonist I was dressed as and there it was. This is what I wanted!

“I activate the effect of Dark Magical Circle!”

“Ha! I don’t think so!” Twilight cut me off. “I chain the effect of Spell-Stopping Statute! Your spell is negated, and your card is destroyed!” She threw her hoof out to her side like she was ordering a command, and one of her set cards flipped up on the field. A giant pony dressed like a king took two steps out of the card and towered over us and the house. He raised one massive hoof from his silk robes and stomped on the circle. The ground shook and had my wings not taken over, I would’ve fallen. Pieces of the black stone circle shattered in every which way, and one flew past my face, leaving a nice new cut on my cheek. Good goddess, that could’ve killed me! The king faded away and Twilight crossed her hooves.

“Pathetic. Is that all?” That ticked a nerve.

“What the hell Twilight!? You could’ve hurt me!” she shrugged.

“You burned me all day yesterday. Again, and again, knowing full well there was nothing I could do to stop you. Too kind to hurt my feelings and tell me the truth, you just went on abusing me. How does it feel?”

What in the world? Am I really talking to Twilight?

“I…”

“You are weak! A coward, spineless! What good is boundless kindness if you’ve no bone to be stern when your nature is a hindrance!? Rainbow wouldn’t have ever gotten hurt in the first place if you had the capacity to stand up for yourself! Show me your resolve to win, or cower in defeat and die in shame!”

Talking down to me just like her, looking at me just like her, calling me names just like her!

“Fine! I activate Dark Hole from my hoof!”

“You activate nothing! Solemn Judgment negates and destroys at the cost of half my life points! This is resolve!” Twilight’s body shook violently and she doubled over in pain as visible electricity discharged all around her. The black vortex of Dark Hole had only begun to start when the king returned and smothered it with a giant hoof. Damn it! I’ve got one more shot and all she has is that dragon! I can still do this!

“I activate Dark Magic Veil! By paying a thousand- AGHHHH!” electricity coursed through my veins, it was like I was being pumped with lightning. Everything was on fire and my whole body ached.

“Oh, did I forget to mention that this is technically real? It’s uh… kinda like a Shadow Game. You’ll get sent to the ‘Purple Realm’ if you lose. But since we have the Umanese version of the cards we’ll just say ‘die’ because our audience isn’t five to ten-year-olds.” Celestia explained.

“WHAT!?”

“Aww, what’s the matter sticky hooves? Can’t play a little card game with your best friend?” I turned away from Celestia, and it wasn’t Twilight standing on the dragon anymore, it was her. It was her!

“You!” She smiled and bowed.

“Me! The greatest and most powerful duelist in all the land, and my dragon is primed to burn you to cinders where you stand. It’ll be a shame when they print out your obituary. I’ll have to make sure the paper knows your online name so your parents can finally learn about your dirty little secret. What fun it’ll be to see their faces, disgusted as they bury your ashes. Then again, if they see what all you’ve drawn, who knows? They might not even want your remains. Ha ha!”

I curled my hoof as tight as I could. Something was rising inside me and I couldn’t stop it. Hate. I hate… I hate. I Hate. I HATE!

“I HATE YOU!” I screamed at the top of my lungs. Trixie looked startled, but didn’t move from her dragon’s neck.

“Oh, wow, tell me something I don’t know. Too bad you don’t have the tits to do anything about it. Now just sit back and take it like you usually do. Won’t you die for me, Fluttershy?”

I’ll kill her. I’ll do it. I’ll kill her. I have the power. I can do it right now. All she’s got is the dragon. I can get rid of that. And then I can do it.

“That’s right my dear. You have the power. Do it. Kill her, Fluttershy. Kill her now.”

I will.

“Dark Magic Veil allows me to special summon Dark Magician from my hoof!” I slapped the card on the disk and trails of rainbow light sparked from the card. The circle materialized just in front of me, forming from the top with gold light spinning like a clock until it was complete. A black void opened inside it, and then he rose out from it.

The dark blue armor tiered on top of itself with red accents, the black robes, the dark staff with the green gem, the cocky smile as he stood and floated in mid-air, his pale blue coat. My servant, Mahad.

“With Dark Magician on the field, I can now activate the effect of Bond Between Teacher and Student! I special summon the Dark Magician Filly from my hoof, then I set Dark Burning Attack from my deck to the field!”

Dark Magician spun his staff around with his magic and then created the Dark Magic Circle to his left. From deep inside floated out the scantily clad mare out of it in all her suggestive glory. The low cut, bright blue dress, the high cut skirt with pink frills, the little pink cape, her tiered tilted magician’s hat, all with… a pale orange coat, blonde mane and green eyes. I had to blink because for a minute there, I thought I was looking at Applejack. But like, with a horn. Strange.

The Magician Filly, that is definitely not Applejack as a unicorn, and I will most certainly not be drawing something similar to this when I get home later, waved her staff, causing black and red fireballs to spawn all around her in the air. She spun the staff in her green magic and clapped it, making everything disappear. The card set itself on the field, and now all I had to do was use it.

“Now, I activate Dark Burning Attack! While I control a Dark Magician Filly, I destroy all of your face up monsters!” Trixie slowly backed away.

“No!” Oh how sweet the sound of her panicked voice is. Long have I waited for this, dreamed of this day!

“Yes! Burn!” Magician Filly raised her staff and all six of her fireballs returned and grew. Larger, larger, larger, they now converged and joined to become the size of her Blue-eyes. Apple- er, Magician Filly threw her staff forward and her massive ball of flame slowly went to engulf the dragon. Trixie abandoned ship, and her dragon screeched and writhed in pain as it was eaten away by the flames. Sitting on her plot, backing away from the scene, Trixie’s mane had come apart in strands and that once pristine white coat was now scuffed and dirty. The smile on my face grew wider and I started to close the distance.

“How does it feel? This is how it always is, isn’t? When you stand over me and tell me to do something while I can’t even think about saying no. What a shame. I wonder if the mayor will be sad when he finds out that you were burned to cinders playing some stupid game. Will anypony cry for you, Trixie?” Speechless and shaking, Trixie continued to back away from me, but I wouldn’t let her. I stepped on her hoof and leaned in her face.

“Aww, bunny got your tongue? It’s about time you learned to shut up. End this worthless mare, Dark Magician.” My sorcerer floated to my side and then pointed his staff in Trixie’s face. Trixie however, never looked at him, she stared at me. No, past me. She pointed a hoof and shouted,

“Rabbit!” I turned my head just in time to see the giant black hare behind me. Primed to attack, the beast was twice my size, gangly and hungry. The shadowy creature opened its mouth with nothing but darkness inside, and suddenly, I felt cold.

“Angel?”

---

Twilight

---

“Ha ha ha! I can’t believe I was worried! This is too easy! She couldn’t stop me if she tried.”

I blinked and found myself at Celestia’s side staring at some malformed shadow beast in the shape of a rabbit, roaring and clutching its head. Out of the monster’s back sprouted black wings like a bat’s, and Fluttershy was nowhere to be seen. What in the world happened!? The last thing I remember was Celestia coming down with…

I checked my left leg, and sure enough, it was still there. A duel disk, shaped just like in the first season of the show but made of crystal, was latched to my foreleg. And I was dressed like the rival character. I tugged on the jacket just to make sure it as real, but to my surprise, it felt like vinyl and stretched like vinyl. What in the world…?

“Hey! What happened? Where is Fluttershy? What is that thing!?” Celestia looked at me and smiled that cocky smile of hers, but then I noticed that she was dressed like the protagonist of that show. I am so very confused.

“It doesn’t matter. Just another note consumed by her own feelings, that’s all. A piece of the second one survived just as I’d planned, and just as the first one will be once its note is ready, this one is primed for extraction. Everything is going according to plan and soon I’ll have everything I need! Give me that.” Celestia placed a hoof on the disk, and in an instant, it reformed into the crystal guitar. She spun it around and passed it to her left forehoof and then charged at the winged rabbit.

She jumped after its head, but just as it looked like she was going to solve this in an instant, the demon bunny turned on her and beat her way with a massive paw.

“What the hell!?” As she flew, I finally took notice of the chain around her neck. The pendant at the end her chain was golden with orange gems, wrought in the shape of the sun. Doesn’t that look just like…?

The rabbit launched after her, roaring at her with an ear shattering screech and a claw raised behind it, ready to cut her down. Celestia spun in the air and blocked the swipe with the guitar, then shot back to the ground while the rabbit hovered with its wings.

“What in the world? Why is it still so strong?” She went after it again, this time feinting an attack to get the demon to claw at her, only to punch the monster in the face. It looked like she was trying to press her hoof further inward after she landed her hoof, but the monster grabbed her and threw her on the ground. She landed on a rock and spit and blood flew out of her mouth. The rabbit dove after her, and Celestia quickly recovered and swatted it away. She stood back up and wiped the blood off her mouth, before splitting a red glob on the ground.

“Well. That was not part of the plan. And here I thought poisoning it would be so clever. Guess that didn’t work. Bramos!” Poison it? Bramos? Celestia called our plastic house keeper’s name, and as soon as I turned my head toward the house, he came rushing out. He leapt above me, that mouthless maw opening wide and the void inside calling to me, I sighed. Here we go again.

Life inverted, falling to nowhere in a mass of color as stars shot by, but this time, something strange happened. Videos of Celestia floated by me as I fell. Her on a beach in some swimsuit, her at sunset on a cliff overlooking the ocean, her face up close and moving closer… and then it was over, and I was back in Bramos. The bunny jumped at me and I sidestepped and punched the thing without thinking. The feeling the creature left on my hoof was identical to the way Angel felt earlier. I turned to Celestia and tried to ask what was going on, but my mouth wouldn’t move. Oh right, I don’t have a mouth right now.

“The bunny was infected the other day. Yes, that’s your friend and I need you to help me get her out. I’ll distract it, and while I do, aim for the head and try to reach inside. You’re looking for four things: the rabbit, the girl, and two guitars. Got it?”

Before I could confirm, the shadow screeched and dove after me again. Without warning, Celestia used my head as a launch point and batted the rabbit to the ground.

“Go now!” No time to think, I ran after the bunny while it was still on the ground and jumped. One knee over each shoulder, I tried to reach inside its head, only to feel a pair of massive paws kick my back and throw me across the yard. I got up and turned in time to see the demon launch after my face and caught its paws with my hooves. Help!

“Hold it still, I’ve got it!” Celestia landed on its shoulders, but before she could reach inside, the rabbit twisted its body and slammed Celestia’s head into mine and hopped away, stopping to hover in the air. Both of us dizzy, Celestia fell into me and we tried to stumble our way back to standing. My head was throbbing now, and it felt like knives were just stabbing and slicing my brain in pieces. Holding her own head, Celestia wobbled to three legs and used her magic to put the crystal guitar on her back.

“Okay. New plan. Punch it. Punch it till it stops moving, and hopefully your friend won’t be too bad off once we can pull her out. She has my guitar, and we happen to have the one you resonate with better, so I’m kinda without tools here.”

Your guitar? Hopefully!? I don’t want to hurt her! Celestia rolled her violet eyes and sighed.

“Well, it’s either that, or she’s consumed by that thing entirely, and we don’t have all night to get this done. Are you going to help me, or what?”

It’s not as if I have a better plan, so whatever. The white unicorn nodded and then got back up on two hooves.

“And that’s how it should be. You go right and I’ll- Oh no.” Celestia stopped when she looked at our demon, and I wasn’t sure what I was seeing when I did. The rabbit had reached into its own forehead in a weird ‘there’s a portal here’ kinda way, and started to pull something out. After screeching and meeting some resistance, the demon pulled out… a black guitar. It was glowing around the edges with something like a black light and little streaks of lightning shot around the instrument.

“Wow, that is really not good. I fucked up. Who knew that infecting a note and a piece of the chord could corrupt it? You should probably run.”

In an instant, the rabbit flew after Celestia, and she had just enough time to block the black guitar. Their clash rang out a sound so chaotic and dissonant, it felt like my ears were going to start bleeding. Celestia recoiled, and the rabbit came after for another swing. This time, it came from the side and she was ill prepared to block. Her guitar knocked out of her hooves, the black instrument continued on and slammed right into her side.

The white unicorn went flying and crashed straight into the wall of the house, caving in part of the living room with it. Oh, shit! I ran as fast as I could to pick up the crystalline six string, and just as I got it in my hooves, the black bunny swung at me. I blocked, but the sound was so much more intense and painful to hear that I felt like I was losing strength. The guitars clashed again, and this time I could barely hold against it.

The bunny took a step back and raised her guitar once more, when something strange happened. A light shined at it. It was getting brighter, quicker, and then I heard the engine. I turned my head just in time to witness the car veer off the road and slam straight into the demon rabbit. The driver put it in park, and after my eyes adjusted to the headlights, I realized that big blue unicorn from earlier was driving it. She took off her headphones, unbuckled her seat belt and stepped out of the car.

“What the fuck are you doing!? Are you trying to get ponies killed here, or what!?” she yelled, not at me, but at the mare slowly rising from the wall. Celestia made it to a standing position after shaking her head and spitting a little bit more blood out of her mouth.

“It was a mistake, alright? I make one every couple centuries, give me a damn break, geez. Are you here to bitch, or are you here to help? ‘Cause I could use the latter, but the former is worthless to me.” The blue unicorn rolled her eyes and grumbled until she opened her trunk and took out a guitar case identical to the one Celestia has.

“‘Am I here to help’ she says, pfft. Why in the world would I help you do something dangerous that possibly endangers the planet? No, I will be saving that filly, and that’s as far as it goes!” She opened her own case and took out an ax guitar that was black and covered in pink and purple stars. Celestia rolled her eyes and slowly made her way over, and the blue mare went to tuning the strings.

“Oh, come on, really?” she she said with all the contempt in the world. The blue unicorn scowled at the white one and went back to picking and tuning.

“It’s been literal centuries since I’ve used the thing! It’s not like I needed it for something recently!” Celestia huffed and shook her head.

“Yeah, sure, right. ‘Why don’t we just leave a goddess damned artifact out of tune? We can take five minutes to get it ready if we need it in an emergency, it’ll be fine!’” she mocked. The demon was beginning to get up and I wasn’t sure what was going on anymore.

Who is this? Why do you know her? What is she doing? The monster is getting back up! The blue mare lowered her eyebrows at me, then went back to her.

“Have you not told her? Really? You are such a deadbeat.” Celestia gagged.

“Yeah, easy for you to say when you don’t have one. ‘I have to run the country, I’m too busy for that!’ You had ten centuries, you could’ve raised thirty generations by now if you really wanted, but no, you didn’t. Of course, stallions have to be interested in you for that, not that I could blame them. Whoever could tolerate you has the patience of the goddess herself.” The blue mare paused her tuning and then stood on two hooves to meet Celestia almost eye to eye. She was a few inches shorter.

“Excuse me for putting duty before my burning loins! What’s your excuse, hmm? Too busy chasing after a dead stallion to do your own job? I was surprised you came home at all in the last millennium, but here you are, doing whatever it is you’re doing. Why are you building the chord?”

Guys, what the fuck. Celestia rolled her eyes and shook her head.

“Twibra is right, let’s take care of this, then we can argue over stupid shit.” The demon rabbit roared and jumped high in the air with its guitar raised over its head, ready to smash our skulls in.

“Fine. I cannot believe you corrupted a piece of the chord. How did you even do that? I didn’t know that was possible! Ugh, this is why I waited so long. I’m still not prepared to deal with you again.”

As the rabbit started to dive and I raised the guitar to protect myself, the blue unicorn played a single chord. The sound was powerful, paralyzing, booming and bombastic. The wave blew past me with the force of a gale, and when it reached the demon, it froze in place. Stunned like a corrupted, digital recording, fading in and out like static on a TV, missing parts and pieces like the noise was holding it still.

“Well, there you go. Go save your friend,” the blue mare offered. I blinked, but then something came to me. Do not seek that which you do not need. Their conversation isn’t important right now, Fluttershy is. I leapt with the powers of Bramos and landed on the static black creature. I took both hooves and found the void on the top of the demon’s head, reaching inside and feeling for what I needed.

It was like fishing in mud, I could feel things, but I wasn’t sure what all of it was. Instead of trying to determine what was what, I grabbed everything I could find and pulled with everything I had to get them out. A bass and a bunny in one hoof, an acoustic and a filly in the other. The shadow started to move again, so I hopped away and landed by the arguing mares.

“And another thing, what’s the deal with this crazy suicide rate? I was only here for a few years, but it wasn’t like this two decades ago, what gives?” Celestia asked. The blue mare shrugged.

“I can’t bend ponies to my will without violating my own ethical code, and I’m not about to do that. There are issues, and I don’t have control of everything, I am not the goddess. What’s your excuse?” Celestia turned away and looked at the hole in the house. Her horn turned on and her magic started to repair the hole she made.

“A miscalculation. You would think that these things act as a poison to them, wouldn’t you? It’s not like conventional weapons work against them as we found out the hard way, but who ever thought they could take advantage of them? This one was totally afraid of it before I fed it, so who knew?” the blue mare leaned in.

“You fed it!? Why are you nurturing them!?” Celestia finished fixing the wall and groaned.

“Come on, I know I was joking, but did you really catch a case of stupid or something?” She leaned in and brought herself eye level with the blue unicorn, then noticed me. Her eyes fixated on my hoof with the filly. She took the Acoustic from me and then smiled at it warmly, like a mother looking at her baby.

“Ah, she did have it… It’s been so long…” the blue mare studied the guitar and sighed.

“You know… I’m sorry, that that happened.” The white unicorn wrapped a hoof around the blue one and leaned her head against hers.

“And there will never be a day when I accept your apology. But keep trying, it makes you less annoying. Now then, let’s see how it sounds!” Without any warning, Celestia launched and then stepped on my head again, only to kick the shadow horse just inches away from my back in the face. The beast from last week fell to the ground, and using the extra momentum, Celestia twisted her body and slammed the acoustic through it.

TWANG

The shadow, now missing its head, faded into ashes. A small grassy breeze had been blowing since we stepped outside, and with it, the ashes floated away. There was nothing left this time.

“It sounds like it’s either way out of tune, or it’s tuned to B, for whatever reason. Seems to work well enough though,” the blue mare commented. Celestia stood and hugged the guitar.

“Well of course it’s tuned to B, my song is in B major. He used to play it for me all the time…” Another pair of lights came up along the road, and there was Dad, headed home. He parked the car in the driveway and stepped out wearing a suit. He surveyed the scene and then walked up to the two mares.

“Oh, I didn’t know your sister was coming. Hi, I’m Nightlight Sparkle.” The blue mare took his hoof and shook it.

“Hello, you may call me Luna.” Dad nodded.

“I suppose I should go ready a space. Celestia is bad enough, but I’m sure the two of you could just drink the night away. Twilight, is she staying over?” he asked pointing to the yellow pegasus in my hoof. I looked at the unconscious filly and then shrugged and nodded. Well, telling her parents shouldn’t be too bad I hope. Dad clapped his hooves together.

“Great, I’ll go order some pizza! My meeting went well, and they really liked the story I wrote. I might even have some extra money for once after tonight!” Dad hummed his way into the house, and the three of us were left outside. Luna raised a brow at Celestia.

“And how did you meet that one? He’s certainly a character.” She sighed and shook her head.

“Long story. I’ve been doing a part time job for extra cash and I’ve stocked the house with our favorite. He’s ordering food, so you might as well get comfortable.” The blue mare shrugged and then parked her car next to dad’s. The thing looked ancient, like something from fifty years ago, with fin panels and round tail lights that made it look like a rocket, a style from an age long past. She hopped out of the convertible and then stood next to the white mare.

“I came to hear a story, so I suppose cheap beer and pizza isn’t the worst I could suffer for it. It is… good to see you again, sister.