Synthesis of the Atheist

by BlackRoseRaven

Hungers And The Hungry

Chapter Fifty Four: Hungers And The Hungry
~BlackRoseRaven

Twilight Sparkle was four-going-on-five months pregnant, and most of Equestria was in the grips of an icy winter that had taken the nation into its hold and refused to let go. Luna had even heard reports of the North Wind parading through the fiercer blizzards: they were malicious ice spirits that usually stayed safely hidden away in the iciest parts of the nation, but that had apparently come out to try and worsen this endless winter further and enjoy the misery of those caught up in the roaring snowstorms ripping across the land.

Luna had wanted to deal with them herself, but Celestia had pointed out that not only did the creatures fly, she had promised to take care of herself, and had Twilight Sparkle to think about. Twilight, who was now very self-conscious, more than a little emotional, and who couldn't spend more than ten hours away from Luna and Scrivener. They found this out after Twilight had taken a trip to Subterra to get checked out by Selene, and she had decided to stay the night in the Thorn Palace... but when she got up in the morning, she had found her stomach was becoming rigid, while the rest of her body was starting to rot.

Selene had her taken quickly down to the Pool of Tears, to rapidly restore her energy, and Scrivener and Luna had rushed to Subterra. Just their presence had been enough to reverse Twilight's decay and help restore her body to normal, and Celestia and Selene had quickly figured out the cause: Luna and Scrivener served as the anchor and a sort of energy source for Twilight's body, which was currently using up much more power than it normally did. It was naturally trying to focus all that life energy around her womb and the baby growing inside her, so the other parts of her body had been eaten up first as her energies were culled from them and pulled towards the baby, like how a living pony's body would break down fat and muscle for energy after going so long without eating.

Scrivener and Luna had taken this in stride, while Twilight had undergone a panic attack. They'd quickly calmed her down, however, reminding her they'd been through something similar before, when they had first been learning about the ups and downs of their linked soul. They would test time and distance carefully and figure out how far they could be from each other without this happening, and then work out everything around that. And they renewed their promise to be there for Twilight every step of the way, which had comforted her immensely.

Still, it made Luna cranky she couldn't go on an adventure chasing prankish ice spirits, so instead she had sent out a pack of Nightmares to deal with them. The North Wind weren't exactly strong, after all, and their cold would be relatively harmless to the Nightmares. Luna, meanwhile, flopped down with her face in Twilight's stomach, which was something that calmed her more than she wanted to admit, as Scrivener gently cradled the Lich's head in his lap and gazed softly over the two mares, thinking about how lucky he was.

Twilight had more than a small bulge now, and her body had undergone a few other... strange changes they thought was related somehow to her pregnancy. She had gotten a little gaunter, but she needed fewer stitches to keep herself together, which was always welcome. Her wings seemed stronger, but her magic wasn't working very well these days, and it gave the Lich visible frustration at times: magic had always been something she was exceptional at, after all, and she wasn't used to having trouble levitating even a mug of coffee over to herself.

The house was clean, and Scrivener Blooms had done some repairs to Scarlet Sage's old room: locked a few loose floorboards into proper place, fixed some dings in the wall, poked at the ceiling lamp until he'd electrocuted himself and fallen off the ladder, which made ever-compassionate Luna laugh loudly until Twilight had finally pushed the sapphire mare to her hooves to go and check on the dazed stallion. Now the three were curled up on the bedding in the living room together, gazing back at the corridor and quietly discussing what they wanted to do with the room.

“It should be painted black, so the baby may always feel safe in the grip of the night!” Luna suggested positively, and Twilight and Scrivener both just glared at her. “What? Oh fine. Pink, like flesh. Then it may feel as if it is still safe in the womb.”

“Luna, you're supposed to be an artist. You're supposed to know things about colors, or at least be able to pretend you do. Stop. Being you.” Scrivener said finally, and Luna huffed at him before he turned his eyes to Twilight. “I kind of like the color it is now, to be honest. I mean, I know we should still put a fresh coat of paint on, but...”

“Babies see black and white the best.” Twilight said informatively, and when both ponies looked at her mildly, the Lich said awkwardly: “Not that I'm... supporting either of your ideas, I don't think eggshell white is really the nicest color for a baby's room, any more than I want my baby growing up in some big black void...”

“Now, Twilight Sparkle, we are speaking of a room in the house, not a room in Scrivener's sordid skull.” Luna remarked cheerfully, and Scrivener and Twilight both looked at her dryly before the sapphire mare continued thoughtfully: “But what is appropriate for a filly these days? I am not sure. We were never quite so... choosy with Scarlet Sage, were we, Scrivy? She was not a particular young filly, as I recall...”

Twilight softened at this, rubbing at her face as she nodded a little and murmured: “No, she was always a good girl. But she went through a lot, too, Luna... and well, you know how good Fluttershy is with foals. And Scarlet was raised... almost by all of us, you know? I know you and Scrivy eventually adopted her but at first...”

“Aye, many ponies had a hoof in helping take care of her, for which I shall evermore be eternally grateful... that is what gave my beautiful little girl such a broad and keen mind, I think, seeing so many different ponies and getting to learn a little from each and every one of them.” Luna smiled a bit, glancing over at Scrivener, and the two traded a slow nod as Twilight gazed softly between her lovers. “But thy daughter will be lucky, Twilight Sparkle. She shall have thou to teach her. And I know thou will do a better job than Scrivy and I did with Antares.”

Twilight Sparkle only smiled softly and shook her head slowly, murmuring: “Antares is so wonderful because of you two, not because of me. I don't know, maybe... I'm the reason he is the way he is, did you ever think of that? Because I know if there's one thing he easily could have picked up from me, it's... forgetting that you don't have to hold the weight of the world on your shoulders.”

“I think we've all been guilty of that, Twilight. I think that's part of why we're all so good for each other.” Scrivener said softly, and then he paused and smiled slightly before winking. “Then again, like Barry's always so jealous of, I pretty much have two wives. That's pretty awesome.”

Luna snorted and looked up with a smile from the pillow of Twilight's stomach, reaching up to poke Scrivener a few times as the Lich laughed. “Oh shut up, Scrivy. Thou art not the one with two wives. I am the one with two wives. Thou art more... the servant to two queens. Two beautiful, mighty queens. One who has made the other queen pregnant.”

Scrivener rolled his eyes in amusement, then he leaned down and kissed Twilight softly, and the violet mare smiled as she wrapped a foreleg around his neck, pulling him down a bit deeper into the kiss as her whole body shivered in a sudden burst of desire. And Luna smiled slightly, leaning forwards as Twilight's kiss with Scrivener broke, only for the Lich to almost purr when the sapphire mare met her lips next...

Time passed, and when Twilight could next think again after a maelstrom of pleasure and passion, she was curled safe and warm against Luna's body, her head pressed into her chest, her eyes closed as the starry locks of the mare tickled gently against her every so often. One of Luna's hooves slowly stroked through the violet pony's mane as she gazed lovingly down at her, the other front hoof resting gently on the Lich's stomach as she murmured quietly: “My gorgeous, my beloved Twilight Sparkle. I am so honored by thee.. so glad to have thee as part of my family. And I promise thee again... I shall be there every step of the way with thee. I still feel... jealous of thee, aye, but not envious.” Luna smiled softly. “And it turns to joy that easily washes away all else when I see in thy eyes how honest thou art about us raising it... as ours.”

“It is ours. All of ours. I wouldn't... be here without you, too, Luna. And I have no regrets about that.” Twilight replied quietly, gazing up at the mare softly, and the two traded a short, gentle kiss before Twilight Sparkle smiled softly and bowed her head with a slight blush, glancing almost shyly up as Scrivener returned with a tray of small snacks and a cup of tea for Twilight. “But... I hope you don't mind that... I mean...”

“Oh, I suppose I can share Scrivy with thee a little more. As long as thou continues to snuggle with me as well.” Luna paused, then looked thoughtfully over at the stallion as he set down the tray in front of the quietly-crackling fireplace. “Perhaps we should send thee out to tickle other mares as well, Scrivener. Well, nay, we could both go, 'twould be fun and profitable. Sleipnir used to make a very pretty penny from the prostitutes he pleased, I shall have thee know.”

“Yes, we've... you and Sleipnir both remind us of that often.” Scrivener said dryly, shaking his head as he settled down into place behind Twilight, and she smiled and laid back against him, gazing warmly over her shoulder at the stallion. “Anyway, I don't think we should go out and... 'tickle prostitutes,' Luna. Personally I'm very happy with things as they are right now.”

“So am I.” Twilight closed her eyes, resting her hooves on her stomach as she mumbled: “I didn't think that... being pregnant would make me... well...”

“I have always heard fat mares were good in bed. I did not believe that until I was a fat mare myself.” Luna said mildly, and Scrivener groaned as Twilight gave Luna a grumpy look, and the sapphire mare huffed at them before flailing a bit after the Lich when she half-rolled backwards to curl up against Scrivener instead. “I was not calling thou fat!”

Twilight only grumbled against Scrivener's chest, and Luna huffed before sliding forwards to curl up against the Lich's back, massaging soothingly along her spine as she mumbled: “Besides, 'twould have been a compliment in the sense I am using it. When I was fat with pregnancy, I was very fierce in bed. Well, for as long as I could fit in bed, that is. I am sure Scrivy can tell thee of all the times I attempted to pounce him in those last few months when I required a wheelbarrow to get around.”

“I wish sometimes we really had put you in a wheelbarrow. That would have actually made me feel like I'm in charge of the relationship for a little while. I could have wheeled you out onto the porch and left you there every now and then.” Scrivener said mildly, and Luna grumbled and glowered at him before she craned her head forwards, then swung her horn down to bop Scrivener on the nose with it, making him wince and then cross his eyes to stare down at the glowing prosthetic.

Luna looked less than pleased with this reaction, and a moment later, her horn lit up before Scrivener yelped and wrenched his head back as electricity sparked along his muzzle, the sapphire mare flinching herself, but then grinning widely as Scrivener and Twilight both glared at her. “Do not test me. I am a mighty Valkyrie, and have ways to punish thee both, much as I adore my blooming, beautiful Twilight.”

The Lich blushed a little and shifted, smiling hesitantly over her shoulder at Luna, and Scrivener grumbled a little before he turned his eyes towards the tray of snacks and teas, nudging the Lich gently. “Okay. You had better sit up, and try and eat a little, Twilight. Drink that tea Zecora made for us, too, if she says it's good for you then I believe that.”

“I know, I know, Scrivy.” Twilight shifted a little, then sat up with only a bit of struggle, rubbing a hoof over her stomach slowly. Her horn glowed as she looked almost hesitant, but when she lifted the teacup with ease, she relaxed a bit: her magic was working fine, at least right now. “So what are you two going to do today?”

Luna and Scrivener both shrugged, trading a look before the sapphire mare said thoughtfully: “I would enjoy heading into Ponyville in the morning, I think. Antares will be working at the forge, and 'tis a pleasure to see him and my brother and good Spike all working together. Besides, Sleipnir should be finished the better sheath for Sting by now, and the 'riding gear' that Cowlick commissioned him.”

“Good. I'm going to wear it even if you don't want to, Luna, I hate how often I get thrown out of that little sidecar thing and end up covered in scrapes and bruises.” Scrivener muttered, and Luna huffed at him and nudged him firmly, but the stallion only nudged her pointedly back. “Well, it's true.”

“Speaking of which. I desire to widen the path through the Everfree Forest come spring, so that I may ride Epona to and from Ponyville. I think that means thou must also build a stable for her, Scrivener Blooms.” Luna said pointedly, looking over at the stallion thoughtfully, and Scrivener sighed a little despite himself before the sapphire mare rubbed at the underside of her muzzle. “Or perhaps we should have Cowlick and the Nibelung build it. Aye, that may be better. 'Tis not just because I distrust thy carpentry skills, though, 'tis because I am sure Epona will require some sort of special care.”

Scrivener shifted almost uncomfortably at this, making a face before he said finally: “You know, to be honest, I'm not a huge fan of the thought of Cowlick building something right outside our house. Mostly because everything that Cowlick builds has a chance of catching on fire and exploding.”

“Oh, thou art a great and terrible coward.” Luna huffed, rolling her eyes before she dropped her head against Twilight's shoulder. “I suppose that I should also be a good girl and speak to Celestia about certain matters. She is fearful that Thesis is devising some new plot in the shadows, but... I do not see why. If Thesis wished to attack and take us, I... I do not know how much we could do.”

Luna glanced quietly up at her own prosthetic horn, and Twilight softened as she reached a hoof up and rubbed it slowly along Luna's back, catching her half-full cup of tea in her other forelimb to cradle it against her body. “We aren't going to let that happen again. None of us are. Besides, you and Scrivener have gotten stronger, been working hard... even talked to...”

“Our respective parasites, aye.” Luna muttered, then she sighed a little as Nightmare Moon gave a twist and a quiet laugh inside her, before the mare murmured: “I suppose I am simply a little afraid, Twilight Sparkle. Little as I like to admit that. But Thesis... he is a truly terrible foe. 'Tis no wonder Valthrudnir treats him with sick pride.”

There was silence for a few moments, and then Twilight looked up and asked softly: “How's your horn feeling these days? Has it...”

“Aye, it has settled in. Putting it to use in combat, of course, that will be the real test of its worth...” Luna glanced up moodily at the prosthetic again, the crystal gleaming almost eerily. “And of course, 'tis frustrating that my magic is even more limited than 'twas already. Aye, some of it seems... more powerful, if anything, and my magic seems to flow between myself and Scrivener with even greater ease than before... then again, we seem to amplify each other better as well, do we not?”

Twilight nodded after a moment, and there was quiet before the Lich leaned over and kissed Luna's cheek, murmuring: “I know what you're thinking, Luna. But I want you to know that I don't think any of this is your fault, and... none of us want you and Scrivener to give yourselves up to Thesis. No matter what he wants... if he became complete, it wouldn't be good.”

Luna nodded, looking down meditatively, and the three rested in silence almost until the morning. Then Scrivener made another cup of tea for Twilight and coffee for himself and Luna, and they chatted quietly for a little while and simply rested together, until the Lich's eyes grew heavy and she curled up on the bedding for a short nap.

Scrivener and Luna tucked her in gently, then both kissed her forehead before smiling down at the violet mare, feeling both good... and a little guilty, yes, about the world they had brought this beautiful, innocent pony into, and that her baby would be a part of on account of them. They studied her as she slept for a little while, then finally made their way out into the cold, snowy day, and strode on towards Ponyville.

Only halfway down the path, though, Luna finally looked at Scrivener and shuddered once: her mouth felt cottony, her body had the faintest trembles running through it, she felt hot in spite of the bursts of cold wind that startled the trees around them and kicked up snowy powder every few minutes. She almost stared at Scrivener, and Scrivener tried his hardest not to look at her before she whispered: “Scrivy. I... I need it. Just a little bit... just a taste.”

Scrivener gave the smallest shake of his head, and Luna shivered: her wings fluttered, her teeth ground together, her limbs buckled a little before she forced herself to look forwards, breathing a little harder as Scrivener murmured quietly: “Not yet. A little while longer. I... I don't want to hurt you anymore than I already have.”

“This is not thy fault. This is my own failing. My own weakness.” Luna muttered, and then she winced when Scrivener glared at her, flinching slightly backwards at the anger she felt from him... and beneath it, the shame and self-loathing.

There was silence, and then Luna took a slow, deep breath, straightening slightly before she simply nodded once, and they turned to stride onwards. It hurt, but she focused through the pain, and while it didn't lessen, it wasn't intensifying either. It was bearable, for now, as they walked onwards and Luna breathed quietly through her mouth.

Getting used to the prosthetic had been hard: having everyone's support helped her accept it and feel better about having a large chunk of crystal sticking out of her head in place of her old horn, but actually mastering the magic ability that had come with her horn... that had taken some work. While on the one hoof some of her magic seemed almost amplified, she was no longer able to perform more delicate or complex tasks with telekinesis, and she had lost the ability to craft illusions, and almost every spell outside of her night magic was now impossible for her to use.

She also tired faster, and her body had started to hurt strangely after too much practice... and then the cravings had started. A deep need for something that had grown higher and higher until she'd realized that all that longing was focused on Scrivener... no, Scrivener's blood. The corruption that flowed through his veins...

Maybe it was because they had relied on it too much in the past. Maybe it was because of that elixir Valthrudnir had mixed together, and she had gulped down without stopping to think of the consequences. But it didn't matter: now, every week or so, the pain and cravings came. They tried to ignore it, but Luna only grew worse and worse when they did. And worse than the pain was the way her muscles would grow weak, and she would become pale and sickly, and the magic would leave her horn and her mane...

They hadn't told anyone. Twilight Sparkle knew, but kept silent on the subject, and Celestia probably knew but hadn't said anything. Besides, it was easier this way, as Scrivener finally halted at the edge of the path and turned his eyes to Luna, nodding once to her before he said quietly: “Just... just remember. Not too much... too much and it's... noticeable.”

“Just enough.” Luna licked her lips slowly, breathing quietly as she strode towards Scrivener, and the stallion closed his eyes and tilted his head to the side. His platinum collar glowed silently with Luna' s telekinetic aura, the clasp fumbling at itself before clicking open and falling away to reveal bare flesh that pulsed with a vein of potent, terrible and beautiful life...

Luna bared her fangs before she almost leapt forwards, seizing Scrivener tightly and biting down into the side of his neck: the moment of pain she felt when the same wound formed on her own throat beneath her collar was nothing, absolutely nothing, as his black blood flooded into her jaws and she drank greedily down. The first swallow made her heart thud like a drum, the second made her muscles flex and bulge, the third made her mane and horn light up with dark radiance, and the fourth, as dark liquid dribbled from her lips and spilled down to the snow, it made powerful waves of heat and passion and lust race through her body, a shiver rolling down her spine as her hips bucked...

Scrivener gritted his teeth, tilting his head back before Luna drew away from him with a gasp, her eyes glowing, her teeth stained with his blood as she looked up at him hungrily, then reached up and seized him by the face, yanking him firmly down into a kiss. And even tasting his own dark blood, feeling the unnatural heat and passion boiling through Luna's body, knowing that he shouldn't, he kissed her back, rough and animal. His hooves grasped her shoulders tightly and his body flexed as their mouths worked greedily-

The mare suddenly yanked her head away, flushing and gasping, blinking dazedly several times as Scrivener shivered and looked up towards the sky, still bleeding slowly from the wound in his throat. But as mire filled it, it closed bit-by-bit, and Luna swallowed thickly as the pleasure and passion that had filled her system up so high was replaced by... shame. Shame, self-loathing, disgust and...

Luna reached up and wiped her hoof across her mouth, then she spat several times before licking her lips, trying to keep her eyes away from Scrivener as the stallion carefully picked up his collar and locked it back into place around his neck. They were silent for a few moments, but they both clearly felt one-another's emotions: all the negativity, the pain, the loathing that replaced that brief flare of beauty and pleasure...

But it could last forever if you'd only give in. Nightmare Moon's voice cajoled in Luna's mind, and the sapphire mare stared up at the sky, shivering. She wanted to react with anger and vehemence to cover up her fear... but then she felt Nightmare Moon's hoof stroke under her chin, heard the whisper in her ear that... that was so goddamn enticing... It's natural. It's evolution. Imagine how powerful you would become if you would give in completely... imagine the bond you would share if that beautiful darkness flowed in both your veins, and you no longer had to feed off Scrivener... at least... not for anything except pleasure...

Scrivener looked across at Luna, then clenched his eyes shut as he heard Valthrudnir's calm voice in his own mind: This is an unexpected outcome of the design, Nihete, but I fail to see how this is a negative consequence in any way, shape or form. If anything, you should thank me for ensuring that this bond between you and the Valkyrie can never be broken...

The stallion snarled and turned his head away, shivering: he had never, ever wanted that. And he was terrified of what that meant, and what kind of price they were going to end up paying for the way they had plunged so deep into darkness, for trusting like idiots in these evil things inside themselves that didn't, that refused to understand the difference between right and wrong.

There was silence except for the cold wind blowing through the snowy trees, making branches creak and snow hail down from above, tickling over their bodies before the two ponies looked at each other almost desperately, and Luna said finally: “I... 'tis only a small drink, when... when I need it. There is nothing wrong with that. We are not weak, Scrivener. We are not monsters.”

“We... we'll push through this. It's not that bad yet.” Scrivener agreed quietly, in spite of everything inside himself saying differently... but neither he nor Luna wanted to listen to those other voices right now, any more than they wanted to listen to Valthrudnir and Nightmare Moon. They just wanted to push forwards, like they always did... and... they would deal with things tomorrow.

For a few moments, they looked at each other, and then Luna almost jumped on top of him, the two sharing a fierce, tight embrace as they closed their eyes and clung to each other in silence. The unwelcome presences faded from their minds, and their breathing evened out as they tried only to focus on one-another for now, taking a moment longer to recuperate in each other's embrace before turning and silently continuing on their way towards Ponyville.

They were treated the same as always, but Luna thought Sleipnir's eyes lingered on her, like he caught the faint red stain that had leaked out from beneath Luna's collar and she had failed to notice until Antares nervously pointed it out to her. She made an excuse as always, then punched Scrivener hard enough to leave a bruise on her own body as well as if that proved her point, but it only made Antares more suspicious. Sleipnir smiled... but his eyes were still... worried for her. She hated that.

But he did provide a new holster for Sting: it was better than the old, plain one, with a bandolier strap that would hold extra rounds for her rifle and more loops along the top of the sheath. She wore this proudly, although Sting was currently sitting back at home: when they stopped in at Cowlick's, however, the engineer was at least able to give her another box of bullets and enough to fill up the empty loops.

And then, as Luna had been poking rifle rounds into the bandolier, Cowlick asked in a casual, pleasant voice: “So what's it like? Acid, or something a little heavier? Me, I was always all business. Marijuana's weak and ecstasy's for preschool kids. I pop amphetamines all the time, but back when I was working in a chemical lab – and believe you me, there's no easier way for a mare to get drugs than from the nerds in the science lab who wanna impress the new chick – I used to take this stuff they called 'horn dust.' Lousy name, most drugs have goddamn lousy names, but it was pretty much cocaine and methamphetamine that you take in a tablet form. Never been one for shooting up, myself... I might got all these piercings but that's different. Nothing getting pumped into my veins.”

Luna and Scrivener only stared at her, and then Cowlick tapped gently at her own nose. “You're shaking, your eyes are all crazy, and you two are doing that thing where you're like preschoolers who think they've gotten away with stealing from the cookie jar, heads all high, thinking you're acting normal when you're just about quaking from the adrenaline rush. I know the feeling. I got two warnings for that feeling.”

There was silence for a few moments, and then, before she could even think about what she was saying, Luna snapped in a harsh voice: “It is none of your business what I do with my life, Kilby Kwolek! Do not imply that about which you do not understand!”

“Well, that tells me everything I needed to know right there.” Cowlick replied mildly, looking unfettered before she turned her attention back down to her own project on the worktable in front of her: some kind of layered metal tube she was carefully wiring a core of glowing-green crystal into. “Anyway. If you ever want some help, come and see me. I might have some bad habits still, but smoking, drinking, and popping a pill now and then is a hell of a lot better than a lot of other chemicals you can put in your body.”

Luna shifted, looking away in embarrassment as Scrivener looked down awkwardly as well, and there was silence for a few moments before Luna murmured an apology. But Cowlick only smiled and shrugged, saying softly as she continued to work: “I been there. They say it's the drugs that make you act like that, but a lot of the people who say that are talking out their ass. Ain't the drugs. It's the shame that makes you want to bite everyone around you.”

The sapphire mare laughed a little, looking down and nodding once. They had finished up in silence, and then she and Scrivener had left, both with their heads lowered as they made their way through Ponyville. They ran into Celestia, and when they looked up at her, they knew she knew. And she knew they knew, they saw that too... but she also kept the conversation away from that subject instead of confronting them, and Luna was glad for it. Both she and Scrivener wanted to hide this thing festering inside of them... this weakness. This need for each other beyond their link and codependency.

In the evening, Scrivener Blooms and Luna Brynhild made their way back towards their cottage. Night came on quickly now, and the constantly-cloudy skies didn't help with conserving daylight. The breeze had at least settled, and beneath the canopy of trees the snow had been packed down by the travel of plenty of hooves apart from their own, making it an easy walk through a cold that felt... comforting, against Luna's uneasy frame.

She and Scrivener were both thinking. Trying to reason with themselves and each other, trying to figure out what they could do. The stallion hated that Luna kept blaming herself: she needed his corruption now to live, that wasn't her fault. He was the one who gave in, who provided the poison. And while she drank the drug, he was the one who took pleasure in giving it...

Luna glared at him before her horn glowed brightly, and Scrivener winced as the corruption in his veins boiled painfully, staggering to the side and hugging himself as they halted. “Do not think that way, Scrivy. 'Tis not productive. We must try and be... productive. We must try and push forwards, and move past this, and figure out... a proper schedule. Perhaps that will make things easier.”

The stallion nodded awkwardly after a moment, looking down and shifting a bit from hoof-to-hoof. Luna softened as she studied him, then she added quietly: “And cease blaming thyself. Perhaps 'tis honestly a failing on neither of our parts. But I do not care whose fault this is... I care only that we are able to move through it, or to learn to... use it to make ourselves stronger, Scrivy.”

She stopped, then smiled slightly and flicked her horn again, and Scrivener winced as his muscles visibly flexed as the corruption in his veins boiled again, exciting his emotions in spite of how hard he tried to ignore those feelings that rose up in him at the sensation of power. “And we do have advantages. 'Tis nice how easy I can make thee big and strong if I so please, in spite of thou being such a little mare the rest of the time.”

Scrivener began to reply, but halted with his mouth half-open as a soft laugh spilled through the air around them. Immediately, Luna stepped closer towards the stallion, glaring back and forth as the frozen forest rumbled uneasily around them, before a voice whispered out of the trees: “I can make you both big and strong, too, you know. Oh, I know what Thesis promised, but he wants to strip you down to the bones, too... he wants me to bring you back to him so you two can be torn apart in the extractor, so he can pick and choose the genes he needs to make himself complete.

“But sweeties... once he's done, you're going to be all skin and bones... and he's probably going to leave us only the scraps to lick up, instead of giving us all the pieces we need to be finished off ourselves...” continued the voice, and the trees rustled before a grinning, bog-colored Pegasus crawled slowly up around the trunk of a large tree, her red eyes fixated on them, her insectile wings buzzing eagerly. “Let me make you strong, babies. Let me show you what I can do for you. And I'll make you so big and powerful you can rip Thesis apart like paper, as long as you promise to leave me enough scraps so I can finish all the incomplete parts of me...”

“Protelea.” Scrivener said quietly, as he and Luna set themselves, both glaring up at the Replicant as she crawled slowly out onto a limb... except she almost slithered along the underside, moving over it like some hideous, mutant fly. “And why exactly should we trust you when you probably just want to suck out our insides?”

Protelea laughed quietly at this, her eyes gleaming as she tilted her head down towards them with a wide grin. “Because, sweetie. If you don't, I'm going to take you and that whore you've made preggers back to Thesis. And I'll leave you just sane enough so you can fully appreciate watching him tear your unborn child out of her stomach... unless he's in a good mood. Then maybe I'll get to gobble down that dead matter, baby and all.”

The Replicant licked her lips with her long, barbed tongue, and Scrivener and Luna both snarled furiously as the sapphire mare's body trembled, her wings spreading as her mane burst into blue flames. “Do not ever threaten Twilight Sparkle. Do not ever threaten Twilight Sparkle and her baby!”

“It's not a threat, sugar. It's a promise.” the Pegasus replied kindly, and then her eyes gleamed: “I have an even better idea, though. That baby growing inside her... could feed a whole army of my babies. I won't kill her, no. I'll tie her down, and fill her up with all my sweet little hatchlings. We'll sacrifice one pony brat for a thousand-thousand of my children-”

Luna roared in fury, then sprung into the air and shot towards Protelea, but the Pegasus laughed and flung herself sideways with a grin, launching out of the way. And Luna cursed in shock as she crashed not into, but through the tree, rotten wood and countless termites and ants and boring beetles filling the air around her before she howled in pain as bugs latched into her flesh and began to bite and burrow their way into her body.

Scrivener snarled, beginning to move forwards... and Protelea grinned savagely towards him, her eyes flashing. Before the stallion could react, the snowy earth beneath him seemed to all-but-explode as Silverbacks launched themselves onto his body from all directions, clutching into him as their stingers pierced deep through his flesh, the stallion howling in agony as Protelea hissed: “Here's a taste of what I can do for you, big boy.”

Luna's eye bulged in shock and horror as Scrivener's pain added to her own, and then she snapped her head back with a roar, a blast of force and electricity ripping out of her body, charring and blowing apart the branches of trees around her and turning the bugs attacking her to ashes. She flapped her wings hard, launching herself straight at Protelea, but the Pegasus flapped her wings at the last moment, Luna narrowly missing before both of Protelea's rear hooves slammed down into the back of her skull, knocking her crashing down into the hardpack of the path with a curse.

She shook herself out... then looked up in shock as Scrivener gave a guttural, broken roar, throwing his head back even as more Silverbacks swarmed over his body. Their stingers tore deep, injecting poison and corruption into his veins, and with so many of them, the effect they were having was horrifying: Scrivener's body was transforming, his flesh hardening and becoming scaly, his front hooves uncurling into claws, his hide tearing as his musculature grew too large, too fast for his charcoal coat to accommodate it. Black veins pulsed through his body as he roared again, spittle dripping from too-big fangs as his eyes began to glow sapphire.

The bony pistons hidden in Scrivener's back tore up and free with a thick squelch of dark substance, and Luna shuddered as she stared at her husband, mouthing slowly. He snarled at her in response, looming over her, already almost twice the size of her as his body continued to warp, his features became more animal, his scars pulsed like veins as Protelea called clearly above: “Get her!”

One of Scrivener's claws lashed out, seizing Luna around the throat and crushing down on her, even as Silverbacks fell away from the stallion's body, dead. Luna gargled loudly, her eyes bulging as she was dragged in close, wincing as he looked down at her and she gazed up at him with... no, no fear. Fascination? Adoration? By Mimir's head, was that arousal?

She laughed weakly as Scrivener rumbled, then snarled and leaned forwards as long horns twisted out of his skull, hardening rapidly. Above, Protelea was still grinning, clearly not at all understanding what was going on... how badly this route she had taken was going to end for her, as Luna whispered: “Thou always makes such a handsome monster.”

“Now, crush her. Crush her until she can't move.” Protelea ordered, and Scrivener grinned as he seized Luna by the shoulders, and shoved the winged unicorn down to the ground, pinning her into the hardpack. Luna gasped, but she shivered in excitement more than pain, as the last of the Silverbacks fell away from Scrivener's body, dead. “Now hold still, Luna... I have another swarm of my babies coming to spread the poison into you, too. I won't make you a Necrotroph, don't worry... I'll just pump enough into you that your mind will be like putty in my hooves.”

Luna stared up at Scrivener, breathing quietly as they looked at each other. Here she was, pretending to be pinned by the beast above her. And yes, she could feel that Scrivener's mind had regressed, become primal... but it wasn't Protelea that he was taking orders from. It was Luna who had the control, through their linked mind and soul.

She knew that if she stayed here, the Silverbacks would swarm her, sting her like they had Scrivener, and fill her with the same poison, the same corruption... and she would become Corrupt Luna again. They would be monsters together, and this Replicant would laugh and think she was controlling them, and let down her guard, and they would rip her into pieces with the ease of pulling apart... a bug. But they would make her suffer first... the corruption flooding Scrivener's veins had wiped away his morality and all his inhibitions, and Luna could see all the things he wanted to do to Protelea. And Luna could feel herself encouraging him, even without the corruption in her veins yet.

And what would happen then? Luna closed her eyes and cursed quietly, even as she heard the tick of the Silverbacks swarming through the snow towards her. Her body quaked with excitement and longing, wanting it... wanting to give in. She could feel Nightmare Moon looming in eagerly, could almost sense Valthrudnir there as well, looking on with interest, and maybe even fear. She could even say it wasn't her fault, that it all happened too fast, if there was no way to revere what was about to happen... what wanted to happen... what she could let happen...

Protelea landed only a few feet away, likely to get a better look at what was going on, the bug-pony grinning widely... and Luna cursed herself silently before she clenched her eyes shut as she gave a sharp mental order to Scrivener. And without hesitation, the Clockwork stallion snapped his head up with a snarl and flung himself off her, tackling Protelea onto her back as the Replicant shrieked in surprise before Luna rolled to her hooves and leapt upwards, narrowly avoiding several Silverbacks pouncing on her.

She landed on Scrivener's back as the stallion pinned down Protelea, then dropped her head forwards, her horn glowing brightly as she bared her fangs. Maybe she couldn't have everything, maybe she and Scrivener couldn't let themselves give in completely, or go past the point of no return, but all the same... “Here, Protelea, thou wants a monster? I shall give to thee a monster!”

The corruption in Scrivener's veins boiled, and the stallion arched his back with a roar as he felt his body flex, eyes glowing brighter as his coat spread over the raw flesh and transformed into armor-like scales, as his tail of hair burst apart to become reptilian, and leathery wings tore from his back in a great burst of black mire, flapping once before furling at his sides. And Protelea screamed as Scrivener glared down at her with a wide, vicious grin: but now it was no longer a pony pinning her down. It was a Tyrant Wyrm.

The monster leaned down, roaring in her face, and Protelea shrieked again before Scrivener rose a claw and began to stomp viciously down on her again and again, crushing the Replicant into the snow as Luna's horn continued to glow brightly, teeth grit as she pumped more energy into Scrivener's body, feeding him more strength. Then she cursed as Protelea vomited a stream of acid up over Scrivener's chest, feeling his pain as the Tyrant Wyrm staggered backwards with a hiss, his scales steaming and rotting rapidly away as Protelea scrambled backwards with a snarl of fury.

She was bruised and bloody, one of her insect wings bent and her chest half-crushed, but her eyes were blazing with rage instead of fear now as she screamed: “I tried to make this easy for you, I tried to keep you alive, but now I'm going to turn you both into pretty buffets for my babies!”

Scrivener only roared loudly in response, and Luna only gave a savage grin, setting herself on the fifteen foot long beast's back. “Says the little bug to two creatures the likes of which she could never fathom! Oh, I have been looking forwards to punishing thy kind for a long time, Protelea!”

The Replicant only hissed, and then her jaw unhinged as her mouth gaped horribly, and Scrivener couldn't help but wince in revulsion even with his mind full of primal rage and bloodlust and furious corruption. Swarms of flies and beetles spilled out of her jaws before Protelea made a horrendous retching noise, her throat bulging obscenely, and then she leaned forwards and vomited out several massive, monstrous centipedes, horrendously long and maggot-white.

They clicked and twisted, then suddenly raced forwards as the swarm of buzzing insects shot straight at Scrivener's face, and the Wyrm-shaped pony growled and bit at them savagely before roaring furiously: but even with corruption-fueled strength, this was still little more than a polymorph. He hissed in disgust as one of the centipedes wrapped itself around his limb, slithering upwards and across his chest to bite savagely at his neck, and Scrivener clawed at the rubbery parasite.

At the same time, Luna's horn snapped back and forth, blasting apart the swarm of beetles and flies with gouts of blue flame, and doing her best to interrupt the streams of acid being vomited at them from the insectile Pegasus. Then Scrivener howled as one of the other centipedes began to burrow into his stomach, sending up a terrible blast of corruption that it greedily began to drain out of the Wyrm-shaped stallion, its body bulging hideously as it absorbed the poison.

Scrivener managed to rip the first parasite off him and tear it apart, even as he stumbled back and forth, trying to shake the other centipede off. Luna began to turn around to deal with it, but then the third centipede suddenly reared past Scrivener's shoulder and launched itself at her, tackling the winged unicorn off the Wyrm's back. She was thrown to the ground with it, cursing in fury as she seized its face to stop it from biting at her, while Scrivener tried to simply crush the other centipede beneath his weight with a howl of pain.

And then, to his horror, he was flung savagely upwards, slamming down on his back as the Wyrm-shaped pony stared in shock at a centipede that had almost doubled in length and trebled in thickness, now like some mutant, monstrous worm with a massive set of mandibles dripping with his blood. It snapped down towards him, and Scrivener barely managed to roll out of the way before the mutated centipede twisted quickly and slammed itself into Scrivener's body, knocking him crashing through the trees at the edge of the path.

He cursed as he tore through the wood, then snarled... but then screamed in agony as the centipede lunged forwards, seizing into Scrivener's body with its jaws and biting, ripping, flaying his chest open to drain out the corruption in his blood. His claws shoved and tore at its rubbery features, but to little use, and Protelea gave a snarling grin as her own Silverbacks swarmed over the massive mutant, stinging into it, injecting their own poisons into the creature to make it grow even faster as she hissed: “I'll teach you to underestimate the true masters of the world!”

Luna roared in fury, even as agony and wounds spread over her own body, and her horn glowed brightly before electricity and blue flame blasted over the centipede that was trying to force her down, making it shriek in agony as it reared back before she leapt forwards as her horn glowed brightly, cutting the charred bug in half.

Her instincts screamed at her, and her horn continued to glow as she snapped her head to the side, releasing a blue fireball that struck a stream of acid in midair and exploded, sending it splattering backwards. Protelea only grinned, however, her unhinged jaws wide, her eyes glowing as her tongue lolled out and swayed like a serpent.

Then the Replicant flung herself forwards, and Luna flinched as she felt another rip gouge itself into her side before her eyes snapped upwards as Protelea vomited another blast of acid at her. She narrowly dodged backwards... and right into several Silverbacks that leapt up and stung her ankles and stomach, making her flinch and draw her attention away for one crucial moment-

Protelea shot in and vomited a sick stream of stinging, poisonous insects over Luna's features, and the sapphire mare screamed and drew backwards before Protelea's tail blossomed like some hideous, deadly flower to unveil the stinger inside it, and it snapped forwards to stab deep into Luna's breast. The sapphire mare stiffened up immediately, her eyes bulging, all the pain flooding her body lost for a moment as she gurgled weakly... and then fell face-first into the snow, her horn sparking faintly, her body numb and paralyzed as Protelea dropped down overtop her and shivered in delight.

Insects crawled eagerly back and forth over Luna's face, but they awaited their queen's orders now as Silverbacks scuttled onto the sapphire mare's body with their stingers raised. Luna barely felt any of it, though... all she could do was stare, frozen and unable to move, horrified by how fast and vicious the Replicant was as Protelea leaned down and cooed: “Now because you've been a particularly bad girl.. I'm going to have a little snack before I get going...”

Her barbed tongue slithered out, licking slowly up Luna's crystalline horn before the Replicant grinned, eyes glowing as her jaw unhinged and her thin, curving fangs pushed their way upwards out of her gums like needles-

A half-rotten log flew across the path, smashing into Protelea and knocking her crashing and rolling backwards with a shriek, and Luna cursed as she began to concentrate immediately. Her body was paralyzed, but she was still able to focus her magic, and she used it not to try and cleanse her system but instead to electrify herself, making her muscles jump and her body spasm, and frying the smaller insects clustered over her features.

Like she'd hoped, the Silverbacks reacted by stabbing their stingers down into her, pumping corruption into her body, and Luna snarled and growled as she concentrated on this, tried to use her magic to exacerbate its effects. And she could feel her muscles flexing as Protelea's toxin was forced out of her body and overwhelmed, as her sapphire-fire mane burned and writhed around her and she slowly began to force herself up to her hooves...

Scrivener grinned, then turned his eyes back towards the centipede as it roared at him, lunging forwards... but all that rapid growth had torn its own rubbery flesh, left it with gaping holes in its armor and large, ugly plates of carapace sticking off its body, and its own bulk was slowing it down. The Clockwork stallion snarled as he flung himself to the side, and the creature smashed off a tree as it turned to chase him, but the Tyrant Wyrm shaped pony was much faster, getting a head start before he spun around to fling himself overtop this immense, snaking maggot-centipede's head and crash down onto its back.

It howled as it writhed back and forth, and Scrivener swung his claws down, ripping deep into its ugly flesh to hold on tight. The centipede was already trying to curl around on itself, biting savagely at Scrivener as it bucked and smashed down smaller trees, but the Wyrm-shaped pony dodged to the side as he swept his other claw out and seized a branch as they passed it, ripping it off the tree and stabbing it savagely into the monster's jaws when it tried to bite at him.

The parasite tore its head back with a scream, spitting blood and corruption in all directions, and Scrivener grimaced before he tore both his claws down into the wound he had ripped in its body. It screamed, but it couldn't even focus on him, swinging its head back and forth as it tried to chew around the stick speared down its throat as Scrivener's claws ripped down into this thing's bloated body before he pushed in one direction and tore in the other as hard as he could, snarling in effort...

Something tore inside it with a thick blast of mire and pus and blood, and a moment later the top twenty feet or so of the centipede ripped away from the bottom, the parasite screaming and convulsing wildly with enough force to buck the Tyrant Wyrm-shaped pony off into a tree. He cursed in pain, then looked up with a snarl as he heard Luna's yell of frustration.

The sapphire mare was hiding beneath a dome of solid ice: her body was still trembling, the poisons playing hell on her even as the corruption boosted her magic, but Protelea was circling rapidly above and vomiting out a constant stream of acid and poisonous insects. More horrible still, maggots and other worms were falling out of her wounds, spilling down to try and work their way through any cracks in the shield protecting the sapphire mare.

Scrivener snarled in fury, then he looked back and forth before his eyes locked on the upper part of the centipede's body, its mandibles still clacking and stubby upper legs squirming wildly before the Tyrant Wyrm seized it by its torn lower body, and then he half-spun with a snarl and flung it as hard as he could. The trees of the Everfree Forest seemed to bend out of the way for him, the air itself seemed to clear so the bug's corpse flew true, and Protelea looked up too late before giving a muffled scream as the corpse smashed into her, knocking her out of the air and crashing down to suffocate her under its weight.

And then Scrivener felt Luna looking through his eyes as she concentrated her magic, and the polymorphed stallion leaned forwards with a snarl as he poured his own energy into the spell as well, giving her more power and the visual contact she needed from beneath her solid shield. All that power they collected together focused on the twenty feet of torn-apart corpse sprawled out over stunned Protelea, and the corruption in the parasite boiled as its dead body swelled hideously before it simply exploded in one tremendous, awful blast of blue fire and gore, launching Protelea backwards into the forest with a scream of agony.

The explosion was so powerful, it shattered the shield of ice around Luna and blew away most of the snow around it, leaving scarred earth behind. A tree slowly toppled across the path, burning with unnatural fire as a hail of branches fell from other damaged and warped oaks and birches and pines. Both pony and Clockwork stallion breathed hard as Scrivener slowly lumbered out of the forest, feeling the corruption settling in his veins and his mind returning quickly to normal, before he shivered as he felt his scales crawling and his frame beginning to shrink, reverting back into his normal shape already.

Then both he and Luna looked sharply up at the shriek that filled the air, staring into the woods... but a moment later, a shape tore quickly towards the sky, ripping through the canopy and flying into the air above, Protelea howling over her shoulder: “This isn't over! When Thesis learns that your bitch is pregnant, he'll come for you, and you won't win this time!”

“Goddammit, we have to go after her.” Scrivener gritted his teeth... then cursed and half-stumbled as his body returned to its normal size, steam rising from his form as he trembled and the wounds over his body dripped his black mire blood.

Luna wanted with every part of her being to agree, to chase after the mare... but Protelea had devastated them with her surprise assault, and they had underestimated her ferocity going into combat and it had almost cost them their lives. All three of them, she thought, as she felt Twilight's frenzied thoughts, realized the pregnant mare was actually leaving the safe bastion of their home to come and find them, and Luna said quietly: “No. No, we cannot. We have been away from Twilight Sparkle for too long and already she hurries towards us, when we should go to her. And this strain...”

“Dammit...” Scrivener muttered, and then he dropped his head forwards, breathing hard, and Luna smiled faintly at the reversal of their usual roles. But she understood that: Scrivener was excited by the corruption and those dark instincts had been awoken inside him, while she... she was doing too much thinking, lately.

There was silence for a few moments between them, and then they traded another look, emotions running between the two before they turned to each other and shared a fierce embrace. But after a moment, they parted, and Luna couldn't help but shiver as she looked down and watched a Silverback slowly try and drag itself towards them, the mare murmuring: “We... we should hurry onwards, Scrivy. We need to reassure Twilight that all is well, among other things.”

Scrivener closed his eyes and nodded a little, and there was silence for a few moments before the ponies both turned and began to walk side-by-side, carefully avoiding the mire, the insects writhing weakly in the snow, the stains of battle. Neither looked at one-another, as they both gazed down the path and sent calming, soothing thoughts towards Twilight, but the Lich refused to wait for them. She was coming to them, whether they liked it or not, in spite of all the reasoning they gave her.

It made them both smile, even as they worried for the violet mare. It was funny the way Twilight was: even these days she read so much, fell back on logic and research... but just like them, it was her emotions that really controlled her. And if a friend or a loved one was in danger, all logic was thrown out the window and she would give up anything, put herself through the worst possible dangers, in order to help them out.

They continued down the snowy path, trying not to hurry even though they knew that Twilight was making her way quickly towards them. If they rushed or let themselves worry too much, the Lich would sense it through their link, and probably just hurry all the faster towards them. But everything at the moment was okay, even if they had just gone through a nastier fight than they had both imagined, and suffered something... that had surprised them both.

The two ponies traded a look, and Scrivener paused and glanced down, realizing his front hooves were still unfolded into claws. He stopped to close both of these tightly, and Luna gazed at him softly as they sat on the frost-covered road for a moment. Then the Clockwork Pony closed his eyes, breathing slowly before he looked up with a faint smile, chestnut irises backed by the faintest hint of blue light as he asked quietly: “We can't escape who and what we are, can we?”

“Aye, perhaps not. But I believe all the more we can decide what we do with that. More now than ever before.” Luna said softly, looking down before she smiled a little and stepped forwards, reaching up to stroke the stallion's face gently. “And look at thee. Thou makes a very handsome monster, I shall have thee know... but I realize that thou art missing something. Something silly that I guess we have both been too busy to notice.”

Scrivener tilted his head curiously, and Luna closed her eyes and concentrated for a few moments before flicking her horn, expending the last of her magical energy... but on a good cause, she thought, as the snow between them whirled upwards and formed into the shape of glasses. And a moment later, they were real glass and real metal that dropped onto Scrivener's face, the stallion smiling at her through them as Luna said softly: “Do not forget why Twilight and I love thee. Do not think thou must become stronger to be worthy. Thou art a poet.”

“Which is worse than a monster anyway.” Scrivener said quietly, and Luna laughed softly and nodded before the two nodded firmly to each other and shared a faint smile, promising silently to one-another that they would survive this, they would protect Twilight Sparkle, and they would defeat Thesis without giving in to the darkness inside themselves.

Author's Note:

Chapter Theme:
Sonata Arctica - Sing In Silence
Vs. Protelea II: Helloween - Savage

Comments

[An A10 Warthog]

Half a million words in three weeks? Wow...

[BlackRoseRaven]

2434133

The new spear is a particularly-devastating weapon, yes. In a few ways, it's even superior to Andlitstingar. And better yet it'll only take uh... eight chapters, I think, for me to give it a name, instead of roughly a million words.
But uh. I suppose it might be possible, but the soulstone horn is going to lead into a few tics as it is: plus I think they're just wary in general of giving Valthrudnir... too much reach over them, risking giving him even more control or worse, being indebted to him further.
And I'll be explaining that a little more, yeah: the short version is that the little filly is playing havoc with Twilight's body. She's not suffering some of the pangs of pregnancy, but it's still affecting her pretty heavily in other ways.
I'll try not to spoil anything further, though, since the babe's going to be born in... tomorrow's chapters, if I remember right. So lots of answers to come quite shortly. We'll see how many surprises I can still pack in yet.

[BlackRoseRaven]

2435090

Sure, no problem. I already mentioned Godchecker, which is literally Godchecker.com, but other ones I use a lot are...

hurstwic.org/index.html - Reenactment group, very good articles and summations.
http://www.omniglot.com/writing/oldnorse.htm - Some good sets of links and language info

And the Prose/Poetic Eddas are pretty cheap on Amazon, and aren't actually too hard to find in a lot of used book stores.

[BlackRoseRaven]

2437289

I actually tend to write my stories out, then start posting them up. It definitely took me longer than three weeks to write up to this point.

[Black TearsWolf]

So is Antares gonna fight Cheshire?

[BlackRoseRaven]

2437852

Antares never really gets much interaction with Cheshire, actually: it'll be thanks to someone possibly unexpected that Luna and Scrivener will finally be able to take him down. But he will be getting another faceoff with Protelea down the road.

[BlackRoseRaven]

2434468

My pleasure. I'm always happy to do so.

[Skydrake]

2437427

I'll be looking towards the upcoming birth of Twilight's foal then, you know that I find this particular plotline quite fascinating, so I have a lot of anticipation building up here.

And speaking of the subject ... after what happened in the last chapter, they should 'really' relocate to Subterra right now, or at the very least Ponyville. Cottage in the middle of a forest is well and good as a refuge from everyday noise, but during an ongoing conflict with superior foe it's not exactly a smart place to live in. One would think that Twilight's death at the hooves of Wisdom would have thought them that, a lesson I would think that's hard to forget. Doubly so if they leave Twilight alone for the day - especially with her magic fluctuating and pregnancy impeding her physically, she kinda lacks the means to defend herself properly ... and she can't exactly afford to sustain heavy damage at this point.

Twilight herself might be as immortal as ever, but I very much doubt that the baby is going to make a transfer to a new body, if she happens to lose the old one ... and that would probably kill her more than any physical wound ever could (minus the fact that physical wounds can't really kill her at all, but you know what I mean). And if Thesis is indeed bound to take more interest in her due to her pregnancy, a fortress in the middle of a mountain with Selene perched on the doorstep might just be what the doctor ordered. Granted, I don't think she can necessarily stop Thesis, but Selene and a mountain full of demons ready to defend their up and coming princess sure beats Twilight lounging alone in the middle of a forest.

On to the fight with Protelea, I am actually somewhat surprised at how poorly Luna and Scrivy fared against her. Of course she isn't to be underestimated as a Replicant and all, but Antares managed to stall and drive her off on his own previously. With that in mind, I would have expected Luna to walk over ... or through ... the bug hive. On that note, why didn't Luna use her new spear during the fight? It's on her at all times now, is it not? That aside, I still say they should just sic Morning Glory on Protelea - nasty bug swarms don't work all that well against tons of metal casing, I imagine.

Physical fighting aside though, ouch, poor Luna - the dependency on their Soul Link for survival is bad enough, but at least that is being supplied passively and without any active side effects. Having developed an actual addiction to Scrivy's blood/corruption though ... that's a pretty nasty pit to fall in to. Especially if each time she takes it is followed by a brief lapse of self. I wonder if White Matter can be used to burn the stuff out completely from her system, because this is something that they should really try and cure.

And on that note, I am developing an ever-growing distaste for Nightmare Moon. I actually used to like her way back when ... hell, up to Decretum she often came across as wiser and smarter than Luna herself and the two were generally on the same wavelength, even with all their differences. Now though ... it feels like two have long since started walking their separate paths, with NM running her own twisted schemes behind Luna's back. I am all but expecting her to do something foolish and with dire consequences at some point.

Oh, and one thing I keep meaning to ask but forget all the time - considering how much time has passed, wouldn't Cowlick and Greece have had enough time to make a replacement arm for Bob?