> Sunlight Underground
>  by Leaf Blade
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> 01. Sunlight
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Blood dripped from Sunset’s fingertips onto the dirt as she raised her hand to the sky to try and capture the sun.

It wasn’t there.

And as Sunset lied on her back on the ground, her body covered in blood that didn’t belong to her and staring up at the formless grey mist that masqueraded as a sky to the denizens of the Underworld, she found herself missing the sun more than usual.

Which meant, of course, that it was time to get back on her hooves. Reminiscing didn’t help anyone, and she had work to do. She always had work to do.

The demon groaned as she sat up and surveyed the horizon. Empty, as always. Just dirt and rocks under a miserable grey ‘sky’ as far as the eye could see, at least until you got closer to the mountains in the distance, then you could count a whole lot of graves too.

Sunset tapped her hoof on the dirt and growled under her breath in disapproval. She looked at the blood-soaked battlefield she was leaving behind and clicked her tongue. Monsters in the Underworld didn’t leave corpses, so she couldn’t count just how many enemies she had beaten, but she wasn’t feeling good about the numbers.

She had to exert more magic in that battle than she would’ve liked, and even after absorbing the magic from her dead enemies, she didn’t feel like she plussed at all. Magic was a finite resource down here, and Sunset needed as much of it as she could get her hands on, and if she was only spending it on puny enemies that barely gave back more than she used, she would never have enough.

Oh well. She didn’t have any other options, so it was back to the grind. Again.

And so it went; Sunset roamed the flatlands of the Underworld’s First Circle looking for weaker bands— groups of monsters that worked together to not get picked off, usually six or seven members, though it wasn’t uncommon for two or three bands to group together as well— that she could easily take out on her own. She killed every single member and drained their magic, and then moved on to the next band.

All day.

Every day.

Time meant nothing to Sunset Shimmer anymore, and while it was possible to judge the time based on the shades of grey in the mist above, without the sun what did it matter?

Sunset was ready for it to end, but she had to keep moving forward. Looking into the distance, she could see the great wall that separated the graveyard and the flatlands from the rest of the First Circle, from the Paradise. That’s where she needed to be, and to get through that wall and the monsters that protected it, Sunset would need far more magic than she had.

She just didn’t have the time to feel discouraged.

She didn’t have the time to feel much of anything.

On occasion, Sunset would pick fights in the graveyard. While monsters didn’t leave bodies to be buried, they did leave ashes that were laid to rest and mixed with the dirt and soil of the earth, their magic seeping into the ground itself, which made it a prime spot to harvest magical energy.

Which of course made it a breeding ground for the most powerful bands in the Circle; only the strongest and most powerful monsters could survive in the graveyard, which made farming there risky, too risky for Sunset more often than not, since all of the work she had done to collect magic thus far would be worthless if she died.

But sometimes, some days, she just didn’t care. So she went to the graveyard.

Sometimes it was even worth it. Sometimes Sunset would kneel on the ground after a battle, blood and dirt caked to her fur, and she would breathe deeply of the magic that she harvested from her defeated foes, so much more than any battle in the flatland could give her.

Like today, for instance.

Sunset stood up. Her body was heavy, but she stood up, and she readied to leave the graveyard behind her, but something gave her pause. Her ears perked up. Something wasn’t quite right.

She journeyed deep into the graveyard, past innumerable tombstones and coffins, under the shadow of mountains that only got bigger and more imposing the deeper in she walked. But something was calling out to her, resonating with her, and if it was a source of powerful magic then Sunset couldn’t afford to ignore it.

The call led her deep into the mountains, where she had to skulk about to avoid the roaming bands protecting their territory; she didn’t want to pick a fight and risk having someone else find whatever she was looking for before she could get her hands on it.

Soon enough she found herself in a crevasse buried deep between the mountains; so many graves littered the ground and the mountainsides, but amongst them a large stone coffin stood out to her. Whatever was calling her, it was coming from inside that coffin.

And if Sunset were still on the surface world, still in a world where her life mattered— where anything other than achieving her goals mattered— she may have thought ‘hm, perhaps opening up a creepy stone coffin that almost feels like it’s calling my name isn’t the greatest decision I could make in my life’, but she wasn’t. So it was real creepy coffin hours.

Sunset slid the lid of the coffin open; it was heavier than she expected, so she struggled to lift it and could only be bothered to move it just enough for Sunset to peer inside. And what she found inside caused her to step back, and look a second time to make sure she wasn’t seeing things.

But no, it was clear as day. Inside the coffin was a body.

Perhaps she shouldn’t have been surprised, but monsters didn’t leave behind bodies.

But after a moment, Sunset could see the woman lying unconscious in the coffin was still breathing, albeit barely. The woman was lying straight as an arrow, hands resting over her heart with a hint of a pensive expression on her face.

But the strangest thing about her was that she was no monster, she was a pony.

A unicorn, to be precise; with lavender fur and indigo hair that fell across her forehead in neat bangs, accentuated by striking purple and pink highlights. She was dressed in a white button-up shirt with a symbol emblazoned on it that was immediately recognizable to Sunset, the symbol of Celestia’s Paladins. Though the design was somewhat different from what Sunset was used to, and it made her wonder how long she had been away from the surface world.

It didn’t matter. What mattered was that she was a pony, which meant she had something that monsters— including a demon like Sunset— lacked. She had a soul.

And nothing was going to stop Sunset from taking it.

Sunset put her hand on the woman’s chest, and she could hear that woman’s soul resonating in her ears like a pounding drum. It was barely anything, almost like a shattered fragment of a soul that had been battered and nearly destroyed, but a soul was a soul, and Sunset needed it.

She dug her claws into the woman’s chest and drew out the soul, a hollow light appearing in her palm. Sunset raised her hand to look at the pale, ghostly lavender light of the woman’s soul as it turned blood red in Sunset’s grasp, Sunset closing her hand around it and making it a part of her now.

This was going to change everything.

A soul, even one as weak and weary as this, was a generator of magic. No more harvesting from the cadaverous masses of the Underworld’s First Circle, Sunset could make her own magic now, and there was no time to waste.

Sunset took the lid of the coffin and slid it back into place before turning around and rushing off to meet her destiny.

But she paused.

She looked back at the coffin, now sealed by Sunset’s hands.

The woman inside likely wasn’t long for this world. Between whatever happened to her to land her in that coffin, the roving bands who would kill her as soon as look at her, and losing her soul, there was no way she was going to last the day, or likely even the hour.

And yet…

Sunset moved the lid of the coffin, just a little. Just enough so that if the woman woke up— and Sunset knew that was a big ‘if’— she wouldn’t be trapped inside.

Okay, Sunset thought with a quiet sigh. Now it was time to get back to what mattered.

Sunset departed the graveyard, leaving the stone coffin behind her. And as she walked back through the crevasses between the mountains, she knew she was being watched. That made her smile. She would get to test out her new powers sooner than she thought.

It wasn’t long before she was surrounded on all sides by several monsters who could no doubt feel the magical energy radiating off of Sunset’s newfound soul. And it took even less time for Sunset to burn them all to ashes and move on with her life, taking their magic for good measure.

She looked at her hands; they were shaking, but there wasn’t a drop of blood on them to be seen.

In the days after acquiring that soul, Sunset swore she had acquired more magic from defeating other monsters than she had in… well, she had long since lost count of how long she had been harvesting magic. And all of that time was nothing compared to the progress she was making now.

It was almost time then, for her to get through the wall— no, to tear the wall down. She had that kind of power now, she was sure of it.

But of course… taking the magic of a few more bands couldn’t hurt, right? Better safe than sorry, right?

…

Right.

So Sunset went back to the harvest, but instead of a struggle it was almost too easy. In almost no time, she had become the most powerful monster on the First Circle. Where bands had previously tried to attack her because they saw her alone and thought she was an easy mark, now they were running from her. It was an exhilarating feeling.

Sunset was in the midst of slaying yet another pitifully weak band with sword and flame, when one of her attacks was suddenly met by impressive resistance. Out of nowhere, a slate gray tower shield appeared and defended the target of Sunset’s attack, allowing the monster to run off as the shield bearer covered them.

What was more surprising though, was the identity of said shield bearer; it was the woman who Sunset had seen in the coffin, the one whose soul Sunset had taken.

“Hey,” Sunset said dryly, her words creaking out of her throat like… a thing that was creaky. She hadn't had occasion to use her voice in eons, was the point here. “Good morning, sleepyhead. Feeling rested?”

“I don’t understand what’s going on here,” the lavender unicorn said, and she held an awful lot of determination in her heart for someone who was so obviously in over their head, “but I’m a simple woman. I see a demon swinging a sword at unarmed people, I step in to defend them.”

“How noble of you,” Sunset hoisted her sword up on top of her shoulder. “Does your precious Princess know you’re sticking your neck out defending monsters?”

“A Paladin’s mission is to protect the weak,” the girl said. “Pony or monster, that doesn’t matter to me. And besides, I think you have something that belongs to me.”

“Well then,” Sunset chuckled and felt a fire in her heart for the first time in a while, “come and take it from me if you can.”
> 02. Underground
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Blood dripped from Twilight’s fingertips as she slid them through the crack in the lid of the coffin she was inside. It didn’t feel like her blood. Her skin didn’t feel like it was her skin. Everything felt familiar and yet alien.

Twilight felt a firm grasp on the outside of the coffin. She wasn’t trapped inside, thank Celestia. She tried to spark some magic from her horn to move the lid, but nothing doing. Was something wrong with her horn? She didn’t know. She didn’t know anything, except that she needed to get out. She needed to be free and see the sun again.

Twilight put her hands on the stone lid of the coffin; it was heavy, but nothing she couldn’t manage. And as the lid slid away and crashed onto the ground, Twilight sat up and breathed deeply. It didn’t help much.

Looking up, Twilight couldn’t see the sky, couldn’t see the sun. All she saw were rocks and cliffs. It was starting to come back to her where she was, and what had happened.

She was a Paladin of Celestia, a holy warrior dedicated to defending Equestria from the monsters and demons that stole ponies’ souls and dragged them to the Underworld. Twilight had been leading an expedition into the heart of the Underworld itself in order to learn more about what was causing these attacks to become so much more frequent as of late.

Her party met with disaster, she knew that. But she couldn’t for the life of her remember what had happened to them, or to her. All she knew was that she felt empty somehow, in a way she couldn’t describe.

It was dark and Twilight could barely see an inch in front of her face. She pushed up her glasses out of instinct but it didn’t help any. She slowly crawled out of the coffin, trying her damnedest to be careful and not trip over an exposed rock or tombstone or something.

Turns out she wasn’t being careful enough, because not two steps after leaving the coffin, Twilight’s hoof caught on something she couldn’t see, and it sent her careening toward the ground. She put her hands in front of her face and managed to dull the impact to just a minor headache, but she still didn’t like the idea that her fall could’ve been much, much worse.

She liked it even less when she looked up and saw a sharp protruding stone sticking out of the ground right next to her eye level as she lied on the ground. If she had tripped even one inch further, that spike likely could’ve gone through her head.

Twilight sparked her horn, trying to create a light, but her horn only fizzed and crackled to no avail. She curled up into a ball and really concentrated, trying her hardest to connect with her magic; she had no idea what could’ve happened to her to shut it off, but she needed it to work right now.

To Twilight’s immense relief, her horn began to glow with a soft raspberry light that illuminated the area around her; seeing it for what it was, for all the rocks and graves and spikes littering the ground and the walls of the cliffs, and all the steep slopes, Twilight realized just how lucky she was that her fall only gave her a minor injur—

The light went out.

Just as quickly as it came, it disappeared. Twilight tried to bring it back, but only left herself a wheezing, panting mess for her troubles. The light wasn’t coming back, and neither was Twilight’s magic.

Twilight crawled toward one of the cliff walls, taking extra precaution to make sure she knew exactly where she was going and looked out for spikes as much as possible. It was slow going, but she made it, and she curled up with her back against the wall.

The Underworld didn’t have a sun, but it had light; it wasn’t ordinary for Twilight to not be able to see what was right in front of her, so she would simply have to wait until the light came back.

Alone.

In the dark.

With nothing but her thoughts.

Thoughts that naturally went to the rest of her expedition. Nine ponies entered the Underworld, including herself, and Twilight had no clue what had happened to any of them. Hell, Twilight had no idea what had happened to her.

She woke up in a coffin, all alone, feeling woozy. She hadn't been turned into a monster, she hadn't been killed. It was possible her soul had been taken— in fact it was probable, considering the state of her magic— but in that case, why was she still alive, or at the very least why had she not become a monster?

Too many questions, not enough information. Twilight just had to pray that her comrades were faring at least as well, or hopefully better, than she was.

Twilight sat in the dark for probably a couple of hours. It was basically impossible to keep track of time, but it certainly felt like an eternity. But the light eventually came back, and it wasn’t like the surface world where dawn slowly appeared over the horizon; Twilight blinked and the lights were back on.

Granted, the hollow gray sky that illuminated the Underworld could hardly be considered ‘light’, but it would have to do. At least Twilight could see and step over the hazardous terrain, and she was thankful that she hadn't run into any monsters during her trek through the cliffs.

She was still a Paladin, and even without her magic she would find a way to defend herself, but she was still happy that thus far she didn’t need to.

Twilight soon found herself standing at a cliff’s edge, looking over the massive gray and brown flatland of the Underworld; she knew enough from her research to tell with certainty that this was the First Circle, and that realization provoked a groan from Twilight’s lips.

Her expedition had entered through the Third Circle, and their goal was to delve as deeply as possible to bring back concrete information on the Underworld and its inhabitants, information that was mostly unknown on the surface beyond vague charts and graphs, many of which Twilight had been forced to make herself since even less solid information existed when her research began.

She had been set quite a ways back thanks to whatever disaster befell her expedition. But there was no sense in stewing in it; better to just pick back up and keep moving.

The only landmark on the horizon was what appeared to be a large yet ramshackle village in the distance, surrounded by a great stone wall that stretched seemingly for an eternity. It wasn’t much to go on, but it wasn’t nothing, so Twilight figured she would need to head in that direction.

The closer Twilight got to the flatlands as she slowly made her way down the cliffside, the more uneasy she felt. She could sense the presence of monsters stalking her in the shadows, she could see them flitting about in the corner of her eye, and she could see battles taking place between them far off in the distance.

She took a second to test a theory, and was delighted when it proved to be true; even without her magic, her magical weapons were still available to her with just a thought activating their enchantments and popping them into her hands— a great lance, and a mighty steel tower shield. Not the most elegant of weapons, and without her magic far less effective, but they would still serve her well.

As Twilight inched her way toward the stone wall, which only seemed to get further away the more Twilight walked, she felt a tug in her chest. She looked off into the distance and could see through the clouds of dust and fog the flickering of flames.

Not just any flames; magic was at work here. Normally, Twilight would want to stay clear of such things; monsters fighting each other was as common a sight in the Underworld as one could imagine, and Twilight wanted no part of it, and yet something compelled her to take a closer look, a yearning that only got stronger the closer she got to the battle.

Once Twilight was close enough, she hid behind one of many stone arches that stood in ruins around what looked to be an ancient arena, inside of which there were several monsters doing battle with each other.

Or rather, several monsters doing battle with one single monster.

She was a demon; Twilight could tell as much by the curved horns on her head, by the way her hair flickered like fire, specks of cinder even falling off of it as she effortlessly danced around her enemies’ attacks. But most telling of all was that she was eerily similar in appearance to a normal pony.

Mustard yellow fur and blood red hair that would likely have fallen down her back if it didn’t pool in the hood of her jacket. She was a unicorn— if you could even call her that at this point— and her confident grin would have been enchanting if the bloodlust behind it wasn’t so clear.

She threw blades and missiles of flame around like it was nothing, and her enemies— which outnumbered her six to one— cowered before her. Watching her belittle them and push them into a corner, their desperation and fear becoming increasingly apparent, made Twilight sick.

As the demon threw a pillar of flame at the monsters, Twilight jumped in front of them to defend them, bringing her tower shield to bear and deflecting the demon’s attack, although it took quite a bit of effort on Twilight’s part to resist the searing heat of those flames.

Twilight lowered her shield to look the demon in the eyes, and the demon laughed, apparently transfixed enough by Twilight’s interruption that she didn’t even care as her former prey ran for the hills.

“Hey,” the woman spoke in a slow, dreary voice. “Good morning, sleepyhead. Feeling rested?”

“I don’t understand what’s going on here,” Twilight said with contempt, irritated by the condescending tone in her enemy’s voice, “but I’m a simple woman. I see a demon swinging a sword at unarmed people, I step in to defend them.”

“How noble of you,” the demon rested a blade of solid flame over her shoulder and grinned. “Does your precious Princess know you’re sticking your neck out defending monsters?”

“A Paladin’s mission is to protect the weak,” Twilight said calmly, though she couldn’t help but be rattled by something; how did this mere monster know about Princess Celestia? “Pony or monster, that doesn’t matter to me.”

Admittedly, for most Paladins their code only extended to protecting ponies from monsters, not so much protecting monsters from each other. Most of her colleagues teased Twilight for being too soft, but she couldn’t help it; she didn’t like to see anyone suffer, and even if she knew that monsters had lost their souls and were therefore dangerous and unstable, she still couldn’t help but want to defend them.

“And besides,” Twilight hissed, feeling that familiar tug on her heart getting stronger and stronger the more she looked at this demon, “I think you have something that belongs to me.”

It was the tug of Twilight’s soul. She knew that in her heart, even if she couldn’t explain how or why. It didn’t make sense that her soul had been taken and yet she was still an ordinary pony, but she supposed that if she could get her soul back from this demon, it wouldn’t much matter.

“Well then,” the demon chuckled, and small streams of fire escaped her mouth as she let out a breathy sigh, “come and take it from me if you can.”
> 03. Demon
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Twilight stood with her back against a stone wall, staring across what looked like an ancient combat arena at a demonic pony— if you could even call a monster with no soul a ‘pony’ anymore— who was holding onto a soul that didn’t belong to her: Twilight’s soul.

Without Twilight’s magic, she would be forced to rely on nothing but her lance and tower shield, and the enchantments placed on each, but they would have to suffice. Twilight was a Paladin after all, she was trained to survive even the most dire combat situations.

“I can’t believe Celestia’s still letting her soldiers run around in thigh-highs and a miniskirt,” the demon scoffed, Twilight’s face turning bright red. She was prepared for battle, sure, but she was less prepared for criticisms on her fashion. “Doesn’t seem entirely practical, y’know?”

“It’s plenty practical! Paladins are protected by magic, not by heavy armor!” Twilight huffed. The enchantments on Twilight’s clothing were actually first rate, she would have this demon know! “Anyway, I’m not taking fashion critique from a girl in short shorts.”

“They’re hot,” the demon shrugged and slapped her bare thigh, Twilight trying to disagree with that assessment but not entirely able to despite herself. Stupid sexy demon. “So what’s your name, girl?”

“Who are you to ask f—”

“Sunset Shimmer,” the demon interrupted casually, looking at her nails and sorta stepping on Twilight’s dramatic line. “Used to be a Paladin just like you, but that wasn’t doing anything for me, so I turned to the dark side. You should try it.”

“I won’t,” Twilight said sternly, stomping a hoof against the dirt. At least that explained how this Sunset Shimmer knew about Celestia. “My name is Twilight Sparkle, and I’ll be taking my soul back and leaving this accursed place, thank you very much!”

“Ooh, feisty,” Sunset Shimmer grinned evilly at Twilight, whose eye twitched and her cheeks burned. Something about this woman was just perfect for getting under Twilight’s skin. “Anyway, if you want your precious soul back so badly, come at me and take it, like I said.”

Sunset took a deep breath and held out her hand, twitching her forefingers to encourage Twilight to approach her.

“If that’s how you want it, then fine!” Twilight said, pointing her lance at Sunset Shimmer. “I’ll just charge right through you and take my soul back!”

Twilight did exactly as she promised, running toward Sunset with the intent to gore her with the lance, but the demon teleported right in front of Twilight mid-charge, stopping Twilight in her tracks and grabbing her by the throat, Sunset’s demonic strength making it a simple matter to pick Twilight off the ground with just one hand.

“Man,” Sunset laughed, “Celestia’s standards have gotten way lax since my time. It’s almost cute how easy that was. But just in case, let’s not get you having any ideas.”

Sunset took the lance out of Twilight’s hand and threw it away, Twilight smirking as she activated the lance’s enchantment, warping Twilight out of Sunset’s grip and behind her to where Sunset had thrown the lance.

Twilight hopped back; she wanted a little bit of distance between her and Sunset now that she had an inkling of what Sunset was capable of.

“Okay,” Sunset flicked a hand through her mane, “that was pretty sick, I’ll give you that one.”

Twilight’s inner teacher’s pet wouldn’t let her respond to that praise with anything less than a big dorky smile, but she didn’t let that distract her from the battle at hand.

Sunset Shimmer had a lot going for her in this duel; she was clearly very strong already, and one thing that made monsters on the surface a manageable threat was that their magic was a finite resource, whereas a pony’s soul was an infinite generator of magic.

A super strong monster with the power of a pony’s soul? Not good.

Meanwhile Twilight had… very little to work with. She would need some element of surprise if she was going to pull this off, and she would likely have to bait Sunset’s ego, which did seem to Twilight to be big enough to manipulate with relative ease.

Those thoughts had to be put on hold as Sunset rushed Twilight, and she was forced to take cover behind one of the many stone arches standing around. Before she could even catch her breath, she heard Sunset’s fist collide with the stone wall between them.

Twilight was confused for just a moment before a searing pain tore into her back and forced her to stumble forward and immediately collapse onto the ground. Sunset then turned the corner around the arch and cracked her knuckles, though Twilight was ready with her shield.

She was able to defend herself from Sunset’s punches using her shield, but with every fist that clanged against the shield’s metal, Twilight’s arm felt a searing pain like it was pressed against a grill. Sunset’s flames didn’t require her to make direct contact with her enemy, just being near her attacks was enough to cause damage.

Twilight threw her lance in a random direction and warped to it. She would need to find a way to put Sunset on the defensive if she wanted to win this, which meant likely just charging blindly into Sunset’s threatened area.

It wasn’t a great plan, but Twilight would simply have to make peace with playing from behind.

Twilight pointed her lance at Sunset, telegraphing that she was going to charge. Sunset merely rolled her eyes and teleported directly behind Twilight, who grit her teeth as she braced herself for inevitable pain.

Sunset snapped her fingers and a fiery blaze exploded from her hand, but Twilight was able to spin around and raise her shield to defend from it, even punching the shield into Sunset’s nose to disorient her as Twilight hopped back— a nervous habit of Twilight’s that likely just cost her a free hit with her lance, but what was done had been done.

Sunset meanwhile just stood where she was and cricked her neck; she wasn’t taking Twilight seriously at all, and Twilight clicked her tongue in frustration. What reason had she given Sunset to consider her a credible opponent? All she had done was play defense and barely scrape her way out of Sunset’s most meager attacks.

And if Twilight wanted to win this, she would need to take control of this battle, no matter what that would take.

Twilight readied her lance and then threw it at Sunset with a truly staggering amount of force behind it, but Sunset casually bobbed her head to the side and avoided the attack completely.

“C’mon,” Sunset laughed, “you didn’t think that was actually—”

Twilight warped to the lance’s location behind Sunset, who turned around just in time for Twilight’s shield to collide with her face, the force of the blow causing Sunset to stagger backwards a couple steps.

Twilight then grabbed her lance, which returned to her hand with a mere thought, and gored Sunset in the stomach, piercing her weapon all the way through Sunset’s body until the tip poked out of Sunset’s back, blood pouring not only from the hole in her stomach, but dripping down her lip as well.

Twilight tugged on the lance and pulled Sunset close to her, Twilight putting her hand on Sunset’s chest and feeling the warmth of Twilight’s soul radiating in her palm. Just as Twilight had always theorized, it would be no problem for her to pull the soul out of the foreign body harboring it, and it would be especially easy for Twilight, the soul’s original owner.

Or at least it would have been easy, if not for Sunset lighting herself on fire at Twilight’s touch, forcing Twilight to recoil and giving Sunset enough breathing room to pull herself off of Twilight’s lance.

Sunset’s demeanor had flipped entirely; she was now quite literally burning with rage, staring down Twilight like a berserk animal as the hole in her chest sealed up slowly, and it didn’t take a genius to see that her change in attitude happened as soon as it looked like she might lose Twilight’s soul.

“Why do you need the soul so badly?” Twilight asked cautiously, trying all at once to appear non-confrontational, but not so much that she couldn’t defend herself from a surprise attack by Sunset.

“That’s none of your business!” Sunset snarled.

“Well, it’s my soul,” Twilight let out a single haughty chuckle, “so it kind of is.”

“It’s my soul now,” Sunset growled, streams of smoke and flame billowing out of her mouth and also off of the rest of her body. “If you want it back—”

“I’ll have to take it, I know,” Twilight sighed. “I’ve heard that line before.”

Sunset roared and stomped on the ground, screaming to the sky before putting both hands on her chest, digging inside it to get to Twilight’s soul. And even divorced from her soul, Twilight could still feel Sunset’s hands as if they were on her own skin, and she could feel the heat of Sunset’s heart burning inside her.

Sunset pulled something out of her, the culmination of her stolen power mixed with the magic of Twilight’s soul; it was a sword. Or rather, it was a sword hilt, with the blade itself only coming to life as Sunset willed it, and the blade was made entirely of Sunset’s flames.

“If you think you can defeat a Paladin of Celestia with stolen power,” Twilight said firmly, standing her ground and preparing for Sunset’s inevitable advance, “then think again! I’ll be taking my soul back and saving my friends!”

Sunset ignored Twilight completely, just jumping into the air to come down on Twilight with her sword. But blinded by her rage, Sunset’s attacks became clumsy and predictable, and Twilight was easily able to dodge.

Though as she jumped out of the way of Sunset’s sword, Twilight could feel the heat of Sunset’s flames licking her skin; that sword was more powerful, and more versatile, than an ordinary sword, and Twilight would need to be careful.

Twilight threw her lance behind Sunset, which only caused the demon to laugh.

“You aren’t gonna trick me with that again!”

Twilight ignored her and warped to the lance’s location, Sunset turning around to face Twilight when she appeared, but Twilight just grabbed the lance and threw it a second time, immediately warping right behind Sunset Shimmer.

Twilight punched Sunset with her shield, but Sunset was able to just barely dodge; which was fine with Twilight, as she just let the shield slip off her arm so that it flew behind Sunset’s head, allowing Twilight to warp to it, and kick Sunset right in the head as she turned to face Twilight.

Sunset wiped a drop of blood that leaked from her nose and laughed.

“You’re not bad, Twilight Sparkle,” Sunset said, her voice low and gravelly as her body still burned with excess magic. “But there’s no way you can keep this up. All the effort you’re putting into these little nothing hits? You can’t beat me, and if you surrender right now like a good girl, I might consider keeping you as a pet or something, instead of killing you.”

“You can’t kill me,” Twilight said casually. “We both know that if I die, my soul disappears.”

“Fine,” Sunset griped, “I’ll keep you as a pet instead of as a slave, how does that sound? I might need you alive, but I don’t need you in one piece.”

“I’m not giving up,” Twilight said coldly, scraping her hoof across the stone floor of the arena. “I’m not going to give into your threats, and I’m not going to stop fighting until my very last breath if that’s what it takes, because that’s what I believe is the right thing to do! And you won’t be able to stop me!

“But if you’re afraid of me,” Twilight smirked, “then you can always surrender instead.”

“I like your confidence!” Sunset roared with laughter. “Let’s see how long it lasts!”

Sunset threw a blast of heat at Twilight that made her flinch, which was enough time for Sunset to teleport in front of her and grab her, then teleport again to shove Twilight roughly against the stone wall of the arena and pin her there.

Sunset scratched her claw under Twilight’s chin and sighed softly, her blazing sword inches from Twilight’s body and Twilight knowing that any wrong move would result in possibly permanent injury.

“Do you want to surrender now?” Sunset hummed, grabbing Twilight by the chin and forcing her to look into Sunset’s blazing teal eyes.

“No,” Twilight said softly, locking eyes with Sunset as she dropped her weapons. “I have a better idea. Why don’t we work together?”

“Wh-what?” Sunset’s question was barely decipherable through her laughter. “A Paladin and a demon? How could we possibly work together?”

“You need my soul,” Twilight explained. “You’re clearly desperate for it, so you must need the magic it provides for something extremely important to you. I’m willing to let you keep my soul, and stick by you and help you complete your quest, just as long as it’s not something that a Paladin would object to, of course.”

“And in return?” Sunset asked, arching an eyebrow.

“You will guide me through the Underworld,” Twilight said. “You’ll protect me until I find the rest of my expedition. But whether you decide to help me or not, I’ll let you hold onto my soul.”

“You’ll ‘let’ me?” Sunset cackled. “Who’s giving you a choi—”

Sunset paused and looked down, as Twilight’s fingers grazed her chest and Sunset realized that Twilight’s hand had been hovering over Sunset’s chest during nearly their entire conversation. Twilight could have made a move for the soul and it would have responded to its owner and come back to her. But she chose not to, and was now flexing that choice in front of Sunset.

“Your plan—”

“Was for you to get close to me,” Twilight smirked, feeling rather chuffed with herself. “Close enough that I could take the soul without having to advance on you at all.”

“All those clumsy techniques,” Sunset said, “were just to make me drop my guard?”

“You gotta work with what you have,” Twilight shrugged. The truth was that Twilight was doing her best to defeat Sunset at first, and it was only after she realized that she wasn’t going to be able to that she switched tactics. But a victory is a victory, nonetheless.

“And I walked right into it,” Sunset laughed and walked away from Twilight, the flames on her body subsiding and her sword disappearing into the ether. She turned her head to look at Twilight and flashed a devilish smirk that almost gave Twilight goosebumps. “Yeah, okay, Twilight Sparkle. Let’s you and me be partners for a while.”
> 04. Hex
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sunset Shimmer knocked on the arched stone doorway to an ancient ruined castle as she stepped inside, whistling a wee tune to keep herself occupied.

“Hey, hope you’re decent in here,” Sunset chuckled and winked at Twilight Sparkle, who was already making herself comfortable inside the castle.

Or at least as comfortable as one could get in a rundown junk heap like this one; structures like this castle falling apart at the seams were a depressingly common sight on the First Circle, which had maybe at one time had a thriving society, but now was just home to bands running around tearing each other to shreds for magic, and the only thing these castles were good for anymore was sleeping in ‘em.

“What were you doing out there?” Twilight asked, arms crossed and hoof tapping against the dirt. It was almost cute how high strung she was.

“Setting up a hex,” Sunset said casually, rolling her shoulders back and letting her jacket fall off of them before tossing it to Twilight Sparkle. “Here, take this. Gets mighty cold down here at night, and I don’t want you keeping me awake all night with your teeth chattering or anything.”

“Thanks, I guess,” Twilight croaked, eyeing the jacket suspiciously, “but shouldn’t one of us stay awake and keep watch?”

“If you want to,” Sunset shrugged. “It’s just gonna make you miserable all night though, and I don’t wanna drag your tired ass around all day tomorrow. That’s what the hex is for, dummy. I drew up some runes around the castle, and if anyone tries to cross ‘em, it’ll activate the spell and I’ll know about it. I’ve been roughing it out here on my own for eons, you think I don’t know how to sleep? Geez.”

“Fine,” Twilight sighed relentingly, and it was kinda satisfying to see her admit defeat.

“That’s the spirit,” Sunset said and popped the button on her shorts.

“Woah, what are you doing?!” Twilight squealed, jumping back and covering her eyes with Sunset’s jacket.

“Uh, loosening up my shorts?” Sunset let out a scoffing laugh. “Can’t have them choking my massive cock while I’m asleep, y’know? Not like I’m taking them off.” Sunset grinned at Twilight, whose eyes were just barely peeking out from behind the jacket. “Unless you want that.”

“As if,” Twilight scoffed in disgust, crossing her arms.

“You could always get out of your clothes too if you want,” Sunset gave a catlike smirk as Twilight’s posture stiffened up and her face turned bright red. Seeing her squirm was just too much fun.

Oh well, all good things gotta end, and Sunset was getting sleepy, so she lied down on the ground and looked up at the ceiling for a bit.

This castle was massive, and she could barely even see the ceiling for how high it was. She wondered what this place was built for, and how it must have felt for the people who made it and used it over the years to see it failing more and more each day to serve its intended purpose.

Sunset’s ears flicked up as the sound of Twilight’s snoring reached them. Sure didn’t take her long to fall asleep, even after all that whining. Sunset looked over and bit down a chortle; Twilight’s snore was ridiculous— all deep gravelly inhale, then soft little chirpy mewmewmewmewmew exhale. She looked and sounded so silly, especially after all that huffing and puffing she did while awake.

Sunset rolled over and rested her cheek on her hand for a sec and just kinda looked over Twilight, snoozing away underneath Sunset’s jacket. She certainly was easy on the eyes, but it wasn’t just that; she was endearing to Sunset. She was so unlike the monsters Sunset was used to— hell, she wasn’t like anyone Sunset had known on the surface, for that matter.

She was so sickeningly sincere in everything she did, and that made her look like an idiot. And yet, Sunset couldn’t help feeling maybe a little jealous? Like imagine feeling confident enough to just wear your real feelings on your sleeve like that.

Couldn’t be Sunset.



Twilight’s eyes slit open as she woke up, and she didn’t see anyone in front of her. Her ears twitched, and she didn’t hear anyone speaking or walking around her. It seemed she was the only one around, so it was safe to get up.

It was a ridiculous thing and Twilight knew it, but she had a hard time waking up when people were looking at her. The idea that someone may have been watching her while she was asleep was really embarrassing. She probably looked like such a goof while she slept.

Twilight remembered that Sunset existed, and that she was probably around, so Twilight put on her glasses and took a look around for Sunset, finding the demon still snoozing away right next to Twilight. Funny that Sunset could’ve slept anywhere and yet she chose to roost right next to Twilight.

Looked like she’d been tossing and turning quite a bit in her sleep, cuz her yellow fur was tainted with dirt all over her stomach, which was bared because her shirt had become ruffled during her sleep, coming up even over—

—her bare chest.

Twilight bit down a squeal so as not to wake Sunset up, and scurried away from Sunset, hands covering her eyes. She couldn’t just look at Sunset like that, it’d be extremely rude!

Twilight stood up like a shot and paced back and forth, biting down on her nails. Should she cover Sunset up? If she had her magic she could just use that to drag Sunset’s shirt back down, but having to do it with her hands was… if Sunset woke up and saw Twilight’s hands on her shirt as it was raised above her chest, what would that look like?

Twilight didn’t know what to do and she wiped sweat off of her brow with Sunset’s jacket. If only she had a way to cover Sunset that didn’t put her in an awkward pos—

Twilight looked at the jacket in her hand dismally as a searing blush spread across her cheeks.

Oh. Right.

Twilight couldn’t risk just tossing the jacket onto Sunset and missing, so she walked up next to her and knelt down beside her, taking great care the whole time not to look at Sunset’s exposed chest, and she gently draped the jacket over Sunset’s body, breathing a sigh of relief.

“What’s the matter, Twilight?” Sunset snarked. “Don’t like the view?”

Twilight yelped and jumped up. She hadn't realized that Sunset had woken up and was now looking right at her with that smug grin on her face.

“You were— I was— your shirt—”

“Yeah, it happens,” Sunset chuckled. “I toss and turn a lot. I don’t mind if you take a peek though.”

“Indecent!” Twilight squeaked, throwing her hands down in front of her furiously.

“Gawd you’re such a little narc,” Sunset groaned and rolled her eyes, tossing the jacket aside and forcing Twilight to close her eyes. “Alright I’m putting it down now, so last chance to look at the goods.”

“Please,” Twilight groaned.

“Alright, alright, you can look now,” Sunset said, and Twilight hesitated for a moment, because she wouldn’t put it past Sunset to just say that and trick Twilight into looking so that Sunset could tease her. But sure enough, Sunset was now fully clothed, even clicking the button on her shorts into place as Twilight opened her eyes.

“It just wouldn’t be right to look—”

“So you admit that you wanted to,” Sunset cut Twilight off, sinister smirk on her face.

“N-no!” Twilight shrieked. “I’m not—I don’t—”

“You can’t fool me, walking bi pride flag,” Sunset scoffed, cocking her hip to one side. “You’re so obviously into me, it’s almost embarrassing.”

“I’m not,” Twilight said sternly, pushing up her glasses. Matters of physical attraction aside, and Twilight wasn’t willing to comment on that issue one way or the other, she found Sunset’s attitude to be constantly infuriating, which was something of a turn-off, to say the least.

“You not into monsters?” Sunset laughed. “Cuz I could show you some—”

“I’m not into jerks,” Twilight said flatly, and Sunset’s eyes flickered with recognition for an instant as she clammed up. Did that actually get through to her?

“Too much of a good girl, huh?” Sunset chuckled into her hand and turned around, affecting a shrug for good measure. “I guess I can respect that. Anyway, let’s get going. We got a lot of ground to cover if we’re gonna make it to our destination before we turn old and gray.”

“What is our destination anyway?” Twilight asked, picking Sunset’s jacket up off the ground and tossing it to her.

“I’ll tell you on the way,” Sunset turned and snatched the jacket out of the air before draping it across her shoulders in one smooth move. Twilight had to admit at least, that the jacket looked really good on her. “But long story short, we’re headed for Paradise.”
> 05. Revenge
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

In the First Circle of the Underworld, overlooking mountainous cliffs that towered over a seemingly endless white abyss of clouds, there was a small sanctuary nestled into the cliffside, where monsters fleeing the violent and brutal struggles of the warfare that made up their everyday lives could escape to and take refuge.

It was a common sight to see bands of monsters that had lost members fleeing to this sanctuary, as was the case today when four monsters scuttled into it and were met by the trio of caretakers who watched over the place.

“Well howdy, y’all,” Applejack, the de facto leader of the caretakers, affected a beaming smile and tipped her hat as the monsters found the secluded sanctuary. Last thing she wanted was to make ‘em feel unwelcome, so the hulking werewolf did her best to spread her infectious cheer to the runaways.

“Ooh, do we have visitors?” the gleeful voice of Autumn Blaze chimed in, the salamander whooshing past Applejack and even behind the visitors as a vaguely-pony shaped puff of orange flame before taking the solid form of a salamander with white fur and green scales charred almost black, the twitching of her fingers dropping specks of ash to the ground. Her mane at least looked fluffier than a comfy pillow, even as it shifted and flickered with the flames that resided within it.

“Please, make yourselves comfortable,” the soft, sweet voice of the siren Coloratura rang through the ears of the visitors as the woman stepped into view before them, the glittering hem of her black floral-print dress shimmered around her thighs, as she carried two large mugs of cider in her hands.

Applejack couldn’t help but chuckle at how the terrified and anxious monsters visibly relaxed at the sound of Coloratura’s voice. She was so dang good at making others feel welcome, that Applejack felt like she and Autumn were almost redundant.

“Geez what are you guys waiting for?” Autumn Blaze scoffed and pushed the monsters along deeper into the sanctuary, Applejack tipping her hat as they were hurried past her. “We got drinks and games and all sorts of cool stuff! Take a load off, that’s what we’re here for!”

“So what’re y’all runnin’ from?” Applejack asked, perching up on a crag that overlooked the gals’ humble campsite. Autumn wasn’t lying about games and drinks, and they had pretty comfy chairs too, but that was about all they had other than good company. Still, little comforts like that could take you far in the Underworld.

“A demon,” one of the monsters said, visibly rattled as it took a drink from a mug Coloratura provided.

“Not just any demon,” another monster chimed in as Autumn wrapped it up in a warm blanket, giving the creature doe eyes as she made sure it was comfortable. “This one had a soul! And all the magic that comes with that.”

“A soul?” Coloratura asked as she sat on a stone facing the monsters, crossing one leg over the other. “Ponies have souls, but…”

“Pony must’ve come down and met a bad end,” Applejack clicked her tongue. Wasn’t exactly common, but it wasn’t unheard of for ponies to enter the Underworld. When they did, it wasn’t long before they were separated from their soul and became a monster. Usually the soul went right to the Empress, but sometimes there was a stray. “Too bad, I guess.”

“Man, could you imagine?” Autumn Blaze cooed, pumping her fists. “Having access to the magic of a pony soul would be like? Amazing? You could do anything! Coloratura, what would you do?”

“M-me?” Coloratura pointed at herself and hummed, finger up to her lips. “I don’t know, I can’t think of anything I’d rather have than to just be happy with my friends.”

“I agree, but that’s boring,” Autumn puffed up her cheeks and spit out a little ember, Coloratura huffing and turning her head away from Autumn, cheeks tinted pink. “I’d ask Applejack, but we all know what she’d do.”

Applejack just grimaced and rolled her eyes, and after an uncomfortable beat, one of the visiting monsters chimed in.

“What’s that? What would she do?”

“You don’t worry your pretty little head about that,” Autumn Blaze chuckled and put her hands on the monster’s shoulders.

“Sorry, we got off-track onto a personal conversation,” Coloratura added coyly, the siren’s slithery tail making its way around another of the guests. “That wasn’t very good hosting of us, we should be giving you our full attention.”

“Oh, well,” a monster laughed awkwardly and put its hand on Coloratura’s thigh, “if you insi—”

“Nah, it’s okay,” Applejack said, her voice hollow as she bore a humorless grin from ear to ear. “I’m curious, Autumn Blaze. Exactly what do you think I’d do with a pony soul?”

“You’d get revenge,” Autumn said sharply, not even a hint of hesitation in her smile. “You haven’t been the same since the Apple pack nearly got wiped out, so I know you have your eyes set on Flim and Flam now.”

“It’s true,” Applejack chuckled, relaxing into less of a ‘perch’ and more a comfortable sitting position, her legs dangling off the cliff she sat atop. “I’d get my revenge on Flim and Flam. With or without a pony soul, I’ll be gettin’ my revenge eventually. But takin’ on a couple bastards in the Empress’ good graces takes power, and power… takes magic.”

“Hmm, it sure does,” Coloratura hummed, her steely eyes locking onto the monster whose hand was still on Coloratura’s leg.

“But going out and fighting over magic scraps is so harrowing, isn’t it?” Autumn Blaze sighed, wrapping her arms around another of the visiting monsters, who looked too entranced by the beautiful women paying them attention to be alarmed.

“It’s a good thing then,” Applejack flashed a gleaming smile and bared her fangs, “the magic comes right to us.”

The visitors never saw it coming. None of ‘em ever did.

In seconds, Applejack was wiping the blood off her mouth and breathing deep of the magic she’d drawn from the four corpses as the bodies turned to ash, Autumn laying on her back on the ground like a starfish, and Coloratura sighing contentedly as she supported herself against the wall.

These two were so easily satisfied, and it made Applejack want to retch. Content to just kill passersby until judgment day and trumpets sound. So feeble-minded, these two.

This magic wouldn’t be enough to satisfy Applejack. This wasn’t enough for her to get her revenge.

She would need to get her claws on that pony soul.
> 06. Queen
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rarity lounged on the throne of her castle, tapping her finely polished nails against the wooden arm of her throne. Calling it a ‘castle’ wasn’t entirely accurate, but it was suitably dramatic which was frankly far more important than accuracy.

The building itself was an old theater, erected for heavens know what purpose, but now falling to splinters from age and collateral damage. The elegant white wallpaper was peeling and tearing, giving way to exposed red brick, and what managed to stay on the walls was turning into a dingy gray, only saved from complete disgrace by the bold forest green accents along the molding.

Once upon a time, this place would have had any creature who set foot in it seeing stars, but in its present state it was little more than a ghost inhabiting a hollow shell; worthy of pity, if not outright mockery.

Perhaps the familiarity with that notion was why Rarity spent so much time here.

Rarity’s ‘throne’ was only such in title. Truth be told, she simply had an admittedly stylish wooden chair built into the old VIP box of the theater, so she could gaze upon the emptiness of the theater that had been ravaged by time, and she could wonder what it would have been like to sit here in the building’s glory days. What it might feel like to be a very important person.

The large double doors in the theater’s entryway creaked open, Rarity barely glancing in that direction. She would wait to react until whoever was barging in on her melancholy reflective time made themselves and their business known.

Honestly, very rude of whoever it was. Rarity needed all the reflective time she could get considering she couldn’t see her physical reflection.

Rarity laughed softly under her breath at her own joke. Vampire jokes never got old to her… and neither did she! That was another vampire joke; Rarity had quite a fondness for them.

“Lady Rarity?” the tender voice of Rarity’s confidante Coco Pommel echoed even in its timidity through the vacant theater. “Are you here?”

Rarity disappeared into a cloud of mist, and reappeared behind Coco, the younger vampire yelping in surprise as Rarity wrapped her arms around Coco’s waist, and quickly brought one hand up to her chest as Rarity sunk her teeth into Coco’s soft neck.

“Coco,” Rarity whispered, and she utterly delighted in the trembling, pleading whimper that Coco made in response, “how can I help you, my darling?”

Coco didn’t respond immediately, her body still quivering in Rarity’s embrace, with only the thin fabric of a cool blue tanktop and short black pencil skirt standing between Rarity’s hands and Coco’s fur and flesh. Frankly, Rarity had half a mind to tear those clothes off Coco’s body right here and now, but if Coco was interrupting Rarity’s melancholic reflective time, then she likely had some important news.

“Coco,” Rarity removed her hands and took a step back, speaking firmly to help jar Coco back to reality.

“Uh, I’m sorry! Lady Rarity!” Coco quickly turned to face Rarity and bowed her head. “You startled me—or, er, rather, I was startled! Not to imply that you did anything wr—”

Rarity reached around and squeezed Coco’s ass, the sweet little thing squeaking in surprise but otherwise being silenced by the gesture.

“You apologize too much,” Rarity said flatly and crossed her arms. “Now, why are you here? You must have something important to say if you’re barging into my castle unannounced.”

“Oh, r-right,” Coco cleared her throat and drew herself up, but she couldn’t quite bring herself to look Rarity in the eye.

That certainly wouldn’t do, so Rarity put her hand underneath Coco’s chin and tilted her head up, locking eyes with the young vampire and seeing the lust swell within them as Rarity licked her lips.

“Now darling,” Rarity whispered, almost a breathless hiss in Coco’s ear, “you were saying?”

“Um, I got some news from the graveyard,” Coco said, and Rarity immediately lost interest— which was plain to see in the way her smile turned into a bemused frown— but she still feigned curiosity as much as she could for Coco’s sake.

The truth was, anything outside the Paradise was of little consequence to Rarity. Even the gates of Paradise themselves, which were essential to keeping the riffraff out of Rarity’s hamlet, the inner workings of them would have been completely uninteresting to her if she didn’t have a personal affection for the three women who were stationed there.

“And?” Rarity asked listlessly. Coco had her attention already and it wouldn’t do to be impolite, but Rarity was already checked out of this conversation.

“A live pony soul has been discovered in the graveyard, Lady Rarity,” Coco said.

And now Rarity was checked back in.

Her eyes widened as they flickered with recognition, and the tiniest of smiles inched across her face, one of her fangs dipping over her bottom lip as she got excited about the possibilities.

“I see,” Rarity said reservedly.

She took a small breath and centered herself. No sense putting the cart before the horse, as it were; Rarity trusted Coco’s judgment and her information sources, so she had no reason to doubt Coco’s claims, but a pony soul in the wild wasn’t the same as a pony soul in Rarity’s hands.

“Thank you for informing me, Coco,” Rarity began to pace back and forward, tail swishing behind her and fingers up to her lips. Rarity didn’t want to count her gems before they were in her basket, but if she could capitalize on this opportunity, this could be huge for her.

Perhaps she might even be able to return home to the Fifth Circle…

But again, no sense getting ahead of herself.

“Do you know what you want to do, Lady Rarity?” Coco asked, and Rarity nodded with a bleak chuckle.

“I certainly do,” Rarity hummed. “I may just be able to get two things I want with one move, if I play my cards right.”

Rarity fired off a small spark of blue magic from her horn, summoning a full-body mirror in front of her. With another crack of magic, a visage of Rarity’s reflection could be seen in the mirror. It was true she couldn’t naturally see herself in reflective surfaces, but she would be damned if she couldn’t find a way to look at herself and make sure she was as beautiful as possible at all times.

And she sure was looking the part right now; she was clad in a striking red sling suit that flattered her gorgeous figure and put as much of it on display as possible. Her body was her finest weapon after all, so she may as well get the most out of it.

She also donned knee-high shiny black boots, but nothing more at the moment. Something was still missing. What she required was a crimson cape, and after she effortlessly produced it with another quick spark of magic, her look was complete and breathtaking.

Breathtaking enough to snare her prey? Only time could tell.

“Hold down the fort for me, Coco,” Rarity ran a hand through her luxurious mane, teasing Coco with her tail as she walked past, “I’m going out.”

“You’re going to go after the soul on your own?” Coco asked incredulously, and Rarity laughed softly at her ignorance. “You know, I could go inste—”

“Perish the thought,” Rarity batted her hand dismissively. “I would never dirty my own hands unless I absolutely needed to. I’m a queen after all, I have servants to do my bidding for me.

“No, Coco, instead I’m going to pay a long overdue visit,” Rarity smiled and licked her lips at the thought of her prey’s disgusting fantastic body, her muscles writhing in Rarity’s embrace as she sunk her teeth into the wolf’s pretty neck, “to our dear friend Applejack.”
> 07. The Lightning Knights
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rainbow Dash stood underneath the shade of a fluffy tree, doing squats, her talons digging into the grass under her feet and her nose taking in the smell of the brackish water nearby.

She tried to focus on the exercise though; the repetitive motion always helped the harpy keep her head screwed on straight. The Second Circle of the Underworld was a violent place, and that made keeping a steady and clear mind super important, especially on the eve of a major battle.

Though she had to admit, a pair of rough clawed hands suddenly clasping her chest got a yelp out of her and disrupted her concentration.

“’sup dweeb?” Gilda whispered into Rainbow’s ear, standing Rainbow up and moving her claws down to Rainbow’s stomach, which was left bare thanks to Rainbow’s light clothing.

“Gilda, please,” Rainbow tried to protest but she couldn’t do it with a straight face; Gilda’s claws against her skin just felt too good. “I’m trying to focus before the battle.”

“The only thing you should be focusing on,” Gilda turned Rainbow around and tilted her chin up, forcing her to look into the fiery eyes of her quetzalcoatl partner who was a good head and a half taller than her, “is me.”

“Geez, you’re so pushy,” Rainbow laughed and pushed herself off of Gilda, jumping into the air and hovering over the quetzal. “Shouldn’t you be focused on the battle too?”

“Dude, I’m focused as hell,” Gilda scoffed and grabbed Rainbow’s foot talon, yanking the harpy back down from the air and into Gilda’s huge muscular arms, Rainbow moaning as her body was pressed up against Gilda’s colorful feathers and her skintight leather suit, the quetzal’s slithery snake tail wrapping around Rainbow’s leg.

“Going into battle always gets me riled up,” Gilda paused to lay a kiss on Rainbow’s lips, and Rainbow couldn’t help melting into her partner’s embrace, “and you’re my wingmare. If I say it’s time to make out, you gotta roll with it.”

“Gawd, you sure are lucky that you’re hot,” Rainbow wrapped her winged arms around Gilda’s shoulders and waited patiently with a gleam in her eye for Gilda to kiss her again.

“You’re lucky that I’m hot,” Gilda gave a single chuckle before locking lips with Rainbow, pushing her up against the tree and pinning her to it, just ravishing Rainbow’s lips and tongue with hot, passionate kisses.

“Look alive, you two!”

The gruff, raspy voice of the pair’s commanding officer, a phoenix called Spitfire, broke them from their make out session, Gilda groaning in irritation at the interruption.

“Quit sucking each other off,” Spitfire clapped her hands as she flew into view and touched the ground, “we got a job to do.”

“Don’t worry, boss,” Gilda chuckled, “we hadn't gotten to the sucking each other off part yet.”

“You never suck me off,” Rainbow grumbled, Gilda putting her arm around Rainbow and holding her in a headlock.

“That’s cuz you’re a little bottom bitch!”

Spitfire cleared her throat, and the two women snapped to attention, or at least Gilda’s passive-aggressive equivalent to attention. They both knew Spitfire wasn’t going to ask for their attention again.

“Listen up!” Spitfire clapped her hands again for emphasis. “We’ve got a big job to do! Our enemy the Family of Whispers is occupying a nearby town. They’ve brought their secret weapon with them, and are using it to hypnotize the townsfolk into joining their ranks.”

“Secret weapon?” Rainbow bit into a talon on her finger. She’d heard rumors of this, but she didn’t know if they were true or just general wartime paranoia.

“A siren,” Spitfire said, confirming Rainbow’s fears. “A powerful one too. Our intel says she can and has hypnotized entire towns, which looks to be what they’re planning on doing here. Our job is to stop that from happening, and to capture the siren if at all possible.”

“Or kill her,” Gilda laughed.

“Only as a last resort,” Spitfire said sternly, glaring at Gilda until she affected a semi-serious expression. “Our commander wants the Lightning Knights to be as strong as possible, and having the power of that siren on our side would be a major way to turn the tides of this war in our favor. Killing her would be a waste of an invaluable resource.”

“So basically,” Rainbow said coldly, “the siren’s life is worth more than ours.”

“Yes,” Spitfire responded without hesitation, and she began pacing back and forth in front of Rainbow and Gilda. “We’re soldiers, our lives mean nothing except in how they can be used to further the Lightning Knights’ campaign. It’s only by mere chance that our company is being tasked with an objective this important. We just happened to be in the right place at the right time.

“Luckily for us, our commander has seen fit to give us a secret weapon of our own. I’ll be returning with her shortly, and I expect you two to be ready to move as soon as I get back.”

“Yes ma’am!” Rainbow and Gilda responded in unison with a salute, Spitfire nodding her approval and taking off into the air.

“Hey, Dash,” Gilda said.

“Yeah?” Rainbow replied curiously.

“While Spitfire was pacing back and forth just now,” Gilda grinned at Rainbow, who still wasn’t quite sure what Gilda was getting at, “were you checking out her ass?”

“WHAT!?” Rainbow jumped, feathers flying as she flailed her winged arms all around her, her face burning up at Gilda’s suggestion. “N-no! I wasn’t!”

“That right?” Gilda arched an eyebrow, and Rainbow shrunk into herself.

“Okay,” Rainbow admitted quietly, “maybe a little.”

“Ha! That’s the spirit!” Gilda laughed and grabbed Rainbow into a headlock, ruffling her mane. “I swear one of my biggest motivators for climbing up the ranks of this two-bit organization is so I can be higher up on the food chain and I can finally get my paws on that fat ass of hers!”

“Gilda!” Rainbow croaked, her voice cracking a little. “You can’t just say stuff like that!”

“Oh, like you weren’t thinking it,” Gilda scoffed, clapping Rainbow on the shoulder. “And if we can get our hands on that siren, we might be able to launch ourselves up the food chain faster than I thought. Especially with both that and the commander’s ‘secret weapon’.”

“You know Spitfire’s just gonna make us hand ‘em both over to the boss,” Rainbow sighed dismally.

“She can try,” Gilda grinned ear to ear, and Rainbow couldn’t deny that Gilda’s confidence was kinda extremely hot. “But if we have two secret weapons and she has zero, what’s she gonna do?”

As Spitfire came back into view up in the air, Gilda clammed up, leaving Rainbow to think about what she was proposing for a sec. She was basically talking about climbing up the ranks of the Lightning Knights by force, which didn’t seem like a great idea.

But she kinda had a point; if Gilda and Rainbow could get ahold of both ‘secret weapons’, it’d be an opportunity that probably wouldn’t ever come around again.

As Spitfire touched the ground, Rainbow’s eyes widened; she didn’t know what to expect from the ‘secret weapon’, but she sure wasn’t expecting a girl as cute as the one Spitfire was carrying in her arms.

The girl hopped out of Spitfire’s grasp and dusted herself off, letting Rainbow get a good look at her; she was a poppet, a living doll. Her pupils were shaped like little buttons, and she wore a ratty torn-up dress that didn’t even fit her.

She was big and plump, and her fur and hair were both bright pink, her mane especially was fluffy and curly as heck, though completely untamed like a garden full of weeds, but it still gave Rainbow big cotton candy vibes. Her smile was her most notable feature; Rainbow swore when she smiled it actually like literally lit up the area.

“This is our secret weapon?” Gilda let out a single dismissive laugh, grabbing the doll girl by her shoulders and throwing her up against the nearby tree, pinning her to it. Rainbow was concerned for a sec, but the girl didn’t seem to mind.

“That’s right!” the girl beamed.

“Well damn,” Gilda licked her beak, “she’s cute if nothing else.”

“Watch it, Gilda,” Spitfire scolded. “Pinkie Pie here belongs to the commander.”

“All the more reason I should get to know her,” Gilda said smoothly, scritching her claw under Pinkie Pie’s chin. “She’s gonna be mine someday.”

“So Pinkie Pie!” Rainbow interjected before Spitfire had a chance to come down on Gilda for her comments. “How’re you gonna help us beat the Family?”

“I’m gonna make you laugh!” Pinkie said with a beaming smile.

“Really?” Gilda groaned, her voice dripping with contempt. “That’s our secret weapon?”

“Just wait, Gilda,” Spitfire said sternly. “Let Pinkie Pie work her magic.”

“You seem a little uptight,” Pinkie said sweetly, zipping behind Gilda faster than Rainbow could even blink, “but that’s okay! I know how to lighten you up! Tickle time!”

“Wait wh—” Gilda’s question was cut off by her laughter as Pinkie ran her fingers over Gilda’s side and tickled her. “Wh— st-stop that!”

“Okay!” Pinkie stopped immediately, and Gilda put her hand against the tree and wheezed. “Green light!”

Pinkie went back to tickling Gilda, the griffon collapsing to the floor in a fit of laughter that made Rainbow cackle despite her attempts not to; it was just so silly seeing her partner who was normally so gruff and aggressive and in control be reduced to a giggly mess on the floor.

“I’m really glad that got you guys going!” Pinkie giggled and bounced behind Rainbow, who was again barely able to keep track of Pinkie’s movements. “I was afraid I was gonna have to resort to-” Pinkie gasped dramatically “-updog.”

“What’s updog?” Rainbow asked concernedly.

“Not much, dog! What’s up with you!” Pinkie beamed ear to ear and laughed hysterically, and as much as Rainbow tried to keep herself composed, she couldn’t help laughing; she walked right into that one!

Rainbow felt her heart swimming with affection for Pinkie Pie; she was just too cute, and she seemed really chill on top of that. More than that though, Rainbow felt her body welling with some serious magical power. Spitfire was right, Pinkie making Rainbow laugh really was making her stronger!

“Woah! Gilda do you feel that?” Rainbow asked as Gilda got up off the ground and brushed herself off, and Gilda’s grin was as good an answer as any.

“I sure do,” Gilda sneered. “Now let’s get in there and crush some skulls.”

Spitfire nodded her approval and the three soldiers took off for the battlefield, but Rainbow stopped short and doubled back for a sec.

“Hey, Pinkie Pie,” Rainbow said, Pinkie turning her attention to Rainbow and cocking her head. “Sorry, about Gilda. She’s a little, uhh, much, at times. Sorry if she made you uncomfortable. And sorry for Spitfire too, you don’t ‘belong’ to anyone. Anyway, thanks for taking care of us! If we win this battle, it’ll probably be like all thanks to you! So thanks a million!”

“Uh, w-wow, yeah no problem!” Pinkie beamed, and her smile seemed even brighter than before somehow; it was really cool to see.

“And hey, after the battle,” Rainbow bit her lip and fidgeted, but she was on the clock so there was no time for her to get nervous, “you wanna chat it up a bit? I’d love to get to know you better! You seem cool as heck!”

“I-I’d love to!” Pinkie cheered, clasping her hands together.

“Awesome! It’s a date then!” Rainbow grinned and pumped her fist.

“Rainbow Dash!” Spitfire barked. “Let’s move!”

“Right! I’m on my way!” Rainbow called out, before turning back to Pinkie and waving goodbye. “Catch ya later, Pinkie Pie!”

“Yeah,” Pinkie said softly, “catch ya later.”
> 08. Magic
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Twilight was sitting in the dirt with her legs folded neatly under her, mountains and cliffs and crags surrounding her basically anywhere she looked. She closed her eyes and breathed softly in and out, trying to connect with her soul and the magic within it.

But nothing doing.

It’d been this way since she’d woken up in the Underworld, but it was still a hard thing to accept that her magic was just gone, especially since she still showed no signs of becoming a monster.

So Twilight would keep trying, at least for a little bit longer.

“How’s it goin’, hot stuff?” Sunset Shimmer asked, interrupting Twilight’s meditation not only with her obnoxious question but also by putting her hand on Twilight’s head and ruffling her neatly kempt mane.

“Do you mind?” Twilight hissed, slapping Sunset’s hands away and straightening her hair and glasses. “I’m trying to meditate and see if I can connect with my magic.”

“Uh-huh.”

Sunset sat in front of Twilight, legs crossed, the bulge in her shorts immediately gathering Twilight’s attention before the purple mare’s cheeks blushed and her eyes quickly darted away from it, her hands pressing down onto her tightly closed thighs to make sure she wouldn’t have her own bulge to deal with.

It was something that drove Twilight up the wall in the brief time she had known Sunset; for all the demon’s numerous character flaws and obnoxious personality traits, Twilight really couldn’t deny— no matter how desperately she tried to— that Sunset was hot.

“It’s never gonna happen, of course,” Sunset griped. “Even you’ve gotta realize that by now.”

“I won’t know unless I try,” Twilight said, trying to ignore Sunset and closing her eyes.

“You’ve been trying,” Sunset said flatly, “for the last two days.”

“Well unless you have any better ideas—”

“I do actually!”

“—that don’t involve stealing magic from other monsters.”

“Uhh, hm,” Sunset tapped her lips, and Twilight just rolled her eyes and groaned, evoking an obnoxious laugh from Sunset. “Come on, Twilight, that’s just how things are down here. We gain magic by destroying other monsters and taking it from them.

“And hey, if you’re a soft marshmallow who’s uncomfortable with the ‘destroying’ part, you don’t have to. You just gotta beat ‘em into submission until they’re too weak to resist, and then you just suck it outta them. Like drinking soda from a straw.

“Honestly, that’s how most monsters do it. Lotta folks down here see a living monster as more valuable than a dead one, since you can keep draining magic from a hostage, but not a corpse. So if you have the resources to keep a captive—”

“I refuse,” Twilight said sternly. This wasn’t something that was up for debate with her. “And I don’t want you killing anyone either.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Sunset dismissively waved Twilight off. “I already said I wouldn’t.”

Sunset didn’t like to disclose much about herself, not really a surprise considering the thick wall of irony she built between herself and everything she interacted with. She refused to share details of her mysterious quest with Twilight, only promising that it was nothing that a Paladin would object to.

Twilight, naturally, didn’t trust a word that came out of her mouth. But Sunset did promise she wouldn’t kill on Twilight’s watch, and as long as she stuck to that promise, Twilight decided that she would trust her, at least somewhat.

“Honestly,” Sunset scoffed, “if you’re not willing to kill monsters, you’re not a very good Paladin, are you?”

Twilight didn’t respond.

How many times had she heard that before? How many times did she need to be reminded that monsters’ lack of souls meant they weren’t people anymore, and they needed to be killed ‘for their own good’?

How many of Twilight’s colleagues looked down on her and believed she only got her spot as Celestia’s star pupil because of nepotism? How many times had Twilight wondered if that really was true?

Too many.

But now wasn’t the time for such thoughts, so Twilight stood to her hooves, but a stone chipped underneath her hoof and caused her to lose her balance, but Sunset bolted up like a shot and grabbed Twilight’s hand, helping her keep her footing.

“You need me to carry you, princess?” Sunset snarked.

“I need you to not act like such a neg,” Twilight spat back, Sunset reacting with seemingly genuine surprise at the harshness of Twilight’s response.

“Well, okay, uh, anyway,” Sunset cleared her throat. “These cliffs are craggy as shit and they suck, let’s head back down and cover some more ground, huh?”

“You alright there, Sunset?” Twilight asked teasingly; she was surprised that her comment actually seemed to crack through that dense shell of irony Twilight was talking about earlier.

“Yeah, sure,” Sunset looked back at Twilight and stuck out her tongue. “It’s just if I have to keep sitting here with nothing to do but stare at your sexy thighs while you meditate, I’m gonna go feral.”

“Can you think of anything other than sex?” Twilight groaned.

“I wasn’t thinking about sex,” Sunset laughed, “I was thinking about your thighs!”



As Twilight slunk through the murky water of a narrow river path— cliffs, shrubbery, and gravestones suffocating her on either side— she was beginning to wonder if she shouldn’t take up Sunset’s offer to carry her. The water definitely didn’t feel good on her hooves, that much was for sure.

“Y’know, I told you a lie before,” Sunset said, not looking back at Twilight as she led her through the river path. “Well, not a lie exactly, but I didn’t tell you the whole truth.”

“Oh? Do tell,” Twilight said cautiously; she supposed Sunset at least got some credit for coming clean now.

“I told you the only way to get magic was by taking it from other monsters,” Sunset explained. “That’s not entirely true, but I’m not sure the whole truth will actually help you at all. But I’ll tell you anyway, cuz I’m cool like that.” Sunset turned around and flashed a bright smile, giving Twilight a wink for good measure.

“I’m all ears,” Twilight said flatly; curious about Sunset’s information, but annoyed as always by the way she chose to deliver it. “Any information is good information, if you ask me.”

“There’s magic in the land itself,” Sunset said, stopping to turn around and give Twilight her full attention. “The Underworld is ruled by its Empress. Even on the surface you know that, right?”

“That’s right,” Twilight nodded. “Empress Nightmare Moon. She’s the reason why ponies’ souls are stolen during the night and they become monsters.”

“Right,” Sunset sighed and leaned against the craggy wall beside her. “And that much is true enough, but what’s important here is that the magic of all those stolen souls? Souls that have been amassing for a thousand years? That’s an awful lot of magic. Too much for even the Empress to handle.

“It seeps out into the earth, in every speck of dust and stone, even as far out from the Empress’ domain as the First Circle. Obviously it’s pretty slim pickings out here, but you get the idea.”

“So why can’t I just take magic from the land?” Twilight asked. “Why would I need to take from others? Why does anyone?”

“Cuz, you can’t just take it straight from the land,” Sunset explained, pointing two fingers at Twilight, who decided to sit down for the moment on top of a coffin next to Sunset Shimmer. “Try picking up a rock and absorbing the magic out of it, you can’t. What you can do is craft spells that will absorb the magic for you.

“Well, you can’t, cuz you don’t have magic in the first place, which is why I figured this info wouldn’t help you.”

“Hmm,” Twilight pondered, the gears in her head turning. “So monsters craft spells to absorb magic, but those spells cost magic, so it’s a puzzle to figure out the optimal amount of magic you can gather for the lowest cost.”

Twilight let herself have a little laugh; a puzzle like this couldn’t have been more up her alley.

“Thank you, Sunset Shimmer,” Twilight smiled at Sunset, who responded by darting her eyes away and scratching her cheek. “I think this information will actually be quite invaluable.”

Twilight still had a small saddlebag full of tools that she could call upon, just like with her lance and shield; as long as the enchantment was on the item itself and didn’t require Twilight to use any magic of her own, she was still in luck, and she was fairly certain she could craft a few makeshift spells using whatever was in her bag if she had the proper time.

In fact, she was fairly certain she could make the proper time even during their little trek. There was a lot of ground to cover, and a lot of time to do it in…

“See? I can be nice sometimes,” Sunset chuckled proudly, tugging at her jacket.

“You can,” Twilight stood up and looked Sunset in the eye for a sec, before looking away cuz ew eye contact. “I wish you would be nice more often. We don’t need to have this dynamic where you say something obnoxious and I give you a hard time for it, y’know?”

“Hey, if you wanna give me a hard time, the—”

“You see, this is the exact thing I’m talking about,” Twilight groaned in disgust, shoving Sunset away.

“Look, we just have a working relationship,” Sunset shrugged. “It’s not like we’re friends or anything, and quite frankly I don’t want to be friends. All I need is your soul, and that’s that. So all of your whining about my awful personality is falling on deaf ears.”

“Mm,” Twilight muttered, uninterested in hearing yet another of Sunset’s irony poisoned defense mechanisms. “Then let’s get a move on.”



Twilight stepped over a gnarled tree root to find herself at the peak of a cliff, looking down over… a whole lot of not much, quite frankly. Everything in the First Circle looked the same to her; stone ruins, massive cliffs towering over white abysses that led to stars knew where, and dirt. A whole lot of dirt.

Every time Sunset led them up a cliff, Twilight hoped that this would be the time that something different was on the horizon, but no. More dirt. Again. forever.

“You see that?” Sunset pointed to something on the horizon, and Twilight just sighed.

“What am I supposed to be looking at?”

“The structure in the distance, the one built into the cliff across that stone bridge,” Sunset explained, and sure enough Twilight saw what she was describing. “That’s our destination. That structure will take us to Paradise.”

“You still haven’t explained what ‘Paradise’ means,” Twilight said, as the two made their slow descent down the cliff face, Twilight taking extra care to avoid the hideous tree roots that coiled themselves around every inch of the cliff. If she tripped again she’d have to endure more of Sunset’s sass and she’d had quite enough for one day.

“It is what it is,” Sunset said unhelpfully. “You’ll see it when we get there.”

Ominous.

Twilight kept going down the cliff, and because her eyes were on her hooves to make sure she didn’t trip, she didn’t see Sunset’s hand sticking out until she bumped right into it, Twilight looking to see that Sunset had a steely glare on her face.

Sunset pointed to something on the horizon, and before Twilight could inform her that she couldn’t see whatever Sunset was pointing at, a red glow shone from Sunset’s horn and suddenly Twilight found her eyes laser focused on Sunset’s target.

It was a band of six monsters; werewolves specifically.

“Here’s a chance for you to get some magic, Twilight Sparkle,” Sunset said. “Take it or leave it?”

“Leave it,” Twilight replied immediately. “I told you, I’m not interested in taking magic from monsters, and I’d prefer to avoid unnecessary conflict.”

“Alright,” Sunset shrugged, with an oddly smug smile on her face. “Have it your way, princess.”

And so, Twilight followed Sunset down the cliff in relative silence. Which was just as well, as far as Twilight was concerned. It was impossible for her to tell the time of day just by looking at the dreary grey ‘sky’ above, but Twilight had an inkling that the lights would be going out in just a couple hours, and Twilight’s patience for Sunset’s acerbic personality tended to thin the longer the day went on.

Sunset stopped, just short of crossing the threshold onto the stone bridge that led to the structure they were headed for. Both the bridge and the size of the cliff the structure was built into were much, much larger than Twilight had expected, seeing them from above, and she was getting tired just looking at them now.

“Why are we stopping?” Twilight had half a mind to just leave Sunset behind, but if there was one thing Twilight did trust Sunset for, it was to keep them out of danger, so if she was stopping there must have been a reason.

“Sorry, princess,” Sunset put her hands on her hips and chuckled, “but I’m not about to let this opportunity pass us by.”

“What are you—”

Sunset turned around and pointed her fingers toward a series of stone arches behind the pair, and as she did so, six werewolves came out of hiding, baring their fangs and snarling.

While all of the wolves looked tough, the one that gave Twilight pause was one that lingered in the back; she was massive, even compared to the other wolves’ already impressive size, with blood red fur and a messy mane of golden hair.

“Sunset,” Twilight growled, “did you plan this?”

“How long did you know we were watching?” a female werewolf asked; she had green fur and messy red hair tied loosely into pigtails.

“Saw you from way up there,” Sunset pointed up to the cliffs, and then turned to Twilight. “And yes, princess. Yes I did.”
> 09. Orchard
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Twilight was nervous. FURIOUS ALSO! But mostly nervous. Her and Sunset Shimmer were surrounded by what appeared to be six large werewolves, and Sunset had led them right into this situation on purpose. Twilight could only assume it was out of some twisted desire to force Twilight into a situation where she would need to steal magic from monsters, but Twilight hated that idea more than anything.

She would find another way out of this. She would have to.

“Well, what’re you all waiting for?” Sunset stepped forward confidently and threw her hands out to her sides. “Are you gonna attack or—”

“Hey, don’t listen to her!” Twilight jumped in front of Sunset, pushing Sunset back with her hoof. “You don’t want to have any business with us, trust me. We taste real bad, and we smell awful and—”

It suddenly occurred to Twilight that she didn’t know a lot about what monsters wanted or valued; nopony on the surface took any time to question why the monsters were attacking them or stealing souls.

Except Twilight, but most of her attempts to converse with monsters on the surface ended with her being tossed in the ocean or locked in a trunk or tied to a tree or… well anyway, they weren’t terribly successful at gathering information.

That said, Twilight’s conversations with Sunset had yielded a little bit of information at least.

“We don’t have any magic,” Twilight said matter-of-factly. “At least, I certainly don’t.”

One of the werewolves clambered forward; a giant wall of muscle covered in red fur, she towered over the other wolves, let alone Twilight and Sunset. Her mane of golden hair covered most of her face, but Twilight could still make out her stern features. There was something about her that was instantly endearing to Twilight, despite the threat she posed. Twilight felt a kinship, she supposed.

The wolf pointed a single claw in Twilight’s direction, and while Twilight was tempted to shrink away and hide behind Sunset, she instead took a step forward, interpreting the wolf’s gesture as some kind of invitation.

“You sure about that?” Sunset snarked, but Twilight didn’t even turn to look at her, instead standing in front of the giant woman, her claw inches from Twilight’s face.

“Orchard Blossom, you’re challenging her to a duel?” a green-furred woman with red pigtails said.

The giant wolf nodded slowly; her gaze, shadowed as it was by her mane, never leaving Twilight.

“Why?” a blue-furred woman with a long blonde mane scoffed. “We can just beat them both up and take ‘em.”

Sunset audibly laughed at that comment, but thankfully kept her mouth shut otherwise, and none of the wolves pressed her on her interruption. Although actually, Twilight for once could really use her help.

“Sunset?” Twilight asked, looking back ever so slightly to catch Sunset in her peripherals without letting her gaze entirely leave Orchard Blossom. “Tell me what’s happening.”

“She’s challenging you to a duel,” Sunset said, arms crossed and smiling smugly. “It’s a thing weaker bands do when they don’t think they can take on an enemy. Basically, two members fight one-on-one, no interruptions, and not to the death. The loser becomes a member of their opponent’s band, whether they like it or not.”

“So it’s a way to reduce unnecessary bloodshed,” Twilight said, and a chorus of laughter resounded around her as her cheeks flared bright red.

“It’s a way for the other members of the band to conserve magic,” Sunset explained. “Or to get rid of members of your own band that are dragging the band down. There’s a bunch of reasons why people agree to it, but the point is…

“I won’t be able to help you out of this. If you agree to this duel and lose, you belong to them now.”

What were her options here? Say no and let Sunset either murder these werewolves or possibly the both of them get killed instead? This way it would be a simple one-on-one fight, and if Sunset Shimmer was so confident she could take six of these wolves, Twilight could be certain that she could handle one of them.

“Alright, Orchard Blossom,” Twilight said, locking eyes with Orchard. “I accept your duel.”



The arena for Twilight’s duel with Orchard Blossom was incredibly similar to her battle with Sunset, in fact. Though to Twilight so much of this hellhole looked the same, so maybe that was just it. Either way, a circular stone arena surrounded by small cliffs with many a stone archway all around them.

The wolves were watching from behind the arches, all looking prepared to pounce if need be. Even monsters couldn’t let down their guard in the Underworld, it seemed. Sitting atop one of the arches was a very amused looking Sunset Shimmer.

Twilight had no idea what Sunset would do if Twilight lost this duel; she hardly took Sunset as the type to lose something valuable to her without a fight, but the last thing Twilight wanted right now was to find out.

Twilight would simply have to win, and that was that on that.

Orchard Blossom clenched her fist and with a few crackling bolts of magic, she was surrounded by two ornate statues. They were both female werewolves, one a ferocious and confident looking older woman, the other an equally tenacious looking young girl.

First thing that Twilight noticed: her opponent was using pretty basic Terramancy, magic that controlled rocks and crystals and other such earthy things. Summoning statues to either do the Terramancer’s bidding or provided passive beneficial effects was as standard as it got for most Terramancers, but from that simple shell was an ocean of possibility, and Twilight was lowkey excited to see what this woman had in store.

It also made her melancholy, thinking of her friends. Terramancy wasn’t a particularly popular school of magic, but Twilight was friends with no less than three absolutely brilliant practitioners of it. They always joked that they were the only ones who used it, and Twilight couldn’t help but wonder how they would feel about Orchard’s magic.

Anyway, Twilight needed to focus. The statue of the little girl was siphoning magic out of the ground; a barely visible night blue aura seeping out of the ground and becoming blood red as it was absorbed into the statue. It was the exact kind of magic Sunset had warned her about. It was faint, but Twilight could also see a vague honeycomb pattern emanating from the air around the old woman’s statue; a shield, most likely.

Hm. An interesting strategy for sure, but was her combat style all defense, or was she ramping up to something bigger? Twilight didn’t really want to find out, so the sooner she broke through Orchard’s defenses and ended things, the better.

Twilight paced back and forth a moment, idly observing her opponent. She didn’t want to dally for too long, but she wanted to make sure she had ample information before moving in, and Orchard Blossom didn’t seem terribly interested in making the first move.

“You know,” Twilight said cheerfully, “if you let me analyze your technique for this long, I might find a weak spot.”

Orchard didn’t react. If she had even heard Twilight speak, she didn’t show it.

“Hey,” Sunset called out drolly from up on her perch, “maybe don’t give helpful advice out to your enemies like that.”

“She’s not my enemy,” Twilight corrected. “She’s my opponent. And besides that,” Twilight looked at Orchard and pointed her lance at the werewolf, “you’re going to need to get a bit more aggressive if you want to beat-” Twilight threw her lance, the weapon perfectly puncturing the air and making it behind Orchard through a hole in her shield, Twilight instantly warping behind her and reclaiming her lance “-me.”

Orchard Blossom was not terribly impressed by Twilight so seamlessly breaking through her technique, simply grabbing Twilight by the head and nearly smashing her face into one of the statues, but she stopped just short and simply threw Twilight away from her, Twilight hitting the ground and tumbling across the dirt and stone.

As Twilight got up, she saw Orchard moving her statues closer together, and closer to her own position; apparently she did on some level appreciate Twilight’s advice, and that made her smile.

Twilight took in a deep breath, placing her hands on her hips for one moment. Sunset was right of course, giving advice to her opponent may have cost Twilight this battle, especially since Orchard Blossom’s defenses were only going to get stronger the more magic her little girl statue absorbed. Twilight was on a ticking clock.

Still though, if given the opportunity to redo that moment, Twilight wouldn’t have done anything differently. A Paladin fights with honor, and in Twilight’s heart that honor extended to everyone, monster and pony alike.

Twilight took a deep breath and charged in; it wasn’t enough to test her opponent’s weaknesses, she needed to know her strengths too, and when Twilight’s lance collided with the honeycomb barrier that Orchard’s statue provided, and Twilight felt like her body had slammed into the side of a mountain as a shiver ran all the way through her, she got more than enough information on that front.

Twilight walked around the statue, which turned along with Orchard to face her as she walked. She clinked her lance against the barrier a few times, learning that it only hurt her if she collided into it with momentum.

“So,” Twilight said, examining the statues’ features a little more closely, “who are these statues of?”

Orchard Blossom said nothing. Frankly, she didn’t need to.

As Twilight looked at them more closely, even kneeling down to look at them as closely as she could, at the snarl on the older woman’s face, her arms clasped together in a protective spell as her statue cast its barrier, and at the grin on the young girl’s face as she sat perched, digging into the ground with her claws, Twilight recognized their features somewhat.

Or rather, she could see the familial resemblance to Orchard Blossom.

“Are they your family?” Twilight asked, and for the first time since Twilight had met her, she saw a flicker of emotion across Orchard’s face.

“Eeyup,” she said, and Twilight smiled. Her voice was quite deep, but Twilight felt it was quite beautiful.

“Are they…” Twilight paused for a second to consider her words. “Did they d—”

“Nope,” Orchard said sternly, and suddenly Twilight felt like she understood Orchard, like a puzzle she didn’t know she had been trying to solve all clicked into place.

“You’re fighting for them,” Twilight said solemnly, “aren’t you?”

Orchard Blossom nodded, her arms folded across her chest as she stood perfectly still, like she had for the entire battle. Her patience was nothing short of extraordinary, and admirable.

“I don’t know how yet,” Twilight said, steeling her resolve and gripping her lance and shield tightly, “but I’ll find a way to help you reunite with your family. I swear that, because that’s a Paladin’s duty, to help those she comes across.

“But I’m also fighting for the people I love, and I can’t back down.”

Orchard Blossom said nothing. Twilight didn’t expect her to.

“We’re similar in that respect,” Twilight said with a smirk. “We’re also similar—” Twilight bent down and picked two screwdrivers out of the claws of the young girl statue; two screwdrivers that were now full to bursting with the magical power that Twilight had been leeching out of the statue thanks to the spell she had crafted with them “—in that we put too much trust in our opponents!”

Orchard’s patience had backfired on her; she had no intention of rushing the battle to a conclusion so she hadn’t even noticed when Twilight had hacked into her stream of magical energy and started feeding on it herself while she was walking around the statues and inspecting them.

Twilight wound up her lance, gripping the screwdrivers tightly in her hand as Orchard gritted her teeth and prepared for what everyone could see was about to be a massive assault.

Twilight bore her lance directly into the honeycomb barrier, which sprang to life in order to defend Orchard, only to get shattered into splinters by Twilight’s lance and fade into nothing. Orchard’s defense had been destroyed, but the statue remained intact; Twilight wouldn’t dare to deface it.

Orchard jumped backwards as Twilight lunged at her with the lance, glowing purple and blue with magical energy as she thrust it toward the werewolf over and over, not in an attempt to gore her exactly, just enough that she was away from her statues, and therefore her defense; if Twilight could get her to surrender, that would be ideal.

Unfortunately, Twilight forgot a simple detail: Orchard Blossom was a giant of a woman, and she grabbed Twilight’s lance after one of her predictable strikes, yanking it toward the werewolf and forcing Twilight off balance before reeling back and laying Twilight out with a massive punch that made her head spin and sent her careening toward the ground.

Twilight rolled to the side quickly, and not a second too soon if the crater under Orchard’s clawed foot where Twilight’s head had just been was any indication. She was able to spring to her hooves fairly easily, only to be blindsided by another punch to her head.

“Twilight!” Sunset yelled, standing on top of the stone archway now and looking irate. “This isn’t some fairytale where battles are won by the power of your heart or whatever! This is a battle of skill and strength! So step up your damn game!”

“Eeyup,” Orchard added and cracked her knuckles, Twilight wobblingly backing away from the werewolf, who was raising her fists for another attack.

“You’re wrong,” Twilight whispered. She didn’t know if Sunset could hear her and frankly she didn’t care. “All battles are decided by what’s in a person’s heart, by the strength of their convictions! And that’s why a Paladin can never be defeated!”

Orchard shook her head and sighed. Her claw crackled with magical energy and before Twilight’s eyes another statue emerged. This one was not of a wolf, but of a lion; with an extravagant mane of fluffed hair and a kind smile on her face, her eyes looking gentle and serene at Twilight.

Twilight raised her shield to defend from Orchard’s punch, and Twilight could tell by the clang of her shield and the way her arm was bent nearly to snapping from trying to defend that if the blow had connected it would have taken her head clean off.

Twilight jumped away, and now Orchard was the one glowing with magical energy; orange and red mist pouring off of her new statue and into her body. It seemed likely that this one was making her already incredible strength even more formidable, and Twilight knew she wouldn’t have more than maybe one more opportunity to block before Orchard just ripped Twilight’s shield right off of her arm, and frankly maybe even taking the arm with it.

Orchard charged in and Twilight desperately blocked with her shield, wincing from the pain as she readied her lance and threw it over Orchard’s shoulder, the werewolf just grabbing the damn thing out of the air and Twilight clicked her tongue in frustration. It would have to do.

Twilight warped to the lance, landing on top of Orchard’s massive arm and kicking her right in the head. It did basically nothing, and Twilight sucked air in through her teeth.

Orchard grabbed Twilight by her leg and slammed her body hard against the statue of the lion, knocking all the wind out of her as her spine collided with the stone statue at a mortifying speed. Twilight was left gasping for breath on the ground as Orchard stepped over her, raising her clawed foot to stomp.

Twilight raised her shield, Orchard’s claw colliding with it and pressing it straight into the ground, blinking in disbelief as Twilight had disappeared, using her shield’s warping spell to appear on the other side of the shield, standing behind Orchard now and ready to counterattack.

Or rather, ready to get backhanded by Orchard, which is what happened instead and it sent Twilight reeling back as blood poured from her nose.

Twilight nearly lost her footing, but she stood her ground, and she warped her gear back into her hands.

Orchard clapped her hands for a moment before pointing to Twilight, then pointing her thumb down at the ground.

“This is your last chance to surrender, Twilight!” Sunset called out, still standing on top of the arch and tapping her foot against it irritably. “Before she knocks your lights out, anyway!”

“A Paladin doesn’t surrender!” Twilight called out, directing her lance at Sunset, and then at Orchard Blossom. “And she’ll always win in a battle of the heart!

“Listen up, everyone! I’m going to end this battle with one attack!”

Orchard Blossom chuckled into her hand, and it caused the rest of the werewolves present to laugh as well, Sunset burying her face in her hands. Orchard’s claws crackled with magic and the statue of the old lady returned to defend her, its honeycomb barrier now fully restored and empowered by the statue of the lioness.

“If you’re all so convinced that strength is what matters, then fine!” Twilight pulled out the second of her two screwdrivers and grasped it tightly, the magic flowing through her into her lance. “I’ll simply defeat you with overwhelming force!

“And if I can’t defeat you as I am, I’ll destroy the source of your powers,” Twilight aimed her lance right at the statue of the lioness. “The statues!”

Twilight fired off a powerful blast of magic energy, just like the one that ripped through Orchard’s shield before, and just like before it tore through the shield easily once again, but the statues remained unharmed, and now a new statue arose to defend them.

Twilight only had a moment to look at it, but it was by far the most impressive of them all; a confident and stunning muscular werewolf girl wearing what looked to be a well-worn and aged cowboy hat, a long mane of hair tied into a loose ponytail behind her.

It absorbed the magic of Twilight’s attack and fired it right back at where it came from, at where Twilight had been… but where she was no longer, as she had thrown the lance for her attack, and was now standing safely behind Orchard Blossom, who tuned slowly to see Twilight and the tip of her lance pointed at the werewolf’s throat.

“Surrender,” Twilight said.

Orchard shook her head and refused. Twilight sighed and brought her lance to bear, reeling it back to gore Orchard and go for a decisive blow; Twilight wasn’t exactly sure how to make Orchard surrender since this duel was supposed to not be life or death.

But it didn’t matter. Twilight stuck the tip of her lance into the ground and gave Orchard her hand instead.

“Then let’s consider this match a draw,” Twilight said with a smile.

Orchard Blossom blinked, but a cautious smile etched itself onto her lips as well as she took Twilight’s hand, shaking it politely and bowing her head before collapsing to the ground, her magic all but exhausted.

“The match is a draw!” Twilight announced to the crowd, the werewolves all looking warily at each other before clapping nervously.

“Booooo!” Sunset called out and sighed in bemusement, before jumping down into the arena and marching toward Twilight.

“What’d you think?” Twilight asked, feeling rather proud of herself.

“I think you should take her magic,” Sunset grumbled.

“Why?” Twilight giggled and teasingly patted Sunset’s shoulder, walking past her and flicking her tail at Sunset as she passed. “I clearly don’t even need it.”
> 10. Lust
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was near impossible for Applejack to tear her eyes away from Autumn Blaze’s hips as they swayed back and forth while she did a cute dance in front of the massive stone gate that Applejack and her friends were waiting in front of.

Left, right, left, right; they were mesmerizing. Granted, there was nothing else to focus on, as the gate stood unmoving and the dreary brick and stone and dirt of the surrounding cliffs didn’t do much to grab Applejack’s attention. Even if they did though, there was hardly a sight Applejack’d rather be looking at than a hot girl doing a cute dance.

“How are you feeling, Applejack?” Coloratura asked, gently putting her hand on Applejack’s forearm before quickly getting it brushed off by the surprised werewolf.

“How do you think she’s feeling, Rara?” Autumn Blaze laughed, elbowing Applejack in the side, and Applejack clicked her tongue and tried not to take offense at Autumn thinking she knew what was going on in Applejack’s mind. Applejack knowing that Autumn did know exactly what was on her mind didn’t help.

“It’s fine,” Applejack said with a rough sigh. It was hard not to grind her teeth against each other until they cracked, but she’d manage some measure of decorum. “I’ll be fine. Thank you, Rara, for yer concern.”

“Aaaaand?” Autumn Blaze leaned in and batted her eyelashes.

“And thank you Autumn Blaze,” Applejack chuckled and wrapped her arm around Autumn’s head and caught her in a chokehold, the heat of the salamander’s flames not meaning a dang thing to Applejack’s magic resistance, “for doin’ that cute dance and givin’ me an eyeful of those hips.”

“It was a pretty cute dance,” Coloratura chuckled coyly, putting a hand up to her lips.

“I live to please,” Autumn slipped out of Applejack’s hold and gave the girls a bright smile and an infectious giggle, a sound that rang in Applejack’s ears like a soothing clear bell. Applejack had half a mind to pin her cute ass against the wall and just—

No, never mind that. Applejack took in a deep breath and refocused. She couldn’t afford to get distracted; not by hot women, and not by trying to make ‘friends’ with her colleagues. She needed to have a one-track mind, laser focused on getting her revenge.

Applejack’s ears flicked up at the sound of a hideous rumbling; the gates were opening. Finally.

The gates moved open slowly, opening out as Applejack and her girls cleared the way. They were expecting to see a vassal or servant monster of some kind on the other side, but the audible gasps from Autumn and Coloratura clued Applejack in that they were as shocked as she was, even if she at least was able to keep her poker face.

It wasn’t a servant; it was the Boss of the First Circle.

An ivory vampire mare with impressive curls of purple hair, dressed in barely more than a red slingsuit. Applejack couldn’t help her whole face turning red at just how much of the vampire’s body was bared, but Applejack knew that was par for the course with vampires; never revealing themselves until they’re sure they can get you under their spell.



“Hello, darlings,” Rarity said, licking her lips as she laid her eyes upon Applejack and the girls. “I hope I didn’t keep you waiting long.”

“Of course not, Lady Rarity,” Coloratura said sweetly, taking the hem of her dress in each hand and curtsying.

“Actually, it was a pretty long time,” Autumn hummed, sauntering over to Rarity and flashing her a charming grin. “The least you could do is offer us a little consolation.”

“Well, if you insist,” Rarity planted a kiss on Autumn’s cheek, and Applejack could practically see steam coming out Autumn’s ears. “But if you keep acting so cute, I may have to teach you a lesson. In my private chambers.”

“I’ll uh, keep that in mind,” Autumn said, her head obviously spinning and her cheeks tinted bright pink.

“And what about you, Coloratura?”

Rarity’s eyes glistened as they locked onto Coloratura, the siren looking away bashfully and trying to hide behind Applejack, but Applejack jumped at her touch and scurried away from her, instinctively pushing Coloratura forward toward Rarity for good measure.

“What’s the matter, sweetheart?” Rarity whispered softly in Coloratura’s ears as she approached, smoothly working her way behind Coloratura and gently placing her hands over the siren’s. “Why are you acting so shy?”

“L-Lady Rarity, I—I couldn’t,” Coloratura bit her lip as Rarity held her hands behind her back, pulling her into Rarity’s embrace. “I—in front of—”

“Shhh,” Rarity said, the vampire baring her fangs on Coloratura’s exposed neck, “just let Lady Rarity do all the—”

Applejack’s hand firmly grasping Rarity’s shoulder yanked Rarity out of her moment, but not as hard as Applejack tugging on Rarity to physically remove her from Coloratura.

“Applejack, sweetheart, please,” Rarity chuckled and moved her hand to reach out for Coloratura’s shoulder, the siren still in a daze from whatever mojo Rarity was working over on her. “Wait your turn.”

“I’m done waitin’, Rarity,” Applejack said gruffly, forcibly turning Rarity away from Coloratura to face Applejack instead. “Yer the one who called us, and I wanna know why. Now.”

“Bossy, bossy,” Rarity harrumphed, coiling a strand of hair around her finger and looking completely unimpressed. “You’re never going to attract the ladies with that kind of attitude, Applejack.”

“Rarity.”

“Hmph,” Rarity huffed and rolled her eyes. Applejack was eternally infuriated how a woman could act so childish and yet landed herself in a position where she wielded power over every single monster in the First Circle. “You’ve never been any fun, Applejack.

“But fine, since you insist so rudely on hurrying things along, how about the three of you come to my castle, and I’ll explain everything there? I only came out this far to greet you out of politeness, but being around all this dirt and filth makes me itch.”

“Fine,” Applejack growled, “let’s just get this over with.”

“Ever the impatient one, I see,” Rarity chirped.

As Rarity walked past Coloratura and Autumn Blaze to head for the gate, the two women attached themselves like remoras to Rarity’s arms. Whether they were genuinely that thirsty for Rarity, or the vampire just had ‘em both under her spell, Applejack had no clue.

Didn’t matter either way; Applejack wasn’t their keeper and it wasn’t her place to tell ‘em what to do, even if she knew for damn certain that Rarity was bad news.

She couldn’t deny though, it was frustrating to see Rarity wrap Applejack’s colleagues around her finger so easily. 

“Honestly, Applejack,” Rarity clicked her tongue as Applejack followed her through the gate. “You will never have a satisfying life if you don’t make time for life’s simple pleasures.” Rarity scratched her finger under a purring Coloratura’s chin, before running her other hand through the fluffy mane of Autumn Blaze. “Like women, for example.

“You’re telling me you spend all of your time with these beauties, and yet they still coo and fawn all over me? You must not be treating them right, dear Applejack!”

Applejack sighed and grit her teeth. It’d be a long walk to Rarity’s castle.



Calling Rarity’s place a ‘castle’ was being awfully charitable on her part. Applejack couldn’t help letting a groan escape her lips as she crossed through the door into the large building that had been crafted as a theater, but had been unjustly stolen by Rarity so she could use it to stroke her own ego.

Rarity sat on a makeshift stone throne on the theater stage that she had crafted ‘herself’, which of course meant she hypnotized monsters with real skills to craft it for her, and Autumn Blaze was seated on Rarity’s lap, getting scritches under her chin as Rarity hummed a soft tune in her ear, Coloratura content to sit on her knees at Rarity’s hooves.

Applejack couldn’t help but think it was a pitiful display, for these two women to just let themselves be used as Rarity’s playthings, to be discarded whenever Rarity got bored or found someone else. And while Applejack didn’t feel like she could say as much to Rara and Autumn, she at least didn’t have to just stand there and watch this.

“Rarity,” Applejack growled, arms crossed and foot tapping against the stone floor of Rarity’s ‘castle’, which was still just as filthy as anywhere else in the Underworld so Applejack didn’t know what made this place so damn special to her. “I’m tired of waitin’.”

“Applejack,” Coloratura stood up and walked over and put her hands on Applejack’s arm, and while Applejack had the instinct to push her away, it was a welcome relief to see someone paying attention to her, or even just anyone but Rarity. “Rarity isn’t used to the rough climate of the First Circle like we are. She must be tired from making the trip to the gate and back, just give her some—”

“I’m tired,” Applejack snapped at Coloratura, baring her fangs and growling, “of waitin’.”

Coloratura’s eyes widened and she took a step back, her posture shrinking in on herself. Applejack realized she crossed a line that she shouldn’t’ve, and she wanted to say something to make it right.

But she didn’t.

“You grumpy cuz Rarity’s sucking up all the limelight, AJ?” Autumn Blaze giggled, a piercing shrill noise that drilled right through Applejack’s ears.

“Ladies, please,” Rarity chuckled softly, locking eyes with Applejack. “Our dear Applejack has paid her dues of patience, I suppose, so I shall indulge her. Fine, Applejack, since you have neither the wit nor the imagination to know what you already should, I will tell you what I need from you.

“I need the pony soul,” Rarity licked her lips and crossed one leg over the other, a chill running down Applejack’s spine. “And you three are going to deliver it to me.”
> 11. Stubborn
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

If there was one thing that Rarity could be certain of in this world, it was that she would never become tired of beautiful women.

It was the only reason she put up with Applejack, who was as stubborn as an iron wall but also hotter than a blazing conflagration.

Rarity both loved and hated that stubbornness about her; it was endearing in a way— no, perhaps ‘endearing’ wasn’t the right word.

Enticing.

It was enticing to see Applejack throw wall after wall, barricade after barricade, to keep Rarity at arm’s length, but that only aroused Rarity’s desire to break her down.

And Rarity would break Applejack down, sooner or later.

“I ain’t interested in helpin’ you get yer hands on that pony soul, Rarity,” Applejack growled, and Rarity just sighed discontentedly, resting her cheek on her hand as her elbow laid on the arm of her glorious throne seated within her exquisite castle.

While Rarity would have loved to try and flex her power over Applejack— at the end of the day all the sexy werewolf had going for her was her physical strength and Rarity’s favor, and neither was an obstacle for Rarity— but she knew that would only make Applejack dig her heels in even further, and Rarity did want that soul more than she wanted to butt heads with Applejack.

A different tact would be necessary here.

“Applejack, please,” Rarity pouted, standing up and walking daintily over to Applejack, Autumn Blaze following Rarity like an obedient little puppy dog. “I’m willing to be reasonable. Whatever it is you need or that you would like in exchange for your service, I’ll gladly give it to you. I have the power, you know.”

“What I want right now,” Applejack affected an ugly toothy grin, putting a rough clawed hand on Rarity’s shoulder, “is to snap yer damn neck like a twig.”

“Rude,” Rarity huffed, easily brushing Applejack’s claw away with her hand.

“Applejack,” Coloratura stood between Rarity and Applejack, grabbing the werewolf by her grubby little paws. “Can we please just listen to what Rarity has to say? We want that soul too, and I’m sure there’s a way that we can all—”

“What’s this, Applejack?” Rarity put a pinkie finger up to her lips. “You have your eyes on the soul as well?”

“None of yer business,” Applejack growled.

And with that, the stubborn bitch just up and left. She turned around and walked out of Rarity’s castle, leaving Rarity and even her own friends behind her.

“That could’ve gone better,” Autumn Blaze stated the obvious, and Rarity turned around to give her a sour look, the salamander smiling and waving from her seat on the arm of Rarity’s throne.

“I’m so sorry, Lady Rarity,” Coloratura, ever the validation-seeker, pleaded with Rarity. It was almost adorable how pathetic she was.

“You have nothing to apologize for, sweetness,” Rarity scritched underneath Coloratura’s chin, the siren purring like a contented kitten as Rarity wrapped her around her finger.

“Oooooh,” Autumn Blaze cooed, hopping over to join the party, “somepony’s thirsty!”

“Wh— I am not ‘thirsty’ for Lady Rarity!” Coloratura lied obviously, a bright red blush staining her pretty face.

Rarity grabbed Autumn Blaze by the wrist and yanked her forward, forcing her to lose her balance and then catching her in Rarity’s arms, Rarity holding Autumn Blaze close to her chest and whispering in her ear.

“Who exactly is thirsty again? Autumn Blaze?”

Autumn’s eyes widened and she let out an embarrassingly smitten snort, biting her lip and turning beet red. Playing her was almost too easy.

“Lady Rarity,” Coloratura bit down a chuckle, wisely electing not to say anything that would turn Rarity’s attention toward her and undoubtedly distract whatever thoughts were already on her mind. “I’m going to go after Applejack, see if I can convince her to—”

“Applejack will come back on her own,” Rarity said, focusing less on the woman she was speaking to and more on the salamander in her arms, as Rarity slid her hands down to Autumn’s waist. “You don’t need to worry about her. My teasing aside, she’s a smart woman.

“She knows that doing what I ask her to do is her best option to get what she wants. She just doesn’t like it, so she’ll drag her feet a little bit, but she’ll come around before the lights go out, I guarantee it.”

“I, I’d still like to talk to her, if that’s alright,” Coloratura twiddled her fingers and it took everything in Rarity’s power not to just roll her eyes.

“By all means,” Rarity smiled at Coloratura, biting down for the sake of politeness the ‘if you’re that desperate’ that she wanted to add. “I’m sure Autumn Blaze can keep me entertained whilst you’re off galivanting with Applejack.

“Isn’t that right,” Rarity returned her attention to Autumn Blaze and grabbed a fistful of Autumn’s mane, tugging it back and exposing her soft neck, Autumn biting her lip and sucking air through her teeth, “Autumn Blaze?”



Rarity swore that no matter how many she brought into her bed, she would never get tired of beautiful women.

Looking at the purring, entranced Autumn Blaze as she laid naked, handcuffed to Rarity’s bed, it was impossible not to appreciate her curves and toned figure. But why merely look when she had the ability to touch?

Rarity ran her finger delicately along Autumn’s chest, the girl giggling into the rubber ball in her mouth; Autumn Blaze was cute, but she was certainly cuter when she was quiet.

Rarity placed her hand on Autumn’s stomach and just took a second to appreciate the woman’s muscle, Rarity biting down on her lip and drawing blood, that she quickly licked away.

As Rarity moved onto Autumn’s mesmerizing hips, a knock rung on Rarity’s door, spoiling the mood.

“Coco?” Rarity said, barely pretending to hide her aggravation. “That had better be you, and this had better be something that cannot wait.”

“F-forgive me, Lady Rarity!” Coco cried out from behind the door, and Rarity rolled her eyes at yet another of Coco’s worthless apologies. “A-Applejack is back! She wishes to see you immediately! I-I didn’t know what to tell her!”

“Alright, Coco, alright,” Rarity sighed. Had it already gotten so late that Applejack was back already? Rarity swore she’d only been fooling around with Autumn for an hour or two, or maybe three or four. Hm. Perhaps next time she could afford to cut down on some of the preamble.

Ha, perish that thought. Nothing was worth doing if it wasn’t done right, after all.

“Don’t you go anywhere, beautiful,” Rarity gave Autumn a kiss on her snout and left her bound and gagged on the bed while Rarity dealt with Applejack.

Of course, those restraints would be a simple matter for Autumn to slip out of if she needed to, if Rarity’s meeting ran too long for example. Rarity wasn’t a ghoul after all, and she wouldn’t leave a beautiful woman in a dangerous position on her watch; though she had to admit she would be disappointed if Autumn Blaze weren’t still bound when Rarity returned.

Rarity left her bedchambers for the hallway leading into the lovely foyer, her even lovelier assistant Coco Pommel waiting at the door for her. She looked utterly fetching in the tight blouse and miniskirt combo that Rarity had made for her, and with those two cute little fangs protruding from her mouth, and Rarity couldn’t resist putting her hands on Coco’s hips, Rarity licking her lips as she admired her handiwork. 

“Tell me, Coco,” Rarity walked down the hall toward the foyer, Coco hanging off of her arm, “did you talk to Applejack? How was her mood, do you think?”

“Sh-she seemed to be composed,” Coco said, ever the nervous one. “She wasn’t growling and snarling like usual. Do you think Coloratura got through to her?”

“I don’t,” Rarity almost cackled at Coco’s naivety. “I think she just knows an opportunity when she sees one.”

Applejack was standing in the center of the foyer, arms crossed and appearing deep in thought, or at least in meditation as she breathed slowly in and out. Rarity took a second to appreciate this moment, even stopping Coco from alerting Applejack.

For all of their gripes with each other, and their constant butting of heads, one thing was certain; Applejack was a stone cold sexy wall of muscle, and watching her for even a scant moment without one or the other trying to antagonize the other was a rare blessing that Rarity had every intention of savoring.

That said, she didn’t want to make Applejack— or poor Autumn Blaze, for that matter— wait longer than necessary.

“Applejack, my love!” Rarity cheered, arms held open to give a friendly hug to her favorite werewolf.

“Rarity,” Applejack said flatly, but her teeth weren’t glued shut to each other so that was at least a good sign, though as soon as Rarity approached and tried to put her arms around Applejack, the werewolf snarled and bared her claws; while normally a challenge Rarity would gladly take Applejack up on, Rarity decided to let sleeping dogs lie… for now, at least.

“I’ll cut right to the chase,” Rarity said. “I do have a pretty lady waiting on me, after all. Speaking of, where’s our dear Coloratura?”

“Outside,” Applejack said. “I wanted to do this just you and me.”

“Coco?” Rarity turned to sweet little Coco and waved her off. “You heard the lady. Do be a dear and keep Autumn Blaze warm for me, won’t you?”

Coco bowed her head and disappeared, her vampiric ability letting her just poof away into mist. Convenient for someone who was so apt at staying out of the way.

“I’ll get you the soul, Rarity,” Applejack said, and Rarity had to resist breaking out into an ear to ear smile, and let a charming but dainty one suffice.

“Do tell,” Rarity whispered, “what changed your mind?”

“You’ll let me use it,” Applejack said, frustratingly refusing to play Rarity’s game, “to get my revenge.”

“Is that right?” Rarity scoffed and cocked her hip to the side, crossing her arms. She wanted to take umbrage with Applejack’s tone— how dare that lowly farm mare try to command her— but she knew negotiations with Applejack were fickle at best, and she wasn’t about to let this opportunity slip through her fingers. “So you’ve decided to put aside your revenge against me then? Honey, I’m flattered.”

“Put aside?” Applejack clicked her tongue, and then indulged in a single scoffing laugh. “Yeah, I guess you could say that. ‘Put off ‘til later’ is how I’d put it.”

“Bold of you to say that to my face,” Rarity said sharply.

“I’m a blunt instrument,” Applejack shrugged. “And I ain’t afraid of you.”

“Well,” Rarity let that little bruise to her ego slide, even as she dug her nails into her forearms, “it seems we’re both in luck.”

Rarity hummed, stepping behind Applejack and flicking her tail against the wolf’s.

“Our goals coincide. I have no problem enabling your revenge, and it may even benefit me to do so,” Rarity smiled thinly at Applejack and stepped in front of her again, elegantly holding out her hand. “So do we have a deal?”

“Looks like,” Applejack tipped her hat, and Rarity hated the jolt of electricity such a simple gesture sent through her body.

“Shall we seal it with a drink?”

“Nah,” Applejack turned around, flicking her tail up at Rarity dismissively as she walked away. “Just make sure you treat Autumn Blaze right.”

“Awww, you do care,” Rarity teased, all of her patience with Applejack bottoming out into a vast chasm of spite.

“Don’t want you breakin’ my troops,” Applejack shrugged. “That’s all.”

Rarity huffed as she watched Applejack walk through the door and knew that there was nothing she could do to make Applejack stay, let alone sweeten their deal in Rarity’s favor. She let out a furious groan and stomped her hoof on the stone floor of her dingy, decrepit-ass hut that she was trapped in.

She hated this place. She hated everything about it, especially the people in it. She was from the Fifth bloody Circle for stars’ sake! Fifth! She was used to living a life of luxury and well-deserved praise! Not this constant struggle of playing around with simpletons and pushing troglodytes in the direction she needed them to move in.

It was nothing short of infuriating, and there were some moods even beautiful women couldn’t fix.

Okay, that was untrue, but this was still a dire mood that would require a bit of creativity.

“Coco!” Rarity whined as she returned to her bedchambers, only to find that while Autumn was still bound, Coco had ungagged her and was feeding her ice cream! Very much not what Rarity had wanted! “What is this? This is the exact opposite of keeping her warm for me!”

“I’m always warm,” Autumn Blaze said ever so cheerfully, grating on Rarity’s last nerve. “I’m on fir—PHGHLMPH!”

Rarity took the liberty of reapplying Autumn Blaze’s gag herself using her magic, and she glared at Coco.

“Coco, I’m tired,” Rarity said.

“Oh, do you nee—”

“I’ll tell you what I need, thank you,” Rarity cut her off, with an irritated sigh. “I want you to finish off Autumn Blaze for me, which I assume won’t be a problem for you, miss Blaze?” Autumn gave an enthusiastic wink. “And once you’re finished, if I’m satisfied, I’ll treat you to something nice. If not, well then you will simply have to switch places with our dear friend Autumn Blaze. Do you understand?”

“Y-yes,” Coco bit her lip, “Lady Rarity.”

Of course, Rarity’s little ‘conundrum’ was a farce; that so-called ‘treat’ was the same fate as the ‘punishment’, and both parties knew it. Frankly, Coco would likely work Autumn Blaze over in a sloppy hurry just to get her turn with Rarity faster. They’d been through this song and dance before.

If there was one thing that Rarity could be certain of in this world, it was that she would never become tired of beautiful women.

She was starting to become less certain.
> 12. Homesick
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

So here’s the situation, as far as Pinkie could tell; Rainbow and her Quetzalcoatl friend were off on an adventure to take out their enemy’s secret weapon, while the rest of the Lightning Knights’ forces stayed back in the village that the family was after in order to protect it.

Or rather, to protect the resources the village could provide. No one was under the illusion that the Knights would give two shits about the comfort or safety of the villagers if they weren’t a valuable source of magic, and potential bodies to throw against their enemies.

Pinkie, for her part, also stayed behind, and was doing a little dance as she waited for Spitfire, the phoenix finally approaching her to deal with her.

“So, uh,” Spitfire rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly as Pinkie danced back and forth in front of her, “what am I supposed to do with you now?”

“What do you wanna do with me?” Pinkie grinned ear to ear and waggled her eyebrows, Spitfire stumbling back into a tree.

“I just need to make sure you’re out of harm’s way for the upcoming battle,” Spitfire said, brushing herself off to regain composure. “And that you won’t try and escape. Either of those things would have the commander after my head.”

“Hmmm, maybe you should put me on a leash,” Pinkie smirked, and Spitfire gave her a bemused glance, though the faint pink tint to her cheeks clued Pinkie in that her flirtatious remarks were getting through at least a little.

“How about there?” Spitfire pointed to a crumbling wooden house, and Pinkie shrugged.

She led Pinkie over to it with a couple of other soldiers in tow, then pushed Pinkie inside as she whispered something to the soldiers.

“You can stay here,” Spitfire said to Pinkie. “These guards will make sure that you’re safe, and that you stay put.”

“Awww, you’re not even gonna tie me up?” Pinkie teased, Spitfire gritting her teeth and turning pink.

“Stop that!” she barked, and Pinkie giggled, which of course sent a wave of magical energy coursing through Spitfire’s body; such was the effect of Pinkie’s magic.

Spitfire didn’t say another word as she turned around and left, and Pinkie flomped onto the ground. Neither of the soldiers Spitfire left her with did anything for her; total bores, both of ‘em. So Pinkie may as well have been alone with her thoughts, which didn’t usually bode well for her.

But alas, thinking was all that Pinkie had to do, so thinking is what she did. She laid on her back, holding her arm above her head with hand outstretched. There was a hole in the roof, through which Pinkie could see the void hovering overhead.

She missed the sky.

How long had it been since Pinkie was stolen away from the surface? About a decade, if she wasn’t mistaken. Close enough if she was. She still missed her sisters, she missed her friends, she missed the love of her life.

She missed a lot of things, damn it! She wanted to go back so bad, but she’d been trapped underground so long that she felt… responsible, somehow. Things in the Underworld weren’t like what she was told on the surface, and the people here felt trapped.

The Empress, the one who stole souls from the surface and that everypony lived in fear of, that fear dripped from every crack and pore of the Underworld too. Creatures’ lives were defined by that fear, by how they cowed to it or fought against it, and how anyone who did the latter either died or disappeared.

Pinkie wanted to go home, she wanted to forget all about this nightmare. But even if she somehow left the Underworld, her dreams would be haunted by the horrors and fear she experienced underground.

She could never escape from it, at least while the Empress still drew breath.

But what could she do? She was little more than a slave to the commander of the Lightning Knights; a court jester made to laugh for her captors so they could carry out their campaign of bloodshed more efficiently. Pinkie was no one.

Pinkie let her hand fall limply to her side. She missed the sky, she missed the sun. She wanted to see a light at the end of this tunnel she was in.

But then Pinkie had an intriguing thought. Something was different about today; someone who was different. She didn’t treat Pinkie like a tool the way Lightning did, or an object the way Spitfire did, she was considerate of Pinkie’s feelings and respectful of what little agency Pinkie had. She even said she wanted to talk to Pinkie, like really talk to her, after the battle was over.

Maybe Pinkie couldn’t see the sun in the sky, but she was pretty sure she could see a rainbow.
> 13. The Family of Whispers
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

A thick coat of mist hung over a small grassy clearing, surrounded on all sides by mountainous trees. Fluttershy could still see the void above, if she squinted, not that there was much to look at.

The yellow siren knelt on the ground, and laughed softly as she thought about how her mom would scold her for getting grass stains on her dress, though the hem barely reached her thighs anyway so her socks were in more danger.

This was more important though. Feeling the breath of nature flowing through her body like a river, becoming one with it, even if just for a moment. This was the kind of clarity Fluttershy needed moments before battle.

The mist was helping too. Fluttershy was out of her depth this far away from her Family’s headquarters, and the dry air made the siren feel like a fish out of water. The combat advantage that the mist would inevitably provide her was frankly a secondary consideration at most.

Fluttershy parted her lips and let a soft song escape them. A simple melody to prepare herself for battle, and to let anyone foolish enough to be caught in her territory know that she was coming for them.

As Fluttershy finished her song, taking one more deep breath for good measure, she was startled by something touching her head, only to look up and realize it was a green-furred woman, mushrooms and flowers growing from her thick floral body, delicately gracing Fluttershy with an immaculate crown of flowers.

“Thank you, Tree Hugger,” Fluttershy said warmly, her heart overflowing with affection for her friend.

“No problem,” Tree Hugger sat next to Fluttershy, the dryad stretching out her muscled, shapely legs in front of her and treating Fluttershy to quite an engaging view. “Thought you might like to take a little nature with you, y’know?”

“Mhm,” Fluttershy nodded, and she rested her head against Tree Hugger’s shoulder. She knew it was selfish, but she wished that Tree Hugger could take her place.

“Nervous, babe?” Tree Hugger put her arm around Fluttershy and caressed her forearm.

“A little,” Fluttershy muttered, and when she looked up at Tree Hugger and was met by an arched eyebrow and a knowing smirk, Fluttershy erupted into giggles and corrected herself. “Okay, a lot.”

“I feel ya, sweet thing,” Tree Hugger hummed as she ran her hands through Fluttershy’s thick mane of pink hair, Tree Hugger’s fingers running all the way through it down to Fluttershy’s back. “Wish I could help you take a load off before we jump into the fray.”

“Well, um,” Fluttershy bit her lip, “maybe you could help me take… a little bit of a load off? Do we have enough time?”

“We have all the time you need,” Tree Hugger said. “If you wanna do this—”

“I do,” Fluttershy nodded effusively.

Without another word, Tree Hugger slid her hand up Fluttershy’s dress and grabbed ahold of her, Fluttershy yelping from the sensation. Tree Hugger’s hands were course and rough, and Fluttershy’s body was so delicate; she felt like a glass figurine being handled by a giant made of stone.

She uh, well… some things happened after that, and they were um… well let’s just say that if Fluttershy’s mom had a problem with grass stains, Fluttershy really didn’t want to be the one to tell her about this.

Fluttershy’s body felt too heavy to move as she lied on the grass on her stomach, eyes rolling up and tongue hanging out of her mouth, elation washing over her. Tree Hugger picked the siren up and cradled her in her arms.

Frankly, the euphoric  feeling of being held and taken care of was almost more intoxicating than anything else Tree Hugger had done with her, and she wished she could stay like that forever.

“You ready to roll, cute stuff?” Tree Hugger said, giving Fluttershy a kiss on the bridge of her nose.

“I think so,” Fluttershy said, groaning as she stood to her hooves with Tree Hugger’s help. “Remind me again why I’m doing this?”

“Lightning Knights are starting to get bold,” Tree Hugger said, and it sent chills down Fluttershy’s spine to see her act so serious. “If they start creepin’ up on our territory, that’s gonna be a problem for everyone. We gotta show ‘em who’s boss.”

“Oh,” Fluttershy nodded and twiddled her fingers. “Who is boss?”

“You,” Tree Hugger gave a single chuckle and ran her hand through Fluttershy’s hair before cupping her chin. “I know this is gonna be your first major battle directly against the Knights, but we need you, and I know that you’re ready for this. And no matter what, I got your back.”

Fluttershy took a deep breath in through her nostrils and puffed up her cheeks as she tried to look tough, but she quickly ran out of breath and had to stop puffing up, Tree Hugger laughing softly and giving Fluttershy a kiss on the cheek.

“Thank you, Tree Hugger,” Fluttershy fidgeted with her hands, Tree Hugger taking them gently and wrapping them around Tree Hugger’s waist as the dryad put her own hands around Fluttershy in a tender hug. “I don’t know what I’d do without y—”

A rustling of the leaves nearby had both women perk up and turn toward the direction of the sound, Tree Hugger snarling as Fluttershy just glared coldly. Fluttershy caught a glimpse of a road through a small break in the trees, and the shadow flitting through them didn’t escape her notice.

“You want me to deal with this?” Tree Hugger cricked her neck, patting Fluttershy’s shoulder. It did a wonder on Fluttershy’s frayed nerves to see Tree Hugger acting so casual.

“No,” Fluttershy shook her head and took a step forward, “I need to fight on my own for our mission to succeed. The whole idea is that I’m going to draw their attention while you lead the others into town to rescue everyone.

“I’ll show you that I’m not helpless on my own.”

Fluttershy growled, and the truth was that she needed to convince herself more than Tree Hugger.

In the heavy mists that covered the area, Fluttershy could feel the creature trying to sneak past her as if they were touching Fluttershy’s own skin. More than that, with a little creativity and effort, she could mold the mist into a new shape.

The creature yelped as her leg was snatched up by Fluttershy’s newfound tendril, and the tendril stretched until it reached the palm of Fluttershy’s hand, Fluttershy drawing the tendril and its captive to her slowly, with the captured creature’s struggles finding less and less success as Fluttershy also wrapped the tendril around more of their body.

As the squirming creature was dragged through the trees and into sight, Fluttershy could tell the white-furred creature was a shrike. She had watermelon-colored hair and wore armor bearing the signature crest of the Lightning Knights.

To be quite honest, she looked rather cute, or at least she would if her eyes weren’t wide from panic.

That panic wouldn’t do, quite frankly, but Fluttershy knew a way to calm her down.

Fluttershy’s lips parted and a soft song escaped them. As the tender melody entered the shrike’s ears, she looked to be relaxing quite easily, and Fluttershy saw no reason to not slowly release her restraints, until finally the woman was free, standing on her knees and looking up at Fluttershy with a dazed smile.

Fluttershy smiled sweetly, brushing her thumb against the cheek of her newly acquired thrall. It always did her heart good to see someone be rescued from the Lightning Knights.

“She’ll make a nice addition to the Family.”
> 14. Lion
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Twilight awoke with a start, something rough thumping against her side. Twilight’s first emotion was a sense of mild relief that at least the light was shining over the First Circle, her second was irritation as she recognized what was hitting her once it hit her again.

“Can I help you?” Twilight groaned as she grabbed Sunset’s hoof before she could kick Twilight a third time.

“Yeah, we gotta move out,” Sunset said sternly. She hadn't said much of anything to Twilight since her battle with Orchard Blossom, Twilight figured Sunset was still annoyed by how Twilight had handled it, so this must have been serious if Sunset was talking to her now.

“What’s going on?” Twilight asked as she stood up, gratefully accepting Sunset’s hand as her aching bones stretched. Lying on the stone and dirt of the arena where she’d fought Orchard— where Sunset had decided they’d camp for the night, before scaling the cliffs to the gates of Paradise in the morning— wasn’t good for any part of Twilight’s body.

“There’s two bands duking it out nearby,” Sunset said. “We don’t wanna get caught up in that,” Sunset gave a catlike smirk, and now she was starting to feel more like the Sunset Twilight was used to, “but we do wanna be close enough to mop up the stragglers.”

“What? No we don’t,” Twilight groaned, still trying to catch up to the fact that she was now awake. “We should avoid battles with other monsters entirely if we can.”

“Okay,” Sunset shrugged. “You can stay here then, I’ll go mop up some stragglers. How’s that sound?”

“That sounds awful!” Twilight yelled, Sunset ignoring and walking past her. “Sunset! You can’t just leave me behind!”

“Then you’d better follow me,” Sunset said with a conceited smirk, looking over her shoulder at Twilight for just a moment before walking off, ignoring Twilight’s protests.

Twilight begrudgingly followed behind Sunset, keeping her complaints to herself once she was sure Sunset was completely ignoring her. It wouldn’t do to for Twilight to just wait around for an enemy to possibly attack her while she was all alone, but times like this made her wonder if perhaps she was better off by herself. It felt like all Sunset wanted to do was put them in more danger.

Twilight swore every time she got to the top of a hill, she was never prepared for the sight that greeted her. Looking down at the environment where the two bands of monsters were battling, it was a suffocating mass of brown grass, dried lakes and withered trees; Twilight felt her throat drying up just by looking at it.

But what was most interesting to Twilight, was the familiar face battling down on that field.

“Sunset! That’s Orchard Blossom!” Twilight said, pointing toward the large red werewolf that almost looked like a tiny spec from atop the hill.

“Hmm yeah it sure is,” Sunset nodded, not even pretending to sound interested. “And?”

“We should help her!” Twilight said confidently, adjusting her glasses. “She seemed like a really… I dunno how to put it, but I got the feeling that she was a good person. It doesn’t look like she’s doing too hot down there.”

“No, it looks like she’s about to lose,” Sunset said casually, looking down at the battle below them. “If I had to guess, I’d say this other band took hers by surprise, and by the time they knew what was happening, they’d already lost.”

“Sunset,” Twilight put her hand on Sunset’s shoulder, Sunset looking lethargically over at Twilight, whose eyes burned with conviction, “let’s help her.”

“Tch, what happened to staying out of things?” Sunset grinned smugly.

“I thought you wanted to fight?”

“I wanted to mop up stragglers,” Sunset griped, “not throw ourselves into a battle that doesn’t have anything to do with us, and on the losing side no less.”

“It does have something to do with us,” Twilight said. “Orchard Blossom’s weakened because of her battle with me, so in a way I’m responsible for her band being unprepared for this battle.”

“Real martyr complex, huh?” Sunset rolled her eyes, and Twilight just clicked her tongue in frustration.

“Besides, we need all the help we can get!” Twilight argued. “There’s only two of us, we should be working to gain allies and build friendships to help us along on our journey!”

“Twilight,” Sunset said in disgust, and now she seemed less ‘casually disinterested’ and more genuinely irritated, “don’t think that ‘friendship’ is a thing that exists in the Underworld, cuz it doesn’t. You have temporary alliances of convenience at best, and even those will shatter the moment a better opportunity comes along.”

“Fine then,” Twilight pushed up her glasses and did her best impression of Sunset’s smug grin, “you can stay up here, I’ll help Orchard Blossom. How’s that sound?”

“What, you think you can just leave me behind and wander on your own?” Sunset let out a single unimpressed laugh.

“No,” Twilight shrugged and started down the hill, only turning back for a moment to look at Sunset, “I think you’re going to follow me.”

Twilight ran down the hill without waiting for Sunset to respond, and it was a good thing she did because she was able to throw her lance and warp in front of Orchard just in time to defend her from the claws of one of her enemies with Twilight’s shield.

“What’s this?” the enemy said; a large lion man whose mane streaked with gray hair and hunched over posture betrayed his age. “A stranger inserts herself in a battle between blood? Have you no manners, child?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Twilight said from behind her shield. “I see someone in danger, I defend them! It’s as simple as that!”

The old man chuckled, his band followed suit; it looked like they were all lions, so Twilight presumed they were family. That would almost explain the man’s comment about a ‘battle between blood’, except how were they blood with Orchard Blossom, a wolf?

Except… now Twilight was remembering, the statue Orchard had of a lion woman. Now things were starting to fall into place.

“What’s your name?” Twilight asked the old man.

“My name, child, is Grand Pear,” the man said, running his claws through his mane which was kept surprisingly immaculate considering the circumstances. He was sharply dressed too, and despite the clear evidence of his age he certainly didn’t seem to lack strength or energy. “And, as I said, you are interrupting a battle that, doesn’t concern you.”

“Doesn’t concern me,” Twilight clicked her tongue and groaned.

She looked back at Orchard Blossom, who was badly injured; her allies weren’t able to come to her aid at the moment, locked in battle as they were with Grand Pear’s allies, so all the wolf could do was sit and wait. It was frustrating, it was so damn frustrating!

“It does concern me!” Twilight balked, pointing her lance at Grand Pear. “All of you down here in the Underworld, killing each other over resources when if you just worked together there would be enough for everyone!”

“Is that what you think?” Grand Pear let out a single disgusted laugh and flicked his claws at Twilight. “Child, you’re… even more naïve than I thought.”

“I know about the Paradise,” Twilight said, and she could feel a pin drop in the area as everyone stared at her in silence. “I know about the vampire who’s hoarding the magic inside the Paradise for herself, forcing the gangs outside the wall to battle for scraps.

“But by working together, you could overthrow her! You could defeat her and end the hierarchy that’s been forced on you! But instead you’re more interested in fighting over what’s being dangled right in front of your noses!”

“Don’t pretend to speak on things you don’t understand!” Grand Pear snarled, and Twilight just let a tiny groan escape her lips. She was extremely used to having her points brushed aside by people older than her who couldn’t provide a counterargument. It never stopped being tiring.

“Fine then,” Twilight smiled and stood proudly, “how about we settle this argument with a duel?”

“If you’re that eager to lose your life, or at least your freedom,” Grand Pear let out a growling chuckle, “then I’ll be happy to oblige.”



There was a lot of things about the surface that Twilight Sparkle had already begun to miss even just a few days in the Underworld. Right now, she was thinking of wind. A cool breeze would do a lot to calm her nerves as she stood in a patch of dead grass, cliffs towering over her from all sides and a bitter, angry werelion staring her down and about to do battle with her.

Sunset had indeed caught up to Twilight before her duel with Grand Pear was ready to begin, which was weirdly a relief. Despite Twilight’s gripes with Sunset, it was still nice to feel as if someone was in her corner. Orchard Blossom and her gang, despite Twilight saving her life, didn’t seem too impressed with Twilight; it felt like they were all waiting for her to fail.

Honestly, Twilight expected the same of Sunset too, but—

“Wooo! Kick his ass!” Sunset cheered, throwing her fist in the air. “Twilight Sparkle hype squad! Let’s do this!”

“Surprised you’re actually rooting for me,” Twilight said, “considering you spent my entire last duel heckling me.”

“That was then,” Sunset shrugged. “Let’s just say your last match surprised me, and I kinda wanna see if you’ll surprise me again. Don’t get me wrong! I’m expecting you to lose.”

“Thank you,” Twilight said flatly.

“But like I said,” Sunset smirked, “I’ve been surprised before. So let’s see what you’re made of, huh Twi?”

“Fine then,” Twilight nodded confidently, pushed up her glasses and then pointed her lance at Grand Pear. “I don’t intend on losing! I’ll show you, Grand Pear, that there’s more to this world than battling each other over table scraps!”

“You’re nothing more, than an… ignorant child,” Grand Pear scoffed, his claw crackling with green magic that dripped from his fingertips into the dirt beneath him. “You have, no idea how the world, even works! And yet, here you are lecturing me.”

The ground resonated with Grand Pear’s magic, and a trio of tree soldiers sprouted from the earth, brandishing makeshift weaponry at Twilight as Grand Pear retreated to the top of a craggy knoll behind him, watching the battle from above.

Twilight just scoffed; if he was underestimating her, he was going to regret it.

“Battle is the language of the Underworld,” Grand Pear said, “and if you, don’t speak it? Then you will be killed. It’s as simple as that.”

“Your metaphorical skills would be laughed out of a grade school classroom,” Twilight snarked, but she did wonder for a moment if he was right. Would it be possible for her to survive in this place that was governed by a system of battle and killing without giving in to that system?

She didn’t want to think about that; for now, she just wanted to defeat Grand Pear.

Twilight charged with her lance, tearing through the side of one of the tree soldiers. Their body offered some resistance, but not much; clearing through them would be an easy task and that made Twilight smirk confidently.

Just as she was starting to feel that confidence though, she found the two other soldiers closing in on her from her left and right, Twilight blocking one with her shield but taking a painful scrape to her forearm from the other’s weapon, before jumping back and piercing it with her lance.

To her bemusement however, the gaping hole in the creature’s chest didn’t slow it down. The first soldier Twilight had hit was now limping awkwardly from its weight being awkwardly lopsided after losing a big chunk of its side, but hitting them right in the center didn’t seem to have any real effect on them.

“Is that all?” Grand Pear clicked his tongue, looking down on Twilight both literally and figuratively. “Don’t you have any abilities? Any magic? For such a foolish child to survive in a world of monsters, you must be, pretty strong! And yet, I’ve seen nothing special about you, whatsoever.”

“Don’t underestimate me!” Twilight said, and she threw her lance with powerful speed toward Grand Pear, just missing him by an inch on purpose— she didn’t want to kill him, after all— and warping to his location, pounding his head with her shield.

She grabbed her lance and moved to stab him in the side with it, but he grabbed the lance in his claw and stopped her attack, grabbing the edge of her shield in his other claw and forcing her back as she dug her hooves into the ground. He was much stronger than he looked.

“Who underestimated who?” Grand Pear whispered, and the ground around Twilight crackled with his bright green magic, Twilight’s eyes widening as she was now surrounded by two more of those tree soldiers.

With Twilight’s weapons being firmly in Grand Pear’s grip, and her unable to pull them away from him, her defensive options were limited, and she couldn’t think of a plan before one of the soldiers grabbed her, wrapping its tree limbs around her chest and pinning her arms to her sides, suspending her a couple inches off the ground.

“It would seem you can warp to the location of these weapons,” Grand Pear said, snatching her lance and shield from her and examining them. “It would explain why you threw the lance first and, why you didn’t try and escape from my soldiers.

“So if I just,” Grand Pear handed her weapons to the soldier holding her, the tree absorbing them into itself as Twilight let out an irritated groan. “Now, you have no means of escape. This battle, it would seem, is over.”

Twilight let out a piercing scream as the tree soldier tightened its grip, crushing her body in its grasp as her mind frantically tried to think of a solution or escape plan. She really had walked right into his trap; she was starting to feel confident after her battle with Orchard, but she forgot that all it took was one mistake or miscalculation to lose a battle.

The tree’s wooden tendrils wrapped around Twilight’s muzzle and across and even inside her mouth, silencing her as the soldier was crushing her even tighter, only pitiful pained whimpers able to escape Twilight’s lips.

“Hey,” Sunset called out, standing where Pear’s first three soldiers had been, surrounded instead by a pile of ashes. “You won the duel, but killing Twilight wasn’t part of the deal.”

“She’s my lackey now,” Grand Pear said casually, “I can do, whatever I want to with her. And frankly? I’m not sure I have any use for her.”

“Yeah?” Sunset chuckled and pulled a shining pale lavender light from her chest, the brightness of the glowing object immediately gathering everyone’s attention. It was Twilight’s soul. “What about this then? Without her, this thing disappears, and it’s far more valuable than a dead body, wouldn’t you agree?”

The soldier loosened its grip, at least enough for Twilight to breathe.

“So, what are you saying?” Grand Pear asked curiously.

“You and me,” Sunset pointed her finger at Grand Pear, then her thumb at herself. “Winner gets the whole Twilight Sparkle package.”



There were definitely worse positions to be in. Twilight was bound with fine ropes, her legs folded under her and her arms were tied behind her back as she sat and was forced to do nothing but watch as Sunset battled Grand Pear, with Twilight’s life at stake.

That wasn’t so bad. The gag felt unnecessary though. A wad of damp cloth was shoved into her mouth, and a plain bandana was wrapped around to keep it inside and keep her quiet; it was demeaning.

But even that wasn’t so bad.

What was worst was—

“You’re lucky, you know.”

Sunset’s chastisement.

“You have any idea what would’ve happened if I hadn't been here to rescue you?” Sunset groaned, shaking her head as she stood over the bound and gagged Twilight Sparkle; Grand Pear’s lion allies standing guard behind Twilight but at least giving Sunset a moment to speak to her. She wished they hadn't.

“Rrh, vhmzhrt?” Twilight let out a belligerent reply, her cheeks flushing at the sound of her own muffled mumbles.

“Rrh vhmzhrt indeed, Twilight,” Sunset nodded, looking oh-so satisfied with herself. “Honestly, after I’m done rescuing you, I should just keep you like this! At least for a little bit!”

“Mm! Hrrn vh frrghn drrh!!” Twilight argued, her cheeks flushing terribly as she struggled instinctively against her bonds until a lion put its claw on her shoulder and forced her to be still.

“I’m just kidding,” Sunset chuckled. “Sheesh, you’re too uptight. I wouldn’t actually leave you tied up, that’d be weird. I will say though, you’d like it a lot better if I was the one tying you up.”

Can you just get to the part where you rescue me already?
> 15. Mare of My Word
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sunset cricked her neck as she got ready for her little fight with Grand Pear. She wished Twilight could’ve hung on a little longer, just so Sunset could at least have an idea what she was up against. Skipping the ‘learning your opponent’s moves’ phase of the fight would’ve done wonders for the speed of this encounter, but nothing doing, she supposed.

Sunset looked over to Twilight; poor little tied up Twilight Sparkle. She sure didn’t look happy, or comfortable for that matter. Those lions did some shoddy ropework, and poor Twilight was gonna get rope burn like woah if Sunset didn’t hurry this match up.

Jokes aside, seeing Twilight like that did put some ideas into Sunset’s head. She’d love to show Twilight some proper ropework sometime, but they really didn’t have that kinda relationship, did they?

Sunset took a deep breath and tried to focus. Twilight was so stupid, but it was almost endearing. She was just so damn earnest all the time. Reminded Sunset of someone else she knew, and that thought brought a genuine chuckle to her lips.

I’ll protect her.

“You aren’t going to stand between me,” Grand Pear growled as he scraped his claws against the knoll behind him, “and my goal of, running this godforsaken Circle.”

“Old man,” Sunset sighed and flicked her fingers at him, sparks of flame crackling around her nails, “your small-town goals aren’t even a stepping stone to me.”

Honestly the truth of that statement was the most frustrating thing about this. If not for Twilight, this battle wouldn’t be worth Sunset’s time. She supposed all she could do was try to at least get something out of it; more familiarity with Twilight’s soul and the power it could give her.

With that in mind, Sunset dug into her chest and pulled out a sword handle, a stream of flame emitting from it in place of a blade. She swung it around once or twice to get a feel for it, and it felt damn good to use this thing again.

Grand Pear’s tree soldiers lined up in front of him, taking a defensive stance, but Sunset almost just yawned as she swung her flaming sword, bathing the soldiers in fire. As the flames cleared though, the soldiers just looked gently singed, and Sunset clicked her tongue.

“Did you really think,” Grand Pear laughed, “that I wouldn’t protect my tree soldiers against fire?”

“Wow you got it all planned out, huh?” Sunset said casually.

“A battle is won or lost,” Grand Pear gave a self-satisfied chuckle, “before either combatant even, steps onto the battlefield.”

“Yeah okay nerd,” Sunset said. Far as Sunset was concerned, a battle was won or lost after she beat the enemy into submission.

Three of Grand Pear’s soldiers rushed at Sunset, leaving the two biggest ones to escort him up to the top of the knoll. Sunset danced around their clumsy attacks pretty easily, not even bothering to fight back and visibly yawning to convey just how bored she was by Grand Pear’s mediocre strategies.

“Are you not,” Grand Pear spat, “taking me seriously? You’ll regret—”

“If your opponent has a temper,” Sunset said as she shoved one of the tree soldiers aside like she was a schoolyard bully, “piss them off as much as possible, isn’t that right?”

“It is,” Grand Pear let out a single chuckle. “So, you have read a book then. At least once.”

“Wow you can even give an enemy a compliment,” Sunset said, grabbing a soldier by the hand and twirling around it like a dance partner. “Now let me try! You did a great job at setting yourself up for defeat!”

Sunset snapped her fingers, and the three soldiers she’d been dancing with burned up from the inside out, withering and crackling as their bodies writhed in the flames until they were nothing but blackened husks lying discarded on the ground.

“You think I was just messing around?” Sunset declared, pointing a finger at Grand Pear. “I etched some runes on each of your soldiers while I was keeping ‘em occupied! Then it was just a matter of activating my hex, and BAM!”

Grand Pear laughed, causing his allies to laugh alongside him. Sunset grimaced and rolled her eyes; no respect for her brilliant strategies. At least Twilight was probably impressed.

Sunset looked over and saw Twilight wasn’t even watching her, instead her eyes were focused over on Orchard Blossom, whose dumbass hadn't even escaped yet! What was she doing?! Were her and her band just gonna stick around and watch? Sunset had to be prepared for the possibility that they wanted to mop up the stragglers of this battle, and the irony wasn’t lost on her as she sighed irritably.

And y’know, if Sunset thought that Twilight was watching Orchard instead of her because she thought Twilight was wise to the possibility of Orchard’s band attacking after this battle, and Twilight just wanted to be prepared, that’d be fine.

But Sunset knew that Twilight was watching Orchard cuz the werewolf was still getting healed by her mediocre buddies, and that dumb purple bitch was probably worried more about her than she was about Sunset.

Whatever. By the end of this battle, nopony would be able to take their eyes off of Sunset.

“Fool! Ignorant whelp!” Grand Pear snarled and laughed, his claws crackling with magic as the husks of his defeated tree soldiers followed suit, and then so too did the earth around them until maybe fifteen soldiers had taken the place of the three defeated. “My soldiers have been planting seeds into the ground this entire time, they’ve been absorbing the magic of the land, and now they’re going to destroy you!

“And even if, even IF, you are able to beat these ones? I will simply, make even more!”

“Not bad, old man,” Sunset cackled. “Not bad. Victory through attrition. Make your enemy waste so much of their resources fighting your first or second wave, then they have nothing left for the third. I can see how you’ve managed to stay alive this long.”

“And yet,” Grand Pear glared at Sunset, who offered a cold smile in return, “you seem undeterred. You must have a strategy, or you’re just brainless.”

“Could be both,” Sunset shrugged.

Sunset raised her hand into the air and snapped her fingers. A series of bright red runes flashed in a circle around the entire battlefield, and with them the fifteen tree soldiers lit up as well, their green magic aura being sucked out of them into the air, and into a large ball that fit snugly in Sunset’s outstretched hand, the soldiers themselves collapsing into splinters.

“Wh—how—”

Instead of answering Grand Pear’s frantic questions— though Sunset did quite enjoy the sudden shift in his expression to pure, pale-faced shock— Sunset took the ball of green magic in her hand, the color shifting to red the closer it came to Sunset’s body.

She opened her mouth, revealing rows of sharp fangs dripping with thirst, and took a huge, self-indulgent bite out of the magical orb, which squished and stretched underneath her fangs before popping into a juicy and delicious meal, the magic being absorbed into Sunset’s maw after just a couple more bites, and leaving a trace of red juice dripping from her lips, that she licked up with her tongue.

“What’s the matter, Grand Pear?” Sunset asked, her eyes glowing with burning magic. She looked over to Twilight Sparkle and was delighted to see Twilight’s wide eyes focused on her. “Not a fan of my hex?”

“How did— when did you have time—”

“While you were fighting Twilight,” Sunset admitted with a sadistic grin, the last drop of color vanishing from Grand Pear’s face. “I admit, I wish she’d given me a bit more time. It was supposed to suck you dry too, but then again if it had I wouldn’t be able to see that look on your face, so I guess it worked out for the best.”

Grand Pear said nothing. The lion gritted his teeth and tried pathetically to still look tough, probably for his allies who were crapping their pants just like he was.

“What’s the matter, old man?” Sunset took a few steps forward, Grand Pear reflexively stepping away even in his position of relative safety on top of that knoll. “A battle is won or lost before either combatant even touches the field—”

Sunset disappeared in a crack of red magic, teleporting behind Grand Pear and putting her hand on his shoulder, the man letting out a nearly silent gasp as he slowly turned to look at Sunset, baring her fangs in a manic smile as her prey sweat buckets in front of her.

“—isn’t that right?”

“Y-you bastard!” Grand Pear snarled. “Men! Kill the purple—”

“I wouldn’t do that,” Sunset’s eyes flickered with fire as she revealed the massive hex that covered the entire area. Every inch of grass and rock within sight was drenched in Sunset’s distinctive blood-red runes, and now everyone could see it. “Just admit that you’re outmatched, my dude.”

Grand Pear exhaled sharply. He took a step back, but Sunset just took a step forward. He hung his head, eyes shut tight and teeth gritted enough to crack against each other. This was the end, and even he had to admit it now.



Sunset breathed a sigh of relief as Grand Pear’s dudes cleared out, and while Orchard Blossom and her little posse stuck around, it didn’t look like they were planning to beef with Sunset and Twilight, so Sunset forced herself to get around to the unenviable task of untying Twilight.

“I really do think you’d like it better if it was me,” Sunset grumbled, removing Twilight’s gag and the last of the rope, or at least the last that kept her constricted; she could untie the rest herself.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Twilight said flatly, standing up and stretching her arms and legs.

“Rope burn?” Sunset asked, sending the ropes into a little pocket dimension that Sunset could access later. You never know when ropes could come in handy.

“No, I think I’m good,” Twilight sighed. “You really saved my bacon there, huh?”

“Hehehe well I am a bacon expert,” Sunset smirked, running a hand through her red and yellow mane.

“Thank you,” Twilight said, fretting with her bangs. “You didn’t have to, um… well, I know you probably just did it for the soul, but thanks anyway.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Sunset groaned and rubbed the back of her neck. “Look, I know I give you a hard time and stuff, but I’m not gonna leave you hanging. I told you I’d protect you when I agreed to be your guide, and I’m sticking to that. If nothing else, I’m a mare of my word.”

“Well then,” Twilight said with a smile and a curtsy, hands on the hem of her skirt, and gawd it pissed Sunset off how cute she looked. “Thank you very much.”

“No problem,” Sunset said awkwardly, quickly pointing Twilight’s attention to Orchard Blossom so she’d stop looking at Sunset.

Sunset sat down on the ground while Twilight talked to Orchard and her band. Sunset didn’t really think that the werewolves would try to attack at this point, but she still watched them like a hawk regardless, even if she wasn’t terribly interested in what they were saying to each other.

They looked like they were having a pretty amicable conversation though. What were they saying? Twilight laughed and put her hand on Orchard’s chest, and Sunset grimaced despite herself. What was so funny?

Twilight returned with a spring in her step, Orchard and her band departing on their own way and leaving Sunset and Twilight alone again.

“What was all that about?” Sunset asked as she stood up.

“She wanted to thank me,” Twilight beamed. “For sticking my neck out for her, and she knows you were just protecting me, but she wanted to thank you too.”

“Hm,” Sunset turned around and arched her back, letting out an over-exaggerated groan as she stretched so Twilight wouldn’t see that blush on her face. “Is that right? Well, anyway—”

“So,” Twilight stood beside Sunset and poked her head into Sunset’s view, “that was some hex, huh? That one at the end, that sure was uhhh something.”

“You saw through that one, huh?” Sunset cackled. “Honestly, I half-expected the old man to see through it too, but I guess I got him scared enough to believe it.”

“I know a thing or two about illusions,” Twilight said proudly. “What school was that? Astromancy, right?”

“You got it,” Sunset chuckled as the two began their trot back up the hill they came from so they could resume their journey to Paradise. “Was that your specialty on the surface?”

“No, but I tried to know a little bit of everything,” Twilight replied.

“Ha, why am I not surprised to hear you’re an over-achiever?” Sunset snarked, getting a cute little laugh out of Twilight.

“Guilty, it’s true,” Twilight hummed. “I majored in Arcanamancy though. Wanted to be like my hero, Starswirl the Bearded.”

“Oh you’re basic too!” Sunset teased, Twilight scoffing in contempt.

“Okay miss know-it-all, how about you?” Twilight said. “What did you study on the surface?”

“I didn’t study,” Sunset shrugged, “I got laid.”

“You’re awful,” Twilight snorted.

“Not what the girls on the surface told me!” Sunset said cheerfully, Twilight trying desperately to hold in her laughter and failing miserably.

This was nice. It was… a lot better than being at each other’s throats. If all it took to hit it off with Twilight like this was rescuing her from danger, Sunset would just have to put her in danger and then rescue her more often.

Actually… maybe that was the wrong takeaway from this?

Eh… whatever.
> 16. Nightmare Eyes
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rarity’s lips left a red mark on Coco Pommel’s bellybutton, and Rarity smiled at the sight. It felt good to be in a red lipstick mood, it had been far too long. Rarity went down and left similar markings on Coco’s stomach and chest, the sweet mare squirming and moaning at Rarity’s touch as they laid together amongst the sheets of Rarity’s bedchamber.

“How do you feel, doll?” Rarity asked, tracing her finger underneath Coco’s chin. She didn’t need to ask of course, but it always felt oh so good to hear the praise Rarity so rightfully deserved from her thralls’ lips.

“Amazing,” Coco moaned. “You’re amazi—”

“Trains are amazing, Coco,” Rarity put a finger to Coco’s lips. “Castles and spires, princesses and alicorns, those are amazing. Don’t you sully me with such pedestrian language.” Rarity leaned in and graced Coco’s neck with her fangs; she didn’t quite dig in, just a little taste against Coco’s skin as she whimpered in pleasure. “Now tell me again, how do you feel?”

“I-I—”

“Mm?” Rarity drew herself up, watching in pitying awe as Coco tried to find her words. It was adorable how helpless she was. “Honestly, Coco, you—”

A knock at the door interrupted Rarity’s thoughts and her mood immediately soured, a glower washing over her face as she silently removed herself from Coco and the bed, grabbing a robe in her magic and putting it on before answering the door with the thinnest of feigned smiles.

“Flim,” Rarity said to the pale, thin werewolf man dressed in a tacky suit with an even tackier mane of red and white hair standing before her, “or are you Flam? I can never remember which has the mustache.”

“I’m Flim, madame,” Flim bowed his head in mock-politeness and Rarity hummed.

Drat, she thought. She meant to get the name wrong on purpose but she actually couldn’t remember which was which.

“You brother is more handsome,” Rarity said to the mustache-less wolf, “though not by much. Like comparing a garbage bin to a pile of garbage.”

“I’ll tell him that high praise,” Flim said, Rarity humming in feigned interest.

“I heard it myself!” Flam said, sticking his head out from behind Flim, and how anyone could hide behind a stick-thin man like Flim was beyond Rarity, but practically the only difference in the two men was Flam had a mustache so for him it wasn’t exactly a grand feat.

“Ah, good, you heard it yourself, excellent,” Flim nodded, self-satisfied smirk on his face.

“So,” Rarity said and crossed her arms, her patience wearing thin. “What can I do for you two? Or rather, why are you bothering me? I have an important guest waiting on m—”

“No, it’s just Coco,” Flim said, poking his head into Rarity’s chambers, Rarity forcefully shoving him out.

“Have you no manners?!” Rarity balked.

“What’s the problem?” Flam asked, clicking his tongue and shaking his head. “It’s just Coco.”

“I gave you two free run of my home,” Rarity said, batting her hand in disgust, “specifically on the condition that you stay out of my bedchambers. That includes your weaselly little heads too!”

“We’re wolves,” Flim helpfully pointed out.

“Not weasels,” Flam even more helpfully added.

“What do you want,” Rarity said through gritted teeth.

“We heard through the grapevine about your plans to acquire a pony soul,” Flim said with a mischievous grin.

“We want in!” Flam added with a sinister smirk. “It sure would be a shame if our glorious Empress learned that you were planning on hoarding power without her direct approval!”

“She doesn’t have eyes everywhere,” Rarity said, leaning against the doorframe of her chambers and arching an eyebrow, confident smirk on her blood red lips. “Does she?”

It infuriated her to no end that neither of these men were affected whatsoever by her seduction techniques, but she supposed that was the entire reason why they were chosen to watch her for the Empress.

That didn’t mean they were immune to persuasion though.

“Why, madame Rarity!” Flim gasped, holding a claw to his chest in pretend shock.

“Are you suggesting some kind of under the table deal?!” Flam said aghast. He was the better actor of the two, for certain.

“Me? I’d never,” Rarity said sweetly. “All I’m suggesting is that the three of us can all benefit by working together. That’s just good business, isn’t it?”

“We can’t split a soul three ways, now can we, Rarity?” Flim said shortly, rubbing his claws together.

“Madame Rarity,” Flam politely added.

“Madame Rarity,” Flim corrected.

“No, we can’t,” Rarity said, “but I know the two of you are men of simple pleasure, and I can provide some decent labor for your endeavors. If you keep our little secret between us, I can give you Autumn Blaze and Coloratura.”

Seemed a waste to hand over such beautiful women to these rats, but the soul was more valuable than anything, and there was almost nothing in the world Rarity wouldn’t give up in order to get her hands on it.

“Rarity, please,” Flim scoffed, flicking his claws at her. If killing him didn’t guarantee bringing the wrath of the Empress down on Rarity’s head, she would’ve ripped those fingers clean off. “Autumn Blaze and Coloratura? Mere chattel.”

“We could never even control the salamander, quite frankly,” Flam added, shaking his head dismissively. “And the siren girl? Ugh, could you imagine? Getting her to do the work without hearing her whine the whole time would be more trouble than doing the work yourself!”

“Do you two have something else in mind?” Rarity asked, and she forced herself to commit to her pleasant, polite demeanor with an agitated smile. “Because you know, whatever I have, I’m willing to offer you. I do want us both to benefit from this deal, of course!”

“Applejack,” Flim said, bloodthirsty glint in his eye.

“We want Applejack,” Flam repeated, sadistic gleam shimmering across his bared fangs.

“You want Applejack?” Rarity laughed. “I promise you, the two of you would have been far better off with Coloratura and Autumn Blaze. If you think you can’t control them, but you can control Applejack? I certainly don’t envy your intelligence.”

The brothers didn’t seem terribly amused, but she certainly was. She would sooner cast her own body to a pit of festering rats, such was the level of waste that they were suggesting.

Give them Applejack. Give them Applejack!

“Oh well,” Rarity shrugged. “If Applejack is what you want,” Rarity stood proudly and looked the brothers in the eye as she lied through her teeth, “then Applejack is what you will get.”
> 17. Selfish
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“So, finally gave in, huh?” Autumn Blaze chuckled as she sat a dinner table within the halls of the Wall of Paradise, the room around her and Applejack a dingy mess of cracked stone and chipped wood, practically falling apart at the seams.

“I’ll bleed Rarity dry for every resource she can give me,” Applejack growled, digging he claws into the table and looking Autumn dead in the eye, “if it means I can get my revenge.”

“Right, right, right,” Autumn sighed, the salamander batting her hand dismissively as her tail swished back and forth, flecks of ash spitting off her charred fur. “Revenge this, revenge that. Life’d be a lot simpler if you didn’t have such an axe to grind.”

“Didn’t ask you,” Applejack growled, Autumn’s smirk only getting wider.

“Autumn,” Coloratura sighed as she entered the room, bottle of wine and three glasses in her arms before she put them on the table and wrapped her arms around Applejack’s shoulders, “please don’t give Applejack a hard time right now.”

Applejack turned to face Coloratura and the siren smiled at her, Applejack looking away irritably and scratching her nose.

“You’re doing the right thing,” Coloratura said softly.

“I’m gettin’ my revenge,” Applejack fumed, gritting her teeth as she pushed Coloratura away from her and walked toward the window, where she could see the empty plains of filth and decay that made up so much of the First Circle. “I’ll do whatever it takes.”

“Except let Rarity lead,” Autumn spat, “or let us help you.”

“You ain’t interested in helpin’ me,” Applejack snarled at Autumn Blaze, cuz she just couldn’t believe the damn nerve she had to say shit like that to Applejack’s face. “All yer interested in is helpin’ yer own self!”

“Oh well ain’t that just the pot throwing glass stones at the kettle house!” Autumn got up and stomped toward Applejack.

“That don’t make any damn sense!” Applejack growled.

“You don’t make any sense!” Autumn shrieked. “You stubborn ass!”

“Ladies, please,” Coloratura stepped between the two women, both of ‘em burning with rage— though one a little more literally than the other. They’d been through this song and dance before, and Applejack was real tired of it.

“You don’t give a damn about my revenge, Autumn,” Applejack growled. “You don’t care about the family I lost to those bastard brothers!”

“Yeah, I don’t actually!” Autumn shot back. “I mean, of course I care about the people you lost. But we’ve all lost family, Applejack! Some of us move on! Some of us don’t drag our friends through the mud or throw them into a ditch cuz we can’t let go of one shitty thing that happened to us!”

“So what would you have me do, huh!?” Applejack yelled, stomping toward Autumn and making Coloratura flinch. “Just forget my family?! Forget the blood spilled for those damn brothers’ greed?! Just let bygones be bygones with them?!”

“Rarity will let you kill them—”

“She’ll let me,” Applejack scoffed, her voice dripping with disgust. “She’ll ‘let’ me. Not all of us are content to live a life of slavery, Autumn Blaze! I’m my own woman! You ain’t my damn keeper, you ain’t even my damn family! You want Rarity to lead you by your dick the rest of your life, be my damn guest! But I ain’t interested!”

“You’re so damn selfish,” Autumn muttered through gritted teeth, and Applejack was about ready to snap her damn neck, so instead she stormed off.

Applejack stomped away, leaving the wall behind her and taking a few steps into the dirt and ash of the First Circle. Her hands were shaking— no, her whole body was trembling. She wanted to break down, to fall on her knees, cup her face and cry, but if anyone saw her she’d die on the spot, so she held it in.

She looked up to the sky. A mass of greyish, tannish fog that illuminated the first circle. Applejack wished it wasn’t so hot and muggy. Used to be sometimes water would fall from the fog, and it’d give some kinda life to the Circle. Not anymore though.

Applejack heard the door to the wall open up behind her and she drew herself up, looking over her shoulder to see Autumn gently closing the door behind her with her tail.

“Hey,” she said as she walked up beside Applejack, “sorry about what happened back there.”

“Coloratura put you up to—”

“No!” Autumn balked. “No, she didn’t! She talked me down, sure, but no one put me up to anything. I just— I— I feel like you aren’t listening to us. Can you at least see where I’m coming from, Applejack?”

“Can’t you see where I—”

“Of course I can!” Autumn interjected, Applejack biting down the rest of her rebuttal with a snarl. “Of course! What happened to you was beyond shitty! It was completely unfair and horrible! But your revenge means going up against the Empress herself! Can’t you see that?! You’re gonna drag us into war with the Empress!”

“I’m not askin’ you to help me,” Applejack muttered.

“And that’s why you’re selfish,” Autumn sighed. “Cuz you’re making us choose between watching a dear friend march to her death, or marching to death with her, and you think that’s an easy choice to make. Like watching you get yourself killed is so damn easy for us, like that wouldn’t hurt us.

“But I get it,” Autumn exhaled slowly, steam rising from below her eyes, “all you care about, is your revenge.”

Applejack chose not to correct her.

“So!” Autumn took a deep breath and sighed, shaking her hands and body to try and hype herself up. “You told Rarity you’d get her the soul just to get her off yer back, right?”

“Eeyup,” Applejack nodded, her arms crossed.

“You have no intention of giving it to her,” Autumn stated, and Applejack smirked as she noted that Autumn didn’t phrase that as a question.

“’course not,” Applejack let out a single laugh. “Though don’t get me wrong, I’m also hedgin’ my bets. Cuz yer right, I do think Rarity’ll let me take my revenge if I help her get the soul.”

“So if she gets it before you,” Autumn hummed.

“I’ll still get ahead,” Applejack grinned.

“That’s good, that’s good,” Autumn Blaze nodded, her arms crossed to mirror Applejack. “In that case, let’s see which of us can get the soul first, huh?”

“Yer really gonna try and challenge me?” Applejack chuckled, but her laughter stopped when she saw the confident grin on Autumn’s face, and Applejack did her best to match it.

“What’s the matter, Applejack?” Autumn asked, walking away from Applejack and flicking her tail up at the wolf. “Afraid of a little competition?”
> 18. Siren
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The village that Rainbow and her comrades in the Lightning Knights were rushing in to save wasn’t a ‘village’ in the traditional sense, more a community of monsters that had gathered around small forts and keeps that had been built like a gazillion years ago. They were wearing with time, but they were still better than sleeping in the open.

Gilda and Rainbow made a beeline for the secret weapon, a siren who used her enchanting song to hypnotize the people of the village and turn them against the Knights; a strategy that the Family of Whispers, dishonorable vermin that they were, had used countless times.

But this time would be different. The Knights had a leg up on the Family thanks to some spywork or something— Rainbow didn’t really understand, or care for that matter, much of the details. What she did know was that she and Gilda knew exactly where the siren would be, and when she would be there.

The inside of the village was chaos, with the Lightning Knights being fought back against by members of the Family and villagers hypnotized to do their will.

The siren would never risk herself by stepping foot into that, so she lingered on the outskirts, surrounded by tall trees whose gnarled roots covered the ground and made walking around them a huge pain, even worse since a recent rainfall left several puddles in its wake that littered the ground.

A thick mist covered the area, but Rainbow and Gilda were more than alert enough to see through it to the siren.

She had smooth yellow scales and a serpentine face, with a flowing waterfall of pink hair that rolled down her back and across her shoulders. She wore a small black dress and her prehensile tail swayed rhythmically back and forth as she stared down the approaching Knights.

“Two?” the siren hummed, seemingly unimpressed. “Just two? I almost feel insulted.”

“Two is enough,” Rainbow boasted, pounding a fist against her chest. “There’s like twelve of us total in our company, and that’s been more than enough to butcher your army.”

“I didn’t bring an army,” the siren let out a single acidic laugh. “Your soldiers are ‘butchering’ the very civilians that you claim to be here to save.”

“Not our fault,” Gilda scoffed and pointed a finger at the siren. “It was your magic that turned them against us!”

“You turned them into weapons,” Rainbow added through gritted teeth, “it’s only natural that we would have to break them to get through to the ones that were able to resist your control!”

The siren tried to respond with something, but she quickly clammed up when Gilda fired a bullet of wind that tore through the mist at the siren, and while she was able to dodge it by spreading her golden feathery wings, the bullet left a destructive impact in the tree behind her that made it obvious that Gilda wasn’t messing around.

“So quick to resort to violence,” the siren sighed and shook her head. “Shouldn’t diplomacy still be on the table? We don’t even know each other’s names yet.”

“We don’t have anything to talk about,” Rainbow spat, “not with the Family of Whispers!”

“Now Dash, let’s not be so hasty,” Gilda chuckled. “Fine, siren, you wanna talk? How ‘bout you join our crew instead? Turn on the Family and help me and Dash climb to the top of the food chain on this Circle.”

“I’m afraid I have to decline,” the siren said flatly. “I would never debase myself by working with your kind, barbarians that call themselves ‘knights’. But if you want to free yourself from that life of squalor, you’re welcome to join the Family instead.”

“Hard pass,” Gilda let out a single chuckle.

“Always time to change your mind,” the siren said softly as she gently floated to the ground. “My name is Fluttershy, by the way, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“That’s a nice name,” Rainbow said with a genuine smile. “I’m Rainbow Dash!”

“Thank you,” Fluttershy smiled sweetly. “I chose it myself, so I’m quite fond of it. I like yours too.”

“Thanks!” Rainbow beamed. “I picked mine out too!”

“That’s so cute,” Gilda said smarmily, grabbing Rainbow in a headlock. “Now, if you keep trying to suck our enemy’s hooves, the next thing you two are gonna have in common is ‘being beaten up by me’, you got it?”

“Yeah, G, I get it,” Rainbow rolled her eyes and pushed Gilda away to focus on Fluttershy.

Fluttershy took a deep breath and started to sing a haunting melody, Gilda and Rainbow both immediately alerted to what a bad situation that was.

“Don’t let her!” Gilda yelled as she fired another wind bullet at Fluttershy.

“I know!” Rainbow replied as she pointed her fingers and charged up a laser that fired into the tree behind Fluttershy and exploded behind her head, disorienting her and disrupting her song, and also allowing Gilda’s bullet to hit its mark directly in Fluttershy’s stomach, knocking the wind out of her.

Gilda charged Fluttershy to put more pressure on her, but a slimy tendril appeared out of nowhere to defend Fluttershy, grabbing Gilda around her stomach and dragging her into a nearby puddle, where she promptly disappeared.

Rainbow flew over to the puddle and it looked like just an ordinary puddle; Rainbow couldn’t wrap her head around how Gilda was able to disappear inside it.

“What did you do to her?!” Rainbow demanded, pointing her fingers like a gun at Fluttershy as said fingers charged with light blue magical energy.

“Don’t worry about her,” Fluttershy said calmly. “Unlike some creatures, I’m not interested in violence. So I have no intentions of killing you or her, but she does need some time to sit quietly and think about her bad habits.”

“I— I don’t know what that means!” Rainbow scoffed and scraped a talon against the grass in irritation. Her and Gilda were a team, and they weren’t nearly as strong on their own, so Rainbow needed to get G back as soon as possible. “I’m gonna defeat you! And I’ll save Gilda!”

Rainbow fired her charged up laser in the air above Fluttershy; if the siren dodged Rainbow’s direct attack like she did with Gilda’s wind bullet, that’d be a pointless whiff. But if Rainbow could fire attacks around Fluttershy that made it hard for the siren to predict exactly where the attack would land, then Rainbow’s odds of hitting her went way up.

The laser exploded above Fluttershy’s head, raining dangerous magical sparks on top of the siren but she was able to shield herself with a sphere of water. She should’ve checked first though to make sure that Rainbow hadn't managed to dash right behind her and line up another shot while Fluttershy was distracted.

Cuz yeah, Rainbow did exactly that.

Fluttershy spun around quickly and backed up, and one of those slimy tendrils sprung out of a puddle behind Rainbow Dash. Rainbow jumped into the air and dashed away from the tendril, quickly reclaiming a spot right next to Fluttershy with her laser pointed directly at the siren’s head.

“Did you think I wasn’t paying attention?” Rainbow laughed as she charged up her laser. “As soon as you used that tentacle trick, I knew those puddles were dangerous, and I wasn’t gonna let my guard down around them.”

Fluttershy looked Rainbow dead in the eye as one of the puddles ejected Gilda right in front of Fluttershy, the siren using G as a shield as the quetzal was coiled up tight by the tendril, pinning her arms to her side and sealing her mouth shut as her soaking wet body dripped water onto the ground beneath her.

Rainbow knew Gilda would chew her out if she accidentally hurt her, but would be just as mad if Rainbow decided to be a pussy and not take the shot, so she fired her laser regardless, splitting it into several beams that moved around Gilda to land directly on Fluttershy, detonating on impact and blowing the siren away.

Fluttershy wasn’t out yet, struggling back to her hooves with a groan, but the blast disrupted her concentration enough that the tendril dropped Gilda on the ground and vanished at least.

“Not a bad tactic, Fluttershy,” Rainbow sneered. “But if you thought I was gonna pull my punches even for Gilda, you’re dead wrong.”

“Alright, don’t start giving her a medal or anything,” Gilda said irritably. “She’s still our enemy.”

Rainbow held out her hand to help Gilda stand up, and Gilda hesitated. She grabbed Rainbow’s hand but as she was pulling herself up, she tugged a little too hard and dragged Rainbow down to her knees, Rainbow quickly pulling herself up to stand beside Gilda.

“Well we couldn’t’ve asked for a better enemy, I think!” Rainbow cackled. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d had such a fun fight. “And we might as well get a read on her if she’s gonna be working with us!”

“I’m not—” Fluttershy panted as she glared at Rainbow and Gilda. “I’m not interested in working with you!”

“You aren’t gonna have a choice,” Gilda cackled and cracked her knuckles, “once we beat you into submission!” Gilda charged at Fluttershy like a rampaging train, shouting back at Rainbow, “Dash! Watch the puddles!”

Rainbow prepared her laser to fire at any tendrils while Gilda powered up her fist with her own magic, an explosion of wind bursting from it as she punched, but Fluttershy was slippery and she managed to get out of the way with only minor scrapes.

Right on cue, two tendrils from two different puddles tried to grab Gilda from either side but Rainbow was ready with her laser, until right when she fired it and another tendril grabbed her leg from behind, knocking off her concentration and causing her laser to fire in an aimless direction.

Rainbow looked behind her, and was startled to see a puddle she hadn't seen before; then she remembered, that’s where Fluttershy had been using Gilda as a shield! The water dripping from her body must’ve created this new puddle!

Before Rainbow could ready another laser, the tendril yanked her by the leg, knocking her to the ground and dragging her on her stomach into the puddle faster than Rainbow could cry out for help.

Rainbow was dragged under the water, and it was… surreal. Her body moved like it was underwater, but she could breathe just fine, only she couldn’t? She knew she wasn’t in danger from drowning, but she still felt like the world was wet and heavy all around her.

What was more concerning though, were the tentacles.

The one tendril around Rainbow’s shin slithered up the rest of her leg as several more coiled around her body, keeping her legs apart, her hands behind her back, and one coiled around her stomach and another around her neck.

Gilda was dragged under the water soon after Rainbow, and despite the portal being a shallow puddle, there wasn’t an end in sight to whatever underwater pocket dimension Fluttershy had created.

Tendrils wrapped around Gilda’s arms and legs and she struggled to fight them off, and her massive, muscular body and impressive physical strength let her keep them at bay for longer than Rainbow at least, but it was no time at all before Gilda’s legs were pinned together, her arms held behind her back, and a tendril inching closer to her mouth.

Another tendril was creeping up to Rainbow’s mouth too and while she kept her jaw clenched shut to keep it out, it pried open her lip and then pressed itself against her gritted teeth, turning into slimily, squishily squirming between her teeth before reforming and forcing her mouth open to accept the entire tendril.

Gilda wasn’t having any better luck, forced to suck down a tentacle just like Rainbow was. The tentacles weren’t doing anything though, except convulsing rhythmically, which felt weird against Rainbow’s skin and mouth, but it wasn’t the worst. It’d be easy enough to get used to while she worked on some kind of escape plan.

Trying to charge up her laser wasn’t working though, and Gilda didn’t seem to have any luck building up wind either as she struggled in vain against the tendrils, which as Rainbow quickly figured out after she mirrored Gilda’s struggling, tightened up as the girls tried to fight them off.

Rainbow was getting a serious case of dry mouth too, and as she watched the tendril in her mouth she realized it was kinda see-through. She could see something flowing through it, some kinda liquid. Her vision was starting to blur a little though and her mind was getting foggy, but soon enough she realized it was her spit; the tendril was sucking it out for some reason.

She didn’t have much time to think on that though, as she could feel her body getting heavier under the weight of her restraints, and she was slowly losing consciousness. She looked drearily over to Gilda, who looked to be doing just as bad at trying to stay awake, and when Gilda caught Rainbow looking, the quetzalcoatl immediately turned her gaze anyplace else.

Rainbow couldn’t blame her; of all the ways to lose a fight, this was among the most humiliating Rainbow could think of.

Everything started blending together and time became a mushy, blurry mess. Before Rainbow knew it, she and Gilda were above the water again, dropped on the ground at Fluttershy’s hooves and released from the tendrils, the two women gasping for air and neither able to lift their body more than an inch off the ground.

“Did you girls have fun?” Fluttershy said teasingly, scritching one of her tendrils as it slithered over to her. “My magic allows me to drain the magic out of any living creature by extracting it from their fluids. Blood is the most convenient, but that’s so tasteless, so spit can do in a pinch.”

“You won’t—” Rainbow gasped and sputtered. “You won’t get away with this.”

“With what?” Fluttershy giggled, and it grated against Rainbow’s ears as if someone had cut them with a shard of glass. “Winning this fight? I think I just might, actually.”

Rainbow couldn’t believe this. This was supposed to be her and Gilda’s moment! This was gonna be the turning point where they started to climb up the ranks for real, finally! And now here they both were, collapsed on the grass like a couple of ragdolls after having the spit sucked out of them by a weirdo siren.

It was enough to make Rainbow laugh in disgust, and she let out a pitiful chuckle.

And suddenly she felt a fire burning in her heart.

The first thing she thought of was Pinkie Pie, and how Pinkie made her and Gilda laugh, and it pissed Rainbow off that she wouldn’t be able to make her date with Pinkie if she lost here. Yet despite that, she couldn’t stop laughing.

Before she knew it, she was on her feet again, and Gilda was laughing too, and standing alongside her.

“Are you two okay?” Fluttershy said smarmily as she turned around to face Rainbow and Gilda, her eyes widening as the two Knights stood facing her, bodies burning with reinvigorated magic power, thanks to that spell that Pinkie had cast on them before the battle.

“Yeah,” Rainbow Dash said. “I think we’re doing pretty good.”
> 19. Underwater
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The mist had subsided in the forest that Rainbow Dash and Gilda were battling the siren Fluttershy in. Fluttershy’s puddles that she used to fire off those tentacles that sucked the magic right out of a creature’s body were still lying around all over the place, but with Rainbow and Gilda both getting their second wind and an enormous magical boost from Pinkie Pie’s spell reinvigorating them, Rainbow was confident they didn’t have anything to fear.

Rainbow charged magic into her fingers and pointed them like a gun in front of her, firing a barrage of lasers at the ground that exploded, covering a trail in smoke that shielded Gilda from Fluttershy’s sight as the quetzal charged into punching distance.

As Gilda jumped out of the smoke and wound up a punch, Fluttershy’s tendrils shot out of two puddles on either side of her to shield her, but Gilda just grabbed them both in her claws and tore them away from Fluttershy, gripping them tightly as they tried to slither and squirm out of her grip.

Rainbow knew what to do next, zipping across the battlefield at lightning speed to appear behind Fluttershy, who was still a little off-balance from taking a hit from Rainbow’s attack earlier, and now Gilda’s sudden pressure.

Rainbow charged up her laser and fired it directly into Fluttershy’s back, Fluttershy letting out a pained howl as she was blown forward by the explosion, blood spilling out of the open wound on her back. The tentacles in Gilda’s hands went limp and she dropped them to the ground; Fluttershy’s stamina was directly related to the power of the tendrils, it looked like. Interesting.

With that in mind, applying constant pressure to Fluttershy was now the name of the game, so Gilda grabbed the siren by the shoulders and punched her hard in the stomach, wind exploding out of Gilda’s fist and blowing Fluttershy away, causing her to hit the ground with a thud and throw up blood.

Fluttershy stood to her hooves, grunting and panting. She was running out of energy. Granted, while Rainbow and Gilda had their magic reinvigorated, the adrenaline boost was starting to wear off and they were going to need to start considering their stamina soon too.

But not until they’d defeated Fluttershy!

“Cover me, Dash!” Gilda growled as she charged after Fluttershy.

Unsurprisingly, the tendrils were hot on Gilda’s heels, so Rainbow flew up into the air to avoid get snuck up on by any puddles that may have been behind her, and she fired her lasers directly into the tentacles. It didn’t destroy them like she was hoping, it barely even seemed to faze them, but it slowed them down just enough for Gilda’s fist to connect with Fluttershy’s face.

Fluttershy reeled from the attack but she was able to get her slithery tentacles around Gilda’s legs, but then Rainbow zipped behind her and charged up her laser. Fluttershy spread her feathery wings and flew into the air to avoid Rainbow’s attack, but she just fired the laser at the tendrils instead, freeing Gilda to slam into Fluttershy’s jaw with a flying uppercut that sent the siren crashing to the ground face first.

Fluttershy struggled to pick herself up, but halted and looked up at Rainbow Dash as she held her charging laser to Fluttershy’s face. Then Gilda came down from the air, stomping on Fluttershy’s back and crushing her even further into the grass and mud.

Confident in the pair’s victory, the two women let their guard down for a moment, allowing Gilda to get her leg caught by a nearby tendril. Gilda tried to fly up to escape it, but another tendril grabbed her arm on the same side.

Rainbow readied her laser, but Fluttershy put her hand on the ground at Rainbow’s feet, freezing it into a small sheet of ice, and then grabbed Rainbow’s leg and yanked on it, forcing her to lose her balance. It was just for a fraction of a second, but it was enough for the two tentacles to subdue Gilda and drag her under the water again.

“No! Gilda!” Rainbow screamed as she flew over to the puddle, her talons aching horribly from the sheet of ice encasing them, but then she wisely flew far away from the puddle and landed on the ground near Fluttershy, who had gotten to her hooves. Rainbow pointed her laser at Fluttershy. “Bring her back!”

“Your strategy was a little too predictable,” Fluttershy sighed, the wounds in her chest and back slowly healing up, but judging by her heavy panting and listless expression, just having those wounds sewn up didn’t do her that much good. “I just want to talk for one moment.”

“Cuz you know you’re gonna lose?” Rainbow spat.

“I wanted to talk from the beginning,” Fluttershy said shortly. “And you spoke of making me an ally. It was your friend Gilda who attacked first, so forgive me if I don’t want her present for these negotiations.”

Rainbow hesitated, but she couldn’t deny the truth in Fluttershy’s statements. Gilda was definitely more a ‘punch first, ask questions never’ type, and if there was a chance to get Fluttershy on their side, Rainbow wanted to take it.

“Okay,” Rainbow said, lowering her hands and letting her laser dissipate, “what do you have to say?”

“I don’t want to fight anyone,” Fluttershy said, pacing back and forth and looking solemnly at the ground, “at all. But I can’t stand idly by while the Lightning Knights terrorize villages and whip them up into a frenzy to attack anyone that doesn’t fall in line with them.”

“Is that right?” Rainbow said in disgust, scraping a talon across the grass. “Cuz it seems to me like your little ‘Family’ has no problem brainwashing people into its cult and punishing anyone who disobeys them! You say you’re just trying to ‘protect’ people, but all you’re really interested in is power!”

“It sounds like you’re projecting,” Fluttershy said coldly. “I have no interest in personal power, or in propping up the Family as the one and only structure of power on this Circle—”

“Yeah? Then why is the Family’s sigil blasted into the sky each night?” Rainbow scoffed.

“To guide those lost in the dark,” Fluttershy responded immediately. “It’s a beacon of hope.”

“Not to the creatures that already fear you.”

“Because of horror stories the Lightning Knights fed them?”

Rainbow took in a deep breath, and let it out as an aggravated sigh.

“I guess we don’t have a lot to talk about,” Rainbow said.

“I suppose not,” Fluttershy replied.

“You’ll learn how wrong you are,” Rainbow pointed her laser at Fluttershy, “once I beat you and bring you to the Lightning Knights!”

“Perhaps,” Fluttershy hummed. “Or maybe I can still convince you or your friend to join the Family.”

Fluttershy’s tendril appeared out of the puddle, and Rainbow aimed her laser at it, but to her surprise the tendril didn’t go after her, it went after Fluttershy, picking her up and carrying her to the puddle, where the siren quickly disappeared inside.

Rainbow flew over to the puddle and grit her teeth. She knew she was probably walking into a trap, but could she really just leave Gilda alone with that siren? Without Gilda, she was a nobody; Gilda was the one with all the good ideas, and Rainbow was just the wingpony.

Besides, Rainbow couldn’t live with herself if she just let that siren get away and do whatever she wanted, so Rainbow dived right into the puddle, appearing once again in Fluttershy’s underwater pocket dimension.

Fluttershy was already hovering around Gilda, who was restrained with her legs splayed apart, her arms behind her back, tentacles across her chest, stomach, and neck, and one in her mouth sucking out her magic. Her eyes were fluttering like she was coming in and out of wakingness, and Fluttershy was singing her enchanting siren song directly into her ear.

Rainbow was furious. 

She readied her laser and was prepared to absolutely annihilate Fluttershy; how dare she treat Rainbow’s friend like that? But if Rainbow tried to shoot Fluttershy from this distance, she would just use Gilda as a shield. Rainbow could try firing around her like she did last time, but Fluttershy didn’t seem like the type to fall for the same trick twice.

But if Rainbow were to fire her laser through Gilda…

Which meant it came down to whether Rainbow prioritized Gilda’s safety, or Fluttershy’s defeat. A simple question with a simple answer: the first didn’t mean anything without the second, so the second took priority!

“What are you thinking, Rainbow Dash?” Fluttershy said sweetly, her voice carrying underwater as if it were all around Rainbow’s ears. When she tried to respond, unintelligible blubbering and air bubbles coming out of her mouth were all she could bring to bear. “Are you thinking you’ll fire through Gilda to get to me? How bold of you.

“You really don’t know anything other than violence, do you?”

Rainbow grit her teeth. She was pissed off that Fluttershy could act so damn smug, act like she knew everything about Rainbow Dash, and she wanted to prove Fluttershy wrong so bad.

But she couldn’t.

What she could do was fire her laser, letting it tear through and around Gilda’s body as it exploded in Fluttershy’s face.

Being underwater diluted the power of Rainbow’s explosion quite a bit. It pushed Fluttershy back, but it didn’t seem to faze her at all. The laser though? That worked like a charm. Too bad it only shredded Gilda up and not Fluttershy.

That said, Fluttershy’s tendrils immediately patched up Gilda’s wounds, Rainbow blinking in surprise at what she was watching. Still though, she needed to get her friend outta there as quick as possible.

Fluttershy sang her song in Gilda’s ear, and the tendrils quickly fell away from Gilda’s body. Not a good sign, honestly.

“Funny thing,” Fluttershy giggled. “While my tendrils were patching up your friend’s wounds, they were also using my magic to make her just a little more open to suggestion. Abyssalmancy is a marvelous thing, isn’t it?”

Gilda charged through the water at Rainbow Dash, tackling her and dragging her up through the portal before throwing her to the hard ground with a painful thud. Gilda’s eyes were glowing with teal magic that made it super clear that she was under Fluttershy’s control, and Rainbow just couldn’t stop being furious at how Fluttershy had treated Gilda.

Rainbow tried to stand up but Gilda stomped onto her stomach and kept her pinned to the ground, Rainbow charging up a laser and directing it at Gilda, hoping that would get Gilda to fly off of her and she wouldn’t have to fire it, but Gilda responded by pushing her paw even further into Rainbow’s stomach, knocking the wind out of her.

Rainbow had no other option, so she grit her teeth and fired the laser, letting it blow up in Gilda’s face. She made sure it was weak enough to not kill her, just maim her a little bit, and Rainbow fired another laser into Gilda’s stomach, knocking her off of Rainbow Dash and letting her get back to her feet.

For about one second before a tendril grabbed her and dragged her back under the water.

The tendrils wrapped around Rainbow’s body as she struggled against them, but just like last time they forced her hands behind her back, and one of them squirmed into her mouth. She dug her fangs into it, but it was like chewing rubber and she wasn’t even remotely making a dent.

The sound of Fluttershy’s siren song echoed in Rainbow’s ears as the dry mouth from being sucked dry by Fluttershy’s tentacles started to kick in. Rainbow wanted to struggle, but what more could she do? Fluttershy locked eyes with her, still singing that song. It echoed all around her in this underwater realm that Fluttershy controlled.

“So what do you say, Rainbow Dash?” Fluttershy hummed, and she slowly, gently pulled the tentacle out of Rainbow’s mouth. “Do you want to join the Family? You and Gilda could finally have the power and control over your own lives that you’re so clearly desperate for, with us.”

“No,” Rainbow said weakly. “I don’t want to be anyone’s servant.”

“Not a servant,” Fluttershy shook her head, “a follower. Is that honestly so bad? You can lead an easy life, where you only need to care about what you care about, instead of whatever your commanding officer orders you to care about.”

Fluttershy swam closer, pressing her chest against Rainbow’s. Her lips were tantalizingly close, and when she licked her lips, little specks of drool dropped from her tongue and Rainbow felt so desperate for hydration that she wanted to reach her tongue out and lap them up.

“You could be free,” Fluttershy whispered directly into Rainbow’s ear, and Rainbow moaned and her body writhed as Fluttershy’s voice tingled her nerves.

It was true that Rainbow Dash and Gilda had no real loyalty to the Lightning Knights, but she really believed that the Family of Whispers were evil. Then again, if she and Gilda could get to the top of that food chain, they could change it for the better. Maybe stop all the fighting on the Second Circle once and for all.

But then… what happened to Pinkie Pie? Rainbow made a promise to meet with her after the battle, and it disgusted Rainbow that people like Lightning Dust and even Spitfire treated her like an object or a slave.

The Family sure knew a lot about slavery, considering they used the siren’s hypnosis to turn creatures into unwilling obedient servants.

Well, not servants. Followers.

Wait a second.

That’s what Fluttershy was trying to do right now!

Rainbow snarled at Fluttershy as the siren’s spell snapped like a twig, Fluttershy’s eyes widening right before Rainbow exploded with as much force as she could muster. She knew underwater it wouldn’t do much, but if it disoriented Fluttershy enough that Rainbow could struggle free of the tentacles— and it did— then that was good enough!

Rainbow fired a laser that separated into several lasers right at Fluttershy, tearing through her body. While Fluttershy’s underwater maneuverability was impressive, Rainbow’s agility wasn’t anything to sneeze at and even with Fluttershy’s home field advantage, Rainbow was still able to catch Fluttershy easily.

Rainbow tackled her and pushed her out of the water, the two rising with a splash back into the forest. If Rainbow was able to break her own hypnosis, she was sure she could break Gilda’s, especially with Fluttershy weakened and under pressure.

What Rainbow didn’t expect was to see Gilda lying flat on her back, eyes fluttering as a tendril in her mouth sucked her bone dry. She wasn’t restrained in any other way, but she was already so weakened by the battle that she simply couldn’t resist anymore.

“Oh,” Rainbow said flatly. “Well, crap.”

Fluttershy flew out of Rainbow’s grip as the tendrils rose out of the puddle behind Rainbow and grabbed her, wrapping her up like a present and forcing her to her knees. Fluttershy walked daintily up to Rainbow as the last tendril entered her mouth for the third damn time today; she didn’t even bother to put up a fight this time.

“This is what happens,” Fluttershy sighed like a disappointed mother, “when you cross the Family.”

Rainbow’s magic was soon sucked dry, and the tendrils left her, her body flopping to the ground unable to move even as she was still conscious.

“Don’t worry, Rainbow Dash,” Fluttershy said with a smirk, licking her lips before turning around and disappearing into the mist, leaving two defeated women on the ground in a heap behind her. “I won’t forget you.”
> 20. Resistance
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Twilight Sparkle must’ve had rocks for brains.

It was probably her most notable trait, or at least the only way that Sunset Shimmer could think to explain the constant horrible decisions Twilight was always making every second of every day.

Twilight’s bad decision making is what led her to throw herself into battle against Grand Pear in order to defend some girl she barely knew, and who was technically her enemy. And now, that same bad decision making had her standing in front of Grand Pear himself not one hour later with her shield raised, defending him.

Maybe there was something endearing about the way she wanted to believe the best in everyone. And when she threw herself into battle with Pear, that was whatever cuz Sunset knew she could take him.

But this? Standing with her weapons raised against a giant muscular werewolf who worked as the Paradise’s guardian, the woman whose job it was to keep the ‘riff-raff’ out, and who Sunset knew neither she nor Twilight had a shot against, this was different.

This wasn’t just another bad decision, this was practically self-destruction.

Twilight stood on the stone steps leading up to the gate to the Wall of Paradise, lance raised and pointing it at the werewolf who stood at the top of the steps.

“You challengin’ me, hon?” Applejack let out a scoffing laugh. “That’s cute.”

“I’ve said it more times than I care to count,” Twilight declared, “but I’ll protect anyone in need! Those who use their power and authority to oppress and harm others cannot be considered good, and I will always stand up against them!”

“Twilight,” Sunset walked up beside Twilight, hands in her coat pockets to keep her trembling fingers out of Applejack or Twilight’s view, “do you know who we’re up against here?”

“I don’t,” Twilight said calmly.

“That’s Applejack,” Sunset said, gritting her teeth as she watched Applejack crack her knuckles and flex her muscles. She looked like she was getting ready for nothing more than a warmup, and the worst thing about it was that Sunset knew that Applejack was powerful enough for her flippant dismissal of the two women to be justified. “She’s the gatekeeper to Paradise. The one whose sole job it is to keep weaker monsters out.”

“When you put it like that,” Twilight gave an aside grin to Sunset, which made Sunset glower and raise an eyebrow, “we’d have had to fight her inevitably anyway. No time like the present.”

“I… guess,” Sunset sighed under her breath.

Truthfully, she… hadn't come up with a plan yet to get through the wall. She honestly hadn’t considered the possibility that they would actually make it to the wall, and now that they were standing face to face with the wall’s guardian, it was hard not to get cold hooves.

“Look, it’s nothin’ personal,” Applejack lifted her arms above her head and stretched, and for whatever it was worth Sunset did appreciate Applejack’s physique; they may have been enemies but Sunset was still a lesbian. “My guy Grand Pear here, stuff’s personal for him, he probably has a real bone to pick with me. But I could care less. All I’m interested in is gettin’ that soul of yers so I can do my own thing.

“So if we’re gonna fight, let’s go already!” Applejack snarled, shattering her calm demeanor and baring her fangs. “Get the trash outta here and let’s get to fightin’! I hate waitin’ and being jerked around!”

Grand Pear and his gang, for their part, didn’t need to be told twice. With Applejack thoroughly distracted by Twilight and her soul, the werewolf had no reason to bother scraping up the trash as they escaped from the area with their tails between their legs.

In a way, Sunset envied them.

“You talk about people like they’re trash,” Twilight growled, “and all you’re here for is to keep them from the resources that your bosses are selfishly hoarding! And you have the damn nerve to act so casual and carefree! As if that horrible job doesn’t burden you with guilt at all!”

“It doesn’t,” Applejack shrugged, confident smile on her face.

“That’s it?” Twilight asked, taking a furious step forward. “That’s all you have to say?!”

“Yep,” Applejack said, “and if you have anything else you wanna say, you better say it with your weapons.”

“I don’t know why I keep sticking my neck out for you,” Sunset chuckled, taking her hands out of her pockets and flicking her fingers, specks of flame sparking off of them.

“I don’t know either,” Twilight laughed softly and smiled at Sunset, “but I really appreciate it.”

Twilight took a deep breath and looked up at Applejack, offering a good-natured smile.

“This is your last chance to surrender, Applejack,” Twilight said calmly. “We don’t have to fight at all. Just join us and revoke this horrible job of keeping monsters out of the Paradise. Open the gate and let everyone share in the resources that should belong to everyone.”

“Tempting, hon,” Applejack put her hands on her hips, “but no dice. Got my reasons, you know how it is.”

“Alright then,” Twilight sighed and looked at Sunset, who nodded. “I’m sorry to hear tha—”

Sunset cut off Twilight’s weakass apology by throwing sparks of flame at Applejack, but the werewolf was unfazed as she snatched them out of the air and crushed them. Sunset’s attack doing seemingly less than nothing was a bit concerning, but at least it provided ample distraction.

Applejack’s overconfidence made her completely miss that Twilight had thrown her lance behind Applejack, until Twilight had already warped to it and Applejack turned her head in shock, which gave Sunset the perfect opportunity to rush Applejack from the other side.

That said, Applejack was quick on her paws, and she grabbed Twilight’s hand and Sunset’s fist and held both of them back from actually landing their attacks. Worse than that, Sunset could feel her magic being siphoned out of her by Applejack’s touch, so she jerked away and jumped back.

Twilight followed Sunset’s lead, warping to her shield that she left at the bottom of the steps. She turned her head back and laughed.

“Wow, Grand Pear and his friends really bailed, huh?” Twilight said, and Sunset scoffed at the idea that Twilight thought her observation was a revelation.

“Yeah, no shit,” Sunset chuckled. “Did you think they were gonna help us?”

“No,” Twilight said, “I’m just glad they’re not going to get hurt.”

“Like I toldja, I don’t care about them,” Applejack shrugged. “Right now all that matters is that pony soul.”

Sunset brandished two blades of flame and charged at Applejack, who just blocked Sunset’s strikes with her hands. Sunset’s horn flashed and a field of fiery spikes appeared behind Applejack, Sunset sweeping at the wolf’s legs to try and knock her into the spikes.

Applejack jumped over Sunset’s kick and landed a kick of her own to Sunset’s stomach, forcing her to reel back, but before Applejack could touch the ground, she was struck in her own stomach by Twilight’s lance.

Twilight warped to her lance and slammed Applejack’s head with her shield, dropping the airborne werewolf directly into the field of spikes on her back, Applejack letting out a pained grunt as Sunset turned up the intensity, the spikes burning holes all throughout Applejack’s back.

Applejack got herself up off the spikes and jumped back to the top of the steps with a sardonic laugh, and Sunset could see Twilight gritting her teeth, which was nice cuz Sunset was about to go apeshit. This girl was so annoying.

“Not bad, ladies,” Applejack said.

“This isn’t a game,” Twilight said flatly.

“Oh yeah?” Applejack’s smile took on a sinister note, and Sunset had a bad feeling in her stomach. “You wanna see me get serious? Fine then, let’s do it, sugarcube.”

Applejack’s cricked her neck and scraped her claws against the ground; if she was even remotely fazed by Sunset’s attack, she wasn’t showing it. Sunset could see the blood dripping off the werewolf’s back, she knew her attack connected, but Applejack just didn’t seem to care.

Applejack threw herself at Twilight and Sunset with frightening speed, and Sunset realized that she could try and protect Twilight, or she could dodge and save herself, but she couldn’t do both; naturally, the choice was obvious, and the werewolf’s claws were met by Sunset bringing out her soul sword and cutting through them, forcing Applejack to back off.

“Th-thank you!” Twilight said, sighing in relief.

“Don’t mention it,” Sunset said coolly, but internally there was a part of her going ‘hell yes, she thanked me!’. Sunset turned back to Twilight and grinned. “I promised I’d protect you. If nothing else, I’m a mare of my word.”

“Oh?” Applejack’s grin grew wider as she flicked blood off her fingers. “Now things are gettin’ interesting. That ain’t no ordinary magic you got there, is it, bacon horse? That’s the power of a soul.”

“We can’t get through that gate without getting through her,” Sunset said.

“I know,” Twilight sighed.

“She might be killed,” Sunset said.

“I know that too,” Twilight replied. “But if that happens, so be it. There’s a world of difference between killing an enemy in battle and murdering an opponent who surrenders.”

“Sounds good to me!” Sunset grinned, knowing she didn’t have to hold back. “Let’s finish this!”

“Right behind you!” Twilight declared.

Sunset charged at Applejack; if she had to cleave the woman in half to get into Paradise, then so be it. She laid down a coat of spikes all around Applejack and even under her paws, trapping the wolf in place as Sunset jumped in an attempt to slice her down the middle.

Applejack stomped forward, undeterred by the spikes, and slammed Sunset in the gut with her fist, knocking the wind out of her. Not only that, but Sunset could feel the magic getting sucked out of her as she fell to her knees, her spikes disappearing.

“You’re never getting through to me with a one track mind like that,” Applejack whispered as she grabbed Sunset by her shirt collar, putting her hand on Sunset’s chest to yank the soul out of her body.

Twilight’s lance came careening through the air, but Applejack’s body just grabbed the weapon with her bare hand and shattered it to pieces. Twilight let out a terrified gasp but Sunset wasn’t about to go down without one hell of a fight, getting her second wind and slashing her sword at Applejack.

Applejack didn’t even flinch as the sword’s flames brushed harmlessly against her body, just glaring at Sunset before punching her hard in the head, the entire world spinning around Sunset as she fell to the stone steps on her face.

Before Applejack could grab Sunset again, Twilight got to her, teleporting the pair to the bottom of the steps where Twilight’s shield rested.

“Sunset,” Twilight took Sunset’s hands and looked her in the eye, though one of Sunset’s eyes was pretty banged up at this point so it was hard to focus. “If we’re going to win this, we need to work together.”

“Isn’t that what we’ve been doing?” Sunset griped. “Hasn’t been working out.”

“No, I mean we need to work as one,” Twilight said. “Let me touch my own soul. Let it resonate with me, inside you.”

“I don’t know what that means,” Sunset groaned. “And I’m pretty sure you don’t either.”

“Well, it’s experimental,” Twilight shakily admitted, laughing and pushing up her glasses. “But I’ve done a lot of theorizing on souls and magic, and if I’m right about this, then… we might be able to win this.”

“Whatever,” Sunset said and bared her chest to Twilight. “Do whatever you gotta do.”

Twilight put her hand on Sunset’s chest and Sunset felt a warmth glowing inside her. It was different from when she just used the soul, this was like it was resonating with her very heartbeat, like her heart and Twilight’s were beating in harmony.

It was surreal, and a little uncomfortable, but it was exhilarating at the same time. Sunset stood up like a shot and faced Applejack, who was still waiting at the top of the stairs.

“You gals done?” she chirped.

“You’re gonna regret giving us that time,” Sunset growled.

“Just seemed right,” Applejack shrugged with a self-satisfied smirk on her face. “But I promise, it won’t happen again.”

Sunset’s flaming sword crystallized until she was wielding a blade of frozen crystal, shimmering and sparkling with magical power. She charged Applejack, knowing that she needed to stay out of range of Applejack’s fists but with Twilight’s power backing her up that would be no problem.

“Hm,” Applejack hummed, “I see how it is.”

Suddenly, magical energy erupted from behind Applejack and blue smog covered the battlefield that stripped Sunset of her strength to stand or lift her sword. She fell to the ground, eyes wide in shock as she struggled and failed to move.

“There’s more to a battle than just magic!” a cheerful voice said as another woman walked up beside Applejack, who didn’t look terribly enthused to see the woman whose entire body shimmered and glowed like it was made from pure flame. “There’s stamina too!”

“Autumn Blaze,” Applejack growled.

“What?” Autumn Blaze replied innocently. “You didn’t think I was just gonna stand back and let you have all the fun, did you?”

Sunset looked over to see Twilight collapse to Autumn’s attack as well, and the sword in Sunset’s hand disappeared as she tried to muster up some kind of attack. She couldn’t believe this was happening. That everything she’d worked for led up to this, being defeated by a dumbass, happy-go-lucky woman who appeared out of nowhere and couldn’t be bothered to take her seriously.

“Now we just gotta take ‘em back to Rarity,” Autumn Blaze said triumphantly.

“You think I’m gonna let that happen?” Applejack scoffed, and that caught Sunset’s attention. It may have been a small glimmer of hope, but if there was some unrest or a conflict of loyalty between their enemies, Sunset may still have had a chance to turn things around.

It wasn’t much, but for now that looked to be the only hope her and Twilight had left.
> 21. Serious
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Applejack stood over the barely moving but still conscious bodies of the pony and her demon companion that Applejack had just been fighting, that she had been winning against, and watched as her victory was snatched away from her by the woman at the top of the stone steps to the gates of Paradise, the salamander doing a little dance and rocking her hips side to side.

Applejack glared at Autumn Blaze, and at Coloratura who exited the gates right behind her, and she grit her teeth. She was so close to acquiring the pony soul for herself, and now it looked like she was going to have to fight Autumn for it.

“What’s the matter, Applejack?” Autumn said with that trademark ‘innocent’ smile of hers, but everyone knew it was anything but innocent. “Why you look so glum after you just won?”

“Cut the crap, Autumn,” Applejack snarled and bared her claws and fangs. “If you wanna fight me, let’s just do it.”

“Well, Applejack,” Autumn cricked her neck and stretched her hands over her head, and Applejack chose to ignore the way it made her taut muscles look against the thin fabric of her shirt, “if that’s how you want it to be—”

“It ain’t about ‘want’,” Applejack shrugged. “We both want the soul, we can’t afford to let the other have it. Ain’t that right?”

“Yeah,” Autumn sighed, “guess it is.”

“Wait, are you two serious?” Coloratura fretted. “You don’t have to—”

“Shut up, Rara,” Applejack and Autumn said nearly in synch, both looking at the siren with disdain. To her credit, she clammed up immediately. “Rara,” Applejack said, “why don’t you make yourself useful and restrain the prisoners while Autumn and I sort things out?”

“Okay, Applejack,” Coloratura nodded and retrieved some rope from subspace.

Autumn and Applejack met at the foot of the steps; neither one wanted the elevation to be a factor in their fight. Applejack looked around and sighed. It never got less depressing, looking around and seeing nothing but dirt and brown grass as far as her eyes could muster.

Though admittedly, the sight of the two prisoner gals trussed up and gagged, the purple one bemusedly accepting her fate and the redhead one still defiantly but helplessly struggling, was a nice addition. Coloratura may have been soft, but Applejack trusted her to watch the prisoners and make sure they didn’t escape.

“Eyes on me, baby,” Autumn snapped her fingers, and Applejack lazily turned her attention toward her. Applejack didn’t appreciate being ordered around, least of all by her.

Applejack wasn’t feeling terribly threatened by Autumn; she was confident in her own strength and was certain she wouldn’t need any kind of dirty tricks to win, but she sure wasn’t gonna hold back either. She needed that soul first and foremost.

“It’s been a while since we’ve had a proper sparring match, huh?” Autumn Blaze giggled. “We used to do it all the time.”

“Yeah,” Applejack said sadly. Back when they first met, when the fires of passion and newly found friendship burned in Applejack’s blood, she could barely stand to keep her hands off of Autumn, and the only way she knew how to express that was through fighting. It wasn’t that long ago, yet it felt like an entirely different Applejack.

“I’ve missed it,” Autumn said. “This’ll be fun.”

“Y’know what?” Applejack let out a single chuckle. “Yer right. It may be our last match together. Let’s enjoy ourselves.”

“How ya feelin’ after the match you just had, AJ?” Autumn bounced excitedly. “You need a handicap?”

“You kiddin’?” Applejack pounded her palm with her fist and scraped her claws against the dirt. “I’m rarin’ to go! Don’t start tryin’ to buy time just cuz yer scared!”

“If you’re so confident,” Autumn said, and the seductive tone in her voice sent Applejack right back to first meeting her again and how infatuated she was, “then come at me already.”

Thing about Autumn Blaze, most of her fighting style was real defense hours, which suited Applejack just fine. She had no problem being the aggressor in this battle, especially since her natural born resistance to magic made a lot of Autumn’s Astromancy ineffective against her. She wouldn’t go down as easily as those other two gals, that was for sure.

Applejack charged and threw a fist at Autumn, but she just blocked it with her hand.

“You’re banking on that magic resistance of yours, right?” Autumn chuckled, and Applejack grit her teeth. “I’m not a one trick pony, Applejack.”

Autumn punched Applejack right in the head but it was barely enough to make the werewolf flinch; it was enough to distract her from Autumn’s hoof until it rammed into Applejack’s stomach and knocked the wind outta her, and then Autumn went to grab Applejack’s arms.

Applejack turned the tables though, grabbing Autumn’s arms before she could get a hold, and then spinning Autumn around and pinning her arms against her back, which was pressed right up against Applejack’s chest, the wolf having one hand around Autumn’s arms and the other around her stomach to keep her pinned.

“Oooh,” Autumn cooed and bit her lip, “this is almost better than winning.”

Applejack blushed and felt her body reacting to that sentence in ways she hadn't quite anticipated, and that moment of distraction gave Autumn all the leeway she needed to slip loose from Applejack’s grasp, the salamander breathing an explosive fireball that didn’t do much to scorch the magic resistant Applejack, but it deterred her vision enough for Autumn to prepare her next move.

That said, Applejack didn’t notice until the smoke cleared that she was struggling to lift one of her arms; Autumn had already went through with her next move, using the fire as a cover to distract Applejack from the smoke that disabled Applejack’s arm.

Autumn was panting from the exertion though; Applejack may not have been immune to magic, but getting past her resistance would take a lot outta anyone.

“You think this’ll be enough?” Applejack scoffed and patted her disabled arm. “I still got one left.” Applejack flexed her arm and she could see Autumn trying not to make it too obvious that she was thirsty. If Autumn thought she was the only one who could weaponize lesbianism, she had another thing coming.

Autumn started dancing to hype herself up as she always did, her hips swaying side to side hypnotically. God her hips were amazing… what Applejack wouldn’t do to get her hands on them and just—

Oh. Oh that’s what she was up to now. Fine then; just like before, two could play that game.

Applejack lifted her bum arm up with the other, stretching them both over her head, her abs glistening in the light as they dripped with the sweat that came from a tough battle, uncovered by the loosely knotted plaid shirt that barely covered Applejack’s chest and not much else.

“Oof,” Autumn bit into her fingers and groaned, “you’re killing me, Applejack.”

“Like whatcha see, hon?” Applejack teased, but then she let her arm fall limply to her side and cricked her neck. Time to get serious and earn that soul.

Applejack charged in and Autumn released a billow of smoke, but that didn’t even slow Applejack down. She knew Autumn was just going to block her attack again so she considered changing tactics, but nah. Applejack would simply bank on being much tougher than Autumn Blaze.

Autumn caught Applejack’s fist in her hand, but Applejack just kept pushing, and she was slowly overpowering Autumn’s grip. Before Autumn could start kicking Applejack, the wolf unclenched her fist and grabbed Autumn’s hand in hers, dragging the salamander close to her, close enough that their noses bumped into each other.

“Wow, that was kinda gay,” Autumn laughed, and Applejack followed suit.

“You never take anything seriously,” Applejack teased, putting Autumn in a headlock and getting feeling back in her other arm, so she used it to ruffle Autumn’s fluffy mane.

“I take everything seriously, I just have fun while I do it!” Autumn laughed and pushed herself away from Applejack. “You need to lighten up some.”

“Oh, you like how serious I am, don’t pretend,” Applejack scoffed and she picked Autumn Blaze up off the ground, putting the woman over her shoulders like Applejack was trying to bench press her. “You like it when I’m stubborn.”

“I do,” Autumn whispered, and then sighed coldly. “I just wish you could be happy too.”

“So do I,” Applejack muttered, putting Autumn down onto the ground on her hooves. “That’s why I need that soul.”

Applejack socked Autumn in the head, the woman nearly spinning around before collapsing to the ground in a heap, Applejack stepping her clawed foot onto the back of Autumn Blaze’s neck.

“I don’t want to lose you,” Autumn said suddenly, steam rising from her eyes.

“Wh-what?” Applejack asked confusedly.

“I don’t want to lose you,” Autumn dug her hands into her head and put it against the ground. “I love you, you stubborn ass! After we all lost so many of our friends and family, I hate it so much that you’re asking me to stand by and lose one more!”

Applejack felt her claws relax on Autumn’s neck. She looked over to Coloratura, who was visibly weeping but trying to keep herself composed. She looked at the purple pony whose soul Applejack so desperately needed, and the pony had her eyes closed like she was meditating.

The demon was still thrashing about. Nothing had changed there, and honestly Applejack was kinda awed by her energy. She always had a fondness for spirited prisoners.

Anyway, Applejack let her foot off Autumn’s neck and sighed.

“Let’s take the prisoners to their cells,” she muttered, and then she called Rara’s name to get her attention. “Rara, you tell Rarity that we got what she wanted.”

“Wh-what?” Autumn squeaked, sitting up and looking up at Applejack.

“I’m not givin’ up on my revenge, I can’t,” Applejack shook her head and grit her teeth, but then released those bad vibes with a sigh. “But if it means that much to you, I’ll do it yer way. We’ll let Rarity in on this.”
> 22. Command
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Pinkie couldn’t help but laugh at the sound of a wall being punched as Spitfire led her to the crumbling house where Rainbow Dash and Gilda were being treated for their injuries. Pinkie wasn’t super surprised that when she entered the house, behind Spitfire of course, she saw Gilda nursing her hand and Rainbow looking at the quetzalcoatl with a tired glare.

Rainbow was sitting on a wooden long table, which made do as a hospital bed in this makeshift encampment, hands clenched into fists in front of her. She wasn’t throwing punches at stone walls like Gilda was, but Pinkie could see clearly that she was pissed.

Pinkie’d already heard the battle didn’t go super well for them, but it was a bummer to see these two women who were so full of confidence last Pinkie saw them, now looking so down and out.

Though the silver lining here was that Rainbow looked cute as hell naked, and Gilda wasn’t too hard on the eyes either.

Rainbow though… Pinkie couldn’t help licking her lips as she looked the harpy over, Rainbow’s thin frame and light muscles making Pinkie salivate, but the real cherry on top was Rainbow’s cock, which was kept neatly inside a silver cage.

“Ladies! Stand at attention!” Spitfire commanded as she entered the building, Rainbow immediately sitting up stiff as a board, and Gilda just chuckling.

“You talkin’ about this guy?” Gilda said, fondling her lower regions. “Okay boss, but I don’t think—”

“Shut up, Gilda,” Spitfire barked, Gilda gritting her teeth and glaring in response. “Do I need to remind you-” Spitfire’s fingers danced with sparks of flame “-who’s in charge here?”

“No, ma’am!” Rainbow stood up and gave a salute, and she looked back at Gilda and urged her to do the same, which the quetzal did as reluctantly and lazily as possible. “Rainbow Dash and Gilda, standing at attention! Ma’am!”

“That’s what I like to hear,” Spitfire said proudly, the phoenix crossing her arms and giving a single approving nod. Pinkie tried not to roll her eyes right outta her skull.

Rainbow and Gilda stood in a line, Rainbow’s arms resting stiffly at her sides, and Gilda’s on her hips. She didn’t look like she wanted to be put through this nonsense any more than Pinkie did.

“Listen up!” Spitfire said, and then she clapped for Rainbow and Gilda, who both looked confused. “You two did excellent work out there today. Well done.”

“Yeah is that right?” Gilda scoffed and rolled her eyes.

“What do you mean ‘well done’?” Rainbow balked. “We got our asses beat!”

“That may be true—”

“It is true,” Gilda grumbled, interrupting Spitfire who didn’t look too pleased with Gilda’s interception.

“—but,” Spitfire continued, “I’m partly to blame for that. I relied on incomplete intelligence and ended up severely underestimating the enemy’s weapon. You two could’ve been killed today, or worse, brainwashed, and it would’ve been my fault.

“But instead,” Spitfire bore a proud, confident smirk, “you both went head to head with the enemy’s greatest weapon and lived to tell the tale, and share your personal intelligence about the enemy’s ability. Not to mention, the two of you keeping the enemy’s weapon occupied allowed our forces to rout the Family, and convert this village to our cause. All in all, you two should be proud of yourselves.”

Rainbow let a squiggly smile creep across her lips, and it was the cutest thing Pinkie’d ever seen. She looked so chuffed to be praised by Spitfire, and Pinkie felt good that Rainbow was feeling good.

“So is there a promotion in it for us?” Gilda asked confidently, putting her arm around Rainbow and pulling the comparatively tiny harpy in close to her. “Cuz it sounds like we were the MVPs of this battle.”

“Yeah, it does sound like that, huh?” Rainbow beamed at Gilda, who grinned back and playfully punched Rainbow in the arm, the harpy giggling at the touch. Pinkie couldn’t help but smile; she wanted to be part of that friendship.

“I’ll see about getting you two a commendation,” Spitfire sighed. “For now, I have to check on the rest of our troops, but I have someone here who will take care of you both until we’re ready to move on.”

That was Pinkie’s cue, so she stepped up next to Spitfire and smiled as brightly as she could at Rainbow and Gilda, who both looked surprised to see her, with Rainbow especially sporting this massive grin that made butterflies flutter in Pinkie’s stomach.

“Pinkie Pie,” Spitfire clapped Pinkie on the shoulder, “make these two ladies feel like the MVPs they are. I’m gonna go deal with the rest of our company.”

“Okie dokie lokie!”

Pinkie beamed and watched Spitfire as she left, Pinkie’s smile slowly fading into a bemused scowl. Spitfire had some nerve to be bossing Pinkie around; did she think she was Lightning Dust? Just convenient for everypony that Pinkie wanted to follow Spitfire’s orders for her own reasons.

“So!” Pinkie turned to her two girls and smiled warmly at them. “What can I do for you two?”

“You don’t see my hard cock?” Gilda laughed, fondling herself once again. “I think it’s pretty obvious what you can—”

“Gilda,” Rainbow slapped Gilda in the stomach and looked disgustedly at her, “don’t be a freak. Sorry, Pinkie.”

“It’s okay,” Pinkie licked her lips. Truth was, Gilda’s cock was already looking pretty tantalizing. “I can do that.”

“Relax, I was just joking around,” Gilda groaned and she walked past Pinkie and clapped her on the shoulder. “I gotta go walk around and punch some stuff, so she’s all yours, Dash.”

And then Gilda just bounced, leaving Pinkie inside a falling apart stone house with Rainbow Dash, who sighed bleakly as soon as Gilda left.

“Look, I’m sorry about her,” Rainbow groaned.

“I’m sorry I didn’t get to suck her cock before she left,” Pinkie bemoaned, Rainbow sputtering and then laughing.

“Pinkie Pie, you’re so weird!” Rainbow said with a big smile, clapping Pinkie’s arm.

“Am I?” Pinkie giggled and sat up on the nearby big ol’ table. “You never thought about Gilda that way?”

“Well of course I have,” Rainbow laughed awkwardly and blushed, and she looked cute as can be. “We’re girlfriends, and she’s definitely made me suck her off before.”

“Then you know it’s not that weird for me to wanna get in on that,” Pinkie grinned slyly, and Rainbow cackled again.

“Fair enough!” she said with a cute smile, and then it dissipated, or rather it softened into a much more reserved smile. “Thank you, by the way. If it wasn’t for your magic, me and Gilda would’ve been goners in that fight for sure.”

“Always happy to help!” Pinkie chirped, a canned line she had said hundreds if not thousands of times before. But this time? This time it felt really nice to say.
> 23. Beacon
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The lights had gone out over the Second Circle as Fluttershy, Tree Hugger, and what was left of their group after their disastrous battle limped their way home, but even in the pitch black darkness, the beacon of the Family of Whispers hung in the sky, like a holy light that guided Fluttershy and her family back home.

Fluttershy had won her battle against Rainbow Dash and Gilda, and yet it didn’t feel like a victory at all. She was bruised and battered and scorched and singed, the Family had lost not only the village they were trying to protect, but several lives in the process, and Tree Hugger was badly injured in her battle as well.

That one pointless victory had been their only meager win in a smothering ocean of failure.

Fluttershy didn’t say much to Tree Hugger, or anyone else for that matter, on their trip back; she was too ashamed. It felt like it was her fault. Their entire battle plan hinged on her ability to enchant the villagers under her spell, and she let herself get overwhelmed by two random opponents who shouldn’t have amounted to anything.

“Hey,” Tree Hugger limply slapped Fluttershy’s forearm to get her attention, and pointed toward the horizon, and the mountain with a plethora of identical stone buildings crafted into its face, and it brought Fluttershy a smile. “Home sweet home.”

“Are you going to be okay,” Fluttershy muttered, guilt weighing too heavily on her to look Tree Hugger in the eye, “if I go straight to bed? I know everyone was rattled by our catastrophic failure, but I—”

“Relax, sweet thing,” Tree Hugger chuckled and put her arm around Fluttershy, who felt warm and safe in her embrace. “We all gotta take care of each other, true, but we gotta take care of ourselves first and foremost. And you could stand to be a little more selfish, if you ask me.”

“Okay, I’ll try that,” Fluttershy chuckled. “And thank you, because… I think I know how I want to spend my time once we get back…”

Fluttershy looked to the horizon, to the base of the mountain that was softly illuminated in the blue light of the Family’s beacon, and saw a magical lantern shining bright and cutting through the darkness. Fluttershy’s pace picked up as she saw it, not enough to leave the others behind, just enough to demonstrate the excitement in her heart.

A soft melody escaped Fluttershy’s lips, letting the lantern-bearer know that Fluttershy saw her and was coming home to her. In response, the woman waved the lantern slowly back and forth to signal that she heard Fluttershy’s song and was waiting patiently for her to arrive.

Fluttershy looked back at Tree Hugger, who just rolled her eyes playfully and waved Fluttershy off with a smile, Fluttershy breaking into a run as she approached the base of the mountain, her heart pounding in her chest as she got closer and closer to one of the women she loved and admired most in this world.

Even though monsters could see in the dark, that didn’t amount to much if they didn’t watch where they were going, as Fluttershy soon found out as her hoof got caught on an exposed rock and sent her careening to the ground with a hard thud.

The lantern-bearer stuck the lantern in the ground and rushed to Fluttershy’s aid, her stripey-furred hands gently caressing Fluttershy’s as she helped the siren get back to her hooves.

Zecora’s hands were cold, and they moved stiffly over Fluttershy’s as she comforted the siren, but Fluttershy still felt a warmth in her chest. Zecora’s fur was thin and shaggy, and only existed thanks to magic. She wore linen wraps on certain parts of her body, covering bones protruding from her skin, though other bones pokes through unfettered. Most notably, she wore wraps over the blank folds where her eyes would be if she had them.

She used to cover the half of her skull that was visible because it put others off, but she no longer cared for the criticisms of others on what she did with her own body, and Fluttershy found that deeply admirable. Besides which, Fluttershy was in love with her beautiful face, just the way it was.

“Zecora,” Fluttershy said bashfully, her hands gracefully held in Zecora’s, “thank you.”

“Of course, sweetheart,” the mummy said sweetly and it made Fluttershy all giddy in her stomach. Zecora took Fluttershy into her arms and she nuzzled against the mummy, humming contently. It felt good to be home.

“Hey, Zecora!” Tree Hugger said casually, waving at Zecora as she approached, the mummy waving back politely. Fluttershy got that butterflies in stomach feeling she always did when her lovers interacted with each other. “Thinkin’ I might turn in for the night. We had a long day.”

“Yes, I heard,” Zecora sighed, Fluttershy’s cheeks stinging with burning shame. “It’s disheartening, hearing about what happened out there. We will all need a moment to grieve, and then we’ll pick ourselves back up in the morning.”

“Yep yep yep,” Tree Hugger put her hands on her hips and took a deep breath, letting it out in a heady sigh. “Anyhoo, I trust I can tag out for you on the Fluttershy protection mission?”

“You can both count on me,” Zecora giggled, and Fluttershy followed suit, burying herself in Zecora’s protective embrace.

“Sounds good, friend,” Tree Hugger nodded. She took a step closer, and Fluttershy tore herself away from Zecora— though still holding her hand— to share a kiss with Tree Hugger, the dryad’s surprisingly soft lips and gentle scent making Fluttershy’s heart go all aflutter. “See you tomorrow, babe.”

“See you,” Fluttershy said affectionately. “Goodnight.”

Tree Hugger headed up the mountain, with the rest of her and Fluttershy’s company in tow, and Fluttershy made sure to say a polite goodnight to every one of them; it seemed like it was only right. A lot of the Family looked up to Fluttershy, which was an enormous amount of responsibility that wasn’t to be taken lightly.

Fluttershy breathed a sigh of relief once she was left alone with Zecora at the base of the mountain of houses, the gentle light of the lantern mixed with the Family’s beacon bathing them in a warm, comfortable glow.

Zecora picked Fluttershy up, the siren gasping in alarm before putting her arms around Zecora and cooing at her strength as the mummy proceeded to bridal carry her up the mountain.

“I don’t know what I would do without you,” Fluttershy hummed, nuzzling against Zecora.

“Then I’m glad you have me,” Zecora replied, “because we’re all relying on you.”

“I know,” Fluttershy nodded and tried to look stern and tough. She felt an enormous confidence boost while she was safely in Zecora’s arms. “I won’t let you down. You or anyone else, I promise.”

“I know,” Zecora planted a gentle kiss on Fluttershy’s lips and she couldn’t help getting the giggles. “I have faith in you, my dear sweet Fluttershy.”

Zecora carried Fluttershy all the way the mountain, up to the tippy top of the hill where one building towered above the rest despite its shape and construction being visually identical to all the others. It was Fluttershy’s home, and Zecora continued to carry her even inside, until they finally reached her bed and Zecora gently placed Fluttershy on top of it.

Fluttershy nestled into bed and put her arms around a big soft pillow. She wasn’t exactly a graceful sleeper, and she’d be embarrassed if anyone saw her other than Zecora. Even Tree Hugger to be honest… Fluttershy still wanted Tree Hugger to think she was cool.

“Stay with me?” Fluttershy asked as Zecora looked like she was about to leave, Fluttershy batting her eyelashes and Zecora letting out a chuckle.

“Of course,” Zecora nodded and sat down on the side of the bed. “Do you need help getting undressed?”

“Mhm,” Fluttershy nodded excitedly and stood up, but kept her mouth shut cuz she didn’t want Zecora to think she was a weirdo for getting excited about the thought of Zecora undressing her.

Fluttershy bit her lip as her dress fell to the floor, and her body was trembling as Zecora slowly took off both of her thigh-high socks, Fluttershy falling back onto the bed before Zecora pressed herself against the siren, stealing a kiss from Fluttershy’s breathless lips.

As much as Fluttershy wanted to just get lost with Zecora, in her arms and her lips and her uhhhh other places, she was rapidly falling prey to exhaustion and she couldn’t quite disentangle her mind from her responsibilities either.

“Do you know—” Fluttershy cut herself off with a yawn as Zecora laid on top of her, Fluttershy running her hand through the gorgeous mane of black and white hair that grew from only one side of Zecora’s head. “Do you know what we’re doing tomorrow?”

“Not yet,” Zecora shook her head, and her expression hardened for a moment. “We need to analyze the intelligence reports from this battle, and then your mother will give us a new battle plan in the morning.”

“I see,” Fluttershy muttered, trying really hard to keep her eyes open and failing miserably.

“But for now, don’t let it bother you,” Zecora chuckled and helped Fluttershy get comfortable in her bed, laying a blanket on top of her and making sure she had her squeezing pillow. “Just get some rest.”

“Stay with me?” Fluttershy said, and Zecora said something that Fluttershy couldn’t quite hear, but she didn’t need to because she felt Zecora’s body pressed up against hers like a big spoon and she sighed contently. “Zecora?”

“Yes, my dear?”

“I’m tired,” Fluttershy whimpered before she drifted off into a restless sleep. There was far too much weighing on her heart for her to rest now.
> 24. Seduction
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rarity’s tongue hung out of her mouth and she panted as she finished her special alone time, marveling at the splatter she left all over the wall. No one else was allowed in the VIP box in her theater castle so it’s not like anyone else was going to see it.

She just couldn’t get her mind off of Applejack though. Her muscles, her stubbornness, that wild mane of golden hair, those fangs that would just look oh so good digging into a rubber ball gag. Ugh, it was too much for Rarity and her knees buckled, the vampire taking a few deep breaths to center herself now that her little alone time was finished.

The door knocker at the front gate thumped through the acoustic empty halls of Rarity’s theater, and she sighed as she realized she would need to turn on the charm. She wasn’t sure if she wanted it to be Coco or not; the little dear was slightly higher maintenance than Rarity felt she could handle right now, but she was super cute and Rarity was still a mite horny, so maybe…

Once Rarity opened the doors, she realized it was a moot point; it was Coloratura, and the siren waved and smiled politely as Rarity invited her into the theater, checking out the woman’s fine ass as she walked by.

Coloratura was a sight for sore eyes, as she was mesmerizingly beautiful. Rarity didn’t know if that was because of her genuine beauty, the magic of a siren, her connection to Applejack, the fact that she was still horny and just getting moreso every second—

Actually, it was probably a mix of all of the above. So it goes.

“Coloratura!” Rarity clapped her hands and chirped. “What can I do for you? It’s always a pleasure to receive a visit from you.”

“Oh, why thank you, Rarity,” Coloratura giggled, and calling it a ‘siren song’ felt too obvious, and yet. “You don’t have to flatter me though.”

“Haha, please,” Rarity said confidently, stepping right up to Coloratura and brushing her bangs out of her face. “Peasants flatter. I simply speak the truth.”

“I have a hard time believing that,” Coloratura rubbed her arm and took a step back. “I’m not—”

“You’re not what?” Rarity hummed, taking Coloratura’s chin in her hand and tipping it up so that Rarity could look into those beautiful eyes of hers. “Gorgeous? Sexy? Divine? Enchanting? Because you are all of those things, and frankly I tire easily of needless self-deprecation, so choose your words wisely.”

“Damn,” Coloratura said, her face turning bright red as Rarity’s lure sunk into her heart. “I didn’t—I don’t know what to say.”

“You don’t have to say anything,” Rarity closed the distance between her and Coloratura, pinning the siren against the wall. The siren was an inch or two taller, but that just made the fact that Rarity had her wrapped around her finger even harder to ignore.

“Rarity,” Coloratura gasped, and Rarity seized the initiative by grabbing the siren’s ass, eliciting the cutest little yelp from her. She arched her back as Rarity kissed her neck, moaning in pleasure until she was silenced by a kiss to her lips.

“Darling,” Rarity whispered, “you’re divine.”



If Coloratura looked beautiful walking into Rarity’s theater, she looked even more beautiful naked on Rarity’s bed, the siren’s cock twitching and her asshole oozing from Rarity’s masterful performance on the woman’s body.

“That was—”

“Shhh,” Rarity put her finger to Coloratura’s lips, lying beside her on the bed. “Just be in the moment. Don’t talk for a minute. Savor this.”

Coloratura nodded, and Rarity planted a kiss on the siren’s forehead.

“Can I ask you something?” Coloratura waited maybe five seconds before speaking again, but Rarity could appreciate the effort so she took it with good humor.

“You may,” Rarity said.

“About Applejack?”

Rarity paused. Coloratura had her attention before, but now she had Rarity’s interest.

“Do tell.”

“I just— I— eugh,” Coloratura groaned and ashamedly covered her face in her hands, but Rarity gently took her wrists and moved those hands down to the bed.

“Don’t you hide that beautiful face from me,” Rarity said with a smile, Coloratura grinning bashfully and looking away, which gave Rarity the perfect opportunity to do one of her favorite moves, pushing Coloratura’s gaze back to her and planting a kiss on her lips. “Do go on, gorgeous.”

“I dunno what to do about her,” Coloratura said. “And I guess I wanted to ask you for advice, since you practically have her eating out of your hand.”

“Ohoh sweetheart I wish,” Rarity giggled and batted her hand. “I’m surprised though, I was under the impression that you two were childhood friends.”

“We were, we are, I guess, um,” Coloratura stammered and she sat up, groaning as she picked herself up and hissing as she sat her sore ass on the bed, Rarity licking her lips at her handiwork. “She’s become such a different person lately, and you always seem to know so much more than anyone else, so I— I was— I wanted—”

“Say no more, I get it,” Rarity hummed.

Coloratura was being quite vulnerable now. It would be easy enough to take advantage of this moment and trap her in a place where she relied upon Rarity, eventually forcing her to rely solely on Rarity. Wouldn’t that be sweet…

“You need to have a little more self-respect, to be quite honest,” Rarity said in disgust. “If Applejack treats you in a way that disrespects you, it doesn’t matter who she is or what you’ve experienced together. No one should be allowed to treat you in a way that makes you feel small. Not Applejack, not me, not anyone.”

Rarity was a queen. A queen doesn’t prey upon her own subjects.

“I guess,” Coloratura sighed, unconvinced.

“What’s to ‘guess’,” Rarity spat, sitting up and glaring at Coloratura. “I told you before, I only speak the truth. You either accept the fact that you deserve respect, or you let others walk over you. Which will it be?”

“I, uh, I suppose I should pick the first one, huh?” Coloratura laughed awkwardly, and Rarity groaned loudly and threw herself back onto the bed.

“You ‘suppose’,” Rarity rolled her eyes. “Honestly you really are hopeless, you know that?”

“I know,” Coloratura turned to Rarity and smiled, “but I appreciate your advice and your generosity regardless.”

“Nothing generous about it,” Rarity said flatly. “You asked my opinion, I gave it. Anyone would do the same, especially for a mare as ravishing as you.”

“Oh stop,” Coloratura batted her hand and stood up, and Rarity just grinned. If Coloratura thought she could get away with turning her back on Rarity, she was in for an interesting surprise.

“Where are you going?” Rarity whispered as she appeared behind Coloratura in an instant, her fangs gracing the siren’s soft neck, Rarity’s hands around the woman’s waist, the sudden jolt in the speed of Coloratura’s breathing resonating against the vampire’s flesh that was pressed tightly against the siren’s. “Darling?”

“W-where do you want me to go?” Coloratura whimpered, an eager smile on her face. Rarity pulled the siren even closer to her, Rarity’s ‘marehood’ as it were poking between the woman’s cheeks and eliciting an elated moan from her.

“Are you ready for round two, my dear?”



Coloratura looked beautiful on the bed for sure, but she was even more gorgeous on the floor on her hands and knees, panting and begging as Rarity filled her up.

“God, Rarity,” Coloratura moaned in ecstasy as she hit the floor, unable to keep herself up anymore.

“Why did you say my name twice?” Rarity asked flippantly, admiring her handiwork once more as Coloratura laid naked and conquered before her.

Coloratura just panted. She was frankly in another world, and Rarity couldn’t blame her.

“You’re welcome to sleep it off, sweetheart,” Rarity said, walking over Coloratura’s barely-conscious body and flicking her tail. “I have a dinner planned with my lovely little Coco Pommel. It’s a very special occasion.”

“Whu huh?” Coloratura said lazily, her tongue flopping out of her mouth.

“Pick your tongue up, girl, the floor’s dirty,” Rarity laughed. “Anyhoo, if you must know, I’m going to celebrate the capture of the pony soul. That’s what you came here to tell me right?” Rarity turned and sat down beside Coloratura, wagging her finger at the dazed siren. “Before you got oh so distracted somehow.”

“How did you—”

“Coco was way ahead of you,” Rarity stood up. “She’s ahead of everyone, aside from me. Anyway, as I said, you can stay here. I’ll tend to our new friends in the morning. Tonight, I plan to enjoy myself.”

“I should head back,” Coloratura groaned as she struggled to stand up, her legs wobbling underneath her and she fell onto her ass on the bed, which couldn’t have felt good if her pained gritting of her teeth was any indication.

“Do as you wish,” Rarity shrugged. “Either way, I’ll see you in the morning. Think of me until then.”

“I will,” Coloratura giggled bashfully.

“Oh believe me,” Rarity cantered over to Coloratura and placed her finger under the siren’s chin, tracing it along until Coloratura was looking up into Rarity’s eyes, “I know you will, darling.”
> 25. Optimism
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Applejack felt like dogshit, but that was nothing a good shower couldn’t fix. Shame the shower in the gates of Paradise building was a right disaster. Coloratura couldn’t even use the thing without getting burned, and Applejack had to wait for what felt like a damn year before the hot water ran out so she could take a cold shower.

But once the cold water came in, and Applejack got out of her filthy, sweaty clothes, she started to feel a mite better. The water on her fur almost felt like it was cleansing her of the weight of her sins, if only for a moment.

As her mind idled in the shower, she found her thoughts turning toward family, as they always did. Specifically, in this case, to Autumn Blaze and Coloratura.

Coloratura had been Applejack’s friend since they were kids; Applejack’s ma and pa still led the Apple pack back in those days, and they’d often pick up stray monsters and take care of ‘em, Coloratura just happened to be one, and entered Applejack’s life right as she was starting to think of girls in a new way.

The crush was pretty much instantaneous. And while Applejack wouldn’t realize until she was much, much older— until it was too late, honestly— it was also mutual. Applejack wanted to be Rara’s knight in shining armor, such as it was, and she was a dumbass kid who took far too long to realize fairy tales aren’t real, and never will be.

As for Autumn, Applejack only met the spirited salamander after Applejack had took over her parents’ pack herself. She followed their lead and took in strays, but instead of merely looking for ways to survive, Applejack’s pack was gonna change the whole Circle together, so they were constantly looking for new and more powerful allies.

Autumn Blaze impressed Applejack when they met, the pair agreeing to a spar mere minutes after introducing themselves, and they’d been best sparring pals ever since. Autumn was practically Applejack’s second in command, but after everything fell apart…

Applejack let the water fall over her mane. She needed to wash these thoughts out of her head and watch them spiral into the drain.

Didn’t matter now.

The door to the washroom creaked open and Applejack sprung to attention; with no curtain on the shower, her body was pretty much at the mercy of whoever’s gaze just wandered in.

It was Autumn, meandering in with a sigh and taking off her clothes seemingly without noticing that Applejack was already in here. Applejack was about to loudly clear her throat to grab Autumn’s attention, but the elemental popped her shirt off and Applejack was dumbstruck by the woman’s sexy bare chest.

“Ahem,” Applejack croaked awkwardly.

“Oh!” Autumn cried out sheepishly, covering her chest with the shirt in her hands. Her expression softened when she saw Applejack, a flirtatious smile creeping onto her lips. “Oh…”

“What’re you doin’ here?” Applejack wasn’t exactly in a mood to flirt.

“Uh, I wanted the shower,” Autumn said, pointing with her hand that held her shirt to the shower, and then bashfully retracting her hand and covering herself again when she realized she was showing off her chest again. “I can wait ‘til you’re done. Unless you want me to join you?” she said with a devilish smirk.

Applejack just responded with a bemused glare and turned the shower off.

“Right, so,” Autumn cleared her throat and clapped, before throwing her shirt to the ground. Her bashfulness sure didn’t last. “How’d things go with the prisoners? Do you think we’ll be able to get ‘em to co-operate with Rarity?”

“Dunno,” Applejack shrugged and stepped over the railing of the shower tub, before getting on all fours and vigorously shaking the water out of her fur and mane. She stood up and cleared her throat. “Haven’t talked to ‘em yet, was just about to. I have a good feeling I’ll be able to get through to the purple one, she seemed agreeable enough. The demon, not so much.”

“Hmmm,” Autumn pulled on the waistband of her yoga pants, but instead of taking them off, turned away from Applejack first and then took them off slowly, bending over and touching her hooves in the process. It was so obvious she was trying to show off for Applejack, but she wasn’t interested in humoring the elemental.

But she couldn’t not look… Autumn’s ass was so fat, it made Applejack drool.

“So!” Autumn chirped as she stood up like a shot, quickly turning around as Applejack tried to hurriedly put her gaze someplace else, though of course her eyes landed right on Autumn’s cock. “What do you think Rarity will do with them if they do co-operate?”

“That’s up to Rarity,” Applejack shrugged. “Ain’t my problem.”

“What would you do if it were up to you?”

“Enslave the pony,” Applejack responded without hesitation, “kill the demon.”

“Damn, just like that, huh?” Autumn Blaze laughed and crossed her arms.

“Is that so hard to believe?” Applejack asked irritably. “The demon girl’s way too tough to control. If she isn’t killed, she’ll be a pain in the neck for sure.”

“And you’re okay with killing her?” Autumn asked coldly, her question piercing through the wall of Applejack’s stoicism into her gentle feelings.

“I—I would, if it meant gettin’ my revenge,” Applejack said firmly.

She’d avoid killing anyone other than the Flim Flam Bros., and maybe Rarity, if she could. She’d go outta her way to avoid it, in fact, but if push came to shove… the brothers had to die.

“Alright,” Applejack gathered her clothes and slung them over her shoulder; she could get dressed out in the hall, “I’m outta here.”

“Okay,” Autumn chirped and went to give Applejack a peck on the cheek, but the werewolf swerved to avoid it.

“Just outta curiosity, Autumn,” Applejack said before the awkwardness of the prior exchange could fully set in, “what would you do with ‘em?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” Autumn Blaze laughed, and Applejack just gave that look she gave whenever she had no clue what Autumn was talking about. “I’d be friends with them!”

“Ah, of course,” Applejack sighed and rubbed the back of her neck. “Awful optimistic of ya.”

“Says the woman who wants to overthrow the Empress,” Autumn said teasingly, poking Applejack in the ribs, and Applejack gave her a stiff, polite laugh.

But as Applejack left the washroom and headed into the hall, she couldn’t really get Autumn’s words outta her head. She was right, in a sense.

Applejack had long since given up on her plans to overthrow the Empress, but even just get to her revenge, she’d need to think big.

She’d need to gamble on a little optimism.
> 26. Reading Applejack
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Believe it or not, this was not Twilight Sparkle’s first experience being captured by monsters. Twilight was soft and inquisitive, always wanting to learn more about the monsters who came to the surface through open dialogue with them, which was at odds with her fellow Paladins who were trained to slay monsters on sight.

This impulse tended to get her captured. A lot.

Twilight was sat in the hallway, secured to a door knocker-esque panel on the wall by a chain attached to a collar fastened around her neck. Her legs were folded under her, her hooves tied by the ankles and attached to a rope around her stomach.

Her arms were tied behind her back, fastened to her chest with at least three different coils of rope in three different places, and rope was tied around her chest and shoulders too, as well as her legs being tied together at the thighs, and above and below the knees.

The monsters who restrained her clearly did not want her to break free, though she had a suspicion that the salamander who actually performed the bondage was just enjoying the act of tying Twilight for her own sake.

Twilight was also gagged with a thankfully clean wad of cloth in her mouth, and then silvery tape strapped across and around her muzzle. It kept her quiet for sure, but mostly she was dreading getting it taken off of her fur. That was going to hurt.

She sat at the end of a long hallway, that seemed to stretch farther and farther out every time she looked at it. The floor looked like brick but was cheap linoleum, fading and withering with age, and the walls weren’t faring much better; they were at one time white, but were now an amalgamation of disgusting shades of blue, grey, and orange.

The only lights came from square windows in the ceiling, but the glass covering those windows were so caked in grime and ooze that they were functionally useless as lighting, only illuminating enough to see vaguely two feet in front of Twilight’s nose.

Twilight’s ears were working just fine though, and they perked up at the sound of hoofsteps coming toward the hall from around the corner. No, these weren’t ‘hoof’ steps, these were something else; much more delicate, scratching against the floor.

Clawsteps. If Twilight had to bet, she’d say it must have been Applejack, and she was quite delighted to see her theory prove true when Applejack turned the corner into her hallway, stopping in her tracks and standing perfectly still at the end of the hall, nothing more than her silhouette visible in the pale lighting.

As Applejack slowly approached, Twilight wondered what kind of tact she should take with her. Twilight didn’t get a very good read on the werewolf’s personality, covered as it was by a wall of stoicism, so Twilight wasn’t sure what kind of airs she could put on to endear herself to the werewolf.

Oh well. When in doubt, honesty was the way to go. And the truth was, Twilight was tentatively excited to see Applejack, so when the werewolf came within view, Twilight perked up and let out a muffled greeting. Her words were lost to her gag, but her pleasant tone carried through.

“Awful cheerful for a hostage, ain’tcha?” Applejack let out a bitter laugh, but Twilight just shrugged as well as she could through her ropes. “Damn, Autumn really did a number on you. This feels unnecessary, lemme just…”

Applejack knelt and slashed through some of Twilight’s ropes with her claws, freeing her shoulders and her ankles, the latter of which was especially useful to Twilight as she was worried about circulation to her legs, and now she was able to stretch them out in front of herself, and that felt wonderful. She even let out a little sigh of relief.

“Agh, she used tape?” Applejack groaned as she inspected Twilight’s gag. “That girl never thinks anything through, that’s gonna be a nightmare to take off. And it’s only gonna get worse too, so I might as well do it now.”

“Mm! Mhm, mhm!” Twilight nodded happily and pleaded. She would love to get this gag off of her.

“Alright, hold still,” Applejack sighed and dug her claw under the edge of the tape wrapped around Twilight’s muzzle, Twilight bracing herself for it.

Twilight wasn’t sure what to expect; either Applejack ripping it off of her in one excruciating motion, or slowly and agonizingly letting it peel off her and take a bunch of her fur with it. What she was not expecting was for Applejack to be so methodical, following the peeling tape with her other thumb to make sure it came off as painlessly as possible.

It still hurt, and Twilight winced and whined through the whole process, which took quite a while since Autumn Blaze had tied several loops around Twilight’s muzzle, but it was mostly painless, and Twilight was surprised at Applejack’s charity and deftness of hand, and also was just glad to be able to move her jaw again.

“This is gonna hurt,” Applejack said as she dug her claw under the edge of one of the two strips of tape pasted across Twilight’s mouth. “I don’t want this to take another year, so brace yerself.”

Twilight tried to grit her teeth but ended up just biting down on the cloth in her mouth. When Applejack started peeling the tape off, Twilight winced and her whole body tensed up, but Applejack didn’t let up, slowly peeling the tape off of her mouth and leaving a painful red imprint in its place.

The second strip didn’t go any easier, and Twilight swore there were tears stinging her eyes by the time it was done. Applejack held out her hand and Twilight spit the cloth out into it, breathing a huge sigh of relief as her mouth was now fully freed.

“Great! Now untie the rest of me, please!” Twilight said with a big smile, and Applejack laughed out loud.

“Damn girl, love yer confidence,” Applejack said with a smile of her own, showing off the fangs that were a constant among all monsters from the Underworld. “I’m obviously not gonna untie you. If I released you, you’d just have the boss of this Circle on yer ass in a second, and trust me, you don’t want that.

“The safest place for you right now is here, chained to this wall.”

“The boss of the Circle,” Twilight hummed, figuring it was time to play detective a little bit, “is that this Rarity you were talking about before? The vampire?”

“That’s right,” Applejack nodded and sat with her back against the wall on Twilight’s right. “She’s a vampire queen, and a damn powerful one. You don’t wanna get on her bad side.”

“Is that why you’re afraid of her?” Twilight asked. “She’s too powerful for you and your friends to defeat?”

“I ain’t afraid of Rarity!” Applejack snapped, Twilight clearly hitting a nerve. “But here in the Underworld, you respect the hierarchy of power, or you get yerself killed. I ain’t intendin’ on gettin’ killed until I reach my goal, so for now I’m workin’ with what I got.”

“I see, I see,” Twilight nodded. “So what does this mean for me, then? What happens to me and my companion?”

“I wouldn’t worry about yerself too much,” Applejack said calmly. “Rarity needs yer soul to do whatever it is she wants to do, and a pony soul is too valuable to lose by killin’ its host.”

“And my companion?” Twilight said strictly. Sunset may have been a real jerk, but she didn’t deserve to be tortured or killed or anything like that.

“Depends on her,” Applejack shrugged. “If she wants to hand over the soul nicely, I’m sure nothing bad’ll happen to her.”

Yeah, that’s not gonna happen. Not with Sunset Shimmer.

“Otherwise? Her fate’s up to Rarity,” Applejack continued, and then she stood up with a groan. “Tell you what though, the pair of ya impressed me during our fight. I could use some decently strong meat shields for what I’m tryin’ to do. So I’m gonna talk to Rarity and see if we can’t all get what we want.”

“Sounds good,” Twilight nodded with a smile. “I trust you, Applejack.”

“Yeah?” Applejack laughed. “That’s a good way to get yerself killed.”

“Maybe,” Twilight just shrugged. She missed it while she was more heavily restrained so now she wanted to take full advantage of the opportunity. “But I’m willing to bet on you. I hope we can be friends.”

“I ain’t interested in makin’ friends,” Applejack growled, and frankly Twilight should’ve expected as much.

“Fair enough, fair enough,” Twilight relented, nodding affirmatively. “Well I hope we can work together, and that we can all get what we’re chasing after.”

“Mm, yeah,” Applejack scratched her cheek and looked away from Twilight, “we’ll see.”

Okay, now Twilight was getting a read on Applejack’s personality, and to be quite honest, Twilight was confident that if she played her cards right, she’d be able to get Applejack on her side. The werewolf was outwardly only concerned with her revenge, but Twilight could see the cracks in her armor as if they were glowing neon.

Twilight didn’t want to put the cart before the horse of course, but she had a good feeling that she could rely on Applejack, whether the werewolf wanted to play along or not.
> 27. Spite
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Applejack couldn’t help but think that Sunset Shimmer looked pretty pathetic bound and gagged and hanging upside down from the ceiling like she was. Honestly, considering the performance the demon put into her fight with Applejack, maybe she was better off like this.

Applejack wanted to feel smug about it, but she wasn’t really responsible for it at all; Autumn knocked Sunset out and Coloratura tied her up, so Applejack didn’t exactly have room to gloat.

Lucky she wasn’t here to gloat, she was here to talk.

Applejack knelt and took the cloth off of Sunset’s mouth, the demon spitting the wad in her mouth onto the ground in disgust.

“You come for the soul, Applejack?” Sunset said with a smirk. She was awful smug for a woman tied up and hanging upside down. “You better be careful, I can still bite.”

“No need, yer tongue’s sharp enough,” Applejack snarked, and Sunset let out a single cackle. “Anyway, I’m just here to talk abou—”

“Then untie me,” Sunset said.

“I obviously can’t do that,” Applejack said flatly. Did Sunset think she was stupid or something?

“Then I don’t have anything to say,” Sunset attempted to shrug, but the ropes kept her shoulders in place and she just groaned instead.

“Fine then,” Applejack scoffed and stood above Sunset, looking down at her literally and figuratively, “you can just listen th—”

Sunset interrupted Applejack’s words with very loud obviously fake snoring noises, and Applejack dug her claws into her own arm. She took a deep breath and let it go; she’d be damned if she let a woman like this genuinely get under her skin.

“I’m tryin’ to help you, y’know,” Applejack growled, tapping her foot.

“HA! No you’re not!” Sunset cackled. “Oh, sorry. No you ain’t. If you wanted to help, you would untie me.”

“And you’d just try and escape.”

“And?” Sunset said flippantly. “If you want to negotiate, I’m game. But this isn’t a negotiation, this thing you’re trying to do here. You just wanna flex the power you have over me right now, and I tell you what, I’m not interested in participating in that bullshit.”

“Interested to know how yer little purple friend will feel about this kinda stubbornness,” Applejack sniped. She let her guard down after Twilight had been so agreeable, she wasn’t expecting Sunset Shimmer to be so damn obnoxious.

“Please,” Sunset laughed, “you haven’t seen stubborn until you’ve talked to her.”

“I don’t think you understand what I’m gettin’ at here,” Applejack knelt and grabbed Sunset’s hair and pulled it back, the demon wincing for a sec and frowning disinterestedly but otherwise not responding. “If you don’t wanna co-operate, somethin’ bad might happen to her.”

“You and I both know you can’t risk harming a hair on her little purple head,” Sunset said smugly.

“We can still torture her.”

Frankly, Applejack was starting to get pissed off enough that even she wasn’t sure if that was a bluff. It probably was.

“See, there’s a big difference between you and her though,” Sunset hummed.

“And what’s that?”

“She can’t be killed,” Sunset looked Applejack right in the eye and grinned, “you can be.”

“Are you serious?” Applejack grinned ear to ear. It was the first time Sunset had said something that didn’t annoy her, cuz it was so dang funny. “You actually tryin’ to make threats?” Applejack gave Sunset’s hanging legs a push and watched her sway helplessly side to side, bemused grimace on her face. “Like this?”

“Whatever,” Sunset rolled her eyes and it was adorable, Applejack taking her opportunity to grin smugly this time. “Anyway, I’m done talking to you now so, if you have anything else to say, say it to someone who cares.”

“If you think you can defeat Rari—”

Sunset made loud obnoxious snoring noises, but Applejack elected to ignore them.

“You couldn’t even beat m—”

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

“Y—”

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

Applejack groaned in frustration and picked the damp wad of cloth off the ground, shoving it back into the demon’s mouth before tying the cloth gag back around Sunset’s mouth as tight as she could, and all Applejack could think was that she wished Sunset had been the one who had been muzzled with the painful tape gag instead of Twilight.
> 28. Shining Gem
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Fluttershy stirred awake with a grumpy groan. She could tell right away that the lights were on above the Circle again and that Zecora wasn’t in her bed anymore, which made it a little harder for Fluttershy to push herself to really wake up.

Push she did though, propping herself up with her arms and letting out an exhausted yawn. She almost felt more tired now than when she’d fallen asleep, as was often the way of things.

Oh well. She promised she wouldn’t let Zecora down, and Zecora had her own responsibilities to worry about anyway, she couldn’t just be doting on Fluttershy all the time regardless of how much Fluttershy wanted that exact thing to be the case actually.

So she sat up and stretched her arms up over her head, groaning away the sand in her eyes and the exhaustion creeping into her bones. There was a lot to do today, and nothing to do but to do it.

Fluttershy drew the curtains and looked down the mountain that her home was built on top of. The mountain wasn’t so high that you couldn’t see the ground at its base, but it was still enough to make an acrophobic siren a little dizzy, so she stepped away from the window and took a deep breath.

A knock at her door made Fluttershy jump and before she could ask who it was, the door slammed open and in walked a peryton— a monster with the face and antlers of a stag but the winged arms of a harpy and talons to match— with pale blue fur and a fiery red mane that fell across her face in neat bangs but was otherwise wild and untamed.

“Fluttershy! You’re awake!” Windy Whistles beamed, holding out her arms and Fluttershy just had to brace herself for the incoming hug.

“Good morning to you too, Windy,” Fluttershy squeaked out as her bones were crushed by Windy’s intense hug. Windy was a dear friend, but her unlimited energy and enthusiasm wore Fluttershy down awful fast sometimes.

“Are you ready to attack the day, Fluttershy?!” Windy exclaimed as she spun Fluttershy around, the siren wresting herself from Windy’s grasp for the sake of her health.

“I’m not even dressed yet,” Fluttershy said, and Windy just laughed.

“Well then get dressed, silly billy,” Windy blew a playful raspberry and Fluttershy rolled her eyes and shook her head with a smile. Despite the occasional hassle caused by Windy’s exuberance, her enthusiasm was hard not to love. “We got a big day ahead of us!”

“Oh!” Fluttershy perked up at that. “Do you know what we’re doing today?”

“Yes!” Windy pumped her fists. “I’ll tell you on our way down the mountain, we’ll walk and talk. But for now, you should get dressed! You’re the shining gem of our Family, you gotta look the part!”

“I know,” Fluttershy said, trying not to sound too worn down.

Windy headed on her way and left Fluttershy alone to get dressed. Fluttershy took a deep breath, which seemed harder to do with each passing day, and dragged her hands down her face.

She went to her dresser and retrieved her signature black and red dress which had been cleaned and repaired since last night and placed neatly folded back in her dresser. It was surreal, looking at this thing and knowing what it had been through yesterday, and now had no indication that anything had ever happened to it.

She envied that.

And now she was getting envious of a dress so she sighed and tried to put those thoughts out of her mind.

It was funny though, as she put on her dress and her sockies, it wasn’t Zecora or Tree Hugger or even herself that her mind became preoccupied with. It was that girl she fought yesterday; Rainbow Dash.

The girl’s quetzalcoatl partner was fine too, but Rainbow Dash was something else. Confident and boisterous, and with some incredibly powerful and complex magic.

Fluttershy had a strong hunch that those lasers were Aviamancy, fitting for a harpy, but the explosions were something else entirey; Dragomancy, Fluttershy suspected. Combining two different schools of magic into a single spell was quite a feat, and meant this Rainbow Dash must have been exceptionally talented.

And yet, Fluttershy had a sneaking suspicion that the harpy had no idea what kind of power she had. If she did, she wouldn’t be taking orders from that quetzal who was exhaustingly mediocre by comparison.

Fluttershy just knew that with the proper guidance, Rainbow Dash could become incredibly powerful, and the thought of having that kind of power under the influence of the Family made Fluttershy salivate. Though remembering Rainbow’s scantily clad body trussed up by Fluttershy’s tendrils may have had something to do with that too.

Still though, trying to tame a beast that wild might cause more harm than good, and it was too big of a risk to afford the Family’s resources to it.

But it was certainly something to keep in mind for Fluttershy’s own personal desires… next time she ran into that rainbow-maned harpy, she would have a lot to consider…

Fluttershy was now fully outfitted in the dress her mother bestowed upon her, Fluttershy’s symbol as the ‘shining gem of the Family’, with a window cut in the front to show off the literal shining gem in Fluttershy’s chest, her pride and joy as a siren. Wearing it was always a heady experience, both filling her with immense pride and shouldering her with immense pressure.

Nothing to be done for it though; she lived and died to serve the Family.

Fluttershy stepped onto the narrow stone balcony of her home, surrounded by moss and aging orange and white rock. The structures that dotted the mountain below her all looked identical in size and shape, with their only differences being the natural wear from time and weather.

Such was the home of the Family of Whispers, reigning high on a mountain over the foolish and simple creatures of the Underworld’s Second Circle, with no member having superiority over any other. Except, of course, for the Family’s shining gem.

Windy Whistles was waiting for Fluttershy on the balcony, and the two greeted each other with a polite, enthusiastic wave. But not only was Windy there, Zecora was as well, and Fluttershy’s eyes lit up as they met Zecora’s face for exactly one fraction of an instant before Fluttershy turned her eyes away and felt her cheeks burning up.

“Z-Zecora!” Fluttershy squeaked, feeling so silly that she still got all flustered talking to someone she’d know for uhhhhh a long time? Time felt meaningless and empty. “I didn’t expect you to be here!”

“Good morning, beautiful,” Zecora hummed and grabbed Fluttershy by the collar of her dress, dragging her forward and putting her hands on Fluttershy’s butt, which got another lustful squeak out of Fluttershy that was quickly silenced by Zecora’s lips locking with hers, Fluttershy nearly collapsing from the sudden deluge of gay emotions as she moaned happily in Zecora’s embrace.

“You’re a charmer, Zecora,” Fluttershy giggled bashfully, playfully pushing Zecora away. “So, what are we doing today, uhhh Windy, you said you knew.”

“Mhm, I sure do!” Windy declared proudly, pounding herself on the chest. Fluttershy was definitely paying at least fifty-percent attention to her too, with a mere fifty-percent of her focus going to the feeling of Zecora holding her hand. “Walk and talk time!”

The walk down the Family’s mountain was always a pleasant one for Fluttershy. Family members would poke their heads out their windows or be playing on the mountain or just chatting, and they’d all spare a second to say hello to Fluttershy as she passed by. It was a humbling thing, and reminded her that she was part of something much bigger than herself.

It was nice, and it helped to keep Fluttershy from getting overwhelmed by the very unpleasant news that Zecora and Windy were relaying to her.

Apparently, according to the Family’s spies within the Lightning Knights, the Knights were preparing for a final campaign; a full-on assault on the Family’s headquarters, recruiting or just razing every village between the Lightning Knights’ fortress and the Family’s mountain.

Until now, the two factions had been battling over small towns, in skirmishes that had a fiercely limited scope and minimal collateral damage, but apparently the Knights were tired of losing, and they wanted to take matters into their own hands once and for all.

The only problem was that the Family had no idea why the Knights had suddenly had this change of heart and strategy, which was more than a little concerning.

“So what are we going to do?” Fluttershy asked as the trio reached the base of the mountain.

“We gotta hit ‘em where they live,” Windy said confidently, pounding her fist against her palm. “Or at least, we need to cut their legs off.”

“Our plan is to split our forces,” Zecora explained. “One group, led by Tree Hugger, is going to be meeting the Knights in the fields and whittling them down as best they can.

“Meanwhile, Fluttershy dearest, our force is going to take the secret battery the Lightning Knights have been relying on away from them and use it for ourselves. That alone should provide a swing in momentum that at the very least will cause the Knights to go skittering back into their caves for a while.”

“Battery?” Fluttershy asked curiously. She was aware of some mysterious magic the Knights had been using to empower their soldiers, Fluttershy nearly lost to it yesterday in her battle with Rainbow Dash, but if they had discovered its source then that was news to her.

“A creature, a poppet, named Pinkie Pie,” Zecora said, a predatory grin creeping onto the mummy’s skeletal face. “That’s our target. We will sway her to the Family and, as Windy so elegantly put it, cut the Knights off at the legs.”

“We’ll have two shining gems,” Windy beamed, holding up two fingers before clenching her fist, “and they’ll have zero.”

“It will be dangerous,” Zecora said, caressing Fluttershy’s hand. “We will likely need to go into the heart of the Lightning Knights’ territory. And as our Family can’t match the Knights’ penchant for bloodlust, we will need to defeat them with numbers.”

“Which means,” Fluttershy whined, “we’ll need my siren song.”

“We’ll need it more than ever before,” Windy said. “We’re going to attempt to capture several villages on our road to the Knights’ encampment, and we’ll need as many of those villagers on our side as possible.”

“I’ve never been able to sway a whole village before,” Fluttershy said. She wasn’t quite hyperventilating yet, but her confidence was certainly slipping as she was faced with what felt like a completely impossible task. “I don’t know if I can…”

“You can,” a tender, loving voice resonated in Fluttershy’s ears, and she turned to see a woman who would almost seem like an ordinary mare at first glance if not for the mouth full of sharp fangs, several of them sticking out even through closed lips. She had pink curled hair and pale yellow fur, a warm beacon of softness and light in the treacherous world of the Underworld.

“Mom!” Fluttershy called out giddily, running to her mother who welcomed her with a comforting embrace. “I’m so glad you’re here to see me off.”

“I wouldn’t miss it,” Posey said softly, refusing to let Fluttershy go, and making her feel safe. She gently raised Fluttershy’s chin to look her in the eye. “And trust me, I know you can do this. We’ve been training you for this your whole life. You’ve got this.”

“Okay,” Fluttershy nodded shakily, “okay! I’ve got this!”

She refused to let her mom down. She didn’t want to let Windy or Tree Hugger or Zecora or anyone else down either! Everyone was counting on her now, and it was her time to show everyone how brightly this gem could shine!

“Alright, now that we have that out of the way,” Posey cleared her throat and then let out a giddy squeal as she squished Fluttershy’s cheeks, “I AM SO PROUD OF YOU! MY BABY’S FIRST CRITICAL MISSION! OOOOOHHH I’M SO EXCITED! You have to promise me to tell me all about it as soon as you get back, okay?”

“Okay,” Fluttershy laughed and batted her mom’s hands away. “But wait, how come you can’t just come with me?”

“I have a mission of my own,” Posey said, her tone and expression deadly serious, but only for a moment before her warm and gentle smile returned. “It requires a personal touch.”

“Awww, I wish I could go with you,” Windy Whistles whined and trotted up to Posey, who laughed softly and gave Windy a kiss on the cheek.

“I wish you could too,” Posey said, running her hand through Windy’s mane. “But there’s no one else I trust more than you, and I want you to be with my daughter and keep her safe, no matter what.”

“You can count on me!” Windy gave a fiery salute.

“I know I can,” Posey said fondly, tracing her finger across Windy’s cheek and under her chin, before planting a kiss on her lips.

And with that, and a few more goodbyes and well wishes, Fluttershy departed with Zecora and Windy in tow, onward to a mission that would prove critical for not only the Family’s victory in their war with the Lightning Knights, but their very existence as well.

No pressure or anything!
> 29. Delicate Balance
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Pinkie Pie had been sent back to the Lightning Knights’ headquarters under the cover of darkness, and she slept through the wagon ride, so by the time morning came the poppet was spry as a spry thing. Where did the term spry come from? Is that shorthand? Whatever etymylogololy is weird and dumb.

Anyhoo, Lightning Dust was sound in bed when the lights came on over the Second Circle. She tended to be a heavy sleeper, so making sure she was up and at ‘em come the dawn was one of Pinkie’s responsibilities as Lightning’s pet.

It required a gentle touch, that only Pinkie Pie could deliver.

“WAKE UP GOON!” Pinkie screamed as she kicked Lightning Dust right out of her bed and onto the stone floor below, the woman hitting the ground with a hilarious thud.

A teal-furred clawed hand rose up onto the bed; semi-translucent as electricity could be seen sparking and flashing within it. Lightning Dust’s snarling maw came up right after it; the fury had the face of a wolf and the wings of a bat, and she was covered in rough, unkempt feathers except for the fur on her face. Her black-sclerae eyes tore into Pinkie’s body like knives as blood dripped from pockets of tearing flesh across twisted fangs.

Even by the standards of the Underworld, Lightning Dust was a monster, and she looked the part.

So Pinkie threw a pillow at her.

“Let’s go, nerd!” Pinkie laughed. Her laughter charged the magic of creatures around her, so it was music to Lightning’s ears, but it was never enough for her. “We got stuff to—”

Lightning appeared behind Pinkie in a flash, and tore Pinkie’s dress from her body, putting her clawed fingers on Pinkie’s stomach as Pinkie bit her lip and braced herself… for Lightning tickling her tummy.

Her fingers ran across Pinkie’s belly like really tickly things and Pinkie couldn’t help but laugh and laugh, and Lightning kept tickling her— her tummy, her hooves, her armpits, anywhere that hadn't been completely exhausted— until Pinkie was gasping and wheezing for breath, her body collapsed and bright red on the floor, and Lightning surging and overflowing with magic power.

As Pinkie gasped and tried to crawl her way to the bed and lift herself up, Lightning Dust dragged her by the hooves back down to the ground, kneeling next to her and grabbing her by her mane, lifting her head up and licking her lips.

“I like this,” she whispered. “You look really pathetic, it suits you.”

Pinkie smiled and bit her lip. She hated to admit it, but she kinda liked being bullied.

Lightning picked Pinkie up and carried her in her arms, Pinkie putting her arms around Lightning for balance as Lightning wandered the camp carrying Pinkie’s naked body around for all the other soldiers to see, as was their morning routine. Pinkie would be lying if she said she didn’t get a little bit of a kick out of it.

Pinkie Pie’s body was full to bursting with magical energy; she was an anomaly in the magic-starved realm of the Underworld, and that’s why her laughter was so powerful, because she had so much magic inside her to share with others.

Some monsters though, wanted to tear that magic right out of her body with their claws and fangs.

All the other knights looked on lustfully at Pinkie’s body, like a swarm of desperate predators drooling over a tantalizing meal, but Lightning was the only one who was allowed to touch her, and that exclusivity made Lightning so much more powerful, and made Pinkie feel so much more desirable.

Eventually, they made the rounds around the entire camp, Lightning showing off her superiority to her soldiers through her trophy wife until she was satisfied, and they returned to their main headquarters; an enormous four-story building covered in moss, built into the side of a hill and overlooking the entire encampment.

Lightning flew up to the balcony on the third floor.

“Alright listen up, candy ass,” Lightning slung Pinkie over her shoulder and smacked her ass, Pinkie biting her lip and trying not to drool, “a little bird told me about something. Something really important.”

“What’s that?” Pinkie asked innocently.

Lightning threw Pinkie onto the ground on her hooves, pinning her against the railing that was falling apart along the edge of the balcony, claws around Pinkie’s throat. Pinkie tried to act like the sweat dripping down her brow was from fear for Lightning’s sake, but the truth was she knew Lightning like the back of her hand and knew just what buttons to press to get what she wanted.

“You wait for me to talk,” Lightning dragged her claw across the side of Pinkie’s neck and underneath her chin, “you understand?”

Pinkie nodded, putting on a scared face to mask her eager smile.

“Thing is,” Lightning explained, “one of our spies in the Family of Whispers has caught wind of a pony soul showing up on the Second Circle. We’re going to capture it— no, I’m going to capture it. With that soul in my possession, I won’t have to answer to anyone, and I won’t need to rely on your flimsy, weak magic.”

A pony soul? That was news to Pinkie’s ears. Very intriguing news at that. Funny that Lightning said she wouldn’t need to rely on Pinkie anymore if she had that soul, cuz Pinkie was thinking the same exact thing in reverse.

Granted, Pinkie didn’t doubt Lightning’s claims of dropping Pinkie like a stone if she had that soul. No, that’s not quite right; Lightning wouldn’t drop her, but the delicate balance of power where the two needed each other to survive would be thrown completely outta whack, and Pinkie wouldn’t be left with any control of Lightning anymore.

That wouldn’t be good. Pinkie would need to get her hands on that soul herself, or get it into the hands of someone a little easier and less bloodthirsty than Lightning Dust, but still someone strong enough to actually use the soul to her advantage.

And Pinkie had an idea that she knew the perfect person.

“So what’s your plan, Lightning Dust?” Pinkie asked, batting her eyelashes and looking as wide-eyed and fascinated by Lightning’s strength as she could.

“We’re gonna run a full-on campaign against the Family of Whispers,” Lightning grinned, clenching her fist, “just tearing through every village we see on the way. The Family’s gonna think it’s just to pressure them, but what they don’t know is that I’m gonna be going after that soul in the meantime.”

“Ah, so you and me are gonna sneak away from—”

“Don’t be dense,” Lightning scoffed, and Pinkie grinned internally. “If I take you, one of our side’s best war assets, on some secret mission, it’ll be obvious something’s up.”

Of course Pinkie already knew that, but she needed to make sure Lightning thought it was her own idea to send Pinkie back to Rainbow Dash.

“Of course,” Lightning looked at Pinkie with a sinister gleam in her eye, “you already knew that, right?”

“Eh?” Pinkie blanched, genuinely confused.

Lightning Dust dug her claws into Pinkie’s shoulders, eliciting a gasp as Lightning pressed her body against Pinkie’s and bent Pinkie over the crumbling railing, Pinkie eyeing the ground far, far below them.

“Don’t think I don’t know what you’re up to,” Lightning chuckled and scritched her claw against Pinkie’s cheek, tearing a little bit of stuffing out of the poppet’s body, fluff and leaves and blood, while the fury’s hands crackled with electricity from within, “this little innocence act you put on to get me to do what you want.”

“I don’t— I dunno what you mean,” Pinkie said worriedly; she had no clue that Lightning was onto her.

“I gotta tell ya,” Lightning whispered, her lips inches from Pinkie’s ears as her body was pressed further into the railing, which started to creak and bend under her weight, “it’s pretty hot.”

“Wait wuh—”

Lightning flew into the air and picked Pinkie up, cradling her in her arms and laughing.

“The way you think you can manipulate me? It’s cute,” Lightning grinned. “And that confidence of yours is pretty sexy too.”

“Uh, thanks I think,” Pinkie laughed awkwardly.

“But don’t think for a second,” Lightning growled, “that you’re gonna get your hands on that soul, cuz it’s mine.”

Pinkie considered for half a sec; she could keep trying to play innocent, play the same game she always had with Lightning, or—

“And what’re you gonna do to stop me?” Pinkie said with a mischievous smile.

—or she could take a risk.

“Oh, I dunno,” Lightning shrugged. “Maybe something like this.”

Lightning dropped Pinkie out of the air, letting her plummet three stories to the solid earth below. As it turns out, there was a good reason why people were afraid of taking risks!

Pinkie’s mind was running a mile a minute, which also felt like the speed she was falling at and that mental connection was not doing her any favors!

She couldn’t just let it end like this but she didn’t know what to do so she just shut her eyes cuz oh no here comes that panic—

Suddenly, her momentum stopped. She opened her eyes, and she was inches from the ground; in fact, her fluffy pink hair was pooling on the earth underneath her, but her body was unharmed. There was a clawed hand around her leg, keeping her from hitting the ground.

“Just as an example,” Lightning Dust said, dropping Pinkie’s leg and letting her hit the ground with a painful but thankfully nonlethal thud.

“Okay, so,” Pinkie said between gasps, her heart and breath still catching up to the fact that she was alive, and surrounded as she was by the preying eyes of the Lightning Knights, without Lightning’s arms around her to protect her, she realized just how vulnerable she was, and how that was Lightning’s message more than the fall was. “What are you gonna do with me?”

“Obviously, you’re going onto the front lines,” Lightning said, slapping the back of her hand against her palm. “I got the reports of yesterday’s battle back before I hit the hay last night, and it sounds like we did awesome. So whatever unit that was, you’re going back to them.”

YES.

“Oh, I see,” Pinkie nodded, trying to make it look like she was still disoriented by the fall, which to be fair she kinda was.

“Yeah, don’t get too excited,” Lightning Dust crossed her arms and touched the ground, before grabbing Pinkie by her mane and yanking her up to her hooves, then smushing her cheeks and grinning thirstily as she looked into Pinkie’s eyes. “At the end of the day, you’re mine. And I’ll kill that whole unit once I get that soul if that’s what I have to do to drill that into your head.”

“Lightning, you don’t have to worry about me,” Pinkie said sympathetically, doing a little pout and putting her hands over Lightning’s, “I won’t abandon you.”

Lightning clicked her tongue and shoved Pinkie away. Lightning tried to walk away, but she only got a few steps before the snarling and drooling of the Lightning Knights made her ears twitch. She glared at them, and Pinkie smiled as they all put their heads down and returned to their business, Lightning grabbing Pinkie by her hair and dragging her back to the mansion on the hill.

“I really don’t need all this sass from you, y’know,” Lightning sighed as she looked out over the balcony.

“I’m not sassing you on purpose,” Pinkie shrugged and stood next to her. “I guess I just have a sassy personality.”

“I’m only doing all this shit to protect you, obviously,” Lightning said harshly.

“Obviously,” Pinkie playfully rolled her eyes.

“I’m serious,” Lightning said sternly.

“I know,” Pinkie turned off the playful.

“Ehhhh, whatever,” Lightning groaned, stretching her arms over her head. If nothing else, her toned and muscular body was easy on the eyes for sure. “We got a war to win, so I guess let’s get to it.”

“Yes ma’am!” Pinkie grinned and gave a playful salute with a wink.

“But first,” Lightning licked her lips and grabbed Pinkie’s ass, making Pinkie jump with a little yelp, “how about I help myself to some Pie?”

“I’m all yours,” Pinkie said breathlessly. She was gonna savor this moment with Lightning Dust. Cuz there was a lot to like about Lightning Dust, not the least of which was the way she knocked the coins out of Pinkie’s asshole, and after Pinkie got her hands on that soul, there wasn’t going to be another moment like this.
> 30. Rara
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The sidemost window inside the gate of Paradise building just looked out over the mountainside, into the void of beige and grey emptiness below. There was nothing to see, and yet Applejack couldn’t stop looking.

Her hand rested on the windowsill as she stood next to it, leaned up against the wall, and she didn’t even remember the rest of the world existed until she felt another hand gently place itself on top of hers, the werewolf gasping slightly at the sudden physical contact.

Applejack barely glanced over at Coloratura; enough to see Coloratura’s smile out of the corner of her eye, but Applejack refused to make eye contact. She let the siren’s hand stay on hers though. It wasn’t that bad.

Until it was.

Until the guilt crept in, the knowledge of what Applejack was leading herself into and how that would affect everyone she told herself that she didn’t care about. Then Coloratura’s soft touch started burning a hole into Applejack’s hand, and she couldn’t bear it.

She snatched her hand away, rubbing it like it’d gotten a real injury. In a way she supposed it had, but…

Applejack crossed her arms; a flimsy, imaginary barrier against the affection that she knew Coloratura wanted to give her. Applejack didn’t dare look her in the eye, so she returned her gaze to the window.

Coloratura just stood there, staring at Applejack. It was unnerving, having the siren’s eyes on her. No, it wasn’t even the siren’s eyes as much as it was the eyes of her own guilt.

Applejack looked over at Coloratura, at her beautiful smile and her gorgeous raven hair with those cute teal highlights. The way her body perfectly fit into that little black dress she always wore, and the way the hem and her stockings combined to make this adorable little slice of exposed fur on her upper thighs.

She was so sweet. Enough to make a mare sick.

Applejack turned to face her, likely in preparation of saying some rude thing to her that would make her want to leave Applejack alone, but as she looked down at that beautiful smile, she stopped short.

Coloratura took a step closer to Applejack, who considered moving back but forced herself to stay put. Coloratura gently took Applejack’s hands in hers, and the werewolf grit her teeth. She wanted to run or to bite or to snatch her hands away, but she forced herself to stay.

She wanted to stay.

“Applejack,” Coloratura whispered, and Applejack swallowed her nerves even as they wreaked havoc through her brain like an electric shock.

“Yeah?” Applejack croaked out.

“I love you,” Coloratura confessed softly. “I want you to know that. I want you to know that whatever happens, no matter what you decide to do, I will always love you.”

If Coloratura had taken a spear and jammed it into Applejack’s beating heart, it would have hurt her less.

Applejack grabbed Coloratura by her forearms and jerked her away, Coloratura gasping at the sudden jolt of movement, but Applejack still held onto her at arm’s length. Applejack sighed and loosened her grip, almost feeling weak at the knees as she looked over the siren’s beautiful body, and as she grappled with the affection in Coloratura’s eyes.

She didn’t doubt Coloratura’s words for a second, and if she were being honest, then she would like nothing more than to hold her childhood friend in her arms and cradle her with love. Autumn Blaze too, quite frankly.

If Applejack could, she would run away with them both, leave this whole disgusting hierarchy and all of the bloodshed behind her, and just devote herself to providing for her two beautiful wives.

But that just ain’t in the cards for ol’ Applejack.

She couldn’t think about the Flim Flam Brothers’ faces without sneering, she couldn’t think of her little sister who went missing, or her big sister who she abandoned, or the rest of her family who had been killed, so many dying before her eyes or even in her arms.

How could she hope to face those who were left after what she had done, after everything she’d thrown away, if it had all been for nothing?

How could she face herself?

Applejack dug her claws into Coloratura’s arms, gritting her teeth behind a closed stoic scowl. She knew in her heart she could never live with the life of a mediocre door guard for the rest of her days, and she could never live with the guilt of betraying her family if she tried to take Autumn and Rara and just run away and try to build a new life with them.

But… no matter what she did now, she would be betraying her family. She couldn’t act like she didn’t care about Autumn and Rara as if they were family, and she would need to turn her back on them, or on the Apple Pack.

Applejack turned her back on Coloratura, and without a word to her, walked out of the gate of Paradise building, into the emptiness of the Circle outside. Applejack needed to be by herself for a bit, to really make peace with her guilt.

At the very least, whether her revenge succeeded or failed, the attempt would mean she wouldn’t need to live with the guilt for much longer.
> 31. Connection
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sunset was pissed.

No, actually, y’know what? Saying she was pissed was underselling it way too much. She was utterly furious, and if like every inch of her body hadn't been tied up, she would be thrashing through the halls of the prison she was trapped in, knocking every head she came across.

Right now though, she was woozy. She’d been hanging upside down for what felt like days but was probably hours, and even though she’d been given some slack now and allowed to lie on her back, being bound and gagged on the cold stone floor didn’t do her any favors either.

Or maybe it was concrete? Ugh, Sunset wasn’t sure. Either way, it was grim. The prison she was sent to wasn’t a real jail or anything, it was more like a fort, and in lieu of using cells since those weren’t available, the prisoners were just tied up in humiliating and completely immobilizing bondage.

The walls were mostly an off-white, with specks of like blue and brown and black all over them from age until calling them ‘white’ almost felt like a lie. The only light was coming from a square hole in the roof, and Sunset was lying a few feet away from it in complete shadow.

She was tied mostly with rope, though there were leather manacles on her feet that allowed her to be hoisted upside down from the ceiling thanks to the long suspension rope looped through a silver link in the cuffs.

She had rope cinched above and below her knees, and above and below her chest, her arms kept behind her back tightly constrained, and her mouth was covered with a white cloth, with another damp wad of cloth on the inside to keep her mouth busy.

At the very least, she was able to keep her clothes. Her jacket was thrown on the floor so she was easier to tie up, but at least she wasn’t naked.

She sighed, fuming from her nose and grinding her teeth against the cloth in her mouth. She squirmed in her ropes as if by some miracle, this time there would be some slack she could work with. And her struggling only made her more pissed off, which made her sweaty and exhausted, which made her even angrier until she eventually tried to slam her hooves on the ground, only to be stopped by her bonds, eliciting a muffled scream as she gave up…

…for like five minutes, and then she’d try again. She wouldn’t stop, no matter what. She didn’t know what had happened to Twilight, but she was determined to go to her and rescue her.

Sunset’s ears twitched, and she let out a muffled grunt of confusion. She could hear a voice in her ears, faintly, but she couldn’t tell where it was from. She closed her eyes to zero in on that voice, but when she opened her eyes she wasn’t even in the prison anymore, she was in like a pitch black void with a single dark wooden door.

The door had a stylized emblem of a sun on it, and it looked vaguely familiar to Sunset, but she couldn’t place it.

“Hey,” Twilight’s voice rang out, and Sunset saw her standing by the door under a faint glowing light, “it worked!”

“Twilight?” Sunset asked in utter confusion, but then cleared her throat and drew herself up. “Ahem, Twilight? What are you doing here? Also where is ‘here’?”

“Nowhere,” Twilight shrugged. “Physically, we’re still in prison. But mentally, we’re travelling the planar dimensions of the mind.”

“What,” Sunset groaned and pinched the bridge of her nose, “what are you even talking about?”

“Basically, we’re communicating through my soul,” Twilight said proudly, smiling adorably and puffing out her cute chest. “I figured something like this might be possible after we connected during our fight with Applejack. This place you’re seeing is just your mind’s mental construct to make sense of this conversation.

“In fact, we’re probably seeing two different things. What’s yours look like?”

“Just a big void with a dumbass door,” Sunset moved toward the door and she couldn’t put her hand on the knob. It repelled her like when you have two magnets and you try to stick them together. “What about yours?”

“The library back home,” Twilight said softly, and Sunset’s ears folded back, before immediately perking up again. She was gonna rescue Twilight, and then everything would be fine.

“Okay, cool, so,” Sunset clapped her hands. “Got any ideas on how to escape? Or do I have to do all the work? Where’re you at anyway? Are you all tied up?”

“I am, yeah,” Twilight nodded.

“Nice,” Sunset grinned like a cat and Twilight just rolled her eyes. “Anyway, I’ll bust out and then I’ll rescue you. No big deal.”

“How come you haven’t busted out already?” Twilight asked drolly, crossing her arms and shifting her weight to one side.

“Haven’t wanted to,” Sunset shrugged. Honestly, that wasn’t entirely a bluff. Sunset had the means to escape thanks to her demonic powers, but… well, there were a lot of complications about using them and she wasn’t gonna unless she absolutely needed to. “But now that I know you’re safe and need rescuing, I can—”

“I don’t need rescuing,” Twilight shrugged.

“What?” Sunset balked.

“I spoke with Applejack,” Twilight explained, “and I think our odds are better if we work together with her and this ‘Rarity’ she’s working for. If we play along with them, we can—”

“They’re the enemy,” Sunset scoffed. Twilight was even dumber than Sunset thought sometimes. “We can’t work with them.”

“Why not?”

“Uhhh cuz they’re the enemy?” Sunset griped, looking at Twilight like she was a complete dunce, cuz she sure was acting like it. “I thought I just said that.”

“They’re monsters,” Twilight stated matter-of-factly, which clued Sunset in that she was about to get lectured, so she braced herself for it with a disinterested scowl. “But so are you. I don’t trust them, don’t get me wrong, but I don’t trust you that much either.”

“Wait, are you trying to imply that they’re the same as me?” Sunset balked, scoffing at that insult.

“Yes, basically,” Twilight said casually. “To me anyway, yes. It’s obvious to me that I need to work with the monsters of the Underworld to accomplish my mission here and return home, and I see no reason why I shouldn’t work with Applejack and Rarity if I can, as well as with you.”

“We don’t need them,” Sunset said coldly.

“I need all the help I can get,” Twilight replied, and Sunset clicked her tongue.

“Fine,” Sunset hissed. She opened her eyes in the real world, dispelling the illusory plane and the vision of Twilight Sparkle. Unfortunately, she was immediately and harshly reminded of her bindings.

She considered it for a sec, whether it was worth turning into a demon in order to escape. And for what? Just to rescue a pretty purple princess who didn’t need Sunset’s help? Bah, Sunset may have well just let her rot in her cell.

Okay, no, that wouldn’t do. Sunset still needed Twilight to power the soul, so… though, maybe Twilight was right and breaking out of prison was a little premature.

Hoofsteps distracted Sunset’s attention, and she craned her neck to look at the siren woman, Coloratura is what she was called by those other goons, as she walked into the big boxy room where Sunset was held.

“I hope you enjoyed your little break,” Coloratura smiled serenely as she stood by the contraption that controlled the rope around Sunset’s feet, pulling a crank that slowly lifted Sunset off the ground by her legs until she was hanging upside down a few inches away from the concrete, Sunset growling into her gag instead of further humiliating herself with a string of muffled curses.

Sunset waited patiently for Coloratura to leave before wiggling in her bindings, but she stopped pretty quickly. She realized even if she managed to get herself down, she’d just be stuck on the ground and it was pretty evident that she couldn’t untie herself down there either.

So screw it. Screw this prison, screw Applejack and ‘Rarity’, screw Coloratura most of all and y’know what screw Twilight Sparkle too.

Sunset was breaking out.
> 32. Nightmare
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Fifth Circle of the Underworld was nothing like the first. It was radiant and resplendent, with majestic castles and towering spires, a true monument to the craft and majesty of the monsters who lived there, who were so much more cultured and refined than the beasts and ruffians who dwelled on the First Circle.

It was also Rarity’s home, and she bore that honor with a great amount of pride.

She paced around the empty halls of her personal castle, opulent flowing robes trailing behind her as she marveled at her station and the luxuries she was afforded that she wouldn’t give up for the world.

She did wonder though, where had Sweetie Belle run off to? Probably stealing cookies from the kitchen, no doubt about it. Before Rarity even knew it, she was standing in the kitchen, and it was empty. No chefs or maids or servants of any kind, and certainly no Sweetie Belle.

Odd.

Oh well, it was no matter. The little dear would likely be at Rarity’s meeting today, causing a ruckus as always. The castle was always lively during the war meetings, and that always caused poor Sweetie Belle to become restless and anxious.

Funny then, how as Rarity paced down the spacious halls of the castle, there was not a single other creature in sight.

There was no one in the kitchen either, or the common areas or the balconies. Rarity’s relaxed pace quickly turned into a sprint as she raced through the castle trying to find someone, anyone, to tell her what the hell was going on.

Her clothes became torn on trees and branches that didn’t exist, ripping them away until she found herself in nothing but her red slingsuit that she wore on the First Circle… and she remembered that she no longer belonged on the Fifth Circle, she had been cast down by—

“Hello, Rarity,” the voice of the Empress chimed in Rarity’s ears from behind her, the vampire too terrified to dare turn around, but she didn’t need to as the Empress closed the distance between them and put her arms around Rarity’s waist from behind, whispering gently in Rarity’s ear, “unpleasant dreams?”

“What are you doing here?” Rarity said breathlessly, too proud to bow and too scared to be defiant.

“Please, darling,” the Empress chuckled and in the space of an instant stood in front of Rarity, binding the vampire with her magic and tracing a finger under Rarity’s chin, “nightmares call me like a siren song. And how could I resist dropping into yours?”

“What do you want with me?” Rarity said, squirming against her bindings.

“I can think of a few things,” the Empress chuckled and licked her lips, and for once Rarity was disgusted by her own beauty. “But I would never take advantage of a creature as powerless as you. On that note, I know you’re looking to acquire more power, the power of the pony soul, and claw your way back to the Fifth Circle.”

“How did—”

“Your dreams give you away,” the Empress shook her head slowly and clicked her tongue, “same as they do anyone else. You don’t have to worry, my little cohorts didn’t rat you out, if that’s what you’re worried for.”

“That still doesn’t answer why you’re here,” Rarity groaned as she tried to struggle against her bonds, but the Empress didn’t mess around. “OR why you have me tied up right now!”

“Hm, well the latter is just for fun,” the Empress chuckled, and Rarity’s cheeks were seared a bloody red. “And you know, even my power doesn’t match the ruler of a dream. If you wanted to be free, you would be.”

Rarity tried to somehow ‘will’ her bindings away, but they only squeezed her tighter, resulting in a pained groan. Either the Empress was playing some kind of cruel trick on her, or—

No, that must have been it. Rarity couldn’t consider any other options.

“To answer your other question,” the Empress said, looking unimpressed by Rarity’s continued struggling, “I’m here because I want to give you a piece of friendly advice. It might not seem like it, but I’m rooting for you to return to the Fifth Circle. I’m curious to see how you’ve changed by the time you reach it.

“But right now, you’re doing what you’ve always done. Rest on your laurels and let others carry your burdens for you. If you want that pony soul-” the Empress lurched forward, putting her snout a mere inch from Rarity’s and baring her fangs “-you need to TAKE IT!”

Rarity’s eyes snapped open, she was in bed. She wasn’t bound, thank goodness. She slowly sat up, sweat dripping down her body and out of breath, a hand instinctively clutching her heart.

The lights were still out, but it didn’t matter. Rarity knew what she had to do.

She needed to go to the prison and get her hands on the soul personally, and she needed to do it now.
> 33. Gift
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

When Twilight went to sleep, she was still bound within the gates of Paradise, but when she woke up she was neither of those things. She looked around at a vast starry sky that shifted under her hooves like water she could stand on, and she moved her limbs freely.

Twilight’s ears perked up as they detected a faint sound, almost as if someone far away was whispering directly into her ears. As she followed the sound, the environment warped and melted away around her until it had fully transformed into a pitch black forest, the only light coming from the millions of stars above.

Through the trees, Twilight eventually found a clearing smothered in mist, with a tall shadowy figure standing silhouetted by the cloud, whispering her name and enticing her to come forward. Twilight couldn’t make out any concrete details, but the figure appeared to be a tall, voluptuous woman with a hypnotic, seductive voice.

“Twilight,” the woman said, “come to me.”

“Uhhh, no I don’t think I will,” Twilight said politely. “There’s really nothing but red flags about this situation, so I think I’ll just turn around and go back the way I came, goodbye!”

Twilight indeed turned to leave, but the woman’s slow chuckle stopped her in her tracks.

“You would really turn your back on the Empress?”

Twilight turned her head to look at the shadowy figure.

“Nightmare Moon?” she whispered with awe. It was no secret that the Underworld’s Empress could enter the realm of dreams, but one never fully expects her to enter your dreams, and Twilight certainly didn’t. “Honestly that’s even more reason to not stick around, so goodbye!”

Twilight turned again to leave and started walking without a second thought, only pausing after she heard the Empress’ indignant scoff. It caught Twilight off-guard just how normal and mundane it sounded, like the Empress of the entire Underworld had just been stood up by a date.

As Twilight exited the thicket of black trees, she found herself walking onto a cliffside overlooking an ocean just as dark as the night sky. Obviously she couldn’t proceed that way, so she turned back around and—

—there she was.

The Empress of the Underworld; a mare whose coat was as black as shadows, whose mane shimmered in the air like a starry night sky, said to be taller than a mountain and twice as tough. A literal goddess in pony’s skin.

And all Twilight could focus on was the fact that she chose to appear in booty shorts and a crop top. Of all things, why did the evil Empress have to be hot?!

“Usually the shadowy figure whispering your name routine works,” the Empress said casually, rubbing the back of her neck. It was disarming just how normal she seemed. “Usually piques one’s curiosity at least, but I suppose I underestimated just how much the surface ponies hate and fear me.”

“I’m not afraid of you,” Twilight said resolutely, even as her legs were shaking.

“Then you’re quivering out of lust?” the Empress flashed a gleaming fanged smile, and Twilight cursed the fact that her accusation wasn’t entirely without merit. “Twilight Sparkle, you naughty little thing.”

“You know my name,” Twilight said coldly; she refused to drop her guard around the woman who was the source of all of Equestria’s conflict, even if the surreality of the situation was still catching up to her. “How? Why are you here in my dreams of all creatures?”

“I know your name because I make it my business to know everything that goes on in my domain,” the Empress said, taking slow confident steps toward Twilight, who had nowhere to go with her back against a cliff. “And I’m here because I’m intrigued. We don’t get many ponies down here, least of all ones as interesting as you.”

“Why me?” Twilight asked, but then a far more important question entered her mind. “And what about the rest of my expedition? There were nine of us, so why are you visiting me?”

“If you must know,” the Empress said drolly, clearly not interested in answering Twilight’s question but doing so anyway perhaps out of some sense of obligation, “you’re the only one of your little band whose soul I haven’t already collected.”

Twilight’s eyes widened and her ears flattened against her head.

“Don’t worry your pretty little head, sweet thing,” the Empress said soothingly, appearing behind Twilight and putting her hands on the pony’s shoulders. The Empress was almost two heads taller than Twilight, and she felt massive standing behind her. “Your little friends are all still kicking around, but their souls belong to me.

“But yours?”

“Mine is with Sunset,” Twilight said instinctively, and while for a second she cursed herself for revealing that information, she quickly realized there was no way the Empress didn’t already know that.

“Ah yes, my dearest Sunset Shimmer,” the Empress sighed and walked away from Twilight, her illuminous tail brushing against Twilight on her way. “It’s been too long. Anyway, this isn’t about her.”

Easy for the Empress to say that since she wasn’t the one with a million questions on her mind, but whatever.

“What do you remember?” the Empress asked. “About your disastrous little expedition?”

Truthfully, not much. But she didn’t need to reveal that to—

“Not much, I’m guessing?”

“Eh?” Twilight gasped in shock, and the Empress laughed.

“I’ll take that as a ‘yes’,” she said with a soft grin. “It’s no matter, you’ll remember everything in time, and perhaps it’s better now to focus on what’s in front of you. Which reminds me, how are things going with your current expedition?”

Before Twilight could think to come up with an answer, she found herself bound and gagged back in the gates of Paradise, the Empress humming and nodding, and then just as quickly she was back standing in front of the cliff over the black ocean.

“I see.”

“So why are you so interested in me?” Twilight asked, her irritation with the Empress starting to outweigh her fear of her. “You still haven’t answered that.”

“Simple,” the Empress said. “Your soul being in the Underworld, available for so many different ponies to use, that causes quite a shift in the dynamic of power down here. And nothing is more important in the Underworld than power.

“I won’t beat around the bush. I want that soul for myself. It’s frankly insulting that a soul would enter my domain and not immediately deposit itself into my collection.”

“Why can’t you just come down here and take it yourself?” Twilight asked flatly, trying to hide her genuine curiosity under a layer of irony.

“I could,” the Empress hummed. “But matters of the soul are always so complicated. If I took the soul as it is now, would it satisfy me? I don’t think it would. Even when it’s outside one’s body, the soul is still connected to the person it belongs to.

“And so, I’m here to offer you a gift.”

“A ‘gift’?” Twilight almost laughed. “You’ll have to excuse me if I don’t believe your motives are entirely altruistic.”

“I never claimed altruistic motives,” the Empress grinned, baring her fangs. “Your soul is powerful, Twilight Sparkle, there’s no denying that. I want it on my side, so my gift is something of a peace offering, to help us come a little closer and understand each other better.”

“So a bribe.”

“Bribery is petty,” the Empress shook her head, and in one smooth motion the world blurred and changed around Twilight.

The forest and cliff and ocean were all gone, replaced instead with a cozy sitting area inside what felt like a comfortable log cabin, fire crackling in the fireplace as the Empress sat in front of it on a comfortable lounge chair, Twilight sitting on the Empress’ lap as the shadowy mare brushed Twilight’s long flowing mane.

Obviously, Twilight was more than a little suspicious of the sudden change in surroundings, and of the Empress touching her, but… well, Twilight was gay and she couldn’t deny the Empress was hot, so… this was fine.

“Here’s what I’m proposing,” the Empress said. “Your soul is your power, and I believe you should have a say in what happens to it. But without magic, you have no power. I am willing to grant you a small fragment of my power.”

“At what cost?” Twilight asked skeptically, trying to put aside how good the Empress’ fingers felt running through her mane.

“None,” the Empress smiled. “I’m confident you will see the wisdom of siding with me in time, so I have no need to extort you.”

“I uh, I guess I appreciate your generosity,” Twilight pushed up her glasses and affected a smile, “but I’m not interested in accepting ‘gifts’ from you. Besides, I have faith in Sunset.”

“And what if Sunset is the one who needs your help?” the Empress stood up, holding Twilight bridal style in her arms as the scenery around them transformed again into a blindingly white and red chapel. “You have no magic, your weapon was destroyed, you’ve been defeated once and captured and are now utterly helpless. If someone manages to snatch the soul away from you too, it’s all over for you. Don’t think the next creature who gets ahold of it will treat you as generously as Sunset Shimmer.

“And after all,” the Empress chuckled, gently swaying Twilight back and forth in her arms, “you need to be kept alive for the soul to function. That’s not a luxury afforded to Sunset.”

The Empress dropped Twilight onto her hooves, though she quickly faltered and fell on her hands and knees, the Empress towering over her.

“So what will it be?” the Empress asked coldly. “Risk Sunset’s life with your own weakness, or risk trusting me and accepting my offering? What would Sunset want you to do, do you think?”

“That’s a good question,” Twilight laughed. “I honestly don’t know. She might say ‘what were you thinking trusting someone other than me’, or she might say ‘what were you thinking turning your nose up at free power’. Either way, she’d think I’m an idiot.”

That was sort of the final straw for Twilight. The last thing she wanted was to lag behind Sunset, forced to be dragged behind her companion through their entire journey. Twilight held fast in her faith in her skills and her training, and it hadn't been enough.

She needed to be realistic. She was too weak. She needed more power.

“Nightmare Moon,” Twilight said, looking up into the gleaming fanged smile of the Empress and feeling her heart pounding in her chest, “I have to decline.”

Power or no power, Twilight had no reason to trust the Empress, and the last thing she wanted was to be in Nightmare Moon’s debt.

“Hm, fair enough, I suppose,” Nightmare Moon shrugged, and then flashed that wicked grin of hers once more. “But at the very least, once you wake up you will find your weapons repaired and sitting by your side. You can choose not to use them if you really want to, but I would prefer you to stay alive.”

“I—” Twilight’s eyes flashed before her, and the Empress was gone. The lights were back on over the Circle, Twilight could tell based on the light filtering in through the halls of the gates of Paradise prison. Sure enough, there were Twilight’s lance and shield, lying beside her.

It was a simple matter to teleport herself out of her bonds over to her weapons, and when she picked them up they felt entirely familiar, and yet she couldn’t shake the feeling that she had been duped somehow.

“Oh well,” Twilight sighed. “I guess I’d better go rescue Sunset Shimmer.”
> 34. Countess
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sunset was hanging upside-down, bound and gagged in the gates of Paradise building, which was much more like a shabby warehouse than either a prison or a proper terminal. Because of the enchantments on her bonds, Sunset couldn’t access her own magic, even with the power of Twilight’s soul.

But Nightmare Moon’s power wouldn’t be so easily stopped.

Sunset hated using her demonic powers. Maybe it was because she hated to acknowledge that she was too weak without Nightmare Moon’s help, maybe it was because of her past as a Paladin where she was taught to be unquestioningly afraid of the Underworld’s ‘Empress’.

Or maybe it was simply because she barely knew how to use it, and that despite the overflow of magical energy she got whenever she tapped into Nightmare Moon’s gift, it only made her feel even weaker.

Oh well whatever, she was using it now, turning her fur red and making wings come off her back and all that good stuff. And more importantly, burning the ropes binding her to cinders.

Sunset fell on the ground with a painful thud since she’d still been hanging, but she quickly picked herself up and grabbed her jacket off the floor, slinging it over her shoulder as she let the demon transformation go. Less time she spent with Nightmare Moon, the better.

It wasn’t long after Sunset started tracing the halls looking for Twilight that she ran into the siren girl; that friend of Applejack’s. Though calling her a ‘friend’ instead of a ‘simp’ was being generous.

“How did you get free?” the woman asked, a tinge of fear in her voice.

“You’re the girl who tied me up,” Sunset said irritably, though her frown quickly turned to a sadistic grin.

“I-it doesn’t matter. Get back to your cell if you don’t want to be hurt.”

“Let’s see if you can make me,” Sunset’s grin got even wider, fire burning in her eyes and around her fingers.

The siren was trembling, but her eyes were ice cold and filled with determination, and Sunset could respect that. In a blaze of neon lights her body transformed, her raven hair becoming strikingly white and violet, and her modest black dress changing into a sexy purple leather getup.

“Ah, this is like a glamour thing right?” Sunset chuckled. “You tryin’ to hype yourself up or something?”

“Make fun all you want,” the tone of the woman’s voice was completely different, like a knife dipped in jet black ink, and she pointed her fingers at Sunset like a laser, “but for the sake of the people I love, I won’t let you pass!”

“Funny,” Sunset scoffed, “cuz it sounds like the people you love aren’t super keen on your cowardly ‘safety first’ act.”

Coloratura didn’t say anything, just clicked her tongue for a sec before singing a haunting melody. It didn’t take a genius to tell that it was some kind of spell, but Sunset wasn’t sure what kind… until she saw a glowing hex rune appear on the wall by her head, Sunset’s ear burning before she jumped back, watching carefully as the hex hummed a haunting tune of its own as the air around it became choked with an acidic vapor.

Sunset was careful to run around the rune as she charged Coloratura, though in the cramped dull white halls of this prison that was easier said than done. The siren continued singing, undeterred by Sunset running toward her, and another hex rune appeared on the ground in front of her before lighting up and producing a solid beam of light that halted Sunset’s progress.

She didn’t know what it did, but Sunset jumped back regardless, not wanting to test her luck with an enemy’s unknown magic, though the melody aggravating her ears from behind her reminding her that she was now sandwiched between two runes didn’t make her feel great either.

“Ah, I get it,” Sunset said confidently; she was aware of her awkward position, but she was still pretty certain she had this thing in the bag. “Your singing lets you create hexes at like lightning speed. Interesting technique, but I’m guessing you can’t make anything too complicated.”

“What’s the matter?” Coloratura said teasingly, as the wall of light separated into two beams shooting in opposite directions and making the siren visible between them. “You’re not getting cold hooves are you?”

Sunset jumped even further back, curious about a theory. Coloratura didn’t react; just watched Sunset warily. Interesting. No long ranged attacks meant Coloratura’s little hex trick probably didn’t have a very impressive range, though it’s possible the siren was just gathering magic while she waited for Sunset to make the next move; even though hexes didn’t draw on a person’s own magic, it was likely that Coloratura’s singing did.

OR, maybe she was intentionally being coy about the limits of her abilities to draw Sunset into a trap. A lot of options to consider.

Sunset shrugged it all off and pounded her fists together. The only way to know for sure was to see how Coloratura reacted when Sunset got in close.

“I like your bravery,” Coloratura laughed sweetly as Sunset charged in; admittedly not a good sign, “and your foolishness.”

Sunset’s charge was stopped in its tracks as Coloratura’s fist collided with Sunset’s stomach. Sunset barely even saw the siren move before she pounded Sunset hard enough to make her throw up blood and stumble back awkwardly, leaving her open for another massive haymaker to her face that completely knocked the wind out of her, Coloratura finishing her assault with a kick to Sunset’s gut that sent her crashing to the ground on her back, a pained bloody gurgle all that escaped her lips as her spine crashed against the concrete.

Whatever Sunset expected, it sure wasn’t that. She cursed herself for underestimating the strength of an earth pony monster.

Sunset sat up and laughed.

“Damn girl,” she cackled, “you got me good! You used those weak hexes to trick me into charging into a melee fight you were confident you could win!”

“I also bet on your impatience,” Coloratura said proudly, sauntering toward Sunset. “I watched your fight with Applejack.”

“You got me,” Sunset nodded, “you got me. But you won’t be getting me agai—”

Sunset’s words were interrupted by a powerful kick from Coloratura’s hoof, directly slamming into her face and throwing her against the wall with a thud, blood trickling from Sunset’s nose and mouth. Before she could grab her bearings, she heard Coloratura’s singing voice and sighed in resigned irritation as the hex rune glowed on the wall her face was pressed up against.

The rune exploded in Sunset’s face, searing her skin and blowing her away right into the other wall, which perfectly lined her up for Coloratura’s incoming kick; Sunset grabbed the siren’s hoof in her hands, Coloratura yanking it back which bought Sunset enough time to push herself away and scramble to her hooves.

Sunset flicked her fingers and flames spritzed off of them. She took a deep breath; she didn’t have much going for her in terms of long range combat either, but this time she wouldn’t get caught off guard.

She charged in as Coloratura sang another song, only for Sunset to step right onto a hex placed right in front of Coloratura, who licked her lips as the hex activated with a piercing wail and drained Sunset’s magic, bringing her to her knees.

“Awfully predictable, aren’t you?” Coloratura sighed.

Sunset pushed herself back and got up on her hooves, but was only able to clumsily block Coloratura’s punch with her forearms, the siren’s magically charged fist still doing a number on Sunset’s unprotected flesh and bone.

This wasn’t looking good; Coloratura had an environment advantage, knowledge of Sunset’s abilities and fighting style, and on top of it all Sunset was thinking too damn rigidly for her own good.

She wondered… what would an idiot like Twilight do?

She remembered Twilight talking about being a conjuration specialist, and so Sunset figured that was good enough and conjured the first thing she could think of: a barrier to stop Coloratura’s punches.

Coloratura punched right through it, smashing Sunset in the face.

Sunset couldn’t stand another hit like that, so she teleported away, her magic exploding in Coloratura’s face as Sunset zapped herself to the end of the hallway, where she proceeded to just watch Coloratura for a sec.

The siren still wasn’t keen on rushing her down; she knew she had control of this battle and that Sunset didn’t have much going for her, so no reason to get too aggressive and risk jeopardizing her advantage.

If Coloratura was feeling the heat of Sunset’s magic, she wasn’t showing it, which was kinda pissing Sunset off if she was being honest. Coloratura just stood there looking totally unscathed, dancing to that accursed music. Like yeah if Sunset took a sec to listen to it, it was a jam for sure but—

Actually, that music was really nice. Sunset kinda wanted to just… stop and listen… and then she remembered she was fighting a siren and slapped herself in the face.

“What’s the matter, Sunset Shimmer?” Coloratura said sweetly, the gem in chest sparkling as if in tune with the music, Sunset watching in awe as Coloratura’s body bobbed and swayed to the beat as well.

“I, uh,” Sunset stumbled. It was easy to just say she was gay— and like, she definitely was and Coloratura’s deeply plunging neckline and leather combo was making Sunset sweat a little bit— but this was something else; prolonged battle with a siren was dangerous, so Sunset needed to get her head in the game.

Coloratura batted her eyelashes at Sunset and—wait, when did she get so close? Sunset wasn’t even at the end of the hall anymore, she looked behind her and realized she had been walking toward Coloratura, coaxed by the siren’s hypnotic magic.

“Ah, crap,” Sunset groaned, before immediately being punched hard in the face, knocking the demon limply to the ground as she passed out.

She wasn’t out for long though, waking up in her ‘cell’ such as it was, with Coloratura tying her up. Luckily she hadn't been gagged yet so she could still mouth off.

“You know, if all you wanted was to tie me up this badly, we could’ve come to some kind of arrangement.”

“Ah, you’re awake!” Coloratura said pleasantly. “Here then, take this.”

Coloratura stuffed a wad of cloth in Sunset’s mouth and she grumbled irritably before spitting the cloth out.

“Look, please don’t make this difficult,” Coloratura groaned.

“Making things difficult is what I do best,” Sunset chuckled.

“If you’re not going to think about your own safety,” Coloratura said, her voice dripping with frustration, “at least think about your friend Twilight. Don’t put her in more danger by—”

“I’m always thinking of Twilight,” Sunset said coldly. This girl had the damn nerve to think she knew what was better for Twilight than Sunset did? “And right now I’m thinking about how she’s practically helpless without any magic, and especially without her weapons, and I’m not about to let you bastards do whatever you want with her.”

It was cute that Coloratura thought her unfinished rope work and a single magic-draining hex would be enough to stop Sunset’s magic; without the fully completed ropework, the power of a soul just couldn’t be floodgated like that, so Sunset had no problem teleporting herself out of Coloratura’s grasp, burning the siren with an explosion for good measure.

With Coloratura reeling from the explosion, Sunset charged in and slammed her in the head with a fierce kick, knocking the siren to the ground. She got up shockingly quickly, but Sunset was keen to keep up the pressure, assaulting the siren with a flurry of punches that Coloratura was forced to awkwardly block with her forearms, which got pretty badly burned for her trouble.

Coloratura’s musical hexes had been deactivated, though her glamour was still in effect, so Sunset figured that the siren still had a few tricks up her sleeves, but if Sunset could keep her from renewing those hexes that let her just snowball this fight out of control, then Sunset could definitely still win this.

Sunset got Coloratura pinned up against the wall and just laid into her with punches, but despite the burns Coloratura was starting to figure out Sunset’s rhythm, blocking and parrying accordingly until Sunset just found her advantage slipping through her fingers.

“You’re a bit of a one trick pony,” Coloratura said breathily as she slapped Sunset’s fist harmlessly away, “aren’t you, Sunset Shimmer?”

Coloratura struck back and Sunset dodged instinctively, jumping away from the siren as the bruises on her face tensed up at the idea of taking another hit from her.

“What’s the matter?” Coloratura panted, but there was stone-cold confidence in her eyes despite how her body was utterly littered now with bruises and burns all across her arms, chest, and face. “You scared, Sunset? You’ll regret giving up your advantage.”

Coloratura began to sing and it immediately made Sunset panic, so she rushed in and was met by Coloratura blasting her in the stomach with a lightning fast punch, Sunset stumbling back and just like Coloratura predicted, becoming filled with regret as she dropped to her knees.

Sunset blocked the siren’s kick with her arms and it didn’t feel quite as bad as before, leading to Sunset having a bit of a revelation, though the epiphany would have to wait as Coloratura just hooked her leg behind Sunset and plowed her in the back of the head, stunning her for a sec before kicking her right into that magic draining hex she already set up.

“Damn,” Coloratura licked her lips as Sunset’s magic was drained and pooled inside the siren instead, “I could keep this up all day with the amount of magic you have.”

“That’s kinda how souls are,” Sunset snarked as she stumbled to her hooves.

This wasn’t working; Coloratura was right, Sunset was a completely one-trick pony, and if she didn’t come up with a second trick—one that could actually win her this fight—she was going to be in trouble; it wasn’t just a matter of defeating Coloratura, it was a matter of defeating Applejack, and Autumn Blaze, and Rarity, and every other challenge that would come Sunset’s way.

If she couldn’t overcome this wall, this was the end of the road for her, and she wasn’t going to accept that.

And honestly, y’know what? As much as she despised to admit it, those same words could be true of her own demonic powers as well.

Sunset’s brief stint on the Second Circle after she first traded her soul for demonic magic… didn’t go well. She thought she’d be able to tear through every enemy with ease, and ended up being imprisoned for her trouble. Twice.

It left her understandably gunshy about using those powers. They let Nightmare Moon whisper into her mind, and for what? She was able to beat ropes. Wahoo.

But maybe… she just needed to get a bit more creative with them.

“Hey Coloratura,” Sunset growled, staring daggers at the siren. “Here’s an adage for you: where there’s fire, there’s smoke.”

Sunset wept her hoof in an arc in front of her, flames erupting from the ground in her wake before the flames transformed into a slowly spreading cloud of dense black smog. It was a bit of a challenge, flexing Sunset’s magic to turn her waves of heat into a visible cloud of smoke, but between Autumn Blaze’s smoke attack, and Coloratura’s light show that stopped Sunset in her tracks, Sunset was starting to understand the importance of a strong visual in battle.

Plus, it would make her actual plan that much easier to execute.

Sunset jumped her left, around the cloud of smoke; Coloratura couldn’t risk having her sight line of Sunset obscured, so she was naturally going to have to move to either the left or right of the cloud. If she jumped left, she would be jumping right into Sunset’s claws, and if she jumped right then she was still in an awkward spot with no time to set up a hex and Sunset coming at her.

Coloratura jumped left.

Sunset let her body be taken over by Nightmare Moon’s magic, let it be transformed into that of a true demon… but only in her fingertips, and only on her right hand. She brandished blood red claws as Coloratura realized the gravity of her mistake only too late to do anything about it, Sunset goring Coloratura with those claws and taking a page out of the siren’s own book, draining her magic like taking a big sip of a soda.

Coloratura stumbled back, weakened. Sunset advanced, fearless.

“I’m not going to lose!” Coloratura said desperately. Her confidence sure faded fast when she was the one having her magic drained.

“Is that right,” Sunset said drolly.

“Yes,” Coloratura said coldly, staring Sunset down with eyes that leaked blood down her face. She really was desperate now, using her own life force in lieu of magic to cast spells. It was pretty hardcore, but it wasn’t going to lead to anything good for anyone, so Sunset needed to stop her before—

A blinding flash of light stunned Sunset, and when she recovered she was already under attack, forced to block Coloratura’s flurry of punches with her arms. Whatever that flash of light was, it blew away Sunset’s smoke cloud and her superheated aura, forcing Sunset on the defensive without a lot of options.

Even her magic drain wouldn’t work if Coloratura was just going to use her life instead, though Sunset considered forcing her into a grind game and seeing if Coloratura was desperate enough to—

No, that was gross. Sunset didn’t like that, and she knew Twilight would hate it.

Lucky for Sunset, it wouldn’t have to come to that; she had one last trick up her sleeve, courtesy of Twilight Sparkle.

Coloratura charged at Sunset, who simply held her hand over her heart and activated the hex that she had inscribed onto her chest, pulling a blazing sword from her breast that she swung fiercely at Coloratura, the blade of flame passing through her like mist but severely burning her on impact, causing her to release a piercing scream as she fell to her hands and knees.

“No… I won’t—” Coloratura groaned and Sunset stomped on her back, flattening her to the ground.

“You really just don’t care about your own safety, huh?” Sunset said dismissively. She could relate, and she didn’t like it.

“No,” Coloratura lifted her head and drooled blood. “All I care about is protecting Applejack.”

Sunset sighed.

“You can’t beat me,” Sunset said. “I can drain all of your magic to nothing from this position, and if you think this little gimmick of using your life will help you, well it’s only cuz you haven’t seen-” Sunset let herself fully transform into a demon, her wings flaring behind her and her body overflowing with a visible dark red magic aura “-this yet.

“So,” Sunset let the transformation go, “let’s call this one a draw.”

“I—er—uh, okay,” Coloratura panted, letting herself collapse onto the ground and pass out. Sunset rolled her eyes and grumbled; she couldn’t believe herself as she squatted down and poured a little bit of her own magic back into Coloratura’s body with her claws, and then banished the claws cuz they were starting to creep her out.



Coloratura wasn’t out for too long, but Sunset was way better and faster with ropework, so the siren wasn’t going anywhere. She mumbled and huffed a bit as she came to and struggled against her bonds, but Sunset just chuckled.

“So was all this ‘draw’ stuff just an excuse to tie me up?” Coloratura spat.

“No,” Sunset smirked devilishly, “though that is a perk. Anyway, you know you’re dumb as shit, right?”

“Oh, so you’re just using this opportunity to insult me now,” Coloratura sighed, and helplessly struggled against those ropes.

“I’m not insulting you, I’m helping,” Sunset said irritably, and Coloratura responded with an incredulous scoff. “Look at how much pain and misery you’re going through, for a woman who doesn’t even care about you!”

“Applejack does care about me!” Coloratura barked, giving off an air of genuine indignation, though she quickly softened up and became more reflective. “She just has a hard time showing it, that’s all.”

“Yeah, I bet.”

“You don’t know anything about her!” Coloratura lashed out, nearly tipping herself over before clumsily regaining her balance, but Sunset just tipped her onto the ground on her side with her hoof anyway. “You don’t know anything about what she’s been through.”

“Don’t I though?” Sunset said tiredly, rubbing the back of her neck. “Like, I know that emotional unavailability crap, that’s for sure. All that ‘she does care, she just has a hard time showing it’ stuff is just shit.

“Don’t waste your time with that shit. Don’t waste your time on someone who makes you struggle for their affection. You shouldn’t have to jump through a bunch of hoops to get someone that supposedly ‘loves you’ to show it, or to express care for you.”

“Applejack does care about me,” Coloratura attempted to sit up, but Sunset just pushed her down again until she was ready to actually listen. “She shows me! She expresses care!”

“But is it enough?”

“I don’t get to decide how much affection she shows,” Coloratura muttered, sounding like she barely believed her own nonsense at this point. “She keeps to herself a lot, and I respect that.”

“But you do get to choose how much you’re willing to put up with,” Sunset said. “And that’s something you should consider, cuz I promise you that this road you’re on right now with her is a dead freaking end.

“Anyway,” Sunset shrugged, losing interest in the trial of patience that was Coloratura’s thick skull, “I gotta go rescue my uhhhh, my Twilight.”

She didn’t really feel comfortable saying ‘friend’ or ‘partner’ like she wanted to.

“Here,” Sunset grinned in perfect satisfaction as she brandished a wad of cloth, “this is for you.”

“Don’t you da—rrfgh!” Coloratura complained as Sunset stuffed the cloth in her mouth, before wrapping a similar cloth around to keep the stuffing in place. Coloratura squirmed and muttered into her gag, and gawd it sure was nice revenge after suffering humiliating capture at her hands.

And then suddenly Sunset got a very good idea.

Sunset picked the squirming siren up and lifted her over her shoulder, Coloratura squealing into her gag as Sunset took her prisoner.

“Don’t worry, I’m not gonna hurt you or anything,” Sunset shrugged as she walked outta the cell with a brand new damsel in tow. “You’re just gonna be a useful bargaining chip, I think. Plus this is revenge for capturing me, and I’m gonna enjoy every second of it.”

Sunset left the cell and headed into the narrow halls of the prison, but it wasn’t long before she ran into yet another obstacle instead of Twilight.

Applejack.

She looked surprised at Sunset’s freedom, but her face quickly twisted into an enraged snarl as she spied Sunset’s little hostage.

“Let her go,” Applejack growled.

“Oh?” Sunset laughed once. “You gonna play the tough guy act now? After you told her how much her opinion really means to you earlier?”

“I ain’t askin’ you again!” Applejack clenched her fist and bared her fangs.

Sunset slipped Coloratura from atop her shoulder and into her arms bridal style, the siren letting out a muffled squeal in surprise, before Sunset unceremoniously dropped her onto the concrete with a painful sounding thud and a bemused moan.

She stepped over the tied up siren and smiled at Applejack.

“Come get her.”

Honestly it was kinda a blessing to see Applejack here; Sunset felt like she’d learned a lot from her battle with Coloratura, and she was itching to see if she could now crash through the formerly impenetrable wall known as Applejack.

The werewolf snarled at Sunset and charged her, and while she was lightning fast, she was also blunt as a rock, and Sunset could see through her pattern as if Sunset had written it herself. She waited for Applejack to reach the perfect distance before breaking into her own run and then quickly teleporting; Applejack looked behind her, cuz like of course that’s where you would look first for a teleporting opponent.

You would be less likely to suspect a demon to teleport right underneath your chin.

Sunset leapt up with a furious uppercut, her fist exploding with flame and rage as it connected with a very shocked werewolf, knocking her off her feet. Sunset then channeled her magic into her palms and unleashed another explosion into Applejack’s stomach that sent the werewolf flying back and crashing to the ground, after hitting the wall.

Applejack was back on her feet way faster than Sunset could react and press her advantage, and she was coming in hot, so Sunset prepared her next pre-emptive counter attack, as it were. She teleported behind Applejack who, expecting Sunset to appear beneath her again, took a second to turn around and face her, and that second made all the difference as Sunset’s fist exploded in Applejack’s face once again.

Only this time, Applejack dug her claws into the floor and refused to move, tanking Sunset’s hit and digging her claws into the demon’s shoulders. She threw Sunset against the wall and her drool dripped onto Sunset’s chest as she bared her fangs, but to her surprise and Sunset’s, the demon was teleported out of her grasp…

…and behind an armed Twilight Sparkle, standing protectively in front of Sunset and Coloratura with a brand new lance and shield, her body radiating with a familiar magic.

“Sunset,” Twilight said, “just this once, let me be the one who protects you.”

Sunset had no clue what was going on, but she wasn’t exactly in a position to refuse, so she just said nothing cuz she couldn’t think of anything cool to say in response.

“Now how did you escape?!” Applejack balked.

“A gift,” Twilight said, “from a friend. Now, speaking of friends…” Twilight picked Coloratura up in a raspberry glow from her horn, Sunset’s eyes widening as she saw Twilight somehow using magic again. She gently placed the bound and struggling siren in the center of the hallway, between herself and Applejack. “Maybe you should help yours out. Because just you alone against me and Sunset Shimmer, now that I’m no long held back by a lack of magic? It isn’t going to go well for you, I promise.”

Sunset chuckled as she recognized the predicament Twilight had put Applejack in; if the werewolf tried to untie the siren, she’d be leaving herself open to attack from Twilight and Sunset. But if she left Coloratura bound, then not only would she be fighting two enemies against one, but her helpless friend would be caught in the crossfire.

It was remarkably devious, and Sunset was kinda shocked to see it was a plan that Twilight came up with.

Applejack clicked her tongue, sweat dripping down her forehead. She was clearly at a loss, and Twilight knew it, if the confident and relaxed grin on her face was any indication. Sunset had no clue what had happened to Twilight in her cell, but damn she was a fan.

“What’s the matter, Applejack?” Twilight said teasingly, a chill running down Sunset’s spine. “You don’t look too good.”
> 35. Dialogue
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Twilight Sparkle stood at the ready in a narrow hallway inside the prison that was the gate to Paradise. Sunset was just as eager to battle as she stood behind Twilight, the two staring down Applejack who snarled through gritted teeth from the other end of the hall, a bound and gagged and completely helpless Coloratura lying on the ground squirming in the center of the hallway between them.

It was a tense situation, as Twilight had basically given Applejack a hopeless ultimatum; the werewolf could try to untie her friend so that they could fight Twilight and Sunset on even footing, but in the time it took for Applejack to untie her, Twilight and Sunset would have already advanced on her. Or, Applejack could risk fighting the two alone, with Coloratura stuck in the crossfire.

Twilight certainly didn’t envy Applejack’s position; in fact, she almost felt bad about resorting to such devious tricks, but right now her top priority was saving herself and Sunset and getting to the Paradise in one piece.

Applejack was indecisive, her eyes darting between the captured siren and Twilight. Just when it looked like she was going to make a move, a door behind her swung open, and the salamander girl from before came waltzing through it; bad news for Twilight’s advantage.

“Autumn Blaze!” Applejack barked, her voice a mixture of relief and frustration. “Perfect timing! Hurry up and help me take these gals d—”

“Now, now, Applejack,” a dainty woman’s voice said as another figure appeared from the door, “let’s not be hasty.”

The woman was a silvery white mare—or at least, she looked like a mare, but the blood red eyes and protruding fangs gave away her true vampiric nature— with a meticulously curled purple mane, nearly every inch of her body on display due to the skimpy red slingsuit she wore; Twilight tried not to notice but… holy crap. Uh anyway, she also had a cape? And uhhh her body was… wow.

“I see someone didn’t do a very good job at keeping the prisoners imprisoned,” the woman teasingly chastised Applejack.

“Well maybe if you hadn’t taken yer sweetass time!” Applejack snarled back.

“Excuses, excuses,” the woman shook her head and clicked her tongue. She walked ahead of Applejack, completely ignoring her, but then paused when she locked eyes with the squirming siren on the ground and sighed. “Autumn Blaze? Be a dear and take Coloratura someplace else. I’d like to be alone with Applejack and our new friends here.”

“You got it, boss!” Autumn Blaze said with a cheerful salute.

“I trust that won’t be an issue?” the woman asked Twilight.

“No, it’s fine,” Twilight said hesitantly. It didn’t look like this woman wanted to fight, and even if she did, Twilight didn’t have a good reason to stop her from shuffling off two of her allies.

The salamander picked the siren up off the ground and slung her over her shoulder, the siren squirming and squealing, likely in a vain attempt to stay by Applejack’s side, even as her ally carried her away.

“Now then,” the vampire said and did a little curtsy, with her hands on the edges of her cape, “it’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance, darlings. My name is Rarity, and I’m the boss of the First Circle.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Rarity,” Twilight said politely, lowering her weapons. Sunset didn’t look too thrilled about it, but she stood behind Twilight in stoic silence instead of talking back, which Twilight appreciated. “I’m Twilight Sparkle, the pony whose soul everyone is fighting over.”

“And I’m Sunset,” Sunset said firmly, not a hint of irony or snark in her voice, which felt SO strange to Twilight. “I’m the one who’s actually holding that soul.”

“As I said, it’s a pleasure,” Rarity said sweetly. “Instead of murdering each other over that soul however, I would very much like to get a chance to speak with both of you. But first, I need to apologize for the way my subordinates treated you.”

“Right, as if you didn’t order them to threaten and arrest us!” Sunset spat, and while Twilight wasn’t going to say as much, she was certainly thinking something along those lines.

“It’s true, I did,” Rarity said. “I won’t deny that, as it’s simply how I handle business here on the First Circle. But I realize now, that doing so was unnecessary, and if I had simply approached you diplomatically from the start, so much pain and struggle could have been avoided.”

Rarity bowed deeply, Applejack reacting with visible shock, and Sunset staring in apprehensive confusion. Twilight was mostly there with Sunset, though she found herself appreciating the gesture sincerely as well.

“So for what it’s worth,” Rarity said with her head down, “I am genuinely sorry for the misfortune I’ve caused you.”

“Holy shit, Rarity,” Applejack blinked. “I ain’t never seen you bow yer head to anyone!”

“An apology should be an entire body affair,” Rarity said, lifting her head back up and fixing her mane just a touch. “It’s not something to take half measures on.”

“Does she actually think we’re gonna fall for this crap?” Sunset grumbled to Twilight, intentionally loud enough for Rarity to hear her.

“If you don’t believe my apology, then don’t accept it,” Rarity shrugged.

“So, what,” Sunset scoffed and pushed her way past Twilight, who decided to stay quiet herself as she was curious to see Rarity’s response to Sunset antagonizing her, “if we say we just wanna bounce, are you just gonna let us go?”

“Yes,” Rarity replied immediately, Twilight’s eyebrow arching and Sunset’s eyes narrowing. “But tell me, Sunset, where exactly will you go? I’ve heard you’re looking to get inside Paradise, and I’m here to offer you a free ticket.”

“Eh,” Sunset faltered for a second; Twilight’s cue to speak up.

“I accept your apology, Rarity,” Twilight walked forward and bowed her head just a tad. “We are in fact trying to get into Paradise, so if you’re inviting us in, we will graciously accept.”

“Some of us more gracious than others, clearly,” Sunset said and crossed her arms.

“Clearly,” Rarity said flatly, though she quickly returned to her polite posturing. “What I propose is a frank and open discussion about the soul, and how all of us want to use it. But at the end of the day, I believe it is the right of the soul’s owner to ultimately decide for herself.”

“Yer really gonna just let it go?” Applejack scoffed and crossed her arms, and Twilight could tell by the slight smirk on Sunset’s lips that she was thinking the exact same thing. “Just like that, after all this trouble you went through?”

“Applejack, you underestimate me,” Rarity chuckled and lightly tapped Applejack’s cheek; the werewolf didn’t seem to appreciate it. “I have no qualms about admitting the truth. I’m confident that Miss Twilight Sparkle and I can come to an agreement that works for both of us.” Rarity turned to Applejack and winked playfully at her. “And you’re welcome to that dialogue as well, dear Applejack, if you’d like to be.”

“Alright, Rarity,” Twilight said sternly, taking another step toward the vampire, who waited patiently for her to speak, “I’ll agree to this dialogue on one condition. Tell me, honestly, what you will do if I refuse your terms.”

All Rarity’s talk about Twilight and Sunset being free to go was just words, and Twilight was extremely hesitant to put her trust in any monsters, much less ones with as much power as Rarity had. And of course Twilight’s little ‘condition’ was only giving Rarity another opportunity to lie, but the real purpose was simply for Twilight to get a better read on Rarity.

No part of Twilight believed Rarity would just let her go, so Rarity was obviously going to feed Twilight a lie; Twilight just wanted to know what kind of lie Rarity would go with.

“Well as I said, I’m confident that it won’t come to that,” Rarity said with a plastic smile, and when it was met with an ice cold reception from both Twilight and Sunset, she faltered. She drew herself up and took a deep breath, returning her gaze to Twilight with a sharp glare hidden behind a predatory smile. “I’ll tell you what, Twilight.

“I am sincere in my desire to work together with you instead of trying to subjugate or force you to bend a knee to me, and a relationship like that requires trust. So in that case, I will be entirely honest with you. If you refuse my terms, I will fight you for the soul regardless.”

Twilight’s eyes widened, and Sunset clicked her tongue, stomping toward Rarity before being stopped by Twilight’s outstretched hand. The very last thing Twilight expected from Rarity was honesty, but she had no reason to disbelieve what Rarity had just told her.

“But again,” Rarity sighed and twirled a strand of purple hair around her finger, “I’m certain we can come to an agreement.”

“Rarity,” Twilight chuckled in disbelief at what she was about to say, “I appreciate your honesty. I would love to have that dialogue with you.”
> 36. Mission
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rainbow jumped in place, pumping her fists and trying to get hyped as her company waited for Lightning Dust to arrive and give them their new orders. Word from the grapevine was that the Knights were going on a full-on assault on the Family’s headquarters, and Rainbow was chomping at the bit to learn her part and show what she was made of.

Granted, as much as Rainbow was trying to keep her head in the game, it was a real struggle to focus her thoughts without having them drift right back to thinking of Pinkie Pie. Rainbow didn’t get to talk to Pinkie as much as she wanted to, but the little bit she did get was like, captivating.

Pinkie was sweet, and funny, and cool! Rainbow couldn’t wait to talk to her again and she really hoped that she’d have another chance to work with her.

“Look alive, Dash!” Spitfire barked, Rainbow springing to attention. “The boss is here!”

“Yes ma’am! Sorry ma’am!” Rainbow said with a salute.

As the thirteen members of Rainbow’s company stood at attention, another company of Knights marched into their camp, bearing the shining armor of the Lightning Knights’ most illustrious members that made Rainbow and her crew’s armor look like scraps made from tin cans.

At the center of this company was one of the joint leaders of the Knights, Lightning Dust. She was a fury, a pony-shaped monster with the head of a wolf and wings of a bat, with electricity visibly coursing through her body underneath her semi-translucent skin, and with fangs that made the standard monster fangs look like dull spoons in comparison; she had a shimmering golden mane that was highlighted by her seafoam green coat.

Every movement she made resonated with a supreme confidence that Rainbow was at once supremely attracted to and bitterly envious of. As far as Rainbow was concerned, Lightning Dust was her ultimate rival, and she couldn’t wait for the chance to put her in her place.

Lightning Dust gave her big grand speech about taking on the Family and stuff, and while Rainbow was happy to learn that she was gonna be a part of something big, she found it hard to give Lightning her full attention, since all she really wanted to know was—

“And what about Pinkie Pie?” Rainbow asked once Lightning had concluded her speech.

“Funny you say that…” Lightning squinted at Rainbow and tapped her cheek for a sec, “…you.”

“I’m Rainbow Dash.”

“I don’t care,” Lightning whispered with a smug grin, Rainbow’s cheeks turning bright red as she tried to ignore the laughter of the other Knights. “I’m kidding, Rainbow Crash-” Lightning pinched and tweaked Rainbow’s cheek, Rainbow gritting her teeth through it since she couldn’t exactly balk at her treatment from a superior officer “-in all the times I’ve deployed Pink, we’ve never gotten results like yesterday’s battle.

“Usually that siren appearing on the battlefield is a death sentence,” Lightning ruffled Rainbow’s mane and she just had to grit her teeth through that too, but she at least gave Lightning a furious glare, “but somehow we managed to survive it last time. I’m interested in recreating those results, so Pink is gonna be with your company until further notice.”

“Thank you, ma’am!” Spitfire said with a respectful salute. “We’ll make the most of her abilities, and we won’t let you down, ma’am!”

“You’d better not,” Lightning scoffed, “considering the value of the boon I’m giving you.”

“Hell yes,” Rainbow said, pumping her fists.

“You a big fan of Pink, Rainbow Crash?” Lightning Dust scritched a clawed finger under Rainbow’s chin, drawing the tiniest bit of blood as she forced Rainbow to look up into her eyes.

“I-I just think her magic is a useful resource, ma’am,” Rainbow muttered, and it killed her to have to kiss Lightning’s ass like this, especially since she could see Gilda snickering out of the corner of her eye. “I’m looking forward to using that power again, that’s all.”

“That’s a good girl,” Lightning hummed and caressed Rainbow’s cheek with her thumb. She put her muzzle right up against Rainbow’s and sneered. “Cuz Pinkie Pie belongs to me, and if you even think of muscling in on my territory, they’re gonna find your headless body in a ditch and call it a suicide.”

Lightning punched Rainbow in the gut and she doubled over, and to Spitfire’s credit Rainbow saw her flinch and almost moved to help or make sure Rainbow was okay or something before Spitfire remembered her own position relative to Lightning Dust’s.

“Alright, you’re all dismissed,” Lightning Dust said and waved her hand. “Spitroast, you’re in command. Which means it’s your job to rein in bad girls like Raimbow over here.”

“Yes ma’am,” Spitfire said.

“What was that?” Lightning’s ear twitched.

“I said yes ma’am!” Spitfire saluted and doubled her intensity.

“That’s what I like to hear,” Lightning cackled, and she smacked Spitfire’s ass on her way out. Rainbow’s entire company breathed a sigh of relief once Lightning had disappeared.

“Hey Dash,” Gilda put her arm around Rainbow and buried her in a headlock, “how do Lightning’s boots taste?”

“Shut up,” Rainbow groaned and pushed Gilda away. “We both know she seriously could’ve killed me if she wanted to.”

“Lightning’s behavior aside,” Spitfire cleared her throat, “let’s focus on getting ready for our missions. Not a lot has changed, we’re just marching toward the Family’s headquarters, and we’ll crush every Family member we see.”

“And get the villagers in on our protection racket,” Gilda added.

“It’s not a ‘racket’,” Rainbow scoffed. “We’re protecting them from being brainwashed by the Family!”

“They’re just words, Dash,” Spitfire sighed, “don’t get so bent outta shape.”

Rainbow groaned in frustration and Gilda took that as an invitation to put Rainbow in another headlock.

“What’s the matter, dweeb?” Gilda said teasingly. “This is big! We’re gonna get our hands on that Pinkie girl and then we’re gonna cleave through the Family! This is our moment! FINALLY!”

“Yeah,” Rainbow sighed but then she thought about it for a sec and Gilda was totally right, and that got Rainbow kinda pumped up again. “Yeah! Yeah, okay, totally! This is our moment! We’re finally gonna beat the Family!”

“We’ll be top of the food chain!” Gilda grinned and clapped Rainbow’s hand.

“And once we’ve done that,” Rainbow said excitedly, “we’re not gonna stop at just the Family! There’s six other Circles just waiting for us to conquer ‘em!”

“Hell yes!” Gilda shouted.

“Hell no!” Spitfire barked, completely shattering the mood as both Rainbow and Gilda looked at her with disdain. “We’re not fighting just so we can go and conquer other Circles! We’re fighting the Family so the monsters on this Circle can live in peace!”

“Don’t be such a buzzkill,” Gilda said flatly.

“Yeah, Spitroast,” Rainbow cackled and Gilda laughed too as Spitfire’s face turned red. “Don’t be such a downer.”

“Look alive, you idiots,” Spitfire growled. “We have a battle to win, so let’s get ready to get a move on.”
> 37. Top
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Rainbow Dash!”

The voice of Pinkie Pie resonated in Rainbow’s ears just long enough for her to get excited for approximately less than a second before Pinkie’s body collided with Rainbow’s in an overwhelming tackle hug, bringing the harpy to the ground, Pinkie hopping off her with a giggle.

“Oops, sorry!” Pinkie said coyly as she rose to her feet. “Guess I don’t know my own strength!”

“It’s cool, you’re good,” Rainbow laughed and brushed herself off as she stood up, and at the sound of Pinkie’s giggle, Rainbow felt like getting up was suddenly way easier. “I’ve been knocked down harder than that by Gilda like every day.”

“Oh, should I try harder next time?” Pinkie said with an adorable smirk, the poppet bumping her hip into Rainbow’s and getting a laugh outta her.

“No, I’m good,” Rainbow awkwardly rubbed her shoulder. The idea of dealing with two girls as strong and aggressive as Gilda could give a bitch nightmares. “That said, I’m super stoked to work with you again, Pinkie Pie! And to talk to you! I’m excited we’re gonna be travelling together!”

“Oh shit, that’s super sweet of you to say that!” Pinkie beamed and held her hands up to her chin, Rainbow grabbing them excitedly. “I’m looking forward to working with you too, Rainbow Dash! I was really happy to hear that Lightning wanted me to work with you again.”

“That’s awesome, I’m glad it worked out,” Rainbow said. Gawd, there was really something about Pinkie’s smile, and the way she just seemed to be glowing all the time, that was so endearing to Rainbow. She totally got why Lightning was so possessive. “And hey listen, no matter what, I’m gonna protect you.”

“You silly bitch,” Pinkie snorted laughing and gave Rainbow a gentle push, “I’m the one who’s supposed to protect you!”

Yeah, Rainbow thought, on the battlefield sure. But what about from Lightning Dust?

Granted, Rainbow couldn’t just say that with her words; partly cuz if Lightning knew Rainbow was indeed interested in stealing Pinkie away from her, that would be REAL BAD for Rainbow’s continued all of the things.

But also, Rainbow didn’t know what Pinkie’s relationship with Lightning was; did Lightning have her brainwashed or anything like that? Who knows? Best for Rainbow not to test her luck, she figured.

“Okay, yeah,” Rainbow chuckled. “I guess we’ll protect each other.”

“Yeah!” Pinkie said with glee. “Cuz that’s what friends do!”

Woah Rainbow was already in the friend zone? That ruled!

“Yo!” Gilda came stomping up to the two women, waving heartily to Rainbow who grinned confidently and waved back.

Gilda tried to get Pinkie in a friendly headlock but Pinkie squirmed away before Gilda could touch her, and when Gilda tried to put her hand on Pinkie’s shoulder, Pinkie just stepped behind Gilda instead. Gilda turned around and Pinkie moved behind Gilda again, Rainbow stifling a laugh cuz she knew Gilda wouldn’t like it.

“Would you hold still?!” Gilda said irritably.

“Uhhh the only thing I can hold is cute girls,”  Pinkie laughed, and Rainbow definitely felt a surge of magic and it was obvious that Gilda could feel it too the way she turned around in an instant and outstretched her arms to clasp them around Pinkie.

Pinkie though just jumped up and hopped on Gilda’s shoulders. She sure was spry, and it was too bad she was picking on Gilda; too bad for Gilda that is, cuz if it were anyone else, Gilda would think Pinkie was hilarious.

“Gawd damn it!” Gilda groaned as Pinkie jumped off of her behind her. “If you’re gonna work for us, you gotta do what we tell you!”

“That’s no fun!” Pinkie beamed and cocked her head innocently. “I’m only supposed to take orders from Spitfire cuz she’s the one Lightning Dust left in charge. But the truth is, the only person I want to take orders from-” Pinkie slipped behind Gilda and Rainbow, appearing behind Rainbow and sharing a seductive glance with her “-is Rainbow Dash.”

“Wh-wha—” Rainbow blanched, caught between how flattered she felt, how horny she felt, and how scared she was of both Gilda and Lightning’s reactions to that.

“Relax, I’m just joking,” Pinkie bumped her hip into Rainbow’s. “We’re all in this together, right? I’ll do whatever you guys want me to do.”

“See, Dash?” Gilda chuckled. “She wants to take orders from us!”

“Gilda, give it a rest,” Rainbow sighed and stood defensively in front of Pinkie. “She’s our ally, not our servant. And if you and me wanna get to the top of the food chain, we can’t boss around and be shitty to every person who can help us.

“I dunno about you, but I wanna be at the top of the ladder. I’m not satisfied with the rung that’s just second from the bottom.”

“Eugh, fine,” Gilda scoffed and shrugged her shoulders. “Geez, Dash, you take everything too seriously.”

“I’m just trying to look out for us!” Rainbow said irritably, Gilda just waving her off as she walked away, leaving Rainbow alone to sigh irritably.

“Hey, thanks,” Pinkie said softly, Rainbow’s ears tingling with heat as she looked over and saw Pinkie bashfully looking at the ground, and then smiling sweetly at Rainbow. “I appreciate you sticking up for me.”

“Uh, yeah, no problem!” Rainbow said confidently and pushed out her chest. “I’m happy to do it! Long as you’re workin’ with us, you should get respect, I think!”

“You’re sweet, I like you,” Pinkie leaned in and gave Rainbow a kiss on the cheek, Rainbow’s gay brain completely short-circuiting as a result. “Good luck out there, Rainbow Dash. I’ll be rooting for you!”

Pinkie hopped away and danced off into the wilderness back to the camp, Rainbow left alone with her thoughts, most of which were of the gay variety.

That Pinkie Pie sure was cool, and Rainbow was certain that she and Gilda would get along famously if Gilda could just get over herself a little bit. And with Pinkie’s power making Rainbow and Gilda even stronger than they already were, they were really poised to snatch the power of the Lightning Knights away from Lightning Dust and accomplish their dream.

It was an exciting thought…

Rainbow couldn’t wait to get to work alongside Pinkie Pie.
> 38. Paradise
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Paradise was… not what Twilight was expecting.

Thatched roof huts falling apart as wood rotted and splintered, dead trees and brown grass growing from dusty roads of sand and dry dirt, and in the distance a massive theater that at one time must have been impressive, but to Twilight’s eyes it fit right into this portrait of misery and squalor.

“You surprised?” Applejack said as she stood next to Twilight, who stood motionless at the entrance to Paradise.

“I can’t say that this is what I was expecting,” Twilight said. “How exactly is this a ‘paradise’?”

“Well, it’s still under construction, you see,” Rarity chimed in, daintily walking past Twilight and Applejack and holding her arms out to direct attention to the Paradise as if it were something to be proud of. “I’ve only been here a scant few months, and honestly you should have seen the place before I arrived.”

“It was better and nicer before you got here!” Applejack snapped, the werewolf gnashing her fangs. “There wasn’t this big dumbass wall keepin’ everyone out! It was meant to be a place for all of us to thrive, not just you!”

“And look how easily it fell,” Rarity sighed and shook her head disapprovingly. “Clearly, there was something terribly wrong with how you were running things, but now that I’m in charge we haven’t had any such problems. Fancy that.”

“Huh, yeah, funny how you haven’t attacked a place that yer runnin’!” Applejack snarled, and Rarity just rolled her eyes.

“Well no one else has attacked it either,” Rarity said with a self-satisfied smile, “so I must be doing something right.”

Applejack slapped a hand over her face and dug her claws into her brow. It didn’t take a genius to tell that these two had an ugly history together, and quite frankly Twilight would prefer to stay out of it.

Though something about Applejack’s words did strike a chord with Twilight; the Paradise was supposed to be for everyone? What was she talking about? Twilight would need to investigate that further, but she could already tell she wouldn’t be getting anywhere with either Applejack or Rarity while the two were together.

“Hey, you nerds wanna have your domestic spat some other time?” Sunset barked, clapping her hands sarcastically. “Cuz we should get a move on.”

“Yeah, that’s true,” Twilight looked up at the sky and shuddered. “I don’t know when the lights are going out, but I’d prefer to be at our destination by that point already.”

“Oh Twilight, you poor sweet thing,” Rarity cooed, hand over her heart before she sidled up next to Twilight and locked arms with her. “I forgot your pony eyes aren’t equipped to handle the darkness. But you don’t have to worry about that, because even through the darkness my light of generosity shines over my subjects.”

“That’s her way of sayin’ the houses light up when the lights turn off,” Applejack grumbled.

“Yes, but my way is much more theatrical,” Rarity said flatly.

“Well now I kinda wanna see it…” Twilight muttered to herself.

“Maybe after we reach our destination, huh?” Sunset griped, and honestly she was right to. Twilight really couldn’t afford to let herself get distracted like that.

“Yes, yes, of course,” Rarity nodded and headed toward the front of the group. “Let’s be on our way, everyone!”

The four women walked fairly distantly from each other, just close enough that they didn’t lose sight of each other as Rarity led them through the roads of the Paradise toward the theater. The Paradise was built on a hill, so every step they took they went further and further up. Twilight hung near the back, but not quite as far as Applejack, while Sunset tried to keep a roughly equal distance between Rarity and Twilight.

The first thing Twilight took note of as she walked through the Paradise was that it was conspicuously free of monsters. Odd, considering how apparently everyone on the outside wanted to get in.

“Why isn’t there anyone here?” Twilight asked aloud, curious to see who would answer her first.

“There simply aren’t enough resources for everyone,” Rarity said solemnly. “It’s my job as the leader of the Circle to decide who gets what, and the sad fact of the matter is that there are few who deserve what the Paradise offers. Few who work hard enough to earn their place here.”

“Is that right?” Sunset rolled her eyes, and Twilight was more or less on the same page, but she was going to take a slightly more polite approach.

“Sunset told me that there’s magic permeating the land itself,” Twilight said. “I can feel it, this place is dense with magic, at least compared to the wasteland outside. It doesn’t seem like the constant battling over resources would be necessary if everyone had access to this place.”

“Try telling that to Applejack,” Rarity stopped and turned around to look at Twilight, her icy glare freezing Twilight in her tracks. “Try asking her what happens when you try to give everyone a piece of the pie, as it were.”

“Applejack?” Twilight looked at the werewolf expectantly, and she just sighed.

“Much as I hate to admit it,” Applejack groaned, “Rarity ain’t wrong this time. For all the guff I give her about ruinin’ this place, it wasn’t a threat from outside that did us in.”

“Hmm, I see…” Twilight became lost in thought for a moment, before being yanked aside by Sunset distracted her. Sunset pulled her into the shadow of one of the shoddy buildings while Rarity and Applejack waited for them a ways off at the top of a nearby incline.

“Twilight,” Sunset said patiently, “I need you to understand something. You cannot trust these women. You can’t trust anyone in the Underworld, quite frankly. Unless you wanna die, that is.”

“Oh?” Twilight crossed her arms and arched a teasing eyebrow. “Does that mean I can’t trust you?”

“Haha,” Sunset said flatly. “Don’t get smart with me.”

“Relax, Sunset,” Twilight put her hand on Sunset’s shoulder and smiled softly. “If anything happens, I’m relying on you to protect me. You said you would, right? And that you’re a mare of your word?”

“I did say those things, yes,” Sunset admitted through gritted teeth.

“Great!” Twilight beamed. “Then I have nothing to worry about.”

Twilight patted Sunset on the shoulder before taking off to catch up to Rarity and Applejack, Sunset dragging herself behind Twilight and grumbling.

“I swear you’re gonna be the death of me,” Sunset sighed, “Twilight Sparkle.”
> 39. Spitting Distance
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Applejack sat on the outside balcony of Rarity’s theater, looking over the shitty Paradise that the vampire queen maintained. It was hard not to feel depressed, looking at this place that the Apple pack had built with the purest intentions, now tainted and driven to ruin by Rarity’s greed.

Of course, she couldn’t entirely blame Rarity; her own weakness was just as guilty. It was her responsibility to protect the pack and the Paradise, and she had utterly failed at both. Feeling a little melancholy was much better than Applejack deserved.

But more than Rarity, or even Applejack, the blame fell at the feet of the damn Flim-Flam Brothers. It made Applejack sick how close she was to them, how the objects of her revenge were within spitting distance, but there was nothing she could do about it.

She’d need to take ‘em both out at once if she expected to succeed in her revenge, and that wasn’t an easy task considering there were two of ‘em, and they’d both been given pretty powerful magic in exchange for their betrayal.

Applejack needed that soul, and she let it slip through her fingers for Autumn and Rara’s sakes. She had half a mind to smash her skull into paste against the walls of the theater as punishment for her own idiocy.

She was so close now to getting her revenge, she could almost taste it… which meant she was also so close to being murdered in retribution.

That was a sickening thought.

It’s not something she really considered very much; she knew it was inevitable, but she had chosen just not to think about it, but now as she was inching ever closer to the reality of her revenge, the consequences were starting to feel a little too real as well.

Thinking of Rara and Autumn Blaze having to mourn her like she mourned her family— hell, like the surviving members of her family already had to mourn her when she left them behind— was enough to make a mare sick.

But thinking about letting the Brothers get away with murder and betrayal… no, that just wasn’t an option.

“Hey, what’s up, nerd?” Sunset Shimmer approached Applejack on the balcony, the werewolf’s already foul mood immediately worsening as the demon tried to act chummy with her.

“Shouldn’t you have yer girl on a leash?” Applejack growled, curious that the demon would let the pony off on her own after all that bluster about protecting her earlier.

“Talk to me like that,” Sunset chuckled, “and I’ll put you on a leash like the dog that you are.”

“Is that a threat?” Applejack stood chest to chest with Sunset, towering over her.

“No, it’s an invitation,” Sunset smiled and traced a finger over Applejack’s chest. The werewolf had half a mind to throw Sunset off the balcony right then and there, but she settled for just shoving the demon away. “So anyway, what’s your deal? Why’re you dramatically staring over the balcony?”

“Just killin’ time,” Applejack shrugged and returned to the view, trying her best to ignore Sunset until she went away.

“What’re you waiting for?”

Applejack shifted her gaze to Sunset, only for a moment. The demon had a sinister grin on her face, but what else was new. Applejack did consider that maybe, just maybe, she could tell Sunset the honest truth. The demon wasn’t exactly a fan of Rarity herself, and whatever her goals were, they likely coincided with Applejack’s.

“Ain’t none of yer business.”

But no, she couldn’t risk it. She wouldn’t rely on others to get her revenge, this was something she needed to do on her own.

“You’re out for revenge against Rarity, right?” Sunset said confidently, one hand one her hip and the other dangling at her side. Almost funny how she thought she had Applejack all figured out, and while she wasn’t totally wrong, Applejack saw no reason to humor her, so she simply replied with a scoff.

“Applejack!” the voice of one of the Flim-Flam Brothers grated against Applejack’s ears, and she cursed her luck; as if this day could get any worse. “Long time no see!”

“It’s been a while since we’ve seen you behind the Paradise walls!” the other of the brothers said, and Applejack refused to look at them.

“Ah, but remember brother,” the first of the two said, “Applejack hasn’t been behind the Paradise walls before!”

“That’s right!” the second replied, and it was driving Applejack crazy to not be able to tell which one was talking. “She hasn’t set foot in the Paradise since Lady Rarity took over!”

“Is that right?” Sunset asked with a sly grin, and Applejack ignored her and turned to face the twin werewolves, struggling not to try and rip their throats out right then and there.

“Well a gal’s gotta do what she’s gotta do,” Applejack forced a polite demeanor, though her fanged smile probably came off more as ‘unhinged’ than polite.

“Yo, who are these clowns?” Sunset asked, gesturing to the Flim-Flam Brothers.

“I’m Flim,” Flam said.

“And I’m Flam!” Flim added.

“And we’re Rarity’s right hand—” Flam said.

“—and left hand!” Flim interrupted.

“—men!” Flam finished, and Applejack felt like every word they spoke destroyed one of her brain cells each. “We’re Rarity’s aids, and the seeing eyes of the Empress herself!”

“Surprised the Nightmare gives a damn about a shithole like the First Circle,” Sunset mused, and Applejack thought it was curious how she referred to the Empress by name, but then she realized it probably wasn’t that strange for a demon. “You guys sure you’re not here as a punishment?”

“Haha,” Flim said, sounding anything but amused.

“The truth is,” Flam cleared his throat, “the Empress has eyes on every facet of the Underworld.”

“That’s a lot of eyes!” Flim added.

“It certainly is, brother,” Flam nodded.

“If yer so important,” Applejack griped, “why y’all wastin’ time with us?”

“We have our own lives outside of just serving our Empress,” Flam said in mock offense.

“We wanted to confirm with our own eyes that you were here, dear Applejack,” Flim said, his words piercing Applejack’s ears like a shard of broken glass.

“And offer our condolences!” Flam added, taking off his hat and holding it over his heart. “We heard things aren’t going so well for the Apples these days.”

“Yeah,” Applejack grit her teeth and painfully grinded them against each other, “thanks.”

“Flim! Flam!” Rarity called out from inside the theater as she walked toward the balcony, as if Applejack didn’t have enough headaches to manage already. “Are you two hassling my dear Applejack?”

“Oh, is she your dear Applejack now?” Flam said teasingly, more toward Applejack than to Rarity.

“So much has changed since we saw her last!” Flim added, and Applejack swore if she had to listen to these jokers for even one more minute—

“Haha, yes well,” Rarity stepped onto the balcony and leaned against the doorframe, “don’t you two have more important things to do than to sass her? Or me, for that matter?”

“Fair enough, Lady Rarity,” Flam tipped his hat to Rarity and went on his way.

“See you around, Applejack,” Flim added with a wink. Applejack watched the pair leave and wondered why she didn’t try to lash out at them. Sunset wouldn’t have tried to stop her, and frankly Rarity probably wouldn’t have either. They would definitely fight back, but if Applejack killed one before they could respond…

Oh well, didn’t matter now.

“I’m gonna hit the bricks too,” Sunset shrugged, and then gave Applejack a coy smirk. “Wouldn’t want to interrupt you two and your time together.”

“Aww, you’re sweet,” Rarity said affectionately. “Don’t go too far though, I want to have a few words with you too.” Rarity stopped Sunset at the door as she tried to pass, grabbing her wrist tightly and licking her lips. “And perhaps… more than just words.”

“Uh-huh,” Sunset replied flatly and pulled her arm away, continuing out the door without another word.

“Well,” Rarity huffed, “that was certainly rude of—” Rarity paused as she looked over at Applejack, who was halfway off the balcony and preparing to jump. “Wh—where are you going!”

“I’ll be around,” Applejack shrugged.

“Don’t you dare just walk away from me, Applejack,” Rarity demanded.

“Okay,” Applejack grinned and, true to her word, didn’t walk away; she jumped off the balcony instead.

The drop wasn’t anything Applejack couldn’t handle, and honestly the worst part about it was just not being able to see Rarity’s face as Applejack spited her. Granted, Applejack would have to make her way back to the theater eventually, but she could take the long way around. Worth it, if only to frustrate Rarity.

Applejack took a look around the crumbling Paradise as she walked, every house and structure radiating with magic from the ground beneath it. The Paradise was overflowing with magic, and it was all because Applejack and her family pioneered new techniques to farm magic from the land much more efficiently than anyone was doing before them.

And now all that work was going to waste.
> 40. Theater
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Her quest to speak with Applejack thwarted, Rarity went to go huff on the theater stage. It felt ironic in a way, that she would spend so much time being dramatic on the stage, but with no audience to benefit. The theater seats were empty, no one having any interest in a theater with no productions.

It was one of many ways in which Rarity felt she could relate to the old building, and she utterly hated it.

Rarity heard hoofsteps coming her way and she sighed bitterly as she forced herself to stand. It was time to turn on the charm yet again, which felt like little more than a chore. Though her tune changed when she saw the source of the hoofsteps walking into the stage room, and saw that it was one Twilight Sparkle, who Rarity was actually quite eager to talk to.

“Twilight Sparkle!” Rarity clapped her hands, getting Twilight’s attention because of course she did; no one could ignore Rarity. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”

“Um, I was just looking around,” Twilight said sheepishly, fiddling with her glasses, “if that’s alright.”

“Of course, of course,” Rarity nodded and hopped off the stage in front of Twilight, but not too close as she could tell Twilight was— perhaps justifiably— uneasy around her. “You may explore my little kingdom to your heart’s content. Please, make yourself at home.” Rarity then did a little curtsy with the edges of her cape for good measure.

“Thank you,” Twilight said flatly. This wouldn’t do.

“So, Twilight Sparkle,” Rarity said, hoping that using the mare’s full name in such a cumbersome manner would prompt Twilight to say ‘oh please, just call me Twilight’ or something similar, but no such luck. She needed an ‘in’, and to Rarity’s good fortune, she believed she had one. “How did you end up working with our dear miss Sunset Shimmer?”

“Sunset Shimmer?” Twilight asked skeptically, a bitter frown marring her otherwise pretty face as she held her arms across her chest defensively. “Why do you want to know about her?”

“Umm,” did Rarity actually care about Sunset Shimmer? Hmm, a little, perhaps. She was vastly more interested in Twilight, but Sunset was an intriguing curiosity. Demons often were, and especially the pretty ones. “It’s less that I want to know about her, though I am interested in her as well, and more that I was trying to simply break the ice with you.

“I’m interested in you, and I mean in you, not simply in your soul, and I would like to understand you better, but I can tell that you still don’t entirely trust me, and I can understand why.”

Now Rarity needed to decide if she wanted to lay it on thick, to passive-aggressively say that if Twilight didn’t want to get to know Rarity, there was nothing she could do. She elected not to say any such thing however, as Rarity didn’t know Twilight well enough to guarantee it would work, and in fact she suspected that this seemingly very sincere pony would see right through a trick like that.

“Those are a lot of nice words,” Twilight said guardedly, “but of course you understand why I can’t take you at just your word.”

“Of course,” Rarity bowed her head. “Though I fear if we continue to speak to one another each worried the other is holding a knife behind their back, our productive dialogue that I had planned won’t really be getting us anywhere.”

“You may be right,” Twilight let her arm fall to her side; a good sign, though Rarity could still see the tension in the mare’s body. “I honestly do want to trust you, but… I mean…”

“A stunningly beautiful vampire goddess running a squalid kingdom doesn’t exactly inspire blind faith where you’re from?” Rarity said playfully, putting her hands on her hips and swaying them back and forth so that Twilight could really drink in every detail of her body, if only for just a moment.

“R-right, something like that,” Twilight said, her eyes glued to Rarity’s hips. Now she was getting somewhere.

“Hey,” Sunset barked as she walked into the stage room, Twilight’s eyes lighting up and Rarity’s practically doing the opposite, “don’t just go talking to my Twilight.”

“Your Twilight?” Rarity asked cheekily, crossing her arms and cocking her head.

“Y-y’know what I mean,” Sunset replied shortly.

“No, do go on, Sunset,” Twilight chuckled. “I wasn’t aware I was your Twilight now. Shouldn’t you at least get me a collar? Write your initials on me someplace?”

“I can get you a collar,” Sunset and Rarity said at the same time, the two women immediately glaring each other in the eyes as Twilight chuckled into her fist.

“Geez, maybe you two should get to know each other,” Twilight said drolly. “You already have so much in common.”

“Alright, we’re leaving,” Sunset grabbed Twilight by the wrist and started to drag her away, though Twilight dug her hooves in and stopped Sunset, whispering something to her. Sunset looked displeased but she rolled her eyes and loosened her grip on the unicorn, though she didn’t entirely let go.

“We should talk, Rarity,” Twilight said, and Rarity nodded at the obviousness of her statement, Twilight taking the hint and awkwardly pushing up her glasses and looking away as she searched for a continuation of that sentence. “Uh, I mean, I would like to talk to you about the soul. You, and me and Sunset, and Applejack too. Tonight, if that’s possible.”

“How about over food and drinks?” Rarity asked with a gleam in her eye. “You must miss them terribly, being away from the surface.”

“Ohhh, that does sound good…” Twilight mused, clearly already salivating.

“C’mon, Twilight,” Sunset griped. “Don’t just agree to drinks with a stranger.”

“Uh, right,” Twilight cleared her throat. “But you’ll be there to protect me, so there’s no problem.”

“Er, well,” Sunset blushed and itched her cheek.

“Rarity, I would like that very much,” Twilight bowed her head, and Rarity returned the gesture instinctively.

“I’ll send some fresh clothes up to your room for you,” Rarity said. “You’ll be able to look a mite more presentable, and if you would like, we also have showers available.”

“Yeah, we’ll pa—”

“Thank you, Rarity,” Twilight interrupted Sunset, who look none too pleased by it. “We’ll see you at dinner.”

“Looking forward to it,” Rarity said pleasantly as she watched Twilight leave, and then licked her lips, “darling.”
> 41. Sap
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The eerie fog choking the air made Rainbow Dash almost feel sick. It reminded her way too much of her awful battle against Fluttershy from before.

She tried to keep that outta her mind though and stay in the present. Her and Gilda were the recon squad sent to check the next village on the Lightning Knights’ path for potential threats, but what the pair found was nothing.

Almost literally, nothing.

The village was still standing; row after row of identical two story houses that were so flawlessly similar and disgustingly mediocre at the same time that Rainbow had a hard time believing they were created by hand.

But every single one was empty. Doors hung wide open, and windows too, and smell of mist and fog eliminated any rancid odors that might be coming from inside unless one were to take a closer look, which neither Gilda nor Rainbow were inclined to do.

They stood on a dirt road, the rows of houses on one side and on the other was a canopy of towering trees that almost looked like they were clawing at the air, like they were begging to be released from some invisible barrier, or maybe it looked like they were clawing at any unsuspecting creature that was foolish enough to wander past them.

“This place gives me the creeps!” Rainbow complained, stomping her talon and crossing her arms.

“What, are you gonna cry about it?” Gilda said irritably, but then she busted out a cunning grin. “Or are you saying you need me to protect you? Is that it, Dash? Are you scared and you need Gilda’s big strong arms?”

“Shut up!” Rainbow balked and gave Gilda a shove, though the thought of being wrapped up in those giant beefy arms of hers wasn’t an unpleasant one… “I’m just saying, let’s get outta here. It’s not like there’s anything—”

“Wait, hold on dude,” a relaxed woman’s voice cut through the fog, Rainbow and Gilda both turning to face her in an instant. Only her silhouette was visible at first and Rainbow’s dumbass lesbian brain was like ‘damn she kinda thicc tho’.

“And you are?” Gilda asked tepidly.

“Name’s Tree Hugger,” the woman came into plain view and Rainbow got a better look at her, and was delighted to see that she was indeed pretty thicc. She was a dryad; she almost looked like a pony except for the fungus crawling all over her body, which honestly was pretty cool. “And uhhhh sorry but I can’t let you leave.”

“You’re with the Family?” Gilda cracked her knuckles, and Tree Hugger just nodded slowly.

“Let’s be careful, Gilda,” Rainbow said, taking a step behind the quetzalcoatl. “We don’t know what she’s capable of so we should keep our distance.”

“You think I don’t know that?” Gilda scoffed and scraped her talon across the dirt road, revealing that under the thin layer of dirt and mud was a firm foundation of stone. “I’ll take this bitch out, don’t you worry. All you need to do is cover me!”

Gilda took off like a rocket, propelled by an explosion of wind from her magic, and Rainbow locked onto Tree Hugger; whatever she tried to pull, Rainbow was gonna be ready to counter it.

Tree Hugger jumped away from Gilda’s punch and immediately scrambled up the nearest tree, Gilda spitting in frustration.

“What kinda coward just climbs up a tree in the middle of a fight?” Gilda said in disgust.

“Coward that wants to stay alive,” Tree Hugger hung from a high branch by the back of her legs and let out a good-natured chuckle. She sure was chill for someone in a life or death battle, and it kinda pissed Rainbow off if she was being honest.

“If you think height’s gonna help you,” Gilda growled with a fierce grin on her face and she flared out her wings, “you obviously missed something!”

“Gilda, wait!” Rainbow shouted. “She’s clearly baiting you! Don’t go up there!”

Gilda clicked her tongue and closed her wings, and Rainbow caught the disappointment that flickered across Tree Hugger’s face even if it was only there for an instant.

“Instead,” Rainbow gave a confident and bloodthirsty smile as she charged her laser and pointed it right at Tree Hugger, “let’s bring her down to us!”

Rainbow’s blue laser fired from her fingertips and tore through Tree Hugger’s perch in a roaring explosion that sent the plant girl flying and crashing to the road with a thud, the leaves from her tree fluttering all around the battlefield as the smoke cleared and revealed a splintered trunk was all that remained of the tree Rainbow hit.

Gilda wasted no time closing the distance against Tree Hugger and charged at her, letting loose a punch that exploded with a devastating burst of concentrated wind.

It whiffed completely, and Tree Hugger was able to take advantage of that missed opportunity to get back to her feet and jump away from Gilda; the dryad was singed by the explosion and bruised by the fall, but those injuries were pretty minor for a seasoned fighter like her.

What was infinitely more concerning was that Gilda’s attack totally flopped, and Rainbow couldn’t understand why; she was certain that Gilda was gonna hit her! But there was no time for second-guessing, so Rainbow just fired her laser directly at Tree Hugger, and there was no way she was gonna miss such a clean shot!

And yet she did. The laser flew harmlessly over Tree Hugger’s shoulder and exploded too far in the distance to have any effect on the fight at all.

“Something wrong, my dudes?” Tree Hugger said casually, and Rainbow growled under her breath, which was tame compared to the ferocious snarl that Gilda responded with.

“Don’t mess with me!” Gilda let out a massive explosion of wind, and gave a premature victorious chuckle, but Tree Hugger just appeared standing beside it unharmed, clicking her tongue and shaking her head.

Something was seriously wrong here, but what? Rainbow was able to hit the tree just fine, so what was diff—

The tree.

The leaves from that tree were still fluttering in the air over the battlefield, descending way too slowly to be normal. Rainbow hadn't paid it much mind at first and now she was kicking herself for ignoring it.

“Gilda! Those leaves!” Rainbow shouted. “When we blew up the tree, Tree Hugger’s aura coated the leaves and now it’s covering the whole battlefield!”

“Nice going, hotshot!” Gilda shouted irritably.

“Don’t blame her,” Tree Hugger said coolly, stealing both Rainbow and Gilda’s attention. “You know what would’ve happened if you’d jumped up into that tree like you were planning to do?” Tree Hugger jumped and disappeared into one of the other trees beside the road. “Here, I’ll show you.”

Something came from the tree and grabbed Gilda, but Rainbow couldn’t see it clearly through the fog that suddenly felt a lot thicker than it was before, and when Rainbow could see clearly again, Gilda was gone.

Rainbow called out her name, but it was obvious she couldn’t respond. Rainbow turned her eyes to the tree next to the destroyed one, which Tree Hugger had escaped inside and likely dragged Gilda into.

Obviously Rainbow couldn’t follow Gilda inside, and she couldn’t just blow it up haphazardly either, but she felt pretty clever when she realized she could blow it up at the base and topple it over, then with her speed rescue Gilda before anything bad happened. It was the perfect plan!

Rainbow fired off her lasers and sure enough the tree came crashing down, with Rainbow bolting through its leaves to rescue Gilda.

She didn’t find any Gilda. She didn’t find any anything, in fact! The inside of the tree’s leaves were another damn pocket plane like what Fluttershy had, and Rainbow felt something sticking to her body, slowing her movement until she was immobilized.

It was hard to see cuz it was all dark and leafy in this place, but Rainbow looked at her arms and legs and was able to identify that she was covered in what looked like tree sap; thick, slimy sap that pinned her arms to her sides and her legs to each other.

“Dude,” Tree Hugger said as she floated weightlessly over to the pinned Rainbow Dash.

“I’m not a dude,” Rainbow said flatly.

“Sis—”

“I’m not cis either,” Rainbow chuckled.

“Fam,” Tree Hugger said, only sounding mildly bemused, “you gotta clear your mind, Rainbow Dash. You gotta realize the Lightning Knights? They don’t care about you, they don’t have your best interests at heart. But the Family will treat you like you deserve.”

Tree Hugger put her hands on Rainbow’s cheeks, and she tried to move her hands to swat Tree Hugger away but this sap was too sticky.

“Don’t you want to be treated like you deserve?”

“Maybe,” Rainbow let out a single chuckle, “but consider this instead.”

And then Rainbow exploded.

If Tree Hugger thought pinning Rainbow’s hands would stop her from firing her lasers, or that she wouldn’t fire them at herself, she was gravely mistaken. It was nearly impossible for a creature to harm themselves with their own magic anyway, so as the tree and its pocket plane got ripped apart and Tree Hugger got sent flying onto the road on her back, all Rainbow was left with were her arms and legs freed and a renewed vigor for kicking Tree Hugger’s ass!

But first, Rainbow had to find Gilda. She had to be in one of these other trees, right? But there were a LOT of trees, and Rainbow couldn’t tell which ones were enchanted by Tree Hugger’s magic and which ones weren’t.

Also, while her movement was freed up, Rainbow was still covered in sticky gross weird stuff, which definitely didn’t bode well.

“Sorry fam,” Tree Hugger panted as she got to her feet, “but I can’t just let you folks do whatever you want.”

Rainbow clicked her tongue and fired a bunch of lasers directly at Tree Hugger, but they all missed her. Rainbow was feeling woozy too, and Tree Hugger was starting to get closer. This wasn’t good at all, but Rainbow wasn’t gonna just admit defeat!

She dug deep into herself, to try and center herself and focus her thoughts, really delve deep into her mind palace… and what she found was Pinkie Pie. Her smile, her warmth, her confidence, her faith in Rainbow; all of it sent a jolt through Rainbow’s body and brought a laugh to her lips, and when she opened her eyes, Rainbow Dash could see clearly.

Rainbow pointed her fingers at Tree Hugger and charged her laser, but Tree Hugger just stood still with that dazed smile on her face. Rainbow smiled too, the sharp and confident smile of a predator about to mark her prey, and even despite Tree Hugger’s confidence, the dryad suddenly realized she was in danger.

The laser went off, headed straight for Tree Hugger, and unless the plant girl dodged it, it was gonna hit its mark no question. But through the resulting explosion, it was hard to tell at first if it hit.

Okay yeah she dodged it, but the dryad only realized the danger just in time, so her dodge was clumsy and left her stumbling, making her an easy target for Rainbow to dash up to and slam into her stomach with a flying kick, Rainbow’s shin colliding with the woman’s belly and knocking the air outta her lungs before sending her crashing on her back into the road.

Rainbow couldn’t waste time looking through every single damn tree to figure out which one Gilda was trapped in so to hell with it, she just decided to blow them all sky high! She charged her lasers through her whole body and flared out her wings on her arms, firing lasers that tore through the entire line of trees and reduced them to ash.

Sure enough, Gilda came flopping out of one of the trees when the pocket plane was destroyed, her body covered in that sticky sap and immobilized. She was struggling like mad though, even though her arms were pinned at her sides and her legs were stuck together, and the sap covered her beak so whatever curses she was yelling only came out as muffled grunts.

Honestly it was a little funny watching her flop around like a fish but Rainbow figured she’d better rescue her partner sooner rather than later. Gilda’s struggles and muffled curses got louder and angrier as Rainbow approached but she figured Gilda was just mad that she had to be saved.

She didn’t realize it was a warning until she felt a hand grab hold of her talon, and she looked down to see Tree Hugger’s hand coming out of the ground.

“Ha! If you think a little trick like that’s gonna work on me-” Rainbow flared her wings on her arms and jumped into the air away from Tree Hugger’s grasping hand “-you got another thing comi—”

A shot of sticky sap came from the trees behind Rainbow, making her wings too heavy to fly and causing her to start falling.

Rainbow fell to the ground and limbs from a nearby tree spun sap around her body like they were spooling thread, quickly immobilizing her legs and pinning her arms, even covering her mouth so she couldn’t curse Tree Hugger out.

Worse than that, Rainbow realized only too late that the sap was sucking her magic, and since she had never fully rid herself of the stuff that covered her the first time, and was now bound in a thick coat of it, she quickly ran out of energy and couldn’t blow herself up like last time.

Rainbow tried to move her arms but the sap resisted her struggles and snapped painfully into place any time she thought she found a little slack. The sticky gross shit covered her mouth and made it impossible to scream, and she just knew it’d be hell getting this garbage out of her feathers.

Tree Hugger arose from the ground and wiped some sweat off her brow. It wouldn’t mean much if Rainbow and Gilda couldn’t free themselves, but it was at least satisfying to start seeing this battle take its toll on Tree Hugger too.

The plant girl came closer to Rainbow Dash and she figured even if she couldn’t use her magic and even if she was tied up, she still had her body she could use as a weapon, and she launched herself into Tree Hugger, headbutting her in the stomach like a damn torpedo and knocking the wind outta her again.

Rainbow swept her legs against Tree Hugger’s next, knocking them out from under her and sending the plant girl to the ground on her back, where she was vulnerable to Rainbow’s next attack, raising her legs into the air and slamming them down hard on Tree Hugger’s stomach.

If that barrage didn’t weaken Tree Hugger’s concentration enough for the girls to escape, Rainbow would have to come up with another plan but she really didn’t want to so she hoped that was enough!

The sound of Gilda’s laughter hinted that yeah Rainbow probably nailed it. She looked over and saw Gilda cackling as she tore the sap off her body like it was wrapping paper, her body glowing with a bright pink magic aura.

Pinkie Pie. Gilda hadn't used her restorative gift yet, and was probably waiting for the perfect opportunity. Nice! Even nicer still was that Gilda just tore through the slime covering Rainbow, freeing her body and letting her fly again! And Rainbow couldn’t lie; Gilda coming to her rescue was kinda hot.

Tree Hugger got to her feet and groaned irritably as she stumbled back and away from Rainbow and Gilda.

“You mad, bro?” Gilda cracked her knuckles, and Tree Hugger just sighed.

“Anger’s a part of life, fam,” Tree Hugger let out a breathless chuckle. “Just as natural and valid as every other emotion. What matters is what you do with it.”

“Yeah whatever nerd,” Gilda rolled her eyes and then stared Tree Hugger down, taking a defensive stance in front of Rainbow and whispering to her. “Hey Dash, you outta juice?”

“Just about,” Rainbow admitted, “I got a couple shots left in me if I really push myself.”

“We always push ourselves,” Gilda looked back at Rainbow briefly with a stunningly beautiful grin, “a hundred and ten percent!”

“Damn right!” Rainbow responded with her own eager smile, ready to back Gilda up until the end, no matter what.

“I’ll tenderize her,” Gilda said and tried to crack her knuckles again but nothing happened cuz she’d just done that already, “then you take her out in one shot. Got it?”

“Got it!”

Gilda charged in and with her renewed strength and Tree Hugger starting to dwindle toward the end of her rope, the plant gal had no shot at dodging Gilda’s attack and an explosion of wind devastated her and sent her flying, the side of her face and body badly burned.

That said, Tree Hugger just dug herself under the ground to escape. Rainbow and Gilda had the same exact thought and flew up into the air right away, making sure to stay clear of the trees; Rainbow destroyed a whole bunch of ‘em but it was pretty hard to tell if Tree Hugger still had influence over the others, and the last thing the girls needed was to be caught in one of those trees again.

“This girl’s tough,” Rainbow panted. It took more effort than she wanted to admit to keep herself airborne after all this.

“How you holding up, Dash?” Gilda asked, sounding uncharacteristically sincere, which really took Rainbow off-guard.

“Please,” Rainbow scoffed, no idea how to handle Gilda’s apparent sincerity, “I’m not gonna let you have all the glory.”

“Good,” Gilda cackled. “Cuz if you give me an inch, I’ll leave you in the dust before you know it.”

“Ha! You think so?” Rainbow scoffed. “The only way I’d be eating your dust is if I came up behind you after lapping you.”

“Big words for a bottom bitch,” Gilda said through gritted teeth, but she couldn’t force away her smile.

“You not like that, G?” Rainbow flew up close to Gilda, chest to chest. “You gonna punish me later?”

“I just might,” Gilda licked her lips.

“Cool, but first—” Rainbow locked eyes with Gilda and pointed her finger downward, firing a laser that tore through a tree and exploded, revealing Tree Hugger as it sent her flying.

“Damn Dash, that was a killer shot!” Gilda exclaimed, her eyes wide and her smile even wider.

“Thanks!” Rainbow said bashfully, rubbing the back of her mane and blushing, butterflies running amok in her stomach. “I just felt it, I dunno!”

“You stay up here,” Gilda said, “I’ll knock her out.”

Gilda hit the ground with an explosion of wind that knocked the already battered Tree Hugger into a splintered stump with a thunk.

“Not so tough without all your little tricks, huh?” Gilda’s fingers twitched in anticipation for what she probably hoped was gonna be a game-ending punch.

“Bold of you to think I’m outta tricks, fam,” Tree Hugger said with a cool grin, and disappeared under the ground again.

Rainbow hovered closer to the ground, just out of range of any grabby hands from under the earth, but she was seriously struggling to keep herself afloat, and she found it harder to lift her wings the closer she got to the ground.

“What are you doing?” Gilda barked and walked over to Rainbow. “You wanna get caught again?”

“Sorry,” Rainbow fell flat on her butt, leaning her back against one of the houses on the other side of the road from the trees, “I just needed to sit down a sec.”

“I feel ya,” Gilda groaned and arched her back, “but we can’t let our guard down. Those trees are still here. I dunno if she created them with her magic or just possessed ‘em or something, but I can still feel her aura radiating off of ‘em. I’m not taking-” Gilda panted and sat down next to Dash “-any chances.”

“You tired too?” Rainbow asked, and Gilda just nodded lazily. Rainbow nodded too, too exhausted to do anything else.

Then her eyes snapped open, and she realized.

“Shit!” Rainbow stood up like a shot but her exhaustion made her stumble and nearly fall over, if it wasn’t for Gilda standing up and catching her. “The trees have roots, Gilda!”

“Roots,” Gilda’s eyes widened in horrified realization, “underground.”

Sap suddenly started firing from the ground like woah, slapping across Rainbow’s and Gilda’s mouths and sealing them shut. Gilda groaned angrily but before she could act, her hand was bound by sap to Rainbow’s, and then quickly their other arms and their legs were bound together, the pair quickly being wrapped up in sap back to back with each other, falling over and unable to do anything but struggle helplessly and scream into the sticky paste covering their mouths.

Tree Hugger climbed out from under the ground, looking battered and exhausted, but pleased with herself. She’d basically won the fight, so why shouldn’t she be? As she stepped closer, Rainbow tried to think of anything she could do, but she was completely wiped out.

So Gilda stepped up instead, screaming furiously and exploding with a devastating amount of wind that not only forced Tree Hugger back, but melted the sap around Gilda and Rainbow’s bodies. Unfortunately, such a massive attack also left Gilda unable to move.

“You gotta take her out, Dash,” Gilda panted. “One shot. We’re out of second chances.”

“R-right…”

No pressure or anything.

Rainbow tried to use her brain to find Tree Hugger but she was already exhausted and being blasted by Gilda’s magic didn’t do her any favors. She was starting to lose it and she could barely see straight.

There was still a heavy cloud of fog, but Rainbow felt confident that there was no way Tree Hugger could approach Rainbow without being seen and shot dead first in said cloud, giving Rainbow and her long range attacks a minor advantage… but it was slowly disappearing, and then Rainbow would lose her only advantage.

BUT NO PRESURE THOUGH!

Screw it! Screw this! Rainbow couldn’t use her brain to figure anything out but she could sure follow Gilda’s example and use overwhelming force!

She picked Gilda up and hoisted her over her shoulders, no easy feat considering Gilda was a massive wall of muscle, but Rainbow managed and threw herself into the sky, keeping herself and Gilda airborne and charging what little magic she had left into one last laser.

She put everything into this attack; her anger, her heart, her laughter, her love for Gilda and her dreams of taking over the Lightning Knights with her. EVERYTHING was riding on this and Rainbow would be damned straight to hell if she messed this up!

“FULL POWER! SATELLITE CANNON!!”

The laser shot out of her wings like, well, a cannon, and time seemed to slow to a crawl in the instant before it detonated, exploding with a massive eruption that ripped the trees to splinters and even bowled over the first row of houses, leaving nothing but a scorched black earth in its wake.

And one very battered and very exhausted dryad.

Unfortunately, that attack took all the energy Rainbow had left, and she didn’t have any leftover for things like ‘flying’ or ‘carrying Gilda’ so she careened toward the earth. Honestly she barely even noticed, she was only like half-conscious at this point.

But she sure noticed when her momentum suddenly stopped, and it wasn’t cuz she hit the ground; she was carried in Gilda’s arms, who’d recovered just enough to fly under her own power and catch Rainbow before she slammed into the earth.

“You dweeb,” Gilda chuckled, “I always gotta save your ass.”

“Thanks,” Rainbow said sincerely, and now it was Gilda’s turn to get flustered and not know how to respond.

“Shut up or I’ll drop you,” she grumbled.
> 42. Potential Growth
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Fluttershy took a deep breath, letting it out as a sigh that hopefully sounded calmer than it was.

“Wow you sound nervous,” Windy Whistles chimed in, making Fluttershy’s face turn bright red. “Are you okay?”

“Of course I’m okay!” Fluttershy lied, the pitch of her voice raising to an octave that could only be described as ‘piercingly shrill’.

“She’s worried about the limits of her own abilities,” Zecora said, sounding as calm as Fluttershy wished she was. The mummy gave Fluttershy a comforting hand on her shoulder and an encouraging smile. “But she worries needlessly, for we all have the faith in her that she lacks.” Zecora put her hand on Fluttershy’s cheek and she sighed contently. “You’ve got this.”

A soft melody escaped Fluttershy’s lips as the siren began her hypnotic song, the enchanting sound echoing through the roads and homes of the small village that Fluttershy and her group stood on the outskirts of.

Fluttershy’s siren song had proven time and again to be an invaluable tool in recruiting new members into the Family, but Fluttershy had never pushed herself to the level she was being asked now, to hypnotize entire villages on her own.

She could feel the magic of some of the villagers beginning to resonate with her own, but it wasn’t enough, it was only a few. Fluttershy pushed herself harder and her voice started to crack and strain under the pressure, only serving to make her song falter and flounder against closed ears.

Zecora squeezed Fluttershy’s hand, and the song came to an end, Fluttershy holding back tears until she looked at Zecora’s kind smile, and Windy’s huge beaming grin and thumbs-up.

“You did great,” Zecora said sweetly, caressing Fluttershy’s cheek.

“I only secured a few,” Fluttershy said weakly, as several villagers exited their homes or stopped what they were doing to respond to Fluttershy’s call and approach her, followed by a small handful of non-enchanted villagers who simply wanted to know what the commotion was about.

“This is great!” Windy said, clapping her hands. She left to go make preparations, signaling to other members of Fluttershy’s group so that they could initiate these new recruits into the Family as quickly as possible, and convince some of the ones who hadn't been enchanted to join as well. It was never quite as simple as singing the song and that was that.

“You got more than enough for your first pass,” Zecora said, leading Fluttershy away so Windy and her group could do their work; it always stressed Fluttershy out cuz she worried so much that her song wasn’t strong enough or that they wouldn’t be able to convince the unenchanted. “I’m proud of you, especially for the way you pushed yourself.”

“But I failed,” Fluttershy let out a bitter scoff. “My ‘pushing myself’ only made my song weaker.”

“This time, perhaps,” Zecora mused. “But without pushing yourself out of your comfort zone, you won’t be able to grow. So I’m proud that you took the risk and chose growth over stagnation today.”

“You’re too kind,” Fluttershy said bashfully, melting under Zecora’s praise.

“I am just the right amount of kind,” Zecora let out a funny laugh. “Frankly, I’m not as kind as you deserve!”

Fluttershy laughed at that too, and Zecora took her gently by her chin and turned her to face Zecora, who then proceeded to lay a kind smooch on Fluttershy’s lips, the siren giggling as her lips tingled from Zecora’s touch.

“I’m still not used to that,” Fluttershy said, feeling like a little smitten kitten; she was embarrassed, or at least she would be if she were around someone other than Zecora, who she felt very safe with and understood by.

“Well I have plenty more where it came from,” Zecora said before kissing Fluttershy again, “to help you adapt.”

“Thank y—”

Fluttershy’s attention was suddenly grabbed by the woman standing tall in front of Zecora and Fluttershy, the former standing up defensively to meet the woman.

She was a short gray monster that looked almost like a pony; she wore a silly hat, and her body appeared to be made from solid stone, cracks forming across her arms and legs and dirt falling from those cracks onto the ground. She was a gnome.

“Who are you?” Zecora asked, politely but firmly.

“Maud,” the woman replied.

“Maud,” Zecora said tepidly. “Is there something we can help y—”

“You’re from the Family of Whispers,” Maud ignored Zecora, stepping past her to stand over Fluttershy, “right?”

“I am,” Fluttershy said, holding her hand in front of her defensively. “And?”

“You’re looking for the pony soul, but you’re in the wrong place,” Maud said, and her tone was flat and monotone; it was impenetrable and difficult to understand where she was coming from emotionally, and if Fluttershy should feel threatened or intrigued. “Why?”

“P-pony soul?” Fluttershy looked toward Zecora for explanation, but the mummy pretended not to notice; just because Zecora didn’t have eyes, didn’t mean she couldn’t see, and they both knew Fluttershy knew that, so that was really not the answer Fluttershy wanted. “What are you talking about?”

“You don’t know,” Maud said, and Fluttershy couldn’t tell if she sounded confused or disappointed. Or maybe both? Neither? “Your superiors didn’t tell you. Odd, considering your obvious power and value. There’s no way they don’t know about the soul.” Maud looked over at Zecora. “What’s going on?”

“The pony soul is none of our concern,” Zecora said, and Fluttershy’s ears perked up. What was she not telling Fluttershy?

Maud blinked at Zecora, then looked at Fluttershy who at this point was just desperate for some kind of explanation. Maud looked at Zecora again.

“Your superior is after the soul,” Maud said, “and using your group as a decoy for the Lightning Knights.”

“I wouldn’t say ‘decoy’, that somewhat undersells the importance of this group and our mission,” Zecora said. “But close enough, I suppose.”

“Odd place for a decoy,” Maud said, “so close to the soul. Would make more sense for the decoy group to be in an entirely unrelated area, unless… unless the soul retrieval group isn’t looking in the right area.”

“Our intel is sound,” Zecora said defensively.

“You sure?” Maud asked. “Bet against the Lightning Knights getting to the nearby mining village first?”

“Nearby mining villa— ugh, enough,” Zecora groaned and shook her head. “We don’t have time for this nonse—”

“Zecora,” Fluttershy stood up and spoke, “I want to hear Maud out. She has an awful lot of information for a civilian, don’t you think?”

Zecora was speechless, until she sighed and extended her hand in a gesture for Maud to explain herself.

“I came here from the surface recently,” Maud said. “Part of a Paladin expedition. My soul was taken, but our leader was cautious. Her lingering magic allows me to detect and locate her soul, even from a distance.”

“That’s an awfully specific story,” Fluttershy looked to Zecora again and smiled anxiously, “is it wrong that I trust it?”

“No,” Zecora grumbled. “It is awfully specific.”

“The mining village isn’t far from here,” Fluttershy said. “It wouldn’t be that much of a detour, and if Maud is telling the truth, we’ll have saved our group an awful lot of trouble.”

“And if it’s a trap?” Zecora crossed her arms and grimaced.

“Then we fight back,” Fluttershy said sincerely. “It’s like you said, sometimes we need to risk choosing growth over stagnation.”

“Hm, it’s not my place to argue with you, Fluttershy,” Zecora sighed. “I support you no matter what, and if this is what you believe is right, I’ll follow you.”

“Thank you, Zecora,” Fluttershy bowed her head to Zecora, and then to Maud in turn. “Maud, will you guide us to the mining village, please?”

“Sure,” Maud shrugged. “I’m not interested in what happens to the soul, I just want to make sure my friends are safe.”

“Okay,” Fluttershy put a hand over her heart and breathed a sigh of relief, “now that we have that settled, we can—”

“You guys!” Windy said, charging toward the three women, looking and sounding deathly pale, which of course instantly put Fluttershy on edge. “I have really bad news! I just heard from some of our information peeps that Tree Hugger was taken captive by the Lightning Knights!”

“Wh-what?” Fluttershy said, feeling like her spirit was leaving her body as she lost the strength in her legs to stand and collapsed onto the bench behind her.

“Fluttershy,” Zecora said sternly, Fluttershy immediately giving Zecora her full attention. “Do you still care about following this potential lead on the pony soul?”

“Of course,” Fluttershy said, and she wondered how Zecora could even possibly ask her that. “But Tree Hugger—”

“Then I will let Maud lead me to the soul,” Zecora said, and Maud nodded slowly, “and you will take Windy Whistles and the majority of our forces, and go rescue Tree Hugger.”

“W-without you?” Fluttershy said, terrified.

“Yes,” Zecora nodded, and she knelt in front of Fluttershy and took her hands. “Windy isn’t able to lead a force on her own.”

“It’s true, I’m too dense,” Windy chuckled awkwardly.

“And I can!?” Fluttershy shrieked.

“Yes, you can,” Zecora kissed Fluttershy’s fingers. “You have been raised and trained to do exactly that, even if you haven’t had the opportunity to put those lessons into practice before now. But sometimes we need to take a risk and choose growth over stagnation.”

“O-okay,” Fluttershy said, trying to breathe calmly and not cry and freak out, as was her instinct, “if you’re sure.”

“I know you can do this,” Zecora put her hand against Fluttershy’s cheek, and it was like she was physically instilling her confidence into Fluttershy, and it made her smile. “We can use the information network in case of emergencies, we won’t be that far from each other.”

“If anything happens to you,” Fluttershy said, taking Zecora’s hands in hers, “I’ll come running to your rescue, I promise.”

“Likewise, sweet Fluttershy,” Zecora laughed softly and pressed her nose against Fluttershy’s before laying a tender kiss onto her lips.

“Don’t worry,” Maud interjected, “I’ll take good care of her.”

“Thank you, Maud,” Fluttershy giggled. “And thank you Windy, and Zecora. Without all of you, I wouldn’t be able to do anything.”

“Don’t sell your own strength short, my dearest,” Zecora said, standing up and helping Fluttershy to stand too.

“Okay,” Fluttershy snorted and wrapped her arms around Zecora, once again trying not to cry before forcing herself to let go. “Let’s just get everything done as soon as possible so we can meet up again.”

“Of course,” Zecora did a bow and kissed Fluttershy’s hand. “Until we meet again, Fluttershy, I will see you later.”

“See you later,” Fluttershy said, and Zecora took Maud and went to divvy up the Family’s group, Fluttershy whispering under her breath, “Zecora. I love you.”
> 43. Reunion
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Gilda and Rainbow Dash were arguing by the time Pinkie approached them; she was let loose pretty soon after Rainbow’s recon squad returned to the Knights and gave ‘em the all clear to wander through the village of spooky identical houses, and so of course her first instinct was to find Rainbow.

Gilda was huffy cuz the prisoner that she and Dash captured, Tree Hugger, was sent straight to Lightning Dust, and Gilda wanted to keep her and boss her around a bunch. Rainbow though was pretty lackadaisical about it.

“Gawd why can’t you ever get mad about stuff!” Gilda huffed, throwing her arms in the air as she shouted at Rainbow.

“I get mad about plenty of stuff,” Rainbow shrugged.

“Yeah? Name one,” Gilda crossed her arms and looked completely bemused; it was kinda funny.

“Your stench,” Rainbow grinned, and Gilda let out a cackling wail and started chasing her with her arms out to wring Rainbow’s neck.

It was all too funny and Pinkie couldn’t help but start laughing uncontrollably.

“Pinkie Pie!” Rainbow said, her ears perking up as she turned to Pinkie.

“Rainbow Dash!” Pinkie beamed, and then she realized oh yeah she could just run up and hug her! So she did that!

“You really saved our asses today, Pinkie,” Rainbow chuckled, holding Pinkie in her winged arms. “Thanks.”

“No problem,” Pinkie gave a catlike smirk. “It’d be a damn shame to lose asses those nice.”

“Sh-shut up!” Rainbow blushed furiously and tried to push Pinkie away, but she wasn’t going anywhere and just clung to Rainbow like glue.

“Jokes aside,” Pinkie let go of Rainbow and jumped back, striking a dazzling pose, “I’m happy to help!”

“You helped us out of a jam this one time,” Gilda said grumpily, arms all crossed and stiff. Pinkie had half a mind to mimic her pose for fun, but she knew Gilda would get mad and then Rainbow would have to cool her off, and she didn’t wanna put Rainbow out like that. “Don’t get cocky.”

“But I love cock!”

Rainbow sputtered and even Gilda lost her composure at that, Pinkie giggling into her fist.

“You guys are too easy! It’s so funny!”

“Alright that’s it,” Gilda wound up her fist and stomped toward Pinkie, “you’re getting pounded.”

“If you say so,” Pinkie spun around and stuck out her butt for Gilda, even spreading her cheeks for good measure. Gilda couldn’t see anything past Pinkie’s dress obviously, but she got the hint.

“Why are you such a little weirdo!” Gilda screamed, her face turning blood red as she stomped off irritably, but she didn’t go too far. She walked like two steps and just started huffing again.

“C’mon, Gilda,” Rainbow laughed and patted Gilda’s arm. “We still gotta case this village one more time before we can head out and move on, so let’s get to it.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Gilda groaned. “She comin’?”

“Of course,” Pinkie and Rainbow said in unison, and then Pinkie was like “Jinx! You owe me a soda!”

“What does that mean?” Rainbow cocked her head.

“Oh, sorry,” Pinkie laughed awkwardly. She forgot that most monsters had never been to the surface before. “Just a dumb inside joke, don’t worry about it.” More like an outside joke cuz it was a surface thing… dang that was funny, and Pinkie was bummed out that Rainbow and Gilda wouldn’t get that one either.

So anyway the girls went about casing the village, which basically meant combing through each house one by one. It was gross and weird and boring and it sucked. The houses were practically identical on the inside too; there wasn’t much in the way of furniture inside any of ‘em, and the floorplans were all the same. By the fifth empty house they went in, Pinkie was starting to lose her marbles.

Oh… Marble. Oh, now Pinkie was sad again. She missed her sisters.

Anyway the worst part about these houses? CRAMPED. The three girls couldn’t easily make their way around as a group, but Pinkie couldn’t go off on her own cuz she needed to be watched by a Knight at all times (and while Pinkie was usually happy to ignore that rule, she didn’t wanna get Rainbow in trouble), so Rainbow and Pinkie did a lot of exploring on their own while Gilda searched the upper floor.

Rainbow squeezed into a room off the side of the foyer, a tiny-ass room choked by counters that added nothing to anything. Pinkie hated how ugly they were, and distracted by that hatred she didn’t notice Rainbow had disappeared until she looked up and saw no Rainbow there.

“Rainbow?” Pinkie asked hesitantly, receiving a muffled scream in reply. “Rainbow Dash!” Pinkie called out in alarm, turning the corner to see Rainbow held hostage with a knife to her throat by another woman.

The woman was a grumpy looking meanie, with a body made from stone and sharp fangs bared against Rainbow’s neck. She was a gargoyle, and she had cool white hair swept off to one side and wore a sick looking leather jacket.

She was dangerous, no doubt about it, but all Pinkie could think to do when she saw her was embrace her in a hug and start crying.

“Limestone!” Pinkie blubbered.

“P-Pinkie?!” Limestone replied, Pinkie’s hug also subtly pushing Limestone away from Rainbow so she could get free. “Is that really you?!”

“Yep!” Pinkie said cheerfully with a big bright smile, tears stopped on a dime and arm around her sister’s shoulders. “How long’s it been? Twenty years? Thirty years? A HUNDRED YEARS?”

“It’s been ten years,” Limestone said distantly, like she was still in shock at seeing Pinkie’s cute face. Not that Pinkie could blame her.

Had it really been ten whole years?

“Pffft, is that all?” Pinkie scoffed and batted her hand, playing it super cool.

“Yo dweeb what’s going on down here?” Gilda asked as she clambered into the room which was in no way big enough for the four of them to all stand in comfortably. “Who the hell’s this?”

“I have no idea,” Rainbow said.

“This is my sister,” Pinkie beamed and pointed at the gargoyle, “Limestone Pie! Say hi, Limestone!”

“Pinkie how is that all you have to say?” Limestone griped. “I haven’t seen you in ten years, and you’re acting like nothing ever happened!”

“What’re you talking about,” Pinkie scoffed, “you’re seeing me right now!”

“Listen, I dunno who you are, but—” Rainbow said and reached her hand toward Pinkie, only to have Limestone cut it with her knife.

“Don’t test me,” Limestone said, standing in front of Pinkie to defend her Rainbow and Gilda. “I’m taking Pinkie back to the surface, and if either of you try to—”

“Limestone,” Pinkie sighed and tugged on Limestone’s ear, the gargoyle yelping in pain, “quit being a bitch to my friends.”

“What do you mean friends?” Limestone said in disgust, tugging herself away from Pinkie and facing her. “These are monsters!”

“Uh, dude? You too,” Rainbow said casually, and Limestone just clicked her tongue.

“New arrival, huh?” Gilda chuckled.

“Wait, Limestone,” Pinkie gasped, suddenly putting the pieces together, “did you come all the way down here from the surface just to see me?”

“Of course,” Limestone said blankly, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. Then she got angry again, big surprise. “And it took forever to get an expedition together that was willing and able to come down here to rescue you, so I’m not leaving you until I take you back to the surface!”

“Oh, Limestone,” Pinkie giggled and pat Limestone’s shoulder, “I don’t need to be ‘rescued’. I’m happy here!”

“Is that right,” Limestone said, her voice dripping with contempt. Pinkie’s eyes narrowed, but Rainbow spoke up before she could.

“Yo who cares about the surface?” Rainbow shrugged and walked up beside Pinkie, leaning against the counters next to her. “You should join the Lightning Knights if you really care about Pinkie.”

“Ooh, yeah!” Pinkie cooed, pumping her fists and looking excitedly between Rainbow and Limestone, who she just knew were gonna be the best of friends. “That’s a great idea!”

“No,” Limestone said coldly. “Even in this monstrous form, I’m still a Paladin. I don’t align myself with monsters.”

“But Limestone,” Pinkie said sternly, “I’m a monster.”

“That’s different,” Limestone insisted. “Cuz you’re you.”

“Wait hold on,” Gilda chimed in suddenly and pointed at Limestone, inquisitive look on her face. “If you came from the surface, then that means those rumors of a pony soul in the Underworld are true.”

“Of course they’re true,” Limestone said, sounding disgusted that she had to explain something that must’ve been obvious to her judging by that tone. “Obviously. If you think the Lightning Knights have just decided to attack the Family on their own turf now out of coincidence, then you’re dumb as dogshit.”

Okay… now things were getting interesting.

“Pony soul huh?” Pinkie tapped her cheek. “Do you know where we can find that, Limestone?”

Limestone was conspicuously quiet, but her silence spoke volumes as an air of joy and sinister smiles washed over the other three.

“Hey Limestone,” Gilda put her hand on Limestone’s shoulder, “I just thought of a way for everypony to be happy.”
> 44. A Simple Request
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“So how’re you enjoying the new digs?” Sunset asked smarmily as she dragged Twilight by the wrist back to their little room in the attic of the theater.

It was a nice enough place, if cramped; there was a lot of theater equipment— like marquees and costumes and mannequins— strewn about the place that looked like they hadn't been touched in centuries.

On some level, Sunset knew that it was unreasonable to expect the ritz in the Underworld, let alone on such short notice inside a building not meant to accommodate ponies living there. But she was still bitter about the squalid treatment of their room.

Or maybe she just didn’t like Rarity.

“They’re alright,” Twilight said, taking her arm away from Sunset and then chuckling. “Sure beats our last accommodations huh?”

Sunset crossed her arms and stared coldly. That was a good joke and Sunset kinda wanted to laugh at it, but all that came out was a puff of air from her nose.

“Look, I know what you’re thinking,” Twilight sighed and sat down on a trunk that was just lying in the middle of the room, “and I don’t trust Rarity any more than you do.”

“Could’ve fooled me,” Sunset spat, and Twilight just laughed.

“Good!” she said with a smile, pushing up her glasses. Sunset hated when she did that, it made her look too cute. “Maybe that means I fooled her.”

“You can’t trust her,” Sunset griped, pointing a finger at Twilight. “You can’t trust anyone down here.”

“Yes, I know that,” Twilight sighed and rolled her eyes, Sunset clicking her tongue in frustration that Twilight wasn’t taking her seriously. “But you know I can’t trust you either, and yet I still have to rely on you. Rarity could make a powerful ally if I can get in her good graces, and I’d rather have allies down here than enemies.”

Twilight couldn’t trust Sunset? That wasn’t… she could trust Sunset, just no one else.

“Ahem, well,” Sunset cleared her throat and got back on topic, “there’s no such thing as real ‘allies’ down here—”

“Then I’ll settle for momentarily convenient allies, geez,” Twilight groaned and dragged a hand down her face. “Why are you being so difficult? I’m trying my best here to get us out of the First Circle in one piece, and I don’t see you offering any helpful suggestions!”

Twilight seemed really upset now, and she raised a good point. Maybe Sunset should apologize?

Nah.

“So what about Applejack then?” Sunset asked, swiftly changing the subject but not really. “She fit into your plans at all?”

“Eh, kinda,” Twilight croaked, rubbing the back of her neck. “Applejack would be another powerful ally, no doubt about that, but I don’t feel confident enough to push my luck. Her and Rarity are at odds with each other, so trying to convince them both to work with us seems a little too dangerous.

“Frankly, I’m just siding with Rarity because she already seems to like us—”

“Like you,” Sunset interrupted, “don’t get it confused. And frankly, she probably only likes your soul.”

“Yeah, you’re right,” Twilight shrugged and crossed a leg over the other, tapping her finger against the trunk beneath her. “I guess she just seems easier to work with. Applejack seems a little more like a loose cannon. I dunno, there’s no guarantees and I really can’t depend on anything down here, I’m just trying to do the best I can in each moment.”

“Fine,” Sunset sighed relentingly and looked around for where the bed was supposed to be in this mess, falling on her back onto it and spreading out like a starfish. “I guess that’s all you can do.”

“Mhm,” Twilight hummed as she got up and walked over to the bed, sitting down right next to Sunset, who sat up like a shot.

“What are you doing?” she asked awkwardly.

“I don’t think we’ve ever had a moment of relative peace before,” Twilight giggled, and Sunset cursed her for being so cute, “so I’m savoring it.”

“You call this peace?” Sunset glowered at Twilight, who met Sunset’s sour attitude with a charming smile. “Rarity’s goons could still attack us at any moment, you know that don’t you?”

“I suppose you’re right,” Twilight lifted one hand in a half-hearted shrug, “but I don’t think they will. And that’s not out of any charity on their part, it’s just good strategy. Rarity has nothing to gain by attacking us now, especially when she had us imprisoned before and didn’t do anything then.

“Either way,” Twilight beamed, “I’m feeling confident.”

“Yeah, you sure are,” Sunset looked Twilight over and it was almost like she was looking at an entirely different purple pony to the one she was used to. “Which reminds me, how’d you manage to get free when we were imprisoned?”

That was a rhetorical question; Sunset already knew the answer, but she was curious what Twilight would say when she was asked.

“Oh, you know,” Twilight said innocently, “I just absorbed some magic from the land and I—”

“Is that right,” Sunset said flatly, narrowing her eyes at Twilight, who immediately clammed up. “You telling me the Nightmare didn’t have anything to do with your escape?”

“H-how did— it was that obvious, huh?” Twilight blushed and turned her head away, running a hand through her mane. “Look, I’m sorry, I just— I know if I told you, you would be all suspicious and lecture me about how I can’t trust anyone, like I’m not an adult who can make my own decisions.”

“Well, you can’t trust anyone,” Sunset said.

“Yeah, I know,” Twilight snapped, glaring at Sunset.

“But don’t worry, I’m not gonna lecture ya,” Sunset put her hand on Twilight’s shoulder and sighed. “I get it. The Nightmare can be very convincing.” Twilight smiled softly, and the relief on her face was obvious enough to bring a little hint of a smile to Sunset’s lips as well. Sunset chuckled and added, “I’m just surprised a good girl like you would throw your hat in with the Empress!”

Twilight laughed and slapped Sunset’s thigh, sending a jolt through Sunset’s body. She smiled fondly at Twilight, and she felt a weird pit in her stomach. Well, maybe not a pit so much as… butterflies.

Ah fuck.

“Ahem so anyway!” Sunset stood up abruptly, brushing herself off. “So what’s our next move then oh-so-wise captain?”

“We wait for Rarity,” Twilight said, and it was interesting how quickly she could shift from playing around to being serious. “I wanna know what she has to say.”

“Ugh, I guess,” Sunset puffed up her cheeks and crossed her arms.

“Are you pouting?” Twilight asked, holding back laughter.

“No!” Sunset balked, throwing her arms down in front of her. “I’m just tired of waiting! And who knows how long Rarity’s gonna take, it could be forev—”

A knock at the door interrupted Sunset’s pouting.

“Twilight Sparkle? Sunset Shimmer?” that was the voice of Rarity’s little vampire sidekick. “I’m here on Rarity’s behalf, can I come in?”

Twilight grinned smugly, and Sunset just pulled down her eyelid and stuck her tongue out her tongue before heading to the door.

“What’s up?” Sunset opened the door and leaned against the doorframe. “You can’t come in, say what you want at the door.”

“Sunset, please,” Twilight chimed in, walking up to Sunset and pulling the demon away from the door, before putting her hand out for the vampire girl to shake. “You’re Coco Pommel, right? Pleased to meet you.”

“Oh, it’s m-my pleasure, honestly!” Coco didn’t take Twilight’s hand, but she did bow her head and also like her wholeass body. She was definitely overdoing it just a tad, but Sunset got the impression that it was less because she was putting on an act, and more because she was just like that.

“So what do you need?” Twilight asked, stepping away from the door and inviting Coco inside. Sunset still didn’t like it, so she was watching Coco like a hawk.

“Uh, I brought clothes for you, Twilight Sparkle,” Coco said, materializing a small pile of neatly folded clothes in her arms as she walked into the room. “Lady Rarity wants to have food and drink with you tonight, and she would like for you to be properly bathed and dressed first.”

“Still can’t get over the food thing. Rarity sure is bougie huh?” Sunset scoffed, crossing her arms and cocking her hip.

“Do you not have food in the Underworld?” Twilight asked.

“Not unless you’re rich,” Sunset shrugged. “Monsters survive on magic alone, we don’t need food or drinks. You haven’t gotten hungry since you came down here, have you?”

“I haven’t,” Twilight hummed, putting her fingers up to her lips in a thoughtful way. “I hadn’t even noticed,” Twilight chuckled awkwardly and itched her cheek, “honestly I tended to skip a lot of meals on the surface anyway.”

“So anyway,” Sunset pointed a finger at Coco, “you, vampire girl. Did Rarity say anything about me?”

“Lady Rarity would like you to join the dinner as well, Sunset Shimmer,” Coco said. “But she didn’t lay out any requests or conditions for you.”

“Thank you, Coco,” Twilight said politely as she took the clothes out of Coco’s hands and into her own. “Tell Rarity I’ll be happy to get a bath and wear some new clothes. These ones are, uhhh—” Twilight looked at her own outfit, which had become stained with dirt and ash during the trek through the Underworld “—I could use a change of pace, so thank you.”

“My pleasure, Twilight Sparkle,” Coco bowed her head. “Lady Rarity looks forward to seeing you down in the foyer tonight.”

And with that, the vampire left without another word.

“Okay, that’s creepy,” Sunset said, slamming the door with her magic. “That’s creepy, right? That Rarity wants to bathe and dress you?”

“It’s not that weird, I think it’s a reasonable request,” Twilight said, and Sunset just arched an eyebrow. “Okay yeah, it’s weird. But I guess I respect her bluntness. She wants to butter me up.”

“She should be buttering me up too,” Sunset grumbled, arms crossed and tapping a finger against her forearm, “if she really wanted to get in your good graces.”

“Would you even want her to butter you up?” Twilight asked curiously, looking over her new clothes. “I feel like you would complain.”

“I don’t, and I would,” Sunset said, “but I still prefer it to not being buttered up, y’know?”

“Fair enough,” Twilight laughed. “I guess I should go hit the bath.”

“I should go with you,” Sunset said immediately.

“Why, cuz you wanna watch me bathing?” Twilight asked teasingly, a blood red hue spreading across Sunset’s entire face.

“Hey! I’m the one who’s supposed to make those jokes!” Sunset balked and flicked her fingers at Twilight, who just giggled adorably in response cuz of course she would respond with something cute. “Anyway, I just don’t want Rarity to—”

“Relax, Sunset,” Twilight held up a hand and looked Sunset in the eye, “I can take care of myself. Just trust me.”

“I hope the irony isn’t lost on you,” Sunset growled.

“It isn’t,” Twilight laughed, taking her clothes and departing through the door, flicking her tail up at Sunset before closing the door behind her.

Sunset was alone. But not entirely alone, as she still had Twilight’s soul, and she could feel it burning in her chest easier than usual right now.

She took a deep breath, and let it go.

She would just have to trust Twilight Sparkle.
> 45. Shower Scene
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Twilight was a mare of mixed emotions as she slunk into the bathtub that Rarity had provided her; on one hand, the tub was spacious and clean, almost as if it were the only thing in the entire building that Rarity cared about maintaining.

Add to that, it felt amazing to wash off the dirt and gunk and grime and dried blood that had accumulated on Twilight’s body since she came to the Underworld. She had forgotten just what a huge mental boost something as simple as being clean provided.

On the other hand, Twilight was acutely aware that she was naked in the world of monsters, and a thin shower curtain wasn’t exactly adequate defense. There was no lock on the bathroom door either; Twilight’s weapons were placed in a strategic manner that would allow her to escape with ease if she needed to, but she really didn’t want to think about having to fight off enemies while buttass naked.

So she tried not to. No sense fretting over hypotheticals, that’s what Celestia always told her. She took a few deep breaths, and let the sensation of the hot water against her skin and fur wash her worries away as much as they were able.

At least until the door opened, Twilight’s ears shooting straight up and the water splashing out of the tub as she moved to put her hands over her nether regions as fast as possible out of instinct. The door creaked open and Twilight watched with slowly widening eyes as she waited for whoever it was to identify themselves.

“Hello?” Twilight said, the wait just killing her.

“Oh! U-uh, my bad,” Applejack stammered, “didn’t know there was somepony in here already, I apologize!”

“It’s okay, you just scared me half to death is all,” Twilight sighed, putting a hand over her heart. “Do you need something? You can come in if you want.” Twilight figured it would be best to be as polite as possible to the monsters around here, lest she end up either needing their help later, or at the very least to avoid provoking them.

“N-no, I’m alright,” Applejack said, and she practically sounded more nervous than Twilight. “I was gonna take a bath myself, so I’ll just wait ‘til yer done.”

If Twilight were Sunset Shimmer, she would’ve made a joke about asking Applejack if she wanted to join her, but…

Actually…

“What’s the matter, Applejack?” Twilight said teasingly. “You don’t want to join me?”

Twilight thought some lighthearted flirtatious humor might help her break the ice with Applejack a bit, especially since she had a good feeling that Applejack’s flustered attitude was genuine; so if Twilight could either smooth things over with her, or fluster her even more to keep her off-balance, those were both wins in Twilight’s book, just so long as Applejack didn’t actually take Twilight up on her offer.

Applejack was silent. Twilight waited and waited for a response, but it started to look like she wasn’t getting one. Maybe Applejack had just up and left?

“Applejack?” Twilight asked.

“Uh… yeah?” Applejack croaked awkwardly, Twilight trying to laugh softly enough that Applejack didn’t hear her. “S-sorry, I just, uh—”

“Did I fluster you a little?” Twilight asked with a catlike grin on her face.

“Maybe a tad…” Applejack replied in a low growl, her footsteps echoing in Twilight’s ears as she stepped into the bathroom, closer and closer all the way to the shower, Applejack’s clawed hand peeking over the shower rod. “Would it fluster you if I ripped this rod outta the ceiling and exposed you?”

Twilight’s ears folded back; this was basically one of her worst fears, being at the mercy of a monster while naked and helpless. Granted, she still had her weapons, so she wasn’t entirely helpless, and in fact…

She may as well hang for a stolen sheep as well as a stolen lamb.

Twilight stood up, and she tore away the shower curtain, Applejack’s eyes widening and her face turning bright red as Twilight’s naked, dripping wet body was revealed to her.

“Uh…” Applejack’s mouth hung open as her eyes naturally lowered to Twilight’s dick, before immediately bolting up and scurrying around to find anything else to look at.

“What’s the matter, Applejack?” Twilight asked, cocking her hip to one side and putting her hand on it. She was impressed with herself for playing it so cool, but there was a part of her that still couldn’t believe she was doing this. Clearly Sunset Shimmer had been a bad influence on her. “Flustered?”

“Eh, alright fine, ya called my bluff,” Applejack covered her eyes with her hat and turned bashfully away from Twilight. “Much as I’d like to keep playin’ the part of the big scary monster, I couldn’t ever do anything to ya that’s not… that you didn’t agree to.”

“That’s mighty noble of you, Applejack,” Twilight said, and Applejack just grumbled and nodded her head. “Will you hand me a towel, then?”

“Sure,” Applejack grabbed a nearby towel and tossed it to Twilight, who wrapped it around her body. Normally, Twilight would just use magic to dry herself off, but of course that wasn’t happening down here.

“Shower’s all yours, Applejack,” Twilight said as she walked by Applejack, flicking her tail up at her. “Are you gonna have to take a cold one now?”

“Haha, I just might,” Applejack said, and she lowered her hat and looked Twilight in the eye. She was very pretty; her rugged features were really striking and impressive, and her face dotted with freckles like a constellation was just incredibly cute.

“Will I be seeing you at the dinner?” Twilight asked, and Applejack groaned under her breath. “I would like to. I don’t, um… I don’t want to put my nose where it doesn’t belong, but I did listen to your conversation with Autumn Blaze while you two were fighting. I know you’re after some kind of revenge, and I don’t see why we can’t help each other to get what we want.”

“And what do you want?” Applejack asked skeptically.

“To go home,” Twilight answered simply. “Find my friends first, of course, but then I just wanna go home.”

“Yer lucky,” Applejack let out a weary scoffing chuckle. “You got someplace to go back to.”

“Um, well like I said,” Twilight said awkwardly, feeling a bit sheepish that she said something insensitive without meaning to, “I would like your help, and to help you if I can.”

“You can’t,” Applejack said shortly.

“Right, of course,” Twilight hummed. “Because your revenge is a suicide mission, right? So you don’t want anyone else getting involved, because you don’t want anyone else getting hurt. But you view yourself as acceptable losses because you’re in so much pain that you don’t see any way to escape it.”

“You think you know so much—” Applejack growled.

“You’re right, I apologize,” Twilight bowed her head. “I shouldn’t make presumptions like that. Your reasons are your own, and it’s not my place to try and pry where I’m unwanted.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Applejack muttered and shrugged. “Sorry for snappin’ atcha.”

“No problem,” Twilight said with a light chuckle that thankfully brought a smile to Applejack’s lips. “Now, I know I said you could have the shower, but I should actually get dressed first, so if you don’t mind—”

“Aww, does that mean I can’t watch?” Applejack grinned and raised an eyebrow, and Twilight just mirrored her.

“Do you want to?” Twilight said teasingly and dropped her towel, Applejack’s posture immediately faltering as she hid her face behind her hat again.

“Uh, no thanks,” Applejack cleared her throat and scurried off, closing the door behind her, leaving Twilight alone to get dressed and muse to herself about what a curious woman Applejack really was.

Maybe Twilight was getting ahead of herself a bit, but… she thought Applejack was pretty cool.
> 46. Pinkie Booty
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rainbow Dash had a scrunchie in her mouth as she fixed up her hair into a neat ponytail while her group was taking a moment to rest. They’d been marching pretty much all day, and the hills were getting steeper and the tress were getting denser, so it was easy to get exhausted.

But the crew had to keep up a decent pace, otherwise Spitfire would chew them the hell out for abandoning their company to go on a tangent to a nearby abandoned village. Well, she was gonna chew them out anyway, but if Rainbow and Gilda could get their hands on a pony soul and return before a full day was up, that’d be pretty nice.

And besides, once Rainbow and Gilda had that soul, the only thing Spitfire was gonna be able to say to them was ‘yes mistresses’.

“Hey,” Gilda came up from behind Rainbow Dash and grabbed the hairband she’d just tied her ponytail up in, “what’re you fixing your hair for? You know I like a rough bitch, so if you’re gonna be fixing yourself up…”

Gilda pulled the tie out of Rainbow’s hair, her multicolored mane falling all over her shoulders before Gilda grabbed her hair and yanked her to her feet, pinning her against a tree.

“I’m gonna have to rough you back up.”

“C’mon Gilda, we don’t have time for—oh!”

Rainbow’s breath hitched as Gilda nibbled on her neck a little bit, and Gilda’s rough hands found their way onto Rainbow’s ass and squeezed her. Okay, maybe they had a little bit of time.

Gilda’s lips— which yeah she didn’t technically have lips she had a beak, but just bear with it— worked over Rainbow’s collarbone next and she instinctively backed up into the tree and moaned. Gilda wasn’t even close to being finished though, as the next thing she did was unbuckle Rainbow’s shorts.

Rainbow almost wanted to protest, but before she could get the words out she was awash in a sea of gay feelings as Gilda fondled her sack, gently tickling her taint for good measure. Rainbow hated to admit it, but she was basically in heaven.

“Hey guys what’s up!” Pinkie said cheerfully, showing up out of nowhere and causing Rainbow to shriek in embarrassment as she shot like a rocket onto one of the tree branches above her.

“Pinkie! What’re you doing here!” Rainbow shouted, and Gilda was just laughing at her expense cuz of course she was.

“Just thought I’d say hi,” Pinkie said innocently and then waved at Rainbow with a great big smile. “Hi!”

“Hey Pinkie,” Gilda grabbed Pinkie’s ass through her torn up dress, like really got a big handful of it, and Pinkie yelped. “You want in on this?”

“Gilda!” Rainbow scolded. “You can’t just grab her without asking first.”

“No it’s okay, I don’t mind,” Pinkie said and immediately stuck her butt out in Gilda’s direction, even wiggling it a little for good measure and UNF what Rainbow wouldn’t have done to get her paws on that ass.

Gilda on the other hand, seemed to be hesitant. She was all about touching Pinkie’s butt just a second ago, but now that Pinkie was the one being thirsty, Gilda was getting cold feet. Rainbow figured it’d be good to drop down to the ground next to the two just in case or something.

“What’s the matter, Gilda? You not like it?” Pinkie shrugged and stood up straight, grinning like a cat who knew some stuff that you didn’t as she looked at Rainbow. “Rainbow’s into it, I see.”

It was at this moment that Rainbow realized she hadn't rebuckled her shorts, and her cock leaking through her cage was plain to see.

“Cute cage, Rainbow,” Pinkie giggled as Rainbow screamed and pulled her shorts up and rebuckled them as fast as she could.

“Shut up!” Rainbow shrieked, absolutely mortified.

“Anyway,” Gilda scoffed and waved her hand dismissively, “there’s no fun if there’s no challenge, so if you’re just putting your butt out there for everyone, then…”

“Then what?” Pinkie asked, thankfully distracted from Rainbow’s humiliation.

“Then there’s no challenge,” Gilda said. “I said that already.”

“Oh,” Pinkie said. “That makes no sense. Why would you want there to be a ‘challenge’ in touching my butt?”

“If Gilda’s not interested,” Rainbow spoke up, her voice cracking from the remnants of her previous embarrassment, “I’ll touch your butt, Pinkie Pie.”

“I bet you will,” Pinkie grinned and looked back at Rainbow, but then turned away from her and stuck out her butt for Rainbow, wiggling it a little for good measure and DAMN did it look nice. It was fat and jiggly, even hidden behind her really unflattering dress. Gawd what Rainbow wouldn’t have given to just rip that thing off her right here and now.

“A-are you sure this is okay?” Rainbow said as her hand hovered over Pinkie’s ass.

“Yeah, duh.”

“I-I just don’t wanna take advantage of you or anything like that,” Rainbow said.

“Well that’s very sweet of you, but do you wanna touch my butt or not?”

Rainbow swallowed her doubt and looked at Gilda, who just smirked smugly back at her. Rainbow bet that Gilda figured Rainbow would chicken out, and she would’ve been right if Rainbow didn’t wanna show Gilda who’s boss.

So Rainbow put her hand on Pinkie’s ass. She let it just sit there for a sec before squeezing the cheek, Pinkie cooing in delight, which made a bright smile cross Rainbow’s face. She squeezed it a couple more times, and she was amazed.

It was so soft and cute, but it felt like it fit perfectly in Rainbow’s hand. She’d grabbed Gilda’s ass a couple times, usually just to be coy and get Gilda to ‘punish’ her, but feeling of grabbing a girl’s ass and having her be like into it? That was new.

Rainbow liked it a lot.

“Alright dweeb,” Gilda laughed, “stop pussyfooting around and give that thing a smack already!”

Gilda moved in to smack Pinkie’s ass, but the doll just jumped out of the way, then ducked under Gilda’s arm and jumped behind her, Gilda turning back with a dull growl.

“What’s the matter?” Pinkie held her little finger to her lips and smiled, before turning around and wigging her ass. Even just getting an eyeful of it was amazing. “I thought you wanted a challenge, Gilda? Try and catch me then! If you do, I’ll let you do whatever you want to with me!”

Gilda chased Pinkie in a frantic attempt to smack her ass, but Pinkie was constantly one step ahead, teasing Gilda and jumping away before Gilda’s hand could make contact, Pinkie sometimes dodging the hit by literal inches or even fractions of a second.

She was so ahead of Gilda it was unreal, and it blew Rainbow’s mind to see the woman who Rainbow relied on and looked up to more than anyone being wrapped around Pinkie’s finger like this.

But Pinkie slipped up eventually. When she dodged Gilda and in doing so, jumped right next to Rainbow Dash, who moved like lightning to smack Pinkie’s ass, the clapping sound of their bodies connecting resonating through both women’s ears and being like music to Rainbow’s.

Pinkie stopped in her tracks and looked up at Rainbow with those adorable button eyes, and she was biting her lip. Rainbow was smiling confidently in return, still feeling the sting of her smack on her hand.

Gilda suddenly jumped toward Pinkie, roaring like a maniac with her hand ready to smack, and with Pinkie being distracted for a sec there was no way she was gonna be able to avoid this.

But then Gilda’s arm was stopped by a stone claw grabber her at the wrist, the gargoyle the claw was attached to growling at Gilda.

“What are you doing to my sister?” Limestone growled.

“Oh give it a rest, Limestone,” Pinkie sighed and put her arms around the gargoyle, forcing her to unhand Gilda as she frantically tried to escape Pinkie’s grasp. “We’re just playing around. All these pretty girls around, you can’t pretend you’re not at least a little distracted by lesbian thoughts, right?”

“I’m not, actually,” Limestone said with contempt. “I’m focused on getting that soul so we can find our sisters and get the hell out of this shithole.”

“You’re no fun,” Pinkie pouted, putting her hands on her hips. “You need to lighten up a little.”

“No, you need to take things more seriously!” Limestone grabbed Pinkie’s arm and started dragging her away while grumbling. “C’mon, I’m not letting you outta my sight from now on.”

Pinkie didn’t really resist, but she did roll her eyes. And then she turned back to Rainbow with a smile and winked at her, Rainbow smiling and winking back and getting all these weird fluttery feelings in her stomach.

“I am so gay,” Rainbow thought out loud, and then Gilda walked right into her line of sight, grabbing her chin and forcing her to look up at her.

“You better not be forgetting about me,” Gilda grumbled.

“Please, how could I forget about you?” Rainbow said innocently.

“I’ll make sure you don’t.”

“Yeah?” Rainbow laughed and turned her back on Gilda, flicking her tail up at her. “What’re you gonna do, punish me for looking at other girls?”

“Not exactly,” Gilda whispered and in the blink of an eye her claws were unbuckling Rainbow’s shorts, and then pulling them down to her ankles.

“Wait wha—”

Gilda shoved Rainbow hard into a tree, face first, and Rainbow moaned in delight. And as she felt Gilda’s meat plop between her cheeks, all she could think was yeah. She was definitely in heaven. Gay girl dick heaven.
> 47. Bird in a Cage
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Nestled within the thick trees of the Second Circle, so close now to their destination, Rainbow Dash and Gilda sat under one of the trees, curled up in each other’s embrace.

Rainbow was really more the one getting embraced though, considering Gilda was like this massive wall of muscle, and Rainbow was approximately the same size and height as a twig.

Gilda was holding her after a rigorous session of fucking her in the ass, Rainbow’s ass still recovering from the pounding it took and her dick still yearning for release as it sat helplessly locked inside its cage. Rainbow hummed contentedly in Gilda’s arms, the quetzalcoatl sitting naked with her back to the tree.

Rainbow cooed and squirmed as Gilda covered her body in kisses, the harpy trying to say something nice in return, but she was completely outta breath from the way Gilda worked her body over, so she just stuck to moans and gasps.

Eventually Rainbow just couldn’t take any more and she bolted up and perched on the branch of the tree above, Gilda cackling as she looked up at her.

“What’s the matter, Dash?” Gilda snarked.

“Sh-shut up,” Rainbow shot back, blushing like woah. “You were being gay, so I got outta there. I am as straight as an arrow.”

“Oh yeah,” Gilda smirked. “Straight girls are always letting their gal pals lock their dick up in a chastity cage. That’s just what straight girls do.”

“So ANYWAY!” Rainbow shouted, her voice cracking as she shifted into a position where she could hide her dick from Gilda’s gaze with her arm-wings. “Hey, Gilda?”

“Mm?” Gilda looked up boredly at Rainbow.

“Once we get our hands on the pony soul,” Rainbow asked, “what are we actually gonna do with it?”

“Obviously, dweeb,” Gilda scoffed and rolled her eyes, “we’re gonna take over and become the bosses of the Lightning Knights. We’re gonna put Spitfire and Lightning Dust in their place.”

“Okay, yeah, I mean that part I get,” Rainbow nodded, “but like, then what? What’re we gonna do as the bosses of the Lightning Knights?”

“Change the name, probably,” Gilda chuckled, and while Rainbow was mildly annoyed at Gilda not really answering her question, she had to admit that was kinda funny and she allowed herself a little laugh. Just a little one.

Gilda groaned as she stood up, before jumping up and snatching Rainbow right off the tree branch, Rainbow letting out a surprised yelp before having her mouth muzzled by Gilda’s hand, Gilda holding Rainbow in an awkward body lock and laughing.

“Anyway, like I was saying,” Gilda said, sitting on Rainbow’s back and keeping her pinned to the ground. Rainbow tried to squirm out, but she was no match for Gilda so she just let it happen. It wasn’t the worst anyway.

“Yeah?” Rainbow asked after a short pause. “You were saying?”

“Well,” Gilda croaked, and it was pretty obvious she hadn't actually given the issue much thought, which Rainbow supposed was fair enough cuz she sure hadn't either, “what do you wanna do?”

“What do I wanna do?” Rainbow asked, stars in her eyes for a sec before sputtering. “Well first, I want you to get offa me!”

“Oh I’ll ‘get off’ alri—”

“GET!”

Gilda stood up and helped Dash off the ground, Rainbow then jumping up and perching herself on the quetzal’s shoulder.

“I wanna see the Circles beyond this one,” Rainbow sighed wistfully. “I don’t just wanna take over the Second Circle and be a big fish in a tiny pond for the rest of my life. I want to see what the rest of this world has to offer.”

“Then that’s what we’ll do,” Gilda shrugged.

Rainbow hopped off of Gilda’s shoulder, Gilda grabbing her by the tail and yanking her down into Gilda’s embrace, staring her in the eyes. Rainbow bit her lip and smiled, looking away from Gilda and moaning delightedly as Gilda scritched her chin with a claw.

“And no matter what, I’ll protect you,” Gilda whispered and kissed Rainbow’s lips. “You’re my girl,” Gilda’s claw jingled the lock on Rainbow’s cage, “and I won’t let anyone touch you.”
> 48. Separation
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Windy Whistles led Fluttershy and their relatively small faction of Family members through the forests of the Second Circle on a mission to rescue Tree Hugger from the Lightning Knights. It wasn’t long before they reached a curious village.

It was built on top of a narrow hill, but you could still see the swamp below on either side. The hill wasn’t that high up, you wouldn’t even be hurt if you jumped. The houses were all carved out of thin, tall trees that lined the hill in a pitchfork pattern. No other trees were around except the handful of houses. Something about the place immediately stood out as odd to Fluttershy, and she wanted to leave.

But the group was weary and needed to rest. It wouldn’t do for Fluttershy to push her Family beyond their limits, both out of practicality since they all needed to be at their best to save Tree Hugger, and also just because it simply wouldn’t be right.

And for what it was worth, the villagers were incredibly welcoming, readily inviting the Family to rest with them and take a load off, and even insisted on the visitors enjoying a feast for their troubles.

“Wait, a feast?” Fluttershy asked confusedly, the siren halting and putting a finger to her lips as the villagers showed off a grand table in the middle of their community stacked with sumptuous food and mouth-watering drink.

“Yeah, no kidding!” Windy clapped her hands, already seeing stars.

“You make food out here?” Fluttershy asked one of the villagers, ignoring Windy for a moment.

“We do,” the villager nodded her head. “Culinary arts are an important part of building community, even if food isn’t a necessity for monsters.”

“Oh, I see,” Fluttershy hummed. “But what about the Lightning Knights? They destroy every farmland they come across, how have you not—”

“Just good fortune, I suppose,” the villager shrugged. “We’re pretty outta the way, and we just haven’t had any contact with the Lightning Knights.”

“Good fortune, huh,” Fluttershy muttered as the villager joined in on the feast and left her behind. Fluttershy’s mantra was to always be skeptical of good fortune. “Windy?”

Fluttershy tried to get Windy’s attention, but the peryton was already lustfully looking over the table with her tongue hanging out of her mouth. There was a lot of chatter too, between the villagers and the Family, and the more time Fluttershy spent in that circle of trees, the more she felt like she was about to pass out, so she saw herself out when no one was watching.

She headed out past the circle of trees that made up the village, and everything seemed a lot less cramped outside. She looked up and saw only the canopy of trees that blotted out the Underworld’s makeshift sky and she sighed.

“Hey,” Windy’s voice made Fluttershy nearly jump out of her skin. “Oh, sorry.”

“You’re fine,” Fluttershy waved with a polite smile, hand over her pounding heart.

“Everything okay?” Windy walked up and put her hand on Fluttershy’s shoulder, and honestly even that small gesture made her feel leagues better.

“Umm, I dunno,” the siren muttered. “Maybe I’m over-worrying.”

“Probably,” Windy nodded and that made Fluttershy chuckle.

“It’s just,” Fluttershy groaned and twirled a strand of hair around her finger, “doesn’t this seem a little suspicious to you?”

“No,” Windy shrugged. “This village is on the outskirts of where a lot of our conflict with the Knights is happening, so it makes sense that they’d be a little more welcoming and that they haven’t had a run in with the Knights.”

“Mm, I guess,” Fluttershy took a deep breath and tried to calm her nerves. “I still— I dunno, I don’t like this. I have a bad feeling about it.”

“Well, I think you should trust your gut,” Windy said confidently, putting her hands on her hips. “And I trust you, so. If you think this is a bad situation, we’ll move on and camp at the next village.”

“Okay,” Fluttershy smiled softly. “Thank you.”



If only the rest of the Family had been as easy to convince as Windy had been. Or the villagers for that matter.

Fluttershy hadn’t the heart to tell everyone that they were packing up and leaving already, so that job fell to Windy. Still though, not being the one to directly relay the bad news didn’t make the Family’s collective groans and complaints and frustrated barbs sting any less.

The villagers weren’t happy either, bemoaning how rarely they got guests or saw new faces, or how the Family had just gotten here and hadn't seen the best their village had to offer.

Eventually everyone just started yelling at each other until Fluttershy finally relented and left the village again to go hyperventilate on the outskirts, this time with Windy in tow.

“Well that could’ve gone better,” Windy laughed awkwardly, and Fluttershy let herself chuckle. She appreciated Windy being on her side at least.

“They were really going at that food, huh?” Fluttershy said.

“It was GOOD!” Windy clapped her hands and licked her lips. “I only got a wee bit in before I left to come check on you, but wow. These guys know their stuff!”

“You know, if you want to go eat with everyone, I understa—”

“Don’t be silly!” Windy laughed and slapped Fluttershy’s shoulder. “I’m not gonna let you stand out here all alone. Besides, food is nice and all, but company is even better, especially when it’s with my favorite girl!”

“Oh, am I your favorite girl?” Fluttershy said teasingly. “I wonder what mom will think about—”

“She’s my favorite woman,” Windy bit her lip, and looked to the sky for a sec before turning her focus back to Fluttershy. “Big difference! You’re a swell gal, Fluttershy. Posey really raised you right.”

“Thank you,” Fluttershy said bashfully, rubbing the back of her neck as she leaned against one of the trees surrounding the village. “You’re a real charmer, Windy Whistles.”

“I just like being nice,” Windy said confidently. “And you’re cool. You remind me of— ugh, can I be like super lame with you right now?”

“Mhm,” Fluttershy nodded and smiled sweetly.

“When I came down to the surface, I had a kid with me,” Windy said, and she looked uncharacteristically melancholic. She took a deep breath for a sec before continuing. “He was the cutest little ball of energy I’d ever seen. Born during the night, so his soul was taken right as he was sitting in my arms.

“But I’m not just a mom, I’m a mama, and I’d fight the devil herself to keep my kid safe. I couldn’t do it though. The Nightmare took him, but it took me with it. Umm…”

Windy took a sec to sniffle and dry her eyes, and Fluttershy put a hand on her shoulder as the peryton laughed bashfully.

“So anyway, we got separated when he was still a wee thing. Dunno if he’s even still— uh, my point is, you’re about his age. So. I guess I wanna do right by you extra hard cuz of that. Gawd, is that super dumb? That feels—”

“No, it’s fine,” Fluttershy sighed softly and took Windy’s hand. “It’s very sweet, and I appreciate you looking out for me more than anything. I know my mom does too.”

“Your mom is an absolute angel,” Windy sighed and smiled fondly, “but I’m sure you have probably heard that a time or two already.”

“I have,” Fluttershy giggled, “mostly from you.”

“WELL IT’S TRUE!” Windy blurted out loudly, making both women laugh, Windy putting her arm around Fluttershy. “In that battle, where I got separated from my kid, it was Posey who saved me. Took me into the Family, gave me a new life. One where I’m not constantly fighting to stay alive, like I was with the Lightning Knights.”

“Good,” Fluttershy huffed. “No one deserves to be with the Lightning Knights, least of all someone as nice as you are.”

“Sheesh, now who’s the charmer?” Windy said and playfully gave Fluttershy a little push.

Fluttershy giggled, and she pulled out one of her most prized possessions that always helped her focus when she was anxious; a water bottle, that was enchanted to fill with clean water in response to a little spark from Fluttershy’s magic.

She took a sip of water and felt instantly refreshed. Water was another thing monsters didn’t need, but for Fluttershy it was her lifeline, the thing that kept her sane above all else.

“I still think it’s so cute how you and your mom both drink water,” Windy laughed sweetly.

“Yeah, she must’ve passed the habit onto me,” Fluttershy shrugged. “You want some?”

“Sure!” Windy beamed and politely took the bottle from Fluttershy before putting it to her lips and taking a big chug, letting out a loud satisfied sigh when she was done. “I don’t need it but, damn. Old habits, I guess.

“I think a lot of us who remember what the surface was like have a harder time saying no to good food and drink.”

“You may be right,” Fluttershy said. “I was born here, so I don’t really— um, are you okay?”

“Y-yeah?” Windy looked like she was visibly sweating, and she started wobbling to keep her balance. “Why do you—”

She fell to the ground and Fluttershy gasped, getting onto her knees to check on her friend. Windy was still breathing, but she had passed out, and naturally Fluttershy was immediately worrying. She caught sight of some shadows on the nearby trees, likely the villagers walking by. She had a bad feeling, and decided to disappear into the spilled water from her bottle that Windy had dropped.

A small group of the villagers came out from the trees toward where Fluttershy and Windy had been talking, laughing amongst themselves. One of them Fluttershy hadn't seen before; a teal-furred fury with lightning coursing through her semi-translucent body, a mane of golden hair, and bloodstained wings on her back.

The fury walked over to Windy and picked her up, slinging the unconscious peryton over her shoulder and cackling.

“Nice job, everyone,” she said. “Y’know, usually I don’t like resorting to petty tricks, but in this case it was worth it to get our hands on that siren.”

Oh.

Now it was all clicking together.

The reason these villagers seemed strange to her, and why they hadn't been visited by the Lightning Knights.

They were the Lightning Knights.
> 49. Fury
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Not to make things sound too dire, but Fluttershy was fucking PANICKING.

Her small group that she had been leading on a rescue mission to save Tree Hugger had all been defeated and rendered helpless in one fell swoop, leaving Fluttershy as the sole remaining active member of their band in a village full of vicious Lightning Knights.

Fluttershy needed to do something, but she had no idea what she even could do at this point. She needed someone to tell her what to do… she wished Zecora were here.

She was hiding inside the water that had spilled on the ground from her water bottle; she was able to see and hear the world around the puddle, but she was safe from retaliation as long as she was able to focus her magic, and it wasn’t a very difficult spell to keep up unless she was distracted by something painful.

Point was, she had time to think.

Apparently the leader of this company of the Lightning Knights was a fury that Fluttershy had heard referred to by her soldiers as Lightning Dust. Said fury returned from inside the village, pacing just on the outskirts too close to Fluttershy’s puddle for comfort.

The fury looked around, this way and that, even up above. She was clearly searching for something, and Fluttershy wondered if it was her. No, she was certain that Lightning Dust was looking for her, the fury said as much herself before, that they were targeting ‘the siren’.

Lightning Dust kept looking around, and it concerned Fluttershy that while her eyes darted in many directions, they mostly kept to the ground. Fluttershy had a bad feeling that Lightning Dust knew what she was looking for.

Fluttershy tried to keep calm. There was no way Lightning could know where she was, and no way to find one puddle in the grass even if she did know what she was looking for. Fluttershy would just have to bide her time and wait… even as Lightning walked over and stared down at Fluttershy’s puddle, a grim one-way window looking up at a woman who terrified Fluttershy.

The fury pointed her fingers toward the puddle, Fluttershy curious what she was doing and only realizing too late; she was firing an attack, an electrical beam from her hand that shocked Fluttershy’s puddle and even ‘safe’ as she was inside it, fried Fluttershy to her very bones, disrupting her concentration enough to break the spell and throw her back onto the land in front of the fury.

“You didn’t think we’d leave without you, did you?” Lightning cackled as she fired another bolt of electricity into Fluttershy’s body, the siren writhing in agony on the ground and letting out a strangled scream. “You’re the whole reason we came out to this godforsaken neck of the woods, and I’m putting important business on hold to deal with you.”

“How did you know—” Fluttershy gasped for breath, her chest heaving with each. “How did you know we would be here?”

“You’re not the only one with spies,” Lightning shrugged, and Fluttershy’s blood ran cold. Not only were there spies in the Family leaking information to the Lightning Knights, but they were aware of the Family’s spies. This wasn’t good at all.

“I’m not—” Fluttershy groaned and struggled to her hooves. “I’m not going to let you take me.”

“Ha! ‘Let’,” Lightning put her hands on her hips and chuckled. “That’s a good one, like you have a choice.”

Lightning fired another jolt of electricity through Fluttershy’s body and the siren screamed bloody murder; it was torture having the fury’s magic tearing through her body, and it made it near impossible to focus. But she needed to get her head in the game if she was going to rescue Tree Hugger, and now Windy Whistles, and everyone else!

Fluttershy attempted to summon a tendril, but the puddle she thought was still there must have been evaporated by Lightning’s magic, so Fluttershy just gestured helplessly at the air.

“Trying to summon something?” Lightning laughed. “Nice try, but I know you’re at your best when you can prepare the battlefield to your liking, so I’m not gonna let you!”

“I’ll never be defeated by scum from the Lightning Knights!” Fluttershy screamed, and they were incredibly bold words coming from a woman who ran as fast as she could in the opposite direction right after.

Unfortunately, she couldn’t run far, as Lightning was much faster and got in front of her to block her progress immediately. Fluttershy started to panic as Lightning advanced on her slowly, her fingers crackling with electricity, Lightning flicking them at Fluttershy and giving her painful shocks.

Fluttershy spit, and used her magic to enhance the water into a sphere that she could try and drown Lightning Dust in, but the fury was far faster than the siren, and Fluttershy found Lightning’s fist colliding painfully with her stomach, forcing her to drop the sphere as she stumbled back, Lightning kicking Fluttershy’s leg out from under her and causing her to fall to the ground.

Lightning Dust grabbed Fluttershy’s mane and yanked her up to her knees, punching her in the face before electrocuting her again. At this point Fluttershy’s scream had been reduced to a strained wheeze and she tried to fall onto her face, but Lightning wouldn’t let go of her hair.

Fluttershy was dragged to her feet and pushed up against one of the tree houses, Lightning electrocuting her, then punching her in the face, then electrocuting her again, and punching her in the stomach, over and over, Lightning constantly finding new targets to punch as Fluttershy sputtered helplessly, blood dripping down her lips.

“Oh, are you bleeding?” Lightning smeared her thumb across Fluttershy’s chin, trailing blood. She stuck her fingers in Fluttershy’s mouth and shocked the inside of it, eliciting a muffled shriek from the siren. “I saw what you were trying to do with your spit, I’m not giving you a chance to bleed.

“In fact,” Lightning took a step back, her hand still firmly gripping Fluttershy’s hair, “let’s wrap this up.”

Lightning wound up her fist, really reeling back as electricity exploded around it until it was in the shape of a drill, then she released her punch and that drill found itself right into Fluttershy’s stomach, tearing a hole inside her with a ferocious intensity, her screams drowned out by the sounds of crackling lightning and tearing flesh.

Fluttershy slid down the tree and onto her back. There was a hole in her chest, she knew that. She didn’t know much else. She was so tired. So cold too. She was looking up at the canopy of trees above, and her eyes were blurring. She wished she had been able to see the sky. Just once.

Just once.

Lightning Dust stomped on the hole in her chest, and the pain wracked Fluttershy’s entire body, the siren gasping for air as electricity once again found itself coursing through her veins.

“Don’t just think I’m gonna let you die,” Lightning said coldly. “You’re way more valuable to me alive. Though I guess I did end up letting you bleed a bit, so wasn’t that nice of me? What’re you gonna do, Fluttershy?” Lightning twisted her hoof and ground it against Fluttershy’s wound, the siren whimpering and crying. “You gonna turn your blood into some kinda weapon? That’d be sick to see. Lay it on me, Fluttershy! Do your worst!”

Fluttershy spat blood and used her magic to turn it into needles, but Lightning just swatted them away, sparks of electricity flickering off of her hands and evaporating the needles, but the real trick was getting Lightning to focus on them.

Lightning Dust looked down as her leg, still stuck in Fluttershy’s gaping wound, was beginning to freeze over. Lightning scoffed and tore her leg away— emphasis on ‘tore’, as much of the skin on her leg did not come with her as she placed her bloodied hoof on the ground.

“Okay,” Lightning growled, “that wasn’t bad.”

“I’m not done yet,” Fluttershy reached out her hand and started pulling blood from Lightning’s open wound like tugging a string out of a yarn ball, Lightning flying into the air and away from Fluttershy’s reach, but the fury had lost so much blood that it was clearly making her woozy, and Fluttershy had all of that blood in her possession.

Enough for two puddles.

Fluttershy dropped the first puddle nearby, it really didn’t matter where at the moment, and the other right next to her, diving into it immediately and trying not to think about what it was made of.

Lightning Dust of course shot a bolt of lightning down and tried to electrocute the puddle of blood, but Fluttershy just jumped to the other one, before quickly hopping out of it and holding three blood marbles in her hand as Lightning, too woozy from blood loss to fly, touched the ground.

“Do you know what these are?” Fluttershy asked, showing the marbles off by making them hover slightly in the air with her magic.

“Do I care?” Lightning scoffed.

“You should,” Fluttershy smiled devilishly. “This is my blood and yours mixed. Do you have any idea what I can do with these?”

“Nothing!” Lightning spat. “Cuz I’m gonna destroy them!”

Lightning’s aim and her speed were thrown off by the blood loss, so dodging her clumsy bolt attack was easy enough. Lightning decided to close the distance instead and Fluttershy just jumped back into the puddle of blood, before quickly popping back out of the other. But Lightning wasn’t going to fall for the same trick twice, and aimed her jolt of lightning for the puddle Fluttershy was coming out of.

Fluttershy grunted and screamed as the electricity wracked her body; she wasn’t getting used to it. She held out her palm and visibly sighed in relief as the blood marbles had been unaffected by Lightning’s attack and were safe inside her hand.

Lightning Dust appeared in front of Fluttershy in an instant, clapping her hands over Fluttershy’s and zapping it; not enough to seriously hurt her, but enough to evaporate the marbles.

“Now what?” Lightning panted, a sadistic gleam in her eye. But Fluttershy just laughed, Lightning grabbing her by the collar of her dress and snarling. “What’s so funny?!”

“You fell for my bluff,” Fluttershy hummed, “and into my trap.”

Fluttershy began singing a haunting melody— not the siren song, as Fluttershy was hesitant to try and charm someone as despicable as Lightning Dust— but Lightning’s eyes widened in recognition and panic all the same.

The fury tried to get away, but Fluttershy dragged her underneath the blood puddle, throwing her into the depths of Fluttershy’s blood red pocket dimension as a trio of tendrils appeared from the deep to have their fun with Lightning Dust.

Lightning tried to electrocute herself to maybe fry the entire puddle? It didn’t do anything but make her look silly. Although, her ability to out-speed and out-maneuver Fluttershy’s tendrils was nothing to joke about, and even in Fluttershy’s own realm, Lightning Dust quickly started running circles around an increasingly desperate Fluttershy…

…until finally, Lightning positioned herself directly behind the siren’s body, Fluttershy looking behind her just as Lightning was cocking back her fist.

Lightning’s fist was surrounded by a very familiar drill-shaped cone of electricity as Lightning pounded it into Fluttershy’s back, tearing flesh and searing bone, Fluttershy screaming in agony yet again until finally she couldn’t stand it anymore and the puddle’s pocket plane disappeared, ejecting the two monsters back onto land.

“My goons can heal you if you surrender now,” Lightning cracked her knuckles and stomped her hoof onto Fluttershy’s back, eliciting a pained and mournful squeak. “Otherwise? You’re gonna be looking at some pretty long-term injuries.”

“Never,” Fluttershy wheezed, and Lightning Dust just shrugged.

Instead of stomping on Fluttershy, or electrocuting her, Lightning Dust grabbed her mane and dragged her to a nearby tree, where she then propped Fluttershy up with her back against the tree, and sat down next to her.

“Y’know,” Lightning said, and looking at her this close made it clear how exhausted she was by their battle, “we could be allies. No reason we gotta be enemies. Your hypnosis power is so good, I want that on my side.”

“I could never align myself with you,” Fluttershy said firmly. “All you stand for is conquest and violence, and I want nothing to do with you.”

“Okay fine,” Lightning shrugged and stood up with a groan. “Guess that means it’s time to tie you up.”

Lightning put her fingers to her mouth and let out a piercing whistle, a small group of Lightning Knights coming out of the village soon after with ropes and cloths. They must’ve been prepared already. Luckily, this was good news to Fluttershy.

Fluttershy did not want to use her siren song on Lightning Dust; she detested the woman, and the thought of sharing her song with her made Fluttershy sick. But these random soldiers? Well, desperate times and all that, so they could be blessed with Fluttershy’s music.

The siren began to sing, and Lightning looked over to her with rage painted all over her face. It took no convincing at all to get this group of weak-willed soldiers to turn on Lightning Dust, attempting to tie her up instead of Fluttershy as the siren slowly but surely skulked away.

She heard a painful tearing of lightning as she was almost away from the village, and she looked back to see that Lightning Dust had torn through the bodies of the enchanted soldiers, Fluttershy staring in pure horror at how Lightning treated her own comrades.

Fluttershy wasn’t so horrified though that she was above using the blood pouring from the fresh bodies and fashioning it into a cage to hold Lightning Dust in while the siren made her escape. She knew it wouldn’t hold Lightning for long, but if Fluttershy could make a break for it and disappear into the trees, she might be able to get her second wind at least.

The siren ran and ran, deeper into the forest and away from Lightning Dust, though away from her friends as well. It had certainly crossed Fluttershy’s mind that Lightning Dust might kill them simply out of spite for Fluttershy, so she needed to return to the village as quickly as possible once she had regained a bit of her magic.

She sang a song and was able to create a light sprinkling of rain; it wasn’t much, but it was a breath of fresh air regardless. Literally actually, as the smell of rain wafted into Fluttershy’s nostrils.

But Lightning Dust was hot on her trail, Fluttershy could feel it.

“Fluttershyyyy,” Lightning called out as she combed through the forest, covered in blood as Fluttershy hid amongst the trees, similarly caked in mostly dried blood. “Where are you, Fluttershy?”

Lightning Dust fired a bolt of lightning at a tree, knocking it down. She repeated with another tree, and then another, and another. She was panting and sweating, eyes bloodshot as they scanned the forest for a siren whose tentacle was creeping right up behind her.

It didn’t reach her. She must have seen it in her peripherals, as she spun around and slashed right through it with a blade of lightning, Fluttershy feeling the tendril get severed in half like it were her own body, reeling in silent shock.

Fluttershy ran again, but she knew she couldn’t keep running. She needed to defeat Lightning Dust if she wanted to survive. The light rainfall had finally given her enough water to make a few puddles, and Lightning Dust groaned as she reached them, while Fluttershy hid inside one and waited for the right moment to strike.

Lightning Dust took off into the air, blood still trailing from her shredded leg, and then dived back into the ground with a fierce shockwave of electricity that tore the puddles asunder, including the one Fluttershy had been hiding in, painfully ejecting her onto the ground, helpless before Lightning Dust.

Or maybe not so helpless, as she had one more desperate ploy in store, standing up and conjuring a puddle in her own stomach, a single tendril poking out of her own body.

“That’s it?” Lightning cackled, panting and struggling for each breath. “One lousy tentacle? What’re you gonna do with that?”

If she was asking questions now instead of just punching, that meant Fluttershy was on the right track. Which felt good, even if the siren herself was already on her last legs.

“Come at me,” Fluttershy said semi-confidently, “if you think you can.”

Lightning did not, in fact, come at her. The fury fired a bolt of lightning at Fluttershy’s head but it was so slow and clumsy that Fluttershy was literally able to walk out of its path. So with that failure under her belt, now it was time to come at Fluttershy, Lightning Dust charging as her whole body sparked with erratic jolts of electricity.

It all was channeled into the drill shape around Lightning Dust’s fist, as she prepared to unleash her ultimate attack against Fluttershy for the third time. The siren simply parted her lips, and began to sing; she didn’t warm to charm Lightning Dust, but Fluttershy could still wear her down.

The melody reached Lightning’s ears and slowed her down, Fluttershy using her stomach tentacle to grab Lightning’s shredded leg and drag her to the ground, the tendril disappearing in the process because it outlived its usefulness and at this point every drop of magic mattered.

Fluttershy continued singing her relaxing song, Lightning snarling and growling as she shot another lightning bolt that clumsily missed its mark. Lightning scuttled back and spread her wings, taking off into the air and out of range of Fluttershy’s song.

“You thought you had my number, huh?” Lightning Dust cackled, her body still somehow charged with electricity. “Well I’m just getting warmed up!”

Lightning’s body became overcharged with electricity as she charged toward the ground, and while her aim was still horrendous and Fluttershy was able to draw up a shield of rainwater to protect herself, the massive shockwave of Lightning’s attack still brought Fluttershy painfully to her knees.

The fury, wobbling and barely able to keep herself upright, stumbled over to Fluttershy and grabbed her mane, pushing her into a tree and then punching Fluttershy in the head. They were barely even punches at this point, more like gentle taps from Lightning’s slow-moving fists.

Lightning collapsed, her magic entirely drained.

“Your own worst enemy,” Fluttershy panted, “is yourself.”

“Shut up,” Lightning spat. “I hate you.”

“Eh,” Fluttershy shrugged. She had no words left, so she just left.

She didn’t know which end was up, so she just started walking forward, whichever direction ‘forward’ was, and hoped she could make it back to the village. She walked and walked for… some time. Time meant nothing to a woman as dazed and delirious as Fluttershy was in that moment.

Fluttershy collapsed to the ground, but as she hit the dirt, she saw something in the distance. A village. The one her friends had been captured in? She had no idea, but she kept crawling toward it regardless, digging her fingernails into the rough dirt and dragging her body forward, blood loss and injuries be damned.

Just as she was inching ever closer to the village, through the crowd of trees and so close to the inhabitants that she could vaguely hear them chattering even from here, something grabbed ahold of Fluttershy’s leg, and painfully dug into it. Fluttershy looked back and her eyes widened in horror as she saw it was Lightning Dust, crawling behind Fluttershy and burying her nails in the siren’s skin.

“I’m not,” she panted, “done with you… yet.”

Fluttershy limply tried to kick the fury off, but her own body was so heavy that she could barely move as Lightning Dust slowly dragged herself up Fluttershy’s leg… before being met with a sword implanted into the ground.

Both women looked up and saw a young woman, gray fur and hair with burning violet eyes. She was a monster, Fluttershy could tell by the black sclera and the fangs protruding from her mouth, but what kind eluded Fluttershy as she looked rather like an ordinary pony, albeit with a full circle of stitches around her neck that almost seemed like all that attached her head to her body.

What was more curious, was that this monster was adorned in the armor of Celestia’s Paladins.

Behind the mysterious woman were about a half dozen other monsters, some carrying spears or axes, all looking for a fight. Lightning Dust saw the writing on the wall, scurrying away from Fluttershy before covering her escape with a small flash of electricity and running as fast as her wounded legs would carry her.

“Do we pursue?” one monster asked, looking to the purple-eyed woman as their leader.

“Mm-mm,” the woman shook her head and crouched next to Fluttershy, tilting the siren’s head up and smiling warmly.

“Who are you?” Fluttershy asked weakly, but as she started to lose her grip on consciousness, she realized how little that question mattered. “Are you going to hurt me?”

The woman shook her head.

“Are you with the Lightning Knights?”

The woman shook her head furiously, a frown painting her face.

Fluttershy smiled at that. As she passed out, she decided that would simply have to be good enough.
> 50. My Little Pet
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Twilight was embarrassed as she headed toward the dining hall where Rarity was waiting for her. The outfit Twilight was given, that she was now wearing, consisted of a tiny black minidress with white trim, thigh high black socks, and a black hairband with a frilly white trim.

It felt very much like a glorified maid outfit, and Twilight couldn’t have been more mortified once she tried it on and saw how ridiculous she looked in it. She was at least glad that Applejack didn’t make anything of it, and Twilight decided to just put it out of her mind as she headed to the dinner with Rarity.

The dining hall was quite a sight; a spacious hall with a grand wooden table in the center, with a golden— albeit somewhat tarnished— chandelier hanging overhead. But while Twilight did feel a bit corny for saying so, the most beautiful thing in the room was the woman standing beside the table at the other end of it, her back to Twilight.

Rarity’s dress was night blue, and it was completely backless; showing off Rarity’s back from her shoulders all the way to her tail, which swished back and forth in a way that complimented Rarity’s incredible ass.

Twilight’s cheeks were burning as she walked into the room and saw the vampire queen, and she only felt more electrified as Rarity slowly turned her head to look over her shoulder at Twilight, crimson eyes glittering and lips as red as blood curling into a smile.

“Didn’t anyone ever tell you it’s impolite to stare?” Rarity said smoothly, and her voice was as sweet as honey, and it beckoned Twilight to step closer.

“Uh, sorry,” Twilight said, walking closer to Rarity and before she knew it, she was standing in front of Rarity, with the vampire facing her and one hand on the small of Twilight’s back.

“You look ravishing, darling,” Rarity whispered, sending a chill up Twilight’s spine.

“Thanks,” Twilight chuckled awkwardly. “I feel awful. This style doesn’t suit me at all.”

“Nonsense!” Rarity scoffed and batted her hand. “You look absolutely stunning, and isn’t that what counts?”

“Um…” Twilight hesitated, and Rarity brushed Twilight’s bangs, Twilight’s breath catching in her throat. “I guess so.” 

“Please, have a seat, darling,” Rarity said sweetly, sitting in the chair at the end of the table. She used her magic to pull out the closest chair but then paused and put a finger to her lips. “You can sit on my lap instead, if you’d like.”

Twilight’s cheeks turned bright pink and her ears shot up, and she could practically feel steam pouring out of them. She knew she couldn’t trust Rarity, not completely anyway, but gawd she was SO HOT, it was hard for Twilight to keep her composure.

She really wanted to sit on Rarity’s lap, to be honest. It looked very inviting. She knew Sunset would hate it though… oh actually, speaking of…

“Where’s Sunset?” Twilight asked, and she caught a flicker of bemusement in Rarity’s expression before the vampire quickly wiped it away with a charmed smile.

“I sent Coco to fetch her for us,” Rarity said. “She should be here shortly, so you don’t have to concern yourself with her.”

“Okay,” Twilight said.

She wished Sunset were here now though, if only to help Twilight keep her head on straight, cuz there was nothing straight about her when it came to Rarity, and as soon as Twilight laid eyes on the vampire again, everything else in her mind went out the window as she practically salivated over Rarity’s beauty.

“Twilight,” Rarity said musically, “your seat’s getting cold…”

“Oh,” Twilight gulped. She looked toward the door, almost expecting Sunset to burst in at any moment and chastise Twilight for being so easily led by the nose, but there was no Sunset in sight and… Rarity’s lap was right there…

Twilight sat down. Rarity wrapping her arms around the pony as she settled into Rarity’s lap, and melted into Rarity’s embrace.

“That’s a good girl,” Rarity whispered in Twilight’s ear, Twilight’s tongue falling out of her mouth and a moan escaping her lips as Rarity put her hands on Twilight’s thighs, slowly moving up until they crossed over Twilight’s chest, Rarity bringing Twilight in even closer to her, their bodies pressed together intimately, and Twilight gasped as she felt the cold touch of Rarity’s fangs against her soft neck.

“Rarity, I— I can’t—” Twilight tried to stand up, but the smallest resistance from Rarity’s arms made Twilight realize how comfortable she was in Rarity’s embrace.

“It’s okay,” Rarity said and she leaned away from Twilight, the pony’s neck feeling an agonizing absence where Rarity’s fangs had been. “I won’t bite. We’ll take it slow.”

“Rarity, I—” Twilight was going to say she didn’t want this, but she stopped herself because… frankly, it wasn’t true. Rarity was gorgeous and powerful and kind to Twilight; there was nothing about her that set off Twilight’s alarms, and if Rarity wanted to take the power, and all the pressure that came with that, out of Twilight’s hands?

Maybe that wasn’t such a bad thing.

“I won’t do anything you don’t want me to do,” Rarity said as she leaned her head on Twilight’s shoulder, smiling up at the gasping and panting Twilight, whose body writhed at the delicate way Rarity’s fingers played it like an instrument.

“I want you to bite me,” Twilight begged, “I want it.”

“No, not yet,” Rarity chided. “It’s still too early. You’re in too much ecstasy. Wait until you’ve calmed down a little to decide what you really want. But that said…”

Rarity’s lips graced Twilight’s neck, the pony biting her lip and groaning in desire as Rarity gently kissed her soft flesh.

“I-I can’t— Sunset will—”

“Forget about Sunset,” Rarity whispered, and Twilight nodded obediently. “Focus on you. What do you want?”

“I want you,” Twilight said immediately, speaking her truth as she knew it.

“That’s what I thought, my little pet,” Rarity giggled, and Twilight panted and smiled at Rarity’s praise as Rarity laid Twilight down onto the table, pressing herself against the pining purple pony. “It was over for you as soon as you put on those clothes.”

Twilight saw the blue glowing hex runes on the trim of her dress, that she hadn’t seen before. But she didn’t care. She didn’t need to think about that.

Obedient little dolls didn’t need to think about anything.
> 51. To Serve the Empress
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sunset lounged on her back on the rooftop of Rarity’s stupid theater castle. The Paradise, such as it was, had been lit up in glowing neon colors that looked like a sad parody of the stars in the skies on the surface world, and it kept the village illuminated even in the pitch darkness that fell over the Circle during late hours.

It was hard not to feel a little melancholy; a lot of monsters had never even seen the real stars and didn’t know or care about what they were missing, but to Sunset she couldn’t help but feel trapped by the presence of the ceiling, the wall of stone and magic that kept her from seeing the sky for the last… damn, how many years had it been? Ten? Something like that.

Sunset didn’t know. Sunset didn’t care. All she knew was that she was exhausted, and all she wanted to do was rest her eyes for just a moment…

“Sunset Shimmer.”

A familiar voice brought Sunset’s thoughts to a screeching halt, her ears twitching at the woman’s sultry tone, but Sunset didn’t react in any other way.

“Look at me,” the woman commanded, and Sunset sighed. She really couldn’t refuse.

Sunset sat up and turned around, sitting cross-legged as she looked up lazily at the woman calling for her attention.

“Nightmare Moon,” Sunset said drolly, the Empress cocking her head and giving a slight grin.

“I’m disappointed in you,” Nightmare Moon crossed her arms and her teal eyes burned a hole through Sunset’s body. Not literally, though honestly she probably could’ve literally if she wanted to.

“What else is new?” Sunset said dryly.

“Don’t get smart with me,” Nightmare shifted her weight to one side and glowered, though she then let a slight smirk creep onto her lips. “It doesn’t suit you.”

Sunset huffed and looked away, her cheeks turning red. She definitely felt like she walked right into that.

“Okay, so what?” Sunset griped. “You just come by to hassle me, is that it? Tell me what a huge screwup you think I am?”

“Ugh,” Nightmare groaned in disgust, looking down at Sunset like she was a leech, or some sludge that had stuck to the bottom of the Nightmare’s shoe. “Your self-pity act makes me sick. Keep your mouth shut, and I’ll tell you why I’m here.”

Sunset did as she was ordered. Nightmare didn’t need to use anything but her words for Sunset to feel the Empress’ leash around her neck.

“I’m disappointed in you,” Nightmare repeated, and it didn’t sting less the second time, “because you’re—” Nightmare scoffed. “I mean, what are you doing? Your performance lately has been nothing short of pathetic. How long were you wasting time in the wasteland of the First Circle?

“Now you have a soul, you have my demonic power, and what? You’re sitting here jamming your thumb up your ass while Twilight Sparkle leads you by the nose. And don’t even get me started on your miserable displays at trying to protect her.”

“Leave her out of this,” Sunset grit her teeth and growled, digging her nails into her legs.

“No,” Nightmare said coldly. “She’s the entire reason I’m here. You know this routine better than most. A pony cannot just enter the Underworld and keep what belongs to me. I will have her soul, and you were supposed to deliver it to me, and yet here you are… doing what?”

“You reached out to her already, yeah?” Sunset asked, trying to keep the conversation away from what a miserable failure she was for as long as possible, even if she knew she couldn’t delay the inevitable forever. “How’d it go?”

“Standard first encounter,” Nightmare shrugged. “She’s been poisoned with lies about me her entire life, so of course she doesn’t trust me. She was desperate enough to accept a small token of good will, but that was all. I can’t complain.”

“Hm,” Sunset grumbled. “So why do you even need me then? Sounds like you’ve got this situation under wraps already.”

“It’s not so simple,” Nightmare said. “And I’ll let you in on a little secret, but first I want to talk about you.”

“Oh, great,” Sunset sighed and hung her head, awaiting the inevitable verbal eviscerating.

“You have so much potential in you,” Nightmare said sweetly, kneeling at Sunset’s side and lifting her chin up to look into the Empress’ cool teal eyes. “It’s such a waste the way you’re squandering it out of fear.

“What happened to the magical prodigy who so impressed my sister at just ten years old? What happened to the genius magic theorist who was so close to unlocking an entire new school of magic? What happened to the woman so determined to rescue her friend that she turned her back on Celestia and willingly chose my power instead?

“What happened to you, Sunset Shimmer?”

“I failed,” Sunset shrugged. “Even with your power, I couldn’t— I couldn’t do anything. I’m not strong enough. I’m not smart enough. I’m not… I’m not anything.”

“So why lead Twilight Sparkle all the way to this little Paradise?” Nightmare asked. “If not to go deeper into the Underworld and find your friend? Why take the soul at all if—”

“I don’t know!” Sunset snapped, Nightmare looking mostly unfazed but slightly irritated. “I don’t know! I don’t think, I just do things! I didn’t think we’d make it to the wall! I didn’t think we’d make it inside! I don’t know what I’m doing!”

“Okay, then let me tell you what you’re going to do,” Nightmare grabbed Sunset’s hair in her hand, standing up and dragging Sunset up to her hooves alongside her, Sunset grunting in pain but otherwise not resisting. “You’re going to bring Twilight Sparkle to me. You’re going to protect her with your life, if that’s what it takes. You’re going to give it your damn all, and I will be watching, and I promise you that if I see you throwing in the towel I will make sure you regret it.”

“Your threats don’t work on someone who’s got nothin’ to lose,” Sunset shrugged smugly. She had half a mind to spit in Nightmare’s face too just for good measure, but she got cold hooves.

“You’re going to be difficult, hm?” Nightmare said drolly.

“Yep,” Sunset grinned.

“Fine then,” Nightmare put her finger on the bridge of Sunset’s nose, and light blue magic erupted from it, flowing down to Sunset’s legs and her arms, before binding them, bringing Sunset to her knees and securing her arms behind her back. “How does that make you feel?”

“Um,” Sunset croaked; she wasn’t sure what to say, and she just hoped that the reaction of her body didn’t give her away.

“I mean other than horny,” Nightmare chuckled and cupped Sunset’s chin, before a spark of her magic wrapped a blindfold around Sunset’s eyes, keeping her in total darkness. “How do you feel, Sunset Shimmer?”

Sunset took a deep breath, and focused on the gentle touch of Nightmare Moon’s fingertips.

“Safe,” Sunset said honestly, despite herself.

“I see,” Nightmare purred, “and yet you doubt me.”

“I…” Sunset balked, and she squirmed in her bonds. She hated to admit it, but being at the mercy of the Empress like this… felt really good to her. Felt fitting. This was what she deserved, where she belonged. “I don’t know what I’m doi—”

Sunset was silenced as a magical ball entered her mouth, securing itself around her head and keeping her silent.

“Then I will tell you what to do,” Nightmare whispered in Sunset’s ear, and it almost felt like the Empress was everywhere at once, “and you will listen, and you will do as I command.”

“Mhm,” Sunset nodded her head, saliva starting to pool in her mouth and drip down her lip.

“You will protect Twilight Sparkle,” Nightmare said, “and you will bring her to me. You won’t let anyone harm her. And you will do whatever it takes to fulfill this order, even if it looks like you will fail.”

Sunset felt Nightmare’s hands on her shoulders and she gasped. She could feel Nightmare’s body behind her, not close enough to be touching her but enough that her presence was unmistakable.

“I know you’re afraid,” Nightmare whispered into Sunset’s ear, “I know you’re scared of failing. Of letting everyone down. But I need you to give it your all, even if doing so would result in failure.

“You can’t keep not trying just to protect yourself. You can’t keep putting in ten percent, and then when you fail you can just say that you weren’t really trying. Destroy your ego, Sunset Shimmer, or I’ll destroy it for you.”

“Nnngh,” Sunset moaned, and she felt her drool dripping onto her chest.

“As for that little secret I promised you…” Nightmare said, her voice turning cold as death. “It will have to wait. An opportunity has arrived. You get to show me just how loyal you are to me. Are you going to be a good pet?”

“Mhm,” Sunset nodded, her breath quickening.

“That’s a good girl,” Nightmare cooed, and Sunset moaned in pleasure. “I’m going to let you open your eyes. Destroy the woman standing in front of you.”

“Mmm…” Yes, Mistress.

Sure enough, Sunset’s eyes were opened. She was unbound and standing, with Nightmare Moon nowhere to be seen. The Empress could only communicate through dreams, so thankfully no one else got to see that humiliating display.

“Oh,” a soft woman’s voice squeaked from the shadows. “You’re up. Sorry to bother you.”

“Is that right?” Sunset focused, and she saw the woman hiding in the shadows on the theater’s rooftop; it was that girl Coco Pommel. Suddenly Sunset remembered the Empress’ orders, and she felt a looming sense of danger creeping up her spine. “What do you want?”

“To please Lady Rarity,” Coco said innocently, with a cute smile. The way her fangs poked out her lip was really working for her.

“Yeah?” Sunset chuckled and flicked her fingers, sparks of flame shooting off them. “And what does that have to do with me?”

“Well, you see,” Coco kicked at the ground sheepishly, before another figure emerged from the shadows; it was a mannequin in the vague shape of a pony, completely featureless in its design and yet something about it immediately haunted Sunset. “I need to take that soul. You understand.”

“I can’t just hand it over,” Sunset said sternly, and then cracked a wicked grin, “you understand.”

“Of course,” Coco’s eyes glimmered with bloodlust.

“Of course,” Sunset’s eyes burned with rage.

Fine then. She would destroy the woman standing in front of her.
> 52. Dolls Don't Need to Think
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sunset paced atop the concrete rooftop plaza of Rarity’s theater castle, staring down Coco Pommel as the vampire stood in the shadow of the door to the roof, vaguely illuminated by the twinkling neon lights that dotted the so-called ‘sky’ above, a cheap imitation of the stars from the surface.

Coco was pathetic; a mewling lapdog for Rarity, who herself was just a bootlicker for the Empress. Not that Sunset was really in a place to throw stones, but at the very least she felt like she could look down on Coco, or at least beat her in a fight.

“I’m sorry it has to be this way,” Coco said, her voice dripping with a gross mock-politeness, “but Lady Rarity needs that soul, and you’re just in the way.”

“Shut up, simp,” Sunset scoffed and flicked flames in Coco’s direction. “You’re nothing more than a lapdog, this isn’t even gonna be a warmup for me.”

“Is that right?” Coco closed her eyes and tilted her head slightly, her plastic smile widening.

The featureless, pony-shaped mannequin standing before Coco started to twitch and fidget, mirroring the movements of the vampire’s fingers; a puppet. Funny that a puppet would be using another one to fight.

“I may be Lady Rarity’s thrall,” Coco said softly, before opening her blood-red eyes and glaring daggers into Sunset, “but I am still a monster of the Fifth Circle. You should be more polite.”

Ah.

Well.

That changes things.

The mannequin charged at Sunset, its awkward mechanical movements putting Sunset off, but not nearly as much as its frightening speed. Sunset charged fire into her fist and punched the mannequin square in the chest, and it felt like she shattered every bone in her hand.

“Is that all?” Coco hummed disappointedly, Sunset gritting her teeth and jumping away from the mannequin.

Sunset was no match for a monster of the Fifth Circle, and she was well aware of that. Hell, Sunset was barely a match for the monsters of the Second Circle!

But Nightmare Moon told Sunset to destroy the woman standing in front of her. Granted, Nightmare had chosen to give Sunset of all ponies a fragment of her power, so clearly she didn’t exactly have impeccable judgment.

The mannequin swung its arms at Sunset, who dodged out of the way of its awkward attacks. She had a feeling the thing was more than just creepy, and that if she let it touch her, she wouldn’t like what happened next.

The magic of the Fifth Circle was on an entirely other level from the First, with monsters there having impenetrably powerful defenses and oppressively powerful offense, at least according to Nightmare Moon.

Meanwhile, Sunset? Could spit little flames out of her fingers. Wow.

Yeah, Sunset wasn’t winning this. So instead, Sunset jumped off the roof, hoping that she could at least lose Coco’s trail in the narrow roads of the Paradise village. Unfortunately for Sunset, as soon as she hit the ground, the very next corner she turned she ran into a smiling Coco Pommel.

“You can’t get away from me that easy,” Coco said with a smirk, and Sunset was suddenly intimately aware that the mannequin was standing behind her with its hands outstretched.

Sunset teleported away, leaving an explosion of flame in her wake before appearing right behind Coco and throwing a punch. Coco easily blocked it with her bare hand, turning to face Sunset and getting a face full of flame for her trouble.

But when the flame subsided, Coco was completely unfazed.

“That puny magic of yours isn’t going to work on someone like me,” Coco giggled. “Lady Rarity doesn’t just take anyone as her obedient pet.”

Sunset clicked her tongue and pooled magic in her horn, but Coco put a stop to that by turning into mist and phasing right through Sunset’s body, sending a chill up her spine that froze her until Coco could reappear behind Sunset, grabbing her arms and putting them behind her back, the vampire sealing the deal by letting her fangs gently graze Sunset’s neck, but not quite penetrate the skin.

“Come on now, Sunset Shimmer,” Coco whispered seductively, “there’s no need for all this fuss. All Lady Rarity needs from you is the soul. Just give it up and we won’t have to fight.”

Sunset was breathing heavily as Coco held one of Sunset’s hands behind her back, the vampire slipping her other hand into the pocket of Sunset’s shorts, the demon’s cheeks getting hotter and hotter as she felt the touch of Coco’s fangs on her soft neck.

“Being a pet wouldn’t be so bad,” Coco let her fangs sink into Sunset’s flesh, the demon moaning as her knees buckled, “would it?”

“I…” Sunset gasped, Coco’s fangs digging deeper and Sunset’s body tightening in her grasp. Sunset’s mind flickered with thoughts of Twilight, of how Sunset needed to… to do what? Was Twilight in danger?

Well, if Rarity had sent her minion to get Sunset out of the way, then yeah probably.

“No!” Sunset growled and tore herself away, putting her hand on the bloody gash in her neck and facing Coco, walking backwards. “I’m no one’s pet! And I’m not going to let you and Rarity do whatever you want to with Twilight!”

“Oh, Sunset,” Coco giggled into her hand, wiping the blood off her mouth. “Twilight Sparkle has already agreed to be the Lady’s pet.”

“Wait, wha—”

“But maybe the pet role doesn’t suit you, that’s okay,” Coco said with an eerie glint in her eye, “maybe you would prefer to be a doll.”

Sunset’s eyes widened and she grit her teeth as she suddenly felt the presence of the mannequin behind her. She turned around to face it, only to see the puppet’s featureless shell had split open down the middle, revealing a mass of squirming tendrils inside that reached out and grabbed Sunset.

They pulled Sunset’s arms behind her, and even though she fought them with all the might she could muster, she couldn’t even remotely resist their pull, especially after they wrapped around her legs and her stomach and her neck and even her mouth.

As she was being dragged backward into the mannequin’s embrace, Coco walked over and put her hand on Sunset’s chin.

“You’ll make a cute doll,” Coco giggled, a truly haunting sound given the position Sunset was in. “I almost hope Lady Rarity doesn’t want you, I could keep you all to myself.”

Sunset tried to scream but it only came out as a muffled growl, the tendrils pulling her back into the embrace of the mannequin before it closed on her, sealing her inside where the tendrils caressed her skin, and Coco’s voice whispered in her ears.

“Don’t fight it,” Coco suggested, and honestly that sounded like good advice right now. “Just let it wash over you. Let me take care of you.”

Sunset’s struggles got weaker until slowly she just let herself fall prey to whatever the tendrils wanted to do to her. So far all they were doing was wrapping her up and convulsing along her body, and it wasn’t so bad. Almost felt kinda pleasant.

So Sunset let it happen.

“That’s a good girl,” Coco said. “Let your thoughts slip further and further from your mind, as you fall into my comforting embrace. Dolls don’t need to think. Lady Rarity will take such good care of you. You don’t need to struggle anymore.”

Sunset felt her skin becoming soft and light. She felt her vision blurring, and she could vaguely hear her own pleasured moans. Something was happening to her, but she wasn’t sure what.

It felt so good though, she didn’t want it to stop.

There was a glimmer of light shining from outside, and it hurt Sunset’s eyes so she closed them. She immediately snapped them open as a loud crack resonated in her ears, and what she saw was a familiar looking muscular werewolf, ripping the mannequin open and tearing it apart.

“Get the hell up,” Applejack grabbed Sunset by her hair and dragged her out of the mannequin, “you look pathetic.”

“E-easy for you to say!” Sunset balked, returning to her senses and feeling utterly ashamed of herself. “Miss ‘I’m resistant to all magic’!”

“Mm,” Applejack rolled her eyes and put her fist through the wall of the building the girls were in the shadow of. “Quit makin’ excuses and follow me.”

Sunset did as she was ordered, following Applejack through the hole she made through an empty, collapsing house until they reached a wall that Applejack just put another hole through and the two kept going.

“So are we going somewhere, or…?” Sunset asked. “Cuz I’m guessing that vampire probably is gonna need a sec to put her head back on after you interrupted her spell like that, let alone tearing her weapon apart, but that’s not gonna stop her.”

“Yeah,” Applejack nodded. “We’re gonna need an advantage. That girl’s tough, but she ain’t unbeatable.”

“You think?” Sunset asked incredulously. She seemed pretty unbeatable to Sunset.

“Of course,” Applejack scoffed irritably. “You think I’ve been sittin’ on my ass this whole time waitin’ for my revenge? I’ve been plannin’ some things. I’m prepared for this, and I ain’t even got a soul like someone.”

“Oh yeah, the soul,” Sunset put her hand on her chest. She’d forgotten the soul.

Haha, that wasn’t quite right, was it? She wasn’t using the soul, because that way when she inevitably lost, she had something to blame for her failure other than her own pathetic self.

Damn, she was so stupid.

Sunset took a deep breath as she came to a stop next to Applejack.

“So,” she said, “you have a plan?”

“I do,” Applejack chuckled. “We’ll just have to get a bit creative.”

Sunset looked down at her hooves, at the cliff she stood in front of and the vast void below that led no one knew where.

Huh. That actually was kinda clever.

“So where’d you come from anyway?” Sunset asked. “You sure showed up just in the nick of time.”

“Twi was worried ‘boutcha,” Applejack shrugged. “Told her I’d find ya. Simple as.”

Huh. That made sense, Sunset supposed. Twilight was really worried about…

Huh.

Coco arrived with her stitched up mannequin in tow, the puppet looking good as new and the vampire looking mildly displeased.

“I’ll go for the mannequin,” Applejack said, “you handle the vampire.”

“Sure, sounds good,” Sunset sighed. Not like she had much of a chance against either.

Applejack charged the mannequin, and Coco transformed its shape, the puppet gaining sawblades and shit that jutted from its body, shredding Applejack up as she tried to wrestle with it.

Meanwhile Sunset was charging for Coco in a futile attempt to land a hit, but with Applejack forced to jump away from the mannequin so she didn’t get sliced into bits, Coco was free to drag the puppet over in front of her, the mannequin opening up and revealing those tendrils and forcing Sunset to freeze in her tracks.

Applejack managed to grab Sunset and pull her away, the mannequin lunging at Applejack in response and the werewolf grabbing it in her claws and holding it at bay, albeit just barely.

“If yer gonna hold onto that damn soul,” Applejack snarled, “you might as well use it!”

Sunset fell onto her back and just… marveled. Applejack was here going toe to toe with a monster from the Fifth Circle, even defending Sunset from it, and here Sunset was whining about being a failure. Like, of course Applejack had beaten Sunset in a fight, so she was clearly the stronger of the two, but then again Sunset hadn't really given it…

…her all.

Oh.

That’s just how it was gonna be forever, huh? Damn, how many people was Sunset gonna let down before she got her head outta her ass? And like, even as she was thinking this, she still knew it didn’t matter, she wasn’t strong enough to defeat Coco.

She wasn’t strong enough to help Applejack, or beat Rarity, or save Twilight, or serve Nightmare Moon, or rescue—

Fuck.

Welp, if nothing else, Sunset always said she was a mare of her word. And she promised to destroy the woman standing in front of her.

Sunset dug deep into her chest, conjuring from within the soul a weapon into her hand, a sword with a glowing blade of magical red fog, and she sliced through the mannequin with it, the blade phasing through the enemy’s weapon without resistance, and then doing its work and disabling the spell on the puppet that allowed it to function.

“W-woah,” Applejack said as she watched the mannequin crumble at her feet.

“It won’t last,” Sunset said, pointing her weapon at Coco, who looked similarly shocked. As well she should be; it wasn’t for nothing that Sunset was called a prodigy, and between her skill and the magic of Twilight’s soul, Sunset was almost certain she could do anything… almost. “Let’s take her down before she can restore it!”

“You can count on me!” Applejack snarled, a bloodthirsty grin on her face as she charged Coco Pommel.

Coco dragged her faulty mannequin in front of herself; even without its magic, it still had weapons to use as a defense, but it didn’t matter as Sunset teleported Applejack behind the mannequin, allowing the werewolf to wind up a powerful punch and lay it into Coco’s face.

Applejack’s attack barely seemed to register, Coco glaring at Applejack with little more than mild bemusement. That said, Sunset hurling a flaming spear through her wholeass head was bound to leave more of an impact on her.

Coco stumbled back, Applejack throwing another punch at her but she was able to clumsily dodge it, right into Sunset who had teleported behind her and stabbed her with a shining red sword.

“Wh— how— your magic is too weak to—” Coco stammered.

“You haven’t seen anything yet,” Sunset let out a single scoffing laugh. Quite frankly she was almost as surprised as Coco.

Coco turned into mist to free herself from the pair’s attacks, and as she passed through her mannequin, it sprung back to life. She returned to flesh with her back to the cliff and Sunset couldn’t believe how perfect that was, though obviously she and Applejack would have to get through the mannequin first to get to her.

The mannequin lunged at the pair and Sunset transformed her shining sword into a shield that deflected the weapon’s attack and sent it flying back, Sunset breathing a sigh of relief.

“How long have you had all these tricks up yer sleeve?” Applejack asked incredulously.

“Haha, I’m a bit rusty,” Sunset said awkwardly. “Just think, if I’d busted out some of this stuff, I probably could’ve beaten you!”

“Let’s not go that far,” Applejack grumbled.

Applejack charged the mannequin and held it in place, so Sunset could come in and swipe it with her fog blade to disable it again. Coco had grown wise to that trick though and the puppet was able to free itself from the werewolf’s grasp and dodge Sunset’s attack.

Exactly as Sunset had planned, leaving the path to Coco herself free and clear.

Applejack charged at Coco while Sunset distracted the mannequin, threatening it with her fog blade. What Sunset was not expecting was that she wasn’t able to land a hit on the thing at all; she thought she’d be able to outmaneuver or predict the mannequin’s movements, but she couldn’t get a read on it and she couldn’t get her attacks to connect.

The mannequin opened its shell and revealed its tendrils, and Sunset realized she could either try and dodge or try and attack, and she couldn’t force herself to take the risk of attacking so she jumped back, the mannequin swiftly moving behind her and grabbing her with its tendrils, squeezing her wrist and her horn until she dropped the fog blade and it disappeared.

Without the fog blade, Sunset was no longer a threat, and she was quickly devoured by the mannequin and sealed inside it, those familiar tendrils caressing her skin and making her ache with a sort of uncomfortable pleasure.

Sunset didn’t have a great concept of time while sealed inside the mannequin, but it didn’t seem like it was long before it opened up again, only to swallow Applejack and bind her as well, the tendrils pressing the two girls up to each other chest to chest.

Applejack was snarling and trying to speak, but the tendrils held her maw firmly shut. Her magic resistance was putting in work to let her struggle like that, because Sunset already felt her body becoming fluffy and weightless.

Sunset was drifting off, Coco’s voice resonating in her ears and reminding her how simple everything would be if she were just a little doll, and how Coco would take such good care of her, and how little dolls didn’t need to think or to struggle.

Sunset didn’t need to think, or to struggle. She was just a little doll.

As it turned out, Coco’s suggestions were more than just theoretical, as Sunset found her body physically transforming into a small plush doll version of herself, the demon shrinking out of her clothes as she became entranced by Coco’s magic.

All she wanted was for Coco to brush her mane and tell her she was a good girl, maybe put her on a shelf where she could be admired by Lady Rarity.



Applejack recognized a losing situation when she saw it, and it didn’t get more ‘losing’ than being restrained and sealed inside a mannequin with a demon who was too chickenshit to fight back. Or at least that’s what Applejack thought until Sunset suddenly transformed into a tiny plush doll right in front of Applejack’s eyes. That was definitely more losing.

Even with Applejack’s magic resistance, it was hard to ignore the tactile feeling of the tendrils all over her body, and it was harder still to ignore the voice in her ears whispering to her to stop struggling, to just give in and let her take care of everything.

It was an appealing thought, especially considering how bad Applejack had screwed everything in her life up until that point.

But she’d be damned if she just gave up now, especially when there was still a little tiny window of hope for her. Sunset may have been outta commission, but the soul’s magic was still inside her; there was a chance Applejack could take it while Sunset couldn’t fight back, and that would give Applejack the power she needed to free herself and crush Coco Pommel.

Applejack pushed herself to her limits, struggling against the tendrils that tried their damnedest to keep her in place. All she had to do was touch Sunset’s chest, and she could extract the soul from there.

She inched closer, and closer, and—

The mannequin opened up, ejecting both Applejack and the plushified Sunset Shimmer. Applejack was still tied and muzzled by the tendrils, but Sunset was free, if you could call becoming a doll being free, and Coco bent down and picked her up.

“Were you trying to get your paws on this?” Coco asked with mocking sweetness, holding up the doll for Applejack to see, the werewolf just growling in return. “Such a bad puppy.”

Coco put her hand under Applejack’s chin, and Applejack swore she would bite the vampire’s fingers right off if she could open her mouth. She could feel her magic resistance putting in work though, and she almost felt a little slack in the tendrils around her muzzle.

The tendrils forced Applejack to the ground, with her nose to the dirt and her arms behind her back. She kept her eye on Coco as the vampire examined the Sunset doll.

“I suppose I should just take the soul now,” Coco hummed. “It would be bad if you managed to get your grubby little paws on it. I don’t know how you would do that all trussed up like that, but still. Better safe than sorry.

“Hmm,” Coco looked down at Applejack dismissively. “I suppose it’s just as well that I couldn’t tame you. I’m sure Lady Rarity wants those honors for herself.”

Again, Applejack snarled, and again it did nothing but heighten her own humiliation. She wasn’t under any delusions that she was anything other than a captive at this point… even if she could feel the tendrils’ grip loosening ever so slightly. If Applejack tried to make a move, she knew that Coco would have her restrained even tighter before Applejack had a chance to do anything.

If Applejack was going to make a move, she would only get one. And it would need to be quick.

No sense giving up just yet though.

Coco put her hand on the Sunset doll’s chest, and it glowed with red light. Coco let her fingers submerge into the light, until—

“OW!” Coco screamed as the light repelled her, the vampire instinctively tossing the doll to the ground. Applejack had no clue what just happened, but she knew an opportunity when she saw it.

As the Sunset doll fell to the ground, Applejack took her chance and tore herself away from the tendrils, Coco gasping as Applejack opened her mouth and closed her jaws onto the Sunset plush, the energy of the soul caressing the edges of Applejack’s mind like a cozy hearth fire.

Coco stepped back and readied herself, gritting her teeth and glaring at Applejack, who chuckled as she held the plush Sunset in her maw. Applejack knew exactly what she needed to do.

So she jumped off the cliff behind her into the void.

She didn’t let herself fall all the way down, of course. She grabbed onto the mountainside with her claws, keeping Sunset in her mouth as she looked up and waited for Coco to look down at her. She expected Coco to either not be able to see her or to not check for her, but if that gamble didn’t pay off, Applejack was in trouble.

Applejack waited.

And she waited.

Between the darkness covering the Circle and the fog of the void clouding around her, Applejack couldn’t even see the top of the cliff anymore, but still she waited.

And nothing happened.

Applejack allowed herself a slight sigh of relief, but she didn’t let her guard down.

For now, she needed to get out of the Paradise, so she started scaling the side of the mountain, slowly digging her claws into its face, making sure she was secure, and then moving an inch to her left before starting the process again.

It would be a long trip, but she’d get there.
> 53. Can't
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It took some doing, in fact it took all through the dark hours, but Applejack managed to claw her way up the cliff face of the First Circle and back onto the ground, finally resting at the ‘sanctuary’ that she and Coloratura and Autumn Blaze used to trap unsuspecting monsters.

Funny that now it really did feel like a sanctuary to Applejack, who was just relieved to give her arms a rest from climbing.

She had been carrying the small plushified form of Sunset Shimmer in her maw the entire time, and she was relieved to be able to drop Sunset and give her jaw a rest too. Granted, the enchantment keeping Sunset trapped in stuffed animal form hadn’t worn off just yet, so Applejack still needed to keep her close so the werewolf’s magic resistance could rub off on the demon.

So Applejack stuffed Sunset down her shirt. That oughtta do it.

As Applejack nestled into a cozy crevasse to rest her weary body and wait for Sunset to recover, she found herself wondering what their next move would be. And it immediately pinged her as odd that she was thinking about ‘their’ next move and not just ‘hers’.

She supposed she couldn’t run around the truth any longer. Applejack wasn’t strong enough to confront Rarity, or the Flim-Flam Brothers. She needed help to get her revenge, and Sunset Shimmer was in a prime spot to help her out.

Twilight too. Applejack couldn’t help thinking about Twilight, and wondering what Rarity was doing to her now that she was all alone. Of course, Applejack already knew what Rarity was going to do to her; hypnotize her and turn her into a drooling slave.

Awful. No one deserved a fate like that, least of all someone as swell as Twilight.

Maybe… Applejack could put her revenge aside for a moment, at least until she had rescued Twilight…

Maybe.

Applejack knew it’d be a while before Sunset was ready to fight again, and the werewolf felt that she desperately needed sleep, but she couldn’t bring herself to sleep when she felt so vulnerable. She needed to remain vigilant… although she could at least rest her eyes for a min—

What was that?

Applejack felt something, a presence nearby, and her ears perked up and she was immediately on high alert.

An enchanting song drifted into Applejack’s ears, and she suddenly realized the source of the presence; it was Coloratura, and since she gave away her position so easily, she likely wasn’t here to fight. Applejack was still wary, but she exited her crevasse and stepped out to confront the siren.

“Applejack! There you are!” Coloratura sighed in relief, placing a hand over her heart.

“Yeah, here I am,” Applejack said shortly. “Now what?”

“I’ve been looking everywhere for you,” Coloratura said worriedly. “I heard about what happened between you and Coco Pommel, and—”

“Rarity send you?” Applejack asked sharply, and a cold silence washed over the two women.

That was all the answer Applejack needed.

“She did, but,” Coloratura said, putting up her hand defensively, Applejack shifting her weight to one side as she waited for Coloratura’s excuse, “I need you to listen to me, Applejack. Rarity doesn’t have any problem with us, all she wants is the soul. If we just hand over the demon to her, I’m sure that—”

“No,” Applejack said sternly.

“Wh— wh-what do you mean, ‘no’?” Coloratura blinked and stammered.

“I ain’t handin’ over anyone to that vampire,” Applejack growled. “I ain’t gonna be a part of her ghoulish slave circus! I ain’t gonna condemn anyone to a fate like that! Not Sunset Shimmer, not Twilight Sparkle, not anyone! Ever! Again!”

“Applejack, you can’t defeat Rarity,” Coloratura held her hand up to her mouth, tears wetting her eyes. “You just can’t, and certainly not all on your own!”

“You think I don’t know that?!” Applejack snapped and took a stomping step toward Coloratura. “You think I’m stupid, Rara?! Of course I know I’m no match for her! But I ain’t about to trade my pride away just to survive! I ain’t gonna be a part of what Rarity is doing here! I’m sorry,” Applejack put a claw over her face, bringing her hat down over her eyes, “I just can’t.

“This ain’t even about my revenge anymore, Rara,” Applejack drew herself up and took a deep breath. “I just can’t stand to let Rarity do whatever she wants to do. I can’t forgive someone who would strip the free will of monsters like that.”

“So what are you going to do now?” Coloratura asked coldly.

“I’m gonna kill Rarity,” Applejack growled. “And I’m gonna kill the Flim-Flam Brothers too.”

“How?” Coloratura asked flatly, staring right through Applejack, who faltered at the question.

“I— I dunno,” Applejack muttered. “I don’t know yet. Somethin’ with the soul maybe? I’ll figure somethin’ out.”

“Or die trying,” Coloratura said.

Applejack said nothing. She took a deep breath. She let it go in a harsh sigh.

“Yeah,” she admitted.

“I can’t just stand by and watch you do that,” Coloratura choked out, fighting back tears.

“Then get far outta the way,” Applejack took another step forward, “or try and stop me.”

Coloratura stood her ground and looked up at Applejack, glaring and scowling even as the tears started to fall down her face. Seeing a woman Applejack cared about so much, even still after everything that had happened between them, starting to break down like this because of her actions, it made Applejack’s heart bleed.

But she couldn’t back down now. Not after everything she’d been through. Not while Rarity still drew breath.

Coloratura hung her head as her tears fell to the ground.

“I won’t stop you,” she whimpered. “I can’t stop you.”

“Then leave,” Applejack said coldly. She didn’t want Coloratura getting involved in this shit any more than she had already. If nothing else, Rara could get out of this with her life.

Coloratura nodded her head, and she didn’t say anything else as she turned back and disappeared into the grey fog of the First Circle wasteland, headed back toward the Paradise. Applejack fell to her knees and tried to keep herself composed.

She was doing the right thing. She had to be.

Thinking about Rarity and about Twilight, and about Rarity must have been doing with Twilight right about now, Applejack grit her teeth and steeled her conviction. She would rescue Twilight, kill Rarity, and everything could go back to the way it was…

And then she could get her revenge on the Flim-Flam Brothers.
> 54. Sisterly Bickering
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Pinkie Pie was awake like a shot as soon as the lights came on over the Second Circle, though with the thick canopy of trees overhead, it was hard to tell that the lights were on. Still, Lightning Dust got mad if Pinkie didn’t wake her up on time, so she’d gotten really good at waking up with the lights.

It was still super early, so Pinkie decided to have a little looksee around her party’s camp; they were resting on a massive hill with a clear road down the center, giant bushels of trees on either side. Sticking to the open road was dangerous, but so was getting lost in the trees, so their camp was nestled in the trees within sight of the road.

Rainbow Dash and Gilda were both snoozing, cuddled up together like two adorable peas in a pod. It was hard for Pinkie to watch them and not wish she was cuddling with them, so she turned her attention elsewhere.

Limestone was not sleeping. She was perched on a low-hanging branch, watching the road like she was expecting it to come alive, though the rings around her eyes made Pinkie think that maybe she was only half paying attention.

“Limestone!” Pinkie called out, and Limestone barely turned her gaze to Pinkie before returning it to the road. She was always the prickly type, but something about her standoffish behavior struck Pinkie as odd. “You okay?”

“I don’t understand you, Pinkie,” Limestone said in a low growl. “Do you know how long you’ve been away from the surface? Almost ten years. We’ve dedicated so much of our lives to finding out what happened to you, and now that I’ve finally found you, you’re acting like nothing’s happened.”

Pinkie huffed and puffed up her cheek for a sec, but then she was kinda bowled over by an overwhelming sadness. She was trying really hard not to see things from Limestone’s perspective, cuz it just felt too sad, but that was just Pinkie being selfish.

“I’m sorry, Limestone,” Pinkie sighed and held her arms up to Limestone’s branch, jumping an inch off the ground to futilely try to jump up beside her, but instead Limestone just hopped off and sat down on the grass next to Pinkie. “I’ve missed you. You and Maud and Marble and mom and everyone else. Now that I’m seeing you again, it’s like… is this real? No way, how can it be? It’s… a lot, I guess.”

“Yeah, I feel that,” Limestone sighed and put her claw on Pinkie’s shoulder. “Things can’t have been easy for you down here. What I don’t get though is why we’re not just bailing on these monsters and booking it back to the surface.”

“Well for one, we’d need a soul to cross the barrier,” Pinkie huffed, and then sighed. “But also, like? You said it yourself, I’ve been down here a long time. I have a whole life down here, such as it is, and I wouldn’t be able to just abandon it like it doesn’t matter, or pretend that it never happened. I have some stuff that I need to do, and I would like it if you could support me.”

“Your life down here is being treated as a slave and a court jester,” Limestone scoffed, her voice dripping with disdain, “and you’re choosing that over your own family.”

“Hey, that’s not fair,” Pinkie spat, “you’re the one forcing me to choose.”

“Yo, what’s up, nerds?” Rainbow Dash asked as she and Gilda walked up to the sisters, Gilda stretching her arms over her head and yawning.

“We’ll talk about this later,” Limestone said as she stood up.

“Yeah, okay,” Pinkie sighed.



The girls headed up the hill, opting to stay on the road side of the trees, but still very close to both. Whatever, Pinkie wasn’t paying a whole lot of attention, she was kinda lost in her own thoughts. Or at least she was until, as she was lagging behind the group, she watched Gilda smack Rainbow’s ass outta nowhere and became intrigued.

“Ack! Gilda!” Rainbow said indignantly.

“What, what’s the matter?” Gilda said teasingly, putting her arms around Rainbow and down her shirt. “C’mon, I know you like this kinda stuff.”

“Gildaaa, c’mon,” Rainbow whined, “there’s people around.”

“Eh, let ‘em watch,” Gilda picked Rainbow up off the ground and hoisted the comparatively miniscule harpy over her shoulder, giving her ass another smack for good measure that got the cutest little yelp outta Rainbow. “Let ‘em all see who you belong to.”

“Gilda,” Rainbow huffed and squirmed around a bit, but if she was trying to put up an honest fight, she wasn’t making it very convincing.

“Ooh, me next! Me next!” Pinkie ran up in front of Gilda and bounced in front of her. “I wanna play! Pick me up and show me who’s boss!”

“Um, well I—” you’d think with all that bluster before, Gilda wouldn’t get so easily flummoxed, but here she was.

“Pinkie,” Limestone griped, looking back from the front of the group, “the least you could do is not give strangers total control over your body.”

“I’m not, I’m in control of my body,” Pinkie said sassily, “and you’re the one telling me what to do with it, so…”

Limestone just groaned loudly and kept on walking, and Pinkie just sighed. All these years hadn't changed Limestone that much.

“Gilda, put me down for a sec,” Rainbow said, and Gilda did just that, allowing Rainbow to get in front of Pinkie. “Hey Pinkie, if you want, I could carry y—”

“Oh no,” Gilda scoffed, “you think you’re just gonna show me up like that, dweeb?”

“What are you— waugh!”

Gilda hoisted Rainbow and Pinkie both, putting ‘em over her shoulders as Pinkie giggled and cooed in delight, and it was pretty obvious that Rainbow was having a good time too, what with her face turning all pink and stuff.

Limestone however, was not having a good time, and as soon as she turned around and saw Pinkie in Gilda’s grasp, she stomped up to the quetzal and confronted her.

“Put Pinkie down right now,” she demanded, but Gilda just took a step closer.

“Or what?” Gilda puffed out her chest. “You gonna make me?”

“Gilda, please don’t antagonize her,” Rainbow sighed irritably.

“No Gilda, please antagonize her,” Pinkie insisted, “she’s being a real jerk.”

Limestone just let out a loud groan of frustration before stomping off into the forest, Pinkie squirming out of Gilda’s grip and running after her sister until she was yanked back by her collar by Gilda’s claw.

“Hold on there, you,” Gilda said. “Don’t make her problem into your problem. We’re all headed in the same direction anyway so it’s not like she’s gonna go too far. Just let her blow off some steam for a bit.”

“Yeah,” Pinkie sighed and pouted, but she knew Gilda had the right idea. “I guess you’re right.”



The former mining town that the girls had finally reached definitely looked like it was haunted or cursed or something. Towering stone buildings were arranged in a labyrinthian pattern and had become engulfed by foliage, with moss, vines, and even trees covering every inch of the walls and pouring out of the windows.

The ground was moist and black, and while the canopy of trees that covered most of the Second Circle was absent here, the buildings still drenched the village in perpetual shadow.

Pinkie, Rainbow, and Gilda hadn't caught up yet with Limestone by the time they reached the village, and Pinkie was starting to get a little nervous.

“Limestone!” Pinkie called out, only to get immediately shushed by Gilda’s claw over her mouth.

“Hey, shut up!” Gilda whispered. “Who knows what could be skulking around in this creepy place.”

“Well, we gotta find Limestone, quick!” Pinkie attempted to whisper but she wasn’t very good.

“Yeah, I’m with Pinkie,” Rainbow said and rubbed the back of her neck. “If something happened to Limestone, it’d kinda be on us.”

“No it wouldn’t,” Gilda scoffed. “She’s the bran genius who decided to run off on her own. But yeah, I get it, we’ll find her. Who knows, maybe we got here before her or something.”

“I hope so,” Pinkie said as the girls started combing the village; this place gave her the creeps.

The girls searched the village, and with every corner they turned into another empty street, Pinkie’s nerves got more and more shredded, until she was literally hanging off Rainbow’s arm cuz she couldn’t deal with the idea that something might’ve happened to Limestone and it was all her fault.

The others tried to calm her down by suggesting the Limestone might’ve taken a detour or fumed a bit before heading to the village, and while that was true enough, Pinkie couldn’t shake the horrible ominous feeling she had.

They turned another corner, into a T-shaped road that was sandwiched by three towering buildings, almost suffocating in its enclosure. Pinkie was starting to panic, and she never wanted to see a damn building again in her life, or a vine or a tree for that matter.

But when she set aside her horrible feelings for a moment, she noticed something.

It was Limestone.

“Limestone!” Pinkie called out, but her sister didn’t respond, so Pinkie ran to her, ignoring and avoiding the others as they tried to hold her back. When Pinkie finally reached the gargoyle, she understood why she hadn't responded, as Pinkie’s eyes stung with tears.

She had been fully turned to stone. She was nothing more than a statue in Limestone’s image.

“Woah, what happened to her?” Rainbow asked as she caught up, her and Gilda following Pinkie with heightened caution. “Is that just a gargoyle thing, or—”

“I don’t know!” Pinkie said panickedly. Limestone’s face was frozen in a mask of rage and frustration, but that’s what she always looked like anyway so it was hard to tell what had happened to her.

“This is definitely magic,” Gilda growled, looking around cautiously for whatever could’ve done this to Limestone. “We shouldn’t just be hanging around—”

Everything happened so fast. Gilda was cut off mid-sentence by something, but before Pinkie could even tell what was happening, she was already in the monster’s grasp, being hauled away against her will. Rainbow Dash fired a laser at the monster, which forced it to let Pinkie go, and only then could she see what they were up against.

When she was a pony, she would have been a unicorn, but you could hardly tell by the sparking stump that was all that remained of her horn. What kind of monster she was supposed to be, Pinkie couldn’t even begin to tell.

She was tall and muscular, with dark burgundy fur in most places. She had the claw of a tiger on one arm, and the other hand was a grim mesh of stone, flesh, and crystal. She had the tail of a dragon, and the eye of one too, but only one cuz the other was a normal pony eye. There were crystals jutting from various places on her body, and mismatched patches of fur sewn into her skin.

Pinkie wasn’t sure if she should be looking on in awe or in terror, so she settled for a mixture of both.

Gilda charged the mysterious woman, who barely gave the quetzal any thought as she threw a bomb in front of Gilda that detonated into a lime-colored smoke, Gilda’s skin hardening into stone as the smoke consumed her.

It seemed pretty obvious what’d happened to Limestone now.

And what was about to happen to Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash.
> 55. Monstrosity
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Pinkie had experienced panic before, even straight up anxiety attacks, but those were nothing compared to the sheer terror she felt as she watched a hulking behemoth of a woman, her body made up of patchwork skins and pieces of various monsters sewn together, turn Gilda to stone just like she had to Pinkie’s sister Limestone.

Pinkie and Rainbow Dash were now all alone with this woman, surrounded by towering buildings overflowing with overgrown foliage, the dirt below them a moist, blackened and cold mess, as the woman slowly turned her gaze over to them, both women freezing in fear.

“Who are you?!” Rainbow called out, her hands shaking as she readied her laser attack and pointed toward the woman.

“Tempest Shadow,” the woman coldly replied, her voice a deep boom like thunder given life.

Her cracked and shattered stump of a horn sparked and fizzed as it conjured a ball of shadowy energy, that she then launched at Rainbow and Pinkie, both women diving in opposite directions to avoid the resulting explosion, but thankfully neither was hurt.

Rainbow fired her laser at Tempest, but the woman responded by throwing a shattering clash of lightning into the laser, tearing it apart before hitting Rainbow and electrocuting her, the harpy letting out a haunting scream of agony.

Tempest charged at Rainbow, and Pinkie just stood there frozen even stiffer than Gilda or Limestone; she wasn’t a combatant, so she didn’t know what she could do in this situation, and she couldn’t live with the guilt or the panic if she tried to run away.

Rainbow tried to fly away, but Tempest’s fist connected with her face before she could take to the air, knocking the wind out of Rainbow and forcing her to stumble back awkwardly. Rainbow attempted to take to the air again, but Tempest threw one of her bombs at Rainbow, the weapon exploding before it even reached her, and while Rainbow was able to dive out of the immediate area of effect, the wing on her right arm was sealed in stone.

Rainbow was lying awkwardly on the ground, and she fired her laser at Tempest as she approached, the explosion blowing up in Tempest’s face but if it fazed her at all, she didn’t show it. Rainbow’s eyes widened in horrific realization as Tempest advanced on her, and Pinkie realized she couldn’t just stand there and do nothing. She had to find some way to help, or at least try to help.

Pinkie did what she did best; try to make Tempest laugh, and she did this by jumping up behind Tempest and attempting to tickle her sides, but the stoic monstrosity of a woman wasn’t having any of it, barely responding with any emotion on her face before smashing Pinkie in the head with her fist and knocking the poppet to the ground.

Rainbow fired a laser while Tempest was distracted by Pinkie, or at least while they thought she was distracted, cuz she sure had no trouble firing a bolt of lightning through Rainbow’s laser, harmlessly ruining it and annihilating Rainbow’s body if her pained scream was any indication.

“I—how—I don’t know what to do!” Rainbow yelled in a panic, dropping to her knees. “My attacks don’t work, she beat Gilda like it was nothing, I—I don’t—”

“Yep, Rainbow, I know how you feel,” Pinkie said sympathetically as Tempest dragged her off the ground and punched her in the head again, Pinkie wobbling back and trying to stay upright, but after taking another punch to the stomach, she crumpled and fell to her knees. “It doesn’t look good.”

Pinkie took another hit from Tempest, and then another, and she started spitting up blood. Rainbow screamed and charged at the monstrosity, her one good wing flaring out as her fingers crackled with magical energy.

It didn’t matter; Tempest knocked her on her ass with one punch. Rainbow got up again, only to get knocked back down with a devastating kick. Rainbow was on her hands and knees, and Tempest stomped on her back, flattening her into the mud.

“Too weak,” Tempest sighed, and she dropped one of her bombs on Rainbow, petrifying the harpy in an instant, her face locked in a permanent state of fear as she struggled to escape from under Tempest’s hoof. Tempest looked over to the quivering, terrified Pinkie. “Just one left.”

Tempest dropped a bomb and kicked it over to Pinkie, who thankfully had the foresight and the dexterity to get away from there before it detonated, the poppet awkwardly but successfully getting up on her hooves.

“I don’t suppose there’s any way we can just talk things over?” Pinkie pleaded desperately, hands clasped in front of her.

Tempest charged Pinkie and threw a punch, but Pinkie was able to bob outta the way in time, and she jumped away outta Tempest’s reach. What she really needed to do was to free the others; knowing they were petrified by magic meant that there was a possibility that Pinkie’s magic could still reach them and free them. It was a long shot, but like, she had to try something! She couldn’t beat Tempest on her own!

But if Pinkie couldn’t find a way to interrupt Tempest’s relentless assault— the monstrosity charging Pinkie again and barely giving her time to breathe, let alone think— then there wasn’t a whole lotta hope for restoring any of the others.

Pinkie had a plan though, and the first step was to just outlast Tempest by dodging; while the monstrosity was much more powerful in a physical fight, her strikes were slow and deliberate, making them easy to read and avoid for an agile little poppet like Pinkie.

Tempest was starting to look a little irritated as her fists failed to land their mark, and as Pinkie jumped away for what felt like the bazillionth time, her legs burning and her chest heaving, Tempest clicked her tongue. Looked like she was finally ready to switch tactics.

Pinkie was breathing heavy, but she tried to stay focused. Tempest fired off a bunch of shadowy, electrified orbs in the area surrounding Pinkie, likely in an attempt to get Pinkie to dodge into them, and then dropped a bomb at her own hooves, kicking it toward Pinkie.

Tempest’s bomb would detonate before it reached Pinkie; the monstrosity timed it perfectly to give the smallest possible window for escape, but she wasn’t counting on fighting someone as rock stupid as Pinkie Pie, who dived into the bomb instead.

Pinkie slapped the bomb back toward Tempest and jumped backward, getting fried by one of those shadowy orbs, and then the others all converging on her position to really rake her over the coals, Pinkie screaming in terrified, tortured agony as she felt like all her bones were being ripped apart one by one.

Once the pain died down though, she saw the green smoke from Tempest’s bomb, and the newly petrified Tempest Shadow in the midst of it. Pinkie laughed; after all that fear, Tempest ended up losing in the most humiliatingly anti-climactic way possible.

Funny how Tempest’s statue face was frozen in what looked like nothing more than mild irritation. Stoic to the end, Pinkie supposed.

Pinkie was woozy and in horrific pain, and she couldn’t stand to stay on her hooves so she collapsed, but she still dragged herself across the mud to make it to Rainbow Dash. There must’ve been something Pinkie could do; if she could generate enough magic inside Pinkie with her laughter, it was possible that Rainbow could break the spell herself just by outgrowing it, so to speak.

It was worth a shot! Too bad Pinkie didn’t really feel like laughing. But that never stopped her before, so…

Before she could think of a joke, a hoof slammed the back of her head and pushed her nose painfully against the statue of Rainbow Dash. Pinkie looked back in horror to see Tempest Shadow standing over her.

“But how—”

“You think I wouldn’t come prepared with a counter to my own weapon?” Tempest said in disgust. “You insult me.”

Tempest kicked Pinkie away like a sack of garbage and listlessly threw a bomb at her. Pinkie was able to clumsily jump away, but she didn’t make it far enough, and both of her hooves were frozen. She wasn’t going down that easy though, so she sprung off her hands and lunged at Tempest, aiming to knock her out with Pinkie’s brand new stone feet.

Pinkie’s attack never even came close, Pinkie being met with one of Tempest’s lightning bolts in mid-air and she suddenly understood why Rainbow screamed bloody murder whenever she was hit by one of these things, cuz it was very much like all of her blood and muscle were being incinerated from the inside out.

Tempest kicked Pinkie hard in the ribs, the poppet groaning in pain and whimpering before Tempest dropped a bomb right on top of her and jumped back, Pinkie having just enough time to recognize what was about to happen and how helpless she was before the bomb detonated, leaving her fully petrified just like the rest of her friends.

And it was here that Pinkie learned a horrifying fact about petrification; she was still fully cognizant of the world around her. She could barely see, like someone had put a pitch black curtain over her eyes, with everything being shrouded in darkness and shapes appearing blurry, but she could still see. She could still hear too, and it was like she was underwater the way sounds and voices felt to her.

Most importantly though, she could still feel. She felt like her body should have still been able to move, and the fact that she couldn’t find a way to make it to was immediately driving her to madness and despair. She wanted to scream but her mouth wouldn’t move.

“Well,” Tempest said with a bitter chuckle, “it seems like this trip wasn’t such a waste after all. The power of a soul really is all it’s cracked up to be.”

Tempest dug into her chest and retrieved a lavender glowing sphere of magic energy; she had the soul they were searching for all along. It was right there in front of Pinkie’s eyes.

But there was nothing she could do.



Being in a petrified shell of never-ending agony and existential dread wasn’t really Rainbow Dash’s idea of a good time. She was really pulling for Pinkie to take a stand against Tempest, and when she managed to get Tempest petrified by her own bomb, Rainbow was like heck yes! And then Tempest broke free and petrified Pinkie, and everything was awful again.

But something felt weird; as soon as Tempest showed off the soul that she had taken, Rainbow almost felt like it was calling out to her, and her own magic surged in response to that call, welling up inside her until the stone keeping her trapped exploded outward, Rainbow’s head spinning as she was freed somehow.

“How did—” Tempest reacted with shock, putting the soul back inside her chest and throwing another bomb at Rainbow, but she was too slow.

Rainbow zipped right past the bomb with no fear, gaining momentum and surging with magical energy as she zipped past Tempest, the ground behind her exploding in her wake. Tempest didn’t look seriously hurt, but she was thrown off her game and that was good enough. Rainbow was sick of letting this woman push her around, and she wasn’t gonna hold anything back.

She was taking that soul or she was dying in this battle. No in-between.

Rainbow charged up to Tempest, landing a solid kick against her side that made the stitched-together monstrosity grunt in pain before Rainbow fired a laser point blank against her chest, Tempest putting up her arms to block and getting pushed back.

Tempest jumped back and threw a bomb at Rainbow; she was on the defensive now, which was great. Rainbow knew if she gave an inch, she’d lose this fight for sure. She didn’t think twice about flying into the air to escape the explosion of green smoke, and Rainbow launched herself at Tempest like a rocket.

Rainbow flew at Tempest and the monstrosity tried to fire off a bolt of lightning at Rainbow, something that had devastated her a bunch of times already, but this time Rainbow coated herself in magical energy, phasing through Tempest’s attack and Tempest herself; Rainbow didn’t even fully grasp what kinda magic she was doing, she was going a hundred percent on instinct now.

Tempest spun around and kicked Rainbow hard in the head, and while it took every bit of grit in her body, Rainbow held fast and stayed on her talons. Tempest prepared another bomb but Rainbow just punched her in the gut, her fist exploding on impact, and that was just enough for Tempest to drop the bomb harmlessly on the ground.

Rainbow put her hand on Tempest’s chest and felt the warmth radiating outward from the soul, as if it were coming from inside her own body. Tempest jumped back and fired a bolt of lightning at the bomb by Rainbow’s feet, but Rainbow had already sped outta the way and behind Tempest before the bomb detonated.

Tempest spun on her hooves, but once again Rainbow was faster, punching with both fists into Tempest’s gut and blowing them up, the force of two explosions enough to make a dent in Tempest’s impenetrable façade, the monstrosity stumbling back as Rainbow pushed her advantage, zooming toward her and causing another explosion in her face.

Rainbow tackled Tempest with every ounce of strength in her body, bringing the monstrosity to the ground on her back. And just like Rainbow had done this entire battle, she let instinct guide her as she plunged her hands into Tempest’s chest, her claws diving into the woman like they were reaching into a pool of water.

And she felt the soul in her hands.

Tempest threw Rainbow off of her and tossed a bomb her way, but it didn’t matter; it all happened in a blur but Rainbow knew that Tempest’s bombs weren’t going to be effective against her anymore. Sure enough, as Rainbow’s skin started to turn to stone, her body surged with magic that cracked and shattered the stone before it could form.

“How did you—” Tempest said in alarm.

“I guess it just likes me better,” Rainbow said confidently, the soul shining in her chest.

Rainbow realized she didn’t have to hold back now or pull her punches; she’d lived by the mantra of always conserving as much magic as possible, but the soul poured magic into her body like an infinite waterfall, and Rainbow had every intention of taking full advantage.

She held her hand out to Tempest and let the magic flow through her and through the air around her, capturing Tempest in a vortex of wind. That was new, but it was pretty sick. She kept Tempest trapped too, shredding her body with blades of wind until she was a tattered husk of her former self, before dropping her limp body onto the ground with a splat.

“So much for the oh so powerful Tempest Shadow, huh?” Rainbow cackled, and Tempest tried to raise her head but Rainbow just kicked her in the face for trying. “Stay down like the dog you are.”



Rainbow was proud of herself, that was the main thing that she felt as she tied up Tempest Shadow and made her completely helpless, going the extra mile to give her a little crotch rope and a noose-like leash just to make sure she knew who was in charge.

Having such a powerful fighter at her mercy like this… she could get used to it.

Anyway, now with her outta the way, Rainbow used her newly overflowing magical power to release Gilda and Pinkie Pie from their stone prisons, Pinkie immediately tackling Rainbow into a hug, and Gilda just chastising her for taking her sweet time. Rainbow had half a mind to bark back, but honestly she was just glad Gilda was okay.

Then again, she could still sass Gilda a little bit.

“Don’t give me any sass, G,” Rainbow said confidently, looking up at Gilda from the ground where Pinkie was still on top of her and nuzzling her, “I have a soul now.”

“Okay, that’s kinda metal,” Gilda tugged on Rainbow’s ear and forced her to her feet, where the quetzal then put her arms around Rainbow and felt her up, “but you’re still a dweeb.”

“Alright now it’s time to revive Limestone!” Pinkie pleaded.

“Ehhh,” Gilda rubbed the back of her neck and groaned, but Rainbow just elbowed her in the side.

“C’mon, G,” she rolled her eyes and headed over to Limestone, “it’s the right thing to do.”

Rainbow Dash wasn’t exactly expecting a ‘thank you’ from Limestone or anything, but she sure didn’t expect to hear the words that actually left the gargoyle’s lips as she was unfrozen.

“Hey, what happened to Tempest?” Limestone pointed to the spot where Rainbow had left Tempest, a bunch of torn up ropes and rags all that remained in that spot.

“Aw crap,” Rainbow groaned, rubbing her temples.

“Don’t sweat it, dweeb,” Gilda put her arm around Rainbow. “No way that chick’s gonna want to mess with us now! We got a soul!”

“True,” Limestone added. “Her seemingly endless barrage of attacks were only possible because of the soul’s power, and it didn’t even save her. Forget about her, she won’t be bothering us again.”

“Yeah,” Rainbow sighed contentedly as Pinkie hugged her and Limestone and Gilda, the others not looking too pleased, but Rainbow was digging it, “I can live with that.”
> 56. Not Happy
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rarity was sitting on the bed in her bedchambers, scratching a finger under the chin of her drooling pet Twilight Sparkle, who looked up at Rarity lovingly with glowing, hypnotized eyes.

She wasn’t fully acclimated yet to being Rarity’s pet, there was still a part of her fighting against the hypnosis, but Rarity was confident that a good night’s sleep in Rarity’s bed would dispel any nagging doubts Twilight had about the perks of being Rarity’s good girl.

“How are you feeling, my little pet?” Rarity asked sweetly as she brushed her thumb against Twilight’s cheek.

Twilight responded with nothing more than a heady sigh, her ecstatic smile and the drool dripping off of her tongue hanging out of her mouth giving Rarity all the answer she needed.

“That’s a good girl,” Rarity chuckled. Oh this one was going to make a fine pet, Rarity could already tell, and she could hardly wait until Twilight finally gave in and accepted her fate.

Rarity’s ears perked up as she heard the front gate of her theater castle being opened, so she popped a cute little leash to Twilight’s collar, and took her cute little pet with her as she went to check and see who was disturbing her.

It was Coloratura, and Rarity was delighted to see her, although her spirits were dampened a tad by the siren’s dour posture, signaling loud and clear that she had failed in the task Rarity had given her. No matter, Rarity expected as much.

Rarity invited Coloratura to come speak with her in her chambers, allowing the siren to sit on the bed while Rarity fastened darling Twilight’s leash to the frame and had her sit on her knees on the floor beside the bed.

“So, you couldn’t bring her back, I see,” Rarity hummed, putting her hand comfortingly on top of Coloratura’s.

“I’m sorry,” is all Coloratura had to say, and it took quite the burst of willpower for Rarity not to roll her eyes.

“Did you get cold hooves?” Rarity asked, and Coloratura was dead silent. Rarity let a mildly annoyed sigh escape her lips but she masterfully converted it into a friendly chuckle. “It’s okay, you don’t have to answer that. I know Applejack, and I know she would not have let you escape if you had gotten into a real fight.”

“I’m sorry, I just couldn’t bring myself to—”

“Ah, ah, ah,” Rarity shushed Coloratura with a finger across her lips. Rarity couldn’t take another of Coloratura’s meandering apologies. “Relax, my sweet. This is nothing that Coco Pommel can’t handle.”

“Thank you,” Coloratura blushed and rubbed her forearm. “I was really worried that you would be upset.”

“Eh, it’s fine,” Rarity shrugged and stood up, stretching her arms and legs. “We can’t all be perfect like me.” Rarity turned and put her hand under Coloratura’s chin, tilting the siren’s head up to look her in the eye. “You can do me a favor and wait for me here until I come back. You can even enjoy the company of my darling little pet while you wait.”

“Thank you, Lady Rarity,” Coloratura tried to look away bashfully, but Rarity wouldn’t let her. “I would very much like to take you up on that offer.”

“Of course you would, darling,” Rarity chuckled and ran her hand through Coloratura’s hair. “You’re a good girl, now wait here until I return.”



Twilight tugged at her leash as she watched Rarity leaved, desperate to follow her mistress and get more of her commendations. Rarity was gorgeous and smart and she let Twilight just exist without having to think and worry about every little thing.

It was like heaven…

Except… this wasn’t right, was it? What about Sunset, or her friends, or—

No, no, no, a good pet didn’t need to worry about things like that, Twilight could just let Rarity take care of everyth—

But what about Twilight’s pride as a Paladin?

No, there was far more pride being the good girl of lady Rarity.

Ugh, Twilight’s head was a mess. And not having Rarity in her immediate vicinity to focus her thoughts on just made it worse. She tugged on her leash again; she wanted to be near Rarity.

“So, how are you feeling, Twilight Sparkle?” the siren’s voice echoed in Twilight’s ears as if she were underwater, but she still turned her head up to look at her. She was beautiful, but not nearly so much as Rarity. “It’s a heady feeling, isn’t it? Being Rarity’s darling?”

Rarity… just the mention of her name made Twilight awash in euphoric feelings.

Coloratura sighed and knelt down next to Twilight, who was a little too dazed to fully understand what Coloratura was doing until all of Twilight’s clothes had been ripped off by the siren’s claws. At first Twilight was intrigued, but then her head started to clear and she realized what had happened to her.

And a bright red streak shone across her face.

“How are you feeling now?” Coloratura asked, throwing the scraps of Rarity’s enchanted, hypnotic clothing away from Twilight.

“Embarrassed,” Twilight admitted honestly. It didn’t help that she was now naked and still on a leash. Or, for that matter, that there was a part of her that already missed that feeling of hazy euphoria that came from being Rarity’s pet.

“Well get over it,” Coloratura said bluntly as she unhooked the leash from Twilight’s collar. “If you want to survive, you need to get out of here now, and find Applejack and Sunset Shimmer at the gates.”

“Can I at least get some new clothes first?” Twilight grumbled, covering her sensitive areas with her hands.

“If you want to make that detour, be my guest,” Coloratura shrugged. “But it could kill you.”

“Fine,” Twilight sighed and resigned herself to her humiliating fate. She supposed it would just have to be one of those days. “And what about you?”

“I’ll stay here and wait for Rarity,” Coloratura said with a steely glint in her eyes, sitting back down on the bed, “like an obedient pet.”

“She won’t be happy,” Twilight stated the obvious.

“That’s fine,” Coloratura replied. “I’m not happy either.”

Twilight nodded and sighed, silently thanking Coloratura for her sacrifice before heading off to find her friends… and hopefully some new clothes.
> 57. Redistribution
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rarity brushed Coco Pommel’s short, silky hair as the young lady sat in a chair with her queen standing behind her. Obviously Rarity was still a mite disappointed that Coco had let the soul slip through her grasp, but that didn’t do anything to diminish the woman’s beauty, which was radiant enough for even a queen to take notice.

In fact, her beauty was such that Rarity couldn’t let herself be limited to merely touching her hair, and the queen put her hands on Coco’s chest, the young lady gasping as Rarity slid her hands up the mare’s shirt, Coco biting her lip and moaning as Rarity kissed her neck.

Oh the things she wanted to do to Coco… which would need to wait until there wasn’t pressing business at hand.

Rarity backed away lest she get completely enveloped by her desire to ravish Coco’s body, and Coco let out a pitiable whine.

“Lady Rarity,” she turned to look at Rarity over her shoulder, “I’m sorry that I—”

Rarity silenced Coco with a kiss to her lips, Coco melting into Rarity’s embrace as the queen took her in her arms, helping her stand on wobbly legs and squeezing her ass for good measure.

“No apologies, my darling,” Rarity whispered and brushed Coco’s bangs. “What’s done is done, and we can wait for them to come to us instead.”

Rarity felt like she sounded pretty confident, but the truth was she was… anxious. She could practically feel the Flim Flam Brothers and the Nightmare breathing down her neck, and now she had lost one of her major ways of swinging the momentum in her favor. Two, if one were to count Applejack, though how reliable she could actually be was still up in the air.

At least she still had Twilight.

“Coco,” Rarity purred and graced Coco with a kiss on her neck, “why don’t you go wait for me in my bedchambers? I’ll be with you in a moment.”

“Yes, lady Rarity,” Coco smiled and nodded her head, trying in vain to hide her excitement. Truth be told, Rarity was quite excited as well at the prospect of having Coco, Coloratura, and Twilight all to herself. A fun night was in store for her.

And yet, as Coco left and Rarity felt herself pulled not to her bedchambers, but to her vip box, she felt an emptiness in her heart.

She was stressed.

She was ready to tear her damn hair out.

She still had Twilight, that much she could count on, but with no soul, no Applejack, and the werewolf along with Sunset Shimmer on the loose and fully aware of Rarity’s antagonism toward them… Rarity was steadily losing control of this situation and she did not like that.

Rarity had thought herself to be in control of this situation, and yet every moment it felt like it was slipping further and further away from her. And perhaps she was worried over nothing. Sunset and Applejack were still no match for her, right? They were mere First Circle monsters, and Rarity hailed from the Fifth Circle! The gap in power was immense!

…right?

Truth be told, Rarity had felt her power steadily weakening since being banished from the Fifth Circle. Her skill and abilities were one thing, but without access to the Fifth Circle’s bountiful amounts of magic, stuck instead to try and scrape the bottom of the barrel of the First Circle’s meager supply, there was only so much Rarity could flex her power.

There was a good reason Rarity relied now on so many hexes, to the point of covering nearly every inch of her theater with them. If she was caught off-guard, she might—

No. No sense in thinking such things right now. Rarity was simply over worrying.

She needed to figure out what to do about Sunset Shimmer and Applejack, and frankly what she would do about Twilight Sparkle as well, along with Coloratura and Coco and oh fuck Autumn Blaze was still a consideration as well, not to mention she needed to rid herself of the damn Flim Flam Brothers, and—

Okay, now she was panicking a little.

She put a hand over her chest and took slow, deep breaths.

Calm down, Rarity. Calm down. Panic isn’t befitting of a queen.

Okay.

Okay…

The solutions would come to her in time. For now, there were three beautiful women eagerly awaiting her arrival in her bedchambers, and thinking about it now Rarity realized what a fool she was to keep them waiting. Any plans or schemes could wait until after Rarity had enjoyed herself.

Rarity took a few more minutes to compose herself and make sure she was in top form for her ladies, before exiting the vip box and strutting down the stairs into the stage room, where her mood immediately soured upon being met by two gangly werewolves.

“Flim. Flam. To what do I owe the displeasure?” Rarity said coldly, cocking her weight to one side and putting a hand on her hip.

“Honestly, so rude,” Flim clicked his tongue and shook his head. “Isn’t that rude, brother?”

“Why it certainly is, brother!” Flam scoffed and crossed his arms. “And here we were coming to congratulate our dear lady Rarity!”

“Congratulate…?” Rarity scowled and narrowed her eyes.

“Why of course!” Flim cheered and clasped his hands.

“On your successful acquisition of a brand new pony soul!” Flam grinned ear to ear, Rarity gritting her teeth behind a scowl that grew more resentful every second that she was forced to listen to the venom in this pair’s words.

“Oh but wait!” Flim said in a faux revelatory tone, holding up a single finger.

“Oh that’s right!” Flam snapped his fingers, before the two glared daggers at Rarity and spoke in eerie unison.

“You don’t have the soul, do you?”

“I will have it,” Rarity said defensively. “And it’s not as though I’m indebted to you two. I made you a deal but there was no timeline for it. I’ll have my soul, you both will have your Applejack, so I don’t see why you’re bothering me now.”

“The nature of business is ever changing, dear Rarity,” Flim said, slime practically oozing off his greasy tongue.

“And between your recent failure,” Flam pondered, tapping his mustachioed lip, “and a couple of recent acquisitions of our own, we see fit to alter the deal, as it were.”

“I’m still in control of this situation!” Rarity balked, feeling as if that statement was becoming less true even as she spoke. “That demon with the soul will have to come to me, because I have Twilight—”

“Oh, she doesn’t know,” Flim gasped mockingly, hand over his heart.

“She doesn’t know,” Flam echoed, hanging and shaking his head in parodic sadness.

“What,” Rarity barked through gritted teeth.

“Your little Twilight Sparkle has already escaped your grasp, dear Rarity,” Flam said, his teeth like razors as he grinned ear to ear.

“Your little Coloratura freed her, in fact!” Flim added, choking back a laugh as the light drained from Rarity’s face. “Which means yet another resource you’ve lost, it seems.”

“How much does that leave her with, brother?” Flam hummed, looking at Flim.

“Not much, I’m afraid,” Flim shook his head and clicked his tongue.

“Very little indeed,” Flam sighed.

“No! Shut up!” Rarity screamed. “I don’t believe this! Coloratura wouldn’t just betray me! She wouldn’t just—I—you two are lying! Why should I believe anything you idiots say!?”

“Ooh, such harsh language,” Flim said.

“Quite uncalled for, I think,” Flam huffed.

“Anyway, you can ask her for yourself if you’re so certain, dear Rarity,” Flim said, wagging his finger at Rarity.

“But first! We need to have a little chat!” Flam added, stepping in front of his brother.

“Quite right!” Flim chimed in, stepping even closer, with Rarity taking a step back out of instinct.

“If you have something to say,” Rarity growled, “then spit it out or get the hell out of my way.”

“Again with the language,” Flim shook his head.

“Rude!” Flam huffed, and Rarity’s eye twitched as these two slowly but surely were driving her to madness.

“Anyhow,” Flim cleared his throat, and the glint in his eye warned Rarity that he was about to become serious. “Rarity, with your rapidly dwindling resources and recent string of failures—”

“Humiliating failures!” Flam chimed in.

“Humiliating failures,” Flim corrected, a bright red heat stinging Rarity’s cheeks. “My brother and I have come to the conclusion that the only real resource you have left is control over the Circle itself.”

“And before you lose that too,” Flam added, “in another of your trademark embarrassing failures—”

“Humiliating failures!” Flim corrected.

“Humiliating failures,” Flam nodded. “My brother and I have seen fit to unburden you with your position of command.”

“So,” Rarity choked out a single laugh, “you’re mutinying, basically.”

“We prefer to think of it as…” Flam hummed and tapped his chin.

“Resource redistribution!” Flim happily chirped, raising his finger.

“If you think I’m going to just hand control of the Circle over to you,” Rarity let out a bitter laugh, “if you think I’m going to let the Nightmare take everything from me again,” Rarity summoned three mannequins bequeathed in beautiful garments that she designed, “you’ll find yourselves quite fatally mistaken.”

“Oh dear Rarity, please,” Flim scoffed and Flam laughed, the pair’s horns lighting up as they summoned several armed and armored machines before them. “We came prepared.”
> 58. Tin and Steel
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rarity was of two minds as she stared down the mutinying Flim Flam Brothers, the werewolves’ mechanical weapons readied and trained on the vampire Queen and her trio of mannequin servants. On one hand, she was infuriated by their betrayal and incensed by their humiliating remarks about her recent failures.

But on the other hand, she was ecstatic to finally have an opportunity to put these bastards in their place. She had always loathed them, both on a personal level and just the indignity of having the Nightmare always peering over her shoulder through them.

Damn the consequences, she couldn’t wait to turn these two into a red stain on her theater floor.

“Well, brother, isn’t this exciting?” Flim chirped, grinning at his mustachioed brother.

“It certainly is, brother!” Flam replied excitedly. “The opportunity has finally arrived to put our dear Lady Rarity in her place as the Empress’ lapdog! And not a moment too soon!”

“Quite right!” Flim added with a chuckle. “And who knows, perhaps the Empress will be so thrilled by her capture that she’ll let us keep her! Wouldn’t that be something?”

“It certainly would, brother!” Flam agreed, nodding enthusiastically.

Rarity clicked her tongue. The absolute gall to talk about her in such disgraceful terms right to her face.

“If you think you can defeat a monster from the Fifth Circle,” a fiery glint flashed through Rarity’s eyes as her mannequin puppets twitched with the movements of her fingertips, “I’m afraid you’ll soon find yourselves quite fatally mistaken.”

“Ah, but that’s the beauty of teamwork, dear Rarity!” Flim said, raising his finger.

“We’re from the Third Circle,” Flam added, “and there’s two of us!”

“Three times two,” Flim began.

“Is six!” Flam finished. “A higher number than five, to be sure!”

“Quite right!” Flim laughed. “So you don’t have a chance, dear Rarity!”

Rarity’s eye twitched. If she had to suffer through even one more minute of these two’s incessant shenanigans, she had half a mind to turn herself into the Nightmare just to get away from them.

Rarity had three puppets at her disposal; a swordsmare dressed in elegant red and blue fashion, a brigand dressed in humble white and brown, and a guardian dressed in violet and gold. She had fashioned all of their outfits herself and was quite proud of them, and each had a different utility in battle.

Flim and Flam appeared to be ranged fighters, using conjured weapons just like her. Flam had a gangly tin soldier at his disposal that clanged from within as if some mechanism from within was struggling to stay active, and Flim had a much more polished and shiny steel soldier poised with a knife, along with a mounted gun waiting behind him.

Basic and predictable. Rarity shouldn’t have expected anything more from these simpletons.

Rarity rushed in as fast as possible, sending her brigand at Flam and her swordsmare at Flim, the former jumping back and allowing his brother to field Rarity’s assault, Flim’s knife soldier making a go at Rarity’s swordsmare, only to be blocked by her large guardian’s towering shield.

Flim attempted to attack with his mounted gun, but for all its style and flair, it was far too slow; Rarity’s swordsmare cut it down to size before it could fire a single shot, leaving Flim dreadfully exposed.

Flam attempted to protect his brother with his tin soldier, but the weapon refused to move on his command, instead crumpling into a heap as Rarity’s brigand siphoned its magic.

“I know you two are planning on defeating me through trickery and deception,” Rarity growled, flicking her fingers and having her swordsmare cut through Flim’s knife soldier. “I won’t let Flam simply disappear into the background like he was trying to do.”

“Quite perceptive, Lady Rarity!” Flim commended.

“Perceptive indeed!” Flam added, clapping his hands. “But can you deal with thi—”

Before he even finished his sentence, the tin wyvern Flam attempted to conjure was struck down and reduced to scrap by one of the many hexes littering Rarity’s theater, Rarity allowing herself a single prideful laugh as the beast twitched uselessly, a rhythmic clanging coming from within as it attempted to move its broken body.

“I think I’ll manage,” she said confidently.

“Quite impressive, Lady Rarity!” Flim laughed. “You saw through our little tricks and came prepared! You’re truly deserving that self-proclaimed title of Queen, aren’t you?”

“Shut up,” Rarity spat. “Your flattery is as worthless as Flam’s machines.”

“Harsh,” Flam sighed and shook his head. “But fair, I suppose.”

“Well,” Flim snickered, “perhaps you’ll feel better once you see what my machines can do!”

The shredded metal of Flim’s knife soldier transformed with a spark of Flim’s magic, becoming a new soldier armed with a gun, while his mounted gun from earlier similarly transformed before Rarity’s eyes, becoming a bomb instead.

Rarity sighed in disgust as she realized she wouldn’t be able to move her puppets fast enough, Flim’s soldier shooting her in the shoulder with a bullet, drawing blood and making her wince, as his bomb detonated and blew away her swordsmare.

“This is the power of modern technology, dear Rarity!” Flim laughed maniacally. “My machines are the way of the future! And here you are trapped by a nostalgia for a place that no longer wants or needs you! You don’t stand a chance!”

“But wait, there’s more!” Flam said, holding his hands out to show off his brother’s machines, as Flim summoned two more; a flying drone and a soldier with a rifle.

The two thought they were slick, but Rarity saw what they were up to. Flim would attack Rarity with overwhelming force, while Flam held back and charged his magic until he was ready to sweep the battle with a killing blow.

Flam was far too casual about losing his machines and letting his brother do all the work. He was planning something, and Rarity would need to keep an eye on him.

But that was fine. And if Flim was going to disable her swordsmare, she would simply have to conjure her other pair of them. The two swordsmares charged Flim while Rarity’s guardian kept his gunman at bay, but Flim simply laughed as he commanded his sniper to fire on Rarity.

He looked quite shocked when his sniper didn’t reply, having been cut down by Rarity’s first swordsmare, the mannequin charred and brittle, its head and one arm having been blown off by the explosion, but its beautiful sanguine gown looking good as new. There was a reason Rarity’s magic protected the clothing and not the mannequins.

Flim clicked his tongue and screamed for his drone to drop bombs on the two approaching swordsmares, but Rarity’s guardian shielded them from his obvious attack. And while there was a brief moment in time where Flim could feel smug, as though Rarity had let her guard down by freeing his gunman from her guardian’s watchful eye, it was quickly crushed like the fragile steel of Flim’s machines, as Rarity bequeathed herself in radiant golden armor, and tore Flim’s gunman to shreds with her bare hands.

“You two didn’t assume me to be as weak as you, did you?” Rarity said triumphantly, looking down on the pair as they scuttled back, Rarity’s charred swordsmare shadowing Flim and her brigand staying close to Flam so he didn’t get any ideas, Rarity herself glowing in her armor as she was flanked by her two other swordsmares and her guardian.

Rarity sent her two swordsmares at Flim, but they were immediately caught in a shower of gunfire from Flam’s wyvern, which was no longer lying on the ground in a heap, but was instead flying in the air good as new, with Flam’s gangly tin soldier having torn apart Rarity’s brigand puppet, shredding its enchanted outfit and all.

“Ah, it appears my machines are slightly more resistant to your magic than I let on, Lady Rarity!” Flam said in mock surprise.

“How about that,” Rarity hummed. “You know what, I bet they’re not quite as resistant to being torn apart by my hands!”

Rarity charged the tin soldier, ripping it in half and delighting in the visible sheen of sweat that began to drip down the brothers’ brow. Flam’s wyvern retreated behind him while Flim’s drone transformed its shape into a diving bomb, throwing itself at Rarity who protected herself with her guardian’s shield.

While she focused on that though, the wyvern launched a harpoon at her that pierced her neck and penetrated right through it, blooding pooling in her mouth and dripping down her lip as she growled in irritation, before pulling the harpoon out and throwing it to the ground.

“Is that all?” Rarity asked, a vicious faux-sweetness dripping from her tone like venom.

“Don’t underestimate us!” Flim snapped, his horn cracking and flashing with magic before summoning a steel tank behind him. “I’ll show you just how powerful my machines are!”

The tank fired its shot, Rarity tanking behind her guardian’s shield, but two of her swordsmares were blown away to ashes, leaving only the one that was already charred and brittle. Rarity sighed irritably; that meant she was going to have to carry her offensive pressure herself, which was a pain.

Flim was sweating though; not only because he was concerned by Rarity’s strength, but also the amount of magic he was putting into this battle wasn’t exactly a breeze. If this fight dragged on for much longer, Flim would likely exhaust everything he had. That worked for Rarity.

Flam though was an issue. He conjured a robot dog at his hooves, but it didn’t do much but mimic his other machines’ clanging chests as he knelt by the ground and tinkered with the scraps of his tin soldier, slowly and methodically trying to put it back together. He didn’t have the same instantaneous transmutation that Flim had, clearly.

He had barely used any of his own magic, and despite Rarity’s advances he was still cool as ice, biding his time and waiting for his opportunity to deliver a killing blow. Rarity would need to change up her strategy a bit to prevent him from getting that opportunity; make Flim exhaust himself protecting Flam, and putting the pressure on Flam so he had no space to make his move.

And with that, Rarity was back on the offensive… in theory. She was staring down a tank now after all, that would be a bit of an issue to deal with.

The tank fired another shot at Rarity, who hid behind her guardian once more, but then she felt something clinging to her hoof; it was scraps from one of Flim’s machines, coated in black magic as if haunted by a ghost. Rarity crushed the disgusting thing with her armored hoof, but this left her open to an attack from Flam’s wyvern and its harpoon, which Rarity was forced to shield herself from with the charred body of her first swordsmare; it wasn’t doing much at this point anyway.

Rarity’s puppets weren’t strong enough to deal with that tank anyway, she would have to do it by hand. So she conjured another guardian and charged forward, letting her two shields defend herself from Flam’s harpoons and Flim’s trickery.

The tank fired another shot, but the guardian’s shield defended from it easily. Too easily. The brothers seemed unfazed as Rarity charged the tank, but she couldn’t afford to worry about that now; she needed to remove the problem directly in front of her first, and so she jumped up and crashed into the tank, shredding through it with her armored body like a spear thrown through paper.

The scraps of the tank warped and shifted, recombining into a towering bipedal machine armed with a gun bigger than Rarity’s body, and she let out a single irritated chuckle.

“You two are stronger than I gave you credit for,” Rarity sighed, “I’ll grant you that.”

“Thank you for the compliment, Lady Rarity!” Flam said pleasantly.

“Yes,” Flim said politely, “now die.”

The tank soldier fired its gun at Rarity, the brothers scurrying away from the blast zone, but even this attack was nothing against Rarity’s guardian and its shield. She was almost surprised how weak the attack was, until she saw the smug faces of the brothers. That bastard Flam was still getting his chance to charge up his magic, and as long as Rarity was forced to deal with nuisance after nuisance, she wasn’t going to be able to put the pressure on him.

Damn it, she wished Coco were here. That would make this battle a breeze. In fact… where was Coco? How had she not heard the commotion of the battle and rushed to help her Queen? No matter, that would have to wait until Rarity was finished here, and she was running out of time.

Rarity activated one of her hexes in the theater, and it coated the stage and the room around it in magical lines that locked down the use of magic entirely. Rarity had her armor and her two guardians already, she wouldn’t need more magic, but this would hopefully put a damper on Flam’s plan.

She would just need to wrap things up quickly before she ran out of her own magic.

Rarity charged the towering soldier and deflected the blast of its gun with ease thanks to her guardian, then jumped up and tore the thing’s head off, before splitting it down the middle with her armor, shattering it into scrap, the two men standing in its shadow barely reacting. It was so easy. Again, it was too easy.

“Ah, it only looks threatening,” Rarity laughed humorlessly.

“So you’ll waste more magic than you need to?” Flim put a finger to his lips. “Correct.”

“Cute,” Rarity said in disgust.

Flam’s wyvern shot another harpoon at her, but her guardian blocked it, and then his robot dog came running at her but her other guardian blocked that too. Flim pulled out a gun of his own and aimed it at Rarity, but using her telekinesis she snatched it out of his hand and crushed it, but she was caught off-guard by Flam’s tin soldier running at her and punching her in the gut.

It barely hurt, but it distracted Rarity for just a moment, before she heard Flim open his weaselly little mouth again.

“It’s a good thing I always carry two guns!” he proclaimed, firing his second gun and shooting Rarity in the head point blank, knocking her to the ground.

Rarity’s armor shattered as her body hit the ground, blood pooling underneath her from the hole in her head.

“Is that it?” Flam asked hesitantly. “Did we get her?”

“Let’s not be so hasty, brother,” Flim said, his voice guarded and his gun pointed down at Rarity… before she snatched it with her magic and crushed it, staring daggers at the two as she stood up, even with a hole in her head.

“Impressive!” Flam cheered, clapping his hands.

“Quite!” Flim added, raising his finger. “Perhaps now would be a good time to talk about cutting a deal!”

“Is that right?” Rarity said drolly. “Now you want to cut a deal? Why am I not surprised?”

“We would love to overthrow the Nightmare as well!” Flim pleaded. “And we would love to work together with y—”

“Shut the hell up,” Rarity spat, grabbing Flim by his gangly little neck. “You only want to talk now that you’re sweating, don’t even try that shit with me.”

“True!” Flam said. “You are quite correct! But due to this hex that we’re all under, we are at a bit of a stalemate, aren’t we? Why not having a rousing discussion instead of trying to kill each other?”

Rarity grit her teeth and tightened her grip on Flim’s neck. Flam wasn’t entirely wrong; without her armor, Rarity wasn’t sure if she had the strength to just snap Flim’s neck right here like she wanted to, and between Flam’s tin soldiers and Rarity’s guardians, they really were at a bit of a stalemate.

Is this really how this battle was going to end? Rarity giving in and agreeing to a truce with these two men who she so obviously couldn’t trust? She would be sickened with herself if she couldn’t defeat them with her own hands, if she had to admit defeat and settle for a draw with them.

No. She could only be happy, only be safe with these two dead. She only regretted that Applejack wouldn’t have the opportunity to take her revenge with her own hands.

Rarity was forced to release Flim as her grip weakened and she stumbled back, feeling a bit woozy from her head wound. She pooled magic into her horn and shattered the hex sealing the trio’s magic, converting the hex’s magical energy into brand new golden armor that adorned her body.

She threw a punch at Flim that knocked him flat to the ground, then turned to Flam with bloodlust in her eyes, flanked by her two guardians and daring him to make a move.

And move he did, his three tin machines awkwardly clunking and clanging together as they fused into a larger and more powerful tin centaur, armed with an enormous spear.

“It’s not my best work,” Flam muttered, “but it’ll do.”

The centaur plunged its spear into Rarity’s position, and Rarity defended herself with both of her guardians, but both were pierced and shattered by the spear’s weight, tearing through the effortlessly before goring Rarity’s stomach, forcing her to let out a pained wheeze as she choked on her own blood.

“Congratulations, brother,” Flim panted as Flam helped him off the ground, “on conjuring your penultimate weapon! Sorry I couldn’t give you more time to—”

“Think nothing of it, brother!” Flam smiled and pat his brother on the back. “You did more than enough, now you just relax and let ol’ Flam take it from here!”

“No way!” Flim said aghast. “I could never live with myself if I rested on my laurels and let you carry all the work!”

Flim’s horn cracked with magic, and ghostly versions of his scrapped machines tore themselves out of the ground, covered in that black magical energy like the one from earlier. Rarity let out a weary groan as she saw her chances of victory slipping ever further away from her.

The giant centaur grabbed Rarity in its fist and Flam laughed.

“Would you like to reconsider our offer to cut a deal?” he said.

“Or perhaps you would be interested in an unconditional surrender?” Flim added with a gleam in his eye.

Rarity knew what she had to do, but she groaned under her breath because it was so tacky. But it was her only option now, so she channeled her magic and galvanized her armor, shattering the centaur’s fist as she transformed it into a more powered armor, complete with a big fuckoff railgun.

Rarity flew on wings of energy and aimed her railgun at the tin centaur, her eyes turning bloodshot as she practically salivated at the brothers’ defeat which was now so close to her grasp.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” Flam said calmly, Rarity’s eye twitching as she silently wondered what fresh hell awaited her now.

“Should we show her?” Flim asked. “Your penultimate weapon’s secret compartment?”

“I feel we should have to,” Flam answered. “It’s only fair.”

Before Rarity could ask what the hell they were talking about, the chest of the centaur opened, revealing a horrifying sight; Coco Pommel and Coloratura were strapped into the machine’s insides, their mouths muzzled by leather straps as the pair struggled to squirm free.

“We went to your chambers to procure miss Twilight Sparkle,” Flim said, “and instead we found miss Coloratura all by her lonesome.”

“We figured she’d make a fine consolation prize!” Flam cheerily added, making Rarity’s stomach turn. “She never saw it coming!”

“And after we had her all wrapped up,” Flim explained, “why miss Coco Pommel here practically fell into our laps!”

“Now, I admit,” Flam said, and his voice sickened Rarity more than ever, “I don’t have a way to stop you from firing your cannon and destroying my beautiful machine. If you destroy it, I think my brother and I are basically sunk.”

“But, of course,” Flim let out a despicable chuckle, “to do that, you will have to accept the calculated loss of your servants. So what’s worth more to you, dear Rarity?”

Rarity was at a loss. She was completely frozen, darting her eyes away as Coco’s pleading eyes made contact with hers.

“So what’ll it be, dear Rarity?” Flim asked. “You should know my brother and I are honest businessmen, we hate resorting to dirty schemes like this.”

“But we will if we have to!” Flam added cheerily.

Rarity couldn’t simply allow Flim and Flam to get away with whatever they wanted. She couldn’t just let them walk away, especially not after this horrid display.

And after all, a Queen’s subjects need always be ready to sacrifice themselves for their Queen. And that damned Coloratura was half the reason Rarity was in this mess to begin with; Rarity could almost argue that dying in this battle would be exactly what the treacherous siren deserved.

Almost.

Was that the kind of Queen Rarity wanted to be? Could her pride as a Queen ever fully recover if she threw away her subjects so thoughtlessly?

Rarity looked at Coco Pommel, who was no longer struggling, her eyes locked on her Queen. She was pleading. She was begging Rarity, her Queen, to save her.

And there was nothing Rarity could do but to kill her.

So Rarity did nothing.

She let her armor disappear, collapsing to the ground with a pathetic splat, before the giant tin centaur crushed Rarity underneath its fist, and Rarity lost consciousness.
> 59. Cute and Gay
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rainbow Dash and her group were headed back through the woods to reconvene with Spitfire and company, but they were taking a moment to rest after a long day’s walk, and Rainbow felt she was in need of a bath so she plopped her naked ass into a river a little way’s off from where the others had set up camp.

Honestly while her body needed cleaned, it was more like she wanted to wash her brain out. Head full, too many thoughts.

Her head was especially full of thoughts of Gilda. She’d barely talked to Rainbow since the battle with Tempest, barely responded to Rainbow’s teasing that should’ve made Gilda wanna grab Rainbow by her hair and show her who was boss. But instead, she would just give a grumbling response or ignore Rainbow outright.

Rainbow hated to say it but… she was wondering if Gilda was jealous of Rainbow claiming the soul.

Ha, ‘wondering’. If Rainbow knew Gilda at all, and she did, then she knew that Gilda was fuming that she didn’t get the soul and Rainbow did. Rainbow beating Tempest where Gilda had failed couldn’t’ve made her feel good either.

And that sucked, but Rainbow didn’t want to give up the soul.

Rainbow took a deep breath as she laid in the river, her own magic heating up the water to help her relax. She slunk her shoulders in and sighed, trying to forget all of the—

“HEY DASH!” Pinkie’s piercing voice shattered Rainbow’s relaxation as the harpy jumped up and perched on a nearby rock, feathers puffed up in shock and eyes darting around until they landed on the cute poppet girl smiling and waving at her. “You got room for one more in there?”

“Uhhhguahuhbuh,” Rainbow stammered, and Pinkie just laughed and dropped her dress to the ground, making Rainbow approximately a million percent more flustered.

“Great! I’ll take that as a yes!” Pinkie cheered and jumped into the river, splashing Rainbow with ice cold water. “You were pretty cool in that battle, y’know.”

“Was I?” Rainbow scoffed and climbed down off the rock, dipping a single talon into the river beside Pinkie. “I have no idea, I was like totally just going by instinct. I practically blinked and it was over already.”

“Still cool, if you ask me,” Pinkie said with a grin.

“I guess,” Rainbow grumbled and shrugged, Pinkie laughing and giving Rainbow a playful shove.

“Will you just let me compliment you already, you silly?”

“I think you were the cool one though,” Rainbow said, allowing her to slide into the river and warm it up with her magic, Pinkie letting out an admittedly kinda sexy coo as she felt the warm water against her body. “You really stood your ground, even though it looked like you had no chance. That’s like? Badass.”

“I did that cuz I wanted to protect you,” Pinkie said softly, giving a bright smile. “Your bravery really inspires me, Rainbow Dash.”

Rainbow blushed and turned away, scratching her cheek with a claw.

“I just think you’re neat,” Pinkie said, putting her arms around Rainbow and looking her in the eye. Rainbow’s magic then went kinda out of control and heated the river up to lowkey boiling levels, the two girls letting out pained yelps as Rainbow jumped out of the water, Pinkie Pie holding onto her for dear life as Rainbow hovered above the river.

“S-sorry,” Rainbow used the magic of the soul to create wings of wind on Rainbow’s back that let her stay in the air, so she could use her arms to hold up Pinkie Pie, only to realize she now had her hands all over Pinkie’s body, Rainbow’s cock stiffening as much as it was able inside her silver cage.

“You’re cute,” Pinkie giggled.

“I’m…” Rainbow croaked, “gay.”

“Wow, me too!” Pinkie gasped. “We have so much in common! We should date.”

Rainbow blinked and then felt her magic short-circuit as she lost her concentration, her wind wings vanishing into thin air, bringing her and Pinkie crashing to the ground. When the dust settled, Rainbow was lying on top of Pinkie, pinning her to the ground as the poppet made alluring bedroom eyes at her, the harpy’s whole face turning bright red.

“Haha, so anyway,” Rainbow stood up and cleared her throat, “that was a good joke, Pinkie Pi—”

“I wasn’t joking,” Pinkie said, sitting up cross legged and looking up at Rainbow with those adorable button eyes. “I think you’re cute, and I’d love to date it up with you if you’re interested.”

“Lightning Dust would literally kill me,” Rainbow said flatly.

“Not if you kill her first,” Pinkie said with a catlike grin, and Rainbow felt a shiver roll up her spine. “You were already planning on knocking her off the top of the food chain with that soul, weren’t you?”

“I…” Rainbow hadn't quite gotten as far as ‘figuring out what she was doing with the soul’ yet.

“Lightning Dust treats you pretty bad, doesn’t she?” Pinkie asked, and Rainbow kept her mouth shut. If word got out that Rainbow had a beef with Lightning Dust, well… it wouldn’t end well for Rainbow. “C’mon, you gotta admit there’s something kinda exciting about taking her girl and knocking her down a peg or two, right?”

“Y-yeah, maybe” Rainbow scratched her cheek and thought about it a sec, her cock twitching in its cage. And honestly the truth of the matter was that Pinkie was freaking cute and Rainbow just really wanted to date her. “O-okay, if you’re serious, Pinkie, then… then yeah, I’d like to date you too.”

“Wow just like that huh?” Pinkie hummed. “You sure are eager.”

“WAIT WHA—”

“I’m just teasin’ ya,” Pinkie giggled and hopped to her feet, putting her arms around Rainbow and giving her a kiss on the cheek. “Cuz I like you.”

“I think I like you too,” Rainbow said bashfully, totally unsure of what to do with her hands.

“Oh, you just think so?” Pinkie hummed and jumped back, turning around and wiggling her tail and her butt at Rainbow. “I guess I’ll have to try a little harder.”

“Yeah, I guess so,” Rainbow chuckled and grabbed Pinkie by her ear, tugging it and making Pinkie face her, chest to chest, “and a few more smooches would be a good place to start.”

“Well,” Pinkie sighed dreamily and put her arms around Rainbow, “if you insist.”
> 60. Blow Off Steam
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Pinkie was breathing heavy as she sat with her hooves in the river next to Rainbow Dash, gently holding hands with the harpy and admiring her naked body. GAWD she was so HOT, and Pinkie wanted nothing more than to pin her to the ground and make out with her, but Rainbow was a bit bashful and Pinkie could respect that.

But damn, oof. She could just stare at Rainbow’s thin, muscular body for hours, and she couldn’t get over how tantalizing that cage was. There was a lot to appreciate.

“You okay?” Rainbow asked innocently, and Pinkie smiled at her. “Looked like you were zoning out.”

“Yeah, I’m great,” Pinkie giggled and snorted.

“Okay,” Rainbow snickered, “you’re so weird.”

“I like to think of myself as ‘mysterious’!” Pinkie beamed, and Rainbow laughed and gave her a playful shove.

“Geez, I should probably get back to the others,” Rainbow rubbed the back of her neck and groaned, and Pinkie caught her frustrated grumble before it left her lips. “I’ve been keepin’ ‘em waiting for a while.”

“I guess I should go back too then,” Pinkie said, not even bothering to hide how much she didn’t want to.

“Well, I mean,” Rainbow hummed, “you can stay here for another minute or two if you want. I’ll go check on the others, we’ll pack up camp, and I’ll come grab you when we’re actually ready to leave.”

“Oh?” Pinkie grinned cheekily. “You’re fine letting me out of your sight?”

“Yeah,” Rainbow shrugged, “I trust you.”

“Oh,” Pinkie blinked. She didn’t expect to hear Rainbow, or anyone for that matter, say that to her. “Uh, okay then. I’ll wait here for you.”

“Cool!” Rainbow beamed and squeezed Pinkie’s hand before standing up. “I’ll be back in a sec!”

“’kay,” Pinkie said casually, the reality of Rainbow’s gesture still sinking in even as the harpy disappeared into the trees, leaving the poppet alone with her thoughts.

That was… nice, of Rainbow. Pinkie couldn’t remember the last time someone had said they trusted her, or left her alone to her own devices. Whether it was Lightning Dust or Spitfire or even Limestone, someone was always watching over her shoulder and making sure she didn’t cause trouble.

Pinkie was sick of it.

And she felt bad to some degree, that she was mostly just using Rainbow Dash toward her own ends, but she did genuinely like and care about her, and it wasn’t like her goals and Rainbow’s conflicted. Maybe Pinkie was worried to much.

Or, perhaps, if Rainbow was going to extend her trust to Pinkie Pie, maybe it wouldn’t be so bad if Pinkie returned the favor.

Perhaps.

“Hey! Pinkie Pie!”

Wow it sure didn’t take long for Gilda’s irritated yelling to ruin Pinkie’s mood and drag her out of her thoughts, Gilda stomping up to Pinkie and dragging her to her hooves by roughly tugging on her mane.

“Rainbow Dash might be stupid enough to leave you unattended, but I’m not!” Gilda snarled, Pinkie looking at her with stone-faced bemusement before turning on the charm with a giggle.

“Just can’t keep your eyes off me, huh?” Pinkie laughed. “If you’re that thirsty, you can just—”

“Don’t play dumb with me,” Gilda growled, yanking painfully on Pinkie’s mane.

“Why’re you so angry, Gilda?” Pinkie asked innocently. “It doesn’t have anything to do with Rainbow Dash, does it? You’re not-” Pinkie gasped mockingly “-jealous of her are you? For getting her claws on the soul instead of you? For beating Tempest Shadow when you couldn’t? For having the nuts to ask me out, unlike you?”

“Don’t test me,” Gilda fumed and put her beak right up to Pinkie’s nose, but Pinkie had no choice but to laugh at the quetzal’s impotent display of force.

“If you really wanna blow off some steam,” Pinkie slipped out of Gilda’s grasp, chuckling under her breath at the quetzal’s visible confusion before wiggling her butt in front of Gilda, “I’m wide open for ya.”

“Don’t— you—” Gilda stumbled back a step and her face turned all red before she let out a frustrated roar. “Don’t mess with me!”

“I’m not messing with you, Gilda,” Pinkie turned to face Gilda and crossed her arms, “I can just see through you, is all. You’re pissed off so you’re looking for someone to vent your anger at, and you chose me cuz you thought you could take me, cuz you know you can’t take Rainbow anymore, and you don’t know enough about Limestone to feel confident.

“You thought I was the weakest person here, but now that you realize you’re wrong, and that you deserve that sterling title, you’re flustered. You’re too much of a wimp to actually throw a punch at me, so when your empty threats didn’t get a reaction, you panicked.

“Honestly? It’s so funny!”

Gilda screamed and grabbed Pinkie’s shoulders, throwing her against a tree and pinning her against it, the quetzal’s claws digging into Pinkie’s soft flesh as Gilda snarled and fumed over Pinkie, Gilda’s eyes screaming with rage and bloodlust.

Pinkie just giggled.

“Come on, Gilda,” she chirped, “what’re you waiting for? Take me or hit me if you think you’re so tough.”

Pinkie felt pretty confident that Gilda wouldn’t be able to do anything other than idly threaten her, but there was a part of her wondering if Gilda would prove her wrong. Honestly even if Gilda did, it wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world; she couldn’t hurt Pinkie worse than Lightning Dust, and if Gilda wanted to have steamy hate sex right here in the middle of the woods? Pinkie was kinda down for that.

Instead, Gilda shoved Pinkie up against the tree before walking off in a huff.

“Not worth the effort,” she grumbled under her breath, and Pinkie did her a kindness and didn’t laugh at that.
> 61. Persuasion
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Fluttershy sat upon a short stone wall, trying to let her brain catch up with everything that had happened. Her friends had been captured— or worse, Fluttershy didn’t know but she was trying not to think about that— and now Fluttershy was weakened by her battle with Lightning Dust, stuck licking her wounds in a nowhere village under the care of a Paladin-turned-dullahan by the name of Marble Pie.

It was a lot!

Fluttershy’s wounds had been nearly fully healed in record time, although her dress that acted as her symbol as the shining gem of her Family wasn’t quite so lucky. Unfortunate, but oh well. She was dressed in much humbler attire that Marble had afforded her, and it honestly felt kind of nice to feel free of the burdens of being that shining gem, if even for just a mere moment.

Speaking of Marble Pie, she approached Fluttershy while the siren was thinking her thoughts, sitting down on the wall beside her and giving Fluttershy a tender smile, which Fluttershy reciprocated. Marble was no fan of the Lightning Knights and she was blessed with a sweet temperament, making her easy for Fluttershy to get along with.

Cute too, to be quite honest. Her smile was disarming and her patience was saintly. Fluttershy had reservations about trusting one donned in the Paladins’ armor, but she felt comfortable around Marble.

Marble tapped Fluttershy’s forearm and cocked her head with a smile.

“Oh, um, are you asking me something?” Fluttershy asked. Marble was nonverbal, and Fluttershy didn’t understand the hand signals she used to communicate, leaving the two a bit at odds in terms of communication.

A nod was easy to understand though.

“Oh, um, how I’m doing?” Fluttershy guessed from Marble’s body language, and a nod from the Dullahan— soft enough to not upset the delicate stitchwork that kept her head attached to her body— signaled that Fluttershy had guessed right, so she breathed a sigh of relief. “I’m just thinking thoughts. I’m worried about my Family, of course.”

Fluttershy felt confident that the Knights wouldn’t kill their captives, as leaving them alive to use as bait or as hostages or whatever else simply made much more sense. Especially considering it was much easier to draw magic out of a living captive than out of a dead body.

But with Lightning Dust’s temper, it was hard to be entirely sure about what she would do.

Marble put her hand atop Fluttershy’s, and Fluttershy sighed contentedly. Oh how she wished she could retire to the simple life of an ordinary villager, with only the immediate present and the things right in front of her to concern herself with.

Fluttershy took a deep breath, and let it out in a slow, resigned sigh.

She had a Family to look out for, and they needed her now.

“I need to go,” Fluttershy said with a groan as she stood to her hooves, her wings fidgeting behind her back. “I need to rescue my Family. I would like very much, if you were to help me.”

Fluttershy looked at Marble, but she didn’t expect much. unsurprisingly, Marble just sighed and gave the siren a sympathetic look. Whether it was because she didn’t want to risk her own forces, or simply didn’t want to help out another monster due to her ‘honor’ as a Paladin, Fluttershy couldn’t count on Marble for help.

So, Fluttershy tried to walk away and go find a way to save her Family on her own, but was stopped by Marble grabbing her arm. Fluttershy raised an eyebrow and Marble lightly tugged on her. The dullahan didn’t want Fluttershy to leave.

“Are you going to try to keep me here?” Fluttershy asked coldly, and Marble nodded, a pensive expression marring her pretty face. “As a prisoner?”

“Mm-mm,” Marble shook her head slowly.

“if you won’t let me leave,” Fluttershy said, “and you won’t help me save my family, I may as well be a prisoner.”

Marble didn’t have anything to respond with, just looking solemnly at the ground, but she wouldn’t let go of Fluttershy’s arm.

The siren let a tiny smirk cross her lips as an idea formed inside her head.

“Marble,” Fluttershy approached Marble and put her hand under the dullahan’s chin, tilting Marble’s eyes up to meet Fluttershy’s, “I think you should reconsider helping me.”

Fluttershy let a soft melody escape her lips, and Marble’s eyes widened in recognition. Marble may not have wanted to help Fluttershy, but the siren could be quite persuasive when she needed to be.

Marble let go of Fluttershy’s arm, but Fluttershy snatched up Marble’s just as quickly, taking the dullahan into her arms like a dance partner as she sang to Marble, who quickly relaxed in the siren’s grasp.

“There, now was that so bad?” Fluttershy whispered into Marble’s ear.

“Mm-mm,” Marble sighed contentedly, her eyes half-lidded in relaxed arousal.

“Good girl,” Fluttershy cooed and brushed a hand through Marble’s hair. “Now, help me round up your little troops. I think they deserve an invitation to the Family as well.”

Marble gathered the small band of armed villagers that she had been leading, some of whom were confused but others simply accepted Marble’s leadership unquestioningly. With her under Fluttershy’s control, the siren would have an easy time persuading this entire village.

Sure enough, as Fluttershy began her song, not a soul moved to stop her or question her. She sang several times, slowly making the villagers drop their guards and enchanting them with her voice, and with each song she sang, Marble Pie especially came more and more under Fluttershy’s control. She had a hunch that miss Marble had secretly wanted someone to take charge of her all along, and for the moment Fluttershy was happy to do it.

It wasn’t much, but soon Fluttershy had a small band on her side with which she could contest Lightning Dust and her band. Fluttershy just hoped it would be enough. She didn’t expect too much of a fight from the fury though, she was just as badly injured as Fluttershy had been by their fight, and with Fluttershy now given the initiative, she was confident she could win.

She hoped.

She would have to…



The village where Fluttershy had first encountered Lightning Dust was eerie the first time the siren had visited it, but with this new context it felt so much more imposing.

First thing Fluttershy came across as her band approached were the ash and blood stains of Lightning’s soldiers that she had killed in her rage when Fluttershy had turned them against her. It was uncomfortable to look at, but even more uncomfortable was the silence as Fluttershy’s group ventured deeper into the village of narrow trees, finding almost no trace that anyone had even been here before at all.

They combed the whole village, and found no sign of the Lightning Knights or of Windy Whistles and the others. Fluttershy sat on the outskirts of the village and breathed deeply, trying to keep her rising panic out of control.

And once her head had cleared, she realized this wasn’t the worst thing. There was no blood or signs of any struggle, which meant that Windy and the others had been taken peacefully as captives away from here, just as Fluttershy had predicted.

Fluttershy also would have found some sign of the Lightning Knights if they had passed through the woods to Marble’s little village, and yet aside from the scuffle Fluttershy had been in with Lightning Dust, there were no such signs. The Knights must have left the way they came, perhaps retreating after their leader had been injured.

It was obviously too early to get excited, but if Fluttershy truly had the Lightning Knights running scared, then this was too good of an opportunity to pass up. If Lightning Dust thought she could just take Fluttershy’s friends and keep them prisoner, well Fluttershy would be interested in seeing how Lightning Dust appreciated the life of a captive instead.

Perhaps she would make a fine pet.

Though again, it was too early for Fluttershy to start getting ahead of herself. First thing’s first, she would need more resources. She would need more helping hands. It would be a simple matter to track Lightning Dust down, between Fluttershy’s magic and Lightning’s own lack of subtlety. Fluttershy would be happy to track Lightning all the way back to her base if that’s what she needed to do.

And there were a whole lot more villages to visit on the way.